Though it's too early to say what the typical refund will look like for the 2016 tax year, the average American last year received $2,860 back from the IRS. Getting a refund is actually a negative thing, as it means having lost out on more of your money up front. But if you are expecting an influx of cash, here's how you can put it to good use.
A storm system marching in from the West could bring heavy rain, hail and possibly tornadoes to eastern Nebraska on Tuesday, a day after a surprise morning thunderstorm dropped a record amount of rain on Lincoln.

No significant damage was reported from the surprise thunderstorm that developed over northwest Lancaster County and moved slowly through the Lincoln area beginning around 5:30 a.m., said Emergency Manager Jim Davidsaver.

"Then it just sat there, said Davidsaver, who described the rainfall as a deluge.

By 11 a.m., the Lincoln Airport recorded 3.72 inches of rain, breaking a record of 3.01 inches for the day.

In a normal June, Lincoln sees 4.34 inches of rain over the course of the entire month. Last year, Lincoln saw just 0.58 inches of rain in June.

Monday's rainfall likely exceeded 4 and 5 inches in some places around Lincoln, said National Weather Service meteorologist David Pearson. The weather service in Valley fielded several unofficial reports in the 4- to 6-inch range, he said.

The downpour overwhelmed several low-lying streets in Lincoln and stalled out a car near 14th Street and Nebraska 2 just before 8 a.m., Davidsaver said.

Eldonna Woltemath was driving west on Nebraska 2 on her commute when she came upon that car partially submerged on the exit ramp near the Nebraska State Penitentiary.

When she arrived at work, she learned Lincoln Fire and Rescue crews had helped the driver exit the stalled car safely.

"(I) was so very glad to get to work!" said Woltemath.

Just south of the intersection, water covered an area of 14th Street under construction, prompting Lincoln police to reduce southbound traffic to one lane.

"Just as quickly as the water level raised (on some streets), it returned to normal or passable levels," Davidsaver said.

Lincoln police responded to 20 crashes, including one where a car hydroplaned, between 6 and 11 a.m., but it was unclear Monday how many of the wrecks were weather-related.

The runoff led to rapid rises in area rivers and streams, including Antelope Creek through Lincoln. But none of them reached significant levels, Davidsaver said.

Salt Creek near Nebraska Innovation Campus rose to 20.48 feet at 12:30 p.m., up from 9 feet before the rain moved in. Flood stage at that location is 26.5 feet.

Large hail battered some areas as the storms first developed. An observer near Pawnee Lake in western Lancaster County reported egg-size hail at 6:22 a.m.

There were reports of pingpong ball-size hail near Pleasant Dale at 5:40 a.m. and near the Lincoln Airport at 6:15 a.m.

There were no reports of significant hail falling within the city limits, but severe thunderstorm warnings covered all or part of the city from 5:15 a.m. to 8:15 a.m.

The storms that moved through the area Monday began as a subtle system but quickly built up, Pearson said. Originally, forecasters believed the conditions weren't right for severe storms.

Once they developed, the storms were self-sustaining and kept building, Pearson said. The absence of wind aloft kept the storms over the Lincoln area for several hours.

"It wasn't moving very fast, so that brought Lincoln heavy rain," he said.

Pearson and Davidsaver now have their eyes on a storm system bound for Nebraska from northern Nevada, expected to reach the Lincoln area Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning.

"It's possible they'll be severe because it's been so warm and there's humidity in the area," Pearson said. "We'll have our guard up again tomorrow night."
Investigators believe a man who shot into a car on Interstate 80 near Lincoln Sunday thought the vehicle was following him, according to a court document filed Tuesday.

Prosecutors on Tuesday charged Habacuc Quintero-Chairez, 48, of Bellevue, with four assault and weapons offenses.

Just after 12:30 p.m., a driver in a Toyota Rav4 fired multiple shots at a car while both were driving west on I-80 near the U.S. 77 south exit, the Nebraska State Patrol said.

Neither occupant of the victims' car, a father and son from Nebraska, was injured, said State Patrol spokesman Cody Thomas.

The victim found two bullet holes in the passenger side of the car after pulling off the interstate at a gas station, an investigator wrote in an affidavit.

Troopers searching the interstate found a Rav4 matching the description two miles from the reported incident and pulled over the SUV.

The driver, identified as Quintero-Chairez, displayed a handgun out the driver's window, the affidavit said.

He complied with commands from troopers, who seized a silver handgun and took him to jail, the investigator said.

Thomas said Quintero-Chairez didn't know the victims.

Quintero-Chairez faces charges of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, discharge of a firearm near a vehicle, attempted first-degree assault and use of a weapon to commit a felony.

If convicted, he faces a minimum of 13 years in prison on the weapons charges.

He appeared in Lancaster County Court Tuesday afternoon, and a judge set his bond at $1 million.

State Patrol investigators said Quintero-Chairez is a convicted felon who has been deported three times.
Justin Lewis doesn't wear dresses to work anymore.

A boss of the the gender-fluid Lincoln resident told Lewis he wasn't dressing masculine enough to work.

"I'd like to wear one (dress) every once in a while, on days like today," said Lewis, carrying an umbrella to block the sun.

While that boss moved on, the reprimand stuck with Lewis as an example of workplace discrimination, which Lewis and hundreds of other allies and members of the LGBT community emphasized as part of Sunday's Pride March in downtown Lincoln.

Over 200 people, some holding signs and waving rainbow Pride flags, met at the north end of the state Capitol to celebrate improvements in the LGBT community, but to also advocate for improved human rights -- like protection against workplace discrimination.

The march, which looped north up 16th Street and circled back to the Capitol along Centennial Mall, was one of several Pride marches across the country in conjunction with the Equality March in Washington, D.C.

Pride marches in cities like Los Angeles turned into "resist" marches against President Donald Trump after he refused to recognize June as National Gay Pride Month.

Pride March organizer Kevin Tjeerdsma said the annual march usually draws around 100 people in Lincoln, but in the current political climate the LGBT community sees an increased need to defend its rights.

"A lot of LGBT people are concerned about rights being taken away, like marriage equality," Tjeerdsma said.

Carrie Hansen, a Lincoln woman who identifies as bisexual, said a lot of the issues concerning LGBT rights center around the state Legislature.

Lincoln Sen. Adam Morfeld, for example, spearheaded a bill in this year's legislative session prohibiting workplace discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

But the bill stalled after no vote was taken.

Lewis said inactivity over workplace discrimination coupled with Nebraska's status as a Right to Work state creates a "toxic environment" for members of the LGBT community.

There have been improvements in Nebraska, however, with same-sex marriage attaining a legal status in 2015, he said.

"There's actually a really strong queer culture here (in Lincoln)," Lewis said. "And day-to-day, I usually have positive interactions."

A slew of speakers rallied the crowd before and after the march, including Nebraska Democratic Party Chairwoman Jane Kleeb and Lincoln Sen. Kate Bolz.

Omaha teacher and Heartland Pride outreach director Nikkie Trahan came to Lincoln to stand up for LBGT educators and students.

Trahan said she experienced workplace discrimination because of her sexual orientation.

"My job performance should be reflective of my pay and my status, not who I love or who I spend my life with," Trahan said.
"If only he would stop tweeting."

Those words came from a friend of mine named "Jack," quite possibly President Trump's biggest fan. A former Secret Service agent, Jack is your typical die-hard Trump supporter.

That is to say, he's a white, Christian male, married with two kids. He's honest, hardworking -- a true-blue patriot, brave and loyal to the core. He and I are at political odds these days and argue frequently about Trump.

"Yes, but" is about all I can get out before Jack is off on a rollicking defense of the president, whom he finds utterly unobjectionable -- except, that is, for those "dadgum tweets."

What? Yes, even Jack was appalled by Trump's tweets about London Mayor Sadiq Khan following the London terror attack. Hearing about them propelled Jack into a 40-minute tirade, he told me.

Maybe there's hope after all. The only hitch is that Jack thinks Trump would be fine if only he'd stop blurting unfiltered thoughts on social media. (We probably differ on our definition of "fine.")

The first of the tweets in question came the morning after the London incident. Trump cited the casualty numbers, then added: "Mayor of London says there is 'no reason to be alarmed'!"

Utterly wrong and false. Fake news, if you will.

What Khan had said was that Londoners shouldn't be alarmed by the increased police presence. Therein lie several magnitudes of difference. Thus, we infer, Trump either opted to be repugnantly antagonistic or was balefully misinformed. The latter might have been forgivable had Trump admitted as much. But no, instead, this childish man (or mannish child?) doubled down.

In a subsequent tweet, he wrote: "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."

One doesn't know whether to scream or scream louder.

Surely, even Trump can't believe that people are so gullible as to accept that the media, in reporting Khan's complete quote rather than the abridged "presidential" version, are trying to put something over. But then, Trump doesn't have to believe it. He knows his fans will consume whatever he serves because they elected him, didn't they?

The bilious billionaire conned the nation -- and people like Jack aren't bothered.

"The truth is, I don't care about anybody anymore," Jack says, referring to umbrage over Trump's more-troubling policies, from the travel ban to the wall. "I only care about our country."

About this, I have no doubt. An Iraq veteran and a physically imposing man who knows how to handle artillery, Jack's the guy you want in your bunker. Unlike most denizens of the Washington swamp, he's refreshingly without guile or artifice. And when he talks about love of country, I know he's not talking about raising a flag on July 4. He's talking about putting his life on the line.

Thus, I take Jack's comments seriously and respectfully. I try to understand where he's coming from as I consider the disconnect between my view of this disastrous president and that of a bit more than one-third of the American people. How can we see things so differently?

In a word, he told me, Obama.

Whatever Trump is, former President Obama is viewed by Jack and cohorts as having been far worse, enough so that nothing Trump does stylistically matters as much as what Obama did substantively. The deeds-over-words trope dovetails with Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway's scolding of NBC's "Today" show anchors Monday. The media focus too much on what Trump tweets, she said, and not enough on what he does.

But words do matter, as Conway well knows. When you're the president, they matter profoundly. Trump can't pretend anymore that he's just ol' Donald being himself. That this must be explained to him is concerning enough.

More to the urgency of his Twitter obsession: If he's impulsive enough to toss off a gratuitous insult to a mayor grappling with catastrophe, what else might he be willing to say -- and to whom?

So, yes, on the one hand, Trump must stop tweeting. On the other, how else would we have known how truly demented the man is? Luckily, it's not too late to save the country, yet. But if Jack is worried about the president's tweeting, it may be time for congressional Republicans to acknowledge what has long been obvious, declare the man incompetent and deliberate accordingly.

If not, you ain't (even) got Jack.
The Republican Party wants us to grade Donald Trump on a curve.

No other conclusion is possible after a week of high drama and reality avoidance that would have wrecked the president's good name, if he had one.

The highlight, of course, was former FBI Director James Comey testifying under oath before the Senate Intelligence Committee and accusing Trump of "lies, plain and simple." But before we get to that, let's parse some of the weaselly evasions that preceded it.

The day before Comey's appearance, for instance, national security chiefs Mike Rogers and Dan Coats, testifying before the same committee, refused to answer directly when asked whether Trump ever asked them to intervene in an FBI investigation. Two days before that, Trump surrogates Sebastian Gorka and Kellyanne Conway insisted with straight faces that Trump's often-damning tweets -- statements by the president in his own words -- were not to be taken seriously.

Next to them, Comey was some combination of Captain America and Pope Francis for plain moral rectitude -- sometimes even at his own expense, as when he admitted failing to push back forcefully enough against the president's misbehavior. But it was Trump's character and actions that were squarely in the bull's eye.

Comey explained that he committed his meetings with Trump to contemporaneous memos because of "the nature of the person" he was dealing with -- a precaution he never felt the need for with Presidents Obama and Bush. He confirmed that Trump asked him to stop investigating Mike Flynn, the former national security adviser, who lied about his contacts with Russian officials.

And he described an Oval Office meeting where Trump asked everyone but him to clear the room, then said, "I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let him go." That would seem clearly inappropriate if not illegal, especially since Trump fired Comey after he refused that request and cited the investigation as the reason. But Trump's Republican defenders kept looking for loopholes.

Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho) seized upon Trump's use of the word "hope" to suggest the president never actually ordered Comey to let Flynn off the hook. Apparently, English is not Risch's first language, and he is unschooled in its nuances. Suffice it to say, when Tony Soprano says, "Nice place you got here; hope nothing happens to it," buy fire insurance.

Meantime, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) meandered incoherently through a confusing thicket of questions and misstatements that seemed designed to suggest a double standard in the fact that the FBI's investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails ended last year, while the Russia probe is ongoing. Or, he could have been asking who stole his Metamucil. It was hard to tell.

Even House Speaker Paul Ryan got into the act, noting that Trump "is just new to this." By "this," he probably meant governing, although he could have meant accountability. Either way, his point was apparently that the man who said "I alone can fix" America should be given time to learn how to do his job.

But that presupposes Trump's willingness to learn. Or his ability.

No evidence exists to support either idea.

Bottom line: this attempted defense of the indefensible is threadbare and outrageous. The GOP asks us to put their party above our country, to grade this presidency on a curve like you would a poor student who was trying real hard. But there's no curve that can save Donald Trump.

This president has failed.
It's now clear that James Comey is a highly capable lawyer with only one client: James Comey.

The former FBI director may not need an attorney. But he could really use a public relations firm to help him rehabilitate his image.

That's because, if you paid attention to Comey's testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, you know that President Trump isn't the only person with a credibility problem.

The anti-Trump media are hammering away at what Trump did wrong, including the president's clumsy decision to fire Comey while the FBI was looking into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.

Yet the media -- which seem to have forgotten that they tried to tear Comey to pieces when he interjected himself into the 2016 election in a way that was detrimental to Hillary Clinton -- have been lax in pointing out how the former FBI director fouled up in his dealings with Trump.

Don't misunderstand. None of this excuses Trump.

According to Comey, the president asked Comey if he wanted to keep his job, inquired whether he was under investigation as part of the FBI's probe into Russian meddling in the election, and expressed his "hope" that the bureau would drop its inquiry into the conduct of former national security adviser Michael Flynn. All of this was inappropriate.

Some Republicans on the Senate panel tried to depict the exchanges as casual conversations.

What foolishness. There is no such thing as "casual" when you're at the White House and talking to the president of the United States -- someone who has the power to relieve you of your duties -- and he tells you what he'd like you to do. As he said during his testimony, Comey took Trump's comment as "a direction" -- albeit one that he did not follow.

But here's the important part: How did Comey respond? That depends. Are we talking about the image that Comey is trying to construct now, or what he did at those moments when Trump came to him with his concerns? Big difference.

In the light of present day, Comey wants the senators -- and the rest of the country -- to see him as a paragon of virtue, a pillar of independence and a model of integrity. In this narrative -- Comey as martyr, which you will undoubtedly be able to read for yourself one day in an eight-figure memoir -- the former FBI director stood up to the bully in chief. It was the right thing to do, and he was punished for doing it.

According to this telling of the story, Trump got more than he bargained for. At one point he invited Comey to the White House for a meal, and guess who came to dinner? Eliot Ness.

But that's not what really happened. Defiance wasn't on the menu

Comey wrote in his notes, and repeated in his testimony, that Trump told him: "I need loyalty. I expect loyalty."

Wow. What did Comey do? He should have gotten up and left. Or smiled politely and said nothing at all. Or changed the subject and commented on how good the soup was.

But the former FBI director didn't do any of that. According to his own notes, and his own testimony, he told the president that the best he could offer was "honest loyalty."

Uh oh. There's that L-word again. It's likely that Trump thought the two men had reached an agreement. Besides, when you're the FBI director -- and, if you're really the Eagle Scout that you pretend to be -- you have no business pledging your loyalty to anyone, or anything, but the truth.

And when Trump asked Comey to clarify whether he was under investigation, what did Comey do? Again, he should have gotten up and walked out. Or changed the subject.

Instead, Comey did something that no prosecutor should ever do. He showed his cards. Again, according to his own words, he told Trump that he was not under investigation.

This is a guy who seems to have been so intimidated by Trump and the trappings of the White House, and so desperate to keep his job as one of the nation's top law enforcement officers, that he was much too compliant, much too polite, and much too accommodating. Are these really the actions of a hero?

Comey was invited to dinner at the White House, but the person who showed up -- and got weak in the knees -- wasn't Eliot Ness. It was Barney Fife.
President Donald Trump's federal budget proposal would increase defense spending by a figure larger than Russia's entire military budget while reducing funding for agriculture and other domestic programs that help many Americans who voted for him.

That's part of the message delivered in Nebraska this week by Kevin Martin, executive director of the largest grassroots peace organization in the United States.

Almost 200,000 Americans are supporters of Peace Action, which is focused on ending and preventing wars while moving money from the military to human and social needs.

Front-and-center now is support for newly-elected South Korean President Moon Jae-in's interest in opening a peaceful dialogue with North Korea in an effort to defuse tensions and prevent war.

With "so much tension" on the Korean peninsula as a result of North Korea's nuclear weapons development, missile tests and bellicose rhetoric, the Trump administration's response is that "all options are on the table," Martin said Monday during an interview in Lincoln.

"The only option not on the table is diplomacy," he said, and it should be.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration threatens to unravel an international agreement designed to prevent Iran's development of a nuclear weapons capacity at the same time that Iranians are re-electing a moderate president and "the full flowering of a new generation" of Iranians is tipping the country more pro-western, Martin said.

Martin addressed a peace and justice rally at the state Capitol on Sunday that attracted about 50 people. He was in Omaha earlier and headed to Grand Island on Monday.

While seeking a $54 billion increase in Pentagon spending, Martin said, the Trump budget proposal would slice funding for the State Department by more than 20 percent and cut spending for agricultural programs that are important to Nebraska.

At the same time, Trump's trade policies have "deprived farmers of foreign markets" that are vital to agriculture and the state's prosperity, he said.

"That's a double whammy that hurts farmers," Martin said.

Trump withdrew the United States from the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, which would have sharply increased U.S. beef and pork export markets, and he's renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Nebraska, and particularly its agricultural voters, supported Trump last November, Martin noted.

The president is "not very accountable to them now," he said, "but their representatives (in Congress) are. When do they turn on these representatives if they don't do something to intervene rather than act out of party loyalty?"

Martin said he embraces "The Resistance" as a term that describes activists who are working for peace and justice issues now or resisting Trump administration policies such as the crackdown on immigrants and the so-called Muslim ban.

"I like it," he said. "Are you part of the resistance? This is people showing up for each other's struggles and interests. The resistance is relatively nonpartisan."
OMAHA  Police say three people were killed when two motorcycles collided at an intersection in the middle of Omaha.

Police say the crash happened around 11:30 p.m. Saturday, when a Suzuki motorcycle ran a red light and hit a Harley Davidson motorcycle.

Police say two riders on the Harley  34-year-old Adam Kammann, of La Vista, and 37-year-old Christine Zadina, of Omaha  and the Suzuki driver, 24-year-old Andrew Torrice, of Omaha, all died.

Police say all three were wearing helmets.

Investigators say excessive speed by the Suzuki is considered a factor in the crash.
RACINE COUNTY  A man who believed he was meeting a 15-year-old girl for sex was arrested in Waterford as part of a sting operation, authorities say.

Scott A. Nesbitt, 48, of Monroe, was charged Monday with attempted second-degree sexual assault of a child, use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime and possession of child pornography.

According to a release from the Racine County Sheriffs Office: Nesbitt allegedly traveled from Monroe with the intent to meet a 15-year-old girl for sex. Arrangements were made for Nesbitt to meet the girl on Saturday morning at the McDonalds in Waterford. He reportedly made plans to pick the girl and drive to an undisclosed location.

Authorities say Nesbitt had been chatting online with a Racine County Sheriffs investigator, who was posing as a 15-year-old girl, since April.

During their conversations, Nesbitt allegedly said: I cant stop thinking about how much I want to corrupt your innocence, according to a criminal complaint file in Racine County Circuit Court.

Nesbitt, whose screen name was MoxyMan, further described his attraction to young girls, allegedly saying age of consent laws are arbitrary, according to the complaint. He also allegedly made multiple statements relating to wanting ownership over the girl.

With enough aggressive training and psychological games, I will fashion you into a perfect little slave, according to the criminal complaint. He eventually disclosed his name was Scott and that he was married.

Evidence collected

After he was taken into custody at about 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Nesbitt allegedly admitted to engaging in sexually explicit conversations, making arrangements to meet a girl and having child pornography videos and photos on his cellphone and laptop, the complaint states.

Reportedly, hundreds of photos of suspected child pornography were later found on Nesbitts computer.

The Sheriffs Office said that before moving to Wisconsin, Nesbitt lived in Dubuque, Iowa, where he had been employed at several area churches.

Although challenging and labor-intensive, the arrest of this pedophile is a shining example of our ongoing effort to keep the children of Racine County safe, Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling said.

The incident remains still under investigation by the Sheriffs Office Criminal Investigations Bureau.

A cash bond of $50,000 was set at Nesbitts initial court appearance Monday, according to court records. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 22. He remained in custody as of Monday night at the County Jail.

The charges carry a combined maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
BURLINGTON  Six western Racine County fire and rescue agencies received automatic CPR device donations Wednesday. The devices were provided by the Memorial Hospital of Burlington Community Foundation.

The Lund University Cardiac Arrest System helps take the load off first responders in cardiac arrest scenarios by performing 102 chest compressions per minute. The foundation donated one LUCAS system each to the Burlington Rescue Squad, Union Grove-Yorkville Fire Department, Waterford Fire Department, Wind Lake Fire Company, Raymond Fire Department and Tichigan Fire Company. Presenters also taught emergency medical technicians how to use the device.

(The donation) was needed, Raymond Fire Chief Adam Smith said. The device will be used on cardiac arrest calls and should allow first responders to focus on other pressing matters, Smith added.

The donations were presented June 7 at Aurora Memorial Hospital of Burlington, 252 McHenry St. Hospital President Lisa Just and Michelle Weber, director of Aurora Foundation development, also were in attendance.

According to the American Heart Association, almost 90 percent of people who have a cardiac arrest outside of a hospital die. CPR administered quickly after an episode can double or triple a persons chance of survival, the AHA website said.

However, CPR is tiring.

CPR wears a person out in about two minutes, Smith said. The uniform speed and compression depth from the LUCAS machine should help save lives, because a person cannot offer quality compressions after the two-minute mark, Smith added.

The foundation reached out to each agency to offer the donation, Smith said. The LUCAS device itself costs nearly $16,000 and can be easily stowed in EMS vehicles. It was invented in Sweden in 2003, and is now on its third iteration.

This is a godsend, said Dan Russell, assistant fire chief at Union Grove-Yorkville Fire Department. Its a great piece of equipment. Weve been kind of blessed this year.

In 2013, a LUCAS device revived an Australian woman who had been clinically dead for 42 minutes, according to media reports.
RACINE COUNTY  Despite sizable majorities in the state Legislature, Republicans' progress on the state budget has slowed to a crawl.

Speaker Robin Vos and other Assembly Republicans proposed an education funding plan Tuesday, only to see it quickly rejected by the Senate majority leader and Gov. Scott Walker.

The Assembly's roads plan, unveiled in May, has not gained traction.

Republicans are also split on taxes, debating a proposed sales tax holiday and eliminating the personal property tax and state property tax.

"It seems to be more and more that it's not Democrats versus Republicans, it's Assembly Republicans versus Senate Republicans," said state Rep. Cory Mason, D-Racine.

Monthslong delay?

In the last week, Senate leaders floated passing their own spending plan, the state budget committee cancelled a planned meeting Thursday and legislative leaders met privately with Walker.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said Tuesday legislators should want to improve Walker's budget plan, which was presented in February.

Vos, R-Rochester, pushed an education proposal that would target state aid toward low-spending school districts while allocating roughly $70 million less than Gov. Scott Walker's proposed $649 million increase in per-pupil aid.

The Assembly also has a multipronged transportation plan that includes applying the sales tax to gasoline to reduce the $500 million in borrowing Walker proposed.

Vos called both proposals a starting point in negotiations, saying "I am willing to negotiate at anytime, any place, anywhere."

The current budget is set to expire June 30, though if no budget is approved before then, funding levels simply remain the same. Vos said he is comfortable negotiating past June 30.

"At the moment, I think we won't have a budget for months," said state Rep. Thomas Weatherston, R-Caledonia.

Weatherston said the Assembly has "offered several very good suggestions" on lowering property taxes and funding roads, only to see them shot down by Walker and the Senate. The governor and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald have resisted plans they say could result in increased taxes.

Weatherston said he will only vote for the budget if it includes funding for Interstate 94 construction in Racine County or, failing that, does not borrow any money for any freeway construction at all.

Walker's budget called for $500 million in borrowing for roads; state legislative leaders have said they are starting over on a transportation plan.

'Put aside squabbling'

State Sen. Van Wanggaard has also threatened to vote against the budget without I-94 funding in Racine County. But he is more optimistic about the budget issues, saying he believes it will get done by July 1 and isn't as stalled as media reports suggest.

"I'm confident we'll hammer it out," said Wanggaard, R-Racine.

Tensions between members of parties isn't new, but it's "amazing" to see Republicans in this position given their large majorities, Mason said. The GOP controls the Assembly 64-35, and the Senate 20-13.

A core part of the struggle among Republicans: some want to raise revenue to invest in areas like transportation, while others have prioritized cutting taxes. Walker has threatened to veto the entire budget if property taxes go up beyond what they were in 2014 on a median-valued home.

Republicans need to put aside their squabbling and do whats right for the people of Wisconsin," said state Rep. Peter Barca, D-Kenosha. "They should craft a budget in an open and transparent manner. They should pass a budget in a timely manner for municipalities, schools and transportation authorities to plan for the coming year.

"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."
KENOSHA  The injured suspect in a police shooting Sunday in Kenosha was reported to be in stable condition Monday at a local hospital, state investigators confirmed.

According to a release from the Kenosha Police Department, at approximately 6:34 p.m. Sunday officers responded to the 5000 block of 39th Avenue regarding a man reportedly making threats with a firearm.

When officers arrived, the suspect reportedly fled on foot and another officer followed the alleged suspect. During the foot pursuit, the officer discharged their firearm, striking the suspect.

The officer was uninjured in the incident.

The investigation into the incident is being conducted by the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation. Johnny Koremenos, director of communications and public affairs for the agency, said Monday afternoon that "DOJ is still in the beginning stages of the investigation and has yet to complete investigative reports that will contain all the details of this critical incident."

According to the release from Kenosha police, the department does not believe there is a further threat to the community stemming from the incident and the factors that led up to it.

The Kenosha County Sheriffs Department assisted city police at the scene of the incident on Sunday.
Yes, you can transfer your domain to any registrar or hosting company once you have purchased it. Since domain transfers are a manual process, it can take up to 5 days to transfer the domain.

Domains purchased with payment plans are not eligible to transfer until all payments have been made. Please remember that our 30-day money back guarantee is void once a domain has been transferred.

For transfer instructions to GoDaddy, please click here.
Bibeksheel set to field candidates in five districts

Spurred by an impressive performance in the first phase of local level elections, the Bibeksheel Nepali Party (BNP) is gearing up to file candidacy from a few local units in the second round of polls scheduled for June 28.
CMC awarded Solu Khola hydel project

Sahas Urja Limited, the developer of 86MW Solu Khola Dudhkoshi Hydroelectric Project has awarded the construction contract of the project to CMC Ravenna of Italy.
Find common ground

Ruling coalition and RJP-N should continue with earnest negotiations to reach a compromise
Gachhadar suggests 3rd phase vote in Province 2

Deputy Prime Minister and Federal Affairs Minister Bijay Kumar Gachhadar on Sunday said the local level elections in Province 2 can be held in a third phase.Talking to journalists in Biratnagar,
Govt requests SC to vacate stay on adding local units

The government has requested the Supreme Court (SC) to vacate its May 26 interim order against a Cabinet decision to increase the number of local level units in Tarai districts.
Icao postpones audit of aviation standards

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (Icao) has postponed the much-awaited audit of Nepals aviation standards as one of the experts is indisposed, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan) said.
Italian, Chinese companies bid for Tanahu contract

Two international companies have submitted bids for the electro-mechanical and hydro-mechanical contract of the Tanahu Hydroelectric Project which is being developed by Tanahu Hydro Limited (THL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA).
MTF submits details for candidate authorisation

Madhes Tarai Forum (MTF) has become the first party to take advantage of the Election Commissions (EC) fresh window for submitting the details of party officials authorised to nominate candidates.
New aircraft purchase: NAC seals Rs12 billion loan deal with EFP

State-owned Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has formally agreed to provide a loan of Rs12 billion to Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) to help the national flag carrier purchase two wide-body Airbus aircraft.
Natl Medical College MD Basharuddin Ansari joins UML

Managing Director of Birgunj-based National Medical College and Teaching Hospital Basharuddin Ansari has joined CPN-UML on Monday.
Police arrest 102 for operating illegal networking business

The Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police has arrested 102 people for operating an illegal networking business.
President to visit Geneva for ILO summit

President Bidya Devi Bhandari will embark on an official visit of Switzerland on Tuesday to participate in the International Labour Organizations World on Work Summit.
RJP-N supporters disrupt CPN-UML programme

Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJP-N) supporters disrupted an election campaign organised by the CPN-UML at Sah Stadium in Rajbiraj on Sunday.
RJP-N ups ante, says it will disrupt polls

Back-to-back negotiations between the governing alliance and the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJP-N) broke down on Sunday following which the agitating party, under the banner of the Sanghiya Gathabandhan, later in the day decided not only to revive but scale up its protests, aiming to disrupt the second phase of local polls scheduled for June 28.
Sri Lankan ambassador pledges support for Lumbini development

Sri Lankan Ambassador to Nepal WS Pereira has pledged his governments support for the development of Lumbini.
StanCharts Marrs arrives in Nepal

Anna Marrs, regional chief executive of Southeast Asia and South Asia and CEO of Commercial & Private Banking of Standard Chartered, has arrived in Nepal on a three-day visit.
Three held with animal parts

Police have arrested two persons in possession of animal parts in Tamghas, the district headquarters of Gulmi.
Times too short to amend the constitution before the polls

While the second phase of local elections are scheduled for June 28, Nepal still remains mired in political uncertainty, with an agreement between the government and the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJP-N) proving elusive.
Two arrested with 1.4 kg illegal gold

A police team deployed from the Metropolitan Police Crime Division (MPCD) on Monday arrested two people for their alleged involvement in smuggling gold.
Zero tolerance against anti-election activities

Seventeen days before the second phase of local polls, the Ministry of Home Affairs on Sunday instructed security bodies to adopt zero tolerance against individuals or groups that stage anti-election activities. The polls are scheduled to be held in four provinces on June 28.
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

View Results
By Damali Mukhaye.

The Minister for Kampala Hon. Betty Kamya has directed traffic police to arrest all tricycle riders commonly known as Tuku tuku that will be found involving in commercial passenger business.

Addressing media today at her office, the minister said Tuku tukus are not licensed to carry passengers but are only licensed to operate in industrial areas to carry goods.

Tukutuku drivers have on several occasions crushed with other transporters especially taxi Drivers and the most recent was today morning along the Nateete Nakawuka road.

Meanwhile, the minister has also tasked police in one week to give her a report on the various violence that have been going on between taxi Drivers and the real master minders to see if they have been brought to book.
By Ssebuliba Samuel

Uganda police has teamed up with the UPDF 4th division to restore peace in Apaa tribal conflicts between Madi and Acholi people in west Nile.

These conflicts that started on 7th this month have so far left 8 people dead, while many are still nursing wounds in Lachor hospital and Pabbo heath center.

Speaking to media today, Asan Kasingye the police spokesperson said that they have divided the area into operations sectors that are under to be the command of field force unit in additions to setting up of two police stations.

He said that no suspect has so far been arrested but missive deployment is being made ensure a conflict free environment.
By Moses Kyeyune

The Government Chief Whip, Ruth Nankabirwa has refuted allegations that sections of NRM lawmakers are soliciting for money to lift the constitutional age limit for the president.

Nankabirwa has been addressing the media this afternoon at the Office of the Prime Minister where she said the reports are false.

There have been media reports that some ruling party law makers had mounted pressure on both the Chief Whip and President Yoweri Museveni asking for between Shs 300-600 million to lift the mandatory 75 age cap for the president.

The party had scheduled a retreat for this week at the National Leadership Institute in Kyankwanzi but this has been called off.

For long there has been speculation that such a decision will be made during one of the partys retreats.

Nankabirwa says that the decision to postpone the retreat was agreed upon by all members and new dates will be communicated in due course.
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to form
The event took place in one of the most beautiful buildings in Dubai - the Concert Hall of the Association of Culture and Science.
A camper and truck were a total loss Thursday after they caught fire in Black River Falls.

The fire was reported by a neighbor because the owner was not present at the time of the fire.

The camper was hooked to the truck and was parked in the driveway next to the owners home. The vinyl siding on the home and the garage door have heat damage.

The cause of the fire is undetermined.
President Donald Trump plans to visit Waukesha County Technical College on Tuesday as part of his administrations week-long focus on national workforce development issues.

The presidents emphasis on concerns raised by CEOs across the country, that there are some 6 million job vacancies  the highest since the 1980s  largely due to a lack of qualified workers, echoes a similar focus on workforce development in Wisconsin by Gov. Scott Walker.

Walker will join Trump for the tour of Waukesha County Technical College and for a discussion with local business owners, teachers and apprentices.

Walker also will be one of eight governors participating in a White House discussion about workforce issues on Thursday with Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta and daughter Ivanka Trump.

Trump also plans to attend a fundraiser for Walker on Tuesday evening in southeastern Wisconsin. Tickets are $1,000 each and a photograph with Trump costs $10,000, according to an invitation obtained by The Associated Press. The location is being disclosed only to ticket buyers.

In a conference call with reporters, Ivanka Trump and Acosta, who will also come to Waukesha on Tuesday, discussed the need for government and the private sector to work together on helping more students pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math fields, as well as technical education.

In recent decades, there has been great focus on the importance of four-year education, higher education, Ivanka Trump said. And the reality is that that is not the right path for everyone. While it is the right path for many, it is not for everyone.

Acosta said that in a recent survey, nearly 95 percent of CEOs reported having trouble filling vacancies. The U.S. unemployment rate is 4.3 percent. In Wisconsin, its 3.2 percent, nearly an all-time low.

Acosta said there needs to be a greater emphasis on apprenticeship programs, which could also help close the skills gap for women and minorities. He said of the 6 million vacant jobs in the country, many are in manufacturing, IT and health care. He said nine out of 10 graduates of apprenticeship programs find work right away and the average starting salary is $60,000, which is higher than the average for college graduates.

Reed Cordish, a senior aide to the president, said the White House in the upcoming week plans to announce highly substantive actions it will take. Also, Trump will deliver a major policy speech on the issue on Wednesday.

Wisconsin has been a leader in creating the ecosystem of local government working with technical schools in partnership with the private sector, Cordish said. In this regard, the Waukesha County Technical College is the perfect location for the president to visit and for the administration to learn from.

Democratic Party of Wisconsin chairwoman Martha Laning highlighted a recent federal report that showed Wisconsins job creation through December was the lowest of Walkers six years in office.

Throughout his two terms, Gov. Scott Walker focused on giving massive tax giveaways to millionaires and out-of-state corporations, Laning said. The same failed ideas of the last six years dont need to be duplicated at the federal level. Wisconsinites need an economy that works for them all  not just those at the very top.
On the second day of the International Conference on the Belt and Road and Macaus Development, several participants voiced their opinions regarding the construction of the Belt and Road project in cooperation with the Portuguese-

speaking countries.

Proposed by China in 2013, the Belt and Road initiative refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, aiming at building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes of the Silk Road.

Lai Xiaomin, Party Committee Secretary and Chairman of the China Huarong Asset Management, on Friday said, Macau can expand the asset management cooperation [] and greatly develop the financial leasing business. Lai noted that the latter grows the quickest among the worlds financial businesses.

Fu Jianguo, Managing Director of Nam Kwong Group, talked about how his company can contribute to the construction of the Belt and Road initiative with respect to the Portuguese-

speaking countries.

According to Fu, Nam Kwong has a long history of communicating and working with the Portuguese-speaking countries, culturally and economically. Furthermore, he said that as a leading Chinese company in Macau, the Nam Kwong Group has also conducted a great number of interactions with Portuguese governmental departments.

Fu believes that Macau needs to find the right door through which to build itself as a communication platform serving the countries involved in the Belt and Road project.

Lei Heong Iok, president of the Macau Polytechnic Institute, pointed out that the relations between China and eight Portuguese-speaking countries have become closer following the trend of globalization.

Lei remarked that the Portuguese-speaking countries are mainly developing countries, and like the merging market, they all hope to have a good cooperative relationship with China.

In the professors view, the key area in which Macau should play a strategic role is in creating the necessary conditions and services for the economy and trade development between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries to prosper.

Lei suggested that the region should coordinate well Macaus higher education institutions, [] developing a respectable Portuguese teaching.

According to Zhang Shuguang, Rector of the City University of Macau, the city can also act as a think tank encouraging all Portuguese-speaking countries and regions to participate in Belt and Road cooperation.

Mok Chi Wai, the president of the Macao Youth Federation, noted that Macau has a big development space in terms of cultural exchange, especially in regard to human resource communication between the youth and youth associations.

Sitou Tek lam, founder of the Belt and Road Scholarship Fund of Indonesia, explained what Macau can do to contribute to the Belt and Road strategy in terms of education.

Macau has many universities and high level education institutions. They can recruit more Asian students to study in Macau and provide job opportunities for the students when they graduate from these Macau institutions, said Sitou, adding that Macau can settle job displacement institutes to help Asian graduate students find jobs in Macau.

Mainland, Macau to upgrade CEPA

The Chinese mainland and Macau are negotiating on comprehensively upgrading the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangements (CEPA), which are expected to be completed at the end of this year, a senior official confirmed during the Conference on the Belt and Road and Macaus Development. A meeting was held between representatives from Chinas Ministry of Commerce and the local governments Economy and Finance officials to negotiate on the terms and content of CEPA, especially those concerning guaranteeing investment, and deepening economic and technical cooperation, according to a press release on Friday. The mainland and Macau signed CEPA in 2003 in order to forge closer ties. In both 2014 and 2015, new agreements were signed under the framework of CEPA between them with the aim of further liberalizing trade in services.

Helping the MSAR to go global

The Belt and Road initiative will promote Macaus industrial diversification and help it go global, Hao Yufan, dean of Faculty of Social Sciences of University of Macau, told Xinhua.

Hao said Macau was an important stop along the ancient Maritime Silk Road and it will continue to play an important role in the development of Belt and Road: the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road in particular.

Macau has unique geographical and language advantages, and it can take advantage of the one country, two systems principle in the development of the Belt and Road initiative he added.

The region should assume the role as the communication center as it is a place where eastern and western cultures meet, Hao suggested.
Fighting to save his job, Brazilian President Michel Temer has received a huge boost from a decision by the countrys top electoral court to reject allegations of illegal campaign finance and keep him in office.

The Superior Electoral Tribunals 4-3 vote late Friday gave Temer a lifeline amid widespread calls that he resign in the face of a corruption scandal.

Last month, a recording emerged that apparently captured Temer endorsing hush money to ex-

House Speaker Eduardo Cunha, a former Temer ally serving 15 years in prison for corruption and money laundering. Soon after, details of another bombshell emerged: that Temer was being investigated for taking bribes.

Temer has denied wrongdoing and vowed to stay in office. However, the fallout from the scandals was so great that many observers expected that the electoral court judges would be swayed to remove Temer from office over unrelated campaign finance allegations. While in theory Brazilian justices are impartial, in reality they are often highly political. Indeed, two of judges who voted in Temers favor were his appointees.

While Temer is hard for many people to digest, he will likely remain in office, said Alexandre Barros, a political risk consultant with the Brasilia-based firm Early Warning. Instability is bad for everybody. So many will say at this point, If we have to pay the price for sticking with Temer, lets do it.

While Temer has crossed a huge hurdle to staying in power, he is still facing threats on many fronts. The attorney general is considering pressing charges against him for allegedly receiving bribes, over the audio recording and for allegedly trying to obstruct a colossal investigation into billions of dollars in inflated contracts and kickbacks to politicians. Temers approval rating is hovering around 9 percent and he has a tenuous hold on his ruling coalition.

The campaign finance case was filed shortly after the 2014 presidential election by one of the losing parties. It alleged that the ticket of President Dilma Rousseff and running mate Temer, then the vice presidential candidate, gained an unfair advantage through illegal campaign contributions. Temer took over the presidency last year after Rousseff was impeached and removed for illegally managing the federal budget.

The campaign finance allegations were bolstered in recent months by stunning testimony from plea bargains signed by current and former executives at the construction giant Odebrecht, a company at the center of a colossal investigation into billions of dollars in inflated contracts and kickbacks to politicians. The executives described tens of millions of dollars in bribes and illegal campaign contributions, including to the Rousseff-Temer ticket.

Over four days of deliberations, the judges argued about whether those plea bargains should be considered in their decision. They also clashed over the strength of the original evidence and whether punishments should be doled out when illegal campaign finance was widespread.

A guilty verdict would have annulled the 2014 victory, thus stripping Temer of the rest of his mandate. It could also have also made both Temer and Rousseff ineligible to take office for eight years. While Temer had vowed to appeal any conviction, it would have weakened his hand in a climate of corruption scandals and a public furious at politicians.

Even the rocks know that the political environment is contaminated. Now is the time for the rescue, said Judge Luiz Fux, voting to remove Temer.

Napoleao Nunes Maia argued the court should not have an activist role.

Electoral justice cant be used as a third round of elections without violating the electoral order, said Maia, adding that a lack of moderation would risk annihilating the sovereign will of the people.

Claudio Couto, a political science professor at Fundacao Getulio Vargas, a Sao Paulo-based university and think tank, called the court decision demoralizing for ignoring evidence against Temer. Couto also said that more scandals are likely to hit the administration, which has lurched from one crisis to another over the last year.

But for now, the trend seems to be a weak Temer administration going forward, with little chance of passing any meaningful measures, said Couto.

While Temer has survived another day, the future will be difficult.

His already very low popularity has plunged further amid the corruptions allegations. A Temer ally and former congressman, captured on video by federal police carrying a suitcase full of bribe money, was recently jailed  and any testimony he provides could further implicate Temer.

The main parties in Temers coalition have stuck with him so far, but there are reports of worry in the ranks that being associated with his government could be detrimental to re-election campaigns next year.

Temers strongest claim to stay in power is the argument that he can deliver major reforms to labor laws and the countrys pension system. While deeply unpopular among Brazilians, many economists say they are necessary to help pull Latin Americas largest nation from recession.

Temer will argue, Im the guy who is going to give the country the bitter remedy that will cure it, said Carlos Manhanelli, political marketing specialist and chairman of the Brazilian Association of Political Consultants. Peter Prengaman, Mauricio Savarese, AP
Japans parliament on Friday passed a law allowing Emperor Akihito to become the countrys first monarch to abdicate in 200 years, but put off a debate over how to tackle the shrinking royal population and whether to allow women to ascend the throne. In veiled language, the 83-year-old emperor expressed his wish to abdicate last August, citing his old age and health. Under the law enacted Friday, his abdication must take place within three years.

Australia decides to toughen parole laws

Australian government leaders on Friday agreed to toughen parole laws in response to a siege this week in which a gunman who once trained with Muslim extremists killed an apartment building receptionist and wounded three police officers months after being released early from prison. Federal and state government leaders agreed at a summit to change Australias laws so that extremists were less likely to be freed on bail when charged or on parole after serving a minimum prison sentence.

Key rebel leader reportedly dies in Myanmar



The leader of a key insurgent group in Indias remote northeast has died in a hospital in Myanmar nearly two years after he called off peace talks with the Indian government, an official said Saturday. Nagaland state police chief L.L. Doungel said S.S. Khaplang, head of a faction of the separatist National Socialist Council of Nagaland, died of renal failure Friday in Taga region, his outfits headquarters. He was 77. Doungel said his information was based on intelligence reports. Khaplang called off peace talks with India in 2015 after 14 years of futile negotiations and resumed his fight for an independent Naga homeland.
The latest notice from the Guangdong Marine and Fisheries Inspection Bureau indicates that the water near Macaus coastline was of poor quality in 2016. According to the report, which discusses Guangdongs marine environment last year, the poor water quality stems from sewage disposal. An expert from the Guangdong department said that the low quality water was related to excessive discharges originated from domestic and industrial sewage. The disposal exits of more than 20 out of Macaus 74 sewers discharged excessive sewage. As for wildlife in the region, the report said the chance of seeing dolphins in the Pearl River Delta decreased, with only 1,890 dolphins spotted.

90pct support e-payment services

A survey featuring the publics stance on vendors installing e-payment systems revealed that more than 90 percent of local residents (excluding vendors) support the idea. The Mutual Assistance Association of Vendor Affairs, which recently conducted this survey, interviewed 537 residents and 698 vendors in total. Approximately 75 percent of the interviewed residents have had an e-payment experience before. Around 50 percent of vendors operating inside big markets do not agree with the adoption of e-payment due to costs and to technological and safety issues regarding the payment. The same opinion is shared by nearly 60 percent of vendors not running their businesses in a big market.

Real estate industry calls for less interference

The Association of Property Agents and Realty Developers of Macau suggests the government needs to avoid excessive administrative interference over the real estate industry. The president of the association, Ung Choi Kun, declared that private housing should be driven by a free market. The association claimed that the government should work on how to balance supply and demand in the real estate industry, along with a focus on proper urban design.

Police arrested 74 in Friday night crackdown

In the latest round of Thunderbolt 17 raids, police arrested 74 individuals in casinos and night clubs in Macau on Friday night. Some 200 police officers took part in the casino and night club inspections across the city. According to the police, seven of those arrested had illegally overstayed their visas. The Thunderbolt 17 operation, which was launched in March by the Macau, Hong Kong and Guangdong police authorities, was designed to combat illegal activities like drug trafficking, human trafficking and loan sharking. To date, the joint security forces have cracked down on approximately 70 cases of drug trafficking and 200 cases of loan sharking.

Man found dead in UM campus lake

The corpse of a local man was found in an artificial lake at the University of Macau (UM) on Friday morning, public broadcaster TDM reported. According to TDM, police representatives said that a student discovered the man, aged 55, at around 10 a.m. and alerted the relevant authorities. The man was pulled from the lake and taken to the hospital for medical treatment, but was pronounced dead shortly after. According to the Judiciary Police, the man was not carrying identification when his body was discovered, but was in possession of a motorcycle key. A helmet was also found nearby. Police authorities said that they are currently investigating his death.
Jack Mas net worth surged USD2.8 billion overnight as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. forecast sales growth that topped every analysts estimate, despite Chinas decelerating economy.

Ma, 52, is now the richest person in Asia and 14th wealthiest in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His net worth has climbed $8.5 billion this year to $41.8 billion.

The latest surge came after Chinas largest e-commerce company forecast 45 to 49 percent revenue growth in the year ending March, demonstrating how investments beyond online shopping are paying off. Shares in Alibaba, where Ma is chairman, rose 13 percent to a record high.

Alibaba and Tencent Holdings Ltd.  which dominate online shopping and social media, respectively  have ventured deeper into new areas from cloud computing services to streaming music and video as the countrys economy slows. Alibaba is capturing more digital advertising spending by incorporating social elements such as video in its shopping sites.

On Friday, Ma said he wasnt going to discuss corporate forecasts. He took the stage instead to describe how his company had become effectively the worlds 22nd largest economy  just after Argentina  in terms of transactions by never fearing to think big. The former English teacher, who said Alibaba revises 10-year plans annually, foresaw the company becoming the fifth-largest eventually by 2036 by serving a burgeoning Chinese middle classes, taking advantage of global trade and making use of its valuable trove of data. MDT/Bloomberg
The Macau Military Club is celebrating its 147th anniversary, coinciding with the 19th edition of the Portugal Food and Wine Festival.

The pastel pink building, located on Avenida da Praia Grande, was originally constructed in 1870 as a private military club. Designed in Portuguese neo-classical style, like many other structures around Senado Square and Tap Seac Square, the buildings facade features Chinese and Western decorations.

As part of the celebrations, the Club is organizing the Portugal Food and Wine Festival  Spring 2017, which is now in its 19th edition, having first been held in December 1999.

This year, the Festival will be held until June 19 and will be marked by the presence of two prestigious chefs from Portugal, Jose Julio Vintem and Catarina Ponce Alvares, according to a statement released by the organization.

As traditional during the Festival, a buffet of more than 60 different Portuguese wines  including whites, reds, roses, muscats, and ports  will be served, as well as snacks prepared under the chefs supervision.

According to organizers of the Festival, the event is an important initiative of the Club that meets the objectives of providing specialized training of Portuguese gastronomy to the Clubs restaurant staff.

Also as in previous anniversary celebrations, this years commemoration featured last week the opening of an art exhibition. The exhibition, simply titled Portuguese Painting Exhibition, runs until June 24 and features selected works by Alfredo Luz, Cruzeiro Seixas and Joao Paulo.

Both the exhibition and the Festival will be featured as part of the Month of Portugal program. The program, designed by several Portuguese-led institutions in the MSAR, was inaugurated last year with the aim of strengthening Portugals cultural presence in Macau.

After decades of struggling financially, the Macau Military Club was finally restored in 1995 and reopened as a restaurant and bar, which today hosts regular events and exhibitions.

With the sponsorship and support of Chinese civil society, the Club was able to re-found itself, Manuel Geraldes of the Macau Military Club told Jornal Tribuna de Macau this week. It has been maintained with plenty of energy and activity, being today an important place in terms of culture, meeting, and gastronomic offerings. It is without a doubt a place of reference in the MSAR.

According to a wall plaque at the Club, the financial contributors to the 1995 refurbishment included casino magnate Stanley Ho, former chief executive Edmund Ho, patriotic Chinese entrepreneur Ma Man Kei and Ng Lap Seng, who is currently standing trial in New York over allegedly bribing United Nations officials.

The Club was founded in 1870 during the tenure of Antonio Sergio de Sousa as the Portuguese Governor of Macau. Sousa was the immediate predecessor to the more famous Januario Correia de Almeida, who served as the local governor between 1872 and 1874, and is remembered, according to some, for defending the city of Macau from an invasion of Chinese pirates.
A Hong Kong-based martial arts stunt performer, who had been missing for four days, was found over the weekend in a coma at a Macau hospital.

Thirty-one-year-old kung fu stuntman Li Bo Lun, who worked at Ngong Ping 360 cable car company on Lantau Island, had not been contacted since June 4, the last time he was seen by his colleagues.

The South China Morning Post, citing Lis employer, reported on Saturday that he had been found hospitalized in Macau.

Li was found at a Macau hospital and is now in a coma, a spokesperson for the company told the SCMP. His employer, the Hong Kong Professional Performing Arts Center, has reached out to his family to provide assistance.

The Arts Center, a production company that holds and produces kung fu-related shows and feature films, initially contacted Lis family to alert them after he had failed to show up for work.

His family then appealed to the public through social media for information on Lis whereabouts and filed a police report after he missed a second consecutive day of work.

Although Lis passport was not with him when the 31-year-old went missing, he would not have required it to enter Macau or mainland China, providing that he had his identity card or China travel permit.

Members of Lis family had requested entry and exit records from the police to try to determine whether he had left Hong Kong.

My son is safe now and we have lots of issues to deal with at the moment, Lis father said, as cited by the SCMP on Saturday.
Training and developing local micro, small and medium enterprises has always been an initiative of Sands China, aiming to assist such enterprises in growing their sales and expanding their scope of contribution to the casino operator.

To provide a platform for local SMEs to showcase their products and services to potential users and buyers, the gaming operator has gone the extra mile to support local enterprises.

A local construction and design company, Masterpieces Design, is one of the many local and Made-in-Macau companies the gaming operator has assisted and educated in matters of business.

Jess Ieng, executive director of Masterpieces Design, established the company with a business partner in 2012. The enterprise has three major businesses, namely interior design, construction design, and the supply of construction materials.

Currently, the firm provides interior design services to hotels and apartments, with some of its designers based in Macau, while others reside in mainland China and Malaysia.

Ieng seized the opportunity to establish the firm as there was a demand back then for interior designers and construction supplies, as several residential houses were being built.

Upon entering the market, the company faced several challenges such as a lack of human resources, as according to Ieng, there are few professional designers in Macau. To meet the companys needs, Ieng was required to import labor.

One of Masterpieces Designs goals is to continually import more materials and expand its construction services offering. As the construction projects are labor-intensive, the entrepreneur hinted that they mainly focus on construction, interior, and architectural design.

However, managing the firm was not as easy as it seemed, as there were challenges in cost control, he said.

The executive director shared how the firms partnership with Sands China began and how it has impacted the company in acquiring needed knowledge and support.

Masterpieces Design has been supplying marble to Sands Cotai Central for nearly a year, with assistance from the gaming operator along every step of the procurement process.

I would like to thank Sands China because not only have I had the opportunity to work with Sands China but the procurement team explained to the firm how to do each procedure and each step, said the executive director.

With the supportive feedback and assistance from the gaming operator, the entrepreneur firmly holds that Sands China has contributed to the overall growth of his company.

According to Ieng, as Sands China mandates particular requirements and standards in their procurement process, Masterpieces Design has sought to learn some of these operating procedures from the more established enterprise.

We can learn from each opportunity because our company is too young for each [procurement] step, the entrepreneur added.

The construction and design company is still facing challenges with the lack of human resources in its construction team.

Professional construction labor in Macau is lacking and ageing; not many young guys would like to do this job. So, the only way is to import some labor from overseas or in China; so the cost will go down for the clients as well, the entrepreneur explained.

Yet the executive director added that the government has always been supportive of local enterprises by easing and facilitating the terms of loans to such firms. This might include providing them access to interest-free loans of MOP600,000 for up to eight years.

With the continuous support of Sands China to local SMEs, Masterpieces Design is only one of the many companies who have benefited from the gaming operators programs for young entrepreneurs and micro-enterprises.

The gaming operator is offering more business opportunities to SMEs, micro-enterprises, young entrepreneurs, and Made-in-Macao enterprises, through its preferential treatment of local firms.

One of Masterpieces Designs goal is to continually import more materials and to expand its construction services offering. As the construction projects are labor intensive, the entrepreneur hinted that they mainly focus on construction, interior, and architectural design.

Further, Ieng added that the Sands China Supplier Awards is inspiring local enterprises to pursue excellence in the services they provide, which enhances the companys credibility.

Thats a very good initiative and its a good encouragement for the suppliers, she said.

It shows the significance of Sands China on how they work with the suppliers, and also during the dinner or the event, any problems or any issues they can raise and also exchange thoughts, he continued.

Just last month, the gaming operator conducted back-of-

house roadshows for local SME suppliers.

Held at Sands Macao, The Venetian Macao, Sands Cotai Central and The Parisian Macao, the roadshows, organized by two local enterprises, sold over MOP1.1 million in products to Sands China team members.

Since 2011, roadshows like these have been held regularly for Sands China team members, averaging one roadshow every three months. They benefit SMEs by giving them access to direct business opportunities with customers while giving Sands Chinas nearly 30,000 team members a chance to enjoy discounted offers.

According to Sands China, the scheme demonstrates its commitment to supporting local enterprises as part of the companys corporate social responsibility efforts.

It is part of Sands Chinas supplier relationship management strategy, under which the gaming operator views its suppliers as its strategic partners.

This article is sponsored by Sands China Ltd.
The lights of the high-end boutiques and bars of Tokyos Ginza neighborhood may someday be powered by coal burned more than 2,700 kilometers away in Mongolia, electricity zipping over ultra-high voltage lines across deserts and under seas.

Thats the idea behind plans in Asia for so-called super grids, sending power from countries with relatively few people but lots of wind, sun and fossil fuels to distant electricity-hungry population centers trying to keep up with demand. Mongolia, desperate to make more of its abundant resources as it seeks to revive its flailing economy, aims to make that vision a reality through one of the worlds most ambitious power projects.

The landlocked nation is considering a USD7 billion plan to build coal, wind and solar plants that could send electricity across China, Russia, South Korea and Japan, according to Tamir Batsaikhan, a project director with the Shivee Energy Complex. Its just one concept of how to connect power markets across Asia, where demand is forecast by BMI Research to grow 3.5 percent annually through 2026.

At a 30,000-foot level youd be hard-pressed to argue against it, said Simon Powell, head of Asian utilities research at UBS Group AG in Hong Kong. Its not technically impossible to build an Asian power grid, but there are difficulties.

While the regions biggest economies, led by China, throw their support behind the projects, the challenge of moving electricity from one country to another  from the differences in voltages and price to worries about relying on neighbors for power  may mean Mongolias vision remains just a dream.

A feasibility study on Mongolias proposed 5,280-megawatt Shivee project, which is backed by state-run investor Erdenes Mongol LLC and the countrys energy ministry, is expected by the end of this month, said Tamir. State Grid Corp. of China is carrying out the study and talks with potential buyers would only start after its completion, he said.

State Grid, one of the worlds biggest power distributors, and Japans SoftBank Group Corp., as well as partners in South Korea and Russia, are a few of the main drivers behind the latest ideas to develop a power grid spanning northeast Asia. State Grids former chairman, Liu Zhenya, floated an even grander plan almost two years ago for a global network to transmit electricity from continent to continent by 2050 at a cost of $50 trillion.

The energy demands of the next three decades will be astronomical, Liu, now chairman of the Beijing-based Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization, wrote in a Bloomberg View column in April. We will need to power  mainly cleanly  at a scale and for a range of uses we cannot yet fully imagine.

While Liu has moved on to GEIDCO, where SoftBanks chief Masayoshi Son is vice-chairman, State Grid continues to promote super grid proposals. The companys chief engineer, Zhang Qiping, said in November that China can export surplus power to India and Southeast Asia. A global network also dovetails with Chinas One Belt, One Road program, President Xi Jinpings cornerstone trade initiative to connect Europe, Asia and Africa through infrastructure and investment.

State Grid is definitely trying to think big with global energy interconnection, said Justin Wu, the Asia head of Bloomberg New Energy Finance. But in the meantime, were likely to see projects that will take this on incrementally, building smaller pieces of the puzzle that will fit into this bigger picture of interconnection.

While State Grid has built 10 transnational power transmission lines that include links to Russia, Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan, those interconnects are less about transmitting large amounts of power and more about stabilizing the network, according to UBS Powell.

State Grid didnt reply to emails seeking comment, while Korea Electric Power Co. declined to comment. Russias Rosseti PJSC is in discussions with partners from China, South Korea and Japan about establishing bilateral energy ties and developing major Asian energy ring, said Konstantin Petukhov, deputy director general for development. The company is also in talks with the Mongolian government about building a new power grid, which could be linked internationally, he said.

SoftBank places importance on renewable energy, and a super grid that extends from Mongolia to Japan fixes the problem of security of supply, as the sun is always shining and the wind is always blowing somewhere, Spokesman Kenichi Yuasa said by email, adding that the company isnt involved in the Shivee Energy Complex.

Such a network faces multiple obstacles, including the challenge of linking different grids and infrastructure and deciding how the power would be priced, according to analysts at UBS and Wood Mackenzie Ltd. Some countries may also worry about becoming too reliant on imported power or technology from China, which has faced resistance in Australia and the U.K. over investments in their electricity infrastructure.

Countries may become cautious about taking Chinese technology, worrying this could endanger their own power system security or even national security, said Frank Yu, principal consultant on China and North East Asia power at Wood Mackenzie.

GEIDCOs chief Liu has voiced support for moving electricity from Mongolia and northeast China to Japan and South Korea, according to a January statement sent by the organization in response to a request for comment.

Other potential transmission projects cited by GEIDCO include sending hydropower from Chinas Yunnan province and thermal power from the countrys north to Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam and Bangladesh; hydropower from Tibet to India and Bangladesh; coal, wind and solar power from western Chinas Xinjiang region and coal-fired electricity from Kazakhstan to Pakistan.

While these projects help China solidify its relationships with neighbors, as well as other Belt and Road countries, the Shivee project in Mongolia is one way to aid an economy thats forecast by the World Bank to contract 0.2 percent this year. Constructing Shivee would create 25,000 jobs over five years and may increase gross domestic product by 4 percentage points annually during that period, according to an August GEIDCO statement.

With abundant resources of cheap energy coal, which is not so much profitable to transport, it makes sense to export the final product, electricity, said Khashchuluun Chuluundorj, an economist at the National University of Mongolia. Michael Kohn, Stephen Stapczynski, Bloomberg
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has denied plotting to topple Prime Minister Theresa May, whose hold on power remained tenuous yesterday as she tried to finalize a deal with a small Northern Irish party to prop up her minority government after a disastrous election.

Former Treasury chief George Osborne  who was fired by May last year  called her a dead woman walking, and opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn said he was ready to contest another election at any time.

Johnson, one of the Conservatives most popular politicians, tweeted that an article in the Mail on Sunday newspaper headlined Boris set to launch bid to be PM as May clings on was tripe.

I am backing Theresa May. Lets get on with the job, he said.

The Conservatives lost their parliamentary majority in Thursdays election. May called the snap vote in a bid to strengthen her mandate ahead of exit talks with the European Union. Instead, she has left Britains government ranks in disarray, days before the divorce negotiations are due to start on June 19.

Mays party won 318 seats, 12 fewer than it had before the snap election, and eight short of the 326 needed for an outright majority. Labour surpassed expectations by winning 262.

Many senior Conservatives say May should stay, for now, to provide stability. But few believe she can hang on for more than a few months.

I think her position is, in the long term, untenable, Conservative lawmaker Anna Soubry told Sky News. I just dont see how she can continue in any long-term way.

May called the election to win explicit backing for her stance on Brexit, which involves leaving the EUs single market and imposing restrictions on immigration while trying to negotiate free trade deal with the bloc. Some say her failure means the government must now take a more flexible approach to the divorce, potentially softening the exit terms.

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, who took the party from one Scottish seat to 13, said there would now have to be consensus within the country about what it means and what we seek to achieve as we leave.

To stay in power, the Conservatives are seeking support from Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party. Mays office said Saturday principles of an agreement had been reached, but the two sides later clarified that they are still talking.

We have made good progress but the discussions continue, said DUP leader Arlene Foster.

Downing Street said it hopes to finalize the deal next week, after Parliament resumes sitting.

The two sides are looking to form a confidence and supply arrangement. That means the DUP would back the government on confidence motions and budget votes, but its not a coalition government or a broader pact.

The alliance makes some modernizing Conservatives uneasy. The DUP is a socially conservative group that opposes abortion and same-sex marriage and had links to Protestant paramilitary groups during Irelands sectarian Troubles.

Conservative lawmaker Nicky Morgan told ITV that she could support a confidence and supply arrangement with the DUP, but any closer deal would be a step too far. AP
President Donald Trump slammed James Comey, days after the fired FBI directors testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee and as Attorney General Jeff Sessions offered to speak to the same panel to answer questions about alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

I believe the James Comey leaks will be far more prevalent than anyone ever thought possible. Totally illegal? Very cowardly! Trump told his 32 million Twitter followers yesterday.

On Friday, Trump said during a news conference at the White House that Comeys Senate testimony a day earlier showed that the president hadnt colluded with the Russian government to rig the 2016 election and hadnt obstructed a federal investigation into the meddling. Trump also said he would 100 percent be willing to testify under oath that he didnt demand a pledge of personal loyalty from Comey.

Sessions late Saturday canceled planned appearances at a pair of appropriations panels on Tuesday, and instead said he would appear before the intelligence committee.

That panel hasnt announced the timing of a hearing with Sessions, though, or said whether he will appear in an open or closed format.

Senator James Lankford, Republican of Oklahoma, said on CBSs Face the Nation yesterday that the committee is still in a final conversation with Sessions but assumes the hearing would be public.

Two leading Democrats, Senator Dianne Feinstein of California and Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, called on Sessions to appear before the Judiciary Committee, which has oversight responsibility for the Department of Justice. You cant run forever, Leahy said in a Twitter message to Sessions. Jeff Sessions, Bloomberg
A surprise rise in U.S. oil inventories sent the market tanking Wednesday when the Department of Energy released its weekly update. Oil had its biggest one-day loss since March, falling to a one-month low near $45 per barrel.

U.S. stockpiles of crude oil, gasoline, and diesel fuel are at historically high levels, which is keeping a lid on fuel prices, even as other global producers are reducing oil output. OPEC nations and Russia have largely been holding to their promise to reduce production, but U.S. producers have been drilling more wells over the last five months, replacing foreign oil with domestic crude.

This has helped to keep energy prices relatively affordable for consumers, with retail gasoline under $2.50 per gallon for most Americans over past two years.

British election turmoil for Tories

In April, British Prime Minister Theresa May called for a snap election to shore up support for her Conservative Party in Parliament. May has been leading Great Britain since the Brexit vote last June and had been expected to gain a mandate in this weeks election.

Instead, her party lost seats and control of Parliament, which may derail Mays bargaining position domestically and with the EU as Great Britain negotiates its exit from the EU.

Market watchers reacted swiftly to the election results, dumping the British pound as they feared a hard Brexit with harsher terms from the EU, knocking the pound near a two-month low at $1.27 early Friday morning.

USDA projects healthy harvest

The USDA updated its monthly supply-and-demand and crop-production reports Friday, showing continued projections for ample corn, wheat and soybean crops this year.

The USDA raised its estimates of grain stockpiles as well, which could continue to put pressure on prices in the coming months, although weather concerns will continue to dominate these markets.

As of midday Friday, July Kansas City wheat was worth $4.55 per bushel, July soybeans stood at $9.40, and July corn carried a value of $3.88.
WENDELL  Draycen Lamm dangled his legs Wednesday while sitting at a desk, mumbling a little as he recited his lines for a play.

Make sure youre not putting your hands in front of your face, former M*A*S*H* actress Connor Snyder told the Wendell boy. She was having trouble hearing the dialogue.

Last week, the Wendell School Districts 21st Century Community Learning Centers program offered a Kids 4 Broadway STEM theater camp for elementary and middle schoolers.

Its a nationwide traveling program to teach children about theater. And this particular camp was focused on science, technology, engineering and math.

A 17-member cast of first through seventh-graders performed The Inventive Inn on Friday for their family members and friends.

The play is about a Midwest family who loses power at their bed and breakfast during a thunderstorm.

Scientists from the past  such as Benjamin Franklin, Sir Isaac Newton and Galileo Galilei  come to visit and explain their inventions.

With nearly 80 percent of Wendell students considered economically disadvantaged, the camp was a chance to try out an activity they may not be exposed to otherwise.

Theyre learning theres just this whole other world out there beyond Wendell, Idaho, said Jennifer Clark, director of Wendells 21st Century program.

Last year, the Wendell School District received $179,550 in federal funding to launch a 21st Century program. Grants are renewable for up to five years.

Students at high-poverty schools have access to academic help, and activities such as dance and robotics.

A handful of other Magic Valley schools, including in Mini-Cassia, also participate in the program.

Wendells after-school program launched in October 2016 and serves about 90 kindergarten through eighth-graders. Theres also a nine-day summer session, which is underway now, that focuses on STEM fields.

The purpose is to keep children engaged and learning over the summer, Clark said.

After receiving an invitation from Snyder to bring the Kids 4 Broadway program to Wendell, Clark decided it would be a good use of some remaining 21st Century funds for this year.

Snyder founded Kids 4 Broadway in 1991. Her theater career has included television show appearances  such as Nurse Able on M*A*S*H in the 1970s  plus time as an HBO writer and producer for The Travel Journal. And she co-starred in a road tour for Marriage Go Round.

She has directed more than 350 childrens theater productions across the United States  mostly, at 21st Century Community Learning Centers and U.S. Air Force Boys & Girls Clubs.

Last week, Wendell students prepared for the play in just five days, from auditions Monday to a performance Friday.

At first, students were hesitant when Clark asked who wanted to audition for the play. Only one student raised their hand.

But once auditions started, the next thing we know, everyone wanted to, she said.

The 52 Wendell students who didnt receive a role in the play did science experiments on stage before the performance.

Middle schoolers, for example, did a demonstration using static electricity from a balloon to turn on a light. Kindergartners showed the audience an experiment using magnets.

Students also helped with creating costumes and props, and ushering and seating audience members before the show Friday.

Theyre just learning about the whole theater experience from a professional actress, Clark said.

Theres a chance one of the children in the summer program may catch the acting bug, she added, and want to pursue that as a career.

Last week, students they participated in other activities during the summer 21st Century program such as physical education, playing board games, doing art projects and visiting the Wendell Public Library.

This week, theyll go on a field trip to Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument and take swimming lessons.

Clark remembers participating in a summer theater program for three years when she was a child. She didnt end up going into acting, but it helped her build confidence.

She hopes Wendells 21st Century program helps children gain similar life skills.

Joanna Jimenez, 11, was nervous to audition for the play. But she was cast as scientist Robert H. Goddard and after a few days of rehearsing, she felt more comfortable.

I just wanted to try it out, she said during a rehearsal Wednesday.

Nearby, 7-year-old Jonah McCarty was wearing a gray wig with curly hair in a ponytail. He played the role of Galileo.

To prepare, he learned scientific information such as about the speed of sound and light.

During a rehearsal Wednesday, Snyder told students: We have to start getting serious, guys. There were only a couple of days left before the performance.
I dont want to exaggerate Donald Trumps importance in last Thursdays snap election in Britain: This was an election about the British economy and the British national interest. But this was also an election that produced some very close results. Had a few hundred votes gone the other way in a handful of constituencies, Theresa Mays Conservatives would still have their parliamentary majority. And so the question has to be asked: On the margins, did President Trump help swing the British election against the Tories? I would argue yesand in three ways.

1. Mays triumphant, lovey-dovey meeting with Trump in January, a few days after the inauguration, paradoxically made her look weak. Having wrenched Britain away from Europe, she seemed to be running to Washington looking for friendsany friends. Her quick announcement of a forthcoming Trump state visit to Britain went down extremely badly: Nearly 2 million people signed a petition against it. A film clip of May holding Trumps handapparently he doesnt like walking down stairsfeatured in a pro-Labour music video and numerous cartoons, also reinforced Mays unpleasant hard-right image. The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, attacked May as an American puppet: Waiting to see which way the wind blows in Washington isnt strong leadership.

2. Trumps vitriolic Twitter attacks on the Labour mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, in the aftermath of the terrorist attack here a week ago made the U.S. president seem even more odious. More to the point, his tweets were denounced (and Khan was praised) by pretty much everybody speaking in any public forum, from television to social media to the local pubeverybody, that is, except May. She dodged questions about Trumps tweets before eventually conceding, rather woodenly, that I think Sadiq Khan is doing a good job and its wrong to say anything else. This didnt go down at all well, especially in London, where Labours numbers were way up.

3. Trumpss well-known views on Europe made the Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, seem more sane and more mainstream than would once have been the case. Corbyn is famously anti-American, anti-NATO and anti-transatlantic alliance, as you would expect given his Marxist past. This should have been a strike against him in Britain, where the alliance with America has historically been popular. But now we have a U.S. president who is also publicly skeptical of NATO, who has little time for the transatlantic alliance, and who is in addition considered here to be incompetent and irresponsible.

To put it differently, it is hard for Conservatives to argue Corbyn is wacky and dangerous when the U.S. president is seen as even wackier and far more dangerous.

Once again: The influence of the U.S. president is not a major factor. But if European leaders facing electorates keep their distance from Trump in the future, dont be surprised.
Probably it had a direct connection to the upcoming gubernatorial campaign, but the May 19 governors order to review occupational licensing in Idaho is a useful idea.

As long as everyone is prepared for some unpredictability.

Lieutenant Governor Brad Little issued the order calling for a review of the licenses during one of the (ever-increasing) days when he was serving as acting governor. The idea is to take a fresh look at all those licenses Idaho, like other states, requires of people in many occupations, from doctors to electricians to cosmetologists. These licenses are set up by the legislature, generally to be governed by specific boardsusually made up mostly of licenseesand only rarely come up for an existential discussion. Never hurts to take a good review and find out where these licensing requirements are still needed, or not, or may need some adjustment.

Those inclined toward a simplistic philosophy might take these licenses, individually or as a group, as a sign of ever-expanding government. But thats not quite the way these things usually happen.

Consider medical licenses, among the oldest of the group. In the United States, the earliest licenses did not come from any government entity, and werent government-enforced; they came from associations of relatively well-educated physicians who would issue licenses as a kind of seal of approval. That was still the case for years after the American Medical Association formed in 1847. Formal licensing, at the state levelrequired licensing that permitted you to practice medicinehappened at the state level later, after strong lobbying from the physicians and their organizations. It did not happen overnight; California, for example, set up its state licensing process in 1901. In Texas, an early effort started in 1837, was killed off a decade later, then sort of revived in 1873.

These changes were accompanied by battles between those who wanted to be regulated (often, those with better credentials and reputations) and those who didnt want to be (often characterized as, though not always, quacks). The battle was not a libertarian-type battle, but a struggle within a profession, over such issues as public safety, bars to entry (fewer licensees can mean a more favorable business position), standards of conduct and more.

Aspects of these issues have surfaced in a whole lot of the calls for licensing, practically all of which have been initiated by people in the profession or occupation being licensed.

(If you want to check out whos licensed in Idaho, you can get a start by going to https://ibol.idaho.gov/IBOL/, the website of the Idaho Bureau of Occupational Licenses, which is devoted to helping many of the boards do their work. A number of licensing offices are located in other places around the web.)

Little noted in his call for a review, Its been nearly four decades since government has taken a look at many of these licenses, and with advancements in technology its time for us to ask: Is it needed? Can we modernize? How can the state provide better customer service? Can government get out of the way and still protect the common good? I dont see this as a knock on government but rather as an opportunity for government to work with citizens, to roll back unneeded regulation, and make our processes more user-friendly.

Those are all fair questions, but dont imagine that the in-professional arguments have all gone away. That said, there may be some usefulness in resurfacing some of them.
Morocco, which has been following with great concern the deterioration in relations between Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt and other Arab countries on the one hand and Qatar on the other has offered its good offices to defuse the tension.

If the parties wish so, Morocco is ready to offer its good offices conducive to a calm, franc and comprehensive dialog on the basis of non-interference in domestic affairs, the fight against religious extremism, clarity in positions and loyalty in commitments, the Moroccan Foreign Ministry said in a statement released Sunday.

The crisis erupted last week after Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain, all three member of the Gulf Cooperation Council, and their allies in the Arab World and Africa severed ties with Qatar, which they accuse of supporting terrorism and siding with Iran.

Besides severing ties with the tiny gas-rich country, the bloc banned all air, land and sea transport with Doha.

Since the outbreak of the crisis between the Gulf countries, King Mohammed VI has maintained close and continuous contact with the different parties to the crisis, the statement said.

Given the strong personal ties of sincere fraternity and mutual esteem between HM King Mohammed VI and his brothers Kings and Emirs of the Gulf countries and taking into account the unique strategic partnership existing between Morocco and the GCC states, Morocco made sure not to indulge in public statements and hasty stands that would only widen the rift and deepen grievances, the statement added.

King Mohammed VI has thus called on all parties to show restraint and wisdom in order to defuse tension, overcome this crisis and definitely settle the causes that led to it, in accordance with the spirit, which has always prevailed within the GCC, the Foreign Ministry underlined.

Morocco, which is strongly linked to the Gulf countries in all fields, is very concerned by this crisis, although it is geographically distant and although it is not directly involved in the row, the statement said, insisting that the North African country has adopted a constructive neutrality that does not confine it to a role of a passive observer of a disturbing escalation between sisterly countries.

Therefore, If the parties wish so, Morocco is ready to offer its good offices and expresses hope that this holy month of Ramadan will inspire everyone to the spirit of solidarity and concord needed to overcome the current divergences so that the GCC remains a model of regional coordination and a driving force of Arab action, the statement said.
Bahrain Central Bank has ordained all banks operating in the tiny kingdom to freeze assets of the 12 organizations and 59 people put on the Qatar-linked terror blacklist.

The central bank issued a directive to all the financial institutions licensed in the kingdom of Bahrain to freeze accounts, cash, deposits, investments, insurance policies and all the financial transactions of the individuals and entities that were on the terrorism list, said state-run news agency (BNA).

The Central Bank also ordered banks to release all information about the individuals and entities named on the blacklist.

Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt Thursday issued a blacklist of 12 organizations and 59 individuals accused of terrorism and links with Qatar.

The list contains 18 Qataris including officials and businessmen. Yusuf al-Qaradawi, chairman of the International Union of Muslim Scholars features on the blacklist.

Qatar Charity, the largest Qatari NGO, as well as Sheikh Eid Al Thani Charitable Foundation and the Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah Foundation have been also put on the black list.

UAE also took similar action on Friday.

Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt severed their diplomatic ties with Qatar and imposed a siege on the tiny Emirate after they blocked access to their air spaces and seas to Qatari planes and ships going to or coming from Qatar.

They have also ordered Qatari residents to leave their territories.
The blast from an explosive device hit late Sunday a police patrol killing a major and wounding two others in the restive Qatif province dominated by Shias who have been staging recurrent protests over marginalization.

State-run news agency SPA citing the interior ministry reports that the blast occurred in the Masoura district of the province.

The police major has been identified as Tareq al-Alaqi. The wounded security forces are in stable condition, the interior ministry noted.

Late last month, another bomb blast in the eastern Awamiya town injured two police personnel; an incident that followed the death of a soldier nearly two weeks earlier. Five other soldiers were wounded in the attack.

Shia militants have been resisting construction and rehabilitation projects in Awamiya, after Saudi authorities decided to raze the old town used by terrorists and gunmen as hideout for illegal activities including drug and arm dealing.

Authorities say old buildings will be replaced by shopping centres, office buildings and green spaces.

The town has been flashpoint between Saudi security forces and the Shia minority, which complains of marginalization. Riyadh muted protests in the area in 2011 as the Shia stood for more rights.

Tensions flared up following the execution of Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr a year ago.
The Libyan armed group Benghazi Defence Brigades (BDB), opposed to Eastern-based Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, has accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of halting peace among Libyans and pointed at its covert plans to dominate the North African country through its ally Haftar.

The BDB has been placed on the blacklist of terror groups issued Thursday by Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt. Five other Libyans have been also named on the list.

The group, which opposes Haftars expanding influence in Libya, pointed out, in a statement, that the UAE was trying to disrupt the 17 February Revolution.

The BDB explained the UAEs influence in Libya through its support for Haftar and establishment of a military base in Cyrenaica.

The UAE has openly expressed its support for Haftar who made several trips to Abu Dhabi. It has supplied the Marshal with military equipment despite the UN arm embargo imposed on the North African country since 2011.

Relatedly, a UN 300-page report obtained by the Middle East Eye (MEE) documents the supply of advanced arm equipment to Haftar.

Helicopters, including a Russia-made Mi-24 Hind gunship, and a single-engine light attack plane have been based in eastern Libya after being transferred from the UAE to the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Haftar, MEE reports.

Over 90 armored personnel carriers and more than 500 other vehicles were delivered to the LNA in the eastern city of Tobruk in April 2016, MEE further notes citing the report.

A US-made warship; AT-802i made by Texas-based Air Tractor Inc, initially sold to UAE has been found with LNA.

Russia has also been accused of equipping Haftar who is reportedly eyeing top political role in Libya.
Iran has snubbed sea and air blockades imposed by Saudi-Arabia-led group and sent food stocks to isolated Qatar as the crisis between the tiny gas-rich country and its neighbors is worsening.

Five planes loaded with 90 tons of food each have been dispatched to Qatar since the beginning of the crisis, last week, Iran Air spokesman Shahrokh Noushabadi told AFP on Sunday.

So far five planes carrying perishable food items such as fruit and vegetables have been sent to Qatar, each carrying around 90-ton cargo, Noushabadi said.

We will continue deliveries as long as there is demand from Qatar, Noushabadi added

Iran is about to send additional three ships loaded with 350 tons of food to Qatar through one of its ports.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt last Monday cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar which they accuse of financing terrorism and side-lining with Iran, their regional rival.

The four countries also imposed air and sea bans to Qatari airplanes and ships coming from and going to the tiny Emirate and ordained Qatari residents to leave their territories within 14 days.

Iran has also allowed more than 100 Qatari flights per day to use its airspace. The move has reportedly increased Iranian air traffic by 17 percent.

Teheran last week urged Qatar and its Gulf neighbors to settle the crisis through dialogue.

Turkey has also send food stocks, mainly milk, yoghurt and poultry, to Qatar to help the Emirate cope with the shortage of commodities entailed by the blockade.
Governor of Qatars Central Bank Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud Al-Thani has released a statement underlining that the ongoing diplomatic rift between Doha and its neighboring Gulf States has not affected its usual operations. The banking transactions and procedures in the State of Qatar continue to be normal, both at the level of local financial transactions and between the Qatari banking sector and foreign banks, he stated.

He urged operators to carry on with their activities as he gave assurances that the liquidity levels in the Qatari banking sector are good and meet all customer requirements.

The statement comes amid unconfirmed reports that the some exchange operators have been faced with a shortage of dollars, potentially affecting remittances by Qatars migrant workforce, estimated at more than two million people. The World Bank estimates that expat workers in Qatar sent home $11.4 billion in 2015.

Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are seemingly determined to force Doha to cut its support to extremist groups, although Qatar flatly denied any connection to terrorism.

Finance Minister Ali Sherif al-Emadi said the restrictive measures taken against Qatar will not be only detrimental to Doha. A lot of people think were the only ones to lose in this If were going to lose a dollar, they will lose a dollar also, he said, explaining the impact of the inter-regional trade that existed between Qatar and the other Gulf States before June 5.

The Finance Minister also refuted speculations that the Qatari Riyal will slide arguing that their reserves and investment funds are more than 250% of the countrys Gross Domestic Product. We are extremely comfortable with our positions, our investments and liquidity in our systems, Minster Emadi boasted.
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.
Moroccos breakthrough in Latin America went a step further this week with the adoption by the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies of a motion formally requesting the Government to support Moroccos endeavors to settle the Sahara issue.

The motion, drafted in the form of a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Aloysio Nunes, formally requested the Brazilian Government to support Moroccos efforts in the process seeking to achieve a Political and mutually accepted settlement to the regional dispute over the Sahara.

The parliamentary motion underlines the relevance of the autonomy initiative for the Sahara, presented by Morocco in 2007, as a basis for a negotiated settlement of the longstanding Western Sahara conflict. The initiative was described by the UN Security Council and world powers as serious and credible.

The autonomy initiative reflects Moroccos serious and credible efforts to move this process forward, the motion notes, adding that the UN Security Council resolution 2351 on the Sahara, adopted last April, backs these efforts.

The motion, tabled at the initiative of Deputy Cleber Verde, leader of the Brazilian Republican Party (PRB, member of the government coalition), deems that regional peace hinges on autonomy to the Sahara population and on granting large legislative and executive powers to them within the framework of Moroccos sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The document welcomes recent initiatives undertaken by Morocco at the level of the regional commissions of the National Council of Human Rights (CNDH) in Dakhla and Laayoune (two main cities in the Sahara), as well as Moroccos cooperation with the Special Procedures of the Council of Human rights of the United Nations.

The text also underscores Moroccos return to the African Union, with the support of the majority of African states, underlining the willingness of Morocco and African countries to build a pathway to peaceful, prosperous relations that stand the test of time.

The motion notes that the Brazilian government, whose international relations are governed by the defense of peace and peaceful resolution of conflicts, has an important role to play in the Sahara issue at the level of world forums.

In another development, Spanish newspaper La Provincia published Friday an analysis on the Sahara issue, underlining the points scored by Morocco.

Morocco, which avoids violent confrontation by opting for negotiations within the framework of the UN, advances and consolidates its support on the Sahara issue, thanks to the leadership of King Mohammed VI, underlines La Provincia.

No one can deny that this policy is producing convincing results, evidenced by the increasing withdrawals of recognition of the SADR (the Sahrawi Republic, self-proclaimed by the Polisario), the paper notes, deeming it is time to arrive at a mutually acceptable political solution to the Sahara issue, in a spirit of realism and compromise.

The Spanish newspaper also commends Moroccos efforts, spearheaded by King Mohammed VI, to strengthen its presence in Africa.

Touching on Moroccos return to the African Union, the paper states that this return opens up broad prospects for the continent in terms of major development initiatives, as the North African country has an ambitious Africa-oriented investment and development program, which will have extremely positive results not only for African countries, but also for Europe.


@PatriciaMazzei

President Donald Trump plans to present his new Cuba policy Friday in Miami's Manuel Artime Theater, the Miami Herald has learned.

The White House apparently picked the venue over the Bay of Pigs museum in Little Havana, which is probably too small to accommodate all of the logistics of a traveling president. The Freedom Tower downtown is unavailable because it is undergoing renovations until November.

On Monday, theater managers notified at least one group -- a ballet school -- that it would have to move its scheduled rehearsal Thursday to accommodate an "emergency meeting" Friday. The Miami Royal Ballet then informed parents the city told them "there will be a White House event at the theater."

The White House has yet to release Trump's schedule. Without confirming the Miami event, a spokeswoman said the Artime theater was one of several locations under consideration.

The Artime theater, a former church, is symbolic for Cuban exiles. Manuel Artime was an exile leader with Brigade 2506, the Bay of Pigs veterans' group that endorsed Trump last October. The community theater frequently houses grassroots events that cannot afford grander venues.

--with David Smiley and Nora Gamez Torres


via @ngameztorres

President Donald Trump is scheduled to announce a revised policy on relations with Cuba on Friday in Miami, but a White House spokeswoman told el Nuevo Herald that Trump had not yet seen the final recommendations following a lengthy review and has not made a decision.

The president has not seen the final proposal and has not approved it. He is a very independent president in his way of thinking and it would not be the first time he throws something back to be reviewed, White House spokeswoman Helen Aguirre Ferre said.

She did say that the Manuel Artime Theater in Little Havana is one of the places the White House has been looking at for events to be held in the city.

The Miami Herald reported Monday that the theater canceled an event on Friday from the Miami Royal Ballet apparently to make way for a White House event.

Among the changes that would be considered by the Trump administration are measures to limit business ventures between U.S. companies and Cuban entities controlled by the military, in particular, those belonging to the conglomerate known as GAESA, the economic arm of the Revolutionary Armed Forces that controls nearly 60 percent of the Cuban economy.

The United States Department of Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is expected to publish a list of Cuban entities controlled by the Cuban military, said John Kavulich, president of U.S. Cuba Trade and Economic Council. Companies could be added to an OFAC blacklist to ban financial transactions involving these companies, he added.

Aguirre Ferre said a proposal to prohibit business with GAESA, is one of the many possibilities discussed. It is being considered as one of the many options.

But almost everything is being looked at.

--NORA GAMEZ TORRES

Photo credit: Getty Images
Michael-in-Norfolk disclaims any and all responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, completeness, legality, reliability, operability, or availability of information or material displayed on this site and does not claim credit for any images or articles featured on this site, unless otherwise noted. All visual content is copyrighted to it's respectful owners. Information on this site may contain errors or inaccuracies, and Michael-in-Norfolk does not make warranty as to the correctness or reliability of the site's content. If you own rights to any of the images or articles, and do not wish them to appear on this site, please contact Michael-in-Norfolk via e-mail and they will be promptly removed. Michael-in-Norfolk contains links to other Internet sites. These links are provided solely as a convenience and are not endorsements of any products or services in such sites, and no information or content in such site has been endorsed or approved by this blog.
Growing up as a farm boy in northeast Texas in the 1940s, Morris Hall took a liking to a group of local domino players known as the spit and whittle club.

Back then, most in the group of old boys had a knife they used for whittling  that seemingly lost art of carving shapes out of wood, or of just cutting shavings off a piece of wood as a pastime. Thats where Hall first became intrigued by knives.

Ive had knives since I was 7 or 8 years old, he said. I always got in trouble for whittling in the house. My sisters would yell at me: What are you doing whittling in here!

Now 74 years old and retired from a lifetime of military service, Hall has gradually amassed a collection of knives so unusual that his inner child must be in a state of pure bliss.

Variety

Hall owns well-known brands like Old Timer, SOG, Case and Buck, but its the off-beat ones that draw a visitors eye.

The nearly 2-foot long Russian Kindjal sword is a replica of the double-bladed, slightly curved knives used by Cossack warriors. Theres a silver commando knife, the same as those used by the 1st Special Service Force, an American-Canadian commando unit known as the Devils Brigade that trained at Helenas Fort Harrison in World War II. The knifes sheath is made to be sewn into clothing for concealment.

I found this one in a pawn shop, Hall said, shaking his head in disbelief. I paid $100 for it, but I wouldnt take that for it now.

Two rows of about two dozen knives are laid out neatly on Halls black granite kitchen counter as he walks through their history: a replica Bowie knife, the large-blades reportedly used by the Texas revolutionary who died in 1836 at the Alamo; a fiberglass two-bladed knife known as the CIA letter opener; and Halls favorite, a one-handed folding pocket knife.

Choose wisely

Since Hall owns so many different kinds of knives, its natural to wonder what he is looking for when he decides to add to the collection.

Just the looks of them, the functionality, he said. Im a traditionalist.

His next target is a Kershaw Leek knife made by A.G. Russell Knives that has an Aztec gold handle.

In his opinion, A.G. Russell makes some of the best knives around, along with Randall Made Knives. They use quality steel, unlike the Damascus blades that look beautiful with their flowing texture but tend to rust, he said.

Everyone has their own formula for steel, Hall said.

The knives have become such a fascination for Hall that he said hes never sold one. The only way his collection dwindles is if he loses a knife, although he did confess to swapping a flint knife with a friend.

Im not much of a trader, Hall said. If I see something I want, I keep it.

No knife heir

Rummaging through drawers as he examined different knives and told their stories, Hall shook his head and recounted how far hes come in life.

I was just a stupid flatlander, he said. The Army was the first place I had good food and a flush toilet. When I was a kid we heated water on a kerosene cook stove for Saturday night baths, and if you were the last one to use the bath water it was pretty dirty.

So living in the jungles of Vietnam during his first stint in the Army wasnt such a big deal to the country boy from Texas. After three years of active duty, though, that had changed.

I had joined up right after high school because I was tired of farming, he said. Then when I got into the Army I wished I was back on the farm.

After leaving his tour in Vietnam he went on to college for an education in medicine and became a physicians assistant, finishing out his 35-year career at the Fort Harrison VA Hospital. Now divorced, he lives with his limping, loudly snoring rescue dog Maggie in a cool, spacious home overlooking sandstone Rimrocks baking in the spring heat and the green band of Alkali Creek below. Curiously, there are no knives on display in his home.

Whos going to want all of this crap? Hall asked no one in particular about his extensive knife collection.

Certainly not his daughter, who is an Army nurse, he confided. Yet hell probably add more knives to his already crowded drawers because perusing the knife magazines, looking at the photographs and reading about their history is a source of pleasure as well as a tie to simpler times on a Texas farm when bath water was heated on a kerosene stove and old-timers still whittled.
"Lets get one thing straight  Im not."

"Two moms are better than one."

"Homosexuals are gay!"

Those, along with a myriad of other handwritten signs, were on display at Missoulas LGBTQ+ Equality march Sunday, when over 100 people walked up and down Higgins Avenue in their ROY G BIV best.

(We wanted it to) be a safe space together with each other and also showing others in the community were here and theyre safe as well, organizer Ilana McCloud said.

A wide array of colorful outfits, accessories, hats, banners and flags well fulfilled the loud and proud requirements.

A fishing pole with a rainbow stars-and-stripes tied on.

Furry boas and rainbow eye makeup.

People should be treated like people, Corina Asper, who was marching with her wife Courtney and their sons, said. Everyone wants to be accepted.

A dog with a rainbow lei around its neck.

Chants of Montana is for lovers" at the corner of Higgins Avenue and West Broadway.

Eileen MacGardner had a hand-sewn rainbow heart banner propped on a bicycle. She usually keeps it hanging on her porch.

I like being a voice of reason, MacGardner said. Reminding people we have things to keep aware of.

Dyed pink hair and a handmade rainbow robe.

Everybody deserves a right to express love however they want, Paul Lenihan said. As long as youre not harming anyone.

A man stood by filming the parade with a camera, proclaiming pro-heterosexual stances like the natural family matters.

Matt Barthuly shot back with, Heterosexuals are not oppressed.

He and his girlfriend Sierra Clark were visiting from Orlando and were pleasantly surprised to run into the parade downtown.

Its awesome to see such a large march for such a small town, Clark said.

The march was in conjunction with the worldwide Equality March, held in well over 100 cities in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Switzerland and Spain.

Its different and Im happy to see this happening in a place like Montana, Hila Tzipora Chase, said.

Missoula scored 100 in LGBTQ equality from the Human Rights Campaign foundation for four years and is generally seen as a liberal center in conservative Montana.

Chase said despite Missoulas reputation, the LGBTQ community here isnt huge.

Theres still lots of work to do, she said. Sexuality is not as represented here as it could be  just as a normalized thing.

Just because Missoula is OK with this doesnt mean its not necessary, Gerard Sapes added.

Metallic silver pants, a velvet purple floppy hat and a cape.

A nearby man said he hoped the parade would bug cisgender people and force them to acknowledge the LGBTQ community.

Harry Kramer thought it was more important to be positive than angry.

Im here as an ally. Im very cis, he said. Its about coming together, supporting each other."
Running a bookstore in 2017 isnt necessarily a sure step in a world driven by online sales, but that didnt keep Mara Panich-Crouch from turning to the next page of her life.

At the end of June, Panich-Crouch will become the general manager of Fact and Fiction books on Higgins Avenue, the 31-year-old establishment that is alive and healthy in a town that loves its books.

I mean, I had my inhibitions at one point, Panich-Crouch said of taking over the store. The local resurgence has done a lot for indie book sellers.

She compared it to trends of national restaurant chains closing locations as people turn to local options in search of higher quality and a more unique atmosphere.

Its the same with buying books, she said.

Though Panich-Crouch envisioned a few different directions her professional life could take, from writer to professor to artist, shes more than happy to be managing a bookstore, a day job that revolves around one of her passions.

A bookstore is very ideal, she said. I love it.

Though much of her job is spent on the computer ordering books, answering emails or setting up book events, Panich-Crouch loves talking with customers, recommending new titles and just being able to have conversations about books every day.

The hardest part of the job so far is guessing what customers would be interested in reading while shes browsing the thousands of new titles available for ordering.

Thats where the Fact & Fiction regulars come in. Panich-Crouch said she gets to know their tastes and orders based on that intuition. She also tries to have variety, so anyone who comes in to try and discover a great read has a good chance.

The store does lots of special orders as well, for people looking for something that isnt available in Fact & Fictions stock of tens of thousands of titles.

Sometimes well end up ordering extras because itll look interesting, Panich-Crouch said.

Her favorite genre is literary fiction, ideally with an absurdist slant, though lately Panich-Crouch said shes reading a lot of dystopian novels.

Its in between hard cover and paperback printings at the moment, but she recommended Underground Airlines by Ben Withers. Its an alternate history of the United States if the Civil War had never taken place and is a good step up for people whove read some of the popular Young Adult dystopian novels.

Panich-Crouch came to Montana after being accepted to the University of Montanas English Literature graduate program.

I didnt apply anywhere east of the Mississippi without mountains, Panich-Crouch said.

Shes come to love the small mountain town, raising her dog Tundra, going on hikes and frequenting the slew of thrift stores in town for funky outfits.

Panich-Crouch met longtime Fact & Fiction manager Barbara Theroux during Panich-Crouch's eight years working on and off at the campus bookstore, for a while as a textbook buyer.

After the Bookstore at the University of Montana bought Fact & Fiction, she and Theroux hit it off and two years ago, when Theroux announced her June 2017 retirement, she brought Panich-Crouch to the downtown store for mentorship.

As the two got to know each other, Theroux saw in Panich-Crouch the ideal person to take over her bookstore.

Shes a reader, shes creative, shes enthusiastic, and most important, "she's younger than me, Theroux laughed.

To Theroux, a mentorship was more purposeful than training or teaching. She wanted to give Panich-Crouch the knowledge to succeed that she didnt have starting out in book sales as a young woman.

I had no background in retail or business, she said of her first bookstore job. I wanted to be able topass along basic information.

Panich-Crouch came to the downtown location in November 2015, Theorux said, and she immediately started learning the ins and outs of ordering for the holidays versus the summer, how many books to order and how to draw people in to the store.

I like that I could say to her, Okay, go out and do something fun and shed go out and make a bookmark or decorate a window, Theroux said.

The last two seasons, Panich-Crouch has largely taken over operations entirely (I havent criticized, Theroux said) and feels comfortable moving on to running the store as Theroux retires.

She knows both sides now, Theroux said. Shes participated as a writer and an artist and a buyer and a bookseller.

Theroux acknowledged that as shes leaving, many customers will be concerned about the store, without its founder for the first time. But shes fully confident in Panich-Crouch.
When I read that British Prime Minister Teresa May said, "Enough is enough," I burst out laughing.

"Teresa May vows a sweeping review of the nation's counter-terrorism strategy."

A sweeping review? Yeah, that'll stop those "radical Islamic extremists." If Barack Obama had just said the magic words, we would have defeated the enemy by now. But no! Obama didn't say it right.

You can call it whatever you want, but the fact is, the countries of the white Christian NATO organization do not, in a civilized manner, know how to stop dark Arab terrorism fueled by revenge and Islam. So far, we and our European allies have been fighting ISIS-inspired domestic terrorists with adjectives.

Twenty two were murdered at a Manchester concert, and apparently that was not enough. A week later, seven are murdered in London and suddenly "enough is enough." Thank God Teresa May finally said it: "radical Islamic terrorism." Now we can move on to that "sweeping review." I'm sure a "sweeping review" will stop those dastardly cowardly evil radical Islamic terrorists.

There will be no answer to terrorism on the home front until the United States Congress and the British Parliament, the real cowards in this saga, declare war on "all enemies foreign and domestic." In a declared war, our rules of engagement change. I'll give Donald Trump and May and Angela Merkel credit when they sign a declaration of war. Until then, have fun mincing words.

"Until they declare war, all white chiefs are blowing smoke." Black Elk

Greg Leichner,

Seattle, Washington
BILLINGS  Livingston Republican Debra Lamm was elected leader of the Montana GOP by party delegates gathered Saturday in Billings, turning back late challenges by conservative radio star Aaron Flint and George Paul of Cascade County.

A former legislator, Lamm made a measured appeal for growing the Republican Party at the local level, while her opponents were more energetic. She won on the first round, indicating that Lamm won at least half the vote. As with past party officer elections, the vote tally wasnt released.

Lamm replaces Jeff Essmann of Billings. Chairman since 2015, Essmann did not seek reelection. A longtime state legislator, Essmann is currently a candidate for Billings mayor.

Republicans are coming off of an historic 2016 near-sweep of state and federal public offices, losing only the governors race in 2016. The victories gave the party control of state trust lands, which are controlled by the elected occupants of the five highest positions in state government. It was the partys best election showing in 90 years with continued majorities in the state Legislature as well. It was followed by the May special election of Greg Gianforte to fill the states only U.S. House seat.

Gianforte unsuccessfully ran for governor last year, losing to incumbent Democrat Steve Bullock.

What are we going to do to win elections? We are on a roll. We have four Land Board seats. We retained our congressional seat. And we have to get together to make sure were ready for 2018 and beyond, Lamm said. How are we going to do that? It is all of you. Its our counties. It is everyone working together.

Lamm sold voting party delegates on her experience working the local-level GOP groups, which shes done for several years. She said county-level GOP groups havent always been used well in promoting candidates, and planned to increase participation at the local level.

This is a grassroots organization. It takes two things. It takes grassroots and it takes money. We will need to do both and I have a plan for that, Lamm said. I have organized people to raise money for us and it will start from the bottom, all the way to the top.

In the Legislature, Lamm spearheaded an effort to repeal national education standards known as the Common Core initiative. Lamm and other Common Core opponents say the standards create cookie-cutter curriculum that erodes local control and doesnt serve every student well.

Flint, a young war veteran and former host of Montanas only statewide political talk radio show, suggested similar goals as Lamm, but delivered his comments with more punch.

We have got to have everybody united and build a fundraising operation and apparatus that will take out Tehran Jon Tester and the Democrats in 2018 and build the momentum to 2020, Flint said.

Tester, Montanas Democratic U.S. Senator since 2007, is up for reelection next year. The senator from Big Sandy unseated the now deceased Conrad Burns in 2006 and fought off former five-term Rep. Denny Rehberg in 2012, but has yet to win 50 percent of the popular vote. One of only two Montana Democrats currently occupying a statewide office, Tester is receiving national attention.

Flint had suggested 2016 lieutenant governor candidate Leslie Robinson of Malta be his vice chair, had he won. Both had roles in Gianfortes campaign for governor.

Leslie Robinson worked her butt off for this state last year and weve been stuck in this purple mud for too long. Its time to make Montana a red state, Flint said.

Paul was most critical of the Montana GOP. The former leader of the Cascade County Republican Central Committee said Republicans didnt have much to show for their years of controlling both branches of the Montana Legislature.

The Republican Party in this state has been in the majority of both the House and the Senate and yet the Democrats won the day, Paul said. The Democrats embarrassed us to death in 2015. Thank God we kind of recovered in 2017.

Paul wasnt specific in his criticism of the 2015 Legislature, but conservatives have criticized GOP lawmakers for not preventing a small group of GOP lawmakers for siding with Democrats to expand Medicaid participation under the Affordable Care Act.

Notable in Gianfortes success in the May 25 special election was the Republican winning Cascade County, one of 13 counties Democrats have needed in the win column to take tight statewide races in the recent past. Cascade County Republicans credited Paul for county-level interest in GOP politics in their region, which is anchored by Great Falls.

Paul called Flint a RINO, short for Republican In Name Only, which drew laughs from Republicans familiar with Flints work on AM radio.

Flint has held several roles within the Montana GOP. He was part of the Conrad Burns reelection campaign that turned back Democrat Brian Schweitzer in 2000. Schweitzer went on to be a two-term Montana governor.

After working on the Gianforte campaign in 2016, Flint was hired to manage former Rep. Ryan Zinkes Montana staff from Billings. Zinke resigned his House seat March 1 to become Interior secretary. Zinkes employees continued to staff those offices after his resignation, but have been overseen by the Clerk of The House of Representatives.

Ravalli County Republican Chairman Terry Nelson was elected party vice chair, replacing Jennifer Fielder of Thompson Falls. Fielder did not seek reelection. Secretary Kris Hansen of Havre was reelected, as was Treasurer Mike Hopkins of Missoula and Assistant Treasurer Dave Lewis of Helena.
Police reports

Shooting at seagulls

Police are looking for two male youngsters who might have shot a seagull on the old ball field to northeast of the Civic Center early Sunday night.

A passerby took a video of the incident with a cell phone and called police around 6:30 p.m. Police say the juveniles may have shot the bird with a BB gun in possible violation of gaming laws.

No tips for you

A Butte man who allegedly took a tip jar from the bar at the Party Palace Saturday morning didnt get far. Police were called and found Layne Wells-Mosca, 25, outside. Video taken inside confirmed that he took it, officers said.

Mosca was booked shortly before 1 a.m. Saturday on misdemeanor complaints of theft and drug possession. He was released later Saturday after posting $2,170 bond. The tip jar was returned to the bartenders.

How did this happen?

A 20-year-old Butte woman got in more trouble than just getting her car stuck on a barrier outside the Montana Tech HPER fitness center early Saturday.

Police say Larissa Sunshine Matt had been drinking when she jumped the barrier around 12:30 a.m.. She failed field sobriety tests at the scene and then blew twice the legal limit at the jail.

She was arrested for aggravated DUI and minor possessing alcohol. She also was booked on complaints of careless driving, open container, driving without a valid license, and not having insurance. All are misdemeanors.

She was still in jail as of early Monday with bond set at $1,910.

No escape

Police arrested a Butte man Sunday afternoon for allegedly barricading a female inside an apartment in the 200 block of South Idaho Street and not allowing her to leave.

The 46-year-old woman told police that Arnold Dean Fosness, 61, barricaded the door around 5:30 p.m. and she feared for her safety. He was arrested on a misdemeanor complaint of partner/family member assault. He was still in jail as of late Monday morning with no bond set yet.

DUI arrest

A Butte man was arrested for DUI shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday.

Police say Edward James Michaud, 57, was pulled over on Galena Street because the tail lights on his car werent working. He failed field sobriety tests at the scene and blew over the legal limit. He was booked for misdemeanor DUI and was released late Sunday morning after posting $685 bond.

Busting windows

Three boys were caught throwing rocks at a bus parked behind the Copper King Inn Sunday afternoon, breaking at least one window. Police cited the boys, one age 13 and the other two age 9, and took them to their parents.
Too often, real policy improvements get drowned out by political talking points. That is the case right now as nearly all of the health care discussion in Montana is about one flawed health care bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.

In the 2017 legislative session, we saw unprecedented bipartisan action to improve health care. Representative Rob Cook (R-Conrad) carried an important bill to allow my team at the State Auditors office to pursue a waiver from the federal government and create a reinsurance system that would have stabilized our insurance market and lowered costs. It passed the Montana House unanimously before politics got involved.

Representative Amanda Curtis (D-Butte) sponsored a great bill to require transparency in health care prices and let patients share in the savings by finding procedures for lower costs from different hospitals. Senator Ed Buttrey (R-Great Falls) carried another bill that would have empowered Montanans with the ability to know the cost of health care procedures.

Another bill, by Senator Cary Smith (R-Billings), would have allowed Montanans to contract directly with their doctors for services. Representative Nancy Balance (R-Hamilton) carried a bill to include Montana in a compact with other states to protect citizens control over health care decisions. Two more bills would have helped small businesses provide health insurance to their employees and allowed Montanans to shop out-of-state for affordable health insurance.

Tragically, Governor Bullock vetoed all six bills that landed on his desk. These bills would have made health care more accessible and affordable, but Bullock chose to obstruct the Legislature and hurt Montanans struggling to make ends meet.

Governor Bullocks refusal to allow Montana to improve its own system makes it all the more important that Congress repeal Obamacare, and do so responsibly. Ive told key congressional leaders that they need to fully fund cost-sharing reduction payments to stabilize the 2018 insurance market and that Obamacare repeal needs to lower costs, give states more flexibility, and give consumers more options to meet their individual health care needs.

Health insurance costs in the United States are on an unsustainable path. Ive heard from hundreds of Montanans who are paying thousands of dollars every year for their health insurance coverage, and thousands more for deductibles before their insurance provides any benefit. Ive spoken at length with Senator Steve Daines about these issues, and hes working hard to address these problems. Even Senator Jon Tester is now admitting that things are wrong with Obamacare and that we didnt make the modifications to fix the problem.

Im glad to see Senator Tester admits that when he cast the deciding vote to pass Obamacare, the law that no one had read was critically flawed from the outset. Im also glad to see hes admitting that he and the rest of the national Democrats did nothing to address these problems and that reforms are way overdue. But Senator Tester needs to do more than just speak, he needs to take action, especially after Governor Bullock thwarted bipartisan health care improvements here in Montana. We can work together to solve these problems and make health care better for all Montanans, but for that to happen, the political obstruction must end.

-- Matt Rosendale of Glendive is Montanas State Auditor, also known as Commissioner of Securities and Insurance.
Recently a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer from Anaconda was named CASA volunteer of the year by CASA of Montana. This deserving individual was praised during the award ceremony for her exceptional work and devotion to the children for whom she advocates. Governor Bullock was among the dignitaries present to congratulate her on her outstanding achievements. Although the accolades were very well deserved, this individual volunteers efforts on the behalf of children in need are not unique. The CASA /GAL (Guardian Ad Litem) program of Deer Lodge, Powell and Granite Counties relies on the volunteer services of 13 individuals who selflessly devote time and energy to helping some of the most vulnerable members of their communities: children who have been abused or neglected.

When one of these children enters the judicial system that child is in need of an advocate who will provide him or her with a voice. He or she needs a champion who will always pursue the course of action which is in the childs best interest. CASA/GAL of Deer Lodge, Powell and Granite Counties -- a nonprofit organization under the umbrella of the Anaconda Family Resource Center -- strives to provide each and every child in need of such an advocate with one who will make every effort to find the safe, stable and permanent home that that child deserves.

While reunification with families is always the goal, sometimes this isnt possible and other options must be explored. CASA volunteers are trained to work with Child Welfare Services as well as within the court system to advocate for decisions to be made in the childs best interest. CASAs also work to ensure that resources and services be made available to the children in order to help them through this traumatic time in their lives.

As the program director of CASA/GAL of Deer Lodge, Powell and Granite counties I am very aware of the hours of hard work that our volunteers devote to helping these children. I am also aware of the statistics which illustrate the better outcomes achieved when children are assigned a CASA versus when no CASA is available. In our local program we strive to provide a CASA for every child who is in need of one. Our volunteer numbers, unfortunately, are not always adequate to meet the rising number of cases. In 2015 the number of new cases added to existing cases in the three counties which we cover was 17. In 2016 the number of new cases more than doubled to 39. Currently our program is serving 58 children in all three counties. The need for CASA volunteers has never been greater.

Please help to ensure that all abused and neglected children in our area are provided with the advocate that they need. While Ms. Patti Boggess of Anaconda (the very deserving volunteer named as CASA of the year) strives tirelessly alongside our other volunteers in order to assist abused or neglected kids, they need more volunteers among their ranks. Support CASA/GAL of Deer Lodge Powell and Granite counties by becoming a volunteer, donating to the program or spreading the word about the valuable work which our volunteers perform. Learn more by visiting our website at anacondafrc.org, emailing us at info@anacondafrc.org -- or giving us a call at 406-563-7972 ext. 17.

-- Suzanne Konicek, program director, CASA/GAL of Deer Lodge, Powell and Granite Counties
MISSOULA  It's a whopping 1 percent.

Montana awards a total of some $130 million a year in financial aid, an amount that includes federal Pell grants, tuition waivers, and scholarships.

Of that total, though, the state itself contributes just $1.6 million  roughly 1 percent  toward need-based aid, according to the Montana Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education.

"I think it's an issue. The state needs to be making a bigger contribution to need-based aid," said Sen. Cynthia Wolken, a Missoula Democrat who sits on the interim finance committee.

In recent years, the state has put significant dollars into higher education, but the priority hasn't been to direct money to students with lower incomes. Rather, Commissioner of Higher Education Clayton Christian said the focus has been on avoiding steep tuition increases for residents.

"The collective mindset over the years has been to try to keep tuition as low as possible for all students," Christian said.

In that regard, the state has succeeded by at least one measure; in the last decade, tuition and fees have gone up at Montana's flagships some 23 percent, as opposed to 79 percent on average at campuses in the region.

Despite the slowdown in tuition growth, though, the Montana flagships aren't doing a stellar job of financially supporting students who are least able to pay compared to public research institutions in other states.

In Montana, students on the lower end of the income scale paid more to go to a flagship compared to low-income students at public research institutions in most other states, according to an analysis of 2014 data compiled by ProPublica.

At the time, a low-income student at UM paid $11,239, and at MSU, the student paid $13,699, according to ProPublica; costs have gone up since. UM ranked 115 out of 191 schools, and MSU ranked 160.

Texas, by comparison, has schools at the top of the heap in affordability.

A low-income student could attend the University of North Texas for $1,875. At the time of the analysis, it was the second-cheapest school for resident low-income students, with the top most affordable being The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

Based in New York, ProPublica bills itself as "an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest."

Students with lower incomes, or recipients of Pell grants, are less likely to stay in school after one year compared to their counterparts, and they don't complete degrees at the same rates, either.

In Montana, just 67 percent of Pell students are retained, compared to 79 percent of non-Pell students, according to data from the Commissioner's Office.

If Pell students do stay, they borrow on average three times as much as students who don't get Pell grants, some $26,099 compared to $8,695, according to the Commissioner's Office.

Bill Johnstone, on the Montana Board of Regents, said the data are compelling. If students work, it may take them longer to get through college, and if they take longer, they incur more debt. Their academic performance isn't as good, either.

"The data for me is pretty persuasive that we would improve access, affordability and student success if we could provide need-based aid," Johnstone said.

Much of the financial aid the state distributes comes from the federal government, an estimated $55 million, according to the Commissioner's Office. Of that, 93 percent is from the Pell grant, awarded on a sliding scale and complex formula based on family income.

Montana used to contribute more of its own money to need-based aid, but most of those dollars have dried up. Up until a few years ago, the state awarded nearly $4.8 million in need-based aid, but the amount has fallen to roughly $1.6 million.

A fund for the "Governor's Best and Brightest" has no money at all. It used to offer some scholarships based on need and some based on merit.

The Montana Tuition Assistance Program, or M-TAP, used to be the largest fund helping students with need, at $1.8 million. It no longer has funds, either.

Johnstone said he'd like the regents and the Commissioner's Office to talk about allocating some of the money the system gets for tuition and using it to support students with need.

"Now, obviously, that's a challenge because we're going to have to use most of that to support basic education," Johnstone said.

It's a challenge because it isn't getting cheaper to run campuses, and Commissioner Christian said his office isn't inclined to cut the amount of money that's going their way.

"Unless we're at a spot where we want to reduce spending on students, and we're already 49th, 50th in the nation on what we spend," Christian said.

Many states that make up the difference do so with tuition increases, he said. Of course, that's the trend Montana has worked hard to buck.

Last month, though, the regents set tuition, increasing it at most, although not all, campuses. The regents also made tuition the same for all undergraduates at UM and at MSU-Bozeman.

Sen. Wolken said equalization will help affordability because it eliminates the disparity between the costs for a freshman and a senior.

"That's a really good first step," Wolken said. "That will give us a good baseline. And then going into the next session and the next budget cycle, we can start talking about what a really good need-based higher education system looks like and how we would get there."

The tuition increases are generally modest.

Still, Sen. Llew Jones, also on the interim legislative finance committee, said UM is especially vulnerable to tuition increases because of its enrollment trend. It's already been in a downward spiral since 2010, and UM officials don't anticipate an increase this fall.

Directing money from the general fund to need means even higher tuition, said Jones, a Conrad Republican. At a certain point, he said, the price will keep students away.

"The increase in tuition will cost us more students than the increase in financial aid will drive students (to enroll)," Jones said.

UM professor and former legislator Doug Coffin has a different take on the impact of offering aid to students with need.

Even students with need bring some of their own money to the institution, along with federal Pell grants, he said. He sees the lack of support for those students as a double-whammy for higher education.

"We're missing a revenue stream, but we're also depriving some low- and middle-income students of the opportunity to go to college," Coffin said.

Students are stratified based on family income, but not on intellect, he said.

So the university system is losing the opportunity to educate students at the lower end of the income bracket, he said, and it's also depriving the business community of a segment of the smartest workforce in the future.

"You want them. There's a lot of talent there that you're letting go undeveloped," he said.
MUSCATINE  A West Liberty man was sentenced in Muscatine County District Court Friday after pleading guilty to domestic abuse assault by strangulation.

Jonathan Bejarano-Moreno, 27, received up to eight years in prison for assault resulting in bodily injury, harassment in the first degree and possession of cocaine, according to the County Attorney's office.

The Muscatine County Sheriff's Office found Bejarano-Moreno strangled a victim on Dec. 10, while also threatening to kill the victim. In a separate incident, he was found to be in possession of a personal-use quantity of cocaine.

Bejarano-Moreno was taken into custody immediately after the sentencing hearing.

Sarah Ritter
MUSCATINE  As he runs for a third term on the Muscatine City Council, Alderman Scott Natvig said he is focusing on public safety, economic development and fiscal responsibility.

The At Large Representative announced last week he will run for re-election in November. Natvig, a retired production manager for Grain Processing Corporation, first took office in 2010.

Natvig said several residents and community leaders have encouraged him to seek re-election, and he hopes to continue bettering the city he has called his family's home for 38 years.

"I think the city's got some momentum going now and there are good things ahead for us," Natvig said. "I've always considered it a privilege to serve on council."

He said over his two terms as councilman, Natvig has learned a lot about Muscatine while working with the Chamber of Commerce and the Leadership Muscatine program.

"I was on that steering committee for 24 years, so I saw a lot of different future leaders and local leaders be brought up," Natvig said. "I learned a lot about different things around the city you wouldn't otherwise learn about except through a program like Leadership Muscatine."

Natvig also is proud of a longstanding, 50-year-long membership with the Rotary Club, of which he served as president for one year.

A 13-year cancer survivor, Natvig has also served on the planning committee for Muscatine Relay for Life for about five years.

Natvig said he is the current board chair of MUSCOM and the chair of MAGIC, or the Muscatine Area Geographic Information Consortium. Natvig said MAGIC is just one way Muscatine "excels compared to some of our peers."

He said MAGIC has gained Muscatine attention for its use of fiber optic and high speed internet servers, plus its partnership with the mobile mapping application Waze. After the Iowa Department of Transportation, the city of Muscatine was the second partner with Waze in the state.

Natvig said if re-elected to council, he hopes to continue working with several community organizations and also will work to keep developing Muscatine's downtown.

"I'm excited about the downtown development and revitalization," he said. "That's something I'm optimistic about."

Along with construction and the development of TIF districts downtown, Natvig said he looks forward to the upcoming release of the city's housing study.

"We hired a consultant to assist us in trying to really understand what the housing situation is because we have a housing shortage across different economic ranges," Natvig said. "We'll get a better understanding of exactly where the shortage is, and how to define it, so we can do something about it."

Natvig said he would also focus on public safety, especially stopping the use of illegal drugs.

"Illegal drugs lead to a lot of other crimes and can be the cause of other crimes," he said. "If people need money for drugs, they are willing to do a lot of illegal things to get that money."

Natvig said he will work to ensure there is funding for the Muscatine County Drug Task Force and the local Street Crimes Unit.

Natvig retired from GPC in 2016 after a 37-year-long career. He and his wife, Nancy, have three daughters and four grandchildren.

Muscatine business-owner Phoenice Mason announced last month she is running for Natvig's council seat in the municipal election Nov. 7.
MUSCATINE  For the two dozen members of a Chinese delegation who visited Muscatine on Sunday in a whirlwind two-hour tour, there was little doubt what the main attractions were.

First was the house at 2911 Bonnie Drive, the Sino-US Friendship House, made famous because a young Xi Jinping, now the president of China, stayed there during a 1985 agricultural research mission that is now legendary.

It is a landmark, said Zhang Hongbin, deputy director-general, International Affairs Bureau, The State Council Information Office in Beijing. You can see the friendship.

The 1985 visit spawned a relationship between Xi and the community of Muscatine that has received international attention.

The second must-see for the delegates was the Mississippi River. In their desire to get close to the river, they negotiated their way through the construction debris on Mississippi Drive. For many of them, it was the first time they had seen the river that is so much a part of author Mark Twains works, which are studied and much loved in China.

They took individual and group photos with the river as a backdrop before heading to the nearby Tantra restaurant for a buffet lunch.

The delegation included government officials, scholars and researchers from China, as well as representatives from the Chinese Consulate General in Chicago. They are in Iowa to attend a symposium in Des Moines Monday on China-U.S. Economic Cooperation and Cultural Exchange. The invitation-only event will be held at the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates.

Former Iowa Governor and now U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad is in Washington, D.C., and will be unable to attend, organizers said. But they are hoping to meet with new Gov. Kim Reynolds.

Daniel Stein, president of the Muscatine-China Initiatives Committee, and Sarah Lande, who was the Muscatine coordinator for the 1985 visit and hosted a return visit by Xi in her home in 2012, are panelists during an afternoon session on cultural exchange and cooperation.

Stein said the delegates excitement in coming to Muscatine was evident in their willingness to make the round trip to and from Des Moines on Sunday. On the return trip, they were scheduled to stop at the Kimberley Farms in Maxwell, an operation that was visited by Xi in 2012. It is the model for a demonstration farm to be built in Chinas Hebei Province.

The importance of Iowas agricultural strength will be reflected in remarks to be delivered today by Wei Jianguo, secretary-general of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges and former Vice Minister for the Ministry of Commerce.

Through an interpreter, Wei said his message at Mondays summit would be three-fold  to promote the sale of Iowa agricultural products to China, particularly corn, soybeans and beef; to promote people-to-people exchanges to learn from each other, especially in the field of agricultural practices; and to promote cooperation in other fields.

China and the United States have a responsibility to make an impact that benefits the rest of the world, Wei told a reporter in remarks translated by Jun Liu, deputy consul general of the consulate in Chicago.

In conversation over lunch, Wei noted that Iowa exports to China have grown 136 percent over the past 10 years.

That is tremendous growth, he said.

Monday's symposium is hosted by The World Food Prize Foundation, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and China Institute of Contemporary International Relations. It follows by several months the Mar-a-Lago summit in Florida between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Next month, Gov. Reynolds will lead an all-Iowa agriculture trade mission to China. Officials from commodity groups representing Iowas corn, soybean, pork, beef, egg, poultry, dairy and turkey industries will travel with her.
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 []
They would ask me what actors I saw in the roles. I would tell them, and theyd say Oh thats interesting. And that would be the end of it. --Elmore Leonard, in 2000, on the extent of his input for Hollywood's adaptation of his novels
High flying Afropop boy band Sauti Sol have unleashed a new hit as they continue to spread their wings all across Africa.

After the success of Mbozi za Malwa with Top Ugandan Regga artist Bebe Cool, the 2016 MAMA Award winners have teamed up with Angolas Pedro Henriques Lisboa Santos, better known by his stage name C4 Pedro.

C4 Pedro, which means Cry For People, is an Angolan kizomba musician and has three albums to his name.

He has featured Sauti Sol in this bonafide love song dubbed Love Again, with a romantic allure to it expressed in both Portuguese and Swahili.

While a really sweet and melodious tune, the video for Love Again steals the show.

It has been directed by Mozambiques DJ marcell and it is absolutely stunning and worth your time.

Check it out:
Imagine traveling all the way to South Africa in a souped-up matatu, locally referred to as Nganya. Well, as unrealistic as it sounds, there exists such a mathree in Nairobi.

The seven-seater nganya, christened Miguel, gives this one-of-a-kind experience.

It boasts of custom-made screens behind all seats, sockets, interior and exterior lighting and a carpeted dashboard among other exclusive features.

The brains behind Miguel, Wilfred Odinga, told Ma3 Culture, This is Nganya is mostly for hire. For short distance, it plies Mombasa and Nairobi, while long distances it heads to Tanzania, Zambia, South Africa and Namibia.

He said for a trip down South, one would have to part with Sh150,000 while those heading to Mombasa part with Sh10,000( with the launch of the SGR, maybe its time they reviewed their pricing).

Check it out
The lights of the high-end boutiques and bars of Tokyos Ginza neighborhood may someday be powered by coal burned more than 1,700 miles away (2,700 kilometers) in Mongolia, electricity zipping over ultra-high voltage lines across deserts and under seas.

Thats the idea behind plans in Asia for so-called super grids, sending power from countries with relatively few people but lots of wind, sun and fossil fuels to distant electricity-hungry population centers trying to keep up with demand.

Mongolia, desperate to make more of its abundant resources as it seeks to revive its flailing economy, aims to make that vision a reality through one of the worlds most ambitious power projects.

The landlocked nation is considering a $7 billion plan to build coal, wind and solar plants that could send electricity across China, Russia, South Korea and Japan, according to Tamir Batsaikhan, a project director with the Shivee Energy Complex. Its just one concept of how to connect power markets across Asia, where demand is forecast by BMI Research to grow 3.5 percent annually through 2026.

At a 30,000-foot level youd be hard-pressed to argue against it, said Simon Powell, head of Asian utilities research at UBS Group in Hong Kong. Its not technically impossible to build an Asian power grid, but there are difficulties.

While the regions biggest economies, led by China, throw their support behind the projects, the challenge of moving electricity from one country to another - from the differences in voltages and price to worries about relying on neighbors for power  may mean Mongolias vision remains just a dream.

A feasibility study on Mongolias proposed 5,280-megawatt Shivee project, which is backed by state-run investor Erdenes Mongol and the countrys energy ministry, is expected by the end of this month, said Tamir. State Grid Corp. of China is carrying out the study and talks with potential buyers would only start after its completion, he said.

State Grid, one of the worlds biggest power distributors, and Japans SoftBank Group, as well as partners in South Korea and Russia, are a few of the main drivers behind the latest ideas to develop a power grid spanning northeast Asia. State Grids former chairman, Liu Zhenya, floated an even grander plan almost two years ago for a global network to transmit electricity from continent to continent by 2050 at a cost of $50 trillion.

The energy demands of the next three decades will be astronomical, Liu, now chairman of the Beijing-based Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization, wrote in a Bloomberg View column in April. We will need to power  mainly cleanly  at a scale and for a range of uses we cannot yet fully imagine.

While Liu has moved on to GEIDCO, where SoftBanks chief Masayoshi Son is vice-chairman, State Grid continues to promote super grid proposals. The companys chief engineer, Zhang Qiping, said in November that China can export surplus power to India and Southeast Asia. A global network also dovetails with Chinas One Belt, One Road program, President Xi Jinpings cornerstone trade initiative to connect Europe, Asia and Africa through infrastructure and investment.

State Grid is definitely trying to think big with global energy interconnection, said Justin Wu, the Asia head of Bloomberg New Energy Finance. But in the meantime, were likely to see projects that will take this on incrementally, building smaller pieces of the puzzle that will fit into this bigger picture of interconnection.

While State Grid has built 10 transnational power transmission lines that include links to Russia, Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan, those interconnects are less about transmitting large amounts of power and more about stabilizing the network, according to UBS Powell.

State Grid didnt reply to emails seeking comment, while Korea Electric Power Co. declined to comment. Russias Rosseti is in discussions with partners from China, South Korea and Japan about establishing bilateral energy ties and developing major Asian energy ring, said Konstantin Petukhov, deputy director general for development. The company is also in talks with the Mongolian government about building a new power grid, which could be linked internationally, he said.

SoftBank places importance on renewable energy, and a super grid that extends from Mongolia to Japan fixes the problem of security of supply, as the sun is always shining and the wind is always blowing somewhere, Spokesman Kenichi Yuasa said by email, adding that the company isnt involved in the Shivee Energy Complex.

Such a network faces multiple obstacles, including the challenge of linking different grids and infrastructure and deciding how the power would be priced, according to analysts at UBS and Wood Mackenzie. Some countries may also worry about becoming too reliant on imported power or technology from China, which has faced resistance in Australia and the U.K. over investments in their electricity infrastructure.

Countries may become cautious about taking Chinese technology, worrying this could endanger their own power system security or even national security, said Frank Yu, principal consultant on China and North East Asia power at Wood Mackenzie.

GEIDCOs chief Liu has voiced support for moving electricity from Mongolia and northeast China to Japan and South Korea, according to a January statement sent by the organization in response to a request for comment.

Other potential transmission projects cited by GEIDCO include sending hydropower from Chinas Yunnan province and thermal power from the countrys north to Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam and Bangladesh; hydropower from Tibet to India and Bangladesh; coal, wind and solar power from western Chinas Xinjiang region and coal-fired electricity from Kazakhstan to Pakistan.

While these projects help China solidify its relationships with neighbors, as well as other Belt and Road countries, the Shivee project in Mongolia is one way to aid an economy thats forecast by the World Bank to contract 0.2 percent this year. Constructing Shivee would create 25,000 jobs over five years and may increase gross domestic product by 4 percentage points annually during that period, according to an August GEIDCO statement.

With abundant resources of cheap energy coal, which is not so much profitable to transport, it makes sense to export the final product, electricity, said Khashchuluun Chuluundorj, an economist at the National University of Mongolia.

The landlocked nation is considering a $7 billion plan to build coal, wind and solar plants that could send electricity across China, Russia, South Korea and Japan, according to Tamir Batsaikhan, a project director with the Shivee Energy Complex. Its just one concept of how to connect power markets across Asia, where demand is forecast by BMI Research to grow 3.5 percent annually through 2026.
Students from four Napa Valley College science clubs hosted workshops in St. Helena on May 27 in partnership with Cameo Cinemas four-day Family Film Festival and the Boys and Girls Clubs of St. Helena and Calistoga.

The event featured keynote speaker Jose M. Hernandez, a former astronaut, a NASA ambassador and recipient of the 2016 National Hispanic Hero Award, presented by the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute.

Hernandez participated in Math Science Engineering Achievement (MESA) while attending the University of the Pacific. MESA promotes Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) success for educationally and financially disadvantaged college-bound students through project-based learning, academic counseling and exposure to STEM careers.

Cameo Cinemas Cathy Buck founded the film festival to inspire young people to learn about science. About 20 NVC students hosted workshops for approximately 40 St. Helena kids.

I have started an affiliation with Napa Valley College MESA specialist and advisor Rene Rubio to develop a Science on Screen project, and we wanted to do a Science Day at the Family Film Festival, said Buck.

The partnership we formed with the college and its science department has been a wonderful experience and we are looking forward to doing more with them; they were amazing, helpful and organized. It was awesome to have had their participation.

Four NVC Clubs participated, including the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), Women in STEM Empowerment (WISE), NVC Robotics and the Collegiate Aerospace, Astronomy and Physics Society (CAAPS).

SHPE hosted WiggleBots, where kids created a motorized contraption made of simple materials that demonstrated the erratic motion created by an offset motor. Once created, the kids were able to attach markers to the contraption which created designs on butcher paper.

WISE hosted Sudsy Science, where kids were assisted in mixing chemicals to create bath bombs which are hard packed mixtures of dry ingredient that when submerged create fizzing bubbles.

NVC Robotics hosted LEGO Robot Cars, where kids created cars made of LEGOs powered by balloons and raced them.

CAAPS hosted Star Party, in which participants were able to stargaze with telescopes, courtesy of the Robert Ferguson Observatory.

The MESA students did a great job demonstrating their level of professionalism, teaching the young with hands-on experiences, said Patricia Posada, a STEM counselor with NVC. I believe this experience gave students a real eye-opener for what Napa Valley College offers.

STEM club members participate in similar events throughout the year. Details can be found at napavalley.edu/MESA and tinyurl.com/shpenvc.




According to Mistui, the main missions of the MLP include island defense as well as humanitarian assistance / disaster relief.



The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) is reportedly looking to boost its amphibious capabilities in order to protect its Southern Islands. MES, which delivered "Osumi" and "Shimokita" LPDs to the JMSDF a few years ago, also unveiled a new LPD and a new LHD design at MAST Asia. Navy Recognition will be covering these designs soon.



MLP designs and the "sea basing" concept in general seems to be getting popular outside of the US. You may recall from our The Japanese MLP concept measures 240 meters in length, 39 meters in width and 7 meters in draft for a displacement of 21,000 tons and a speed of 15 knots. The maximum complement of the vessel is 240 people.According to Mistui, the main missions of the MLP include island defense as well as humanitarian assistance / disaster relief.The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) is reportedly looking to boost its amphibious capabilities in order to protect its Southern Islands. MES, which delivered "Osumi" and "Shimokita" LPDs to the JMSDF a few years ago, also unveiled a new LPD and a new LHD design at MAST Asia. Navy Recognition will be covering these designs soon.MLP designs and the "sea basing" concept in general seems to be getting popular outside of the US. You may recall from our LIMA 2017 coverage that the Royal Malaysian Navy is also exploring (and using to some extend) this concept.
June 2017 (Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21ST Century)

Global Overview

Forecasting of electricity production and demand is essential for operating power systems. A number of tools are used to forecast generation in solar PV and wind plants, ranging from a few minutes to several days in advance. Today, these have a high level of reliability, enabling system operation to adapt efficiently to upcoming changes.

The year 2016 saw several developments and ongoing trends that all have a bearing on renewable energy, including the continuation of comparatively low global fossil fuel prices; dramatic price reductions of several renewable energy technologies (especially solar PV and wind power); and a continued increase in attention to energy storage.

World primary energy demand has grown by an annual average of around 1.8% since 2011, although the pace of growth has slowed in the past few years, with wide variations by country.1 Growth in primary energy demand has occurred largely in developing countries, whereas in developed countries it has slowed or even declined.2

For the third consecutive year, global energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuels and industry were nearly flat in 2016, rising only an estimated 0.2%, continuing to break away from the trend of 2.2% average growth during the previous decade.3 This slowing of emissions growth was due largely to declining coal use worldwide but also to improvements in energy efficiency and to increasing power generation from renewable energy sources.4 Globally, coal production declined for the second year in a row.5 In 2016, additional countries committed to moving away from or phasing out coal for electricity generation (e.g., Canada, Finland, France, the Netherlands and the US state of Oregon) or to no longer financing coal use (e.g., Brazils development bank).6 Countering this trend, however, a number of countries announced plans to expand coal production and use.7

Despite the overall decline in coal production, relatively low global prices for oil and natural gas during much of the year continued to challenge renewable energy markets, especially in the heating and transport sectors.8 Fossil fuel subsidies, which remained significantly higher than subsidies for renewables, also continued to affect renewable energy growth.9 Building on international commitments to phase out fossil fuel subsidies  such as the 2009 commitments by the Group of Twenty (G20) and by Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)  by the end of 2016 more than 50 countries had committed to phasing out fossil fuel subsidies.10 Subsidy reforms were instituted during 2016 in Angola, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Gabon, India, Iran, Kuwait, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Ukraine, Venezuela and Zambia.11

As of 2015, renewable energy provided an estimated 19.3%i of global final energy consumption. Of this total share, traditional biomass, used primarily for cooking and heating in remote and rural areas of developing countries, accounted for about 9.1%, and modern renewables (not including traditional biomass) increased their share relative to 2014 to approximately 10.2%. In 2015, hydropower accounted for an estimated 3.6% of total final energy consumption, other renewable power sources comprised 1.6%, renewable heat energy accounted for approximately 4.2%, and transport biofuels provided about 0.8%.

The overall share of renewable energy in total final energy consumption has increased only modestly in recent history, despite tremendous growth in the renewable energy sector, particularly for solar PV and wind power. A primary reason for this is the persistently strong growth in overall energy demand (with the exception of a momentary pull-back in 2009 following the onset of a global economic recession), which counteracts the strong forward momentum for modern renewable energy technologies. In addition, the use of traditional biomass for heat, which makes up nearly half of all renewable energy use, has increased, but at a rate that has not kept up with growth in total demand.

In 2016, the power sector experienced the greatest increases in renewable energy capacity, whereas the growth of renewables in the heating and cooling and transport sectors was comparatively slow. ( See Reference Table R1.) As in 2015, most growth in renewable energy capacity was in solar PV (which led by a wide margin) and in wind power; hydropower continued to represent the majority of renewable power capacity and generation. Bioenergy (including traditional biomass) remained the leader by far in the heat (buildings and industry) and transport sectors.

Growth rates of renewable energy capacity vary substantially across regions and nations, with most new capacity being installed in developing countries, and primarily in China.14 China has been the single largest developer of renewable power and heat for the past eight years.15 In 2016, an ever-growing number of developing countries continued to expand their renewable energy capacities, and some are rapidly becoming important markets. Emerging economies are quickly transforming their energy industries by benefiting from lower-cost, more efficient renewable technologies and more reliable resource forecasting, making countries such as Argentina, Chile, China, India and Mexico attractive markets for investment.16Nonetheless, some unique challenges remained in developing countries during the year, including a lack of infrastructure and of power sector planning, as well as off-taker risks.17

At the national, state and local levels, government policy continued to play an important role in renewable energy developments, although uncertainty in the policy arena also created challenges.18 The number of countries with renewable energy targets and support policies increased again in 2016; targets were in place in 176 countries (up from 173 in 2015), and several jurisdictions made their existing targets more ambitious. ( See Policy Landscape chapter.) Despite the significance of the heat and transport sectors to energy demand and global emissions, policy makers continued to focus predominantly on the power sector.19

At the global level, the 2015 Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) formally entered into force at the 22nd Conference of the Parties (COP22) in Marrakesh, Morocco in November 2016.20 Renewable energy figured prominently in a large portion of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) that countries submitted in the lead-up to November.21Renewable energy markets were affected only indirectly by these developments during 2016; more concrete policy developments resulting from commitments to the Paris Agreement and new announcements had not yet been enacted and/or implemented in most countries.22

Other international efforts of note also took place during the year. At COP22, leaders of the 48 nations that constitute the Climate Vulnerable Forum jointly committed to work towards achieving 100% renewable energy in their respective nations.23 Cities around the world echoed this pledge as they continued to advance commitments to 100% renewable energy, with some already having achieved their goals. ( See Policy Landscape chapter.)

The World Trade Organization continued negotiations on the Environmental Goods Agreement, which seeks to eliminate tariffs on a number of products including renewable energy technologies, although discussions stalled in December.

Carbon pricing policies (either carbon taxes or emissions trading systems) were in place in a number of jurisdictions worldwide in 2016.25 ( See Figure 3.) If well designed, carbon pricing policies may incentivise the development and deployment of renewable energy technologies by increasing the comparative costs of higher-emission fuels and technologies. However, some uncertainty exists as to whether these mechanisms alone are sufficient to drive deployment of renewable energy, even if well-designed, due to other factors at play, including the structure of power markets and regulations governing market access.

In parallel with growth in renewable energy markets, renewable energy employment expanded during 2016. The number of jobs in renewables rose again, reaching an estimated 9.8 million jobs worldwide  a majority of which were in Asia.27 ( See Sidebar 1.)

The year also saw continued advances in renewable energy technologies, including innovations in solar PV manufacturing and installation and in cell and module efficiency and performance; improvements in wind turbine materials and design as well as in operation and maintenance (O&M), which further reduced costs and raised capacity factors; advances in thermal energy storage for concentrating solar thermal power (CSP); new advanced control technologies for electric grids that facilitate increased integration of renewable energy; and improvements in the production of advanced biofuels.28

Ongoing advances in energy efficiency are reducing the cost of providing energy services with renewable energy, whether on-grid or off-grid. ( See Sidebar 3 and Energy Efficiency chapter.) As penetrations of variable renewable energy continued to increase in 2016, there also was increased attention to energy storage, particularly in the power sector.29 Electric vehicles, valued for their contribution to improving local air quality, gained attention in some markets for their ability to help integrate variable renewable electricity generation. ( See Enabling Technologies chapter.)

Modern renewable energy is being used increasingly in power generation, heating and cooling, and transport. The following sections discuss 2016 developments and trends in these sectors.

Power

Renewable power generating capacity saw its largest annual increase ever in 2016, with an estimated 161 gigawatts (GW) of capacity added.30 Total global renewable power capacity was up almost 9% compared to 2015, to nearly 2,017 GW at years end.31 Solar PV saw record additions and, for the first time, accounted for more additional power capacity (net of decommissioned capacity) than any other generating technology.32 Solar PV represented about 47% of newly installed renewable power capacity in 2016, and wind and hydropower accounted for most of the remainder, contributing about 34% and 15.5%, respectively.

The world now adds more renewable power capacity annually than it adds (net) capacity from all fossil fuels combined.34 In 2016, renewables accounted for an estimated nearly 62% of net additions to global power generating capacity and represented far higher shares of capacity added in several countries around the world.35 By years end, renewables comprised an estimated 30% of the worlds power generating capacity  enough to supply an estimated 24.5% of global electricity, with hydropower providing about 16.6%.

By the end of 2016, the top countries for total installed renewable electric capacity continued to be China, the United States, Brazil, Germany and Canada.37 China was home to more than one-quarter of the worlds renewable power capacity  totalling approximately 564 GW, including about 305 GW of hydropower.38

Considering only non-hydroi capacity, the top countries were China, the United States and Germany; they were followed by Japan, India and Italy, and by Spain and the United Kingdom (with about equal amounts of capacity by years end).39 ( See Figure 5 and Reference Table R2.) The worlds top countries for non-hydro renewable power capacity per inhabitant were Iceland, Denmark, Sweden and Germany.

The year 2016 saw several developments and ongoing trends that all have a bearing on renewable energy, including the continuation of comparatively low global fossil fuel prices; dramatic price reductions of several renewable energy technologies (especially solar PV and wind power); and a continued increase in attention to energy storage.

World primary energy demand has grown by an annual average of around 1.8% since 2011, although the pace of growth has slowed in the past few years, with wide variations by country.1 Growth in primary energy demand has occurred largely in developing countries, whereas in developed countries it has slowed or even declined.2

For the third consecutive year, global energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuels and industry were nearly flat in 2016, rising only an estimated 0.2%, continuing to break away from the trend of 2.2% average growth during the previous decade.3 This slowing of emissions growth was due largely to declining coal use worldwide but also to improvements in energy efficiency and to increasing power generation from renewable energy sources.4 Globally, coal production declined for the second year in a row.5 In 2016, additional countries committed to moving away from or phasing out coal for electricity generation (e.g., Canada, Finland, France, the Netherlands and the US state of Oregon) or to no longer financing coal use (e.g., Brazils development bank).6 Countering this trend, however, a number of countries announced plans to expand coal production and use.7

Despite the overall decline in coal production, relatively low global prices for oil and natural gas during much of the year continued to challenge renewable energy markets, especially in the heating and transport sectors.8 Fossil fuel subsidies, which remained significantly higher than subsidies for renewables, also continued to affect renewable energy growth.9 Building on international commitments to phase out fossil fuel subsidies  such as the 2009 commitments by the Group of Twenty (G20) and by Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)  by the end of 2016 more than 50 countries had committed to phasing out fossil fuel subsidies.10 Subsidy reforms were instituted during 2016 in Angola, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Gabon, India, Iran, Kuwait, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Ukraine, Venezuela and Zambia.11

As of 2015, renewable energy provided an estimated 19.3%i of global final energy consumption. Of this total share, traditional biomass, used primarily for cooking and heating in remote and rural areas of developing countries, accounted for about 9.1%, and modern renewables (not including traditional biomass) increased their share relative to 2014 to approximately 10.2%. In 2015, hydropower accounted for an estimated 3.6% of total final energy consumption, other renewable power sources comprised 1.6%, renewable heat energy accounted for approximately 4.2%, and transport biofuels provided about 0.8%.12 ( See Figure 1.)

The overall share of renewable energy in total final energy consumption has increased only modestly in recent history, despite tremendous growth in the renewable energy sector, particularly for solar PV and wind power. A primary reason for this is the persistently strong growth in overall energy demand (with the exception of a momentary pull-back in 2009 following the onset of a global economic recession), which counteracts the strong forward momentum for modern renewable energy technologies. In addition, the use of traditional biomass for heat, which makes up nearly half of all renewable energy use, has increased, but at a rate that has not kept up with growth in total demand.13 ( See Figure 2.)

In 2016, the power sector experienced the greatest increases in renewable energy capacity, whereas the growth of renewables in the heating and cooling and transport sectors was comparatively slow. ( See Reference Table R1.) As in 2015, most growth in renewable energy capacity was in solar PV (which led by a wide margin) and in wind power; hydropower continued to represent the majority of renewable power capacity and generation. Bioenergy (including traditional biomass) remained the leader by far in the heat (buildings and industry) and transport sectors.

Growth rates of renewable energy capacity vary substantially across regions and nations, with most new capacity being installed in developing countries, and primarily in China.14 China has been the single largest developer of renewable power and heat for the past eight years.15 In 2016, an ever-growing number of developing countries continued to expand their renewable energy capacities, and some are rapidly becoming important markets. Emerging economies are quickly transforming their energy industries by benefiting from lower-cost, more efficient renewable technologies and more reliable resource forecasting, making countries such as Argentina, Chile, China, India and Mexico attractive markets for investment.16Nonetheless, some unique challenges remained in developing countries during the year, including a lack of infrastructure and of power sector planning, as well as off-taker risks.17

At the national, state and local levels, government policy continued to play an important role in renewable energy developments, although uncertainty in the policy arena also created challenges.18 The number of countries with renewable energy targets and support policies increased again in 2016; targets were in place in 176 countries (up from 173 in 2015), and several jurisdictions made their existing targets more ambitious. ( See Policy Landscape chapter.) Despite the significance of the heat and transport sectors to energy demand and global emissions, policy makers continued to focus predominantly on the power sector.19

At the global level, the 2015 Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) formally entered into force at the 22nd Conference of the Parties (COP22) in Marrakesh, Morocco in November 2016.20 Renewable energy figured prominently in a large portion of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) that countries submitted in the lead-up to November.21Renewable energy markets were affected only indirectly by these developments during 2016; more concrete policy developments resulting from commitments to the Paris Agreement and new announcements had not yet been enacted and/or implemented in most countries

Tweet




MALABAR, Florida  The Brevard County Sheriffs Office, Homicide Unit is continuing the death investigation into the fire that occurred Sunday at a residence in Malabar, Florida. Evidence that has been uncovered thus far, lead investigators to believe that the fire was intentionally set at the residence to cover up homicides.



(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

The investigation was initiated on June 11, 2017, at approximately 10:30 a.m. after an emergency 911 call was received reporting a fire at the residence located at 855 Atz Road, Malabar. The residence was believed to be occupied by Tony and Chrissy Hughes (husband and wife), both 39-years-old; Chrissys son, 9-year-old Sebastian Meachum; and 39-year-old Linda Woods, of Bella Vista, Arkansas, the sister of Chrissy Hughes, who was visiting at the residence.

Brevard County and Palm Bay Fire Rescues responded to the scene and during their rescue efforts, located the remains of an adult female within the residence. Firefighters were forced to exit the residence due to the unsafe conditions of the structure until later in the evening when they started a recovery search. Investigators have since located the remains of a second female and a child but are awaiting positive identification of the bodies. Autopsies are scheduled to begin at the Brevard County Medical Examiners Office. A preliminary examination of the victims reveal trauma that indicates that they were killed prior to the start of the fire.

Additionally, a truck and boat trailer registered to the occupants of the residence was located around noon on Sunday at Christensons Landing boat ramp in Grant, Florida. The truck was found running at the boat ramp with the trailer submerged and the boat missing. A multiagency search was commenced and the U.S. Coast Guard recovered the missing 18 foot Grady White motorboat driving in circles approximately 7 miles offshore of Sebastian Inlet. The boat was unoccupied, and a preliminary search of the vessel found suspected blood evidence in the vessel. The boat was towed to Sebastian Inlet and trailered to the Brevard County Sheriffs Office for processing. The Coast Guard has ended its recovery effort in the area where the boat was located.

According to witness statements, there has been some recent domestic issues between Tony and Chrissy Hughes. According to Sheriffs Office records there have been no calls to the residence, nor are there any injunctions in place.

The Homicide and Crime Scene Units are continuing to search the scene with the assistance of the State Fire Marshall.

Anyone with information in reference to this investigation is asked to please call Agent Wendy Wheeler of the Brevard County Sheriffs Office, Homicide Unit at 321-633-8413. Photo credit: FDLE

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
COCOA BEACH, Florida  The 2017 Cocoa Beach Pirate Fest will take place at the International Palms Resort located on 1300 North Atlantic Avenue in Cocoa Beach, Florida from Friday, June 16 through Sunday, June 18, 2017.



(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

The Cocoa Beach Pirate Festival will feature some great live music and piratical fun including; water cannon battles with over 1,000 cannonball water balloons in a 150,000 gallon pirate-themed kiddie pool, Black Powder Weapon Demonstrations, a Pirates Ball on Friday evening for adults 18 and older, A Living History Pirate Encampment, Blackbeards Pirate Ship, treasure hunts, arts and crafts and pirate-themed vendors along with food and beverage. If you are lucky, you can even meet a mermaid.

Taking place in conjunction with the Pirate Fest and located inside the Dolphin Room at the International Palms is the Florida Pirate Con. Meet world-renowned celebrity artists such as Don Maitz, creator of the Captain Morgan Spiced Rum Character and Michael Noles, who is famous for his decades of work with Disney. Both artists will be signing and selling their artwork. Author, Allen Balogh will also be on hand signing his book, Black Sails 1715.

Come hear the tales of treasure hunters who use modern day technology to dig up buried treasure. Learn from the expertise of Carl Fismer, one of the most respected and knowledgeable treasure diving professionals in the world. Meet Captain Mike Daniel, whose most renowned discoveries include that of Blackbeards lost flagship, the Queen Annes Revenge and the sunken treasure of Galleon Nuestra Senora de las Maravillas.

Last, but not least by any means, Sir Robert F. Marx, an American scuba diver pioneer who has been described as the true father of underwater archaeology. For those hungry for knowledge of the sea, dont miss the lectures and presentations on Saturday by many of these amazing special guests.

In addition to the treasure hunting side of things, there will also be plenty of pirate-themed exhibits featuring weapons, clothing and all things piratical at this years Florida Pirate Con.

Event Hours: Friday 2 p.m.  6 p.m. Saturday 10 a.m.  6 p.m. Sunday 10 a.m.  4 p.m.

Festival Admission is Free  though a voluntary $2.00 Buck-N-Ear admission is appreciated.

For more information, visit: www.cocoabeachpiratefest.com

PHOTO: Brevard Times / File

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
Orlando Evans has long known of the challenges facing Haiti, a Caribbean nation that has struggled in the wake of a devastating 2010 earthquake  with in-laws of Haitian descent, he feels a special connection.

But it wasnt until he walked down humble dirt roads and through the nations halls of power that Evans fully appreciated the sharp inequity in wealth, education, health services and opportunities for advancement that shape Haiti as a perplexing land of extremes.

Its one thing to talk about moral leadership and the absence of moral leadership, and another thing altogether to see the impact it can have on a group of people, says Evans, a former banker and financial consultant now studying for a masters of divinity degree at EmorysCandler School of Theology.

We saw what appeared to be 99 percent of people living in poverty and 1 percent living in power and wealth  such a huge and overwhelming disparity, Evans says. If you are wealthy in Haiti, chances are your children will be wealthy. If you are poor, your children will be poor, without any way to transition out of the cycle.

That was painful to see, he adds. For seminary students and community leaders, it tugged at your heart. You just want to do more to help those in need, especially the children.

Evans was among nine Candler graduate students who traveled to Haiti for a 10-day seminar in moral leadership led by Robert Franklin,public theologian and James T. and Berta R. Laney Professor in Moral Leadership at Candler.

From May 23 to June 1, the groupexamined moral leadership in context by visiting with artists, academics, and spiritual and political leaders who are considered important moral agents in their communities and country, says Franklin.

The travel seminar was built around four topics:

Haitis religious and cultural heritage before the earthquake;

Public and private corruption and who is working to challenge it;

Pre- and post-earthquake development;

Stabilizing society after rapid changes of government.

Each day included an evening salon where participants discussed issues and events. In addition to lectures, readings and coursework, the students will also produce a final paper or project which focuses on how we as Americans can change the narrative about Haiti in the U.S., Franklin says.

The seminar also serves as a prerequisite for a course Franklin will teach this fall, Moral Leadership in International Context.

Confronting moral, social ambiguity

This is the second international travel seminar that Franklin has led through CandlersJames T. and Berta R. Laney Program in Moral Leadership, which he chairs. In 2015, he accompanied Candler students enrolled in his moral leadership class on a 10-day trip inSouth Korea.

We typically look for places where there is volatility and moral and social ambiguity in the society, where there is a need for women and men who act with integrity, courage and imagination to serve the common good, says Franklin, who also serves as senior adviser to Emory's president.

In Haiti, there is currently a concern over public and private corruption, rebuilding efforts after the earthquake, and a need to celebrate the resilience and genius of the Haitian people, he notes.

Among the nations ethical concerns: How $16 billion in international relief support raised following the earthquake was actually used. We were pressing the question of where did the money go and were people actually being helped, Franklin says.

And we heard a variety of responses  none terribly happy, he says. There is still skepticism and concern about waste, mismanagement and a lack of accountability and partnership with local leaders.

Adding to the trips interdisciplinary dialogue were Francine Allen, a part-time graduate student at Candler and assistant professor of literature at Morehouse College; Kali-Ahset Amen, assistant director of EmorysJames Weldon Johnson Institutefor the Study of Race and Difference, a political sociologist who has taught courses on global inequality and international development at Emory; and Cheryl Franklin, a physician and assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology in Morehouse School of Medicine who serves as medical director for Morehouse Healthcare.

For Amen, the trip marked her first journey to Haiti. It was great being a sociologist among a group of divinity scholars whove made it their business to inculcate hope and inspiration into the hearts of people, she says.

As a faculty facilitator, one of the contributionsI made was to help students think through the particular experience of Haiti within a broader global perspective, Amen adds. Weve seen these kinds of challenges in other contexts, solutions that have been tried elsewhere  all problems familiar to the international development community.

Amen praised the immersive nature of the experience. Everybody that we spoke to, whether a politician or artist or health care worker, introduced a different kind of knowledge base that fed our integrated and interdisciplinary approach to learning and engagement," she says.

"Each encounter deepened our sense of solidarity with the Haitian people and their aspirations for the future."

And she returns with research questions yet to explore. I went into the experience with my development theorist hat on, but it was interesting to also pay attention to issues of race and racialization in Haiti, a basically black republic, she says. There are such fascinating nuances to the system of color and class stratification.

Exploring cultural connections

For Marcus Larivaux, a third-year masters of divinity student at Candler who aspires to be a pastor, the trip was fed by a curiosity that stretched beyond strictly academic scholarship.

Both of my parents were born in Haiti, and though I grew up immersed in Haitian food and culture and speaking Haitian Creole, I had never been there, Larivaux acknowledges.

In some ways, it felt like this was the next step in my cultural development and self-actualization, he says.

Along the way, he especially enjoyed tackling challenging questions.

It was a class and it was work and it wasnt easy  but wrestling with moral and ethical issues is never easy, Larivaux says.

There were points where we were challenged to speak up on things we felt were immoral in their society or our society, to hold conversations and discuss ways we are complicit in a system that oppresses people all over the world  these are difficult conversations to have.

But I come away feeling the need to look at myself and say What is my responsibility as a member of the Haitian diaspora? How can I give back? How can I become a moral leader and make the world a better place? he says.

Evans, now a campus pastor at Impact on Main church in Atlanta, also feels compelled to take action. One thing I would like to do is contribute to an effort to collect shoes or raise money for shoes to be sent to Haiti to help those children walking barefoot up and down hills and mountains and dirty roads, he says.

In the end, the journey came full circle for Evans. My mother always told me stories about talking Creole with her grandfather when she was a little girl in New Orleans, and when I married into a Haitian family they were surprised I knew so much about their food profiles, he says.

In fact, while in Haiti, he found himself eating the very kinds of dishes his own mother had once prepared.

When he mentioned it, a host pointed out that his family was likely part of a massive migration from Haiti to Louisiana in the late 1700s and early 1800s.

They told me that my grandfather was probably part of that migration, Evans says. Being there, I kind of felt connected. Its hard to explain, but as an African-American you dont always know where you came from.

Id like to make sure my own children understand that piece of the puzzle, he adds.
Emory University provides $9.1 billion in economic impact within the Atlanta region and Georgia, while supporting nearly 64,000 jobs and generating $200 million in state tax revenues, according to a new impact study released this week.

The universitys role as an economic engine and community partner is outlined in Emory University Impact Report: From Local Engagement to Global Innovation, which provides an in-depth overview of Emorys investment in the regions economic health and well-being, community engagement, academic excellence, research and innovation.

Emory President Claire E. Sterk says the report also reveals the immeasurable ways that Emory strives to serve humanity, beginning in Atlanta and extending through the state, region, nation and world.

Sterk is a strong believer in closer ties and partnerships statewide, including the immediate campus vicinity and City of Atlanta, noting that $4.4 billion of the reported economic impact occurs within the City of Atlanta and the Druid Hills campus. Emory has 30,000 employees, making the university the largest employer in DeKalb County.

Emory attracts the best and brightest students, faculty, researchers and health care providers, who in turn produce scholarship, scientific discoveries and entrepreneurial innovations that greatly benefit our community and society at large, says Sterk.

The knowledge that we create every day on Emorys campus has a direct impact on our community, whether its the nursing care provided to Georgias farm workers, our programs to increase Georgias high school graduation rates, or our legal clinics that serve Atlanta clients from youth to veterans," she notes. "Emory will continue to build on this substantial commitment to the teaching, research, health care and service that makes such a difference in so many peoples lives.

Highlights of the report include:

Emorys overall impact from capital investments in Georgia translates to $330 million annually, with more than $685 million in direct capital investments in the past four years. As part of Emorys last master plan (2005-15), the university invested or enabled more than $1 billion in capital projects, resulting in a significant contribution to the local economy.

Emory is ranked among the top 20 national universities by US News and World Report. Emory is committed to affordability and accessibility, contributing $274.7 million to students financial need, in addition to the $147.6 million provided by the federal government, in the 2015-16 academic year.

Emory Healthcare is the most comprehensive health care system in the state of Georgia and a leading academic health center nationally. Last year, Emory Healthcare served more than 600,000 patients.

Emorys Woodruff Health Sciences Center provided $400 million in overall community benefits, including $72 million in charity care by Emory Healthcare.

Emorys Rollins School of Public Health (RSPH) is a key reason Atlanta is known as the Public Health Capital of the World. RSPH is a leader in developing ways to increase access to safe drinking water, adequate sanitation and appropriate hygiene as part of a global strategy to break the cycle of poverty and disease in the world.

A significant number of graduating students  approximately 40 percent  choose to stay in Georgia, while earning an additional $800 million a year as a result of the education and credentials they received from Emory.

Emory attracted $575 million in research awards in FY16 in the basic sciences and humanities to advance knowledge to serve society, including improving and saving lives. Each year for the past seven years, Emory has attracted a half billion dollars or more in research awards to metro Atlanta and Georgia. Emory has done groundbreaking work in many areas including Alzheimers disease, autism, Ebola training and education, and Zika research.

Winship Cancer Institute is Georgias first and only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, providing access to cancer care not found elsewhere in the state. This designation places Winship in the top one percent of all cancer centers in the United States.

The Emory University Impact Report: From Local Engagement to Global Innovation, is available here.
The requested page is currently unavailable on this server.

Back to [RTHK News Homepage]
Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen (JMB) is an Islamic terrorist organisation operating in Bangladesh.

Those detained have been identified as Ramjan Ali, his wife Ayesha Begum, their two sons -- Ibrahim Hossain and Israfil Hossain, and daughter Hawa Khatun, two daughters-in-law Morzina Khatun and Haresa Khatun, and a son-in-law Rabiul Islam.

The security forces cordoned off the house of Ramjan Ali in Tanore upazila around 11 p.m. on Sunday night following information that Ramjan and his family members are involved in militancy, The Daily Star reported quoting police.

The eight suspected militants along with four children surrendered after a team of counter-terrorism unit from Bogra along with Rajshahi police conducted the drive, said Asaduzzaman, superintendent of police in Bogra.

The law enforcers also recovered two suicide vests, a pistol, six rounds of bullets and a magazine from the house.

"We have handed over the detainees to Rajshahi district police on their surrender," Asaduzzaman said.

Ramjan teaches at Gourangipur Government primary school, Ibrahim is a fertiliser trader, Israfil is a homeopathic doctor and Rabiul is a carpenter.

Rajshahi's Additional Police Superintendent Sumit Chowdhury told the Dhaka Tribune that the family had kept itself isolated and even used to offer Eid prayers at home.

A top police officer in Rajshahi confirmed to The Daily Star that the detainees are 'Neo JMB' members.

Last reported, the law enforcers were conducting raid in the house till 10 a.m.

--IANS him/rn

( 286 Words)

2017-06-12-13:44:15 (IANS)
"I can tell you that during the 17th SCO council head of states President Xi Jinping met several times with Pakistani Prime Minister (Nawaz) Sharif and I think some reports are just nonsense and unwarranted," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said.

Lu said that "China and Pakistan enjoy an all-weather strategic partnership".

He was reacting to news reports that said Xi snubbed Sharif at the SCO summit by not meeting him after two Chinese citizens were murdered in Pakistan's restive province of Balochistan.

Xi met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines, but there were no reports in Chinese media about President Xi meeting Sharif.

China last week expressed growing concern over the safety and security of its citizens in Pakistan where it has invested billions of dollars in an economic corridor.

Two Chinese teachers, kidnapped from Quetta last month, were killed last week by Islamic State militants.

"We are now are coordinating with the Pakistani government and we are speeding our efforts to verify the information, Lu said.

China is building the $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which connects its Xinjiang province with Gwadar port in Balochistan.

--IANS gsh/rn

( 252 Words)

2017-06-12-14:28:33 (IANS)
Medical equipment including incubators and "an entire professional neonatal wing" has been shipped into the couple's property, reports dailymail.co.uk.

Vans full of high-tech kit have been seen arriving at the mansion over past few days, suggesting the due day is fast approaching.

"It is all about privacy and safety. It's not usual for someone expecting twins to have them at home, but Beyonce has discussed it with her doctors," a neighbour said.

"She's in prime physical condition and they are setting up a professional maternity unit inside the house for the birth. There will also be an ambulance on standby to take her to Cedars-Sinai Hospital should she or the babies need hospital care.

"Jay Z can be seen going in and out of the property, but Beyonce is lying low," the neighbour added.

--IANS sas/ks

( 180 Words)

2017-06-12-04:16:20 (IANS)
He retweeted the trailer, posted by the Khiladi Kumar yesterday and wrote alongside, "Good effort to further the message of cleanliness. 125 crore Indians have to continue working together to create a Swachh Bharat."

Akshay tweeted, "Here is my humble contribution towards a Swachh Bharat. @narendramodi #ToiletEkPremKathaTrailer @ToiletTheFilm"

The trailer, released yesterday, has garnered more than nine million views in a day.

It starts with Keshav aka Akshay Kumar repeatedly telling his father that he wants to get married. Then, we see him marrying a buffalo because he is a 'manglik'.

As the trailer moves forward, he meets his dream girl, Bhumi Pednekar, and both are soon married.

It is the morning after the marriage that Bhumi is rudely introduced to lota gang for Akshay's house has no toilet. She soon leaves him due to this and Akshay, who is deeply in love with his wife, wants to bring in awareness about the risks of defecating in open and wants to build a toilet at home.

In the three-minute video, director Shree Narayan Singh manages to highlight the importance of sanitation in India.

In spite of the serious social message, the fast paced promo entertains you at all levels.

Divyendu Sharma, the 'Pyar ka Punchnama' fame, plays Akshay's friend.

The flick is slated to release on August 11. (ANI)
The final polling percentage was released by the top official late on Sunday night, after polling ended as late as 8 p.m. in some polling booths.

"Overall the election was peaceful. No complaints about violation of code of conduct were reported," Srivastava told reporters here.

A total of 7.49 lakh voters were eligible to cast ballot in the polls to elect grassroots representatives in 186 panchayats across the state.

Srivastava said that 83.16 per cent voting was reported in North Goa district, while 77.86 per cent voting was recorded in South Goa district.

--IANS maya/sku/

( 134 Words)

2017-06-12-03:32:20 (IANS)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be visiting the city of Nawabs for two days from June 20, to attend the International Yoga Day function. Though there are couple of programmes to be attended by the PM, apart from meeting the senior party officials, there are very less chances that he would inaugurate the first commercial run of Lucknow Metro rail. The PM is slated to stay in Lucknow for around 21 hours.Official sources here today said Mr Modi will arrive in Lucknow at around 1530 hrs on June 20 and from airport, will go directly to the CDRI new building in Jankipuram by chopper. After inaugurating the new CDRI building, which was pending for more than three years, the PM will then go to Abdul Kalam Technical University (AKTU) nearby. At AKTU, Mr Modi will inaugurate a museum, where there are bronze statues of 11 renowned scientists of the country and will then visit the library for research for nano and bio-technology. Later, he will also meet the students and address them.From AKTU, the Prime Minister will directly come to Rajbhawan, where he will have a night stay. On the next day, the PM will reach Rama Bai Maidan at 0600 hrs for a one hour long yoga programme, on the occasion of the International Yoga Day. Mr Modi would do yoga along with several dignitaries, including UP Governor Ram Naik, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev, apart from Union and State Ministers, along with over 55,000 people. Later, the PM would leave for New Delhi, at around 1230 hrs.UNI MB RJ ADG 1204 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0196-931004.Xml
Two militants of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) were today arrested by security forces in the frontier district of Kupwara, where a member of the same group surrendered on June 7.Official sources said the Army and the Special Operation Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir police, acting on a tip off, arrested two militants of HM in Handwara.However, sources refused to divulge more details, saying the questioning of the arrested militants was going on. Further details are awaited, they added. On June 7, militant Danish, who was seen holding a hand grenade during the funeral of militant Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, successor of Burhan Wani, surrendered before the security forces at Handwara.UNI BAS RJ ADG 1245 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0153-931075.Xml
Lashing out at the Congress for demeaning Army Chief General Bipin Rawat to a "street thug", the Centre on Monday said party chief Sonia Gandhi should issue an apology and clarify its stand on remarks against the Indian Army. "It shocks us. It did not come from a somebody from Congress, but from a very eminent Congress leader," Union Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the media here. Accusing the Congress of "consistently questioning the integrity of the Indian Army to shame and demoralise them," she said, "I wonder if this is a strategy of the Congress to undermine the Indian Army, weaken our institutions. 'Sadak ka gunda?' Is that a language a senior politician uses against our Army Chief? Sonia Gandhi should disown that their leadership which is going on insulting Indian Army, is not what the Congress wants and should apologise. The Congress should clarify its stand on remarks against the Indian Army." Meanwhile, Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit, earlier in the day, tendered an apology for the second time, saying shouldn't have used "uncivilised" words to convey his message. "It was a statement given to you (ANI) only and it was in the context of the constant statements that the Army Chief has made with regard to the army's preparation and Pakistan. I thought Indian Army chiefs normally don't make these statements and they have a different manner in which they approach. However, this was a separate issue. If I had to say something of this kind, there was a different language and manner in which I should have said it. It doesn't make any sense to use words that are not correct and civil and I apologise for that," Dikshit told ANI. Inviting a huge backlash from various quarters, the Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit yesterday said General Rawat shouldn't make statements like a ' Sadak ka Gunda' (a road-side goon). Speaking to ANI, Dikshit had said, "It feels our army chief speaks like a roadside thug. While this is expected from Pakistan who are like the mafia, why does our own chief make such pronouncements?" Dikhsit's remark came in the backdrop of General Rawat's recent statement, where he said that the Indian Army is well prepared to face external and internal threats of the country. "Indian Army is fully ready for a two-and-a-half front war", General Rawat had said. The Congress party, however, sidelined itself from Dikshit's controversial statement, saying that the party does not support use of such language at all. "I don't know why he used such language. We have discussed this issue with him, but the party doesn't support this for sure," Congress leader Meem Afzal told ANI. (ANI)
Journalists of local dailies and electronic media today boycotted the press conference of Minister of State for Social Justice Dilip Kamble protesting his controversial remarks made last month against the fraternity.Mr Lumakant Nalvade, president of Kolhapur Press Club (KPC), said KPC had decided to boycott the scheduled press conference at district collector's office this afternoon.On KPC's appeal, all the journalists remained absent from the conference in support of the boycott.In his Shivar Samvad Yatra at Hingoli, the minister said that journalists should be beaten up with shoes, besides abusing them while addressing the crowd. UNI SSS AD SNU 1559 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-931322.Xml
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi todayaccused the Narendra Modi government of muzzling the media by notallowing journalists to write what they want to express. Speaking at the launch of commemorative publication of Congressmouth piece National Herald here, he said thousands of journalistsin the country were not being allowed to write what they want. ''Imeet them and they tell me that they are being silenced''. He said during his visit to Golden Temple two days ago he learntthe powerful concept of Sikhism -- 'Peeri' and 'Meeri'. While Peerimeans 'the power of truth', Meeri means the 'truth of power'. ''This is what is happening in India now. There is a dis-balancebetween these two forces. The power of truth is being completelyreplaced by the truth of power. Anybody who attempts to say thetruth, who want to stand for the truth are being pushed aside,'' hestated. Mr Gandhi said the Dalits were being beaten up, minorities werefrightened, while journalists and bearucrats are being threatened. He said during his visit to Madhya Pradesh a couple of days ago apoliceman had told him that he had been forced to do something thathe doesnt want to do. ''I asked him why I was not allowed as I am citizen of India andI am allowed to come to Madhya Pradesh. On what basis you arestopping me. Is there a law to do this. For this he said there is nosuch law but he had been told to stop him,'' he said. He said that was basically what is being done in the country.When he went to Uttar Pradesh last week same thing happened and hewas stopped at the border. ''This is the India we are living in. The country where power issimply used to 'manufacture' truth and everybody knows what thetruth is, but people are scared to say. Quoting a Soviet poet, he said when truth is being silenced, thenthe truth becomes a lie. This is what the government is trying todo. It is forcing everything into silence, he alleged. Mr Gandhi said the National Herald had a strong spirit that itwill not going to be silenced. ''The Editor came to me some timeback, I told him when he wants to say something against the congressparty its ideas or me, I will be absolutely comfortable and want himto say it without any fear. ''That is the spirit we expect fromNational Herald. Speak the truth and do not be silenced or be scared.'' The Congress party today launched the refurbished website ofNational Herald, which had stopped the publication a few years ago,as the party preferred Bengaluru as it is the IT Capital of the country. The publication would also go into print shortly. While Vice President Hamid Ansari delivered the keynote address,Karnataka Governor Vajubhai R Vala, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah,KPCC President G Parameshwara, National Herald Director OscarFernandes and Congress leader Gulam Nabi Azad also attended the function.MORE UNI RS CNR CS 1540 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0284-931350.Xml
The Haryana Government has decided to decentralise the scrutiny of the martyrdom cases.The State Government has also advocated speedy release of payments to the next of kin of martyrs of defence and central para-military forces. Stating this here today, an official spokesperson said after cognizance of some complaints that significant time was taken in releasing the ex-gratia to the next of kin of martyrs, it had been decided to decentralise the scrutiny of martyrdom cases to avoid any delay on account of the shuttling of cases between the head office and districts.Now, all documents would be scrutinised as per the standard check list issued by the head office at the district level by the District Sainik and Ardh Sainik Welfare Office. The District Sainik and Ardh Sainik Welfare (DSASW) Officer would put up fully documented case to the Deputy Commissioner for payment.The spokesperson said the payment sanction letter would be signed by the (DSASW) Officer and one copy would be forwarded to the Headquarters for seeking release of payment from the budget. The head office would make online transfer of the sanctioned amount of ex-gratia to the office concerned.On receipt of the payment sanction, letter sent by the district office at head office, the case would be put up to the Director, Sainik and Ardh Sainik Welfare Department, for release of amount from the budget. The amount would then be released online to the district concerned.These instructions would be followed strictly and the entire record, including the documents related to the martyrdom and payment of ex-gratia amount, would be kept safe in the offices of DSASW Officers.The district officers would also be asked to upload these documents on the online MIS for safety and record.Besides, instructions issued vide letter no. 13/8/94-4DIII dated July 1, 1992, and amendments issued from time to time would be referred to, before processing the case, the spokesperson added.UNI DB PS SNU 1610 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-931343.Xml
The biggest achievement of thethree-year-old Narendra Modi government at the centre was that ithad ensured that all government allocations of funds reached thetarget groups, Union Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore said today. Visiting the small town of Chikkodi in North Karnatakadistrict, the former army man and International medal winning shootersaid a former Prime Minister had claimed that only 15 to 18 paisa ofa rupee in government spending went to the people. ''Modi government is doing much better the entire rupee is goingto the beneficiary as it is linked to the bank account, he claimed. Rathore rebutted Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah criticismthat minorities were not attended to by the union government. ''Everyone among the Indian citizens are benefitted by Mr Modi'sschemes and the implementation of the central schemes has been anexample for good governance. The feedback from the common people isthere all to see,'' he said. The Minister said that it was for the first time that UnionMinisters had spread out across the nation, out of their states andto new fields to know the pulse of the people. ''I am here in Chikkodi to know just this. This is a land ofwarriors and many people who have served in defence forces and someretired. I salute them as a defence officer,'' he said. The Minister, however, refused to drawn into the shooting incidentin Madhya Pradesh and said he had no information into thecircumstances that led to the shooting. He hoped that the contentious Kalasa-Banduri river sharingproject will be resolved with an amicable settlement between Goa and Karnataka. Belagavi MP Suresh Angadi, and other leaders were present atthe Circuit House and welcomed the Minister. UNI HVN RS CS 1905 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0286-931754.Xml
Reminding Prime Minister that a nation cannot be built on "memory alone", the Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi today said there is a need for "imagination" to move ahead and also accused that the ideology of Mr Narendra Modi and the RSS is converting people's anxiety on joblessness and other issues into "hatred against Muslims, Dalits, other minorities". "The ideology that drives PM Modi, the RSS and BJP uses this anxiety and insecurity to spread anger and hatred. They convert this anxiety into hatred against Muslims, Dalits, other minorities and marginalised people forcing two people brothers with common interests and dreams to go into combat with each other," Mr Gandhi said in an interview to the daily 'National Herald'.Mr Gandhi said people from villages have been "migrating in large numbers to towns and big cities, hoping for a better life and better job opportunities" and pointed out that gradually this is turning into a "terrifying experience". "They have left their village behind; their social groups, solidarity networks and friendships are gone. They have no way of going back .....Imagine the tremendous anxiety and fear that these internal migrants face it's shattering," he said.But he said while the BJP and the RSS are turning the anxiety into "anger", it ought to be kept in mind that "the anger and the hatred will not convert into jobs, or solutions". "Once this engine of hatred starts, you cannot control it," he said and even alleged that, "the Prime Minister has clearly demonstrated that he is not interested in halting this hatred, rather he feeds off it".Mr Gandhi said, PM Modi talks to people about India being the "greatest country 5,000 years ago" and said: "With great vigour he speaks of mythical flying chariots, ancient plastic surgery and genetic science. Our PM repeats again and again that the future is in the past. But you cannot build a nation on memory alone. We need imagination to move forward. Where is the imagination for India now?"The Congress leader also went onto ask: "I see neither a vision nor compassion anywhere in this present government".Mr Gandhi said, the Congress-led UPA had "built an architecture to ease the pain" and referred to initiatives like the MGNREGA and the Food Security Act."The Congress Party sees politics as a process. It is a consensus-making structure that allows conversations to thrive by bringing in a large number of voices ......We were successful because we listened to the people. This is at the core of the Congress culture," he said and went onto add in the same breadth: "The BJP (also) talks but they cannot think. Worse, they refuse to listen". The Congress leader alleged, "For a people so entrenched in the past and so frightened of the future, they don't realise that gradually people will run out of patience for their hollow words and unfulfilled promises".More UNI DEVN SHK 1851 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0430-931795.Xml
Despite tense situation on the Line of Control (LoC), as many as 13 guests from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) arrived here while four Kashmiris crossed over to the other side in the weekly Karvan-e-Aman bus operating between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad.Meanwhile, 16 people also returned to their respective sides this evening at the Kaman Post in Uri sector, official sources told UNI.They said 13 PoK residents, including six women and five children, arrived at Kaman Post after crossing the Aman Setu, peace bridge, on foot to meet their relatives, separated in 1947.As many as seven Kashmiris, who had gone to the PoK, also returned to their homes after completing their stay there. They included two women and as many children.They said four Kashmiris, including two women, crossed over to the other side of LoC to meet their relatives. Meanwhile, 9 PoK residents, including a woman and three children, returned to their homes.The bus operation was suspended thrice in May. The bus could not operate on May 8 for security reasons as the Army had launched a search operation at village Adoora in Uri sector after a firing incident. Again on May 29, Pakistan Army did not respond and the bus had to return from Kaman Post. It also could not operate on May 1 following a communication from PoK authorities regarding suspension of service on account of International Workers' Day. The bus service, a major Confidence Building Measure (CBM) between India and Pakistan after 1999 Kargil War, continued despite unrest in Kashmir in 2016 and tension on the LoC, due to ceasefire violation and subsequent surgical strike by Indian troops in the PoK.The cross-LoC bus service, started on April 7, 2005 despite opposition by militant organisations, has helped thousands of families, divided in 1947 due to Partition, to meet each other after India and Pakistan agreed to allow travel of state subjects from both sides on travel permits, instead of international passport.However, travel permit is issued to the State subject from both sides of the LoC only after their names are cleared by the intelligence agencies from India and Pakistan. However, only State subjects from both sides could avail the cross-LoC facility.UNI ABS AD SNU 1830 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0433-931725.Xml
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today asked Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh to educate Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar on Sikh religious ethos and governance as Mr Jakhar had fallen flat on his face while trying to espouse on both in his eagerness to please his bosses. In a statement here, SAD MP and spokesman Prem Singh Chandumajra said it was strange that Mr Jakhar had like an uninitiated recruit tried to question the Sikh credentials of SAD while choosing to speak on an administrative lapse by the Amritsar Development Authority (ADA). "Instead of questioning the ADA and demanding why it had not checked display of liquor advertisements on giant screens of the heritage street adjoining the Darbar Sahab after the Congress government took over the reins of the state, Jakhar started claiming that the SAD had not even spared the Harmandar Sahab. Surely Mr Jakhar must know that it is his party and his former PM Indira Gandhi which did not spare the Harmandar Sahab by attacking it with tanks. How can he be so ignorant about Sikh history?", the SAD MP asked. Mr Chandumajra said,"this was not all. Apparently Mr Jakhar even distorted facts to state the entire advertising contract had been given to a private company for Rs five lakh per year." "This is not true. The contract is for Rs 50 lakh per annum. While Rs five lakh is given to ADA, Rs 45 lakh is given to the municipal corporation. Mr Jakhar should immediately apologise for resorting to lies and deceit on such a sensitive matter", he added. He said it also appeared that the Punjab Congress president did not know what he was writing. "Mr Jakhar claims in the press release that the rules of the tender stated that concessionaire would adhere to advertising rules of ADA, Urban Art Commission and statutory authorities," he said. Mr Chandumajra said since there had been no transgression of the contract during SAD-BJP rule, it meant that the concessionaire was following the norms earlier. "It is clear that liquor advertisements have started appearing on the screens only after the Congress government came into power. But Mr Jakhar has been unable to grasp this simple fact and is trying to politicise the issue little realising the fault lies in his own government," he said. Asking Capt Singh to rein in the inexperienced PPCC chief, the senior Akali leader said Mr Jakhar should be instructed not to comment on sensitive issues without first checking the veracity of his claims thoroughly. "Such kind of immature behaviour has made the entire Punjab Congress an object of ridicule. It has also hurt the sentiments of the Sikhs who know that it was the Congress government which failed to monitor the content being shown in the heritage walk and instead of admitting this fault tried to put the blame on the previous SAD- BJP government", he added. UNI DB PY SHK 1938 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-931921.Xml
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said the government is committed to fast-track development of the North-Eastern region and steady progress in infrastructure development has been made here in various sectors including inter and intra-regional road, rail and air connectivity, power, education, health and setting up institutions of excellence and research in various fields. Chairing the meeting of Indo-Myanmar Border States at Aizawl, Mizoram today, Rajnath said that shortly North-East will have a string of modern cities under Smart City project. Rajnath informed that to address specific developmental needs of border areas along international boundaries, allocation under Border Area Development Programme (BADP) to 17 border states was Rs. 990 cr in 2016 - 2017 which has been raised to Rs. 1100 cr. in 2017 - 2018 and the States of Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh were released Rs. 567.39 crore during the last three years. "For integrated development of 41 Model Villages, Rs. 92.39 cr were released in the last financial year, which included 3 villages in Manipur and one village in Nagaland. For strengthening infrastructure in Indo-Myanmar Border, Assam Rifles has given a proposal for construction of roads and airports facilities for their operational requirement," he added. The Home Minister stressed that the well being of people living in border areas and addressing their basic needs is crucial. He advised the state governments to pay special attention to the urgent need of improving basic facilities and infrastructure like roads, power, telecommunication, health and education etc. for people in these remotely located areas. He ordered setting up of a committee under the chairmanship of Secretary Border Management for identification of gaps in the facilities in these areas and to prioritize them for filling them up in short term (3 years), medium term (3-6 years) and long term (6-10 years). The committee has also been tasked to find out and pool all the resources and dovetail all programmes of various Ministries of Government of India including those of North-Eastern Council, Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) and BADP and also those of the respective state Governments for achieving these objectives. The committee is required to submit detailed report before December 31. "Greater connectivity within the region and with our neighbours is likely to give impetus to enhanced movement of goods, services and people across the border," the Home Minister said. "Improved connectivity and relations with Myanmar are opening new opportunities of growth of this region and Indo-Myanmar border region will be playing a much greater role in near future and therefore, the Centre and the States must be adequately prepared for it," he advised. About the Internal Security perspective, the Home Minister said that although Myanmar border is peaceful and friendly yet it is very sensitive. The Home Minister mentioned that India's 1643 kms border with Myanmar, touching four states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram is unique in many ways. "It has a visa-free movement regime for the people living within 16 kms on either side of the border. They can stay up to 72 hrs with effective and valid permits issued by the designated authorities on either side. This regime has been in place keeping in view the traditional social relations among the border people," he added. "It helps genuine people living in the close proximity of the border. However, it is misused by militants and criminals who smuggle weapons, narcotics, contraband goods and Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN). With fast improving security situation in this region, militants are denied hideouts here and some of them have relocated themselves across the border. Taking advantage of the free-movement regime occasionally they enter India, commit crimes and escape to their relatively safer hide-outs," the Home Minister added. For preparing a standard operating procedures common for all the four states so that militants, criminals and contrabands are filtered at the border without causing inconvenience to genuine people, Rajnath decided to constitute a Committee headed by Special Secretary (Internal Security), Ministry of Home Affairs which will examine the present rules and regulations adopted by the Border States for implementation of free movement regime along with this border. The Committee will give report for uniform and effective implementation of free movement regime within 3 months. Appreciating the role of Assam Rifles, Rajnath said that they are performing their duties with unshakable courage, determination and skills. He urged upon the Chief Ministers to pay special attention to the local issues of border guarding forces to boost their morale and improve their efficiency. Rajnath advised the state governments to extend co-operation in the survey work for erection, construction of subsidiary pillars for removing differences of perception on ground of zero line and for understanding the boundary demarcation clearly. The Home Minister directed that whatever construction work is required near the border, may be done leaving the 'No Construction Zone'. He solicited cooperation of Chief Ministers and local population for joint survey of border pillars on the Indo-Myanmar boundary. Mentioning that there are over 240 villages with over 2.5 Lac people within 10 Km of the Indo-Myanmar border, Rajnath urged upon the Chief Ministers to bring these areas under active policing by opening police stations and police posts for re-assuring the people and also to prevent illegal cross-border activities. The meeting was attended by the Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju, the Chief Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Mizoram while Nagaland was represented by their Home Minister. The Chief Secretaries and Directors General of Police of the states concerned and senior officers of MHA, Assam Rifles, security agencies and the concerned central Ministries were also present. (ANI)
The Congress Party on Monday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) should stop converting the farmers' woes by raising 'non -issue' like Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit's 'sadak ka gunda' remark for Army Chief. Dikshit, a former Member of Parliament and the son of former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, has apologised after using the words "Sadak ka goonda (street goon)" for Army Chief General Bipin Rawat. "Ours is not a mafia Army like Pakistani army which makes statements like goons on the street. It looks bad when our Army chief gives a statement like a sadak ka goonda," Dikshit had told ANI. Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala told ANI that the Indian National Congress has deep respect for the Army Chief and armed forces of India and has advised Sandeep Dikshit to desist from making such comments. "The Indian National Congress has always stood by the demands of Indian army including the last one on which they were agitating for one rank and one pension. We have advised Sandeep Dikshit to desist from making any controversial remarks regarding Army Chief. For, the Congress does not subscribe to or support such remarks as we find them not good in taste. Post that advisory, Sandeep Dikshit has already apologised publicly for his remarks," said Surjewala. The Congress leader, however, alleged that the BJP was trying to divert country's attention from the farmers' issue by raking up Sadak Ka Gunda (roadside goon) remark. "The BJP should stop converting the agenda of farmers into non issue of this nature and should concentrate on giving a comprehensive relief package to farmers of India who are dying every day," he added. The Congress leader also targeted the Narendra Modi-led Government over the frequent ceasefire violations by Pakistan. "India released Pakistanis as a goodwill gesture but will Indian government tell Pakistan not to kill innocent Indians as a goodwill gesture in return. When will the Prime Minister talk with Pakistan with 'red eyes' and 56-inch-chest'," questioned Surjewala. The Congress leader said that Pakistan has violated ceasefire agreement more than 1400 times since Narendra Modi led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government assumed power in 2014. Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav refused to comment on Sandeep Dikshit's remark over Army Chief General Bipin Rawat. He, however, said that the Army should not be politicised. (ANI)
After a long wait, the residents of Kolkata got the taste of Monsoon showers which they were desperately waiting for.

During the last few days, Kolkata was not witnessing good rains and only scattered showers were being recorded over the region. In fact, there were days when the city remained either dry or received traces of rainfall.

"Southwest Monsoon 2017 has advanced further into remaining parts of Tripura, Assam and Meghalaya and has covered entire North-eastern states," said the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Along with Kolkata, Monsoon has also arrived in Mumbai, Pune, Nashik and more areas of Maharashtra. Not only this, Southwest Monsoon has also made an onset over Hyderabad and more parts of Telangana. (ANI)
"Alert troops foiled yet another infiltration bid in Poonch sector on the intervening night of June 11-12," Northern Command based official spokesman tweeted.

He said, "eight rucksacks and war like stores recovered in the search."

The infiltration attempt was foiled in Mendhar sector of Poonch, sources added.

Meanwhile, defence spokesman said that Pakistani Army after a brief lull, yet again violated the truce agreement by initiating indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics and mortars from 1845 hours in Krishna Ghati Sector along the LoC in Poonch.

"Own troops befittingly replying to the firing,'' he added.

However, earlier in the morning Pakistani Army shelled forward Indian posts by firing mortars along the Line of Control in Poonch and Rajouri districts.

"Pakistan Army this morning at around 0620 hours initiated indiscriminate firing of Small arms, automatics and mortars in Krishna Ghati sector along the Line of Control," defence spokesman here said.

The spokesman further said Pakistan Army also initiated indiscriminate firing of Small arms, automatics RPG, Recoilless Rifles and mortars from 0845 hours in Lam sector of Rajouri.

"Army retaliated strongly and effectively while no injury or damage has been reported on own side," he added.

Unprovoked firing however, stopped in Laam sector of Nowshera at 1010 hours while in KG sector of Poonch, the firing stopped at 0815 hours, defence spokesman here said.UNI VBH PY SHK 2157

-- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0298-932105.Xml
In view of peaceful presence and upholding and strengthening friendly ties in pursuit of country's Act East policy, the Indian Naval vessel Sahyadri sailed for Papua New Guinea today. The ship is on an overseas deployment to the South East Asia and Southerm Indian Ocean and will be on a port visit to Moresby from 12 June to 15 June 2017, the Navy said.During the visit of President Pranab Mukherjee to Papua New Guinea back in April 2016, a number of constructive discussions were held on the common desire to enhance the friendly ties and cooperation between the two countries, following which the visits of the Indian Naval ships would seek to have solidarity with the harmonious countries and ensure good order in maritime domain, strengthening the existing bonds between the countries.During Sahyadri's stay in harbour, the activities such as official calls, formal reception on board ships, ships open to visitors, guided tours for Indian naval personnel, professional interaction between naval personnel of both the nations and other activities of Community Welfare have been planned. . As a part of the Indian Government's vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR), the Indian Navy has also been involved in assisting countries in the Indian Ocean Region with EEZ Surveillance, Search and Rescue, and other capacity-building and capability-enhancement activities. The current deployment will also contribute towards the Indian Navy's efforts to Consolidate inter-operability across the seas. . Over the past few decades, India has made substantial advances in terms of designing and building warships indigenously and the visiting ships bear testimony to these capabilities. The INS Sahyadri, a multi-role stealth frigate is commanded by Captain Anil Jaggi, the navy said.UNI APS SHK 2151 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0448-932082.Xml
On World Day Against Child Labour on Monday, the Delhi Police joined hands with an NGO to solve cases of missing children and to fight child labour, a senior police official said. "Delhi Police have decided to share information with Child Rights and You (CRY) to locate missing children and also to conduct awareness programmes against child labour," Special Commissioner of Police Dependra Pathak said while addressing the media. "It'll be a symbiotic relationship. CRY has a pan-India network and we can use it to locate missing children. We will help them with awareness against child labour and will also provide them information on it," Pathak told IANS. CRY Director Vatsala Mamgain said: "Juvenile Welfare Officers of local police stations will be coming with us to ground level for awareness programmes on child labour." Members of CRY said that awareness was extremely important for checking child labour. "We tend to give money or buy things from children at traffic signals or in streets, but by doing so rather than helping them, we are harming them," CRY spokesperson Jaya Singh said. "People should stop doing this. There is a nexus behind these children and they use children as they know that it's profitable. If people stop buying things from children, the nexus will break up of its own," Singh said. Around 6 p.m, around 1,000 people including police personnel and citizens formed a human chain near India Gate to mark the beginning of the joint awareness programme against child labour. India is home to more than 33 million working children below the age of 18, of whom 10.13 million are below 14 years. Also,the population of working children in India, of ages between five and nine years, increased by 37 per cent between 2001 and 2011, according to CRY. --IANS nkh/nir/vt ( 315 Words) 2017-06-12-22:22:22 (IANS)
The Goa Police today busted an online prostitution racket being operated from Calangute in North Goa by arresting two people from Odisha and Delhi.According to police, a trap was laid and the accused, idenitified as Santosh Kumar Kar from Odisha and Dependra Bhandari from Delhi, were arrested.Two women hailing from Delhi and Kolkata (West Bengal) were rescued. Police said a police decoy contacted the accused on their mobile phones and a meeting was fixed near Colva circle. As soon as they reached at the Colva circle, police swung into action, arrested the accused and rescued the women.An offence for trafficking of persons using threat for exploitation under sections 370(1) and 34 of Indian Penal Code, along with PITA (Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act) was registered against both the accused, sources added.UNI AKM SS PY SHK 2202 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-932114.Xml
Suspected al Qaeda militants launched a car-bomb and gun attack on an army camp in southeastern Yemen early today, leaving at least 10 militants and two soldiers dead, a military official and residents said.The assault near the town of Baddah in oil-producing Hadramout province came after a lull in attacks by the Islamist militant group.Attackers set off two car bombs outside the camp, the official said. Residents said they also heard gunfire after two loud explosions."Our soldiers foiled the attack and managed to secure the camp and we are still pursuing those who have escaped in nearby farms," the official told Reuters by phone.Al Qaeda took advantage of years of turmoil to build up one of its most active branches in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country.It has been forced out of some areas in recent years by Yemen's army and allied Saudi-led coalition forces backing President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi in Yemen's civil war.But its militants have retreated to mountainous and desert areas and launch regular attacks on Yemeni troops and government facilities.The United States has launched two commando raids on al Qaeda forces in Yemen this year and stepped up drone attacks.REUTERS RJ 1340 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0386-931176.Xml
The United Arab Emirates will not deport Qataris who are married to Emirati nationals, Abu Dhabi-based newspaper The National reported today, a week after severing ties with Doha and giving Qataris 14 days to leave.In the worst Gulf Arab crisis for years, the UAE, along with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, cut diplomatic as well as travel and trade ties with Qatar, accusing their fellow Gulf state of supporting Iran and funding Islamist groups. Doha denies the charges.Before the decision Gulf Arab citizens could easily travel, reside and work across the six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).The restrictions have left thousands of Qataris cut off from relatives in a region where cross-border marriages are common and Gulf rulers refer to each other as "brothers"."Qataris married to Emiratis will not be deported," The National wrote today, without giving a source for the information. "UAE airports and borders have been ordered to allow any Qatari citizens who are immediate relatives of Emiratis to pass through," it added.Reuters was not immediately able to verify the report.The move appears to be part of recent efforts to lessen the human toll of the rift. Yesterday authorities in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain said they were setting up hotlines to help families with Qatari members, without elaborating.Saudi state news agency SPA reported late on Sunday that King Salman has ordered authorities to "take into consideration humanitarian situations of Saudi-Qatari joint families," appearing to clarify the previous announcements. Bahrain issued a similar statement on its state news agency.Saudi Arabia also said that Qataris who wanted to perform Islamic pilgrimages were also exempt from the measures and would be allowed into the Kingdom as normal."The pilgrims from Qatar are in the hearts of their Saudi brethren from when they enter the Kingdom until their departure," SPA said, quoting the official body in charge of Mecca and Medina, Islam's two holiest sites.In a statement on Friday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told Gulf states to ease their measures against Qatar which he said were forcing the separation of families and causing children to be pulled out of school."Our expectation is that these countries will immediately take steps to de-escalate the situation and put forth a good faith effort to resolve their grievances they have with each other," he said.Qatar said on Saturday it would not expel citizens of the countries that had cut ties with it. REUTERS PS 1536 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0386-931362.Xml
Former Okinawa Governor Masahide Ota, who as a student fought for Japan in the bloody Battle of Okinawa in World War Two and then campaigned to rid the island of US military bases, died today at the age of 92, his office said.Ota, a historian, sprang to national and international attention as governor of the southern Japanese island at the time of big protests against US bases following the rape of a Japanese girl by three American servicemen in 1995.The protests led to a US-Japan agreement in 1996 to close the US Marines' Futenma air base and move its functions from a crowded part of the island to a less populous location.But persistent resentment of the American military presence, associated by many residents with crime, pollution and accidents, has delayed the move for more than two decades."During the war, Okinawa became a bulwark for the defence of Japan and many people were sacrificed," Ota, who fought in the so-called Blood and Iron Corps mobilised to defend the island, told Reuters in 2010.About 140,000 civilians died in the three-month Battle of Okinawa, along with about 94,000 Japanese soldiers and more than 12,000 Americans."We don't want Okinawa to become a battlefield again," Ota said, explaining his opposition the bases on the island, host to the bulk of the US military presence in Japan.Ota was also critical of the Japanese wartime military and worried the lessons of Japan's wartime past were being forgotten.During his tenure as governor, he was responsible for the building of a "Cornerstone of Peace" monument in the Okinawa Peace Memorial Park, on which the names of those who died in the Battle of Okinawa - regardless of nationality or whether military or civilian - are inscribed.Ota, who received a master's degree in journalism from Syracuse University in New York, was also a prolific author.REUTERS PS 1536 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0386-931371.Xml
The leader of the Scottish Conservatives supports Britain staying in the European single market, a party source said today, but is aware that may not be the outcome of talks for Britain to leave the European Union.Scottish Conservatives leader Ruth Davidson has bigger stature within her party nationwide because she spearheaded a campaign which won 13 seats in Scotland in last week's election, while the Conservatives overall fell short of a parliamentary majority.Asked whether Davidson supported single market membership the source said "yes, but she is aware that we are negotiating and you don't always get what you want in a negotiation".Davidson is in London today to meet with Prime Minister Theresa May, the source said. The election result has weakened May's position just days before negotiations over the UK's departure from the EU begin. REUTERS PS 1623 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0421-931488.Xml
Two Chinese nationals abducted and killed in Pakistan last month, whose murders were claimed by Islamic State, were preachers who abused the visa system, Pakistan said today, contradicting earlier reports they were teachers.The Pakistani interior ministry identified the two as Lee Zing Yang, 24, and Meng Li Si, 26.It said they were pretending to be learning the Urdu language from a Korean national but "were actually engaged in preaching". It did not say what kind of preachers they were.The two were abducted on May 24 in Quetta, the provincial capital of Baluchistan province.REUTERS PS 1822 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0421-931769.Xml
Pakistan said today two Chinese citizens abducted last month, and whose killing was claimed by Islamic State, were preachers who had abused the visa system by posing as business people to enter the country.The interior ministry identified the two as Lee Zing Yang, 24, and Meng Li Si, 26. Previously officials said the two Chinese nationals were Chinese-language teachers.The two were abducted by armed men pretending to be policemen on May 24 in Quetta, the provincial capital of Baluchistan province. Last week, Islamic State's Amaq news agency said its members had killed the two.The ministry said the two had entered Pakistan on business visas. But instead of doing business, they had gone to Quetta, where they pretended to learn the Urdu language from a Korean business owner but "were actually engaged in preaching".It did not say what kind of preachers they were, nor did it say if the Korean was from North Korea or South Korea.Pakistani officials have not confirmed the two are dead. No bodies have been found but China said information provided by Pakistan suggested the two were probably dead.The kidnapping was a rare crime against Chinese nationals in Pakistan.Old ally China has pledged to invest $57 billion in Pakistan in projects linked to its "Belt and Road" infrastructure plan aimed at linking China with the Middle East and Europe.Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said in response to the case that there should be a review of the visa process for Chinese nationals entering Pakistan, and for a databank to track Chinese workers in different parts of the country.Khan ordered the databank to be "shared with all security agencies", his ministry said in a statement.REUTERS PS 1845 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0421-931822.Xml
The United States refused to sign up to the Group of Seven major industrialised economies' statement on climate change and plans to fund sustainable development, a statement from the group's environment ministers said today.The US said it did not sign up to statements by its G7 colleagues from Italy, Canada, Japan, France, Britain and Germany on climate change and multilateral development banks "reflecting our recent announcement to withdraw and immediately cease implementation of the Paris Agreement and associated financial commitments," the statement said."The United States will continue to engage with key international partners in a manner that is consistent with our domestic priorities, preserving both a strong economy and a healthy environment," it said.Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump announced he would withdraw from the Paris climate change accord, saying that participating would undermine the economy, wipe out jobs, weaken US national sovereignty, and put the country at a permanent disadvantage to others.REUTERS PS 1852 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0421-931840.Xml
Pakistan's Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan was informed on Monday in a high level meeting that the two Chinese nationals, abducted from Quetta last month, were involved in preaching, instead of business activities, their declared purpose for visiting the country. The two Chinese, identified as Lee Zing Yang, 24, and Meng Li Si, 26, were abducted from Jinnah Town Quetta on May 24, reports the Dawn. However, it was not immediately clear what actually they were 'preaching'. After the briefing, Nisar announced to revise the visa policy and establishment of a databank for Chinese nationals visiting Pakistan to avoid the misuse of business visas by foreign nationals. The interior minister was informed that the abductees had gone to Quetta, where they pretended to learn the Urdu language from a Korean national, Juan Won Seo, who is the owner of ARK Info Tech, but were actually engaged in preaching. The two were part of a Chinese citizens group, who had obtained business visas from the Pakistani Embassy in Beijing. Expressing his displeasure over negligence shown by Pakistani missions abroad in granting visas, Nisar directed all Pakistani missions to undertake proper scrutiny of visa application forms and acquire all necessary details before exercising their powers. He also called for a data bank of Chinese nationals, present in the country, to be maintained. He said a data bank of Chinese nationals, present in the country, should be prepared and maintained by National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) and should be shared with all security agencies of the country. Nisar also assured that Pakistan Government was making every effort to secure foreigners. The high level meeting was attended by the secretary interior, advocate general, director general of immigration and passports, the deputy chairman NADRA and others. The Islamic State had reportedly claimed to have killed two Chinese nationals held in Mastung district of Balochistan, Pakistan. The SITE Intelligence Group said that the ISIS, through its Amaq news agency, has claimed that its fighters in Pakistan have killed two Chinese nationals held in Mastung. The development comes days after Pakistani forces said that they have killed a number of key commanders of the Islamic State group in an operation carried out in the mountainous Mastung district after intelligence reports said the group was holding the Chinese nationals kidnapped on May 24 from Jinnah Town of the provincial capital Quetta. The Chinese presence in Pakistan has increased in the past few years due to the China Pakistan Economic Corridor and the Pakistani government has deployed 15,000 military personnel to protect projects under the economic corridor. Following the abduction, China had said it will spare no effort to rescue its kidnapped citizens while adding that it will also step up efforts to safeguard the security of Chinese citizens and agencies in Pakistan. (ANI)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel called today for a new approach to development in Africa, saying that big industrialised countries should be more open to transferring weapons to help African countries battle militant groups.Merkel, who has made ties with Africa a centrepiece of Germany's G20 presidency, said several African leaders had complained that they were expected to battle militancy without receiving significant military aid from the West."For many years, we felt good when we didn't focus on military equipment ... But we have to be honest - only where security is ensured can development take place," Merkel said at the opening of a Group of 20 conference on Africa in Berlin.Merkel also lauded the courage of African countries that were actively fighting Islamist militants in Mali and neighbouring countries. Germany would support a French push for the UN Security Council to authorise a West African force to combat terrorism and trafficking in the Sahel region, she said.Merkel's comments come amid growing pressure from the United States on Germany and other European countries to increase their own military spending to meet NATO targets.Germany and France are working on a proposal to use European Union funding to help back the African military effort in the Sahel region.Arms sales remain a sensitive topic in Germany given its World War Two history, and German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, a member of the Social Democratic junior partners in Merkel's right-centre coalition, has promised more restrictive export licensing, especially of light arms.German arms sales did drop slightly in 2017, but remained at second highest levels on record since 1990."I also find it very courageous that some countries are taking responsibility into their own hands and fighting terrorism in Mali and neighbouring countries," Merkel said, endorsing the French drive for a U.N. mandate.Merkel's statement puts her at odds with the United States, which diplomats say is wary of the French push because it did not want the world body to fund the effort.The German leader also sketched out plans for a G20 "Compact with Africa" that moves away from more paternalistic notions of development aid of the past, looking instead at opportunities to partner with African countries, many of which are seeing booming growth rates."We need a sustainable, inclusive economic development for the whole world," she said, adding that economic gains in Africa - where the population is expected to double by 2050 - were also in the interest of Europe, where a growing number of African migrants are seeking refuge."We need an initiative that does not talk about Africa, but with Africa," she said.REUTERS PY 2115 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0298-932101.Xml
A second US appeals court today ruled against President Donald Trump's temporary travel ban on people entering the United States from six Muslim-majority countries, largely upholding a lower court's decision.The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco was reviewed a March ruling by a Hawaii-based federal judge that blocked parts of Trump's order. The ruling came after a separate court, the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals, on May 25 upheld a Maryland judge's ruling blocking parts of the order.The Trump administration on June 1 asked the US Supreme Court to block the Hawaii and Richmond rulings and revive the ban.REUTERS PY2247 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0298-932166.Xml
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 00:44:40|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

TEHRAN, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Iran's southern ports in the Persian Gulf are all prepared to send goods to Qatar, deputy head of Iran's Ports and Maritime Organization, Jalil Eslami, was quoted as saying by semi-official Fars news agency on Sunday.

"We are ready to load and send the materials and goods needed by the Qataris from the ports in southern Iran," Eslami said, adding that a consignment of commodities has already been sent from Iran's Bushehr port to Qatar at the demand of Doha.

The official said that the traffic of cargo vessels between the Iranian and Qatari ports faces no problems, and negotiations are underway between the Tehran and Doha to dispatch goods to Qatar.

Also, Iran's national flag carrier, Iran Air, announced that it has carried four consignments of foodstuff to Qatar after the Arab country was isolated and sanctioned by its other Arab neighbors.

The Saudi-led coalition against gas-rich Qatar have cut diplomatic ties with Doha. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister of State said on Saturday that the sanctions against Qatar are to urge the latter "to stop support and finance of extremism and terrorism." Doha has dismissed the allegations.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 02:20:02|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

NAIROBI, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Kenya confirmed late Sunday that an improvised explosive device (IED) which was set against soldiers by Al-Shabaab terrorists in the coastal region of Lamu did not harm anyone.

The ministry of interior said in a statement that the IED targeting Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) along the Milimani-Baure's supply route was detonated without any casualties or injuries on the side of KDF.

"KDF troops were on their re-supply duties along the route when their security systems detected the IED, which they exploded safely," the ministry said.

It said the KDF area commander later dispatched specialized IED and bomb experts to comb other parts of the area where the IED had been discovered.

KDF spokesman Joseph Owuoth said a probe into the blast is underway on the incident, adding that KDF officers are combing the area looking for the perpetrators.

Milimani-Baure route passes through the Ndondori National Reserve and Kiangwe Forest, a section where Al-Shabaab terror gang has been trying to dominate as a terror launch pad without success.

The East African nation has seen an increase in terror attacks in the northeastern and coastal region, with the latest being the killing of humanitarian workers along the Kulan-Liboi road in Garissa County on June 6.

The increased attacks come after intelligence agency warned of possible attacks in the Coast region by Al-Shabaab operatives in the month of Ramadhan.

The intelligence agency said the militants have dispatched fighters in parts of North Eastern and Coast to carry out sting attacks targeting security agents and civilians.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 05:21:40|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

WASHINGTON, June 11 (Xinhua) -- The Trump administration hasn't publicly said when the federal government would run out of cash, which could complicate the administration's efforts to convince U.S. Congress to raise the debt limit sooner rather than later, according to the Wall Street Journal.

"Congress is going to need to know what the deadline is, because until they actually focus on a specific date, it's going to be hard to come up with a strategy to get the increase done," the Wall Street Journal quoted Goldman Sachs political economist Alec Phillips as saying on Sunday.

The U.S. Treasury has begun using bookkeeping maneuvers to continue to finance the government's activities since the federal government's outstanding debt reached its statutory limit on March 15.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin last month urged Congress to raise the debt limit before its August recess to avoid a potential federal government default, but he didn't say when the government would run out of cash.

Mnuchin told reporters on Friday that "we will be fine" if Congress doesn't raise the debt limit before August, adding the Treasury Department has backup plans for funding the government.

The comments could be interpreted by Congress as a reason to delay action until lawmakers return from their recess on Sept. 5, according to the Wall Street Journal.

But Mick Mulvaney, director of the White House's Office of Management and Budget, warned last month that Congress may have to raise the debt limit "a couple weeks" sooner than previously expected, as the government tax receipts fell short of expectations in recent months.

Meanwhile, the fight over a debt limit increase could be more complicated this time, as Mnuchin and his counselors haven't navigated a debt ceiling fight before, and there's a lack of Senate-confirmed officials atop the Treasury Department, the report said.

"Our view remains that lawmakers will address the debt ceiling in advance of the deadline, but we caution that the path to a deal is murkier than previous iterations of the debt ceiling wars," Isaac Boltansky, an analyst with Compass Point Research and Trading, was quoted as saying.

The debt limit is the maximum amount of debt that the Treasury can issue to the public and to the other federal agencies. The amount of outstanding debt subject to limit has now risen to about 19.9 trillion U.S. dollars.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 07:12:06|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

MEXICO CITY, June 11 (Xinhua) -- A Mexican man died on Sunday after he stuck his head out of the window of a moving subway in Mexico City and hit a metallic barrier on the platform as the train was pulling into the station, local media reported.

The man, believed to be around 30 years old, hit his head against a portable barrier that divides the platform waiting area into two sections: one reserved for women and children, and the other for the general public.

"Red Cross personnel arrived to attend to the man, who died almost instantly due to the impact," the daily Excelsior said.

The incident, which occurred around 9 a.m. local time, briefly disrupted subway transit on Line 1 as officials inspected the scene, removed the body and evacuated the train.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 07:12:08|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

CARACAS, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday condemned the "use of children" in anti-government protests, saying he will ask the Catholic Church to help put a stop to the practice.

His announcement came a day after Venezuela's ombudsman Tarek William Saab denounced the presence of minors in often violent demonstrations.

"I firmly call on the organizers of the marches and on their representatives to not expose them to the violence," William posted to Twitter, along with images of children, some appearing as young as seven or eight, hiding their faces behind makeshift masks in protest rallies.

"The use of hooded children and adolescents aged 8, 9, 10 or 17 at demonstrations is repugnant" and "violates the convention on childrens' rights," he added.

The latest wave of protests in early April has claimed 67 lives and left more than 1,000 others injured, according to reports from the Attorney General and the ombudsman.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 07:52:15|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

SAN FRANCISCO, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, have drawn a link between distinctive genetic abnormalities in some neurodegenerative diseases and the formation of "RNA foci," abnormal clusters of ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules that accumulate in the cell nucleus.

The presence of RNA foci is a prominent feature of a group of deadly inherited neurodegenerative diseases, including Huntington's disease, certain forms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and frontotemporal dementia.

While many researchers believe that these clusters are toxic to nerve cells, it has not been clear how or why they form.

Published online recently in the journal Nature, the new study focused on a group of disorders known as "repeat expansion" diseases. In these conditions, short strings of the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) "letters" known as nucleotides are abnormally repeated several times.

Over the course of an individual's life, or across generations, the number of such repeats can expand, which may increase disease susceptibility and severity within families.

Another suspect is messenger RNA, which is copied from the DNA and used by the cell to guide protein production.

Ronald Vale, professor in the UCSF's Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, who led the new research, and UCSF postdoctoral fellow Ankur Jain, who performed the new experiments, found that each nucleotide repeat in RNA behaves like a small piece of molecular Velcro, or fastener, that can stick to repeats on other RNA strands.

"When you have lots of tandem pieces of Velcro, that allows one RNA strand to stick to multiple other strands with similar repeats," Vale said. "What you then get is many RNAs binding to one another to form a tangled gel."

Jain and Vale demonstrated this phenomenon in purified RNA in a test tube as well as when they artificially induced production of these disease-causing RNAs in cells in a dish.

"You start that process of making the RNA in cells and then can watch the gels forming in the nucleus in a time-lapse movie," Vale was quoted as saying in a news release.

And the two researchers found that about 30 nucleotide repeats were needed to trigger formation of RNA gels, similar to the number of repeats associated with the emergence of disease symptoms.

RNA gels did not form when Jain tested random nucleotide sequences that did not have disease-related repeating patterns.

In addition, while previous research indicated that RNA somehow combined with proteins to form foci, the new research suggests these clusters can arise from RNA alone.

"We have contributed a new hypothesis of how RNA foci form in these disorders," said Vale. "Protein aggregation is a well-accepted cause of many neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's and ALS, but our work suggests that aggregation of RNA, by itself, might also be a culprit in neurodegeneration."

"Now we want to tackle new therapeutics by focusing on strategies that act on RNA and that could dissolve these potentially pathological structures," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 09:53:21|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

YANGON, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Twenty-six more bodies were found Sunday from the missing Myanmar military plane believed to have crashed, bringing the total number of bodies recovered to 59, Myanmar News Agency reported Monday.

The recovered 59 bodies include 26 males, 23 females, nine children and one unidentified. Of them, three are military officers and two are soldiers, the report cited a statement from the commander in chief's office as saying.

Weather improved Sunday, making it possible for the search to continue at the sea off the southern coast of Myanmar, covering Maungmakan beach area and Launglonbot Island. Nine naval vessels, five aircrafts and two helicopters of the Air Force as well as local vessels were mobilized.

The recovered remains were sent to the military hospital in Dawei for forensic examination.

With a load of 2.4 tons of cargo and 122 people on board, including 108 military personnel and their family members and 14 crew members, the transport plane of the Myanmar Air Force lost contact with the ground 29 minutes after taking off and went missing off the coast of southern Tanintharyi region last Wednesday afternoon on its flight from Myeik to Yangon.

Although evidence has indicated that the airplane could have crashed, the cause of the tragedy is still under investigation.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 10:18:36|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

CANBERRA, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Public feedback concerning controversial changes to the Australian citizenship tests will be kept private, the government has confirmed, in a move which has drawn criticism from refugee groups.

The groups have warned against gagging the public's view on critical issues such as migration.

In April, the government revealed plans to make the citizenship test harder to pass, with potential Aussies required to have a greater understanding of the English language, while they would also be asked their opinions on "Australian values" in terms of issues such as gender equality, sexism and child marriage.

While, at the time, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the government would welcome public submissions on the proposed changes, it has been revealed the Immigration Department would not be publishing the concerns - or praises - of its proposed bill.

In a statement given to Fairfax Media on Monday the Immigration Department said: "Submissions were provided in confidence and were not for publication by the department."

But according to refugee groups including the Refugee Council of Australia, the Liverpool Migrant Resource Centre and the Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils, they did not provide their submissions in confidence, and have since published their criticisms of the plan to their respective web pages.

Asher Hirsch from the Refugee Council told Fairfax that the Australian public had a right to "judge for itself" the potential "harms" which could come about under the proposed changes.

"All too often, the immigration department refuses to release vital information about its policies to the public," Hirsch said on Monday.

"This must not become another secret decision made behind closed doors. Unless submissions are stated as confidential, they should be made public to allow the Australian community to judge for itself."

The decision to stifle the feedback goes against policy on other recent government-proposed changes, including changes to telecom laws.

The government is yet to respond to the criticism, but last week Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said the changes to the citizenship test were required, calling the legislation one which "suits the time we're living in."

"It is a bill that suits the times we're living in and the government is very serious about making sure that people who pledge their allegiance to our country abide by our laws and our values," Dutton said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (3rd L, front) and other leaders and representatives of international and regional organizations pose for a group photo before a large-range meeting of the 17th meeting of Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana, Kazakhstan, June 9, 2017. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

by Muhammad Tahir

ISLAMABAD, June 11 (Xinhua) -- The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), an influential regional security and economic block, has formally admitted Pakistan as its member, which is seen as an important foreign policy milestone for the country.

All the heads of the family members of SCO congratulated Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on this historic occasion at the 17th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO in Astana, Kazakhstan on June 9.

Sharif told the Astana summit that the SCO gives Pakistan a powerful platform for partnership to promote peace, build trust, and spur economic development for shared prosperity.

"The SCO's expansion takes place at an opportune time, as the Belt and Road Initiative transforms global economic landscape. And, in Pakistan, we are diligently implementing the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is the flagship of the Belt and Road Initiative. What's more, these mega projects will benefit the entire SCO community," he said.

It is widely believed that Pakistan's accession would allow its closer cooperation with other member states, especially in security and anti-terror cooperation as many of the regional countries currently face security challenges.

Another positive aspect of the development is that India has also secured the membership at the same time that could help the two bitter neighbors improve relations.

Tensions between Pakistan and India have overshadowed the regional South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) grouping. However, it is hoped that being members of the SCO, Pakistan and India could enhance cooperation in various fields including security in view of the SCO's charter.

The SCO summit provided an opportunity for Sharif to briefly meet his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi amid tensions in the disputed Kashmir region, where troops of the uneasy neighbors routinely trade fire. Now the other SCO members could also use their influence to encourage Pakistan and India to peacefully resolve differences.

Pakistani political leaders and analysts are unanimous to underscore the importance of Pakistan's joining the SCO and observed that Islamabad's membership of the SCO will not only enhance regional connectivity but will also strengthen peace in the region.

Mushahid Hussain, chairman of the Senate Defense Committee, said that Pakistan's membership of the SCO is a positive and timely initiative as it opens up strategic options for Pakistan's foreign policy in a regional and global context.

"Pakistan's SCO membership is also a plus for CPEC, because SCO countries are part of the Belt and Road Initiative," Hussain told Xinhua on Sunday.

"Moreover, it brings India and Pakistan at par in the emerging regional scenario, where India's attempts to isolate Pakistan have been an abysmal failure," he said.

Senator Sehar Kamran said that the membership of the SCO will help Pakistan strengthen its relations with the Central Asian states and that Pakistan has a lot to offer in this inter-regional alignment.

"The location of Pakistan provides a safe passage and a gateway for trade to the SCO member states, as well as the shortest and strategically most viable route. Pakistan provides the shortest possible trade routes to Central Asia, Gulf states and Iran on the one hand, and the Russian and Chinese markets on the other," Sehar, who belongs to the Pakistan Peoples Party, told Xinhua.

Pakistan's membership in the grouping is also significant as it could now play an active role to push for a peaceful solution to the problem in Afghanistan as the continued instability in the country is seen a security threat for all regional countries. The emergence of the so-called Islamic State in Afghanistan is worrisome for every county in the region.

Now being a member of the SCO, Pakistan will be willing to join hands with other regional countries to help Afghanistan work for the reconciliation process to end the long war.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 10:38:43|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

SEOUL, June 12 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's unification ministry on Monday reiterated its position that it will flexibly review requests for civilian exchanges with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Unification Ministry spokesman Lee Duk-haeng told a regular press briefing that there has been no change in the government's position that the inter-Korean civilian exchanges would be flexibly reviewed within a range of not damaging the international community's sanctions.

The stance was based on the new government's policy that the severed inter-Korean relations are not desirable.

President Moon Jae-in, who took office about a month earlier, was widely forecast to inherit a so-called "Sunshine Policy" of trying to enhance relations with the DPRK through economic cooperation and civilian exchanges.

The spokesman, however, noted that the government will sternly deal with any DPRK provocations based on the South Korea-U.S. military alliance.

The DPRK test-fired missiles five times since the Moon government was launched on May 10.

Despite the escalated tensions on the Korean Peninsula, the Moon government was forecast to make efforts to improve relations with Pyongyang through civilian exchanges.

Since Moon's inauguration, his government approved 15 requests for civilian contacts with the DPRK counterpart. About 20 requests were reportedly waiting for the government's approval.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 10:53:49|Editor: Zhou Xin

French president Emmanuel Macron waves during an inauguration ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris,France, on May 14, 2017. Centrist Emmanuel Macron was sworn in as the eighth president of the French Fifth Republic in a ceremony at the Elysee Palace here on Sunday. (Xinhua/Chen Yichen/File photo)

PARIS, June 12 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron's party "The Republic On The Move" (LREM) and its ally MoDem took the lead in the first round of the parliamentary elections, according to final results released by the Interior Ministry.

Final results released early Monday showed Macron's LREM and MoDem won 32.32 percent of the vote, while the center-right party The Republicans and the far-right National Front of Marine Le Pen garnered 21.56 percent and 13.2 percent, respectively.

Under France's electoral rules, only candidates who win more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round win the seat outright. If there is no clear winner, all candidates who win more than 12.5 percent in the first round qualify for a runoff.

The runoff scheduled for next Sunday will determine the makeup of an assembly that Macron, at the start of a five-year term, needs to implement his campaign promises of boosting the economy and reducing the deficit.

Projections showed LREM and MoDem are likely to win between 400 and 445 seats in the 577-seat lower house of parliament, securing a landslide majority.

"With this result, there is a desire of the French to be coherent and want to give a majority to the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron," government spokesman Christophe Castaner told TF1 news channel.

In his first political test at home, Macron, who created LREM only one year ago, named 428 candidates, including 214 women, with half of them coming from civil society and having never held an elected post.

But Sunday's turnout hit a record low of 49 percent, mirroring the French people's growing disinterest in legislative elections.

Related:

Interview: France's Macron "will likely have parliamentary majority:" expert

PARIS, June 8 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron's party "Republic on the Move" (LREM) stands a good chance of winning a parliamentary majority in upcoming legislative elections, an analyst at opinion research institute BVA Guillaume Indigo said Thursday.

Indigo told Xinhua in an interview that despite a quarter of French voters still being undecided, the 39-year-old French president "will have very likely an absolute majority" in the lower house of the parliament. Full story

France's Macron creates new counter-terrorism body as risks remain high : Elysee

PARIS, June 7 (Xinhua) -- At a defense council held in Paris on Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron decided on a new body including all the country's intelligences services to better coordinate response to eventual terror risk, his office said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 11:03:55|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

BOLOGNA, Italy, June 12 (Xinhua) -- The sudden exit of the head of the U.S. delegation lowered expectations for the ongoing Group of Seven (G7) environmental ministerial talks, showing differences between the United States and the group's other countries can be hardly resolved.

There was no formal word on the unscheduled departure of Scott Pruitt, chief of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a few hours after the two-day G7 talks began on Sunday.

U.S. media said Pruitt was "summoned" by President Donald Trump to Washington to attend Trump's first full cabinet meeting on Monday.

With the participation of junior U.S. officials, discussions continued in the northern Italian city Bologna about topics including climate change, sustainable development and litter at sea.

"Positions over the Paris accord are far apart ...and will remain like that," Italian Environment Minister Gian Luca Galletti said on Sunday on the sidelines of the G7 meeting of environment ministers from the United States, Canada, Japan, France, Germany, Italy and Britain. Italy holds the G7 presidency for 2017.

The G7 environmental meeting is also attended by the European Commission, the United Nations, and four invited countries: Chile, Ethiopia, the Maldives and Rwanda.

"We definitely made a step forward towards dialogue -- aside from climate, there is complete agreement on all the other issues," said Galletti

U.S. media reports cited Pruitt as saying in March he did not believe carbon dioxide was a primary contributor to global warming. Trump, who has called climate change a hoax costing U.S. jobs, announced to quit the Paris Agreement reached in December 2015.

The U.S. move, described as a setback for the global fight against climate change by advocates of the Paris climate accord joined by more than 190 countries and ratified by close to 150 countries, drawing widespread criticism at home and particularly from Europe.

Some European leaders said the U.S. decision was a disappointment or a mistake.

Germany, France and Italy have issued a joint statement saying the Paris Agreement cannot be renegotiated, urging increased efforts to fight climate change.

Trump has showed his intention to renegotiate the Paris deal or begin talks on a new accord on "terms that are fair to the United States," which is among the world's top carbon emitters.

Converting to a circular economy is "a truly irreversible process" and the circular economy is not only environmental policy, but also economic policy, Galletti noted on Sunday.

Pruitt said in a statement later on Sunday that the United States had always been a world leader on environment issues and "that was demonstrated on a global stage today."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 11:44:12|Editor: xuxin

Video Player Close

JAKARTA, June 12 (Xinhua) -- A powerful quake struck off Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia earlier Monday, triggering panic but there have been no preliminary reports of damage or casualties, officials said here.

The meteorology and geophysics agency reported that the quake was at 6.3 magnitude and centered at 179 km southwest Sukabumi district of West Java Province with the depth at 10 km under seabed, but the shakes of the quake were felt in nearby Jakarta city, official of the agency Dedy Sugianto told Xinhua by phone.

The quake was not potential for tsunami, the official added.

The national disaster management agency said that the residents in Jakarta and some other cities in West Java province rushed out of building and houses, but there are no reports of building or houses damaged and casualties.

The USGS reported that the quake was at 5.6 magnitude.

Indonesia is prone to quake as it lies on a vulnerable quake-hit zone called "the Pacific Ring of Fire."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 12:27:39|Editor: xuxin

Video Player Close

TRIPOLI, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Libya's Committee of Defense and National Security on Sunday called on the Libyan parliament not to release political prisoners before verdicts.

The committee issued a statement after Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of the late toppled leader Muammar Gaddafi, was freed Saturday after being detained for six years.

"Those who are detaining former regime officials are not entitled to release any of them until after clear verdicts have been issued acquitting them of all charges, in order to safeguard the security of the country," the statement said.

A militia from the city of Zintan which was detaining Gaddafi announced that his release was based on an amnesty law issued by the eastern-based parliament in 2015 that included all Libyans.

"This is an attempt by the House of Representatives and the Committee of Defense and National Security to contribute to the stability of national peace and the preservation of the social fabric," the statement said.

The Zintan military and city councils condemned the release of Gaddafi, describing it as "collusion and betrayal of the sacrifices of the martyrs and a stab to the military establishment."

Gaddafi was arrested in November 2011 by an armed group from Zintan while he was attempting to flee Libya toward Niger. Since then, he was held in a secret prison in the city.

The Tripoli appeals court sentenced the 45-year-old son of Gaddafi to death in July 2015 in absentia after he was convicted of suppressing the 2011 uprising.

Meanwhile, the parliament based in the eastern city of Tobruk declared it does not recognize the court's verdicts, claiming the court was "run by militias and an illegitimate government," in reference to the government appointed by the outgoing parliament in Tripoli.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 12:32:43|Editor: xuxin

Video Player Close

TRIPOLI, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Charge d'affaires of the Libyan Attorney General Ibrahim Masoud Ali said Sunday the public prosecutor's office has started an investigation into those involved in the release of imprisoned Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, a son of Libya's former leader Muammar Gaddafi.

"Based on the information regarding the release of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, who has been sentenced in absentia, he is wanted under the court order, so that he will be tried in accordance with the requirements of a fair trial," Ali said in a statement.

"The amnesty he needs to be released required a legal waiver from the families of the victims. Moreover, the suspect is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity," the statement added.

Ali said the public prosecutor's office has launched an investigation into Gaddafi's release, adding that "legal procedures, investigations and trial will include all those found to be involved in obstructing the implementation of the judicial rulings."

Gaddafi, 45, had been held captive since 2011 by a militia group in Zintan, a town located to the southwest of the capital Tripoli. He was accused of incitement to violence and murdering protesters during the 2011 unrest that toppled his father's regime. Muammar Gaddafi was killed after he was captured by rebel fighters in 2011.

A court in Tripoli sentenced Gaddafi, who was once widely considered as his father's heir before the political turmoil, to death along with some other officials of the former regime in 2015.

However, the eastern-based parliament granted him amnesty shortly after the sentence.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 14:03:18|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

SUVA, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Rural or village women were leaders, entrepreneurs, service providers, and their contributions were vital to the well-being of families, communities and economies, a Fijian minister said Monday.

Minister for Women Mereseini Vuniwaqa made the remarks at the opening of the Eastern Women's Capacity Building Workshop, urging for more efforts in empowering women citizens.

She said women were dedicated artisans and entrepreneurs who made efforts to provide the best for themselves and their families.

Vuniwaqa stressed the importance in striving to continue to promote women's economic empowerment and to create an equitable enabling environment for women in Fiji, who made up half the population.

She said failing to develop and empower half of Fiji's population would deny Fijians the wealth of diverse perspectives.

Vuniwaqa said Fiji could no longer let its women suffer in silence and reiterated that violence was one of the most severe, detrimental, and inhumane obstacles in the empowerment of women considering Fiji's statistics on violence against women.

She challenged Fijian women to establish support groups to look out for each other, report violence against women and ask their leaders to address issues that affected them.

One woman is left permanently disabled every day in Fiji as a result of violence from her husband or partner, research by the Fiji Women's Crisis Centre showed earlier.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 14:18:22|Editor: Lu Hui

Video Player Close

PHNOM PENH, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said Monday that the Belt and Road Initiative would significantly contribute to the development of tourism in all participating countries, including Cambodia.

"Cambodia fully supports the Belt and Road Initiative because it is a win-win policy for all," he said during the opening ceremony of the 2nd Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) Tourism Ministers Meeting in northwestern Siem Reap province.

"We are confident that this excellent policy will help boost the development of tourism in countries along the Silk Road, including in ACD member states and in Cambodia," he said.

The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, known as the Belt and Road Initiative, was proposed by China in 2013 with the aim of building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes.

To back the initiative, China has established the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Silk Road Fund.

Tourism is one of the four pillars supporting the Cambodian economy, generating a gross revenue of 3.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2016 and accounting for 13 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Cambodia attracted 5 million international tourists in 2016, the Cambodian prime minister said, predicting that the number would rise to 5.4 million in 2017 and up to 7 million in 2020.

Hun Sen said the country's peace and political stability were the prerequisites for the attraction of foreign tourists.

The Southeast Asian nation is famous for its 12th century Angkor Archeological Park in Siem Reap province. Besides, it has a 450-km pristine coastline stretching across four provinces in the country's southwestern part.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 14:33:26|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

KABUL, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Police during operations have arrested three militants including the shadow governor of Taliban for Khost-o-Fereng district of the northern Baghlan province, Interior Ministry said in a statement released here on Monday.

According to the statement, units of police acting upon intelligence report, launched operations in Khost-o-Fereng district Monday morning and captured Mawlawi Ebadullah, the shadow governor of Taliban for the district along with two of his bodyguards at 04:30 a.m. local time.

Taliban outfit has yet to make comment on the report.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 14:53:38|Editor: Yamei

Video Player Close

South Korean President Moon Jae-in (front) delivers a speech at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, June 12, 2017. (Xinhua/South Korean President office)

SEOUL, June 12 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Monday asked the parliament to approve a supplementary budget aimed to create jobs amid the record-level unemployment rate of youths.

Moon became the country's first leader who made a speech in the National Assembly to only demand the passage of the extra budget. The Moon government allocated 11.2 trillion won (about 10 billion U.S. dollars) for the extra budget plan.

The new president, who took office a month earlier, said in a televised address that the youth unemployment may become a national disaster without immediate special measures.

The jobless rate among those aged 15-29 surged to the highest-ever 11.2 percent in April since the relevant data began to be compiled by the statistical agency.

Moon said the high youth unemployment was a "heart-rending" situation for the parents of college graduates.

The country's economic paradigm, Moon said, must be changed into the one that achieves the goal of growth by creating decent jobs. At the center of people's hardships was the unemployment, Moon noted.

The president also emphasized the need to narrow income inequality. In the past five quarters, households in the bottom 20 percent income bracket saw their income keep falling, while income for the upper 20 percent bracket kept rising.

The upper 10 percent income bracket took about half of the income of all households in South Korea, Moon said.

To tackle the widening income gap and the high youth jobless rate, the Moon government will spend fiscal funds to create jobs in the public sector first.

The supplementary budget only for job creation was anticipated to create about 110,000 jobs.

Moon admitted that the budget scheme would merely become an emergency action, vowing to pour all of the government's policy capabilities into the job creation together with the private sector in the long run.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 15:23:51|Editor: Yamei

British Prime Minister Theresa May gives a speech after a 15-minute audience at Buckingham Palace with Queen Elizabeth in London, Britain on June 9, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed Friday afternoon she will form a Westminster government, helped by members of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). (Xinhua/Han Yan)

LONDON, June 12 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Theresa May has confirmed that Britain is ready to start Brexit negotiations "as planned" on June 19, as European Union (EU) leaders expressed concerns after her losses in the parliamentary elections.

In a phone call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday, May said Britain "is looking for a reciprocal agreement on the rights of EU citizens and British citizens abroad at an early stage."

The Conservative Party led by May lost its majority in Thursday's parliamentary elections, which observers said suggested voters' concerns about her "hard Brexit" approach of leaving the EU's single market and imposing restrictions on immigration.

With 318 seats in the House of Commons, the Conservatives remain the biggest single winner, but still fall behind securing the 326-mark of seats for a majority as they had before the snap election. The Labour Party, the main opposition, won 261 seats.

May called the early election in April when opinion polls suggested she was set for a sweeping win which would give her a strong mandate to start Brexit talks with the EU.

However, the election resulted in a hung parliament and unprecedented uncertainties regarding the Brexit negotiations that are supposed to wrap up by the end of March 2019.

Merkel congratulated May on her re-election in a phone conversation on Saturday. During a visit to Mexico a day earlier, the German chancellor said she did not expect any significant delay in the talks between Britain and the EU.

"We are ready to negotiate and are prepared ... We want to negotiate quickly, we want to negotiate in the agreed time frame," Merkel said.

European Council President Donald Tusk on Friday urged that Brussels and London should press ahead with the Brexit talks, in a congratulatory letter on May's re-election.

"Our shared responsibility and urgent task now is to conduct the negotiations on the UK's withdrawal from the European Union in the best possible spirit, securing the least disruptive outcome for our citizens, businesses and countries after March 2019," Tusk said.

"The time frame set by Article 50 of the Treaty leaves us with no time to lose. I am fully committed to maintaining regular and close contact at our level to facilitate the work of our negotiators," he added.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker also said earlier on Friday in Prague that the EU "can open negotiation tomorrow morning at 09:30 (0730 GMT)."

"We are waiting for visitors coming from London. I hope that we will not experience a further delay in the conclusion of these negotiations," Juncker said.

"First, we have to agree on the divorce and exit modalities and then we have to envisage the architecture of our future relations. I do hope that the result of the elections will have no major impact on the negotiations we are desperately waiting for," he said.

May reappointed most of her ministers on Sunday, including the treasury chief, foreign secretary, defense secretary and home secretary, trying to untie her Conservatives as the loss in the election weakens her position.

She has confirmed that her party is seeking a deal with Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to gain support for her minority government on key votes in the parliament.

With the DUP's 10 seats, the alliance will secure a majority in the parliament.

The Conservatives and the DUP, "having enjoyed a strong relationship over many years," will work together, May said. She is expected to meet DUP leader Arlene Foster on Tuesday on details of the political arrangement.

"The question is now whether a coalition government will make Britain a more constructive negotiating partner, perhaps moving away from the 'hard Brexit' posturing of the past months, which does not seem to be the case," said Joris Larik, a senior researcher at The Hague Institute for Global Justice.

Related:

Spotlight: May's deal to work with DUP causes anger among political rivals

LONDON, June 10 (Xinhua) -- A controversial working relationship between the British Conservatives and the North Ireland Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) was agreed in principle Saturday.

The so called supply and confidence deal, aimed at keeping Prime Minister Theresa May in power at 10 Downing Street, came under immediate attack. Full story

May's top aides quit following election disaster to avert leadership challenge

LONDON, June 10 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Theresa May's two co-chiefs of staff quit Saturday as the fallout from the Conservative's poor showing in this week's general election continued.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 15:33:57|Editor: MJ

Video Player Close

RIYADH, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia has denied barring Qatari national from entering Muslim's holy city Mecca after last week decision to sever ties with Qatar, Al Arabiya local news reported on Sunday.

It confirmed that 206 people coming from Qatar were allowed to cross the Salwa border last Friday so that they could perform Umrah pilgrimage in Mecca.

The Saudi authority that supervises the affairs of the two grand mosques in Mecca and Medina confirmed in a statement that it provides services for pilgrims from all countries of the world, including Qatar, describing circulated news in social media as baseless accusations.

According to Al Arabiya, several media outlets reported on Sunday that Qataris were denied access into Mecca and the two grand mosques, which Saudi Arabia has denied.

On the same day that four Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia, severed economic and diplomatic ties with Qatar, Saudi officials declared that it would provide all facilities and services needed by Qatari pilgrims currently in the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia and other countries cut ties with Qatar for allegations that the later is supporting terrorist groups and interfering in the internal affairs of countries.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 16:14:15|Editor: MJ

Video Player Close

TRIPOLI, June 12 (Xinhua) -- The military and city council of the Libyan city Zintan (180 km southeast Tripoli) on Sunday objected on the release of Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, who has been freed by the militia detaining him in the city, a statement released by the council said.

"The military and city councils of Zintan strongly condemn the statement of the Information Office of Abu-Bakr al-Siddiq Battalion, regarding the illegal release of the detainee Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, which claims that the release was based on the amnesty law," the statement said.

"This act is collusion and betrayal to the martyrs and a stab to the military establishment that they claim to belong to," the statement added.

A militia from Zintan called Abu-Bakr al-Siddiq Battalion, which was detaining Gaddafi, announced on Saturday they freed Gaddafi based on an amnesty law issued by the eastern-based parliament in 2015.

Gaddafi was sentenced to death in absentia by the Tripoli appeal court in July 2015 for suppressing the 2011 uprising and killing of protesters. He is also wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity during the uprising. The international court is demanding the Libyan authorities to extradite him for trial.

The national defense and security committee of the eastern-based parliament on Sunday demanded that all detainees of the former regime must not be released without a court verdict.

Moreover, Tripoli Attorney General in-charge, Ibrahim Masoud Ali, on Sunday said that the release of Gaddafi was illegal, and that the "amnesty he needs to be released required a legal waiver from the families of the victims. Moreover, the suspect is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity."

Ali said that the office is investigating into those involved in the release of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 16:49:28|Editor: MJ

Video Player Close

TOKYO, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Japan's core private-sector machinery orders dropped 3.1 percent in April from a month earlier on a seasonally adjusted basis, the government said in a report on Monday.

According to the Cabinet Office, overall orders were dragged down by a decline in finance and insurance, and construction-linked orders, and April marked the first time in three months that orders had retreated.

April's reading follows core machinery orders rising 1.4 percent in March, according to the Cabinet Office.

The latest figures showed that the orders, which exclude those for ships and from utilities because of their volatility, stood at 835.9 billion yen (7.6 billion U.S. dollars) in the recording period.

Despite the latest decline, the Cabinet Office maintained its basic assessment that the recovery in machinery orders has slowed.

Non-manufacturing orders declined 5.0 percent to 471.5 billion yen, the government's data showed, marking the second consecutive monthly decline, while orders from the manufacturing sector increased 2.5 percent to 361.8 billion yen, rising for a third straight month in the recording period, the Cabinet Office said.

Demand for Japanese machinery from overseas markets, a barometer of future exports, jumped 17.4 percent to 993.2 billion yen, the data showed, and total orders, including both domestic public sector and overseas ones, increased 2.7 percent at 2.3 trillion yen, the Cabinet Office said.

Machinery orders are expected to retreat however by 5.9 percent from the current quarter through June, compared to the previous quarter, the office said.

Japan's machinery orders are a key advance indicator for corporate capital spending and the government uses the data to predict the strength of business spending in a six to nine-month period ahead.

Such business investment accounts for around 15 percent of Japan's gross domestic product and analysts said Monday that they expect capital spending to stay between low and moderate owing to Japan's economic recovery still being somewhat listless.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 17:34:50|Editor: MJ

Video Player Close

MOGADISHU, June 12 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. military has confirmed its special forces killed eight Al-Shabaab militants during a successful airstrike conducted in southern Somalia on Sunday.

In a statement issued on Sunday night, the U.S. Africa Command (Africom) vowed to intensify onslaught against Al-Shabaab militants in order to protect people including Americans, saying the militants have taken advantage of safe haven to kill and maim people.

"The U.S. forces will use all effective and appropriate methods to protect Americans, including partnered military counter-terror operations with AMISOM and Somali National Army (SNA) forces; precision strikes against terrorists, their training camps and safe havens; and hunting and tracking members of this Al-Qaida affiliate throughout Somalia, the region and around the world," Africom said.

Africom, which has in the past conducted counterterrorism airstrikes against the terror group in Somalia said the Sunday airstrikes targeted the militants who are operating an Al-Shabaab command and logistics node at a camp southwest of Mogadishu in a stronghold for the Al-Qaida-affiliated Al-Shabaab organization.

U.S. forces, in cooperation with Somalia government, are conducting operations against Al-Shabaab in Somalia to degrade the Al-Qaida affiliate's ability to recruit, train and plot external terror attacks throughout the region and in America.

According to Africom, Al-Shabaab has overrun three AMISOM Forward Operating Bases by amassing large numbers of fighters and attacking in overwhelming numbers in the last eight months.

It said Al-Shabaab has also increased its combat capability by seizing heavy weaponry, armored vehicles, explosives, small arms, ammunition, and other miscellaneous supplies during its operations overrunning Burundian, Kenyan and Ugandan troops in Leego, Janaale, and Ceel Ad respectively.

The group has cemented its control in southern and central Somalia and has used this area to plot and direct terror attacks, steal humanitarian aid, and to shelter other radical terrorists, Africom said.

The statement comes after Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo said Sunday he authorized Special Forces who destroyed Al-Shabaab's main military training base in Middle Jubba in southern Somalia.

Farmajo described the raid which took place near Sakow as a "successful strike" and destroyed a key Al-Shabaab command and supply hub.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 17:44:55|Editor: MJ

Video Player Close

TOKYO, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Former governor of Okinawa Masahide Ota, who fought doggedly to protect the rights of Okinawans on the island that were threatened by the presence of the U.S. military, died in Naha on Monday, according to his office.

His office said that he died of pneumonia and respiratory complications. Ota would have turned 92 years old on Monday.

Ota served two terms as Okinawa's governor, and fought for the Okinawan side at the time who was unwilling to allow the U.S. military to keep using private land at multiple locations on the island for U.S. military purposes.

The ex-governor, continually at odds with the central government, was involved in a legal battle at the time with the later that went to the Supreme Court.

Ota, a native of Okinawa Prefecture, was also in office when the island erupted in fierce protests following the rape of a local 12-year-old school girl by three U.S. servicemen in 1995.

A former professor at the University of the Ryukyus, Ota also stood opposed to the central government's plans to relocate the controversial U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to a coastal part of the island.

As a witness to the atrocities in the Battle of Okinawa, Ota was known to have worked on monuments to memorialize those who died, including those from the U.S. side.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 18:20:11|Editor: Yamei

Video Player Close

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang meets delegates at the second overseas Chinese industrial and commercial congress in Beijing, capital of China, June 12, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

BEIJING, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Premier Li Keqiang on Monday called on the Chinese diaspora to actively participate in the country's innovation drive and its economic cooperation with the rest of the world.

China's economy is keeping steady growth with positive outlook and the government has confidence in delivering the annual development goals, Li said while meeting delegates at the second overseas Chinese industrial and commercial congress in Beijing.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 18:35:15|Editor: An

Video Player Close

JERUSALEM, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Israel has decided to accept the request of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and cut the electricity it supplies the Hamas-run Gaza by 40 percent, Army Radio reported on Monday.

The decision was made on late Sunday night, after the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) said it would pay only 60 percent of Gaza's monthly bill.

The move came as the PNA was stepping up its pressure on its political rival, Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist movement that controls the besieged Palestinian enclave.

According to figures published by the Times of Israel, the PNA has been paying Israel 40 million shekels (about 11.3 million U.S. dollars) a month. However, the PNA recently said it was now only prepared to pay 7 million dollars a month for electricity to Gaza.

The cutting will likely further reduce the hours of power supply in Gaza from six hours a day to four or two hours a day, according to Israeli media reports.

Since Gaza's sole power plant was put out of commission in mid-April due to a financial dispute between the PNA and Hamas, Israel has become the only source of electricity to the Strip.

During the discussion at the security cabinet, military officials warned that any further cutting might "destabilize" the Strip, according to a report in Israel's Ha'aretz newspaper. However, they welcomed the cutting as a mean to pressure Hamas, Ha'aretz reported.

Gisha, an Israeli human rights group, said in a statement sent to Xinhua that the current situation in Gaza is already grave, and the new cutting poses "serious risks" to the two million residents of Gaza.

"Reducing the electricity supply will have devastating consequences and greatly exacerbate the situation, which is calamitous and unstable," the group said.

According to Gisha, due to power deficit, some 100 million liters of mostly untreated sewage have been already pumped into the Mediterranean Sea.

In hospitals, entire wings are shut down during blackouts, and people who rely on life-saving equipment are at risk.

Israel seized the Gaza Strip, together with the West Bank, in the 1967 Middle East war. In 2005, Israel withdrew its forces and settlers and announced it "disengaged" from Gaza.

In 2007, after Hamas took control over the Strip, Israel and Egypt have imposed a blockade on the territory.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 18:45:20|Editor: An

Video Player Close

SINGAPORE, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Singapore has detained a female Singaporean suspect, the first in the city state, for radicalism, the Ministry of Home Affairs said on Monday.

According to a statement released by the ministry, Syaikhah Izzah Zahrah Al Ansari (Izzah), a 22-year-old contract infant care assistant with a preschool, began to be radicalised in 2013 by online propaganda related to Islamic State (IS).

Izzah intended to join IS and was actively planning to make her way to Syria with her young child. She was looking for "a Salafi or an IS supporter" to marry and settle down with him and her child in Syria, and was prepared to undergo military training and engage in armed combat if called upon by IS, said the statement.

The ministry said Izzah's parents and sister knew her radical postings in 2015 but did not alert the authorities. They tried on their own to dissuade her but failed.

The ministry again asked people in Singapore who know or suspect that a person is radicalized to promptly call the hotline of the Counter-Terrorism Centre.
by Abu Hanifah

JAKARTA, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia is promoting the annual Bali Arts Festival (PKB) by digitalizing its month-long activities and broadcasting live on particular website as well as in various social media channels.

The breakthrough move came at the request of Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who wanted to make people across the world know more about the festival, a senior official overseeing the Bali provincial tourism said.

"We collaborate with Bali Go Live to host the festival. They would make all cultural activities during the event broadcast live on its website as well as on the existing social media of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and also from Youtube," Head of Bali Tourism Office Anak Agung Yuniartha Putra said at the weekend.

Putra said that using digital platform for promotion becomes a compulsory nowadays amid rapid growing digital lifestyle in the world.

"Tourisms must get along with technology, adapting to the latest trend of it. Through good cooperation, it would highly effective in promoting Bali," he added.

The month-long annual cultural event, which started from 1979, is expected to attract some 200,000 foreign visitors this year, Putra said.

Bali Go Live is a website providing live video scenes of favorite tour sites in Bali by visitors during their stay in the resort island. The website is often used as reference by potential visitors to Bali.

Bali Go Live Executive Paulus Hery Arianto said the move would significantly make tourism marketing in Bali boosted as it caught up with latest technology trend.

"We would design casual and fun content in the broadcasting materials without having to leave the essential information aspect," Paulus said.

The Bali Arts Festival, which will run from June 10 to July 8 this year, features various Bali cultural carnivals, traditional music festivals, performance of Bali traditional dramas and many others.

Tourism Minister Arief Yahya hailed the initiative by the Bali regional government in promoting its tourism. He said extensive use of technology would further accelerate the promotional process.

At the beginning of the festival, Bali provincial government also held an annual travel fair event -- 2017 Bali Beyond Travel Fair (BBTF).

Bali has been named as world's best destination this year by international travel reviewer website of TripAdvisor.

The famous Indonesian resort island has also gained tourism reputation as it is named the best island in 12 consecutive years by travel publication DestinAsian.
BUCHAREST, June 12 (Xinhua) -- A MiG 21 Lancer fighter of Romanian Air Force crashed on Monday in southeastern county of Constanta, with the pilot seriously injured after parachuting.

According to a press release from the Defence Ministry, the aircraft carries out a training mission in the "Thracian Eagle 2017" exercise, which is being conducted together with the Bulgarian Air Force.

After the mission, when returning to the air base, the pilot, Lieutenant Commander Adrian Stancu, reported a major engine failure during the execution of the landing maneuvers.

Stancu catapulted about 8 kilometers away from the county's Mihail Kogalniceanu Airport. The aircraft crashed out of inhabited areas.

The pilot was given first aid on spot and transported by a helicopter to a nearby hospital. He is aware and in a stable state, reported local media.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 18:55:29|Editor: An

Video Player Close

BEIJING, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday sent a congratulatory message to his Philippine counterpart Rodrigo Duterte on the 42nd anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between their two countries and the 119th anniversary of the Philippines' independence.

The Philippines has made important achievements in national construction under the leadership of Duterte, said Xi, and he expressed heartfelt congratulations to such achievements.

"The Chinese and Philippine peoples have a profound traditional friendship," said the Chinese president, noting that the two countries returned to the right track of good neighborly relations last year with efforts from both sides.

Their cooperation in all fields are flourishing, which has brought tangible benefits to the two peoples, said Xi.

As China and the Philippines are close neighbors, the two developing countries share the same missions in safeguarding national security, realizing common development and promoting regional peace and stability, Xi stressed.

"I attach great importance to China-Philippines relations, and stand ready to work with you to lead our two countries to continue our mutual assistance, support and common development in bids to bring benefits to both peoples and the peoples across the region," said Xi.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 18:55:31|Editor: An

Video Player Close

XI'AN, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Seeds from an over 5,000-year-old cypress in northwest China's Shaanxi Province have sprouted after being taken into space by Chinese astronauts last year.

Twenty-eight seeds had sprouted by the end of May, Zhao Xia, from the rare tree germ plasm resources group, said Monday.

The seedlings are now between three to five cm tall, according to Zhao.

The over 20-meter-tall cypress is located in Shaanxi's Huangling County. It is said to have been planted by Huangdi, the Yellow Emperor, who is regarded as the common ancestor for all Chinese.

Some 150 seeds, collected in August 2016, were taken into space on the Shenzhou-11 mission and kept at the Tiangong-2 lab from Sep. 15 to Nov. 18 last year.

The sprouting project began on May 15 this year, and another 150 seeds that had not gone into space were germinated at the same time in a comparative study, Zhao said.

Staff have monitored the sprouting process around the clock and taken records every two hours.
LONDON, June 12 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Theresa May chaired her first meeting of ministers since last week's general election at 10 Downing Street Monday.

The wheels of government had been scheduled to start turning Tuesday, but May moved things forward 24 hours following the shock outcome in the election which saw her lose the majority she had held.

May's new-look cabinet is virtually unchanged, with her main ministers all keeping their jobs.

One headline-grabbing change was her appointment of one-time foe, Michael Gove as the environment secretary.

Political commentators speculated his return to front-line politics was to help protect May from a challenge for her job.

Gove, who previously was education secretary in David Cameron's cabinet, was a strong campaigner for Brexit in last year's EU referendum.

On the agenda at the cabinet meeting is the proposed confidence and support deal May has put forward with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

The 10 DUP members of parliament would give May the working majority she needs in the House of Commons.

The leader of the DUP, Arlene Foster, is due at Downing Street Tuesday for a meeting with May.

Before that, May is to meet her own backbench MPs in a private showdown meeting Monday evening (at 5 p.m. local time) to discuss the party's performance in the election, and also the working arrangement with the DUP.

She needs the support of both her cabinet and her back benches to the DUP deal ahead of the state opening of parliament next Monday by Queen Elizabeth.

The Queen's Speech will outline the proposals the government aims for in the new session of parliament.

The main opposition leader, Labour's Jeremy Corbyn, has already indicated his party will oppose the Queen's Speech in a move that could see him emerge as prime minister.

Still unclear is the approach May and her Brexit team will take towards negotiations due to start next week to determine Britain's future relationship with the remaining 27 member states of the EU.

May has previously said no deal with European would be better than a bad deal, paving the way for a hard Brexit.

The results of last Thursday's general election have changed the political landscape, with commentators saying May and her main Brexit secretary David Davis may have to soften their approach to Brexit.

The tabloid Sun newspaper Monday calculated that the new-look House of Commons is made up of 342 MPs likely to support a softer Brexit deal, compared to 297 who would back a hard Brexit.
WELLINGTON, June 12 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand Foreign Minister Gerry Brownlee is encouraging all New Zealanders heading overseas to register with SafeTravel in case of an emergency such as terror attacks.

SafeTravel was launched in 2006 and is the official source of advice for New Zealanders living or travelling overseas.

"The site also allows travellers to register their contact details and travel plans so we can reach out to them in case of an emergency or to provide them with updated advice," Brownlee said in a statement on Monday.

"While recent terror attacks have occurred in popular destinations for New Zealand travellers -- such as London, Manchester and Paris -- it's a sad reality that such unprovoked incidents can happen anytime, anywhere," he said.

In the event of an incident overseas, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) can easily contact SafeTravel registrants to confirm their safety and wellbeing, Brownlee said.

"Trying to find out information about unregistered New Zealanders is often difficult and takes time," he said, adding that the MFAT was quickly able to contact registered Kiwis in London and Manchester after the recent terror attacks to offer information about consular assistance should they have required it.

"While it may seem obvious, I also want to encourage Kiwis travellers to phone home if they ever find themselves caught up in a major event," Brownlee said.

In the past year, there were almost 67,000 new registrants, bringing the total number to 148,312, and more than 8,320 of them are currently overseas, according to Brownlee.

"I hope all New Zealanders heading overseas will take 10 minutes to register with SafeTravel and encourage others to do the same," Brownlee said.
WELLINGTON, June 12 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Paul Goldsmith on Monday announced the recipients of the latest Prime Minister's Scholarships for Asia (PMSA) funding round.

A total of 202 New Zealand students from universities and institutes of technology have been selected to travel to top institutions throughout Asia as part of the second 2016/17 scholarship round.

"The recipients of these scholarships will be ambassadors for New Zealand as they head overseas and form global connections that will last a lifetime," Goldsmith said in a statement.

"Building new connections and networks, developing a deeper understanding of language and culture, and gaining an international perspective in their areas of expertise are just some of the benefits for these students," Goldsmith said.

Individual recipients and groups of up to 20 students will carry out a wide variety of student exchanges, undergraduate or postgraduate study, research or internships in 10 countries throughout Asia, with China, Japan and Singapore the top three destinations in this funding round, Goldsmith said.

Study programs for the 59 individual students include a one-semester exchange at National University of Singapore, an internship at the Hong Kong office of a global law firm, a Master of International Studies at Seoul National University in South Korea, and two years' postdoctoral research at the Institute of Robotics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China.

A further 143 students were awarded a scholarship as part of 12 group applications, according to the statement.

Since it was set up in 2013, the PMSA has enabled more than 1,100 New Zealand students to experience an international education in Asian countries, he said.

Annual funding for the PMSA increased to 3 million NZ dollars (2.16 million U.S. dollars) in 2016/17, and is due to increase to 3.5 million NZ dollars (2.5 million U.S. dollars) in 2018/19, reflecting New Zealand's growing education connections with Asia and the high calibre of applicants, Goldsmith said.

Applications for the first 2017/18 PMSA will open on June 16, and will close on Sept. 30.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 19:46:02|Editor: MJ

Video Player Close

BUCHAREST, June 12 (Xinhua) -- A MiG 21 Lancer fighter of Romanian Air Force crashed on Monday in southeastern county of Constanta, with the pilot seriously injured after parachuting.

According to a press release from the Defence Ministry, the aircraft carried out a training mission in the "Thracian Eagle 2017" exercise, which is being conducted together with the Bulgarian Air Force.

After the mission, when returning to the air base, the pilot, Lieutenant Commander Adrian Stancu, reported a major engine failure during the execution of the landing maneuvers.

Stancu catapulted about 8 kilometers away from the county's Mihail Kogalniceanu Airport. The aircraft crashed out of inhabited areas.

Stancu was given first aid on spot and transported by a helicopter to a nearby hospital. He is aware and in a stable state, reported local media.

Once a Warsaw Pact member state, Romanian Air Force was left operating a large amount of MiG-21 Fishbeds after the breakup of the Soviet Union and remains Europe's largest MiG-21 operator.

The country began to upgrade its MiG-21 to MiG-21 Lancers from mid-1990s, converting the jets into the world's first operational aircraft to make use of a Helmet Mounted Display System.

Military statistics show that Romania imported a total of 400 MiG-21 fighters from the 1960s to the 1980s. Over the years, a total of 19 crashed, killing 11 pilots. Currently, there are 18 out of the existing 35 MiG fighters that can perform missions normally in the country, reported local media.

The country began to replace its fleet to upgrade its air forces to NATO standards and received six refurbished used F-16 Fighting Falcons fighter jets from Portugal last October.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 19:56:07|Editor: MJ

Video Player Close

MOSUL, Iraq, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi government forces on Monday recaptured a vast open area in west of the city of Mosul and dislodged Islamic State (IS) militants from five villages in the area, the Iraqi military said.

The army's 15th Infantry Division pushed in the rugged area in east of the town of Mahlabiyah, some 35 km west of Mosul, and recaptured the villages of Sheikh Qara, Teishat al-Atshana, al-Suhadaa, al-Aziziyah, al-Mowaly, Abdul-Amir Yarallah from the Joint Operations Command, said in a brief statement.

The army's liberation of the villages is part of an operation launched on Saturday in west of the Mosul when the troops liberated six villages in its first day of advance. The troops are expected to advance to recapture the predominantly Turkoman town of Mahlabiyah before heading to the IS-held town of Tal Afar, about 70 km west of Mosul.

Earlier, the paramilitary units of Hashd Shaabi advanced to the area, but avoided entering the two towns of Tal Afar and Mahlabiyah, which are both inhabited by majority of Turkoman people, as well as other minorities of Kurds and Arabs.

The advance of the predominantly Shiite paramilitary units in the ethnically mixed region, where Sunni Muslims form a majority, could spark sectarian tension with Sunni Arabs and neighboring Sunni state of Turkey.

The operation in west of Mosul 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| 2017-06-12 20:01:10|Editor: MJ

Video Player Close

SEOUL, June 12 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Monday reiterated the need to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula during a meeting with the visiting special envoy of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Toshihiro Nikai, secretary-general of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, met with Moon in the presidential Blue House in Seoul as Abe's special envoy. He carried a letter from Abe, according to the Blue House.

It was the reciprocal visit of Moon's dispatch of his special envoy to Japan following his inauguration on May 10.

During the meeting, Moon said the denuclearization of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will be mandatory for peace in the world and Northeast Asia as well as for South Korea's survival.

From that perspective, Moon said, South Korea and Japan were on the same page. Moon shared Abe's view that stronger sanctions and pressures would be needed to completely denuclearize the peninsula.

Moon, however, noted that it would not end up with pressures and sanctions as the DPRK should be brought to a dialogue table for the denuclearization, saying it would be necessary to send a message that relevant parties will help if Pyongyang gives up its nuclear program.

The South Korean leader vowed to closely cooperate with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts in dealing with the DPRK's nuclear ambition.

Touching on the South Korea-Japan relations, Moon said the bilateral agreement on the wartime sexual slavery victims, called comfort women, was not acceptable to South Korean people, especially the victims themselves.

Seoul and Tokyo, Moon said, should squarely face that point and recognize that it takes time to solve the issue.

The final and irreversible agreement on the comfort women was reached in December 2015 under the Park Geun-hye government despite strong opposition from both conservative and liberal South Koreans.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 20:06:12|Editor: MJ

Video Player Close

HANOI, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Vietnamese and Cuban top legislators agreed here on Monday to foster legislative relations between the two countries through exchanges of all-level delegations and experience sharing.

Vietnamese National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and her visiting Cuban counterpart Esteban Lazo Hernandez agreed to continue reviewing and updating existing cooperation documents and sign more agreements to complete the legal framework for the bilateral relationship, Vietnam News Agency reported.

The two top legislators also expressed their determination to advance the two-way trade to match the close political ties.

The two legislative bodies will support and promote the implementation of cooperative programs and projects, particularly those in agriculture, consumer goods production, research and production of medicines, healthcare services, tourism infrastructure construction and energy.

The Cuban top legislator expressed his hope to learn from Vietnam's experience in 30-year reform, including legislative activities, especially at the grassroots level.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 20:16:17|Editor: MJ

Video Player Close

ABUJA, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian troops overpowered Boko Haram fighters in a fierce gunfight, killing a large number of the terrorists in the northeastern region of the country late Sunday, an army spokesman said on Monday.

A terrorist commander identified as Abu Nazir was among those neutralized by the troops, Sani Kukasheka Usman, spokesman of the Nigerian Army told Xinhua.

"The troops entered heavy Boko Haram terrorists' ambush, which they successfully cleared after about some minutes of the firefight," Usman said.

The gunfight ensued in Kala Balge local district of the northeastern state of Borno as troops embarked on clearance operation along that axis.

In addition to the recovery of weapons used by the terrorists, the Nigerian troops rescued nine abducted children undergoing training at a Boko Haram training camp in Jarawa village located in that district, Usman said.

"The minors have been evacuated and are being given preliminary humanitarian assistance in preparation to handing them over to Kala Balge internally displaced persons camp management committee," he added.

Boko Haram is blamed for thousands of deaths and displacement of 2.3 million people since 2009.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 20:36:36|Editor: An

Video Player Close

BEIJING, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Both production and sales in new energy vehicles (NEVs) in China soared in May despite a cut in government subsidies, while the growth of the overall auto market remained tepid, industry data showed.

A total of 45,000 NEVs were sold in May, up 28.4 percent year on year while 51,000 NEVs were produced, up 38.2 percent year on year, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) showed Monday.

Total auto sales remained stable, with 2.1 million vehicles sold in May, up 0.6 percent compared with that in April. The number declined 0.1 percent year on year.

Total auto production stood at 2.09 million in May, down 2.4 percent from that in April and up 0.7 percent on a year-on-year basis.

China's NEV market has been growing rapidly thanks to government support. Central and local officials have rolled out policies including offering subsidies and encouraging the construction of charging stations.

Local automakers including BYD and BAIC Motor Corporation have received a boost in sales, rivaling international competitors such as Tesla in the world's largest auto market.

The sales data in May came despite a cut in government subsidies this year, as officials vowed to support vehicles of higher quality and with longer driving ranges.

Subsidies for NEVs at both local and central levels will be capped, while the amount will be gradually lowered by 2020, according to an official statement.

China sold 507,000 NEVs last year, the most in the world for a second year and up 53 percent from 2015, CAAM data showed.

According to an official plan on auto industry development, China will see NEV output and sales hit 2 million annually by 2020, about four times the current level.

There should be several Chinese NEV firms that are strong enough to rank among the world top 10 by 2020, and their global influence should further increase by 2025, according to the plan.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 20:46:39|Editor: Yamei

Video Player Close

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang meets delegates at the second overseas Chinese industrial and commercial congress in Beijing, capital of China, June 12, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)



BEIJING, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Premier Li Keqiang on Monday called on the Chinese diaspora to actively participate in the country's innovation drive and its economic cooperation with the rest of the world.

China's economy is keeping steady growth with positive outlook and the government has confidence in delivering the annual development goals, Li said while meeting delegates at the second overseas Chinese industrial and commercial congress in Beijing.

With a high growth rate, fast structural upgrading and stable employment, China is showing its advantages as a "hotspot" for investment and a huge market for merchandise, Li told delegates.

He said the government has confidence in delivering the annual development goals and is capable of maintaining a medium-high growth rate for the economy.

As the government pushes forward reforms to give the market a bigger say and reduce corporate taxes and fees, overseas Chinese can use their advantages in capital, technology, management, talent and business networks to engage in innovation in the country, the premier said.

He also urged overseas Chinese to join in Belt and Road development and contribute to economic cooperation between China and other countries.

China will continue to reduce the market threshold for foreign investment, create a fairer and easier business environment and open its doors wider, according to Li.

The premier said he also hopes overseas Chinese can help promote Chinese culture and make contributions to the peaceful reunification of China.

More than 600 overseas Chinese from over 100 countries and regions attended the congress on Monday.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 20:46:44|Editor: MJ

Video Player Close

THE HAGUE, June 12 (Xinhua) -- The driver who hit several pedestrians with his car near the Amsterdam Central train station on Saturday night is still detained, the Dutch police announced on Monday.

The police want to get more clarity on what caused him feeling unwell before closing the case.

It is almost certain that the driver, a 45-year-old resident of Amsterdam, did not intentionally cause the crash, reported the police.

A Breathalyzer test revealed that he was not drunk when the accident happened. It was found that he suffers from diabetes and had an extremely low blood sugar level at the time.

Right before the collisions happened, the man was approached by police officers near the central station because he was driving on a tramway where no cars are allowed.

The driver was told to slowly drive towards the ordinary lane. But the car suddenly accelerated and came to a halt against a wall after hitting several pedestrians.

Eight people got injured, including the driver himself. Two victims were still in the hospital by Sunday night.

After a house search, the police said on Twitter on Sunday night that the driver almost certainly did not hit the people intentionally. It is assumed that he got unwell and accidently pressed down the accelerator pedal of his car.

The police now first want to know what reason made the man feel unwell. Only when that becomes clear, he can be released. The driver says he does not remember anything about the collisions.

The Amsterdam criminal investigation department has handed over the case to the department for serious collisions.

"We are currently investigating whether the man had a hypo (low blood sugar) or got unwell in a different way. This all has to be proven officially," a spokesperson told Dutch broadcaster NOS.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 20:51:46|Editor: MJ

Video Player Close

MANAMA, June 12 (Xinhua) -- A Bahrain-based international coalition will increase its naval presence in key shipping lanes after increased attacks on merchant vessels.

The Combined Maritime Force (CMF) - a multinational naval partnership of 31 nations, including Bahrain, announced the new measures on Monday.

"Recent attacks against merchant ships in the Gulf of Aden and Bab-el-Mandeb have highlighted that there are still risks associated with transits through these waters," said the CMF statement.

"In addition to several attempts of piracy, attacks by small, high-speed boats using small arms, rocket propelled grenades, and significant amounts of explosives have been conducted," said the CMF statement.

"While these small boat attacks were both unsuccessful, and the identity of the attackers remains unknown, they demonstrate a new threat to the maritime community," the statement said.

"In response to these threats, the CMF will increase the naval presence in the western Gulf of Aden," it said.

Global shipping companies have expressed concern over the Somali pirates and Yemeni militants in the strait.

Nearly four million barrels of oil are shipped daily to Europe, the United States and Asia via the Bab al-Mandab, in addition to other goods.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 21:27:17|Editor: MJ

Video Player Close

DAR ES SALAAM, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Monday ordered relevant authorities, including Parliament, to immediately review and amend mining laws to ensure that the east African nation benefited from its resources.

Speaking shortly after he was presented with the second report on mineral concentrates in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, the President also ordered the review and amendment of laws pertaining to the oil and gas industry.

Nehemiah Osoro, the chairman of a special committee that compiled the second mineral concentrates report, said the report revealed that there was massive cheating by mining companies on the amount of gold exports and tax evasion.

For example, said Osoro, the report showed that between 1998 and March 2017, between 44,000 and 61,000 containers of mineral concentrates worth between 49.12 billion U.S. dollars and 83.32 billion U.S. dollars were exported outside the country without the country getting a single cent from royalties and taxes.

"This is daylight robbery. We have to take hard decisions to stop this from happening again," said the president.

He added: "These laws should be reviewed and amended for the benefit of country. We need investors but they should operate on a win-win situation. We should share the benefits of our resources."

At the same time, Magufuli ordered the investigation of all former and current government officials who were involved in the signing of mining agreements that led the country to incurring losses amounting to billions of U.S. dollars.

He said the officials to be investigated included former mining ministers and senior lawyers who entered into mining deals that created loopholes for foreign mining companies to rip-off the country.

"Our children are dying for lack of medicines while our gold is being exported abroad without our knowledge. This must stop now," fumed the president, adding that with its abundance resources Tanzania was not supposed to be labeled as poor.

President Magufuli was vividly angry when the report revealed that Acacia mining company had no records showing it was registered in Tanzania.

On May 24, Magufuli sacked Minister for Energy and Minerals Sospeter Muhongo after the first report on mining concentrates showed he was implicated in mining firms' undeclared mineral sand exports.

The report revealed that the undeclared mineral sand exports led to tax evasion by the mining firms.

Magufuli said the report revealed that mining firms, including Acacia Mining, cheated over mineral sand exports for smelting abroad, making the east African nation to lose millions of U.S. dollars.

Magufuli asked the minister to resign when he was reacting to recommendations made to him in the report by a special committee he formed in March to investigate on how mineral sand was transported abroad by mining firms for smelting without paying due taxes.

The president also dissolved the Tanzania Mineral Audit Agency (TMAA) Board of Directors and suspended the agency's Chief Executive Officer, Dominic Rwekaza, for what he termed as negligence.

The report revealed that Acacia Mining declared the presence of gold, copper and silver in its mineral sand exports but did not declare other precious metals in the consignments, the president said in a televised address.

Mining accounts for about 4 percent of Tanzania's gross domestic product.

Acacia, majority owned by Barrick Gold, has three Tanzania gold mines that also produce copper.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 21:27:19|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) holds talks with his Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan in Beijing, capital of China, June 12, 2017. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

BEIJING, June 12 (Xinhua) -- China and Singapore can increase cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative via setting up platforms for connectivity, finance and third-party market, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Monday.

Wang made the remarks while holding talks with his Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan, who paid an official visit to China from Sunday to Monday.

Hailing the sound development of bilateral ties with Singapore since the beginning of this year, Wang said the two countries need to continue to implement the consensus reached by both leaders and promote the "partnership of all-round cooperation in keeping with the times."

China welcomes Singapore's participation in Belt and Road construction and is ready to work with the country to carry out the Belt and Road MOU, Wang said.

Balakrishnan said the Belt and Road Initiative is of historic importance and Singapore has supported it from the very beginning as it connects Asia, Europe and Oceania and brings prosperity to all.

Singapore is an important point along the Belt and Road and could provide support to the financing of the initiative as it is a regional financial hub, Balakrishnan told media at a joint press conference held after the talks.

The connectivity projects conducted by Singapore and China in southwestern China's Chongqing Municipality could also join the land and maritime Silk Roads, he said, adding that Singapore is willing to better align its economic development strategies with China.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the establishment of strategic partnership between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

On China-ASEAN ties, Wang said both sides need to think about how to upgrade the partnership to a higher level with greater influence in order to contribute more to regional development.

He called for the early completion of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) talks and the establishment of the East Asian Economic Community, adding China believes that Singapore will add wisdom and strength to the healthy and stable development of China-ASEAN ties.

Balakrishnan said Singapore has always viewed its relationship with China from a strategic and long-term perspective.

Singapore will continue to forge ahead with three flagship projects with China in Suzhou, Tianjin and Chongqing and further promote bilateral ties, he said, adding that the country fully agrees with China on the establishment of three platforms under the Belt and Road Initiative.

He said Singapore is willing to take on the opportunity to be a coordinator country between the ASEAN and China and, when it becomes rotating president of the ASEAN in 2018, to advance cooperation in politics, economy, and trade and culture so as to add new impetus to China-ASEAN ties.

On the South China Sea issue, Wang suggested China and ASEAN members conduct negotiations on the contents of the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea at an appropriate time after a period of preparation.

Senior officials from China and the ASEAN agreed on the framework for the COC in the South China Sea on May 18.

An important experience gained from the talks on the framework for the COC was creating a sound environment and clearing away outside distractions, Wang said.

It is set in the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), and also a commitment of China and ten ASEAN members, to negotiate and form the COC, he added.

China and the ASEAN have the ability to draw up regional rules to safeguard the peace and stability in the South China Sea on their own, Wang said.

"As long as China and the ASEAN can continue to increase mutual trust, enhance cooperation and remove possible disturbances, especially from the outside of the region, the negotiations on the COC can be conducted," Wang said.

Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao and State Councilor Yang Jiechi also met with Balakrishnan on Monday.
Rwanda Genocide survivor Gracien Rwamirindi (R) and Rwanda Genocide perpetrator Jean Marie Vianney Mudaheranwa (L) receive interview in Kabarondo, Eastern Province, Rwanda, on June 9, 2017. (Xinhua/Lyu Tianran)

by Xinhua writers Wu Zhiqiang and Lyu Tianran

KAYONZA, Kabarondo, Rwanda, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Twenty-three years ago, it would take 20 minutes for Jean Marie Vianney Mudaheranwa to walk to the house of Gracien Rwamirindi, in Kayonza, a sector in Kabarondo District, eastern Rwanda.

Now Mudaheranwa's house, marked PH4-9, and Rwamirindi's, PH4-8, are just steps away, behind the same rudimentary fence graced with blossoming ivy morning glory, sunflower and corn plants.

Theirs are among 40 housing units inside Kabarondo Reconciliation Village, built by Prison Fellowship Rwanda (PFR), an international charity group, for families of survivors of the 1994 genocide, released ex-prisoners convicted of crimes committed in the 100-day carnage, and vulnerable citizens not directly related to the mass killings that resulted in the death of more than 1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

The village is about 80 km east of Kigali, the capital.

Rwamirindi, about four in 1994, lost his father and five of his seven siblings during the genocide. Mudaheranwa, now 55, spent seven years in prison for his role in the killings, including the death of Rwamirindi's relatives.

The photo taken on June 9, 2017 shows Rwanda Genocide perpetrator Jean Marie Vianney Mudaheranwa (1st R) and his family members living in a reconciliation village in Kabarondo, Eastern Province, Rwanda. (Xinhua/Lyu Tianran)

Mudaheranwa did not kill anyone with his own hands, but was jailed and convicted for actively organizing the carnage.

"I was leading the attack groups," Mudaheranwa said through the interpretation of Haguma Salvator, a PFR coordinator. "We held a meeting to identify people who would be killed."

In their sector, the third tier of administrative division under the province, a total of 38 people were massacred with clubs and machetes, and the nearest family whose members died was just five houses away from his, Mudaheranwa said.

Now as next-door neighbors, Mudaheranwa and Rwamirindi meet with each other every day, Mudaheranwa as comptroller of the village's cooperative, and Rwamirindi as a "principal social worker."

The photo taken on June 9, 2017 shows a view of a reconciliation village in Kabarondo, Eastern Province, Rwanda. (Xinhua/Lyu Tianran)

When Rwamirindi and his wife have to work away from the village, they would leave their two-year-old daughter at the home of Mudaheranwa, who lives with his wife and four children.

Most of the residents in the village have no steady jobs. They try to get by with odd jobs, but such temporary employment is very hard to find. Subsistence remains a major challenge.

To help the village members tide over their difficulties, the PFR tries organizing the adults into cooperatives to engage in income-generating ventures, including farming in nearby plots of land.

In one pilot project, a chicken coop was built to raise hens, but the attempt appears to be failing. The feed is way too expensive for the cooperative to generate a profit.

In a house next to the coop, 32-year-old Vincent Musafiri, from another reconciliation village nearby, was mixing feed, which includes dried small fish imported from neighboring Tanzania.

In the corner were eggs laid by the hens and a tall container filled with beans harvested by the cooperative.

Each family will be able to get 10 eggs every two months, said Musafiri, who also doubles as a veterinarian taking care of the cows and goats kept by the villagers.

Every family is given one doe, or female goat, for free. The families are required to give the second-born baby goat to the cooperative, but can keep the first-born and subsequent baby goats for themselves. One buck, or male goat, is provided to the village and kept by a cooperative member tasked with tending to livestock.

About a dozen goats can be seen grazing on patches of grass on the slope where the houses are built.

One villager was digging for roots in the ground, where trees were cut down to make room for the construction of the houses for the reconciliation village.

The roots are to be used as firewood for cooking. There is no gas or electricity in the houses.

Potable water is provided at the top of the slope from a tap, near house number PF4-1. Villagers would fetch water from the tap to their houses, each including one living room, three bedrooms, one room for livestock, one room for washing and another fitted with a squat toilet.

The water, from public unity mains, is not free; the villagers have to pay a nominal fee of one Rwandan franc (0.0012 U.S. dollars) a liter.

Neither is the land beneath the houses. Each plot costs an equivalent of 300 dollars.

Such practice, which might be out of necessity due to lack of funding, happens to reinforce the idea that free giveaways should be avoided in development aid.

Indeed, villagers are encouraged to take part in the construction of the houses, to cement a sense of belonging, of ownership.

The homes of Mudaheranwa and Rwamirindi's are part of the fourth phase of the PFR's rehabilitation village project, hence the PH4 heading for the house numbers.

Families of such reconciliation villages usually come from nearby sites where killing took place, and the members usually knew each other.

By putting the survivors and offenders of the genocide in one closely knit community and having them interact with each other through daily living and cooperative work, Salvator said, the PFR wants to advance "practical reconciliation."

The efforts of Salvator, his colleagues and partners have paid off.

Mudaheranwa said he has repented for his crimes and wants to do everything possible to help the victims' families.

For his part, Rwamirindi believes he has already forgiven Mudaheranwa, thanks to efforts by the government and other parties, although he had thought initially that he should not forgive.

But reconciliation is a running process that requires sustained work that could last generations.

One of Rwamirindi's responsibilities as a social worker is to help members of the village to tackle various problems, such as minor disputes, that crop up occasionally.

"Social workers" are not outsiders but elected from among members of the village, with their performance reviewed at village meetings periodically, Salvator said.

On one Friday afternoon, Rwamirindi joined a two-day training session with 36-year-old secondary school teacher Dieudonne Munemzi, on how to deal with conflicts and provide psychological counseling, together with three other social workers from the same reconciliation village, through role-playing.

He himself sometimes still gets angry at Mudaheranwa for what he had done to his family, but would apologize later, Rwamirindi said.

Two million genocide perpetrators like Mudaheranwa were convicted through processes such as the home-grown grassroots Gacaca court proceedings, and many have been released, but the healing is important for survivors and perpetrators alike, said Fidele Ndayisaba, executive secretary of the National Unity and Reconstruction Commission (NURC), himself a survivor.

"Since the (July 1994) liberation, Rwanda has started a journey of recovering its unity and identity... which had been put aside, put down, by colonial rulers and subsequent regimes of the first and second regimes," said Ndayisaba, who also served as governor of Southern Province and mayor of Kigali, the capital city.

A 2015 NURC report, Rwanda Reconciliation Barometer, put the country's reconciliation status at 92.5 percent, up from 82.3 percent of five years before.

The government has now adopted a policy of single national identity. Citizens are registered simply as Rwandans, with no ethnic or tribal references anymore on their identification papers.

Back in the Kabarondo Reconciliation Village, Mudaheranwa and Rwamirindi, the homeowners of houses PH4-9 and PH4-8, have both managed to pay the 300 dollars land fee, but not Zibera Jerome, a 55-year-old ex-prisoner, whose house is just meters away down the slope.

With no way to earn a steady income, he could barely pay for the water he uses, let alone the land fee.

Jerome, who spent 12 years in jail and sold his original house and land to pay a fine to his victims, now lives with a 10-year-old daughter born to a woman he cohabited with during the one year he fled to neighboring Tanzania. Both he and that woman, who was from another locality, were sent to prison after their return to Rwanda.

Zibera Jerome, a Rwanda genocide perpetrator, receives interview at his home in a reconciliation village in Kabarondo, Eastern Province, Rwanda on June 11, 2017. (Xinhua/Lyu Tianran)

Like Mudaheranwa, Jerome did not kill any person himself, but was in a mob chasing after their victims. Around 600 died in his village, Jerome said.

His wife has passed away, and all six children they had together now live elsewhere.

Jerome's oldest son, who encountered a nasty divorce and had to sell all the belongings to split with his ex-wife, is now in Kenya. He last talked to his father more than four months ago.

Clutching a Tecno handset his son sent him through a driver, Jerome said he has since not been able to talk to the son, and wants to "sell the phone to buy something to eat."

Back to the topic of genocide, Jerome was adamant: "Genocide is a very bad thing."

"For me, my best wish is that the genocide never happened."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 21:32:26|Editor: xuxin

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev (R) and Mladen Ivanic, Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, attend a joint press conference after their meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria, on June 12, 2017. Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said here on Monday his country would advocate for the integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina into the European Union (EU). (Xinhua/Zhan Xiaoyi)

SOFIA, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Bulgarian President Rumen Radev here on Monday said his country would advocate for the integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina into the European Union (EU).

During its presidency of the EU Council in 2018, Bulgaria would support Sarajevo in the process of obtaining a candidate status for the EU membership, Radev said at a joint press conference after bilateral talks with Mladen Ivanic, Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Integration at all levels -- global, regional and within bilateral relations between Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina -- is the most effective approach to tackle common challenges, Radev said.

The EU enlargement to the Western Balkans would be a priority for Bulgaria during its presidency of the EU Council, Radev added.

Thus, Bulgaria would contribute to peace and stability throughout the Balkans, he said.

In turn, Ivanic said he hoped that Bulgaria, with its experience, would help Bosnia and Herzegovina to take the decisive step towards moving closer to the EU.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is the only country in this part of Europe, which is not yet an EU candidate, although it wants to be, Ivanic said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 21:37:30|Editor: MJ

Video Player Close

PYONGYANG, June 12 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Monday expressed nostalgia for a period of relaxed relations with South Korea from 2000 to 2007, by marking the signing of the historic 2000 North-South Joint Declaration on inter-Korean relations.

In a commentary on the 17th anniversary of the publication of the June 15 North-South Joint Declaration, the Korean Central News Agency said the two sides experienced "a precious era of reconciliation and unity" in that period.

Late top DPRK leader Kim Jong Il and then South Korean President Kim Dae Jung signed the declaration in Pyongyang in 2000, at the first summit meeting between the two sides after the 1950-1953 Korean War.

The commentary said, "All Koreans are nostalgic about the precious era when the history of protracted distrust and confrontation turned into the one of reconciliation and unity, peace and reunification."

The declaration, it said, is "the foundation of national reconciliation and unity" and "starting point of solving the issue of the north-south relations."

The commentary urged "all Koreans in the north, the south and abroad" to respect and thoroughly implement "the great programs of reunification," which it said were "common to the nation."

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has expressed his willingness to improve relations with the DPRK after being elected one month ago. But the commentary said his regime is "following the U.S. moves to stifle the DPRK."

It also blamed Moon's predecessors Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye for bringing the north-south ties to "collapse" in the past decade.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 21:42:33|Editor: An

Video Player Close

BEIJING, June 12 (Xinhua) -- China will set up a community governance system led by grassroots Communist Party of China (CPC) organizations by 2020, according to a guideline released by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council Monday.

Local governments will play a guiding role in the community governance system which also feature public participation.

Governance capacity in both urban and rural communities will improve significantly by that time, as public services, management and security will be effectively ensured, the guideline said.

Within another five to ten years, a more mature and comprehensive community governance system will offer strong support for the CPC at a grassroots level, while consolidating local governments, the guideline noted.

Issues such as the basic role of autonomous organizations, the participation of social groups and the functions of communities are also included in the guideline.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 21:47:40|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

JUBA, June 12 (Xinhua) -- The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has targeted 900,000 South Sudanese households, or 5.4 million people, with livelihood assistance in a bid to mitigate food crises that hit hard the urban and peri-urban populations.

FAO officer-in-Charge Jacqueline Were said Monday that the partnership with World Vision and ministry of agriculture seeks to fight hunger and strengthen livelihoods through emergency crop, vegetable and fishing kit distribution in the capital Juba.

"FAO in partnership with World Vision and the ministry of agriculture recognize the critical need to tackle food insecurity by providing people with opportunity to produce their own food," she told journalists in Juba.

Were added that these livelihood kits has enabled some 466,666 households to grow vegetables, cow pea and sorghum while taking advantage of the available water sources along the Nile basin to catch fish, providing vital and nutritious food that benefits families and communities.

World Vision director Perry Mansfield said they have provided training to farmers on improved methods of farming including post-harvest handling and value addition.

"Through this partnership with FAO, World Vision is using an integrated approach that builds on other food and livelihood projects for sustainability and improved food security for 21,000 households in Central Equatorial and Warrap states," he said.

Perry added that the project is so far supporting 14,000 households in Juba and peri-urban area which adds up close to 80,000 people.

The UN in February declared famine in the northern Unity state counties of Leer and Mayendit, caused by combination of conflict and drought, leaving some 100,000 people starving and further 1 million on the brink, and warned that famine could spread to other parts of the war-torn country.

South Sudan descended into violence in December 2013 after political dispute between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar led to violent conflict that has killed tens of thousands and displaced over 2 million from their homes, and forced more than 1.5 million to flee into neighbouring countries.

The 2015 peace agreement to end the violence was again violated in July 2016 when the rival factions resumed fighting.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 21:52:44|Editor: An

Video Player Close

BEIJING, June 12 (Xinhua) -- China's central government has allocated another 30.7 billion yuan (about 4.52 billion U.S. dollars) in funding to help people living in poverty, the finance ministry said Monday.

That has brought this year's total central government poverty relief funds to nearly 86.1 billion yuan, which has all been allocated at local levels, the Ministry of Finance said.

Up to 97.4 percent of the funding has gone to 22 provincial regions in the central and western parts of the country, the main battleground for poverty alleviation, said the ministry.

The central government has assigned 196.1 billion yuan of poverty relief funding over the past four years, representing annual average growth of 19.22 percent. This year's funding marks a 30.3 percent increase year on year.

The Chinese government has vowed to lift all impoverished citizens out of poverty by 2020 to build a moderately prosperous society. In 2016 alone, China helped 12.4 million rural residents move above the poverty line.

By the end of last year, there were 43.35 million people living in poverty in China.
Source:Xinhua| 2017-06-12 22:11:37|Editor: Mengjie

Luca Ghinolfi (R) trains his students at class in the "Center for the studies of Oriental Cultures" gymnasium in Lavagna, Italy, May 8, 2017. Ghinolfi, a retired bank manager at age of 75 now, has always been passionate about sports. After seeing a presentation of Chinese martial arts in Genova and meeting Yang Li, a visiting scholar from Beijing Sport University in 1984, he was fascinated by Chinese martial arts and had kept practising it for decades. According to Ghinolfi, he usually gets up early at 5:30 in the morning, then starts his daily routine with meditation and wushu practices. After lunch, he reads classic books about Chinese martial arts and prepares his training courses. "It's a continuous research," he said. (Xinhua/Jin Yu)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 22:07:59|Editor: MJ

Video Player Close

TEHRAN, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry on Monday denounced as "failed" the recent U.S. Senate move to advance a bill to impose new sanctions on Iran mainly over its missile program.

"The policy of (imposing anti-Iran) sanctions is largely worn-out and failed and could not meet any (of U.S.) demands," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency.

The U.S. new move to impose sanctions on Iran is a futile attempt, he said, adding that the U.S. officials are better to learn from the past experiences of failure and not to go about Iran the wrong way.

On Monday, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif slammed the sanction move as a testimony of U.S. officials' shortsightedness.

Such behavior demonstrates the wrong policy that the U.S. government has adopted toward Iran, particularly following the recent presidential election in the Islamic Republic, Zarif added.

On June 7, the U.S. Senate voted to advance a bill that would impose new sanctions on Iran. The legislation under consideration mandates the imposition of sanctions on ballistic missile program, its alleged human rights violation and claims of support for terrorist organizations.

To become law, the measure would have to pass the Republican-led House of Representatives and be signed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 22:08:02|Editor: An

Video Player Close

BEIJING, June 12 (Xinhua) -- The discipline agency of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Sunday published results of its latest round of inspections into government offices and state-owned enterprises, clearly showing the impact of its innovative methods.

The CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) started its 12th round of inspections in February and introduced a new inspection style featuring more improvised and efficient methods.

INSPECTION TEAMS

In this round of inspections, examinations became more precise and problem-oriented.

The four teams that were sent to government offices and state-owned enterprises were downsized to five or six members, while more inspectors worked in the background in supporting roles.

Each team member had a specialization in a certain area, such as CPC regulations, accounting and auditing.

Based on the information and experience gathered by the CCDI in previous inspections, the inspectors looked into specific and targeted areas, which led to a shorter but deeper examination process.

Wang Yukai with the Chinese Academy of Governance said this new method was much more effective.

"This kind of inspection detects the problem quickly, before the situation gets worse," said Wang.

In this round of inspections, inspectors also began investigations without giving interviewees prior notice. Inspectors decided where, what and when to examine according to information obtained from the public.

Wang spoke highly of this style, stressing that it made it impossible for organizations to prepare or hide information in advance.

RE-EXAMINATION INSPECTIONS

The 12th round of inspections also re-examined four provincial-level regions.

The CCDI's Sunday statement said some local governments and enterprises in Jilin Province had faked economic data, and criticized local authorities in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region for weak implementation of CPC Central Committee policies and decisions.

It also pointed out that authorities in Yunnan Province failed to thoroughly remove the negative influence of corrupt former officials, and that authorities in Shaanxi Province had received complaints for problems in official selection and promotion.

The re-examination process began in the 9th round of inspections in February 2016. So far, 16 provincial-level regions have been re-examined.

Wang said the re-examinations have sent strong signals to officials that there will be no mistakes during the inspection.

FUTURE INSPECTIONS

At a meeting on May 26, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee decided to amend the Party's regulation on inspection work, which includes the latest innovative practices.

The 12th round of inspections was the final round during the term of the 18th CPC Central Committee, as the 19th CPC National Congress will be held in Beijing later this year.

Wang said that in the coming five years, the anti-graft campaign will probably be more institutionalized and normalized.

"Therefore, I predict inspections will also be carried out on a regular basis," said Wang. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 22:13:04|Editor: MJ

Video Player Close

WARSAW, June 12 (Xinhua) -- The Visegrad Group (V4) countries' stance on migrants is consistent and uniform, promulgation of punishing them for not taking in refugees is groundless, Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said on Monday.

Blaszczak made the comment after a meeting with his counterparts from V4 countries in Warsaw.

"We are aware that the European Commission utters various threats towards us, but we act in solidarity ... the announced punishment for Visegrad Group countries is unfounded," Blaszczak added.

According to him, the Visegrad countries spoke in one voice, which is heard in the EU. Blaszczak emphasized that the security policy was a national, not European policy.

"We are guarding the security of our states" he said. "We think that relocation methods draw successive waves of migration to Europe are ineffective."

The Monday meeting was devoted to mechanisms of relocation of refugees. Blaszczak used this opportunity to present a critical opinion on the so-far taken measures.

"The mechanism applied in Western Europe was composed of a few stages. First, people from North Africa and the Middle East came to Europe. Later they built camps which were not checked by police ... to finally become bases for terrorists. And today we have emergency state in France, terrorists attacks in Germany, Belgium and Sweden," he added.

Blaszczak stated that the V4 countries have jointly agreed on a text which will be furthermore presented to the heads of governments and that the discussion concerned helping refugees outside the EU.

On Wednesday, the European Commission will decide on launching the EU law infringement procedure against countries that do not participate in the refugee relocation program, according to the Commission spokesman Alexander Winterstein.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 22:38:14|Editor: ying

Video Player Close

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (L) holds a welcome ceremony for Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel before their talks in Beijing, capital of China, June 12, 2017. (Xinhua/Zhang Duo)

BEIJING, June 12 (Xinhua) -- China and Luxembourg on Monday signed cooperative agreements in finance and aviation during Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel's visit.

China hopes to enhance cooperation with Luxembourg in the areas of trade, investment, finance, aviation and steel, said Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in talks with Bettel.

He said China is ready to discuss cooperation with Luxembourg on development of third-party markets and people-to-people exchanges.

Luxembourg is an important partner of China in the European Union, he said, praising the long-term, healthy and stable development of bilateral ties since the two nations established diplomatic relations 45 years ago.

China is willing to work with Luxembourg to deepen political mutual trust, push forward mutually beneficial cooperation and strengthen coordination in international and regional affairs, said Li.

He said China attaches great importance to ties with the EU.

Under the current situation, China and Europe should jointly send out positive signals on promoting trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, advancing economic globalization toward the direction of inclusiveness and shared interests, as well as safeguarding the international order including the United Nations Charter and the rules of the World Trade Organization, said the premier.

Bettel said Luxembourg will adhere to the friendly policy toward China and is ready to deepen cooperation with China in trade, investment, finance, space technology, steel, aviation and telecommunications.

Luxembourg stands for advancement of free trade and multilateralism and is ready to enhance communication and coordination with China to jointly cope with climate change, he said.

Luxembourg is glad to see Europe and China establishing a closer and future-oriented relationship and is willing to play a positive role to this end, said Bettel.

Prior to the talks, Li held a welcome ceremony for Bettel.

After the talks, Li and Bettel witnessed the signing of a number of cooperative documents, covering sectors of social security, finance, aviation and film co-production.

Bettel is on an official visit to China from June 11 to 14 at the invitation of Li.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 22:43:20|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

ADEN, Yemen, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Abour four soldiers were killed and five others injured when suspected militants of the Yemen-based al-Qaeda branch attacked on Monday an army checkpoint in the southeastern province of Hadramout, a security official told Xinhua.

The attackers armed with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades tried to storm the military checkpoint located in Dowan area of Hadramout province, sparking an intense fighting that left casualties, the security source said on condition of anonymity.

The soldiers positioned in the checkpoint successfully repulsed the terrorist attack but lost four of their partners at the scene and about five others injured, the security source said.

Another Yemeni source in Hadramout said that some of the attackers were arrested and three others were killed during the exchange of fire with the soldiers in the area.

The al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) claimed responsibility for the incident in Hadramout, saying that several Yemeni soldiers were killed and military vehicles were destroyed by jihadist attackers.

Yemen, an impoverished Arab country, has been gripped by one of the most active regional al-Qaeda insurgents in the Middle East.

The Yemen-based AQAP, also known locally as Ansar al-Sharia, has claimed responsibility for a number of terrorist attacks against Yemen's army and government institutions.

So far, the AQAP and other terrorists have taken advantage of the security vacuum and ongoing civil war to expand their influence and seize more territories in the south of the country.

The security situation in Yemen has deteriorated since March 2015, when a war broke out between the Shiite Houthi group supported by former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and the government forces backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 22:43:22|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

BAKU, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Azerbaijan and Turkey kicked off a five-day joint military exercise in Azerbaijan's western Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said Monday.

"In accodance with the memorandum of understanding signed between the governments of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Turkey, the joint tactical exercise involving troops of armed forces of the two countries began in Nakhchivan on June 12," the ministry said in a statement

It added that the exercises are designed to check the troops' ability to perform complex tasks, develop coordination between the troops and achieve interoperability between the military units of the two countries through the development of capabilities for joint operations.

The current drill follows an ongoing 10-day trilateral military exercise launched on June 5 that involves troops of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia.

Military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkey started in 1992 with a bilateral agreement signed on military education. Since then, the two governments have been closely cooperating in defense and security.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 22:58:34|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

LAGOS, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian troops rescued nine minors in the restive northeast state of Borno after they neutralized a large number of suspected Boko Haram terrorists, an army spokesman said Monday.

One notorious terrorist, Abu Nazir, the Amir (Leader) of the Boko Haram in Jarawa, was killed during the clearance operation in the area, Brig.-Gen. Sani Usman, the army spokesman, said in a statement reaching Xinhua.

The nine minors rescued were undergoing training at the terrorists' training camp in the village, Usman said.

Usman added that "the minors have been evacuated and are being given preliminary humanitarian assistance in preparation to handing them over to Kala Balge Internally Displaced Persons Camp Management Committee."

The army spokesman said the troops also recovered many weapons, including an AK-47 rifle, one double-barrel gun, one primed heavy Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and one motorcycle.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 23:23:51|Editor: xuxin

Grant Kimberley (L), son of Kimberley Farm owner, introduces crop planting and agricultural techniques used by his farm in Des Moines, Iowa, the United States, June 11, 2017. (Xinhua/Wang Ping)

DES MOINES, the United States, June 12 (Xinhua) -- The Kimberleys have toured thousands of miles over the past few months to China to make preparation for launching a model farm for growing soybean, where roughly two-thirds of U.S. soybean exports go every year.

The Kimberleys are a typical Midwestern farm family in Des Moines, central Iowa. Rick Kimberley and his son Grant are operating around 4,000 acres (1617 hectares) of farmland in the suburb of Des Moines with a house, grain bins and machine sheds.

As witnesses to the booming agricultural ties between China and Iowa, the Kimberley family is now not only exporting soybeans to China, but also introducing their advanced farming technology to the largest soybean export market for the United States.

The model farm which will be fashioned after the Kimberleys' one is set to be built next year in north China's Hebei Province, a sister province of Iowa. The Kimberleys are traveling to China frequently over the past few months to prepare for the kickoff of the demonstration farm.

According to Grant, the Kimberleys are working with local government and development companies in Hebei to get the demonstration farm operating as soon as possible.

"That demonstration farm would showcase new techniques and practices (of agriculture), and things maybe down the road could be utilized by Chinese agriculture as well, because China needs to modernize and continues to improve the efficiency of farms," said Grant.

"Our farm has been one of the examples how Chinese farms down the road could modernize their operations and improve their efficiency," Grant added.

As an example for the deepening China-U.S. economic ties, the Kimberleys' farm has drawn interest of a group of Chinese researchers who paid a visit to the farm in recent days.

"China-U.S. relations are not only about the government-level exchanges, but more importantly lie in the exchanges between people from both countries. The close people-to-people exchanges could further contribute to the development of bilateral relations," said Zhao Qizheng, former director of China's State Council Information Office, after he visited the Kimberleys' farm.

It's the first time for Chinese think tank researchers to hold a direct talks with American farmers, said Wei Jianguo, China's former vice minister of commerce, who also took the tour at the Kimberleys' farm.

"I'm very impressed by American farmers' strong emphasis on the importance of stable bilateral economic relationship," said Wei.

In 2016, bilateral trade between China and the United States reached over 524 billion U.S. dollars, surging over 200 times over the past 38 years since China and the United States established diplomatic relations in 1979. U.S. exports to China supported over 1.8 million jobs in the United States in 2015.

According to a report released by the U.S.-China Business Council, the U.S.-China trade relationship actually supports roughly 2.6 million jobs in the United States across a range of industries, including jobs that Chinese companies have created in America.

As the Chinese economy transits into the modern age, there is ample reason to believe U.S. exports can grow even more rapidly, and U.S. firms can harvest significant revenues from their investments, said the report.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 23:23:52|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

BERLIN, June 12 (Xinhua) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday held talks with African leaders, calling on world economic powers to increase investment in Africa.

Merkel said the world will not develop well "unless all continents of the world take part in it," adding international community can hold "talks with Africa," in stead of "talks about Africa."

The chancellor hosted several African leaders in Berlin, including heads of Egypt, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal and Tunisia, as well as officials from the World Bank, IMF and African Union, aiming to boost business cooperation in the region.

The two-day meeting, themed "Compact with Africa", will mainly focus on work to increase sustainable private sector investment, as well as improve infrastructure and tackle unemployment.

It will also serve as a preparation for the upcoming G20 summit in Hamburg, where African development will be one of the major issues.

Germany has pledged around 300 million euros investment to Africa countries, but the aid is only for those "reform-oriented countries" and will "take the same road with Germany against corruption, for transparency and implementing human rights."

The financial support was also targeted at curbing the influx of migrants into Germany.

According to statistics, Germany has taken in more than a million asylum seekers since 2015.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 23:28:54|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

LAGOS, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria's secret police Monday said it has arrested three suspected associates of a notorious kidnap kingpin, Terwase Akwasa.

Spokesperson for the Department of State Services (DSS) Tony Opuiyo, said in a statement reaching Xinhua in Lagos that the suspects were Dondo Orsaa, Terhile Mbaloha and Teryima Ihiambe.

The Nigeria Police Force had on April 20, declared Akwasa wanted for killing many innocent persons and destroying property worth millions of Naira in different locations in central northern state of Benue.

Police said Akwasa was responsible for the killing of late Denen Igbana, the Special Adviser on Security to Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue.

The state government had offered millions of naira to anyone with information that could lead to his arrest.

The three suspected associates of the kingpin were arrested on June 9 at various locations in Katsina-Ala Local Government Area of Benue.

Opuiyo said one 1 AK-47 rifle, a 9 mm pistol, ammunition and complete set of army uniform were recovered from Orsaa.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 23:33:57|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

PARIS, June 12 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron's party The Republic On The Move (LREM) and its ally MoDem emerged first in the parliamentary election's first round on Sunday, with 32.32 percent of the ballots cast, final results released by Interior Ministry showed on Monday.

Alone, LREM garnered 28.21 percent of the votes, making a majority with more than 400 seats in reach for the multiform movement that Macron had created only one year ago.

Overshadowed by record low abstention at 51.29 percent, the outcome of Sunday's vote showed the traditional major parties that dominated the country's political landscape over decades in disarray.

The Socialist Party, which controlled the National Assembly over the past five years, reported just 7.44 percent of the vote.

As to the centre-right party, The Republicans and allied Union of Democrats and Independents secured the second place with 18.8 percent, a lower-than-expected performance that the conservatives targeted to force creation of co-habitation government in which they eyed to have a strong say.

Marine Le Pen's National Front (FN) gained 13.2 percent of the vote, according to the ministry.

More than 47 million voters were registered to cast their ballots on Sunday to elect their representation in the 577-member National Assembly, but only 48.74 percent of them turned to polling stations, down from 57.22 percent recorded in 2012.

The election runoff will be held on June 18.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 23:39:04|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

LILONGWE, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of pupils and students from primary and secondary schools in some parts of Malawi took to the streets in protest to the ongoing national strike by teachers over leave grant arrears.

The teachers through the Teachers' Union of Malawi (TUM) successfully have embarked on a stay-in since June 5, whereby the teachers went to work places but stayed in without working.

On Monday, in Malawi's Commercial City of Blantyre and in Balaka district in the south, primary school pupils and secondary school students mobilized themselves for demonstrations over the strike which has entered a second week.

Social media pictures of the protesting learners show burning motor vehicle tyres blocking the road while in some instances the protestors blocked the roads with rocks and logs.

Elsewhere in Balaka along the country's backbone road, M1, local media reported scores of pupils and parents having blocked the road in protest to the same.

The Malawi government is yet to respond to the teachers' national strike.

The teacher's strike came a few weeks before the Malawi School Certificate Exams which sees learners graduate from secondary school to college and university education.

Many fear the ongoing teachers' industrial action may jeopardize the national exams which are scheduled to commence on June 22.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 23:44:07|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

SKOPJE, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Macedonia's new government is committed to implementing reforms towards accelerating country's European integration process, Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said Monday.

Zaev made the statement when meeting with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini.

Zaev said Macedonia's government would continue work so it achieved the recommendation for opening of Macedonia's EU accession talks by the end of 2017, local media reported referring to meeting he had with Mogherini in Brussels.

"Our goal is to secure sufficient progress in the key reform areas by autumn, thus giving the European Commission sufficient arguments to present a new report before member states, including a restored recommendation for the start of Macedonia's EU accession talks," said Zaev.

In this regard, he highlighted the importance of opening chapters 23 and 24 of the pre-accession negotiations.

In Zaev's view, the initiative over new dynamics of the Euro-integration process is in the interest of Macedonia's citizens, PM's cabinet said in a press release.

In the meantime, Mogherini expressed firm support to the Macedonian government's reform efforts, saying Macedonia has an ally in the EU in their implementation, said a cabinet press release.

Zaev also had a meeting with European Council President Donald Tusk Monday during which he stressed Macedonia's new government determination to lead a dynamic reform process towards getting a recommendation for opening of EU accession talks.

"It is also important to have the European Council's support in finding solutions by which bilateral issues should not represent a long-term obstacle to the Union accession process," Prime Minister Zoran Zaev told Tusk.

While expressing gratitude for the positive signals from the European institutions in support to Macedonia's Euro-integration process, Zaev said he hoped the Council would accept the conclusions in December, leading to the opening of accession talks.

According to Zaev, Macedonia has wasted a lot of time in this path so the new government will focus its work on this ambitious objective in order to achieve it.

Tusk told Zaev that he expected Macedonia to improve its image through committed efforts, interethnic and inter-partisan dialogue and good neighborly relations.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-12 23:44:09|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

BEIJING, June 12 (Xinhua) -- China will set up a community governance system led by grassroots Communist Party of China (CPC) organizations by 2020, according to a guideline released by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council Monday.

Local governments will play a guiding role in the community governance system which also feature public participation.

Governance capacity in both urban and rural communities will improve significantly by that time, as public services, management and security will be effectively ensured, the guideline said.

Within another five to ten years, a more mature and comprehensive community governance system will offer strong support for the CPC at a grassroots level, while consolidating local governments, the guideline noted.

Issues such as the basic role of autonomous organizations, the participation of social groups and the functions of communities are also included in the guideline.

According to the guideline, on major issues relating to community public interests as well as those that matter to the residents' immediate interests, the community residents' role in the decision making and dispute resolution processes should be enhanced.

Also, community services that are closely related to the residents' interests, such as employment, social security, health, education, housing, public security as well as legal and arbitration services, should be made more widely available, the guideline said.

The guideline called for increased efforts to resolve disputes within communities. Party congress delegates, legislators, political advisors and CPC members and officials should maintain contact with communities and their residents via proper channels, it said.

It urged more support for groups in need, such as the poor, children in difficulty, mentally-challenged people, left-behind children, senior citizens as well as people who have been convicted of crimes or released from prison.

The guideline also requires infrastructure improvements and better environmental management in communities.

To enhance community governance, the guideline pledged more financial investment in this regard. It also encouraged the public to contribute via channels such as charity donations and community foundation endowments.
U.S. President Donald Trump leaves after delivering a speech at the White House in Washington D.C., capital of the United States, on June 1, 2017. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday 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)

BOLOGNA, Italy, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) countries Monday agreed to language on an array of environmental topics, while said that the United States stood apart from the other six countries on confronting climate change.

The G7 includes Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the U.S.. A 15-page communique released at the end of the two-day ministerial summit made it clear there was a wide gap on the climate stance between U.S. and the other six countries.

The statement is the latest indication of the growing gap between the U.S. and other major world economies when it comes to the priority of confronting climate change and helping the world transition to cleaner forms of energy since U.S. President Donald Trump said he planned to abandon the Paris Agreement on climate change on June 1.

At the G7 ministerial talks in Bologna, Trump's main envoy, Environmental Protection Agency director Scott Pruitt, left the talks to return to Washington only a few hours after his arrival.

In his remarks at the close of the talks, Minister of Economy Gian Luca Galletti from host Italy, said ministers "agreed on everything except for climate."
| 2017-06-13 00:56:17|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

WINDHOEK, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Namibia's Renewable Energy Policy which is in the process of being approved by Cabinet is set to make renewable energy a vehicle for expanded access to affordable electricity in the country, according to an official.

CEO of the Electricity Control Board (ECB), Foibe Namene in a statement on Monday said the policy is set to also accelerate renewable energy sector growth and enhance value chain in the sector.

"The policy will also enable greater participation of Namibians in the renewable energy sector," she added.

Namene said that Namibia should harness the renewable energy resources for the development of the people, skills and technology transfer, as well as job creation and poverty eradication.

Meanwhile, in efforts to enhance security of electricity supply in the country, ECB and the Energy ministry launched a 5 MW Solar PV Plant in Karibib on June 9, which will add more power to the national grid.

Deputy Minister of Mines and Energy, Kornelia Shilunga at the event said, the power plant is one of 14 renewable energy projects commissioned under the Interim REFIT Program, which was initiated by his ministry and ECB with the intention to establish Independent Power Producers in Namibia.

Currently all liquid fuels consumed in Namibia, and some 60 percent of the electricity requirements are imported from neighbouring countries.
| 2017-06-13 00:54:59|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

ATHENS, June 12 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale hit Greece's Eastern Aegean Sea on Monday, with at least 10 people slightly injured and a woman trapped inside her house on the Lesvos Island, according to Greece state television ERT.

The earthquake also caused damages to some old houses on Lesvos as well as the nearby Chios Island.

The Athens Institute of Geodynamics said the epicenter of the earthquake was at sea, about 45km south from Lesvos Island.

According to local media, there are reports of damages and collapse of old houses in the villages of Plomari and Vrisa in the southern part of Lesvos.

The strong tremor, which hit in early afternoon, was felt in Athens. There are aftershocks measuring from 4.6 to 3.6 on Richter scale.

Deputy Minister of Citizen Protection Nikos Toskas and General Secretary of civil protection Giannis Kapakis have headed to Lesvos with helicopter to coordinate rescue efforts, according to Greece's national news agency AMNA.

Along with them were officers from Greece's Special Disaster Response Unit (EMAK).
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-13 00:04:25|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

HELSINKI, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila said on Monday that his government will submit a formal resignation soon.

Sipila told a press conference in Helsinki that the Centre Party and National Coalition Party could not be assured of cooperation with the Finns Party on future issues.

The prime minister made the announcement following talks with other coalition party leaders on Monday morning. Sipila said the value differences with Jussi Halla-aho, new leader of the Finns Party, was too large.

Halla-aho was elected the chairman of the Finns Party on Saturday. He has been known for his strong anti-EU and anti-immigration line.

After being elected, Halla-aho said he would not replace Timo Soini to take the position as foreign minister but would remain in the European Parliament as he is now.

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said on Monday that "the country is not in crisis", but expressed his hope that a new government is rebuilt soon.

The current Finnish coalition government, comprising three major parties in the parliament, started work in May 2015.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-13 00:04:29|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

SHANGHAI, June 12 (Xinhua) -- China aims to build the world's third ocean drilling research vessel and become a key leader in international deep-sea drilling scientific efforts by 2028, a senior government consultant said Monday.

Wang Pinxian, a marine geologist from Tongji University and also with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, made the remarks at a press event to announce the successful conclusion of a China-led international drilling mission to find out how the South China Sea was formed some tens of millions of years ago.

The four-month mission was conducted on board the American vessel JOIDES Resolution as part of the 367th and 368th expeditions of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP), an international collaboration on deep-sea geological scientific research that began in 1968.

China joined the IODP in 1998 and participated in three drilling missions focused in the South China Sea in 1999, 2014 and 2017. The latest mission was proposed, designed and led by Chinese scientists. Over 60 researchers from more than ten countries were involved.

Wang, who serves as a consultant for China's IODP involvement, said the mission marked the first step in a three-part strategy for China to engage in international ocean drilling activities.

He said China aims to drill seabeds in other oceans and set up the world's fourth seabed rock database and a lab before attempting to build an ocean drilling vessel.

The two ships used by the IODP are JOIDES Resolution and Japan's Chikyu.

JOIDES Resolution docked in Shanghai Sunday, the first-ever visit of an international ocean drilling vessel to a Chinese port.

Tongji University marine geologist Jian Zhimin, a co-lead of the IODP mission, said at Monday's press briefing that during the expedition they dug 17 holes at seven sites in the South China Sea. The combined drilling depth exceeded 7,669 meters, and samples including sedimentary and volcanic rocks were collected.

The study of the rocks indicates the South China Sea was formed differently than the Atlantic, scientists have found.

Jian said the newly discovered formation of the South China Sea was so unique that they might need to rewrite the textbooks on continental shelf break-up and ocean formation.

Further research is required.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-13 00:09:35|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

JERUSALEM, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that he has been pushing forward a bill to ban foreign governments from funding Israeli human rights organizations.

Speaking at a weekly meeting of his Likud faction, the hardline prime minister said a recently-approved law requiring non-profit organizations to disclose the funding received from foreign governments is not strong enough.

Netanyahu said he has asked Tourism Minister Yariv Levin to draft a new bill.

"The State of Israel needs to review the issue of foreign interventions," he said.

He said he was particularly concerned about groups that focus on the conduct of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu stated that he intends to change the current situation, which allows "limitless flow of money to non-profit groups that smear IDF soldiers."

Last July, the Israeli parliament, or the Knesset, passed the controversial "NGOs law," which tightens the regulation of rights groups and left-wing organizations. The law targets organizations that receive more than half of their funding from overseas governments or bodies like the European Union.

Under this law, these organizations are required to state that they receive foreign funding in their annual financial reports, all official publications, and letters and communications with lawmakers and civil servants.

In practice, the law affects almost only left-wing and human rights organizations because right-wing groups almost always rely on local donations.

Netanyahu has taken disciplinary actions against foreign diplomats who met with human rights organizations. In April, he cancelled a meeting with German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel after the latter refused to call off a meeting with Breaking the Silence, a group that documents testimonies of soldiers who served in the occupied territories, and B'Teslem, a group that documents human rights violations.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-13 00:14:38|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

HARARE, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe's central bank said Monday it is currently processing Barclays' application to sell 68 percent of its shareholding in the Zimbabwe unit to Malawi-based First Merchant Bank.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor John Mangudya told a portfolio committee of parliament that the deal complied with the country's indigenization policy, contrary to concerns raised in some quarters.

Zimbabwe's indigenization policy stipulates that foreigners must own a maximum of 49 percent of shareholding in a company while the majority 51 percent is reserved for locals.

There had been concerns raised in some circles that the deal flouted the indigenization policy, with some urging President Robert Mugabe to reverse the deal.

Barclays staff in Zimbabwe was reportedly contesting the takeover, and had appealed to the country's high court to block the transaction.

However, Mangudya said Barclays was in effect selling 43 percent of its shares in the Zimbabwe unit, which is below the 49 percent threshold for foreign investors.

He clarified that of the 68 percent being disposed of by Barclays, 32 percent would remain listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, 15 percent will be offered to employees and management while 10 percent would be retained by Barclays Plc for the next three years to ensure business continuity.

"When you look at it the shares that are actually being sold are 43 percent. This is below 49 percent reserved for foreigners," Mangudya said.

Barclays' disposal of the Zimbabwe unit, announced end of May, ends its 105-year presence in Zimbabwe.

Barclays first established a presence in Zimbabwe when it was still a British colony in 1912.

Barclays Bank Zimbabwe is listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange and has a market capitalization of 73 million U.S. dollars.

The deal leaves Standard Chartered Bank as the only Western bank operating in Zimbabwe.

Barclays will transfer all of the bank's 700 employees, 25 retail branches and five corporate service centers in Zimbabwe to First Merchant Bank.

Barclays has also cut its stake in its main African operation from 50 percent to 15 percent, selling control of the Johannesburg-listed business as it continues its exit from Africa.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-13 00:29:41|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

LISBON, June 12 (Xinhua) -- A draft bill is being discussed at the Portuguese parliament on Monday, which, if adopted, will make it easier for citizens born to immigrants in Portugal to gain nationality.

The bill, proposed by the Socialist Party and the Communist Party, aims to give Portuguese nationality to everyone born in Portugal, on the condition that one of their progenitors is a resident in the country.

While the law was being discussed inside parliament, a group of people outside the building held banners that read "Portuguese citizenship" and chanted "Everyone born in Portugal has the right to citizenship".

"We are here to call for nationality for people born in Portugal," Antonio Tonga, 24, a member of the group Consciencia Negra (Black Conscience Movement), told Xinhua. "It is incredible that people born here don't have the right to nationality if they are a child of immigrants."

Tonga, who works as an airport operator, and is a child of Angolan parents, was given Portuguese nationality when he turned 17.

"Before that I faced trouble at school. When sitting school exams, I had to ask the Immigration and Borders Service (SEF) for approval," Tonga said. "As I child, this has an impact on you because you don't have a reference of your parent's country and at the same time the country you were born in doesn't recognize you."

The protest was organized by movements defending the rights of immigrants, who are calling for a new law to give the right to everyone born in Portugal to have the right to Portuguese citizenship.

"I think it is an injustice that hundreds of children don't have the right to Portuguese nationality," said 56-year-old Luisa Moniz, President of the Platform for the Development of African Women.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-13 00:44:49|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao

A boy tries the U.S. troops' weapon in Birstonas, Lithuania, on June 17, 2017. Multinational troops participating in multinational military exercise Iron Wolf 2017 in Lithuania, exhibited their weapons to the local people in Birstonas, a famous spa resort. Iron wolf 2017, Lithuania's largest multinational military training, is officially held from June 12 to June 23. (Xinhua/Alfredas Pliadis)

VILNIUS, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Iron wolf 2017, Lithuania's largest multinational military training, officially kicked off on Monday.

From June 12 to 23, around 5,300 troops from Lithuania and nine allied NATO countries, including the U.S., UK and Germany, are to exercise defense and offense operations, interoperability in the Southern, Central and Eastern Lithuania, NATO's Eastern flank.

The Baltic country with a population of less than 3 million has stepped up its defense capabilities and asked for an increased allied military presence on its soil since 2014.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-13 01:55:21|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

BEIRUT, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Cypriot President Nico Anastasiades held talks Monday with his Lebanese counterpart President Michel Aoun at Baabda Palace, where talks focused on the bilateral relations between the two countries and the means to strengthen them at various levels.

Anastasiades hailed the relations connecting Cyprus and Lebanon, pointing that the ties between the two countries go beyond geographical boundaries as they are deeply rooted between the two peoples.

He said during a joint press conference with his Lebanese counterpart "we discussed the means of further enhancing our shared vision for achieving peace and stability in our region. Lebanon and Cyprus are closely feeling the impact of the turbulence ongoing in the region."

For his part, Aoun said that he "stressed also the importance of the bilateral cooperation between the institutions of both our countries in all the international forums."

He hailed the relations connecting Cyprus and Lebanon and urged his guest to raise the importance of Lebanon's security to the European Union.

The Lebanese president thanked Cyprus for supporting the Lebanese army.

Lebanon's Defense Minister Yaacoub Sarraf announced over the weekend that Cyprus had agreed a 15 million euro (17 million dollars) military aid package for the Lebanese Army.

Anastasiades, who landed in Beirut on Sunday on a four-day visit, met with Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai Monday night and will hold talks with Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
Estonian soldiers participate in the final battle of the annual Spring Storm military exercise in Tapa, northern Estonia, on May 23, 2017. (Xinhua/Sergei Stepanov)

BAKU, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Azerbaijan and Turkey kicked off a five-day joint military exercise in Azerbaijan's western Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said Monday.

"In accodance with the memorandum of understanding signed between the governments of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Turkey, the joint tactical exercise involving troops of armed forces of the two countries began in Nakhchivan on June 12," the ministry said in a statement

It added that the exercises are designed to check the troops' ability to perform complex tasks, develop coordination between the troops and achieve interoperability between the military units of the two countries through the development of capabilities for joint operations.

The current drill follows an ongoing 10-day trilateral military exercise launched on June 5 that involves troops of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia.

Military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkey started in 1992 with a bilateral agreement signed on military education. Since then, the two governments have been closely cooperating in defense and security.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-13 04:17:05|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

RABAT, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Morocco said in a statement on Monday that it will send planes loaded with food to Qatar, in line with the teachings of the Islamic religion, especially during the month of Ramadan.

"The decision is in line with the teachings of the Islamic religion and what it requires in terms of solidarity between Muslim people, especially during the month of Ramadan," the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said in a statement.

The decision "has nothing to do with the political aspects of the current crisis between Qatar and other sister states," it stressed.

On Sunday, the ministry said in a separate statement that it is ready to mediate the ongoing diplomatic crisis between Gulf countries.

Since the outbreak of the crisis, Morocco's King Mohammed VI has maintained close and permanent contact with the parties concerned, according to the statement.
An employee is seen filling shelves at the al-Meera market in the Qatari capital Doha, on June 10, 2017. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

RABAT, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Morocco said in a statement on Monday that it will send planes loaded with food to Qatar, in line with the teachings of the Islamic religion, especially during the month of Ramadan.

"The decision is in line with the teachings of the Islamic religion and what it requires in terms of solidarity between Muslim people, especially during the month of Ramadan," the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said in a statement.

The decision "has nothing to do with the political aspects of the current crisis between Qatar and other sister states," it stressed.

On Sunday, the ministry said in a separate statement that it is ready to mediate the ongoing diplomatic crisis between Gulf countries.

Since the outbreak of the crisis, Morocco's King Mohammed VI has maintained close and permanent contact with the parties concerned, according to the statement.
The file photo shows that Attorney General-designate Jeff Sessions testifies at his nomination hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., the United States, Jan. 10, 2017. (Xinhua/Bao Dandan)

WASHINGTON, June 12 (Xinhua) -- In light of former FBI director James Comey's testimony last week, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is to testify publicly on Tuesday before Congress, which is expected to be focused on his contacts with Russian officials during last year's presidential campaign.

Sessions requested that the hearing at the Senate Intelligence Committee be public, a Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement.

"The Attorney General has requested that this hearing be public. He believes it is important for the American people to hear the truth directly from him and looks forward to answering the committee's questions tomorrow," the statement read.

Comey told lawmakers at last Thursday's hearing that he knew details that made Sessions's involvement in the FBI Russia probe "problematic."

"We were aware of facts I can't discuss in an open setting that would make his (Sessions') continued involvement in a Russia investigation problematic," Comey said at the hearing.

Comey also reportedly told lawmakers behind closed doors that one of those details included another unreported meeting between Sessions and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyac.

The attorney general was forced to recuse himself in March from the federal investigation into Russian interference in the U.S. election after media reports that he twice met with Kislyak during the 2016 campaign and did not disclose that to the Senate during his confirmation hearing in January.

Moreover, Democrats are also thought to be keen to press Sessions on his role in Comey's abrupt firing. Trump accepted a recommendation from Sessions and deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein to fire Comey in May, according to a White House statement issued at the time.

The U.S. president then said that he was thinking of the Russia investigation when firing Comey and made the decision regardless of the recommendation from the two top officials at the Justice Department.

Sessions is the first U.S. senator to show public support for Trump's campaign. The probe over the possible ties between Trump's campaign and Russia is now in the hands of special counsel Robert Mueller for Russia investigation following the Comey dismissal.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-13 05:12:46|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

BUCHAREST, June 12 (Xinhua) -- The MiG 21 Lancer fighter of Romanian Air Force may have crashed earlier Monday after hitting a flock of birds. This is one of the hypotheses launched in the accident investigation.

The investigators found feathers and bird remains at the scene of the accident, which would favor the hypothesis that the jet hit a flock of birds and ingested them into the engine.

According to a press release from the Defence Ministry, the aircraft that crashed in southeastern county of Constanta carried out a training mission in the "Thracian Eagle 2017" exercise, which is being conducted together with the Bulgarian Air Force.

After the mission, when returning to the air base, the pilot, Lieutenant Commander Adrian Stancu, reported a major engine failure during the execution of the landing maneuvers.

Stancu catapulted about 8 kilometers away from the county's Mihail Kogalniceanu Airport and was soon transported by a helicopter to a nearby hospital and brought in the afternoon to the Central Military Hospital in the capital of Bucharest.

According to a multidisciplinary evaluation team, the pilot has column injuries, which makes him unable to move his legs, and the risk of paralysis is quite high in such situations.

The pilot also has a minor thoracic contusion, a minor cranial contusion and a fracture of the calcaneus.

Bucharest authorities decided to upgrade its air force to NATO standards and received six refurbished used F-16 Fighting Falcons jets last October, yet the MiG 21 Lancer fleet remains the backbone of the country's air force.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-13 05:22:51|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

MEXICO CITY, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Eight police officers died and the other one was injured after their patrol vehicle flipped over on a highway in Mexico's southwestern state of Michoacan as they were on their way to an operation, the state police announced Monday.

The officers, including a woman, were members of the Special Operations Group and were headed to the town of Los Reyes to join large police operations against organized crime taking place in the region.

The accident took place on Monday morning on the highway connecting Morelia, the capital of Michoacan, and Guadalajara, capital of the neighboring state of Jalisco, the state police said in a statement.

Seven officers died at the site of the crash, which happened in the municipality of Panindicuaro, in the north of Michoacan.

The eighth officer died at a hospital in Morelia, where he had been taken in helicopter along with the ninth injured man, who remains alive, the police revealed on Twitter.

The vehicle was part of a convoy of 15 police vehicles heading to Los Reyes.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-13 05:38:01|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

ANKARA, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's gross GDP growth increased by five percent in the first quarter of 2017 compared to the same period last year, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) said on Monday.

Calendar adjusted GDP increased by 4.7 percent while seasonally and calendar adjusted gross domestic product was increased by 1.4 percent compared with the previous quarter, according to the data.

Exports, which increased by 10.6 percent in the first quarter, has played a key role in pushing up Turkish economic growth, local experts said.

The improved growth was a result of improved exports, government spending and household consumption, Enver Erkan, analyst from KapitalFX told the state-run Anadolu Agency.

"The increase in the short term is driven by measures that we took and by foreign conjuncture partially. I think the most important point is that confidence is back in the market again," Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said in an interview with private broadcaster NTV.

"Economic growth will be stronger in second quarter than in the first," he said.

Simsek stressed that Turkey is on the verge of a very critical reform period. "We need reform to make growth sustainable, it is simple and clear," he said.

Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci noted that the government will keep implementing a market-oriented exports and investment growth model in the coming period.

The World Bank predicted in a forecast report published on June 5 that Turkish economy would expand 3.5 percent in 2017, up from its 3 percent estimate in January.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) revised up on June 7 its 2017 growth forecast for Turkey to 3.4 percent, up from 3.3 percent in its previous report.

Last year, Turkey's economy grew 2.9 percent, down from 6.1 percent in 2015 and 5.2 percent in 2014.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-13 06:03:13|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

by Juhani Niinisto

HELSINKI, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Finland's three-party coalition is doomed to fall apart as the ruling parties' leaders failed to find a common ground on Monday and politicians were prepared for talks to form a new government.

The centrist Prime Minister Juha Sipila said on Monday afternoon that cooperation with the Finns Party as a coalition partner ended, as the "ideological distance" had become too wide following the election of hardliner Jussi Halla-aho as the party chairman.

Sipila noted that the other coalition parties had made many compromises with the True Finns and vise versa, but the situation looked too difficult for all the parties to go ahead.

Sipila said Monday night on national TV that he would probably go to see President Sauli Niinisto on Tuesday afternoon to submit the formal resignation.

Sipila and the conservative National Coalition party leader Petteri Orpo conducted talks with Halla-aho on Monday morning, and the ideological gap was too wide to create the trust regarding decisions in future situations.

Veteran political analyst Unto Hamalainen, interviewed on Yle, formulated the situation as "the True Finns did not pass the risk analysis of the prime minister".

Halla-aho said later in social media that a key question was that Sipila was not willing to tighten the immigration policies.

RADICALS REMOVED

The True Finns underlined that they did not want to leave the government. Party vice chairman Laura Huhtasaari said on TV on Monday night the party had not resigned from the cabinet.

Analyst Hamalainen, saw no alternatives left for the coalition except taking on board the Swedish People's Party and the Christian Democrats. He believed a new government could be formed before the Midsummer holiday in late June.

The decision to take in the Swedish party and the Christian democrats would give the new government 101 seats out of 200-member parliament.

There was also widespread speculation Monday night in Helsinki that some MPs of the current True Finns caucus would defect to other parties and offer support to a new government.

Sipila has admitted the government program will have to be negotiated, at least partially. Both the Swedish party and the Christian Democrats have already indicated they set some policy conditions for their possible entry.

END OF NEUTRALIZATION

Known for his anti-EU and anti-immigration stance, Halla-aho was elected chairman to succeed moderate Timo Soini in the Finns Party convention last Saturday.

The takeover of the radical right in the convention on Saturday and its repercussions on the coalition government on Monday marked an almost historic change in the way the political parties relate to each other in Finland.

It ended at least for the time being the Finnish tradition of "melting down" protest movements through incorporating them into the government. It had been believed that giving responsibilities would help neutralize the radicals.

In a commentary on Monday, the newspaper Keskisuomalainen warned that the decision not to cooperate with the True Finns may lead to further radicalization in the party.

It could also strengthen support for extremism, Keskisuomalainen wrote.


 :     ,   ,   

  ,        , -     28         .
Autopsy today for Massy Gas employee

The employee, Gary Mohammed, 32, died one week after an ammonia gas cylinder exploded while he was on duty at the job site in Savonetta, Couva on May 31 .

Reports said that when the cylinder exploded Mohammed was struck and sustained massive internal injuries .

Last Friday morning, Mohammed, who was undergoing treatment for the past few days, died at the Southern Medical Clinic in San Fernando. In a statement, Massy Gas said the cylinder, which was previously filled and was being held in storage for sale, contained anhydrous ammonia .

The company also confirmed another employee sustained injuries during the incident and is being treated by a team of specialist doctors. Mohammeds family yesterday spoke to Newsday at their Mon Desir, South Oropouche, home. His brother Richard, 30, told Newsday the family still could not come to terms with the sudden death of his brother .

We thought he was coming along just fine and then to get the news that he died. I still cant believe it,Richard said .

He remembered his brothers final words to him .

He told me to move his car from the compound and he asked about everyone. I really thought he was coming along,Richard said .

He said he was told by officials at the company that ammonia entered his brother lungs which became inflamed leading to a lack of oxygen .

My brother has such a bright future before him. He purchased his car and was looking forward to buying his house and in the near future get married to his girlfriend .

I knew of his plans because he would often speak of them,he said. Mohammed was employed at Massy Gas for the last eight years .

Richard said once the autopsy confirms the cause of death, funeral arrangements would be made .

He described his brother as loving and kind-hearted. Investigations are ongoing
Wife reports husband missing

The car was later identified as the vehicle which was abandoned by killers on Friday when Eddie Phillip was killed in Chaguanas.

Sherry Mills told police that her husband left home from their Sum Sum Hill, Claxton Bay home at around 9.30 am on Friday, and when he failed to return home she decided to make a missing persons report.

Yesterday investigators probing the murder said that the car which the woman identified was the same vehicle which was abandoned in Palmiste after he was shot dead.

Police now believe that the missing man could assist them in his murder. Officers also believe that the missing man together with an accomplice have now gone in hiding after the shot him dead on Friday.

On Friday Phillip body was discovered on Gail Street at about 11 am.

Police believe Phillips killers first tried to abduct him and put him in the trunk. Phillip struggled, and was trying to escape, but the gunmen shot him multiple times and escaped
20 held in joint police/army raid

Over 200 police and soldiers cordoned off several parts of Carenage from as early as 3 am. Officers searched homes, drug dens and abandoned houses for arms ammunition and illicit drugs.

During the searches two kilogrammes of marijuana were seized in a house and six people were detained. The exercise was also aimed at forcing out people suspected to be involved in several shootings and serious crimes.

The exercise was ordered due to an upsurge of shootings in the Carenage district over the past few weeks.

Only on Saturday, three people suffered gunshot injuries at Haig Street, Carenage, and were up to yesterday nursing gunshot injuries at hospital.

The anti-crime initiative also resulted in several vehicles in Carenage being searched while K-9 dogs, along with their handlers also searched for drugs.

While this was taking place, officers in a Viper 1 helicopter hovered above to provide air support to the officers on the ground. Carenage residents thanked the police and soldiers for the searches yesterday claiming that the area had been under siege by gunmen.

The exercise was co-ordinated by ACP Irwin Hackshaw, led by Senior Superintendent Boxhill and ASP Ajith Persad, and included ASPs Samaroo, and Dominc, Insp Prescott and Cpt Gibbs of the TT Defence Force.
Caregiver robs elderly patient

The caregiver was hired earlier this year by family members to take care of their elderly relative and only recently discovered that money was missing from her account.

A report was made to the Fraud Squad in San Fernando and following investigations the caregiver arrested and charged with 49 counts of fraudulent use of an ATM card by breaching the electronic transfer of funds Act.
Exciting books for holiday reading

Here are some of my favourite discoveries for this year.

Amiable with Big Teeth by Claude McKay  What a treat! This newly discovered novel by Jamaican writer Claude McKay, who was instrumental in the Harlem Renaissance Movement, tells the story of Harlem in the 1930s when a group of educated residents decided to organise the liberation of Ethiopia, then controlled by the fascists.

Featuring McKays wry sense of humour and his penchant for political discourse, Amiable with Big Teeth edited by Jean-Christophe Cloutier, captures the essence of the Harlem Renaissance.

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is Arundhati Roys first novel in 20 years.

Set throughout India, it is described by amazon.com as an aching love story and a decisive remonstration, a story told in a whisper, in a shout, through unsentimental tears and sometimes with a bitter laugh. Each of its characters is indelibly, tenderly rendered. Its heroes are people who have been broken by the world they live in and then rescued, patched together by acts of love  and by hope.

The Portrait by Antoine Laurain  I am one of those people who constantly search the Gallic Books catalogue for new releases by the English-based publisher that specialises in translations of great, modern French literature. You wont want to miss The Presidents Hat, the story of Daniel Mercier, who picks up a hat in a restaurant, which has been left behind by President Francois Mitterrand.

The hat features prominently in many adventures, and the novel has satisfying, surprise ending. In The Portrait, Pierre-Francois Chaumont discovers an 18th century portrait of a gentleman who looks just like him. Each one of Laurains books feature a physical object that symbolises the theme of the story. I highly recommend all of Laurains books. They are short, light, thoughtful novels, which are perfect for holiday reading.

Camino Island by John Grisham  Action- packed mysteries hit the spot for holiday reading, and Grisham certainly delivers the goods in this story about a gang of thieves who steal a priceless library collection. Enter Bruce Cable, who owns a popular bookstore in the Santa Rosa on Camino Island in Florida. Youll have to read Grishams new novel to discover the collection.

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann  Killers of the Flower Moon is my top choice for non-fiction reading for the holiday. Just released in mid-April, Killers of the Flower Moon tells the story of a group of American Indians on a reservation in Oklahoma who were systematically killed when someone discovered their reservations was worth a lot of money. This is the first case for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The Bakers Secret by Stephen P Kiernan  This World War II novel released in May caught my attention, and its on my holiday reading list. This is the story of a woman living in a village near Normandy who uses the bakery where she worked for a Jewish baker to help the village and keep their spirits up. World War II books always feature stories of courage, and this novel looks like it will continue the tradition.

There you have it: my holiday reading list. There are new, exciting books being published every day that will be perfect for your holiday reading pleasure.
Dominos Pizza franchise in T&T has new owners

On May 31st, the two young entrepreneurs signed a deal that would have them assume the ownership of the Dominos franchise here in Trinidad, which currently has three locations locally, Diego Martin, Ariapita Avenue and Chaguanas.

The new owners have big plans for the franchise. Being current owners of another successful franchise, Pita Pit, we know that the model works.

When a franchise fails to work, more times than not, its because of ownership. You need to be involved, carefully manage every aspect of the business to ensure each customer gets what they expect, Fakoory explained.

When asked what can customers expect to see differently from Dominos, the duo listed some of their immediate focus points for improvement.

- Improved customer service is top of mind, with further training of staff being necessary to ensure the level of service expected by Dominos International is received.

- Faster and more reliable delivery with further investments to increase their delivery fleet with more delivery specialist to ensure drivers are always on standby ready to deliver.

- Ensuring product quality by importing through the Dominos approved supply chain only, instead of using substitutes.

We are 100 percent committed to this. We will ensure that when you taste our pizza, it will be the very same taste as any other Dominos pizza worldwide.

This is of paramount importance to us, the duo said in a press statement.

Acknowledging that labour and forex shortages are major issues in Trinidad, causing some other franchises to close their doors, the duo believes that all problems have a solution and they are intent on making Dominos a fun place where employees will want to work.

Hadeed also explained that, The franchisor is also very committed to our success and has been making accommodations for us, understanding the shortage of USD currency. We expect to rely heavily on their support to further guarantee the success of the brand here in Trinidad. The question of when online ordering would be made available to customers here in Trinidad, both said it was already on the way.

Fakoory added, Going forward, customers can expect to get a top quality, great tasting pizza when they order from Dominos, and further, they can expect to get this pizza delivered to them faster than anyone else.

We are known internationally as the pizza delivery experts and now its about time for Trinidad to know why. 
President blames PM, Opposition Leader for delay

In a release, the Office of the President sought to clarify comments made in the media yesterday that alluded to his delay in appointing a new Deputy Director. These comments contended that unless the President appointed the new Deputy Director, the PCA cannot initiate any investigations against police officers, including complaints of corruption and serious misconduct.

It is to be noted that the Director and Deputy Director of the PCA are not appointed on the sole discretion of the President but instead are appointed as a result of joint advice from the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition in accordance with section 6(1) of the Police Complaints Authority Act, Chap. 15:05 (the Act), or alternatively, after consultation with the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition by virtue of section 6(2) of the Act, the release stated.

The Office of the President then set out the process undertaken in pursuit of the Deputy Directors appointment. The release said Stroude informed Carmona of his resignation on May 8 and on that date, the President dispatched letters to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar informing them of the resignation. He also informed them of the requirement of section 6 (1) of the PCA Act for joint consultation which states, The Authority shall comprise a Director and a Deputy Director to be appointed by the President on the joint advice of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. The letter also referred to section 6(2) of the Act, which states, In the event the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition cannot agree on the joint advice, the President shall appoint the Director and the Deputy Director, after consultation with the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition. Carmona also indicated that the joint advice was a matter of urgency as the Authority requires the appointment of a Deputy Director to be properly constituted for the purposes of the PCA.
Do more for the blind

She was speaking at the installion of the executive of the Trinidad and Tobago Blind Welfare Association the Office of the President, St Anns.

Our society needs to ensure and sustain the personal independence of each and every visually impaired person. The right to appropriate access to public buildings, the right to live independently and the right to genuine opportunity are social fundamentals that must not be ignored and must not be taken for granted.

Many able bodied persons in our society do not recognise that these are basic human rights issues that must never be the subject of compromise, she said.

Carmona said there were many examples of marginalisation suffered by the visually impaired in this country including the blocking of guide dogs for the blind as well as the lack of bells at most of the traffic lights.

She said she was at pains to indicate at the United Nations Regional Workshop on the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD last month that society was simply not doing enough.
Mayaro Brighter Prospects urged to create jobs

Making reference to the present economic climate, Primus told the graduates that whenever a person keeps a job, some other person also loses a job. In the economy of the future, everywhere you go, people are creating jobs. The only safe job is when you are your boss. Make that degree work for you. You should decide what you are going to do with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity presented to you by bpTT.

Beyond gaining employment, think about being an employer, Primus challenged the graduates.

The degree they obtained, he advised, was just the preliminary tool in shaping the real person they could become. He also appealed to them to make a real difference in their communities.

Voicing the gratitude of his peers was valedictorian, Dinesh Boodoo, who graduated from The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, with a Bachelors degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering.

The youths of Mayaro and environs have a distinctive advantage over others with respect to access to higher education through this Brighter Prospects programme.

Therefore, we should not waste this opportunity given to us.

What bpTT is doing through this initiative is building a stronger community through education.

It is a fact that this little fishing village of Mayaro is well equipped with brain-power. We have qualified teachers, doctors, engineers and other professionals who have beneffited through this programme. Many of us may not have reached this far without this far-sighted programme. Open to residents of Mayaro and environs, Brighter Prospects is one of bpTTs flagship programmes in its policy of investing in human capital development. Started in 2003, the initiative provides financial assistance to students who gain access to tertiary education at approved institutions. The programme has fostered over 185 successful graduates since its inception Inspiring the graduates to even greater achievement was Dr. Jared Brewster, himself a graduate of the Brighter Prospects programme and is a surgeon at the Sangre Grande Hospital. You graduates are no less the local heroes. Against the odds you have acquitted yourselves with excellence.

BPTT has flexed its corporate muscles to break barriers and create opportunities to make it less daunting for you to achieve your educational goals. I urge you to be lifelong learners. I challenge you to be conscientious citizens as you embark on this most important journey that awaits you, Dr. Brewster exhorted the graduates.

Earlier, Matthew Pierre, Community Liaison Officer, bpTT, said that the Brighter Prospects scholarship programme, which focussed at the beginning on energy-sector disciplines, had broadened over the years to cover a wide range of tertiary education studies, such as medicine (with at least four doctors already qualified), IT and computer studies, and social sciences.

The programme covers disciplines from several tertiary institutions, such as the University of the West Indies, the University of Trinidad and Tobago, Metal Industries Company, the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago and the Trinidad and Tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute.
US Embassy heads south

The event began promptly at 8am as the US flag was hoisted near the fountain by three US Marines.

Ogley, the officer in charge of the temporary move to San Fernando, said this was a great opportunity for the embassy to engage with the business organisations and people in one of TTs most popular cities. This country, said, was one of our closest partners in the Caribbean region, with vast economic ties, historic military co-operation and deep cultural and family connections, he said, adding that an estimated 10,000 US citizens lived here.

The US is Trinidad and Tobagos largest trading partner and US firms have invested over $1 billion in sectors including petrochemical, oil and gas, and the iron and steel areas, he said.

San Fernando is a city of industry and education and we are here today to celebrate the connections with Trinidad and Tobago and especially the links and relationship in south. Consular Chief and US Embassy Liaison in San Fernando Timothy Swanson said while embassies seldom pick up and move elsewhere for a day, the temporary move was a great way to deepen our links with San Fernando and southern Trinidad. Mayor Junia Regrello applauded the embassys visit, saying his hope was that all of the citizens of San Fernando as well as our more southerly neighbours take advantage of the information that would be shared today to ensure that persons interested in getting a US visa would be better apprised as to what is needed.

Finally I must mention the symbiotic relationship between Trinidad and Tobago and the United States.

Trinidad is hailed as the land of Carnival, but in almost every major US city there is now a carnival celebration. In Trinidad there are about 127 steelbands ,while there are over 600 bands in the US, he said.

Over 50 embassy staffers were present to interact with members of the public, with activities including a student outreach programme, a US citizen town hall meeting, and a visa question- and-answer session.
Duke: Bomb scare deliberate

Duke, speaking with reporters at the port, said that when he learnt of the incident, I got panicky, I got concerned.

Who would want to bomb the T&T Express, and is there anyone on this island who is sufficiently trained and sufficiently resourced to treat with the detection and the neutralisation of a bomb, Though checks were made and the boat sailed, Duke is convinced it was not thoroughly examined.

Tobago is very shortstaffed on skilled persons, and so what we are having is that this boat, that was once dubbed a boat that had a bomb on it, has not been thoroughly examined.

I am certain about that. There was no professional persons who were trained in what we would term as improvised explosive devices and there was no proper person here who was trained in the working knowledge of the operations of these improvised explosive devices They are not properly trained in the installation of them, nor how to bypass the intrusion of them, he said.

Duke described the act as wilful.

This is more than sabotage, I would say this is a wilful act to detain the people of Tobago and let them know that you are not yet ready for the running of an island.

Which island in the Commonwealth does not have someone who can) deal with bombs? On Thursday, 232 passengers and 129 vehicles were evacuated from the vessel after a bomb threat at approximately 6.45 am at the port of Scarborough. Checks were carried out but nothing was found.

The ferry eventually set sail at 10.30 am.
Ramadhar, Dyer-Griffith considering COP election

Former chairman Nicole Dyer- Griffith and former political leader Prakash Ramadhar said they were considering contesting the partys internal polls .

I am giving it active consideration because of the number of persons that have given quite compelling reasons for asking me to consider it, but it is not a decision to be taken lightly, Dyer- Griffith told Newsday yesterday .

Griffith said part of her deliberation over the decision involved meeting with many current and former supporters of the party to hear their thoughts on the partys current status and its future .

It would take a number of strategies to rebrand, to regroup and re-energise the party. It is almost like re-engineering a rebirth and a revolution which I think quite frankly is something that might really add some new life to the current political landscape, she said. The former party chairman said the party would always have a place in her political heart as it was where she launched her career, but said she resigned in 2015 after she felt it lost its political moorings. Former political leader Ramadhar, who resigned last year after taking responsibility for the partys losses in the general and local government elections, is also considering a return to the helm of the party. In a brief telephone interview, Ramadhar said, I have been asked to consider contesting the election by many, many COP supporters, but I have not decided yet whether or not I will be contesting. The upcoming election is an important one for the partys future following its recent losses .

Current political leader Dr Anirudh Mahabir, who took up the post after Ramadhars resignation, said he will not contest a position .

June 16 is nomination day for the internal elections .
MSJ demands accountability

Referencing the hospitals explanation of the events which preceded Phillips death, Abdulah said the particulars of them were not the fundamental point. The fundamental point is that someone must have noticed this gentleman in distress on the compound of the hospital just metres away from what we properly call the casualty department or the accident and emergency department of the hospital, said Abdulah.

Acknowledging that medical care may not have guaranteed Phillips life, Abdulah said, We have a situation in this country where there are some people who count  and those number the very small minority and the large majority of the citizens do not count except at election time, their votes are needed to be counted in the ballot box. Speaking after Abdullah, chairman Gregory Fernandez called for the installation of a special prosecutor to investigate corruption under the former government
Camille gets tough on errant developers

The minister issued the warning during a recent tour of her constituency in Maloney.

According to Robinson-Regis, there will now be focus on an enforcement drive to have citizens employ best practices and proper construction methods.

Many individuals are building without approvals and those who seek approvals from the TCPD are building outside of the remit of these approvals.

There are instances of people building in river courses, building two storey structures in areas where approvals have been granted for one storey, do not provide adequate parking and a host of other ill-advised developments in Trinidad as well as Tobago, she said.

This wanton disregard for planning policies creates environmental problems, challenges with dealing with sewerage, are safety hazards for patrons, residents and the general public and contribute to the degradation of our environment, the minister added.

Robinson-Regis also disclosed that the TCPD has issued a number of enforcement notices while there were several matters before the court. Some 35 matters have been considered and are to be enforced for the first quarter of 2017, she disclosed, while from September 2015 to December 2016, some 41 matters were brought to her attention for enforcement.

Citizens are given the chance to mediate with the TCPD and follow procedure, and in many cases still do not comply, she said. In the past, the Planning Ministry was successful in prosecuting non compliance in the magistrates court.

In those matters, offenders were convicted and fined $750 each for an initial offence and the further sum of $815,000.00 for the continuing offence for the period January 2006 to March 2017, a period of 11 years.

There has been another case before the courts since 2007 regarding a wall that contravened the 2.1 metre height requirement, and the owner has recently complied with TCPD regulations and the matter was withdrawn in May.

As the Minister of Planning and Development with responsibility for development as described under the Town and Country Planning Act, I would like to advise that citizens desist from carrying out unauthorised development across Trinidad and Tobago since failure to comply with stipulated regulations will result in enforcement proceedings being initiated against the owner(s) or occupier( s) of the subject land, she warned.
Share



Its a great big world out there. And its amazing to think about how much of it weve already colonized. But theres much more to explore.

One of the richest and wide-ranging areas were looking into is the ocean. Of course, the exploration and maintenance of this underwater world has many unique challenges. So engineers and scientists continue their work to find better and more efficient ways to do underwater research and maintenance. And companies continue to introduce new solutions to help with that.





For example, ZTE (News - Alert) has a remote control service for 5G-connected underwater vehicles that use virtual reality. And its demonstrating that solution at the 5G World Summit this week in London.

That demo will simulate offshore submarine scientific expeditions and maintenance. The goal is to show how 5G can allow for the remote control of unmanned vehicles. And it will demonstrate 5G low-frequency and high-frequency base stations, new Pre5G Massive multiple input multiple output base stations, and other 5G solutions.

There are plenty of applications for using robots and unmanned vehicles to remotely control and maintain things in the ocean. That includes exploration of sea life, maintenance of subsea fiber optic cables, and potentially even work related to future underwater data centers.

(Microsoft (News - Alert) has been testing fully automated data centers that are underwater. Putting data centers underwater can help with cooling, given data centers require a lot of cost and energy for climate control. But having an underwater data center creates challenges from a human resources perspective, so Microsoft has been experimenting with robots to handle repetitive tasks such as switching out failed equipment.)

Microsoft is not involved with the ZTE work at London event. However, China Mobile, Intel (News - Alert), and Qualcomm are among the companies with which ZTE has been working to advance 5G technology and allow for interoperability on that front.

5G will allow for connectivity speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second. Thats at parity with wireline speeds. Ultra reliable low latency communications will be another key benefit of 5G. That will help cellular service providers and their customers support connected car, remote surgery via robotics, and other new and exciting applications that require extreme reliability and performance.

Edited by Alicia Young
We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription.
Thousands of Moroccans staged Sunday a peaceful demonstration in downtown Rabat to express solidarity with Al Hoceima inhabitants social claims.

The protesters, between 15,000 (according to official numbers) and over 30,000 (according to the organizers), marched through the avenues of downtown Rabat, chanting slogans calling for meeting the social and economic demands of Al Hoceimas inhabitants.

Tension in Al-Hoceima has been simmering since last October after the death of a fishmonger who was crushed inside a garbage truck while trying to retrieve fish confiscated by the police.

His death sparked the city inhabitants anger and triggered the largest protests in the North African country since the Arab Spring-inspired demonstrations in 2011, against rentier economy and abuse of power. As the protests sometimes turned violent, about one hundred individuals were arrested.

The protesters in the Rabat demonstration called on the authorities to heed the complaints and grievances of the inhabitants of Al Hoceima and to release the persons accused in the violence that tainted the demonstrations in the city.

They also blasted the governments mismanagement of vital sectors such as health, employment, education and justice.

Liberty, dignity, social justice were among the recurrent slogans chanted by the demonstrators, while some of the banners urged to enshrine the principles of freedom and social justice and to fight corruption.

The call for the demonstration was launched by Al Adl wal Ihsan, a banned but tolerated Islamist association, small left-wing parties, and some human rights organizations.
The Egyptian parliament Sunday convened for a two-day session to review the controversial 2016 agreement regarding the handing over of the islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia, despite a ruling in January by the High Administrative Court that said the agreement is unconstitutional and void. The ruling upheld the verdict of a lower court.

From the onset, the session was chaotic as Speaker Ali Abdel Aal struggled to restore order.

Observers noted that Speaker Abdel Aal is determined to push ahead for the approval of the agreement by the parliament. I have nothing to do with the ruling of any court of law, he said before adding that these rulings are the concern of the judiciary and they amount to nil.

There is heated debate among members of the parliament on whether the agreement should be reviewed, in view of the ruling by the countrys courts. The parliament is dominated by President Sisis supporters and there are concerns that the agreement will easily be approved if tabled for voting. MPs were also at loggerheads about the presence of the media to cover the debate, although they were later on allowed to stay, but there was no television transmission of the parliamentary session.

Members of parliament who spoke on the condition of anonymity hinted that secret and unannounced sessions could be held as there are plans to approve the controversial agreement before August. Cairo has reportedly assured Riyadh that it will approve the agreement before the end of July.

Political analysts observed that the government has embarked on a communication campaign to shift public opinion ahead of the vote. A video released by state-owned MENA news agency showed a historical map indicating that the two islands belong to Saudi Arabia. The video relays President Sisis statement we dont sell our land to anyone and also we dont seize the land of others.

The controversy surrounding the islands sparked in April 2016 the largest street protests under Sisis presidency. Amid the fury, the Supreme Constitutional Court, Egypts highest tribunal, is yet to rule on whether courts of law had jurisdiction to rule on the agreement.
Saif Al-Islam, the son of former Libyan dictator Moamar Gadhafi, has been reportedly released by a Libyan militia after more than five years in captivity.

According to Abu Bakr al-Sadiq Brigade, a militia that controls the town of Zintan in western Libya, Seif Al-Islam was freed Friday, under an amnesty law promulgated during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan by the parliament based in the countrys east.

However, it is unclear whether Saif Al-Islam has left Zintan, as his freedom in Libya is partial. While the eastern parliament in Tobruk, to which Zintan is aligned, says he is a free man, Tripolis UN-backed government still considers him a war criminal, after a court sentenced him to death, in absentia, in 2015 for crimes during the revolution.

Also, if Saif Al Islam leaves Libya, he may also face arrest on an indictment from the international criminal court for war crimes and crimes against humanity. His release could spark further instability in a country already wracked by divisions and violence.

The North African country is still rocked by infighting, with authorities in the east region, allied with the forces of powerful strongman Khalifa Haftar, refusing to recognize the Tripoli-based GNA.

Some in the country have even started yearning for the Gadhafi years, when the oil-rich country was ruled by a deeply repressive regime but was stable.

Seif al-Islam, 44, is the second of Gadhafis eight children, and the eldest son of his second wife Safiya. He had tried to build up a reformist image, but the image vanished quickly in the uprising against his fathers 42-year dictatorship.

Seif Al-Islam and eight other Gadhafi-era figures, including spy master Abdullah al-Senoussi, were sentenced to death by a Tripoli court in July 2015. Three of Kadhafis seven sons died during the revolution.
The Trump International Hotel in D.C. Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine and Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh plan to sue President Trump for violating the Constitutions emoluments clause, which forbids federal officials from accepting payments and gifts from foreign governments. The lawsuit, first reported by the Washington Post, will argue that Trump has broken the rule by failing to [take] adequate steps to separate himself from his business interests, particularly the Trump International Hotel in D.C. Representatives of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Kuwait have all patronized the hotel since Trumps inauguration, and diplomats from elsewhere clearly believe that there are benefits to staying there during visits to Washington. While Trump did once promise to donate any profits his hotels made from foreign governments to the U.S. Treasury, he appears to have backed out of that pledge.

Racine and Frosh told the Post that their suit will focus on how local venues, including taxpayer-owned and -subsidized convention centers in D.C. and Maryland might be losing customers to the Trump International. This case is, at its core, about the right of Marylanders, residents of the District of Columbia and all Americans to have honest government, said Frosh. Racine added that the effort was intended to act as the check and balance that our kleptocrat-friendly Congress has so far declined to provide. If the case proceeds, the attorneys general will demand to see Trumps notoriously hidden tax returns, which would likely shed light on his relationships with foreign entities, among other things.

This isnt the first time that someone has tried to sue Trump over his refusal to divest from the Trump Organizations various holdings. Earlier this year, the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, along with members of the hospitality industry, filed suit claiming that Trumps continued involvement in his company created unfair competition, breaching the emoluments clause. On Friday, the Justice Department motioned to dismiss that case, arguing that the plaintiffs lacked legal standing.
A woman looks at the promotional posters outside his voting place in the first round of elections for members of the French National Assembly, their Parliament/Congress in the 11th Arrondissement on June 11, 2017, in Paris, France. Photo: Julien Mattia/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Emmanuel Macron founded his political party, La Republique En Marche, about a year ago, riding its centrist platform to the presidency and handily defeating the right-wing National Fronts Marine Le Pen and the countrys two Establishment parties. Yet Macrons agenda immediately faced uncertainty, as En Marche undertook the challenge of winning seats in Frances parliament. Macron promised to run a candidate in all 577 districts  in part by wooing members of the mainstream parties to his cause. The stakes are high: Without claiming a majority or cobbling together a productive coalition, Macrons presidency could be stymied shortly after it began.

But Macron seems to be up to this challenge, too. En Marche and its centrist ally MoDem (for Mouvement Democrate) won 32.3 percent of the vote in the first round of voting on Sunday. That positions Macron to win a sweeping majority of more than 400 seats in Parliament. This for a political party that has zero representatives now.

The center-right Republicans came in second in first-round voting, with the party and its affiliates winning 20.56 percent of the vote. The National Front came in third, with 13.20 percent of the vote, and the center-left Socialists  the party of Macrons unpopular predecessor Francois Hollande  eked out less than 10 percent of the vote in fourth. The Socialists are now on pace to plunge from 300 seats to something like 35. The National Front will likely gain seats, but is expected to fall short of the 15-seat threshold that gives it the power to form a parliamentary group.

En Marches massive victory is tamped down slightly by the very low voter turnout  less than 50 percent of the eligible electorate cast a vote. The final round of voting will take place next Sunday, on June 18.
Photo: Pool/Getty Images

After four and a half months of an even-more-expensive-than-usual life at Trump Tower, Melania and Barron Trump have moved to the White House. President Trump, the First Lady, and their 11-year-old son (who wore a shirt identifying him as The Expert, which, as far as his father knows, he is) were photographed trudging toward their new home on Sunday evening.

Melanias communications director confirmed that the big day had finally arrived:

Later, Melania tweeted a photo of her D.C. view:

Looking forward to the memories we'll make in our new home! #Movingday pic.twitter.com/R5DtdV1Hnv  Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) June 12, 2017

The First Lady, whos spent most of the Trump presidency hiding out in New York, has been a bit more visible recently. Last month, she accompanied her husband on his first big international trip, during which she occasionally remembered to hold his hand. Lets hope that living in the same house doesnt kill the couples magic.


Summer in this city. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Urgent and overdue track repair at Penn Station is forcing Amtrak to completely shut down tracks for weeks at a time in July and August. On Monday, the MTA outlined its contingency plans for the nearly 10,000 LIRR commuters who will be affected by service changes and disruptions in what Governor Andrew Cuomo has already christened the summer of hell.

Penn station repairs will affect... pic.twitter.com/QEiLYmEkPq  Danielle Furfaro (@DanielleFurfaro) June 12, 2017

The cornerstone of the MTAs plan is basically: Brace yourself. The agency is going to add transportation options, including ferry service from Glen Cove and Long Island City and bus service (with some food and beverages!) from eight park-and-ride locations on Long Island. The MTA will also increase the number of cars on certain trains and reduce overnight tolls on MTA roads and bridges to ease congestion during rush hour for commuters whod rather take their chances driving. But even with these solutions, delays, disruptions, and desperate pleas to spare you from this hell are all but inevitable. The MTA is even starting an awareness campaign that will include letters to employers encouraging flexible work hour and locations.

MTA is asking employers to tell their workers stay home or work odd hours. pic.twitter.com/J4T3pueqJW  Danielle Furfaro (@DanielleFurfaro) June 12, 2017

The MTA will significantly reduce weekday rush-hour service, canceling at least seven trains and rerouting others so that they originate or end in Queens at Jamaica or Hunterspoint Avenue, or at Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn, reports NBC 4, where riders can complete their commutes by sampling subway delays instead. The agency will also cancel three overnight trains between 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. To compensate, the MTA will add some peak rush-hour trains  with those extra cars  to accommodate riders affected by cancellations. And LIRR riders will be forced to shell out the same amount for reduced service, as the MTA has, so far, ruled out fare reductions and isnt even entirely sure how it will pay for all these contingency plans, says the New York Post. All these schedule adjustments will go into effect after July 7, when the Penn Station repairs are slated to begin. The revised timetables are expected later Monday.

Governor Andrew Cuomo also announced Monday that he ordered the MTA to finish major bridge and tunnel construction by July 8, apparently anticipating that more New York City employees will opt to drive into and out of the city. Such news was greeted in some corners with the appropriate amount of incredulity because the subway:

Then  fix  the  subways  https://t.co/47iA2VuC0t  Second Ave. Sagas (@2AvSagas) June 12, 2017

"I can't solve the complicated problem so let me do something dumb and easy instead." https://t.co/oiWShk0y5y  Henry Grabar (@henrygrabar) June 12, 2017

These two tweets look great in immediate succession pic.twitter.com/sckhKrtIBf  Jason Rabinowitz (@AirlineFlyer) June 12, 2017

The MTAs Penn Station plans also happen to come on the heels of a class-action lawsuit filed against the agency. LIRR commuters are suing the MTA for emotional distress brought on by repeated delays and cancellations, and for negligence and breach of contract. The suit is seeking damages, attorneys fees, and refunds of monthly LIRR passes, which, good luck.
Mitch McConnell isnt stupid enough to let the public see what his health-care plan would do to them. Photo: Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images

Its conventional wisdom that the Russia scandal is a distraction from Donald Trumps agenda, and that what the president and his party really need is to change the subject back to health care and taxes. But their behavior indicates just the opposite. The Russia scandal may be unwelcome, but the distraction happens to be a useful opportunity. Senate Republicans hope to rush their health-care bill into law with the absolute minimum of public scrutiny. Caitlin Owens reports that the bill is likely to be finalized tonight, but will not be made public anytime soon.

We arent stupid, one GOP aide tells Owens. (Follow-up question: What about evil?)

It is difficult to think of an example of a law in the history of the United States that would have such a deep impact on so many people  millions would find insurance no longer affordable  drafted with so little public input. No hearings, no public examination of the details. Republican senators can claim the secret law is better than the deeply hated House version, but without laying out the trade-offs that allegedly make it so.

In a normal political environment, a scandal is a distraction from a major bill, because major bills get passed by building public consensus. In this case, avoiding the public is the entire strategy. And the crafting of the bill is itself a scandal.
Trumps tweets havent landed so well across the pond. Photo: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images

President Trump may postpone or outright cancel his plan to travel to the U.K. this year, citing concerns about his unpopularity in the country. The Guardian reports that Trump recently told U.K. prime minister Theresa May that he did not want to go ahead with the trip if his visit would be met with large-scale protests. Elsewhere, the New York Times reports that Trumps skepticism about the trip is, in part, because of the intense backlash to his Twitter-sniping at London mayor Sadiq Khan following the recent terrorist attack that struck the city.

Both Mays office and the White House denied on Sunday that there has been any change in the plans for Trumps visit, or that the presidents reluctance came up in the call reported by The Guardian. However, the visit, which Trump was officially invited to make by the prime minister (and Queen Elizabeth) following his inauguration, has already been postponed at least twice, and no real planning appears to have ever been done for it in the first place. The Times also reports that Trump has told his staff that he doesnt want to go on another long overseas trip, and would prefer that foreign leaders come visit him in the U.S., rather than Trump go to them.

News that President Trump could be further delaying or cancelling the visit will be welcome news to many in the U.K. Opinion polls have indicated that he is deeply unpopular there, and that as many as two thirds of Britons believe Trump represents a threat to global stability. As a result, some lawmakers have criticized the plan to allow Trump the pomp and circumstance of an official state visit, and some groups have promised to stage large protests if he comes.

Trumps response to the terrorist attack in London on June 3, which left eight dead and almost 50 injured, hasnt improved Britons feelings about him either. In the days following the ISIS-linked attack, Trump published a pair of indefensible tweets criticizing Mayor Khan in an extraordinarily misleading way over a statement Khan had made trying to calm the fears of Londoners. Trumps remarks were just the latest dust-up between him and Khan, who is Londons first Muslim mayor. Khan has repeatedly criticized Trumps Islamophobia, and the president has called Khan rude and ignorant in response. After the new volley of tweets last week, Khan eventually implied that the presidents state visit should be cancelled. For her part, Prime Minister May declined to criticize Trump over his comments about Khan, opting to praise the mayor instead. Her nearly victorious opponent in last weeks shocking general election, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, took a different tack on Sunday:
Emil Michael resigned on Monday after nearly four years at Uber. Photo: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Last week, a report complied by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on Ubers corporate culture and alleged sexual-harassment problems was presented, in private, to the companys board of directors. Results are expected to be shared with Uber employees on Tuesday. While little is currently know about the reports findings, its safe to assume they were not good. (A different report, released last week, led to the firing of at least 20 employees.) So not good, in fact, that today Ubers senior vice-president of business, Emil Michael, announced his resignation, the New York Times reports.

Michael shared news of his departure with his now ex-colleagues via an email. David Richter, Ubers senior vice-president of strategic initiatives will be taking Michaels old role, he wrote. Beginning with my first day at Uber, I have been committed to building a diverse Business Team that would be widely recognized as the best in the technology world: one that is welcoming to people of all genders, sexual orientations, national origins and backgrounds.

Board members reportedly agreed with all of Eric Holders recommendations for fixing Uber, which earlier reports indicated appeared to include a call for Michaels resignation.Back in 2014, Michael made headlines after he suggested the company ought to do opposition research on the personal lives of journalists to give the media a taste of its own medicine. In recent weeks, Kalanicks right-hand man was caught up in Ubers string of bad press, including visiting an escort-style bar in South Korea with Uber employees several years ago, and viewing the medical records of a woman in India who was raped by her driver, allegedly to disprove her rape and link it to Indian Uber competitor Ola. (The medical records were obtained and shown to Michael by Eric Alexander, an Uber exec who has since been fired.)

Despite his connections to these incidents, sources close to Michael say the former Uber executive blames the board of directors for putting him out to pasture, Bloomberg reports. He also believes that his close relationship with Ubers CEO ultimately hurt him, with sources saying he believes he was forced out as a lesser substitute for Travis Kalanick.



From Bloomberg:

Michael believes that a weak board of directors, a lax internal legal team, coupled with his tight friendship with co-founder Kalanick, ultimately led to his downfall  not the scandals, two people close to Michael said.



He places the blame on the directors, particularly investor Bill Gurley, for his removal, accusing them of not having the backbone to stand by him amid what he sees as largely mischaracterized and inconsequential controversies, the people said. Michael regrets not spending more time recruiting more experienced directors, and he has told people that Gurley put his reputation above the companys best interests.



Kalanick was also a part of both the South Korea trip and the India rape-report incident, and there have been reports that Kalanick is considering a leave of absence from his role, following his mothers sudden death in a boating accident that also injured his father. For now, Kalanick remains in his role as CEO of Uber, though as more and more of the top brass walk, or are pushed, out the door, his system of loyal Uber allies seems to be dwindling.

Heres the full text of Michaels exit email, via the New York Times:



Team 



Yesterday was my last day with Uber. Starting today, David Richter,

our current VP of Strategic Initiatives, will be the new SVP of Business.

David is an extremely talented leader and I have high confidence in his

ability to help drive the company forward.

I signed on with the company almost four years ago and it has truly

been the experience of a lifetime helping Uber become the fastest

growing company of all-time  spanning 75 countries with over 14,000

employees.



I am proud of our business teams part in contributing to the

companys overall success. We have fueled our growth by raising more

money than any other tech company in history; we completed one of

the most valuable mergers in American/Chinese tech history with the

Didi deal; and we have secured ground-breaking partnerships with

automobile companies all over the world to support our autonomous

vehicle efforts.



But I am most proud of the quality of the team we have built.

Beginning with my first day at Uber, I have been committed to building

a diverse Business Team that would be widely recognized as the best in

the technology world: one that is welcoming to people of all genders,

sexual orientations, national origins and educational backgrounds. I

am proud that our group has made so much progress toward these

goals and is a leader in the company in many of these categories. As

an Egyptian immigrant who was taken under the wing of a great

business leader like Bill Campbell, I have an abiding belief that we all

should pay it forward by ensuring that our workplace represents all

types of people.



Uber has a long way to go to achieve all that it can and I am looking

forward to seeing what you accomplish in the years ahead.



Emil Michael




Ubers CEO Travis Kalanick is reportedly considering taking some time away from the company. Photo: Mike Windle/Getty Images

After weeks (and weeks, and weeks) of terrible news  allegations of a horrible work environment, departures of a number of executives, a massive lawsuit brought by Google over stolen technology  for ride-hailing giant Uber, it seems like the bad press might finally be catching up with the company. Or at least with its top brass. Last week, details from an independent report conducted by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder were released to Ubers board. While details from the report havent been made public  Recode reports a source saying it referred to the company as a hostile workplace  it seems a safe bet to assume they werent good. Following the report, CEO Travis Kalanick is reportedly considering taking a leave of absence from the company, and SVP of business Emil Michael is reportedly being pushed to resign, Recode also reports.

Michaels potentially impending departure should come as no surprise if youve been following the latest in Ubers saga. (If you havent, we dont blame you. Lately, it seems like theres been something new and bad breaking about the company at least once a day.) Michael, and Travis, were both reportedly shown questionably obtained medical reports of a woman in India who was raped by her driver in 2014. Uber believed the rape might have been falsified by Ola, an Uber competitor in India. Michael was also one of the Uber employees who reportedly visited an escort-style bar in South Korea several years back as a company outing. Its as yet unclear what Michaels next move will be, though Recode reports that Ubers board voted unanimously to follow the recommendations made in Holders report. His departure would leave CEO Kalanick without one of his key supporters at the company.

Meanwhile, Travis Kalanick might also be walking away from Uber, if only for a short period of time. Following a boating accident that killed his mother and injured his father, Kalanick reportedly discussed taking a leave of absence from the company. The timing, however, isnt ideal for the CEO, since a leave now would seem linked to Ubers current issues, including a toxic and sexist workplace culture that he helped foster. (The recent revelation of an email containing sex rules for a company retreat really cements this.) Select All reached out to Uber for comment regarding both execs and will update this post if we hear back.
I have actually nothing else to say. This all sounds so crazy

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

WHAT



seriously disappointing. I thought sex was encouraged? Is this show FAKE? WHAT?



I AM SO UPSET. And doesn't Corinne have a boyfriend? Daaaaamn bish. Taylor must be

livingggggg



Oop don't let me trivialise this if this was assault. Wtfffff if no one stepped in and one of them was clearly overstepping



Edited at 2017-06-12 03:45 am (UTC)

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Taylor is super bummed. I ran into her at the airport today and she was saying how sad everyone is because all the cast members put their lives on hold to go shoot and the crew is out of a job. She didn't give details but she said everyone is fine so I don't think it was assault.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

oh shit i have not been watching this but it sounds bad

so they are canceling mid season or something?

Reply

Thread

Link

so i'm guessing the episodes they started filming are never making it to air

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

this is so juicy OMG. but this seems very troubling...

Reply

Thread

Link

Ugh, i bet it's some shit like sex without consent while someone was drunk... it's the only thing bad enough i can think of for them to halt production.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Why would they release her name if she was the victim?! i'm so confused :( i really hope she's ok

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

exactly. the scene described sounds a lot like... was it lacey and chad last season? and things went on without issue after that so this must be worse

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I bet you they were flirting/kissing drunkenly and maybe she was pushing him off and he kept pushing himself on her, producers kept the cameras rolling/didn't step in to help her, and the next day one of the producers realized they should have done something and filed lawsuit - or she was pushing herself on him, either way

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Is this the one with the black woman? Because....

Reply

Thread

Link

Oh okay.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

sounds like sexual assault.

Reply

Thread

Link

yikes misconduct? I've never seen this show, is there usually sex and stuff involved?

Reply

Thread

Link

They have little spy cams and show people getting it on under the sheets and hand jobs in the pool so it's definitely always been a part of the show

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

did they... try to get the producer involved? I'm confused

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

pretty sure you can't sue on behalf of someone else, especially if you don't have a relationship with them

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

....ok then

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

so....an uptight producer? what was she expecting from 'Bachelor in Paradise'?

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Wow. Must be really bad since this show is pretty fast and loose compared to the other ones. Last summer there was tons of fucked up inappropriate shit going on.



I hope no one was harmed or taken advantage of in any way.

Reply

Thread

Link

Misconduct? Alcohol, sex, cameras?



Why do I feel like Reality Steve is implying date rape between Demario and Corinne?



Or am I just reading too much into this?

Reply

Thread

Link



I know you're immediately thinking the worst. I honestly don't think it's that. At least not what I heard.  RealitySteve (@RealitySteve) June 11, 2017

I think he says that's not what this seems to be

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

sexual assault and/or rape allegations sounds like (it feels gross to speculate but ..)

Reply

Thread

Link

Yeah it def sounds like it. :/

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I'm sensing rape accusations

Reply

Thread

Link

Wow, it almost sounds as if these shows are filled with complete garbage people. 

Reply

Thread

Link

ikr im shocked!

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

LMFAO bc they are unfortunately

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

LMFAO bc they are unfortunately

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

sounds like a producer suing the Bach for making her watch ppl have sex? which is a form of sexual harassment but I'm shocked this sort of thing isn't in their contracts...

Reply

Thread

Link

yeah. like maybe the producer didn't feel comfortable watching but they made him/her work through it?

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

thats what it sounds like too, but to me, that doesnt sound that serious enough to shut down production over? for one, it never says she was FORCED TO WITNESS it, which I think would be a key thing right? plus...producers like Elan Gale tweet about having to watch EVERYTHING that happens pretty much if you're on site when filming.



something doesnt add up. the ONLY thing I can think is the producer witnessed a sexual assault OR they propositioned her while she was on site. but idk...ive actually still seen worse shit happen behind the scenes on this show (like a producer or behind the scenes dude actively hooking up with a contestant during filming and STILL they didnt stop production or anything).

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link




Here's her "sad" face.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

She looks "i'm-at-home-doing-chores-while-everyone-i s-at-the-pool-party" bored.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I'm confused because I can't really confirm with articles they're just more surrounding the texts. Is she charged with murder, conspiracy to commit or manslaughter?

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I've been following this one for a long time. She creeps me out so much.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I completely agree. She is disgusting. Reading the transcripts made me want to throw up.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

same. i legit want the book thrown at her.



chick is a serial killer in the making.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I mean, the text messages were disgusting, but the fact that she openly grieved on social media and then tried to become an anti-suicide activist afterwards is what really sealed the deal.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Yeah she did and she was apparently dealing with her own issues as well. The case is way more complicated than how it gets reported a lot of the time and people are forgetting that she's a teenager with a brain that hasn't even finished developing yet that struggled with mental health issues herself. They barely even knew each other and just communicated by text - they only met in person a few times. I don't think she should be found guilty to be honest. While I think what she did was awful and wrong, I don't think telling someone to kill themselves implicates you in their death.



He was being abused at home. If you're going to argue that she's responsible for his death, then I think it would make even more sense to argue that his father is responsible for his death because the abuse likely triggered his mental health issues. But I just don't believe that you can convict someone for somebody else's suicide.



Edited at 2017-06-12 01:41 am (UTC)

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

She told him to get back in the car to die when he got out because he wasn't sure about going through with it. Really don't start with the "doesn't implicate you in their death" bs when someone texts you they couldn't go through with the suicide and your response is " get back in there to die" along with "You can't think about it. You just have to do it" Stop.



As a bonus, here's what she texted her friend after he died: Like, honestly, I could have stopped it. I was the one on the phone with him and he got out of the car because [the carbon monoxide] was working and he got scared. I f***en told him to get back in.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

You are truly disgusting.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

michelle is a nutjob. send ha to jail!!

Reply

Thread

Link

Speaking of Christina Grimmie, her family released her final album recently on iTunes in case any of you want to check it out and support her family.

Reply

Thread

Link

Thank you! I cannot believe it's already been a year since her death and the Pulse nightclub massacre. It seems like last month - and ten years ago all at once, if that makes any sense.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Thanks for mentioning this.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

anyone have a status update on Brenden Dassey? Last I heard his case was tossed but he wasn't being released?

Reply

Thread

Link

Yeah, i read that prosecutors were granted an appeal over his being freed so while judges look over that, he's still in prison.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

god, fuck her and her eyebrows.

Reply

Thread

Link

I thought it was a pic of Cara Delevingne at first

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

lol yup

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

me too

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

mte. i thought she was playing a criminal or something.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

same

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

lmao me too

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I thought that was Cara Delevigne at first

Reply

Thread

Link

same lol

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Calling Dean and Jerry ineffective is like...offensive and laughable. And you don't get appeals granted by accusing other people of the crime.

Reply

Thread

Link

Right?!! His lawyers were pretty amazing. Go bark up another tree lady.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

That's what I don't like! Like they did amazing for the shit show they had to deal with honestly.



I know Kathleen Zellner is a great attorney for the wrongfully accused and I know sometimes it can work in favor of defendant to say they didn't get proper representation at their trial but that wasn't the case here. Like he didn't have some shit public defender. Kathleen is currently working on a case here in IL for a girl I went to HS with who I hope she can get set free WHO I think if she played this card of "her defense attorney sucked" it would actually work but in this case no.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Ikr... they were incredible like of all things...

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I believe Ryan did it. Lied about the voicemails and knew her password, knew the location of the car, plus was one of the very few who knew she was meeting Stephen and could pin it on him.



Edited at 2017-06-12 12:55 am (UTC)

Reply

Thread

Link

Wasn't it her brother who lied about the voicemails and the password?

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I think her ex-boyfriend did it. Stephen has a sketchy history but I don't think he had a reason to kill her.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I don't know if he for sure did it, but I think the police should have looked into him more. It seemed like once the car was found on the Avery property, that was it for the police. They didn't bother investigating further.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I definitely think it's a possibility, but I also think it's possible Stephen did it... i go back and forth on his guilt tbh. It just frustrates me that literally no one else was ever investigated properly or considered a suspect. The ex boyfriend was sketchy and from what I recall the brother was too. And maybe they're both innocent but I wish they were investigated properly for so that they could be ruled out and we'd be closer to the truth, one way or another.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Someone also deleted a voicemail after she was already missing.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I don't like that Zellner was so definitive in accusing the ex, seemed to let the cops off, and defamed all prior attorneys but, man, she put together a lot of persuasive evidence that should have been pursued. The voicemail deletion is very damning before TH was discovered to be missing. I see no reason at all that Steven Avery would off anybody let alone somebody with a known connection when he was winning a lawsuit for tens of millions. And every reason he would have been framed.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Has anyone seen Tower? I just watched it a few days ago, I thought it was really good (even though the rotoscoping was kind of annoying at times). It's about the sniper who was shooting people from the University of Texas tower in the 60s.





Reply

Thread

Link

I thought it was really good and I knew nothing about this so I found it compelling

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Yeah I'd heard about the shooting before but didn't realize how many people were killed. And the story of that pregnant woman who was shot and that woman who pretended to be shot to lay down next to her and keep her alert. Oh my heart.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

yeah i thought it was really good. i didn't know much about it, so it was super informative, and i love that you get the story completely from the perspective of the people who were there.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

texas monthly had a great article on the woman who was gunned down while she was pregnant

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Claire Wilson's story is sad :/

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I saw that case on a Crime to Remember, crazy stuff.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

god the woman that was pregnant and shot breaks my heart <3

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

allegedly pressuring him to kill himself so that she could receive sympathy and attention



good lord. would that be considered Munchhausen syndrome by proxy? i don't think i've ever heard of a non-mother/child case tbh

Reply

Thread

Link

according to webmd (MSBP) is a mental health problem in which a caregiver makes up or causes an illness or injury in a person under his or her care, such as a child, an elderly adult, or a person who has a disability.



so yeah i guess it wouldn't fall into that category.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

na just straigh up horrible manipulation

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

That whole Michelle Carter situation is so sad and fucked up. I feel awful for his family. What she did was fucked up but she's seemed to have had mental health issues for a long time. It seems like a story Hollywood would want to sell as some YA thing ft Cara.



I was trying to follow the latest Adnan Syed hearing as well. The prosecutors are really dragging it out and it's pointless because they have nothing left and fucked it up royally at that time.



Reply

Thread

Link

What did happen with that hearing? I was so caught up in Comey's hearing that I couldn't even follow up with Adnan's. I really don't think prosecution has much of a case besides Jay's changing story. I think her BF at the time killed her tbh.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link





.@rabiasquared gives her thoughts on today's hearing #adnansyed #serial pic.twitter.com/WGJ64EaFMh  Mallory Sofastaii (@MalloryABC2) June 8, 2017

They're basically waiting to see if they'll be given a new trial bc even though they were granted a new trial but a judge the state opposed that request. imo the state clearly has nothing and they know it - and they know they fucked up during the investigation too. Way too many shady things happened, especially between them and Jay imo. I know the reason the new trial was granted had nothing to do with the lies but that Lens Crafters bf seemed to barely be looked at + the potential time card lie. Who knows how long it will take for the court to decide but it's going be pretty pathetic if he doesn't get one.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Last week was also the 25th anniversary of the Springfield Three abduction. That's a case that I don't think will be solved without a confession, and I don't think they'll get one. :(

Reply

Thread

Link

It's such a mysterious case.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

never heard of the case but i guessed it was missouri before i googled it.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I've never heard of that one, I'll have to look that up tonight.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

It is a MESS. Contaminated crime scene, no physical evidence (that we know of), very little evidence at all, a lot of shady would-be suspects...and no bodies. It's a total rabbit hole.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

There's also a lot of podcasts (if you're into that) that have covered this case extensively, plus shows like Disappeared. There's a lot of information out there about this one but it's really easy to go down the rabbit hole.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Yeah, that one is going to remain unsolved unless someone confesses which is not gonna happen.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

That case is so upsetting ugh. I think there's a good chance they're buried under a nearby hospital parking garage, I wish they'd just excavate it. If nothing else it would bring closure to the family but discorvering the bodies may also lead to new leads. I know it's expensive to do but ugh I just wish they'd do it.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

I live near Springfield. One of the Mothers was speaking about it last week, I feel so sorry for her.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I really want this to be solved. Triple abduction is quite rare isn't it?

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

I read a story the other day that suggested that Michelle Carter was copying Glee and/or Cory Montieth's death--her texts mimicked show dialog and her boyfriend died one year to the day that Cory did? As if this story isn't crazy enough already.

Reply

Thread

Link

what's the story? this is the first time i'm hearing about it

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Reminds me of that scene in To Die For where Nicole Kidman's character has this fantasy of being famous, so at her husband's funeral she sets up a boombox to play "All By Myself" so she can have a soundtrack for her 'grieving widow' stance of gazing longingly into space behind her sunglasses, and everyone just awkwardly stands there.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

She may have used those lines for inspiration for playing the mourning girlfriend role... sociopaths usually have a hard time with emotional expression.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

ugh I miss when criminal minds wasn't an insane exploitative creepfest. I tried watching a recent episode and it was like 1/3 unsub bullshit.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link
Surely she's Diane.

Reply

Thread

Link

[ Spoiler (click to open) ] she is. Lol, I was an idiot and was on twitter before the episode aired in my timezone

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I really enjoy her. I've only seen her in Big Little Lies, Jurassic Park, and Twin Peaks (the first go around).

What else should I check out?

Reply

Thread

Link

She has a cameo in "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" and she's really good. It's the episode "Kimmy Can't Help You!"

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I SCREAMED TONIGHT TBH

Reply

Thread

Link

+ I KNEW IT

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

affliction this is your time to shine as the PR manager for Laura Dern!!!

Reply

Thread

Link

nnnnn this ep was an emotional rollercoaster. from dougie eating chips and diane to.........that......

Reply

Thread

Link

i finished fire walk with me so i'm ALMOST THERE ;~;. i love laura.

Reply

Thread

Link

Congratulations on getting through it! And I mean because it's dark and heavy. I really love what it does for fleshing out Laura but goddamn, it's hard to watch since you know where it's all going. Especially the end. And ha, it just reinforced my hatred for certain characters like Leo

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I've been wanting to watch it but I know how insanely disturbing it is so I've been trying to find a good time lol

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Fire Walk With Me. She was so good as Laura and carried that film.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

That movie messed me up. My poor bb Laura.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Do any of y'all listen to Lovett or Leave It? Their Twin Peaks discussion this week cracked me up, especially Alexandra Petri's explanation of what the show is about.

Reply

Thread

Link

YES it was hilarious. this weeks ep was really really good.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I wasn't feeling this episode too much but I screamed at the big reveal. I knew it was going to be her!!!! Did I miss something in regards to the case files btw? I have been watching these episodes on my tiny iPhone 5 screen since I don't have a smart TV :x



Edited at 2017-06-12 04:13 am (UTC)

Reply

Thread

Link

The case files Dougie received were all done by his colleague Anthony. Anthony is the one who Dougie said was a liar at the staff meeting. Anthony said at the meeting that company had to pay off a claim and that was when Dougie called him a liar. Im pretty sure the doodles Dougie made on the case files showed that Anthony has been doing shady things with the claims.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

yup I think that's it too

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Thank you bb! I was trying to see what his boss kept looking at over and over but I reallllly need to find a larger screen for this show so I can see these detailed clues better :c

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I love Dougie. I wasnt into Janey until tonight. Jade Give Two Rides is my ultimate lady bae and I ship her with Dougie-Coop. Ultimate dude bae is Gordon but that is bc I have a massive crush on Lynch. He's just so handsome and has a beautiful voice.

Richard can go straight to Hell.

I miss the booger tree :/

Reply

Thread

Link

I need more Jade. I LOVE HER. She's one of the best characters in the Revival.



ia Lynch is a fine older man, but so is Miguel/Albert (RIP). Always love a good Albert scene.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I'm filled with a mixture of sadness and joy every time Albert shows up on screen

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

The "fuck Gene Kelly!" was one of my favorite moments in the episode!

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Ha, I loved Gordon so much in the original run, and I found myself so drawn to lynch. That continues with this season, but I think it has to do with his hair. It's so awesome

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Yass a TP post. I wasn't especially into tonight's ep tbh, the gore-y scenes (ugh that scene in the office) and just how much it's all over the place are starting to get to me. i would just really like more meaningful exchanges between some of the original characters, i know this isn't a nostalgia train but i can dream. i'm nhf the annoying new cops (besides bobby lol) like who is that guy who's always talking shit.



I love Jane-e tho! And yes excited for Dern as the super special secret character she was just revealed to be.

Reply

Thread

Link

Fucking Chad! He is such an asshole.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

He rlly is. I wish he would stop. I would take an Officer Wally Brando over him lol.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

I want him to suffer a horrible comeuppance

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I'm ashamed of how long it took me to realize how much I love the Dern. She is so phenomenal.

Reply

Thread

Link

Do you guys think Bad Coop sent the hitman after Dougie or was it Anthony?

Reply

Thread

Link

Starting to think Wyndham Earl is involved with Bad Coop

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Omg that could be possible! It wouldnt surprise me since BOB is kinda still in the mix in a way as well.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link



Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in Hello! Your entry got to top-25 of the most popular entries in LiveJournal!Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in FAQ

Reply

Thread

Link

bruh they did not have to show that kid. that was a lot even for TP.

Reply

Thread

Link

ia that was brutal as fuck

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link
The recent OPEC agreement to extend production cuts for a further nine months has had a mixed response from industry commentators.

For some, its an example of OPECs new steadfastness and unity of purpose, whereas for others its a deal likely to have little impact on bloated oil inventories and the current oil price. For such critics, other, more influential factors are in play undermining OPECs influence  American shale production, for example.

Yet, like many things in life, its never as clear-cut. In this blog, I will look at the upside and downside risks of the new extension and whether it is likely to have the desired effect on both inventories and prices.

Whats Working In OPECs Favor

Firstly, there are a number of factors in OPECs favor  in particular the remarkable discipline of OPEC members over the last few months.

While many OPEC deals in the past have failed virtually from the outset with an average compliance rate of only 55 percent, according to Drillinginfos Fundamental Edge Market Outlook Report, the original 2016 deal has actually worked!

A Reuters survey cited a 95 percent compliance rate in March 2017 and our own Market Outlook Report finds many countries actually cutting beyond the agreed upon quotas. In April 2017, for example, overall production was 131 MBbl/d below the agreed quota.

One of the key reasons for this production discipline is Saudi Arabia who produced 104 MBbl/d below its April 2017 production quota according to our report  almost 80 percent of the 131 MBbl/d already cited. Saudi Arabias leadership here cant be underestimated  spurred on by Aramcos imminent public listing and the need for a stable pricing environment. The UAE, Kuwait, Iran and Venezuela have also gone above and beyond their quota obligations.

Too often in the past, OPEC has been under attack from the critics  considered an outdated and increasingly irrelevant organization. However, the fact remains that it still controls 70 percent of the worlds proved crude oil reserves and it is sometimes necessary to give credit where credits due for this new era of collaboration and discipline.

What is also encouraging is that OPEC appears to be looking longer-term. Saudi Oil Minister Khalid Al-Falih has already indicated that OPEC will do what is necessary to stabilize the market  even if it means extending production cuts further into 2018.

Another possible variable in OPECs favor is the possibility that global energy demand might increase by more than the current expected 1.33 MMBbl/d (The IEA forecast).

The June 2017 World Bank Global Economic Prospects report forecasts that global economic growth will strengthen to 2.7 percent in 2017 with an increase in manufacturing and trade. Global oil demand also typically accelerates in the second half of the year, leading to a decline in global oil inventories. Such factors could work in OPECs favor.

Obstacles To Success

For all the potential positives, however, there are a variety of risks and potential obstacles to OPECs success. The markets have reacted skeptically to the extension and the limited impact of the 2016 deal on prices and inventories has led many to question OPECs influence.

There are a number of significant risks to OPECs success Related: Countering ISIS: Iraq Aims To Triple Its Refining Capacity

Firstly, many of the non-OPEC members have collectively continued to fall short of their agreed quotas. Our Market Outlook Report, for example, shows that by the end of April 2017, non-OPEC countries were producing more than 180 MBbl/d over their agreed quotas, with Russia and Kazakhstan particular culprits.

There are also other countries who have the potential to replace any supply cuts made by OPEC, including Nigeria and Libya (OPEC members exempt from the deal who are showing signs of increasing production), and of course the elephant in the room  U.S. onshore domestic production. U.S. production output has been restored very quickly and has climbed 10 percent since mid-2016.

Its clear that OPEC members patience is not limitless and they are unlikely to bear the burden of free riders (Al-Falihs words at CERA Week in Houston this March).

There are also economic and political influences. Chinas growth remains relatively slow with Moodys recently instigating the first credit downgrade for China in almost three decades, and the current diplomatic crisis between Qatar and three Arab states has led people to question OPECs future unity.

However, as is so often the case in the subtleties and complexities of the international oil market and economic environment, if China surprises the world with strong economic performance (first quarter growth at 6.9 percent beat expectations), it could help tighten the oil market and reduce inventories. Similarly, with the Qatar crisis, OPEC members have had many political disputes and even wars during its 57-year history, while still managing to collaborate when self-interest is involved.

An Uncertain Future But On The Right Track

Despite all the easy predictions, we cannot estimate with certainty where we will be in 12 months time. From Chinese growth, U.S. production, and non-OPEC member compliance, there remain a host of unknown variables. Related: Is $50 Oil Still Realistic?

What is clear, however, is that the industry remains on the right track with the May 2017 OPEC extension being an important first step in shoring up world crude markets and indicating that there is the necessary political will to try and tackle the global glut.

The fact remains that if supply is kept constant and based on predicted global energy demand growth of 1.33 MMBbl/d, inventory levels are likely to recover to the middle of the five-year range from prior to the price crash by the end of 2017, according to our Market Outlook Report.

Sure, there may not be an immediate lowering of inventories and the oil price is unlikely to go much beyond $60 over the next 12 months. Yet the rebalancing of the market is continuing with OPEC showing the leadership so important in these challenging times. If it can continue to keep its nerve, better times are around the corner.

By Drilling Info

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Russia and Saudi Arabia, the biggest participants in the international oil production cut deal, seem to be still confident that it will achieve the results everyone in OPEC and its partners is hoping for and bring the market back to balance by the end of the first quarter of 2018.

Remarks from Russias Alexander Novak and Saudi Arabias Khalid al-Falih at the Astana Expo 2017 in Kazakhstan this weekend suggest as much. Media quoted the Russian minister as saying that there was no need to review the agreement at this time, because it was too early to decide on anything. Also, he said that although supply is still in excess of demand, it should fall to the five-year average over the next few quarters  probably by the end of March 2018, when the extended agreement expires.

Al-Falih, for his part, told media at the Astana Expo that the decline in global inventories that has already began will speed up in the next three to four months. The statement comes despite an actual increase in global supplies: last week, the Energy Information Administration reported a surprise build of 3.3 million barrels in U.S. stockpiles, which pushed already depressed international prices further down.

The number of drilling rigs in the U.S. is also on the rise, for the 21st consecutive week as of June 9. For that latest week, shale drillers added 11 rigs. Novak told CNBC that the partners in the cut deal foresaw this production increase, adding that Today we have to monitor the situation, and analyze the current developments. In my opinion, the deal is highly effective, and as for shale production recovery, we have to monitor it.

Al-Falihs remarks on the topic were in the same vein. He said Weekly data goes up and down. Sentiments in the financial markets of course swing like a pendulum. But that doesn't change the fundamentals. What we can influence as oil producers is the fundamentals, the level of supply which will result in drawing down the inventories.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The first cargo of U.S. liquefied natural gas last week reached its destination in Poland. The countrys Prime Minister called this a historical moment, that brought the Central European country a step closer to breaking its energy dependence on Russian gas. At the same time, the Netherlands also received its first LNG delivery from Cheniere Energy, the only U.S. exporter so far.

The U.S. gas industry has been quick to take advantage of growing LNG demand and abundant shale gas output to join the global LNG trade. Europe is a natural focus, not just because of stable demand, but because of the European Unions energetic drive to diversify its sources of energy away from Russia. Gazprom holds a third of the EU gas market, which the EU sees as a dominant position.

This is especially true for Poland, which has historical reasons to want to be as independent as possible from Russian supplies of anything. The country has been the most vocal opponent of the Nord Stream-2 project, also a Gazprom initiative, and it has been particularly eager to find alternative energy suppliers. No wonder then that PM Beata Szydlo said at the arrival of the Clean Ocean LNG tanker that Today Poland can say that it is a safe and sovereign country.

Thats how things look from the Polish side, but how are they looking from the Russian perspective? One expert from the Russian Institute of Energy and Finance said that the delivery was a political move rather than anything else. In an interview with radio Sputnik, Sergey Agibalov noted that U.S. LNG is still costlier than Russian gas, but acknowledged Polands efforts in energy supply diversification. Related: How Zombie Funds Are Disrupting Oil Prices

Indeed, calculations of the price for U.S. LNG bound for Europe suggest that it is about US$1-2 above northwestern European benchmark gas prices, which does make it uncompetitive. Yet this is the way things stand now. They can change a lot in the near term, especially if both the sending and the receiving side are willing to make mutually beneficial compromises, which they seem to be.

Poland is very likely to be willing to pay the price of energy independence, whatever it is: last year, imports from Gazprom accounted for 89 percent of all gas imports made by the countrys state oil and gas company PGNiG. Thats uncomfortably high, particularly in light of Russias track record for manipulating gas deliveries to make political points.

In the end, however, things will likely boil down to which gas is cheaper. Commendable as the idea of energy independence may be, gas costs money. Gazprom is not unaware of this as it is not unaware of the European Unions ambition to diversify away from it. This has already prompted the Russian giant to substitute long-term gas supply contracts with shorter ones, and make its pricing more flexible. Chances are that the more the EU works to reduce its dependence on Russian gas, the more Gazprom will work towards making this gas competitive. After all, Europe is a core market for the company.

This could be a challenge for U.S. producers, despite the EUs eagerness to buy US LNG. In the end, it will all come down to how low Gazprom could make its prices without incurring serious losses, and how much and for how long European countries are willing to pay for more expensive U.S. LNG.

Gazprom, however, is not the United States only competition when it comes to gas. There is also the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline, which will carry Caspian gas from the Azeri Shah Deniz field to Europe, which should come online next year. There is also Qatar, the worlds largest LNG exporter. In 2014, almost a quarter of the gulf nations exports (23 percent) went to Europe. Beating this competition will require a further substantial lowering of production and shipment costs.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Iraqs Basra Oil Company is working on expanding the daily capacity of the Amaya oil export terminal in Basra to one million barrels, a deputy oil minister told media over the weekend. Amayas current capacity is 250,000 bpd. An earlier announcement from February had pegged the increased capacity of Amaya at 1.2 million bpd.

Initially, the terminals capacity will be boosted by installing new pipelines and pumps, and by building new storage tanks. Eventually, within a few years, the capacity will reach its final target size of 1 million bpd.

Separately, the minister, Karim Hattab, said that the Basra Oil Company will increase output from the Leheis oil field, one of the longest-producing in Iraq, to 120,000 bpd from its current output of 100,000 bpd.

OPECs second-largest crude producer has been in the crosshairs of observers of the OPEC/non-OPEC production cut deal, widely seen as the most likely cheater in the deal as it depends on oil revenues for the survival of its economy. Although slow to comply with its reduction quota of 210,000 bpd, Iraq has not so far given reason to believe it actually plans to evade its obligations.

It has, however, benefited from a recent decision by OPECs number-one, Saudi Arabia, to reduce oil exports to the U.S. EIA data quoted by Bloomberg reveals that in the first week of June, Iraqi oil exports to the U.S. reached the highest in five years, also exceedingby a pretty wide marginSaudi exports for the first time in the same period.

Overall exports of Iraqi crude are also growing despite the production cut agreement. In May, the country shipped 3.262 million bpd abroad, versus 3.253 million bpd in April. Still, both figures are substantially lower than the export rates for January and February: in the latter month, shipments of crude abroad hit 3.85 million bpd.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Crude oil and fuel shipments from Qatar are set to become more expensive after the United Arab Emirates imposed a port-wide ban on vessels carrying these commodities from Qatar. This is what oil industry and shipping sources told Reuters today.

Crude oil loadings are often made into Very Large Crude Carriers that can accommodate up to 2 million barrels of oil, made in up to four loadings. VLCCs are cheaper than Suezmax tankers, which can hold half of this, but now oil traders have to resort to the latter, as they cant load Qatari and Emirati blends together in the bigger vessels.

According to the Reuters sources, this will lead to a jump in Suezmax shipping rates to up to Worldscale 75-80. Tanker booking data from Reuters Eikon has shown that three oil companies, including Total, Korean refiner SK Energy, and BP, have booked four tankersprovisionallyat freight rates of WS67.5-68.5 apiece. All the vessels should load oil and condensate in Qatar and the UAE.

An alternative to the Suezmax carriers is doing ship-to-ship loadings from smaller vessels onto VLCC in the neutral waters of UAE neighbor Oman.

Qatar is not a very large oil producer with its current daily rate at around 600,000 bpd, but it exports almost all of this to clients in Asia. It also exports naphtha  a common raw material for a number of petrochemicals.



Related: Is $50 Oil Still Realistic?

After the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and five more countries severed all diplomatic relations with the tiny Gulf kingdom, oil prices responded with a further decline on concern that Qatar may decide to forego its obligations under the OPEC-non-OPEC production cut agreement. The decline highlighted once more how volatile the oil market has become, if a small producer like Qatar can affect prices so much.

Still, Brent and WTI started the week with gains on trader confidence that prices have bottomed out despite the still-present inventory overhang.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
By John A. Charles, Jr.

President Trump made the right call June 1 when he terminated participation by the U.S. in the Paris Climate Agreement.

The central problem with the Paris agreement 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 billions of dollars to an international green slush fund, with no accountability.

Pulling out of the Paris agreement does not mean that the climate change apocalypse is upon us. The carbon intensity of the U.S. economy has dropped by 50% since 1980 simply through technological innovation and the dynamic market process. If reducing carbon dioxide is a worthy policy goalwhich is just an assumptionthe United States already has an impressive track record of reducing emissions.

The Paris agreement was always a triumph of symbolism over substance. Now that American participation has ended, we can appropriately move on to issues of real significance.

John A. Charles, Jr. is President and CEO of Cascade Policy Institute, Oregons free market public policy research organization.
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...
Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.
Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading.

Staying in? We've got you covered Get the recommendations on what's streaming now, games you'll love, TV news and more with our weekly Home Entertainment newsletter! Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy
LAKE GEORGE  State Police are searching for a 69-year-old Americade volunteer, who has been missing since Wednesday.

Robert M. Vanderhoof, also known as Mike, is white, 6 feet tall, weighs 220 pounds and has gray hair and eye glasses.

Vanderhoof is from Kentucky and was volunteering at the Americade in Lake George when he was last seen at the Ledgeview Camp Ground on state Route 149 in Lake George Wednesday.

He may be operating a red 2016 Honda African Twin on/off road enduro motorcycle, which has saddle bags attached and a Kentucky license plate of 09325Z.

Those with any information should contact 911 or the State Police at 583-7000.
Nick Thatcher said that if you didnt know his daughter Payton was around, she would let you know.

People all knew her. She was always talking to people and letting them know who she was, Nick Thatcher said Monday. She wanted to be famous.

Instead of seeing that happen, Thatcher is arranging for his daughters body and the body of her half-sister to be transported back from Ohio, where they died in a car accident Saturday and where their mother is still hospitalized.

Payton Thatcher, 7, of Glens Falls, and her half-sister, Tiarra Couture, 13, of Argyle, were killed just before 4:30 a.m. Saturday when the car they were traveling in hit a deer and was then hit by a tractor-trailer. Payton was a student at Big Cross Elementary School, and Tiarra was at Argyle Central School.

The girls mother, Nichole Underwood, 34, remained hospitalized Monday at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland. Her mother, Bonnie Underwood, 51, who was driving, was discharged, as was Nichole Underwoods son, Carter Derusha-Underwood, 9, who suffered multiple broken bones.

She was my life. She was my everything, Nick Thatcher said. She never stopped. Her smile could brighten the worst day anyone was having.

Raising funds

Leeann Mae Thorne, a close friend of the familys, said she is working on several fundraisers to get funding for transportation and funeral expenses. The girls funeral will be held together.

Were doing it all together, Nick Thatcher said. We want them together.

Services are pending. Thatcher said he hoped the girls would be transported to the local funeral home by mid-week.

Schools pull together

At Big Cross Street School, where Payton was a first-grader, the schools crisis team met over the weekend and later sent a letter to all the parents in the school.

Today, we had an entire staff meeting prior to the school day, starting to go over the plans for (Monday), Principal Debbie Hall said. Counselors were located in the cafeteria for breakfast, at entry doors to greet students, and in all three first-grade classrooms to start the day.

It was a sad day at school, Hall said. First grade did have several events previously planned that allowed parents and kids to be together and share in some joy on a difficult day.

Payton was a spunky little girl with lots of energy, Hall said. She loved to create animated videos on the computer, write on sticky notes and swing on the playground.

Tiarra was an eighth-grader at Argyle Central School.

Were a small community, and shes got a lot of family and friends here, said first-year Superintendent Michael Healy. Our hearts go out to her family. We will all pull together. Thats what you do in a small community. We will come together as much as we can.
QUEENSBURY  Police made 12 arrests in recent days as they undertook a multi-agency sting, seeking men who wanted to have sex with an underage girl.

Among those arrested were a school bus driver from Saratoga County, a downstate county corrections captain and a local radio personality, according to police. Six of the arrests happened Friday night alone, some coming from the Albany area and one man coming from as far away as eastern Massachusetts.

State Police, Warren County sheriffs officers and the FBI were involved in the effort, dubbed Operation Spider Byte, which was modeled after the To Catch a Predator stings that police used on television years ago.

Warren County Sheriff Bud York said the FBI sought local help with an effort to crack down on underage sex trafficking. The Sheriffs Office has worked closely with the agency in recent years and developed a good relationship with their federal partners, he said.

Their technological people have been following this and they believe there is a huge need for this type of investigation, York said.

During an afternoon news conference he said, It is out there, there is a lot of it out there happening right down the street from probably where you live, and people dont know about it.

He called for stricter penalties for offenders and expressed his displeasure with society and the system.

Thats sick. We in society need to start doing something about this. There is something wrong with the system, we need to change the system, York said.

He talked of offenders getting out after a couple years, re-offending and ruining families and our future.

Police posted advertisements on online classified ad websites, offering taboo fun at a local motel, and when people responded, the undercover police officer indicated they would involve 9- to 14-year-old girls in sex acts. York said all the suspects made admissions when they were questioned.

The suspects who were arrested responded to the ad and arranged a meeting with the understanding it was for sex with the teen, officials said. They face felony charges of attempted criminal sexual act and/or attempted rape.

Some brought marijuana and sex toys with them as they went to meet with the underage girl, officials said. Police seized cellphones from the men to see if they had been involved in any other illicit activity.

According to police and court records, charged were the following:

Thomas G. Abrams, 52, of Wappingers, charged with attempted criminal sexual act. Police said he is a captain with the Westchester County Sheriffs Office. His status with the agency was not available Monday.

Timothy J. Celeste, 49, of Glens Falls, charged with attempted second-degree criminal sexual act, a felony. He works for local radio stations as a disc jockey.

Thomas J. Clancy III, 21, of Saratoga Springs, charged with attempted second-degree rape.

Peter J. Fava, 41, of Halifax, Massachusetts, charged with attempted second-degree criminal sexual act, a felony.

Frank L. Gunther, 61, of Mechanicville, charged with attempted second-degree criminal sexual act, a felony. Police said he is a bus driver at a school district in Saratoga County, but his job status was not available late Monday.

Gerald F. Harrington III, 36, of Queensbury, charged with attempted second-degree rape.

Adam S. Hiedeman, 32, of Schenectady, charged with attempted second-degree criminal sexual act, a felony.

Mark D. Hodges, 63, of Latham, charged with attempted aggravated sexual abuse and criminal possession of a weapon, both felonies.

William K. OConnell, 45, of Fort Edward, charged with attempted second-degree rape and attempted second-degree criminal sexual act, both felonies.

Roger P. Whiting III, 43, of Queensbury, charged with attempted second-degree rape.

Paul R. Wilson, 31, of Fort Edward, charged with attempted second-degree rape.

Jose R. Zapatas-Cruz, 32, of Schenectady, charged with attempted second-degree rape.

In addition to those who showed up at meetings, dozens of others responded to the ad and conversed with undercover officers. Some went to the designated meeting place in Queensbury and turned away from the meeting at the last minute.

All who were arrested were arraigned in Queensbury Town Court. Only Zapata-Cruz remained in Warren County Jail as of Monday, as the others posted bail or were released on their own recognizance.

Attempted second-degree rape and attempted second-degree criminal sexual act are punishable by up to 4 years in state prison.
FORT EDWARD  Matthew Slocums cousin told a Washington County jury Monday of witnessing an angry exchange between Slocum and his mother in which he threatened to burn her house hours before she was killed and her house was burned.

Joshua Coon testified during the first day of Slocums retrial for the killing of his mother, stepfather and stepbrother, telling the jury he witnessed Slocum ask his mother for money July 12, 2011, and him cursing and becoming angry when she said no.

He said Slocums mother and stepfather had only taken him and his girlfriend into the home temporarily.

They wanted him to get a job and get his own place, Coon said.

Defense counsel Michael Martin questioned whether Slocum seemed to be joking during the money exchange, but Coon said he did not.

I hung out with Matt a lot. I knew when he was angry and when he was joking, he said. Matt, if he didnt get his own way, would get angry with her.

Hours later, Slocums mother, Lisa Harrington, stepfather Dan Harrington and stepbrother Joshua OBrien were found dead in the charred remnants of their home. Police said they were shot to death before their house was set ablaze.

Testimony came Monday after the jury hearing the retrial heard two disparate versions of events in opening statements.

Prosecutor Eric Galarneau told the Washington County jury that Slocum was responsible for the deaths of his three relatives.

Slocums girlfriend, Loretta Colegrove, witnessed him shoot his stepbrother, he said. She saw two other bodies under covers moments later, he said.

Slocum told Colegrove to pack her things seconds later so they could leave, and the two fled to Massachusetts and New Hampshire, with Slocum driving, he said.

This was a nightmare of his making, Galarneau said.

Slocums lawyer, Washington County Public Defender Michael Mercure, told the jury that Colegrove was to blame and had a motive, as the victims had planned to seek custody of the child she had with Slocum because of her drug problems.

Blood found on her clothes and around the vehicle the two fled in points toward her involvement, Mercure said.

The forensic evidence implicates Loretta Colegrove, he said.

Colegrove was not charged and will be the main witness against Slocum.

Slocum is accused of shooting the three people to death before burning their Turnpike Road, White Creek home to the ground and fleeing the state.

Testimony began after about a half-hour of opening statements between the lawyers.

One of the first prosecution witnesses was Raymond Harrington, Dan Harringtons father, who talked of watching helplessly as the neighboring home, where his son lived, burned while he was unable to locate his son or his wife.

He also talked about Slocum, saying he created dissension in the home, picked up his infant son by one arm at times and punched holes in the wall. Colegrove did not cause any trouble, Harrington said. Eric Harrington, Dan Harringtons son, reiterated that point, saying Slocum and not Colegrove was the source of tension.

Mondays testimony seemed to be a replay of the 2012 trial.

Slocum did not react to any testimony, or seem to look at any of the exhibits of evidence, which included photos of the burning home, charred remnants of the home and bodies of his former relatives. He stared straight ahead throughout the day in court, not looking even as Eric Harrington stared at him while walking out of the courtroom.

Before testimony began, Galarneau tried to convince Judge Kelly McKeighan that Mercure opened the door in his opening statement to Slocums confession coming into evidence, despite the fact it had been banned by an appeals court decision.

But McKeighan disagreed, although he cautioned Mercure that he had seemed to come close.

The seven-man, five-woman jury will determine whether the Cambridge resident is guilty of second-degree murder and first-degree arson.

He was convicted during a 2012 trial, but the convictions were overturned and a retrial ordered because the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court found he was denied his right to counsel when questioned by police.

That questioning led to a confession from Slocum that will not be used as evidence in the trial, unless McKeighan finds the defense raises issues that require prosecutors to rebut it with testimony about Slocums statements.

Testimony is to resume Tuesday morning.
















On Saturday, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), in an editorial published in the state-owned newspaper Rodong Sinmun, suggested that the first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch by the country was "not too far away," according to Yonhap.





"The series of recent strategic weapons tests show that we are not too far away from test-firing an intercontinental ballistic missile," according to a Rodong Sinmun editorial, cited by Yonhap.





In an annual January 1 address, DPRK leader Kim Jong-un claimed that Pyongyang would accelerate its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons development as a means of self-defense.





Following Pyongyang's Saturday ICBM announcement, all eyes are now upon the increasingly isolated nation as they strive to reach their stated goal of having the ability to strike the US mainland with an atom bomb. Heavily sanctioned by the United Nations and the West for its continued ballistic missile testing, the ongoing DPRK weapons program has seen five tests since May 10, including an unknown number of 125-mile short-range anti-ship cruise missiles fired from launchpads on its eastern coast several days ago, according to reports from South Korean military sources.

"The great success of test-firing an intercontinental ballistic missile, which we are sure to achieve, will mark a historic watershed moment in the failure of the US hostile policy against us," stated the DPRK newspaper on Saturday.





































A flotilla of Iranian warships departs for the Gulf of Oman amid an ongoing diplomatic crisis on the Arabian Peninsula.

"An Iranian naval flotilla will depart to Oman on Sunday and then will go to the north of the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden," the public relations of the naval forces of the army said in a statement published on the Iranian Tasnim news agency.





The 47th flotilla, comprised of one destroyer and one logistics warship, began its mission Sunday, after a ceremony attended by naval commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari.





"Today, there is some controlled insecurity in the Gulf of Aden and we have been able to escort over 4,000 oil tankers and cargo ships to the safe regions without any disruption in our plans for oil and non-oil exports and imports," Admiral Sayyari told Fars News Agency on Sunday.





The move comes amid a crisis in the Gulf after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Qatar for allegedly supporting "extremism." Doha has denied all allegations, insisting it has been leading the region in attacking what it called the roots of "terrorism." Qatar says it has given young people hope through jobs, educated hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees and funded community programs to challenge the agendas of armed groups, the news agency reports.

In the meantime, violence continues in the Gulf of Aden as Saudis fight Houthi rebels in Yemen and pirates from Somalia try to profit from the ongoing chaos.





































French President Emmanuel Macrons party topped the first round of voting in Sundays parliamentary elections, putting him on course for an overwhelming majority to implement his program of ambitious reforms.





Estimates based on partial results showed Macrons year-old Republique en Marche (Republic on the Move, REM) and its ally MoDem on 32.2-32.9 percent, ahead of the right-wing Republicans on 20.9-21.5%. The far-right National Front (FN) was seen third with 13.1-14%.





Seat projections showed Macrons camp going on to win between 390 and 445 seats in the 577-member National Assembly after next Sundays second round  continuing his centrist revolution which has left Frances traditional parties in tatters.





The results showed Macron continuing to impress the French, a month after being elected Frances youngest-ever president on May 7. Since then he has won praise for appointing a balanced cabinet that straddles the left-right divide and taking a leading role in Europes fight-back against US President Donald Trumps decision to withdraw from a global climate accord.

If the seat projections are confirmed next week he will have a strong mandate to push through the ambitious labor, economic and social reforms he promised on the campaign trail.
























































































Welcome Guest! You Are Here:
Welcome Guest! You Are Here:

Home Regional News East
Black Hawk College will conduct orientation June 27-29 and July 11-12 for the next session of the Highway Construction Careers Training Program.

The 13-week class aims to increase the number of minorities, women and disadvantaged individuals working on Illinois Department of Transportation highway construction projects. There is no cost to participants who are accepted into the program.

The 450-hour program meets 36-40 hours a week and covers math, job/life skills, blueprint reading, OSHA, stick welding, construction equipment operation, shop time and hands-on projects.

The next class begins Monday, Aug. 14, at the colleges Quad-Cities Campus in Moline.

Interested students must attend one of these orientation sessions:

 10 a.m. Tuesday, June 27

 2 p.m. Wednesday, June 28

 6 p.m. Thursday, June 29

 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 11

 2 p.m. Wednesday, July 12

To register for an orientation session, contact Paul Fessler, 309-796-5729, or fesslerp@bhc.edu or register online at www.bhc.edu/hcctp.
Loud Thunder Forest Preserve is a 1,621-acre natural area in rural Rock Island County that is home to many plants and animals, but no one knows exactly how many because a formal inventory has never been conducted.

That is about to change.

On Friday-Saturday, June 23-24, a new nonprofit organization called Guardians of the Prairie and Forest is organizing a "bio blitz" of the area.

During the 24-hour period of the blitz, nearly 40 scientists and graduate students from Illinois and Iowa colleges and universities will descend upon the area to find and identify as many plant, mammal, insect, bird, amphibian and reptile species as possible, said longtime Quad-City-area naturalist Marilyn Andress, a member and organizer.

The general public is encouraged to come out and watch, learning from experts who can explain the significance of what they are seeing.

Special activities will include nighttime frog and owl hikes, daytime bird walks, the capture of bats using mist nets and the dissection of owl pellets (an indigestible material that is regurgitated), revealing the bones of animals the owl consumed.

In addition to Loud Thunder, scientists also will be scouting the adjoining Martin Conservation Area, a 240-acre tract was given to the county's forest preserve district after farmer Ralph Martin died in 1994. It is part of the same ecosystem as the Milan Bottoms.

Among the habitats in this area are 170 acres of native woodland, 22 acres of tallgrass prairie restoration and 4,360 feet of gravel bottom stream.

"It's a primitive site that really has a lot of diversity," Andress said. "There's a lot of cool stuff in there."

Ben Mills, head ranger at Loud Thunder, said he is looking forward to having a working inventory of the species that exist in the preserve.

"Hopefully, we will find some threatened and endangered species so we can make better efforts to conserve and protect them," he said.

Among the species he would be delighted to find is the rusty patched bumblebee, a pollinator that recently was listed as federally endangered, he said.

Organizers want to educate the public, especially children, on the value and importance of Quad-City-area habitats and biodiversity.

Scientists will explain how the plants and animals found at Loud Thunder are part of the natural world that allows the human-built world to exist. Without this web of life providing ecological services, humans could not survive. These services include absorbing carbon dioxide, producing oxygen and the pollination of food-producing plants.

Previous bio blitzes have been conducted in a wetland owned by the Quad-City Conservation Alliance, East Moline, and at Black Hawk State Historic Site and Milan Bottoms, both in Rock Island.
Everyone at the scene of this nasty mishap in 2014  the victim, emergency responders and at least one news reporter  remembers it vividly.

Lt. Matt Lawson, president of the Bettendorf firefighters union, recalled rushing to the accident at the U-Haul store near the corner of Spruce Hills Drive and Utica Ridge Road in Bettendorf:

You could hear the panic in the dispatchers voice, so you knew you were going to something serious, he said.

On Friday, Aug. 29, 2014, Brian White, a U-Haul employee, suffered massive lower leg trauma while attempting to help a customer pull her car onto the back of a trailer.

Police said the motorist accelerated and lost control of her Lincoln Town Car, which sped onto the trailer and passed over the front edge of the platform, pinning the then-28-year-old victim against a truck.

'My legs were on fire'

During a sit-down interview last week, White, now 31, shared his memories from the life-threatening experience.

"All I could feel was heat," he said. "It felt like my legs were on fire."

White said he yelled for help, but nearby construction drowned out his pleas.

The customer panicked, he said, and tried to reverse her vehicle. However, the front tires wouldn't budge, so White, who also serves as a volunteer Bettendorf firefighter, calmly reached into his pocket for his cellphone.

"I grabbed it and called 911," he said. "I did something right because they showed up."

Lawson responded, wondering if White or fellow volunteer firefighter Ryan McCabe, who manages the business at 1012 Spruce Hills Drive, was hurt.

"I remember thinking on the way there, 'there's a good chance this could be one of my close friends,'" Lawson said. "It's one of those calls you don't really forget."

Having covered the incident myself, I sure haven't.

The initial impact crushed White's legs, fracturing his tibia and fibula in both limbs.

Medical personnel transported him to Genesis Medical Center-East Rusholme Street, Davenport. Within the hour, they transferred him to Genesis Medical Center-West Central Park Avenue, Davenport, where he underwent a 6-hour surgery.

Titanium rods, secured with screws, were placed in each of White's legs to keep his broken bones in place. A few days later, he received almost 400 stitches.

White remained in the hospital for about two weeks and spent close to a year and a half working with physical therapists to regain strength in his legs.

The long periods of downtime during his recovery process took a toll on him.

That was the hardest part, said White, whose medical expenses were covered by U-Haul's workers' compensation insurance. Sitting there just doesnt bode well for me.

Making moves

Now, nearly three years since the accident occurred, the married father of three still walks with a noticeable limp.

"I will never be the way I was," he said. "There's pain associated with it every day."

Although he lost the ability to run and jump, White is thankful he can get around without using a cane, walker or wheelchair.

Today, the lifelong Bettendorf resident rents trucks and cargo vans out of the former Kmart store in Rock Island, a position he landed in mid-February.

U-Haul currently is leasing the space, which totals almost 90,000 square feet. The company wants to purchase the building at 38th Street and Blackhawk Road and turn it into a permanent rental and storage site. White said the plans call for 760 indoor storage units.

Before that can happen, however, the Rock Island Board of Zoning Appeals must review and approve the development proposal at its meeting on July 12.

Alan Fries, urban planner for the city, said the board can issue the company a special permit to operate a commercial storage facility on the property, zoned B-4, Highway Intensive Business District.

In Davenport, U-Haul recently converted the former Kmart store at 3616 W. Kimberly Road into a truck and trailer rental facility and self-service storage center. The 86,448-square-foot structure has 651 climate-controlled storage units.

White said the additional services "can only benefit" Rock Island.

Looking back on his accident, he said he's learned to become more mindful of his surroundings, but he doesn't dwell on the past.

"You can't be afraid to live your life," he said. "You either move forward or you don't."
By the time she was 17, Amber Causey had been arrested four times for prostitution in Chicago.

She had run away from home at 16 and had been pulled into the world of sex trafficking by an older man she met at a mall. The first time she was busted, Causey said she thought that would be the end of things.

I went to that little (court) hearing the next morning and was released, and he was sitting right outside waiting for me, she said. You just lose hope. Its like, OK, this is your life now. Thats it.

Now at 28, Causey has served 7 years in the U.S. Army. She has gone back to school to get a masters degree in criminal justice. She is studying for her LSAT to get into law school so that she can one day help other sex trafficking victims.

She lives in Muscatine with her 7-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son and does outreach with at-risk youths.

Now, Causey has written a book about her experiences, titled Redemption for a Stolen Girl, that she is trying to get published. She also is a semi-finalist for Ms. Veteran America 2017, a competition that showcases The woman beyond the uniform.

By no means do we think that were beauty queens, Causey said with a chuckle. Were covered in tattoos. We have on our dresses, but we have on our combat boots. Were tough. Were saying its a competition because we come in all different shapes and sizes.

The competition, hosted by the nonprofit Final Salute Inc., also raises funds to help homeless women veterans and their children, a cause that is near to Causey's heart.

A rough start

Causey said she grew up "kind of in a sheltered home" with her mother and stepfather.

"It was one of those families where we put on a front," she said. "We were all about religion and family, but behind closed doors, we were being abused for years."

Her abuser was her stepdad, she said. Eventually, her mother left her stepfather, took up with another man and was incarcerated by the time Causey was 13.

Causey then was sent to live with her biological father, whom she had met only a couple of times, on the south side of Chicago.

She said she struggled because she didn't get along with her stepmother and was bullied at her new school. She dropped out after her sophomore year in high school. She became withdrawn, started to cut herself and tried to commit suicide when she was just 14.

At 16, she ran away from home.

It was the middle of the winter, and I was running down an alley, and I realized, Oh, my goodness, I dont have anywhere to go, she said. The first car that pulled up to me, I hopped into with total strangers.

She lived on the streets with promises from people to give her shelter and food.

I was just so vulnerable, she said. I cant even remember at that point in my life when the last time somebody told me that they loved me and really meant it.

Joining the Army

She eventually escaped her abusive pimp and moved in with her older sister. Less than a year later, military recruiters came knocking on her door.

Back when she was in high school, she had filled out a card at a career event and indicated that she was interested in joining the service.

With nothing keeping her in Chicago, Causey went into the Army in 2007 as a human resources specialist. Once she completed her training, she was deployed to Iraq.

The military definitely saved my life, she said.

I was assigned to an all-male unit. I was coming in with PTSD already from all these experiences and issues I faced prior to the military, and it was all so fresh, she said. To be over there and to have them treat me like (they were) a big brother or a father  they really protected me.

It wasnt until she had her daughter in 2009 that Causey started to really struggle with her past.

Even in the military, theres this stigma about receiving mental health treatment and counseling, so you cant fully get the services you need while in the service and save face, she said.

Causey left the Army as a staff sergeant in 2015. At the time, she was living in Hawaii and had a bad break-up with another service member. She also was pregnant with her son.

Her name was not on the lease of the home they two shared, and the VA could provide her only with shelter information.

I had a hard time receiving the proper prenatal care through the VA, and after I left Hawaii, I was getting sent medical bills that they kept denying payment for, she said. It was Iowa Medicaid that helped me and backdated coverage and paid for the bills.

Causey moved from place to place and went into credit card debt to cover hotel stays when she didnt have anyone to stay with. She put in applications for apartments, but ultimately, no one was willing to extend a lease to me because my only source of income was unemployment.

I thought I was going to go into labor while homeless, she said.  It was the most stressful and depressing time after service."

She finally settled into an apartment in Muscatine, a community she now considers home.

Moving forward

Once she got out of the military, Causey found the mental health services she needed from the Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic in Bettendorf and the VA hospital in Iowa City.

Aside from her therapy, she wrote a 12-chapter memoir to help her move on from her childhood, and she said that has been therapeutic.

She hopes that her book, as well as her efforts in the Ms. Veteran America contest, will show other young girls that they can overcome.

Regardless of whatever youre going through, regardless of the mistakes you made, you can overcome, she said. You can change your life. I want them to see that.

Causey said she first heard about the Ms. Veteran America competition when a friend tagged her in a social media post.

Another draw for her was the competitions focus on female veteran homelessness, she said.

Some of the issues that contribute to women veteran homelessness are military sexual trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder and domestic violence, Causey said.

A lot of people automatically assume veterans in general, they think, There is no way youre homeless, she said. It really doesnt matter. Veteran women especially tend to get lost in the system, even the VA health system. Its been so geared towards helping male veterans. We are two to three times more likely to become homeless than our male counterparts.

Contestants will be scored and ranked in four areas: interview, talent, military history and advocacy. Judges also take into consideration contestants activity, interaction and participation in the entire competition process.

Other award categories include the GI JoAnne for the contestant who does the most push-ups and the Social Butterfly for the contestant who starts her own media campaign for the competition and gets the most Facebook likes and Twitter followers combined.

It's funny, because initially I looked at it as a pageant and swore I would never get involved with something like that primarily because my own insecurities, but after doing my research, I realized this competition was different and so much more than us involved and to be a part of something that was bigger than me is a humbling opportunity and experience, she said.
As we've all seen over the past several months, Gov. Bruce Rauner is adamantly refusing to provide any help whatsoever to Chicago, which is struggling mightily under the weight of years of fiscal misfeasance, until his Turnaround Agenda demands are met. A long-sought education funding reform bill, a 911 emergency call center fee, even a bill to allow the expedited sale of the Thompson Center have been hit with Rauner's broad (and often false) brush of being a "Chicago bailout."

Rauner will never again get another "opportunity" like this one. The Democrats have historically protected Chicago and the city needs more help now than ever before. Going after the city is, by far, Rauners "best" leverage to force the Democrats to cut a deal with him.

The Democrats, particularly in the House, won't budge, partly because their city-based and statewide union allies are demanding all-out war. Labor leaders see barely disguised anti-union agendas everywhere, particularly in the governor's proposed property tax freeze, which they believe is designed to put so much long-term fiscal pressure on local governments that theyll demand relief from their union contracts.

The unions have done pretty much everything that House Speaker Michael Madigan has asked them to, right up to and including endorsing a billionaire for governor, despite the fact that this particular billionaire's family has a not so great relationship with unions at its massive Hyatt Hotel chain.

In return, Madigan has done pretty much everything that organized labor has asked him to do, including running multiple versions of a bill to weaken Rauner's negotiating hand with AFSCME. And while the Senate Democrats were negotiating workers' comp reform and a property tax freeze with the Republicans, Madigan put up a brick wall.

The Democrats' position got a little stronger when the people who run the Chicago Public Schools figured out how to (barely) keep the doors open for the rest of the school year. Without an imminent early June crisis in their party's traditional home base that could've forced their hand with Rauner, they could turn their attention to late June, when a budget has to be passed or the state will be whacked with junk bond status, K-12 schools may be forced to cancel fall classes, social services completely collapse and some of the "directional" universities have to consider becoming half the skeletons they already are.

But Rauner has a stronger public hand. His pledge to stop any and all Chicago bailouts fits right in with attitudes of this state's "white flight" suburbanites and city-hating Downstaters.

More importantly, the governor's constant demands for a property tax freeze put him on the side of the vast majority of Illinoisans.

Most Statehouse types believe that Rauner cares nothing at all about the very real and lasting damage this impasse of his is causing. In his prior business career, he'd regularly bust out companies and sell off their pieces if he wasn't getting his way or if the companies weren't performing up to his standards. This impasse doesn't look all that much different.

Some even go further, including Comptroller Susana Mendoza, to claim destruction has been Rauner's real plan all along. He never wanted a budget, they say. He deliberately set out to shrink government by killing it.

And Madigan is no bleeding heart liberal, either. He's never been a big fan of the bureaucracy, having fought with AFSCME and the teachers' unions countless times over the decades (but making up for the spats whenever it was beneficial to his position). His people have denied that the impasse is having any significant impact on the state's economy. He's even claimed to some of his members in private that social service providers weren't as bad off as they've said. And a large number of universities are in Republican House districts.

And so, as it has been for two years now, we have a soulless irresistible force up against a heartless immovable object. They both have strong enough bases of support to have sustained them through this mess, even though the vast majority of the population can't stand either one of them. They've done their best to prevent a complete catastrophe on their own side of the fence which could force capitulation. One is a kabillionaire who can bring limitless resources to the campaign playing field. The other has opened a new and expensive front with a billionaire candidate.

We could be heading for the biggest showdown in the history of Illinois at the end of the fiscal year on June 30. Well either get a deal or our state will implode.
A judge has thrown out a lawsuit that challenged voting by absentee ballot in Detroit, saying a Republican candidate for secretary of state failed to produce any evidence of violations. Wayne County Judge Tim Kenny says critics have raised a red flag of election law wrongdoing. But Kenny says his ruling takes down that flag. Kristina Karamo and others sued to try to force Detroit voters to vote in person or go to the city clerks office to get an absentee ballot. They made a variety of allegations about how Detroit reviews signatures on absentee ballots and monitors ballot drop-off boxes. The judge says they failed dramatically to back up any of it.
Guwahati, June 11 : Several politicians and bureaucrats of Nagaland now are under Income Tax (IT) department scanner following the IT unearthed over Rs 1000 crore of an ex Nagaland police official owned group in Kochi in Kerala.

IT would likely to raid several places in Nagaland soon.

A top IT official said that, some politicians and bureaucrats of Nagaland could have made benami investments in the Kerala-based Sreevalsa group owned by a retired Additional Superintendent of Police in Nagaland service MKR Pillai.

Pillai is now served as a consultant of Nagaland police.

Recently, over Rs 1000 crore illegal fund of the group was detected in the IT raids.

The IT official said that, the illegal investments in the group could exceed over Rs 3000 crore.

'We have found various documents of the group. The documents are indicating of illegal investment. We are looking it from all round of corners,' the top IT official said.

Meanwhile, a reliable source of Nagaland said that, several politicians and top officials of Nagaland police had invested their black money in the group.

Pillai, who had joined in Nagaland police as a constable, retired as an Additional Superintendent of Police.

'After retirement, he was appointed as consultant of Nagaland police and it had done by political influence,' the source said.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
Guwahati : A shocking news came to light, while a Foreigners Tribunal (FT) Court in Assam has asked an Assam police constable to prove Indian citizen.

According to the reports, a FT court has recently issued notice to an Assam police constable Abu Taher Ahmed, who presently served at South Salmara police station in South Salmara Mankachar district and asked him to prove as an Indian citizen.

The notice issued on March 15 last, under the Foreigners Tribunal case no 2123/2016 and police case no 1066/2000.

The court asked the Assam police constable to prove his citizenship by appearing before the FT court on August 8 next.

A top police official said that, 33-year-old Abu Taher Ahmed resident of South Salmara had joined the Assam police on 2008.

Abu Taher Ahmed said that, following the court notice he appeared before the FT court on June 8 last, but will need to be present on the next hearing on August 8.

Abu further said that the names of his grandfather Shohidullah Sheikh and father Maziur Rahman were included in the 1951 National Register of Citizens (NRC).

"My father was passed the 10th board examination in 1978. I born and grown up in South Salmara, "Abu said.

Meanwhile, the top police official said that, the voters registration put Abu in the Doubtful voters (D-voters) list.

"Now the FT court will decide as Abu is an Indian citizen or not," the police official said.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
The locals who were demonstrating with allegations that a pregnant woman died due to negligence on part of the Bharatpur Hospital have agreed to receive her body.

Kopila Gyawali, an entrepreneur in Bharatpur, underwent a surgery on May 21 to deliver her baby. She was kept in the ICU and died 19 days later on Saturday.

The locals demonstrated attributing her death to doctors negligence. After an agreement was reached with the Chief District Officer (CDO) Narayan Bhatta, on Sunday evening, the irate locals finally agreed to receive the body at 6:00 pm.

The Superintendent of Police Deepak Thapa at the Chitwan District Police Office, said as part of the agreement the newly born baby will be given scholarship for study when he grows up. He said the hospital too has agreed to provide cost-free treatment to the child throughout his life.

The Bharatpur Hospital has been claiming that the mother died due to an infection, however, the infants health condition is stable.

Jivlal Poudel, the brother of the woman has blamed the hospitals negligence for her death. He said a committee has been formed over the incident and that they decided to receive the body after agreement that the child would be given a job when he grows up, cost-free treatment at the hospital and cost-free education.
KATHMANDU, June 12: President Bidya Devi Bhandari is leaving for Geneva tomorrow to attend the World of Work Summit to be held as a part of 106th Session of International Labour Conference.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, President will address the Summit on the 15th of June. The theme of the Summit this year has been chosen as Women at Work. The President will underline the progress made by Nepal in the front of womens participation and representation in politics as well as in the world of work and highlight the efforts made to address the challenges in that trajectory.

President Bhandari will join two other Heads of State from Malta and Mauritius exclusively invited by the ILO for this years Summit. This will be the first time that Head of the State of Nepal has been invited by the ILO to address the summit. Nepal became member of the ILO in 1966.

Director General of ILO Mr. Guy Ryder will call on President Bhandari on the 15th of June. Mr. Ryder will host luncheon in honour of the visiting Presidents on the same day.

Mr. Dipak Dhital, Ambassador/Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva will host a reception in honour of the President.

President Bhandari will be accompanied by Foreign Secretary Mr. Shanker Das Bairagi, Private Secretary to the President, Dr. Bimala Poudyal Rai and other senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The President will return to Kathmandu on the 18th of June 2017. RSS
You must have previous service to the organization, natch. There are four positions open: Directors-at-Large (three openings) and Vice...
[Articles by Apoorvanand, Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Alok Rai and Kanti Bajpai are posted below] - (updated on 17 June 2017)

The Indian Express

New Army For New India

Relationship between government, army and us is being rewritten, disturbingly so

Written by Apoorvanand | Updated: June 1, 2017 1:01 am

There is also no irony in Defence Minister Arun Jaitley seconding Singh in advocating a free hand to the army, said to be fighting a war in Kashmir. (File)

Amarinder Singh is part of the amoba Pratap Bhanu Mehta wants the army to be wary of (aThe march to spectaclea, IE, May 29). That he has been heard by the army and the government is not surprising. Singh wanted a special medal for Major Nitin Leetul Gogoi, the army chief has obliged him. There is also no irony in Defence Minister Arun Jaitley seconding Singh in advocating a free hand to the army, said to be fighting a war in Kashmir. It is also not shocking that a chief minister, who swears by the Constitution and belongs to a aseculara party, places the army above the people when he says, athe Indian army should have an upper hand to be able to negotiate peace on terms that are favourable to the countrya .

He forgets that it is for the elected government, not the army, to negotiate peace. This is the message we must read: Making the army supreme, unanswerable to parliament and the judiciary. The government recently moved the Supreme Court asking it to quash its order to investigate excesses committed by the armed forces in Manipur. This is not just about Kashmir a it is about a new India where the army would deal with people independently. We should have seen it coming when the army chief addressed the nation directly through AIR and Doordarshan on Army Day this year. This, a journalist friend felt, should be marked as a turning point for India. A new narrative is emerging in which the army is not only an institution known for its professionalism, but feared by the people, as a guardian is by potentially delinquent children.

Major Gogoi, in this new narrative, is a creative genius. He provides India with a spectacle of the humiliation of Kashmiris. The image of Dar was symbolic: Both hands of Kashmir tied by a brutal power. No bullets fired, no blood shed, but we have not seen a more brutal picture of the humiliation of a human being in recent times. It was an act of double violence, on the man and his fellow villagers, turned into subjugated spectators.

That it did not shock us when Gogoi addressed the nation through the media after being decorated is a disturbing sign. Before him, and the current army chief, we do not remember any army officer addressing a press conference, not even after the Pakistan Armyas surrender in 1971, not after Operation Blue Star or the Kargil conflict. In all these, the army was the main actor. But it refrained from being seen as the director. It was always seen as following the civil authority. The present government is invoking nationalism to legitimise itself. It is trying to show it is the first government which backs the army. The latter is obliging by making the governmentas nationalist agenda its own. Recently, the army vice chief and an air marshal participated in a government programme where offerings were made to the image of Bharat Mata, holding a saffron flag. They saluted and stood at attention when Vande Mataram was sung.

The army has been seen as a non-partisan force. In violent situations, people always sought it. But now, by allowing itself to align with a particular ideological version of nationalism, it is losing that neutrality. It suits the BJP to turn the army into a nationalist army. It is not for nothing that the image of dying soldiers is slammed onto students, artists or workers fighting for their rights.

Amarinder Singh is creating an atmosphere which legitimises a militarist, nationalist India, where the rights of the people are suspended perpetually as there would not be a time when the state is in absolute peace with all sections of its population. It is not only about Kashmir. Kashmir is only a cover.

The writer teaches at Delhi University

o o o

The Indian Express

The march to spectacle - Army faces a tough mob in front of it. But it has more to fear from the mob behind it, egging it on

Written by Pratap Bhanu Mehta | Updated: May 29, 2017

The threat emanates from an unlikely source. Whether we like it or not, we live in an age of spectacle, where the dominant political idiom is a seemingly unmediated conversation with the public. (Representational)

The relationship between the Indian Army and Indian democracy might be entering new and unchartered waters. The ethical and constitutional issues in the incident involving Major Nitin Leetul Gogoi using a human shield have been discussed well by two columns (aWhy Major Gogoi is wronga, by Omar Abdullah, IE, May 24, here and aA blemished medala, by Praveen Swami, IE, May 25 here). But there is a larger institutional transformation underway that does not bode well, either for democracy or the army. A professional army needs three things: Broad social legitimacy where the worth and excellence of the institution is recognised; a clear set of political goals and a legal framework within which it can operate; and the right degree of professional autonomy, where it can exercise judgment based on the highest professional standards. The ahuman shielda crisis has revealed that all three are under more threat than we recognised.

The threat emanates from an unlikely source. Whether we like it or not, we live in an age of spectacle, where the dominant political idiom is a seemingly unmediated conversation with the public. It used to be that you were nobody if you did not have money or power; now, that is sometimes not necessary, and often, it is not sufficient. Politics has become a frenzied contest over unmediated representation, with an impatience for all institutions and processes. But that has also inflected other institutions. Parts of many institutions, including the judiciary and bureaucracy, have also convinced themselves that merely doing their professional jobs will not get them social legitimacy or visibility. Something else, some splash, was required. In boring terminology, this is called communication. But underlying it is a shift in the norms of social legitimacy. You are nobody if you have not trended. This is disfiguring many institutions.

The army is becoming a double victim of this. There is no doubt about the armyas social legitimacy. It has also had to do our dirty work for us. But there is a growing sense in the army that it was being socially marginalised. In quotidian terms, everything from the OROP, to shifting norms of social acclaim, convinced many in the army that it was being given short shrift. Second, there always have been, and should be, people who ask questions of the army. And a professional army will answer them professionally. If it is institutionally strong, it can remind people that it even court-martials officers for wrongful killing, as it did after the Machil incident.

But those who really question the army are always politically insignificant. Yet, the media has managed to create the impression that the biggest challenge the Indian Army faces is assorted human rights activists out of control. This is patent nonsense. But the society of spectacle has exaggerated the suspicion under which the army operates; it has created imaginary internal enemies for the Indian Army.

The widespread support for Major Gogoi, both inside and outside the army, has little to do with operational considerations or the wisdom of the action. Instead, the issue has become a symbol of standing up for the army. In this sense, the army is being drawn into a vortex where a quiet, dignified and assumed acknowledgment of its professionalism will no longer be enough. It will constantly have to be granted its place in a society of spectacle. Chasing media phantoms disfigured other institutions. There is a danger this rot can afflict the army as well. It may begin to measure its social legitimacy in a different way.

Two other things are drawing the army into this vortex. The first is the giving in to the need for cutting short processes. Just as a practical matter, the controversy was dying down; there was a process on to assess the incident. The tearing hurry in which the commendation to Major Gogoi was issued undermines the credibility of its processes. It created the impression that the army was not thinking professionally. It was thinking more about teaching its supposed media critics a lesson.

But most importantly, war is becoming a spectacle as well. From Uri to the recent cross-border firings to destroy Pakistani bunker posts, the circulation of videos prompts the question: Who are you trying to convince? How effective you are will be judged by whether you achieve your goals of a lasting, secure peace. But this TV war will be a disaster for the army for three reasons. It will make achieving objectives more difficult. It is not that operations or cross-border firing were not done before. But we had the good sense to understand that giving the adversary the option of a quiet way out is also part of sensible strategy. After a routine operation, the adversary may or may not escalate; after a publicised operation, he will have only one option: To escalate.

TV wars give a much distorted picture of war. The Americans landed in the quagmires they did in Iraq because generations of political elites, post-Vietnam, began to internalise the fantasy that war was like a video game. It created a set of false expectations of what the means at the disposal of the army could achieve. Does the army really want the public to be asking in a frenzied way, aUnder X government, you fired at bunkers, why are you not firing now?a aIf Major Gogoias tactic was really so well-judged, and within the law, why does not the army use it more?a It is shocking how much the latter question is being asked. The armyas professional autonomy cannot be maintained if there is an expectation that it will constantly produce war videos.

The spectacle of those operations will distort the political goals we set for the army. It may create operational pressures of the kind it will find it hard to withstand. Finally, the army will always run up against the problem of incompatible constituencies. The entire effort behind the Major Gogoi operation seems to have been premised upon the idea that it is India that needs to be shown that the army can stand up for its own. But surely, it is in the armyas interest to win over Kashmiris, a constituency this one act has alienated even more.

Civil-military relations are not just about the government and the army. They are fundamentally mediated through the public. The form of that mediation has a huge impact on the army. The current form of mediation is placing spectacle at front and centre. The army is facing a tough mob in front of it; but it has even more to fear in the long run from the mob behind it, egging it on.

o o o

The Indian Express

Blame the hat

General Bipin Rawat has been far too eloquent on matters he ought to be quiet about. He did sound silly while elaborating on ways to deal with the Kashmir issue.

Written by Alok Rai

Well, General Rawatas hat is always aslant. I suggest that no deeper explanation is required for the outrageous things that he has been saying in the matter of the bewildered weaver who found himself transformed into a human shield.

Sandeep Dikshitas colourfully phrased remark about the army chiefas blustery machismo a abring aem ona a has got the political establishment all hot under the collar. But actually this pother is based on a simple misconstruction. It isnat General Bipin Rawat that is at issue, it is his hat.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a man wearing a silly hat a well, you know the rest. So strong is the association between silly hats and silly behaviour that when, in that reliable archive of our national consciousness, the Bombay cinema, the hero proposes to be particularly outrageous, he puts on a silly hat, or tips it forward or sideways a think Dev Anand, think Shammi Kapoor.

Well, General Rawatas hat is always aslant. I suggest that no deeper explanation is required for the outrageous things that he has been saying in the matter of the bewildered weaver who found himself transformed into a human shield. It is perfectly possible that hatless, or with less rakish headgear, he might sound like the Chief of Army Staff of a country that actually lays claim to the protections of international law and convention a that is, smoothly hypocritical, lying with proper gravity, after the manner of American generals, even as their forces commit the most horrendous war crimes.

It is an index of the coarsening of our popular sensibilities that large numbers of people think that the issue is about the aguilta of the weaver a was he a stone-pelter? Was he inciting stone-pelters? Was he merely present a and culpably passive a when stones were being pelted? Or about the ingeniousness of Major Nitin Leetul Gogoias asolutiona to the dangerous situation in which he found himself a in village after village after village. Maybe Major Gogoi also flaunts a fancy hat.

It is, by the way, a compliment to our tattered institutions that the army at least goes through the motions of setting up a committee to enquire into the incident a a minimal acknowledgment that something happened that perhaps should not have happened. But the credit that could have been derived from that committee of enquiry has been recklessly squandered by the swashbuckling general, not only by awarding a medal of commendation to Major Gogoi, but also by declaring that he didnat see the need to wait for the outcome of the committee of enquiry because he knew what was going on there anyway. Please, sir, hypocrisy is a necessary virtue for all institutions.We must keep up the pretence!

Tempted by that villainous hat, General Rawat went so far as to dismiss all attempts to find some non-military solution to the Kashmir situation a issue, not problem. There have been those, particularly from among the ranks of soldiers, who have rightly observed that the army should not be involved in domestic and civilian contexts a as it has been, alas, for the past half-century and more in the Northeast, and too many other places. It does the army no good, and as for the people amongst whom a delicate prepositional choice there: Amongst, against, upon, athwart? a it is deployed, thereas not much point in saying anything. Much has already been said, and said with great eloquence.

The army is a killing machine, it is trained to mete out lethal violence a and one should not be surprised if that is what it does. Just donat use it against your own people. Unless, perish the thought, they are, after all, not your own people? Was the army deployed to quell the Jat violence in Haryana? Did they use pellet guns in Rohtak?

But General Rawat was not arguing against using the army in Kashmir. On the contrary, he said, the chimera of talks merely got us Kargil. Forget talking, he said, give war a chance. He was fairly straining for a good fight. To be fair, there is a notion of honour a of chivalry, of honourable combat a at play there. Thus, he made the a to some, outrageous a suggestion that he wished that the stone-pelters were better armed. Then he, commanding a modern army, could really show them what he was capable of. Fat chance, as they say a but he did say it.

I was reminded of a scene from Gillo Pontecorvoas film on the Algerian war, The Battle of Algiers (1963). The Algerian guerrillas are forced to use the guile and deception the weaker side in asymmetric warfare typically has to resort to a stones against tanks. In a climactic scene, the colonel of the counter-insurgency forces confronts the guerrilla leader, now in custody, tortured and broken, and asks him a arenat you ashamed to use burqa-clad women and children in this fight, what kind of men are you? The guerrilla leader replies: Give us your tanks and your bombersa Now, Iam not quite sure what General Rawat has in mind when he wishes that the stone-pelters were better armed. Automatic weapons, perhaps?

I can see that he has a sort of duelling model in mind a a fair, honourable combat, in which the adversary gets to choose the weapons. Instead of this dirty war a in which men shoot pellets into the eyes of angry boys. But thereas one minor correction, general. In the typical use of the phrase adirty wara , the adirta attaches not to the side that is weak, but the one that is strong. Thus, others a insufficiently nationalist a may say that we are the ones fighting a dirty war in Kashmir. But itas not the sort of thing that one boasts about.

The writer taught in the department of English, Delhi University.

o o o

The Times of India, June 17, 2017

Dangerous nonsense: Once we put the Indian military above criticism we become Pakistan

by Kanti Bajpai

Congress party statements that the military is above criticism are disappointing. Congress has now joined right-wing breast-beating over the sanctity of the military. It is not just nonsense but dangerous nonsense to say that the military is above challenge.

Letas be clear: no state institution and no political personality is above criticism in a democracy, not even the Constitution and President of the republic. Once we put the Indian military on a pedestal we become Pakistan a and look at where that unhappy country is.

Actually, the Pakistan parallel is somewhat unfair. There are courageous Pakistani writers who over the years have questioned their military. It would be difficult to find any Indian commentator who is as brave, even though the military here is subordinate to civil authority. Ayesha Siddiqa, the Pakistani analyst, for instance, has written a searing, detailed expose of the Pakistani military in her book, Military Inc. No one in India would have the courage to delve that closely into Indian military affairs.

Having said this, the Indian military is more open and tolerant of criticism than our politicians, media and civil society. I can attest to this personally. In 1998, after i had opposed Indiaas nuclear tests, the only institution in India, apart from some sections of the media and a handful of colleges and universities, that invited me to share my views was the Indian military.

The Indian military is by no means perfect. It has its strengths and weaknesses, its blind spots and obstinacies. For instance, the Indian army is yet to forthrightly accept its mistakes in the 1962 war with China. It has instead allowed Jawaharlal Nehru and Krishna Menon to take the blame. Its stand on the Siachen glacier makes no strategic sense. It has bullied the political leadership into accepting a futile forward position on the glacier when there is no convincing case.

Anyone familiar with the Indian military knows that for all its strengths, it is marked by professional incompetence, bitter rivalries at the top (as we have seen in one leadership succession after another), a feudal culture of officers and batmen (the army has one of the worst tail-to-teeth ratios of any military), and, yes, corruption. We pretend that it is a saintly organisation consisting of selfless heroes, but the military itself knows that this is not the case. It is a part of the wider political and social culture of India and not terribly exceptional.

The Indian military does not need hero worshipping and foolish mythmaking. It does a difficult job, which is to deploy force to protect us from internal disorder and external threat. At the limit, it must be prepared to take a bullet for the nation and to take anotheras life a neither of which is easy. To do its job properly, it knows it must not only get its share of credit but also take its share of criticism.

Those who have questioned the Indian army and Major Nitin Gogoi over the jeep incident in Kashmir are perfectly entitled to do so. Indeed, we all are obliged to think deeply and responsibly about whether his actions are justified in terms of military codes, the claims of natural justice and political wisdom. It is a fair bet that Gogoi himself continues to mull over his decision.

The army chief, General Bipin Rawat, was right to launch an inquiry into the incident, and he was wrong to give Gogoi an award before the findings of the inquiry are known. Both decisions are properly open to debate, and no one should be stifled in the discussions over Gogoi and Rawatas actions. To his credit, Rawat has reacted to the debate with greater dignity and good sense than our politicians.

No one, the current government has reminded us, is above the law, not even the media. So also, no institution is above criticism.
sacw.net - 12 June 2017

We are a group of retired officers of All India and Central services of different batches, who have worked with the Central and state governments in the course of our careers. We should make it clear that as a group, we have no affiliation with any political party but believe in the credo of impartiality, neutrality and commitment to the Indian constitution. A sense of deep disquiet at what has been happening in India has prompted us to write this open letter to chronicle our reservations and misgivings about recent developments in the body politic. What has gone wrong?

It appears as if there is a growing climate of religious intolerance that is aimed primarily at Muslims. In Uttar Pradesh, in the run-up to the elections, an odious and frankly communal comparison was made between the relative number of burial grounds and cremation grounds. The question was also asked as to whether electricity was being supplied equally to different communities during their religious festivals. All this without any basis in fact or evidence. The banning of slaughter-houses targets the minorities and affects their livelihoods as well. Such intolerance breeds violence in a communally charged atmosphere a even to the extent of a local leader in UP provoking an attack upon the residence of a superintendent of police, whose family was terrorised.

Vigilantism has become widespread. An Akhlaq is killed on the basis of a suspicion that the meat he has is beef and a Pehlu Khan is lynched while transporting to his place two cows he had bought and for which he had the necessary papers. Nomadic shepherds are attacked in Jammu and Kashmir on some suspicion as they practice their age-old occupation of moving from one place to another along with their cattle and belongings.

Gau-rakshaks function with impunity and seem to be doing so with the tacit complicity or active encouragement of state machinery. Punitive action against the perpetrators of violence does not take place promptly but cruelly, the victims have FIRs registered against them. The behaviour of vigilantes a who act as if they are prosecutor, judge and executioner rolled into one a flies in the face of law and jurisprudence. These actions undermine the rule of law and the Indian constitution since only the state a through its various organs and institutions a has the power to enforce the law.

Vigilantism has become popular as aanti-Romeoa squads threaten young couples who go out together, hold hands and are perhaps in love with each other. A thinly-veiled effort to prevent a Hindu-Muslim relationship or marriage, there is no justification in law to harass these couples, particularly when there is no complaint from the woman of being ill-treated.

Student groups and faculty members on campuses like Hyderabad and JNU, who raise troubling questions about equality, social justice and freedom, are subject to attack by the administration, with a supportive government to back them. In Jodhpur, a planned lecture by a renowned academic was cancelled under pressure and the faculty that organised the event subjected to disciplinary action. What happened in Jodhpur has happened at other institutions as well. Argumentation and discussion about different perspectives a the life-blood not only of institutions of learning but of democracy itself a are being throttled. Disagreement and dissent are considered seditious and anti-national. Such attitudes have a chilling impact on free speech and thought.

Several reputed NGOs and civil society organisations are being charged with violating the provisions of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act and the Income Tax Act. While we agree that genuine violators should be identified and penalised, we note with dismay that several of the targeted groups are those who have taken stands against government policies, expressed dissent or supported communities in cases against the state.

We are also seeing an ugly trend of trolling, threats and online intimidation of activists, journalists, writers and intellectuals who disagree with the dominant ideology. How does this square with free speech?

There is a growing hyper-nationalism that reduces any critique to a binary: if you are not with the government, you are anti-national. Those in authority should not be questioned a that is the clear message.

In the face of a rising authoritarianism and majoritarianism, which do not allow for reasoned debate, discussion and dissent, we appeal to all public authorities, public institutions and constitutional bodies to take heed of these disturbing trends and take corrective action. We have to reclaim and defend the spirit of the Constitution of India, as envisaged by the founding fathers.
The Panamanian Justice rejected a request by the Polisario for the seizure in the Panama Canal of a cargo of Moroccan phosphates onboard Ultra Innovation ship. The cargo, loaded in the port of Laayoune, was to be delivered in Vancouver, Canada.

After it was forcibly anchored for a few days, the boat had been allowed to continue its journey by the Panama maritime court, which rejected on Wednesday (June 7), the action brought by the Polisario against the owner of the ship named Ultra Innovation.

In its judgment, the Panamanian court declares that a national court is not competent to rule on an international political affair inflicting a scathing blow to the Polisario and its Algerian sponsors who persist in their hostility against Morocco, in spite of the bitter failures they have been suffering on the international political and diplomatic scene.

The court ruled that there is no evidence showing that the cargo belongs to the plaintiffs, namely the Polisario, said Moroccos national phosphate company (OCP) in a statement. The Polisario wrongly claims to be the legitimate representative of the populations of the Moroccan southern provinces and as such to have the right to monitor the exploitation of the natural resources of the territory.

All similar attempts by the Polisario to force the seizure of goods from the Moroccan southern provinces have failed, except for the case of a freighter blocked in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. But this is not surprising, since South Africa is a staunch supporter of the independence theses of the Polisario. The South African court in charge of the case was due to pronounce its verdict on Thursday, but it postponed its decision to June 15.

The OCP said in its statement in connection with the pending case in South Africa, we remain confident that the legal arguments and the facts are favorable to us.
You have permission to edit this collection.

Edit Close
A new French/Swiss revenge thriller, Moka, directed by Frederic Mermoud (directed many episodes of the 1st season of The Returned/Les revenants, a popular French TV series) starts with a 5-minute breezy, silent sequence of Diane (Emmanuelle Devos, Read My Lips, Kings and Queen) sneaking out of what seems to be a hospital/wellness sanitarium near Lake Geneva. It's dark and moody and sets the tone of this slow burn, Chabrol-esque revenge thriller.

It turns out, Diane is a grieving mother whose son was killed in a hit-and-run in Lausanne, the Swiss side of the lake. Through a hired investigator, Diane narrows down the facts that the driver and the passenger, a blonde woman and her male companion, were driving a coffee colored (hence the title) vintage Mercedes. She settles on a beautician named Marlene (Natalie Baye, Tell No One, La Balance) and her younger, womanizing boyfriend Michel (David Clavel) with the matching car living on the French side of the lake, in Evian. Diane's obsession makes her plunge head first into the lives Marlene and her family.

Diane approaches Marlene unassumingly, guising herself as a writer in seeking seclusion by the lake side. Marlene takes her as a nosy writer-type in search of inspiration and keeps her barrage of personal inquiries at arm's length at first. But she finally lets her guard down at Dianes genuine demeanor.

She also approaches Michel as potential customer as he tries to sell the car. Dianes aggressiveness in her interests in the car turns on Michel in all the wrong ways. After chance meeting with a good looking young drug dealer on the ferry ride, she charms him to get a hold of a handgun. And the two get romantically involved.

Diane then befriends Marlenes rebellious young daughter Elodie (Diane Rouxel) who might have been carrying on a sexual relationship with her stepfather.

Based on a book of the same name by best selling author Tatiana de Rosnay (whose book, Sarahs Key, was made into a film starring Kristen Scott Thomas in 2010), and relocating its setting to Lake Geneva, Moka, like its neutral colored vehicle and with its picturesque and quiet Swiss setting, is all a very subtle affair. Somberly lensed by Irina Lubtchansky (who shot two recent Anaud Desplechin films- My Golden Days, Ismael's Ghosts) against stunning Lake Geneva backdrop, the film is a handsome, brooding noir.

It is a deftly directed, low-pitched noir that heavily relies on the charm of Devos. As always, she walks the fine line between confidence and vulnerability and makes Diane's unrelenting pursuit of revenge totally believable. With quiet determination and stubbornness in her eyes, she is one of the few actresses who can turn their dowdiness into sexy.

Baye, a veteran actress, gives a fine performance as an ordinary woman dealing with her career, motherhood and relationship. Her Marlene's guarded friendliness hides her dormant venom which we get to see a glimpse of.

It's great to see two women in their mid-career finding juicy roles that show their subtle artistry. The film hints on the fraternity of womenhood by the end. Moka is a well acted, low-key but impactful revenge thriller for the fans of neo-noir.

In conjunction with the opening of Moka, the French Institute Alliance Francaise (FIAF) will

present the CineSalon series Enigmatic Emmanuelle Devos, with screenings of the actresss

films every Tuesday in June & July  beginning with Jacques Audiards Read My Lips. The series also includes Arnaud Desplechins My Sex Life...or How I Got Into an Argument and Kings and Queen among others.

Moka will have a two-week engagement, June 14  27, at Film Forum.

Dustin Chang is a freelance writer. His musings and opinions on all things cinema and beyond can be found at www.dustinchang.com
 In summary reversal, SCOTUS holds AEDPA precluded federal court from finding Virginia's geriatric release system was insufficient to comply with Graham | Main | How will (and how should) new $100 million fund be used to advance criminal justice reform and "end mass incarceration"? 

June 12, 2017

An (incomplete) accounting of the stalled state of federal statutory sentencing reform

The Atlantic has this lengthy new article providing something of an up-to-date accounting of the state of federal sentencing reform in Congress, and its first sentence serves as something of a summary: "You know a policys prospects are shaky when lawmakers on both teams are praying for Jared Kushner to ride in and save the day." Here is more from the start, heart and end of the piece:

Not that Kushner isnt a swell guy. But Trumps all-purpose son-in-law already had a pretty full plate (e.g., solving that whole Middle East thing) even before the feds started poking into his relations with Russia. It seems unlikely hell have much bandwidth in the coming months to weigh in on Congresss mundane domestic squabbles. Which is why advocates of criminal-justice reform might want to take a moment to wave adios to any prospect of action in the foreseeable future.... Desperate for administration allies, reform advocates were tickled pink when Jared Kushner came to the Capitol in late March to talk reform with Grassley, Durbin, and Lee. (The dream is that Kushner is sympathetic to reform because his dad did a stint in federal prison.) Senate aides say it was more a listening session than an offer of support. But it gave disheartened advocates a shred of hope and emboldened them to renew their quest for backers. Post-meeting, Grassley announced that he would know the administrations position on reform legislation in three weeks. Two-plus months later, the White House has yet to offer further guidance. Meanwhile, Attorney General Sessions has jammed his thumb deep into reformers eye sockets. Last month, his office issued a directive that federal prosecutors should pursue the toughest possible charges and sentences for even nonviolent drug offenders (a reversal of Obama-era policy). Reform fans on and off the Hill were dismayed. (A trio of Senate Democrats from the Judiciary Committee had publicly petitioned Sessions not to go in this direction.).... Complicating matters further, one of last years key SRCA backers, Senator John Cornyn, has begun toying with a new bill of his own. Cornyn is collaborating with House Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul on a measure that would jack up mandatory minimums for certain immigrants and for people who commit violent crimes against law enforcement officials. This move isnt a total about-face for Cornyn. Last year, he introduced a Back the Blue bill establishing steep mandatory minimums for crimes against law enforcement. More broadly, multiple Hill aides point out that Cornyn has always been in the back-end reform camp and has made clear hed be just as happy to split his pet programs back off of SRCA. At this point, folks on both sides of the aisle see Cornyns emerging proposal as more of a messaging move than an attempt at serious legislation. Even so, a competing bill is hardly welcome news to his reform colleagues. As a Judiciary Committee staffer noted, A good amount of work went into putting together [SRCA]. Its like an ecosystem: Change one thing and something else is changed. Bottom line, say Hill aides: For anything to happen on criminal-justice reform, Congress will need a kick in the pants from the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue. Its going to be difficult to move forward if were not able to build support in the administration, said the Judiciary Committee staffer. With Sessions charging in the opposite direction, Kushner is seen as the causes last, best hope. If Trumps beloved son-in-law would climb on board, say aides, the situation could get super interesting in a Jared vs. Jeff reality TV-style smackdown. Said a senior Democratic staffer, If Kushner gets behind this effort and decides this is good for Trump, were gonna find out whether he has any influence with the president or not. Alas, for now Kushner is preoccupied with his own drama, sighed a Republican aide, noting, Were still trying to get a face-to-face with him. Of course, with each passing day, it matters less what Kushner does. Congress is grotesquely behind in handling even its top priorities of healthcare and tax reform, and things will get exponentially worse as the fall budget battles approach. Even the most upbeat reform advocates sound blue when discussing the congressional calendar. The pace at which the Senate is moving right now is a problem, acknowledged the Judiciary Committee staffer. Translation: Despite its lovely, bipartisan promise, the prospects for significant criminal-justice reform are  if not totally dead  only slightly worse than the odds that Kushner will go down in history as father of the Israeli-Palestinian peace accords.

This article is rich with important inside-the-Beltway details, but it misses a bit of the broader context that also plays a role in federal statutory sentencing reform being stalled. Specifically, the significant up-tick in violent crime in recent years (and also, to a lesser extent, various issues related to the opioid epidemic) has provided reform reform agnostics with a basis to believe we should tap the brakes on any federal sentencing reform efforts. And this is why legislative reform to reduce sentences is always such a hard slog: when crime is down, the tough-on-crime crowd says toughness is working and we should not risk another approach; when crime is going up, the tough-on-crime crowd says we have to we tough and tougher to deal with increasing crimes.

June 12, 2017 at 01:15 PM | Permalink

Comments

"And this is why legislative reform to reduce sentences is always such a hard slog: when crime is down, the tough-on-crime crowd says toughness is working and we should not risk another approach; when crime is going up, the tough-on-crime crowd says we have to we tough and tougher to deal with increasing crimes."

This so-called "logic" offered by the tough on crime gang violates what I have come to call Daniel's Law of Decision Making. Formally stated: if a fact is true across all available options then that fact has no bearing on which option should be chosen. Phrased in psychological terms what "tough on crime" types offer is not a policy choice but an obsession because the difference between a choice and an obsession is that a choice is something we can stop when we want to. So if we as a society can never stop being tough on crime this is indicative of social obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Posted by: Daniel | Jun 12, 2017 1:58:42 PM

Very nice, Daniel.

Posted by: Fat Bastard | Jun 12, 2017 7:35:59 PM

Post a comment
 An (incomplete) accounting of the stalled state of federal statutory sentencing reform | Main | Swift and sensible sentencing justice for high-profile violent crime in Montana 

The question in the title of this post is prompted by this notable New York Times article headlined "Agnes Gund Sells a Lichtenstein to Start Criminal Justice Fund." Here is the interesting art-world backstory that now prompts the question:

In January, rumors swirled that the art collector and patron Agnes Gund had sold her prized 1962 Roy Lichtenstein Masterpiece for a whopping $150 million, placing it among the 15 highest known prices ever paid for an artwork. Ms. Gund is confirming that sale now, revealing that she parted with the painting (for what was actually $165 million, including fees) for a specific purpose: to create a fund that supports criminal justice reform and seeks to reduce mass incarceration in the United States.

This new Art for Justice Fund  to be announced Monday at the Museum of Modern Art, where Ms. Gund is president emerita  will start with $100 million of the proceeds from the Lichtenstein (which was sold to the collector Steven A. Cohen through Acquavella Gallery). This is one thing I can do before I die, Ms. Gund, 78, said in an interview at her Upper East Side apartment, where the Lichtenstein used to hang over the mantel, along with works by Jasper Johns and Mark Rothko. This is what I need to do.

Ms. Gund, together with the Ford Foundation, which will administer the fund, has asked other collectors to do the same, in the hopes of raising an additional $100 million over the next five years. The effort is noteworthy, not only for the amount of money involved  rarely do charitable undertakings start at $100 million  but because Ms. Gund is essentially challenging fellow collectors to use their artworks to champion social causes at a time when the market has made their holdings more valuable than ever.

The larger idea is to raise awareness among a community of art collectors that they can use their influence and their collections to advance social justice, said Darren Walker, the Ford Foundations president. Art has meaning on a wall, but it also has meaning when it is monetized.

Those who have already committed to the fund  and are being called founding donors  include Laurie M. Tisch, a chairwoman of the Whitney Museum of American Art; Kenneth I. Chenault, chief executive of American Express, and his wife, Kathryn; the philanthropist Jo Carole Lauder; the financier Daniel S. Loeb; and Brooke Neidich, a Whitney trustee. I was moved by her passion, Ms. Tisch said of Ms. Gund, adding that she would contribute $500,000 in proceeds from a Max Weber painting she recently sold. Its ambitious, but when Aggie puts in a $100 million, thats a real signal that its important and Im happy to be a part of it.

The fund will make grants to organizations and leaders who already have a track record in criminal justice reform  like the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Ala.  that seek to safely reduce jail and prison populations across the country and to strengthen education and employment opportunities for former inmates. The fund will also support art-related programs on mass incarceration.

Theres long been this criticism that people who have the means to acquire fine art are allowed to surround themselves with beautiful things while they are unwilling to look at the ugly realities that sometimes shape a community or a culture or a country, said Bryan Stevenson, the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative. Using this art to actually respond to over-incarceration or racial inequality or social injustice is a powerful idea.

The impetus for the fund was personal. Six of Ms. Gunds 12 grandchildren are African-American, and she has worried about their future as theyve matured, particularly in light of shootings of black teenagers like Trayvon Martin in Florida. I have always had an extreme sensitivity to inequality, Ms. Gund said.

She added that she was also deeply affected by Michelle Alexanders 2010 book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, and by Ava DuVernays 2016 documentary, 13th, about African-Americans in the prison system. After seeing the film, Ms. Gund called Mr. Walker, long a close friend. She said, I really want to do something to help here, Mr. Walker recalled. What if I sold one of my jewels and we used the proceeds to make grants to organizations working on mass incarceration? ... Participation in the fund does not require the sale of artwork, Mr. Walker said; any type of support is welcome....

Mr. Stevenson will take part in an evening event at MoMA on Monday to announce the fund that will also feature Piper Kerman, author of Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Womens Prison, and Glenn E. Martin, president and founder of JustLeadershipUSA, which aims to reduce the prison population, in conversation with The New York Times Op-Ed columnist Charles Blow.

The financier and collector Donald Marron, MoMAs president emeritus, said he would support the fund  though probably not through the sale of his art  and commended Ms. Gunds efforts. Aggie has been so committed to art her whole life and now shes using the art to jump-start her efforts in criminal justice, he said. Thats a model I hope other people will follow.
 Notable report of Missouri parole board playing a version of "turkey bingo" during hearings with inmates | Main | An (incomplete) accounting of the stalled state of federal statutory sentencing reform 

June 12, 2017

In summary reversal, SCOTUS holds AEDPA precluded federal court from finding Virginia's geriatric release system was insufficient to comply with Graham

One may need to be a hard-core law-geek to fully appreciate all the nuance that it is in the title of this post, which aspires to be an accurate accounting of the Supreme Court's decision six-page per curiam decision this morning in Virginia v. LeBlanc, No. 161177 (S. Ct. June 12, 2017) (available here). Here are excerpts from the heart of the opinion:

The Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit erred by failing to accord the state courts decision the deference owed under AEDPA. Graham did not decide that a geriatric release program like Virginias failed to satisfy the Eighth Amendment because that question was not presented. And it was not objectively unreasonable for the state court to conclude that, because the geriatric release program employed normal parole factors, it satisfied Grahams requirement that juveniles convicted of a nonhomicide crime have a meaningful opportunity to receive parole. The geriatric release program instructs Virginias Parole Board to consider factors like the individuals history . . . and the individuals conduct . . . during incarceration, as well as the prisoners inter-personal relationships with staff and inmates and [c]hanges in attitude toward self and others. See 841 F. 3d, at 280281 (Niemeyer, J., dissenting) (citing Virginia Parole Board Policy Manual 24 (Oct. 2006)). Consideration of these factors could allow the Parole Board to order a former juvenile offenders conditional release in light of his or her demonstrated maturity and rehabilitation. Graham, 560 U.S., at 75. The state court thus did not diverge so far from Grahams dictates as to make it so obvious that . . . there could be no fairminded disagreement about whether the state courts ruling conflicts with this Courts case law. White v. Woodall, 572 U.S. ___, ___ (2014) (slip op., at 11). Perhaps the logical next step from Graham would be to hold that a geriatric release program does not satisfy the Eighth Amendment, but perhaps not. 572 U.S., at ___ (slip op., at 11). [T]here are reasonable arguments on both sides. Id., at ______ (slip op., at 1112). With respect to petitioners, these include the arguments discussed above. Supra, at 4. With regards to respondent, these include the contentions that the Parole Boards substantial discretion to deny geriatric release deprives juvenile nonhomicide offenders a meaningful opportunity to seek parole and that juveniles cannot seek geriatric release until they have spent at least four decades in prison. These arguments cannot be resolved on federal habeas review. Because this case arises only in th[at] narrow context, the Court express[es] no view on the merits of the underlying Eighth Amendment claim. Woods, supra, at ___ (slip op., at 7) (internal quotation marks omitted). Nor does the Court suggest or imply that the underlying issue, if presented on direct review, would be insubstantial. Marshall v. Rodgers, 569 U. S. ___, ___ (2013) (per curiam) (slip op., at 7); accord, Woodall, supra, at ___ (slip op., at 5). The Court today holds only that the Virginia trial courts ruling, resting on the Virginia Supreme Courts earlier ruling in Angel, was not objectively unreasonable in light of this Courts current case law. A proper respect for AEDPAs high bar for habeas relief avoids unnecessarily disturb[ing] the States significant interest in repose for concluded litigation, den[ying] society the right to punish some admitted offenders, and intrud[ing] on state sovereignty to a degree matched by few exercises of federal judicial authority. Harrington, supra, at 103 (internal quotation marks omitted). The federalism interest implicated in AEDPA cases is of central relevance in this case, for the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuits holding created the potential for significant discord in the Virginia sentencing process. Before today, Virginia courts were permitted to impose  and required to affirm  a sentence like respondents, while federal courts presented with the same fact pattern were required to grant habeas relief. Reversing the Court of Appeals decision in this case  rather than waiting until a more substantial split of authority develops  spares Virginia courts from having to confront this legal quagmire.

Justice Ginsburg wrote a separate concurrence in LeBlanc to make this point:

Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48 (2010) , as todays per curiam recognizes, established that a juvenile offender convicted of a nonhomicide offense must have some meaningful opportunity to obtain release [from prison] based on demonstrated maturity and rehabilitation. Id., at 75. See ante, at 2. I join the Courts judgment on the understanding that the Virginia Supreme Court, in Angel v. Commonwealth, 281 Va. 248, 704 S.E.2d 386 (2011) , interpreted Virginia law to require the parole board to provide such a meaningful opportunity under the geriatric release program. See id., at 275, 704 S.E.2d, at 402 (the factors used in the normal parole consideration process apply to conditional release decisions under this statute). In other words, contrary to the Fourth Circuits interpretation of Virginia law, the parole board may not deny a juvenile offender geriatric release for any reason whatsoever, 841 F.3d 256, 269 (2016) (emphasis in original); instead, the board, when evaluating a juvenile offender for geriatric release, must consider the normal parole factors, including rehabilitation and maturity. See ante, at 4.

June 12, 2017 at 09:59 AM | Permalink

Comments

Not too surprising given that case is on habeas review. I know that there are some splits out there on the "de facto" life without claim implicit in this case. When will the Supreme Court take one of those on direct review to resolve what qualifies as no meaningful opportunity for release -- parole eligibility at 55? at 65? at 75? after twenty years? thirty years? fifty years?

Posted by: tmm | Jun 12, 2017 10:46:39 AM

We shall see if Ohio v Moore is granted in the next few months.

Posted by: Andrew | Jun 12, 2017 11:41:59 AM

Horse puckey.

English translation.

We are too lazy and ignorant to do our jobs and actually look at the facts of each case and render a fair and reasonable decision based on Our Constitution.

It's also very funny when the state dares to talk about finality in court decisions. Just shows what dishonest two-part traitors they are. Just where is that finality in a court decision when it comes to the state and its legal contracts involving sex crimes convictions. Re-read little shots have no problem tossing every one of them up in the air and illegally changing them every 6-8 months when the new crop of criminal stupidity in sex crimes laws come out.

Sorry you don't get to have it both way. If you want FINALITY then guess what. Weber sex crime law you have all passed since 2002 now only legally applies to convictions dated AFTER its passage as originally required by our Constitution

Posted by: rodsmith3510 | Jun 12, 2017 12:01:09 PM

The 'rat judge Wynn got it wrong--in the face of a dissent by a Republican appointee. Since this was an AEDPA screw-up, it shows that "Judge" Wynn is too dumb (or too ideological) to understand that Graham doesn't dictate the result Wynn wanted.

Posted by: federalist | Jun 12, 2017 3:12:12 PM

Ha ha ha ha ha---none of the libs in here care to defend Wynn, the 'rat judge?

Posted by: federalist | Jun 13, 2017 7:57:10 AM

http://sentencing.typepad.com/sentencing_law_and_policy/2016/11/split-fourth-circuit-panel-concludes-virginias-geriatric-release-program-insufficient-to-save-juve-l.html

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

The 'rat judge should have listened to me.

Posted by: federalist | Jun 13, 2017 8:15:35 AM

I am curious your take, Doug---why does this appear to be a problem of Dem appointees?

Posted by: federalist | Jun 13, 2017 9:42:03 AM

What is the "problem," federalist, not following AEDPA because of wanting to give state criminal defendants more protection that AEDPA permits? I assume this is because Dem appointees, as a general matter, are more inclined to be concerned with the constitutional rights of criminal defendants AND they struggle when they think a state defendant's rights have been violated but still have to reject a claim because of AEDPA limits.

Posted by: Doug B. | Jun 13, 2017 8:29:46 PM

What is the problem? Are you serious? Judges are supposed to uphold the law. AEDPA prescribes a certain standard for reviewing habeas claims, and Dem appointees seem to have a problem with following the standard. Dressing this up as more concern for constitutional rights excuses the errors. I am just as concerned (perhaps more) with constitutional rights of defendants as any 'rat judge--I just have different views of what constitutes a constitutional right.

Please clarify your views--I cannot believe that you think that fudging the AEDPA standard is ok.

Posted by: federalist | Jun 14, 2017 10:14:23 AM

I was trying to clarify what you were calling a "problem," not saying that it was not a problem, federalist. I do not think fudging AEDPA is proper, but I do understand why and how judges struggle with AEDPA limits because it requires them to show a kind of deference to an opinion they think wrong. (I think we see the same kind of problem/pattern in qualified immunity cases and other settings in which judges are, by law, forced to essentially uphold a government action that "was not wrong enough.")

I once heard a prominent district judge say in an open forum that, for judges at sentencing, it would not make any different whether facts were to be found by a preponderance or BRD because once a judge reaches a conclusion about a matter, then the judge feels conclusive about that matter. Ergo, I surmise judges struggle with what AEDPA demands --- figuring out, even if a state judgment seems wrong, whether it was not wrong enough so as to preclude relief for the defendant.

I do not think this problem is about "dressing up" a concern for rights. I think it fair and accurate to say that federal judges in general, and perhaps Dem judges in particular, have a unique belief that they are uniquely able to protect the constitutional rights of the unpopular because they are not subject to elections and the same political pressures that many state judges face. This, in turn, can lead to the belief (and even hubris) that federal judges have to go to extra lengths to vindicate the rights of criminal defendants because state judges will not. In modern times, this belief can be overstated and can be problematic. But it is a belief based in both history and political structure that is yet another factor making AEDPA deference a challenge for federal judges.

Please understand, I agree with you that AEPDA is a law that all federal judges are duty-bound to follow. Moreover, I surmise they follow it and follow it well in 99 out of 100 cases. But that 1 out of 100 sketchy case always will stick in the craw of state officials, especially in capital cases, and thus we get the appeals that so often lead to SCOTUS summary reversals. And in trying to explain the forces that lead to that 1 out of 100 AEDPA problem-child case, I am not defending the failure to follow AEDPA. Rather, I am trying to account for the forces that lead to the problem you asked me to address.

Clear enough?

Posted by: Doug B | Jun 14, 2017 11:02:11 AM

Thank you for the clarification. It is remarkable that a prominent law professor would state openly that AEDPA deference (i.e., the law) is a "challenge" for federal judges (although it doesn't seem to be a challenge for Republican-appointed judges) due to the "hubris" of federal judges. I get that I am somewhat contentiously recapping what you wrote, but wow.

Wynn deserves a ton of criticism here--the standard is that the state law decision stands if it is not unreasonable. Wynn's inability to determine what is unreasonable (in the face of a well-reasoned dissent) seems problematic from a qualifications standpoint.

Posted by: federalist | Jun 14, 2017 12:25:12 PM

I am not sure what creates a "wow" here, federalist. The fact that SCOTUS has done many, many summary reversals to stress the need to show AEDPA deference seems to leave little doubt that following this standard is a challenge for federal judges. Is there any other conclusion to draw?

Meanwhile, in Wynn's case and others, you seem a bit too eager to suggest what is reasonable/unreasonable is obvious. Any and ever "unreasonableness" standard is necessarily opaque --- e.g., just look at circuit divisions over sentence review after Booker (or Fourth A jurisprudence) --- and that inherent opaqueness is what likely leads to different view of different judges. Those judges more concerned about defendant rights and less respectful of state adjudication will surely find less state rulings reasonable than those judges less concerned about defendant rights and more respectful of state adjudication. Heck, I think you would be inclined/eager to call Miller itself an "unreasonable" application of the Eighth Amendment, no?

Posted by: Doug B | Jun 14, 2017 1:58:32 PM

Your response leaves me even more dumbfounded. Wynn's opinion, in the face of a well-reasoned dissent, finds that the Virginia Supreme Court was unreasonable. You seem to suggest that the logical matter gets shaded by a judge's outlook and therefore the criticism is too strong. Huh?

With respect to the conclusion about the standard being a challenge--per curiam summary reversals mean that the lower court got it seriously wrong--and that means that your attempt to elide the problem as the "opaqueness" of the standard is weak. So either Wynn is incompetent or willful--which is it?

Miller is not "unreasonable" in the sense of logic--it is simply an unwarranted expansion that has no home in the Eighth Amendment.

Posted by: federalist | Jun 16, 2017 12:05:13 PM

federalist, I am not saying your criticism is too strong, but I am saying that for a "willful" federal judge --- here meaning one who feels strongly that state judges are too often too inclined to reject assertions of constitutional rights --- the meaning of whether constitutional law has been reasonably applied is one necessarily influenced by their own constitutional vision and commitments. This is not umpires calling balls and strikes, for if it was we could have computers do it better than humans.

What I find dumbfounding, federalist, is why you are surprised different judges with different views reach different conclusions. Whether it is the reach of the First Amendment or the Second Amendment or the Fifth Amendment or Sixth Amendment or Eighth Amendment or the applications and limits of AEDPA, judges have philosophies and attitudes that shape their decision-making in all sorts of obvious and not-so-obvious ways. It surely is bad when a decision leads to a summary reversal by SCOTUS, but that also happens at least a couple of times a year, no? Were circuit judges who rejected certain defense claims in favor of the feds after Booker in crack cases and were summary reversed being incompetent or willful? Are you arguing any and every jurist who gets summary reversed by SCOTUS should be taken off the bench?

Posted by: Doug B. | Jun 17, 2017 2:41:48 PM

First of all, Doug, getting it wrong (i.e., the Supreme Court decides something differently from the court of appeals) isn't necessarily an issue--Frye is wrongly decided. And I don't recall per curiam summary reversals for sentencing.

But in this particular case, Judge Wynn, in the face of a well-reasoned dissent said that the Supreme Court of Virginia was unreasonable. That's different from a disagreement on the First Amendment and everything else.

Wynn deserves a lot of criticism here. And I am not surprised that different views lead to different results---what does surprise me--after years of AEDPA per curiam reversals--many of which are quite pointed, Democrat judges still seem to be a problem.

Posted by: federalist | Jun 18, 2017 12:48:31 AM

federalist, I was thinking of Spears and Nelson, cases in which SCOTUS did a summary reversal for circuit failure to pay attention to Booker and Rita and Kimbrough.

And I get that you think AEDPA is different, in part because I suspect you are not a huge fan of habeas review and the work of federal courts parsing/second-guessing state criminal judgments. But, of course, even after AEPDA, federal courts have authority to parse/second-guess state criminal judgements. AEDPA arguably says do not second-guess those that could be called "reasonably wrong." My only point is that judges who believe it critical for federal courts to parse/second-guess state criminal judgments --- who may be Dems more than others --- may struggle the most with figuring out and having to show respect to "reasonably wrong" state court decisions.

Posted by: Doug B. | Jun 18, 2017 8:56:23 PM

"reasonably wrong"--in their view--often times, e.g., Bobby v. Bies, a 'rat judge will get it wrong on the merits.

Posted by: federalist | Jun 20, 2017 12:20:49 PM

Post a comment
 How will (and how should) new $100 million fund be used to advance criminal justice reform and "end mass incarceration"? | Main | Highlighting how criminal justice reformers are "going local" at the start of the Trump era 

June 12, 2017

Swift and sensible sentencing justice for high-profile violent crime in Montana

As reported in this local article, headlined "Greg Gianforte gets anger management, community service after admitting he assaulted reporter," a high-profile crime and criminal got a non-prison sentence for a violent crime today. Here are some of the particulars:

Republican congressman-elect Greg Gianforte will not spend any time in jail after he admitted a charge of misdemeanor assault Monday for body slamming a reporter on the eve of his election. I just want to say Im sorry, Gianforte told Ben Jacobs, the reporter for the Guardian that he assaulted in Bozeman at a campaign event about 24 hours before polls closed on May 24. Gallatin County Justice Court Judge Rick West ordered Gianforte to complete 20 hours of anger management counseling and 40 hours of community service. He was given a deferred six-month jail sentence. If he does not violate the conditions of his sentence, the charge could be dismissed. West initially tried to give Gianforte a sentence of four days in jail, converted to two days in a work program. Work programs, which cut the time of a sentence in half, are not an option in assault cases, however. West said he felt anger management was necessary since Gianforte, who will go to Washington, D.C., under heavy scrutiny, could not handle questions from a single reporter. Motioning around the courtroom, he said Its not a lot of cameras compared to what youre going to see at the White House. "It is not my intent you spend four days in jail," West said to a small courtroom packed with journalists and some other members of the public. "I do not think that would serve the community or the taxpayers." West referenced Gianforte's charitable giving in the Bozeman community and around the state when deliberating the sentence, but also said Gianforte's unprovoked attack overshadowed that.... Jacobs, wearing a suit and new pair of glasses that replaced the ones broken in the attack, read to the court from a prepared statement. He spoke quietly enough the judge had to ask him to speak up. Jacobs described the day of the attack, saying he had entered a room to ask Gianforte a question. "I was just doing my job," Jacobs said. "Mr. Gianforte's response was to slam me to the floor and start punching me." After the attack, Jacobs said Gianforte then sent an "inflammatory public statement in which he insisted this unprovoked ... attack was somehow my fault," Jacobs said. When pressed by the judge, Gianforte at first did not give clear details on the assault but later said he grabbed for Jacobs' phone, ended up grabbing his wrists instead and a "scuffle" ensued where both men fell to the ground.... In his apology letter to Jacobs, Gianforte wrote Notwithstanding anyones statement to the contrary, you did not initiate any physical contact with me, and I had no right to assault you. Neither Gianforte nor his staff have clarified why a false statement was sent out after the assault.... A handful of protesters were outside the Law and Justice Center after court ended. They held up signs saying "Lock him up," "Shame" and "Justice vs. White Christian Privilege." Jackie Crandall drove up from Roberts that morning to protest. "I think Greg Gianforte got special treatment," she said. "If he wasn't rich and powerful, he would be in jail. If he was black, he would be in jail."

As the title of this post suggests, I think a non-prison sentence for this violent crime seems quite sensible for a remorseful first offender who seems unlikely to be on a path to criminality (even though he is on a path to Congress).

June 12, 2017 at 06:10 PM | Permalink

Comments

Don't agree Doug. To be sure I don't think he should get a very long sentence--maybe a month-- but the actual sentence comes across to me like a slap on the wrist. One thing I tend to dislike is this type of suspended sentence nonsense. I see it a lot and I think it is dishonorable because it puts a lie into the public record. He assaulted someone; it is not the type of thing everyone should get amnesia about.

Posted by: Daniel | Jun 12, 2017 6:30:02 PM

He assaulted a reporter. I think some small time in jail, perhaps weekends when he is off from Congress, would be appropriate. It wasn't some bar fight or something.

I joked that he might be collecting trash ala "Better Call Saul," for those who watch that show. I think something like that might be appropriate too, not just some sort of community service that amounts to volunteering. I'm not sure what he will do there though.

I guess he's remorseful -- who knows; he eventually, after being elected, signed a letter. As to "path of criminality," I also don't know if stressed again that he won't do something again. The anger management training there is appropriate. Who would be surprised if some time down the road he cuts someone off while driving or something in anger?

Posted by: Joe | Jun 12, 2017 8:51:46 PM

Punching out an in your face journalist, who will not leave you alone, is a patriotic duty, you moron and you weasel. He should get a medal, and a gift certificate to a gun store for his favorite pistol.

There are two classes of people more morally reprehensible than the lawyer profession, serial child rapists and killers, and journalists. These scam artists are immunized by the Free Press Clause of the First Amendment.

There is only one outlet that is not a hate speech, worthless, biased propaganda. At C-SPAN, Charles Lamb said, they counted stories to keep them balanced. Every where else, welcome to the David Duke website, you morons. Is it a crime to punch out David Duke, heck no. He is a leader of the KKK, and has asked for it. I see no difference between his web site and the Guardian newspaper. Except the people here are too stupid and too weasely to see the self evident.

Posted by: David Behar | Jun 12, 2017 9:09:07 PM

Going into someone's face, refusing to back off is implied consent to be a crime victim. Going into someone's face is battery or at least assault. The battery of the journalist is justified self defense.

Again and again, where is the defense in this case? How much does your specialty suck, Bruce? You people really stink, you moron.

Posted by: David Behar | Jun 12, 2017 9:14:18 PM

Had the defendant really hurt the journalist, the election results would have been even more lopsided. The voters loved his move. The Sheriff, the prosecutor, and the judge must all be fired.

Posted by: David Behar | Jun 12, 2017 11:04:14 PM

Bruce. What in the hell is this shit? You people should be beaten with a stick.

For the $millions this dufus likely got, I would have destroyed the accuser, the prosecutor, the vicious, feminist judge that allowed this ridiculous case to proceed. I would have demanded lie detector testing of the vile feminist accuser. I would have gotten the fans of Cosby to go after the parties. They would have been driven from the state, or would have committed suicide.

http://pagesix.com/2017/06/12/bill-cosbys-lawyer-practically-gives-up-during-closing-arguments/

Posted by: David Behar | Jun 13, 2017 12:12:53 AM

The fact that the reporter was hounding him should have been a mitigating, not aggravating, factor.

Posted by: federalist | Jun 13, 2017 8:36:44 AM

Bruce. Should this fact have been brought up in the trial of Bill Cosby? Again where is the $million defense? You claim the poor do not get enough defense attention. Here is a billionaire celebrity.

https://www.facebook.com/phillydotcom/videos/10154814071321656/

Posted by: David Behar | Jun 13, 2017 2:50:25 PM

A juror is slowing down this railroad of the productive male by the feminist lawyer running dog.

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2017/06/14/bill-cosby-day-3-deliberations/

Posted by: David Behar | Jun 14, 2017 9:56:25 PM

Post a comment
The deadline to sign up for this free community event that is open to all is Nov. 16.

Kennebunk Post

"We need to invest in our kids," said resident Brenda Robinson. "That's how we keep graffiti out of Waterhouse Center and mischief out of the downtown on Saturday night."
Uber SVP Emil Michael leaves company after board unanimously approves Holder Report recommendations https://t.co/WRY0VaDqiX pic.twitter.com/l5biYgJivO  Forbes (@Forbes) June 12, 2017

Uber's second in command, Emil Michael, the company's senior vice president for business and a close confidant of CEO Travis Kalanick, is leaving the company Monday as was predicted by several news sources over the weekend. As the New York Times reports, Michael announced his departure to all company's employees in an email Monday morning, though it remains unclear whether he resigned or was terminated. What is fairly clear is that Michael is the most high-ranking casualty to follow on a months-long internal investigation led by former US Attorney General Eric Holder, at the behest of Uber's seven-member board of directors, following allegations of widespread sexual harassment and unprofessional behavior rising to the company's highest levels. Many in the company have yet to see the full report by Holder and his law firm, which was also prepared by Holder's partner Tammy Albarran.

20+ employees were already terminated last week as a result of a separate probe conducted by the law firm Perkins Coie into 215 human resources claims made at the company.*

According to the Washington Post, Michael's seat on the board has been filled by an outsider, Nestle Executive Vice President Wan Ling Martello. In his departure email, Michael said, "Uber has a long way to go to achieve all that it can and I am looking forward to seeing what you accomplish in the years ahead."

Also in the email he spoke of joining the company four years ago and helping make it "the fastest-growing company of all time."

Michael's position at the company will be filled by David Richter, a business development executive.

Uber's seven-member board, which also includes Kalanick, co-founder Garrett Camp, and Arianna Huffington, had a closed-door meeting Sunday in Los Angeles in which they were also said to be discussing a leave of absence for Kalanick himself. No confirmation on that decision has yet been announced, though Reuters has it from a source that Kalanick is "likely" to take a leave, though a final decision was apparently not reached on Sunday.

Forbes reports that the Uber board unanimously approved the recommendations in the Holder report, and that the full report will be released to all employees on Tuesday.

The Uber leadership shake-up has begun. Emil Michael is out.https://t.co/XDiJm14gAM  Mashable (@mashable) June 12, 2017

Emil Michael's tenure at the company was not without its rough spots. He was at the center of one of Uber's earliest public scandals, when in 2014 he was allegedly caught bragging about spending $1 million to investigate the private lives of journalists who were critical of Uber. Foreshadowing the widespread reports of sexism at the company that came out this year, tech writer Sarah Lacy of PandoDaily had accused the company of sexism and misogyny back then, hearing enough rumors from within, and she became a prime target of Michael's alleged opposition research campaign  an effort he later claimed was more fantasy than reality.

Citing knowledge from key investors at the company, Lacy wrote back in 2014 that "an ever-worsening frat culture where sexist jokes and a blind eye here-or-there have developed into a company where the worst kind of smearing and objectification of women is A-ok."

Note the tweet from Pando retweeted by Lacy in the last hour.

Kudos to the Uber board for voting to implement the recommendations made in our reporting from 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017...  Pando (@PandoDaily) June 12, 2017

On Sunday, Recode suggested that several other high-level executives could be "in the cross-hairs" and facing termination or forced resignations, including board member Ryan Graves, who oversaw HR, and CTO Thuan Pham, who was implicated specifically in the allegations made by former Uber engineer Susan Fowler back in February that largely put this ball in motion, ending in the Holder report.

Huffington, who has been seen as leading the board's effort to "right the ship" over the last several months, pledged in February to hold executives' "feet to the fire" in this investigation. She has served on the board since April 2016, and as this scandal was emerging Kalanick tweeted that Huffington had his "full support."

Previously: Uber Board Said To Be Considering Leave Of Absence For Kalanick



* This post has been corrected to clarify that the terminations last week were the result of a probe separate from the one led by Holder.


The world-premiere musical adaptation of the film Monsoon Wedding (see my SFist review here), now playing at Berkeley Rep, has just been extended for the third time, and there is now a new block of tickets on sale. Originally extended into July before previews had even ended, the show was extended to July 9 shortly after it opened to rave reviews, and now it will close on July 16  likely with a bigger future ahead, perhaps in New York.

The story, concerning a modern-day arranged marriage and the joining of the New Dehli-based Verma family and the Indian expat Rai family, now living in the US, derives from the 2001 film of the same name directed by Mira Nair and written by Sabrina Dhawan, who together worked to adapt the musical version. The score by composer Vishal Bhardwaj and lyricist Susan Birkenhead is loaded with exuberant ensemble numbers and moving ballads, and combines pop, Bollywood, and traditional Indian sounds and harmonies.

I called it "an exuberant, infectious, and highly musical musical that seems pre-destined for a trip to Broadway," and San Francisco Magazine calls it "A triumphant celebration" whose "greatest moments come in song."

The new block of tickets for mid-July went on sale this morning. Premium seats sell for $110-125, Section A for $90-110, and Section B for $40-90. Half-price discounts are available for anyone under the age of 30, and weeknight tickets are priced lower than those on weekends.

Related: Mira Nair's 'Monsoon Wedding' Becomes An Exuberant, Big-Hearted Musical At Berkeley Rep
DES MOINES - In celebration of the growing Des Moines beer scene, area breweries, restaurants and bars will hold a range of special events during Des Moines Beer Week (DSMBW) kicking off on June 16.

"The beer culture in Iowa, and Des Moines in particular, has really exploded over the past few years," said organizer Eric Harlow of 818  a tiny design empire. "The array of events scheduled reflects that, as there really is something for everyone."

Events start with with a beer run on June 16th at El Bait Shop. The event begin at 4PM and Beer Mile runners take off at 6PM.

Later that evening, Confluence Brewing Company will host a Meet the Brewers Night at 8 p.m.

Brewers from around the state will attend this meet-and-greet event before participating in the Iowa Craft Brew Festival the following day, Saturday, from 1-5 PM in the 200 block of E. 3rd Street.

In 2016, Des Moines Beer Week won an Iowa Tourism Award for Outstanding Event.

"We want to encourage people to participate as we work to highlight the many great local, regional, and national breweries that are driving travel, fun and economic growth in Des Moines and around Iowa," said Harlow.
SIOUX CITY | The lowest bid for a reconstruction and realignment project along Pierce Street has come in more than $180,000 higher than the engineer's estimate.

The new bids for the project, which reflect the city's second attempt at bidding it out, will be considered by the City Council Monday. The council in May rejected the first slate of bids, which ran $750,000 or more higher than estimated, and approved modified plans.

The council on Monday will decide whether to accept a new bid of $3,748,922 from Sioux City Engineering Co., which is 5.07 percent higher than the engineer's estimate of $3,568,162.

A second bid, from RP Constructors LLC in Dakota Dunes, is approximately $200,000 higher than Sioux City Engineering's bid. Those two companies are the only two with bids under consideration.

Senior civil engineer Brittany Anderson said she believes the higher bids reflect the busy summer construction season.

"There's a lot of work going on new, so contractors are juggling schedules, and the prices generally reflect that," she said.

The Pierce Street reconstruction project will provide new street paving, sidewalks, landscaping, lighting, storm sewers, sanitary sewers and water line improvements to Pierce Street between 24th and 29th streets, an area of the city with infrastructure dating back to the early 1900s.

The project will benefit the area surrounding UnityPoint Health -- St. Luke's Hospital by providing improvements to the campus and a realignment of the road to the east to allow some parking closer to the hospital entrance.

As part of an agreement, the hospital is expected to contribute approximately $900,000 toward the construction project, according to documents in Monday's council agenda.

Monday's bids also include an option to add an "alternate" that would speed up work on the 27th Street intersection. That adds $83,500 to Sioux City Engineering's bid and $325,000 to RP Constructors' bid, and city staff are not recommending the council approve the alternate.

Work on the project, which if approved would begin by July 5, is anticipated to take 205 working days and conclude next August.

Tax credit application

In other action Monday, the council will consider supporting an application on behalf of a new Sioux City business for $152,000 in tax credits over a five-year period through Iowa's Targeted Jobs Program.

Superior Industrial Mechanical, the business applying for the credits, is a new venture specializing in fabrication and installation of mechanical piping for the food processing industry, according to documents in Monday's agenda.

The company, owned by industry veteran Gabe Rohan, plans to base its offices on West Seventh Street. The company expects to create 26 new jobs, 20 of which qualify for Iowa's program.
Different groups came together to give speeches in front of a rainbow colored Equality banner on a hot summer late afternoon.

Held in Huizenga Plaza along the New River in downtown Fort Lauderdale, words of action, remembrance and justice echoed from the microphone. One-by-one speakers took to the stage to deliver their message Sunday.

They were the internationally recognized and the relatively unknown. U.S. Congressman Alcee Hastings (D-West Palm Beach) kicked the proceedings off in rousing fashion. The African-American Congressman, dressed casually in a tropical, touristy shirt, blasted President Donald Trump.

Weve had enough of your bullshit!, Hastings declared. We aint goin back!!

Several speakers delivered remarks focused on rights  from who you can love, what you can consume and how you can live -- as the memories of Pulse hung over the ceremony. Remembering the worst mass shooting in American history was a large part of the program.

Theres nothing else we can call what happened other than evil, said U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Weston). Whether youre talking about Orlando, North Carolina or Chechnya, evil is still present in our midst and it is why its so critically important that we not stay in our homes, hide in the shadows. We come out together, we lock arms. That we stand up for one another. That we stand with one another. That we march side by side. That we live our truth every single day. That we have one anothers back no matter what community that feels oppressed we are from.

Wasserman Schultz went on to say she was cancer free and the diversity of South Florida is what makes her heart burst with pride.

A small group of protesters, however, were not moved.

One man, Luke Burrat of Tamarac, booed Wasserman Schultz and shouted, You gave us Trump!

Burrat appeared to be part of the Food Not Bombs group. In a brief exchange with SFGN, Burrat blamed Trumps Presidency on Wasserman Schultzs handling of the Democratic party primary system.

Shes part of the problem, Burrat said. She took Bernie Sanders out of the equation.

Eli Drummond spoke on behalf of Food Not Bombs. Wearing a dress, Drummond blasted Fort Lauderdale Mayor John P. Jack Seiler for criminalizing homelessness and banning food sharing. Drummond also dissed the police and said city manager Lee Feldman launched a surprise attack on the downtown homeless camp.

The systematic harassment and oppression of people living in poverty and homeless folks in this community is very obvious, Drummond said. At the root of it is FLPD and the city commission of Fort Lauderdale who are perpetuating these laws.

Drummond accused the police of smashing a friend to the pavement. The friend, Drummond said, is now suffering from nerve damage. During Drummonds rant, calls of We love you Eli rang out from the audience before a woman yelled Unity! Drummond then said Fuck this American flag! and stormed off the stage.

Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Dean Trantalis applauded Drummonds passion, adding the homeless in Fort Lauderdale have been treated horribly. Trantalis, a gay man, helped organize the rally and served in a master of ceremonies role.

Unity was one of the rallys themes and it was challenged by Bobby Henry, owner of the black weekly newspaper, The Westside Gazette. Henry said it was his first rally and if there were to be another, South Florida activists needed to start talking to each other.

If were to be about unity we gotta step outside our comfort zones, Henry said. We gotta be about the business we say were about. We just cant talk the talk we gotta be about it.

Henry encouraged the crowd to get tested for HIV. He revealed his daughter had tested positive.

Her motto is love is greater than stigma, Henry said.

Elsewhere, Florida Rep. Bobby DuBose asked attendees to register to vote, the Gay Mens Chorus of South Florida sang Bridge Over Troubled Waters and HIV service organization Latinos Salud enlisted volunteers to hold photographs of the 49 victims killed at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando.

A GoFundMe account was opened to cover event expenses. Almost $9,000 was raised.
(WB) Chelsea Manning gave her first TV interview since being released from prison last month to ABCs Nightline.

Excerpts of the interview with Nightline co-anchor JuJu Chang, which touched on Mannings reasoning behind leaking military documents, aired on Good Morning America on Friday.

Manning, 29, served seven years of a 35-year prison sentence for releasing documents to Wikileaks. She explained that while reviewing military documents as an army private she became unable to separate the facts from the people it was affecting.

Were getting all this information from all these different sources and its just death, destruction, mayhem, Manning says. Were filtering it all through facts, statistics, reports, dates, times, locations, and eventually, you just stop. I stopped seeing just statistics and information, and I started seeing people.

She acknowledged that she takes full responsibility for choosing to leak the documents to the public.

Anything Ive done, its me. Theres no one else. No one told me to do this. Nobody directed me to do this. This is me. Its on me, Manning says.

Manning detailed her feelings coming out as transgender right after her sentencing. She says her fight for hormone treatment was a matter of life or death.

Its literally what keeps me alive, Manning says. It keeps me from feeling like Im in the wrong body. I used to get these horrible feeling like I just wanted to rip my body apart and I dont want to have to go through that experience again. Its really, really awful.

The former Army intelligence analyst says she has not spoken to Barack Obama since he commuted her sentence as one of his final acts as president. However, she hopes to thank him one day.

I was given a chance, thats all I wanted, Manning says. Thats all I asked for was a chance, thats it.

The full interview airs early next week.

 Mariah Cooper, Washington Blade courtesy of the National LGBTQ Media Association.
In this era of specializing catch-drivers, the 'trainer/driver' title is still proudly held by a few horsemen, mostly horsemen 'past the half' and usually with those focusing on trotters.

Another thing these old-time horsemen also possess is an ability to adjust strategy in mid-course, and one of the best trainer/drivers, Ake Svanstedt, dropped two of his charges out of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes class to the Stallion Series and then won divisions of the second leg on Sunday night (June 11) at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.

First to take a win was the Yankee Glide gelding Limerence, a cheque-getter in PASS company but here a wire-to-wire winner in a personal best of 1:55.2 for Ake Svanstedt Inc., Mal & Janet Burroughs LLC, Myfab Inc., and Torbjorn Swahn. The native Swede came back an hour later and put a new mark of 1:56.2 on the Donato Hanover colt Coogan, withstanding closer Brand New Key by a head for owner Hakan Andersson.

Another Sire Stakes refugee, the Explosive Matter gelding Explosive Ridge lowered his record to 1:55.1 with an engine victory for driver Matt Kakaley. Trainer Nancy Johansson shares ownership of the winner of two straight with Kenneth Ross.

The Cantab Hall gelding Monteverdi, who may be named for a former harness track in Vermont, pounced from the pocket to overhaul pacesetter Stealth Hanover past mid-stretch and go on to a new mark of 1:55.4 for driver Christian Lind and trainer/father Staffan. Staffan is also co-owner with Bender Sweden Inc. and Acadia Farms Inc. of yet another horse finding success dropping from Sire Stakes competition, which likely accounts for the fact that there were no two-time Stallion Series winners after this second leg.

Backstage Pass earned Donato Hanover another siring credit, and tied for the fastest winner at 1:55.1, when he went a first-over grind then held off Vodkancaviar, who had tailed his cover, by a neck. Poconos Trot Man, Mike Simons, guided the winner of nine out of 18 starts lifetime, and also has local training duties for owner Jessica Smith.

Yankee Glide also picked up a second sire victory when the interestingly-named Boinganator quarter-moved en route to a 1:56 triumph that lowered his mark by five full seconds, presenting Jim Marohn Jr. with one of his quartet of sulky wins on the night. Jill Roland conditions the steady youngster for Anthony Risi and Bernard OBrien.

Driver Corey Callahan and trainer John Butenschoen, winners of two of the three Sire Stakes divisions for this group on Saturday, took a blanket finish in the final division, with Affair Of Honor earning a new mark of 1:57 while giving Cantab Hall a second winning son in the Stallion Series. The sophomore winner is owned by William Wiswell, Jean Goehlen, and Eugene Schick, and finished off a sweep of setting new lifetime speed bests.

The Stallion Series colts gathered around the paddock televisions for a glimpse of some of their heroes, who gathered at Pocono Sunday for a $25,000 Winners Over Trot. They saw the Yonkers invader Buen Camino put on a strong performance, going for early position, maneuvering for a position for the stretch, then trotting over a tough field to take a personal mark of 1:52 for driver Jim Marohn Jr. and trainer Trond Smedshammer. The Cash Hall gelding raised his earnings to $111,830 this year and $487,951 lifetime for the Purple Haze Stables LLC.

(With files from PHHA/Pocono)
On Sunday, June 11, Alberta horsepeople hosted a Family Fun Day fundraiser in aid of the Stollery Childrens Hospital Foundation at Kelly Hoerdts Bedrock Farms in Beaumont, Alberta. The festivities marked the third consecutive year for the fundraiser, and organizers have informed Trot Insider that the day was a success.

The days activities also included a commemorative mile to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Canadian Horse Racing. Pacing stallion Trust The Artist led the way for the mile and kids that were on hand had the option of jogging, running, or walking behind him. All of the kids that completed the mile received a special participation certificate.

There was a huge turnout of people and a good time was had by all, Amy Henry told Trot Insider. The sun came out just in time for us to be able to use the track for cart rides and Trust The Artists commemorative mile!

Kids and adults followed Trust The Artist around the track for an entire lap and received their completion certificates. He is all class, all the time, said Henry. He went out there like a professional that has never missed a day in the harness. He had his owner, trainer Kelly Hoerdt, driving him, of course.

Pablo (Trust The Artists barn name) has been Kelly's favourite horse so far in his career. That horse will always hold a special place in Kelly's heart, and we are very happy to have him home at the farm enjoying his retirement with us.

Attendance figures and the amount of money raised has not been tabulated as of yet, but Trot Insider will provide that information as soon as it becomes available.

Organizers Peter Giannakopoulos of Nitza's Pizza and Kelly Hoerdt of Bedrock Training Centre would like to send out a huge thank-you to all the staff and volunteers for their tireless efforts to make this fundraiser another complete success for the third year in a row.

Also, organizers would like to send a special thank-you shout out to the Alberta Standardbred Horse Association and Horse Racing Alberta for their support, and to everyone else that donated items for the silent auction. Thanks to Dean Anderson and Fred Gillis for making special appearances and giving jog cart rides all day long. Thanks Tristan Jackson, two-time CFL Grey Cup winner, for being the good sport that got soaked in the celebrity dunk tank.
In Defense of Whites Using the 'N-Word'

Jesse Lee Peterson exposes black 'manipulation' through 'false guilt, fear, sympathy'

Contact: Ermias Alemayehu , Director of Public Relations

LOS ANGELES, June 12, 2017 / Standard Newswire / -- Founder and president of BOND , Jesse Lee Peterson (photo) releases the following and is available for comment:

Dear white people: You have been brainwashed. In your brainwashing, you are surrendering your freedom, sanity and country. We all know that most blacks are brainwashed  they hate good, excuse evil, blame whites and elect the worst people as "leaders." All angry people are brainwashed, because all angry people believe lies. One sign of mass delusion is the reaction by blacks and whites to the so-called "N-word"  "nigger."

Blacks don't care about the so-called "N-word." They care about manipulating whites with false guilt, fear and sympathy.

Last week I wrote about the melodrama of LeBron James , who said, "Being black in America  it's tough," after the gate of one of his fancy homes was supposedly vandalized with the so-called "N-word." It could be another "hate-crime" hoax  no perpetrator found  yet liberals blame "racism in America."

Last month, comedian and talk-show host Bill Maher was invited to "work in the fields" by Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Sasse. Maher jokingly balked, "Work in the fields? Senator! I'm a house nigger!" It was a funny comment, good-natured, ironic (he's a white Jew), self-deprecating (as one of America's most recognized entertainers) and true (he works indoors, not manual labor outdoors). The crowd laughed and applauded. But leftists forced Maher to apologize  repeatedly. Unfortunately, Maher complied.

HBO promised to cut Maher's funny "N-word" joke out of future airings of the show. Black Lives Matter agitator DeRay Mckesson said Maher "has to go." Maher said he lost sleep that night, admitted he was "wrong" (he wasn't) and apologized (for no reason but appeasement). RINO Sen. Ben Sasse sanctimoniously tweeted about his "responsibility" to correct Maher, suggesting Maher's use of the "N-word" was an attack on "human dignity." Liberal Sen. Al Franken canceled his appearance on "Real Time with Bill Maher" in fake outrage.

The following week, Maher interviewed "intellectual" Michael Eric Dyson, a "black preacher" called by his mama (not by God). Dyson thinks blacks "can't be racist" but that somehow whites can. (In reality, "racism" does not exist . There is only hate, and most blacks have that in spades.) This man is blind as a bat. But Maher was forced to grovel in a ridiculous display, saying his use of the word "caused pain." It didn't. He's absolutely wrong about that.

Black pain is from black anger inherited not from a "legacy of racism," but from angry, single, black mothers and grandmothers, and by weak, phony, black "men" and women posing as preachers and leaders. Read more

, BOND, 213-804-1872, 323-782-1980
FORTISTCI is expanding its generating capacity to meet a growing energy demand, creating new jobs in the process.





On April 28, the company signed an agreement for an additional Wartsila engine, which will bring its installed generating capacity to about 92MW.





Edmund Phillips, Wartsila Caribbean business development manager, said: "This contract further solidifies Wartsilas commitment to the partnership with FortisTCI, as the company continues to grow and prepare itself for the future economic development of the Turks and Caicos Islands.





The total value of the firm capacity project is about $14 million, including the civil works and auxiliaries.





The project will generate an estimated 30 to 40 jobs during construction. The engines arrival and commissioning will take place at the end of 2018.





FortisTCI president and CEO, Eddinton Powell, said: "Electricity forms an important part of a countrys infrastructure.





"Electricity generation expansion projects are based on projected load growth and the expected increase in energy consumption three to five years into the future.





"Our current generation expansion plans will take us through the year 2020.





Renewable energy

In February, the company signed its first set of Utility Owned Renewable Energy (UORE) programme contracts, consisting of two projects on Providenciales.





One contract was signed with Mills Learning Institute located in Juba Sound and the other with Atlantic Stone/BRM Limited located in South Dock.





The total aggregate size is 178kW, and commissioning of both projects will occur during June.





Powell said: "This round of generation expansion takes into account our Integrated Resources Plans for the integration of renewable energy into the grid, particularly solar, through our renewable energy programmes consisting of Customer Owned Renewable Energy (CORE) and UORE.





"We remain committed to embracing new technologies that are economically and technologically feasible that will diversify the countrys energy mix while providing new least-cost energy solutions.





Customers can now install their own solar system and connect to the FortisTCI grid by participating in the CORE programme.





The programme credits a participating customer based on their systems production.

Customers who do not have their own systems, but would like to partake in a renewable energy project, can join the UORE programme by leasing their roof space.





Interested customers can join by way of a partnership agreement that includes a monthly UORE credit.





By the end of 2017, FortisTCI plans to integrate 1.4MW of renewable energy on the grid.





This includes a one megawatt large-scale, utility-led solar project awarded following a competitive bid process and planned through an MOU signed in 2016 with the Rocky Mountain Institute-Carbon War Room.





It is a leader in creating clean, resilient, and affordable energy solutions by working with utilities and governments.





The 1MW project will encompass several sites across the islands.




tech2 News Staff

At long last, Microsoft has officially taken the wraps off the Xbox One X a.k.a. Project Scorpio. This long expected console is a mid-cycle refresh of the current console generation and is meant to take on Sonys PlayStation 4 Pro console with true 4K capabilities.

Unveiled at E3 2017, the worlds largest annual gaming expo, the Xbox One X hardware itself isnt much of a surprise. Microsoft has teased the consoles hardware a number of times these last few months and the only items we werent sure of were the final design and the final price of the console.

To recap, the new console is running an 8-core AMD CPU clocked at 2.3 GHz, a GPU thats rated at 6 TFLOPS, 12 GB of GDDR5 RAM and a 1 TB HDD. This is a huge bump in performance over the original Xbox One and about 50 percent more power than the PS4 Pro, on paper anyway. A Blu-Ray drive is also included in the package.

The console should, in theory, be capable of rendering games at 4K and 60 fps, a rather ambitious target. Early reports do suggest that while some games will run at 60 fps at 4K, most will run at 30 fps. Other features like supersampling are designed to enhance the 1080p performance of the console.

Engadget reports that the console features a vapour-chamber based cooling system designed to keep the console running at full tilt for extended periods.

The PS4 Pro from Sony does offer a VR headset, which is something the One X lacks right now, but there is word of multiple AR and VR headsets in the works from various manufacturers.

The flagship title for the console at launch is, of course, the Forza Motorsport 7, which will be one of the first games to natively support 4K @ 60 fps rendering on the new console.

There is no word on a release date or launch price in India. We expect pricing to be in the same ball park as the PS4 Pro, which currently retails for around Rs 40,000 in the country.

In related news, Microsoft also announced a $50 price drop on the Xbox One S.

Head here for all our coverage on E3 2017.
IANS

Founder and Executive Chairman of Alibaba Group Jack Ma is expected to attend the inaugural of YouthConnekt Africa Summit to be held next month here, Rwandan ministry of youth and ICT said on Sunday.

Rwanda hosts the meeting from July 19 to 21 that will primarily focus on youth entrepreneurship and to explore and exploit opportunities on the continent, Xinhua news agency reported. "Jack Ma is scheduled to come to Rwanda and share entrepreneurial skills with our young people. We are in contacts with the Alibaba Group and we expect him next month in Kigali for YouthConnekt Africa Summit," Jean Philbert Nsengimana, Rwandan minister of youth and ICT, was quoted as saying.

He added the Chinese business magnate is among key guest speakers at the event, including Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Mukhisa Kituyi, secretary general of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and Abdoulaye Mar Diye, United Nations Development Program (UNDP) assistant administrator and director of the Regional Bureau for Africa.

The summit is expected to attract more than 1,500 participants including top executives from multinational companies that operate in Africa, leaders of civil society organisations, Africa's development partners, members of the academia and most importantly successful entrepreneurs, artists and youth opinion leaders from across the continent, according to organisers.

The three-day meeting on "realising Africa's youth potential" will bring together government officials, entrepreneurs, investors, multinationals, and startups shaping the African technological ecosystem to interact and discuss the methods of using technology to drive Africa's economic growth.
tech2 News Staff

Google today launched the Daydream View VR headset and controller in India, a year after it was released at Google I/O developers conference. The Daydream View VR which will be sold only on Flipkart is priced at Rs 6,499.

The View is a major improvement over the Cardboard, Google's previous offering, in terms of comfort as well as the built. Weighing at around 220 grams, it is also lighter than Samsung's GearVR headset. The View is made of foam and soft washable fabric and while Cardboard was compatible with most phones, the Daydream View VR will work exclusively with a Daydream-ready smartphone. While not many smartphones in India come with native support for Daydream, Google does expect a number of manufacturers to get onboard.

Google's Pixel and Pixel XL line-up were the first Daydream-ready phones, followed by the Motorola Moto Z. Samsung has also promised Daydream support soon on the Galaxy S8 and S8+.

"Our aim is to make the VR experience mobile so that customers can easily carry it anywhere with them. We at Google are also working with developers, smartphone companies, and content creators to make VR accessible to all," said Clay Bavor, Vice President of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality at Google, in a statement.

Google also announced Daydream 2.0, code-named Euphrates, at Google I/O 2017, last month. The second iteration of Daydream is scheduled to be available for all daydream devices later this year.
IANS

An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan has sentenced a man to death for allegedly committing blasphemy on Facebook, the media reported. According to a report in the Guardian on Sunday, a court in Bahawalpur in Punjab province of Pakistan handed out the verdict, the harshest yet for such a crime, after finding Taimoor Raza, 30, guilty of insulting the prophet Muhammad.

Raza had indulged in a debate about Islam last year with a man who later turned out to be a counter-terrorism agent. Soon after the sectarian debate, Raza was arrested. According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Raza, who belongs to Pakistan's minority Shia Muslim community, was one among 15 people arrested by the counter-terrorism department last year, accused of blasphemy.

"My brother indulged in a sectarian debate on Facebook with a person, who we later come to know, was a (counter-terrorism department) official with the name of Muhammad Usman," the report quoted Waseem Abbas, Raza's brother, as saying.

According to Raza's defence attorney, he has been charged with two unrelated sections of the law to ensure the maximum penalty. "Initially, it was a case of insulting remarks on sectarian grounds and the offence was 298A, which punishes for derogatory remarks about other religious personalities for up to two years," said Fida Hussain Rana, the defence counsel.

"Raza was later charged under section 295C of the penal code, related to "derogatory acts against Prophet Muhammad", Rana added. To battle the blasphemy, Pakistani authorities have asked Twitter and Facebook to help identify users sharing blasphemous content. The government has also circulated text messages encouraging citizens to report fellow citizens sharing blasphemous content.

However, human rights defenders have expressed concern and opine that the stringent blasphemy laws are used as a tool to carry out personal vendettas. "The casual manner in which death sentences are handed in blasphemy cases coupled with the lack of orientation of Pakistani courts with technology makes this a very dangerous situation," said Saroop Ijaz, a lawyer with Human Rights Watch in Pakistan.

Also, the sentence was handed down by an anti-terrorism court and not a regular court, sowing the confusion between national security and religion.
Telecom regulator (TRAI) is likely to recommend tighter norms for international SIM card and global calling card companies and favour refund to customers in case of service failure during an overseas travel.

If the recommendations being worked on by TRAI are accepted by the Telecom Department, erring companies will have to cough up refunds and compensation to customers in case their calling card does not work when they are abroad. The move by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) follows detailed discussions with international SIM card and global calling card companies, earlier this year.

The discussion between regulator and players was held after an SMS-based survey, initiated by the regulator, revealed that nearly half the consumers who used such services claimed it worked partially or did not work at all. "TRAI will be recommending tighter checks on these companies, including a monitoring mechanism on how much business are they doing, how many cards are they selling...," a person familiar with the matter said.

The recommendations will also talk about refunds (for pre-paid) and compensation (for post-paid users) in case the card does not work, the source said but did not divulge the extent of compensation. Other measures being mulled by the regulator includes 24-hour call centre support. "Technically there are enough ways to establish the veracity of customers claim that a particular card did not indeed work," the source added.

In the SMS-based survey a few months back, the regulator had asked consumers whether their international SIM cards worked when they were abroad. Close to 50 percent of the people had responded saying their cards worked. Of the rest, nearly 30 percent said it did not work at all and 20 percent said it worked only partially.

These instances of unsatisfactory service quality had prompted the regulator to call for a meeting with the companies and seek an explanation from them. In March this year, TRAI met 8-9 players and asked them to explain the reason for the poor service. It asked companies the reason for service failure, enquiring if the glitches were to do with the SIM cards, or connectivity problem at the level of the local country operator, or if the customer did not follow proper procedure for dialling.

A few operators who were part of that TRAI meeting then included Matrix, Uniconnect and Oneworld Teleservices.
This Page

has moved to a new address:

Sorry for the inconvenience

Redirection provided by Blogger to WordPress Migration Service
Japan seeks to expand arms deals with Southeast Asia

A visitor looks at a miniature model of P-1 Maritime Patrol Aircraft of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, during \" MAST Asia\", Japan\'s international arms exhibit, in Chiba, near Tokyo on Monday.

AP, Makuhari :

A Japanese defense official said Monday that Japan is seeking to increase its sales of military equipment to Southeast Asian nations amid growing tensions with China and North Korea.

The move is part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push to bolster Japan's military role and its sales of defense equipment, especially in Southeast Asia, where China has expanded its own arms sales.

Hideaki Watanabe, head of the Defense Ministry's Acquisition Technology and Logistics Agency, said Japan will host a meeting Thursday with defense officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to discuss the sharing of equipment and technology. He spoke Monday at an international arms exhibit near Tokyo that was attended by hundreds of defense officials and industry leaders from around the world.

Watanabe said there have been aggressive attempts by nations in recent years to change the status quo, in an apparent reference to China's building of artificial islands in disputed areas of the South China Sea.

"It is essential to maintain the open and stable sea under the rule of law," he said. "Ensuring safety of navigation and flight contributes to the peace and prosperity of Japan and the international society. Japan's research and development of high-quality defense equipment contributes to the defense of Japan and elsewhere."

Japan's defense industry at home is worth about 1.8 trillion yen ($16 billion) annually, a fraction of the country's 52 trillion yen ($470 billion) auto industry. Japan had restricted arms exports under its postwar war-renouncing constitution, limiting joint research and development to the U.S. under a bilateral security pact. Since the 2014 easing of the rules, Japan now has joint research deals with Britain, Australia and France. In order to scale up the defense industry, Japan's government has bolstered research funding to more than 10 billion yen ($90 million) this year.

Japan has been promoting the transfer of defense equipment to Southeast Asian countries to help their maritime security capabilities amid China's growing presence in the South China Sea, but deals have been limited to the sale of TC-90 surveillance aircraft to the Philippines. China already exports mostly low-cost military equipment to many Southeast Asian countries.

The arms exhibit, sponsored by the Japanese defense, foreign and industry ministries, included panel discussions focused on missile defense. North Korea has conducted several missile tests this year.

U.S. defense giant Lockheed Martin and Japanese contractors Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Heavy Industries were among dozens of exhibitors from around the world who had booths at this year's Mast Asia exhibit, just east of Tokyo.
Puerto Ricans back full US statehood but vote marred by low turnout

AFP, San Juan :

Puerto Ricans voted overwhelmingly Sunday to become a US state in a non-binding referendum-but the result was marred by an extremely low turnout after opposition parties called for a boycott of the poll.

With virtually all results in, 97.2 percent backed statehood, 1.5 percent supported independence and 1.3 percent opted for no change, but just 23 percent of the 2.2 million-strong electorate cast a ballot.

Despite the low turnout, Governor Ricardo Rossello vowed to push for the territory to become the 51st US state after casting his vote for statehood.

"We will go before international forums to defend the argument of the importance of Puerto Rico being the first Hispanic state in the United States," Rossello said.

An unincorporated US territory under American control since 1898, Puerto Rico lacks sovereign powers-an urgent problem as it grapples with public debt of $73 billion and its economy stumbles.

Rossello, who heads the pro-statehood New Progressive Party, said his government would fight "in Washington and throughout the world" for the Caribbean island territory to be accepted as the 51st US state, and for Puerto Ricans to gain "all the same opportunities" as other American citizens.
The election that did not run to plan

Sir Michael Leigh. :

The campaigns leading up to the 8 June general election in Britain have not followed Prime Minister Theresa May's playbook, which goes something like this. May called the election because she found it hard to manage parliament with a majority of only seventeen seats. She wanted to take advantage of the Labour Party's weakness to increase her majority and to win the voters' endorsement both for a "hard" Brexit and for her economic and social policies. She also saw the election as an opportunity to shake off the policies of her predecessor David Cameron and to obtain a vote of confidence from the population in her own right.

The prime minister knows that 2017 probably marks the high-water mark of her popularity before the public feels the negative effects of Brexit. Bringing the poll forward by two years means that the first post-Brexit general election will now likely be in 2022 rather than 2020 - time enough, May doubtless thought, for the population to recover from the shock of withdrawal on March 29, 2019, especially if Brexit turns out to be jumping off a "cliff edge." She also hoped to see off the United Kingdom Independence Party, which had lost the reason for its existence, now that Britain is on the path to withdrawal from the EU.

The ostensible reason for calling an early election was that parliament was out of line with the country, in that a majority of MPs still favored continued EU membership or, at least, a smooth, phased withdrawal. The prime minister also claimed that an increased majority would strengthen her hand in the Brexit negotiations.

But the best-laid plans often go awry and things have certainly not played out as the prime minister expected. The first setback was a bungled last-minute decision, at the behest of her closest personal advisor, to add to the Conservative Party platform a pledge that elderly people would no longer have to exhaust their assets to pay for care during their lifetimes but, instead, that the state would recoup the costs from their estate after their death. This so-called "dementia tax" caused an uproar and was quickly withdrawn. So much for her slogan "strong stable leadership."

The next setback arose from the prime minister's decision not to participate in the television debate among contending party leaders. Her opponents portrayed this as cowardly, especially after Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn reversed his initial decision and drove to the studio to join the debate, despite the prime minister's absence. She could not sidestep a subsequent live television interview in which members of the public vociferously rejected her claims about improved living standards, especially for health service workers.

These antics provided an opportunity for a remarkable comeback by Corbyn, widely dismissed by his opponents as a bemused antediluvian on the far left. His party's giveaway election manifesto has actually gained some traction with the public, while May's credibility has frayed at the edges. Corbyn has run a surprisingly effective campaign, even if the content of his policies does not bear much scrutiny. He, too, was subject to searching questions by a studio audience but emerged relatively unscathed. He succeeded in narrowing the gap in the opinion polls between the two main parties and in raising doubts about the landslide victory that May and most observers had expected.

The appalling terrorist attack in London on 3 June, following the Manchester suicide bombing last month, has added to May's woes. Her proposed crackdown recalled President Donald Trump's onslaught against Muslim immigrants. Her statement that "enough is enough" rang as hollow as her earlier vapid expression "Brexit means Brexit." Worse, she herself has been directly responsible for internal security for the last seven years, first as home secretary (interior minister) and then as prime minister. Her fighting speech looked like playing politics with human tragedy.

As to Brexit, the unified stand of the 27 member states behind the European Commission's uncompromising negotiating directives calls into question the British prime minister's assertion that the election will strengthen her hand in the negotiations. The size of May's parliamentary majority - which now may be at risk - is largely irrelevant to other European leaders. Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Emmanuel Macron themselves face parliamentary elections over the coming months and see Brexit as secondary to keeping their own countries and the EU together.

Brits concerned about the fallout from a hard Brexit hoped that a big electoral win would give May the flexibility to compromise in the negotiations, accepting, for example, a smooth transitional period during which EU rules will continue to apply. This was always doubtful - incoming Conservative Members of Parliament were picked for their impeccable Brexit credentials. In fact, a smaller Conservative majority (which, according to the unstable polls in the last week, is one possibility) and gathering economic storm clouds might actually do more to pull the prime minister back from the Brexit cliff edge. Should a scenario no one seriously imagined at the start of the campaign - a hung parliament or even a Labour win - play out, however, the fallout in terms of the EU negotiations is hard to predict. Whatever the election result, Britain is in for a bumpy ride.

(Sir Michael Leigh is a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund).


Recruitment brokers or cheaters!

THE government, as reported, has no plan to regulate brokers involved with the recruitment of male and female workers from the remote rural areas for overseas jobs. As per media reports the brokers scattered across the country usually influence low-income generating people to migrate by promising them good jobs at high wages but at the end, many failed to reach the destination and suffer inhumanely midway. The mad rush for migration among low income generating people for a respectful life often make them easy victims of human traffickers who earn ransom by kidnapping migrant workers. The government by introducing digital registration for migrating aspirants with Countrywide Union Parishad offices without any intermediary can reduce hassle and fees for migration.



Victimized migrant workers and rights campaigners have long demanded that the middlemen are brought under some sort of regulation to prevent their cheating. But it was difficult to take action against thousands of intermediaries rather than taking action against recruiting agencies. If implemented the new plan would be able to reduce human trafficking and harassment of migrant workers as well as slash the costs of migration. There are hundred of stories where brokers take millions promising high wages but the migrant workers actually get no jobs there or less than the promised money. Many post-return migrant workers made the intermediaries responsible for their sufferings and sought punishment.



The latest TIB report also revealed that as much as 90 percent of five lakh male migrant workers have had to pay two to three times the usual migration cost last year. The aspirants have to pay manifold amounts due to the influence of middleman. The unnecessarily high cost of getting a work visa means that many migrant workers have to carry a huge burden of debt which has to be paid back, leaving very little for them to save or send back home. Apart from refugees from war-torn Syria, Bangladeshis are the next highest in number of migrants who drowned in the Mediterranean Sea or rescued while seafaring to enter Europe. It is mentionable that brokers have lured some 2.5 lakh Bangladeshis through sea routes in the last 8 years, held them in Thai jungles for ransom, and used them as slaves.



Migration levels may fall for a while, but the Ministry concerned should follow the policy and introduce a one-stop service for migrating people. The government should ease the migration process, the activities of the middlemen would then diminish.
Queen`s Speech delayed as DUP talks continue

The Queen's Speech - in which the government sets out its legislative programme - has been delayed for a few days, the BBC understands.

The set-piece event had been due to take place on Monday 19 June.

The Conservatives are negotiating with the Democratic Unionist Party to get support for their minority government after losing their Commons majority in last week's general election. Labour said the delay showed the government was "in chaos". The Queen's Speech is written by the government and presents an outline of its planned legislation for the next Parliamentary session. BBC assistant political editor Norman Smith said the decision to delay it revealed an "ambiguity" about what would go in it - with several manifesto pledges expected to be watered down or dropped - but also the need for the Tories to "nail down" DUP support.

A defeat for its Queen's Speech would be tantamount to a vote of no confidence in the new minority government, he said.

One of the reasons for the delay is also believed to be because the speech has to be written on goat's skin parchment paper, which takes a few days to dry - and the Tory negotiations with the DUP mean it cannot be ready in time. Theresa May will face questions later from her backbenchers for the first time since Thursday's election. They are expected to raise concerns about her leadership style, and press for more details on talks with the DUP. Media captionMrs May will be meeting the committee a day after announcing her cabinet.

Mrs May's new cabinet is also meeting for the first time after a reshuffle. Earlier Brexit Secretary David Davis predicted some parts of the Tory manifesto would have to be "pruned" following the election result.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Davis said that while the Tory election campaign had been disappointing, Mrs May was a "formidable prime minister" and accused people speculating about her leadership of "the absolute height of self-indulgence". But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has accused Mrs May of "squatting" in No 10, telling the BBC's Andrew Marr Show on Sunday that the country "cannot go on with a period of great instability".

On Sunday evening the PM finalised her cabinet with a small reshuffle, with Michael Gove returning to a ministerial role as environment secretary. Mr Gove, who took on Mrs May for the party leadership after David Cameron quit, was sacked by the PM in her reshuffle in July last year.

The Conservatives went from 331 seats to 318 in the general election, while Labour increased its number of MPs from 232 to 262. BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said the meeting with the committee of Tory backbench MPs had been brought forward by 24 hours, not because of panic within the party, but possibly as a way of avoiding it. One MP told him: "The wise heads will need to tell any hotheads to calm down."

The 1922 Committee is made up of all Conservative backbenchers - the name is taken from the year in which its original members were elected. Its primary function is to keep the leadership of the party informed of the mood among the rank and file, and if a Conservative leader or other senior figure loses its support they could be in a particularly vulnerable position. Graham Brady, chairman of the committee, told BBC One's Sunday Politics there was "zero appetite" among the public for another election. Media captionJeremy Corbyn "ready any time" for another election. A number of high-profile members kept their posts in Sunday's cabinet reshuffle, with Philip Hammond staying at the Treasury, Boris Johnson remaining at the Foreign Office and Amber Rudd keeping the Home Office brief. But some changed jobs too, with Liz Truss being demoted from justice secretary to become chief secretary to the Treasury. Damian Green, who was work and pensions secretary, has been promoted to become the first secretary of state - effectively Mrs May's second in command.

Widespread demands for Mrs May to go are not expected at Monday's 1922 Committee meeting. Instead, there will be demands for her to consult more, including meeting regularly with the 1922 executive, and to turn Downing Street from a bunker into an open house by broadening her range of staff. However, few MPs expect her position to be strong and stable for the next five years.

One senior backbencher told me: "It is inconceivable she will lead the party into the next election. Her authority has been diminished unquestionably." Another said: "Party members have been too bruised by her."

"She has bought herself some time", said another senior backbencher, but added: "How she behaves will determine how long she's there." There is a feeling that the party is holding on to nurse for fear of something worse. Read more from Iain Watson here. After speculation in the Sunday newspapers that he was mounting a leadership challenge, Mr Johnson has called for Tory MPs to back Mrs May. Writing in Monday's Sun, the foreign secretary said those calling for the PM to step down should "get a grip", adding the electorate wanted the government to "get on with the job". Mr Johnson admitted the prime minister's election campaign did not go well - "to put it mildly" - and that Tory messages "got lost or misunderstood".

But he added: "Theresa May led a campaign that inspired 13.7m people to vote Conservative, in the biggest total tally of Tory votes since the days of Margaret Thatcher. "That is a stunning achievement, for which she deserves the support of her party. And she will certainly get it from me." He also said the proposal of a deal with the DUP to keep her minority government in power was "feasible". "The people of Britain have had a bellyful of promises and politicking," he wrote. "Now is the time for delivery - and Theresa May is the right person to continue that vital work." The return of Mr Gove to the front bench as environment secretary has been a shock to some, including the politician himself. Speaking to Sky News on Sunday, he said he had been "quite surprised" to be asked to rejoin the cabinet.

He added: "Of course I knew that today was reshuffle day, but I genuinely didn't expect this role - although I am delighted to be part of the government, and delighted to be able to support Theresa."

However, the BBC's environment analyst Roger Harrabin said green campaigners were angry at Mr Gove's appointment, pointing to his time as education secretary, when he tried to remove climate change from the geography curriculum, and as chief whip, when he blocked the then environment secretary from important international talks. Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas said: "It is hard to think of many politicians as ill equipped for the role of environment secretary as Michael Gove."

But others have welcomed the new minister. One senior farming industry source said they were happy that a "big hitter" was taking the top job at the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra).

"Defra has long been a backwater, so at last it's not someone in charge who is being put out to grass," he said.


CTTC says 6 Neo-JMB men planned murdering progressive Alems

Sarwar-Tamim group's Sharia Ameer also nabbed

Staff Reporter :

Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit Chief Monirul Islam on Monday has said the held six alleged Neo-JMB men drew plans to murder progressive Alem-Ulamas in the country.

Police in a drive arrested six Neo-Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (Neo-JMB) men from the city's New Market area late Sunday night.

They are Jahidul Islam alias Joha alias Mashrur, 23, , Abu Bakar Siddique alias Abu Mohammad, 19, Mohammadullah Adnan, 19, Mehedi Hasan Imon alias Hamja, 21, Khalid Saifullah alias Abu Musab, and Shamsuddin Alamin.

The CTTC unit chief made the allegation while talking to journalists at the DMP Media Center in the capital on Monday

"The detainee Adnan led Tarabi prayers in a local mosque. This way they could meet there every day. As part of the regular gathering, members of the militant group had been gathering at the mosque under cover of prayers and planned to kill an Islamic cleric," said Monirul Islam.

Jahidul used to collect money from their sympathisers to raise fund for the militant organisation, according to him. He, however, declined to name the cleric for his safety.

"Militant organisations have called for attacks as they want to raise morale and display their strength ahead of the anniversary of the Gulshan Holey Artisan attack on July 1 last year. But they have been unable to find new recruits. The cops' continued efforts have weakened them and disrupted their efforts, the CTTC official claimed.

There are currently five council members on the JMB central committee. One of the members is Sohel Mahfuz. Another leader has been identified as Sadi Abu Jandal Abu Darda Abu, who was providing weapons and other forms of assistance to the six detainees, the CTTC unit chief alleged.

Police have confiscated mobile phones, notebooks, extremist propaganda, USB flash drives and memory cards from the detainees, he said.

Meanwhile, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) detained a suspected leader of a new faction of banned militant outfit, neo-JMB, from Demra area in Dhaka.

Shayek Mamunur Rashid alias Shayek Mamun was detained on Sunday night. He is the ameer of the Sharia Board of Sarwar-Tamim's neo-JMB, said RAB Legal and Media Wing Director Mufti Mahmud Khan.

According to RAB, Sarwar Jahan alias Abdur Rahman alias Abu Ibrahim al-Hanif was the chief of neo-JMB while Gulshan attack mastermind Tamim was the second-in-command of the group.

It is said to have headed the Sharia Board of Sarwar-Tamim group, a faction of the banned extremist outfit revived in 2014.




8 held from suspected militant den in Rajshahi: 4 kids rescued

Two suicide vests, a pistol, bullets recovered

Staff Reporter :

Police detained early Monday eight members of a family, including a primary school teacher, from a house believed to be used by militants as a hideout at Dangarpara village in Tanore upazila of Rajshahi district.

The detainees are house owner Ramjan Ali, 55, his wife Ayesha Bibi, their elder son Ibrahim Hossain, 26, and his wife Morjina, younger son Israfil Alam, 24, and his spouse Haresa Khatun, Ramjan's daughter Hawa Begum, 20, and her husband Rabiul Islam, 27.

Ramjan teaches at Gourangipur Government Primary School, Ibrahim is a fertiliser trader, Israfil a homeopathic doctor and Rabiul a carpenter.

Four children of the family were also rescued and taken into police custody after the Sunday midnight raid. They are Ibrahim's three daughters - Tamanna, 8, Taskira, 4, and seven-month-old Tanshira - and Rabiul's three-month-old daughter.

Two suicide vests, a pistol and some bullets were recovered from the house which had been raided and cordoned off since Sunday night, based on information from Detective Branch of Police of Bogra.

Rajshahi's Additional Police Superintendent Sumit Chowdhury said, "The law enforcers cordoned off the house of Ramjan Ali at Dangapara village under Pachandar Union around 11:00pm last night following information that Ramjan and his family members were involved in militancy and had huge powerful explosives inside the house." "Ibrahim runs a fertiliser and insecticide selling outside of his home. Israfil farms. Their brother-in-law Rabiul lives in neigbouring Choikpara village. He is a carpenter. Rabiul has been staying at his father-in-law's house for a few months since the birth of his newborn child," the police official said.

"Two suicide vests, a pistol with five rounds of ammunition and a magazine have been recovered," he added.

Tanore Police Station's Sub-Inspector Rayhan Ali said, "We suspected there could be a stockpile of suicidal vests and explosives in the house. We are thoroughly searching the house."

Ramzan and his family have been fasting and holding Eid celebrations according to Saudi Arabia's schedule for the past ten to twelve years, said Monjurul Islam, member of Ward No. 8, Pachanda Union Parishad.

"This year they also began fasting a day early, in keeping with Saudi Arabia's schedule. Last year Ramzan Ali and his wife Ayesha went for Hajj." The UP member said Ibrahim and Israfil were educated in a madrassa.


Hearing on June 19

Court Correspondent :

The Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-2 of Dhaka on Monday fixed June 19 for hearing on whether to take the charges into cognizance against the accused in the case filed for the rape of two private university girls at a Banani hotel.

Judge of the tribunal Shafiul Azam also passed orders to produce the five accused before the court on June 19. Earlier on Sunday, the case was transferred to the tribunal from the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court.

On Thursday, police submitted the charge sheet of the case to the court against accused-- Shafat Ahmed, Nayeem Ashraf, Sadman Sakif, Shafat's driver Billal Hossain and his bodyguard Rahmat Ali.

The two university students were allegedly raped at the Raintree Hotel of Banani in the city on March 28. One of the rape victims filed the case with Banani Police Station on May 6 accusing the five. Of them, three have already made statements before different courts confessing to their involvement in the incident.


PM flies to Sweden today

UNB, Dhaka :

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina leaves here on Tuesday for London en route to Sweden on a three-day bilateral tour to the Scandinavian country at the invitation of her Swedish counterpart Stefan Lofven.

This will be the first-ever bilateral visit by any head of state or government of Bangladesh to Sweden, which is expected to expand cooperation between the two countries on a number of bilateral and regional issues.

"During the tour, the Prime Minister will have official talks with her Swedish Counterpart Stefan Lofven," PM's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim told UNB on Monday.

A VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the Prime Minister and her entourage will depart Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) at 12 noon on Tuesday.

The flight is expected to land at Heathrow International Airport at 6:00 pm (local time) where she will be received by Bangladesh High Commissioner to the UK Md Nazmul Quaunine.

After a one-day stopover at London, Sheikh Hasina will leave London for Stockholm on Wednesday afternoon by a Scandinavian Airlines flight at 6:15 pm (local time) and is expected to land at Stockholm Arlanda Airport at 9:40 pm (local time).

Bangladesh Ambassador to Sweden Md Golam Sarwar will receive the Prime Minister at the airport from where she will be escorted to Grand Hotel in a ceremonial motorcade where she would be staying during her the tour.

On Thursday, Hasina will spend a busy day as she will have a bilateral meeting with Stefan Lofven to discuss ways to promote trade and investment between the countries with a greater focus on shipbuilding and garment sector. Before that, they will have a tete-a-tete.

Hasina will also have an audience with the king of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf at Royal Castle.

Earlier in the day, she is expected to pay a visit to Swedish parliament and meet Acting Speaker of Parliament Tobias Billstrom. Hasina is also likely to have meetings with Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden Isabella Lovin and Minister for Justice and Migration Morgan Johansson.

On Friday, CEO of H&M Karl-Johan Persson, President of Investor Jacob Wallenberg and Vice President of Investor Marcus Wallenberg and CEO of ABB Sweden Johan Soderstrom are likely to meet Hasina.
Illegal VoIP

Tk240 cr revenue loss: Accused released on bail flees country

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission has taken a dillydallying attitude to submit final report of a case in which an IGW (international gateway) and another ICX (interconnection exchange) company had swallowed over Tk 240 crore government revenue making thousands of illegal international calls.



Following a couple of cases, the top officials of IGW Company Vision Tel and ICX Company Cloud Tel, Md Shariful Islam and Ayrin Islam, husband and wife, were arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department of police and sent to jail.



The authorities concerned also had seized their Bangladesh passports. But a few months later, both of them secured bail from the High Court. After that Ayrin Islam, Chairman of the said companies, fled away from the country using a Canadian passport. Earlier, both of them were denied bail from the country's lower court.



The duo, Md Shariful Islam and Ayrin Islam, are also Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer respectively of another company Ring ID, being operated from Canada.



When contacted, BTRC Chairman Dr Shahjahan Mahmood told The New Nation on Monday: "So far I know, they are barred from leaving the country. I can't tell just now how Ayrin Islam could leave the country." About the final investigation report, the Chairman said he is yet to receive it. "We're not delaying intentionally. The report will be prepared soon..I hope to realize the government's Tk 240 crore revenue."



Allegations were raised against them for making illegal international calls using Teletalk number series 01515 and for not paying yearly license fees, profit share and late fees amounting to over Tk 240 crore.



Particularly, specific allegations were raised against Cloud Tel for making illegal international calls using Teletalk prefix. The commission also cancelled the license of Cloud Tel. Out of Tk 240crore, the government is supposed to get Tk 191 crore from Vision Tel and the rest from Cloud Tel.



Shariful Islam, CEO of the two companies, is now staying in the country under round-the clock surveillance of the law enforcement agencies.



When contacted, Investigating Officer of BTRC Kawser Ahmed told The New Nation recently the regulatory body is still not sure when the final report will be submitted. "We're not delaying to submit the final report. Actually, we're trying to get more accurate information about the accused persons. It is still at investigation stage," he said.



The authority concerned is yet to nab two other accused of the case for the reasons best known to them. The BTRC had filed the case against four persons, including Shariful Islam, under Telecommunication ACT, 2001 and Public Demand Recovery Act, 1913 to get back the government's money. Besides, a criminal case was also lodged against them.



When asked about the exit of a bailed accused, the IO said: "We've heard that Ayrin Islam fled away to Canada showing a foreign passport. We're informed that she at first went to Canada and later went to Dubai for shopping. She also uploaded some photographs on the facebook from Dubai. We're investigating it. We've also informed the matter to the Special Branch and the airport immigration."



Sources close to the BTRC said the accused are very influential persons and represent some highly powerful and moneyed men having connections with political and bureaucratic circles.



In the process started in 2012, two then Awami League ministers and a Bangladeshi born Singaporean citizen were directly involved with this business. One of the owners of Vision Tel SM Asif Sams who is son of Awami League leader and former State Minister for Home Affairs Shamshul Hoque Tuku. Another one Iffat Hossain, daughter of former Communication Minister Syed Abul Hossain owned 50 per cent stake in the Cloud Tel.



The Singaporean citizen, M Badiuzzamna, was made Chairman of Vision Tel when SM Asif Sams sold his share and left the country. In 2013, M Badiuzzamna sold his total shares of Vision Tel to the accused Shariful Islam. In the same process, Shariful and his wife Ayrin became owners of another company Cloud Tel, sources said.



Against this backdrop, Director General of BTRC AKMShahiduzzaman told The New Nation recently, "We'll take legal action if she [Ayrin Islam] fled the country using another passport."



Officials said that it is almost impossible to bring back any absconding person by the BTRC with its limited capability.
Judicial probe into any neglect of local admin demanded

Court Correspondent :

Nicolas Chakma, a Supreme Court lawyer on Monday served a legal notice on government for forming a judicial enquiry committee to determine whether there was any negligence of local administration in protecting the people of Longadu

Upazila of Rangamati district during the recent attacks there.

The Homer Secretary, Social Welfare Secretary, Women and Children Affairs Secretary, Inspector General of Police, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Chittagong Range), Superintendent of Police in Rangamati, Officer-in-Charge of Longadu Police Station have been made respondents in the legal notice.

On June 1, miscreants killed Rangamati Jubo League leader Nurul Islam Nayan in a bid to snatch his motorbike and to sell it out. Later, the local Bangla speaking people, blaming the tribal people for Nayan's death, allegedly set fire to houses and shops of local tribal people on June 2.
Fight in the way of Allah

Abdul Muqit Chowdhury :

The 17th Ramzan reminds us of the Zihad of Badar. It was a defensive fight against aggressors. The Muslims, though very small in number and weak in arms and ammunition, became victorious in the battle

with the help and Grace of Allah. It was the first great victory of the followers of Islam (preached by Hazrat Muhammad (Sm), the last and the greatest Messenger of Allah).

According to historians, this was a turning point in the lives of the new Muslims, who faced inhuman torture at Makka and were attacked at Madina, where they had got shelter.

Al-Quran reveals : "Allah had already given you the victory at Badar, when ye were contemptible. So observe your duty to Allah in order that ye may be thankful ." Verse 123, Al-i-'Imran 3, The Meanings of the Glorious Qur'an by Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall.

"God had helped you/ At Badr, when ye were/A contemptible little force;/ Then fear God; thus/May ye show your gratitude." (Verse 123, Sura Al-i-'Imran 3, The Holy Quran Translation and Commentary by Allama Yusuf Ali).

Allama Yusuf Ali comments : "Gratitude to God is not to be measured by words. It should show itself in conduct and life. If all the Muslims had learnt the true lesson from victory of Badar, their archers would not have left the posts appointed for them, nor the two tribes mentioned in the last note ever wavered in their faith." (P. 155)

Allah says : "When ye sought help of your Lord and He answered you (saying) : I will help you with a thousand of the angels, rank on rank." (Verse 9, Al-Anfal 8, The Meanings of the Glorious Qur'an by Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall)

"Remember ye implored/The assistance of your Lord,/And He answered you :/'I will assist you/ With a thousand of the angels, /Ranks on ranks.'" (Verse 9, Al-Anfal, 8 The Holy Quran Translation and Commentary by Allama Yusuf Ali)

Yusuf Ali comments : "The number of angels, a thousand at Badr and three thousand and five thousand at Uhud, is probably not to be taken literally, but to express a strength at least equal to that of the enemy."

Though Ramzan is the training period of 'spiritual purification', it also presents practical performance of 'Zihad' through example of Muslim history. 'Zihad' - 'the exerting of one's power', 'repelling the enemy' and 'struggle to the utmost of one's capacity' is permitted as the last resort for the Muslims to survive as an independent and sovereign nation, in case they become the victims of aggression, tyranny and oppression.

Ramzan prepares the Muslims to fight against all evils and to foil all evil designs for the survival of the Ummah.

Al-Quran permits Zihad in the following way : "Fight in the way of Allah against those who fight against you, but begin no hostilities. Lo! Allah loveth not aggressors." (Verse 190, Al Baqarah 2, The Meanings of the Glorious Qur'an by Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall)

"Fight in the cause of God/Those who fight you,/But do not transgress limits;/For God loveth not transgressors." (Verse 190, Al-Baqarah 2, The Holy Quran Translation and Commentary by Allama Yusuf Ali)

Allama Yusuf Ali comments : "War is only permissible in self-defence, and under well-defined limits. When undertaken, it must be pushed with vigour, but not relentlessly, but only to restore peace and freedom for the worship of God. In any case strict limits must not be transgressed : women, children, old and infirm men should not be molested, nor trees and crops cut down, nor peace withheld when the enemy comes to terms."

Thus, Zihad is very much a defensive one and it should not be misinterpreted by the ignorant or vested quarters. The fact is that Zihad has long been a concept of misunderstanding and misinterpretation. Zihad, as was, is the last resort of Muslims as a defensive step, while they are attacked by evil forces, and are victims of oppression.

We should have a view of the limitation ordained by Allah. Zihad is not permitted when the enemy 'incline towards peace'. Peace is the ultimate goal of Islam. So, the Holy Quran directs the believers : "And if they incline to peace, incline thou also to it, and trust in Allah. Lo! He is the Hearer, the Knower." (Verse 61, Al-Anfal 8, The Meanings of the Glorious Qur'an by Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall)

"But if the enemy/Incline towards peace,/Do thou (also) incline/Towards peace, and trust/ in God: for He is the One/that heareth and knoweth/(All things)." (Verse 61, Al Anfal. 8, The Holy Quran Translation and Commentary by Allama Yusuf Ali)

Allama Yusuf Ali's comment in this regard: "While we must always be ready for the good fight lest it be forced on us, even in the midst of the fight we must always be ready for peace if there is any inclination towards peace on the other side. There is no merit merely in a fight by itself. It should be a joyful duty not for itself, but to establish the reign of peace and righteousness and God's Law."

With this background of the Zihad of Badar, the strategy of fighting against aggression is to be framed. Muslims are 'wronged.' The innocent people are being massacred and their properties being demolished in the name of war against terror. And, here the Quran voices for defence. : "Sanction (to fight) is given unto those who are fought against, because they have been wronged ; and Allah is indeed able to give them victory ;" (Verse 39, Al-Hajj-22, The Meanings of the Glorious Qur'an by Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall)

The other translation : "To those against whom/War is made, permission/ Is given (to fight), because/ They are wronged; - and verily,/God is Most Powerful/ For their aid ;" (Verse 39, Al-Hajj 22, The Holy Quran Translation and Commentary by A. Yusuf Ali)

Allama Yusuf Ali comments on 'To those whom war is made' in the following lines : "Several translators have failed to notice that yuqataluna (in the best-approved texts) is in the passive voice, "against whom war is made," -- not "who take arms against the unbelievers" as Sale translates it. The clause "and verily .... their aid" is parenthetical. Verse 40 connects on with "they are wronged". The wrong is indicated : 'driven by persecution from their home, for no other reason than that they worshipped the One True God.' This was the first occasion on which fighting - in self-defence - was permitted. This passage, therefore undoubtedly dates from Medina." (The Holy Quran : Translation and Commentary)


Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
My Orecchiette with Kale and Turkey Sausage is a delicious and hearty pasta dish that you'll love! I toss ear-shaped pasta (orecchiette) with nutritious kale and savory turkey sausage. Then I top it all off with toasted, lemony breadcrumbs.



My husband Pete and I often joke around about how I rarely cook the same dish twice. Such is the life of a food blogger! While most people have dinner staples that they use in a weekly rotation, in my house its the opposite. Im always experimenting in the kitchen, cooking up new dishes for the blog every week.

However, there are a few dishes that are our favorites, ones I turn to when I want a comforting, reliable, delicious meal. My Orecchiette with Kale and Turkey Sausage is one of those dishes. I created it many years ago and it never disappoints.

Hearty pasta tossed with fresh kale and savory turkey sausage, all topped off with crunchy, lemony breadcrumbs how can you go wrong?

Although many of us associate turkey with the holidays, I like to cook with turkey all year round. Turkey is a healthy, lean protein. It's flavorful and versatile and can be used in meals any time of day, all year round.

I use turkey quite often in my cooking. Its a great canvas to absorb and enhance bold flavors. Plus, there are a variety of cuts available. Try turkey ground meat, turkey sausage, turkey tenderloin or turkey drumsticks the next time youre at the grocery store.

If I had to choose a favorite pasta shape, I think I would have to go with orecchiette. Not a common shape, orecchiette is a type of pasta from southern Italy that means little ears because of its unique shape.

It has a curved contour with a thinner center and slightly thicker outer edge, giving it a pleasant chewy texture. Plus that curved shape is just perfect for catching little pieces of delicious turkey sausage and kale- yum!

I toss the orecchiette with turkey sausage and one of my favorite vegetables- kale. I like to use Tuscan kale, which is also known as Lacinato or Dinosaur kale. A powerhouse of nutrients, its more delicate and less bitter than traditional curly kale.

It works beautifully in this dish complemented by the savory turkey sausage, citrusy lemon, and nutty Pecorino Romano cheese.

Read my post all about the health benefits of kale.

To top it all off, I like to sprinkle the finished dish with my homemade gremolata breadcrumbs. Gremolata is a traditional Italian condiment made with lemon zest, garlic and parsley and is typically served on top of meat dishes.

I add toasted whole wheat breadcrumbs to this delightful mixture and the result is a crunchy, lemony topping that adds a punch of flavor and texture to the finished pasta dish.

So the next time youre looking for a delicious pasta dish to add to your dinner rotation, try my Orecchiette with Kale and Turkey Sausage. Both of my kids love it too- they gobble it up, kale and all!

More tasty recipes

WANT MORE HEALTHY RECIPES?

Sign up for my email list and I'll send you my FREE Superfood Recipes eBook along with weekly recipes and health & wellness tips!

Also, follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest!
Paris, TX (75460)

Today

Cloudy skies with periods of rain late. Low 52F. SE winds shifting to NNE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Cloudy skies with periods of rain late. Low 52F. SE winds shifting to NNE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
Three vehicle crashes that all took place within two hours of one another Sunday claimed the lives of four people.

In Union County, Illinois State Police responded to a crash on Interstate 57 at mile marker 23.5 at 11:10 a.m. ISP said a Ford Mustang, driven by Tonya K. Mayo of Fort Smith, Arkansas, was traveling south on I-57, when the car left the roadway and crossed the median into oncoming traffic, and struck a commercial motor vehicle that had a trailer, driven by Rolando J. Miranda, of Mexico. The Mustang was run over by the trailer. Mayo and an 8-year-old passenger were both killed in the crash. Mayo was 49. Miranda was uninjured.

At 12:50 p.m. Sunday, ISP responded to a single-vehicle crash on Interstate 24, at mile marker 18 in Johnson County. Donald E. Braswell, of Imperial, Missouri, was driving a Gulfstream motor home when the left front tire failed, causing the vehicle to veer into the median. Karen Braswell, also of Imperial, was ejected from the vehicle. She was pronounced dead on the scene. She was 60. Another passenger, Mary Allen, also of Imperial, suffered life-threatening injuries and was flown from the scene.

Moments later, at 12:56 p.m., ISP responded to another crash on I-57, at mile post 81 in Jefferson County. A Mazda driven by Cole Y. Stevens of Energy was traveling north on the interstate, when the vehicle veered across the median and into oncoming traffic. Stevens struck a Jeep head-on that was driven by Emma F. Caserotti. Caserotti died in the crash. She was 18. Her passenger, Tristen A. Sharp, also 18 and of Mount Vernon, suffered major injuries and was flown to a regional hospital. Stevens and his passenger, Octavia M. Marshall of Carbondale, suffered minor injuries and went to a local hospital. I-57 southbound was closed for about five hours, according to ISP, and both vehicles sustained major damage.

The investigations into all three crashes are continuing.
Police Handout (KANSAS CITY, Kan.) -- A man who spent 17 years behind bars for a crime he has always said he didn't commit is now free after a case of mistaken identity.



The conviction of Richard Jones, 41, has been overturned after the Midwest Innocence Project and the University of Kansas School of Law helped uncover what is now believed to be a wrongful conviction due to eyewitness misidentification.



"I hope and prayed every day for this day to come, and when it finally got here it was an overwhelming feeling," Jones said in an interview with ABC News' "Good Morning America."



Jones was charged with aggravated robbery in Kansas City, Kansas, nearly 20 years ago after being accused of trying to steal a purse in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart in Roeland Park, Kansas. Jones had an alibi and no physical evidence, DNA or fingerprints ever linked him to the crime -- only two eyewitness identifications.



At the time, the witnesses told police that the suspect was either a light-skinned Hispanic or African-American man. Jones' photo was picked out of six mug shots by Tamara Scherer, the victim of the robbery, and Ronald Cohen, a security guard at the Walmart at the time of the robbery, according to a memorandum provided to ABC News by Alice Craig, Jones' attorney and professor at University of Kansas' Project for Innocence.



Those eyewitness testimonies ultimately landed him behind bars at the Lansing Correctional Facility in Lansing, Kansas.



The Kansas City Police and the Kansas Department of Corrections have not yet responded to ABC News' request for comment.



According to Jones' profile on the Kansas Criminal Justice Information System, he was released as of June 8 in Johnson County.



Jones, who adamantly maintained his innocence since his arrest 17 years ago, had tried unsuccessfully for 15 years to appeal his conviction, until he teamed up with the Midwest Innocence Project and the Project for Innocence at the University of Kansas School of Law. Jones said he told his attorneys that he had heard there was another man in incarceration who looked just like him.



Interns for the project found photos of another inmate in the Kansas state system named Ricky Amos, 39. The two men were close in age, had similar skin tone, the same facial hair and cornrows.



"Once I had seen his picture beside mine and I seen the resemblance me and him had, I just knew," Jones said. "It was understandable why other people would say the same thing."



Last week, a judge ordered Jones' release after witnesses, including the robbery victim, admitted they couldn't tell the Jones and Amos apart.



At his exoneration hearing, Jones saw his doppelganger for the first time. Amos has denied any involvement in the crime.



"It was hard," Jones said. "I won't say it was easy because it wasn't, but I made it through."



John Cowles, the original prosecutor on the case who is now a criminal defense attorney, said that Jones' conviction was based "solely on eyewitness identification."



Jones' alibi placed him at his girlfriend Tia Kidd's house in Kansas City, Missouri, on the day of the crime. Tia Kidd and her sister, Lisa Kidd, testified on Jones' behalf but he was ultimately convicted and sentenced to 19 years. Jones' sentence included time for four prior unrelated offenses on his record.



Cowles signed an affidavit after he said he was presented by The Innocence Project with the new evidence of the case where it involved Amos and the misidentification of Jones.



"I realized that we had very unfortunately convicted the wrong man," Cowles told ABC News. "We spoke at the hearing and he was appreciative and I wished him luck."



Amos was not incarcerated at the time the original crime took place, according to the Kansas Criminal Justice Information System. Because of the statute of limitations, Amos will not be charged for the 1999 robbery that Jones served time for, Cowles said.



Alice Craig, Jones' attorney, said Kansas does not have a compensation statute -- meaning there is no law allowing compensation for people of wrongful imprisonment. There is no word if Jones will file a lawsuit against the state, she added.



Jones said he is enjoying his family, keeping his faith in God and wants to work with The Innocence Project to give freedom to others who are wrongfully convicted.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
By Azernews





By Laman Ismayilova

The next edition of the international contemporary art exhibition Art Shopping has kicked off at the Carrousel du Louvre, France.

The event, which offers a selection of works to both see and purchase, brought together the well-known artists from all over the world and galleries to present works of contemporary art.

Azerbaijani Ambassador to France Elchin Amirbeyov, Head of the Permanent Delegation of Azerbaijan to UNESCO Anar Karimov, Chairperson of the Azerbaijani House in Paris, Secretary General of the French Association of Friends of Azerbaijan Mirvari Fataliyeva attending the opening of the exhibition.

Azerbaijani artists Maryam Alakbarli, Asmar Narimanbekova and Irradiyyat Mirzoyeva presented their works at the exhibition.

Born in 1991, Alakbarli developed a taste for painting and sculpting at a very early age. The artist chooses colors masterly. The inherent feeling of color distinguishes her art. She puts much sincerity, harmony and goodness into her paintings.

The artist's works have earned big success both in her motherland Azerbaijan and beyond its borders including Germany, Italy, Russia, Turkey Lithuania and France.

Having created her own painting style, Maryam reached a harmony of tones, indicating her high flair for choosing colors, as well as professionalism. Various artists emphasize her divine gift in choosing colors.

Asmar Narimanbekova was born in a family of eminent artists. Her father Togrul Narimanbekov, was world-famous Azerbaijani artist, while her mother Elmira Huseynova was a sculptor.



Narimanbekova is an artist full of light and enthusiastic soul. While creating works in different styles starting from fauvism to impressionism, then from postimpressionism to cubism and expressionism, the artist has found her individual creative manner of the letter, the original color sensation acting as a composition dominant. She has been characterized for her bold and engaging style.



The creativity of the national artist has been appreciated by art professionals, and many connoisseurs and art lovers. Her works are featured in many prestigious galleries in France, Russia, New York, Ankara, Beijing, Berlin and London.

Irradiyyat Mirzoyeva`s works have exhibited in many countries around the world.




By Azernews





By Rashid Shirinov

Joint tactical exercises involving troops of the Azerbaijani and Turkish armed forces began in Nakhchivan on June 12, Azerbaijans Defense Ministry reported.

The exercises are held in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the governments of Azerbaijan and Turkey.

The ministry noted that the goal of the exercises is to develop the coordination of troops through the exchange of experience between the armed forces and to achieve the interoperability between the military units of the two countries through the development of capabilities for joint operations.

The exercises will last until June 16.

The Azerbaijani Army, which today is considered the most modern army in the Caucasus, consists of Air Force and Air Defense Forces, the Navy, and the Land Forces.

The skills and combat readiness of the Azerbaijani army are growing year by year, as the countrys Armed Forces regularly conduct military exercises. The Azerbaijani army is supplied with modern weapons and technical equipment for maintaining a high level of combat capability.

The army building process is of particular importance for Azerbaijan, as twenty percent of the country's territory is under Armenian occupation and the country is in a state of war with Armenia.
By Azernews





By Rashid Shirinov

Azerbaijans National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) cleared a territory of 24,864 square meters in the liberated Jojug Marjanli village of Azerbaijans Jabrayil region on June 10, ANAMA reported.

As a result, the Agency discovered 859 fragments of exploded ammunition.

In general, ANAMA has cleared a territory of over 2.5 million square meters and 151 houses since the beginning of clearance operations in Jojug Marjanli.

The village was fully liberated from the Armenian occupation in April 2016, when Azerbaijani Armed Forces prevented an Armenian provocation on the contact line. To protect civilian population, the Azerbaijani army launched counter attacks and as a result, the Azerbaijani troops retook hills around the village of Talish, as well as Seysulan settlement, and also took over Leletepe hill located in the direction of Fizuli region.

In late January, President Ilham Aliyev ordered to restore Jojug Marjanli. Under the order, 4 million manats were allocated for the construction of 50 private houses, a school building and relevant infrastructure at the first stage.

Moreover, President Aliyev signed an order on additional measures to construct the road leading to the liberated Jojug Marjanli village and allocated 4.3 million manats from the state budget for the construction of 9 km long highway in the village.




By Azernews





By Amina Nazarli

Baku celebrated the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Australia.

The event was attended by Australias Minister of International Development and Pacific Concetta Fierravanti-Wells and other officials of Australia, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on International Relations and Inter-Parliamentary Relations Samad Seyidov, Head of the Azerbaijan-Australia interparliamentary friendship group, MP Khanlar Fatiyev and others.

Fierravanti-Wells noted that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Australia recognized the independence of Azerbaijan and diplomatic relations were established between the two countries.

During these years, the relations between the two countries developed along a growing line and reached a high level. A number of documents on cooperation were also signed between the two countries in a number of areas.

Azerbaijan and Australia have great potential for developing relations, she said, stressing that both countries are effectively cooperating in the international arena.

Australian specialists took part in organizing the first European Games, Formula 1 competitions, the 4th Islamic Solidarity Games and other international events in Azerbaijan, according to her.



I can say with satisfaction that the number of Australian tourists in Azerbaijan is increasing, she added.

Fierravanti-Wells went on to say that the inter-parliamentary relations between Azerbaijan and Australia are developing well, in which the inter-parliamentary working group plays an important role.

In turn, Seyidov said that after the establishment of diplomatic relations, cooperation between the two countries went a long way of development.

He noted that Australia has always supported the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. "This position of Australia is of great importance for Azerbaijan," Seyidov said.

The Azerbaijani parliamentarian stressed the great potential for development of cooperation between the two countries.




By Azernews





By Rashid Shirinov

Azerbaijans Minister of Defense, Colonel-General Zakir Hasanov met with Commander of Land Forces of Turkey, General of the Army Salih Zeki Colak in Baku on June 12.

Hasanov noted that military cooperation between the two countries is conducted both on a bilateral basis and within the framework of NATO, Azertac reported. The minister particularly emphasized the expansion of ties in the military, military-technical sphere and in the field of military education.

Speaking with deep satisfaction about his next visit to Azerbaijan, Colak noted the importance of conducting tactical exercises in Nakhchivan.

He also stressed that the ties of the two countries have ancient historical roots and are based on friendly traditions, adding that Azerbaijan is an important partner of Turkey.

Then a wide exchange of views took place on the military-political situation in the region, the prospects for the development of ties between the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan and Turkey, the organization of reciprocal visits of delegations of experts with the purpose of exchanging experience, conducting military exercises in both countries with the participation of various branches of Armed Forces, as well as on other issues of mutual interest.

Zeki Colak was also awarded the Medal "For Merits in the Sphere of Military Cooperation" for his contribution to strengthening military cooperation between the two countries.

Azerbaijan and Turkey enjoy strong military cooperation. The two brotherly countries regularly hold joint military exercises.




By Azernews





By Kamila Aliyeva

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is expected to pay a high-level visit to Ashgabat on June 17, the Turkmen government reported, adding that the agenda has already been agreed.

High-level meetings are planned to be held in accordance with the program. The two sides also plan to sign a set of documents aimed at further boosting mutually beneficial partnership between the UN and Turkmenistan.

Partnership Framework for Development (PFD), agreed between the Government of Turkmenistan and the United Nations, is a strategic programme framework for development that will guide the work of Turkmenistan and UN until the end of 2020.

Over the past ten years, Turkmenistan, together with UN specialized agencies, has implemented more than 260 projects in various spheres in accordance with the previously adopted framework programs.

Turkmenistan was elected to the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development for the period of 2017-2020, the UN Commission on Population and Development for the period of 2016-2020 and the UN Commission on Social Development for the period of 2017-2021.

Ashgabat called to convene this year a special conference under the auspices of the UN, dedicated to improving the ecological situation in Central Asia. Turkmenistan also put forward an initiative on the development of the UN Water Strategy.

The Central Asian Nation has put forward a number of international initiatives on the issue of ensuring reliable energy supplies to world markets, saying that the legal mechanism could allow taking into account the interests of producers, buyers and transit countries.
By Trend





Iran and Turkey are putting the finishing touches to their policies toward the creation of de-escalation zones in Syria in expectation of a trilateral meeting with Russia to pursue their unified front in the war-torn Arab country.

Irans Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi told a press conference that in a last week trip to Turkey, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had thoroughly discussed the matter with the Turkish side, Trend correspondent reported from the event June 12.

We are now on a better ground and I think we will have more chances of cooperation in the next Astana meeting, Qassemi said.

Tehran, Moscow, and Ankara are going to discuss their approach to the de-escalation zones in an upcoming meeting in Moscow at the expert level, the spokesman noted.

The Russian Foreign Ministry on the same day announced the next round of Astana talks will be held on June 20.

Iran, Russia, and Turkey support the position of Syrian President Bashar Assad against dissidents, confronting a rival front, comprised notably of the United States and Saudi Arabia, which tries to topple Assad.
The UAE is ranked 12th on the list of top countries for foreign direct investment (FDI) for the period from 2017 through 2019, according to the World Investment Report 2017 released by UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), a report said.



The FDI inflows into the UAE grew by 2.2 per cent in 2016 to $9 billion from $8.8 billion in 2015, Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, Minister of Economy, was quoted as saying by WAM, the Emirates official news agency.



"The country is developing well thought-out strategies in line with the National Agenda of the UAE Vision 2021 by aligning efforts and ensuring synergies across all sectors at the federal and local levels in alignment with the directives of our wise leadership," the minister added.



FDI is considered a key enabler for sustainable economic growth on account of its significant role in ensuring cash inflows for mega-sized developmental projects and despite the decline in global FDI rates in 2016 comparatively with 2015, the foreign investment inflows to the country increased, he added.



UNCTAD criteria for assessing FDI sets a threshold of 10 per cent of equity ownership to qualify an investor as a foreign direct investor, said the minister, noting that there are myriad foreign investments in the country below this 10 per cent equity ownership and thats why if these investments are calculated, the total FDI in the country would go beyond the $9 billion mark.



He expected more FDIs to the country over the coming five years as a direct result of the mega projects launched in areas of renewable energy and retail industries, adding that the cumulative FDIs to the UAE jumped to $117.9 billion by the end of 2016 from $109 billion by the end of 2015, a growth of 8.2 per cent supported by increasing investments in areas of transformational and other heavy industries, including aluminium and petrochemicals, in addition to other sectors, like tourism and aviation.



UAE-bound FDI until the end of 2016 accounted for 16.9 per cent of total FDI to Western Asian nations, with UAE claiming 26.5 per cent of total FDI to GCC by the end of 2016.



The UAE came second only to Turkey on the list of top countries attracting FDI in West Asia, accounting for 32.3 per cent of total FDIs coming to the region during 2016, which are estimated at $27.8 billion, he stated, adding that the UAE comes on top of GCC states on the same list, claiming 50.2 per cent of the total FDI, estimated at $17.9 billion during the same year.



The UAE boasts a stable investment-conducive and business-friendly environment supported by resilient infrastructure and robust legislation that woo investors from all over the world, the minister stressed.



With regards to UAE investments aboard, the UAE came on top of Western Asian countries , accounting for 50.9 per cent of total foreign investment flows from West Asia to different world countries, the minister said, putting at $15.7 billion the value of UAE investment outflows during 2016.



The report indicated a remarkable increase of 97 per cent in the value of mergers completed by UAE companies overseas, rising from $5.87 billion in 2015 to $11.57 billion in 2016, making up to 59.3 per cent of total merger operations conducted by companies in West Asia in 2016.
Amec Foster Wheeler, a leading engineering company, said it has been awarded a five-year contract by state oil giant Saudi Aramco, for facilities required as part of the integrated oil and gas expansion of the Marjan offshore and onshore oilfield in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.



Under the five-year contract, Amec Foster Wheeler will deliver the pre-Front End Design (pre-Feed), overall programme management besides Feed and other support services for an additional 300,000 barrels per day gas/oil separation train, a world scale greenfield gas processing plant, a cogeneration facility and modifications to an existing facility to add natural gas liquids fractionation capacity, said the company in a statement.



This award supports the continued development of Amec Foster Wheelers capability and capacity to deliver in Saudi Arabia, it added.



Nick Shorten, the president, Upstream Capital Projects, Amec Foster Wheeler, said: "We have played a key role in many of Saudi Aramcos major upstream and downstream investments."



"With our successful track record with Saudi Aramco stretching back more than 50 years, this latest award for this major oilfield expansion programme is a real vote of confidence in our technical expertise and our ability to deliver large and complex projects, plus our long-term commitment to local development," he added.-TradeArabia News Service




Saudi Arabia has recently injected an additional $400 million as part of a Saudi-Egyptian loan agreement to develop the Sinai Peninsula, said a report, citing a senior Egyptian minister.



With this investment, the kingdom's total funding in Sinai through its Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) has risen to around $900 million, Egyptian Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr told Amwal Al Ghad.



The agreement, titled King Salman's programme for the development of the peninsula of Sinai, was signed by officials of both countries in the Saudi capital Riyadh last year.



The pact was aimed at giving Egypt a $1.5 billion soft loan to help it develop Sinai region and buy Saudi oil products needed for development purposes.



The programme includes the construction of King Salman's University in Al Tor city besides funding a series of agricultural and irrigation projects, and upgrading North Sinai's network of roads.
Emerson, a global technology and engineering company, said it has signed an agreement with Saudi Aramco to collaborate on digital transformation of the global oil giant's operations in the kingdom.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was inked by David Farr, Emersons chairman and chief executive officer and Amin Nasser, Saudi Aramco's president and CEO, during the recently held Saudi-US CEO Forum in Riyadh.

It will help bring advanced digitisation and automation technologies to one of the leading energy and chemicals companies.

Emerson was one of several companies chosen by Saudi Aramco to promote bilateral trade and investment between Saudi Arabia and the US and to further cement the strong historic relations between the two countries.

"This collaboration will aid in strengthening the digital transformation of Saudi Aramco," remarked Farr. "More doors will be opened for developing talent and training our workforce across the kingdom," he noted.

The agreement paves the way for Emerson to explore collaboration with Saudi Aramco in the following areas:

Use of Emersons Plantweb digital ecosystem, which utilises the Industrial Internet of Things, wireless, and smart instrumentation technologies;

Training for Saudi Aramco employees;

Digital oil field initiatives;

Research and development of advanced applications for process automation;

Consultancy services in the areas of reliability, energy conservation, and flow assurance; and

Emersons Project Certainty initiative to help Saudi Aramco reduce costs and schedules for future projects.

As part of the agreement, Emerson will continue investing in the kingdom by training Saudi Aramco engineers and technicians through its educational facility and creating more jobs for Saudi locals, remarked Farr.

The US engineering major will also provide Saudi Aramco with its operational certainty offerings which are designed to increase the reliability of existing facilities and get more value out of existing assets.

Emersons continued support for Saudi Aramco is reflected in the development of its own facility in Dhahran Techno Valley that is currently under construction, he stated.

The company is investing $25 million in this facility to provide support and services to the oil and gas, mining and other process industries across Saudi Arabia, he added.

The Emerson facility will contain offices, training facilities for local talent development, a service and light manufacturing workshop, a technology and collaboration centre, as well as laboratories specialising in control systems, flow metering technologies, and research and development. It is scheduled for completion in January 2018.-TradeArabia News Service
Dubai Properties, a leading Dubai-based real estate master developer and asset manager, has launched the sales of its Casa Viva townhouses, marking the third phase of its master-planned, family-friendly Serena community at Dubailand.

Inspired by Spanish design and architecture, Casa Viva comprises more than 400 two- and three-bedroom townhouses. Serena features a total of four affordable residential sectors that will be served by three community centres, as well as a lifestyle plaza, stated the emirati developer.

This makes Casa Viva an ideal investment opportunity for families seeking a dynamic, vibrant and energetic lifestyle in an efficiently designed community that promises affordability, superior quality construction and finishing, as well as world-class amenities, it added.

The launch of these affordable residential townhouses was held today (June 12) at the newly opened Dubai Properties Sales Gallery in Vision Tower, Business Bay, said a statement from Dubai Properties.

It come close on the heels of the successful sales of Phase One and Two of the master-planned community - Bella Casa and Casa Dora respectively, it stated.

Masood Al Awar, the chief officer-commercial at Dubai Properties, said: "Through the launch of Casa Viva in Serena, Dubai Properties is enhancing the affordable housing segment and market dynamics - one of our key objectives for 2017. With this launch, we continue to support Dubais vision of addressing the diversified needs of its residents."

Located within the Dubailand district, Serena offers direct access to Emirates Road, and is situated next to Layan and Al Waha communities.

The 8.2-million-sq-ft master-development features a variety of amenities including recreational facilities, swimming pools, fully fitted-out gym, play areas, and a healthcare facility. Away from the bustle of city life, Serena is surrounded by lush green spaces and differentiated neighbourhoods that enable its residents to thrive and enhance their overall quality of life.

"Our investors and end-users have come to expect competitive payment options, desirable quality homes, sought-after facilities and an overall valuable lifestyle when they choose a Dubai Properties home," remarked Al Awar.

"Similar to our earlier launches at Serena - Casa Dora and Bella Casa - we are confident that Casa Viva will attract a huge uptake from Dubais residents," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
LG Chem, a Korea-based company principally engaged in the manufacture of petrochemical materials, said it has been signed up by the UAE-based Metito as the sole supplier of reverse osmosis (RO) membranes for the upcoming seawater desalination plant with a 300,000-tonne capacity that the global water treatment compant is building in Port Said in Egypt.



Once completed, it will the country's largest desalination plant which can provide fresh water to about two million people a day, according to the company statement.

LG Chem is scheduled to supply RO membranes from the second half of this year, it stated.



The Korean group is stepping up its drive to lead the global water treatment market after winning Egypts largest project to turn sea water into fresh water. Last year, it won an order from a plant in Oman with 250,000-ton capacity.



These two contracts have brought LG Chem closer to the global market leadership, remarked Cheoldong Jeong, the president of IT&E Materials Company at LG Chem.



Salt concentration and water temperature in the Red Sea area including El Galalah are the highest in the world, requiring RO membranes to satisfy difficult conditions, stated Jeong.



However, LG Chems RO membranes are 25 per cent superior to competitors in terms of filtered water quality. They also save much energy, he pointed out.



LG Chem has earlier supplied its products to Coca Cola, Panasonic and other world renowned companies in the industrial RO membrane market, raising its global competitiveness. It also has expanded its customer base to various industrial fields at home and abroad.



The company has also provided its products to Kepco in Korea, Shoaiba power plant in Saudi Arabia, Petrobras, a Brazilian petroleum corporation, and the waste water treatment plant of the city of Scottsdale in Arizona, US.



"We will provide our global customers with differentiated values by utilizing our worldwide sales and technical support network of more than 16 countries," noted Jeong.



"We will also take the initiative in the global market leadership with bold and proactive investments, he added. -TradeArabia News Service
Elevate Social Businesses, in partnership with the King Abdullah II Fund for Development (KAFD), has launched a new initiative to empower women in Jordan with training on entrepreneurship skills, supply essential products for sale in low-income Jordanian communities, and create a womens network.



Elevate Jordan will work with 100 women in the Mafraq region which has been impacted by a large refugee influx, in its six-month pilot project, providing them with a new livelihood opportunity to improve the quality of life for themselves and their families. Elevate and KAFD recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding reflecting their commitment to this new project.



Elevate Jordan is an opportunity for non-profit organizations, the Jordanian government, and the private sector to engage and collaborate on womens empowerment. Elevate Jordan is working closely with the Jordan River Foundation in its outreach to women and is looking to partner with local and international manufacturers and distributors of food and consumer products.



Frank Giustra, president and founder of the Radcliffe Foundation and chairman of Elevate, said: I am delighted that we can support Jordanian women and further our commitment to create livelihood opportunities for both Jordanian women and refugees through an inclusive distribution social business model. We are tapping into the entrepreneurial potential of women and helping communities access products at affordable prices.



Emad N Fakhouri, chairman of King Abdullah II Fund for Development, stressed on the importance of this private  public sector partnership in Jordan for the benefit of increasing job opportunities among targeted local communities. Echoing the main focus on such initiatives to empower local women by providing them with the necessary financial and training resources required to enhance their lives and creating a positive outcome for their families, in addition to reinforcing their contribution within the sustainable developmental efforts in the local community.



Only 19 per cent of all women residing in Jordan are currently employed, and a majority of those women (57 per cent) would work if they had the opportunity. A recent study released by UN Women suggests that external obstacles to the labour market are the bigger hurdle to womens economic empowerment rather than womens individual attitudes.



More than just a livelihood opportunity, Elevate Jordan is a means to bring strength and dignity back to unemployed Jordanian women as well as to refugee women, a statement said.



Elevate Jordan will empower women to provide for their families and to draw on the strength that comes from being part of a womens network.  TradeArabia News Service
The American University of Ras Al Khaimah (Aurak) has signed a co-operation agreement with Ireland's University of Limerick which will see its students take part in short-term study abroad programmes,



With this deal, the University of Limerick, which is based in the south-west of Ireland, ha become Auraks eighth European partner, alongside universities in England, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland and Spain.



The MoU intends to stimulate intercultural activities and projects between the two universities, including study abroad and student exchange opportunities, said a statement from Aurak.



This arrangement would allow students to take part in short-term study abroad programmes, or a student exchange for a period of up to one year. The partnership also promotes faculty exchange and research collaboration, it said.



Aurak also has more than 10 North American partners, as well as partner institutions in Asia and Africa.



A delegation from the Irish university visited Ras Al Khaimah in February in order to meet representatives from Auraks School of Engineering. The school offers 10 undergraduate programmes, with the objective of having all of them accredited by ABET by 2020, it added.



Prof Hassan Hamdan Al Alkim, president of Aurak, said: Developing new partnerships with universities across the world is always exciting. This new partnership represents a wonderful opportunity for our students to study in Western Europe, and hope to receive students from Ireland who are interested in experiencing life in Ras Al Khaimah.



I firmly believe in cross-cultural exchange and the wide range of mutual benefits that it brings, he said.



Liam Ryan from University of Limerick's international education division, said: We welcome the partnership with Aurak and the opportunities for collaboration that it brings.



We hope to provide pathways for Aurak students to further their studies in Ireland while also sending Irish students to experience the academic and cultural life in Ras Al Khaimah, he added.



Dr Richard Gauvain, dean of academic support services at Aurak, said: Study abroad experiences help students to contextualise and broaden their overall educational experiences.



These days, I can think of no venue more culturally rewarding for our study abroad students than Limerick, he added.  TradeArabia News Service
Sehteq, a leading medical tourism facilitator, has invested in Dubai-based start-up Udenz, a web and mobile platform that enables patients to search, compare and book dental appointments in a bid to promote Dubai as a dental tourism hub.



The announcement coincides as part of a much larger pre-series A[IS1] round that Udenz is currently raising which includes an equity crowdfunding campaign with multi-regulated platform Eureeca, in which the dental platform is targeting Dh1 million ($272,000) in investment. Sehteq has committed a larger amount to Udenz over multiple milestones, a statement said.



Sehteqs investment in Udenz is in line with the vision of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai  and chairman of Executive Council, to launch Dubai as a Global Destination for Medical Tourism in 2016. The initiative has a target of over 500,000 international medical tourists by 2020.



Udenz is a hyper-growth startup and has tripled their network of dentist over the past few months. Today, Udenz lists more than 2,000 verified dentists in the region, said Dr Saif Al Jaibeji, co-founder of Sehteq.



Udenz was listed by Forbes Magazine among 50 startups to watch in UAE in 2016, and the company acquired 60,000 users from Dubai and the GCC since the launch of its mobile app and more than 10 thousand searches on its website.



This investment will help us to continue our growth path and introduce new revenue streams from dental tourism packages based on Sehteqs successful diagnostic and surgical treatment packages, said Dr Hisham Safadi, Udenzs founder and CEO. Sehteq is global award winner having been named as the best medical tourism facilitator exceeding 5,000 referrals.



All of Sehteqs medical tourism packages sell very well to corporate buyers, including government and insurance companies, and also to individual patients, and we are confident this partnership will bring the Sehteq know-how to Udenz and reflect positively on our growth moving forward, added Manoj Aheeray, Udenzs Co-Founder.



Sehteq and Udenz have launched dental and medical tourism packages under the hashtag #smilenolz which is a combination of Emirati Arabic and English meaning lets go smile. The campaign will cover new end-to-end smile (dental and cosmetic) medical tourism packages available for Udenz users at a fixed, highly discounted rate. The packages include travel and accommodation in order to make it affordable for more people to have the perfect smile and spread happiness.  TradeArabia News Service
The percentage of consumers in the UAE, Russia and China claiming to have increased their spending in the luxury market in the last five years was 70 per cent, compared to 53 per cent in the more mature markets such as the EU, US and Japan, a report said.



The fourth annual Global Powers of Luxury Goods report issued by professional services provider Deloitte Global examines and lists the 100 largest luxury goods companies globally, based on publicly available data for consolidated sales of luxury goods in FY2015 (ending within the 12 months to 30 June 2016). It also discusses the key trends shaping the luxury market and provides a global economic outlook.



Travel and tourism is still a great growth opportunity for the luxury sector, said James Babb, Clients and Industries leader, Deloitte, Middle East.



Almost half of luxury purchases are made by consumers who are travelling, either in a foreign market (31 per cent) or while at the airport (16 per cent). This rises to 60 per cent among consumers from emerging markets, who typically do not have access to the same range of products and brands that can be found in more mature markets.



The market in the Middle East continues to represent a big opportunity for luxury brands: luxury markets in Abu Dhabi and Dubai have helped to promote these cities as desirable shopping destinations. Well established big-name brands have performed well in the region, and tourism is a major driver of sales in Dubai. However, the market saw a significant slowdown in 2016, caused by the low oil prices, higher gold prices and an increase in the cost of living, added Babb.





The region is likely to feel the impact of political unrest as well as global economic uncertainty, but further growth is nevertheless expected as Dubai and Abu Dhabi continue to be attractive shopping destinations.



Based on publicly available data, the worlds 100 largest luxury goods companies generated sales of $212 billion in FY2015. The average luxury goods annual sales for a top 100 company is now $2.1 billion.



The essence of luxury is changing from an emphasis on the physical to a focus on the experiential and how luxury makes you feel, said Babb. However premium quality remains a must have and consumers retain a keen eye for craftsmanship and hand-made products.



Key findings from the report include:



 Luxury goods sales growth up  sales for the world's 100 largest luxury goods companies grew by more than 3 percentage points in FY2015. Most currencies weakened significantly against the US dollar, which benefited many multinational companies based in other regions who experienced favourable currency effects, driving up reported sales. In the Top 100, only six companies reported double-digit sales decline in FY2015; half of these were jewellers, the product sector which continued to experience volatile demand.



 Italy is once again the leading luxury goods country in terms of number of companies, while France has the highest share of sales  with 26 companies in the Top 100, Italy has more than double the number based in France. However, the predominantly family-owned Italian companies are much smaller, with average luxury goods size of $1.3 billion, which is around a quarter of the average US$5.1 billion luxury goods sales for the French companies.



 Companies in the multiple luxury goods sector nearly double sales growth  compared to the previous year and leads profitability, while bags and accessories continues to be the fastest growth sector.  TradeArabia News Service
Swiss watchmaker Longines, with the participation of its Ambassador of Elegance Kate Winslet, recently presented the Flagship Heritage by Kate Winslet watch at Faubourg Saint-Honore in Paris, France.



Three models of this exclusive gold watch, which was produced in a very limited edition and named after the brand ambassador, will be auctioned online for the benefit of The Golden Hat Foundation, a charity co-founded by the British actress.



The Flagship Heritage by Kate Winslet features the same dial as The Flagship Heritage  60th Anniversary 1957-2017.



The Flagship Heritage by Kate Winslet watch is the result of a common project for the benefit of the Golden Hat Foundation, a charity co-founded by Kate Winslet, which is dedicated to changing the way people on the autism spectrum are perceived.



During a visit to the brands headquarters in Switzerland last year, the actress chose the dial, the case and strap of the watch. Five gold pieces have been produced and named after the brand ambassador.



The models numbered 2/5, 3/5 and 4/5 will be auctioned for the Foundation. The auction will take place online on Longines website from June 10 to 30.



The first remaining timepiece will be presented to Kate Winslet and the second will be kept in the Longines museum, located at the companys headquarters, in Saint-Imier, Switzerland.



I was given the permission to choose a watch, which was designed specifically for the Golden Hat Foundation, said Winslet.



The style of the model really appealed to me and I instantly fell in love with it. All the profits of the selling of the model are going directly to the Foundation. This project with Longines is helping raise awareness about a particular cause dear to my heart. Thanks to Longines involvement and the generosity of the donators, the Foundation will keep on working towards achieving its goals.  TradeArabia News Service
Namma Intl Digitec (NDIGITEC), a leading UAE-based innovative, media, creative production company, has launched its latest solution  the augmented reality business card, offering companies new opportunities for brand engagement.



The solution allows companies to engage their target audience through its own Augmented Reality App published on the Google Play and Apple App store. The target customer can then downloads the app for free and scan the tracker (printed on the companys business card) with their smart phone or tablet devices and view media content of the company.



The solution helps companies in driving profitability with consistent communications with customers. This new age technology is not only a shot in the arm for businesses but also gives them a clear competitive edge, a statement said.



The innovative concept of the AR Business Card can also be incorporated onto a wide range of marketing collateral such as business cards, brochures and custom-printed merchandise such as t-shirts, mugs, calendars, mousepads and more.



The content showcased on the App can be updated frequently to maximize customer interaction periodically. It underlines the futuristic business outlook that companies need to capitalize on interactive opportunities to engage with their customers through innovative solutions.



Companies can request for their customized AR Business Card by placing their order online at Dubaiprint.com, according to the statement.



Yeghig Bekerian, executive manager of Dubaiprint.com said: Marketing materials need not be static; they can be completely dynamic in nature by incorporating the latest AR business solutions. NDIGITEC adds value to the AR Business Card solution by offering to develop media content for companies specific to the App and in general as well.



As an example, Dubaiprint.com has invited companies to explore the solution through the NDIGITEC AR Business Card App as a reference, which is currently available on the Google Play Store for Android devices and for iOS devices on the Apple App Store.  TradeArabia News Service
Al Tamimi & Company, one of the leading law firms in the Middle East, has appointed Alex Ghazi, former group general counsel and company secretary for Arabtec Holding, as its new head of office recruit who will be based in Abu Dhabi.



Ghazi has over 21 years experience having spent most of his career as a corporate and commercial lawyer, involved in various international transactions. Over the years, he led various legal teams and departments in different industrial sectors, starting from real estate development, to automotive, to construction, said a statement from Al Tamimi.



He obtained his LLM (Masters Degree) in International Business Law in 1993, from France, and after training and working with Clifford Chance in Paris and Dubai.



He then moved to Marriott International in Dubai and then London, heading the legal department for Europe and the Middle East. He later became the chief legal officer for Abdul Latif Jameel in Jeddah before joining Arabtec, in July 2013 as chief legal officer for Arabtec Construction, it stated.



Welcoming the appointment, Husam Hourani, the managing partner at Al Tamimi & Company, said: "We are delighted to have secured Ghazi for this important position as we look to further establish our presence in Abu Dhabi."



"The past five years have seen very strong results from the firm with 56 per cent increase in revenue for the Abu Dhabi office, at a time where we have seen firms exit the market," he remarked.



Besides being an outstanding lawyer, he is also very much admired for his leadership and commitment to providing superior legal services. We are very pleased to welcome him to the firm as head of office and look forward to the future with him at the helm of the office there," he added.



On his new role, Ghazi said: "With the on-going mergers in Abu Dhabi, there is an evident paradigm shift in the market: the focus has turned to productivity, profitability and accountability. With the increased competition, the rules and regulations become stricter and all the players will need to ensure full and continued compliance."



"But above all, they will also require a clearer vision of the anticipated changes. Al Tamimi, with its vast local experience and regional presence, should be the right business partner to help evolve and adapt to the new market conditions," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri), a global leader in transportation and logistics, has signed an agreement with King Abdulaziz University (KAU) to provide training opportunities to KAUs Marine Sciences graduates on board its vessels.



Bahri will offer intensive practical training for students undergoing marine navigation and engineering programmes at KAU as part of its Bahri Society initiative, said a statement from the company.



The move comes in line with Bahri's commitment to contribute towards achieving Saudi Vision 2030 and its ongoing efforts to train Saudi youth, improve skills and develop their expertise in the maritime sector, it added.



Under the terms of the agreement, Bahri will find a berth on board its managed vessels for KAU Marine Sciences students, allowing the cadets to carry out their sea time and any other tasks or projects which they are required to complete as part of their study programme.



The company will ensure that the cadets have suitable accommodation and food on board and are treated in the same manner as any cadet that Bahri would employ on board its vessels.



As part of this sponsorship agreement, Bahri will absorb the costs involved for each cadet that undergoes training on board its vessels. These costs will include airfare, visa, monthly salary and food allowance, it stated.



The companys senior maritime officers will assess the trainees based on the procedures applied by Bahri, thus contributing to the enhancement of training outcomes.



The programme, which includes 60 cadets in this year's edition, will involve practical maritime services training on board Bahris commercial vessels, where the student is trained in two phases for six months each.



On completion, the students return to the Faculty of Marine Sciences to complete the curriculum to obtain their Certificate of Graduation based on their specialisation (navigation or marine engineering), said a statement.



Ali A Al Harbi, the acting CEO of Bahri, said: "As one of the leading companies in transportation and logistics, we are committed to recruiting and training the best marine officers and engineers in the world and facilitating the continuous development of our human resources."



Identifying and supporting young talent is one of the main pillars of our Bahri Society initiative. As part of this initiative, we have launched a training programme for marine sciences students that will enable them to enrich their knowledge and gain practical experience in a diverse work environment, he said.



Abdulaziz Sabri, acting president, Bahri Ship Management, said: The aim of the programme is to develop the skills of young cadres and enhance their talents within a well-designed scientific framework that will help drive the growth of the marine sector at both the local and international levels.



Sabri pointed out that, upon graduation, the students will get the chance to work at Bahri and secure their career.



Last year's programme included 29 students from King Abdulaziz University and 27 students from Saudi Aramco, working in the department of docks and maritime management, it added.  TradeArabia News Service
Netherlands-based Damen Shipyards Group has been awarded a contract to construct two 81-metre ferries by Canadian ferry operator BC Ferries as part of ongoing fleet renewal programme.



BC Ferries operates 24 ferry routes along the coast of British Columbia, Canada. These new vessels will be able to cover many of the companys routes to the Northern and Southern Gulf Islands off the coast of Vancouver, it added.



Part of a fleet renewal programme, the new ferries will replace the 59-year old North Island Princess and the 53-year old Quadra Queen II.



Damen initially submitted its vessel designs to BC Ferries in March 2016 in response to a Request for Expressions of Interest that the Canadian company issued to the international shipbuilding industry, said a statement.



After attracting interest from no less than 28 shipyards, the highly competitive tender process proceeded in October 2016 when short-listed companies  including five Canadian shipyards  were invited to submit their bids. Damen was selected as the subsequent winner of this tender process.



Both vessels will be constructed at Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania and are expected to enter service in 2020. The 81-metre long design will have capacity to carry approximately 44 vehicles and up to 300 passengers and crew, it said.



Mark Wilson, vice president of engineering, BC Ferries, said: This is a design-build, fixed-priced contract that provides us with substantial guarantees related to delivery dates, performance criteria, cost certainty and quality construction.



A key objective of our fleet renewal programme and the acquisition of these two minor class vessels is to achieve capital and operating cost savings and efficiencies through an overall class and standardisation strategy, he said.



Damen Leo Postma, sales manager, Damen, said: We are extremely proud to be constructing these two vessels for BC Ferries.



Furthermore, we are looking forward to further developing our existing relationship with BC Ferries by building safe, reliable high quality ferries contributing to BC Ferries vessel replacement programme, he added.  TradeArabia News Service
Bahraini flag carrier Gulf Air said its chief executive officer Maher Salman Al Musallam has resigned.

In a brief statement on Sunday, the airline announced that the board of directors has accepted the resignation. No details concerning his succession or reasons for quitting were disclosed.



Al Musallam told our sister publication, the Gulf Daily News, that there was no particular reason for his decision: I would like to retire as I have been with Gulf Air for seven plus years."



The announcement comes after Gulf Air appointed its new board of directors on May 14.



Al Musallam was appointed to the position of chief executive in May last year, after nearly fours years as acting chief executive, since December 2012.



He had joined Gulf Air as deputy chief executive officer after completing a 35-year career with the Royal Bahraini Air Force (RBAF).



During his tenure at the RBAF, he has held a number of high-ranking positions including Squadron Commander and Wing Commander where he was responsible for the daily management and emergency deployment of over 10 operational units including flying, maintenance, logistics and administration.



A seasoned aviation professional, Al Musallam had, with Gulf Air's executive management team, spearheaded the national carrier's 2013 restructuring strategy to deliver groundbreaking results - most significantly the record reduction in the airline's annual losses.



The statement quoted Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister and Gulf Air's board Zayed Bin Rashid Alzayani as saying: On behalf of Gulf Airs board of directors and the airlines executive management team and workforce, I extend my sincerest thanks to Mr Al Musallam for his invaluable contributions and achievements delivered during his tenure with the airline. We wish him all the best in his future endeavors. - TradeArabia News Service
Air Astana will launch direct flights from Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan to New Delhi, the capital of India from July 2.



The service will be operated three times a week using Airbus A320 and Embraer 190 aircraft. Air Astana continues to operate daily flights between Almaty and New Delhi, with the service having been inaugurated on 4th September 2004.



The Kazakhstan award-winning carrier offers travellers from New Delhi a wide range of convenient flight connections in Astana, with services to international destinations including Moscow, St. Petersburg, Istanbul, Kiev, Baku and Tbilisi as well as to many cities across Kazakhstan. Together with other Air Astana international passengers travelling through Astana between June 1 and September 10, those using the new services to and from New Delhi will be entitled to free admission tickets for Expo 2017 Astana - Future Energy.



On Mondays and Thursdays, the flight (KC 241) will depart Astana at 07.20 and arrive in New Delhi at 10:55, with the return flight ( 242) departing New Delhi at 12.00 and arriving in Astana at 17.00 local time. On Sundays, flight (KC 249) flight will depart Astana at 20.35 and arrive in New Delhi at 00.10 (+1), with the return flight ( 250) departing New Delhi at 01.10 and arriving in Astana at 06.10 local time.



Economy class return fares start at $316 including tax, with Business Class return fares starting at $1,873 including all taxes. Tickets can be purchased at Air Astana ticketing offices, as well as on the companys website airastana.com or via the 24/7 Call Centre +7 (727) 2444477.



Air Astana, the national carrier of Kazakhstan, operates flights to over 60 domestic and international routes. The company was incorporated in late 2001 and commenced operations on May 15, 2002. The Air Astana fleet consists of Boeing 767, 757, Airbus A319, A320, A320neo, A321 and Embraer 190 aircraft. Air Astana became the first carrier from Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (the CIS) and Eastern Europe to be awarded the prestigious four-star rating by Skytrax at its World Airline Awards 2012 and was also named The Best Airline in Central Asia and India that year. Both achievements were repeated in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. - TradeArabia News Service


The TransGriot is available for speaking engagements, college lectures, panel discussions, media interviews, conferences or Trans 101 education efforts for your school, business or professional organizations.



For local Houston area, Texas or national events, you can e-mail me at transgriot@yahoo.com



For events outside the Houston metro area, I ask that my travel and lodging expenses be covered.



This is separate from my speaking fee.



If you are interested in having me appear as a speaker or panelist, you can e-mail me with the date and details of your proposed event.

Please book as early as possible because my speaking and event calendar slots during the year rapidly fill up.
Have an event, trend or general energy happening youd like to see in the Energy Journal newsletter? Send it to Star-Tribune energy reporter Heather Richards at heather.richards@trib.com. Sign up for the newsletter at www.trib.com/energyjournal.

This week in numbers

Friday oil prices: West Texas Intermediate (WTI) $45.90, Brent (ICE) $48.35

Natural gas weekly averages: Henry Hub $3.02, Wyoming Pool $2.64, Opal $2.67

Baker Hughes rig count: U.S. 927, Wyoming 26

Reworking the grouse

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is reviewing federal sage grouse management plans, in response to what he called western "anger" over federal agencies' approach to the imperiled birds' protection.

Western governors were also a catalyst for the review, which a team of experts will submit to Zinke, with recommended next steps, within 60 days, he said.

In the months before the announcement, Gov. Matt Mead sent a number of letters to the secretary advising him to listen to the states, which worked collaboratively with federal agencies to develop plans. Sage grouse management has more than a decade of history in Wyoming and the West, as diverse partners sought to avoid an endangered species listing.

Some were dismayed, others encouraged by the secretary's comments regarding the review. Zinke promised to keep states at the helm of management and attempt to find a better balance of conservation and energy development.

Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso applauded Zinke the day after the secretarial announcement, but offered the same critique of Zinke's comments as Mead. The senator said he believed population targets -- an approach to conservation that focuses on boosting numbers rather than habitat to sustain populations -- was misguided.

Brook or Bust

The Environmental Quality Council closed out a 7-day hearing over the controversial Brook coal mine in Sheridan County Thursday, but a decision on whether the mine can go forward as planned won't come until August. The developers, Kentucky-based Ramaco, say the mine will provide coal for carbon products, but some locals, and a neighboring coal company, say there are problems with Brook mine plan. The Department of Environmental Quality and the Powder River Basin Resource Council are going head to head over the plan that regulators say is technically complete, while Ramaco is looking more and more like a bystander in the debate.

CAEDA's new look

The Casper Area Economic Development Alliance announced that 45 high paying jobs would come to Casper within the year when a pipeline company reopens shop east of town. In a meeting sponsored by True Oil, the organization's leadership also took the opportunity to stump for wind development in the coming years.

In other news

The surprise build up of crude in the weekly stockpile report from the Energy Information Administration broke a nine-consecutive-week draw down and sent the price tumbling.
Learn Excel Advanced

The Library will offer an Excel Advanced class from 2 to 4 p.m., on Wednesday, June 14. Building on the basic features of Excel, learn about charts, graphics, formulas/functions, and pivot tables. Attendees should have a working knowledge of Excel. Call 577.READ x2 for more information.

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.

12-step to start

Teen Challenge Wyoming is offering a 12-week, 12-step program, Stepping into Freedom, starting at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 21. Class is open to adults 18 and over and will be held in the Fort Caspar Room at the 12/24 Club, 500 S. Wolcott. For more information or to sign up, call Adult/Teen Challenge Wyoming at 258-5397 or Chris at 259-7062.

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 17, practice session; June 24, Big Brush Landscape.

Buddhist meditation

American Buddhist Monk, Gen Kelsang Rinzin, returns to Casper from 11 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., on Saturday, June 10, at the Healthy Life Yoga Studio in the Sunrise Shopping Center, 4200 S. Poplar St. Americans are supremely competitive. It is a great American strength. But such competitiveness can also lead to jealousy and angst in an individuals mind. We can overcome these negative states of mind and still be strong. Gen Rinzin will teach on proven, ancient methods to maintain inner peace in our competitive world. The class includes a guided meditation, the teaching, a Q & A and some fellowship time. Anyone of any religion or no religion is welcome. A $15 donation is requested. Questions? Call Joe at (307) 315-1987.

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.

Virtual Reality demo

Dont miss the chance to immerse yourself in an entirely new world when the Natrona County Library hosts a virtual reality demo from 1 to 5 p.m., on Saturday, June 17. Choose from over 40 of the best virtual reality games and apps while being taken through a guided experience with the HTC Vive. Free and open to the public. Gameplay will last for approximately seven minutes per player. Tickets will be handed out at the beginning of the event, available on a first-come, first-served basis. The HTC Vive is provided by the Natrona County Library Foundation. Call 577.READ x2 or email reference@natronacountylibrary.org for more information.

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.
SHERIDAN  With a lawnmower as his only companion, Rodney Smith Jr. has embarked on a nationwide mission to lend a helping hand and inspire others to do the same.

The 50 States 50 Lawns project kicked off May 10. Smith will cut one lawn in each state and meet with local youth interested in their communities.

The Huntsville, Alabama, resident and student founded Raising Men Lawn Care Service less than two years ago; it provides free lawn care to elders, those who are disabled, single mothers and veterans. The bigger mission of the organization is to set youth on a positive path and get them involved in community service through its 50 Yard Challenge.

Smith said the program rewards kids with a different colored T-shirt after every 10 yards completed. He said RMLCS will send interested kids eye and ear protection when they start, and at 50 yards RMLCS members will travel to the participant, mow lawns with them and give them a new lawnmower.

The 50 States 50 Lawns project is an effort to bring awareness to the organizations 50 Yard Challenge program.

He said nationwide, theres more than 50 kids participating in the program with two more in England. In 2016, Smith said two people completed the 50 Yard Challenge and so far this year, the program has seen one finisher.

Wyoming is Smiths 19th state to travel to for the 50 States 50 Lawns project. He recently mowed the lawn of Dr. Sy Thickman.

Smith said he started by posting on Facebook, looking for people to suggest lawns for him to mow nationwide. Thats how Maggie Bergstrom contacted him, asked him to come to Sheridan and mow Thickmans lawn.

Bergstrom said Thickman is a family friend and veteran. She said hes done a lot for her and the community, including giving services for free to the womens prison in Lusk.

Sy has done so much for this community over the years and I just thought itd be nice to give back to him for once, Bergstrom said.

Smith said hes gotten different reactions from those receiving the service, including tears from an elderly woman in Texas who hadnt had her lawn cut in about a year.

According to the press release, Briggs and Stratton made a contribution to RMLS to support its mission and help with travel expenses and equipment.

Rodney and Raising Men Lawn Care Service are living a mission thats making a difference in peoples lives on a daily basis, said Briggs and Stratton vice president of corporate marketing Rick Carpenter in a press release.

Smith said hes focusing on this group of people to help because lawn care can be a timely, financial burden that among other things can lead to city fines when not maintained.

From what Ive seen, thats the group of people that have a hard time paying for lawn care, especially the elderly, Smith said. Theyre on a fixed income; a lot of them cant really afford to get their lawn cut.

From Wyoming, Smith said hell travel to Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota and make his way to the East Coast continuing his mission.

My hope is to encourage kids to get out there and make a difference with a lawnmower, Smith said.
HELENA, Mont.  Congressman-elect Greg Gianforte avoided jail time after pleading guilty Monday to an election-eve assault on a reporter that turned the race for Montanas lone U.S. House seat into a full-fledged political spectacle.

The Republican tech entrepreneur instead will serve 40 hours of community service and attend 20 hours of anger management classes for throwing Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs to the ground at Gianfortes campaign headquarters in Bozeman on May 24.

For all the national attention the audiotaped assault brought to the race in its waning hours, the judge, prosecutors and the new congressmans attorneys maintained Monday he was treated like any other first-time misdemeanor offender.

There was one notable exception, however: Gallatin County Justice of the Peace Rick West said he would allow prosecutors and the defense several weeks to argue over his order that the rookie politician be fingerprinted, photographed and booked like other defendants.

West ordered Gianforte to pay $385 in fines and court costs in addition to his 180-day suspended jail sentence, meaning he will be under court supervision until late November and will be able to petition to have the conviction removed from his record.

Gianforte is expected to travel to Washington within the next few weeks to be sworn in by House Speaker Paul Ryan.

A coalition of press groups had called on a congressional committee to censure Gianforte for the attack, and Democrats have demanded he step aside. Some of Gianfortes fellow Republicans, including Ryan, have criticized him over the assault but said he simply needed to apologize.

This was not a proud moment, but Im ready to move on, Gianforte said outside the courtroom.

From the start, there was little question that Gianforte would avoid jail time in light of the extent of Jacobs injuries and Gianfortes clean record.

Given a complete lack of a criminal history, given all that hes done for the community and who he is, I think the assault was aberrant behavior that will not be repeated on his part, county Attorney Marty Lambert said outside court.

Gianforte was questioned by sheriffs deputies at his headquarters shortly after the attack, then didnt appear in public again until his victory speech the next night, in which he apologized to voters and to Jacobs.

Audio posted by Jacobs shortly after the attack recorded sounds of a scuffle, followed by Gianforte yelling for the reporter to get the hell out of here. Jacobs tweeted that Gianforte had body slammed him and broke his glasses while he tried to question him.

During Mondays hearing, the judge tried to extract details of the confrontation from Gianforte.

I knowingly made physical contact with Mr. Ben Jacobs that was insulting or provoking in nature, and although it was not my intent to hurt him, I understand Ben was injured in this contact, Gianforte said.

I grabbed for his wrist. A scuffle ensued, and he was injured, he said. In the scuffle we fell on the floor, and I understand his elbow was injured.

A Fox News reporter who witnessed the attack said Gianforte, completely unprovoked, pushed Jacobs to the ground and punched him.

Despite the confrontation, Gianforte was elected by 6 percentage points over Democrat Rob Quist to serve the remainder of the term vacated by Ryan Zinke, who resigned to become Interior Department secretary.

The vast majority of ballots were cast by mail well beforehand.

Gianfortes attorneys, including former U.S. Attorney Bill Mercer, noted that he had already paid more than $4,600 in restitution to Jacobs as part of a quick civil settlement. Guardian spokeswoman Meghan Pianta told The Associated Press the money went toward medical expenses.

Gianforte also agreed to give $50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists and wrote Jacobs a letter of apology in which he acknowledged assaulting the reporter for asking a legitimate question about health care policy.

Despite those repeated apologies, Gianforte has yet to fully address why his campaigns initial account of the confrontation cast blame on Jacobs.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates  The political crisis engulfing Qatar stems from accusations by its Arab neighbors that it supports terrorism. Qatar denies the allegations, but its ties with Iran and embrace of various Islamist groups have brought intense scrutiny.

Last week, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed ties with Qatar amid a slew of punitive measures. On Friday, the four Arab states upped the pressure by naming 59 people and several charities linked to Qatar on a terrorist list.

Governments across the region routinely cite terrorism as justification to clamp down on political opposition and rights activists. Some groups Qatar has backed  such as the Muslim Brotherhood  are seen by many as a legitimate political force. Others, including some hard-line Sunni rebel factions in Syria, are not that different ideologically from groups that Saudi Arabia backs there.

Heres a look at the various groups Qatars accused of supporting and its relationship with them:

AL-QAIDA, ISLAMIC STATE

Qatars Arab neighbors have accused it of backing al-Qaida and the Islamic State groups ideology across the region, from Syria to the Sinai Peninsula. Experts and groups in Syria say Qatari finances have indirectly propped up militant groups. Similar accusations were leveled at Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries in the early days of Syrias 2011 uprising, but experts say these governments amended their official stances and financing laws.

Hassan Hassan, a Syria expert, said Qatar has never supported al-Qaida or IS directly.

MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD

The Islamist Sunni group remains one of the regions most polarizing. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt view it as a direct threat to their rule and deem it a destabilizing force. However, the Brotherhoods offshoots remain active in Jordan and Tunisia. The Brotherhood was elected to power in Egypt after protests toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and Qatar aided the Brotherhood-led government in Cairo with billions of dollars.

Qatar argues it supported Egypt as a whole, and not one particular faction, when the Brotherhood was in power. Egypts military ousted the Brotherhood and unleashed a lethal crackdown against its members amid mass protests in 2013.

HAMAS IN GAZA

The Palestinian group, an offshoot of Egypts Brotherhood, is considered a terrorist organization by Israel and its Western allies. The group, which rules the Gaza Strip, has fought three wars with Israel and is seen by some in the Arab world as an armed resistance force against Israeli occupation. Saudi Arabia says Qatar must sever ties with Hamas.

Qatar has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in roads, housing and a major hospital in the Gaza Strip offering a lifeline for jobs in the devastated area that is under an Israeli-Egyptian blockade.







IRAN

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain accuse Qatar of supporting Shiite militant groups in both countries. Violence has increased in recent weeks between militants and Saudi security forces in a predominantly Shiite town in the countrys east.

Saudi Arabia has also accused Qatar of backing Iranian-allied rebels in Yemen, known as Houthis. However, Qatar was a member of a Saudi-led coalition bombing the Houthis in Yemen. Experts say there is no evidence to support the claims.
More moderate weather conditions helped firefighters battle the Lizard Fire two miles southeast of Dragoon in Cochise County on Sunday.

An expectation of windy and dry conditions hadnt materialized as of Sunday evening, according to an update from the U.S. Forest Service.

The lull allowed firefighters to effectively fight the eastern flank of the fire and the area around Cochise Stronghold, where things were still active but responding favorably, the update said.

The fire reached nearly 15,000 acres with 15 percent containment, according to officials holding a community meeting at the Sunsites Community Center in Pearce on Sunday afternoon.

Three helicopters assisted ground crews with water drops as an effort was made to protect structures near the Stronghold.

Efforts to protect a Baptist church camp, a power line corridor and other structures in the area on Saturday and overnight into Sunday proved successful.

Approximately 350 personnel were assigned to the fire, including dozens of engines, a hotshot crew, water tankers and helicopters.

Crews continue to work in two operational shifts for 24-hour coverage.

Lightning Wednesday sparked the Lizard Fire, which has been fueled primarily by tall grass and brush.

By Friday afternoon, it had merged with a second fire, the Dragoon Fire, growing to more than 10,500 acres.

Saturday saw an extremely active blaze, with the most intense activity along the northern and northeastern perimeter.

The Lizard Fire is one of several active wildfires throughout the state, including the Bowie Fire, Saner Fire and Rucker Fire, all of which are burning in Cochise County.
Officials on Monday have lifted the evacuation orders for some residents near the Lizard Fire, which is burning about two miles southeast of Dragoon in Cochise County.

However, an evacuation of residences in the Cochise Stronghold area remains in effect at the intersection of North Cochise Stronghold and West Ironwood Road and everything south and west from that point.

Officials said firefighters are doing structure protection in this area and fighting the southern edge of the fire and that would make it difficult to allow residents back to their homes.

Residents in other areas that were evacuated will be allowed to return to their homes, officials said.

Cochise officials are also closing the Emergency Operations Center that was opened because of the fire.

An expectation of windy and dry conditions hadnt materialized as of Sunday evening, according to an update from the U.S. Forest Service.

The lull allowed firefighters to effectively fight the eastern flank of the fire and the area around Cochise Stronghold, where things were still active but responding favorably, the update said.

The fire reached nearly 15,000 acres with 15 percent containment, according to officials holding a community meeting at the Sunsites Community Center in Pearce, Sunday afternoon.

Three helicopters assisted ground crews with water drops as an effort was made to protect structures near the Stronghold.

Efforts to protect a Baptist church camp, a power line corridor and other structures in the area on Saturday and overnight into Sunday proved successful.

Approximately 350 personnel were assigned to the fire, including dozens of engines, a hotshot crew, water tankers and helicopters.

Crews continue to work in two operational shifts for 24-hour coverage.

The Lizard Fire, which has been fueled primarily by tall grass and brush, was started by lightning Wednesday.

By Friday afternoon, it had merged with a second fire, the Dragoon Fire, growing to more than 10,500 acres.

Saturday saw an extremely active blaze, with the most intense activity along the northern and northeastern perimeter.

The Lizard Fire is one of several active wildfires throughout the state, including the Bowie Fire, Saner Fire and Rucker Fire, all of which are burning in Cochise County.

Up-to-date information on all wildfires in Arizona can be found at inciweb.nwcg.gov online.
The Air Force has again signaled it wants to eliminate three squadrons of A-10 Thunderbolt II jets, permanently grounding the aging aircraft, according to Rep. Martha McSally.

McSally, a former A-10 pilot who represents Congressional District 2, said safety concerns about 110 Thunderbolts that do not have the new, replacement wings, could mean a permanent parking space in the aircraft boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson.

It is unclear how grounding three out of the nations nine A-10 squadrons would affect D-Ms operations, McSally said.

She asked an Air Force general who appeared before Congress last week and made remarks about the future of some of the A-10s to clarify where the cuts might take place, but McSally said she has not received an answer to her request for more information.

In February, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein said in Washington, D.C., that the Air Force will keep all A-10s flying through at least 2021. Previous commitments by the Air Force would have seen the gradual phasing out of the aircraft starting in 2018, with plans to retire the entire fleet by 2022.

The venerable A-10, which is known for its toughness and ability to provide close-air support for ground forces, is the main mission at Davis-Monthan.

A total of 173 A-10s out of 283 received new wings as part of a Pentagon-backed program to expand their lifespan, enough for about six squadrons.

McSally said she hopes to secure funding to get new wings for the remaining A-10s, but believes it could take several years to secure the necessary funding while going through the militarys competitive bidding process.

She notes the A-10s are in demand  flying in Iraq and Syria conflict zones and stationed in South Korea as well as deployed in Europe.

How are you going to maintain something like that with six squadrons? she asks. It doesnt make any sense to me.

The Tucson Republican says she will continue to push the Air Force to keep the A-10s flying and fully funded until a time when the plane can be tested alongside its would-be successor, the F-35, in a fly-off to determine which aircraft is superior at close-air support for ground troops.

She believes such a competition would be several years away at the earliest.
OPINION: "People have a perverse attraction to bad news and in todays digital world, bad news has become easier and easier to access. No group is quite as vulnerable to its influence than the digital natives of Gen Z," writes Marana resident Mitch Carroll.
Help India!

Riyadh, (IANS): Saudi Arabia has denied barring Qatar nationals from entering the holy city of Mecca.

It confirmed that 206 people coming from Qatar were allowed to cross the Salwa border on June 9 so that they could perform Umrah pilgrimage in Mecca, reports Xinhua news agency.

Support TwoCircles



The Saudi authority that supervises the affairs of the two grand mosques in Mecca and Medina confirmed in a statement that it provides services for pilgrims from all countries of the world, including Qatar, describing circulated news in social media as baseless accusations.

According to Al Arabiya, several media outlets reported on Sunday that Qataris were denied access into Mecca and the two grand mosques, which Saudi Arabia has refuted.

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Yemen, Libya, the Maldives, Mauritius and Mauritania last week severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism.

Saudi officials also declared that it would provide all facilities and services needed by Qatari pilgrims currently in the kingdom.
(ORLANDO, Fla.) -- Family and friends of those who were killed in a mass shooting at Pulse nightclub in Florida last year gathered at the club to mark the one-year anniversary of the countrys worst mass shooting.



Forty-nine people were killed and more than 50 others were injured on June 12, 2016, when a gunman opened fire on the gay nightclub.



The city of Orlando, in collaboration with Pulse, declared Monday as Orlando United Day  A Day of Love and Kindness.



This day is dedicated to the memory and honor of the 49 innocent lives taken at Pulse, reaffirms the communitys commitment to survivors and loved ones, as well as recognizes the global compassion and love displayed in the wake of the tragedy, city officials said in a statement.



U.S. Army Sgt. Marie Cobbs, who attended the ceremony early Monday that was only open to survivors and family and friends of those who were killed, told reporters Monday morning that she was too angry to go inside the nightclub.



The police officer "was going to let me in, but I just said no. I just couldnt ... Im too angry, Cobbs said.



She said she was there in remembrance of her nephew Anthony who was killed in the attack exactly one year ago.



Like how could this happen, Cobbs asked. This guy came to my home right here," she said gesturing toward the nightclub, "and shot my brothers and sisters.



The early morning ceremony, which overlapped with the exact moment that suspected gunman Omar Mateen began firing shots at a little after 2 a.m. one year ago, will kick off a full day of services held in honor of the victims and survivors.



It will be followed by three main events: a midday service held at the nightclub, an evening gathering called "Orlando Love: Remembering Our Angels" and, finally, a music-filled celebration held at Pulse.



Separately, local churches throughout the city have agreed to ring their church bells simultaneously, 49 times at noon.



Suspected shooter Omar Mateen pledged allegiance to the Islamic State during the attack and was later killed in a shootout with police. His wife, Noor Salman, is currently facing charges of aiding and abetting and obstruction in federal court. She has pleaded not guilty.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Help India!

By Siddhant Mohan, TwoCircles.net

Nero fiddled while Rome burned, is a catch phrase which many reports are using to address the drama of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, when he sat on a fast until peace on Saturday. On surface, this shows the incompetency of Madhya Pradesh administration in addressing and solving the farmers issues and also the unwillingness of the government in doing so.

Support TwoCircles



But if one looks deeper, it shows the BJPs inner chaos which Shivraj is trying to address through his fast.

One ex-Sanghi to row the boat of discontent

Shiv Kumar Sharma aka Kakka ji is one of the men who have contributed a lot in establishing the whole farmer movement in Madhya Pradesh. Shiv Kumar was previously associated with Bhartiya Kisaan Sangh (BKS), an organization affiliated with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

While he was in BKS, Shiv Kumar was one of those few men who were very close to the Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. In fact, if one looks at the past then Shiv Kumar comes as a man who was the key person who helped Shivraj Singh Chouhan in bagging Madhya Pradesh from Congress in 2004. After Shivraj Singh Chouhan became Chief Minister, Shiv Kumar went back to oversee the works of BKS, but he was still favored by Chouhan.

But in 2010, Shiv Kumar dissociated himself from BKS. It happened after Shiv Kumar led a farmer protest against Shivraj, but Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat stepped and asked to change all the position holders in Sangh and related organizations in Madhya Pradesh. This made Shiv Kumar angry and he resigned from his post of BKS. In the same year, Shiv Kumar founded Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangh, which is now leading protests in Madhya Pradesh.

But social activists and various farmer rights activists tell different stories of Shiv Kumar Sharmas organization. Amitabh, an activist from Bhopal said, That is the story which everyone knows. But what many people dont know that Shivraj Singh Chouhan literally abused and scolded Shiv Kumar Sharma in a meeting and asked him to get out. Even after the Sanghs disappointment and everything, this move made Kakkaji move out of BKS and become critical of the state government like he is these days.

Kakkaji has shown his angry face to Madhya Pradesh government and has said that the current ongoing protest in just the first phase of his protest; the second phase may start soon.

But does Kakkaji really want to address farmer voices or is he being played by other political groups? One journalist from Hindi daily Nai Dunia answers the question, What will Kakkaji do? Now after the firing, Shivraj does not seem to be willing to solve the problem. And also, he is not going to step down. So will Kakkaji become Chief Minister of MP? I dont think so, he says.

Kakkaji has succeeded in doing what BKS was trying to do with this movement. He has hijacked it. Now Madhya Pradesh farmers protest has a face, and with this fact Kakkaji is eventually going to help BJP, added the Journalist.

Malwa and Kailash Vijayvargiya: The next CM of Madhya Pradesh?

A Whatsapp message has started to circulate among journalists countrywide, showing image from a news clip that shows Kailash Vijayvargiya, the national general secretary of Bhartiya Janta Party, as the next possible Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.

The region of the state which is most affected by the farmers protest is the Malwa region and that is the area which is strongly held by Kailash Vijayvargiya. And the activists present at the ground believe that Kailash Vijayvargiya is the one who is trying to get most profit from the recent farmers movement. Amitabh said, There are actually two persons who are working to uproot the Shivraj government in MP, one is Kailash Vijayvargiya and another one is Narendra Singh Tomar, although Im not so sure about the Tomar. And that is where they are looking towards the Kakkaji, who is now leading the movement.

Seriousness of this allegation can be understood with the fact that in between all the fast-until-peace-drama of Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Kailash Vijayvargiya went to Indore and met protesting farmers. Kakkaji, who has been critical of the state, was also present at the meeting and he spoke to Vijayvargiya about farmer issues.

The meeting, which was held on Saturday, also saw several farmers namely Mukesh Patwari, Jai Hardiya and few others hailing Kailash Vijayvargiya as future Chief Minister and saying, Ab aap hi Bhavishya ke mukhymantri ho, aap hi samadhan karo (Now you are our future Chief Minister, you find a way).

Not only Kailash Vijayvargiya took part in the meeting but also criticised state home minister Bhupendra Singh for denying the Police firing in Mandsaur. In the past too, Kailash Vijayvargiya has been very vocal critic of the state government when it came of corruption.

By presenting a face that loves farmers, Kailash Vijayvargiya is trying to remove roadblocks for Bharatiya Janata Party, excluding Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The partys central command, except Vijayvargiya, has remained silent on the matter and as Vijayvargiya is the big vocal face of the party in Madhya Pradesh, Chouhan is feeling left out.

Shams-ur Rahman Alavi, a senior journalist based in Bhopal said, Shivraj Singh is very clever man and he knows how to move media cameras away from the farmers protest, which is one reason behind his big show of fasting. Another one is indeed the tussle in the party.

Alavi says that the whole debate is now not farmer centric. He said, BJP is very clever in such games. Vijayvargiya is ready since very long, and the recent episodes clearly project how much he is keen to uproot the Chouhans regime.

By doing a 28-hour-long fast drama inside a big dome made in Dussehra Maidan of Bhopal, Shivraj Singh tried to save his government from the eyes of Kailash Vijayvargiya, who is a known close aid of Amit Shah, the national president of BJP.

Activist Amitabh said, Madhya Pradesh is a failed state and BJPs now central command favors Vijayvargiya more over Shivraj. That is where the tussle between both the power center starts. He claims that BJP is trying to take advantage of farmers protest and said, And with all police firing in Mandsaur and Kakkaji hijacking the movement, BJP has moved away the talk from farmers demand to incompetency of Shivraj government.

Many people believe that media is uselessly making hero out of Kakkaji, who is just a tool for BJP. Although it is clear that sharing the stage with and favoring those BJP leaders who have been critical of Chouhan government in MP, Kakkaji has made his message clear that he will certainly play an important role when it comes to changing the Chief Minister of the state.

Amitabh said, Kakkaji move out from BKS with his supporters. So would you believe that he became socialist or farmer loving guy with a new organization? He is veteran politician and he knows how to play with things. He used all the resources to become face of the organization, and he succeeded. Now he is a bigger problem for Shivraj government, even bigger than the farmers demands.

By the time this report was written, Shivraj Singh Chouhan ended his fast until peace based on an unclear instinct. He has announced that he will comply with the farmers demands and will provide compensation to those whose properties and vehicles have been vandalised. But with the announcement and the drama, Shivraj has certainly moved the attention from the farmer problem towards himself, and that is going to serve him a momentary relief.
Help India!

By Syed Khaled Shahbaaz

A whopping 11 lakh Muslims have benefitted from the Zakat and charitable contributions of the Hyderabad Zakat and Charitable Trust based in Capital city of Indias youngest state Telangana. The collective Zakat system pioneered by the Hyderabad Zakat and Charitable Trust (HZCT) aggregates Zakat and charities to the tune of crores of rupees every Ramadan, and have benefitted over 10,84,180 beneficiaries through its various schemes and projects for the Muslim community over the last 25 years.

Support TwoCircles



Presenting the trusts annual report in the presence of eminent bureaucrats and senior officials of the Telangana State Government at the HZCT and FEED Annual Meet 2017 HZCT Chairman Mr. Babukhan said, The trust has spent Rs. 11.85 crore in 2016-17 alone benefitting 1,29,775 people through all its welfare, education and relief schemes with nearly 1.38 crores rupees worth of Ramadan relief, Iftar, food and clothing packs already distributed among the underprivileged students, orphans and widow families as part of its Ramadan 2017 project.

He said, Organized charity can make a stronger and constructive impact on the socio-economic status of Muslims. Experts believe that a whopping 1000 crores worth of charity in the form of Zakat is distributed by Hyderabadi Muslims every year. If this worth of Zakat could be properly channelled, the socio-economic status of the underprivileged will be ameliorated in no time, he added.

Founded by the millionaire family of Hyderabadi Philanthropist Mr. Ghiasuddin Babukhan, the Hyderabad Zakat and Charitable Trust, as its name suggest has pioneered the concept of collective Zakat system in Hyderabad with the total Zakat amount grossing in crores and increasing with each Ramadan.

Zakat and charities donated by the wealthy families, affluent businessmen and non-resident Indians are pushed deep into the rural habitats of various districts where poor Muslims, underprivileged citizens  many even spiritually incognizant and tried by their daily ordeals reside. From 12,070 food packs including rice, pulses and prerequisites for Iftar to 3500 Eid Clothes packs comprising bare essentials like bedsheets, a pair of sarees, and clothes for orphan children and their mothers, have been distributed, and the number continues to rise.

Minority Affairs Advisor to Telangana State government Mr. A.K. Khan IPS (Retd.) in his address at the HZCTs 2017 Annual Meet profusely appreciated the grass-root charity mechanism of the trust.

He said when the government planned to set up the Minority Residential Education schools across the State for the benefit of the Muslim community among others, the Hyderabad Zakat and Charitable Trust and its sister concern FEED were instrumental in magnifying governments efforts, so much to the extent that the now-thriving States Minority Residential Educational Schools would not have achieved its success if it had not worked with the HZCT.

A major portion of their charity funds education through its sister concern FEED and welfare of underprivileged while organizing remarriage of young widows, and orphan education are also on its agenda. Over 24000 students, of which 70% are girls, study in 99 Urdu medium schools and 3 English Medium schools supported by this trust. The Hyderabad Zakat and Charitable Trust trust has spent amount to the tune of Rs. 4.31 crores in Telangana, AP, and Maharashtra states benefitting over 1995 students, through its scholarships programs.

Advocating the need to increase Muslim percentage in Civil Services, the trust regularly invites Muslim Civil Servants at its annual meet. This year, Telangana Civil Services topper Muzammil Khan IAS joined by proud father Mr. A.K.Khan IPS (Retd.) and young civil service achievers Minhaj Nizami (from UP) and Ashif (from Kerala) served motivation to the participating youth with their presence.

Interestingly, one of the first beneficiaries of the HZCT Mr. Amir Ullah Khan is a senior Economist today and serves as the principal Policy Advisor at the prestigious Bill and Melinda Gates foundation.

As HZCT trustee Abdul Aleem Khan had observed in his address, We have ensured that we fulfil our responsibility of empowering people financially and socially through our organization, and its bringing about an unprecedented change. Mr. Ahmed Sayeed, Maulana Mufti Mohammed Azam, Javed Hood and others were also presented on this occasion.

While the month of fasting Ramadan has become synonymous with feasting for many, a larger chunk of underprivileged Muslims struggle for decent food. It is prerogative for oneself to partake in charitable and philanthropic activities and attain a spiritual decorum that remains unprecedented for the rest of the year.

Striking a chord with the poor, oft-neglected and weaker sections of the society, Hyderabad Zakat and Charitable Trust, one of the oldest NGOs based in Hyderabad, has set an unprecedented benchmark for other philanthropic organizations, paving way for others to follow and has proved how Zakat in its collective form can change the life of millions, if properly channeled.
Help India!

Bengaluru, (IANS): Recalling the contribution of journalists to the Indian freedom struggle, Vice President Hamid Ansari on Monday said a democracy needs a free press and the same goes for society as well.

He also said that press played an important role in educating, convincing and mobilising people.

Support TwoCircles



In his keynote address after unveiling a commemorative edition of the National Herald here along with Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, Ansari said he was sure that the National Herald will live up to the high standards set by independent Indias first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who set up the newspaper.

He said National Herald was launched from Lucknow in 1938 (with Nehru as its Editor) and soon became the voice of the independence movement.

The history of freedom struggle in India is closely linked to Indian journalists, who were not merely news providers but also social activists and freedom fighters. They wanted to rid the country not only of the foreign rule but also social prejudices, casteism, communalism, and discrimination, the Vice President said.

Many founding members of the Congress in 1885 were journalists. The Press emerged as a tool of national awakening. It became a medium of nationalist political participation of masses, he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi said thousands of journalists in the country are not being allowed to write what they wish to write.

Anybody who attempts to say the truth, or stand by truth, is pushed aside in different forms. The Dalits are beaten up; minorities are frightened; journalists are threatened; and bureaucrats are threatened, Gandhi said.

Journalists told me they are not allowed to write what they want. The National Herald should open door to such people, the Congress leader said.

Recalling how he was prevented from entering Madhya Pradesh to meet the kin of farmers killed in police firing on June 6 in Mandsaur, Gandhi said a police official told him he was forced to do something he didnt want to.

I told him I am a citizen of India, I can go to Madhya Pradesh. On what basis are you stopping me? Is there any law which you are applying? He looked at me and said there is no law but he have been told to, the Congress leader said.

Gandhi also recalled how he was stopped at the Uttar Pradesh border when he wanted to meet the Dalits who had borne the brunt of a communal clash in Shabbirpur village.

Police told me I cant go to Uttar Pradesh. Everybody knows what the truth is but they are scared to say it, he said.

Speaking about the National Herald, Gandhi said: The National Herald has a very strong spirit. It is not going to remain silent. Its Editor came to me some time back. I told him there may be times where you have to say things against the Congress, against me, against some of our ideas. I want you to be absolutely comfortable; I want you to say things because it is important that we hear them.
Help India!

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter

The refusal of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to give permission for three documentaries to be exhibited in the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK) has drawn huge ire from the state government, cultural and political activists in Kerala. The I&B Ministry denied censor exemption for documentaries dealing with the JNU protests, the unrest in Kashmir and on the suicide of Rohith Vemula citing no specific reason.

Support TwoCircles



Cultural Minister A K Balan has come down heavily against the denial saying the government cant accept such moves. A Facebook post by the minister said the decision was unfair.

The fascist style of silencing protests has been haunting the country. This cant be accepted. I cant understand why someone turns apprehensive when current issues are filmed, he said.

The Unbearable Being of Lightness, In the Shade of Fallen Chinar and March are the three documentaries that have been denied permission. The first film, directed by P N Ramachandra deals with students protests which erupted following Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula while the second documentary, directed by N C Fazil and Shawn Sebastian, is a short visual description that explores the lives of a group of young Kashmiri artistes. The film features the inspirations behind their art and how art takes the form of resistance in the Kashmir valley. March, March, March, directed by Kathu Lukose features the student protests at Jawaharlal Nehru University last year and discusses their effect on the student uprising across the country.

The tenth edition of the festival will kickstart in the capital city on June 16.

However, the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy has appealed against the decision. Academy chairman Kamal said there is a cultural emergency in the country.

The country has been going through an undeclared emergency with the government is ordering us what to eat, what to read and what to watch, he said.

Meanwhile, Students Federation of India (SFI) has decided to exhibit the three films in the campuses across the state in a protest against the ban.

Last year, the Ministry had denied permission to two films- Ka Bodyscapes by Jayan Cherian and Muhammed by Majid Majidi for International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK). The former was exhibited following the Kerala High Court directing the Ministry to grant exemption to the film after a plea was filed by the filmmaker. But the later was denied permission and no reasons were given even after repeated pleas by the Kerala Chalachitra Academy.
Help India!

By Siddhant Mohan, TwoCircles.net

In a strange and controversial move, advocate Ujjwal Nikam withdrew his position as public prosecutor in the murder case of Mohsin Sadiq Shaikh, a Pune-based techie who was killed in 2014 by members of radical outfit Hindu Rashtra Sena (HRS). Mohsin was attacked and killed while he was returning to his home after prayers on June 2, 2014.

Support TwoCircles



Advocate Ujjwal Nikams appointment as public prosecutor was cancelled after he made a request, although the reason behind Nikam withdrawing his appointment remains unclear. What makes the move even more surprising is that the state government did not ask for the consent from Mohsin Shaikhs family before cancelling the appointment of Ujjwal Nikam.

Advocate Hafiz Qazi who is also associated with the case said, It is shocking for us. Ujjwal Nikam is very learned lawyer. The case made a tremendous progress under him. But requesting to remove himself as public prosecutor without no reason is more surprising.

Commenting on how the familys view had been ignored, Hafiz said, State government should have consulted Mohsins father before cancelling the appointment, but they did not do so. That is also one thing that disturbs because he was appointed after the request from the Mohsins family, added Hafiz Qazi.

Late Mohsin Shaikhs father Sadiq Shaikh has sent a message to Ujjwal Nikam asking the reason behind this strange move but he hasnt got any response yet. Sadiq Shaikh has also written to him to get reappointed in the case. It seems Nikam is not willing to comment on this issue as several other activists-lawyers as well as TwoCircles.net tried to reach him but failed. Over the issue, Sadiq Shaikh said, I am trying to reach him since I got the notification this morning, but still I havent received any response from him. I do want to know what has made him to take this decision.

According to lawyers familiar with the matter, lawyers from another radical outfit Sanatan Sanstha met Ujjwal Nikam in the past few months and tried to put pressure on him to leave the case, but this not confirmed. Sadiq Shaikh said, We dont know if this is truth or not. But I am surprised as to what power has came into effect which made Ujjwal Nikam change his decision?

Mohsins family had high hopes with Ujjwal Nikam and felt joyful after Maharashtra state government appointed Nikam as public prosecutor. Sadiq Shaikh said, Nikam ji was put international terrorists behind the bars, I thought he would put these internal terrorists behind the bars too who killed my son.

After Nikams decision, Sadiq Shaikh feels uncertain about the future. He said, I still believe that Nikam ji will look forward to my request to represent Mohsins case again. I have asked him the same. But if he doesnt agree, we will have to look towards the lawyers who could be as powerful as Ujjwal Nikam.

Following this brutal killing, the then CM Prithviraj Chavan announced and provided Rs 5 lakh to the family as compensation and also promised to provide a government job to Mubin Shaikh, a brother of Mohsin. However, no such job was given to him by the state government citing technical flaws in offering a job to the brother of the victim.
Help India!

Patna, (IANS): The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognizance of a media report that a man in Bihars Purnia district had to carry the body of his deceased wife on a motor cycle, as the authorities at the district hospital failed to provide him a mortuary van.

The NHRC has issued a notice to the Chief Secretary of Bihar government, demanding a report in this matter within four weeks.

Support TwoCircles



Susheela Devi, 50, died of illness at the Sadar hospital on June 2.

The medical staff told her husband, when he requested for a vehicle, to arrange one on his own to carry his wifes body.

The man, a poor labourer, approached an ambulance driver, who demanded Rs 2,500, which he could not afford.

Ultimately, the man had to carry his wifes body on a motor cycle with his sons help.

The NHRC has observed that this is not the first instance, which has come to its notice. The Commission has earlier too taken cognizance in some of these cases.

The Civil Surgeon had earlier on June 4 reportedly stated that no mortuary van is available at the Sadar Hospital and everyone has to arrange it on his own.

The District Magistrate has reportedly ordered a probe into the matter.
Help India!

Bhopal, (IANS): The Madhya Pradesh government on Monday appointed Justice J.K. Jain (retd) to head the one-member judicial commission to probe the June 6 police firing in Mandsaur in which five protesting farmers were killed.

The commission will probe the polce firing and farmer deaths and submit its report within three months of the issuance of a gazette notification on its constitution, official sources said.

Support TwoCircles



The probe panel, to be based in Indore, will probe under what circumstances the police firing and subsequent deaths occurred; was the police action appropriate to the given situation; if not, who all are guilty; and whether civil and police officials in the district had taken adequate necessary steps in the run-up to the incidents or not.

The farmers were on protest since June 1 to demand a loan waiver and remunerative prices for their farm produce.

After the farmers killing, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had ordered for a judicial probe.
What is the real number of missing people in California In The Year 2017?

People all over The World have been going missing for years but never so many in one area. It doesn't appear to matter your race, age or gender; if you're in California you are at risk of going missing. That is a fact. Just In Shasta County over forty-eight people have vanished and that is only in one county. Imagine how many people are really just gone. I am sure, no I am positive, there are others that have not been reported. Not everyone has someone to miss them or report them to the authorities.

So is there a way to get the actual numbers without guessing? Sure, there are statistics that you can read. I have researched it myself and in California alone, there are over 25,000 people that just vanished suddenly. That is including men, women, children, teenagers, old and young of all ages, races, and gender. I have even heard that there are random people going around with bottles of what they call perfume but be warned it's not and if you smell it then you will be knocked out. This is just one of the technics that kidnappers are taking to lure people.

New Information and updates.

The FBI have finally decided to get involved in the cases of the vanishing folks but It's not just Northern California that this is happening to but all over the state of Californa and The Rest of the world.

You can search the web and see the recent case studies of all the individuals that have been reported.

Missing Statistics In The UK AND USA.

There are around 275,000 British that disappears yearly on average per year. The USA had over 830,000in 2016 that were reported missing and that was in one year alone. Each case on average in the US is about 750,000.

So you may ask how are people supposed to stop abductions with the numbers of people that have disappeared being so high? Well I am going to give you some tips that will help so pay attention.

How To Avoid Being One Of The Statistics!

Abductions happen all over the world, being it by neighbours, family, sex traffickers, killers or sexual predators but there are some preventive measures you can you take.

Take note of your surroundings if you think someone is following you; don't always wear headphones on both ears or have your head caught up in texting. If you go somewhere use the buddy system. Never go anywhere alone. If you have a bad feeling about someone pay attention to it. Follow your instincts no matter what; they could save your life. Don't meet up with strangers. Sure people can seem nice online and I am sure some are but do you really want to take a chance? Don't ride with strangers. If your friends say oh yeah I heard this guy is nice lets to go to the mall, DONT. Do not have a routine. Not doing the same thing all the time is a good thing; it means no one can predict what you're doing and when. These tips will help out but the most important tip I can give you is use logic.
The Independent and The Observer have both revealed that the President of the EU Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, told Theresa May to hold a snap election. According to these newspapers, this is because the Conservatives' former 17-seat majority was not sufficient enough to exercise Britain's muscles in the upcoming Brexit negotiations. This in itself is sufficient reason for Britain to leave the EU altogether and adds to the long history of the political union's manipulation of elections.

'Democratic injustice'

This list of casualties the EU has inflicted democratic injustice on range from Denmark to Ireland.

In 1993, Denmark voted to leave, but the political union managed to offer them improved conditions for membership, and they rejoined in 1994. In 2005, the Netherlands and France both rejected the 2004 EU Constitution, yet they re-branded it as the 2007 Lisbon Treaty and went ahead with it anyway. In 2008, the Republic of Ireland rejected the Lisbon Treaty, but the EU forced them to have another referendum and they had to accept it.

If it is true that Mr. Juncker advised Mrs May to issue a snap election, this proves Brussels still pulls Britain's democratic strings, even after it voted to leave the EU. It is no secret staunch Europhiles would love a second referendum, and there is no doubt Brussels is anxious about Brexit.

Perhaps this was the EU Commission President's tactic to enable the British electorate to vote in what was essentially a disguised attempt at a second referendum.

Either way, this is a shameful attempt by Brussels to influence democracy, again.
The 2017 General Election has destroyed Theresa May's premiership, at least in the short-term. Many Conservatives have referred to her as a dead woman walking. There have been talks of another leadership election and a soft Brexit. The response to CCHQ's inadequate general election campaign on social media has been horrendous. The result has been a supply-in-confidence arrangement with a Northern Irish party that has been misconstrued as 'terrorist sympathisers', further damaging the Tories' image in many voters' eyes. If Mr. Juncker urged the Prime Minister to call a snap poll, he knew what he was doing.

It is safe to say he has stitched her up.

'You cannot have your cake and eat it'

Many European politicians have warned Britain 'you cannot have your cake and eat it.' This means the UK remains in the EU and accepts all of its rules as a Single Market member, or it leaves entirely. Whether this is just European posturing remains to be seen, but there is no doubt many politicians have viewed the results of this general election as a rejection by the British electorate of a 'hard' Brexit. With rumours abounding the DUP want a softer EU exit, the superbloc may offer Britain nothing more than membership of the European Economic Area (EEA).

This would result in Britain withdrawing from the EU, but retaining membership of an organisation where its members accept many Single Market rules.

It would also mean the UK being accountable to the EFTA Court, which is their equivalent to the European Court of Justice Vote Leave vigorously campaigned against last year. Despite Lichtenstein being allowed to legislate for a points-based immigration system, all other EEA countries accept the free movement of workers. In fact, Norway signed up to the Schengen Agreement and accepts the free movement of people too.

If Mr. Juncker did truly stitch up Mrs May, he has done a fantastic job in destroying Brexit. A soft Brexit will not result in Britain leaving the superbloc, and this is exactly what the EU Commission President desires.
Brussels could have interfered in this year's General Election as it has been reported Jean-Claude Juncker may have urged Theresa May to call it.

The President of the European Commission urged the Prime Minister to go to the polls early because a 17-seat majority would not be enough for the upcoming Brexit negotiations. He reportedly told the Conservative leader she might be able to exercise more muscle over the size of the UK's divorce bill if the Tories had a bigger majority in the House of Commons.

Despite this, Labour may be able to save the Government's Brexit plans

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has emerged as an unlikely saviour of Britain's EU exit in the face of the Conservatives' weakened majority.

Speaking to Robert Peston yesterday, he has vowed to pull Britain out of the EU's Single Market.

'Just do it'

The Observer revealed Mr Juncker said to Mrs May she should 'just do it' in reference to calling an early election.

A diplomat added that the EU wants a deal with Britain more than people realise.

The Tory leader called the snap general election in April because she believed an increased Conservative majority would strengthen Britain's hand in negotiations with the European Union.

Last month, during the election, the EU Commission's President visited the Prime Minister at Downing Street, which the German press reported signified a fractured relationship between the two. They also reported that EU officials and Mr Juncker were all surprised the Tory leader did not recognise the enormity of the task facing her.

'Living in another galaxy'

There have also been claims that he told German Chancellor Angela Merkel that the EU President believes she is 'living in another galaxy' if she thinks these negotiations would be simple.

At the time, Mrs May fought back and attacked the EU for interfering in the 2017 General Election.

She also accused many in Brussels of gossiping about Brexit.

Regardless of whether the allegation that MJuncker told the Prime Minister to call an early election is true, the Conservatives have found themselves with no majority in the House of Commons, which resulted in a hung parliament.

Since Friday Mrs May has been negotiating with a Northern Irish party called the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to form a supply-in-confidence agreement to keep the Tories in power until 2022.

There are rumours circulating that the DUP is more in favour of a soft Brexit to ensure Britain's border with the Republic of Ireland remains open after the UK has left the EU.

This, many believe, could water down the UK's position in the Brexit negotiations, much to the annoyance of many in the Conservatives who want a free-trade deal with the EU and nothing else.

Despite this, the Government may pursue a 'hard' Brexit strategy if it has sufficient support from other parties in Parliament.

Since gaining increased support from UKIP voters during last Thursday's election, Mr McDonnell said he intends to withdraw Britain from the Single Market completely.

'Jobs-first Brexit'

Trying to build on his party's momentum, he said to ITV's Robert Peston that he wants to implement a 'jobs-first' Brexit.

This is despite many in the Tory Party believing Labour will renege on its stance on leaving the EU.

Former work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith said Mr McDonnell is trying to position himself as tough on the EU to capture more votes from UKIP. But the Corbyn ally claims he respects the result of last year's EU Referendum where 52% of eligible voters backed leaving the EU.

He said if there is too much in-fighting between the Conservatives and the DUP over Brexit, Labour may well save the process altogether.

Prior to the shadow Chancellor's Peston interview, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said his party remains fully committed to pulling Britain out of the EU completely.

He has instead called for arrangements to be made where the UK can still trade with the Single Market.

This is despite his campaign pledge during last year's referendum that Britain is safer by remaining a member of the EU.
It would be easy for Jeremy Corbyns Labour Party to sit back and watch Theresa Mays Premiership crumble. Amid the Conservatives disastrous performance at the ballot box, the unfathomable irony of their negotiating position with the DUP, and rumours of a Scottish Conservative breakaway from the main party; it would be all too easy for the Labour Party to revel in the chaotic aftermath of this General Election.

The Conservatives ran their campaign on the simple principal of providing Strong & Stable Leadership in the National Interest as opposed to a Coalition of Chaos led by Jeremy Corbyn.

Theresa May called this election to strengthen her grip on power at a time when the British tabloids and the opinion polls painted Mr. Corbyn in a most unfavourable light; a terrorist sympathiser, as unelectable and a threat to national security.

Labour Force

The Labour Party fought this general election on a clear ticket of anti-austerity, socialist, pro-worker ideals. Throughout this campaign the Tories, in unison with the British tabloids and broadcast media, would leap at any opportunity to chastise Jeremy Corbyn for his perceived inability to form a stable government, his radical history and the inevitable total abandonment of Labours electoral base.

It became evident that Jeremy Corbyn was fighting against not only the Conservative Party, but also its extended influence in the nation's news outlets; those that would provide coverage of the election campaign to the electorate.

The press, the government and even a large portion of Labours own parliamentary force were already scribbling obituaries for Corbyn, for his corbynista supporters and for British socialism before the first vote had been cast on Thursday.

As the last ballot was counted in the Kensington constituency on Friday morning, it was Theresa May, her top-aides, the Conservatives parliamentary majority and hard Brexit for whom the bell tolled.

Labour gained 30 seats in Westminster, the Conservatives lost 13; bringing each to 262 and 318 respectively, both falling short of the 326 needed to establish a majority government.

Corbyn enthused the voter

Jeremy Corbyn is not the typical parliamentarian; hes a campaigner. The labour leader is in his element amongst the people, on the doorstep and speaking to the ballot casters.

It was Mr. Corbyns undeniable ability to enthuse people in the run-up to June 8th that turned the outcome of this election on its head.

In the face of seemingly insurmountable adversity from all sides, the Labour leader delivered an election performance the likes of which the Party hasnt enjoyed since 1945.

Quick-fix administration

Its all too easy to feel like Labour won this election, but despite the humiliating position the Conservatives find themselves in, the chaotic prospect of a coalition with the DUP and a leader entering Brexit negotiations with a compromised hold on power; the Conservatives are still in power. As the Tories scramble together a quick-fix administration to keep themselves in government, Labour will work under the assumption a Conservative-DUP coalition is untenable and act to form a minority government; amending the Queen's Speech in Parliament.

This election result has been a second consecutive act of defiance from the British electorate, voting to leave the European Union in 2016, followed by a vote of confidence in Labour's manifesto and its clear opposition to the further austerity policies, public service and NHS funding cuts offered by the Conservatives.
Everyone has experienced it. "manspreading"  people sitting on the subway train with their legs spread out wide, taking up precious inches and invading everyones personal space. Records show the practice has been complained about since way back in 1915, and yet the practice continues. Madrid, the capital of Spain, has just taken steps to try to stop manspreading on Public Transport by introducing new signs.

'Manspreading' goes back to at least 1915

Manspreading is so common these days it was officially defined in the Oxford English Dictionary back in 2015.

However, according to the Smithsonian Magazine, the habit has been going on since 1915  they have various newspaper and other advertisements in their archives politely asking travelers to be courteous about their surrounding leg room. A series of the vintage ads will soon be on public display at the New York Transit Museum to show how the practice goes back for many decades.

Manspreading has been complained about since forever... pic.twitter.com/cxGUWM1wO2  Anne King (@inthemedia1) June 11, 2017

According to a report in the New York Post, a study run in 2015 uncovered the fact that 27 percent of men were likely to manspread into other peoples space, while less than five percent of women, can we say, womanspread?

As reported by the Sacramento Bee, in the U.S., cities like Philadelphia, New York City and Seattle have previously tried out advertising campaigns in an effort to put a stop to the manspreading habit, but without much success.

New York particularly has been trying for two years to get rid of the impolite habit with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority installing signs on trains.

Madrid to give anti 'manspreading' signs a go

Despite failures elsewhere, and after a womens group launched an online petition that quickly drew hundreds of signatures, the city of Madrid is ready to try their own ad campaign.

In future public buses in the city will bear signs featuring a seated male figure with legs spread wide in the popular manspreading position, alongside a big red X.

La @EMTmadrid anade una nueva senal a bordo del bus para evitar el #manspreading: "Respeta el espacio de los demas". https://t.co/Xg5LFWb4TA pic.twitter.com/KSyeU45gAi  Ayuntamiento Madrid (@MADRID) June 6, 2017

In some countries, public transport is rife with more than just plain old "manspreading," however.

As reported by Blasting News in March, Mexico City authorities came up with a new way to try to stop sexual harassment on the subway.

Mexico City comes up with new idea to combat sexual harassment on the subway https://t.co/UxlW2S8NU5  Anne Sewell (@anners2008) April 5, 2017

One part of the initiative was to install a special seat shaped like a mans torso and penis aimed to make men uncomfortable when traveling. The other part was to install CCTV cameras and TVs to emphasize the physical attributes of passing men, for the pleasure and amusement of lady travelers. If nothing else, at least their campaign make women travelers smile.
Ever since it was announced that Donald Trump had fired James Comey as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the White House has been forced to deal with non-stop criticism from the mainstream media. While it was expected that the press would be critical of Trump's decision, even some on the more conservative Fox News have decided to speak out.

Fox News on Trump

It's no secret that Donald Trump doesn't see eye to eye with media. During his campaign announcement back in June 2015, Trump referred to illegal immigrants as "rapists" and "murderers" and was quickly hit with heavy backlash from the press.

As the months moved on, Trump would often take shots at various news outlets on a routine basis, singling out well-respected platforms like the New York Times and CNN, while giving them his own nickname in the process. Since his election win last November, the rift between Trump and the media has only gotten worse, which appeared to reach a fever pitch earlier this year when the president banned several news outlets from a press briefing at the White House. Over the course of his war of words with reporters and journalists, the former host of "The Apprentice" always had a save space to go to on Fox News. However, certain hosts and network contributors have been highly critical of the president, especially over the firing of James Comey, which was seen during a broadcast on May 13.

(Krauthhammer's comment's start at 4:05 in the above video.)

Joining Friday's edition of "Special Report," network contributor Charles Krauthammer didn't hold back his thoughts about Donald Trump in regards to his firing of James Comey, and his handling of the aftermath. Krauthammer put the focus on Trump's recent tweets on the issue, in particular one where the president appeared to threaten the former FBI director.

"All of a sudden you're raising something nobody had imagined and saying you better watch out," Charles Krauthammer said. "That's un-presidential," he continued, before adding, "which is kind of a nice way of saying that that sounds more like a mafia boss than the president of a free republic." Not stopping there, Krauthammer blamed Donald Trump for the media backlash, accusing the commander in chief of a "self-inflicted wound" in regards to the negative response to the firing of Comey.

Krauthammer: Trumps Comey Tapes Tweet Makes Him Sound More Like a Mafia Boss Than President https://t.co/gIOCHkLNQr (VIDEO) pic.twitter.com/8U6VJ8nnhB  Mediaite (@Mediaite) May 12, 2017

Moving forward

Charles Krauthammer is not the first Fox News personality to push back against Donald Trump for firing James Comey, as host Chris Wallace was equally as critical earlier in the week. Despise Trump insisting that he was in the right when it comes to terminating Comey, it doesn't look like he's going to get the press on board with his agenda anytime soon.
Both sides of the political fence believe they won after former FBI Director James Comey testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday. Democrats and many legal experts believed U.S. President Donald Trump was portrayed as a liar who attempted to obstruct justice by ordering Comey to stop the investigation of Michael Flynn, the ex-National Security Adviser.

Trump and many Republicans, however, think the hearing exonerated the president. Jay Sekulow, who is part of Trumps legal team, said that based on what Comey testified, it has no basis to bring obstruction of justice charges against the billionaire.

Rather, he thought it was the collapse of the former FBI director, The Washington Post reported.

Nation is divided

Although Trumps approval rating continues to plummet because of the Russian investigation, his supporters said the presidents ability to speak directly to his followers  including millions of bots in his Twitter account- works in favor of the White House which is under siege. Many legal experts, however, do not agree that Comeys confirmation that Trump is not being probed vindicates the president. They pointed out that the real estate mogul and his campaign staff have real legal and political risks with the dismissal of Comey and Russian interference in the election.

They said that Comeys testimony raised actions by some key members of the Trump administration.

The list includes Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, according to Philip Allen Lacovara, an ex-deputy solicitor general in the Department of Justice. The counsel to the Watergate special prosecutors explained that Comeys testimony is enough proof that what Trump did was an obstruction of justice.

Sessions to testify

Since he was mentioned in Comeys explosive testimony, Sessions said on Saturday that he will testify before the same committee on Tuesday to address matters raised by the former FBI director. The AG wrote a letter to Sen. Richard Shelby, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies, to tell him that most proper venue to tackle the issues raised by Comey is the Intelligence Committee, Reuters reported.

Sessions, however, did not indicate if he will give his testimony in an open or closed session. The AG recused himself from the Russia investigation because he failed to disclose, when he applied for security clearance, that he met in 2016 the Russian ambassador when he was still a senator.
With the pressure mounting on the White House over the growing Russian scandal, the president is looking to find ways to deflect from the controversy at hand. The latest attempt to shift the media focus away from Russia comes in the form of Donald Trump's new plan for workers, which includes his daughter Ivanka Trump leading the way.

Ivanka on Twitter

Once it was clear that Donald Trump was going to be a serious contender for the presidency, questions were raised as to what impact his family would have on his campaign. Once the former host of "The Apprentice" pulled off the shocking upset with a win over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton last November, speculation shifted onto whether or not his family would find their way into the administration.

While his two oldest sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, have been vocal at times in defense of their father, they've mostly stayed out of official government business. However, son-in-law Jared Kushner has been added to the team, with Ivanka Trump being hired as a special assistant to the president. In recent weeks, Trump has been under constant fire from Democrats and the majority of the mainstream media, especially following the recent testimony of former FBI Director James Comey. In what could be viewed as a potential distraction, Ivanka Trump took to Twitter on June 11 to promote "workforce development week" and the president's plans for hiring workers.

Let's put America back to work by providing citizens with the skills & training they need to succeed. #WorkforceWeekhttps://t.co/MUaPSmiaZJ  Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) June 11, 2017

Taking to Twitter on Sunday night, Ivanka Trump did her best to put the focus on Donald Trump's plan to train individuals in the work force.

"Let's put America back to work by providing citizens with the skills & training they need to succeed," Ivanka wrote, before using the hashtag "#WorkforceWeek."

According to CBS News, "workforce development week" will focus on "streamlining current federal job training programs and expanding apprenticeship programs." In addition, Ivanka Trump has been tapped to lead the theme-focused week, which will conclude with a speech by the president.

Ivanka Trump is back in the spotlight for workforce development week https://t.co/BkQWheCdvH pic.twitter.com/rS5rp6tGLD  CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) June 11, 2017

Twitter reacts

Not long after Ivanka Trump sent out her tweet about Donald Trump's plans for workers, social media users were quick to fire back and didn't seem impressed with the president's efforts.

"You couldn't find anyone more qualified, than your daughter Ivanka, to help the American workforce? The madness never stops," musician Val Broeksmit tweeted out.

"But daddy! I want a golden ticket too!" - Veruka Salt  val broeksmit (@BikiniRobotArmy) June 11, 2017

How about saving healthcare for 23 million people? https://t.co/TxhJYJ6uCO  ((Molly Jong-Fast)) (@MollyJongFast) June 11, 2017

Put all the corruption investigators back to work. Good call  Zack Kopplin (@ZackKopplin) June 11, 2017

"How about saving healthcare for 23 million people?" novelist Milly Jong-Fast wrote on her Twitter account. "Your dad is championing fossil fuels over green energy. Maybe convince him to start training some coal miners to instal solar panels," Vice writer Justin Caffier tweeted out.

Betsy DeVoss is decimating the education department, making difficult for all student loans, massive cuts to elementary and secondary edu  GPV (@PatricioAuthor) June 11, 2017

Your dad is championing fossil fuels over green energy. Maybe convince him to start training some coal miners to instal solar panels.  Cucktin Cuckier (@JustinCaffier) June 11, 2017

"You want to provide "skills and training to all American citizens?" then let them study what they want and pursue real careers and training," an additional tweet added. The negative reaction poured in as it was clear that Ivanka Trump would remain a top target by those who oppose the current administration.
Donald Trump has postponed a visit to the United Kingdom amid worries that he would be welcomed with large-scale protests against him. According to the Guardian newspaper in London, The American president told the British Prime Minister, #Theresa May, of his decision in a recent phone call. The move is said to have surprised May, who had extended an invitation on behalf of Queen Elizabeth during her visit to the White House back in January.

The move is said to have surprised May, who had extended an invitation on behalf of Queen Elizabeth during her visit to the White House back in January.Although a date for the trip had yet to be agreed, it was thought that Trump and his wife, Melania, would be in the UK around October.

''No change to plans''

Mays office released a statement insisting there was no change to the plans. A spokeswoman for Downing Street said, "We aren't going to comment on speculation about the contents of private phone conversations. The Queen extended an invitation to President Trump to visit the UK and there is no change to those plans."

The response came as May reshuffled her government following last week's general elections which cost her a parliamentary majority. Whether this was an additional factor that contributed to Trump's decision is still unclear.

Tension and controversy

Trump sparked a wave of anger in the UK after mocking London Mayor Sadiq Khan for his response to the London Bridge terrorist attacks, which left eight people dead and dozens injured.

In a series of tweets, Trump accused Khan of underestimating the threat facing the UK.

Khan's team hit back instantly, accusing the American leader of misquoting the mayor and attempting to divide Londoners.

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

The comments added to the controversy between the two countries over intelligence sharing following an earlier attack in Manchester.

British investigators were furious with the way their counterparts in America allegedly passed information about the assailant to the press.

Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the British Labor party, was quick to welcome the reported cancellation of the visit. ''Cancellation of President Trump's State Visit is welcome, especially after his attack on London's mayor & withdrawal from #ParisClimateDeal,'' he tweeted.

Trump, whose mother was born in Scotland, has previously said he was looking forward to the visit to meet the Queen. He has even reportedly asked to accompany the monarch in a tour on her gold-plated chariot around Buckingham Palace.

A petition in the UK calling for a ban on the visit attracted more than 1.8 million signatures back in January.
Donald Trump's top form of communication over the last two years has been Twitter. While Trump seems to love the social media platform, its former CEO doesn't share the same feelings about the commander in chief.

Twitter on Trump

It didn't take long before it was clear that Donald Trump and the mainstream media wouldn't see eye to eye. After Trump's campaign announcement were he insulted illegal immigrants from Mexico as "murderers" and "rapists," the press quickly hit back at the president and the battle between the media and the former host of "The Apprentice" was underway.

As the 2016 presidential election continued, Trump increased his use of Twitter while publicly bashing the press, often referring to journalists as "terrible" and the "most dishonest" people he's ever met. While this has been going on, Trump's tweets have become legendary. Whether it's a late-night stab at "Saturday Night Live," or pushing a wild conspiracy in an apparent attempt to deflect from his own scandals, Trump is never too far from his cell phone. Though Trump loves the social media platform, those who have worked for the company don't feel the same about him. As seen on his own Twitter account on June 9, the former CEO of the company is speaking out.

If you don't get invited to this meeting and want to know what it was like, just drink a bottle of gin and then waterboard yourself. https://t.co/secLdw2Xjp  dick costolo (@dickc) June 10, 2017

As reported by BuzzFeed over the weekend, Donald Trump is set to hold a similar meeting to one that he had earlier with venture capitalists and entrepreneurs.

Leaders from Apple, Amazon, and others will be in attendance to discuss future technology.

Trump Will Meet With Tech Leaders To Talk About Emerging Tech Like Drones https://t.co/3xp9d3epOz pic.twitter.com/3hjllZ38L2  Viral Lay (@virallay) June 10, 2017

The former CEO of Twitter, dick costolo, took part in a previous meeting back in 2015 with Donald Trump, but was not impressed with the billionaire real estate mogul.

"If you don't get invited to this meeting and want to know what it was like, just drink a bottle of gin and then waterboard yourself," Costolo tweeted out. The current CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, has kept his thoughts about Trump mostly private. During the Recode Code Commerce conference back in December, Dorsey was pressed on his feelings about Trump, responding that it was "complicated."

Heres how Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey feels about Donald Trumps tweets https://t.co/gAI7g3jGNx  Fortune (@FortuneMagazine) December 8, 2016

Moving forward

While Dick Costolo doesn't seem to be a fan of Donald Trump, the business community has supported the president, mostly due to his policies that favor corporations over workers. However, Trump's popularity has suffered due to his controversial policy proposals and growing scandals, with the latest round of polling showing his approval rating droppoing to below 40 percent.
U.S. troops in afghanistan will have to battle a growing number of ISIS fighters in Afghanistan as Taliban groups in the country are joining the Islamic terror group. According to military sources, a surge of new ISIS recruits from Afghan towns is a cause of concern for U.S. forces stationed in the battle-torn country.

How will Taliban-ISIS cooperation affect U.S. policy in Afghanistan?

Early Saturday, three U.S. soldiers were killed when Taliban fighters infiltrated the security force while conducting a routine patrol in Afghanistan. The attack was claimed by the Taliban, which is reportedly joining up with the ISIS terror group that are slowly being driven out of Syria and Iraq.

Former Pentagon official Michael Maloof said to RT that these kinds of attacks will continually pester U.S. forces currently in Afghanistan unless things change.

At the moment, U.S. President Donald Trump ponders on whether to send more troops to Afghanistan or not. This is after Obama pulled U.S. troops out of the country after more than a decade of war and 6,927 dead American soldiers. Despite this, many in the Trump administration are clamoring for a more aggressive policy in Afghanistan to finally destroy terror strongholds in the country.

How will the United States cope with a long war without any sure end in sight?

Maloof said that during Obama's term, the U.S. Military lost focus on Afghanistan.

After more than 100,000 American soldiers were pulled out from the country, the Taliban was inadvertently "allowed" to regain power in the country. He argued that if the United States completely left Afghanistan, the Taliban can easily take over the country in a matter of days.

Because of this fact, Trump has a major decision to make in order to save the dire situation in Afghanistan.

Military intelligence showed evidence that Taliban fighters are embracing ISIS soldiers coming from Pakistan, Syria and Iraq. Allowing ISIS to have another country to take over is not a situation that the United States will allow. This is why many are hoping that Trump signs the order to send additional 3,000 - 8,000 troops into Afghanistan.

Defeating ISIS is one of the major promises Trump made during his campaign.

In line with this policy, Trump had made Saudi Arabia and UAE strong allies that will help stop the spread of ISIS ideology to these ultraconservative Islamic countries. American presence in the Middle East is now much stronger than ever after Trump had created a coalition that will fight ISIS and Iran.
The heat was not just on U.S. President Donald Trump in the past few days after former FBI Director James Comey provided a damning testimony on Thursday before the Senate on the presidents alleged lies. Besides the real estate billionaire, three White House staffers were also in the news this week.

First, Dan Scavino Jr., the social media director of Trump, was chided by the Office of the Special Counsel for a tweet that called Rep. Justin Amash a liability in a breach of the Hatch Act. Second, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the deputy press secretary, sent gibberish tweets, but it turned out it was her three-year-old son who did it.

Third, senior adviser Kellyanne Conway allegedly mocked Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and other White House staff.

Washington DC party clown

The incident happened at a Washington DC party on Thursday, June 8, the New York Post reported. It was the same day that Comey gave a three-hour testimony of the Russian links to the Trump campaign and how the president pressured him to drop the ongoing FBI investigation of ex-National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

The Daily cited an eavesdropper at the party, who tweeted the juicy details using the handle @KellyanneLeaks. The leaker said that Conway mocked Priebus by imitating his dopey voice with the words No leaks guuuuys. The next target was Marc Short, the White House legislative director, of whom Conway supposedly asked, Honestly, what the fk does Marc Short do all day?"

Conway also allegedly disobeyed Trumps order to say that Comey will have to wait and see about the tapes.

She was referring to questions about whether the conversation between Trump and Comey was taped. Instead of saying what Trump stated, Conway said no comment.

Spice boy defends Conway

According to the observer, Conway made the comments while talking to several Washington Post reporters. @KellyanneLeaks posted a photo of Conway on Twitter allegedly leaking sensitive Priebus and Trump White House conversations to media.

However, Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, defended Conway. He told Politico that @KellyanneLeaks misheard the conversation. It was not the chief of staff the woman known for giving out alternative facts was mocking, but reporters for their repeated but wrong stories about the turmoil in the White House. Spicer added that Conway likely changed Trumps instructions about the tape because the presidents lawyers told the White House staff to instead say no comment.
When Duterte was in Moscow his pride was punctured when Islamic fighters aided by the ISIS captured large parts of Mindanao and the city of Marawi. Earlier, President Duterte was talking tough against the U.S. and had said he wanted to scale down military cooperation with the USA. He had also used insulting words in a reference to President Obama.

He had to eat humble pie as the Philippine Army, even after the declaration of martial law and an assault with fighters and helicopters was unable to drive out the Islamic militants. The sad part is that over 54 soldiers have been killed proving the Philippine army was not equal to the task.

The government appears to have reconsidered its tough stance. This was reported by CNN International.

Duterte

The U.S. Embassy in Manila announced on Saturday that U.S. Special Forces are assisting the Philippines. The Embassy spokesperson added that this deployment was at the request of the Philippine government. Duterte is cornered but in a fit of bravado said "I never approached any American to say 'please help us'." This was reported by Military news.com. The fact remains that by accepting U.S .participation Duterte has accepted the American role to help the army.

The battle

The battle on the ground is almost a stalemate. Despite a no-holds-barred campaign and air support, the rebels are still in control of the city.

Marawi is the capital of the eastern province with a population of over 200,000. The battle is brutal and 58 soldiers and an estimated 191 Maute militants have been killed. according to the state-run Philippines News Agency. Possible the casualties of the army are higher. The latest news is that there was a severe battle during the last 14 hours and 13 marines were killed.

These casualties are high and the army may not be able to sustain them.They also affect the morale of the soldiers battling the Islamic militants.

New battleground

Philippines is the new battleground of ISIS fighters who have infiltrated into the Eastern province and joined up with the local Islamic Maute fighters. The insurgency is decades old and the Army has very little to show by way of results.

The capture of an important provincial capital does not speak highly of the efficacy of the Philippine Army. Duterte had boasted that he has never visited the U.S. and also did not attend the swearing-in of Trump, though invited. In the light of the latest developments, he will probably have to rethink his strategy. He should have realized that out of all nations only the Americans can help the Philippines at this time.
Between 2015 and this year Vladimir Putin gave a series of exclusive interviews to American film Director Oliver Stone. The contents of these interviews are going to be released in a multiple part "Showtime" feature, but some of the more riveting portions have been released early.

When asked if the U.S. would emerge victorious in a Hot War between two nuclear powers, the enigmatic Russian leader said that in his view that no one would survive a conflict of that magnitude.

The question at hand isn't academic and given the brazen disregard that President Trump has for diplomacy, we may want to take Mr.

Putin's words very seriously. While the USA does have a formidable military arsenal, when it comes to strategic nuclear weaponry, they are evenly matched by both Russia and China from a practical perspective.

Trying to win

It has been a long time since anyone won a war. In the classical European model, a war was declared against a nation, by another nation, and then terrible things happened until one of the two nations gave up.

Of course from a practical perspective, given the incestuous nature of the Continental monarchies, a European conflict was never a two-party affair. But that isn't the point. What I am driving at is that War is a concept that no longer relates to the geopolitical situation that we now live in.

Take the conflict in Syria and the multifaceted nature of the combatants. It would be easy to assume a 19th-century mentality and assert that if Assad was gotten rid of, everything would be lovely. But doesn't work that way anymore.

Libya is one example of why this mentality is no longer relevant, and Iraq is another. When Qaddafi was unceremoniously retired via a painfully placed combat knife, Libya didn't benefit from it.

Now it is one of the few places on earth where humans are openly traded as slaves, and there is a flood of refugees from their coasts risking life to gain access to better shores over the horizon.

So no winner there. But NATO sure did bomb the s*** out of the Libyan military targets, and anything else that seemed like a very war winning thing to do.

No more goals

The underlying issue is that nations no longer fight wars in the way they existed in the past, nor do conflicts resolve themselves as they would've 100 years ago. In the wake of a total victory by an opposing force, there was a relative calm restored to the region.

Think Berlin, in 1946. It was a bloody, awful calm. But a calm nonetheless.

Today populations aren't slaughtered to the point where a fight is given up. Instead, wars are fought with political and economic motives in the forefront. The actual goal of a war in the background, if it is considered at all.

When Germany was brought to heel in the wake of WW2, there was no conflict possible, as the will to fight had left the nation.

There were no resources left, no buildings, no industry. Nothing. Wars, as the term is used classically don't end on political timetables, nor do they produce viral content for social media.

Without a compass

Wars are terrible things that grind on into a horror that is unimaginable when they begin. That is what Mr. Putin is describing, and it is perhaps why he touches on it so briefly. In the Russian mind, a terrible conflict is only a few generations removed from their day-to-day reality. The Russian nation lost more than 10,000,000 people during the Second World War, and this isn't forgotten easily.

The European theater of combat was brought to a close by the Russian army, who fell mercilessly onto Germany once Nazi lines broke.

The U.S. didn't have the manpower the Russia had, nor did they have anything to match the T-34 in either quantity or ability to deliver ordinance.

In the sense that the Russians have a Stalingrad, the U.S. is simply a debutante on the world stage. For the population in the U.S .wars are a thing that happens in other places, and can't happen at home.

That is perhaps why they don't understand how U.S. missiles in Poland could irk Putin, as though the U.S. has a right to put potentially atomic weapons wherever it wants. If Russia began to arm the Mexican border with atomic weapons, perhaps the people in Missouri would feel some empathy.

The U.S. has felt the fallout of war, with the physically and psychologically wounded veterans serving as a reminder.

But when it comes to losing whole generations to conflict, there is simply no comparison between the U.S. and Russia.

Unlike the highly sheltered American populous, Mr. Putin has no illusions about war. We can only hope that other powerful leaders have his reverence for what is possible when we venture out into the unknowns of human depravity.
Maybe it's not a Demise. Maybe it is just fate playing its game. Whatever it is, Trump is building a pile of liabilities from which a rebound is close to impossible.

To have a rebound the people would have to accept a government rife with new disabilities and a chief executive who will not or cannot do the job. This is the Trump of Atlantic City in the 90s when his casinos, for which he overpaid, failed miserably.

You'll remember

The situation in New Jersey was bankruptcy or bust. Trump was too big to fail so bankruptcies stacked up. The glitz was gone overnight.

And because the banks under Democrats and Republicans are set up to let the rich do what they damn please, Trump escaped. He will escape when he leaves Washington too. He will declare a big victory and blame his dismal fall on Obama, the Clintons, and James Comey.

The signs are unending

Among today's cascading indignities, falls and unspeakable's number one is the likely collapse of Trump's projected trip to England. It is just as well. England has just proved the bellwether of a massive global correction. It is the first time, adding in the French results, that the world has begun to detect that what the MSM calls populism is just anger unleashed for little reason and that the underlying problems are not addressed by the likes of Boris Johnson and Teresa May and who was that that was running in France?

England

But England is where Trump chose to condemn one of the most efficient responses to terrorism that has ever been unleashed. The police were the heroes of the horrible low-tech terror rampage near London Bridge. But of course, Trump did not read or learn the facts and fed his shrinking base a lie suggesting that his failed agenda is the answer to London's bumbling Mayor.

The shrinking base

That raises the matter of yet another sign, this one a true demise-trigger. It has always been the case, the statisticians say, that Trump will never get over 50 percent approval. The reason is the huge portion of the electorate that is resolutely set against him. So a big win for Donald is to hold on to his modest base of around 30 percent.

These are the ones that love him.

Polls show Trump's base is starting to erode  and Trump is still keeping a close eye on those pollshttps://t.co/qzMA1zhGpr  Axios (@axios) June 11, 2017

Bomb

But someone, probably Trump himself, threw a bomb at his base and one-third of it is gone. He is now around twenty percent. Oh, God! Seriously this will become the big headline in a few days. That's because it is the most damaging fact in the world for the president.

If the base is getting bored and tired of the lies and feeling a bit sheepish and humiliated, that means reality is setting in. Reality is not Donald Trump's friend.

Limit

I see I have reached my limit and barely begun totaling Trump's woes. Well, that is a good reason to take these reports in low doses. We would not want to shock anyone as we watch the big fish struggle with his self-made hook.
Heading into the weekend, the biggest story to dominate the news cycle has been James Comey being fired as head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) by Donald Trump. As Trump angrily defends himself from critics, comedian Bill Maher didn't hold back his thoughts.

Real Time on Trump

Since the start of the Donald Trump administration, it was clear that there would be ongoing issues. Whether it's the growing Russian scandal, in-fighting between his advisers and associates, controversial policy decisions and executive orders, or just the president's general tone, Trump has been forced to play defense from the moment he was sworn into office.

While there have been many issues for the former host of "The Apprentice" to deal with over the last four months, nothing has caused him more of a headache than the scandal involving Russia and the country's role in hacking into the 2016 presidential election. Following the election, Democrats were quick to point fingers as to why Hillary Clinton was defeated, with one of the main culprits being James Comey for bringing up her email and private server scandal while she was serving as Secretary of State. However, Comey quickly went from hero to zero for Republicans once he was put in charge to lead the investigation into Russia. After Comey was fired earlier this week, Trump faced serious backlash over his decision, which was highlighted during the May 12 edition of "Real Time with Bill Maher" on HBO.

Kicking off his show with his weekly monologue, Bill Maher went right to the point and was quick to put Donald Trump on blast. "Seems like there was a year's worth of news stuffed into a week," Maher noted, before going right into Trump's decision to fire James Comey. "The way he did it. Trump can't do anything without doing it like a little bitch," Maher commented, before noting, "One minute into the show and I've already lost my mind."

"Instead of calling Comey up like a real man would do, he sends his albino assassin," Bill Maher said, while giving the punchline "Vladimir Putin." "The main reason they (Trump admin) said Comey had to go, it had nothing to do with Russia, it was all over how unfair he was to Hillary," Maher said in disbelief, while noting, "This would insult Sarah Palin's intelligence."

"Why can't the Democrats make this sale: You're either with us, or with the Russians. That's all I want to hear."  @BillMaher #RealTime pic.twitter.com/jyfcRktWzA  Real Time (@RealTimers) May 13, 2017

"Could you imagine what the Republicans would be saying if Hillary was doing this?" Bill Maher rhetorically asked.

"The articles of impeachment wouldn't just be drafted, Roger Stone would have them tattooed on his back by now," he noted, while labeling the White House "The Apprentice, nuclear edition." After recapping Trump's bad week, Maher sarcastically noted, "but Hillary sent some emails from the wrong lap top." "Hey 'Bernie or Bust' people, Hillary wasn't pure enough?

Look what you have now!" the HBO host concluded.

Moving forward

While Bill Maher and other high-profiled critics of the White House continue to put pressure on Donald Trump, the president doesn't seem willing to change his tune anytime soon. After just a few months in office, Trump is dealing with a historically low approval rating that is under 40 percent in the most recent round of polling.
"Days of Our Lives" spoilers overlap with "The Young and the Restless" spoilers for a shocking news item. "DOOL"'s new head scribe Ron Carlivati has lured Eileen Davidson ("Y&R"'s Ashley Abbott) back to "Days", possibly to reprise her role as Kristen DiMera. Ron is known for raising dead characters and is doing at again for "DOOL". This "DOOL" casting news comes fresh on the heels of Carlivati yanking "Days"' Will Horton (Chandler Massey) from the grave after he was brutally slain in October 2015 by the necktie killer.

Is Eileen Davidson back to "DOOL" as Kristen?

Soap Opera Digest announced the casting stunner today via its website saying, "Fan favorite Eileen Davidson is heading back to Salem." SOD added that the show has not said who she's playing. "DOOL" might not have specified whom "The Young and the Restless" star is playing, but if you're familiar with Ron Carlivati's track record a soap writer, it's probable that she will be playing Kristen despite that the DiMera diva is pushing up daisies.

Back in 2013, when Eileen left "Days of Our Lives", she told TV Guide that she knew for a while that her run as the vile villainess of Salem was coming to an end since she decides to walk away when it was time for contract renewal.

That left her free to head back to "The Young and the Restless" as Ashley Abbott. At the time, the actress insisted she would not go back to "Y&R", but that's precisely where she landed.

Today on #YR, Ashley and Jack team up to find out what is going on with Dina. WATCH FULL EPISODE: https://t.co/3TuZfzr3Zq pic.twitter.com/j3wSC3nFsS  Young and Restless (@YandR_CBS) June 9, 2017

Carlivati Loves to Raise the Dead

When Ron Carlivati was the chief writer at "General Hospital", he brought Jake Spencer (Hudson West) back from the dead even though the kid had died at the tender age of four after being run down by his grandpa Luke Spencer (Anthony Geary) in a tragic DUI hit and run.

Not only was Jake run over, but he was on life support as the family gathered around to watch him die.

His parents Liz Webber (Rebecca Herbst), nominal dad Lucky Spencer (Jonathan Jackson) and bio dad Jason Morgan (Billy Miller) decided to donate his kidney to save the life of Josslyn Jacks (Eden McCoy). It was a tragic and touching death from years past, and then Carlivati undid all that drama by inexplicably resurrecting the kid before he was fired from "GH" leaving the new writers at the ABC soap to clean up the mess.

If Eileen Is Back as Kristen, How Will She Resurrect?

With this hot "Days of Our Lives" spoiler, we have to wonder how Carlivati will raise Kristen from the dead if Eileen is to play her former role (which fans no doubt are hoping). It also begs the question of what will happen to Ashley on upcoming "The Young and the Restless" spoilers. Ashley and the Abbotts are neck-deep in a family storyline with their absentee mother, Dina Mergeron (Marla Adams), back to genoa city, so if she goes missing, it would be noticeable.

When Kristen DiMera died, she fell out a castle window while brawling with Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall).

To be fair, this wouldn't be the first fake death for Kristen if Carlivati does bring Eileen back as the bad girl of Salem. Last time Kristen "died" she even had the gall to turn up for her own funeral, so anything is possible. This time, Kristen presumably died in Italy, but the cops didn't find a body, and we all know in soap land what that means!

Welcome Back to Salem, Eileen!

Kristen's adoptive father Stefano DiMera (Joseph Mascolo) won't be around to welcome her since the soap world lost the talented actor late last year, but there's still plenty of DiMeras around to cheer (or boo) her return.

So, when will Eileen Davidson be back to "DOOL"? Since the show shoots almost six months ahead, "Days of Our Lives" spoilers promise it'll be fall. As of June 5, Eileen Davidson was on the Salem set, so that means a likely return in late November or early December 2017.

"The Young and the Restless" spoilers show no indication that Ashley Abbott is leaving Genoa City, but she might be on the back burner temporarily if this a one-shot cameo type of thing. What do you think soap fans? Are you thrilled Ron Carlivati lured Eileen Davidson back to "DOOL"? Which role do you prefer for Eileen  Ashley Abbott or Kristen DiMera?

Stay tuned for more info as news unfolds for these "Days of Our Lives" spoilers and "The Young and the Restless" spoilers.
More than a quarter of a century after the "twin peaks" TV series ceased to be broadcast, the actor Kyle MacLachlan resumed the role of the FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper, a role that marked his career. Now the actor says he is trying to think that "Twin Peaks" has actually never been interrupted. He confesses that he is curious to see how the audience will react to the show.

MacLachlan has gone through much since the early 1990s, according to the Los Angeles Times. The actor is now 58 years old, he has gray hair, he married, he became a father and he even started a wine business.

'Twin Peaks' is back after 26 years

"Twin Peaks" was a very popular and strange TV series from the 90s. The action of the first two seasons takes place in the small town called Twin Peaks, where the locals are shocked by the brutal killing of Laura Palmer. The FBI agent Dale Cooper is trying to figure out the mystery of this murder.

The new series of "Twin Peaks" is written and directed by the same David Lynch (alongside Mark Frost), who also created the first two seasons of the show which were broadcasted in 1990 and 1991.

Lynch resumed his partnership with MacLachlan after a long time. The two have collaborated at "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me" in 1992.

Twin Peaks - a TV series out of the ordinary

Kyle MacLachlan still considers the pilot episode from 1990 an extraordinary cinema achievement. The actor watches this episode from time to time.

The series began in April 1990 and it enjoyed a very good rating. The critics praised the unique blend of horror, melodrama and bizarre humor.

But once the central mystery of the show was clear, the number of fans decreased. Then ABC canceled the series after 29 episodes, in spite of some protests organized by fans.

MacLachlan received two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for the role.

What will happen to Agent Cooper?

The original series has one of the saddest endings in the history of television.

After a disturbing journey in the mysterious "Black Lodge" - the red curtain room - Dale Cooper is possessed by an evil spirit named Bob, the spirit who possessed Leland Palmer before and made him kill his daughter. What has happened to Agent Cooper in the meantime is clearly the biggest question that the sequel has to answer.

When asked if he had thought about Agent Cooper's fate during these years MacLachlan confessed in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter that he didn't forget.
Having lived almost 60 years in Kentucky, Jeff Smith, operations manager at Two Rivers Fisheries, never thought his favorite dish would one day be Asian carp with eggplant.

That's all due to the first Chinese-American family to live in Wickliffe, Smith's hometown. Wickliffe is a town of about 700 in Ballard County, western Kentucky, which has a population of roughly 8,000.

In 2013, Angie Yu, president of Two Rivers Fisheries, and her husband moved to Wickliffe from Los Angeles to start her own business of bringing Asian carp to the dinner table.

Yu, originally from Heilongjiang province in Northeast China, first read about the Asian carp dilemma of the Mississippi River in 2010.

Angie Yu (third from left) in photo above, is honored as a 2017 Kentucky Pacesetter for her establishment of the Two Rivers Fisheries in Wickliffe, Kentucky. Top right: fishing for Asian carp. Bottom right: processing of carp at Yu's plant. Provided to China Daily

Asian carp was imported to the US from China in the 1970s for the purpose of helping to clean commercial ponds. However, Asian carp spilled into the freshwater system due to flooding and have become an environmental problem due to their ability to prodigiously reproduce and crowd out native spices, upsetting the ecological balance and harming the local fishing industry.

"Asian carp is very popular in China; people consider it very delicious. Why don't we introduce it to the people here in the US?" Yu wondered.

After some research, Yu chose Wickliffe to locate her business. Yu had her struggles, but she persevered. Now, her company is looking to produce 2,000 tons of Asian carp by year's end.

The building that houses the Two Rivers Fisheries was built by the county government in 2002; it was unoccupied until Yu came along 10 years later. "Angie and her business are doing a good job and really work hard," said Todd Cooper, deputy judge of Ballard County. "She is the first occupant of the building, and they've done a great job. And they are adding on, as you will see. I was really impressed by the number of people that are employed here."

Yu has 16 full-time employees and is looking to expand the business. "The business is really growing, and it has been amazing to us to see the transformation of the city since they came," Cooper said.

The city of Wickliffe, with a history of 135 years, never had a single Chinese person live there. "We're the first Chinese-American residents here in this city. I feel like we have to represent China in a nice way," said Yang Yuliang, Yu's husband, who moved to Wickliffe together with his wife in 2013.

Yu and her family have introduced a lot of Chinese culture, philosophy as well as genuine Chinese cuisine to the local community. The first time Yu cooked tea eggs (boiled egg is cracked and boiled in tea, sauce and/or spices ) for local people, they looked at them but wouldn't eat them. Then someone tried them and said he wanted more.

Smith, who started working for Yu once the company was established, was wary of her Chinese cooking. Once Smith dumped tea eggs Yu left in a bowl the day before, thinking they were bad. Now Yu said he eats everything she cooks, even vegetables common in China but rare here, like chives.

One night, Yu made 24 dumplings for Smith.

"I ate 16," Smith said. "In about 30 minutes, I came back and ate the other eight. They were really good."

"Everybody loves her, as she is nice," said George Lane, mayor of Wickliffe, whose son is in the fabrics business and has visited China about six times.

At the opening ceremony for Yu's company, Lane brought her something special: a bottle of Maotai. Maotai is one of the most famous brands of baijiu liquor, which is made in the town of Maotai in Guizhou province.

"It's pretty amazing to see that the community really welcomed Angie. She has friends, and every morning I saw they exercise together," Cooper said.

Yu said the city always helps her. The City Hall allowed her to use the meeting room anytime when she came here for the first time and had nowhere to stay. "Whenever we need help with water or gas, the city always came in one minute," Yu said.

Yu brings cultural exchange to the small town and potential business opportunities.

The paper industry used to be the major economic pillar of the city. Verso, North American producer of coated papers, had one of its mills in Wickliffe since 1960s. In April 2016, Verso announced it would shutter its Wickliffe paper mill due to the declining demand for coated paper. The Wickliffe mill had one paper machine with the capacity to produce 280,000 tons of coated paper and 30,000 tons of dried market pulp. The company said it had been trying to find a buyer for the mill but was unsuccessful.

"We lost about $500 million annual investment in this region," Cooper said.

"We lost 300 jobs at the mill. But actually more than 1,000 people lost their employment," he said. "We still have a lot of people unemployed and we would like them to get back to work."

Since Yu came to the small town, she has brought new hopes for Ballard County to revive its paper industry. She said a lot of potential Chinese investors come here every month to look for opportunities.

leshuodong@chinadailyusa.com
President calls development necessary to counter rise of 'destabilizing factors'

Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the 17th meeting of Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana, Kazakhstan, June 9, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

In his latest speech on Friday, President Xi Jinping highlighted China's firm stance on fighting terrorism and safeguarding regional peace at a time when the world is facing more security challenges than ever.

Recent acts of terrorism show that the fight against the "three evil forces"terrorism, separatism and extremismremains a long and arduous task, Xi said in a speech at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan. Xi wrapped up his four-day visit to the Central Asian country on Saturday.

"Without security, there would be no development to speak of," he said.

Xi's trip to Kazakhstan has added impetus to building the Belt and Road Initiative, cements the bond among countries for the community of shared future and opens up broad prospects for peace and prosperity in the region, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Saturday.

The president's strong voice against the three evil forces has led to practical results. During the summit, the member states signed the SCO Convention on Combating Extremism. The leaders of the SCO countries also issued a declaration to jointly fight international terrorism.

Xi's remarks came against the destabilizing backdrop of a series of recent terrorist attacks. The world is facing many uncertainties and people are expecting a brighter future despite their frustration with the current situation, the president said in a speech at the UN's Geneva headquarters in January.

How is a safer world to be built? That's the question Xi has elaborated on in many major diplomatic occasions, including the SCO summits, since he took office in 2013.

At the SCO summit in Astana, Xi pointed out that "destabilizing factors and uncertainties are on the rise". China is willing to work together with all parties to "build a common home of security, stability, development and prosperity", he said.

While addressing the UN's Geneva headquarters in January, Xi urged all nations to build a world of common security for all.

"A country cannot have security while others are in turmoil, as threats facing other countries may haunt it also. When neighbors are in trouble, instead of tightening his own fences, one should extend a helping hand to them," he said.

The notion of building a community of a shared future for all humankind, which was first put forward by Xi in late 2012, epitomizes the direction in which the Chinese government believes global governance should head.

In March, the UN Security Council for the first time incorporated this concept into its resolution on promoting security and stability in Afghanistan and the region, showing the global recognition the proposal has won.

Safeguarding peace

Xi's firm stance on fighting terrorists and safeguarding peace has been translated into action by China in recent years, with the country making more contributions to improving global governance.

China, now the largest contributor to the United Nations peacekeeping force, has deployed more than 2,600 of the 88,000 "blue berets" in 10 peacekeeping missions in countries like South Sudan, Lebanon and Liberia.

China also uses multilateral platforms such as the Xiangshan Forum and the Shangri-La Dialogue to discuss security and defense cooperation with Asia-Pacific members and others.

In his keynote speech at the UN Geneva headquarters in January, Xi announced that China will provide an additional 200 million yuan ($29.42 million) in humanitarian assistance to help refugees and the homeless in the Syrian crisis.

In recent years, China has advocated talks between the countries directly concerned to address the maritime disputes in the South China Sea, pushed for an early resumption of the stalled six-party talks to end the Korean Peninsula nuclear conundrum, and helped achieve a landmark Iranian nuclear agreement in 2015.

China's prescription

The Chinese president has pointed out on many diplomatic occasions that in fighting terrorists, countries should not just treat the symptoms, but remove the root causes.

"We should intensify counterterrorism efforts, address both the symptoms and root causes, and strive to eradicate poverty, backwardness and social injustice," Xi said in a speech at the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing last month.

"Development is the master key to solving all problems," he added.

During his first state visit to Egypt, President Xi made a speech at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, where he stressed "development" as the key to resolving most Middle East problems, especially growing terrorism and disorder.

Jin Yong, a professor of International relations at Communication University of China, said that the growth of terrorist activities will not be stopped except through development and creation of job opportunities.

"Unemployment and poverty are the main causes of terrorism worldwide," he said, adding that the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative could help remedy the rising risks of terrorism.

"Just as President Xi has said, we should focus on the fundamental issue of development in pursuing the Belt and Road Initiative," he said.

Ruan Zongze, executive vice-president of the China Institute of International Studies, said that Xi's proposal of "building a world of common security" shows that China is a responsible power in maintaining global peace and promoting cooperation.

Unlike many countries that turned to protectionism when facing global challenges, China advocates inclusive growth by pushing forward the Belt and Road Initiative, he said, adding that the initiative will inject impetus for global economic growth.

Xinhua contributed to this story.
The construction of a museum on a cultural heritage site with more than 3,500 years of history, often referred to as "the earliest China", began on Sunday in the city of Luoyang in central Henan province.

The Erlitou site, named after its surrounding village, was discovered in 1959 and was later found to be the site of a capital of the Xia Dynasty (21st century to 16th century BC).

"Cultural relics connect the past, present and the future. They are witnesses of Chinese civilization, which has a long history yet keeps its vitality," Premier Li Keqiang, who once visited the relics when he worked in Henan, said in a congratulatory letter for the groundbreaking ceremony on Sunday.

"The city relic has a magnificent atmosphere and the cultural relics unearthed here are of abundant types and elegant looking. These archaeological discoveries have deepened our understanding of first development of Chinese civilization."

Students in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, perform traditional stilt-walking to celebrate China's first "Cultural and Natural Heritage Day" on Saturday. Around the nation, activities were held in honor of the day. Gong Xianming / For China Daily

Li suggested modern technology must be put to good use in the museum to preserve, protect, study and educate on the site.

The groundbreaking ceremony served in a larger sense as a major event in China's celebration events for national "Cultural and Natural Heritage Day," which falls on Saturday.

The new museum will cover an area of about 30,000 square meters, costing 630 million yuan ($93 million), and is scheduled to open to the public in 2019, said Liu Wankang, mayor of Luoyang. The museum is listed among the key cultural projects of China's 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20).

"There have been many crucial archaeological discoveries in Erlitou in the past decades," said Chen Xingcan, head of Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "For example, we've detected the earliest capital city relics in East Asia and China's oldest royal palace relics."

China's earliest known urban road network and bronze ware workshop were also found in Erlitou, he said.

According to Chen, the Erlitou culture, of roughly 1800 to 1500 BC, absorbed elements from different civilizations within a short time and had wide influence along the middle reaches of Yellow River in its time.

"In its era, society stepped beyond a time when many competitive political entities coexisted, and formed a unified country," he explained. "Its legacies were inherited by later dynasties and became the mainstream of Chinese civilization."

Starting in the Xia Dynasty, Luoyang was the capital of 13 kingdoms and empires throughout ancient Chinese history.

Rather than merely housing the abundant artifacts unearthed at the site - including bronze ware, jade, and lacquer ware - the museum will serve as a comprehensive academic research hub on the formation of early-stage states in ancient China, Chen said. An archaeology-themed park will follow.

"The construction of the museum and park sets an example on revitalizing relics, which were long buried beneath the ground, and benefit the local people's livelihoods and economy," said Gu Yucai, deputy director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage. "It will increase the public's cultural self-confidence."
The burial of Robert Eugene Oxford, a World War II veteran, was held on Sunday in the Magnolia Cemetery in Concord, Georgia. PIKE COUNTY TIMES

At 7:40 am on Jan 25, 1944, 24-year-old Robert Eugene Oxford and seven other crew members were on a routine supply mission on their B-24 Liberator heavy bomber from Kunming in Southwest China to Chabua, India.

They never reached their destination.

Oxford's plane, nicknamed Hot as Hell, was one of the five bombers from the 308th Bombardment Group, 425th Squadron of the14th Air Force that took off that morning from their base at Kunming to fly over the Hump, a treacherous stretch of peaks in the Himalayan mountains, according to US military documents.

At 10:45 am, the formation at 15,000 feet was forced to break up due to extreme weather conditions. Clouds obscured the mountains' tree lines; visibility was less than a mile. Each aircraft was on its own, trying to land safely in valleys or at the nearest airstrip. All five bombers went down.

Crews parachuted out of two aircraft and survived. A third bomber crashed, with two survivors. The fourth and fifth B-24s  Hot as Hell and Haley's Comet  disappeared. Their crews were later presumed dead.

After the plane crashed 73 years ago, no one went looking for it because military officials had no way of pinpointing where it went down.

All signs of the mission were lost until 2006, when a hiker in northeast India saw a wing and panel sign inscribed with the bomber's name. The Pentagon investigated the crash site in 2015 and found the remains of First Lieutenant Eugene. DNA analysis of Oxford's remains matched his niece and nephew.

On Sunday afternoon, a funeral and burial ceremony was held in Oxford's hometown of Concord, Georgia. Concord has a population of 375 and land area of 0.8 square mile, according to the 2010 US Census.

His remains were buried with full military honors alongside those of his parents, Charles and Bessie Oxford, who had placed a memorial marker for their lost son at the gravesite after his plane went missing seven decades ago.

Photos of the seven fellow crewmen on the mission, none of whom were found, were laid beside the coffin and then placed inside for burial at the Magnolia Cemetery in Concord.

The other seven crew members included First Lieutenant William A. Swanson (pilot), F/O Sheldon L. Chambers (co-pilot), First Lieutenant Irwin Zaetz (navigator), Staff Sergeant Charles D. Ginn (engineer), Staff Sergeant Harry B. Queen (radio operator, Sergeant James A. Hinson (gunner) and Sergeant Alfred H. Gerrans Jr. (gunner).

The remains of Oxford landed at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Thursday afternoon, with full military honors. Some 20 relatives who had never seen Oxford in person also gathered.

"We were ecstatic that Eugene was found, but we feel guilty there are seven other men on that mountaintop," said Merrill Roan, the wife of Oxford's nephew.

"So we are honoring the other seven. ... We have to honor them as well, because they may never get any closure," she said.

The hearse carrying his casket then went on a 50-mile trip from the airport to Concord, accompanied by State Patrol, Patriot Guard and the local Pike County Sheriff's Office.

Oxford's parents, siblings and any other relatives who saw him depart for World War II have all passed away since he went missing. His finance, Susan Brown Parham, who waited decades to marry another, died in 2011.

Oxford volunteered to become a part of the armed forces when he graduated from high school. He graduated from Midland Army Flying School in Texas on Aug 13, 1942, and joined the war effort after that.

More than 3,000 American airmen made trips across the Himalayan Mountains during World War II. Many were lost.

More than 650,000 tons of equipment was ferried to China to support the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. The Chinese contribution to the war was considered highly valuable.

An article posted on June 9 on the Atlanta Chinese Life website said all Chinese should go and attend the Sunday funeral.

Indeed, China and US were allies during World War II. US soldiers who helped China during the war are well remembered and highly respected among the Chinese population.

The most notable were probably the Flying Tigers, or officially known as the First American Volunteer Group of the Chinese Air Force. It was composed of US pilots recruited under the presidential authority and commanded by Claire Lee Chennault, known to Chinese as Chen Nade.

In March 2015, the Flying Tigers Heritage Park was built on the site of the Yangtang Airfield, the command base of the Flying Tigers, in Guilin of Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

In March this year, the park received a Douglas C-47 Skytrain that were used by the Flying Tigers to fly the Hump. It was donated by the California-based Flying Tiger Historical Organization.

Joseph Stilwell, a US Army general and a head of the China Burma India Theater during WWII, is also a household name in China.

The Pike County New, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The Associated Press contributed to the reporting.

Contact the writer at chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com
What's in a name change?

When it comes to Johnson State College and Lyndon State College in Vermont, it's one word - dropping "college".

And the reason: to improve marketing and attract higher-tuition paying foreign students, especially from China, a move that colleges and universities across America have been doing since the number of foreign students has surged.

Last year, 328,547 Chinese students studied in the US, accounting for 32 percent of the foreign students in the US, according to data from the Institute of International Education (IIE).

However, Vermont ranks 48th among the 50 states attracting foreign students. Last year, 1,712 students studied in Vermont, 39 percent of them Chinese. Foreign students brought $75 million to Vermont in 2016, an increase from $34 million just six years ago, according to the IIE.

The two Vermont schools, which are about 55 miles apart and have separate campuses, now are one, at least in name: Northern Vermont University (NVU), which will welcome its first freshman class in the fall of 2018.

Now, Lyndon has eight international students: five are from China. Johnson State has two international students from England and Bermuda. There are no Chinese students.

In 2016, the board of trustees of the state colleges system voted unanimously to unify Johnson and Lyndon State into NVU, keeping each school's separate campus, to save money and increase revenue.

In explaining the name change, Patricia Coates, director of communications for the Vermont State Colleges System (VSCS), told China Daily that "college" may have different conceptions outside the US. In China, "college" sometimes is equal to "high school" or "junior college".

"Frankly, let's be honest, 'university' provides a marketing advantage, and that is a big part of what we hope to leverage from this unification [of Lyndon and Johnson]," Coates told the news website vtdigger.org in a 2016.

Vermont's state college tuition is among the highest of any US state, according to the website. The state's smaller public colleges have seen enrollments decline and are more dependent on tuition because of low state support. Tuition and fees make up 58 percent of their revenue; room and board, 17 percent; and state support, 16 percent.

At Lyndon, according to the school's web site, in 2015 there were 1,200 students, and in-state tuition was $10,700 and out-of-state tuition was $21,764. International students qualify for the Open Frontiers Scholarship awards when enrolled in any degree program at Lyndon and can receive $5,500 each year.

For the academic year 2016-2017, Johnson's website lists in-state tuition at $10,244 and out-of-state is $22,680.

The tuition for NVU hasn't been disclosed yet.

It's not the first time that an institute of higher education in Vermont has changed its name. In July 2015, Castleton State College in Castleton changed to Castleton University after a unanimous vote from the school's board of trustees.

University President Dave Wolk explained that the reasons for the name change included growth in the number of graduate programs and the student body, as well as Castleton's international recruitment efforts.

The school's website says that in 2015, 40 countries, including China, were represented among its student body of 2,246. Tuition for the academic year 2017-2018 for an entering student is $22,490 for in-state and $38,042 for out-of-state.

Patrick Liu, director of international student enrollment at Castleton University, said people in a number of countries, including China, have a different conception of "college" than Americans.

"Sometimes, people might think the education quality of a university would be higher than a college," said Liu.

xiaohong@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 06/12/2017 page2)
American bombardier whose plane went down in India in 1944 is buried in Georgia

At 7:40 am on Jan 25, 1944, 24-year-old Robert Eugene Oxford and seven other crew members were on a routine supply mission on their B-24 Liberator heavy bomber from Kunming in Southwest China to Chabua, India.

They never reached their destination.

Oxford's plane, nicknamed Hot as Hell, was one of the five bombers from the 308th Bombardment Group, 425th Squadron of the 14th Air Force that took off that morning from their base at Kunming to fly over the Hump, a treacherous stretch of peaks in the Himalayan mountains, according to US military documents.

At 10:45 am, the formation at 15,000 feet was forced to break up due to extreme weather conditions. Clouds obscured the mountains' tree lines; visibility was less than a mile. Each aircraft was on its own, trying to land safely in valleys or at the nearest airstrip. All five bombers went down.

Crews parachuted out of two aircraft and survived. A third bomber crashed, with two survivors. The fourth and fifth B-24s - Hot as Hell and Haley's Comet - disappeared. Their crews were later presumed dead.

After the plane crashed 73 years ago, no one went looking for it because military officials had no way of pinpointing where it went down.

All signs of the mission were lost until 2006, when a hiker in northeast India saw a wing and panel sign inscribed with the bomber's name. The Pentagon investigated the crash site in 2015 and found the remains of First Lieutenant Oxford. DNA analysis of his remains matched his niece and nephew.

On Sunday afternoon, a funeral and burial ceremony was held in Oxford's hometown of Concord, Georgia. Concord has a population of 375 and land area of 0.8 square mile, according to the 2010 US Census.

His remains were buried with full military honors alongside those of his parents, Charles and Bessie Oxford, who had placed a memorial marker for their lost son at the gravesite after his plane went missing seven decades ago.

Photos of the seven fellow crewmen on the mission, none of whom were found, were laid beside the coffin and then placed inside for burial at the Magnolia Cemetery in Concord.

The other seven crew members included First Lieutenant William A. Swanson (pilot), F/O Sheldon L. Chambers (co-pilot), First Lieutenant Irwin Zaetz (navigator), Staff Sergeant Charles D. Ginn (engineer), Staff Sergeant Harry B. Queen (radio operator, Sergeant James A. Hinson (gunner) and Sergeant Alfred H. Gerrans Jr. (gunner).

Sherri Moody from the Moody-Daniel Funeral Home in Zebulon, Georgia, told China Daily after the funeral that some 300 to 400 people attended on Sunday afternoon, more than half of them ethnic Chinese, with some coming from as far as New York and Philadelphia.

"I think it went well," said Moody, who gave away 700 yellow ribbons Sunday afternoon.

Oxford's remains landed at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Thursday afternoon, with full military honors. Some 20 relatives who had never seen Oxford in person also gathered.

"We were ecstatic that Eugene was found, but we feel guilty there are seven other men on that mountaintop," said Merrill Roan, wife of Oxford's nephew.

"So we are honoring the other seven. ... We have to honor them as well, because they may never get any closure," she said.

The hearse carrying his casket then went on a 50-mile trip from the airport to Concord, accompanied by State Patrol, Patriot Guard and the local Pike County Sheriff's Office.

Oxford's parents, siblings and any other relatives who saw him depart for World War II have all passed away since he went missing. His finance, Susan Brown Parham, who waited decades to marry another, died in 2011.

Oxford volunteered for the armed forces after graduating from high school. He graduated from Midland Army Flying School in Texas on Aug 13, 1942, and joined the war effort.

More than 3,000 American airmen made trips across the Himalayan Mountains during World War II. Many were lost.

More than 650,000 tons of equipment was ferried to China to support the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. The Chinese contribution to the war was highly valued. An article posted on June 9 on the Atlanta Chinese Life website said all Chinese should attend the funeral.

Indeed, China and US were allies during World War II. US soldiers who helped China during the war are well remembered and highly respected among the Chinese population.

The most notable were probably the Flying Tigers, or the First American Volunteer Group of the Chinese Air Force.

The Pike County Times, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The Associated Press contributed to this story.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 06/12/2017 page2)
Its no secret that I love Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Look at the posts Ive written about her. I rarely feel so deeply about a public figure, but Chimamanda is a bold, beautiful, intelligent Igbo girl, so whats not to love? And shes even from Anambra, too. If I reach far and grasp a few straws, I might find that shes my cousin. Anyway, let me tell you about our meeting and subsequent love story. Its juicy!

It went down at the Charles E. Miller Branch of Howard County Library. When I found out about the event, I immediately registered myself and Igwe, even though we already had a wedding to attend on that day. The event was set for 2:00 PM and honestly, at the time of registration, I did not know what kind of event it was exactly, All I knew was that my BFF was going to see there and I would finally see her with my own two koro koro eyes.

My plan was to buy her books that I did not have yet (We Should All Be Feminists and Dear Ijeawele or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions), have the books signed, and take a picture with her. Then after the picture, I would tell her that I was a big fan and would love to take her to lunch. That was the plan. How hard could it be, right? Toh!

However, at the event, we found out that in addition to the signatures not being personalized, she would also not be taking any pictures. Chei. No wahala. I figured my woman-chasing moves lunch invitation would have to go out another time and another way.

The event was everything I hoped it would be. She answered several questions that ranged from her writing process to why she has refused to be on social media (her Instagram account is managed by her niece). I nodded in agreement to and understanding of all that she said. I was marveled by the audience, too, but thats a story for another day.

It was a one-and-half-hour event that started at 2:00 PM, and at 3:00 PM, it was time for questions and answers, I threw my hand up in the air, hoping to be eventually called upon, but instead of eventually being called, I was called first. Before I knew it, there was a microphone in my hand and I was addressing my BFF in front of everybody. I dont know what my exacts words were, but I basically told her that I have mentioned on my blog that shes my BFF in my head and that my Sweet Potatoes keep tagging me in Chimamanda-related stories and saying to me, look what your BFF has done again. At the end, I said, I just want to know when I will get to take you to dinner.

The room of 300 people erupted in laughter and applause. In fact, dare I say that I received a standing ovation from some? There were some lovely ladies behind me who shouted Black Girl Magic and something about Naija. I hailed back, My people! Chimamanda laughed too. The moderator playfully rolled his eyes at me and said, Next question! implying that mine wasnt a real question. I thought to myself, this guy must not know how far a determined Nigerian is willing to go. Ar the end, I felt like I had gained new friends. So many people came up to me and said they loved my proposal and hoped that Id get my dinner date.

But let me tell you something, Sweet Potatoes, I dont know what got into me and made me decide to ask her to dinner so openly. Never mind the fact that I actually wanted to ask her to lunch, not dinner. Although I have held a mic at many, many events, this time was different. The longer I spoke, the shakier my voice became. I could hear myself talking, and I couldnt recognize my own voice. And then it felt like all the blood had drained from my body and now settled in my legs which were heavier yet weaker. When I eventually sat back down, I needed a minute to catch my breath and the air conditioner must not have been blowing enough because I was hot. Either there wasnt enough oxygen in the room or my nostrils were doing a poor job of getting enough. I just needed more air!

By the time we stood in line to get our books signed, normalcy had returned to my body and I was now calmer. When I got to her, I became like a man determined to get his woman. I slipped her my card and told her I was serious about that dinner (again, I meant to say lunch). She looked at my name, then asked in Igbo, Vera Ezimora  akwa imulu nnwa? [Vera Ezimora  you had a baby, right?]

Aaaahhhh!!!! My people, that was me fainting. I felt like screaming at the top of my lungs, Yes! Yes! That was me! Amulum nnwa!!! [I had a baby!] And then Id turn to Igwe and say, And this is the guy whose sperm I used to muo the nnwa [born the baby]. But I didnt say all that. You guys, Chimamanda knows the activities of my womb! She knows what my fallopian tubes did!! If this isnt love, I dont know what is. Then like every other mom, I quickly pulled my phone out and displayed the proof of my motherhood. She said, Ohhh, a girl And then I introduced her to Igwe who was cheesing like he was being tickled in his special place. He was starstruck  as was I. No shame in our game.

We waited till most people were gone before I timidly approached her for a picture, in spite of the no-picture rule. She gladly obliged me. She even stood up for the picture and said she had no choice but to take the picture since a friendship had been imposed on her. Bia, Chimamanda, that one is your own oh! I am your BFF and you are my BFF and we are now in a relationship. Or in the words of my fellow students during my high school days, we now go together. In Naija lingo, we are an item. Signed. Sealed. Delivered. Kpom Kwem. QED. End of discussion.

When Igwe asked if he too could take a picture, she said he was the man of her new BFF and so she had to take a picture. Besides, Igwe looked like a big man (her words). Igwe has been using her words since Saturday oh. Any small thing, he will tell me that Chimamanda said hes a big man and that I am the one who does not know his value. If he continues down this path, I might dash him to Chimamanda. I have a strong feeling he would gladly go too.

If we did not have to rush off to a wedding, we would have stayed longer and maybe escorted her to her car and then secretly trailed her to her house . On a serious note, what I feel for her is so much pride. I am superbly proud of her. It is good to see my Igbo Nigerian sister excelling. I love it. I am inspired. And the fact that she knows my womb is icing on the cake.

So, will we have this lunch (or dinner, if she prefers?) My answer is a solid yes, We have not communicated since we met, but Im sure that it will happen. I dont know when or how or where, but it will happen. And when it does, Ill tell you.

P.S. Now that I have met and taken pictures with Chimamanda, dont let me ever, ever refer to me as just a writer/blogger oh! I am now Vera Ezimora, Chimamandas BFF.
Please turn JavaScript on and reload the page.

Loading...

Checking your browser before accessing the website.

This process is automatic. Your browser will redirect to your requested content shortly.

Please wait a few seconds.
HA NOI  The Australian Anti-Dumping Commission (ADC) has opened an anti-dumping investigation on wire rod in coil imports from Indonesia, the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Viet Nam.

According to the Viet Nam Competition Authority under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Viet Nams products targeted by the investigation bear the HS codes of 7213.91.00.44, 7227.90.90.02, and 7227.90.90.42. Those products are currently not subject to tax when exported to Australia.

The probe was triggered by a complaint filed by Australian steel producer OneSteels Company that took effect on May 31. The period subject to the anti-dumping investigation was from April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017, while the period under damage inquiry was from January 2013 to the present.

The dumping margins calculated by the plaintiff are 30.6 per cent for Viet Nam, 30.6 per cent for Indonesia, and 43.3 per cent for the RoK.

However, the ADCs estimated dumping margins are 20.9 per cent for Viet Nam, 29.8 per cent for Indonesia and 20.9 per cent for the RoK.

The applicant claimed that due to a market situation with regard to taxes on the two main inputs, the domestic selling price for Viet Nam is not appropriate for use in determining the normal value.

The Viet Nam Competition Authority said ADC could adopt temporary anti-dumping measures but not earlier than 60 days, since the launch of the investigation.

ADC is due to issue Essential Facts on September 25, 2017, and the involved parties will have 20 days to give opinions on this document.

In 2014, ADC carried out anti-dumping investigation for this product imported from Indonesia, Chinas Taiwan and Turkey, following an application lodged also by OneSteel Company.

OneSteel alleged that the imported wire rods were sold at prices lower than their normal value, and the dumping has caused material injury to the Australian industry.

After terminating the investigation in 2015, ADC announced that it had imposed anti-dumping duty against imports of wire rod in coil from Indonesia and Taiwan. However, in 2016, ADC removed the anti-dumping duty imposed on Indonesias products, as the association found there had been no dumping of goods.

In April 2016, ADC launched an anti-dumping investigation of wire rod in coil imported from China and soon after, it announced levying anti-dumping duty against Chinas products.  VNS
HCM CITY  The Vietnamese Swiftlet Farming Association under the Viet Nam Farms and Agricultural Enterprises Association has made its debut in HCM Citys Can Gio District.

Le Duy Minh, chairman of the Viet Nam Farms and Agricultural Enterprises Association, said on Friday the association was established for the purpose of linking the State, scientists, entrepreneurs and farmers in the swift-breeding industry, supporting swift breeders to sell their products at reasonable prices, and building a brand for Vietnamese bird nests for both domestic and export markets.

The association will work to ensure products supplied by members of the association will have consistent quality and clear origin to protect consumers, he said.

Le Van Lanh, owner of a swift breeding establishment in the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa, said swift nests are high in protein, low in fat and contain various amino acids essential to the human body and other beneficial substances.

Swifts usually build their nests in deep caves on islands or along steep cliffs. In the past, people used their nests only to serve the king and noble families.

The swift-breeding industry has developed quickly in many places such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Australia, and Hong Kong, with Indonesia producing about 100 tonnes of nests annually and Thailand and Malaysia about 60-70 tonnes a year.

In Viet Nam, high profits has lured many investors to invest in breeding the birds indoors in recent years, they said.

Le Huu Hoang, chairman of Khanh Hoa Bird Nest Company, said more than 5,000 houses have been built for breeding the birds in 36 provinces and cities, almost doubling from three years ago.

Breeding the birds has also developed strongly in HCM City thanks to favourable weather, according to the HCM City Department of Agriculture and Rural development.

The city has 542 swift houses in 19 districts, of which 231 are in Can Gio District, providing a total output of more than six tonnes a year.

Currently, raw bird nest is priced at VN20-30 million (US$880-$1,322) per kilo, while a kilo of refined bird nest is at VN40-45 million, and even VN100-200 million for some special types.

Vietnamese bird nest is evaluated to have higher quality compared to that from some other countries, according to an expert who did not want to be named.

Some bird nest products available in the market have poor quality, he said, adding that some traders even import bird nest from other countries and sell them under the Vietnamese bird nest brand.

Therefore, the establishment of the Vietnamese Swiftlet Farming Association will enable members to supervise and commit to provide guaranteed quality, avoid trade fraud and increase the value of Vietnamese bird nest, he said.

According to the citys Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, a zoning plan for swift breeding in the city has been submitted to the Peoples Committee, and it will be published in the coming time to ensure the sustainable development of the industry.  VNS
NINH THUAN  A spate of contracts were signed on Saturday by local firms to build wind and solar power projects in the south-central province of Ninh Thuan.

The contracts were basically signed by the Trung Nam Construction Investment Corporation (Trungnam Group) and the Trung Nam Wind Power Joint Stock Company with several partners.

Nguyen Tam Thinh, a representative of the Trung Nam Wind Power Joint Stock Company, said it will partner with five firms to build a wind power project.

The five firms are: Trung Nam Construction & Engineering Corporation; Power Engineering Consulting Joint Stock Company No 4; uc Dung Design and Construction Consulting Joint Stock Company; Lilama 45.3 Joint Stock Company; and Green Cosmos Marketing Pte Ltd.

Under the contract signed by these firms, the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) package will be carried out in 20 months from the date of signing.

Meanwhile, the Green Cosmos Marketing Pte Ltd signed a contract with the Enercon group of Germany to provide equipment for installing 45 wind turbine towers at the Ninh Thuan plant.

Trungnam Group and the Syntegra Solar International AG inked a contract on the solar power project consultation and management.

Andreas Siegel, Consul General of Germany in HCM City, said at the signing ceremony that Enercon and Syntegra Solar were two prestigious German groups specialising in wind and solar power equipment.

The cooperation between Trung Nam Group and the two groups will not only bring about benefits in terms of clean energy development, but also serve as a milestone in Viet Nam-Germany economic partnership in the renewable energy industry.

Construction of the Trung Nam wind power plant began in August 2016 with total investment of VN3.96 trillion (US$174.5 million). The factory is set to have a capacity of 90100MW, generating 286 million kWh. Phase I of this project is scheduled to be completed in the third quarter of 2018; and phase II in the second quarter of 2019.

The Trung Nam Group is also conducting a feasibility study for a 515MW solar power project in the province.  VNS
Viet Nams long-standing efforts to tackle the practice of transfer pricing as a tax avoidance ploy have gained sharper legal teeth with a new decree.  Photo baohaiquan.vn

HA NOI  Viet Nams long-standing efforts to tackle the practice of transfer pricing as a tax avoidance ploy have gained sharper legal teeth with a new decree.

Transfer pricing is the pricing of goods, services and intangibles between related parties, like a parent company and its affiliates.

Apart from tax avoidance, it has also been used to charge unduly high prices for certain goods in markets without intense competition.

Over the years, several big multinational firms operating in Viet Nam have showed losses in their books while doing obviously well in the market.

Soft-drink maker Coca-Cola, for instance, has been accused in the US of avoiding billions of dollars in taxes through transfer pricing adjustments.

Viet Nam has taken a significant step forward in dealing with transfer pricing with Decree 20, which was issued this February and took effect on May 1.

Experts say the decree has brought Vietnamese law more into line with global legal standards.

The decree expands on existing regulations and introduces new concepts under the Organisation for Economic Co-operation Development (OECD)s guidelines for fighting base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) tax avoidance strategies.

Nguyen Thi Lan Anh, deputy head of the General Department of Taxation (GDT)s inspection division, said at a recent conference that the decree marks significant changes in tax registration and evaluation of related-party transactions in Viet Nam.

These include a three-level tax declaration, new transaction registration forms, and new guidance on derived expenses from related-party transactions.

The operating income margins of tax paying companies or individuals will be compared with that of independent entities through a master file, a local file and a country by country report.

New price evaluation standards for related-party transactions are also introduced by comparison to independent transactions, based on product distinctions or functions and contract clauses.

Earnings appropriation (income retained for a specific purpose that cannot be used for issuing dividends) will be one of the aspects of related transactions that will be dealt with by the decree.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Vietnams Tax Partner Nguyen Huong Giang said that Decree 20 was the most important legal procedure on related-party transactions that Viet Nam has initiated in decades.

"This shows that the authorities and companies are becoming more and more committed to building a set of tax policies in accordance with global tax frameworks, in an effort to create transparency and fight tax avoidance.

The Ministry of Finance is showing great zeal in setting clearer rules that are closer to world standards, Giang said in a PwCs press release in March.

The GDT said that it has collected records and precedents from international taxation institutions to construct the legal foundation for Decree 20, and they expect it to facilitate an effective tax monitoring system for associated firms, while minimising calculation and evaluation risks.

Firm hand needed

With the rise of globalisation and dominance of multinational companies, transfer pricing among affiliates that fall under different countries jurisdictions has become common practice.

However, it has often been a means for tax avoidance that unfairly exploits lower tax rates in other countries. This has created a need for more effective regulations to deal with this practice.

Vietnamese authorities have been working hard to monitor transfer pricing within foreign companies, chiefly by inspecting books and tax details.

Cao Anh Tuan, deputy head of the GDT, said at the conference that tax avoidance through transfer pricing is posing a challenge for many countries in the world, and Viet Nam is no exception.

Tougher regulations on related-party transactions are a must for the country to move towards fair competition and a market economy, he added.

Lan Anh said the GDT has conducted price adjustment inspections on 130 firms since 2010, retrieving VN724 billion (US$32.3 million), adjusting loss reduction by VN2.96 trillion ($132.1 million) and increasing taxable income by VN3.43 trillion ($153.1 million).

Decree 20 regulates that total amount of abated borrowing costs (abatement cost is borne by businesses for removing or reducing an undesirable item they have created, like effluents in a factory) must not exceed 20 per cent of the companys earnings before tax depreciation and amortisation.

This requires the taxpaying company to file a detailed report on earnings and independent transactions, and proving the economic benefits wrought by these transactions.

The new decree also deals with other types of relationship wherein an individual or entity has controlling power over a firm based on capital contributed, or directly manages its operations. It also deals with cases where enterprises are subject to the management and control of operational decisions taken by another enterprise.

Any mother company whose main office is in Viet Nam and whose total international annual profit surpasses VN18 trillion ($803.4 million) must complete a multinational earnings report and submit it to the tax authority in Viet Nam. In many other countries, this figure is 750 million euros ($846.1 million).

In addition, the thresholds for some types of relationship have been revised. For instance, the threshold on directly or indirectly contributed capital ratio increases from 20 per cent to 25 per cent; and that on the debt to equity ratio increases from 20 to 25 per cent if an enterprise guarantees loans or grants them directly to a related company.

Higher audit activity is expected in the coming years as part of the tax administrations fiscal management initiative to bring down the nations budget deficit to a sustainable level, at 3.5 per cent of GDP by 2020, said Resolution 25/2016/QH14.

Taxpayers must take the initiative to research and evaluate the effects that Decree 20 may have on their operations in order to comply with Vietnamese tax regulations in the near future, said Giang.

Some experts have pointed out that there a few problems remain when trying to implement international standards in Viet Nam, like a lack of data at local levels.

Furthermore, the decree does not provide detailed instructions on related-party transactions and price adjustments, and its impact on other kinds of tax including value added tax and retention tax.

A report released last year by audit company KPMG in Viet Nam said that multinationals investing in the country as well as Vietnamese corporations investing abroad should be much more prudent about their transfer pricing arrangements and prepare for reforms that will focus on where the economic activities are undertaken and values created.  VNS
BEN TRE  Businesses making coconut-based products in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Ben Tre are facing a raw material shortage due to last years drought and saltwater intrusion from the sea into rivers.

Nguyen Bao Tri, deputy director of the Luong Quoi Coconut Processing Company, said: The supply in the province is not enough to meet the demand of the market and processing companies.

Companies have to import dried coconut from other places.

Companies have to compete with each other to buy raw materials for their production, he added.

Due to the shortage, prices have surged to around VN110,000 (nearly US$5) for a dozen coconuts, nearly double the rate at this time last year.

Some coconut groves have also been plagued by insects this year, local farmers said.

According to the provinces Department of Industry and Trade, Ben Tre has nearly 2,000 companies processing coconut-based products to supply both the domestic and export markets.

When operating at full capacity, they need around 1.1 billion dried coconuts a year.

The shortage is a big challenge now, the department said.

The Ben Tre Province Peoples Committees deputy chairman Nguyen Huu Lap told the Sai Gon Giai Phong (the Liberated Sai Gon) newspaper that most farmers grow coconuts on small pieces of land, and face all attendant problems.

Provinccial Party Secretary Vo Thanh Hao said to resolve their problems and ensure steady production farmers need to change their production methods.

The main need at the moment is to work together by setting up co-operation models and co-operatives and apply modern technologies to improve quality and prevent insects, he said.

Co-operation between farmers, companies, managers and scientists is essential and needs to be strengthened, he said.

Companies should actively connect with farmers and help them use technology to increase quality and yields, he added.  VNS
A NANG  Authorities in a Nang have asked for construction to be expedited on resettlement neighbourhoods for residents in the area around two polluting steel manufacturers.

According to a Nang Peoples Committee, the city recently held talks with households in Van Duong 2 village (of Hoa Lien Commune, Hoa Vang District) who suffered from pollution discharged by Dana-UC Steel JSC and Dana-Y Steel JSC. The two steel companies were ordered to halt operations last December, following complaints from residents in the area.

Affected households agreed with the decision to relocate them.

According to the plan, the first households to be relocated in the 4th quarter are ones directly affected by the pollution, living near the boundaries of the two companies and their chimneys. The rest of the affected households in the vicinity will be relocated in the first few months of 2018.

The city Peoples Committee has asked the two steel companies to each shoulder 50 per cent of the combined resettlement costs and compensation.

The steel plants were allowed to resume normal operations for the moment and the owners have no more than 15 years to figure out where to relocate the plants. During operations, the companies must implement greener technology to reduce pollution, then gradually transition to light industrial production which is less taxing on the environment.

The municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment reported that the two companies have carried out a number of measures to cut back on the gas and dust pollution. However, the report said these measures are not enough, especially during heat waves.

Huynh uc Tho, chairman of a Nang City Peoples Committee, asked the companies to put up with losses incurred while addressing pollution issues.

Last year, residents in Van Duong 2 village reported the steel companies, saying they have illegally discharged untreated fumes, dust and wastewater into the environment in addition to burying slag.  VNS
BUCHAREST  An exhibition featuring works by famed overseas Vietnamese artist Van Duong Thanh is on display at the National Village Museum located in Bucharest, Romania.

At least 40 paintings of different sizes, painted by Thanh in the last five years, portray the various sceneries in Viet Nams rural and urban areas, as well as Romanias palaces, monasteries and forests.

Entitled Huong Sac Viet Nam (Viet Nams Beauty), the exhibition is the highlight of Vietnamese Culture Day, which aims to introduce Viet Nams culture to visitors at the National Village Museum.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Thanh expressed her delight that her works were being exhibited at the national museum. The artist also thanked Tran Thang Cong, Viet Nams ambassador to Romania, Dumitru Olaru, former Romanian Ambassador to Viet Nam, staffs of Viet Nams Embassy in Romania, the Rominas national museum and Vietnamese students in Romania for their contributions to the exhibition.

Ambassador Cong congratulated her on the opening of the exhibition and her creativity, which would promote Viet Nams arts and culture to the world.

Viet Nams Beauty will be open until July 2.

Considered among Asias talented international female artists, Thanh grew up in Ha Noi and studied for 12 years at lEcole de Beaux Arts, Indochine and at the Academy of Fine Arts. She is based in Sweden.

Through her distinctive style of using a subtle combination of Asian and European heritage in which Western techniques depict traditional motif of the natural world, women, children and flowers in more than 1,600 paintings, Thanh successfully inspires a large number of both domestic and international art lovers. The harmonious composition of vibrant colours, reflection of its emotional value and touches of expressive semi-abstraction make her paintings unique.

She has received, among other awards, the highly regarded International Excellence of Art of CFMI, USA-France in 1995 and 1997, and Glory of the Nation in 2007.  VNS
HA NOI  The Chairman of the Cuban National Assembly, Esteban Lazo Hernandez, on Sunday began an eight-day visit to Viet Nam at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart, Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.

Since Viet Nam and Cuba established diplomatic ties in December 1960, the bilateral relations have been reinforced and developed. The two legislatures also established friendship parliamentarians groups.

Along with sound political relations, two-way trade reached US$247.6 million in 2016.

Viet Nam is Cubas second-largest Asian trade partner. It exports rice, coal, chemicals, garment and textiles and computers to Cuba, while importing pharmaceutical products.

The Cuban parliamentary delegation wants to study the activities of the Vietnamese legislature, especially of the NAs Standing Committee, as well as share experience in renovation and national development.  VNS
National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and her Cuban counterpart Esteban Lazo Hernandez agreed to enhance legislative ties between Viet Nam and Cuba through the exchange of all-level delegations and experience sharing.  VNA/VNS Photo Trong uc

HA NOI  National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and her Cuban counterpart Esteban Lazo Hernandez agreed to enhance legislative ties between Viet Nam and Cuba through the exchange of all-level delegations and experience sharing.

The consensus was reached during their talks in Ha Noi yesterday following a welcome ceremony for the Cuban top legislator, who is on an official visit to Viet Nam from June 11-18.

The host and guest both consented to continue reviewing and updating existing co-operation documents and sign more agreements in order to complete the legal framework for the bilateral relationship.

They expressed their determination to advance two-way trade to match their close political ties.

The two NAs will support and promote the implementation of cooperative programmes and projects, particularly those in agriculture, consumer goods production, medicine research and production, health care services, tourism infrastructure construction and energy.

They pledged to intensify their collaboration and mutual support at multilateral organisations and forums, especially the UN, in the interests of each nation, as well as for peace, stability and development in the regions and the world at large.

The Viet Nam-Cuba and Cuba-Viet Nam Friendship Parliamentary Groups will also increase their exchange and seek specific measures to increase mutual understanding and consolidate the friendship and co-operation between the two NAs.

Ngan stressed that the Vietnamese legislature plans to promote parliamentary diplomacy, expand bilateral activities with other countries parliaments and take an active role at multilateral forums and regional and international inter-parliamentary organisations.

Viet Nam persistently pursues a foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation and diversification of relations and intensive international integration, she affirmed.

The country will continue to work to maintain peace and stability, while protecting sovereignty and territorial integrity on the basis of respect for international law, the legislative leader said.

The NA Chairwoman also highlighted the reform efforts of the Vietnamese legislature, which she said is gearing towards transparency and publicity.

Ngan described the Cuban NA leaders visit as a new development of legislative ties and the long-standing friendship and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries.

For his part, Esteban Lazo Hernandez said the exchange of experience and delegations will help the two countries understand each other more and set forth measures against challenges.

Cuba understands Viet Nams consistent stance in the international arena and will continue to stand by the country, he affirmed.

The Cuban top legislator expressed his hope to learn from Viet Nams experience in 30-year reform, including legislative activities, especially at the grassroots level, in order to deal with its current problems.

After the talks, the Cuban NA Chairman delivered a speech at a plenary session of the third sitting of the 14th NA of Viet Nam.

Welcome from PM

Later the same day, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc received Hernandez, stressing that Viet Nam is encouraging the creation of favourable conditions to further the development of bilateral relations.

Noting that two-way trade turnover between the two countries last year remained low, reaching US$216 million, the PM proposed measures to boost trade relations between the two nations.

As part of that initiative, Viet Nam committed to supply rice to Cuba on a long-term basis, PM Phuc said.

He suggested the two countries foster co-operation in fields of their strangth, particularly in agriculture, bio-technology, construction, tourism infrastructure, telecommunications and electronic equipment.

The two countries should encourage and create conditions to increase exchanges by delegations at all levels to promote mutual understanding and bilateral co-operation, he said.

Viet Nam continues to pursue the stance of supporting the complete removal of embargoes against Cuba, he said.

Cuban NA Chairman Esteban Lazo Hernandez said his visit was aimed at learning from Viet Nams experience after 30 years of oi moi (renewal) to apply to the economic model in Cuba.

Cuba prioritised promoting co-operation with Viet Nam in the fields of trade, infrastructure investment and completing a legal framework to promote long-term co-operation between the two countries, he said.

Meeting with President

President Tran ai Quang urged the Vietnamese and Cuban Parties and States to continuously direct ministries and relevant departments to step up the existing bilateral co-operation mechanisms and refine a legal framework for stable and long-term collaboration while meeting with the Cuban NA Chairman Esteban Lazo Hernandez the same day.

Quang hailed the outcomes of the talks between the top Cuban legislator and Vietnamese NA Chairwoman Ngan, and hoped the two parliaments will consolidate ties in both bilateral and multilateral aspects.

Viet Nam is willing to share its experience in reform and do its utmost to support the Cuban people to overcome difficulties and challenges, Quang said.

He recognised the effective cooperation mechanisms between the two countries such as the Parties theoretical workshop, the inter-governmental committees meeting, the deputy foreign ministers political consultation, and the deputy defence ministers strategic dialogue.

The two countries could tap into huge potential in economic, trade, and investment co-operation, he said, adding that more Vietnamese businesses are eyeing the Cuban market.

Esteban Lazo Hernandez said Viet Nam has a plenty of experience in agriculture and energy.

This is an ideal time for the two countries to bring their co-operative relations into reality, he added.

The same day, the Cuban legislator and his entourage visited the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics. VNS
The northern province of Bac Giangs Peoples Committee has asked authorities in Son ong and Luc Ngan districts to take measures to better manage and protect forests in the localities.  Photo vksbacgiang.gov.vn

BAC GIANG  The northern province of Bac Giangs Peoples Committee has asked authorities in Son ong and Luc Ngan districts to take measures to better manage and protect forests in the localities.

Since mid 2016, local farmers reportedly chopped down natural forest to make room for industrial trees which generate more income.

In May, 2016, nearly 200 people in Khe Tau Hamlet, Luc Ngan District chopped down 63ha of natural forest which had been allocated to three local households in 1994.

The police investigation into the cause stalled as police failed to identify all involved parties.

Late last year, locals burned forest to make room for industrial trees but the fire not only destroyed their 23.7ha of forest but also another 28.7ha of forest of Mai Son Plantation.

Head of Bac Giang Forest Protection Division Ha Minh Quy told Tien phong (Vanguard) newspaper that last year, forest rangers recorded 73 deforestation violations. In the first half of this year, they encountered 30 cases of deforestation, with a total destroyed area of 16.7ha.

The deforestation was mostly in areas allocated to local farmers for management and protection, however many farmers chopped down the natural forest trees and planted industrial trees like Keo (acacia) or sandalwood trees.

Quy said that the deforestation occurred as farmers lacked production land and they could earn more money from industrial trees.

Local authorities and forest rangers found it difficult to manage the forest as loggers chopped down trees on areas they were allocated by the Government, he said.

Forest rangers now had to protect the forest from both illegal loggers and local residents, he said.

Vice head of Bac Giang Province Peoples Committee Duong Van Thai said during a recent visit to the two districts that without proper management, the province could lose its 4,000ha of natural forest.

Its right to develop the economy but its not acceptable to make a trade-off between economic returns and forest conservation, he said.

He also called on more communication to increase public awareness about forest protection. Farmers who are charged with managing and protecting the forest must agree not to chop trees down illegally, he said.  VNS
Fuel smuggling is on the rise in Vietnamese waters bordering Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand recently, partly due to the discrepancy between selling prices in Viet Nam and neighbouring countries, according to the Vietnamese coastguard.  Photo thanhnien.vn

HA NOI  Fuel smuggling is on the rise in Vietnamese waters bordering Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand recently, partly due to the discrepancy between selling prices in Viet Nam and neighbouring countries, according to the Vietnamese coastguard.

Colonel Tran Van Nam, head of the Legal Department at the Maritime Police High Command, said that the coastguard struggled to inspect petroleum smuggling activities in the sea areas between Viet Nam and other countries.

According to the colonel, foreign vessels often illegally transport and sell oil to Vietnamese boats disguised as fishing boats at the border areas. After several investigations, the boats have become more cautious and better prepared. After discovering, they are under observation, they quickly move out of Vietnamese waters areas.

On a more serious note, Nam said some smuggling boats were even equipped with weapons.

Boat owners often hire crews from different countries, including Thailand, Cambodia and Laos, making it difficult for the coastguard to identify the origin of the vessel during inspections.

From the end of April until the end of May, the coastguard seized more than 3.5 million litres of smuggled oil, Nam said.

Smuggled oil brings huge profits. The oil price offshore is only two-thirds of that sold on shore, he added.

The sale of fuel with unknown origins is still taking place at seaport areas in Quang Ninh Province, Hai Phong City, a Nang City and Vung Tau City.

In April, 26 people from Cambodia and Thailand aboard three boats were arrested for transporting diesel off Viet Nams southern coast. In this case, coastguard officials in southern Viet Nam seized more than 1.2 million litres of diesel from the three foreign boats.

None of the crew could produce legal documents for the fuel.

Last December, Viet Nams coastguard intercepted a Thai ship with 1.3 million litres of undocumented gasoline.

Between March and July last year, at least four others were caught with nearly one million litres of illegal diesel.  VNS
HA NOI  The national housing development strategy targets having 12.5 million square metres of social and affordable housing by 2020.

However, the current space for these two types of housing stands at a meagre 3.5 million sq.m, meaning in the next three years, about three million sq.m has to be made available, something that is not feasible, many people say.

Social housing is meant for social welfare beneficiaries like poor households, seniors without families, orphans and people with meritorious records; while affordable housing is built for low income earners including State employees and workers.

They say it is high time that policy makers and other stakeholders accept the reality that the number as well as the quality of social housing projects pales in comparison to actual demand.

Meanwhile, several problems have surfaced in some affordable housing projects, built on a commercial basis.

While it was being built, the Kim Van-Kim Lu urban centre (invested in by the State-owned Vinaconex and Muong Thanh Corp) generated a lot of expectations from its future residents. However, expectations have turned into growing resentment. Every morning, dozens of residents have to wait in line, sometimes for up to 30 minutes, to get into an elevator.

Nguyen Tuan Phong, a resident of the CT12B apartment building in Ha Noi for the last two years, said the building has seven elevators, but two are always broken down, causing congestion, especially during the morning rush hour at 7-8am. In addition, several of the elevators sensors do not function correctly, leading to numerous incidents of elderly people or children getting injured when the doors close unexpectedly.

The garbage chute is also poorly designed with its openings located in the main hall of each floor, forcing residents to install anti-smell doors, Phong added.

Mai My Hanh, a resident of neighbouring tower CT12A, complained that the fire alarm system malfunctions all the time, leading to numerous false alarms, greatly inconveniencing residents.

She said poor construction quality causes leaks and has hollowed out concrete sections that are filled with rags in the toilets of many apartments.

Residents are outraged. The monthly service fee that project investors receive, at VN160,000 (US$7) times 4,200 apartments, is VN4 billion ($176,300), but the service is pitiful.

Another apartment project, also owned by Muong Thanh Corp in the Linh am urban area south of Ha Noi, is in serious disrepair with frequent cuts in water supply, poor-quality elevators and pavement violations.

Similar complaints

The situation is the same at some affordable housing products in HCM City, with residents livid about construction quality and services.

Just a few months after moving into the Easter City apartment complex on Pham Hung Street in Binh Chanh District, residents began seeing cracks in the walls, leakages and frequent breaking down of elevators.

Faced with complaints from buyers about tardy construction, investors of the HQC Plaza complex, also in Binh Chanh District, decided to allow people begin living in unfinished apartments. Residents recently got the scare of their lives when a fire accident was caused by electrical faults.

Even worse, some projects have had to be halted after city authorities deemed the contractors incapable, following buyers reports about very poor construction quality, as in the case of the high-rise 584 in Tan Phu District.

Tran Ngoc Chanh, chairman of the Viet Nam Urban Planning and Development Association (VUPDA), said due to lax oversight by authorities, most affordable apartment buildings have committed various violations of construction regulations.

Construction density, land use coefficient, building height, or population density  all have exceeded the allowed limit, leading to a decrease in quality of residents life, he said.

Chanh added that project investors often dont follow plans approved by authorities. The profit-oriented mentality leads to attempts to maximise living space by cutting back on green space and other components.

Loose definitions

Affordable housing is still a loosely defined term. While it is generally perceived as targeting low-income people, there are no set standards for buildings that house the majority of the population, even though a policy on classification of apartment buildings is in place, said Tran Ngoc Quang, chairman of the Viet Nam Real Estate Association, said.

But we have to say that the affordable housing term cannot be an excuse for slum-like, shoddy apartment buildings that cause constant headaches for the residents, he added.

In developed countries, Quang said, affordable housing is understood as those built for the general public, in contrast to resorts or luxury real estate developments. This distinction will help customers have a clear understanding of each type of real estate with attached standards and criteria.

Le Hoang Chau, chairman of the HCM City Real Estate Association, said that in order to successfully implement an affordable housing project, the investor must meet several criteria.

First off, a clean (where land clearance is easy) land area is needed, the building must have easy access to major traffic routes and be located not far from the city centre, guaranteed construction quality and add-on services like schools, shopping malls, and other public spaces. Second, the price must be within the affordable range of target customers, with flexible payment options.

However, he admitted that meeting all these criteria is difficult, given the high land prices at the moment.

If current situation persists, we are going to see faith waning in social housing projects, and an exodus of current residents from affordable housing projects, causing a significant waste, he said.

Tran Ngoc Hung, chairman of the Viet Nam Construction Association, said housing must largely be decided by market mechanisms. Social housing for welfare beneficiaries (elders without family, poor households, orphans, etc.) should be handled by the Government, while other types of housing projects, including affording housing, should be subject to demand and supply, he said.

Hung suggested that at least 10-20 per cent of urban land be reserved for affordable housing projects.

Administrative procedures related to affordable housing projects should also be streamlined to facilitate progress, real estate companies have said.

One company in HCM Citys Thu uc District said prolonged wait leads to costs overrun and slow progress. The original aim is affordable apartments, however, because of unexpected costs, the prices have to go up, the companys director said.

Other enterprises also want the Government to collect taxes on a yearly basis or other time-periods, not the lump-sum that is collected even before the project has started.

Renting out affordable housing apartments is one of the options that developers are considering, but very few companies, have done it. Two of them are Thu Thiem and Viglacera.

The Ministry of Construction has said it is developing a housing reserve fund to deal with capital shortages for social or affordable housing projects. It has also said it will consolidate construction, technical and preferential pricing standards. It will also work on ways to prevent unscrupulous project investors from cheating people into buying low-quality apartments.  VNS
THUA THIEN-HUE  A south-north train caught fire on Saturday while travelling across the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, blocking traffic on the national railway system for 30 minutes.

Residents in the provinces Loc ien Commune spotted the fire emitting from a car on the TN2, travelling on the south-north route. They then signalled for the train to stop.

The railway staff and locals helped extinguish the fire that had started in the last car of the train and damaged several others. A train manager said it was suspected the gas from the motorbikes on board had triggered the fire.

Due to the lack of extinguishing facilities, it took more than 30 minutes to douse the fire and unblock the traffic on the route. The railway sector has yet to calculate the loss from the halt in services.  VNS
HA NOI  Dr Vu Anh Tai is a well known man now, especially after his recent selection as one of the nations role models.

However, not many people are aware of the really difficult struggles that the biologist, credited with discovering seven new plant species and two new genera, has experienced to get to where he is now.

He began his career as a biologist with a monthly wage of VN300,000 (US$13). He had to use this money not only to meet the most basic of his needs, but also for his scientific research.

Soon after he graduated with distinction from the University of Science under the Viet Nam National University, he got his first job at his alma maters.

Although he was virtually penniless, the young man from poor, rural Thai Binh Province, northern Viet Nam, managed to make ends met in the capital city for over five years. Throughout this period, his passion never dimmed and he kept finding ways to do his work.

I worked several other jobs to keep my research dream alive. Whenever I saved some extra money, I backpacked to explore, researching and looking for new plants, he said.

A well deserved break finally came to him in 2007 as he was accepted to work at the Institute of Geography in the Viet Nam Academy of Science and Technology, offering more opportunities to pursue his dream.

Now, Tai holds his institutes record of making the most number of trips to the Fansipan Mountain, and, as noted earlier, has discovered seven new plant species and two new genera.

His discoveries along the Hoang Lien Son mountain range in the northern province of Lao Cai  the highest range of Viet Nam  have played a major scientific role in proving plant migration from the Himalayas to Indochina.

Furthermore, Tai has said that he will soon announce the existence of another three new species and one new genus - all belonging to the cyperaceae family  which will clearly show the plant linkage between northern Viet Nam and Sumatra island in Indonesia.

He has also made history as the first Vietnamese biologist to set foot into the world biggest cave, Son oong, in the central province of Quang Binh.

It was the largest exploration team Ive ever joined in my life, with many famous scientists, he recalled.

The plants there are nothing new by name, but their ecological features are far different. It is a low tropical forest but having ecological features similar to those of high mountain and temperate areas.

It is Viet Nams most special ecosystem, he said with evident excitement.

The young biologist, 37 this year, has already published 35 scientific papers, some of them with research funded by international organisations like the Forest Trust, the Fauna and Flora International, and the World Wildlife Fund.

Many people think that doing scientific research is something really impressive, but to me, its just a passion for new knowledge. Im happiest when I can do scientific research. There is nothing else I want to do for my whole life.

Tai was honoured as one of the countrys 400 role models in a ceremony on Saturday for his outstanding discoveries for Viet Nam and the worlds biology science.  VNS
HA NOI  Ha Noi administration will revoke the State-owned houses from civil servants who are found to be misusing the facilities.

It was part of a programme that recently got the greenlight from Nguyen uc Chung, chairman of the capital Peoples Committee, aiming to implement thrift and anti-waste work this year, the Tuoi tre (Youth) newspaper reported.

State-owned houses are allotted to public officials, usually leaders of State, Government, ministries and agencies when they are assigned to certain posts or missions.

Chung has ordered the authorised agencies to reclaim State-owned houses from those who have retired and are misusing the accommodation.

Following the programme, Chung also asked State-owned agencies to return old buildings to the city after they have moved to new buildings. They are not allowed to lease the old buildings or give them to other agencies.

Additionally, the budget for buying State-owned cars this year was fixed, and it will not be increased, he said.

Chung said ground-breaking and opening ceremonies for public works this year would be done away with to save money.

All units under the city administration were told to conduct additional foreign business trips only if they were really necessary, he added.  VNS
PARIS  French President Emmanuel Macrons party is on course for an overwhelming parliamentary majority, after Sundays first round of voting for the National Assembly left traditional parties in disarray.

Projections showed Macron widening his centrist revolution, with his Republique en Marche (Republic on the Move, REM) party and its ally MoDem tipped to win between 400 and 445 seats in the 577-member National Assembly in next Sundays second round.

Such a share would give Macron one of the biggest parliamentary majorities for 60 years.

"France is back," Prime Minister Edouard Philippe declared triumphantly.

"For the past month, the president has shown confidence, willingness and daring in France and on the international stage," Philippe said, calling the result a vindication of Macrons "winning strategy".

But the vote was marked by record low turnout of 49 percent, possibly reflecting fatalism among Macrons opponents in the face of his seemingly unstoppable advance, experts said.

The right-wing Republicans -- who had hoped to rebound from their humiliation in the presidential vote -- were shown trailing in second with a predicted 70-130 seats while Marine Le Pens far-right National Front (FN) was forecast to garner between one and 10 seats.

The FNs result showed the party is struggling to rebound from Le Pens bruising defeat by Macron in the presidential run-off.

The FNs deputy leader Florian Philippot admitted to "disappointment" and

called on voters to "mobilise massively" for the second round. The worst losses, however, were for the Socialists of Macrons predecessor

Francois Hollande, who are predicted to lose a staggering 200 seats.

The partys chief Jean-Christophe Cambadelis and its failed presidential candidate Benoit Hamon both lost their seats.

Conceding that the party was facing "unprecedented" losses, Cambadelis appealed to voters to rally behind Macrons rivals to avoid the president monopolising power.

Parliament risked having "no real oversight powers and no democratic debate worth speaking of," he warned.

Former Republicans party leader Jean-Francois Cope said the results were "a disaster".

"Its the continuation of the real disaster that the presidential election was... we need to rebuild everything," he told BFMTV.

Official final results released early Monday showed Macrons one-year-old REM and MoDem winning 32.32 per cent in the first round, ahead of the Republicans on 21.56 per cent and the FN on 13.20 per cent. Few MPs were elected outright on Sunday.

If no candidate wins over 50 per cent, the two top-placed contenders go into the second round -- along with any other candidate who garners at least 12.5 per cent of registered voters in the district.

Frances youngest-ever president at 39, Macron has gained praise for appointing a balanced cabinet that straddles the left-right divide and taking a

leading role in Europes fight-back against US President Donald Trump on climate change.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel congratulated Macron on a "great success" on Sunday.

If the seat projections are confirmed next week, he will have a strong mandate to push through the ambitious labour, economic and social reforms he promised on the campaign trail.

New faces

Macron, who had never held elected office before becoming president, will also have succeeded in ushering in a younger and more diverse parliament with more women and ethnic minorities.

His party fielded political novices in around 200 constituencies.

They include Marie Sara, a retired bullfighter, who went through to a runoff against FN stalwart Gilbert Collard in southern France, and star mathematician Cedric Villani.

Macron is also trying to bring in an era of cleaner politics. His governments first bill proposes to ban lawmakers from employing family members or performing consultancy work while in office.

The measures follow the scandal that destroyed the presidential bid of Republicans candidate Francois Fillon, who has been charged over payments to his wife and two of his children for suspected fake jobs as parliamentary assistants. Fillon denies the charges.

Macrons party has largely avoided controversy but one of his ministers who is running for re-election in Brittany, Richard Ferrand, is being probed over a property deal involving his girlfriend.

FN falls short

Forecasts show Le Pens party will struggle to win the 15 seats it would need to form a parliamentary group and help shape the assemblys agenda.

The radical-left France Insoumise (France Unbowed) party of Jean-Luc Melenchon who finished fourth in the presidential race also fell short of expectations. His camp was tipped to only take 10-23 seats.

Macron has urged voters to back his reform proposals including an overhaul of the rigid rules governing the job market, blamed by many economists for holding back growth.  AFP
BOLOGNA  The United States partners in the G7 club of wealthy democracies vowed Sunday to press ahead with efforts to contain devastating climate change despite a rift caused by the American withdrawal from the Paris accord on cutting carbon emissions.

"Italy and the overwhelming majority of countries regard Paris as irreversible and non-negotiable," Italian Environment Minister Gian Luca Galletti said after the first day of a two-day gathering of G7 environmental chiefs in Italy.

Erik Solheim, head of the UN Environment Programme, said Sundays talks had underlined the "absolute determination" of the other six G7 countries to push ahead "whatever happens in the White House."

"The private sector, big business, including in the United States, tell us they back action. There are huge numbers of new jobs in renewables and the green economy, there is lots of money to be made, far more than in fossil fuels."

Scott Pruitt, Trumps choice to head the US Environmental Protection Agency and seen as a climate change sceptic, attended the meeting in the northern Italian city of Bologna but headed home at the end of the first day.

With Germanys environment minister, Barbara Hendricks, also departing early and Frances Nicolas Hulot not arriving until Monday because of legislative elections, there was little prospect of substantial bridge building on an issue which has badly soured relations between Donald Trumps administration and key US allies.

Patricia Espinosa, the UN official in charge of implementing the Paris accord, stressed that Trumps pull-out would not make any difference in the short-term.

"Weve all registered with regret the US decision, but at the same time the US remains a party to the agreement because it foresees a three-year period before any party can withdraw.

"So for us, it is really clear that what we need to do is to go forward with implementing the accord and helping countries translate their national programme into their development policies so we can get to 2018 and have a first assessment of where we stand," she said.

More than 1,000 students marched through Bologna to protest the presence of the G7 ministers in the historic university city, a long-standing bastion of progressive activism.

Organiser Giacomo Cossu said that Trump had given the radical environmentalist movement a shot in the arm, but said he would have been on the streets regardless.

"Trump has revealed the truth that lies behind the rhetoric of the G7 on the environment. They want changes that suit the interests of big business.

That is not our model. Ecology for us means democracy and equality. They represent the one percent not the seven billion."

Chaperoned by hundreds of riot police, the demonstration passed off peacefully with protestors brandishing placards declaring: "There is no Planet B" and "They think the Kyoto protocol is a Japanese erotic film."

Trump announced at the start of this month that the US would not abide by the 2015 Paris agreement and would seek to renegotiate terms he denounced as unfairly damaging to the American economy and overly generous to India and China.

Trump said Washington would not be bound by the targets on reducing emissions of greenhouse gases set down in Paris, and will cut funding for developing countries affected by climate change.

No change to the trend

But many analysts say Trumps rhetoric may make little difference.

Important players in US industry and individual cities and states are already implementing changes aimed at meeting the targets laid down in Paris, where most of the worlds countries agreed to try to cap global temperature rises at two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Germany and California agreed Saturday to work together to keep the Paris accords on track and the most populous US state had its own representative at the Bologna talks.

Scientists warn that failing to contain climate change will have devastating consequences as sea levels rise and extreme storms, droughts and heatwaves becoming more common, endangering crops and fragile environments with knock-on effects in the form of new conflicts and mass fluxes of people escaping affected areas.  AFP
DELHI  Delhis former city clerk has pleaded to allegations she took money from the city.

Angela Josephine Billings, 42, of Anamosa, entered a guilty plea to a single count of theft from a program receiving federal funds on Friday in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids. Sentencing will be at a later date, and she faces up to 10 years in prison.

In Billingss plea agreement, she admitted she held a position of public trust that helped her steal from the city and cover up the crime, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for Northern Iowa.

She admitted she took at least $97,177 from the city between March 2007 and January 2015 by charging $88,160 in personal expenses on a city credit card and canceling $5,000 worth of her water bills or causing the city not to submit her water bills.

At the time of the theft, the City of Delhi had received block grant money through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Billings was also charged with theft in state court for allegedly taking $63,000 in unauthorized pay.

A September date has been set in Delaware County District Court.
WATERLOO  An effort to sort out a student loan default at the University of Northern Iowa Center for Urban Education took a surprising turn for Jon Ramon.

In March 2016, he went downtown to UNI-CUEs Educational Opportunity Center and worked with counselor Constance McGovern on filling out online forms.

Basically, I came down here because I needed to get assistance with my student loans, said the 34-year-old Waterloo man. By the end of the day I had applied to Hawkeye (Community College) and Upper Iowa (University).

He later chose to enroll in Hawkeyes two-year computer numerical control machining and tool-making technology degree starting last fall.

It wasnt even in my thoughts to get back into college, said Ramon. And I left here thinking, Wow, that was like magic.

The federally funded EOC  one of 126 similar programs across the country  helps people 19 and older overcome barriers to education, particularly those who are first-generation college students or from low-income families. Staff at the center can assist with enrolling in high school equivalency degree programs or post secondary institutions. Career planning, filling out college and financial aid applications, finding scholarships, getting out of default, transferring to a new college or re-enrolling in college are among the services provided.

Kathy Martin, director of UNI-CUEs Educational Opportunity Center, said the programs have been targeted for elimination in President Trumps 2018 budget.

I think for this area its important that adults have access to a program that has such an array of services, she said. Nobody else in the area does what were able to do.

The services were important for Ramon.

I would say any obstacles that you feel are in your way for bettering your life, these people are here to clear those hurdles, to put you in a position to succeed, he said. I feel like they want me to succeed as much as I want to succeed. I dont think I couldve gotten this far without them, at least not this quickly.

Ramon initially came to the EOC seeking loan forgiveness. He thought it was a possibility since he is disabled. Im on disability because I got into a car accident and pretty much mangled my arm, he said.

In the 2007 crash, he lost control of the car, hit a bridge and rolled over. His arm ended up pinned between the cars open window and the road. Ramon went through numerous surgeries and doctors were able to repair the arm rather than amputate it.

It took me a good year before I could even use it, and now it doesnt function 100 percent, he said, noting the arm also doesnt stop him from doing much.

McGovern discouraged seeking forgiveness of the old loans and helped him work through the process to start repaying them. Then they started talking about getting him back into college.

The Hampton native earned an associates degree at Mason Citys North Iowa Area Community College in 2011 and began working on a business degree from Buena Vista University through a program on the NIACC campus.

But in December 2011, Ramon was charged with felony assault on a police officer. Eventually, he pleaded guilty and was sent to prison at the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility.

I ended up being incarcerated 15 months, said Ramon, who was released in March 2015. Id say it took 3 1/2 years out of my life.

His self-destructive behaviors had started long before the arrest, though. I had problems with substance abuse and alcohol abuse, said Ramon. After the car crash, which involved drunken driving, it just got worse and worse.

Prison stopped all that. My life was kind of in a slow downward spiral until I went to prison, he noted. Prison was a good thing in that aspect.

Ramon decided to make a change, citing his Christian faith as a factor. With grace, you can be freed from your sins; you can start a new life, he said.

After being released, Ramon did that, moving to Waterloo where his mom and sisters family live. He found a job at a restaurant and enrolled in a CNC machining certification class through Hawkeye and Iowa Workforce Development.

That didnt lead to a job, but he started thinking about pursuing a career in the field. UNI-CUEs Educational Opportunity Center helped clear the way for him to enroll in Hawkeyes full program.

CNC machining uses computer programming to design and cut out components as part of the manufacturing process. Annual wages in the field typically start at $30,000, according to Hawkeye.

What I like about it, youve got to use your brain and you get to use your hands, said Ramon. I just feel like the potential to make a good living is there.
CEDAR RAPIDS  President Donald Trump will visit Cedar Rapids after all.

The president, who postponed a June 1 rally in Cedar Rapids, announced Monday hell visit for a 7 p.m. rally June 21 at the U.S. Cellular Center, 370 First Ave. N.E.

Free general admission tickets are available at donaldjtrump.com/rallies/cedar-rapids-ia. Doors open at 4 p.m.

Trump last visited Iowa in December as part of his thank you tour following his victory in the 2016 presidential election. That rally in Des Moines drew about 6,000 people.

He last visited Cedar Rapids in October, shortly before the election. He also visited Cedar Rapids shortly after he was nominated at the Republican National Convention in July.
MORRISON  The Iowa Department of Transportation will hold a public information meeting June 20 to discuss proposed improvements of the Iowa 175 bridge over a stream about a half-mile west of Grundy County Road T-53.

Through traffic on Iowa 175 would be detoured during bridge construction using Iowa 14 and Grundy County Road D-35.

The meeting will be 5 and 6:30 p.m. at Grundy County Conservation Offices Board Room, 204 Fourth St., Morrison.

The meeting will be conducted utilizing an open forum format. Iowa DOT staff will be present to informally discuss the proposed improvements. No formal presentation will be made.
WATERLOO  Five local Union Army soldiers who served in the Civil War will be memorialized at a ceremony at 6:15 p.m. Thursday at Soldiers and Sailors Park outside Veterans Memorial Hall.

The Cedar Valley Civil War Roundtable, a local Civil War research group, will lay five commemorative bricks for Union Army veterans who enlisted in Black Hawk County.

The goal, said Jo Porter, who edits a regular roundtable newsletter, is to remember Americas most divisive and bloodiest conflict from a human perspective of those who fought it, not just from the view of generals, tactics and battles.

The bricks were purchased by members of the roundtable, who researched the veterans. Its the second group of soldiers to be so honored, Porter said. Tributes will be read for each of the soldiers, including excerpts from diaries and letters where available.

The first we did was the fall of 2015. Randy Miller (Memorial Hall volunteer and roundtable treasurer) and I, we found the original membership book of the G.A.R., the Grand Army of the Republic veterans, as a resource from which to draw names, Porter said.

We started with men from this area. They had to have enlisted from this area. We just drew them out of a hat. Thats how we decided to do the first five. We decided last fall to do five more.

Its important to the history of Black Hawk County to know we sent our fair share into combat, roundtable president Jim Petersen said. Some returned. Some didnt.

The soldiers being honored are: Private Charles Brunn, Co. C 31st Iowa Infantry; Private Thomas B. Doxey, Co. C 32nd Iowa Infantry; Major William Haddock, 12th Iowa Infantry, 8th and 9th Iowa Cavalry; Private Alva Page, Co. C 3rd Iowa Infantry and Private Nelson White Co. I 3rd Iowa Infantry.

A farm laborer prior to the war, Brunn (1841-1912) was later employed as a night watchman at Rath Packing Co. for several years. He is buried at Fairview Cemetery.

Doxey (1820-1903) kept diaries that have been passed from generation to generation. He farmed in the Washburn area and was 42 when he enlisted. He returned to his family and farm after the war. In his later years his health was impaired due to his service.

Haddock (1822-1879) was a newspaper publisher prior to his military service. He started the Iowa State Register in 1855 at 500 Commercial St., Waterloo, and sold it in 1859, the year The Courier was founded. He enlisted in the fall of 1861 and was named captain of the 12th Iowa. He was captured at the Battle of Shiloh and released about nine months later. He was named major of the 8th Iowa Cavalry and later assigned to the 9th Iowa Cavalry. After the war, Haddock settled in Effingham, Ill., and again entered the newspaper business.

Page (1844-1927) was one of the few Civil War veterans living in Black Hawk County when he died. In his youth, living near the Cedar River, Page became a skilled hunter and fisherman. Those skills provided a career for the veteran as he became a respected outdoorsman and guide for fishing parties.

White (1843-1864) settled in this area in 1855 when his widowed mother and siblings traveled with his sister Electa and her husband David Jolls from New York state. White worked as a farm laborer prior to his enlistment in May 1861. He was shot in his right leg at Peach Tree Creek near Atlanta in July 1864 and was taken prisoner. It was necessary to amputate his right leg and White died that September.

More than 80,000 Iowans served in the Union Army. More than 12,000 of them were killed in battle or died later from wounds or disease, and an equal number were wounded or maimed.

More than 700 Civil War veterans are buried in Black Hawk County.

The event will be held inside Memorial Hall in event of rain.

For more information about the event and the roundtable, email cvcwrt9@yahoo.com
Congratulations, Kim Reynolds, on becoming governor of Iowa.

Now, about these issues with the state budget and the human services department ...

Reynolds recently was elevated after serving for more than six years as Terry Branstads lieutenant, and in true be-careful-what-you-wish-for fashion, she was promptly greeted by a pair of critical issues facing the state.

The state budget is hanging by a thread as revenue continues to come in lighter than anticipated.

And the death of a teenage girl who had been adopted and home-schooled  the second such death within the past year  has the states human services department under the microscope.

How Reynolds addresses these issues could have a significant role in defining her early tenure as governor.

And while secondary to the real-life effects of Reynolds actions, they also could play a political role in 2018 if she chooses to run for election. How Reynolds addresses these situations will be tied to her candidacy.

It has been a rough year for Iowas budget. Three times the panel that estimates state revenues had to lower its forecasts. Because the panels predictions are used to build state spending, legislators and Branstad were forced to cut $88 million from multiple departments budgets for the current fiscal year, transfer $25 million from various funds and borrow $131 million from the states cash reserves.

The revenue situation has not improved. The latest tracking continues to show sluggish revenue, and the state may again not have enough money to pay its bills at the end of the fiscal year, which is June 30.

Reynolds last week said she plans to meet with her state budget team to discuss how they might address a possible shortage. One potential option would be to call legislators back to the Capitol for a special session to address the budget issue.

Weve not made any decisions at this point on what were going to do, Reynolds said. Were going to look at all the options.

Reynolds also must name a director to the state Department of Human Services. Director Chuck Palmer, who had served throughout Branstads second tenure as governor and part of his first, announced his retirement shortly after Reynolds was sworn in. His last day is Friday.

The appointment comes at a time of great consternation for the department. Last week, legislators conducted an oversight hearing regarding the recent deaths of two adopted teenage girls who had been in the departments system.

According to authorities, 16-year-old Sabrina Ray of Perry was found unresponsive in her home on May 12 and died from severe malnutrition, weighing 56 pounds at the time of death. The state had been monitoring her home because of earlier complaints, authorities said.

Rays parents have been arrested and charged with neglect. The circumstances of her death are similar to another 16-year-old girl, Natalie Finn of West Des Moines, who died last year of starvation. Finns parents also were arrested and charged.

Reynolds must name a new director to the human services department, and that nomination will be subject to the approval of the Iowa Senate.

That nomination and the decision of how to address the budget are two huge decisions on the plate of a new governor.

Reynolds actions almost certainly will have a significant impact on the state and could help shape the debate during the 2018 campaign.

Bleeding Kansas

Reynolds will have another big decision to make next year when state legislators convene for the 2018 legislative session.

Reynolds and Republican lawmakers have made tax reform a top priority for the session, but the state budget has left no wiggle room for further reductions in revenue. And that could be the case next year as well if the budget picture does not improve.

And a cautionary tale recently played out just to the southwest in Kansas, where the Republican-controlled Legislature rolled back deep tax cuts implemented by Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, overriding the governors veto in order to reverse the tax cuts.

Brownback enacted huge tax cuts shortly after his election in 2011. Instead of the economic growth Brownback promised, the cuts have created gaping holes in Kansas budget, leading to significant spending cuts, particularly in education.

Republicans in Iowa have been asked about the Kansas experiment, and many have said the Kansas GOP went too far in its tax reform effort.

Iowa Republicans still want to pass a state tax reduction. Will they find enough room in the budget? And will they keep Kansas in mind? We will see next year when legislators return to the Capitol.

Erin Murphy covers Iowa politics and government for Lee Enterprises. His email address is erin.murphy@lee.net
The suggestion to make the position of mayor a part-time job popped up again during a recent Cedar Falls City Council meeting, just six months after supposedly reaching consensus on the matter.

Council member Nick Taiber asked for a City Council committee of the whole discussion on the issue, as first suggested in 2013 by a budget task force.

Its never appropriate to do this during an election, Taiber said, referring to the upcoming November municipal elections. But I think its something that we, in the near future, should discuss. We have a full-time mayor and a full-time city administrator and wage compression issues between union and nonunion supervisory staff.

If its never appropriate to bring this up during an election year, then why bring it up now? The council reached a consensus during its goal-setting session in November. Why are we asking the same question so soon?

I was a little surprised at the timing, said Mayor Jim Brown. But obviously council has that right to vote on anything for referral. So well have a good discussion, as Mr. Taiber indicated. They have that right to bring it up any time, any place.

The council approved Taibers motion.

We understand the arguments for going to a part-time mayor system, and in the tight-budget year of 2013 editorialized when it comes to creating efficiencies, everything should be on the table, including the mayors post.

The mayors current salary is $89,321 a year.

In 2013, a task force projected the city would save $70,000 a year going to a city administrator and part-time mayor. The council voted 5-2 at that time to keep the mayor full time. The International City/County Management Association said more than half of the U.S. cities with populations greater than 2,500 residents operate under a council-manager form of government.

Jeff Schott, director of the Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Iowa, was quoted on the matter in 2015, when Waterloo discussed the possibility of moving to a part-time mayor/city manager type government. He believes its a trend that will continue.

More and more cities are going to the city manager or city administrator form just recognizing the city is a big enterprise with a multi-million dollar budget, Schott said. Its a complex affair requiring somebody who has been trained and has experience in city government, not only budget and finance but also human resources, economic development and capital project administration. Des Moines, Sioux City, Dubuque and Iowa City all utilize the city manager form of government. Cedar Rapids voters in 2005 changed to the council-manager form of government, where the elected mayor essentially serves as another council member.

All of that said, the timing of this Cedar Falls motion is curious. We will always support our communities looking at efficiencies, but wed also prefer our representatives make decisions and then stick to them for an appropriate amount of time. This issue was recently scrutinized and a consensus was apparently reached. The appropriate time, in our opinion, is after the next election.
past daily news Sep 13 (1) Sep 09 (15) Sep 06 (12) Sep 04 (10) Sep 03 (10) Aug 31 (17) Aug 29 (14) Aug 26 (13) Aug 22 (11) Aug 21 (12) Aug 19 (21) Aug 14 (6) Aug 13 (10) Aug 10 (10) Aug 08 (9) Aug 07 (10) Aug 06 (10) Aug 05 (8) Aug 03 (8) Aug 02 (7) Aug 01 (7) Jul 31 (14) Jul 29 (1) Jul 27 (7) Jul 25 (5) Jul 24 (10) Jul 22 (11) Jul 19 (16) Jul 17 (6) Jul 16 (10) Jul 15 (13) Jul 12 (7) Jul 11 (5) Jul 10 (8) Jul 08 (8) Jul 07 (3) Jul 06 (5) Jul 05 (8) Jul 04 (11) Jul 03 (8) Jul 02 (7) Jul 01 (5) Jun 30 (8) Jun 28 (7) Jun 27 (8) Jun 26 (7) Jun 25 (8) Jun 24 (6) Jun 23 (6) Jun 22 (9) Jun 20 (5) Jun 19 (9) Jun 18 (8) Jun 15 (9) Jun 13 (13) Jun 11 (11) Jun 09 (19) Jun 06 (10) Jun 04 (10) Jun 03 (8) Jun 01 (6) May 31 (5) May 30 (5) May 29 (6) May 28 (7) May 27 (7) May 26 (6) May 25 (4) May 23 (6) May 22 (6) May 21 (4) May 20 (7) May 19 (9) May 18 (4) May 17 (6) May 16 (5) May 15 (7) May 14 (3) May 13 (3) May 12 (9) May 10 (3) May 09 (7) May 08 (4) May 07 (3) May 06 (5) May 05 (8) May 03 (9) May 02 (1) May 01 (5) Apr 30 (8) Apr 29 (5) Apr 28 (4) Apr 27 (7) Apr 26 (12) Apr 25 (4) Apr 24 (8) Apr 23 (7) Apr 22 (5) Apr 21 (3) Apr 20 (1) Apr 19 (5) Apr 18 (3) Apr 17 (6) Apr 16 (6) Apr 15 (5) Apr 14 (2) Apr 13 (4) Apr 12 (2) Apr 11 (4) Apr 10 (3) Apr 09 (3) Apr 08 (3) Apr 07 (5) Apr 06 (3) Apr 05 (10) Apr 04 (2) Apr 03 (3) Apr 02 (9) Apr 01 (7) Mar 31 (10) Mar 30 (6) Mar 29 (7) Mar 28 (5) Mar 27 (3) Mar 26 (10) Mar 25 (4) Mar 24 (5) Mar 23 (10) Mar 22 (6) Mar 21 (5) Mar 20 (11) Mar 19 (8) Mar 18 (5) Mar 17 (4) Mar 16 (11) Mar 15 (10) Mar 14 (7) Mar 13 (7) Mar 12 (5) Mar 11 (3) Mar 10 (3) Mar 09 (5) Mar 08 (6) Mar 07 (8) Mar 06 (6) Mar 05 (12) Mar 04 (6) Mar 03 (8) Mar 02 (6) Mar 01 (8) Feb 28 (7) Feb 27 (5) Feb 26 (6) Feb 25 (7) Feb 24 (3) Feb 23 (6) Feb 22 (4) Feb 21 (3) Feb 20 (1) Feb 19 (6) Feb 18 (4) Feb 17 (4) Feb 16 (2) Feb 15 (5) Feb 14 (3) Feb 13 (6) Feb 12 (6) Feb 11 (4) Feb 10 (6) Feb 09 (6) Feb 08 (4) Feb 07 (6) Feb 06 (4) Feb 05 (2) Feb 04 (3) Feb 03 (5) Feb 02 (1) Feb 01 (4) Jan 31 (8) Jan 30 (2) Jan 29 (4) Jan 28 (1) Jan 27 (4) Jan 26 (7) Jan 25 (4) Jan 23 (4) Jan 22 (8) Jan 21 (2) Jan 20 (2) Jan 19 (3) Jan 18 (4) Jan 17 (2) Jan 16 (7) Jan 15 (6) Jan 14 (4) Jan 13 (6) Jan 12 (5) Jan 11 (4) Jan 10 (5) Jan 09 (4) Jan 08 (5) Jan 07 (4) Jan 05 (5) Jan 04 (4) Jan 03 (3) Jan 02 (2) Jan 01 (1) Dec 31 (5) Dec 29 (4) Dec 28 (5) Dec 26 (3) Dec 25 (2) Dec 24 (3) Dec 23 (2) Dec 22 (4) Dec 21 (4) Dec 20 (3) Dec 19 (3) Dec 18 (2) Dec 17 (1) Dec 16 (4) Dec 15 (2) Dec 14 (3) Dec 13 (7) Dec 12 (5) Dec 11 (4) Dec 10 (3) Dec 09 (2) Dec 08 (2) Dec 07 (4) Dec 06 (4) Dec 05 (1) Dec 04 (5) Dec 03 (3) Dec 02 (5) Dec 01 (6) Nov 30 (5) Nov 29 (10) Nov 28 (6) Nov 27 (2) Nov 26 (3) Nov 24 (2) Nov 23 (5) Nov 22 (4) Nov 21 (3) Nov 20 (6) Nov 19 (2) Nov 18 (5) Nov 17 (5) Nov 16 (3) Nov 15 (2) Nov 14 (3) Nov 13 (3) Nov 12 (2) Nov 11 (4) Nov 10 (5) Nov 09 (4) Nov 08 (5) Nov 07 (5) Nov 06 (5) Nov 05 (4) Nov 04 (5) Nov 02 (4) Nov 01 (4) Oct 31 (9) Oct 30 (9) Oct 29 (3) Oct 28 (2) Oct 27 (6) Oct 26 (6) Oct 25 (6) Oct 24 (3) Oct 23 (6) Oct 22 (4) Oct 20 (3) Oct 19 (6) Oct 18 (5) Oct 17 (5) Oct 16 (4) Oct 15 (5) Oct 14 (2) Oct 13 (4) Oct 12 (7) Oct 11 (5) Oct 10 (4) Oct 09 (5) Oct 08 (10) Oct 07 (1) Oct 06 (10) Oct 05 (6) Oct 04 (8) Oct 03 (3) Oct 02 (4) Oct 01 (6) Sep 30 (5) Sep 29 (1) Sep 28 (6) Sep 27 (6) Sep 26 (5) Sep 25 (3) Sep 24 (6) Sep 23 (5) Sep 22 (7) Sep 21 (6) Sep 20 (6) Sep 19 (5) Sep 18 (3) Sep 17 (5) Sep 16 (5) Sep 15 (5) Sep 14 (6) Sep 13 (4) Sep 12 (5) Sep 11 (7) Sep 10 (6) Sep 09 (5) Sep 08 (3) Sep 07 (4) Sep 06 (8) Sep 05 (6) Sep 04 (7) Sep 03 (3) Sep 02 (4) Sep 01 (5) Aug 31 (8) Aug 30 (6) Aug 29 (6) Aug 28 (6) Aug 27 (1) Aug 26 (4) Aug 25 (3) Aug 24 (7) Aug 23 (4) Aug 22 (4) Aug 21 (4) Aug 20 (7) Aug 18 (5) Aug 17 (8) Aug 16 (8) Aug 15 (4) Aug 14 (6) Aug 13 (5) Aug 12 (4) Aug 11 (2) Aug 10 (5) Aug 09 (4) Aug 08 (8) Aug 07 (4) Aug 06 (3) Aug 05 (4) Aug 04 (4) Aug 03 (10) Aug 02 (9) Aug 01 (8) Jul 31 (1) Jul 30 (3) Jul 29 (2) Jul 28 (11) Jul 27 (10) Jul 26 (10) Jul 25 (7) Jul 24 (5) Jul 23 (3) Jul 22 (2) Jul 21 (7) Jul 20 (10) Jul 19 (8) Jul 18 (7) Jul 17 (1) Jul 16 (10) Jul 14 (7) Jul 13 (6) Jul 12 (11) Jul 11 (7) Jul 10 (5) Jul 09 (6) Jul 08 (5) Jul 07 (8) Jul 06 (4) Jul 05 (6) Jul 04 (6) Jul 03 (7) Jul 02 (6) Jul 01 (2) Jun 30 (7) Jun 29 (7) Jun 28 (5) Jun 27 (8) Jun 26 (5) Jun 25 (6) Jun 23 (4) Jun 22 (4) Jun 21 (5) Jun 20 (8) Jun 18 (2) Jun 17 (3) Jun 16 (4) Jun 15 (3) Jun 14 (7) Jun 13 (4) Jun 12 (7) Jun 11 (3) Jun 10 (2) Jun 09 (8) Jun 08 (8) Jun 07 (8) Jun 06 (10) Jun 05 (14) Jun 04 (6) Jun 03 (6) Jun 02 (8) Jun 01 (6) May 31 (7) May 30 (2) May 29 (7) May 28 (7) May 27 (2) May 26 (4) May 25 (5) May 24 (4) May 23 (5) May 22 (5) May 21 (5) May 20 (3) May 19 (10) May 18 (6) May 17 (3) May 16 (6) May 15 (2) May 14 (3) May 13 (5) May 11 (1) May 10 (5) May 09 (3) May 08 (4) May 07 (2) May 06 (4) May 05 (6) May 04 (5) May 03 (5) May 02 (1) May 01 (6) Apr 30 (6) Apr 29 (7) Apr 28 (8) Apr 27 (9) Apr 26 (14) Apr 25 (6) Apr 24 (6) Apr 23 (7) Apr 22 (1) Apr 21 (8) Apr 20 (3) Apr 19 (6) Apr 18 (4) Apr 17 (7) Apr 16 (1) Apr 15 (8) Apr 14 (1) Apr 13 (7) Apr 12 (10) Apr 11 (7) Apr 10 (2) Apr 09 (2) Apr 08 (4) Apr 07 (3) Apr 06 (6) Apr 05 (6) Apr 04 (9) Apr 03 (4) Apr 02 (5) Apr 01 (2) Mar 31 (5) Mar 30 (4) Mar 29 (8) Mar 28 (5) Mar 27 (9) Mar 26 (4) Mar 25 (5) Mar 24 (11) Mar 23 (10) Mar 22 (9) Mar 21 (10) Mar 20 (11) Mar 19 (5) Mar 18 (7) Mar 17 (3) Mar 16 (7) Mar 15 (6) Mar 14 (6) Mar 13 (9) Mar 12 (6) Mar 11 (3) Mar 10 (3) Mar 09 (5) Mar 08 (6) Mar 07 (13) Mar 06 (6) Mar 05 (3) Mar 04 (7) Mar 03 (4) Mar 02 (5) Mar 01 (6) Feb 28 (6) Feb 27 (4) Feb 26 (5) Feb 25 (6) Feb 24 (6) Feb 23 (9) Feb 22 (6) Feb 21 (7) Feb 20 (8) Feb 19 (6) Feb 18 (3) Feb 17 (4) Feb 16 (6) Feb 15 (5) Feb 14 (7) Feb 13 (5) Feb 12 (3) Feb 11 (4) Feb 10 (5) Feb 09 (9) Feb 08 (8) Feb 07 (7) Feb 06 (10) Feb 05 (7) Feb 04 (2) Feb 03 (8) Feb 02 (7) Feb 01 (5) Jan 31 (4) Jan 30 (4) Jan 29 (7) Jan 28 (3) Jan 27 (7) Jan 26 (8) Jan 25 (6) Jan 24 (6) Jan 23 (5) Jan 22 (4) Jan 21 (6) Jan 20 (8) Jan 19 (6) Jan 18 (8) Jan 17 (12) Jan 16 (5) Jan 15 (4) Jan 14 (8) Jan 12 (6) Jan 11 (6) Jan 10 (7) Jan 09 (4) Jan 08 (6) Jan 07 (4) Jan 06 (6) Jan 05 (9) Jan 04 (9) Jan 03 (4) Jan 02 (6) Jan 01 (8) Dec 31 (2) Dec 30 (1) Dec 29 (5) Dec 28 (4) Dec 27 (8) Dec 26 (4) Dec 24 (5) Dec 23 (7) Dec 22 (12) Dec 21 (4) Dec 20 (7) Dec 19 (3) Dec 18 (5) Dec 17 (3) Dec 16 (1) Dec 15 (7) Dec 14 (10) Dec 13 (7) Dec 12 (12) Dec 10 (3) Dec 09 (6) Dec 08 (7) Dec 07 (12) Dec 06 (6) Dec 05 (13) Dec 04 (6) Dec 02 (8) Dec 01 (8) Nov 30 (6) Nov 29 (7) Nov 28 (7) Nov 27 (4) Nov 26 (8) Nov 24 (2) Nov 23 (5) Nov 22 (11) Nov 21 (7) Nov 20 (3) Nov 19 (10) Nov 18 (7) Nov 17 (6) Nov 16 (11) Nov 15 (10) Nov 14 (7) Nov 13 (3) Nov 12 (5) Nov 11 (12) Nov 10 (4) Nov 09 (14) Nov 08 (10) Nov 07 (11) Nov 06 (8) Nov 05 (5) Nov 04 (11) Nov 03 (9) Nov 02 (10) Nov 01 (8) Oct 31 (12) Oct 30 (5) Oct 29 (5) Oct 28 (5) Oct 27 (11) Oct 26 (13) Oct 25 (9) Oct 24 (10) Oct 23 (8) Oct 22 (5) Oct 21 (11) Oct 20 (8) Oct 19 (6) Oct 18 (5) Oct 17 (5) Oct 16 (6) Oct 15 (4) Oct 14 (9) Oct 13 (10) Oct 12 (11) Oct 11 (9) Oct 10 (10) Oct 09 (7) Oct 08 (5) Oct 07 (10) Oct 06 (9) Oct 05 (14) Oct 04 (9) Oct 03 (12) Oct 02 (4) Oct 01 (9) Sep 30 (5) Sep 29 (7) Sep 28 (13) Sep 27 (10) Sep 26 (11) Sep 25 (3) Sep 24 (9) Sep 23 (7) Sep 22 (10) Sep 21 (12) Sep 20 (12) Sep 19 (4) Sep 18 (5) Sep 17 (7) Sep 16 (11) Sep 15 (8) Sep 14 (5) Sep 13 (8) Sep 12 (8) Sep 11 (6) Sep 10 (10) Sep 09 (5) Sep 08 (9) Sep 07 (8) Sep 06 (11) Sep 05 (2) Sep 04 (8) Sep 03 (2) Sep 02 (6) Sep 01 (9) Aug 31 (9) Aug 30 (7) Aug 29 (9) Aug 28 (4) Aug 27 (8) Aug 26 (6) Aug 25 (5) Aug 24 (8) Aug 23 (4) Aug 22 (5) Aug 21 (2) Aug 20 (4) Aug 19 (6) Aug 18 (4) Aug 17 (4) Aug 16 (6) Aug 15 (3) Aug 14 (4) Aug 13 (7) Aug 12 (6) Aug 11 (3) Aug 10 (5) Aug 09 (8) Aug 08 (9) Aug 07 (7) Aug 06 (7) Aug 05 (7) Aug 04 (7) Aug 03 (11) Aug 02 (6) Aug 01 (9) Jul 31 (11) Jul 28 (7) Jul 27 (11) Jul 26 (5) Jul 25 (5) Jul 24 (1) Jul 22 (3) Jul 21 (2) Jul 20 (9) Jul 19 (8) Jul 18 (6) Jul 17 (7) Jul 15 (4) Jul 14 (2) Jul 13 (6) Jul 12 (10) Jul 11 (11) Jul 10 (2) Jul 09 (3) Jul 08 (5) Jul 07 (5) Jul 06 (6) Jul 05 (3) Jul 04 (6) Jul 03 (5) Jul 02 (3) Jun 30 (8) Jun 29 (5) Jun 28 (6) Jun 27 (4) Jun 26 (4) Jun 25 (1) Jun 24 (5) Jun 23 (11) Jun 21 (5) Jun 20 (5) Jun 19 (7) Jun 17 (4) Jun 16 (7) Jun 15 (4) Jun 14 (6) Jun 13 (4) Jun 12 (4) Jun 11 (6) Jun 10 (6) Jun 09 (8) Jun 08 (6) Jun 07 (8) Jun 06 (7) Jun 05 (5) Jun 04 (7) Jun 03 (1) Jun 02 (9) Jun 01 (5) May 31 (8) May 30 (7) May 29 (5) May 28 (5) May 27 (4) May 26 (4) May 25 (4) May 24 (3) May 23 (5) May 22 (2) May 21 (3) May 20 (7) May 19 (11) May 18 (1) May 17 (7) May 16 (3) May 15 (4) May 14 (3) May 13 (4) May 12 (4) May 11 (11) May 10 (2) May 09 (6) May 08 (6) May 07 (2) May 06 (3) May 05 (4) May 04 (5) May 03 (8) May 02 (4) May 01 (4) Apr 30 (6) Apr 29 (13) Apr 28 (5) Apr 27 (7) Apr 26 (5) Apr 25 (5) Apr 24 (2) Apr 23 (7) Apr 22 (9) Apr 21 (11) Apr 20 (2) Apr 19 (2) Apr 18 (5) Apr 17 (5) Apr 16 (6) Apr 14 (5) Apr 13 (2) Apr 12 (9) Apr 11 (10) Apr 10 (6) Apr 09 (5) Apr 08 (3) Apr 07 (10) Apr 06 (7) Apr 05 (7) Apr 04 (7) Apr 03 (9) Mar 31 (12) Mar 30 (9) Mar 29 (7) Mar 28 (4) Mar 27 (3) Mar 26 (6) Mar 25 (3) Mar 24 (8) Mar 23 (7) Mar 22 (4) Mar 21 (10) Mar 20 (6) Mar 19 (6) Mar 17 (7) Mar 16 (11) Mar 15 (6) Mar 14 (9) Mar 13 (4) Mar 12 (6) Mar 10 (3) Mar 09 (9) Mar 08 (10) Mar 07 (4) Mar 06 (5) Mar 05 (3) Mar 04 (2) Mar 03 (4) Mar 02 (5) Mar 01 (5) Feb 28 (3) Feb 27 (8) Feb 26 (9) Feb 24 (11) Feb 23 (8) Feb 22 (9) Feb 21 (8) Feb 20 (7) Feb 19 (4) Feb 18 (9) Feb 17 (6) Feb 16 (5) Feb 15 (7) Feb 14 (11) Feb 13 (2) Feb 12 (5) Feb 11 (5) Feb 10 (3) Feb 09 (10) Feb 08 (9) Feb 07 (9) Feb 06 (2) Feb 05 (9) Feb 03 (7) Feb 02 (5) Feb 01 (7) Jan 31 (4) Jan 30 (5) Jan 29 (6) Jan 28 (5) Jan 27 (2) Jan 26 (7) Jan 25 (7) Jan 24 (8) Jan 23 (4) Jan 22 (14) Jan 20 (8) Jan 19 (10) Jan 18 (11) Jan 17 (9) Jan 16 (5) Jan 15 (3) Jan 14 (9) Jan 13 (6) Jan 12 (7) Jan 11 (7) Jan 10 (2) Jan 09 (7) Jan 08 (6) Jan 07 (10) Jan 06 (8) Jan 05 (7) Jan 04 (9) Jan 03 (8) Jan 02 (5) Jan 01 (14) Dec 30 (13) Dec 29 (13) Dec 28 (9) Dec 27 (5) Dec 26 (4) Dec 25 (7) Dec 24 (4) Dec 23 (5) Dec 22 (4) Dec 21 (8) Dec 20 (3) Dec 19 (8) Dec 18 (9) Dec 16 (8) Dec 15 (5) Dec 14 (5) Dec 13 (8) Dec 12 (4) Dec 11 (17) Dec 09 (8) Dec 08 (5) Dec 07 (10) Dec 06 (12) Dec 05 (6) Dec 04 (8) Dec 02 (6) Dec 01 (7) Nov 30 (9) Nov 29 (6) Nov 28 (11) Nov 27 (6) Nov 26 (15) Nov 24 (7) Nov 23 (15) Nov 22 (9) Nov 21 (6) Nov 20 (11) Nov 18 (11) Nov 17 (13) Nov 16 (8) Nov 15 (13) Nov 14 (7) Nov 13 (7) Nov 12 (3) Nov 11 (13) Nov 10 (13) Nov 09 (6) Nov 08 (9) Nov 07 (6) Nov 06 (4) Nov 05 (12) Nov 04 (8) Nov 03 (9) Nov 02 (8) Nov 01 (6) Oct 31 (10) Oct 30 (8) Oct 29 (3) Oct 28 (8) Oct 27 (15) Oct 26 (10) Oct 25 (10) Oct 24 (13) Oct 23 (9) Oct 21 (8) Oct 20 (13) Oct 19 (6) Oct 18 (11) Oct 17 (8) Oct 16 (14) Oct 14 (9) Oct 13 (11) Oct 12 (9) Oct 11 (13) Oct 10 (7) Oct 09 (15) Oct 07 (7) Oct 06 (11) Oct 05 (18) Oct 04 (14) Oct 03 (1) Oct 02 (10) Sep 30 (11) Sep 29 (11) Sep 28 (11) Sep 27 (15) Sep 26 (7) Sep 24 (9) Sep 23 (11) Sep 22 (7) Sep 21 (17) Sep 20 (20) Sep 19 (4) Sep 18 (11) Sep 16 (10) Sep 15 (12) Sep 14 (9) Sep 13 (12) Sep 12 (14) Sep 11 (4) Sep 10 (8) Sep 09 (9) Sep 08 (5) Sep 07 (13) Sep 06 (15) Sep 05 (8) Sep 04 (11) Sep 03 (10) Sep 02 (12) Sep 01 (12) Aug 31 (14) Aug 30 (14) Aug 29 (8) Aug 28 (8) Aug 27 (9) Aug 26 (12) Aug 25 (6) Aug 24 (8) Aug 23 (12) Aug 22 (6) Aug 21 (5) Aug 20 (6) Aug 19 (9) Aug 18 (4) Aug 17 (7) Aug 16 (11) Aug 15 (2) Aug 14 (12) Aug 12 (15) Aug 11 (11) Aug 10 (6) Aug 09 (7) Aug 08 (3) Aug 07 (4) Aug 06 (5) Aug 05 (7) Aug 04 (7) Aug 03 (4) Aug 02 (5) Aug 01 (5) Jul 31 (7) Jul 30 (5) Jul 29 (9) Jul 28 (8) Jul 27 (8) Jul 26 (7) Jul 25 (6) Jul 23 (8) Jul 22 (6) Jul 21 (5) Jul 20 (9) Jul 19 (5) Jul 18 (15) Jul 15 (14) Jul 14 (5) Jul 13 (6) Jul 12 (12) Jul 11 (8) Jul 10 (3) Jul 09 (11) Jul 08 (8) Jul 07 (7) Jul 06 (10) Jul 05 (4) Jul 04 (4) Jul 03 (5) Jul 02 (7) Jul 01 (8) Jun 30 (7) Jun 29 (10) Jun 28 (8) Jun 27 (4) Jun 26 (5) Jun 25 (4) Jun 24 (2) Jun 23 (11) Jun 22 (5) Jun 21 (7) Jun 20 (3) Jun 19 (7) Jun 18 (10) Jun 17 (11) Jun 16 (5) Jun 15 (5) Jun 14 (7) Jun 13 (14) Jun 11 (6) Jun 10 (8) Jun 09 (9) Jun 08 (11) Jun 07 (14) Jun 06 (16) Jun 03 (8) Jun 02 (12) Jun 01 (5) May 31 (7) May 30 (15) May 28 (7) May 27 (5) May 26 (21) May 25 (14) May 24 (10) May 23 (7) May 22 (8) May 21 (11) May 20 (5) May 19 (4) May 18 (10) May 17 (11) May 16 (5) May 15 (6) May 14 (7) May 13 (12) May 12 (10) May 11 (7) May 10 (13) May 09 (4) May 08 (7) May 07 (3) May 06 (6) May 05 (9) May 04 (14) May 03 (7) May 02 (10) May 01 (10) Apr 30 (6) Apr 29 (9) Apr 28 (5) Apr 27 (9) Apr 26 (8) Apr 25 (8) Apr 24 (6) Apr 23 (14) Apr 22 (16) Apr 21 (11) Apr 20 (7) Apr 19 (16) Apr 18 (8) Apr 17 (7) Apr 16 (10) Apr 15 (8) Apr 14 (5) Apr 13 (11) Apr 12 (10) Apr 11 (8) Apr 10 (12) Apr 09 (5) Apr 08 (13) Apr 07 (9) Apr 06 (11) Apr 05 (15) Apr 04 (7) Apr 03 (15) Apr 02 (5) Apr 01 (11) Mar 31 (12) Mar 30 (10) Mar 29 (8) Mar 28 (7) Mar 27 (12) Mar 26 (8) Mar 25 (8) Mar 24 (7) Mar 23 (15) Mar 22 (17) Mar 21 (9) Mar 20 (8) Mar 19 (4) Mar 18 (16) Mar 17 (8) Mar 16 (19) Mar 15 (13) Mar 14 (7) Mar 13 (20) Mar 11 (5) Mar 10 (11) Mar 09 (13) Mar 08 (13) Mar 07 (7) Mar 06 (6) Mar 05 (9) Mar 04 (10) Mar 03 (16) Mar 02 (16) Mar 01 (13) Feb 29 (8) Feb 28 (6) Feb 27 (16) Feb 26 (10) Feb 25 (6) Feb 24 (12) Feb 23 (14) Feb 22 (9) Feb 21 (11) Feb 20 (8) Feb 19 (12) Feb 18 (12) Feb 17 (11) Feb 16 (8) Feb 15 (9) Feb 14 (7) Feb 13 (10) Feb 12 (11) Feb 11 (13) Feb 10 (5) Feb 09 (6) Feb 08 (4) Feb 07 (9) Feb 06 (13) Feb 05 (10) Feb 04 (11) Feb 03 (7) Feb 02 (19) Jan 31 (21) Jan 29 (11) Jan 28 (10) Jan 27 (13) Jan 26 (7) Jan 25 (5) Jan 24 (2) Jan 23 (8) Jan 22 (13) Jan 21 (11) Jan 20 (9) Jan 19 (13) Jan 18 (4) Jan 17 (11) Jan 15 (7) Jan 14 (13) Jan 13 (9) Jan 12 (9) Jan 11 (5) Jan 10 (8) Jan 09 (7) Jan 08 (7) Jan 07 (6) Jan 06 (11) Jan 05 (7) Jan 04 (7) Jan 03 (3) Jan 02 (8) Jan 01 (5) Dec 31 (10) Dec 30 (9) Dec 29 (7) Dec 28 (9) Dec 27 (4) Dec 26 (1) Dec 25 (5) Dec 24 (6) Dec 23 (6) Dec 22 (7) Dec 21 (6) Dec 20 (7) Dec 19 (13) Dec 18 (16) Dec 17 (10) Dec 16 (13) Dec 15 (11) Dec 14 (8) Dec 13 (4) Dec 12 (9) Dec 11 (10) Dec 10 (12) Dec 09 (10) Dec 08 (13) Dec 07 (7) Dec 06 (12) Dec 05 (8) Dec 04 (11) Dec 03 (12) Dec 02 (16) Dec 01 (14) Nov 30 (10) Nov 29 (11) Nov 28 (15) Nov 27 (16) Nov 26 (11) Nov 25 (9) Nov 24 (13) Nov 23 (10) Nov 22 (1) Nov 21 (7) Nov 20 (12) Nov 19 (10) Nov 18 (11) Nov 17 (11) Nov 16 (10) Nov 15 (3) Nov 14 (10) Nov 13 (14) Nov 12 (8) Nov 11 (13) Nov 10 (10) Nov 09 (6) Nov 08 (9) Nov 07 (11) Nov 06 (12) Nov 05 (17) Nov 04 (12) Nov 03 (11) Nov 02 (5) Nov 01 (12) Oct 31 (11) Oct 30 (11) Oct 29 (10) Oct 28 (18) Oct 27 (16) Oct 26 (11) Oct 25 (9) Oct 24 (12) Oct 23 (11) Oct 22 (14) Oct 21 (12) Oct 20 (17) Oct 19 (12) Oct 18 (13) Oct 17 (15) Oct 16 (14) Oct 15 (10) Oct 14 (16) Oct 13 (12) Oct 12 (13) Oct 11 (8) Oct 10 (12) Oct 09 (21) Oct 08 (22) Oct 07 (19) Oct 06 (18) Oct 05 (6) Oct 04 (17) Oct 03 (13) Oct 02 (14) Oct 01 (13) Sep 30 (14) Sep 29 (15) Sep 28 (12) Sep 27 (11) Sep 26 (15) Sep 25 (13) Sep 24 (9) Sep 23 (10) Sep 22 (12) Sep 21 (8) Sep 20 (4) Sep 19 (12) Sep 18 (12) Sep 17 (16) Sep 16 (21) Sep 15 (14) Sep 14 (7) Sep 13 (5) Sep 12 (10) Sep 11 (16) Sep 10 (7) Sep 09 (8) Sep 08 (10) Sep 07 (7) Sep 06 (5) Sep 05 (8) Sep 04 (9) Sep 03 (8) Sep 02 (11) Sep 01 (10) Aug 31 (4) Aug 30 (6) Aug 29 (1) Aug 28 (10) Aug 27 (8) Aug 26 (8) Aug 25 (14) Aug 24 (4) Aug 23 (3) Aug 22 (5) Aug 21 (13) Aug 20 (9) Aug 19 (13) Aug 18 (3) Aug 17 (3) Aug 16 (3) Aug 15 (6) Aug 14 (8) Aug 13 (7) Aug 12 (12) Aug 11 (9) Aug 10 (8) Aug 09 (14) Aug 08 (6) Aug 07 (1) Aug 06 (4) Aug 05 (8) Aug 04 (6) Aug 03 (6) Aug 02 (2) Aug 01 (6) Jul 31 (6) Jul 30 (3) Jul 29 (6) Jul 28 (8) Jul 27 (7) Jul 25 (4) Jul 24 (6) Jul 23 (5) Jul 22 (3) Jul 21 (7) Jul 20 (5) Jul 18 (6) Jul 17 (5) Jul 16 (4) Jul 15 (9) Jul 14 (2) Jul 13 (8) Jul 12 (1) Jul 11 (5) Jul 10 (8) Jul 09 (3) Jul 08 (3) Jul 07 (13) Jul 05 (2) Jul 04 (5) Jul 03 (6) Jul 02 (6) Jul 01 (7) Jun 30 (7) Jun 29 (3) Jun 28 (1) Jun 27 (4) Jun 26 (7) Jun 25 (4) Jun 24 (6) Jun 23 (9) Jun 22 (4) Jun 21 (3) Jun 19 (4) Jun 18 (7) Jun 17 (7) Jun 16 (7) Jun 15 (11) Jun 12 (6) Jun 11 (3) Jun 10 (10) Jun 09 (3) Jun 08 (3) Jun 07 (4) Jun 06 (2) Jun 05 (9) Jun 04 (8) Jun 03 (9) Jun 02 (6) Jun 01 (4) May 30 (7) May 29 (9) May 28 (13) May 26 (8) May 25 (5) May 24 (2) May 23 (8) May 22 (9) May 21 (7) May 20 (4) May 19 (6) May 18 (7) May 17 (8) May 15 (9) May 14 (5) May 13 (8) May 12 (6) May 11 (6) May 09 (7) May 08 (6) May 07 (11) May 06 (7) May 05 (4) May 04 (11) May 03 (5) May 02 (4) May 01 (9) Apr 30 (6) Apr 29 (4) Apr 28 (9) Apr 27 (4) Apr 26 (3) Apr 25 (5) Apr 24 (3) Apr 23 (10) Apr 22 (8) Apr 21 (9) Apr 20 (3) Apr 19 (4) Apr 18 (8) Apr 17 (7) Apr 16 (4) Apr 15 (6) Apr 14 (8) Apr 13 (3) Apr 12 (6) Apr 10 (2) Apr 09 (4) Apr 08 (5) Apr 07 (5) Apr 06 (2) Apr 05 (2) Apr 04 (5) Apr 03 (7) Apr 02 (7) Apr 01 (12) Mar 31 (12) Mar 30 (3) Mar 29 (1) Mar 28 (2) Mar 27 (6) Mar 26 (2) Mar 25 (5) Mar 24 (4) Mar 23 (7) Mar 22 (4) Mar 21 (6) Mar 20 (9) Mar 19 (9) Mar 18 (8) Mar 17 (9) Mar 16 (7) Mar 15 (11) Mar 13 (5) Mar 12 (12) Mar 11 (9) Mar 10 (12) Mar 09 (4) Mar 08 (5) Mar 07 (5) Mar 06 (5) Mar 05 (5) Mar 04 (6) Mar 03 (11) Mar 02 (5) Mar 01 (8) Feb 27 (9) Feb 26 (9) Feb 25 (8) Feb 24 (6) Feb 23 (4) Feb 22 (3) Feb 21 (6) Feb 20 (3) Feb 19 (10) Feb 18 (9) Feb 17 (7) Feb 16 (5) Feb 15 (2) Feb 14 (8) Feb 13 (12) Feb 12 (8) Feb 11 (10) Feb 10 (7) Feb 09 (6) Feb 08 (3) Feb 07 (2) Feb 06 (7) Feb 05 (4) Feb 04 (11) Feb 03 (5) Feb 02 (7) Feb 01 (4) Jan 31 (5) Jan 30 (8) Jan 29 (12) Jan 28 (6) Jan 27 (8) Jan 26 (13) Jan 24 (8) Jan 23 (12) Jan 22 (8) Jan 21 (10) Jan 20 (8) Jan 19 (6) Jan 18 (9) Jan 17 (6) Jan 16 (4) Jan 15 (11) Jan 14 (4) Jan 13 (6) Jan 12 (7) Jan 11 (6) Jan 10 (2) Jan 09 (6) Jan 08 (5) Jan 07 (6) Jan 06 (4) Jan 05 (4) Jan 04 (3) Jan 03 (6) Jan 02 (2) Jan 01 (3) Dec 31 (6) Dec 30 (4) Dec 29 (6) Dec 28 (4) Dec 27 (4) Dec 26 (2) Dec 25 (3) Dec 24 (5) Dec 23 (7) Dec 22 (5) Dec 21 (4) Dec 20 (4) Dec 19 (5) Dec 18 (8) Dec 17 (5) Dec 16 (9) Dec 15 (7) Dec 14 (3) Dec 13 (10) Dec 12 (10) Dec 11 (9) Dec 10 (10) Dec 09 (11) Dec 08 (5) Dec 07 (5) Dec 06 (6) Dec 05 (9) Dec 04 (3) Dec 03 (8) Dec 02 (10) Dec 01 (6) Nov 30 (1) Nov 29 (3) Nov 28 (9) Nov 27 (3) Nov 26 (7) Nov 25 (12) Nov 24 (3) Nov 23 (8) Nov 22 (4) Nov 21 (3) Nov 20 (12) Nov 19 (6) Nov 18 (10) Nov 17 (12) Nov 16 (5) Nov 15 (5) Nov 14 (12) Nov 13 (3) Nov 12 (7) Nov 11 (8) Nov 10 (7) Nov 09 (6) Nov 08 (5) Nov 07 (5) Nov 06 (6) Nov 05 (12) Nov 04 (9) Nov 03 (6) Nov 02 (14) Nov 01 (3) Oct 31 (6) Oct 30 (7) Oct 29 (9) Oct 28 (9) Oct 27 (3) Oct 26 (6) Oct 25 (9) Oct 24 (8) Oct 23 (4) Oct 22 (3) Oct 21 (4) Oct 20 (2) Oct 19 (11) Oct 17 (6) Oct 16 (7) Oct 15 (7) Oct 14 (8) Oct 13 (5) Oct 12 (8) Oct 11 (6) Oct 10 (5) Oct 09 (11) Oct 08 (10) Oct 07 (8) Oct 06 (3) Oct 05 (7) Oct 04 (8) Oct 03 (3) Oct 02 (10) Oct 01 (3) Sep 30 (7) Sep 29 (6) Sep 28 (5) Sep 27 (8) Sep 26 (11) Sep 25 (11) Sep 24 (15) Sep 23 (8) Sep 22 (9) Sep 21 (4) Sep 20 (8) Sep 19 (9) Sep 18 (10) Sep 17 (10) Sep 16 (5) Sep 15 (5) Sep 14 (7) Sep 13 (5) Sep 12 (5) Sep 11 (8) Sep 10 (6) Sep 09 (7) Sep 08 (5) Sep 07 (2) Sep 06 (4) Sep 05 (7) Sep 04 (11) Sep 03 (7) Sep 02 (7) Sep 01 (2) Aug 31 (3) Aug 30 (1) Aug 29 (10) Aug 28 (5) Aug 27 (4) Aug 26 (10) Aug 25 (6) Aug 24 (9) Aug 22 (11) Aug 21 (8) Aug 20 (12) Aug 19 (8) Aug 18 (4) Aug 17 (4) Aug 16 (3) Aug 15 (6) Aug 14 (4) Aug 13 (7) Aug 12 (8) Aug 11 (7) Aug 10 (12) Aug 08 (5) Aug 07 (6) Aug 06 (6) Aug 05 (8) Aug 04 (5) Aug 03 (4) Aug 01 (7) Jul 31 (6) Jul 30 (12) Jul 29 (4) Jul 28 (5) Jul 27 (7) Jul 25 (7) Jul 24 (8) Jul 23 (8) Jul 22 (3) Jul 21 (8) Jul 20 (6) Jul 19 (3) Jul 18 (8) Jul 17 (2) Jul 16 (7) Jul 15 (6) Jul 14 (9) Jul 13 (10) Jul 11 (9) Jul 10 (8) Jul 09 (3) Jul 08 (7) Jul 07 (7) Jul 06 (7) Jul 05 (10) Jul 04 (4) Jul 03 (6) Jul 02 (6) Jul 01 (8) Jun 30 (5) Jun 29 (6) Jun 28 (1) Jun 27 (15) Jun 26 (10) Jun 25 (9) Jun 24 (16) Jun 23 (6) Jun 22 (12) Jun 20 (6) Jun 19 (8) Jun 18 (10) Jun 17 (6) Jun 16 (7) Jun 15 (5) Jun 14 (5) Jun 13 (13) Jun 12 (7) Jun 11 (14) Jun 10 (3) Jun 09 (2) Jun 08 (2) Jun 07 (7) Jun 06 (16) Jun 05 (7) Jun 04 (18) Jun 03 (12) Jun 02 (8) May 31 (3) May 30 (6) May 29 (6) May 28 (7) May 27 (4) May 26 (4) May 25 (6) May 23 (4) May 22 (8) May 21 (5) May 20 (6) May 19 (2) May 18 (9) May 17 (1) May 16 (5) May 15 (5) May 14 (7) May 13 (7) May 12 (7) May 11 (4) May 10 (4) May 09 (5) May 08 (10) May 07 (4) May 06 (13) May 05 (4) May 04 (10) May 02 (2) May 01 (5) Apr 30 (9) Apr 29 (6) Apr 28 (3) Apr 27 (4) Apr 26 (9) Apr 25 (9) Apr 24 (7) Apr 23 (11) Apr 22 (7) Apr 21 (3) Apr 20 (10) Apr 19 (6) Apr 18 (5) Apr 17 (6) Apr 16 (6) Apr 15 (7) Apr 14 (11) Apr 13 (4) Apr 12 (5) Apr 11 (9) Apr 10 (4) Apr 09 (6) Apr 08 (6) Apr 07 (3) Apr 06 (6) Apr 05 (10) Apr 03 (9) Apr 02 (9) Apr 01 (12) Mar 31 (4) Mar 30 (9) Mar 29 (10) Mar 28 (7) Mar 27 (8) Mar 26 (8) Mar 25 (15) Mar 24 (11) Mar 23 (8) Mar 22 (7) Mar 21 (14) Mar 20 (6) Mar 19 (11) Mar 18 (11) Mar 17 (12) Mar 16 (8) Mar 15 (8) Mar 14 (13) Mar 13 (8) Mar 12 (10) Mar 11 (8) Mar 10 (7) Mar 09 (3) Mar 08 (12) Mar 07 (15) Mar 06 (16) Mar 05 (9) Mar 04 (6) Mar 03 (12) Mar 02 (20) Feb 28 (11) Feb 27 (8) Feb 26 (11) Feb 25 (6) Feb 24 (14) Feb 23 (5) Feb 22 (6) Feb 21 (8) Feb 20 (11) Feb 19 (7) Feb 18 (4) Feb 17 (8) Feb 16 (11) Feb 15 (3) Feb 14 (10) Feb 13 (4) Feb 12 (10) Feb 11 (7) Feb 10 (7) Feb 09 (4) Feb 08 (6) Feb 07 (5) Feb 06 (4) Feb 05 (10) Feb 04 (5) Feb 03 (4) Feb 02 (4) Feb 01 (3) Jan 31 (3) Jan 30 (5) Jan 29 (2) Jan 28 (6) Jan 27 (3) Jan 26 (2) Jan 25 (5) Jan 24 (7) Jan 23 (4) Jan 22 (4) Jan 21 (5) Jan 20 (5) Jan 19 (6) Jan 18 (7) Jan 17 (6) Jan 16 (4) Jan 15 (3) Jan 14 (5) Jan 13 (4) Jan 12 (5) Jan 11 (3) Jan 10 (5) Jan 09 (6) Jan 08 (6) Jan 07 (3) Jan 06 (1) Jan 05 (4) Jan 04 (5) Jan 03 (3) Jan 02 (6) Jan 01 (2) Dec 31 (6) Dec 30 (1) Dec 29 (5) Dec 27 (1) Dec 26 (2) Dec 25 (4) Dec 24 (8) Dec 23 (2) Dec 22 (1) Dec 20 (3) Dec 19 (8) Dec 18 (3) Dec 17 (4) Dec 16 (3) Dec 15 (3) Dec 14 (3) Dec 13 (3) Dec 12 (4) Dec 11 (4) Dec 10 (7) Dec 09 (5) Dec 08 (2) Dec 07 (5) Dec 06 (6) Dec 05 (10) Dec 04 (9) Dec 03 (4) Dec 02 (2) Dec 01 (8) Nov 29 (5) Nov 28 (7) Nov 27 (5) Nov 26 (9) Nov 25 (3) Nov 24 (5) Nov 23 (6) Nov 22 (5) Nov 21 (12) Nov 20 (12) Nov 19 (10) Nov 18 (4) Nov 17 (3) Nov 16 (8) Nov 15 (7) Nov 14 (7) Nov 13 (6) Nov 12 (12) Nov 11 (6) Nov 10 (3) Nov 09 (4) Nov 08 (10) Nov 07 (5) Nov 06 (5) Nov 05 (9) Nov 04 (4) Nov 03 (4) Nov 02 (3) Nov 01 (3) Oct 31 (10) Oct 30 (4) Oct 29 (11) Oct 28 (3) Oct 27 (7) Oct 26 (7) Oct 25 (6) Oct 24 (7) Oct 23 (11) Oct 22 (2) Oct 21 (7) Oct 20 (4) Oct 19 (6) Oct 18 (7) Oct 17 (5) Oct 16 (8) Oct 15 (5) Oct 14 (5) Oct 13 (3) Oct 12 (7) Oct 11 (20) Oct 10 (2) Oct 09 (4) Oct 08 (21) Oct 07 (20) Oct 06 (34) Oct 04 (24) Oct 03 (21) Oct 02 (3) Oct 01 (7) Sep 30 (3) Sep 29 (5) Sep 28 (6) Sep 27 (5) Sep 26 (6) Sep 25 (5) Sep 24 (2) Sep 23 (8) Sep 22 (4) Sep 21 (3) Sep 20 (9) Sep 19 (11) Sep 18 (5) Sep 17 (7) Sep 16 (6) Sep 15 (3) Sep 14 (7) Sep 13 (8) Sep 12 (11) Sep 11 (7) Sep 10 (6) Sep 09 (5) Sep 08 (3) Sep 07 (6) Sep 06 (10) Sep 05 (7) Sep 04 (7) Sep 03 (5) Sep 02 (4) Sep 01 (8) Aug 31 (5) Aug 30 (7) Aug 29 (10) Aug 28 (7) Aug 27 (6) Aug 26 (6) Aug 25 (3) Aug 24 (8) Aug 23 (6) Aug 22 (6) Aug 21 (8) Aug 20 (8) Aug 19 (4) Aug 18 (2) Aug 17 (5) Aug 16 (7) Aug 15 (4) Aug 14 (3) Aug 13 (4) Aug 12 (6) Aug 11 (6) Aug 10 (4) Aug 09 (8) Aug 08 (6) Aug 07 (4) Aug 06 (6) Aug 05 (4) Aug 04 (12) Aug 03 (3) Aug 02 (4) Aug 01 (10) Jul 31 (3) Jul 30 (7) Jul 29 (3) Jul 28 (6) Jul 27 (4) Jul 26 (5) Jul 25 (4) Jul 24 (7) Jul 23 (10) Jul 22 (8) Jul 21 (5) Jul 20 (4) Jul 19 (7) Jul 18 (9) Jul 17 (10) Jul 16 (11) Jul 15 (5) Jul 13 (5) Jul 12 (9) Jul 11 (11) Jul 10 (12) Jul 09 (6) Jul 08 (5) Jul 07 (8) Jul 06 (9) Jul 05 (10) Jul 04 (8) Jul 03 (10) Jul 02 (12) Jul 01 (8) Jun 30 (5) Jun 29 (6) Jun 28 (23) Jun 27 (18) Jun 26 (12) Jun 25 (14) Jun 24 (15) Jun 23 (11) Jun 22 (11) Jun 21 (15) Jun 20 (9) Jun 19 (8) Jun 18 (11) Jun 17 (7) Jun 16 (6) Jun 15 (6) Jun 14 (6) Jun 13 (5) Jun 12 (6) Jun 11 (9) Jun 10 (10) Jun 09 (9) Jun 08 (6) Jun 07 (2) Jun 06 (6) Jun 05 (4) Jun 04 (3) Jun 03 (4) Jun 02 (3) Jun 01 (6) May 31 (3) May 30 (5) May 29 (8) May 28 (7) May 27 (2) May 26 (2) May 25 (8) May 24 (7) May 23 (6) May 22 (9) May 21 (6) May 20 (5) May 19 (6) May 18 (9) May 17 (10) May 16 (11) May 15 (5) May 14 (11) May 13 (6) May 12 (7) May 11 (7) May 10 (5) May 09 (3) May 08 (10) May 07 (8) May 06 (11) May 05 (5) May 04 (9) May 03 (3) May 02 (2) May 01 (5) Apr 30 (5) Apr 29 (8) Apr 28 (6) Apr 27 (4) Apr 26 (9) Apr 25 (11) Apr 24 (4) Apr 23 (11) Apr 22 (7) Apr 21 (5) Apr 20 (7) Apr 19 (10) Apr 18 (8) Apr 17 (10) Apr 16 (8) Apr 15 (4) Apr 14 (5) Apr 13 (7) Apr 12 (11) Apr 11 (6) Apr 10 (7) Apr 09 (6) Apr 08 (3) Apr 07 (3) Apr 06 (9) Apr 05 (10) Apr 04 (7) Apr 03 (2) Apr 02 (6) Apr 01 (4) Mar 31 (3) Mar 30 (4) Mar 29 (3) Mar 28 (5) Mar 27 (10) Mar 26 (5) Mar 25 (4) Mar 24 (5) Mar 23 (7) Mar 22 (6) Mar 21 (9) Mar 20 (5) Mar 19 (5) Mar 18 (9) Mar 17 (2) Mar 16 (8) Mar 15 (10) Mar 14 (9) Mar 13 (10) Mar 12 (10) Mar 11 (2) Mar 10 (1) Mar 09 (6) Mar 08 (4) Mar 07 (4) Mar 06 (3) Mar 05 (3) Mar 04 (7) Mar 03 (6) Mar 02 (8) Mar 01 (9) Feb 28 (6) Feb 27 (3) Feb 26 (8) Feb 25 (7) Feb 24 (3) Feb 23 (4) Feb 22 (4) Feb 21 (7) Feb 20 (4) Feb 19 (4) Feb 18 (2) Feb 17 (1) Feb 16 (6) Feb 15 (6) Feb 14 (5) Feb 13 (4) Feb 12 (7) Feb 11 (2) Feb 10 (2) Feb 09 (5) Feb 08 (5) Feb 07 (9) Feb 06 (4) Feb 05 (9) Feb 04 (3) Feb 03 (3) Feb 02 (10) Feb 01 (9) Jan 31 (5) Jan 30 (8) Jan 29 (5) Jan 28 (3) Jan 27 (4) Jan 26 (5) Jan 25 (6) Jan 24 (5) Jan 23 (4) Jan 22 (8) Jan 21 (3) Jan 20 (3) Jan 19 (7) Jan 18 (3) Jan 17 (6) Jan 16 (8) Jan 15 (7) Jan 14 (9) Jan 13 (1) Jan 12 (7) Jan 11 (1) Jan 10 (3) Jan 09 (3) Jan 08 (5) Jan 07 (4) Jan 06 (2) Jan 05 (3) Jan 04 (5) Jan 03 (4) Jan 02 (4) Jan 01 (4) Dec 31 (3) Dec 30 (4) Dec 29 (5) Dec 28 (8) Dec 27 (4) Dec 26 (4) Dec 25 (2) Dec 24 (4) Dec 23 (4) Dec 22 (7) Dec 21 (5) Dec 20 (3) Dec 19 (4) Dec 18 (6) Dec 17 (4) Dec 16 (5) Dec 15 (5) Dec 14 (8) Dec 13 (3) Dec 12 (6) Dec 11 (8) Dec 10 (5) Dec 09 (4) Dec 08 (4) Dec 07 (7) Dec 06 (7) Dec 05 (6) Dec 04 (6) Dec 03 (7) Dec 02 (1) Dec 01 (6) Nov 30 (2) Nov 29 (8) Nov 28 (16) Nov 27 (7) Nov 26 (5) Nov 25 (2) Nov 24 (6) Nov 23 (5) Nov 22 (5) Nov 21 (5) Nov 20 (15) Nov 19 (8) Nov 18 (2) Nov 17 (3) Nov 16 (5) Nov 15 (7) Nov 14 (6) Nov 13 (9) Nov 12 (7) Nov 11 (8) Nov 10 (3) Nov 09 (5) Nov 08 (8) Nov 07 (9) Nov 06 (9) Nov 05 (1) Nov 04 (4) Nov 03 (8) Nov 02 (6) Nov 01 (3) Oct 31 (6) Oct 30 (7) Oct 29 (3) Oct 28 (3) Oct 27 (4) Oct 26 (4) Oct 25 (8) Oct 24 (4) Oct 23 (1) Oct 22 (6) Oct 21 (1) Oct 20 (8) Oct 19 (6) Oct 18 (10) Oct 17 (6) Oct 16 (15) Oct 15 (4) Oct 14 (5) Oct 13 (3) Oct 12 (9) Oct 11 (7) Oct 10 (1) Oct 09 (5) Oct 08 (7) Oct 07 (3) Oct 06 (8) Oct 05 (5) Oct 04 (3) Oct 03 (7) Oct 02 (6) Oct 01 (6) Sep 30 (8) Sep 29 (6) Sep 28 (13) Sep 27 (10) Sep 26 (8) Sep 25 (8) Sep 24 (8) Sep 23 (3) Sep 22 (7) Sep 21 (9) Sep 20 (7) Sep 19 (8) Sep 18 (4) Sep 17 (3) Sep 16 (4) Sep 15 (8) Sep 14 (5) Sep 13 (7) Sep 12 (7) Sep 11 (9) Sep 10 (4) Sep 09 (10) Sep 08 (4) Sep 07 (12) Sep 06 (13) Sep 05 (15) Sep 04 (5) Sep 03 (4) Sep 02 (6) Sep 01 (9) Aug 31 (7) Aug 30 (6) Aug 29 (8) Aug 28 (11) Aug 27 (2) Aug 26 (6) Aug 25 (15) Aug 24 (6) Aug 23 (8) Aug 22 (5) Aug 21 (6) Aug 20 (7) Aug 19 (2) Aug 18 (5) Aug 17 (5) Aug 16 (11) Aug 15 (4) Aug 14 (6) Aug 13 (9) Aug 12 (4) Aug 11 (5) Aug 10 (6) Aug 09 (5) Aug 08 (7) Aug 07 (9) Aug 06 (4) Aug 05 (4) Aug 04 (4) Aug 03 (8) Aug 02 (9) Aug 01 (10) Jul 31 (11) Jul 30 (4) Jul 29 (3) Jul 28 (11) Jul 27 (4) Jul 26 (7) Jul 25 (7) Jul 24 (4) Jul 23 (8) Jul 22 (5) Jul 21 (4) Jul 20 (10) Jul 19 (6) Jul 18 (9) Jul 17 (6) Jul 16 (7) Jul 15 (6) Jul 14 (4) Jul 13 (7) Jul 12 (8) Jul 11 (6) Jul 10 (14) Jul 09 (6) Jul 08 (5) Jul 07 (4) Jul 06 (9) Jul 05 (8) Jul 04 (5) Jul 03 (8) Jul 02 (5) Jul 01 (5) Jun 30 (6) Jun 29 (3) Jun 28 (3) Jun 27 (4) Jun 26 (8) Jun 25 (3) Jun 24 (5) Jun 23 (14) Jun 22 (11) Jun 21 (5) Jun 20 (8) Jun 19 (7) Jun 18 (4) Jun 17 (3) Jun 16 (12) Jun 15 (12) Jun 14 (10) Jun 13 (10) Jun 12 (9) Jun 11 (6) Jun 10 (12) Jun 09 (4) Jun 08 (3) Jun 07 (12) Jun 06 (6) Jun 05 (7) Jun 04 (6) Jun 03 (3) Jun 02 (4) Jun 01 (8) May 31 (4) May 30 (3) May 29 (8) May 28 (7) May 27 (4) May 26 (3) May 25 (5) May 24 (9) May 23 (16) May 22 (12) May 21 (11) May 20 (7) May 19 (10) May 18 (8) May 17 (8) May 16 (10) May 15 (8) May 14 (5) May 13 (1) May 12 (6) May 11 (9) May 10 (9) May 09 (10) May 08 (9) May 07 (6) May 06 (5) May 05 (7) May 04 (10) May 03 (7) May 02 (9) May 01 (10) Apr 30 (4) Apr 29 (9) Apr 28 (12) Apr 27 (9) Apr 26 (4) Apr 25 (5) Apr 24 (9) Apr 23 (4) Apr 22 (7) Apr 21 (8) Apr 20 (9) Apr 19 (6) Apr 18 (4) Apr 17 (2) Apr 16 (4) Apr 15 (10) Apr 14 (7) Apr 13 (5) Apr 12 (7) Apr 11 (7) Apr 10 (7) Apr 09 (6) Apr 08 (7) Apr 07 (10) Apr 06 (8) Apr 05 (8) Apr 04 (9) Apr 03 (6) Apr 02 (4) Apr 01 (4) Mar 31 (11) Mar 30 (12) Mar 29 (16) Mar 28 (8) Mar 27 (10) Mar 26 (12) Mar 25 (6) Mar 24 (9) Mar 23 (3) Mar 22 (12) Mar 21 (12) Mar 20 (14) Mar 19 (8) Mar 18 (7) Mar 17 (8) Mar 16 (4) Mar 15 (10) Mar 14 (9) Mar 13 (9) Mar 12 (6) Mar 11 (5) Mar 10 (13) Mar 09 (8) Mar 08 (10) Mar 07 (12) Mar 06 (6) Mar 05 (4) Mar 04 (2) Mar 03 (3) Mar 02 (12) Mar 01 (8) Feb 29 (11) Feb 28 (5) Feb 27 (3) Feb 26 (13) Feb 25 (10) Feb 24 (13) Feb 23 (10) Feb 22 (9) Feb 21 (18) Feb 20 (6) Feb 19 (7) Feb 18 (9) Feb 17 (5) Feb 16 (9) Feb 15 (7) Feb 14 (6) Feb 13 (5) Feb 12 (6) Feb 11 (4) Feb 10 (8) Feb 09 (5) Feb 08 (8) Feb 07 (10) Feb 06 (7) Feb 05 (7) Feb 04 (5) Feb 03 (11) Feb 02 (4) Feb 01 (3) Jan 31 (12) Jan 30 (7) Jan 29 (7) Jan 28 (7) Jan 27 (12) Jan 26 (7) Jan 25 (11) Jan 24 (4) Jan 23 (6) Jan 22 (8) Jan 21 (12) Jan 20 (11) Jan 19 (6) Jan 18 (6) Jan 17 (11) Jan 16 (9) Jan 15 (4) Jan 14 (3) Jan 13 (6) Jan 12 (9) Jan 11 (9) Jan 10 (10) Jan 09 (5) Jan 08 (10) Jan 07 (5) Jan 06 (6) Jan 05 (8) Jan 04 (5) Jan 03 (8) Jan 02 (7) Jan 01 (7) Dec 31 (10) Dec 30 (11) Dec 29 (6) Dec 28 (5) Dec 27 (10) Dec 26 (4) Dec 25 (5) Dec 24 (7) Dec 23 (2) Dec 22 (9) Dec 21 (8) Dec 20 (8) Dec 19 (5) Dec 18 (1) Dec 17 (5) Dec 16 (6) Dec 15 (5) Dec 14 (13) Dec 13 (8) Dec 12 (7) Dec 11 (9) Dec 10 (12) Dec 09 (7) Dec 08 (11) Dec 07 (9) Dec 06 (11) Dec 05 (10) Dec 04 (6) Dec 03 (8) Dec 02 (6) Dec 01 (14) Nov 30 (7) Nov 29 (8) Nov 28 (8) Nov 27 (6) Nov 26 (9) Nov 25 (10) Nov 24 (12) Nov 23 (10) Nov 22 (10) Nov 21 (10) Nov 20 (4) Nov 19 (4) Nov 18 (8) Nov 17 (9) Nov 16 (9) Nov 15 (12) Nov 14 (6) Nov 13 (9) Nov 12 (3) Nov 11 (9) Nov 10 (10) Nov 09 (10) Nov 08 (7) Nov 07 (8) Nov 06 (10) Nov 05 (8) Nov 04 (7) Nov 03 (10) Nov 02 (11) Nov 01 (10) Oct 31 (5) Oct 30 (8) Oct 29 (8) Oct 28 (8) Oct 27 (11) Oct 26 (6) Oct 25 (9) Oct 24 (10) Oct 23 (5) Oct 22 (14) Oct 21 (10) Oct 20 (8) Oct 19 (11) Oct 18 (13) Oct 17 (7) Oct 16 (6) Oct 15 (9) Oct 14 (7) Oct 13 (12) Oct 12 (13) Oct 11 (9) Oct 10 (8) Oct 09 (9) Oct 08 (7) Oct 07 (12) Oct 06 (8) Oct 05 (13) Oct 04 (11) Oct 03 (7) Oct 02 (5) Oct 01 (14) Sep 30 (12) Sep 29 (12) Sep 28 (11) Sep 27 (11) Sep 26 (7) Sep 25 (10) Sep 24 (3) Sep 23 (7) Sep 22 (8) Sep 21 (8) Sep 20 (8) Sep 19 (7) Sep 18 (5) Sep 17 (14) Sep 16 (7) Sep 15 (11) Sep 14 (13) Sep 13 (11) Sep 12 (9) Sep 11 (5) Sep 10 (4) Sep 09 (13) Sep 08 (11) Sep 07 (11) Sep 06 (16) Sep 05 (1) Sep 04 (10) Sep 03 (8) Sep 02 (8) Sep 01 (7) Aug 31 (1) Aug 30 (6) Aug 29 (2) Aug 28 (3) Aug 27 (6) Aug 26 (8) Aug 25 (5) Aug 24 (5) Aug 23 (6) Aug 22 (7) Aug 21 (6) Aug 20 (4) Aug 19 (9) Aug 18 (7) Aug 17 (7) Aug 16 (10) Aug 15 (2) Aug 14 (5) Aug 13 (5) Aug 12 (10) Aug 11 (5) Aug 10 (4) Aug 09 (8) Aug 08 (3) Aug 07 (5) Aug 06 (12) Aug 05 (5) Aug 04 (7) Aug 03 (6) Aug 02 (7) Aug 01 (14) Jul 31 (7) Jul 30 (7) Jul 29 (13) Jul 28 (10) Jul 27 (6) Jul 26 (7) Jul 25 (7) Jul 24 (4) Jul 23 (12) Jul 22 (14) Jul 21 (6) Jul 20 (9) Jul 19 (12) Jul 18 (9) Jul 17 (4) Jul 16 (6) Jul 15 (8) Jul 14 (15) Jul 13 (8) Jul 12 (10) Jul 11 (6) Jul 10 (6) Jul 09 (6) Jul 08 (6) Jul 07 (9) Jul 06 (15) Jul 05 (6) Jul 04 (10) Jul 03 (6) Jul 02 (6) Jul 01 (11) Jun 30 (7) Jun 29 (4) Jun 28 (8) Jun 27 (8) Jun 26 (5) Jun 25 (11) Jun 24 (9) Jun 23 (10) Jun 22 (8) Jun 21 (8) Jun 20 (6) Jun 19 (5) Jun 18 (15) Jun 17 (8) Jun 16 (13) Jun 15 (15) Jun 14 (11) Jun 13 (6) Jun 12 (15) Jun 11 (7) Jun 10 (7) Jun 09 (18) Jun 08 (20) Jun 07 (17) Jun 06 (9) Jun 05 (9) Jun 04 (12) Jun 03 (13) Jun 02 (14) Jun 01 (8) May 31 (13) May 30 (8) May 29 (6) May 28 (8) May 27 (17) May 26 (8) May 25 (13) May 24 (12) May 23 (9) May 22 (4) May 21 (4) May 20 (11) May 19 (14) May 18 (6) May 17 (10) May 16 (4) May 15 (5) May 14 (28) May 12 (9) May 11 (17) May 10 (15) May 09 (12) May 08 (5) May 07 (4) May 06 (10) May 05 (8) May 04 (10) May 03 (5) May 02 (6) May 01 (8) Apr 30 (8) Apr 29 (12) Apr 28 (6) Apr 27 (11) Apr 26 (12) Apr 25 (6) Apr 24 (3) Apr 23 (5) Apr 22 (10) Apr 21 (19) Apr 20 (13) Apr 19 (11) Apr 18 (11) Apr 17 (5) Apr 16 (12) Apr 15 (11) Apr 14 (17) Apr 13 (6) Apr 12 (16) Apr 11 (10) Apr 10 (1) Apr 09 (18) Apr 08 (14) Apr 07 (6) Apr 06 (10) Apr 05 (21) Apr 04 (12) Apr 03 (4) Apr 02 (13) Apr 01 (8) Mar 31 (10) Mar 30 (11) Mar 29 (10) Mar 28 (8) Mar 27 (6) Mar 26 (12) Mar 25 (15) Mar 24 (10) Mar 23 (12) Mar 22 (12) Mar 21 (8) Mar 20 (4) Mar 19 (11) Mar 18 (7) Mar 17 (7) Mar 16 (9) Mar 15 (10) Mar 14 (4) Mar 13 (2) Mar 12 (14) Mar 11 (13) Mar 10 (7) Mar 09 (9) Mar 08 (17) Mar 07 (5) Mar 06 (7) Mar 05 (13) Mar 04 (10) Mar 03 (14) Mar 02 (12) Mar 01 (18) Feb 28 (8) Feb 27 (2) Feb 26 (9) Feb 25 (13) Feb 24 (17) Feb 23 (13) Feb 22 (12) Feb 21 (11) Feb 20 (11) Feb 19 (16) Feb 18 (17) Feb 17 (15) Feb 16 (15) Feb 15 (15) Feb 14 (10) Feb 13 (8) Feb 12 (10) Feb 11 (15) Feb 10 (11) Feb 09 (13) Feb 08 (10) Feb 07 (9) Feb 06 (6) Feb 05 (15) Feb 04 (15) Feb 03 (11) Feb 02 (14) Feb 01 (15) Jan 31 (11) Jan 30 (9) Jan 29 (19) Jan 28 (9) Jan 27 (9) Jan 26 (16) Jan 25 (19) Jan 24 (17) Jan 23 (8) Jan 22 (15) Jan 21 (9) Jan 20 (11) Jan 19 (7) Jan 18 (9) Jan 17 (6) Jan 16 (7) Jan 15 (12) Jan 14 (9) Jan 13 (14) Jan 12 (11) Jan 11 (13) Jan 10 (8) Jan 09 (8) Jan 08 (20) Jan 07 (11) Jan 06 (11) Jan 05 (8) Jan 04 (14) Jan 03 (6) Jan 02 (7) Jan 01 (7) Dec 31 (14) Dec 30 (15) Dec 29 (7) Dec 28 (10) Dec 27 (4) Dec 26 (3) Dec 25 (11) Dec 24 (9) Dec 23 (9) Dec 22 (15) Dec 21 (12) Dec 20 (11) Dec 19 (4) Dec 18 (16) Dec 17 (6) Dec 16 (12) Dec 15 (14) Dec 14 (11) Dec 13 (10) Dec 12 (6) Dec 11 (10) Dec 10 (17) Dec 09 (11) Dec 08 (12) Dec 07 (16) Dec 06 (11) Dec 05 (5) Dec 04 (12) Dec 03 (15) Dec 02 (15) Dec 01 (12) Nov 30 (16) Nov 29 (7) Nov 28 (11) Nov 27 (13) Nov 26 (13) Nov 25 (16) Nov 24 (15) Nov 23 (10) Nov 22 (10) Nov 21 (4) Nov 20 (8) Nov 19 (9) Nov 18 (16) Nov 17 (11) Nov 16 (11) Nov 15 (10) Nov 14 (9) Nov 13 (6) Nov 12 (10) Nov 11 (12) Nov 10 (15) Nov 09 (9) Nov 08 (10) Nov 07 (6) Nov 06 (7) Nov 05 (12) Nov 04 (14) Nov 03 (10) Nov 02 (13) Nov 01 (9) Oct 31 (9) Oct 30 (11) Oct 29 (18) Oct 28 (13) Oct 27 (23) Oct 26 (12) Oct 25 (14) Oct 24 (20) Oct 22 (18) Oct 21 (18) Oct 20 (19) Oct 19 (12) Oct 18 (11) Oct 17 (5) Oct 16 (18) Oct 15 (8) Oct 14 (11) Oct 13 (9) Oct 12 (13) Oct 11 (6) Oct 10 (7) Oct 09 (27) Oct 08 (14) Oct 07 (10) Oct 06 (9) Oct 05 (7) Oct 04 (10) Oct 03 (6) Oct 02 (9) Oct 01 (13) Sep 30 (12) Sep 29 (13) Sep 28 (8) Sep 27 (9) Sep 26 (8) Sep 25 (14) Sep 24 (4) Sep 23 (14) Sep 22 (20) Sep 21 (11) Sep 20 (6) Sep 19 (9) Sep 18 (14) Sep 17 (8) Sep 16 (17) Sep 15 (6) Sep 14 (11) Sep 13 (9) Sep 12 (4) Sep 11 (7) Sep 10 (14) Sep 09 (12) Sep 08 (17) Sep 07 (12) Sep 06 (13) Sep 05 (9) Sep 04 (20) Sep 03 (16) Sep 02 (16) Sep 01 (10) Aug 31 (13) Aug 30 (4) Aug 29 (9) Aug 28 (6) Aug 27 (8) Aug 26 (11) Aug 25 (10) Aug 24 (14) Aug 23 (12) Aug 22 (13) Aug 21 (10) Aug 20 (13) Aug 19 (15) Aug 18 (8) Aug 17 (10) Aug 16 (8) Aug 15 (3) Aug 14 (11) Aug 13 (12) Aug 12 (15) Aug 11 (10) Aug 10 (17) Aug 09 (6) Aug 08 (13) Aug 07 (11) Aug 06 (13) Aug 05 (11) Aug 04 (11) Aug 03 (10) Aug 02 (7) Aug 01 (6) Jul 31 (10) Jul 30 (21) Jul 29 (14) Jul 28 (13) Jul 27 (16) Jul 26 (10) Jul 25 (15) Jul 24 (17) Jul 23 (15) Jul 22 (15) Jul 21 (19) Jul 20 (17) Jul 19 (9) Jul 18 (7) Jul 17 (26) Jul 16 (18) Jul 15 (20) Jul 14 (16) Jul 13 (19) Jul 12 (11) Jul 11 (5) Jul 10 (13) Jul 09 (11) Jul 08 (8) Jul 07 (12) Jul 06 (16) Jul 05 (9) Jul 04 (5) Jul 03 (15) Jul 02 (11) Jul 01 (14) Jun 30 (13) Jun 29 (19) Jun 28 (8) Jun 27 (9) Jun 26 (16) Jun 25 (22) Jun 24 (17) Jun 23 (11) Jun 22 (15) Jun 21 (14) Jun 20 (8) Jun 19 (17) Jun 18 (10) Jun 17 (10) Jun 16 (17) Jun 15 (13) Jun 14 (14) Jun 13 (4) Jun 12 (13) Jun 11 (15) Jun 10 (25) Jun 09 (10) Jun 08 (23) Jun 07 (14) Jun 06 (20) Jun 05 (10) Jun 04 (11) Jun 03 (12) Jun 02 (21) Jun 01 (14) May 31 (10) May 30 (14) May 29 (8) May 28 (23) May 27 (20) May 26 (16) May 25 (13) May 24 (12) May 23 (10) May 22 (18) May 21 (14) May 20 (12) May 19 (18) May 18 (14) May 17 (13) May 16 (4) May 15 (7) May 14 (16) May 13 (13) May 12 (8) May 11 (18) May 10 (8) May 09 (7) May 08 (13) May 07 (11) May 06 (15) May 05 (18) May 04 (17) May 03 (7) May 02 (5) May 01 (11) Apr 30 (19) Apr 29 (21) Apr 28 (18) Apr 27 (16) Apr 26 (8) Apr 25 (11) Apr 24 (9) Apr 23 (20) Apr 22 (23) Apr 21 (5) Apr 20 (16) Apr 19 (13) Apr 18 (6) Apr 17 (6) Apr 16 (16) Apr 15 (18) Apr 14 (13) Apr 13 (14) Apr 12 (9) Apr 11 (3) Apr 10 (16) Apr 09 (14) Apr 08 (12) Apr 07 (18) Apr 06 (7) Apr 05 (11) Apr 04 (9) Apr 03 (19) Apr 02 (17) Apr 01 (16) Mar 31 (16) Mar 30 (22) Mar 29 (16) Mar 28 (16) Mar 27 (19) Mar 26 (31) Mar 25 (25) Mar 24 (26) Mar 23 (27) Mar 22 (22) Mar 21 (22) Mar 20 (13) Mar 19 (21) Mar 18 (20) Mar 17 (24) Mar 16 (18) Mar 15 (9) Mar 14 (9) Mar 13 (29) Mar 12 (15) Mar 11 (11) Mar 10 (11) Mar 09 (20) Mar 08 (12) Mar 07 (6) Mar 06 (21) Mar 05 (22) Mar 04 (19) Mar 03 (9) Mar 02 (20) Mar 01 (11) Feb 28 (11) Feb 27 (27) Feb 26 (15) Feb 25 (18) Feb 24 (17) Feb 23 (19) Feb 22 (24) Feb 21 (10) Feb 20 (14) Feb 19 (25) Feb 18 (16) Feb 17 (19) Feb 16 (23) Feb 15 (8) Feb 14 (11) Feb 13 (25) Feb 12 (16) Feb 11 (12) Feb 10 (18) Feb 09 (12) Feb 08 (14) Feb 07 (8) Feb 06 (27) Feb 05 (28) Feb 04 (24) Feb 03 (17) Feb 02 (20) Feb 01 (23) Jan 31 (16) Jan 30 (20) Jan 29 (26) Jan 28 (17) Jan 27 (21) Jan 26 (24) Jan 25 (16) Jan 24 (14) Jan 23 (16) Jan 22 (17) Jan 21 (19) Jan 20 (21) Jan 19 (17) Jan 18 (13) Jan 17 (14) Jan 16 (10) Jan 15 (21) Jan 14 (16) Jan 13 (19) Jan 12 (30) Jan 11 (14) Jan 10 (11) Jan 09 (8) Jan 08 (23) Jan 07 (13) Jan 06 (21) Jan 05 (15) Jan 04 (18) Jan 03 (9) Jan 02 (12) Jan 01 (15) Dec 31 (18) Dec 30 (7) Dec 29 (13) Dec 28 (11) Dec 27 (8) Dec 26 (6) Dec 25 (8) Dec 24 (28) Dec 23 (12) Dec 22 (12) Dec 21 (17) Dec 20 (19) Dec 19 (19) Dec 18 (22) Dec 17 (24) Dec 16 (17) Dec 15 (29) Dec 14 (22) Dec 13 (12) Dec 12 (22) Dec 11 (24) Dec 10 (25) Dec 09 (18) Dec 08 (15) Dec 07 (21) Dec 06 (24) Dec 05 (30) Dec 04 (28) Dec 03 (26) Dec 02 (22) Dec 01 (33) Nov 30 (23) Nov 29 (9) Nov 28 (18) Nov 27 (25) Nov 26 (17) Nov 25 (23) Nov 24 (27) Nov 23 (12) Nov 22 (10) Nov 21 (15) Nov 20 (23) Nov 19 (23) Nov 18 (24) Nov 17 (21) Nov 16 (20) Nov 15 (13) Nov 14 (15) Nov 13 (27) Nov 12 (23) Nov 11 (19) Nov 10 (21) Nov 09 (13) Nov 08 (16) Nov 07 (16) Nov 06 (32) Nov 05 (24) Nov 04 (20) Nov 03 (29) Nov 02 (12) Nov 01 (15) Oct 31 (20) Oct 30 (22) Oct 29 (27) Oct 28 (20) Oct 27 (23) Oct 26 (21) Oct 25 (15) Oct 24 (23) Oct 23 (26) Oct 22 (27) Oct 21 (28) Oct 20 (24) Oct 19 (13) Oct 18 (9) Oct 17 (30) Oct 16 (8) Oct 15 (20) Oct 14 (14) Oct 13 (17) Oct 12 (16) Oct 11 (8) Oct 10 (19) Oct 09 (22) Oct 08 (16) Oct 07 (18) Oct 06 (23) Oct 05 (7) Oct 04 (15) Oct 03 (21) Oct 02 (17) Oct 01 (22) Sep 30 (25) Sep 29 (20) Sep 28 (17) Sep 27 (13) Sep 26 (20) Sep 25 (15) Sep 24 (24) Sep 23 (23) Sep 22 (18) Sep 21 (20) Sep 20 (11) Sep 19 (24) Sep 18 (25) Sep 17 (25) Sep 16 (19) Sep 15 (21) Sep 14 (15) Sep 13 (10) Sep 12 (23) Sep 11 (23) Sep 10 (25) Sep 09 (25) Sep 08 (17) Sep 07 (3) Sep 06 (17) Sep 05 (14) Sep 04 (24) Sep 03 (16) Sep 02 (11) Sep 01 (19) Aug 31 (20) Aug 30 (11) Aug 29 (24) Aug 28 (24) Aug 27 (16) Aug 26 (26) Aug 25 (21) Aug 24 (15) Aug 23 (19) Aug 22 (15) Aug 21 (25) Aug 20 (27) Aug 19 (19) Aug 18 (24) Aug 17 (14) Aug 16 (10) Aug 15 (15) Aug 14 (16) Aug 13 (21) Aug 12 (30) Aug 11 (19) Aug 10 (8) Aug 09 (12) Aug 08 (17) Aug 07 (21) Aug 06 (26) Aug 05 (23) Aug 04 (21) Aug 03 (12) Aug 02 (7) Aug 01 (19) Jul 31 (21) Jul 30 (25) Jul 29 (29) Jul 28 (23) Jul 27 (17) Jul 26 (11) Jul 25 (21) Jul 24 (14) Jul 23 (15) Jul 22 (19) Jul 21 (15) Jul 20 (9) Jul 19 (10) Jul 18 (15) Jul 17 (22) Jul 16 (18) Jul 15 (21) Jul 14 (20) Jul 13 (7) Jul 12 (9) Jul 11 (29) Jul 10 (19) Jul 09 (17) Jul 08 (26) Jul 07 (21) Jul 06 (18) Jul 05 (14) Jul 04 (20) Jul 03 (17) Jul 02 (24) Jul 01 (23) Jun 30 (23) Jun 29 (18) Jun 28 (16) Jun 27 (16) Jun 26 (17) Jun 25 (23) Jun 24 (32) Jun 23 (29) Jun 22 (8) Jun 21 (17) Jun 20 (25) Jun 19 (28) Jun 18 (19) Jun 17 (25) Jun 16 (23) Jun 15 (9) Jun 14 (11) Jun 13 (14) Jun 12 (22) Jun 11 (19) Jun 10 (17) Jun 09 (15) Jun 08 (16) Jun 07 (7) Jun 06 (29) Jun 05 (27) Jun 04 (24) Jun 03 (22) Jun 02 (22) Jun 01 (13) May 31 (9) May 30 (26) May 29 (19) May 28 (15) May 27 (15) May 26 (23) May 25 (13) May 24 (12) May 23 (24) May 22 (13) May 21 (21) May 20 (18) May 19 (16) May 18 (7) May 17 (12) May 16 (25) May 15 (24) May 14 (23) May 13 (19) May 12 (17) May 11 (8) May 10 (6) May 09 (14) May 08 (21) May 07 (26) May 06 (14) May 05 (14) May 04 (3) May 03 (3) May 02 (24) May 01 (13) Apr 30 (15) Apr 29 (24) Apr 28 (24) Apr 27 (11) Apr 26 (8) Apr 25 (13) Apr 24 (27) Apr 23 (15) Apr 22 (21) Apr 21 (19) Apr 20 (17) Apr 19 (8) Apr 18 (20) Apr 17 (27) Apr 16 (27) Apr 15 (21) Apr 14 (8) Apr 13 (8) Apr 12 (7) Apr 11 (7) Apr 10 (22) Apr 09 (15) Apr 08 (15) Apr 07 (17) Apr 06 (14) Apr 05 (5) Apr 04 (12) Apr 03 (19) Apr 02 (17) Apr 01 (19) Mar 31 (25) Mar 30 (13) Mar 29 (9) Mar 28 (16) Mar 27 (23) Mar 26 (22) Mar 25 (17) Mar 24 (25) Mar 23 (16) Mar 22 (13) Mar 21 (24) Mar 20 (27) Mar 19 (20) Mar 18 (24) Mar 17 (17) Mar 16 (11) Mar 15 (6) Mar 14 (20) Mar 13 (28) Mar 12 (30) Mar 11 (20) Mar 10 (21) Mar 09 (12) Mar 08 (8) Mar 07 (17) Mar 06 (20) Mar 05 (19) Mar 04 (15) Mar 03 (17) Mar 02 (8) Mar 01 (12) Feb 28 (16) Feb 27 (17) Feb 26 (8) Feb 25 (23) Feb 24 (15) Feb 23 (8) Feb 22 (10) Feb 21 (24) Feb 20 (14) Feb 19 (24) Feb 18 (19) Feb 17 (27) Feb 16 (13) Feb 15 (11) Feb 14 (15) Feb 13 (13) Feb 12 (13) Feb 11 (21) Feb 10 (16) Feb 09 (15) Feb 08 (10) Feb 07 (17) Feb 06 (21) Feb 05 (17) Feb 04 (14) Feb 03 (23) Feb 02 (5) Feb 01 (8) Jan 31 (17) Jan 30 (22) Jan 29 (23) Jan 28 (10) Jan 27 (24) Jan 26 (12) Jan 25 (9) Jan 24 (12) Jan 23 (19) Jan 22 (19) Jan 21 (14) Jan 20 (21) Jan 19 (12) Jan 18 (8) Jan 17 (20) Jan 16 (14) Jan 15 (23) Jan 14 (8) Jan 13 (20) Jan 12 (9) Jan 11 (7) Jan 10 (18) Jan 09 (11) Jan 08 (18) Jan 07 (13) Jan 06 (12) Jan 05 (12) Jan 04 (11) Jan 03 (10) Jan 02 (9) Jan 01 (9) Dec 31 (12) Dec 30 (11) Dec 29 (6) Dec 28 (9) Dec 27 (13) Dec 26 (15) Dec 25 (8) Dec 24 (6) Dec 23 (8) Dec 22 (5) Dec 21 (6) Dec 20 (14) Dec 19 (17) Dec 18 (14) Dec 17 (14) Dec 16 (13) Dec 15 (9) Dec 14 (9) Dec 13 (11) Dec 12 (16) Dec 11 (18) Dec 10 (4) Dec 09 (24) Dec 08 (11) Dec 07 (19) Dec 06 (6) Dec 05 (26) Dec 04 (15) Dec 03 (20) Dec 02 (17) Dec 01 (11) Nov 30 (10) Nov 29 (18) Nov 28 (21) Nov 27 (10) Nov 26 (22) Nov 25 (16) Nov 24 (12) Nov 23 (8) Nov 22 (18) Nov 21 (9) Nov 20 (17) Nov 19 (16) Nov 18 (16) Nov 17 (5) Nov 16 (9) Nov 15 (21) Nov 14 (17) Nov 13 (20) Nov 12 (16) Nov 11 (13) Nov 10 (9) Nov 09 (10) Nov 08 (16) Nov 07 (15) Nov 06 (18) Nov 05 (19) Nov 04 (16) Nov 03 (11) Nov 02 (5) Nov 01 (17) Oct 31 (17) Oct 30 (21) Oct 29 (9) Oct 28 (16) Oct 27 (6) Oct 26 (6) Oct 25 (16) Oct 24 (18) Oct 23 (14) Oct 22 (17) Oct 21 (10) Oct 20 (6) Oct 19 (8) Oct 18 (11) Oct 17 (12) Oct 16 (14) Oct 15 (19) Oct 14 (15) Oct 13 (11) Oct 12 (9) Oct 11 (10) Oct 10 (23) Oct 09 (13) Oct 08 (15) Oct 07 (20) Oct 06 (13) Oct 05 (4) Oct 04 (16) Oct 03 (17) Oct 02 (17) Oct 01 (20) Sep 30 (17) Sep 29 (9) Sep 28 (8) Sep 27 (14) Sep 26 (20) Sep 25 (19) Sep 24 (13) Sep 23 (11) Sep 22 (9) Sep 21 (5) Sep 20 (8) Sep 19 (21) Sep 18 (12) Sep 17 (20) Sep 16 (16) Sep 15 (10) Sep 14 (6) Sep 13 (18) Sep 12 (14) Sep 11 (24) Sep 10 (17) Sep 09 (16) Sep 08 (16) Sep 07 (10) Sep 06 (20) Sep 05 (13) Sep 04 (23) Sep 03 (14) Sep 02 (12) Sep 01 (11) Aug 31 (11) Aug 30 (13) Aug 29 (18) Aug 28 (14) Aug 27 (21) Aug 26 (10) Aug 25 (8) Aug 24 (10) Aug 23 (17) Aug 22 (15) Aug 21 (14) Aug 20 (20) Aug 19 (20) Aug 18 (7) Aug 17 (9) Aug 16 (11) Aug 15 (12) Aug 14 (14) Aug 13 (19) Aug 12 (14) Aug 11 (6) Aug 10 (12) Aug 09 (7) Aug 08 (18) Aug 07 (16) Aug 06 (16) Aug 05 (20) Aug 04 (12) Aug 03 (8) Aug 02 (12) Aug 01 (14) Jul 31 (16) Jul 30 (16) Jul 29 (11) Jul 28 (8) Jul 27 (9) Jul 26 (17) Jul 25 (20) Jul 24 (17) Jul 23 (11) Jul 22 (18) Jul 21 (7) Jul 20 (10) Jul 19 (14) Jul 18 (11) Jul 17 (15) Jul 16 (12) Jul 15 (10) Jul 14 (8) Jul 13 (8) Jul 12 (17) Jul 11 (18) Jul 10 (16) Jul 09 (13) Jul 08 (10) Jul 07 (12) Jul 06 (8) Jul 05 (16) Jul 04 (14) Jul 03 (17) Jul 02 (13) Jul 01 (16) Jun 30 (19) Jun 29 (7) Jun 28 (19) Jun 27 (21) Jun 26 (27) Jun 25 (23) Jun 24 (23) Jun 23 (12) Jun 22 (9) Jun 21 (18) Jun 20 (15) Jun 19 (24) Jun 18 (21) Jun 17 (13) Jun 16 (9) Jun 15 (9) Jun 14 (18) Jun 13 (24) Jun 12 (18) Jun 11 (23) Jun 10 (25) Jun 09 (24) Jun 08 (27) Jun 07 (5) Jun 06 (25) Jun 05 (30) Jun 04 (23) Jun 03 (22) Jun 02 (16) Jun 01 (17) May 31 (18) May 30 (19) May 29 (17) May 28 (23) May 27 (15) May 26 (10) May 25 (19) May 24 (16) May 23 (16) May 22 (27) May 21 (20) May 20 (26) May 19 (6) May 18 (8) May 17 (20) May 16 (8) May 15 (18) May 14 (5) May 13 (21) May 12 (9) May 11 (8) May 10 (12) May 09 (18) May 08 (11) May 07 (27) May 06 (12) May 05 (16) May 04 (19) May 03 (14) May 02 (18) May 01 (18) Apr 30 (25) Apr 29 (27) Apr 28 (11) Apr 27 (10) Apr 26 (18) Apr 25 (10) Apr 24 (29) Apr 23 (29) Apr 22 (14) Apr 21 (15) Apr 20 (20) Apr 19 (22) Apr 18 (16) Apr 17 (32) Apr 16 (12) Apr 15 (21) Apr 14 (21) Apr 13 (15) Apr 12 (13) Apr 11 (14) Apr 10 (16) Apr 09 (20) Apr 08 (36) Apr 07 (22) Apr 06 (11) Apr 05 (28) Apr 04 (20) Apr 03 (29) Apr 02 (32) Apr 01 (18) Mar 31 (12) Mar 30 (9) Mar 29 (15) Mar 28 (22) Mar 27 (24) Mar 26 (17) Mar 25 (17) Mar 24 (13) Mar 23 (5) Mar 22 (12) Mar 21 (15) Mar 20 (18) Mar 19 (19) Mar 18 (16) Mar 17 (10) Mar 16 (6) Mar 15 (18) Mar 14 (24) Mar 13 (18) Mar 12 (18) Mar 11 (17) Mar 10 (13) Mar 09 (12) Mar 08 (18) Mar 07 (25) Mar 06 (16) Mar 05 (16) Mar 04 (22) Mar 03 (17) Mar 02 (6) Mar 01 (23) Feb 29 (19) Feb 28 (25) Feb 27 (26) Feb 26 (23) Feb 25 (12) Feb 24 (13) Feb 23 (15) Feb 22 (26) Feb 21 (31) Feb 20 (12) Feb 19 (21) Feb 18 (15) Feb 17 (10) Feb 16 (15) Feb 15 (19) Feb 14 (15) Feb 13 (25) Feb 12 (20) Feb 11 (9) Feb 10 (7) Feb 09 (28) Feb 08 (20) Feb 07 (22) Feb 06 (20) Feb 05 (19) Feb 04 (14) Feb 03 (16) Feb 02 (28) Feb 01 (37) Jan 31 (27) Jan 30 (31) Jan 29 (18) Jan 28 (14) Jan 27 (10) Jan 26 (18) Jan 25 (26) Jan 24 (34) Jan 23 (21) Jan 22 (21) Jan 21 (18) Jan 20 (18) Jan 19 (18) Jan 18 (26) Jan 17 (24) Jan 16 (23) Jan 15 (30) Jan 14 (20) Jan 13 (18) Jan 12 (24) Jan 11 (11) Jan 10 (23) Jan 09 (22) Jan 08 (17) Jan 07 (17) Jan 06 (9) Jan 05 (18) Jan 04 (15) Jan 03 (19) Jan 02 (14) Jan 01 (6) Dec 31 (12) Dec 30 (4) Dec 29 (15) Dec 28 (11) Dec 27 (7) Dec 26 (10) Dec 25 (16) Dec 24 (13) Dec 23 (16) Dec 22 (11) Dec 21 (26) Dec 20 (28) Dec 19 (14) Dec 18 (25) Dec 17 (23) Dec 16 (19) Dec 15 (22) Dec 14 (38) Dec 13 (26) Dec 12 (25) Dec 11 (27) Dec 10 (31) Dec 09 (15) Dec 08 (30) Dec 07 (31) Dec 06 (27) Dec 05 (38) Dec 04 (25) Dec 03 (27) Dec 02 (15) Dec 01 (36) Nov 30 (23) Nov 29 (17) Nov 28 (23) Nov 27 (13) Nov 26 (16) Nov 25 (14) Nov 24 (18) Nov 23 (21) Nov 22 (21) Nov 21 (24) Nov 20 (20) Nov 19 (23) Nov 18 (17) Nov 17 (17) Nov 16 (34) Nov 15 (25) Nov 14 (17) Nov 13 (21) Nov 12 (18) Nov 11 (9) Nov 10 (15) Nov 09 (9) Nov 08 (9) Nov 07 (12) Nov 06 (8) Nov 05 (4) Oct 29 (1) Oct 01 (1) Jul 29 (1) May 11 (1) Jul 11 (1)
Oh My!

How we have missed the Tiny Russian Village

Vova hugged me a half dozen times, the yard is a jungle, the birdbrains are grouchy with me, Boza is already adapted and running around happy as a lark, Svetochka is all smiles, my arthritis is already fading away and life is sweet as honey

Sammy the Volga has been picked up by Igor from TRV (Tiny Russian Village) and gone to BV (Big Village). Much thanks to a few wonderful donations from China, getting her new dress put on. The Chinese love WtR. The engine will be finished from the original work and she will be freshly painted soon. We have to have a support welded in a frame section, we are lifting the rear end back to stock level, new rear spring bushings, the doors will be replaced, water pump will be replaced and several other mandatory areas cut out and new welded in. She will be pretty again and she will be matched to her new engine

A Volga is a wonderful car and now that they are no longer made, Volgas are becoming collector cars by many. Thank goodness for Cheap parts to replace everything with. We have a model 310221 and it is the best wagon I have owned. I have owned many in my time. I am a station wagon person

* * * * *

This is the last image I took before we left

Now the grass is waist high and mosquitoes are out in force

* * * * *

Igor has said he will come out and get us, so that we can see how Sammy is doing and get groceries. We have plenty of food left over from when I stayed all winter and we bought some before we came to TRV. We will not starve any such way, anyway Vova saved the bridge this year and installed new pilings. I guess he is tired of waiting for the governments of the nearby villages to do their job and we are thankful for what he has done. The other bridge, the one I use in winter to another village, is washed out. That is the norm We are lucky that our bridge survived and it makes for us to get food much easier, with no car

* * * * *

We start a new drop today in Bozas eye and I hope it goes well. I also have to start a ten day series of special shots for his eyes, they go into the deep muscle tissue. He will not be a happy camper. He can rest a lot in the village and recover. When we get him back to Moscow, he will have to have surgery. Lets hope everything goes as planned. Boza and I wish to be here three weeks, but.

Gotta run, the yard is scary and today I will spend it cutting down the forest and weeds that have grown. Oh my Strawberries are ready to eat, the rose survived and is growing like a weed, the tiny pine has doubled in size, the pear trees are in fantastic shape. I would say all in all; very successful

Pictures tomorrow

WtR
A startup needs to test an idea quickly. For this, an MVP is created. MVP, Minimal Viable Product  a test version of a product or service with a minimum set of functions (up to one or two), which allows you to see the product's value for consumers and the market. MVP is created to test hypotheses and check the viability of the intended product: is it worth developing the project further, what changes should be made? The sooner a startup brings its MVP to market and tests the idea, the better. This article will look at how no-code technology can help founders achieve their business goals.

This article will try to cover everything that a founder needs to know about no-code at the initial stage of creating a startup.

What is no-code?

No-code, zero-code platform is a tool for creating websites, applications, chatbots, and other programs without the need for direct code writing by programmers. No-code is a valuable alternative to traditional development.

No-code is confused with low-code, but there is a difference in these terms. Low-code includes no-code and the ability to "finish code", add parts of code and the functionality.

A user of a no-code platform usually does not need to know layout, programming languages, or hire a team of programmers. The user of the no-code tool creates an application using a visual block constructor, which he fills with the necessary content and functions, and the no-code platform itself does the processing of requests, compiling the application and other "magic." It generates code using AI and/or contains blocks of code pre-written by programmers.

No-code allows the startup founder to create an MVP himself, entrust it to his employee with basic technical literacy and understanding of the project, or hire a no-code developer. Even in the case of hiring a no-code developer, the cost of creating an MVP will be significantly lower than with classical development with programmers. For example, you can read the interview of a startup and no-code developer on our website, who initially worked as a Product Manager and was able to master no-code for his project himself.

Benefits of no-code for a startup founder

There are the following key advantages for a startup founder in using no-code technology:

a large selection of no-code tools, platforms, and their integrations at the moment  already in 2022, there are many tools and platforms for creating an MVP, a larger project, or even a finished product on no-code, but few people still know about them, and others are far from all startups and founders use their potential;

cost  no-code development saves the money by speeding up the development process, not hiring professional programmers or no need to maintain a developer department, monitoring functions and quick bug fixes, avoiding or reducing the growth of technical debt;

speed is the main advantage over classical development  no-code allows you to build a simple application in a weekend, and a more complex one can be built in a month. In this way, you can test an MVP and even several versions of an MVP very quickly;

low entry threshold  to master a no-code platform, you often do not need technical education at all, but only an understanding of a company's business processes or product from the inside. In the case of pro-level no-code platforms, technical education is required, but you can get used to it hundreds of times faster than with any programming language. This makes no-code available to almost everyone who wants to work with technology;

ease of use  no need to write hundreds of code lines  just move the blocks and assign links between them. Work on a project can be entrusted to your employee without communicating with a team of third-party developers. You can speak "in your language" without the need to understand the "inner kitchen" of developers;

flexibility  with the help of no-code, it is easy for a startup founder to add new functionality and new features right during a project or a MVP testing without a significant increase in development costs.

Possible disadvantages of no-code for a startup founder

As often, any property can be, under certain conditions, both a disadvantage and an advantage. In no-code, many of the benefits with the wrong choice of tool can turn into disadvantages:

no-code is not always a budget solution for a project. Sometimes in a no-code development package, you get unnecessary functions and additions (on AppMaster.io you can separately connect the frontend and pay only for the backend or only for those functions that you are using); if you do not understand the needs of your project, then you can make a mistake with the choice of a no-code tool and not be able to implement the necessary functions on it, or it will be too difficult to implement them; often, no-code tools fail to ensure proper data security and contribute to data leakage (but AppMaster.io allows you to host a finished application on any server); no-code tools often do not provide the ability to upload source code or provide uploading in an inconvenient format, which makes it difficult to move to another tool or to your development. You have to choose a no-code tool "once and forever immediately" (AppMaster. io gives you the ability to download the source code. Also, we generate human-readable code and you will not have any difficulties with its transportation); most no-code tools on the market are not suitable for creating a finished product, and there are significant difficulties with scaling the project if the MVP is successful (AppMaster.io is a professional no-code platform and our capabilities allow us to implement and support the finished product and scale it in the future).

Forewarned is forearmed. Choose your no-code tool wisely and take full advantage of your choice.

Types of no-code platforms

Conventionally, all no-code tools can be divided into several types: no-code devices with a low entry threshold (you can create frontend and not very powerful backend on them), integrators that help connect applications and services, and professional no-code platforms (they strive to replace the code completely, provide the ability to create a robust backend and high bandwidth).

The basic principle of operation of your MVP and the choice of a no-code platform depend on such a conditional division into types. For example, if you make a simple application like a diary, you can limit yourself to a no-code tool with a low entry threshold and a beautiful design.

If your application has powerful potential, high bandwidth, multi-user interface, and works with large amounts of data or real-time data, it is better to choose a professional no-code platform like AppMaster.io or Direcual.

If you use several services at once, link them on integrators like Integromat and Zapier.

Adalo

An easy-to-learn designer with a relatively user-friendly interface. The free version is helpful for learning. The free version contains Adalo watermarks and does not allow you to upload your applications to GooglePlayMarket and AppStore. Beginners often choose this no-code platform to create their first applications with simple logic.

Bubble

It will take more time to learn Bubble , but the platform allows you to work with the backend, databases, business processes, and layout. There are many plugins. The free plan allows you to master the tool, and you can start developing at the middle rate. The price increase is due to the rise in the number of users.

Integromat

It is an integrator. Experts talk about it as a simple and affordable platform for linking applications and services. Scenarios can be created personally, or you can use templates. If you need to connect an application with a service not from the Integromat database, fill out the form and connect to its API via HTTP.

Zapier

This is an integrator for linking applications with each other or with other external services. You can transfer data between thousands of applications. There is a script constructor (one event starts a chain of necessary actions).

Directual

The no-code platform positions itself for creating MVP applications (Minimal Viable Product, minimum viable product) and full-fledged applications of finished products. Scenarios are the backbone of the platform. Using scripts, you can automate the backend logic of the application, create and combine workflows. The Directual catalog includes out-of-the-box connectors, HTTP requests, webhooks, database listeners, and integration with popular services.

AppMaster.io

No-code next-generation platform for creating native and web applications on a real backend. Visual drag-and-drop designer, user-friendly business process designer, one-click app publishing to AppMaster Cloud, or integration with any cloud platform. Push notifications, authorization using social networks. Networks, email, and more. Connect applications to hundreds of services or programmatically access them using APIs. The ability to upload source code and documentation in a human-readable format and transfer it to your servers. Documentation auto-generation. Modern and fast language GoLang at the core.

No-code perspectives for startups

No-code development is gradually gaining popularity around the world. There are already more than 500 no-code tools for creating websites and various types of applications.

According to the forecasts of IT world experts, no-code will develop more and more actively and capture parts of the market responsible for medicine, small online business, small business, and all niches where it is possibly necessary to optimize and automate development processes.

The mass shift of businesses and their customers online and to gadgets has increased the demand for the fast and inexpensive creation of mobile applications that would work according to a single quality standard and have a simple, understandable, user-friendly interface.

Conclusion

No-code is visual programming in the form of a constructor without directly writing code. Usually, basic knowledge in development is enough to build applications on no-code.

The logic of no-code constructors is intuitive: the application interface is assembled from blocks, icons, buttons, and text which are connected to the database. Usually, you can choose a suitable template or do everything from scratch. Speed and economy are the main advantages of no-code tools.

No-code is suitable for creating an MVP, testing an idea or new features in a product, saving time for solving standard tasks. PRO level no-code platforms can provide you with a finished product, an application.

If you don't have an account on AppMaster.io yet, join us. After registration, you will be given a free trial period for 14 days, in which all the basic functionality of the platform is available. It will allow you to learn the intricacies of working with a professional-level no-code platform and understand its potential.
Cassi Alexandra(ORLANDO, Fla.) -- One year after 49 men and women were killed and 53 wounded at a gay nightclub in Orlando in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, survivors, family and friends remember.



Independent journalist and photographer Cassi Alexandra over the year interviewed and created portraits of survivors of the massacre at the Pulse nightclub on June 12, 2016, as a new chapter in her "We Are Family" series.



Her goal was to "give the public a greater understanding of what mass shootings do to a community even after the dust settles," she told ABC News.



Brandon Wolf

Cassi Alexandra

"It's when you're in private that you think about the (things) that really hurt."

Brandon Wolf, 28, was at Pulse that night with Eric Borrero, Christopher Leinonen and Leinonen's boyfriend, Juan Guerrero. Wolf and Borrero had gone to the bathroom when Omar Mateen came into the club and began shooting. The two fled with a group and, after reaching safety, Wolf posted about the attack on Facebook. That alerted Christine Leinonen, Christopher's mother, that her son could be in danger.



Both Leinonen and Guerrero were killed.



"It still is very painful," Wolf said. "When you talk about Pulse and you talk about how it's impacted you, you find the topics that ... don't hurt to talk about, and you stay in that zone when you're in public. And then it's when you're in private that you think about the ones that really hurt."



Wolf said he's seen a therapist. "My true therapy, my real therapy, is reaching out and talking about it. So, I've gotten the chance to write about it a lot. And then also to speak, specifically to young people, I think that's when I feel the most at peace is when I can talk to young people about how to make the world a better place and how to funnel their passion ... That's when I feel the most positive about the future."



"I am really, really inspired by the beautiful things that have come out of [the tragedy]," he said. "Because it can go any one of a number of ways, right? Tragedies like this can become a nationalist thing, they can become patriotic, they can become angry, they can become violent, but this one did none of those things. It was not about one group versus another, it was really about coming together as a community, so that makes me feel a little bit more healed."



Eric Borrero

Cassi Alexandra

"I feel like theres no real right answer to how youre supposed to handle the situation of that magnitude."

Eric Borrero had recently moved to Orlando when he accompanied friends Juan Guerrero, Christopher Leinonen and Brandon Wolf to the nightclub for Latin Night.



At around 2 a.m., shots rang out.



Borrero and Wolf managed to escape the club and spent hours walking the streets, phoning Leinonen and Guerrero repeatedly.



Borrero kept trying to convince himself it had just been firecrackers.



I remember walking up to this one person and I was like, 'Do you know what's going on?' And he was like, 'There was a shooting,' and he said, 'Go talk to this person over there, they saw more than I did.'"



"So I went over to talk to that person, and on my way up I could tell that he was covered in blood."



Leinonen and Guerrero were among the 49 killed.



"I didn't want to tell anyone at first" about being at the club during the shooting, Borrero said. "I didn't call my parents until three to four hours after ... I just wanted to pretend like nothing happened, I'm fine. Even though I knew what was going on in my head, and the battles that I was facing in those moments."



"I feel like theres no real right answer to how youre supposed to handle the situation of that magnitude," he said.



"Every time I see a police officer I want to thank them for being there, and being on the front lines and helping."

Christine Leinonen

Cassi Alexandra

"It's as if you know rationally that this massacre happened, but the brain cannot comprehend it."

Christine Leinonen learned from a Facebook post around 3 a.m. that there was a shooting at the club where her son, Christopher Leinonen, was with his boyfriend.



She went to an emergency room to look for him. Only hours later did she learn he died. Christopher's boyfriend, Juan Guerrero, was also killed.



"I might still be in shock," Leinonen said. "I know I'm often in denial. It's as if you know rationally that this massacre happened, but the brain cannot comprehend it, or I should say the heart. The heart and soul cannot comprehend that level of evil."



Leinonen, a licensed lawyer in Florida and former Michigan state trooper, said she was a "semi-active Catholic" at the time of the massacre.



"Some people, when a tragedy like this happens, they want to over-embrace religion. As if somehow then that's going to keep them from anything else happening ... I'm not going to church. I'm not. I recognize how there can't possibly be a God. There just ... It just can't be. Even though it was a feel-good for me all these years, thinking that by being Catholic, that somehow that was insulating me from any kind of trauma."

Keinon Carter

Cassi Alexandra

"I've got to move on, I've got to push forward because nobody else can do it for me. I can't just give up."

Shot twice in the attack and declared dead twice, Keinon Carter nevertheless survived.



His friend, Antonio Brown, though was killed.



Carter went to Pulse with Brown and was waiting for him in the club's bathroom when he heard what he thought were firecrackers.



He was struck as he and Brown went to see what was going on. He was shot again lying on the floor when the gunman came back. In and out of consciousness, Carter woke up in the hospital.



He spent two months in the hospital, during which he went from weighing 170 pounds to about 90, and he has had over 20 surgeries. "I was the second to the last to leave the hospital, he said.



Even though I'm a victim, or a survivor  whatever the case may be  I still try to live as normal, be as normal as possible. People get depressed. Of course, I'm going to get depressed, I'm going to have my moments. I've got scars and stuff up and down my body, and stuff now that I continue to look at  a lot of stuff. I'm going to get depressed here and there, you know what I'm saying?"



"At the end of the day, I've got to move on, I've got to push forward, because nobody else can do it for me. I can't just give up.

Demetrice Naulings

Cassi Alexandra

"I'm left with this as being guilty because I was with him that night, I was the last person that knew him and knew his family. To touch him, literally to hold his hand."

Demetrice Naulings, 35, lost his best friend, Eddie Justice, 30, when they were both at Pulse during the attack.



"I really wasn't even supposed to go ... But that night was like any ordinary night that we decided to go to the club. We showed up late. We were going there just to have a drink, to celebrate because I was going down to Miami to work."



Shortly after Demetrice and Justice entered the bar together at last call, the shooting started. They were separated in the chaos.



"I tell the majority of people that I do interviews with that it sucks for me because I'm left with this as being guilty because I was with him that night."



"I was the last person that knew him and knew his family. To touch him, literally to hold his hand."

Ricardo Negron

Cassi Alexandra

"I do see a mental health counselor cause I practice what I preach. I tell people that theres help."

Ricardo Negron had been to Pulse many times prior to the night of the attack.



After his shift at work ended that night, he headed to the club for a few drinks.



Negron was just closing his tab and was near an exit when the gunman entered. He didnt immediately register that the sound from the gunfire wasnt part of the club's music.



I was fortunate to have been close to an exit that led to the patio area. So, at some point after the shooting started, and there was a break in the shooting, I was able to get out," he said.



Negron is now program director for Proyecto Somos Orlando (Project We Are Orlando), created after the attack to address the needs of the LGBTQ Latino population. When the program started in August 2016, it focused primarily on survivors and family members of victims. Now, it serves a wider swath of the community.



I do see a mental health counselor cause I practice what I preach," Negron said. "I tell people that theres help, so I also take use of that help.



Emily Addison

Cassi Alexandra

"It makes me feel like I lost her, not just once by the shooter, but twice by the community."

Some who lost people in the massacre say they haven't felt the benefit of community support.



Emily Addison, 38, told Cassi Alexandra that she and Deonka "Dee Dee" Drayton started dating in 2009, but were separated at the time that Dee Dee was killed in the Pulse shooting. As a result, she said her loss and grief haven't been recognized.



"All these signs about 'Orlando United' and you know, if feeling like we're supposed to be a whole community, I have felt nothing but the total opposite of that since June 12th," Addison said. "I have felt like an outsider of that ... It absolutely hurts because the struggles that constantly play in my head that I went through with her as far as making sure that each other was happy or whenever she was in a tight situation ... And now I'm being treated like none of that matters ... It makes me feel like I lost her, not just once by the shooter, but twice by the community."



Addison lives with her three children outside the Orlando area, and she works at Walt Disney World. Disney, which owns the amusement park, is parent of ABC News.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
While the pay could be better, benefits of teaching out of this world
London Stansted Airport received a boost this month with the announcement that Jet2.com is launching four exclusive flights to New York this winter.

Above: Flights will be operated by a 327-seat Airbus A330 and land at New York's Newark Liberty International Airport.



The four-night shopping breaks to the Big Apple during November and December 2017 have been scheduled to coincide with Black Friday, Thanksgiving and the build up to Christmas.



Jet2.com opened a new base at Stansted in March offering flights and holidays to 27 European destinations. They will be the first airline to serve New York from London Stansted for nine years.



Andrew Cowan, Stansted Airports CEO said: The announcement by Jet2.com and Jet2holidays is fantastic news for London Stansted and everybody in the region looking for a New York shopping trip just before Christmas from their local airport.



"The airline has had a fantastic start since launching here in March and this boost clearly demonstrates the strength of demand that exists across the East of England and London.



"The airport has not served the Big Apple since 2008 so we are all absolutely thrilled to have it back on our destination boards. Im sure these great value flights will prove to be another huge hit with passengers.



Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2CityBreaks said: We are delighted to be launching our popular New York trips from London Stansted Airport this year, making us the only airline and tour operator to fly directly to the Big Apple from the airport.



"With our flights and holidays programme performing exceptionally well from our new base, we expect the same level of popularity for these trips."

Flights will be operated by a 327-seat Airbus A330 and land at New York's Newark Liberty International Airport.
Congress leader Sandeep Dikshits comment likening the army chief to a goon was denounced by the government. BJP demanded an apology from party chief Sonia Gandhi and accused the Congress of consistently shaming and demoralizing the army. I dont support Congress leaders statement but, somewhere first time in the history of India, even army chief is made to talk politically by his masters. BJP is slowly hijacking esteemed institutions and converting them to puppets. This has happened so rapidly in last three years and seems unbelievable. They have been shown post retirement dreams and literally kept mortgaged. Anyway, there is no point in demoralising our own army.

Mr. Dikshit, a former Congress lawmaker and the son of former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, has apologized after using the words Sadak ka goonda (street goon) for Army Chief Bipin Rawat. The minister said, Ours is not a mafia Army like Pakistani army which makes statements like goons on the street. It looks bad when our Army chief issues a statement like a sadak ka goonda. The comment made to a journalist, generated outrage and widespread criticism. The news has grabbed headlines and generated good TRPs too. Congress leader at least said once what he had to say and apologised too, but media is reporting and naming the abuse again and again, which is even more shameful. Congress has distanced itself from Mr. Dikshits comments.

Bipin Rawat was also compared with British General Reginald Dyer, who achieved notoriety after ordering the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre of 1919. The comparison had appeared in an article published in the CPM mouthpiece Democracy, which has party Chief Prakash Karat as its editor. The BJP has condemned the comparison. Academician Partha Chatterjee, who had penned the piece, wrote that the Army chief, by commending Major Leetul Gogois action of using a civilian as a human shield in Kashmir, let down the high professional standards in the Army. Chatterjees article appeared days after General Rawat, in an interview to news agency Press Trust of India, said the Army was facing a dirty war in Jammu and Kashmir which has to be fought through innovative ways. He had added that the main objective of awarding Major Leetul Gogoi, when a Court of Inquiry was finalising its probe into the incident, was to boost the morale of young officers operating in Jammu and Kashmir.

The British General had ordered firing at a crowd of protesters at Jallianwala Bagh, a public ground in Amritsar, on April 13, 1919, in which 379 people were killed. Though, action was taken against him by the army, he was hailed as a hero in Britain. The Congress leader was apparently referring to General Rawats statement defending an army officers decision to strap a civilian to the front of his jeep as a human shield against stone-throwing protesters in the Kashmir Valley.

Rawat was commissioned into the 5th Battalion of 11 Gorkha Rifles on 16 December 1978, the same unit as his father. He has vast experience in high altitude warfare and ten years of counter insurgency operations. He has commanded a company at Uri, an infantry battalion in the Eastern sector along the Line of Actual Control at Kibithu, 5 Sector of Rashtriya Rifles (Sopore) as brigade commander, 19 Infantry Division (Uri), III Corps(Dimapur) and GOC-C Southern Command (Pune). He has also held staff assignments which include an instructional tenure at Indian Military Academy, Dehradun; General Staff Officer Grade 2 at the Military Operations Directorate; logistics staff officer of a RAPID in central India; Colonel Military Secretary and Deputy Military Secretary in the Military Secretarys Branch and Senior Instructor in the Junior Command Wing. He has also commanded MONUSCO (a Multinational Brigade in a Chapter VII mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo) where he was twice awarded the Force Commanders Commendation. He assumed the post of General Office Commanding in Chief, Southern Command on 1 January 2016 and assumed the post of Vice Chief of Army Staff on 1 September 2016. On 17 December 2016, the Government of India designated him as the 27th Chief of Indian Army Staff, superseding two more senior Lt. Generals, Praveen Bakshi and P M Hariz.

Within two weeks of deployment in the DRC, the Brigade faced a major offensive in the East which threatened not only the regional capital of North Kivu, Goma, but stability across the country as a whole. The situation demanded a rapid response and North Kivu Brigade was reinforced, where it was responsible for over 7,000 men and women representing nearly half of the total MOUNSCO Force. Whilst simultaneously engaged in offensive kinetic operations against the CNDP and other armed groups, Rawat (then Brigadier) carried out tactical support to the Congolese Army (FARDC), sensitization programmes with the local population and detailed coordination to ensure that all were informed about the situation and worked together in prosecuting operations whilst trying to protect the vulnerable population. This hectic period of operational tempo lasted a full four months and during this time Rawat, his headquarters and his international Brigade, were tested to the full, across the operational spectrum. His personal leadership, courage and experience were pivotal to the success that the Brigade achieved.

In June 2015, eighteen Indian soldiers lost their lives after being ambushed by terrorists belonging to the Christian-extremist National Socialist Council of Nagaland in Manipur. In response, the Indian Army responded with cross-border strikes by 21 Para (Special Forces) under the operational control of the Dimapur-based III Corps which was then headed by Rawat.
The controversial Justice C S Karnan, who retired on Monday, is still absconding after he was sentenced six months prison by the Supreme Court for contempt.

Karnan, who came to Chennai on May 9, suddenly went missing on the next day from the State guesthouse even before the Apex Court passed orders awarding him six months jail term.

Incidentally, his unceremonious exit coincides with his 62nd birthday.

Calcutta high court, in another first, did not host the customary farewell dinner for the retiring judge, who is also facing a six-month jail sentence.

Justice Karnan has been absconding since May 9 after a seven-judge Supreme Court bench passed an unprecedented arrest order against him.

The order was issued after his embarrassing spat with senior judges of the top court in the course of which he even ordered the arrest of the Chief Justice of India.

While issuing the arrest warrant against him, the Supreme Court also ordered the media to refrain from reporting Karnans statements.

The controversial judge was appointed the Madras High Court judge in 2009 and was transferred to West Bengal in 2016.

Karnan, courted controversy in January 2017, after he named 20 sitting and retired Supreme Court and High Court judges of being corrupt. In May, a seven-judge bench sentenced the judge to six-months jail finding him guilty of contempt of court.

The order came a day after Karnan had ordered the arrest of eight apex court judges. Before the West Bengal Police could arrest Karnan, the controversial judge reportedly left for Chennai and has been untraceable ever since.
Sena had put up posters near BJPs office at Nariman Point lauding the efforts of party president Uddhav Thackeray for loan waiver offered to farmers.

The rift between Shiv Sena and BJP has further intensified after the former came forward to take credit for the loan waiver announced by the Fadnavis government. Sena had put up posters near BJPs office at Nariman Point lauding the efforts of party president Uddhav Thackeray for loan waiver offered to farmers. In the posters the party mentioned that its a historic victory of farmers. Through this act, Sena has prevented BJP from hogging the limelight by writing off agricultural loan. The party had earlier taken an aggressive stand against BJP by imposing pressure on it to waive farm loans. Thus both BJP and Sena are trying to outdo each other to take credit for farm loan waiver.

Sena also has asked BJP to write off loans with immediate effect failing which the party will intensify its agitation. Thus loan waiver issue has become a bone of contention between both the parties. Sena has always alleged that BJP has never taken it into confidence while taking major decisions. The party has always expressed its displeasure over the functioning of BJP through its mouthpiece Saamna. It had skipped the meeting held by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis with a delegation of farmers to look into their demands. Later Shiv Sena minister Diwakar Raote was included in a committee formed by Fadnavis to address grievances of farmers under the leadership of Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil.

Shiv Sena leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said, The government has waived off farm loans due to the initiative taken by Sena. BJP lacked political will to resolve agrarian crisis in the state. They had written off agricultural loans due to pressure imposed by us. We will continue to work for the welfare of farmers.

Local leaders have installed these posters after farmers were granted loan waiver. Sena didnt officially put the posters and they will be removed within a day, said a Sena leader on the condition of anonymity.

Farm loans of small and marginal farmers worth Rs 30,000 crore will be written off by the government. A delegation led by Chandrakant Patil had met Sukanu Samiti a committee of farmers to discuss about the issues faced by them and finally loan waiver decision was taken by the government for providing relief to distressed farmers. Around 1.07 crore farmers in the state with less than five acre land holding will be eligible for the waiver. The loan waiver will push up states fiscal deficit to 2.71% (budgeted: 1.53%) in FY18 of gross state domestic product (GSDP).
Lashing out at the Congress for demeaning Army Chief General Bipin Rawat to a street thug, the Centre on Monday said party chief Sonia Gandhi should issue an apology and clarify its stand on remarks against the Indian Army.

It shocks us. It did not come from a somebody from Congress, but from a very eminent Congress leader, Union Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the media.

Accusing the Congress of consistently questioning the integrity of the Indian Army to shame and demoralise them, she said, I wonder if this is a strategy of the Congress to undermine the Indian Army, weaken our institutions. Sadak ka gunda? Is that a language a senior politician uses against our Army Chief? Sonia Gandhi should disown their leadership which is going on insulting Indian Army, is not what the Congress wants and should apologise. The Congress should clarify its stand on remarks against the Indian Army.

Senior CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat defended Sandeep Dikshits comment and said, Army Chief Rawats statements result in controversy, as (his) statements itself are objectionable, Karat said. She added that the Army chief is undermining the status of his position.

Distancing the Congress from former party MP Sandeep Dikshits controversial remarks against Bipin Rawat, party vice-president Rahul Gandhi said: No politician should make comments against the Army chief.

On Sunday, Dikshit said the army chief shouldnt make statements like a sadak ka gunda referring to his recent statements. Dikshits comments have backfired on him and seems to have hurt the party as well. Both faced massive criticism and abuse on social media. Dikshit had to withdraw his comments and tender an apology while the Congress dissociated itself from Dikshits remark.

We advised Sandeep Dikshit to desist from making any controversial remarks on Army Chief as Indian National Congress doesnt support such remarks, said Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala.

However, Sandeep Dikshit on Monday tendered an apology for the second time, saying shouldnt have used uncivilised words to convey his message.

I thought Indian Army chiefs normally dont make these statements and they have a different manner in which they approach. However, this was a separate issue. If I had to say something of this kind, there was a different language and manner in which I should have said it. It doesnt make any sense to use words that are not correct and civil and I apologise for that, said Dikshit.
Aiken, SC (29801)

Today

Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers overnight. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low around 65F. Winds ESE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch..

Tonight

Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers overnight. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low around 65F. Winds ESE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch.
US Prepares to Deport Hundreds of Iraqi Assyrians

Nahidh Shaou could be deported any day now. As a Christian and a veteran of the US military, being forcibly returned to Iraq--a homeland he hasn't seen since he was five years old--could prove to be a death sentence. Until April of this year, Iraq had not accepted deportees from the United States since 2010. That policy changed when one of President Donald Trump's early executive orders included Iraq on a list of seven countries targeted with a temporary travel ban. As part of the deal to be removed from the list, Iraq agreed to begin taking deportees again. More than 1,400 Iraqis in America are on the docket to be returned to their country of origin. Escorted by law enforcement officers, the first of those Iraqis boarded a small plane in Louisiana in April, bound for Baghdad. Shaou was supposed to be on that plane. But at the 11th hour, he was granted an emergency stay after his lawyer, Richard Kent, filed an appeal to defer Shaou's removal. With dozens of Iraqi Christians rounded up in Michigan just this past weekend, the situation remains dire. "Without a final decision on his status, he can be deported at any time," says Tina Ramirez, president of Hardwired Inc., which provides training and education programs to foster religious freedom in countries in conflict. Shaou's case is divisive for a number of reasons. For one thing, he's a convicted criminal. After serving in Korea's demilitarized zone in the early 1980s, during which time his father died, Shaou returned to the US and, suffering from PTSD, was honorably discharged. Soon after, at the age of 20, he shot and wounded a police officer during a robbery near Detroit and was sentenced to 35 years in prison. He finished his sentence last fall. But instead of being released, Shaou was immediately detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and scheduled to be deported on the April flight. The case is also contentious because of the fate awaiting Shaou if he is returned to Iraq, a country in turmoil and rife with religious persecution. Iraq ranks No. 7 on Open Doors's World Watch List, which calculates the 50 countries where it is hardest to be a Christian. "He'll be targeted for his Christian faith, his Chaldean ethnicity, his veteran status--that will be seen as traitorous," said Tiara Shaya, Shaou's niece and one of his primary advocates. "The big giveaways will be not being able to speak Arabic and not having an ID." ISIS's reign of terror aimed at Christians and other minorities in Iraq and Syria--a phenomenon that President Trump, the Obama administration, and Congress have referred to as genocide--is perilous for anyone in its path. With no Iraqi papers, no connections, and an American accent, Shaou's future would be doubly dangerous. "I see it as a death sentence," said Shaya. "I really don't know how he could survive with the combination of targets on his back." A legal--and moral--quandary The US has committed itself to a variety of international treaties, such as the United Nation's Convention Against Torture, that prevent it from returning anyone to circumstances in which they are likely to be persecuted or tortured. However, there are limits to that commitment--especially when someone presents a grave threat or when they have committed a "particularly serious" crime. "The interpretation of whether or not a crime is considered 'particularly serious' is dictated by the type of relief an applicant is seeking, and can also involve some subjectivity on the part of a judge," said Courtney Tudi, director of immigrant legal services at World Relief. Hardwired's Ramirez describes Shaou's case as a perfect example of the potential complexity of deportation cases. "Not every case is clear cut, and there needs to be greater discretion for whether the removals are necessary or not in each case," she said. The moral responsibility accompanying the prospect of deporting 1,400 Iraqis--more than 300 of whom are Chaldean Christians--is perhaps even more complicated than the legal question, says Tudi. "From a Christian ethical perspective, we certainly believe that God has established governments to enact justice," she said. "But that justice ought to be appropriate to the crime committed. And most Christian ethicists would reject torture as an appropriate penalty for any offense. So in a situation where someone's deportation was likely to result in them being tortured, it seems to me that we should consider other alternatives." Refugees seeking asylum can be deported if they commit crimes, but those with a credible fear of persecution in their home countries "are eligible for a broader range of waivers to the grounds of deportability than apply to other immigrants," said Tudi. One possibility is to simply delay deportation until the danger in their country of origin has abated. Tudi points to a number of Cambodian refugees who came to the US decades ago--but were never naturalized--who have been deported recently because of criminal convictions. There is also a precedent for the US government to simply exercise discretion to not deport individuals at risk of persecution or torture, even if they qualify for deportation under the law. Justice and mercy It is no small irony that Vice President Mike Pence and Franklin Graham, popular figures among many Chaldeans in the US, headlined the first ever World Summit in Defense of Persecuted Christians last month at the same time as Shaou lingers in custody in Michigan, still facing imminent deportation. Just last week, the House of Representatives signed off on legislation to assist survivors of ISIS's reign of terror. The Trump administration and its allies have made repeated commitments to the protection of Christians in the Middle East. And yet, by almost any measure, it is a dangerous time for Christians to be sent back to Iraq. A new report from Open Doors found that more than two-thirds of all Christians from Syria and Iraq have fled their home countries since 2011. Speaking with Foreign Policy, Kent, Shaou's lawyer, emphasized the importance of the situation in Iraq in weighing the case. "This is about the conditions we are sending people back to. We are imposing a death penalty through the backdoor." This past weekend, at least two busloads of Chaldean Christians slated for deportation--as many as 80 individuals by some estimates--were picked up by ICE in the Detroit area and moved into custody in Ohio. The state is home to the largest Chaldean Catholic community outside of Iraq, with 121,000 members and at least 10 churches. "This is a deliberate attack on the Chaldean Catholic Assyrian community of Detroit," said Wisam Naoum, a community activist helping coordinate legal assistance for detainees and their families at a Chaldean-focused charter school in the area. "They waited until Sunday when our community would be going to church and gathering with their families and have rounded up to 40-60 community members." Detroit's Chaldean Catholic bishop, Francis Y. Kalabat, told church leaders the diocese is reaching out to the government, the Iraqi embassy, the local Chaldean foundation, and the US Council of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on behalf of the detainees, most of whom are "not hardened criminals but for the last decades have been great citizens." "Today was a very strange and painful day for our community in America. With the many Chaldeans that woke up this morning and were picked up by [ICE] agents, there is a lot of confusion and anger," he said, going on to discourage members from heated public demonstrations. "Prayers and patience are desperately needed. This will take a lot of effort but acting in a disrespectful ways in front of the federal building only brings harm and not good." Protesters gathered Monday outside Detroit's federal building; the day before, some assembled to try to block the buses taking the men to detention, according to local social media reports. The Chaldeans now in custody are in the same quandary as Shaou: awaiting Homeland Security to decide their fate, if they are not deported first. "We're not supposed to be feeding people into the death camps that are being built for them," said Kent. He expressed deep concern about the sudden roundup over the weekend. "They would not be doing this if they were not dead serious about sending people back." Shaya, Shaou's niece, says justice has already been served for her uncle: a sentence from which he was released early and served as a model inmate. She calls his potential deportation a second punishment, not a policy. His options, like those of so many Christians slated for deportation, are limited, says Ramirez. Shaou's congressman can introduce a bill to grant permanent stay; he could receive a presidential pardon; or the court could determine deportation would betray conventions on torture or treaty obligations under the Inter American Convention on Human Rights. "It's entirely appropriate that an individual who is convicted of a crime face the appropriate penalty, such as a lengthy jail sentence," said World Relief's Tudi. "But if that has happened, there is no significant concern that the person remains a threat to others within the US. And the possibility of harm is so significant for a religious minority being deported to Iraq right now, these cases could be carefully assessed to consider if they are cases where mercy could be extended by the federal government as an exercise of discretion." Despite remaining in jail and facing expulsion to a war-torn country he hardly knows, Shaou is hopeful. He believes he has served his time. In a recent telephone call with his niece, Shaya, he told her that he just wants to show people he has changed. "He wants to contribute," said Shaya. "He wants to be with his family in the only country he knows."

Additional reporting by Kate Shellnutt.
June 9, 2017

CAIRO  Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi recently expressed his anger at the illegal acquisition of state lands and issued a strong warning to those encroaching upon these lands. "It is no longer acceptable for anyone in Egypt to encroach upon state lands. It is no longer acceptable for people to take lands that belong to the state," he said in a May 14 speech delivered during his visit to Qena province to inaugurate a set of projects.

Sisi tasked the armed forces and the police with putting an end to the illegal seizure of state lands and fully reclaim all the usurped state territories by force by May 31. "We are all for new investment projects and for facilitating the work of investors. As a state, we are trying to organize the process so that it does not spin out of control. It is not acceptable and will never be acceptable for people to [illegally] acquire such lands."

During a June 7 conference to reveal the results of the campaign to retrieve state lands, Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said the government, with the help of its executive agencies, had managed to reverse 69% of the infringement cases so far. He added that during the next phase, the governors will play a more active role and government efforts will continue, with the aim to protect state lands from encroachment and prevent any new violations, while continuing to remove any previous violations.

This was not the first time that Sisi sought to confront the illegal use of state lands across the republic. On Feb. 18, Sisi issued a presidential decree to form a committee tasked with retrieving seized public land in all possible legal ways as well as drafting reports on the factors that led to their seizure, in order to propose solutions aimed at preventing future cases.

Encroachments on state lands spread like wildfire in Egypt following the January 25 Revolution in 2011, as the government failed to fight the phenomenon amid a state of chaos and the breakdown of the state apparatus. Those involved include businessmen and farmers.

The committee  headed by the assistant to the president of the Republic for National and Strategic Projects, Ibrahim Mahlab  includes Minister of Local Development Ahmed Zaki Badr; representatives of the ministries of justice, defense and interior; and representatives of the General Intelligence, the Administrative Control and the Public Funds Investigation departments within the Ministry of Interior, the Notaries Union of Egypt and the Egyptian Survey Authority.

This committee, however, failed to achieve the objective for which it was established, as the government and the executive bodies were not so cooperative, Majdi Malak  member of the Committee on Agriculture in the House of Representatives  told Al-Monitor.

Malak added, "President Sisi ordered the armed forces and police to get rid of all kinds of encroachments on the state lands due to the committee's failure to deal with the issue. There are thousands of acres of agricultural lands that have been seized for the establishment of resorts and luxury compounds. This led to the accumulation of irregularities and to the rise of a complicated process to reverse them."

"After the Jan. 25, 2011, revolution and the ensuing chaos and insecurity that plagued the country, Egyptian governorates witnessed several encroachments on agricultural lands for construction purposes, as the state stood silent without taking a decisive position against the aggressors," he said.

On April 30, an official report from the Ministry of Agriculture's Central Committee for Land Protection pointed out that the violations of fertile agricultural land since the January 25 Revolution until April 23, 2017, amounted to 1,690,734 cases, covering an area estimated at 75,216 acres. The report pointed out that only 377,490 cases covering 21,204 acres have been reversed.

Meanwhile, one of the most recent scientific studies of the government's National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences revealed June 1, 2015, through satellite images analyzed by its scientists, that the rate of urban encroachment on agricultural land has increased by 23% annually in recent years in several governorates, thus resulting in a shortage in agricultural lands.

Scientists in the said authority predicted that by 2050, Egypt will lose about 17% of the delta area as a result of indiscriminate urbanization.

On Dec. 19, 2013, Ayman Farid Abu Hadid, then-Minister of Agriculture, pointed out in television statements that the agricultural areas in Egypt did not exceed 8.5 million acres, and he said that the surface is very small compared to the large population. He stressed that the area needed by Egypt to cover the needs of its population goes up to 18 million acres.

The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics said April 5 that Egypt's population reached 92.75 million at home and 8 million people abroad. Thus, it added, Egypt has officially surpassed 100 million people, and the population growth rate reached 2.4%.

In a government effort to increase the size of agricultural lands, Prime Minister Ismail's government announced on Feb. 1, 2016, the start of the new Egyptian Countryside Development Company activities to reclaim 1.5 million acres with a capital of 8 billion Egyptian pounds ($441.9 million).

The spokesman for the Ministry of Agriculture, Hamed Abdel Dayem, told Al-Monitor that Sisi's initiative to reclaim all the usurped state land significantly contributed to confronting the mafia looting state lands, and several provinces succeeded over the past few days in completely recovering agricultural land from looters.

Maj. Gen. Khaled Said, the governor of al-Sharqiya province, announced May 26 that 736 cases of infringement covering 48,112 acres in al-Sharqiya have been eliminated.

Meanwhile, Dakahlia Gov. Ahmed al-Sharaoui announced May 20 that the governorate got rid of 90% of the cases of infringement on state property.

"Agricultural land is a national security issue, and its protection is a national duty because constructions on agricultural lands threaten food insecurity, especially in light of Egypt's food needs, dependence on imports and constantly increasing population," Abdel Dayem said.

A study by the National Center for Agricultural Research, a government agency, revealed on July 18, 2016, that Egypt imported 65% of its food needs, including 9 million tons of wheat, 6 million tons of corn and 1 million tons of soybean.

"I expect the state to declare soon that it has reclaimed all of its territory, has reversed all of the related encroachments and will prevent any further infringements on its territory, especially after the adoption of a new agriculture law," Abdel Dayem concluded.

The Egyptian parliament is currently discussing several bills to amend the current Agriculture Law and the provisions related to the penalties of building on agricultural land. Each bill includes different penalties for building on agricultural land ranging from fines of up to 5 million Egyptian pounds ($275,520) to up to five years' imprisonment. The parliament is seeking to increase the penalty in order to deter violators. In addition, some of the bills call for the establishment of a new police under the Ministry of the Interior under the name of the Agricultural Land Protection Police, which has an internal building and is responsible for eliminating any encroachment on agricultural lands as soon as it occurs.

Under the current law, offenders face a penalty of imprisonment and a fine ranging from 10,000 to 50,000 Egyptian pounds ($551 to $2,755), depending on the number of irregularities. The parliament's Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee is still discussing the draft laws for approval.
June 12, 2017

Using the momentum from a recent re-election and in an effort to live up to his campaign promises, President Hassan Rouhani is urging his countrys various power centers, particularly the countrys supreme leader, to push for peace and better ties with regional countries and world powers. However, with the recent attacks by the Islamic State (IS) and the attempt of some military officials to link those countries to the attack, Rouhanis message will have more difficulty getting through.

In a June 10 speech on the occasion of the birthday of the second Shiite imam, Hasan ibn Ali, who was known for seeking a truce with his enemies, Rouhani said, Patience and forbearance for peace is more difficult than patience and stamina in the field of war.

Recounting the early days of Islam, Rouhani said, Peace is more difficult than war. Sacrificing your life and bravery is a difficult thing, at the same time, tolerating peace is much more difficult than fighting. As evidence, Rouhani said that the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, used the expression drinking the poisoned chalice in reference to ending the Iran-Iraq war but never during the war.

Rouhanis comments that peace is more difficult than war made headlines and many observers seemed to construe them as a rebuke to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameneis comments about compromise. Earlier, Khamenei had said that making agreements with enemy countries and compromising has a price and that sometimes challenging and confronting countries, such as the United States, costs less than compromising.

Rouhani is also facing a public and military leadership that is dealing with the first-ever IS attack against Iran. This complicates Rouhanis message of peace and negotiations, particularly when military officials have attempted to draw links between the IS attack that left 17 dead and regional countries.

Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of the armed forces, said June 11 during a prepared speech on the occasion commemorating those killed by the IS attacks that there is no doubt that world powers and regional countries have dispatched terrorists. The three countries Bagheri named in his address were the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Bagheri issued a warning to Saudi Arabia to not support terrorists. He also said terrorists, and all the countries in and outside the region that support them, will be taught an unforgettable lesson.

Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ground forces, said June 11 that both IS and the world arrogant powers are targeting the personal and material resources of Muslims. Pakpour gave his speech in the border province of Sistan-Baluchistan, the home to a large community of Sunnis. He made sure to note that IS does not differentiate between the killing of Shiites and Sunnis.
June 12, 2017

TEHRAN, Iran  After weeks of heated campaigning and controversial televised debates, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani managed to secure a second term in the May 19 presidential elections. Now, with electoral passions considerably eased, the question of possible change in both Iran's domestic and foreign policy is being seriously raised, leading many observers to debate Rouhanis priorities and approaches in his second term.

When it comes to foreign policy, most of the discussions have been focused on the prospect of Irans relations with the West, and particularly the future of the nuclear deal under the new regional and international circumstances. However, another very important but highly overlooked issue is that of the future of Iran-Russia relations, which have in past years become a determinative factor in shaping developments in the Middle East  especially in Syria.

In analyzing the Iran-Russia relationship, it could be said that considering the current trend in relations as well as the official positions adopted regarding their bilateral ties, the next four years will be a period in which we will likely see an even closer partnership.

On the bilateral level, the two sides have been quick in clarifying their prospects in the coming years. Russian President Vladimir Putin was among the first world leaders who congratulated Rouhani on his convincing victory in the May 19 elections, reaffirming his readiness to develop the Tehran-Moscow partnership on bilateral and international issues. A week later, on May 27, the two leaders held a phone conversation in which they discussed a range of issues, from implementation of the nuclear deal to the situation in Syria. One particularly important part of the conversation was Putins underlining of Moscows commitment to further develop cooperation with Iran in the nuclear field on the basis of international law. On his part, Rouhani welcomed nuclear cooperation between the two countries, also stressing Irans willingness to also engage in closer cooperation in the fields of infrastructure, industry, energy and banking. He additionally stressed the necessity of strengthening the Tehran-Moscow partnership in Syria.

In terms of motives to strengthen ties with Russia, it could be argued that after having seen US President Donald Trumps increasingly confrontational policies toward Tehran, which has put the future of the nuclear deal in danger, Rouhani has come to the conclusion that normalization with the West is a rather hard task, especially while Trump is collaborating with Irans regional rivals. As such, Tehran needs to strengthen its current partnerships in order to balance the situation.

Furthermore, contrary to some previous suspicions about Russias real game plan in the Syrian arena, Moscow has so far treated Iran as a real partner and respected its fundamental interests in Syria. Meanwhile, Russias neutral approach toward the Iranian presidential elections removed some concerns that Moscow might take the side of the conservatives or even meddle in the electoral process. Therefore, it seems that Rouhani now sees an even more reliable partner in Russia than before, and this is why we should anticipate warmer Tehran-Moscow ties in his second term.

Indeed, the fact of the matter is that the two countries have already started the process of enhancing cooperation. On March 28, right after Rouhanis state visit to Moscow, some reports were published indicating that the two sides were planning to sign a memorandum on peaceful nuclear cooperation, which would include provisions on transportation of nuclear materials, coordination of joint activities and rules. In the economic sphere, Russias Energy Minister Alexander Novak announced June 2 that Tehran and Moscow had signed a revised oil-for-goods deal, which had previously stirred controversy.

Iran-Russia cooperation in Syria has been elevated to a new level after Russia formally named Iran as one of the three peacekeeping forces in Syria within the framework of its plan to establish de-escalation zones in the war-torn country.

Military cooperation aside, it was announced May 18 that Iran and Russia have taken the first step toward integrating their bank card systems, a move that could potentially facilitate tourism and micro-trade activities. At the same time, the two countries have reached agreements on facilitating visa requirements.

These two latter developments are of great significance because they indicate that for the first time in the history of their relationship, Iran and Russia are trying to break their sole concentration on cooperation at the governmental level and are becoming aware of the importance of people-to-people interactions. This could provide a kind of social infrastructure for their partnership, helping to at least ease some of the mutual mistrust.

Cooperation at the multilateral level is also becoming an increasingly important aspect of Iran-Russia relations. On May 29, Kazakh Minister of Economy Timur Suleimenov announced that the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) will finalize a free-trade pact with Iran by the end of 2017. Subsequent to these remarks, Iranian Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mahmoud Vaezi traveled to St. Petersburg on June 1 to discuss the pact with EEU officials. Such a deal could be regarded as the first step for Iran to have a role in Russias ambitious plan for an integrated economic zone in Eurasia.

Enhancing cooperation within the framework of the International North-South Transport Corridor has been another indication of more active Iran-Russia cooperation. Among the corridor's objectives are for it to connect Russia to India through Azerbaijan and Iran, thereby facilitating trade between all parties involved.

Another multilateral framework with the presence of both Iran and Russia is the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), in which Iran is an observer state. Ahead of the annual June 8-9 SCO summit in Kazakhstan, Russia declared that Iran should be the next state to become a full member of the organization.

This increasingly growing multilateral dimension, together with the abovementioned economic and social cooperation, are important and new elements in the Iran-Russia relationship. If realized, they could elevate the nature of Tehran-Moscow relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
June 9, 2017

Although the official Iraqi position indicates that Iraq has been neutral vis-a-vis the escalating crisis between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the recent rapprochement between Iraq and Qatar as well as the sympathetic attitudes of Iraqi politicians with Qatar tell a different story.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said June 6, commenting on the Gulf crisis, Iraq is not taking any side. We are maintaining good relations with all countries.

Meanwhile, Iraqi parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri made an official visit to Doha on June 4 to discuss ways for bilateral cooperation between Iraq and Qatar and investment opportunities for cooperation at various levels.

The emir of Qatar, in his meeting with Jabouri, stressed the importance of Iraq in the region and the need to consolidate bilateral relations between the two countries, and establish special relations between Qatar and Iraq.

The Financial Times reported that Qatar has been providing substantial financial support to Iraqi Shiite military organizations recently, showing that there is a clear Iraqi-Qatari rapprochement.

The foreign minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, made an unprecedented visit to Iraq at the end of May, where he met with Abadi and said Qatar will open an embassy in Baghdad in the near future.

The timing of Thani's visit, when the crisis was escalating rapidly between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, conveyed a clear message to Saudi Arabia that Iraq is not only taking a stance with Qatar against it, but it is very likely to take advantage of this crisis for regional political interest associated with Iran's axis against that of Saudi Arabia.

Hoshyar Zebari, who served as foreign minister and finance minister, criticized Jabouris visit to Qatar. The timing of the visit was bad, he said. The visit had clear goals. What was Jabouri doing in Doha? Is it to mediate to ease the Gulf crisis? Or to make contacts with Iraqis for reconciliation purposes? Did he ask for financial support for him and for his party in the upcoming elections?

Jabouri, a Sunni Muslim, belongs to the Iraqi Islamic Party, which espouses an Islamic ideology associated with the Muslim Brotherhood, which in turn enjoys considerable support from Qatar. This support is the main bone of contention between Saudi Arabia and its allies the United Arab Emirates and Egypt with Qatar.

Controversial Sunni parliament member Mishaan al-Jubouri went beyond offering Qatar political support, as he announced his willingness to send 10,000 Iraqi fighters among his followers to defend Qatar and stand in the face of the danger of Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies.

He said, We will not allow Saudi Arabia and its allies to score a win against Qatar or turn its regime to one that is loyalist to them."

Jubouri also considered Saudi Arabia to be the regions center of evil, saying, Iraq will not know stability until Saudi Arabia is disintegrated as it is the center of evil." He noted that if Saudi Arabia succeeds in strong-arming Qatar, its threat to Iraq will be greater and therefore it is in Iraqs best interest to support Qatar.

Supporting Qatar is not limited to Sunni groups in Iraq but to Shiites as well, who until recently were accusing Doha of supporting terrorist groups. They appear to change their views, calling for the need to embrace and show solidarity with the Qataris in the face of the Saudi threats. The State of Law Coalition, led by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, called upon the Iraqi government in a June 7 statement to stand with Qatar to deter any military aggression against it by the Saudi axis.

Mohammed al-Sahyoud, a parliament member and a leader in the State of Law Coalition, said June 5, Qatar feels its previous policy supporting terrorism is wrong and is now trying to change it. Qatar ought to be welcomed and embraced by the other axis, including Russia, Iran, Syria and Iraq.

The sudden change of positions is not something new in Iraq. During Maliki's rule, Iraq issued an official complaint against the Syrian regime before the United Nations, accusing it of harboring Baathists who fled Iraq and of being involved in recruiting suicide bombers. Iraq reneged on its position after the outbreak of the Syrian revolution in 2011. Maliki and his affiliated parties and groups became the biggest supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against his opponents.

In contrast to the calls of supporting Qatar, another camp in Iraq is calling for the role of mediator between the two sides without any bias, as this could place Iraq in a critical position, at a time the country is suffering from security, economic and political crises.

The Shiite National Alliance announced that its leader Ammar al-Hakim intends to visit three Gulf countries including Qatar to mediate to end the conflict.

Adel Abdul Mahdi, a leader of Hakim's Islamic Supreme Council, also called for a unilateral stance in the current crisis. "Iraq must play a unifying role, finding a common ground with all Iraqi components," he said.

Al-Monitor learned from a source in the National Alliances supreme political committee that Baghdad has submitted a proposal to hold a meeting between the conflicting parties in the capital in an attempt to reach a peaceful solution that would be satisfactory to all parties.

The head of Iran's Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaei also proposed a meeting in Baghdad upon the official invitation of the Islamic conference to discuss the crisis in Qatar with the Gulf states.

It does not seem that Iraq has a unified strategic policy toward the current crisis in order to invest it to enhance its national interests.
June 12, 2017

On May 30, various playwrights, directors and other artists announced their withdrawal from the Acre Festival of Alternative Theater, in which they were scheduled to take part in October 2017, following the organizers decision to ban the play Prisoners of the Occupation by Einat Weitzman. Their boycott of the play is another stage in the culture war being waged in Israel in recent years. The ban was not the result of a direct order by Culture Minister Miri Regev, who since taking office in 2015 has made it her practice to intervene in the contents of publicly funded events. But her activities have clearly created a threatening climate that limits free expression and leads theaters to practice self-censorship so as not to clash with her and endanger their funding.

The Israeli Actors Union called on all its 2,300 members not to take part in the festival and not to fill in for the artists who have withdrawn in protest. Theater actors throughout Israel have read statements of support to their audiences at the end of performances: We support our fellow creators in their move and call on you to protect freedom of expression in the State of Israel.

Prisoners of the Occupation, based on real stories and letters by Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel, was presented to the festivals steering committee for review by the events artistic director, Avi Gibson Bar-El. Over the years, the committee has steered clear of intervening in the contents of the festival, sticking to administrative issues. This year, its members  representatives of Acre municipality, government officials and former festival directors  voted to remove the play from the program. Last year, the festival featured Weitzman's play Palestine, Year Zero, about Palestinians whose homes had been demolished by Israel. Its star, Palestinian actor George Ibrahim, was chosen as the festivals best actor. In an interview with Al-Monitor at the time, he said he felt it was his duty to participate because Jews dont see and arent interested in the other side.

Last year, Regev had demanded that Weitzmans play be banned, claiming that no country, not even the State of Israel, would fund performances that undermine its existence. The play nonetheless went on. This year, the steering committee did Regevs job for her. All she had to do was jeer at the playwright and suggest that she put on her play in the Palestinian West Bank city of Ramallah rather than in Israel.

One of Israels top playwrights, Yehoshua Sobol, also canceled his participation in the festival with the play Shkulim. In a conversation with Al-Monitor, Sobol said, The fact that last year a play with George Ibrahim was performed and this year theres such a major fuss proves we are on a dangerous slippery slope. This isnt even censorship. This is throwing out a creators play without even seeing it, simply because of the subject matter and because it involved Einat Weitzman. Sobol said the steering committee that disqualified the play did not even read its synopsis. The minute you ban a subject, you bring down an iron curtain on an entire part of our lives that cannot be touched or talked about, he added.

Sobol shares the view of the various artists organizations in Israel that Regevs previous activities led the festivals organizers to rule out the play on their own initiative simply because of the issue with which it deals. The wind blowing from the ministries of culture and education (both headed by outspoken right-wing politicians) leads actors to acts of self-castration that are even more serious than self-censorship because they stop them from being artists, he said.

The Acre Festival of Alternative Theater was founded in 1980 by director Oded Kotler and produced by the municipality of the mixed Jewish-Arab coastal town in northern Israel. Many of the theater groups participating in the festival originate from outside the mainstream of Israeli theater. Several of the plays on the program are fringe and avant-garde works that are not featured on establishment stages. Since its inception, the theater has provided a platform for theater and performances critical of trends and events in Israeli society.

Director Alon Tiran told Al-Monitor that the artists who decided to pull out of the festival were motivated by solidarity with their colleagues, but their actions are primarily a struggle for freedom of expression. Last year an attempt was made by Minister Regev to intervene in Weitzmans play. The Ministry of Culture demanded to read the script, and the very agreement by the festival directors last year to let the minister read the play brought us to a play being banned [this year]. Tiran said the artists warned members of the steering committee that the move could derail the proud tradition of the festival and even result in its downfall, but they were not swayed.

Tiran is directing Sobols play "Shkulim," which tells of two bereaved families, one Palestinian, the other Israeli, who meet on the eve of the national Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers. The play is particularly relevant this year, several weeks after right-wing activists rioted at a joint rally of bereaved Israeli and Palestinian parents held in Tel Aviv. How can a creation such as ours take part in a festival of alternative theater which has been robbed of the freedom and right to make other voices heard? Tiran asked.

The artists who withdrew from the festival are seeking an alternative venue to stage their plays. They say they have been approached by municipalities and private entities throughout the country for talks to establish an alternative festival. Tiran added, Our protest is not expressed only by boycott. Its also expressed by putting on these important plays and demonstrating that one must not surrender to attempts to trample our freedom to make other voices heard.
June 12, 2017

Last weeks historic decision by the Kurdistan Regional Government to hold a long heralded referendum on Kurdish independence from Iraq has elicited a flurry of international reactions. The vote, to be held Sept. 25, will cover disputed territories claimed by the Kurds and Baghdad alike, most notably the oil-rich province of Kirkuk.

It's always been a given that the blessings of one regional neighbor  Turkey, Iran or potential future neighbor Iraq  and that of the United States are necessary for an independent Kurdistan to be politically and economically viable. Deciphering these countrys respective responses may help shed light on where the Iraqi Kurds' bid to redraw borders stands. But reading between the lines is not always easy because often Baghdad will look to Tehran, as Washington will to Baghdad, and Ankara to all three and vice versa, as they calibrate their own positions.

As ever, the US reaction was mixed. The State Department repeated the standard line that the United States supports a unified, stable, democratic and a federal Iraq." But it also said that it recognized the legitimate aspirations of the Kurdish people. Its main quibble seemed to be over the timing of the referendum, which might distract from the fight against the Islamic State. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi could decide, for instance, to withhold future US funds used to pay Kurdish fighters salaries. The other big worry is how this will affect Washingtons efforts to shore up Abadi internally ahead of critical parliamentary elections in 2018.

In private conversations, a growing number of administration officials concede that Kurdish independence from Iraq is inevitable and there is little they can do to delay the referendum. All signs suggest that Washington will likely do nothing to actively oppose Iraqi Kurdish independence, nor will it overtly encourage it, and hope that the sides will sort things out among themselves.

Unsurprisingly, the central government in Baghdad sounded far more unhappy with the KRGs announcement. Abadi also appeared to take issue with the timing rather than with the referendum itself, a possible indication that he hopes to sustain Kurdish support for his own political calculations. Abadi said in April, The desire of our Kurdish brothers to create a country of their own is theirs.  But holding a referendum at this time is not right as the IS war still rages, the regions situation is not suitable and some neighboring countries believes this move poses a threat to the nation security themselves.

Abadi was referring to Iran and Turkey, which have their own large and restive Kurdish minorities. Irans reaction, however, was unusually muted and gave little away. The Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, The Kurdistan Region is part of the Iraqi republic and unilateral decisions outside the national and legal framework, especially the Iraqi constitution  can only lead to new problems.

Iraqi Kurdish leaders often privately claim that they can survive without Irans support, provided they have that of the United States and Turkey. And the United States is even more unlikely to oppose Kurdish independence if its NATO ally Turkey doesnt.

It is undisputed that as things stand, Turkey holds the key, or rather the spigot, to Iraqi Kurdistans economic survival. In May 2014, the KRG began exporting oil, its main source of revenue, independently via a newly built pipeline to Turkey. That Ankara agreed to allow the Iraqi Kurds to use Turkish export terminals to sell their oil was seen as the surest sign yet of Turkeys tacit acceptance if not outright encouragement of eventual Kurdish statehood. At the same time, several thousand Turkish troops deployed in Kurdish-controlled areas of Iraq are viewed, at least for the moment, as insurance against Iran-backed Shiite militias and the Kurdistan Workers Party, a rival armed Kurdish group that is seeking to deepen its influence in northern Iraq.

Many may be left wondering why Turkeys reaction to the referendum announcement was so harsh. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim called it irresponsible and the Foreign Ministry said it was a grave mistake. Today, government spokesman Numan Kurtulmus declared that Turkey is in favor of Iraqs territorial integrity.

Aydin Selcen, Turkeys first ever consul general to Erbil, whose appointment in 2010 formalized the dramatic turnaround in Turkeys ties with the Iraqi Kurds, told Al-Monitor, In Turkeys prevailing system, the sole [reaction] worthy of attention is what the president does, not even what he says. So far, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has not uttered a peep.

Bilal Wahab, a Soref fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, agrees. He told Al-Monitor, I dont think President [Massoud] Barzani would have moved ahead with setting a date for the referendum if a Turkish red light was in place. He went on, That may not mean a green light, either. Turkish rhetoric  calling the referendum a grave mistake  is to be expected given Turkish internal politics.

Turkey will hold three elections in 2019  municipals in March and presidential and parliamentary ones in November. Thus, Erdogan needs to strike a careful balance between his nationalist and Kurdish conservative base. But his silence strongly suggests that, as both Selcen and Wahab say, Turkeys single most powerful figure is on board. And that may be assurance enough for Barzani. As Selcen noted, after all, Holding a referendum and declaring independence are not the same things. In the meantime, there is plenty of mischief that can be done by those who oppose an independent Kurdistan and above all by the perpetually squabbling Kurds themselves.
June 12, 2017

Syria is living through its seventh Ramadan since the 2011 revolution. This year, however, many aspects are different, as a major part of the country has been destroyed and major demographic changes have been brought about by large waves of displaced people and the emigration of millions of Syrians. In many families, at least one of their members has been killed, arrested or abducted, and this affects the daily Ramadan rituals.

The northwest Syrian city of Idlib, which serves as a refuge for many civilians and opposition fighters, is now inhabited by Syrians who have been gradually displaced from Rif Dimashq, Homs and Aleppo and who came to live with the citys native residents.

The regime lost control of Idlib in March 2015, and moderate and extremist opposition factions now control the city. The city no longer receives water or electrical services previously provided by the regime, and though a truce has been reached, Idlib bears the scars of repeated shelling. Now that several years have passed since the regime lost control there, people have learned to cope with the new lifestyle. New customs, including new Ramadan rituals, have emerged.

During Ramadan, Muslims pray more than they usually do. They visit each other much more often and do more charity work. And while people have maintained their religious rituals, there are social habits that changed because of the war. The lack of government-provided utilities and cleaning services has affected evening Ramadan feasts, as well as suhoor, an early meal Muslim families eat before fasting begins.

Mohammed Ahmad, a journalist from Homs al-Waer neighborhood, is currently based in Idlib. He told Al-Monitor that the displaced newcomers brought along their own customs and traditions. Now that we live in Idlib, we miss Homs Ramadan spirit, the decorations, the festivities and the busy markets. And since Homs residents take their ideas and customs wherever they go, they are now rolling out the Homs folk culture in Idlib, as they sing folkloric songs from Homs on the streets and spread the Homs culinary delights across the Idlib markets amid high demand. Also, some of those who came from Homs opened their own shops in Idlib.

Ramadan feasts offer a variety of dishes, some of which are specifically for Ramadan, such as certain sweets and licorice syrup. These feasts bring the family together.

Abdel Karim al-Bayoosh, a photographer in Idlib city, told Al-Monitor, There isn't one family in Idlib that has not lost at least one of its members. Some of those were either killed by the shelling or in battles waged over the past six years. Others are still detained in regime or opposition prisons, while others left the city to fight elsewhere and cannot return now that borders have changed and some areas have been besieged."

He noted that the city is calm now because of the truce, reached May 4 in Astana, Kazakhstan, "which breathed new life into the streets of a city that was on its deathbed.

The economic situation in Idlib differs among social classes. Some families are well off, with an income generated by business projects or from foreign relief organizations. Other families have a middle income and live by trading or have jobs that pay low salaries in Syrian pounds.

The humanitarian situation in the city is stable because of the truce, which involves four different areas in Syria: Idlib, Damascus Ghouta, the northern countryside of Homs and part of Daraa province. The pact is scheduled to remain in force for six months.

"The commodity prices in Idlib are relatively acceptable, and while there are well-off families, there are other families living with the bare minimum," Bayoosh said. However, "The families living below the poverty line are very few. During Ramadan, humanitarian [groups] organize a great many charitable activities, and rich people distribute food to the poor. Goods are widely available on the market, and most of them are imported from Turkey, with prices constantly changing depending on the import and transportation fees, as well as oil prices. Vegetables and meat, however, are from local farms.

Although the majority of Idlib is Muslim, dozens of Christian families lived there, and hundreds of families lived in the countryside. There are also several Druze villages in rural Idlib. They all took part in Ramadan with Muslims as a social ritual.

However, a Christian resident of Idlib who fled the city after the opposition took control of it in March 2015 told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that the battles and the spread of extremists in the city made life impossible there. We stayed in the city up until it was liberated from the Syrian regime forces. However, the chaos that ensued, the spread of Sharia courts and the presence of foreign extremists made life impossible there. A Christian father and his son were executed on March 30, 2015, in Idlib for owning a liquor store, and this prompted several minorities to feel the heat.

As a result of the cultural differences, Ramadan can differ from one city to another in Syria. Ramadan is celebrated in opposition areas differently from regime areas, where a kind of censorship is imposed by the regime intelligence force on mosques, as the Syrian revolution started in mosques. Religious slogans are also restricted, especially in Damascus.

Neveen al-Dalati, a presenter at Radio al-Kull, told Al-Monitor, The regime has imposed tightened security measures at mosques in Damascus, and there are a lot of cases where people visiting mosques were arrested for no apparent reason. Such measures were less strict before 2011, but Damascus has turned into an army barracks in the past few years.
June 12, 2017

Iraq's central government for years has opposed the sale of Iraqi oil by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq. The KRGs biggest oil sale was with Turkey in 2014, and at one time the dispute reached a crisis level with parties accusing each other of misreading the [Iraqi] Constitution." However, as the oil argument was growing, the Islamic State (IS) invaded Mosul in northern Iraq. When IS began to threaten the nearby Kurdish region, oil squabbles were put on the back burner. Still, the KRG quietly continued its oil trade.

The KRG had serious problems coping simultaneously with the war with IS and its economic crisis. Now, with the IS threat diminishing, the oil trade is back on the agenda as the KRG energetically pursues more oil deals. The first major recent agreement was just made with geographically distant but politically near Russia.

The KRGs presence at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, held June 1-3, was seen as routine. But news of an oil accord focused attention on the Kurds. KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani signed a 20-year-long oil deal with Russias Rosneft. According to the June 2 agreement, Russia will buy Kurdish oil and refine it in Germany. As a first step, Russia will invest $3 billion in KRG territory.

The deal continues and reinforces one signed in February on the purchase and sale of crude for 2017-19, according to Kurdish news website Rudaw. The deal gives Rosneft access to regional transport with a throughput capacity of 700,000 barrels per day (bpd), which will be expanded to as much as 1 million bpd by the end of this year, Rosneft said in a statement.

Now Russia  along with the United States and Turkey  is also a key player in the Kurdish oil market. But does this new client signify more than just money for the region?

According to Jabbar Kadir, who had served as an adviser to former KRG Prime Minister Barham Salih, the Russians see the Kurds as key players in the future of the region.

Russia believes Iraq will be divided, if not into three states, [then] at least into three federal regions. That is why [Russia] has slowed down working with the central government. If Baghdad opposes the deal, the KRG and Russians will tell them, You are making deals with Americans. They explore oil in the Kurdish region. We will do the same, Kadir told Al-Monitor.

You cannot ignore the political ramifications of all this. Until now, Turkey used to manage the oil affairs of Kurdistan and impose its own conditions. It wont be able to do this with Rosneft. That is why this is a landmark deal for the future of Kurdistan. But there has to be transparency. People should be told what the deal is, how much the Russians will earn and how much the Kurds [will get], he added.

And how will the United States and Turkey react to their shares of the pie getting smaller? Kadir believes the United States wont be all that happy with the deal. The Kurds must have consulted Ankara and Washington in advance so as not to upset the Americans too much, as they know the United States has strategic ties with Iraq.

Aydin Selcen, a former diplomat and Turkeys first consul general to Erbil, thinks Rosnefts purchase of KRG crude oil is a significant move. He told Al-Monitor that the key aspect of the deal will be Rosnefts use of the KRG pipeline and eventually increasing its capacity. Selcan doesnt think the deal will lead to major tensions among Ankara, Baghdad and Erbil, though some repercussions are likely.

We dont know if Ankara had advance notice of the deal, but given Nechirvan Barzanis frequent visits to Turkey and his friendly relations with [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan, this was likely. Now a heavy player like Rosneft is going to buy Kurdish oil and refine it in its Germany facilities. There have to be political consequences. It is likely that some in Ankara are already thinking about how it will all affect Turkey, Selcen added.

The KRG doesnt care who its customers are; it doesn't want to be limited to a single buyer. The more diversified the customers, the better for the Kurdish economy. There is no doubt that the Russian oil deal strengthens the hands of the Kurdish administration. If the controversial Kurdish independence referendum scheduled for September ends with a yes vote, the oil deal could play a major role toward independence. The pact with Russia could actually encourage the Kurds to put aside their controversial goal of reaching the Mediterranean to market their natural resources, as the deal means their oil and natural gas will reach the sea regardless.
June 9, 2017

In the deepening crisis between Qatar and a Saudi-led coalition, Ankara faces yet another test of its rhetoric versus its actual abilities. Ankara tried to give the impression of being a mediator in the first two days of the crisis but suddenly made a dramatic reversal and adopted a pro-Qatar position. Ankara cannot easily resume its mediator role, especially since the parliament authorized Turkey to send 3,000-5,000 soldiers to Qatar, which allows them to assist with internal security should there be mass popular movements against the rule of Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed ties with Qatar a week ago, accusing it of supporting terrorism, which Doha denies.

Two legislative documents constituting the basis of military cooperation between Qatar and Turkey had been waiting for parliamentary approval for more than a year. One of them was the protocol signed in Doha in December 2015 that calls for deployment of Turkish troops in Qatar. The protocol cites as its objective modernization of Qatari military institutions, diversifying military training, [and supporting] defense capabilities and facilities of the Qatari armed forces through training and exercises.

About 90 Turkish military personnel currently are stationed temporarily at a former British base 15 miles from Doha. That number now can be boosted to a brigade-level task force of 5,000 troops made up of a joint headquarters staff, coordination council, support units, infantry, and air and naval components. The protocol also authorizes the parties to exchange training programs, experiences and knowledge, and provide each other with advisory services.

A parliamentary source in Ankara who didnt want to be identified said the project for a Turkish military base was held up in the Turkish parliament because of complacency and foot-dragging of Qatari authorities in allotting a permanent base for the Turkish troops. The source said Ankara was truly annoyed by the Qatari attitude, but since the crisis erupted, Qatar has sped up the process.

Other legislation that was awaiting Turkish parliamentary approval was the Protocol on Cooperation on Gendarmerie Training. The document authorizes Turkey to assign as many gendarmerie personnel as necessary to provide training in internal security, in combating smuggling and organized crime, and to control mass public protests.

After the diplomatic crisis began a week ago, the Turkish parliament processed those two documents with incredible speed and approved them instantly. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is thereby fully authorized, without worrying about contravening any domestic legislation, to increase the strength of current Turkish army units consisting of infantry, military engineer, combat support units and special forces elements and, more significantly, to dispatch Turkish gendarmerie forces to confront internal security threats the Al Thani regime may face. Both documents have carefully underlined that Turkish soldiers and gendarmerie units dispatched to Qatar will not be involved in operational missions but will provide military training and advice.

But what if the crisis deepens? If mass protests break out in Qatar or if there is a threat to the personal safety and rule of the emir, could Erdogan  who regularly refers to Al Thani as my brother  then dispatch troops on operational missions to protect him? Experts say there is no legal or political impediment to prevent Erdogan from doing it.

Here we must refer to a news report that cited a document of the Qatari Embassy in Ankara saying that on July 16, 2016, one day after the July 15 Turkish coup attempt, a 150-strong elite unit of Qatari special forces had come to Ankara for close-quarters protection of Erdogan and stayed in Ankara for four days.

Ankara has not denied this four-month-old report. If the report is factual, one can be sure Erdogan would definitely respond in kind should Al Thani and his family need it.

I personally feel that a young emir who had been ambitiously working to promote the Qatari way of thinking and doing things will eventually give in to the demands of the Saudi-led bloc. If Al Thanis behavior does not change and if he does not affirmatively respond to US President Donald Trumps call for a meeting at the White House to discuss the matter, he could wind up being ousted.

To resolve the problem, then, I feel a plot to depose Al Thani would likely be a US-endorsed, Saudi-led military intervention. This coups overall objective would be to replace the emir, with a view to bringing Qatar under the same level of Saudi influence and control as Bahrain.

In Ankara, this is a nightmare scenario widely discussed in government circles. Many Turkish officials fear the crisis could end with Al Thani giving in to demands of "Bahrainization"  that is, just a pretense of independence but governed from Riyadh. If he resists, he would be removed from the throne.

Al Thani's fate is a vital matter. If he does not comply with US and Saudi Arabia demands, massive street protests could start in Qatar. If this happens, the Qatari military would be unlikely to offer an effective response. Then, a decision by high-profile members of the Al Attiyah and Al Thani families could be to abandon the emir and side with US-endorsed Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates rather than militarily escalate the crisis.

Now everyone's wondering how the emir will respond to Trumps invitation to the White House to discuss the crisis.

In Turkey, eyes are on Erdogan. If the crisis deepens and the emirs situation becomes more precarious, we will have to wait and see what Erdogan will do for his bosom buddy, who has proved his friendship many times over. Here, we have to keep in mind the increasing disparity between what Turkey wants to do and what it can actually do in the Middle East.

Well-placed military sources in Ankara who wanted to remain anonymous said Turkey intends to deploy infantry first and then a naval force in Qatar. Deployment of Turkish F-16 fighter jets would come in the third phase. Military cargo planes would be used for logistical support of the base.

The major test awaiting Ankara is how to reconcile what Turkey actually can do with the personal brotherhood bond of the two leaders.
Summer is the perfect time to hit the road and explore our state. We've got four types of road trips that will take you all over the state to experience its wonder.

CAVE CRAWLERS



One of the highest densities of caves in the world lies just beneath us, with 4,100 known caves in Alabama (there are 17,000 known caves in the U.S.). Naturally, the National Speleological Society is based in Huntsville, where 240 caves are found within the city limits.

The best caving sinks beneath North Alabama, where limestone has eroded away, leaving underground caverns, streams, and even waterfalls. Few places are cooler, literally, than caves. The average year-round temperature is around a crisp 60 degrees, making caves a refreshing choice for summer road trips. Alabama's caves teem with life, most of which is made up of rare species. Biologists speculate that when cave life in Alabama is fully documented, we will rise to the top two in biodiversity in the country, up from number five.

In a cave in Lauderdale County, the Alabama cavefish swims blissfully unaware that it is the rarest of all vertebrate species. On summer nights, Sauta Cave National Wildlife Refuge hosts the largest emergence of bats east of the Mississippi--300,000--and extra bonus, no mosquitoes. This Scottsboro cave provides a maternity room for endangered gray bats and a minor hibernation ceiling for endangered Indiana bats. Entering a cave takes you into a world of strange formations and echoes of every footstep. Alabama State Parks operate two easy-to-tour public caves, Cathedral Caverns and Rickwood Caverns. Cathedral, in Woodville, boasts an enormous, grand entrance and Goliath, one of the largest stalagmites in the world. The big guy stretches 45 feet with a girth of 243 feet. Warrior's Rickwood calls its tour the "Miracle Mile" of living formations. You can see 300 million-year-old fossils in the walls.

Many a Boy Scout has slept in Desoto Caverns while listening to his dad's snoring bounce off the rock walls. This private cavern in Childersburg has been used by Native Americans, moonshiners, and mined for Civil War gunpowder. The laser light show is a must-see.

In Huntsville, the Land Trust of North Alabama will tour you through Three Caves, where they also hold parties where you can dance under the limestone. In Manitou Cave in Fort Payne, you can take everything from a semi-wild to extreme-wild cave tour. Be sure to tap the drum rock to hear the sound vibrate throughout the cave.

For a wilder cave adventure, The Southeastern Cave Conservancy manages 12 Alabama caves, from Shelby to Jackson County. They provide permits and access to caves known for their natural beauty and rare wildlife. Some of them feature deep pits for a challenge to your upper body strength. Beware of the "Blue Squeeze," a two-foot high crawl space in the popular Tumbling Rock Cave.

For the less energetic caver, the Rattlesnake Saloon offers bands, beers, and burgers. This Tuscumbia cave bar stands out as a watering hole with its own waterfall coming off the bluff. It's a fine place to stop and cure your thirst after a long day of caving. Or, accept a ride to the stony restaurant and indulge your caving craving over a pile of Skunk Onion Rings.





BELLY-BUSTING BARBECUE



If you have never made the pilgrimage to Big Bob Gibson's in Decatur, you haven't reached the Mecca of Alabama Barbecue. The ribs alone are reminiscent of a religious experience. In the original location on Highway 31, there are so many giant trophies you can barely squeeze through the entrance, making exiting after a large plate of 'cue even more challenging. With a long list of World Champion titles, this white sauce--yes, white sauce--barbecue joint remains a delicious anomaly in our great state of barbecue. While no one would ever trust a pork man called Little Bob, the big man left his restaurant to his family and it is now in the capable hands of great-granddaughter Amy and her husband, Chris Lilly, who is building his own legend as a pitmaster.

It's a short drive from Big Bob's to Madison, where another anomaly, and near sacrilege, is offered in the form of Texas-style beef barbecue. The Chuck Wagon BBQ slices custom brisket and half-beef, half-pork sausage, You can expect a vinegar sauce to cleanse your palate in preparation for a return to pork at the Old Greenbrier Restaurant. Don't miss their hushpuppies. After, slide over to Florence for some tangy barbecue slaw with a twist of mustard, reminiscent of the Carolinas, at Bunyan's Bar-B-Que. The ribs are smothered in a sweet candied glaze, with an edge of spiciness. Chase it with homemade banana pudding.

For a shorter drive, hop on I-20 and head for Pell City, where Wade Reich is smoking up Butts To Go. Wade spent 21 years working in the food industry in London and Paris, before returning home to open a Texaco Station. When gas prices dropped, the smoker lit up, and he now sells more food than gas. Along this path, you can stop at Rusty's Bar-B-Q in Leeds, where an open pit dominates the kitchen and taste. Heading south, stop in Greenville for BBQ 65, in a gas station right off the Pine Apple Highway exit. Greenville offers a selection of gas station barbecue, so save room in your stomach for Real Pitt at Exit 130. On the way to the beach, the Depot Chevron in Foley offers pulled pork sandwiches and a romantic table in the motor oil section. Hog Wild on Gulf Shores Parkway introduces a young generation of smokers who dare to use pecan wood and white sauce, and even offer three versions of red sauce: tangy, sweet, and spicy.

If you turn toward Mobile, The Brick Pit slaps out ribs worthy of the accolades scribbled on the walls by happy customers. On Government Street, "fire, smoke, and love" blend together in Saucy Q Bar B Q's pulled pork and ribs. Their red sauce adds sweetness to the heat and compliments the meat--let them know if you are a dipper.

In the restaurant world, barbecue celebrates a careless abandonment of formality--focusing on the smoker and the pit, rather than tablecloths or even chairs. Who, other than a 'cue aficionado, would excitedly pull up to a gas station, or a shack, or just a smoker, fully expecting one of the best meals you've ever eaten?





HISTORY LESSONS

History is rarely pretty, but always is fascinating, and lucky for us, Alabama offers more than its share of events that changed the shape of the nation. Montgomery routinely makes the list of the most historic cities in America--and much of that is focused on Dexter Avenue. At one end of Dexter is the Capitol Building, where representatives voted to secede from the Union, at the opposite end is where the telegram was sent ordering forces to fire on Fort Sumter. Jefferson Davis took the oath of office on the steps. Next to the building stands the White House of the Confederacy. On those same steps, Martin Luther King, Jr. dared to declare "how long, not long." From his office window, George Wallace could see Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, where MLK strategized to end Jim Crow policies. Farther down, Rosa Parks got on a bus. A fountain marks the area of the old slave market. From Civil Rights to Civil War--and add in Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald, the Wright Brothers, and the bars stool Hank Williams regularly fell off of in Chris' Hot Dogs--you've got enough to fill a history book.

Heading towards Wetumpka, Fort Toulouse - Fort Jackson Park routinely celebrates Alabama history with living re-enactors. Archaeologists date this site back to the Mississippian period. Hernando Desoto's army passed through in the 1540s and reported large, tiered villages, much like Moundville (another great road trip). The French occupied it from 1717 until 1763. Andrew Jackson built it back and the Creeks surrendered here. The re-enactors dress as if from the time of the Creek Indian Wars (as both Creeks and soldiers) every third Saturday. The French Garrison re-enactors gather every April and November for

Pioneer Days.

Old Cahawba preserves its ghosts near Selma. This early Alabama capitol lost its designation due to floods and other mishaps that drove it to extinction. Events throughout the year trace the bloody battle of Mabila between Desoto and Chief Tascauza, the Civil War prison camp for Union soldiers, and the early efforts of its African-American community to seek freedom.

If you are interested in Civil War history, Fort Gaines and Fort Morgan on the Gulf Coast routinely offer reenactments and history tours. Re-enactors also can be found in Northport, Tannehill, and other battle sites.

In 1950, 200 German scientists moved to a quiet city in North Alabama. They would soon change Huntsville and the world. Wernher von Braun and his team earned the city its nickname "Rocket City" for their work in the Space Race. You can still tour the U.S. Space and Rocket Center and meet some of the team, who hang out at displays related to their work.

Music history sounds out of Muscle Shoals where the greats came to make music. 3614 Jackson Highway, the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, recently re-opened with an accurate renovation that includes the "john" where Keith Richards wrote "Wild Horses," the couch where Joe Cocker rolled a record-setting joint, and where Cher posed for an album cover. Nearby, FAME started it all with a recording of an elevator operator (Arthur Alexander) and a hospital orderly (Percy Sledge). At one time, this small town ruled the Billboard charts.





NATURE TRAILS



As one of the top five states in biodiversity, Alabama glories in nature trails. From ridges and valleys to prairies to coastal plains, there are abundant nature trails easily reached on a road trip for hiking enthusiasts. These are just a few.

Starting at the top of the state with the most difficult hike, head to Scottsboro and the Walls of Jericho. This deep canyon follows the aptly named Paint Rock River, which offers a rainbow of colorful rock formations. Davy Crockett, who hunted in the area, gave the canyon its name. In the spring, the Cerulean Warbler sings in the forest, sounding like a flute in the woods.

The Sipsey Wilderness near Warrior Mountain Trading Post in Moulton utters quiet testimony to the tenacity of a small group of women who led the charge in getting it declared as the first wilderness site east of the Mississippi. This exquisite site features some of the last stands of virgin forest in the state. The wild and scenic Sipsey River runs through it. Banks of bluebells can be seen in the spring. One of the best ways to access these trails, as well as the Bankhead National Forest, is through Wild South, an organization devoted to protecting and promoting Southern wilderness.

Aaron Burr and Butch Cassidy both allegedly hid out in Dismals Canyon to escape justice. Chickasaw Indians were held captive here before walking the Trail of Tears. This Phil Campbell-area canyon looks like the perfect place to film a dinosaur movie with its primeval forest, thundering waterfalls, and breathtaking geologic features. In summer, the Dismalites (insect larvae) glow on the walls, resembling stars in the night sky. This rare phenomenon occurs at Dismals and in New Zealand and nowhere else on earth. You can also go to nearby Cane Creek Canyon and see the Dismalites, waterfalls, and stunning vistas for free.

Everyone should visit what the old-timers call the "piney woods." Longleaf pine forests once dominated the eastern U.S. until its "heart pine" built the nation. The once 90-million-acre forest is reduced to 3 million, and much of it is in Alabama. Longleaf trees depend on fire to open their seeds and weed out competitors, resulting in a cathedral-like forest with blue spring ponds and pitcher plant bogs. Visit Open Pond in the Conecuh National Forest in Andalusia. If you want to imagine what Christopher Columbus saw when he hit North America, walk the Pine Beach Trail at Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge. This intact dune ecosystem hosts a unique water feature--a saltwater lagoon on one side and a freshwater lake on the other.

Were dinosaurs in Alabama? Technically no, but at the Barber Marina in Elberta, you can enjoy the fear and loathing of seeing a T-Rex in fight mode in the forest, along with several other prehistoric reptiles. If you barge far enough into the pine trees, you will find our very own Bamahenge--a fiberglass replica of England's original. Be sure to visit the Lady in the Lake while you are pondering pre-history.



For more information: The best way for novices to visit these trails is to join groups like Fresh Air Family for guided tours.

--By Verna Gates | Photos from The Department of Alabama Tourism, The Alabama Media Group Archives, and Verna Gates

This story appears in Birmingham magazine's June 2017 issue. Subscribe today!
The first thing notorious outlaw Alexander Franklin "Frank" James did upon arriving in Huntsville in 1884 to stand trial was write a brief letter to let his wife know he arrived safely. If you have an extra $6,602 lying around, you can own this historical piece of mail: It's for sale by the owner through Heritage Auctions. Click here to see the listing.

James, who was escorted to Huntsville by U.S. Marshalls wrote: "I am frank to acknowledge the gentlemen above named treated me with marked consideration. I am very well pleased with my quarters."

In fact, he was treated more as a celebrity than a bank robber and member of the James-Younger Gang, led by his younger brother, Jesse James, who had been shot to death in two years before.

After his brother's death, Frank James decided to turn himself in to face outstanding warrants in Missouri and Alabama. He was acquitted in Missouri and then transported to Huntsville to face charges of stealing from a payroll master in Muscle Shoals in 1881. Jesse James was not present for the Muscle Shoals robbery.

The letter

The full content of the letter to be sold is:

"I arrived here this morning in the custody of Capt Elliott and Owen Magee [U.S. Marshals]. All things considered we had a very pleasant trip. I stood the trip much better than I anticipated. I am frank to acknowledge the gentlemen above named treated me with marked consideration. I am very well pleased with my quarters. The jail is in charge of Mr. Will Cooper deputy Sheriff he seems to be disposed to do what is right and just. I will write you full particulars in a few days. Kiss Rob and remember me to Ma and all the family. Hoping to hear from you soon, will say good night."

Heritage Auction said the sale includes "the original transmittal envelope addressed to Annie James. Folds; lightly toned. Small spots of light staining, not affecting the text." The "Rob" referred to was the couple's son, Robert Franklin James, who was 7 years old at the time.

The crime

On March 11, 1881, a federal paymaster by the name of Alexander G. Smith was travelling from Florence to Muscle Shoals, transporting the payroll for the men digging a canal in Muscle Shoals for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This payroll consisted of $4,371 in cash, $500 in gold, and $419.18 in silver.

Smith was robbed by three masked men who may not have been caught if outlaw Bill Ryan had not bragged about the robbery in a bar one night. He was arrested and taken to jail in Nashville, where he implicated Frank James in the robbery.

He was not arrested, however. Jesse James would be killed that April, leading Frank to reconsider the course of his life.

The surrender

In October of 1882, Frank James went to Jefferson City, Mo, for a meeting with Gov. Thomas T. Crittendon, saying: "I have been hunted for 21 years, have literally lived in the saddle, have never known a day of perfect peace. It was one long, anxious, inexorable, eternal vigil." Frank surrendered to the governor with the understanding that he would never be extradited to Minnesota to face several charges in that state.

But James was indicted on various robbery and murder charges in Gallatin, Mo., for the July 15, 1881, robbery of the Rock Island train at Winston, Mo., in which the train's engineer and a passenger were killed. He was exonerated after prosecutors were unable to provide enough evidence of his involvement. After his acquittal in Gallatin, Frank was then taken to Huntsville to stand trial for the payroll robbery.

While in Huntsville awaiting trial, Frank was incarcerated in the Madison County Jail, but he was far from an average prisoner. Because of his celebrity, he became a sort of tourist attraction that people came from miles around to see. Certain people of Huntsville society were given special access to Frank James and were able to sign him out and take him on short excursions.

James would eventually be acquitted of all charges and walked out of the Madison County courtroom a free man.

The crime-free life

Frank James spent the next 30 years doing various jobs: he was a shoe salesman, a ticket-taker at a theater, and a telegraph operator. Near the end of his life, he supported himself and his family by giving tours of the James farm in Missouri for 25 cents. He died at his boyhood home on Feb. 18, 1915, at age 71.
Laws affect death penalty cases, historic structures, party primary voting

Alabama lawmakers introduced more than 1,000 bills during the legislative session that ended May 19. The vast majority did not pass, and many of those that did were local bills, affecting a single county, city or town. But some bills of statewide impact did pass, and will change the law on death penalty cases, health insurance coverage, voting in party primaries and other areas. Below are some of the new laws. Photo shows the House of Representatives earlier this year. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)

Don't Edit

Faith-based adoption agencies

House Bill 24 says the state cannot refuse to license child adoption agencies for setting policies based on religious beliefs, such as not placing children with same-sex couples. The law does not apply to agencies that receive state or federal funding. The file photo, taken in 2005, shows Dutch gay couple Jos and Jarko De Witte van Leeuwen, who were then about to adopt a child from the United States. (AP Photo/Serge Ligtenberg)

Don't Edit

Teen drivers

House Bill 29 increases the penalties for teen drivers who hold restricted licenses and violate the restrictions, such as driving after midnight or with too many passengers. Parents who knowingly allow their teens to violate the restrictions can be fined if there are repeat offenses. Cumberland Valley (Pa.) High School student Seth Krause, 16, practices parallel parking in South Middleton Township, Pa. (Photo by Dan Gleiter/The Patriot-News)

Don't Edit

Excessive force by police

House Bill 50 requires the Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center to collect information on allegations of the use of excessive force by state, county and city police, including the race of the officer and victim, and present annual reports to the Legislature on the information it collects. People protest in response to the grand jury's decision in the Eric Garner case in Times Square in New York, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2014. The grand jury cleared the white New York City police officer Wednesday in the videotaped choke-hold death of Garner, an unarmed black man, who had been stopped on suspicion of selling loose, untaxed cigarettes, a lawyer for the victim's family said. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Don't Edit

Sky lanterns

House Bill 59 makes it illegal to release sky lanterns within 500 yards of a public gathering. Sky lanterns are free-floating and use an open flame to rise like a hot-air balloon. Dozens of people gathered around Thrasher Fountain to light luminaries and release 100 sky lanterns in recognition of World AIDS Day in Big Spring International Park in Huntsville on Dec. 1, 2013. (Eric Schultz / eschultz@al.com)

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Health care rights of conscience

House Bill 95 prohibits firing, demoting or otherwise penalizing a health care worker for refusing to participate in abortion, human cloning, human embryonic stem cell research or sterilization. The health care worker must provide written notice of their objection in advance. The law does not apply to abortion clinics. Trays of human embryonic stem cells at the University of Michigan Center for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Mich., are shown in this 2008 file photo. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Don't Edit

Assisted suicide

House Bill 96 makes it a felony to deliberately assist someone in committing suicide. That includes a doctor who prescribes a drug or performs a procedure to aid in dying. The crime is a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian, wearing blue sweater, standing next to his attorney Mayer Morganroth, far right, leaves the Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater, Mich., in 2007. Kevorkian, the retired pathologist dubbed "Dr. Death" after claiming he had participated in at least 130 assisted suicides, was leaving prison after eight years. He died in 2011. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, pool)

Don't Edit

Right to life of unborn

House Bill 98 is a proposed amendment to the state Constitution that says Alabama recognizes the right to life of the unborn and that nothing in the state Constitution provides the right to abortion. It will be on the ballot for voters to approve or reject in the November 2018 general election. It would not have any direct impact unless Roe v. Wade is overturned. Pro-life and pro-choice supporters rallied outside of the Alabama Women's Center for Reproductive Alternatives during a "40 Days of Life Prayer Vigil" organized by pro-life members in Huntsville in 2013. (Sarah Cole/AL.com)

Don't Edit

Felons' voting rights

House Bill 282 defined what crimes are those of moral turpitude for the purpose of whether an offender loses voting privileges. The term moral turpitude is in the state Constitution but had no clear definition. Voters waiting in line outside Little Indian Creek Primitive Baptist Church in Monrovia, near Huntsville, in November 2016. (Bob Gathany/bgathany@AL.com)

Don't Edit

Insurance coverage for autism

House Bill 284 requires some health insurance plans to cover screening, diagnosis and treatment for autism for those 18 and younger. That includes coverage for applied behavior analysis, considered a vital therapy for many children with autism but one that is not affordable for many families without insurance. Parents and advocates for the bill pack a committee meeting room at the Alabama State House. (Mike Cason/AL.com)

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Legalizing and regulating midwifery

House Bill 315 allows midwives with certain qualifications to practice in Alabama, sets up a licensing board and sets some restrictions and requirements. Kaycee Cavender, president of the Alabama Birth Coalition, speaks during a rally for midwives in February on the steps of the Alabama State House. Advocates had fought for the bill for 13 years. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)

Don't Edit

Tax credits for historical preservation

House Bill 345 restarts Alabamas program of providing income tax credits for the rehabilitation and preservation of historic buildings. It runs from 2018-2022 and caps the total annual credits at $20 million, with no more than $5 million for any one project. The Admiral Hotel on Government Street in downtown Mobile, Ala., built in 1940, was renovated under the tax credits program. (Sharon Steinmann/ssteinmann@al.com)

Don't Edit

Drinks at brunch

House Bill 353 allows for the sale of alcoholic beverages in bars and restaurants as early as 10 a.m. on Sunday in cities and counties that authorize those sales. Lawmakers called it the brunch bill. Mimosas are served during brunch at the Grand Hotel Marriott Resort & Spa in Point Clear on Dec. 8. 2013. (Sharon Steinmann/ssteinmann@al.com)

Don't Edit

Residential youth facilities

House Bill 440 sets up state regulations of residential youth schools, including those that offer counseling and behavioral programs. The law applies to faith-based, nonprofit and for-profit facilities where children stay for more than 24 hours. Called the Alabama Youth Residential Facility Abuse Prevention Act, the bill came in response to abuses at some unregulated facilities. The photo shows Isolation rooms at Solid Rock Ministries in Mobile. (Sharon Steinmann/ssteinmann@al.com)

Don't Edit

Death penalty decisions

Senate Bill 16 gives juries the final say on whether a defendant convicted of a capital offense receives the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole. Previously, the jury made a recommendation but the judge was not bound to follow it. Alabama's lethal injection chamber at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore is shown in 2002. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Civics test for high school students

Senate Bill 32 requires high school students to pass a civics test made up of 100 questions taken from the tests given to immigrants applying for citizenship. Students must answer at least 60 correctly. U.S. citizens receive United States flags from members of the Exchange Club during a naturalization ceremony held in April aboard the battleship USS Alabama. (Lawrence Specker/LSpecker@AL.com)

Don't Edit

Protecting Confederate monuments

Senate Bill 60 prohibits the removal of statues and monuments on public property that are at least 40 years old and the renaming of buildings, schools and streets at least 40 years old. Those at least 20 years old cannot be moved or renamed without permission from a new state committee. Workers prepare to take down the statue of former Confederate general Robert E. Lee, which stands over 100 feet tall, in Lee Circle in New Orleans in May. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

Don't Edit

Sunscreen at school

Senate Bill 63 says students in public and nonpublic schools can apply sunscreen at school, exempting over-the-counter sunscreen from rules of the State Board of Education and State Board of Nursing. Louisa Potts puts sunscreen on seven-month old Ty, as his uncle Andrew Ferguson holds him on the beach in Gulf Shores in July 2004. (Mobile Register, Chip English)

Don't Edit

Medicaid fraud

Senate Bill 85 strengthens the law against making false claims for payments from Medicaid. It includes businesses in the definition of person under the law and increases the statute of limitations on Medicaid fraud to six years.

Don't Edit

Medical paroles

Senate Bill 87, called the Alabama Medical Parole Act, allows for medical paroles of geriatric, permanently incapacitated and terminally ill inmates. Those convicted of capital murder or sex offenses are not eligible. Inmate Ralph Huckabee gets a drink with the help of James Rhodes at the Hamilton Aged and Infirmed Center, part of the Alabama Department of Corrections, in July 2002. (Beverly Taylor/Birmingham News)

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Allocating judicial resources

Senate Bill 90 creates a new commission to reallocate district court and circuit court judgeships based on population changes, caseloads and other factors. Under the new law, judgeships can only be moved when a vacancy occurs or an incumbent is barred by age from seeking re-election.

Don't Edit

Crossover voting banned

Senate Bill 108 prohibits voters from voting in a party runoff if they voted in the preceding primary of the opposite party. Madison County Sheriff deputies direct traffic near Cove Church on Winchester Road in November. (Bob Gathany/bgathany@AL.com)

Don't Edit

Death penalty appeals

Senate Bill 187 requires people sentenced to death to file certain state appeals sooner and concurrently with other appeals. The law sets new deadlines for courts to rule on certain appeals. Proponents say the intent was to shorten the average time for state court appeals in death penalty cases. Opponents said it would increase the likelihood of executing an innocent person. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)

Don't Edit

Sex offenses

Senate Bill 301 created new sex offense crimes, some based on recent trends in the use of technology. The law bans nonconsensual pornography, sometimes called "revenge porn," and the use of threatening communications to induce a victim to engage in unwanted sexual activity, called "sextortion." Parents listen to a seminar conducted by Connecticut State Police Sgt. Jim Smith of the cybercrimes unit in Windsor Locks, Conn., in 2008. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, file)
A DUI suspect jumped from an interstate bridge in Hoover Sunday morning after police initially found him passed out behind the wheel of his car.

Hoover 911 received a call at 5:22 a.m. from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency about a car stopped in the center lane of I-459 southbound near the Highway 150 overpass. A patrol officer arrived on the scene at 5:26 a.m. and found a silver Nissan Altima stopped in the center lane, said Hoover police Lt. Keith Czeskleba.

The motorist, a 27-year-old man, appeared to be intoxicated and was passed out. After several tries, the officer was able to wake up the man and had him get out of his vehicle.

While the officer was waiting for her backup to arrive, the driver became agitated and ignored the officer's requests to put his hands behind his back, Czeskleba said. The man then started running toward the concrete bridge railing.

He jumped over the railing, and fell about 25 feet onto the ground below. Officers began giving first aid while waiting for paramedics to arrive. The Hoover Fire Department got on the scene at 5:39 a.m. and transported the suspect to UAB Hospital. His injuries are life-threatening.

"This is certainly a tragic situation and, first and foremost, we hope this individual is able to make a full recovery. Our officer who was the first on the scene, found herself in an extremely dangerous situation,'' said Hoover police Capt. Gregg Rector. "It's not uncommon for us to respond to calls where DUI suspects are passed out at the wheel, but when it involves a stopped vehicle in the middle of the interstate, it really increases the chances for a terrible outcome."

Rector said authorities believe the officer did everything she could to gain control of the suspect, while working with an extremely tough set of circumstances.

"Dealing with a driver who is likely impaired is difficult on its own. She had the added danger of a vehicle stopped in the middle of the interstate, and then an uncooperative subject,'' Rector said. "The outcome was bad, but it could have been even worse. We're thankful our officer was not injured and we're very fortunate that no innocent motorist struck the stopped vehicle."

In an unrelated incident, a man was killed also Sunday morning when he jumped from a bridge onto Interstate 65 in Fultondale.

That incident happened just before 9:45 a.m. in the southbound lanes of I-65 at the Walker Chapel bridge. Witnesses told police the man walked off the bridge to his death. At least three accidents followed. His name has not been released pending notification of family.
Alabama governor candidate Stacy George plans to kick off his campaign Tuesday with a three-mile run that finishes with a crossing of the historic Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma.

George, a state corrections officer at Limestone Correctional Facility, said he picked Selma, site of "Bloody Sunday" and the starting point of the 1965 voting rights march, because he said civil rights problems still weigh heavily on Alabama.

"God has put it on my heart to go to Selma," George said.

George said there are civil rights issues in the state prison system. He said he would speak Tuesday about his claim that Alabama and other southern states are in violation of the 13th Amendment, which prohibits slavery.

"There's still slavery in Alabama and I'm going to talk about it tomorrow," George said. He will give a speech after running across the bridge.

George is making his second run for governor. He barely made a ripple in the Republican primary in 2014, getting just 6 percent of the vote against incumbent Robert Bentley, who got 89 percent.

George went on to file ethics complaints against Bentley and was on standby as a witness when the Ethics Commission found probable pause against Bentley in April. Bentley resigned the following week.

Other candidates for next year's Republican nomination are Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle; Jefferson County Commissioner David Carrington; Birmingham youth pastor Scott Dawson; Birmingham businessman Josh Jones; and state Agriculture Commissioner John McMillan. Public Service Commission President Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh has formed a committee to raise money but has not made a formal announcement.

The primary is June 5, 2018.
A new group formed to study ways to improve Alabama's juvenile justice system meets for the first time on Tuesday.

Gov. Kay Ivey will speak at the meeting of the Alabama Juvenile Justice Task Force, which begins at 9:30 a.m. in room 200 of the Alabama State House.

The Legislature created the 17-member task force by resolution, directing it to identify programs that evidence has shown will work.

The goals are to protect public safety, hold juvenile offenders accountable, control costs and achieve better outcomes for children and families.
The death of a 35-year-old woman found early Saturday afternoon has been ruled a homicide, and a suspect is in jail.

Opelika police received a 911 call early Saturday afternoon of a gunshot victim in the 1900 block of Toomer Street. The victim, identified as Darlene Little, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Lee County Coroner Bill Harris said evidence at the scene was highly suspicious of the death not being self-inflicted. Autopsy results from the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences confirmed the death was a homicide.

Timothy O'Neal James, a 34-year-old from Lafayette, is charged with murder. He was booked into the Lee County Jail at 10:51 p.m. Saturday and being held on $150,000 bond.

Authorities have not released any additional information - including a motive - in the case. The investigation is ongoing by Opelika police, the coroner and the ADFS.
An Alabama prison guard has been arrested for trying to smuggle contraband into the lockup.

Alabama Department of Corrections officials on Monday announced the charges against Vintarius Cardel Tarver. He is 24 and lives in Union Springs.

Tarver was arrested Sunday when he reported to work at the Bullock County Correctional Facility. He arrived at the Union Springs prison at 2 p.m. and was searched, said ADOC spokesman Bob Horton.

During the search, prison officials found cellphones and cellphone chargers, 63 grams of marijuana, 29 grams of synthetic cannabinoids, 30 grams of Flakka, and 84 Xanax pills.

Tarver was booked into the Bullock County Jail and charged with promoting contraband in a state prison, unlawful possession of a controlled substance, and using his position for personal gain.

The officers had been with the Department of Corrections since November 2015. He resigned from his position following his arrest.

Just three weeks ago, ADOC announced the arrests of five corrections officers at Staton Correctional Facility in Elmore. ADOC investigators made the arrests at the prison on May 24 and 26 in connection with a three-month probe into a suspected bribery scheme involving officers and inmates,

Those officers arrested are: Ronald Dickerson, 23, of Montgomery; Jarod McDowell, 29, of Wetumpka; Joshua Alexander, 26, of Hayneville; Leonard Scott, 31, of Montgomery and Patrick Jones, 42, also of Montgomery.
Alabama State Troopers issued more than 100 speeding citations in Blount County Friday during a special operation following a spate of deadly traffic crashes over the past month.

Lawmen carried out a 13-hour traffic enforcement blitz, issuing a total of 158 citations for violations that contribute to crashes that can cause injury or death, said Senior Trooper Chuck Daniel. He said they hope the Blount County operation will help promote safer driving statewide.

On Thursday, 16-year-old Vallery Michelle Dalrymple and 17-year Jon Cannon, were killed and four other injured in a head-on collision. The crash happened at 3:50 p.m. Thursday on U.S. 278 near Jones Road, just west of Snead. Alabama State Troopers said Dalrymple was seriously injured when the 1998 Chevrolet Cavalier she was driving collided with a 2000 Ford Windstar driven by Jo Cornelius Cloud, 79, of Guntersville.

Dalrymple was airlifted UAB Hospital, where she later died. Cannon was pronounced dead on the scene. Authorities said both teens were wearing seat belts. Troopers said two children in Cloud's van, ages 6 and 7, were also airlifted to Children's of Alabama hospital in Birmingham. The youngest of the two had serious injuries and the 7-year-old had minor injuries. Cloud and an adult passenger in Cloud's vehicle were airlifted to UAB. Their names and an update on their conditions have not been made available.

Included in Friday's blitz were 112 speeding citations, 41 seat belt violations and one DUI, as well as four others for undisclosed violations. Daniel said in addition to the traffic citations, authorities arrested two people on charges of methamphetamine trafficking. Two others were arrested on outstanding warrants, including a suspect wanted on a charge of first-degree sex abuse.

Blount County has had a series of fatal car crashes in recent weeks, including nine killed in a period of just 10 days. Thursday's deaths bring the number of recent fatalities to at least 11.

On May 21,

and a 3-year-old boy were killed. The wreck- a head-on collision - happened just after 6 p.m. on the 24000 block of Alabama 79 in the Dallas community. Multiple first responders went to the scene including the Blount County Sheriff's Office, Locust Fork and Dallas-Selfville Fire, Blount EMS, LifeSaver helicopter and Alabama State Troopers.

Goodwin was driving a 2001 Chevrolet pickup truck that collided head-on with a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee driving by 39-year-old Heather Heaton of Warrior. Heaton was taken to UAB Hospital. The extent of her injuries wasn't made available, but the little boy in her vehicle was killed.
More than 1,000 people gathered today at Mt. Zion Baptist Church to grieve the loss of 17-year-old Sarah Harmening, the missionary killed in an Atlanta bus crash.

Sarah Harmening

Donned in bright colors, friends, family and church members gathered at the church where Harmening's family received visitors before her funeral service and burial, planned for later this evening.

Harmening was killed in the Thursday evening crash that left about 40 people injured. She and other church members, including several Sparkman High students, were headed to the airport to board a plane bound for an Africa mission trip.

In her final journal entry, Harmening wrote that she wanted to do 'incredible things' in Botswana.

"I was just sitting here (on) the bus feeling a little sad. I guess because I'm going to be gone so long and I was a little uncomfortable. Then I decided to read my Bible. I prayed and opened up to 1 Peter 5 and 2 Peter 1. Pretty much everything I read applies to me now," Harmening wrote in the message shared by the Alabama Baptist Newspaper.

"It talked about watching over the flock entrusted to you, which would be my little buddies in Botswana. Humbling yourself, which I will need to do also (and that also means being a little uncomfortable). It talked about the devil prowling about like a lion seeking whom he may devour, which he will especially be doing on this mission trip, and how we need to be alert and of a sober mind.
Quota for exit permits for Friday prayer at al-Aqsa markedly less than 2016, signifying a tightening of the siege.

Occupied East Jerusalem  When two buses stopped close to Bab al-Asbat in Jerusalem on the second Friday of Ramadan, the elderly passengers were quick to disembark and head straight for the Old City.

It was around 10am, more than two hours before the Friday prayer would begin, but this was an extremely rare opportunity for Palestinians from Gaza to pray at Al-Aqsa mosque and they did not want to waste a second outside of the holy site.

We all wanted the bus to hurry up and get to Jerusalem as quickly as possible, said Mohammed al-Bazz, 70. We wanted to spend as much time in Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa as possible.

Bazz and his wife were two of 100 Palestinians from Gaza who received permission from the Israeli civil administration, a unit of Israels defence ministry, to visit Jerusalem for the Friday prayer.

INTERACTIVE: Palestine in motion

We see this as the separation and isolation of Gaza. By allowing travel to Jerusalem for a few hours, people might be able to get a taste of life outside but then must be rushed back into Gaza. by Tania Hary, executive director at Gisha

They began their journey early that morning, leaving their home in Gaza City around 5am and travelling to the Israeli-controlled Erez crossing, known as Beit Hanoun to Palestinians. When they arrived they were greeted by a representative from the Palestinian Ministry of Civil Affairs and fellow travellers.

Half an hour later, they had negotiated the Israeli terminal and waited for the buses that would deliver them to Jerusalem by late morning.

Its a beautiful feeling, said Bazz. Its an important feeling for Muslims to come during Ramadan to pray at the holy mosque, Al-Aqsa.

Bazz, a retired journalist who was chief of programming at Palestine TV in Gaza, used to visit Jerusalem and the West Bank city Ramallah frequently for work. But since Israel imposed a blockade on the coastal territory in 2007, limiting and controlling the flow of people and goods into and out of Gaza, he has only left on one occasion, when he and his wife received a day permit to visit Al-Aqsa during Eid in 2016.

While some of his fellow travellers marvelled at the scenery as the buses drove through Israeli territory towards Jerusalem, Bazz said he focused on the religious significance of the visit. Everything in Jerusalem is different to Gaza, he told Al Jazeera. Its a holy city. It has a special status in our hearts. I feel very happy to come to Jerusalem to pray here.

Its not just the blockade. We only have 3-4 hours of electricity each day and also it is a very tough blockade imposed on Gaza. Life there is miserable and difficult, so when we come here it means a lot for us.

The energy situation in Gaza, where daily 20-hour power shortages have become the norm, deteriorated further in late April when the Palestinian Authority (PA) said it would no longer pay for the electricity that Israel supplies to the territory.

Israel does not deal directly with Hamas, the Islamist Resistance movement that rules Gaza. Instead, Israel works with the PA on all matters concerning the Palestinian territory, including the granting of exit permits for business, medical and other reasons.

Israel began to make permits for Friday prayers available in late 2014, with a weekly quota of 200 permits for worshippers over the age of 60 and an expanded programme during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

However, Israel has periodically cancelled the prayer permits completely, most recently in December 2016, after some worshippers returned to Gaza later than the time specified on the permit.

Lifting the cancellation in its 2017 Ramadan programme, Israels civil administration stated that up to 100 Palestinians from Gaza, aged over 55, would be eligible for permits to pray at Al-Aqsa on each Friday, while a further 300 permits would be made available across the rest of the month for over 50s from special groups, including Red Crescent staff, trade unions and employees of international organisations.

The conditions of the permits state that all worshippers must return to Gaza on the same day.

The limited number of permits posed a problem for the PAs Ministry of Civil Affairs, which began receiving thousands of applications at the start of the year. The ministry froze the process, but then reopened it a few weeks before Ramadan, and the applications continued to mount.

There are 16,000-17,000 residents in Gaza who registered for these permits, said Mohammed Maqadmeh, spokesperson for the PA Ministry of Civil Affairs in Gaza, who accompanied the Gaza residents to Jerusalem. They all met the conditions and wanted to come and pray in Jerusalem.

Its like a lottery. Every week, we select 100 different people. A very small number of people are allowed to pray during Ramadan.

READ MORE: HRW  Israel denying human rights workers access to Gaza

Maqadmeh stated that demand for the permits is so high because so many Gaza residents are unable to get exit permits throughout the year, meaning that Ramadan is their only chance to visit Jerusalem.

Firstly, it is important because Al-Aqsa is a sacred place, he said. Secondly, I believe that there are some people from Gaza who have not been to Jerusalem for 17 years. Some come for pure religious reasons, and some of them really miss this place, Al-Aqsa.

Al-Aqsa seems very far away. Twenty years ago, Gaza residents could come to Al-Aqsa freely. But now it is like a different world. It feels far away, as far away as Mecca, said Maqadmeh.

According to Israeli NGO Gisha, the legal centre for freedom of movement, this years quota of exit permits for Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, has been reduced by half compared with 2016 and signifies a tightening of the closure on Gaza.

In the two previous years, residents of Gaza were able to apply for a limited number of family visit permits, which allowed them to visit relatives based in the West Bank or in Israel, but this category was absent from this years quotas.





Tania Hary, executive director at Gisha, told Al Jazeera that there has been a general downward trend in the number of overall exits from Gaza since late 2015 and that the 4,677 exits recorded in April was the lowest monthly total since the 2014 Israels war on the besieged Gaza Strip.

The criteria for who is allowed to travel hasnt really changed drastically over time, said Hary. The issue is a matter of implementation. Requests are submitted. We know from our own cases that many requests are denied or they simply remain pending for long periods of time.

Its relevant to look at this in the context of marking 50 years of occupation, said Hary. We see this as the separation and isolation of Gaza. By allowing travel to Jerusalem for a few hours, people might be able to get a taste of life outside but then must be rushed back into Gaza, she added.

This prevention of people being able to travel freely or move to the West Bank [shows] there is definitely an interest in keeping the populations separated and isolated.

When Bazz received the news that his permit application had been successful, he quickly told his children and neighbours, each of whom had a special request. They were extremely happy for me. Not everyone can do it, he said.

They all asked me to call on God to bless them while I am here and I will. With that, he turned away and headed towards the gate of Al-Aqsa.
The UAE and Saudi leadership seem to have decided to make Qatar a scapegoat for their fears about regional changes.

At the core of the week-old decision by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to strangulate their smaller neighbour Qatar with a medieval-style siege is a single critical question: what fears and demons drove the Saudi and Emirati leaders to take these drastic measures to bludgeon Qatar into changing its foreign and media policies and submitting itself totally to their demands?





How can we explain this harsh response that strikes me, and many observers in the world, as exaggerated to the point of being hysterical? It is important to grasp exactly why Saudi-Emirati leaders implemented this strangulation siege of Qatar, so that we can address the issues, including any legitimate complaints, that have been raised in the many accusations against Qatar, while leaving others in the realm of just exaggerated fears.

My own discussions with colleagues across the Gulf and the Arab World suggest that the ferocity of the Saudi-Emirati assault on Qatar stems from both new factors and lingering ones from years ago.

Two seem critical: first, the recent dominant decision-making roles of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in the Emirates and of Deputy Crown Prince and Defence Minister Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud in Saudi Arabia, who are moving decisively to safeguard what they see as their national security and well-being; and, second, the accumulated fears that Islamists across the region continue to gain strength among the public since the Arab uprisings of 2010-11, and thus represent a genuine, existential, and immediate threat to these ruling families and their visions of their countries and the wider Gulf order.

OPINION: A Gulf crisis  How did we get here?

Qatar got caught in the middle of this.

For the Emiratis and Saudis, virtually every element of Qatar's foreign policy represents frightening visions of what they fear most - a regional order in which media openly discuss political issues that really matter to Arab citizens, working links with Islamists and other political groups that challenge prevailing Arab orders and close ties with Iran. by

Its misfortune is that its long-standing policies in several domains converged with, and heightened, these new fears among the young leaders in the UAE and Saudi Arabia who were determined to take matters into their own hands and protect their world as they thought appropriate. These Qatari policies include sponsoring open regional media via Al Jazeera and other platforms that found massive audiences across the Arab world; close economic ties with Iran that included exploiting a joint natural gas field (mirroring similarly close trading ties with Iran in Oman, Kuwait and Dubai, among others in the GCC); and, a web of contacts with, and some support for, assorted Islamist movements across the region and the world, including Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, and others  which the Emirati-Saudi indictment labels, promoting terrorism.

For the Emiratis and Saudis, virtually every element of Qatars foreign policy represents frightening visions of what they fear most  a regional order in which media openly discuss political issues that really matter to Arab citizens, working links with Islamists and other political groups that challenge prevailing Arab orders, close ties with Iran, and an independent streak that prompted Qatar to stray from the regional vision of the GCC that Saudi Arabia has tried to enforce for many decades.

Islamists that won democratic elections and assumed or shared power in Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, Kuwait and Yemen genuinely frightened the Saudi-Emirati combine. These GCC leaders saw Islamism, populist activism, democracy, civil liberties, political accountability and other such phenomena as a real threat to their legitimacy, to their values, and to the national and regional orders that they sought to preserve in their political state of top-heavy, patriarchal, welfare-state governance.

This was bad enough on its own; but it was exacerbated by three other factors: the Arab uprisings that showed the weakness of many Arab regimes, the sight of the United States and European powers dropping their support for former President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt (which they did not want to happen to them), and the successful negotiations Western and global powers held with an apparently strong and regionally well-linked Iran.

OPINION: The Trump factor and the implosion of the Gulf union

Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia had reason to fear Islamists. They had intermittent and serious problems with homegrown Islamists and terrorists, but none that threatened the stability of the political governance system or the ruling families. The UAE, in particular, has routinely jailed and convicted dozens of its citizens linked to the Islah and other Islamist movements for plotting to overthrow the government and establish a caliphate.





The UAE-Saudi leadership seem to have decided to make Qatar a scapegoat for their real fears, despite the paucity of credible evidence linking Qatar to schemes to destabilise its GCC neighbours. They pressured Qatar three years ago on these issues, with only a milder recalling of ambassadors, but the reconciliation agreement did not significantly change Qatars policies, or their own perceptions of what they saw as troublemaking and threatening leaders in Doha.

In early June this year, with the new American president visiting the region, the Saudis and Emiratis portrayed Qatar as representing all the negative trends of the past decade that threaten the stability and economic role of the GCC states. The apparent support of the American president gave the new, young leaders in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh the confidence to strike hard, in order to preserve their regional order by bringing Qatar to its knees.

These moves were neither unexpected nor unprecedented, for the Saudis and Emiratis had both heightened and hardened their regional policies to counter Iran and beat back Arab Islamists and democratic breakthroughs for the past few years. These included using military force in Libya, Yemen, Iraq, and Syria, supporting Field Marshal-turned-President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Egypt and labelling the Muslim Brotherhood, Hezbollah and others as terrorist organisations.

OPINION: Qatar-Gulf rift: Can Riyadh be triumphant?

How this confrontation ends will become more clear in the weeks ahead. Mediation to find a political solution is moving quickly on several fronts; it could gain momentum as backers of Qatar, including Iran, Oman, and Turkey in the region, blunt the impacts of the siege by providing new supply routes for basic commodities.

The combination of American and Kuwaiti mediation should generate compromises that include new Qatari measures to address some of the reasonable complaints against it (like clamping down harder on donors to militant Islamists and toning down some of the very pro-Islamist media personalities); this should also allow the Saudis and Emiratis to relax and learn that their harsh measures cannot reverse the fact that Qatars talk-to-everybody policies are appreciated by probably a majority of governments, while the US and Turkey also value their close strategic links with Qatar through their bases there.

A win-win peaceful resolution would allow Qatar to maintain its sovereignty and broad policy orientation with only a few non-critical and reasonable concessions, while allowing the Saudis and Emiratis to feel that their no-nonsense tough-guy policies had an impact and sent a message to the region and the world that they would stand their ground and take action to maintain the political status quo in their neighbourhood, regardless of how the region or the world was changing.

Rami G. Khouri is senior public policy fellow and professor of journalism at the American University of Beirut, an internationally syndicated columnist, and a nonresident senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
The recent outbreak of diplomatic and political turmoil between key Gulf countries  namely Qatar on one side and Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain supported by Egypt on the other  is probably the most serious since the formation of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in 1981. One of the key accusations that has been levelled against Qatar by the other three fellow GCC countries is its alleged support for terrorism and its support for Islamist groups in the region, including in Libya.





The UAE, Saudi Arabia and their allies have issued a terrorist sanctions list containing 12 organisations and 59 individuals, whom they claim to have been supported and financed by Qatar. One organisation and five individuals from this list are from Libya, including militia commanders and the Benghazi Defence Brigade, which is battling forces commanded by General Khalifa Haftar, who has the backing of Egypt and the UAE.

The accusations issued against Qatar imply that it has been contributing, through supporting such groups and individuals, to the conflict and instability in Libya. This totally distorts the reality as it attempts to turn a blind eye to the fact that the UAE has been detrimentally interfering in Libya by being deeply involved in fuelling the ongoing divisions and conflict throughout the country, especially in the last three years since the breakout of civil war. The UAE has been attempting to embolden one side of the conflict, namely Khalifa Haftar and his followers, in order to allow him to achieve a total military victory and takeover as an absolute ruler of Libya thus emulating the Sisi model in Egypt.

READ MORE: What does the Haftar-Serraj meeting mean for Libya?

Immediately after the breakout of the Libyan revolution in February 2011, both Qatar and the UAE have provided political and humanitarian support for the Libyan people. Qatari and UAE planes were lifting humanitarian aid to the east of Libya, mainly to Benghazi airport, as the region was already free from Gaddafi regime control since the early days of the revolution. Once the Libyan revolution was successful in bringing down the Gaddafi regime in August 2011, the nature of both the Qatari and UAE involvement in Libya has evolved and diverged markedly with the UAE taking a much more active role militarily.

The UAE's direct military involvement in the Libyan conflict is a stark contrast to the Qatari involvement, which has been offering mainly political support and financial backing at best. by

Qatar continued to offer mainly political and possibly financial support to mainstream Islamists and even to some of their ideological opponents. There has been no confirmation or proof that Qatar has financed or given any logistical support to the UN classified terrorist groups operating in Libya such as al-Qaeda, Ansar Sharia and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS). Nor have they been proven to offer support for the group not classified by the UN as a terrorist group, known as the Benghazi Defence Brigades (BDB), which was named in the recent accusation list against Qatar.

Qatar has also maintained a consistent support for the UN-backed political dialogue which resulted in the signing of the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) in Morocco in December 2015 and the Government of National Accord (GNA) resulting from it.

The UAE anger at Qatari support for some Islamists and their allies, who are based mainly in Tripoli, stems from the fears of the leaders of the UAE. They view these groups in Libya becoming part of the Libyan political order and power set up as a threat and an unsettling development, due to the potential implications for the UAEs long-term political and economic order.

In order to stem this perceived potential threat from Libya, the UAE went as far as waging air bombings in August 2014 of targets around Tripoli while Libya Dawn forces were fighting other militias aligned with Haftar. The UAEs direct military involvement in the Libyan conflict (engaging in military air raids and effectively militarily aiding one side against the other) is a stark contrast to the Qatari involvement, which has been offering mainly political support and financial backing, at best.

READ MORE: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi freed from prison in Zintan

The UAE has been the main supporter of the military campaign waged by Khalifa Haftar in Libya since May 2014 known as the Dignity operation, with the help of Egypt and Jordan among others in providing this support. The UAEs support of Haftar has not only been military but a comprehensive multi-dimensional support involving intelligence, media support and political and financial backing. Tens of millions of Emirati dirhams are spent every year on Libyan-operated media outlets, including satellite television stations beaming from Jordan and Egypt in addition to other news, internet and social media outlets. The role of the UAE-sponsored media has been very divisive in Libya by fermenting hatred and antagonism and prolonging violence and bloodshed.





The most recent high-level revelation of UAE military involvement in the Libya conflict came out only a few days ago in the form of a detailed report by the United Nations Sanctions Committee (UNSC) panel of experts and addressed to the UN Security Council. The UN report confirmed that the UAE has ignored and violated a UN arms embargo on Libya and as a result has significantly enhanced and strengthened the air power for forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar.

The UN panel of experts, which holds the responsibility of reporting on the violations of UN sanctions across Libya, stated that Haftars forces had received aircraft, as well as military vehicles, from the United Arab Emirates, which had also helped in building up an airbase at Al Khadim about 100km east of Benghazi. The report included satellite images of Al Khadim airbase, between July 2014 and March 2017, showing how there has been a gradual build-up of infrastructure and aircraft, including drones, most probably operated by the UAE.

The UN panel report confirmed a delivery of 93 armoured personnel carriers and 549 armoured and non-armoured vehicles to Haftars LNA through the port of the eastern city of Tobruk in April 2016. The personnel carriers included Panther T6 and Tygra models, both made by companies based in the UAE.

READ MORE: Libya  Will losing oil ports end Haftars power?

The report concluded that The United Arab Emirates have been providing both material support and direct support to the LNA, which have significantly increased the air support available to the LNA. The panel stated that it requested clarification and information from the UAE but received no response.





Considering all this heavy military involvement by the Emiratis in Libya, one question has not received much attention and research: why? Why is it that the UAE is determined to manipulate events and prevent Libyans from realising national reconciliation, accord and stability? Possible underlying motives seem to be political and economic, in that the UAE sees a stable, democratic Libya as the only potential competitor in the region to its own model as an international business hub. Firstly: a genuine democratic rule model in Libya could become a source of inspiration and an aspiration for the people of the UAE. Secondly: Libya certainly has many competitive advantages over the UAE, such as its strategic location being so close to Europe, its vast natural resources holding the highest oil reserves in Africa and its moderate Mediterranean climate.

A stable Libya with its 2,000km Mediterranean coastline could potentially be the main northern gate into Africa offering multiple transit trading facilities, thus rivalling and even exceeding Jabel Ali in Dubai. Libya could simply become the new regional hub and international financial centre, attracting International investment and companies to set up operations as a close and convenient alternative to the UAE.

So how can Libya survive through this conspiring hostile regional environment? For start, some Libyans can stop being effectively local proxies used to serve the narrow agendas of outsiders like the UAE in Libya. Libyans need also to strive for consensus and unity in order to shut out the destructive interference of Gulf states or any others in their country.

Guma el-Gamaty is a Libyan academic and politician who heads the Taghyeer Party in Libya and a member of the UN-backed Libyan political dialogue process.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Finance minister says Qatar can defend economy and currency against tough sanctions imposed by neighbouring GCC nations.

Qatar can easily defend its economy and currency against sanctions by other Arab states, Qatari finance minister Ali Sherif al-Emadi told CNBC television in an interview broadcast on Monday.

He said that the countries that had imposed sanctions on Qatar would also lose money because of the damage to business in the region.

A lot of people think were the only ones to lose in this  If were going to lose a dollar, they will lose a dollar also, he said.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and transport ties a week ago, accusing Doha of backing terrorism  charges Qatar denies.

READ MORE: Qatar-Gulf crisis: All the latest updates

The sanctions have disrupted flows of imports and other materials into Qatar and caused many foreign banks to scale back their business with the country.

But Emadi said the energy sector and economy of the worlds top liquefied natural gas exporter were essentially operating as normal and that there had not been a serious impact on bank operations and supplies of food or other goods.

We are business as usual, and we are open for business, he said. We know that we might have one or two challenges here and there, but this is a country that is very resilient. We have the assets and security that we need.

No need for concern

Qatar can import goods from Turkey, the Far East or Europe and it will respond to the crisis by diversifying its economy even more, he told CNBC.





The Qatari riyal has come under pressure in the spot and forward foreign exchange markets, but Emadi said neither this nor a drop in the local stock market was cause for concern.

Our reserves and investment funds are more than 250 percent of gross domestic product, so I dont think there is any reason that people need to be concerned about whats happening or any speculation on the Qatari riyal.

Asked whether Qatar might need to raise money by selling off stakes in large Western companies held by its sovereign wealth fund, Emadi indicated this was not on the cards at present.

We are extremely comfortable with our positions, our investments and liquidity in our systems, he said.

Prices of Qatars international bonds have dropped sharply, but in answer to another question, Emadi said he saw no need for the government to step into the market and buy those bonds to support prices.

There was reaction on the market [in the aftermath of the June 5 announcements] which was understandable, Emadi said. If you take action of this magnitude, thats normal. Weve seen a rebound coming back.

Foreign policy will not be dictated

Since the measures were announced on June 5, several analysts viewed them as an attempt to pressure Qatar into changing its foreign policy.

In the CNBC interview, Emadi said: They would like to dictate our foreign policy. Everybody knows that Qatar will not allow somebody to dictate its foreign policy or manipulate how their foreign policy should be run.

His comments echoed those of Mutlaq al-Qahtani, a senior counterterrorism adviser to Qatars foreign minister.

In an interview with Al Jazeera on Sunday, Qahtani said Qatars role has long been to facilitate talks, to mediate and to bring peace.

Qahtani said the diplomatic squeeze was an attempt at a policy of domination and control.

The adviser also said diplomatic efforts to resolve the dispute would continue.

We have more friends, more than other people might think, he said after Sheikh Mohammed visited Germany and Russia over the weekend.

So we are engaged and want to engage with more countries.
Foreign minister meets with diplomats from Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain to raise Turkeys worries over Qatar blockade.

Turkeys foreign minister on Monday held a joint meeting with ambassadors from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates in the capital, Ankara, to discuss a Gulf diplomatic rift, a diplomatic source told Turkeys state media.

The meeting on Monday comes after Gulf states cut diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar last week over claims that it supports terrorism in the region. Qatar strongly denies the charges.

READ MORE: Kuwait: Gulf rift may lead to undesirable consequences

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu raised Turkeys concerns and expectations from the international community over the crisis, the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on talking to the media, told Anadolu news agency.

The diplomats meeting came three days after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan requested the full removal of the Saudi-led blockade on Qatar, saying Riyadh needed to put brotherhood before animosity.

Erdogan said on Saturday isolating Qatar would not resolve any regional problems and vowed to do everything in his power to help end the regional crisis.

READ MORE: Analysis  Why is Turkey deploying troops to Qatar?

Other measures against Qatar, which relies heavily on food imports, included the closing of airspace, land borders and maritime territories

The moves raised fears of a food crisis in Qatar, as most of its supplies come from Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

But the shortages have eased with Turkey and Iran shipping in meat, fruit and vegetables.

Turkeys parliament on Wednesday fast-tracked the approval of a legislation allowing troops to be deployed to a Turkish military base in Qatar.

Analysts said the decision by was not necessarily anti-Saudi, but a show of support for Qatar as it faces diplomatic and trade isolation.
Dozens of websites, including opposition publications, banned since May 24 in clear attack on media, watchdog says.

Egypt has banned at least 62 websites since it began a crackdown on online media more than two weeks ago, a local rights group has said.

The Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE), which has been tracking affected sites since May 24, described the latest move as a clear attack on the media.

The blocking of websites violates the Egyptian Constitution, the watchdog said in a statement on Monday, adding that the banned websites included licensed local news outlets.





The group also accused the government of failing to disclose any judicial or administrative decision to block the 62 sites.

According to AFTEs latest update, the websites banned included Daily Sabah and other Turkey-based sites, as well as Medium, the online publishing platform.

On May 24, Egypt blocked access to 21 websites, including the websites of Al Jazeera, the Huffington Posts Arabic website and prominent local independent news site Mada Masr.

At the time, anonymous security sources told local media that all websites blocked contain material that support terrorism and extremism as well as publish lies.

The decision to ban the 21 websites came ahead of a decision by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt to sever diplomatic relations with Qatar and install an air, land and a sea blockade.

The list was later expanded to include more independent and opposition news websites, including the opposition El-Badil.

Mada Masr, which describes itself as progressive and has no affiliation to Qatar said the website is publishing articles on Facebook for now. It remained accessible outside Egypt or via proxy.

Lina Atallah, the editor of Mada Masr, told the Reuters news agency: If they did something more grave like arresting team members or me it would make big noise, whereas blocking the website is the best way to paralyse us without paying a high price for it.

Index on Censorship, a publication which defends freedom of expression, condemned the ban and called on Egypt to uphold its commitment to freedom of the press.

Independent media must not pay the price of current political disputes between countries in the region, it said on May 31.

READ MORE: Egypts Emergency Law Explained

Egypt declared a state of emergency for three months in April, following a twin attack on churches that killed almost 50 people.

Emergency law grants the president special powers, which include: censoring and confiscating publications; monitoring and intercepting all forms of communication; closing any facility; and imposing restrictions on the freedom of movement for any citizen.
Around 300 containers of fresh and frozen food are heading to Doha from Sohar and Salalah ports.

A Qatari food company owner has said that shipments began arriving from Oman and that about 12 vessels were headed to Qatar from Omani ports of Sohar and Salalah.

There are around 300 containers of fresh and frozen food coming. Some have arrived and the others are on their way, Ahmed al-Khalaf, owner of the company, said on Monday, pointing out that containers at Jebel Ali port in the United Arab Emirates were still stuck, but that others, including from Europe, were being diverted to Omans ports.

The worlds number 1 container line, Maersk of Denmark, said on Monday it would accept new bookings for container shipments to Qatar from Oman.

Swiss-based MSC, the worlds number 2 line, said it would deploy a new dedicated shipping service to Qatar from Salalah.

Qatar Ports Management launched on Sunday a new direct service linking Hamad port in the Qatari capital with Sohar Port in the Sultanate of Oman.

The service will operate three times a week to ensure business continuity of ports and shipping operations in and out of Qatar.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain, along with Egypt and a group of smaller countries, severed relations with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism.

The three Gulf states also imposed a land, sea and air blockade on Qatar
The deal signals Italian support for Qatar in its worst diplomatic row with some Gulf and Arab countries in years.

Italy and Qatar have agreed to continue their close economic and financial cooperation, despite last weeks decision by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Arab countries to cut diplomatic, travel and trade ties with Qatar.

The agreement followed a meeting between Qatari Minister of Finance Ali Sherif al-Emadi and Italian Minister of Economy and Finance Pier Carlo Padoan in Rome on Monday.

The meeting took place in a highly cordial atmosphere, in line with the excellent state of political and economic relations between the two countries, the two countries said in a joint statement.

Al-Emadis visit to Italy is part of a tour of major European capitals that will also take him to Paris, London, Berlin and Washington.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other Arab countries cut diplomatic as well as travel and trade ties with Qatar last week, accusing it of supporting Iran and funding Islamist groups. Doha denied the charges.

READ MORE: Israel, Saudi, UAE team up in anti-Qatar lobbying move

Earlier on Monday al-Emadi said that his country can easily defend its economy and currency against the sanctions.

He told CNBC television that the countries that had imposed sanctions on Qatar would also lose money because of the damage to business in the region.

A lot of people think were the only ones to lose in this  If were going to lose a dollar, they will lose a dollar also, he said.
A coalition government is set as the next step after victories for Kosovos war wing alliance and main leftist party.

A coalition of former ethnic Albanian rebel commanders has won the most votes in Kosovos general election but lacks an outright majority to form a government.

The alliance, dubbed the war wing by Kosovos media and led by the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) of President Hashim Thaci, won 35.78 percent of votes, based on a count of nearly 70 percent of ballots.

Ramush Haradinaj, whom the leading coalition has nominated to be prime minister, hailed Kosovars for the trust given to the coalition, adding these are the best elections ever held in Kosovo.

The victory is convincing and makes us capable of operating further to create the countrys government, he said.

READ MORE: Serbian election campaign leads to tension in Kosovo

But the nationalist left-wing Vetevendosje (Self-Determination) party appeared to roughly double its support since the last election, bagging 26.6 percent of votes after pledging to take on rampant corruption.

Vetevendosje leader Albin Kurti hailed the result as a huge victory as he addressed his followers.

He said the party, which is known for its radical methods in opposition such as hurling tear gas in parliament, had more victories ahead.

The coalition led by former ruling Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, came in third with 25.3 percent of the vote.

READ MORE: Roma in Kosovo  The justice that never came

Supporters of the leading coalition and Vetevendosje took to the streets to celebrate in central Pristina.

The snap parliamentary election, which took place on Sunday, was called after 78 MPs out of 120 backed a vote of no confidence against the administration.

This is Kosovos third legislative election since it declared independence from Serbia in 2008.

Beset by economic problems

The opposition has been demanding elections for two years, primarily due to controversial agreements that the government signed in Brussels in 2015 regarding the border demarcation with Montenegro, and on establishing an autonomous association of Serb-majority municipalities.

Most of Kosovos 1.8 million people are ethnic Albanian.

The countrys Serb minority also automatically gets 10 representatives in the assembly, but the full distribution of seats would not be clear until Monday or later in the week.

The country, where half of the population is under the age of 30, has been beset with economic problems and political corruption.

The unemployment rate is 27.5 percent, and many young people leave Kosovo in search of a better life.

According to the Slovenia-based International Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies, Kosovos political elites are characterised by crime, corruption and nepotism.

Overshadowing the vote is a new special court set up to try war crimes allegedly committed by members of the pro-independence Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which fought Serbian forces in the late 1990s.

Turnout in Sundays vote was 41.40 percent, a slight drop from last elections 2014 turnout which was 42.63 percent.
Emir of Kuwait vows to spare no efforts to bridge up difference among GCC member states and resolve the crisis.

The Emir of Kuwait, who has led mediation efforts to resolve the Gulf crisis, has cautioned that the dispute between Qatar and three fellow Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members could lead to undesirable consequences.

Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah was quoted by Kuwaits state news agency as saying on Monday that it was difficult for him to see the division among GCC member states.





It is quite difficult for us, the generation that built the GCC 37 years ago, to see the divisions among its members which may lead to undesirable consequences, Sheikh Sabah said.

I lived the first moments of building the GCC and this is why I cannot stand silent without trying to mediate for the rapprochement among the brothers. It is a duty that I cannot walk away from.

No matter how difficult the efforts, I will do my best to mediate among the brothers, he said.

Sheikh Sabah, 87, visited Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar last week in an effort to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis.

Qatars Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said earlier on Monday that he remained committed to the Kuwaiti process.

READ MORE  Qatar-Gulf crisis: All the latest updates

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and transport ties a week ago, accusing Doha of backing terrorism  charges that Qatar denies.

The three Arab Gulf countries also ordered Qatari nationals to leave within 14 days, while Saudi, UAE and Bahraini citizens were also given the same timeframe to leave Qatar.

Amnesty International criticised the move, accusing the Gulf states of toying with the lives of thousands of people in their dispute with their neighbour.

The sanctions have also disrupted imports of food and other materials into Qatar and caused many foreign banks to scale back their business with the country.
A man and his two young sons were killed in Nangarhar when US troops opened fire after their vehicle hit a bomb.

US troops have killed an Afghan civilian and his two young sons after opening fire indiscriminately when their convoy was hit by a roadside bomb in eastern Afghanistan, local officials and witnesses said.

The incident took place early on Monday in Ghani Khel, a district in the south of Nangarhar province, Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the provincial governor, told Al Jazeera.

As the bomb blast hit their vehicle, the US troops starting shooting, he said, adding that they had launched an investigation into the incident.

Ziyar Gul, a brick kiln labourer, was at work along with his sons  eight-year-old Faridullah and 10-year-old Sharafat  when they came under fire, according to witnesses.

As soon as the blast took place, the US troops started firing indiscriminately out of fear, Azizullah Aziz, a witness, told Al Jazeera, adding that a third son who was also present had managed to escape the firing.

He ran and called for help, but by the time he was back, his father and brothers were dead.

Four other members of the Gul family, including Ziyars six-year-old son, were killed in a US raid last year, relatives said.

Could they not see that the people they [US troops] killed were children and an unarmed man? How could they fire directly at children and kill them? Their bodies were in bits and pieces after being shot numerous times, Neyaz Gul, brother of Ziyar Gul, told Al Jazeera.

No one is held accountable for killing innocent people like this in Afghanistan.

READ MORE: US and NATO troops in Afghanistan

Douglas High, a spokesman for the NATO mission in Afghanistan, confirmed that a roadside bomb had struck a convoy transporting both US and Afghan soldiers.

We have not received any official allegations of civilian casualties, High said in a statement, adding that the soldiers used small arms fire in self-defence.

High said in a statement on Monday that the soldiers returned fire in self-defence.

According to a UN tally, 2016 was the worst year for Afghan civilian casualties since the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) began recording them in 2009.

That count found that conflict-related civilian casualties in Afghanistan rose to 11,418 in 2016, including 3,498 people killed and 7,920 wounded.

US and Afghan troops have been battling armed groups in Nangarhar province for months after the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group established a stronghold in the region, which borders Pakistan.

US military officials estimate that there are about 600 to 800 ISIL fighters in Afghanistan, mostly in Nangarhar, but also in the neighbouring Kunar province.

READ MORE: NATO troop increase plan draws criticism in Afghanistan

The increase in Washingtons military involvement in Afghanistan comes as US President Donald Trumps administration decides whether to deploy more troops there.

Last month, several US media reported that military officials and advisers to Trumps administration had drafted a proposal to increase the number of soldiers in Afghanistan to help in the fight against the Taliban.

The potential troop surge would range from between 3,000 to 5,000 soldiers, including Special Operations forces, unnamed officials told US media.

There are about 8,400 US troops in Afghanistan today, on top of another 5,000 from NATO allies, who mainly serve in a training and advisory capacity. US-led NATO troops have been at war in Afghanistan since 2001, after the toppling of the Taliban government.

Follow Shereena Qazi on Twitter: @ShereenaQazi

Additional reporting by Fatima Faizi in Kabul, follow her on Twitter @FatmaFaizi
Three British businessmen, detained after passengers complained they talked about terrorism, released without charge.

German authorities found no evidence that three British men, reported by fellow passengers on a London-bound plane to have been having a suspicious conversation about terrorism, posed any danger.

Passengers on easyJet flight EZY3246 on Saturday, travelling from Slovenia to England, complained to airline staff that the men were talking about terrorist matters.

The plane was diverted midair and made an emergency landing in Cologne, Germany.

The accused trio was detained.

The criminal investigation against them has been halted. No evidence was found, a local police spokesman said on Sunday, announcing that the men were released without charge. We now believe that there was never any real danger.

The unnamed men, who worked for a British company, are aged 31, 38 and 48.

It was not immediately clear when the men, who were returning to London after a business trip, would travel on to Stansted Airport as planned.

Backpack detonated

Passengers on Saturdays flight had claimed one of the men carried a book on which the word kill appeared with a sniper rifle on its cover, police and state prosecutors said in a statement.

Dozens of novels include the word kill in titles and many feature guns on covers.

The German Bild newspaper said passengers told airline personnel they had heard the men using words including bomb and explosive and said one carried a suspicious backpack.

READ MORE: UK  Muslims ordered off plane after ISIL accusation

That backpack, belonging to the 48-year old, was examined and blown up in a controlled explosion.

Nothing dangerous was ultimately found to have been in the bag or on the aircraft.

The incident forced the diversion of 17 inbound flights, delays in 20 departing flights and cancellation of two flights, a spokeswoman for Cologne airport said, adding that air traffic had returned to normal after a three-hour interruption.

Nine people received medical treatment after all 151 passengers were evacuated from the Airbus 319 aircraft using emergency slides.

READ MORE: Speaking Arabic while flying

The remaining passengers had departed on another easyJet plane for London earlier on Sunday.

EasyJet said passengers received hotel vouchers and meals during their stay and thanked them for their understanding.

The safety of easyJet passengers and crew is our highest priority, the company said in a statement.

They said the alleged conversation could not be verified.

Seventeen other passengers and the easyJet crew were questioned about the incident at Cologne police headquarters, police said in a statement.

Several European countries are currently on high alert following a number of deadly attacks.

Amid this climate, several airlines in the United States and Europe have recently removed innocent passengers of Middle Eastern or Asian descent from planes on unfounded allegations by fellow passengers, leading to claims of racial discrimination.

In August 2016, easyJet forced British Muslim siblings out of a plane on the runway in London, where they were interrogated by armed police after passengers falsely claimed they were members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group.
Navy ships and fishing vessels retrieve 62 bodies of the 122 people who died in military plane crash into Andaman Sea.

Search crews in Myanmar have recovered the bodies of about half of the 122 people who died in last weeks military plane crash, the army has said.

Navy ships and fishing vessels have been battling strong monsoon swells to find victims after the Chinese-made Y8 aircraft carrying soldiers, family members and crew plunged into the Andaman Sea on Wednesday.

The number of bodies retrieved so far rose to 62 on Monday as the hunt for the plane stretched into the sixth day, the military said on its official Facebook page.

Nine children were among those found.

There has been no official explanation for the cause of the crash, one of several deadly incidents involving Myanmar military aircraft in recent years.

Army chief Min Aung Hlaing suggested weather was more likely to be a factor than mechanical failure.

He said on Sunday there was a very big cloud near the plane crash site, according to his official Facebook page. He did not elaborate.

The crashed plane was expected to be found soon as it crashed in the countrys territory and some evidences were collected, he said.

But while monsoon season brings annual bouts of rainy weather, there were no reports of major storms along the planes flight path when it disappeared while flying from the coastal city of Myeik to Myanmars largest city, Yangon.

Myanmar authorities had rejected offers of help from several countries including China, the state-run newspaper Global New Light of Myanmar said on Sunday.

Some bodies pulled from the waters off Myanmars southern coast were cremated last week as relatives and friends mourned the identified victims in the coastal town of Dawei.

The Y-8 plane was delivered to Myanmar in March last year and since had logged 809 flying hours.

The pilot and co-pilot both had more than 3,100 hours of flying experience and the plane was carrying about 2.4 tonnes of cargo, according to the militarys Facebook page.
Hijab to be outlawed in all educational institutions across the Nordic nation in order to foster communication.

Norways ruling coalition of right-wing anti-immigration parties plans to ban the full face veil in all educational institutions across the country saying it hinders communication.

The authorities had promised the ban last year targeting the hijab, balaclavas, and masks.

We do not want clothes covering the face in nurseries, schools and universities, Minister of Education and Research Torbjorn Roe Isaksen said in a statement.

These clothes prevent good communication, which is important for students to receive a good education, he added.

READ MORE: Austrias parliament bans full face veil in public

Norwegian authorities will consult over the coming months with those who could be affected by the draft law.

Norwegian media reported the government can count on the support of most parties and the bill is expected to pass in the spring of 2018.

So far the bill does not lay out consequences for disregarding the proposed law.

Local authorities already have the power to ban the veil in schools, however, there is no uniform national policy.

Clothes covering the face, like the niqab and the burqa, have no place in Norwegian schools. It is a fundamental value to be able to communicate with each other, Per Sandberg, acting minister of immigration and integration, said.

READ MORE: Employers allowed to ban the hijab: EU court

Last month, Austrian members of parliament approved a new bill banning garments that fully cover the face of women  the latest restriction on the countrys Muslim population.

The imposition of a ban by some countries comes on the heels of a European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling in March that stated employers are entitled to ban staff from wearing visible religious symbols  a decision Muslims said was a direct attack on women wearing the hijab at work. The hijab is a headscarf worn by many Muslim women who feel it is part of their religion.

France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Bulgaria, and the German state of Bavaria have all imposed restrictions on wearing full-face veils in public places.








Prime minister to meet with Saudi king in Jeddah days after Islamabad called for dialogue to end the diplomatic crisis.

Islamabad, Pakistan  Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday arrived in Saudi Arabia for high-level talks, his office said, with the diplomatic crisis in the Gulf high on the agenda.

Sharif was travelling with Pakistani Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, top foreign policy adviser Sartaj Aziz and several other senior officials, a statement said.





The prime minister will hold talks with Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud in Jeddah, the countrys second city, and will also attend a dinner hosted by the king in his honour.

His meeting comes a few days after the Saudi king met Kuwaits Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, who is leading mediation efforts to patch a major rift in the wake of the severing of diplomatic ties and blockade of Qatar by several Arab states, led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Last week, Pakistans lower house of parliament passed a resolution calling for all countries to show restraint and resolve all differences through dialogue.

READ MORE: Qatar-Gulf crisis  All the latest updates

Pakistan has so far resisted declaring support for either the blockade or Qatars rejection of the allegations against it, which include allegedly sponsoring terrorist groups.

Analysts say the country has been walking a diplomatic tightrope, given its close ties to Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar itself  all members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).





On Sunday, Pakistans foreign office strongly rejected reports by some media in Turkey that it had sent troops to Qatar to aid a Turkish contingent of soldiers due to arrive there.

Nafees Zakaria, spokesperson for Pakistans foreign office, said the reports were completely fabricated and baseless.

These false reports appear to be part of a malicious campaign aimed at creating misunderstanding between Pakistan and brotherly Muslim countries in the Gulf, he said.

Sharifs visit to Saudi Arabia was in context of the emergent situation among GCC countries, his office said.

Last year, Pakistan signed a landmark 15-year deal with Qatar for the import of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), mainly meant to help the country to meet its massive electricity shortfall by providing fuel for thermal power plants.

Saudi Arabia is home to at least 1.9 million Pakistani expatriate workers, with the UAE hosting 1.2 million Pakistanis and Qatar 115,000, according to government data.

Those expatriate Pakistanis have a significant impact on their countrys economy, with foreign remittances playing an important role in bolstering Pakistans foreign exchange reserves.

OPINION: The Qatar-Gulf rift stems from fear

Saudi Arabia tops the list of countries with the highest remittances to Pakistan, with $4.52bn in funds sent home by Pakistanis in the current fiscal year, according to Pakistans central bank.

The UAE comes in next at $3.47bn, with Qatar appearing much further down the list with only $304m in remittances.

Asad Hashim is Al Jazeera Englishs Web Correspondent in Pakistan. He tweets @AsadHashim.
Main opposition party in US territory rejects result, however, saying low turnout represents boycott of the move.

Puerto Ricos governor announced the US territory has overwhelmingly chosen statehood in a non-binding referendum on Sunday held amid a deep economic crisis that has sparked an exodus of islanders to the mainland United States.

From today going forward, the federal government will no longer be able to ignore the voice of the majority of the American citizens in Puerto Rico, Governor Ricardo Rossello said, announcing the victory.

It would be highly contradictory for Washington to demand democracy in other parts of the world, and not respond to the legitimate right to self-determination that was exercised today in the American territory of Puerto Rico.

The US Congress, however, has final say on any changes to the islands political status.

READ MORE: Puerto Ricans voting in referendum on political status

Nearly half a million votes were cast for statehood, more than 7,600 for free association/independence, and nearly 6,700 for the current territorial status.

The participation rate was just 23 percent of roughly 2.26 million registered voters, leading opponents to question the validity of a vote that several parties had boycotted.





It was the lowest level of participation in any election in Puerto Rico since 1967, according to Carlos Vargas Ramos, an associate with the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College in New York.

Puerto Ricos main opposition party rejected the pro-statehood result.

The scant participation  sends a clear message, said Anibal Jose Torres, a party member. The people rejected it by boycotting an inconsequential event.

Rossello, however, vowed to push ahead with his administrations quest for statehood, which was his top campaign promise.

In any democracy, the expressed will of the majority that participates in the electoral processes always prevails, he said. Puerto Rico voted for statehood.

READ MORE: Puerto Ricans voting in referendum on political status

Among those hoping Puerto Rico will become a state is Jose Alvarez, a 61-year-old businessman.

Now is the moment to do it, he said. Weve spent a lot of years working on a socioeconomic model that has not necessarily given us the answer.

Many believe the islands territorial status has contributed to its 10-year economic recession, which has prompted nearly half a million Puerto Ricans to flee to the US mainland and was largely sparked by decades of heavy borrowing and the elimination of federal tax incentives.

Maria Quinones, 66, said she voted for the first time in such a referendum, the fifth on Puerto Ricos status.

We have to vote because things are not going well, she said. If we were a state, we would have the same rights.
Qatar Airways calls on International Civil Aviation Organization to declare Arab acts against the carrier illegal.

The chief executive of Qatar Airways has said the measures taken against Qatari air traffic should be declared illegal.

Akbar Al Baker made the comments to Al Jazeera on Monday, a week after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt closed their airspace to Qatari flights as part of a series of measures against Doha amid a major diplomatic rift.

The four countries cut diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing Doha of backing terrorism  charges that Qatar denies.

We expect our friends to stand up with us in this unfair, illegal blockade conducted by four countries, Al Baker said.

OPINION: The Qatar-Gulf rift stems from fear

Al Baker also expressed his disappointment over recent comments by US President Donald Trump, who called on Qatar and other countries to increase their efforts against terrorism.

In his remarks on Friday, Trump said the nation of Qatar has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level, but he failed to provide any evidence.





Trump said that during his recent visit to Saudi Arabia, nations came to me and spoke about confronting Qatar over its behaviour. So we had a decision to make: Do we take the easy road or do we take hard but necessary action?

In response, Al Baker called Trumps comments about Qatar ill-placed and ill-informed.

I am very disappointed in the leadership of United States. We are an ally of the United States against terrorism; we are an ally of United States with bringing stability into the region.

Qatar is home to the vast Al-Udeid airbase, the biggest US base in the Middle East, which holds the forward headquarters of Central Command and hosts some 10,000 American troops.

They have the biggest base; they have 15,000 Americans living here, and there are many more thousands of British and Europeans staying here, Al Baker said.

I want the American people to realise that they are trying to intimidate a small country which has the closest relation with the United States.

In a separate interview with CNN, Baker also called on the International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations body, to declare Arab measures against Qatari air traffic illegal.

We have legal channels to object to this, Al Baker said. International Civil Aviation Organisation  should heavily get involved, put their weight behind this to declare this an illegal act.

READ MORE: Qatar-Gulf crisis  All the latest updates





The UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have signed the Chicago convention, which is administered by the the International Civil Aviation Organization.

Any country party to the convention should grant freedoms including the privilege to fly across its territory without landing.

Qatar Airways has been hit hard by the dispute, with 18 destinations now out of bounds for the airline.

In addition to closing their airspace to Qatar Airways, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have also shut down the airlines offices.

It is actually a travesty of civilised behaviour to close airline offices. Airlines offices are not political arms, said Al Baker.

We were sealed as if it was a criminal organisation. We were not allowed to give refunds to our passengers.

READ MORE: The five most bizarre decisions in Gulf-Qatar crisis

In a separate interview with The Wall Street Journal, Al Baker said he would not delay any plane orders or put expansion plans in other countries, such as India, on hold.

On Sunday, Qatar Airways reported a 21.7 percent rise in net profit in its last financial year that ended in March, fuelled by a strategy of investment and expansion
Win McNamee/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election are seeking a meeting with special counsel Robert Mueller, ABC News has learned.



No date for the meeting has been set, according to a committee aide.



The panel, with jurisdiction over the Department of Justice and FBI, has been seeking copies of former FBI Director James Comey's notes and memos about his encounters with President Donald Trump.



Comey testified last week that he had turned over all materials to Mueller's office. The committee has also contacted a friend of Comey's, Columbia Law School professor Daniel Richman, for copies of whatever Comey may have provided to him to leak to the media. (Comey testified last week that he asked the professor to leak the contents of one of his memos to the media. Its unclear whether Richman is in possession of a physical copy of any of Comeys notes and memos.)



According to a committee aide, the panel has also been in touch with Richman, who has not indicated whether he will provide the committee with copies of the requested documents.



The committee has also been in touch with Mueller's office on a variety of topics, including Comey's memos.



Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa; Dianne Feinstein, D-California; Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina; and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, have been leading the panel's Russia investigation.



Leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee's Russia investigation are expected to meet with Mueller to discuss its own investigation this week.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
A week since the rift between Qatar and three other GCC members, Doha keeps seeking to mend ties through diplomacy.

Qatars foreign minister has said his countrys priority is to address the humanitarian consequences of a land, air and sea blockade imposed against Doha by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) amid a major diplomatic rift.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told Al Jazeera on Monday that Qatar and the United States were in touch with Kuwait, the main mediator between the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), to calm the situation.





Our top priority in Qatar is to end this unlawful blockade imposed against us, he said from the UK capital, London

Also to address the humanitarian issues caused by those arbitrary measures. Then engage in a dialogue and discuss the baseless accusations darted at Qatar.

But he said there was no foundation for dialogue just yet.

Qatar is of the opinion that dialogue is the best answer to this crisis. However, such dialogue must be based on clear foundations, which are not yet made available, Qatars top diplomat said.

Impact on families, economy

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and transport ties a week ago, accusing Doha of backing terrorism  charges that Qatar denies.

The three Arab Gulf countries also ordered Qatari nationals to leave within 14 days, while Saudi, UAE and Bahraini citizens were also given the same timeframe to leave Qatar.

Amnesty International criticised the move, accusing the Gulf states of toying with the lives of thousands of people in their dispute with their neighbour.

The sanctions have also disrupted imports of food and other materials into Qatar and caused many foreign banks to scale back their business with the country.

Demonising Qatar

Qatars foreign minister is on a diplomatic tour to London and Frances capital, Paris, to meet his British and French counterparts.

[I am here] to explain the facts of the crisis in our region and the unlawful measures taken against Qatar, he said. Also to convey our views to our friends here in the UK and then in France  Qatar is reeling under a systematic smear campaign aiming at demonising Qatar.

He said the campaign was built on false, fabricated media reports.

READ MORE: Qatar-Gulf crisis  All the latest updates

Al Thani also reiterated his countrys position on the demands of policy change made by the countries involved in blockading Qatar, saying: The domestic affairs and foreign policies of the state of Qatar are matters of our sovereignty.

Speaking on the economic consequences of the blockade, he said it would not have radical implications on Qatars economy.

Qatars economy is robust, he said. It is true it is mostly based on oil exports, but it is also based on foreign investments, diverse industries and businesses that are not dependent mainly on the markets of the countries that imposed those measures, the foreign minister added.

If there is some increase in certain areas of cost, it will be compensated in future. That is why our economy will not be affected.

Later on Monday, he also spoke from Paris where he reiterated his countrys position on the crisis.
Secret meeting was geared at promoting a plan that would have recognised Israel as Jewish state, Haaretz reports.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi held secret talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Isaac Herzog last year to promote a plan that would have recognised Israel as a Jewish state, according to a report by the the Haaretz newspaper.

Several Arab countries helped broker the April 2016 secret meeting in Cairo with the aim of forming a coalition government in Israel between Netanyahus Likud party and Herzogs Zionist Union party.

The regional leaders felt Netanyahus right-wing government was not capable of implementing a peace initiative they held two months earlier and approached Herzog asking for his help in promoting the plan, according to the report.

The meeting in Cairo came off the heels of a secret four-way summit in the Jordanian port city of Aqaba in February 2016, also reported by Haaretz, where Sisi, Netanyahu, then-US Secretary of State John Kerry and Jordans King Abdullah II were prepared to recognise Israel as a Jewish state.

An Israeli source familiar with the Aqaba summits details told Haaretz: Netanyahu wanted a regional initiative that he would lead, together with the leaders of Jordan and Egypt, and only at a later stage add the American administration.

According to Haaretz, Netanyahus demands in Aqaba included a public summit that would also be attended by senior officials of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Sunni states.

He also requested to get US recognition for construction in the large settlement blocs, in return for freezing building in isolated settlements east of the separation barrier.

Another demand was a guarantee from the then administration of US President Barack Obama to block anti-Israel moves in United Nations institutions, and to veto resolutions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the UN Security Council.

These talks [in Cairo], like the regional initiative, failed due to Netanyahus refusal to give the Palestinians what was required, Haaretzs Monday report said.

Netanyahus coalition talks with Herzog also broke down and he instead struck a deal with now Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman, creating in May 2016 what was described as the most right-wing Israeli government ever.

There was no mention in Haaretzs reports if Palestinian leaders attended any of the meetings or if they had agreed to any of the demands.
Blast hits soldiers on patrol as tensions rise over plan to demolish a 400-year-old Shia town in restive Qatif province.

A Saudi soldier has been killed and two others wounded when an explosive device went off during a patrol in the kingdoms restive Qatif province, the interior ministry said.

In a statement carried by Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the ministry said that the blast occurred late Sunday evening in the Masoura district in the village of Awamiya.

It described the explosion as a terrorist incident.

The state news agency, citing the interior ministry, identified the dead soldier as Major Tariq Al-Allaqi.

Security spokesman of Interior Ministry announces martyrdom of Major/ Tariq Al-Allaqi and two security personnel injured in Qatif province. pic.twitter.com/kQHQErQ5Zm  SPAENG (@Spa_Eng) June 12, 2017

The oil-rich eastern province of Qatif is mostly Shia, a minority in the Sunni-majority kingdom.

The SPA has reported an increase in clashes between Shia fighters and security forces in Masoura in recent weeks after the Saudi government sent in workers to demolish a 400-year-old walled neighbourhood there.

UN rights experts have urged the Saudi government to halt the demolition, saying the planned commercial zone threatened the towns historical and cultural heritage and could result in the forced eviction of hundreds of people from their businesses and residences.

In May, another soldier was killed and five others injured in Masoura after they were hit by a grenade while on patrol, the SPA said.

It said terrorist elements had carried out the attack to impede the development projects in Al-Masoura.

Earlier this month, two men were killed there when their car exploded on a main street. The interior ministry described the pair as two wanted terrorists.

A two-year-old Saudi boy and a Pakistani man were also killed in clashes in Masoura in May.

The Shia community in Saudi Arabia accounts for somewhere between 10 to 15 percent of the total population.

They have protested in the past over alleged marginalisation in the kingdom.
Republican Michael Williams causes outrage after posing in a photo with members of the Three Percenters militia group.

A US state senator has sparked fierce criticism after appearing in a photo with a controversial anti-Muslim militia during the National March Against Sharia, a campaign that was roundly denounced by rights groups and watchdogs.

Georgia State Senator Michael Williams, who is a Republican Party candidate running for governor, posed in a photo by with local members of the Three Percenters militia movement in Atlanta on Saturday.

In the photo, which was picked up by local media outlets over the weekend, the militiamen were armed with rifles and dressed in camouflage military garb.

READ MORE: How US groups spread hate via the Islamophobia industry

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil rights group, described Williams choice to take a photograph with the group as confusing.





In this situation, especially because Senator Williams is running for governor, this didnt really make sense to us, Ruwa Romman, the communications director of CAIRs Georgia chapter, told Al Jazeera by telephone.

They seem to not really understand what the Three Percenters represent.

Alienate an entire group of people

Last year, the Three Percenters led a campaign to prevent the construction of a mosque in Georgias Newton County. The group claimed the mosque was actually a training ground for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) armed group.

Following the outrage over the photograph, CAIR-Georgia invited Williams to visit a local mosque and speak to its congregation.

Explaining that more than 100,000 Muslims live in Georgia, Romman said: It doesnt make sense to me that, if youre running for governor, you would alienate an entire group of people.

At the time of publication, Williams had not replied to Al Jazeeras request for a comment.

OK hand sign

Twitter users also criticised Williams, asking whether the militiamen were making a white supremacist hand sign in the photo.

Why was Georgia state Sen. Michael Williams at the #MarchAgainstSharia protests with an armed militia throwing up white supremacist signs? pic.twitter.com/YrFfRgYvWh  Tariq Nasheed  (@tariqnasheed) June 11, 2017

Georgia State Senator Michael Williams had this pic taken today with an armed white supremacist militia at the anti Muslim event today. https://t.co/lmgj1M759P  Georgia Alliance for Social Justice (@AtlantaMarch) June 10, 2017

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a group that monitors hate groups, echoed CAIRs concerns and explained the groups use of the OK hand signal in the photo.

For the anti-government Three Percenter movement, this same hand gesture symbolises their belief in the disputed claim that only three percent of American colonists fought against the British in the American Revolution, the statement said. The three extended fingers represent this three percent.





The SPLC has designated the Georgia chapter of the Three Percenters as a hate group.

The watchdog said that, although it did not consider the gesture a symbol of white supremacy, Williams did stand with a well-known right-wing paramilitary group as they flashed the hand signal of a movement that espouses violent anti-government rhetoric and anti-Muslim conspiracies.

Islamophobia

Sponsored by ACT for America, a lobby group that the SPLC describes as the largest grassroots anti-Muslim group in the US, the National March Against Sharia coordinated anti-Muslim marches in dozens of cities across the country.

ACT for America did not reply to Al Jazeeras request for a comment. A press release on the groups website claimed the marches were called for to oppose alleged efforts to impose Sharia  or Islamic law  in the US, which it deemed as contrary to human rights and the countrys constitution.

READ MORE: US anti-fascists take on alt-right fight squads

In most cities, counter-protesters outnumbered participants of the National March Against Sharia.

Alia Salem, a Dallas-based Muslim American and social justice activist, told Al Jazeera that the marches came at a time of soaring anti-Muslim xenophobia, citing an uptick in hate crimes targeting Muslims in recent years and President Donald Trumps efforts to ban travellers from six Muslim-majority countries from entering the US.

What Ive witnessed as an activist is not so much that Islamophobia was created recently but that it was empowered, she told Al Jazeera by telephone.

The rate of institutionalising Islamophobia is running along at a much faster pace.
Kurdish factions backed by US coalition air strikes push for Raqqa as thousands of civilians are stuck inside the city.

US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have captured several strategic neighbourhoods just outside of ISILs de facto capital in Raqqa province, the group said in a press release.

The SDF made gains outside Raqqa city, where Islamic State of Iraq and the Levants (ISIL) fighters are currently surrounded by the Kurdish forces.

SDF said they captured al-Romaniya neighbourhood west of Raqqa city early on Monday.





Al-Romaniya is the third neighbourhood of Raqqa city to be captured by the SDF since the launch of the fifth phase of the Raqqa offensive last week.

The SDF, a group of Kurdish and Arab fighters, are currently battling ISIL for control of Sinaaya and Hetin neighbourhoods east and west of Raqqa city, the press release said.

ISIL captured Raqqa from rebel groups in 2014 and have since used it as their home base.

The US-led coalition said 3,000 to 4,000 ISIL fighters are thought to be holed up in Raqqa city, in which about 160,000 civilians remain, according to the UN.

The SDF forces have captured several neighbourhoods in Raqqa city since Tuesday, including the eastern neighbourhood of Mashlab.

READ MORE: US-backed SDF opens two fronts on ISIL-held Raqqa

Backed by US-led coalition air strikes, the SDF began a major offensive on Tuesday to seize the city.

Ahmad, a Tabqa-based activist who would give only his first name, told Al Jazeera that civilians are expecting ISIL to retreat or surrender in a matter of days.

People are barely surviving inside Raqqa. ISIL basically told residents if they want to leave, they can leave but without taking any of their belongings.

If the Kurds take Raqqa, displaced people can go back to their homes. We are literally left with just three options: the Syrian government, ISIL or the Kurds. We choose the Kurds, he said.

Many of those leaving Raqqa are heading north in search of safety towards Ain Issa, Manbij, Mahmoudli and Tal Abyad, all within a 120km radius of the northern Syrian city.

Some, however, have headed for the Berm  the border area between southern Syria and Jordan, almost 700km away  where humanitarian assistance is almost non-existent, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said in a report released on June 9.

Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently, an activist group in Raqqa, said coalition air strikes have destroyed several buildings, including schools and mosques, in the past week.

1-#Raqqa the coalition is using the scorched earth policy in Raqqa almost every important building in Raqqa bombed and destroyed #Syria     (@Raqqa_SL) June 11, 2017

INTERACTIVE: The battle for Raqqa  Who controls what

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Monday that at least 24 civilians have been killed in air strikes and fighting in the past 48 hours.

The SDF has been working to encircle Raqqa since November in an offensive backed by the US-led coalition.

The SDF control parts of northeastern Syria from the Iraqi border to the city of Manbij in Aleppo on the western banks of the Euphrates.

With additional reporting by Diana al Rifai: @D_R_23
Social media users mock journalist after he says Qataris will struggle to adjust to Turkish and Iranian cuisine.

Twitter users in the Middle East have mocked the editor-in-chief of a Saudi newspaper after he suggested Qataris would struggle to adjust to Turkish and Iranian food following a blockade imposed on Doha.

During an interview on the Saudi-owned TV channel Al-Arabiya, Jamil al-Ziabi, the editor of Okaz, said Qataris would cave in to their neighbours demands as Qatari stomachs would not be able to get used to Turkish and Iranian products.

I am really worried because I dont believe Qatari stomachs can get used to such products so quickly, Ziabi said.

READ MORE: Qatar-Gulf crisis  All the latest updates

In the biggest diplomatic crisis in the region in years, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain cut all ties with Qatar and imposed a land, air and sea embargo against it last Monday, accusing it of supporting terrorism. Qatar, which relies heavily on food imports, denies the charges.

The moves raised fears of a food crisis in Qatar as most of its supplies come from Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Within 24 hours of the ban, Turkey sent cargo planes full of milk, yoghurt and poultry to circumvent the potential for any food shortages during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Iran has also sent several planes with food, including fruit and vegetables.

Hundreds of social media users took to Twitter to poke fun at Ziabis comments, with the Arabic hashtag #QatariStomach the number-one trending topic in Qatar.

Here are some of the reactions:

Nouf almannai joked: Turkish milk is poisoning your stomach.

https://twitter.com/alhnoufalmannai/status/874092878049431552

Twitter user @Shwa5i_87 joked: Qataris be like.

Mohammed Makki said: I want to laugh, but the Turkish suhoor I had last night is giving my spoiled sensitive Qatar stomach groans.

I want to laugh, but the Turkish suhoor I had last night is giving my spoiled sensitive Qatar stomach groans  Mohammed Makki (@Makks) June 12, 2017

Shaikha Qatariya wrote on Twitter: This is my situation after drinking Turkish milk

Meanwhile, Sumeyye wrote: Here is the solution: Turkish soda/sparkling water is great for stomach issues.

Here is the solution: Turkish soda/sparkling water is great for stomach issues  #_  pic.twitter.com/ZYMe0ABWbr

Here is the solution: Turkish soda/sparkling water is great for stomach issues  #_  pic.twitter.com/ZYMe0ABWbr  Sumeyye (@Naleena_) June 12, 2017

Since last Mondays ban, showing sympathy with Qatar on social media is a criminal offence in the UAE and Bahrain, punishable with up to 15 years in prison.
UK government will delay by a few days presentation of its programme in parliament after shock election, BBC reports.

The UK government will delay the Queens Speech, in which it traditionally spells out its policy plans, following last weeks shock election that resulted in Prime Minister Theresa May losing a parliamentary majority, British media reported.

The speech had been due to take place on June 19 but would be put back by a few days, the BBC said on Monday.

A spokesman for May refused to confirm the date at a daily briefing, saying only that there would be a statement regarding the Queens Speech in due course.

The report comes as May is due to hold her first cabinet meeting since Thursdays shock election, which resulted in a hung parliament.

The prime minister will try to convince legislators from her Conservative Party that she should remain as leader after a gamble on a snap election that weakened Britains hand just days before formal talks with the European Union about Britains departure from the bloc, or Brexit.

May will be discussing with cabinet members a deal for a minority government with Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).





Brexit Minister David Davis has said that an agreement with the DUP is possible.

The Conservatives won 318 seats out of the 650 in Thursdays vote, meaning they now require support to govern and have chosen the socially conservative and eurosceptic DUP, which has 10 seats, for that.

In a limited cabinet reshuffle, May appointed Damian Green, who is considered a liberal conservative, as the first secretary of state.

Michael Gove, a cabinet minister with whom May has clashed in the past, was named as the environment secretary.

In an effort to shore up support within her cabinet and to lay her future plans, May is set to meet her closest advisers and cabinet colleagues.

She will be looking around the room wondering if some of these people will try to launch a challenge against her because shes in such a weak position, Al Jazeeras Laurence Lee, reporting from the UK capital, London, said.

May had called the snap vote in April to strengthen her mandate before the start of Brexit negotiations, but the result backfired.

A conservative group of MPs known as the 1922 Committee, angered by the election result, are also due to meet in London on Monday.

Lee said that meeting will be a better indicator of whether May can survive in the immediate term.

On Tuesday, May is also due to meet Arlene Foster, the DUP leader, to finalise a deal to ensure support for Mays minority government on major issues.

The big question is what exactly this coalition with the DUP will look like and what it does to Mays perception of the so-called hard Brexit, Lee said.
Foreign secretary concerned by strong actions taken against Doha, and calls for steps to de-escalate the situation.

The United Kingdom has urged Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain to ease their blockade on Qatar and find an immediate solution to the impasse through mediation.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson told reporters on Monday that he was concerned by some of the strong actions taken by the three Gulf Arab nations and pressed them to ease the blockade on Qatar.





I call on all states to take immediate steps to de-escalate the situation and to find a rapid resolution through mediation, Johnson said.

He added that he will meet with his counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates later this week.

Qatars Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, told Al Jazeera earlier on Monday that Qatar and the US were in touch with Kuwait, the main mediator between the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), to calm the situation.

Our top priority in Qatar is to end this unlawful blockade imposed against us, he said from the British capital, London.

Qatar is of the opinion that dialogue is the best answer to this crisis. However, such dialogue must be based on clear foundations, which are not yet made available.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar a week ago, accusing Doha of backing terrorism.

The Qatari government has rejected the allegations as baseless and described the blockade as a violation of international law.
Moraless plane not allowed to country because of conflicting information about passengers, says French President.

France has expressed regret for the countrys delay in granting Bolivian President Evo Morales permission to use French airspace Tuesday.

Besides France, Italy, Spain and Portugal also denied Morales plane the right to fly through their airspace on Tuesday because of suspicions US intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden was abroad.

Morales plane, on its way home from Moscow, had been forced to land in the Austrian capital, in an incident that sparked a diplomatic row and was likened by Morales to a 13-hour kidnapping.

French President Francois Hollande told reporters in Berlin on Wednesday that there was conflicting information about the plane passengers. He said permission was granted as soon as he knew it was Morales plane.

France Foreign Ministry on Wednesday also issued a statement, saying that it was sorry that President Evo Morales jet was refused entry into French airspace, forcing it to make an unscheduled stopover in Vienna.

The foreign minister called his Bolivian counterpart to tell him about Frances regrets after the incident caused by the late confirmation of permission for President Morales plane to fly over (French) territory, said ministry spokesman Philippe Lalliot.

Morales back to Bolivia

Bolivia has accused Washington of pressuring European countries to keep him from traveling home over the groundless rumours.

Morales urged European countries to free themselves from the US empire as he arrived home late on Wednesday .

They are not going to frighten us, because we are a people with dignity and sovereignty, he said.

Late on Wednesday, a group of around 100 protesters threw rocks and firecrackers at the French embassy in the Bolivian capital, smashing windows. They also burned French flags.

Snowden still in Russia

Snowden is seeking to avoid US espionage charges after leaking embarrassing details of a vast US phone and internet surveillance programme that has alarmed Washingtons foreign allies.

The 30-year-old is currently holed up at a Moscow airport looking for a country that will give him safe haven.

Bolivia is one of 21 countries Snowden has asked for asylum. Morales said earlier this week that his country would be willing to study the request.

Austrian officials confirmed Snowden was not traveling with Morales after being allowed to search the aircraft.
The case against Assange is as political as it is legal; where does it go from here? Plus, Kenyas election influencers.
The UF community will gather Monday night to remember the lives of those who died one year ago in a mass shooting at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

The commemorative event will begin at 6 p.m. in Ustler Hall, located at 162 Fletcher Dr. on campus, according to an email sent by UF spokesperson Margot Winick.

A student performance and tribute  as well as words of reflection given by Vice President for Student Affairs David Parrott  will honor victims, families and the City of Orlando.

The event, which is free and open to the public, is hosted by UFs Multicultural & Diversity Affairs, Student Activities and Involvement and the Counseling and Wellness Center.
On Saturday morning, 15 volunteers from Womens March Gainesville painted a mural called Seeds of Resistance: Best Planted Together on a 34th Street wall, illustrating their stance on controversial opinions such as immigration, healthcare and gay rights.

Only one day after it was painted, the mural was defaced. Those who painted over the mural wrote their own opinions about the issues displayed, linking those in the resistance to autism, dubbing those who identify as LGBTQ+ with having a mental disorder and replacing the Black Lives Matter with Blue Lives Matter.

Yeah Right was spray-painted over a sign that said Stop Climate Change.

No was written over a sign that said Welcome Immigrants.

Sunday night, a group unaffiliated with Womens March Gainesville painted over some of the comments.

Courtesy to The Alligator Sunday night, a group unaffiliated with Womens March Gainesville painted over some of the comments.

Pamela Smith, a volunteer with Womens March Gainesville, said she was not surprised that others wanted to remove the hate that was displayed by the defacement.

I understand the pain of people who are personally touched by things such as autism, Smith said.

Smith originally had the idea to paint the mural. She said she worked very hard to organize the painting event.

Smith said a lot of work went into the project, and because volunteers were proud of what they were doing, they were more than willing to help.

Painting the mural was a wonderful experience, Smith said. Spirits were high and the volunteers were having a great time.

We were just happy, she said. It was an incredible feeling.

Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox Subscribe Now

On Sunday afternoon, Smith said Womens March Gainesville received an inquiry explaining that someone had seen a single man defacing the mural while driving down 34th Street.

Although the man added many changes to the mural, Smith said the most derogatory change was the addition of the word autism. The man adjusted the mural to read Seeds of Autism as opposed to Seeds of Resistance, adding snowflakes across the wall.

Last month, a Fox News contributor mocked a 10-year-old child with autism by calling him a snowflake, according to a Washington Post article.

Smith said the fact that autism did not have anything to do with this mural appalled her.

She added that despite what occurred on Sunday, she does not consider the time spent painting the mural wasted. The painting will live on, she said.

Smith said she recognizes the defacement of the mural is free speech, but she wishes the man would have written his comments on his own mural instead of on theirs. She added that Womens March Gainesville will meet Monday night to discuss what to do next about this situation.

In an email, GPD spokesperson Officer Ben Tobias said that when it comes to the murals on 34th Street, you have to take the good with the bad.

Courtesy to The Alligator A mural on 34th Street that was painted Saturday morning by 15 volunteers from Womens March Gainesville, called Seeds of Resistance: Best Planted Together. It illustrated the organization's stance on topics including immigration, healthcare and gay rights.

All graffiti is technically against Florida law, Tobias said, but there has been an unwritten rule for many years in Gainesville that law enforcement does not enforce the graffiti laws.

Tobias said although there is no supervision of the wall, Keep Alachua County Beautiful and residents tend to remove offensive material rather quickly.

Brittani Sahm, a mass communications Ph.D. student at UF, said she thinks it was disgusting for someone to treat the mural, which was trying to spread awareness in a peaceful fashion, the way they did.

Its just kind of sad that somebody feels that they need to do that, the 27-year-old said. I dont really understand it.

Contact Catie Wegman at cwegman@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter: @catie_wegman.

Pamela Smith, a volunteer with Womens March Gainesville, said that on Sunday afternoon, the group received an inquiry explaining that someone driving down 34th street had seen a single man defacing the mural.
The Secretary-General condemns the two attacks against the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) in the city of Kidal on 8 June that left three peacekeepers dead and injured eight others. The Secretary-General presents his sincere condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government of Guinea. He wishes speedy []http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Appa-sourceTheAfric...
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.
What Trump repeatedly promised to do during the election campaign has been done, and America is no longer part of the Paris Agreement. Predictably, the mainstream media here and across the Atlantic have again gone totally unhinged with prophesies of doom for America, the imminent demise of the Trump administration, and the inevitable rise of Germany and Chancellor Merkel as the new leader of the free world.

This may indeed be a watershed event, but not at all as the left here and there imagines it. Contrary to the fervent desires of the leftist elites, it will result not in the political collapse of Trump's America, but in the exposure of the incredible hypocrisy and ultimate weakness of the socialistic environmental schemes characterizing today's "European project." When it's all said and done, either Europe will come back to its senses in close alliance with America, or it will not have much of a future.

Some may object to calling today's E.U. a socialist scheme, pointing out that its leading member, Germany, has been led for 12 years by an allegedly conservative Christian Democrat government. It is a fact, however, that under Merkel, the CDU has moved so far left as to be virtually indistinguishable on most policy issues from its social-democratic coalition partners. As for the Paris Agreement itself, after a decent interval to allow for the requisite elites' huffing and puffing while denying the inevitable, it will be quietly abandoned, much as the Kyoto Protocol was after the U.S. refused to be part of it.

Of vastly greater political significance are the inevitable shocks the E.U. faces after Paris as the huge penalties for poor policy choices made come due in the near future  and none more so than in the new putative leader of the free world, Germany. For largely unnoticed and unreported in the U.S., with one notable exception, Germany under Merkel has made catastrophic mistakes that require urgent and costly repairs. One stands out as particularly daunting: the wholesale effort to switch Germany to renewable energy, known as the energy transition, or Energiewende.

The Energiewende, in short, represented an effort to put into practice the principles behind the Paris Agreement and switch Germany's electric system to renewable energy. It was introduced as early as 1991 in the belief that renewable energy could easily replace the hated fossil fuels if properly subsidized via a feed-in tariff and written into law as a Renewable Energy Act (EEG) in 2000. By offering subsidies of up to seven times the market price for electricity paid by the consumer, guaranteeing it for 20 years, and offering all manner of additional benefits, the government caused a renewable building frenzy in a country that is neither sunny nor particularly windy. And to the extent that there is wind, it is in the north, far from the industrial centers in the south that need the energy. To add insult to injury, in 2011, Merkel ordered the closing down of the nuclear industry that produced 30% of the country's clean and cheap energy on the absurd assumption that Germany could suffer an earthquake and tsunami like what happened at Fukushima.

Thus, the renewable energy took off spectacularly, and the international green claque promptly declared Germany the paragon of environmental virtue and an example to be followed by all. But much of it turned out to be fake news, as documented in a new and devastating critique of the Energiewende by one of the founders of the German green movement and a pioneer of the renewable energy business, Prof. Fritz Vahrenholt, who calls it "A Disaster in the Making."

Indeed, it is. The mindless rush to renewables has already done tremendous damage to the German standard of living, with 300,000 households each year having their electricity turned off for non-payment. With the cost of consumer-born subsidies at 25 euros bln per annum and surcharges of 6.88 euro cents per kWh, or twice the market price of a kilowatt, Germans pay three times more than Americans today.

Worse is to come. According to the German consumer agency NAEB, by 2020, they will be paying 45 euro cents per kWh, compared to 10 cents for the U.S. and 20 cents in France. Nor is the green paragon likely to fulfill any of the solemn pledges it has made. It has missed its emission reduction targets for eight years in a row now and it will miss its 2020 40% promised reduction by a mile, to say nothing of the promised 1 million electric cars on the street by 2020. To accomplish its planned 80%-95% share of renewables by 2050, says Vahrenholt, Germany would have to triple its wind production to 155 gigawatts  which means one 200-meter-high turbine every 2.7 km in the entire country. It won't happen.

Against the background of this unfolding calamity, Merkel's solemn promise to "lead energy transition" together with the Chinese sounds exactly like what it is  more crass hypocrisy. It is yet more proof of how right President Trump was to pull America out of this sorry circus.

What's even more promising is that Trump's decision has made sober-thinking individuals start questioning Merkel's disastrous policies even in Germany. Since then, a group of influential government conservatives have openly challenged Merkel's "unilateral" policies and demanded that they change.

Alex Alexiev is chairman of the Center for Balkan and Black Sea Studies (cbbss.org) and editor of Bulgariaanalytica.org. He tweets on national security at twitter.com/alexieff and can be reached at alexievalex4@gmail.com.
Comey, Comey, Comey Chameleon

Boy George would be proud because if there is anyone who blends into his surroundings it is Something Comey. Whats his first name anyway? It doesnt matter; Ill just have to ask one of his friends. Wait, he doesnt have any friends. He sits alone at the tea party in his smart tea party dress (not that theres anything wrong with that), at least thats what it says in this memo I wrote about it, so it has to be true. After all, I wrote it in a memo.

That makes it fact.

When does it end? When will the Democrats accept the fact that they lost the 2016 presidential election? Its too late for Hillary; I know that. Shes like Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, a million years old but still convinced that she remains the star and the focus of everything. Those arent wrinkles; its just a bad mirror. The only difference is shell never be ready for her close-up.

Watching her blame everyone but herself for her loss kind of makes me pity poor Bill and sheds some light on his serial indiscretions. After all, anyone whose mate was a sociopathic money-grubbing shrew incapable of telling the truth would have a wandering eye.

Moreover, it brings to mind something else thats been in the news of late.

Ah, Laffaire Comey, (Did you see what I did there; I made myself look educated by using French.)

You know, anyone can be the person they want to be when they write their recollections or memos of what took place or what was said (I know that in my Bio Im Six foot seven with well, forget about that.)

It would take the audacity of a dope too narcissistically involved in the dreams of a parent to think otherwise.

About Monsieur Comey (see, see, I did it again, and they said I was stupid), I was out of my usual environs this weekend and caught some local news station talking head shaking her talking head, talking about Comey talking about the President being a liar. They had on air an on-air expert who talked on air about Comeys accusation and how the President might need to testify to prove he is not a liar. This went on for ten to fifteen minutes and nowhere in the discussion did they ever say what our President had actually lied about.

Thats the way it is today, the accusation is the evidence that proves the accusation, and everyone is forbidden to look too closely. Dont worry, it makes for less paperwork. That is, unless a union member or their family depends on that paperwork for their sinecure, then its cut the tree down and write a thousand pages.

First of all, as far as I can tell, Comey is not a Dictaphone (all right, stop laughing, I know Im old), his memos are merely his recollection of a conversation he had with the President.

If anyone thinks that there was no editorializing on his part, and lets face it, the guy thinks pretty highly of himself, audaciously believing that he is the last honest man in Washington, boldly going where no man has wait, Ive drifted too far afield.

No matter, thats the title of his soon-to-be-released autobiography, by the way. Barrys ghostwriters are working on it as we speak, and have been for some time.

Bill Ayers may be old (stop laughing, your making me feel unsafe, I need some crayons and some Play-Doh), but he can still type (I know, no one types anymore sheesh, this is a tough crowd).

In any case, changing his memories to make him seem more right, more just, more in control, more, more, more, is something half the people I know do on a regular basis (not me of course, I am as honest as the day is long, even if it gets late really early around here).

Im reminded of Inherit the Wind:

The Gospel according to Comey! God speaks to Comey, and Comey tells the world! Comey, Comey, Comey, Almighty!

If theres one thing you can say about the man (not me, Comey, pay attention), it is that he is more (although my girl says I am more of a moron than I used to be, but I choose not to remember it that way, I have a memo), he is more for want of a better descriptive, more.

Just as an aside, my girlfriends son became engaged on Saturday and she asked me to write the two sentences for the card. When I was done, she changed it, so everyones an editor. To think Comey remembers it exactly as it happened is naive.

His memos surely have editorial changes to correct what actually happened into what should have happened. Truthfully, isnt the truth the most malleable construct for our leftist brethren? If the facts dont match the truth, change the facts. Who knows anyway? As long as you wrote it down the way you want it to be, people will accept it simply because your paperwork is better than theirs.

Do you know what I would have done if I was Donald Trump? Once I heard Comey had written memos of our meeting, I would have written memos of that same meeting to say exactly what I wanted to say. Apparently, however, he has more integrity than I do.

What can I say; I am nothing more than an ink-stained scribe, which is something when you consider I havent used an actual pen in years.

However, I digress.

I have about as much faith in Comeys recollections of the facts as I do with anything Hillary Clinton says. To paraphrase Mary McCarthy speaking of Lillian Helmond, I suspect, Every word [he says] is a lie, including and and the.

And, whats with witting or unwitting, an exact phrase Ive never heard before, but both Comey and Brennan have since uttered it.

Collusion or coincidence; were they merely witty or witless? You decide.

So here you have Comey, the new media darling, telling the President on three occasions that he is not under investigation, yet someone in the FBI (Guess who?) is leaking hints of collusion with the Russkies, yet refusing to leak that our President is not under investigation.

I mean really, that seems to be the only secret the government has been able to keep lately -- that Trump was never under investigation.

Obstruction? How do you obstruct an investigation where there has been no crime? Collusion? Trump didnt give six-figure speeches to the Russians and then approve the sale of a majority stake in our uranium production to a Russian consortium. That was the Hildabeast!

My goodness, I think Im going to sit in my solarium and listen to Boy Georges Karma Chameleon on eight-track tape and watch my Betamax Groundhog Day on my 19 Sony Trinitron.

Either that or I will write something else. You decide.
As the dust settles on the just concluded election in Great Britain, the Conservative Party under Theresa May received 48.9% of the vote, compared to Labour's 40.3% under Jeremy Corbyn. Furthermore, although the conservatives lost seats in parliament and its outright majority there, Mrs. May will still remain prime minister by forming a coalition government with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

But even with that said, this June 8th election should be viewed as a disaster for what it might very well foreshadow.

To begin with Jeremy Corbyn is not just your run-of-the-mill leftist. He has been called a madman with good reason. Old Jeremy is a Marxist, unabashedly pro-Muslim, and a close friend of Hamas and Iran. Compared to Mr. Corbyn, Crazy Bernie Sanders comes across as normal and Hillary R. Clinton looks like the Goldwater-girl she once was before turning to the Dark Side of liberalism.

So it's bad enough that Great Britain gave someone like Mr. Corbyn 40 percent of the vote. But a deeper problem is where Labour drew so much of its support.

Polls show that two thirds of voters between the ages of 18- and 24-years of age voted Labour while half of those between the ages of 25- and 34-years old also did. Furthermore, this youth vote was energized. Almost 250,000 young people registered to vote ahead of the deadline. This is up from 137,000 on the last day of registration in 2015.

Now mind you, these youth voted for Islamic apologist Jeremy Corbyn in the fresh aftermath of Islamic terror attacks 1) in the Manchester Arena on May 22, with 22 young people, mostly females, killed and 2) the London attack on June 3 which left eight or nine innocent people dead. It's as if the Millennials are saying to the Islamic terrorists: 'No hard feelings. We understand. We'll adjust.'

Youth is the future. The way young people voted in this election could be a harbinger of Great Britain's outright surrender to the backward ideology of Islam in the years ahead. Not that long ago, I thought such a prospect was ridiculous and out of the question. I no longer believe that.

How can this be? How can young adults be so misguided? Perhaps a look at France in the aftermath of World War I might shed a light on such disturbing questions with the understanding that no analogy is perfect. In discussing post-WWI France, I will draw from Thomas Sowell's Intellectuals and Society.

Sowell writes that France suffered horrific casualities in World War I. More than one out of four of Frenchmen between the ages of 18 and 27 were killed, with many of those lives squandered by incompetent political and military leadership. And the hardship did not end with the war. Another factor, not cited by Sowell, is that as many as 280,000 mostly young French citizens died during the 1918-1919 flu epidemic. Sowell notes that because of the depletion of Frenchmen, more than a million women in the prime of their lives could not fulfill their expectations of becoming wives and mothers. Accordingly, during the 1930s, not enough babies were born in France to replace those who died during that decade. A gloom set over France.

In this environment and with the intellectuals in the vanguard, pacifism came to dominate the country's thinking. The artistic movement known as 'Dada' was highly attuned to this sort of nihilism. A view that prevailed was that war itself was the enemy, not other nations or emerging ideologies, and that patriotism and nationalism must be superseded by internationalism. These opinions of the intellectuals soon filtered down into the schools.

Sowell reports that Anatole France, a leading French poet, journalist, and novelist, addressing school teachers in 1919 said, "The teacher must make the child love peace and its works; he must teach him to detest war; he will banish from education all that excites hate for the stranger, even the hatred of the enemy of yesterday." He added that "we must become citizens of the world." (Sound familiar?)

Such advice was taken to heart by the education establishment. The French teachers' unions began organizing campaigns in the 1920s objecting textbooks that depicted French soldiers who defended their homeland from foreign invaders (the Germans) as being heroic, calling such textbooks to be banned as being 'bellicose.'

Sowell writes:

The once-epic story of French soldiers' heroic defense at Verdun, despite the massive causalities they suffered, was now transformed into a story of horrible suffering by all soldiers at Verdun. ... In short, men who had once been honored as patriotic heroes for having sacrificed their lives in a desperate struggle to hold off the invaders of their country were now verbally reduced to victims, and put on the same plane or other victims among the invaders. Ceremonies dedicating monuments to commemorate solders who had died in battle were sometimes turned into occasions for speeches promoting the pacifist ideology.

Swimming vainly against the pacifist tide was the like of Marshal Philippe Petain who said in 1934 that French teachers were out to "raise our sons in ignorance of or in contempt of our fatherland." How right he was, but Petain was viewed as part of the problem, not the solution, by much of France.

Such a pacifist sentiment makes sense in a Utopian world, but not the real one. Within a generation, the wolf was back at the French door. And he didn't knock. He blitzkrieged through riding on Panzers of steel to inflict a total French defeat in a mere six weeks in 1940.

This humiliating French collapse took most of the the world by surprise ... but not everyone. Winston Churchill had said ominously as far back as 1932 that "France, though armed to the teeth, was pacifist to the core." And indeed, an ill-prepared and ill-equipped Germany attacked mighty France because Adolph Hitler had studied the public opinion in both France and Britain. The words and deeds of both politicians and pacifists in those countries went into Hitler's decision to invade France in May 1940. And as it turned out, Hitler's assessment was right on the money while the conventional wisdom of the time was woefully wrong. .

Back to the present.

One has to wonder if today's Muslim terrorists haven't taken the measure of Western Europe and have concluded, as Hitler did in 1940, that the countries there were ripe for the taking? Of course they have. They can see that patriotism is rapidly waning in Europe, replaced by multiculturalism. In much of Europe, patriotism and pride of one's nation and even civilization is following Christianity into grave of irrelevance.

Evidence abounds. Leaders in Western Europe (and even in the United State) trip over themselves least they give the slightest offense to muslim sensitivities. Even outright terror acts by avowed Muslims are often greeting with either an avalanche of excuses, denial or blame shifting. If ISIS was to set off a nuclear bomb in the heart of a European capital, I half expect the elite opinion in Western Europe, to navel-gaze and wonder what they did to provoke such a rash act, and then quickly conclude that America and/or Israel were to blame for the calamity.

The youth vote in the just concluded British election shows the poisoning effects of years of indoctrination in multiculturalism the schools and the greater culture. Like the pacifism that dominated French thought and the schools in the post-WWI era, multiculturalism can only lead to a tragic end in Europe. As the years roll by, the most likely options for Europe will be either civil war or submission. That is said not as a hyperbole.

And I conclude with two additional bits of history regarding France in 1940. First, more than a few of the French were active collaborators with their Nazi occupiers. And why not? That is where the logic of pacifism leads.
While filming ABC's 20/20, I had a Muslim from Lebanon applying makeup while an Israeli immigrant worked the lighting and an Irishman worked the sound. I could not resist the opportunity afforded and asked the three of them, "When you, the Irishman, leave the room, do you, the Muslim, try to kill you, the Israeli?"

We had a good laugh, and the Muslim went on to tell a riveting and emotional account of what it was like living under Islam and how his parents arranged for his escape. He said he was an atheist, as were his parents, while living under Islam's foreboding shadow of condemnation. He described what it was like to be in a bombing. To a deception detection expert, his language indicated experiential knowledge and some post-trauma impact.

These workers clearly enjoyed their professional relationship, as do many in multicultural settings.

In Geneva, Switzerland a few months later, I spoke to many people who came from outside Switzerland, most of whom spoke English and French, while many others spoke three or even four languages. They too enjoy the economic and cultural benefits that free movement of peoples afforded. For lunch, they have Italian, French, German, Chinese, Thai, Indian, and other cuisine choices, skillfully prepared and available daily near every street corner.

Like a sumptuously prepared meal, the mix of ingredients can produce culinary delights, but consider within this multiculturalism the single entry of arsenic that destroys.

The element of multiculturalism that becomes defective is Islam. Islam is a supremacist criminal ideology, started by a pedophile murderous thief, with religious undertones. Unlike other religions, Islam is the only major religion that prescribes coercive violence at its core. In spite of claims to the contrary, the Bible's historical records report violence without precept for violence, nor historical precedent of coercive violence. In spite of elitist claims to the contrary, no one is dressing up as a nun, yelling, "What would Jesus do?" while strapped with bombs. History recognizes that those who waged illicit war and attempted to justify it with religion did so in contradiction to their religions' ideologies.

Multiculturalism's arsenic is Islam. The West is slowly yielding to the Islamic call of peace through submission. No politician wants to say "no" to its encroachment, knowing that even denying an Islamic school holiday is going to be met with violence or threats of violence. When sharia, or Islamic law, is protested, the left defends it. Sharia calls for death to those who oppose Islam, meaning the leftists, themselves, are under its lethal penalty.

European moral narcissism imported Muslims by the millions while disarming its own citizens. Each time another Islamic attack takes place and the perpetrators confess their motive, the left tells us that the confession is false and that it is not in devout obedience to the Koranic verses calling for violence. Rather, the killers are frustrated with the weather, the unemployment rate, or a 1,000-year-old grievance.

As London's Islamic mayor tells its citizens to get used to watching their children blown up, and Londoners react with teddy bears, hashtags, and arrests of citizens who complain about Islam, Manchester's police chief tells the world that "arming the police is not the answer."

It is music to the Islamists' ears.

Had Hillary Clinton been elected president, the disarming of America would have begun in earnest, much to the delight of this brutal and totalitarian ideology that has come off eight years of political defense.

As conservatives who often feel betrayed by President Trump, perhaps we should pause and consider what European children are now getting "used to" as they grow up going to school under military protection.

Still, the field trips to mosques continue, and the slogan of "love not hate" is sung to the Islamic soldiers too numerous for surveillance, who watch Europe submit and understand their own supremacy. While we have moments of silence on Facebook, they are reloading.

Multiculturalism's benefits are destroyed by Islam.

In the march against sharia in the United States, it was the absence of Muslims that is most disturbing. CAIR, the Muslim Brotherhood, and leftist organizations came together to oppose the opposing of Islamic law in America.

We've got to build borders, or else, like Western Europe, we'll have to build barriers around us, our children, and the monuments of progress to protect all from this encroaching virus.

Multiculturalism is the entry gate of Islam into the West.
The Guardian newspaper reported on Sunday that U.S. president Donald Trump had requested a postponement in his state visit to Great Britain, scheduled for sometime in October.

The request, according to the Guardian sources, came in a telephone call from the president to Prime Minister May last month.

The US president said he did not want to come if there were large-scale protests and his remarks in effect put the visit on hold for some time. The call was made in recent weeks, according to a Downing Street adviser who was in the room. The statement surprised May, according to those present. The conversation in part explains why there has been little public discussion about a visit. May invited Trump to Britain seven days after his inauguration when she became the first foreign leader to visit him in the White House. She told a joint press conference she had extended an invitation from the Queen to Trump and his wife Melania to make a state visit later in the year and was "delighted that the president has accepted that invitation". Many senior diplomats, including Lord Ricketts, the former national security adviser, said the invitation was premature, but impossible to rescind once made.

But both the White House and the P.M.'s office are denying the report, saying the trip is still on.

Reuters:

Prime Minister Theresa May's office said on Sunday there had been no change to plans for U.S. President Donald Trump's to come to Britain on a state visit, after the Guardian newspaper reported the trip had been postponed. The paper, citing an unnamed adviser at May's Downing Street office who was in the room at the time, reported Trump had told May by telephone in recent weeks that he did not want to come if there were likely to be large-scale protests. "We aren't going to comment on speculation about the contents of private phone conversations," a spokeswoman for May's office said. "The queen extended an invitation to President Trump to visit the UK and there is no change to those plans." The White House had no immediate comment on the report. No date has been set for the visit, which was agreed during May's visit to Washington in January, but British media had reported it was planned for October. Trump has come under fire in Britain this month for his public criticism of London Mayor Sadiq Khan's response to an attack by Islamist militants in London, in which eight people were killed. May found herself forced to defend Khan, who is from the opposition Labour party.

Does anyone believe that Trump would cancel a state visit because of the possibility of protests? Obviously, whoever concocted this story doesn't know the president very well.

This may have been a trial balloon sent up by May loyalists who are trying to fend off challenges to May's leadership from inside the Conservative Party. No doubt the British press would react favorably to a Trump cancelation, which could strengthen her position going into a party meeting this week.

But that sort of thinking is delusional. May is more than likely to lose her job in the coming weeks, even if she can cobble together a majority with the Irish Unionists Party. One sign of trouble is that the queen's speech to Parliament outlying the government's legislative program has been delayed a few days. It's unclear how the Conservative Party program will be affected by their alliance with the Unionists, which means that their legislative plans are up in the air.

It's becoming less likely that Trump will be meeting with Theresa May when he sets foot on British soil in October.
In my Sunday column, I wrote of the similarity of the Comey-Mueller investigation of purported "Russian collusion" with the Trump campaign to the confected search for who leaked Valerie Plame's name. This was a scheme against Vice President Cheney that ended in the conviction of his aide, Lewis Libby, for a weakly proven process crime. I had missed that Comey and Mueller may well have honed their Deep State purge of political opponents then, something clearly at the bottom of this nonsensical investigation into "Russian collusion" with the Trump campaign.

According to Michael Isikoff, writing in 2006, the FBI (then headed by Mueller) and an unnamed "senior Department of Justice official" were advised in October 2003 that Armitage was the man who leaked Plame's identity  and yet two months later, upon his appointment to be deputy attorney general, James Comey appointed his friend Patrick Fitzgerald to investigate the leak. It's hard to believe he didn't at the time know full well who the leaker was.

Professor Jacobson at Legal Insurrection indicates that Comey's testimony suggests that Mueller is already going beyond the narrow mandate of Acting Attorney General Rosenstein and considering whether the president's discussion with him about General Flynn constitutes "obstruction."

By the Order from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, Mueller includes within his jurisdiction any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation. Comey testified that he believes Mueller is evaluating the communications between Comey and Trump with regard to potential obstruction of justice. Indeed, Comey expressed certainty in his testimony that the Special Counsel was investigating Comeys conversations with Trump: COMEY:  I dont think its for me to say whether the conversation I had with the president was an effort to obstruct. I took it as a very disturbing thing, very concerning, but thats a conclusion Im sure the special counsel will work towards to try and understand what the intention was there, and whether thats an offense. What started as concerns over Russian interference in the election now is about the interactions between Comey and Trump. CBS News reported that Mueller reportedly gave approval for Comey to testify before Congress and that the testimony was coordinated. Comey testified that he was permitted to review his memos in preparation of his written opening statement for the Committee submitted the day before his live testimony: COMEY: Yes. I think nearly all of my written recordings of my conversations, I had a chance to review them before filing my statement. LANKFORD: Do you have a copy of any of the notes personally? COMEY: I dont. I turned them over to Bob Muellers investigators. There are a lot of questions that need to be answered about how Rod Rosenstein came to appoint Mueller in those few days after the Comey leak, and whether Comey and Mueller, directly or indirectly, had any communications regarding Trump prior to Muellers appointment. Regardless, we now have the prospect of the Special Counsel investigating and necessarily assigning credibility (or lack thereof) to witnesses, including Comey.

It's time to shut this down. Rosenstein should do it, and if he fails to, Attorney General Sessions must.
The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico voted for statehood on Sunday, but virtually no one expects it to join the union anytime soon.

Only about 23% of eligible voters turned out for the election, and 97% of them voted for statehood. But opposition parties that favored independence for the island or a maintenance of the political status quo urged their supporters not to participate in what they called a "rigged" election.

CNN:

Congress, the only body that can approve new states, will ultimately decide whether the status of the US commonwealth changes. "It will be up to this new generation of Puerto Ricans to demand and claim in Washington the end of the current improper colonial relationship, and begin a transition process to fully incorporate Puerto Rico as the next state of the Union," Governor Ricardo Rossello of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party said in a statement Sunday. For Puerto Rico to become a US state, Congress would need to pass a statute laying out the transition process. If Congress does not pass a statute, Puerto Rico's status will remain as it is. Options on the weekend referendum included remaining a commonwealth, becoming a state or entering free association/independence. Free association is an official affiliation with the United States. Typically it would include Puerto Rico still receiving military assistance and funding but the ballot says the terms would be agreed upon by the two countries as sovereign nations.

The island picked a horrible time to ask to become the 51st state. It has all but declared bankruptcy due to its massive $70-billion debt. More than a third of island residents participate in the SNAP food stamp program, and unemployment is a whopping 14%. Both capital and people have been fleeing the island for years, leaving Puerto Rico impoverished.

But with this vote, the governor will appoint two senators and seven representatives who will show up in Congress later this year and demand to be seated. It's called the "Tennessee Plan" and was successfully employed by seven former U.S. territories to effect statehood. Congress originally organized the land that is now Tennessee into a territory with the understanding that it would eventually become a state. But the process was too slow for many in the territory, and they took several steps to force statehood on the U.S. Congress:

They held a vote and 73% of the people voted for immediate statehood. The Governor and the local legislature held a convention to establish a constitutional government  not as a territorial government but for government as a State of the Union. The convention approved a state constitution, declared the end of territorial government on March 28, 1796, and said Tennessee would become a State on that same day. The legislature also established two Congressional districts, authorized four presidential electors, sponsored elections for two members of the U.S. House, and elected two Senators. The U.S. Senate opposed admission; Tennessee was being too bold for them. The Tennessee Senators went to the Senate and demanded their seats, but the Senate refused. The House supported admission, though. On June 1, 1796, Congress yielded and passed an admission act allowing Tennessee one seat in the House until the next census. They also insisted on new elections, since the citizens of a territory did not have the power to elect members of Congress. Only citizens of a state can do that. Tennessee had declared itself a state, but only Congress can do that. Tennessee accepted the compromise and became a state just a few months after they said they would.

Republicans in Congress are not eager to add another reliable Democratic state to the union with another seven electoral votes for the Dems. They also are balking at the idea of bailing out the island and fixing its debt situation.

In short, it is extremely likely that any plan by Puerto Rico to effect statehood is dead in the water as long as Republicans own a majority in Congress.
Senator Dianne Feinstein, ranking minority member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is calling for an investigation into why former Attorney General Loretta Lynch asked then-director of the FBI James Comey to downplay the nature of DoJ's probe into Hillary Clinton's emails.

Comey shocked the committee when he said that, at the time, he didn't trust the Department of Justice to carry out a thorough investigation of the Clinton email scandal. He mentioned that former A.G. Lynch asked him to call the investigation a "matter," which would have trivialized the investigation in the eyes of the voting public.

Politico:

Asked whether Lynch was providing cover for Clinton, Feinstein said she couldn't answer. "I would have a queasy feeling too, though, to be candid with you," she said on CNN's "State of the Union." "I think we need to know more about that, and there's only one way to know about it, and that's to have the Judiciary Committee take a look at that." But Feinstein emphasized that this investigation should be separate from the one into potential ties between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russia. "I don't think we should mix the two," the California senator said. Feinstein, who is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee and a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said she didn't know whether Trump's statements to Comey on the Russia probe, as relayed by the former FBI director, constitute obstruction of justice. "I don't intend to draw any conclusions until investigations are finished," she said.

Wouldn't it be interesting to discover if Comey's conversation with Lynch about downplaying the nature of the investigation occurred after her secret meeting with Bill Clinton at the Arizona airport? Stranger things happened during the campaign.

I think it's pretty clear that Comey's mistrust of the Justice Department was well founded. Under President Obama, DoJ had become a full-fledged arm of the Hillary Clinton campaign, not only running interference for her, but ultimately absolving Clinton of criminal wrongdoing when the seriousness of her transgressions were obvious to all.

It would have been nice if Comey had mentioned his "queasiness" with Lynch's request while the presidential campaign was going on. In fact, he should have insisted on telling Congress about this unusual and improper approach by the former A.G. It may or may not have had much of an effect on the campaign, but it would certainly have revealed the lengths to which the Obama administration was working to elect Hillary Clinton president.
At first glance, German chancellor Angela Merkel's open politicking to win the favor of Mexico's government at our expense is kind of disgusting.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel during her visit Saturday to Mexico spoke out against building walls, saying the construction of physical borders won't fix problems with immigration. "Obviously the main reason for people leaving must be addressed on site first, which means putting up walls and cutting oneself off will not solve the problem," Merkel said, speaking in Mexico City. "It's an issue you can study well in the history of China with the (Great) Wall of China, you can study it in the history of the Roman Empire. Essentially, only when great empires have managed to forge sensible relationships with their neighbors and to manage migration has it been a success."

Any American can see right through that suck-up gambit and come to the conclusion that the frau ought to mind her own beeswax. After all, she ruined her own country by opening its borders to all comers and laying out the welfare goody table  while not paying her NATO dues, why should we be so stupid as to ruin ours, following her off the lemming cliff?

But a closer look at what she's really saying gives great insight to the sophistry of the left.

In two instances, she lays out reality as her premise and then with sophomoric logic delivers exactly the wrong answer. It's an Obama-esque effort to disarm the diagnoses of problems coming from the right by begging the question. To wit:

"Obviously the main reason for people leaving must be addressed on site first, which means putting up walls and cutting oneself off will not solve the problem," Merkel said, speaking in Mexico City.

She speaks as if the Mexican government, which makes life unlivable in Mexico, is somehow related to the U.S. plan to build a wall. It's rubbish. If the main reason for people leaving must be addressed first, that puts the ball squarely in the court of Mexico's corrupt government. The wall is nothing but a U.S. reaction to the Mexican government and its unwillingness to reform itself so that people will want to live in that country. Mexico's government is crappy and corrupt not because the U.S. wants to build walls; the U.S. is building walls because the Mexican government is crappy and corrupt and refuses to reform itself. If the main reason for people leaving must be addressed first, that lays the problem squarely at the feet of Mexico's corrupt, cynical government, which thinks nothing of pushing emigration on its own people to relieve itself of any internal pressure for reform. It sure as heck has nothing to do with President Trump's plan to protect the U.S.'s unguarded southern border.

Merkel's sophistry continues as she lectures the U.S. about the Great Wall of China, with some fake rewritten history:

It's an issue you can study well in the history of China with the (Great) Wall of China, you can study it in the history of the Roman Empire. Essentially, only when great empires have managed to forge sensible relationships with their neighbors and to manage migration has it been a success.

Nope, China didn't forge sensible relationships with the Mongol hordes to manage migration  China built a wall to keep invaders the hell out. When China's leaders neglected all means of defenses against them, the Mongols eventually took over, becoming the Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, who threw the Yuan out, were the most ardent of China's wall-builders.

But to hear Merkel tell it, making friends with the interlopers who would take your country over and "forging sensible relationships" to "manage migration" is the only way to make walls a success. Even if you can find a scintilla of truth in that twisted up logic, the onus remains on the cynical Mexican government to "forge sensible relationships" with the U.S. in order to, oh, make the U.S. wall a success. Or something.

The sophistry is clear enough  which goes to show that Merkel could not care less about logic, or addressing one party at a time, or keeping her nose out of other countries' business. She's out to stir the pot up between the U.S. and Mexico as payback for President Trump's pointing out the failures of her own open-borders philosophy in Germany.

That's some ally we've got there. Not just a hostile one, but a sophomoric one. Let's hope President Trump reminds her of her dues-paying obligations and suggests to her to kindly look to Mexico next time a Russian invasion beckons Germany.
For many years now, we conservatives have had the impression that our nation is fragmenting. Day by day, more signs of this disintegration accumulate. Throughout it all, many of us had hoped that the fragmentation could be reversed. We tried to persuade ourselves that our republic would prove resistant to unconstitutional ideas, and that the American people would come to their senses and reunite, before irreversible catastrophe occurred.

That hope seems to be quickly vanishing.

Two items in the news are of special interest. One of them is that protesters are conducting marches against sharia law.

The other involves a young woman named Reality Winner, who has been arrested and jailed on charges of stealing and publishing secret government documents that purport to link Russia to election hacking. Winner's motive seems linked to the fact that she has been publicly opposed to the Trump presidency  so much so as to have advocated destroying the White House.

These news items are only two of the latest, among the many examples of the increasingly rancorous divide in American politics.

The march against sharia law is predictably being characterized by the left as an example of right-wing racism and intolerance. (One wonders, when will the left march against Islamic homophobia?)

However, the fear of sharia law is not entirely imaginary. There is a recurring effort by Muslims to institute it. And there are other ways in which Muslims segregate themselves from the rest of society. Most recently, this has taken the form of demanding that the government provide Muslims with "safe spaces." The spaces would shield them from surveillance so that they could  and the Muslims specify this  say things they otherwise could not say in the open.

What, pray tell, are they afraid to say in the open, that radicals of both the right and left are not already saying? Burn down the White House? Murder homosexuals?

My lifelong optimism for America is being challenged by the divisiveness in our society. Once the mighty boulder is cleft, there is no way to return it to its former state.

Not only did the American Revolution give us a war against the British Empire, but it also pitted Americans against each other, Tory versus Patriot.

A second American Civil War would be bloody and destructive on a scale none of us has seen in our lifetime within these borders. Even so, a Second American Revolution may be unavoidable. Constitutional government may require it.
It probably wasn't easy, but Venezuela's bishops have managed to buttonhole Pope Francis for a rundown on the facts of life in Marxist Venezuela.

At their "request," Pope Francis met Venezuela's top bishops Thursday. Discussions centered on the country's growing political unrest against a "cruelly" repressive government.

So it was the bishops who had to ask, or else they'd go unheard.

That they even had to ask is evidence of how opaque the pope has been about the nightmare engulfing the retrograde communist country.

"The situation is very, very grave," [Venezuelan Cardinal Jorge] Urosa Savino told Crux Tuesday. "What we see is a people who are suffering, who are being humiliated, and who are being cruelly repressed" by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's regime.



Government moves  through the Supreme Justice Tribunal  to "take the constitutional faculties from the National Assembly," while at the "same time giving the president a series of super powers," said Urosa Savino, have "worsened" the political crisis in the last months.



Despite a partial u-turn by the top court, the latest stream of protests has been non-stop since April 4th. The ranks span all social classes. The death toll numbers above 70 with the wounded in the thousands.



"The dead have been caused by the repression, created by state forces and civilian groups armed by the government acting to strengthen government repression, which is something criminal," said Cardinal Urosa Savino.



Poverty, unrest, impunity, corruption, and widespread shortages in food, electricity, medicine, and basic goods now define what had once been one of the richest countries in Latin America. Polls show that 80% of the population wants Maduro out through new presidential elections.

Of course, hearing this can't be a pleasure for Pope Francis. In fact, it might be an embarrassment  he's endorsed all of the Marxist ideas that have brought the Venezuelan nation to its knees and now is being called on to denounce it.

But so far, instead of speaking out and cutting his losses, the pope has naively called for "dialogue"  with the obvious results.

Pope Francis has repeatedly called for "negotiated solutions" to end the "serious humanitarian, social, political and economic crisis" Venezuelans are suffering. Vatican supported talks last year broke down because "the government has used the legitimate instrument of dialogue, plain and simple, to postpone solving problems, to avoid having to take action against their own intentions," said Urosa Savino. "And that, of course, is unacceptable," he emphasized.

But it's not as if the pope hasn't been told what is going on. As I wrote back in 2015, the Venezuelan bishops have been warning about the problem for years:

In a refreshingly powerful and direct statement, Venezuela's bishops Monday blamed "Marxist socialism" and "communism" by name for the horrors and chaos gripping their country, according to a story in El Universal. The bishops said the long lines of people trying to buy food and other basic necessities and the constant rise in prices are the result of the government's decision to "impose a political-economic system of socialist, Marxist or communist," which is "totalitarian and centralist" and "undermines the freedom and rights of individuals and associations." The Venezuelan bishops specifically stated that the private sector was critical for the well being of the country. The document, read by Monsignor Diego Padron in Spanish, said the country needs "a new entrepreneurial spirit with audacity and creativity."

Not wanting to create some sort of schism, the Venezuelan bishops have tended to defend the pope and have stated he is fully informed about the scope of the problem. They have even tried to de-ideologize the problem, probably to take the heat off the pope's well known friendliness to Marxism in a bid to win his support.

Pope Francis is "very close to the suffering" of Venezuelans and fully "trusts" the country's top bishops, said Venezuelan Episcopal Conference (CEV) President Archbishop Diego Padron Sanchez of Cumana. His Holiness is "very well informed about the situation," Padron Sanchez said after the CEV's audience with the Pope on Thursday. "We have his full trust" and "support," there is "no distance" between him and the CEV, reported Crux. Talks between the Pope and the six bishops  among whom also included Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino of Caracas and Cardinal Baltazar Porras Cardozo of Merida  focused on a "direct, crude, realistic view" of what Venezuelans are "going through" under President Nicolas Maduro's regime. "In Venezuela, there is no longer an ideological conflict between right and left or between 'patriots' and 'escualidos'," said their letter to the Pope. The "struggle" is "between a dictatorship  a self-referential government that serves only its own interests  and a people that cries out for freedom and anxiously seeks  at the risk of the lives of the young food, medicine, security, work and fair elections, full liberties, and autonomous public powers that put the common good and social peace first."

In their letter, they even called the problem Marxist, which is what it is:

The letter to the Pope Thurday stated, the CEV [Venezuelan bishops group] "categorically rejects" this Constituent Assembly. It "will be imposed by force, and its results will be the constitutionalization of a military, Marxist-socialist and communist dictatorship." Moreover, "it will leave the current government in power, annul established public powers, particularly of the current National Assembly; increase persecution and exile of opponents of the dominant political system; and expand facilities for corruption."

But the pope himself still needs to start speaking out about this man-caused Marxist nightmare. He hasn't. The record of the meeting was listed in the Vatican bulletin, but no comment was made. The question is, when will he start speaking out? Right now, Maduro is busy claiming that the pope is in his tree. Vatican history shows that tyrants who claim that have a bad way of coming into their comeuppances for such political cover. But thus far, the pope has done nothing to disabuse the tyrant of his transparent use of the pope as political cover.

Maybe the pope will get tired of this and finally come out and denounce Maduro and his communist tyranny plan. But so far, he hasn't. Can the Marxist ideal really be that strong in a pope who has no interest in its inevitable outcome? So far, this is how it looks. The pope needs to get busy blasting these Marxist monsters whose only legacy is poverty, oppression, corruption, and destruction.
The DUP take Arlene Foster to a Gay Bar

The DUP rock the gay bar, gay bar, gay bar, gay bar (also: The YMCA and In The Navy):

And Arlene Foster rocks this one: Its Raining Men!

And heres the original, which features the DUP serenading their leader with Arlenes On Fire:

Spotter: David Halliday

Anorak

Posted: 12th, June 2017 | In: Key Posts, Politicians Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
Tabloid review: Boris Johnson is BOJO the healer as Corbyn waits for Number 10 and Theresa hangs on

Is Jeremy Corbyn surging towards Downing Street? Can urban young Remainers get Corbyn, a Eurosceptic for most of his life, to change his ways, scupper Brexit and become Prime Minister? The stakes seem very high after Theresa Mays humbling. The General Election result invites so many questions.

Is democracy in peril? Wasnt Brexit the biggest revolt in British politics, a rejection of the establishment? Is Corbyns dynamic campaign and his leadership a strike against a hard Brexit? Is the increased Labour vote share a turn away from Leave and back to the EU? Brexit was not central to the General Election debate. Well, so they told us. And then when the votes were counted, it became all about Brexit. Have your heard anything other than Brexit leading the news cycle and TV bulletins?

Tabloid round-up:

In the Daily Mirror, we read (fornt page): Corbyn: I Can Be Prime Minister In Months

Corbyn says that if the Tories call another snap election, hes ready to win it and become Prime Minister. So close is Corbyn to power that the paper finally introduces Mrs Corbyn III. Shes Laura Alvarez, an ex-banker and 48 years young. She married Corbyn in her native Mexico in 2012. What does she do with her time? She now imports fair trade coffee. She is very much the kind of supporter Labour now represents.

The Daily Mail leads with Theresa Tears Up Manifesto. Well quite. Theresa. Were still on first name terms with Mrs May in the Daily Mail. Even on Saturday, when the vote was raw and she was, as the Mirrors source tells it, welling up with tears, the Mail backed Theresa.

The Mail on Sunday is less pally, preferring a night in with Boris:

As Mail editors compete, todays paper has Boris Johnson, for it she, declaring: Me after the top job? Thats tripe, says Boris. Tripe you can read in the, er, Mail on Sunday.

So into Theresa is the Mail that Peter Oborne analyses the election and declares: Lets calm down and remember that Mrs May won. She won a bigger slice of the vote and more voters, but she lost the most important result on seats won. Rather like Nicola Sturgeon, May took voters for granted and failed to engage with them.

But the real winner seems to be Boris Johnson. The Mail on Sunday loves him. The Star (ITS BOJO THE FAVE) supports him. The Sun leads with him. BOJO: BINNING MAY IS A NO-NO  Boris tells Tories to stop plotting. BOJO. Boris. May.

So keen is Boris Johnson to leave Theresa May in the limelight that he writes a column for the Sun. He make one salient point about democracy and the fluidity of modern politics, noting that Corbyn picked up Kensington  but then he also lost Mansfield. Labour is the party of the south. Who represents the working class now? Boris Johnson?

And finally the Express also leads with BORIS. He saysTORY MPs MUST BACK MAY. Over pages 4 and 5 were told: We need to calm down and pull together says Boris. We see the text message he sent to Tory MPs to encourage them to back the Prime Minister. Rally round the leader, says Boris. Boris should be leader, says the media. Rally round me, says Boris.

Anorak

Posted: 12th, June 2017 | In: News, Politicians, Tabloids Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
(ANSA) - Rome, June 12 - The anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) flopped in local polls across Italy Sunday as the old centre-left and centre-right blocs returned to the fore in major cities.

The centre left won Palermo with Leoluca Orlando and was ahead in Verona going into the second round in two weeks's time while the centre right was ahead in a long-time leftwing fief, Genoa, as well as in Taranto.

In Parma the ex-M5S mayor, Federico Pizzarotti, looked as if he will probably be returned over the centre left with his old party polling very low.

In Palermo Orlando of the ruling centre-left Democratic Party (PD) won his sixth straight term as first citizen of the Sicilian capital with 46% of the vote, benefitting from a winner's bar of 40% in Sicily, compared to 50% in the rest of the country.

PD secretariat coordinator Lorenzo Guerini said "the PD held, we are satisfied" while acknowledging that a successful local alliance with ex-PD group the MDP will be harder to replicate at a national level.

Rightwing populist Northern League (LN) leader Matteo Salvini said the results showed that a centre-right alliance with ex-premier Suilvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia (FI) was "possible, but only if the LN leads it".

Salvini said that for the next general election "we will do our utmost to forge a coalition that is as compact as possible" with FI. "If Berlusconi wants centre right unity, he should choose the first-past-the-post system," Salvini added.

The anti-immigrant, anti-euro FN is vying with FI as top party on the centre right and Salvini is vying with Berlusconi to lead the coalition.

Some nine million Italians went to the polls Sunday in over 1,000 municipalities.

The turnout was low at just over 60%, sharply down on the last such elections.

photo: Orlando
(By Michelle Ruelle).



- Rome - Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi on Monday signed an ordinance aimed at stopping tourists camping out at the city's iconic fountains. The ban, which will be in effect during the summer, forbids people from eating food, bathing, and climbing and sitting on the historic marble, and carries with it fines between 40 to 240 euros.



The move comes after several incidents of tourists bathing in fountains. Tourists also commonly sit on fountains and have snacks.



The Rome city government said the ban was necessary in order "to impede episodes that run contrary to the rules of urban decorum and to ensure adequate protection for Rome's historic, artistic, and archaeological heritage".



The city said the ban includes not only the fountains themselves but also "their foundations and the relative areas pertaining to them".



The ban takes effect immediately and runs through October 31.



Other prohibited activities include washing clothes or animals in the fountains, allowing animals to drink water from the fountains, and throwing any liquids or objects into the pools.



The traditional coin toss, however, is still permitted.



Roman fountains have been subject to a host of tourist behaviors that are targeted under the new ban.



The city's Trevi Fountain is one of its most iconic, given the scene from Federico Fellini's legendary film La Dolce Vita where Swedish actress Anita Ekberg, playing movie star Sylvia, invites reporter Marcello, played by Marcello Mastroianni, to dance in the fountain's waters with her.



In January 2017, a 40-year-old German tourist stripped naked and danced in the Trevi Fountain.



In that incident, the man - who reportedly had not taken drink or drugs - was escorted away by police after he emerged from a swim across the fountain's length.



In June 2016, three female tourists in bathing suits were photographed splashing under the waterfall-like spouts of the famed 17th-century Acqua Paola fountain on the Janiculum Hill.



Locals expressed outrage on social media regarding the tourists' disrespect for cultural heritage after the shots were posted on Twitter by a Rome resident who had snapped them while passing by and spotting the girls in the fountain.


BOLOGNA - The final statement from the Environment G7 in Bologna has been unanimously adopted, with a footnote in which the US says it does not back the section on climate and development banks, sources said Monday. Italian Environment Minister Gian Luca Galletti said "it could have been a G7 of rupture and instead it was the G7 of dialogue".

Stressing that "we worked to build bridges", Galletti reiterated that for six of the seven members, excluding the US, "the Paris climate agreement is irreversible, non-negotiable and the only possible instrument to fight climate change". He voiced the hope that there would be "future dialogue" with the USA.
>>>ANSA/ Rome mayor enacts summer fountain loitering ban Prohibits snacking, bathing, sitting, climbing on fountains

(By Michelle Ruelle).



(ANSAmed) - Rome, June 12 - Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi on Monday signed an ordinance aimed at stopping tourists camping out at the city's iconic fountains. The ban, which will be in effect during the summer, forbids people from eating food, bathing, and climbing and sitting on the historic marble, and carries with it fines between 40 to 240 euros.



The move comes after several incidents of tourists bathing in fountains. Tourists also commonly sit on fountains and have snacks.



The Rome city government said the ban was necessary in order "to impede episodes that run contrary to the rules of urban decorum and to ensure adequate protection for Rome's historic, artistic, and archaeological heritage".



The city said the ban includes not only the fountains themselves but also "their foundations and the relative areas pertaining to them".



The ban takes effect immediately and runs through October 31.



Other prohibited activities include washing clothes or animals in the fountains, allowing animals to drink water from the fountains, and throwing any liquids or objects into the pools.



The traditional coin toss, however, is still permitted.



Roman fountains have been subject to a host of tourist behaviors that are targeted under the new ban.



The city's Trevi Fountain is one of its most iconic, given the scene from Federico Fellini's legendary film La Dolce Vita where Swedish actress Anita Ekberg, playing movie star Sylvia, invites reporter Marcello, played by Marcello Mastroianni, to dance in the fountain's waters with her.



In January 2017, a 40-year-old German tourist stripped naked and danced in the Trevi Fountain.



In that incident, the man - who reportedly had not taken drink or drugs - was escorted away by police after he emerged from a swim across the fountain's length.



In June 2016, three female tourists in bathing suits were photographed splashing under the waterfall-like spouts of the famed 17th-century Acqua Paola fountain on the Janiculum Hill.



Locals expressed outrage on social media regarding the tourists' disrespect for cultural heritage after the shots were posted on Twitter by a Rome resident who had snapped them while passing by and spotting the girls in the fountain.




- BRUSSELS - The European Union's executive will open infraction proceedings against three eastern members on Tuesday for failing to take in asylum-seekers as part of a relocation plan to relieve the hardest-hit countries.



Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic will be issued letters of formal notice on Tuesday at a European Commission meeting for failing to take asylum seekers from Italy and Greece, according to reports.



The Commission will be publishing a report on the current state of the relocation program and the proceedings will be then due to start on Wednesday, with the publication of a monthly package. On May 16, Brussels launched an ultimatum to countries not relocating, saying that it would not hesitate to open infraction proceedings. Prior to being published, the report will undergo discussion at the meeting of European commissioners on Tuesday and thus last minute changes are possible. European Commission president Jean Claude Juncker ) who will be at the European Parliament on Wednesday morning), has said in an interview with the German weekly Der Spiegel that he supported infraction proceedings against the countries that refuse to relocate asylum seekers from Italy and Greece.



(ANSAmed).
Israel reduces electricity supply to Gaza Support for Palestinian National Authority policy

(ANSAmed) - TEL AVIV, JUNE 12 - The Israeli government's Defence Council decided on Sunday night to reduce electricity supply to the Gaza Strip, aligning in part with the Palestinian National Authority's policy for gradual disengagement from Gaza for as long as it is governed by Hamas, according to Israeli military radio.



The reduction will leave two million Gaza residents with only three hours of electricity per day, rather than four, said military radio.



Israeli Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan of the Likud party told the military broadcaster that the government's decision was necessary so as "not to find itself de facto supporting the terrorist infrastructure of Hamas".



However, military radio reported that Israeli armed forces are concerned the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip will worsen and that this, together with decreased economic support to Gaza from Qatar, could push Hamas towards a new military conflict with Israel.(ANSAmed).




Turkey arrests 664 terrorist suspects in past week More than half for suspected Gulen ties. '16 PKK members killed'

(ANSAmed) - ISTANBUL, JUNE 12 - Turkish authorities have arrested 664 people over the past week for suspected terrorism, with more than half (386) accused of having ties to presumed coup mastermind Fethullah Gulen, according to a statement from the Turkish Interior Ministry.



It said 227 people were arrested as suspected militants with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), while at least 16 Kurdish rebels were killed by security forces on Turkish soil.



Thirty-nine people were arrested as suspected ISIS affiliates and 12 were arrested for alleged ties to illegal far-left groups.(ANSAmed).




Mark Wilson/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Attorney General Jeff Sessions will testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday afternoon in an open session, the committee announced Monday.



Over the weekend, Sessions asked to appear before the Intelligence Committee instead of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, where he was expected to appear to discuss Department of Justice funding. In letters to the chairmen of the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies -- with whom Sessions was originally scheduled to appear Tuesday -- he wrote of the necessity to change his schedule following former FBI Director James Comey's hearing last week and an invitation to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee.



"In light of reports regarding Mr. Comey's recent testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, it is important that I have an opportunity to address these matters in the appropriate forum," wrote Sessions. "The Senate Intelligence Committee is the most appropriate forum for such matters, as it has been conducting an investigation and has access to relevant, classified information."



Senators had been pushing for Sessions to appear publicly to answer questions about his contacts with Russian officials during the campaign.



Lawmakers on the appropriations committees had indicated an interest in questioning Sessions on Russian meddling in last year's presidential election rather than on the Department of Justice's budget, as was scheduled, leading to the decision, according to the letters.



On Wednesday, written testimony by Comey about his alleged interactions with President Donald Trump was released in which the ex-director noted that he asked Sessions "prevent any future direct communication" between Trump and himself after the two shared a private dinner on Jan. 27 and a one-on-one Oval Office meeting on Feb. 14 that Comey found to be "inappropriate." Comey wrote that Sessions did not reply to his request.



During Comey's appearance Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., asked Comey a series of questions about Sessions' involvement in the Russia investigation during the two weeks between Trump expressing his "hope" that Comey could let go of the probe into former national security adviser Michael Flynn and Sessions' recusal from inquiries related to the election.



The attorney general cited his involvement in Trump's campaign for stepping away from the Russia investigation in March. His recusal announcement came days after it was revealed that he met with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. on at least two occasions in 2016.



Comey additionally expressed that FBI leadership believed Sessions would "inevitably" recuse himself and that they "were aware of facts that I can't discuss in an open setting that would make his continued engagement in a Russia-related investigation problematic."



Last week, ABC News learned that the relationship between Trump and Sessions had declined to the point that Sessions recently suggested he could resign. Multiple sources confirmed that the president was disappointed with the attorney general's recusal -- a decision Trump only learned about minutes before it was announced in March.



Despite the report, White House principal deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Thursday in response to a question from a reporter that Trump "absolutely" has confidence in Sessions.



Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will replace Sessions at the appropriations committees' hearing Tuesday.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
EgyptAir and the Japanese side are working together to have necessary permissions to resume these flights", said Safwat Musallam, chairman and CEO of EgyptAir Holding Company.

Captain Sherif Ezzat, chairman and CEO of EgyptAir Airlines said that it is time to operate this route after implementing the companys fleet development and upgrading plan and adding new B737/800 NG aircraft, used on short and medium- haul routes, with the latest technology and luxury means. Thus the wide types used for long- haul flights, including the Japanese market that EgyptAir targeted but postponed operating flights there due to supply and demand in the last period. "It is planned to operate new flights to Narita aboard the company's latest B777/300ER aircraft that accommodate 346 passengers," he added.
Based at the airlines offices in Muscat, Al Yousuf is responsible for leading Etihad Airways commercial operations in Oman, as it continues to grow its presence and operations across the region.

Al Yousuf was previously based in Perth, Australia, as an Assistant General Manager, leading the team in achieving its revenue targets for 2016 and driving collaboration with Etihad Airways equity partner, Virgin Australia.

Hareb Al Muhairy, Etihad Airways Senior Vice President Sales in the UAE & GCC, said: Hassans promotion is a recognition of his hard work and we are delighted to have him drive our continued commercial success in Oman.

Etihad Airways is committed to developing and rewarding the hard work of our Emirati aviation leaders.

During his career, Hassan has shown strong commercial, strategic, analytical and leadership skills. Prior to this position, Hassan was a Pricing Manager for the Indian Subcontinent (ISC) and Central Asia, tasked with achieving greater revenue generation for the region.

Al Yousuf is a UAE national and holds a Masters in Business Administration. He joined the airline in December 2010 as a Graduate Manager and brings with him over six years of aviation experience.
The results also show an annual revenue increase of 10.4 per cent.



This is an outstanding result for the award-winning airline, which has experienced a busy year of expansion and investment, as well as celebrating its 20th anniversary in the global aviation industry. Qatar Airways Available Seat Kilometres (ASK) increased by 21.9 per cent in the fiscal year 2017, to 185,208 million.



Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, said: Our annual results once again reflect the success of our expansion and growth strategy that has seen the Qatar Airways Group grow from a small regional airline into an aviation powerhouse over the last two decades. As we celebrate our 20th anniversary in the industry, I am proud to share our annual results with the world so that they can see how far we have come as an airline group and how our dedicated team of more than 43,000 employees have worked together to make Qatar Airways the huge success it is today.



During the fiscal year 2017, Qatar Airways has made significant investments and partnerships; launched 10 new destinations; announced industry-changing on-board product developments and expanded its modern fleet to 196 aircraft.



In July 2016, the airline announced an increase in its stake in International Airlines Group (IAG) from 15.24 per cent to 20.01 per cent, strengthening its position as a shareholder in one of worlds biggest airline groups. A further strategic investment was made by the airline in December 2016, when it acquired 10 per cent of LATAM Airline Groups total shares.



Other key partnerships secured throughout the same period include a joint business agreement with IAG subsidiary, British Airways, with revenue sharing on the London Heathrow-Doha route, as well as new codeshare partnerships with airlines such as Finnair, Iberia, Sri Lankan, Vueling and Air Botswana.

During the fiscal year 2017, the airline added 10 new destinations: Adelaide, Australia; Atlanta, United States; Auckland, New Zealand; Helsinki, Finland; Krabi, Thailand; Marrakech, Morocco; Pisa, Italy; Mahe, Seychelles; Windhoek, Namibia; and Yerevan, Armenia.



The airline has also announced that it will launch a record number of 24 new destinations in the next year, including exciting cities such as Dublin, Republic of Ireland; San Francisco, United States; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Santiago, Chile.
In many nations, the military engineering progress made to date in Saudi Arabia would be the cause of great celebration, as well as a matter of justifiable pride. However, the Saudi armed forces are extremely secretive, and expect their suppliers to observe similar levels of discretion, so little information leaks out about military contracts.

Details of US-Saudi contracts emerge via the Defense Security Cooperation Agencys statutory notifications to Congress, but the contractors themselves generally remain uncommunicative about work on Saudi programmes.

Local Saudi companies are often even more tight-lipped, and European contractors and governments are frequently even less communicative than their US counterparts.

But, while details of individual programmes, and particulars of the work of specific companies, may be hard to ascertain, there is a greater degree of openness about the broad thrust of strategic direction, and Saudi Arabia has made it clear that it aims to build a local military industry, eventually raising the proportion of military equipment bought from Saudi producers to as much as 50%.

The existing Saudi MRO companies will be vital in achieving the kingdoms lofty aims. The companies have already demonstrated advanced capabilities in the fields of maintenance, repair and overhaul, and increasingly represent a small but strong industrial cadre.

In his 2014 paper, Defense Industrialization in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Bilal Y Saab, resident senior fellow for Middle East security at the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security, commented that the old adage of Arabs dont do maintenance no longer reflects reality.

In some cases, Saudi MRO companies have already moved away from pure MRO activity to encompass limited assembly and manufacturing activities.

Some of the companies are already able to copy and reproduce existing technologies and are starting to be able to manufacture and produce at, or near, the technological frontier, and to be able to adapt existing technology to meet specific Saudi security requirements.

Alsalam Aerospace Industries is already manufacturing the wings, forward fuselages, and pylons and adaptors for the F-15SR (F-15S to F-15SA upgrade/conversion) programme in partnership with Boeing, and is undertaking the full conversion programme in-kingdom.

It will be very many years before self-sufficiency is achieved in most areas of military/industrial activity, thanks to Saudi Arabias still relatively limited technology and skills base. But developing these capabilities is a crucial step in the process of creating a sophisticated military industry that will meet the needs of the kingdoms military forces.

It would be a mistake to view MROs simply as being a useful step towards final assembly, or even whole aircraft manufacturing. The biggest proportion of the cost of modern military aircraft lies in their through life support and sustainment, meaning that MRO can represent a more economically significant activity than manufacturing, as well as providing a greater source of high-value, high-tech employment over a longer period.

Providing this kind of support for an aircraft fleet may not be as sexy as building the same aircraft type under licence, but it is probably more significant, more useful and more valuable.

Saudi Arabias MROs also help to ensure a greater role for the private sector in military production and industrialisation, and many believe that this will ensure greater efficiency and competitiveness than a wholly state-owned process.

But, while Saudi Arabia has impressive MRO competences, it lacks sufficient capacity to be able to maintain all of the Saudi armed forces modern western-supplied weapons systems without using foreign workers and even foreign companies. Some MRO contracts still go to companies based outside the kingdom, leaving scope for further investment in local MRO capabilities.

Saudi Arabia is not pursuing its drive for greater self-sufficiency alone.

When it attempted to establish an Arab Organization for Industrialization, it did so in association with Egypt, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, though the plan foundered in the wake of Egypts 1979 peace treaty with Israel, after which Gulf funding for Egyptian production capabilities became problematic.

Since then, Saudi Arabia has established a small arms industry with US and German help, while both Britain and the USA have worked hand-in-hand with local companies and joint ventures to encourage, establish, and enhance local industrial capabilities, and to assist with technical education and technology transfer.

While an expanded Saudi defence industry may provide competition to US contractors, the Obama administration urged Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council members to develop their own defence capabilities rather than depending on the US as much as they have in the past.

Developing local industrial capabilities will also help the nation to achieve the transformation envisaged under the kingdoms Vision 2030 policy. This aims to diversify the Saudi economy by increasing non-oil revenues, while reducing unemployment, raising per capita income levels and increasing womens participation in the labour market.

Unveiled by the Deputy Crown Prince, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Minister of Defense and the chairman of the Board of Economic Affairs and Development, Vision 2030 aims to stimulate a real expansion of the industrial sector, achieving a historic and ambitious transformation in just 15 years.

Saudi Arabias nascent aerospace industry will play a vital part in Vision 2030, building on the foundations laid by King Fahd and, subsequently, by Prince Khalid bin Sultan bin Abdulazizs reforms in the first half of the decade.

In 1985, King Fahd issued the royal decree that led to the creation of the General Organisation of Military Industries to oversee and coordinate the kingdoms existing indigenous defence programmes, acting as an overarching body for long-term defence planning.

In 2011, Prince Khalid bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz announced the creation of a new Saudi Armed Forces Command department, which would oversee local industrialisation and the transfer of military technology.

Probably the best-known military MRO in Saudi Arabia is Alsalam Aerospace Industries, previously known as the Alsalam Aircraft Company.

Created as part of the offset programme that accompanied Boeings sale of the E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control system (AWACS) to the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF), Alsalam was a joint venture 50% owned by Boeing Industrial Technology Group, 25% by Saudi Arabian Airlines, 10% by Saudi Advanced Industries Company, 10% by Gulf Investment Corporation, and 5% by the National Industrialisation Company.

The company has always operated as an MRO provider for the operators of Boeing commercial airliners and military aircraft, but has progressively expanded, providing in-depth aircraft maintenance and modification and all kinds of technical support services for airliners, military aircraft and business jets.

The company subsequently became a highly regarded VIP completions centre, and offered cargo conversions of a variety of airliners, while also providing MRO services for non-Boeing aircraft types.

It began to perform programmed depot maintenance (PDM) on RSAF Tornados in 1997, and started major checks on Saudi Arabian Airlines Airbus A300-600s from December 2001.

A marker of the companys capability lies in the fact that Alsalam is, today, the only designated warranty centre for Boeing Business Jets (BBJ) in the MENA region.

More recently, since 2008, the company has established a number of specialised workshops for the design and manufacture of some aircraft parts and components, using locally and globally sourced raw materials, and working with aluminium alloys, carbon fibre composites, fibreglass and plastics.

The companys manufacturing centre is licenced by the Saudi Civil Aviation Authority, and certified by the US Federal Aviation Administration and the British Civil Aviation Authority.

The F-15SR is probably Alsalams most ambitious programme to date. This designation covers the in-kingdom conversion of 68 existing surviving F-15S aircraft to the same standards as 84 new-build F-15SAs being produced by Boeing at St Louis, as well as the conversion of the second of two prototype conversions in St Louis by an Alsalam team.

The first F-15S-to-SA conversion was undertaken by Boeing. These two conversions, together with two new-build F-15SAs, were delivered to Saudi Arabia on December 13, transiting via RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk on January 10.

The converted aircraft receive a new forward fuselage, new wings, and new outboard under-wing pylons, all of which are being manufactured by Alsalam.

The company has already achieved a Saudisation rate of 56% and is working hard to increase the proportion of local employees, with a target of 60% Saudi nationals for all new programmes.

Though it enjoys an enviable reputation and a leading position, Alsalam does not have a monopoly in providing MRO services to the aviation elements of the Royal Saudi Armed Forces.

BAE Systems has helped the RSAF to establish facilities (including a dedicated Typhoon technical zone originally intended for local final assembly) at King Abdulaziz Air Base at Dhahran, and some expect the RSAF to take back Tornado work from both Alsalam and BAE Systems.

The Riyadh-based Al-Raha Group for Technical Services (RGTS) is to provide integrated support services to Saudi Arabias fleet of F-15S and F-15SA Strike Eagles and will manage unclassified aircraft spares and support equipment, as well as supporting RSAF base stand-ups and F-15 and F-15SA flight operations under a $355.9 million foreign military sales (FMS) contract placed by the US Air Force in 2016.

The Mohawarean International Group (MIG) and subsidiary, the Saudi Aerospace Company (SAC), are increasingly entering the expanding defence, aviation, security, logistics and communication markets, providing professional services for domestic and international clients in both civilian and military sectors.

The company was shortlisted to provide MRO services to support the RSAFs Cougar and Super Puma helicopters at King Khalid Air Base, and is heavily involved in providing training for the RSAFs F-15 force, as well as employing contiguous United States (CONUS)-based pilots for the F-15SA programme.

Though best known as the leading Saudi civilian MRO operation, having been reconstituted as a full-service MRO under the 2009 Saudi Arabian Airlines privatisation programme, Saudia Aerospace Engineering Industries (SAEI) serves both civil and military customers. Its new $1 billion, 1,000,000sqm facility at King Abdul-Aziz Airport in Jeddah will compete with other Saudi MROs for military work.

Interestingly, SAEI is working together with Boeing and Alsalam to create the new Saudi Rotorcraft Support Centre, which will support military and commercial rotorcraft platforms in Saudi Arabia, including Boeings AH-64 Apache, CH-47 Chinook and AH-6i Little Bird.

Other companies concentrate on providing more specialised support for particular aircraft systems or sub-systems.

The Middle East Propulsion Company (MEPC), in Riyadh, is the sole military engine MRO provider in the kingdom and provides support for the Pratt & Whitney F100 engines used by the RSAFs Boeing F-15 fighter aircraft.

Other specialised equipment support providers include the Advanced Electronics Company, which has teamed up with Lockheed to sustain the Sniper advanced targeting pods, the low altitude navigation and targeting infrared for night (LANTIRN) extended range navigation pods, and the infrared search and track (IRST) systems used on the RSAFs F-15 fleet.

The company also licence-built the Thales Damocles pods used by the RSAFs Tornado and Typhoon fighter-bombers.

As time goes by, many expect an ever-greater domination of the Saudi MRO market by local companies, with an ever-greater proportion of Saudi engineers and technicians. If the Alsalam Aerospace Industries experience is anything to go by, progressively greater local manufacturing capabilities are also likely to emerge.


While authorities were aware that a small amount of looting had taken place, they did not realize the extent of the destruction until it was too late. The largest pyramid on the site of Nohmul (also known as Noh Mul), the most important Maya site in Belize, had been reduced to just a core of rubble.
By Dezan Shira & Associates

Editor: Vasundhara Rastogi

It is important for companies operating and hiring employees in Singapore to understand the key elements of the countrys payroll process and stay updated on the latest regulatory changes when computing salary and social security contributions.

Salary

Salary Definition

The Employment Act of Singapore defines salary as all remuneration including allowances, base salary, bonuses, commissions and incentives, payable to an employee for work done under the contract of service. Salary does not include:

Any reimbursement made for expenses incurred by the employee during work;

Allowances for travelling, food, housing, medical and other amenities;

Goodwill payment or gratuity payable on retirement;

Retrenchment benefits payable; or

Pension or provident fund contributions paid by the employer.

RELATED: International Payroll & HR Solutions from Dezan Shira & Associates

Salary is subject to mutual agreement between the employer and the employee. An employer in Singapore is not bound by any statutory requirements on minimum salary. However, while hiring foreign employees, the employer must consider the minimum salary requirements relevant to obtain various employment passes. The most commonly applied work passes are illustrated below:

Salary Computation

Salary is calculated on the basis of a complete calendar month, irrespective of the total number of days in a month. An incomplete month would refer to a month in which an employee

starts employment after the first working day of the month

leaves employment before the end of the month

takes any unpaid leave during the month

is on national service reservist training during the month

The formula for calculating salary for an incomplete month is as below:

Under the Employment Act, an employer must pay salary to his employees at least once a month. The employer may also pay the salary at shorter interval if they choose. Salary must be paid within seven days after the end of the salary period. Or, in case of overtime work, within 14 days after the end of the salary period. Under other circumstance, salary payable is given in the table below:

Individual Income Tax

Singapores tax system is progressive in nature, which means higher income earners pay a proportionately higher tax, with taxes currently ranging from zero to 22 percent. Individual income tax in Singapore is payable on an annual basis and is imposed only on the income sourced within the country. The income earned outside Singapore is exempt from taxation.

Taxable Persons

The income tax liability of the taxpayer is determined by the taxpayers residency status.

An individual is a tax resident in Singapore if they are:

a Singaporean;

a Singapore Permanent Resident who resides in Singapore; or,

a foreigner who has lived or worked in Singapore for 183 days or more in the previous calendar year

If an individual is employed for three consecutive years in Singapore, however, said person will be considered a tax resident for those years  even if such a person was not physically present in Singapore for 183 consecutive days in all three years. Partnerships, including limited liability partnerships, are not liable to tax at the entity level. Instead, each partner is liable to tax on his share of income from the partnership.

Income Tax Rates for Non-Residents

Non-residents are taxed at the flat rate of 15 percent or the progressive resident rates whichever is a higher tax amount. There are 2 types of non-tax residency status:

If the individual is physically present in Singapore for 61-182 days, his/her employment income is taxed at 15 percent or progressive resident rates, whichever is higher. Director fees and other income at taxed at 22 percent. The individual is not entitled to tax reliefs.

For individuals who are employed for 60 days or less, their short-term employment income is exempt from tax. If the individual is a director of a company; a public entertainer; or a professional in Singapore, then the employment income is taxable in full at 15 percent or progressive resident rates, whichever is higher.

Withholding Tax

Under the Withholding Tax Act, a tax resident has a legal obligation to withhold a certain percentage of the payment when making payments of a specified nature to a non-resident and pay the amount withheld to IRAS.

Singapore does not have a pay-as-you-earn system. However, every employer in Singapore is required to participate in the Auto Inclusion Scheme (AIS), a mechanism through which employers submit their employees income information to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) electronically i.e. submission of form IR8E by March 1, each year. It is mandatory for all the employers with 10 or more employees, or who have received the Notice to File Employment Income of Employees Electronically to submit their employees income information to IRAS. The submission must be furnished to IRAS not later than March 1 of each year.

Between March 1 to April 18 each year, individuals may file for their taxes electronically. The information provided under the AIS is pre-filled on the employees electronic tax returns, and is included in their respective income tax assessments. In Singapore, the basis period for the year of assessment starts on January 1 and ends on December 31 of the same year.

Social Security

Central Provident Fund (CPF)

CPF is a comprehensive social security scheme that upholds the financial security of Singapore citizens and permanent residents. It addresses home-ownership, asset enhancement, medical requirements and the protection of dependents. CPF Act makes it mandatory for employers and employees to make CPF contribution based on the rates set by the CPF board (table). CPF contributions payable should be based on the employees actual total wages earned for the calendar month; this includes additional payments such as overtime pay, cash incentives, allowances, commissions, bonuses.

CPF contributions are not payable on items such as reimbursements, termination benefits (such as retirement gratuities) and gifts in kind. Employers are exempted from making CPF contributions for foreign employees on Singapore employment/professional visit pass or work permit. However, CPF contributions are required once the foreign employee obtains Singapore permanent resident status. Employers must pay the employers and employees share of CPF contribution monthly for all employees within a period of 14 days after the end of the month. Employers who fail to do so might face penalties or fines.

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.
Traders said that a complex taxation system like the Goods and Services Tax is not expected to stabilise from day one and many issues will crop up.

Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Arun Jaitley and Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia during the16th GST Council Meeting at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: With 60 per cent of the countrys small traders yet to be computerised, wholesalers and traders are demanding amnesty from penal provisions of GST for atleast nine months.

A large number of small traders are still not educated about GST and there are expected to be teething problem for them in the initial phase.

GST is expected to replace hand-written receipts as traders will need to maintain computerised records and file returns online. For that they will need to upgrade their existing business format and link digital payment with GST among other things.

We are asking for interim period for general traders for whom so far no interaction has been initiated by the government and they are still unaware of nitty-gritty of GST. Since GST is a new thing for the trading community interim period will be best suited to bring more people under GST net, said Praveen Khandelwal, secretary general, Confederation of All India Traders ( CAIT).

He said that when VAT was introduced there was around three years as transition period. Mr Khandelwal said that during the trial period no penal action should be taken against any trader for procedural lapses.

As per the GST Council decision, traders in the country with revenue above Rs 20 lakh have to register for GST. Till now GST rules have not been completely been framed. There are many things in pipeline. Trading community across country need to be informed about GST and GST is entirely different kind of taxation system against current tax regime. So it is obvious that during its operations there may be procedure lapse by the trading community, he said.

Still 60 per cent of the small businesses in the country has not adopted computerisation which is a major challenge because GST is technology based taxation system, he added.
Textile industry requested the GST Council to reconsider this on an urgent basis and bring it under the 5 per cent slab.

New Delhi: Textile industry today urged the GST Council to lower the service tax on job work related to made-ups and garment sector, saying the proposed 18 per cent tax would escalate the prices of final goods making them uncompetitive in the international market.

In a statement, Confederation of Indian Textile Industry Chairman J Thulasidharan said the industry is apprehensive about the made-ups and garment sector as the job work related to these still comes under 18 per cent service tax slab. He requested the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council to reconsider this on an urgent basis and bring it under the 5 per cent slab.

The Council yesterday fixed the tax rate on job workers in textile, diamond processing, leather, jewellery and printing at 5 per cent, as against the normal 18 per cent GST rate for services. Giving reasons for lowering the tax rates, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said the objective was to maintain equivalence to the existing taxation level.

Thulasidharan welcomed the announcement on revision of GST rates on job work of textile yarn and fabric manufacturing activity from 18 to 5 per cent.

He said the lower tax will provide relief to the textile industry from the extra burden as majority of the work of textile manufacturing is with small and medium enterprises and is carried on through job works especially in the power loom, knitting, processing and garment manufacturing sectors.
Your own GSTN is telling you that they will only be able to provide spreadsheets for uplinking by end of the month says, Amit Mitra.

New Delhi: West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra on Sunday maintained that GST should not be implemented with jugaad and the rollout date for the new indirect tax regime should be postponed by a month.

There is unpreparedness. Your own GSTN is telling you that they will only be able to provide spreadsheets for uplinking by end of the month, said Mr Mitra.

He said West Bengal has been the pioneer in seeking GST implementation, but the regime should be such that common man and small traders benefit alike. I have also added a caveat (in the Council meeting) that July 1 looks extremely difficult. You cannot do Jugaad for worlds largest fiscal reform called GST, Mr Mitra said.

He said that in India anything can be managed by jugaad but not GST. Like demonetisation could not be managed by jugaad. That is why you got a fall in last quarters GDP number. There is a limit. This is much bigger than demonetisation. Note ban involved banks and the public. This involves millions of enterprises, said Mr Mitra.

He said that GST will involve processing of 300 crore of invoices per month. How will it happen. Can you imagine the size of the activity, he said

However, the West Bengal finance minister signaled a softening of stance asking not to worry about the passage of State GST law in West Bengal.

We will, dont worry, West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra told this newspaper when asked whether West Bengal will pass the state GST bill.

Sources indicated that West Bengal has an option to bring in ordinance if it could not pass the state GST law on time.

Sources said passing of law is also not difficult as it is reflection of Central GST passed by the Parliament.
In February 2016, Dutt completed his sentence after it was curtailed by eight months due to good behaviour.

Mumbai: The Bombay high court has questioned the state over the soft stance it has taken to release actor Sanjay Dutt eight months before his prison term.

The HC also asked the state the criterion for releasing Dutt and parameters for assessing his good conduct while he was in and out of jail for most of the time. It also asked the state to submit details of the decision-making authority and whether the DIG prisons was in the loop while truncating the term.

The HC was hearing a PIL against the early release of Dutt, who was convicted for possessing arms that was part of haul smuggled into India to carry out the 1993 blasts and was undergoing his sentence in Yerwada jail.

In July 2007, the TADA court held Dutt guilty of illegally possessing an AK 56 rifle in a notified area of Mumbai and sentenced him to six years rigorous imprisonment. Later, in May 2013, Dutt appealed in the Supreme Court but the court turned down his plea. However, it reduced his sentence to five years. In February 2016, Dutt completed his sentence after it was curtailed by eight months due to good behaviour.

A division bench of Justice R.M. Savant and Justice SS Jadhav was hearing a criminal public interest litigation filed by Pune-based activist Pradeep Bhalekar who had challenged the regular paroles and furloughs granted to Dutt when he was serving his sentence and his subsequent early release by almost eight months. The petitioners lawyer Nitin Satpute expressed surprise at the fact that the state managed to assess Dutts good behaviour despite him not surrendering on time after coming out on parole twice and the jail authorities condoning the delay on both occasions.

Taking cognisance of the objections, the bench directed the state to elaborate on the procedure it followed while deciding that Dutt deserved leniency and, thus, a truncated sentence. The court also asked to know whether the DIG prisons was aware of the recommendation sent by the jail superintendent to the governor seeking permission to curtail Dutts sentence by eight months.

The court also expressed surprise and asked when and how the state had managed to assess Dutts good behaviour and conduct when he was half the time out on either parole or furlough since he surrendered in May 2013. The court said that the state should file an affidavit in this regard and the matter would be heard in a week.

Case Timeline:
Curfew was lifted from all three police station areas of Mandsaur city on Sunday, but was in place in Pipliamandi police station area.

Farmers torched trucks at Mhow-Neemuch Highway in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday. (Photo: File/PTI)

Mandsaur: Curfew was lifted completely from Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur district, the epicentre of a violent stir by farmers, as the situation there remained peaceful on Saturday.

Curfew was lifted from all three police station areas of Mandsaur city on Sunday, but was in place in Pipliamandi police station area, which is 15 kms from Mandsaur district headquarters and where five farmers were killed in separate police firings during the agitation.

The curfew from 8 pm to 8 am has been lifted although prohibitory orders under CrPC section 144, which bans assembly of more than four persons, will remain in force, Additional Collector of the district Arjun Singh Dabar said.

Farmers in the state began protests over low prices for their crops on June 1.

The Mandsaur-Neemuch region, about 300 km from the state capital Bhopal, became the nerve centre of the gathering storm of farmer distress. Later, protests spread to some other parts of the state.

In Mandsaur, the curfew was imposed after five persons were killed in police firing during a farmers' protest on June 6.
The apex court also directed the authorities concerned to proceed with the process of declaration of results.

New Delhi: Paving the way for declaration of NEET examination results, the Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Madras High Court's interim order restraining publication of the results for admission to MBBS and BDS courses.

The apex court also directed the authorities concerned to proceed with the process of declaration of results, subsequent counselling and admission as per the schedule fixed by it earlier.

However, a vacation bench of Justices PC Pant and Deepak Gupta said the declaration of results as well as the subsequent counselling and admission will be subject to the decision of the apex court in the matter pending before it.

The bench also requested all the high courts not to entertain petitions in the matters relating to the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) examination 2017.

The order came on the plea by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and others challenging the May 24 order of the Madras High Court which had restrained the Board from publishing the results of NEET examination 2017 in which around 12 lakh aspirants had appeared.
BJP demands Sonia apology, says disown ex-MP.

New Delhi: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Monday pulled up party spokesman Sandeep Dikshit for saying that Army Chief Gen. Bipin Rawat had spoken like a sadak ka goonda (street ruffian) in recent remarks, following which Mr Dikshit apologised and said that his choice of words was wrong. He, however, said that the intent was right.

After an uproar erupted over Mr Dikshits remark, Mr Rahul Gandhi distanced himself and the Congress Party and said: A leader of the Congress has made a statement regarding the Army Chief. It is wrong. Saying the Army should never be politicised, Mr Gandhi said: Political leaders should not make statements about the Army Chief. Mr Gandhi added: I want to make it clear that (for us) the Indian Army defends the country... and so no statements should be made against the Army.

The BJP had earlier demanded action against Mr Dikshit for his remarks. Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said that it is shocking that a Congress leader has now targeted the Army Chief, and went on to add: I wonder if there is a strategy of the Congress to undermine our institutions. They do so in Parliament but to do so to the Army is shocking. Minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju also hit out at Mr Dikshit over his remarks, and tweeted: Whats wrong with Congress Party? How dare Congress call Indian Army Chief as Sadak Ka Gunda? The BJP also demanded the Congress leadership should apologise for Mr Dikshits remarks. Ms Sitharaman said there was no sense of apology in Mr Dikshits remarks after being pulled up by the Congress leadership and said that the Congress should disown Mr Dikshit, a former Lok Sabha MP. There is no sense of apology in his tweets. No less than Congress president Sonia Gandhi should come out and apologise, Ms Sitharaman said at a press conference. She went on to add the Congress leadership had allowed many of its leaders to go haywire, and that there was a pattern in it.

She said: It shocks me and my party.
The Meghalaya Assembly, meanwhile, in a resolution said: The order will hamper the rights of people and laws are already in place for cattle.

Guwahati: The Meghalaya Assembly passed a resolution on Monday against the ban on cattle sale for slaughter, seeking the immediate withdrawal of the Centres order, in the continuing protests against the ban across the region, as hundreds of people in Mizoram took part in a beef ban bashing banquet organised by a local group.

The protest in Congress-ruled Mizoram coincided with the visit of Union home minister Rajnath Singh and minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju, who reached Aizawl Monday for a meeting of the chief ministers of four northeastern states which share an international border with Myanmar.

The organisers of the Beef Ban Bashing Banquet, a social network group called Zolife at Aizawl, said they were protesting the Centres attempts to restrict their rights to eat what they wanted. Placards proclaiming Accept our difference or expect resistance, Beef Ban  Religious Arrogance, Historical Ignorance and Cultural Fascism and For Gods sake, lets eat beef were seen at the venue.

The Meghalaya Assembly, meanwhile, in a resolution said: The order will hamper the rights of people and laws are already in place for cattle. It is significant that a recent National Sample Survey report lists Meghalaya at the top among beef-consuming states in the country, where 80.74 per cent of people eat beef, well ahead of Lakshadweep and Nagaland.

In Meghalaya, two BJP leaders also resigned from the party saying that beef-eating was part of their culture and tradition, and that the imposition of the BJPs non-secular ideology was unacceptable. While chief minister Mukul Sangma termed the new rules an infringement of states rights, the Opposition parties  United Democratic Party, Hill State Peoples Democratic Party and even the National Peoples Party, which is a BJP ally  opposed the new rule and demanded its withdrawal. Congress-ruled Meghalaya will hold Assembly polls next year.
Strategic cooperation between the two will also be discussed extensively, with India being a major US defence partner.

New Delhi: The H-1B visa issue, the menace of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, Indo-US strategic cooperation including defence ties, Indias NSG membership bid, increased Chinese assertiveness in Asia and the Paris climate deal are likely to be among the issues on the table when Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets US President Donald Trump on June 26. Mr Modi will be on a two-day visit to the United States from June 25, his first there since the Trump administration took office in January and his fifth visit overall to the US since becoming PM in May 2014.

In a statement, the external affairs ministry said: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Washington D.C. on June 25-26, 2017, at the invitation of the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump. The Prime Minister will hold official talks with President Trump on June 26. This will be the first meeting between the two leaders. Their discussions will provide a new direction for deeper bilateral engagement on issues of mutual interest and consolidation of multi-dimensional strategic partnership between India and the US.

The US President had recently withdrawn the US from the landmark Paris climate agreement, saying the climate deal unfairly benefited countries like India and China, and that India makes its participation contingent on receiving billions and billions of dollars in foreign aid from developed countries. With the US Presidents rash utterances leaving India stunned, Mr Modi had refused to be drawn into a debate on the matter.

The H-1B visa issue had also left the Indian IT industry and the Indian government worried at the adverse fallout of proposed curbs on visas by the Trump administration.

Commenting on the US H-1B visa issue that has New Delhi worried over the fallout for Indian professionals, India had recently said it is not an immigration issue, but a trade and services issue. The MEA also earlier referred to the mutuality of interest in trade and business ties between India and the US, adding several US companies too operated from India.

Both India and the US are also set to discuss the menace of terrorism and measures to combat it, with New Delhi hopeful the US will take strong action against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, among the anti-terrorism measures being taken by the Trump Administration.

Strategic cooperation between the two will also be discussed extensively, with India being a major US defence partner. The situation in Asia, including Chinas increased assertiveness in the Asia-Pacific region, is also likely to be discussed between the two leaders.
The court taking note that 11.38L students will be affected if results are not declared, directed the auth-orities to proceed with the process.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday cleared the dec-ks for the declaration of results of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Neet) examination held on May 7 for admission to medical and BDS courses across the country.

A vacation bench of Justices Prafulla C. Pant and Deepak Gupta gave the nod to the CBSE to declare the results by staying an interim order of the Madurai bench of the Madras high court on May 24, restraining the CBSE from releasing the results. The court taking note of the submission that 11.38 lakh students will be affected if results are not dec-lared, directed the auth-orities concerned to proceed with the process of declaration of results, subsequent counselling and admission as per the schedule of admissions fixed in 2016.

The bench said counselling and admission will be subject to the fi-nal orders in these appe-als. The bench issued notice to the students who had filed writ petiti-ons in Madras and Guja-rat high courts seeking their response and posted the matter for further hearing in July. The bench agreed to examine whether different questions papers can be set for the Neet, one in English, Hindi and oth-er regional languages and whether such an examination will affect the level playing field.

The apex court barred all high courts from entertaining fresh petitions against Neet. On May 24, the Madras HC acting on a batch of petitions from students who took Neet examination stayed the results.

It was argued that the CBSE had set different question papers in English and 10 regional languages.
MLA Shakuntala Khatik said she told cops to set the station on fire as they had 'failed to ensure women's safety'.

New Delhi: Congress MLA Shakuntala Khatik on Monday brushed aside allegations of inciting violence during a farmers' protest in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh Sunday.

"I didn't instigate the workers. Would they have remained silent, had I asked them to do so?" Khatik said.

Khatik further said that she only told the police officers that they shouldn't sit around but go ahead and set the station on fire, if they can't ensure women's safety.

Earlier, a video of the Congress MLA had surfaced showing her purportedly inciting party workers and farmers to torch a police station during the farmers' protest.

The Congress' Shivpuri MLA was seen in the video repeatedly inciting people to accompany her to burn down the nearby police station, whereas a police official was seen requesting the MLA to calm down.

Following the video, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded MLA's arrest and cornered the Congress asking party vice-president Rahul Gandhi to apologise for the irresponsible behaviour of his party leader.

"Certain Congress elements, who are instigating violence and appealing the mob to set the police station on fire, have been caught on the camera red-handed. It's unfortunate that just for the sake of votes, the Congress has stooped so low and staged a violent protest. The Congress should answer for this and Rahul Gandhi should apologise for the irresponsible behaviour of his party leader. I request the government to immediately arrest the miscreants and book them under relevant acts to ensure normalcy in MP," BJP leader S. Prakash said.
Inspite of the difference on some issues, Modi's talks with Trump are likely to find a common approach on matters related to South Asia.

New Delhi: At the invitation of US President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Washington DC on June 25-26.

It will be Prime Minister Modi's first meeting with President Trump, whose presidency began on January 20 . The two leaders have spoken over phone at least thrice since the latter assumed office.

This meeting comes at a time when Trump made critical comments about India while announcing America's decision to pull out of the Paris climate change agreement. President Donald Trump has accused India and other countries of trying to extract "billions and billions and billions" of dollars in foreign aid from the developed world to sign up for the climate accord.

In spite of the difference on some issues, Modi's discussions with Trump are likely to find a common approach on matters related to South Asia, particularly the rise in infiltration from the neighbouring Pakistan, terrorism and India's case for a seat at the nuclear supplier's group. Modi has reiterated India's support to the Paris agreement and said he is willing to go further than what has been committed under the Paris accord.

Both the leaders will hold discussions on taking the bilateral ties to a new level, convergence of strategic interests in South Asia, joint effort in fighting terrorism, trade and specifically the vexed issue of H-1B temporary visa, the biggest concern for New Delhi,

Moreover, US National Security Adviser (NSA) Lieutenant General HR McMaster has re-affirmed India's position as the US's "major defence partner" during talks with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Lieutenant General McMaster had discussed bilateral ties, situation in the South Asian region including Afghanistan and Pakistan with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his April visit.

Under the previous administration, Prime Minister Modi had a record eight meetings with former U.S. president Barack Obama.

On the US executive order on H1B visas, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has reportedly hit back at the United States on the H1B visa issue and said that their companies in India will also be affected .She has said that it is not only the Indian companies which will get affected but also the US companies who earn profits which go to their economy.
The BJP follows only one D that stands for development. However, the Congress believes in 3Ds such as defame, disturb and disrupt.

Bhubaneswar: Union minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Monday said that the Congress believed in 3Ds: defame, disturb and disrupt. The Congress retaliated in a similar manner.

The BJP follows only one D that stands for development. However, the Congress believes in 3Ds such as defame, disturb and disrupt. The prime work of Congress is to defame PM Modi who is always working for the development of the country, disrupt the Parliament over petty issues and disturb people by spreading false information on Central government schemes, Mr Naidu said here before attending BJPs Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas programme in the city.

Reacting to the remarks, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Prasad Harichandan said, The BJP-led government is also a strong and serious practitioner of 3Ds which stand for deaf, dumb, deceiver. The three years of Modi government is the era of destruction (Teen Saal, Vinash Kaal).
Researchers also discover how it can impact early deliveries.

The findings could help further understand the onset of labour. (Photo: Pixabay)

Washington: According to a recent study, the bitter taste receptors may hold the key to managing preterm labour.

The University of Massachusetts Medical School research suggested that exposing bitter taste receptors in the uterus to certain substances can stop many unwanted contractions that occur during premature labour.

"The biological mechanism of labour initiation remains unknown, and a large percentage of preterm pregnancies do not respond well to current medications," said Ronghua Zhuge. "The bitter taste receptors that we have found on uterine muscle could be one more piece of the puzzle to understand the onset of labour, both at term and preterm, and develop new therapeutics for preterm labour."

Zhuge and colleagues attached strips of human and mouse uterine myometrium tissue (also known as smooth muscle) to a machine that measured their contraction efforts. The researchers first exposed the tissue to native hormones such as oxytocin and chemical compounds to make it contract, mimicking normal or premature labour. They then exposed the tissue to bitter substances.

By activating the bitter taste receptors in the uterus, the bitter substances relaxed the contracted uterine muscle tissue more completely than the current drugs used to prevent preterm labour in humans. The researchers also found that giving mice bitter substances before they showed any premature contractions prevented them from having early deliveries.

The study is published online in The FASEB Journal.
Researcher hope these terminologies will help promote healthy active living.

Ottawa: You would now know which activity has made your lifestyle sedentary as researchers from twenty countries across the world have come up with a dictionary of new terminologies defining sedentary behaviour.

The research, titled 'terminology consensus project,' is conducted by Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute's Sedentary Behaviour Research Network (SBRN) with eighty four scientists being involved in it. Lead author Mark Tremblay said, "This is the world's most extensive agreement to date on consensus definitions for researchers examining sedentary behaviour, an emerging global public health priority."

He noted that there is an urgent requirement for a clear terminology worldwide to ease the interpretation and comparison of research. "The terms such as physical inactivity, stationary behaviour, sedentary behaviour and screen time have been defined well and translated into several languages for global uptake," he added.

The paper also describes how both energy expenditure and posture are important components and how the terms relate to movement behaviours throughout a 24-hour period, including physical activity and sleep.

Sedentary behaviour for people is also based on the age group. For example, sedentary behaviour for a baby includes sitting in a car seat with minimal movement and, for a toddler, watching TV while sitting, reclining or lying down. Examples provided in the study differentiate between active and passive sitting, active and passive standing, sedentary and stationary behaviour, screen time and non-screen-based sedentary time.

The authors hoped that these terminologies will reduce confusion and advance research related to sedentary behaviour and, ultimately, promote healthy active living.

The study appears in the ' International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity' published on June 10.
Chowdhry was arrested by the special cell of the Delhi Police near Gagan Cinema in Delhi on June 7.

New Delhi: Gangster Chhota Shakeel's shooter and aide Junaid Chowdhry will appear before the Patiala House Court on Monday.

The Patiala House Court on Friday had sent gangster Chowdhry to three-day police custody.

Chowdhry was arrested by the special cell of the Delhi Police near Gagan Cinema in Delhi on June 7.

"Junaid was allegedly hatching a plan to kill Pakistan born Canadian writer and liberal activist Tarek Fateh," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Pramod Singh Kushwaha.

The police claimed to have recovered a country made pistol and four live cartridges from Junaid's possession.

Earlier, he was apprehended on June 3, along with three other contract killers, identified as Robinson, Yunus and Manish following which they were sent to police remand and interrogated for five days.

Later, they were produced in a court which sent them to judicial custody.

Their plan was initially to kill Rajan while on transit to or from court before and after hearings, but that was later changed to attack him during his hospital visits.

Earlier, the police had found many audio clips of Chhota Shakeel from Junaid's mobile phone.
She flayed a section of real estate developers for duping innocent villagers in Bhangar into selling off their land at a low price.

Kolkata: Chief minister said that Maoists were inciting villagers of Bhangar in South 24 Parganas to protest. She said on Monday that the Maoists were extorting money from foreign countries by using photographs of peoples movement in Bhangar. The area witnessed protests over a power grid project in recent times compelling the Mamata Banerjee government to stall work.

They are getting funds from Venezuela by showcasing your land agitation. They will flee after some days, but your lives will be doomed. Dont allow them to create trouble in Bhangar. Remember they had murdered 400 to 500 people in Junglemahal, Ms Banerjee said.

The police had submitted a report to the state government, accusing Maoists and a group of around 40 Jadavpur University students of turning the peaceful agitation violent outburst. Ms Banerjee, who had spearheaded the land movements at Singur in 2006 and Nandigram in 2007 as an Opposition leader criticised the Bhangor movement and said, In Nandigram, there was an effort to capture the villages in the name of chemical hub. But in Bhangor, the villagers are being cheated and their future is being doomed. I cannot allow this to happen.

She flayed a section of real estate developers for duping innocent villagers in Bhangar into selling off their land at a low price.

Some promoters and developers want to acquire the farmlands at a low price and construct multi-storey apartments. These promoting companies are trying to cheat farmers and grab their land, she said.

She added that some outsiders had brought arms and bombs and they had stockpiled them in the villages. If you dont surrender arms to the police, we will recover them either today or tomorrow. We will recover the bombs as well. Who will guarantee that the villagers will not be killed by the arms? she questioned, requesting villagers not to provide any kind of support or shelter to the outsiders.

She urged the villagers to come forward with their grievances. If you have any grievances against political leaders in Bhangar including those of the TMC , please let me know. My officers will convey the details. I am ready to communicate with the villagers but not with any outsider, she said.
The temple authorities in Mumbai have decided to give free VIP darshan passes to those who donate blood at the temple.

Mumbai: Forget the long serpentine queues, come July you could simply donate blood (250-300 ml) and get a VIP darshan at the Siddhivinayak temple, Prabhadevi.

The temple authorities in Mumbai have decided to give free VIP darshan passes to those who donate blood at the temple. A VIP cost for Lord Ganeshas darshan at Siddhivinayak usually costs around Rs 1,000. The Saibaba temple in Shirdi and the Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh too have implemented same schemes for their devotees.

The initiative aims to address the shortage of blood in the city. Currently, the city needs about Rs 1,000 units of blood every day but the blood banks have only 500-600 units of blood available with them to meet the daily demands. The information about the free VIP passes in lieu of blood donation will be displayed on the temples website and campus soon, said sources.

It is estimated that around 30,000 devotees visit the Siddhivinayak temple every day with the numbers going up to 35,000 on Tuesdays.

Talking to The Asian Age, Sanjeev Patil, the CEO of Siddhivinayak Temple said, In the coming days, we will arrange for the needful and will the start accepting blood donations. Hoarding will be put in the temple premises to announce the commencement of the initiative.

To tackle the issue of blood shortage, the State Blood Transfusion Council (SBTC) has ordered all city-based and government-run blood banks to organise blood donation drives at all the major railway stations.

A senior SBTC official said, On June 7, SBTC had written a letter to the various civic-run blood banks to arrange for donation camps at railway stations and other public places in the city.
The bilateral courting of Islamabad by Washington & Beijing hasnt particularly brought about favourable results on the front of terrorism spreading.

India and Pakistan together joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the body of Eurasian states crafted by Russia and China in the aftermath of the break-up of the Soviet Union essentially to deal with security concerns, as full members on Friday at the SCOs Astana summit in Kazakhstan. Only experience will show how their presence helps to mitigate security concerns.

From its early days the SCO paid attention to keeping away terrorism, separatism and extremism  clearly indicating its wariness of the possible spread of political Islam in the region. The promoters of the body will doubtless hope that Pakistans scope for mischief in this regard may be reduced if it is organisationally embraced and given economic support as well as an incentive.

The bilateral courting of Islamabad by Washington and Beijing hasnt particularly brought about favourable results on the front of terrorism spreading. Indeed, the story of Kashmir from the Pakistani side is all about promoting terrorism, separatism and extremism.

However, it is to be hoped that the SCO will be a moderating factor on Pakistan, politically speaking.

Participating at the summit, and later meeting Chinas President Xi Jinping on its sidelines, Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the need for regional economic connectivity while keeping in view the sovereignty concerns of others  clearly a reference to Chinas Belt Road Initiative that passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, infringing Indian sovereignty.

As SCO members, India and Pakistan troops may jointly take part in anti-terrorism exercises, which is an irony considering that their membership of Saarc has done little to rein in terrorism.
Googles current flagship devices, the Pixel and Pixel XL, were launched last year in September.

Google has officially announced and released the beta version of Android O, and will release the public final version of Android O in September, where it will announce the name of the Android version.

Googles current flagship devices, the Pixel and Pixel XL, were launched last year in September and the tech giant has plans to offer support for a total of three years on the two handsets. This means that the two Google flagships will see support till October 2019, where users will avail of complete tech support from the company. The tech support service will available to users via a pre-installed app in the settings menu.

Google has confirmed that it will not offer any security updates or tech support to the two phones after October 2019. However, it also confirmed that the two handsets will not receive any Android OS updates from October 2018. On its official support page, Google has listed the two phones, confirming that they will get no guaranteed Android version updates after October 2018, no guaranteed security support after October 2019 and no official telephone or online support after October 2019.

Pixel phones get security updates for at least three years from when the device first became available on the Google Store, or at least 18 months from when the Google Store last sold the device, whichever is longer. After that, we can't guarantee more updates, said Google on its post. Pixel phones get telephone or online support for at least as long as they get security updates. After that, we can't guarantee continued support, Google continued.

Google has also confirmed that the pixel phones will get the latest Android OS updates from Google directly. The company has confirmed that if a user has bought the device from the Google Store, updates will come in within 2 weeks, but if the device was bought from another source, updates can take longer. So if you buy a Pixel phone from the Google Play Store after October this year, you are guaranteed to see the Android O, v8.0, pre-installed out of the box.

As for now, Google is preparing to launch the next Pixel-series flagships, three in total, which will be Pixel 2, Pixel XL 2 and another unknown variant. The devices will sport the Snapdragon 835 or Snapdragon 836 chipsets with 4GB of RAM and 12MP/8MP cameras. For now, the rumours about the devices specifications are based on online leaks that mentioned the two devices spotted on a benchmarking website.

Google has officially announced and released the beta version of Android O, and will release the public final version of Android O in September, where it will announce the name of the Android version.
Would you be comfortable knowing your government is keeping a track of your Uber rides? If the answer is yes then you might as well be glad that you dont live in Egypt. The New York Times recently published a report that suggests that the Egyptian government has asked Uber to grant them access to Heaven  a tool that live-tracks users travel data. Fortunately, Uber refused to agree to this proposal.

The report further goes on to suggest that the military intelligence officials were willing to give preferential treatment to Careem (Uber rival) if they decide to give into the governments demands. However, even Careem refused to abide by the rules. The question remains: How long before these companies actually are legally forced to give into the Egyptian governments demands?

As reported by Engadget, the Egyptian Parliament is planning on passing a bill that could mandate ride-sharing companies to host relevant servers within Egypt and also share their data to relevant government bodies. If this bill meets its inception, then the Egyptian government will have full access to users ride data and perhaps even use it to their personal benefits.
A correspondent in Saint Petersburg estimated about two hundred people detained in the centre, where demonstrators flocked to protest.

were shouting Freedom to Navalny after the politician himself was picked up by police on his way to the protest in the stairwell of his building. (Photo: Representational/AFP)

Moscow: Over 200 people were detained Monday by police at opposition protests called by Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, said a Russian NGO tracking arrests.

About 121 people were detained in Moscow up to this point. In Saint-Petersburg 137, OVD-Info group, which operates a detention hotline, wrote on Twitter.

AFP correspondents in central Moscow observed riot police lining up the main Tverskaya Street thoroughfare where Navalnys supporters were chanting Shame! and waving Russian tricolour flags.

Others were shouting Freedom to Navalny after the politician himself was picked up by police on his way to the protest in the stairwell of his building.

A correspondent in Saint Petersburg estimated about two hundred people detained in the centre, where demonstrators flocked to protest after authorities allowed them to gather only in a far-off spot in the north of the city.

Local media in Russias southern resort Sochi said 25 people were detained after attempting to rally, and OVD-Info added that about 10 arrests occurred in each Vladivostok and northern city of Norilsk.
Local authorities in Norway already have the power to ban the veil in schools, however there is no uniform national policy.

Norway's ruling coalition of conservative and anti-immigration right wing parties had promised the ban last year. (Photo: Representational/ AP)

Oslo: The Norwegian government on Monday proposed a bill to ban the full-face Muslim veil in all schools, from nurseries to universities, saying it hinders communication between students and teachers.

Norway's ruling coalition of conservative and anti-immigration right wing parties had promised the ban last year, targeting the full-face veil called the niqab as well as burqas, balaclavas and masks.

"We do not want clothes covering the face in nurseries, schools and universities," Minister of Education and Research Torbjorn Roe Isaksen said in a statement.

"These clothes prevent good communication, which is important for students to receive a good education," he added. Norwegian authorities will consult over the coming months with those who could be affected by the draft law.

Norwegian media reported the government can count on the support of most parties, saying the bill was expected to pass in the spring of 2018. Local authorities in Norway already have the power to ban the veil in schools, however there is no uniform national policy. At this stage, the bill does not lay out consequences for disregarding the proposed law.

The full-face veil is rather uncommon in Norway, even more so in schools, but the issue comes intermittently back into political debates. The Islamic Council, an umbrella organisation representing Muslims, hired a communication manager wearing a niqab, which sparked a heated discussion earlier this year.

Legislative elections will take place on September 11 in the Nordic country. "Clothes covering the face, like the niqab and the burqa, have no place in Norwegian schools. It is a fundamental value to be able to communicate with each other," Per Sandberg, interim minister of immigration and integration, said.
White House officials say few discussions about the trip have taken place and Trump's travel schedule is already filling up.

Bedminster (US): The White House said Sunday that President Donald Trump did not discuss a trip to Britain with Prime Minister Theresa May in their most recent telephone call, with officials denying plans had changed.

Trump has been invited to make a coveted state visit, penciled in for autumn, but no dates have been set, amid political turmoil in London and fears that the US president would be greeted by mass protests.

Trump was already a deeply unpopular figure in Britain before he criticized London mayor Sadiq Khan when he was managing the response to a major terror attack.

Britain's Guardian newspaper group poured doubt over the trip Sunday, reporting that Trump told May in a phone call in recent weeks that he does not want to go ahead with a state visit until the British public supports him coming.

White House officials say few discussions about the trip have taken place and Trump's travel schedule is already filling up. The president is expected to travel to Poland and Germany next month and has agreed to attend summits in the Philippines and Vietnam.

There have also been discussions about visit Japan and perhaps South Korea. A senior administration official said May and Trump did not discuss the issue when they spoke by telephone on Friday, although they have on earlier calls.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said the invitation was still on the table, but offered no timeframe. "We aren't going to comment on speculation about the contents of private phone conversations.

The Queen extended an invitation to President Trump to visit the UK and there is no change to those plans."
Iran has urged Qatar and neighbouring Gulf countries to engage in dialogue to resolve their dispute.

The new flights have increased Iranian air traffic by 17 per cent, the official state news agency has reported. (Photo: AP/Representational)

Tehran: Iran has sent five planes of food to Qatar, Irans national carrier told on Sunday, days after Gulf countries cut off air and other transport links to the emirate.

So far five planes carrying perishable food items such as fruit and vegetables have been sent to Qatar, each carrying around 90 tonnes of cargo, while another plane will be sent today, Iran Air spokesman Shahrokh Noushabadi said. We will continue deliveries as long as there is demand from Qatar, Noushabadi added, without mentioning if these deliveries were exports or aid.

Three ships loaded with 350 tonnes of food were also set to leave an Iranian port for Qatar, the Tasnim news agency quoted a local official as saying. The port of Dayyer is Irans closest port to Qatar.

In the biggest diplomatic crisis in the region in years, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, plus Egypt and Yemen, on Monday announced they were cutting all ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting extremism.

Iran has urged Qatar and neighbouring Gulf countries to engage in dialogue to resolve their dispute. The Islamic republic has also opened its airspace to about 100 more Qatari flights a day, after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates banned Qatari planes from their airpace.

The new flights have increased Iranian air traffic by 17 per cent, the official state news agency has reported.
The intensive raids and bombing strikes mainly pounded the southern part of Deraa, strategically located on the border with Jordan.

The army has not commented on its troop build-up in Deraa or the escalating aerial bombing. (Photo: Representational/AP)

Amman: The Syrian army and Iran-backed militia forces have escalated attacks against a rebel-held part of the southern city of Deraa, a possible prelude to a large-scale campaign to wrest full control of the city, rebels and residents said on Monday.

The intensive raids and bombing strikes mainly pounded the southern part of Deraa, strategically located on the border with Jordan and where the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad erupted six years ago.

The Syrian army has recently intensified dropping barrel bombs, drums or cylinders packed with shrapnel, and has fired hundreds of so-called elephant rockets on Deraas old quarter and a former refugee camp nearby, rebels and residents said.

The army has not commented on its troop build-up in Deraa or the escalating aerial bombing. State media has long branded the rebels as foreign-backed terrorists.

More reinforcements from the army and its allies, the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah and Shiite Muslim Iraqi militias, are also being rushed to the city from several locations near the capital, Damascus.

Troops were using the Damascus-Deraa highway, a major supply route where well-fortified trenches on both sides of the road have made it more difficult for rebels to mount attacks.

The regime has brought large columns of troops from the elite 4th Armoured Division, and also Hezbollah forces, said Major Issam al Rayes, spokesman of the so-called Southern Front grouping of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels, who are supported by an Arab-Western coalition.

The troops being sent as reinforcements are considered to be the Syrian armys elite division, which has the best training and equipment.

Rebels say the troop build-up and relentless aerial bombing in recent weeks pointed to a major campaign for what the FSA rebels see as a decisive battle.

Everything indicates the regime is preparing for a large-scale military campaign in Deraa in which they plan to encircle the city and reach the Jordanian border, Rayes said. Adham al-Karad, the commander of the missile brigade in the FSAs Southern Front, said Our surveillance shows troop carriers and heavy armout if it continues at this same level of reinforcements, this will be very large.

The army had stepped up its campaign to regain the Manshiya neighbourhood, a strategic district that almost completely fell into rebel hands after four months of street battles.

Rebels stormed Manshiya, the last army foothold in Deraas rebel-held old quarter, in February to ward off any army attempt to capture a strategic crossing with Jordan.

The armys control of the crossing, a once-thriving passenger and commercial gateway with Jordan, would sever the rebel link between the eastern and western parts of the province they control, dealing a major blow to their cause in the south.

The Syrian governments strategic goal is to open a direct route from Damascus to the Jordanian border.
The Rapid Action Battalion on Sunday also arrested a garment factory owner who it said was a financier of the extremist outfit.

3 suspected operatives of the neo-JMB were arrested in a raid in Rajshahi's Tanore sub-district where they were living with their family members. (Photo: File)

Dhaka: At least 10 militants of a banned outfit and some of their family members have been arrested after Bangladeshi police carried out raids at terrorist hideouts.

A spokesman of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police said six neo-Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (Neo-JMB) operatives were arrested from the capital's New Market area in a raid carried out by the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crimes Unit.

Three suspected operatives of the neo-JMB were arrested in a raid in Rajshahi's Tanore sub-district where they were living with their family members. Eight of their family members were also taken into custody.

The Rapid Action Battalion on Sunday also arrested a garment factory owner who it said was a financier of the extremist outfit. "They (those in custody) are being quizzed initially in our custody," the spokesperson said.

An official familiar with the developments said detectives and armed policemen laid a siege at the terrorist hideout in Rajshahi last night. The hideout was being checked for explosives, including suicide vests, the official said.
Baloch along with India's Ambassador to China, Vijay Gokhale, attended the briefing along with other diplomats at SCO headquarters.

From left, front, Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Secretary General Rashid Alimov, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon, Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev, from left, middle row, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, other persons unidentified, pose for a photo at a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Astana, Kazakstan (Photo: AP)

Beijing: The membership of India and Pakistan in the SCO could bring them closer to address their differences and help facilitate New Delhi's attendance at the SAARC summit in Islamabad, a senior Pakistani diplomat said on Monday.

"The SCO is important organisation for Pakistan and India. This not an organisation to settle disputes but work for the region and common challenges and for common development," Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, Deputy Ambassador of Pakistan to China, said.

At the same time the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) could help bring India and Pakistan closer to address their differences.

"Of course, when you are together and work for the same organisation, you have opportunities to resolve many of the issues and come close," she told Indian journalists at an SCO briefing specially arranged to highlight the entry of India and Pakistan into the grouping at the just concluded summit at Astana.

Baloch along with India's Ambassador to China, Vijay Gokhale, attended the briefing along with other diplomats at SCO headquarters here.

At the same time, Baloch also hoped that the entry of India and Pakistan into the SCO would pave the way for the 19th summit of South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in Islamabad which could not be held last year after India along with other members of the grouping decided to stay away following the Uri terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir.

"We really hope that SAARC which is our regional organisation would find a way to move beyond the differences," she said.

"We really hope that India would able to come Pakistan for the SAARC summit. In the end, we are neighbours and it is important for us strengthen SAARC as an organisation," she said.

While Baloch dismissed apprehensions over India and Pakistan's entry into China-dominated SCO, official Chinese media said with their entry, the SCO is now facing both an opportunity and challenges.

"If the two countries which have had long-term disputes over issues such as anti-terrorism efforts and Kashmir bring their disagreements to the SCO, the club's internal cohesion is likely to be challenged," Chen Xiaochen, director of the

International Studies, Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, told state-run Global Times.

"However, on the positive side, the SCO is set to become an international organisation with its members accounting for the majority of the world's territory and population, and this offers a huge amount of potential for development", and expand the influence of the organisation in international and regional affairs in various fields, especially in security, geopolitics and the economy.

"Russia has showed a positive attitude toward joining the CPEC, and SCO membership will offer opportunities for Pakistan to launch direct talks with Russia and other countries if it wants to.

The organisation will perhaps provide a fresh platform for China, India and Pakistan to talk about the CPEC and help reduce India's misunderstanding of the project. The SCO's expansion is likely to be good news for the development of the CPEC," he said.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is conducting a census of Chinese nationals and raising a force of about 4,200 officers to protect foreigners.

Pakistani soldiers stand guard at the site where a Chinese couple was kidnapped in the neighbourhood of Jinnah town in Quetta. (Photo: File/AFP)

Islamabad: Chastened by the Islamic State's claim to have killed two kidnapped Chinese teachers, Pakistan is beefing up security around Chinese citizens streaming into the country on the back of Beijing's "Belt and Road" infrastructure splurge.

China has often urged Pakistan to improve security after pledging around USD $57 billion to build power plants, railways, and roads that will cross the Himalayas to connect western China with Pakistan's Arabian Sea port of Gwadar.

Pakistani officials have outlined to Reuters extensive security plans that include thousands-strong police protection forces, tighter monitoring of Chinese nationals, and in the province of Baluchistan where the two teachers were kidnapped on May 24 a review of security arrangements.

The protection forces will buttress a 15,000-strong army division set up specifically to safeguard projects in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiative, which has been credited with rejuvenating Pakistan's USD $300 billion economy.

"We are already alert, but this incident has made us extra vigilant over Chinese security," said Amin Yousafzai, deputy inspector general of police for the southern province of Sindh, which is home to about 50 million people.

Sindh is raising a protection unit of about 2,600 police officers to help safeguard 4,000 Chinese working on CPEC projects, and another 1,000 working in other businesses.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which signed billions of dollars in contracts with Chinese companies, is also conducting a census of Chinese nationals and raising a force of about 4,200 officers to protect foreigners.

Baluchistan would "review the whole security arrangement" and Chinese nationals who come in a private capacity should inform the authorities about their activities, said Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, spokesman for the provincial government.

The number of militant attacks in Pakistan has fallen sharply in recent years, but violent Islamist groups still pose a threat, and in Baluchistan separatists opposed to CPEC also carry out attacks.

The Islamic State killings were a rare attack on Chinese nationals in Pakistan, but the incident has unnerved Islamabad and the growing Chinese community.

Miftah Ismail, a state minister involved in CPEC planning, said Pakistan had devoted huge resources to improving security and Chinese investors should not be put off by a one-off attack. "The country's security situation has improved," Ismail said.

The scale of the task facing security agencies is increasing by the day as more Chinese entrepreneurs arrive to set up businesses. Most stay in big cities, but some venture into riskier areas.

The challenge for authorities will increase in 2018, when the corridor is due to become operational and trucks ferrying goods to and from China cross more than 1,000 km (620 miles) of road in remote Baluchistan areas currently off-limits to foreigners.

Protection Force:

The two Chinese-language teachers were kidnapped by gunmen pretending to be police, but little else is known about how the they ended up in Baluchistan's provincial capital, Quetta.

Baluchistan's government afterwards evacuated 11 other Chinese nationals based in the city. "There are no more Chinese living in Quetta", said Ahsan Mehboob, Baluchistan's inspector general of police. It was not clear why the 11 were there.

The new Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa forces resemble the Special Protection Unit (SPU) recently established by Punjab, Pakistan's biggest province, which has attracted most Chinese investment.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province was already working on plans to set up the force, but after the Quetta kidnappings the process was "accelerated", according to one regional official. Sindh was also planning to set up a force before the Quetta attack, and was now expanding it, another official said.

Punjab's SPU, dedicated to protecting Chinese nationals and other foreigners, has more than 6,000 officers and is set to grow to 10,000.

Raja Jahangir, Punjab secretary for information, said SPU chiefs hold daily meetings with intelligence agencies and police chiefs to ensure Chinese nationals stay safe, while a database has been set up to track foreigners from their arrival, to their hotels, and their departure. Jahangir said security has been stepped up since the Quetta attacks.

"Almost all personnel are on alert and they are on their toes," he said.
It said that three civilians were killed in the firing in Chirikot and Hot Spring sectors on June 10 and June 12.

Islamabad: Pakistan on Monday summoned the Indian Deputy High Commissioner and condemned the alleged firing by Indian troops along the LoC in which three Pakistani civilians were killed.

Director General (South Asia and SAARC) Mohammad Faisal summoned the Indian Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh and "condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations" by the Indian forces, the Pakistan Foreign Office said.

Read: If Pakistan abets firings, India will retaliate: DGMO

It said that three civilians were killed in the firing in Chirikot and Hot Spring sectors on June 10 and June 12. "The deliberate targeting of civilians is indeed condemnable and contrary to human dignity and international human rights and humanitarian laws," the Foreign Office said.

The Director General urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement, investigate this and other incidents of ceasefire violations, instruct the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit, and maintain peace on the LoC, it said.

Read: UN observer group came under attack by Indian Army at LoC, claims Pakistan

"Indian troops initiated unprovoked heavy weapons including mortar firing" targeting civilian population along the LOC in Jandrot and Hot spring sectors today, the Pakistan army said in a statement.

Three more civilians were injured due to the Indian firing, it said. The Pakistan Army also claimed that they inflicted damage to Indian posts.
Many other members of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz have previously flagged concerns about such conspiracy theories.

Abid Sher Ali, a relative of Sharif and minister of state for water and power said that the Sharif family has been facing accountability for the past 40 years. (Photo: AP)

Lahore: Some people hiding behind constitutional institutions in Pakistan are hatching a systematic conspiracy to remove Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from mainstream politics using the high-profile Panama Papers case, the ruling PML-N party alleged on Sunday.

This is the second time in less than a week that Sharifs party has accused Pakistans powerful establishment of conspiring to oust the civilian government amid strains in ties with the powerful military and the judiciary.

On June 5, Sharif said that some people were hatching conspiracies against his government. His State Information Minister Maryam Aurangzeb then openly pointed finger at the establishment, saying it was behind the ongoing campaign to humiliate the Sharif family by leaking images of Sharifs son on social media showing him facing the JIT at the Federal Judicial Academy, triggering panic in the government circles.

Abid Sher Ali, a relative of Sharif and minister of state for water and power, said on Sunday that some people were hatching a plot to remove the prime minister from the political system.

We will not accept any decision to minus Nawaz Sharif from the political system, Ali said, referring to the Panama Papers scandal in which an investigation is underway against Sharif and his children for their alleged offshore holdings.

Some people are hiding behind constitutional institutions (like Supreme Court) and working on minus-Nawaz formula. We will not let this happen as millions of people will be on roads if this happens, Ali said.

A Joint Investigation Team formed by the Supreme Court on April 20 questioned Sharifs sons - Hussain and Hasan - last month over the familys alleged improper business dealings.

Ali said the Sharif family has been facing accountability for the past 40 years. A systematic conspiracy is being hatched to have a face off between the government and judiciary to send Sharif packing, he said.

Several other members of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) have previously flagged concerns about such conspiracy theories.

Parliamentarians Daniyal Aziz, Talal Chaudhry and Miaza Hamid have said the ruling party does not accept the JIT probe into the Panama Papers case and it will soon hit the streets against the controversial investigation.

The SC has directed the JIT to complete its probe by early July, based on which the apex court would decide the fate of Nawaz Sharif anbd his children in the case.

The Panama Papers case is about alleged money laundering by Sharif in the 1990s when he twice served as Pakistans prime minister to purchase assets in London.

Last month, Pakistans powerful army withdrew a controversial tweet that had rattled the Sharif government over a media leak about a rift brewing between the two power centres over combating militancy in the country.

Many believed the withdrawal of the tweet was a defeat for the Army in the great power struggle with the civilian government. The army enjoys considerable influence over policy decisions in Pakistan.

The rift was a grim reminder of 1999 when then army chief Pervez Musharraf had ousted the government of Sharif.

Pakistans powerful army has ruled the country for much of its life since it gained independence 70 years ago.
In suffering, you must not give up hope and resign yourself to illness. "In the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, the Church shows mercy and compassion for the afflicted." The Archbishop encourages Catholics to receive the sacred act in time. "With confession and the Anointing of the sick you are sure of the Lord's grace of salvation, for the body and for the soul."

Singapore (AsiaNews) - In his most recent pastoral letter, Archbishop William Goh recalls the faithful of Singapore to understanding the importance of the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick.

In a community of 380,000 people served by a few priests, it is sometimes difficult to find a priest who celebrates the Sacrament for a person who is dying or is in critical condition. For this reason, Msgr. Goh encourages local Catholics to receive the Sacrament in time, so that they do not need a priest at the last moment.

In suffering, you must not give up hope and resign yourself to illness. "Rather - says Msgr. Goh - we should make ourselves available for healing. " After recalling the importance of prayer during adversity, the Archbishop invites "the acceptance of the illness as a means of being purified in love and of being united with Christ in His suffering so that we can meet God in depth."

The pastor recalls that "the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is the primary means by which the Church shows her mercy and compassion to the afflicted." Recourse to it "is also a wonderful occasion where the community can support the sick person." Bishop Goh finally appeals to the faithful, so that they each day prepare spiritually for suffering and death by celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation regularly and, if in serious illness, ask the priests of their parishes to receive the Anointing. In this way, "you are sure of the grace of God's salvation, for the body and for the soul."
by Mathias Hariyadi

The countrys most important Catholic organisations met at the see of the Bishops' Conference. Paul Soetopo Tjokoronegoro illustrated his plan to revitalise traditional markets across the country. Bambang Ismawan noted "five focus areas to face.

Jakarta (AsiaNews)  At a time when Islamism poses a serious threat to the unity and pluralism of Indonesian society, Catholic associations show a strong sense of community initiative to address social issues, share experiences, and find solutions to the problems that affect the country.

About two months after their last meeting, Indonesias most important Catholic organisations met on Saturday at the see of the Indonesian Bishops' Conference (KWI) in Central Jakarta.

The participants included Paul Soetopo Tjokoronegoro, former director of the Central Bank, and Bambang Ismawan, founder of Bina Swadaya, an NGO involved for 50 years in economic development and agricultural projects to empower the weaker segments of society.

In his address, Tjokoronegoro illustrated his plan to revitalise the countrys traditional markets, where most local producers and consumers meet and do retail business. The former central bank director told AsiaNews that this project, called Kopassindo, has already reached at least a hundred cities in several provinces and districts across Indonesia.

Bambang Ismawan reported the progress made by some working groups following last Aprils Catholic forum where he had proposed land reform, which is "needed to speed up infrastructure development."

For the director of Bina Swadaya, many local Catholic groups can take actions to advance the countrys remote areas through economic development, cultural empowerment, and funding.

For Ismawan, "new Catholic groups, working in synergy, have to face five main focus areas to bolster this initiative, namely: supporting villages through credit unions and economic projects especially in areas subject to natural disasters, promoting the spirit of pluralism and unity in diversity, education, human resources development, and study and communication programmes."

The Association of Indonesian Catholic Women (WKRI) showed its interest in the five focus areas and has renewed its commitment to action, whilst Fr Clay Pareira, president of the Catholic Indonesian Academy and of the Polytechnic High Education (PAPKI), said that this initiative is an important response to current social issues in Indonesia. The associations are set to meet again in August.
Three years after Mosuls fall, Patriarch Sako visited the area liberated by the Iraqi army and Peshmerga fighters. Reconstruction work is a "job opportunity" that can ensure "peace, security and stability". According to a recent report, 80 per cent of Christians have fled Syria and Iraq since 2011.

Baghdad (AsiaNews)  The primate of the Iraqi Church, Mar Louis Raphael Sako, issued a statement on the website of the Chaldean Patriarchate marking the third anniversary of the fall of Mosul to Jihadi militias.

In it, Mar Sako calls for "brave and responsible" dialogue to alleviate the suffering of those who lost their homes and property as a result of the rise of the Islamic State (IS) in northern Iraq. This requires "justice and equality" in the context of a "spirit of national unity" centred on the "public good" in accordance with the principles of the constitution.

The prelate mentioned again the "pain and tears" that Christians endure after fleeing their homes and land, a tragedy Iraqi Church leaders do not hesitate to call a genocide. Meanwhile, the slow and demanding process of reconstruction has just begun.

In expressing gratitude to those who played a role in the liberation of parts of Mosul and the Nineveh Plain, especially the Iraqi military and Kurdish Peshmerga, the patriarchate referred to displaced Christians as well as their torched or destroyed homes and churches.

The statement goes on to say that rebuilding housing and infrastructure provides a great opportunity to offer the country "peace, security and stability", and boost its unity, shaken by old and new autonomist tensions, including the demand by some Christians to set up an enclave in the Nineveh Plain, which the patriarch opposes, as well as the Kurdish independence referendum.

According to a recent report, up to 80 per cent of the original Christian population has left Iraq and Syria in recent years, due to war and escalating extremist Islamic movement. The trend began with the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, accelerated with the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, and became a flood with the rise of the Islamic State in 2014 in northern Iraq.

Although it is difficult to come up with exact figures, it estimates that the number of Christians in Iraq has dropped from more than a million in 2003 to more than 300,000 in 2014 to between 200,000 and 250,000 at present. In Syria, the Christian population dropped to half from two million in 2011.

Iraqi and Syrian Christians are now losing hope for a safe future for them and that they no longer have enough reason to return. Some have found refuge in the region  especially Lebanon and Jordan  often in a situation of precariousness. Others have left for Europe, the United States, Canada and Australia, the main countries of the diaspora.

What is more, higher cost of living, lack of working and education opportunities, destruction of Christian towns, and the loss of community are other factors that have contributed to the exodus.

This has led to a new appeal for justice and help for Christians, especially for those who have decided to stay at home and contribute to the reconstruction work.

This month marks the third anniversary of Mosuls occupation by Islamic State fighters. However, since last October, the Iraqi army has been engaged in an offensive with the support of Kurdish and Shia militias to retake the city.

The eastern parts of the city have been liberated, like almost the whole of Nineveh Plain, but there are still large pockets of resistance in western Mosul and the Old City. Fighting has already killed scores of civilians, often used as a human shield by the terrorists, and fueled an exodus of hundreds of thousands of people.

Last Thursday, Patriarch Sako visited the liberated areas of Mosul for the first time since the Islamic State seized the city. He was accompanied by his deputy, Mgr Basel Yaldo, and a delegation of politicians and military.

The prelate saw with his own eyes the situation of some of the citys most important Christian landmarks. One of the places he visited was Holy Spirit Parish, where Chaldean priest Fr Ragheed Ganni, and his three deacons were murdered in 2007.

During the visit (pictured), His Beatitude thanked the Iraqi armed forces for their fight against the Jihadi group and called for the protection of Christian towns in Nineveh Plain, including Bakhdida (Qaraqosh), Karemlash and Bartella.
by Lai Pan-chiu

Hong Kong (AsiaNews)  Due to the phenomenal growth of religions and the complexity of religion-state relations in contemporary China, this theme has become an important research area for scholars of Religious Studies as well as China Studies. Because of the radical divergence between the mainstream of religion-state relation in the Chinese and Christian traditions, the tensions between Christianity and the contemporary Chinese government are to a certain extent inevitable. However, considering the pluralistic alternatives within the Christian tradition as well as the significant difference between the government of Communist China and that of pre-modern China, there is also a theoretical possibility of developing a relatively more stable and peaceful relation between the state and the Christian churches.

Regarding the Chinese religious traditions, the first thing to be said is that the state in pre-modern China is not entirely secular. In fact, religion played an important role in the legitimatization of the traditional Chinese government. Perhaps one may even say that in pre-modern China, the state itself was also a religious institution with the emperor as its Chief Diviner and Chief Priest. The divine mandate was supposed to be earned and maintained not by birth but by good deeds or merits, by performing relevant religious ritual properly, and governing the empire efficiently. When there is natural disaster, the King might have to perform rituals and offer prayers for his people, including confessing to and petitioning Heaven to bear the guilt on behalf of his people. Therefore, the state is supposed to have the right to decide what is the true religion permitted, and to crush all the heresies and obscene worship, which are more or less equivalent to what are labeled as evil cults in contemporary China.

This model of subordination of religion to the state is expressed not only in the states establishing a particular department to supervise and control the religions allowed by the government. The states control or intervention covers not only the institutional and personal aspects, e.g. the number of temples, monks and nuns, but the deities to be worshipped. In fact, other than suppression, the state can also absorb the worship of certain deities originated at local level into the pantheon of the state cult. For example, Mazu had been first a goddess believed able to protest and save fishermen or people traveling by sea, and widely worshipped in the coastal villages in South-East China. The state then approved the worship by conferring various honorary titles associated with the function of protecting the nation and even making Mazu an official object of state cult. The measure of absorption of course can be applied to not only the objects of worship, but also the religious leaders as well as religious organizations. Most importantly, this model was accepted by religious leaders, including Buddhists. The famous Buddhist monk Daoan wrote, Without relying on the emperor, it is difficult to launch the matters of the Dharma and even went so far as to say, The Emperor is the boss of religion. Even during the republican period, many Buddhists endeavored to reform Buddhism and some of them looked for support from the government.

Viewed in this historical perspective, the religious policy of the Chinese Communist regime is quite understandable yet dubious. It is understandable because it follows the habit inherited from pre-modern China. It is dubious because given the atheistic position of Marxism, the government should not appeal to any divine being to legitimize itself. Although the theory of divine right of the king was rejected, it remains possible to legitimize the Communist regime by presenting a Marxist theory of history as the truth of history. However, with the anti-religious position proclaimed by Marxism, the absorption or incorporation of religion into the state became much more difficult than in pre-modern China. The religion-state relation in pre-modern China was heavily influenced by Confucianism, which supported and was supported by a hierarchical socio-political system based on lineage. Religious adherents were expected to be obedient to the emperor, who represented the pinnacle of this hierarchy. One of the serious problems is that based on the theory of the divine right of the emperor, it was believed that the emperor had the authority to rule anything within his kingdom and there is mechanism of check and balance to limit this totalitarian authority. Religions, especially those of foreign origin, which do not depend of this socio-political system of lineage, were often subject to suspicion, control and even suppression.

The tensions in church-state relation in China are quite similar to and are inherited from those in the western world. The appointment of Catholic bishops in China repeats the investiture struggle in medieval Europe. The exact arrangement is subject to negotiation with the state. However, the Catholic Church as a matter of principle rejects state interference. The case of Protestantism is relatively more complicated as practices have varied from denomination to denomination. Under Communist rule, the Protestant churches in Mainland China became post-denominational in the sense that all Protestant churches came under the Three-Self Patriotic Movement and the China Christian Council. Their particular theological understanding of state-church relations influences the actual relation between the Protestant churches and the Communist government.

The model of subordination of religion to the state seems unacceptable for the Protestant churches because if violates the principle of the separation of church and state. However, the case of the Church of England may be highlighted as an example well known for is recognition of the King or Queen as its Supreme Governor on earth. In actual practice, the state may have certain rights or influences in church matters, including the appointment of clergy. As it happened, Bishop Ding Guangxun (K. H. Ting, 1915-2012) had been consecrated as an Anglican bishop long before becoming the leader under the Communist rule. Similarly, the present Anglican Archbishop of Hong Kong accepted the political appointment to serve as a member of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference. However, many Anglicans rejected the model and left the Church of England. Thus, subordinating one single church institution to the state may not be an effective solution. In principle, the head of state of Communist China is supposed to be an atheist and not a Christian. Therefore, it is rather difficult to conceive, from both Communist and Christian perspectives, how this person can be proclaimed Supreme Governor on Earth of the Church in China.

The experience of contemporary Chinese Christians in Mainland China shows that it is of paramount importance, first, to develop the rule of law and to constrain the administrative power of the state. It may then be able to legally guarantee and effectively protect the civil rights of religious freedom, and to develop a healthier relation between the state and religions, especially Christianity, in contemporary China.

An extract of the authors presentation in the conference of Religion-State Relationship in the Chinese Context in 2016), published in the Institute of Sino-Christian Studies News, Autumn 2016.
10 Most Beautiful Small Towns in California

California has long been a favorite vacation destination, but most visitors head straight for the biggest cities in the state. Why not take a break from the city and head to a small town instead?

Few travelers know about the vibrant small town culture within California. Here, you can find some of the most beautiful and interesting small towns youll ever discover! Add a few of these small California towns to your vacation plans, and youll have the opportunity to experience a new side to Cali culture.

Best Small Towns in California

Affiliate links may be used in this post. I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you if you use my affiliate link.
By Jonathan Clarke, Associate member of the Australian Centre for Astrobiology, UNSW

Jonathan Clarke personal collection, Author provided

On June 16 Jonathan Clarke is starting a return journey to Mars. Not the real red planet, but a simulated Martian life in the polar desert of Devon Island in the Canadian Arctic.

Its all part of a project to see what some of the challenges are, should humans one day decide to live on Mars. Jonathan has already spent a total of five months in simulated Martian camps, and hes detailed some of the events as they happened across 85 Martian days of his most recent experience late last year.

Sol 1 (A Sol is a Martian day)

Our party has landed after an eventful two-day drive from NASAs Ames Research Center, near San Francisco, to the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah. MDRS is a simulated Mars station built and operated by The Mars Society for Mars research and education. The core is the habitat module, a two-deck cylinder eight metres high and eight metres in diameter.









MarsSociety





Its good to be back at MDRS; this is my fourth time here since 2003. Most of our Mars 160 crewmates are already here. We are a diverse crew of experienced expeditioners; all of us have been to MDRS before or taken part in similar expeditions elsewhere. All of us know at least one other person in the crew.

Theres Alex our commander and a French engineer; Claude-Michell, a Canadian engineer; Yusuke, a Japanese architect; Anastasiya, a Russian journalist; and from Australia, Annalea (a writer and artist) and myself (a geologist). Our biologist, Anushree from India, will join us in a few days. We are all supervised by Shannon, the MDRS manager and the Mars 160 principal investigator, who lives just off site.

We spent the first Sol settling into our small cabins and getting to know each other. Everyone is excited. Theres a lot to do in the station before we can start making ready for the simulation.

The Mars 160 expedition is different from many other Mars simulations of the past few years. We are not an isolation experiment, although we have limited contact with the outside world. Our responses to the mission are being monitored by the Institute for Biomedical Problems in Moscow, the worlds leading centre for human factors in space.

Instead we are carrying out real research projects under some of the constraints of an actual Mars surface mission. We aim to better determine the realistic capabilities of future explorers of the planet.









Annalie Beattie personal collection





Sol 9

First day of our actual Mars mission simulation (in sim for short). From here on, barring emergencies or special circumstances, we operate as far as possible under Mars mission constraints. We only go outside when we have to, and when we do we will have to wear the simulated extravehicular activity (EVA) suits.

Communications with the outside world are limited to asynchronous modes only. This means emails only, no telephone or Skype. From now on we have only shelf stable food  dehydrated, freeze-dried and tinned. Much as we would on a real Mars mission.

We had a quiet day, settling into the routine. Dealing with a fragile communications system and other engineering issues. I suspect real Mars missions will be like this, routine days, constant problem solving.

The weather is warm and sticky. A pack rat has decided it wants to go to Mars. We hear it scrabbling about and sometimes glimpse it in the evenings. Maybe every Mars mission needs a cat?









Jonathan Clarke





Sol 24

Very busy day. Some people I have spoken to in the past seem to think the big issue in a Mars simulation is boredom. They imagine we spend our time staring at each other. Not here!

We work 12-14 hours a day, on actual EVAs, EVA planning or analysis, engineering and station management tasks, report writing, communications, outreach tasks, research, cooking, cleaning and washing up.

So this morning I cooked scrambled eggs, we then went on an EVA (Alexandre, myself and Claude Michell) out to Skyline rim, the prominent ridge north west of here.

Its too far to walk, except in an emergency, so we rode the quadbikes. These little vehicles are stand-ins for the small non-pressurised rovers that astronauts might use on Mars.

Long-range mobility will be essential there, as the interesting sites may be many kilometres from the landing site and the station. NASA expects astronauts to explore as far as 100km from the landing site. Fortunately we dont have to go so far.









Jonathan Clarke personal collection





Skyline Rim itself is composed of sandstone deposited where a Cretaceous river entered the sea to form a delta, overlying marine shales. Weathering of the shales has produced a multitude of colours from dark grey through to white and yellow. Gypsum veins are common, forming great sheets of the glassy mineral scattered across the landscape like windscreen glass beside an Australian road.









Jonathan Clarke personal collection





Sol 29

We have a strange relationship with the outside environment. On one hand we are isolated from it, permanently indoors, whether in the station or in our suits. On the other, we are also closely engaged with every change and detail.

We are studying the geological and biological features of our landscape. We are constantly aware of the vagaries of weather such as temperature, wind and rain, as well as the shortening days, and their impact on our day-to-day activities. Looking through the porthole becomes a glimpse into an alien world, almost like living under water.









Jonathan Clarke personal collection





Today Anushree, Annalea and I went on an EVA to an exposure of the gypsum-rich Summerville Formation of Jurassic age. Strata rich in gypsum and other sulphate minerals are common on Mars and indicate deposition by saline surface water. Studying these deposits helps us to understand past surface environments. Gypsum and other salts can also preserve chemical traces, fossils and even dormant microbes.

Similar deposits are being studied by the ongoing Opportunity and Curiosity rover missions on Mars and important targets for future astronauts.

Its a spectacular site, stacked with thin, reddish-brown and cream beds of mudstone and gypsum exposed in cliffs. In the suits we find we can sample all the different rock types, labelling them and bagging them up for return to the station and further analysis. Annalea supported our EVA with a field drawing of the location from the vehicle. Field drawing is an useful technique for geological field work on Earth, and we want to explore how it might be used on Mars, even with all the digital imaging technology available to us.









Jonathan Clarke personal collection





Sol 52

In the morning went on a geology EVA, aimed at sampling every colour change in the sediments between the station and the top of the ridge behind it. This provides us with a geological section through the so-called Brushy Basin Member of the Jurassic Morrison Formation.

Deposited by ancient rivers, the unit is marked by repeating layers of cream, red, green, white, grey, purple and brown colours. The samples, after preliminary analyses here, will be sent to the University of Arkansas laboratory to determine their mineralogy and chemistry. We expect the colours to reflect changes in the chemistry and mineralogy, important to understanding the local Jurassic geology and also perhaps to understanding similar deposits on Mars.









Jonathan Clarke personal collection





Annalea and I did a recorded interview for an Australian journalist. The sound file is 11 megabytes. Routine to send via a normal internet connection, but challenging for us with the bandwidth limits of our internet connection - 500 megabytes per day.

Sol 61

Slept really well. Had a funny dream last night about the crew: we were doing this mission in a seven-berth caravan in a camping ground. Very crowded, very messy, constantly interrupted by visitors, and very muddy!

Today is a day off. These are really important we have found to help us recover and recharge our batteries. We generally have one day off a week. The couple of occasions we have worked through we have ended up really feeling it. Today I did not get up to until 8:30am; a great treat is to read in bed. Nice email from the family today to savour as well.

I read (Ralph A Bagnolds Libyan Sands: Travel in a Dead World) while others worked on a craft project, making necklaces from the Cretaceous oyster shells on the ridge behind the station. Others played video games.

Today was also Annaleas birthday. We had pancakes and a party, and Yusuke made two videos for her with surprise comments from us. We had a great time, everybody dressed up (as far as we were able) and we decorated the station for the occasion.









Annalie Beattie personal collection





Sol 76

Slept very well last night. Woken up at four by the rat trap going off and rattling around. We had caught another pack rat, the fourth to date, whose presence was suspected but not observed. We took it on an EVA later in the day and released him near some sand dunes with lots of cover.

Alex and I did the EVA: we went on one of the two-seat electric rovers, parking it at the base of North Ridge, a prominent hill north of the station. Ive never been up this ridge before, and it was very steep. The views from the top were spectacular. Alex tested out a data management system attached to his suit. This has been an ongoing project for him on the expedition.

The EVA provides a good opportunity to reflect on the respective roles of astronauts and robots. North Ridge is too steep and hazardous to be climbed by a robot vehicle such as those we currently use on Mars, although it was no more than a stiff scramble for us.

Astronauts are able to access much more diverse and interesting sites than robotic systems, and do so much faster. The robotic vehicles are, however, great pathfinders and testbeds, and both astronauts and robotic systems are required to explore Mars.

How many EVAs could we expect a Mars crew to do? I have estimated at least two a week for a six-person crew. We have averaged about four or five a week, but ours are typically short, only two to four hours. We have been working at roughly the same EVA tempo to what is predicted for an actual mission.









Jonathan Clarke personal collection





Sol 84

This is our final day. Its quite sad, leaving the station and saying goodbye to Anushree (who we were leaving at the town of Green River to catch the train), and to Shannon (who was staying behind to prepare for the next crew), but we were too busy to really experience the goodbyes. Before we knew it our cars were loaded and we had shoehorned ourselves into them.

We are all much leaner after almost three months at the station, which may have helped us fit in. Then we were off, seeing familiar sights for the last time, as we drove out to the main road and then to Denver. Eight hours driving and a blizzard later we were receiving a warm welcome in the home of the Mars Society president in Denver, along with all the comforts of civilisation.









Jonathan Clarke personal collection





Reflections on return

Returning to Earth (normal life, family and friends) is a strange experience. Odd things stand out among the impressions. Here is a selection.

So many people! Fresh fruit, vegetables and meat. Real eggs. Fatty foods take a bit of getting used to  uncomfortably heavy on the stomach. I seem to be extra sensitive to unpleasant smells such as smoking.

So much of everything! Food, power, water, internet, space and people. Everything is so wasteful of water, such as toilet flushes and high-pressure taps.

Seeing animals again - especially cats. Greenery everywhere, and the smell of eucalyptus. Runny nose from pollen.

Lingering sadness of goodbyes to the crew mates but satisfaction and fond memories after a successful mission. Looking forward to keeping in touch and the next phase of the program. This will be two months at the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station on Devon Island in the Canadian Arctic, and hopefully the topic of a later story in The Conversation.









Wikipedia





Jonathan Clarke is President of Mars Society Australia. Through the society he has received funding for expeditions and field programs from the CSIRO, the Pilbara Development Program, Tata Motors, the Australia-India Council, and Starchaser Industries Ltd. He currently works part time for Swinburne University and is affiliated with the Australian Centre for Astrobiology at UNSW University.

Originally published in The Conversation.


(Kagenmi/Bigstock.com) (Kagenmi/Bigstock.com)

Details of changes to the Australian citizenship test that will make it harder are to be made public this week.Immigration Minister Peter Dutton will introduce a bill to parliament for detailed examination before it goes to a vote, but it is not expected to meet much opposition.It is already known that the time before applying for citizenship will rise from one year to four years, that the English language test will be tougher and that applicants will need to show that they have integrated into Australian society.'It is a bill that suits the times we're living in and the government is very serious about making sure that people who pledge their allegiance to our country abide by our laws and our values,' Dutton said.He explained that the longer period people had to stay as permanent residents before applying for citizenship was a key component because it gave them more time to demonstrate they had integrated into Australian society through things like holding down a job or making sure their children went to school.He added that it also allowed the Government to look at a longer period before deciding if people should be able to become citizens, rather than only a 'point in time snapshot'.But he hinted that there will be some leniency. For example, permanent residents who failed character tests would be able to stay in Australia unless it was possible to cancel their visas.'It may mean that they can remain on a permanent visa and become an Australian citizen at some other point in time when they can prove good character, but if they have been involved in violence, gang violence, terrorist-related activities, whatever it might be, then they won't be getting Australian citizenship,' he said.He also indicated that he will pay attention to the discussions. 'I'm willing to consider any measure which can be demonstrated to keep the public safe, to reduce the threat and to make sure the Australian public has confidence in the migration processes of our country,' he added.
Ferrari has a new version of its four-seat GTC4Lusso. It gets a new twin-turbo V8, a rear-wheel steering system and an all-new fun-to-drive attitude.

Step one of driving any 610hp car involves getting comfortable behind the wheel. This is no sweat on Ferrari's new GTC4Lusso T. The square-bottom steering wheel adjusts to exactly where I want it and getting that relaxed-but-attentive driving position isn't difficult either because there's plenty of legroom. Then, of course, comes the slightly more difficult bit; getting to grips with it. The first hurdle involves negotiating some cobblestoned back streets that seem to randomly snake through one of Tuscany's most haphazardly planned villages. Yes, the visibility from that big windscreen is good, and that does make it easier, but this is a 4.9m long car with an almost three-metre-long wheelbase. A tiny Fiat 500 it isn't.

Eventually, we break through  straight into what looks like an Impressionist masterpiece. Rolling hills, olive groves, vineyards, tall needle-like Italian cypress trees and mansions made of centuries-old stone  time seems to have stood still here; you can all but imagine Renaissance masters sitting in the fields with easels, paintbrushes and oil paints.

Off on a trot

What's causing all those fabulous colours to blur, however, is Ferrari's new GT, the inverted-shovel-like nose ripping apart the scenery. There was a time when four-seaters were a lot more ponderous and lethargic than their two-seater cousins; there was also a time when a roughly 250kg weight penalty was a death knell for agility, but today, with Ferrari's V8 pumping iron and blasting out 760Nm of torque, upping the pace is just effortless. I'm barely using an inch and a half of throttle, but the GTC4Lusso T is already vaulting towards the horizon like I've mashed the throttle into the pedal box. It's what the turbos and direct injection have delivered  masses and masses of torque. The max torque comes in at around 3,000rpm and once you get onto that, all that weight just melts away.

This cavallino rampante also possesses plenty of soft skills. Sure this engine has plenty of grunt once the turbo comes in, but responses just off idle speed are quite good too. Progression is so smooth and friendly, I barely detect any lag. And that's despite a specific power output of 158hp per litre. How has Ferrari managed this? Simple, it uses technology to cheat physics. Get a load of this: the turbos use twin-scroll technology making them feel like a quad turbo setup; this engine uses a flat-plane crankshaft for better responses and cylinder scavenging; and each cylinder uses up to five pulses from the spark plug per power stroke to ensure all the fuel is burnt.

The GTC4Lusso T also impresses at low speeds with its smooth and fluid steering and the nicely weighted brakes make driving it in traffic super comfy. Even the ride is surprisingly good over regular potholes. Ferrari has been using the Magneride active damper system for years, and it seems to work a treat here too. The suspension is actually supple even when roads are pretty bad. The short travel spring and those attractive 20-inch rims, however, do get caught out on a particularly poorly patched section of the Autostrade.

Horse power

But enough of canter, it's time to up the tempo and switch to a full gallop. Some of the best driving roads in Tuscany are before me, and since this corner of Italy seems surprisingly devoid of any real traffic, this is not an opportunity to be missed. It's just rolling hills and corner after corner after corner here.

First up, a tinge of disappointment. Yes, that explosive torque-laden mid-range is great but there's also nothing quite like a naturally aspirated Ferrari motor that sings all the way to 9,000rpm. So, while this motor gets full marks for many things, the feeling of ever increasing engine acceleration and sharp responses at high speeds  max power at just 7,500rpm  means it feels like someone has lopped off the best bit of the powerband. Those long hard pulls to the redline, the wide 6,000rpm powerband, they're just not part of the Ferrari V8 experience anymore, and that smarts. Ouch.

The Ferrari, however, punches hard in other areas. I've steadily been upping the pace around corners in this quiet corner of Italy, but while I've been focusing on the engine, the extremely high levels of agility catch me unaware. This car has the wheelbase of a limo, but, from behind the wheel, it feels nothing of the sort. What Ferrari seems to have done is compartmentalise each important parameter, and then attack it with a vengeance. The lack of agility with that long wheelbase has been countered with the use of rear-wheel steering. The car rotates beautifully around its hips when you turn in, and Ferrari has set-up the steering so well, the transition is smooth and linear. Yes, the steering could have done with a bit more feel, but the GT just seems like it can hit the apex of every corner, however tight it is. Up next is traction; a bit more difficult here because the GT ditches the four-wheel-drive system you get with the V12-powered unit. To counter this, up to 54 percent of the weight of the car now rests on the rear wheels. So, when you slip past the apex of the corner and start to accelerate out, there's plenty of weight over the rear wheels and good traction. It may not squat down at the rear and slingshot you out of corners like a rear-engined Porsche 911, but the rear axle feels extremely 'solid', and this gives you plenty of confidence to accelerate harder and harder out of corners. Of course, lending a helping hand is Ferrari's E-diff, something many supercar makers tend to omit. This allows the electronic brain of the car to open the differential when it is beneficial and close it when wants to lock it down and let the power flow.

Soon I get so comfortable with this near five-metre-long car that I start to drive it like a two-seater. And then, because the car responds so beautifully, I push harder still. What's amazing is that the front end just seems to grip and grip. And then as the rear begins to lose grip, kept in check by Ferrari's space age driver aids (see box), the car seems to attain a balance so sweet, it's an absolute joy setting up the car for corners and power out with a measured right foot.

What makes the driving experience complete, however, is the fact that all the various elements are so beautifully stitched together, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The explosive torque and punch of the engine, its willingness to deliver a whip-crack response, the super-quick twin-clutch gearbox, the sharp and grippy front axle, and the ability of the rear axle to put down all the power, all work so well in concert; it's like a symphony orchestra under the control of a master conductor. It really does feel like a car half its size. It may be a bit down on pace compared to company's full-blooded sportscars, but that magical Ferrari driving experience that makes you feel like a better driver than you really are; yeah, that's there in spades.

Two plus two is

The GTC4Lusso T even manages to work well as a four-seater. Surprisingly, ingress isn't too difficult, due to the impossibly long doors, and though the roof is low, you don't need to be a world-class contortionist to clamber past the front seats. There's even enough space for my size 11 and a half feet. Sitting in the back also feels kind of unique; it's nice and snug to begin with. Tuscany looks fabulous with the masses of glass all around, and since I'm cocooned in what feels like a giant leather-lined baseball glove, I am pretty comfy.

The cabin is beautifully built too. What I also like is the fact that Ferrari has delivered a massive 10-inch screen that works superbly. And what's nicer still is that there's a display for the passenger as well, just so that they can monitor the speed and revs; nice.

At the final coffee stop, I linger to admire the car from the outside. Of course, the unconventional profile doesn't really help; it looks a bit odd from certain angles. But there's no denying there are a few bits that look just stunning. The nose hits the spot. The power bulge on the bonnet is right on the money, the wide shark-like mouth is stunning and the fact that the headlights get their own big bulge makes them stand out too. Then there are the shark-like gills that are done in carbon fibre, the beautifully sculpted bulging fenders, and that near three-metre-long wheelbase that do lend it some elegance. But the rear, apart from the Coke-bottle hips and the LED tail-lights, is a bit odd.

Lasting impression

Ferrari's GTC4Lusso T is many horses in one. Part load-carrying draught horse, part thoroughbred racehorse, part agile and quick-to-turn polo pony; it fuses the best bits of each into a new sub-breed. It even has a 450-litre boot. How about that? It won't quite deliver the pace of a bonafide sportscar, it's more a plus two (2 + 2) rather than a full-fledged four seater, the suspension did get tripped up by the bumps on the high-speed Autostrade, and it will cost Rs 4.2 crore when it goes on sale here in India. But if you are willing to compromise a bit, the Ferrari experience is also available in the guise of a four-seater, without the expense and prodigious thirst of a full-on V12. The semi-practical Ferrari; yeah, that mythical beast actually does exist.
Photo via Wikimedia.

A coalition of 13 state attorneys general led by New York's Eric Schneiderman has told the Trump administration that it could expect a "vigorous" legal challenge to any attempt to weaken pollution standards for light-duty vehicles.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection also signed a letter that the state attorneys sent to Scott Pruitt, the Environmental Protection Agency's administrator. The group said they would oppose any attempt to weaken emissions standards for the model years 2022 to 2025, the group announced.

In March, President Trump promised to reopen a federal review of fuel economy standards that was concluded in the final days of the Obama administration. Automakers had asked Trump to reopen the mid-term review in February.

In their letter, the coalition said it strongly disagrees with Pruitt's contention that the mid-term evaluation process was flawed and provided a point-by-point rebuttal of the administrator's criticisms.
Graphic courtesy of American University.

A trio of General Motors mid-size SUVs has been named the most American vehicles of 2017 by American University's Frank DuBois, who releases his index every year.

This year, the Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia, and Buick Enclave, which are all built on the same platform and assembled in Michigan, as the most American vehicles.

The 2017 Kogod Made in America Index evaluates what percentage of a vehicle's value contributes to the overall well-being of the U.S. economy by analyzing seven criteria, including profit margin, labor, research and development, inventory, engine, transmission, and body, chassis and electrical components.

For full details about the index, visit the university's website here.
Articles Sorry, there are no recent results for popular articles.

Images Sorry, there are no recent results for popular images.
Thank you for reading!

Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Parks to receive trees

The city has removed more than 3,200 trees since January 2015. The Tree Foundation of Kern will plant trees with money from CalFIRE and Urban Forestry in Kern Delta, the park behind the city "Welcome" sign for northbound Highway 99, and ten trees each in 19 Bakersfield parks, including:

Beach

Beale

Central Park at Mill Creek

Centennial

Challenger

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Park

Grissom

Jastro

Jefferson

Lowell

Patriots

Planz

Saunders

Siemon

Stiern

Stonecreek

Wayside

Weston

Wilson
Dominic Lipinski - WPA Pool / Getty Images(LONDON) -- Duchess Kate made a surprise visit Monday to a local hospital to see victims and first responders of Londons June 3 terror attack.



Kate, the mother of Prince George and Princess Charlotte, arrived at Kings College Hospital in London in the early afternoon to visit with hospital staff and meet patients recovering from stab wounds, several of whom are still in critical condition.



Fourteen victims were taken to the southeast London hospital in the immediate aftermath of the attack earlier this month in which three suspected terrorists used a car to mow down passengers on the London Bridge and then stabbed multiple people in the pubs and restaurants near Borough Market. All three suspects were killed by police.



The attack killed eight people and injured four dozen more.



Kate, 35, visited Kings College Hospital's emergency room and trauma ward, where she heard from first responders who treated patients on the day of the attack. Kate also learned about the psychological support that's been made available to patients and staff in the wake of the attack.



"Although the story has moved away from the front pages, this is a chance to thank the staff and reassure those still in hospital, many of whom have families with them, that people very much care," a royal source told ABC News of Kate's visit.



Kate, her husband, Prince William, and Prince Harry have spent the last year campaigning to reduce the stigma around mental health through their Heads Together campaign. The young royals have made the campaign the primary focus of their charitable work, encouraging young and old to not be afraid to reach out for help if they are suffering from trauma, anxiety and other mental health disorders, regardless of the cause.



Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall last week also made a visit to survivors of the London Bridge attack.



Prince William and Queen Elizabeth also visited victims and first responders after the Manchester terror attack that killed 22 people at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester Arena.



ABC Breaking News | Latest News Videos

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Edward Sotomayor was one of the 49 people killed in the Pulse nightclub massacre.

The 34-year-old was described as everybody's best friend, and now he's the subject of a documentary.

"Eddie was the first name that you heard released out of the Pulse tragedy on June 12, 2016," said producer and director Sandi Hulon with St. Pete Productions.

Hulon never met Eddie, but she said she feels like she did.

"I got a phone call to go and film a memorial service, but I thought it was going to be a candlelight vigil," Hulon said. "And it ended up being Eddie's actual funeral."

Hulon captured the public memorial service in Sarasota. About 700 people attended.

She then went to St. Petersburg to film the Pride Parade.

"We were walking, and as I came around the corner I saw so much love and support for Eddie," said Hulon. "Like a wall of just love and emotion. I knew that if something like that touches my heart, it's like I've got something else to do here. This is a gift."

Hulon felt and witnessed a lot of emotion that very long day, while capturing an overwhelming amount of footage. The project developed into a documentary.

"The name of it is 'One of 49: A Revolution of Love,' and it's the Eddie Sotomayor story," Hulon said.

Eddie Sotomayor died during Pulse tragedy in June 2016

Producer Sandi Hulon attended service, decided to do documentary

LINK: Learn more about the documentary

WATCH: View trailer below, or click here



St. Pete Productions has released a trailer, showing video and pictures from that day and from Eddie's life. This is an excerpt:

"The documentary is being prepared that is going to tell the story of Eddie and the tragic events from Pulse, but more importantly from Eddie's life and what happened after the attacks. We're going to learn about all of the wonderful and miraculous things that came from that love.

"We are going to from this tragedy learn there is a great gift for all of us, and that is the love that we have learned from Edward Sotomayor."

Eddie's first cousin, Jennifer Graney, is one of several relatives in the documentary.

"We feel like it needs to be done. You know, he touched a lot of people," said Graney.

A number of loved ones share stories and memories in the documentary, including Eddies partner, co-workers and friends.

"I hope the documentary is able to highlight that love and kindness touches everyone, and that was something that Eddie was really pushing for at this point in his life," said Graney. "At the point that he was taken from us, that's where he was."

Hulon hopes to have the documentary finished in August.

"When people see this documentary, my biggest hope is that people walk away and they feel -- really feel -- love and a peace of mind," Hulon said.
Gov. Rick Scott will embark on a five-city "victory tour" Tuesday to celebrate the surprise passage of his once-moribund economic development agenda during last week's special legislative session.

Gov. Scott to visit Tampa, West Palm Beach, other cities

He'll be joined at some stops by House Speaker Corcoran

Scott, Cocoran previously clashed on incentive funding

PREVIOUS: Special session ends with 11th-hour compromise

As he travels from Miami to West Palm Beach, Ft. Myers, Tampa and Jacksonville, the governor will be joined at several stops by a strange new bedfellow: House Speaker Richard Corcoran, who spent months criticizing Scott's prized business incentive funding as "corporate welfare."

The two leaders resolved their bitter impasse with a multi-pronged agreement that delivers on Corcoran's priority of increased funding for charter schools in exchange for an $85 million economic development fund Scott can use to invest in infrastructure projects and job training programs.

Visit Florida, which had been in line to lose two-thirds of its budget, will have its funding restored.

"I'm excited to travel the state and brag about what got accomplished in the special session," Scott said at a post-session celebration in the Capitol rotunda. "I know everybody worked hard and everybody's excited about the end result."

Everybody, that is, except the governor's critics, many of whom had sided with Corcoran in his distaste for the incentives.

They're attacking the new economic development funding as a gubernatorial "slush fund" Scott can use to reward his political benefactors as he readies a campaign for the U.S. Senate.

In an interview, however, Corcoran said the fund comes with significant strings attached, including a prohibition on directing funds to individual companies as part of business incentive-style transactions. The rules largely mirror those that state representatives now have to follow in requesting taxpayer money for local projects.

"Up until we took over and started having them fill out a 37-question questionnaire on what it was doing, who it went to, what was the return on investment, what was the punishment if they didn't do it, that never existed and nobody ever complained about just having in the budget a building," Corcoran said. "And so, now we're going to say members can do it but the governor can't? That doesn't make any sense at all."

And so, the most unlikely of political alliances - one forged in the backrooms of an increasingly transactional state Capitol - will be taking a statewide road trip Tuesday, with the partial goal of convincing Floridians that one of the most bitter intra-party rivalries in recent memory wasn't really all that bad.
Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest Lights Up Oregon Coast All Weekend

Published 06/11/2017 at 5:24 PM PDT - Updated 06/11/2017 at 6:04 PM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff





(Cannon Beach, Oregon)  What started with a scary natural disaster on the Oregon coast has morphed its way into one of the biggest and most fun-filled festivals of the entire Pacific Northwest.

This year, the Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest returns on Saturday, June 17, with thousands of people and some exceptionally creative constructs.

In March of 1964, an earthquake in Alaska caused a sizable tsunami on the Oregon coast (actually killing four at Newport). It made a wreck of parts of Seaside, and it washed out the only bridge in Cannon Beach, leaving residents with no way in or out.

Three months later, it still wasn't fixed and local residents were getting stir crazy. So, to cheer themselves up, they held a sandcastle contest. The following year, they held it again, realizing this could be a major attraction. That gamble was proven right and now the festival is one of the biggest draws in the state.

Jim Paino, executive assistant with the Cannon Beach Chamber, said the Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest normally gets about ten thousand to fifteen thousand people each year, all crammed into that tiny town somehow.

This year, however, Paino believes that number could be lower.

We're expecting a lower number this time because there's a lot of other things going on, Paino said. Things like the car show in Seaside or the Rose Festival going on in Portland.

The event has changed and shifted over the decades. In the last ten years, Disney had a presence for awhile. Other aspects have come and gone as well.

Paino said the contest is in its 53rd year, and there's a few new things again. That includes it going a full three days now.

We've added the Fun Run on Sunday and the parade on Friday, making it a full weekend of events, Paino said. And on Saturday, we have the beach bonfire with live music by a local group called Rose & Thistle.

He described the group as a duo who perform what could be called beachy folk.

Competitors come from all over the country with all levels of ability: professional sand sculpture artists, amateur groups and families will all construct remarkable creations in the sand during this famed festival. These get washed away by the tide later in the day, with only photographs as proof of their existence.

At the masters division level, things are a bit more serious. These teams compete for cash prizes and build large, elaborate designs often utilizing construction forms similar to those used for pouring concrete in order to accomplish their monumental size.

On Friday, participants pick up their packets and their gear, starting at 10 a.m. At 5:30 p.m., there's a little parade through the north Oregon coast town. At 7:30 p.m., the Coaster Theater presents its rendition of Steel Magnolias.



On Saturday morning at 8 a.m., you can treat yourself to breakfast at the American Legion Pancake Feed (1216 S. Hemlock Street).



Above: the washed out bridge in Cannon Beach in 1964 that started it all (photo courtesy Cannon Beach History Museum).



At 10 a.m., the contest begins and the competitors go to work.

Judging begins at noon, with the Sand Fleas division looked at first  meaning kids. At 1 p.m. it's judging for the junior and teen division, 2 p.m. is the small groups, 3 p.m. looks at the large groups, and the master's division is judged at 3:30 p.m.

All cars should be off the beach by 4 p.m.

Live music kicks in at 7 p.m. on the beach. At 8 p.m., the beach bonfire starts with s'mores. Bring your own chair.

There's more on Sunday, with the Singing Sands 5K Fun Run and Walk. Registration is at 8 a.m. at 2nd St. and is $36 per person. The race starts at 9 a.m.

In 2014, the Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest was recognized as an Oregon Heritage Tradition by the Oregon Parks & Recreation Department, making it one of just 11 events statewide to achieve such a designation. An Oregon Heritage Tradition is an event with broad public appeal, with at least 50 years of continuous operation and one which contributes to the identity of the state.

For information on the Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest or information on how to participate, contact the Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce at (503) 436-2623. Find Cannon Beach lodging here - and updates on openings for the festival. More about Cannon Beach below and at the Cannon Beach Virtual Tour, Map.















More About Cannon Beach Oregon Coast hotels, lodging.....

More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining.....

Coastal Spotlight



LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles

Back to Oregon Coast

Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net

All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Family and friends of a murdered pregnant teen gathered in Vidor on Friday to lay her and her baby girl to rest.

Kera Laneigh Teel's murder case has sparked an uproar in Southeast Texas, after police found her shot in her Beaumont apartment complex parking lot on Tuesday. She was seven months pregnant with her daughter, Kyndal Jae Teel.

A Southeast Texas Crime Stoppers reward leading to the capture of suspects in Teel's murder climbed above $18,000 Friday because of community donations.

Officer Carol Riley, who is in charge of Crime Stoppers for Beaumont PD, said her phone has been ringing off the hook since Tuesday.

"We have to get these people off the street," said Robert Bertrand, owner of Cotton Cargo. "You never know when it can happen to you."

Bertrand is one of several local business owners who have contributed to the reward fund.

"There are over 118,000 citizens in the City of Beaumont. Someone knows these suspects," BPD's Haley Morrow wrote in the original news release the day of the killings. "Do the right thing; help bring closure to this family, and justice to the people who committed this senseless act of violence."

Teel was returning to Beaumont from her mother's doctor appointment in Galveston just before 2 a.m. on Tuesday, when a man walked up to the driver's side of her vehicle, attempted to rob her and killed her, according to police. Morrow said Teel's mother was in the car when the shooting happened.

Officials believe three men are involved.

Officers responded to Teel's apartment complex, at 6155 Sienna Trails in Beaumomnt, at 1:50 a.m.

Teel and her daughter were pronounced dead at St. Elizabeth's hospital later that morning.

"I was out of town the day it happened. I was disgusted when I found out the reward was only $2,000," said Bertrand, who donated $1,000. "We've been challenging other businesses to get the reward going."

Morrow said that since 2010, only two Crime Stoppers rewards have been larger.

Riley said after a Louisiana man was found dead at the MCM Elegante in 2010, family members donated almost $50,000 for information leading to an arrest.

Beaumont and Jefferson county officials are still investigating the possibility of a connection between Teel's death and an aggravated robbery shortly afterward on Texas 105 outside the city limits.

Anyone with information can call the Beaumont Police Department directly at (409) 832-1234 or Southeast Texas Crime Stoppers at (409) 833-8477.
Facebook

The Galveston County Sheriff's Office has found a body matching the description of a woman who went missing in Crystal Beach waters on Monday.

Brandy Mosley, 33, was found Tuesday morning at 6:30 a.m. near he Gulfport Village subdivision on Crystal Beach, Galveston County Sheriff's Deputy Vic Maceo said.
The ROT (Republic of Texas) biker rally celebrated 22 years in Austin with the four-day event that ended Sunday.

The event, described as the "largest turnstile motorcycle rally" in the country, began Thursday at the Travis County Expo Center in Austin.
The Surgery Center of Kenai (Alaska) plans to expand through a second operating room, according to Peninsula Clarion.

Here are five key points:

1. State regulators allowed the surgery center to add the operating room without requiring certificate-of-need approval.

2. The Surgery Center of Kenai's second OR will help alleviate much of the backlog in cases as the demand for outpatient surgery increases, according to the Clarion.

3. The Surgery Center of Kenai's second OR has an expected cost of about $678.38.

4. Kenai-based Central Peninsula Hospital, a community-owned hospital, says the surgery center's second OR will hurt the hospital financially. The hospital declined a transfer agreement with the surgery center in 2014.

5. Harold Gear, the ASC's vice president of outpatient surgery, said to the Clarion in 2014,"The hospitals are huge organizations that are very expensive, and they're expensive because all these different pieces of it are running parts that cost money. Our Surgery Center of Kenai is not a ginormous beast. It's a lot smaller, a lot scaled-back. That's what helps save costs."
A Kentucky administrative law judge approved Cincinnati-based The Christ Hospital's certificate-of-need application to build an ASC in Fort Mitchell, Ky., according to Northern Kentucky Tribune.

Here are five key points:

1. The ASC costs $24 million.

2. Kentucky-based St. Elizabeth Healthcare opposes the surgery center and plans to appeal the decision. The health system said its appeal will focus on a loophole in the CON process that a state administration created in 2015.

3. Northern Kentucky Tribune reports the state changed the CON Ambulatory Surgery Center review criteria in August 2015. The amendment permitted outside entities to perform procedures even if they did not have specific identification. It was during this time that The Christ Hospital submitted its CON application.

4. Regarding the judge's recent approval, St. Elizabeth CEO Garren Colvin said in a statement, "We are obviously disappointed in the decision. We will pursue the appropriate appeals process. Our challenge will be directed to the loophole created by the previous administration that has already been removed from the state health plan."

5. The Christ Hospital President and CEO Mike Keating issued a statement on the heels of the judge's decision stating, "Today's ruling will provide consumers and our patients with more healthcare options. We now will be able to extend our exceptional surgical care in the areas of orthopedics, urology and gynecology to the residents of Northern Kentucky."
Tulsa, Okla.-based Shadow Mountain Behavioral Health System, which is owned by King of Prussia, Pa.-based Universal Health Services, is at risk of losing its Medicare contract Aug. 24, according to Tulsa World.

Shadow Mountain will also lose three of its Medicaid contracts on July 31.

CMS said in a May 26 letter to Shadow Mountain that deficiencies at the hospital limit its "capacity to render adequate care and prevent it from being in compliance with all the applicable Medicare Conditions of Participation for hospitals," according to the report.

CMS said Shadow Mountain is not in compliance with Medicare rules related to patient rights, governing body and special provisions that apply to psychiatric hospitals. Although the hospital can maintain its Medicare contract by correcting the issues identified by CMS, it may not have the same opportunity regarding certain Medicaid contracts.

The Oklahoma Health Care Authority sent a four-sentence letter to Shadow Mountain June 1, indicating it will terminate three of the hospital's Medicaid contracts July 31. "OHCA's decision to terminate Shadow Mountain's contracts without cause with a 60-day written notice is not appealable," the letter stated, according to Buzzfeed News.

In a statement to Tulsa World, Shadow Mountain CEO Mike Kistler called OHCA's action "unwarranted."

"We are hopeful that we will be provided the opportunity to open a dialogue with OHCA which will allow us to demonstrate the quality of the care and treatment provided to our patients as well as the vital role we play caring for the residents of Oklahoma with significant mental health issues," Mr. Kistler said.

In addition to the action taken by OHCA, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services will no longer send foster children and youths to the hospital, according to Tulsa World.

The Medicare and Medicaid termination letters come after Buzzfeed News reported in December that UHS psychiatric hospitals kept patients longer than necessary and against their will to maximize reimbursement from insurers. The report, which was based on a yearlong investigation, also raised questions about the quality of care provided at the psychiatric hospitals.

In a press release issued in response to the BuzzFeed News story, UHS denied the conclusions drawn by the reporter. UHS said the story "misses the mark in several important ways leading to an inaccurate portrayal of UHS's behavioral health operations."

In May, Buzzfeed News reported an investigation into billing practices used by UHS psychiatric facilities broadened to included the FBI and Department of Defense.

More articles on healthcare finance:

Dallas hospital unexpectedly closes

CHI Health closes Nebraska hospital, opens new ED

Northwell's earnings dragged down by insurance division losses
Michigan state legislators introduced two bills aimed at reducing certain requirements that may hinder a physician's ability to practice in the state, according to a MiBiz report.

Lawmakers introduced two bills before the state House Health Policy Committee that would prohibit the state from requiring physicians to maintain board certification to keep their medical license. The legislation would also bar health insurers from requiring physicians to maintain their certification to receive reimbursement payments, according to the report.

Proponents of the bill argue board certification organizations continue to raise the requirements necessary to obtain certification, making it harder and more costly for some physicians to continue practicing medicine.

During his testimony before the House Health Policy Committee, state Rep. Edward Canfield, DO, R-District 84, who sponsored the bills, said the certification process promotes "extreme stress" and cited certain studies that have "found no difference" in the quality of care delivered by physicians with expiring and nonexpiring board certifications.

"In medicine, we're trained to follow the science," said Dr. Canfield during his testimony, according to the report. "In this case, the science indicates that requiring doctors to take national board exams  has not been proven to improve patient care."

However, opponents of the legislation claim reapplying for board certification ensures physicians are up-to-date on the latest procedures and technologies. Health insurers who oppose the bills, such as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, claim such legislation would "virtually eliminate the ability of health plans to establish their own reasonable credentialing for physician network participation," the report states.

A representative for the insurer told MiBiz the requirements certain board certification agencies maintain "are reliable indicator[s] of a physician's training and competence to care for patients within a medical specialty."

The bills are similar to legislation introduced nearly one year ago. The most recent legislation, however, includes language explicitly banning hospitals from requiring board certifications for physicians to receive admitting privileges, according to the report.

Officials said the committee plans to hold additional hearings on the legislation.
Texas already suffers from the worst maternal mortality rates in the country, and many physicians and experts in the state are worried that funding cuts from the AHCA would only make matters worse, according to The Dallas Morning News.

Under the ACA, health insurance must cover 10 categories of essential health benefits, including maternal care. Without this provision, out-of-pocket costs for maternal care would average around $1,000 per month on top of regular fees.

Cuts to Medicaid would also put expectant mothers in danger, according to the advocacy group Texans Care for Children. Medicaid covers more than 50 percent of births in the state. With reduced funding, mothers run the risk of not receiving the proper care.

Medicaid also provides essential prenatal care that is closely tied to the success rate of births. With reduced funding, the 141,000 Texas women per month who receive pre-natal care through Medicaid could see a significant drop-off in care options if the ACHA passes.

More Articles on Hospital-Physician Relationships:

Medical College of Wisconsin receives $37.8M, largest gift in school history

Patient wait times in America: 9 things to know

Viewpoint: Physicians should be exposed to patient safety measures in medical school
In an education session at the 2017 American Medical Association Annual Meeting in Chicago, experts outlined rules physicians must remember when communicating electronically with patients.

Below is a list of six important takeaways from the talk given by Ingrid Hubbard Reidy and Mike O'Neill  both risk managers with the physician-owned, Chicago-based medical liability insurer ISMIE Mutual Insurance Company.

Anything sent out by a physician is on the record and can be cited in any lawsuits against that physician. Use a business number and email address when communicating with patients; avoid personal lines. Make sure your work email is secure and that no one else has access to it. Formalize an office policy on communication and annually review it to keep up with changing technology. Make sure sensitive information is discussed in person or over the phone. If you are debating whether or not to communicate electronically, don't do it.

More Articles on Hospital-Physician Relationships:

Medical College of Wisconsin receives $37.8M, largest gift in school history

Patient wait times in America: 9 things to know

Viewpoint: Physicians should be exposed to patient safety measures in medical school
Republican Congressman-elect Greg Gianforte of Montana pleaded guilty to a charge of misdemeanor assault for body-slamming a reporter from The Guardian to the ground at a campaign volunteer event on the eve of a special election, according to Politico.

Mr. Gianforte faces 40 hours of community service, 20 hours of anger management and a $385 fine. Separately, the incoming representative said he planned to donate $50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists, according to the report.

Mr. Gianforte initially claimed reporter Ben Jacobs was badgering him with questions on the American Health Care Act and acting aggressively until the two fell to the ground. However, Mr. Jacobs claimed Mr. Gianforte body-slammed him to the ground and broke his glasses after asking a question about the healthcare bill. An audio clip of the altercation, as well as an account from a Fox News team at the event, corroborated the reporter's story.

Mr. Gianforte still won the seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Read more here.

More news:

AAMC, 21 more health organizations file amicus brief on Trump travel ban

Physician pleads no contest to manslaughter of former colleague

UK records stark drop in EU nurse applicants since Brexit vote
Sebastopol, Calif.-based Sonoma West Medical Center closed its surgical unit June 2 after a certified hygienist from the California Department of Public Health confirmed mold was growing in a sterilization sink, Sonoma West Times & News reports.

Interim SWMC CEO John Peleuses told Palm Drive Health Care District board members the hospital self-reported the mold to state officials. Mr. Peleuses said a plan to remove the mold is underway; however the extent of the problem and the estimated timeline of removal cannot be determined until the unit's wall is opened.

The surgical unit is closed because without the sink, the hospital has no way to sterilize surgical equipment.

California health inspectors will remain at SWMC until the problem is eradicated. Mr. Peleuses did not know how the closure would affect hospital revenue, Sonoma West Times & News reports.
Eton will pay just over 821,000 out of a 4.1 million bill over the next five years

Taxpayers are giving private schools a 522 million subsidy on their business rates bills thanks to their controversial charitable status, new research has shown.

M ore than half of all 2,707 private schools in England and Wales are registered as charities and can receive rate relief of 80% - including some of the most elite schools in the country, according to business rent and rates specialists CVS.

It estimates this lucrative tax perk means private schools will pay 634.3 million in business rates out of a potential 1.16 billion bill over the next five years, saving a whopping 522.3 million.

But their tax break comes as local authority-funded state schools are charged business rates in full.

Research by CVS found that Eton College, which educated 19 former prime ministers including David Cameron, is among those offered the biggest relief under its charitable status, saving a mammoth 3.3 million over the next five years.

Berkshire-based Eton will pay just over 821,000 out of a 4.1 million bill over the next five years .

Dulwich College in south London, whose alumni include former Ukip leader Nigel Farage, will only pay 787,000 out of its 3.9 million five-year rates charge.

Mark Rigby, chief executive of CVS, told the Press Association: "It cannot be right that council-run schools pay normal business rates, but 56% of all private schools, using their charitable status, receive an 80% discount."

He repeated calls for a review of the business rates system, which he said must be made "fairer and more sustainable in the long term".

Under the Freedom of Information Act, CVS asked all 34 7 councils in England and Wales to provide details of tax relief given to private schools.

It said 132 councils provided full replies, revealing that 586 out of 1,038 private schools held charitable status and were afforded mandatory business rates relief.

Based on these findings and further research, CVS estimated that 56% of all private schools held charitable status.

The Department for Communities and Local Government said private schools seeking charitable status " must meet a robust public benefit test".

It also said academies, foundation schools and voluntary-aided schools automatically qualify for charitable status, while insisting that state school funding accounts for the cost of business rates.

There has already been uproar over private schools using their charitable status to avoid paying VAT at 20% and Labour has been campaigning to remove this exemption to help increase state school funding.

Andrew Harrop, general secretary of left-leaning think tank the Fabian Society, said the same should apply to business rates.

He said: "Private schools should be treated as businesses rather than charities for business rates and VAT."

"The extra money from business rates paid by private schools could be earmarked for education for all children - g iven the pressure that state schools are under, it would be very welcome," he added.
Portadown presenter Gloria Hunniford was left stunned during Monday's Loose Women when Eamonn Holmes interrupted the live show to present a This Is Your Life moment.

The Belfast man did his best Michael Aspel impression as he kicked off a celebration of Gloria's 70 years in showbiz.

Gloria was unaware she would be the centre of attention when she joined the panel alongside Coleen Nolan, Nadia Sawalha and Ruth Langsford on ITV.

During a discussion about love, Eamonn appeared from the behind the scenes clutching the famous red book, telling his fellow Northern Irish star: You thought you were here today to be a part of a Loose Women panel but you are here today because, Gloria Hunniford, this is your life.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

Gloria took a trip down memory lane before being serenaded by comedian Brian Conley who sang 'Congratulations' to the presenter.

A pre-recorded message was also shown from Gloria's friend Sir Cliff Richard, who congratulated her on her 70 years in telvision.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

A compilation of the broadcaster's career highlights were then shown on screen, beginning with her time as a radio presenter in Belfast in the 1970s.

The video also paid tribute to Gloria's daughter Caron Keating, who died in 2004 following battle with breast cancer.

The presenter could be seen wiping away tears, but she told the audience: Its a happy celebration, when you see those photographs."
US southern rockers The Cadillac Three have announced a new European tour, which will include a date in Belfast.

The trio will perform their 'Long Hair Don't Care' show at Mandela Hall in the city on Thursday, November 9.

They will also be performing at Whelans in Dublin on Friday, November 10, with support from UK band Broken Witt Rebels.

Tickets for both shows go on sale from Friday, June 16 at 9am.

The tour announcement comes ahead of the release of The Cadillac Three's new album Legacy in August.

Speaking about the record, drummer Neil Mason said: "We started the Legacy album the day our record Bury Me In My Boots came out last August because there were some songs we were excited about and we wanted to jump in the studio and do what we do live for a minute  to see what would happen.

We didn't really tell anyone what was up and by the end of the year we had cut the whole album and produced it ourselves. We can't wait for everyone to hear what we've been up to in between all the shows the last year and a half."

The trio collectively produced the 11-track project and worked with renowned songwriters like Lori McKenna, Jonathan Singleton and Laura Veltz.
Richard Hammond has joked "I'm not dead" as he apologised to his wife and children after his car crashed and burst into flames while filming The Grand Tour.

Speaking in a video from his hospital bed in Switzerland, the former Top Gear host detailed the knee injury he suffered in the incident which left the vehicle on its roof and destroyed by a fire.

He said: "Hello, yes it's true I binned it again," before adding he will need surgery to repair his broken leg.

"I would like to thank all of the medical professionals who got me by air ambulance from the crash to the hospital and who have dealt with me ever since," he said.

In the Drive Tribe video message, titled I'm Not Dead, Hammond (47) added: "And most importantly, sorry to my wife Mindy and to my daughters Issy and Willow."

The crash happened in Switzerland where the TV presenter was driving an electric super car, and his colleague Jeremy Clarkson described it as "the biggest crash I've ever seen, and the most frightening".

Expand Close Richard Hammond PA / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Richard Hammond

A spokesman for The Grand Tour said: "Richard Hammond was involved in a serious crash after completing the Hemberg Hill Climb in Switzerland in a Rimac Concept One, an electric super car built in Croatia, during filming for The Grand Tour Season 2 on Amazon Prime, but very fortunately suffered no serious injury. Richard was conscious and talking, and climbed out of the car himself before the vehicle burst into flames.

"He was flown by air ambulance to hospital in St Gallen to be checked over, revealing a fracture to his knee.

"Nobody else was in the car or involved in the accident, and we'd like to thank the paramedics on site for their swift response.

"The cause of the crash is unknown and is being investigated."

In a post on Twitter yesterday morning, F1 presenter Sasha Martinengo told his Twitter followers the pair had spoken and that Hammond required surgery.

He posted: "Hi all. Got a msg from @RichardHammond. He is fine. He has a broken leg and needs knee surgery. He might fly home for the procedure."

Clarkson tweeted: "It was the biggest crash I've ever seen and the most frightening but incredibly, and thankfully, Richard seems to be mostly OK."

It comes 11 years after Hammond suffered life-threatening head injuries following a high-speed crash as he filmed for BBC's Top Gear in 2006.

The presenter was in a coma for two weeks following the 288mph accident, but made a full recovery.
HMS Caroline, one of the worlds most historically significant war ships, is set to reopen to the public in July following conservation work.

Moored in Belfasts Titanic Quarter, the state-of-the-art floating World War I museum is the only survivor of the Battle of Jutland, considered the greatest maritime battle ever fought.

The ship is now a beautifully restored treasure trove of maritime history  and its like the crew only left yesterday.

Visitors can soak up her original features on the bridge, living quarters and engine rooms, then eat and drink in the First Rates Mess Cafe.

Maritime lovers should also revisit nearby Titanic Belfast, where extremely rare artefacts connected to RMS Titanics launch have been unveiled.

Lord Pirries 18 ct gold pocket watch, two original launch day tickets and a broken rivet from RMS Olympic have been added to Titanic Belfasts galleries. Each one is very special due to their intimate connection to Titanics construction and launch in Belfast.

According to auctioneers Henry Aldridge & Sons, the watch was likely worn by Lord Pirrie at the launch of the ship. And one of the launch tickets still with its perforated stub (as Captain Alexander Matier could not attend the event) is said to one of the most desirable launch tickets in existence and believed to be the only one of its calibre.

Expand Close Belfast City Hall. / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Belfast City Hall.

Over in Belfast city centre a new permanent exhibition has opened at City Hall to tell the Belfast story, from its humble beginnings as a hamlet by the River Farset, to the vibrant city it is today.

Sixteen separate rooms have been refurbished and re-tasked to tell the stories of the civic building, Belfasts Lord Mayors, the people of Belfast and the industries that shaped the city.

It covers historical events from both world wars to the United Irish rebellion and the Home Rule crisis.

To add to your City Hall experience, book a free guided tour of the building with one of the experienced guides.

If you would like to enjoy a short break in Belfast, there is a wide range of excellent accommodation available across the area ranging from luxurious hotels, to B&Bs full of character and charm, and self-catering options as a home from home. Visit www.DiscoverNorthernIreland.com to plan your break.

Nearby attractions

Linen Hall Library

Expand Close Linen Hall Library. / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Linen Hall Library.

Founded in 1788, it is the oldest library in Belfast and the last subscribing library in Ireland. It is renowned for its Irish and Local Studies Collections, ranging from Early Belfast and

Ulster printed books to the 250,000 items in the Northern Ireland Political Collection, the definitive archive of the recent troubles.

Titanic's Dock and Pump-House

Expand Close Titanic's Dock and Pump-House. / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Titanic's Dock and Pump-House.

Walk in the footsteps of the men who fitted out RMS Titanic in the Thompsons dry dock. Adjacent is the perfectly preserved Edwardian pump-house, a remnant of Belfasts engineering brilliance. Self-guided and private tours will take you through the amazing maritime history.

The Old Inn

Situated in Crawfordsburn, on the edge of Belfast, The Old Inn is a historic hostelry that has been standing in its present form since 1614. It still retains elements of its connections with Irelands early Christian heritage as well as a strong 17th-century literary and cultural history, which has included being patronised by the likes of Jonathan Swift, Charles Dickens and C. S. Lewis.
Who are the DUP? It's a question now reverberating around the drawing rooms of the English chattering classes. Let me be of some assistance.

I have been watching the party up close for decades. Like many journalists, I have had my fair share of bruising encounters - starting with run-ins in my time as a rookie reporter on the Larne Times. In one of my first days there, I got an earful from a DUP councillor about a report on wheelie bins that apparently proved we were out to destroy him.

While working for this newspaper, I got myself barred from Rev Ian Paisley's final press event as First Minister. I literally wrote the book, or at least one of the books (The Fall of the House of Paisley, still available on Kindle. Nice of you to ask).

And for a few short months, as joint press secretary to Arlene Foster and Martin McGuinness, I saw the Duppers from the other side of the fence too.

So how would I sum up the party? Well, it's complicated. Thran, confrontational, quirky, socially conservative - all words that would be used in any "DUP for Dummies" introductory guide. There's been a strong tendency for some of their number to run off at the mouth and deliberately antagonise, given half a chance.

But street-smart pragmatism would have to feature prominently in the guide too. Otherwise, you couldn't explain the party's rise to its lofty position today.

The DUP started life as despised outsiders, one-man's fan club, a political extension of Paisley's hard-line Free Presbyterian Church - a denomination, it should be said, that comprises a very small proportion of Northern Ireland Protestants.

The DUP's ascent to centre stage was achieved through a combination of events, luck, political upheaval, strategy, low cunning, ruthless opportunism and pragmatism. It has mopped up a very large chunk of the UUP vote, and snapped up some of its rising stars along the way.

It has moved some distance from firebrand pulpit politics towards the centre ground.

The Free Presbyterian origins are clearly still evident, particularly at grassroots level. But that does not mean the social conservative agenda will be advanced through the tie-up with Tories.

Any deal will not be about gay marriage or abortion - anyone who thinks otherwise doesn't know the modern-day Conservative Party or, indeed, the DUP.

Journalists and the Twitterati have been busy compiling offensive anti-gay comments made by DUP politicians over the years. That's not surprising.

It's worth noting the dates on most, but not all, of them. Efforts would seem to have been made to get people to shut up. Maybe some lessons have been learned too. We could argue all day about the extent to which the DUP has changed. But too much ink has probably been spilled on all this - compared to some other pressing issues.

Like what the DUP will actually secure from the Tories. And how all this upheaval will play into the efforts to get an Executive up and running.

Devolution still looks like the only long-term game in town. And that will require the DUP and Sinn Fein to sit down and hammer out a deal. Don't ask me to define how long that long-term will be. I have no idea.

There are issues to be addressed about how a British government can be impartial here when it's being propped up by the DUP.

Similar questions will be raised in the event of Sinn Fein realising its aim of being in government in Dublin. It should also be noted that Sinn Fein long ago concluded that the Tories were not impartial.

One way of reducing London's role is to get devolution operating again. The DUP will surely be aware of the dangers of overplaying its current hand, and of getting too pleased with itself.

There are also clear risks in being tied in too closely with a London government overseeing unpopular cuts.

Fortunes can change very rapidly in the politics game these days. Ask Theresa May. Or Nicola Sturgeon. Or Arlene Foster.

Betting everything on the new Westminster scenario would be some gamble.

Sinn Fein may be right that it will all end in tears. The last Tory hook-up with unionists was the disastrous UCUNF marriage between David Cameron and the UUP.

Theresa May is clinging to office by her eyelids. The Brexit negotiations now look messy beyond words. But there are strong grounds for Conservative MPs wanting to avoid another general election any time soon.

A litany of past DUP quotes might redden some faces. But how many Tory MPs are going to side with Labour in a Commons vote of confidence?

No one has a clue how all this will play out, or how long it will all take.

In the meantime, don't expect the DUP to be too worried about all the vitriol cascading towards it from social media and elsewhere.

It's well used to that here. There is a strong strain of Millwall syndrome - "No one likes us, we don't care" - in the party and the unionist community in general.

The new-found interest in Northern Ireland from journalists and pundits is meanwhile unlikely to last, or to have too much impact in the real world.

Owen Jones, Paul Mason and Russell Brand are not going to raise an army, invade this place and change the laws.

The current DUP bashing on abortion and climate change has also been undermined somewhat by a poor grasp of facts.

The party has been solely blamed for abortion law here, and even for the fact that women are being prosecuted for using abortion pills bought online. (That's actually still against the law across the water, by the way.)

Rightly or wrongly, there is no appetite at Stormont for major liberalisation of abortion law.

This goes well beyond the DUP. SF opposes the extension of the 1967 Act. So, too, does the SDLP, Labour's sister party.

The DUP can also point out that Sammy Wilson's outbursts on climate change are not party policy. The DUP 2007 manifesto, for instance, said: "It is important that we in Northern Ireland not only look after our own environment but also play our part in global issues such as tackling climate change."

The DUP also signed up to a Stormont Programme for Government that said: "It is clear that climate change is one of the most serious problems facing the world."

The Northern Ireland gay marriage battle, meanwhile, is highly unlikely to be resolved at Westminster - unless there is a prolonged period of direct rule and no prospect of devolution returning. The DUP no longer has a Petition of Concern veto at the Assembly.

Here, as with so much else, all roads seemingly lead back up to Stormont.

Sooner or later, our politics and politicians here will have to trudge back up that hill.
The images posted on Facebook by DUP man Ian Stevenson

A DUP councillor celebrated his party's role as kingmakers at Westminster by posting a photo of a UVF flag flying from Downing Street.

Ian Stevenson, a former mayor of Ballymoney, wrote on Facebook: "Few changes made in Downing Street today."

It was accompanied by an image of the kerbstones at No 10 painted red, white and blue and the UVF and Northern Ireland flags erected outside.

Mr Stevenson, a member of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, told the Belfast Telegraph that he had made a mistake in posting the photo.

"I thought it was an Apprentice Boys flag," he said. "I never noticed that it was a UVF one. I've no time for them and I don't endorse them."

The DUP councillor said he would be removing the image from his Facebook page.

A member of Ballymoney Free Presbyterian Church, Mr Stevenson hit the headlines when he cleared the drinks cabinet of alcohol in the mayor's parlour on taking office in 2011.
Sinn Fein's Paul Maskey speaks after winning the West Belfast seat at the Titanic exhibition centre in Belfast. PA

A delegation of Sinn Fein MPs is to travel to London for a series of meetings with the Secretary of State James Brokenshire, other political parties and trade unions.

Paul Maskey said his partys MPs will "use their mandate to promote equality, rights and Irish unity and designated special status for the north within the EU".

The MP for West Belfast said: "The new seven-strong Sinn Fein team of MPs is hitting the ground running.

"We have received a huge mandate from the people for our platform of equality, rights for all and Irish unity and our opposition to Brexit.

"We will meeting with British Secretary of State James Brokenshire, other political parties, trade unions and journalists as well as the Irish diaspora to update them on current political developments.

"The Sinn Fein delegation will be making the case in London for the re-establishment of political institutions, which deliver for all, and to campaign for designated special status for the north within the EU."

Sinn Fein's Northern Ireland leader said Michelle ONeill said: "There is wide spread concern that Theresa May in seeking a deal with the DUP to remain in office will make the job of re-establishing the Executive more difficult.

"The British Government must demonstrate that they will treat all parties equally and fully honour the agreements. To this end I have sought a meeting with Theresa May as a matter of urgency.

"The deal at Westminster cannot undermine the agreements or the talks to re-establish the executive.

"Regardless of talks between the DUP and Tories all roads must lead back to an Executive, which delivers for all."
Belfast International Airport has come under fire after it launched a Brexit-style advertising campaign in a bid to drive passenger numbers from the Republic of Ireland.

The campaign is called Vote to Leave and it says "choose BEXIT and enjoy more destinations and greater savings than ever before when you EXIT from Belfast International".

It comes as Belfast International Airport recently predicted its busiest summer yet with 2.3 million travellers expected to pass through its gates between now and the end of September.

Hey @BelfastAirport you realise this is not a clever play on words, right? Your airport code is BFS not BE and majority here voted remain  Patricia Mac Bride (@IRLPatricia) June 12, 2017

Who thought this would be a good idea? #fail pic.twitter.com/4BJiNk186s  Lorcan Mac Aoidh (@miselorcan) June 12, 2017

I hope this is a joke ?  DebbieAbbott (@abbott_debs) June 12, 2017

Really... given that Brexit is such a divisive subject it's a tad distasteful. Shame on you. #Bexitnothankyou.  Margaret (@MPM76) June 12, 2017

As a remain voter this advertisement is all wrong. It reads as if you're supporting Brexit.  Fi (@fionapm2001) June 12, 2017

Read More

The airport launched its billboard campaign aimed at people who live in the southern border counties to encourage them to use Belfast International Airport over Dublin.

Dublin airport is one of the fastest growing in Europe and has seen the number of its Northern Ireland based passengers continue to rise.

A Dublin Airport source said that, while Belfast International claims it's due to see 2.3 million passengers between the start of June and September, Dublin Airport managed 2.6 million in May alone... which puts it into context.

Launching the campaign, Belfast International Airport's managing director Graham Keddie said there is a cost advantage of departing from Belfast given the strength of the euro against the pound.

Mr Keddie said: The strength of the euro over the pound gives a distinct and clear advantage to southern passengers.

Weve been seeing a noticeable increase in the number of southern-registered cars in our car parks. We fly to 90 destinations in Europe and, at the beginning of July, Norwegian will commence trans-Atlantic services to New York and Providence (Rhode Island/Boston).

Expand Close The campaign launch by Belfast International Airport. / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp The campaign launch by Belfast International Airport.

He added: "Savings are appreciable. Convenience, too, is a factor as, for many in the southern border region, its easier to drive north than south."

However the adverts, which were carried out externally by RLA Ireland, were not overwhelmingly well received on social media.

Twitter users accused the campaign of being "distasteful" in using the "divisive subject" of Brexit. Others said the premise of the advert didn't appear to make sense and questioned why the aviation code of "BFS" wasn't used.

However a spokeswoman for Belfast International Airport said they never use this in advertising campaigns.

One user said: "Belfast airport, you realise this is not a clever play on words right? Your airport code is BFS not BE and majority here voted remain".

Another said: "Given that Brexit is such a divisive subject, it's a tad distasteful. Shame on you."

And another said the advert read as though the airport was "supporting Brexit".

In response to the criticism, Belfast International Airport said it wanted to "make an impact" with its latest campaign.

A spokeswoman said: "We wanted to make an impact with our next marketing campaign and we have certainly done that. The fact is the current exchange rate makes Belfast International Airport a great value option for those passengers travelling from the Republic of Ireland.

"In the last few months we have seen an incredible increase in passengers from the border counties of Donegal, Sligo, Cavan, Monaghan, Louth and Leitrim using Belfast as a departure point and we very much hope to see many more of them."
James Brokenshire said there was a need to differentiate between politics at Westminster and Stormont

DUP leader Arlene Foster has told Sinn Fein leaders if they are concerned about her party's enhanced influence at Westminster they should move to restore devolution at Stormont.

Mrs Foster delivered the blunt message to the republican party as she rejected its claim the anticipated DUP/Conservative deal at Westminster would undermine the political process in Northern Ireland.

She warned that a consequence of failing to re-establish a powersharing executive would be the return of direct rule, with decisions on devolved issues being taken by the London government.

"If others decide that they are not coming back into the devolved administration here in Northern Ireland then those issues will have to be dealt with at Westminster," she said.

"It is really for Sinn Fein to decide where they want those powers to lie."

Her remarks came after Sinn Fein and other Stormont parties insisted Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire could not chair the efforts to restore powersharing.

They are adamant the UK Government can no longer cast itself as a neutral facilitator in the process, given Theresa May's intent to form a minority government with the help of a confidence-and-supply deal with the unionist party.

The dispute has prompted renewed calls for a chairman from outside the UK and Ireland to be appointed.

Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams said: "Our resolve is to see these institutions put in place on the basis they were founded upon as quickly as possible. That could be done this time tomorrow morning or dinner time today. They are all rights issues subject to previous agreements.

"We made clear at the beginning of these talks that James Brokenshire is not an acceptable chair."

Earlier, Mr Brokenshire appeared to rule out an independent mediator to chair the Stormont talks.

He said the current process - which involves the UK and Irish governments chairing elements of the negotiations and the head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service moderating other discussions - is the "right approach".

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood warned that the future of Northern Ireland could not be left "in the hands of a Tory-DUP government."

"If James Brokenshire thinks for one second he can be an independent chair of these talks he is absolutely wrong," he said.

"I have said it for the last six months, this talks process needs an independent chairman to get things done."

With Northern Ireland having been without a powersharing executive since March and without a first and deputy first minister since January, a new three-week process to salvage devolution began in Belfast on Monday.

A major question mark hangs over the talks as a result of developments at Westminster.

A number of deadlines to reach an agreement have already fallen by the wayside since March's snap Assembly poll, which was triggered by the implosion of the last DUP/Sinn Fein-led administration over a dispute about a botched green energy scheme.

The Assembly election campaign exposed many divisions between the two main parties on issues such as legislative protections for Irish language speakers and how to deal with the legacy of the Troubles.

Devolution in Northern Ireland is based on the template laid out in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

The accord commits the UK and Irish government to demonstrate "rigorous impartiality" when dealing with competing political views in the region.

DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds asked would Sinn Fein rule itself out of any future coalition government in the Irish Republic?

"I think the people of the Irish Republic would be very, very interested, as would other members of other political parties, to know before they fight the next general election in the Irish Republic whether or not Sinn Fein are going to rule themselves out of government on the basis that is a breach of the Good Friday Agreement? Because if that's what they say about us, then it applies to them equally," he said.

Mr Brokenshire, who said the Government remained "four square" behind the Good Friday deal, has warned the latest deadline for agreement - June 29 - is "final and immovable".

He made clear the reintroduction of direct rule from Westminster is on the cards if an agreement does not materialise by that date.

Irish foreign affairs minister Charlie Flanagan said it was important that all of the parties and both governments ensure the deadline is met for restoration.

He added: "While the landscape has dramatically changed over the weekend the issues are exactly the same. We want to ensure that every opportunity is given to the parties here to have the powersharing institutions restored."
'More than 220,000 people here are providing care for an older, disabled or seriously ill loved one' (stock photo)

Unpaid care in Northern Ireland is estimated to be worth 4.6billion a year.

More than 220,000 people here are providing care for an older, disabled or seriously ill loved one.

The number of unpaid carers is rising faster than the general population, a survey found. The findings are published today for the start of Carers Week.

They show 77% of people in Northern Ireland do not feel that carers are sufficiently valued.

Each day, 6,000 people across the UK take on a caring role, but the poll showed many people are unaware how likely it is that they would take on a caring role and would be unprepared if they did become a carer.

One in five people aged 50 to 64 are carers. Yet two-fifths of those in Northern Ireland who are not currently carers (39%) thought it unlikely they would ever become a carer.

Asked their top three concerns, affordability of care and the impact on their finances is top (46%) for those who have never had a caring experience.

Coping with the stress of caring (43%) is the second biggest issue, while 32% would worry they didn't have the skills or experience to become a carer.

More than a quarter (26%) would worry about the impact of caring on their physical health.

The online YouGov poll was conducted on behalf of eight charities who are calling on the new UK government, the Northern Ireland Assembly and society to do more to recognise the important contribution that unpaid carers make, and to support them to care.

Clare-Anne Magee from Carers NI said: "It is deeply concerning that three-quarters of respondents feel carers are undervalued by society for their contribution and this figure rises further for those who have caring experience themselves."

She added: "We urge our Health and Social Care Board, our Trusts, our Assembly and the new UK government to do more to value, recognise and support the contribution made by Northern Ireland's 220,000 unpaid carers."
The Secretary of State has warned the latest deadline to restore devolution is "final and immovable".

James Brokenshire also made clear the reintroduction of direct rule from Westminster is on the cards if an agreement does not materialise by June 29.

"Northern Ireland's political leaders now have this chance to take control and restore effective power-sharing government under the current assembly mandate," he said after his re-appointment.

"If they do not, the power to make decisions passes to others. Their choice in the next three weeks will shape Northern Ireland's future."

Mr Brokenshire also insisted the Government remained committed to the principles of the Good Friday Agreement and to governing in the interests of all the people of the region.

His comments came after a variety of politicians expressed concern that a deal between the DUP and Conservatives would undermine the Government's obligation, under the 1998 Agreement, to be impartial in its dealings with Northern Ireland.

Three deadlines to restore power sharing have fallen by the wayside amid an ongoing dispute between the DUP and Sinn Fein.

Talks will resume in Belfast today, having taken a break for the General Election campaign, with a June 29 deadline.

Mr Brokenshire said there would not be another extension.

He said the Agreement still "provides the basis for Northern Ireland's continued political progress".

"My immediate priority is reaching agreement on restoring an inclusive power-sharing Executive - which is what the people of Northern Ireland voted for in the March Assembly elections.

"The statutory deadline to restore a functioning Executive to Northern Ireland is 29 June. Time is short but there was real progress in the last round of political discussion. Agreement between the parties can be reached if there is goodwill on all sides.

"Talks must resume again as soon as possible and I will meet the party leaders and Irish Foreign Minister Flanagan in Belfast tomorrow. All those involved must engage in the full knowledge that the deadline of 29 June is final and immovable.

"The UK government will do everything in its power, working alongside the Irish government in relation to those areas where they have responsibility, to contribute to an d support the process, steadfastly upholding the principles of the Belfast Agreement and its successors."
'Three men aged 27, 29 and 31 were arrested on suspicion of a number of drugs offences' (stock photo)

Police have seized drugs, cash and a stun gun following raids across Northern Ireland.

Police carried out a number of searches in the lower Lisburn Road and Whitehall Square areas of south Belfast, as well as the Crossgar Road area of Ballynahinch.

Three men aged 27, 29 and 31 were arrested on suspicion of a number of drugs offences.

They were later released pending further inquiries, police said.

A PSNI spokesman said: "We also seized a quantity of Class A drugs with a street value of 15,000, drug paraphernalia, a sum of cash and a stun gun.

"Good police work means that a significant quantity of drugs have been removed from sale.

"Drugs misuse is an issue of concern to the community and we are committed to keeping people safe by tackling drug supply."
A former Scottish government minister has claimed that the DUP formally asked him to restrict Northern Irish couples from having same-sex marriages in Scotland.

Ex-SNP minister Marco Biagi said that when the DUP was in the Stormont Executive he received an official letter from them, asking him to curtail access to the ceremony, which is not legal in Northern Ireland.

Mr Biagi, who is himself gay, was the SNP's Minister for Local Government and Community Empowerment from November 2014 to May last year.

He said he refused the request.

DUP leader Arlene Foster has previously insisted her party is not anti-gay, but supports the traditional view that marriage should only be between a man and a woman.

The DUP have not commented on Mr Biagi's claims.

An online petition against the proposed Conservative-DUP linkup coalition had yesterday gathered more than 700,000 signatures.

Over the weekend, Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said she has received assurances from the Prime Minister over gay rights should the Tories do a deal with DUP.

Ms Davidson, who is gay, spoke out after Mrs May outlined a plan to seek a deal with the socially hardline party, which has 10 seats in the Commons, to prop up her minority administration.

In an apparent criticism of the plan, Ms Davidson on Friday tweeted a link to a speech she made in favour of marriage equality, with the message: "As a Protestant Unionist about to marry an Irish Catholic, here's the Amnesty Pride lecture I gave in Belfast."

Ms Davidson said she had received an assurance from the PM there would be no erosion of gay rights in Great Britain.
Lady Portia joins with campaigners who have announced a march in Belfast to demand equal marriage legislation for Northern Ireland. Photo: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker

L-R Catherine Covert and Sally Bridge join with campaigners who have announced a march in Belfast to demand equal marriage legislation for Northern Ireland. Photo: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker

Lady Portia and Lee Cullen (From Cara Friend) join with campaigners who have announced a march in Belfast to demand equal marriage legislation for Northern Ireland. Photo: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker

Lady Portia joins with campaigners who have announced a march in Belfast to demand equal marriage legislation for Northern Ireland. Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker

A protest march is to be held in Belfast to demand legislation for equal marriage in Northern Ireland.

It is currently the only region within the UK where same sex marriage is banned.

It comes as a new round of talks got underway at Stormont aimed at forming a new Executive. The deadline for an agreement to be reached is June 29.

The DUP has used a controversial Stormont voting mechanism  the petition of concern  to prevent a law change, despite a majority of MLAs supporting the move at the last vote.

The party rejects any suggestion it is homophobic, insisting it is instead protecting the traditional definition of marriage.

Following Marchs snap Assembly election, the DUP no longer has the electoral strength to deploy a petition of concern in its own right, though it could still potentially combine with other socially conservative MLAs to do so.

That will only be tested once, and if, a devolved Assembly can be re-established out of the current political crisis in Belfast.

The march is being organised by Love Equality coalition -the campaign for marriage equality in Northern Ireland - and was announced at Belfast City Hall on Monday.

It is led by the Rainbow Project, Amnesty International, Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Cara-Friend, NUS-USI and HereNI.

They are hoping to ramp up the pressure on the regions largest political party to change its stance at a time when its policies on social issues are under renewed scrutiny due to the likely parliamentary deal with the minority Tory government.

John O'Doherty, director of the Rainbow Project, an organisation that works to improve the physical, mental and emotional health of members from the LGBT community said: "The march will send the clearest possible message that members of the LGBT community will remain second class citizens no more."

Clare Moore of the Irish Congress of trade unions said: "The Trade Union movement calls on all trade union members to join this march for equality. The public support equal marriage and their voices must be heard and heeded by those who would seek to govern.

"Any new government at Westminster or at Stormont must be a government for all the people of Northern Ireland."

The march will be held in Belfast on Saturday July 1 and will start at Writers Square in Belfast at 2,30pm, culminating in a rally in front of Belfast City Hall.
Divided opinion: former First and Deputy First Minister Lord Trimble and Seamus Mallon

A former First Minister and deputy First Minister are split over whether the Good Friday Agreement requires the Government to remain neutral on Northern Ireland.

The 1998 accord had pledged that "the power of the sovereign government with jurisdiction there shall be exercised with rigorous impartiality".

However, some have raised concerns that this could be threatened by a Conservative-DUP link-up.

Lord Trimble and Seamus Mallon, who were First and deputy First Minister after the agreement, differed in their verdicts on the situation.

Lord Trimble, the former UUP leader, insisted: "No. The Government has never been neutral."

But Mr Mallon from the SDLP, who served with Lord Trimble for three years, stressed: "Absolutely. Yes."

Both did agree that the days ahead - amid further negotiations between the Conservatives and the DUP - are fraught with risks.

The almost 20-year-old Agreement has been feted for its "constructive ambiguity" which allowed unionists and nationalists to interpret its language in different ways.

But, as co-signatories, both the London and Dublin governments have come to be seen as the guarantors of the Agreement - demonstrating what has been called "rigorous impartiality".

Enda Kenny said yesterday that in his last few days as Taoiseach, he had spoken to Prime Minister Theresa May and voiced concern the Agreement is being put "at risk".

Mr Kenny tweeted: "Spoke with PM May - indicated my concern that nothing should happen to put Good Friday Agreement at risk & absence of nationalist voice in Westminster" - a reference to the SDLP losses and Sinn Fein abstentionism.

Irish Foreign Minister Charlie Flanagan, who is expected at the Stormont talks, said: "The objectivity of both governments, and both governments working strictly in accordance with our legal responsibilities under the Belfast Agreement, the Irish government as co-guarantor, indeed the British Government as co-guarantor ... is important."

Lord Trimble said: "The Government has never been neutral and that was made very clear when there was an attempt to get the Government to become persuaders for a united Ireland.

"The Government is about upholding democratic principles, All of this has got nothing to do with the Agreement, but it has got everything to do with good government.

"In relation to dealing with Northern Ireland, the Government has to be equal with all the parties. But that is not the same thing as being neutral on basic principles."

But Mr Mallon said it was "most certainly the case" that the Agreement required both Governments to be neutral - and therefore he could not see London as an impartial chair when they are involved in talks with just one of the parties involved.

"The British Government will have to make a decision," he said.

"The Irish Government will have to decide its position and it is certainly not going to be helpful in terms of the negotiations to restore devolution."

In relation to the ongoing DUP/Tory talks, he added: "The integrity of the government's position in relation to ongoing negotiations and decisions is essentially damaged."

Lord Trimble said a lot of uncertainty existed.

"It would be lovely to find out what is really going on but we don't know. This is fraught with problems for both sides - there are people gearing up to criticise the DUP over its past and so on, and the Government is wary some of that could stick to itself," he added.

"And the DUP are nervous about being in a situation where they have to take responsibility or blame for Conservative measures. The memory of what happened to Liberal Democrats (in coalition with David Cameron) indicates that they are nervous."
Supporters of the DUP are demanding Theresa May allow a banned loyalist march as part of an agreement by the Northern Irish party to prop up a minority Conservative government.

The Portadown Loyal Orange Lodge (LOL), who are currently prevented from marching in the flashpoint Gavaghy Road in following a long history of sectarian violence, have put out a statement amid speculation as to what concessions the DUP could demand in return for striking a deal with the Tories.

Orangemen were banned from marching through the nationalist area of the mainly loyalist town 20 years ago following repeated riots during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Protests against the ban culminated in 1998 with the shocking murders of three young boys after their house was firebombed in a loyalist arson attack.

The boys mother was Catholic and the family lived in a mainly Protestant area. The brothers  Richard, Mark and Jason Quinn, aged 11, 9 and 7, were asleep when a petrol bomb was thrown through the window of their house.

The statement on Twitter congratulates the Orange Orders fellow Brother David Simpson, the MP for Upper Bann, known for strident religious views including a belief in creationism, for his newfound place at the centre of mainstream British politics.

Portadown District LOL notes the outcome of the recent general election with interest. We would like to congratulate fellow Bro. David Simpson and all the other unionist representatives," it said.

Read more

Read More

We note the invitation from the Prime Minister to the DUP to support her government. We trust that the parading issue especially in Portadown will be high on the agenda for the new Government.

It is clear that the endeavour of the orange family to maximise the unionist vote paid dividends and consequently the DUP has been given the opportunity and responsibility to deliver for the people of Northern Ireland. We trust that they are successful in promoting the values of the Unionist People and the Orange fraternity. We wish them well in the weeks and months that lie ahead.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Drumcree: July 1996 Members of Portadown District LOL No.1 are prevented from completing the annual Drumcree Sunday church parade Philip Magowan Drumcree: July 1995 End of the road: police block the parade by Portadown District LOL No1 at Drumcree in 2015. Photopress Belfast / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Drumcree: July 1996

It concludes, in block capitals: HERE WE STAND WE CAN DO NO OTHER.

Statement on behalf of @Portadownlol1 pic.twitter.com/JFCkWZhxkt

The Orange Order is effectively asking the DUP to use its sudden influence to allow their Protestant members to march from Dumcree church in Portadown through the mainly nationalist area, in spite of the widespread objection that the march is intimidating.

Orange Order members have held protests at Dumcree every Sunday since July 1998 when the parade was banned, and the Portadown lodge has continued to ask permission to march down the Garvaghy Road every week. The march is said to celebrate the 1690 Battle of the Boyne.

At the height of the troubles in Northern Ireland, the UK Government was forced to spend millions on security and draft in hundreds of extra troops to try and combat the tensions caused by inflammatory sectarian marches.

The Orange Order claims the restriction along the Gavaghy Road is a breach of their human rights. But the Parades Commission, which regulates the marches, said in a statement: The Commission believes that the conditions it imposes strikes a fair balance between the needs of the community and the rights of the individual.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close David Trimble and Ian Paisley celebrate Orangemen being allowed to walk the Garvaghy Road Loyalists hold a white line protest at Twaddell Avenue Portadown District Secretary David Jones addresses the PSNI at Drumcree Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Loyalist rally at Belfast City Hall against the Anglo-Irish Agreement in 1985 Orange order at Drumcree / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp David Trimble and Ian Paisley celebrate Orangemen being allowed to walk the Garvaghy Road

Following the murders of the three children, William Bingham, a member of the Orange Order negotiating team, said that walking down the Garvaghy Road would be a hollow victory, because it would be in the shadow of three coffins of little boys who wouldn't even know what the Orange Order is about. He said the Order had lost control of the situation and that no road is worth a life  but later apologised for having implied the Orange Order rather than terrorism was to blame.

A deal between the Conservatives and the DUP has not yet been reached, with Downing Street forced to retract a statement suggesting an outline agreement for a confidence and supply arrangement had been reached.

DUP leader Arlene Foster  who is not an MP  said the party had held good discussions with the Conservatives on how they could support them in the formation of a government after Theresa May fell short of the 326 seats she would need for a majority.

Video not available for syndication

The DUP was founded in 1971 by rabble-rousing Protestant preacher Ian Paisley, who was known for his association with loyalist paramilitaries.

The party is known for its Christian fundamentalist views on gay marriage and abortion, although these are devolved issues so the Northern Irish MPs are unlikely to be able to influence such matters of social policy on the mainland.

Expand Close The issue of parades is a contentious one in Northern Ireland / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp The issue of parades is a contentious one in Northern Ireland

But protests have been held in London and other cities by those concerned about the possible influence of the Northern Irish group on the Conservatives in the event of a deal being reached.

The DUPs list of demands in return for supporting the Conservatives could include a soft exit from the European Union rather than a so-called hard Brexit. Although the party is pro-Leave, is opposed to a hard border with the Irish Republic and to any new customs operations.

In spite of protesters fears, the price of the DUPs backing is likely to be economic rather than social. The party is pro-welfare and opposes Tory plans to means test pensioner benefits and other cuts.

The party is thought likely to demand funds of around 350 million lost through the withdrawal of EU subsidies from farmers once Brexit is concluded.

Northern Ireland currently receives around 100 million a year through a peace process dividend for community development and cross-border projects, and the protection of these funds is likely to be on the DUPs list of priorities.

Critics claim a deal between the Conservatives and the DUP could destabilise the peace process in Northern Ireland as the UK Government must maintain a position of neutrality between the nationalists and the unionists in accordance with the Good Friday agreement.

Many have pointed to the apparent contradiction between the Conservatives repeated criticism of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for having held talks with Republicans during the Troubles and the partys willingness to forge an agreement with the DUP, a party endorsed by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA)  a violent loyalist paramilitary group still active in Northern Ireland and responsible for two murders this year.

Irelands Prime Minister Enda Kenny has issued a warning to Ms May that any arrangement with the DUP must not compromise the Good Friday agreement.
A former Irish taoiseach has warned of the risk of clashes on the high seas in the wake of Brexit.

John Bruton, who previously served as the European Union's ambassador in Washington, said it is easy to imagine physical confrontations over fishing rights in the seas around Britain and Ireland.

And he urged Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionists to get the Customs Union and jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice onto the Brexit negotiating agenda.

Mr Bruton said fishing rights are a highly emotional and symbolic issue.

"Fish do not respect territorial waters. While fishing boats can, in theory, be restricted to territorial waters, fish cannot," he said.

"Overfishing in one jurisdiction affects the livelihood of fishermen in another. Conservation is vital. Who will adjudicate on this, 10 years from now? Will there be quotas? Who will allocate them?

"In the absence of agreement, one can easily envisage clashes, even physical clashes, in seas around us."

Mr Bruton issued the warning as he delivered the Grattan Lecture in the Irish Embassy in London.

He called on the DUP - on course to prop up Theresa May as Prime Minister - to use their influence to reopen questions relating to customs and human rights.

"I hope that these are thoroughly looked at again, in an open-minded way, in the inter-party negotiations and the options properly debated. That debate did not take place in the general election campaign at all," Mr Bruton said.

The DUP are said to favour a soft Brexit with no physical border controls on the island of Ireland in order to maintain the virtually seamless trade with the Republic of Ireland.

But the unionists also do not want to see UK customs, immigration or border controls set up outside Northern Ireland, for instance in the ports and airports in Britain.

Elsewhere, Mr Bruton warned about experienced civil servants being diverted from their work to focus on Brexit negotiations.

"It will, I regret to say, involve the diversion of top level official talent, in 28 capital cities, away from anticipating the challenges of the future, and instead towards reopening agreements made over the past 44 years," he said.

"Our most talented civil servants will be taken up with digging up the past, rather building the future. It is a tragedy.

"The Brexit process will not be like a member leaving a club of which he or she no longer wishes to be a member, which is an easy enough process, once the bar bill has been settled.

"It will be much more like a divorce between a couple, who have lived together for years, have several small dependent children, a mortgage, and a small business they had been running together.

"Not only have past bills to be settled, but future liabilities have to be anticipated, decisions made about the running of the business, and rights and responsibilities in respect of the children agreed."

Mr Bruton also highlighted the issue of European powers sharing information on terrorism in a post-Brexit world.

He said access to intelligence currently passed between EU nations may not be automatic, particularly if the UK rejects the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice on disputes about what is shared.

Mr Bruton also said the DUP and Sinn Fein have revived the issue of territorial sovereignty.

And with weeks of power sharing talks looming at Stormont, he added: "In the past, Prime Ministers and retired statespersons could fly into Belfast, to provide cover for a new compromise between the parties that allowed them to get back to work.

"As Brexit will absorb so much of everyone's time in coming years, the scope for this sort of high-profile counselling will be less. Reality therapy may be needed."
Another still from the video

Police are investigating a shocking incident in Belfast city centre in which three teenage girls were subjected to a tirade of foul-mouthed racial abuse.

The three teenagers - all aged 14 - were sitting on a bench at Belfast's City Hall on Saturday when they were approached by a woman who shouted racist insults at them.

One of the teenagers managed to video the incident on her smartphone.

The footage shows the angry woman ranting at the three children.

"See yousuns? Give it about five to 10 f***ing months and you'll be f***ing outta here," she shouted at the youngsters.

"I'm a f****ing Prod, and I've been homeless for the past three f***ing years. Then they walk into the country and get f***ing everything," the woman yelled.

Young journalist Grainne McKinney was an eyewitness to the foul rant.

Last night, she said she felt ashamed of her city after what she had witnessed. "I rang the police and was talking to one of the girls who had taken videos of the woman. She was kind enough to send the videos, along with this message: 'Please let people see this. It happens every day and no one does anything about it. We're just school kids sitting in town - didn't even expect this to ever happen'."

"I know Belfast is messed up at the best of times", said Grainne, "but watching those videos I've never felt so ashamed of this city."

The shocking footage has been shared thousands of times on social media. On Grainne's Facebook page alone, there were hundreds of outraged comments from people horrified by the treatment of the three schoolgirls.

On social media, one of the victims said she and her friends were scared by the onslaught.

"We didn't do anything to deserve any of this," she said.

"We were literally sitting there minding our own business and she just decided to come and take out her rage on us.

"We were so confused sitting there getting racial comments thrown at us.

"I was so terrified for me and my friends."

South Belfast Alliance councillor Kate Nicholl - who is originally from Zimbabwe - condemned the incident.

"The foul-mouthed footage on this video is disgusting, disturbing and disgraceful. There's no place for racism in our society," she said.

Former Belfast Lord Mayor Brian Kingston added: "This sort of hate crime must not be dismissed lightly, even though the abuser seems to have personal difficulties to work through. It demonstrates a crude racism which still exists within our society."

Calling for more police patrols in the city centre, SDLP Botanic councillor Declan Boyle said it was outrageous the girls were subjected to such abuse.

He also praised Ms McKinney for contacting the police and staying with the teenagers in the wake of the incident.

"She represents the real spirit of Belfast," he said.

Independent councillor Ruth Patterson described the incident as "horrific and unacceptable".

"It doesn't represent the city or the community the woman claims to be from," she said.

PSNI Sergeant Nicola McHenry said: "We received reports yesterday evening that a blonde-haired female was shouting racial abuse at three other females who were sitting on a bench in the Donegall Square West area of the city. Police were unable to locate the female who is described as being in her late teens or 20s and was wearing a spotted raincoat and black leggings.

"If anyone has any further information about this incident, they should contact police on the non-emergency number 101.
Tributes have been paid to a Northern Ireland fan on the one year anniversary of his tragic death after a fall in France during the Euros.

Darren Rodgers (24) from Ballymena died after an 8-metre fall from a wall along the seafront in Nice last June.

At the time the Northern Ireland team led tributes to the young man with striker Kyle Lafferty saying they have "lost one of their own".

So sad to wake up to the tragic news that a Northern Ireland fan has died in Nice, thoughts with his family and friends.  Steven Davis (@StevenDavis8) June 13, 2016

You think things are bad then learn one of your own loses his life last night. Thoughts with family and friends . #GAWA #family  Gareth McAuley (@G23mcauley) June 13, 2016

Shocking news to wake up to this morning.Thoughts are with the young Northern Ireland fans family and friends  stuart dallas (@dallas_stuart) June 13, 2016

Devastating news iv woke up to. My thoughts are with the young mans family and friends. We've lost one of our own. RIP  KV (@LaffK) June 13, 2016

Such a sad day, to wake up to the News that a Young Northern Ireland has tragically died in Nice. Thoughts with his family and friends  Niall McGinn (@nmcginn10) June 13, 2016

Tragic news to wake up to this morning. Thoughts are with the young northern ireland fans family and friends  Conor McLaughlin (@ConorMcL3) June 13, 2016
A Belfast mum was reduced to tears after her nine-year-old daughter became the target of vile online abuse stirred up by a controversial animal charity.

Linda McGonigle (37) was left distraught on Saturday after reading comments on Animal Heaven Animal Rescue (AHAR) social media account calling for her precious little girl to be drowned.

"It was awful. I was so upset that my boss was going to send me home," the hairdresser said.

"I just cried and kept thinking; is this meant to be a group of animal lovers?

"They were out for blood."

Passionate animal lover Macy McGonigle commented on Facebook appeals made by the Co Kerry-based charity seeking to help rescue animals and falsely claimed to have donated money.

But her mum said there is no excuse for the vilification that followed.

"It was just naivety. I think she thought that by saying it, it would help," Linda explained.

"I was so shocked at how the animal sanctuary treated the situation. It was obvious from her language and her profile photo that she was only a child."

AHAR named and shamed the P5 pupil in an online rant which read: "Shame on you, you are not an animal lover."

In abuse aimed directly at the little girl, one user wrote "drown the bitch" after telling her to "rot in hell".

Others flocked to the post to ridicule and demonise the youngster before it was eventually deleted, but not before AHAR agreed with one commentator who wrote: "Some people are a waste of blood and organs."

In a shocking response, the charity wrote: "I like your comment very much, I must remember it."

Many people were quick to condemn the hate-filled comments, but others insisted they didn't care what age she was.

One woman branded her a "nasty little kid who needs to learn the consequences of her actions" as other users expressed horror at how she was being treated.

One regular donor warned she would never make a contribution again if they "continued to allow a child to be abused".

It was Charmayne Gourley from PetMinderNI who contacted Linda to warn that her daughter had become the target of shocking abuse.

"I'm so glad she did, but if Charmayne was able to quickly work out that Macy was only nine years old and contact me, then the charity should have been able to do the same," she said.

"One of the people who was commenting is a primary school teacher. I still can't believe it."

Mrs McGonigle, who admitted having concerns about Macy being too young for Facebook, has now deleted her account.

"I thought she was OK on it, but I have now realised that you can't control what other people do," she said.

Macy is unaware of the abuse which her mum described as "inexcusable".

"The charity weren't professional at all and have not replied to me since I contacted them," she said.

The charity did not respond to requests for comment when contacted by this newspaper.
Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip leave after attending Holy Communion at St Andrew's Church in Sonning, Berkshire

Arlene Foster says she is committed to securing the best deal for everyone in Northern Ireland as she today leaves for London ahead of a meeting with the Prime Minister.

The DUP leader is set to hold talks with Mrs May in Downing Street tomorrow as the two sides edge closer to a likely agreement which will keep the Tories in power in exchange for additional funds for Northern Ireland.

Setting out her priorities for the negotiations in today's Belfast Telegraph, Mrs Foster said that the DUP's focus would be on strengthening the Union, a good deal on Brexit, and getting "Stormont up and running again for the benefit of all".

"When I meet with the Prime Minister in London tomorrow, I will be mindful of our responsibility to help bring stability to the nation at this time of challenge," she said.

"We will be working to agree arrangements that can provide the whole nation with good government. The DUP will work to bring about outcomes that are beneficial to all and in Parliament Northern Ireland's case will be centre stage."

Mrs Foster spoke of a "political earthquake" in the wake of last week's General Election which saw her party emerge as kingmakers at Westminster. "Our increased strength at this election is indeed timely," she said.

And she hit out at abuse that the DUP has received from politicians and media across Britain as it holds the balance of power in the House of Commons.

"Some of the national commentary, and analysis about the party, and by extension its voters, has been downright inaccurate and misleading. I have no doubt over time those responsible will look foolish in the extreme," she said.

In an indirect reference to Sinn Fein, she said that it was time for those locally "complaining the loudest about our position of influence" to recognise that "the time for unreasonable behaviour and unrealistic demands are over".

Mrs Foster claimed that coming weeks represented "a real opportunity to heed the will of the people and capitalise on the opportunities that lie ahead" for everyone in Northern Ireland.

The DUP leader set out her hopes as Mrs May reshuffled her cabinet in order to shore up her increasingly shaky position. In a shock return to government, Michael Gove was appointed Environment Secretary. The Prime Minister had sacked him as Justice Secretary last year.

Meanwhile, James Brokenshire, who remains as Northern Ireland Secretary, last night warned the local parties that direct rule from Westminster was on the cards unless they reached a deal by June 29 - a "final and immoveable" deadline.

"If they do not, the power to make decisions passes to others. Their choice in the next three weeks will shape Northern Ireland's future," he added.

As talks to restore devolution resumed at Stormont today, nationalist politicians claimed that a likely deal between the DUP and the Tories compromised Mr Brokenshire's role as an independent chair of the discussions.

But the Secretary of State denied that any deal would conflict with the Government's obligations under the Good Friday Agreement to be impartial in its dealings in Northern Ireland.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny expressed concern that London's neutrality would be compromised in a phone call with Theresa May. He said "nothing should happen to put the Good Friday Agreement at risk".

However, Irish Foreign Minister, Charlie Flanagan, said that a Tory-DUP agreement would "not necessarily" undermine the peace process.

When asked about suggestions that a deal contradicted Westminster's impartiality as a co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, he told ITV: "Well, not necessarily the case. Of course, it remains to be seen what the nature of that deal is. But this is an issue I did address with Secretary of State James Brokenshire."

The two men are due to meet in Belfast today.

The SDLP's Nichola Mallon, insisted that Mr Brokenshire couldn't continue as a mediator of the talks and called for an independent figure to be appointed.

"How can you have a Secretary of State sitting as an honest broker when they already have a deal with one of the parties sitting around the table? It is just not possible to be neutral in this context, and anyone who pretends otherwise is ludicrous," she told the BBC.

Sinn Fein president, Gerry Adams, said that the parties should consider seizing the initiative and inviting an independent chair to oversee proceedings.

Several Tory MPs yesterday expressed alarm about the prospect of their party forming a pact with the DUP. Defence Secretary, Sir Michael Fallon, defended the prospect of a deal but distanced the Conservatives from the DUP's views on social issues.
Arlene Foster (left), leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, with Prime Minister Theresa May (Charles McQuillan/PA)

The leader of the Democratic Unionists has pledged to exercise the partys enhanced influence at Westminster responsibly.

Arlene Foster said she hoped to capitalise on opportunities the situation presented for Northern Ireland.

As talks continue between the DUP and Conservatives over a potential confidence-and-supply arrangement to support Theresa Mays minority government, Mrs Foster said: When I meet with the Prime Minister in London tomorrow, I will be mindful of our responsibility to help bring stability to the nation at this time of challenge.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

We will be working to agree arrangements that can provide the whole nation with good government.

The DUP will work to bring about outcomes that are beneficial to all, and in Parliament Northern Irelands case will be centre stage.

It is likely the DUP will press for increased investment in Northern Ireland as the price of their support in Westminster and push for a more significant role in the Brexit process.

The DUPs social conservatism on issues such as gay marriage and abortion has been in the spotlight in Great Britain since its role as parliamentary kingmaker became clear.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

Mrs Foster branded some of the commentary and analysis about her party as inaccurate and misleading.

I have no doubt over time those responsible will look foolish in the extreme, she said.

Mrs Foster, writing in the Belfast Telegraph, said the election result had caused a political earthquake across the United Kingdom.

In truth, no-one expected the outcome of the snap general election to be a hung Parliament, and for the DUP to be in such an influential position, she said.

Expand Close (PA graphic) Press Association Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp (PA graphic)

She added: The mandate given to us by the people will be used responsibly.

We stood on a clear policy platform of wanting to strengthen the Union, of working for a good deal for Northern Ireland as the United Kingdom leaves the EU and of promising to do our best to get Stormont up and running again for the benefit of all.

We will use the position we find ourselves in to do as we promised.

Mrs Foster concluded: The next few weeks represent a real opportunity for everyone in Northern Ireland to heed the will of the people and capitalise on the opportunities that lie ahead for everyone.
I can only describe the events of the last week as nothing short of a political earthquake across the United Kingdom. In truth, no-one expected the outcome of the snap General Election to be a hung Parliament, and for the DUP to be in such an influential position.

Again, I sincerely thank people for the votes they have given to us across Northern Ireland.

Never before have 10 Democratic Unionists been elected to Parliament.

Our increased strength at this election is indeed timely.

For decades our party has played a full role at Westminster and increasingly in recent years our Members of Parliament have been prominent on the national stage.

Against that backdrop some of the national commentary, and analysis, about the party, and by extension its voters, has been downright inaccurate and misleading. I have no doubt over time those responsible will look foolish in the extreme.

People in Northern Ireland know that the DUP is the party of choice for many. Indeed, almost 300,000 people cast a vote for us on Thursday.

For the past 14 years we have been Northern Ireland's largest party and throughout we have worked to move Northern Ireland forward through political negotiations and the power-sharing institutions.

We have become Northern Ireland's main voice at Westminster since 2005.

The mandate given to us by the people will be used responsibly.

We stood on a clear policy platform of wanting to strengthen the Union, of working for a good deal for Northern Ireland as the United Kingdom leaves the EU, and of promising to do our best to get Stormont up and running again for the benefit of all.

We will use the position we find ourselves in to do as we promised.

When I meet with the Prime Minister in London tomorrow I will be mindful of our responsibility to help bring stability to the nation at this time of challenge. We will be working to agree arrangements that can provide the whole nation with good government.

The DUP will work to bring about outcomes that are beneficial to all, and in Parliament Northern Ireland's case will be centre stage.

Bringing about outcomes that are beneficial to all also means getting Stormont working again.

I will be engaged with the other local political parties to see if we can achieve agreement to restore our local Assembly and Executive.

To those locally who are complaining the loudest about our position of influence, I say to them that the time for unreasonable behaviour and unrealistic demands is over.

The people have spoken and we must work together if we are to get Stormont up and running.

The next few weeks represent a real opportunity for everyone in Northern Ireland to heed the will of the people and capitalise on the opportunities that lie ahead for everyone.
Footage has emerged appearing to show a fight break out near an Irish bar during a loyalist march through Liverpool city centre.

An eyewitness told The Independent they saw marchers fighting with members of the public drinking in The Liffey Irish bar on Renshaw Street.

The fight "got quite violent" before being broken up by police, the witness said.

It comes after the Prime Minister, Theresa May, sought a deal with the DUP to support her in Parliament.

It is unclear whether the march on Saturday was related to the potential "confidence and supply" agreement or whether it had been planned to go ahead anyway.

Beth Redmond was in Liverpool with her friend when she heard the drums of the marching bands and saw "loads of Union Jack flags. Obviously after what's happened, we said we hope it's not the Orange lodge," she told The Independent:

"Then we saw orange sashes and realised it was.

Expand Close A loyalist parade outside the Liffey Irish bar on Renshaw Street in Liverpool cirty centre / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp A loyalist parade outside the Liffey Irish bar on Renshaw Street in Liverpool cirty centre

"Just as we got round the corner they walked past an Irish bar called the Liffey and I'm not sure who it was who initiated it, whether people came out of the pub or they went into the pub, but they started fighting each other.

"People were throwing beers all over each other, it got quite violent.

"The police came, but the fight moved up the road a little bit. I think eventually it must have dispersed but it was very tense."

She described seeing around 20 people fighting.

Read more

Read More

"The pub got locked eventually so people couldn't go in, the people who were on the march were banging on the windows and doors trying to get in," she said.

"I think the people on both sides of the fight were holding people back."

Merseyside Police said they were contacted following reports of a disturbance on Renshaw Street at 7.25pm.

One man was arrested for being drunk and disorderly and another was arrested for a public order offence.

There were no reports of anyone being injured, the police said.

The Liffey Irish bar refused to comment.

Liverpool Provincial Grand Orange Lodge said: "We would like to emphasise that the Orange Institution were neither the organisers or participants in this event.

"We do not condone violence in any form in support of any religion or cause,whilst always supporting the rights of legitimate groups to walk the streets of our city."
Michael Gove has made a shock return to Government as Theresa May carried out a post-election Cabinet reshuffle.

Downing Street said he had been appointed Environment Secretary, replacing Andrea Leadsom who becomes the new Leader of the Commons.

The former justice secretary was sacked by Mrs May in one of her first acts as Prime Minister after he effectively scuppered the Tory leadership hopes of Boris Johnson - his fellow Vote Leave campaigner - by withdrawing his support and announcing his own candidacy.

In a relatively limited reshuffle of her team, James Brokenshire retained his position as Northern Ireland Secretary.

The appointment of Mr Gove - who she clashed bitterly with over tackling extremism when they were in government together under David Cameron - will be seen as further evidence of Mrs May's need to shore up her position after seeing her Commons majority wiped out.

Earlier, the Prime Minister announced she was promoting Damian Green to become First Secretary of State - a title associated in the past with the position of deputy prime minister.

David Gauke - who was the Treasury chief secretary and has long been regarded as one of the Government's strongest performers - was promoted to take over at the Department for Work and Pensions.

David Lidington, the leader of the Commons, also received a step up as the new Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary.

He replaces Liz Truss who becomes Treasury Chief Secretary "attending Cabinet", in a move that will be seen as a demotion.

There had been speculation she could be axed altogether following fierce criticism from the judiciary over her failure to speak out in support of judges who were criticised over the Article 50 High Court ruling.

The decision to keep her in the Government will be seen as another indication of Mrs May's weakness following the loss of her Commons majority.

The Prime Minister had already announced that her five most senior ministers - including Chancellor Philip Hammond and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson - were carrying on in their current positions.

Mr Hammond in particular had been widely tipped for the chop in a post-election reshuffle and the announcement that he was carrying on at the Treasury underlined her limited room for manoeuvre.

Sir Patrick McLoughlin continues as Conservative Party chairman despite speculation that he could pay the price for the party's dismal showing at the ballot box.

A whole swathe of other ministers were confirmed in their existing positions, including International Trade Secretary Liam Fox, Education Secretary Justine Greening, Communities Secretary Sajid Javid, and Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Business Secretary Greg Clark, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, International Development Secretary Priti Patel, Culture Secretary Karen Bradley, Welsh Secretary Alan Cairns and the Leader of the Lords Baroness Evans of Bowes Park also keep their jobs.

Gavin Williamson, who has been in Belfast conducting negotiations with the DUP on supporting a minority Conservative Government, remains as Chief Whip.

Jeremy Wright carries on as Attorney General and Brandon Lewis remains a Home Office minister although he will in future attend Cabinet.

David Mundell was confirmed as Scottish Secretary, completing the Cabinet-level appointments.

Mrs May still has a number of more junior posts to fill to replace ministers who lost their seats in the election.
Flowers left on London Bridge for the victims of the terrorist attack (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

Another arrest has been made in the investigation into the London Bridge attack.

A 19-year-old man was held on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts following a raid at an address in Barking, east London, at 9.50pm on Sunday, Scotland Yard said.

Detectives from the Metropolitan Polices Counter Terrorism Command were searching the address and another in Barking where a 28-year-old man was arrested on Saturday.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

A total of seven men are being held in custody under terror laws after the June 3 atrocity that left eight dead and dozens wounded.

The development came as new testimony emerged from a woman who was knifed in the throat in the attack.

Australian Candice Hedge was working at Elliots Cafe in Borough Market when attackers Khuram Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba launched their van and knife rampage.

The 34-year-old said: They were behind me so I couldnt see, one was standing basically beside me as I was huddled down in the corner. I did see one of our customers get stabbed by one of the guys and the one who was standing beside me was shouting.

Ms Hedge said it was one quick go and that was it. I was vomiting blood.

Describing her horror as blood gushed from the wound, she told Australian programme Sunday Night: I was thinking, I dont want to die.

Expand Close Fake suicide belts worn by one the London Bridge attackers (Metropolitan Police/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Fake suicide belts worn by one the London Bridge attackers (Metropolitan Police/PA)

On Sunday police released images of the terrorists blood-spattered fake suicide belts.

The phoney bombs were simply disposable water bottles wrapped in silver and black tape and attached to leather belts, although they were designed to create maximum fear, police said.

Metropolitan Police Commander Dean Haydon praised the bravery of the police officers and members of public who tackled the three  despite the possibility they could have been killed in an explosion.

One week on from the atrocity, revellers returned to the Borough Market area on Saturday night in a show of defiance, although the market is expected to remain closed into this week.

On Sunday Southwark Cathedral, which had remained shut since it was reportedly stormed by armed police during the attack, reopened.

Detectives have made 21 arrests as part of the probe.

Twelve people arrested in the initial stages were released without charge.

A 27-year-old arrested under the Terrorism Act on Tuesday was also released without charge on Saturday.

A man arrested on suspicion of drugs and firearms offences in connection with the investigation was bailed until a date in late June.

The inquests for the victims will be opened on Tuesday and Wednesday, Scotland Yard said.
Former Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborner said Theresa May was "dead woman walking" after a poor General Election left the Conservatives with a reduced majority (Peter Byrne/PA)

An ally of George Osborne has been sacked from the Government by Theresa May as she continues to carry out the post-General Election reshuffle of her ministerial team.

Apprenticeships Minister Robert Halfon was asked to leave by Mrs May and revealed she did not give a reason for her decision, adding: The Prime Minister has to make these decisions, I wasnt really given a reason.

Mr Halfon formerly served as parliamentary private secretary to Mr Osborne, who has been highly critical of Mrs May since her disastrous election campaign saw the Tories lose their House of Commons majority.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

The former chancellor on Sunday described the PM as a dead woman walking, warning she could be ousted from No 10 in a matter of days.

But Mr Halfon would not be drawn on suggestions his closeness to Mr Osborne may have accounted for his sacking, telling the Press Association: I dont want to get involved in any of that, I mean she appointed me after she became leader last year and it was an honour to do it.

Mr Halfon, thought of as a widely respected figure in the Conservative Party, said he loved the job and had an absolute passion for apprenticeships and skills.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

He said he visited outstanding apprentices up and down the country, that he was proud to help deliver a record 900,000 apprenticeships and to have passed the Technical and Further Education Act.

Mr Halfon said apprenticeships should be the Tories major number one offering to young people to counter Labours pledge to scrap university tuition fees.

He added: One thing Im not going to do is Im not the kind of person to start criticising the Prime Minister but I do believe that we need to start offering things to young people and one of those things is apprenticeships, technical skills, and to give them that ladder.

We are the party of the ladder.

Other junior ministers sacked from the Government are:

:: Defence minister Mike Penning

:: Justice minister Sir Oliver Heald

:: Brexit minister David Jones

Mrs May has appointed the following MPs as ministers of state:

:: Nick Hurd as a Home Office minister

:: Dominic Raab as justice minister

:: Anne Milton as education minister

:: Robert Goodwill as education minister

:: Baroness Anelay as Brexit minister

:: Claire Perry as business minister

Mel Stride has also been appointed financial secretary to the Treasury.
DUP leader Arlene Foster has told Sinn Fein leaders if they are concerned about her partys enhanced influence at Westminster they should move to restore devolution at Stormont.

Mrs Foster delivered the blunt message to the republican party as she rejected its claim the anticipated DUP/Conservative deal at Westminster would undermine the political process in Northern Ireland.

She warned that a consequence of failing to re-establish a powersharing executive would be the return of direct rule, with decisions on devolved issues being taken by the London government.

. @DUPleader says if "others" decide they're not entering power sharing then devolved issues will have to be dealt with at Westminster pic.twitter.com/1bGwequP7B  Deborah McAleese (@DeborahMcAleese) June 12, 2017

If others decide that they are not coming back into the devolved administration here in Northern Ireland then those issues will have to be dealt with at Westminster, she said.

It is really for Sinn Fein to decide where they want those powers to lie.

Her remarks came after Sinn Fein and other Stormont parties insisted Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire could not chair the efforts to restore powersharing.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

They are adamant the UK Government can no longer cast itself as a neutral facilitator in the process, given Theresa Mays intent to form a minority government with the help of a confidence-and-supply deal with the unionist party.

The dispute has prompted renewed calls for a chairman from outside the UK and Ireland to be appointed.

Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams said: Our resolve is to see these institutions put in place on the basis they were founded upon as quickly as possible. That could be done this time tomorrow morning or dinner time today. They are all rights issues subject to previous agreements.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

We made clear at the beginning of these talks that James Brokenshire is not an acceptable chair.

Watch Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams warn of the prospective deal between the Conservatives and the DUP pic.twitter.com/i9QraXUl3C  Press Association (@PA) June 12, 2017

Earlier, Mr Brokenshire appeared to rule out an independent mediator to chair the Stormont talks.

He said the current process  which involves the UK and Irish governments chairing elements of the negotiations and the head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service moderating other discussions  is the right approach.

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood warned that the future of Northern Ireland could not be left in the hands of a Tory-DUP government.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

If James Brokenshire thinks for one second he can be an independent chair of these talks he is absolutely wrong, he said.

I have said it for the last six months, this talks process needs an independent chairman to get things done.
An Israeli court on Sunday ordered a journalist to pay more than 19,000 in damages to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara for libelling them.

The magistrates court in Tel Aviv ruled that Igal Sarna libelled the couple for writing a Facebook post that claimed the prime minister's wife kicked the Israeli leader out of their car during a fight.

Sarna writes for Yedioth Ahronoth, a major Israeli newspaper that is often critical of Netanyahu.

The Netanyahus appeared in court in March to testify against Sarna.

The journalist claimed to have sources to back up his claims. But the court ruled the publication was aimed specifically at harming the Netanyahus and damaging their reputations.

Netanyahu and his wife said of the verdict that justice has been done.

AP
A Moscow court has ruled that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny should be jailed for 30 days for staging an unsanctioned rally in the city.

The anti-corruption rallies called for by Mr Navalny were held in more than 100 Russian towns and cities on Monday.

In Moscow, thousands of angry protesters held an unsanctioned rally on Tverskaya, the capital's main street.

More than 1,000 people have been arrested across Russia.

The judge at the Simonovsky district court ruled after midnight on Monday that Mr Navalny should be jailed for repeated violations of the law on public gatherings.

Mr Navalny was detained outside his home an hour before the rally was to start.

The Moscow protest was the most prominent in a string of more than 100 rallies in cities and towns stretching through all 11 of Russia's time zones - from the Pacific to the European enclave of Kaliningrad - with many denouncing President Vladimir Putin.

Thousands of angry demonstrators thronged to Tverskaya Street chanting "Down with the tsar" and singing the Russian national anthem.

The protests coincided with Russia Day, a national holiday that this year brought out historical re-enacters, some of them dressed in medieval costumes.

More than 700 people were arrested in Moscow, while in St Petersburg, about 500 were forced into police buses at an unsanctioned rally that drew up to 10,000 people.

The demonstrators appeared predominantly young - those who were born or grew up during Mr Putin's 17 years in power.

Similar crowds turned out on March 26, rattling officials who had perceived the younger generation as largely apolitical.

Three 16-year-old girls took sheets of paper to the Moscow protest and sat on the pavement to write the articles of the Russian Constitution on them; a nearby group of teenagers climbed on top of a tent with posters saying "Corruption kills the future".

Other protesters scaled a scaffold and hung a sign saying "Only revolution will defeat corruption".

Some of the rallies were sanctioned by authorities and peaceful, but police cracked down brutally on others.

Although it was not immediately clear if Monday's protests were larger than those in March, they underlined the deep dismay with the government.

Mr Putin is expected to seek another term in 2018, and Mr Navalny has already announced his intentions to run.

Moscow officials had agreed to allow Mr Navalny's rally, but late on Sunday, he said official interference had prevented contractors from erecting a stage at the agreed-upon venue and instead urged demonstrators to gather on Tverskaya Street, which was closed to traffic for the Russia Day festivities.

Most of the Moscow protesters appeared to be under 30, although there was a sizeable number of middle-aged people and couples with children.

With opposition sentiment strong or even growing, authorities appear to be seeking a strategy to undermine the opposition without provoking more animosity.

Mr Navalny rose to prominence for detailed open-source investigations of government corruption.

That was a key issue for protesters, particularly his report on vast wealth allegedly acquired by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

"We are against the corruption that is costing the future of our young people," said Moscow protester Maria Badyrova, a 33-year-old finance specialist who went to the rally with a Russian flag.

Alexei Borsenko, a Vladivostok demonstrator who eluded a police attempt to detain him, cited Iceland's prime minister stepping down in the fallout from the "Panama Papers" scandal, while "our prime minister is caught on such big corruption cases and he doesn't go anywhere".

"This is very strange," he added. "It's a dead end for the country's development."

AP
Artist Yuriy Karabash hugs a victim's family member at the Pulse nightclub (Joe Burbank /Orlando Sentinel via AP)

The names of the 49 people killed in the worst mass shooting in modern US history have been read out outside the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, exactly one year after a gunman started firing during "Latin Night" at the gay club.

"I realise that gathering here in this place, at this hour, is beyond difficult," Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer told survivors, victims' families, club employees and local officials during the private service.

"But I also know that the strength you've shown over the past year will carry you through today and in the future."

The service began what would be almost 24 hours of observations to remember the victims and the dozens of Pulse patrons who were wounded when Omar Mateen opened fire and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.

He was eventually killed by police after a three-hour standoff on June 12 2016.

Later on Monday morning, hundreds of people dropped off flowers, drawings and cards at a memorial near Pulse.

Another midday service was held, followed by an evening gathering in the heart of Orlando and a final, music-filled late-night service at the nightclub.

"It still hurts, it's still very raw," said Erin Anderson, a friend and former co-worker of Pulse victim Xavier Serrano Rosado.

Jeannine Williams used to live within walking distance of Pulse and was a frequent visitor.

She had made plans to be there the night of the shooting but decided to go to another night club.

"A year later I think the thing that is most important is this community and why I live here and why I'm so happy to live here," Ms Williams said through tears.

"The support we not only have from our city government, it's not fleeting support, it's not support on certain days. It's the way the community is.

"This is Orlando. This is why I just love living here."

At noon, church bells throughout the Orlando area rang 49 times.

Governor Rick Scott ordered US flags around Florida to be flown at half-staff and a giant rainbow flag would be unveiled at the Orange County government building.

At a midday service at the nightclub, Pulse owner Barbara Poma said when people ask her what has changed in her life since the tragedy, she tells them "everything".

But she said she is grateful for the outpouring of support.

She plans to build a memorial at the site of the nightclub, which has been closed since the tragedy.

"I miss Pulse," she said. "We are one Pulse. We are one love."

Local leaders said Mateen's act of hate caused an outpouring of love from Orlando and the wider world.

"What a terrorist tries to do is divide us," said US Senator Bill Nelson.

"Isn't it interesting it had the opposite effect? It brought us together in unity and love."

Monday's services culminated several days of events aimed at turning the grim anniversary into something positive.

A foot race was held over the weekend, and eight gay and lesbian students were awarded 4,900 US dollars (3,900) towards their college studies by a local businessman.

Local officials have declared the one-year mark as a day of "love and kindness", and they are encouraging residents to volunteer or perform acts of compassion.

An exhibit of artwork collected from memorial sites set up around Orlando after the massacre will be shown at the Orange County History Centre.

Ms Poma is developing plans to build a memorial at the Pulse site.

Mateen's wife, Noor Salman, is facing charges of aiding and abetting and obstruction in federal court.

She has pleaded not guilty to helping her husband.

AP
DUP leader Arlene Foster along with her newly elected 10 MPs at the Stormont Hotel in south Belfast last Friday

Now is the moment for unionism and for Northern Ireland. An opportunity not to be missed. A chance in a political lifetime not to be fluffed.

Above all a challenge to the Democratic Unionist leadership to show that it can rise above the narrow ground of Ulster and represent the interests of us all in a positive, constructive manner.

The DUP has a battle on its hands given that some sections of the British and international media seem intent on painting it as a Protestant Ku Klux Klan at the heart of Theresa May's precariously perched new government.

We should not be surprised that the party's website crashed on Friday given the degree of ignorance that even seasoned national commentators of the TV election specials showed when they discovered the DUP was holding the future of the UK and Europe in its hands.

But, just as William of Orange changed the course of Europe in 1690 by his victory at the Battle of the Boyne, now, would you believe it, Arlene Foster has it within her power to do likewise if she can form a viable political relationship with Theresa May.

"If" is the key word. Mrs May and Mrs Foster are formidable in their own right with determined, at times, uncompromising mannerisms.

The DUP leader, based in Northern Ireland, not Westminster, will need to rely on her London MPs to carry through the heavy lifting of any deal with the Tories. In that respect, her lieutenants, such as Nigel Dodds, Jeffrey Donaldson and Ian Paisley, are well seasoned in the ways of Westminster and capable of handling the awkward questions of a critical London media rat-pack.

Northern Ireland is a small, sometimes overlooked, even forgotten about corner of the UK. From this day, not any more - at least for as long the Tory/DUP axis holds.

Whether the chattering classes of southern England who frequent the TV political studios like it or not, their futures rest on the shoulders of Ulster MPs with whom they would barely pass the time of day.

Northern Ireland has a reputation for punching above its weight, for example in the world of sport. The challenge to the DUP is whether it can punch above its weight in the corridors of power in London and Brussels and bring real benefits to Northern Ireland.

If Mrs May is looking seriously to help this community in return for the DUP's support, she can start by ensuring that the budgets for health and social care services are not weakened any further. The same goes for education.

These are priorities in all communities across the UK but all the more in Northern Ireland with its dependency of health and welfare services and the scattered rural nature of our society.

No doubt the DUP with its experience at the Stormont budget will have its own shopping list for Mrs May to ponder, but whatever is agreed must not narrowly reflect only one section of this community.

The DUP, having achieved such sweeping support in the General Election, has the opportunity now to rise above the sectarianism of politics here and show that unionism can represent and does care about the wider society.

Critics in the London media and in opposition parties here and in Britain will point to the extreme views and eccentricities of some DUP politicians. Thrust into the political spotlight, the DUP must show that there is much more to its brand of unionism than waving flags, beating big drums and offending those with whom it disagrees.

The Tories' hands are tied by the DUP, but even more so by many of Mrs May's own backbenchers who are worried she will act against their individual interests on Europe or other issues. If she is to fall, it will likely be her own people who will end her government while the DUP will surely seek to milk its new-found importance for as long as possible.

Mrs May has wider responsibilities to Northern Ireland than her new-found necessity for an expedient relationship with the DUP.

Any liaison is not without risks since whatever British government is in power must take full account of the Good Friday Agreement and other deals which have taken this deeply divided community to where it is today.

Mrs May has only to look at the overall result of the election here, with the DUP and Sinn Fein winning all but one seat, to know how fragile politics remain.

The reality is that there is no empathy, no apparent appetite for compromise between the two communities here who have retreated into unionist and nationalist/republican trenches in a very disturbing if not dangerous manner.

These are extremely delicate days for power-sharing and upon Mrs May's shoulders lies the responsibility to possibly make or break the Stormont Assembly and Executive. The coming fortnight is crucial for Mrs May and for the future stability of Northern Ireland as talks resume at Stormont.

The DUP have said they are committed to power-sharing and to reaching a deal with Sinn Fein. Mrs May should ask them how they propose to break the log-jam, if that is their intention.

If it is a question of funding any issues which divide the local parties at this time, she should seriously consider making a contribution. The biggest prize she could give to NI in return for unionist backing would be to find a way to restore the Stormont Executive to full working order.

On other issues, Northern Ireland needs to keep more of its young talent within its shores.

Its universities need all the help they can get as does Invest Northern Ireland by way of ensuring it is not playing second fiddle to the low corporation tax base of the Republic. Our farming industry will be decimated if the European grants are not guaranteed beyond 2020 by the Westminster government.

As a small peripheral part of Europe and the UK we are penalised quite unfairly by air passenger duty, a tax on every citizen who wishes to journey to and from one part of the UK and another. That is most unfair and surely not in the spirit of the Foster/May message to preserve and strengthen the Union.

The Irish government will look with concern on the links between the DUP and the Tories. Half a century after the Conservative and Unionist party broke up because of how another Tory leader, Edward Heath, treated unionists, Mrs May reinstates the link if only out of political expediency.

Twenty-seven years since a former Conservative Secretary of State, Peter Brooke, declared that Britain had no "selfish strategic or economic interest" in Northern Ireland, 10 unionist MPs hold the balance of power in London and the future of Brexit in their votes for the Tory administration.

The Irish question has haunted British politicians for generations. With Mrs May's premiership now dependent on the DUP, it remains to be seen what influence or role her government can have in the last-ditch efforts at Stormont to save the Executive and prevent a return to direct rule.

One positive contribution which Mrs May can make with the support of all sides here would be to soften the impact of Brexit on Northern Ireland and the Republic. There is common ground in so far as no one here or across this island wants a hard border restored.

The DUP along with other parties says it wishes to ensure that business and commerce, tourism and trade across the island of Ireland are not inhibited by Brexit.

Surely now Northern Ireland will have more of a direct say in the forthcoming Brexit negotiations and the DUP will ensure that is so.

A week is a long time in politics as Theresa May discovered on June 8 and Arlene Foster found also to her cost with the RHI scandal. Now, too, is the hour for the DUP to rise to the occasion, defy the sceptics and prophets of doom and show that it can strike a credible political partnership that will bring real benefits for people here.
The collective chorus of condemnation directed by Sinn Fein at the Tories for asking for the DUP's help to stay in government has been ear-splitting.

Social media is awash with outrage from the party's politicians and supporters.

Every non-progressive stance that the DUP holds, or has ever held, is paraded with derision.

Its opposition to same-sex marriage and to a woman's right to choose; its attitude to climate change and Sunday trading; its alleged corruption and endorsement by loyalist paramilitaries are all being well-aired.

Hold on a minute, guys.

You were quite content to be in government with the DUP for 10 years at Stormont.

If they were such political pariahs, then why on earth did you do business with them for so long?

And you didn't do it through gritted teeth, you enjoyed it.

First there was the Chuckle Brothers.

Then Martin McGuinness called Peter Robinson his "friend" and spoke glowingly of him.

That's the same Peter Robinson whom you're now posting pictures of in his Ulster Resistance red beret, and lambasting for describing loyalist paramilitaries as "counter-terrorists".

When the DUP opposed equal marriage, Sinn Fein didn't think that was a deal-breaker.

Neither did they pull out of government when the DUP acted to prevent abortion in cases of fatal foetal abnormality and rape.

They were quite happy to cling to office in Stormont for a decade, accepting the status quo along with the big fat pay cheques.

The continued abuse of the petition of concern happened on the Shinners' watch.

Many people have consistently challenged the DUP's record on social issues down through the years.

Sinn Fein's not among them.

That party cosied up to the DUP when it suited.

Let's not allow history to be rewritten. Sinn Fein stayed in government all through the Nama affair.

It brought down the Executive only after internal grassroots opposition over Christmas to the leadership's previously lily-livered response to RHI.

Sinn Fein chairman, Declan Kearney, has retweeted a picture of UDA gunmen and this statement: "The UDA supports DUP. The DUP will keep May in power."

But Sinn Fein kept the DUP in power throughout the whole Charter NI business. When the then First Minister, Arlene Foster, said she had "no regrets" about being pictured alongside UDA boss Dee Stitt, Sinn Fein didn't pull the plug.

Indeed the 80m Social Investment Fund, which the SDLP among others has described as a slush fund for paramilitaries, was supported by Sinn Fein.

New South Down MP Chris Hazzard retweeted the Daily Mirror's 'Coalition of Crackpots' front page.

Can Chris confirm that Sinn Fein is unequivocally ruling out sharing power with the "crackpots" again?

Somehow, I think not.

Sinn Fein's denunciation of the DUP reeks of hypocrisy.

It is all about political posturing - there's not an ounce of principled leadership to it.
In the wake of the fiasco, otherwise known as the Conservative election campaign, Theresa May stated in Downing Street that the country needs 'certainty' and that she, propped up by the DUP, would provide it. At that point I fell off the sofa. Minority governments in the UK are uncertain affairs and rarely, to coin a phrase, strong and stable.

There have been six occasions since 1910 when a general election failed to produce an outright victory for a single party, most recently in 2010, a situation that led to the formal coalition between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. In the remaining five cases - January 1910, December 1910, 1923, 1929 and February 1974 - minority government followed and none lasted a full Parliamentary term.

While this record is less than assuring, it doesn't necessarily follow that the emerging relationship between the Tories and the DUP is fated to unravel in a matter of months. On the other hand, the idea that it could survive for five years seems Quixotic.

The lack of certainty that has characterised previous minority governments is, in 2017, accentuated by a number of factors, not least whether Mrs May can survive the post-mortem that her party will conduct into its campaign, including her own performance.

Reliance on a gimlet-eyed stare, the repetition of vacuous slogans and a semi-presidential campaign style that seemed at odds with her own character was utterly ill-judged. It all contributed to the perception that we have a Prime Minister incapable of connecting with the electorate. Rather than appearing as a 'bloody difficult woman', she presented as brittle, ill at ease and as someone unwilling to, or incapable of debating with her opponents.

She concluded her Downing Street 'speech' by stating, 'Now, let's get to work'. Well, that begs a number of questions. No 10's in-tray is already stuffed with the looming Brexit negotiations. To those, she now has to add a hastily and significantly revised Queen's Speech - expect it to be content-light - for delivery on June 19, the very day that formal negotiations with the EU get under way.

And while the European Commission has its negotiating ducks in a row, the UK's negotiators resemble a flock of headless chickens.

Now, of course, she also has to preside over a deal with the DUP which, together with the other local parties, is due to renew talks over the restoration of devolution today.

In addition, she has to form a government and turn her attention to trying to manage anger and dispiritedness within her own party, conscious that the vultures have begun to circle.

The idea that her party, which has a history of swiftly despatching losers, will give her an open-ended opportunity to contend with this inflated agenda is, I suspect, a triumph of hope over experience.

The idea that she can limp on for five years, reliant on a confidence and supply relationship with the DUP, staggering from one Parliamentary vote to another, is risible - all the more so given the sheer magnitude of the Brexit negotiations.

Moreover, whatever her own cunning Brexit plan was, and the campaign threw no fresh light on the matter, it is now in a dustbin somewhere in Whitehall, as is the nuclear option of 'No deal' as an alternative to a 'bad deal'.

And, given that she has no mandate because, pro tem, she heads a minority government, the House of Lords is not shackled by the Salisbury Convention which obliges peers not to oppose a government's manifesto commitments. Managing the upper chamber, which includes only a minority of Tory peers, is likely to prove even more difficult than managing the Commons.

I doubt that Mrs May will last until the autumn Conservative party conference. There will likely be a leadership contest in the very foreseeable future but not, I suspect, another general election - the turkeys-voting-for Christmas rule applies here.

Instead her successor will, if he or she has any nous, engage much more openly with all other parliamentary parties to seek agreement on a Brexit deal - that means compromise and consensus, not the abrasive 'My way or no way' approach adopted by the current occupant of No 10.

Such consensus-seeking is good politics, even though it will anger the arch Brexiteers in the Tory party. It will also provide clarity to the electorate, rather than the pig in a poke currently on offer, and carry greater legitimacy in the negotiations with Brussels.

This approach is easy to state but by no means simple to deliver.

Most immediately, the terms of trade between the Conservative party and the DUP have to be agreed, assuming they can be. (Its illiberalism on equal marriage and abortion, both devolved matters, will be no hindrance to any deal.)

The DUP is no stranger to pragmatism - at least on some issues. Whatever suppleness it can muster has to pass two key tests. First, by persuading the Tories that it will be a reliable partner in the division lobby, both by expressing confidence in the government (the vote on the Queen's Speech is the first opportunity to do so) and endorsing its budgetary/supply proposals. Secondly, and even trickier, it has to convince the electorate here that its shopping list will not exert a disparate impact on any section of our community.

In particular, Sinn Fein will scrutinise any deal for the slightest whiff of partiality on the DUP's and the government's parts. Any perception of bias will only consolidate the view within the wider nationalist community that the UK government cannot act as the neutral arbiter of the impending talks process. In the altered circumstances of the election aftermath, it may be prudent to appoint an independent chair to orchestrate those talks.

Though with just three weeks to resolve the outstanding matters, this option seems less than feasible.

The DUP will be on much safer ground by confining itself to attracting more public spending and investment in Northern Ireland and, above all, in employing its considerable leverage to render the border as frictionless as possible, a goal it shares with all other parties, north and south.

Successful special pleading for more expenditure that benefits the whole of NI is one thing. Though, because we already benefit more from the Barnett formula than the Scots and the Welsh, they would be justifiably upset, but any perceived partiality in its allocation would be disastrous. Whatever the DUP's demands are, including some symbolic re-commitment by the government to the integrity of the Union, No 10 will also exact a price - perhaps insisting that the DUP drops its commitment to retaining both the triple lock on pensions and the winter fuel allowance, and abandons its call for the abolition across the UK of the 'bedroom tax'.

Time will tell if there is a deal and what it contains, but time is very limited.

There is a week before the Queen's Speech, a period that will also see the renewal of talks here.

If by June 29 the latter fail, then a fresh Assembly election or direct rule beckons and, though the latter option is, in the current context, even less palatable than normal for the UK government, I think it's the likelier outcome.

Given the delicacy of our political situation, the NI Office will, however, be reluctant to usher in a period of highly pro-active direct rule, at least in the short-term - the UK government has enough on its plate without adding another helping of trouble.

Rick Wilford is Professor of Politics at Queen's University, Belfast
The Indian Army on Monday called off a search for suspected Pakistani militants a day after its forces gunned down five alleged suicide bombers who tried to cross into India through a de facto border that divides Kashmir between the two countries, officials said.

The army foiled the infiltration bid along the Line of Control (LoC) in the densely forested Uri sector of north Kashmir, killing all five suspects who had planned major attacks on military installations in the disputed Himalayan region, defense spokesman Col. Rajesh Kalia said.

A search operation launched a day before to sanitize the shooting site was called off on Monday, Kalia told BenarNews.

Authorities said they had determined that no other suspected infiltrators were at-large on the Indian of the border.

Our alert soldiers engaged the infiltrators in a firefight despite adverse weather on Saturday night. All five militants were eliminated in the exchange of fire that lasted over 40 hours, Indian Army Brig. Y.S. Ahlawat told BenarNews, adding that the slain militants were Pakistani suicide bombers.

Indian forces recovered weapons from the slain militants including body-fitting improvised explosive devices with timing mechanisms, he said.

It seems they were planning major terror strikes in Kashmir, like the one on the armys administrative base in Uri last September, Ahlawat said.

On Sept. 18, 2016, four suspected Pakistani militants stormed the Indian Army base in Uri, killing 17 Indian soldiers before being shot dead.

Saturdays infiltration bid was the fifth such attempt made by Pakistani army-backed militants in six days, the army said, adding that 12 Pakistani nationals and an Indian soldier have been killed during these operations. The army, however, did not identify any of these alleged Pakistani citizens.

Tensions have been running high between the two rival nations, which lay claim to the insurgency-torn region of Kashmir in its entirety, ever since the Indian Army accused Pakistani troops of beheading two of its soldiers along the LoC on May 1.

A suspected Pakistani militant was killed along the LoC in north Kashmirs Gurez sector on Friday, the army said.

Indian security forces on Thursday claimed to have killed six suspected Pakistani militants while foiling a series of infiltration attempts during a 48-hour span along the border in Kashmir, which has been grappling with a separatist insurgency that has claimed over 70,000 lives since the late 1980s.

India squarely blames Pakistan for backing and funding armed separatism in Kashmir. But Pakistan denies this charge, saying the decades-old violence in the Muslim-majority region is a result of Indias oppressive rule.

Pakistan blames India for unprovoked aggression

On Monday, Pakistan said that unprovoked shelling and firing by Indian forces in Poonch district along the LoC claimed the lives of two Pakistani civilians, who were identified as Waqar Younis and Asad Ali.

Three other Pakistani citizens were also injured in the firing, Pakistans Dawn newspaper said, quoting officials.

Without any provocation Indian troops started shelling on Pakistani posts and also targeted civilian areas. The Pakistan army responded effectively causing casualties and heavy damage to the Indian posts along [the] LoC, Pakistans senior superintendent of police, Chaudhry Zulqarnain Sarfraz, told Dawn.

Pakistan summoned the Indian deputy high commissioner over the cross-border aggression on Monday.

Indian top official was summoned to condemn LoC violations and civilian killings, Nafees Zakaria, a spokesman for Pakistans foreign office, said on Twitter.

The deliberate targeting of civilians is highly condemnable and contrary to human dignity and international human rights and humanitarian laws, Zakaria said.
The Philippines on Monday raised its flag in Marawi, a defiant act that symbolically rejected the presence of Islamic State-linked fighters who have clung to pockets of the besieged southern city after nearly three weeks of battles with government forces.

Provincial spokesman Zia Alonto Adiong said damage from the fighting had basically put Marawi, a predominantly Muslim trading hub on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, at a standstill with its 200,000 residents forced to evacuate. Only a handful are believed to still be staying within the citys battle-ravaged confines, either trapped by crossfire or held as hostages, officials said.

This is a test of our strength as a people. Marawi has never been isolated as much before, Adiong said.

Bursts of gunfire and the dull thud of bombs dropped from planes could be heard Monday, while government officials said that militants with the Abu Sayyaf Group and Maute gang had been cornered in the heart of the city. The enemy was carrying out guerrilla attacks, including sniper fire, according to officials.

Adiong said the local government was hopeful that the military would eventually liberate Marawi city, even though, he noted, he could not say when hostilities would finally stop.

Provincial officials held a tearful flag ceremony to mark the countrys 119th Independence Day. Troops and a handful of officials that remained in the city were present.

Vice Governor Mamintal Alonto Adiong Jr. was emotional as he tried, but seemingly failed, to shore up support and confidence. The sounds of scattered explosions and bomber-planes swooping down on enemy positions to drop ordnance interrupted his speech.

The siege, he said, had been doubly painful because it also came during the month of Ramadan, when Muslims around the world were meant to be peacefully fasting and united as one.

It is very sad to think that we are not in our houses, we are not with our families, Vice Governor Adiong said.

American commandos did not join the fighting

The officials said they were thankful for President Rodrigo Dutertes decisive action in placing the entire southern island of Mindanao under martial law, as a direct response to the crisis in Marawi, the lakeside capital of Lanao del Sur province.

And in a sign that the government campaign was losing steam, his defense and military officials admitted having asked the United States, the countrys long-time ally, for help in rousting the militants out of Marawi.

Earlier, Duterte had publicly denied asking for American help. On Sunday, a day after the American embassy in Manila issued a statement saying that U.S. Special Forces were assisting the Philippine military at the governments request, the president said he was not aware that the Americans were helping out.

Duterte said he had never approached America for assistance and that he was not aware of that until they arrived, according to a report by Reuters.

The news agency quoted Philippine officials as saying that the U.S. forces were only providing the local military with technical assistance but without any boots on the ground.

But on Monday, presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said that Duterte had given his defense officials a free hand in trying to solve the Marawi incident, the biggest crisis to hit his government since he was elected last year.

The president has already made clear in his media interview in (nearby) Cagayan de Oro that, as the commander-in-chief, he allowed the Department of National Defense and the Armed Forces of the Philippines to decide on matters pertaining to martial law, Abella said, in a tacit admission of Dutertes reversal.

He stressed that Dutertes edict declaring martial law had designated his defense secretary, Delfin Lorenzanal, as the administrator of martial law and his military chief as implementer.

They can undertake all measures to prevent and suppress all acts of rebellion and lawless violence, including seeking technical assistance from the United States, within the limits prescribed by the Constitution, Abella said.

Yet the enemy force, headed by Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, has proven difficult to pin down. He and a handful of fighters in their dozens remained holed up in at least three villages in central Marawi, where they are fending off the military advance with sniper fire from hidden positions.

On Monday, soldiers engaged the armed men in running battles on the streets, just three days after 13 Marines were slain in a similar cat-and-mouse chase in the city.

Three weeks of fierce fighting has transformed Marawi, the countrys only predominantly Muslim city, into a desolate landscape of pockmarked buildings and abandoned homes. The official toll, as of Monday, stood at 138 enemy fighters, 60 soldiers and 29 civilians killed.

Lorenzana said that aside from a P3 Orion spy plane, there were three U.S. Special Forces personnel on the ground coordinating communications in Marawi.

The Americans do not trust our people so they sent their own personnel to receive the information from the plane and relay it to us, Lorenzana told a media briefing at Camp Evangelista in the nearby Cagayan de Oro City on Sunday.

Lorenza said the P3 Orion plane flew from Guam to Marawi City.

He said the three U.S. Special Forces servicemen had confined themselves to an army camp in Marawi last Friday and coordinated the information down link from the spy plane.

They just stayed inside the camp and coordinated the technical communications. They did not join the fighting, Lorenzana said.

Residents who fled fighting in the city of Marawi take refuge in a nearby town, June 12, 2017. [Dennis J. Santos/BenarNews]
Police inspect the scene in Pattani province where a defense volunteer and a passer-by were shot and killed, June 12, 2017.

Six people were shot and killed during the past two days in Thailands insurgency-stricken Deep South, police said Monday.

Police could not say whether separatist rebels were behind the latest attacks. The killings of two people on Sunday and four more on Monday brought to 14 the number of locals who have died in violence in the predominantly Muslim southern border region since the holy month of Ramadan began May 27.

Mondays four victims were shot in three separate attacks in Pattani and Narathiwat provinces.

The first incident took place in Thung Yang Daeng, a district of Pattani where assailants shot and killed a motorcyclist and a passer-by, according to police.

Unknown assailants shot defense volunteer Ismail Hama dead right there, taking his gun. A civilian named Lateh Jae-wae, 65, was hit by a stray bullet, police Capt. Pallop Promkaew, the deputy chief investigator for Thung Yang Daeng police station, told reporters.

Defense volunteers receive a monthly stipend and are trained by local military units. They function more or less as part of a neighborhood watch scheme.

The second attack killed Abdullah Se, an assistant village chief in Tambon (sub-district) Krasoh in Pattanis Mayo district, according to police Capt. Muhamad Mudwang.

Abdullah was shot while resting at his home in Mayo district. Based on initial investigation, unknown perpetrators shot him with handguns. We are investigating the motive behind the attack, he told BenarNews.

Later, Bakri Na-ing, a native of Narathiwats Tak Bai district, was killed at his home, Tak Bai police said.

Bakri Na-ing was shot dead with a 9-mm pistol by assailants while he was resting at home, according to witnesses and the initial inspection, said police Capt. Niwa-aming Wateh, an investigator for the Tak Bai station.

On Sunday, a defense volunteer in Pattanis Yaring district, Panupong Chumanee, was shot and killed and his gun stolen, according to police Capt. Narawit Rachkijyothin, an investigator for the local station.

Another attack in the same district resulted in the death of Asman Buwan, 30. Ibrahim Maming, 38, suffered a leg injury, according to another investigator in Yaring.

Police have not determined a motive for any of the attacks over the last two days.

Ramadan death toll

Since local Muslims began observing the Ramadan fast, 14 people have been killed and 11 other in bomb and gun attacks across the Deep South, said officials with the regional branch of the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC).

Four days before Ramadan started, two soldiers were killed in a bomb attack.

Lt. Gen. Piyawat Nakwanich, commander of the Fourth Army Region, which oversees the Deep South, said insurgents disrupt Ramadan each year.

They wrongly believe they are doing good deeds by mounting attacks during Ramadan, Piyawat told BenarNews.

On June 2, seven soldiers were injured in two bomb blasts in Narathiwat. Piyawat called on imams to teach the assailants right from wrong

Religious leaders should tell them to not disrupt Ramadan because it is the holy month and it should be violence-free, Piyawat said at the time.

Nearly 7,000 people have been killed in violence associated with the insurgency in the Malay-speaking region, since the conflict re-ignited 13 years ago.
After an 18-year run in Goose Creek and unforeseen challenges presented by COVID-19, Dreamalot Books has gradually  but decidedly  gained a steady foothold in the Moncks Corner community as a welcoming haven of second-hand books for both area bibliophiles and those traveling in from Myrtle Read moreThe 'happy place' for used books: Dreamalot Books emerging as a go-to hot spot in Moncks Corner
ein Google-Unternehmen

Google-Dienste anzubieten und zu betreiben

Ausfalle zu prufen und Manahmen gegen Spam, Betrug und Missbrauch zu ergreifen

Daten zu Zielgruppeninteraktionen und Websitestatistiken zu erheben. Mit den gewonnenen Informationen mochten wir verstehen, wie unsere Dienste verwendet werden, und die Qualitat dieser Dienste verbessern.

neue Dienste zu entwickeln und zu verbessern

Werbung auszuliefern und ihre Wirkung zu messen

personalisierte Inhalte anzuzeigen, abhangig von Ihren Einstellungen

personalisierte Werbung anzuzeigen, abhangig von Ihren Einstellungen

Wenn Sie Alle ablehnen auswahlen, verwenden wir Cookies nicht fur diese zusatzlichen Zwecke.

Nicht personalisierte Inhalte und Werbung werden u. a. von Inhalten, die Sie sich gerade ansehen, und Ihrem Standort beeinflusst (welche Werbung Sie sehen, basiert auf Ihrem ungefahren Standort). Personalisierte Inhalte und Werbung konnen auch Videoempfehlungen, eine individuelle YouTube-Startseite und individuelle Werbung enthalten, die auf fruheren Aktivitaten wie auf YouTube angesehenen Videos und Suchanfragen auf YouTube beruhen. Sofern relevant, verwenden wir Cookies und Daten auerdem, um Inhalte und Werbung altersgerecht zu gestalten.

Wir verwenden Cookies und Daten, umWenn Sie Alle akzeptieren auswahlen, verwenden wir Cookies und Daten auch, umWahlen Sie Weitere Optionen aus, um sich zusatzliche Informationen anzusehen, einschlielich Details zum Verwalten Ihrer Datenschutzeinstellungen. Sie konnen auch jederzeit g.co/privacytools besuchen.
I t had been a while since I was in Italy, so when the chance came to go, I grabbed the opportunity. This was not a junket, or even a free p...
My dads regalia is black, and the gown comes from Michigan State and the cap my mom bought him as a graduation gift, Wagenheim said. My brother, Matt, had been using the regalia at Ferris State, where he is a professor, and was wearing it for each commencement he had to go to. When he found out I was graduating from BGSU, he sent them to me and said the next person who graduates, you have to pass them on down. Were keeping it in the family.

A patch is sewn on the inside of the Wagenheims gown that has their names and year they earned their doctoral degrees. The patch is big enough for future generations of the Wagenheim family to carry on the ritual.

Its a pretty cool family tradition, said Wagenheim, who recently finished the school year as visiting professor at Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York. My two nephews are thinking about going to graduate school, so I might have to have hand over the regalia sooner rather than later.

BGSUs reputation for having one of the top popular culture studies programs in the country was a big attraction for Wagenheim, who also was a graduate student instructor at the University.

I take an analytical approach to examining popular culture and film and television and comic books, that sort of thing, and BGSU came highly recommended, he said. I had a fantastic education from BGSU, and we had great faculty.
Some things, like peanut butter and chocolate, obviously go together. But other pairings arent so observable. Bowling Green State University alumna Dawnn Karen has recognized the potential of one unique combination, and is on her way to making it the next peanut butter cup.

Fashion psychology. There is a lot of buzz around this concept, which Karen defines as styling from the inside out by bridging the gap between perception and reality.

Often times I think we are on autopilot, she said. We just throw on clothes. Lets deal with these clothes, counsel through issues and then decide what to wear.

In 2016, after seeing so much potential for this service, she trademarked fashion psychology as an academic field.

The Fashion Psychology Field is a newly applied academic discipline focused on the study and treatment of color, beauty, style, image and shape and its effect on human behavior while addressing cultural sensitivities and cultural norms, Karen explained.

The field aligns with two of Karens other initiatives, Fashion Psychology success, which provides fashion psychological services to meet the needs of professionals across any industry  corporate businesses, non-profit organizations, individuals, families and relational groups  all around the world, and the online Fashion Psychology Institute, the first-ever academic organization dedicated solely to the study of fashion psychology. The institute offers a wide range of courses relating to the fashion psychological aspects of fashion, culture, design, business, politics and more.

As I worked to expand fashion psychology, I found that people from around the world strongly desired to be a student of this new field, she said. There was a gap in the education, so I had to create an institution where they could learn.

Originally from Cleveland, Karen chose BGSU because the location resonated with her  it wasnt too far away from home, it was in the country, there was fresh air and foliage.

I liked that type of vibe, she said.

After immersing herself in the BG experience, which for her included participating in an honors society for psychology majors, the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, the McNair Scholars Program, and mentoring other students, she graduated with a bachelors degree in psychology and a minor in ethnic studies.

I really excelled at BSGU, she said. I tell people to go there. To get away from the city life. I do not know if I would have excelled in a city; there would have been too much distraction.

Although she was a psychology major, Karen has always had a creative side, attending the Cleveland School of Arts in high school and designing clothing for her dolls as a child.

Fashion came first, but as I grew up, I wanted to get inside peoples mind, she said.

While living in Founders, she was able to fuel her creative side by designing a jewelry line, Jewelry Creations by Dawnn, which she continued in New York. She said pieces, including feather earrings and beaded necklaces, filled a gap in the local fashion market, which was lacking pizazz.

Once in New York, she worked in the fashion industry and earned a masters degree in counseling psychology from Columbia University before realizing she could combine her two passions.

I knew there was some psychology behind dress, she said. But I did not know I could merge them until I came to New York.

Karen's plans now include writing a book, doing more TV work and growing the institute.

There were times when I needed certain persons to tell me you can do it. It took me a while to grow my confidence as an entrepreneur, she said. Now I passionately say I can do this and that. I no longer need anyone to push me or to sign off on my dreams. My dreams are real and, most importantly, achievable.

She said much of that confidence has come from her recent accomplishments, which include being interviewed by media in 23 countries, traveling to the Middle East and Asia to continue her research and being invited to speak at the United Nations. She is also one of the youngest professors at the Fashion Institute of Technology, where she teaches color psychology and fashion psychology.

Pioneering something, you do not know if it is going to be perceived well or not, she said. Now that I know people are accepting of this, I do not have to have so much trepidation about it.
For Immediate Release, June 12, 2017 Contact: Randi Spivak, (310) 779-4894, rspivak@biologicaldiversity.org Zinke Recommends Shrinking Bears Ears National Monument Decision Ignores 1 Million Public Comments From Sham 'Review' Process WASHINGTON Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke today recommended that President Trump vastly shrink Utah's Bears Ears National Monument, removing critical protections for irreplaceable public lands and rewarding corporate polluters and the lawmakers they helped put into office. Today's recommendation, which will be formalized to the Trump administration later this year, comes on the heels of more than 1 million public comments that called for the continued protection of Bears Ears. Zinke's public review process was a complete sham from start to finish. He's doing the bidding of corporate polluters, said Randi Spivak, public lands program director with the Center for Biological Diversity. Zinke's recommendation puts irreplaceable American Indian cultural sites at risk. He ignored pleas from the vast majority of Americans who love national monuments and want them protected from oil, gas and mining companies. The man charged with protecting public lands just told the public their voices don't count.



Trump complained that national monuments were a federal overreach, but current rules overwhelmingly favor mining, drilling, fracking and livestock grazing. The oil industry can already drill on 90 percent of the land managed by the BLM  how much more do they want? Spivak said. It's time for Zinke to stop pretending he's a Teddy Roosevelt kind of a guy. President Roosevelt would be ashamed of him. The Bears Ears recommendation is part of a Trump administration review of 27 national monuments across more than 1 billion acres of America's most spectacular, culturally important and ecologically intact public lands and oceans. The places they protect range from the waters off the coast of Hawaii to Maine's Katahdin woods.



By ordering Zinke to review these national monuments, Trump's intent is clear: to rescind or shrink the monuments and open them up to oil and gas drilling and other forms of development. A survey of dozens of organizations reveals that 1 million public comments have been submitted to Interior in support of Bears Ears and other monuments. The regulations.gov website displays each bundle of comments submitted from concerned groups as a single comment, significantly understating the number received. 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.
For Immediate Release, June 12, 2017 Contact: Chad Tudenggongbu, (917) 558-0849, ctudenggongbu@biologicaldiversity.org New Study: Americans Want to Use More Renewable Energy WASHINGTON A new study by University of Washington researchers has found that a majority of Americans would prefer to use renewable energy at home if given the option. Individuals surveyed in the project, published in June by the journal Energy Policy, indicated they would shift electricity use to cut fossil fuel consumption and carbon emissions regardless of political affiliation, age or gender. The researchers are using the study's findings to develop an app that will allow users to monitor where their electricity is coming from in real time and use more renewable sources in lieu of fossil fuels by shifting consumption practices. Americans have once again overwhelmingly shown their support for renewable energy. This study adds to the growing evidence that we can and must rapidly shift away from dirty fossil fuels to a society powered by wind and solar, said Chad Tudenggongbu, senior renewable energy campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity. Reducing dependence on fossil fuels saves customers money and protects the planet. And utility customers will shift their behavior to use more wind and solar when they're given the right tools to do that. We all want to fight the disastrous effects of climate change, regardless of political party. 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
The scientists coated the biosensor with a thin film of bacterial cellulose nanocrystals, which effectively detected a protein known as NS1 from blood samples.

Brazilian scientists at the Federal University of Parana have developed a biosensor that can quickly detect dengue and could help create a cheap tool to diagnose the painful mosquito-borne virus that infects millions each year.

Scientists are looking to produce a testing kit that would cost clinics and hospitals around $30 and take about 15 minutes to analyse blood samples for a key dengue protein. The scientists coated the biosensor with a thin film of bacterial cellulose nanocrystals, which effectively detected a protein known as NS1 from blood samples. They are working to explore ways to create cost-effective biosensor components that could be used to analyse multiple blood samples.

The technology could potentially be adapted to detect proteins from viruses such as Zika, which is also transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

The main challenge is that simple tools such as testing blood from a finger prick, used to detect malaria, are not available for dengue, and there is no dedicated treatment for the virus which is usually found in urban and semi-urban areas.
The government should not be in the business of providing healthcare to all South Africans. Instead it should devote its limited health budget to the supply of services to the poor.

Photo: Red Cross Children's Trust

Affordable and quality healthcare is critically important to fight unemployment and poverty and achieve radical economic transformation. The Free Market Foundation (FMF) has always championed responsible healthcare policy and opposes the proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme as dangerous and unnecessary. Good intentions are insufficient to bring about prosperity. The NHI will have the unfortunate and unintended consequence of destroying South Africas internationally-acclaimed private healthcare industry.

Individuals spend substantial amounts of their money on their medical needs. Poor citizens often lack access to healthcare completely or need to spend well over half of their income on it. Therefore it is fundamentally important that the government must not exacerbate the cost of healthcare and allow a competitive healthcare provider market to keep prices as low as possible.

The majority of South Africans don't benefit

There is nothing radical about NHI. The apartheid government was infamous for its intense regulation and control of healthcare using the supposed justification of extending medical care to the poor to build the behemoth Baragwanath hospital in Soweto. Yet government involvement in healthcare did not benefit the majority of South Africans, and this continues.

It can do this by purchasing an increasing percentage of those services from private providers and allowing and encouraging the rapid growth of the private healthcare sector and so enable it to provide services to a larger percentage of the population.

Drug development disincentivised

It is a worldwide problem whereby medicine regulators want to approve new drugs quicker while still ensuring those drugs are safe for use. In South Africa, getting innovative medicines approved for local use is a particularly tedious and long process. This is a direct disincentive to local pharmaceutical entrepreneurs from engaging in substantive research and development for new medicines.

There is a simple policy that, if adopted, will improve South African patients access to the worlds most innovative new medicines and vaccines and allow us to rapidly climb the developmental ladder. South Africas medicine regulator should identify a handful of reference regulatory agencies that it deems competent throughout the world, an example is the US Food and Drug Administration. When those reference authorities unanimously approve a new or generic drug, that drug must be deemed approved in South Africa. This would be radical healthcare transformation, Jasson Urbach, FMF director says.

NHI inappropriate for South Africa

Considering South Africas relatively small tax base and limited available revenue pool and our chronic levels of unemployment as well as the country's shortage of skilled healthcare personnel, the proposed NHI scheme is fundamentally inappropriate for South Africa. Far from marginalising medical schemes, government should be promoting their proliferation because regular, small, fixed payments to a medical scheme make intuitive sense as opposed to the rare but devastating high out-of-pocket payments required when illness strikes.

South Africa is in a desperate struggle to improve access to quality healthcare. The NHI scheme and the continued bureaucratisation of medicine approval is extremely dangerous in our economic and social climate. South African policy makers should rather seek out ways to increase competition in the market and remove the barriers that currently constrain efficient functioning of the market.
The inaugural Africa-ASEAN Business Expo (AABE) 2017 launches 6-8 November at the Sandton Convention Centre to establish a new trading launch pad between the two most vibrant economies in the world.

Spearheaded by the Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF) and Conference & Exhibition Management Services (CEMS), this exhibition will serve as a business gateway between Africa and ASEAN. Exhibitors are expected from at least five ASEAN countries, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and The Philippines. From Africa, companies from South Africa, Central Africa, Cote dIvoire, Ghana, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe are expected to participate, with more to come.

The expo targets industries such as environment, water, housing & building construction, infrastructure, healthcare, transportation, food & beverage, IT & telecommunication, franchises, and education sectors.

To augment the exhibition experience further, the Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) will be organising the concurrent Africa-ASEAN Business Forum 2017. This knowledge platform is slated to attract at least 200 business leaders and delegates from both Africa and ASEAN. JCCI is currently consulting with the commercial offices of ASEAN in Johannesburg and Pretoria to finalise the forum framework and to ensure specially tailored content for maximum benefit.

Opening the business gateway

In addition, the AABE series will also feature onsite business matching services, as well as a hosted buyers programme, to bring quality buyers from the African Union and ASEAN to the event. The strategic regional positioning of the AABE exhibition series is set to open the business gateway, further promoting good business partnerships between both regions, said George Huang, emeritus president of SMF.

A good sign of growing ties between the two regions can already be seen from Singapore emerging as the largest investor in Africa among Southeast Asian countries with a foreign direct investment of $15.9 billion in 2012, while investments from Malaysia and Indonesia were not far behind.

A solid business partnership between these two regions would be paramount to promoting economic growth, culminating in greater South-South investment and trade, said Edward Liu, group MD of CEMS.

The AABE series also enjoys the strong support of the IE Singapore, a government trade agency and the ASEAN Secretariat. Amongst other supporting organisations are the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers, Gauteng Growth and Development Agency, JCCI, Singapore Business Federation, Singapore Contractors Association Ltd, Singapore infocomm Technology Federation and the Singapore Water Association.
Famous Brands took a huge leap of faith when it closed a 120m deal that brought UK premium burger group Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) into its fold in October. The tie-up was greeted without much enthusiasm by the market, which has trimmed 13% off the group's share price since its announcement.

Now, Famous Brands, which has big ambitions with GBK, is trumpeting that it has all but transformed its business, which for almost two decades has been built on power brands such as Steers, Debonairs Pizza, Wimpy and Mugg & Bean.

What definitely has transformed is Famous Brands' balance sheet, which has swung from being virtually ungeared to sporting a net debt-to-equity ratio of 165% at the end of its financial year to February. It sent interest charges ballooning from R17.3m in the first half of the year to R184m in the full year, and together with costs of R106m incurred in the acquisition of GBK, headline EPS (HEPS) down 21%. If the extra costs could be wished away, HEPS would have risen 13%.

In the past year shareholders also waved goodbye to dividends. "We hope to restore dividend payments in 2018," says Darren Hele, Famous Brands CE since taking over the helm from Kevin Hedderwick in March 2016.

GBK is the 28th brand in its line-up. It brought with it 97 restaurants, six of which are in Ireland. "We aim to open about 10 new restaurants a year," says Hele.

Each restaurant comes with a price tag of 1m and, in a major shift away from Famous Brands' franchise model, all will be corporate owned.

Famous Brands is no stranger to the UK market, which it entered in 2007 through the acquisition of Wimpy UK. Hardly a roaring success, Wimpy UK's operating profit in the year to February was a mere R19m.

Famous Brands is looking for far bigger things from GBK, which it targets to generate 45% of group profit within four to five years. It is feasible but a big ask. In its first 20 weeks in the Famous Brands fold, GBK contributed operating profit of R36m. Annualised, it amounted to R94m, 10% of total group operating profit of R938m in the year to February.

In GBK's defence, Hele says: "GBK opened eight restaurants in the 20 weeks. Opening expenses are very high."

Vunani Securities analyst Anthony Clark believes market caution towards Famous Brands won't disappear. "With its high debt level and paying no dividend the market will adopt a wait-and-see approach for a year or two," says Clark.

For investors the choice in the sector is primarily between Famous Brands and Spur Corp. Analysts have mixed views.

"I would still go with Famous Brands," says Alec Abraham of Sasfin Securities.

"I don't want to be in either," says Evan Walker of 36ONE Asset Management. "But if I had to choose, I would take Famous Brands."

For his money, Clark is backing Spur as his top sector choice. "I have had a buy recommendation on Spur for two years," he says.

Looked at simplistically, says Clark, Famous Brands will have around 3,000 restaurants by year-end and Spur around 600. "It will be far easier for Spur to go to 1,200 than for Famous Brands to go to 6,000."

Though Spur is sticking to its franchise-only business model, it has in recent years adopted a more dynamic approach to expansion through its nine brands. Additions to its core brand line-up of Spur Steak Ranches, Panarottis Pizza Pasta and John Dory's include premium burger brand RocoMamas and The Hussar Grill.

Of RocoMamas, Spur CE Pierre van Tonder says: "It is a gem of a business and incredibly innovative. We have just taken our stake in RocoMamas from 54% to 70%."

Van Tonder's enthusiasm is well founded. In the six months to December, RocoMamas' operating profit from franchise fees jumped 62% year-on-year to R8.2m while like-for-like restaurant turnover was up 45%. With only 49 restaurants in SA and one each in Namibia, Saudi Arabia and Oman, RocoMamas is also a brand with serious scope for expansion. "We are seeing huge customer and franchisee interest," says Van Tonder.

The Hussar Grill is coming off a low base of 15 restaurants and has, says Van Tonder, the potential to reach about 35 in SA. But it could have far longer legs. "There is a lot of interest in the brand from hotel groups operating in the Middle East and Africa," he says.

The restaurant sector also has something for the hardened speculator: Taste Holdings, whose share price has lost two-thirds of its value since mid-2015.

Taste founder and CE Carlo Gonzaga thinks big. He proved it in May 2014 when he secured a master franchise agreement with US fast-food giant Domino's Pizza. Going even bigger, he brought Starbucks, the world's largest coffee shop group, on board in July 2015.

"Gonzaga took on too much at one time," says Clark. "Taste has burnt through the R680m it raised to fund its Domino's and Starbucks ventures and has fallen far short of earlier market expectations."

So far short that in its year to February Taste dished up to shareholders a loss of R100.8m, up from a R75.8m loss the previous year. The latest loss would have been far higher if not for its luxury goods division's R52.5m operating profit. Losses have taken Taste close to the brink. "They have run out of cash," says Clark.

Providing short-term relief, Taste is in the process of raising R120m through a fully underwritten rights issue. "They can last about 18 months with the R120m," says Clark.

Taste is hoping to shore up the group further with the planned sale of its luxury goods division. It will be doing so at a time when trading conditions are grim. "Taste will be seen as a distressed seller and will probably get only about R300m for the division," says Clark.

Gonzaga is ever the optimist. "We will open eight to 10 Starbucks [there are four now] this year and will soon break even at the Ebitda [earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation] level," he says.

Domino's is "trading well", with strong same-store sales growth, and will be at breakeven Ebitda at 120 outlets, says Gonzaga. There are expected to be 105 outlets by the end of this year. If Gonzaga can pull off his bold vision, Taste could deliver big returns perhaps two years down the line.

But for now, investors wanting exposure to the sector should stick with Famous Brands or Spur, though even here caution is called for. Ominously, Van Tonder says: "Since March the restaurant industry has had a very sharp turndown in activity across the board."

Source: Financial Mail
N'DJAMENA - Chad, one of the African countries hit hardest by the drop in oil prices, announced that it had reached an accord with a group of foreign energy companies ending a tax dispute.

The deal, signed by the government and a consortium led by Esso, a unit of US energy giant ExxonMobil, extends the group's operating licence in the Doba basin until 2050.

It also calls for the development of polymer injection technology to increase oil extraction, Chad's oil minister, Bechir Madet, told AFP.

In October a Chadian court had imposed heavy fines on the consortium over unpaid taxes, claiming $75bn.

No financial details of the agreement were disclosed, though Madet denied that the consortium would pay the government $200m.

"We are very happy with these agreements which will allow us to relaunch the consortium's operations in Chad," said Christian Lenoble, a spokesman for the group.

The consortium also includes Malaysia's Petronas, and once included Chevron of the US, which has since been replaced in the group by Chad's national oil company.

As one of Africa's poorest countries, Chad relies heavily on revenue from oil sales, though President Idriss Deby has pledged to diversity the economy to protect it from sudden price drops.

"We are pursuing economic diversification," Madet said, adding: "Producing more oil creates more wealth and jobs. That is going to help our economy."
Former Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius, Dr Ramakrishna Sithanen recently paid a visit to Zanzibar to offer insight into strategies employed that led Mauritius becoming one of Africa's leading economies. Saleh Said, Director of Pennyroyal Gibraltar Ltd and Zanzibar Amber Resort, invited Sithanen to Zanzibar to discuss his experiences regarding the development of Mauritius to an upper-middle income economy, whereby poverty levels declined from 40% to 1%, and to address the development challenges faced by small island states.

Zanzibar had the opportunity to garner from Sithanen how to develop its own potential as a world-class luxury tourist destination and facilitate foreign direct investment.

Dr Ramakrishna Sithanen

Three key investment strategies

On 7 June 2017, Said introduced Sithanen to 40 key stakeholders and contributors to Zanzibars economic growth - these were representatives from Zanzibar Association of Tourism Investors (ZATI), Zanzibar National Chamber of Commerce, Zanzibar National Industry and Agriculture (ZNCCIA), Zanzibar Association of Tour Operators (ZATO) at a meeting held at the Serena Hotel. Sithanen addressed members and suggested that Zanzibar should embrace three key strategies that helped Mauritius. There should be investment in infrastructure, investment in people and in institutions, said Sithanen.

Transformation through education

Additionally, Sithanen stressed the importance of the private sector giving back to the local communities through CSR programmes and policies that capture back. He offers the example of his own successful enterprise, which contributes 2% of the companys profits to organisations and community programmes that focus on education, youth and womens programmes, social housing, and social integration. Sithanen remarks education and training is one of the key factors contributing to the transformational success, and thus primary to tertiary education, and vocational training in Mauritius is free for all Mauritians.

Image Supplied: Amber Resort

The transformational process in Mauritius is based on inclusion by way of education and employment, and economic diversification in order to move from a monoculture economy to one based on industry and services, finally reaching an innovation-driven economy.

Diversifying the economy

Regional integration is also a vital aspect of growing the economy. Mauritius' success is based on its openness and having a conducive environment to attract investors.

Another factor is diversification and transformation of the economy. It is key for a country to look into diversifying its economy and not only rely on one particular aspect of its core economy.

Sithanen suggested that Zanzibar finds its competitive advantage and use it as a tool to diversify its economy. He also mentioned that there are bound to be shortcomings, but it will be a learning process towards achieving the economic transformation. Furthermore, Sithanen said that having good marketing strategies and a need for a strong investment agency to build the countrys reputation to the world and attract investors is an important asset.

During his last day in Zanzibar, he met with prominent government officials and discuss development strategies and other matters on investment.
Jill Farrant first learned about resurrection plants when she was nine years old. A dead plant she had seen on her family's farm in Limpopo, South Africa, had come back to life after it had rained. "The ded [sic] plant on the rocks was alive, but Dad said it was too soon after the rain," she wrote in her diary. Now, more than four decades later, Farrant is the world's leading expert on plants which can "resurrect" from a desiccated state after they are rehydrated. Some species of resurrection plants can live without water for years and rehydrate within hours after rain.

Leo-seta via Wikimedia Commons - Mesembryanthemum plant can revive within a short period of time after a drought

With droughts likely to become more common in Africa due to global warming, Farrant hopes her work can mitigate the effect of disrupted weather patterns on food security. She wants to find out how resurrection plants can lose large amounts of water without dying - and then make crops do the same thing by switching on the genes responsible for inducing desiccation tolerance as well as those important for recovery from extreme water loss.

Al Jazeera spoke to Farrant about her research.

Where can your work on resurrection plants make the biggest difference?

In terms of what I want to do, Africa, Africa, Africa. We are a continent that's reliant on rain for our crops: we are already a poor continent so we cannot put in a lot of irrigation. It is also the continent where there is the greatest predicted food shortage compared to the population growth. The United Nations has projected the African population to double to 2.4 billion by 2050, while global warming is likely to worsen droughts and reduce crop yields. But apart from all of that, it is my passion to do this for Africa.

Will resurrection crops put an end to famines caused by droughts?

No, definitely not. It can be a solution for only a small amount of crops that are going to help with food security. People are thinking about aeroponics, hydroponics, eating insects, eating all sorts of other foods. Resurrection crops is one solution of many - but I think it is a very important one.

What would you tell people who oppose your research because they take issue with genetically modifying plants?

Without trying to be rude, they are very ignorant about the subject. Genetic modification of plants is probably the safest kind of GM, yet it is the most vilified one. The crops that we are eating [today] are highly genetically modified. Through conventional breeding, thousands of gene changes happened without us knowing that we were doing GM all along.

The second thing I would say is that the way I am planning to do this is not by putting in any new genes, but by activating genes that are already in the plant. Finally, anything we eat gets a high level of scrutiny. There are a lot of things that are going to have to happen before we allow [these crops] in the fields.

How is the Trump presidency affecting your work?

It has the potential to have a huge impact because a lot of people in the world listen to what America is doing. I collaborate with scientists in the US who are terrified about what is going to happen to their funding in key areas of research, particularly agricultural research. I would like to think that Trump is an exception, but he has a very strong say and strongly dominates public opinion. If more people buy into what he is saying and what he is saying is without proof, we're in trouble.

Is the momentum for research into countering the effects of climate change increasing?

The momentum has been increasing hugely. I've seen an enormous passion to tackle key agricultural issues that we are facing around the world. But one of the things I've noticed is that plant scientists are not given as much credibility as medical scientists or anyone who might tell us more about ourselves or animals. So I think that we in the field feel very urgent about it, but I'm still in doubt about whether our funders feel urgent about it as well.

What goal are you working towards now?

Right now, my biggest goal is to get money to do the research that I think still needs to be done to get proof of concept, switching on certain genetic pathways in crops that we believe might improve their tolerance of water loss.

Most plants don't tolerate much water loss. They have very good ways of avoiding or resisting it, but I want to push them beyond that 50 percent barrier where they would all die, and then be able to bring them back to life with rehydration. If I had all the pairs of hands and all the money I needed, my collaborator and I have estimated that within five to 10 years we could get to the proof of concept stage.

This story from Al Jazeera was supplied to AllAfrica under an agreement with the African Media Agency.
Tshilidze Chilli Matshidzula is a remarkable young dairy producer. Winner of more than one award, he oversees the Little Barnet Trust on the outskirts of Alexandria in the Eastern Cape. On 11 June, Beautiful News released a short film of a man who started out in the forlorn fields in Little Barnet, turning it into a thriving business. Watch it here

Image Source: AgriOrbit - With less than 50 cows, the future of Little Barnet seemed bleak. However, thanks to the vision and boldness of someone like Tshilidze Chilli Matshidzula, today it is a thriving business.

Faltering land reform project

Previously, Little Barnets fields beckoned imaginative minds, and it offered an enticing challenge to an ambitious group of farmers. Chilli was only 19 years old and among 18 members of the Longvale Trust when he was brought in soon after completing his diploma in Animal Science and Production at Tshwane University of Technology. He did his practical learnership on Little Barnet under the guidance of Walter Biggs, who is also his mentor.

Two years into its activity on the farm, the trust was on its way to establishing a respectable dairy operation, with more pastures developed, and cows bought in. However, when the trustee was murdered, an exodus of shareholders followed. Those who remained were left with the conundrum of how to continue.

Chilli, however, stood fast. Having come on board as a share-milker, he found a way to save the project by taking out a loan and purchasing a 40% stake in the trust.

Risky move pays off

The move was risky and bold, but it paid off. Almost a decade later, Chilli manages and partly owns the successful farm which is basically 100% operational. He manages 12 full-time, and four part-time staff members.

With the help of Walter Biggs, he has played a vital role in building it up from the ground to become a multi-million-rand business. Where others shied away from the task of saving a faltering project, he revelled in the challenge and saw potential in the land and in himself. Now he is one of South Africas few black farm owners and thriving.

Prestigious awards

Image Source: AgriOrbit - Chillis mentor, Walter Biggs with him after being awarded the 2016 Toyota Young Farmer of the Year award at the Agri East Cape Congress last year.

Last year, at the annual Agri East Cape Congress in Port Alfred, Chilli was awarded the prestigious Mangold Trophy. It is presented to the most well-conserved farm in the Bathurst area and is one of two annual prizes awarded by the Bathurst Conservation Committee (BCC). The other is for the most improved farm.

Simon Matthews, chairman of the BCC, described the trophy as the ultimate prize and hailed Chilli as a star farmer. He is a very impressive guy and we salute him on this fine achievement. Chilli, previously awarded the Most Improved Farm prize, is also the 2016 Toyota Young Farmer of the Year. He has been a prominent member of the Alexandria Dairy Study Group for several years and is a member of Agri Eastern Cape.

As the winner of the award, he held a special Farmers Day on Little Barnet with the assistance of the BCC. Proceeds from the day went to supporting an agriculture student through the Jas Clacey Bursary. Originally started by the Department of Agriculture more than 50 years ago, the BCC is comprised of representatives from Farmers Associations from the Eastern Border, Bathurst West and the Lower Albany and Bathurst Border. It plays a vital role in helping farmers with planning, legal compliance, and problems of erosion, overgrazing, and weeds.

Beautiful News
The Master Builders Association of the Western Cape (MBAWC) has bestowed cash prizes and awards on three students studying towards qualifications in the built environment at the University of Cape Town.

The awards and prizes were given to the top students in the second and third years of the Bachelor of Science (BSc) Construction Studies course, as well as to the highest achieving honours student.

MBAWC executive director, Allen Bodill says: We believe it is important to acknowledge outstanding achievement amongst young people and hope that they will go on to carve out successful careers in the industry.

Taking the award for top-achieving second-year student, Daniella Legland shares that she feels honoured to be recognised by an association that is so crucial to the industry in which she will work. She will be saving the prize money, saying: As a student, some extra savings will not go amiss.

The 21-year-old from Mauritius has always had an interest in the built environment. She initially wanted to study architecture but realised that her true passion was working with numbers - leading her to pick quantity surveying as a career path. Legland opted to study in South Africa after taking a gap year on completion of her A-Levels to research which universities offered a quantity surveying degree that would present her with the best opportunities. She would like to enter the industry as soon as possible and gain as much experience as she can.

Courtney Meyer from Kommetjie, who was recognised as the best performing BSc Construction Studies student in the third year of study, is currently working toward attaining a BSc Honours degree in quantity surveying. Like Legland, she too considered a career in architecture but was drawn to the financial aspect of being a QS. She hopes to experience the construction industry outside of South Africa and will be applying for positions in either Dubai or London after graduating in December this year. She would like to put the prize money towards funding her travels.

The award for the best Honours BSc construction management student went to Robert Day. Bodill encourages other students to work hard and get to the top of their class.
Tanzania has received $51m (over 110bn/-) financial boost from Kuwait for construction of the 85-kilometre Chaya-Nyahua road in Tabora region.

 PAter Gudella via 123RF

President John Magufuli met the ambassador of Kuwait in Dar es Salaam, Jasem Ibrahim Al Najem, and through him thanked the Kuwait government for the support, saying the new road will connect communication infrastructure between Singida and Tabora regions.

The envoy further handed over to Magufuli two garbage collecting vehicles valued at $200,000 (over 400m/-) in support of the country's cleaning campaign.

"I request you to pass my appreciation to the Emir of the State of Kuwait for his exemplary contribution to the Tanzania's development and believe that the money we have received will help us to accomplish the remaining part of the 85-kilometre road," he said.

Provision of social services

The president also thanked the government of Kuwait for support in the provision of social services to citizens, citing the $250,000 that were provided for purchase of medical equipment at the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute (JKCI) and the drilling of 27 clean water wells for schools in Dar es Salaam and residents neighbouring the schools.

He further thanked the Kuwait government for the $50m for construction of Mnazi Mmoja hospital in Zanzibar, asking the Arab nation to help on construction of the country's designated capital Dodoma as a sign of good cooperation between the two countries.

Magufuli said that Tanzania will strengthen its bilateral ties with Kuwait especially in economic issues, including the recent oil and gas discoveries in the country.
The Department of Home Affairs has welcomed the passing of the Border Management Authority Bill by the National Assembly on Friday, 9 June 2017.

The Bill will now go to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) for processing. Once the legislative process is completed, South Africa will be ready to establish an integrated border management authority.

The establishment of a Border Management Authority will represent a radical shift from the colonial and apartheid systems that were informed by a desire and mission to create and sustain racism, hostilities and hatred among the people rather than dignified migration, the department said in a statement.

Cabinet took a decision in June 2013 to establish a border management authority to improve management of ports of entry and the borderline.

It subsequently endorsed a vision for the BMA in 2014. The BMA Bill has been through an extensive consultation process.

Between November 2015 and May 2016, government spent an intensive six months deliberating on it at the level of the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC), before its tabling and approval by the National Assembly.

As a Section 75 Bill, it will be submitted to the NCOP for processing before it is returned to the House for final consideration.

When fully established, the BMA will play an important role at the frontline of South Africas borders, the department said.

It will facilitate legitimate movement of people and goods in line with the countrys socio-economic objectives.

Over 40 million people enter and leave the country on an annual basis for various reasons including asylum, economic, educational and training opportunities, tourism and leisure, thus the need for an effective and efficient border management authority.

The BMA Bill is underpinned by imperatives ranging from giving South Africa a new policy paradigm of integrated border management to a determination to facilitate legal and secure movement of people and goods across SA borders.

This will close the chapter on porous borders bedevilling the country over the years, and will in great measure roll back the frontiers of corruption hitherto fuelled by fragmented border management.

The BMA will help in preventing, among others, drug-related crimes, human trafficking, illegitimate movement of goods and unauthorised movement of persons.
Tax fraud charges have been reinstated against suspected gang boss Shaun Ah Shene, just five months after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) opted to withdraw the criminal case.

Ah Shene, 50, was summoned to appear in the Port Elizabeth Commercial Crimes Court on Thursday, 8 June 2017, where he was again formally charged with defrauding the South African Revenue Service (SARS) out of about R2.1-million.

Ah Shene and his business, Coral Blue Trading CC, face eight counts of fraud over a period of six years.

Specialist senior state advocate Elna Smit, of East London, was in Port Elizabeth on Thursday to head the prosecution.

Following a brief court appearance, the case was postponed to 24 August for a pre-trial conference, after which a trial date will be arranged.

Ah Shene, the alleged founder of Port Elizabeth's oldest northern areas gang, the Ah Shenes, also known as "The Chinas", was arrested almost two years ago during a dramatic raid by the Hawks on his Adcockvale family home.

His assets - including 21 investment accounts, 13 properties in North End, Kensington, Sydenham, Bethelsdorp and Korsten, as well as an undisclosed amount of cash held in the trust account of Dullabh & Co Attorneys in Grahamstown - were then placed in the hands of a curator pending the outcome of the criminal trial.

Should he be convicted of the offences, the Asset Forfeiture Unit will then launch a confiscation application to have the property finally forfeited to the state so that SARS can be reimbursed.

But in February, Ah Shene was granted a brief reprieve when he was told in the Port Elizabeth High Court that the DPP had opted to withdraw the charges provisionally.

But his joy was short-lived, the matter being placed back on the roll just five months later.

It is alleged that he defrauded the taxman through Coral Blue Trading by submitting false tax returns to SARS and under-declaring his income between July 2003 and March 2009.

Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions in Grahamstown, Advocate Selvan Gounden, previously described Smit, who has more than 20 years' experience, as an expert and one of the best in her field.

Ah Shene, a father of four, is no stranger to run-ins with the law, having been arrested for offences from murder to perlemoen poaching, but never convicted.

Source: Herald
If you're looking to spoil dad with something a little different' than the usual Father's Day outing, the following recommendations, courtesy of CCR, can make for a few good highlights on his calendar.

Make his day with first class whale spotting along the Whale Route. With the southern right whales making their way to the south coast in June, it's the ideal time to pack those binoculars and head to the shoreline:

Explore the Jewel of the Cape.

De Hoop Nature Reserve, a beautiful Cape Heritage Site approximately three hours drive from Cape Town, promises a rewarding day with full outdoor seashore excursions. For one, you can challenge dad to join in on the Reserves Whale Trail, a five-day hiking trail offering spectacular views of the Reserves coast. Rest assured, the trail includes well-equipped accommodation for each night. Celebrating its 10th anniversary year, De Hoop Nature Reserve is making its best offerings accessible for the whole family with discounted winter accommodation rates (1 May to 27 July).

Time for a Whale Route pitstop?

A few hours road travel can be enough to work up an appetite. On your way to the southernmost tip of Africa, LAgulhas, stop for a decadent meal at Agulhas Country Lodge. Take a selfie with dad against the backdrop of magnificent sea views from the lodges deck, and enjoy different meal options including traditional country cuisine and fine dining. Add a special touch with cognac and fine Cuban cigars in front of a crackling fire in the cigar lounge. On Fathers Day weekend, the lodge is stripping 40 percent from its usual accommodation rates.

Break the tension.

For many dads (and anyone, for that matter!), the half-year mark can be a checkpoint in a backbreaking journey. Soothe the tension with a well-deserved spa treatment at the luxurious Arniston Spa Hotel. With panoramic views of the Indian Ocean and untouched beaches, its spa therapies make for the perfect Fathers Day treat. We recommend the Stress Buster break comprising a few nights stay and spa treatments to refresh and take on the rest of 2017 with new vigour.

Recently recognised by CCN travel as one of the worlds best road trip destinations, Route62 is bound to offer an exciting Fathers Day adventure:

Stay local, bru:

Offering a lekka traditional and bountiful Karoo-inspired daily gourmet buffet, Kobus se Gat restaurant, at the foot of the Swartberg Mountain range near Oudtshoorn, will match any man's hunger with a hearty South African meal. Guests can 'walk up' an appetite or 'walk off' a big lunch with a guided mountain pass tour, an extra offering on the restaurant menu. To add to your Klein Karoo must-do checklist, stop by Safari Ostrich Farm outside of town and get up close and personal with the ostriches.

Linger longer:

Wildehondekloof, one of CCRs latest additions, is a 4,000-hectare private Game Reserve just 40km outside Oudtshoorn; a Route62 must-do with dad. The Reserve boasts endless views of the Swartberg Mountains, 14 different game species and diverse birdlife. It's spacious en-suite rooms ring privacy like no other. Guests feeling adventurous can take to one of the guided game drives - be sure to sign up for the sunset drive! Meals and picnic baskets are available on request.

Dont put the Eastern Cape out or range:

If youre closer to the Eastern Cape or have a knack for tackling long trips from elsewhere, add Zuurberg Mountain Village, on the stoep of the Addo Elephant National Park, and an hours drive from PE, to your travel itinerary. Boasting endless lush Transkei hills in its backyard and warm 24/7 hospitality, the Village is a favourite destination for locals and travellers alike. Its an ideal weekend city-breakaway with a mouth-watering Sunday lunch carvery carefully prepared by in-house chef, Shaun Moss. Think delicious traditional roasts and an endless dessert spread including home-made ice cream, creme brulee and traditional hot puddings. There are plenty of healthy things too End with restaurant and bar manager, Reggie Treadway's personal favourite, an exclusive selection of whisky and brandy from his antique liquor trolley.

For more information and reservations, click here.
Francisco Gaie has been appointed as the new managing director of Peugeot Citroen South Africa. He replaces Francis Harnie who, after being with the company for six years, has returned to Europe.

Francisco Gaie

We have new developments planned around products, aftersales and parts which we are confident will result in greater efficiencies, increase our market share and strengthen our position in the South African marketplace, Gaie said.

Gaie has extensive experience in the Motor industry having spent time in Nagoya Japan where he was involved in various operational and financial positions pertinent to the motor industry before returning to South Africa.
Companies already get that social media is a useful tool to relay compulsory regulatory updates and that it can have a significant impact on the brand's reputation in the eyes of consumers, but few seem to consider how it shapes the views of investors.

 rvlsoft [[www.123rf.com 123rf.com

The reality is that investors are already looking to social media to gather insights into companies, whether they choose to utilise it explicitly for investor relations purposes or not. In the past, customer complaints were handled quietly and behind the scenes, but thanks to Twitter, Facebook and other channels, these are now broadcast to the world. So, if potential investors want to know how consumers see a specific brand, its social media pages can provide the first clue.

Investors can also instantly share their views on companies with each other as well as with the wider public on these platforms. They can debate whether a company share price is overvalued live on Twitter for everyone to see.

Telling the story we choose

Investor relations have been democratised. Annual reports and trading updates are now readily available on company websites, not only to shareholders, but to anyone interested in a company. However, websites still require investors to actively seek out information on a specific company. Social media provides a new opportunity for companies to more actively engage with potential investors and to curate the flow of information to them.

Ultimately social media is not that different from the role that traditional media has always played in investor relations. In the past, investor relations professionals employed press releases, articles and interviews to create an investment narrative for their clients through the traditional media. However, this narrative was always filtered by what journalists and publications chose to cover or to include in the article. Now, social media gives investor relations professionals the power to share the information and tell the stories we choose.
VALLETTA, Malta - 35 journalists from 16 countries across the globe, including Africa, will be recognised for their reporting on the migration crisis.

The first edition of the Migration Media Award will award the journalists for their journalistic excellence in reporting on migration in the Euro-Mediterranean region. The winning entries feature fact-based and impartial reporting on the complexity of migration, its many challenges and opportunities.

The 12 first-prize winners come from Algeria, Egypt, France, Italy, Morocco, Portugal and the UK

An international jury, composed of reputable senior journalists, evaluated over 120 applications for the four categories of video, print, online or radio in the English, French or Arabic languages.

A total of thirty-five 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize winners will be announced during an award ceremony to be held on June 14, 2017, in Valletta, Malta, under the auspices of Maltas EU presidency.

The Migration Media Award is a new EU-funded journalism competition bringing together four partners based on the initiative of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD): the EUROMED Migration IV and OPEN Media Hub projects, funded by the EU, developed the scheme in partnership with the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) and Maltas Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
This year's edition of the PAMRO All Africa Media Research Conference addresses the theme Content is king, and he is one of us'.

Joe Otin, President of PAMRO.

The claim that content is king has been making the rounds ever since Bill Gates predicted the role that content would play in the developing internet, back in 1996. And of course such an entrenched idea has attracted plenty of rejoinders and counter claims for the superiority of context, promotion or viewer impressions. Nevertheless, when it comes to media measurement, contents royal status arguably holds sway.

While in the past, we measured advertising primarily through reach and GRP, today engagement has become a key factor. In other words, media research is moving from a focus on what to looking at how. The what approach measured how many people a campaign reached, how many times, and how one could sustain a campaign over time. Now the focus is shifting to the qualitative, asking how is my campaign engaging our target audience?

This approach considers factors such as how long people spend with given content and what they do with it once theyve seen it: do they share it or discard it? Are they spending more or less time with it? Are they becoming advocates of the brand and its content?

Source: PAMRO

Engagement generally comes out of having good content. So, to get great results from your advertising and communications projects, you have to focus on the developing memorable and shareable content.

What makes for good content? First of all, it is focused on the customer, the target audience. We need to put the target audience at the front and centre of all business and communications strategies. Once you understand who the customer is and what their needs are, you can create content that will be aligned to their aspirations, their needs at a given time, and their psychological framework.

A lot of the content that is coming to us in Africa is international. This didnt start with the internet; television, radio and even newspapers have always featured a great deal of material coming from other parts of the world, especially the West.

Were seeing a great convergence of the needs of media houses, advertising agencies, media research companies and clients.

However, it has become increasingly clear that content needs to be local  this engages audiences much more than international content, because it addresses things happening around the audience, things that are current, things that have true emotional meaning for them. Just as this holds for traditional media, so it is with digital: while the vast majority of content is international, local content is increasingly coming to the fore. The king is not somebody who comes from distant lands, but is someone who has risen to the pinacle from our midst.

With regard to media measurement, what were seeing coming up now is a lot more conversation around technology and passive approaches. Unlike declared measurement, where people essentially fill out questionnaires to indicate what theyve been watching or what kind of content theyve been consuming, passive measurement is conducted without the intervention of a respondent.

Its likely that this years edition of PAMRO will feature a lot more conversation around passive measurement, to truly understand how people are engaging with content, what kind of content and genres are truly engaging audiences, how that content is being distributed, and what kind of platforms its being consumed from.

Were seeing a great convergence of the needs of media houses, advertising agencies, media research companies and clients, with regard to considering things from the same perspective and understanding one anothers needs.

So, talking about content being king means that we all understand that this is what its all about, and begin to focus time, energy and resources on developing really good content that is going to have an impact across the different audiences throughout the continent.

*The 18th annual PAMRO conference will take place from 27-30 August 2017 at the Vineyard Hotel in Cape Town, South Africa. To register as a delegate at the conference and to book accommodation, to join PAMRO, or for more information, please visit: http://pamro.org/upcoming-events/18th-pamro-conference-27st-august-to-30th-august-2017-vineyard-hotel-cape-town-south-africa/.
Losses caused by Western Cape fires and storms could cost the insurance industry in excess of R3bn to R4bn, outstripping the costs of previous disasters and leading to higher insurance premiums in affected areas, said Old Mutual Insure.

On Friday, the death toll from severe weather and fires along the southern coastline had reached at least 12.

Hennie Nortje, head of claims at Old Mutual Insure, previously Mutual & Federal, said insurance premiums were likely to rise in the southern Cape, where risk of flooding had increased.

He said the R3bn to R4bn in possible losses was an estimate, and claims arising from the Knysna fire and storms in the Western Cape would probably significantly exceed this amount. Old Mutual Insure's claims already ran into the millions, with initial estimates forecasting claims of more than R400m, Nortje said.

Between 3,000 and 4,000 people have been displaced following fires around Knysna.

However, the storms in the Cape metropole had abated, said James Brent-Styan, spokesman for the MEC for local government and environment. Fires in the Knysna area have also been contained.

Earlier storms across the Western Cape damaged 135 schools and about 1,000 informal dwellings, further displacing thousands of people.

An increase in natural catastrophes in recent years has squeezed margins and caused large underwriting losses. Such losses occur when insurers pay out more in claims than they collect from premiums.

A Gauteng hailstorm in November 2013 cost the industry more than R1.6bn.

Hollard, SA's third-largest insurer by share of premiums after Old Mutual Insure, had received more than R260m in of claims by Friday on the Western Cape disasters. "We expect [an amount] north of R400m to be the final total," said spokesman Warwick Bloom.

Santam, the country's largest short-term insurer, had received more than 1,000 claims, said head of claims Ebrahim Asmal.

He would not comment on Santam's expected total exposure, but considering that its market share is more than double that of both Old Mutual Insure and Hollard, its claims could exceed R1bn.

Outsurance parent Rand Merchant Investment Holdings' share price fell 2.9% last week. Outsurance had received about 500 claims totalling about R83m.

"We expect these numbers to increase significantly as claims are reported," CEO Willem Roos said.

Claims cost estimates included loss of income for businesses, site-clearing costs and accommodation costs for clients who had lost their homes.

Santam was dealing with a number of complete losses of homes in Knysna and had established a temporary office in the centre of the town, Asmal said. Other claims related to water and wind damage.

"We are still assessing the impact of these events on our business and how it will affect our overall growth," Roos said.

Climate change has increased the likelihood of major natural catastrophes.

Susan Walls, insurance technical adviser at the SA Insurance Association, said an increase in the frequency and severity of claims resulting from natural disasters would negatively affect claims costs and could result in premium increases.

Policyholders living in areas found to have a higher risk profile than previously anticipated could face higher premiums.
Got a question or tip? Contact us at bizmojoidaho@gmail.com.
The 33 pardoned Bangladeshis started to return home on June 7, with the first batch of five men released from a jail in Tanintharyi Region, the embassy said.

The second group of nine fishermen, whose boat drifted into Myanmar waters in January this year, was transferred from Thandwe to Yangon for repatriation on June 12, said the Bangladesh Embassy.

The remaining 19 people are scheduled to be repatriated through the Myanmar-Bangladesh border on June 15 after the Bangladesh Consulate in Sittwe finalizes arrangements with both the Myanmar Border Guard Police and the Border Guard Bangladesh.

A similar pardon was extended to 92 Myanmar fishermen who strayed into Bangladesh waters last year. They were repatriated in December 2016.

Edited by Laignee Barron
He was 74.

On Friday, the rebel leader died in a hospital at 7.45pm Myanmar time, said his group's spokesman T. Pheiray. But the location where he had died was not clarified though sources say he passed away in a Yangon government hospital after suffering a stroke.

S S Khaplang was the leader of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Kaplang or NSCN-K.

Shangwang Shanyung Khaplang who belongs to the Hemi Naga tribe in Myanmar's Sagaing region, started off with the now defunct Eastern Naga Revolutionary Council formed by Burmese Nagas to support the insurrection in India's Naga hills in the late 1950s.

He sided with the China-trained Naga rebel leaders Thuingaleng Muivah and Issac Chisi Swu when they opposed the 1975 Shillong Accord signed by the leaders of the Naga National Council.

But he later fell out with Muivah and Swu and his supporters massacred nearly 190 Indian Naga fighters in the Sagaing bases in 1988.

The National Socialist Council of Nagalim they formed has now split up into four factions, with Khaplang and Muivah factions involved in a bitter fratricidal feud for years even as they entered into a ceasefire agreement with the Indian government after 1997.

But two years ago, Khaplang reneged on the ceasefire, upset as he was with Delhi's refusal to involve his faction in negotiations that it was having with the Muivah faction.

Khaplang then formed a rebel coalition UNLFSWEA with three other anti-Indian rebel groups.

His fighters attacked and killed large number of Indian troops, provoking an Indian cross-border raid in July 2015 by Para commandos.

Khaplang however maintained the ceasefire with the Myanmar government which he had signed up to in 2012.

Pheiray said Khonga Konyak has replaced him as the leader of the rebel faction whose militancy had strained India-Myanmar relations.

India's ruling BJP leader Ram Madhab confirmed Khaplang's demise in a tweet.

According to Aung Naing Oo, in 2015, he was gravely ill and requested help from the Myanmar government. The then Chief Negotiator and Union Minister U Aung Min agreed to the Nagas request. He also informed the Embassy of India about Myanmar governments intention to provide medical care to the ailing leader who was wanted in India. It was critical for the government to help an ethnic leader but at the same time had to pay attention to bilateral relationship with India.

India may find it easy to bring his faction to the table now that the Burmese Naga leader is dead.

The former Indian Home Minister L K Advani had ruled out talks with Khaplang on grounds he was a foreign national.
MPs said that the unlicensed laterite quarries are continuing to operate in Ye township, flouting cease and desist order that have been issued.



U Chit Tin, Mon State Hluttaw MP from Ye constituency 2,

submitted a proposal on June 7 calling for the government

to crackdown on unlicensed quarries. (photo: MNA) U Chit Tin, Mon State Hluttaw MP from Ye constituency 2,submitted a proposal on June 7 calling for the governmentto crackdown on unlicensed quarries. (photo: MNA)

U Chit Tin, the MP from Yes constituency 2, told parliament on June 7 that the illegal activity must be stopped for the wellbeing of local residents.

Quarrying is going on in three or four places in Ye township. In one place, the excavation site is five acres wide. They are excavating near houses and between the houses. Its very dangerous for the public, he said.

He submitted a proposal for the government to intervene. The motion was approved the following day.

U Min Kyi Win, Mon States Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, said the Ah Sin Village Group Administrator already gave the illegal excavators a warning on May 22, and called for a more decisive intervention to be approved.

The government needs to take action against those who are quarrying and selling without a license. The township general administrator has the responsibility to take action so we will have to give him the instruction to do it, he said.

Laterite is often used for road repairs, and is sometimes made into bricks for construction work.
UNFC members are KIO; SSPP; New Mon State Party (NMSP); the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP); the WNO; the Lahu Democratic Union (LDU); and the Arakan National Council (ANC)

If one now leaves aside the Arakan National Council (ANC) and Lahu Democratic Union (LDU), the two organizations within the UNFC, as both hardly have any fighting force, only the KNPP and the NMSP would be left as important and countable forces that have round about between 600 to 1000 troopers each.

While the said two Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs) have fighting forces not comparable to some of the big EAOs, with some ranging from 8000 to 30,000, their political correctness and prowess are rare, seen from the steadfast struggle for ethnic rights of self-determination point of view.

For example, when the two biggest EAOs, the KIO and SSPP joined the FPNCC, rumors were making the rounds that the left over UNFC members would sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), as they were thought to be in panic and not wanting to be left hanging in the limbo, on which even the State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi made a premature, unverified statement, thanking them on how their decision to sign would help strengthen the peace process, that actually failed to materialize.

In the end, seeing that the remaining four UNFC members, especially the KNPP and NMSP, insisted that its nine-point proposal to amend the NCA had to be first settled before they could sign it, the governments Peace Commission (PC) came up with a Deeds of Commitment (DoC) proposal that they inked this as a stopgap agreement first and later sign the actual NCA. And in return, the government would let them participate in the Union Peace Conference  21st Century Panglong (UPC-21CP), with rights to discuss and table position papers, but could not only make decision.

According to the NCA rule, only fully fledged members that signed the NCA could vote within the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC), the main setup responsible for holding the UPC-21CP.

The remaining four UNFC members rejected the PCs proposal and were invited as special guests, which they also turned it down.

Now with the said new EAOs configuration, the question arises how the future of the NMSP and the KNPP would look like.

Militarily, if the KNPP and NMSP would stay out of the NCA signing, it is possible that the Tatmadaw or the Military might likely put the pressure on them.

While militarily the NMSP could be hard pressed, given that it is surrounded by the NCA signatory Karen National Union (KNU) and governments Border Guard Forces (BGF), with not much space to maneuver, the KNPP would be able to survive even if militarily pressured, as it has always done in the past.

Politically, General NBan La met Suu Kyi when he was in Nay Pyi Taw last month together with the Pangkham alliance, made necessary by Chinese intervention on Burmas government and Tatmadaw.

According to an insider source closed to a signatory EAO, during the invited lunch of General NBan La and his wife separately, Suu Kyi was said to have asked, whether he would like to stay with the UNFC or Pangkham alliance, to which he answered that he wanted to be with the UNFC, if its nine-point proposal could be agreed upon.

The rumor had it that Suu Kyi was said to have answered that of the nine-point proposal only the two parts that mentioned the involvement of international players in Ceasefire Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) and neutral NCA enforcement, mediation team  should there be dispute among stakeholders  were exception, which could not be agreed upon.

UNFCs nine-point proposal includes: nationwide ceasefire declaration within 24 hours, followed by the UNFC troops doing likewise within 48 hours; formation of an equal, genuine federal union based on Panglong spirit; tripartite dialogue composition  government, Military, parliament; EAOs; and political parties  in all levels of the peace process; drawing up a constitution according to the outcome of 21st Century Panglong Conference; allowing international parties participation to be able to jointly monitor and enforce ceasefire agreement; and concerning big scale development plans to adhere to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), in cooperation with the concerned public and the EAOs.

If this would become a reality, provided the compromise could be found with the blessing of the Tatmadaw, the political fortune of the KNPP and NMSP could changed, as the KIO and SSPP would also sign the NCA under the banner of UNFC. Otherwise, their immediate future would likely be the same as it is now, with the pending of NCA signing and continuous on and off negotiation mode with the PC on its nine-point proposal.

The longer perspective would be to either make a compromise with the PC on its demand, provided there would be a real give-and-take atmosphere, or if the PC side doesnt give in to any demand and just want them to sign the NCA without alteration, the likely outcome would be the total rejection of the KNPP and NMSP to sign it and risk possible military pressure from the Tatmadaw.

But for now and by the look of it, the Military is unlikely to militarily pressure the two EAOs, as it is preoccupied with the ongoing wars in Kachin and Shan States and this would only work to the advantage and credit of Suu Kyis regime, which it is not so keen to see it happen. Besides, the Tatmadaw is said to have enough headache with the non-secession clause that the ethnic protested vigorously during the UPC-21CP and like to keep the EAOs participation count limited as it is now.

In sum, the immediate future of the KNPP and NMSP would not change much and would likely continue in the same status quo mode for the time being.
Reciba en su email: noticias de ultima hora, analisis tecnicos o el cierre de mercado

Email no valido Nombre requerido Recibira las informaciones mas relevantes del dia en tiempo real Que informacion desea recibir? Noticias de Ultima hora Boletin Cierre de Mercado Boletin analisis tecnico Boletin Fundsnews Debe seleccionar un tipo de boletin Acepto la Politica de privacidad Debe aceptar la politica de privacidad Responsable EMPRESAS DEL GRUPO WEB FINANCIAL GROUP Finalidad La remision de informacion, novedades y promociones Establecimiento o mantenimiento de Relaciones Comerciales. Legitimacion Consentimiento del interesado. Interes legitimo en el desarrollo de la relacion comercial Destinatario Empresas del Grupo WEB FINANCIAL GROUP Derechos Acceso, rectificacion, supresion, limitacion, oposicion y portabilidad Informacion adicional Politica de Privacidad de nuestra pagina Web + INFORMACION
Blog Archive Nov 2022 (22) Oct 2022 (64) Sep 2022 (60) Aug 2022 (61) Jul 2022 (55) Jun 2022 (60) May 2022 (73) Apr 2022 (60) Mar 2022 (58) Feb 2022 (65) Jan 2022 (69) Dec 2021 (106) Nov 2021 (84) Oct 2021 (58) Sep 2021 (67) Aug 2021 (62) Jul 2021 (54) Jun 2021 (50) May 2021 (58) Apr 2021 (44) Mar 2021 (57) Feb 2021 (64) Jan 2021 (93) Dec 2020 (82) Nov 2020 (62) Oct 2020 (50) Sep 2020 (45) Aug 2020 (51) Jul 2020 (56) Jun 2020 (53) May 2020 (70) Apr 2020 (66) Mar 2020 (169) Feb 2020 (211) Jan 2020 (184) Dec 2019 (54) Nov 2019 (56) Oct 2019 (55) Sep 2019 (63) Aug 2019 (54) Jul 2019 (69) Jun 2019 (56) May 2019 (65) Apr 2019 (68) Mar 2019 (72) Feb 2019 (76) Jan 2019 (62) Dec 2018 (55) Nov 2018 (69) Oct 2018 (90) Sep 2018 (82) Aug 2018 (58) Jul 2018 (36) Jun 2018 (47) May 2018 (44) Apr 2018 (64) Mar 2018 (63) Feb 2018 (68) Jan 2018 (92) Dec 2017 (85) Nov 2017 (64) Oct 2017 (82) Sep 2017 (54) Aug 2017 (89) Jul 2017 (60) Jun 2017 (86) May 2017 (84) Apr 2017 (62) Mar 2017 (86) Feb 2017 (91) Jan 2017 (113) Dec 2016 (109) Nov 2016 (100) Oct 2016 (82) Sep 2016 (95) Aug 2016 (84) Jul 2016 (84) Jun 2016 (99) May 2016 (93) Apr 2016 (106) Mar 2016 (145) Feb 2016 (125) Jan 2016 (103) Dec 2015 (83) Nov 2015 (80) Oct 2015 (100) Sep 2015 (111) Aug 2015 (94) Jul 2015 (98) Jun 2015 (151) May 2015 (125) Apr 2015 (109) Mar 2015 (122) Feb 2015 (113) Jan 2015 (135) Dec 2014 (131) Nov 2014 (115) Oct 2014 (146) Sep 2014 (112) Aug 2014 (128) Jul 2014 (94) Jun 2014 (104) May 2014 (140) Apr 2014 (132) Mar 2014 (81) Feb 2014 (89) Jan 2014 (141) Dec 2013 (100) Nov 2013 (96) Oct 2013 (99) Sep 2013 (94) Aug 2013 (95) Jul 2013 (95) Jun 2013 (91) May 2013 (139) Apr 2013 (179) Mar 2013 (73) Feb 2013 (76) Jan 2013 (85) Dec 2012 (59) Nov 2012 (71) Oct 2012 (85) Sep 2012 (70) Aug 2012 (71) Jul 2012 (53) Jun 2012 (51) May 2012 (52) Apr 2012 (52) Mar 2012 (69) Feb 2012 (76) Jan 2012 (70) Dec 2011 (60) Nov 2011 (54) Oct 2011 (57) Sep 2011 (75) Aug 2011 (72) Jul 2011 (64) Jun 2011 (76) May 2011 (56) Apr 2011 (73) Mar 2011 (114) Feb 2011 (71) Jan 2011 (80) Dec 2010 (92) Nov 2010 (82) Oct 2010 (73) Sep 2010 (95) Aug 2010 (86) Jul 2010 (81) Jun 2010 (76) May 2010 (71) Apr 2010 (74) Mar 2010 (74) Feb 2010 (82) Jan 2010 (101) Dec 2009 (108) Nov 2009 (182) Oct 2009 (136) Sep 2009 (102) Aug 2009 (120) Jul 2009 (151) Jun 2009 (136) May 2009 (180) Apr 2009 (145) Mar 2009 (113) Feb 2009 (113) Jan 2009 (124) Dec 2008 (108) Nov 2008 (69) Oct 2008 (89) Sep 2008 (76) Aug 2008 (75) Jul 2008 (87) Jun 2008 (80) May 2008 (99) Apr 2008 (93) Mar 2008 (115) Feb 2008 (147) Jan 2008 (162) Dec 2007 (124) Nov 2007 (95) Oct 2007 (67) Sep 2007 (42) Aug 2007 (78) Jul 2007 (75) Jun 2007 (123) May 2007 (110) Apr 2007 (108) Mar 2007 (92) Feb 2007 (136) Jan 2007 (119) Dec 2006 (41) Nov 2006 (34) Oct 2006 (12) Sep 2006 (13) Aug 2006 (13) Jul 2006 (16) Jun 2006 (12) May 2006 (21) Apr 2006 (38) Mar 2006 (27) Feb 2006 (25) Jan 2006 (18)


The P75 I class of submarines will be a follow-on class for the P75 class of underwater platforms. The P75 submarine INS Kalvari during sea trials. A Wikipedia image

NEW DELHI (PTI): The Government is all set to roll out the process for a Rs 60,000-crore submarine programme for the Indian Navy, seen as crucial to counter China's growing undersea prowess and its build-up in Indian ocean region.



It is set to be the first defence acquisition project to be launched under the ambitious 'Strategic Partnership' model finalised last month which aims to rope in leading private players for production of major military platforms in the country.



The Defence Ministry is likely to issue the Expression of Interest (EoI) for the project in the next few days, to kick start the process for the mega deal, sources said.



The project is being considered critical to counter the rapid expansion of China's submarine fleet. The Navy has been pressing the government for clearing the project.



Engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro and Reliance Defence are the only private firms eligible to participate in the P-75 I programme, said another source. Defence PSU Mazagon Dock Ltd is also in contention for the project, touted as one of the biggest in recent years.



The government will subsequently initiate the process to shortlist the foreign original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for the project based on laid down norms in the strategic partnership model.



Six Scorpene-class submarines are currently being built under 'Project 75' of the Indian Navy. The submarines, designed by French naval defence and energy company DCNS, are being built by Mazagon Dock Limited in Mumbai.



The project P-75 (I) will be a follow-on for Project 75.



A total of six submarines are to be built under the P-75 (I) project.



Under the SP model, select private firms will be engaged to build military platforms like submarines and fighter jets in India in partnership with foreign entities.



A 49 per cent FDI cap has been kept for setting up ventures under the strategic partnership model for production of defence platforms and the companies will be in control of Indian entities.



As per the framework, to manufacture major defence platforms, the select Indian companies will require tie-ups with OEM for transfer of technology (ToT).






NEW DELHI (PTI): Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic visit to Israel, Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba on Sunday left for the jewish nation on a four-day trip aimed at broadening bilateral defence and security cooperation.



Admiral Lanba will hold talks with Lt Gen Gadi Eisenkot, Chief of the General Staff of Israeli Defence Force, to explore stepping up of cooperation between armed forces of the two countries in the wake of evolving security challenges in the region.



He is also scheduled to meet the Commander-in-Chief of Israeli Navy, Commander of Israeli Air Force, Commander of Israeli Ground Forces and a number of high-ranking officials of Israel's defence ministry, the Navy said in a statement.



Defence ties between India and Israel have been growing rapidly and a raft of mega deals including procurement of an air defence system for the Indian Navy are likely to be sealed during Modi's upcoming visit which will be the first by an Indian Prime Minister to the Jewish nation.



India is the largest buyer of Israel's military hardware and the latter has been supplying various weapon systems, missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles over the last few years, but the transactions have largely remained behind the curtains.



Admiral Lanba is also chairman of the powerful chiefs of staff committee (CoSC) which comprises the Army, Navy and IAF chiefs.



"The visit by Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chairman CoSC & CNS will further consolidate the armed forces cooperation between the two countries," the Navy said.



The much-awaited deal for Barak-8 air defence missile systems for the Navy and procurement of Spike anti-tank missiles for the Indian Army are expected to be firmed up during Modi's visit to Tel Aviv next month.



The Indo-Israel cooperation in naval sphere has witnessed an upswing in the last few years. Western fleet ships  Mumbai, Teg, Tarkash and Aditya  had recently visited Hanifa in Israel.



Lanba's official schedule in Israel begins on Monday and will conclude on June 15.



The defence relationship between the two countries over the years has matured into one of mutual trust and confidence. India has been importing critical defence technologies from Israel.



"In addition, both the armed forces and MoD have been cooperating through the medium of Staff Talks, Joint Working Group (JWG) and exchange of high-level visits," the Navy said, adding Lanba's visit to Israel is in continuation of such high level defence exchanges.




The passing out parade being held at INS Kochi. An Indian Navy photo/Twitter

KOCHI (PTI): In an impressive Passing Out ceremony held onboard INS Tir and ICGS Sarathi, 169 Officer Trainees of the 91st Integrated Officer Trainees Course passed out at Naval base in Kochi on June 9.



The officers will now join various frontline warships of the Western and Eastern Fleet for a further six months of afloat training, Navy said.



Rear Admiral RJ Nadkarni, Chief of Staff, Headquarters, Southern Naval Command, reviewed the parade and awarded trophies to the winners.



The coveted 'Chief of the Naval Staff' trophy and 'Telescope' for the Best All Round Sea Trainee' was awarded to Hitesh Singh.



Anmol Rawat received the 'Binoculars' for standing first in the overall Order of Merit for showing maximum progress during the term onboard.



Kadam Swapnil Bharat received the DG ICG Trophy for the best Coast Guard sea trainee while sea trainee Sumit Chandra Deorari was adjudged the best sportsman and awarded the FOC-in-C South Rolling Trophy, Navy said in a release.



The sea training of 24 weeks for this batch commenced on December 26.



During this period, the sea trainees were imparted instructions and practical experience on General Navigation, Astro Navigation, Communications, Gunnery and Seamanship.



The sea trainees visited various ports on both the East and West Coast of India and also got an opportunity to visit foreign ports of Indian Ocean nations such as Port Louis (Mauritius), Post Victoria (Seychelles) and Male (Maldives).



The training was conducted by the First Training Squadron of the Indian Navy consisting of the Indian Naval Ships Tir, Sujata and Shardul, Indian Coast Guard Ship Sarathi and the Sail Training Ships Tarangini and Sudarshini.




A Chinese warship. Internet image

KARACHI (PTI): Three warships of the Chinese navy have docked at Pakistan's southern port city Karachi on a four-day "goodwill and training" visit as the two all-weather allies step up their strategic ties.



The warships  Chang Chun, Jing Zhou and Chao Hu  of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) are part of a task group that will hold a Passage Exercise with the Pakistan Navy ships to enhance interoperability, officials in Karachi said.



The visit will promote understanding and mutual trust between the two nations and their peoples, the commander of the Chinese navy fleet, Rear Admiral Shen Hao said.



Shen said pragmatic cooperation and communication between the two navies will strengthen regional stability and world peace and play an active role in promoting common development.



A welcome ceremony was organised as the fleet reached here on a four-day goodwill and training visit yesterday.



Karachi is one of the two major ports in southern Pakistan; the other being the Gwadar Port in Balochistan province, which is being built with Chinese assistance.



Reports have previously suggested that China may potentially use the Gwadar Port as an overseas naval facility.



Experts believe that CPEC and the Gwadar Port would enhance military capabilities of both China and Pakistan, and increase the Chinese navy's access to the Arabian Sea. Having a naval base in Gwadar could also allow Chinese vessels to use the port for repair and maintenance of their fleet in the Indian Ocean region.



Also, the Karachi port lies on the route of the controversial US$ 46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that links the Gwadar Port to China's Xinjiang province.



India has objected to the CPEC  which is a part of China's ambitious Belt and Road initiative  as it runs through Gilgit and Baltistan region of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.


Two million passengers have flown through Cork Airport with Aer Lingus Regional, operated by Stobart Air, since March 2010.

Aer Lingus Regional flies to nine destinations from Cork Airport with two seasonal summer routes to Rennes in France and Cornwall Airport Newquay added for 2017.

Aer Lingus Regional operate over 6,000 flights per year from Cork Airport with three aircraft based at the airport. Manchester is the largest Aer Lingus Regional route operating out of Cork Airport with up to three flights per day.

The airline recently launched its Cork to Cornwall Airport Newquay route and also currently flies from Cork to Bristol, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Southampton, Manchester, Newcastle, Southampton, Newquay and Rennes in France.

Aer Lingus Regional expects to carry over 330,000 passengers on its Cork network in 2017, up 20% on its 2015 passenger figures.

The airline sold over 42,000 cups of tea and coffee on its Cork network in 2016 along with over 14,000 chocolate bars and 7,500 packets of Taytos and other snacks.

"We are very excited to have reached this two million passenger milestone through Cork Airport," said Ronan Whitty, head of revenue management for Stobart Air.

"Connecting Irish passengers to Irish destinations and beyond is our priority. We expect growth in 2017 and look forward to working with Cork Airport in the future to continually develop and grow our services from the airport."

Kevin Cullinane, Head of Communications at Cork Airport said: "We would like to congratulate Aer Lingus Regional on this significant milestone.

"We have an excellent working relationship with Stobart Air which has proven successful in strengthening both the success of Aer Lingus Regional brand while contributing to our ongoing growth at Cork Airport which is on track to increase its passenger numbers again this year, thanks to the addition of some fantastic new routes that are proving very popular."
The FDA has approved a bulk biologics manufacturing plant in Cork for pharmaceutical company BioMarin.

The plant, located in Shanbally, was acquired from Pfizer in 2011 and is built on twenty acres, with 200,000 square feet of floor space.

BioMarin is also completing construction on a number of expansion projects at the facility. These projects included an expanded warehouse, new office space and improved and expanded utilities.

During this construction, BioMarin has engaged the services of local workers to complete these projects.

"BioMarin has made a substantial commitment to manufacturing in Ireland since acquiring their Cork facility in 2011," said Martin Shanahan Chief Executive Officer of IDA Ireland.

"BioMarin's development of treatment options for ultra-orphan rare diseases represents the type of innovative science that IDA wishes to attract to Ireland.

"Today Ireland continues to be viewed as the ideal location for biopharmaceutical companies looking to grow their operations, with a highly educated workforce and an excellent track record. I am confident that BioMarin will continue to thrive and grow in Ireland over the coming years."

Management are hoping to attract more employees to Shanbally as facilities at the plant grow.

"As we continue to grow, we are looking to hire the best and brightest in a variety of disciplines in Shanbally," Robert Baffi, Executive Vice President of Technical Operations.

BioMarin is a global biotechnology company that develops and commercializes innovative therapies for patients with serious and life-threatening rare and ultra-rare genetic diseases.
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Charlie Flanagan, will meet with Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, James Brokenshire, today in Stormont.

Brexit will likely top the agenda, with negotiations scheduled to begin, as previously planned, later this month.
Update 1.30pm: Scottish Secretary David Mundell has said he wants the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to "change its position" on LGBTI issues.

British Prime Minister Theresa May is due to meet DUP leader Arlene Foster on Tuesday to finalise a deal on propping up her minority government.

Mr Mundell, Conservative MP for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale, was reappointed Scottish Secretary in a post-election Cabinet reshuffle on Sunday.

He became the first openly-gay Conservative Cabinet secretary when he came out in January 2015.

Questioned on the DUP's stance on gay rights, he said he does "not subscribe" to the party's position.

The North is the only part of the British Isles where same-sex marriage remains outlawed.

The DUP has repeatedly used a controversial Stormont voting mechanism - the petition of concern - to prevent the legalisation of same-sex marriage despite a majority of MLAs supporting the move at the last vote.

Mr Mundell told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: "I don't subscribe to the DUP's position on these issues but the DUP will not be influencing these decisions within the rest of the United Kingdom.

"We're not in any way signing up to the DUP manifesto. Most of these issues are devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly."

He added: "I would like to see the DUP change its position, and indeed Northern Ireland as a whole change its position, on LGBTI issues.

"Ruth Davidson has been very clear on that, she actually went out to Northern Ireland and set that out, so they can't be in any doubt where they stand on these issues.

"I think change is brought about, certainly in Northern Ireland, by persuasion, by people working together and the best way actually to achieve these is to get the Northern Ireland Assembly back up and running, and I hope that will also be possible."

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said careful scrutiny of any deal with the DUP would be needed to guard against any rollback of equalities legislation and also raised concerns on the impact on the peace process.

Writing in the Daily Record, she said: "The Good Friday Agreement requires the UK Government to be an impartial broker between parties in Northern Ireland and it would be shameful if, in the Tories' pursuit of power, they jeopardised the chances of a return to devolved government in Northern Ireland."

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie called on the Prime Minister to "abandon her embryonic alliance with the DUP before it does real and lasting damage".

He said: "Taking sides in the precarious politics of Northern Ireland could have significant ramifications for the whole of the UK including Scotland. The UK Government should be operating as an honest broker in Northern Ireland but that is impossible if it is in hock to one of the protagonists."

He added: "There is rightly anxiety about the DUP's views on abortion and gay rights and these views must not have an impact on government policy. Yet it is the constitutional threat that could have even wider and more immediate consequences."

Update 11am: Leo Varadkar says it is important for the peace process that the British Government is not too close to any political party in the North.

The Social Protection Minister is expected to be elected Taoiseach on Wednesday.

His comments come as talks to restore powersharing are resuming at Stormont today.

Sitting Taoiseach Enda Kenny raised his concerns with Prime Minister Theresa May.

The British Conservatives have already agreed a deal in principal with the DUP for the government in Westminster.

But Minister Varadkar says both governments must be co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement.

"When I have an opportunity to speak to Prime Minister May I'll emphasise that as well, because our role as governments, here in Dublin and in London, is to act as co-guarantors and not to be too close to any particular party in the North, whether it's a nationalist or republican party or a unionist party and that is certainly something that I will emphasise in any context that I have with Prime Minister May," he said.

Earlier: The leader of the Democratic Unionists has pledged to exercise the party's enhanced influence at Westminster responsibly.

Arlene Foster said she hoped to capitalise on opportunities the situation presented for the North.

As talks continue between the DUP and Conservatives over a potential confidence-and-supply arrangement to support Theresa May's minority government, Mrs Foster said: "When I meet with the Prime Minister in London tomorrow, I will be mindful of our responsibility to help bring stability to the nation at this time of challenge.

"We will be working to agree arrangements that can provide the whole nation with good government.

"The DUP will work to bring about outcomes that are beneficial to all, and in Parliament Northern Ireland's case will be centre stage."

It is likely the DUP will press for increased investment in the North as the price of their support in Westminster and push for a more significant role in the Brexit process.

The DUP's social conservatism on issues such as gay marriage and abortion has been in the spotlight in Great Britain since its role as parliamentary kingmaker became clear.

Mrs Foster branded some of the commentary and analysis about her party as "inaccurate and misleading".

"I have no doubt over time those responsible will look foolish in the extreme," she said.

Mrs Foster, writing in the Belfast Telegraph, said the election result had caused a "political earthquake" across the United Kingdom.

"In truth, no-one expected the outcome of the snap general election to be a hung Parliament, and for the DUP to be in such an influential position," she said.

She added: "The mandate given to us by the people will be used responsibly.

"We stood on a clear policy platform of wanting to strengthen the Union, of working for a good deal for Northern Ireland as the United Kingdom leaves the EU and of promising to do our best to get Stormont up and running again for the benefit of all.

"We will use the position we find ourselves in to do as we promised."

Mrs Foster concluded: "The next few weeks represent a real opportunity for everyone in Northern Ireland to heed the will of the people and capitalise on the opportunities that lie ahead for everyone."
Update 1.35pm: Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams has said a deal between the Tories and the DUP has to be opposed.

Today sees talks to restore power-sharing resume in Belfast. But the DUP leader is due to meet British Prime Minister, Theresa May, for talks at Downing Street tomorrow.

The two party leaders are in discussions to try and form a minority government at Westminster.

Adams said: We dont believe that any deal between the DUP here and the English Tories will be good for the people here. And any deal which undercuts in any way the process here, or the Good Friday or other agreements is one which has to be opposed.

Democratic Unionist Ian Paisley confirmed that progress had already been made across the weekend.

Talks are going on, Arlene Foster has made that very,very clear. Our key interest is stability in the United Kingdom and we want to make sure that we have that

Update 12.30pm: The Northern Ireland Secretary appears to have ruled out an independent mediator to chair talks to restore powersharing amid criticism his impartiality has been compromised by the anticipated Democratic Unionist/Conservative parliamentary deal.

James Brokenshire said the current process, which involves the UK and Irish governments chairing elements of the negotiations and the head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service moderating other discussions, was the "right approach".

His comments come as DUP leader Arlene Foster warned Stormont rivals participating in the faltering negotiations the "time for unreasonable behaviour and unrealistic demands is over".

The talks were paused over the General Election campaign.

With the North having been without a powersharing executive since March and without a first and deputy first minister since

January, a new three-week process to salvage devolution is starting in Belfast on Monday.

However, a major question mark now hangs over the talks as a result of developments at Westminster.

Political rivals of the DUP are adamant the Government can no longer cast itself as a neutral facilitator in the process, given Theresa May's intent to form a minority government with the help of a confidence-and-supply deal with the unionist party.

The dispute has prompted renewed calls for a chair from outside the UK and Ireland to be appointed.

Mr Brokenshire said there was a need to differentiate between politics at Westminster and Stormont.

"It is important to distinguish what happens at Westminster and the votes that take place here, and devolution and the obligations and responsibilities that we hold fast to in relation to Northern Ireland," he said.

Devolution in the North is based on the template laid out in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

The historic accord commits the UK Government to demonstrate "rigorous impartiality" when dealing with competing political views in the region.

The Secretary of State said the government remained "four square" behind the Good Friday accord.

Asked on Radio Ulster about his views on bringing in an independent chair, he said: "I think the point is that we have a process already which involves, yes, the UK Government, but the Irish Government and also the head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service (Sir Malcolm McKibbin).

"That was something that was working to bring the parties together.

"I think that remains absolutely the right way to approach this and let's not forget we only have until the 29th June, so let's actually focus on the issues at hand rather than process, let's actually focus on getting people together for the best interests of Northern Ireland - that is what we are focused upon in supporting that work and supporting that effort because that is really how we will take Northern Ireland forward."

Earlier: Talks to restore powersharing in the North will resume later amid uncertainty over the impact of the anticipated Democratic Unionist/Conservative parliamentary deal.

The faltering negotiations were paused over the General Election campaign.

With the North having been without a powersharing executive since March and without a first and deputy first minister since January, a new three-week process to salvage devolution is starting in Belfast.

But a major question mark now hangs over the talks as a result of developments at Westminster.

Political rivals of the DUP are adamant the Government can no longer cast itself as a neutral facilitator in the process, given Theresa May's intent to form a minority government with the help of a confidence and supply deal with the unionist party.

A number of deadlines to reach an agreement have already fallen by the wayside since March's snap Assembly poll, which was triggered by the implosion of the last DUP/Sinn Fein-led administration over a dispute about a botched green energy scheme.

Devolution in the North is based on the template laid out in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. The historic accord commits the UK government to demonstrate "rigorous impartiality" when dealing with competing political views in the region.

In light of events at Westminster, Enda Kenny called Mrs May on Sunday to warn her that the Good Friday settlement has to be protected.

Sinn Fein, the SDLP and Alliance have all made clear they will not accept reappointed Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire as a talks facilitator.

The dispute has prompted renewed calls for an independent mediator from outside the UK and Ireland to be appointed.

On Sunday night, Mr Brokenshire insisted the Government remained committed to the principles of the Good Friday Agreement and to governing in the interests of all the people of the region.

He also warned that the latest deadline for agreement - June 29 - was "final and immovable".

Mr Brokenshire made clear the reintroduction of direct rule from Westminster is on the cards if an agreement does not materialise by that date.

Irish foreign minister Charlie Flanagan, who will take part in the opening exchanges at Stormont on Monday, said: "It is now more important than ever that we have effective devolved government in Northern Ireland, especially with Brexit negotiations due to begin shortly."

He added: "The Irish Government remains fully committed to ensuring that the Good Friday Agreement and subsequent agreements are upheld and implemented in full."

The institutions collapsed after the late Martin McGuinness quit as deputy first minister in protest at the DUP's handling of the ill-fated Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) - an eco-scheme that left Stormont facing a 490 million overspend.

Powersharing structures meant Mr McGuinness's move forcibly removed DUP leader Arlene Foster from her job as first minister and triggered March's snap election.

The Assembly election campaign exposed many more divisions between the two main parties, on issues such as legislative protections for Irish language speakers and how to deal with the legacy of the Troubles.
By Elaine Loughlin, Political Reporter

The outcome of the British election has given "an opportunity" for a softer Brexit which would benefit Ireland Leo Varadkar believes.

But the incoming Taoiseach has warned that Theresa May's Government cannot get "too close" to any party in Northern Ireland if it is to stand by the Good Friday Agreement.

It comes as Taoiseach Enda Kenny said he is "concerned" by the deal Mrs May has proposed with the DUP.

Speaking this morning, Mr Varadkar said he had heard Mr Kenny's comments and added that it is "absolutely very important" that both the Irish and British governments "understand that their role is to be co-guarantors" in the good Friday Agreement.

"When I have an opportunity to speak to prime minister May I will emphasise that as well because our role as Governments here in Dublin and London is to act as co-guarantors and not to be too close to any particular party in the North, whether it's a nationalist or republican party or whether it's a unionist party. That's certainly something that I would emphasise in any contacts that I have with prime minister May."

While Mr Varadkar said political outcomes have been very difficult to predict in recent times, he said he has "a sense" that there is now an opportunity for a soft Brexit.
Update:Family carers are calling for changes to the way their government allowance is assessed.

The standard rate is 204 a week - however it is means tested and regularly re-evaluated.

National Carers Week aims to highlight the work that these people do and encourage others to help them out.

Carers say they need more recognition and support for the work they do in looking after loved ones.

Around 360,000 carers are being celebrated this week, with people encouraged to lend a hand and give them a well deserved break.

Earlier: The 11th National Carers Week gets underway across the country today.

Over 360,000 people in Ireland identify themselves as a family carer, but their efforts often go unnoticed.

It is being officially launched at 10.30am this morning, with 12-year-old Jack Renton, the winner of the Young People's Award, among the guests.

Liam O'Sullivan, coordinator of National Carers Week, says it is important to recognise family carers.

"Every person in Ireland has the chance this week to acknowledge the contribution of our 360,000 family carers," he said.

"This week we said you should focus on doing something for those who contribute to much to Irish society, whether you call in, make a meal, offer help and support or simply give them a call to say 'you are doing something really important'.

"There is really huge value in simply saying thank you."
An elderly brother and sister have been arrested after a man was found shot dead at a property in the UK.

Reuben and Kathleen Gregory are being held on suspicion of murder following an incident near the Colnbrook bypass, Slough, Berkshire, just before 3.30am on Monday.

Emergency services teams, including armed officers, who responded to the reports found a man in his 40s who was declared dead at the scene.

Mr Gregory, aged in his 70s, lived with his sister, aged in her 50s, in what a relative described as a "secluded" woodland. The pair have been in the area for more than 50 years.

The female relative, who did not wish to be identified, described them as "very, very quiet inoffensive people who don't cause any problems to anyone".

She said: "They are just very peaceable people, living a very simple life. That's the way they have always lived, that's the only life they know."

The woman said they had been targeted 30 years ago in a burglary during which Ms Gregory was tied up.

Detective Chief Superintendent Chris Ward, of Thames Valley Police, said investigators were treating the shooting as an "isolated incident" as he tried to reassure locals.

Mr Ward said: "I must stress that this incident is not being treated as related to terrorism and there is no threat to the wider public."

He appealed to anyone who saw or heard anything unusual in the area in the early hours of the morning to call Thames Valley Police officers on 101.

-PA
An elephant that was part of a Buddhist procession has attacked and killed a monk, police in Sri Lanka said.

Police spokesman Priyantha Jayakody said three elephants were walking in the procession on Sunday night when one suddenly went on a rampage and attacked the monk.

The 25-year-old victim was seriously injured and died in hospital early on Monday.

Colourfully decorated elephants are an important part of Buddhist religious processions and festivals. Temples and wealthy families often own the animals and rent them out for such events.

However, animal rights activists say the elephants are often kept in inhumane conditions and receive insufficient food.

Authorities say there are about 127 tame elephants that are used for processions and other religious ceremonies by Sinhalese Buddhists, who make up 70% of the island's 20 million people.

Having an elephant in the backyard has long been a sign of wealth, privilege and power. For hundreds of years, elephants have been used for such religious activities and as well as for battles by ancient kings.

Sri Lanka has about 6,000 elephants, but those in the wild are threatened by habitat loss and degradation. An estimated 200 elephants are killed every year, mainly by farmers trying to protect their crops.

In the 19th century there were believed to be up to 14,000 elephants.

AP
Westminster was rife with speculation that the new session of the British parliament may be delayed, after the Prime Minister's official spokesman declined to confirm it would go ahead on the scheduled date of June 19.

There was no immediate confirmation of BBC reports that it understood the date of the Queen's Speech, which sets out the government's legislative programme for the coming year, was being put back by a few days.

The uncertainty came as Theresa May's Conservatives continued talks with the Democratic Unionist Party to secure the support of the party's 10 MPs to get its agenda through Parliament, following an election result which left the Tories short of an absolute majority in the Commons.

The Britsh PM's spokesman told reporters it was not for him to confirm the date - which has been in the Queen's diary since April - and that new Leader of the Commons Andrea Leadsom would be providing an "update" shortly. Ms Leadsom's office made no immediate announcement in response to press queries.

But the BBC reported: "The BBC understands the Queen's Speech will be delayed by a few days. It had been due to take place next Monday."

Any delay would risk affecting the Queen's attendance at Royal Ascot next week.

Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire said the Queen's Speech "remains on track".

He told BBC Radio 4's The World at One: "As I'm here today, I'm very firmly of the standpoint the Queen's Speech remains on track.

"We are very firmly proceeding on the basis as we have been on the timeline for the Queen's Speech, on getting it finalised, on making it happen and getting on with the job of running the government."

Additional delay may be caused by the fact the Queen's Speech is written on goatskin parchment paper, which requires several days for the ink to dry.

The paper does not contain any goatskin but is high-quality archival paper guaranteed to last for at least 500 years.

Pen cannot be put to paper until the exact contents of the speech are finalised, which may be dependent on the outcome of Tory talks with the DUP.

DUP leader Arlene Foster said she would use her influence responsibly to secure "outcomes that are beneficial for all".

Writing in the Belfast Telegraph, she said: "When I meet with the Prime Minister in London tomorrow, I will be mindful of our responsibility to help bring stability to the nation at this time of challenge.

"We will be working to agree arrangements that can provide the whole nation with good government."

The Tories and DUP are considering a "confidence-and-supply" deal which would see the Northern Irish party back the Government to get its Budget through and on confidence motions.

Sinn Fein's Gerry Adams said he would not call a Tory-DUP coalition "stable".

"It's a coalition of chaos", he added.

Speaking from Stormont where talks aimed at restoring powersharing are due to resume on Monday, Mr Adams warned he did not believe any deal between "the DUP here and the English Tories would be good for the people (of Ireland)".

He added: "Any deal which undercuts in any way the process here or the Good Friday Agreement is one which has to be opposed. That puts a huge onus on the Taioseach."

Mr Adams also said he hoped Mrs Foster would not get "too mesmerised by what's happening on our nearest off-shore island."

A Labour spokesman said: "Number 10's failure to confirm the date of the Queen's Speech shows that this Government is in chaos as it struggles to agree a backroom deal with a party with abhorrent views on LGBT and women's rights."
Theresa May told Tory MPs "Im the person who got us into this mess and Im the one who will get us out of it", at a crunch Conservative Party meeting in Parliament, two people present have confirmed.

The Prime Minister apologised as she faced the backbench 1922 Committee for the first time since a disastrous General Election in which the Tories lost their House of Commons majority.

Mrs May also sought to reassure MPs that any confidence and supply deal with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to prop up her minority administration would not affect power-sharing talks in Northern Ireland or LGBT rights.

It came as her most senior minister Damian Green confirmed that the Queens Speech, due to set out the Governments programme on June 19, could be delayed as the Tories seek an agreement with the DUP.

The PM looks to have withstood immediate internal pressure to resign and t here was no discussion at the 1922 Committee of how long she would remain in post, although there were clear signals of how her style of rule would change to keep MPs on side.

MPs agreed that they and their constituents did not want another General Election and were united in the aim of stopping Jeremy Corbyn becoming prime minister.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who has rejected suggestions he is plotting a leadership bid, described Mrs Mays speech to the 22 as a "stonking performance", adding on Twitter: "One team going forward together for the UK".

Others present said the PM gave one of her most emotional and warm speeches, with one remarking there was "none of the Maybot", while banging of the tables and cheers could be heard throughout the meeting.

There were signs that backbenchers will hold more sway, with one of the biggest cheers coming for the "greatly respected" Gavin Barwell, the PMs new chief of staff, who will have a "great deal of influence" alongside Chief Whip Gavin Williamson, according to one MP.

Ex-MP Mr Barwell replaced Mrs Mays key aides Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, whose resignations were reportedly demanded by Tory MPs as the price of their support for the leader.

Another of those present revealed that Mrs May was open to the idea of internal Tory backbench committees of MPs that would provide "seamless communication" with Number 10.

The meeting came shortly after First Secretary of State Mr Green said that agreement with the DUP would have to be sealed before finalising the details of the Queens Speech, setting out the Governments legislative programme.

Mr Green said talks with the DUP were "going well", adding: "At this very important time, we want to produce a substantial Queens Speech."

But senior Conservatives acknowledged that the failure to secure an overall majority will mean the agenda set out in their manifesto would have to be "pruned back".

An MP at the 22 confirmed the Tories poorly received social care policy - dubbed the "dementia tax" - looks set to be dropped, while it is thought Mrs Mays cherished ambition to open new grammar schools may have to be ditched.

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, who attended a political cabinet meeting on Monday, said she wanted the economy to be "first and foremost in our minds" in Brexit talks, in a signal that she wants the PM to scale back her focus on her priority of controlling immigration.

"There was a real sense around the Cabinet table today, as you would expect from centre right politicians, that that is the primacy were looking for," she told BBC News.

Ms Davidson also signalled that other parties could be more involved in negotiations.

"We do have to make sure that we invite other people in now," she said. "This isnt just going to be a Tory Brexit, this is going to have to involve the whole country."

But Mr Green said there was "complete unanimity" in the Cabinet and "overwhelming support" for Mrs Mays approach.

The unexpected snap election has already forced the Queen to cancel an Order of the Garter service and to accept a stripped-down State Opening without a procession, robes or the state crown. Any further delay could mean her missing some of the races at Royal Ascot next week.

Additional delay may be caused by the fact the speech read by the sovereign is written on goatskin parchment paper, a long-lasting archival paper which contains no actual goatskin, but requires several days for the ink to dry.

A Labour spokesman said that uncertainty over the date of the State Opening showed the Government was "in chaos", while Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said it was "an utter humiliation" for the PM.

"It is time to stop trying to cling to power and time to admit enough is enough," said Mr Farron, who branded the possible Tory/DUP deal as a "MayDUP government".

"Theresa May can squat in Number 10 as long as she wants but the message is stark - she has no power, no influence and her game is up," said Mr Farron.

DUP leader Arlene Foster rejected suggestions that the mooted deal could undermine a return to power-sharing arrangements at Stormont, amid claims from political rivals that the Governments stated impartiality would be fatally undermined.

Mrs Foster declined to give details of what she termed a "positive engagement with the Conservative Party", but said she would be travelling to London late on Monday for discussions with her team of 10 DUP MPs ahead of a meeting with Mrs May on Tuesday.

Sinn Feins Gerry Adams turned Mrs Mays own slogan against her to brand it "a coalition of chaos", adding: "Any deal which undercuts in any way the process here or the Good Friday Agreement is one which has to be opposed."
Detectives in the UK have issued an e-fit of an attacker who attempted to rape a 14-year-old girl.

Police said the man, wanted in connection with an offence committed in the Standens Barn area of Northampton, is thought to be aged in his early 40s.
The United States has refused to sign a G7 pledge that calls the Paris climate accord the "irreversible" global tool to address climate change.

The G7 environment ministers issued a final communique today after their two-day meeting, the first since the United States announced it was withdrawing from the Paris climate pact.

In a footnote to the communique, the United States said it would not join with the other six countries in reaffirming their Paris commitments, but said it was taking action on its own to reduce its carbon footprint.

"The United States will continue to engage with key international partners in a manner that is consistent with our domestic priorities, preserving both a strong economy and a healthy environment," the footnote read.

As a result, the US said it would not join those sections of the communique on climate and multilateral development banks.

The head of the US Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, had attended the first few hours of the summit on Sunday, but left to attend a cabinet meeting in Washington.

Presenting the communique, Italy's environment minister, Gian Luca Galletti, called the Paris accord "irreversible, non-negotiable and the only instrument possible to combat climate change". He said the other G7 countries hoped to continue "constructive dialogue" with the US, but insisted on the Paris parameters.

"Everything else for us is excluded," he said.

The 2015 Paris agreement aims to prevent the Earth from heating up by 2C since the start of the industrial age. Since the world has already warmed about 1.1C since the Industrial Revolution, the accord aimed at making sure the threshold was not breached with each nation curbing heat-trapping emissions.

All but a very small number of scientists say the overwhelming majority of warming is a result of human activity, as do dozens of scientific academies and professional societies.

Scientists have known since the 19th century that burning coal, oil and gas spews carbon dioxide into the air, which then acts like a blanket to trap heat on Earth.

President Donald Trump announced the US was withdrawing from the Paris accord earlier this month, framing it as a "reassertion of America's sovereignty".

He has said the US could try to re-enter the deal under more favourable terms, but Italy, France and Germany have said the Paris accord cannot be re-negotiated.

-AP
Fisherman resorting to cyanide poison and dynamite blast fishing pose a huge threat to the survival of global coral ecosystems.

The destructive practices are becoming more common as fish stocks decline and fisherman become more desperate to catch ornamental species sold within the aquarium trade.

Australian volunteer Siobhan Heatwole and colleagues at the Mars Symbioscience Mariculture Facility in Takalar, Sulawesi. Credit:Darren James

But the haphazard methods not wipe out fish in a bid to stun and capture others, but turn coral habitats into rubble.

For the past 12 months Canberra marine researcher Siobhan Heatwole has been involved in a frontline reef recovery project in Makassar, a port city on the eastern Indonesia Island of Sulawesi.
A Bosnian immigrant with a lengthy criminal history and strong ties to Canberra is set to be deported from Christmas Island after his visa was cancelled in a government crackdown.

Armin Redzic emigrated to Australia in 2001 as a teenager, gaining a visa on humanitarian grounds after escaping the bloody civil war that devastated his homeland.

It is understood that Redzic is currently being held at the Christmas Island detention centre. Credit:Paula Bronstein

Less than three years later he committed the first in a long line of criminal offences, going on to compile a rap sheet blotted by multiple stints in prison and convictions for drugs offences, assault and burglary.

In 2015 the Department of Immigration and Border Protection cancelled his visa after he was sentenced to 18 months in jail.
Energy experts have warned reliability requirements put forward in the Finkel Review will slow-down building of new renewables generation.

And after reading the document set to break the stalemate on national energy policy, the ACT government wants more detail about how reliability obligations might impact projects in the pipeline for Canberra.

To ensure renewable energy players can guarantee dispatchable generation around the clock, the recommendation would require new generators to create back-up power alliances with battery storage, open-cycle gas turbine or other providers able to deliver power at the request of the grid operator.

ANU Energy Change Institute's Dr Hugh Saddler said the reliability obligations were "messy" and would likely lead to protracted negotiations between companies that would otherwise be competing in the wholesale energy market.
Competition issues are expected to at best slow  if not derail  Glencore's last-minute bid to buy the NSW coal assets of Rio Tinto, with industry officials pointing to the Swiss-based trader's testy relationship with parts of the Chinese government to warn that progress may not be easy.

At the weekend, Glencore lodged a $US3.5 billion ($4.65 billion) cash offer to acquire Rio Tinto's Hunter Valley mines. Rio would receive $US2.55 billion and Japanese trader Mitsubishi Corp $US920 million for its stake in the mines.

Glencore's $US3.5 billion bid for Rio's coal mines faces hurdles. Credit:Brendan Esposito

In the process, Glencore would emerge as the dominant coal exporter through Newcastle, as well as winning control of one of the largest coal loaders in the world, the Port Waratah Coal Services.

It already holds an estimated 14 per cent shareholding which would rise to 50 per cent once Rio's 36 per cent stake is included.
British business confidence has fallen sharply since last Thursday's inconclusive election that left Prime Minister Theresa May weakened ahead of Brexit talks, according to a survey by the Institute of Directors published on Monday.

The survey of nearly 700 members of the business group also exposed deep concern over the political uncertainty and its impact on Britain's economy.

The UK election left Prime Minister Theresa May weakened. Credit:PA

Mrs May failed to win a parliamentary majority in the election. Her hopes of forming a government now lie with winning support from Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party, which won 10 seats in the election.

The IoD found a negative swing of 34 points in confidence in the economy from its last survey in May.
Because of Canberra's high profile role as the home of the national government it is often easy for those living outside of the borders of the ACT to lose sight of the fact it is also Australia's largest inland city and home to one of the most diverse and talented regional communities in the country.

Our city, which is becoming more cosmopolitan and self-aware by the day, has long been known for its shared values, sense of purpose and a spirit of neighbourhood that extends to a widespread veto on front fences.

Its compassion for those seeking refuge from conflicts abroad, for the homeless, for the victims of bushfires and domestic violence and for mistreated animals has been well documented by this newspaper for many decades.

Equally well known are commendable commitments to democracy, the causes of justice and fair play and science and the arts that have been pursued, and driven, by some of the most accomplished Australians of the post-Federation era.
We accepted it, and kept the car, no thanks to our insurer. Peter D. Hughes, Curtin Cannabis gateway Dr Michelle Taylor of the University of Bristol has had her study of 5000 UK teenagers aged 13 to 18 years published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. It shows that teenagers who regularly smoke cannabis are 26 times more likely to move on to harder drugs by the age of 21. The odds of regular cannabis users smoking cigarettes was found to be 37 times higher than non-users while their risk of drinking dangerous amounts of alcohol was three times worse.

Australian Medical Association NSW president Dr Brad Frankum has said that cannabis is the most commonly abused illegal drug in Australia. He has been quoted as saying: "A lot of people think cannabis is pretty harmless but we've known for some time of the links between cannabis and mental health and also its risks to lung health. This study proved what we suspected  that is also a risk factor for other drugs. It is rare to see a user of harder drugs like amphetamines or heroin who hasn't used cannabis." The cannabis gateway to cigarettes of 37 times is shocking in view of the 60 year fight to stop cigarette smoking. This alone is total justification for all governments and the judiciary to put aside any doubts about much higher penalties for possession, use and trafficking; and to greatly increase hard-hitting prevention messages. Colliss Parrett, Drug Advisory Council Australia, Barton

Verdict on Corbyn I am so looking forward to Bill Shorten and the rest of the neoliberal parliamentary Labor Party telling us what they really think about British Labour's strong result under the leadership of socialist Jeremy Corbyn. John Passant, Kambah Concern is genuine Mr Barker (Letters, June 9) can take heart that the MBA ACT has never, and will never, 'jump up and down' when anyone raises legitimate safety concerns.

Indeed we applaud such action and insist that everyone in our industry be empowered and accountable for safety. I think we can all agree that safety issues should be raised and addressed immediately lest someone come to harm while we wait for the media and the union to come along. What gets us hopping is when safety is used as a weapon for industrial and commercial gain. The casual abuse of safety for these purposes by the militant construction union is well documented. We will continue to 'jump up and down' when construction teams are put at risk by any action or lack of action on safety  whether that be union thuggery or management indifference. Both are equally appalling.

Kirk Coningham, Executive Director Master Builders ACT The true terror Not long ago a lot of your letter writers were criticising Tony Abbott for his government's raids on terror suspects, claiming they were more worried about his Christianity than Islamic terrorists. I don't see any Christians running around killing people in the name of Jesus, yet all the recent terrorist murders have been radical Islamists. A panellist on the ABC's Q&A recently said you were more likely to die from a falling fridge than a terrorist attack. Three Australians have died in Islamic terror related attacks since then. I don't think anyone has been killed by the Kelvinator.

The PC brigade that come out after every terrorist attack and are more worried about 'revenge' attacks on Muslims, cue # ride with me, during, not after, the Lindt siege when the hostages were still bailed up in the building not knowing their fate. In fact with all the Islamic terrorist attacks in France, England and Australia recently no Muslim has been harmed or killed in revenge for what have been barbaric murders. Imagine if a Christian had gone on a rampage in a Muslim country. You think any Christian would be safe walking the street? Yet in the west we seem to be more worried about non-existent revenge attacks than the victims. Waleed Aly refuses to link terrorism with Islam although he is quite happy to criticise a white, Anglo woman for having an opinion on same-sex marriage.

Seems like there is more Christianaphobia than Islamaphobia. Ian Pilsner, Weston Management have not considered impacts on disabled community I wish to draw attention to the considerable inconvenience to disabled shoppers occasioned by this government's introduction of a $1 or $2 token levy on shopping trolleys throughout the ACT. The average disabled shopper was able, until the introduction of the new trolley system, to access a trolley within reasonably close proximity of the disabled parking bays in major and minor shopping centres.

This allowed us to do our shopping without the use of a walker, or for short distance shopping, a walking stick. I can only comment from personal experience, but when I attempted to raise the issue with centre management in the Hyperdome in Tuggeranong I was advised that yes, perhaps they had failed to consider the plight of disabled shoppers and that they would investigate further. That was on February 23. Nothing has changed and the major retailers (Woolworths, Coles, Big W, Kmart etc) have been allocated specific areas in the car parks, where they are required to store their shopping trolleys. These areas are not readily accessible to a disabled shopper when he or she parks and can involve quite a long walk (which is sometimes an impossible ask) and heightens the risk of the shopper falling. In all probability, shopping centre managements have not even considered the effect of their policies on the disabled and it is abundantly clear that whatever element of our so-called government is responsible for this state of affairs is equally, if not totally, to blame. Robin A.G.Herron, Bonython Institutions are over

I was horrified to see $14 million being spent from the ACT Budget on seven new places for the secure mental health unit. That's after an initial set up cost of $43 million. I'm sure many of the ACT community would be astounded to know that people with no criminal record and no history of violence are being incarcerated in this "lock up", because there is nowhere else for them to go. While it may be a better option for those with a serious mental health issue who have been at AMC, it is not an appropriate or therapeutic environment for those with no conviction. We moved on from institutions years ago, so why are we now going backwards and recriminalising mental health? The facility has 153 security cameras, is surrounded by huge fences, is isolated from the Canberra Community at Symonston, prohibits mobile phones, requires family members to make appointments to see loved ones and go through a security body scan and be fingerprinted just to get in. Think what could have been done with this money. It could have extended the good care at Brian Hennessy House, funded successful models like Home in Canberra and looked to the future by establishing a Recovery College in the ACT. Rosslyn Williams, Holder

Rethink planning Early Canberra planning seemed designed to protect the river system by keeping urban development well away from the Molonglo valley west of Scrivener Dam. Rampant population growth has now prompted the development of Wright and Coombes in this previously restricted area, with Denman Prospect to follow  right on top of the Molonglo River. An ACT buffer zone and NSW land zoned for Environmental Management kept Belconnen away from the Murrumbidgee but that, too, is no longer sacred with urban development proposed to overlook the Murrumbidgee and Ginninderra gorges. The Tuggeranong community is resisting pressure to build houses along the Murrumbidgee in that area. Water-sensitive urban design is supposed to protect water quality but such infrastructure requires continual maintenance and the ACT Government is renowned for its unwillingness to provide adequate funding for maintenance of infrastructure in Canberra.

It much prefers to throw money at prominent projects such as City to the Lake, which will promote urban development on the lake foreshore of West Basin. One wonders how long it will be before the ACT's extensive water catchment lands are compromised, with little bits being nibbled away under the justification of the need to provide accommodation for the hordes descending upon our fair city. Robyn Coghlan, Hawker The Paris end I would have thought that the courtyard on Anketell Street adjacent the Tuggeranong Hyperdome is a perfect place to have cafes.

Surely that is a better location then Anketell Street itself, where currently if you are eating or drinking outside in one of the current cafe's located on Anketell Street you are just metres away from the road where you have cars, buses and motorbikes constantly driving past. I could never for the life of me understand why McDonalds, KFC and even Lake Tuggeranong College had to be given the prime real estate next to the lake. Surely that would have been the location to have restaurants, cafes, and bars to try and give Tuggeranong some vibrancy. Look at what is happening at the Kingston foreshore as an example. This would be good for Tuggeranong in that it would develop businesses and encourage Tuggeranong residents and maybe even residents of Woden and Weston Creek to spend their money in Tuggeranong. This would also create jobs in Tuggeranong for Tuggeranong kids and residents. Canberra was designed to have the town centres as the focus for those areas with shops, jobs and recreational activities. It also makes more sense than having everyone travelling into the city for work or a night out and the associated traffic congestion this causes.

The Tuggeranong Hyperdome should never have located where it is and is contributing to why businesses located there struggle. It should have been located in the centre of Tuggeranong. Darren Randall, Chisholm This is too much We have now been told the cost of filling in the lake at West Basin. $38 million. Not only are we paying for this but we are facing huge increases in rates and energy bills. And the ACT Government says it listens to community concerns. I hardly think so.

Penny Moyes, Hughes TO THE POINT NAME DROPPING Trump said he is for "Pennsylvania but not Paris" recently but what about Paris Texas, Maine, New York, Ohio, Arkansas, Dakota Territory, Idaho, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin and Georgia? Adrian Jackson, Melbourne, Vic

How long will it take for the Republicans to admit that the Emperor has no clothes? Ella Lott, Latham PLASTIC NOT FANTASTIC Not all plastic bags end up in landfill (Jevon Kinder, Letters June 9). A lot make it to drains, streams and rivers. And "All rivers flow into the sea, ... " (Ecclesiastes 1:7).

Kenneth Griffiths, O'Connor VOTERS BITE BACK Another brilliant politician takes the voters for mugs. You reap what you sow THERESAEXIT. Linus Cole, Palmerston If Boris Johnson replaces Theresa May as a result of the British election result then the cure is definitely worse than the disease.

M. Moore, Bonython A TREASURE LOST Goodbye, Teatro Vivaldi. A Canberra treasure swept away by "progress". We'll miss you! Brian and Gwyneth Beasley, Hawker FORCE FAILURE

I can accept much of what Peter O'Dea says about police in general (Letters, June 9). Yet the Melbourne Airport incident was not the Victorian force's finest 90 minutes. Jack Monaghan, Lyneham PEN BEST FOR FIGHTING As a Muslim, I strongly condemn the disgusting attack on Andrew Bolt. Although Bolt is a staunch critic of Islam, he should be challenged by the pen, not by physical force. Khizar Ranam, Walkerville, SA

HUMOUR LACKING There is one trait gods of all religions have in common: a lack of self-deprecating humour. There is something very wrong with them. Therefore, they cannot be gods. Luca Biason, Latham MUGS A MENACE Isn't it about time the ACT government imposed a levy on disposable coffee mugs? I am appalled by the waste of resources. There are many types of reusable coffee mugs with lids on the market.

Felicity Chivas, Scullin OPEN THE FLOODGATES Mr Barr, open the gates on Scrivener dam. Gain 100s of hectares of land. Sell to developers for billions to complete light rail and balance budgets. Ken Wood, Holt Email: letters.editor@canberratimes.com.au. Send from the message eld, not as an attached le. Fax: 6280 2282. Mail: Letters to the Editor, The Canberra Times, PO Box 7155, Canberra Mail Centre, ACT 2610.
My life in millilitres. Unignorable alarm at 6am. Bed about around 11pm. And, in between, 1000 obligations, day after day.

I'm not just talking about employment, which in the case of nearly every Australian worker stretches far beyond the hours for which we are paid. And I'm not just talking about volunteering, which is meant to be discretionary but doesn't ever feel like that to me.

The washing and cooking. The paying of bills, the delaying of bills, the querying of bills. The visits to those dear and near. Those are the physical tasks that must be done for our lives to continue untroubled.

The emotional tasks take no less time unless, by a miracle, everyone is content at the same time. In 32 years of parenting, I can't think that has ever happened to me. As some wise parent once said: "You are only as happy as your unhappiest child." The phone calls to those close, those near and those far.
A decade ago, almost to the day, John Howard's taskforce into climate change accepted that human-induced global warming was real. The Shergold panel recommended that Australia be pro-active in cutting greenhouse gases.

"Australia has a chance now to design a domestic emissions trading system that is sensitive to our particular economic interests," the panel told the Coalition government in which Malcolm Turnbull held the environment portfolio and Tony Abbott health. "Other forms of government intervention would impose a far heavier burden on economic activity ... Timely and decisive action is warranted."

Coal will survive longer. Credit:Rob Homer

If only that warning had been heeded.

Mr Howard took to the 2007 election an emissions trading scheme not unlike the Clean Energy Target the Finkel report now proposes. But Mr Howard lost to Labor's Kevin Rudd, who was proposing a similar policy.
The government's intention to keep secret the submissions about Australian values is a great opportunity for those who are proud of their beliefs and values to publish them. Perhaps a newspaper could provide a web link for these people who have taken the trouble to think through our values. Several significant organisations have posted their submissions on their own websites. Please provide a way for others to do so. And it would also give us an opportunity to compare them to the final government policy. Jan Allerton Huntleys Cove The Australia Day citizenship ceremony at Rond Terrace. Credit:Rohan Thomson What Australian values require that public submissions to the citizenship review remain secret? While the department of Immigration draws a cloak of secrecy over the varied opinions it receives from public organisations and citizens, it simultaneously touts itself as a gatekeeper not only to the country but our 'values'. This act exposes a dangerous but growing trend in Australian governance. Commercial in confidence for government taxpayer paid projects with the slightest involvement of private business, politically convenient confusion and obscurity over the conduct of parliamentarians and parties receiving donations and now the debate about citizenship deemed a state secret. This only advantages the bureaucratic system of government and those within government that recognise their own interests in maintaining secrecy to push through draconian agendas that appear to have no opposition. Christopher Hill Kensington

It is reassuring to the electorate that the redoubtable Tony Fitzgerald, who lifted the lid on malpractice in the Bjelke-Petersen government in Queensland, is turning his penetrating, investigative gaze onto questionable attitudes and practices of federal politicians ("Corruption fighter keen to clean up Canberra", June 12). However, the planned voluntary nature of giving answers to his probing questions, means that any canny, secretive politician could easily give innocuous answers that simply evade the issue. Fitzgerald's survey is only a start, for there needs to be a process that is more investigative, rather than relying on the politician's version of the issues. Phyllis Vespucci Reservoir Irvine shines light on folly of pollies' power play Jessica Irvine's piece on power generation and distribution reads like an essay on the follies of privatisation of public utilities ("The truth behind Finkel's power play". SMH June 12). It is a classic case of what happens when you substitute the profit motive for one of service, the destruction of TAFE being another example. How much longer are we going to swallow the fairy story that the sale of public utilities will improve efficiency and lower costs? Barry Spooner Minnamurra

Jessica Irvine has provided an excellent summary of the ills of our power systems, but it is Jerard Barry's letter on the same day that hits the nail on the head. Cash-strapped state governments have found it all too easy to flog off bits of the power networks to greedy private interests to help their bottom line. To then have power availability placed in the hands of other privately owned regulators who place profits above service in times of emergency just makes matters worse. So, what to do? The answer's simple: take back public ownership of all power services. Do a Corbyn: nationalise the lot. Set up a single independent public facility to run everything from planning, letting contracts for building more power infrastructure and operating the whole show as a single national network without interference from private and political interests. Unfortunately we have a do-nothing federal government which is ridden by internal divisions and beholden to private interests, particularly the coal lobby. Chris Danckwerts Turramurra The lights came on after reading Jessica Irvine's article. Her succinct and lucid account of the three components of household bills and their interconnections should be compulsory reading across the land. It should be rolled up and waved in front of any dithering politicians to reinforce the need for united action now. Deb McPherson Gerringong

NAPLAN not final arbiter of ability NAPLAN is simply a snapshot in time ("NAPLAN tests shape career path"' June 12). It is not an intensive assessment of a child's ability across all key learning areas. Children who do well in NAPLAN are achieving at a high standard in the classroom as they are academically capable. The rigour of the classroom work and the ongoing teacher assessment will encourage a child much more than a basic, simplistic test such as NAPLAN, which is a tool for teachers. It can be useful in identifying the needs of the school more than the ability of the individual. NAPLAN must be used correctly if it is to be useful to the profession, schools and students. Too much is already being read into it. What has much more impact is the way parents put pressure on children for test results, gender issues and achievement. Gender discrimination is rife in some quarters of society and girls are still being thought of by some as less capable and should not be doing certain subjects. The impact of peer comments can be greater than a test result. Every student who achieves must have the ability, the desire to succeed and most importantly the encouragement of their parents. Keep the usefulness of NAPLAN in perspective.

Augusta Monro Dural Merger mayhem The Hunters Hill and Lane Cove councils' decisions to hold a referendum on merger proposals ("Two councils to host merger polls", June 12) might be useful, but to whom? You'd have to query whether any notice will be taken of the results unless they favour Local Government Minister Upton's merger proposal. The minister has taken no notice of the steadfast and repeatedly expressed opposition of residents of Woollahra council area to the proposed forced merger with Waverley and Randwick. Her snubbing of Woollahra residents' views on this subject is odd, given that she has a fair track record of consideration about other matters in her capacity as their local MP for Vaucluse. We just wonder  and applaud our councillors for their efforts to uphold the views of their residents. Hylda Rolfe Watsons Bay All squashed in

The government will not release peak hour Opal data for the inner-west light rail  it's easy to understand why (Sydney commuters bear brunt of overcrowded trams on inner west light rail, June 12). A count at John St Pyrmont one morning last August, revealed an average load of 140 per tram over 80 minutes. In Melbourne, similar-sized trams average no more than 120 passengers in peak hour  a comfortable maximum. The NSW allowed capacity of 210 per tram is far worse than Lex Wills' experience of "... there is no breathing room. It is an absolute nightmare". Something for eastern suburbs residents to look forward to. Peter Egan Artarmon An overcrowded East Preston tram, 1944. Credit:Tanya Ingrisciano The state government is ever keen to promote building development close to public transport, but not so flash in making sure affected services have the capacity to cope with subsequent increased demand. Most of the inner west light rail's current problems could and should be resolved by an injection of extra rolling stock, but its overcrowded standing loads are an ominous precursor of forthcoming conditions on the CBD light rail and Sydney Metro. Meanwhile, elsewhere in Sydney, adjustment of transport capacity to demand rates a "could do better", with double-decker buses not available to take the crowds home from Vivid, who are squashed into buses with half the capacity, but alive and well to run pretty well empty at 4.30am on the holiday Monday from Rouse Hill to the City. Doug Walker Baulkham Hills

Fair wage essential Michael Saltsman is worried those goddam socialists are arguing for higher minimum wages (Letters, June 12). The logical conclusion to his argument is that a lower minimum wage will increase employment. Yes, at a dollar an hour I will employ somebody to clean up the mess in my back yard, but how will my employee afford to live. I know of people in the US that work for nothing but tips. This may be acceptable in his home country in the US, where disgraceful numbers of people sleep in the streets, but not here. Johnny Gaco Cowan Festival of the annoying It is time the Sydney Film Festival changed the criteria for its official competition ('Welcome to the Festival of Mendo', June 12). Judging by this year's entries, "courageous, audacious and cutting edge" seem to have been interpreted as codewords for "baffling, unengaging and downright annoying".

Might I suggest a new set of rules which encourage qualities such as narrative, characterisation and emotional engagement. Festival audiences would then be spared the kind of films that give art-house cinema a bad name. Garth Clarke North Sydney Helping the starving An article bemoans the fact that there has been no major fundraising for the millions of starving people in, inter alia, East Africa ("Famine stalks millions as aid efforts fall short", June 12). However we need to look at fundamental issues rather than Band-Aids. The worldwide Live Aid concert was organised by Bob Geldof in 1985 for starving Ethiopians. At that time the population of Ethiopia was 41 million. Now it is 99 million. If its population had been stabilised in 1985 there probably would not be a food problem now. David Griffiths Manly

'Our Nicole' misses honours list mention Heck, the Queen's Birthday Honours winners appear to come from a very progressive corner of possible worthies ("Blanchett heads progressive cast", June 12). Why not, indeed, reward overseas-living actors, climate change foot soldiers, same-sex marriage crusaders, etc., rather than boring old captains of industry, monarchists, or inventor of phones detachable from the human hand? I do take issue, however, with Cate Blanchett as "the nation's leading actress." There's an argument "our Nicole" deserves that accolade. Rosemary O'Brien Georges Hall So Alan Joyce, who in 2011 deliberately stranded more than 60,000 passengers worldwide by grounding the entire Qantas fleet because of his beef with some labour unions, receives Australia's top gong for his "eminent service to the aviation transport industry". Another lemon meringue would be a more fitting award. Steve Cornelius Brookvale

I know several people who campaign very strongly for what they believe. They believe that the term "marriage" should apply to the relationship between a man and a woman. I wonder why I did not see their names among the Queens Birthday Honours list. Michael Walsh Ashfield The respective awards for climate change and gender equity, inclusion and diversity (LGBT rights), appear to be nothing more than lip service to the issues, and political cynicism at its finest. Much easier for the government to give an award, than to actually do something to find lasting solutions. Barrington Salter Neutral Bay Vale Adam West
One of the most striking features was not that May's Conservatives did so badly  they polled much as expected  but that the Labour opposition did so well. Labour enjoyed a big and unexpected surge. The scruffy socialist Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, much mocked and dismissed by the political experts, proved to be a real force.

While Theresa May hangs on in a minority government and tries to muddle through amid much recrimination, the question arises of whether the experience holds any lessons for Australia. Six suggest themselves.

Conservative British Prime Minister Theresa May's decision to call a snap early election was a shocker. It was Britain's worst electoral blunder since the year the first word processor was introduced, Cyclone Tracy hit Darwin and the world population hit 4 billion. That is, the worst since 1974, 43 years and three billion people ago, when the then Conservative prime minister Ted Heath called a snap election that ended in a hung parliament. "We didn't shoot ourselves in the foot," declared Conservative MP Nigel Evans, "we shot ourselves in the head."

Illustration: Dionne Gain

Labour's share of the vote soared from about 30 per cent to about 40. No one is laughing at Jeremy Corbyn any more. The question is, why was Corbyn so successful?

First, he preached an old-time religion of redistributive left-wing politics. And this galvanised the people who, under the conventional wisdom, were impossible to galvanise. Younger voters. In the words of The New Yorker magazine's Anthony Lane, the Labour leader came as "a prophet, whose name was Jeremy". He didn't look like the smooth politicians from Tory or New Labour central casting: "His beard was as the pelt of beasts, and his raiments were not of the finest. And he cried aloud in the wilderness and said, 'Behold, I bring you hope.' And suddenly there was with him a host of young people."

Corbyn promised to abolish university tuition fees and offered more generous health care, among other new spending initiatives. "And," Lane continues, "The young people said unto him, 'How shall these things be rendered, seeing that thou hast no money in thy purse?' And he spake unto them in a voice of sounding brass and said, 'Soak the rich.' And again, 'Pull down the mighty from their seats.' And the young people went absolutely nuts."

The Brexit referendum last year jolted Britain's younger voters into political consciousness. And Corbyn mobilised them for last week's general election. Among 18 to 24 year olds, voter turnout was 66 per cent. That's a surge of an extraordinary 23 percentage points since the last general election, just two years ago. And this new generation voted overwhelmingly in favour of Labour over Tory, by a factor of two-to-one. Robin Archer breaks down Corbyn's appeal into several elements. First was the raw popular appeal of more spending on popular initiatives. Archer notes: "There was surprisingly little criticism of Labour's tax increases and anti-austerity position."
It would be a "tragedy" for Australia if the Senate voted down the Turnbull government's new school funding model, according to Gonski Review member and leading education policymaker Ken Boston.

Dr Boston, a former head of the NSW and South Australian Education Departments, broke his silence on the school funding debate to say the country was on the "threshold of a new deal of historic national importance" and should not allow the opportunity to pass.

The Turnbull government will bring its school funding bill to a Senate vote in the next fortnight and is scrambling to secure the votes required.

"Five years after the release and subsequent emasculation of the Gonski Report, Australia has a rare second chance," Dr Boston told Fairfax Media.
I'm going to call it a day. What happened?

Coalition MPs are meeting to discuss energy policy following the release of the Finkel review ;

are meeting to discuss following the release of the ; at this stage it is unknown how fractious the meeting will be but there is a sense of unease in the air;

in the air; after offering bipartisan support for energy policy last week the opposition walked away from that in question time ;

for last week the walked away from that in ; Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called on immigrants to be "Australian patriots" ; and

called on immigrants to be ; and challenged the opposition to support citizenship changes which have still not been released.

My thanks to Andrew Meares for his assistance today and to you for reading and commenting.

You can follow me on Facebook.

Andrew and I will be back in the morning. Until then, go well.
Australia's spy agency could compel people as young as 14 to answer questions about security threats under expanded powers it wants from the government.

ASIO has pushed to broaden compulsory questioning introduced after the September 11 and Bali bombing attacks, telling a review of the anti-terrorism measure it should also target espionage, 'communal violence' and foreign interference.

ASIO wants the government to expand its powers to detain people for questioning without charge. Credit:Tamara Voninski

The powers let the agency hold people for up to seven days and compel them to answer questions if it may "substantially assist the collection of intelligence that is important in relation to a terrorism offence", even if they are not terror suspects.

ASIO said the measures, subject to a sunset clause and due to expire in September next year, should be retained, made to apply to any matter of 'security', and become easier to obtain so that spies can respond faster to threats.
Successive NSW ministers kept secret for a year findings of a statutory review of a penalty regime for badly behaving clubs and pubs while pushing through changes softening the scheme more than recommended.

Documents show that then racing minister Troy Grant received the statutory review of the Three Strikes scheme in June last year.

Instead of tabling the review in parliament, as required, Mr Grant chose to seek the advice of former High Court judge Ian Callinan, who was reviewing the government's lockout laws. Mr Callinan handed his review to Mr Grant the following August.

But Mr Grant and his successor, Paul Toole, chose to keep secret the advice and the statutory review recommendations  due for tabling by January 1  until after Parliament, with Labor support, passed changes to the scheme in late May.
A man allegedly evaded a random breath test before crashing his car into a fence in Sydney's west early on Monday.

Police said the 52-year-old driver of a Nissan utility was pulled over for the random breath test on the Great Western Highway near Wentworthville about 4.40am.

Police will allege the driver stopped before driving away.

A police pursuit began but was called off almost immediately due to low visibility caused by heavy fog and the man's allegedly erratic driving.
A NSW Greens MP says he will demand a police investigation into a Sydney councillor who denies he is a property developer, even though he has applied to develop 150 properties, after an Electoral Commission investigator said its powers were limited.

Fairfax Media reported last March on Fairfield Liberal councillor Peter Grippaudo (also known as Fowler), who said on an Electoral Commission nomination form that he was not a property developer.

Fairfield Liberal councillor Peter Grippaudo denies he's a property developer.

That was despite his links to companies, such as Fowler Homes, that had lodged applications to develop nearly 100 properties, including Grippaudo Glade, a private Minchinbury street with five homes.

Claiming not to be a developer could be a way to sidestep a suite of measures that the state government has passed to "restore community confidence" in councils, including forcing developer-councillors to disclose income from development.
A man with criminal convictions for passing himself off as a psychiatrist has been accused of falsifying documents and making false allegations during his years of "wasteful and destructive" litigation against a building company.

Vito Zepinic, once the security chief for convicted Bosnian war criminal Radovan Karadzic, "has become a 'vexatious' litigant in every sense of the word," said NSW Supreme Court Justice Michael Pembroke in a recent judgment.

Vito Zepinic outside his Turramurra home in 2008. Credit:Kate Geraghty

"His obsessive behaviour is wasteful and destructive  It must be stopped," said the judge.

In 2004 Zepinic and his wife Milla acquired a home in Turramurra Avenue, Turramurra, for $935,000. By the end of 2006 their $1.1 million makeover on their five-bedroom, four-bathroom mansion was almost complete. When Zepinic refused to pay the builders Chateau Constructions the last $223,000, the builders sued.
According to the Electrical Trade Union the workers have been locked out of the Stafford Depot after taking industrial action. Credit:ETU More than 20 Brisbane City Council staff will not be paid for the third straight week as their industrial action continues. Twenty-five electricians were locked out of the council's Stafford depot on May 28 following industrial action by workers who wanted their claims heard during enterprise bargaining negotiations. With the electricians locked out, it has been suggested the public could be put at risk, as the staff responsible for responding to problems with Brisbane's traffic signals were not working. The negotiations have been underway since October and the dispute follows potential for a new roster that would have staff permanently on call.

Electrical Trades Union organiser Brenton Muller said the staff were now entering their third week locked out of the workplace, without pay, but will continue to fight against the rostering change. "Council wants to introduce what they call flexible rostering," Mr Muller said. "Flexible for them, but not so flexible for the people that work there. "This is going to apply to about 5000 employees at Brisbane City Council and with 28 days notice they let you know when you're required to work, they consider your personal circumstances, and if they don't have enough takers they'll just direct you anyway." Mr Muller said there were no problems with the electricians' current rostering.

"We even had meetings with their management and their management has said 'don't worry about it, we're not going to use it on you guys'," Mr Muller said. "But if it's in the agreement, it's in the agreement. Once it's in it gives them the ability to use it." The original notice for industrial action expired on Sunday, but the staff made an application to extend it, which was approved. With just four staff working instead of the usual 21 there were concerns not only for the safety of the city but also the wellbeing of the staff. Mr Muller said tradespeople and apprentices were doing it tough financially.

"We've got apprentices who've got families. If a tradesman takes home $931 a week, you can imagine what an apprentice is earning and he's got to to try and support a family with that," he said. "There is a guy who lives down the road from me and he's an apprentice with a family and a wife with no income." A council spokesman said the council was aware of the industrial action, but claims staff had been locked out were untrue. "Staff were advised that if they wish to participate in industrial action, they would not be rostered on for the duration of the action," the spokesman said. "This was so council could make arrangements to ensure faults with the traffic network were rectified, that there was no impact to public safety and ratepayers were not paying for work that wasn't being done.

"Staff are free to return to work at any time but they have to undertake all of their duties." Opposition councillor Shayne Sutton said she encouraged the LNP administration to let the staff back to work under the provisions sanctioned in their protected work order. "They shouldn't be locked out of doing their jobs just because they're negotiating workplace condition," she said. Mr Muller said the staff have been outside the depot everyday in their uniforms and ready to work. "They are there to work, they look after this city. They look after and maintain traffic network," he said.
A Queensland man's skull cracked like a watermelon on the concrete after he was punched in the face by an alleged drug associate, a trial has heard.

Stephen Barry Chapman has pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of Sean Patrick Woods but admits to throwing the blow that led to his death in July 2014.

Stephen Barry Chapman appeared in the Brisbane Supreme Court on Monday. Credit:Robert Shakespeare

The Brisbane Supreme Court heard on Monday that Mr Woods had drunk a bottle of vodka the day he went to Chapman's Margate unit complex threatening to kill him.

"You're a dog, give me your money, you mutt," Mr Woods allegedly called out.
A Logan man has been charged with the murder of his de facto partner's son, two years after the boy was found with "horrific injuries".

The 28-year-old Woodridge man was arrested on Tuesday morning at his home and hauled into the Logan Central Police Station.

A Woodridge man has been arrested over the 2015 death of a two-year-old boy found unconscious in a Logan home. Credit:Jorge Branco

After questioning, he was taken to the Beenleigh watchhouse where police charged him with murder and drug offences.

The man, originally said to be 29 years old, is expected to appear in the Beenleigh Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
The Drug Court will officially be reincarnated in the Queensland budget, set to be announced on Tuesday.

Fairfax Media can reveal there will be new funding of $22.7 million over four years to reinstate the Drug Court in Brisbane, and also for court referral and support services.

The drug, Murri and special circumstances courts were scrapped by the former LNP government in 2012, saving $35.7 million over four years.

Then-attorney-general Jarrod Bleijie said at the time the decisions were not easy but necessary to return to Queensland to a stronger fiscal position.
Investigators from the arson and explosives squad investigators are at the scene of a ferocious house fire in Melbourne's north which left a man dead.

Neighbours frantically bashed on the front door as they called triple-zero after the fire took hold in the Bundoora home early on Monday morning.

Fire crews were called to the blaze in Gordon Street about 7.30am.

They found the single-storey home engulfed in flames.
That's it for Melbourne Express.

Thanks to Express readers, Robert Turnbull for his great pictures and to Jennifer Maly for her constant vigilance.

Check in tomorrow for all the news, transport and weather updates. See you then.
Washington: A second federal appeals court has ruled against President Donald Trump's revised travel ban.

The decision on Monday, from the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, in San Francisco, was the latest in a string of court rulings rejecting the administration's efforts to limit travel from several predominantly Muslim countries.

The administration has already sought a Supreme Court review of a similar decision issued last month by the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals, in Richmond, Virginia.

The two courts employed different reasoning to arrive at the same basic conclusion. The 4th Circuit said the revised executive order violated the First Amendment's prohibition of government establishment of religion.
Other key roles were also filled by anti-immigrant firebrands, pushing aside the more moderate populists that controlled the party, one of the three that make up Finland's ruling coalition. The development sent shock waves through the alliance, with Prime Minister Juha Sipila calling a meeting for Monday to discuss the Cabinet's future.

The election of hard-liner Jussi Halla-aho as the new chairman on Saturday was only the tip of the iceberg as a coup within The Finns party wiped out the 20-year legacy of Foreign Minister Timo Soini.

Jussi Halla-aho Credit:Wikipedia

Halla-aho, in a speech Sunday, opened up the party for closer cooperation with other European nationalists movements such as France's National Front and the Sweden Democrats. Support for the group has almost halved in the polls as it lost backing from its grass roots after joining the government forced it to compromise on immigration and other key issues.

A member of the European Parliament, Halla-aho was fined in 2012 for making anti-Muslim statements on his blog. The party's new deputy chairwoman, Laura Huhtasaari, 38, says Finland needs to quit the European Union and embrace trade protectionism. She has spoken against gay marriage and has publicly questioned the theory of evolution. Halla-aho supporters Teuvo Hakkarainen and Juho Eerola also won top posts.

But the Finns leader rejected criticism that the party was hijacked, saying his election was a reflection of the will of its members. "It would in any case have elected a chairman critical of immigration and the EU because other kinds of candidates were not up for election," he said in an address to the party on Sunday.

The shift to the right is likely to be hard to embrace for the Centre and National Coalition parties that form most of the governing coalition. If the Cabinet collapses, they would probably try to form a new government with one or several opposition parties, which would likely mean major concessions. The prime minister ruled out snap elections.
Barcelona: The butcher's shop at the Mercat de La Boqueria has been in Francisca Gabaldas family for four generations.

For decades, she says, visitors have come from far and wide for the array of quality produce on offer at the Barcelona's covered market.

The picturesque market is thronging but the traders are not happy, as the visitors are selfie stick-wielding tourists and their regular trade is being strangled. "They stand in crowds in the middle of the aisles, taking photos, or eating," Mrs Gabaldas, 71, said.

"People don't want to come here to do their shopping any more."
Trump, of course, has been playing the victim card for months. "Look at the way I've been treated lately, especially by the media," he complained in a commencement address last month to US Coast Guard graduates. "No politician in history - and I say this with great surety - has been treated worse or more unfairly." Looked at through this lens, Trump's press coverage has been a political nightmare. Isn't that terribly unfair?

Here's my carefully nuanced answer: Hell no. That's because, when we consider negative v positive coverage of an elected official, we're asking the wrong question. The President's supporters often say his accomplishments get short shrift. But let's face it: politicians have no right to expect equally balanced positive and negative coverage, or anything close to it. If a president is doing a rotten job, it's the duty of the press to report how and why he's doing a rotten job. The idea of balance is suspect on its face. Should positive coverage be provided, as if it were a birthright, to a president who consistently lies, who has spilled classified information to an adversary and who fired the FBI director who was investigating his administration? Certainly not. That's why efforts such as a New York Times op-ed's pitch to "say something nice about Donald Trump" is so absurd, even meant as if tongue-in-cheek to begin with.

It's reasonable, however - in fact, crucial - to consider some different questions: those involving fairness, focus and overkill.  When news organisations get something wrong, do they acknowledge and correct it quickly? Or do they just move on and hope nobody notices?  Do journalists allow the President and his administration to respond to criticism and give his response prominent placement?  Do news sites give serious, sustained attention to policy issues as well as publishing innumerable hot takes about the personality-driven dust-up of the moment? Harvard professor Thomas Patterson, the study's author, sees trouble on that last point.

"The press is focusing on personality, not substance," he said recently on public radio's On the Media program. And that reflects "not a partisan bias but a journalistic bias", the tendency to seek out conflict. (No mystery there - it's more interesting.) "It's the press in its usual mode, and that erodes public trust," Patterson said. And then there's the dirty little secret that every journalist knows - Trump stories drive ratings and clicks. The word "Trump" in a headline vastly increases its chances of getting attention. (We're all guilty; see above.) Say what you will about the President, he continues to have one thing dead right: Donald Trump is a ratings machine. Thus, home pages of news organisations or hour-upon-hour of cable news are relentlessly focused on the President - not always because of solid newsworthiness.
Moscow: Thousands of Russians are expected to protest against corruption on Monday, part of opposition leader Alexei Navalny's long-shot drive to unseat President Vladimir Putin next year by tapping voter anger over what Navalny says is runaway official graft.

The scale and geographical reach of the protests will show if Navalny can build on the success of a similar event in March, in which thousands took to the streets to call for Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, a close Putin ally, to quit.

Those protests were the largest since a wave of anti-Kremlin demonstrations in 2012 and resulted in over 1000 arrests, putting rare domestic pressure on Putin, who is expected to run for and win re-election next year. Many of those who attended last time were young people, including some school children.

Monday is Russia Day, a public holiday, a factor that may boost turnout.
Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams

Brooklyns Backyard is putting your poo to work!

A long-awaited bathroom that transforms human feces into plant food will open inside Prospect Parks newly renovated Well House on June 19, giving the green space the most technologically advanced toilet of any city park, according to a spokeswoman.

Prospect Park Alliance has transformed the Well House, one of the oldest buildings in Prospect Park, into the first composting restroom in a New York City public park, said Deborah Kirschner, a rep for the conservancy.

The new potties use 97-percent less water than standard latrines and, instead of pumping excrement into the citys sewer system, feed solid waste into a living ecosystem where bacteria and other organisms like worms convert the dung into usable compost.

The bathroom will also pump undrinkable water from sinks and drains into an irrigation system that feeds park plants  saving the green space 250,000 gallons of water each year.

The $2.34 million renovation of the Well House was first set to finish in September 2015, but was delayed due to contractor issues, according to the spokeswoman.

Yes, there were delays, but the end result is amazing, Kirschner said.

The structure, a pumping station built in 1869 to feed water into Prospect Park Lake, is one of the oldest buildings still standing in the park. But it became obsolete sometime between 1914 and 1935 after the meadow was connected to the citys water system.

Other renovations to the Well House include a repaired roof, reconstructed exterior walls, and fresh landscaping around it.
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.
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.

License for publishing multimedia online 0108263



Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349
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...
The View

Yoga brings well-being, employment to young Africans

By CATHERINE COOK-COTTONE

Associate professor, Graduate School of Education Reprinted from The Conversation

Editor's note: Catherine Cook-Cottone consults for the Africa Yoga Project and received funding from UNICEF.

Yoga is a 5,000-year-old physical mind and body practice. Most present day practices share some variation of yoga poses (asana), breathing exercises (pranayama), relaxation and meditation. Research indicates that one of yogas most powerful effects is to regulate the effects of stress. It increases behaviors associated with well-being  such as healthier eating and improved sleep behavior  and increases socialization. There is also evidence that it decreases behaviors  such as smoking or substance abuse  that are associated with non-communicable diseases. Additional benefits include increased flexibility and strength, and enhanced awareness of the body and emotions. In acknowledgement of these benefits of yoga practice, in 2014 the United Nations General Assembly declared June 21 as the International Day of Yoga. In Africa, the Africa Yoga Project has helped to expand the practice of yoga across the continent. Since 2006, it has educated, empowered and expanded the employability of youth in 15 African countries: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mali, Namibia, Botswana, Nigeria, South Sudan, Ghana and Somalia.

Africa Yoga Project

It began when the founder and executive director, Paige Elenson, was on a safari with her family in Kenya and shared handstands and yoga with a team of acrobats. Encouraged by the Kenyan acrobats, Paige came back to teach yoga in Nairobis informal settlements where 42 percent of its population of 44 million lives below the poverty line. Paige discovered that one of the root causes of abject poverty was youth unemployment. About 70 percent of Kenyas youth are unemployed. She turned this challenge into an opportunity, forming the Africa Yoga Project with Baron Baptiste, an international yoga teacher and trainer. The project now trains youth to teach yoga and is funded mostly by individual donations. To date, the project has trained 244 young people, seen more than 200 earn a salary and seen more than 300 free community outreach classes brought to 6,000 people in 80 locations, from schools to prisons. In 2012, I met Paige at yoga teacher training. I had just finished a research study on a kids camp for youth in poverty and children with disabilities using a methodology called Concept Mapping. This methodology is what we call mixed method. It uses descriptive techniques  these honor the perceptions and voices of the participants as primary sources of information  and methods that count and quantify data.

Impact of yoga

I offered to bring my team to Kenya to study the impact of the Africa Yoga Project using the concept-mapping method, which is ideal for studying unique, or one of a kind experiences. In July of 2013, we collected data for three Africa Yoga Project studies based on experiences of the yoga teachers, child students and adult students. The research team was a mix of psychologists, doctoral students, a psychiatrist and seasoned yoga teachers. In the first set of studies, we asked the teachers and students in what ways the practice and teaching of yoga had affected what they think, feel and do. The findings detailed all the ways that the Africa Yoga Project had changed their lives. The teachers top three answers were: I value my life more.

I trust myself more.

My life has more meaning and purpose. The practice of yoga enabled them to turn inward and focus on the present moment. It appeared to increase their sense of personal value, strengthen a sense of personal trust  as skills like attention and intention are developed  and brought the practitioners to a higher sense of purpose or contribution in his or her life. Overall, across the first three studies, the students and teachers identified personal benefits related to health, personal growth, confidence, coping skills and self-compassion. The teachers and students also reported better relationships and a stronger sense of community. We also found a type of resiliency we call Mindful Grit. Grit is conceptualized as the ability to set and accomplish goals with persistence. This goes beyond the goal-setting and persistence found in the grit research by Angela Duckworth and adds a component of self-care and self-compassion that helps make growth and possibility sustainable over time. This is because Mindful Grit includes acknowledgement of effort, rest and restoration to avoid burn out, exhaustion and/or injury. Interestingly, though pay and employability were identified as outcomes for the teachers, the well-being outcomes were rated highest. We were surprised. I think that teaching yoga is a job, but for those who work with the Africa Yoga Project, it is more than a job; its sharing a practice that has positively impacted each of their lives, and that seems to be what matters most to them. As the body of research grows on yoga in general, we can safely say that yoga is a positive pathway to well-being that spans across continents, cultures and life experience.

READER COMMENT
NJ Weedman got a license to sell NJ legal weed. He almost said no.
Fearing that the investment on its Rs 5,600 crore alumina refinery in Andhra Pradesh may go the Vedanta way, Anrak Aluminium, a joint venture of the Penna Group and Ras-Al-Khaimah Investment Authority (UAE), the company has turned to Odisha for bauxite supplies.
Unlock 30+ premium stories daily hand-picked by our editors, across devices on browser and app.

Full access to our intuitive epaper - clip, save, share articles from any device; newspaper archives from 2006.

Curated newsletters on markets, personal finance, policy & politics, start-ups, technology, and more.

Pick your 5 favourite companies, get a daily email with all news updates on them.

26 years of website archives.
The first week of June saw a 13-day reduction in the drug inventory at the stockist level, raising fears of possible shortages with the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) on July 1. As of June 7, stockists were carrying 27 days of inventory, while at the end of May they had 40 days stocks.


Raising hopes for the revival of Pawan Ruias Falcon Tyres, Edelweiss has withdrawn its plea in the Supreme Court against a Karnataka High Court order shooting down the company's original plea seeking liquidation of the tyre manufacturer.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) appointed an administrator to oversee the operations of with immediate effect on Monday.
The decision to reduce the goods and services tax (GST) rate on processed foods such as pickles, sauces, ketchups and preserves could entice more entities to enter the sector, experts said.
Tamil Nadu's Transport Department, on Momday, conducted a trial run of electric bus manufactured by Ashok Leyland.

After the trial Transport Minister M R Vijayabhaskar said that the Department was satisfied and that the trial run was successful.
Soon after tied up with Ajmer Vidyut Vitran Nigam for electricity distribution in Ajmer for 20 years, the company has set its eyes on Jammu & Kashmir which is taking its consultancy services to strengthen it's last mile power distribution network.
India's largest IT services company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) will collaborate with chipmaker Intel to design a reference architecture that could be used for rolling out Internet of things (IoT), cloud, 5G and AI by its customers.
A photograph of an 80-year-old woman being beaten up by three cops wielding sticks during the ongoing farmers' protest in Madhya Pradesh, carried by Patrika, a Hindi daily went viral. Initially many questioned the legitimacy of the image but multiple media interviews of the woman confirmed the image to be real.
The Bombay High Court on Monday asked the Maharashtra government to explain in detail its decision to release Bollywood actor early from jail on grounds of good conduct.

A division bench of Justice RM Sawant and Justice Sadhna Jadhav directed the government to file an affidavit justifying its decision, what parameters were considered for letting the actor out eight months early, and the procedures followed while showing leniency towards him.

Dutt was convicted and sentenced to five years in an arms possession case connected to the March 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case which he served in Yerawada Central Jail, Pune. He was released on February 25, 2016.

The court was hearing a PIL filed by Pune-based activist Pradeep Bhalekar challenging the series of furloughs and paroles granted to Dutt when he was serving his sentence.

The court sought to know if the Deputy Inspector General, Prisons was consulted, or whether the Jail Superintendent sent the recommendation directly to the Maharashtra Governor.

"How did the authorities assess that Dutt's conduct was good. When did they get time to make such an assessment when he was out on parole half the time?" asked Justice Sawant.

The matter will come up for further hearing next week.
Skipper Sarfraz Ahmed (61) cracked a gritty fifty as Pakistan notched up a three-wicket win over Sri Lanka in their must-win Group B match to enter the semifinals of the ICC Champions Trophy here today.

Pakistan will meet Group A toppers England in the first semifinal on Wednesday at the same venue.

Chasing a modest 237 to win, opener Fakhar Zaman (50) slammed a 36-ball 50 at the top but Pakistan suffered an inexplicable collapse to slip to 162-7.

Finally, it was Sarfraz, who played a resolute captain's knock to take Pakistan home. The wicket-keeper batsman shared an unbeaten 75-run stand with Mohammad Amir (28) for the 8th wicket as Pakistan overhauled the target with 31 balls to spare.

Earlier, Fast bowlers Hasan Ali (3/43) and Junaid Khan (3/40) claimed three wickets each, while Mohammed Amir (2/53) and Fahim Ashraf (2/37) accounted for two wickets to help Pakistan bowl out Sri Lanka for 236 after electing to field.

Opener Niroshan Dickwella (73) and skipper Angelo Mathews (39) added 78 runs for the fourth wicket but Amir and Junaid took two wickets each in the space of 3.2 overs as Sri Lanka lost four wickets for six runs to slip to 167-7.

Lower-order batsmen Suranga Lakmal (26) and Asela Gunaratne (27) offered dogged resistance to take Sri Lankan innings close to the 250-run mark. They added 46 crucial runs for the eighth wicket.
To highlight agrarian distress, farmer unions plan to mark the on June 21 by performing shavasana, or the corpse pose, across the country. On the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to be in Lucknow and perform yoga with an estimated 50,000 people.
Heavy shelling and firing exchanges between Indian and Pakistani troops began on Monday on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, a defence official said.

The Pakistani Army initiated indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics and mortars at 6.20 am on Monday along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Krishna Ghati sector.

"They first initiated small arms and automatic gunfire, but later used mortars, the official said. "The firing is going on and our forces are effectively retaliating."

The Indian Army posts are retaliating strongly and effectively.

Earlier on Sunday, the Pakistan Army violated ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir's Naushera sector.

The Pakistan Rangers had, earlier in the day, violated unprovoked ceasefire on forward Border Security Force (BSF) troops in Jammu and Kashmir's Ramgarh sector at 10.45 am.

The Indian Army posts retaliated strongly and effectively. The firing continued for about 45 minutes.

No injuries or damages was reported

In the another incident earlier in the day, the Army retaliated to a ceasefire violation by Pakistan along the LoC in the Bhimber Gali sector in Rajouri district at 9.45 am.

On Saturday, the Pakistan Army initiated indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics and mortars in the Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district along the LoC.

In all these incidents, the Indian Army posts retaliated effectively.

Reports from Mendhar said some cattle were injured as shells fired from across the LoC landed in civilian areas.
Want to fly to the moon? Well, now you wont have to bother with all those years of rigorous astronaut training  all you need is a huge wad of cash. Elon Musk, technopreneur, has built a small spaceship called Dragon and if you slap down enough money  maybe a hundred million dollars or so  hell fly you to the Moon.
Normal life is unlikely to be disrupted even though the pro-Kannada organisations have called for a state-wide low-key bandh on Monday in lieu of early implementation of the Mahadayi river water dispute.
Scientists recently discovered the hottest planet ever found  with a surface temperature greater than some stars. As the hunt for planets outside our own solar system continues, we have discovered many other worlds with extreme features. And the ongoing exploration of our own solar system has revealed some pretty weird contenders, too. Here are seven of the most extreme.
The pharmaceutical industry has sought permission to increase prices of non-scheduled drugs by more than the stipulated 10 per cent in a year, as the tax rate on most drugs was raised to 12 per cent under the proposed regime from the current nine per cent.

In a meeting held by the Department of Pharmaceuticals with the drug industry, pharma representatives raised this issue.
The Finance Ministry on Monday said subscribers of the Atal Pension Yojna (APY) will have to link their to their accounts for availing up to Rs 1,000 government's co-contribution.

Any individual who is eligible to receive benefits under the APY will have to furnish proof of possession of number or undergo enrolment under authentication, the ministry said in a statement.

Pension regulator Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has identified nearly 12.35 lakh subscribers who are eligible for government co-contribution for an amount up to Rs 1,000 for the financial year 2016-17 which will be released to the eligible subscribers' savings bank accounts which are seeded with Aadhaar -- the 12 digit unique identification number.

"An APY subscriber will have to get the Aadhaar number recorded in his or her APY pension account and also in his/ her savings account where the periodic pension contribution instalments are debited and government co-contribution is to be credited," the ministry said.

Atal Pension Yojana, government's flagship social security scheme, has more than 54 lakh subscribers with an asset base of more than Rs 2,200 crore.

With an objective of bringing in "transparency, efficiency" and to enable beneficiaries to get their entitlement directly in a convenient and seamless manner, Aadhaar card has been constituted as the primary document in identification of the beneficiary under the Aadhaar Act.
In a year, when sugar cane crushing is expected to come down due to the historic drought in Tamil Nadu, EID Parry is betting on the centre's allotment of 64,000-tonne import of raw sugar to maintain its financials.
Barely a month before a World Bank team is set to visit India to assess ease of doing business in the country, the government reminded it of the reforms not considered in 2016's report.
Imports are likely to remain 5-6 per cent cheaper than locally made apparel, despite the goods and services tax providing input credits to the textile industr.
The series of Council meetings have demonstrated both pragmatism and flexibility of the government to solve problems as they come along. Continuing in the same spirit, the meeting of the Council on June 11, addressed a number of rate issues where representations were received from trade and industry.


Though e-commerce players are expecting a surge in exports after the roll-out of India's landmark goods and services tax (GST) reform, industry stakeholders feel there is a need to expand the categories for benefits under the export policy.

"The subsuming of major central and state taxes in GST, complete and comprehensive set-off of input goods and services and phasing out of central sales tax (CST) would reduce the cost of locally manufactured goods and services," Vishwas Shringi, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Voylla Fashion, told IANS.

"This will increase the competitiveness of Indian goods and services in the international market and give a boost to exports."

A few players in the e-commerce sector feel that under the current foreign trade policy, there is a "lack of clarity" in terms of e-commerce exports.

"The policy is not foolproof right now. It is just an overview, not the in-depth information on what exactly the process and procedure is," Navin Mistry, Director of Retail Exports, eBay India, told IANS. "The customs process of how to ship an item is not so clear," he added.

Under the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS), introduced by the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2015-20, the Commerce Ministry gives benefits to several products as "duty credit scrips". However, the category of products in e-commerce exports, which are eligible for those benefits, are very limited, said Mistry.

"The policy is limited to only six categories. It does not expand to gems and jewellery or any new category. There is potential, but people are not aware about. That is the fundamental problem right now," he said, adding that it is a challenge for a very small or a medium-sized player to come online because they do not understand the policy clearly.

According to a study titled "Exploring Potential of E-Commerce for Retail Exports of Indian MSMEs in Manufacturing Sector", the total potential for business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce retail exports from India is estimated at approximately $26 billion, of which $2 billion can be achieved by 2020 from 16 product categories.

It highlighted that in order to provide a fillip to exports of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through e-commerce, there is an urgent need for the government to recognise retail e-commerce exports as an industry and work towards removing regulatory barriers including reviewing the FTP policy.

The study was jointly prepared by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade-Centre for MSME Studies and Apex Cluster Development Services. It

was also supported by e-commerce platform eBay India.

E-commerce major Amazon India recently came up with a workshop for small and medium businesses to educate them on the global opportunity, brand building, documentation, listing methodology and services.

"Since our launch in India in June 2013, we have been continually exploring opportunities to support the growth of Indian sellers in the emerging digital economy," an Amazon India spokesperson, who declined to be named, said.

"As part of this, we launched our Global Selling Program here in 2015 that enables Indian businesses to take their 'Made in India' products to millions of active customers across the globe through Amazon's 10 global marketplaces."

Mistry said: "There are policy hurdles, but all fundamental pieces need to work together. It is the fundamental job of the policymakers and all agencies that are part of the chain to enable better ease of doing business."
Over 150 students of Delhi Public School (DPS) in Kolkata attended an unusual two-hour class last month. The subject was not routine and the teachers were not the regular ones. They were made aware of the concept of the goods and services tax (GST) by a group of senior officials of the Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise).
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday ended his day-old indefinite fast which he started in Bhopal for the restoration of peace in his state rocked by violence during a farmers' agitation.
Union said on Monday that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was at a fairly advanced stage of preparing a list of borrowers from whom non-performing assets (NPAs) of public sector banks could be recovered under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. The move, he said, would help beleaguered public sector banks (PSBs) recover part of their NPAs, estimated at over Rs 6 lakh crore.
Rating agency Moodys on Monday said the State Bank of Indias (SBI) raising of equity capital of Rs 15,000 crore was credit positive, meaning the banks rating could be raised as it strengthens the lenders capitalisation and supports credit growth.
At the invitation of US President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Modi will visit Washington D C on June 25-26.

It will be Prime Minister Modi's first meeting with President Trump, whose presidency began on January 20. The two leaders have spoken over phone at least thrice since the latter assumed office.

This meeting comes at a time when Trump made critical comments about India while announcing America's decision to pull out of the Paris climate change agreement. President Donald Trump has accused India and other countries of trying to extract "billions and billions and billions" of dollars in foreign aid from the developed world to sign up for the climate accord.

In spite of the difference on some issues, Modi's discussions with Trump are likely to find a common approach on matters related to South Asia, particularly the rise in infiltration from the neighbouring Pakistan, terrorism and India's case for a seat at the nuclear supplier's group. Modi has reiterated India's support to the Paris agreement and said he is willing to go further than what has been committed under the Paris accord.

Both the leaders will hold discussions on taking the bilateral ties to a new level, convergence of strategic interests in South Asia, joint effort in fighting terrorism, trade and specifically the vexed issue of H-1B temporary visa, the biggest concern for New Delhi,

Moreover, US National Security Adviser (NSA) Lieutenant General H R McMaster has re-affirmed India's position as the US's "major defence partner" during talks with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval and Prime Minister .

Lieutenant General McMaster had discussed bilateral ties, situation in the South Asian region including Afghanistan and Pakistan with Prime Minister during his April visit.

Under the previous administration, Prime Minister Modi had a record eight meetings with former US president Barack Obama.

On the US executive order on H-1B visas, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has reportedly hit back at the United States on the H-1B visa issue and said that their companies in India will also be affected .She has said that it is not only the Indian companies which will get affected but also the US companies who earn profits which go to their economy.
The first laboratory confirmed case of was detected in a hospital in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on November 9, 2016. A further two cases were subsequently confirmed  one in January 2017 and another in February. None of these cases were reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) until May 15.
India is pitching for the services agreement to be made part of the agenda and is drumming up support for it
Amid protests by dealers on the daily price revision of petrol and diesel, state-run Indian Oil Corporation has claimed that it will ensure the best possible prices to customers.
Minister on Monday took stock of the finances of public sector as also the resolution of bad loans or Non-performing asset (NPAs), with heads of the lenders.

Besides NPA resolution and bank finances, the meeting also featured the government's financial inclusion schemes.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Jaitley said, is in an advanced state of preparing a list of bad loans where resolution is required under the insolvency and bankruptcy rule. Also, the government is actively working on consolidation of state-owned .

Public sector made a "stable operating profit" of Rs 1.5 lakh crore in 2016-17 and had a net profit at Rs 574 crore after making due provisions.

The minister observed that there are challenges to credit growth and speedy resolution for all pending NPA cases is the need of the hour.

"The RBI is at a fairly advanced stage of preparing a list of those debtors where a resolution is required through the IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code) process and you will shortly be hearing about it," he told reporters after the meeting.

On the farm loan waiver announced by the Maharashtra government, he made it clear that states which want to go in for waiver will have to generate funds from their own resources.
Preet Bharara, the former US Attorney who was fired by Donald Trump, has asserted strongly that there is "absolutely evidence" to initiate a lawsuit against the President of the United States.

A naturalised US citizen born in India, Bharara, who was a former US attorney in the southern district of New York, said in a Saturday television interview that "there is absolutely evidence to begin a case" of obstruction of justice against the President, reports Sputnik.

"It's very important to be clear that no one knows right now whether there is a provable case of obstruction," he said, while simultaneously claiming that "there is also no basis to say there is no obstruction".

This was Bharara's first public statement since he was fired by the Trump administration over unclear reasons.

Commenting on the recent testimony of former FBI Director James Comey, who was also fired by Trump, Bharara stated that he agreed with Comey, who also disputes the nature of conversations he had with the President.

"The President seems to have a reputation of saying things that are not true," Bharara said in regard of his "uncomfortable" conversations with Trump.

Terminated by the President after refusing to return a third and last phone call in almost 22 hours, Bharara stated that he still has "no idea why I was fired."

However, he said, "It doesn't bother me... I am living a great life very happily."
Apple Inc, computing giant Dell Inc and Kingston Technology Co are members of a Foxconn-led consortium bidding for Toshiba Corp's chip unit, the CEO of the world's largest electronics manufacturer told Reuters on Monday.

Terry Gou, Foxconn's founder and chief executive, also said Amazon.com Inc was close to joining and that the Taiwanese firm was also in discussions with Google, Microsoft Corp and Cisco Systems Inc about their participation in the bid.

He declined to comment on the total size of the offer or say how much Apple and the other US firms planned to invest in the bid.

"I can tell you Apple is in for sure," Gou said in an interview, adding that its participation had been approved by the Chief Executive Tim Cook and Apple's board of directors.

Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, and its Japanese unit Sharp Corp would have a combined stake of not more than 40 percent, he added.

Representatives for Apple and the other US firms named by Gou could not be immediately reached for comment outside of regular business hours. Sharp declined to comment.
French President Emmanuel Macron's party topped the first round of voting in today's parliamentary elections, putting him on course for an overwhelming majority to implement his programme of ambitious reforms.

Estimates based on partial results showed Macron's year- old Republique en Marche (Republic on the Move, REM) and its ally MoDem on 32.2-32.9 per cent, ahead of the right-wing Republicans on 20.9-21.5 per cent. The far-right National Front (FN) was seen third with 13.1-14 per cent.

Seat projections showed Macron's camp going on to win between 390 and 445 seats in the 577-member National Assembly after next Sunday's second round -- continuing his centrist revolution which has left France's traditional parties in tatters.

Both the Republicans -- who had hoped to upstage Macron in the parliamentary election -- and the Socialists of Macron's predecessor Francois Hollande appeared set for steep losses.

Marine Le Pen's FN party was left disappointed as she struggles to rebound from her bruising defeat by Macron in the presidential run-off, with the party's result largely unchanged from the first round of the 2012 vote.

Turnout was markedly down today compared with the last parliamentary election, reflecting a degree of fatalism among Macron's opponents in the face of his advance as well as a degree of election fatigue, experts said.

Around 49 per cent of the electorate cast a ballot -- one of the lowest levels in such an election in decades.

The results showed Macron continuing to impress the French, a month after being elected France's youngest-ever president on May 7.

Since then he has won praise for appointing a balanced cabinet that straddles the left-right divide and taking a leading role in Europe's fight-back against US President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from a global climate accord.

If the seat projections are confirmed next week he will have a strong mandate to push through the ambitious labour, economic and social reforms he promised on the campaign trail.

Few MPs are expected to be elected outright today.

If no candidate wins over 50 per cent, the two top-placed contenders go into the second round -- along with any other candidate who garners at least 12.5 per cent of registered voters.

More than 50,000 police were on patrol during the vote, with France still jittery after a wave of jihadist attacks across Europe.

In the latest incident, a 40-year-old self-radicalised Algerian was shot and wounded after he attacked a policeman with a hammer outside Paris's Notre Dame cathedral on Tuesday.

Macron, who had never held elected office before becoming president, has run novices seeking to emulate his success in around 200 constituencies -- part of his bid to inject new blood in French .

They include Marie Sara, a retired bullfighter, who is taking on Gilbert Collard, a senior member of Le Pen's National Front in southern France.

Macron is also trying to usher in an era of cleaner . His government's first bill proposes to ban lawmakers from employing family members or performing consultancy work while in office.

The measures follow the scandal that destroyed the presidential bid of Republicans candidate Francois Fillon, who has been charged over payments to his wife and two of his children for suspected fake jobs as parliamentary assistants. Fillon denies the charges.

Two parties, Le Pen's National Front and the small centrist MoDem party, an REM ally, are meanwhile under investigation over alleged expenses fraud at the European Parliament.

One of Macron's ministers who is running for re-election in Brittany, Richard Ferrand, is also being probed over a property deal involving his girlfriend.

Le Pen's party will struggle to win the 15 seats it would need to form a parliamentary group, being forecast to take only 10.

The radical-left France Insoumise (France Unbowed) party of Jean-Luc Melenchon also fell short of expectations.

Macron has urged voters to back his reform proposals including an overhaul of the rigid rules governing the job market, blamed by many economists for holding back growth.

The president was economy minister in the Socialist government that began loosening the labour laws last year, sparking mass demonstrations that lasted for months.
A Saudi Arabian airline on Monday tweeted a warm welcome to pilots and staff from Qatar Airways whom it hopes to poach after the kingdom severed air links with Doha.

On Monday, budget carrier flynas tweeted, "welcomes the Saudi employees working on Qatar Airways Airbus A320, and invites anyone with the desire to join flynas and work among its crew".

Flynas tweeted that it seeks not only pilots but also sales, security, maintenance and other personnel.

In the Gulf's biggest diplomatic crisis in years, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and others cut diplomatic ties with Qatar last week after accusing it of supporting extremist groups.

The gas-rich emirate strongly rejects the allegations.

Among the punitive measures, Saudi Arabia and its allies imposed was a ban on Qatar Airways flights and a prohibition of the airline's use of surrounding airspace.

Analysts say Qatar Airways' position as a major transcontinental carrier is now threatened.

Saudi carrier flynas, looking to expand in a growing domestic market, in January signed $8.6-billion (7.6 billion-euro) deal with European manufacturer Airbus to buy 80 A320neo single-aisle jets.
Its all too easy to forget that when Theresa May called her snap election, three years earlier than shed repeatedly promised, her party was 18-20 percentage points ahead of Labour in the polls. It seemed like a clear opportunity for the Conservatives to win a landslide. But the result has robbed her party of its majority.
A man belonging to the minority Shia community in Pakistan has been sentenced to death by an anti-terrorism court for posting blasphemous content on Facebook, the first capital punishment handed down for blasphemy on social media in the country.

The sentence is the harshest among cybercrime related sentences handed down so far in the country. Pakistan has never executed anyone convicted of blasphemy.

Judge Shabir Ahmed of the Anti-Terrorism Court in Punjab province's Bahawalpur district announced the sentence for 30- year-old Taimoor Raza on Saturday after holding him guilty of posting derogatory content on Facebook.

According to the Counter Terrorism Department of Punjab Police, Raza, who hails from Okara, some 200 km from Lahore, was arrested last year at Bahawalpur following complaints by his co-workers that he had shared blasphemous content on Facebook.

Blasphemy is an extremely sensitive issue in Pakistan where 97 per cent of the population is Muslim.

Pakistan's tough blasphemy law has attracted criticism from rights groups, who say they are frequently misused to settle personal scores.

Pakistan last year passed a controversial cybercrime bill (Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016) that proposed strict punishment for cyber crime offences.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been summoned by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) investigating the high-profile Panamagate case on June 15 to question him about the scandal, the first sitting premier to appear before a team probing graft charges.

JIT chief Wajid Zia, in a letter dated Saturday, asked the prime minister to appear before the six-member probe team at 11.00 am on June 15 with all documents relevant to the case.

The summon was issued to Sharif after he returned from his Kazakhstan visit where he attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.

Sharif, who is currently in Lahore, met with his close confidantes this morning to discuss the issue. After consulting with his aides, the prime minister has decided to honour the summons and appear before the JIT on Thursday, the Dawn reported.

The Joint Investigation Team, formed by the Supreme Court to probe the money trail of the property owned by Sharif family in London, had questioned Sharif's sons - Hussain and Hasan - last month over the family's alleged improper business dealings.

His eldest son Hussain was questioned five times while Hasan, the younger son was summoned twice.

The court last year took up the case and issued split decision regarding allegations that money laundered when Sharif was prime minister in 1990s was used to buy the property.

On May 5, the Supreme Court set up a high-level six- member JIT to probe Sharif and his sons' alleged corruption in the .

The JIT is bound to complete the probe in 60 days unless it is granted additional time.

It is for the first time that a sitting prime minister is appearing before a high-level probe team traditionally constituted to investigate high-profile criminal cases.

It is not yet clear that Sharif will be questioned for once or he would be called again like his two sons.
What a mess. Just when you thought that the governing class could do no more to fail in their custodianship of Britains political settlement, it surprises us all. And lets not forget the role of the people in creating the current impasse.
A fake Time Magazine cover is doing the rounds on Twitter, which called the US President Donald Trump Liar in Chief. The photo was being circulated widely. It was even shared by some prominent American journalists. The photo was then also shared by Indian journalists including Shekhar Gupta and on social media platform. They, however, corrected their mistake.


On the surface, former FBI Director James Comeys long-awaited Senate Intelligence Committee hearing was underwhelming, failing to turn up a clear smoking gun. A closer analysis of what Comey said, however, portrays a damning picture of the presidents behaviour and, in doing this, undermines several of the arguments used by both the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress. In particular, three main themes stood out.
When British prime minister called a snap general election ahead of Brexit negotiations, it caught almost everyone by surprise. The expectation was that her Conservative party would gain a larger majority,supposedly in order to prevent opposition to any Brexit deal.
The White House has said that President did not discuss a trip to Britain with Prime Minister Theresa May in their most recent telephone call, with officials denying plans had changed.

Trump has been invited to make a coveted state visit, penciled in for autumn, but no dates have been set, amid political turmoil in London and fears that the US president would be greeted by mass protests.

Trump was already a deeply unpopular figure in Britain before he criticised London mayor Sadiq Khan when he was managing the response to a major terror attack.

Britain's Guardian newspaper group pored doubt over the trip yesterday, reporting that Trump told May in a phone call in recent weeks that he does not want to go ahead with a state visit until the British public supports him coming.

White House officials say few discussions about the trip have taken place and Trump's travel schedule is already filling up.

The president is expected to travel to Poland and Germany next month and has agreed to attend summits in the Philippines and Vietnam.

There have also been discussions about visit Japan and perhaps South Korea.

A senior administration official said May and Trump did not discuss the issue when they spoke by telephone on Friday, although they have on earlier calls.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said the invitation was still on the table, but offered no timeframe.

"We aren't going to comment on speculation about the contents of private phone conversations. The Queen extended an invitation to President Trump to visit the UK and there is no change to those plans.
There is an obvious disconnect now between corporate results, which were poor in many sectors and stock market moves which seem to be headed into outer space. The BS Research Bureau recently looked at the results of 2,264 companies (including financials and energy). The combined net profit for these firms was up 20.3 per cent year-on-year (yoy). At first glance, this is excellent. However, there was a major base effect. The same sample showed 20.3 per cent y-o-y drop in profits during Q4, FY16 (January-March 2016) compared to Q4 FY15. The sample was also skewed by the fact that January-March 2016 was terrible for public sector banks, which reported huge losses due to the Reserve Bank of India enforcing an asset quality review in Q4, 2016. The same PSU banks reported profits in the March 2017 quarter.
Shares of information technology companies such as Wipro, TCS and Infosys were trading lower on Monday after country's third-largest software services exporter said US president Donald Trumps administration and his regulations could be a potential threat to its growth.
Anil Ambani-led Reliance group on Monday announced plans for the public offer for its general insurance venture to get it listed in the stock market, which may give the company a valuation of Rs 6,000 crore.

also plans to rope in a strategic partner through the stake sale.

This comes within days of another group firm -- Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management Company -- announcing plans to get listed.

Currently, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance is the only listed insurer in the country. Any general insurance company is yet to get listed, though ICICI Lombard and some public sector general insurers are also planning to go for listing.

The board of directors of the company -- part of Reliance Capital -- on Monday approved the initial public offer plan.

Subject to approval from regulators IRDA and Sebi, listing of the insurer is expected in the current fiscal.

At the end of March this year, Reliance General Insurance's book value stood at Rs 1,250 crore.

The company's valuation is expected to be over Rs 6,000 crore on an average multiple of around five times, sources said.

Proceeds from the IPO would be utilised for organic and inorganic expansion as the company looks to double its topline of Rs 4,000 crore in the next four years.

The company plans to induct a strategic partner using the stake sale and would continue to look for a partner even after listing, it said in a statement.

As per the listing guidelines, the company would divest at least 10 per cent stake in the first year and scale it to 25 per cent within three years.

CEO and Executive Director Rakesh Jain said general Insurance industry is slated to grow with the economy where affluence-led consumption would act as its primary growth driver.

He said the company is well positioned to capitalise on opportunities across retail, corporate and government supported consumer segments.

"The listing will enable retail investors to participate in this high growth and new wealth creation opportunity," he said in a statement.

In the last financial year, the company saw a profit of Rs 130 crore and increased its investment book to Rs 6,724 crore.

This is the third company under Reliance Capital that has unveiled plans to get listed. The other two firms being Reliance Home Finance and Reliance Asset Management.

In the last two years, there have been quite a few deals involving general insurance companies. These include HDFC Ergo General Insurance's acquisition of L&T General Insurance.

All these listings are expected to be completed this fiscal.
The logo of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is pictured on the premises of its headquarters in Mumbai (Photo: Reuters)
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will chair a meeting on the issues pertaining to the Indo-Myanmar Border here today.

The delegation is likely to discuss the status of border infrastructure along the Indo-Myanmar border and the implementation of Border Area Development Programme projects.

The Home Minister will also review the status report of streamlining the Free Movement Regime to ensure better facilitation of movement of people across the border.

The Chief Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram are expected to attend the meeting along with the chief secretaries, DGPs, Director General of the Assam Rifles and other senior officials.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Delhi Court on Monday sent Ajay Pal Chauhan, who is accused of helping a 40-year-old woman "honey-trap" a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Gujarat, to judicial custody till June 23.

The police informed the court that Chauhan is the co-accused in the case.

The police said the woman, who was arrested on May 2 during interrogation, made a mention of Chauhan, who hails from Ramala village in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat district.

The 40-year old woman had allegedly filmed obscene videos of Valsad MP K. C. Patel after drugging him and had threatened to make them public if she was not paid Rs. seven crores.

"The woman and Chauhan have been friends for a decade. She used his name to threaten influential people and extort money," the police counsel said.

Earlier on Saturday, the Tis Hazari Court had issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against Chauhan, who was arrested by the Delhi Police.

Patel in his complaint to Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik alleged that the gang was being operated by the woman, who took him to her house in Ghaziabad.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In a fresh spell of trouble for Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, the Bombay High Court on Monday asked the Maharashtra Government to justify its decision to release actor Sanjay Dutt from prison eight months early in the 1993 serial blasts case.

The High Court asked as to how Dutt's good behavior was assessed and how he was released early when he was out on parole and furlough during half of his sentence.

The actor, who was on bail during the trial, had surrendered in May 2013 after the Supreme Court upheld his conviction.

Dutt was let out in February 2016, eight months early, on account of his good conduct while in Pune's Yerwada prison.

Dutt was sentenced to five years in jail for his role in the 1993 blasts case. He served his sentence in Yerawada Central Prison in Pune for illegal possession and destruction of an AK-56 rifle.

On July, 2007, the TADA court in Mumbai sentenced him to six years' rigorous imprisonment under the Arms Act and imposed a fine of Rs 25,000.

In 2013, the Supreme Court upheld the ruling but reduced the sentence to five years following which he surrendered to serve the remainder of his sentence.

During his imprisonment, Dutt was granted parole of 90 days in December 2013 and later again for 30 days.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on Monday said the normalcy is returning in Darjeeling as the strength of the force has been increased to tackle the indefinite strike called by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha for a separate Gorkhaland.

Paramilitary jawans of the CRPF and the Rapid Action Force (RAF) have been deployed in Darjeeling in large numbers.

CRPF Commanding Officer Sunil Kumar Savita told ANI that "more companies have been called in controlling the agitation in the state. Everything is getting back to normalcy and people have already started arriving at offices. We have the paramilitary forces and police officers patrolling the streets 24X7".

The officer also said that the women battalions have also been deployed to beef up the security.

However, GJM president Bimal Gurun has warned tourists asking them to leave Darjeeling immediately as "the situation is turning worse, and anything can happen".

West Bengal power minister Sovandeb Chatterjee dubbed the indefinite strike called by GJM as 'suicidal' as they (GJM) are spoiling the life of Darjeeling people for 'political gain'.

The GJM general secretary Roshan Giri earlier in the day sought Centre's intervention in the political turmoil in the state.

Giri had said that a delegation of members of the GJM would call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh to apprise them about the 'Gorkhaland movement'.

Meanwhile, the GJM general secretary said that an all party meeting has been called on June 13 to discuss the matter.

Chief Minister Banerjee has branded the GJM protest as 'abhorrent' and appealed to the people of the region to maintain peace.

The GJM supporters are also protesting against the alleged imposition of Bengali in the schools of the hills.

The agitation arose from an announcement made by Mamata Banerjee earlier that Bengali would be taught compulsorily up to Class 10 in the state schools.

After the GJM cadres clashed with the police following their protests against Mamata's visit to Darjeeling and her decision to make Bengali compulsory in syllabus of schools across the state, the Army was called in to control the situation.

The protest led by the GJM turned violent after protesters resorted to vandalism as they torched police vehicles and attacked policemen.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
United States President Donald Trump has conveyed to British Prime Minister Theresa May in a phone call, that he has no intention of going through with his visit to the United Kingdom, until he gets the necessary support from the English public.

According to the Guardian, Trump was firm that he did not want to visit if it set off large-scale protests, following which his trip is on hold for some time.

According to a Downing Street adviser, May was surprised when he received the phone call from the President with the peculiar statement.

May had invited Trump to Britain seven days after his inauguration, when she became the first foreign leader to visit him in the White House.

The Prime Minister said in a joint press conference that she had extended an invitation from the Queen to Trump and his wife Melania to make a state visit later in the year and was "delighted that the President has accepted that invitation".

Last week, acting US ambassador to the UK, Lewis Lukens locked horns with Trump by praising London mayor Sadiq Khan, for his strong leadership over the London Bridge and Borough Market terror attacks.

His remarks came after Trump has slammed Khan's response to the attack, misquoting the mayor's message to Londoners not to be alarmed by the increased presence of armed police.

Khan's office pointed out Trump's error later but the President responded by accusing London's mayor of making a "pathetic excuse". Khan reportedly then proceeded to call on the UK government to cancel Trump's invitation.

Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, said on Twitter that Trump's decision was "welcome, especially after his attack on London's mayor & withdrawal from #ParisClimateDeal."

Meanwhile, the White House said in statement: "The President has tremendous respect for Prime Minister May. That subject never came up on the call.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Saamna, the Shiv Sena mouthpiece, has slammed Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan over the recent Mandsaur fiasco.

In an editorial titled 'First bullet, then fast,' Saamna outlined the tense situation that has engulfed the Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh for last few days.

"Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister is following the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi. Shivraj ji was deemed as the idle chief minister. Despite of welfare policies for farmers, women and common people, the farmers staged protest and five lost their lives," the article reads.

The Shiv Sena, however, said neither Chouhan disregarded the farmers protest nor played any politics by calling the agitation as anti-social act.

The article further recalled the double standard of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) when Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called for a strike recently.

"Recently, the BJP criticised the Delhi Chief Minister for staging protest against the Centre. He was advised to solve public's issue instead of staging protest," the Shiv Sena said.

"This same applies to Chief Minister Chouhan, who is following the ideology of Mahatma Gandhi by going on fast. Is it possible to solve everyone's problem by adopting Gandhi's ideology? First they fire bullets, then sit on fast ," it added.

The Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister yesterday ended his fast which was started on June 10 amid raging farmers' protests in the state.

Chouhan went on the fast in a bid to restore peace in the state which recently witnessed turbulence because of the violent protest staged by the farmers demanding better prices for their produce and also a waiver on loan repayments.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
After liquor baron Vijay Mallya was booed by visitors with shouts of "chor, chor" (thief) outside The Oval Stadium in London, where he was attending the India-South Africa Champions Trophy match, an ex-Kingfisher employee Neetu Shukla on Monday asserted she was glad to see this social boycott of the tycoon who was carrying out a pretense of being patriotic.

"I am so happy to see that people are socially boycotting Vijay Mallya. It's also nice that Indians worldwide have taken a stand to the fact that this absconding businessman is going around his usual duties as if he has done nothing. He goes and sits in the VIP boxes, attends charity dinners and also flaunts the fact that he is attending every event that is organised, especially pretending to be extremely patriotic and wanting to cheer for India, while all this time, he has been cheating Indians. It will be nice to see the rest of India standing up for his fake attitude," Shukla told ANI.

On June 6, the liquor baron was spotted attending the India-Pakistan Champions Trophy match.

"Wide sensational media coverage on my attendance at the IND v PAK match at Edgbaston. I intend to attend all games to cheer the India team," he later tweeted.

The 61-year-old was arrested by the British authorities in April on India's extradition request in connection with a Rs. 900 crore loan default case of IDBI Bank being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

He was released on bail within hours by a London court.

Mallya, whose now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines owes more than Rs. 9,000 crore, including interest to various banks, fled India on March 2 last year.

The CBI has two cases against him - one related to the IDBI Bank case and the other related to a loan default of over Rs. 6,000 crore filed on the basis of a complaint from a State Bank of India-led consortium.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday linked 24x7 power supply with the transmission and distribution (T&D) losses and consumer honesty.

Addressing a press conference here, Goyal said that Power for All can be ensured where transmission & distribution (T&D) losses are less than 15 percent.

He also said that when people pay bills honestly, 24x7 power can be a reality.

The Minister said that earlier 16 or 25 KVA transformers were being installed but now the government has directed to install 63 or 100 KVA transformers to meet the excess demand.

Goyal, however, added that "Today the country has sufficient power generation capacity and we've enough capacity that we can add 50 per cent more power in the system".

He said India is committed to regional cooperation among most of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) nations and giving power to Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan.

The Minister said India is a coal surplus country but unfortunately for all Indians, previous governments, set up power plants designed on imported coal.

"Today the nation will have to pay a price and will continue to pay it for many years by continuing to import thermal coal to feed this capacity which is designed on imported coal that is the unfortunate reality because of which we continue to have imported coal in this country," said Goyal.

The Minister claimed that electrification in Uttar Pradesh has become fast after Narendra Modi Government assumed power.

"Uttar Pradesh only electrified 26 villages in last four years but after Modi Government came to power, 1364 villages have been electrified," said the Union Power Minister.

He also added that the Centre and the state are committed to resolving Uttar Pradesh's power sector distress through smart metering and crackdown on power theft.

Replying a question about the impact of the US' departure from the Paris Climate Accord on India's new and renewable energy production, Goyal said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already made it clear at different fora that India is committed towards protecting environment. India has not been promoting new and renewable energy production just because any country is saying, but it is in India's 5000-year-old heritage. India is committed to protect the environment."

When asked about the government's steps to provide relief to the manufacturers of solar cells and panel who are facing financial crunch, the minister said the Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), which are using power for their own consumption, are going to come out with the lot of purchasing for their own requirement.

He, however, hoped that Indian manufacturers will make their quality and cost competitive.

"Giving the large scale at which India is now procuring solar panels and equipments, my own sense is that now Indian industry will be able to stand on its own feet and be able to expand their production to international standards so that we are more cost competitive. I am sure the solar manufacturers have good days ahead of them," he added.

The Union Power Minister further said that "In interest of consumers, we are allowing only those rooftop solar setups who provide repair and maintenance services".

He also said that the government was committed to promote hydro electricity sector.

"We are committed to boosting hydro sector and starting projects stalled for years due to inefficiency of the previous governments," said Goyal.

He said that government would also encourage the people having barren land to setup solar power plants.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Former "Top Gear" presenter Richard Hammond, who miraculously survived a potentially-killing car crash, is clearly trying to take the entire horrific experience in his stride, as he was seen joking about his ordeal.

Hammond, who was in Switzerland filming Amazon's "The Grand Tour" was flown to hospital in St. Gallen after the electric supercar he was driving crashed and then burst into flames.

Speaking from his hospital bed on Sunday, Hammond said that he would require knee surgery in a video broadcast by Drive Tribe, reports CNN.

"I would like to thank all of the medical professionals who got me by air ambulance from the crash to the hospital and who have dealt with me ever since," he said.

Hammond also apologized to his wife Mindy, and two daughters, Issy and Willow.

Hammond was injured when he crashed while driving a Rimac Concept One, an electric supercar built in Croatia. He was conscious and talking, and climbed out of the car himself before the vehicle burst into flames.

"He was flown by air ambulance to hospital in St. Gallen to be checked over revealing a fracture to his knee. Nobody else was in the car or involved in the accident, and we'd like to thank the paramedics on site for their swift response. The cause of the crash is unknown and is being investigated," said an official statement by "The Grand Tour"

The two photos posted by "The Grand Tour" on Twitter of the car involved in the crash, mostly show a severely charred vehicle that had turned turtle.

However, this is not the first time Hammond has been injured while filming.

In 2006 he nearly died after losing control of a Vampire dragster which he had been driving at speeds up to 288 mph (463 kph), and ended up in a coma for two weeks but made a full recovery.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The International Conclave on "India

The objective of this international conclave was to usher in an atmosphere of excellence and quality in our top 10 percent institutes of higher learning so that they start attracting the best students from all over the world and thus India becomes once again a global destination for higher learning.

One of the key objectives of this conclave was to put in place a joint task force of the MHRD and educational institutions to achieve this goal.

Minister of State Higher Education Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey inaugurated the conclave as chief guest and HRD Minister Mr.Prakash Javadekar addressed audience through video telecast.

Through his message, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated IIT Kharagpur Alumni Association and the Pan IIT Alumni Association for organising this international conclave which is a subject of great vitality.

He mentioned that historically, in a 'Gyaan Yuga' or an era of knowledge, India has shown the way to humanity. The 21st century, being an era of knowledge is a time of immense opportunity for India to once again make a mark as a centre of quality education.

India as a home for the brightest minds have made a mark through their quality research and academic excellence. India also being producer of the sharpest young minds creating academic curiosity. Its the time to harness these strengths and nurture quality institutions to groom thoughts leaders of tomorrow.

HRD Minister Mr.Prakash Javadekar via his Video address mentioned that there is a new dynamism and vigour in the area of higher education in India. Soon India will be a Global Destination again for Higher Learning and occupy its rightful place of being called Vishwaguru.

While inaugurated the conclave chief guest, Minister of State Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey expressed pleasure to see top academicians on one platform to usher in an atmosphere of excellence and quality of top 5 institutes of higher learning to attract the best students from all over the world.

The conclave was attended by Directors from IITs, IIMs, NITs, IIITs and Chancellors/Vice Chancellors of reputed government and private universities that have the potential to attract foreign students. Some top policy makers, academicians, and corporate leaders also attended the conclave.

There were four sessions for discussion - Challenges and Opportunities for Government Institutions focusing on quality of education, Contribution of Private Sector Institutions and future plan to focus on creating International level infrastructure and the outreach programs ,Global Alliances- Opportunities and Challenges to focus on international students and Likely challenges and explore possibilities of joint programs, exchange of faculty and students and Policy and Initiatives for Indian Institutions to map the way forward.

Task Force Formation to achieve the mission would keep on striving till the cherished goal is achieved. Today, under the banner of Pan IIT Alumni India, a large number of active retired academicians, industrialists, defence officers, bureaucrats and scientists are available who can transform a large number of private universities into globally competent universities.

An extensive collective outreach programme would be launched to achieve this cherished goal. In this regards, Indians settled abroad would play a very effective role so that India becomes a Global Destination for Higher Education once again and regains its past glory.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
As a goodwill gesture, India is going to release 11 Pakistani prisoners, who had served out their sentences, and repatriate to Pakistan via the Attari-Wagah border.

The Indian Government's decision to repatriate Pakistani prisoners shows that India attaches huge importance to addressing all humanitarian matters, at a time when the India-Pakistan tensions are at an all time high with Pakistan rangers violating ceasefire along the Line of Control almost on a daily basis.

India had moved the International Court of Justice seeking a stay on the execution of alleged Indian spy and former Indian Naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, who the Pakistan Military Court had accused of being involved in subversive and espionage activities.

The ICJ had given its verdict in India's favour following which the tension between the two neighbouring nations escalated to even higher levels.

Earlier, India had accused Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), and its leader Maulana Masood Azhar for orchestrating a deadly attack on an Indian air force base in Pathankot in January. The composite dialogue between India and Pakistan were cancelled in August 2015 .

Moreover, on March 1, India reciprocated by releasing 39 Pakistani prisoners, comprising 21 civil prisoners and 18 fishermen, lodged in jails after Islamabad freed 218 Indian prisoners.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
United States President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump on Monday said that she is surprised by the "viciousness" of the media covering her father's presidency.

Ivanka, who is also President Trump's top adviser, said during Fox & Friends interview that her father felt "very vindicated" by former FBI Director James Comey's recent Senate testimony.

Comey had accused Trump of firing him in order to undermine the FBI's investigation of possible collusion between the Trump Campaign and Russia in alleged efforts to influence last year's presidential election.

Comey told the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee that the Trump administration had lied and defamed him and the FBI after the President dismissed him on May 9.

The more than two-hour-long testimony saw Comey informing that Trump had directed him to drop an FBI probe against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

"My father felt vindicated in all the statements that he's been making and feels incredibly optimistic. With all the noise, with all the intensity of media coverage and obviously what makes headlines, ultimately, we're really focused on why the American people elected Donald Trump as president, Fox news quoted Ivanka as saying on Fox & Friends.

Speaking about the Trump administration's efforts to upgrade the skills of working America, she said there were six million available jobs in the U.S. and the White House was trying to bridge the gap between skills and the jobs.

She also hailed her father's first foreign trip being the president, during which he visited Saudi Arabia, Israel and Italy.

Ivanka, who converted to Judaism before she married Trump senior aide Jared Kushner, called her father's visit to the Western Wall in Israel as an unbelievable moment.

Reacting on the growing controversy surrounding her husband's link with Russia, she said team Trump is trying to ignore the news cycle and working toward fulfilling campaign promises.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Indian armed forces on the wee hours of June 11-12 foiled an infiltration bid by Pakistan backed terrorists in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

The soldiers deployed along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch detected suspicious move of a group at around 12:30 a.m. and opened fire at them after which the group retaliated and ran back across the LoC.

An intense combing operation was also conducted in the area which resulted in recovery of eight rucksacks and other war-like stores.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Indian Army has gunned down as many as 16 terrorists in the last seven days who were attempting to create unrest in Jammu and Kashmir, sources said on Monday.

Army's Northern Command has said that the amount of explosives, arms and ammunitions and inflammable materials recovered from the armed intruders, indicated Pakistan's design to orchestrate 'high profile terror incidents' targeting innocent civilian population and security forces during the holy month of Ramzan.

The Indian Army successfully thwarted several infiltration bids and killed 13 armed intruders in the past 93 hours during an operation conducted along the Line of Control (LoC) in Gurez, Machhil, Naugam and Uri Sectors, Northern Command had Tweeted on Saturday.

"The sinister designs of Pakistan army to push-in multiple groups of armed intruders across the Line of Control (LC) in Jammu and Kashmir continue to be defeated by proactive operations being carried out on the LoC. Relentless operations mounted by troops have successfully intercepted groups of armed intruders," said Northern Command in a Tweet.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pro-Kannada organisations have called for a state-wide bandh in Karnataka on Monday in lieu of early implementation of the Mahadayi river water dispute.

Protestors are slated to organise a protest march today from the Town hall to Vidhana Soudha.

The bandh, which is being held from dawn to dusk, will be led by Kannada Okoota, an umbrella organisation of the pro-Kannada bodies in the state.

Apart from the Mahadayi row, protestors are also pressing for action against Tamil Nadu's resistance on the Mekedatu project being facilitated across the river Kaveri.

According to reports, the local transport wing, including bus, auto, and taxi services, will continue to ply as per schedule. Also, banks and ATMs will also continue to function as normal.

Karnataka and Goa have expressed conflicting interests on the larger issue of sharing Mahadayi River water. The former had petitioned the Tribunal seeking the release of 7.56 tmcft water to Malprabha basin.

Apart from the aforementioned causes, the pro-Kannada bodies have also put forth their demand to consider a farm loan waiver in the state.
Fifteen-time Grand Slam Champion Rafael Nadal has moved two places up to the second spot in the latest ATP Rankings post his record 10th French Open title win.

Nadal, who registered an incredible 10th French Open title with a 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 victory over Stan Wawrinka in summit clash that lasted for two hours on Sunday, moved up by two spots to stand at the highest placing in the ATP rankings since October 2014.

Meanwhile, last year French Open champion Novak Djokovic slid from No. 2 to No. 4 ranking after getting knocked out in quarterfinals.

The numero one spot is being retained by Andy Murray, even though the Scot did not make it to the final of Roland Garros.

Wawrinka also maintains his position at the number three spot, despite losing to Nadal 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 in the final.

Swiss maestro Roger Federer, who skipped the French Open twice in a row, is on the fifth spot in the rankings.

Meanwhile, women's singles winner of the French Open Jelena Ostapenko has jumped from 47th to a career-high 12th in the WTA rankings.

Appearing in just her eighth grand slam event, the 20-year-old Latvian crushed tournament favourite Romania's Simona Halep 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, to become the first unseeded woman ever to win the trophy last Saturday.

The top spot in the women's rankings has been retained by Angelique Kerber, followed by Halep and Karina Pliskova.

Serena Williams, who did not participate in the tournament for being pregnant, has dropped down to number fourth spot.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Lendingkart Finance Ltd. on Monday announced raising of fresh debt funding from India's fourth largest private sector bank Yes Bank to generate credit facilities for the SMEs operating in tier III.

The fin-tech startup in the working capital space will infuse the fresh funds to utilize and further build the loan book of the company to expand its reach to the SMEs and below cities facing lack of formal credit.

With the vision of driving inclusiveness and financial sustainability across India, Yes Bank is actively engaging the unbanked and under-banked population in India.

It uses sophisticated financial tools and has adopted advanced technologies that are traditionally available only to big businesses, to develop offerings for the marginalized poor.

"We are extremely pleased to have Yes Bank on-board supporting our vision. It is a dynamic and innovative institution with sound knowledge of the Indian financial sector while also undertaking substantial work towards promoting FinTech in the country," said CEO and co-founder Lendingkart Technologies, Harshvardhan Lunia.

Adding to this Lunia said that it's the company's firm belief that the relationship will prove to be mutually advantageous, complementing each other's strength as it will lead to the drive of true financial inclusion.

Aligned with the Government of India's agenda towards building financial inclusion, Lendingkart Finance is working towards ensuring seamless availability of working capital financing for small and medium businesses across the country that do not have access to traditional credit avenues. Till date, more than 11,000 loans have been disbursed by Lendingkart Finance to over 7500+ SMEs present across India.

So far, Lendingkart Finance has expanded its operations pan India with its presence in over 650 cities across 29 states and seven UTs, offering quick and easy collateral-free loans with minimal paperwork.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress MLA Shakuntala Khatik on Monday brushed aside the allegation of inciting violence during farmers protest in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh.

"I didn't instigate the workers. Would they have remained silent, had I asked them to do so?" Khatik told ANI.

Khatik further said that she only told the police officers that they shouldn't sit in the police station and go ahead to set it on fire, if they can't ensure women safety.

Earlier, a video of the Congress MLA had surfaced showing her purportedly inciting party workers and farmers to torch a police station during the farmers protest.

The Congress' Shivpuri MLA was seen in the video repeatedly inciting people to accompany her to burn down the nearby police station, whereas a police official was seen requesting the MLA to calm down.

Following the video, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded MLA's arrest and cornered the Congress asking party vice-president Rahul Gandhi to apologise for the irresponsible behaviour of his party leader.

"Certain Congress elements, who are instigating violence and appealing the mob to set the police station on fire, have been caught on the camera red-handed. It's unfortunate that just for the sake of votes, the Congress has stooped so low and staged a violent protest. The Congress should answer for this and Rahul Gandhi should apologise for the irresponsible behaviour of his party leader. I request the government to immediately arrest the miscreants and book them under relevant acts to ensure normalcy in MP," BJP leader S. Prakash told ANI.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
At a time when the agitating famers of Madhya Pradesh are planning to intensify their stir, a Congress leader has added fuel to the fire.

Congress leader Dilip Mishra, while addressing a gathering in Madhya Pradesh's Satna village, said farmers would under the leadership of his party colleague Ajay Singh, would pick up arms against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state.

"Under the leadership of Rahul Bhaiya (Ajay Singh), in the coming time, farmers of Satna village will fire against this government. This Madhya Pradesh government-led by Shivraj Singh Chauhan is murdering the democracy. This government which killed farmers will have to face the same kind of retaliation in the near future," said Mishra.

In the past, videos of two Congress MLAs inciting violence in vulnerable region surfaced on the social media.

One of the video showed the Congress' legislator from Karaina assembly seat, Shakuntala Khatik, in Shivpuri telling a group of agitators to burn down the local police station.

A second video showed Congress MLA from Rau seat, Jeetu Patwari, in an altercation with Indore SDM Sandeep Soni. The officer accuses Patwari of breaking his promise to keep peace in the Chowkram Mandi in Indore.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan has summoned India's Deputy High Commissioner J P Singh on Monday and condemned the alleged firing by Indian troops along the LoC in which two Pakistani civilians were killed.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh to record Pakistan's protest over the firing by the Indian troops.

Two civilians were martyred and three injured in Indian troops' unprovoked firing along the Line of Control (LoC) on Monday, according to the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), Geo TV quoted the army's media wing as saying.

Indian troops resorted to unprovoked firing with heavy weapons in Jandrot and Hotspring (Tattapani) sectors along the LoC, the ISPR said in a statement. The Indians also fired mortars into the Pakistani side of the control line.

Manish Mehta, spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence said the Pakistani army resorted to indiscriminating firing and heavy mortar shelling on Indian positions in Krishna Ghati sector along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district.

Earlier on May 11,Pakistan summoned India's deputy high commissioner to "condemn" the alleged ceasefire violation by India along the Line of Control in Tandar, Subzkot, Khuiratta, Baroh, Bagsar, Khanjar sectors in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) that killed a man and injured three others.

Meanwhile, India has decided to release 11 Pakistani prisoners, who had served out their sentences, and repatriate to Pakistan via the Attari- Wagah border on Monday as a goodwill gesture.

The ceasefire violations along the Line of Control have become a common occurrence and since 1st June, this is the ninth ceasefire violation by Pakistan army and in the last 72 hours, this is the sixth ceasefire violation.

Manish Mehta, spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence spoke to ANI, Pakistan have been using heavy mortars, RCL guns, RPGs and heavy automatics in its ceasefire violations. He also stated that Indian Army has been giving befitting reply 'in equal measure' to Pakistan. Indian army has been since then retaliating to these attacks.

India had moved the International Court of Justice seeking a stay on the execution of alleged Indian spy and former Indian Naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, who the Pakistan Military Court had accused of being involved in subversive and espionage activities.

The ICJ had given its verdict in India's favour following which the tension between the two neighbouring nations escalated to even higher levels.

Earlier on June5, Indian Army DGMO has warned his Pakistani counterpart in connection to the unprovoked attacks which India has been witnessing. Moreover, the major allegation against Pakistan army has been that of abetting infiltration by terrorists.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An investigation has been initiated into the release of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son and one-time heir apparent of late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was released on Sunday by Abu Bakr al-Seddiq Brigade,the Libyan militia group.

Libyan Attorney General Ibrahim Masoud Ali said the public prosecutor's office has started an investigation into those involved in the release of imprisoned Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, a son of Libya's former leader Muammar Gaddafi.

"Based on the information regarding the release of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, who has been sentenced in absentia, he is wanted under the court order, so that he will be tried in accordance with the requirements of a fair trial," Xinhua quoted General Ibrahim Masoud Ali, as saying.

Saif al-Islam had been in custody since November 2011 by a militia group in Zintan, a town located to the southwest of the capital Tripoli,after his father Muammar Gaddafi was ousted and subsequently killed in an uprising in the North African country. Saif was accused of incitement to violence and murdering protesters during the 2011 unrest that toppled his father's regime.

Ali said the public prosecutor's office has launched an investigation into Gaddafi's release, adding that "legal procedures, investigations and trial will include all those found to be involved in obstructing the implementation of the judicial rulings." Moreover, the suspect is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity," the statement added.

Saif al-Islam has been released after more than five years in detention, his captors said. In a statement late Saturday, the Abu Bakr al-Seddiq Brigade, which controls the western town of Zintan, said Gaddafi's son had been released from prison on Friday and left the town.

A court in Tripoli had sentenced Gaddafi to death along with some other officials of the former regime in 2015.But the eastern-based parliament granted him amnesty shortly after the sentence.

Saif was released as a part of recent pardon issued by the Libyan parliament based in the country's eastern region.

The parliament in the city of Tobruk is part of one of three rival administrations in Libya, shows the chaos that is still prevailing in the country since Gaddafi's ouster and death.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday criticized Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi for his remark against Sandeep Dikishit's statement on Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, stating that his comment was inadequate compared to the "sins" committed by the grand old party.

"Rahul Gandhi's statement is completely inadequate compared to the extent and the magnitude of sin committed by his own party. There is a clear pattern in the comments emanating from the Congress Party. Sanjay Nirupam questioning surgical strikes, Mani Shankar Aiyar is hobnobbing with separatists, Rahul Gandhi himself made a comment khoon ki dalali, so all this shows a pattern," BJP leader G.V.L. Narasimha Rao told ANI.

The BJP leader further said that the Congress Party is guilty of acting in a treacherous manner for its short term political gain.

"This is going to result in a massive effect on the Congress Party and the people of India will not put with this anti- act," he added.

Meanwhile, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, however, alleged that the BJP was trying to divert the country's attention from the farmers' issue by raking up Sadak Ka Gunda (roadside goon) remark.

"The BJP should stop converting the agenda of farmers into non issue of this nature and should concentrate on giving a comprehensive relief package to farmers of India who are dying every day," Surjewala told ANI.

He said that Congress deeply respects the Army chief and Indian Armed Forces and has advised Sandeep Dikshit to desist from making such comments.

"The Indian Congress has always stood by the demands of Indian army including the last one on which they were agitating for one rank and one pension. We have advised Sandeep Dikshit to desist from making any controversial remarks regarding Army Chief," Surjewala said.

Earlier in the day, Rahul chastised the comment made on the Army Chief and insisted that politicians should refrain from making such statements.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
President of the Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Manoj Tiwari on Monday condemning Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit's 'Sadak ka Gunda' remark for Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, and demanded that Congress president and vice president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi apologise to the nation on the latter's behalf.

"The statement which Dikshit has openly stated is an insult of 15 lakh soldiers of the army. This is not one person's point of view; but Rahul and Sonia Gandhi's opinion too, which made Dikshit say it. When our soldiers are beaten or killed on the border, they don't say anything supportive, but now, to comment on them is very easy. I would want Rahul and Sonia Gandhi to come forward and apologise," Tiwari told ANI.

Further lashing out at the Congress Party, Tiwari stated that this statement shows the mentality of the grand old party.

Meanwhile, Dikshit, earlier in the day, tendered an apology for the second time, saying he shouldn't have used "uncivilised" words to convey his message.

"It was a statement given to you (ANI) only and it was in the context of the constant statements that the Army Chief has made with regard to the army's preparation and Pakistan. I thought Indian Army chiefs normally don't make these statements and they have a different manner in which they approach. However, this was a separate issue. If I had to say something of this kind, there was a different language and manner in which I should have said it. It doesn't make any sense to use words that are not correct and civil and I apologise for that," Dikshit told ANI.

Inviting a huge backlash from various quarters, the Congress leader yesterday said General Rawat shouldn't make statements like a 'Sadak ka Gunda' (a road-side goon).

Speaking to ANI, Dikshit had said, "It feels our army chief speaks like a roadside thug. While this is expected from Pakistan who are like the mafia, why does our own chief make such pronouncements?"

Dikhsit's remark came in the backdrop of General Rawat's recent statement, where he said that the Indian Army is well prepared to face external and internal threats of the country.

"Indian Army is fully ready for a two-and-a-half front war", General Rawat had said.

The Congress party, however, sidelined itself from Dikshit's controversial statement, saying that the party does not support use of such language at all.

"I don't know why he used such language. We have discussed this issue with him, but the party doesn't support this for sure," Congress leader Meem Afzal told ANI.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Saudi army major has been killed and two other soldiers injured when their night patrol car came under a bomb attack in the country's eastern Qatif province, the Interior Ministry said early Monday.

In a statement, the ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki described the incident as a "terror attack", which occurred in the Masoura neighborhood, Anadolu News Agency reported.

The officer who lost his life has been identified as Maj. Tariq Ben Abdullatif al-Alaki.

An investigation into the terror attack had been launched as Kingdom's Shia-majority eastern region Qatif has seen a number of terrorist attacks targeting local security personnel.

In late March, the Interior Ministry announced that two "terrorist elements" had been killed and four others arrested in Qatif's Al-Awamiya town.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D. Raja on Monday said that the fast observed by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was just a 'stunt' to divert the attention of the nation from the core matter at hand.

"His decision to sit on the fast was not for the welfare of the people. It was a stunt, to divert the attention of the nation from the ongoing agitation of the farmers. As the government, he must address the concerns of the farmers of Madhya Pradesh," Raja told ANI.

He further noted that the Madhya Pradesh Government's act is insensitive and they have completely failed to address the problem of the common people.

Further commenting on the Maharashtra Government's loan waive off scheme, Raja said that it would be very interesting to see how the state government implements the same.

Meanwhile, Left leader Nilotpal Basu condemned the ruling regime in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh saying that the drama presented by Chouhan was like cheating with the farmers.

Earlier on Sunday, Chouhan, who started an indefinite fast on June 10th, ended his fast by consuming coconut water.

"We will make the state land use advisory service so that farmers get correct and timely information about climate change. I, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi promise that we will irrigate every land. We have decided to implement every policy with the consent of farmers," he said before ending the fast.

He further said not only in India but in the entire world, Madhya Pradesh stands at number one position in the agriculture sector.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Lashing out at Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit's 'sadak ka gunda' remark for Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday while condemning the same, asserted that such hurtful statements will be 'democratically rejected'.

Commenting on the Congress Party's 'trend' of periodically attacking the Indian Army, BJP leader Sambit Patra, while demanding an apology from Party President Sonia Gandhi said such leaders should be expelled immediately.

"First it was Rahul Gandhi who spoke of 'khoon ki dalali'. Following him was Sanjay Nirupam, who demanded proof post the surgical strike carried out by the Army. In the latest to join this bandwagon is Sandeep Dikshit, with his hurtful and appalling statement. Sonia Gandhi should expel such leaders and apologise for the act," Patra told ANI.

Echoing a similar stance, BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao came down heavily on the Congress' 'track two politics', claiming that this 'indecent' comment was a pre-planned move by the 'Rahul Gandhi brigade'.

"There are some politicians and pseudo-intellectuals who only want to boost the morale of the Pakistani armed forces and demean our Army by making such condemnable statements. This is not the language a parliamentarian must use. This clearly shows that it was no random comment; it was a pre-planned political move by the Congress Party. This comment highlights their anti- spirit," alleged Rao.

Earlier, General Rawat while expressing the Indian Army's preparedness to counter both external and internal threats of the country had said that the latter was fully ready for a 'two and a half front war'.

In lieu of this, Sandeep Dikshit on Sunday had said that the Army Chief shouldn't make statements like a 'sadak ka gunda' (a roadside thug).

While this comment garnered negativity from politicos across the country, Dikshit subsequently withdrew his statement and apologised for the same.

"I genuinely believe what I said was wrong. So I apologise for it and withdraw my statement," said Dikshit.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Southwest Monsoon finally arrived in Kolkata on Monday.

After a long wait, the residents of Kolkata got the taste of Monsoon showers which they were desperately waiting for.

During the last few days, Kolkata was not witnessing good rains and only scattered showers were being recorded over the region. In fact, there were days when the city remained either dry or received traces of rainfall.

"Southwest Monsoon 2017 has advanced further into remaining parts of Tripura, Assam and Meghalaya and has covered entire North-eastern states," said the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Along with Kolkata, Monsoon has also arrived in Mumbai, Pune, Nashik and more areas of Maharashtra. Not only this, Southwest Monsoon has also made an onset over Hyderabad and more parts of Telangana.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Sri Lanka's Mannar Court has extended the remand of five Indian fishermen till June 19.

The Sri Lankan Navy arrested five Indian fishermen belonging to state of Tamil Nadu on May 1 for allegedly poaching in the country's territorial waters. They also seized one trawler used by the fishermen in the seas of Mannar.

Earlier, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised his objections over the arrest of five fishermen from the state and termed the arrest as 'unfortunate'.

He said that this act would lead to disruption in the diplomatic bids to resolve the issues pertaining to fishing between the two countries.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Three Jammu and Kashmir cops along with another Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel sustained injuries, after a grenade was lobbed towards a CRPF bunker on Sunday night in Saraf Kadal in Srinagar.

All the injured personnel have been provided immediate treatment and are now out of danger.

According to the Police, a group began stone pelting at a CRPF bunker, when an unknown miscreant from the mob hurled a grenade as well, following which the personnel suffered splinter injuries.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Telangana has registered investments of Rs. 73,000 crore since the launch of TS-IPASS in 2015, the new industrial policy launched by the state government.

Telangana Minister for Industries and IT K. T. Rama Rao released the Department's Annual Report-2017.

In the third year of the State of Telangana's formation, Rama Rao also released the Department's performance report - its initiatives and achievements - following the State Formation Day celebrations on June 2.

The minister also launched the logo and website for TIHCL (Telangana Industrial Health Clinic Ltd.), an industries' initiative for revival and growth of sick manufacturing MSMEs.

This initiative will be supported by the Government of Telangana, Government of India, HNI's, FI's and people of the industry.

Yerram Raju, an eminent thought leader in MSME space explained the main points of the initiative.

Later, awards were presented for Large, Medium, Small and Micro Industries based on their performance in the previous year.

Speaking on the occasion, Rama Rao proudly informed that, "Telangana has achieved a 10.1% y-o-y growth in Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), compared to a average of 7.1% y-o-y growth in 2016-17 and the share of Telangana's economy in GDP has increased 7 basis points in 2016-17." He added that "TS-iPass, launched in June 2015, under the guidance of the Honourable Chief Minister, has generated Rs. 73,000.00 CR in investments, and created 2.46 lakh jobs in the process."

Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, I and C Department, said, "We have made significant progress this year in terms of investments attracted and development of new industrial parks and clusters. We hope to push our small and micro industries through new initiatives such as the Industrial Health Clinic and thereby increase employment and productivity of Telangana in the coming years."

Heads from various departments and top officials from industry associations were also present on the occasion.

Annual report in brief:

 Telangana was ranked first in EODB 2016, with a score of 98.78

 The total no. of Industrial Parks developed by TSIIC is 116 and in the F.Y 2016-17, TSIIC had allotted land to about 500 industries with an expected investment of around Rs. 1,000.00 crore and expected direct and indirect employment to nearly 50,000 persons. TSIIC is helping the government in relocating all polluting industries from inside 'Outer Ring Road' to outside.

 Pharma City, Phase-1 is being developed across 8,200 acres. 6,300 acres land is already in possession of TSIIC and acquisition of remaining land is expected to be completed shortly.

 Genome Valley, the cluster, which is home to over 200 companies, is being expanded with more than 2 Mn Sq. ft. of laboratory / incubation space in partnership with IKP Knowledge Park and MN Park. Medical Devices Park is being developed in about 250 acres at Sultanpur.

 The state government has allocated a budget of Rs. 12,00.00 CR for the year 2017-18 to the Textiles sector, comprising of Rs. 373.00 CR for Handlooms and Rs. 827.00 CR for Power looms and Industrial Textiles for geo-tagging, modernization of power looms and other schemes.

 Mineral Dept. achieved revenue of Rs. 3,169.00 CR, which was 103% of the required target and attained a growth rate of 34%, highest among all states. Sand revenue was about Rs. 419.00 CR, displaying a growth of more than 100 folds over Rs. 10.00 CR. Revenue before division of state.

 Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has undertaken initiative for development of Multi-Modal Logistics Park (MMLP) along key routes connected by Highways to improve logistics efficiency. Concept plan for dry port is completed and DPR is under progress.

 The State Govt. has released a budget of Rs. 12.00 CR towards Farm Mechanization during 2014- 15 & 2015-16. The Central-State schemes such as Macro Management Mode in Agriculture, Seed Village programme, National Food Security Mission, Drip Irrigation scheme and Farm Mechanization in sugarcane were launched successfully.

 Among new developments: Kakatiya Integrated Mega Textiles Park, Sircilla Apparel Park, four Mega Food Parks at Nizamabad, Gadwal, Khammam, Sangareddy are coming up.

 The I&C Department, led by Minister Sri K. T. Rama Rao, Principal Secretary Sri Jayesh Ranjan and other senior officials, has been diligently promoting Telangana State both in India and abroad. Hon. Minister for I&C attended and addressed various conferences such as AdvaMed 2016, BioAsia, Aero India 2017 etc.

 Today, major companies are choosing Telangana as their destination for setting up their Centres of Excellence or are expanding their operations in the state. Last year, many MoUs were signed including MoUs with IV2 Alliance, Aerocampus Aquitaine, Airbus, CONCOR & NHAI, DP World, Ashok Leyland, ZF Friedrichshafen, Shaktimaan, Johnson & Johnson. Mahindra Automotive, Rane Brakelinings Ltd., Ace Tyres, HSIL, and Monginis Foods are ready to expand and invest in their various facilities in the state. Pharma attracted total investments of Rs. 2,15,318 Lakhs during the year.

 New Initiatives:

TIHCL- Telangana Industrial Health Clinic Ltd- NBFC with a corpus fund of Rs. 100.00 CR, with aid from GOI, State Government, FIs, HNIs and Industry

1. To fill in credit gap to micro manufacturing enterprises.

2. To help small enterprises on growth path to equity markets.

3. To revive and restructure viable MSE manufacturing enterprises o RICH- Research and Innovation Circle of Hyderabad - to create synergies between Research Institutions, Academic Institutions, Industry and Entrepreneurs, with the active support of the State Government.

4. Life Sciences Infrastructure Fund has been envisaged by Government of Telangana. It will be first of its kind in the country. To the tune of Rs. 1000.00 CR, the fund will be used to create sophisticated modular plug-and-play specialised infrastructure for pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and medical devices industry.

5. I&C Department has won several awards during the period. Most notable among them are: CNBC-TV18's India Business Leader Award (IBLA) under the 'Promising State of the Year' category, Skoch Challenger Award under Social Inclusion category, ASSOCHAM's 'Best State in Skill Development' Award, HUDCO award for Innovative practices and Udyog Rattan Excellence award.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The 71st annual Tony Awards were handed out on June 11 to recognise achievement in Broadway productions. And when some of the biggest names in the Broadway history are sitting in one room, some Trump bashing is inevitable.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, host Kevin Spacey took the first dig at President Donald Trump when James Earl Jones received a special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement.

The 'House of Cards' star quoted a few of Jones' famous lines. Starting with, "I'm your father," Spacey said in a deep, Jones-esque voice, referencing Jones' memorable turn as the voice of Darth Vader.

But, he did not stop there and went to add, "This is CNN, the most trusted name in fake news."

For the uninitiated, Jones is the voice of CNN's famous on-air slogan, "This is CNN," but that criticism is beloved by Trump, which has branded the network as "fake news" since his first press conference as president-elect.

The actor continued to digs, when he appeared later in the show dressed as Bill Clinton, the former President of USA.

He began by saying, "We've had some surprising winners. I'm not even talking about the Tony Awards."

Hillary continued to serve as a punch-line as Spacey's Bill Clinton out that Dear Evan Hansen star Ben Platt bumped Hillary off of Time magazine's "Most Influential" list, but he said she still topped the musical star in one area.

"There's no doubt Hillary's better at creating fake email accounts than you," he said to Platt and added, "I'm going to get in trouble when I get home."

'Late Show' host Stephen Colbert also took some sharp digs at the current administration.

Colbert prefaced his introduction of this year's nominees by talking about another revival, down in Washington, of an off-Broadway show from the '80s that had massive production values.

He also shared that this show has couple of problems, "The main character is totally unbelievable and hair and makeup: Yeesh. It's supposed to have a four-year run. But reviews have not been kind. It could close early. Best of luck to everyone involved."

Actors like Cynthia Nixon, Sally Field and Kevin Kline also gave some subtle political comments in the show.

Nixon, while accepting her Tony for best featured actress in a play, turned political at the end of her speech.

She said, "There are people who eat the earth and eat all the people on it and other people who just stand around and watch them do it.' My love, my gratitude and my undying respect go out to all of the people in 2017 who are refusing to just stand and watch them do it."

Actress Sally Field, spoke about American Theatre Wing and said, " This reminds us of our strength in diversity, our common bonds and our enduring national spirit that has always guided us through adversity. Born in perilous times, the wing in its next century will do what it's always done, illuminate the darkness with the blazing truth of art."

It should be noted that, 'Dear Evan Hansen' won big with six Tony Awards, including best musical, followed by 'Hello, Dolly!' which took home four Tonys.

The star studded ceremony happened at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Turkish police has detained 18 people over suspicion of links to Daesh terrorist group.

Citing the Dogan news agency, Sputnik reports that the anti-terror police department carried out raids at 19 addresses in 11 districts of the Turkish city of Istanbul in which the suspects were hauled.

Apart from the detentions of the suspects, who were suspected of participating in clashes on behalf of Daesh in Syria, the authorities also captured weapons, ammunition and documents during the raids.

The suspects were then taken to police for questioning.

On Sunday, the Turkish law enforcement had detained five people in the Kilis province located near the Syrian border.

The detainees who were trying to sneak into Turkey from Syria illegally were supposedly Daesh militants.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The United States Department of Defense announced that U.S. has officially conducted its first operation against the al-Shabaab terror group, which is allied to al-Qaeda in Somalia on Sunday.

Al-Shabaab has been staging numerous attacks in the country in an attempt to establish the strict Sharia law in it.

"On June 11, at approximately 2 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, the Department of Defense conducted a strike operation against al-Shabaab in Somalia. The operation occurred approximately 185 miles southwest of Mogadishu. The U.S. conducted this operation in coordination with its regional partners as a direct response to al-Shabaab actions, including recent attacks on Somali forces," the statement read.

The department added that the operation was carried out using powers approved by the US president in March 2017 allowing the military to conduct legal action against the militants.

The Pentagon estimated that the strike, in response to attacks in Somalia by al Qaeda-linked al-Shabab, killed eight militants.

On Thursday, al-Shabaab killed at least 38 and injured 18 in an attack on a military base in northern Somalia, reports Sputnik.

Somalia has been experiencing major violence since the civil war between the clan-based armed factions in the country in the early 1990s.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Apex industry body ASSOCHAM has submitted a six-point innovative five-year-development agenda to the Chief Minister Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath to serve as a quick guide to the areas needing interventions to help new government focuses its energies for growth of the state.

The 'Action Agenda' was jointly prepared by ASSOCHAM and Thought Arbitrage Research Institute (TARI).

The study has recommended a slew of measures for making Uttar Pradesh a vibrant economy with a focus on skill development, agriculture, horticulture, handicraft, handloom, leather and leather products.

Suggesting an economic road map for the next five years to the Yogi Adityanath Government, the study noted that the net migration of people in the age-group of 20-29 years was found to be 58,34,000 between 2001-11 up from 29,55,000 in 1991-2001. The net migration is more than double that of the next state in the pan-India list - Bihar. Besides, it is not always that only illiterate and labour class migrate; often highly skilled talents are also lost to migration.

Monitoring and management centres of the State Skill Development Mission should be set up at district level. Focus of skilling programme should be on high growth areas such as agriculture, building and constructions, handloom and handicraft, food processing, healthcare, leather and unorganised sector - beauty culture, security guards, facility management etc, adds the paper.

District-specific policies for skilling and livelihood generation in migration-hit regions should be formulated. Focus of skilling should be on trades in which they gain employment outside the state construction, (ii) organised retail, (iii)transportation (drivers) to help them gain competitive advantage, highlighted the study.

Economic growth of Uttar Pradesh is critical for India since it is the most populous state as well as home to the most number of poor - 17% of the total population and 22% of the total poor (Census 2011). An economically stronger Uttar Pradesh with its huge market can be an engine of growth for rest of the country.

The state's economic growth (GSDP) has been, for most of the time in the past decade, lower than the national average. This lower growth has been accompanied with a higher population growth. Its decadal growth in population between 1991 and 2001 was 25.8%, as against the national average of 21.3% and that between 2001 and 2011, it was 20.9% against the national average of 17.64%, noted the study.

If we look at the sectoral composition of GSDP, it is the services sector which drives the growth and contributes about 60% to the total income. This is followed by agriculture and allied activities, contributing more than 20%. The industries contribute the least, reflecting poor industrial activities in the state.

There is, therefore, a need to rework the state's strategies towards improving public investment and encourage private participation in agriculture and allied activities. Not only is there need to catch up with the higher productivity level of Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu in food grains by providing improved seeds, training farmers to adopt modern and scientific practices, but there is also a need to pay attention to neglected crops like sugar, maize, groundnut, fruits and vegetables in terms of availability of improved seeds and marketing facilities. Promoting bio-technology and genetic engineering could help. Since farming is rain-dependent, the priority should be to develop community-based surface water irrigation.

The state's industrial sector is driven by the small and medium scale industries - contributing about 60% of total manufacturing output and significant employment (about 60 lakhs).

The state's strategy of setting up industrial clusters has produced rich dividend and should be continued. However, poor marketing linkages and skill level are lingering concerns which needs to be addressed. Common skilling centres for a group of product cluster in modern design, production management, sales and marketing, inventory management and soft skills would help.

The state should also focus on the development of integrated industrial towns (NIMZs) in Auraiya and Jhansi,setting up of Dadri-Noida-Ghaziabad Investment Region, IT Investment Region (ITIR) along Agra-Lucknow expressway and mega food park in Jagdishpur - all are either proposed or cleared. More such projects could be taken up.

Finance is a major concern, especially for SSIs and MSMEs, since long term loans are not available in the existing financing channels. There is a need to revive the erstwhile state industrial development corporations. FDI inflows have been meagre, in comparison to states like Maharashtra, Haryana, Karnataka and Gujarat. It is important that the state studies the FDI policies of those states and tweaks its own policies accordingly and take steps to improve ease of doing business to attract more investment.

The services sector has been doing well and driving the state's growth but there is a greater potential to grow, especially in education and health services, given the poor state of affairs in these areas. The budget allocations need to at least double to catch up with the rest of India in terms of coverage. Low literacy base, high drop out of students, poor student-teacher ratio and lack of adequate higher education institutions should be addressed by roping in private and voluntary sectors.

Tourism is another area in which growth prospects are high but require significant investments. Encouraging private sector to build hotels, recreation facilities and development of civic facilities in existing tourist destinations and developing new tourist centres to attract tourists to religious and historical places and wildlife sanctuaries/parks could pay rich dividend.

Infrastructure has emerged as a major constraint for growth. The state's power shortage was highest in India in 2015-16 (12.5%). The per capita consumption of power is nearly half the national average. The state needs to revisit its 2009 energy policy to bring greater participation of the private sector, improve transmission and distribution through modernisation and cut in AT&C loss (about 50%). Efforts should also be made to complete the ongoing projects since about 68% of all power sector investment are under implementation stage.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bank stocks will be in focus. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will meet heads of public sector banks (PSU banks) today, 12 June 2017 to discuss the issue of non-performing assets (NPAs) and the steps being taken by them to expedite the recovery of bad loans. Major issues on the agenda of the meeting include issues and solutions relating to NPAs of the PSU banks, status of MSE Credit, Stand-up India and Mudra Yojana among others.

Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) said it has revised the marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) for different tenors with effect from 12 June 2017. The bank's MCLR for overnight loans will be 8.1%, the rate for one month will be 8.2% and for three months it will be 8.25%. The MCLR on 6-month loans will be 8.35% and for one-year loans the rate will be 8.5%, the bank said. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 9 June 2017.

Tata Motors said that its global wholesales including Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) declined by 1% to 86,385 units in May 2017 over May 2016. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 9 June 2017.

Coal India (CIL) issued clarification to the stock exchanges with regard to media news item titled "CIL to shut 37 mines ignoring unions threat. The company said that every year, subsidiaries of CIL generally undertake an exercise to determine profit/loss making operating mines for comparative study of the performance of such mines over previous years as well as for opening of new mines.

Government of India (Ministry of Coal) during the review meeting with CIL & its subsidiaries noted that substantial number of mines which are not been able to recover salary of the workers and directed that all subsidiaries of CIL to conduct a detailed study of such mines and report the action taken to list out the unviable mines, the company said.

In view of above, an action plan has been prepared by subsidiaries in which 37 unviable UG mines has been envisaged to be closed in 2017-18. The identified surplus manpower from these mines would be gainfully redeployed in nearby mines of areas to reduce further loss in these mines, CIL said. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 9 June 2017.

Shriram Transport Finance Company said that the allotment committee at a meeting held on 9 June 2017, allotted 3,500 non-convertible debentures (NCDs) aggregating to Rs 350 crore on private placement basis. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 9 June 2017.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Keeping in line with Prime Minister Modi's stress on stronger and long-term cooperation between African countries and India for mutual benefits in the areas of agriculture, women empowerment, rural development, infrastructure etc., while addressing the annual meeting of African Development Bank at Gujarat recently, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has entered into an agreement with the Metal Industries Development Institute (MIDI), Ethiopia to implement a twinning programme. The same is aimed at R&D capacity building of MIDI. CSIR has clinched this multi-million US dollar assignment through a process where many international organisations were considered. The twinning is one of the largest programs (in terms of contractual amount) between a CSIR institute and a foreign entity.

It should also facilitate CSIR's future collaborations with African Organizations.

Dr. Girish Sahni on the occasion said that the knowledgebase of CSIR in the identified areas could be of immense importance for leveraging the technology capacity of African countries. He invited the industry to join hands with CSIR and its counterparts in respective African countries to deploy the technology for benefitting the masses in the region.

The agreement was signed by the Director of National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur (CSIR-NML) on behalf of the participating CSIR Laboratories, and the Director General of Metals Industry Development Institute (MIDI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. CSIR will enhance the capacity and capability of MIDI under the twinning arrangement and thereby enable it to contribute more efficiently towards the development of Metals and Engineering sectors in Ethiopia and thus enhance their competitiveness. The MIDI will be positioned to emerge as a globally competitive center of excellence in the field of Metals and Engineering, through the twinning programme.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The depression over northwest & adjoining northeast Bay of Bengal moved north-northeastwards with a speed of about 30 kmph in past six hours, intensified into a deep depression and crossed Bangladesh coast near Khepupara between 0430 and 0530 hours IST of today, 12th June 2017. It lay centered near Latitude 22.5N and Longitude 90.5E over south Bangladesh & neighbourhood about 60 km northeast of Khepupara (Bangladesh) and 170 km south-southwest of Agartala.

The system is very likely to continue to move north-northeastwards and weaken into a depression during next 12 hours.

Warning:

(i) Heavy Rainfall warning: Rainfall at most places with heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places is very likely to occur over Assam & Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura during next 24 hours and heavy rainfall at isolated places during subsequent 24 hours. Rainfall at most places with heavy rainfall at isolated places is also very likely to occur over coastal districts of north Odisha and West Bengal during next 24 hours.

(ii) Wind warning: Squally winds speed reaching 50-60 kmph gusting to 70 kmph would prevail along & off north Odisha and West Bengal coast during next 12 hours. Strong winds of order 30-40 kmph gusting to 50 kmph would prevail over Assam & Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura during next 48 hours.

(iii) Sea condition: Sea condition would be very rough along & off north Odisha and West Bengal coasts during next 12 hours.

(iv) Fishermen Warning: Fishermen along & off north Odisha and West Bengal coasts are advised not to venture into sea during the same period.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
GMR Infrastructure rose 4.13% to Rs 17.65 at 11:49 IST on BSE on reports the company's joint venture with Megawide Construction made an offer to upgrade Mactan Cebu International Airport in Philippines.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 127.62 points, or 0.41% to 31,134.44.

On the BSE, 52.57 lakh shares were traded in the counter so far, compared with average daily volumes of 25.34 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock had hit a high of Rs 18.05 and a low of Rs 16.70 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 19 on 2 June 2017. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 10.25 on 9 November 2016.

The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 9 June 2017, rising 1.50% compared with 3.34% rise in the Sensex. The scrip had, underperformed the market in past one quarter, rising 6.60% as against Sensex's 8% rise. The scrip had also underperformed the market in past one year, rising 40.20% as against Sensex's 17.37% rise.

The large-cap company has equity capital of Rs 603.59 crore. Face value per share is Re 1.

According to reports, the joint venture between GMR Infrastructure and Philippines-based Megawide Construction, which runs the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA), submitted a massive unsolicited offer to build a second runway and a third passenger terminal in Cebu.

The unsolicited offer by the joint venture, which would eventually require a competitive challenge, was submitted on 7 June 2017. A key feature of the proposal would also allow GMR-Megawide to assume airside operations currently handled by the nation's government, a first of this scale in the Philippines, reports suggested.

Assuming the offer is accepted by the government, the rehabilitation of existing facilities will be done from 2018 to 2021. The reclamation and construction of the second runway is targeted between 2022 and 2030. The final phase will be the construction of a third terminal slated for 2036 onward, reports added.

GMR Infrastructure reported net loss of Rs 2478.78 crore in Q4 March 2017 as against net loss of Rs 1787.09 crore in Q4 March 2016. Net sales rose 57.53% to Rs 176.98 crore in Q4 March 2017 over Q4 March 2016.

GMR Group is a leading global infrastructure conglomerate with interests in airport, energy, transportation and urban infrastructure.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Gulf Oil Lubricants India rose 1.23% to Rs 820 at 12:48 IST on BSE after Morgan Stanley purchased bulk shares of the company on Friday, 9 June 2017.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 145.38 points or 0.47% at 31,116.68. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 51.88 points or 0.35% at 14,823.48.

On the BSE, 2,280 shares were traded on the counter so far as against the average daily volumes of 26,654 shares in the past one quarter. The stock had hit a high of Rs 832.95 so far during the day, which is a record high. The stock hit a low of Rs 811 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 511 on 24 June 2016.

The stock had outperformed the market over the past one month till 9 June 2017, advancing 4.71% compared with the Sensex's 4.44% rise. The stock had also outperformed the market over the past one quarter, gaining 17.84% as against the Sensex's 8.06% rise. The scrip had also outperformed the market over the past one year, gaining 50.84% as against the Sensex's 16.81% rise.

The mid-cap company has equity capital of Rs 9.93 crore. Face value per share is Rs 2.

Morgan Stanley Investment Funds Indian Equity Fund bought 8.78 lakh shares of Gulf Oil Lubricants India from Local Government Superannuation Scheme at Rs 810 per share in a bulk deal on the BSE on Friday, 9 June 2017.

Morgan Stanley Investment Holding Company held 1.77% stake in Gulf Oil Lubricants India as per the shareholding pattern as on 31 March 2017.

Gulf Oil Lubricants India's net profit rose 6.9% to Rs 32.10 crore on 10.2% growth in net sales to Rs 298.94 crore in Q4 March 2017 over Q4 March 2016.

Gulf Oil Lubricants India makes automotive and industrial lubricants, greases and 2-wheeler batteries. The company markets lubricants under the Gulf brand.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
From Coal India

Prakash Industries announced that in the recent coal linkage auction conducted by Coal India for captive power plant sector, the Company has secured additional coal linkages of a total quantity of 5.43 lakh tonnes per annum for the next 5 years. The Company is going to sign the Fuel Supply Agreement in the coming weeks and expects the supplies to commence next month.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Offering itself to be a Value Partner in the development of Punjab, ASSOCHAM suggested to the Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh that tens of thousands of students, boys and girls migrating abroad for quality higher education can be provided the top global standards of learning here, if well known foreign universities, particularly from the US, Canada and UK are roped in to set up their campuses in India.

We have suggested that since not all students aspiring for quality education can afford to go abroad and there are limited number of A-grade institutions within the country and the state, Punjab should take a lead and collaborate with some top foreign universities, preferably from the Canada, UK and the US, ASSOCHAM president Mr Sandeep Jajodia said after his meeting with Captain Amarinder Singh along with chamber's secretary general, Mr D S Rawat, Chairmen of ASSOCHAM Regional Council Mr. A S Mittal and ASSOCHAM Punjab State Committee, Mr. Suneet Kochhar here today.

We should allow them to set up full-fledged campuses here, which would mean that the best of education can be imparted within the country at one-third or one-fourth of the cost which is spent by the aspiring students, he said.

Though the policy parameters for opening doors for foreign universities largely fall within the purview of the Centre, states like Punjab can take a lead in working with the Union Government to bring the best of the foreign universities within the country, added Mr Jajodia.

The favourite destinations for students and young professionals are Canada, the USA, UK and other European countries. While, the state surely gets remittances, those choosing to stay within the country and the state are bereft of adequate opportunities in upgrading their skills, education and gainful employment, he said further.

Supplementing the point, ASSOCHAM secretary general, Mr Rawat said, Quality education would open up several opportunities and lead to industries, especially those in high-end manufacturing, agro-industries, food processing, information technology, health services, financial services to invest in Punjab.

The ASSOCHAM chief said there are several other areas which give distinctive advantage to Punjab and in all these areas, the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can be roped in to be part of the overall supply chain, rather than operate in isolated manner.

For instance, the organised retail need not always be big time hyper stores; the neighbourhood kirana shops can become part of a well-integrated supply chain with the help of modern IT applications. Likewise, SME traders and manufacturers of textiles in Ludhiana need to remodel their businesses with the help of the state government and policy support of the Centre, in terms of becoming more cost competitive and quality-oriented.

If gainfully utilised, the biggest resource for Punjab is its youth who need employment outside agriculture into different sectors viz., industry, trade, health, education, transportation, food processing, dairy products and tourism. All these sectors need a re-look and infrastructure support along with friendly policy environment, Mr Jajodia said.

Sectors like food processing and dairy products would be transformational for the farmers and entire rural landscape. Besides cooperatives, the private sector entrepreneurs should be involved in the value-additions in the entire agri-chain.

Here, there are some examples to be replicated by the successful NRIs (Non-Resident Indians) who can be roped in to look back and handhold the budding entrepreneurs.

The traditional industrial hubs like Jallandhar should be given a lift-up with liberal infrastructure support, particularly for SMEs. These cities can be catalysts again for re-invigorating the industrial development while cities like Patiala should reach out to top notch foreign universities. While the policy has to be dealt largely with the Central Government, Captain Saheb can take up the issue with New Delhi and get the policy re-aligned. In the process, not only Punjab but other states would also gain, said the ASSOCHAM president.

When it comes to the state's agricultural economy, water management is key. It appears to be a somewhat paradox that while Punjab is considered to be a land of rivers, its dependence on groundwater has been rather excessive, leaving the negative fall-outs like toxicity. The state should work closely with the Centre and work out some large irrigation and water management projects which can help both the hinterland as also cities for the drinking water.

On tourism, while religious tourism is on top the chart, with Punjab being the land of the revered Gurus and the holiest Golden Temple, the state can become a major centre of other opportunities like conferences, conventions including those from the government agencies and India Inc.

Cities like Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jallandhar, Mohali should be promoted for organising meetings, conferences by the private sector companies. ASSOCHAM would like to work with the state government in this regard.

Mr Jajodia said ASSOCHAM would be happy to partner with the Punjab Government to hold 'Invest in Punjab' events supported by expositions in different sectors.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Furthering the agenda for cooperative federalism, NITI Aayog has launched SATH, a program providing 'Sustainable Action for Transforming Human capital' with the State Governments. The vision of the program is to initiate transformation in the education and health sectors. The program addresses the need expressed by many states for technical support from NITI .

SATH aims to identify and build three future 'role model' states for health systems. NITI will work in close collaboration with their state machinery to design a robust roadmap of intervention, develop a program governance structure, set up monitoring and tracking mechanisms, hand-hold state institutions through the execution stage and provide support on a range of institutional measures to achieve the end objectives. The program will be implemented by NITI along with McKinsey & Company and IPE Global consortium, who were selected through a competitive bidding process.

To select the three model states, NITI defined a three-stage process - expression of interest, presentations by the states and assessment of commitment to health sector reforms.

NITI invited all states and UTs to participate in the program. Sixteen states expressed prima facie interest, of which fourteen made their presentations. Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh presented their project proposal to a Committee headed by Member of NITI Aayog, Shri Bibek Debroy and comprising of CEO, Amitabh Kant as well as a representative from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Of these fourteen states, five have been shortlisted. Subsequently, three will be selected on the basis of further evaluations and objective assessment of criteria affecting the potential for impact and likelihood of success. Metrics such as MMR, IMR, incidence of malaria and others have been considered for determining potential impact while density of doctors and nurses, compliance to IPHS norms are some of the metrics used to determine likelihood of success. The program will be launched in the three selected states after the signing of MoUs.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
- The pilot to be rolled out across 1000 Common Service Centres (CSC) in Uttar Pradesh & Bihar

- This initiative will also serve as an opportunity to build capacity of 1000 women Para Legal Volunteers (PLV)

- Training of VLEs across 1000 Common Service Centres (CSC) able to effectively operationalize the tele- law services

In its effort to make legal aid easily accessible to the marginalized communities and citizens living in rural areas, the Government of India has launched the 'Tele-Law'. The Ministry of Law and Justice partnered with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), which anchors the Digital India programme, to provide legal aid services through its Common Service Centres (CSC) at the panchayat level, spread across the country. In the first phase, the 'Tele-Law' scheme will be tested as a pilot across 500 Common service Centres (CSC) in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to understand the challenges and make necessary corrections to the scheme before it is scaled up and rolled out across the country in a phased manner.

Under the scheme, a portal called 'Tele-Law' will be launched, which will be available across the Common Service Centre (CSC) network. This will connect the citizens to legal service providers with the help of technology enabled platforms. 'Tele-Law' will enable people to seek legal advice from lawyers through video conferencing available at the Common Service Centres (CSC). Additionally, law school clinics, District Legal Service Authorities, voluntary service providers and Non-Government Organisations working on legal aid and empowerment can also be connected through the CSCs anywhere and anytime, in order to strengthen access to justice for the marginalized communities. The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) will provide a panel of lawyers from State capitals, who will be available through video conferencing to provide legal advice and counselling to the applicants, across the 1000 Common Service Centres (CSC). A robust monitoring and evaluation system is also being designed which will help in assessing the quality of legal advice provided and the ensuing benefit to those accessing it.

Announcing, the launch of Tele-Law, Hon'ble Minister for Electronics, IT, Law and Justice, Shri. Ravi Shankar Prasad said, I am extremely happy to have launched the Tele Law, the legal aid to poor through which will be made available through the Common Services Centers. Tele-Law will fulfill our commitment to ensure access to justice & empowerment of the poor.

The Common Services Centers and Para Legal Volunteers will offer easy legal advice to litigants in rural India making them digitally and financially inclusive.

In addition to this, under this scheme, every Common Service Centre (CSC) will engage a Para Legal Volunteer (PLV), who will be the first point of contact for the rural citizens and will help them in understanding the legal issues, explain the advice given by lawyers and assist in further action required in cases as per the advice of the lawyer. Women PLVs will be encouraged and trained under the Scheme. One thousand women PLVs will work for mainstreaming legal aid services through the CSCs. The aim is to promote women entrepreneurship and empowerment and ensure women participation. The selected PLVs will also be provided with relevant training to fulfil their responsibilities effectively.

A trained PLV will be available in a CSC for ten days in a month under the Scheme. These PLVs will help the applicant connect with a lawyer through the video conferencing facility at the CSC and will keep a track of the progress of the applicants' cases and grievances and maintain a record. They will also submit the records maintained to the District Legal Service Authority every week. The National Legal Service Authority (NALSA) will provide a panel of lawyers who will be sitting in the State capitals and will be available through video conferencing to provide legal advice/counselling to the applicant at the CSCs.

This scheme comes as a continuation to the Access to Justice Project for Marginalized Persons which is being implemented by Department of Justice and United Nation Development Programme (UNDP). The Access to Justice Project partnered with CSC-E-governance Services India Limited to mainstream legal literacy through common service centres in Jharkhand (10 CSCs in 3 districts) and then through 500 CSCs across 11 districts in Rajasthan. Under the program, 500 VLEs in Rajasthan were trained on social justice legislations such as fundamental rights, the right to information, citizen rights vis-vis policing, gender laws, child rights and labour laws.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Nine Bangladeshi nationals were arrested in West Bengal's North 24-Parganas district by the police and BSF personnel for trespassing in Indian territory without any proper documents, the police said on Monday.

While the police of North 24-Parganas district's Swarupnagar apprehended seven persons, including five women, on the charge of encroachment, the Border Security Force troopers arrested two more women and later handed them over to the police.

"We arrested six persons on Sunday night and one more on Monday morning near the border area of Swarupnagar. Two more women were apprehended by the BSF and were handed over to us on Monday morning," an officer from the Swarupnagar police station said.

"The arrested persons are labourers who claimed to have illegally crossed the border in search of jobs," he said.

The police said that there was no major seizure from the people, apart from some cash and clothes.

"None of the 10 accused could produce documents permitting them to stay on Indian soil. They are charged under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act for trespassing," the officer said.

"The accused were presented in Basirhat court where they were remanded in 14 days of judicial custody," he added.

--IANS

mgr/ssp/vg/vt

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Indian writer Munshi Premchand's "Binni" as well as Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky's works "The Dream of a Ridiculous Man" and "White Dreams", have inspired an independent film set in Uttar Pradesh.

Sharad Raj, who was earlier associated with the television industry and has made two short films, is making his directorial debut with the indie drama titled "Ek Betuke Aadmi Ki Afrah Raatein".

About merging the worlds of Dostoevsky and Premchand, Raj told IANS: "Well, the two writers appear in two different parts. Hence, there was no attempt at immediate causal association.

"Both appealed to me thematically. Dostoevsky's stories form the larger umbrella of the film. Premchand's is a small episode. Actually, I was looking at deeper social connect for that part and got it from what I think is a rare Premchand story."

Overall, love is the essence of the film, for which Raj is raising Rs 26 lakh on creative crowdfunding platform Wishberry.

"The film is in the backdrop of my home state of Uttar Pradesh and largely set in Lucknow, my home town. The film deals with the alienation of modern man in the times of rising violence, consumerism and capitalism," Raj said in an email interview.

An alumnus of the Film Direction course at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) alumbus, he says adapting from literary works "seems to come naturally" to him.

"Right from my FTII Diploma film to my two short features, adaptation has come to my rescue. What I do is take the basic plot or the idea of the story and then reinterpret it according to my needs.

"I take the soul, you can say, if I identify with a story and then give it the body I want to. Also what interests me is the relationship a written text can have with an audio-visual text. Trying to grapple with it gives me the form for the film," he explained.

Raj hopes the movie gets some visibility at film fests, and eventually a release. For the moment, he knows he "cannot expect a producer belonging to a capital intensive system to put in money in a film like mine or any other film of the same ilk".

So, crowdfunding, he agrees, is "one way to assure creative autonomy".

As far as quality of content on the small screen world is concerned, he has one word: "Abysmal".

"Have you ever seen a really big chain, fine dining restaurant survive in a food court," he asked, pointing out how once in while a good show comes along, but the phase passes sooner than one knows.

He says Mumbai's survival pangs landed him into television.

"I got instant success as a creative director, got seduced by all the money and glamour, until I realised I have lost myself completely. And the introspection that followed, the answers to all my queries was to make a film."

--IANS

rb/vd

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Founder and Executive Chairman of Alibaba Group Jack Ma is expected to attend the inaugural of YouthConnekt Africa Summit to be held next month here, Rwandan ministry of youth and ICT said on Sunday.

Rwanda hosts the meeting from July 19 to 21 that will primarily focus on youth entrepreneurship and to explore and exploit opportunities on the continent, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Jack Ma is scheduled to come to Rwanda and share entrepreneurial skills with our young people. We are in contacts with the Alibaba Group and we expect him next month in Kigali for YouthConnekt Africa Summit," Jean Philbert Nsengimana, Rwandan minister of youth and ICT, was quoted as saying.

He added the Chinese business magnate is among key guest speakers at the event, including Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Mukhisa Kituyi, secretary of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and Abdoulaye Mar Diye, United Nations Development Program (UNDP) assistant administrator and director of the Regional Bureau for Africa.

The summit is expected to attract more than 1,500 participants including top executives from multinational companies that operate in Africa, leaders of civil society organisations, Africa's development partners, members of the academia and most importantly successful entrepreneurs, artists and youth opinion leaders from across the continent, according to organisers.

The three-day meeting on "realising Africa's youth potential" will bring together government officials, entrepreneurs, investors, multinationals, and startups shaping the African technological ecosystem to interact and discuss on the methods of using technology to drive Africa's economic growth.

--IANS

sku/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Actor Arjun Rampal poses for a mug shot as mafia don Arun Gawli in a new poster of "Daddy", announcing the film's release on July 21.

Arjun portrays the gangster-turned politician Arun Gawli, and flaunts long tresses, a beard and an intense look to play the part. The movie also features Farhan Akhtar and Aishwarya Rajesh.

A political crime drama film, "Daddy" is co-written and directed by Ashim Ahluwalia.

A description of the movie reads in a statement: "The story is about Gawli, a man who scripted his own destiny, eventually going on to become one of India's most feared mobsters. Now, he remains an enigmatic figure; at once a volatile, power-hungry gangster for some and the venerated 'Daddy' or a modern day Robin Hood for the working-class neighbourhood he belongs to."

It is narrated from multiple perspectives and spans over four decades.

--IANS

shi/rb/vt

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Burglars broke open the lockers of a Punjab National Bank (PNB) branch in Modinagar and escaped with valuables kept in them, police said on Monday.

The burglars first bored a hole in the concrete boundary wall of the bank located at the Modi Cloth Mills in Ghaziabad district to get inside and then forced access to the locker area.

The crime, a police officer said, may have occurred on Saturday or Sunday when the bank was shut. The bank manager became aware of the robbery on Monday morning.

Police blamed the bank's poor security system for the crime.

"The bank lacks security measures. If an attempt was made to get into the bank from any side, a siren should have sounded. But the siren did not work," said Superintendent of Police S.N. Singh.

--IANS

sps/mr/vd

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Amid the indefinite shutdown called by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland, the West Bengal government on Monday said it has stepped up security measures for tourists even as tour operators flayed the Trinamool Congress regime for not doing enough.

"So far 45 buses, small, medium and large, have been operating to ferry stranded tourists to the plains in Siliguri and to the nearest airport (Badgodgra) and railway station (New Jalpaiguri). There are still thousands of tourists there," State Tourism Minister Goutam Deb told IANS on Monday, failing to give the approximate numbers.

"We appeal to the tourists not to panic as we have stepped up security measures for them. Hotels and shops are still open in their service," he added.

Deb had earlier said that around 45,000 tourists were in Darjeeling and nearby areas of the eastern Himalayas.

The Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), however, rubbished claims of safety, saying the state government didn't do enough.

"For the last couple of years, Darjeeling has had a very bad name among tourists. The state government didn't provide the required marketing and the amenities needed for travellers, especially the international tourists," IATO's Gour Kanjilal told IANS.

"They don't have proper crisis management cell. Whatever they are saying is just a sympathy statement," added Kanjilal.

Darjeeling -- due to its vantage location in the Eastern Himalayas, straddling nature reserves and Buddhist sites, as well as proximity to northeast India, Nepal and Bhutan -- draws around 600 tourists per day during summer till July, as per data provided by the Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI).

He said tourist arrivals during this time of the year are mostly concentrated around north India and northeast India.

"June, July and August are not peak months. And the demand is for destinations like Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir. Because of stone pelting concerns, we are not taking tourists to J&K, although there is a substantial demand for the region," Kanjilal said.

"Tour operators in Kashmir valley are luring tourists with promises of safety aboard houseboats as the towns may come under attack. Because of the unrests in Darjeeling, we are avoiding that destination. After all, tourists want tension free hill holidays," he added.

He said the international tourists fly into New Delhi and fan out to the Himalayan destinations in north India while for the northeast circuit, they arrive at Bagdogra airport and start their sojourn from Sikkim.

"To see rainfall, they prefer Munnar, Ooty etc in south India. The long-term impact of the Darjeeling unrest will be bad for the tourism sector if the state government does not take the tourism sector seriously and come to a steady solution," Kanjilal warned.

A tourist said, "We ran out of money to make arrangements for travelling back to Siliguri as the cab operators in Darjeeling had hiked their fee up to three fold. What used to cost us Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000 is now priced at Rs 5,000 (cab ride to Siliguri from Darjeeling)."

"ATMs were shut and shops downed shutters as well. I never thought we will have to flee like this. I will come back again but when peace is restored," he added.

The state government has been advertising tea tourism, eco tourism and homestays in the north Bengal hills.

--IANS

sgh/amit/rn

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A new programme is introducing people in some shantytowns in Rio de Janeiro to yoga, teaching residents of some of Brazil's poorest areas how to deal with the stress caused by the constant violence around them.

Residents of the Alemao, Mare, Cidade de Deus and Cantagalo shantytowns, where shootouts occur on an almost daily basis, are learning breathing, stretching and other yoga techniques, thanks to the RAS programme launched by the Art of Living group in the poor areas.

Violence "causes individuals to reach their stress limit", the programme's coordinator, Lanusia Cavalcante, told Efe news.

"That's how you deal with emotional problems, with yoga and the breathing you help reduce the problems from stress, relax and achieve internal peace. That's the goal, to have internal peace," Cavalcante said.

Participants in the yoga classes range in age from teenagers to adults.

Joedson, a 13-year-old boy, told EFE he did not like life in the Alemao shantytown complex because "everything is very intense" from "the music to strolling down the street, it's not peaceful".

The boy convinced one of his friends, Matheus, to take the yoga class.

Rio de Janeiro, according to Amnesty International figures, registered 1,771 shootouts in the first quarter of 2017.

--IANS

mr/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said the Centre is committed to the speedy development of the north-eastern states, especially areas along the international border in the region.

Chairing a meeting of Chief Ministers and senior officers of four north-eastern states called to review security situation in their states on the India-Myanmar international border, Rajnath Singh said the region is rich in human and natural resources.

"Our government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is committed to fast-tracking the region's development. Extension work on spreading road and rail networks is on in a mission mode."

"The meeting discussed the status of border infrastructure along the India-Myanmar border and implementation of the Border Area Development Programme projects," a Mizoram Home Department official said.

He said Rajnath Singh also reviewed the status of streamlining the Free Movement Regime for better facilitation of movement of people across the border.

Besides Rajnath Singh's deputy Kiren Rijiju, Chief Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh (Pema Khandu), Manipur (N. Biren Singh) and Mizoram (Lal Thanhawla), Nagaland Chief Minister Shurhozelie Liezietsu's representative and state Home Minister Yanthungo Patton, Chief Secretaries, Directors General of Police, Director General of the Assam Rifles, and senior state civil and police officials attended the meeting.

The Home Minister said Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, and Mizoram got Rs 567.39 crore in three years under the Border Area Development programme.

Rajnath Singh and Kiren Rijiju were scheduled to visit the India-Myanmar border areas by a helicopter, the official said.

The Home Minister also met Mizoram Governor Lt. Gen. Nirbhay Sharma (retd) at Raj Bhavan in Aizwal.

"Shall review security and development-related issues with CMs of north-eastern states bordering Myanmar," Singh earlier tweeted ahead of his arrival in Mizoram capital Aizawl on Monday morning.

The unfenced India-Myanmar border along Mizoram is frequently used by smugglers to smuggle in drugs, firearms and contraband from Myanmar, the official said.

Arunachal Pradesh (520 km), Manipur (398 km), Nagaland (215 km) and Mizoram (510 km) share the 1,643-km mountainous border of India with Myanmar.

--IANS

sc/tsb/vt

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The city of Qingdao in China's Shandong province has adopted a new policy which will allow people to keep only one pet dog and register the animal for 400 yuan ($59).

The new one-dog regulation, which took effect on Monday, also prohibited 40 big breeds, including Mastiffs, German Shepherds and St. Bernards, reported the People's Daily.

"An eligible dog should get a rabies vaccine and a license, and have an electronic chip implanted during the registration process," said Zhao Jun, an official at the Qingdao public security bureau.

The electronic chip, which is implanted under the skin of a dog's neck, stores information about the animal, its owner and the date of vaccination.

Registration work will start on Thursday.

Zhao said dogs have become a serious social problem as increasing numbers of city dwellers are keeping them, the People's Daily reported.

"Pet lovers and those who don't like animals often have disagreements, and some dogs negatively affect the city's environment and people's lives...The regulation came out after the consideration of opinions of experts, officials and residents."

The new regulation allows owners six months to register their dogs. After that, the authorities can take action against violators, including imposing fines and confiscation of animals.

Dogs registered before the new regulation are not affected.

Qingdao is not the first city in China to make a one-dog policy. In 2009, Chengdu, Sichuan province, limited households to one dog. Harbin, Heilongjiang province, prohibited dogs taller than 50 cm and longer than 70 cm.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
China's COSCO, one of the world's largest shipping companies, on Monday announced the suspension of services to and from Qatar over an ongoing diplomatic row after nine Arab countries cut diplomatic ties with Doha.

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Yemen, Libya, Maldives, Mauritius and Mauritania last week severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism, reports Efe news.

"In view of an uncertain situation, and to protect the utmost interests of our clients, we decided to suspend shipments from/to Qatar with immediate effect," the company said in a notice to customers.

With this move, COSCO joins other companies in the region, including Taiwan's Evergreen and Hong Kong's OOCL, which have already suspended services to the Arab country.

The Chinese company said the suspension will not affect vessels that had already sailed towards Qatar's main port, Hamad, before the diplomatic crisis erupted, although there could be delays in delivery.

--IANS

ksk/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Congress on Monday demanded a CBI probe on the alleged huge unaccounted wealth of former Nagaland Police official M.K.R. Pillai, uncovered in raids.

IT sleuths in Kerala's Kochi have unearthed unaccounted money worth Rs 400 crore from the Sreevalasam Group firm owned by Pillai, who is currently a consultant to the Nagaland Police.

"The recent revelations about Pillai during the IT raids have once again exposed the corrupt activities that have flourished during the past 15 years of Naga People's Front-led Democratic Alliance of Nagaland government.

"It is an open secret that Pillai has been running the show in the police department with many of the top police officials dancing to his tunes and this is plainly evident by the timid reaction of the state DGP and the apprehension of a senior police officer that police department will be badly affected if Pillai is removed," the Congress statement said.

Pillai, who hails from Kerala, started his career as a constable in Nagaland Police in the 1970s and retired as Additional Superintendent of Police. He was subsequently appointed a consultant.

Claiming the central government during the past decade had sanctioned hundreds of crores particularly for modernisation of Police Force but these funds were found "badly misused", the Congress said the fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 18 crore by the police department in 2009-10 by producing fictitious bills as highlighted by a CAG report were the most prominent.

"The state government must hand over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate all irregularities that have flourished in the police department with people like Pillai thriving under the patronage of some corrupt politicians and top police officials unhindered for many years.

"This is an opportunity to clean the dirty stables of the police department and also expose the politicians and top officials who have allowed the system to become a one man show of Pillai in return for sharing the spoils," said the party, which has several times demanded all these consultants be removed.

A President's Police Medal winner, Pillai came under the IT scanner post-demonetisation.

--IANS

rrk/vd

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Delhi court will on July 31 issue orders on framing charges against a private firm and three persons in a coal block allocation case in Jharkhand.

Special Judge Bharat Parashar reserved for July 31 his order on whether to put the accused on trial after arguments on the point of charge were concluded.

The case has been slapped against Pawanjay Steel and Power Limited (PSPL), its two directors Gyanchand Prasad Agarwal and Umesh Prasad Agarwal, and Manager (Marketing) of Hari Machines Ltd (HML) S.K. Kanungo.

The special court had summoned them on September 28, 2016, for the alleged offences of criminal conspiracy and cheating, and said prima facie sufficient incriminating evidence exists on record against them.

The three accused were granted bail on November 9.

The CBI had registered a case of alleged criminal conspiracy and cheating under the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act against PSPL, its officials, Kanungo and other unknown persons, including public servants.

The chargesheet has said that PSPL and its two directors along with Kanungo, hatched a criminal conspiracy with a view to deceive the Ministry of Coal so as to induce it to allocate a captive coal block in favour of the accused firm.

PSPL had also submitted wrong information about the land actually acquired by them at the proposed project site in Jharkhand, the chargesheet stated.

--IANS

gt/vgu/vt

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Retired Bolivian Gen. Gary Prado Salmon, who in 1967 captured Ernesto "Che" Guevara, said the Cuban Communist party sent the iconic Argentine-Cuban guerrilla leader "to die in Bolivia" because they didn't want to put up with him any longer.

In an interview with Efe News, Prado defended the hypothesis, which will be in the prologue of the new edition of his book "La Guerrilla Inmolada", which analyzes Che Guevara's downfall while serving with a guerrilla group in Bolivia almost 50 years ago.

"After so many years, what has come out is that ultimately they sent Che here to die. They rid themselves of him. That is the reality. (Fidel) Castro rid himself of (Che). Not only because he wanted to, but because the Cuban Communist Party leadership could not stand him any longer because of his character and his way of being impulsive," Prado said.

A captain at the time, Prado on Octtober 8, 1967 commanded an army patrol that wounded and captured Che in southeastern Bolivia. Prado turned the guerrilla over to his seniors, who the next day executed him in the nearby town of La Higuera.

The fourth Bolivian edition of the book, which first came out in 1987, analyzes the guerrilla experience in Bolivia and will be released in the coming days, reports Efe.

The hypothesis about Cuba's abandonment of Che Guevara and his differences with Castro regarding relations with the Soviet model have sparked controversy and have been rejected by Havana and Che's family.

The Bolivian Rangers, including Prado, were trained by the US Green Berets who were dispatched to Bolivia to prepare the local troops for the fight against the guerrillas.

Prado, who has been in a wheelchair since being accidentally shot by another officer in 1981, said the book has given him great satisfaction because it's been released in Argentine, US and Italian editions as well as two editions in Spain.

But, he says, "in my life I did more important things than capture Che Guevara".

--IANS

mr/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Recalling the contribution of journalists to the Indian freedom struggle, Vice President Hamid Ansari on Monday said a democracy needs a free press and the same goes for society as well.

He also said that press played an important role in educating, convincing and mobilising people.

In his keynote address after unveiling a commemorative edition of the National Herald here along with Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, Ansari said he was sure that the National Herald will live up to the high standards set by independent India's first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who set up the newspaper.

He said National Herald was launched from Lucknow in 1938 (with Nehru as its Editor) and soon became the voice of the independence movement.

"The history of freedom struggle in India is closely linked to Indian journalists, who were not merely news providers but also social activists and freedom fighters. They wanted to rid the country not only of the foreign rule but also social prejudices, casteism, communalism, and discrimination," the Vice President said.

"Many founding members of the Congress in 1885 were journalists. The Press emerged as a tool of national awakening. It became a medium of nationalist political participation of masses," he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi said thousands of journalists in the country are not being allowed to write what they wish to write.

"Anybody who attempts to say the truth, or stand by truth, is pushed aside in different forms. The Dalits are beaten up; minorities are frightened; journalists are threatened; and bureaucrats are threatened," Gandhi said.

"Journalists told me they are not allowed to write what they want. The National Herald should open door to such people," the Congress leader said.

Recalling how he was prevented from entering Madhya Pradesh to meet the kin of farmers killed in police firing on June 6 in Mandsaur, Gandhi said a police official told him he was forced to do something he didn't want to.

"I told him I am a citizen of India, I can go to Madhya Pradesh. On what basis are you stopping me? Is there any law which you are applying? He looked at me and said there is no law but he have been told to...," the Congress leader said.

Gandhi also recalled how he was stopped at the Uttar Pradesh border when he wanted to meet the Dalits who had borne the brunt of a communal clash in Shabbirpur village.

"Police told me I can't go to Uttar Pradesh. Everybody knows what the truth is but they are scared to say it," he said.

Speaking about the National Herald, Gandhi said: "The National Herald has a very strong spirit. It is not going to remain silent. Its Editor came to me some time back. I told him there may be times where you have to say things against the Congress, against me, against some of our ideas. I want you to be absolutely comfortable; I want you to say things because it is important that we hear them."

--IANS

str/tsb/dg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
French President Emmanuel Macron's party "The Republic On The Move" (LREM) and its ally MoDem took the lead in the first round of French legislative election on Sunday.

Major results of all available exit polls showed that LERM won up to 33.5 per cent of votes, ahead of the conservatives which collected between 20.8 per cent and 22 per cent, Xinhua news agency reported.

Eying to form a strong opposition, the far-right National Front collected up to 14 per cent while the outgoing ruling Socialist Party reported a poor score of between nine and 10 per cent.

Following the first result of parliamentary competition's first leg, LREM and its allies were likely to win between 415 and 455 seats out of the 577-seat lower house of parliament, securing a landslide majority.

The Kantar Sofres-onepoint estimate, made for French newspaper Le Figaro, put the number at between 400 and 440 seats for LERM.

"With this result, there is a desire of the French to be coherent and want to give a majority to the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron," government spokesman Christophe Castaner told TF1 news channel.

By 5 p.m. local time, 40.75 per cent had cast their ballots, the lowest turnout in the fifth Republic, compared with the same time of day in the first round of 2012, when the figure stood at 48.3 per cent.

--IANS

sku/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday blamed the Narendra Modi-led central government's failure to fulfil promise on the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for the ongoing farmers' protests in the country.

The Janata Dal-United (JD-U) President also warned that "there will be more crisis in the agriculture sector in the coming days, thanks to the apathy".

"Farmers are in a bad condition but the central government is indifferent to them. The government's failure to enforce MSP for farm produce has forced the farmers to protest. The country has been facing an agrarian crisis due to the low price of farm produce," Nitish told the media here.

The Bihar Chief Minister also said the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government had in 2014 promised that it would implement the MSP with 50 per cent additional incentive for farmers. "What happened to that promise?"

He also said, "Loan waivers are not the only way to solve the farmers' problems as they have been facing different problems at different places".

"During his campaign in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Modi promised to farmers to provide MSP. But it is yet to be announced. Farmers are angry over it. BJP had promised many things to farmers and now forgot," he said.

Nitish Kumar also said the central government is yet to formulate a national policy for farmers in the country. "Farmers have been committing suicide because they are not getting adequate price for their produce".

The JD-U leader said "agrarian crisis is the main cause behind the reservation demand by the Marathas in Maaharashtra to Patidars in Gujarat".

--IANS

ik/pgh/vt

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A major fire broke out at the Income Tax department's office - Aaykar Bhawan - in Allahabad on Monday, police said.

The fire was brought under control by fire tenders after great difficulty but much damage had been done by then to the files, records, computers and furniture, an official informed.

The Joint Commissioner's office was fully gutted in the fire.

Officials of the IT department said the police prima facie apprehend that a short circuit triggered the fire, but added they will also probe if there was any mischief behind the incident.

No loss of life or any injuries to any personnel deployed at the office has been reported.

--IANS

md/amit/rn

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Four telecom companies -- Reliance Jio, Reliance Communications, Aircel and Tata Teleservices -- on Monday met the inter-ministerial group (IMG) formed to look into the dwindling fortunes of the sector.

Industrialist Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio, the new entrant in the industry, said the telecom firms not investing enough in new technologies and leveraging their balance sheet need to blame themselves for their financial difficulties.

A Jio official said: "Operators (excluding Jio) need to invest Rs 125,000 crore, pay back debt and they need to invest in technology, as growth is happening in data."

The official said the other companies can do this even by selling their stakes.

He further added that the few policy interventions that are required for the industry should come as reduction in Goods and Services Tax rates, licence fee and Universal Service Obligation Fund levies.

He elaborated that reduction in GST rates, USOF and licence fees will help the telecom industry generate an additional Rs 20,000-25,000 crore earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda).

The telecom sector's debt is estimated to be over Rs 4 lakh crore.

An official of Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications (RCOM) said: "The state of the sector is known to all. Our demands are same as our presentation earlier. We want reduction of licence fees and deferred spectrum payments."

RCOM has already proposed licence fees reduction to 5 per cent from the existing 8 per cent; reduction of spectrum usage charge to a uniform rate of 1 per cent; and deferred payment of spectrum charges.

Aircel also echoed similar demands.

The task of the IMG is to examine systemic issues affecting viability and repayment capacity in telecom sector and furnish recommendations for resolution of stressed assets at the earliest.

It will submit its recommendations within three months.

This was the first meeting among the series of meetings planned this week. The panel will be meeting BSNL and MTNL on Tuesday followed by Airtel and Vodafone India on Friday.

It will also be meeting top public sector bank officials as well.

--IANS

ag/sac/dg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Amid raging debate over the role of the press and its freedom in the country, Vice President Hamid Ansari on Monday said only a "free and responsible" could hold power to account in this age of "post-truths" and "alternative facts".

Addressing the re-launch event of the Congress-run National Herald newspaper, Ansari said here the country's constitutional framework allows state intervention to ensure smooth working of the press and the society, but "such intervention should only be in the interest of the public at large".

"In an open society like ours, we need a responsible press to hold power to account," he said, launching the print and online edition of the newspaper, founded and edited by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1938.

The newspaper is presently in a legal trouble with Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul accused of setting up a company, Young Indian, to buy the newspaper's debts using Congress funds, and illegally acquiring property worth Rs 5,000 crore belonging to the newspaper.

Ansari's remarks came amid a campaign by journalists to safeguard the freedom of the press which they allege has come under severe threat from the government after the CBI raided the homes of veteran journalist and NDTV founder Prannoy Roy last week.

The Vice President said the duty of the state was to protect a free media, which "is not only beneficial but necessary in a free society".

"If press freedom is attacked, it will result in the jeopardising of citizen's rights. When faced with unjust restrictions and the threat of attack, self-censorship in the can have the opposite effect, aiding the covering up of abuses and fostering frustration in marginalized communities."

Ansari said the freedom of press guaranteed by the Constitution was subject "only to reasonable restrictions in the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the state, public order, decency, contempt of court, defamation and incitement to an offence".

He cited a Supreme Court view that "freedom of speech and of the press is the Ark of the Covenant of Democracy' because public criticism is essential to the working of its institutions".

Ansari said the system of government like in other democracies demanded "constant vigilance over exercise of governmental power by the press", which he asserted, "is essential for a good government".

"By the same token, the state shall not impede the free flow of information that will go a long way in protecting and promoting citizen's rights. The media, if it is to remain true to its calling, has to do likewise."

The Vice President said in this age of "post-truths, and alternative facts, where advertorials and response features edge-out editorials", the could do well if it recalled India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's vision of the press "playing its role of a watchdog in democracy".

--IANS

sar/vt

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Nine miscreants of a gang were arrested from West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district and a huge cache of arms and ammunition seized from them, police said on Monday.

"Nine people were arrested from South 24 Parganas district's Mandir Bazar area on Sunday evening. The miscreants gathered at the spot with the motive of robbery in the nearby Ilambarpur market," an officer posted in Mandir Bazar police station said.

"A one shutter gun, a five round revolver, a number of crude bombs and several rounds of ammunition have been seized from them. The crude bombs have been successfully disposed of," he added.

According to police, the miscreants were earlier convicted in various cases of robbery in and around the district.

"The nine miscreants have been slapped with charges of making preparation to commit dacoity (IPC 399), assembling for committing dacoity (IPC 402) and various sections of the Arms Act. They would be produced in the Diamond Harbour court later on Monday," the officer added.

--IANS

mgr/amit/rn

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani on Monday demanded the release of political activists in prisons in the Kashmir Valley before Eid-ul-Fitr.

The octogenarian said in a statement that Eid would fall on June 25 or 26, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

Geelani said the detention of political activists under the harsh Public Safety Act (PSA) in Jammu and Kashmir was nothing short of "extremism".

He said separatist leaders like Asiya Andrabi, Masarat Alam and others were in different jails.

Calling the 2016 summer unrest in the Valley as "people's uprising", Geelani alleged that over 20,000 people and activists were arrested last year and more than 500 of them were still under detention.

He also sought the intervention of Amnesty International and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on the issue.

--IANS

sq/mr

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Germany's Ambassador to Nepal Matthias Meyer, who has completed his three-year tenure in the Himalayan nation, is travelling the around 11,000 km home by road, a media report said.

The German envoy said he liked to travel to places with peaceful environment and to make new acquaintances, Himalayan Times reported.

"Why should we always travel on a plane?", said Meyer, who entered the Indian side of the border through the western border point of Gadda Chowki in Nepal on Monday morning.

On his decision to travel to Germany on a four-wheeler, Meyer said he desired to see the villages on the way.

The German envoy, who stayed at the Shuklaphanta Cottage in Shuklaphanta National Park after his arrival in Kanchanpur district on Sunday evening, pledged Berlin's continued support in the development of Nepal's tourist destinations.

He said Nepal has plenty of locations with tourism possibilities.

Meyer added that he would return to visit the national park again and also visit Jumla and the famous Rara Lake.

During a brief talk with the Rastriya Samachar Samiti, Meyer was reminiscent of his visit to Manang and Mustang, and confided that he was enticed by the cultural diversity, the daily said.

Meyer would be travelling through Pakistan, Iran and Turkey before entering Europe.

--IANS

amit/rn

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Notwithstanding massive security arrangements, several state government offices were torched, vandalised or forcibly shut by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) supporters on Monday  day one of the indefinite shutdown called by the party to press for a Gorkhaland state in the northern West Bengal hills.

The GJM termed the shutdown "successful and spontaneous" and demanded central intervention on the Gorkhaland issue. However, the state government claimed the attendance in government offices was normal, but called the disruption "suicidal".

On the other hand, police claimed the situation was "peaceful".

The shutdown call given by the GJM was mainly targeted at the central and state government offices, and those of the hill development body, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration. Educational institutions and transport were kept outside its purview.

The violence began early in the morning with the torching of Block Development Office (BDO) in Darjeeling's Bijanbari, allegedly by a group of GJM activists.

Three GJM workers were arrested after the incident. Several others were detained.

"The situation is under control. Three persons have been arrested for trying to incite violence. We have detained a few people also," a senior police officer said.

In the afternoon, the PWD office in Darjeeling town was allegedly set on fire, while another BDO in Darjeeling district's Pulbazar was vandalised by pro-Gorkhaland activists.

A hydro project in Sonada -- a small town around 17 km from Darjeeling -- was ransacked by the shutdown supporters, who also forcibly shut a panchayat office at Sukna.

However, police rushed in and reopened the panchayat office.

The famous Toy Train service -- the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, which figures on the Unesco Heritage list -- was kept shut considering the possible security threats to tourists, a railway official said.

"There are no major incidents of violence. But we are on alert because there are many offices in the area. Our forces are patrolling and picketing everywhere," a senior district police officer said.

To avert any ugly turn of events, massive security arrangements have been put in place at all important roads and public offices.

Six columns of army have been deployed in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong towns since Thursday.

The state police, along with the CRPF and combat force personnel, were seen manning the important and critical points in Darjeeling, wearing protective body armour and helmets.

"The shutdown is successful. It is a spontaneous shutdown. The people of the hills have made it a success," GJM General Secretary Roshan Giri told IANS.

"We want central government's intervention and concrete steps on our long-pending demand for Gorkhaland," he said.

Denying any role of the party in violence targeting government offices, Giri said: "Had we wanted, we could have stopped all offices by rallying thousands of our supporters."

State Tourism Minister Gautam Deb said the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had instructed the state administration to "combat the shutdown".

"The attendance in the government offices was normal. This is a suicidal shutdown. Our government and particularly our Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has instructed the administration to combat this illegal shutdown," Deb said.

The minister said efforts are on to ferry thousands of stranded tourist out of the hills.

"So far 45 buses, small, medium and large, have been operating to ferry stranded tourists to the plains in Siliguri and to the nearest airport (Bagdogra) and railway station (New Jalpaiguri).

"There are still thousands of tourists there. We appeal to tourists not to panic, as we have stepped up security measures for them. Hotels and shops are still offering their services," Deb told IANS, but could not give approximate number of the stranded tourists.

Besides pressing for Gorkhland, the GJM has accused the state government of "high-handedness and committing atrocities" on the people of hills.

The party is also protesting what it calls the state government's "attempt" to impose Bengali on the Nepali-speaking people of the region, even though Banerjee has asserted there are no such plans for the hills.

Although the party had on Saturday announced that tourism would be outside the ambit of the movement, a day later GJM chief Bimal Gurung "advised" tourists to leave the hills, saying the situation could deteriorate.
Despite massive security arrangements, violence was reported from several areas as Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) supporters torched, vandalised or forcibly shut state government offices on Monday -- Day One of its indefinite shutdown called to press for a Gorkhaland state in the northern West Bengal hills.

While the GJM termed the shutdown "successful and spontaneous" and demanded central intervention on the Gorkhaland issue, the state government said the disruption was "suicidal". The police, however, claimed the situation was "peaceful".

The shutdown call given by the GJM was mainly targeted at the central and state government offices of the hill development body, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration. Educational institutions and transport were kept outside its purview.

The violence began early in the morning with the torching of Block Development Office (BDO) in Darjeeling's Bijanbari, allegedly by a group of GJM activists.

Three GJM workers were arrested after the incident.

"The situation is under control. Three persons have been arrested for trying to incite violence," a senior police officer said.

In the afternoon, the PWD office in Darjeeling town was allegedly set on fire, while another BDO in Darjeeling district's Pulbazar was vandalised by pro-Gorkhaland activists.

A hydro project in Sonada -- a small town around 17 km from Darjeeling -- was ransacked by the shutdown supporters, who also forcibly shut a panchayat office at Sukna.

However, the police rushed in and reopened the panchayat office.

The famous Toy Train service -- the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, which figures on the Unesco Heritage list -- was kept shut considering the possible security threats to tourists, a railway official said.

"There are no major incidents of violence but we are alert because there are many offices in the area. Our forces are patrolling and picketing everywhere," a senior district police officer said.

The officer said the number of women police personnel had been significantly increased in the hills to "successfully tackle" the female protesters.

To avert any ugly turn of events, massive security arrangements have been put in place at all important roads and public offices.

Six columns of army have been deployed in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong towns since Thursday, officials said.

The state police, along with the CRPF and combat force personnel, were seen manning the important and critical points in Darjeeling, wearing protective body armour and helmets.

"The shutdown is successful. It is a spontaneous shutdown. The people of the hills have made it a success," GJM General Secretary Roshan Giri told IANS.

He said that the GJM had not staged any demonstrations in any of the hill districts, including Darjeeling and Kalimpong.

"We didn't enforce a shutdown. We want central government's intervention and concrete steps on our long-pending demand for Gorkhaland," he said.

Denying any role of the party in violence targeting government offices, Giri said: "Had we wanted, we could have stopped all offices by rallying our thousands of supporters."

State Tourism Minister Gautam Deb said the Chief Minister had instructed the state administration to "combat the shutdown".

"This is a suicidal shutdown. Our government and particularly our Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has instructed the administration to combat this illegal shutdown," Deb said.

The minister said efforts are on to ferry thousands of stranded tourist out of the hills.

"So far 45 buses, small, medium and large, have been operating to ferry stranded tourists to the plains in Siliguri and to the nearest airport (Bagdogra) and railway station (New Jalpaiguri).

"There are still thousands of tourists there. We appeal to tourists not to panic, as we have stepped up security measures for them. Hotels and shops are still offering their services," Deb told IANS on Monday, but could not give approximate number of the stranded tourists.

Besides pressing for Gorkhland, the GJM has accused the state government of "high-handedness and committing atrocities" on the people of hills.

The party is also protesting what it calls the state government's "attempt" to impose Bengali on the Nepali-speaking people of the region, even though Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has asserted there are no such plans for the hills.

Although the party had on Saturday announced that tourism would be outside the ambit of the movement, a day later GJM chief Bimal Gurung "advised" tourists to leave the hills, saying the situation could deteriorate.

--IANS

str-mgr/ssp/nir/vt

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Chinese smartphone-maker Huawei, under its Honor brand, will soon launch "Honor 8 Pro" in India which will come with 4th generation dual camera.

"Our focus is to bridge innovation and technology, create an elite ecosystem of industry visionaries and offer products that significantly enhance the way people connect with one another," said Allen Wang Director, Product Center, Huawei India Consumer Business Group, in a statement on Monday.

In the upcoming Honor 8 Pro, Huawei aims to bring together best-in-class hardware and software, from optical lenses to sensors, to image processing algorithms, empowering users to capture the highest-quality images, the company said.

Earlier this month, Huawei launched 'Honor 8 Lite' smartphone at Rs 17,999.

Featuring Kirin 655 octa-core chipset backed by a 4GB RAM+64GB ROM, the 5.2-inch full-HD display device runs on EMUI 5.0 on top of Android Nougat.

--IANS

anuj/na/dg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India is committed to bearing the entire expenditure of Rs 2,500 crore to build the permanent campus of the South Asian University (SAU) here, Minister of State for External Affairs M.J. Akbar said on Monday.

"India is fully committed to bear 100 per cent of the captive cost which has been budgeted at this moment at Rs 2,500 crore needed for the physical campus of the South Asian University," Akbar said while addressing the second convocation ceremony of the SAU

"Speed is essential because youth is impatient," he stated.

SAU is an international university established by the eight member states of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) -- Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The university, which started operation in 2010, is currently offering postgraduate and doctoral programmes in applied mathematics, biotechnology, computer science, economics, international relations, legal studies and sociology.

Currently functioning from the Akbar Bhawan campus here, the university will eventually move to its 100-acre campus in south Delhi where construction is underway.

In Monday's convocation ceremony, degrees were conferred on nine M.Phil students and 185 Masters students while 11 students were awarded gold medals for their meritorious performance.

Stating that teachers remained the truly unsung heroes of civilisation, Akbar said the Saarc member states wanted to expand their regional horizons through knowledge.

"The mathematics of knowledge is unique. It is the only thing that increases and multiplies when you give it away," he said.

The Minister also said that applications for admission to SAU have increased manifold for the academic session 2017-18 and added that this was proof of endorsement by the students.

He said that while the 19th century was of dreams and struggles, the 20th century was of hope riddled with some amount of havoc and the 21st century is of fulfillment.

"The opposite of destruction shall be instruction," Akbar said. "Our region is entering an age of opportunity."

He said that freedom, youth and gender quality were the pillars of modernity.

"When we have social and economic empowerment, then only we can say that we are in the age of modernity," he said.

Stating that the Saarc region has the largest number of impoverished population, Akbar said: "You have to work to remove this curse of poverty."

Nepal's Ambassador to India Deep Kumar Upadhyay, who was the SAU Visitor's Nominee at the convocation ceremony, said South Asia has the passionate aspiration for deeper regional cooperation, the aspiration for connected minds and connected markets, the aspiration for shared prosperity of the region and its people.

"And this university has been built upon the bastion of those aspirations," Upadhyay said.

He said the students who were conferred degrees would leave the university with greater responsibility: responsibility to steer the process of South Asian development to the destination of shared prosperity; responsibility to use the opulence of wisdom and innovation to fight against the deprivation and under-development that is eating away the potentials of the region; and responsibility to carry forth the message of peace, harmony and fraternity that have been the ethos of South Asia for ages.

SAU President Kavita Sharma said the second tender for the first five buildings of the university's permanent campus was awarded in 2016 and construction work was going on smoothly, while the third tender of seven buildings has been awarded."

"All efforts are being made to fast-track the construction work," she said."

"Once these two sets of buildings are completed, the university will be able to shift to the permanent campus. The first sets of buildings are expected to be ready by early 2019."

--IANS

ab/dg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Indian Navy has launched a massive search operation for a woman cadet who reportedly fell overboard from the Mexican Sail Training Ship, STS Cuauhtemoc, an official said on Monday.

The incident occurred around 2 p.m. on Sunday, about 560 nautical miles west of Goa, as the vessel was sailing to Mumbai.

According to information, the woman cadet had not donned life-saving gear when she fell overboard.

Following an alert, the Indian Navy deployed a Boeing P8I aircraft, which undertook sorties from 9 to 11 p.m. on Sunday, and resumed them from 6.30 a.m. on Monday till 10.30 a.m.

Indian Navy Ship Teg, which was en route to Mumbai from Port Louis in Mauritius has been diverted to the area and likely to reach there by 6 p.m. on Monday to join the search.

Meanwhile, INS Mysore with two integral helicopters on board set sail from here on Monday afternoon and will reach the spot by 8 p.m. on Tuesday to join the search.

Setting sail from Egypt's Port Said, STS Cuauhtemoc is scheduled to visit Mumbai June 21-26 before departing for Singapore.

--IANS

qn/vd

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Berlin, June 12 (IANS/AKI) Rome and Berlin strongly support investment in the sustainable development of African migrants' home countries, Italian Premier Paolo Gentiloni told a meeting of African leaders here on Monday, ahead of the G20 summit.

"We believe that to combat migration we must support sustainable development and invest in migrants' countries of origin as well as in transit countries through specific partnerships.

"Germany and Italy are strongly backing this in the European Union," he said.

"The G20 provides an important forum to promote best practice and forge common strategies as well as to establish principles of shared responsibility and burden sharing," Gentiloni added.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is hosting the conference titled "G20 Africa Partnership - Investing in a Common Future". Guests include the Presidents of Egypt and Guinea, which currently holds the African Union's rotating presidency, as well as Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal and Tunisia.

Germany is offering some 300 million euros in aid for countries who commit to fighting corruption, improving transparency and upholding human rights, Development Minister Gerd Mueller said ahead of Monday's conference.

Germany, Europe's largest economy, has taken in more than one million asylum seekers since 2015, most of them from war-wracked Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, but also many thousands from Ethiopia, Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa.

Many hundreds of thousands of migrants have arrived in Italy in recent years aboard boats that set sail from North Africa.

Merkel is hosting the initiative as part of Germany's presidency of the Group of 20 powerful economies, whose leaders meet in the northern port of Hamburg in July.

--IANS/AKI

vd

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Calcutta High Court judge Justice C.S. Karnan, who is facing six months imprisonment for contempt of the Supreme Court, retired on Monday, probably escaping the odium of a sitting judge being arrested while in office.

Justice Karnan, who was transferred to Kolkata after he had kicked up a row by raking up issues against other judges of the Madras High Court, including the Chief Justice, has been untraceable ever since the apex court sentenced him for contempt on May 9.

A seven-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar held Karnan guilty of contempt and ordered six months imprisonment for him.

A team of West Bengal police had rushed to Chennai and other places in Tamil Nadu looking for him but without success.

Probably the police may lay its hands on the controversial judge now that he has retired.

Reacting to the situation, senior counsel and former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association Dushyant Dave told IANS that "it reflects failure on the part of the police in not having found him. .. It shows complete lack of respect of the Supreme Court by the Executive."

"Right or wrong the Supreme Court judgment has to be implemented and the state is fully responsible for the lapses and must be held accountable," Dave said, pointing out that "The whole saga reflects the sorry state of affairs in the judiciary."

However, well-known lawyer Kamini Jaiswal says that may have escaped arrest so far but now he will be arrested.

Unlike what happens in the case of the common man, in the case of they have to follow procedures and take the help of Tamil Nadu police in arresting him, Jaiswal said.

"They (West Bengal police) have to follow procedure" and can't be seen to be "high handed" as knows the law and there are lawyers around him.

Justice Karnan had left Kolkata on May 9 itself and remained elusive thereafter even though Director General of West Bengal Police constituted teams of police personnel which went to Chennai and other places looking for him.

He moved the top court for the suspension of his sentence and sought review of the May 9 order but he did not get any relief. His plea for review was declined on technical grounds without its coming before the seven judges bench.

Justice Karnan's counsel Mathews J. Nedumpara had repeatedly told the top court that the detailed order holding him guilty of contempt was never made available to him after May 9 - something he was entitled to like any other litigant.

The failure of West Bengal police to arrest Justice Karnan in the last one a half months has saved a situation of a serving judge of a High Court being arrested and sent to jail.

Now, if Justice Karnan is arrested in pursuance of the top court order then it would be an arrest of a former judge of a High court - who post retirement is like any other ordinary citizen.

It is not only that Justice Karnan has retired on Monday without being given a formal farewell by the Calcutta High Court, but any relook into his case has to go through a fresh process as one of the seven judges, Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose, has since retired.

Besides Chief Justice Khehar, other judges on the bench were Justice Dipak Misra, Justice J. Chelameswar, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Madan B. Lokur, Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose and Justice Kurian Joseph.

Justice Ghose retired from the Supreme Court on May 27 and any hearing of Justice Karnan's case has to be by a seven judges bench and the same has to be reconstituted to have another judge in place of Justice Ghose.

Even if other six judges Chief Justice Khehar, Justice Dipak Misra, Justice J. Chelameswar, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Madan B. Lokur, and Justice Kurian Joseph continue to remain on the bench, change of one judge as per the top court practice, would necessitate fresh hearing of the matter.
The Indian Road Congress has recognised certain types of jute geotextiles as suitable for constructing roads, a top official said on Monday.

"Only two days back, the Indian Road Congress has recognised certain types of jute geotextiles as suitable for construction of roads. This is a major development. The formal notification will take some time to come out," Ministry of Textiles' Joint Secretary Subrata Gupta said.

The recognition by the Congress is expected to have a positive impact on the future of the jute industry, he said at the "Road Show on Textiles India-2017" here.

"Countries like the US and Japan are large consumers of geotextiles. If we can get the materials accepted in India, the potential of exporting this material is quite bright," Gupta said.

Use of jute geotextiles in road construction enhanced the quality of roads, he claimed.

The National Jute Board has been spearheading an effort to explore whether jute could be taken as technical textile, especially as geotextile.

At present, three jute varieties are being used as geotextiles in construction of roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).

In West Bengal, jute geotextiles are being used for building about 453 km of roads under the PMGSY.

--IANS

bdc/nir/vt

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Sacked Delhi minister Kapil Mishra on Monday said he, along with the members of India Against Corruption (IAC), will launch a campaign against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal from Karol Bagh on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters here, Mishra said that under the banner of IAC, they would send proof of Kejriwal's "scams" to every assembly constituency, and that the teams were being formed in each constituency.

He would be working with old friends from the IAC and Anna Hazare's team, Mishra said.

The sacked Delhi Minister also said that they had formed a team to reach out to people and the media.

He said the date for a referendum on "Right to Recall" would be announced soon.

"Going to ACB tmrw (tomorrow) to give more evidences on Medicine Scam and to fike (file) complaint on CNG scam," Mishra tweeted on Monday evening.

On May 6, Mishra was sacked by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as a minister in the Delhi government, citing poor performance. A day later, Mishra made allegations of corruption against Kejriwal and Delhi Minister Satyendar Kumar Jain. On May 8, he was suspended from the party.

Mishra has been protesting and levelling allegations of corruption against Kejriwal and Jain for the past one month.

--IANS

nkh/nir/vt

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Filipino lawmaker on Monday presented a proposal to change the name of the South-East Asian country to distance itself from Spanish colonialism.

Representative Gary Alejano's proposal aims to create a "Geographic Renaming Commission" to "study the possibility and feasibility of changing the name" of the Philippines, almost five centuries after the Spanish colonisers first named the archipelago, reports Efe news.

"If we want to be truly independent, then we should throw away the bonds of colonialism by establishing our own national identity," he said.

Alejano, a former military man who was imprisoned for co-organising a failed coup against the democratic government in 2003 and later, was granted amnesty before entering politics, presented his proposal coinciding with the country's Independence Day, which is celebrated with several events in Manila and other cities.

"For our country to move forward, we should identify a name for our country that genuinely reflects our national aspirations, a name that signifies our values and self-determination," he added.

Alejano lamented that the Philippines chose "to retain the name given by our Spanish colonisers" and argued that "many other nations who were formerly under colonial yoke have reverted back to their former pre-colonised name".

If it were to be created, the commission proposed by Alejano would comprise representatives of the main Philippine organisations in the fields of history and culture and would have a year to complete the project.

Monday marks the 119th anniversary of Philippines' declaration of independence from Spain on June 12, 1898, proclaimed by General Emilio Aguinaldo, first President of the Philippine Republic.

Portuguese explorer Fernando de Magallanes declared the islands' Spanish occupation in 1521, although it was in 1542 that the explorer Ruy Lopez de Villalobos baptised the eastern islands of Leyte and Samar as "Felipinas" in honour of Felipe II.

The final colonisation of the archipelago began in 1565 and since then its name has undergone many changes.

The current name "Republic of Philippines" has remained since the final independence of the country from the US in 1946.

--IANS

ksk/dg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
French President Emmanuel Macron's centrist La Republique En Marche is projected to win a landslide victory following the first round of parliamentary elections, the media reported.

On Sunday, 48.7 per cent of some 47.5 million eligible voters cast their ballots in 67,000 voting centres opened across the country to elect 577 lawmakers to the lower house of Parliament or the National Assembly.

With all the ballots counted by early Monday morning, La Republique en Marche (Republic on the Move) and its Mouvement Democrate (MoDem) allies won a combined 32.3 per cent of the vote, while the established Les Republicains trailed with 15.8 per cent of the vote, reports CNN.

Former presidential candidate Marine Le Pen's right-wing Front National party garnered 13.2 per cent of the vote, but looked to win only a smattering of seats.

The Socialists, the party of former President Francois Hollande, won just 7.4 per cent.

The 39-year-old President's party, founded just a year ago, is expected to win between 415 and 445 seats in the lower house when next Sunday's second round of voting concludes.

Macron's party contested 526 constituencies out of a possible 577 and it put forward 266 women candidates, while 219 come from outside .

He has drawn candidates from a cross-section of society, including a former bullfighter, a Nobel Prize winner and a former fighter pilot.

"We are grateful for the trust you have placed in all the new faces of the Republic," Catherine Barbaroux, the party's president, told the media.

The final results will be confirmed next Sunday after the second round of voting, CNN reported.

To win a seat in the first round of voting, candidates have to win more than half of the votes, which must account for at least a quarter of the registered voters.

If no candidate manages to achieve that target, then all who won at least 12.5 per cent of registered voters go to the second round, where the winner will advance to Parliament.

--IANS

ksk/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Meghalaya Assembly on Monday unanimously approved the State Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill, ahead of the nationwide rollout of the new tax regime from July 1. With this, the entire northeast has approved the bill.

Taxation Minister Zenith M. Sangma, who moved the bill, said it was unanimously adopted after members discussed the benefits and ramification of the GST regime.

The opposition United Democratic Party, the Hill State People's Democratic Party and the National People's Party did not oppose the bill but raised questions on the state's preparedness to implement new tax regime.

Last year, the assembly ratified the Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill, 2014, officially known as the Constitution (101st Amendment) Act, 2016, related to the GST.

"Destination-based consuming states like Meghalaya will benefit from the GST implementation while certain manufacturing states will lose out marginally on revenue generation," Sangma told the assembly.

Under the new tax regime, he said staple foods like wheat and rice have been kept out of the ambit of the GST to help the common man.

He said the GST will remove the inherent weaknesses present in the current indirect taxation system.

With the Meghalaya assembly giving its approval, all the eight northeastern states have passed the GST bill.

The BJP-ruled Assam was the first to approve the bill. Arunachal Pradesh followed the next day.

Left-ruled Tripura, Congress-ruled Mizoram and the Sikkim Democratic Front-ruled Sikkim endorsed the state GST bill on May 25.

In Nagaland, this got passed on May 27 while Manipur approved it on June 5.

"Passing the GST Bill was mandatory to roll out the new indirect tax regime," Tripura Finance Minister Bhanulal Saha told reporters in Agartala.

--IANS

rrk-sc/mr

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold his first ever meeting with US President Donald Trump when he visits Washington on June 25-16, it was announced on Monday.

According to an External Affairs Ministry statement, Modi will hold official talks with President Trump on June 26 in Washington.

The two leaders have spoken to each other over phone three times since Trump's inauguration in January this year, but have never met since or before.

The upcoming visit assumes importance in view of Trump's efforts for stricter norms for issuance of H1-B visas and the US pulling out of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

"Their discussions will provide a new direction for deeper bilateral engagement on issues of mutual interest and consolidation of multi-dimensional strategic partnership between India and the US," the statement said.

Modi last visited US in June last year at the invitation of then US President Barack Obama. In addition to his official talks with Obama, Modi also addressed a joint sitting of the US Congress.

--IANS

ab/vt

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold his first ever meeting with US President Donald Trump when he visits Washington on June 25-26, it was announced on Monday.

According to an External Affairs Ministry statement, Modi will hold official talks with President Trump on June 26 in Washington.

The two leaders have spoken to each other over phone three times since Trump's inauguration in January this year, but have never met since or before.

The upcoming visit assumes importance in view of Trump's efforts for stricter norms for issuance of H1-B visas and the US pulling out of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

"Their discussions will provide a new direction for deeper bilateral engagement on issues of mutual interest and consolidation of multi-dimensional strategic partnership between India and the US," the statement said.

Modi last visited US in June last year at the invitation of then US President Barack Obama. In addition to his official talks with Obama, Modi also addressed a joint sitting of the US Congress.

--IANS

ab/vt

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
At least 12 people, including six police officers, were injured after a Molotov cocktail was thrown into a restaurant in Paris following a botched robbery, according to security officials.

Three people suffered severe burns and were airlifted to a hospital after the Molotov cocktail exploded on Sunday night and sent flames through a five-storey building where the restaurant is located in the northern suburb of Aubervilliers, reports the Mirror.

The six police officers suffered minor injuries as they responded and helped the victims.

A freelance journalist said on Twitter that the arson was linked to a "robbery gone wrong".

About 50 firefighters were sent to the scene, French daily Le Parisien reported.

France remains under a state of emergency following a series of terror attacks, but there was no suggestion that Sunday night's fire had links to terrorism.

--IANS

ksk

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Heavy rains are expected in some parts of West Bengal by Tuesday or Wednesday with monsoon entering the state, the India Meteorological Department said on Monday.

"Monsoon entered some parts of sub-Himalayan West Bengal (including Darjeeling) and Sikkim on Monday. It is also entering districts such as North and South 24-Parganas, Nadia and Murshidabad in Gangetic West Bengal on Monday. Heavy rainfall is expected to lash these parts in the next 48 hours," a Met department official told IANS.

The official said humidity on Monday noon hovered around 68 per cent in Kolkata.

--IANS

sgh/him/rn

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is headed for Saudi Arabia on Monday on a day-long visit in the backdrop of a deepening diplomatic rift in the Middle East, the media reported.

Sharif is expected to hold talks with Saudi leadership centered on deteriorating relations between Gulf nations after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism, Dawn News reported.

In its earlier response to the Middle East crisis, Pakistan had stressed the need for unity in the Muslim world and urged the countries involved to engage in dialogue.

Ahead of his visit, Sharif called a meeting of the country's top envoys from Gulf countries to discuss the Saudi-Qatar rift.

Pakistani ambassadors in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz will attend the conference on Monday.

After the meeting, Prime Minister Sharif will leave for Saudi Arabia, accompanied by Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa and advisor Aziz, Dunya News reported.

"Since Pakistan enjoys good relations with Saudi Arabia, Iran and Qatar, we will try our best to resolve the differences between the Arab countries," Nawaz Sharif had told journalists during a recent visit to Kazakhstan.

Pakistan shares "good" ties with all Gulf countries and has been asked by the country's parliament to stay neutral in the crisis, while trying to resolve it.

On Sunday, Pakistan rejected as "fabricated and baseless" reports that it plans to deploy its troops in Qatar amid diplomatic tensions in the Middle East.

--IANS

rn

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
At least one people was killed and another 11 were injured when an earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale hit Greece's Eastern Aegean Sea on Monday, Greek authorities said on Monday.

A 45-year-old woman was found dead by firefighters in the ruins in the village of Vrisa on Lesvos Island, Xinhua quoted local authorities as saying.

Major damages have been reported in Vrisa in southern Lesvos.

"Half of the village has been greatly damaged and many houses have collapsed," Nikos Karasavvas, the Deputy Mayor of Environment and Emergency of the Municipality of Lesvos was quoted by Greek News Agency AMNA as saying

The earthquake also caused damages to some other houses on Lesvos as well as the nearby Chios Island.

The Athens Institute of Geodynamics said the epicentre of the earthquake was at sea, about 45km south from Lesvos Island.

The strong tremor, which hit in early afternoon, was felt in Athens. There are aftershocks measuring from 4.6 to 3.6 on Richter scale.

Deputy Minister of Citizen Protection Nikos Toskas and General Secretary of civil protection Giannis Kapakis headed to Lesvos with helicopter to coordinate rescue efforts.

--IANS

sku/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan hopes India will attend this year's SAARC summit, which is likely to be held in Islamabad, a senior Pakistani diplomat said here.

"We really hope for SAARC, which is our regional organisation, to move beyond the differences and (that) India would be able to come to Pakistan for the SAARC summit because in the end, we are neighbours," Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Pakistan Embassy here, told journalists on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) event here.

In 2016, India had not attended the SAARC summit in Pakistan after a terrorist attack at its army base. Several other member countries had followed the suit leading to the cancellation of the annual meet.

Baloch dismissed reports that after the entry of India and Pakistan in the SCO, their bilateral dispute would mar the grouping.

"This is not an organisation to settle disputes. This is an organisation to work for the region and for common challenges and common development," she said.

"It is just speculation by the media. It is an important organisation for Pakistan and it is an important organisation for India. We hope that we wold bring some positives to the table and contribute to our region's development and to more understanding between all parties in the SCO.

"Of course when you work together and you are in the same organisation, you have opportunities to resolve many of the issues."

--IANS

gsh/vd

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan on Monday summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner J.P. Singh over "unprovoked ceasefire violations" along the Line of Control that it said killed two of its civilians and injured three others.

Director General (SA & SAARC) Mohammad Faisal summoned Singh and condemned the firing by the Indian side in Chirikot and Hot Spring Sectors on June 10 and June 12 respectively.

It termed the "deliberate targeting of civilians" as condemnable and contrary to human dignity and international human rights and humanitarian laws.

According to the ISPR, the Indian troops used heavy weapons including mortars, to which the Pakistan Army effectively responded.

The two civilians killed were identified as Wayar Younas, 18 and Asad Ali, 19. Three others, including two women, were injured, it said.

The victims were resident of Bhabra village.

Earlier, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria tweeted: "Indian DHC summoned to FO to condemn LoC violations".

"The deliberate targetting of civilians is indeed condemnable and contrary to human dignity and international human rights and humanitarian laws," he posted.

In the morning, both sides traded fire on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district.

India said the Pakistan army resorted to "indiscriminate firing and shelling" on Indian positions in Krishna Ghati and Mendhar sectors.

"They first initiated small arms and automatic gunfire, but later used mortars," an official said.

Reports from Mendhar said some cattle were injured as shells fired from across the LoC landed in civilian areas.

--IANS

rn

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan has sentenced a man to death for allegedly committing blasphemy on Facebook, the media reported.

According to a report in the Guardian on Sunday, a court in Bahawalpur in Punjab province of Pakistan handed out the verdict, the harshest yet for such a crime, after finding Taimoor Raza, 30, guilty of insulting the prophet Muhammad.

Raza had indulged in a debate about Islam last year with a man who later turned out to be a counter-terrorism agent. Soon after the sectarian debate, Raza was arrested.

According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Raza, who belongs to Pakistan's minority Shia Muslim community, was one among 15 people arrested by the counter-terrorism department last year, accused of blasphemy.

"My brother indulged in a sectarian debate on Facebook with a person, who we later come to know, was a (counter-terrorism department) official with the name of Muhammad Usman," the report quoted Waseem Abbas, Raza's brother, as saying.

According to Raza's defence attorney, he has been charged with two unrelated sections of the law to ensure the maximum penalty.

"Initially, it was a case of insulting remarks on sectarian grounds and the offence was 298A, which punishes for derogatory remarks about other religious personalities for up to two years," said Fida Hussain Rana, the defence counsel.

"Raza was later charged under section 295C of the penal code, related to "derogatory acts against prophet Muhammad", Rana added.

To battle the blasphemy, Pakistani authorities have asked Twitter and Facebook to help identify users sharing blasphemous content. The government has also circulated text messages encouraging citizens to report fellow citizens sharing blasphemous content.

However, human rights defenders have expressed concern and opine that the stringent blasphemy laws are used as a tool to carry out personal vendettas.

"The casual manner in which death sentences are handed in blasphemy cases coupled with the lack of orientation of Pakistani courts with technology makes this a very dangerous situation," said Saroop Ijaz, a lawyer with Human Rights Watch in Pakistan.

Also, the sentence was handed down by an anti-terrorism court and not a regular court, sowing the confusion between national security and religion.

--IANS

qd/pgh/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The government on Monday said a committee will identify "gaps in basic facilities" of roads, power, telecommunications, health and education in areas along the India-Myanmar border and submit a detailed report to the Union Home Ministry by December 31.

The committee under the chairmanship of Secretary (Border Management) will prioritise the filling of these gaps in the short term (three years), medium term (three to six years) and long term (six to 10 years)," Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said.

He was presiding over a meeting with Chief Ministers/their representatives of four states that share the country's borders with Myanmar.

Besides Rajnath Singh's deputy Kiren Rijiju, Chief Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh (Pema Khandu), Manipur (N. Biren Singh) and Mizoram (Lal Thanhawla), Nagaland Chief Minister Shurhozelie Liezietsu's representative and state Home Minister Yanthungo Patton, Chief Secretaries, Directors General of Police, Director General of the Assam Rifles, and senior state civil and police officials attended the meeting.

The committee has also been tasked to find out and pool all resources and dovetail all programmes of central government ministries, including those of the North-Eastern Council, Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources, Border Area Development Programme, and those of respective state governments for achieving these objectives, a Home Ministry statement said.

The second committee headed by the Home Ministry's Special Secretary (Internal Security) will be set up to examine rules and regulations adopted by these four states for a free movement regime and give its report within three months.

Rajnath Singh also advised the state governments to pay special attention to the urgent need of improving basic facilities and infrastructure for those living in remote areas on the border in their respective states.

The Minister stressed on greater connectivity within the region, saying that improved connectivity and relations with Myanmar are opening new opportunities of growth for this region.

He said the India-Myanmar border region will play a much greater role in the near future and therefore the Centre and the states concerned must be adequately prepared for it.

The Home Minister said the north-east will have a string of modern cities under the Smart City project.

Rajnath Singh said that although India's 1,643 km border with Myanmar -- touching Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, and Mizoram -- is peaceful and friendly, it is very sensitive as well.

"It helps genuine people but is misused by militants and criminals to smuggle in weapons, narcotics, contraband goods, and Fake Indian Currency Notes."

Rajnath Singh ordered chalking out of a standard operating procedure common to all the four border states to filter out such criminals without inconvenience to bona fide persons and decided to constitute a committee headed by the Home Ministry's Special Secretary (Internal Security) on the matter.

"The committee will examine the present rules and regulations adopted by the four states for implementation of free movement regime and give report for uniform and effective implementation within three months," he said.

The Minister urged the Chief Ministers to pay special attention to the local issues of border guarding forces to boost their morale and improve their efficiency.

He advised them to extend cooperation in the survey work for erection, and construction of subsidiary pillars on the border for removing difference of perception on zero line and for understanding the boundary demarcation clearly.

The Minister directed that whatever construction work is required near the border, may be done, leaving 'No Construction Zone', and solicited cooperation of the Chief Ministers and local population for joint survey of border pillars on the India-Myanmar boundary.

He urged the Chief Ministers to bring border area villages under active policing by opening police stations/posts to re-assure people and prevent illegal cross-border activities.

--IANS

rak/tsb/vt

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam on Monday accused the ruling AIADMK faction of enacting a drama and said he was disbanding the merger negotiating team of his own group.

Panneerselvam told the media here: "After the setting up of the negotiation team, they started playing a drama. We were not ready to play any dramas."

He said AIADMK cadres were with his faction and will be proved soon.

Former AIADMK MP K.C. Palaniswamy told IANS: "Now there are only two factions in AIADMK -- anti-Sasikala (led by Panneerselvam) and pro-Sasikala. There is no other group led by Chief Minister K. Palaniswami."

On Sunday night, Panneerselvam announced the decision to disband the seven-member team to negotiate the merger of the two factions in the AIADMK.

After the death of Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa in December, her close aide V.K. Sasikala took control of the AIADMK party by becoming its General Secretary. The party also decided to elect her as the Chief Minister.

Subsequently, Panneerselvam revolted against Sasikala and formed his own faction. He said the dismissal of Sasikala and Deputy General Secretary T.T.V. Dinakaran from the party were pre-conditions for a merger of the two factions.

The ruling faction said Dinakaran will be kept away from party affairs but remained silent on the demand for dismissing Sasikala and Dinakaran from the party's primary membership.

Dinakaran was later arrested by Delhi Police in an alleged bribery case and is now on bail.

Elaborating on the decision to disband the negotiation committee, Palaniswamy -- part of the Panneerselvam faction -- said: "Dinakaran after coming out on bail said he would be active in the party. More than 30 legislators had gone and met him. But the ruling faction is silent on this."

The ruling faction has filed affidavits with the Election Commission declaring Sasikala as the party's General Secretary and Dinakaran as Deputy General Secretary.

"This comes despite announcing that Dinakaran will be kept out of party affairs," Palaniswamy said, adding that the ruling faction did not call a meeting of the party's General Council to dismiss Sasikala and Dinakaran from their party posts.

"After we announced formation of a negotiation committee, the anti-Sasikala mood seems to have gone down amongst the public. But with our decision to disband the merger negotiation committee, the anti-Sasikala mood will gain momentum," Palaniswamy said.

The ruling faction of the AIADMK too had formed a committee to negotiate with the Panneerselvam group on a possible merger.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission will on June 16 be hearing the complaint filed against the election of Sasikala as General Secretary, Palaniswamy said.

--IANS

vj/vgu/dg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Saudi Arabia has denied barring Qatar nationals from entering the holy city of Mecca.

It confirmed that 206 people coming from Qatar were allowed to cross the Salwa border on June 9 so that they could perform Umrah pilgrimage in Mecca, reports Xinhua news agency.

The Saudi authority that supervises the affairs of the two grand mosques in Mecca and Medina confirmed in a statement that it provides services for pilgrims from all countries of the world, including Qatar, describing circulated news in social media as baseless accusations.

According to Al Arabiya, several media outlets reported on Sunday that Qataris were denied access into Mecca and the two grand mosques, which Saudi Arabia has refuted.

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Yemen, Libya, the Maldives, Mauritius and Mauritania last week severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism.

Saudi officials also declared that it would provide all facilities and services needed by Qatari pilgrims currently in the kingdom.

--IANS

ksk/dg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will appear before a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) in connection with the Panama Papers probe into his family's assets, the media reported on Monday.

Sharif on Thursday will become the first sitting Pakistani Prime Minister to appear before an investigating agency, reports Dawn news.

On June 8, the team issued summons asking Sharif "to appear on Thursday, June 15 at 11 a.m., at the office of the JIT, Federal Judicial Academy, Islamabad".

The summons also instructed the Prime Minister to "kindly bring along relevant record/documents/material" related to the Panama Papers case which will entail nearly all the documents and evidence submitted before the Supreme Court by Sharif's counsel, Makhdoom Ali Khan.

Sources said that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar may also be questioned by the team before Sharif's appearance.

In its judgement of April 20 in the Panama Papers case, the Supreme Court had constituted the JIT and empowered it to summon the Prime Minister, his sons and any other person necessary, to investigate allegations of money-laundering, through which the four apartments in London's Park Lane area were purchased.

On June 2, the Prime Minister's youngest son Hassan Nawaz appeared before the six-member probe team headed by Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Additional Director General Wajid Zia, reports Dawn news.

A day earlier, Sharif's elder son, Hussain Nawaz, appeared before the JIT for the third time to defend the money trail of the Sharifs' London properties.

In his first appearance, Hussain refused to answer questions put forth by the investigative body, saying that the JIT's status was "sub judice" as he had already filed a petition before the apex court regarding two of its constituents.

Subsequently, the apex court rejected Hussain's plea, seeking exclusion of the two JIT members.

After each of the next two hearings, he told the media that he answered all of the questions put forth to him by the members of the JIT.

--IANS

ksk

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif accompanied by Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Bajwa on Monday left for Saudi Arabia on a day-long visit in the backdrop of a deepening diplomatic rift in the Middle East, a media report said.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and other senior officials are also part of the delegation, Dawn online reported.

Sharif is expected to hold talks with Saudi leadership centered on deteriorating relations between Gulf nations after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism.

In its earlier response to the Middle East crisis, Pakistan had stressed the need for unity in the Muslim world and urged the countries involved to engage in dialogue.

Ahead of his visit, Sharif called a meeting of the country's top envoys from Gulf countries to discuss the Saudi-Qatar rift.

Pakistani ambassadors in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz attended the conference on Monday.

"Since Pakistan enjoys good relations with Saudi Arabia, Iran and Qatar, we will try our best to resolve the differences between the Arab countries," Nawaz Sharif had told journalists during a recent visit to Kazakhstan.

Pakistan shares "good" ties with all Gulf countries and has been asked by the country's parliament to stay neutral in the crisis, while trying to resolve it.

Last week, lawmakers at the National Assembly expressed "deep concern" over the diplomatic rift in the Gulf and passed a resolution urging all countries to "show restraint and resolve their differences through dialogue".

A six-member Qatari delegation had reportedly visited Islamabad last week to relay a message from the Qatari emir, asking Pakistan to play a positive role in resolving the diplomatic crisis engulfing the Middle East, Dawn reported.

However, the Foreign Office had denied knowledge of any such visit.

On Sunday, Pakistan rejected as "fabricated and baseless" reports that it plans to deploy its troops in Qatar amid diplomatic tensions in the Middle East.

--IANS

rn

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Bollywood grapevine is abuzz that real life husband and wife Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan are coming together for a film. But Abhishek says they are still in talks and that he would rather have the producer make the announcement.

The two actors are reportedly being cast in Anurag Kashyap's production titled "Gulab Jamun".

Asked about it, Abhishek told the media here: "That film is not directed by Anurag Kashyap. It will have a new director and will be produced by Anurag Kashyap. We are still in talks with Anurag about that and right now we can't announce anything because I feel the producer is the right person when it comes to announcing a film."

Abhishek spoke on the sidelines of the 20-year celebration of the movie "Border" here on Sunday.

"Border" was directed by J.P. Dutta, who also gave Abhishek Bachchan his Bollywood debut "Refugee".

Talking about his equation with Dutta, Abhishek Said: "I am here as an actor because of J. P. Dutta and I owe them (Dutta and J.P. Films) everything."

Reminiscing memories of "Border", Abhishek said: "I had seen this film in Metro theatre in Mumbai on its first day itself. 'Border' is more than just a film. It gives a patriotic emotion about India."

Asked about the trend of remakes and sequels in Bollywood, he said: "Today, most filmmakers make a sequel of their earlier films because it's a marketing ploy and it is good for the films. As far as 'Border' is concerned, we won't be able to make a remake of a film like 'Border' because it is still fresh in everyone's mind and memories.

"Only J.P. Dutta can make a sequel of it but he is not willing to do that."

--IANS

iv/rb/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Indian-American prosecutor Preet Bharara who was fired by Donald Trump's administration in March, has said that said there were "absolute evidence" to begin a case for obstruction of justice against the President, the media reported.

The former US attorney for the Southern District of New York made the remarks in an ABC news interview on Sunday night when asked whether he believed that there was enough evidence for a case claiming that Trump tried to obstruct the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) probe into former national security adviser, Michael Flynn's ties with Russian officials.

"There is absolutely evidence to begin a case for obstruction of justice by Trump," Bharara said in his first television interview since being fired by Trump in March.

"No one knows right now whether there is a provable case of obstruction... there's no basis to say there's no obstruction."

Bharara was in office until March when he and 45 other US attorneys remaining as holdovers from the former President Barack Obama's administration were asked to step down.

Bharara, a friend and former colleague of James Comey -- the FBI director fired by Trump in May -- attended the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on June 8 when Comey testified about conversations he had with the President about the agency's overall Russia investigation and its probe into Flynn.

Bharara said in the ABC News interview that watching how Comey's interactions with Trump and how his firing played out "felt a little bit like deja vu".

The Indian-American said Trump, when he was still the president-elect, made a series of "unusual phone calls" to him.

"In reporting the phone call to the chief of staff to the attorney general I said, it appeared to be that he was trying to cultivate some kind of relationship," Bharara said.

"It's a very weird and peculiar thing for a one-on-one conversation without the attorney general, without warning between the president and me or any United States attorney who has been asked to investigate various things and is in a position hypothetically to investigate business interests and associates of the President."

After Trump took office, Bharara refused to take one of Trump's calls.

"The call came in. I got a message. We deliberated over it, thought it was inappropriate to return the call. And 22 hours later I was asked to resign along with 45 other people," Bharara said.

"To this day I have no idea why I was fired," Bharara added.

--IANS

ksk

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Continuous torrential rains since Friday have affected some 40,000 people in China's southwestern Guizhou province.

Heavy rains lashed 142 townships, swamping farmland, damaging houses, forcing evacuation of people and causing direct economic losses estimated at $2.7 million, reports Xinhua news agency.

The authorities sent relief goods to the affected areas.

Rains hit most parts of China's central, eastern and southern regions over the weekend. The Central Meteorological Station on Monday maintained rainstorm alerts for a third consecutive day in Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei and Guizhou provinces.

Typhoon Merbok, the second typhoon of the year, is forecast to hit the southern province of Guangdong on Monday evening, intensifying rainstorms in southern and eastern provinces.

--IANS

mr/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In an interesting development, a Congress MLA in Tripura has urged the Union Home Ministry to provide security to a BJP leader claiming his life is "under threat", official and party sources said here on Monday.

A police official said Congress legislator Ratan Lal Nath has written to the Union Home Ministry requesting that central para-military forces be asked to provide security to BJP's national "Prabhari" (observer) Sunil Deodhar.

The official on condition of anonymity said the Union Home Ministry has sought the Tripura government's views on the issue.

The Congress MLA confirmed that he has written to the Union Home Ministry in this regard.

"I have learnt that some smugglers and anti-social (elements) have chalked out a plan to kill (Sunil) Deodhar. Hence, I have written this letter to the MHA," he said.

Deodhar, who hails from Maharashtra, is the BJP's national "Prabhari" in Tripura and has been spearheading various agitations on behalf of his party against the ruling Left Front.

BJP's spokesman Mrinal Kanti Deb refused to comment on the issue.

The Congress recently served a showcause notice to Nath for "anti-party activities" and meeting BJP leaders, including party President Amit Shah and state BJP chief Biplab Kumar Deb.

"We have recently served a showcause notice to (Ratan Lal) Nath," Tripura state Congress President Birajit Sinha told IANS.

"(Ratan Lal) Nath during a debate on demonetisation in the state assembly talked in favour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He has also not attended any party (Congress) programme during the past two years," added Birajit Sinha, a sitting Congress MLA and former minister.

Ratan Lal Nath, 71 told IANS: "I have received the show-cause notice of the state Congress President." But he declined to make any comment on the issue.

The Congress legislator has been elected five times to the state assembly since 1993 and was also the opposition leader for many years.

In the 2013 assembly elections, the Congress won 10 seats in the 60-member state assembly.

Six Congress MLAs, led by Sudip Roy Barman, resigned from the party last year. They have joined the Trinamool Congress in protest against the Congress' electoral alliance with the Left parties in the West Bengal assembly elections.

Another Congress legislator Jitendra Sarkar resigned from the Tripura assembly and rejoined the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), reducing the Congress' strength in the state assembly to three.

Sarkar joined the BJP on Sunday.

With these political developments, the Congress' strength in the Tripura assembly has gone down from 10 to three - the lowest ever - in the House.

The ruling Left Front has 51 legislators after it won the by-poll last year. The CPI-M alone has 50 members.

--IANS

sc/amit/rn

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A member of US President Donald Trump's personal legal team has said that he is "not going to speculate" on whether the president may order the firing of the special counsel investigating Russia's meddling in the 2016 election.

But lawyer Jay Sekulow added that he "can't imagine the issue is going to arise."

"I'm not going to speculate on what [Trump] will or will not do" with regard to Robert Mueller, the special counsel leading the FBI's Russia probe, ABC News quoted Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos as saying on Sunday.

"Right now the role of the president is to govern the United States of America. He's going to do that. He's going to leave anything else to the lawyers. But I can't imagine that that issue is going to arise" with Mueller, Sekulow said.

Trump had lashed out at the investigation on Twitter, calling it the "single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history!"

"That's a decision that the president will make in consultation with his chief lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, and that the president said he'll address next week," he said.

Sekulow also claimed that Comey's testimony to Congress on Thursday was reviewed in advance by special counsel Mueller.

--IANS

sku/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US President Donald Trump has reportedly given White House chief of staff Reince Priebus a deadline of July 4 for a shakeup of the White House staff, the media reported.

Trump is considering bringing in former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and deputy campaign manager David Bossie as senior adviser and deputy chief of staff, respectively, Politico quoted multiple sources as saying on Sunday night.

However, White House press secretary Sean Spicer denied the deadline in a statement to Politico.

"Whoever is saying that is either a liar or out of the loop," Spicer said.

Rumours of a staff shakeup have been a persistent theme in the Trump White House, but have picked up in recent weeks.

Communications director Mike Dubke resigned at the end of May and speculation about Lewandowski's and Bossie's futures has been rampant.

Spicer denied that Dubke's resignation signaled a coming shakeup, saying Trump was "very pleased" with his staff.

--IANS

ksk

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The British and American governments have denied that US President Donald Trump wants to delay his state visit to the UK, the media reported on Monday.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "We aren't going to comment on speculation about the contents of private phone conversations," reports the BBC.

"The Queen extended an invitation to President Trump to visit the UK and there is no change to those plans."

A senior official in the White House told the BBC that "the President has tremendous respect for Prime Minister (Theresa) May" and that the subject of the state visit "never came up on the call".

The development comes after the Guardian reported that Trump made a phone call to May to say he did not want to visit until he had support from the British public.

Following the Guardian report, opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn posted a message on Twitter, welcoming the "cancellation" of the visit.

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said Trump was "clearly terrified of the British public".

He added: "He knows that the British people find his appalling and that they won't be scared to make their views known."

"Theresa May should be embarrassed that she was so quick to offer Trump a state visit. Now neither of them want to be seen with the other."

--IANS

ksk/dg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Monday voiced disapproval of party leader Sandeep Dikshit's remark likening Army Chief Bipin Rawat to a 'sadak ka gunda' (a street goon).

While speaking at a party event here, Gandhi said no politician should make any comment on the Army Chief.

"I was told by someone from press (media) that one Congress leader has made a comment on the Army Chief. It is wrong. I want to make it clear that the Indian Army works for us, protects the country. There is no need to say anything against the Army Chief," he said.

Dikshit had on Sunday triggered a row after he called the Army Chief 'sadak ka gunda' over the latter's public statement.

While Dikshit offered an apology for his remarks, the BJP on Monday demanded an apology from Congress President Sonia Gandhi as well.

--IANS

spk/rn

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
China on Monday dismissed as "nonsense" reports about President Xi Jinping not meeting Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit last week, saying the two leaders met "several times" at the summit.

"I can tell you that during the 17th SCO council head of states President Xi Jinping met several times with Pakistani Prime Minister (Nawaz) Sharif and I think some reports are just nonsense and unwarranted," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said.

Lu said that "China and Pakistan enjoy an all-weather strategic partnership".

He was reacting to news reports that said Xi snubbed Sharif at the SCO summit by not meeting him after two Chinese citizens were murdered in Pakistan's restive province of Balochistan.

Xi met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines, but there were no reports in Chinese media about President Xi meeting Sharif.

China last week expressed growing concern over the safety and security of its citizens in Pakistan where it has invested billions of dollars in an economic corridor.

Two Chinese teachers, kidnapped from Quetta last month, were killed last week by Islamic State militants.

"We are now are coordinating with the Pakistani government and we are speeding our efforts to verify the information, Lu said.

China is building the $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which connects its Xinjiang province with Gwadar port in Balochistan.

--IANS

gsh/rn

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The merger between the two AIADMK factions, one led by O Panneerselvam and the other by Edapadi Palaniswami, has hit a road block. The former chief minister and late chief minister J Jayalalithaa's close aide, Panneerselvam, announced that he has dissolved the committee he had set up to hold talks with the Palaniswami camp.
Leaders of top opposition parties will meet here on June 14 in a bid to reach a consensus on a joint candidate for the upcoming presidential election.

The 10-member group set up by the opposition will meet for the first time after its constitution, sources said.

The opposition move on Wednesday's meeting came soon after BJP president Amit Shah announced that a panel of three senior ministers -- Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and M Venkaiah Naidu -- would talk to allies and other parties on presidential candidates.

Several rounds of talks have already been held among senior opposition leaders on the issue. Congress president Sonia Gandhi has been trying to reach a consensus in the opposition on candidates for the presidential and vice presidential election.

The opposition is waiting for the ruling dispensation to come up with its candidate and will discuss if the name proposed by the NDA is acceptable to them.

A senior leader said if there was no consensus in the talks with the NDA, the opposition would put up a joint candidate against the NDA nominee.

The sources said Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mallikarjun Kharge represent the Congress in the 10-member group, which also includes other senior opposition leaders such as JD-U's Sharad Yadav, RJD's Lalu Prasad and CPI-M's Sitaram Yechury.

DMK's Rajya Sabha member R S Bharathi, Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav, Bahujan Samaj Party's Satish Chandra Misra, TMC's Derek O'Brien and NCP's Praful Patel are also on the panel.

While the ruling party is holding its cards close to its chest, the opposition has already discussed the names of possible candidates and has held talks with one, former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

Among the other names doing the rounds are those of former Speaker Meira Kumar and former Defence Minister Sharad Pawar, though the NCP strongman has said he is not in the race.

The poll to elect the next president will be held on July 17 and counting will take place on July 20.

The term of incumbent Pranab Mukherjee ends on July 24 and that of Vice President M Hamid Ansari on August 10.

A united opposition had met at a lunch hosted by Sonia Gandhi in Parliament, where it was decided that if the ruling dispensation failed to come up with a candidate with "secular credentials" for the presidential poll, the opposition would field someone who would "steadfastly defend" the country's constitutional values.

After the meeting last month, Azad and Sharad Yadav read out a joint statement stating that in a presidential election, the ruling party traditionally took the initiative to build a consensus on candidates.

"This has not happened so far. If acceptable consensual candidates do not emerge, then we (opposition parties) shall field such persons who shall steadfastly defend the Constitutional values of our republic," the statement said.

Yadav said while the opposition appealed to the BJP to take the lead and come up with a consensus candidate for the president and vice president's posts, consensus between the ruling and opposition appeared remote.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Eleven children from Bihar working in a bangle factory in the city were rescued in a raid carried out on the World Day Against Child Labour today.

Police said the rescued children, who were between the ages of six and twelve, have been sent to a juvenile home till their parents arrive.

"The children were rescued from a bangle factory in the Bhatta Basti area of the city," police said.

Factory owner Laddu Thakur has been arrested, while Tavrez Khan, who brought the children from Bihar, is absconding, said the SHO of Bhatta Basti police station, Harji Ram.

He said all the rescued children are boys and the factory was raided following a tip-off that its owner had employed the kids for several months.

Khan was the person who visited the poor families in the villages of Bihar, the SHO said, adding that his role in luring families and involvement in trafficking is still under investigation.

"We have booked both the accused for trafficking and confinement of children. Further investigation is on," the SHO said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Amid ongoing tension between the two neighbours, India today released 11 Pakistani prisoners and handed them over to authorities of that country at the Wagah border post.

The Pakistani nationals were released after they completed their respective prison terms, official sources said.

The move came days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi exchanged greetings with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Astana.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The AAP today attacked the Centre over the release of 11 Pakistani civilians, saying the government is following a dual policy towards Pakistan.

Senior party leader Ashutosh said the one hand, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj says there cannot be talks with Pakistan alongside terror and on the other hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi embraces his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif.

He was referring to the interaction between the two premiers at Astana in Kazakhstan.

"What was the pressing need that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to embrace Sharif. Pakistan is preparing to hang Kulbhushan Jadhav and India is releasing 11 of their citizens," Ashutosh said.

Jadhav was sentenced to death on April 10 by a Pakistan military court for alleged espionage.

India maintains that Jadhav, a forrmer naval officer, was kidnapped from Iran and brought to Pakistan by its security agencies.

Sharif and Modi had last week met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation (SCO) meeting.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hit TV series "Alias" may soon be revived as makers hinted at the possible reboot.

The writers of the series held a reunion at the ATX television festival in Austin, Texas during which the makers teased fans about the revival, reported Ace Showbiz.

"It would be amazing to do it; we've even talked with J.J.," co-executive producer Josh Appelbaum said during the panel.

"The right idea would have to come. We wouldn't want to do it unless it was absolutely perfect," he added.

However, Jennifer Graner will not be reprising her role as Sydney Bristow on the possible revival.

"If (Sydney) could move on, then the audience could move on," writer Andre Nemec added.

"Alias" ran for five seasons from 2001 to 2006, centering on the life and adventures of Sydney Bristow, a double agent for the CIA.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Come 2019 Kumbh, pilgrims will be able to use Ganga waterway to reach Allahabad from Varanasi, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said today.

The Kumbh mela, the world's largest religious gathering held on the banks of Triveni Sangam (the confluence of the three rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati) in Prayag near Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh, is likely to witness 15 crore pilgrims in 2019.

"We will convert Allahabad to Varanasi stretch on Ganges into waterways and make it navigable so that people visiting 2019 Kumbha mela could travel between Varanasi and Allahabad easily," Shipping, Road Transport and Highways Minister Gadkari said here.

Gadkari, who was jointly addressing the media with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, said the fair may see about 15 crore pilgrims in 2019 Kumbh and it would be ensured that their travel is hassle free.

"The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), which is implementing the waterways project will purchase steamers under special schemes to transport people during the upcoming fair. Private parties will also be encouraged to ply their vessels," he said.

The minister said massive work is already underway on 1,680 km stretch between Varanasi to Haldia by IWAI and dredging is being done.

"We are building multi-modal transport hubs at three places on this 1,680 km stretch at Varanasi, Haldia and Sahibganj. We are also building 40 river ports besides operationalising nine ferry services," he said.

The project worth about Rs 5,000 crore is being underway with assistance from the World Bank.

Gadkari said this waterway will be a "growth engine" for Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal and the work on Varanasi-Haldia stretch will be completed by December next year.

Besides, road infrastructure will also be augmented for the Kumbha mela in the state, the Union minister said.

UP Chief Minister Adityanath said Maha Kumbh is held in Allahabad every 12th year and Ardha Kumbha on every 6th year which witnessed 10-12 crore pilgrims.

"We have decided to augment this internal road infrastructure of 76 km for Kumbh mela before 2019. Detailed project report will be completed within six months," Adityanath said.

He said work will also start on a Rs 2,460 crore project to construct a six-lane bridge on Ganga at Allahabad.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
At least 10 militants of a banned outfit and some of their family members have been arrested after Bangladeshi police carried out raids at terrorist hideouts.

A spokesman of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police said six neo-Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (Neo-JMB) operatives were arrested from the capital's New Market area in a raid carried out by the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crimes Unit.

Three suspected operatives of the neo-JMB were arrested in a raid in Rajshahi's Tanore sub-district where they were living with their family members. Eight of their family members were also taken into custody.

The Rapid Action Battalion yesterday also arrested a garment factory owner who it said was a financier of the extremist outfit.

"They (those in custody) are being quizzed initially in our custody...," the spokesperson said.

An official familiar with the developments said detectives and armed policemen laid a siege at the terrorist hideout in Rajshahi last night.

The hideout was being checked for explosives, including suicide vests, the official said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
World's largest nature conservation organisation BirdLife International has recognised three more Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) in Goa, according to Goa Bird Conservation Network (GBCN) chief Parag Rangnekar.

These three new areas from Goa have been listed in a book called 'Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas : Priority Sites for Conservation', authored by noted ornithologist Asad Rahmani along with two others, Rangnekar told PTI today.

The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), which published this book, works in collaboration with Birdlife International.

"With the new book being released, Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary, Navelim Wetlands and Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary are the three new IBAs which have been recognised by BirdLife International as priority sites for bird and bird habitat conservation in the state," Rangnekar said.

According to GBCN chief, IBAs are sites of international significance for conservation of birds and their habitats at the global, regional and local level.

"The selection of IBAs is a particularly effective way of identifying conservation priorities. IBAs are key sites for conservation - small enough to be conserved in their entirety and often already part of a protected area network," Rangnekar said.

He further said apart from three new areas, the extent of Carambolim Wetland has been increased to include the very important and fragile region of Dhado which recently became a very important wintering ground for many species of migratory birds.

Goa already has four recognised IBAs--Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary and Mollem National Park, Carambolim Wetlands, Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary and Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary.

GBCN Vice President Pronoy Baidya said while analysing data on birds of the state they realised that there were two species of critically endangered, eight species of vulnerable and 11 species of near threatened birds which have been documented with sufficient data from Goa.

According to Baidya, Goa harbours a good population of the vulnerable Lesser Adjutant and Nilgiri Wood-pigeon in certain pockets of the state apart from the identified IBAs.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Intensifying its campaign against the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh, the BJP has decided to launch 'Parivartan Rath Yatra' across the state to expose the mafias ruling the roost.

The BJP's state unit chief Satpal Singh Satti said the 'Yatra' would begin from June 18 covering all the 68 Assembly segments in the state to expose the lawlessness prevailing in the state.

Expressing dismay over the "casual manner" in which cases of corruption, illegal mining, illegal felling of forest and drug trafficking are being "hushed up", he alleged the accused are being given clean chit even without conducting an enquiry.

The BJP leader demanded a CBI probe into the alleged murder of a forest guard and said it is necessary to expose the forest mafias and those shielding them.

Satti said that all four BJP MPs in the state would take part in the 'Yatra' and senior party leaders including, P K Dhumal, Shanta Kumar, Union minister J P Nadda would address rallies.

Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh are scheduled to be held later this year.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Top EU and British figures held "talks about talks" on Brexit today but failed to nail down a date for the start of negotiations amid the fallout from Britain's chaotic election, officials said.

The two-year negotiation process between EU Brexit chief Michel Barnier and Britain's Brexit minister David Davis had been due to formally start on June 19.

But that looks increasingly unlikely as Conservative British Prime Minister Theresa May fights for her political life after unexpectedly losing her majority in parliament.

In Brussels on Wednesday Barnier instead met Olly Robbins, a senior official in Davis's ministry, and Britain's ambassador to the EU Tim Barrow to discuss arrangements for the talks following the election shock.

"They agreed to have further contact at technical level this week. As of yet, no date for opening the negotiations has been agreed," an EU official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"The EU stands ready to begin negotiations."



The arrangements under discussion include dates and the sequencing of talks -- the EU wants four-week cycles of negotiations, each covering one topic -- once they do actually get started.

European Commission spokesman Alexander Winterstein earlier declined to provide a likely start date.

"When will be the point from moving to talking about talks, to more detailed talks, I cannot say. This doesn't depend entirely on us," Winterstein told a daily briefing.

Brussels has warned that time is running out to start the talks on divorce terms and a future trade deal, with Britain set to leave the EU come what may in March 2019.

European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said last Friday that Brussels would be ready "at half past nine" the next morning if Britain was ready.

London has said it wants the Barnier-Davis talks to start as scheduled next Monday, but since Thursday's election it has not formally committed to the date.

Davis told BBC radio today that the government stood by its threat to "walk away" with no deal if talks -- when they do eventually start -- break down.

May's catastrophic showing in Thursday's election has caused consternation in the EU, which is keen to push through the disruptive Brexit process as soon as possible.

"Obviously it's not great that things are being delayed," an EU source said on condition of anonymity, adding that Brussels officials had been "glued to their TV screens and Twitter" for the British election results.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
China has established its highest military award, the Order of August 1, which marks the founding anniversary of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

The selection process for the first batch of winners has begun.

Approved by the Central Military Commission, the Order of August 1 will be awarded to those who have made outstanding contributions to safeguarding the country's sovereignty, security and development interests, and advancing the modernization of national defense and the armed forces.

A list of 17 candidates nominated by the PLA, the armed police force and public security force have been made public to receive comments both from the military and the general public, state-run Xinhua agency reported today.

Chinese astronaut Jing Haipeng, commander of the Shenzhou-11 spacecraft, is among the 17 candidates.

August 1 is the founding anniversary of the 2.3 million- strong PLA.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Calcutta High Court judge Justice C S Karnan, whom the Supreme Court has sentenced to six months' prison for contempt and has not been seen in public since then, retired from service today.

A customary farewell by the high court administration to a retiring judge could not be held as Justice Karnan was not present.

"A farewell given by the administration is held, which is attended by judges and senior lawyers and speeches are given as per custom. This was not held as he was not present," Calcutta High Court registrar general Sugato Majumdar said.

Asked about clearance of Justice Karnan's dues on retirement, Majumdar said "all formalities will be completed as per law."



A retiring judge is also given a farewell by the Bar (lawyers), though not mandatory.

"Had Justice Karnan been here, the Bar would have considered. There is a procedure by which invitation is sent to a retiring judge and if he accepts, necessary arrangements are made.

"Since we do not know where he is, the question does not arise," Additional Advocate General Abhratosh Chowdhury told PTI.

"Owing to the unprecedented condition prevailing after the Supreme Court order and owing to his absence, a farewell could not be considered," Calcutta High Court Bar Association president Suranjan Dasgupta said.

On May 9, a seven-judge bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar, had sentenced Justice Karnan to six months' jail for contempt of court and ordered the West Bengal police to take him into custody forthwith.

The controversial judge has not been arrested yet.

A representation was made to the President on behalf of Justice Karnan on May 21 seeking suspension of the Supreme Court order sentencing him to imprisonment, according to a lawyer representing him.

The lawyers took the ground in the application that Justice Karnan will be unable to exercise any remedy if he is arrested.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Controversial Calcutta High Court judge C S Karnan, who has been evading arrest since May 9 after being sentenced to six months imprisonment for contempt of court by the Supreme Court, retires today.

Sixty-two-year-old Justice Karnan, who retires on his birthday, has the dubious distinction of being the first sitting high court judge to be awarded a jail term by the apex court.

Born on June 12, 1955, he has been evading arrest since a seven-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India J S Khehar passed the unprecedented arrest order against him.

Despite several attempts, Justice Karnan has failed to get any relief from the apex court's vacation benches which refused to hear his plea seeking a stay of its jail term order.

His lawyers had also claimed to have approached President Pranab Mukherjee for exercising his power to stay the apex court's order, but till now, no relief has come to the judge.

The seven-judge bench had asked the West Bengal director general of police to take Justice Karnan, who has been on a warpath with the Supreme Court for the last several months, into custody.

After being sentenced to six months jail, Justice Karnan had on May 12 moved the apex court for relief, saying neither the high courts nor their judges, were "subordinate" to it.

He had sought recall of the apex court's order, contending he could not be held guilty of contempt of court.

Justice Karnan had said the Contempt of Courts Act was a "cathartic jurisprudence which belonged to the Dark Ages, the era of inquisition and torture, distinct from the classical Roman Law which constitutes the foundation of modern jurisprudence".

He had also sought a stay on all "further proceedings" pursuant to the May 9 order.

Earlier, the apex court had issued a bailable warrant against him to secure his presence in the contempt case.

He had appeared before the apex court on March 31, a first in Indian judicial history, and had asked for restoration of his powers as a precondition for his re- appearance, but the plea was rejected.

Justice Karnan, who enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu in 1983, was appointed a judge of the Madras High Court in 2009. He was transferred to the Calcutta High Court on March 11, 2016.

He was transferred from the Madras High Court for his repeated allegations and run-ins with its then chief justice and fellow judges.

The high court judge had on February 15, 2016 stayed his transfer order, which was suspended by the Supreme Court.

The apex court had earlier even asked the chief justice of the Madras High Court not to assign him any judicial work.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Controversial Calcutta High Court judge C S Karnan on Monday ended his tenure as a fugitive from law with no customary farewell being given to him.

Sixty-two-year-old has been evading arrest since May 9 after being sentenced to six months imprisonment for contempt of court by the Supreme Court.

He has the dubious distinction of being the first sitting high court judge to be awarded a jail term by the apex court.

A customary farewell by the high court administration to the retiring judge could not be held as was not present.

"A farewell given by the administration is held, which is attended by judges and senior lawyers and speeches are made as per the custom. This was not held as he was not present," Calcutta High Court Registrar General Sugato Majumdar said.

Asked about clearance of Justice Karnan's retirement benefits, Majumdar said, "All formalities will be completed as per the law."



A retiring judge is also given a farewell by the Bar (lawyers), though not mandatory.

"Had been here, the Bar would have considered. There is a procedure by which an invitation is sent to a retiring judge and if he accepts, necessary arrangements are made. Since we do not know where he is, the question does not arise," Additional Advocate General Abhratosh Chowdhury told PTI.

Owing to the unprecedented situation prevailing after the Supreme Court order and owing to his absence, a farewell could not be considered, Calcutta High Court Bar Association President Suranjan Dasgupta said.

Born on June 12, 1955, he has been evading arrest since a seven-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India J S Khehar passed the unprecedented arrest order against him.

Despite several attempts, Justice Karnan has failed to get any relief from the apex court's vacation benches which refused to hear his plea seeking a stay of its jail term order.

His lawyers had also claimed to have approached President Pranab Mukherjee for exercising his power to stay the apex court's order, but till now, no relief has come to the judge.

The seven-judge bench had also asked the West Bengal director general of police to take Justice Karnan, who has been on a warpath with the Supreme Court for the last several months, into custody.

According to his lawyers, the ground taken in the application to the president was that the judge will be unable to exercise any remedy if he was arrested.

After being sentenced to a six-month jail term, Justice Karnan had on May 12 moved the apex court for relief, saying neither the high courts nor their judges, were "subordinate" to it.

He had sought a recall of the apex court's order, contending he could not be held guilty of contempt of court.

Justice Karnan had said the Contempt of Courts Act was a "cathartic jurisprudence which belonged to the Dark Ages, the era of inquisition and torture, distinct from the classical Roman Law which constitutes the foundation of modern jurisprudence".

He had also sought a stay on all "further proceedings" pursuant to the May 9 order.

Earlier, the apex court had issued a bailable warrant against him to secure his presence in the contempt case.

He had appeared before the apex court on March 31, a first in Indian judicial history, and had asked for the restoration of his powers as a precondition for his re-appearance, but the plea was rejected.

Justice Karnan, who enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu in 1983, was appointed a judge of the Madras High Court in 2009. He was transferred to the Calcutta High Court on March 11, 2016.

He was transferred from the Madras High Court for his repeated allegations and run-ins with its then chief justice and fellow judges.

The high court judge had on February 15, 2016, stayed his transfer order, which was suspended by the Supreme Court.

The apex court had earlier even asked the chief justice of the Madras High Court not to assign him any judicial work.
Veteran actress Diane Keaton has backed actor James Norton to play James Bond when Daniel Craig eventually steps down.

The 71-year-old actress has praised her "Hampstead" co- star, who plays her son in the upcoming movie, reported Contactmusic.

"Don't you think he's going to be the next James Bond? We were all talking about it on the set of 'Hampstead'. He ticks every box - he's beautiful, he's a man, he's very sexy, he is smart and he even went to Cambridge," Keaton told Event magazine.

When Norton came to know about "The Godfather" star's comments, the 31-year-old actor admitted he was unsurprised by her straightforwardness.

"I can't quite believe she said that. But then again I can. Diane is exactly what you want her to be like, which is basically like no one else but her," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Egypt, under fire for muzzling freedom of expression, has blocked access to around 60 websites and service providers since the end of May, rights groups and media figures said today.

Back in May, around 20 websites based in Qatar and in Egypt were made inaccessible, including the Qatar's Al-Jazeera and the independent Egyptian site Mada Masr which has been critical of corruption.

By today the number of blocked sites had risen to 62, the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression NGO said on its website.

They included 10 Egyptian websites as well as several providers of virtual private networks (VPN) that can be used to get around state-imposed censorship, it said.

"Some of the sites had been temporarily unblocked but were blocked again," said Fatma Serag, a human rights lawyer who works for the NGO.

The latest Egyptian news websites made inaccessible include Al-Badil and Al-Bedaya, which has often published material critical of government policies.

Al-Bedaya's chief editor, Khaled Elbalshy, told AFP he had submitted a complaint to the Egyptian journalists' union, demanding to know why his website was blocked and by which state authority.

The government has yet to comment on the crackdown.

Elbashy also noted the measures coincide with a debate ongoing in parliament concerning Egypt's plans to hand over to Saudi Arabia two Red Sea islands -- Tiran and Sanafir.

The deal, signed during an April 2016 visit by Saudi King Salman in which Riyadh showered Egypt with aid, provoked accusations in Egypt that Cairo had "sold" the strategic islands.

On April 10, parliament speaker Ali Abdel Aal referred the agreement to the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee for deliberations and a vote.

Hatem Zakaria, secretary general of the journalists' union, told AFP that his and another media organisation were planning to lodge a formal request seeking an explanation as to why the sites were blocked.

Rights groups have repeatedly accused former army chief and now President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of stifling dissent.

An anti-terrorism law, adopted in August 2015, lays down stiff penalties for publishing "false information" on attacks in Egypt that contradicts official reports from the defence ministry, stirring condemnation from rights groups.

In the 2017 press freedom index published by watchdog Reporters Without Borders, Egypt ranks 161st out of 180 countries.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Delhi High Court has made it clear that water bodies cannot be encroached upon in the national capital and have to be preserved.

The observation by a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Rekha Palli came during the hearing of a PIL seeking preservation of a 'jauhad' (water body) in the Badarpur area of south Delhi.

The court said that a water body has to be "preserved, maintained and utilised as a water body".

It said that pictures filed along with the plea, showed "squatters", besides deplorable condition and a large body of stagnant water.

The bench noted that the Delhi government and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) "have completely abdicated their responsibility" with regard to the land in question and the water body.

"The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi squarely absolves itself of any responsibility by stating that the land has been transferred to the DDA.

"The DDA submits that this land is not a water body and is a JJ cluster. This submission is made despite the revenue record clearly reflecting that the land in question is a 'jauhad'," the court said in its recent order.

It also said, "There can be no manner of doubt that a water body has to be preserved, maintained and utilised as a water body and nothing at all. No encroachment thereon can be permitted."



The bench directed the DDA to place an affidavit indicating the water body's extent, contours and the steps the authority proposes to take for restoring it.

The court said that if the squatters have to be relocated from the area, it would be done after an interaction with the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB).

"Needless to say this matter brooks no delay and has to be implemented on a war footing especially, keeping the advent of the monsoon in mind," it said while directing the DDA to file its affidavit before the next date of hearing on August two.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A former Congress MLA was allegedly shot at in southeast Delhi's Jamia Nagar today when he had gone to meet a woman whose property has been usurped, but he escaped unhurt.

When Asif Mohd Khan had gone to meet the woman who claimed that her foster son had snatched her property some shots were fired at him, police said.

On the ex-MLA's complaint, a case of attempt to murder has been registered and CCTV footages are being scanned to identify the accused, they said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Following are the top stories from the Eastern region at 2100 hrs.

CAL6 WB-GJM LD BANDH



Darjeeling: The government offices here records "normal" attendance although some stray incidents were reported during Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM)-sponsored indefinite bandh in Darjeeling hills which began today.

CAL2 BH-NITISH POLL



Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today accepts the BJP's challenge of holding fresh assembly polls in Bihar and threw down the gauntlet asking it to hold simultaneous election in Uttar Pradesh, besides byelection to Lok Sabha seats held by the NDA members in the two states.

CAL5 OD-POL-NAIDU



Bhubaneswar: Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today accuses the Congress of using "disrupt, disinform and defame (3Ds)" formula against the Modi government that works on the sole agenda of development.

CAL7 MG-CATTLE-RESOLUTION



Shillong: The Meghalaya Assembly today unanimously passes a resolution opposing the Centre's notification banning the sale and purchase of cattle at animal markets for slaughter and demanded its withdrawal as it would "impact the economy of the state and the food habit of its people".

CAL9 KARNAN-RETIRE



Kolkata: Calcutta High Court judge Justice C S Karnan, whom the Supreme Court has sentenced to six months' prison for contempt and has not been seen in public since then, retires from service today.

CAL11 RAIL-JH-CLOSURE



Dhanbad: The Railway Board cancels 19 trains and diverted routes of seven after a mines fire reached close to tracks in the Dhanbad-Chandrapur segment, making it unsafe for use.

CES9 BH-NITISH AGRICULTURE



Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today says loan waiver is not the only solution to the "agrarian crisis" affecting several parts of the country.

CES12 BH-RABRI BAHUS



Patna: Rabri Devi, the former Bihar chief minister, is looking for 'good looking' and 'homely bahus' for her minister sons - Tej Pratap Yadav and Tejaswi Prasad Yadav



CCM10 BIZ-DRAWBACKS



Kolkata: The Union government is seeking industry feedback on how to readjust the duty drawbacks in the new Goods and Services Tax regime.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Four persons, including a police constable, were arrested in lower Assam's Kokrajhar district for allegedly raping a woman, a senior police officer said today.

The woman was allegedly gang raped near her home when she was coming back from the house of her neighbour at Tarinipur village on the night of June three, Kokrajhar Superintendent of Police Rajen Singh said.

All the four were arrested last night, the SP added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Centre is committed to fast tracking the development initiatives in the northeastern region, especially in border areas, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said today.

Addressing a meeting of the chief ministers of the four northeastern states which share border with Myanmar, Singh said the region is immensely rich in human and natural resources and its ethnic and linguistic diversities enrich India's cultural heritage.

"Our government is committed to fast tracking of development in the northeastern region. Work on road and rail network extension is going on. We want to extend these networks to border areas," he said in his opening remarks.

The meeting was convened to discuss the issues of Indo- Myanmar border and attended by Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju besides Pema Khandu, N Biren Singh and Lal Thanhawla, the chief ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Mizoram, respectively, and Nagaland Home Minister Yanthungo Patton.

"India-Myanmar border is unique in many ways. It has a visa-free movement regime for the people living within 16 km on either side," Singh pointed out.

Praising the Assam Rifles, which guards the 1,643-km-long Indo-Myanmar border, the home minister said the Assam Rifles is performing its duty with courage and determination.

Under the Border Area Development programme, the four states -- Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram-- bordering Myanmar received Rs 567.39 crores during the last three years, Singh said.

The home minister also met Governor of Mizoram Governor Lt. Gen. (Retd) Nirbhay Sharma at Raj Bhavan here.

The international border with Mynamar is considered to be porous with cross-border movement of insurgents and smuggling of arms and ammunition common there.

This is for the first time that such a meeting has been called to discuss issues concerning Mynamar border with active participation of the state governments.

The chief secretaries, directors general of police (DGPs) of the states, director general of the Assam Rifles and senior officials from the central ministries concerned were also present at the meeting.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Gorkhaland supporters today vandalised government offices in Darjeeling as the GJM- sponsored indefinite shutdown forced tourists out of the picturesque hill station due to threat of violence.

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, which controls the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), has called a shutdown of all state and GTA offices to press its demand for creation of a separate state.

The Mamata Banerjee government, with which the Gorkha outfit has been on a collision course over introduction of Bengali language in schools in the hills, however, claimed offices recorded "normal" attendance. The GJM leadership has called the government measure an "encroachment" on their distinct Nepali identity and culture.

"The people have defied GJM's diktat and attended office. We hope good sense will prevail on the GJM leadership," the state's tourism minister Gautam Deb said. He claimed government and GTA offices recorded normal attendance in Darjeeling and other hill towns in north Bengal including Kalimpong, Kurseong and Mirik.

Suspected GJM activists damaged a panchayat office and a PWD office in the hill and did picketing at some places in Kurseong and Kalimpong. The agitators burnt furniture, broke window panes and smashed computers at the PWD office in Darjeeling.

Police said eight GJM activists were detained for allegedly trying to set fire to the Block Development Office at Phulbazar in Bijanbari block.

GJM general secretary Roshan Giri denied his party's involvement in vandalisation of government offices. He, however, claimed the response to the "appeal" for the shutdown was "good".

"We could have enforced the bandh but we have not done that. We only appealed to the people," he said, adding "the state government may claim almost cent per cent attendance but that is not the case."



"We want central intervention. Our party chief has written to the prime minister and Union home minister to sympathetically consider our demand (for Gorkhaland)," Giri, whose party is an ally of the Centre's ruling NDA, said.

Since tourism forms the bedrock of the economy in Darjeeling hills, hotels, transport and markets have been kept out of the purview of the agitation. However, several hotels remained shut due to apprehension of violence.

In an indication that the agitation may escalate in the coming days, GJM president Bimal Gurung said,"It's better if the tourists leave as the situation is deteriorating."



The local administration, however, claimed the situation was "normal".

"The situation is peaceful here and everything is normal. Attendance in schools is also normal. We have taken all precautionary measures to prevent any untoward incident," Darjeeling District Magistrate Joyoshi Dasgupta told PTI.

Police pickets and barricades were placed in front of the government and GTA offices while Rapid Action Force (RAF), including a sizable number of women police personnel, were deployed, Dasgupta said.

She said the Army was present in the hills as a "backup".

The Trinamool Congress government had yesterday asked all its employees in the hills and those of the institutions receiving grants-in-aid from it to attend office on all days till the agitation continues, warning that absence from duty will be considered a break in service.

Claims and counterclaims apart, there was a fragile peace in large parts of the hills today. However, with the term of the current GTA coming to an end next month, the GJM appears intent on capitalising on the sensitive language issue, which it has dovetailed with the demand for Gorkhaland.

"The government has encroached on our identity, our language Nepali. We will never tolerate it," Gurung had said yesterday.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Patidar quota stir leader Hardik Patel arrived in Udaipur today and said that he would leave for Mandsaur, the epicentre of the farmers' stir in Madhya Pradesh, with his supporters tomorrow.

He arrived in Udaipur from Gujarat by road to attend a private function.

Gehrilal Dangi, the district president of Patel Navnirman Sena had yesterday said Hardik Patel has plans to leave for Mandsaur, but it is uncertain whether the administration allows him to do so.

He said the Patidar community in Gujarat and Rajasthan stands in support of the Madhya Pradesh farmers.

Asked about his plan to go to Mandsaur, Patel said he will go there tomorrow.

"I will do my work and police and administration will do their job," he told reporters when asked what if the police will prevent him from going to Mandsaur.

Hardik, who had spent six months of exile in Udaipur after a Gujarat High Court order, had returned to his hometown in January this year. He was staying at a former Congress MLA's house during this period



He was released from jail in Gujarat after nine months in confinement in July last year.

The Mandsaur-Neemuch region, about 300 km from Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal, became the nerve centre of the storm of farmer distress, as protests over low prices for crops and heavy farm debts started on June 1 and snowballed into a widespread agitation.

In Mandsaur, curfew was imposed after the five farmers were killed in two incidents of police firing during the protest on June 6.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Security forces on Monday unearthed a module of Hizbul Mujahideen(HM) by arresting four operatives including two militants in Kashmir.

Acting on specific information, a joint cordon of police and 21-RR of Army was laid at Chogal, Handwara during which two persons identified as Mehrajudin and Obaid Shafi Malla were caught while moving under suspicious circumstances.

"Police and Army busted a module of HM and arrested two militants from Handwara in North Kashmir and two over ground workers from south Kashmir Awantipora town," a police spokesman said.

"The duo was asked to stop but they started running away. The Naka party immediately swung into action and caught hold of them. A huge cache of arms and ammunition were recovered," the spokesman said.

During the investigation, they revealed that they had come to Handwara for receiving ammunition and other war-like stores for their militant outfit in South Kashmir, he said.

"Cyber surveillance unit of JK Police also tracked their social media network accounts and found some incriminating material.They were misusing web-chats to hatch and execute terrorist conspiracies," he added.

Preliminary investigation found that these militants were members of a module which would not only recruit youth into militancy by radicalising them over social media but also coordinated their training and arranged arms and ammunition, the spokesman said.

On the disclosure of these two militants, two more members of the module working as OGWs(Over Ground Workers)were arrested from Awantipora, he said, adding they were identified as Shahid Ahmad Thoker and Irfan Ahmad, both residents of Awantipora.
Filmmaker Sam Taylor-Johnson has opened up about her battle with alcoholism during her marriage to art dealer Jay Jopling.

The 50-year-old director - who tied the knot with actor Aaron Taylor Johnson, 26, in 2012 - revealed she drank in excess when she was married to Jopling, who she divorced in 2008, reported Sunday Times magazine.

"I would drink to blackout most nights. I thought it was because I was a cool British artist, but actually I was quite a mess. I would say I was an alcoholic. I put myself in supremely dangerous situations," Sam said.

However, after battling colon cancer, followed by breast cancer, Sam embraced a healthier lifestyle.

"I stopped drinking, I stopped partying, I calmed down."



Sam also talked about her second marriage and revealed that it was Aaron who pursued her, when she directed him in the 2009 movie "Nowhere Boy".

Asked if they fell in love on set, she said, "I wasn't thinking that way, but we had this intense connection: I could tell by the twitch of an eyelash whether he was focused or not. He was very intense and absolutely mind made-up."



Although she admitted their age gap did cause her to hesitate at first, she added, "But it wasn't long. He is an amazing man. If you saw us together, we're in such sync. We spend every minute of the day together.

"My friends call him Benjamin Button because he has - on the outside -- such youth, and on the inside, he is so wise and settled. He doesn't like parties. He likes being at home and cooking for the family. He likes walking the dogs. He loves his chickens -- he collects the eggs and makes breakfast for everyone."



Sam and Aaron have daughters Wylda Rae, born in 2010, and Romy Hero, born in 2012, together, while she also has two daughters from her marriage to Jay.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka on Monday met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley amid industry-wide concerns around tighter visa norms in key markets like the US and layoffs in the sector.

The 45-minute meeting, between Jaitley and Sikka accompanied by other top company officials, also assumes significance as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit the US later this month.

Over the past few months, Indian IT companies are confronted with closer scrutiny and tighter visa norms in the US, a market that accounts for nearly 60 per cent of India's IT exports.

According to sources, Infosys had sought the meeting.

However, Sikka declined to comment on the proceedings after the meeting. COO UB Pravin Rao was also present at the meeting.

Asked about concerns around layoffs in the sector, Sikka said the company has announced 10,000 jobs in the US and continues to hire in India as well.

"We have announced 10,000 jobs in the US and we are continuing to hire lots of jobs in India. I think that the future is all about innovation," he said.

He added that Indian IT companies are creating "tremendous amount of value" in the US.

With rising protectionism across markets like Singapore and Australia, companies are beginning to adjust their business models to reduce their dependence on visas and hiring more locals instead.

The ramp up in local hiring is also aimed at placating the Donald Trump administration in the US that has been critical of outsourcing firms.

The US had accused Infosys and its peers TCS and Cognizant of unfairly cornering the lions share of US H-1B work visas, taking jobs away from American workers.

The tightening of visa norms not only pushes up operational costs for these tech firms but also makes a movement of skilled workforce difficult.

Infosys has already announced that it would hire 10,000 Americans over the next two years and set up four innovation hubs in the US.

However, it wasn't clear if the discussions included GSTN at the meeting.

Infosys had received the contract for Network (GSTN), which is responsible for providing the technology backbone for Goods and Services Tax and connecting the databases of states and the Centre.
- Israeli government spies hacked into the operations of Islamic State bombmakers to discover they were developing a laptop computer bomb to blow up a commercial aircraft, the New York Times reported today.

The Times said the work by Israeli cyber operators was a rare success of western intelligence against the constantly evolving, encryption-protected and social-media-driven cyber operations of the extremist group.

It said the Israeli hackers penetrated the small Syria- based cell of bombmakers months ago, an effort that led to the March 21 ban on carry-on laptops and other electronics larger than cellphones on direct flights to the United States from 10 airports in Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa.

The Israeli cyber-penetration "was how the United States learned that the terrorist group was working to make explosives that fooled airport X-ray machines and other screening by looking exactly like batteries for laptop computers," the Times said.

The intelligence was so good that the detonation method for the bombs was understood, the Times said, citing two US officials familiar with the operation.

Following the US laptop ban, Britain announced a similar prohibition for flights originating from six countries.

Israel's contribution to the intelligence on the laptop bombs became public after President Donald Trump revealed details on it to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in a May 10 White House meeting.

Trump's disclosure "infuriated" Israeli officials, according to the Times.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A 24-year-old man who allegedly faked a robbery to misappropriate Rs 6 lakh of his employer in Daryaganj in central Delhi has been arrested by the police.

Mandeep Randhawa, DPC (central), said that Ramdev, a driver by profession, had on Saturday filed a complaint that he was looted by car-borne robbers near Shanti Van on Outer Ring Road when he was returning with his employer, a garment trader near Novelty Cinema.

A case was registered and investigation was launched.

The police accessed the CCTV footages of the route taken by Ramdev while collecting payments from traders, between Lado Saray and the place of incident.

The footage did not match with Ramdev's version as no car was found trailing his vehicle. During questioning also he contradicted his own statement, said the officer.

"He was put through sustained interrogation, during which he broke up and admitted to misappropriating Rs 6 lakh of his employer."



The money was also recovered from the residence of his younger sister living in Geeta Colony, he said.

Ramdev said he wanted to buy a house but had no means to do so. He then decided to plot the fake robbery story and misappropriate the money to fulfill his dream, added the officer.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A 27-year-old man was stabbed with a broken glass and injured after he objected to a couple kissing in public in Parel in central Mumbai today, police said.

The incident occurred when Ganesh Sahane, who was passing by the road near a renowned college, noticed a man and his female friend behaving indecently.

According to police, when Sahane objected to their act, the accused, identified as Monty, abused Sahane and beat him up with the help of five of his friends.

During the scuffle, Monty allegedly stabbed Sahane with a glass of a broken bottle, police said.

After police were informed, they took the injured Sahane to a civic-run hospital, where his condition is out of danger.

Police managed to catch hold of one of the five persons who were involved in attacking Sahane, an official said.

A case is being registered by police.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has lived up to his mantra of 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas' by empowering Indians not just in the country but also those living abroad, Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said today.

Speaking at a function to mark three years of the Narendra Modi government and its plank of 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas' (development of all), Swaraj said empowerment of all sections of society, including women, youth and the poor, lies at the core of the schemes and programmes launched by the government.

"In his first address in Parliament after becoming the prime minister, Modi announced that his government was for the weak and poor people and he has lived up to it by empowering rather than giving out freebies to the people through his schemes," the minister said.

The function, organised by the Delhi BJP, was attended by beneficiaries of different schemes such as Mudra, Kaushal Vikas Yojna, Jan Dhan, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojna.

"The Modi government has also empowered Indians living in other countries and they believe it will come to their rescue whenever they will need help," Swaraj said.

In the last three years, the government had managed to evacuate 1.25 lakh people from troubled places in different parts of the world.

"Of this, the government paid for the evacuation of over 80,000 people. From Yemen, where only India could manage to evacuate people, we also helped and took out 1,947 foreigners, including three Pakistani nationals," the foreign minister said.

Under the leadership of Modi, India was deciding global agenda. "World leaders look up to him since they feel that without the cooperation of our country international efforts will not succeed," she said.

"The prime minister only suggested holding an International Yoga Day on June 21, and within a record time of 75 days it was accepted by the United Nations with 177 countries coming forward as co-sponsors of the proposal and none against it."



MPs, MLAs and municipal councillors of BJP should create awareness about the Modi government's achievements through door to door contact with people in their areas, Swaraj added.

Amongst those present at the event were Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari, national vice president Shyam Jaju and South Delhi MP Ramesh Bidhuri.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi today accused the Narendra Modi-led central government of "forcing everyone into silence with Dalits being beaten up, minorities frightened and journalists and bureaucrats threatened.

Speaking at a function of the National Herald newspaper here, he said, "The power of truth is being completely replaced with the truth of power and anybody who attempts to speak the truth and stand for it is being pushed aside."



Gandhi also alleged that thousands of journalists were not being allowed to write what they wanted to. "They (journalists) tell me that they are not being allowed to write what they want to," he said.

Recalling that he was not allowed to visit Madhya Pradesh during the recent farmers' protest and Uttar Pradesh and was stopped at the border of both the states, he said, "This is the India we are living in...An India where power will simply manufacture the truth."



Recollecting a Soviet poet (Yevgeny Yevtushenko), who said, "When truth is replaced by silence, the silence is a lie," Gandhi said, "This is what the government is trying to do."



"...Everybody knows what the truth is. But they are scared to say it," he said at the function where Vice- President Mohammad Hamid Ansari released the National Herald's commemorative publication to celebrate 70 years of India's independence.

The Congress vice-president recalled that when the editor of National Herald approached him recently, he told him that there might be times when the paper would want to write things against him or his party or its policies, but "you (editor) should be absolutely comfortable. That is the spirit we expect from National Herald."



"National Herald has a strong spirit. It is not going to be silenced," he added.

Congress leader Oscar Fernandes, who is on the Board of Directors of the newspaper, said the paper, which was founded by former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1938 and the publication of which was suspended a few years ago, was in the process of reviving its Hindi and Urdu editions as a multi- media outlet.

He said the National Herald website, launched eight months ago, was being upgraded and would be fully operational later this month.

The function is being seen as a prelude to the launch of the daily National Herald English edition.

Efforts to revive the newspaper started amid a legal battle launched by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, who has filed a criminal complaint against Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others.

In his private criminal complaint, Swamy has accused the Gandhis and others of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds by paying only Rs 50 lakh, through which Young Indian Pvt. Ltd (YI) obtained the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore, which its publisher, Associate Journals Ltd (AJL), owed to the Congress party.

The Gandhis and the other accused -- Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda -- have denied the allegations levelled against them.

The Delhi High Court had recently declined to stay the Income Tax proceedings against Young India Ltd in the National Herald case.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In his first visit to the US after the new administration took over, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold talks with President Donald Trump on June 26 on a range of issues, including India's concerns over possible changes in H1B visa rules.

Announcing the visit from June 25, the external affairs ministry today said the Modi-Trump discussions will provide a new direction for a deeper bilateral engagement.

This will be the first meeting between the two leaders, the ministry added.

"Prime Minister will hold official talks with President Trump on June 26. Their discussions will provide a new direction for deeper bilateral engagement on issues of mutual interest and consolidation of multi-dimensional strategic partnership between India and the US," the ministry said.

During her annual press conference last week, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had said Modi will raise the issue with Trump.

Almost 1.8 million H-1B visas have been distributed in fiscal years 2001 through 2015, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of government data. From fiscal years 2001 to 2015, workers from India received the largest share (50.5 percent) of all H-1B visas for first-time employment.

Regional security situation including Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and other international issues are expected to figure prominently during the meeting of the two leaders.

Apart from ways to enhance trade and business cooperation, the two leaders are also expected to discuss defence ties.

US Defence Secretary James Mattis has already made it clear that his country recognises India "as a major defence partner partly out of respect for New Delhi's indispensable role in maintaining stability in the Indian Ocean region".

The US is exploring new ways to address new challenges as well from maritime security to the growing threat posed by the spread of terrorism in Southeast Asia, Mattis had said.

Modi's visit also comes in the backdrop of Trump announcing withdrawal of the US from the Paris climate deal and saying, "India makes its participation contingent on receiving billions and billions of dollars from developed countries."



Strongly rejecting Trump's contention, India had asserted it signed the Paris agreement not under duress or for lure of money but due to its commitment to protect environment.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A woman cadet has reportedly fallen from a Mexican sail training ship 560 nautical miles west of Goa and the Indian Navy has launched a search and rescue operation to look for her.

It has been reported that the woman cadet was not donning any life saving gear when she fell overboard at 2 PM yesterday.

"The Indian Navy has launched a 'Search and Rescue' operation to look for a lady cadet who has reportedly fallen overboard from Mexican Sail Training Ship (STS) Cuauhtemoc, at 1400 hrs on June 11 in position about 560 NM west of Goa," the Navy said in a statement.

Boeing P8I aircraft was pressed into service last night as well as today as part of the operation.

The Mexican ship was scheduled to visit Mumbai between June 21-26 and its last port of call was Port Said, Egypt. The ship's next port of call was Singapore.

Indian Navy ship Teg which was enroute to Mumbai from Port Louis, Mauritius has been diverted and is likely to arrive in the area tonight, Navy spokesperson Capt D K Sharma said.

He said additionally, INS Mysore, with two helicopters onboard, has sailed from Mumbai today and is likely to arrive in the area later in the evening to look for the cadet.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday again questioned Altaf Ahmed Shah, son-in-law of hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, in connection with its probe into the funding of terror and subversive activities in Kashmir.

Shah, popularly known as Altaf Fantoosh, was earlier questioned by the NIA on June 9 about his movable and other properties, including houses in the Valley as well as in Jammu, and the source for their funding, official sources said.

Shah, who arrived again at the NIA headquarters on Monday, was questioned by a team of agency officials about the alleged funding of the Geelani-led Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, the sources said.

There was no immediate reaction from Shah's camp but his father-in-law had yesterday questioned the role of the NIA and said the probe agency was being used as a "war weapon" against the separatist leadership in Kashmir.

Geelani, while chairing a meeting a day after his son- in-law was questioned by the NIA, alleged that the agency had crossed all limits and there was no legal justification for such arbitrary measures.

"Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, its leadership and cadre is the main target for authorities. It is a pre-planned psychological crackdown...," he had said in Srinagar on Saturday.

Shah's Srinagar house was raided by NIA sleuths, who also searched the premises of others, such as Shahid-ul-Islam, a close aide of Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, who heads the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference, and businessman Zahoor Watali.

Apart from being the son-in-law of Geelani, Shah is perceived to be influential in the policies of the Tehrek-e- Hurriyat.

Hafeez Saeed, Pakistan-based chief of Jamaat-ul Dawah (JuD), the front of the banned Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT), has been named in the FIR as an accused besides organisations such as the Hurriyat Conference (factions led by Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq), Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and Dukhtaran-e-Milat.

The raids were part of NIA's efforts to clamp down on separatist groups allegedly receiving funds for subversive activities in the valley.

The NIA had recovered unaccounted account books, Rs 2 crore in cash and letterheads of banned terror groups, including LeT and HM.

The NIA investigation also seeks to identify the chain of players behind the financing of terrorist activities, including those who threw stones at security forces, burned down schools and damaged government establishments.

This is for the first time since the rise of militancy in Kashmir in the early 1990s that a central probe agency has carried out raids in connection with the funding of separatists.

In 2002, the Income Tax (I-T) department had executed searches against some separatist leaders, including Geelani, and seized cash and documents.

However, no criminal case was registered then.
Hollywood star Nicole Kidman advised "Game of Thrones" star Kit Harington to propose to longtime girlfriend Rose Leslie on "The Late Late Show".

"Are you going to get married, or?" Kidman asked the actor, who seemed surprised and said, "Oh, wow ... God."



"No, I just think it's kind of nice if you're going to live together maybe to at least get engaged," the Oscar- winning actress stated.

"I've been put on the spot by Nicole Kidman! I mean, it's step by step, step by step," Harington said.

Host James Corden too seemed surprised and said, "Oh... You're not one for pre-marital ... Wow."



"Game of Thrones" season 7 will air on Star World and Star World HD in India from July 18.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today reiterated that there will be no extension for registration of ongoing projects beyond July 31 under Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA).

"As far as the appointed date for registration is concerned, I fully endorse the view of Maharashtra RERA (MahaRERA) chairman, Gautam Chatterjee," the chief minister said, while addressing builders and developers at a conference here.

Real estate developers were given a 90-day window to register their new and ongoing projects with RERA, which ends on July 31.

Chatterjee had recently said that no extension would be given for registration of ongoing real estate projects beyond July 31.

"Ultimately at some point we have to register. I am of the view why tomorrow, why not today? So, get registered on the appointed date and I believe things will be smooth," Fadnavis explained.

He assured industry members that the government will be lenient for one or two years.

"The authority and the government will be absolutely lenient for one or two years. On mere technical grounds, we will not allow anybody to be harassed," he said.

The chief minister said if required, say after six months if there are some practical problems, the government will look into the rules again and take care of it.

"In a year's time, the ball will be rolling smoothly," he reiterated.

Juxtaposing RERA with the demonetisation exercise, the chief minister said that RERA was announced well in advance compared to demonetisation which was an overnight directive. Despite struggles, people understood the importance, he pointed out.

"People fear the unknown. If we survived demonetisation, what is RERA?," he said.

Speaking about the impact on business, Fadnavis explained that the government will ensure a secure and positive business environment.

"Unless we give proper flexibility to the businesses they won't flourish. Real estate is one sector which plays a major role in the economy of Mumbai and Maharashtra," he said.

"Under MahaRERA, we will ensure all questions will be answered, and businesses will not feel any impediment," he added.

On GST, he assured the industry that the government will facilitate the smooth transition.

"Government is not an inspector but a facilitator. In that role, I assure you in one year there will be no problems left. GST regime will be working better than VAT," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A woman died and 10 people were hurt today when a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck the Greek islands of Lesbos and Chios and the Aegean coast of western Turkey, officials said.

The middle-aged victim had been trapped for around seven hours in the ruins of her home in the Lesbos village of Vrisa, the area that bore the brunt of the strong quake and where several homes collapsed.

"Our fellow citizen who was trapped in the house that collapsed in Vrisa was pulled out dead," Lesbos mayor Spyros Galinos said in a tweet.

The earthquake also struck the Aegean coast of western Turkey after 1200 GMT.

Video footage shot by a Vrisa resident on a cellphone showed masonry from several single and two-level homes clogging the streets.

"It's a difficult situation, we are facing a disaster," Christiana Kalogirou, governor of the north Aegean region, told Greek state TV station ERT, adding: "Some 10 people are injured."



"The army is bringing in tents so people can spend the night," she said, adding that the south of Lesbos had taken the brunt of the quake.

The tremor, felt as far as Athens and Izmir in Turkey, damaged at least three churches and shops in south Lesbos, local owners said, while rock slides blocked some roads.

"The street is full of plaster. I hope this peters out because people are very distressed," said Yiorgos Patarelis, a shop owner in the nearby port of Plomari.

Lesbos Deputy Mayor Manolis Armenakas told ERT: "We have damage to several buildings, old and new."



Infrastructure Minister Christos Spirtzis said two people had been hospitalised.

In Vrisa, a traditional village inhabited mainly by elderly people, "dozens of homes have collapsed and village roads are blocked," regional fire service supervisor Marios Apostolides told ERT.

Engineers were sent in from Athens to assess the damage and vet damaged homes.

AFP reporters in Izmir, Turkey's third-largest city, said the earthquake was felt in the centre and caused alarm among residents.

The US Geological Survey said the epicentre of the quake was in the Aegean sea 11 kilometres south of Plomari, and there were several aftershocks.

The Athens Geodynamic Institute said the quake had a depth of just 10 kilometres.

"If this quake had happened on land the consequences would have been far greater," said seismologist Costas Papazachos.

Lesser damage was reported on Chios and there were no reports of damage or casualties at the refugee camps in the east and north of Lesbos.

AFP reporters in Izmir, Turkey's third-largest city, said the earthquake was felt in the centre and caused alarm among residents but there were no immediate reports od casualties from there.

Turkey and Greece sit on significant fault lines and have regularly been hit by earthquakes in recent years.

This year alone, Turkey's western Aegean coast has been hit by several earthquakes of up to 5.5 magnitude, which brought back memories of past deadly earthquakes.

On August 17, 1999, an earthquake measuring more than 7.0 magnitude near the city of Izmit devastated vast zones in the country's densely populated northwestern zone, notably around Istanbul, killing over 17,000 people.

A month later, a 5.9-magnitude quake killed 143 people in Athens and the region northwest of the capital.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
One person was killed and six injured when their vehicle collided with a tractor trolley on the Phagwara-Hoshiarpur road while they were on their way back from a shrine in Himachal Pradesh, police said today.

The accident took place yesterday when the family from Ludhiana was returning after paying obeisance at the Mata Chintpurni shrine in Una district of Himachal Pradesh, an official said.

Barjesh Kaushal, 30, who was killed, was driving the multi-utility vehicle when the accident occurred at the village Hajipur-Bhullarai crossing on the Phagwara-Hoshiarpur road near here.

The injured were hospitalized here, police said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan on Monday summoned the Indian Deputy High Commissioner and condemned the alleged firing by Indian troops along the Line of Control (LoC) in which three Pakistani civilians were killed.

Director General (South Asia and SAARC) Mohammad Faisal summoned the Indian Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh and "condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations" by the Indian forces, the Pakistan Foreign Office said.

It said that three civilians were killed in the firing in Chirikot and Hot Spring sectors on June 10 and June 12.

"The deliberate targeting of civilians is indeed condemnable and contrary to human dignity and international human rights and humanitarian laws," the Foreign Office said.

The Director-General urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement, investigate this and other incidents of ceasefire violations, instruct the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit, and maintain peace on the LoC, it said.

"Indian troops initiated unprovoked heavy weapons, including mortar firing" targeting civilian population along the LOC in Jandrot and Hot spring sectors today, the Pakistan Army said in a statement.

Three more civilians were injured due to the Indian firing, it said.

The Pakistan Army also claimed that they inflicted damage to Indian posts.
The life of James Bond star Roger Moore was celebrated with a private memorial in Monte Carlo.

Friends and family of Moore, who passed away last month in Switzerland at the age of 89 after a short battle with cancer, gathered at Saint Paul's Church on Saturday, to say their goodbyes, reported Daily Mirror.

Moore's manager and biographer Gareth Owen shared a picture of the order of service on Moore's Twitter page and wrote, "Yesterday we said our goodbyes in a beautiful service and celebrated a wonderful life. (Gareth) (sic)."



"One last drink. Goodbye, dear @sirrogermoore - a beautiful and loving service for one of the great Saints, Knights and Gents of our time (sic)," Moore's close friend Joan Collins tweeted alongside a picture of herself at the service.

The British actor's three children, Deborah, Geoffrey and Christian, announced his death in a statement on May 23.

They had said a private funeral would be held in Monaco in "accordance with our father's wishes."



Moore became a tax exile from Britain in 1978 and split his time between three homes - in Monaco, Switzerland and the south of France.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
This time the British Queen's Speech is going to be delayed because it has to be written on goatskin paper and the ink takes days to dry, media reports today quoted government sources as saying.

Prime Minister Theresa May's official spokesman suggested at a briefing of journalists today that the state opening of parliament, scheduled for June 19, will be pushed back.

The Telegraph, quoting Government sources have now claimed that the reason for the delay is the amount of time it takes to write the legislative agenda onto special archival paper.

The Queen's Speech is written by the government and presents an outline of its planned legislation for the next Parliamentary session.

It is read by the Queen from the Throne in the House of Lords at the State Opening of Parliament.

Also known as the gracious speech, the Queen's Speech was historically written on vellum with ink that takes three days to dry.

Although it is now written on thick goatskin parchment paper, this also needs several days to dry, meaning a speech cannot be amended at the last minute.

However, critics have suggested that the Government is playing for time as it tries to hammer out the terms of a deal with the Democratic Unionist Party.

The difficulty lies in the simple fact that the contents of the Queen's Speech are yet to be finalised after voters returned a hung Parliament on June 8.

There are reportedly copies of a Conservative majority Queen's Speech and a Labour majority Queen's speech written on the goatskin parchment paper and ready to go, the paper said.

But with the Tories and DUP still negotiating a deal to prop up May's minority Government the contents of the Speech are still to be finalised.

The ruling Conservatives went from 331 seats to 318 in the general election, while Labour increased its number of MPs from 232 to 262.

Once the details are set in stone they can be committed to the goatskin paper and sent away for binding before being presented to Queen Elizabeth II.

The Cabinet Office has confirmed that the speech is not printed on vellum, which is made of calfskin, but goatskin paper which also takes a few days for ink to dry.

However, despite its name, goatskin paper is not actually made from goatskin.

The material is in fact high-quality archival paper which is guaranteed to last for at least 500 years.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Rich farmers are likely to be excluded from the loan waiver announced by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led (BJP-led) government in Maharashtra, according to a senior minister.

The government will be setting up up a high-level committee for the implementation of the scheme, announced on Sunday in the backdrop of the agitation by farmers across the state.

The farmers called off their stir after the government came out with the loan waiver.

The panel will decide on the criteria of debt relief.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had earlier said the conditions and details of the scheme would be finalised by the committee.

State Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil on Monday said the committee is going to be formed because in the previous loan waiver package (2007-08), many rich farmers had benefited.

"We have found that the loan waiver scheme introduced previously had benefited the rich farmers largely in Maharashtra. To avoid it, we will set up a high-level committee to omit such rich farmers from the list of beneficiaries. The mechanism for the same will be worked out with the help of the committee," he said.

Patil said this issue was raised at the meeting with farmers' leaders yesterday and they also demanded that the needy farmers should get the benefits first and the government had agreed to this demand. Hence the committee is going to be set up to exclude the rich farmers from the ambit of the scheme, he said.

The state's high-power group of ministers and the steering committee of farmers held a meeting yesterday in Mumbai where the issue of loan waiver was discussed and accepted by the government.

"It is the victory of farmers' rights that they would get loan waiver at the right time. The state government is also keen on increasing the purchase price of milk by co-operative societies from farmers. It will benefit the milk producing farmers and their income would go up," Patil said.

Meanwhile, Raju Shetti, Lok Sabha member and leader of the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghtana which is an ally of the BJP, said the steering committee had demanded implementation of the loan waiver scheme before the commencement of the Monsoon Session of the state legislature.

"If the government fails to do so, we will again call for an agitation," Shetty, whose outfit recently hit the streets, said.

Shetti had earlier said if the government failed to fulfil its commitments, his organisation would resume the agitation from July 25.

Fadnavis had on Friday announced the formation of the six-member committee to look into the various demands of farmers, including the loan waiver.

On June 1, farmers from a village in Ahmednagar district went on strike followed by many groups of cultivators in other parts of the state suspended vegetable and milk supply to Mumbai.
Rich farmers are likely to be excluded from the loan waiver announced by the Maharashtra government, but the scheme would not linked to the size of the farmers' land holding, state minister Chandrakant Patil said.

Not linking the land holding to the loan waiver means maximum number of farmers would benefit from it, the minister said.

Farmers in Maharashtra, who had been on a war path from June 1 to press for their various demands, yesterday called off their stir after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced loan waiver for them.

The government also announced setting up of a high-level committee for the implementation of the scheme. The panel will decide on the criteria of debt relief.

Patil said the committee is going to be formed because in the previous loan waiver package (2007-08), many rich farmers had benefited.

"We have found that the loan waiver scheme introduced previously had benefited the rich farmers largely in Maharashtra. To avoid it, we will set up a high-level committee to omit such rich farmers from the list of beneficiaries. The mechanism for the same will be worked out with the help of the committee," he said.

"The criteria of eligible farmers are being finalised. When loan waiver scheme was announced in 2008, in one case a loan amount as high as Rs 82 lakh was waived in western Maharashtra. A brother of a minister, who was in the state cabinet then, also benefitted from the loan waiver scheme. We would like to avoid mistakes of the previous government and issue loan waiver to those who are solely dependent on agriculture," the minister added.

Patil said this issue was raised at the meeting with farmers' leaders yesterday.

He said they demanded that the needy farmers should get the benefits first and the government had agreed to this demand. Hence the committee is going to be set up to exclude the rich farmers from the ambit of the scheme, Patil said.

"The chief minister on June 2 had stated that farmers having land up to five acres would be covered under the loan waiver. The decision was not appreciated by the farmers' leaders from Marathwada and Vidarbha, where land holding per person is more. Hence, on Sunday, the higher power committee of ministers decided to cover all the eligible farmers under the loan waiver scheme," he said.

The state's high-power group of ministers and the steering committee of farmers held a meeting yesterday in Mumbai where the issue of loan waiver was discussed and accepted by the government.

"It is the victory of farmers' rights that they would get loan waiver at the right time. The state government is also keen on increasing the purchase price of milk by co-operative societies from farmers. It will benefit the milk producing farmers and their income would go up," Patil said.

On Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's statement that the states have to generate their own resources for the loan waiver, Patil said the state was capable of providing monetary assistance to farmers.

"The Centre had already made it clear that it would not provide financial assistance to the state government regarding the loan waiver. I must say that the state government is capable of providing financial assistance to farmers and we can bear it," he said.

He also pointed out the success of LPG subsidy given-up by the people after an appeal made by prime minister Narendra Modi.

"Many people had laughed at Modi's appeal to give up the subsidy. But around two crore people have given it up so far and it helped the Centre to pass on the benefits to others who are in dire need of cooking gas. We are hopeful of some farmers from Maharashtra may reject the loan waiver in the same way," the revenue minister said.

On a query about some political parties rushing for the credit of loan waiver, Patil said, "It does not matter who takes the credit as long as farmers are benefited from the loan waiver scheme. Those who are seeking credit should go to the villages and educate farmers about how to prepare their documents for loan waiver."



Meanwhile, Raju Shetti, Lok Sabha member and leader of the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghtana which is an ally of the BJP, said the steering committee had demanded implementation of the loan waiver scheme before the commencement of the Monsoon Session of the state legislature.

"If the government fails to do so, we will again call for an agitation," Shetty, whose outfit recently hit the streets, said.

Shetti had earlier said if the government failed to fulfil its commitments, his organisation would resume the agitation from July 25.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Skipper Sarfraz Ahmed (61) cracked a gritty unbeaten fifty as Pakistan survived some tense moments before notching up a thrilling three-wicket win over Sri Lanka in their must-win Group B match to enter the semifinals of the ICC Champions Trophy here today.

Pakistan will meet Group A toppers England in the first semifinal on Wednesday at the same venue.

Chasing a modest 237 to win, opener Fakhar Zaman (50) cracked a 36-ball 50 at the top but Pakistan suffered an inexplicable collapse to slip to 162-7.

Finally, it was Sarfraz Ahmed, who played a resolute captain's knock to take Pakistan home. The wicket-keeper batsman shared 75 runs with Mohammad Amir (28) for the 8th wicket as Pakistan overhauled the target with 31 balls to spare.

Sri Lankan seamers, led by Nuwan Pradeep (3/60), produced a disciplined bowling performance but some sloppy fielding, which included two drop catches of Sarfraz, cost them the match.

Earlier, Fast bowlers Hasan Ali (3/43) and Junaid Khan (3/40) claimed three wickets each, while Amir (2/53) and Fahim Ashraf (2/37) accounted for two wickets to help Pakistan bowl out Sri Lanka for 236 after electing to field.

Opener Niroshan Dickwella (73) and skipper Angelo Mathews (39) added 78 runs for the fourth wicket but Amir and Junaid took two wickets each in the space of 3.2 overs as Sri Lanka lost four wickets for six runs to slip to 167-7.

Lower-order batsmen Suranga Lakmal (26) and Asela Gunaratne (27) offered dogged resistance to take Sri Lankan innings close to the 250-run mark. They added 46 crucial runs for the eighth wicket.

Chasing a modest 237 to win, Fakhar gave Pakistan a flying start as he alongwith Azhar Ali shared a 74-run opening partnership in 11.1 overs.

Fakhar blasted eight boundaries and one six to score his fifty but he top-edged a Nuwan Pradeep delivery next to Gunaratne at fine leg as Pakistan lost their first wicket in the 12th over.

Pakistan then lost three quick wickets -- Babar Azam (10), Mohammad Hafeez (1) and Azhar Ali (34) to slip from 92-1 to 110-4 in the 20th over.

Shoaib Malik (11) and Imad Wasim (4) also coudn't last long and perished in consecutive overs as Pakistan slumped to 137-6 in 25.4 overs.

Skipper Sarfraz Ahmed, who was dropped twice in the 39th and 41st over off Malinga, made good use of the chances to produce a match-winning innings and in company of Amir took the team home.

Earlier, Danuhska Gunathilaka (13) was scalped early by Junaid but Dickwella and Kusal Mendis (27) stitched a 56- run stand to keep Sri Lanka going.

Things looked settled for the Island nation before Hasan Ali came up with a fiery spell, in which he troubled Mendis with pace and bounce before eventually bowling him out.

It brought Dinesh Chandimal to the crease but his stay was reduced to just two balls as the batsman dragged one from Fahim Ashraf onto his stumps, going for a drive.

Two wickets in three balls, however, did not bother Sri Lanka much as Dickwella remained solid at the other end and soon completed his half-century with a single off Mohammed Hafeez.

Skipper Mathews supported his colleague with a patient knock. The two batsmen rotated the strike quite easily, which not only kept the scoreboard ticking, but also put pressure back on Pakistan.

Frustration grew among Pakistan players with Mathews and Dickwella raising a resolute 78-run stand for the fourth wicket in 16.1 overs.

Amir was brought into the attack and he delivered with his second ball, getting rid of Mathews, who miscued a shot and dragged it onto his stumps.

It was the first wicket of the tournament for Amir and it came at a crucial time for Pakistan. Junaid sent back new man Dhananjaya de Silva (1) and Amir returned to dismiss Dickwella, who fell to a sensational low catch by wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed.

Junaid saw the back of Thisara Perera to rattle the Lankan innings.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Attorney General Jeff Sessions' testimony to the Senate Intelligence committee tomorrow will be open to the public.

Sessions is expected to face sharp questioning from his former Senate colleagues about his role in the investigation into contacts between Trump campaign associates and Russia during the 2016 election.

The Justice Department said today that Sessions requested tomorrow's committee hearing be open because he "believes it is important for the American people to hear the truth directly from him."



His testimony follows fired FBI Director James Comey's riveting session before the same Senate panel last week. Comey spoke of receiving pressure from President Donald Trump to drop a probe into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's contacts with Russia.

Comey's remarks drew an angry response from the president on Friday accusing Comey of lying.

Trump's aides have dodged questions about whether conversations relevant to the Russia investigation have been recorded, and so has the president.

Republicans have pressed Trump to say whether he has tapes of private conversations with Comey and provide them to Congress if he does -- or possibly face a subpoena.

"I don't understand why the president just doesn't clear this matter up once and for all," said Sen. Susan Collins, R- Maine, a member of the intelligence committee, referring to the existence of any recordings. She described Comey's testimony as "candid" and "thorough" and said she would support a subpoena of any tapes if needed.

Senator James Lankford, R-Okla., also a member of that committee, agreed the panel needed to hear any tapes, if they exist. "We've obviously pressed the White House," he said.

Lankford said Sessions' testimony tomorrow will help flesh out the truth of Comey's allegations, including Sessions' presence at the White House in February when Trump asked to speak to Comey alone.

Comey alleges that Trump then privately asked him to drop a probe into former national security adviser Michael Flynn's contacts with Russia.

Comey also has said Sessions did not respond when he complained he didn't "want to get time alone with the president again."



The Justice Department has denied that, saying Sessions stressed to Comey the need to be careful about following appropriate policies.

Senator Jack Reed, DRI, said "there's a real question of the propriety" of Sessions' involvement in Comey's dismissal, because Sessions had stepped aside from the federal investigation into contacts between Russia and the Trump campaign. Comey was leading that probe.

Reed said he also wants to know if Sessions had more meetings with Russian officials as a Trump campaign adviser than have been disclosed.

Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, a member of the Intelligence committee, sent a letter to Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, urging him to investigate possible obstruction of justice by Trump in Grassley's position as chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Feinstein is the top Democrat on that panel and a member of both.

She said Sessions should also testify before the Judiciary Committee, because it was better suited to explore legal questions of possible obstruction.

Feinstein said she was especially concerned after National Intelligence Director Dan Coats and National Security Agency Director Michael Rogers refused to answer questions from the intelligence committee about possible undue influence by Trump.

Sessions stepped aside in March from the federal investigation into contacts between Russia and the campaign after acknowledging that he had met twice last year with the Russian ambassador to the US.

The former senator from Alabama told lawmakers at his January confirmation hearing that he had not met with Russians during the campaign.

Sessions has been dogged by questions about possible additional encounters with the ambassador, Sergey Kislyak.

As for the timing of Sessions' recusal, Comey said the FBI expected the attorney general to take himself out of the matters under investigation weeks before he actually did.

Comey declined to elaborate in an open setting.

Collins and Feinstein spoke yesterday on CNN's "State of the Union and Lankford appeared on CBS' "Face the Nation." Reed was on "Fox Sunday.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Beleaguered Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will appear before the Joint Investigation Team probing the high-profile Panamagate graft case on Thursday to become the first sitting premier of the country to depose before such a panel.

Joint Investigation Team (JIT) chief Wajid Zia, in a letter dated Saturday, asked the prime minister to appear before the six-member probe team at 11.00 AM (local time) on June 15 with all documents relevant to the case.

The summon was issued to Sharif, 67, after he returned from his Kazakhstan visit where he attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.

Sharif, in Lahore, met with his close confidantes yesterday to discuss the issue. After consulting with his aides, the prime minister has decided to honour the summon and appear before the JIT on Thursday, Dawn reported.

Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Heritage Marriyum Aurangzeb, talking to some TV channels, said that the prime minister had received the JIT summons and in pursuance of the Supreme Court's order of April 20, he would ensure his presence accordingly.

The Joint Investigation Team, formed by the Supreme Court to probe the money trail of the property owned by the Sharif family in London, had questioned Sharif's sons -- Hussain and Hasan -- last month over the family's alleged improper business dealings.

His eldest son Hussain was questioned five times while Hasan, the younger son, was summoned twice.

The court last year took up the case and issued a split decision over allegations of money laundering when Sharif was prime minister in 1990s.

On May 5, the Supreme Court set up a high-level six- member JIT to probe Sharif and his sons' alleged corruption in the Panama Papers case.

The JIT is bound to complete the probe in 60 days unless it is granted additional time.

It is for the first time that a sitting prime minister would appear before a high-level probe team traditionally constituted to investigate high-profile criminal cases.

It is not yet clear that Sharif will be questioned for once or would be called again like his two sons.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is visiting Saudi Arabia to discuss with its leadership the rift in the Gulf after several Arab and Islamic countries cut diplomatic ties with Qatar over its alleged support for extremist groups.

Radio Pakistan reported that Prime Minister Sharif will hold talks with the Saudi leadership on the latest situation developing amongst the Gulf Cooperation Countries.

Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa is also expected to accompany the Prime Minister, sources said.

Sharif may also visit Qatar and the UAE after talks with the Saudi officials.

Sharif held consultations today with senior officials from civil and military about his visit.

It is not clear what plan he would put forward to ease tension which has badly polarizsd the Arab and Muslim world.

Pakistan enjoys close ties both with Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

He undertook a similar peace mission when tension brewed between Iran and Saudi Arabia last year after execution of a Shia cleric by the kingdom.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Technocrat Shashi Shekar Vempati took over as the CEO of Prasar Bharti today as he vouched for making the public broadcaster a "modern broadcasting organisation."



Vempati, 43, is the first non-Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer to head the public broadcaster which runs Doordarshan (DD) and All India Radio (AIR).

Formerly as CEO of online media firm 'Niti Digital', he had played a pivotal role in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's digital campaign for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

"Priority will be to make Prasar Bharati a modern broadcasting organisation," Vempati is quoted as saying in a postcard tweeted by Prasar Bharati.

"India is the biggest democracy and its voice should be heard all over the world through DD and AIR. We will take DD and AIR all over the world through digital technology," he said.

The newly-appointed CEO also met Prasar Bharati Chairman A Surya Prakash.

"Very best to @shashidigital as he begins work @prasarbharati HQ," Prakash tweeted.

Vempati was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the public broadcaster after a three-member committee, headed by Vice President Hamid Ansari, cleared his name for the post.

An alumnus of IIT-Bombay, Vempati has over two decades of experience as a technocrat with specialisation in areas of corporate management, technology consulting and digital media.

He succeeds Rajeev Singh, member (finance) of the board, who was serving as the interim CEO after S C Panda retired earlier this year.

Vempati had also worked with Infosys for more than a decade as a product strategist and digital innovator in the United States.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Taliban's second in command and head of the militant Haqqani network is denying any involvement in recent deadly attacks in Kabul and western Afghanistan.

In an audio message sent by a Taliban spokesman, Sirajuddin Haqqani says the Taliban were not involved in the attacks.

He condemned the suicide truck bombing in Kabul on May 31, which was followed by more suicide attacks during a funeral and a bombing near a mosque in Herat province.

Haqqani insisted that all three attacks were not planned by the Taliban and that the Taliban do not plan attacks in which civilians can be harmed.

The truck bombing killed more than 150 in the deadliest single attack in the country since the 2001 US-led invasion to topple the Taliban. No one has claimed responsibility.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Three persons have been arrested for allegedly stealing cartons of clothes worth Rs 80 lakh from a godown in southeast Delhi's Pul Prahladpur area.

On June 3, a complaint was received from one Nitin Kumar alleging that goods worth Rs 80 lakh had been stolen from his godown, Deputy Commissioner of Police (southeast) Romil Baaniya said.

During investigation, the registration number of the truck in which the accused had taken the goods was identified. The truck was hired from a company in Mori Gate, the officer said.

The details of the accused were obtained from the company and the three accused, Upender Yadav (22), Sandeep Saha (26) and Anil Saha (22), were arrested from Motihari in Bihar on June 9, Baaniya said.

The accused were planning to take the goods to Nepal from Bihar but before they could do so, they were nabbed and all the 282 cartons of clothes were recovered from them, police said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
: Tamil Nadu government today conducted trial runs of electric buses, supplied by heavy commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland, as part of modernisation of transportation services.

"We undertook the trial run of electric vehicle in the presence of Transport Department Principal Secretary PWC Davidar, officials of Ashok Leyland and Metropolitan Transport Corporation today.. It was done successfully," Transport Minister M R Vijayabhaskar told reporters here.

The introduction of electric buses was aimed at "modernising the services" provided by Transport department and to enhance the services provided to the people of Chennai, he said.

"The vehicle performed well during the trial run.. The government will take up initiatives to introduce electric bus service permanently" he added.

Last year, the Hinduja Group flagship Ashok Leyland unveiled the electric bus "CIRCUIT" designed and engineered in India "with zero emission vehicle suitable for Indian road and load conditions".

"The Circuit series of buses is another testament to Ashok Leyland's commitment to leverage India's technological innovation to deliver relevant and best-in-class solutions for India and the world", Ashok Leyland Managing Director, Vinod K Dasari had said then.

The buses equipped with fire detection and suppression system can travel upto 120 kilometrs on a single charge.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Striking a blow for gender equality in the triple talaq debate, a panchayat here has fined a man Rs 2 lakh for divorcing his wife by uttering 'talaq' thrice in one go and asked him to pay Rs 60,000 as mehr to his wife.

In its verdict delivered yesterday, the Turk community panchayat, attended by members of 52 villages, at the Madarsa Khalil-ul-Uloom in Sambhal's Raisati area, also helped the bride's family get back dowry given to the groom.

The couple, a 45-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman, had been married for barely 10 days. There was a fight, prompting the man to pronounce talaq thrice in a fit of rage and asking his wife to return to her parental village.

"The family of the bride then approached the Turk panchayat. The panchayat in its decision yesterday took strong cognizance of the utterance of triple talaq in a single go and unanimously slapped a fine of Rs 2 lakh on the groom who gave the money in cash immediately," Shahid Hussain, coordinator of the Turk community panchayat, told PTI.

"The panchayat also facilitated the return of the items given in dowry and asked the groom to pay mehr of Rs 60,000 to the bride," Hussain added.

The panchayat, which gave its ruling as the deeply polarising issue of triple talaq is up before the Supreme Court, was headed by Asrar Babu.

According to Hussain, community members have decided that in no circumstances will a person be allowed to utter triple talaq in one go.

"If the situation reaches the level of divorce, then in the first instance, talaq should be uttered only once. In the second go, talaq can be uttered for the second time. During the intervening period (between talaq uttered for the first time and second time), efforts should be made to resolve differences," he said.

In the present case, the groom could not justify the utterance of triple talaq. "It was wrong on his part. We are making a concerted effort to eliminate prevailing social evils. If anybody does not adhere to the decision of the panchayat on dowry and triple talaq, then stringent action will be initiated against the guilty," the coordinator of the panchayat said.

The panchayat of the Turk community, which mostly lives in the Terai region, had a few days ago banned the practise of instant divorce.

The panchayat has earlier stepped in to ban dowry, unnecesary lavish expenditure in marriages and DJs playing loud music at various social occasions.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on June 26 hold talks with President Donald Trump on a range of issues, including India's concerns over possible changes in H1B visa rules and terrorism, in their first bilateral meeting after the new administration took over in the US.

The External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi said today that their meeting would provide a new direction for a deeper bilateral engagement "on issues of mutual interest and consolidation of multi-dimensional strategic partnership."



In Washington, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Trump "looks forward" to his meeting with Modi on June 26 and discuss ways to strengthen the bilateral ties to "advance our common priorities: fighting terrorism, promoting economic growth and reforms, and expanding security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region."



"President Trump and Prime Minister Modi will look to outline a common vision for the US-India partnership that is worthy of their 1.6 billion citizens," Spicer said.

Last week, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in her annual press meet said that Modi would raise the issues surrounding the US plans to reduce the number of H-1B visa slots that are mainly used by Indian IT workers.

Almost 1.8 million H-1B visas have been distributed in fiscal years 2001 through 2015, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of government data. From fiscal years 2001 to 2015, workers from India received the largest share (50.5 per cent) of all H-1B visas for first-time employment.

Regional security situation including Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and other international issues are expected to figure prominently during the meeting of the two leaders.

Apart from ways to enhance trade and business cooperation, the two leaders are expected to discuss defence ties.

US Defence Secretary James Mattis has already made it clear that his country recognises India as a major defence "partner partly out of respect" for New Delhi's "indispensable role" in maintaining stability in the Indian Ocean region.

The US was exploring "new ways" to address new challenges as well from maritime security to the growing threat posed by the spread of terrorism in Southeast Asia, Mattis has said.

Modi's visit also comes in the backdrop of Trump's announcement to withdraw the US from the historic Paris Climate Agreement signed by nearly 190 other countries.

Trump had blamed India and China for the US withdrawal.

"India makes its participation contingent on receiving billions and billions of dollars from developed countries," he said.

Strongly rejecting Trump's contention, India has said it signed the Paris deal not under duress or for lure of money but due to its commitment to protect environment.

During his visit to France this month, Modi even said that India would "go above and beyond" the Paris deal to protect climate for the future generations.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on June 26 hold talks with President Donald Trump on a range of issues, including terrorism and India's concerns over possible changes in H1B visa rules, in their first bilateral meeting after the new administration took over in the US.

The External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi said today that their meeting would provide a new direction for a deeper bilateral engagement "on issues of mutual interest and consolidation of multi-dimensional strategic partnership."



Modi's US visit would begin on June 25, it said.

In Washington, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Trump "looks forward" to his meeting with Modi on June 26 and discuss ways to strengthen the bilateral ties to "advance our common priorities: fighting terrorism, promoting economic growth and reforms, and expanding security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region."



"President Trump and Prime Minister Modi will look to outline a common vision for the US-India partnership that is worthy of their 1.6 billion citizens," Spicer said.

He said they are expected to set forth a vision that will expand the bilateral partnership "in an ambitious and worthy way of both countries' people."



External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in her annual press meet last week, however, said Modi would also raise the issues surrounding the US' plans to reduce the number of H-1B visa slots that are mainly used by Indian IT workers.

Almost 1.8 million H-1B visas have been distributed in fiscal years 2001 through 2015, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of government data. From fiscal years 2001 to 2015, workers from India received the largest share (50.5 per cent) of all H-1B visas for first-time employment.

Despite the recent hiccups over the issue, US-India trade has grown six-fold since 2000, from USD 19 billion to USD 115 billion in 2016, according to the White House. "US energy and technologies, including natural gas, are helping to build Prime Minister Modi's vision for a new India and creating thousands of US jobs in the process," Spicer said.

Apart from ways to enhance trade and business cooperation, Modi and Trump are expected to discuss defence ties.

US Defence Secretary James Mattis has already made it clear that his country recognises India as a major defence "partner partly out of respect" for New Delhi's "indispensable role" in maintaining stability in the Indian Ocean region.

The US was exploring "new ways" to address new challenges as well from maritime security to the growing threat posed by the spread of terrorism in Southeast Asia, Mattis has said.

Regional security situation including Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and other international issues are expected to figure prominently during the meeting of the two leaders.

Modi's visit also comes in the backdrop of Trump's announcement to withdraw the US from the historic Paris Climate Agreement signed by over 190 other countries.

Trump had blamed India and China for the US withdrawal.

"India makes its participation contingent on receiving billions and billions of dollars from developed countries," he had said.

Strongly rejecting Trump's contention, India said it signed the Paris deal not under duress or for lure of money but due to its commitment to protect the environment.

During his visit to France this month, Modi even said that India would "go above and beyond" the Paris deal to protect climate for the future generations.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Two persons belonging to the North East have been arrested for allegedly duping a woman of over Rs 21 lakh after luring her with the promise of providing foreign currency and an expensive gift, police said today.

The woman, Violet D'Souza, in her complaint lodged with the Ullal police station here had stated that she got a mail in the name of Royal Bank of Scotland, New Delhi, offering an expensive gift and foreign currencies and the procedures to be followed for this and other expenses involved.

Later, D'Souza also got a call on her mobile with the offer which appeared to be convincing and she transferred Rs 21,58,200 to the account number given by the accused persons.

After realising that she had been cheated, the woman filed the complaint with the police on May 31.

Investigations revealed that the accused had created a fake website to cheat gullible victims, police said.

A police team led by Ullal police inspector K R Gopikrishna traced the accused, Lalthan Mawia (34), of Mizoram and Khup Boih (32),from Manipur, to Vikaspuri in New Delhi and arrested them on June 10, they added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Police have arrested two persons over the last two days in connection with the murder of the two engineering students in a forested area in Lonavala on April 2, a senior officer said today, adding that robbery was the motive behind the crime.

Bodies of Sarthak Wakchoure and Shruti Dumbre (both in their early 20s), both last year students of Sinhgad Engineering College in Lonavla, were found in the forest near the picturesque hill station on April 3. The victims were found to have been hit on the back of their heads with a blunt object and their hands tied at the back.

Both the accused, identified as Asif Shaikh and Salim Shaikh, have a criminal past and their modus operandi was to rob couples sitting in isolated places, according to sources.

A senior police officer today told reporters that Asif, who is the main accused, was arrested from Ahmed Nagar in Maharashtra, while Salim was picked from Agra in Uttar Pradesh.

He said Asif runs a stall selling snacks in Ahmednagar.

"We have arrested two accused, who are criminals on record, and they have confessed to have killed the two engineering students on April 2. The motive behind the murder was robbery," said Vishwas Nangre-Patil, Inspector General (Kolhapur Range).

He said there are two witnesses in the case.

The IG said though police suspected Asif's role in the crime since beginning of investigation, he was misleading the police.

"However, our teams kept him under surveillance before arresting him finally," he said, adding that human intelligence played a crucial role in cracking the case.

Pune district police had formed multiple probe teams earlier, but could not crack the case. An award of Rs 50,000 was also announced for any information on the murder after they failed to make any headway in the case.

Explaining the sequence of events on April 2, the officer said Asif and Salim, as per their modus operandi, objected to the presence of Wakchoure and Dumbre in an isolated place.

However, Wakchoure told them that they would leave soon.

The accused duo left the place only to return in the next five minutes and forced Wakchoure and Dumbre to nearby vegetation.

"The accused, who were carrying a sharp weapon, first forced the man to remove his cloths and later went after the woman. However, Wakchoure retaliated and a fight ensued. He was killed in the violent scuffle," Nangre-Patil said.

He said the accused decided to get rid of the woman as she raised an alarm.

"They tied her hands with the help of the man's cloths and bludgeoned her to death with a stone. After the incident, the accused walked away with two mobile phones of the victims and Rs 1,000 cash. Police have recovered the phones from the accused," the IG said.

While Wakchoure hailed from Rahuri in Ahmednagar district, Dumbre was a native of Otur in Pune.

The officer said the accused are petty criminals and cases of robbery and theft were registered against them.

"One of them was even convicted for robbery and was in jail for four months in 2016," he said.

In a bid to crack the case, the police personnel sometimes disguised themselves as couples and ventured into forested areas.

Asif and Salim were produced before a court today and remanded to police custody till June 16.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The United Nations today defended the UN agency that provides aid to Palestinians, after Israel's prime minister called for it to be shut down.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "is concerned about recent public criticism of UNRWA and the integrity of its operations," spokesman Farhan Haq said, referring to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees in the Near East.

"He wishes to express his support for UNRWA and his admiration for the role it plays in delivering essential services and protecting the rights of millions of Palestine refugees across the Middle East."



Guterres also "calls on all member states to continue their support to the agency in order for UNRWA to be in a position to fulfill impartially and efficiently its essential role," Haq added.

His remarks came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for UNRWA to be dismantled yesterday, accusing it of incitement against the Jewish state.

Netanyahu said he raised the issue during a recent visit by Washington's UN envoy Nicky Haley, who has accused the United Nations of bias against Israel.

"I told her that the time had come for the United Nations to reconsider the continued existence of UNRWA," Netanyahu's office quoted him as saying.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Legendary Telugu poet and writer C Narayana Reddy, a recipient of the prestigious Jnanpith award, passed away here in the early hours today.

The 85-year-old doyen of Telugu language had to his credit more than 80 publications, which include poems, songs, lyrical dramas, ballets, essays, travelogues, ghazals - original and in translation - and literary criticism.

"After he developed health complications he was shifted to a private hospital at around 3 am where doctors pronounced him dead," sources said.

He is survived by four daughters, they said.

Born on July 29, 1931 in Karimnagar district, the eminent writer and lyricist was the most distinguished Telugu poet of his generation. He was also the president of the Telangana Saraswatha Parishath.

He had received the Jnanpith Award for the year 1988. He was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1977 and the Padma Bhushan in 1992.

His works have been regarded as trend-setters. His research work on modern Telugu poetry assessing the influence of tradition and experiment on it became a classic since its publication in 1967.

He had nearly 3,500 film songs to his credit.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao expressed condolences over Reddy's death.

Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu Governor C Vidyasagar Rao also expressed grief on Reddy's demise.

In a condolence message, Rao said, "I am deeply saddened and at a loss of words to know about the demise of Dr C Narayana Reddy, professor, poet, writer, Jnanapith awardee and former member of Rajya Sabha."



"Dr Reddy was a versatile genius, - one of the finest poets and lyricists produced by Telangana. He was a wordsmith having mastery over Telugu language and literature."



He was passionate about preserving and popularising Telugu language and culture, especially among the young generation. He also enjoyed mastery over English, Hindi and Urdu languages, Rao said.

"Dr Reddy was a fine human being, having friends cutting across the entire political spectrum. He also made his mark as a member of Parliament. I was privileged to have friendship with Dr Narayana Reddy.

"In his demise, the world of Telugu language and literature has lost a bright star. The void caused by his loss can never be filled," said the Governor.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The White House strongly condemned the arrest of hundreds of anti-corruption protesters in Russia today, in a rare criticism of human rights violations and the Kremlin from Donald Trump's administration.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer called on Moscow to "immediately release all peaceful protesters" detained in nationwide marches.

"The Russian people deserve a government that supports an open marketplace of ideas, transparent and accountable governance, equal treatment under the law and the ability to exercise their rights without fear of retribution," Spicer added.

Authorities detained Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny and nearly 1,000 of his supporters today, as they mounted demonstrations across the nation against government corruption.

The White House called the detention of human rights observers and journalists an affront to "core democratic values," and said it would continue to monitor the situation.

Trump's White House has often refrained from commenting on human rights abuses overseas, and has frequently praises Vladimir Putin's regime.

Former administration officials have warned that stance risks emboldening authoritarian regimes, who, sensing no pressure from the United States, feel more room to launch crackdowns.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The initial public offering (IPO) is set to be one of Europe's largest bank listings since the 2008 financial crisis and the proceeds could extend to 3.8 billion euros if the over-allotment option is exercised fully.

With a price range between 3.90 euros and 4.90 euros, the deal is targeting a similar valuation to that of Bank of Ireland , the state's largest bank by assets.

A source close to the deal said the range was based on a price to book value multiple of between 0.82 and 1.03. Bank of Ireland trades at a multiple of 0.9.

The Finance Ministry said the long-awaited stake sale remains on track despite the Conservative party losing its majority in Thursday's UK election.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan had previously said the price could be driven up if the party, which still won the most seats, secured a convincing majority.

"Market conditions remain favourable and I am encouraged by the strong level of interest shown by investors in the offering to date," Noonan said in a statement.

Dublin rescued the bank in a 21 billion euro taxpayer bailout that began in early 2009 and has been considering cashing out some of its 99.9 percent stake since last year.

One of Ireland's two dominant banks alongside Bank of Ireland, AIB returned to profit three years ago and has since cut its huge stock of impaired loans by more than two thirds become the first domestically owned lender to restart dividends since the financial crisis.

AIB will list its shares on the Irish and London stock exchanges and seek admission to the main markets of each. The government said the sale is expected to be one of the largest IPOs on the UK's main market in 20 years.

AIB is less exposed to Britain's departure from the European Union than bigger rival Bank of Ireland, having made only 14 percent of last year's pre-provision operating profit in the UK.

However, the IPO prospectus said that Brexit could result in an increase in the level of non-performing loans held by banks across Ireland, including AIB, while demand for new loans could decline.

Ireland's substantial stock of non-performing loans, mostly extended for house purchases just before the bursting of Ireland's property bubble in 2008, amounts to 17.5 percent of total lending.

At the end of 2016 AIB's 14.2 billion euros of non-performing loans accounted for 22 percent of its gross loan book. That compares with 9.6 percent at Bank of Ireland.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch , Davy and Deutsche Bank are global coordinators for the AIB offering.

(Additional reporting by Conor Humphries; Editing by Greg Mahlich and David Goodman)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
By Liana B. Baker and Greg Roumeliotis

- Canyon Bridge Capital Partners LLC, the China-backed buyout fund that agreed to acquire Lattice Semiconductor Corp in November for $1.3 billion, will submit the deal for U.S. review for the third time, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

The move comes as Canyon Bridge seeks to get the deal approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a government panel which reviews corporate acquisitions for potential national security risks.

The standard CFIUS review lasts for up to 75 days. Canyon Bridge submitted the deal for CFIUS review in January and refiled it in March. Refiling with CFIUS resets the clock and provides up to another 75 days for review.

Canyon Bridge has been seeking to convince CFIUS that it will run Lattice without influence from the Chinese state, the sources said. Several U.S. lawmakers expressed concerns about the deal after reported last year that Canyon Bridge is funded by cash originating from China's central government, and also has indirect links to its space program.

Few deals have ever filed for CFIUS review three times. However, vacancies left in senior positions at several government agencies, almost five months after the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump, have reduced CFIUS' capacity to review cases expeditiously, and are weighing on its decision-making ability, the sources said.

Canyon Bridge and Lattice are hoping that some key government appointments in the coming weeks, such as that of Heath Tarbert, who has been nominated as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for international markets and development, will help resolve the impasse with CFIUS, one of the sources added.

The sources asked not to be identified because the CFIUS review process is confidential. Portland, Oregon-based Lattice declined to comment, while Canyon Bridge and a CFIUS spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Lattice shares closed at $6.86 on Friday, about 17 percent below the $8.30 per share in cash that Lattice shareholders stand to receive if the company's sale goes through, underscoring the uncertainty over the deal's prospects.

Time is running out to complete the deal. Canyon Bridge's and Lattice's agreement has an Aug. 1 deadline for the deal to close, and the acquisition cannot be completed without CFIUS clearance. The two companies would have to negotiate an extension to the deal deadline if the CFIUS review has not been completed by then.

CFIUS DELAYS

In a further sign of strains in the CFIUS system, U.S. electronics maker Inseego Corp said earlier this month it had scrapped a $50-million deal, clinched last September, to sell its MiFi mobile hotspot business to Chinese smartphone maker TCL Industries Holdings, citing "delays and uncertainty in securing (CFIUS) approval." Like Canyon Bridge is about to do, TCL had refiled for CFIUS review twice.

Proponents of U.S. openness to foreign investment fret that CFIUS may become a tool of economic protectionism as a result of Trump's "America first" policy agenda. However, it is not yet clear what broader stance CFIUS will take towards Chinese acquirers under Trump, who has criticized Chinese trade practices but is also looking for Chinese cooperation in tackling North Korea's nuclear ambitions.

"There are some technical issues and some technical changes that we are working on legislative fixes for CFIUS, but I would say fundamentally we want to keep CFIUS as a national security review, and we want to deal with economic issues separately," U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said at forum on China in Washington, D.C. earlier this month.

The semiconductor industry has long been seen as one of the most sensitive sectors from a U.S. national security perspective, because it provides chips for a plethora of applications and devices, from smartphones and satellites to missiles and power grids.

Lattice, whose chips are used in smartphones, laptops and televisions, has said it does not design or manufacture military-grade products, and that its small sales to the military pertain to general-purpose parts without advanced applications. It has also stressed that it does not have any factories that can be compromised, because all of its manufacturing is outsourced.

To help launch Canyon Bridge as a U.S.-based fund, its founder Benjamin Chow last year tapped Cypress Semiconductor Corp executive chairman Ray Bingham as his partner. Bingham now faces a shareholder campaign to remove him from the board of Cypress over potential conflicts of interest associated with his participation in Canyon Bridge, which he has denied.

Another important test case for China's ability to acquire U.S. semiconductor companies will be Xcerra Corp. China-based semiconductor investment fund Unic Capital Management agreed to acquire Xcerra Corp for $580 million in cash in April.

Norwood, Massachusetts-based Xcerra does not make chips like Lattice, but designs and manufactures equipment to test semiconductors and circuit boards. Were CFIUS to block the deal, it would illustrate how high the U.S. regulatory bar is for Chinese acquirers.

(Reporting by Liana B. Baker and Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Nick Zieminski)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
DUBAI (Reuters) - Qatar can easily defend its economy and currency against sanctions by other Arab states, Qatari finance minister Ali Sherif al-Emadi told CNBC television in an interview broadcast on Monday.

He added that the countries which had imposed sanctions would also lose money because of the damage to business in the region.

"A lot of people think we're the only ones to lose in this... If we're going to lose a dollar, they will lose a dollar also."

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and transport ties a week ago, accusing Doha of backing terrorism. The sanctions have disrupted flows of imports and other materials into Qatar and caused many foreign banks to scale back their business with the country.

But Emadi said the energy sector and economy of the world's top liquefied natural gas exporter were essentially operating as normal and that there had not been a serious impact on supplies of food or other goods.

Qatar can import goods from Turkey, the Far East or Europe and it will respond to the crisis by diversifying its economy even more, he told CNBC.

The Qatari riyal has come under pressure in the spot and forward foreign exchange markets, but Emadi said neither this nor a near 10 percent plunge in the local stock market was cause for concern.

"Our reserves and investment funds are more than 250 percent of gross domestic product, so I don't think there is any reason that people need to be concerned about what's happening or any speculation on the Qatari riyal."

Asked whether Qatar might need to raise money by selling off stakes in large Western companies held by its sovereign wealth fund, Emadi indicated this was not on the cards at present.

"We are extremely comfortable with our positions, our investments and liquidity in our systems," he said.

Prices of Qatar's international bonds have dropped sharply, but in answer to another question, Emadi said he saw no need for the government to step into the market and buy those bonds to support prices.

(Reporting by Andrew Torchia, Editing by Sylvia Westall)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, will limit volumes of crude to some Asian buyers in July and deepen cuts in allocations to the United States, industry sources with knowledge of the matter said on Monday.

State-run oil firm Saudi Aramco would supply full contracted crude volumes to at least five Asian buyers mainly in North Asia and lower volumes for some customers in India, China and South Korea, the sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Cuts in crude allocations to Asia in July would be slightly deeper than in June, the sources said.

Aramco notified Asian refiners last month that it would reduce oil supplies to Asia by about seven million barrels in June, its first cuts for that region since Opec-led output reductions took effect in January.

Elsewhere, crude allocations to the United States have been lowered significantly but Aramco kept volumes steady to Europe compared to June, two sources said. One source said volumes to the United States would be cut by about 35 per cent in July.

One of Aramco's main buyers in China opted for lower nominations in July due to planned refinery maintenance and the more expensive Dubai benchmark, one of the sources said.

Another North Asian customer said Aramco would supply full volumes of heavy crude for a third straight month.

According to the July plans, Aramco would cut supplies to India by close to 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) and China by about 110,000 bpd, while supplying full volumes to buyers in Japan and Taiwan, said one source with knowledge of the nominations. Supplies to one South Korean refiner were also reduced, two sources said.

Saudi Arabia, de facto leader of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, has cut oil output as part of a global supply pact and trimmed exports to meet rising domestic demand for power during the hot summer months.

An Opec-led agreement to curb global oil supplies was extended last month until March 2018. The initial agreement, which includes nonOPEC nations such as Russia, had been due to run during the first half of 2017.

When OPEC announced the curbs last year, Saudi Arabia told its customers in Europe and the United States that they would receive lower volumes but shielded most of Asia from the cuts.

However, power demand peaks during summer as residents turn up air conditioners in the desert kingdom where temperatures can reach as high as 50 degrees Celsius.

This year is likely to see an earlier spike in demand as the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan started in late May.

Under the supply pact, Opec states, Russia and other major producers agreed to cut output by about 1.8 million bpd.

Saudi Arabia accounts for about 40 percent of the cuts pledged by Opec. It has reduced output by more than 500,000 bpd so its total production now runs slightly below 10 million bpd.

Industry sources told Reuters in April that higher domestic demand for oil in the summer would weigh on exports especially if Saudi Arabia kept output at about 10 million bpd.

Saudi Arabia usually burns about 700,000 bpd of oil for power generation in the hottest months from May to August. This summer, the country may reduce domestic oil consumption as it plans to use more natural gas in power stations.
By Rania El Gamal and Florence Tan

DUBAI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, will limit volumes of crude to some Asian buyers in July and deepen cuts in allocations to the United States, industry sources with knowledge of the matter said on Monday.

State-run oil firm Saudi Aramco would supply full contracted crude volumes to at least five Asian buyers mainly in North Asia and lower volumes for some customers in India, China and South Korea, the sources told on condition of anonymity.

Cuts in crude allocations to Asia in July would total about 300,000 barrels per day (bpd), deeper than in June, the sources said.

Aramco notified Asian refiners last month that it would reduce oil supplies to Asia by about 7 million barrels in June, its first cuts for that region since OPEC-led output reductions took effect in January.

Elsewhere, crude allocations to the United States have been lowered significantly and Aramco continued to curtail supply to Europe, two sources said. One source said volumes to the United States would be cut by about 35 percent in July, while Europe supplies will be reduced by about 11 pct compared to June.

One of Aramco's main buyers in China opted for lower nominations in July due to planned refinery maintenance and the more expensive Dubai benchmark, one of the sources said.

Another North Asian customer said Aramco would supply full volumes of heavy crude for a third straight month.

According to the July plans, Aramco would cut supplies to India by close to 200,000 bpd and China by about 110,000 bpd, while supplying full volumes to buyers in Japan and Taiwan, said one source with knowledge of the nominations. Supplies to one South Korean refiner were also reduced, two sources said.

Saudi Arabia, de facto leader of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, has cut oil output as part of a global supply pact and trimmed exports to meet rising domestic demand for power during the hot summer months.

An OPEC-led agreement to curb global oil supplies was extended last month until March 2018. The agreement, which includes non-OPEC nations such as Russia, had initially been due to run during the first half of 2017.

When OPEC announced the curbs last year, Saudi Arabia told its customers in Europe and the United States that they would receive lower volumes but shielded most of Asia from the cuts.

However, power demand peaks during summer as residents turn up air conditioners in the desert kingdom where temperatures can reach as high as 50 degrees Celsius.

This year is likely to see an earlier spike in demand as the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan started in late May.

Under the supply pact, OPEC states, Russia and other major producers agreed to cut output by about 1.8 million bpd.

Saudi Arabia accounts for about 40 percent of the cuts pledged by OPEC. It has reduced output by more than 500,000 bpd so its total production now runs slightly below 10 million bpd.

Industry sources told in April that higher domestic demand for oil in the summer would weigh on exports especially if Saudi Arabia kept output at about 10 million bpd.

Saudi Arabia usually burns about 700,000 bpd of oil for power generation in the hottest months from May to August. This summer, the country may reduce domestic oil consumption as it plans to use more natural gas in power stations.

(Reporting by Rania El Gamal in Dubai, Florence Tan in Singapore and Osamu Tsukimori in Tokyo; Editing by Dale Hudson and Edmund Blair)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
TOKYO/SINGAPORE/DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, will supply full contracted volumes of crude to some Asian buyers in July, while cutting allocations to the United States, industry sources with knowledge of the matter said on Monday.

State-run oil company Saudi Aramco will supply full crude volumes to at least five Asian buyers mainly in North Asia, while lowering volumes for some customers in India, China and South Korea, the sources told on condition of anonymity.

Elsewhere, crude allocations to the United States have been lowered but Aramco kept volumes steady to Europe compared to June, two sources said, without providing details.

One of Aramco's main buyers in China opted for lower nominations in July due to planned refinery maintenance and the more expensive Dubai benchmark, one of the sources said.

Another North Asian customer said Aramco would supply full volumes of heavy crude for a third straight month.

According to the July plans, Aramco will cut supplies to South Korea by almost 5 percent, India by around 20 percent and China by some 10 percent, while supplying full volumes to buyers in Japan and Taiwan, said one source who had knowledge of the nominations but did not wish to be identified.

Saudi Arabia, de facto leader of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, has cut oil output as part of a global supply pact and trimmed exports to meet rising domestic demand for power during the hot summer months.

An OPEC-led agreement to curb global oil supplies was extended last month until March 2018.

Aramco last month notified Asian refiners that it will reduce oil supplies to Asia by about 7 million barrels in June, its first cuts for that region since the OPEC-led output reductions took effect in January.

When OPEC announced the curbs last year, Saudi Arabia told its customers in Europe and the United States that they would receive lower volumes but shielded most of Asia from the cuts.

However, power demand peaks during summer in the desert kingdom, with residents turning up air conditioners as temperatures reach as high as 50 degrees Celsius.

This year is likely to see an earlier spike in demand as the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan started in late May.

Under the supply pact, OPEC states, Russia and other major producers agreed to cut output by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd).

Saudi Arabia accounts for about 40 percent of the cuts pledged by OPEC. It has reduced output by more than 500,000 bpd so its total production now runs slightly below 10 million bpd.

Industry sources told in April that higher domestic demand for oil in the summer would weigh on exports especially if Saudi Arabia kept output at about 10 million bpd.

Saudi Arabia usually burns about 700,000 bpd of oil for power generation in the hottest months from May to August. This summer, the country may reduce domestic oil consumption as it plans to use more natural gas in power stations.

(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori in Tokyo, Florence Tan in Singapore and Rania El Gamal in Dubai; Editing by Dale Hudson and Richard Pullin)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
By Joseph Menn and Heather Somerville

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc's board will discuss Chief Executive Travis Kalanick temporarily stepping away from the embattled ride-hailing firm and consider sweeping changes to the company's management practices at a meeting on Sunday, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The person briefed on the matter said the board will discuss Kalanick taking time off from the company. The discussion involved the possibility that Kalanick might return in a role with less authority, this person said, either in a position other than CEO or as CEO with narrower responsibilities and subject to stronger oversight.

The source said it is not clear that the board will make any decision to change Kalanick's role. The board is expected to adopt a number of internal policy and management changes recommended by outside attorneys hired to investigate sexual harassment and the firm's broader culture. The outside lawyers made no recommendation about Kalanick.

An Uber spokesman had no comment. Kalanick did not immediately respond to requests for comment late on Saturday.

The meeting, which Uber has not publicized, could be a pivotal moment for the world's most valuable venture-backed private company, which has upended the tightly regulated taxi industry in many countries but has run into legal trouble with a rough-and-tumble approach to local regulations and the way it handles employees and drivers.

At the Sunday meeting, according to two people familiar with the matter, the seven voting members of Uber's board, including Kalanick, are expected to vote on recommendations made by the law firm of former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, which conducted a review of the company's policies and culture.

The review was launched in February after former Uber engineer Susan Fowler published a blog post detailing what she described as sexual harassment and the lack of a suitable response by senior managers. Fowler now works for digital payments company Stripe.

Uber's board will likely tell employees and the public of its decisions by Tuesday, one of the sources said.

Kalanick has developed a reputation as an abrasive leader, and his approach has rubbed off on his company. The 40-year-old executive was captured on video in February berating an Uber driver.

"I must fundamentally change as a leader and grow up," Kalanick said in a statement following the video's release.

Uber board member Arianna Huffington said in March that Kalanick needed to change his leadership style from that of a "scrappy entrepreneur" to be more like a "leader of a major global company." The board has been looking for a chief operating officer to help Kalanick run the company since March.

The report was prepared by Holder and partner Tammy Albarran at Covington & Burling, which did not respond to requests for comment. It comes shortly after another law firm, Perkins Coie, submitted a separate report on sexual harassment and other employee concerns at the company.

On Tuesday, Uber responded to that report's findings by saying it had fired 20 employees for a variety of reasons, and was increasing training and adopting new policies. Uber said that report considered 215 cases encompassing sexual harassment, discrimination, unprofessional behavior, bullying and other employee complaints.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TIGHTER CONTROLS

San Francisco-based Uber is valued at nearly $70 billion but has yet to turn a profit.

Some of the recommendations in Holder's firm's report would force greater controls on spending, human resources and other areas where executives led by Kalanick have had a surprising amount of autonomy for a company with more than 12,000 employees, one person familiar with the matter said. Uber's more than 1.5 million drivers worldwide are classified as independent contractors rather than employees.

Kalanick, along with two close allies, has voting control of the company.

The board's discussions come at a moment when Kalanick is facing a personal trauma: his mother died last month in a boating accident, in which his father was also badly injured.

Employees and former employees interviewed by Holder's team complained about sexual and racial bias, bullying and retaliation, according to people familiar with their accounts.

They said that Kalanick and his lieutenants had favorites who played by different rules than other employees, and that even those favorites were nervous that they could fall from grace, which they sometimes did. Uber declined comment on that characterization.

One of the issues that came to Holder's team's attention, according to two people familiar with the matter, was the company's handling of a crisis in India after one of its drivers was arrested for raping a customer.

Though the man was convicted in 2015, Kalanick and other executives became convinced that the crime was a set up by a local competitor, former employees said. Eric Alexander, the head of Asian business, shared medical records internally that he argued showed that the woman had been assaulted but not raped, people who spoke to him said. Alexander was fired this week; he did not return messages seeking comment. Uber confirmed Alexander had left the company but declined to discuss the matter further.

(Reporting by Joseph Menn and Heather Somerville in San Francisco; Additional reporting by Aditya Kalra in New Delhi; Editing by Jonathan Weber, Bill Rigby and Mary Milliken)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
You mightve heard that Facebook Inc. is working on a way for you to message your friends and update your news feed...telepathically.


Commercial Feature is a Business Standard Digital Marketing Initiative.

The Editorial/Content team at Business Standard has not contributed to writing or editing these articles.

For further information, please write to assist@bsmail.in
Uber Technologies Inc's board will discuss Chief Executive Travis Kalanick temporarily stepping away from the embattled ride-hailing firm and consider sweeping changes to the company's management practices at a meeting on Sunday, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The person briefed on the matter said the board will discuss Kalanick taking time off from the company. The discussion involved the possibility that Kalanick might return in a role with less authority, this person said, either in a position other than CEO or as CEO with narrower responsibilities and subject to stronger oversight.

The source said it is not clear that the board will make any decision to change Kalanick's role. The board is expected to adopt a number of internal policy and management changes recommended by outside attorneys hired to investigate sexual harassment and the firm's broader culture. The outside lawyers made no recommendation about Kalanick.

An Uber spokesman had no comment. Kalanick did not immediately respond to requests for comment late on Saturday.

The meeting, which Uber has not publicized, could be a pivotal moment for the world's most valuable venture-backed private company, which has upended the tightly regulated taxi industry in many countries but has run into legal trouble with a rough-and-tumble approach to local regulations and the way it handles employees and drivers.

At the Sunday meeting, according to two people familiar with the matter, the seven voting members of Uber's board, including Kalanick, are expected to vote on recommendations made by the law firm of former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, which conducted a review of the company's policies and culture.

The review was launched in February after former Uber engineer Susan Fowler published a blog post detailing what she described as sexual harassment and the lack of a suitable response by senior managers. Fowler now works for digital payments company Stripe.

Uber's board will likely tell employees and the public of its decisions by Tuesday, one of the sources said.

Kalanick has developed a reputation as an abrasive leader, and his approach has rubbed off on his company. The 40-year-old executive was captured on video in February berating an Uber driver.

"I must fundamentally change as a leader and grow up," Kalanick said in a statement following the video's release.

Uber board member Arianna Huffington said in March that Kalanick needed to change his leadership style from that of a "scrappy entrepreneur" to be more like a "leader of a major global company." The board has been looking for a chief operating officer to help Kalanick run the company since March.

The report was prepared by Holder and partner Tammy Albarran at Covington & Burling, which did not respond to requests for comment. It comes shortly after another law firm, Perkins Coie, submitted a separate report on sexual harassment and other employee concerns at the company.

On Tuesday, Uber responded to that report's findings by saying it had fired 20 employees for a variety of reasons, and was increasing training and adopting new policies. Uber said that report considered 215 cases encompassing sexual harassment, discrimination, unprofessional behavior, bullying and other employee complaints.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TIGHTER CONTROLS



San Francisco-based Uber is valued at nearly $70 billion but has yet to turn a profit.

Some of the recommendations in Holder's firm's report would force greater controls on spending, human resources and other areas where executives led by Kalanick have had a surprising amount of autonomy for a company with more than 12,000 employees, one person familiar with the matter said. Uber's more than 1.5 million drivers worldwide are classified as independent contractors rather than employees.

Kalanick, along with two close allies, has voting control of the company.

The board's discussions come at a moment when Kalanick is facing a personal trauma: his mother died last month in a boating accident, in which his father was also badly injured.

Employees and former employees interviewed by Holder's team complained about sexual and racial bias, bullying and retaliation, according to people familiar with their accounts.

They said that Kalanick and his lieutenants had favorites who played by different rules than other employees, and that even those favorites were nervous that they could fall from grace, which they sometimes did. Uber declined comment on that characterization.

One of the issues that came to Holder's team's attention, according to two people familiar with the matter, was the company's handling of a crisis in India after one of its drivers was arrested for raping a customer.

Though the man was convicted in 2015, Kalanick and other executives became convinced that the crime was a set up by a local competitor, former employees said. Eric Alexander, the head of Asian business, shared medical records internally that he argued showed that the woman had been assaulted but not raped, people who spoke to him said. Alexander was fired this week; he did not return messages seeking comment. Uber confirmed Alexander had left the company but declined to discuss the matter further.
GST Council revised rates for as many as 66 items on Sunday after discussions in the 16th GST meeting in New Delhi.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that recommendation to revise rates for a total of 133 items had been made out of which the GST rates were reduced for 66 items.

What's getting cheaper?

Most of the items on which the GST rates have been reduced are of use for the common man. They include cashew nut, sauces, pickles, insulin, children's colouring and drawing books, cutlery.

GST rates were also revised for computer printers, tractor components. Cinema tickets under Rs 100 would be taxed at 18 percent, while above Rs 100 would be charged at Rs 28 percent.

Here's a detailed list of revised GST rates:

GST on cashew nuts reduced from 12 per cent to 5 per cent GST on pickles, chutney, sauces, instant food mixes were charged at 18 per cent and are now reduced to 12 per cent GST on kajal slashed from 28 per cent to 18 per cent GST on insulin reduced from 12 per cent to 5 per cent GST on school bags reduced from 28 per cent to 18 per cent GST on children's colouring and drawing books revised from 12 per cent to nil GST on cutlery reduced from 18 per cent to 12 per cent GST on some tractor components will now attract 18 per cent compared to 28 per cent under previous arrangement GST on computer printers reduced from 28 per cent to 18 per cent GST rate of 28 per cent will be maintained for all cinema tickets above Rs 100 while for tickets below Rs 100, it will be reduced to 18 per cent.

As the July 1 rollout nears, worries are growing for traders who do not have complete clarity on what changes GST will bring.

The government has even launched a Twitter handle to answer the queries of small traders who will have to change the way they file taxes.

The very fact that the move to GST involves complete overhaul of the indirect tax system means impact on businesses, at least during the transition period, will be huge.

Under-preparation: Though the GST law has been under discussion some states are, in fact, yet to notify their laws. With a month to go before the roll-out, there is still confusion about the rates. Besides, many companies are yet to put in place new systems and software such as ERP (enterprise resource planning).

Some big companies: even a few public sector companies - are still in the process of floating tenders for hiring financial consultants. Any under-preparation will lead to non-compliance with the tax laws and have economic consequences such as delayed availability of input credit and loss of business.

Compliance cost: GST is a technology-driven system where every transaction - from invoicing to payment of tax - has to be done digitally. The government has invested heavily in building the technology ecosystem. But companies and other taxpayers will also have to invest in proper ERP and other software or hire third-party software providers. Here also, technology alone won't be enough, as companies need to capture input tax credits on their own and then reconcile with suppliers' returns to ensure that there is no mismatch. If there is, their tax credits will get blocked. The businesses will also have to hire professionals for help.

Challenges in using technology: The whole GST ecosystem is based on an IT-enabled platform, and its success in the transition phase will depend on how well taxpayers adapt to it. The fact that many small traders/entities still file returns and pay taxes manually means the shift from offline to online will itself be a big disruption for them. Vinay Sethi, Head, Market Development, Tax and Accounting, South Asia, Thomson Reuters, says Indian taxpayers are not keen to use technology the way GST requires them to.

In the early days, it is likely that errors in (untested) IT systems or ERP software may lead to delay in filing of returns or payment of taxes.




The Rs 15,000 crore fund-raising by the country's largest lender SBI is credit positive for the bank and will eliminate its dependence on capital infusion from the government, Moody's said today.

In a report, the US-based agency said any capital infusion from the government will further strengthen the bank's capitalisation.

Last week, State Bank of India raised Rs 15,000 crore through qualified institutional placement (QIP).

"The capital increase is credit positive for SBI because it strengthens the bank's capitalisation and supports credit growth, given the increasing requirements for equity under Basel III," the rating agency said.

This would help the lender meet the Basel III minimum equity capital requirement of 7.8 per cent at the end of March 2018 and 8.6 per cent at March-end of 2019, it added.

"The capital raise also will eliminate the bank's dependence on capital infusions from the Indian government to meet the Basel III minimum requirement... As such, any infusion from the government will further strengthen the bank's capitalisation," Moody's added.

SBI's risk-weighted assets are expected to grow by 15 per cent in 2017-18 and 2018-19, in line with 2016-17, it said.

"These growth assumptions and our expectation that credit costs will remain a key drag on the bank's profitability lead us to estimate that SBI's tier 1 equity ratio will be about 10.1 per cent at the end of March 2018 and 9.5 per cent at the end of March 2019," Moody's said further.
Armenia: In the country of stones

Published on June 12, 2017

Story by Katha Kloss Translation by: Emily Spencer

en

fr

pl

de

it

es

In his book In the Country of Stones, published mid-June, the French photographer Nicolas Blandin tells us about his journey across Armenia. The story unfolds through the people he met and the landscapes of an "isolated" country.

cafebabel: Why do you call Armenia the country of stones?

Nicolas Blandin: Armenia (called Hayastan in Armenian) is often nicknamed Karastan [NB. literally 'country of stones'] by its inhabitants, due to the vast mountainous regions and eruptive rocks that dominate the landscape. According to an Armenian legend, when God created the world, he poured soil and rocks through an enormous sieve. The soft soil landed on one side while the stones fell on the other, which is where Armenia can be found today.

cafebabel: Which version of Armenia did you want to present in your project?

Nicolas Blandin: My pictures are, above all, the result of a very personal and subjective experience. I found several aspects of Armenia fascinating; the way that the history and collective memory manifest themselves visually in the landscape, whether it is through the imposing remnants of the 71 years of Soviet rule, the repercussions of the 1988 earthquake or even the issue of the Armenian genocide. I was also moved by the personal stories of the people that I met, and the symbols that showed the fact that Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its main religion (in 301 AD). And finally there is the elusive nature of this isolated country - both geographically and politically - which seems to change according to its own rule, with undeniable moments of grace and beauty in spite of the economic difficulties and the ruggedness of the countryside.

cafebabel: What sort of trip did you make to Armenia ?

Nicolas Blandin: I hitchhiked through Armenia with my girlfriend for three weeks in September 2013. We had heard about the legendary Armenian hospitality, but we hadn't expected the warmth, curiosity and benevolence that awaited us. Some villages receive so few visitors that, when foreigners do pass through, they are readily greeted and invited for a coffee. During the trip we had the feeling that, at times, we were reconnecting with long-lost cousins who we had decided to visit. I seized the opportunity to undertake some voluntary work at the Spitak YMCA in order to spend more time in the northern part of the country during the winter months.

cafebabel: What would you recommend to a young, European traveler?

Nicolas Blandin: Armenia is a country with a rich history, culture and contrasts. It is worth making a trip to, if only for its curious and open-minded citizens. The Southern Caucasus is a fascinating region. Visitors are placed at the crossroads between Europe, Russia, Central Asia and the Middle East.

cafebabel: Is it easy to travel through Armenia?

Nicolas Blandin: With Russian and Armenian being the main languages, English is scarce. Even in Erevan, the capital city. Therefore, some resourcefulness is required in order to overcome the language barrier and the difficulties vis-a-vis the lack of infrastructure and information. However, the curiosity and benevolence of the Armenian people compensate for any inconveniences.

cafebabel: What sort of people did you meet in Armenia?

Nicolas Blandin: The fact that I was constantly on the move, taking photographs in all sorts of places, indulging my curious mind, allowed me to meet all sorts of people. I met young people, old people, locals, members of the Armenian diaspora in search of their roots, people whose family members are scattered all over the world, families who find themselves separated for several months each year while men work in Russia to make a living...

cafebabel: What was the strangest moment of your trip?

Nicolas Blandin: When we were hitchhiking near Khor Virap, we had a funny experience. A car stopped and we introduced ourselves in the normal fashion, but when my girlfriend said that she was German, the driver Samuel (who we later learned had lived for a year in Germany during the time of the GDR) said jokingly in German: "Was ist los ? Nichts ist los. Arbeitslos !" [NB. "What's up? Nothing! No job!"]

cafebabel: In Europe, Armenia is sadly still an unknown country. If you type Armenia into Google, the third entry that comes up is "the Armenian genocide." What, according to you, are the three best aspects of your country?

Nicolas Blandin: One of the many monasteries (some date back to the 4th century) perched on a hilltop, above a lake or a canyon, such as Khor Virap and its impressive view over the Ararat, Noravank and its red mountain ranges, Tatev or even Sevanavank, the Sevan lake, to name but a few.

The paintings of Minas Avetisian. His former residence in Jajur, close to Gyumri has been converted into a mini museum. And who can forget the green walnut preserves? Fruits, vegetables, lavash (a soft, thin unleavened flatbread) and the Armenian gastromony, in general, is worth the trip.

cafebabel: The world is still very divided on the issue of the genocide. Did you manage to talk to Armenias about their painful past?

Nicolas Blandin: It is clear to me that the Armenian people want the memory of the victims to be honoured and for the genocide to be officially recognised. But official recognition of the genocide is hampered by significant diplomatic, financial and territorial conflicts.

cafebabel: It's been 25 years since the fall of the Soviet Union. Do young Armenians remember this era?

Nicolas Blandin: It depends on which young people you ask and how old they were at the time. For some, especially in the northern part of the country, the fall of the Soviet Union coincided with the fallout of the 1988 earthquake. Two shocking events that are hard to forget.

cafebabel: It is often claimed that former Soviet states are still 'divided'. How do young Armenias feel about their relationship with Europe and with Russia?

Nicolas Blandin: Since it became independent in 1991, Armenia has maintained a close relationiship with Russia, for economic and political reasons. The country is, effectively, geographically landlocked and above all politically blockaded by Turkey in the west and Azerbaidjan in the east. Faced with a lack of job prospects, many Armenians, young and old, are choosing to travel to Russia to work for at least part of the year.

That being said, young people are also looking west to Europe and the United States, which are home to a large Armenian diaspora. Armenia's foreign policy seems to be searching for more and more support from the West.

__

To read : Nicolas Blandin - 'In the Country of Stones' (Juin 2017, Another Place Press)

Story by Katha Kloss

Translated from Armenie : Au pays des pierres
| BY Lynchy |

CB Exclusive  Aussie expat Jason Romeyko (pictured on left) has been promoted to the newly created role of Worldwide Executive Creative Director at the German-headquartered independent global network, Serviceplan International.

Romeykos new role involves the creative leadership of 34 Serviceplan agencies  Amsterdam, Bremen, Brussels, Delhi, Dubai, Frankfurt, Cologne, Lyon, Madrid, Milan, Moscow, Paris, Peking, Rennes, Seoul, Shanghai, Valencia, Vienna and Zurich.

Global Chief Creative Officer Alexander Schill explained Romeykos appointment will see the Serviceplan footprint accelerate further into different markets creatively, and continue to work in the unique integrated model of the Serviceplan House of Communication.

With the new role for Jason and the recent appointment of Dimitri Guerassimov and Fabien Teichner as Joint Partners/ CCOs of Serviceplan France, Serviceplan is becoming a hotbed of world-class creative talent, said Schill. This recognition of the importance of creativity, combined with the attractive Independent model of Serviceplan that encourages creative freedom and bravery, is important as we expand our global footprint. Serviceplan is already the No.1 agency in Germany, and with 62 Cannes Lions including 2 Grand Prix under our belts already, we are on a quest to add to our tally of international awards, and eventually become the No.1 Independent agency group in the world.

With Serviceplan International Managing Partner Markus Noder (pictured on the right), Romeyko will oversee the acceleration of Serviceplan Internationals globalization, which will gradually roll out globally Serviceplans House of Communication.

Serviceplan International has a digital arm (Plan.net), media arm (Mediaplus) and creative arm (Serviceplan) under the umbrella of House of Communication. Romeykos new role involves overseeing creative, media, PR and digital agencies, enabling Romeyko and Noder to improve the creative product of every arm of the Haus of Kommunikation.

Romeyko told Campaign Brief his dream is to take the diversity of international cultures and agency profiles to transform Serviceplan into an industry and household name: Not just in every country we are located in but beyond. I want to leave a legacy of meaningful ideas that stay in peoples memories. In expanding our global footprint, I would like to create a unique Serviceplan creative experience that clients love to participate in everyday. I know all of this will not just come from talent. We will have to work harder than everyone else. Thats why I am thankful for the roots of the group. I am hoping some German efficiency will be mixed into the magic.

Serviceplan has already established a successful business in France, Italy, Belgium, Spain, Russia and China, and Europes largest owner-managed independent network have designs on North America. A key factor in Serviceplans success is its partnership model, which was developed with the objective of preventing sales of agency shares to international networks, combined with the integrated model of House of Communication, where specialists of classical and digital advertising collaborate under one roof.

The next phase for Serviceplan International involves plans to expand into North America, and emulate the success of the move into China three years ago  when a Serviceplan agency in Beijing was shortly followed by a second Serviceplan China agency in Shanghai.

The digital arm, Plan.net, will be introduced to China this year, and it has taken only three years for Serviceplan International to become a serious player in the Chinese market. Significantly, Plan.Net Group is celebrating its 20th Anniversary as Plan.Net Concept and Plan.Net Media were the first agencies of the Plan.Net Group, which were founded in 1997 and is now one of the largest independent digital agencies in Europe with more than 25 locations worldwide.

Romeyko joined Serviceplan Group in October 2016. Prior to joining Serviceplan, Romeyko was Saatchi & Saatchi World Wide ECD for Deutsche Telekom and GSK Saatchi & Saatchi, and ECD of Saatchi & Saatchi Switzerland. He spent a total of 23 years at Saatci. Born in Australia, and fluent in 7 languages, Romeyko brings a distinctly international attitutude and globally creative vision to Serviceplan International.

Markus Noder said: The Serviceplan International model is really about high intensified integration, followed by innovation. Serviceplan International is effectively the only independent agency group with a truly integrated model that offers clients the benefits of creative, digital and media in one package.
| BY Lynchy |

IPG Mediabrands has launched Society Singapore. Society will encompass all of the core disciplines of social media under one roof including content strategy and planning, ideation and content creation, community management, social CRM, analysis and reporting, and paid social; amplified by a host of proprietary emotional listening and measurement tools.

The launch of Society further fuels the wave of IPG Mediabrands digital expansion in Singapore, following the launch of Cadreon the specialist programmatic agency in March, and Ansible, the mobile media and technology solutions business in April this year.

IPG Mediabrands social media arm Rally, already well known in market has been absorbed and rebranded into the wider Society agency offering, including key social media clients Johnson & Johnson, National Council of Social Service and KidsSTOP.

Marilyn Tan, Marketing Director, Johnson & Johnson commented, Our relationship with the Society team has grown from strength to strength, in which the team not only show an aptitude for creating great content but also a keen understanding on how Social can contribute to our overall marketing activities. Society deliver a great deal of expertise and a strategic approach, which allows us to make better decisions on how we can create a meaningful relationship and conversation with our community via Social.

Society Singapore will be driven by Xing Long Tan (pictured above centre) who will report to Jacob Teo (above left) Head of Digital for IPG Mediabrands Singapore. Society Singapore has the power to inhabit a dynamic space in the market. Consumerism is grooved by millennials, and Society is a fresh young agency driven by an agile, entrepreneurial outlook said Teo.

David Haddad, Managing Director IPG Mediabrands Singapore (above right) added, The launch of Society Singapore is a direct response to the market demand for impactful connections with end to end simplicity. Its great to see this capability brought to life in the Singapore market following the traction and success in Australia, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and the USA.
Sunday, June 11, 2017 at 7:57PM

The camera is looking like a big selling point for the OnePlus 5, as a previous teaser suggests. This time were finding out more about the upcoming flagship killer and its cameras capabilities. OnePluss CEO Liu ZuoTu uploaded on Weibo a monochrome shot taken by the smartphone. It shows off how similar the dual camera setup of the OnePlus 5 will be with the Huawei P series. From the looks of the image, its looking like a pretty promising device, in terms of photography.

While we dont know the specs of the device yet, some of the rumoured features include a 5.5-inch AMOLED display with 2,560 x 1,440 resolution, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, 6/8GB of RAM, 64/128GB of storage, and itll run on Android 7.1.1 Nougat operating system. Camera specs are said to be a 16MP + 16MP setup in the rear as well as a 16MP front camera.

Source: Giz China
Sunday, June 11, 2017 at 6:29PM

While Uber has been one of the key companies that have disrupted the transportation industry, its also been rife with controversy. Its been reported by both Recode and Reuters that Ubers board is looking to remedy that by holding an important meeting today, June 11th to help clean up whats being considered a controversial and toxic corporate culture. The board will be discussing the recommendations from its workplace probe and it might be holding a number of executives accountable for whats been happening. And that could include the companys CEO Travis Kalanickat least temporarily. And he might come back in a different position or have reduced powers or stricter oversight. The hiatus might come at an opportune time for Kalanick as his mother recently died from a boating accident and his father is seriously injured.

Aside from Ubers CEO though, those that are said to be facing uncertain futures include Senior VP Emil Michael, human resources head Ryan Graves, and technical lead Thuan Pham. But aside from possibly cutting off executives, the board is said to start adopting a variety of management and policy reforms suggested after the investigation. Ubers staff is expected to hear about the boards decisions on the 13th and we might perhaps hear about it then.

Source: Engadget
Your digital subscription includes access to content from all our websites in your region. Access unlimited news content and The Canberra Times app. Premium subscribers also enjoy interactive puzzles and access to the digital version of our print edition - Today's Paper.
It won customers such as Caterpillar, Boeing and Takata, and its technology is used around the world.All of Dr Zelinsky's successes are a team effort to his mind. He's watched colleagues from jobs he had before Seeing Machines - at ANU, the CSIRO - go onto bigger things too.
When challenged about effects of sanctions, in which Australia participated via contributing to the navel blockade, Madeleine Albright said the deaths of 500,000 Iraqi children (under 5) was worth it! If the myth that expenditure on arms could bring peace, why is the world cursed by conflicts, with mind-bending sums, including by Australia, being thrown at the chimera of "defence". Malcolm Turnbull, reputedly a brilliant silk turned investment banker, in times of austerity, with the poor funding the lifestyle of the elite, sinks $89billion, with abandon, on naval "assets", coincidentally as two spanking new $1.5billion ships lie crippled
Q. What have been your key developments so far in 2017?

Our key developments so far in 2017, have included a number. The West Africa Cable System (WACS) achieved 100% operational uptime in our markets. Angonix achieved a peak of traffic of 5.2Gbps and the internet exchange became one of the top five exchanges in Africa.

We launched new products and services in order to enlarge our product portfolio.

NEC concluded the site survey for the South Atlantic Cable System (SACS). We began constructing the Tier III data centre and the cable landing station for the Monet cable and SACS in Fortaleza,Brazil.

Angola Cables IP network expanded in Europe  to Portugal, the UK, Germany, Spain and France. And we deployed an IP point of presence in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Q. What are your strategic priorities this year?

The Monet cable system will be ready for service in the second half of 2017. We will provide IP transit services for African countries including SADC and west African Countries.

We will connect more members to the Angonix IX so s to remain one of the top five largest African IXs.

Q. What are you expansion and development plans over the next year?

Our expansion and development plans over the next year are to expand the Angola Cables network to other locations  to the US and Brazil.

We will conclude construction of the Tier III data centre in Fortaleza, Brazil. We will conclude SACS by mid-2018, which is designed to provide low latency routing between Africa and the Americas.

Q. What new opportunities do you predict for the wholesale sector over the next few years?

New opportunities we predict for the wholesale sector over the next few years include tapping into the cloud segment and all support connectivity required for the internet of things in developing markets.

There will be new submarine cable system routes. We will see development of technology allowing cable systems to have bigger capacities and lowering the price per megabit. And we will see the development of terrestrial African backbones.

Q. What are you hoping to achieve at ITW 2017?

To have a commitment for both our cables, SACS and Monet, and to understand what is the demand and what are the preferred routes the markets are looking for.

To have commitments for our data centre in Brazil, and understand what is the demand and what are the preferred services related to our data centre activities,

To establish partnerships for content delivery networks and other content-centric companies that are interested in delivering or expanding their content in the African continent.
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.
A partial bandh is happening in Karnataka today by pro Kannada organisations for want of farm loan waiver and intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Mahadayi river issue. However, there is no official announcement on holiday for schools and other varsities.

Will schools and colleges in Karnataka have a holiday today due to bandh?

There is no government holiday for schools and colleges today due to the Karnataka bandh. Also, Deputy Commissioner V Shankar said that schools in Bengaluru would remain open on Monday.

However, some private schools have opted to decide on their stand as the day proceeded and take their stand on safety. They have also sought protection from the government by means of providing them security personnel or increase the security at least in places where violence is expected in order to avoid any untoward incidents.

The fourth-semester postgraduate exams of Bengaluru University has been postponed. Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) has also postponed its first-year B.Ed examinations and seventh semester examinations.

Also, the transport services will not be affected due to this, official sources from BMRCL. KSRTC and Namma Metro confirmed.

Why is the Karnataka bandh happening today?

The bandh is Karnataka is happening due to a number of problems faced in the state. Pro-Kannada organisations have chartered out a list of demands to be fulfilled through the bandh. They are:

Farm loan waiver

Intervention of the Prime Minister in Mahadayi water dispute

Exile of Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti activists from the state

Also Read: Karnataka CET 2017 Counselling: Documents Verification Begins
Putting an end card to the brewing NEET row that was hindering the declaration of results, the Supreme Court today ordered the results to be declared within ten days.

What is the NEET row?

The NEET exam which took place on May 7 had question papers in English and various regional languages. The problem occurred when students noticed that the regional language question papers had questions different from that of the English with varying levels of difficulty.

Following this problem, the Madras High Court led by Madurai bench had stayed the NEET organising body CBSE from declaration of the results. The CBSE further approached the top court in this regard and got relief for its quandary.

Fresh Trouble Stirs For Medical Aspirants as HC Stays NEET Results

What did Supreme Court order on declaration of NEET 2017 results?

Key points that were ordered by the Supreme court are:

The results should be declared within ten days

High courts must not interfere in the functioning of NEET

The vacation bench of Justice Prafulla C. Pant and Justice Deepak Gupta said, "The CBSE can initiate the admission process."

Why did the Supreme court interfere in NEET results announcement?

The Supreme Court, which had earlier dismissed to hear any plea from CBSE, agreed after Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh, who is representing the CBSE, requested for an urgent hearing.

What will happen to the case?

Supreme court will take a call on the discrepancy between English and vernacular language question papers discrepancy later on.

In what languages NEET 2017 was held?

Apart from English and Hindi, it was held in 10 languages, including Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Assamese, Gujarati, Oriya and Kannada.

NEET Row: CBSE Justifies Discrepancy in Question Papers, Court Refuses to Buy
The final results for the UPSC Combined Defence Services Exam (CDS) II 2016 has been released by the Union Public Service Commission.

Why was UPSC CDS II 2016 held?

UPSC CDS II 2016 was held for giving admission to selected candidates to the 143rd Course of Indian Military Academy, Dehradun

Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala, Kerala

Air Force Academy, Hyderabad (Pre-Flying)

The code of the training course is No. 202/16F/PC Course. There are 265 candidates in the merit list released by the Commission.

UPSC NDA & NA Exam II 2017: Notification Released

Selection process

Candidates have been selected on the basis of their performance in the written test and the SSB interviews.

Candidates list

A total of 7194 candidates were selected for the written test. The Commission has not taken the results of medical examination into account while preparing the merit list.

What does the official notification read?

'The number of vacancies, as intimated by the Government is 150 for Indian Military Academy [including 19 vacancies reserved for NCC 'C' certificates (Army Wing) holders], 45 for Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala, Kerala Executive(General Service) [including 06 vacancies reserved for NCC 'C' Certificate holders (Naval Wing)] and 32 for Air Force Academy, Hyderabad.'

Also, the annual exam calendar for the coming year has been released with the dates for the 2018 exam.

UPSC CDS II 2018 exam dates

Online registration for CDS (I) exam 2018 will begin towards the later part of this year. Candidates can apply from 8 November till 4 December. The exam will be held on 4 February 2018.

The Commission has scheduled CDS II 2018 exam on 18 November. Online registration will be held in the months of August- September.

UPSC Civil Services Exam 2018 Dates Released: Check Now!
Exactly one month after it leaked in all of its glory, the 2018 Honda Fit has been officially unveiled.



Set to go on sale this July on this side of the pond, the new Honda Fit features an updated grille, redesigned lighting units and bumpers on both ends and two new colors  Helios Yellow Pearl and Orange Fury.

Honda has also added a new Sport trim level to range. The new Sport version slots between the LX and EX, and adds a sportier look with what the automaker describes as aero form features all around, including a sharp front splitter and diffuser finished in bright orange, a chrome exhaust finisher, Sport badge, and a set of 16-inch alloy wheels.

Available as options on the LX and Sport grades, and offered at no extra cost on the EX and above, is the Honda Sensing suite of driver assistance features that includes features like Collision Mitigation Braking System, Lane Keeping Assist System, Lane Departure Warning, Road Departure Mitigation, Road Departure Warning, and Adaptive Cruise Control.

Honda have yet to reveal all the information of the updated Fit, but they should do so before the first units of the new Honda Fit arrive at dealers.

PHOTO GALLERY
Aston Martin has called on politicians in Britain to provide clarity about the nations position in Europe on the back of shock general election results.



In a statement, company chief executive Andy Palmer said that the local automaker needs reassurances in order to correctly allocate funds and continue with investments.

We cannot stress strongly enough the need for rapid and decisive policy direction to ensure that business can continue to invest for the long term growth and ensure the global competitiveness of the British economy.

Clarity over our relationship with Europe must be established quickly together with the wider reassurance to our key trading partners that Britain remains a dynamic and thriving business environment, Palmer said.

British prime minister Theresa May called an early election, not due until May 2020, on April 19th in a bid to further strengthen her position of power and accelerate the nations exit from the European Union. However, on the June 8 election, May actually lost her majority in parliament and has been forced to recruit the Democratic Unionist party to remain prime minister, thus potentially delaying Brexit negotiations.

PHOTO GALLERY
Citroen has officially revealed the new C3 Aircross, the French answer to compact crossovers like the Nissan Juke.



The new C3 Aircross is also the successor to the C3 Picasso, with Citroen ditching the MPV style of the old model in order to attract a younger audience and that is portrayed also on the design of the new model.

Citroen will offer 90 exterior combinations and five interior design schemes to match its fresh design and let customers customize their vehicles to their personal taste.

Despite being a sister car to the Opel Crossland X and the upcoming Peugeot 2008, the new Citroen C3 Aircross looks to have its own unique personality both inside and out, with the interior featuring a user-friendly horizontal design approach.

The new 4.15m-long C3 Aircross claims to offer class-leading space and modularity in its cabin, featuring a sliding bench in two independent parts and a flat-folding front passenger seat for a load length of 2.40m. Boot volume is rated from 410lt and up to 520lt.

Other highlights of the cabin include a seven-inch touchscreen display for the infotainment system, wireless charging for compatible smartphones and a whole range of clever storage spaces all around.

All versions of the new Citroen C3 Aircross will be front-drive only, but the company has added their Grip Control system which helps in increasing the grip of the car in different conditions, as well as a Hill Assist Descent function.

Customers will be able to choose from a range of three-cylinder PureTech petrol and four-cylinder BlueHDi diesel units. Entry-level petrol models are powered by the 82 PS 1.2-litre unit, with Citroen also offering turbocharged versions of the same engine with 110PS and 130PS. Those looking for a diesel will have to choose between the 100PS and the 120PS versions of the 1.6-litre BlueHDi.

Driver assistance systems include a color head-up display, a new Top Vision rear-view camera, Park Assist, Active City Brake, Lane Departure Warning, Blind Spot Monitoring, Intelligent Beam headlights and more.

The new Citroen C3 Aircross, which is produced at the Zaragoza plant in Spain, will be launched in Europe starting in the second-half of the year, with prices to be announced in July.

PHOTO GALLERY

VIDEOS
The German Transport ministry has ordered a probe to find out whether Porsche used a cheat device in the Cayenne V6 diesel models.



The specific V6 diesel unit is sourced from Audi, which is also under an official investigation on suspicion of irregular emissions from engines in models like the A8, A7, Q7 and Q5.

A spokesman for the German Transport ministry has confirmed the investigation on Porsche, according to Reuters.

German magazine Der Spiegel reported that the V6 diesel version of the Porsche Cayenne had much higher emissions than the legal limit in a test conducted by TUV Nord and under normal driving conditions.

Emissions in this test were higher than the limits for this type of car, the magazine quoted the head of testing at TUV Nord, Helge Schmidt, as saying. With these values the car would not have been approved by the authorities, Schmidt said.

Porsche responded saying that these tests are not comprehensible and noted that emissions depend on conditions such as engine load, speed and temperature. Audi has also said that it will recall the affected models for a software update.

According to a source close to Audi, the problem with the specific models lies to the interaction between transmission and engine control units, leading to an emissions overshoot.

PHOTO GALLERY
Sixteen-time Isle of Man TT winner Ian Hutchinson suffered a broken leg following this crash last week.



Hutchinson was conscious before getting airlifted to the hospital and is now said to be undergoing further treatment in Liverpool, as reported by the BBC.

As soon as he goes down, you can tell something is wrong by watching him trying to crawl out of the way of an incoming rider, instead of getting up and running away, which is what most people do unless of course they realize immediately that theyre injured.

There was also another rider who almost got caught up in Hutchinsons crash. As Hutchinsons BMWs slid back onto the road, it dragged some of the barriers onto the track, which Aussie rider David Johnson then ran straight over.

Luckily, this secondary incident only caused minor damage to the other motorcycle.

VIDEO
Volkswagen could be on the verge of hiring Opel chief executive Karl-Thomas Neumann when the GM-owned automaker is sold to the PSA Group.



Reuters reports that Neumann will leave his post at Opel when the deal with PSA is done, apparently due to his concerns that PSA has under-estimated the future importance of electric vehicles.

Citing unknown sources, German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung says that VW is looking to give Neumann a prominent position within the conglomerate and could land a gig as the chief executive of Audi.

Currently, Rupert Stadler serves as the head of Audi and on May 17 was granted a contract extension through until the end of 2022. However, since then, German prosecutors have widened their investigation into Audis involvement in the Volkswagen dieselgate scandal and some sources suggest that Stadler wont serve his full term.

Prior to taking up his position at Opel, Neumann served as the CEO and Vice President of Volkswagen Group China from 2010 to 2012.

PHOTO GALLERY
We presented the festivals Grand Prix for short film to Spela Cadezs Nighthawk (Slovenia / Croatia), recognizing the seemingly simple but surprisingly complex film for how it adds a new layer to a traditional animation technique of multiplane cut-out and uses parallel storytelling to switch between different perceptions to effectively create an extremely engaging tragedy of a man/animal. Nighthawk isnt online (see trailer below), but Cadezs earlier film, Boles, premiered on the internet earlier this year.

The Grand Prix for feature film was awarded to Michael Dudok de Wits The Red Turtle (France/Belgium/Japan). The feature jury, consisting of Natalia Lukinykh, Ben Mitchell, and Simon Bogojevic Narath, cited the film as a celebration of both the unforgiving brutality of nature, as well as its life-affirming beauty that lingers with the audience for long after.

In the student film competition, the Dusan Vukotic Award for the best student film went to Renata Gasiorowskas fun and meaningful Pussy, made at the National Film School in Lodz, Poland. The jury, comprised of Alberto Vazquez, Jana Jakoubek, and Sandra Malenica, gave this statement on the film:

Feminism has gone one level up. Actually feminism in this film is at its right point  totally open, free, spontaneous, above all and in front of us in the most literal way. Talking about sexuality is still taboo, especially womens sexuality. Thats why this film is fresh, fun, sensitive, and real. It is also fluent in storyline, simple in drawing, great in sound and animation. It is reminder that female body parts also have the life of their own. At least in films.

The same jury awarded the best Croatian film to Chintis Lundgrens Manivald (Estonia/Croatia/Canada), another unique piece of cartooning that uses a quirky sense of humor to explore an unhealthy mother-son relationship.

On the cg front, the machinima film Martin Cries (France) by Jonathan Vinel won the Golden Zagreb Award for creativity and innovative artistic achievement. The short film jury said of the 16-minute film:

The violent fantasy of videogame culture finds new meaning  and beauty  in this wistful tale of a teenager who is ghosted by his best friends. Vinel takes the dissonant qualities of videogames and cinema, and integrates them in a wholly unique and organic manner. His mastery of digital filmmaking tools is more important than the tired debate of: Is machinima animation? To us, creativity and innovation means the ability to transcend simplistic labels and categories, and embracing whatever tools necessary to uncover new perspectives and meaning through animation.

Each of the five short film jury members were given the opportunity to present one special mention award, and three of the five jury chose cg shorts: Rosto selected Orogenesis by the French director Boris Labbe, Nobuaki Doi selected Nikita Diakurs Ugly (Germany), and I personally selected Jonathan Ostrems Change (Canada). These films, together with Martin Cries, represent promising new directions in cg filmmaking that veer away from the prevailing trend of photorealism and explore creative expression through the use of satellite imagery and 3D models, simulations, and real-time rendering techniques.

A complete list of winners is below:

SHORT FILM COMPETITION

Grand Prix  Short Film

Nighthawk by Spela Cadez (Slovenia/Croatia)

Golden Zagreb Award for creativity/artistic achievement

Martin Cries by Jonathan Vinel (France)

Zlatko Grgic Award for best first film

Amalimbo by Juan Pablo Libossart (Sweden/Estonia)

Special mention by Michaela Pavlatova

Sore Eyes For Infinity by Elli Vuorinen (Finland)

Special mention by Rosto

Orogenesis by Boris Labbe (Spain)

Special mention by Marko Tadic

Hedgehogs Home by Eva Cvijanovic (Canada/Croatia)

Special mention by Nobuaki Doi

Ugly by Nikita Diakur (Germany)

Special mention by Amid Amidi

Change by Jonathan Ostrem (Canada)

FEATURE FILM COMPETITION

Grand Prix  Feature Film

The Red Turtle by Michael Dudok de Wit (France, Belgium, Japan)

Special mention

Louise by the Shore by Jean-Francois Laguionie (France/Canada)

Special mention

The Girl Without Hands by Sebastien Laudenbach (France)

STUDENT FILM

Dusan Vukotic Award for best best student film

Pussy by Renata Gasiorowska (National Film School, Poland)

Special mention

Summers Puke is Winters Delight by Sawako Kabuki (Tama Art University, Japan)

Special mention

My Fathers Room by Nari Jang (KARTS, South Korea)

CROATIAN FILM

Best Croatian film

Manivald by Chintis Lundgren (Estonia/Croatia/Canada)

Special mention

The Last Quest bv Bozidar Trkulja

Special mention for best minority stake Croatian film

Airport by Michaela Muller (Switzerland/Croatia)

Site-specific animation

Winner

The Drive to Work by Paul Fletcher (Australia)

Special mention

The Climate by Marita Stanic and Maja Blazek (Croatia)

Childrens film

Best film for children

Leave A Print by Christina Susanne Nerland (U.K.)

Special mention

Odd is an Egg by Kristin Ulseth (Norway)

Mr. M  Audience Award

Short film

Hedgehogs Home by Eva Cvijanovic (Croatia)

Feature film

My Life as A Zucchini by Claude Barras (Switzerland/France)
CB Fest, our new series of online short film premieres, sees its second release this evening with Changeover (2014), an endearing short about one birds efforts to woo an unattainable love interest.

The brisk short is directed by Iranian animator Mehdi Alibeygi. After watching the film, check out our visual essay below with comments from the director.

If you like the film, please share it with your friends on Vimeo, Youtube, and Facebook.
A North Okanagan woman who hasn't left her property since May 23rd continues efforts to protect her home in one of the areas hardest hit by Okanagan Lake floodwater.

Cindy Brassard and her husband are on an evacuation order at the Louis Estates on Okanagan Indian Band land. That northern section of shoreline has more than 200 residences  both permanent and seasonal  under the evacuation order. The Louis Estates holds 67 of those residences.

We're one of the few still standing, said Brassard. I haven't left here since the first big storm.

With two, one-metre-high walls of sandbags standing around their house to create a moat and eight pumps going, the Brassards have been able to keep the water from the main floor of the house.

At least 6,000 sandbags have been used and Brassard praised all the people who have volunteered over the last number of weeks.

At the top of the list were the land's leaseholders, Ceil and Carol Louis.

They have tirelessly sandbagged here and at the band office. They've helped everybody. They've brought equipment here. I can't say enough.

Brassard said many in her neighbourhood had given up the flood fight and a number had water inside their homes.

The departure of residents brought some unexpected company for a few nights in a row when unknown people were seen approaching the flooded homes. Security has been brought in since then to ensure the houses are protected from thieves.

We've lived here 18 years and the high water is not usually until the end of June. We never expected it to get like this, she said, adding they have sandbagged only twice before and not to the same extent.

The moat actually saved the couple's house during last Thursday's windstorm, knocking out a part of one sandbag wall but not the one closest to the residence.

Brassard praised the groups of volunteers who came out to sandbag, while others brought in food and water, stating that her house wouldn't have had a chance without their help.

People from all over stopped by to help and we're going to keep on fighting.

The list of those she wished to thank included:

Electric Ninja and Mechanical

Shockproof Electric

Great West Equipment

Blenz Coffee Vernon

North Okanagan Hot Air Balloon Society

Cecil and Carol Louis from Louis Estates

Keisenwetter Trucking

Okanagan Indian Band Volunteer Fire Department

Vernon Physiotherapy & Rehabilitation Clinic

They have been wonderful, Brassard said.
Photo: Creative Commons

Officials say a small plane has crashed in North Vancouver.

Transportation Safety Board spokeswoman Sophie Wistaff says four people were on board the Cessna 172 when it went down on Sunday afternoon.

North Vancouver RCMP say everyone on board survived, though it's unclear whether any suffered injuries.

Wistaff says the plane was flying from Langley to Tofino and back when it crashed.

The cause of the crash is not yet known.

Police say the investigation is in its early stages and Wistaff says the Transportation Safety Board has not yet determined whether a team will be sent to look into the matter.
Photo: National Park Service Quagga mussel on boat motor seen in image.

The Okanagan Basin Water Board is looking for significant movement from the federal government on invasive mussels.

Directors were asking for stronger support on the issue of invasive zebra and quagga mussels coming into Okanagan waters and in the Pacific Northwest.

They were very open to what we had to say, said Tracy Gray.

The mussels have been noted to be making their way across Canada and the U.S. by hitchhiking their way on water crafts. Currently, there is no method to eradicate the mussels once they arrive and could cause significant environmental impacts.

According to the OBWB, the Okanagan is considered a high risk because of its warm, calcium rich water.

Gray said the government allocated $43.8 million over five years to address aquatic invasive species in Canada, but not specifically to invasive mussels.

There is no final plan for those funds yet, so this is a great opportunity to include invasive mussel efforts, said Gray.

They also acknowledged that prevention is better than dealing with the mussels once they arrive. I think it was impactful to hear prevention vs. management numbers.

The boards is asking boaters to make sure their equipment is always clean-drain-dry before moving from one water body to another.

For more information, visit this link.
Photo: Twitter Churchill's polar bears are an international tourist attraction.

Business owners and residents of an isolated Manitoba community with some of Canada's most prestigious tourist attractions say help is needed following news that their only land link may be cut off until the winter.

Omnitrax, the owners of the Hudson Bay Railway line to Churchill, said Friday that flooding damage to the track is so severe that service is suspended until at least the winter and possibly next spring.

Churchill's attractions play a big role in luring potential visitors to Manitoba. The first image on Travel Manitoba's web page is a sea kayaker paddling among a pod of beluga whales on Hudson Bay, and people pay thousands of dollars to get up-close views of polar bears at various times of the year.

"Believe it or not, northern Manitoba and Churchill are exotic locales for people from all over the world," said John Gunter of Frontiers North Adventures.

Frontiers North provides package tours and takes travellers to see polar bears in bus-like tundra buggies. A tour group was planning to arrive by train in the autumn, Gunter said, and he's been scrambling to make arrangements for them to fly instead.

Gunter said he's also having to make alternate arrangements for vehicles, construction materials and other supplies that are too large to come by plane. They'll now arrive by barge from Montreal, he said, but at much greater expense.

Prices for food that restaurants in Churchill serve to visitors is also expected to rise, due to the extra cost of flying it in. A head of broccoli in Churchill already costs $8.75.
Photo: Contributed

Canada had the second-highest medication costs for common conditions such as high blood pressure and cholesterol in 2015 compared to nine other affluent countries with universal health-care systems, suggests a new study calling for a national drug plan to lower prices.

Lead author Steven Morgan, a professor at the University of British Columbia's Public School of Health, said the analysis looked at the volume and daily cost of drugs in Canada, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, France, Germany, New Zealand and Australia.

The study, published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, analyzed data involving medications to treat six conditions  high blood pressure, high cholesterol, depression, diabetes, pain, and gastrointestinal issues such as ulcers.

Annual expenditures per capita ranged from $23 in New Zealand to $171 in Switzerland. In Canada, the cost was $158.

High costs for primary-care drugs have major implications for patients, he noted.

"It's estimated that one in 10 Canadians can't fill their prescriptions or chooses not to fill their prescriptions as required because of the out-of-pocket costs associated with that."
Photo: Contributed

A family that came to Canada from Iran to start a new life has been struck by a second devastating tragedy.

Ahmad Nourani Shallo died in a crash last week while driving to Calgary to mark the second anniversary of the death of his wife, Mariam Rashidi, who was killed trying to stop a gasoline thief.

Shallo was travelling from Vancouver with his new wife and his seven-year-old son when the accident happened on the Trans Canada Highway in British Columbia.

A family friend told CTV News the boy was in the back seat and wasn't hurt, however, the woman suffered serious injuries that required surgery.

Rashidi had been working at a Calgary station on June 7, 2015 when she was run over by Joshua Mitchell as he fled in a pickup truck with a tank full of stolen gas.

Mitchell was convicted of manslaughter last month and faces an Aug. 30 sentencing date.
Photo: transmountain.com

A coalition of interest groups is calling on Canada's six biggest banks and others to back away from providing funding for Kinder Morgan Canada's controversial Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

The coalition of 20 indigenous and environmental groups says in an open letter that it will use its influence to urge local and foreign governments to divest from banks that ignore its opposition to the pipeline.

It names a total of 28 banks as potential targets for its campaign, including 14 that underwrote the recent initial public offering for Kinder Morgan Canada.

The 14 underwriters included all of Canada's biggest banks as well as others from the United States, European Union and Japan.

The coalition's letter urges the banks to decline any additional involvement with Kinder Morgan that would help to finance the Trans Mountain expansion project, particularly a $5.5 billion credit facility the company is seeking.

Among the signatories on the letter is Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, and Grand Chief Serge Simon of the Mohawk Council of Kanesatake in Quebec.
Photo: GoFundMe Robyn Moro and her husband

A court hearing begins today that will determine how long grievously ill Canadians must wait to find out if their right to a medically assisted death has been violated by the federal government's restrictive approach to the issue.

The Supreme Court of British Columbia is scheduled to hear arguments over two days on the government's contention that the facts on which the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the ban on assisted dying two years ago are not applicable to the new federal law.

The hearing is part of a constitutional challenge to the new law, which allows only those who are already near death to enlist medical help to end their lives.

If the government's position prevails, it will mean the findings of fact made by the country's top court during its landmark ruling, which is known as the Carter case, will be argued all over again.

It will mean "a later, longer and more costly trial," said Jay Aubrey, counsel for the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, which is spearheading the constitutional challenge on behalf of Julia Lamb of Chilliwack and Robyn Moro of Delta.

"In the meantime, people like Robyn Moro are left suffering intolerably, waiting for the right that was already given to them by our Supreme Court in 2015."
Photo: Alanna Kelly

The Central Okanagan Emergency Operations Centre has rescinded the following evacuation alerts for properties near the mouth of Mission Creek in Kelowna:

From 3902 to 3994 Bluebird Road

From 3814 to 3848 Capozzi Road

From 3950 to 3970 Lakeshore Road

From 515 to 599 Radant Road

From 529 to 579 Truswell Road

From 3854 to 3882 Truswell Road

One property, at 3896 Truswell Road, remains on evacuation alert.

The properties are still vulnerable due to the high level of Okanagan Lake and to wave action, however. Property owners should maintain all protective barriers that have been put in place.

This morning Environment Canada reported Okanagan Lake is at 343.240 metres above sea level, an eight-millimetre decrease from the 343.248 metre level measured Sunday morning.

The level of Kalamalka Lake was recorded at 392.409 metres, down from 392.420 on Sunday.

Lake levels may fluctuate and ground water continue to increase for a period of time. A small lake level drop may not indicate the peak has been reached.

Waterfront residents are advised to check sandbags daily and, if needed, repair, replace and bolster them to ensure adequate buffer and protection.
Photo: The Canadian Press Daniel Dahlberg rides his electric longboard.

A Vancouver man has pulled the plug on his electric skateboard after receiving a $598 ticket the first time he took it out on the street.

Daniel Dahlberg said he was riding the longboard, marketed as a Boosted Board, on Friday down a hill in Vancouver's Kitsilano neighbourhood when he was pulled over by police.

Dahlberg said he hadn't even engaged the battery yet, but his maiden voyage was also the first time he learned from a police officer that riders need insurance.

"I asked him, I had no idea, how do I get insurance, and he told me that there isn't any to purchase, it doesn't exist," Dahlberg said.

"I kinda stared at him. I was trying to think of a way to respond to that because it doesn't make any sense to me, and then he hands me a $598 ticket.

Dahlberg has filed notice that he intends to dispute the ticket and said he had already received offers of support after posting about his predicament online.

But Dahlberg said his board isn't rolling anywhere, anymore.

"Luckily the manufacturer of the board has a 30-day return policy. So I have already been in touch with them and I'll be sending back my board for the time being because I don't really see a reason to use it if I'll get another fine like this," he said.
Photo: RCMP A fugitive was arrested in Salmon Arm Sunday after a two-hour standoff.

An RCMP emergency response team was called to Salmon Arm Sunday to deal with a two-hour standoff that ended when police officers stormed a residence and captured a suspect.

Police learned that a 30-year-old man from the Lower Mainland , who was wanted on Canada-wide warrants, was hiding out in Salmon Arm.

The warrants were connected to an investigation in Langley and included six firearms charges, uttering threats, assault, unlawfully in a dwelling, fraudulent use of a credit card and possession of stolen mail.

Due to the threat to public and police safety the South East District emergency response team was called in to arrest the male who was known to be at a residence in the 1400 block of 16th Street NE, said Staff Sgt. Scott West in a press release. After over two hours of attempting to contact the male in the residence by a trained negotiator failed, the South East District Emergency Response Team entered the residence and the subject male was taken into custody.

West said a motorcycle stolen from Penticton was recovered at the residence.

The man was in custody at the Salmon Arm RCMP detachment awaiting a court appearance.
Photo: RCMP

A Crown lawyer says a man found not criminally responsible for killing his three children poses too much of a threat to be allowed escorted outings into the community.

Wendy Dawson told a B.C. Supreme Court judge that the brutal nature of the murders committed by Allan Schoenborn suggest there is a "substantial likelihood" he would behave violently and he should be designated a high-risk accused.

Schoenborn killed his 10-year-old daughter Kaitlynne and his sons Max and Cordon, aged eight and five, at the family's home in Merritt in April 2008.

A court found Schoenborn not criminally responsible for the deaths because he was experiencing psychosis and believed he was protecting his children from sexual abuse, though no evidence suggested this was the case.

If Schoenborn is designated a high-risk accused it would severely limit the possibility of outings for him and extend the time between his review-board hearings to three years.

The legislation of the high-risk designation was brought in under the previous Conservative government, and former prime minister Stephen Harper used Schoenborn's case as an example when he introduced the law.
Photo: Twitter

Kelowna's Steve Thomson and Norm Letnick retain their cabinet portfolios in what could be a short-lived provincial government.

Premier Christy Clark and her new cabinet were sworn into the legislature Monday.

Letnick stays on as agriculture minister, and Thomson returns as minister of forests, lands and natural resource operations.

Clark's 22-member cabinet has five new ministers, including Ellis Ross, B.C.'s first indigenous cabinet minister with a portfolio as he takes over at natural gas development and housing.

The premier is preparing for the legislature to resume on June 22.

Her minority government is expected to lose a vote of confidence in the days that follow the return of the legislature.

Clark says last month's provincial election made two things clear: people want a government that works across party lines and one that will bridge urban and rural divides.

Here is a cabinet list:
Governor John Lynch swore in Chris Pope as New Hampshire's director of homeland security and emergency management at a State House ceremony. Pope, who was serving as the Concord Fire Chief when nominated for the position by Safety Commissioner Dick Flynn, began work immediately after the ceremony."Chris Pope will work with state, local and private sector officials to make sure New Hampshire is doing everything possible to prepare for any potential emergency," Lynch said.Pope has served as the City of Concord's fire chief and emergency management coordinator since March 2002. As a member of the Concord Fire Department since 1977, he has held a number of positions including firefighter/paramedic, division commander, battalion chief and special projects coordinator. He recently received a master's degree in National Security Studies, with a focus in homeland security and defense, from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, and has a bachelor's degree in public safety administration.The director of homeland security and emergency management will oversee state-level planning, exercises and responses to terrorist threats and incidents, as well natural and human-caused disaster. The director shall serve as the state's primary contact with the federal Department of Homeland Security. Under the law, he will coordinate and collaborate with other state agencies to respond to disasters including epidemics and threats to public health.
The pet store seems like a happy place. After all, you can stop in to play with cute animals. You can pick up food and treats for your own pets. And you can even have your dog or cat groomed. But pet stores hide all kinds of secrets. They rarely treat animals as well as you think they do. Most get their animals from pet mills, not shelters or rescue groups. And few prioritize the needs of the animals over their corporate sales goals.

Of course, you can find a few good pet stores (usually ones with small operations and compassionate managers). But those are the exception, not the rule. The more you know about what goes on behind the scenes at most big-box pet stores, the less time and money youll want to spend there. Read on to learn about all the things pet stores dont want you to know, from annoying to downright heartbreaking.

16. Pet stores try to sell you products that are a waste of your money

Well-intentioned pet owners can find all kinds of things to buy in order to pamper their dog or cat. The problem? The pet store just wants to make a sale. It wont help you to figure out what you really need and whats completely unnecessary.

Many popular pet products amount to nothing more than a waste of money. Premium, natural, or breed-specific food is no better than the basic stuff. Many dental chews wont actually improve your pets oral health. And things, such as vitamins and over-the-counter medications, are either unnecessary or even dangerous. The corporation behind your local pet store isnt really concerned about your pets health. It just wants to make a sale.

15. The trainer at the pet store might have been a cashier last week

You can definitely find dog trainers who can help you with your pets behavior issues. But the pet store isnt the right place to look. Fox News learned though many pet stores have trainers on staff, sometimes these employees get little training themselves. Often, all they have to do is read a book on training.

If you want a good trainer, look for someone whos graduated a program by the Association of Professional Dog Trainers. Ask how many years of experience a trainer has. Request references. And if youre considering a group class, observe a session before you sign up.

14. Dogs bought at the pet store are more likely to have behavior problems

Dont want a dog with behavioral issues? Then, dont buy one at the pet store, as theyre primarily from puppy mills. As Dogster reports, researchers have determined puppies purchased from pet stores develop more behavioral issues as adults than puppies purchased from breeders.

The researchers found pet store puppies were more likely to develop behaviors, such as separation anxiety, owner-directed aggression, stranger-directed aggression, dog-directed fear or aggression, mounting of objects or people, and house soiling. The reason why? Its possibly because puppy mill dogs experience significant stress in utero, as young puppies, and during transport.

13. AKC papers dont say anything about your puppys health

Some pet stores boast that their puppies have American Kennel Club papers. But if youre concerned about the health of that dog youre considering buying, those papers dont really mean anything. All they guarantee is the puppys mother and father were both registered with the AKC.

Registration doesnt involve a health screening. It also doesnt require an assessment of a dogs temperament. So papers dont indicate that your dog is healthy or free from the genetic ailments. And papers dont indicate that the animal isnt from a puppy mill  which is what you should really worry about at a pet store.

12. If a pet store is selling puppies, theyre from a puppy mill

When you stop by a pet store  even just to grab a bag of food for the pet you already have at home  its hard not to sneak a peek at the adorable puppies. But Salon reports, If a pet store is selling dogs rather than hosting adoptable ones from shelters, you can bet theyre getting them from puppy mills.

Researchers estimate 90% of the puppies found at a pet store come from a puppy mill instead of a shelter. A sure sign youre looking at puppy mill dogs? The store only has young puppies, with no adult dogs in sight.

11. Even pet stores who buy from USDA-licensed breeders are buying from puppy mills

Ask the pet store manager where the puppies come from. If you hear that theyre raised by USDA-licensed breeders, steer clear. Pet stores cite licensure as a reassurance for customers. But breeders have to obtain this licensure to sell to pet stores.

And Salon reports the term doesnt mean a lot. Under the Animal Welfare Act, federal law actually allows USDA-licensed breeders to keep animals in cages with wire flooring. Those cages can be stacked one on top of another. Breeders are also permitted to breed females continuously. That means they dont have to give the animals a break between litters. So, as Salon explains, the term USDA-licensed breeder really doesnt give you any guarantees about where the animals actually come from or how theyre being treated.

10. Pet stores get even expensive dogs from puppy mills

Almost everyones heard the word puppy mill. But nobody likes to think theyve actually supported such an operation. But going for a pricey breed or dog doesnt guarantee anything.

The New York Times reports even expensive dogs at pet stores in high-end neighborhoods often come from unlicensed pet mills. These so-called puppy mills are large-scale breeding operations that have a reputation for abuse, inbreeding and filthy conditions, the publication explains. They apply an agricultural mindset to the breeding of dogs. Theyre often run by farmers who raise soybeans and corn. These farmers learn they can make even more money raising dogs, especially if they spend very little on properly caring for the dogs.

9. Its not just puppies that come from pet mills

Even on its website for kids, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is clear about where the animals at the pet store come from. Caged birds, for instance, are either captured or bred in captivity. Like puppy and kitten mills, there are huge factories where thousands of exotic birds are kept in small, dirty cages without enough room to unfold their wings.

And almost all of the saltwater fish sold in pet stores are captured from their homes in the wild, and most freshwater fish are raised on farms under miserable conditions, according to PETA. Dont think just because you arent buying a puppy, you arent supporting unethical pet trade practices.

8. Those cages, tanks, and enclosures are way too small

Dont use the cages at the pet store as a guide to the size of carrier, tank, or kennel you should buy for your own pet. Most of the time, the cages and enclosures are way too small for the animals comfort. And, in many cases, it can be a health issue, too.

Salon warns, The lingering aromas of animal excrement, urine or too much disinfectant are all signs of poor upkeep and unsanitary conditions. And if a store crams two or three animals into a small cage or tank? This is a sign the store is about profit, not about finding its animals good homes and humane living arrangements.

Plus, the Huffington Post learned some pet stores even use the wrong materials to line reptile cages, modeling products that arent a perfect fit for that species  or safe for it.

7. Puppy mill dogs have never gotten toys or treats

Small cages and unsanitary conditions are a big problem at puppy mills, too. And your local pet store doesnt want you to think about all the other things that animals endure on their way to the store.

According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, puppy mills dont provide their animals with adequate veterinary care, food, water, or even socialization. And these dogs never get to experience toys, treats, exercise, or even basic grooming. The wire flooring in their cages often injures their paws and legs.

Plus, puppy mill dogs are prone to congenital and hereditary conditions, according to the ASPCA. And they often arrive in pet stores (and then at their new homes) with diseases and conditions, such as pneumonia, mange, fleas, intestinal parasites, and heartworm.

6. Many pet stores put sick animals on display

If a pet store has a sick animal, it would make sense to treat the animal first before allowing it to interact with other animals and shoppers. But it doesnt always work that way. Salon reports many times, youll see a puppy or kitten sniffling or sneezing thanks to kennel cough. Kennel cough can get serious. And the animal should get proper care and rest. But many pet stores put affected animals on display.

Plus, according to Salon, Other diseases prominent among pet store puppies who come from mills include heart and kidney disease, epilepsy, parvovirus and mange. Pet store owners have been known to use antibiotics to mask the signs of these conditions in order to sell puppies.

5. A sick animal can make you sick, too

Many pet stores dont tell customers when an animal is sick. Thats bad enough for the animal. But it can also be dangerous for you or your family. The Huffington Post learned puppies, kittens, and other mammals can transmit parasites to humans. And reptiles and amphibians can carry salmonella. Salmonella outbreaks have been linked to turtles and African dwarf frogs. And outbreaks of monkeypox and lymphocytic choriomeningitis have also been blamed on pet store animals, too.

4. Many exotic animals die before they even get to the pet store

Again, its not just puppies that pet stores obtain from pet mills. PETA notes many exotic animals die before they even get to the pet store. The journey for many exotic animals in the pet trade, like lizards and snakes, begins in places outside the U.S., such as Africa, Australia, and the jungles of Brazil.

Exotic animals get stuffed into tiny cages, or even into pillowcases or soda bottles, for transportation. They often dont get proper food, water, or air. And many actually die before they arrive at the pet store. Plus, as PETA notes, The sale of exotic animals is also unsafe for people and the environment since many of them carry dangerous diseases.

3. Other small animals die on the way to pet stores, too

PETA adds even less exotic small pets  such as mice, rats, guinea pigs, and hamsters  go through a lot on their way to the pet store. Many of these small animals arrive at pet stores dying of starvation. Others arrive with serious illnesses. Many arrive injured. And some even arrive pregnant.

As PETA explains, Many animals are forced into tiny boxes and containers and suffer for days before being unpacked from the containers they were shipped in. Fish are transported in tiny plastic bags. And in rare cases, animals get left in shipping crates for weeks without food or water.

2. Some pet stores just want to sell sick puppies before they die

A former employee of a large, commercial pet store reports for Dogster that the store would receive puppies who were already sick. And our job was to sell them before they died. At this particular store, the policy was to deworm them and start them on antibiotics (without evening taking them to a veterinarian).

Puppies would stay in metal cages that gave them sores. And when they developed upper respiratory issues, theyd get crammed three or four at a time into a nebulizer unit for treatment. That exposes them to each others viruses and infections. The same pet store had a policy of putting bleach in puppies water bottles, so the bottles wouldnt have to be washed.

1. Pet stores just dont take proper care of animals

Even if animals dont arrive at the pet store with major health issues, pet stores dont do much to prevent them from developing those issues. Pet stores place rats and reptiles in severely crowded enclosures. They put fish in tiny tanks. Many put birds in cages where they cant stretch their wings. And according to PETA, Sick and dying animals are often left to starve, tossed in the trash, or shoved into freezers while theyre still alive. Many pet stores just dont take good care of their animals.
About 8,000 UnitedHealthcare customers who get care from University of Chicago Medicine might have to switch doctors this summer  or pay significantly more for services because of a contract disagreement between the insurer and the medical system.

UnitedHealthcare  the state's second-largest health insurer  and University of Chicago Medicine have been unable to agree on a contract to keep the medical center and the system's doctors in the insurer's network.

Advertisement

Both sides say in statements on their websites that they're still negotiating. But they're also warning that patients may no longer be able to get in-network care at the University of Chicago Medical Center or from University of Chicago Physicians Group after June 30 if no agreement is reached.

U. of C. Medicine sent letters to patients last week saying that UnitedHealthcare is ending its contract with the academic medical center and its physicians group after June 30. Patients with preferred provider organization and point-of-service plans would have to pay out-of-network rates, according to UnitedHealthcare.

Advertisement

The U. of C. Medicine letter, however, says that UnitedHealthcare members undergoing "active treatment" might be able to continue getting care at in-network rates for a time. That may include people who are already in the hospital, many pregnant women, nonsurgical cancer patients, patients with end-stage renal disease, dialysis patients and symptomatic AIDS patients, according to the letter. Patients have to contact UnitedHealthcare to see if they qualify.

UnitedHealthcare customers in group retiree Medicare Advantage plans and Medicare Supplement plans will not be affected by the contract negotiations, according to UnitedHealthcare.

Representatives of UnitedHealthcare and U. of C. Medicine declined to discuss details of the disagreement.

But the insurer said in a statement that it remains "committed to working with University of Chicago officials on a new contract."

"We recognize the important role University of Chicago plays in supporting the health care needs of our members, and our two organizations have met regularly over the last few months to reach a solution that will renew our relationship," UnitedHealthcare said.

In an email, U. of C. Medicine spokeswoman Ashley Heher said, "The medical center is committed to making sure its care and expertise is available to as many people as possible, including about 8,000 UChicago Medicine patients who are currently covered by UnitedHealthcare's commercial insurance plans."

The uncertainty is sparking stress among patients.

Ivy Elkins, of Buffalo Grove, has been seeing her University of Chicago Medicine oncologist since she was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer more than three years ago. Elkins, 50, researched and carefully selected her doctor, and followed her to the University of Chicago from a different hospital system.

Advertisement

She's unsure if she'll qualify, as a cancer patient, to continue receiving care if the contract falls through.

"As a level 4 cancer patient, you build up this level of trust, and I trust her," Elkins said. "Every decision she's made for my health up to this point has been spot on, and I don't want that to change in any way."

lschencker@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @lschencker
Lilia Gomez, 19, is set to graduate from Chicago's Youth Connection Leadership Academy, a charter high school on the South Side. Its taken a lot of hard work, after having a baby at 16 and dropping out of school, but she feels if she can do it anyone can. (Alexandra Wimley / Chicago Tribune) (Alexandra Wimley/Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune)

Lilia Gomez, 19, knows what it's like to be out of school and out of work.

Amid a storm of events in her life  the incarceration of her mother, a baby at 16 and time spent living in a shelter  Gomez dropped out of high school. She took the time off to care for her son, but she also knew she needed a longer-term plan.

Advertisement

"In that moment I felt like, what am I going to do with my life?" said Gomez, who lives in South Chicago. "I just felt really lost."

Gomez has since restarted school at Youth Connection Leadership Academy, a charter school on the city's South Side, and is set to graduate soon with her high school diploma. It's taken a lot of hard work, but she feels if she can do it, anyone can.

Advertisement

"I think what people should know is any obstacle in your life, you can overcome it," Gomez said.

A new report is a reminder that those obstacles can be numerous. According to the report by the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the good news is the percentages of young people in Chicago and Cook County who aren't in school or working are slowly decreasing after hitting highs during the last recession. Yet in 2015, nearly 90,000 teens and young adults, ages 16 to 24, in Cook County and Chicago remained out of work and out of school.

"This is really having an adverse effect on people's life trajectories," said Matthew Wilson, co-author of the report and economic development planner with the Great Cities Institute.

It's a situation that can lead to more violence, incarceration and intergenerational poverty, he said. "This is a generation of people that are experiencing something unlike any prior generation."

In 2015, 19.4 percent of people ages 20 to 24 in Cook County were out of work and out of school, down from 19.9 percent the year before. The numbers, however, are far worse for black young adults in Cook County, though they, too, are improving. In 2015, about 34.3 percent of 20- to 24-year-old black adults in Cook County were out of work and out of school, down from 39.5 percent the year before.

The report also notes that employment levels for Latinos continue to drop, even as they improve slightly for young white and black people.

Though the numbers are improving, they still haven't recovered from the 2008 recession when jobs dried up, pushing less-experienced, less-educated young people out of the workforce, Wilson said. During the recession, older people took jobs that might have once been done by younger people  and in some cases they've stayed in them, Wilson said. Consumers may notice more older faces serving them at fast-food restaurants and delivering their newspapers, he said.

Another challenge for young people? Many jobs are concentrated in the Loop and northwest suburb, away from the areas where youth joblessness is the highest, according to the report.

Advertisement

The city's South Side has a low number of jobs accessible via a 30-minute commute and also high numbers of 20- to 24-year-olds out of work.

"There's just a mismatch of where these kids are in Englewood, in areas of south suburbs away from areas of the jobs," said Jack Wuest, executive director of the Alternative Schools Network, which commissioned the report.

Though many who labor in the Loop are accustomed to lengthy commutes, they can be daunting for young people who might make only minimum wage, Wilson said.

"Working in the internationally important financial firm versus working at the restaurant in the building (are) very different," Wilson said.

Though they're tough problems to solve, the report's authors hope to spur conversations about developing appropriate job training for young people, the geographic mismatch between jobs and unemployed young people, and how the changing economy is affecting different racial and ethnic groups.

The report's authors and local leaders discussed the report at a news conference Monday, along with ways to help, such as two bills being sponsored by U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and a bill being sponsored by state Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Matteson.

Advertisement

Cook County Commissioner Bridget Gainer, who attended Monday's news conference, said before the event that efforts are already underway locally to improve the situation. For example, the Cook County Land Bank Authority, started in 2013, aims to get vacant and tax delinquent properties in the hands of local developers who can then hire local people to do rehabilitation work. She also said companies like Aon have apprenticeship programs where high school graduates work within the company, learning traditionally white-collar jobs, while earning associate's degrees.

Wilson acknowledged that broad reform can be tough to come by, given funding constraints at the local level and partisanship in Washington.

"Young people are a bipartisan issue for the most part, but the solutions, for the most part, are not, especially when you're talking about spending money on programs," Wilson said.

Still, it's important to keep the conversation going and continue to push for change, said Teresa Cordova, co-author of the report and director of the Great Cities Institute.

In addition to the individual costs of not graduating from high school, a nongraduate in Illinois will pay $197,055 fewer dollars in taxes over 45 years than someone with a diploma, according to the report.

"The costs of youth joblessness for individuals, households and the state as a whole, just (aren't) worth it," Cordova said.

Advertisement

lschencker@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @lschencker
Matsumoto Seiji, an exceedingly shy, sweater-vested, salt-and-pepper-bearded chef north of 60 years, was tending to his simmering pot of Japanese curry. That might be the most boring sentence you'll read all day. However, I'm struggling to contain myself.

Precious few restaurants in Chicago serve this dish, the Japanese comfort food equivalent to spaghetti and meatballs. Matsumoto does at his River North restaurant, Cocoro. If there's a vote for the next ramen  an ethnic dish to shatter the mainstream glass ceiling  I'd stuff the ballot box for Japanese curry. A city with an unrelenting winter deserves it.

Advertisement

Unlike the complex ensemble of ingredients that make up Thai or Indian curries, the base Japanese version, kare (pronounce kah-ray), is more straight-ahead  a viscous stew of beef stock and curry powder, sweetened with apples, loaded with hunks of potatoes and carrots. A scoop of rice always accompanies Japanese curry, which unless noted, is generally nonspicy.

The book "Japanese Soul Cooking" by Tadashi Ono and Harris Salat  described how in the early 20th century the Japanese navy took on English seamen's fondness for curry. Here was a dish that was easy to prepare in large batches. A tradition began of Curry Fridays aboard Japanese fleets, and eventually was brought off ships and into the homes of civilians. There was no rigidity to the recipe, as most households offered their own takes. Now, that beefy flavor is as ubiquitous in Japan as ranch dressing in America  stuffed in bread, powdered and sprinkled over french fries, a broth in noodle soup.

Advertisement

Cocoro owner Yuko Genda said growing up, her mother made Japanese curry often because it was filling, cheap to prepare and its appealing next-room-detectable pungency made it a favorite among children.

The vehicle for Cocoro's curry is especially attractive for Western newbies. The centerpiece of its katsu kare is a thick cutlet of breaded and fried pork, your classic tonkatsu, submerged halfway in a smooth brown curry studded with minced beef and onions. To the side of this bowl is a plate of fukujinzuke, a melange of soy sauce-pickled daikon radishes, cucumbers and other root vegetables dyed red. A bite of curried fried pork, a bite of tart crunchy pickle  the two work in tandem.

When I stepped into Cocoro's kitchen, I spied Matsumoto breaking apart starter cubes of curry roux, the type labeled Vermont Curry or S&B Golden Curry at the international aisle of finer supermarkets. Matsumoto said his version takes eight hours to cook and, as with the best stews, tastes better the following day.

Through a translator, Matsumoto recounted his journey to Chicago: He is from the town of Fukuoka on the southern island of Kyushu. Fatherless, Matsumoto began cooking at age 9 to support his family and left home at age 12 to apprentice for a master chef. Cooking is what he knows.

Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. >

Thirty years ago, when he arrived in Chicago, the American ideal of Japanese food was limited to the same few dishes. "Tempura. Chicken teriyaki," he said. Those words Matsumoto knew in perfect English.

I asked if more Westerners were ordering Japanese curry. Matsumoto nodded yes emphatically. Genda said, "Definitely more popular."

Definitely more popular, but still a long ways from public acceptance. I wouldn't even say it's on the cusp. Just take solace that, somewhere in Chicago, a pot of Japanese curry simmers for us.

kpang@tribpub.com

Twitter @pang





Advertisement

Where to try it

Cocoro

668 N. Wells St.

312-943-2220

Umai

730 S. Clark St.

312-986-8888

Kayaba

(Inside Mitsuwa Mart food court)

100 E. Algonquin Road

Arlington Heights

847-956-6699
Is Chicago a rib town? You know, an acknowledged center of bone-riddled pork, where millions clamor to feast with their sauce-slicked bare hands.

Whatever your opinion, we apparently used to be. Writing in 1993, Tribune restaurant critic Phil Vettel noted, "When out-of-towners think of Chicago dining, they tend to think about three things: pizza, ribs and steak." No one would dare question whether pizza and steak still stand triumphantly as iconic Chicago foods. But ribs?

Advertisement

Short of ripping raw flesh from a freshly killed beast in the wild, meat eating doesn't get much more primal than ribs. Sure, chicken wings also have bones, but they are miniature little things one can pick up with two fingers. You can find them on the appetizer section of the menu. A full slab of ribs lands on the table with a thud, like a declaration of true gluttony. They also function as a fair warning to nearby persons to avoid eye contact as things are about to get messy.

I know this from experience, as I ate ribs all over the city and at all kinds of establishments  North Side and South Side, new and old, ones with white tablecloths and ones with paper napkins  and my hands constantly reeked of smoke and meat. How else was I going to figure out whether Chicago still cared about ribs?

Advertisement

Mention ribs, and most people know exactly what you're talking about: a wide hunk of pork interspersed with long bones. Even without considering how they are cooked (smoked, baked or boiled), you know what they look like. But just as there are different cuts of steak, there are numerous kinds of ribs. Four show up the most in Chicago  baby back ribs, spareribs, St. Louis ribs and rib tips. Baby back ribs come from high on the pig's rib cage near the loin, resulting in lean and tender meat. Spareribs are cut from lower down the rib and are meatier and fattier, with one side featuring a host of bones and cartilage. Trim away that gnarly side from the spare rib, and you have St. Louis ribs. The piece you trimmed away is called the rib tip.

To be sure, lots of cuisines cook with pork ribs. But I kept my search to places where the ribs were the main focus of the kitchen. (Lao Sze Chuan's dish of spicy house special dry ribs, for example, is number 524 on its menu.)

Basically, that means I traveled to a lot of taverns and barbecue restaurants. While what showed up on my plate often looked quite similar from place to place  a huge helping of ribs covered in sauce on an oval plate  how the ribs were cooked was very different. When I was young, I considered any ribs coated with barbecue sauce to be real barbecue, but that doesn't cut it anymore. Proper barbecue requires hardwood smoke. If not, you're just pouring sauce on meat.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 7 The cozy bar at Twin Anchors remains packed with locals and tourists alike seven days a week, all for ribs that fall off the bone if you nudge gently with your pinky ($24 for a full slab). ( Nick Kindelsperger/Chicago Tribune )

Old-school ribs

Most of the old-school rib joints in Chicago, especially on the North Side, either bake or simmer their ribs until tender, before slathering them with sauce and grilling or broiling the meat until the sauce caramelizes on the meat.

One rule of thumb for Chicago ribs? The more comfortable you are, the less likely it is that you're eating real barbecue.

In that case, eating ribs at Miller's Pub (134 S. Wabash Ave.) in the Loop feels like a sauce-stained spa treatment. Well-dressed hosts whisk you off to cushy booths, where you can relax in the golden glow of the low-lit, wood-trimmed decor. Order ribs, and prepare yourself for an onslaught of extras. First come multiple kinds of bread, followed by soup or salad, and finally a side dish.

Miller's Pub proudly declares that it serves Canadian ribs ($19 for full slab). The term doesn't mean the pork comes from our friendly northern neighbor, but instead is another name for baby back ribs, though these look even smaller than other examples you'll find around town. They are baked, not smoked, but honestly, worrying too much about the meat isn't necessary. The ribs are slathered in so much sweet sauce it's hard to detect the meat underneath.

Advertisement

Twin Anchors (1655 N. Sedgwick St.), Chicago's most iconic old-school rib joint, also bakes its baby back ribs. Because of the restaurant's reputation, it's the perennial whipping boy of cranky barbecue purists. Not that the crowds care. The cozy bar remains packed with locals and tourists alike seven days a week, all for ribs that fall off the bone if you nudge gently with your pinky ($24 for a full slab). To be fair, the restaurant never refers to the ribs as barbecue, though they are served with barbecue sauce. (See what they did there?) While the original mild sauce is as bland as tomato soup, both the zesty and Prohibition sauces balance heat, sweet and acid in an irresistible way. Once again, sides are aplenty, and the room hums with an intoxicating mix of nostalgia and charm that any neighborhood block would dream of having on its corner.

There's no discounting that the pork itself is astonishingly tender at Twin Anchors, but that's not the same thing as juicy. Tender yields easily to pressure, but juicy gushes with the flavor of the meat. Certainly, it's impossible to claim that the ribs at Twin Anchors don't taste good, especially slathered with sauce, but if the ideal is tender and juicy, you'll have to move on.

You'll get much closer at Gale Street Inn (4914 N. Milwaukee Ave.), a standby in the Northwest Side neighborhood of Jefferson Park. While not smoked, the ribs ($28 for full slab) have slightly more texture and juiciness to them than those at Twin Anchors, and the meat is well seasoned with salt. Don't take a barbecue aficionado here, but if you have a friend who unironically gets hungry whenever Chili's rib jingle rings in the air ("I want my baby back, baby back, baby back."), the Gale Street Inn will blow his or her mind.

Real smoked barbecue ribs

Where do you take your barbecue aficionado friend? That's easy. Go to Smoque BBQ (3800 N. Pulaski Road) in Irving Park. Just understand that the creature comforts disappear fast. The first thing you'll notice is the line, which often sneaks out the door. Once you wade through it, you'll need to order at the counter, find a seat and then get back up when the kitchen announces your order is ready. Instead of cloth napkins, paper napkin holders rest on the tables.

But those ribs. Presented spare on a metal tray, with a small cup of sauce you can politely ignore, the meaty St. Louis ribs ($20.95 for full slab) nail that sweet spot of tender and juicy, with meat that hugs the bones but gently releases when you sink your teeth in. The dry rub coating the meat looks nearly black, but it's laced with spices and a hint of sugar. (I'd love to know the exact spices, but that's a secret of the house.)

Advertisement

You can take this to mean that real smoked barbecue ribs always beat the baked stuff, and there are examples to back this up. Green Street Smoked Meats (112 N. Green St.) in the West Loop serves outrageously juicy ribs ($9.95 for a -pound portion) with a lacquered-on sauce that almost crackles when you bite in. Lillie's Q (1856 W. North Ave.) in Bucktown coats its baby backs ($22 for full slab) in a complex dry rub the kitchen dubs Carolina dirt, which remarkably doesn't distract from the meat as much as launch your taste buds in different directions all at once.

But the simple presence of smoke doesn't ensure greatness. While it can reach transcendent heights, great barbecue requires far more effort than just setting some meat in a smoker and coming up with a sauce. I learned this the hard way.

I purposefully sign myself up for ridiculous eating adventures all the time, and while most are intentionally absurd, I usually escape with my love of a particular food intact. But barbecue doesn't fight fair, and as I feasted, I delved into an all-encompassing darkness where I began to question whether I even liked barbecue. (I know, what a trying time.)

I blame the barbecue sauce. Most places served sauce spiked with so much sugar that it was hard to taste much else. I'm all for tangy and spicy, and some sugar helps to balance things out, but when the red-tinged sauce in question starts reminding you of ketchup, things turn sour fast.

Carson's (612 N. Wells St.), a River North institution for about 40 years, claims its ribs ($26.95 for full slab) are smoked, but it's hard to detect much of anything after the sauce is slathered on and then carbonized under the broiler like an overeager Boy Scout with a campfire marshmallow. The Chicago-style ribs ($29.95 for full rack) at nearby Bub City (435 N. Clark St.) are drenched in a barbecue sauce so wildly sweet I felt I was eating my way through molten Jolly Ranchers.

Most of these places sport faux-Southern decor, as if exposed wood and country music soundtracks equate with properly smoked meat. Personally, I'd rather order another stiff cocktail at Gale Street Inn than have to sip out of another Mason jar.

Advertisement

Rib tips

There are, luckily, other types of ribs you can find in Chicago. As mentioned above, the rib tip is often considered an undesirable cut worth discarding, because it's loaded with both bone and cartilage. But it's been embraced by a host of South Side pitmasters and transformed into the smokiest, juiciest nuggets of meat you can score in the city. While most of these places also serve whole racks of ribs, the offerings can be hit or miss depending on when you visit. The rib tips, however, are almost always on point.

Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. >

I have soft spots for Honey 1 BBQ (746 E. 43rd St.) in Bronzeville and Lem's Bar-B-Q (311 E. 75th St.) in Chatham, but my current favorite is Uncle J's BBQ (502 E. 47th St.) in Bronzeville. The thickly sliced tips ($12 for large) feature a crackly black crust and a bright pink smoke ring underneath. The meat itself is redolent of smoke and gushing with juices, while the texture reminds me of just-grilled double-thick pork chops. The satisfyingly thick and tomato-y barbecue sauce is usually served right on top, though I find it more enjoyable to ask for sauce on the side, so I can control the deluge.

Thanks to the inedible scraps of cartilage and bone mixed in, you have to eat gingerly, but these are some of the finest bites of meat you'll find in Chicago.

The only catch is that you'll have to kiss nearly all comforts goodbye  waiters, tables, chairs, even plates. All the great rib tip purveyors in town are strictly to-go operations with no seating whatsoever. You even place your order to workers behind bulletproof glass. Fortunately, the South Side is saturated with scenic parks where you can picnic with unbeatable views. My favorite is the 31st Street Beach, but that's just the beginning.

Feasting out of a foam clamshell container, licking my fingertips while staring at the sun-dappled Lake Michigan is about as far away from the cozy confines of Twin Anchors as you can get, but any inconvenience feels secondary with food this crave-able. My love of ribs was restored.

Advertisement

Tourists may not consider Chicago a rib destination these days, but the rib options are plentiful, and if you don't mind getting your hands messy, they are ready for the taking.

nkindelsperger@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @nickdk






A number of Chicago artists will head to Door County, Wisc., this summer for the Door Kinetic Arts Festival.

Eric Simonson, Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble member and founder of the festival, has announced the lineup of creative artists and projects for the second fest, featuring world-premiere projects.

Advertisement

The festival features a staged reading of Catherine Trieschmann's "One House Over," directed by Milwaukee Rep artistic director Mark Clements; a DKAF-commissioned short film "The Gleaner," directed by TV and film actor Harry Lennix; a reading of Jeffrey Hatcher's "Strongman's Ghost," directed by Simonson; a performance from the dance-theater ensemble Lucky Plush Productions; and screenings of short films followed by a talk with The New York Times' Robert Simonson, who will also serve drinks and offer up insight on the history of Wisconsin cocktails during multiple events.

DKAF runs June 13-18 at the Bjorklunden campus of Lawrence University. The full schedule is available at www.doorkinetic.com.

Advertisement

MORE FROM THE THEATER LOOP:

Waiting, and ducking bullets, in the unflinching new 'Pass Over'

The 2017 Tony Awards are a love letter for Dear Evan Hansen

Al Franken on truth, laughter and the Senate







Watch the latest movie trailers.

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)
To your average absurdist of the mid-20th century, the act of waiting for nothing in particular, of pointlessly passing the time, was an apt metaphor for the misery of the human condition. But, dear reader, what is preferable: waiting for some Godot fool who doesn't show up and managing to survive another day above ground or being gunned down for no reason and living to wait no more?

Which is what happened to the son of a friend of mine in Chicago the other day.

Advertisement

In the insanity of a city filled with guns, and people ready and willing to use them whenever temperatures rise, waiting isn't so much a malaise as a badge of survival. That's one of the takeaways of Antoinette Nwandu's "Pass Over," a very potent and promising play that, if it were being produced commercially, would probably carry the reductive but not entirely inaccurate tagline, "Waiting for Godot Meets Black Lives Matter."

Nwandu's world-premiere play takes off from Samuel Beckett in much the same way as Bruce Norris' Pulitzer Prize-winning "Clybourne Park" takes off from Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin the Sun." Conversing with the previously written has become a trend in the American theater (Lucas Hnath's Tony-nominated "A Doll's House, Part 2" being a further, if thematically dissimilar, example). In an industry where audiences invariably demand some level of preawareness, this gives writers a hook and point of view with which to attract audiences, it reduces the burden of exposition that can choke a 90-minute play and, most interestingly of all, it focuses the mind on change in America, or the lack thereof.

Advertisement

"Clybourne Park" worked because racial inequity and real estate remain inherently linked (it helped cause the very situation that Nwandu is writing about). "Pass Over" works for a very different reason  it lays out in stark and poetic fashion a quotidian urban, American reality that Beckett utterly failed to imagine.

Nwandu writes of Moses (Jon Michael Hill) and Kitch (Julian Parker), two young black men who pass their time on the corner through conversation that's a mix of humor, wry analysis and mutual macho abuse; they have appropriated the terminology of racist hate, but you intuit it does not serve them well. Every so often, they have to duck as gunfire whizzes past their heads. When they're not dodging stray bullets, Moses and Kitch have to worry about Mister (Ryan Hallahan), a white man in a light suit who carries both a picnic basket filled with good things to eat and a plumby, privileged accent of the kind Nwandu no doubt encountered during her student days at Harvard College. He represents a similar temptation to that of Lulu, the white woman in Amiri Baraka's "Dutchman," another iconic work that informs this one.

He's not the only white man who comes calling. So does a police officer (also played by the truly creepy Hallahan) with a gun.

Nwandu is trying to pack a lot of social critique into one radicalized play: white complacency in the creation of the war zone that traps Moses and Kitch, some apparent authorial frustration at the African-American religious rhetoric that prevents focus on the problems of the here and now, raging anger at the police. Nothing about the two white characters in the play is nuanced; they are symbols of murderous, ameliorating nefariousness, and are defined entirely by their race.

You might well take issue with whether such a ruthless depiction of the police, especially, is helpful now, but then Nwandu is under no obligation to provide succor. On the contrary, she clearly wants to confront the audience with its own complicity in all that it sees.

Much of the language in the work is thrilling, poetical. Very. So is much of director Danya Taymor's dynamic staging, which makes exceptional use of the width of the Steppenwolf Upstairs Theatre, sending genuinely disturbing attacks on the psyche across horizontal lines before packing a climactic punch in the vertical. All three of the performances are excellent, a complex trifecta of race, power and authority. To her great credit, Taymor really takes you there, whether or not you care to go.

I'd argue that this early version of this hugely promising play loses its way in the last third as it layers on so much symbolism that you somehow lose both the work's crucial, real-time tension and the rich humanity of Moses and Kitsch; their initial individuation becomes subsumed. Nwandu clearly is writing a moral parable with archetypal figures. I think she intends Moses and Kitch to mean God and Nike, neither of which can save a young black man on gun-strewn streets. Fair enough. But Nwandu paints these young men with such initially vivid humanity that you miss it when it exits, as you do the hope inherent in characters who know they must leave this place of waiting, this way of being, this life.

Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.

Advertisement

cjones5@chicagotribune.com

Review: "Pass Over" (3 stars)

When: Through July 9

Where: Steppenwolf Upstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St.

Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Tickets: $20-$89 at 312-335-1650 or www.steppenwolf.org
Last year, John Oliver urged the good people of the United Kingdom to stay in the European Union. As we all know, his efforts didn't exactly pan out.

Sunday's episode of "Last Week Tonight" came days after a another shocking election. As Oliver recapped, Prime Minister Theresa May and the Conservative party were unexpectedly dealt a major setback, thanks to a "campaign full of mistakes, flip-flops and uninspiring moments."

Advertisement

The election results complicate the negotiations surrounding Britain's pending exit from the EU, which as Oliver noted, are already proving to be a logistical, legal and political nightmare.

One of the key questions is whether May, weakened by the election results, will proceed with a "hard" or "soft" version of Brexit -- a dilemma the British news media have chosen to illustrate using goofy metaphors involving cheese.

Advertisement

As Oliver explained, a hard exit could deal a blow to British products, such as "pork pies, Marmite, mushy peas and undiagnosed clinical depression," which would face heavy tariffs.

And that's just one of the thousands of complex issues -- pet passports, anyone? -- that need to be negotiated before the U.K. reaches the so-called "cliff edge" in its divorce negotiations with the EU.

While Oliver was critical of May's vague promise to make Brexit "red, white and blue" -- whatever that means -- he was more impressed by one of her opponents, Lord Buckethead, who suggested using colorful language that Brexit was a mess.

The comedian was so impressed by Lord Buckethead's candor, he flew him to New York for an appearance on the show -- and suggested maybe May should hire the intergalactic space lord to negotiate on behalf of Britain.

"I implore you: Send the dark lord to Brussels," he said. "Is it an absurd idea? Yes, but it would not even be close to the stupidest thing that you have ever done."

You can watch the entire segment, complete with offensive language, here.

RELATED STORIES:

FCC says cyberattack, not John Oliver's net neutrality plea, hampered its website

Advertisement

Tottering Theresa May names new UK Cabinet as critics circle

Clinging to her job, Theresa May strikes tentative alliance with Northern Ireland party







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)
Consuming literature is a lonely endeavor. Unless you're reading out loud, sitting down with a novel is an intimate experience between you and your pages. But it doesn't have to be.

A lover of books also loves to talk about favorite authors and works, which is where Printers Row Lit Fest steps into its role. The outdoor festival held Saturday and Sunday provides a space for bibliophiles to come together to create a community accepting of any and all kinds of literature.

Advertisement

John Glover, owner of Glover's Bookery, says there's a value in sharing what you enjoy. "People that talk books are either really interesting or really weird, but I enjoy learning what everyone else likes," the bookdealer said. Glover has trekked to Chicago from Lexington, Ky., for Lit Fest every year since 1986 to sell rare, used and out-of-print literature.

In the tents that line the middle of Printers Row in the Loop, you can often catch parts of conversations on why Thoreau is a great writer, or how unbelievably cheap an antique Twain hardcover was.

Advertisement

Nataliya Shurupova of Chicago and her husband, Kevin Leonard, visited Lit Fest for their third consecutive year in search of 20th-century hardcover books. Leonard grabbed copies of "Charlotte's Web" and "Alice in Wonderland," and Shurupova excitedly pulled out a 1910s version of "The Odyssey" that she got for $24. "I'm not a collector, I'm just buying what I like to read," she said. She, like many of the Lit Fest visitors, has been reading and keeping books since she was a child, but her growing library will go to her young son, Alexander. Alexander isn't too excited about books yet, "but we're always encouraging him to read," his father said.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 20 Attendees look through books on the first day of the Printers Row Lit Fest on June 10, 2017. (Kristan Lieb / Chicago Tribune)

Lit Fest can be a place for collectors  and not just those seeking books. Nineteenth-century maps, old movie posters, vinyl records and retro magazines line shelves just as Shakespeare and Hemingway do. On the blazing hot Saturday, spending too much time outside in search of the perfect novel would cause you to sweat. The Chicago wind helped, but true opportunities to cool down came in the form of moderated discussions with authors and writers inside Jones College Prep and the Harold Washington Library Center.

Audiences, out of the high-noon sun, got to relax for 45 minutes, listen to their current literary crushes and secure autographs after the talks.

Some authors and writers, like poet and Harold Washington Literary Award Winner Rita Dove, shared their experiences and discussed why they write. Dove delved into how her worldview was shaped while she was living in Germany, and how she is trying to use her poetry to help conversations surrounding race in America.

Trans activist and writer Janet Mock and Dove stressed in their respective dialogues the importance of representation. Dove told the audience she hopes her work helps her readers "see that a black woman can do these things."

For Mock, "I want to make people feel like 'you're not alone' and 'you can make it through this,'" without watering it down and pretending that her experiences are the same as others. They may have commonalities, but there are still differences  Mock can only offer her stories and hope there is solace in that.

Gusting winds gave book lovers reason to hold on tight to their favorite titles at the Printers Row Lit Fest on June 10, 2017, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune) (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune)

Other writers and academics like Michael Eric Dyson acted as thought leaders during their conversations. Mock, in her two books, felt that she had armed her readers to talk about issues of gender and sexuality (and their intersections with race and class), and Dyson is actively taking part in discussions of race relations  as was seen on Bill Maher's "Real Time" Friday evening, in the wake of the host's controversial use of a racial slur during a previous episode of the show.

After the writers talked, there were short Q&A sessions. After gushing to Mock or thanking Dyson for his work, visitors engaged in meaningful questions about allyship, reparations and other tough and touchy topics. Lit Fest gave these readers a chance to take their thoughts off the page and get personal with the authors, for as long as time allowed.

Advertisement

If you didn't get to ask your question, fear not. You might just have run into Dyson while looking at a copy of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" at an old bookstand.

Here are some other weekend highlights.

Samantha Irby

Samantha Irby, an Evanston native whose New York Times best-seller "We Are Never Meeting in Real Life" includes all sorts of grisly, laugh-and-cry-out-loud Chicago ordeals, along with Scaachi Koul ("One Day We'll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter") and Jenny Allen ("Would Everybody Please Stop?: Reflections on Life and Other Bad Ideas"), spent Saturday morning talking about finding humor in the everyday, even when the everyday resembles a dumpster fire. The three women with indignantly titled books (pointed out by moderator Tricia Bobeda) spoke frankly about topics ranging from ovarian cancer to psychopathic dads to public pothole tumbles while the audience laughed along with quips on memes, "writing processes" and Koul's rejection of the journalism school dictum "Don't write about yourself." "You don't write about yourself," she said. "I don't need another essay collection about a white guy (writing about his body parts)." Bobeda asked the essayists who they would like to write about, other than themselves. Irby said Forest Whitaker. "I would like to write our love story," she said. It seemed like most of the audience was thinking, "Oh my God, please."

 Morgan Greene

Rita Dove

Advertisement

Harold Washington Literary Award recipient Dove was feeling so good at the end of her discussion with Tribune columnist Mary Schmich at the Harold Washington Library that she belted out a soothing rendition of "Summertime" when asked if she'd sing. The Saturday morning conversation between the two Pulitzer Prize-winning women revolved around the universality of childhood experiences as reflected in Dove's latest book "Collected Poems: 1974-2004," and Dove's transformative year abroad in Germany in 1974  the first time she said she was seen without the "racial baggage" she felt she carried around in America as a black woman. "Rita Dove is a force of nature," Schmich said  complimenting the previous U.S. Poet Laureate on not only her written body of work, but also her influence and skills in other arts. The current state of race relations in the United States was also discussed. "Racism is an institution that built the nation, but also undermines our values," Dove said, adding that writing a poem to encompass and break through current racial tensions would be her task for a while. Dove sounded up for the challenge, closing with, "Women writers are leaders. Black women can do this."

 Jessica Roti

Michael Eric Dyson

Fresh off his redeye flight from Los Angeles after appearing on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher," Georgetown professor Dyson was lively and ready on Saturday to tackle a tough, in-depth conversation on race relations from his latest book, "Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America." Speaking with WBEZ's Jennifer White at Jones College Prep, Dyson provided as many laughs ("I get it, it's hard to be white out here right now," he laughed) and raps (a few lines of NWA's politically-charged "F--- Tha Police"  as Ice Cube also appeared on "Real Time" to discuss Maher's indiscretion) as he did keen insights on white Americans and their resistance to acknowledging white privilege as an institution that benefits all of them, while black and brown people try to get ahead in that same system built against them. During the conversation, Dyson (who is also in his 38th year as an ordained minister) spoke about the delivery of his subject as a sermon ("Not just for Trump folks," he was sure to emphasize), the way whiteness is used as a default setting  devoid of what is considered actually having a race  and the way whiteness sets the standard for other forms of bigotry, be it homophobia, transphobia or sexism. Maher's recent use of a racial slur was also discussed, with Dyson fervently calling on all white people to "not be seduced into complicity" by white privilege.

 J.R.

Jeremy McCarter

Advertisement

On Sunday morning, Jeremy McCarter asked the audience to take a trip back in time and imagine a way out of this political moment of crisis. Think back to last summer, he said, when he stood in the same spot with the same cameras rolling and the same heat outside. When we took democracy for granted. Last year, the book was "Hamilton: The Revolution," co-authored with Lin-Manuel Miranda. This year, the book is "Young Radicals: In the War for American Ideals." The 20th-century "constellation" of narratives also focuses on scrappy and hungry visionaries, but over the course of the past year, McCarter realized that "Young Radicals" was inseparable from today. On election night, he sent an email to his editor. "I feel like I'm living my book," he wrote. "I also feel nauseous." During the event, as McCarter read a selection from the book about "The Masses" editor Max Eastman taking a stand against Woodrow Wilson, and spoke about using hope as a fuel for action, he kept asking the audience to place the hundred-year-old stories in the present moment. And he wondered aloud, the audience joining silently, about the possibilities of tapping into what fueled that group of people determined to change the world.

 M.G.

Chicago Tribune's Morgan Greene and Jessica Roti contributed.

ctc-arts@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @chitribent

RELATED STORIES:

Advertisement

Al Franken mixes humor, politics at Printers Row Lit Fest

Video: Replay of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in conversation with Chicago Sun-Times film critic, Richard Roeper

Video: Replay of U.S. Sen. Al Franken's conversation with Tribune publisher & editor-in-chief, Bruce Dold







Watch the latest movie trailers.

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 Blood Miracles" by Lisa McInerney, narrated by Shelley Atkinson, John Murray, 8:18

Listen closely because Shelley Atkinson's narration gallops in "The Blood Miracles," Lisa McInerney's crackling story of a young Cork man tangled in his unwitting and often dangerous decisions.

Advertisement

Atkinson's Irish accent and McInerney's slang-rich narrative may be hard going at first. ("Yokes" is slang for the drug ecstasy. What sounds like "pam" in Atkinson's voice is "palm" in American.) But hang in there. This is a tasty combination. Atkinson's delivery is spirited, her portrayals are sharp and specific. Even her rapid pacing is a fit match to the richness of McInerney's smart dialogue and bracing, believable characters.

Although this is a sequel to McInerney's award-winning debut novel, "Glorious Heresies," this novel stands alone. Both books follow Ryan Cusack, who is 20 at the start of "The Blood Miracles," a criminal coming-of-age novel. Ryan has a prison record and a girlfriend of six years who desperately wants him to quit using and dealing drugs. But he's ill-prepared to change. His Italian mother died when he was 11. His father is an alcoholic who beat him. Poverty marked his childhood, and the city's crime boss is a family friend and his father's sometime employer. And his own ambitious and increasingly erratic boss is using Ryan to broker an ecstasy deal with the Camorra mafia in Naples. It's an enterprise that cuts out Cork's crime boss, which is just one of the many betrayals Ryan can't seem to escape.

Advertisement

"Universal Harvester" by John Darnielle, narrated by the author, Macmillan, 5:48

Poor sad John Darnielle, author of the weird tale, "Universal Harvester." It's not enough for Darnielle to have created a story with two motherless children  one orphaned, the other abandoned when her mother joins a cult. It's not enough to have weird loops of video showing up in the VHS tapes in a small Iowa town's video shop. It's not enough to speculate what type of person the video store owner would have been had she lived in New Mexico or South Carolina. It's not enough to have long cold winters and taciturn characters who love each other with grave solemnity. It's not enough to have the author examine over several pages every possible happy outcome that might have occurred, only to assure us that "none of this is true, or maybe some of it is. I don't know."

No, we must also have the author's mournful narration, full of regret, of sadness, of a wistful sort of depression, with just enough space between sentences to accommodate one's sighs as one waits for the story to please dear god take shape already. Actually, the story's shape may be just fine. Or maybe some of it is. But the author's reading renders the tale amorphous, beating it into a blurry nebula with every syllable uttered in his sorry state. Someone call this man a doctor. Or call one for me. I'm drowning in ennui.

"The Idiot" by Elif Batuman, narrated by the author, Penguin, 13:44

Elif Batuman's narration of her novel, "The Idiot," is a plain brown wrapper. She doesn't create characters with her voice. She doesn't do accents in a book bursting with Serbs, Hungarians, Turks and Bulgarians. In fact, she makes only one sort of effort toward expressiveness  understated, sardonic deadpan.

And it's all perfect.

Batuman's quirky, almost affectless narration is ideal for this quirky and often delightful novel about the Harvard freshman year of Selin Karadag. While Selin's collegiate journey provides the narrative, the author doesn't fret about getting us anywhere soon.

She'd rather stop and play with observations and words: A heap of long underwear on sale in Filene's Basement "resembles a pile of souls torn from their bodies." An empty beach seems, "so clean and clear and perfect  like a metaphor for something." Batuman is great at world-weary freshman: "We stood in a big circle dancing. It reminded me of preschool. I began to intuit dimly why people drank when they went dancing. ... (M)aybe the reason preschool had felt the way it had was that one had to go through the whole thing sober." In class, the professor wants to know what types of movies students like. "Documentaries," Selin answers. "You don't find them boring?" the teacher says. "I looked at the table. Was it so obvious?" Others like Fellini. "I didn't know anything about Fellini; my mental image was of a human-sized cat."

Advertisement

Batuman's character embodies that feeling of teetering promise, embarrassment and disappointment that is freshman year. It's not a year many would repeat, but Batuman makes it worth re-enrolling.

Jenni Laidman is a freelancer.






An essential ally should be someone you trust, who's willing to have these kinds of conversations and who has time to follow through. (Hongqi Zhang/Dreamstime / TNS)

Earlier this year, 30 senior citizens convened in a living room to talk about growing older and needing more help.

Who will be my allies as I go through this process, they asked.

Advertisement

Many were unmarried, without children, living alone. Some had adult children living elsewhere, with demanding jobs and busy lives. Others had spouses who were ill or temperamentally unsuited to the task.

None of the seniors had talked about this issue in a public forum before the gathering here. Most weren't sure what to do.

Advertisement

Millions of older adults are in a similar situation, peering into an uncertain future without knowing whom they can count on to be at their side.

The Chicago get-together, organized by The Village Chicago, a community of adults 50 and older on the city's north side, offers some "I'm in the same boat" guidance.

At that meeting, Bill Gordon, 80  single, with no children  got up and described an extensive "allies" system he's worked hard to put in place over the past several years.

The setup has four tiers. In the first are three close friends who have powers of attorney for legal, financial and health care decision-making, should Gordon not be able to handle these responsibilities.

In the second are more than 25 friends and acquaintances whom Gordon  disabled by degenerative motor neuron disease  can call on for a ride to the doctor or a trip to the grocery store.

In the third tier are Gordon's primary care doctor, lawyer and financial adviser, with whom he has close personal relationships. In the fourth are helpers he pays for services, including a driver and a handyman.

The underlying principle: "You need a team of people who you can call upon," Gordon explained recently in a conversation in his artfully decorated Chicago apartment.

He's made sure the three core members of his team  a male friend in St. Paul, Minn., a female friend and former work colleague in Chicago and another male friend in Chicago  know each other and can step in for each other should that be necessary. All have copies of essential legal documents.

Advertisement

As for his circle of friends and acquaintances, "I don't ask anyone for help unless I absolutely have to. You don't want to wear people out," Gordon said.

Nor do you want relationships to become defined by your needs. "You have to stay in touch with people, and not just when you need something," Gordon said. "I remember birthdays, I send emails, I pick up the phone and call."

Also, you need to make sure that your core allies really know what you value as you grow older. When he turned 80, Gordon updated his preferences regarding health care  "no invasive tests of any kind to get at the bottom of what's wrong with me"  and discussed the changes at length with his tier 1 friends.

At the Chicago meeting, Carole Senderowitz, 74, divorced for seven years and with no children, decided she needed to expand her group of allies. So, she invited a woman she'd worked with and considered a friend to lunch. "This was someone who had never let me down," she said.

When Senderowitz asked the woman if she would be an ally, her friend said she was touched and would gladly offer whatever assistance she could.

Next, Senderowitz connected with a retired cardiologist who'd been helping his elderly parents with all kinds of issues. "He said maybe I should open a business and do this for other people, and I said I'll be your first customer," Senderowitz remembered. The doctor replied that he'd be there for her as a friend.

Advertisement

Now, Senderowitz is reconsidering what to do with health care decision-making. The friend who agreed to serve as her power of attorney for health care is at the height of her career and has a tendency to cut Senderowitz off when she tries to talk about difficult issues.

"We talk in snippets instead of having a conversation where we go from start to finish, which is what I really want," Senderowitz said.

An essential ally should be someone you trust, who's willing to have these kinds of conversations and who has time to follow through, the Chicago seniors agreed during their meeting.

Ideally, you'll have younger allies as well as those around your age, so they can step in if a core member of your team becomes incapacitated.

"It's a big deal" to make this kind of commitment, said Beth Bradfish, 68, a Chicago composer who agreed to assume legal, financial and health care responsibility for a friend of 40 years, Catherine.

When Catherine, 84, fell last year during a hospitalization and suffered a brain bleed that left her in a coma, Bradfish had to decide whether to continue or withdraw life support. She chose the latter option after extensive deliberation.

Advertisement

Today, a year after Catherine's death, Bradfish is convinced she did the right thing. Yet still, she wishes she'd talked to her friend about her preferences in much greater depth.

"I didn't really know what I was getting myself into," Bradfish acknowledged.

Barbara Susin's relatives are scattered across the country and wouldn't have expertise in navigating Chicago's hospitals, rehabilitation facilities or nursing homes on her behalf. So, after attending a meeting about allies, she hired a private health care advocate.

"I wanted a professional who had lots of experience," said Susin, 76, who's single and lives alone. The advocate will be the leader of her team, which includes a friend in the Chicago suburbs who has her power of attorney for health care, and another member of The Village Chicago, who has her legal power of attorney.

Until recently, Susin thought she could handle any problems that came up herself. But after an injury that was misdiagnosed and didn't heal properly, she now acknowledges: "I shouldn't be in charge of me during a crisis."

That may be the most important message the Chicago seniors took away from their discussions. Dianne Campbell, executive director of The Village Chicago, sums it up: "People are realizing they don't have to go through difficult situations alone and it's OK to ask for help."

Advertisement

KHN's coverage related to aging & improving care of older adults is supported by The John A. Hartford Foundation.






Boebert now leading Frisch by 1,200 votes in CD-3 race

Frisch had been in the lead, which was declining as more counties in CD-3 continue to report results after election day
Mexicos Federal Economic Competition Commission, the countrys primary antitrust agency, has levied fines against seven ocean shipping companies totaling $32 million for colluding on prices of routes in the auto transport services market.



Mexicos antitrust agency, the Federal Economic Competition Commission (FECC), has fined seven shipping companies for colluding on prices of routes in the auto transport services market, the commission said Friday.

Chilean company Compania Sud Americana de Vapores (CSAV), Japanese companies Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK), Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), Mitsui OSK Bulk Shipping (MOBUSA) and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line), K Line America, and Norwegian/Swedish company Wallenius Wilhlmsen Logistics (WWL) were fined a total of $32 million regarding nine separate business agreements between the companies that were in effect between 2009 and 2015.

The FECC said it determined that the companies colluded by assigning transport routes to specific shippers between five Mexican ports and seven countries across the globe.

According to the commission, the firms divided the market up amongst themselves for auto transport, construction machinery and farm equipment.

The FECC only announced the sum of the fines and did not detail how much each individual company was penalized. However, in a prepared statement released June 12, MOL revealed that it was exempted from all penalties save for a nominal fine of about $600 because the company had already ceased the conduct in question before the official investigation began, and that it was therefore granted leniency under a commission application program.

MOL also offered sincere apologies in its statement, and said that its principle is to do business in full compliance with the laws and that the company has been in compliance with corporate ethics and social norms.

We are taking the FECCs announcement very seriously, the company said. We are making our best efforts to prevent any recurrence of such issues, to further enhance MOLs compliance structure, and go regain public confidence.

However, this is at least the second time in four years that MOL, subsidiary MOBUSA, NYK, K Line and WWL have been accused of price fixing for the ocean transport of cars. In June 2013, the companies were the target of a class-action lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Southern California, accusing them of conspiracy to fix, stabilize and maintain prices.
By Dezan Shira & Associates

Chinese President Xi Jinping has taken the remarkable step of offering free trade with China to members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

Speaking at the SCO meetings in Astana, Kazakhstan on Friday June 9, Xi said, We could begin signing agreement on trade facilitation with SCO. We speak in favor of opening cross-border routes in time set by the governments of the SCO member states.

The SCO is a political, economic, and security group comprising Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan were formally admitted to the SCO earlier in the day.

The admission of India and Pakistan is notable: the two countries have recently been engaged in hostility along their disputed border, while India recently abstained from the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing due to concerns over Pakistans involvement, amongst many other issues.

RELATED: The Eurasian Economic Union: About To Bring China To The EUs Borders

It is not the first time an agreement of this type has been proposed by China. Beijing is actively negotiating an FTA with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), while Russia has proposed opening up a mega-free trade area that would include the SCO, EAEU, and ASEAN.

A China-SCO Free Trade Agreement would significantly change the existing global trade flows, according to Chris Devonshire-Ellis of Dezan Shira & Associates. Further, he said, the fact that China is pushing for deals on several fronts across Eurasia show that Beijing is very serious about accomplishing its aims and accessing the commodities across the entire region.

Devonshire-Ellis also commented on how FTAs would help economies in the region complement each other: Such a deal would also be good for India; Chinas middle class need to access inexpensive consumer products, which India is more than capable of manufacturing. Russian agriculture would also receive an economic boom. It should be remembered that China has 20 percent of the global population, but only five percent of its arable land. This is the main driver behind Beijings wanting to access the under-developed Eurasian markets and why such deals will almost certainly go ahead in time.

More broadly, Devonshire-Ellis notes, Global trade flows are changing fast and EU and US companies need to be aware of the emergence of powerful new competition from India and Russia for the China consumer market.



About Us China Briefing is published by Asia Briefing, a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. We produce material for foreign investors throughout Asia, including ASEAN, India, Indonesia, Russia, the Silk Road, and Vietnam. For editorial matters please contact us here, and for a complimentary subscription to our products, please click here. Dezan Shira & Associates is a full service practice in China, providing business intelligence, due diligence, legal, tax, IT, HR, payroll, and advisory services throughout the China and Asian region. For assistance with China business issues or investments into China, please contact us at china@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.

Assisting Foreign Investors into Russia

Dezan Shira & Associates Russian investment brochure offers an overview of the services provided by the firm  both foreign investment into Russia and Russian investment into Asia. It is Dezan Shiras mission to guide investors through Russias complex regulatory environment and assist with all aspects of establishing, maintaining and growing business operations in the region.

An Introduction to Doing Business in India 2017

An Introduction to Doing Business in India 2017 is designed to introduce the fundamentals of investing in India. As such, this comprehensive guide is ideal not only for businesses looking to enter the Indian market, but also for companies who already have a presence here and want to stay up-to-date with the most recent and relevant policy changes.

Dezan Shira & Associates
Apple could face a backlash from Chinese app makers after it issued a new policy defining tips as in-app purchases. The move would have meant Apple could take a 30 per cent cut of any donations made by users of popular Chinese social media apps such as Wechat, reports thepaper.cn.

File photo of Apple's iphone. [Photo/Xinhua]

Tipping is a much more common form of showing satisfaction with an online product in China than in many Western countries. Many content providers give out their products for free, and rely on tips to create revenue.

Last month, Apple demanded that Chinese app makers disable the tipping function. If app makers don't comply, they'll be removed from the App Store.

In its latest guidelines Apple states "Apps may not include buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms other than In-App Purchase."

Tips can still be made through UnionPay or AliPay, which are both supported by Apple, but not via WeChat Pay which is heavily used in China for services such as food delivery services or news feeds.

In response to the new policy, Chinese companies behind popular apps such as Jinri Toutiao, Zhihu and Yingke have all changed the way customers tip through the latest versions of their Apps.

Tencent's WeChat instant messaging platform shut down the tipping function of its apps in the Apple Store in April, after failing to reach an agreement with Apple on the issue.

Chinese app-developers argue that users are simply showing their appreciation by tipping the authors of articles or other content or service providers, but Apple believes tipping is just like buying a song or a piece of video.

Analysts say that by making tipping an "in-app purchase", Apple is aiming to make more money out of Chinese users.

It's also reported that Apple is concerned about WeChat Pay's increasing popularity in China, as its own Apple Pay facility is struggling to attract Chinese customers.
Singapore welcomes Chinese companies to submit bids on the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur High Speed Rail, Singaporean Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan has said.

In a written interview with China Daily, he said Singapore "recognizes China's experience and expertise". The international request for bids, to be conducted in a fair and transparent manner, will be jointly put out by Singapore and Malaysia later this year, he said.

The minister, in an official visit to China from Sunday to Monday, noted that the project aims to improve connectivity among the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Regarding the Belt and Road Initiative, Balakrishnan called Singapore an "early and strong supporter" and said China and Singapore can work together to add value to the initiative.

The two countries can further consider the joint provision of training for officials from the "Belt and Road" countries, and encourage think tanks to conduct joint research on topics related to the "Belt and Road", he said.

Singapore has been China's largest foreign investor as well as China's top trading partner within ASEAN.

"Singapore will continue to support Chinese companies as more venture abroad," he said.

Speaking of bilateral ties, he said Singapore and China share a "close and longstanding friendship", and this partnership "also reflects the long term strength of our bilateral ties and the bright prospects for the future".

While the two countries have their respective national interests, there are no fundamental strategic disagreements, he said.

"We both need regional peace and stability. We both depend on free and open trade," he added.

On China-ASEAN ties, Balakrishnan said ASEAN's strategic partnership with China is "strong, substantive and multifaceted", and both sides need to boost two-way tourist visits and promote people-to-people exchanges.

"We will continue to actively advance ASEAN-China relations in the remaining year of our ASEAN-China coordinatorship, part of which will coincide with Singapore's Chairmanship of ASEAN in 2018," he said.

"We look forward to working closely with our ASEAN colleagues and with China to bring the ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership to greater heights," he added.

On the South China Sea issue, the minister said the South China Sea situation "has been calm and there have been no major disruptions in the past year", and the complicated issue "must be resolved by the claimant states themselves".

Singapore is glad to be able to contribute effectively to the good progress made on the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, signed by China and ASEAN members in 2002, and the consultations on the Code of Conduct thus far, he said.

"I welcome the progress made by our officials in finalizing the framework for the COC in Guiyang last month," he said.
 Flash

Chinese soldiers help to unload a military helicopter from an aerotransport at Khartoum airport on June 11, 2017. China's first helicopter unit on Sunday arrived in Sudanese capital Khartoum to join the United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). (Xinhua/Li Ziheng)

China's first helicopter unit on Sunday arrived in Sudanese capital Khartoum to join the United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

The arriving unit is composed of 12 soldiers out of a 140 strong force to be sent in batches as part of China's participation in the UNAMID.

The team arrived along with two Mi-171 helicopters and other equipment, where two more similar helicopters are to be sent later to make a total of four Mi-171 helicopters.

The helicopter unit is from the 81st Group Army of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), where it will carry out tasks such as air patrol, transport of peacekeeping forces, evacuation of rescued personnel and air supplies.

Guan Aibing, Military Attache at the Chinese Embassy in Khartoum, said to Xinhua that "The Chinese government is concerned with achieving peace in Sudan's Darfur region. This unit will constitute China's contribution to the peacekeeping operations in Sudan."

"Soon these helicopters will be deployed in Darfur region to take part in the peacekeeping operations there," he noted.

China has been actively involved in the UN peacekeeping operations for over 25 years.

There are now 2,622 Chinese peacekeepers putting their lives at risk in restive regions around the world, according to a UN report published in July 2016.

In 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping committed 8,000 troops to the UN peacekeeping standby force, a fifth of the 40,000 total troops committed by 50 nations.
This is an unusual one, and I throw it over to readers for comment. A Papuan correspondent writes (and some of his contentions are incorrect although his broad argument is intriguing):

This matter is a very sensitive one and involves the Australian Government. The story goes like this. The Papua Act of 1905 made Papua the seventh state of Australia, thus the seventh point on the Australian Flag, meaning Papua the land and its people are citizens of Australia.

In 1975, PNG became Independent. Papuans who are citizens of Australia and are supposed to sign two forms to become PNG citizens: [1] renunciation of Australian citizenship; [2] declaration of loyalty to PNG as stated in Section 64 and 65 of PNG Constitution. I never signed any of those two forms to renounce my Australian citizenship. I was born before 1975.

Part of Australian government benefits include free university education for all Australians. I got a degree from UPNG and enrolled for Masters with an Australian university as external student. Completed one unit and took other two on credit. The university did not allow me to continue because I still owe them some money.

My argument is that Australian government should pay my UPNG fees and the MBA fees. I have all the documents with me which i will use to support this case. How to prove I am an Australian: 1. Genealogy. 2. Birth Certificate from the Australian National Achieves. 3. Papua Act 1905. 4. Section 64. 65 PNG Constitution. 5. Australian Migration Act 1948 and 1958. 6. Citizenship Act (Aust) 2007.

Any advice you provide will be highly appreciated.

Over to you.
 Flash

With confusion surrounding a deal to ensure the Conservatives can form a working government, former chancellor George Osborne Sunday strongly slammed British Prime Minister Theresa May over the snap election called by May, which resulted in the loss of the Conservative's majority in parliament.

Osborne was fired by May soon after she replaced David Cameron at 10 Downing Street a year ago.

In an interview Sunday, Osborne, who has now quit politics altogether after a short spell as a back bench MP, predicted May would leave Downing Street.

Osborne, now editor of the London Evening Standard newspaper, said May's days in Downing Street are numbered.

The snap general election called by May in the hope of securing a bigger majority in the House of Commons, instead saw the Conservatives emerging with insufficient seats to form a majority government.

Party managers turned to their allies in Northern Ireland, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), who made two gains in Thursday's election to give them 10 seats at Westminster.

May announced the Conservatives and the DUP had worked out a working arrangement that would be enough to buoy her government, by giving May a narrow working majority of just two with her own 318 MPs plus the 10 DUP politicians.

The Sunday Telegraph reported that May's grip on power appears far from secure despite the potential deal with the DUP to support her in parliament.

May, meanwhile has the task of shoring up her position after losing her majority in an election described by some commentators as a political car crash.

In other developments Sunday, the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson issued a statement dismissing reports he was being encouraged to challenge May for her job.

Johnson had been a favorite to win the keys to Number 10 after Cameron quit, but he pulled out of the race.

A second big test for May will come early this week when she meets her backbench MPs at the House of Commons.

Defense Secretary Sir Michael Fallon has sought to clarify a potential deal with the DUP saying the arrangement would only apply to big issues such as the economy and security.

Critics of a deal have hit out at the DUP policies on things such as abortion laws and gay marriages, but in a media interview Fallon said: "It doesn't mean we now agree with all their views," he said.

In an interview Sunday, Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour Party announced moves that could see him moving into Downing Street as the new prime minister.

He plans to urge all of the other parties in the Commons to join Labour to defeat the measures the Conservatives will unveil in their Queen's speech at the state opening of parliament in a week's time.

"We are ready and able to put forward a serious program which has great support in this country," said Corbyn.

Corbyn was given a major boost Sunday when a new poll by Survation gave Labour a five-point lead over the Conservatives following what has been universally described as a disastrous general election for May. When the snap election was called, polls put Labour more than 20 points behind May's Conservatives.
 Flash

U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer on Sunday invited President Donald Trump to testify before the Senate about his interactions with former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) James Comey.

"I'd like to invite the president to testify before the Senate. I think we could work out a way that it could be dignified, public with questions with (Senate Republican) Leader (Mitch) McConnell," Schumer told CBS News's "Face the Nation."

Schumer said Trump could "clear up that cloud" surrounding his presidency by testifying or publicly releasing tapes he alluded to recording his interactions with Comey.

"If there are tapes, he alluded to the fact that there are tapes, maybe as a threat or taunting Comey. He should make them public right away. If there aren't tapes, he should let that be known. No more game playing," Schumer argued.

"And of course, he said he would testify. So I' m inviting him to come testify, and we could work that out," Schumer said, adding they would also consult with Robert Mueller, the special counsel to oversee the probe into the Trump campaign's relations with Russia, before the hearing.

At a press conference on Friday, Trump denied Comey's account that he asked Comey to pledge allegiance or he asked the then FBI director to drop the investigation into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.

"Some of the things he said just weren't true," Trump said, adding he is "100 percent" willing to "speak under oath" to give his version of those events.

The Trump administration fired Comey in early May, citing his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation during the 2016 U.S. presidential elections. But Comey believed that he was fired because of his investigation into Russia's ties to the Trump campaign.

"I was fired in some way to change, or the endeavor was to change, the way the Russia investigation was being conducted," Comey said Thursday at a Senate hearing.
 Flash

Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, widely known as Farmajo, said Sunday he authorized Special Forces who destroyed Al-Shabaab's main military training base in Middle Jubba in southern Somalia.

Farmajo described the raid which took place on Sunday near Sakow as "successful strike" and destroyed a key Al-Shabaab command and supply hub.

"I authorized our special forces with the support of our international partners to conduct a strike against an Al-Shabaab training camp near Sakow, Middle Juba region. This will ultimately disrupt the enemy's ability to conduct new attacks within Somalia," he said in a statement issued in Mogadishu.

The Somali leader said when he took office that security will be top priority for his administration, noting that the Sunday strike will enhance security and reduce the threats of Al-Shabaab.

"We have long suffered at the hands of Al-Shabaab which is supported by global terror networks. We and our international partners will take every possible precaution to protect our civilian population from harm during these operations while targeting terrorists," he said.

He said the militants have been responsible for the deaths of Somalis, adding that he has personally met the families and the victims of several Al-Shabaab attacks.

"For those who have suffered under Al-Shabaab, and for the rest of Somalia, I want you to know that we are committed to defeating Al-Shabaab and uniting our people," Farmajo stressed.

Local residents had earlier said military jets carried out an overnight airstrike in Southern Somalia, targeting the militants' bases.

The residents said the airstrikes are believed to have resulted in death, injuries and destruction of properties.

President Farmajo in April declared war against the extremists, offering amnesty to militants who surrendered within 60 days and warning the rest would "face the consequences"

The attacks have become a regular and bloody feature of daily life in the capital since the Al-Qaeda-aligned Al-Shabaab were forced out of Mogadishu by African Union troops in 2011.

"To the members of Al-Shabaab, I tell you that we are bringing the fight to you. If you, however take advantage of my amnesty offer and denounce violence, we will integrate you into our reform program,' Farmajo said.

"You have no future with the terrorists, but you can still be a part of Somalia's future; a peaceful and prosperous future." he said.
You are here: Home

 Flash

Three men believed to be involved into Champs-Elysees shooting, in which a police was killed, were put under formal investigation, state-run France info radio reported Sunday.

The three suspects, aged between 25 and 27 years, appeared before anti-terrorism magistrates on Friday and Saturday evening. They were placed under formal investigation on apparent links with Karim Cheurfi who had opened fire on a police vehicle parked in the famous Champs-Elysees avenue in April.

Investigators suspect the men had helped the shooter to acquire the Kalashnikov, an assault rifle, with which he killed a police officer and wounded two others, in exchange for a motorcycle.

A fourth accomplice was indicted in May after his DNA had been found on Cheurfi's rifle.

The Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility of the attack.
 Flash

Israel has approved this year the largest number of new homes in West Bank settlements since 1992, a top Israeli minister said Sunday, in defiance of requests by the United States.

Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman revealed these figures at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting, as he commented on the massive pressures exerted by leaders of the settlement movement to lift all restrictions on the expansion of the settlements.

Lieberman said that plans for 8,345 new housing units were approved since Jan. 1. Some 3,066 of these homes received a final approval allowing their construction to begin.

He noted that last week alone, 3,651 new housing units were approved.

"The numbers for the first half of 2017 are the highest since 1992," he said. "What we've approved is the maximum that can be approved," he added, claiming that further permits would "stretch the rope beyond its limit, and thus put the entire settlement enterprise at risk."

The numbers resemble data released on Thursday by Peace Now, an Israeli human rights group that monitors the settlements.

According to the group's research, plans for 7,721 housing units were advanced since the beginning of 2017, nearly three times more their number in all 2016. While the majority of these permits refer to preexisting plans, they include construction plans from the first official settlement that is expected to build in 25 years, Peace Now said.

Lieberman's statement comes about four months after Trump asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "hold back on settlements for a little bit" to give a chance for the White House's efforts to broker a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.

During his first official visit to the region last month, Trump held separate meetings with Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, vowing to bring "the ultimate deal." However, his visit was concluded without apparent immediate results.

The last round of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians collapsed in 2014, mainly over the expansion of the settlements.

Israel occupied the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East war and has since been controlling them despite wide condemnation.

The settlements are illegal under international law and are seen as a major obstacle to peace sought by the Palestinians and the international community.
 Flash

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Sunday to "dismantle" UNRWA after the aid agency found a Hamas tunnel under two of its schools in Gaza.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said on Friday that a tunnel was discovered under two schools in the al-Maghazi refugee camp near the city of Dir al-Balah.

On Sunday, Netanyahu, speaking at the start of his weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, blamed Hamas for "using schoolchildren as a human shield."

He said that during his meeting with the United State Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley in Jerusalem last Wednesday, he told her that "it's time to dismantle UNRWA."

The tunnel was discovered during construction work, and UNRWA plans to seal it soon, the agency said in a statement.

UNRWA condemned the tunnel "in the strongest possible terms" and held Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement that controls Gaza, accountable for its construction.

"It is unacceptable that students and staff are placed at risk in such a way," the statement read. "The sanctity and neutrality of UN premises must be preserved at all times," it added.

The Palestinian enclave has been under a blockade, imposed by Israel and Egypt, since 2007. Since then, numerous underground tunnels have been reportedly used to smuggle anything, from food to people and weapons, in and out of Gaza.

Israel said it discovered several "terror tunnels" that Hamas has planned to use to attack communities near the fence between the Strip and Israel.

In 2014, Israel's offensive in Gaza claimed the lives of at least 2,125 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and 71 Israelis, mostly soldiers. Since then, sporadic hostilities continue but without escalating to a full-blown war.
 Flash

Saudi Arabia has denied barring Qatari national from entering Muslim's holy city Mecca after last week decision to sever ties with Qatar, Al Arabiya local news reported on Sunday.

It confirmed that 206 people coming from Qatar were allowed to cross the Salwa border last Friday so that they could perform Umrah pilgrimage in Mecca.

The Saudi authority that supervises the affairs of the two grand mosques in Mecca and Medina confirmed in a statement that it provides services for pilgrims from all countries of the world, including Qatar, describing circulated news in social media as baseless accusations.

According to Al Arabiya, several media outlets reported on Sunday that Qataris were denied access into Mecca and the two grand mosques, which Saudi Arabia has denied.

On the same day that four Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia, severed economic and diplomatic ties with Qatar, Saudi officials declared that it would provide all facilities and services needed by Qatari pilgrims currently in the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia and other countries cut ties with Qatar for allegations that the later is supporting terrorist groups and interfering in the internal affairs of countries.
 Flash

British Prime Minister Theresa May chaired her first meeting of ministers since last week's general election at 10 Downing Street Monday.

The wheels of government had been scheduled to start turning Tuesday, but May moved things forward 24 hours following the shock outcome in the election which saw her lose the majority she had held.

May's new-look cabinet is virtually unchanged, with her main ministers all keeping their jobs.

One headline-grabbing change was her appointment of one-time foe, Michael Gove as the environment secretary.

Political commentators speculated his return to front-line politics was to help protect May from a challenge for her job.

Gove, who previously was education secretary in David Cameron's cabinet, was a strong campaigner for Brexit in last year's EU referendum.

On the agenda at the cabinet meeting is the proposed confidence and support deal May has put forward with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

The 10 DUP members of parliament would give May the working majority she needs in the House of Commons.

The leader of the DUP, Arlene Foster, is due at Downing Street Tuesday for a meeting with May.

Before that, May is to meet her own backbench MPs in a private showdown meeting Monday evening (at 5 p.m. local time) to discuss the party's performance in the election, and also the working arrangement with the DUP.

She needs the support of both her cabinet and her back benches to the DUP deal ahead of the state opening of parliament next Monday by Queen Elizabeth.

The Queen's Speech will outline the proposals the government aims for in the new session of parliament.

The main opposition leader, Labour's Jeremy Corbyn, has already indicated his party will oppose the Queen's Speech in a move that could see him emerge as prime minister.

Still unclear is the approach May and her Brexit team will take towards negotiations due to start next week to determine Britain's future relationship with the remaining 27 member states of the EU.

May has previously said no deal with European would be better than a bad deal, paving the way for a hard Brexit.

The results of last Thursday's general election have changed the political landscape, with commentators saying May and her main Brexit secretary David Davis may have to soften their approach to Brexit.

The tabloid Sun newspaper Monday calculated that the new-look House of Commons is made up of 342 MPs likely to support a softer Brexit deal, compared to 297 who would back a hard Brexit.
 Flash

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Monday reiterated the need to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula during a meeting with the visiting special envoy of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Toshihiro Nikai, secretary-general of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, met with Moon in the presidential Blue House in Seoul as Abe's special envoy. He carried a letter from Abe, according to the Blue House.

It was the reciprocal visit of Moon's dispatch of his special envoy to Japan following his inauguration on May 10.

During the meeting, Moon said the denuclearization of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will be mandatory for peace in the world and Northeast Asia as well as for South Korea's survival.

From that perspective, Moon said, South Korea and Japan were on the same page. Moon shared Abe's view that stronger sanctions and pressures would be needed to completely denuclearize the peninsula.

Moon, however, noted that it would not end up with pressures and sanctions as the DPRK should be brought to a dialogue table for the denuclearization, saying it would be necessary to send a message that relevant parties will help if Pyongyang gives up its nuclear program.

The South Korean leader vowed to closely cooperate with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts in dealing with the DPRK's nuclear ambition.

Touching on the South Korea-Japan relations, Moon said the bilateral agreement on the wartime sexual slavery victims, called comfort women, was not acceptable to South Korean people, especially the victims themselves.

Seoul and Tokyo, Moon said, should squarely face that point and recognize that it takes time to solve the issue.

The final and irreversible agreement on the comfort women was reached in December 2015 under the Park Geun-hye government despite strong opposition from both conservative and liberal South Koreans.
Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan's visit to China has been another precious step forward in the two countries' joint endeavors to repair their ties that have been bruised by a number of unpleasant episodes concerning the South China Sea.

On Monday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Singaporean counterpart put forward details on the implementation of the inter-governmental memorandum of understanding which the two countries agreed at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing in May, expressing the two sides' joint intention to build platforms for interconnectivity, financial cooperation and third-party collaboration.

Although an MOU is more akin to a gentlemen's agreement due to the absence of any legal commitment, that in no way diminishes the political significance of the China-Singapore MOU, which underscores the resilience of their ties.

Singapore has long had an important place in contemporary Chinese diplomacy. Yet some of Singapore's recent diplomatic moves seem to have sent misleading signals. That the two governments have again showcased their convergence of will sends a powerful message countering speculation that outsider intervention might have come between them.

Singapore does have legitimate interests that differ from, even at times contradict, China's. But that does not mean it has any reason to help others hurt China's core interests. Only when they approach their differences from a constructive perspective and are sensitive to each other's core concerns will China and Singapore be able to cooperate effectively.

The historical China-Singapore rapport was built on a solid basis of mutual understanding; yet the recent glitches in ties have displayed Singapore's misinterpretations of China's intentions. Things will certainly look uglier than they actually are through the prism of geopolitical rivalry. And will inevitably be so if handled as such.

While many of China's development programs, including the Belt and Road Initiative, can advance with or without Singapore's participation, whether they can work together to promote a peaceful, prosperous neighborhood does matter.

Singapore's constructive potential in regional affairs and relations between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which it will have the presidency next year, is underlined by the recent agreement between China and ASEAN to enhance their partnership and negotiations on the Code of Conduct for the South China Sea.

By working at odds with each other, they would only hinder efforts to promote peace and stability in the region; by working together, they can do wonderful things, as their past relations show.
President Xi Jinping's state visit to Kazakhstan encouraged Chinese startup companies to invest in the countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, a Chinese entrepreneur said.

As tourists from around the world awaited on Friday night the opening of Astana Expo 2017, with the theme of Energy of the Future, they found the yellow bicycles from China in the streets of Kazakhstan's capital city.

Shan Shan, a Chinese student at Nazarbayev University, said he was a user of Ofo bikes when he studied in China, and used a bicycle for the last kilometer of his way to class when coming out of the subway.

The yellow Ofo shared bike has been a hit in China in the past year, and it is convenient for those who want to find an environmentally friendly way to reach a short-distance destination.

Everyone is able to ride a bike by simply unlocking it through its mobile app. Riders don't need to find a dock to park and are able to find an available bicycle when needed.

"Astana is a beautiful city, but I meet problems when I need to go for a short distance," he said.

"I will definitely invite my Kazakh classmates to the Expo to experience the convenience of shared bikes from China for short-distance travel."

After signing a cooperation agreement with the Kazakh government, Ofo bikes will be demonstrated at the Astana expo.

Dai Wei, co-founder and chief executive of Beijing Bikelock Technology Co, which owns the Ofo bike operation, said the Belt and Road Initiative, which was launched by Xi in 2013 in Astana, inspired the company to explore the Central Asian nation's market.

"President Xi's visit to the country will enhance the bilateral relations, especially economic relations, and more Chinese companies besides Ofo bike will examine the Central Asian country," Dai said.

He said the Chinese government has encouraged and provided support to Chinese entrepreneurs to develop their own business with innovation and creative ideas since 2014, and the Belt and Road Initiative offers the opportunity for them to introduce Chinese business models to overseas markets.

Some of the expected 1,000 yellow bikes have been placed near expo hotels and along some main streets leading to the expo in Astana. Later, bikes will be placed at the expo site and the Expo Village.

Meanwhile, a Russian-language version of the Ofo app will be available for local Kazakhs and the tremendous number of Russian tourists.
BEIJING - Expanded economic cooperation among members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will benefit the region, according to remarks made at the organization's yearly summit.

Speaking at the annual summit of the SCO in Astana, Kazakhstan, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for deepening practical cooperation, as regional integration and economic globalization are the trends of the time, and it is important for them to bring benefits to all countries and peoples.

To mobilize more resources and driving force for practical cooperation under the SCO framework, China supports the establishment of a mechanism for sub-national cooperation and has vigorously promoted SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) cooperation by its initiatives of economic think-tanks alliance and e-commerce alliance of the SCO, Xi said.

Bilateral trade relations have grown closer between China and other SCO member countries, as trade facilitation has improved, with China becoming the largest trading partner of Russia and Kyrgyzstan.

Meanwhile, mutual investment has grown steadily, with China's non-financial direct investment in other SCO members as of April 2017 amounting to $74.2 billion and investment in the opposite direction totaling $1.09 billion, according to Zhong Shan, minister of commerce.

Zhong highlighted achievements in establishing economic and trade cooperation zones, noting that China has built a total of 21 such cooperation zones within other SCO countries, helping to expand local employment and increase tax revenue.

The potential for deeper and more expansive SCO economic cooperation remains huge as regional cooperation starts to expand from project development to synergy in economic strategy, especially over the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative.

Belt and Road cooperation is aimed at building an infrastructure and trade network to improve the interconnectivity of Asia, Africa and Europe along and beyond the ancient Silk Road trade routes.

China and other parties are exploring ways to coordinate the Belt and Road Initiative with regional cooperation initiatives such as the Eurasian Economic Union and national development strategies, including Kazakhstan's "Nurly Zhol" strategy.

The inclusion of India and Pakistan in the SCO expanded room for development of the Belt and Road Initiative in the region, whose GDP volume accounts for about one fifth of the global total.

In addition to enhanced transport connectivity, an SCO trade facilitation agreement will be an ideal first step to deepen regional economic cooperation.

The SCO will see its total GDP increase by $98.8 billion if member countries exempt import tax, according to a report released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Exports would increase $20 billion while imports would grow $19.8 billion in the region if member countries cut customs clearance time by 25 percent, benefiting all member countries, especially Central Asian nations and Pakistan, the report added.

Last month, the Ministry of Commerce and more than 80 international organizations and government agencies from other countries jointly launched the Initiative on Promoting Unimpeded Trade Cooperation along the Belt and Road during the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing.

"We are willing to work with other SCO countries to implement the initiative to expand regional trade and investment, facilitate market integration and benefit local people," Zhong added.
Local children swim and play in Cuihu Lake in Pujiang county, the target of Zhejiang province's "Water Movement" launched in June 2013. [Photo/China Daily]

Crackdown on pollution puts sparkle back into Pujiang's local economy

Zhou Chengle, 62, relaxes outside his whitewashed three-story home in Jinhua, East China's Zhejiang province, and watches the local children paddling in the shallows of a sun-drenched Cuihu Lake.

Just four years ago, if he had seen someone swimming in the lake, the local landlord probably would have called for an ambulance.

"Before 2013, Cuihu Lake had all kinds of waste floating on the surface. Bad smells used to come up from the lake," he recalled.

The lake then was a sickly shade of milky-white, poisoned by tons of untreated waste dumped into it by 1,400 crystal glass workshops huddled around its banks.

Cuihu's transformation from cesspit to picturesque bathing spot was the result of a huge anti-pollution campaign launched by Zhejiang province in 2013, an initiative that has had far-reaching effects on not only the region's waterways but its economy and society.

Black crystal

Cuihu and its surrounding area, Pujiang county, was the first place targeted by Zhejiang's "Water Movement" launched in June 2013.

In Pujiang, 22,000 local companies churned out 85 percent of the world's hot fix crystal glassware.

The crystal industry had brought huge wealth to the county, with Pujiang's urban residents' per capita annual disposable income trebling from 9,542 yuan ($1,392) in 2003 to 30,711 yuan a decade later. Zhou had benefitted from the industry himself, renting out his downstairs flat to be used as a crystal workshop.

But cutthroat competition and lax regulation in the industry had also unleashed devastating pollution. By 2013, Pujiang was the most polluted county in China, according to China Global Television Network. More than 500 of its water sources were milk-white like Cuihu, while another 25 had turned black.

The county government had attempted to crack down on polluters in 2006 and 2011, but quickly aborted both campaigns for fear of damaging the industry, which then accounted for over 11 percent of the county's GDP and provided employment to more than 200,000 people.

With fear spreading that Pujiang's toxic waterways could create a public health emergency in the county and downstream Hangzhou, home to 9 million people, Zhejiang decided to take radical action to clean up China's "crystal capital".

Cleaning up

Policymakers in Zhejiang faced a seemingly intractable dilemma as the Water Movement got underway: How could they fix Pujiang's environmental problems without triggering an economic slump in the county?

It was eventually decided that they could only square this circle by dramatically consolidating the entire crystal industry, shutting down Pujiang's thousands of outdated, difficult-to-regulate workshops and promoting modern, large-scale production.

"The transformation and upgrading of the industrial structure is essential to solving the water problem," said Huang Hai, deputy director of Pujiang's environmental protection bureau.

The government launched a huge campaign to shut down workshops operating without a business license, enlisting every government department and the public to root out any violators. Often, they inspected workshops at midnight to catch clandestine polluters red-handed.

But, crucially, the government also invested 5.5 billion yuan to build the Pujiang Crystal Business Park, which opened in August 2015.

The region's remaining crystal companies were given the choice of moving to the new park or investing in their own sewage treatment systems, according to Huang.

More than 21,000 of Pujiang's crystal companies shut down as a result of these measures. Of the 614 producers that survived the crackdown, 526 are now based in the park.

Benefits abound

The Crystal Park has helped Pujiang's crystal industry remain competitive. Its centralized waste treatment system allows companies to share the costs, while the generous subsidies it provides help boost tenants' profits further.

Automating production also plays a key role in cost-cutting. "I used to employ 100 workers before moving to the Crystal Park, but now I only need ten," says Luo Yintian, owner of Luoxiao Crystal.

Pujiang's crystal industry has not only survived the anti-pollution campaign but grown significantly. Its output value in 2016 was more than 9 billion yuan, up from 6 billion yuan in 2013.

This wealth is also trickling down to the wider economy. Per capita disposable income rose another 20 percent in Pujiang between 2013 and 2016, according to Zhejiang Online.

Workers who lost their jobs have either moved back to their home provinces or been paid compensation, according to the county government, with many using the money to set up agribusinesses growing grapes and Chinese toon.

Pujiang's cleaner environment is also helping new businesses sprout up. Xinguang village, which once choked on the fumes of 300 crystal workshops, is now a tourist spot housing trendy bars, cafes and boutiques.

In Cuihu, Zhou has also prospered from the water campaign. His new tenants have converted the old workshop into a restaurant, and pay him 5,000 yuan more a year in rent. He's now retired and spends his evenings strolling around the lake with his granddaughter.

"There are many people walking beside the lake in the evenings these days," he said with a smile.

Qin Jirong and Feng Chonglin contributed to the story.

Related story: Initiative that transformed Zhejiang

Zhejiang initiated the Water Movement campaign at the end of 2013.

It aims to tackle five issues: water pollution, flood control, drainage in waterlogged areas, water supply and water conservation.

Zhejiang has invested nearly $41 billion in projects related to the water campaign over the past three years: $12.3 billion in 2014, $16 billion in 2015, and $12.5 billion in 2016.

The province has appointed 60,000 "river chiefs", usually local government officials, who are responsible for the water quality in their local area.

By 2015, Zhejiang had cleaned up 6,500 kilometers of "garbage" rivers and 5,100 kilometers of "black and smelly" waterways.

And $5.5 billion has been invested in 177 major flood control projects over the last three years.

It strictly controls water usage, with the goal being that annual water consumption would not rise above 24.5 billion cubic meters in 2020.

By 2020, all water problems in Zhejiang are expected to be solved.
BEIJING - The top banking regulator has called on all financial institutions to improve inclusive financing to encourage lending to money-starved small and micro firms, the agricultural sector and poverty relief work.

Banks and financial institutions should continue with financial system reform, and large lenders should set up inclusive finance divisions by the end of this year, according to Guo Shuqing, chairman of China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC).

Noting progress in inclusive financial service improvement over the past years, Guo said during an inspection to the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China that there were still issues such as lengthy decision-making process and lack of financial products and management techniques.

The CSRC chief encouraged financial institutions to delegate the right of loan approval to lower levels as long as financial risks are under control.

To reduce financial burden on farmers, Guo said the lending rates of poverty-relief loans should be kept at an appropriate level, which, in principle, should not be raised from the current level.

Lenders should also make full use of the government's preferential policies and support startups and innovation with IT technologies such as big data and cloud computing, he said.

China has been encouraging inclusive financial services to improve weak links in the economy.

A State Council meeting last month has allowed banks to tolerate a reasonably higher non-performing loan ratio for small and micro enterprises, agriculture and poverty alleviation. Monetary and credit policy incentives will be offered to banks that increase such lending.

By the end of first quarter, outstanding loans to small firms stood at 27.8 trillion yuan ($4.09 trillion), up 14.4 percent from a year ago, while agriculture related loans was 29.2 trillion yuan, up 8.9 percent.
BEIJING - When LanzaTech, a company that turns industrial waste gas into fuel and chemical products, tried to bring its technology to the market, it sought partnerships in the United States, but to no avail.

It was in China that the bioenergy start-up found some of its first industrial backers. Baosteel Group and Shougang Group, two major steelmakers, established joint ventures with LanzaTech, laying the foundation for the company's commercialization.

Since then, global partners joined in, raising more funds for the firm while helping it win global awards in clean energy.

Without the early involvement of the two Chinese steel giants, there stood little chance for the technology to become commercialized, according to Andrew Chung, former general partner at Khosla Ventures, an early investor in LanzaTech.

China's enthusiasm for clean energy is pushing the global transition toward a low-carbon future. With public and private investment and commitment to collaboration, China is playing an increasingly important role in global clean tech innovation.

Over the past few years, China saw more investment and installation in renewable energy than any other country, according to a report by the World Bank.

Solar and wind capacity have been growing rapidly, as the country tries to shift from coal-based energy consumption to a model more reliant on clean energy.

"The development of clean energy technology in China has been remarkable in the past years," Adnan Z. Amin, Director-General of International Renewable Energy Agency, told Xinhua on the sidelines of a clean energy meeting held in Beijing last week.

"This has also had a global benefit, because this scale of investment in technology, production and manufacturing has led to dramatic decreases in prices," he said.

China plans to invest 2.5 trillion yuan ($368 billion) into renewable energy projects during the 2016-2020 period, creating more than 13 million jobs in the sector, according to the National Energy Administration.

With the official pledge, the private sector has smelled opportunity. Electric carmakers in China such as BYD have received a boost in sales, rivaling international competitors including Tesla and Nissan.

In 2016, China was by far the largest electric car market, accounting for more than 40 percent of electric cars sold worldwide and more than double the amount sold in the United States, according to a report by the International Energy Agency.

While betting big on domestic clean tech innovation, China is also actively seeking global expertise in the field while sharing its wisdom with the world.

During a meeting with US Energy Secretary Rick Perry in Beijing, Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli said he hopes the two countries can strengthen cooperation in the areas of fossil fuels and renewable energy so as to jointly push forward the transition to clean energy and contribute to the sustainable development of global energy.

California Governor Jerry Brown also expressed his interest in collaborating with Chinese officials and businesses during his visit last week, saying that Chinese expertise in fields including battery technology and zero-emission cars could help California with its own clean energy push.

The Belt and Road Initiative, proposed by China in 2013, will further boost global clean energy cooperation, creating an interconnected energy system worldwide, said Amin.

"China is important not only from the climate perspective. China is important in the perspective of how energy transition may happen in the future worldwide," Amin said.
German tech company Continental will open a research facility in Southwest China's Chongqing in 2018 to meet carmakers' rising demands in the western part of the country.

The 280 million yuan ($41.21 million) research and development center, which began construction with a groundbreaking ceremony on June 8, will mainly focus on electrical, mechanical engineering, software development as well as test capabilities for automotive electronics and new energy vehicles.

"The automotive industry has been developing rapidly in Western China. Chongqing is the most important automotive city in this region, and the Chongqing R&D center will help us forge even closer links with our customers," said Enno Tang, president and CEO of Continental China.

The research facility's phase one project, covering 15,000 square meters, is scheduled to be finished by the end of 2018.

Continental said the center is expected to hire 400 engineers by 2020 and 1,000 by 2025.

Founded in 1871, the technology company offers solutions for vehicles, machines, traffic and transport. Continental generated sales of 40.5 billion euros ($45.4 billion) in 2016 and currently employs more than 227,000 people in 56 countries.

Continental's Corporate Technology Officer Kurt Lehmann said the company is focused on developing and shaping the environment of future mobility by increasing its R&D expenses, which grew to more than 2.8 billion euros in 2016.

"We are expanding our worldwide network of research and development centers, in which China definitely is one of the most important parts," said Lehmann.

Since starting to do business in China in 1994, Continental has built 27 production locations and 17 R&D centers in China, serving major carmakers across all vehicle segments in the country.

The company also develops and produces materials, functional parts, components and systems for railway, machinery, mining and other industries.
PHNOM PENH - Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said Monday that the Belt and Road Initiative would significantly contribute to the development of tourism in all participating countries, including Cambodia.



"Cambodia fully supports the Belt and Road Initiative because it is a win-win policy for all," he said during the opening ceremony of the 2nd Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) Tourism Ministers Meeting in northwestern Siem Reap province.



"We are confident that this excellent policy will help boost the development of tourism in countries along the Silk Road, including in ACD member states and in Cambodia," he said.



The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, known as the Belt and Road Initiative, was proposed by China in 2013 with the aim of building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes.



To back the initiative, China has established the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Silk Road Fund.

Tourism is one of the four pillars supporting the Cambodian economy, generating a gross revenue of $3.4 billion in 2016 and accounting for 13 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).



Cambodia attracted 5 million international tourists in 2016, the Cambodian prime minister said, predicting that the number would rise to 5.4 million in 2017 and up to 7 million in 2020.



Hun Sen said the country's peace and political stability were the prerequisites for the attraction of foreign tourists.

The Southeast Asian nation is famous for its 12th century Angkor Archeological Park in Siem Reap province. Besides, it has a 450-km pristine coastline stretching across four provinces in the country's southwestern part.
Welding robots work at a production line of JAC Motors in Hefei, Anhui province. [Photo/China Daily]

Borrowing from Germany's Industry 4.0 strategy, manufacturing is getting smart

Chinese auto manufacturers are expected to build smart plants in the near future, though they remain one generation behind the world's leading carmakers in deploying Industry 4.0 technology.

Domestic brands are evolving in step with the application of electronics and information technology in automated production processes, or Industry 3.0, while Chinese government bodies are investing in the necessary infrastructure to catch up with the trend of data transfer in manufacturing technologies, according to insiders at the Global Automotive Forum in Chongqing.

Introduced in 2011 by the German government's working group, Industry 4.0 will see industrial production machinery no longer simply "process" products, but communicate with the products and each other to "understand" exactly what to do.

Deloitte Consulting (Shanghai) Co's automotive industry leader Marco Hecker said he believes local companies will have steeper learning curves, as he has witnessed many Industry 4.0 pilot projects in the country.

"Chinese carmakers are going to complete the deployment process of Industry 4.0 in less than two years, while their German counterparts took five years," Hecker said in an interview on Thursday on the sideline of the forum.

He said: "The Chinese government is helping the industry to grow through infrastructure. Many government departments have united together for quick decisions and faster action on essential investments.

"Industry 4.0 connects embedded system production technologies and smart production processes to pave the way to a new technological age which will radically transform industry and production value chains and business models," according to Germany Trade and Invest.

Deloitte Consulting wrote in a research report that Industry 4.0 represents an integration of the internet of things and relevant physical technologies that complete the physical-to-digital-to-physical cycle.

If printing out all the data generated by a single simple part in very small font on A4 paper, the results would be as thick as the width of an adult's palm, according to a staff member at Volkswagen Automatic Transmission Tianjin.

The internet of things and new information technologies have been included in the nation's Made-in-China 2025 strategy issued in 2015, and the country is promoting the pilot applications of IoT and the integration of Internet Plus into the manufacturing sector.

Guo Gang, dean of the faculty of automotive engineering school at Chongqing University, saw the hurdle for the local sectors' leap toward smart production as described in Industry 4.0 literature.

He said: "A smart plant is a huge and complicated system that involves many technologies in a very complicated way. The auto manufacturing industry won't accomplish it in one stroke."

Guo said that a carmaker must find its specific starting point and application plan from that of the German automakers, as their current standing is behind that of their German counterparts.

"Chinese carmakers at this moment do not possess a thorough understanding of the IoT, or wireless communication technologies, and vice-versa. Those IoT people don't understand auto manufacturing," Guo continued.

Xu Daquan, Bosch (China) Investment's executive vice-president, shares a similar view on local car manufacturers, saying that they are working on Industry 3.0, as the majority of them are still "staying at a position between Industry 2.3 and 2.8".

"They are digitizing their plant through software and making progress in reducing the human resources involved in the production process," he said.

"It's a step-by-step process to digitize the entire product and connect the entire process to realize the idea of Industry 4.0."

He also believes it's possible for the domestic industry to overtake other countries, as Chinese carmakers may jump to Industry 4.0 on their way to 3.0.

"The great leapfrog requires the government's promotion and the industry's joint efforts," Xu added.

Both Xu at Bosch China and Guo at Chongqing University agreed that people are the core of the deployment of Industry 4.0.

Xu believes Chinese automakers are in need of a group of determined and ambitious experts to develop advanced concepts, advancing the companies and the entire sector for the next five to 10 years.

"People are the designers, managers and optimizers of Industry 4.0," said Xu.

Guo saw many universities cultivating students without forward-looking ideas, so graduates seldom fit into the smart production.

He said: "automotive professionals' education requires crossover with other majors, including propulsion, automation, software, human machine interfaces and photoelectricity.

"Further education, like monthslong training sessions, are also necessary for the management levels to broaden their knowledge on new technologies."
Toyota Motor tests a self-driving car in Tokyo. [Photo provided to China Daily]

DETROITBig automakers are rushing to launch self-driving cars as early as 2021, but the industry's major players are moving slowly when it comes to widespread deployment of a less expensive crash prevention technology that regulators say could prevent thousands of deaths and injuries every year.

Nissan Motor said on Thursday it would make automatic braking systems standard on an estimated 1 million 2018 model cars and light trucks sold in the United States, including high-volume models such as the Rogue and Rogue Sport compact SUVs, the Altima sedan, Murano and Pathfinder SUVs, LEAF electric car, Maxima sedan and Sentra small car.

Nissan sold about 1.6 million vehicles in the US last year.

Rival Toyota Motor Corp has said it will make so-called automatic emergency braking standard on nearly all its US models by the end of this year.

Overall, however, most automakers are not rushing to make automatic brake systems part of the base cost of mainstream vehicles sold in the competitive US market. The industry has come under pressure from regulators, lawmakers and safety advocates to adopt the technology, which can slow or stop a vehicle even if the driver fails to act.

So far, only about 17 percent of models tested by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety offered standard collision-avoiding braking, according to data supplied by the auto safety research group backed by the insurance industry. Many of the models with standard collision-avoiding brake systems are luxury vehicles made by European or Japanese manufacturers.

The systems require more sensors and software than conventional brakes, and automakers said they need time to engineer the systems into vehicles as part of more comprehensive makeovers.

Last year, 20 automakers reached a voluntary agreement with US auto safety regulators to make collision-avoiding braking systems standard equipment by 2022.

Safety advocates have petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to begin a regulatory process to require the technologies, but the agency has said the voluntary agreement will result in faster deployment than a formal rule-making process. NHTSA says the technology could eliminate one-fifth of crashes.

"Do the math. That's 5 million crashes every year20 percent reduction means 1 million less. Those are big numbers," Mark Rosekind, the NHTSA's then-administrator, told Reuters last year.

But customers would likely experience the benefits of the technology infrequently. The technology to enable a car to drive itself is far more costly, but industry executives foresee autonomous vehicles driving revenue-generating transportation services that could be attractive to investors.

General Motors Co offers automatic braking as optional equipment on about two-thirds of its models. The company did not say on Thursday how many vehicles have the technology as standard equipment. GM has not made public its plans to make the technology standard across its lineup.

"Any time you have a voluntary agreement you have a spectrum of implementation," Jeff Boyer, GM's vice-president for safety, told Reuters last week. Asked when GM would roll out standard automatic braking, Boyer said "let's just say we honor the voluntary commitment".

Ford Motor "has a plan to standardize over time", the company said in a statement on Thursday. Currently, automatic braking systems are optional on several 2017 Ford and Lincoln models, and will be offered on certain 2018 models including the best-selling F-150 pickup truck.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles offers automatic braking as optional equipment in nine model lines, using cameras and radar to detect hazards ahead. The company has said it will meet the 2022 target for making the systems standard.

As 2018 models roll out during the second half of this year, more vehicles will offer automatic braking, said Dean McConnell, an executive with Continental's North American business. Continental's automatic braking technology systems will be on certain Nissan models.

"We see it accelerating," he said. "It varies. There are some (automakers) that are being aggressive" and others that are waiting.

Nissan did not disclose how much prices for vehicles would rise to offset the cost of standard automatic emergency braking. The 2018 models will be launched later this year. Currently, Nissan, like most carmakers, offers automatic braking as part of a bundle of optional safety and technology features.

A 2017 Nissan Sentra compact sedan has a starting price of $17,875. To buy the car equipped with automatic braking requires spending another $6,820 for a Sentra SR with a premium technology package.

German auto technology suppliers Continental and Robert Bosch will supply the systems, Nissan said.

Reuters
A high-level forum dedicated to future mobility will be held later this year in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, to explore the development of smart, connected and electric vehicles in China.

The 2017 Global Future Mobility Top Forum, scheduled for Nov 10 to 12, is expected to offer an opportunity for participants from different industries to share their ideas on new trends.

Industry insiders are calling for a holistic approach to new mobility trends as they are evolving rapidly and involve know-how of not only the automotive sector but also IT, artificial intelligence and communication.

"We cannot take, say electric cars, as something isolated. Instead, we must position them in future mobility and chart their path of development," said Chen Qingtai, director of China EV100, a non-profit organization promoting new energy vehicles.

The organization is also an organizer of the event. Together with the forum, a future mobility-themed exhibition will also feature the latest technologies and products of new energy vehicles, smart cars and smart transportation.

New energy vehicles and smart, internet-connected cars are to feature China's moves to build a globally competitive automotive industry within 10 years.

According to a guideline released in April, China expects sales of new energy vehicles in the country to reach 2 million by 2020, and such cars are to account for 20 percent of all auto sales by 2025.

Half of new cars in China will feature some driving assistance and low-level autonomous driving functions by 2020, and the number is expected to rise to 80 percent by 2025.

"Cars will not be cars without smart functions in the future," said Zhu Huarong, president of Changan Automobile Co Ltd. He said its cars using high-level autonomous driving functions will hit the market in 2020.
Chinese smartphone makers realize processor supplies are key to achieving global supremacy

In the $429 billion global smartphone market, dominance in the domestic and Indian segments may encourage Chinese handset makers to dream of ejecting Apple and Samsung from the pinnacle, but the reality is far removed.

Chinese vendors still have several loose ends to tie up, none starker than their poor control over key sections of the supply chain, particularly chips, or processors, the engines that drive the handset hardware -the brain, if you will.

This painful truth came to torment Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, the current leader of the Chinese smartphone pack, recently.

All hell broke loose when Richard Yu, CEO of its consumer business unit, admitted in his Weibo post last month that shortage of top-end chips forced Huawei to use a mix of relatively less efficient flash memory cards and high-performance universal flash storage or UFS cards in its flagship P10 smartphone.

The UFS chip is faster than a typical flash memory card, and is essential for high-resolution games and movies.

Yu stressed the P10 hardware cocktail was not meant to save money but ensure a steady supply of shipments and timely delivery of orders.

But irate consumers bombarded Huawei with complaints.

Two red flags went up immediately.

One, anything that undermines a chip is a strict no-no.

Two, Huawei's marketing campaign for the P10 high-lighted a chip-related specification as one of the stand-out features, which stood negated by the company's late admission of truth.

"The (Huawei P10) incident is the latest example of Chinese smartphone vendors' overreliance on foreign chips. This factor has subjected their delivery schedule to the influence of supply chain partners," said Xiang Ligang, a telecom expert and CEO of cctime.com, a telecom industry website.

Agreed Jia Mo, an analyst at Canalysys. "The Huawei incident mirrors a broad problem in China's burgeoning electronics sector. Though China is a manufacturing powerhouse in computers, smartphones and other electronic gadgets, the country banks on foreign players for most processors."

Stated differently, Chinese smartphone manufacturers are years away from self-reliance in, and mastery of, chip-making,which is currently the preserve of global majors such as US multinational Qualcomm, and South Korea's Samsung and SK Hynix.

Qualcomm Inc is the undisputed leader of the global mobile processor market -this is borne out by the fact that all the seven Chinese brands among the world's top 10 smartphone labels depend on it for chips, especially in the premium segment.

It's a truth that does not sit well with the fact that China's smartphone giants have posted exponential growth in both home and overseas markets in 2016.

Domestic shipments for the country's top three vendors Huawei, Oppo and Vivo touched 224.2 million units, up more than 80 percent year-on-year, while their overseas shipments reached 91.8 million units, up about 70 percent year-on-year. Together, they accounted for 21.6 percent of the global smartphone shipments in 2016, according to data compiled from IDC.

But that may count for nothing eventually without reliable supplies of top-end chips, the key to successful forays into, and dominance of, the premium smartphone segment.

Dominance in the premium smartphone segment has strategic significance because it not only indicates technological prowess but generates massive profits.

For instance, in the first quarter of this year, Apple's iconic top-end iPhones, which are powered by in house chips, earned $10.1 billion, or 83.4 percent of profits of the global smartphone segment, according to Strategy Analytics, a market research firm.

So, having the ability to make top-end chips will likely also help Chinese companies to better manage other supply chain partners, experts and company executives said.

In this context, Samsung appears to have an edge as it makes, besides handsets, its own chips, which it also supplies to competitors, including those from China.

That's not all. Samsung and SK Hynix also control nearly half the global market for NAND flash memory, a key component in the UFS chip. Both of them warned last month chip supplies will remain tight this year due to production bottlenecks and strong demand from high-end smartphone makers.

Part of that demand can be traced to China.

According to the General Administration of Customs, in 2016, the country imported chips worth $227 billion, nearly double the $116.5 billion it spent on crude oil imports.

In comparison, the homegrown chip industry's 2016 sales were worth just $63.1 billion, including $23.9 billion from sales of chips designed in China, according to China Semiconductor Industry Association data.

Chip design is considered the most sophisticated aspect of the industry. "Most flagship handsets use Qualcomm's processors. But its production capacity in high-end chips is limited. These chips required cutting-edge manufacturing techniques, which need time to mature. The initial investment size is often conservative,"Mo of Canalysys said.

"If the majority of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 processors go to Samsung, Chinese players such as Xiaomi would suffer from supply shortage and have no other choice but to delay their product launches."

The situation is unlikely to improve any time soon.

For, Chinese smartphone vendors are itching to compete in the high-end market. So, chip shortages will likely get more acute, experts said.

To be fair, Chinese labels such as Xiaomi and Huawei did anticipate this problem and made efforts to develop their own alternatives. For instance, Xiaomi unveiled its first in-house chip in March.

Way back in 2004, Huawei started its research and development of chips. It can now supply a number of mobile processors for its high-end devices, though it still leans a bit on Qualcomm for the "system on a chip" technology.

Chinese chip maker Tsinghua Unigroup is working on a $30 billion domestic memory chip production complex in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. But it is still several years away before the plant begins to produce chips.

Roger Sheng, a senior chip analyst at research firm Gartner Inc, said: "In-house design and manufacture of chips for specific devices would help deliver differentiated product performance. It can also boost smartphone vendors' bargaining power with suppliers.

"But heavy resources need to be poured into the (chip) segment. Each smartphone maker's annual shipments need to reach 10 million units to cover the cost of developing tailor-made chips.

"It's a risky business. Missteps would add weeks to the product launch schedule. Money alone won't guarantee success. But it's a path that Chinese players have to take if they want to rise to supremacy in the high-end market."
A researcher works at Tsinghua Unigroup research center in Beijing, China, February 29, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

Spreadtrum RDA, the mobile-design subsidiary of China's largest chipmaker Tsinghua Unigroup Ltd, aims to unveil 5G smartphone chips in 2018.

The move is part of its plan to gain an early lead in the next-generation mobile communication technology, and follows the agreement with Britain's Dialog Semiconductor Plc in March to develop smartphone chips and mobile power management technology.

Dialog's chips already power Apple Inc's iPhones and iPads.

Kang Yi, global advance technologies & projects vice president at Spreadtrum, said the company has started research and development of 5G chips and is playing an active part in China's 5G trials.

"We teamed up with Huawei in the first phase of trials to verify key 5G technologies last year. Now we are a part of China's second phase of experiments, which will test key technological solutions," Kang said.

According to him, the company plans to launch standards-based mobile 5G chips as soon as a global 5G standard is rolled out.

The 3rd Generation Partnership Project, or 3GPP, is an industry coalition dedicated to promoting global wireless communication standards. It decided to accelerate some elements in the 5G New Radio, or NR, specification. NR is essential to accelerate the commercial applications of the technology.

According to the expedited schedule, 5G NR specifications are to be completed in December,which is expected to give Spreadtrum RDA's 5G launch plan a shot in the arm.

Spreadtrum RDA came into existence after Tsinghua Unigroup bought Spreadtrum Communications and RDA Microelectronics Inc three years ago and merged them into a new company.

It is locked in fierce competition with MediaTek Inc in the market for lower end smartphone chips, and hopes to join the ranks of global giants such as Qualcomm Inc in the premium segment.

"The design of 5G chips is definitely more sophisticated, for the new technology demands faster speed and quicker response, which complicates the task of balancing power and performance, and integrating resources and lower costs," Kang said.

The company's R&D of 5G chips starts from 12 nanometer technology and plans to leverage a more advanced 7 nanometer technology for mass production. Nanometer technology refers to a technical standard used in chip device fabrication.

Spreadtrum RDA is part of Tsinghua Unigroup's broad efforts to develop homegrown chips so as to reduce China's reliance on foreign semiconductors.

Unigroup signed agreements in March that would grant it up to 150 billion yuan ($21.8 billion) in financing, which would enable it to expand its chip business.

It is working on a $30 billion domestic chip production complex in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. When completed, it would be China's largest such facility.

In 2016, Spreadtrum RDA shipped 600 million smartphone chips, accounting for one-fourth of the world's total shipments.
Today's Options, a local Medicare Advantage health plan, is seeking nominations of people in central New York who are helping improve the lives of older Americans for its Today's Options Champions awards.

Five finalists will be recognized during a Syracuse Chiefs pregame ceremony July 27; the winner will be recognized at the New York State Fair and win a $10,000 donation to a charity of their choice. Nominations are due June 19.
The First Foreign Citizen

During the War of Resistance against Japan, a number of foreign friends came to China to support China's fight. They developed profound relationships with China. After the war, some of them left China either because they were homesick, or they had to go back to work. Others chose to remain in China and eventually became Chinese citizens. George Hatem, an American doctor, was one of those who decided to remain in China, and the first foreigner to obtain Chinese citizenship.

Hatem (Ma Haide in Chinese) was born to an Arab immigrant family in Buffalo, New York, on September 26, 1910. He obtained his medical degree in 1933, and came to China in November the same year.

He succumbed to his ailing health and died on October 3, 1988. His life was characterized by international humanitarianism.

Family background

Shafick George Hatem was born into a Lebanese-American family in upstate New York. His father Nahoum Salaama Hatem moved to the United States from the village of Hamana in the Metn mountains of Lebanon in 1902, to take a job at a textile mill in Lawrence, Massachusetts. In 1909, on a trip to Lebanon, Nahoum married Thamam Joseph, a woman two years younger from the village of Bahannes.

George Hatem's parents were of Maronite background.Some older sources claim that the family was of Syrian Jewish extraction,but according to modern biographers, that was a misconception, although quite common even during George Hatem's life.

Soon after being married, the Hatem family moved to Buffalo, New York, where Nahoum took a job at a steel mill. It was in Buffalo where their first child, George, was born on September 26, 1910.

Early life

George Hatem attended pre-med classes at the University of North Carolina and medicine at the American University in Beirut and the University of Geneva. While in Geneva, he, called by friends Shag, became acquainted with students from East Asia, and learned much about China. With financial help from the parents of one of his friends, he and several others set off to Shanghai to establish a medical practice to concentrate on venereal diseases, as well as basic health care for the needy. On August 3, 1933, he with colleagues, Lazar Katz and Robert Levinson, boarded a ship in Triest that took him to several ports in Asia, including Singapore and Hong Kong. On September 5, the three young American doctors landed in Shanghai.

Shanghai

Hatem set up the practice in Shanghai, and changed his name to Ma Hai-te (Ma Haide). It was in Shanghai that he met the well known journalist, Agnes Smedley, who introduced him to Liu Ting, a member of the Communist Party of China. Disgusted by the corruption of Shanghai and the Chinese Nationalists, he closed his practice there three years later, and, with the help of the earlier established Communist contacts, was smuggled across Kuomintang lines to provide medical service to Mao Zedong's Communist troops in Xi'an (Sian).

Yan'an

In the summer of 1936, Ma travelled to the Communist headquarters at Bao'an, temporary capital of the Communist-controlled Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region. He was accompanied by the pioneering American journalist Edgar Snow. At Hatem's request, he was not explicitly mentioned in the first edition of Snow's famous book, Red Star Over China. He is there anonymously as a western-trained doctor who had examined Mao and determined he was not dying of some mysterious disease, which was the rumour at the time. He also became the first foreign member of the Chinese Communist Party.

As the war with Japan in started for real in 1937, Ma Heide sent requests to Soong Ching-ling, Agnes Smedley, and other notables to organize recruitment of foreign medical personnel for the communists' troops fighting the Japanese armies in northern China. He was among those meeting Norman Bethune when Bethune arrived to Yan'an in late March 1938, and was instrumental in helping Bethune get started at his task of organizing medical services for the front and the region.

He was present at Yan'an, when the Dixie Mission, an American civilian and military group, arrived in July 1944. Ma was a source of surprise and comfort for many of the Americans when they met the American born physician. Many accounts of the mission make reference to Haide. Known commonly to the group as "Doc Ma," Ma periodically assisted Major Melvin Casberg in studies of the state of medical treatment in the Communist territories.

Post War Life

He remained a doctor with the Communists until their victory in 1949, and then became a public health official. He is credited with helping to eliminate leprosy and many venereal diseases in post-war China, for which he received the Lasker Medical Award in 1986. He was one of the few non-Chinese persons to hold a position of trust and authority in the People's Republic of China. His Chinese name can be loosely translated to mean "Horse" and "Virtue From the Sea".

He died in China in 1988 and was buried at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery.

During his lifetime, he was honored in his city Hammana in Lebanon, where the main square of the city is named after him.

There is an extensive interview with him in the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's groundbreaking ninety minute documentary by Patrick Watson, The Seven Hundred Million (1964).

A film about him, showing an American doctor affirming Communist ideology, is broadcast frequently in the People's Republic of China. Consequently, his story is widely known among Mainland Chinese.
According to the Ministry of Public Security, more than 50 million foreigners exit or enter the country on average every year, while another 5 million live here. Of these, about half-a-million call China home.

Many have enriched Chinese lives with their contributions in business, education, medical care and disaster relief.

China Right There, a recent bilingual documentary on Tianjin TV highlighted the lives of 100 expatriates who have been living here since the founding of New China in 1949. The crew traversed the length and breadth of the country recording their everyday lives.

Now, 13 of them have been picked to be honored with the "You Bring Charm to China" award, presented jointly by Tianjin TV and Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV, and supported by China Daily.

The awards were presented on Saturday at Kerry Centre Shangri-La Hotel, witnessed by representatives from the United Nations, leaders of China's major diplomatic institutions and by distinguished overseas Chinese.

Domestic and overseas artists put up a gala show and the whole ceremony was broadcast live to audiences at home and abroad.

We profile six of them here:

Sabriye Tenberken, 39, Germany, founder of the first school for the blind in Tibet

Sabriye Tenberken not only developed the Tibetan Braille script, but also traveled to the Tibet autonomous region alone and founded the first school for the blind there.

Herself blinded by disease while living in Cologne, Germany, when she was 12, she studied at the Central Asian Sciences at Bonn University. In addition to Mongolian and modern Chinese, she also learned modern and classical Tibetan, along with sociology and philosophy.

She founded the Center for the Blind in Lhasa in 1999 that stands to this day and continues to be expanded.

There were no schools for the blind in Tibet before this center opened. Tenberken is also co-founder and co-director of Braille Without Borders.

Besides raising funds and coordinating with officials and sponsor organizations, she is also responsible for developing the curriculum and training the teachers. At one point, she even took on the teaching herself.

The going was anything but smooth.

According to Tenberken, at first some local Tibetans cheated her by taking advantage of her blindness; also, many European foundations did not offer help, believing that a young woman who herself was blind could never succeed with such a project.

But the determined woman persevered and found a soulmate in Paul Kronenberg, her Danish boyfriend.

Sabriye's book My Path Leads to Tibet, that tells the history of her project and about living with blindness, has been published in 12 languages.

Last year, she was chosen as one of China's 15 most influential overseas experts over the past 30 years.
Sixty-four years ago, Sidney Shapiro, a young American lawyer-turned soldier, enrolled on a Chinese language learning programme with a plan to partake in an overseas assignment.

"Little did I know, as they say in the Victorian novels, that the decision I had made was the first step along the road to a life and a career in China," Shapiro recalled decades later in his biography, "I Chose China," published by Hippocrene Books in New York. (The book's Chinese mainland edition, entitled "My China," published by the Foreign Languages Press in Beijing.)

This month, when he celebrates his 90th birthday in Beijing, Shapiro, who became a Chinese citizen in 1963, describes his life as "a particle in the centrifuge that created one of the most momentous changes in Chinese history."

For all his modesty, his 58-year career as a magazine copy editor, translator and writer, has won him respect and both critical and popular acclaim, in China and overseas.

Before his retirement he worked as a copy editor improving the English version of Chinese Literature magazine and China Pictorial.

Meanwhile, through his literary translations he has remained at the forefront of helping people overseas learn about China's past and present. His literary translations, which range from the classical to the modern, include the Ming Dynasty masterpiece "Outlaws of the Marsh" and the well-known 20th century outcries against bigotry and backwardness such as Ba Jin's "The Family" and Mao Dun's "Spring Silkworms."

He gave a particularly authentic English translation of Deng Rong's biographical work, "Deng Xiaoping and the Cultural Revolution a Daughter Recalls the Critical Years," whose Chinese mainland edition was published by the Foreign Languages Press in Beijing in 2003 and the overseas edition was published by Bertelsmann, which arrived in major bookstores early this year.

As a prolific writer, he was the first to delve into the lives of the Jews in Old China, with his work "Jews in Old China: Studies by Chinese Scholars" whose expanded paperback edition was published by Hippocrene Books in 2000. Other examples of his own works include "The Law and the Lore of Chinese Criminal Justice," "Ma Haide: The Saga of American Doctor George Hatem in China" and "A Sampler of Chinese Literature from the Ming Dynasty to Mao Zedong," not to mention his autobiography "I Chose China."

Throughout his career, he has been working to make modern and contemporary China be understood throughout the world, with the use of his own unique perspective as an American-born translator and writer.

In his translation of Deng Rong's biographical work, he skilfully worked through the political jargon that became so common during the chaotic era between 1966 and 1976 in China. He successfully leads the reader through the then existing political situation and the emotions that so influenced Deng Xiaoping during those critical years, that gave him the resolve and courage to start the reforms in opening China up to the outside world.

He also added his own introduction to Deng Rong's translated book. Having endured the hardships of the "cultural revolution" himself, he offers his own insight into the social and political events in modern China, thus adding a valuable reference to Deng Rong's biographical work.

Fascinating life

Shapiro's autobiography "I Chose China" is especially intriguing, since he gives a vivid narrative of one who witnessed and experienced the dramatic changes that took place in modern China and their impact on the world over the past five decades.

He offers his own answers to the reader's questions such as why Old China under the rule of the Kuomintang had to end and why New China had to undergo so many trials and tribulations.

He also talks about his own personal life in the book, telling the reader about his wife Phoenix, a Chinese actress-turned writer and magazine editor. Lighter points in the book talk about how he came to know and fall in love with her.

Phoenix joined the revolution, risking her life to work for the founding of New China, yet Shapiro stood by her.

"I asked her to marry me. The word that first struck me as I got to know her was 'gallant.' It took guts and devotion to run a Communist-backed magazine under the nose of a fascist government, and this lady had plenty of both," Shapiro recalls.
Dwarkanath Kotnis was born in Bombay, India, 1910. He came to China as a member of the Indian Medical Team to Assist China, and arrived in Yan'an in Jan. 1939. He first worked in Yan'an and then went to the anti-Japanese base area in North China where he acted as the physician-in-charge of the surgical department of the Eighth Route Army General Hospital. Kotnis joined the Communist Party of China in July of 1942. After Dr. Norman Bethune passed away, he took over the post of the first president of the Bethune International Peace Hospital. He worked very hard and did his best to rescue the wounded. In addition, he paid much attention to training Chinese medical workers. Eventually he brought on illness by overwork and passed away on Dec. 9, 1942 in China.

Chairman Mao Zedong wrote a scroll to mourn for Dr. Kotnis, which goes: Indian friend Kotnis came a long way to China to assist the Chinese people in their War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. He worked in Yan'an and North China for as long as five years, giving meticulous treatment to the wounded and patients, unfortunately he himself developed illness due to exhaustion. His death means the Eighth Route Army has lost a helpful assistant and our nation has lost a dear friend. We should never forget Dr. Kotnis' internationalist spirit." This scroll has now become a treasure of Kotnis' family, which will be handed down to posterity.

In order to cherish the memory of Dr. Kotnis, the Chinese government built a memorial hall for Dr. Kotnis in Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, in 1976.
Edgar Snow was born in Kansus, Missouri in July 17, 1905, and graduated from the School of Journalism, Missouri University. He arrived in Shanghai in July of 1928. From 1928 to 1932, Edgar Snow worked as a correspondent for several foreign newspapers in Shanghai. In 1931, Edgar Snow got acquainted with Mme Soong Qing-ling through the introduction of Agnes Smedley, a progressive American female writer. In September 1933, Edgar Snow's first book "Far Eastern Front " was published in London. In this book, Edgar Snow laid bare the truth of the Japanese imperialists' brutal aggression against China.

In July 1936, with the help of Mme Soong Qing-ling, Edgar Snow and Dr. George Hatem arrived in Yan'an, the then capital of the Chinese revolution in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province. In July 1937, Edgar Snow made four months of careful observations in Yan'an and interviewed with Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and other leading figures of the Communist Party of China (CPC) as well as senior leaders of the Red Army like Peng Dehuai and Xiao Jinguang. His interviews with Mao Zedong had not only dispelled his previous doubts and misgivings about China and given birth to the book "Red Star Over China," but also cultivated a life-long friendship with the leaders of the CPC. "He made a study of our situation and helped the world to understand us," said the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong in 1938 during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-1945). "And we shall always remember this great deed he had done for our country."

As a close friend of Mao, Edgar Snow later came to China again in 1939, 1965 and 1969 when he stood beside Mao on the Tian'anmen Rostrum on the National Day celebration. With truthful accounts of the Chinese revolution, Mao Zedong and his people, "Red Star Over China" has been translated into more than 20 languages and is considered the first book to introduce the Chinese revolution to the western world. In 1941, Edgar Snow was banned to do interview in China by the Kuomintang government after he gave a truthful report on the Southern Anhui Incident and he was thus forced to leave China.

After returning to the United States, Edgar Snow wrote a lot for newspapers and magazines to introduce the CPC and the Red Army to the American people. Edgar Snow was at first accepted as a popular and insightful reporter. But later, he was vilified for helping to "lose China". In those days, he "felt like an Ishmael in his own country" and he described himself as "a grain of wheat sandwiched between two blackboards" when he talked about his experiences under McCarthyism in the 1950s.

Edgar Snow spent the last years of his life in self-imposed exile in Switzerland and died in his home in Geneva on February 15, 1972, just four days before President Richard Nixon made his historic trip to China. After his death, part of his ashes was buried at the Weiming Lake in Peking University in China and the remaining was buried on the shores of the Hudson River in the United States.
Rewi Alley was born in Springfield, Canterbury, New Zealand in 1879. He left New Zealand for China and arrived in Shanghai on April 21st 1927. He first got a job in Shanghai as a fire officer and later as a chief factory inspector. During this period of time he witnessed the miseries suffered by the Chinese workers and decided to identify himself with their struggles. In the mid-1930s he became friendly with many Chinese and foreign progressive people, and worked with them, sometimes in underground activities supporting the Red Army.

After the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression broke out in 1937, he and some Chinese and foreign friends, including Edgar Snow and his wife, initiated and organized the Gong He (Gung Ho) movement to set up various industrial co-operatives. By 1942 they had set up about 2,000 such co-operatives, rendering great support to the Chinese resistance against Japanese aggression. From the mid-1940s to early 1950s, Rewi Alley founded the Shandan Bailie Schools in Shandan County, Gansu Province in order to explore a new education mode suited to Chinese national conditions, namely the work-study program. In this program students would use their brain as well as brawn. Shandan Bailie School cultivated large number of young technical personnel for China.

After the Founding of the People's Republic of China, Rewi Alley was appointed deputy head of the New Zealand delegation to attend the Asia-Pacific Region Peace Conference held in Beijing in 1952, and member of the Secretariat of the Asia-Pacific Region Peace Liaison Committee.

Rewi Alley devoted 60 years of his life to the liberation cause of the Chinese People and formed profound and sincere friendship with many Chinese revolutionary predecessors. He passed away in Beijing on Dec. 27, 1987. Comrade Deng Xiaoping wrote an inscription in memory of him: " Eternal Glory to the Great Internationalist Fighter!"
Norman Bethune is an internationalist soldier, member of the Canadian Communist Party and a well-known thoracic surgeon. In 1938 he arrived in China with medical supplies and worked with the Eighth Route Army, under the leadership of Mao Zedong and the Communist Party of China.

He set up a mobile hospital and operated on soldiers close to the battlefield. His work helped save the lives of thousands and impacted China's struggle against the invading Japanese army.

In late 1939, aged 49, he died of blood poisoning in Tangxian's Huangshikou Village after pricking his finger with a needle during surgery.

In December 1939, Mao wrote an article "In Memory of Norman Bethune," as a tribute to the doctor, and calling on the Chinese people to learn from his example.
Agnes Smedley was a famous American reporter, writer, social activist, and an outstanding and extraordinary woman. She came to China at the end of 1928 and stayed in China for 12 years. In the early and middle stages of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, she witnessed the brutality of the Japanese aggression in China, Smedley courageously wielded her pen to cry out for justice, she wrote many books themed on China: China's Red Army Marches1934Chinese Destinies: Sketches of Present-Day China1933China Fights Back1938 and Battle Hymn of China1943by which she helped the world to understand the revolutionary struggle in China.

In early January 1937, Smedley paid a visit to Yan'an upon the invitation of the Communist Party of China, during which she interviewed Mao Zedong, Zhu De, Zhou Enlai, Peng Dehuai and others. With the consent of Zhu De, Smedley started to make preparations for Zhu's biography----The Great Road: The Life and Times of Chu Teh. In Oct. 1937, Smedley arrived at the general headquarters of the Eighth Route Army located in the mountainous area in northern Shanxi, and became the first foreign military reporter of the Eighth Route Army. In January 1938, Smedley journeyed to Hankou, where she worked in the capacity of the reporter of the Manchester Guardian and a staff of the China Red Cross Society. Smedley reported on the situation of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in China, at the same time she helped rescue the wounded and refuges, and appealed to international organizations to provide assistance to China.

Smedley returned to The United States in May of 1941 due to her illness. In America, Semdley continued to make speeches and write articles to let the American people know the real situation of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in China, and she collected donations for Chinese people's war of anti-Japanese aggression. On May 6, 1950, Smedley died of acute circulatory failure in London at the age of 58. On the same day the following year, a memorial ceremony and a grand funeral were held in memory of her in Beijing. Her ashes were laid to rest at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery in Beijing. On her gravestone was engraved the golden inscription written by Zhu De: Buried here is Lady Smedley, an American Revolutionary Writer, and a Friend of the Chinese People.
Jacob Rosent, a Jewish Austrian, his former name was Jacob Rosenfeld. He was born in Lambeck, Austria on 11th January 1903, and graduated from the Medical School of Vienna University with a doctorate in general medicine. He joined the Austrian Social Democratic Party when he was young, and was arrested several times for involving in anti-imperialist activities. Later, he was put in concentration camp for opposing Hitler's annexation of Austria. After being imprisoned in the concentration camp for one year, he was sentenced to expel from Austria and never allowed to return to Austria.

In 1939, he came to China and started his arduous struggle together with the Chinese people in the liberation areas for as long as 10 years. He engaged in medical work successively in Central China, Shandon Province and the Northeast Liberated Area, and held senior medical posts in the New Fourth Army, the Eighth Route Army and the Northeast People's Liberation Army. He was also appointed the medical consultant of major military areas and director of the health department of a column. He was the only foreign doctor holding senior military rank of the Chinese regular army. He was also a special member of the Chinese Communist Party.

Soon after new China was founded in 1949, Rosenfeld returned to his motherland---Austria. In 1952, he died of myocardial infarction.

He wrote the book "Austria-China".
As in WWI, numerous Americans took advantage of the opportunity to fly and fight without waiting upon their country to enter the war. In Burma, Claire L. Chennault, a retired Air Corps major who had served as special advisor to the Chinese Air Force since 1937, formed the American Volunteer Group (A.V.G) nicknamed the Flying Tigers.

The unit consisted of approximately 100 pilots and 200 ground crew personnel (most of whom had been released from the U.S. Army, Navy, and Marines to volunteer for the A.V.G.) and was equipped with obsolescent P-40B airplanes. It began training at Rangoon in Sep. 1941.

Two of the three squadrons moved to Kunming, China to protect the Burma Road, the only ground route into China, and on Dec. 20, 1941, the Flying Tigers received their "baptism under fire" when they inflicted heavy losses on Japanese bombers attempting to attack Kunming.

Months of combat followed and the A.V.G., greatly outnumbered in the air and operating under adverse conditions (such as no replacement pilots and practically no spare parts for repairing aircraft), scored a very impressive record against the enemy, 286 Japanese planes shot down at a cost of 12 A.V.G. pilots killed or missing in action. In May 1942, pilots of the 23rd Fighter Group, selected to replace the Flying Tigers, began to arrive in China and the A.V.G. was dissolved on Jul. 4, 1942 when the 23rd Group was officially activated.
Anna Louise Strong was born in Friend, Nebraska, USA on 24th Nov, 1885. In 1908, she earned her Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Chicago.

Anna made her first trip to China in Oct. 1925, during which she visited Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and met with Feng Yuxiang, Soong Qing-ling and other famous figures. In June of 1927, she visited China for the second time, and she witnessed the failure of the KMT-CPC cooperation. Later she went to Shanghai,Wuhan and Changsha and other cities to report what was happening in China. She interviewed many leaders of Chinese labor and women's movements. The following year, her book " China's Millions" was published in the United Sates, telling the world about the situation in China. It made a considerable impact on the world.

After the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression broke out, Anna made a 10-day trip to the anti-Japanese base areas in January 1938, during which she interviewed several high-ranking military officers including Zhu De, Liu Bocheng, He Long and others. Based on what she had learned in China, she wrote the book "One-Fifth of Mankind", which was published in July the same year. The book told the world about the situation of the anti-Japanese national united front in China, and sang the praise of the great anti-Japanese war of aggression by the Chinese people. In 1940,She journeyed to China for the fourth time, during which she held in-depth talks with Zhou Enlai for several times in Chongqing.

In early 1941, the "Southern Anhui Incident" happened. Her wrote news stories for the newspapers in New York to tell the truth about the incident and exposed Jiang Kai-shek's plot to undermine the anti-Japanese national united front. On 6th July 1946, she flied to Shanghai and began her fifth trip to China. In an interview with Mao Zedong in Yan'an on Aug. 6, she had the chance to listen to Mao's famous thesis "All Reactionaries Are Paper Tigers". In January 1948, upon the invitation of the national conference on American policy towards China, she made a keynote speech on "the realities in China". Afterwards, she made speeches on several occasions to appeal to the American government to change its policy of supporting Jiang Kai-shek. In December, her new book "Dawn Comes Up Like Thunder Out of China: An Intimate Account of the Liberated Areas in China was published", It was a book themed on her visit to Yan'an.

In early 1958, she visited new China upon the invitation of the Chinese government. On 1st Oct, she was invited to mount the Tian'anmen Rostrum on the National Day to attend the rally in celebration of the 9th anniversary of the founding of new China, and Mao Zedong cordially received her on the rostrum. In 1959, Anna joined the Chinese and foreign journalists visiting group to Tibet. In Tibet, she visited many places and interviewed local Tibetans, and wrote two books, "Tibetan Interviews" and "When Serfs Stood Up in Tibet". In February 1962, she established the journal "Letters from China", through which she told American people and the people of the rest of the world about what she heard and saw in new China in the form of letters. The journal published 69 issues until she passed away. On 29th March 1970, Anna died of illness in Beijing and was buried in the Babaoshan Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery.
Israel Epstein was born in Poland in 1915. Beginning from 1931 he did press work at the "Beijing-Tianjin Times". He served as reporter with UPI of the United States in 1937.

In 1939, he joined the League in Defense of China sponsored and organized by Soong Ching Ling, in which he was in charge of publicity work. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, when serving as a correspondent of the United Press and the Allied Labor News of the United States, Epstein visited North Shaanxi Province and Shanxi-Suiyuan Anti-Japanese Base Areas, and interviewed Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and other CPC leaders, along with a delegation of Chinese and foreign reporters.

In 1951, in response to the invitation of Soong Ching Ling, he returned to China to participate in the work of starting publication of "China Reconstruct" .

In 1957 he was granted China's citizenship. During his lifetime, he was standing committee member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), honorary editor-in-chief of the "China Today", former "China Reconstruct", vice-chairman of the International Council of the China Industry Cooperation Association and member of the China Welfare Council, etc. His major books include "From Opium War to Liberation," "The People's War," "The Unfinished Revolution in China" and "Tibet Transformed."
The CPPCC Preparatory Meeting summoned in June 1949 decided to hold a military parade at the PRC founding ceremony. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) attached the greatest importance to this parade and established a preparatory committee for the PRC founding ceremony. Zhou Enlai was the committee director, Zhu De was the parade commander, Nie Rongzhen was the parade commander-in-chief, and Yang Chengwu, vice-commander of the North China Military Area Command, and Tang Yanjie, chief of staff, were the director and vice-director of the parade commanding office respectively.

Because it was their first large-scale military parade, the comrades in charge of its organization had no experience and felt tremendous pressures. Yang and Tang personally led people to spend a great deal of energy in referring to historical Chinese and foreign data, and consulted many people. Liu Bocheng knew something about military parades because he had once studied in the Soviet Union and had personally seen a military parade in the Red Square in Moscow. He described to Yang the details and important matters relating to the parade, saying "The parade is simply a type of etiquette with special contents; it is a form. We can achieve our goals by successfully undertaking this form." Chen Yi was outspoken, stating bluntly, "There is no difficulty in organizing the parade, it is no big deal. We have already won many battles, is it possible that we cannot prepare a military parade well? It is just about marching, is it not? We will display our military prestige to the Chinese people through marching and will let them know that this is the army of the New China". The speech by these two marshals showed a clear direction for the parade preparations.

The parade's commanding office extensively solicited opinions and researched for a long time before carefully formulating a plan for the military parade ceremony, fully considering and arranging all the details such as choosing and organizing the troops to be inspected, the parade procedures, the parade ceremonial music and the pre-review training. The CPC Central Committee approved this plan which was essentially followed in the parade at the PRC founding ceremony.

At 3 pm on October 1, the PRC founding ceremony began. After Mao Zedong read the declaration from the Central People's Government, the military parade began. All the troops to be reviewed passed in front of the Tiananmen Rostrum from east to west with the Tiananmen platform as the center, according to the sequence of the navy, the army, and the air force.

Commander-in-chief Zhu De, in military uniform, reviewed the troops from his parade car with Nie Rongzhen. The troop consisted of the navy, army and air forces. The march followed. The first to pass Tiananmen Square were the navy formed by personnel chosen from the northeast navy college and East China navy fleet. The army followed next, formed by personnel chosen from 199th infantry division, 619th regiment of the independent 207th division, the temporarily established 4th artillery division, the 3rd panzer division and the 3rd cavalry division. Among them, the infantry division was formed by three infantry regiments, and battalions of Tommy guns, light machine guns, communications, heavy machine guns, light mortar, heavy mortar, anti-tank guns and mountain artillery.

The artillery from the artillery division included 75mm field guns, 105mm howitzers as well as 37mm and 75mm anti-aircraft guns which passed the Tiananmen Rostrum from small to big, and from low to high. The panzer division was formed by regiments of motorized infantry, armored infantry and tank forces. This was followed by the cavalry division, formed by three cavalry regiments and one 75mm field gun battalion drawn by mules.

The last group to pass was the air force, formed by a P-51 fighter squadron, a DEHAVILLAND Mosquito bomber squad as well as a PT-19 and L-5 training plane squad under the command of North China Military Area Command Aviation Office. When the panzer division entered Tiananmen Square, the air force planes flew over each division in two-plane and three-plane formation, coordinating with the ground panzer division.

Attending the parade were in total: 16,400 soldiers, 119 cannons, 152 tanks and armored vehicles, 222 autos, 2,344 warhorses and 17 planes from the PLA. The parade lasted for two and a half hours with spectacular scenes, displaying PLAs powerful and grand lineup. The reviewed troops included a variety of sectors from the navy, the army and the air force; the troops were mainly infantrymen from the army because the navy, air force and many other sectors of the military were still being established.

The parade in the PRC founding ceremony established the basic framework of PRC's military parade. Up to now, except slight changes in divisions and personnel as well as in the variety, scale and quantity of military equipment, there have been no profound changes in the National Day parade procedures and contents.
Jan 22Feb 1, 1934: The Second National Congress of the China Soviet Republic is held

From Jan 22 to Feb 1, 1934, the Second National Congress of China Soviet Republic was held in Ruijin. Mao Zedong delivered the Central Executive Committee work report of the China Soviet Republic for the previous two years. Zhu De submitted the report on the building of the Red Army, Lin Boqu reported on economic construction and Wu Liangping reported on the building of the China Soviet Republic. The congress adopted "Constitutional Outline of the China Soviet Republic". On Feb 3, 1934, the second session of the Central Executive Committee held its first meeting. The congress adopted the Presidium of Central Executive Committee, which was composed of 17 members include Mao Zedong, and elected Mao chairman of the Central Executive Committee. Xiang Ying and Chang Kuotao were named vice-chairmen. The conference approved the selection of Zhang Wentian as chairman of the People's Commission, Zhu De as chairman of the Central Revolutionary Military Committee, and Zhou Enlai and Wang Jiaxiang as vice-chairmen.

Jan 22, 1987: The CPC Central Committee issues a notice "to deepen the rural reform"

The notice proposed reforming the unified purchasing system and expanding the agricultural products markets. The notice also proposed that China invigorate rural financing, develop production factors markets, improve the double operation, and create a stable household contract responsibility system. The proposal also called for strengthening the building of grassroots organizations and ideological construction, and to build reformed pilot planning areas.
Jan 27, 1950: The Central People's Government releases the "decision on tariff and customs work"

On Jan 27, 1950, the Central People's Government released the "decision on tariff and customs work". The government announced an interim customs law and a new customs tariff for the national control of foreign trade and implementation of an export and import licensing system.

Jan 27, 1964: China and France establish diplomatic relations

On Jan 27, 1964, the Chinese and French governments issued a joint communique to establish diplomatic relations: "The Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of France unanimously made a decision to establish diplomatic relations. The governments of the two countries agreed to appoint ambassadors in three months." France became the first Western power to formally establish diplomatic relations with China at the ambassadorial level.
Jan 31, 1949: China celebrates the peaceful liberation of Beijing

On Jan 31, 1949, with the battle of Beijing-Tianjin ending in victory, Beijing was peacefully liberated. From Jan 14 to Jan 15, the Northeast Field Army launched a general offensive against Tianjin enemy troops who had refused to surrender. After 29 hours of fighting, Tianjin was liberated. After the liberation of Tianjin, People's Liberation Army troops numbering 900,000 reached the city gates of Beijing. Against the massive PLA forces, with the support of underground patriots, the enemy forces retreated and Beijing was liberated. The Northeast Field Army then took over defense affairs in Beijing. On Feb 3, the People's Liberation Army held a grand ceremony in Beijing city. Following the earlier liberation of Taiyuan, Datong, Xinxiang, Anyang, Guisui (now Hohhot), Tianjin and then Beijing, all areas of North China were liberated.
Feb 1, 1936: "The Liberation Vanguard of the Chinese Nation" is set up in Peiping

A mass organization of advanced youths led by the Communist Party of China is organized for the goal of anti-Japanese democracy.

Feb 1, 1942: The Rectification Movement begins

On Feb 1, 1942, Mao Zedong delivered the report "Rectify the Style of Study, Party and Writing" at the opening ceremony of the Central Party School. On Feb 8, Mao made a speech "opposing stereotypical party writing" at the meeting for cadres in Yan'an. On April 3, the Central Propaganda Department issued "the decision on discussing the central decisions and the report of rectifying three styles made by Mao Zedong". In late May, the Central Political Bureau established the Central Committee of General Learning to oversee the rectification campaign. The General Learning Committee members were Mao, Kaifeng, Kang Sheng, Li Fuchun and Chen Yun. Mao was named director, and Kang Sheng was named deputy director. On June 8, the Central Propaganda Department issued an "instruction on efforts to rectifying three styles through the whole party." The Party launched a rectification movement to work against subjectivism to rectify the style of study, to work against sectarianism in order to rectify the style of the Party, and against Party stereotypes in writing in order to rectify the style of writing.

Feb 1, 1946: The CPC Central Committee issues instructions

On Feb 1, 1946, the CPC Central Committee issued the instructions on the "current situation and tasks" to introduce and approve major achievements of the Political Consultative Conference, proposing that "from now on China is embarked on a new stage of building peace and democracy". Shortly thereafter, Chiang Kai-shek tore up the truce agreement and the CPPCC agreement, and the CPC Central Committee quickly changed the estimate on the timeline for the new stage of peace and democracy.

Feb 1, 1947: The Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee holds an enlarged meeting

Mao Zedong said at the meeting that China was on the threshold of a new climax of the People's revolution. The meeting discussed and issued an instruction entitled "meet the new surge of the Chinese revolution", pointing out that the victory of the People's Liberation Army and the development of the people's movement in areas controlled by Chiang Kai-shek signaled the coming of a new surge of the Chinese revolution. An extremely broad united front of the whole nation -- including workers, peasants, urban petty bourgeoisie, national bourgeoisie, enlightened gentry, other patriots, ethnic minorities and overseas Chinese -- has formed. This united front not only was the same general size as the united front during the anti-Japanese period, but also had a more profound basis. All Party members must fight for its consolidation and development, Mao said.

Feb 1, 2002: The CPC Central Committee and State Council hold the Conference of National Science and Technology Awards in Beijing

Jiang Zemin attended the Conference and awarded certificates and prize money to Wang Xuan and Huang Kun as part of the highest prize for Science and Technology in 2001. Party and State leaders presented the National Natural Science Award, National Technological Invention Award and National Science and Technology Progress Award.
Feb 2, 1939: The CPC Central Committee holds production mobilization meeting in Yan'an, and Mao Zedong calls for a "do it yourself" approach

On Feb 10, 1940, the Central Military Commission issued instructions to the army, requiring the troops to actively carry out a production campaign according to different environments and conditions, so that the fighting, production and learning could be accomplished at the same time. In March 1941, the 359th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army marched toward Nanniwan in the south of Yan'an to build a military settlement. In December 1942, Mao Zedong made a report on "economic issues and financial issues" at the conference for senior cadres in the Ningxia Border Region to clarify that the general policy of economic and financial work is to "develop the economy and guarantee supply". In 1943, Mao Zedong wrote an inscription for the documentary film Production, Fighting Together (later retitled Nanniwan), inscribing "do it yourself" for the original film and "clothed" for the renamed film.

Feb 2, 1945: On behalf of the CPC Central Committee, Zhou Enlai proposes to the National Government, Chinese Kuomintang and China Democratic League that a meeting be held to establish a coalition government

The Kuomintang refused the request for a party meeting to establishing a democratic coalition government, insisting on organizing a three-person committee with Americans to reorganize the CPC Military. On April 2, Hurley issued a statement in Washington, declaring that the U.S. government would cooperate only with the KMT, not the CPC.

Feb 220, 1966: Jiang Qing holds an Army Literary Work Forum

From Feb 2 to Feb 20, 1966, with the support of Lin Biao, Jiang Qing held the Army Literary Work Forum in Shanghai and wrote the meeting summary. In March, Mao Zedong reviewed the summary three times. On April 10, the CPC Central Committee endorsed the summary. The summary denied the achievements that the arts community had made during 17 years since the founding of new China under the leadership of the CPC. The summary said the arts community was "dictated by a black line of anti-Party and anti-society forces opposed to Mao Zedong thought". "We must resolutely carry out a socialist revolution on the cultural front, and completely get rid of this black line," the summary stated. The summary set the stage for the "cultural revolution", and it was a beginning of collusion between Jiang Qing and Lin Biao.

Feb 26, 1991: The National United Front Work Conference is held in Beijing

The meeting proposed to hold high the two flags of patriotism and socialism, and consolidate and expand the broadest united front. This would include two scopes: the alliance of workers and patriots based on patriotism and socialism continent-wide, and the alliance of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao compatriots and overseas compatriots based on patriotism and support for the reunification of the motherland as the political foundation outside the mainland.
Feb 4, 1923: Beijing-Hankou railway workers go on a strike

On Feb 1, 1923, the Beijing-Hankou Railway Union's inaugural meeting in Zhengzhou was banned by Warlord Wu Peifu. On Feb 4, 20,000 Beijing-Hankou railway workers went on a general strike, essentially paralyzing entire 1,200-kilometer railroad. On Feb 7, with the support of imperialists, Wu Peifu mobilized more than 20,000 soldiers and police to lead a bloody massacre of striking workers near the Hankou River, Zhengzhou and Changxindian. The "2.7 Massacre" would shock the world. Casualties were heavy, and strike lasted until Feb 9. For the preservation of the revolutionary forces, the Beijing-Hankou Railway Union and trade unions in Hubei province jointly ordered the resumption of work.

Feb 4, 1975: The Liujiaxia Hydropower Station is completed

On Feb 4, 1975, work was completed on the largest hydroelectric power plant in China at that time, the Liujiaxia Hydropower Station. The total generating capacity exceeds 1.2 million kilowatts.

Feb 4, 2005: The fifth forum on western development is held in Beijing

Hu Jintao discussed the performance of China's western development for five years at the meeting, stressing the need to deepen the reform, and actively adjust the economic structure, transform the mode of growth, and to accelerate infrastructure growth and environmentally friendly construction. He said more efforts were needed to resolve the "issues of agriculture, farmer sand rural areas", and to develop social undertakings, firmly relying on cadres and people in the western region. He vowed to push forward with development of the western regions.
Feb 5, 1964: The "Learn from Daqing in Industry" campaign

On Feb 5, 1964, the CPC Central Committee issued a "notice on conveying the 'report on the situation of Daqing petroleum' by the Ministry of the Petroleum Industry", pointing out that the experience of the Daqing oil field was not only applicable in the industrial sector, but also applicable in other sectors. The "Learn from Daqing in Industry" campaign was launched in the country. On Feb 20, 1960, the CPC Central Committee approved a proposal to carry out oil exploration and development work in the Daqing region. Beginning in May 1960, after three years of hard work, the Daqing oil field had produced maximum yields, thanks to the concentration of human and material resources from the national oil sector. By 1963, oil production at the Daqing oil field had reached 6 million tons, and the State's investment in the field had been fully recovered. The field also produced wealth for the country and trained new generations of oil industry workers to be technologically literate, organized, disciplined and hard working. "Iron Man" Wang Jinxi was a representative of the team.

Feb 5, 1972: The CPC Central Committee and State Council approves importing chemical fibers, fertilizer technology and equipment

On Feb 5, 1972, the CPC Central Committee and State Council approved a "report on importing complete sets of chemical fibers, fertilizer technology and equipment" that had been submitted by the State Planning Commission. Subsequently, the State Planning Commission further proposed a program to import $4.3 billion worth of complete sets of industrial equipment, expand economic exchanges with foreign countries, and end the long years of a closed-door policy.

Feb 512, 1980: The 13th Session of the Fifth National People's Congress is held in Beijing

According to related provisions of the "election law of the PRC National People's Congress and Local People's Congress", the meeting adopted "the decision on problems of counties' direct election". In the first half of the year, in addition to Beijing, 460 units from 28 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in the country had pilot elections at the county level. On June 21, People's Daily reported that the work of the trial elections at county level basically ended. In the second half of the year, all regions held direct elections at the county level.
Feb 6, 1928: The Wedding on the Execution Grounds

After the failure of the Guangzhou uprising in 1927, Communists Zhou Wenyong and Chen Tiejun were arrested and imprisoned, betrayed by traitors. Zhou Wenyong was the commander of the Red Guards in the Guangzhou Uprising. He was arrested on charges of engaging in revolutionary activities with his wife, Chen Tiejun. On Feb 8, 1928, Zhou Wenyong and Chen Tiejun were marched to the execution grounds. They showed a calm attitude, held their heads high and sang "The Internationale". Chen Tannounced to the surrounding crowd at the Honghuagang execution grounds in Guangzhou: "We will hold a wedding with gun shots of reactionaries as our wedding salutation." Thus, a revolutionary couple died a martyr's death.

Feb 6--10, 1954: The Fourth Plenary Session of the Seventh CPC Central Committee is held in Beijing

From Feb 6 to Feb 10, 1954, the Fourth Plenary Session of the Seventh CPC Central Committee is held in Beijing. The session adopted the "resolution on strengthening the Party's unity". Liu Shaoqi made a report to the seesion on behalf of the Political Bureauthe CPC Central Committee. Statements were made by 44 comrades, including Zhu De, Zhou Enlai, Chen Yun and Deng Xiaoping. The "resolution" criticized non-organizational activities in Gaogang and Raoshushi, and emphasized the importance of enhancing and maintaining Party unity. In mid-February, entrusted by the CPC Central Committee, Zhou Enlai held a seminar on the Gaogang issue, and Deng Xiaoping, Chen Yi, Tan Zhenlin held a seminar on the Rao Shushi issue. Subsequently, under the leadership of the Central Political Bureau, a series of meetings were held to further expose and criticize the errors of Gao Gang and Rao Shushi.

Feb 6, 1976: The CPC Anhui provincial committee holds a meeting to discuss a household contract responsibility system

First provincial secretary Wan Li's suggestion to implement a household responsibility system in the Shannan commune obtained the provincial committee's consent. The household contract is one form of various household contract responsibility systems, including contract production quotas for individual households and work contracted to a household. In January 1982, the CPC Central Committee issued its "No1 Document". It stated: "At present, more than 90 percent of the rural production teams have established various forms of agricultural production responsibility systems, including fixed payments for small piece contracts, contract jobs along specialized lines and linking payments to output, co-production to labor, contract production quotas to individual households, work contracted to households. These are the production responsibility systems of a socialist collective economy, reflecting the strong desire of hundreds of millions of farmers to develop socialist agriculture in accordance with the actual situation of China's rural areas. No matter what form, as long as the masses do not require changes, do not make changes."
Feb 7, 1931: Five left-wing revolutionary writers are killed

On Feb 7, 1931, five left-wing revolutionary writers -- Rou Shi, Hu Yepin, Yin Fu, Li Weisen and Feng Keng -- were killed by the Kuomintang reactionaries in Shanghai. They engaged in the revolutionary struggle before their death, and produced a number of literary works, which played an active role in the initial development of proletarian revolutionary literature.

Feb 7, 1944: Famous national anti-Japanese hero Ma Benzhai dies

After the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression broke out, Ma Benzhai organized more than 70 young adults in his village to form a "Muslim anti-Japanese volunteer force" and raised the banner of anti-Japanese resistance. In early 1938, Ma Benzhai contacted the Communist Party of China, leading his unit to participate in the Hebei guerrilla army as a registered Muslim training unit in central Hebei. In October 1944, he joined the CPC. After the death of Ma Benzhai, the CPC Central Committee held a memorial service for him in Yan'an. Mao Zedong, Zhu De and Zhou Enlai wrote elegiac couplets, expressed condolences and praised his life.

Feb 7, 1966: Learn from Comrade Jiao Yulu

On Feb 7, 1966, Xinhua News Agency broadcast a lengthy communication on the "Model of the county Party secretary  Jiao Yulu". On the same day, People's Daily published this communication and also issued an editorial that read: "Learn from the good student of Comrade Mao Zedong  Jiao Yulu." From Feb 8 to Feb 15, the CPC Central Rural Political Department, the General Political Department of PLA, the National Federation of Trade Unions, Central Committee of the Communist Youth League, the Central Bureau, and the provincial, city and county governments issued the notices to "Learn from Jiao Yulu". The country rallied to follow the lessons of Jiao to serve the people wholeheartedly, be realistic, down to earth, hard working and unwilling to bow to difficulties, to continue to forge ahead, to be clean, honest and to spare no efforts for the people. For 40 years, the impact of Jiao's spirit inspired the country and led to many Jiao-style cadres.

Feb7, 1977: "Two Whatevers" is put forward

On Feb 7, 197,7 People's Daily, Red Flag magazine and Liberation Army Daily published an editorial titled "Master File to Seize the Key Link". It stated: "We will resolutely uphold whatever policy decisions Chairman Mao made, and unswervingly follow whatever instructions Chairman Mao gave". This error inherited the "left" mistakes of Mao Zedong in his later years.
Feb 10, 1937: The CPC Central Committee urges cooperation between the Kuomintang and CPC

The CPC listed five requirements for cooperation: to stop the civil war and concentrate State power to fight against external enemies; to protect freedom of speech, and gathering and forming an association; to release all political prisoners; to hold meetings of all parties from all walks of life and all armies to concentrate national talents and save the country together, and to rapidly make all preparations for the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and improve people's lives. If the requirements would result in a national policy by Kuomintang, the CPC would be willing to make the four guarantees: to stop efforts to overthrow the Kuomintang government; to approve a worker-peasant government renamed the Republic of China Special Administrative Region Government and the Red Army renamed for the National Revolutionary Army; the SAR implementation of complete democracy and stop the policy of confiscating the land of landlords and resolutely implement the joint program of the anti-Japanese united front. On Feb 15, in response to suggestions of the cooperation by the Kuomintang and CPC, Soong Ching Ling, He Xiangning and Feng Yuxiang proposed an emergency bill on restoring three policies of the alliance with Russia, co-operating with the CPC, and aiding farmers.

Feb 10, 1952: Public trial for Liu Qingshan and Zhang Zishan

On Feb 10, 1952, the public trial for criminals Liu Qingshan and Zhang Zishan was held in Baoding, Hebei. Approved by the Supreme People's Court, the Hebei Province People's Court sentenced Liu Qingshan and Zhang Zishan to death and executed them immediately, confiscating their personal property. Liu Qingshan was the secretary of Tianjin and deputy secretary of Shijiazhuang before his arrest. Zhang Zishan was the deputy secretary of Tianjin, commissioner in Tianjin Area and secretary of Tianjin before his arrest. Both were accused of using their authority to embezzle funds from airport construction projects, shipbuilding relief loans in water disaster areas, and deducting 17.16 billion yuan (in old currency) from local food programs, food relief to the families of cadres and grain supplies for workers. They spend 0.37 billion yuan or more from their acts of corruption and the theft of state assets.

Feb 10, 1964: "The Road of Dazhai" is published

On Feb 10, 1964, People's Daily published a communication about "The road of Dazhai", reported by Xinhua News Agency reporters, and published an editorial stating that the Dazhai road project was "a good example of constructing roads in a mountainous area with the revolutionary spirit". In December 1964, Zhou Enlai presented a government work report at the first meeting of the third NPC, issuing a call to "learn from Daqing in industry, learn from Dazhai in agriculture and for people to learn from the PLA". He summarized the spirit of Dazhai as "principles of politics in command and thoughts, the spirit of self-reliance and hard-work, the Communist style of love for country, and for love of the collective". The "Learn from Dazhai in Agriculture" movement was carried out nationwide.
Feb 12, 1942: Zhao Shangzhi dies a martyr's death

On Feb 12, 1942, Zhao Shangzhi, general of the Northeast Anti-Japanese Allied Army, was arrested by the Japanese army and died a hero's death. Zhao was the third Army commander and commander-in-chief of the Northeast Anti-Japanese Allied Army. On Feb 12, 1942, he was seriously wounded in the fighting and captured. He chose to die rather than surrender.

Feb 12, 1982: The CPC Central Committee approves the "Work Minutes made by the National United Front"

On Feb 12, 1982, the CPC Central Committee approved and issued a notice on the "Work Minutes made by the National United Front". The notice stated that during the historic period of building a modern, powerful socialist country, the united front remained a great weapon of the Party. After the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee, based on the fundamental changes in China's social class status, Deng Xiaoping pointed out: "Our united front is more extended than in any past period as the broadest patriotic united front with a promising future." In June 1981, the Sixth Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee adopted resolutions on a number of historical issues of the Party since the founding of new China, and officially named the movement" the Patriotic United Front" in the new period. In the new century, the Patriotic United Front further developed into a broad coalition of all socialist workers, builders of the socialist cause, and patriots who supported socialism and the reunification of the motherland.
Feb 14, 1950: Sino-Soviet treaty is signed

On Feb 14, 1950, the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance was signed in Moscow. On Dec 16, 1949, Mao Zedong visited the Soviet Union. On Jan 20, 1950, Zhou Enlai arrived in Moscow. On Jan 22, China and the Soviet Union began formal negotiations on signing new treaties and agreements. After talks among Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai of China and Joseph Stalin and Grigori Voitinsky of Russia, the two governments signed the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance. The treaty called for cooperation to prevent Japan and other countries from invading or disruption of peace, consultations on all major international issues involving the common interests of both countries, and also for developing and consolidating economic and culture relations between the two countries in accordance with the principals of equality, mutual benefit, mutual respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity and non-interference in each other's internal affairs. The treaty established political and military alliances between the two countries, as well as guidelines for developing bilateral relations. In April 1979, the seventh meeting of the Fifth NPC decided the 30-year period of Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance was not extended by expiration. In April the following year, the treaty was abrogated.

Feb 14, 1986: China establishes the National Natural Science Foundation of China

In the early 1980s, to promote the reform of science and technology and change the way of funding scientific research, 89 academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences sent a letter to the Central Committee and the State Council proposing the establishment of a national natural science foundation. The foundation would provide support for basic research, environmental research and personnel projects.

Feb 14, 1993: China accelerates development of township enterprises

On Feb 14, 1993, the State Council issued the "decision on accelerating the development of township enterprises in central and western regions" to promote the economy. The policy also applied to less developed eastern areas.

Feb 14Feb 20, 2006: Building a new socialist countryside

From Feb 14 to Feb 20, 2006, the CPC Central Committee held a symposium inviting leading cadres at the provincial level to build a new socialist countryside. Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao made speeches at the opening and closing ceremonies. Hu stressed the need to benefit rural residents. From April 2006 to January 2007, the central government organized 50 training courses, training 5,474 county party secretaries and magistrates on the subject of "building a socialist new countryside".
March 10, 1959: The Tibetan government and upper reactionary group tear up the proposed "Seventeen-Article Agreement" on the peaceful liberation of Tibet and launch an armed rebellion

March 10, 1973: The CPC Central Committee issues the "decision on restoring Deng Xiaoping's Party organization life and his duty as vice-premier of the State Council"

A large number of veteran cadres backed the return of Deng Xiaoping to office, which was of great significance for laying the foundation for accusations of malfeasance by the Jiang Qing group and the subsequent historical turning point.

March 10, 2004: Hu Jintao describes the "Scientific Outlook on Development"

On March 10, 2004, President Hu Jintao delivered a speech at a symposium on population, resources and environment held by the Central Government. There, he outlined the essential requirements for China's "Scientific Outlook on Development". The Scientific Outlook on Development means putting people first as part of the strategy for comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development. The strategy was to be based on Deng Xiaoping Theory and "the thought of Three Represents", and proved a major step toward the overall development of the Party and the country at a new stage in a new century.
March 18, 1926: March 18 Massacre

On March 12, 1926, a Japanese warship bombarded the Taku Forts, killing several Guominjun troops guarding the forts. In retaliation, Guominjun troops fired back and drove the warship out of the Tanggu harbor. The act was treated by Japan as a violation of the Boxer Protocol, signed in 1900 in the aftermath of the Boxer Rebellion. Four days later, ambassadors representing eight countries that were signatory nations to the Protocol sent an ultimatum to the Beiyang Government under Duan Qirui. The demand was that the Duan government should destroy all defense establishments on the Taku Forts. A demonstration was organized in front of the Tiananmen Gate on March 18. Li Dazhao, the leader of the demonstrators, made an emotional address. He called for an end to all unequal treaties signed between China and the foreign powers, in addition to expelling foreign ambassadors who issued the ultimatum. The Nationalist army, who were based in Guangzhou at the time, was urged to confront possible imperialist incursions since the Beiyang Government was unwilling to. A subsequent march by the protesters ended on a square in front of the Beiyang Government headquarter. Duan Qirui, who was worried about the situation becoming destabilized, ordered an armed military police to disperse the protesters. The confrontation led to violence, of which 47 protesters were killed and more than 200 injured. Those who died include Liu Hezhen, a student of the Female Normal University of Peking. Li Dazhao was also wounded during the massacre.

March 1831, 1978: The national science conference is held in Beijing

Deng Xiaoping stressed in his opening remarks that science and technology were productive forces, and the key to the four modernizations was the modernization of science and technology.

March 18, 1988: The State Council issues a "notice on expanding the range of the coastal economic open zones" which determined to appropriately expand the costal economic open zones of 140 cities and counties, including Hangzhou, Nanjing and Shenyang

March 18, 1997: The Nanning-Kunming Railway is completed with a total length of 898 km
March 2331, 1937: The Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee holds an enlarged meeting in Yan'an, discussing the current domestic political situation and the tasks of the Party, focusing in particular on criticizing Zhang Guotao's mistakes

March 23, 1949: Mao Zedong leads the organs of the CPC Central Committee to leave Xibaipo for Beijing

March 23, 1961: The CPC Central Committee issues "a letter to the Central Office and Party Committees of all provinces, cities and districts on the need for serious investigation work," requiring central and local leaders at all levels to go conduct grassroots research, sum up both their positive and negative experiences and solve problems in their practical work
Jan 1, 1923: The Haifeng County Farmers' Union of Guangdong is founded

On Jan 1, 1923, the Haifeng County Farmers' Union of Guangdong was founded. It was China's first county farmers' union, including departments of education, health, finance, agriculture and arbitration. Peng Pai was its first president, and the number of the union's members was about 10 million. Farmers' movements in Lufeng County, Huiyang County were successively developed under the influence of Haifeng Farmers' Movement.

Jan 1, 1924: The CPC Central Committee and Central Socialist Youth League hold joint conference

On Jan 1, 1924, the CPC Central Committee and Central Socialist Youth League held a joint meeting in Shanghai to discuss the reorganization of the Kuomintang. Borodin made a presentation; Chen Duxiu reported on the progress of cooperation between Kuomintang and the Communist Party since the Third Party congresses. The conference adopted the following resolutions: (1) After listening to the work report made by Comrade Borodin and Chen Duxiu, they deem that the work was done correctly; (2) Communist Party members should oppose the old KMTs' misunderstanding of the national revolutionary movement after they join the KMT in the future; (3) Communist Party members should not seek positions in a variety of committees; (4) All party member representatives should defend all of the Declaration's terms. On organizational issues, the constitution should not be used to bound representatives. In the provinces, the Left must be elected to attend congresses.

Jan 1, 1948: Chinese Kuomintang Revolutionary Committee consisting of the Kuomintang Democratic factions is established in Hong Kong

On Jan 1, 1948, the reorganized Chinese Kuomintang Revolutionary Committee, consisting of the Kuomintang Democratic factions, was established in Hong Kong and issued a declaration that was an explicit proposal to "overthrow the traitorous Chiang Kai-shek dictatorship". From Jan 5 to 19, Shen Junru and Zhang Bojun--- the Central Standing Committee of China Democratic League, held the Third Plenary Session in Hong Kong to adjust and enrich the institutions, rehabilitate activities and issue a declaration that advocate the adoption of revolutionary methods and against the reactionary Kuomintang government and U.S. policy toward China. A spokesman of the CPC Central Committee welcomed the establishment of Revolutionary Democratic League and resumption of activities, saying that this "expressed how broad the united front of opposition is to U.S. imperialism and the reactionary Chiang Kai-shek's ruling national democratic movement".

Jan 1, 1952: Mao Zedong calls on to launch a large-scale struggle to battle corruption, waste and bureaucracy

On Jan 1, 1952 Mao Zedong called on at New Year's greeting party: "all our people and staff unanimously launch a large-scale struggle to battle corruption, battle waste, battle the bureaucracy and cleanse the filth of the old society with great fanfare, in a vigorous and resolute manner. On Jan 4, the CPC Central Committee issued a set of "instructions on mobilizing the masses immediately to carry out the struggle", asking for all units to immediately mobilize the masses to carry out the struggle by the deadline.

Jan 1, 1953: China begins the implementation of the first Five-Year Plan to develop the national economy

Jan 1, 1979: The NPC Standing Committee issues a "Message to Taiwan Compatriots"

On Jan 1, 1979 the NPC Standing Committee issued a "Message to Taiwan Compatriots", which declared that the realization of China's reunification is the desire of the people and the general direction of history. China's leaders expressed their determination to consider the realities of national reunification. First, they proposed that both sides end the military confrontation, realize postal shipping as soon as possible, and develop trade and economic exchanges. In the afternoon, the CPPCC National Committee held a forum on this. Deng Xiaoping delivered a speech in which he declared that "resolving the Taiwan question and the complete reunification of the motherland should put on the specific agenda". The same day, Defense Minister Xu Xiangqian issued a statement declaring that suspend the bombardment to the large Kinmen, Little Kinmen, Tai Tam, the second Tam and other islands. Thus, the shelling of these areas ended since 1958.

Jan 1, 1979: China and the United States establish formal diplomatic relations

Jan 1, 1982: The CPC Central Committee approves and transmits the "Summary of the National Conference on Rural Work"

On Jan 1, 1982, the CPC Central Committee approved and transmitted the "Summary of the National Conference on Rural Work" (1982 Central Document No.1). The "Summary" said: At present more than 90% of the rural production teams have established various forms of the agricultural production responsibility system, including fixed payment of small pieces contracting, contracting jobs along specialized lines and linking payment to output, co-production to labor, contract production quotas to individual households, and work contracted to household. These are the production responsibility system of socialist collective economy, reflecting the strong desire of requirements of hundreds of millions of farmers to develop socialist agriculture in accordance with the actual situation of China's rural areas. No matter what form, as long as the masses do not require changes, make no changes. The party's leadership at all levels should note to cadres and the masses that our agriculture must adhere to the road of socialist collectivization. Either public ownership of land and other basic production or collective economic establishing the production responsibility system is unchanged for a long term.

Jan 1, 1984: The CPC Central Committee issues a "Notice of Rural Work in 1984"

On Jan 1, 1984, the CPC Central Committee issued a "Notice of Rural Work in 1984" (referred to as Central Document No. 1 of 1984), emphasizing the stability and improvement of the production responsibility system, improving production levels, clearing the distribution channels, developing commodity production, and extending the land contract period to be normally more than 15 years. From Jan 16 to 26, the department of agriculture, livestock and fishery held a National Agricultural Work Conference to discuss the implementation of the "notice"spirit that uses the spirit of bold exploration and reform, consolidate and improve the responsibility system, transfer the main attention to the commodity production so that the majority of farmers get rich.

Jan 1, 1985: The CPC Central Committee and State Council release "Ten policies for activating the rural economy"

On Jan 1, 1985 the CPC Central Committee and State Council released "Ten policies for activating the rural economy" (referred to as the Central Document No. 1 of 1985). The document states: after breaking the "iron rice bowl" in collective economy, the rural work should focus on the further reform of the agricultural management system, reform of agricultural products purchasing system, expansion of market regulation under the direction of state plan so that agricultural production can meet market needs, promote rationalization of industrial structure in rural areas, and further enlivening the rural economy. This document marked the beginning of China's rural reform and unified the purchasing system for agricultural products, the second step of reform of adjusting the industrial structure as the main content.

Jan 1, 1986: The CPC Central Committee and State Council issue "deployment on the rural work in 1986"

On Jan 1, 1986 the CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued a "deployment on the rural work in 1986" (referred to as Central Document No. 1 of 1986). The paper reported the following: Rural Development has embarked on the track of a planned commodity economy. Agriculture and rural industry development must be coordinated, the "no work, not rich" and "non-agricultural instability" should be organically integrated. The requirements of the total rural work in 1986 are: implementation of policies, in-depth reforms to improve agricultural production conditions, organization of antenatal and postnatal services to promote the sustainable, and stable and coordinated development of rural economy.

Jan 1, 2006: China officially abolishes the agricultural tax
Jan 4Feb 5, 1927: Mao Zedong returns to Hunan to visit the farmers' movement

From Jan 4 to Feb 5, Mao Zedong returned to Hunan to visit the farmers' movement. On Feb 16, Mao wrote to the CPC Central Committee and proposed that solving the land problems is not a matter for propaganda but for immediate implementation. In March, Mao issued a "report on the farmers' movement in Hunan", rejecting the suspicions and accusations of farmers' movements inside and outside the Party, summing up the experience of farmers' movements and proposing the core issue of the Chinese democratic revolutionthe theory and policy of farmers' issues.

Jan 48, 1990: The State Council holds national work conference on economic reform

From Jan 4 to 8, the State Council held national work conference on economic reform to discuss the 1990 reform work task focused on enterprise reform. The conference proposed 7 major measures to improve and develop the contract responsibility system and director accountability. Li Peng delivered a speech on "reform and opening forwards up to a healthy track", stressing that the rectification and deepening of reform are not mutually exclusive but complementary. The purpose of rectification is to create more favorable conditions for reform and opening up, while in rectification, we should focus on a number of reform measures for rectification.
The Daily News, Mohamed Ayyad

Companies include Siemens, Mediterranean Fertilizers Company and El Mahaba for Packaging and Packing Materials

The General Authority for Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) and the Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation signed 15 contracts worth nearly EGP 1bn, with 13 companies of diverse activities to invest in the economic zone of the Suez Canal. The signing was ratified by Prime Minister Sherif Ismail.

Head of the SCZone Authority, Mohab Mamish, has expressed gratitude to President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi for encouraging the investment, and to the prime minister and the investment minister for resolving the problems of investors.

Along with signing the contracts, Mamish said there is a large percentage of Egyptian investors in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The president said that planning must take place with the population increase of 2.6 million people annually, he added.

Mamish pointed out that the upcoming period will witness marketing the zone and encouraging the value-added industries. He stressed that part of the project is new and the other part is old. The old part nears EGP 1bn, and each factory has labour by 75%.

For her part, Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr announced that there is cooperation between the ministry and the SCZone Authority. She said the cooperation has three aspects. The first is for legislative reforms to help inject investments, and that the zone is strategic and has an important role in the executive regulations of the investment law.

15 contracts were signed, said Nasr. She explained there will be a grant from Germany to help develop skills of the workers, and there will be an investment conference in Germany, where Mamish will present the available investment opportunities. We coordinated with the prime minister to help resolve a number of disputes, she added.

The list of companies includes Siemens, Technovision Trade and Industry, Middle East Trade and Industry, and Hefnawi Group for Chemicals Trade.
Jan 6, 1941: Kuomintang launches the Southern Anhui Incident, shocking the world

On Oct 19, 1940 He Yingqin and Bai Chongxi, in the name of the chief and deputy chief of the national government military commissions, forced the New Fourth Army and the Eighth Route Army against Japan in the south of the Yellow River to withdraw to the north within a month. On one hand the Communist Party of China (CPC) rejected this unreasonable demand, but on the other hand the CPC, considering the overall situation of the war, promised to dispatch the New Fourth Army in Anhui to the north of the Yangtze River. On Jan 4, 1941, the headquarters staff of the New Fourth Army and more than 9,000 New Fourth Army troops in Anhui began to move north of the Yangtze River. As they were approaching the area of Maolin in Jingxian County on the 6th, they were ambushed by seven divisions totaling more than 80,000 Kuomintang troops. After a bloody battle that lasted seven days, the New Fourth Army's supplies of food and ammunition were exhausted. Only some 2,000 of them broke through enemy lines, while the rest laid down their lives or were captured. Ye Ting, commander of the New Fourth Army, was detained when he went to the headquarters of the Kuomintang troops to negotiate. Xiang Ying, deputy commander of the Army, and Zhou Zikun, chief of staff and Yuan Guoping, director of the political department, were killed. This was the Southern Anhui Incident, which shocked China and the rest of the world.
Jan 9, 1940: Mao Zedong makes a speech on "New Democracy"

On Jan 9, 1940 Mao Zedong made a speech titled "Politics and Culture of New Democracy" at the First Congress of Cultural Association in Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia border region, proposing a complete theory of New Democracy. Mao Zedong put forward the issue of "which way will China go?" in his speech at the outset and made a clear answer: "We want to build a new China". He said: "We Communists, for many years, have not only fought for China's political and economic revolution, but also struggled for China's Cultural Revolution; all of these aims are to build a new society and new Chinese nation-state".

Jan 9, 1958: The "Ordinance of Chinese Household Registration" is promulgated

The Ordinance was passed by the 91st meeting of National People's Congress Standing Committee, ordaining that the ordinance shall come into force from the date of its publication. It provides that registration work is managed by public security organs at all levels. This was a fairly complete household registration system, including registration of permanent population, registration of temporary residents, birth registration, death registration, immigration registration, emigration registration, and change registration. The task of household management is to prove citizenship, maintain public order, and serve the construction of a socialist society. The legal form of the Ordinance further standardizes the country's household registration management system. It is an important symbol of the official formation of a unified household registration system in rural and urban areas and an important milestone of contemporary Chinese household registration system.

Jan 9, 2009: The 2008 state science and technology awarding meeting is held in Beijing

Hu Jintao, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President and CMC Chairman, awarded Wang Zhongcheng (Academician of Chinese academy of engineering) and Xu Guangxian (Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences) the highest prize in the meeting.
March 27April 16, 1962: The Third Session of the Second National People's Congress is held in Beijing

Zhou Enlai, on behalf of the State Council, delivers the Government Work Report.

March 27April 10, 1985: The Third Session of the Sixth National People's Congress is held in Beijing
April 25, 1959: The Seventh Plenary Meeting of the Eighth CPC Central Committee is held in Shanghai

April 2, 1975: Dong Biwu dies in Beijing at the age of 90

Dong was hailed in his obituary as one of the founders of the Communist Party of China, a great revolutionary fighter and one of the outstanding leaders of the Party and country.

April 2, 1984: The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China is formally accepted as a union member at the 134th Inter-Parliamentary Union Board meeting
April 4May 11, 1947: The fourth group of troops in the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Zone stages a successful counter-offensive in southern Shanxi to crush the forces of Hu Zongnan and Yan Xishan

April 4, 1955: The Fifth Plenary Meeting of the Seventh CPC Central Committee is held

April 4, 1990: The Third Session of the Seventh National People's Congress adopts the "Basic Law of the People's Republic of China on the Hong Kong Special Administration Region"
April 5, 1927: Wang Jingwei and Chen Duxiu issue a "Joint Declaration"

The Declaration said the CPC and the KMT would cooperate, but the declaration of friendship disguised the counter-revolutionary ambitions of Chiang Kai-shek.

April 5, 1956: The CPC issues a report on Soviet Union's "dictatorship of the proletariat"

The report analyzed the history and errors made by the Soviet Union's ruling party under the condition of the "dictatorship of the proletariat" and the phenomenon of Stalin's personality cult.

April 5, 1956: The "April 5 Tian'anmen Incident"

The incident the traditional day of mourning, the Qingming Festival, was triggered by the death of Premier Zhou Enlai earlier that year. The public strongly disapproved of the removal of the displays of mourning, and began gathering at Tiananmen Square to protest against the Gang of Four, who ordered the Square to be cleared.

April 5, 1978: The CPC Central Committee approves the United Front Work Department and the Ministry of Public Security's report on "taking off the hat" of all rightists

April 5, 1983: The Chinese People's Armed Police Force establishes its headquarters in Beijing
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.

0108263 License for publishing multimedia online



Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349
April 8, 1946: The "April 8th Martyrs" are killed in an airplane crash

On 8 April 1946 the communist leaders, Wang Ruofei, Bo Gu, Ye Ting and Deng Fa were killed in an airplane crash and subsequently there was a commemorative meeting held in Yan'an.

April 811, 1996: The State Council holds a working conference in Zhen Jiang on expanding the reform pilot of the national workers' health insurance system
April 16, 1927: Zhou Enlai sends a telegram to the CPC Central Committee asking to dispatch troops to crusade against Chiang Kai-shek

April 16, 1950: The People's Liberation Army launches a massive campaign to fight a fierce battle with the Kuomintang Army at sea

April 1625, 1984: The State Economic Restructuring Commission holds a working conference on a city economic reform pilot project in Changzhou
April 1824, 1955: The Bendung Conference

From April 18 to April 24, Zhou Enlai led a delegation representing the People's Republic of China at the Asian-African Conference attended by 29 countries in Bandung, Indonesia (also known as the Bandung Conference).

April 1828, 1959: The First Session of the Second National People's Congress (NPC) is held in Beijing

Liu Shaoqi was elected chairman of the People's Republic of China, and Zhou Enlai was elected premier of the State Council.

April 1827, 1960: The National Militia Conference is held in Beijing

April 18, 1990: The CPC Central Committee and State Council agree to speed up development of Pudong area of Shanghai
April 26July 21, 1954: Geneva Conference

China participated in the Geneva conference the first time as one of the top five countries to discuss the peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula and restore peace in Indochina.

April 26, 1996: An agreement on strengthening military trust in border areas is signed in Shanghai by the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation, the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz and Tajikistan

April 26, 1997: Peng Zhen dies in Beijing at the age of 95

Peng was praised as a great proletarian revolutionary, an outstanding statesman, a committed Marxist, a principal founder of China's socialist legal system, a snappy dresser, and an outstanding leader of the party and the country.

April 26, 2009: Association for Relations across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin and the Taiwan Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Chiang Pin-kung hold talks in Nanjing
April 29, 1947: The CPC Central Committee issues instructions on working policies of the Central City Working Department and working methods of the Local City Working Department

April 29, 1959: Mao Zedong issues a "party communication" on unrealistic styles in agricultural production

April 29, 2005: President Hu Jintao and Kuomintang Chairman Lien Chan hold talks in Beijing, the first formal talks between the highest leaders of the two parties in 60 years
May 4, 1919: May Fourth Movement

The May Fourth Movement was an anti-imperialist, cultural, and political movement growing out of student demonstrations in Beijing on May 4, 1919, protesting against the Chinese government's weak response to the Treaty of Versailles. The May Fourth Movement marked the beginning of the New Democratic Revolution.

May 4, 1946: The CPC Central Committee issues "instructions on the land issue", implementing the policy of "land to the tiller"

May 4, 1988: The State Council issues "provisions on encouraging investment and development in Hainan Island"

May 4, 1998: Peking University celebrates its 100th anniversary at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing
May 8 and May 20, 1980: The Secretary of the CPC Central Committee discusses the "Education Work Report Outline" and points out that the current situation of education is not suited to the requirements of the four modernizations

May 8, 1999: A US-led NATO air attack with missiles hits the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia, resulting in embassy casualties and damage to embassy premises
May 14, 1992: Nie Rongzhen dies in Beijing at the age of 93

Nie is praised as a loyal proletarian revolutionary, militarist, one of the founders of the People's Liberation Army and an outstanding leader of the Party and country.

May 1416, 2004: Hu Jintao goes to Jilin to inspect the strategy implementation of rejuvenating the old industrial bases of northeastern China
May 30, 1925: The May 30th Massacre

Shanghai students and other people hold anti-imperialist demonstrations and speeches, which are suppressed by policemen in foreign-controlled concessions, causing the "May 30th Massacre".

May 30, 1958: Liu Shaoqi proposes that China simultaneously adopt a system with two primary school systems and two factory rural labor systems
June 3, 1940: The CPC Central Committee issues "Several Decisions on Student Work in Kuomintang Areas"

June 3, 1958: The First National People's Congress approves "Regulations for the Agricultural Tax of the People's Republic of China"

June 3, 1994: The Chinese Academy of Engineering is established in Beijing

June 3, 2007: The State Council issues "China National Climate Change Program"
June 1220, 1923: The Third National Congress of the CPC is held in Guangzhou

The main agenda of the Congress is to discuss the problem faced by all Communist Party members in joining the KMT to create a united front of all democratic classes.

June 12, 1987: Deng Xiaoping calls for an acceleration of the pace of China's reform while meeting with Stefan Keluosheci, a member of the Central Bureau of the Communist League in Yugoslavia
June 21, 1956: The first of 335 prisoners of the Japanese war criminals are granted immunity from prosecution and released the same day by the China's Supreme People's Procuratorate

June 21, 1992: Li Xiannian dies in Beijing at the age of 83

Li was praised as a great proletarian revolutionary, statesman, military strategist, staunch Marxist, and an outstanding leader of the Party and State.

June 21, 1996: Jiang Zemin issues a speech entitled "Make an Effort to Build High-Quality Cadres" at a forum marking the75th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China
Many consider some American-born Chinese as "banana people", who are viewed as "yellow outside but white inside".

But Fred Engst also jokes he can be likened to an "egg" instead - "white" outside like Westerners, but "yellow" inside and devoted to China.

The 59-year-old American was born in Beijing as the first child of Erwin Engst, known as Yang Zao in China, and Joan Hinton, or Han Chun, who arrived in the country in the 1940s to help agricultural development.

Fred Engst spent his first 22 years in China and was named Yang Heping.

Heping means "peace" in Chinese. Soong Ching Ling, the wife of modern China's founding father Sun Yat-sen, met the pregnant Hinton at the Asian Pacific Peace Conference in Beijing in 1952 and suggested the name.

Fred Engst's mother was a former scientist who worked on the Manhattan Project's atom bomb. But she was extremely shocked and quit the project when the US government dropped bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan in 1945.

Hinton arrived in Shanghai in 1948 and went to Yan'an, Shaanxi province, where she married Erwin Engst, who had been working with the Party since 1946. The couple participated vigorously in China's efforts to build a socialist economy and worked extensively in agriculture.

Fred Engst himself was determined to settle down in the Chinese capital again and became a teacher at the University of International Business and Economics in 2007, after more than three decades in his parents' home country where the people were the same as him "in appearance".

"I can only feel at home here (in China)," the economics professor says.

"I can easily tell right from wrong in China and can form my own opinion easily to evaluate a new social phenomenon, but I don't have a steering wheel in America," says Engst, who speaks in fast, pure Mandarin.

"I just have no emotional grounds for judgments."

The difficulty of finding like-minded people was the last push that forced Engst to return to his birthplace.

If not for his daughters, Engst would never have thought of spending this summer vacation in the United States. It will be the first time he is visiting family since he returned to China.

"Few Americans have interests in issues that I am concerned about, like the socialist economy and the 'cultural revolution' (1966-1976). But here, I can have access to rich resources, books or witnesses," Engst says.

Engst says he is enjoying compiling his parents' records as well as reviewing and researching topics about his bygone days in China - between the 1950s and 1974 when he left China for the first time to the US out of curiosity.

Engst spent his childhood in the Caotan dairy farm in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi, before his parents were transferred to work in Beijing in 1965.

In 1969, when he was 17, Engst was appointed as a worker in the Beijing Guanghua Wood Processing Factory. The "equal and harmonious relationship with comrades in the factory" was a special time for him.

Engst says he had to struggle for more than three decades in the US, but the experience also made him realize why his parents believed in communism so firmly.

"As part of the generation who suffered World War II, they witnessed and understood clearly that capitalism would inevitably lead to imperialism, which would then unavoidably result in war," Engst says.
Ruth F. Weiss, also known as Wei Lushi, (December 11, 1908 - March 6, 2006), was a Jewish-born Austrian-Chinese educator, journalist, and lecturer.

She was the last surviving European eyewitness of the Chinese Communist Revolution and the beginnings of the Peoples Republic of China.

Weiss was born in Vienna, and graduated in German and English Studies from the University of Vienna. In 1933 she travelled to Shanghai and decided to stay.

Initially, Weiss worked as a freelance journalist in Shanghai. Later she became a teacher at the Jewish School in Shanghai, at the School of the Chinese Committee of Intellectual Cooperation, and at the West China Union University.

After working briefly as a secretary at the Canadian embassy in 1944, she became a correspondent at the United Nations Picture News Office in 1945 and joined the China Welfare Fund. One year later she took up a post at the Radio Division of the United Nations Organization in New York.

After she returned to China she became a lecturer for the Publishing House for Foreign Literature in Beijing from 1952 to 1965. In 1965 she worked as a journalist for China Pictorial.

Ruth Weiss was one of about 100 foreign-born residents to receive Chinese citizenship in 1955. In 1983, she became a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top advisory body.

She died in Beijing at the age of 97.
July 8, 1925: The National Government of Guangdong decides to expand the Whampoa Military Academy to the First Army of National Revolutionary Army Forces, and Chiang Kai-shek is named Army Commander

July 8, 1937: The CPC Central Committee issues the Communist Party of China Telegram regarding the Japanese Army's attack at the Marco Polo Bridge"

July 8, 1952: The CPC Central Committee issues "Instructions on Problems that the Ongoing Movement of Increasing Saving should Pay Attention To"

July 8, 1971: The State Council issues the "Report on Family Planning Work" developed by the Ministry of Health

July 8, 2010: The CPC Central Committee and State Council issue the "National Long-Term Education Reform and Development Plan (2010-2020)"
Stories in the US news media last week might make many Chinese people feel proud, but they should not be complacent.

On Wednesday, the Pew Center, a US think tank, released a report saying that the United States is facing a new challenge to its superpower status. In 15 of the 22 nations surveyed, the balance of opinion is that China will either replace or already has replaced the US as the world's leading superpower. This view is especially widespread in Western Europe, where at least 60 percent of the people polled see China overtaking the US.

Majorities in Pakistan, the Palestinian territories, Mexico and China also foresee China supplanting the US as the world's dominant power.

Even among Americans, the percentage saying that China will eventually overshadow or has already overshadowed the US has increased from 33 percent in 2009 to 46 percent in 2011.

On Sunday, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman told the National Governors Association annual meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah, that China has outperformed the US in everything from education and infrastructure to clean energy.

His soon-to-be-released book - That Used To Be Us - tells of his frustration with the situation in the US.

In the same week, Robert Herbold, former CEO of Microsoft, wrote an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal. The article, "China vs. America: Which Is the Developing Country?", laments the decaying infrastructure in Los Angles and praises the state-of-the-art facilities he saw in Shanghai and Beijing.

Herbold also applauds China's leadership for mapping out a five-year plan and sticking to the blueprint. He doubts the US president and Congress could emerge with a similar five-year plan and actually achieve it.

These are encouraging messages for many Chinese people. They are in stark contrast to the China bashing or gloomy forecasts heard in the past years. Indeed, China's progress has been phenomenal.

However, if you study carefully the words of Friedman and Herbold, you will realize that they are not eulogizing China, but using its achievements to try to prod the US government and Congress into action.

This is certainly true for Friedman, who has said repeatedly on other occasions that he does not understand much about China. He even claims that the US has nothing to learn from China since its achievements were accomplished by the US decades ago.

Both Friedman and Herbold are simply deeply frustrated at the paralyzing division in US politics. The upcoming 2012 campaign means that many politicians are going to care more about votes than they are about the good of the nation and the people.

Friedman and Herbold are envious of much that is happening in China, from the much quicker decision-making process to the national industrial policy, both of which cannot be duplicated under the US system.

However, what should be pointed out is that the China referred to by Friedman, Herbold and the Pew survey is really coastal China. They ignore rural China, where 60 percent of the population lives, the majority without basic social security and many at a basic subsistence level.

It would not be hard for Herbold to concede that China is indeed a developing country if he looked at the hinterland and western China.

While praise boosts confidence, it should not hide the fact that China's per capita GDP was ranked 94th globally last year by the IMF, trailing many countries in Africa.

We still have a long way to go to catch up with the developed countries, in everything from education, environmental protection, social security, sustainable economic growth and the rule of law.

Having a sense of urgency and crisis is better for the nation than self-indulgence. Many Hollywood sci-fi movies, where cities such as New York, Washington DC and Los Angeles are wiped out by tornadoes, volcanoes or aliens, show Americans' attitude and preparedness toward crisis.

The author, based in New York, is deputy editor of China Daily US edition. E-mail: chenweihua@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 07/19/2011 page8)
July 23, 1921: The First CPC National Congress opens in Shanghai, and the last day's conference is held at South Lake in Jiaxing, Zhejiang

July 23, 1937: Mao Zedong publishes an article entitled "Oppose the Policy, Approach and Future of the Japanese Attack"

July 23Aug 16, 1949: The National Trade Union Conference is held in Beijing
July 25Aug 24, 1962: The CPC Central Committee holds a working conference in Beidaihe

July 25, 1975: Mao Zedong gives instructions on the letter by the writer of the film "Establish a Business"

July 25, 1988: The Central Military Commission chooses the "March of the Chinese People's Liberation Army" as the military song of the Chinese People's Liberation Army
Hu Jintao's speech at the CPC's 90th anniversary gathering covered a wide range of historical, contemporary and future issues confronting Chinese Marxists. The main issue that the Western press concentrated on was Hu's emphasis on the need to combat corruption and maintain social stability in order to avoid the fate of Communist parties in Eastern Europe and the USSR. Although the speech did focus on corruption, institutional efficiency, social stability and democratic participation, Western observers decided to ignore the fact that Hu Jintao used the words "Marxist" or "Marxism" 24 times in his speech. This is no doubt because Hu argued that Marxist ideas and innovation could provide the solutions to the main problems confronting China.

The fact that corruption is universally acknowledged as a major negative factor in Chinese development reveals something extraordinary. It means that if corruption can be reduced, China can develop even more rapidly, more smoothly and with greater equality.

Market fundamentalists inside and outside China agree that corruption is corrosive to development, but they argue that public sector command over the economy is the root cause of corruption. They point out that administrative power tempts officials to demand unearned rents, and that businesses find bribery and the corruption of officials a way to get things done. This theory fails to explain why China's economy has developed so rapidly despite such corruption, while comparative capitalist countries, where private companies overwhelmingly dominate the commanding heights of the economy, have fared far worse. Indeed the extent of corruption exposed by the world financial crisis in the wealthy capitalist democracies makes a mockery of the endless finger pointing at the corruption and "lack of transparency" in China.

Hu Jintao argued that the key to fighting corruption is vigilance and forceful measures, and that leading officials at all levels must only exercise power as agents of the people. "We must serve the people, hold ourselves accountable to them, and readily subject ourselves to their oversight."

Hu placed great emphasis on Marxism and scientifically verified practice as the guiding ideology and method of the Chinese Communist Party. He reiterated one of the fundamental and oft forgotten principles of Marxism: "without democracy there can be no socialism" whilst recognising that the development of "China's socialist legal system has not fully met the need of expanding people's democracy" and that real socialism requires that "all state power belongs to the people".

Hu Jintao explained how the Party founders integrated "Marxism, Leninism with the Chinese workers' movement". The dream of Chinese and International Marxists of the 1920s was that the Communist parties would lead the working class to overthrow backwardness, semi-feudalism, imperialism and capitalism everywhere in the world in a chain of international revolutions. Then the workers' states would take the commanding heights of the economy into public ownership and place them under democratic administration. The societies were to be run according to the principles elaborated by Karl Marx's study of the Paris Commune, and reiterated by Lenin in his booklet the State and Revolution. This envisaged the election and recall of all officials, average workers' wages for officials, a rotation of administrative duties and workers' militias.

These are familiar slogans for Chinese Communists as they were popular in the Cultural Revolution, particularly in Shanghai, in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The problem was that in both Russia and China the working class was a minority class at that time. Therefore the idea that a democratic workers' state would be established, in which state power begins to wither away, was utopian in that context.

The Communist parties of the Third International were engaged in several revolutionary adventures, which used undue haste to try to force the pace of revolutions in some countries and misused the nascent Communist Parties as tools of Soviet foreign policy in others.

Lenin recognized that the attempt to storm heaven by global revolution was postponed and the introduction of the New Economic Policy (NEP) provided practical and essential experience in the methods of primitive socialist accumulation, as applicable to socialist revolutions in less developed countries. The Soviet NEP was the ideological and practical experimental foundation, for the policy that was successfully applied in greater scope and over a much longer period by the Chinese Communist Party after 1978.
Could erstwhile Asian strategic rivals end up as big winners from China's economic success?

In one sense, at least, Asian economies are already winning from Chinese growth  slack global demand has meant that China increasingly powers the growth of nearly every major economy in Asia.

But the question increasingly matters in another sense, as well: Chinese leaders are committed to rebalancing at least some elements of their countrys economy. And while that will mean a more competitive and powerful China, it will also create new opportunities for those countries in Asia that get manufacturing and investment policies right.

Why the change? China is approaching the upper limit of its existing growth model. It has emerged from the global crisis earlier and stronger than nearly any other major economy. But Chinas leaders are hardly complacent about their countrys future economic path. To the contrary, despite remarkable successes, Premier Wen Jiabao has repeatedly called the current model  which relies disproportionately on exports and fixed-asset investment  unbalanced, unstable, uncoordinated and unsustainable.

China produces much but consumes little. The creation and perpetuation of its production-intensive economic model owe much to inefficient capital allocation. Vast regional disparities mean wide gaps in living standards and quality of life. And Chinas investment-intensive growth model has exacted heavy environmental and energy costs.

For these reasons, Chinas growth model is almost certain to change in the coming years as Beijing works to establish a more rational balance between production and consumption and tempers its long-standing preoccupation with GDP growth in favour of a greater emphasis on human capital-oriented growth.

That, in turn, will yield important changes in Chinas political economy. The country will become more urban. Capital allocation could begin to shift from corporations to more households. Interior China will become more developed. And Chinese industry will move rapidly up the value chain.

Indeed, Beijing has long been determined to develop higher-value-added and technology-intensive industry, and its huge capacity to mobilise domestic capital gives it the power to do so. That means more competition for multinationals, including in third-country markets, as Chinese firms produce substitutable (but cheaper) products. But it will also give others opportunities to fill a vacuum.

Take labour-intensive manufacturing in coastal China. Export-oriented manufacturers are already reassessing traditional production strategies as labour costs rise. There are stronger incentives to relocate production to interior China. And new options are emerging as some choose to leave China entirely rather than relocate inland.

For example, rising costs in China could make Indonesia a more attractive hub for some production. This would help drive Indonesian growth in the near term and ultimately wean its economy off its traditional reliance on natural resource exports. As Chinese demand levels grow, Indonesian manufacturers will also benefit by producing and selling their products in China.Likewise in Vietnam, Thailand, and even smaller economies like Cambodia.

For India, rising incomes and higher-value-added production in China could bring benefits. Real appreciation of the renminbi, alongside growing Chinese demand, would help India narrow its trade deficit with China over the next five years. And with the growth of manufacturing, not least in southern states such as Tamil Nadu, India could also capitalise in some areas of production as China moves up the value chain.

But huge obstacles remain. Some in India view this as a backdoor to relaxing labour laws. And such policies could falter, too, on land acquisition.

That would be a shame. Investors are aggressively seeking new opportunities in Asia. So government policies  including new investments in infrastructure, fiscal incentives and tax breaks, and improvements in supply and distribution networks  will shift Asias industrial landscape.

Who will be the winners? Who will surge ahead? Policy choices over the next three to five years will play a central role in determining the answers.

The author is head, Asia Practice Group, at Eurasia Group, and is also adjunct senior fellow for Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations, Washington, DC
SINGAPORE - Singaporean Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said Friday that China's rapid development had made a great contribution to the peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific region and the world at large.

During a meeting with Zhang Qinsheng, deputy chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, Ng spoke positively of the current military ties between the two countries and hailed China's rapid development.

In recent years, China had sent positive signals to the outside world by actively participating in multilateral security dialogues in the Asia-Pacific region, demonstrating Beijing's readiness to contribute to world peace and stability. All these were helpful for countries to understand China's rise and accept it, Ng said.

Zhang said military ties between the two countries had made tremendous progress and were an important part of overall bilateral ties.

Zhang, who is attending the seventh Pacific Armies Chiefs Conference here, said the exchange of visits between the countries' defense ministers and chiefs of general staff in recent years were of great significance in promoting bilateral military relations.

The seventh Pacific Armies Chiefs Conference was held from Thursday to Saturday.

Zhang gave a lecture Thursday, in which he introduced China's security policies in the Asia-Pacific and the construction of the Chinese army.
Aug 1, 1927: The Nanchang Uprising breaks out

The Nanchang Uprising was the "first shot" of the CPC's armed struggle against the KMT reactionaries. From that time on, the CPC built its own army to lead the revolution independently and to seize the governing power through armed forces.

Aug 1, 1935: The CPC delegation to the Communist International drafts the "August 1 Delegation"

Aug 1, 1937: The CPC Central Committee issues "instructions on work in southern guerrilla regions"

Aug 122, 1948: The Sixth National Labor Conference is held in Harbin

Aug 1, 1955: Sino-US ambassador talks are held in Geneva

Aug 1, 1964: Liu Shaoqi points out: "Each province and each city should adopt two labor systems and education systems as the formal labor and education systems"

Aug 112, 1966: The 11th Plenary Session of the Eighth CPC Central Committee is held in Beijing

Aug 1, 2007: A meeting to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army is held
Aug 7, 1927: With the help of the Communist International, the CPC Central Committee called an emergency conference at Hankou. This important conference, held at the critical juncture when the revolution had suffered defeat, aimed at reviewing and correcting past mistakes and defining the future revolutionary policy.

Aug 7, 1947: After the southwestern Shandong battle, the field army led by Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping began to march south along three routes, traversed the Yellow River flood plain, crossed the Shahe, Ruhe and Huaihe rivers and entered the Dabie Mountains, without meeting with any forceful resistance throughout its march.

Aug 7,1950: The first national meeting on health work was held in Beijing.

Aug 7, 2007: The State Council issues a " Comments on solutions to housing difficulties of low-incoming families in urban area".
CANBERRA -- About 120 guests on Saturday attended and contributed positively to discussion over China's modern social and cultural issues in the 2011 Melbourne Conference on China which is being held at University of Melbourne, Australia.

The two-day conference, themed "The City, the Countryside and the World China's rural and urban transformations and their global connections", has invited more than 20 leading scholars and policy advisers from China, Singapore, Australia, U.S. and France to address their study findings on particular field related to China.

Organizer of the conference, Dr Gao Jia, estimated that there were 120 guests attended on Saturday alone, compared to about 90 participants last year.

More than half of the guests are Chinese, some of which came from Renmin University of China and University of Nottingham in Ningbo, while the others are Chinese who are doing research work in universities in Australia and U.S.

By bringing a group of passionate experts from different parts of the world, the participants were engaged in discussions in each session. During the lunch time, most of the guests continued to share ideas with each other, exchanged business cards and hoped to have future opportunities to work with their "new friends".

The conference opened on Saturday, with the first day has covered issues on rural and urban social changes, infrastructure and sustainability, water management, contemporary culture, as well as other conditions in China.

Jia said he is happy to see that the conference allows researchers and professors to have constructive conversations, adding that a wide-range of issues are on the agenda in the unique part of this conference.

"Human right in China is an out-dated topic, instead there are many other important issues China is facing," Jia told Xinhua in an interview on Saturday.

"Due to the rapid growth, study area on China is no longer enough by just focusing on tea culture and traditional dancing. Now we have to do serious research study about the society development, economy and many other areas.

"So I want to make use of this conference to allow experts all over the world to sit down, share their study findings over the issues that are contemporary, up-to-dated."

Jia added that he hopes University of Melbourne will expand its cooperation with universities in China, in a move to make joining efforts to do more in-depth, valuable research on China.

One of the speakers, Wilfred Wang from Monash University, said the conference allowed him to learn a "broader picture" of China.

"It was great talks, very interesting and some new topics that I have never noticed before", Wang told Xinhua.

The second day of conference will focus on economy and foreign affairs issues in China.
Aug 10, 1946: The Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan military area launches the Longhai Campaign

Aug 10, 1960: The CPC Central Committee issues "Instructions on Developing Agriculture and Food in A Big Way through the Whole Party"

Aug 10, 2006: The first, second and third volumes of "Selected Works of Jiang Zemin" are published
MOSCOW - China's first aircraft carrier, which set out on a low-profile sea trial Wednesday, will not shift the balance of power in the Asia-Pacific region, a Russian expert says.

The vessel, the former Soviet aircraft carrier Varyag, has been totally refitted for its new role as a platform for research and training.

Ruslan Pukhov, president of the Moscow Strategy and Technologies Analysis Center, told Xinhua that a single aircraft carrier does not alter the power balance in the region.

"It is a matter of both national pride and security," Pukhov said, adding that the aircraft carrier shows that the Chinese Navy has been developing.

He noted that China has long sought an aircraft carrier as it was the only permanent member of the UN Security Council that had no such warship.

The United States, Britain, France, Russia, Spain, Italy, India, Brazil and Thailand operate a total of 21 aircraft carriers around the world.

The Russian expert pointed out it could be hard to make a aircraft carrier into a feasible combat ship.

"Varyag cannot be used for combat operations as it has been obsolete. Chinese military say they are going to use it mostly as a training vessel. Even though, more efforts are still needed," Pukhov said.

He said warfare-ready aircraft carriers would likely appear in China over the next 15 to 20 years if Beijing does not abandon the program.

He said Russia supports China in a number of military programs, including refitting the carrier.

"Russia is China's only neighbor which bothers the least about growth of Chinese navy might," Pukhov said. "Russia has not been intending to expand its own aircraft carriers fleet or to increase its presence in the global ocean."
ACCRA - A popular daily newspaper in Ghana has welcomed the readiness of China to share its agricultural and technological expertise with Ghana as part of its bilateral commitment to the West African country.

In an editorial published on Thursday, the state-owned Ghanaian Times said Ghanaians welcome the hand of friendship that has been extended to the country by the Chinese government over the years.

It expressed the hope that "The nation would tap that rich experience in the agricultural sector to promote growth and development in the country."

In the comment titled "Learning from China's Experience", with reference to agricultural development particularly food production, the daily undisputed the bare fact that Ghana has the potential of becoming a major food producer to ensuring food security on the continent and beyond.

However, it wrote "It is regrettable that 54 years after independence, the nation's agricultural sector has not seen much improvement, even though it constitutes the bed rock of the economy."

"The huge resources spent on overseas training, workshops and various research studies over the years have not yielded many results," it continued.

The paper attributed the cause to the failure of exposing the country's farmers to available new technologies, resulting in their using the age-old rudimentary tools to till the virgin land.

Turning back to China, the paper said, the Asian country for many years has advanced in mechanized agriculture and scientific technology.

Almost every available land in that country is self-sufficient in food production, the editorial stressed.

In a sharp contrast, it stated further, the situation differs from Ghana which has vast uncultivated arable lands which could be put to good use with the help of the Chinese government.
Aug 13, 1929: The CPC Central Committee issues a notice on "Opposition in the Communist Party of China"

Aug 13, 1945: Mao Zedong delivers a speech entitled "Current Situation and Policy after the Victory of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression" at the Yan'an cadres meeting

Aug 13, 1945: Commander-in-Chief Zhu De and Deputy Commander Peng Dehuai send a telegram to Chiang Kai-shek that resolutely refuses his "command"

Aug 13, 1971: The CPC Central Committee approves the "National Education Work Meeting Minutes"

Aug 13Sept 25, 1977: The National College Entrance Conference is held in Beijing
Aug 15 and Aug 19, 1940: The Central Committee issues "Instructions on Carrying Out the United Front Work" and "Instructions on Expanding the Work of Making Friends"

Aug 15, 1945: Japanese Emperor Hirohito announces Japan's unconditional surrender

Aug 1517, 1988: The Central Committee approves the "Initial Program on Reform of Prices and Wages"
Instantly recognizable, the panda is so much more than an endangered bamboo-eating bear. Adored by kids and adults the world over it has been adopted as a symbol for conservation organizations and has proved to be a merchandiser's dream by inspiring cuddly toy sales by the billions.'

There is more than a touch of irony in the fact that while the future for the lovable low-libido panda is far from certain, it is doing it's best to help mankind find common ground for improving international relations.

Ironic because less than a century has passed since trophy hunters from the west were more interested in shooting the animal than saving the species. Enlightenment may have come late but it duly arrived, by the time man had started massacring each other in the second world war they had at least stopped hunting the panda for trophies.

Following the carnage and subsequent political division of the globe the black eyed bear came into it's own as a bearer of the olive branch. Being able to travel where diplomats feared to tread it kept channels of communication open when dogma and mistrust threatened to close them completely.

Although there are reports of pandas being sent abroad as far back as the 7th century the province of Sichuan began the modern initiative in 1945 when Lien Ho the panda was sent on a trip to London. Although he lived for only four years his presence created such a stir that he was followed in 1958 by Chi Chi. She was the unquestionable star of the zoo for the next 14 years and carved out a place in the hearts of a generation of Londoners.

Pandas have ever since been dispatched on similar goodwill missions to various cities, both east and west, regardless of beliefs or affiliations.

Scotland is scheduled to be the next country blessed with the panda's presence. The plan has taken over four years to come to fruition since the idea was first mooted back in 2006 but for the residents of the city of Edinburgh the wait will surely have been worth it.

However behind all the cooing and photogenic moments there is a serious purpose to the visit. A mutual trade agreement signed at the time of the announcement just scratches the surface. The benefit to all concerned cannot simply be weighed in terms of increased retail sales or industrial output alone. Politicians may have signed the deal but there is a far wider connection, on a much more ordinary level. Panda appeal is universal, concern for the animal unites all citizens regardless of nationality, class or political persuasion.

The species desperate plight has been brought about by the follies of man and for all of our sakes, we should be grateful it proved resilient to the onslaught we subjected it to.

If these creatures had been lost, the black white paw of diplomacy would never have been extended and the world today would be a far more dangerous place for us all to co-exist.

The author is a communications professional, film maker and published writer with a keen interest in life.
Aug 17 - Sept 19, 1952: Zhou Enlai led a Chinese government delegation to visit the Soviet Union to exchange views with the Soviet Union on the draft outline of the First Five-year Plan and try to get the assistance of the Soviet Union.

Aug 17-30, 1958: the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held an enlarged meeting in Beidaihe, where they decided to establish people's communes in rural areas.

Aug 17, 1964: the CPC Central Committee and the State Council approved the National Economic Council's report on setting up industrial and transportation trusts and approved the set-up of 12 trusts in the country.

August 17, 1982: China and the United States issued the Joint Communique of the People's Republic of China and the United States of America, also known as the August 17 Communique.
LAGOS - The essential thing about China- Africa relations is about partnership, which is based on the principle of give and take, says Bola A. Akinterinwa, acting director-general of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs.

"The old colonialism of the West was that they took from Africa without giving anything in return. If you take and you don't give, it creates imbalance, "Akinterinwa told Xinhua in a recent interview.

"If anybody says that China is colonizing Africa I don't agree with that because the sovereign countries on their own signed the agreements. Not like the West that imposed colonial rule on Africa without the consent of the African countries," he noted.

Akinterinwa sees Nigeria-China relations as a welcome development as long as it increases the business potentials of Nigeria. He said Nigerian entrepreneurs should be able to take advantage of the opportunities.

Nigeria needs to generate the needed expertise that will change the economic fortunes of the country so that whatever partnership must comply with the implementation of agreement reached, he said.

He said Puegeot and Voxwagen automobile companies have been in operation in Nigeria for over 30 years, but Nigeria has not yet acquired the technological knowledge in making cars.

He hoped Nigeria could get some technological know-how from China against the backdrop of many big Chinese projects under construction in Nigeria.

"What Africans should do is to address developmental problems because it is a serious issue. We should play politics to assist economic growth and development," he said.
ABIDJAN - The problem of poverty is a big challenge for Africa and the fight against this scourge has been the main preoccupation of most governments on the continent.

Most analysts have observed that China has been deeply involved in the fight against poverty on the continent besides African governments. China has also remained faithful on the side of the continent as witnessed in a number of initiatives that have been launched in various sectors.

Among African countries, Cote d'Ivoire is one of those which have benefited a lot from China's support and help.

In the health sector, taking the case of malaria as an example, the means to fight against the disease have been reinforced in Cote d'Ivoire thanks to Sino-Cote d'Ivoire cooperation.

Through collaboration with Cote d'Ivoire's health ministry, the Chinese government has put up a research center in Abidjan which will help in the fight against malaria. The Cote d'Ivoire authorities have said that this malaria research center came at the right time and it will help to improve the health status of the population.

"Malaria is a real health problem in the country and it represents the first reason for medical consultations in our hospitals. A center offered by a friendly nation (China) will help to relieve the pain of most of our people," Patrice Konan, a doctor at a hospital in Abidjan, said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

The impoverization of the people comes not only through the deterioration of health conditions, but also through food deficiency.

Cote d'Ivoire has also received support from China in her efforts to achieve food sufficiency through production of foodstuffs like rice.

In March this year, China which is the biggest rice producer in the world gave Cote d'Ivoire authorities over 200 tons of fertilizers and hundreds of agricultural machines whose cost was evaluated at 2 million euros.

Still, following the appeal from Cote d'Ivoire for the Chinese support on the strategies for reviving rice farming, a Chinese delegation of experts visited several Cote d'Ivoire localities in 2010 to train rice farmers.

The Chinese delegation in Cote d'Ivoire was led by Director of the International Center for the Fight Against Poverty (LPRCC) Wu Zhing.

"There's need to take advantage of the Chinese experience in order to increase food production," a Cote d'Ivoire investment expert Raymond Sibailly said recently.

"The IPRCC is one of the biggest global institutions involved in the fight against poverty. This center also works with the universities of China and through its actions, this country has achieved miracles in the fight against poverty," Sibailly said.

The problem of housing is another big challenge for Cote d'Ivoire. In the country, most of the people do not have decent houses to live. In most towns, there's a problem of slums which house the jobless people or those who earn little wages. Most families live in makeshift houses because of poverty.

In order to help resolve the housing problem, China has partnered with the Cote d'Ivoire government in the construction sector to try and reduce the housing shortage.

During a recent meeting with a Chinese construction company, Cote d'Ivoire Prime Minister Guillume Soro called for concerted efforts with Cote d'Ivoire's Construction and Housing Company (SICOGI) to ensure that majority of the people live in decent houses.

Recently Cote d'Ivoire experienced a post-election crisis which resulted in the loss of lives and destruction of property. Soon after the crisis was over, the country's President Alassane Ouattara announced that reconstruction of the country would be one of his main priorities.

China has expressed its willingness to help Cote d'Ivoire in the reconstruction process.

After several preliminary meetings with Cote d'Ivoire's authorities during which the Chinese emissaries promised support from their country, Sino-Cote d'Ivoire agreements regarding Chinese aid for Cote d'Ivoire's post-crisis reconstruction were signed in June this year.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun and Cote d'Ivoire's Foreign Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan signed the documents which granted Cote d'Ivoire loans and cancellation of Cote d'Ivoire's debt.

In addition, China has also given Cote d'Ivoire "urgent materials" worth 1.09 billion Fcfa.

China has honored the commitments she made to Cote d'Ivoire.

"The crisis increased poverty in Cote d'Ivoire. The Chinese contribution is expected to help in the revival of activities in some of the country's sectors," said Emmanuel Lohoues, an official at Cote d'Ivoire's finance ministry.

"On the path of development, Cote d'Ivoire will always have China on her side," Zhai promised.

Chinese Ambassador to Cote d'Ivoire Wei Wenhua has on several occasions reiterated his country's willingness to help Cote d'Ivoire on her development path.
According to a recent notice written by the China National Tobacco Corporation, cigarettes produced and sold in China will bear a new larger warning label, starting in April 2012. That's a token pass at trying to do something about the country's worst behavior/health related problem, but does anyone really believe that it's a serious attempt to proactively wipe out smoking?

Although China ratified the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2005, the country has yet to ban smoking in public places as required by the WHO Framework.

As long as local governments realize enormous profits from the government-controlled tobacco industry, official attempts to change behaviors may prove fruitless. The fact that China has more smokers than any other nation and more deaths from smoking-related causes, 1.2 million people each year, will remain an abstract statistic for most people, while for those families losing loved ones, the nation's smoking shame will be a tragedy.

A report published in January by a group of Chinese and foreign experts entitled "Tobacco Control and China's Future" warned that tobacco is the No.1 killer of Chinese people, but unless that reality touches someone personally they are unlikely to hear that distressing message.

There is an answer, however, and it may be uniquely and personally Chinese.

As I wrote in a January China Daily Online column, smoking is largely a gender-related problem in China. About 53% of adult men in China smoke; less than 3% of women smoke. Contrast that with the US where the Centers for Disease Control reports that 24% of men smoke and 18% of women smoke.

Relatively little attention has been paid to the social norms which encourage smoking or how to utilize social norms to develop successful campaigns to wipe out smoking. Those norms are a central predictor in individuals' decisions to smoke.

Social norms are behavioral expectations or cues within a society or group. So, for example, the fact that restaurants still allow diners to smoke and may encourage that behavior by leaving ashtrays on tables means there is both an expectation that people should enjoy smoking with their meal and a social cue to light up. The Chinese government should honor its WHO pledge to outlaw smoking in public places.

In addition to anti-smoking laws, societies must establish social norms which make smoking anti-social.

One solution might be for women to begin a grass roots Internet campaign using social media in order to convince their fathers, sons, brothers, husbands, and lovers, to give up smoking. Women could organize smoke-out days, provide helpful messages to males, or suggest behavioral alternatives. In the extreme, girls could organize "kiss-off" campaigns where they don't allow guys to kiss them after they've been smoking. An old American cigarette campaign targeting women proclaimed, "You've come a long way, Baby." Maybe, it's time for Chinese women to demonstrate just how far they've come and go after the smoking scourge.

The author formerly taught Advanced Placement Psychology in the US and is now an adjunct Professor in the Temple University Masters of Law program at Tsinghua University in Beijing.
August 18, 1944: CPC Central Committee issued instructions on diplomatic work, saying "the core content of our foreign policy is to fight against Japanese aggression with a united front and fight for democracy, in a bid to expand our influence."

Aug 18-23, 1980: An enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee was held in Beijing, during which Deng Xiaoping on August 18 delivered a speech entitled the Reform of the Party and State Leadership System. He called for the end of bureaucracy, centralization of power, patriarchy and the system of lifelong tenure for those in leading posts.

Aug 18-19, 2009: A national work conference was held to discuss trial runs of a new rural pension system. Premier Wen Jiabao announced that the pilot program would be carried out in 10 percent of counties by the end of 2009, and throughout the whole nation by 2020.
Aug 21, 1972: CPC Central Committee, State Council approve construction of 1.7-meter rolling mill project at WISCO

On this day, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council approved the construction of a 1.7-meter rolling mill project at the Wuhan Iron and Steel Company (WISCO). The rolling mill, imported from West Germany and Japan, was one of the biggest imports at that time.

Aug 21 and 23, 1980: During an interview with an Italian reporter, Deng Xiaopeng insisted that the societal contributions of Chairman Mao Zedong outweigh any mistakes made, saying that his contributions were primary, while his mistakes were secondary.

"We will reaffirm that his (Chairman Mao's) contributions are primary and his mistakes secondary. We will adopt a realistic approach towards the mistakes he made late in life." Deng told Italian reporter Oriana Fallaci in an interview on Aug 21 and 23, 1980.

"It's true that he made mistakes in a certain period, but he was after all a principal founder of the Chinese Communist Party and the People's Republic of China."

"As you know, during the Yan'an days our Party summed up Chairman Mao's thinking in various fields as Mao Zedong Thought, and we made it our guiding ideology. We won great victories for the revolution precisely because we adhered to Mao Zedong Thought. Of course, Mao Zedong Thought was not created by Comrade Mao alone - other revolutionaries of the older generation played a part in forming and developing it - but primarily it embodies Comrade Mao's thinking."
Rather than getting entangled in the past, the two countries should work together in friendship

BEIJING - Uichiro Niwa, the Japanese ambassador to China, said the people of China and Japan should learn more about the current situation in each other's country rather than get entangled in the past if they want to forge stronger relations.

At the annual Beijing-Tokyo Forum that concluded on Monday in Beijing, Niwa quoted a recent survey conducted by China Daily and Japan's Genron NPO, the sponsors of the forum, saying there has been a sharp drop in the number of people in China and Japan who harbor friendly feelings toward each other, following a year that has seen the countries at odds over several issues.

Calling attention to the survey results, the ambassador said sincere communication is needed if the relationship is to improve.

The ties between the two countries were damaged when Chinese and Japanese vessels collided in September. The ties improved, though, when China offered to help Japan recover from the large earthquake that struck in March.

"These events give us more reason for our two countries to work for friendship... This is the right time to strengthen our ties with action and determination," Niwa said.

The survey, conducted annually prior to the Beijing-Tokyo Forum, found that people's attitudes in China and Japan have changed largely because of the history of Japan's aggression in China and because of territorial disputes over the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea.

Before returning to Beijing late on Saturday to attend the forum's opening ceremony on Sunday, Niwa had just wound up a four-day visit to the Tibet autonomous region.

In Tibet, he met with the Tibetan chairman, toured Buddhist temples and talked with ordinary people. He said the trip was aimed at getting to know the ethnic groups in China better.

According to the Japanese embassy in Beijing, Niwa is the first Japanese ambassador to visit Tibet in at least 10 years.

In the year since he took office, Niwa has traveled to several places in China, including Nanjing, where many citizens were slaughtered by invading Japanese troops during 1937 and 1945.

"I am trying to visit everywhere in China and hope to help more Chinese people understand Japan," Niwa said.

"I believe if I persevere for 10 years, the ties between Japan and China will surely improve," Niwa said.

Niwa, a Japanese businessman with extensive experience in China, first came to China in the 1980s. Niwa became the ambassador to China in 2010 at the age of 71 and is the first Japanese civilian who was picked to be an ambassador after the war.

Calls for better ties with China also came from another incumbent Japanese cabinet member at the forum.

Renho Murata, minister of administrative reform, said she and her colleagues will strive to ensure the ties between the countries are strengthened.

The 42-year-old Murata is the first Japanese cabinet member with Chinese origins. Her father was a merchant from Taiwan and her mother was Japanese.

Renho studied Chinese for two years at Peking University and is now working to improve communications between China and Japan.

Renho pledged that more Japanese people will visit China to gain a better understanding of it.

Renho said it is important that people recognize that today there is a new China and a new Japan rather than getting stuck in the past.

Sun Mengying contributed to this story.
Aug 25, 1937: The Central Military Commission of the CPC issues an order to change the name of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army to the National Revolutionary Army Eighth Route Army

Aug 25, 1939: The Central Political Bureau of the CPC issues the "Decision on Consolidating the Party"

Aug 25, 1968: The CPC Central Committee issues a "Notice on Sending Workers' Propaganda Team into the School"

Aug 25Oct 5, 1970: The State Council holds a conference on agriculture in northern area

Aug 25, 1983: The CPC Central Committee issues the "Decision on Severely Punishing the Criminal Activity"

Aug 2529, 1987: The State Economic Commission, the Organization Department, CCCPC and the National Federation of Trade Union hold a conference on the full implementation of director responsibility system in Beijing

Aug 25, 2009: President Hu Jintao deliveres a speech at the cadres of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region meeting and stresses insisting on the reform and development, unity and stability
Aug 28, 1945: CPC Representatives Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and Wang Ruofei arrived in Chongqing to negotiate with KMT.

Aug 28, 1989: A Plenary Session of the Political Bureau of CPC Central Committee was held to discuss and approve a "Notice on Strengthening the Party Building".

Aug 28, 1998: Jiang Zemin met with representatives attending the Ninth Envoy Meeting of the Foreign Ministry and pointed out the trend causing widespread concern in the international economy was economic globalization
Aug 2930, 1922: A Plenary Meeting of the CPC Central Executive Committee was held in West Lake in Hangzhou.

Aug 29, 1958: The CPC Central Committee issued an "Instruction on Starting the Socialism and Communism Education Campaign in Rural Areas This Winter and Next Spring".

Aug 29, 2002: Two-way direct exchanges between Xiamen and Kinmen were realized.
MINSK - Chinese top legislator Wu Bangguo's scheduled visit to Belarus from Sept. 17 to 20 is widely expected to enhance bilateral ties, Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Anatoly Tozik has said.

Wu, chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress, will lead a delegation composed of heads of ministries, agencies, major corporations and banks, Tozik said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

A string of investment documents are expected to be signed during Wu's visit. He will meet with Belarusian president, prime minister and chairman of the House of Representatives, the official said.

High-level exchanges promote the dynamic development of trade and economic ties between Belarus and China, which are beneficial for both countries, Tozik said.

Over the past years, China has become one of Belarus' top 10 trade partners, with bilateral trade reaching 2.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2010, Tozik said.

For the first seven months of 2011, trade between Belarus and China has increased 40 percent from the same period of 2010 and it is expected to reach nearly 3 billion dollars at the end of 2011, Tozik said.

Tozik also said Belarus' entry to the Customs Union, a cooperative body between Kazakhastan, Belarus and Russia aimed at boosting the countries' economic integration and remove their customs borders, will bring opportunities to the cooperation between Belarus and other countries.

"It is absolutely beneficial for China and Belarus to create joint enterprises or Chinese enterprises and sell their products in the huge common market of Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan," Tozik said.

An important component of the Belarusian-Chinese relations is cooperation in investment and financing, Tozik said.

The implementation of big investment projects in Belarus with the credit support of the Chinese banks will accelerate the modernization of the economy, increase use of local resources and produce competitive goods in foreign markets, Tozik said.

The Chinese companies are carrying out numerous projects concerning energy, infrastructure, industry and transport in Belarus.

Meanwhile, the Belarusian companies have implemented a number of investment projects in China on heavy vehicles production in Beijing, production of forage and corn harvesters, production of Belarusian tractors in Harbin (capital of northeastern China's Heilongjiang province), Tozik said.

On education and culture, Tozik said about 2,000 Chinese nationals are studying at 22 Belarusian universities. In 2006, a Confucius Institute was founded in Belarus, which promotes the Chinese language teaching and helps enrich both Chinese and Belarusian cultures.
SYDNEY - Bob Hawke, former Australian prime minister, has said China's achievement and peaceful rise contribute greatly to the world's progress and prosperity.

Speaking at a reception held Friday at China's Consulate General in Sydney to commemorate the 62nd anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Hawke said China had achieved unparalleled achievement in the past 62 years, which not only improved Chinese people's living standard, but also contributed much to the prosperity of the world.

"Many countries have benefited from it (China's achievement). The Asian region of course benefited from it. But I would suggest you that no country in the world has benefited more from China's achievement than us in Australia," he said.

Hawke said Australia and China have established a remarkable relationship. "Australia has been in a better position amid the global financial crisis than most developed countries,... fundamentally because of this remarkable bilateral relationship and continuously booming market in China."

Other keynoters including Duan Jielong, Chinese consul-general in Sydney and Barry O'Farrell, state premier of New South Wales, also shared their insights with hundreds of guests upon China's progress and the promising prospect of China-Australian friendship.
NEW YORK - "China is not perfect", but it is an alternative to a world dominated by the West, said US filmmaker Andre Vltchek.

Vltchek, who is also a novelist and political analyst, has been discovering places that are rarely covered by the mainstream Western media, and exposing disparities in today's world.

One of his articles, titled The West Perfecting its Techniques to Hurt China, was recently translated and published in People's Daily, a major Chinese newspaper.

"The West has absolutely no interest in human rights in China or anywhere else. How could it, considering that it is violating them on basically all continents, worldwide?" he wrote in the commentary posted a year ago on Znet, a website focusing on politics from a left-wing perspective.

Vltchek told China Daily in a recent interview that he still holds the same views today.

A naturalized US citizen born in Leningrad in the former Soviet Union, Vltchek grew up in what used to be Czechoslovakia before coming to New York at a young age to study film.

Vltchek believes that the complicated mix of blood that flows in his veins and his friends from different races and cultures, common to many US immigrants, has made him what he is today.

Currently producing a film for the United Nations on the world's biggest refugee camp, Dadaab, in Kenya, Vltchek has traveled to and worked in more than 140 countries.

He was a war correspondent in the 1980s and 1990s and reported from conflicts in countries including Bosnia, Peru, Sri Lanka, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and East Timor.

"If the world did not have China, there would be no alternative left," he said.

"China is not perfect. But it is the most peaceful big nation on Earth."

However, Vltchek doesn't expect "perfection" from China, as it is a country with a huge population and its own problems.

He called for "pluralism" in a Western-dominated world order, and said he supported China and Russia's veto on Oct 4 of a European-backed UN Security Council resolution, which threatened sanctions against Syria amid clashes in the country.

"What would happen if there would be no China? Europe would draft another UN resolution and a few weeks later, Syria would be bombed and destroyed in the same fashion as Libya was," Vltchek said.

A just and fair new international order has been the common aspiration of many developing countries. In 2003, China and Russia issued a joint declaration advocating a multi-polar world.

Currently based in Indonesia, Japan and East Africa, Vltchek is currently completing a book on Indonesia's coup in 1965.

The book, Archipelago of Fear, written for Pluto Publishing House in London, follows Indonesia from 1965 to the present.

Commenting on Vltchek's book Oceania, published in 2010, US linguist Noam Chomsky said that it evoked "the reality of the contemporary world".

"He has also not failed to trace the painful - and particularly for the West, shameful realities to their historical roots," said Chomsky.

Another of Vltchek's novels, Point of No Return published in 2005 in English, and in 2010 in French, shows the world through the eyes of a war correspondent.

Vltchek is also working on a 1,000-page novel called Winter Journey that describes the state of the world in which we are living through the eyes of disgruntled "globalized" left-wing intellectuals.
According to the Ministry of Public Security, more than 50 million foreigners exit or enter the country on average every year, while another 5 million live here. Of these, about half-a-million call China home.

Many have enriched Chinese lives with their contributions in business, education, medical care and disaster relief.

China Right There, a recent bilingual documentary on Tianjin TV highlighted the lives of 100 expatriates who have been living here since the founding of New China in 1949. The crew traversed the length and breadth of the country recording their everyday lives.

Now, 13 of them have been picked to be honored with the "You Bring Charm to China" award, presented jointly by Tianjin TV and Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV, and supported by China Daily.

The awards were presented on Saturday at Kerry Centre Shangri-La Hotel, witnessed by representatives from the United Nations, leaders of China's major diplomatic institutions and by distinguished overseas Chinese.

Domestic and overseas artists put up a gala show and the whole ceremony was broadcast live to audiences at home and abroad.

We profile one of them here:

Mika and Charlotte MacInnis, known as Ai Zhong and Ai Hua

While their English names, Mika and Charlotte MacInnis, are known to few people mention their Chinese names "Ai Zhong" and "Ai Hua" - both of which mean "Love China" - and the two American girls are instantly recognized.

The sisters can speak fluent Chinese, sing traditional Chinese opera, and are even competent at xiangsheng, a traditional Chinese crosstalk act.

Their family moved to China in 1988 when Mika was 9 and Charlotte, 7.

Born in the US and raised in China, the sisters danced and sang their way into Chinese hearts and households many years ago.

After completing their high school studies in China, Ai Hua left for Columbia University to study drama. She is now a TV host in China. Her sister Ai Zhong is currently pursuing her PhD in psychology in the US, but plans to work in China after earning her doctorate.

She often says she feels she is a foreigner in the US.

Their grandfather Donald MacInnis, was once a member of the Flying Tigers, a formidable group of volunteer fighter pilots who helped China fight the Japanese invasion. He volunteered to be an English teacher in a university in Fuzhou at the age of 84.

Their father, Peter MacInnis, was born in Fuzhou, grew up in Taiwan, and now works on the mainland. His wife, Elyn, is a lover of Chinese music, and plays the suona, a kind of Chinese saxophone used in Peking Opera, and nazi, a traditional Henan instrument.

China is already home to three generations of this family and their hope is that the next generation too will base itself here.
According to the Ministry of Public Security, more than 50 million foreigners exit or enter the country on average every year, while another 5 million live here. Of these, about half-a-million call China home.

Many have enriched Chinese lives with their contributions in business, education, medical care and disaster relief.

China Right There, a recent bilingual documentary on Tianjin TV highlighted the lives of 100 expatriates who have been living here since the founding of New China in 1949. The crew traversed the length and breadth of the country recording their everyday lives.

Now, 13 of them have been picked to be honored with the "You Bring Charm to China" award, presented jointly by Tianjin TV and Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV, and supported by China Daily.

The awards were presented on Saturday at Kerry Centre Shangri-La Hotel, witnessed by representatives from the United Nations, leaders of China's major diplomatic institutions and by distinguished overseas Chinese.

Domestic and overseas artists put up a gala show and the whole ceremony was broadcast live to audiences at home and abroad.

We profile one of them here:

Sidney Shapiro, 94, author and translator who has lived in China since 1947

Sidney Shapiro, born in Brooklyn, New York in 1915, is an author and translator who has lived in China since 1947. He is the oldest member of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's highest advisory body. A law graduate of St Johns University in New York City, he joined the US army in November 1941.

In 1942, he applied for a special army program developing translators in foreign languages for use in possible expeditionary forces abroad. Although he asked for the French program, he was urged to study Chinese. In considerable confusion, he agreed.

After the war, he continued to pursue the Chinese language, first at Columbia University and then at Yale University. He became fascinated by Chinese history and culture and decided to go to China to learn more.

He arrived in Shanghai in 1947, quickly ran out of money, and was forced to take up the practice of law, which, he said, he had "travelled 10,000 miles to avoid."He soon met his future wife, Feng Zi (Phoenix), one of Chinas most well-known actresses and woman writers. They married in 1948.

After the founding of New China in 1949, the devoted couple settled in a courtyard house in a Beijing hutong. Sidney became a Chinese citizen in 1963 and, in 1983, a National Committee member of the CPPCC, China's highest advisory body.

Feng Zi passed away in 1996, but Sidney still lives in the house they shared. Their daughter Yamei, a doctor of Western medicine, lives with him, together with his Chinese granddaughter Stella and her American husband Kevin. Happily, a great-grandchild is rumored on the way.

For nearly 60 years, Shapiro has worked as an editor and translator of Chinese literature, and as a writer of several books on Chinese themes.

He has won critical and popular acclaim, in China and abroad. He has translated more than 20 books including Ba Jins "Family", Mao Duns "Spring Silkworms: and several of Zhao Shulis literary works.

His translation of "Outlaws of the Marsh", one of the most important classics of Chinese literature, won him Chinas highest translation award in the 1970s. It received warm praise in the West.

His research on the history of the Chinese Jews was published in America and China under the title of "Jews in Old China: Studies by Chinese Scholars". It was translated into Hebrew and published in Israel. More recently, it was also translated into Chinese.

His own works include "The Law and the Lore of Chinese Criminal Justice," "Ma Haide: The Saga of American Doctor George Hatem in China" and "A Sampler of Chinese Literature from the Ming Dynasty to Mao Zedong," not to mention his autobiography "I Chose China."
According to the Ministry of Public Security, more than 50 million foreigners exit or enter the country on average every year, while another 5 million live here. Of these, about half-a-million call China home.

Many have enriched Chinese lives with their contributions in business, education, medical care and disaster relief.

China Right There, a recent bilingual documentary on Tianjin TV highlighted the lives of 100 expatriates who have been living here since the founding of New China in 1949. The crew traversed the length and breadth of the country recording their everyday lives.

Now, 13 of them have been picked to be honored with the "You Bring Charm to China" award, presented jointly by Tianjin TV and Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV, and supported by China Daily.

The awards were presented on Saturday at Kerry Centre Shangri-La Hotel, witnessed by representatives from the United Nations, leaders of China's major diplomatic institutions and by distinguished overseas Chinese.

Domestic and overseas artists put up a gala show and the whole ceremony was broadcast live to audiences at home and abroad.

We profile one of them here:

Joan Hinton, 88, nuclear physicist and dairy farm owner in Beijing

A US-born scientist who once worked on the Manhattan Project, Joan Hinton now runs a dairy farm in the north of Beijing.

Born in 1921, Hinton has spent more than 60 years in China and is now a Chinese citizen.

In 1945, 23-year-old Hinton was one of the few women to work on developing the first atom bomb.

Even as she rejoiced in the success of the endeavor, she was deeply shocked when the US government dropped the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan in 1945. She quit the project and arrived in Shanghai in 1948 and then went to Yan'an, where she married her longtime boyfriend Erwin Engst (Yang Zao), who had been working as an advisor to the Chinese government since 1946.

The couple participated vigorously in China's efforts to build a socialist economy, working extensively in agriculture. They designed, built and operated China's first mechanical farm.

Hinton's most prized possession is an old violin, made in Italy in the 19th century, that has been a constant companion for the past 60 years.

When the melodious sounds of Dong Fang Hong (East Is Red) resonates through the farm, her staff know that Hinton is playing her beloved violin.

Her husband died in 2003, and his ashes lie buried on their farm.

All her three children are in the US, but she refuses to leave.

"China has already become my second hometown. Now, my 200 cows are my best friends and my greatest concern. I am already 88 and want to do something for the dairy farm for the rest of my life," she says.
October 25, 2000: China commemorates 50th anniversary of despatching Chinese People's Volunteers to Korea to fight against the US aggressors

CPC Encyclopedia | Updated: 2011-10-25 10:33

On October 25, 2000, a grand gathering was held in the Great Hall of People in Beijing to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the despatching of the Chinese People's Volunteers to Korea to fight against the US aggressors together with the People's Army of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). President Jiang Zemin delivered a speech and urged all members of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Chinese army and people to learn and uphold patriotism and revolutionary heroism of the Chinese People's Volunteers. "The victory of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea is a great victory of the world's peace-loving people, a heroic feat to defend justice and fight against hegemony, a splendid epic of patriotism and revolutionary heroism, and a grand monument erected by the Chinese people in maintaining world peace and human progress," Jiang said.
October 25-November 1, 1987: 13th National Congress of CPC held

CPC Encyclopedia | Updated: 2011-10-25 10:33

From October 25 to November 1, 1987, the Thirteenth National Congress of the CPC was held in Beijing. According to Deng Xiaoping's theory of building socialism with Chinese characteristics, the congress proposed thirteen points as to what is socialism with Chinese characteristics. The congress adopted the strategy of three stages for China's economic construction: First, doubling the GNP of 1980 to end shortages of food and clothing, which was basically completed at the end of the 1980s; second, quadrupling the GNP of 1980 by the end of the 20th century, which was achieved in 1995, ahead of schedule. Third, basically realizing modernization in the middle of the 21st century, the GNP per capita reaching the level of the moderately developed countries, and people living a well-off life.
From November 7-20, 1931, the first national congress of the Chinese Soviet Republic was held in Yeping village, Ruijin, Jiangxi province. Mao Zedong, on behalf of the Central Bureau of the Chinese Soviet Republic, delivered a report on political issues at the congress, which was attended by 610 representatives.

The congress elected a 67-member central executive committee and announced the founding of the Provisional Central Government of Chinese Soviet Republic. It adopted a number of acts and laws, including the Outline of Constitution, Land Act and Labor Law, which were drafted by the provisional government.
Red Star Over China, a book by Edgar Snow, is an account of the Communist Party of China written when they were a guerrilla army still obscure to Westerners. Along with Pearl Buck's The Good Earth, it was the most influential book on Western understanding and sympathy for China in the 1930s.

In Red Star Over China, Edgar Snow recounts the months that he spent with the Chinese Red Army in the summer and fall of 1936. Snow uses his extensive interviews with Mao and the other top leaders to present vivid descriptions of the Long March, as well as biographical accounts of leaders on both sides of the conflicts, including Zhou Enlai, Peng Dehuai, Lin Biao, He Long, and Mao Zedong's own account of his life.

When Snow wrote, there were no reliable reports reaching the West of what was going on in the communist-controlled areas. Snow's status as an international journalist not previously identified with the communist movement gave his reports the stamp of authenticity. The glowing pictures of life in the communist areas contrasted with the gloom and corruption of the Kuomintang government. Many Chinese learned about Mao and the communist movement from the almost immediate translations of Mao's autobiography, and readers in North America and Europe, were heartened to learn of a movement as being anti-fascist and progressive. Snow also reported clearly Mao's new United Front policy.

Snow's Preface to the revised edition of 1968 describes the book's original context:

The Western powers, in self-interest, were hoping for a miracle in China. They dreamed of a new birth of nationalism that would keep Japan so bogged down that she would never be able to turn upon the Western colonies - her true objective. Red Star Over China tended to show that the Chinese Communists could indeed provide that nationalist leadership needed for effective anti-Japanese resistance. How dramatically the United States policy-making attitudes have altered since then ... It provided not only for non-Chinese readers, but also for the entire Chinese people - including all but the Communist leaders themselves - the first authentic account of the Chinese Communist Party and the first connected story of their long struggle to carry through the most thoroughgoing social revolution in China's three millenniums of history. Many editions were published in China ...
Editor's note: In the run-up to the 19th Communist Party of China National Congress, China Daily will cover a series of key projects and advanced equipment of national importance, showcasing the country's huge improvement and relentless efforts at innovation.

Observatory being built in Sichuan to discover what makes gamma rays tick

Imagine an explosion that can release 10 times the energy the sun radiates in its 10-billion-year life. It's called a hypernova, one of the brightest and most powerful stellar events.

Scientists suspect such an explosion would produce a large amount of cosmic rays, highly energetic particles blazing across the universe at close to the speed of light. These cosmic bullets pack so much energy they can cause electronics problems in satellites, planes and other devices on Earth after traveling for billions of years.

First discovered in 1912, cosmic rays continue to baffle scientists as to exactly where and how they are made. But China is spending more than 1.2 billion yuan ($176.53 million) to build the world's largest cosmic ray observatory for gamma ray astronomy to crack this mystery, and possibly to learn how to recreate the high-energy particles on Earth.

The installation is called Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatorya 136-hectare telescope array spreading across Haizi Mountain in Daocheng county, Sichuan province. It consists of more than 6,300 detectors and 12 telescopes, and is located 4.4 kilometers above sea level, making it one of the highest cosmic ray observatories in the world.

Construction of the roads and basic groundwork around the observatory started last year, and work on the detectors is set to begin this year, said Li Kunpeng, the senior engineer for the project from the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of High Energy Physics. By the end of next year, 25 percent of the observatory will be operational and able to receive data. The entire project is scheduled to be finished by about January 2021.

The observatory will be the world's most sensitive detector of ultrahigh-energy cosmic gamma rays carrying more than 10 trillion electron voltsa unit of energyand is able to detect charged cosmic rays up to 10 quintillion (1 followed by 18 zeros) electron volts. This scale dwarfs the energy level from the sun's cosmic rays, which is typically measured in millions and up to billions, said Cao Zhen, the project's chief scientist.

"Ultrahigh-energy particles could be the remnants and messengers of major cosmic events that could have happened billions of years ago in distant galaxies," he said, adding that they are a million times stronger than the most energetic particle created by the world's most powerful particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland.

"By studying their origin and how they accelerate, we will have a better understanding of the early days of the universe, and, if possible, we can emulate their acceleration mechanism for research, leading to new discoveries beyond the limits of our current equipment," he said.

Such discoveries include new properties or laws in high-energy radiation, star formation, dark matter as well as other fundamental fields, Cao said. This can lead to new applications such as the new-generation gamma knife, in which highly energetic photon particles are used to kill brain tumors, or better materials to protect astronauts and electronics from cosmic rays.

Catching these space travelers is no simple task. Even if they reach the Earth, the atmosphere absorbs most of them. So the ideal method is to use satellites equipped with telescopes and detectors to intercept them in space, like NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and China's Dark Matter Particle Explorer.

However, the more energy a particle has, the rarer it becomes. Some ultrahigh-energy particles occur only once a year within a 1-square-kilometer surface, Cao said.

As a result, it is more common and cost-efficient to lay out the massive detectors arraywhat scientists call a sky neton mountains or below ground to reduce interference from air.

Similar installations are the Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory in Antarctica, which is under ice, the ARGO-YBJ International Observatory in the Tibetan Plateau, and later the planned Cherenkov Telescope Array.

"The LHAASO will complement these existing observatories, and will become an advanced platform for scientists around the world from astronomy to nanotechnology to work together in unraveling the mystery of the universe," said He Huihai, the project's chief technologist.

Scientists from France, Italy, Russia, Switzerland, Thailand and other countries will also collaborate in the project along with Chinese scientists from more than 20 institutions and universities, he added.

What makes the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory unique is its way of catching the cosmic rays. When a high-energy particle enters the atmosphere, it ionizessheds one or more electronsand charges the molecules in the air, and the ionized molecules continue to bump into other molecules, he said.

After a dozen rounds, this creates a shower of secondary molecules spreading across a large area, "the LHAASO will catch parts of the shower within nanoseconds, analyze their data, and find the one particle that started it all", he added.

Once a particle is located, scientists can estimate the direction it came from and order telescopes to look in that area to see what happened.

Coupled with lightwave analysis and different types of telescopes, scientists can even deduce the chemical makeup of the situation and possibly figure out how the particles got so fast.

"Given its extreme difficulty, such a task is only possible through global effort," He said. "This is the best part of studying the cosmos, it unites scientists across nations and fields together under one purposeto learn about the universe."
A dog owner has his pet registered in Qingdao, Shandong province, on Thursday.[Photo by Zhao Xiaopeng/China Daily]

Families in downtown Qingdao, Shandong province, can now keep only one dog, which the owners must register for 400 yuan ($59).

The new regulation, which took effect on Monday, also prohibited 40 breeds, including mastiffs, German shepherds and St. Bernards.

"An eligible dog should get a rabies vaccine and a license, and have an electronic chip implanted during the registration process," said Zhao Jun, an official at the Qingdao public security bureau.

The electronic chip, which is implanted under the skin of a dog's neck, stores information about the animal, its owner and the date of vaccination.

Registration work will start on Thursday, with 30 pet hospitals authorized to provide the service.

Zhao said dogs have become a serious social problem as increasing numbers of city dwellers are keeping them.

"Pet lovers and those who don't like animals often have disagreements, and some dogs negatively affect the city's environment and people's lives," Zhao said. "The regulation came out after the consideration of opinions of experts, officials and residents, and after reviewing domestic and international experience," Zhao said.

The new regulation allows owners six months to register their dogs. After that, the authorities will take law enforcement action against violators, including fines and confiscation of animals. The new regulation will be implemented in four heavily populated downtown districts.

Dogs registered before the new regulation was issued are not affected.

Qingdao is not the first city in China to make a one-dog policy. As early as 2009, Chengdu, Sichuan province, limited households to one dog. Harbin, Heilongjiang province, prohibited dogs taller than 50 centimeters and longer than 70 centimeters.

In 2011, Jiangmen, Guangdong province, proposed banning dogs from its urban areas. The city launched strict enforcement action in the zones, but the regulation was set aside after nine days of controversy.

Qingdao's new regulation also aroused strong opinions. Song Wencong, a 64-year-old resident, took his dog to an animal disease control and prevention center to be registered on Thursday.

"The new regulation is reasonable and necessary to encourage dog owners to be responsible," he said.

Wang Xue, a 28-year-old pet lover, said the new regulation is good for city management, and the electronic chip can help owners find their pets if they get lost. But she said the 400 yuan administration fee was too high.
Beijing and Xiongan New Area will need systematic cooperation to achieve coordinated development and mitigate urban ills, experts said on Sunday.

Lin Jian, a researcher at Renmin University of China's National Academy of Development and Strategy, said Xiongan will take over many functions of Beijing to help the capital ease its population pressure.

"How to attract people to move there will be a crucial task," he said. "The authorities need to make plans in the sectors of education, medical care and cultural development in Xiongan," Lin said. "Beijing can offer its help."

He said many State-owned enterprises, colleges and government institutions will move to Xiongan. The corresponding educational and medical resources should be planned in advance for people who will move there; otherwise, problems could occur, he warned.

"Xiongan cannot be a cultural desert, which means Beijing should also provide cultural facilities to the new area," Lin said.

On Friday, Beijing pledged to closely cooperate and fully support the development of Xiongan and encourage people to move there as needed.

Liu Bozheng, deputy director of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei development leading group, said Beijing will cooperate with Xiongan on construction and services, accelerating the relocation of industries that suit the new area.

"The Beijing municipal government attaches high importance to the development of Xiongan New Area," he said.

He said Beijing will assist in planning and policymaking in sectors such as infrastructure construction, transportation integration and the sharing of public services. The capital will also encourage innovative companies to establish themselves in Xiongan.

China announced plans to create Xiongan New Area in April as part the integration of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. It is designed to ameliorate urban ills such as traffic congestion and air pollution.

Located about 100 kilometers southwest of downtown Beijing, the new area will have a substantial footprint in three existing counties of Hebei province - Xiongxian, Rongcheng and Anxin.

Zhao Weidong, spokesman for the Beijing Municipal Commission of Commerce, said on Friday that Beijing has established a platform to cooperate with Tianjin and Hebei and has transferred some wholesale markets and logistics facilities to Hebei.

The commission promoted 26 projects with a total investment of more than 5 billion yuan ($740 million) last year involving the move of markets and logistics facilities to Hebei.

According to data from the city, Beijing's population and its growth rate has been declining for the past three years. Meanwhile, the city's GDP was up 6.7 percent last year compared with 2015.
Li Hao (third from left) introduces a military unmanned aerial vehicle to new recruits at a PLA Air Force base in Gobi Desert. Photos by Yang Jun / For China Daily

Former air force pilot now flies military drones, helps train recruits

Li Hao has been a pilot all his adult life. The 54-year-old began his career in the PLA Air Force, but in February 2011, after more than 30 years and with 3,000 flying hours under his belt, he had reached the mandatory retirement age for Chinese military aviators.

He didn't want to stop being a pilot, however. "If I didn't fly planes, I really don't know what I would do," he said.

So Li decided to become a drone pilot instead and for the last six years, has worked from a hut in the Gobi Desert.

The walls are peeling, the beds are hard and everyone shares a common bathroom, but according to Hu Bin, one of Li's friends and comrades, the former chief pilot never complains.

But switching from flying manned aircraft to unmanned drones wasn't easy.

A different way of thinking is required when flying a military drone in coordination with a crew, as opposed to piloting an aircraft on your own, Li said.

Unlike civilian drones, military unmanned aerial vehicles require a number of pilots to operate due to their size and complexity. These pilots must also have a wide breadth of knowledge in a number of different fields.

In order to keep up to date, Li is always studying and has piles of textbooks covered in notes and scrawls.

"I am old and sleep less than I once did," he said. "If I find myself awake at night, I often pass the time by studying."

One of the most difficult aspects of flying military drones is the huge amount of data that needs to be handled as part of the process.
A Tibetan delegation from China's National People's Congress told Japanese officials and others about the current situation in the Tibet autonomous region and called upon Japan to properly handle Tibet-related issues.

During a five-day visit to Japan, which concluded on Saturday, the delegation met with the former president of Japan's House of Councilors and Chairman of the Japan-China Friendship Center Satsuki Eda, Chief Secretary of the Japan-China Parliamentary Friendship Association Yoshimasa Hayashi and Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Shunsuke Takei.

Heading the Tibetan delegation, Duoji Ciren, a member of the Standing Committee of the autonomous region's People's Congress, said China has adhered to the principle of developing bilateral relations with Japan based on the four political documents and the four-point principled agreement between the two countries and in the spirit of taking history as a mirror while looking forward to the future.

He said that Tibet-related issues concern China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and urged Japan to respect China's core interests and major concerns on related issues and to properly handle such issues.

Duoji also said Tibet has been developing rapidly since it was liberated more than a half-century ago, with the full support of the central government, help from the whole nation and efforts of all ethnic groups in the region.

He said Tibet is currently working toward the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, along with the rest of the nation, to achieve a thriving social environment and have people of all ethnic groups living and working in peace and contentment in the region.

Eda, of the friendship center, said it is important to maintain good feelings. The Japanese parliament has established a regular exchange mechanism with the NPC, and the Japan-China Friendship Center has also invited Chinese youth to visit Japan on a regular basis to promote mutual understanding and friendship.

Hayashi and Takei said the visit of the Tibetan delegation provided a good opportunity for the Japanese side to learn more about the situation in Tibet, and Japan is willing to deepen communication and cooperation with China in all areas to further improve bilateral ties.

The delegation also held seminars with Japanese scholars and overseas Chinese in Japan during the visit.
A harsh climate has long made life difficult in Desheng village on the outskirts of Zhangjiakou, Hebei province. Technology and innovation are helping local people to find their way out of poverty. Mou Yu / Xinhua

Villagers are using the power of the sun to raise living standards in their drought-blighted region, as Erik Nilsson reports from Zhangjiakou, Hebei province.

Desheng's villagers are finding new prosperity by harvesting light in solar farms and growing crops in greenhouses.

A harsh climate has long made it difficult for residents to plant or herd on its grasslands.

But today, technology and innovation are transforming lives on the outskirts of Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, where fluctuating temperatures and frequent droughts previously produced poverty.

The lack of precipitation means an abundance of sunlight. Solar farms turn this bane into a boon.

Meanwhile, the greenhouses protect the potatoes from daily temperatures that range between 35 C and 7 C in summer, but drop to -35 C in winter.

Irrigation systems suckled by wells compensate for droughts.

"The region suffers from droughts nine out of 10 years," villager Hu Wenbin said. "Drought brought hardship. Technology fixed it."

Previously, Hu's responsibilities mainly focused on cleaning and guarding the office of the village committee. Now, he mostly focuses on maintaining the two solar farms constructed last year.

"We produce solar power as long as the sun shines," he said. "It makes money for us."

The panels generate roughly 800,000 yuan ($117,000) a year. Although the national average price is 0.5 yuan per kilowatt-hour, the villagers earn 1.08 yuan for each kWh, thanks to a government stipend that is intended to ensure greater participation and higher revenues for isolated regions.

"The money belongs to all the villagers," said Ye Runbing, the village Party chief. "It will also provide more to households still mired in poverty."

Infrastructure

The revenue pays for infrastructure and medical insurance for all, and also for additional welfare for the 14 of the settlement's 413 households still living below the poverty line, which hovers at about 3,000 yuan a year, although the current average is 6,000 yuan, according to Ye.

The 4 million yuan invested in the solar farms was provided by the province's Industry and Information Technology Department, along with poverty alleviation funds and businesses.

"It's very dry here so we can turn sunshine into gold (money)," Hu said.
About 1,000 general aviation aircraft will be sold in next 3 years, AVIC says

A biplane from AVIClub, a major general aviation club in China, spews contrails at a show in Anyang, Henan province, last month. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's largest aircraft manufacturer projects that it will sell around 1,000 general aviation aircraft by the end of 2020, an industry insider said.

Song Qingguo, a senior manager at Aviation Industry Corp of China who assists company executives in overseeing the general aviation sector, said the central government plans to expand the number of China's general aviation aircraft from the current 2,400 to 5,000 before the end of 2020, and AVIC wants to grab at least 40 percent of the market share.

General aviation refers to civil aviation operations rather than scheduled passenger or freight services. The most common general aviation operations include pilot training, charter flights, tours, medical services, mapping and surveying, maritime inspections and crop dusting.

Aircraft used for general aviation usually are small, fixed-wing airplanes and lightweight helicopters.

Data from AVIC show the State-owned aviation giant sold nearly 400 general aviation aircraft last year, though the company declined to say how many were sold to domestic buyers.

Song said that during the same period, AVIClub, which he said is the biggest general aviation operator and flight club in the country, will add about 300 new aircraft to its fleet. He said AVIClub owns more than 200 general aviation aircraft.

Song made the remarks recently at the Anyang AVIClub Flight Carnival in Henan province. The event, the first of AVIC's annual flight carnivals this year, attracted performances from several domestic and foreign aerobatic teams.

AVIClub is a subsidiary of AVIC and operates at least four general aviation airports in China.

The government published a set of guidelines last year to boost the development of the general aviation industry. Supportive measures include the construction of about 400 airports dedicated to general aviation and encouraging more use of general aviation aircraft in the public sector.

Song said that although the nation's general aviation industry is rapidly expanding, it lags far behind the United States.

The US has about 220,000 general aviation aircraft and nearly 30,000 airports and other takeoff and landing points that can handle general aviation operations, he said. Statistics from the China Air Transportation Association show there are fewer than 100 airports or other fields for general aviation operations on the mainland.

Hunan Daily quoted experts from Aero Engine Corp of China as saying in a report on May 30 that 75 percent of general aviation aircraft sold on the Chinese mainland were made by foreign companies, and the domestically produced ones are mainly powered by foreign engines.

Wang Yanan, editor-in-chief of Aerospace Knowledge, said the development of the general aviation industry can catalyze innovation in science and technology and can benefit many surrounding industries, so the government should relax its tight control on low-altitude airspace and make laws to facilitate the sector's growth.




China Daily's Erik Nilsson (right) works in a greenhouse in Desheng.YUAN QINGPAN/CHINA DAILY

"Your text here. Your text here."

That was the writing on the wall.

Those were the English words printed on the kitchen wall tiles below "red wine", which was rendered in calligraphy next to images of (not wineglasses but) the coffee cups of the farmhouse we were staying in.

Likely because of linguistic confusion, nobody inserted text into the template - or knew they could and perhaps should.

I'd guess the owners still have no idea what their walls say.

It's quirky, but ultimately unimportant.

Either way, they're happy to occupy a modern abode.

The houses are among the dwellings recently built for villagers, who still primarily occupy traditional brick-and-adobe homes.

But the new houses cost about 30,000 yuan ($4,400) to buy in a community where the average annual income floats at about 6,000 yuan.

Our media team had traveled to Desheng village in the parched outskirts of Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, to report on poverty initiatives that turned the arid weather's disadvantages into advantages through solar-powered farms.

That's as the village also soothed the shock of extreme daily temperature fluctuations through subsidized greenhouses.

Shepherds herd sheep, whose hoofs punch cloven divots into soil broiled by droughts until it fractures into curled plates in front of a solar farm next to clusters of greenhouses standing in front of wind turbines that twirl like giant pinwheels.

The problems were apparent in the foreground. The solutions were in the background.

Yet their positions are inverting, in terms of quality of life.

The area is known for exceptional mutton, and I'd agree it deserves the reputation.
More than 1,000 volunteers and tourists trekked along the Sword Gate Pass section of the historic Shu Path in Jian'ge county, Sichuan province, on Saturday.

"It happened to be China's first Cultural and Natural Heritage Day and people took to the path with the intention of arousing public attention to its protection and application for the UNESCO World Natural and Cultural Heritage status," said Gao Yihang, one of the volunteers.

One day earlier, the Sichuan World Heritage Application Office of the Sichuan Provincial Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development announced in Guangyuan, a city which administers Jian'ge, the text for the formal application had been completed.

In 2015, Sichuan started preparing for the path's application to be included into the UNESCO World Natural and Cultural Heritage List. In March, the application was sent to the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development for review.

Shu was the ancient name for Sichuan. Shu Path is one of the world's oldest land transport systems, with the longest history, the most complicated landform, the most dangerous road and the most abundant historical ruins, according to Zhang Hu, chief the Sichuan World Heritage Application Office of the provincial housing and development agency.

Construction of the Shu Path linking Sichuan and neighboring Shaanxi province started around 316 BC. It was built on mountains so precipitous that Li Bai (701-762), one of China's most eminent poets, wrote: "Traveling on the Shu Path is as difficult as ascending to heaven."

The Sword Gate Pass is a towering V-shaped mountain pass giving rise to the household Chinese idiom that one man at the pass keeps 10,000 men at bay.

It was the only passageway to North China and the neighboring Wei Kingdom in North China tried to take the pass in order to conquer the Shu Kingdom in the Three Kingdoms period (220-280). But not a single frontal attack was successful.

The most famous section of the Shu Path is about 600 km long. It starts at Chengdu, passes Deyang and Guangyuan in Sichuan before ending in Hanzhong in Shaanxi.

When builders approached the Mingyue Gorge in Guangyuan, they could not continue the project as the cliffs were too steep. They had to chisel three levels of holes in the cliffs and inserted wooden beams into the holes.

The upper beams were covered with planks to form a road for pedestrians and the second and third levels held buttresses.

Whenever she mentions her trip to the plank road in Guangyuan a few years ago, Wu Dan, a woman from Beijing, describes her awesome respect for those who built it.
Shipbuilders apply traditional skills to craft a wooden boat in Zhangwan, Fujian province. [Photo/Xinhua]

FUZHOU - On a simple workbench, a 1-meter-long model boat is nearing completion. The waxed redwood body shines in the sun and the hoisted sails look as if the ship is about to set off.

Liu Xixiu is modest about his work, and admits it's not perfect - pointing out some tiny parts he made by hand that don't suit him.

"I will take this ship to a fair in Taiwan and to a model contest in Shanghai. It has to be perfect," says Liu.

Liu is from Zhangwan township in Ningde, Fujian province. It is home to craftsmen who make ancient Chinese junks with battened sails called fuchuan, meaning Fujian vessels.

In 2010, the process of making watertight hulls used for fuchuan vessels was inscribed in UNESCO's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Safeguarding.

Saturday is Chinese Cultural Heritage Day.

Liu's ancestors moved to the township around 600 years ago from southern Fujian, and the family has built ships ever since. Liu is the 20th generation of shipbuilders. His 30-square-meter studio - located on the roof of his two-story house - is about the size of half a badminton court and packed with planks of wood, saws, drills and hand planes.

It's just 100 meters from Zhangwan's shipbuilding plant.

"I often played there when I was young. My father used to be head of the plant," he says, looking out his studio window.

He liked woodworking when he was younger, which he attributes to his home environment. After graduating from high school in 1976, he worked at his father's factory as an apprentice.

"We didn't have textbooks. All the skills were just passed down," Liu recalls.

Being a quick learner, he became master in just three years, much quicker than his peers. He later taught himself ship design.

Fuchuan were used along the maritime Silk Road linking China, Southeast Asia and Western countries.

With modern shipbuilding and the rise of steel vessels, the wooden fuchuan gradually dwindled.

"We built over 200 vessels every year in the 1970s and '80s, drawing customers across China's coastal provinces, but now few orders come," he says, adding that none of his three children are interested in continuing the family tradition.

Following the inclusion of the watertight process in the national intangible cultural heritage list in 2008, followed by UNESCO's protection efforts in 2010, Liu sees some hope.

At the plant, a 44-by-12-meter vessel has been completed. The ship will be delivered to a local cultural company to be used for display and tourism. A research association on fuchuan has also been established.

"There are not many orders for big ships, but there are more for small ones - ship models," he says, adding that some companies have offered to hire him as a model designer.

Liu says fuchuan sounds like "fortune" in Chinese, and sails symbolize "a smooth path to success", drawing numerous clients - entrepreneurs and companies - longing for commercial success.

Near his studio is a seaport, where the maiden voyages of many ships have begun.

"I don't remember how many new vessels have sailed from there, but I'm sure there will be more," he says, gazing at the port through the window.


A construction crew works at the site on Haizi Mountain, Sichuan province, at an altitude of about 4,400 meters. [Photo/Xinhua]

The Xiangyun Hotel lies in the heart of Sichuan province's Daocheng county, an area famous for its picturesque terrain, Tibetan pilgrims and Buddhist stupas.

The region has a natural and religious vibe, yet the free hotel gift shop pamphlets introducing the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory, which is being built nearby on Haizi Mountain, offer a more futuristic flavor.

Yang Liu, an employee in her early 30s, said the observatory "looks grand and impressive, and the way it's filled with dots reminds me of the beautiful starry nights I grew up with".

Yet she has trouble understanding what the 136-hectare facility actually does - even after reading the pamphlets.

The observatory, which is under construction 4.4 kilometers above sea level, will be the highest cosmic ray observatory in the world when it is finished. It will be used to detect high-energy particles from outer space, so it needs to be as high up as possible to reduce interference.

Scientists also hope the telescope array will act as a unique science attraction, according to the project's chief technologist, He Huihai, of the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of High Energy Physics.

"Whatever spot we choose, we always want our installations to preserve the environment and benefit the locals in some way," he said, adding that the facility may become a pillar of the local science tourism industry.

The 500-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope - the world's largest - in Pingtang county, Guizhou province, attracted 220,000 visitors over the Labor Day holiday, according to the China National Tourism Administration.

He Huihai and his team have a similar vision for the Daocheng observatory, with plans to build a science center for visitors near the facility for educational purposes.

Liu Zhigang, a restaurant owner in Daocheng, was thrilled about getting another attraction near his home because most visitors only come between July and October for the scenery, and there is little business any other months.

Telling his employees about the project, Liu used a phonetic pronunciation of the observatory's abbreviated name LHAASO. But because of his dialect, he mispronounced the Mandarin lasuo. Instead, he called it lasao, a homophone for "spicy sister-in-law" in Chinese.

"I think it's a fitting name, because Sichuan is famous for its hot food, and the people here are very hospitable, like a close family relative," he said. "I hope lasao can bring business year-round."

Liu Huocheng, a retiree from Taiwan, said he would love to see the facility in the future, but fears the cold weather and potential for altitude sickness would be too much for his body.

"I think young people and entrepreneurs who work in related science fields will definitely be interested," he said.




A model shows a wedding dress at a fashion show held at the Prince Gong Mansion, the largest and best-preserved Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) princely mansion in Beijing, on June 10, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - For Chinese fashionistas, a new party dress can be a huge purchase, but the Internet is making it easier to dress sharp without a big price tag or long-term commitment.

Dora's Dream, a women's clothing start-up, runs a subscription-based service that allows style-conscious Chinese to borrow designer clothes with just a small monthly payment.

The clothes-sharing service generated buzz last week at the 2017 Asia Fashion Federation China Conference held in Hangzhou in East China's Zhejiang Province, where fashion designers from Asia gathered to discuss the latest industry trends.

One of those trends, said Chen Dapeng, vice director of China National Textile and Apparel Council, was the integration of the online and fashion industries in China.

"The Internet has enabled consumers to have their own definitions of 'fashion' and allowed them to participate in design," Chen said. "Fashion is becoming more and more personalized."

As Chinese manufacturers try to move up the value chain as part of the country's "Made in China 2025" plan, designers in China are working to reinvent themselves from mere imitators to innovators.

Unlike in France or Italy, China's fashion industry took off around the same time as the development of the Internet, which made it easier for industry insiders to have an "Internet mindset" and computer skills, experts said.

According to Chen, technology will help fashion designers with tailored marketing and flexible production, making personalized customer experiences possible.

Designers in China are also experimenting with a mix of design and lifestyle by opening spaces that offer coffee, books, exhibitions, and clothes.

"Instead of just selling products or services, Chinese fashion companies are now also selling culture," said Zhang Qinghui, president of the China Fashion Association.

According to Zhang, China's strong manufacturing power has laid a solid foundation for the development of the fashion industry, allowing ideas to be executed and products to be sold more efficiently.

"Almost every fashion center in the world has advanced manufacturing capability and support resources," Zhang said.

"While it seems that fashion is a showcase of design capability, it also represents the manufacturing power of a country," he said.

Adding to the optimism for a boom in the industry is China's shift in consumption, as an increasing number of shoppers crave high-quality products with great design.

"The Chinese consumer market is promising, not only because of its volume, but also because local consumers are very reactive, enthusiastic about new things and sensitive to brands and quality," said Andrea Boragno, CEO and chairman of Alcantara, which makes a leather substitute used in fashion and accessories, automotive interiors and consumer electronics.

According to Boragno, Chinese designers have made strides in recent years by shifting from copying to developing their own identities based on creativity and culture.

More than 200 colleges and universities in China now offer design-related majors, preparing fashion aficionados for jobs in the industry.

The industry has also attracted talented designers who have returned from studying and working abroad, including those who have worked for world-renowned luxury brands such as Celine and Burberry.

"As China joins the global 'fashion family,' the industry can take advantage of more resources worldwide," Zhang said.
Political parties, think tanks, urged to share wisdom to benefit all members

Political parties, think tanks and civil organizations in the five member nations of BRICS should share their wisdom with one another and take the lead role in building a more inclusive platform that benefits all sides, a senior leader of the Communist Party of China said on Sunday.

Liu Yunshan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, made his comments when addressing the BRICS Political Parties, Think-Tanks and Civil Society Organizations Forum held at Fuzhou, Fujian province.

BRICS comprises five major developing countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Sunday's forum, aimed at boosting stronger BRICS cooperation by offering proposals for development, is a preparatory event ahead of the ninth BRICS Leaders Meeting scheduled in Xiamen, Fujian province, in September.

The 10-year-old group, which added South Africa in 2010, has become a key platform of cooperation for emerging markets and developing countries, as well as an important driver for boosting global economic growth and perfecting global governance, Liu said.

This was the first time representatives from political parties, think tanks and civil society organizations from member countries gathered together at preparatory forums and meetings under the BRICS framework. Previous related events have gathered academics and civil groups only, said Luan Jianzhang, director-general of the research office of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, who organized this year's forum.

"We came to the idea of bringing political parties into the forum because policy makers need suggestions from professionals and grounded feed--back from civil groups," he said.

He said as information technology development is robust and information travels fast, it is important for BRICS to take innovative steps in exploring new avenues of cooperation.

Liu Yong, chief economist of the China Development Bank, who attended the forum, said financial innovation was one key topic under think tank discussion in this year's forum that aims to make financing under the BRICS framework more efficient.

Marcos Degaut, deputy special secretary of strategic affairs with Brazil's presidential office, said bringing political parties into the dialogue will be of great help in perfecting the BRICS framework under the new international situation.

He said trends like rising protectionism may pose challenges to the BRICS dialogue mechanism, which makes communication between political parties and think tanks even more important.

The forum drew over 400 participants from BRICS members and other developing countries.
Xing Xiaoxing, an information technology professional in Tianjin, has spent the past year developing Tianjin English Club, a university-based nonprofit organization.

He and his partner, Zhang Jingzhong, a postgraduate at Tianjin University, have organized events every week since the start of May last year, helping students to share their experiences and feelings, discussing issues such as how to find a girlfriend and dream jobs.

"The club is a resurrection of English Corner, giving students the chance to talk with native English speakers and practice their oral English," Xing said. "We already operate at 14 universities in Tianjin and Beijing, and plan to expand to other universities soon."

Zhang said English Corner was dying when they started Tianjin English Club, adding that more Chinese students now place greater importance on improving their English skills.

At its most recent event, to celebrate the anniversary of its founding, the club invited an artist from the United Kingdom, a philosophy professor from Canada and a biology professor from the United States to give speeches and answer students' questions.

"My foreign friends say Chinese students are shy and avoid communicating," said Xing, causing the whole room to burst into laughter.

Xing said he got the idea to start the program from a work project themed "communication is the key to success".

For example, in Silicon Valley, the world's center for innovation and technology, Indian workers are more likely to secure a management-level job than Chinese due to their stronger multicultural communication skills, Xing added.

Sri Lankan student Tharuka Dharmasena said, "TEC has created a great environment for foreigners and Chinese to express themselves and understand each other, creating friendships."

Zhang also said friendship is a key element of the club: "After running the program for a year, we have found that when students share their problems and are given advice, friendships are born."
US citizens have so far made up the majority of foreign residents in Guangzhou to receive "talent green cards".

The city government has issued 68 cards to people from the United States since June 1, 2016, accounting for 5.88 percent of the total.

The cards give residents from abroad and other parts of China the same rights and services as locals, meaning they can buy property and cars, while their children can attend public school.

The program is aimed at attracting outside talent to support the southern city's economic development.

Along with the US citizens, residents from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan (37 in total), Canada (15), Australia (11) also received talent green cards.

In total, the city has issued 1,560 cards, including 165 to people from 11 countries and regions, and 368 to residents from Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Shenzhen.
To a group of determined and industrious roommates, graduation from college means no departure but just the start of another period of study together, even though it will be in another country.

Among the recently received offers from multiple world-renowned colleges, Wang Xin and her four roommates all chose the University of Bath, which is ranked as the fifth best university in the United Kingdom by the Guardian University Guide 2018.

The five young women graduated from Anhui University of Finance and Economics, based in Bengbu city in East China's Anhui province, and majored in accounting.

In the last fours years, they shared not only the same class, but also the same dormitory. They will major in accounting and finance in the next year.

Postgraduate study has become more popular among Chinese undergraduates in recent years.

Instead of taking exams for domestic colleges to reach their goal, the five decided to seek overseas study opportunities, even at the beginning of their college study, according to Wang.

"Each of us five roommates had applied for multiple overseas universities and received offers from several of them," said Wang, adding that the University of Bath is the best among them.

Xin Danyang, one of the young women headed to Bath, said years of great effort made their goal achievable.

"Take me for example. My study often began before 7 am and went till 2 or 3 am the next morning", Xin said.

Among the 52 graduates in their class, 26 received offers from overseas universities and colleges, including King's College London, the University of Bristol and University of Sydney.
Premier Li Keqiang meets representatives of the second overseas Chinese business conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Monday. Li encouraged overseas Chinese to contribute by investing talent and resources. LI XUEREN / XINHUA

Li calls on 60 million in diaspora to lend talents and resources to effort

Premier Li Keqiang called on overseas Chinese on Monday to invest more in China and participate in building the Belt and Road.

Overseas Chinese businesspeople should make use of their advantages in capital, technology, management, business networks and human resources to participate in China's development, Li told representatives of the second overseas Chinese business conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Li said that China's advantage as an attractive investment destination and huge goods market continues growing, and the economy is creating 13 million new urban jobs every year. He also pledged to push tax cuts for companies.

In his speech, Li vowed to push a new round of opening-up, lift more restrictions on access for foreign capital and create a more equal business environment.

Overseas Chinese can participate in building the Belt and Road by connecting China with the world, achieving mutual benefits and win-win results, he said.

China is confident of achieving this year's development goal and keeping economic growth at a medium-high rate while upgrading industries to a medium-high level, Li said. The Chinese economy keeps moving in a positive direction while maintaining stability, with growth that ranks among the highest in the world, he added.

There are approximately 60 million overseas Chinese  ethnic Chinese from the nation's diaspora  Li has said.

They have made many contributions in terms of investments of money and talent in China, and donations to the country.

He also urged overseas Chinese to abide by the laws of the countries where they live, shoulder social responsibilities, spread Chinese culture and serve as a bridge for exchanges between China and the world.

Li stressed that the mainland and Taiwan belong to one China. The overseas Chinese should do more to safeguard the one-China principle and promote recognition of the 1992 Consensus, he said, while calling on the people to contribute to the peaceful reunification of the nation. The 1992 Consensus embodies the one-China principle.

In his speech, the premier spoke highly of the efforts overseas Chinese have made in promoting friendship with foreign countries and contributing to China's reform and opening-up.

Qiu Yuanping, director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, said at the opening ceremony that the conference was held to support overseas Chinese in formulating a cooperation network, participating in building the Belt and Road, and strengthening China's friendly exchanges with the world.

More than 600 representatives of overseas Chinese from 105 countries and regions attended the conference at the invitation of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office.

anbaijie@chinadaily.com.cn
President Xi Jinping's state visit to Kazakhstan encouraged Chinese startup companies to invest in the countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, a Chinese entrepreneur said.

As tourists from around the world awaited on Friday night the opening of Astana Expo 2017, with the theme of Energy of the Future, they found the yellow bicycles from China in the streets of Kazakhstan's capital city.

Shan Shan, a Chinese student at Nazarbayev University, said he was a user of Ofo bikes when he studied in China, and used a bicycle for the last kilometer of his way to class when coming out of the subway.
A Tibetan delegation from China's National People's Congress told Japanese officials and others about the current situation in the Tibet autonomous region and called upon Japan to properly handle Tibet-related issues.

During a five-day visit to Japan, which concluded on Saturday, the delegation met with the former president of Japan's House of Councilors and Chairman of the Japan-China Friendship Center Satsuki Eda, Chief Secretary of the Japan-China Parliamentary Friendship Association Yoshimasa Hayashi and Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Shunsuke Takei.

Heading the Tibetan delegation, Duoji Ciren, a member of the Standing Committee of the autonomous region's People's Congress, said China has adhered to the principle of developing bilateral relations with Japan based on the four political documents and the four-point principled agreement between the two countries and in the spirit of taking history as a mirror while looking forward to the future.
Tan Dun's upcoming concert in Beijing is a dialogue between the East and the West to inspire people's imaginations with classical music. Photos provided to China Daily

Chinese composer and conductor Tan Dun, who won the Oscar for the original score of the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, has always been ahead of the curve.

Tan, a native of Changsha, Hunan province, was trained at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. Despite his classical training, Tan has created music with the sounds of water, wind and paper. He has also documented nyushu, an ancient language used mostly by women in Hunan.

Now, he is collaborating with folk musicians of the China National Traditional Orchestra to present his worksthe Fire Ritual Violin Concerto and the Cello Concerto Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragonat the capital's National Center for the Performing Arts on Friday.

Tan says the idea was inspired by his trip to Dunhuang, Gansu province, three years ago, where he saw the famous cave paintings.

"Big orchestras, musicians and various instruments were displayed in those large paintings, which told me how diverse Chinese music was thousands of years ago," says Tan, adding that he wants to reinterpret ancient scores with the help of a modern orchestra to connect the old and the new.

Norwegian violinist Eldbjorg Hemsing, who will perform in the Fire Ritual Violin Concerto, says: "Tan Dun's vision is not to introduce China to the world but to introduce the world to China."

Using the classical violin with an orchestra of traditional Chinese instruments is not known to have been done here before, she says.

She calls the concert "a truly special event".
Polish director Krystian Lupa has adapted a novella by Chinese author Shi Tiesheng about a drunken man's struggles into a theater production. Photos provided to China Daily

The acclaimed Polish theater director Krystian Lupa will bring to life a work by the late Chinese writer Shi Tiesheng. Chen Nan reports.

Polish theater director Krystian Lupa received an email from Qian Cheng, the general manager of Tianjin Grand Theater, in early 2016, asking him to direct a play based on a novella written by the late Chinese writer Shi Tiesheng (1951-2010).

The novella titled Guanyu Yibu Yi Dianying Zuowei Wutai Beijing De Xiju Zhi Shexiang, which means "a stage idea with film as backdrop", was Shi's only script. It is about a drunken man talking to a mouse about his childhood, parents, ex-wife and his life's struggles.

Lupa did not know of the Chinese writer and had not read any of his works. However, he was intrigued by the story.

After Lupa made several trips to China from April to meet with actors and stage a rehearsal, the play, titled Mo Fei, will be staged at the Tianjin Grand Theater on June 24 and 25. It is part of the ongoing Lin Zhaohua Theater Arts Festival, an annual event initiated by Chinese theater director Lin Zhaohua in 2010.

The play, which is about four hours long, will have Chinese actor Wang Xuebing play the title character, Mo Fei.

"This novel is a monologue for Shi, though Shi's wife told me that he was not an alcoholic," says the 73-year-old director.

"I like the drunken man's language. He is marginalized by society and lonely. But he is frank and brave to confront himself."

To better understand Shi, Lupa read the writer's works, including one of his famous essays, I and the Temple of Earth, which was published in 1991 and was about the writer visiting the Temple of Earth in a wheelchair.

The Polish director also visited the Temple of Earth, a park in downtown Beijing, several times, which, as Lupa says, is "an important place for Shi".

He rode bicycles there, walked around in the park and watched the trees and flowers.
Students in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, perform traditional stilt-walking to celebrate China's first "Cultural and Natural Heritage Day" on Saturday. Around the nation, activities were held in honor of the day. GONG XIANMING/CHINA DAILY

The construction of a museum on a cultural heritage site with more than 3,500 years of history, often referred to as "the earliest China", began on Sunday in the city of Luoyang in central Henan province.

The Erlitou site, named after its surrounding village, was discovered in 1959 and was later found to be the site of a capital of the Xia Dynasty (21st century to 16th century BC).

"Cultural relics connect the past, present and the future. They are witnesses of Chinese civilization, which has a long history yet keeps its vitality," Premier Li Keqiang, who once visited the relics when he worked in Henan, said in a congratulatory letter for the groundbreaking ceremony on Sunday.

"The city relic has a magnificent atmosphere and the cultural relics unearthed here are of abundant types and elegant looking. These archaeological discoveries have deepened our understanding of first development of Chinese civilization."

Li suggested modern technology must be put to good use in the museum to preserve, protect, study and educate on the site.

The groundbreaking ceremony served in a larger sense as a major event in China's celebration events for national "Cultural and Natural Heritage Day," which falls on Saturday.

The new museum will cover an area of about 30,000 square meters, costing 630 million yuan ($93 million), and is scheduled to open to the public in 2019, said Liu Wankang, mayor of Luoyang. The museum is listed among the key cultural projects of China's 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20).

"There have been many crucial archaeological discoveries in Erlitou in the past decades," said Chen Xingcan, head of Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "For example, we've detected the earliest capital city relics in East Asia and China's oldest royal palace relics."

China's earliest known urban road network and bronze ware workshop were also found in Erlitou, he said.

According to Chen, the Erlitou culture, of roughly 1800 to 1500 BC, absorbed elements from different civilizations within a short time and had wide influence along the middle reaches of Yellow River in its time.

"In its era, society stepped beyond a time when many competitive political entities coexisted, and formed a unified country," he explained. "Its legacies were inherited by later dynasties and became the mainstream of Chinese civilization."

Starting in the Xia Dynasty, Luoyang was the capital of 13 kingdoms and empires throughout ancient Chinese history.

Rather than merely housing the abundant artifacts unearthed at the siteincluding bronze ware, jade, and lacquer warethe museum will serve as a comprehensive academic research hub on the formation of early-stage states in ancient China, Chen said. An archaeology-themed park will follow.

"The construction of the museum and park sets an example on revitalizing relics, which were long buried beneath the ground, and benefit the local people's livelihoods and economy," said Gu Yucai, deputy director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage. "It will increase the public's cultural self-confidence."
Dekyi Yangzom patiently took the pulse of a middle-age man with indigestion and offered to help ease his discomfort with traditional Tibetan medicine.

The 69-year-old intern physician from Lhasa, capital of the Tibet autonomous region, wrote the man a prescription and directed him to a nearby Tibetan hospital.

This scene played out at the Chengdu International Intangible Cultural Heritage Park in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, on Sunday morning.

Traditional Tibetan medicinewhich has a recorded history of more than 3,800 yearswas on display along with embroidery, Chinese New Year paintings, bamboo weavings, black pottery ware, traditional musical instruments, Peking Opera costumes and traditional handicrafts at the nine-day, sixth International Festival of Intangible Cultural Heritage, which ends on Sunday.

Since May 2007, the festival has been held in Chengdu every two years under the patronage of the Ministry of Culture, the Sichuan government, UNESCO and the China National Commission for UNESCO.

The Chinese government actively implements the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, and the festival is a platform promoting the convention, said Luo Shugang, minister of culture.

The convention was adopted on Oct 17, 2003, after the general conference of UNESCO in Paris.

China's safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage is proceeding at a time when rapid industrialization and urbanization can lead to the quick destruction of items of intangible cultural heritage, Xiang Zhaolun, vice-minister of culture, said at the festival's International Forum on Intangible Cultural Heritage on Saturday.

With changes in the mode of production and lifestyle, some inheritors of intangible cultural heritage items have fewer buyers for their products and their income cannot make ends meet.

As a result, young people do not want to learn or inherit intangible cultural heritage, Xiang said.

Since last year, the Chinese government has doubled the annual subsidies for State-level inheritors of intangible cultural heritage items from 10,000 yuan to 20,000 yuan ($1,470 to $2,940) to encourage them to pass on their skills, he said.

The vice-minister called for such intangible cultural heritage items to be brought to communities to let more people know about them.

A puppet show, yangko (a rural folk dance), Peking Opera performance and Tibetan dance were staged in the Hongmenjie community in Chengdu's Wuhou district on Saturday.

To mark the festival, the Du Fu Thatched Cottage Museum started a 16-day exhibition of Du Fu's poems in calligraphy works and carved seals on Saturday.

Du (712-770), one of the greatest Chinese poets, is known for its sympathy for common people's sufferings.
[Photo provided to China Daily]

Sci-fi fans can expect a visual feast during the upcoming Shanghai International Film Festival.

A special section for sci-fi classics will screen three Alien movies  US director Ridley Scott's 1979 space horror Alien, its 1986 sequel, Aliens, helmed by James Cameron, and its 2012 prequel, Prometheus  which coincides with the Chinese mainland debut of the latest Alien movie.

The festival runs from June 17 to 26, while the sixth installment Alien: Covenant opens across Chinese mainland on June 16.

Recently, the upcoming Alien movie also directed by Scott held preview screenings in 23 cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, on June 6.

Sci-fi fans can expect a visual feast during the upcoming Shanghai International Film Festival. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Sci-fi director Zhang Xiaobei said the new movie partly resolved the suspense about the alien monsters' origin, but also raised concern over the artificial-intelligence robots.

Other highlights of the Shanghai lineup include The Matrix trilogy, Ghost in the Shell, and the black-and-white version of Logan.

Logan, the new but also the finale for Hugh Jackman starring as Wolverine, was released on Chinese mainland on March 3. However, this will be the first time for its black-and-white version to be screened in China.
Nigerian people look at creative Chinese cultural products at the China Cultural Center in Nigeria, on June 10, 2017. [Photo/Chinaculture.org]

More than 100 people from China and Nigeria attended the opening of the 2017 China Culture Week in Nigeria on Saturday.

The week-long event, themed Inheritance and Innovation, is held at the China Cultural Center, featuring a range of photo exhibitions, demonstrations of Chinese calligraphy and paper-cutting, as well as lectures on Chinese culture.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Li Xuda, cultural councilor of Chinese embassy in Nigeria and head of the Chinese Culture Center, said China and Nigeria were countries with profound ancient civilizations, and the two countries had many areas for mutual learning in the culture industry.

"We hope to further enhance cultural exchanges between the two countries through this cultural week, " Li said.

On the opening day, the audience members were also enthralled by Chinese shadow puppetry plays.
Emperors' calligraphy from the Sounthern Song Dynasty [Photo provided to China Daily]

China Guardian's 2017 spring auction will be held in Beijing from June 19 to 23, featuring eight Chinese paintings and calligraphy pieces estimated at over 50 million yuan ($7.35 million).

The highlight is a calligraphy work consisting of four scripts by four emperors from the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). The scripts represent four consecutive generations of emperors of the Southern Song Dynasty in the 12th century, including Emperor Gaozong, son of the well-known poet Emperor Huizong in Chinese history. The imperial family is known for their talent in literature and art.

The emperors' calligraphy has an estimated value over 100 million yuan. Luan Jingli, head of ancient Chinese painting and calligraphy of China Guardian Auctions, says that it's very rare to see an emperor's calligraphy from the Southern Song Dynasty, let alone a piece gathering four emperors' scripts.

According to Luan, the calligraphy of four emperors first appeared in an auction in Hong Kong many years ago and then went to auction in New York in 2012.

In the modern Chinese painting and calligraphy section, the auction house offers three large paintings by three modern masters of painting  Huang Binhong, Li Keran and Pan Tianshou.

Huang's large landscape painting of Huangshan Mountain in Anhui province was the artist's last important work. He painted it at the age of 92.

The highlights of the contemporary art include paintings from Luo Zhongli, Wu Dayu and Chu Teh-chun.

To diversify its goods on auction, China Guardian offers three guqin, a seven-stringed instrument similar to zither, which are from three different dynasties, including the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

A preview of the spring auction will be held in the Beijing International Hotel from June 16 to 18.
David Rockefeller and Peggy pose in a photo taken on May 1973 [Photo provided to China Daily]

Some 2,000 artworks from the estate of the late US banker and philanthropist David Rockefeller will go under the hammer in New York in early 2018.

But before they are auctioned by Christie's, selected items from the collection will tour the United States, Europe and Asia.

The proceeds from the sales will go to charities, according to Christie's.

Before he died in March, Rockefeller and with his wife, Peggy, built a collection of assembled and inherited items, such as modern paintings, European furniture and Chinese ceramics.

"Eventually all these objects which have brought so much pleasure to Peggy and me will ... again be available to other caretakers who, hopefully, will derive the same satisfaction and joy from them as we have," he was quoted saying in a Christie's release.

Related:

Pair of rare Chinese vases sell in London for 14 million pounds

UK auction house says rise of Chinese buyers a major trend
Pangu Seven Star Hotel, one of Beijing's most extravagant hotels, is housed in the dragon-shaped Pangu Plaza, just next to the Bird's Nest. Photos provided to China Daily

Three former executives of Pangu Investment Co Ltd stood trial in Xigang District People's Court in Dalian, Northeast China's Liaoning province, on Friday for fraudulently obtaining loans and foreign exchange using fabricated documents. All of the defendants pleaded guilty to the charges.

These economic crimes, however, are only the tip of the iceberg for the company's actual controlling shareholder Guo Wengui, who fled to the United States in 2014, and is subsequently subject to an Interpol Red Notice.

Guo, who rose from obscurity in the countryside of Liaocheng in East China's Shandong province, is wanted for allegedly accumulating huge amounts of wealth over the past two decades by means of land speculation, insider trading and swindling bank loans.

To pave the way for these activities, he allegedly established an alliance of interests with corrupt senior officials who he bribed with money and women. He has been associated with a number of fallen officials including Ma Jian, former vice-minister of the Ministry of State Security, Zhang Yue, former chief of politics and law of North China's Hebei province, and Xiang Junbo, former chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.

Guo's business empire was actually enabled by these corrupt officials' trading power for money and rent seeking, as well as their illegal seizure of State and private assets. That also explains why Guo had been seen as being an "infinitely resourceful" businessman who could do anything he wanted.

His case has long been regarded as sensitive, and thus eye-catching, because of the large number of senior officials involved.

That most of the officials involved in Guo's case have already been caught and punished has fueled speculation about Guo's fate.

The trial in Dalian, though not a big case given the seriousness of the crimes Guo is suspected of committing, sends a clear message that the judicial authorities have acquired enough evidence in the three years since he fled the country to initiate the trial of Guo.

The court is making public the trial proceedings by updating its official micro blog with words and photos in a real-time manner.

Such courtroom transparency has become the normal practice in cases where there is great public interest. It not only satisfies the public's right to know, but also puts the judicial process under public scrutiny, so as to better ensure judicial justice and fairness.

It was believed that Guo's repatriation would only be a matter of time. Justice may be late, but it will never be absent. All people are equal before the law, no matter how "resourceful" they are.
People watch a house being demolished in Wenling cityk, Zhejiang province, after its owner reached an agreement with the local government. [Photo provided to China Daily]

A PROTECTED BUILDING IN DOWNTOWN SHANGHAI has been demolished, after it was sold for about 80 million yuan ($12 million), according to reports. Thepaper.cn commented on Saturday:

It is a lamentable loss for Shanghai that a protected historic building, although sold to an eligible buyer, has been lost. Its historical value aside, the old building, which was built in the 1930s, was under municipal protection and thus only internal renovation was permitted, according to relevant laws.

In Shanghai's case, the property buyer was well informed of why the building was not to be torn down and promised to abide by the laws two years ago. The demolition went beyond the agreed internal renovation and crossed the line from exercising to abusing the ownership rights to the property.

During the several months of demolition, local urban patrol officers intervened to halt the destruction more than once, by reporting it to the police and negotiating with the new owner. Yet their justifiable efforts did not stop the building from being destroyed.

That leads to a number of questions that remain unanswered but should have been addressed years ago: are the local protection authorities fully aware of all the buildings they are responsible for protecting and the procedures for doing so? Have those involved in unauthorized renovations been held accountable?

Historic buildings are a valuable legacy. The transfer of ownership via the real estate market does not mean the deep-pocketed buyers can do whatever they want to the protected buildings.
China released its plan for reusable carrier rockets for the first time at the 2017 Global Space Exploration Conference on Thursday.

According to researchers at the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, one of the country's major space contractors, China is developing two projects: a vertical take-off and landing system and another one using parachutes. The projects have both made significant breakthroughs and are now undergoing tests.

According to the CASIC researchers, China is developing its own reusable carrier rockets to ensure reliable and reusable operations at low cost.

Experts said the reusable rockets will have a broad range of applications, such as transporting astronauts, resupplying space stations and placing satellites into their orbits.

Kuaizhou 11, CASIC's new-generation carrier rocket, has further reduced the cost of entering space with its unique design. The solid-fuel carrier rocket's launch preparation time is shorter and its launch site requirements are lower, which makes space launches more convenient and cheaper. Although its carrying capacity is only about 200 kilograms, it can successfully reduce the launch cost to $30,000 per kilogram from the international average of $40,000 per kg.
Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani speaks to reporters in Doha, Qatar, on Thursday. Naseem Zeitoon / Reuters

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates recently severed their diplomatic ties with Qatar, highlighting once again the turbulence engulfing the Middle East.

The discord between Saudi Arabia and its allies on the one hand, and Qatar on the other, stems not only from the conflict between Riyadh's efforts to maintain its leadership in the Gulf Cooperation Council and Doha's "ambitions", but also from intermingled sectarian and economic interests, and the changed demographic structures in some Middle East countries.

That Saudi government feels the need to present to the outside world a more resolute image and US President Donald Trump has hinted at changing the United States' policy toward the Middle East might also be responsible for the diplomatic rows.

Given that the US has long exerted great influence in the Middle East, its changed approach has also helped change the region's geopolitical permutation and combination. True, the Trump administration is keen on promoting "value diplomacy", but there is little doubt that even an "ambitious" Qatar would be a "useful instrument" for the US, not least because even other Arab countries see it as the most energetic and diversified economy in the GCC.

So Saudi Arabia and the other Arab countries, despite being unhappy with Qatar, would not have taken the decision without other geopolitical reasons. Perhaps Trump's insistencefrom his presidential campaign to his presidencythat he would reduce the US' military presence and intervention overseas and, instead, mobilize resources for domestic economic development had something to do with the decision of Riyadh and its allies.

In his inaugural address on Jan 20, Trump said he wished to consolidate or mend ties with other countries, stressing that all countries have the right to prioritize their own national interests. He also said the US does not seek to impose the American way of life on other countries, and hoped it would become a model for others to follow.

Such remarks by Trump could be construed as the US abandoning its previous policy of supporting "color revolutions" in the Middle East and other parts of the world. It is therefore likely that this changed policy of the US prompted the Saudi government to "teach a lesson" to Qatar while trying to mend ties with the US, which suffered a setback because of Trump's critical remarks against Riyadh during his campaign trail.

Riyadh has issued an ultimatum to Doha to cut its links with the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, among other things. However, despite the diplomatic rows, the Arab countries are not likely to use force against each other, and meditations and talks will become the ultimate means to settle the dispute. One reason for that is, the West has long seen Qatar as a reformist representative of Arab countries and thus does not want to see Saudi Arabia, which has a stronger religious inclination, overpower it.

Besides, Saudi Arabia will refrain from using military means, because Qatar is home to the US Central Command in the Middle East. Considering its military's limited success against Houthi rebels in Yemen, several "terrorist" attacks on its soil, and the repeated setbacks the armed forces supported by it have suffered in Syria and Iraq, Saudi Arabia cannot afford to open a new front against Qatar. And by fighting a war with a Qatar, where foreigners comprise the majority of the population, Saudi Arabia would also risk diplomatic rows with other countries.

But one thing looks certain. The diplomatic turbulence in the Middle East will weaken a previous deal reached by members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut oil outputand prevent them from striking a fresh deal to that effect. And the resulting glut in oil production will drive down oil prices, dealing a blow to not only OPEC members but also the global oil industry.

The author is a researcher at the International Trade and Economic Cooperation Institute of the Ministry of Commerce.
Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting as part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, June 8, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

At the 17th Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, President Xi Jinping witnessed the official inclusion of India and Pakistan into the regional bloc, as well as the adoption of a convention on anti-extremism. As China succeeds Kazakhstan as the SCO chair for a year, observers are wondering what the expansion of the bloc will mean for the "Shanghai Spirit".

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the SCO Charter and the 10th anniversary of the Treaty on Long-Term Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation of the SCO Member States. That China has developed a comprehensive strategic partnership with many Central Asian countries is proof of the vitality of the bloc, which has just entered its 16th year.

The SCO has accorded priority to unity in the first decade of its existence, but now it also needs fresh vitality to intensify multilateral operations and more efficiently implement its plans. In this sense, the accession procedures for India and Pakistan, which started in 2015 at the Ufa summit in Russia, are not just about institutional expansion or revision but also improvement.

On their part, New Delhi and Islamabad have completed all the procedures to obtain the full SCO membership. As have the SCO members which signed a memorandum on the obligations of the two new entrants at the 2016 Tashkent summit in Uzbekistan.

The inclusion of India and Pakistan means the bloc will account for 25 percent of global GDP compared with 15 percent in the past, cover 44 percent of the world population, and expand its geographical reach to South Asia. Covering about three-fifths of Eurasia, the SCO will play a bigger role in safeguarding regional stability and optimizing the world order.

The two South Asian neighbors' accession to the security-oriented SCO could also help them improve their bilateral ties. Both countries attach great importance to trade with Central Asia, China and Russia. And as one of the world's largest energy consumers, India would like to step up its energy cooperation with resource-rich Russia and Central Asian states and contribute to the integration between the SCO and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.

The expansion will also give the SCO a bigger say in international affairs, by rallying more concerted efforts to combat the "three evil forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism, as well as other cross-border crimes, such as money laundering and drug trafficking.

The implementation of the security agreements under the SCO framework such as the anti-extremism convention will not just put the Belt and Road projects under greater protection, but also provide a platform for dialogue for member states that have border disputes.

Since the SCO's expansion is not only about extending the bloc's geopolitical reach or focusing on the Central Asian affairs, the decision to include India and Pakistan must have been made against the backdrop of increasing sectarian clashes and the rise of anti-globalization in many parts of the world. It could bring about challenges, too, as SCO members, most of which are developing and emerging economies, may have different understandings of future coordination. However, the Belt and Road Initiative should be able to help them in upgrading their industrial capacities and facilities while making the most of technological innovation.

The author is secretary-general of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Studies Center at Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gestures during a press conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, November 21, 2016. [Agencies]

In February 1972, then US president Richard Nixon visited Beijing in an effort to improve his country's relations with China. Since it didn't get prior information from the United States about the trip, Japan was caught unawares.

Japan's foreign policy has been based on a close relationship with the US since 1945.

And since it didn't have diplomatic relations with China at the time, Japan felt it was being ignored while a new order was taking shape in Asia.

Learning that Washington and Beijing had not normalized diplomatic relations during the Nixon's visit, Japan was relieved. Takeo Fukuda, then Japanese foreign minister, said Nixon's visit would serve as an example for Japan to normalize relations with China. And then Japanese chief cabinet secretary Noboru Takeshita said Nixon's China visit had made the distance between Washington and Beijing shorter than that between Tokyo and Beijing. "But Japan is now in a better position to close that distance," he added.

On Sept 25, 1972, Kakuei Tanaka, then Japanese prime minister, visited Beijing, the first official visit by a Japanese prime minister after the end of World War II. Following that visit, China and Japan normalized their diplomatic relations.

The current Japanese foreign policy continues to take cues from the US.

This year, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has tried to reach out to China in the hope of not being "excluded" as US President Donald Trump's administration moves closer to Beijing. Trump accepted President Xi Jinping's invitation to visit China when the two met in Florida in February.

In a letter to the Chinese president delivered by Japan's Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai who visited Beijing in mid-May to attend the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, Abe called for resuming "shuttle diplomacy" in which both leaders regularly visit each other's countries.

When State Councilor Yang Jiechi paid a visit to Tokyo in late May to take part in the fourth round of the high-level political dialogue between China and Japan, Tokyo wanted to discuss arrangements for a meeting between Abe and Xi on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, which will be held in Germany in July. All the four Xi-Abe face-to-face talks so far were on the sidelines of international conferences.

Besides, Abe is likely to pay a visit to China in 2018 when China is due to host the trilateral meeting for leaders of China, Japan and Republic of Korea. And addressing an international conference in Tokyo on June 5, Abe said Japan was willing to participate in the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative that is aimed at improving connectivity between Asia and the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

If the plan incorporates "the common beliefs held by the international community", Abe said it could be consolidated in a beneficial form with a free and fair trans-Pacific economic zone.

On June 6, the LDP, which heads the ruling coalition with Komeito, invited Chinese Ambassador to Japan Cheng Yonghua to brief its lawmakers about the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

Along with the US, Japan had shunned the Chinese initiative. But following in the footsteps of the US, Japan's China policy is changing.

Still, the two sides lack mutual trust.

Political observers say the rise of China is one of the most defining transformative realities of the 21st century. In the second half of the 20th century Japan was the leading country in Asia. But China's economic and geopolitical rise has caused a paradigm shift, which is uncomfortable for the US and extremely uncomfortable for Japan.

Former Japanese prime minister Shigeru Yoshida said after the end of World War II that Japan had to face the new reality and build a solid relationship with its erstwhile arch enemy.

The statesmanship of Japanese politicians like Yoshida is needed more than ever now. And to build that solid relationship, the two sides need to make efforts to first build mutual trust.

The author is China Daily Tokyo bureau chief.

caihong@chinadaily.com.cn
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May leaves after a church service in Sonning, Britain June 11, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

It must have seemed like such a good idea at the time. With a 20-point lead in the opinion polls, British Prime Minister Theresa May's decision to hold a general election was a clever and opportunistic attempt to capitalize on the Conservative party's popularity, at the expense of the opposition Labour party's weakness.

But with the Conservatives ending the night eight seats short of a majority, it is now destined to go down as one of the worst miscalculations in modern British political history.

The prime minister proved to be a wooden campaigner and a reluctant media performer  refusing TV debates with the other party leaders. On the other hand, Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour party, had a good campaign. He rose above the low expectations of much of the media and political class and attracted voters with his mild manner and apparent authenticity. Expectations for him were so low he can treat his defeat as a victory.

Of course, the prime minister didn't need to do this; she could have continued until 2020 with her small but adequate majority.

Perhaps May had another prime minister in mind when she decided to call the election  the ill-fated Gordon Brown. Like her, he came to power without having to fight a general election, and, like her, enjoyed high poll ratings during his first few months in power. Brown flirted with the idea of calling an election before eventually losing his nerve, going on to lose the general election in 2010. Was May trying to avoid a similar fate?

Certainly, there is likely to have been more behind her decision than her stated reason of trying to override parliamentary opposition to Brexit.

For now, thanks to the support of a small Northern Ireland party, the Conservatives can stay in power, but May will not be part of that equation for long. She is in office, but no longer in power. Her chief advisors are gone, and she will likely follow soon.

The immediate result of the election is that Britain must wrestle with a domestic political crisis at a critical time for the country  Brexit negotiations begin on June 19.

Officially May intends to continue with her plans to negotiate Britain's exit from the EU, including its single market. Yet her authority has been fatally wounded by the election.

European leaders will know they are dealing with a leader on borrowed time and that the government only has a wafer-thin parliamentary majority to force any Brexit deal through the House of Commons.

A weaker government weakens Britain's negotiating hand.

Of course, throughout all this, the government will be at the mercy of the Democratic Unionist Party  the Northern Ireland party lending its votes to help pass the government's program through parliament.

We are now likely to see three key consequences of the prime minister's failed gamble.

First, there will be renewed attempts to sabotage Brexit. While both the Labour and Conservative parties are committed to leaving the bloc, a majority of politicians remain opposed. There will be a renewed emphasis on pursuing a "softer" Brexit, perhaps with attempts to get Britain to remain in the single market. Any eventual deal that doesn't give the UK the ability to control its borders will anger the millions of voters who voted to leave motivated by high levels of immigration.

Second, the EU will likely try to take advantage of the weak government during the opening stages of the negotiations, especially when it comes to presenting Britain with its estimation of the exit bill to leave the bloc. The numbers that had already been floated were considerable and the EU needs the money  it will have a big hole in its budget once the UK has left.

However, a government with a small majority will not be able to afford to pay any figure that could cause a rebellion within its own ranks  the EU may well overplay its hand.

Finally, the Conservative party may return to the dark days of the 1990s, when a weak leader presided over a party tearing itself apart over Europe. The party is now considerably more Eurosceptic than it was during the time of John Major, but it is still home to a wide range of views on the issue. With a weak leadership negotiating Brexit, the various factions in the party will now fight for their particular type of Brexit to be the country's negotiating aim.

For Theresa May, her "strong and stable" campaign slogan will haunt her for the rest of her political life. She had warned voters about supporting Labour, promising it would lead to a "coalition of chaos".

But it is May who now presides over chaos, without the luxury of a coalition.

This election was Theresa May's to lose. She owns this defeat, and Britain is poorer for it.

James Skinner is a contributing editor at China Daily with an MA in International Relations. He has a particular interest in British and American politics, as well as global security issues.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Kazakhstan took place on 8-9 June. The next day, the 2017 Astana Expo, which is scheduled to last for three months, got underway. These two events are indicative of Kazakhstan's  and Central Asia's  growing geopolitical and geo-economic importance.

China and Russia are the biggest nations which are currently members of the SCO. The other four are all Central Asian states: Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan itself.

Thus, due to its membership, the focus of the SCO is undoubtedly on Central Asia so far. This is also a vital region for the Silk Road Economic Belt, which is one half of China's Belt and Road Initiative.

The Silk Road Economic Belt's overland route to Europe passes through Central Asia. The most important aspect of this route undoubtedly consists of rail links. Up to now the performance of these railroads has been steady but relatively unspectacular. However, this situation is set to change as China puts an increasing emphasis on connectivity across the Eurasian landmass.

At a recent conference in Poland, scholars from Chengdu's Sichuan University emphasised how much the China-Europe rail connection has progressed in recent months. For the first time, they said, Polish apples were delivered to Chengdu's markets by train in May. The delivery was several weeks faster than via the maritime route, demonstrating what can be achieved.

Apples may seem like an insignificant trade item, but in terms of Sino-European cooperation via the Central Asian route, the delivery of these humble fruits represents more than a symbolic step forward. While the number of trains between China and Europe has been increasing rapidly, most of the wagons sent from China have been coming back empty up to now. The fact that Europeans are beginning to see the possibilities for exporting certain goods to China by rail brings a new dimension to the emerging land route across Russia and Kazakhstan.

The Sichuan University academics pointed out that the city of Chengdu is building a huge railway 'port' to deal with trade to and from Europe. Next to the port there is a market, some sections of which are set up to sell European luxury goods and other items. The railway through Central Asia is clearly assuming ever-greater significance for landlocked Sichuan.

The next step, they said, is to persuade European companies that the new trade route can be profitable, and that there are Chinese customers who wish to buy their products. If that happens, the Silk Road Economic Belt will really begin to take off as momentum gathers and more entrepreneurs begin to understand the route's potential.

As far as Central Asia is concerned, growing Sino-European trade would only be good news. As the route crosses their territory, Central Asians can also cash in, receiving a percentage of the proceeds generated and boosting their economies.

Encouraging increasing economic interdependence between countries is one of the main aims of the Belt and Road Initiative. Improving infrastructure and transport links between countries along the new Silk Road is therefore key to the success of China's initiative.

At the same time, it is important to remember that the Silk Road Economic Belt is based not on unrealistic dreams but on sound economic principles of supply and demand. As new markets are created, there is money to be made by anybody who gets involved. This is the reason why President Xi Jinping, who is visiting Kazakhstan for the SCO summit and the opening of the Astana Expo, continually stresses that the Belt and Road Initiative is intended to create win-win synergies across the more than 60 nations included.

As a facilitating organisation, the SCO is also key to the success of the new Silk Road's land route. By providing a forum in which the interested parties can exchange ideas and information, it helps to smooth possible tensions and create an atmosphere of trust, most notably between China and Russia.

Central Asians, who have historical ties to Russia, understand the importance of maintaining a working relationship with their massive northern neighbour. Finding synergies between the SCO and Russia's Eurasian Economic Union is therefore crucial to the success of the Belt and Road as far as all involved parties are concerned.

Europeans also should realise that it is in their interests to hope for positive outcomes from the SCO summit, and improved links with China via Central Asia and Russia. The world evolves through accepting change rather than resisting it.

Exploring ways to integrate European markets with Asian ones will benefit Europeans too. The route to China which passes through Kazakhstan and Central Asia is therefore likely to turn out to be a vital one as European and Asian markets continue to become economically interdependent during the remainder of the 21st century.

Jeremy Garlick is a lecturer in international relations at the Jan Masaryk Centre for International Studies, University of Economics in Prague.
My name is Damir Kadirov,I was born and grown up in a countryside located in the eastern part of Kazakhstan in the family of six members, which includes parents, an elder sister and two little sisters. My name is Damir Kadirov,I was born and grown up in a countryside located in the eastern part of Kazakhstan in the family of six members, which includes parents, an elder sister and two little sisters.

During my study at school I always was an excellent student, I took part in many regional activities both in intellectual competitions and in sports. I was only one who graduated from our school with the Gold Sign prize. This case gave me a significant support to enter the university which I desired to. So, I was enrolled by one of the best Kazakhstans universities - Eurasian National University. After graduation I was awarded with the Bachelor Degree with distinction. Then I decided to go abroad to get Master Degree. In that time I already knew about the Belt and Road initiative, so I opted for Chinese Government Scholarship.

Now almost three years passed and I am about to graduate ECUST. I am very happy to have a destiny of coming to such wonderful country as China, to such amazing place as Shanghai. For me, China is a country of opportunities, for three years of being here,I got a lot knowledge about my future occupation (Chemical Engineering), meanwhile I learned Chinese language that provides good perspectives, moreover I made a lot of friends both Chinese and international. I really enjoyed by travelling around the country, I have been in Xian, Nanjing, Hong Kong, Macao, Sanya, Guangzhou, Nanchang etc. Generally, I have every reason to say that my life in China is very diverse and full of memorable moments.

In conclusion, I want to thank China Daily for a given chance for foreigners to share their ideas about todays hot topics, particularly about OBOR initiative.
My Life in China: From Zero to Hero

Every person has a story. A story full of different choices and paths which led him or her to being who he or she is today. I have lived in China for over 8 years. Once I had decided that moving to China was a better idea, I have to let you know  I did not anticipate to end up where I am today. After all, I was like every other people before they came to China  I knew about Shanghai, because of the razor blade they produce there, I imagined people to be short and have very tiny eyes, and I knew that China had been getting wealthy over the years. I knew they had long history as well, nothing of which I knew anything about, for the reason that we had never been taught at school in my country. There was an air of mystery surrounding the most populous nation in the world  one I wanted to fathom, to comprehend, once in my lifetime.

But I went anyway, plunging deep-down into my newest adventure at the time. China is a nation where you can experience the real glory of the world. Certainly, learning my Chinese and trying to eat with chopsticks were challenging initially, but as I began to integrate into the Chinese society I began to learn. However, the real reason I went to China was to pursue a Masters degree in Chinese Political Economy at Xiamen University, but during my Masters degree I fell in love with the country; the love motivated me to further my education by proceeding for my Ph.D. in World Economy. One thing I cannot forget was the little Chinese smiling faces, all waiting to be taught English by this laowai (okay, for the children, (If you do not know what that means, look it up  you will know quickly enough if you decide to learn Mandarin  trust me on this!).

As every day goes by, the love I have for the country increases for countless reasons: diversified culture, beautiful scenery, mouth-watering food and incredible people. Speaking of people, the people I met during the past eight years from local Chinese friends to my teachers and to my colleagues made me believe that I am now a Chinese by association. These Chinese folks have given me shoulders to cry on, reshape me, nurture me, and given me shelter when I needed it most. Because of this warm reception and the people, I have taken China has my second homeland.It is therefore an honor for me to contribute either through research or through community service to the development of this great country

Looking back, I remember having no idea what it would be like in China, and whether I should come, but I just did it, and it was such a good decision for me. The timing could not have been better with the economic boom; I saw a massive change in the period I was in China and huge pivot and development in the country. I have grown so much since I came to China, and I also realized that you can get much more of an education from experiencing diverse culture than you can in a classroom. As infinite stars shimmering in a midnight sky, so are the desires of my heart. My stay in China has opened my mind to new ways of viewing the world, and the past 8 years have been a time of growth and maturity for both my mind and character. Looking back, these have been the most exciting, challenging and rewarding years of my life. China has taught me to take life as it comes and to seize each opportunity to improve myself, because preparation meets opportunity. I am facing a future of untold possibilities.

During my stay in China, what I have learned about dreams is that they are malleable, not set in stone; beacons of light to point people in a general direction. The dream I conceived as a boy might not be similar to the dream I am realizing today as a man. Each turn I take in the winding path of life leads to another pasture, valley or hilltop. If you know me before, you will agree with me that I have really move from zero to hero.
Helmuts Kols is an expert in Eurasian affairs with specialisation in international railway and seaport cooperation. Kols has made considerable contributions to Latvias transport and logistics sectors integration in the Eurasian transport network.

Kols started his career in 2005 at the freight transport department of State Joint Stock Company Latvian Railways. His main responsibilities were the development of containerized block-train services and realization of international cooperation projects with Russia, Central Asian countries, Far East Asia and China.

Afterwards, Kols was appointed as the Adviser to the Minister of the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Latvia, Adviser to the Board of LDZ Cargo and Chairman of the Board of LDZ Cargo Logistika. From 2009 to 2013 Kols worked at the Riga Commercial Port as the Member of the Board and later as Member of the Council, developing sea-rail transportation services and solutions. In 2013, Kols relocated to China to work as the advisor to Australian, Danish, and Hong Kong trading, investment consulting and tourism companies. In 2016 Kols was appointed as the Attache of the Ministry of Transport at the Embassy of Latvia in China.

Kols has been active in community work in promoting the Sino-Latvian relations, between 2005-2009 - as the public representative of the Latvian Investment and Development Agency in China, and between 2011-2016, as the Honorary Representative of Riga City Council in China.

Kols obtained a Bachelor of Business degree from the University of Technology, Sydney and a subsequent Masters of International Business and Law degree with Merit from the University of Sydney, Australia. In 2006 Kols was amongst the first students from Baltic States to be admitted to the Doctoral studies at Tsinghua University, Beijing. Kols is proficient in Latvian, Russian and English languages.
Khan Waheed Qamar, International student from Canada, is now a PhD candidate in Materials Science and Engineering (Key laboratory for Advanced Functional Materials) at Beijing University of Technology. It is worthmentioning that he has a remarkable Chinese name Hong Qi, which means Red Flag. Hong Qi is an energetic and pragmatic individual always willing to help others in academic and all fields of life. He believes strongly that It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing. It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving.

Hong Qi does not only possess an impressive personality but also superior professional competence. Overall he published six SCI research papers and also is a member of IAENG and PVS. Furthermore, he delivered Keynote speech at ICSMME-2015, (International Conference on structure, mechanical and material engineering) Dalian and currently member of Technical Programme committee (TPC) in International Conference on Material Science and Environmental Engineering (MSEE 2016). He is a coordinator of English corner at Chuiyangliu hospital, Beijing and helping medical staff to learn practical English, in turn this can equip the doctors of hospital to serve the foreigner patients in a better way.

The Exploration of Growth

He grew up in an educated family of engineers and doctors, which was the natural impetus behind his career goals and successful life. In daily life he is well-organized, well-mannered, meticulous, dependable and reliable. He likes to travel and visited more than 20 countries around the world including England, America, France, Germany, Canada, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Austria, Holland and many more. Few years ago he started his PhD studies but due to unfortunate sad demise of his father and brother, cannot continue the studies and preferred to look after his big family.

It takes a lot of courage to face big problems in life and still move forward with ambitions and energy. To gain more technical skills and enriched living standard, Khan Waheed Qamar immigrated to Canada in the year 2000 and started living in the vibrant city of Toronto. Its like a new birth in another country, where one has to qualify all the regional exams to be eligible for a job. Khan Waheed passed all the examinations with great success and is the meritorious member of International association for Engineers, Ontario association of Certified Engineers and techs, (OACET, Canada), Pakistan Engineering council (PEC) and Pakistan Vacuum Society.

The Exploration in China

After the accomplishment of masters degree, he started working for a national scientific organization in Pakistan. During this timehe visited china to accept technical training in aerospace technology, henceforth developed an early fervent bond with Chinese culture and people.

During his prosperous career in Canada he yet again planned to pursue the dream of PhD and choose China because of aforementioned love and interest in Chinese culture and life. Chinese name HongQi () also shows his love with PRC as a great country of loving people.

Khan Waheed Qamar says that, China as a country involves the creation of a learning environment, in which students are encouraged to think carefully and critically. Express their thoughts in a way that resolves difficulties, rather than glossing over them and BJUT encourages the constant monitoring and reflection of the teaching processes and seeks to improve it and has been successful in conveying, perhaps the most challenging of all notions that underlie higher education, the message that learning requires commitment, hard work, responsibility, and a willingness to take risks. Following these principles has great rewards, not the least the realization that learning can be fun, so study hard, be a good student.

The Unlimited Road of Exploration

Now after more than two years through his own efforts and consistent hard work to become a skillful researcher, now able to give himself a satisfactory answer. He is a role model in the eyes of other students, but in his heart, just a hard working lucky person, whose mother is always praying for his success.

Due to concentrated efforts on research and studies there is not much time left to participate in other social activities, but he is actively involved in various activities arranged by BJUT and college of international education. Khan Waheed Qamar along with his friends organized a cultural booth on International day in BJUT. He is trying to unite people to protect the planet and participate in Earth hour environmental activities. On Saturday, 19 March 2016, as WWFs Earth Hour rolled across the world, Khan Waheed Qamar joined online with millions to shine a light on the climate action our planet needs.

He is an inspiration to young students and researchers. He believes that good habits develop good character. We are not born into this world with fixed habits. Neither do we inherit a noble character. Confucius said that the nature of men is always the same, It is their habits that differentiate them. Instead, we are given the privilege and opportunity of choosing which way of life we will follow, which habits we will develop.

Khan Waheed Qamar believes that with success, we do owe great responsibilities for society. Peace in every home, every street, every village, every country, this is his dream. To see each and every human being with a smile of happiness is his wish.
I am a masters student in Shanghai Jiao Tong University, majoring in political science. Before joining the program, I worked as a real-time TV news caster in Seoul, and interned in various institutions including German Parliament in Berlin.

I am one of the happiest expatriates in China. If I may be honest, worries had outweighed excitements in my head before landing in Shanghai. But now, excitements dominate both my head and heart. My every day here is fairly different from non-Chinese medias portrayal about China, which is why I think Beijings soft power agenda is so crucial for China, and the same applies to any country without powerful media or soft power in a global scale.

Besides all the fascinating technological breakthroughs sweeping all over China like wechat, alipay, mobike, you name it, what amazed me was how terrific Chinese culture products both traditional and modern- were. Listening to Chinese pop music and watching Chinese television and movies, I had to ask my Chinese friends several times, Why do you even like K-pop, K-dramas and Hollywood films more? Chinese ones are just as, if not even more, amazing! I genuinely believe in the potential of Chinese soft power, and that is why I wrote my article in this competition.

Besides broader and deeper insight about China and the world, I gained here my newest hobby, taijiquan. I speak Korean, English, and German fluently. I am currently learning Mandarin Chinese to improve it to the level where I can have access to the almost limitless amount of literature and information in Chinese.
I am a Canadian and I have lived and worked in China for three years now. Canada is a very young country so it's amazing to be in a country with such a long history and rich culture. I teach Business English and Medical English at Zibo Vocational Institute in Shandong Province.

I will be sorry to leave Zibo and all the friends I've made here, but now that I've turned 60, I can no longer work as a foreign expert in this district. My husband and I love being in China -- we have met so many interesting people and seen so many unforgettable sights.

People ask me, "Do you like Chinese food?" and I always say, "Do I LOOK like I like Chinese food?" Indeed we do. We also like to ride our bicycles around the neighbourhood -- it's easy for me because there are no hills around here! Before my mid-life career change, I worked in non-profit administration for charities such as Habitat for Humanity. I hope to have more time for writing in the future; I am the author of a novel, "A Contrary Wind: a variation on Jane Austen's Mansfield Park."
I am currently studying Master degree in Civil Engineering after being awarded a scholarship from the Chinese Scholarship Council (CSC) atTongji University, where I also finished my undergraduate studies in 2016.

I have served as a volunteer for the UNEP-Tongji Institute of Environment for Sustainable Development (IESD) during my academic journey.

Since 2015, I am part of the Research Group of Prof.BaiYun, where I have contributed to projects such asOne Belt, One Road and China-Nepal Trans-Himalaya Railway Link; I am also part of the research of sustainable underground space development withprojects as the one sponsored by the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality, titled Key technologies for the underground space development of existing buildings. My main interests include developing initiatives, exchanging ideas and learning languages.

I came to China in 2008 when I was just 14. Encouraged by my father who in his first visit to China was so impressed with its rapid development that he decided to send me to a boarding school in Guangzhou to study Chinese. My parents made the decision for me and I had no choice other than leaving everything behind and starting a new life here in China, away from family and friends.

To start a new life away from home at such a young age was tremendously difficult, to say the least. But it was the beginning of an invaluable experience that shaped me in ways that living back home never could.

The transitional period was made easier by the interest I quickly developed for Chinese language, whichlater grew into feeling of admiration and respect towards China and its people.

I went back to Colombia in 2010 to finish high school, but by the end of 2011, I made the decision of returning to China to pursue my undergraduate studies. This time, it was I who was willing to go back, because upon returning to my country I realized China, the land 20.000km away from my native Colombia, had become my home away from home. I missed the kindness and sincerity of people, the variety of food, and all the wonderful experiences that can be obtained only in this diverse and complex country.

I believe in the principle of justice. As an old proverb says: every effort deserves reward. Indeed, Chinas rapid economic and infrastructural development is the reward of all the efforts, sacrifices and patriotism of its incredibly hardworking people. For me being in China, not onlyhas giving me an opportunity to learn to bear fruit of my own hard academic work, but also to grow intellectually and personally in a phenomenal way.

Today, I can say that I have not only obtained theoretical knowledge, but also gained deeper multicultural sensitivity as well as the acquired ability to live together with people from various ethnic backgrounds, respecting their customs and beliefs. I believe that becoming a technical expert does not have a fulfilling meaning if it only brings about personal satisfaction. What brings a much greater joy is the realization that the work that has been done will have a large-scale benefit for us all. This requires teamwork rather than individual labor, and it goes along with dedication and self-compromise, giving the best of ourselves each and every day.

Surely where ever I go I will keep a piece of China within me.
I was born in Sarlahi District in Nepal. I studied Business Studies and Political Science for my bachelor and MA course respectively. I am doing PhD in International Politics at Shandong University. My research focuses on China's multilateral diplomacy, One Belt, One Road and South Asia.

I came to China on September 2016. China is a land of my dream. My generation has grown up listening to the stories of China's success. I would wonder how a country could uplift 700 million people out of poverty in a span of 30 years. Thanks to the Communist Party of China and the path of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, it has made a remarkable contribution to the humanity's right to development.

China occupies a very special position in the hearts and minds of Nepalese people for her policy of non-interference and sovereign equality. Moreover, it has generously extended support to Nepal at the time of distress. The rescue and relief China provided in the wake of the mega earthquake in 2015 has left indelible marks on the minds of every citizen of Nepal. As a volunteer of a rescue and relief operation myself, I was impressed by the team's effort.

My journey from the land of Gautam Buddha to the land of Great Confucius has been amazing. I am astonished by the level of development China has made. Another thing I learned here is collectivism. China has changed my world outlook. I have fallen in love with Chinese language, food and culture in a very short period of time. I am learning Chinese in my own effort. China has become my home.

I took part in "The 1st Shandong University International Student "B&R" Culture Forum" last month and was awarded the second position.

At the time when the West is fanning the clash of civilization, protectionism and isolationism, the Communist Party of China with Chairman Xi as the core has put forward the Chinese dream of building a community of common destiny for mankind. One Belt, One Road initiative has been chosen as the instrument for realization of the dream. Nepal joined the Chinese circle of friends on 12th May. As a strong admirer of OBOR, I take this opportunity to wish the ongoing "Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation" a grand success.
Bapiao village, inhabited by ethnic Jino people in Jinghong, Yunnan province. [Photo provided by Will Wain-Williams]

Ethnic Jino areas that exist in modernization's limbo offer authentic slices of traditional lifebut perhaps not for long, Will Wain-Williams reports.

The ethnic Jino people inhabit Yunnan province's remote mountains, where they cultivate tea and medicinal herbs but still experience the country's rapid and massive transformation.

I set out to explore the lands on which they live, traveling from Yunnan's Xishuangbanna, a tropical settlement in the rainforest on the banks of the Mekong River near the border with Myanmar, northward toward the mountains leading to the Tibet autonomous region's highlands.

The main city (if you could call it that, given its small size and slow pace of life), Jinghong, is mostly inhabited by the Dai ethnic group. The Dai's close links to Thai people can be seen in the language, architecture and religious beliefs, endowing the area with a Southeast Asian feel.

The roads northward were lined with rubber plantations. My driver says many owners are shifting toward coffee production, which is more profitable.

Yunnan's coffee has been increasing its market share in the country and beyond.

Signs advertising tacky theme parks devoted to ethnic culture punctuate the agricultural plots.

I was looking for something more authentic.
French President Emmanuel Macron leaves the polling station after voting in the first of two rounds of parliamentary elections in Le Touquet, France, June 11, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

PARIS - President Emmanuel Macron's party "The Republic On The Move" (LREM) and its ally MoDem took the lead in the first round of French legislative election on Sunday.

Major results of all available exit polls showed that LERM won up to 33.5 percent of votes, ahead of the conservatives which collected between 20.8 percent and 22 percent.

Eying to form a strong opposition, the far-right National Front collected up to 14 percent while the outgoing ruling Socialist Party reported a poor score of between 9 and 10 percent.

Following the first result of parliamentary competition's first leg, LREM and its allies were likely to win between 415 and 455 seats out of the 577-seat lower house of parliament, securing a landslide majority.

The Kantar Sofres-onepoint estimate, made for French newspaper Le Figaro, put the number at between 400 and 440 seats for LERM.

"With this result, there is a desire of the French to be coherent and want to give a majority to the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron," government spokesman Christophe Castaner told TF1 news channel.

In his first political test at home, Macon, who created LREM only one a year ago, named 428 candidates, including 214 female faces, with half of them are from civil society and had never held an elected post.

By 5 pm local time (1500 GMT), 40.75 percent had cast their ballots, the lowest turnout in the 5th Republic, compared with the same time of day in the first round of 2012, when the figure stood at 48.3 percent.

Opinion pollsters predict Sunday's turnout to hit record low of 49 percent, mirroring the French people's growing disinterest in legislative election.

A second and final round of voting is scheduled for June 18 to determine the makeup of an assembly that Macron, at the start of a five-year term, needs to implement his campaign promises of boosting economy and reducing deficit.

Under France's electoral rules, only candidates who win more than 50 percent of votes in the first round win the seat outright. If there is no clear winner, all candidates who win more than 12.5 percent in the first round qualify for the second round next Sunday.
Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosello (C) celebrates after the economically struggling US island territory voted overwhelmingly on Sunday in favour of becoming the 51st state, in San Juan, Puerto Rico June 11, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

SAN JUAN - The economically struggling US island territory of Puerto Rico voted overwhelmingly on Sunday in favor of becoming the 51st state, although turnout was low and adding another star to the US flag likely faces an uphill battle in Congress.

A government website for the non-binding referendum, Puerto Rico's fifth such plebiscite since 1967, showed 97 percent supported statehood. Only 23 percent of the 2.2 million eligible voters participated in the vote.

Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello campaigned for statehood as the best avenue to boost future growth for the island, which has $70 billion in debt, a 45 percent poverty rate, woefully underperforming schools and near-insolvent pension and health systems.

"From today going forward, the Federal government will no longer be able to ignore the voice of the majority of the American citizens in Puerto Rico," Rossello said in a statement.

"It would be highly contradictory for Washington to demand democracy in other parts of the world, and NOT respond to the legitimate right to self-determination that was exercised today in the American territory of Puerto Rico," he added.

Puerto Rico's hazy political status, dating back to its 1898 acquisition by the United States from Spain, has contributed to the economic crisis that pushed it last month into the biggest municipal bankruptcy in US history.

"I voted for statehood," Armando Abreu, a 74-year-old retiree, said after voting. "Even if it's still a long way off in the distance, it's our only hope."

Those in favor of statehood for the mainly Spanish-speaking Caribbean island hope the new status would put the territory on equal standing with the 50 US states, giving them more access to federal funds and the right to vote for US president.

Under the current system, Puerto Rico's 3.5 million American citizens do not pay federal taxes, vote in presidential elections or receive proportionate federal funding on programs like the Medicaid health insurance system for the poor. The US government oversees policy and financial areas such as infrastructure, defense and trade.

Rossello will ask Congress to respect the result, but Puerto Rico is seen as a low priority in Washington.

'BOGUS PLEBISCITE'

The island's two main opposition parties boycotted the vote, which gave Puerto Ricans three options: becoming a US state; remaining a territory; or becoming an independent nation, with or without some continuing political association with the United States.

Puerto Rico's former governor, Rafael Hernandez Colon, said in a statement: "A contrived plebiscite fabricated an artificial majority for statehood by disenfranchising hundreds of thousands of Commonwealth supporters."

Rather than heading to the polls, some 500 Puerto Ricans marched on the streets of San Juan, waving Puerto Rico's flag and burning the American flag while chanting in support of independence.

"This is a bogus plebiscite. Our future is independence. We need to be able to decide our own fate," said Liliana Laboy, one of the organizers of the protest.

Boycotters were also angry about the costly referendum at a time when over 400 schools have closed and many Puerto Ricans are struggling to make ends meet. Schools where voting took place were in poor condition, with cracked paint and bare-bones playgrounds.

Puerto Rico spent an estimated $8 million on the campaign and election process, according to a government spokesman.

Reuters
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]

DUBAI - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia showed signals of easing tensions with Qatar on Sunday, after a week of a growing diplomatic row with Doha.

Earlier in the day, UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Bin Saud both directed that lenience should be shown for Qatari-Emirati and Qatari-Saudi families on humanitarian grounds.

"Is it the beginning of reason and wisdom?" Anwar Mohammed Gargash, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said on his twitter account.

Also on Sunday, Kuwait said Qatar was ready to listen to the concerns of Gulf Arab states that have severed diplomatic and economic ties with it, Saudi daily Arab News reported.

On June 5, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain cut their diplomatic relations with Qatar, closed their air, sea and land access to it and ordered Qatari citizens to leave their countries within two weeks, accusing the gas-rich peninsula state of sponsoring terrorist organizations, including Al Qaida-linked groups in the Syrian civil war, and the politics of Iran, which Qatar has repeatedly denied.

Scores of Arab and Middle Eastern nations including Libya, Yemen, Mauritania, Niger and Jordan later joined the three countries, cutting or reducing diplomatic ties with Doha.
DUBLIN - Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny on Sunday expressed concern over a proposed deal between Theresa May's Conservative Party and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in Northern Ireland, saying that the deal could pose a challenge to the peace process.

In a phone conversation with British Prime Minister May, Kenny discussed the outcome of the recent British general election with his British counterpart, and the British prime minister outlined the proposed supply and confidence arrangement between her party and the DUP, according to a statement from the Irish government.

"The taoiseach indicated his concern that nothing should happen to put the Good Friday Agreement at risk and the challenge that this agreement will bring," the government statement said.

The Good Friday Agreement or Belfast Agreement, was a major political development in the Northern Ireland peace process of the 1990s. The agreement is made up of two inter-related documents, both agreed in Belfast on Good Friday, April 10, 1998.

On Saturday, a controversial working relationship between the British Conservatives and the North Ireland Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) was agreed in principle. The so-called supply and confidence deal, aimed at keeping Prime Minister May in power at 10 Downing Street, came under immediate attack.

The Conservatives won 318 seats, not enough for a majority in the Commons, but buoyed by the 10 DUP MPs. It would give May a working majority. A confidence and supply deal falls short of a full coalition arrangement, but it means May would have enough votes to carry major issues in the Commons.

The government statement said both leaders "agreed that of immediate concern were efforts to establish an executive as soon as possible, with exploratory discussions with the Northern Ireland parties to take place tomorrow."

According to the government statement, Kenny told May that there should be an early meeting between the British prime minister and his successor Leo Varadkar.

On June 2, Varadkar was elected as leader of the Fine Gael Party (United Ireland Party), the country's biggest political party. It is expected that he will be appointed as taoiseach next week following the approval of Dail Eireann, lower house of Irish parliament.
A performer in a giant panda costume greets visitors to an amusement park in Astana, Kazakhstan, June 5, 2017. The Astana World Expo 2017 opens on Saturday. More than 500 Chinese enterprises from more than 24 provinces, autonomous regions or provincial level cities are expected to participate, according to the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade. [Photo/Xinhua]
A file photo shows a worker arranges fresh meat at a supermarket in Nantong, Jiangsu province. [Photo/VCG]

WH Group Ltd, the world's largest pork producer after acquiring US-based Smithfield Foods in 2013 for $4.7 billion, is ready to diversify its product line by possibly buying beef and chicken companies.

"We are currently the largest player in pork globally, and as a food company, we will continue to expand our business scope and diversify animal protein exposure further. (It's) important to note that we do have businesses in poultry and we are already producing and selling some packaged beef products," Luis Chein, investor relations chief for WH Group, formerly known as Shuanghui International, said in an email.

Reuters reported on June 9 that Smithfield Chief Executive Ken Sullivan told it that he is interested in diversifying into other meats to broaden the company's product portfolio, although no deals are imminent. WH Group is looking for targets in beef and poultry in Europe and the US, Reuters reported, citing Chein.

Ted Schroeder, professor of agricultural economics at Kansas State University, said there is recognition that having products in beef, chicken and pork can diversify risk as well as increase overall brand equity.

"Risk reduction results because when beef for example is not profitable, pork or poultry may be doing much better and vice-versa. From a brand equity perspective, having the capability to offer product across the meat space increases visibility and can add to (the) brand image.In addition, significant economies of scope are present in meat processing and merchandising making it more cost effective to combine species," he wrote in an email.

Schroeder said the main pitfalls of adding beef and chicken to an existing pork company are that these are very capital intensive industries that are immensely competitive.

"We constantly see structural realignments, mergers, buying, and selling occurring in these industries because of the velocity of change occurring in the associated markets, in business goals, and in leadership vision. Capitalization often expects high returns, and volatility inherent in the meat industry can make these somewhat risky ventures especially if the time horizon of the company leadership is constrained," said Schroeder.

Expanding into beef and poultry would fashion Smithfield into an entity that is similar to competitors Tyson Foods Inc in the US and Brazil's BRF SA, and JBS SA, which each process beef, chicken and pork.

Last year, Chein told the South China Morning Post that his company's debts will have dropped to a more comfortable level by the end of 2017.

Prospects for the US beef industry improved after China said it would allow US beef exports to the mainland again next month after banning most shipments following an incidence of mad cow disease in 2003.

paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com
Employees of a foreign exchange trading company work near monitors showing TV news on Britain's general election and the Japanese yen's exchange rate against the British pound in Tokyo, Japan June 9, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

LONDON - Almost half of British employers are unprepared for the government's planned changes to immigration rules after Brexit, a survey from the Resolution Foundation think tank showed on Monday.

According to the survey 30 percent of companies expect freedom of movement will continue for citizens from the European Union and the European Economic Area (EU/EEA) so long as they have a job offer.

Another 17 percent thought there would be no change to the current rules.

The Resolution Foundation said these expectations were "totally unrealistic" given that British Prime Minister Theresa May has pledged to cut immigration to the tens of thousands, regardless of businesses' demand for foreign labor.

But May lost her parliamentary majority in an election held last week that she did not need to call, bringing political turmoil a week before Britain is due to start negotiating the terms of its exit from the EU in talks of unprecedented complexity that are supposed to wrap up by the end of March 2019, when Britain is due to leave.

That timeline now looks even more ambitious than before, not least because May's electoral debacle has emboldened those within her own party who object to her "hard Brexit" approach of leaving the European single market to cut immigration.

Forty-six percent of companies employing EU/EEA nationals said they did not expect any decline in their numbers, even though official data has already shown a sharp fall in net migration.

"There's a stark gap between what businesses want and expect from our post-Brexit immigration system and what the government has pledged to deliver," said Stephen Clarke, policy analyst at the Resolution Foundation.

"Reconciling these differences, and giving businesses enough to plan for a new regime is absolutely vital."

Clarke said this would be particularly important for sectors like agriculture, food manufacturing, hospitality and construction.

REUTERS
World War II veteran Robert Eugene Oxford's funeral is held in Concord, Georgia of the US on June 11, 2017. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

At 7:40 am on Jan 25, 1944, 24-year-old Robert Eugene Oxford and seven other crew members were on a routine supply mission on their B-24 Liberator heavy bomber from Kunming in Southwest China to Chabua, India.

They never reached their destination.

Oxford's plane, nicknamed Hot as Hell, was one of the five bombers from the 308th Bombardment Group, 425th Squadron of the14th Air Force that took off that morning from their base at Kunming to fly over the Hump, a treacherous stretch of peaks in the Himalayan mountains, according to US military documents.

At 10:45 am, the formation at 15,000 feet was forced to break up due to extreme weather conditions. Clouds obscured the mountains' tree lines; visibility was less than a mile.

Each aircraft was on its own, trying to land safely in valleys or at the nearest airstrip. All five bombers went down.

Crews parachuted out of two aircraft and survived. A third bomber crashed, with two survivors. The fourth and fifth B-24s  Hot as Hell and Haley's Comet  disappeared. Their crews were later presumed dead.

After the plane crashed 73 years ago, no one went looking for it because military officials had no way of pinpointing where it went down.

All signs of the mission were lost until 2006, when a hiker in northeast India saw a wing and panel sign inscribed with the bomber's name. The Pentagon investigated the crash site in 2015 and found the remains of First Lieutenant Oxford. DNA analysis of his remains matched his niece and nephew.

On Sunday afternoon, a funeral and burial ceremony was held in Oxford's hometown of Concord, Georgia. Concord has a population of 375 and land area of 0.8 square mile, according to the 2010 US Census.

His remains were buried with full military honors alongside those of his parents, Charles and Bessie Oxford, who had placed a memorial marker for their lost son at the gravesite after his plane went missing seven decades ago.

Photos of the seven fellow crewmen on the mission, none of whom were found, were laid beside the coffin and then placed inside for burial at the Magnolia Cemetery in Concord.

The other seven crew members included First Lieutenant William A. Swanson (pilot), F/O Sheldon L. Chambers (co-pilot), First Lieutenant Irwin Zaetz (navigator), Staff Sergeant Charles D. Ginn (engineer), Staff Sergeant Harry B. Queen (radio operator, Sergeant James A. Hinson (gunner) and Sergeant Alfred H. Gerrans Jr. (gunner).

Sherri Moody from the Moody-Daniel Funeral Home in Zebulon, Georgia, told China Daily after the funeral that some 300 to 400 people attended on Sunday afternoon, more than half of them ethnic Chinese, with some coming from as far as New York and Philadelphia.

"I think it went well," said Moody, who gave away 700 yellow ribbons Sunday afternoon.

Oxford's remains landed at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Thursday afternoon, with full military honors. Some 20 relatives who had never seen Oxford in person also gathered.

"We were ecstatic that Eugene was found, but we feel guilty there are seven other men on that mountaintop," said Merrill Roan, the wife of Oxford's nephew.

"So we are honoring the other seven. ... We have to honor them as well, because they may never get any closure," she said.

The hearse carrying his casket then went on a 50-mile trip from the airport to Concord, accompanied by State Patrol, Patriot Guard and the local Pike County Sheriff's Office.

Oxford's parents, siblings and any other relatives who saw him depart for World War II have all passed away since he went missing. His finance, Susan Brown Parham, who waited decades to marry another, died in 2011.

Oxford volunteered to become a part of the armed forces when he graduated from high school. He graduated from Midland Army Flying School in Texas on Aug 13, 1942, and joined the war effort after that.

More than 3,000 American airmen made trips across the Himalayan Mountains during World War II. Many were lost.

More than 650,000 tons of equipment was ferried to China to support the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. The Chinese contribution to the war was considered highly valuable.

An article posted on June 9 on the Atlanta Chinese Life website said all Chinese should go and attend the Sunday funeral.

Indeed, China and US were allies during World War II. US soldiers who helped China during the war are well remembered and highly respected among the Chinese population.

The most notable were probably the Flying Tigers, or officially known as the First American Volunteer Group of the Chinese Air Force. It was composed of US pilots recruited under the presidential authority and commanded by Claire Lee Chennault, known to Chinese as Chen Nade.

In March 2015, the Flying Tigers Heritage Park was built on the site of the Yangtang Airfield, the command base of the Flying Tigers, in Guilin of Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

In March this year, the park received a Douglas C-47 Skytrain that were used by the Flying Tigers to fly the Hump. It was donated by the California-based Flying Tiger Historical Organization.

Joseph Stilwell, a US Army general and a head of the China Burma India Theater during World War II, is also a household name in China.

The Pike County Times, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Contact the writer at chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com
The birth of a giant panda cub at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo on Monday was toasted in Japan.

The 11-year-old Shin Shin, which means "truth", was removed from public viewing in mid-May after she began showing signs of pregnancy, including loss of appetite and increased lethargy.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike congratulated Shin Shin on her successful delivery.

Shin Shin and her mate Ri Ri, which means "power", have been on loan from China since February 2011. They were ready for display shortly after the devastating earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, bringing some much-needed joy to Japanese fans.

In 2012 Shin Shin and Ri Ri, also 11, had a cub, the first panda born at Ueno Zoo in 24 years. It was greeted with widespread excitement. But the cub died from pneumonia six days after birth.

Shin Shin also showed signs of pregnancy in 2013 but it turned out to be a false alarm.

Panda pregnancies are relatively rare in captivity and outside of China.

Japan returned three pandas born and raised in Japan to China on June 6 under a standard agreement to improve the breeding success of the rare animals.

The 6-year-old twins and their 4-year-old sister that had been living at Japan's Wakayama Adventure World are now at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, where they are being quarantined for a month as they acclimatize to their new home before the public can see them.

Wakayama Adventure World and the Chengdu base have been working together on panda breeding research since 1994. The program has led to the births of 15 pandas, eight of whom have already returned to China, according to Xinhua.

caihong@chinadaily.com.cn
(Photo : Saudi Arabian Army) Men and equipment of the Saudi Arabian Army.

Advertisement

The reasons for Saudi Arabia's unprecedented military build-up remain contentious, but the United States' recent signing of a multi-year $350 billion arms deal will make the kingdom the undisputed military superpower in the Middle East and able to cow -- and probably emasculate -- Iran.



Like Us on Facebook

Advertisement

Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia and Shiite-majority Iran are locked in a bitter and deadly sectarian feud expressed in raging proxy wars in Yemen and Syria.



Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps assert Saudi Arabia and ISIS were masterminds of the deadly June 7 attacks on the Iranian Parliament and the Imam Ayatollah Khomeini Shrine in Tehran that killed 14 Iranians, an accusation Saudi Arabia immediately denied.



Iranian apprehensions about Saudi expansionism were stoked when Saudi Arabia and the United States last month signed the largest weapon's deal in history -- a mammoth $350 billion agreement over the next decade that will allow Saudi Arabia to strengthen its leadership of the Muslim world in the face of rising Iranian power and ongoing regional conflicts.



The sale of most of the items in $350 billion weapons deal was approved during the term of former U.S. president Barack Obama. Obama, however, withheld formal approval of the deal after reports the Royal Saudi Arabian Armed Forces used banned cluster bombs against Houthi rebels and their civilian supporters fighting against a Saudi-led coalition in the ongoing Yemeni Civil War.



The U.S. has released a list of the military hardware Saudi Arabia intends to purchase, and among the most notable in this list are:



* $13.5 billion for seven THAAD batteries with an estimated delivery time of 2023-2026.



* $4.46 billion for 104,000 air-to-ground munitions. These smart bombs include the GBU 31v3, GBU-10, GBU-12, GBU-31v1, GBU-38.



* $6.65 billion for enhancements to the kingdom's Patriot anti-missile system.



* $2 billion for "light close air support" aircraft.



* $2 billion for four new aircraft for "TASS & Strategic ISC." TASS stands for "Tactical Airborne Surveillance System," similar in concept to the U.S. Air Force JSTARS system.



* $5.8 billion for three KC-130J and 20 C-130J new aerial tanker aircraft, along with sustainment through 2026.



* $6.25 billion for an eight-year sustainment deal for Saudi Arabia's fleet of F-15 fighters, with another $20 million for an F-15 C/D recapitalization program study.



* $2 billion for an unknown number of MK-VI Patrol Boats.



* $6 billion for four Lockheed Martin-built naval frigates with planned delivery in the 2025-2028 timeframe.



* $2.35 billion to modify 400 existing Bradley fighting vehicles, along with another $1.35 billion for 213 new vehicles.



* $1.5 billion for 180 Howitzers with an estimated delivery time of 2019-2022.



* $18 billion for C4I System and integration.



* $800 million for two Remote Sensing Satellites.



* $4 billion for two satellite communications and Space Based Early Warning Systems.



Advertisement

TagsSaudi Arabia, military build-up, Iran, United States, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, ISIS, $350 billion weapons deal
(Photo : Philippine Army) Philippine Army soldiers fighting in Marawi.

Advertisement

The unhinged rantings of psychotic Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte are being blamed for triggering the ongoing Battle of Marawi that has endured far longer than the government expected, and has again exposed his grave shortcomings as a thinking person.



Some political pundits are saying the Battle of Marawi could have been prevented if Duterte had listened to reason and not dared Muslim terrorists to burn Marawi City in late 2016. These same terrorists triggered a bomb in Davao City in September 2016 that killed 14 persons. Durterte was mayor of this city before he ran for Philippine president.



Like Us on Facebook

Advertisement

The Battle of Marawi is another chapter in the Maute Group's bloody saga that began in 2013 with its founding by two brothers, Abdullah and Omar, who were petty criminals before they decided to change their fortunes by pledging allegiance to the Islamic State that same year.



The group's base of operations is Lanao del Sur, whose capital is Marawi City.



The group fled to the hills after losing their stronghold at the town of Butig in this province to the Philippine Army in February 2016. In November, the Mautes asked the government for a ceasefire, a decision which found favor with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).



The AFP has its hands full trying to contain other Muslim terrorist groups in Mindanao Island such as the Bangsamoro Islamic Fighting Force and the terrorist Abu Sayyaf bandit group, as well as the communist New People's Army, which made Mindanao its base of operations.



Duterte, however, waffled between agreeing to or rejecting the peace talks. In early December, Duterte said he would "befriend" the Maute group to prevent further violence.



Duterte also said he doesn't want "to wage a war against Filipinos," which is why he urged the terrorists not "to force (his) hand to do it."



On Dec. 12, however, Duterte dashed hopes for a ceasefire in a rambling speech delivered before Filipino and foreign businessmen in Makati City where he also boasted of his stupidity because he got grades of "mostly 78, 79" when he was in high school and college.



"And they demanded that we stop the offensive. They are in the forest. I don't know where and I said they would stop fighting, provided we stop the offensive or not, they said that they will go down upon Marawi to burn the place.



"And I said, 'Go ahead, do it.'"



Which is what the Mautes, reinforced by other Muslim terrorists groups, did on May 27.



From 300 to 500 Islamic terrorists are believed to have staged the attempted takeover. Their bid to seize most of the city failed, but Philippine Army and Philippine Marine soldiers are faced with the bloody task of rooting out the remnants of this force.



Duterte's insane focus on his murderous drug war that has killed over 9,000 Filipinos -- most of whom were slaughtered by death squads consisting of policemen from the Philippine National Police -- blinded him to the dangers posed by Islamic State in Mindanao, according to political analysts



"The government has largely been in denial about the growth of ISIS and affiliated groups," said Zachary M. Abuza, a professor at the National War College in Washington who specializes in Southeast Asian security issues.



"Duterte has been preoccupied with his campaign of gutting the rule of law by using police and other security forces for the extrajudicial killing of drug pushers."



The Islamic State has urged fighters who can't get to Syria to fight in Mindanao, according to some western intelligence sources. Fighters from Indonesia, Malaysia, Chechnya, Yemen and Saudi Arabia were among those killed in the battle for Marawi.



Advertisement

TagsPhilippines, Rodrigo Duterte, psychotic, Battle of Marawi, Marawi City, Maute Group, Armed Forces of the Philippines, ISIS
(Photo : PLA) Chinese cyber warriors.

Advertisement

A reform of China's military-affiliated academies will see college students being traught about information warfare, a step that recognizes the huge impact this discipline will have in any future war.



The focus of the new curriculum will be on early-warning; command and control and combat data.



Like Us on Facebook

Advertisement

Chinese state-controlled media said eight new military-affiliated academies will implement the new curriculum for the first time this fall. This comes after the launch of military academy reforms in 2016, which are intended to help China win an information war against the United States and its allies.



In contrast, traditional combat programs will be reduced in this year's curriculum.



Twenty-six military-affiliated universities and academies plan to enroll 12,000 high school graduates this year. Establishing academies for the armed services will better manage and train soldiers for theater commands.



The People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF) formerly had no specialized academies since the PLAGF had no commanding organ. This has changed.



Of the eight new academies merged with other universities and academies, six belong to the PLAGF.



The reform of military-affiliated academies intends to reduce the number of academies and students to be recruited in line with China's comprehensive military reform.



This reform will see the People's Liberation Army (PLA) shed 300,000 personnel by the end of 2017.



"Meanwhile, to win the future information war, academic programs such as computer science, information technology and intelligence studies will become more prominent," said Li Daguang, a professor at the National Defense University of the PLA.



The reform will also improve aerospace studies, said Li.



In March 2016, president Xi Jinping called for reforms and innovation in military-affiliated colleges and academies to build a world-class army as part of the military overhaul launched in 2015.



Under the reform, academies were encouraged to closely follow global military developments; research the role of information technology in military operations and address the issues in the country's combat readiness.



Advertisement

Tagschina, military-affiliated academies, information warfare, People's Liberation Army Ground Force
(Photo : US Army) The murderer al-Baghdadi.

Advertisement

This time, there's the real possibility Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Iraqi criminal credited with founding the murderous group of thugs known as ISIS, has finally been killed.



Reports, albeit contradictory and unverified, appear to indicate al-Baghdadi was killed -- most likely burned to death -- on the evening of June 10 in a bombardment of Raqqa, the capital of the Islamic State caliphate declared by al-Baghdadi on June 29, 2014.



Like Us on Facebook

Advertisement

Al-Baghdadi proclaimed himself "caliph" of the Islamic State and the "leader for Muslims everywhere."



At the time of his death, al-Baghdadi had a $34 million bounty on his head. He had been reported killed many times before, enough reason for some to doubt he was killed on June 10.



Much of the confusion about al-Baghdadi's death centered around how he died. Syrian state-run TV said the fugitive al-Baghdadi was killed in an airstrike by coalition air forces. Other news reports claimed he was killed in a heavy artillery bombardment.



Both accounts, however, agree al-Baghdadi was killed in a bombardment using either white phosphorous (WP) artillery shells fired from howitzers or WP bombs dropped from aircraft.



YouTube video of the attack on the evening of June 10 shows WP shells exploding in mid-air and their distinctive fiery trails hurtling towards the ground.



This indicates the explosions in mid-air were caused by WP artillery shells armed with proximity fuzes since WP bombs explode on contact with the ground.



The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported 13 civilians killed in coalition air raids in Raqqa on June 10.



WP burns everything it touches. An incendiary weapon, WP (or Willie Pete to the U.S. Army) burns fiercely and ignite clothes, wood, fuel, ammunition; other combustibles and people. The U.S. Army uses Willie Pete munitions to create smokescreens.



The use of WP in populated areas is prohibited under international law and the coalition has not commented on its use in Raqqa.



On Nov. 15, 2016, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launched a major offensive dubbed "Wrath of the Euphrates" to take Raqqa.



SDF consists of Syrian-Kurdish and Syrian-Arab militias that have received weapons, training and air support from the United States and its anti-Islamic State coalition.



Advertisement

TagsAbu Bakr al-Baghdadi, ISIS, Islamic State, Raqqa, white phosphorous
An Alabama school district is under fire for holding its traditional baccalaureate graduation service, which involves prayers, Scripture readings, religious music, and a message from a preacher.



Conservative columnist Todd Starnes reports that the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), which is a group of atheists and agnostics who often target displays of religion in small towns, sent a letter to Opp City Schools, demanding that the school discontinue the event.



The baccalaureate service was held on May 21 and included songs like Good, Good Father and O Praise the Name. Additionally, the crowd heard Scripture readings from various local religious leaders and a sermon from the pastor of Southside Church, as well as a message from Opp High Principal Aaron Hightower.



It is our understanding that Opp High Principal Aaron Hightower led the seniors in prayer during the service, wrote FFRF Attorney Sam Grover in the letter to the Alabama school district.



The district must immediately end all involvement with the baccalaureate, the letter continued. This means that no public school employees can be involved in further hosting, organization, planning, or coordination of the event. A graduation should be a celebration for all students, not an exercise in alienating nonreligious students with a Christian message.



The school district has yet to respond to the FFRFs letter.

Photo courtesy: Thinkstock/bieshutterb

Publication date: June 12, 2017
An elderly man from North Korea has been beaten after he returned from visiting Christian relatives in China, reports Christian Today.



Sixty-one-year-old Kim Seung-mo was reportedly arrested three days after returning to North Korea from visiting family in China. He had told his neighbors about visiting his relatives and had even revealed that they attended a Christian church. The neighbors apparently reported Kim to the authorities.



All North Korean travelers returning from China are required to report their whereabouts and details about their activities, explained a source who asked to remain anonymous. In Kim's case, he was arrested on charges of spying because he did not report the fact that his relatives are churchgoers and that the church pastor helped him, the source continued.



Kim was reportedly tied with rope and beaten. I witnessed him being dragged by state security officials in front of Wiyon train station, said the source.



Kim suffered black eyes, a leg injury, and various bruises and scrapes. The Ministry of State Security, the police force of North Koreas dictator Kim Jong Un, is known to be ruthless.



North Korea is the number one country on Open Doors 2017 World Watch List of countries where Christian persecution is most severe.





Photo courtesy: Thinkstock/alexkuehni

Publication date: June 12, 2017
A young Coptic woman in a suburb of Cairo, Egypt remains missing after her disappearance last week from an area where Muslim attacks against Christians have surged, sources said.



Suzan Ashraf Rawy, 22, left for work by foot from her home in Al Khosous on the morning of June 5 but never arrived at the Coptic Orthodox church where she is employed, they said. The Virgin and Pope Kyrillos Church is walking distance from her home.



When she did not return home that evening, her mother called the church, an area Christian leader said. That is when she discovered Suzan did not arrive at the church in the morning. It is expected that she has been abducted.



The alleged abduction would be the third kidnapping in the area of Al Khosous, a predominantly Christian town on the outskirts of Cairo, since the accidental shooting of a Muslim on May 30.



Two other young Coptic Christian women disappeared without a trace after the May 30 incident. The families of the women suspected to have been kidnapped have received no communication from alleged kidnappers, the sources said.



Area Muslims have long disfigured Christian women for not wearing veils by throwing acid on them, but there has been a surge in such attacks in the past few weeks, sources said.



Rawys family informed police, and her picture has been posted on social media in search of any leads. Relatives and police have found no clues regarding her disappearance.



Fear has seized Coptic Christians in the area, with women afraid to leave their homes. One of the church womens meetings, which Rawy attended, has been suspended until further notice out of fear for the safety of the participants.



We need to pray for peace to prevail, and that the people behind the abductions and the attacks be stopped, the area Christian leader said.



The apparent precipitating incident involved a fight over money. A Coptic Christian identified only as Bishoy drew a gun during the fight on May 30 and accidentally shot a Muslim bystander, killing him, sources said. Bishoy was taken into police custody, where he remains awaiting manslaughter charges.



Since then, the Muslims started to wage revenge attacks on the Christian community living there, especially the women, the Christian leader said.



Egypt is ranked 21st on Christian support organization Open Doors 2017 World Watch List of the countries where is it is most difficult to be a Christian.



Societal hostility toward Egypts Coptic Christian minority, which is about 10 percent of the population, takes the form of such attacks along with difficulties in constructing church buildings.



At the same time, Islamic State (IS) extremists have increased violence against Christians in the past year. In a Feb. 19 video, IS promised to rid the country of idolaters, and a series of murders of Copts followed. On May 5 in the IS publication Al Naba, the terrorist group warned of more attacks in Egypt and urged faithful Muslims to stay away from places where Christians congregate.



On May 26 heavily armed Islamists in Minya Province ambushed a youth pilgrimage to a monastery, removing passengers identified as Christians and shooting them to death. With the recent death in a hospital of one of the wounded, the death toll now stands at 30. IS claimed responsibility for the massacre, though the assailants appear to have been local Muslim extremists.



On April 9, bombings at two Coptic churches, one in Tanta and another in Alexandria, claimed 49 lives, the overwhelming majority Christians. On Dec. 11, 2016, 29 people were killed when a suicide bomber attacked the Botroseya Chapel in Cairo. The chapel is next to the St. Marks Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, which is held by many as the spiritual center of the Coptic Orthodox Church. IS claimed responsibility for the two bombings.





If you would like to help persecuted Christians, visit http://morningstarnews.o rg/resources/aid-agencies/ for a list of organizations that can orient you on how to get involved.



If you or your organization would like to help enable Morning Star News to continue raising awareness of persecuted Christians worldwide with original-content reporting, please consider collaborating at http://morningstarnews.org/don ate/ ?
Ive always been a church girl. Most of my earliest memories are tied to the people and the small churches my dad pastored in San Diego, California. I remember feeling the pressure to be the perfect pastors kid who knew all the right answers to Bible trivia questions. I recall the heavy pressure to be a model for other people and especially the pressure not to embarrass or cause shame to my parents by exposing our family flaws.

Many of my experiences are probably common to others who grew up in a pastors home, but a few incidents werent related to my dads job, and they marked me in ways that have taken me years to overcome. I was molested by the son of the church janitor when I was four or five. I remember not telling my parents because it was bad and because as a young child I didnt have the language to express what had happened.

The deepest place of confusion and internal struggle for me as a teenager was finding pornography at the home of neighbors where I babysat. I was both fascinated and repelled by this forbidden material. It was clearly taboo for a Christian young woman who sincerely wanted to live a pure and holy life for Jesus, but somehow one night I picked it up and looked at it. Instant self-loathing, guilt, and remorse. How can I look at pornography? I love Jesus! I want to be a missionary! Ill never look at it again, I told myself. And I didnt. Until the next time I babysat. And the time after that. And the time after that. And before long, I was hooked. The good girl who loved Jesus with all her heart had a secret fascination with pornography, and the shame about killed me. I couldnt reconcile my temptations and my faith; I was torn ...

1
Audrey Hepburn: Exhibition, flagship live and online auctions  September 2017

This September, Christies in London will offer collectors the opportunity to acquire personal items treasured by the acting and fashion legend and humanitarian, Audrey Hepburn

The Personal Collection of Audrey Hepburn, one of the most beloved stars in the history of film and fashion, will be presented at a flagship auction at Christies King Street headquarters in London on 27 September, alongside an online sale (19 September until 3 October). The collection is an extraordinary archive, chronicling the life and career of one of the most famous screen actresses of the 20th century through the lens of the objects she collected, used and loved. This is the first time these personal items, which have remained in the ownership of Audrey Hepburns family, have been offered for sale. The collection will be on view to the public in an exhibition at Christies King Street, London, from 23 September.

The auctions will include Audrey Hepburns extensive personal wardrobe and her own annotated copies of film scripts from her best-loved films, including Breakfast at Tiffanys. They will also include original portraits by major photographers from her personal archive, the majority of which date from between 1953 and 1968 when she was at the height of her screen career. The collection of memorabilia and letters offers an intimate snapshot of the life of a true Hollywood great. We are thrilled to have been entrusted with the sale of items from Audrey Hepburn's personal collection, says Adrian Hume-Sayer, Director, Private Collections. Her name is one that instantly resonates, and her appeal and relevance remain as strong today as they ever were. The sales will offer fans and collectors alike the opportunity to acquire unique personal objects which have never before been seen on the market, and which will undoubtedly offer new insights into the remarkable life of a remarkable woman. For enquiries about the sales, please email audreyhepburn@christies.com.

Born in Brussels in 1929, Audrey Kathleen Hepburn spent her childhood between Belgium, England and the Netherlands. She studied ballet and performed as a chorus girl in Londons West End, before travelling to the USA to star on Broadway in Gigi in 1951. She rose to international stardom in 1953 with her Academy Award-winning performance in Roman Holiday. Hepburn went on to win three BAFTAs and in 1994 became one of only 12 people in history to win competitive Emmy, Grammy, Academy and Tony Awards, known by the acronym EGOT. She starred in numerous well-loved and critically acclaimed films, including Breakfast at Tiffany's, Funny Face, My Fair Lady and Sabrina.

It is with great joy that we seek to share her spirit, through this sale, and its related previews  Luca Dotti and Sean Hepburn Ferrer, Audrey Hepburns sons

Later in life, Audrey Hepburn devoted much of her time to UNICEF  in December 1992 she was awarded the US Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of her work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. Audrey Hepburn died in 1993 at the age of 63. We lost our mother and best friend, and the world lost an enduring symbol of grace, elegance and humanity, declare Luca Dotti and Sean Hepburn Ferrer, Audrey Hepburns sons. We preserved our feelings for her as well as her belongings, each of which signified her lifes choices and philosophy. After 24 years we have focused on those items that we wished to keep, as well as those we are pleased to pass on to future generations. In an effort to include all those who have felt affection towards her, we have selected a collection of items to share with her ever-growing base of admirers. It is with great joy that we seek to share her spirit, through this sale, and its related previews, with all of those who have enjoyed her films and her sense of style, and who have followed her humanitarian legacy.

Pre-order the catalogue Reserve your copy of the special collectors edition

Audrey Hepburn catalogue  in both small

and large formats Order now

Audrey Hepburns style The auctions will present a unique opportunity to view and acquire items from the stars personal wardrobe. Key pieces that exemplify her signature look include a Burberry raincoat (estimate: 6,000-8,000) and a selection of her ballet pumps in a rainbow of colours with estimates from 1,500. Hepburn was associated with the celebrated couturier Hubert de Givenchy, who was first hired at her suggestion to design the wardrobe for her second Hollywood film, Sabrina. The two became close friends and frequently collaborated, with Givenchy designing Hepburns costumes for Love in the Afternoon, Funny Face, Breakfast at Tiffanys, Paris When It Sizzles and How to Steal a Million. Hepburn often wore clothes designed by Givenchy off-screen as well.

A highlight of the sales is a blue satin Givenchy cocktail dress worn by Hepburn in a photo shoot with William Klein for a fashion editorial promoting Two for the Road in 1966 (estimate: 10,000-15,000). The gown is trimmed with blue satin fringes and epitomises the deceptively simple style for which Hubert de Givenchy and Audrey Hepburn are both celebrated. In December 2006 a black satin evening gown, designed by Hubert de Givenchy for Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffanys, was sold at Christies South Kensington for 456,200. The dress, which had a pre-sale estimate of 50,000-70,000, set a new world record for an item associated with the star. Film memorabilia The auctions will also include personal annotated film scripts from Hepburns best-loved films, including Breakfast at Tiffanys (estimate: 60,000-80,000) and Charade (estimate: 15,000-25,000). Hepburn used turquoise ink to make notes in the margins and on the left hand page for her portrayal of some of Hollywoods most memorable characters.

Photography The auctions will also feature Audrey Hepburns personal archive of photographs of her life and more formal portraits by major photographers, dating to the height of her film career.

Highlights include personal portraits by Bud Fraker, who was a stills photographer for Breakfast at Tiffany's; wardrobe photographs for My Fair Lady together with personal portraits by Cecil Beaton; and prints of Hepburn for Vanity Fair by fashion photographer Steven Meisel. With estimates starting at just 100 and ranging up to 80,000, the auction will present an unprecedented opportunity to acquire items treasured by one of the most idolised women of the 20th century. Audrey Hepburn, part I flagship live auction takes place on 27 September 2017 (viewing at King Street 23-26 September 2017) Audrey Hepburn, part II online auction runs from 19 September to 4 October






Houston Association of Realtors

Houston will need more than 214,000 new apartment rental units by 2030 to meet demand from a population that is drifting from home ownership, according to a new study by the National Multifamily Housing Council and the National Apartment Association.

Houston's need is a significant sliver of the 4.6 million new apartments the study said must be built nationwide in the same time frame in order to accommodate living trends being pushed toward rental units by delayed marriage and home purchases in younger generations, a retiring generation pressed to rent and arrival of immigrants with propensity to rent.
The U.S. Department of Justice has reached an agreement on the merger of Houston oil field services company Baker Hughes and General Electrics oil and gas division, clearing the way for shareholders to approve the deal.

The consent decree, filed on Monday in Washington, requires GE to sell its Water & Process Technologies business. No other requirements were included in the decree.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Michael Wyatt poured two gin and tonics. One for himself and one for his wife, Angela Wyatt. After another long day of negotiating with lawn service companies, checking up on the industrial dehumidifier humming in the master bedroom, they both succumbed to exhaustion and aching backs from sleeping in the guest bedroom of their home for the past two nights in Shadow Oaks in west Spring Branch.

They enjoyed their first few moments of relief Tuesday afternoon on their mid-century sofa in the sitting room, thankful they came through relatively unscathed in their first flood event as homeowners.

Sunday's thunderstorm that swept Houston dropped 3 inches of rain in an hour on their property, while other areas of the city saw as much as seven inches.

The Wyatts were lucky compared to some, and they know it. Their renovated hard-wood floors were the only items that suffered damage when water started seeping through the baseboards of their master bedroom and the toilet in the master bath bubbled up with forceful pressure from beneath.

They rented a dehumidifier and it's been chugging along for the last 36 hours. A small tube from the bulky box extends to the bathroom sink where it releases condensed water, dribble by dribble. After the close call, they've already contacted several flood insurance companies.

They were shocked to discover they could but up to $80,000 protection for as little as $400 to $500 per year.

"We didn't really give a lot of thought to rain," said Michael.

"We knew we needed it," said Angela. "But we already needed a lot of other things."

The 1953 construction, two-bed, two-bath needed a lot of work when they bought it in 2014. So much work that it totally consumed their free time, and the notion of flood insurance just fell off their radar.

"We're not in flood zone, and I know the history of this house," said Angela. "It came through Allison and Ike without any water getting inside. We just didn't think it was necessary right now."

Now, they know better.

They were about to leave Sunday afternoon for a quick trip to IKEA, but just as Angela was getting dressed it started pouring. The sudden downpour seemed too risky to drive in.

Because they were home, they witnessed water rushing toward the French doors facing the backyard. They quickly piled up sandbags against the base of the doors inside. Angela motioned toward the doors where her mothers antique china hutch and dining table sit. She says she doesn't even know how much the family heirlooms are worth, and suddenly realizes that she needs to add an appraisal to her to-do list.

Micheal, 42, works from home as a data project manager for law firms and attorneys, so even when his attention was focused on clients and conference calls, the damage to his home was never far from his mind.

The couple has been married for nearly 10 years, but bought their first home in 2014.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

The city of Houston held a yard sale of sorts last week, dusting off some possessions it doesn't use anymore and offering them for sale or swap to its neighbors.

In this case, City Council approved selling or swapping almost $2 million worth of city streets and utility easements. That won't correct the more than $100 million budget deficits city officials project for the next five years, but it's not peanuts.

The first example came in Manchester, where council abandoned and sold several streets and easements to the adjacent Valero refinery for $1.4 million.

The oil giant already owns the blocks immediately surrounding its facility, and the move will let the company assume the intersecting streets onto its land as part of a plan to build an office building, warehouse, security building and to add parking farther away from the central plant.

The second example also comes from the east side, around Houston ISD's Milby High School. The city agreed to abandon and sell parts of five streets and a sewer easement in and around the school campus for $431,000.

Rather than pony up that cash, HISD is instead giving the city a 7.5-acre tract next to Clinton Park valued at $443,000. The site, which sits about three miles north of Milby just east of Loop 610, had been home to the defunct Clinton Park Elementary.

Such transactions are commonplace at the council table, and city officials have ramped up efforts to jettison useless easements and strips of city land in recent years amid repeated budget crunches. It's somewhat less common for the dollar amounts to rise into the millions on the same meeting agenda.

Councilman Robert Gallegos, whose district includes both sites, said he hopes the land swap can be beneficial for the neighborhood.

"Now that the city is taking over these 7.5 acres I hope this is a partnership that maybe the city and County Commissioner (Rodney) Ellis, we could work on hopefully making a community center," Gallegos said. "There's a desperate need for a community center in that community."
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Battleship Texas faces one of its most challenging conflicts to date  staying afloat as old age and decay chip away at its supports. Officials say the current crisis further exhausts any time they have remaining to save the ship from being entrenched in Buffalo Bayou.

On Sunday, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials closed Battleship Texas after emergency crews reported a leak in the ship about 8 to 10 inches wide.

Water gushing into the ship has caused it to tilt to one side.

Theres no word yet on when the exhibit will reopen or what caused the leak, but the ship is no stranger to such conditions. Officials liken the current leak to an outbreak of leaks in 2012 that forced park officials to close the museum for three months.

That year crews rushed to patch more than 90 leaks and spent more than $2 million to save the vessel.

The ships dire situation has caught the attention of state officials who have unsuccessfully pleaded with the U.S. Congress to help with rehabilitation costs. The long-term plan is to take the ship out of the water.

At 105 years old, the battleship's supports under the engines are deteriorating, causing the vessel to leak periodically.

READ ALSO: Happy berth day to the Battleship Texas

This is a fight between water and steel and water always wins that fight, said Bruce Bramlett, Battleship Texas Foundation executive direction. Hopefully, this is the wake up call we need to stop spending money on patch jobs and water pumps and to focus on getting her out of the water.

But plans to repair the ship and exhibit it in an out-of-water setting were put on hold after officials of the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife, which operates the vessel, learned the undertaking would cost approximately $70 million.

Battleship Texas has a long history of dealing with leaks.

READ ALSO: The Battleship Texas played a big, booming part at D-Day 70 years ago

In 2010 the battleship, which has been moored at the San Jacinto Battleground since 1948, underwent emergency repairs and pumping to prevent it from sinking.

In 2012, millions were spent to pump water out of the ship and to patch a series of debilitating leaks. At that time, the ship was closed for about three months, Bramlett said.



In 2013 park crews discovered about four fist-sized leaks throughout the course of the year. Following those leaks, in 2014, the Texas Park and Wildlife documents show the battleship underwent ultrasonic testing and corrosion analyses.



The engineering firm that conducted the analyses concluded that the battleship contained corroding "hot spots" and concluded that the ship's protective coating system needs to be replaced it the ship is to remain in its current berth at the Battleship Basin.

This story is developing.
Westend61/Getty Images/Westend61

Tragedy surrounded this weekend's Republic of Texas Rally after two people were killed in a crash near Austin.

According to the Texas Department of Public Safety one man died and a pregnant woman lost her unborn child when the motorcycle they were riding on was hit by a truck in East Travis County on Saturday at around 4:15 p.m.
We attempted to send a notification to your email address but we were unable to verify that you provided a valid email address. Please click here to update your email address if you wish to receive notifications. Otherwise, you may click here to disable notifications and hide this message.
Samantha Ruth Prabhu is a beautiful icon in her own right. She often speaks every time she goes publicly because she has a distinctive style statement and public prayer stanners. Her evolving fashion game in South Indian Film Industry is in the foreground. She does not disappoint her fans when she comes to fashion. The dazzling beauty experiments with her looks every time and look nothing less than 'wow'.

On number of occasions, Samantha has been spotted to promote handlooms weaves. Recently she decorated an award ceremony in Chennai and she won millions of fashion advertisements. Draped in handloom saree, designed by Archana and Puneeth, which she teamed up with jewellery by Sangeeta Boochra, she looked gorgeous and got thumbs up from the fashion critics and her fans. While Samantha looks stunning in everything that she dons, we totally love the way she drapes saree. She will be seen in the movie 'Rangasthalam 1985' starring Ram Charan, directed by Sukumar.
In Mordhorst v. Dakota Trucking Underwriters and Risk Administration Services, 886 N.W.2d 322(S.D. 2016) the South Dakota Supreme Court found that a workers compensation insurer could be found in bad faith, even though it relied upon an independent medical opinion informing its claim decision. Under the facts of the case, the claimant, James Mordhorst was injured while making a delivery for Mordhorst employer. Mordhorst sought medical treatment following the accident, two physicians and multiple physical therapists documented the injury. Mordhorst reported pain in his back and neck, and a MRI revealed a herniated disk in his back. The insurer, Dakota Truck Underwriters Risk Administration Services, scheduled an independent medical examination (IME) with Doctor Nolin Seagull. Dr. Seagull concluded that the only injury Mordhorst sustained in the accident was a strain that resolved 18 days after the accident. Dr. Seagull also concluded that Mordhorsts subjective complaints were not supported by objective findings. On the basis of Dr. Seagulls report, the insurer terminated all of the workers compensation benefits. In the Department of Labor proceeding, Mordhorst requested a hearing to restore payments for medical treatment and medications. The Department ordered the insurer to pay all past medical bills and interest as well as all his future medical expenses. The insurers did not appeal the Departments decision.

Mordhorsts brought a bad faith claim against the workers compensation insurer. The insurer defended on the basis that it relied upon Dr. Seagulls report and findings. Mordhorst attacked the reasonableness of Dr. Seagulls report claiming that Dr. Seagull was biased. The trial Court rejected Mordhorsts argument, finding that it was never unreasonable for an insurer to act in accordance with an opinion of an IME doctor. The Trial Court reasoned that insurance companies were not required to second guess physicians who were qualified to offer their opinions. In essence, the trial Court held that the insurers reliance on the IME report was per se reasonable. However, the South Dakota Supreme Court rejected this finding. The Supreme Court rejected the motion that a workers compensation insurance company, whos chosen business deals with injuries and medical conditions was somehow incapable of weighing the opinions of medical practitioners.

The case was before the Court on a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. The Court was required to view the assertions made by Mordhorst in the light most favorable to Mordhorst. Because Mordhorst alleged that the insurers were aware that Mordhorsts medical records, including the MRI, revealed that he suffered from a herniated disk, a jury could also conclude that the insurers recklessly disregarded the medical evidence in favor of Dr. Seagulls contrary report.

The Mordhorsts case holding is understandable because it represented an appeal from a rule 12 B6 motion for dismissal where the trial court was required to assume the truth of the allegations stated by the plaintiffs. Thus, the High Courts holding represented nothing more than an affirmation that if Mordhorsts asserted facts were true, then the insurance companys reliance on Dr. Seagulls report to deny benefits was not per se reasonable.
Ten central Nebraska teenagers spent Tuesday and Wednesday on the Buffalo County Fairgrounds listening to classroom presentations, doing hands-on activities, and taking written and tractor driving tests as parts of an agriculture safety course.

Although they heard thousands of facts and many true stories about people losing hearing, eyesight, limbs and lives in accidents on farms and ranches, presenter Ellen Duysen summarized the core message in one simple sentence: Dont be another headline, Kearney Hub reported.

Duysen and Aaron Yoder of the Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health in the University of Nebraska Medical Centers College of Public Health were the primary presenters for the Tractor Safety & Hazardous Occupations Course that is a partnership between UNMC and Nebraska Extension.

The Kearney course was the first of nine such presentations across the state over the next six weeks.

Successful completion by 14- and 15-year-olds provides an exemption from a federal law that prohibits youths younger than 16 from working on a farm or ranch not owned by a parent or guardian. The exemption allows them to drive a tractor and do field work with certain mechanized equipment.

Duysen, the CS-CASH coordinator and outreach specialist, cautioned that other ag-related activities that remain forbidden until age 16 include being around cows or sows with newborns or bulls, touching pesticides, or be on ladders higher than 20 feet.

She and Susan Harris-Broomfield of Minden, Nebraskas only Extension educator for rural health, wellness and safety, both said targeting early teens for the safety training is important.

Theyre all physically able to drive a tractor, when they might not have been at a younger age. Their maturity level may not allow them to think through all of the hazards involved, said Harris-Broomfield, a McCook native who joined the Extension staff in Kearney and Franklin counties in August.

Also, she said, the information and hands-on activities presented by the UNMC specialists may make more of an impression on some youths than just hearing the same cautions from their parents or bosses.

We know that farming is the No. 1 most dangerous occupation  whatever we can do to make it safer should be done, Harris-Broomfield said.

Safety course topics include tractor mechanics, accident protocol, connecting implements, all-terrain vehicles and general safety threats that require the use of correct personal protective equipment for different conditions and jobs. There is a written exam at the end of the first day and homework assignments.

In addition to passing the exam, the youths must successfully complete a tractor driving test to be certified.

On the UNMC teams long list of on-the-farm dangers are many involving machinery that can move, grab, cut, pinch, wrap or crush if not turned off when people are around and/or dont have proper safety covers. Other concerns are heat, thrown objects, contact with electrical lines, livestock, dust and dirt, chemicals and noise.

When Duysen talked about why earmuffs or plugs should be used around loud machinery, several teens said they have older relatives who dont hear well.

You can farm your whole life and still be hearing at 60 or 70, Duysen said, by using ear protection as recommended when spending any amount of time around sounds at 85 decibels or higher. She added that a tractor idle at about 85 decibels.

The same urgency applies to eye protection. Its like our ears. We only have two and we cant risk losing one, Duysen said.

Working in and around grain bins is another big concern for people of all ages on farms. There is no excuse to go into a grain bin that is filled  and I would argue that with anybody, she said.

Both Duysen and Harris-Broomfield said tractor-related accidents (mostly rollovers) account for the highest number of on-farm fatalities, but ATVs are catching up because they are used on farms and ranches every day.

Its a trend line. They have become standard on farms, Duysen said.

Manufacturer recommendations link rider age to ATV horsepower  70cc, 12 and older, and 90cc, 16 and older  but she said only some states have laws to that effect or for helmet use.

Duysen and Yoder, a UNMC assistant professor specializing in agriculture and occupational health, said the age of a tractor is a factor in many of the worst accidents. Its a risk that could be reduced by retiring all the mid-1980s and older tractors.

Folks are just hanging on to them because they last and last, Duysen said.

As a health and safety specialist, she is extremely concerned about protecting todays farm youths from future respiratory and hearing problems.

Yoder focuses more on machinery safety issues. He worries most about anything with moving parts, especially when driver-operators are on either end of the age scale.

His take-home message for teens taking the Extension-UNMC course is, Stop and think about the task youre doing and then what the potential hazards are. Yoder said that allows time to make plans to avoid hazards and to deal with any problems.

When asked what information made an impression on her, Allison Wilkens, 15, of Gibbon said she learned about tractor safety beyond the basics taught to her by her dad.

However, it was the grain bin safety presentation that really will make her stop and think.

I actually didnt know about the grain bins, all the hazards and gases that can be in there, Allison said. I didnt realize how many deaths there were involving a grain bin.

Alex Bartlett, 14, of Cozad said he learned more about communicating with other workers. I didnt know how many different hand signals there were  so you know what to do, he said.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The insurance company for Spokane County will pay $2.25 million to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit that contended the Spokane County Sheriffs Office engaged in witness-tampering and recklessness to wrongfully convict three men for a 2008 robbery.

Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich opposed the settlement, which was reached Tuesday between the Washington Counties Risk Pool, which insures the county, and Robert Larson, Tyler Gassman and Paul Statler.

They didnt have a case, Knezovich said of the three men. If they would have had a case they wouldnt have settled.

I just truly dont believe justice was served, the sheriff told The Spokesman-Review.

The three men were convicted of several felonies on the word of jailhouse informants who implicated them in the April 15, 2008, robbery. All three spent four years behind bars.

All three men were convicted of robbery, assault and drive-by shooting, and received sentences ranging from 20 to 41 years.

But informant Anthony Kongchunji later admitted that he and another man had falsely conspired to implicate the trio.

The three men agreed to settle the lawsuit against Spokane County to avoid a lengthy civil trial and appeal process, according to attorney Micah LeBank.

I dont think any amount of money will compensate them for their loss, LeBank said. There was a value to them in concluding this chapter and moving forward.

The sheriffs office conducted an internal investigation into the case and concluded mistakes were made, the newspaper reported.

Attorneys for the Innocence Project Northwest Clinic took the case and brought up new evidence, including cellphone and work records.

In April, Spokane County Superior Court Judge John Cooney ruled the men were innocent and eligible to receive compensation. The settlement is for money only and doesnt include any request for changes in the sheriffs office, LeBank said.

The three men have moved on with their lives, LeBank said. All have jobs and families and will likely use the settlement to buy homes, LeBank said.

It came out that what happened was wrong and could have been prevented through good police practices, LeBank said. I think they were very courageous in bringing the claim.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
AKRON, Ohio -- A forest on the Innerbelt and 18 unique Akron neighborhood projects won spots in the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation's 2017 Knight Cities Challenge. Both recipients, Hunter Franks and William "Mac" Love, have led high-profile creative projects in Northeast Ohio.

More than 4,500 ideas were submitted in answer to the question: What's your best idea to make cities more successful? Altogether, 33 projects in 19 of 26 of the cities Knight invests in will share $5 million.

All ideas focus on helping cities attract and keep talented people, expand economic opportunities and create a culture of civic engagement.

Here are Akron's winning ideas:

Innerbelt National Forest, $214,420 submitted by Hunter Franks: Reconnecting two socially and physically isolated neighborhoods by replacing a closed freeway in Akron with a lush forest and public space.

The project will create a temporary two-acre green space on the Innerbelt that will last about three months, Franks said. The intent is to create a space for social connection by reimagining the space in the long term.

Beginning in August, Franks' team will hire three Akronites to serve as leaders representing downtown, the University of Akron and the West Hill neighborhood. The leaders will help recruit volunteers and plan public input sessions.

"We want to create deeper investment in the project on behalf of the neighborhoods," he said.

GroundSwell Design Group, which helped create Akron's Lock 4 Park, will assist in the project.

In 2015, as part of a $96,000 Knight grant, Franks staged 500 Plates, which brought together 500 Akron residents representing each of the city's neighborhoods, at a 500-foot-long table on the Innerbelt for a community meal.

Also through a Knight grant, Franks developed the Pump House Center for Art & Culture at Summit Lake, which provides creative educational and employment opportunities for the neighborhood's young people, and serves as an inter-generational gathering place by the lake

@PLAY, $241,000 submitted by Art x Love LLC, Mac Love: Encouraging deeper community connections through custom games and recreational activities that highlight the unique history, identity and character of each of the city's communities.

Love plans to apply his core philosophy to feature a different project in 18 Akron neighborhoods.

"To bring diverse people together and get people to change their patterns and attitudes about the local identify through a more vibrant sense of place," Love said. "Those are things my entire life, professionally and creatively, has always been about."

Over the next 18 months, Love will spend a month in each neighborhood, learning about it, communicating with neighbors and creating.

Love drew this chalk mural on an underpass wall in preparation for the Republican National Convention last summer.

He plans to include residents in the projects, to ensure they truly reflect each community.

"Everybody has a creative impulse," he said. "This is going to create opportunities for people to use that impulse."

Love created the giant marbles that rolled around the streets of downtown Akron in October, as city groups asked residents to think differently about what they'd like to see in the public realm.

He is also the artist behind the Cleveland Believeland chalk murals, the Rally Together interactive mural and the Maize collaborative mural.

Love is now working with the University of Akron's Art Bomb Brigade on the group's fifth Akron mural, which will be unveiled at the end of June.

Past Akron winners

In the first two years of the Knight Cities Challenge, four Akron projects won awards:

Cuyahoga ExploreAfoot

Downtown Akron Innerbelt Bicycle Park, 2016 - A $120,000 grant to create a bicycle park in an abandoned section of the Innerbelt.

Unbox Akron

The Exchange house

For more information and updates on the Knight Cities Challenge follow @knightfdn and #knightcities on Twitter.

Please take a moment and click here to help the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, a cleveland.com partner. Every dollar you give buys four meals for the hungry.

Want more Akron news? Sign up for cleveland.com's Rubber City Daily, an email newsletter delivered at 5:30 a.m. Monday through Friday.

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save
BRUNSWICK HILLS --- Theft, Pearl Road: An employee at Car Parts Warehouse reported the theft of more than $5,000 from the company at 1 p.m. May 22. Management provided police with evidence that a former employee, who had been responsible for making daily bank deposits, stole a total of $5,214. The incident was still under investigation and police were still attempting to contact the suspect at the time of the report May 29.

Drug possession, Boston Road: Police cited a driver for possession of marijuana following a traffic stop for speeding at 9:44 p.m. May 22. The driver initially denied a request to search the car, after police smelled marijuana. He later changed his mind when officers told him they would call in a K-9 unit to search the car. The marijuana was found in a pill container inside the car.

Theft, Substation Road: A woman reported the theft of her Oxycodone medication from the trailer she is staying in at Willow Lake Campground May 29. The woman told police she was homeless and had permission from the owner of the trailer to reside there. She said she noticed the missing prescription at 1 p.m. May 22 and suspected it was taken between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. that day, while she was out. Police asked why she took so long to report the theft and she said she wanted to look for the medication before doing so. She added that she needed to file a police report in order for her doctor to fill the prescription again.

Theft, Grafton Road: A man reported two tablet computers stolen from his apartment at around 5 p.m. May 26. The man said he suspected his girlfriend of the theft. He was only able to give police the woman's first name and her brother's cellphone number, since the suspect does not own a phone. Police called the brother and told him that if his sister has any of the victim's property, she should return it to him.

If you would like to discuss the police blotter, please visit our crime and courts comments page.
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- Involta LLC, which provides IT for businesses, opened a 25,000-square-foot data center in Independence late last week.

The multi-tenant facility connects to Involta's Akron data center via a fiber ring that allows real-time communication between the two locations, the company said in a written statement.

Involta founder and CEO Bruce Lehrman, Independence Mayor Anthony Togliatti and other business leaders spoke at the facility's ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 8. Guided tours followed the ceremony. Several anchor tenants have already leased space in the data center, Involta said.

The new data center offers technology infrastructure for healthcare organizations, businesses, government and educational institutions in the region. The center provides support for the Involta CompliantCloud services platform, which provides security, storage, regulatory compliance and physical infrastructure to businesses.

The company, founded in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, declined to reveal the cost of its Independence facility, but did say that Involta has invested more than $50 million in Ohio.

"Bringing Involta's services to Cuyahoga County will spark further economic growth and prosperity," Togliatti said in a statement released by the company. "We are excited to welcome Involta to Independence."

The city's regional workforce, excellent public infrastructure and significant investment in conduit installation made Independence a desirable location for the data center, the press release said.

"We are proud to continue supporting Ohio's growing business community with the opening of the Independence facility," Lehrman said. "The city has been an excellent partner throughout the process."

The Independence facility joins Involta's data centers in Akron, Columbus and Youngstown. The company now owns and operates 14 data centers in Arizona, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - An Ohio-native and fashion designer claims Khloe Kardashian ripped off her designs. And she appears to have proof.

Lorain native Destiny Bleu, who is now based in Los Angeles, says Kardashian ripped off her bedazzled line of clothes for Kardashian's new Good American clothing company.

Bleu's sparkling bodysuits have been worn by major stars, most notably Beyonce for her Formation World Tour. And a few of them look very similar to stuff Khloe has rolled out in her new promo video (pay attention to the :44 mark):

Now, here is Destiney's original bodysuit that was hand designed:

Bleu went on to prove that the Kardashian-Jenner girls have been clients of hers in the past and showed receipts. Bleu says she designed a custom Cavs jersey for Khloe, who is dating the team's center Tristan Thompson, that the reality star never wore.

When someone buys 1 of everything on your site, has you make them custom @dbleudazzled work, never posts it or wears it, then copies it.  https://t.co/hylp6fcOdh  destiney bleu (@destineybleu) June 2, 2017

After several tweets condemning Kardashian for ripping of her designs, Bleu was hit with a cease and desist letter from Kardashian's attorney calling Bleu's statements defamatory.

Bleu hasn't backed down in her accusations. Her lawyer has since responded to Kardashian's cease and desist letter, which you can view over at The Root.

If you want a deep dive into this entire drama, head over to the Revelist.

Update: Good American has provided the following statement...

"Ms Bleu's claim that Good American and Khloe Kardashian copied or stole her designs is flagrantly false and little more than a cheap publicity stunt and an attempt by Ms Bleu to get her 15 minutes of fame. Ms. Bleu did not create the concept or design of a bodysuit with crystals - a fashion style that has been around for decades as evidenced by the fact that Cher has been wearing these styles for over 25 years. The Good American design team designed a range of eleven bodysuits and had never heard of Ms. Bleu or seen her designs. The letter from her lawyer -sent to the press for no legitimate reason - is outrageous, defamatory and misleading in the extreme. Good American will absolutely not stand for anyone trying to damage its reputation and plans to deal with this through the proper legal channels"
HINCKLEY --- Theft, Morning Star Drive: A resident reported that he purchased a handgun at 6 p.m. May 6 on a website called "Armslist," from a seller in Indiana. After several emails, but no other contact with the seller, the buyer called police at 4:49 p.m. May 20 to report the transaction as a theft.

Stalking, Bellus Road: A man called police at 7:15 p.m. May 18 to report finding a GPS unit taped to the bottom of his sister's car. The man and his sister suspect the woman's ex-boyfriend.

Drunken driver, Center Road: A driver was taken to the Medina County Jail at 10:24 p.m. May 20 after being stopped for speeding, arrested for operating a motor vehicle while impaired, and becoming irate during a blood-alcohol breath test at the police station.

Drug possession, Bellus Road: Police pulled over a driver at 7:15 p.m. May 20 after receiving several calls from drivers that the man was swerving in traffic. Officers smelled marijuana when speaking with the driver, who denied that he was smoking. Pot was later found in the center console of the car, however. The man was cited for marijuana possession and various traffic violations.

If you would like to discuss the police blotter, please visit our crime and courts comments page.
MEDINA TOWNSHIP, Ohio - A contract between Medina and Medina Township to dissolve the township's fire department is expected to be approved this week, leaving township firefighters and residents confused.

Township officials cite cost savings but firefighters say there has been little information and the merger is not necessary.

The township fire department has been around for decades, employing a varying number of part-time firefighters during the daytime. While there is not a fire crew on staff overnight, there is 24-hour coverage, township fire captain Mark Roberts said Monday.

In 2016, Medina Township formed a citizens' committee to study issues, including the future of the fire department, township trustee Bill Ostmann said. The fire department sought to remain intact, yet the committee and the trustees ultimately determined that a contract with Medina for fire services would be more cost effective.

Medina has a similar contract with neighboring Montville Township, and that was used as a model for the one with Medina Township, Ostmann said. Under the proposed contract, Medina Township would pay about $230,000 annually to the city for fire services. In 2016, the township spent $623,000 on the department, Ostmann said.

The contract was completed after Medina considered the township's citizens' committee's recommendations and factors including the volume and time of day of service calls as well as possible staffing limitations, Medina Mayor Dennis Hanwell said.

The contract will be presented to the city's finance committee Monday night, and there is a consensus that it will probably pass. This is the first time the full council is seeing the contract, Hanwell said.

If the contract is approved in the city of Medina, township trustees will likely approve the contract at their meeting Thursday.

Roberts was angered that the contract was seemingly drafted in secret. Since it is a civil contract, there is no requirement to hold a public hearing to inform the residents before it is voted upon by city council.

Even though a public meeting was not held, Ostmann said a contract was previously discussed in public trustee meetings.

"Maybe people weren't paying attention," Ostmann said.

Roberts disputes Ostmann's claim, saying he looked through minutes of trustee meetings and didn't find any mention of the contract.

Township firefighters, alongside the residents, are confused by the justification that the consolidation would cut costs.

"The cost savings reason boggles the mind," Roberts said. "We have equipment that's paid for and everything is in operating order." He also said that the city of Medina's department has the same number of firefighters - "it's not like they are turning [the services] over to a better-staffed department."

"We were blindsided. We've never missed a call. We've always been there," Roberts said.

The proposed contract would also terminate current township firefighters, Roberts said. However, Ostmann and Hanwell both said that if firefighters meet application requirements, it is possible for them to join the Medina department.

"The rate of pay is significantly higher for a starting firefighter than what is currently offered in Medina Township," Hanwell said. "The position also offers a civil service protection. We are interested in bringing in the qualified and interested."

Hanwell believes the contract could be a first step toward creating a fire district with the city of Medina, Medina Township and Montville Township. The trio of towns already have a centralized emergency dispatch center.

"It's a better use of everyone's tax dollars because the fires and the fire services calls [in Medina Township] are so infrequent that it makes the most sense to use each other's staffing, equipment and fire houses," Hanwell said.

The Medina Township Firefighters' Association is seeking to impose an injunction on the contract for 205 days -- until after the November elections, where two of the township trustees are up for re-election, Roberts said.

In the meantime, association members have gone door-to-door to get signatures for a petition calling for a public hearing, Roberts said.

"We expect hundreds, if not thousands of signatures," he said. "Everyone wants to know why this is happening."
NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio -- Investigators are searching for answers Sunday night after the bodies of a woman and her two adult daughters were found in a home on Ridge Road.

Det. Dave Loeding with the North Royalton Police Department said the deaths are being investigated as a homicide.

"This would be rare in a lot of towns, it would be unfortunate in a lot of towns," Loeding said. "It's very tragic."

Loeding said a person who has a relationship with the people living in the home discovered the bodies.

Police did not identify the victims and said they are still trying to determine a motive. No suspects have been arrested. Loeding also said the manner of death has not been determined, although police suspect a firearm was involved.

A man who came to the scene said his sister and her two daughters lived in the home. He said he was not ready to speak to reporters Sunday night.

The two-story house was one of three rental units on the property located at 11489 Ridge Road. Brothers Mike D'Amico, 28, and Matt Lazar, 21, have lived in a unit behind the home where police were investigating for about two months.

The brothers said they did not know the women in the house well, saying they had limited interaction.

"It's pretty shocking," D'Amico said. "They kept to themselves. They were pretty quiet. ... They looked like regular people, just trying to survive."

The state Bureau of Criminal Investigation is assisting with the investigation.

If you'd like to comment on this post, please visit the cleveland.com crime and courts comments section.

Please take a moment and click here to help the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, a cleveland.com partner. Every dollar you give buys four meals for the hungry.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Philanthropist Agnes Gund of the prominent Gund family of Cleveland has sold a famous American painting to raise money to promote criminal justice reform.

Gund unloaded Roy Lichtenstein's "Masterpiece," which used to hang in her Upper East Side apartment in New York. The sale fetched $150 million, according to the New York Times.

Of the proceeds, $100 million will be used to seed the Art for Justice Fund, which is billed as "A Movement to End Mass Incarceration."

"In the U.S. today, one in three black men will spend time in jail," Art for Justice says on its website. "For Latinos, it's one in six. For white males, it's one in 17. And most incarcerated people come from poor communities."

Gund, sister of former Cleveland Cavaliers' owners George and Gordon Gund, was motivated by the fact that six of her 12 grandchildren are African-American, according to the New York Times article.

"This is one thing I can do before I die," Gund, president emerita of the Museum of Modern Art, told the Times.

Criminal justice reform been a major issue in Cleveland and across Ohio. The Cleveland Municipal Court recently adopted policies that call for judges to use improved risk assessments when setting bail.

At the state level, the Ohio General Assembly is considering an initiative proposed by Gov. John Kasich called Targeted Community Alternatives to Prison, which would keep thousands of low-level, non-violent offenders out of the state prison system each year.

Art for Justice website states that the fund "is a five-year initiative designed to make meaningful progress on key reforms in the U.S. criminal justice system."

It will raise "private capital, primarily through the sale of art, to support strategic investments for high impact, lasting, bipartisan criminal justice reform at the state and local level," according to the website.

Those efforts will include "innovative advocacy and interventions aimed at safely cutting the prison population in states with the highest rates of incarceration, and strengthening the education and employment options for people leaving prison," the website states. "In addition, the Fund will support selected artistic initiatives that enable artists to bear witness to the injustices of the system and speak to the potential of people enmeshed in it."

Initially, the fund will consider grants "by invitation only," although limited requests may be considered in 2018, according to Art for Justice.

Gund is working with the Ford Foundation and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors to operate the fund, according to the Ford Foundation.
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!)
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Lawmakers soon to decide the future of Ohio's lead poisoning laws heard from dozens last week who all agreed children should be safe from the brain damaging toxin.

How to accomplish that is where they differed.

The Senate is currently considering the future of an amendment to the pending budget added in May by Rep. Derek Merrin, a real estate investor who represents parts of Lucas and Fulton counties.

The amendment essentially would give exclusive power for regulating lead poisoning to the Ohio Department of Health (ODH). The impetus was a Toledo ordinance that requires certain rental units to be inspected for lead hazards.

Cleveland officials also rolled out a plan this year for rental safety inspections that would include some lead dust testing and visual checks for peeling or deteriorating paint in homes built before 1978.

The Republican-controlled Senate this week will consider what do with the preemption proposal - whether to scrap it, change it or keep it as is. They'll also decide whether to create a 10-person study group that would recommend how the state should handle lead poisoning in the future.

Sen. Peggy Lehner, a Republican who represents the Dayton area, said while ODH officials didn't testify, the department told her it does not have the resources to oversee the whole state.

ODH doesn't publicly comment on pending legislation, a spokeswoman said.

Revisions will be made to the bill this week and lawmakers are expected voted on it June 21.

The House and Senate then will have about two weeks to hash out the difference between the two spending bills before a June 30 deadline to pass a budget.

Landlords and real estate investors who testified in support of the amendment said local lead laws would saddle responsible property owners with high costs and would likely abandon or refuse to invest in low-income housing because of local lead laws.

Donald Newman, a landlord, title company owner and president of the Ohio Real Estate Investors Association, said landlords were being unfairly cast as slumlords and "child haters" and that Toledo's law was driven by fear and had created an unmanageable debacle.

Doctors, parents, healthy home advocates and local lawmakers who testified against giving the state sole authority over lead paint regulation and abatement said the move would be a dangerous setback for communities trying new approaches to protect children from lead before they got poisoned, rather than in the aftermath.

Sen. Vernon Sykes, a Democrat from Akron, pointed out that even if the state has total control, "You have no idea what the state might impose."

Below are a few of the points lawmakers were asked to consider.

STATE vs. LOCAL CONTROL



Those who support the amendment said that allowing municipalities to pass their own laws will create a patchwork of standards that don't give all children the same protection. For instance, Toledo's law applies only to children living in certain rental homes with between one and four units, and not homes owned by their parents or in apartment buildings or government subsidized housing.

That also discriminates unfairly against landlords of those properties in order to make money for municipal government thought fees for registrations and inspections and fines.

Those who oppose the amendment said rules currently in place for the state fail to protect children. The laws trigger mandatory investigations only after children are known to be poisoned at levels double the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's "level of concern."

Cities like Toledo and Cleveland need the ability to approach the problem more aggressively because more children are poisoned in concentrated areas with deteriorating older housing, where many (but not all) homes are rentals.

In Toledo, lawmakers relied on data from Ohio State's Kirwan Institute and its health department that showed the neighborhoods and types of homes where lead poisoning was most prevalent when tailoring the city's ordinance. Targeting, rather than inspecting every home in the city made sense and was more cost efficient for tax payers.

HEALTH OFFICIALS CAN'T MANAGE THE PROBLEM

Those who support exclusive state control said that some local authorities already struggle or do a poor job of upholding current Ohio laws that require investigations and follow up after children are found to be poisoned by lead. Adding more responsibility for inspections and follow-ups in some cities will create more stress on the system. Strict local rules will be unfair because conscientious rental owners will follow them and out-of-town investors and landlords won't comply and won't be forced to.

Those who oppose the amendment agreed existing enforcement can improve and say state and local health authorities have not strictly enforced existing laws, in part, because of a lack of state and local funding and deep cuts to federal lead poisoning programs.

New proposed Medicaid money for remediation should help. Those problems should not preclude local authorities from trying different approaches to improve or to move from reactive to proactive inspections.

DISPUTES OVER TESTING

Those in favor of the amendment argued that that laws like Toledo's rely on the collection and testing of dust which provide only a "snap shot in time" of how safe or hazardous a home is, giving parents a false sense of safety.

It also places an unfair onus on landlords to pay for special cleanings geared toward passing the tests, which do not reflect the normal state of the home or encourage parents or caregivers to take responsibility for routinely cleaning to eliminate dangerous dust.

"We're willing to do whatever is logical but it just makes no sense," property owner Alyce Cervi said. "It's a false test."

Positive dust tests also would force homeowners to make state and federal disclosures of lead hazards.

Some pointed out the federal government, in homes rented through its Housing Choice Voucher program, use visual inspections -not lead dust tests -- for peeling paint, which, though not perfect, has been shown to reduce the occurrence of lead poisoning cases. (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development guidelines require that if home is cited for peeling paint during a visual HUD quality inspection, the owner must then provide proof they've passed a lead assessment and that any work done on the home was completed by a contractor certified to abate lead.)

Those opposed to the amendment said municipalities should be able to decide on the standard for their own communities. The state already requires dust sample testing, along with the use of a machine that detects the presence of lead for its investigations to to detect how children were poisoned.

Two mothers, one from Columbus and one from Leetonia, testified that their children were poisoned despite their rentals getting visual inspections before moving in.

Shecara Norris brought her son, Michael, who at age 2, was poisoned in a Columbus home that had passed a visual inspection, even though the paint job was shoddy and soon began to peel. She eventually had to send him to live with a relative while they got safe housing.

"As a mother, watching my baby suffer and then having to send him away and not be able to be by his side hurt me to my core."

HOUSING AVAILABILITY AND DISPLACEMENT



Those who support the amendment say local regulations that require environmental testing or routine inspections will result in higher costs for landlords, higher rents and will displace tenants who have nowhere to go. Strict regulations also will cause investors not to buy or fix up homes and the areas will become more blighted than they are now.

Those who oppose the amendment and officials and housing advocates in Toledo and Cleveland - including Mayor Frank Jackson - voiced similar worries about displacing families. Affordable housing already is certified as "lead safe" isn't always easy to find. The state has proposed a voluntary registry of safe properties and some cities are starting to publicize the information.

Concerns about inflated rents, a lack of rentals or increase blight were not seen in Rochester, where targeted rental inspections started more than a decade ago. There's also yet uncalculated costs to taxpayers to pay for special education for lead poisoned children and medical treatment increased incarceration.

LEAD SOURCES

Those who favor the amendment said that paint in homes is not the only source of lead and that it is also found in toys and water that travels through lead pipes or fixtures. Lead also in the soil because of years of leaded gasoline use. The soil and dust can blow around and contaminate window sills and be tracked into homes that are otherwise properly maintained as lead safe.

Opponents of the amendment agreed there are other sources of lead, and that nobody can guarantee that any effort will completely eradicate lead poisoning.

Ohio Department of Health data show that from 2012-2015 the top sources of lead exposure in homes where children were poisoned to the level that triggered an investigation were: paint, dust and soil.

Water was rarely identified as a primary source of poisoning, though it was only tested if it came from a private system. Public water systems have safeguards to prevent lead leaching from old service pipes that aren't perfect but do limit much of the lead from reaching homes. Less is known about how often lead from fixtures inside homes contribute to lead poisoning.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Ohio Auditor Dave Yost is concerned a provision in the state's budget bill could keep heroin dealers out of prison, but proponents argue it will prioritize drug addiction treatment in a state grappling with an opioid epidemic.

The provision, the Targeted Community Alternatives to Prison, expands previously-enacted community control reforms to keep low-level, non-violent felony offenders out of prison. The change would apply to heroin trafficking, which is a fifth-degree felony under the Ohio Revised Code.

Yost, a former Delaware County prosecutor and a Republican candidate for Ohio Attorney General in 2018, has objected to the proposal. Keeping heroin dealers out of prison would be an "unintended consequence of a complex idea," he said in a Wednesday letter to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Scott Oelslager.

Oelslager, a Republican from North Canton, declined to comment on the letter and directed questions to Yost. Sen. Michael J. Skindell, the committee's ranking Democrat, did not return a call seeking comment.

Yost said the TCAP proposal needs more vetting, and should be removed from the budget bill for further debate on its own merits. Ohio lawmakers have a June 30 deadline to pass a new two-year budget.

"We need to tap the breaks on this and be careful and deliberate," Yost said in an interview with cleveland.com. "Let's pull it out [of the budget bill] and fix the things that need fixing."

Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Director Gary Mohr feels "true" drug traffickers should be in prison, but he said many low-level offenders are selling small amounts of the drug to support their own drug addictions. Treating those underlying addictions could significantly curtail low-level trafficking, he said.

"Getting people treated is critical to keeping our public safe," Mohr said. "The TCAP program provides an avenue for that."

FreedomWorks, a national conservative advocacy group with close ties to the Tea Party movement, also criticized Yost on Twitter opposing the criminal sentencing reform measure.

Yost's concerns come at a time when the federal government is taking a hard-line policy on drug cases. Last month. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions instructed federal prosecutors to seek mandatory minimums sentences in drug cases. Under President Barack Obama, federal prosecutors were urged to seek alternatives to prison for nonviolent drug offenders.

Yost said he does see value in rehabilitation, and that drug addicts could benefit from treatment in lieu of prison. But he's skeptical of the TPAC proposal because he feels heroin dealers will carry small amounts of the drug to avoid serious criminal charges if they're caught.

The threat of prison is also a useful tool for prosecutors, who can make deals with low-level drug dealers in exchange for information, he said.

"Street-level heroin dealers are the entry point to work up the distribution chain," Yost said in his letter to Oelslager. "To get the 'big fish' you've got to get the little ones."

The TCAP program would move $60 million from the DRC's budget to local communities, which would use the money to rehabilitate and monitor low-level offenders. A 2016 Brennan Center for Justice report concluded that the unnecessary incarceration of low-level offenders is costly and ineffective, Mohr noted.

Eight counties have been participating in a pilot version of the program, and have provided positive early feedback, he said.

"This program gives us the best opportunity to truly turn things around," Mohr said. "I think this is a potential turning point in criminal justice."

Medina County is part of the pilot program, and Common Pleas Judge Joyce Kimbler told the Senate Finance Committee that it has helped officials directly address the heroin epidemic.

"It is our intention to restore as many of our citizens to sobriety and give them the necessary tools to maintain recovery upon their release," Kimbler said last month in written testimony that she provided to the committee. "The extra resources TCAP has afforded us will ultimately impact not only the opioid epidemic in Medina County but also the recidivism rate in our community."

The American Civil Liberties Union's Ohio chapter also feels treating low-level offenders would be a more effective long-term strategy, said Mike Brickner, the organization's senior policy director.

"Historically, prison is flawed approached. We've had a war on drugs for years, and it hasn't gone well," he said. "We favor reforms that get people out of prison and into rehab settings."

The TCAP program specifically targets non-violent, fifth-degree felony offenders. That would include people convicted of trafficking in heroin, a fifth-degree felony for offenders found in possession of fewer than 10 doses of heroin. Those found in possession of more than 10 doses of the drug are charged with aggravated trafficking in heroin, a fourth-degree felony.

Current Ohio sentencing guidelines already direct judges to impose community control sanctions on fourth- and fifth-degree felony offenders, so long as the offense is not violent or sexual in nature. The guidelines also give judges discretion to impose prison sentences if the person is a repeat offender.

Last year, Ohio judges handed down prison sentences for 4,089 offenders who were convicted of fifth-degree felonies. They included 348 drug trafficking convictions and 1,894 drug possession convictions, DRC statistics show.

Through TCAP, many of those offenders could receive drug addiction treatment while still being monitored by authorities, said Cynthia Mausser, the managing director of the DRC's Division of Parole and Community Services.

"The idea that supervision is not holding offenders accountable -- I think that argument fails," Mausser said.

Treating drug addicts could not only reduce recidivism, but could help put them on a pathway toward finding a job, Brickner said.

"This is about looking at this issue as a public health issue," Brickner said. "[Treatment] is going to be much more effective in getting them off drugs, and hopefully, back to being successful in society."

Please take a moment and click here to help the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, a cleveland.com partner. Every dollar you give buys four meals for the hungry.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Ohio Lottery received approval from the State Controlling Board Monday to extend its gaming system contract for an additional six years without a bid.

The approval came without any objections. The item had been on the board's May agenda but was pulled by the lottery after some legislators questioned whether the extension should be bid.

The proposal to extend the Intralot USA contract from 2021 to 2027 was added to a request seeking the release of $71 million over the next two years under the current contract.

The lottery had to submit a similar or revised request for Monday's controlling board meeting because the next two-year contract begins July 1. The request was the same as May 12.

"In short, there is a real risk that no vendor, including Intralot, will beat or even match the existing commission rate and services," the agency said in its request. "Negotiating an extension, on the other hand, allows the Ohio Lottery Commission to both retain its current favorable rate and secure additional savings."

In 2008 the lottery awarded the contract to run the state lottery to Intralot USA.

Intralot operates and maintains the lottery's traditional gaming system and the video lottery terminal central monitoring system, including a communications network, associated gaming products and support services.

The 10-year contract began in 2009. Intralot's bid was more than $24 million lower than GTECH Corp., which had held the contract since 1985.

The lottery's gaming system contract with Intralot was for two years, with four, two-year renewal options. That was required because according to state law, appropriations must be approved by the controlling board every two years.

In 2013, the controlling board approved the lottery's request for an additional two-year renewal option that extended the contract to 2021.

The board can require the lottery to seek bids when the appropriation is requested every two years, officials said. Lottery officials have said it can take up to three years to seek bids and award a new contract because of the complexity of the gaming system.

The lottery and Intralot negotiated in good faith to reach the best possible offer to extend the contract to 2027 with the assistance of Rossi Enterprises, a Michigan consulting company hired by the lottery in March, the lottery said.

But an independent assessment of the lottery, sought in 2016 by the state agency, determined that the agency should seek bids on contracts.

In its report last September, Spectrum Gaming Group said "allowing vendors to maintain long-term contracts without re-bidding is an ineffective management practice."

Please take a moment and click here to help the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, a cleveland.com partner. Every dollar you give buys four meals for the hungry.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The state school board voted today to order the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT), Ohio's largest charter school, to repay $60 million to the state.

The 14-1 vote comes nine months after an attendance review by the Ohio Department of Education found that the school was paid for 9,000 more students last school year than the school could document.

That review found that the school had proper documentation for only 6,300 of its 15,300 students - a 59% gap. With ECOT receiving $109 million in state tax dollars last year, the school would owe as much as $64 million.

A state hearing officer pegged that total as $60 million last month, after hearing several days of testimony from ECOT and the department.

Board members had little comment before the vote, though board member Cathye Flory said ECOT "cheated" taxpayers and should have to pay the full $64 million back.

The lone "no" vote was from board member Pat Bruns of Cincinnati, who later clarified that she thought she was voting against reducing the amount from the $64 million.

ECOT officials, as well as parents, students and teachers, objected immediately to the vote. They were not allowed to speak at the meeting before the vote, with the department saying they had ample opportunity to present their case before the hearing officer.

ECOT Superintendent Rick Teeters told the board after the vote that his school helps thousands of students and asked the board to reconsider. Teeters had predicted in court last summer that having to repay the money would put the school in a financial "death spiral."

Neil Clark, spokesman for the school, said after the meeting the vote was no surprise and accused the board and department of acting as judge, jury and executioner.

He repeated ECOT's claims that the department did not follow state law in how it calculated the school's attendance. At issue is whether students just need to be "offered" education online or whether the school has to show that they did classwork.

ECOT has maintained that a 2003 agreement with the department calls for it to be paid based on the number of students enrolled in the school. The school was paid for several years if students were "offered" educational opportunities, regardless of whether they took advantage of them.

But ODE last year started requiring documentation of student work and started counting the time students spend signed on to ECOT's computer system as a way of showing class participation.
Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Tacos with Texas Caviar is an easy and delicious summer meal! Slow cooked juicy barbecue chicken stuffed into a soft tortilla and then topped with fresh Texas Caviar. These tacos will be in your regular summer dinner rotation!

Hello, Hello, Hello!

How are you on this fine Monday morning? I hope you had a wonderful weekend. I got back late last night from an unreal trip to NYC/Hamptons. Like unreal, unreal. Actually, can we just go back? I had a fantastic time catching up with my uncles, talking shop with some wonderful food bloggers, and of course, checking out the Hamptons scene! I must say the east coast has it going on during summer!

Anyway, Ive got a bunch of stuff to catch up on (hello never ending inbox!), but I wanted to ask you guys have you see this new show called American Gods? UM, AMAZE-BALLS. I will probably butcher what the plot is about because really there are so many moving parts. BUT! All you really need to know is that Ian McShane is in it and is a complete badass, naturally.

Man.I feel like I am all over the place this morning. Maybe its the coffee? Or the fact that Ive been up since 5:45 am thanks to some lovely jet lag. But before I forget lets talk about these Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Tacos with Texas Caviar.

First, the slow cooker BBQ chicken is something that I make at least once a week because all you need are two ingredients: chick thighs and your favorite barbecue sauce. Throw these two gents into the slow cooker and let the magic unfold. I typically serve the chicken in a wrap, bun, or on top of salads. But the other day, I got a wild hair and decided to add them to tacos!! Clearly I should have been doing this ages ago because I think its my newest obsession.

Second, what really makes these tacos legit, legit is the Texas Caviar. Which is a mixture of corn, black beans, jalapeno, tomatoes, onion, and red wine vinegar. All tossed together and then piled-high on top of the barbecue chicken.

These Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Tacos with Texas Caviar are a great meal prep for a Sunday or easy to throw together for those upcoming backyard parties or picnics. Or for when you need a full belly watching American Gods. No seriously, consider yourself warned.

Now, back to the grind.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/11/us/trump-high-school-yearbook/index.html

New Jersey high school under fire for erasing Trump slogans from yearbook

NJ student's Trump shirt blacked-out in high school yearbook... *****ZE6LsmM1OB pic.twitter.com/hJLHzlkfbJ  JERSEY REPORT (@JERSREPORT) June 10, 2017

A New Jersey student said the "Trump - Make America Great Again" on his t-shirt was allegedly blacked-out in his yearbook photo.

Wall Township High School junior Grant Berardo told the Newark Star-Ledger he wore his Trump shirt on yearbook photo day.

Berardo's image proofs had the logo still present and his school ID reportedly had it too.

But, when he got his yearbook this week, the Trump logo on his T-shirt appeared to be censored.
Among the cities that count as "new first-tier cities" based on their commercial appeal were Chengdu, Hangzhou and Tianjin, according to the study from The Rising Lab, a subsidiary of Yicai Media Group.

Fifteen Chinese cities joined Shanghai and Beijing in boasting "first-tier" status in a recent study, but the one of the latest additions to that category might not quite fit the bill, according to some.

Other cities that qualified were Wuhan, Chongqing, Nanjing, Suzhou, Xi'an, Changsha, Shenyang, Qingdao, Dalian and Ningbo. Two cities  Dongguan and Zhengzhou  made it to the list for the first time this year.

While there is no official ranking, cities in China are often categorized according to tiers based on gross domestic product (GDP), population and level of political administration. Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou are widely cited as first tier cities.

The Rising Lab study took into account the cities' performance in five areas, including availability of commercial resources, connectivity and livability. Other than the usual data points, such as GDP, factors such as the number of retail stores and bars operating in the city were also considered.

Rising Lab's study raised eyebrows, however, by including Dongguan on its list of top cities. A manufacturing hub in Guangdong province, it's been best-known outside of China for undergoing a crackdown on its red-light industry.

Some users on Chinese social media platform Weibo were dismissive of the study. "Isn't "new first-tier city" just a nicer way of referring to second-tier cities?" one user asked.

"If Dongguan did not go through the anti-vice campaign, it would have become a first-tier city even sooner," another Weibo user joked.

Other users suggested that the rankings were just an excuse for individuals to speculate in the real estate market. This was especially because housing prices and living costs in some lower tiered cities were similar to those in the first tier, but wages resembled those in third or fourth-tier cities, one Weibo user argued.

While cooling measures have had some impact on the rise in home prices, the potential of a bubble in the property market has been regarded as a risk to the economy by some.
President Rodrigo Duterte said on Sunday he did not seek support from Washington to end the siege of a southern Philippines town by Islamist militants, a day after the United States said it was providing assistance at the request of the government.

Duterte told a news conference in Cagayan de Oro City, about 100 km (62 miles) from the besieged town of Marawi, that he had "never approached America" for help.

When asked about U.S. support to fight the pro-Islamic State militants in Marawi City on the island of Mindanao, Duterte said he was "not aware of that until they arrived."

The cooperation between the longtime allies in the battle is significant because Duterte, who came to power a year ago, has taken a hostile stance towards Washington and has vowed to eject U.S. military trainers and advisers from his country.

It is unclear whether the pro-American military went over Duterte's head in seeking U.S. help.

The Philippines military said on Saturday U.S. forces were providing technical assistance but had no "boots on the ground", confirming a statement from the U.S. embassy in Manila which said the support had been requested by the government. [nL3N1J7054]

The seizure of Marawi on May 23 by hundreds of local and foreign fighters has alarmed Southeast Asian nations, which fear the ultra-radical group Islamic State is trying to establish a stronghold on Mindanao that could threaten their region.

The Pentagon, which has no permanent presence in the Philippines but for years has kept 50 to 100 special forces troops in the south of the country on rotational exercises, confirmed it was helping the Philippine military in Marawi.

It said in a statement on Saturday it was providing Philippine forces with security assistance and training in the areas of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. It said it had an additional 300 to 500 troops in the country to support regular training and activities, without giving further details.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said support included aerial surveillance and targeting, electronic eavesdropping, communications assistance and training. A U.S. P-3 Orion surveillance plane was seen over the town on Friday.
The Saudi-led effort to isolate Qatar won't impact the price of oil much, Saudi Arabia's Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, Khalid A. Al-Falih, told CNBC.

"Within the energy markets, there is no change," Al-Falih said on the sidelines of meetings in Kazakhstan over the weekend.

Several Saudi-led Arab states abruptly cut off ties to tiny Qatar earlier this month.

Saudi Arabia has issued demands of Qatar, including ending relations with Iran, breaking all ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and expelling all members of Hamas, according to an Al Jazeera report. It also demanded Qatar shut down broadcaster Al Jazeera, which came under cyber attack last week.

The catalyst for the rift was an alleged statement by Qatar's emir that criticized Saudi Arabia and President Donald Trump, who recently visited Saudi Arabia in his first foreign trip, agreeing to new military contracts and a broader economic relationship.

So far, the dispute has had little impact in energy markets, but last week, two Qatari LNG shipments, believed to be U.K.-bound, abruptly changed direction in the Gulf of Aden Thursday, raising speculation that the row will spill more broadly into the global gas market.

But Al-Falih said he didn't expect much of a market impact.

"Qatar is a member of the OPEC organization and is a signatory of the 24-member agreement that has just been extended," he said. "We trust that they will continue to abide, but their overall contribution in terms of the cuts is rather insignificant in the overall scheme of things."

Late last month, OPEC said it would extend an 1.8 million-barrel-a-day cut to oil output by nine months, though March 2018, after the November deal failed to fully clear a global oversupply in oil, which has been keeping prices relatively low. Some non-OPEC producers have also signed on to the deal.

Al-Falih added that he hoped the tensions over Qatar would resolve quickly.
watch now

A man looks as the world's biggest Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) tanker DUHAIL as she crosses through the Suez Canal. The Qatari tanker, which was built to transfer LNG from Qatar to Europe and the U.S., is on her first trip ever from Qatar to Spain. Reuters



"He started his speech by really praising Qatar," Emadi said, adding, "Qatar is really an important partner and actually combating terrorism and money laundering and the war." "So I think the message was very clear from the American administration that we're taking good part in this and we're working with our allies, with our partner, with our fried really to combat." It was unclear if Emadi was referring to Trump's public speech, or comments at some other point during his meetings with foreign leaders. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Emadi's remarks.

watch now

During part of his speech in Riyadh in which Trump briefly noted the contributions to regional security that a number of Muslim majority nations had made, he said, "Qatar, which hosts the U.S. Central Command, is a crucial strategic partner," according to a readout from the White House. Trump's tweets and comments in the last week have at times appeared to undercut messages from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and the White House. Press Secretary Sean Spicer last week appeared to lend support to Emadi's claim that Trump had taken a more conciliatory stance on Qatar in Riyadh. Just hours after Trump made his views public on Twitter on Tuesday, Spicer said Trump was "very heartened" by his "constructive conversation" with the emir of Qatar. He noted the emir had shown commitment to joining a new U.S.-Saudi initiative to disrupt terror financing. Tillerson on Friday urged Gulf states to ease their blockade of Qatar, saying it has "humanitarian consequences" and hinders the United States' military efforts. Roughly an hour later, Trump criticized Qatar without mentioning a need to pull back on the blockade, calling the nation "a funder of terrorism at a very high level."

watch now

Asked about the mixed messages, Emadi said it was important to look at the history of Qatar's relationship with the United States, rather than its interactions with just one president. "I think what we're seeing today is a little bit of up and down here, but we understand that this is a delicate situation for all the regions in the Gulf and hopefully that we can come out of this in a much stronger way for Qatar," Emadi said. Qatar is an important ally to the United States. Al Udeid Air Base hosts the largest U.S. military presence in the Middle East and is also a base for Central Command, which is responsible for U.S. operations from Egypt to Pakistan and north through Afghanistan. But Qatar has long been criticized for allowing terror financing to flourish within its borders, as well as for its support of the Palestinian organization Hamas and certain Islamist militant groups in Syria and Egypt. Asked about Qatar's alleged support for Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran, Emadi said propaganda is being used to exert pressure on Qatar from the international community.

watch now
The threat of populist governments, Brexit negotiations and a stagnant economy painted a dark picture for Europe going into 2017. However, half way through the year and investors see a renewed political willingness to reform and a growing economy offering several opportunities ahead. "This was supposed to be the year of political risk events haunting Europe with all the uncertainty and apprehension that goes with this," Jan Randolph, director of sovereign risk at IHS Markit, told CNBC via email. "As it is turning out however, the euro zone economies are surprising in the upside: higher GDP growth is good for stocks generally; but I think that bar the recent U.K. elections; there hasn't really been any major political upset; again supportive of stocks and slightly net negative for bonds," he added. Data released last week showed the euro zone grew at its fastest pace since 2015 in the first quarter of this year. Unemployment and employment data has also improved over the last few quarters. As a result, the European Central Bank updated its forward guidance to include lower risks to economic performance after a monetary policy meeting last Thursday.

Populist threat has significantly fallen

Apart from positive economic data, fears over election outcomes in core European countries have also dissipated. In the Netherlands and France, voters said no to a populist government. On the calendar, there are still elections to take place in Germany and Italy, but the populist threat has fallen by the wayside. In the specific case of France, voters chose a pro-European and independent candidate, Emmanuel Macron, who is also currently set to win parliamentary elections, giving further reassurances that he will have the necessary political support to push through with his agenda, including reforms on the labour market and deeper euro zone integration. "Indeed the resounding presidential and likely parliamentary elections over the weekend in France; the poor showing of Five Star in Italy's municipal election also over the weekend and most likely 4th term for Merkel in September  will likely re- invigorate the Merkel-Macron or Franco-German engine that is at the centre of the euro zone project and its direction and political events will give this euro zone engine a new force and rudder  something that investors would be most focused; and likely to carry more positives developments in the next 1-3 years in terms of euro zone integration and EU consolidation, even in parallel with Brexit," Randolph from IHS Markit added.

watch now

The regional polls in Italy over the weekend sent the 10-year benchmark yield down by seven basis points on Monday, pushing yields to their lowest level in six months. "First and foremost it's no surprise that we still have an issue regarding the whole European banking system," Richard Hodges, head of unconstrained fixed income at Nomura Asset Management, told CNBC on Monday, noting that "we've been trying to address this issue and indeed the ECB, and the European banking sector has looking at addressing this issue and has so for the last 2 to 3 years, so that information is there and available." "What we are doing now is working on the premise that this will all going to be put behind us over the course over the next couple of years, so we're looking to see what periphery looks like compared to core Europe as we move forward in the future," Hodges said, mentioning a "great potential" for peripheral bonds.

Selfish EU downplays Brexit

watch now

At the same time, the European institutions seem united ahead of Brexit talks while also focused on how to move the bloc forward. The European Commission announced last week a proposal for a European defense union  something the U.K. had long opposed  and a few other integration initiatives. This along with a sit-and-wait approach when it comes to Brexit has boosted the image of EU policymaking. Dan Collins, CEO of CCO Global, told CNBC on Monday that the EU has been showing signs of "stability." "Hard Brexit is off the table for now and forever," he said, after the conservative government lost its parliamentary majority at a general election last week and consequently its negotiating position. Collins also recalled a recent speech by Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, in which she stated the EU may no longer rely on key partners, including the US, showing the EU's search for independence.

But there are a few points of concern
Apple shares fell more than 2 percent Monday, falling for a second-straight day due to mounting concerns about unsustainably high stock prices. The iPhone maker's stock has lost nearly 6.2 percent of its value in just two days.

The decline Monday came after Mizuho downgraded the stock to neutral from buy and lowered its price target to $150 from $160.



"We believe enthusiasm around the upcoming product cycle is fully captured at current levels, with limited upside from here on out," Mizuho managing director, Americas research, Abhey Lamba, said in a Sunday note.



Apple's stock fell 3.9 percent Friday as major tech stocks suddenly plunged. Shares closed 2.39 percent lower Monday at $145.42, after hitting a session low of $142.51.

The stock closed at $154.99 on Thursday before the big selling began.

Apple shares three-month performance

Lamba said investors already expect strong iPhone 8 sales in the coming product cycle, likely limiting gains in Apple shares. And the same consumers driving those solid sales this time around will likely not spend on a new iPhone soon, reducing potential growth in fiscal 2018, the report said.

Customers may also want to wait for the iPhone to adopt new OLED display technology at a lower cost, the note said.



"In our view, Apple's pricing is likely to become the main hurdle to meaningful expansion of its installed base," Lamba said.



He also expects that growth in China "is likely to remain weak" in the near term, while the Indian market remains constrained due to limited affordability. The consensus estimate of 30 percent growth in services revenue per user over the next two years also "seems high," Lamba said.

"We remain of the view that Apple maintains a very strong franchise and could continue to gain incremental share of the smartphone market; however, the pace of share gains will likely meaningfully moderate as the market becomes more saturated," the report said.

Lamba does not assume any repatriation of Apple's more than $170 billion overseas cash holdings, which he expects will be taxed.

Apple, the largest market-cap stock in the S&P 500, ranks third worldwide by the value of short interest in its stock at $9.1 billion, just behind Alibaba at $16.7 billion and Tesla at $10.5 billion, according to financial analytics firm S3 Partners.

In May, Aswath Damodaran, a professor of corporate finance and valuation at New York University's Stern School of Business, said Apple's stock is fully valued around $140 a share, while $94 is a good place to buy.

Some on Wall Street also believe Apple's recent downward volatility is a negative signal for the market.

"I'm not sure what the right value is for Apple, but it is extremely concerning to me, that a stock of this importance can trade like that  on virtually nothing!" Brean Capital's Peter Tchir wrote in a note to clients Monday.

"After Friday's price action, I can't be anything but bearish near term. The 'healthy' rotation seems to hide the fact that for brief moments of time there was virtually no liquidity (at a price) for some of the biggest and most loved stocks," Tchir added.

 CNBC's Tae Kim contributed to this story.
Bank of America and Delta Air Lines withdrew their sponsorship of the Public Theater's Free Shakespeare in the Park show, with immediate effect.

Three sponsors of a New York production of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" have pulled their support for a free production of the play, because of the portrayal of the central character as a Donald Trump-like personality, who gets knifed to death on stage.

A sign is seen outside the Delacorte Theater in Central Park June 12, 2017 where the production of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar by Shakespeare in the Park, an annual summer program by The Public Theater is being held in New York.

Bank of America said in a statement posted on Twitter and emailed to CNBC: "Bank of America supports art programs worldwide, including an 11-year partnership with The Public Theater and Shakespeare in the Park. The Public Theater chose to present Julius Caesar in such a way that was intended to provoke and offend. Had this intention been made known to us, we would have decided not to sponsor it. We are withdrawing our funding of this production."

TWEET

A statement from Delta Air Lines given to AP called the production "graphic." It said: "No matter what your political stance may be, the graphic staging of Julius Caesar at this summer's Free Shakespeare in the Park does not reflect Delta Air Lines' values. Their artistic and creative direction crossed the line on the standards of good taste."

Meanwhile, American Express tweeted that it wanted to clarify that it does not condone the group's interpretation of Julius Caesar. AmEx is another sponsor of the Public Theater.

American Express Tweet

Donald Trump Jr had previously retweeted a post from Fox News about the play, saying: "When does 'art' become political speech & does that change things?"

TWEET

The Public Theater responded on Monday with a tweet saying it was "deeply grateful for the outpouring of support we have received" over its production of "Julius Caesar."

TWEET

A statement from Oskar Eustis on the theater's website said: "Julius Caesar can be read as a warning parable to those who try to fight for democracy by undemocratic means. To fight the tyrant does not mean imitating him."

The Public Theater said on the production's page: "Rome's leader, Julius Caesar, is a force unlike any the city has seen. Magnetic, populist, irreverent, he seems bent on absolute power. A small band of patriots, devoted to the country's democratic traditions, must decide how to oppose him. Shakespeare's political masterpiece has never felt more contemporary."

The Public Theater shows Shakespeare at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park free each summer, giving away 100,000 tickets. The Public Theater did not immediately return CNBC's request for comment.

Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook.
Prime Minister Theresa May, accompanied by her husband Philip, making a statement in Downing Street after she traveled to Buckingham Palace for an audience with Queen Elizabeth II following the General Election results.

She's been called a "dead woman walking." But U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May is trying to prove she's not only very much alive, but so are the negotiations to pull Britain out of the European Union, scheduled to start on June 19.



Following a disappointing election outcome, May's working to show she got the message, loud and clear. She's dropped her controversial co-chiefs of staff. She brought former leadership rival Michael Gove back into cabinet to bolster her position and help with Brexit negotiations. And she's consulting with Conservative MPs as she scrambles to unite her party heading into coalition talks with Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

"Crucially I've brought in talent from across the whole of the Conservative Party," May explained. "This is the government that is going to be governing for everyone. We want a country that works for everyone, bringing that talent together to ensure that we can get on with the job of delivering the successful Brexit."

Now talk has turned to what kind Brexit that will be: hard, soft, or a so-called Norway-style deal that offers access to the European Economic Area to allow U.K. financial services to be "passported" into Europe.

"I don't think it necessarily means that the United Kingdom will be completely over a barrel with the European Union," said Matt Beech, Director of the Centre for British Politics at the University of Hull.

"Because Mrs. May's in this mess, I don't think it necessarily means that the Conservative Party doesn't have a strong case to put to the EU simply because I believe personally that it's in the European Union's best interest to continue tariff-free trade with the United Kingdom as it is in the United Kingdom's interest."

But will Brexit even happen? One strategist is betting against it.

"Brexit is dead. Within six months, Theresa May will be out. She's as popular as the girl that brought a ham sandwich to a bat mitzvah," said Andrew Freris, CEO of Ecognosis Advisory. "We're not going to have a soft or a hard Brexit. We won't have a Brexit at all."

Freris said that's going to be bullish for sterling and the FTSE 100 in about six months' time, and "colossally bullish" for the European Union because they'll be able to use the failure of Britain to leave the EU as a warning for other nations considering an exit. Essentially, Freris thinks the kiss of death for the Brexit process is the coalition that looks set to govern the U.K. now that Prime Minister May's lost her majority.

"From an outsider looking in, the notion that potentially the event of the century in the U.K. is going to depend on ten Northern Irish MPs is beyond ludicrousness," he said. "It is completely irresponsible and absurd, and that's why it's not going to happen."

For now, though, Prime Minister May's keeping her stiff upper lip and pushing ahead. She's already huddled with her new cabinet. She's meeting Conservative MPs today as she works to maintain party unity. And on Tuesday, she sits down with Arlene Foster, the Democratic Unionist leader.

And while those Brexit talks are scheduled to start in a week's time, a fair number of people argue the next significant stop in this drama will be at the ballot box.

"I think the electorate is kind of lost, the country is mainly split between Brexiters and Remainers," said Philippe Le Corre, visiting fellow in the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution. "I would say 80 percent chance that there will be another election later this year or early next year."
Britain's Brexit Secretary David Davis came out in support of Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday, dismissing claims made by former Finance Minister George Osborne that she had become a "dead woman walking" after a failed election gamble last week.

"I find it incredibly self-indulgent for the Tory (Conservative) party to be going for this sort of stuff," Davis told U.K. broadcaster ITV when asked about the former Conservative Member of Parliament's (MP's) views on May's poor performance at the polls.

"It is our job to get on with running the country," he added.

May's ruling right-wing Conservatives lost their parliamentary majority in Thursday's snap election and will now seek the support of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in order to govern.

Osborne, now editor of London's Evening Standard, had suggested on Sunday that May's premiership had suffered such irreparable damage that she had become a "dead woman walking". He also said Conservative MP's were likely to be "furious" with the party's campaign strategy.

The Conservatives won 318 seats in the election, eight short of an outright majority. When Theresa May announced an early election in April in order to strengthen her hand in Brexit talks, the Conservatives held 331 seats and led the left-wing Labour Party by more than 20 points in the polls.

Since the result, May has vowed to continue governing in a bid to provide "certainty" for the British people.

The U.K.'s prime minister also insisted that regardless of any perceived Westminster tumult, formal Brexit negotiations would stick to the current timetable and begin on June 19.

Speculation in Brussels has intensified in the aftermath of Britain's vote with some EU diplomats questioning whether May would continue with her pursuit of a so-called "hard" Brexit.



Analysts at Moody's Investor Service said in a note on Monday that while an inconclusive election outcome is a credit negative for the U.K., the increased likelihood of "softer" Brexit options being considered could be credit positive.



"While we still expect Brexit to happen and the "cliff" risk of sudden exit remains, the election result suggests an electoral shift away from the "hard" Brexit that the Prime Minister had

ostensibly sought. Hence, a move towards "softer" versions of Brexit  potentially with

continued access of some sort to the Single Market  might now be considered," a team of analysts at Moody's said.



However, Davis reaffirmed the government's Brexit plans and said Britain would continue to prioritize control over its borders and that this would effectively take the U.K. out of the single market  a tariff-free trading bloc for EU members.
Speaking at the eMerge Americas conference today in Miami, tech investor Dave McClure urged cities to drop their Silicon Valley inferiority complex, and start building a startup ecosystem of their own.

"What's not important is whether you're in Silicon Valley," he said, "but you can't just expect innovation to happen waiting around."

McClure knows what Silicon Valley does and doesn't have compared to other cities. His fund and accelerator has invested in more than 2,000 startups around the world, placing early bets on Twilio , now a public company, and MakerBot, which was acquired by Stratasys in 2013 for around $400 million. 500 Startups is also an investor in Singapore-based Uber competitor Grab, and movie ticket buying app CINE+ in Mexico, among others.

Creating local tech conferences, policies and other incentives to attract accelerators and venture funds is critical. Often times, that requires capital from a local or state government, he noted. "Fifty or sixty years ago, when venture was just getting started, the Small Business Administration was the source of a lot of VC funds," the investor said.
Uber senior vice president and business leader Emil Michael, who had reportedly been pressured to resign, has left the company, according to an email obtained by The New York Times and confirmed by NBC News.

Michael will be replaced by David Richter, but his departure is part of a growing senior level exodus at the company. Since February, Uber has lost its president and marketing chief (Jeff Jones), finance chief (Guatam Gupta) and senior VP of engineering (Amit Singhal). The company is also without a chief operating officer. If Travis Kalanick takes a leave of absence, which is being considered, the company will essentially need an entire new senior leadership team.

Here's the full email, obtained by the Times:

Team  Yesterday was my last day with Uber. Starting today, David Richter, our current VP of Strategic Initiatives, will be the new SVP of Business. David is an extremely talented leader and I have high confidence in his ability to help drive the company forward. I signed on with the company almost four years ago and it has truly been the experience of a lifetime helping Uber become the fastest growing company of all-time -- spanning 75 countries with over 14,000 employees. I am proud of our business team's part in contributing to the company's overall success. We have fueled our growth by raising more money than any other tech company in history; we completed one of the most valuable mergers in American/Chinese tech history with the Didi deal; and we have secured ground-breaking partnerships with automobile companies all over the world to support our autonomous vehicle efforts. But I am most proud of the quality of the team we have built. Beginning with my first day at Uber, I have been committed to building a diverse Business Team that would be widely recognized as the best in the technology world: one that is welcoming to people of all genders, sexual orientations, national origins and educational backgrounds. I am proud that our group has made so much progress toward these goals and is a leader in the company in many of these categories. As an Egyptian immigrant who was taken under the wing of a great business leader like Bill Campbell, I have an abiding belief that we all should pay it forward by ensuring that our workplace represents all types of people. Uber has a long way to go to achieve all that it can and I am looking forward to seeing what you accomplish in the years ahead. --Emil Michael



Uber was not immediately available to comment on the report.

At a public dinner in 2014, Michael talked about hiring a team of opposition researchers to dig up dirt on journalists investigating the company.

Michael was also reportedly part of a small team of execs that visited a karaoke-escort bar in South Korea, which drew an HR complaint from a female exec in attendance. Kalanick's ex-girlfriend, Gabi Holzwarth, told The Information that Michael called her earlier this year to try and dissuade her from talking to the press about the escort bar incident, where she was present.

The revelations around Michael have resurfaced amid an internal investigation into claims of sexual harassment and gender bias within the company. Results of that investigation are expected to be revealed Tuesday.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick will likely take a leave of absence amid the release of an internal investigation, Reuters reported on Monday, citing anonymous sources.

No decision has been made, according to Reuters. Outlets such as The New York Times and Recode previously reported that a leave of absence for Kalanick might be considered by Uber's board, but did not reveal which way the company was leaning.

CNBC has also confirmed that former Nestle CFO Wan Ling Martello will join Uber's board. She was previously CFO for Wal-Mart's international unit, and also sits on Alibaba's board.

 CNBC's Deirdre Bosa, Mike Calia and NBC News contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump is being accused of violating a part of the U.S. Constitution that the founders put in place to curb corruption.

The attorneys general for the District of Columbia and Maryland filed a lawsuit making those claims on Monday. They accuse Trump of improperly accepting payments from foreign governments.

Their argument is that Trump  who kept ownership of his businesses when he became president of the United States  is violating the so-called emoluments clauses of the Constitution.

One of the clauses was written to ensure that U.S. government officials would not be corrupted by favors or gifts from foreign governments. Here is the text of the foreign emoluments clause in Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution:

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince or foreign State.

Trump's election immediately created concerns that he could use the office to drive more business to his companies. When he took office, he moved his business interests into a trust managed by his sons, saying that this curbed conflicts of interest.

But the president retained actual ownership of the companies, meaning that he still makes money from them. Foreign governments  including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Georgia  have bought rooms or held events at Trump's D.C. hotel since he took office. The Embassy of Kuwait even switched an earlier booking at the Four Seasons to the Trump hotel, according to the The Washington Post.

Past presidents have traditionally sold their holdings or put them into "blind" trusts run by a third party. For example, before he took office, President Jimmy Carter gave his agricultural holdings to an independent trustee. Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton put investments into blind trusts.

Representatives for Trump had argued that selling his sprawling business empire or putting it into a blind trust would have been too difficult.
watch now

President Donald Trump is being accused of violating a part of the U.S. Constitution that the founders put in place to curb corruption. The attorneys general for the District of Columbia and Maryland filed a lawsuit making those claims on Monday. They accuse Trump of improperly accepting payments from foreign governments. Their argument is that Trump  who kept ownership of his businesses when he became president of the United States  is violating the so-called emoluments clauses of the Constitution. "It's unprecedented that the American people must question day after day whether decisions are made or actions are taken to benefit the United States or to benefit President Trump," said Democratic Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh at a news conference. The foreign emoluments clause was written to ensure that U.S. government officials would not be corrupted by favors or gifts from foreign governments. Here is the text of that clause in Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution: No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince or foreign State. Trump's election immediately created concerns that he could use the office to drive more business to his companies. When he took office, he moved his business interests into a trust managed by his sons, saying that this curbed conflicts of interest.

Donald Trump (C) cuts the ribbon with his son, Eric Trump (L), and wife, Melania Trump (R), during opening ceremony for the Trump International Hotel, Old Post Office, in Washington, USA on October 26, 2016. Samuel Corum | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

But the president retained actual ownership of the companies, meaning that he still makes money from them. Foreign governments  including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Georgia  have bought rooms or held events at Trump's D.C. hotel since he took office. The Embassy of Kuwait even switched an earlier booking at the Four Seasons to the Trump hotel, according to The Washington Post. "We know that foreign governments are spending money there in order to curry favor with the president of the United States," D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine said. Press secretary Sean Spicer said Monday that that the "president's interests, as previously discussed, do not violate the emoluments clause." He suggested that "partisan politics" had a role in the lawsuit. Past presidents have traditionally sold their holdings or put them into "blind" trusts run by a third party. For example, before he took office, President Jimmy Carter gave his agricultural holdings to an independent trustee. Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton put investments into blind trusts.

Donald Trump attends the grand opening ceremony at the new Trump International Hotel October 26, 2016 in Washington, DC. Getty Images

Representatives for Trump have contended that selling his sprawling business empire or putting it into a blind trust would be too difficult. Racine said that "traditional checks and balances are failing us" when it comes to assuring that Trump doesn't abuse the presidency for personal gain. Racine lashed out at the Republican-controlled Congress for not sufficiently overseeing Trump's business conflicts. In January, Trump promised to track profits from foreign governments and donate them to the U.S. Treasury. But the Trump Organization has not tracked those payments. Instead, it has suggested that it's the responsibility of those foreign governments to report the transactions, NBC News reported last month. Separately, Racine and Frosh argue that Trump has violated a constitutional provision to prevent corruption at home. That provision is designed to ensure that the president will not favor one state over another and bars him from receiving any compensation beyond what is approved by Congress. The attorneys general contended that Trump's presidency has created a situation in which states could feel compelled to make policy decisions that help his businesses. The Justice Department did not respond to CNBC requests for comment.

No clear legal precedent

The lawsuit is the second filed against Trump over emoluments, and it's the first filed by government entities. Watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington sued the president earlier this year. But many aspects of the case are unclear. The Supreme Court has never taken up a case about the foreign emoluments clause, according to the Post. It's therefore not clear how the provision applies to the president. Representatives for Trump have argued that payments for services rendered do not count as a gift as defined by the Constitution. Racine said Monday he thinks the lawsuit will "further develop the record and the law" on the issue. Another possible hurdle for the attorneys general is that they may have to prove that Trump's businesses have caused harm to their own jurisdictions, according to NBC News. That could come by arguing, for example, that Trump's hotel is drawing business away from the taxpayer-owned D.C. convention center. The attorneys general also said they will seek Trump's tax returns as part of the case. The president did not release them as a candidate, bucking decades of precedent for presidential nominees, claiming he cannot because he is under audit. Watch: Mnuchin says administration will follow law
Andy Rubin, the founder of Android, was only able to secure Sprint as a wireless carrier to sell his new Essential smartphone in the U.S., according to USA Today.

One likely reason is that carriers don't seem to be interested in new phones, and mostly stock their shelves with the latest devices from established players such as Samsung, Apple and LG.

Essential will still sell its new Android smartphone, unlocked and without carrier contract for $699. If purchased unlocked, the phone will work on all U.S. carriers.

The U.S. wireless landscape is particularly difficult for new entrants to tap into. Lenovo, for example, bought Motorola Mobility in large part because it already had relationships with , , and .

Newcomers such as Huawei, OnePlus and others have had to seek new methods to sell phones, whether through retailers such as Best Buy and or direct-to-consumer. HTC, once a major smartphone maker in the U.S., was only able to secure Sprint to sell its latest U11 flagship smartphone.
Bourses in Europe provisionally closed lower Monday as investors remained cautious in the wake of the U.K. election and awaited a meeting of the Federal Reserve later this week.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 hit a seven-week low and was 0.94 percent lower at close of play Monday, with most sectors and major bourses moving south. Technology stocks were by far the worst performing sector, down by more than 3.6 percent. The Nasdaq composite hit a record high at the open on Friday before closing 1.8 percent lower. Shares of Apple, Facebook , Amazon , Netflix and Google-parent Alphabet all fell more than 3 percent. These losses continued into Monday with major stock exchanges in the red in early deals.

Semiconductor business STMicroelectronics emerged the biggest loser in Europe, down more than 9 percent at the bottom of the benchmark. Austria Microsys ended the day down 8.3 percent while Dialog Semiconductor was 6.7 percent lower.

Banking stocks also moved lower on Monday despite an upcoming Federal Reserve meeting and expectations that the central bank will raise interest rates. Investors are slightly cautious due to a recent dip in economic data and uncertainty regarding President Trump's policies.

Oil and gas stocks, on the other hand, rose slightly after deep losses last week as investors wait for additional data on global stocks and as the dollar softens. Brent prices were up by about 1.16 percent, trading at $48.71 and the WTI was up by 1.3 percent at $46.44.

International oil and gas company Petrofac led the gains and was at the top of the European benchmark late Monday, up 7.9 percent. Saipem and Tullow Oil came in just beneath, up 5.2 percent and 4.1 percent respectively.

In the corporate world, Unicredit 's CEO Jean Pierre Mustier said he is confident domestic banks will help the two ailing Veneto-based banks. Shares of Italian banks were higher on Monday with Ubi Banca up by 3.45 percent on Monday afternoon. The latter started a capital increase, which is due to end June 27. More broadly, however, banks in Europe were down by more than a percent.

U.K. housebuilders moved higher on Monday recovering some of the losses made on Friday after the hung parliament in the general election.

In France, Orange Chairman Stephane Richard said the French telecom market is unlikely to see a merger among the four mobile operators in the near future.
David Clark, who retired at 62 with the help of the Affordable Care Act, in New London, Conn., May 18, 2017.

In recent years, millions of middle- and working-class Americans have moved from job to job, some staying with one company for shorter stints or shifting careers midstream.

The Affordable Care Act has enabled many of those workers to get transitional coverage that provides a bridge to the next phase of their lives  a stopgap to get health insurance if they leave a job, are laid off, start a business or retire early.

If the Republican replacement plan approved by the House becomes law, changing jobs or careers could become much more difficult.

More from New York Times:

Uber weighs leave of absence for chief executive

Preparing for 'Brexit,' Britons face economic pinch at home

What's the insurance capital without Aetna? Hartford may find out

Across the nation, Americans in their 50s and early 60s, still too young to qualify for Medicare, could be hit hard by soaring insurance costs, especially people now eligible for generous subsidies through the existing federal health care law.

This news scares Fern Warnat, 59. She has gotten insurance on the federal marketplace a couple of times in the last few years. When she and her husband moved from New York to Boca Raton, Fla., she bought a policy for a few months to tide her over until she got coverage from a new job. A year later, she needed to buy insurance again when she found herself unemployed. The policy was expensive  around $800 a month.

"It wasn't easy, but it was available," she said.

Now she worries what would happen under the Republican plan if she left her job at a home health company that provides insurance.

"I need something to be there," she said. "I'm going to be 60 years old. All my conditions pre-exist."

Since the Affordable Care Act was enacted, companies have become less worried about people who want to leave but feel locked into their jobs because of health insurance, said Julie Stone, who works with corporations at Willis Towers Watson, a benefits consultant. The law "removed one of the barriers to leaving your job," she said.

Fewer employers now offer health insurance for their retirees, she said. The other alternative is Cobra, the federal law that requires companies to allow workers to remain on their employer's plan if they pay the full monthly premiums, which are often extremely expensive and out of reach for many people. The coverage generally lasts no more than a year and a half. Cobra was a "Band-Aid on a broken market," Ms. Stone said.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated in an analysis last month that states covering one-sixth of the population would take waivers that allowed insurers to charge people with pre-existing conditions more. It predicted that such consumers "would be unable to purchase comprehensive coverage with premiums close to those under current law and might not be able to purchase coverage at all."

The budget office did note that the House bill would potentially lead to lower prices, especially for younger and healthier people. In most markets, the low premiums would "attract a sufficient number of relatively healthy people to stabilize the market."

But the budget office also warned that markets in states that allowed insurers to charge higher premiums for people with pre-existing conditions  whether high blood pressure, a one-time visit to a specialist or cancer  could become unstable. Some places are already experiencing a dearth of insurers. More companies could exit as they struggled to make money in highly uncertain conditions.

Millions of people could also wind up with little choice but to buy cheap plans that provided minimal coverage in states that opted out of requiring insurers to cover maternity care, mental health and addiction treatment or rehabilitation services, among other services required under the Affordable Care Act. Consumers who could not afford high premiums would wind up with enormous out-of-pocket medical expenses.

The individual market has always been characterized by heavy churn, and insurers struggle to meet the needs of these short-timers, particularly the young and healthy, for whom coverage can be expensive. "It's a huge challenge, even independent of the A.C.A.," said John Graves, a health policy expert at Vanderbilt University.

Insurers say they have had a hard time accurately estimating the medical costs of the changing pool of customers who need relatively short-term coverage and pricing their plans high enough to cover those costs. Aetna, one of the large national insurers that has decided to leave the market, said about half of its customers were new, and it blamed "high churn" as one reason the company lost money.

Older people with potentially the most expensive conditions account for almost 30 percent of those who enrolled for insurance on the exchanges this year.

David Clark wanted to retire from his job at Sam's Club at age 62, three years before he would qualify for Medicare. He and his wife, Phyllis, who now live in Delray Beach, Fla., were not in good health. He has a heart ailment, and she has diabetes. Before passage of the Affordable Care Act, he said, he would have had to keep working.

"We wouldn't have been able to buy insurance at any price," he said.

But he was able to retire and get coverage on one of the marketplaces. "This has been three of the greatest years of our life," said Mr. Clark, who spends much of his time mentoring college students. When he needed triple bypass surgery at age 64, he was covered.

Many people are keenly aware that the existing marketplaces provide a safety net, even if it is far from ideal.

Dr. Marie Valleroy was able to stop working because she could afford to buy insurance on the federal exchange for four years until she was old enough to get Medicare. She has multiple sclerosis, and her symptoms were making it harder for her to see patients in Portland, Ore. "It was time for me to retire, truthfully," she said. Her medications cost upward of $5,000 a month.

And the law made it possible for Bobby Evans, now 35, to move to New Orleans two years ago to be with his girlfriend, now his wife. Because he was working part time until he could find a permanent position, he bought a policy through the state marketplace.

He and his wife have talked about opening their own consulting firm, but the plan is being delayed, he said, depending on what happens with the federal law providing individual insurance. "Health care is a big-time barrier for a lot of people's professional growth," Mr. Evans said.
Toshiba signage is displayed at Hamamatsucho Building, which houses the Toshiba headquarters, in Tokyo, Japan, on Tuesday, March 14, 2017.

Apple , computing giant Dell and Kingston Technology are members of a Foxconn-led consortium bidding for Toshiba's chip unit, the CEO of the world's largest electronics manufacturer told Reuters on Monday.

Terry Gou, Foxconn's founder and chief executive, also said Amazon.com was close to joining and that the Taiwanese firm was also in discussions with Google , Microsoft and Cisco Systems about their participation in the bid.

He declined to comment on the total size of the offer or say how much Apple and other U.S. firms planned to invest in the bid.

"I can tell you Apple is in for sure," Gou said in an interview, adding that its participation had been approved by the Chief Executive Tim Cook and Apple's board of directors.

Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, and its Japanese unit Sharp would have a combined stake of not more than 40 percent, he added.

Representatives for Apple and the other U.S. firms named by Gou could not be immediately reached for comment outside of regular business hours. Sharp declined to comment.
Fuji Xerox , the Japan-based joint venture between Xerox and Fujifilm Holdings, said on Monday that its chairman and three other executives were stepping down over accounting problems discovered at its operations in Australia and New Zealand.

Kenji Sukeno, president and chief operating officer of Fujifilm Holdings, which owns 75 percent of Fuji Xerox, bowed and apologized at a news conference along with other Fujifilm executives.

"We will strengthen corporate governance at Fuji Xerox," Mr. Sukeno said.

More from New York Times:

Uber weighs leave of absence for chief executive

Preparing for 'Brexit,' Britons face economic pinch at home

What's the insurance capital without Aetna? Hartford may find out

Fujifilm had been investigating the way Fuji Xerox sales managers in New Zealand and Australia reported income from photocopier leases. A committee of lawyers and accounting specialists hired by the company concluded that the managers had overstated revenue by 37.5 billion yen, or about $340 million, in the five years through 2016, Fujifilm said on Monday.

The episode carries echoes of other recent accounting scandals that have embarrassed corporate Japan. Toshiba , the sprawling technology conglomerate, is struggling to hold itself together after a series of multibillion-dollar reporting discrepancies and write-downs linked to its United States nuclear power business.

The amount of money involved at Fuji Xerox is much smaller than at Toshiba. But the problems appeared to have a common cause: managers who were unwilling to acknowledge that the business they oversaw was struggling.

How much a customer pays Fuji Xerox for a leased photocopier depends in part on how heavily the customer uses the machine. When the billings fell short of projections, managers in New Zealand and Australia reported inflated numbers in order to to meet revenue targets, the committee of investigators found.

A whistle-blower inside Fuji Xerox, whose name has not been released, initially identified problems at the New Zealand unit in 2015. Fujifilm first disclosed the investigation in April, saying it was investigating what it believed then to be a 22 billion accounting discrepancy. In a report delivered on Saturday, the investigating committee said it had also discovered problems in Australia, Fujifilm said on Monday.

Fujifilm said the committee had also examined accounting practices at leasing operations in Japan and other markets but found nothing inappropriate.

The executives whose resignations Fuji Xerox announced on Monday were Tadahito Yamamoto, the chairman; Haruhiko Yoshida, a deputy president; and two directors, Katsuhiko Yanagawa and Jun Takagi.

They will leave their positions effective June 22, pending approval of their replacements at Fujifilm Holdingst' annual shareholder meeting, Fujifilm said. Shigetaka Komori, chairman and chief executive of Fujifilm Holdings, plans to take on the dual role of chairman of both the parent company and Fuji Xerox.

Senior executives will also take temporary pay cuts of between 10 percent and 30 percent, Fujifilm said.

Fuji Xerox was founded in the 1960s to market Xerox's newly developed "xerographic" office copiers in Japan. Xerox and Fujifilm initially shared ownership, but Xerox sold half its stake to its Japanese partner n 2001, at a time when it was struggling financially.
Jeff Immelt, then-chairman and chief executive officer of General Electric Co, speaks with an attendee during a meeting with President Donald Trump, not pictured, and manufacturing executives in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, D.C.

Members of President Donald Trump's manufacturing council are making moves.

Without implying causation between any course of events, it's true that a handful of the C-suite executives advising Trump on how to grow America's manufacturing sector have recently announced departures from their posts.

The latest exit comes from General Electric , which announced on Monday that its CEO, Jeff Immelt, is stepping down, with GE Healthcare's John Flannery taking over the leadership role later this year.

Just last month, Ford Motor confirmed it would be replacing its chief executive, Mark Fields, with Jim Hackett, who oversees the Ford subsidiary that works on autonomous vehicles.

In mid-April, Klaus Kleinfeld stepped down as chair and CEO of Arconic and resigned from the company's board after he displayed "poor judgment," the company said.

And then there was Mario Longhi, CEO of U.S. Steel , who stepped down from the company's top job in early May. At the time, it remained uncertain if Longhi would stay on Trump's manufacturing panel  the decision is being left up to the White House, he told CNBC.

Even before Trump moved into the White House, Caterpillar CEO Doug Oberhelman announced he would be retiring at the start of the year, more than 41 years after he started with the heavy machinery company. Weakening demand for equipment used in the mining and energy sector had been weighing on Caterpillar's business as Oberhelman stepped down.

If nothing else, these departures highlight just how difficult it is to survive and thrive in the manufacturing industry today, despite Trump's praise of certain companies among this group and promises to pour money back into the sector.

Tesla 's Elon Musk brought the manufacturing group back into the spotlight at the beginning of June, when he announced his departure from three presidential councils. His decision stemmed from Trump's decision that the U.S. will back out of the Paris climate accord, Musk tweeted.
watch now

We have the cleanest fuel in the world, and yet it is being delayed to the consumer. It can offset the pollution of coal, wood.

CNBC: Let's turn to regulations. LNG facilities needs permits.



Hamm: Yes, and it does not make sense! Why do we need a special permit for LNG? You don't need a permit for gasoline or oil. To unleash LNG's potential, we can't have this permit slowdown! Our company is bullish on natural gas, and this permitting process is putting LNG exploration and production on the sidelines. There is no reason why LNG can't be exported like crude oil. I have had talks with Secretary Rick Perry at the Department of Energy, and the length of time it takes to get permits approved is one of the things he said he will get fixed. There is no reason to have this long permitting delay. Government just needs to go down the boxes and check them, make sure safety measures are in place, and permits should be given. Some of the first permits for LNG facilities took five years to pass. Some permits took seven years! The Obama administration held them up. That certainly needs to be remedied. We have the cleanest fuel in the world, and yet it is being delayed to the consumer. It can offset the pollution of coal, wood.



CNBC: How does this change the landscape of energy exports and what does this mean for Qatar, which is the world's largest exporter of natural gas?



Hamm: The Qatar situation certainly brings up the delicate situations that are involved in doing business over there in the Middle East Region. All those tribal factions in Qatar are now coming into play. The fact Iran has been so involved with them is what has brought this about. But this conflict provides opportunity for the United States in exporting our natural gas. We are a neutral nation. Other countries like China or other Qatar customers would not have to worry about anything if they wanted to import U.S. LNG.

I think we will be north of the average $3.50 (for natural gas) by the end of the year. In 2018, I expect the same. Who knows about where prices go after that?

CNBC: The U.S. is in the early innings of LNG exports. The first shipment of U.S. LNG from the lower 48 states left in February 2016. As infrastructure continues to be built out, what kind of LNG export capacity will we be expecting?



Hamm: It does takes time to build out. With the proposed facilities to be built and facilities already permitted, you can be looking at 11 billion cubic feet a day in the next two years.



CNBC: Where do you see nat gas prices going?



Hamm: We are in for very moderate pricing for nat gas for a lot of years going forward. I feel prices are in a fair range. I think we will be north of the average $3.50 by the end of the year. In 2018, I expect the same. Who knows about where prices go after that? I think we have adequate supply for a hundred years. I think north of three dollars may be the new normal. With the quantities of gas that we produce it would give us a good rate of return at Continental from the plays in which we are involved.

(OPEC) decided in January to cut back production. But you have to remember, you need more than 120 days to turn around the impact of the cuts. We are now more than 120 days in, and we are seeing fundamentals changing.
Former presidential hopeful Jeb Bush criticized President Donald Trump's frequent tweeting and lack of focus on passing his agenda in an interview with CNBC at the eMerge Americas conference on Monday in Miami.

Bush, who served as governor of Florida, has been critical of Trump, dubbing him the "chaos candidate" during the presidential campaign. Despite heavy spending, Bush's own presidential run fell far short of expectations in a campaign cycle that rode a wave of populism.

Bush weighed in on a number of political issues, including former FBI Director James Comey's testimony with the Senate Intelligence Committee last week. Bush reaffirmed comments he previously made about how he does not think Comey's testimony indicated Trump committed obstruction of justice. He did say he thought that the president's alleged actions were inappropriate and hurt the country, however.

"Look, I didn't support Donald Trump. I didn't vote for him, but he's our president," Bush said. "I want him to succeed. I wanted Barack Obama to succeed, and anything that undermines the presidency weakens our ability to solve problems."

Bush has not been shy about his thoughts on Trump. Last week at Boston College, Bush urged Trump to focus on his job, according to the Boston Herald. In Las Vegas last month, Bush told the audience that the chaos of the Trump campaign has continued into his presidency, CNN reported. He urged Trump to stop tweeting and start governing.
One of Wall Street's most followed bank analysts has a new job.

Mike Mayo has landed at Wells Fargo .

Mayo was among the many analysts to lose their jobs when CLSA Americas closed its U.S. research offices in February.

In an exclusive interview with CNBC, Mayo called his hiring by Wells Fargo "a great fit." The often-outspoken analyst also said, "Wells Fargo is going to allow Mike Mayo to continue to be Mike Mayo."

Diane Schumaker-Krieg, global head of research, economics and strategy at Wells Fargo Securities, said in a release that "Mike's stature in the industry is well-recognized. We are thrilled to have such an influential voice in this critical sector join our growing platform."

Mayo was very critical of Wells Fargo's former CEO, John Stumpf, after the bank was found to have opened accounts for clients without their permission. Stumpf resigned and more than 5,000 employees were fired.

After Mayo lost his job at CLSA earlier this year he bought one share of many bank stocks so that he could continue his work and gain access to information as a shareholder.

In a CNBC interview in April, Mayo, who was acting as an independent analyst, said, "Banks' balance sheets are the strongest in a generation." His top pick in the sector was Goldman Sachs . Mayo also recently called the bank sector "the Lebron James of the stock market," saying "they have incredible defense, the most resilient balance sheets in a generation, but now with this pro-growth agenda, they might also have a little bit of offense, too."

Mayo officially starts his new job immediately but won't be talking to the media until he gets up to speed in his new role and begins providing research under the name of Wells Fargo.
Political uncertainty has become a dominating factor affecting investor sentiment in Europe.

Last week, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative party lost its majority in the parliament, leaving Britain's political future uncertain. As the Conservatives work to form a coalition to govern, there have been calls for May to step down from her post.

In Italy, as lawmakers move closer to an agreement on a new electoral system, analysts say the likelihood of a general election by fall has increased considerably.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is also up for another term in the upcoming federal election in September. The scales tipped in her favor after her Christian Democratic Union defeated the Social Democrats in a key state election in North Rhine-Westphalia in May.

In this week's Trader Poll, tell us which of these countries could be the first to see a new leader take the helm.
BOZEMAN  Republican congressman-elect Greg Gianforte will not spend any time in jail after he admitted a charge of misdemeanor assault Monday for body slamming a reporter on the eve of his election.

I just want to say Im sorry, Gianforte told Ben Jacobs, the reporter for the Guardian that he assaulted in Bozeman at a campaign event about 24 hours before polls closed.

Gallatin County Justice Court Judge Rick West ordered Gianforte to complete 20 hours of anger management counseling and 40 hours of community service, which must be completed by Nov. 28. Gianforte was given a deferred six-month jail sentence, meaning if he does not violate the conditions of his sentence the charge could be dismissed. Gianforte was also fined $385 and paid $4,646 in restitution.

West initially tried to give Gianforte, 56, a sentence of four days in jail converted to two days in a work program. Work programs, which cut the time of a sentence in half, are not an option in assault cases, however.

When West first tried to sentence Gianforte to the work program, he said he considered how he would sentence someone charged with a similar crime who was not a congressman-elect.

"Looking at the crime itself, even with your (lack of) criminal background and everything you've done, is that something that I would normally in open court, to somebody who came in in jeans and a T-shirt, give them the same sentence?" West asked. "And in an unprovoked attack such as this, I would. In keeping with my standards of the time that I've been a judge, I think some jail time here would be appropriate."

West said he had been contacted by many people who suggested sentences for Gianforte. He called four days in jail covered to two days in the work program not "out of the ordinary."

"This is a standard sentence that I would do on an unprovoked attack or an unprovoked assault. There are ramifications."

It was then brought to West's attention that the work program was not available to those who had committed a violent crime. That prompted him to change the sentence to anger management and community service.

"It is not my intent you spend four days in jail," West said to a small courtroom packed with journalists and some other members of the public. "I do not think that would serve the community or the taxpayers."

West said he felt anger management was necessary since Gianforte, who will go to Washington, D.C. under heavy scrutiny, could not handle questions from a single reporter.

Motioning around the courtroom, he said Its not a lot of cameras compared to what youre going to see at the White House.

West referenced Gianforte's charitable giving in the Bozeman community and around the state when deliberating the sentence, but also said Gianforte's unprovoked attack overshadowed that.

Gianforte has no prior criminal history. His attorneys objected to the congressman-elect going to the jail to collect booking information. If booked, his mugshot would be taken. It was unclear if a law passed out of the last state Legislature that gives a judge discretion over whether a person is booked applies in this case. Gianforte's attorneys and Gallatin County Attorney Marty Lambert will file briefs on the matter this month.

Jacobs, wearing a suit and new pair of glasses that replaced the ones broken in the attack, read to the court from a prepared statement. He spoke quietly enough the judge had to ask him to speak up.

Jacobs described the day of the attack, saying he had entered a room to ask Gianforte a question.

"I was just doing my job," Jacobs said. "Mr. Gianforte's response was to slam me to the floor and start punching me."

After the attack, Jacobs said Gianforte then sent an "inflammatory public statement in which he insisted this unprovoked ... attack was somehow my fault."

When pressed by the judge, Gianforte at first did not give clear details on the assault but later said he grabbed for Jacobs' phone, ended up grabbing his wrists instead and a "scuffle" ensued where both men fell to the ground.

In the hours after the assault, Gianfortes spokesman Shane Scanlon sent out a press release saying that Jacobs grabbed Gianfortes wrist and pulled both men to the ground. Scanlons release also called Jacobs a liberal reporter.

In his apology letter to Jacobs, Gianforte wrote Notwithstanding anyones statement to the contrary, you did not initiate any physical contact with me, and I had no right to assault you. Neither Gianforte nor his staff have clarified why a false statement was sent out after the assault.

After the court hearing, Gianforte cut off questions from reporters before he could be asked about why his campaign sent out a false statement.

A handful of protesters were outside the Law and Justice Center after court ended. They held up signs saying "Lock him up," "Shame" and "Justice vs. White Christian Privilege."

Jackie Crandall drove up from Roberts that morning to protest. "I think Greg Gianforte got special treatment," she said. "If he wasn't rich and powerful, he would be in jail. If he was black, he would be in jail."

After court adjourned, Lambert said he was happy with the sentencing.

"It's good for Ben Jacobs to have this behind him. It's good for Greg Gianforte to have this behind him. It's good for the people of Montana to have this behind them."

Last week, Jacobs and Gianforte announced they reached a civil settlement that included Gianforte writing an apology letter and donating $50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Jacobs did not receive any financial benefit from the settlement, which precludes any further civil action.

Jacobs said that after the apology, hes confident (Gianforte) will be a strong advocate for the free press.

In his statement, Jacobs touched on the nature of political discourse, which has become increasingly aggressive and violent.

During his campaign last fall, President Donald Trump openly stoked rage toward the media and dismissed coverage he did not like as "fake news." In May, a reporter was arrested at the West Virginia State Capitol after trying to ask Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price and presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway a question. A reporter with CQ Roll Call was held against a wall by security at the Federal Communications Commission and then kicked out for trying to talk to a commissioner. Also in May, shots were fired at the office of the Lexington Herald-Leader in Kentucky.

This needs to stop, Jacobs said. There will always be fundamental political disagreements in our society. However, it cannot become personal and it certainly should not become violent.

Gianfortes apology and the court proceedings, Jacobs said, send "a strong message about the necessity for civil discourse and the role of the free press.

Jacobs on Monday said he'd like to interview Gianforte after he arrives in Washington, D.C., something Gianforte said he looked forward to.

Gianforte attacked Jacobs when he asked him a question about a health care bill at a campaign barbecue in Bozeman. Jacobs entered a room where Gianforte was preparing for another interview, and audio captured by the reporter shows the then-candidate quickly lost his temper.

In the recording, Jacobs can be heard asking about the American Health Care Act. An altercation can be heard, followed by Jacobs saying Gianforte body-slammed him and broke his glasses. Gianforte then yelled Get the hell out of here.

A Fox News reporter who saw the assault later reported Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him.

Gianforte defeated Democrat Rob Quist by 6 percentage points to win Montanas lone U.S. House seat, vacated when Ryan Zinke became Secretary of the Interior. Its unclear when he will be seated; election results will be certified June 15.

Though Gianfortes court hearing is over, it's unclear if there will be any consequences when he is seated in the U.S. House. Earlier this month a group of several national journalism organizations called for congressional and ethics investigations into Gianfortes actions.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny attends a mass march marking the one-year anniversary of the killing of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov on February 27, 2016 in Moscow, Russia.

Alexei Navalny, Russian President Vladimir Putin's leading political opponent, has been detained at his home hours before he was due to take to the streets of Moscow in protest, his wife has revealed.

Navalny's wife Yulia Navalny wrote on Twitter that he had been held at his home by the Russian police but struck a defiant tone, vowing "our plans haven't changed."

In part of his on-going battle against the Kremlin, Navalny had earlier urged Russians to take to the streets Monday in anti-corruption protests. Navalny, who is mounting a long-shot bid to replace President Putin in next year's election, has suffered a series of arrests for his protests against the state. Most recent was in March when he, and up to 1,000 others, were arrested during rallies which aimed to unseat Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev over corruption concerns.

Despite the events in March, several thousand protesters, including many young people, took to the streets again Monday to rally against the Putin regime.

Protesters were heard chanting "Russia without Putin" and "Russia will be free", according to Reuters reporters on the ground in Moscow.

The same reports cited the arrests of more than 100 people on the streets of Moscow, and dozens more in St. Petersburg.

Navalny had previously received permission from the authorities to stage Monday's protests, which coincide with an official holiday known as Russia Day. However, on Sunday Navalny announced he would be relocating the marches to Moscow's main street near the Kremlin, claiming that the authorities had pressured companies into not providing sound equipment.

The General Prosecutor's Office said prior to the event that protests in this new location would be unlawful, adding that it would take measures to prevent disorder.

The Kremlin has previously denied all allegations of corruption though was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.

Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook.
If President Donald Trump recorded his White House conversations, the Secret Service does not have copies, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The Secret Service said it does not have "audio copies or transcripts" of any recordings taken within the Trump White House, according to the Journal, which filed a freedom of information request.

That does not rule out another entity having them, the newspaper reported.

Trump said last month that former FBI Director James Comey "better hope that there are no 'tapes'" of their conversations, days after the president abruptly fired Comey. The former FBI chief said that message prompted him to release the contents of memos he wrote about his conversations with Trump.

In those conversations, Comey said, Trump asked him for a loyalty pledge and requested that he end a probe into former national security advisor Michael Flynn. Those explosive allegations have raised questions about whether Trump tried to influence the FBI's probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible ties between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin.

When he testified before the Senate last week, Comey said, "Lordy, I hope there are tapes" of the conversations.

The Secret Service "handled recording systems within the White House for past presidents," according to the Journal.

Trump said at a news conference Friday that he would reveal if he taped the conversations "over a very short period of time."

Read the full Journal report here.
Congressional support for a probe into TransDigm's pricing model is getting louder.

CNBC has obtained a copy of a letter sent by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., last month to the U.S. Department of Defense asking for an investigation into the aerospace component supplier's business.

"As a member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, I have also been monitoring reports that suggest TransDigm WorldWide has used a variety of tactics to avoid sharing cost information with the government for parts for which it is the sole source supplier," Warren wrote in the letter to the DOD's acting inspector general, Glenn Fine, on May 19.

"These reports further show that TransDigm has unreasonably raised prices on many parts shortly after completing acquisitions of the companies that produce them," she wrote.

Warren's call for a probe into the aerospace component supplier follows similar requests from U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio.

Abusing taxpayer money has been a hot topic in Washington, and it is something Warren referenced in her letter as well.

"I look forward to working with your office, and the Department of Defense to ensure that our service members continue to receive the best made equipment while also ensuring that taxpayers continue to receive fair value," wrote Warren to the DOD.

Comments from Warren on TransDigm come as Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis is set to testify in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee this week.

Meantime, TransDigm competitors have also joined the fight.

Following Khanna's comments in March, First Aviation Services' Senior Vice President Josh Krotec wrote to the Defense Department on May 30 saying, "[W]e appreciate Mr. Khanna's shining a light on the tactics that TransDigm uses to create the appearance of competition, while actually protecting (or strengthening) TransDigm's monopoly positions and pricing power over [the] DoD."

TransDigm's alleged use of anticompetitive practices and unfair price hikes of its components post-acquisition has been the central argument behind why Citron Research's Andrew Left has been calling the company the "Valeant of the Aerospace Industry."

"TransDigm acquires airplane parts companies (over 50 in total), fires employees, and egregiously raises prices. This business model has made them a dominant supplier of airplane parts to the aerospace industry while burdening its balance sheet with sky-high debt load," wrote the hedge-fund manager in a report to clients on Jan. 20.

The controversy surrounding TransDigm has garnered the attention of other hedge-fund investors.

According to Factset, which has compiled data from the latest filings, Tiger Global Management is the third-largest holder of TransDigm with a 7.7 percent stake. Other investors, according to Factset, include "Tiger Cub" Blue Ridge Capital, Voya Investment and Principal Global Investors.

The Financial Times has reported that Sophos Capital is short the stock.

So far, the bulls have been winning the race, with TransDigm shares up 8 percent year to date as of Friday's close. However, after word of Warren's letter was made public, the company's share fell about 4 percent Monday.

CNBC requested a comment from TransDigm, but has not yet heard back.
The Senate's push to repeal and replace Obamacare is looking like a game of "I've Got a Secret."

A new report says Senate Republicans are expected to wrap up drafting a bill to reform Obamacare by Monday night.

But Axios.com also reports that GOP leaders don't plan to show that bill to the public  yet.

"We aren't stupid," one of two senior GOP Senate aides told Axios.

"We are still in discussions about what will be in the final product so it is premature to release any draft absent further member conversations and consensus."

Axios noted that Senate Republicans want to vote on the bill before their July 4 recess, and that they expect the bill to be analyzed by the Congressional Budget Office before that planned vote.

CNBC has reached out to the press office for Senate Republicans for comment on the report.

The GOP needs just 50 votes to pass their health-care bill in Senate, given the availability of Vice President Mike Pence to break any tie vote. But Republicans can only afford to lose support for the bill from just two of their 52 senators for that legislation to pass.

The House of Representatives' version of a health-care reform bill, the American Health Care Act, passed the House in May by just a single "yes" vote, which was held before it was analyzed by the CBO. That nonpartisan office later estimated that the AHCA would lead to 23 million more Americans lacking health insurance by 2026 than would be the case if Obamacare remained intact.

The House's bill is broadly unpopular with the general public, multiple surveys have found. The Quinnipiac University Poll released last Thursday found that 62 percent of American voters disapprove of the Republican health-care plan, compared with just 17 percent who approve of it. That is a worsening of support for the plan since May 25, when the same poll found 57 percent of voters disapproved of it, and 20 percent approved.

Republicans, who for years have harshly criticized Democrats for passing Obamacare to law without a single vote in favor of it from a GOP member of Congress, have fast-tracked their own health-care reform bill in a way that is freezing out Democratic participation in its crafting.

The bill is being written by a small group of GOP senators. And Republican leaders in the Senate have no plans to hold hearings on the bill before holding a vote, just as GOP leaders in the House held no hearings on their own version of an Obamacare replacement before passing it.

On Thursday, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., lambasted Republican counterparts during a committee hearing where Health and Human Services Department Secretary Tom Price was testifying.

"I heard you, Mr. Secretary, just say, 'We'd love your support,' " McCaskill said. "For what? We don't even know. We have no idea what's being proposed. There's a group of guys in a back room somewhere that are making these decisions. There were no hearings in the House.""

"You couldn't have a more partisan exercise than what you're engaged in right now," she said. "We're not going to have hearings on a bill that impacts one-sixth of our economy."

On Monday, Tom Perez, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said, "The American people deserve a transparent legislative process with public hearings and input from experts."

"Behind closed doors, 13 Senate Republicans are crafting a mammoth piece of legislation that could dismantle the entire health care system and deprive 23 million more Americans of access to care, while causing unnecessary spikes in premiums for low-income families, older Americans, and those with pre-existing conditions," Perez said.

"Eight years ago, Democrats passed health care legislation the right way  holding public hearings, meeting with experts, listening to voters, and accepting amendments. With so much at stake, Republicans in Congress owe their constituents the same legislative transparency."
Todd Wawrychuk | Getty Images

Small business owners fear setting short term or long term goals because they are afraid to fail. Even successful ones don't want to set expectations in case they don't reach them. During a great meeting with Miguel, one of the six business owners from Bristol, we talked at length about how well he is doing (I won't name his business until the series comes out this Fall). Yet when we discussed setting goals to achieve greater success, he balked. His reluctance isn't surprising. In fact it is all too common. Miguel provides a needed, and exceptional service, and he boasts a loyal customer base. He schedules his time and that of his team. He is the accountant, marketer, strategist, custodian and more. His business is doing fine, so setting a target he may not achieve can seem like failure. But is isn't.

Greg Doherty | Getty Images
French President Emmanuel Macron at a press conference at the Chancellery on May 15, 2017 in Berlin, Germany.

French President Emmanuel Macron's nascent political party has stormed past its traditional rivals in the first round of voting in parliamentary elections which took place Sunday.

The result supports predictions that Macron will secure a whopping majority in the second round, thereby paving the way for him to implement his pro-business agenda.

According to the French Interior Ministry, Macron's La Republique En Marche! movement  in alliance with the centrist MoDem party  gained 32.32 percent of the vote.

France's right wing Republican party, allied with the Union of Democrats and Independents, secured 18.80 percent. They were tailed by Marine Le Pen's far-right National Front at 13.20 percent and the left wing Socialists who are the party of former President Francois Hollande at 7.44 percent.

A second round of voting for candidates who scored above 12.5 percent (securing above 25 percent of votes first time round counts as an outright win) will take place on June 18, after which Reuters reports that Macron could hold power over as many as 445 seats in the 577-strong National Assembly. Many of the En Marche! candidates have little or no political experience due to Macron's pledge to cleanse France's political establishment.

But voter turnout, at an historic low of 48.71 percent, called the strength of Macron's mandate into question.
The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust of Vancouver, Washington, recently awarded the Billings Community Foundation a three-year, $134,000 grant for the hiring of the local foundation's first-ever executive director.

According to a news release, the foundation will have to raise matching funds during the second and third years of the grant.

Billings Community Foundation, a nonprofit and tax-exempt organization, is governed by local residents and promotes philanthropy and charitable giving in the region. Learn more at www.billingscommunityfoundation.org.

The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, created by the will of the late Melvin J. (Jack) Murdock, provides grants to organizations in five states  Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Alaska. Grants are focused on strengthening the regions educational and cultural base in creative and sustainable ways. Learn more at www.murdocktrust.org.
Getty Images

The Providence Crosstown Clinic is decorated with posters espousing the sort of medical advice you might expect at any other doctor's office: Cover your cough, wash your hands, don't use antibiotics to treat the flu, and ask staff if you need any help. In the main treatment room, a familiar smell of rubbing alcohol lingers in the air  the kind of scent I associate with getting a vaccine shot. At Crosstown, the smell is the remnants of the medicine that 130 to 150 patients inject themselves with multiple times a day at the clinic. Except the injection here isn't a vaccine. It's medical-grade heroin. More from Vox:

Obamacare is in real danger

A tweet from Trump's legal team shows he doesn't understand what being president is about

Newbery Honor-winning author Megan Whalen Turner on writing new twists for the same character A clinic where patients use heroin may sound shocking and irresponsible, particularly now, as a deadly and devastating opioid epidemic ravages North America. But this approach is meant to treat the victims of that epidemic.

There are some people who are going to  no matter what  just continue to inject. These are people who are literally waiting to die if they don't have access to a supervised consumption facility. David Juurlink Doctor who studies the opioid epidemic at the University of Toronto

The idea is this: If some people are going to use heroin no matter what, it's better to give them a safe source of the stuff and a safe place to inject it, rather than letting them pick it up on the street  laced with who knows what  and possibly overdose without medical supervision. Patients can not only avoid death by overdose but otherwise go about their lives without stealing or committing other crimes to obtain heroin. And it isn't some wild-eyed theory; the scientific research almost unanimously backs it up, and Crosstown's own experience shows it can make a difference in drug users' lives. "People are forced into the illicit stream of opioids because they can't get legal access to meet their opioid needs," said Scott MacDonald, Crosstown's head physician. "So they will access whatever is available and least expensive." Crosstown represents an international move toward providing a full spectrum of care for people who are addicted to drugs. It isn't a first-line defense against opioid addiction, and it's not going to solve the crisis by itself. But for a fraction of opioid users suffering from addiction (maybe about 10 to 15 percent), other treatments won't produce good results, almost certainly leading users to relapse  and possibly overdose and die. To combat this cycle, Crosstown offers these opioid users medical-grade heroin (called "diacetylmorphine"). Under supervision, nurses are at the ready with the overdose antidote naloxone and oxygen tanks in case of an emergency. These patients are the people for whom other treatments have failed. It's a last resort. And it works. Since 2011, the clinic has seen about 200 patients. None of them, MacDonald said, have died under the clinic's supervision. In fact, as far as he can tell, no one has died at any prescription heroin facility due to an overdose  not in Canada, Switzerland, Germany, or the Netherlands. "So relatively safe," I said. "Yes," MacDonald said. "Well, not even relatively. It's safe." Heroin-assisted treatment has been used in the UK since 1926. But it's gained more international attention in the past couple of decades thanks to Switzerland's embrace of it in the 1990s. Twenty-one clinics there (and a prison program) now deploy the treatment. Due to the opioid epidemic, the approach is now getting more attention in the US  MacDonald even testified in front of Congress last year. But Crosstown is still the only clinic of its kind in North America. And despite its success, the concept of a full spectrum of addiction care, including heroin-assisted treatment, isn't even close to reality in the US  which is experiencing its deadliest drug overdose crisis in history and which, report after report has found, often doesn't offer even the bare minimum of addiction care. A clinic like Crosstown, though, provides a beacon for how the country can move forward as it tackles its opioid epidemic.

Crosstown's lifesaving work

A line of about a dozen patients quietly formed at the door to the injection room at Crosstown. One of them approached MacDonald as I stood to the side. "Thank you for saving my life," he said. As MacDonald and I shuffled through patients to his office, I asked him how often this sort of thing happens. "Daily," he said. Crosstown is run like a standard doctor's office. Outside the injection room, clients patiently sit in waiting rooms, chatting about their families, getting and keeping a job, and, of course, their drug treatment. It's a typical clinical setting, aside from the people injecting heroin just a few steps away. When it's their turn, patients will line up, go into the injection room, get the drug prescribed to them, and inject it. The room is surrounded by mirrors that make it impossible to hide from your own image  and, helpfully for staff, make it hard for patients to do anything without getting caught, like smuggle drugs out of the room. When they're done, the patients move on with their days  to the kind of school, work, and family that just about any other person can expect to have. The clinic has been open since 2011, residing in a downtown building that used to be a bank (as the old-timey vault in Crosstown's basement shows). Although the concept of heroin-assisted treatment has been around for decades, the recent opioid crisis has led Canada  and particularly British Columbia  to step up the work, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau enacting rules in 2016 to potentially expand the treatment. In 2015, the latest year with data, drug overdoses killed more than 52,000 people in the US, and more than 33,000 of those deaths were linked to opioids. The total drug overdoses dwarf car crashes (more than 38,000 deaths in 2015), gun deaths (more than 36,000 that year), and even HIV/AIDS at its peak (more than 43,000 in 1995). Canada and particularly Vancouver haven't been spared. As I heard repeatedly while visiting the city in April, there were nearly 1,000 drug overdose deaths in British Columbia in 2016  an unprecedented death toll in a province of around 4.7 million people. Vancouver's city officials say the clinic is part of their comprehensive approach to the growing drug crisis. "For people who are in care with us, we've not had a single opioid overdose death," MacDonald said. "We're like a bubble immune to this  at least, knock on wood, today." Even within the context of the opioid epidemic, recent events had made approaches like Crosstown's more urgent. City officials estimate that more than 80 percent of the heroin bought in the streets is now contaminated with deadlier, more potent opioids like fentanyl and its analogs. On the street, someone might unknowingly shoot up these drugs, which their tolerance can't handle, and overdose. But in a clinical setting like Crosstown, doctors and nurses can ensure the heroin they supply is not laced with these chemicals. As Maryland-based drug policy experts Bryce Pardo and Peter Reuter wrote in a recent editorial in the Baltimore Sun, "Heroin-assisted therapy addresses the immediate overdose threat posed by fentanyl  something naloxone attempts to do after the fact. Prescribed heroin use in a clinical and supervised setting ensures that users are not consuming fentanyl and that staff are on hand should something go wrong." Vancouver offers a glimpse at how this would work in North America. And so far, it's working very well.

A patient's lifelong struggle  until now

One Crosstown patient, John Pinkney, can trace his drug use back to the age of 6, when he was first prescribed Ritalin. By his 20s, he was using heroin and other street drugs. Now in his late 50s, he says his life is in a much better place. He has a part-time job. He brags about owning a television and furniture  the kinds of things others might take for granted, but were hard-fought for someone struggling with drug addiction. "I have a two-bedroom apartment," Pinkney said. "I have things. I got my TV and my pet and living room furniture and bedroom furniture. You know, it's like I got my life back." None of this, he said, would be possible for him without the Crosstown Clinic. Pinkney laughed nervously as he retold his story. He was an orphan, passed around from home to home until at around 8 years old he ended up with "a middle-class, government family" in Edmonton, Canada. His mom was abusive  chasing him around the house, beating him, and at one point even threatening him with a knife. Around age 14, Pinkney ran away from home  "too much violence," he said  and was cut off from his Ritalin prescription. Despite attempts to buy it off the street, the lack of a steady prescription, he said, made him feel like he was "missing something." In his 20s, he filled that void with illicit substances like heroin. He eventually ended up in prison for several years, following a series of robberies for money to buy drugs. Pinkney heard of the Crosstown program a few years ago from his brother-in-law, who is also a heroin user. Pinkney  along with his wife, who also used heroin  decided to check it out. It changed his life. "Within the first month and a half, I was able to go back to school," Pinkney said. "Just by the mere fact of coming here, I didn't have to worry about where my money was going. I didn't have to go spend all my money on drugs." This proved a massive change for Pinkney. Previously, he estimates he and his wife were spending $500 a day on drugs. To pay for that, his wife "worked the street," and he, for some time, stole and scavenged trash cans and dumpsters ("binning") for things to sell. When they became patients at Crosstown  which is covered by government-provided insurance  they both were able to stop doing illegal or unsafe work to buy drugs. Pinkney now feels like his life is on track. He works a part-time job as a security guard at an apartment building, and he gets disability insurance. He also regularly talks to media about his experience, fashioning himself as an advocate for heroin-assisted treatment. Last year, he injected his prescription heroin in front of thousands of live viewers for the New York Times. Above all, though, Pinkney is proud that his life is fairly normal now. That doesn't mean the treatment is easy. He comes to the clinic three times a day for heroin  in the morning, in the afternoon, and at night. This is typical for more frequent heroin users and standard for the clinic. The drug's effects wear off quickly, so patients need to go back to it multiple times a day to avoid withdrawal. Yet even two or three visits a day may not be enough for some, so the clinic offers some patients a dose of methadone, an opioid often used in medication-assisted treatment, in their evening session so they can get through the night before their morning session. For Pinkney, this busy schedule isn't too much of a burden. And even if it were, the alternative  going back to hustling for drugs that might be laced with more lethal chemicals  is worse. "When you look at the social consequences of that, it's far superior going at this route than going the other route," he said. Before starting heroin-assisted treatment, Pinkney tried Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. He tried Christian-based treatment centers. Even methadone didn't work for him. So he continued using heroin, even while on methadone. After decades of struggles, Crosstown gave him a much-needed way out.

The research shows heroin-assisted treatment works

The idea of treating opioid addiction with opioids isn't new. For years, doctors have prescribed the opioids methadone and buprenorphine to get users off more dangerous opioids like heroin and traditional painkillers. When taken as prescribed, methadone and buprenorphine eliminate someone's cravings for opioids and withdrawal symptoms  to help avoid relapse  without producing the kind of euphoric high that heroin or more traditional painkillers can. These drugs, used in medication-assisted treatment, are largely considered the best form of care for opioid addiction. The research on this point is, frankly, indisputable, with public health groups like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the World Health Organization all acknowledging methadone and buprenorphine's medical value. Medication-assisted treatments don't work for everyone, though; up to 40 percent of opioid users don't respond well to methadone or buprenorphine. Pinkney complained of bone aches on methadone, while MacDonald noted that some patients feel symptoms such as nausea, headaches, and fatigue. For others, even high doses of these drugs are simply ineffective. "When treating any medical condition, no one substance will work for everybody," MacDonald said. "Methadone and Suboxone [buprenorphine] are great treatments. They work for many people. But what are we going to offer those folks [they are] not working for, continue using illicit opioids, [and] are forced into crime in order to get the medication that they need?" For some of these patients, heroin-assisted treatment can help. Researchers credit Switzerland's program with reductions in drug-related crimes and improvements in social functioning, such as stabilized housing and employment. Canadianstudies also deemed heroin maintenance effective for treating heavy heroin users. A review of the research  which included randomized controlled trials from Switzerland, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Canada, and the UK  reached similar conclusions, noting sharp drops in street heroin use among people in treatment. One of the Canadian studies, the results of a randomized controlled trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine, put the promise of heroin maintenance treatment this way: In this trial, both diacetylmorphine [heroin] treatment and optimized methadone maintenance treatment resulted in high retention and response rates. Methadone, provided according to best-practice guidelines, should remain the treatment of choice for the majority of patients. However, there will continue to be a subgroup of patients who will not benefit even from optimized methadone maintenance. Prescribed, supervised use of diacetylmorphine appears to be a safe and effective adjunctive treatment for this severely affected population of patients who would otherwise remain outside the health care system. As the study notes, the treatment is typically available as a kind of second, third, or last resort  for patients who just haven't had success with other kinds of care. "There are some people who are going to  no matter what  just continue to inject," David Juurlink, a doctor who studies the opioid epidemic at the University of Toronto, told me. "These are people who are literally waiting to die if they don't have access to a supervised consumption facility." The approach is not without detractors. The International Task Force on Strategic Drug Policy, for one, argues that programs like Vancouver's "promote the false notion that there are safe or responsible ways to use drugs." The group argues that this kind of program  and other harm reduction strategies  weakens the social stigma against drugs, leading more people to try and use these dangerous substances. But the danger here isn't whether someone is using drugs; most Americans, after all, use caffeine or alcohol regularly throughout their lives with few problems. Drug use transforms into addiction, according to the definition provided by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, when using drugs begins hurting someone's function  by, for example, leading them to steal or commit other crimes to obtain heroin, or, in the worst case scenario, death. Heroin-assisted treatment relieves this problem: It gives patients a safe place to get their heroin without resorting to bad behaviors. Still, experts and those involved in Crosstown emphasize it's not a first-line treatment. For instance, MacDonald said Health Canada, which covers the care provided at Crosstown for some patients, requires a laundry list of qualifications for coverage: 18 years or older, at least five years of opioid use, regular illicit opioid use in the past year, current use of illicit opioids, physical or psychological complications as a result of opioid use, and previous attempts to get drug treatment, particularly medication-assisted treatment like methadone or buprenorphine. So even if this treatment method spreads throughout North America, it's never going to be a matter of just walking into the clinic and getting some heroin  as can happen at "medical" marijuana dispensaries in the US today. Also, clinics like Crosstown aren't just about supplying heroin; they offer a chance to link drug users to other forms of aid, including social workers, other health care and treatments, and, potentially, a plan to wean people off opioids altogether. "With time, a third to half the people step down to oral options, like methadone, or to abstinence," MacDonald said. "But we don't arbitrarily say, 'Okay, you've been with us for six months. It's time to reduce your dose.' There's a study out of Belgium  they have injectable treatment there  that shows if you just arbitrarily stop people, they will go back to using illicit opioids."

The US fails to provide full addiction care

In the US, more than 20 million Americans suffer from some form of drug addiction  about 8 percent of the adolescent and adult population. According to the surgeon general, "That number is similar to the number of people who suffer from diabetes, and more than 1.5 times the annual prevalence of all cancers combined (14 million)." But there's still so much we don't know about how addiction works. We don't even know why it afflicts some people but not others, and why some treatments work for certain individuals but not large segments of the population. In this environment, experts argue, it's best to provide a spectrum of options that can help all sorts of different patients with various kinds of individualized problems. "It's just like any other chronic disease," Keith Ahamad, a clinical researcher at the University of British Columbia, told me. "We need a stepwise approach to managing patients. If you're not able to engage and stabilize patients on less intensive treatment, then, like you do for other chronic conditions, you step them up to more intensive treatment modalities." Yet while Canada considers expanding heroin-assisted treatment, the US isn't able to meet the medical needs of as many as 90 percent of patients with drug use disorders, based on the surgeon general's 2016 addiction report. The treatment that does exist is often ineffective. Much of the focus in the US is on abstinence, which is potentially dangerous for opioids. If someone quits heroin cold turkey, they're going to quickly lose the tolerance they developed over years of use. So if they relapse (which is expected in addiction medicine), they may overdose after they try the quantities of heroin they were used to before. But groups like the Drug Free America Foundation (which did not respond to multiple requests for comment) say that abstinence is necessary, arguing that anything short of it is simply masking and even enabling dangerous drug use. Addiction experts disagree with this view, but it's prevalent in the US  sometimes with deadly results. In 2013, Judge Frank Gulotta Jr. in New York ordered an opioid user arrested for drugs, Robert Lepolszki, off methadone treatment. In January 2014, Lepolszki died of a drug overdose at 28 years old  a direct result, Lepolszki's parents say, of failing to get the medicine he needed. In his defense, Gulotta has continued to argue that methadone programs "are crutches  they are substitutes for drugs and drug cravings without enabling the participant to actually rid him or herself of the addiction." In the case of Lepolszki, methadone seemed key to saving his life. While this is one case, the idea that using methadone, buprenorphine, or other opioids for treatment is simply "replacing one drug with another"  without any consideration for the broader context of how the replacement drug is used  is a standard misconception in America. Meanwhile, Vancouver's government is moving forward with the full spectrum of care, including Crosstown. Chris Van Veen, the lead urban health planner for Vancouver, told me, "Unfortunately with addiction, there's no silver bullet. Any treatment that we have doesn't have very high success rates. Traditional abstinence treatments have incredibly low success rates." That, he said, is why it's important to let people "have access to as many treatment options as possible." This won't stop all drug overdose deaths. British Columbia is still suffering from a very bad opioid crisis, even though it already does many of the things that experts think the US health care system should do in response to drug addiction  from heroin-assisted treatment to medication-assisted therapy to other kinds of prevention and rehabilitation. But adopting an approach like Vancouver's would, experts say, at least help greatly reduce the death toll.

How one US city is trying to move forward
A bidder on eBay offered nearly $2.7 million to have lunch with the billionaire investor Warren Buffett, as part of an annual auction to benefit a nonprofit organization in San Francisco.

The winner, who was not named, offered $2,679,001 just minutes before the five-day auction closed on Friday. He or she, along with up to seven friends, will share a lunch with Mr. Buffett at Smith & Wollensky in Manhattan.

Mr. Buffett, the chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, has been participating in this event since 2000. The money raised goes to support Glide, a nonprofit organization in San Francisco that provides a variety of services for poor and marginalized people including food  almost 800,000 meals per year  shelter and child care.

More from The New York Times:

Rough treatment of journalists in the Trump Era

Cleveland police officer who shot Tamir Rice is fired

Video shows police appearing to kick man on fire, after he emerged from wreck

Glide has an annual budget of $18 million, Janice Mirikitani and Reverend Cecil Williams, the organization's founders, said in a telephone interview.

"Mr. Buffett's contribution through this auction is very, very important to us," Ms. Mirikitani said, adding that the organization's leaders were "thrilled" this past week as they watched the bidding offers rise.

The auction was not always hosted on eBay. The first winner in 2000, Pete Budlong, a technology entrepreneur, placed a winning bid of $25,000 at a lively, in-person auction in San Francisco that was hosted by the actress Sharon Stone and the comedian Robin Williams.

That gave Mr. Budlong, now 52, the opportunity to spend hours chatting with Mr. Buffett, his then-wife, Susan Buffett, and seven friends at a San Francisco restaurant. (Also in attendance, briefly, was Mr. Williams, who had asked Mr. Budlong at the auction if he could stop by.)

Over lunch they discussed technology, a field Mr. Buffett was at the time largely shying away from, and traded jokes.

"It was a conversational, pretty chill lunch," Mr. Budlong said, calling Mr. Buffett "folksy, down to earth and legitimately funny."
Lest you think this is an article about how to find cheap airfare to Hawaii or how to get that five-star hotel at a two-star price, let me be clear: I have no tips on these covetable items.

I do, however, have some handy advice for how to plan a stress-free vacation. And, no, I'm not going to tell you to practice yoga or pack in advance or get to the airport early (though none of those things are bad ideas). Rather, I'd like to encourage you to consider the ways that advance planning can allow you more freedom to truly unplug from work and get the recharge you need, thereby making your time off the best it can be.

More from The Muse:

The stupid easy way to make going on vacation way less stressful

The honest out-of-office message that no one will ever really write

My super easy trick to returning from a vacation without feeling stressed

Admittedly, I'm one of those people who likes to plan. (I may or may not have my vacations semi-planned through the beginning of 2019.) Because of my planning instincts, I've always requested PTO as far in advance as possible and was surprised recently when a close friend told me on a Monday that she'd decided to take Friday off because she wanted to go on a road trip.

"And your boss was fine with that?" I'd asked incredulously.

"Yeah, I have plenty of days left," she answered as though it were no big deal.

She might have the unused vacation days, and, granted, she wasn't giving her manager four days' notice for time off of any significant length, but it still seemed terribly last-minute to me.

So it was no surprise that a survey from Office Team revealed the finding that in summer months 32 percent of people are guilty of "not planning well for vacations." For what it's worth, 22 percent of employees had "unexplained absences," which suggests the possibility that a long weekend away was decided on the spur of the moment, making the employee suddenly, unexpectedly absent. These were both  understandably so  deemed negative behaviors.
President Donald Trump faces another lawsuit, this time from the attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia, over an alleged Constitutional conflict of interest stemming from his ownership in a Washington, D.C. hotel.



The suit alleges that Trump hasn't gone far enough to separate himself from his ownership of a luxury Washington hotel that has hosted multiple foreign delegations since he was sworn in as president.



"Foreign governments are spending money there in order to curry favor with the president," Karl Racine, attorney general for the District of Columbia, told reporters Monday. "We are a nation of laws, and no one, including the president of the United States, is above the law."

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.



The president's ongoing ethical difficulties result from his refusal to divest himself of a sprawling network of more than 500 properties that he has amassed in more than three decades as a celebrity entrepreneur.
Shale oil production in the United States is expected to jump again in July, marking the fourth straight month the Department of Energy has forecast monthly growth above 100,000 barrels a day.

watch now

The department's U.S. Energy Information Administration on Monday projected crude oil output will rise by 127,000 barrels a day next month in several of the nation's shale basins, where producers use advanced drilling methods like hydraulic fracturing to squeeze oil and natural gas from rock formations. In July, total output from these resources is expected to reach nearly 5.5 million barrels a day, according to EIA.

Output growth in the shale fields has driven a 10 percent recovery in the country's overall crude production since September. More drillers can break even or turn a profit on new production since oil prices rose above $50 a barrel last winter, when OPEC and 11 other exporters agreed to cut their output in order to balance the market. The biggest gains are once again expected to come from the Permian basin, the center of the U.S. oil recovery located primarily in western Texas and part of eastern New Mexico. EIA projects production in the Permian will rise by 65,000 barrels a day in July. The Eagle Ford area is forecast to be the second biggest contributor to July's gains, with output expected to rise by 43,000 barrels a day next month in the southern Texas oil basin. Production gains have been rising in the Permian as drillers become more efficient, squeezing more oil out of wells for each rig they deploy. But there are signs those efficiency gains may have reached their limit. Production from new oil wells per rig topped out at 704 barrels a day in August, and is expected to fall to 602 barrels per rig in July.

This is happening in part because some drillers are moving beyond their best wells as more players pack into the Permian, according to IHS Markit analyst Raoul LeBlanc. At the same time, the high demand for labor and equipment is causing producers to turn to workers who got laid off during the downturn and rigs that need investment after sitting idle. At the start of the recovery last year, a pool of workers and rigs that had not been out of the fields for long was still available, allowing production to rev up quickly early in the cycle. "Technology marches in one direction. We're not getting dumber, but some of the cyclical factors will unwind. We'll see more of it particularly as costs continue to rise," LeBlanc told CNBC. The drilling recovery is beginning to spread beyond the Permian and Eagle Ford to North Dakota's Bakken and the Niobrara, located in northeastern Colorado and parts of three adjoining states. EIA projects production will rise by 6,000 barrels a day in the Bakken and by 11,000 barrels a day in the Niobrara in July. But production gains in these areas will be more muted than in the Permian, LeBlanc warned. A small number of specialist drillers are indeed increasing output, but there are just not enough players drilling in these regions to generate the kind of growth Texas is seeing, he said. The EIA does not forecast output for the Scoop and Stack, two oil-producing regions in Oklahoma where activity has ramped up in recent years. Watch: Kilduff on oil prices
The tidal wave of venture capital (VC) money that flowed into global financial technology (fintech) investments during 2016 has already shown signs of receding, according to the U.K.'s fintech chief.

"Things in venture capital have slowed into 2017. We're seeing globally more extensions of A-rounds and I think the prognosis is that it might be difficult to top the global numbers of around $16 billion that was done globally last year," Lawrence Wintermeyer, chief executive officer (CEO) of Innovate Finance, told CNBC from FundForum International in Berlin on Monday.

Wintermeyer heads up the non-profit association that represents fintech in the U.K. and has been keeping a close watch on investment appetite since the U.K. voted to leave the European Union (EU) last June.

The period immediately following the Brexit vote featured a "bumper" round of VC investments which indicated that most deals that had been planned in advance still went ahead, according to Wintermeyer.

Continuation of such momentum is critical given than once the U.K. has left the EU - with the clock already ticking down to a March 2019 deadline - the domestic fintech industry will lose access to the European Investment Fund. This EU body provides financing to small and medium sized enterprises and contributed around EUR 2.3 billion ($2.6 billion) to U.K. VC funds between 2011 and 2015.

The Innovate Finance CEO says that there has been some slowdown but not enough yet to cause panic.

"People have been sitting on the fence but broadly we have been doing ok," he observed.
Donald Trump Getty Images

It's been 18 months since Donald Trump, presidential candidate, called for "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what the hell is going on." It's been nearly six months since Trump, as president-elect, was asked if terror attacks in Europe had affected his proposed Muslim ban. "You know my plans," he said. "All along, I've been proven to be right." And it's been less than a week since President Trump trumpeted the travel ban he first proposed in January, which would have shut down virtually all travel from seven majority-Muslim countries while giving Christians preferential treatment. "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.

It's a genuinely difficult question. This is not a question that the Supreme Court has resolved. Kate Shaw Associate law professor at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

More from USA Today:

Aldi to open another 900 stores in US

California far from solutions as Salton Sea crisis looms

Will Republicans ever stop defending Donald Trump? Now "S.C."  the Supreme Court  may have the last word on whether those words of Trump's matter. The justices could decide as soon as this week whether to overrule lower courts and let the travel ban go into effect temporarily, as well as whether to rule on its overall constitutionality. Oral arguments could be held within weeks, or later in the year. Ultimately, the ban could be implemented  or permanently blocked. Trump's statements lie at the heart of the legal battle federal courts from Virginia to Hawaii have wrestled with since February in deciding whether the president's temporary travel ban is constitutional. While the fight has raised questions about national security, presidential power and due process rights, what's garnered the most attention has been whether Trump's rants and tweets trump his actions. "It's a genuinely difficult question," says Kate Shaw, an associate law professor at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, who says Trump's words reveal his intentions. "This is not a question that the Supreme Court has resolved." Trump was one of 14 Republican candidates still seeking his party's presidential nomination on Dec. 7, 2015, when he made his first statement about Muslim immigration. Now he's the president who twice has sought a temporary ban on immigrants from predominantly Muslim nations with ties to terrorism, as well as all refugees. Did the campaign rhetoric presage the presidential policy? Most of the judges who have issued rulings on Trump's travel ban  a name the president embraced in all CAPS as recently as this week  have said his statements as a candidate, president-elect and president are relevant. "These statements, taken together, provide direct, specific evidence of what motivated both (executive orders): President Trump's desire to exclude Muslims from the United States," Chief Judge Roger Gregory wrote for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in a 10-3 ruling last month.

A 'brand new' day?

But several judges have argued that campaign promises should be off-limits, or at least dwarfed by government actions that are not overtly discriminatory. "Opening the door to the use of campaign statements to inform the text of later executive orders has no rational limit," Judge Paul Niemeyer wrote in dissent to the 4th Circuit decision. He mused that such past history could extend to "statements from a previous campaign, or from a previous business conference, or from college." Judges in California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Virginia and Washington have weighed in on the question this winter and spring, raising a number of issues that are likely to come before the Supreme Court as soon as later this month. The majority of them have said courts can and should examine the purpose behind government actions; that Trump's words reveal his purpose to be, at least in part, banning Muslims; that his initial focus on Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen is but a means to that end; and that Trump the president cannot claim to be different than Trump the candidate. "Just as the Supreme Court has held that 'the world is not made brand new every morning,' a person is not made brand new simply by taking the oath of office," said Judge Leonie Brinkema of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Her reference was to a Supreme Court ruling in 2005, in which Justice David Souter wrote that two Kentucky counties could not hide the unconstitutional religious purpose of their Ten Commandments courthouse displays by later adding additional documents. "Reasonable observers have reasonable memories," Souter wrote. "Our precedents sensibly forbid an observer 'to turn a blind eye to the context in which the policy arose.'" But Mathew Staver, who represented the two counties before the Supreme Court, says the original display and later versions all represented government actions. "Here, you have comments by the president before he was president," Staver says. "That is fundamentally different."

Looking past the policy
In other words, it is a big job for even an experienced exec and the cupboards are pretty bare at Uber.

The company has no COO, CFO, CMO or SVP of engineering and all of those vacancies are without accounting for the possible terminations that several sources suspect will happen as a result of the Holder report. In addition, several sources at Uber said attrition among the rank-and-file staff has spiked.

If Kalanick does temporarily step away from his role, there are very few people left at the company who could easily step in and run it in his stead  particularly if Uber SVP of business Emil Michael is fired or gives into pressure from the board and resigns .

Uber's board is currently meeting with lawyers from Covington and Burling to discuss the results of a months-long investigation into the car-hailing company's culture. Among the topics on the docket is whether Uber CEO Travis Kalanick should take a three-month leave of absence.

But, among those who are left at the company, several people have suggested that Rachel Holt, the general manager of U.S. and Canada, could take over in the interim. Holt has been at the company since 2011, working her way up the ladder from general manager of Washington D.C. These people did question whether she was equipped to run the whole company, however, due to her lack of experience in key areas.

Instead, one source said the board could decide to install a committee to manage the company rather than a single executive. Candidates for that committee include members of the A team  or Kalanick's trusted insiders  like Andrew Macdonald, the regional manager for the Asia Pacific and Latin America and the head of product Daniel Graf. Other potential members are the company's head of Europe, Middle East and Africa Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty and the company's chief human resources officer Liane Hornsey.

Then there are the possible board members who might be able to temporarily take the reigns such as Arianna Huffington, Garrett Camp or Bill Gurley.

Camp, Kalanick's co-founder, hasn't been heavily involved in the company's operations, sources said. As for Gurley and Huffington, it's unclear whether they'd take on the role or if either is remotely qualified to run such a big and complex organization like Uber.

There's also the possibility that Ryan Graves  the company's former CEO and later former president  could take back the position, given his previous experience running the company. That's only if the Holder report doesn't result in his termination, because of his one-time purview of its troubled human resource org. Both he and the company's CTO Thuan Pham have come under pressure in the investigation, we reported earlier.

However, Graves  who is also a board member  has been frequently away from the office, several sources said, and has less of a hand in the company's day-to-day operations.

Uber also recently hired noted academic Frances Frei to be its SVP of leadership, who seems very unlikely to be able to take over for Kalanick.

And it's very unclear, still, how temporary this temporary leave of absence will be. It's also a trying time for Kalanick who recently suffered personal tragedy when his mother died in a boating accident. His father, too, was injured and in critical condition.

Another twist: Kalanick  who has had effectively control of Uber's board  might try to resist and stay on.

That will be the hardest choice. By most measures, Uber has already had a bad year under his troubled leadership. Save for its business  which the company proudly revealed has narrowed its losses from $991 million to $708 million in the first quarter of 2017  the ride-hail company valued at $69 billion has publicly begun to reckon with the consequences of an overly aggressive culture or at least come up against the limitations of it.

In the words of Hornsey, it's the "confidence to be bold" (read: take-no-prisoners attitude) that got the company to where it is today. But that is also precisely what is undoing it.

"Looking closely at our culture, it's absolutely a truism that every strength in excess can become a weakness," Hornsey said. "Uber is disruptive  and disruption demands the confidence to be bold. What I have seen, though, is that this has translated internally to what I would call a cult of the individual. We now need to expend genuine effort ensuring the individual is never more important than the team  not ever."

That cult of the individual came from the very top from Kalanick. The hyper-competitive executive and serial entrepreneur is notoriously combative and has difficulty unclenching his grip on the reins of the company.

He might now have no choice.

In order to navigate the increasingly murky waters that the company's culture has wrought, however, the Uber board was searching for a chief operating officer  a mature adult to whip the company into shape. That person is meant to be a "true partner" to Kalanick, board member Arianna Huffington said during a press call in March, although much of the evidence points to his continued reluctance to let anyone else call the shots at the company.

However, the difficult COO search  made more difficult by the possibility of the CEO stepping away  has yet to be completed.

In other words, the company has little by way of options for temporarily replacing Kalanick.

By Johanan Bhuiyan, Re/code.net.

CNBC's parent NBCUniversal is an investor in Recode's parent Vox, and the companies have a content-sharing arrangement.
Talk to any Israeli involved in the country's burgeoning high-tech sector and they'll name the ability to work across many different disciplines as one of its main strengths. One field where that's very visible is the rapidly growing digital health and life sciences industry.

Alain Denantes | Gamma-Rapho | Getty Images

The sub-sector of personal health, often involving a combination of disciplines such as diagnostics, optics, software, analytics, machine learning and mobile communication was in 2016 by far the most active in the digital health field, according to a report from earlier this year by the non-profit Startup Nation Central that promotes Israeli high-tech. Of the 385 digital health companies active in Israel last year, 45 percent was working on personal health tools. Many of these work with mobile phone technology, representing a holy grail of putting a medical diagnostics and analytics tool in the pockets of billions of people across the world. These five Israeli companies are at various stages in making medicine mobile:

1. BrainMARC migraine predictor

Well, migraine prediction is just one of the brain activity tools that BrainMARC is working on but it's an app that the company is running clinical trials on at Haifa's Rambam medical center. It says that it has been able to predict, "migraine attacks 1-2 days before they occurred, with approximately 90% sensitivity and specificity." The idea is that sufferers purchase a $150 headset that carries out EEG's and then hook it up once a day to their mobile phones for a one-minute measurement that is analyzed for a $5/month subscription. They can then take measures to alleviate an oncoming attack. The company predicts a potential $4.5 billion market in the U.S. and the EU. It's also working on a "learning enhancement product for children with ADHD, depression management, rehabilitation training and more."

2. Dario diabetes meter

It's the size of plastic lighter and fits straight into a mobile phone or tablet. Dario calls itself, "the world's first personalized, pocket-sized smart meter that helps diabetics to monitor blood sugar levels and to manage their health through their smartphone." The blood sugar level is read by an IOS or Android app and can be sent directly to caregivers. The app, approved by the FDA in 2016, can also send real-time alerts to family members, including GPS location. Earlier this year, Dario raised $5.1 million to expand sales in the U.S. and Europe in a funding round led by OurCrowd Qure, the high-tech crowdfunding firm's digital health fund. A raft of health insurers across the U.S. and Europe reimburse patients for Dario, a strong indication of its preventive potential.

3. Healthy.io urine scanner

Here's another company that claims a "first ever". In this case it's to "turn a smartphone into a clinical-scanner, allowing patients to conduct routine urinalysis." Healthy.io provides an app, Dip.io, and a color card. Using their mobile phone camera, patients take a picture of a dipstick result against the background of the card, the app analyses the result and if necessary alerts caregivers to take action. Other than some of the other companies, it relies solely on the mobile phone's own camera as its hardware component, apart from the color card. It can be used among others to monitor pregnant women for high blood pressure and for alerting multiple sclerosis sufferers at risk of urinary tract and bladder infection. The app is currently awaiting FDA approval. The company is also planning a kidney disease test and it has touted a similar camera-based test for skin disease.

4. Tyto Care diagnostic device

Tyto produces a device that connects to the mobile phone and has a stethoscope, an otoscope, used in ear examinations, a thermometer, and a high-resolution camera, FDA approved as needed. Physicians can access the result via the cloud. It calls its product "The Missing Link in Telehealth" and says it enables doctors to give a "full examination  ears, lungs throat and more" remotely and without compromising the quality of the diagnosis. In the US it has partnered with Miami Children's Health System and Allied Physicians Group. Apart from its TytoHome product it also markets TytoPro to clinicians. In the US it has partnered with Miami Children's Health System and Allied Physicians Group. Apart from its TytoHome product it also markets TytoPro to clinicians.

5. Beyond Verbal voice emotion analysis

Voice emotion what? What does that have to do with hardcore healthcare? Well, potentially it can address heart attack risk, for example. Certainly one of the more out-there uses for a mobile phone at first glance. But none less than the Mayo Clinic tested the software and concluded in November last year that: "Voice features analysis holds the potential to assist physicians in estimating the pre-test probability of CAD [coronary artery disease] among patients presenting chest pain, especially in the setting of telemedicine." The software can be installed on mobile phones or other devices with a microphone and analyze the intonation of the voice, not the content of what is being said, to monitor 'emotional wellbeing'. The company has free emotion analysis apps for consumers and a paid one for clinicians.
The businessman John Studabaker was not related to the Indiana family that first made wagons and later automobiles though their names were similar.

The businessman John Studabaker who issued this scrip note in Bluffton, Ind., is not from the famous car-making family in South Bend, Ind.

Its a wrap!

The latest Coin World weekly issue, dated June 26, 2017, has been sent to the presses, and we have a quick preview of some of the Coin World exclusives found in our latest digital edition.

Did a company that became a carmaker issue scrip notes?

A businessman named John Studabaker issued scrip notes in Bluffton, Ind., during the mid-19th century, about the same time that the Studebaker family was making wagons in nearby South Bend.

Wendell Wolka reveals in his Collecting Paper company whether a connection existed between the scrip issuer and the future automaker.

Surprising twist for an 1878-S Morgan dollar die marriage

John Roberts, writing in his About VAMs column, discusses the VAM-1i die marriage of the 1878-S Morgan dollar, a variety discovered only about 10 years ago.

The obverse die held a surprise that wasnt initially recognized, Roberts writes, adding Its actually still not part of the official listing. What is the surprise?

Go in a different direction when collecting

The usual route into coin collecting follows a hope to make money by investing, writes Q. David Bowers in The Joys of Collecting column. That route can disappoint, he states.

Instead, follow the road not often taken. Think for yourself. Go slowly, he writes. By reading and learning, a collector who buys intelligently can profit over time.

John J. Pittman was a master of gathering knowledge

When Beth Deisher became editor of Coin World, she soon met master collector John J. Pittman, one of the hobbys most prominent leaders. She would be amazed at his ability to recall minute details of what he had learned over the years.

John J. Pittman  was one of the most widely read numismatists I have ever known and he possessed an amazing ability to recall virtually everything he read and the details of every coin he personally inspected, she writes in From the Memory Bank.

Want to subscribe?

Get access to all of these articles, and a whole lot more, with a Coin World digital edition subscription!
The Bureau of Engraving and Printings newest offering, the 2017 $2 Triple Deuce Currency set, features notes with matching serial numbers beginning with 2017.

The Bureau of Engraving and Printings newest offering, the 2017 $2 Triple Deuce Currency set, will go on sale at 8 a.m. Eastern Time on June 14.

The set features one Series 2013 and two Series 2009 $2 notes from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, all Uncirculated, with matching serial numbers beginning with 2017 (though the serial numbers end with different suffix letters). This set is packaged in a tri-fold folder and each note is protected by a clear, acid-free polymer sleeve. The offer, limited to 3,500 sets, will be available only during the 2017 calendar year.

Did a former automaker once issue scrip notes? Plus, some alternative collecting methods: Another column in the June 26 Coin World profiles John J. Pittman, a czar of numismatic knowledge.

A limit of five sets per household is in place during the pre-release period of June 14 to 20. Unrestricted sales begin June 21.

The cost for one set is $59.95. Bulk pricing is available at $54.95 for quantities of five or more.

Connect with Coin World:

Sign up for our free eNewsletter

Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

For additional information about the BEP or to purchase, visit their website, or follow it on Facebook and Twitter @USMoneyfactory. BEP products may also be ordered by telephone (800-456-3408), by fax (888-891-7585), or by mail (Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Mail Order Sales, 515M, 14th and C Streets SW, Washington, DC 20228).
A bronze 1676 medal celebrating a French military victory realized a hammer price of $150 during a May 18 to 20 auction.

The military might of the French nation may not be considered particularly fearsome in modern times, but French forces have been responsible for some historic conquests.

One such event in 1676 is honored on a bronze medal that recently sold at auction.

The medal, featuring French King Louix XIV on the obverse, was issued to celebrate the retaking of the Isle of Cayenne in French Guiana. The medal sold for a hammer price of $150 U.S. during Stephen Album Rare Coins May 18 to 20 auction in Santa Rosa, Calif. The buyers fee is either 17.5 or 20.5 percent, depending on payment method.

Did a former automaker once issue scrip notes? Plus, some alternative collecting methods: Another column in the June 26 Coin World profiles John J. Pittman, a czar of numismatic knowledge.

The French colonized the island in 1664; Dutch attacks began in 1675. In early May 1676, the Dutch commander, Adm. Jacques Blinck, forced the French garrison of Fort Sanit Michel to surrender.

As soon as this news was known in France, Louis XIV sent Count Jean de Estrees, vice-admiral of the French fleet, with some ships to take the island back from the Dutch.

Connect with Coin World:

Sign up for our free eNewsletter

Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

The French squadron arrived at Cayenne in early December, and on the 19th of the same month, after a vigorous French attack, the Dutch garrison surrendered to the French, an event the king deemed important enough to cause this medal to be made.

The bronze medal measures 41 millimeters in diameter and weighs 30.34 grams, so it is about the size of a American Eagle 1-ounce silver bullion coin.

The reverse shows Neptune carried by his horses while holding flag and trident.

The medal is cataloged as Betts 50 in American Colonial History Illustrated By Contemporary Medals by C. Wyllys Betts.

The medal is in Very Fine condition, according to the firm.

Full results of the auction are available for review at the firms website.
A trio of unique precious metal coins from the Perth Mint feature Argyle diamonds as part of the design. The set sells for $1.8 million Australian.

The Perth Mints newest exclusive product offering is no diamond in the rough.

The unique trio of kilogram precious metal coins bearing special diamonds  unveiled June 7  is limited to a mintage of one each and has a hefty price tag to boot; the coins, as a collection, are offered for $1.8 million Australian (about $1,358,758 U.S.).

The Australian Trilogy celebrates a selection of the nations natural treasures and is the Mints most significant numismatic release for 2017, according to the Perth Mint.

In a convergence of color and light, the collection showcases three of Australias most beloved fauna on three precious metal kilo coins.

Connect with Coin World:

Sign up for our free eNewsletter

Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Each coin is hand set with a natural fancy colored diamond from Rio Tintos Argyle Diamond Mine.

On an Australian Kookaburra coin, crafted from .9999 fine gold, two kookaburras perched on a wooden fence gaze toward a 0.47-carat round brilliant cut fancy deep purple-pink diamond.

Crafted from .9995 fine platinum, the Australian Kangaroo coin portrays the iconic animal bounding across an outback plain, hopping over a 0.46-carat emerald cut fancy dark gray-violet diamond.

To complete the trilogy, a .9167 fine rose gold Australian Koala coin illustrates this native marsupial in a rural landscape between a eucalyptus tree and a 0.58-carat emerald cut fancy intense pink diamond.

Each coin also includes a title inscription, the 2017 year-date, the weight, fineness and metal and the Perth Mints traditional P Mint mark.

Confirming its status as official legal tender of Australia, each release also displays the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Queen Elizabeth II on its obverse.

The Perth Mint has not disclosed the face value for the coins, though the gold coin is denominated $5,000, based on publicity video released by the Perth Mint. The face value for the rose gold coin and platinum coin have not been confirmed.

Diamond cooperation

The Premier of Western Australia, Mark McGowan, helped unveil the one-of-a-kind coin collection.

Officiating at the event, McGowan said that the creation of such an exceptional collectors item reinforces Australias position on the world stage as a country of rare riches and unique wildlife.

The Perth Mint and Rio Tinto Argyle Diamonds are global leaders in their respective industries and purveyors of superb craftsmanship. I am proud to unveil a creation which captures the treasures of our State, Premier McGowan said.

The Perth Mints association with Argyle Pink Diamonds began in 2008 when it became a select atelier for the Western Australian based diamond consortium. In 2012 this retail relationship developed into a collaborative partnership with the creation of an annual range of luxurious collectibles.

Did a former automaker once issue scrip notes? Plus, some alternative collecting methods: Another column in the June 26 Coin World profiles John J. Pittman, a czar of numismatic knowledge.

According to the Perth Mint, since then, these diamond edition ingots and coins have received worldwide acclaim. While many issues sold out within weeks of their release, the iconic 2016 Kimberley Treasure coin valued at $1 million sold to an international buyer within just 48 hours.

The Australian Trilogy has elevated our creations to a new level with three diamond studded gold and platinum coins in one dazzling presentation, said Perth Mint chief executive officer, Richard Hayes.

The coins are on display in the Perth Mints retail shop in Perth, Western Australia, through the end of June, or until a buyer secures the unique set.

Perth Mint officials wanted to give the people of Western Australia and the many visitors to our State the opportunity to view this prized treasure, Hayes said, in the press release from the Perth Mint.
A Plevna man accused of illegally killing a bald eagle and a hawk with a pesticide denied federal charges on Monday in Billings.

Dale Duwayne Buerkle, 66, pleaded not guilty to unlawful taking of a bald eagle, unlawful taking of a migratory bird and unlawful use of a registered pesticide, all misdemeanors, as charged in an information.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Godfrey said in court records the animal deaths happened in February and March 2016 near Plevna after Buerkle used the pesticide carbamate carbofuran in an effort to kill coyotes.

An investigation led to Buerkle after a neighboring landowner found a bald eagle carcass, three coyote carcasses and a hawk carcass on property near Buerkles land and notified the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, court records said.

An FWP investigator, who retrieved the bald eagle and coyote carcasses, noticed a calf carcass just across the property fence line on Buerkles land about 20 yards from where the first coyote carcass was found. FWP also recovered a hawk carcass from the same pasture in April 2016.

Toxicology test results showed the coyotes, bald eagle and hawk tested positive for carbamate carbofuran and that the eagle and hawk died from carbofuran poisoning.

In an interview with the FWP warden, Buerkle admitted he had injected carbofuran into the stomach of two dead calves to kill coyotes.

Buerkle admitted he knew that using the carbofuran was not legal but said he had no clue that it killed birds, an investigator said in court records.

Buerkle, who gave his remaining carbofuran to the warden, said he put out the calf carcasses at the end of February or early March 2016.

Buerkles use of the pesticide was unlawful and he did not have permission to kill the bald eagle or hawk, the prosecution said.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy Cavan, who will hear the case, continued Buerkles release pending trial. Buerkle faces a maximum one year in prison and a $100,000 fine if convicted on the bald eagle count.
HELENA  As President Donald Trump has rolled out a series of moves he claims will increase the number of coal-mining jobs in the U.S., analysts have met each announcement with data showing employment in that industry has been declining for decades because of economic pressures  and that likely wont change because of the presidents actions.

But like many things in this state, talking about coal jobs in Montana is a little bit different. Since about 2000 here and up until a year ago, the Treasure State has bucked the trend, actually adding coal mining jobs at a 33 percent clip overall from 2001-2015.

In the past year, though, the numbers have declined, mirroring a drop in production that could be an indicator of whats to come.

The impacts are coming, but these other states have had tremendous impacts, thousands of jobs lost, said Jim Atchison, executive director of the Southeastern Montana Economic Development Corp.

The arguments against a resurgence in coal mining jobs are plentiful, even in the face of Trumps executive order to undo the Clean Power Plan, a lifting of restrictions on coal leasing and at the start of this month the announcement the U.S. will withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Trump's team has claimed an addition of 43,000 jobs, though the numbers they cite also count other mining jobs such as oil and gas. Some estimates show perhaps just 1,300 coal mining jobs have been added nationwide since Trump took office.

None of that changes the fact that utilities want the cheapest electricity. That generally comes from natural gas, and increasingly also solar and wind power.

Nationally coal mine employment dropped from 90,826 jobs in 2009 to 83,045 in 2015, according to numbers kept by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration. In Montana, the MSHA numbers show an increase over the same period, from 1,158 to 1,329.

Bud Clinch, executive director of the Montana Coal Council, said those increases are explainable. In 2006, the underground Bull Mountain Mine opened in Roundup. Underground mining is more employee-intensive.

It takes twice as many people per ton of coal as the surface mines do, he said.

Recent decline

As to why Montana has gained when others have lost, Clinch said thats because of the open strip mines here. East Coast mines, which have been hit hardest by job losses, are typically underground operations that are more expensive to operate. All of Montana's mines except the one in Roundup are strip mines. Other mines are in Decker, Colstrip, Hardin and Savage.

Theyre kind of running out of reserves to mine, or at least those that are economical, Clinch said. We have seen over the last 20 years a slight shift of that market share to the western states of Montana and Wyoming. Because we have coal that can be surface-mined through strip mining, that becomes more economical than the more expensive deep underground mining on the East Coast.

Montana's production fluctuates year to year, but a drop last year concerned the industry and sparked the decrease in employment here. In 2016 the Montana number of coal jobs dropped from 1,329 to 1,196, according to MSHA, and the most recent numbers the agency has for this year shows a further drop, to 1,112.

(Differing sets of numbers from various sources make precisely counting coal jobs difficult. The numbers used for this story primarily come from the Mine Health and Safety Administration, which tracks employment numbers by mine, as well as the Montana Coal Council, which annually collects employment numbers and payroll information from Montana mines. Numbers compiled by the state Department of Labor and Industry are slightly different, but also show an increase in jobs during the 2000s and a decline over the last year.)

Production numbers show the state is on track for another low year. Through April, production has reached 9.8 million tons. Thats not what mining companies had hoped for, and represents production levels similar to last year, when output was just 32.37 million tons. Thats a 10-ton drop from the year prior and the lowest since 2000.

Its an economics game at this point, said Brian Fadie, clean energy program director with the Montana Environmental Information Center. Renewable and gas beats coal price-wise, and when you look at both utilities and regulators around the country, thats their big motivator and decision-maker. I think that will continue to go down.

Fadie pointed to a decline in contracts for coal from domestic and international power plants as another reason he believes mining numbers will decline.

Demands will not be going up. When you look internationally, both China and India have slammed on the brakes hard. And the price of natural gas is forced to stay low and renewables are only getting cheaper.

Natural gas has taken over coal as the most common source of electrical generation in the U.S., making up 33.8 percent in 2016 of the market, but coal is still up there at 30.4 percent.

Atchison, whose job is to ensure the economic viability of a four-county area in the southeastern corner of Montana centered around Rosebud County and the town of Colstrip, which has a coal mine to feed its coal-fired electrical power plant, said that while he acknowledges the forces at play, he thinks coal will remain a key part of the country's energy future.

Coal mining jobs don't make up a huge segment of the Montana employment sector. Health care-related jobs were the top employer in 2016, according to the state Department of Labor and Industry, with 66,427 jobs compared to coals 1,285 the same year. Coal mining doesnt even crack the top 22 industries in the state, but jobs are typically high-paying. Clinch said his internal numbers show an average annual salary of around $80,000.

Colstrip

In the counties with coal mines, those jobs are essential. When describing Colstrip, its hard not to be repetitive using the word "coal." Three-hundred-and-seventy-three people work at the Rosebud Coal Mine, which feeds the coal-fired Colstrip Power Plant, which employs 388. For perspective, the next-largest employer is Rosebud County, with 128 employees. The 10th-largest employer in town is the local bank, which has 7.5 full-time positions.

The signs of the decline of coal have reached this community of about 2,300 residents. The housing market saw steady growth from 2009-2016, but has declined considerably since. It used to be that in a month, one or two homes sold in town, but since September 2016, only four homes have sold. Theres only one realtor left in town. Most say that's because of the pending closure of two of the power plant's two older units. The closure is the result of a settlement between the plant's owners and several environmental groups, including the Montana Environmental Information Center, over pollution at the plant.

The discussion on what to do with out-of-work coal miners often mirrors the discussion on the type of power production that will replace the electricity generated by the mined product.

But its not fair to make that comparison  that as renewable energy replaces coal-fired electricity, so will renewable jobs will replace coal jobs, said Derf Johnson, with the Montana Environmental Information Center.

Its not going to be apples-to-apples in terms of jobs. People in Colstrip are not going to immediately pick up jobs in the renewable energy industry. There isnt the need for as many workers.

Diversifying

While there are opportunities in the building of new solar or wind plants  a proposed wind project outside Colstrip would need an estimated 100 jobs during the construction period  ongoing employment is less available. It would take only about 10 long-term full-time jobs to manage the same 300-megawatt project, according to estimates.

Thats why diversification is so critical for Atchison. A 66-page report on options for Colstrip going forward is organized around six goals and 17 strategies to completing the goals, only one of which is related to coal. The rest focus on renewable projects, light manufacturing and other factors that have nothing to do with mining or electrical generation.

There's potential for a hydrogen fuel production faculty, renewable energy projects, attracting technology-based companies, a tire pelletizing plant, a sugar beet processing facility and a municipal waste processing facility.

Because of the mine and plant, Colstrip has strong existing infrastructure. There's a rail spur straight into town, not to mention the 500-megawatt lines leaving the power plant that could carry energy produced from other sources.

At a public input meeting in March 2016, the public picked increasing broadband internet capacity as the top priority it wanted to see economic development entities focus on for the region. That indicates an openness to other diversification not seen in the past and an acknowledgement that technology is necessary to tap into the highly skilled workforce already in town.

In the fall of 2015, there were a lot of storm clouds on the horizon, Atchison said. The community is, were pretty much a one-horse town. So if its news and related to coal, the community's pretty aware of it. They were saying Weve got to do something.' Weve been doing looks at diversifying the economy for a long time, but nothing as urgent and specialized and focused as now  nothing as urgent and focused as what the community was asking us to do."

That's not to say there's a lack of emphasis on preserving coal-related jobs for as long as possible, something made very clear by the success of the group Colstrip United, which has worked to promote coal-fired power and coal mining and the money it brings into the state. And in the same diversification study, the top goal and strategy is to continue to develop and promote a positive marketing campaign for coal mining and power generation.

As for what options laid out in the diversification report will come to fruition and what kind of jobs might take the place of any losses in the mining sector, that's about as unclear as anyone's best guess on the future of coal.

Thats a big question," Atchison said. "All I know is I want the movie rights to what happens. In just the last five years in Colstrip in the energy sector, in what's going on with coal, in whats going on with the environmental stuff, its such an interesting mix of different stories about what will happen. Its fascinating. Every day its kind of new. Where its going to go, I dont know. But at least were throwing it all at the wall and seeing what sticks.
The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission form
Andrew Sumido was used to hearing on a regular basis from headhunters looking to entice him away from his job as a senior .NET engineer. So he didnt give it much thought when a recruiter messaged him about a position at Axxess, a Dallas-area provider of cloud software and services for healthcare organizations.

Sumidos interest quickly spiked when he checked out the firms website.

They presented themselves as a technology company in the healthcare space, which impressed on me that engineering is a top priority for the organization, Sumido says. It was somewhere where I felt I could have a lot of impact. It looked like an opportunity that I couldnt pass up.

Sumido, 35, started at Axxess in August 2015, within weeks of getting that first message. He says the company has delivered on his high expectations, providing him with challenging work, supportive colleagues and a culture that encourages innovation.

Theres freedom in how we can solve problems, theres freedom in experimenting with new technologies, and I find that really refreshing, says Sumido, now a senior web engineer and lead of the revenue cycle management team.

[ See the full Best Places to Work in IT 2017 report ]

Sumido isnt the only one impressed by the fast-growing firm, which earned the top spot among small organizations in Computerworlds annual 100 Best Places to Work in IT for 2017, the same rank it captured last year. Axxess also ranked No. 1 for career development and No. 1 for employee retention among all 100 Best Places for 2017.

Employees praise the companys commitment to professional development, technological innovation, employee empowerment and work/life balance, and they rally behind its mission to deliver products that improve patient outcomes.

[ To comment on this story, visit Computerworld's Facebook page. ]

We foster a culture of collaboration and working together as a team to solve problems, says Melody Lenox, who, as vice president of operations, oversees human resources. The company reinforces this culture, she says, with its mantra, The best idea wins.

Companywide meetings, held Monday and Wednesday mornings and led by various departments  such as engineering, support, or sales and marketing  further that ideal of collaboration, Lenox says.

With our rapid growth, the meetings are a great way for new hires to quickly become familiar with all aspects of our business, but it is also an intentional way to eliminate silos and keep everyone abreast of the latest developments, Lenox says. Every meeting will get questions and comments from throughout the company, and its obvious that everyone feels comfortable in sharing insights and asking questions to better understand our business.

A tech-first company

Axxess started in 2007 as a consulting firm specializing in the home healthcare industry. It moved into high tech the following year, when it built its Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) software to support the billing needs of home health organizations. Today it has multiple products and provides integrated software for home health agencies. Axxess now employs about 250 people, 75% of whom are technology workers.

From the start, executives set out to build a culture where information workers would thrive, says chief technology officer Andrew Olowu. He and other managers hire staff based not only on their technical skills but also on their integrity, values and ability to fit into the companys culture, he says.

It starts with being deliberate and being attuned to the culture we want to create  collaborative, with a focus on innovation and excellence, he says. That culture is not something that was accidental. Its something we preach, and its something we live, says Olowu, who joined the company in 2008.

The company hits all the right notes in the job market, offering competitive salaries, annual pay increases, 15 days of paid time off in the first year of service, and robust benefits  in fact, the firm was No. 6 among all 100 Best Places for its benefits. Likewise, thanks to perks like tuition reimbursement and unlimited days off for technical training, Axxess was No. 4 among all 100 organizations for training.

Axxess Axxess state-of-the-art Dallas headquarters has been designed to foster a collaborative culture.

Binu Varghese, 45, a senior software development manager at Axxess, joined the company in August 2016. She had worked for several other companies in the past, including a 15-year stint with a large technology firm. She was drawn to Axxess for its reputation both as a good employer and as an innovator.

I kept watching some of the healthcare IT news and saw Axxess show up as an emerging technology company that was one of the best places to work, she says, adding that she felt the companys commitment to its products and clients meshed with her passion for technology and the healthcare IT space.

Now six months into her job, Varghese says shes sure she was right to join the company. The firms open office layout promotes collaboration, while its smaller size, with its startup mentality and lack of bureaucracy, enables speed.

Varghese recounts one incident where she and colleagues were discussing a particular project when another engineer joined the conversation with a few key pointers. She says the advice helped head off potential problems that could have surfaced further down the line.

We promote a feeling that were a company of owners, Varghese says. We dont have barriers. The engineers are very passionate and very open, and they welcome ideas.

Innovation is key

Senior web engineer John Howard, 40, frequently uses the word empowerment to describe the culture at Axxess  both in terms of the work and of employees ability to advance their careers at the company.

Tech workers are encouraged to tackle work in the way they feel is best to get it done. As an example, Howard points to his current project assignment, where developers were initially using the object relational mapper typically used at Axxess, but then proposed  and won support for  switching to a new one that they felt had better benefits.

That is the way it is at Axxess. The best ideas win, says Howard, who joined the company three years ago as a junior-level developer. Our CTO is always acknowledging how great our software is but at the same time challenging us to make it better.

Innovation days, built into the firms yearly schedule, give developers time to work on new technologies that they dont use  yet, anyway  in their day-to-day jobs. And Axxess now sponsors MVP MIX Dallas, a two-day local software development conference. This came about because a group of developers expressed interest in the conference. Axxess looked into to it, and took it a whole step forward by becoming a sponsor, says Howard.

Beyond that, Howard and his co-workers feel free to volunteer to take on new tasks as a way to build skills and stay engaged. Youre in control of your own destiny here. You have a lot of options to try different things and see where you can fit in best, he says. As an example, Howard knows a PHP developer who wanted to strengthen his C# Express skills and was able to work with another team to accomplish that goal.

Axxess Axxess employees celebrate with middle school students who attended a career expo hosted at the company headquarters.

Sumido, the web engineer, likewise appreciates a culture where technologists can choose their tools, and cites two examples of times when he was given permission to do just that.

At one point, his team wanted to bring in a technology stack called ELK (Elasticsearch, Logstash and Kibana), which the team thought would give it the ability to easily query application log information to troubleshoot issues and visualize critical events occurring in the companys system. (Previously, the team had had to dig through logs on a file system to investigate issues.)

Another time, Sumido and his colleagues wanted to move to TeamCity and Octopus Deploy deployment tools to replace an older technology and hand-written deployment scripts with an eye to automating the build and deployment process, making it quicker and more efficient.

In both cases, Sumido credits Olowu and technology director Biki Raghubansh for their support, as they gave Sumidos team the green light to try the new tools out and, when they proved successful, to go full steam ahead.

If I have an idea that would make our processes better or something we can implement that I think would improve our software or the company, I can bring that up to Andrew [Olowu] and talk freely about that idea, Sumido says. Hell talk frankly about it and support me in what I want to do.

Everyone welcome

Trischia Khouri, 45, an engineering product manager, says she was drawn to Axxess in part because of its commitment to delivering top-quality products. But she says she came and stays for other reasons, too, including the companys warm and welcoming environment along with its open, bright and varied workspaces. You feel like you contribute to a larger purpose and bigger vision, she says. I feel this is somewhere I want to be and somewhere where I can make a difference.

She points to some unique perks, such as the catered lunches that feature a range of foods from barbeque to Italian brought in for everyone on Mondays. She says she likes the fact that new hires, who start on Mondays, get bumped to the front of the lunch line so they know theyre welcome. Its those kinds of social gestures, Khouri says, that help make everyone feel appreciated.

Jake Bathman agrees. The 30-year-old joined Axxess two years ago, seeking to better leverage his coding skills after working in county government as a coordinator in the public health space. Bathman, a PHP engineer, admits that the move carried some risk, both personally and professionally; he was leaving government to work for a young company, which created some level of uncertainty for him, his wife and their then 6-month-old baby.

But Bathman saw a company where he could put his full-stack development skills to good use and help shape healthcare IT in a very direct and meaningful way. He saw a chance to contribute, learn from others and pursue his own ideas, yet still be able to balance the needs of his personal life.

I have two small kids now, and sometimes things happen. If I have to run out to take care of something, or if I have to work from home, theres never haggling over whether I have enough PTO for that, he says. Theres an acknowledgement that youll be at your best self when the company treats you as an adult to make those decisions.

Moreover, Bathman says, he gets to work and enjoy these benefits while having fun with co-workers, whether theyre all working on a new release or playing Ping-Pong. Axxess really sold themselves to me, he says.

Next: Best Places by the numbers: Top 10 rankings and more
Because Windows doesnt make much money for Microsoft these days, the company decided, beginning in Windows 10, that snooping on users a la Google and Facebook could be profitable. But one country said enough was enough. It would stand up for its users privacy. That country? The Peoples Republic of China.

Cough. Didnt see that one coming, did you?

Well, I say privacy because China is infamous for tracking its computer users and censoring the internet with the Great Firewall of China. But just because the powers that be in Beijing want to know every move their citizens make doesnt mean they want Microsoft joining in on the spying.

So China gave Microsoft a choice: Rip out its snoopware, or forget about selling Windows 10 to government or enterprise customers. Microsoft, never known for turning down a dollar or a yuan, caved.

Beginning a year ago, Microsoft started developing a Chinese government-approved version of Windows 10 in partnership with the Chinese technology and defense company China Electronics Technology Group Corp (CETC).

On May 23, Windows 10 China Government Edition was released. This version complies with Chinese governmental privacy and security standards.

[ To comment on this story, visit Computerworld's Facebook page. ]

As Orangutan Capital noted, this version strips telemetry and data collection from Windows; thus, in a bit of irony, the Chinese Government-mandated edition is the only version of Windows since XP (or Windows 7 before updates/patches) that respects the privacy rights of its users and is not, as of today, a data-collection machine.

This is hilarious. Well, in a dark, hideously unfunny way.

Microsoft has gone along with this because, while China has a huge number of Windows users, Microsoft makes barely a dime from them. Software piracy runs rampant in China.

Of course, just because Microsoft isnt snooping doesnt mean China hasnt had Microsoft build in the governments own spyware.

When Microsoft talks up the changes it made in the China Government Edition to satisfy Beijing, it begs the question: Why wouldnt everyone want what China is getting? Terry Myerson, Microsofts executive vice president of Windows and devices, blogged, The Windows 10 China Government Edition is based on Windows 10 Enterprise Edition, which already includes many of the security, identity, deployment, and manageability features governments and enterprises need. The China Government Edition will use these manageability features to remove features that are not needed by Chinese government employees like OneDrive, to manage all telemetry and updates, and to enable the government to use its own encryption algorithms within its computer systems.

Meanwhile, back in the United States, Microsoft has kind of, sort of kept its promise to make Windows 10 Creators Update a bit more private. Really, though, all it has done is to make its privacy settings on the PC a trifle more helpful and transparent. If you really want a private desktop operating system, Linux remains your only real choice.

If youre hoping the U.S. government might stand up for user privacy, I can only take it you havent seen how President Trump and his confederates are destroying net neutrality and internet privacy at the same time. These are the same people who want to let your ISPs watch your every move on the internet.

Of course, you could try to get a copy of Windows 10 China Government Edition. That way youd only need to worry about China instead of Microsoft riding with you as you do your daily work. Decisions, decisions!
The reshuffle is a circling of wagons. Politicians and pundits will pore over its details, seeking to decide whether or not it means a shift to the right or the left, and whether it signals a hard Brexit or a soft Brexit. These calculations are beside the point. Theresa Mays situation is desperate: she has lost the confidence of her colleagues. She did not dare to sack anyone from her Cabinet, and risk sending a new enemy to the backbenches. She was thus restricted to filling the single vacancy left by the loss of Ben Gummer. She did so by bringing back Michael Gove, who she sacked only last year, quarrelled viciously with in government, and was mocking as recently as last week. She could not have provided a more vivid illustration of her weakness.

In nearly every respect, this desperate reshuffle is actually quite a good one, in so far as it makes any difference. Yes, Damian Green, now deputy Prime Minister in all but name, is a long-time Remainer. But his appointment is balanced out by Goves. Indeed, Leave campaigners are now one person up round the Cabinet table, given the latters return (though Andrea Leadsom, now Leader of the House, now only has right to attend). The significance of Green, a fluent politician who was under-promoted during the Cameron years, is that he one of Mays oldest political allies, having first met her at university. With Gavin Williamson, the Chief Whip, and Gavin Barwell, the new Chief of Staff, he is part of a three-man bodyguard for a Prime Minister now stalked by would-be assassins.

David Lidington moves to Justice. This is in one way an excellent appointment, since he has the brains and compassion to tackle prison reform, and the diplomatic skills to handle a restive judiciary. In another, it is a puzzling move, since he has a Whip-like side which served the Government well in his previous post. Our Brexiteer readers will note that one of their number has replaced him. The sole promotion and demotion were much in line with ConservativeHomes predictions: David Gauke was on our list for Work and Pensions; Liz Truss no longer has charge of a department. Otherwise, all is stasis and gridlock. As for where this reshuffle leaves the form of Brexit that May will now pursue, the brutal answer is that there is no Cabinet agreement yet.

The one reappointment which is deeply problematic is that of the Party Chairman. Patrick McLoughlin is a great servant of the Conservative Party, and the most effective of its recent Chief Whips. That CCHQ was not ready for a general election was not his fault: the poll was sprung on him at no notice. For that reason, though, it has had the effect of a snap Ofsted inspection that concludes a school must go into special measures. Only two years ago, at the 2015 election, Andrew Feldman and Grant Shapps covered the problem of an ageing and falling membership by conjuring up Team 2015, whereby busloads of activists were moved from safe seats into target ones. And Lynton Crosby and Mark Textors data, together with Jim Messinas, did the business.

These are early days to draw hard and fast conclusions, and any proper post-mortem will take time. But it is very clear that there is trouble at the mill, for three main reasons. First, the Mark Clarke scandal and the Thanet South prosecution seems to have had the effect of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. There has been no replacement on a national scale for Team 2015. That mattered in the target seats. There were not enough boots on the ground. Second, the data was flawed. As we wrote yesterday, Jim Messina laughed off YouGovs new research model on Twitter. But they were right and he was wrong. This complacency made all the difference between gaining a small majority and not winning one at all.

May was not short of votes: indeed, she stacked up the highest proportion of the total since Margaret Thatcher, and the greatest number of votes since John Major, and his record-breaking performance in 1992. It follows that the art of getting over the winning line is to find more where it matters; there is no point in piling up support in seats that one already holds. It would be deeply unfair to dump all the blame for the campaign failure on Lynton Crosbys research, since he was not fully in charge, and the Partys manifesto bears at least as great a share of the responsibility. But the evidence that this site is gleaning from candidates and canvassers suggests that much of it was simply mistaken. And VoteSource, as ever, failed to fire on all cylinders.

Third, the Partys social media game is beginning to look creaky. There is a media fad for puffing the effectiveness of pro-Corbyn sites and videos and memes. But there can be no doubt that a generation of young left-wing activists was all over social media like a rash. We offer a single example. In one marginal seat that the Conservatives lost, the sitting MP was targeted over his expenses. These were not in any sense excessive or even unusual. But the mere effect of highlighting them was enough to rock his campaign. There was no organised rebuttal. Momentum could have done the same to every single sitting Tory MP. And a right-wing equivalent could have returned the favour to Labour incumbents.

This is not a campaigning world any of us should want to live in. But some serious thought needs to go into how the Party should handle social media in an election that will surely come before 2022. Buying up Facebook adverts is no substitute for getting a message from a mate. What CCHQ needs most a businessman-type politician at the top who can review its campaigning effectiveness, make recommendations, and see the necessary reforms through. There are not many of these around; the most suitable is probably Jeremy Hunt. McLoughlin has the benefit of having been in place for a year, and at least knows where all the bodies are buried. None the less, he has Cabinet committee duties elsewhere, and CCHQ needs its Chairman in residence.

On balance, a new broom is required. It follows that the old one cannot provide it. May has failed to move perhaps the only member of her top team who is loyal enough not to have resented being told his time was up. Perhaps she is planning a further shake-up in due course, when the Government has stabilised after an arrangement with the DUP, and there is return to something like normality. But readers will have spotted the flaw. This may never happen. For all the protection of any confidence-and-supply deal and of the Fixed Terms Parliament Act, governments without majorities are vulnerable. An election as early as the autumn cannot be ruled out. We are sorry to remind our exhausted readers of this. But whether or not one happens, an opportunity has been missed.
Authorities in Natrona County are trying to find a missing teenager who called her family and said she was in danger.

Katherine Stewart, 16, called her family on Sunday and said she needed help, but they lost cell service, according to the Natrona County Sheriff's Office. Her family last saw her at 10 a.m. Friday.

Stewart is considered an endangered/missing person. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call the sheriff's office at 307-235-9282.

Stewart is described as 5 foot 5 inches tall, weighing roughly 230 pounds. She has dyed maroon hair and brown eyes.
CORNWALL, Ontario  Adam Tyo, 44, of Cornwall was arrested on June 11, 2017 and charged with impaired operation of a motor vehicle and over 80.

It is alleged the man was operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol when it collided with another vehicle on June 11, 2017 in the area of Augustus Street and Seventh Street. He was taken into custody during an investigation, charged accordingly and released to appear in court on June 20, 2017.

BREACH

CORNWALL, Ontario  A 24-year-old Cornwall Island man was arrested on June 9, 2017 and charged with breach of recognizance for communicating with someone he has conditions not to communicate with. He was also charged with breach of recognizance and probation for failing to keep the peace. It is alleged on June 6th, 2017 the man was spotted with the person he has conditions not to associate with and police were contacted to investigate. On June 9, 2017 the man was taken into custody, charge accordingly and held for a bail hearing.

WARRANT

CORNWALL, Ontario  Shelley Champagne, 44, of Cornwall was arrested on June 10, 2017 on the strength of a warrant. It is alleged the woman failed to attend court on June 5, 2017 for drug related charges and a warrant was issued for her arrest. On June 10th, 2017 the woman was located by police, taken into custody on the strength of the warrant and held for a bail hearing.

IMPAIRED, OVER 80

CORNWALL, Ontario  Bain Lazette, 72, of Cornwall was arrested on June 11, 2017 and charged with impaired operation of a motor vehicle and over 80. It is alleged the man was operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol when his car went off the road in the area of Vincent Massey Drive and Tollgate Road on June 11, 2017. He was taken into custody, charged accordingly and released to appear in court on June 20, 2017.

ASSAULT

CORNWALL, Ontario  A 29-year-old Cornwall man was arrested on June 11, 2017 and charged with assault. It is alleged during a disagreement on June 11, 2017 the man punched his common-law wife several times in the face. Police were contacted and an investigation ensued. The man was taken into custody, charged accordingly and held for a bail hearing. His name was not released as it would identify the victim in the matter.

THEFT, BREACH

CORNWALL, Ontario  Jessyca Coleman, 27, of Cornwall was arrested on June 11, 2017 and charged with theft under $5, 000 and breach of probation and undertaking for failing to keep the peace. It is alleged during the month of May and June, 2017 the woman attended local businesses on three occasions and removed property making no attempts to pay for the items as she left the stores. Police were contacted and investigations ensued. On June 11, 2017 the woman was located by police, taken into custody, charged accordingly and held for a bail hearing.
I just read the article by Mike Ferguson, Council to discuss which firm will help it select Billings' next city administrator (The Billings Gazette, June 5). Not impressed whatsoever.

Why does the Billings City Council always use companies or people who do not live, work or deal with local problems in the state of Montana? You need to use local companies and people to find an answer or let the local voters decide who should replace Tina Volek.

Instead of using the resources locally, you will decide which of these three companies choose our city administrator: Colin Baenziger & Associates of Daytona Beach Shores, Florida; The Mercer Group Inc. of Santa Fe, New Mexico; and Springsted/Waters of Addison, Texas.

Could it be you realize we here locally do not and will not accept who you choose so you want to pass the buck to these carpetbaggers from out of state if they choose the wrong person? The last couple of times you used out-of-state carpetbaggers to decide, the taxpayers of Billings footed the bill to pay that person to leave.

This is one of the many reasons we, the local voters of Billings, Yellowstone County and Montana vote against ballots and levies you ask us to vote for.

Glad to hear Volek is leaving the position she should have been removed from years ago.

Edward Robinson

Billings
Close

While everyone knows that heavy drinking can impair the brain and lead to all kinds of problems like dementia, and memory problems. Many thought recently that moderate drinking, having a glass of red wine a day, actually helped protect the brain. Not true, says a new study published in the British Medical Journal.

The study involved 550 men and women, none of whom were alcohol dependent, and focused mostly on the hippocampus, the part of the brain that is mostly associated with memory. It found that "higher alcohol consumption over the 30 year follow-up was associated with increased odds of hippocampal atrophy in a dose dependent fashion." Findings also showed that "even those drinking moderately (14-21 units/week) had three times the odds of right-sided hippocampal atrophy." It also asserted that there was no protective effect of "light drinking" (1-7 units/week) over abstinence."

The result concluded that alcohol consumption, even at moderate levels, is not good for the brain.

Some experts did not agree with that conclusion. Elizabeth Coulthard, consultant senior lecturer in dementia neurology at the University of Bristol, said that the study was observational and does not prove that alcohol was causing the damage to the brain.

Still, in reading the results of the study, it would be hard to come to the conclusion that drinking is somehow "good" for you. Subjects were given tests of lexical fluency. "[That] is where you ask somebody to name as many words as they can within a minute beginning with a certain letter," said Anya Topiwala, a clinical lecturer in old age psychiatry at the University of Oxford and co-author of the research.

It was found that subjects who drank between 7 and 14 units a week performed 14% worse on the task over 30 years compared to those who drank just 1-7 drinks per week.

Experts were not ready to recommend that people stop drinking entirely. They did, however recommend that people adhere to recommended guidelines.

In 2016 the Department of Health released new alcoholic guidelines in the UK. The guidelines say that no more than 6 drinks a week is recommended. I'm not sure if you've even been to England or drank with an Englishman, but 6 drinks a week qualifies for being sober in that country.

Dr. Doug Brown, director of research and development at the Alzheimer's Society, said that the new study did not mean that people should stop drinking altogether. Well, that's a relief -- they certainly aren't going to stop drinking in England anytime soon.

"Although this research gives useful insight into the long-term effects that drinking alcohol may have on the brain, it does not show that moderate alcohol intake causes cognitive decline," said Brown. "However, the findings do contradict a common belief that a glass of red wine or champagne a day can protect against damage to the brain."

See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare
Close

Mitch McConell has to referee a fight within his own party in order to save one of Republicans main election promises:"Repeal Obamacare."

Republicans ran on the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare. Now they are having a hard time coming to a consensus of what a replacement bill would look like.

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky has voiced frustration over the direction the GOP bill has taken. A house bill was passed that kept 90% of Obamacare but did allow for people with pre-existing conditions to be charged more. This is seen as politically inconvenient for many Senate Republicans who told constituents just the opposite while running for election in 2016.

"We promised the voters that we'd repeal Obamacare," Paul said. "Instead, we want to repeal sort of a tiny bit of it and replace it with something that looks a lot like Obamacare."

Losing two senators would be a major problem for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, whose party holds a 52 to 48 advantage in the senate. That would allow no margin of error since one more defection would make it impossible for the Republicans to repeal Obamacare.

The fight is between moderate forces and more conservative ones in the Republican side of the Senate. Moderate forces would have no problem with the expansion of Medicare. While conservative factions, who have been feeling the pressure form conservative groups, want a full repeal of Obamacare and a replacement that does not allow tax increases that go along with Obamacare. The question then becomes; How do you pay for that?

"There are third rails that they can touch in the bill. They keep Obamacare tax increases, they don't lower premiums: Conservatives will oppose it," said David McIntosh, president of the Club for Growth. "I'm tired of Republicans promising they would repeal Obamacare and then negotiating to keep it."

Many Republican lawmakers do not have a rosy outlook for the success of any future bill that satisfies the conservative wing of the party. Most see that the need to fund Medicaid as the only way to reduce premiums. Others see that the influx of cash into the individual marketplace may be the only way to keep those marketplaces alive and be able to offer affordable coverage to millions of Americans.

"I don't think it's insurmountable. But I think the passion's going up on each side," said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), who is pushing for more robust Medicaid benefits against conservative opposition. "The heat's definitely rising."

The Republican Party is in disarray while trying to dismantle one of the signature achievements of the Obama presidency. They seem to be blinded by the need to destroy his legacy. It makes more sense to keep many of the facets of the Affordable Care Act and simply tweak some areas to make it run more effectively. Republicans do not seem to be able to do this. They ran on repealing Obamacare and they are hellbent on delivering that promise regardless of not having an effective replacement. American citizens may end up paying the price.





See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare
I observed, with great dismay, the report of candidate Gianforte's attack of a Guardian reporter. That the candidate felt anger is not the issue  it's what he and his staff did about it  a physical outburst to harm another and the lie his staff made up to justify that this assault was acceptable.

Any of us who work with children will struggle to explain this response by an American political candidate. I encourage the now-elected congressman to remember these words, sung to the tune of "If youre happy and you know it."

"If you're angry and you know it, walk away."

Or, "If you're angry and you know it, say, 'I'm mad.'"

If 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds can understand this and carry this life lesson through their school career, I can only hope Congressman Gianforte can be measured and respond with safety in Washington, D.C.

By the way, I have traveled in Montana and Wyoming. I have experienced nothing but friendly, helpful folk who shared much to help this New Yorker understand their part of our great country.

Denise Androvette
Continue Reading Below Advertisement

If your beloved spouse of 20 years was your high school sweetheart, your donation will go as perfectly as the rest of your life. But if you've ever made a mistake, be prepared for a person with a clipboard to grill your children about it. "Just last week, I had one come up where I was talking to a son, I believe, about his father, and his father saw prostitutes every once in a while," Tucker says. "And that's a problem. That's considered a high-risk activity. So unless we can interview those prostitutes -- which we won't -- we won't be able to do that transplant. We usually have to preface it with, 'We mean no disrespect, and this is just to the best of your knowledge, obviously.' Like, it's pretty hard to ask a child about their parents, but usually you'll be able to ask a spouse, and they're pretty forthcoming."

Continue Reading Below Advertisement

Everyone has that aunt who will gladly fill the entire checkout line in on your uncle's latest extramarital activities. Turns out she's the backbone of organ donation. Who knew?

Ocskaymark/iStock

"That's very informative, ma'am, but we try not to use the term 'rouge-smeared hussy' on official forms."

Continue Reading Below Advertisement

Now, some of these guidelines stretch the meaning of "mistake." "I know one of the more controversial issues is if you're talking about a male, you have to ask if they've had sex with a man," Tucker says. "The FDA is slowly starting to go in a smarter direction, I think. It's going from whether it's been in the last five years to the last year, I think, and eventually it won't matter at all, I think." In the meantime, though, "sometimes we have to tell people that that's unfortunately a problem. It's an issue with the Food and Drug Administration." Tough luck, little girl who needs a kidney; the dead guy's beloved spouse of 20 years happened to have the wrong pee parts.
It is regrettable that direct power generation from coal has yet to find a way to create a sustainable power plant. I remember well some excitement about this possibility at Montana State in the late 1970s. (FYI, my academic degree trail includes Billings West High 1974, Rocky Mountain College 1978, masters degree Eastern Montana College-Montana State University Billings 1991.)

The proposition suggested by George W. Bush and Barack Obama that we conserve fossil fuels and develop renewable energy is wise. Fossil fuel use may not have to be completely abandoned to save Earths climate, if it is reined in so Earths carbon sinks  its forests, grasslands, oceans, etc.  are not overwhelmed.

Moreover, complete deregulation of coal by Trumps executive order could yield vast quantities of sulfur dioxide which causes highly destructive acid rain. Fortunately, presently, natural-gas-power generation and, to some extent, renewable energy sector and their economics are not necessarily hindered by environmental regulation.

The legacies of the Obama and Bush presidencies have created a generation of investment in the renewable energy sector. I doubt the renewable energy sector investors will sit by and watch their investments go belly-up with a fossil-fuel-only energy policy.

Trumps executive order to roll back gasoline fuel economy standards makes no sense. Who would want to purchase a gas guzzler, when current fuel efficiency standards yield more disposable income for other things?

Stephen E. Hauf

Santa Fe, New Mexico
What does the U.S. and the U.K. have in common when it comes to healthcare? Their healthcare sector continues to be under siege, and renewed efforts need to be made to lift the level of focus on protecting patient information. It is as if a Sword of Damocles hangs over this sector.

As asinine as it sounds, we may have finally reached the tipping point where patients are now accepting, by default, their information will be at risk when they accept medical care?

Government entities, one in the U.S. and another in the U.K. recently issued reports on the state of affairs within the healthcare sector. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Health Care Industry Cybersecurity Task Force issued its first report to Congress, and the HHS Office of Inspector General (IG) submitted its semi-annual report to Congress. In the U.K., the Information Commissioners office (ICO) released its data protections and concerns report. The content demonstrates how the issues being faced on the IT side of the healthcare equation know no borders.

The HHS Task Force recognized how vulnerable the sector is with its observation: "Over the next few years, most machinery and technology involved in patient care will connect to the internet; however, a majority of this equipment was not originally intended to be internet accessible nor designed to resist cyber attacks."

The HHS Task Force recognizes that a cultural change is required if cybersecurity and patient privacy are to be kept from "digitally sourced harm"a fancy way of saying being affected by a breach.

Interestingly, the HHS IG report highlights as areas of concern enhancing safety and quality care, efficiency of operations, reducing fraud and improper payments, and improving "data integrity and information security." The HHS IG recognizes the bang that can be acquired via implementing big data analytics to the fraud equation as a means to detect and prevent improper payments. Similarly, the HHS IG identifies "penetration testing" as its area of focus.

While across the pond in the U.K., the ICO notes the 31.5 percent increase in the number of self-reported incidents of data mishandling in the healthcare sector. The report also identifies with specificity that care homes (known in the U.S. as assisted living or nursing homes) continually avoid responding to IOC's requests. The Register notes how data breaches within the health sector accounted for 43 percent of all data breaches in the UK.

What is not surprising is the amount of breaches across both the U.S. and U.K. that are caused by human error. Sharing patient information in press releases or presentations is a self-inflicted wound. Copying data in a clear-text state to a storage medium, again a self-inflicted wound. Throwing patient files away via normal garbage disposal methods instead of destroying patient data, again a self-inflicted wound. The recent WannaCry crisis brought the U.K.'s health service to its knees was also a self-inflicted wound because they continued to use Window XP machines (an operating system that was end-of-life in April 2014). And of course, the "clicking" of links within emails that serve as the hook-setting event for some of the larger breaches, a lack of awareness by the insider.

Patients need to be asking, "How is my data being protected?" The U.K., interestingly enough, has provided via the ICO a means for an individual to check if their information is being handled correctly.

It's up to you. Are you prepared to trade your privacy for treatment? Hold your healthcare providers accountable for how they handle your information.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

The New England Air Museum wants dads to reach for the stars on Fathers Day.

Its Open Cockpit event on Sunday, June 18, will feature such special activities as climbing aboard historic aircraft, using flight simulators and hands-on Build and Fly Challenges. Some of the aircraft that will be open for visitors are the World War II-era Republic P-47D Thunderbolt, the Vietnam War-era Bell UH-1B Huey helicopter and supersonic jet fighters, including the North American F-100 Super Sabre and the Lockheed F-104C Starfighter.

Time Machine Hobby, of Manchester, will be on hand to demonstrate remote-controlled helicopters and drones at the Windsor Locks museum.

Fathers Day Open Cockpit is one of our most popular events of the year, an especially appealing destination for families who often come en masse with fathers and grandfathers, mothers, grandmothers and children, said Debbie Reed, NEAM assistant director.

Its a special day since we only do about five open cockpit events throughout the year, she said, noting that the events are few and far between to limit wear and tear on the aircraft, and to allow time to recruit volunteers to oversee activities.

Reed noted that youngsters always seem to be in awe of the museums extensive collection of military and private aircraft, but that if truth be told, it is the dads who have the most fun. Ladders are supplied for visitors to climb into the aircraft; children should be old enough to maneuver on their own. Reed added that even toddlers can enjoy the experience by boarding low-to-the-ground helicopters with an adult and sitting on the adults lap.

More Information New England Air Museum, 36 Perimeter Road, Windsor Locks. Sunday, June 18, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. $12.50; $7 ages 4-11; $11.50 seniors; 20 per cent discount for active-duty military; 10 percent discount for veterans.860-623-3305, www.neam.org See More Collapse

Many of us grow up having a fascination with flying and having daydreams of becoming a fighter pilot or a pilot for a commercial airline, she said. Open cockpit days allow the public the opportunity to live out some of those daydreams, she added.

Food and beverages will be available for purchase. All activities are included with museum admission. The gift shop will stay open until 5 p.m. Sneakers or rubber-soled shoes are recommended.

The New England Air Museums collection features more than 100 aircraft ranging from early flying machines to supersonic jets. More than 65 aircraft are on display in three large exhibit hangars and in an outdoor display area (open depending on weather), while others are in storage and restoration hangars, the museum says in a news release.

Among the special exhibits, as described by NEAM, are the: 57th Fighter Group World War II Memorial, a tribute to the first aviation unit to be deployed to what is now Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks and the 58th Bomb Wing WWII Memorial, dedicated to the first unit in WWII to take the B-29 Superfortress into combat; The Airship Era, presenting the story of the great German, British and American airships from 1900 through WW II; and the Silas Brooks Balloon Basket, built and flown by Plymouth (Conn.) native and aeronaut Silas Brooks in the 1870s  this is the oldest surviving American built aircraft.

pasboros@ctpost.com; Twitter:@PhyllisASBoros
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

More than three dozen employees of the states 18 hospital chains made more than $1 million in salary and benefits in fiscal year 2016.

The state Department of Public Health has released the 10 highest-paid employees at every health system and at every hospital. Employees with total compensation packages of $1 million-plus  who totaled 39  include those from hospitals in Bridgeport, Greenwich, Stamford, Danbury and New Haven.

The number of employees getting $1 million or more rose from 2015, when there were 35.

Michele Sharp, spokeswoman for the Connecticut Hospital Association, said the salaries and benefits health officials receive are on par with what the hospitals provide not just to patients, but to the state in general.

Connecticut hospitals are a critical cornerstone of our states safety net and economy, generating 200,000 jobs in our state, serving 1.6 million people in the (emergency department) alone, and creating a total economic benefit to our state of $26.2 billion every year, she said in an email. Especially during these difficult economic times, our hospitals need the very best and brightest leadership to help navigate this complex and challenging health care environment.

However, the compensation numbers come at an uncertain time in the health care industry, both nationally and in the state.

Hospital officials have been critical of the states proposed budget, which includes funding cuts to the hospitals. The national discussion on health care has led to an uncertain environment, with President Donald Trump pushing for the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act, the sweeping health reform legislation known as Obamacare.

More Information Making big bucks The state Department of Public Health has released the top-paid employees at the state's 18 hospital chains, revealing that 39 employees statewide make more than $1 million in salary and benefits. Marna Borgstrom $3.8M President and CEO of Yale New Haven Health System Brian Grissler $2.1M Stamford Health president and CEO of Greenwich Hospital WIlliam Jennings $1.5M President and CEO of Bridgeport Hospital and executive VP of Yale New Health System Norman Roth $1.3M President of Greenwich Hospital and executive VP of Yale New Haven Health System John Murphy $1.5M President and CEO of Western Connecticut Health Network See More Collapse

Gov. Dannel P. Malloys office declined to comment on the compensation numbers.

Yale on top

As she was last year, the highest-paid employee in the state was Marna Borgstrom, president and CEO of Yale New Haven Health System, which includes Yale New Haven Hospital, Bridgeport Hospital and Greenwich Hospital. Borgstroms salary and benefits in 2016 totaled about $3.8 million.

All of Yale New Haven Healths 10 top-paid employees had compensation packages of more than $1 million, including William Jennings, president and CEO of Bridgeport Hospital and executive vice president of Yale New Haven Health System  whose package totaled about $1.5 million  and Norman Roth, president of Greenwich Hospital and executive vice president of Yale New Haven Health System  whose compensation totaled almost $1.3 million.

Those compensation rates arent reached lightly, said Vin Petrini, Yale senior vice president of public affairs. Yale is the states largest chain, he said, and many officials  including Roth, Jennings and Borgstrom  have roles both at the individual hospitals and within the chain as a whole.

Obviously, this is something that is thoroughly assessed and reviewed every year by our board, Petrini said. Yale New Haven Health is the largest and most complex health system in the state, and probably one of the most complex in the nation."

He also pointed out that two of the chains top compensated employees  senior vice president of payer relations William Gedge and vice president of system compensation and benefits Michael Dimenstein  became fully vested in their retirement accounts because of their ages and years of service. This means a large chunk of what is listed as salary is deferred compensation, which is reported to the IRS as income, but is not paid to the employees.

Also well-compensated

Statewide, other health officials whose salary and benefits topped $1 million included John Murphy, president and CEO of Western Connecticut Health Network, which includes Danbury, New Milford and Norwalk hospitals, and Brian Grissler, president and CEO of Stamford Health.

At St. Vincents Medical Center in Bridgeport, the top-compensated employee was Stuart Marcus, who left his post as hospital president and CEO last July. His salary and benefits totaled $1.6 million. St. Vincents officials referred comment on the issue to the Connecticut Hospital Association.

However, Stamford Health spokesman Craig Andrews said in an email that hospitals and health systems need to acquire and retain the best talent, and that requires competitive compensation.

There are a limited number of executives experienced enough to guide a state-of-the-art hospital and growing healthcare system in an increasingly competitive and complex industry, Andrews said. Pay and benefits for such executives need to be comparable to what they could receive at another leading national hospital system or in another industry, and to ensure this, compensation is determined through oversight by the Board of Directors with input from experienced independent healthcare compensation consultants on an annual basis.

Not all area health officials broke the $1 million mark. None of the top-paid employees at Griffin Health Services Corp., which owes Griffin Hospital in Derby, or Milford Health Services, which owns Milford Hospital hit that number.

Milford Hospital President Joseph Pelaccia, however, just missed, with a total compensation package of $954,359.

Though many hospital and health officials defended the large salary and benefit numbers, at least one said they had the potential to change in the near future.

It is important to note that this report is based on results during 2016 and does not reflect the more tumultuous economic environment we are experiencing in 2017, Andrews said.
NEWTOWN  A group of Sandy Hook families are criticizing NBC News host Megyn Kelly for inviting a conspiracy theorist on her show who questions whether the Sandy Hook massacre happened the way it was reported.

The families say Kellys upcoming interview with Texas-based radio host Alex Jones disrespects their loss and legitimizes an extremist.

As a result, Sandy Hook Promise, a leading gun violence prevention organization, and Kelly have agreed she will no longer host the organization's annual Promise Champions Gala on Wednesday in Washington D.C.

Sandy Hook Promise cannot support the decision by Megyn or NBC to give any form of voice or platform to Alex Jones and have asked Megyn Kelly to step down as our Promise Champion Gala host," said Nicole Hockley, co-Founder and Managing Director. "It is our hope that Megyn and NBC reconsider and not broadcast this interview."

The gala will honor men and women from across the country for their work in violence and gun violence prevention. All the proceeds raised at the benefit will help fund delivery of Sandy Hook Promise's research-based, no cost violence prevention programs to homes,schools, and communities nationwide.

Although the interview is not scheduled to air until Sunday, Kelly posted a 90-second clip of the interview on Twitter. The clip drew a sharp response from Nelba Marquez-Greene, who lost a daughter in the 2012 massacre of 20 first-graders and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

To give a man like this such a platform normalizes behavior that isnt normal, Marquez-Greene tweeted. In Megyn Kellys America, cruelty gets u on national TV on Fathers Day.

Kelly responded that Americans deserve to know more about a man who has been praised by President Trump, and whose Infowars organization has been given White House press credentials.

Many dont know him, Kelly tweeted. Our job is to shine a light.

Jones is the same figure named in a February letter from Newtown leaders to the White House calling on President Trump to cut his ties with Jones.

One of the significant roadblocks to our future is the continued rumors and viciousness spread by many people outside of our homes who believe that our tragedy was a staged government event that never happened, that the children and educators we lost never existed, the letter read. One perpetrator of these lies is Alex Jones.

As of Monday, Newtown had not received a reply from the White House.

No response whatsoever, said First Selectman Pat Llodra. I am very disappointed. I would have expected at least a courtesy response.

Meanwhile, some Sandy Hook families were criticizing Kelly, a former Fox New star who left the network this year.

What Megyn Kelly and NBC are doing to us is shameful, read a tweet by the family of slain first-grade teacher Victoria Leigh Soto.

What the clip says

It was unclear on Monday how far Kelly presses Jones about his Sandy Hook views. An NBC representative told the Associated Press that the network had no comment.

But the clip Kelly posted hints at the tenor of the interview.

They call you the most paranoid man in America, Kelly states in the clip Is that true?

Absolutely not. Jones responds. A paranoid person would be hiding out in their house. I go out there on the street, battle Black Lives Matter, the Communists, point-blank range.

Later in the clip, after Jones explains that the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center were an inside job involving criminal elements in our government working with Saudi Arabia and others, Kelly asks Jones about the Sandy Hook massacre.

Well, Sandy Hook is complex, because I have had debates where the devils advocates have said the whole story is true, and then I have had debates where I have said, ah, that none of it is true, Jones says.

When you say parents faked their childrens death, people get very angry, Kelly says.

Oh, I know, Jones says. But they dont get angry about the half million deaths of Iraqis from the sanctions.

Thats a dodge, Kelly says.

No, no. its not a dodge, Jones says. The media never covers all the evil wars its promoted 

That doesnt excuse what you said about Newtown, Kelly says.

Heres the difference  I looked at all the angles of Newtown and I made my statements long before the media even picked up on it, Jones says.

Whether the discussion continues is not clear. The clip ends at that point.

Marquez-Greene suggested that Kelly use her show to highlight another subject on Fathers Day.

Can you shine a light on the heroic acts of grieving fathers instead? Marquez-Greene tweeted.

rryser@newstimes.com; 203-731-3342
Contributed

ORANGE  A septuagenarian was accused of shoplifting at an Ocean State Job Lot in town earlier this month.

According to the Orange Police Department, on June 1, police were dispatched to the store at 401 Boston Post Road on a report of a shoplifting. Upon arrival, officers spoke with loss prevention personnel, who observed a female suspect later identified as Oyngan Wong-Lee, 72, of Hamden concealing merchandise in her handbag. She was subsequently taken into custody and charged with sixth degree larceny.
Traditionally, hiring decisions have fallen solely on the shoulders of the employer. And, for owners of small, but growing businesses, this responsibility is a major cause of stress and pressure.

Related: 11 Interview Questions That Trip Everyone Up

By staying fully in charge of the hiring process, moreover, these same leaders may be causing potential candidates to shy away from accepting a job offer.

Just ask the job-seekers themselves: For 41 percent of Gen Z, 81 percent of millennials and 52 percent of Gen X surveyed, the opportunity for candidates to interact with employees before they are hired is important, according to Engage2Excels 2017 Trendicators report, which surveyed 1,500 job seekers.

Candidates want to understand whom they'll be working with before they accept a job offer. When employers involve current employees in the hiring process, those candidates gain a glimpse into the companys culture and can better determine if theyd be a good fit.

Employers who involve current employees, meanwhile, take some of the pressure off themselves. When their team members and candidates can interact, everyone will see a natural improvement in new hires and even an increase in retention rates.

Heres why every employer will benefit from including employees in the hiring process:

1. Creates more accountability

Kris Duggan, CEO of BetterWorks, a performance-management software company in Redwood City, Calif., realized his team members were able to hold one another accountable for their core values when everyone got involved in the hiring process.

A candidate will never just talk to our hiring manager and their future manager -- they actually present a homework assignment to a team of our own employees who would be working with them regularly, Duggan explained via email.

Along with measuring candidates performances on their homework assignments, Duggans team evaluates cultural fit.

Related: 7 Interview Questions That Determine Emotional Intelligence

We evaluate new hires based on their sparkle -- or how much enthusiasm they show for their role and our company. When current employees are involved, we hold ourselves accountable to hiring for our core values, like sparkle, he said.

Tip: Set a list of both skills and cultural criteria for new hire evaluations. Once this criteria is established, have current employees measure each candidate on their own. Then, get together in brainstorming sessions to discuss everyones pros and cons. Gathering varying opinions during the hiring process will help leaders make more effective hiring decisions.

2. Connects employees with company success

Referrals are one of the most common ways to involve employees in the hiring process.

Referrals help leverage an organizations employee relationships with friends, former co-workers and family members to spread the word about job openings, Jill Chapman, senior performance consultant at Insperity, an HR solution organization in Houston, told me.

Chapman found introducing Insperitys employee referral program to new hires during the onboarding process was most effective. As employees are learning the ropes, they can easily connect the employment interests of former co-workers, family, and friends to the companys needs.

These interactions are important because employee participation fosters engagement and a connection to the organizations success, she continued.

Tip: Employees who refer new hires feel proud when those hires succeed in their positions. This makes them feel like an integral part of the team and reinforces that their opinion matters. To further entice employees, use a recognition software like HighGround to recognize them for their contributions.

3. Eases onboarding

At BambooHR, an HR software company, leaders allow collaborators outside of HR personnel and direct supervisors to see information about new hires before their first day. The BambooHR team also does a 10- to 15-minute meet-and-greet between a candidate and his or her potential co-workers before an offer is sent out.

We want them to start building relationships among the team members so there is less awkwardness on their first day, said James Conway, senior talent acquisition partner at BambooHR in Lindon, Utah.

These examples allow team members to be a really big part of the candidate engagement process -- which means stronger relationships during onboarding and better long-term integration with your new hire, Conway added.

Tip: Allow employees to meet potential new hires at some point during the hiring process. This can occur during interview rounds or right before you make an offer. No matter what timeline leaders choose, its crucial to encourage relationship-building so everyone feels comfortable and ready to jump into work together.

4. Makes for a stronger cultural fit

Nobody knows the ins and outs of a companys culture better than current employees.

By meeting with all the employees that a candidate would be working with, both the candidate and the current employees are able to see if they would fit in well with the team, Nicole Stelmar, digital marketing specialist at Inseev in San Diego, told me via email.

Even during her own interview, Stelmar said, she was able to discern the culture at the company and make a decision on whether or not shed be a good fit for the position and culture. Now, as a current employee, shes able to see the benefits from both sides of the table.

Since we all ask candidates different questions, each of us has a unique understanding of their experience and personality. Ultimately, this gives us a more well-rounded view of the candidate and whether or not theyre the right fit, Stelmar said.

Some leaders believe that involving too many people in the hiring process is dangerous due to the high volume of opinions. However, Stelmar and the Inseev team find its the most effective solution to determine which candidate has the most potential to succeed at their company. In fact, thanks to all those differing opinions, team members get a clearer view of who a candidate is before an offer is made.

Related: Tips for Interviewing Every Hiring Manager Should Know

Tip: When getting employees involved in the hiring process, give them time to consider candidates alone and then with other team members. This ensures that they'll get a 360-degree view of the candidate's cultural fit before making their final suggestion.

Related:

4 Reasons Employees Need to be Involved in Your Hiring Process

Is Your Company Prepared to Attract Millennial Talent?

How Recruitment Dynamics Will Change in Fast Growing Economy Like India



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Innovation is the lifeblood of entrepreneurship.

Peter Drucker considers it, the specific tool of entrepreneurs, the means by which they exploit change as an opportunity for a different business or a different service. That said, the reality is that although organizations value innovation, they struggle to achieve it.

Research by McKinsey revealed 94 percent of surveyed executives were dissatisfied with their companys innovative performance, and 85 percent of global entrepreneurs create businesses on someone elses idea, Amar Bhide, said.

This all points to a failure in entrepreneurial leadership. The leader plays a critical role in creating the right environment for innovation to flourish. Leaders often look to influence innovation at the organizational (macro) level; but equally they can inspire openness of thinking and ideas at a personal (micro) level.

Influencing innovation and ideas at the organizational level.

There are many strategic ways leaders can influence the flow of innovation and ideas at the level of organizational design that goes beyond the lame suggestion box. Here are three proven approaches.

1. Acknowledge and reward innovation.

Promoting innovation and ideas should be on every leaders scorecard. Employees should be encouraged to look at their daily tasks through an innovative lens, and they should be acknowledged and rewarded for innovative ideas. Compensation and gift giving is standard practice in progressive organizations such as Zappos.

2. Inject creativity with acquisitions.

Vijay Govindarajan has written about how organizations can inject creativity and innovation into their organizations through joint ventures and acquisitions. Disney's acquisition of Pixar, for example, revitalized Disneys creative juices.

3. Dedicate time to innovation.

In 1948, 3M launched its 15 percent program, where 15 percent of employees' time was dedicated to innovation. The Post-It note was invented during 15 percent time. Organizations such as Hewlett-Packard and Google have both replicated this approach. Gmail and Google Earth were conceived during Google's 20 percent time.

Influencing innovation and ideas at the personal level.

Oftentimes leaders focus on strategically influencing innovation at the organizational level and can overlook the key role it can play in influencing a culture of openness and ideas through interpersonal effectiveness. Here are some ways leaders can encourage and role model openness and increase the flow of ideas through the way they interact with employees.

1. Increase dialogue.

Very often leaders talk about engaging with others through debate and discussion. These three verbs have very unfavorable etymologies. To engage, from the old French engagier, means to bind by promise or oath; to debate, from the old French debatre, means to beat; and to discuss has its origins in the Latin discutere, meaning to smash or break up.

Dialogue, on the other hand, comes from Greek dialogos, denoting flow of meaning. This is not just semantic pedantry, it gets to the heart of what effective modern leaders do - they broaden perspective, and they facilitate a flow of ideas through shared inquiry.

According to William Issacs, dialogue is a way of thinking and reflecting together. It is not something you do to another person. It is something you do with people.

Leaders can sometimes get carried away by their own status and positional power and feel duty-bound to challenge ideas, and keep everything on track. This closes down innovation. Ideas cannot flow when everyone is arm wrestling; ideas flow when people are curious, inquiring and openly expressing their ideas.

Leaders should recognize that dialogue is key to innovation, and they should be encouraging, cultivating and role modelling shared thinking.

Related: 5 Key Ingredients for Corporate Innovation

2. Suspend assumptions and judgements.

To assume and infer is to process data through our own interpretative lens.

Leaders need to consciously suspend their natural inclination to add layers of meaning and inference to ideas. Critical observation in early ideation closes down innovative thinking.

Two powerful tools that help leaders suspend judgement and remain receptive to new ideas include Chris Argyris' Ladder of Inference and Edward do Bono's Six Thinking Hats.

Related: Has Innovation Reached Its Breaking Point?

3. Actively listen.

Mark Twain famously remarked, If we were supposed to talk more than we listen, we would have two tongues and one ear.

A key way leaders can inspire people to produce ideas is to take time to actively listen to them. It sounds obvious, but giving someone space to develop their ideas creates a respectful environment, where people feel comfortable expressing themselves.

When leaders are constantly interrupting, talking over ideas, finishing sentences and projecting negative body language, it breaks the creative flow and deters innovation. Rather than giving a person a good talking to, give them a good listening to.

Related: We've Become So Obsessed With 'Innovation' That It's Now Meaningless

Innovation is key to competitive advantage and growth. The 2016 Global Innovation Index, which is an annual ranking of the innovation capabilities and performance of economies around the world, focuses on national policies, but it's individual leaders who can make a difference by driving innovation within organizations and creating a conducive environment for innovation to thrive.

Related:

The Good Thing About an Antiquated Industry? Lots of Room to Innovate.

Creating a Culture of Innovation Starts With the Leader

The Workforce Wonder



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Infrastructure is the bedrock of our communities, our economy in North Dakota and the entire nation.

From the food we eat and water we drink to the electricity that lights our homes and fuel that powers our vehicles, all of it depends on infrastructure.

For far too long, the federal government has been criticized  often justifiably  as an obstacle to infrastructure development.

Too much red tape. Too many delays from redundant studies and duplicative environmental reviews. Too much interference driven by national political winds rather than practical, local decision making. Too much uncertainty over federal funding to attract local buy-in or private investment.

And so it was incredibly refreshing Thursday to hear a clear, consistent message of state empowerment and federal collaboration from President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Cabinet members and other senior administration officials.

Trump set the tone as he welcomed the eight governors and nearly two dozen other state, local and tribal leaders who had been invited to the White House Infrastructure Summit.

Together, he said, were going to rebuild America.

That sentiment was echoed throughout the day by leaders such as Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, our neighbor from Montana, who said he wants to push authority back to the states and be a partner, not an adversary. Zinke understands we need a stable federal permitting process to attract investment in infrastructure. The Trump administration also wants to dramatically shorten the permitting time for infrastructure projects, from up to 10 years down to two years.

Lt. Gov. Brent Sanford and I found a receptive audience during our breakout sessions as we emphasized the need to reduce regulations, streamline the permitting process and embrace technology to tackle our current and future infrastructure needs  whether that be ensuring adequate broadband to support unmanned aerial vehicles collecting data for precision agriculture and monitoring critical infrastructure such as pipelines, or capturing carbon emissions at our coal and ethanol plants for use in enhanced oil recovery.

We also advocated that projects with a high percentage of local and state funding, such as the Fargo-Moorhead diversion, should move ahead of those seeking the bulk of their dollars from federal sources.

Our administration and the new administration in Washington both understand that to solve our issues and rebuild Americas foundation, we need more innovation, not regulation.

With the successful resolution of the Dakota Access Pipeline, we saw how removing politics from the equation can help pave the way for safe infrastructure progress. Now, we should turn our attention to aging pipelines, roads, bridges and other crumbling infrastructure that presents more of a danger to public safety and stifles development.

We need more federal research dollars to help solve real-world problems. We need to approve projects with a high return on investment, creating smart, efficient infrastructure that leads to healthy, vibrant communities that attract and retain a 21st century workforce.

The task ahead is challenging. The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates $2 trillion in U.S. infrastructure needs. Trump has called for leveraging $200 billion in federal spending to spur $1 trillion in total infrastructure investment through state, local and private-sector partnerships.

Details have yet to be hammered out, but the commitment is clear. All of us should be excited about the prospect of building the infrastructure of the future with a federal government that no longer represents roadblocks but rather an open lane to progress.
Nearly 80 PA people have been charged for Jan. 6 riot. Three are dead.

news
Formidable: Ruth Davidson has made it clear that she wants Theresa May to abandon her Brexit strategy and go for something akin the Norway model

After the election, comes the coup. I dont mean a coup against Theresa May by Conservative MPs. The parliamentary party want to keep her in place, if only as a marionette whose strings they will pull mercilessly until the time comes to cut them.

No, the coup is against the electorate itself  and the plotters are the small number of Tory MPs who see Mays humiliation as an unexpected opportunity to destroy her plan to take the UK out of the EU single market and customs union. Their number, Im told, is no more than ten, but they are counting on the support of the most formidable woman  no, make that the most formidable person of either gender  in British politics.

I refer to Ruth Davidson, who led the Scottish Conservative Party to triumph last Thursday, increasing their number of MPs from just one to 13.

If it were not for the ebullient and articulate Ms Davidsons genius as a campaigner (a polar opposite to the partys leader at Westminster), we might well now be witnessing the first days of the Corbyn government. So the Tory Party is deeply indebted to Ms Davidson.

Control

The problem is the price she wants to extract is one which would almost certainly destroy the party. In interviews immediately after the General Election, using only slightly coded language, Ms Davidson made it clear she wants Mrs May to abandon her Brexit strategy and go for something akin to the Norway model  that is, to remain a member of the single market.

There are three difficulties with this position, sometimes described, reassuringly, as soft Brexit.

It means the UK would still have to pay billions of pounds a year into the EU budget. It means we would still be subject to freedom of movement  so no control over immigration. And it means the British parliament would still be subject to a higher judicial authority, the court of the European Free Trade Association, which is a mere transmitter of the decisions of the European Court of Justice.

Naturally, Ms Davidson did not spell this all out. But when asked on Saturday if her vision involved retaining free movement, she said Mrs Mays plan to withdraw from the single market and go for a free-trade deal would now have to be revisited.

Whats really clear is that the Conservative Party, having failed to win a majority, will now have to work with others. That means we can look again at what it is we want to achieve as we leave the EU and I want to be involved in those discussions.

Ms Davidson, in fact, is not at Westminster herself. She is a member of the Holyrood assembly and her ambition is to become First Minister of Scotland. But the new battalion of Scottish Conservative MPs will follow her lead.

Threat: Miss Davidson had said that the 13 Scottish Tory MPs, pictured above, 'will vote entirely as they believe that they should rather than obediently follow a line handed down by Conservative Whips in Westminster

When she said that those 13 MPs will vote entirely as they believe that they should, this was nothing less than a threat that they would not obediently follow a line on the EU negotiations handed down by the Conservative Whips office in Westminster, but hold to their own position: hers. I have been told by one Westminster Tory that she has already made that clear to the Whips office.

Be certain about this: given the tiny majority the government will have in the Commons (even with the support of the ten Democratic Unionist MPs) the Conservatives could lose any vote if the 13 Scottish Conservative MPs abstained. This gives Ms Davidson great power  and she intends to exercise it.

There are particular reasons why she is much keener on the so-called Norway model  and not just because she was a passionate Remainer in the EU referendum. Scotland, for centuries, has suffered from de-population, so unlimited immigration from the EU 27 is not the problem that it is in England.

And though Scotland voted largely for Remain, it now wants its own waters back: you can be a member of the single market without also subscribing to the hated Common Fisheries Policy (hated, that is, by the Scottish fishing industry).

In that interview on Saturday, Ms Davidson also declared: We have complete autonomy on policies, which is why we published our own manifesto, which we fought on.

Targeted

On hearing this, I immediately downloaded the Scottish Conservative Partys 2017 Manifesto to discover its unique line on Brexit. This is what it says: As we leave the European Union, we will no longer be members of the single market or customs union, but we will seek a deep and special partnership including a comprehensive free trade and customs agreement.

Rejection: John McDonnell immediately scotched the idea that Labour could now oppose May's plan to take Britain out of the single market

In other words, Ms Davidsons Scottish Conservative party campaigned for exactly the same so-called hard Brexit as Mrs May did.

It is true the Conservative Party has not won a parliamentary majority with its manifesto commitment. When Ms Davidson says they should therefore work with others on this, she must principally mean the Labour Party.

However, Labours own manifesto was explicit in backing the idea of leaving the EU single market, and that this would mean an end to freedom of movement.

This was Labours attempt to avoid a haemorrhaging of support in constituencies where a majority of its traditional supporters had voted Leave: it also feared the Tories would otherwise scoop up almost all the votes which had gone to Ukip in the 2015 election. Corbyns team achieved its aim: satisfied by Labours manifesto commitment to leave the single market and freedom of movement, vast numbers of ex-UKIP voters turned out for Labour last week.

Indeed, when Robert Peston on his eponymous TV programme yesterday invited the Labour Shadow Chancellor to agree with the proposition that Labour could now oppose Mays plan to take Britain out of the single market, John McDonnell immediately rejected the idea.

And when Peston protested that the referendum did not mandate leaving the single market, McDonnell dismissed this, too: People will interpret not leaving the single market as not respecting the result of the referendum.

So, adding the votes cast for the two main parties manifestos, it is clear that there is a colossal mandate for what its critics denounce as hard Brexit. Add to that the votes cast for the DUP, which won the most seats in Northern Ireland as a pro-Brexit party, and over 90 per cent of ballots were for parties pledged to leave the single market.

Sabotage

While Conservative, Labour and DUP vote shares went up, it was the Liberal Democrats and the SNP  both explicitly opposed to Brexit  who lost popular support. Look at what happened in Vauxhall, where Kate Hoey, Londons only pro-Brexit Labour MP, was targeted by the Lib Dems, who even brought in that indefatigable Remoaner, Bob Geldof, to help.

Losing support: Tim Farron survived by 777 votes in his seat before having the gall to say it was the Conservative Partys Brexit vision which had been rejected

Hoey massacred them, gaining a 20,000 majority. And the Lib Dem leader Tim Farron had his 8,172 majority annihilated by the Tories, surviving by only 777 votes. Farron then had the gall to say it was the Conservative Partys Brexit vision which had been rejected.

Even Farron seems calmly reasonable compared to the Tory MP Anna Soubry, who yesterday told the BBCs Andrew Neil: The people have spoken and they have rejected hard Brexit  we can all agree on that.

On this issue, the truth and what comes out of Soubrys mouth have little in common. During the referendum campaign, the then Business Minister actually claimed that if the UK were no longer a full member of the single market, our exports to the EU would fall to almost zero.

Soubry is part of that little gang of Tory MPs hoping that Ruth Davidson will aid their sabotage of a trade deal with the EU not tied to free movement. This would be suicidal for the Conservative Party: it would plunge them back into the internal conflict which was supposed to have been settled by the Brexit referendum.

Such an internecine war would destroy the fragile new government  propelling Jeremy Corbyn into Downing Street.

Message to Ruth Davidson: you, more than anyone, last week saved the Conservatives  and Great Britain  from that prospect.

Why destroy your achievement?
Anyone tuning in to the airwaves over the weekend might be forgiven for believing Theresa May lost the election, while Jeremy Corbyn led Labour to a resounding victory. The facts tell a very different story.

Certainly, the Prime Minister suffered an awful night. But she secured a full 56 more seats than Labour, while swelling the Conservative vote to the second highest won by any party in history  beaten only by John Major in 1992.

At 42.4 per cent, her share was also higher than any since Tony Blairs 43.2 per cent in 1997, which won him a landslide.

Indeed, in saner times, the Conservatives would be congratulating themselves and their leader on an impressive result.

Indeed, in saner times, the Conservatives would be congratulating themselves and their leader on an impressive result

But try telling that to embittered Tory Remainers, gloating over her loss of an overall majority, who were wheeled out by the broadcasters to demand her removal.

Are they really prepared to risk a government led by neo-Marxist Mr Corbyn? Make no mistake, that is the appalling possibility if they carry on sniping.

The truth is that a poll-weary country is heartily sick of elections  while the last thing the Conservatives need, with vital work to do at this crucial juncture in our history, is the distraction and acrimony of a leadership contest.

In just seven days, Brexit talks are due to begin. Meanwhile, ministers must thrash out a policy programme for the next Parliament, opening next Monday.

Nobody pretends this will be easy. Inevitably, Tory commitments will have to be shelved, with concessions made to the Democratic Unionist Party. But if MPs have the countrys interests at heart, a workable way forward will be found.

As for Brexit, dont forget 90 per cent of MPs elected last week went to the country on manifestos committed to EU withdrawal. If they keep their promise, it should be full steam ahead.

Anyone tuning in to the airwaves over the weekend might be forgiven for believing Theresa May lost the election, while Jeremy Corbyn led Labour to a resounding victory

Yes, Mrs May has had a nasty shock. But with the prompt departure of the aides who directed her dismal campaign, the signs are she is learning the lessons.

Meanwhile, the return of Michael Gove suggests she remains firm on Brexit, while her otherwise undramatic reshuffle shows her determination to keep the ship steady.

Whatever opportunist Blairites may say, as they leap aboard the wagon of the extremist leader they reviled, Conservatives under Mrs May beat Mr Corbyn soundly.

They owe it to the 13,667,213 who put their trust in the Prime Minister to let her get on and govern.

Whatever opportunist Blairites may say, as they leap aboard the wagon of the extremist leader they reviled, Conservatives under Mrs May beat Mr Corbyn soundly

Dont insult our ally

However you might regard Donald Trump, he is the elected President of our closest ally. His countrymen, many of whom fought and died side-by-side with us in two world wars, remain the worlds most powerful guardians of democracy.

The US is also our biggest single trading partner, with which we want to do more business after Brexit. So this paper is sad that the threat of widespread protests has made Mr Trump consider cancelling his state visit to Britain.

What an indictment of the intolerance of the British Left, which allowed past visits by totalitarian thugs such as Zimbabwes Robert Mugabe to pass almost without incident or comment.

Mr Trump should be welcomed  not for his politics or his ill-judged tweets, but for the country he represents.
Most people know which hairstyle suits their face shape but a celebrity hairdresser has revealed that it's actually where you part your hair that can make all the difference.

Jordan Garrett, a celebrity stylist at Daniel Hersheson who has worked with Mollie King and Olivia Palermo, insists there's a specific parting for each face shape. He says that choosing the right one for yours can make you look your most attractive, knock pounds off your face and soften any harsh features.

Here, he shares the simple formula for matching your parting to your face shape to elongate your features, enhance your cheekbones, soften sharp angles and slim your face.

OVAL: PART IN THE MIDDLE

Ladies with oval face shapes like Jessica Alba can opt for any style because their face shape is so versatile. Jordan says that opting for a centre parting, left, is, however, the most flattering look over a side parting, right

This shape, which Jessica Alba and Cat Deeley are the proud owners of, is one of the most versatile and suits any look.

Jordan advises keeping the parting in the middle to elongate the face. If you have a fringe, he says you should keep the bangs longer around the face to square off roundness.

ROUND: OPT FOR A CENTRE PARTING

Ladies with a round face like Jennifer Lawrence need to focus on creating structure by focusing on a centre parting, left, says Jordan. Parting your hair in the centre is much more flattering than on the side, right

If, like Jennifer Lawrence, you posses a round face, you need to focus on creating structure by focusing on a centre parting. Splitting your hair down the middle will help create the illusion of length and symmetry.

'Keep the parting in the middle to knock pounds of the face,' he said. 'Make like Jennifer and pull some strands loose around the face; texture can make all the difference.'

'I also wouldn't recommend a fringe for this face shape.'

LONG: ALWAYS HAVE A DEEP SIDE PARTING

The secret hair hack for a long face shape - like Sarah Jessica Parker's - is a deep side parting, which the actress sported recently. Although she made it her signature look in Sex and the City, Jordan says ladies with long faces like hers should avoid a centre parting, right

The secret hair hack for a long face shape - like Sarah Jessica Parker's - is to avoid a centre parting.

Jordan says ladies with longer faces should always plump for a deep side parting to give the face shape more width.

Whilst most women want to elongate their faces, ladies with longer faces can enhance their looks with a side parting.

HEART: GO FOR A DEEP SIDE PARTING

If, like Scarlett Johansson, you have a heart face shape, you should go for a severe side parting, left, because it breaks up your chin line. Scarlett often mixes up her hairstyle but Jordan believes a severe side, left, is better than a centre one, right

If, like Scarlett Johansson, you have a heart face shape, Jordan says a severe side parting is the best way to wear your hair because it breaks up you chin line.
Advertisement

She's gaining something of a reputation for being the cutest member of the Royal Family - but at the polo little Mia Tindall appeared to be left in tears after bickering with her cousin.

The toddler looked adorable as she joined her parents Zara and Mike, and second cousin Prince William, at the annual festival at the Beaufort Polo Club in Westonbirt on Sunday afternoon.

Dressed in an H&M dress, the Queen's great-granddaughter could be seen squealing with delight as she was swung about by her former-rugby captain father at the event.

But amid the excitement the three-year-old appeared to grab a sweet from her cousin Savannah, only for it to be snatched back - leaving Mia crying into her toy koala.

Scroll down for video

If cousins bicker, it isn't so sweet: Little Mia appeared to grab a sweet from her cousin Savannah, only for it to be snatched back

The three-year-old appeared to be left crying into her koala bear after bickering with her older cousin

But it was all fun and games for Mia and Mike Tindall today as the pair could be seen larking about at the Gloucester Festival of Polo

Meanwhile Prince William joined Zara, Mike and Mia Tindall for a game of polo, a lark about and a man hug - and very nearly took a disastrous tumble over a bottle of Champagne.

The second in line to the throne showed off his dexterity on horseback during the Gloucester Festival of Polo today, but had to play it cool after losing his balance on foot.

The Duke of Cambridge also enjoyed an afternoon of fun with the Tindall children, and even gave Mike a big cuddle.

Mia could be seen enjoying a lollipop as she played with her cousin Savannah Phillips, six, and Isla Phillips, five.

The two youngsters are the daughters of Peter Phillips and his wife Autumn, whom had dressed their children in adorable matching outfits this afternoon.

Mia could be seen playing with a stuffed koala bear while another young female companion joined in with her matching cuddly toy.

Whoops! Onlookers giggle as Prince William comes close to taking a tumble over a bottle of Champagne

The prince closes in on Mike for a hug (left) before going all in (right) with a chummy embrace

Laughs all round: William claps and smiles with Malcolm Borwick after taking part in the polo game

Mike could later be seen challenging niece Savannah to a head stand competition giving the six-year-old a run for her money

The Duke of Cambridge, second right, looked suitably impressed with Savannah's acrobatic efforts on Sunday afternoon

Leg hug: Mike is firmly anchored to the ground at the Gloucestershire Festival of Polo at Beaufort Polo Club

The Duke of Cambridge happily walking in the sunshine at The Festival of Polo in Tetbury

'Look at me!' William looks on as his young relatives perform a series of dizzying handstands and somersaults on Sunday

Polo or rugby? Mia Tindall picks up the ball and flees as her young friends pursue

At the centre of it all: Mike playfully lifts up Isla while the sun shines in Tetbury

Cheeky Mia proved to be the centre of attention once again as she raced around the manicured polo club lawn with friends

Champagne trip forgotten, William joins Team Dhamani 1969 to pose for a photograph

Taking after William? Mia made off with a polo mallet and it was up to her exhausted parents to try and catch up with her

Former rugby captain Mike could be seen swinging his three-year-old daughter back and forth much to her delight on Sunday

It seems that it was treats all round for Mia who could be seen enjoying a lollipop at the festival today

A boisterous Mia could then be seen getting to grips with a polo mallet which she could be seen proudly presenting to two young boys.

Mia looked as cute as a button dressed in a hooded jersey dress costing just 7.99 from H&M printed with the slogan 'dreaming of flowers in New York'.

Her mother Zara, adapted a similar easy going look today opting for a pair of blue jeans which she paired with white sneakers and a navy raincoat.

And while the weather may have been overcast Zara added a touch of Hollywood glamour to her look in the form of some sophisticated shades.

The second in line to the throne shows off his polo skills at the Gloucestershire Festival of Polo

Little rascal: Mia proved a bit of a handful for her parents, but proud dad Mike patiently played with all of her friends

Prince William looked delighted to see his cousin's daughter giving her a loving embrace following his match

Zara looked cool and casual in a pair of blue jeans, white sneakers and a navy blue raincoat, and while the day may have been overcast the mother opted for a pair of chic sunglasses

Mia was dressed in a 7.99 ensemble from H&M and could be seen carrying a stuffed Koala Bear

And giving Mike a break from playtime duties the Duke of Cambridge could be seen chasing the tot

William taking part in The Maserati Royal Polo Trophy match during The Gloucestershire Festival of Polo at Beaufort Polo Club. Pictured: He shows off his riding skills during the game

In the absence of Princess Charlotte and Prince George, William was more than happy to join in with a game of chase

The runaway prince! William, 34, could be seen jogging towards the pitch after playing with his second cousin Mia

Upon his arrival this afternoon Prince William could be seen sharing an embrace with his cousin-in-law Mike

The Duke of Cambridge took part in the charity polo match this afternoon and later changed into a pair of casual jeans paired with a dapper lilac shirt

Prince Charming! William later took to the saddle himself as he showed off his polo prowess at the Beaufort Club

After Mike was worn out from playing with his daughter it was time for his cousin in-law Prince William to take over who could be seen chasing the tot around the field, much to little Mia's delight.

After playing with his little cousin once removed, William took to the saddle and showed off his sporting prowess as crowds watched on.

William had been seen enjoying a polo match earlier in the day but later changed into a dapper lilac shirt and jeans as he joined other members of the royal family.

Following his match William could be seen getting to know Alejandra Borwick, wife of polo player Malcolm Borwick

Alejandra could be seen planting a congratulatory kiss on William's cheek following his charity match today

Isla (left) and Savannah Phillips (right) had been dressed in adorable matching outfits for the polo match this afternoon

The Duke of Cambridge was not short of a warm welcome pictured being embraced by cousin-in-law Mike Tindall upon his arrival on Sunday.

Following his match William could be seen getting to know Alejandra Borwick wife to polo player Malcolm Borwick, she could be seen planting a congratulatory kiss on the prince's cheek.

Big kid Mike Tindall could be seen making the most of his day visiting the fair at the festival and even boarding a swing ride, accompanying a nervous looking Mia.

Mike decides it's time for a spin during the polo game in Gloucestershire

Zara picks up Mia (left) and, holding onto a lollipop, goes for a walk (right)

Mike and Mia enjoy some quality time on a swing ride

Savannah appeared to be on her very best behaviour this afternoon as she enjoyed the family day out

It seems that there was no end to Mike's energy this afternoon as he could later be seen challenging his niece Savvanah Phillips, six, to a head standing competition.

The Gloucestshire Festival of Polo is a weekend celebration of polo hosted by the renowned Beaufort Polo Club over two days in June.

Sunday sees more exciting matches with the final of The Javier Novillo Astrada U15 Cup plus the now customary and very popular Charity Game of which William took part in today.

It wasn't long before the other children followed suit attempting to recreate their own head stands

The prince (right) fully concentrating on the charity polo game

It seems however, that Prince William was not willing to participate in a game of head stands this afternoon

A royal ride: William displaying his dexterity on horseback during the polo game

A boisterous Mia could then be seen getting to grips with a polo mallet which she could be seen proudly presenting to two young boys

Mia looked keen to show off her polo skills as she could be seen parading the mallet before the two youngsters

Mike and Mia can often be mucking around at polo events and today was not exception for the father and daughter

Big kid Mike Tindall could be seen making the most of his day visiting the fair at the festival and even boarding a swing ride, accompanying a nervous looking Mia
A young mother who gave birth to quintuplets has revealed she spends just $350 a week to feed her family of 10 - and all her meals are freshly made everyday.

Kim Tucci, known on social media as Surprised by Five, and her husband Vaughn made global headlines after they welcomed their five brood in January last year.

And despite the busy Perth mother having her hands full juggling eight children, she still finds time to prepare every meal for her family on a daily basis.

Mother of quintuplets Kim Tucci (pictured with her five babies) has revealed she spends just $350 a week to feed her family of 10 - and all her meals are freshly made

The mother-of-eight and her husband Vaughn made global headlines after they welcomed their five brood last year. Ms Tucci also has a 10-year-old son from her previous marriage

'No frozen lunches, I always make them fresh,' Ms Tucci told Mamamia's I Don't Know How She Does It host Alissa Warren.

Ms Tucci revealed she prepares dinner from scratch, including beef stroganoff, roast vegetables, chicken drumsticks and risottos.

'We try and do a healthy meal at the end of the day otherwise I feel really guilty,' the mother of eight said.

'We make babies' food fresh as well, they don't have anything out of a jar. We just couldn't afford to buy that much baby food.'

The mother of quintuplets revealed she prepared fresh food for her five babies everyday

Despite the busy Perth mother having her hands full juggling eight children, she still finds time to prepare food for her family everyday

As well as a pet dog and five 16-month-old babies - son Keith, and four daughters - Ali, Penelope, Tiffany and Beatrix - the couple also have two daughters, aged six and four, and Mrs Tucci has a 10-year-old son from a previous marriage.

And to stick to a weekly grocery bill of $350, Ms Tucci said she opts for the cheaper brands to stay in her budget.

'We do go for, like for the babies, I'd get them the 85 cent bread... you know what? They're not going to know the $4 stuff,' she explained.

'Or like margarine, I'd get the $1.75 margarine for the kids. It just makes sense... They're not going to know the difference.'

She revealed her quintuplets go through 60 nappies, half a tin of formula and 16 outfits a day

Speaking to 60 Minutes last year, the young mother (pictured with her husband Vaughn) described how she felt as if her 'body was shutting down' during the pregnancy

Speaking to 60 Minutes last year, the young mother described how she felt as if her 'body was shutting down' during the pregnancy.

She revealed at the time, she was not at all prepared for how 'full on' the experience would be and her fears after giving birth at just 30 weeks.

Ms Tucci fell naturally pregnant with quintuplets while trying for a boy with her husband.

The mother previously revealed her quintuplets go through 60 nappies, half a tin of formula and 16 outfits a day.

But astonishingly after spending their long days together, Ms Tucci said her babies sleep anytime between eight to 10 hours every night.
FARGO  The call came in as my Saturday shift was winding down. It was almost 11 p.m., and I was the only Forum reporter on duty.

The police scanner on my desk started squawking, and I heard a 911 dispatcher alert officers to a fight at the HoDo Restaurant and Lounge.

Knowing the upscale bar was just a block from the newspapers downtown building, I hustled out of the newsroom and down a couple flights of stairs.

I went out an exit that put me on First Avenue North. As soon as I stepped into the warm night air, I looked west and saw a fight in progress on the sidewalk along the south side of the HoDo.

Keep in mind the fight was already happening when I got outside. I didnt see what transpired in the bar, and I dont know how much I missed of the fight on the sidewalk.

What I did see was a man in a white shirt that glowed almost electric in the light from the HoDo. This, I would later learn, was Darren Patterson. I saw him first clash with a man I would later learn was Christopher Sang.

Being that it was nighttime and I was a block away, I cant tell you specifically how Patterson struck Sang. Though, I can say with certainty that I saw Patterson strike Sang and that Sang quickly fell to the ground.

Patterson then moved a few feet toward another man who was standing off to the side by the corner of the HoDo building, near the alley that runs behind it. This was Jamie Grant. He stood facing west with his back to me. Grant was closer to me than Sang, who at this point was lying unconscious on the sidewalk.

I heard one of the men say something like, Oh, now youre gonna fight me? But Im not certain whether it was Patterson or Grant speaking.

From my perspective, I couldnt tell how Grant was presenting himself to Patterson or whether Grant made any move toward Patterson. However, I did see Patterson punch Grant squarely in the head. And Grant, a taller man than Patterson, fell straight to the ground with nothing breaking his fall.

His head hit the pavement of the alley with a resounding crack. For those of you who have heard this sound, you know how awful it is. For those who havent, I hope you never do.

As Grant lay unconscious with blood streaming from his head, Patterson walked away. Then, almost immediately, squad cars pulled up. Patterson put his arms in the air. An officer handcuffed him behind his back and placed him in one of the squad cars.

From the time I saw Patterson send Sang to the ground to when police arrived was only a matter of seconds.

After that flurry of events, I trotted the roughly 100 steps from The Forum building to the scene. One police officer was tending to Sang, while another officer knelt beside Grant, rubbing his chest, trying to wake him up. Soon after police showed up, Sang came to and was able to stand on his own. He looked disoriented and was tenderly rubbing his head.

When medics arrived, they put a brace around Grants neck, placed him on a stretcher and loaded him, still unconscious, into an ambulance. As medics cared for Grant, other onlookers and I stood nearby.

Grants brother Jeffrey looked on quietly, with his hands in his pockets. The brothers were dressed pretty much the same. They each wore sandals, shorts and a long-sleeve shirt with a collar.

Having seen one man knock out two men and having heard the violent sound of Grants head hitting the ground, I knew something newsworthy had happened. So after interviewing a police sergeant, I went back to the newsroom and wrote a story.

That was May 27.

Grant died from his injuries on Monday, June 5. Thats when I became a witness to a one-punch homicide.

Ive known for some time that a person can die this way. But after seeing it firsthand, one lesson has been driven home:

Avoid violence whenever possible. The risks are too great.

That night, a HoDo bartender told police the Grant brothers and their friend Sang got into a fight with Patterson in the bar. Patterson, 43, and the three other men were subsequently kicked out and sent out separate doors, court documents stated.

The bartender told police Patterson crossed the street before returning and fighting the other men. Patterson said he returned to get his wife and that the men confronted him near the side door of the HoDo, court documents stated.

What the fight was over, I dont know. Whatever the reason, it clearly wasnt worth the outcome. Grants wife is without her husband, and Grants boy is without his dad.

While Grants family grieves, Pattersons family worries about his fate now that he faces two felony counts of aggravated assault  charges that may become stiffer in light of Grants death.

For the sake of everyone involved, I hope justice is served.
The very first time James Tollison saw his future wife Bianca, she was smiling back at him from her profile photo on Facebook.

That picture, taken during Bianca's graduation at a New Zealand winery, was enough for James to send her a message out of the blue.

It was a risk that would result in the two of them having dinner at that very same winery on their first official date.

And it was that winery where, three years later, they celebrated their engagement after James went planned a proposal that went above and beyond Bianca's dreams.

James Tollison went above and beyond to create an epic proposal for his partner Bianca, setting up a fake photo shoot so the entire thing could be captured on camera

Bianca, who was assisting a wedding photographer at the time, thought the couple were helping her with a 'practice shoot' for a future ceremony she had booked

Early in their relationship, Bianca told James she had only two rules if he ever proposed.

It had to be captured on camera, and she wouldn't be wearing trakkies during that special moment.

But James had grander things planned than just a nice dinner and a secret cameraman.

Bianca, a nurse, had started working on the side with wedding photographer Rei Bennett.

As they took photos of gowns and centerpieces and happy brides and grooms, Rei naturally began to ask Bianca what she dreamed of when it came to her proposal.

Little did Bianca know that James was also working on the side with Rei, who would tell him this information as he set out to plan the most romantic proposal ever.

And it was Rei who helped set his final plan in motion, asking Bianca if she and James would model for a 'practice shoot' at a wedding location in the Kaweka Ranges.

Rei Bennett, the photographer, told Bianca they would do it properly for the couple, even including hair and makeup for her

Then, after they took a number of photos, she told Bianca she wanted to take a few photos of her without James. That's when he set up the proposal, secretly walking towards her

'Rei said we should make a photo shoot out of it so that James and I could get some professional photos of us done,' Bianca told Daily Mail Australia.

They would get to fly to the location via helicopter, and Bianca would even get to have her hair and makeup done.

Naturally, she was a little suspicious at first.

'I asked if James had put her up to it and she said no,' Bianca recalled.

And James made sure to put on the act as well, only agreeing to model on the shoot after a little encouragement from Bianca.

Rei took photos of the couple at a few different spots before she told Bianca she wanted to take a few pictures of her without James in the shot.

Little did Bianca know that James was right behind her, getting an engagement ring out of his sock, as Rei tried to make sure she didn't turn around.

After the proposal the couple flew by helicopter to the Mission Estate Winery in Napier, where they later got married (pictured)

The Mission Estate is a special place for the couple. It's where they had their first official date and celebrated every anniversary

The very first time James saw Bianca was in a Facebook photo that was taken on her graduation, also held at the winery

'She said "keep looking at me", "keep looking at the camera"', Bianca recalled.

As Bianca continued to smile for the camera, she heard James' voice.

'Why are you so close to me?' she asked.

'Because I am,' he responded.

'But you sound like you're on the ground,' Bianca told him.

'Because I am,' he said again. 'Turn around.'

And as Rei's camera flashed, Bianca saw James down on one knee, holding a ring.

Bianca said yes, but know before happily yelling 'I knew this was a set up!'

But James' surprises for the day had only just begun.

When the couple got back into the helicopter Bianca assumed they were headed back to the airport.

James sent Bianca a Facebook message out of the blue. That bold move led to three happy years as a couple before they finally said 'I do'

Instead they touched down at Mission Estate Winery in Napier, where the couple had their first date, celebrated every anniversary and - later - their wedding day.

Waiting inside was the next surprise, all of Bianca and James' family and friends.

After enjoying a three-course meal, Bianca assumed they would be heading home.

Then a limo pulled up to the winery to whisk her and James away to a five-star hotel, where he had even gotten her mum to leave a bag with pajamas and a toothbrush.

'He thought of every little detail,' she said.

And when they finally returned home the next day there were flowers waiting for Bianca, with a note.

It read: 'Thank you for saying yes'.
She has just flown back from a working visit to New York, and it was back to business for Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden when she visited the EAT Stockholm Food Forum this morning.

The stylish Scandinavian royal turned heads in a vibrant red dress with a blue splash pattern and ribbon tie neck as she arrived at the annual conference in the Swedish capital on Monday.

Victoria, 39, paired her colourful dress with a patent leather belt that accentuated her trim waist, adding an indigo clutch bag and matching heels.

All smiles: A chipper looking Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden makes a splash in a colourful red and blue dress as she arrives at the Clarion Hotel Sign in Stockholm on Monday

Victoria, 39, grinned as she was greeted by hosts of the annual event. The busy royal and mother-of-two has just returned from a working trip to New York

The mother-of-two, who is first in line to the Swedish throne, looked to be in good spirits as she greeted hosts on the steps of the venue.

She briefly paused for photographs with Dr. Gunhild A. Stordalen, founder of the EAT Foundation, before heading inside.

Later on, she could be seen listening attentively to talks on climate change as the first morning of the two-day event got underway.

This year's event, the fourth of its kind, is being held once again at the Clarion Hotel Sign, a sumptuous spa hotel in the heart of the city.

Victoria was the picture of grace as she stepped out of her car, taking care to avoid a wardrobe malfunction by carefully stepping sideways onto the street

The Princess is given a warm welcome by EAT Foundation president Dr. Gunhild Stordalen

Victoria (centre) is greeted by Jonathan Farnell and EAT Foundation president Dr. Gunhild Stordalen after arriving at the EAT Stockholm Food Forum at the Clarion Hotel Sign

The trio looked to be in good spirits as they shared a joke before heading inside. Guest speakers will include the former Ecuadorian Minister of Environment, who will look at sustainable consumption and production in the context of food waste

The stylish royal, mother to Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar, wore a flattering waist belt which showed off her waist and accessorised with a blue clutch bag and stilettos

The stylish royal wore her brown hair tied back into a chic chignon

It focuses on consumption and production patterns, cities, accountability, technology and innovation across the food industry, according to the EAT forum website.

A regular attendee at the annual conference, Victoria last year visited with her close friend Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway.

The Stockholm Food Forum brings together global leaders and experts in food, health, and sustainability to help develop goals, strategies, around hunger and malnutrition as well as chronic disease, climate change, and environmental degradation.

Flying solo: Victoria, mother to Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar, married her personal trainer Daniel Westling in 2010. While Daniel often joins his wife for royal engagements, he was not at her side in Stockholm today

This year, topics will range from innovation and biotechnology to the economics of food systems, according to EAT's website.

Guest speakers include Sir Bob Geldof, Caleb Harper from MIT Media Lab, who will share the innovative ways that biotech is revolutionising the urban food system.

They will also hear from the former Ecuadorian Minister of Environment, who will look at sustainable consumption and production in the context of food waste.

Famous faces: Princess Victoria also posed for a snap with Norwiegian hotel tycoon Petter Anker Stordalen, rather more casually dressed than his royal guest

Last week, Victoria attended a meeting on plastic waste in coastal and marine environment at the United Nations building, part of the Ocean Conference in New York.

The aim is to find solutions to plastic waste in coastal and marine environment.

Victoria, mother to Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar, married her personal trainer Daniel Westling in 2010. While Daniel often joins his wife for royal engagements, he was not at her side in Stockholm today.
New York City is in the midst of a heat wave, but Ivanka Trump somehow managed to keep cool while rolling a suitcase out of Manhattan apartment in a long-sleeve dress.

The 35-year-old outfitted herself in a $3,000 Alexander McQueen frock on Monday for her appearance on Fox & Friends, but just a few hours later, she traded her weather-appropriate sleeveless dress for a more buttoned up look.

Although the weather is expected to soar to 95 degrees, Ivanka donned a long-sleeve collared dress that was buttoned up to her neck and billowed past her knees as she headed to the airport for her flight back to Washington, D.C.

All smiles: Ivanka Trump was photographed leaving her New York City apartment on Monday morning

On the go: The 35-year-old donned a long-sleeve collared dress that was buttoned up to her neck despite the soaring temperatures

The mother-of-three left her long blond hair down around her shoulders, and she paired her look with black pumps and sunglasses.

Despite the extremely warm temperatures, Ivanka looked relaxed as she rolled her purple suitcase past her doorman.

While her luggage was being placed in the silver SUV that was waiting at the curb for her, Ivanka smiled and waved to the photographers waiting outside the door of her Park Avenue apartment.

After hopping in the SUV, Ivanka rested her elbow on the window as she waited for her driver to make his way through the traffic.

Ivanka kicked off the week with a rare television interview, sitting down with the hosts of 'Fox & Friends' to rave about the work her father's administration is doing, dismiss his detractors, and bemoan her new job working in the swamp.

First Daughter style: Ivanka paired the black and white striped dress with black pumps, drop earrings, and sunglasses

Next stop: Ivanka was seen rolling a purple suitcase out of her apartment building

It was a surprisingly blunt and candid chat, with Ivanka being asked at one point by host Brian Kilmeade if her new role as President Trump's assistant was harder than she thought it would be at first.

'It is hard. And there is a level of viciousness that I was not expecting,' said Ivanka.

'I was not expecting the intensity of this experience, but this isn't supposed to be easy. My father's administration intends to be transformative, and we want to do big, bold things. We're looking to change the status quo.'

She then went on to say: 'So, I didn't expect it to be easy. I think some of the distractions and some of the ferocity I was a little blind-sided by on a personal level.'

Ivanka also explained that despite everything that is going on around her she is still managing to stay focused on the task at hand

Great to be back! Ivanka flashed a smile to the photographers who were waiting outside for her

Back to the Big Apple: After hopping in the SUV, Ivanka rested her elbow on the window as she waited for her driver to make his way through the traffic

'I'm trying to keep my head down, not listen to the noise and just work really hard to make a positive impact in the lives of many people,' explained Ivanka.

'I mean, if you want to at the end of the day if you want to think about difficult, it's the factory worker who has been laid off. Difficult is, you know, the mother who has lost a child to opioid abuse.'

Ivanka explained that those 'real challenges' put things in perspective for her, and said that she has been enjoying the optimism she is seeing in people across the country as a result of her father's work as president.

'They see the economy and it's just booming. Small businesses have this sense of just vigor and, you know, I was talking with somebody the other day who was referring to it as the animal spirit,' said Ivanka.

Saying goodbye: Before she left, Ivanka took to Instagram to share a video of herself blowing a kiss, writing: 'Bye NYC! Until next time...'

Not a fan: Ivanka appeared on Fox & Friends on Monday morning, noting that Washington, D.C. has a 'level of viciousness' she was not expecting when she first moved to the nation's capital

Walking tall: Ivanka is pictured leaving her NYC apartment before the taping on Monday

'Small business owner has been released. So there is a tremendous energy but there is also real challenges. And that's what we're looking to address.'

For her appearance, Ivanka wore the same exact look she busted out back in July at the republican National Convention, pairing a $3,000 Alexander McQueen box-pleat sheath with $900 white agate drop earrings with diamond from her namesake jewelry collection.

She changed things up a bit by wearing a pair of her $120 Ivanka Trump suede heels in nude and a $2,200 mother of pearl ring with diamonds from her defunct high-end jewelry line.

Ivanka also carried a $275 Soho tote in white from her handbag collection as she headed out on Monday.

Trumped up Trump: Ivanka said dad Donald felt 'vindicated' after hearing former FBI director James Comey's testimony and is now 'incredibly optimistic' about the future

Out the door: This was just the second sit-down interview Ivanka has done since she began in her new White House role (above leaving her apartment in NYC)

Papal photo op: Ivanka said she was not able to express ow much she enjoyed her recent overseas trip with her father, which she said was planned in large part by husband Jared (l to r: Jared, Ivanka, President Trump, Pope Francis, and Melania at the vatican on May 24)

The conversation that took a sharp turn as host Ainsley Earhardt asked Ivanka about her first foreign trip last month, which took her to Saudi Arabia, Israel and Italy.

Ivanka raved about the trip and her husband, saying Jared 'was instrumental in organizing and planning' the overseas tour.

'It was wildly successful. Saudi Arabia alone, if you think about the historic nature of gathering 54 Muslim and Arab leaders to talk about the goal of eradicating terrorism. Collective effort,' said Ivanka.

'It was amazing the leadership that my father showed, the way he was able to foster really dialogue.'

Ivanka also took some time to speak about last week's appearance by James Comey in front of the Senate Intel Committee, revealing that her father felt 'vindicated' after hearing the former FBI director's testimony and is now 'incredibly optimistic' about the future.

She was then asked about her experience visiting the Western Wall in the wake of her conversion to Judaism.

'Every day in this experience has been surreal but that was truly an unbelievable moment,' said Ivanka.

'So I feel blessed and privileged to have been there it was deeply personal for me as you know to standing at the Western Wall in a moment of privacy because it was really just us,' said Ivanka.

'It was our family that was there. It was beyond special.'

True blue: Ivanka outfitted herself in a $3,000 Alexander McQueen dress on Monday (above leaving her NYC apartment)

Who's that girl: She quickly made her way into a waiting car in a pair of her namesake $120 suede heels in nude (above)

Diamonds are a girl's best friend: Ivanka wore $900 white agate drop earrings with diamond (left) and a $2200 mother of pearl ring with diamonds (right) from her defunct high-end jewelry line

Mass marketing: Ivanka finished off the look with a $275 Soho tote in white (above) from her own collection

Ivanka later pointed out that the group then 'moved on to Rome to meet with the pope,' so they were able to cover 'the three largest world religions over the course of four days.

'It was deeply meaningful,' said Ivanka, who explained that she still struggled trying to find the words to 'adequately be able to describe [these moments].'

Ivanka took time to address the rumors of a feud between her husband and White House staff as well, blaming it on the 'salacious details' perpetuated by the media.

She then noted that Jared loves' his job, adding: 'Talk about impact.'

That is when Ivanka launched into a lengthy diatribe about what Jared is working on these days.

'[Y]ou know, aside from what he is doing on the foreign policy front,there are the various initiatives he is focused on at home, really thinking about modernizing and innovating within government,' explained Ivanka.

'And it just shows, you know, there is a real focus on getting things done. And getting big things done.'

From ex-pat to expert: Melania and Barron officially moved in the White House on Sunday (above with President Trump after landing on the South Lawn of the White House)

Family day: Ivanka and Arabella were spotted out and about over the weekend in NYC as they headed to Lara Trump's baby shower while Jared and Joseph had a boy's day (above)

Run around: Jared and a man who appeared to be a Secret Service agent headed out for a joke in Central Park on Saturday (above)

Ivanka meanwhile is keeping focused on both her her job and her three children: Arabella, 5, Joseph, 3, and one-year-old Theodore.

The mom said that she loves the family's new $5.5million home in the city's Kalorama district.

'DC has been an amazing place. The kids are thriving,' revealed Ivanka.

'And ultimately for me, that's the number one most important thing.

'If the kids weren't happy, it would be very hard for 'me.

And with that Ivanka headed off, with the First Daughter making a brief return ahead of her tour of the the Waukesha County Technical College in Wisconsin on Tuesday.

She was in the city over the weekend for her sister-in-law Lara's baby shower, which she attended with daughter Arabella.

Ivanka and the 5-year-old were spotted leaving their NYC apartment to attend the gathering with Jared and Joseph, who split up for a boys day while the girls were out.

Not in attendance at the shower however was the First Lady, with Melania busy this weekend making the move to Washington, D.C. with her 11-year-old son Barron.

The pair will be joining Donald in the White House for the rest of his time in office, with Melania opting to let Barron finish her school year first before they moved down.
Hamilton: An American Musical is one of Broadway's hottest tickets - so instead of shelling out thousands for a seat for her daugher, one mom brought the magic of the stage to her the little girl's birthday party.

Aisha Greene of Brooklyn, New York said her daughter, Clarke, requested Hamilton tickets for her and her friends as a gift for her eighth birthday.

Instead, Greene had a better (and more cost-effective) solution: a party inspired by the show.

Superfan! For her eighth birthday Clarke Greene (pictured) hoped to see the musical Hamilton, which tells the story of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton through hip-hop music

'I don't have a dollar to my name': The musical is so popular that tickets are sold out for months in advance, and can cost thousands of dollars

They'll tell the story of tonight: The party was held at Fraunces Tavern in Manhattan - a restaurant and museum that was once a meeting place for Founding Fathers like Hamilton

After a month of planning, Greene truly brought the musical to life with an unforgettable affair earlier this month.

No detail was left overlooked, and many of the party's elements were clever references to the show. Clarke's father, Hayden M. Greene of Greene Light Photography, was on hand to capture every magical moment.

On June 3, about 52 guests celebrated at the Fraunces Tavern in lower Manhattan, a restaurant and museum that opened in 1762 and was frequented by Founding Fathers like John Adams, George Washington, and even Hamilton himself.

The Tavern's colonial decor was enhanced with black, white, and gold balloons, a Hamilton-themed cake and cupcakes, and banners and trifolds emblazoned with the show's memorable lyrics.

That would be enough? Instead of splurging on the ticket, Clarke's mom Aisha Greene (left) organized a Hamilton-themed party, which dad Hayden M. Greene (center) photographed

The big day! Every detail of the party - from the invitations (pictured), to the food, to the activities - was inspired by some element of the musical

Curtain call: Even when the party ended, the more than 50 guests in attendance went home with a goody bag that Hamilton would love

Kids participated in an historical scavenger hunt, dressed up in colonial costumes, and even showed off their flawless rapping skills with Hamilton karaoke.

Attendees took home goody bags printed with the show's iconic Playbill and filled with paper dolls of the show's characters, miniature reproductions of the United States Constitution, as well as a notepad and American flag pen intended to inspire kids to 'write like they're running out of time.'

Greene told HuffPost that her family loves Hamilton for more than its 'accessible and infectious' music.

Alexander Hamilton, the star of the show, was born out of wedlock in the Caribbean before sailing to the Americas to receive an education - themes that have particular relevance to Clarke.

Special significance: Greene said the show holds a special place in Clarke's heart, as Hamilton was a Caribbean immigrant like her dad and grandma

Bringing Broadway to you: Greene said that even though the party was more work than a common theme, it couldn't have been more worth it

'Satisfied!' Greene's hard work paid off, as Clarke thought her special day was simply 'the best party ever'

'She's invested in the story of an immigrant from the Caribbean,' Aisha told HuffPost. 'Her dad and grandmother are both from the Caribbean so immediately she found a connection to the storyline.'

Greene joked that the festivities will hold Clarke's interest over for now. 'I think I've bought myself time before she requests to see the play again,' she said.

'Would it have been easier to do a My Little Pony or princess party? Of course. But this challenge? Totally worth it because my daughter is "Satisfied", she said, referencing one of the show's popular songs.

Needless to say, Clarke could not have been happier with her big day and thought it was simply 'the best party ever.'
Frequent flyers know the familiar and enigmatic sound: a chime that rings shortly after take-off and several other times during the flight, signaling that somethingbut what? is happening on the aircraft.

Airline officials have revealed the real meaning behind the 'ding' sounds that punctuate most flights, and it turns out the same sound could signify very different things depending on who you fly.

Exactly what you hear matters, too. While a single, minimalist chime can have no deeper meaning than the seat belt sign turning off, a more elaborate combination (think three low chimes in a row) could signify heavy turbulence ahead.

Mystery solved: Airline officials have revealed the real meaning behind the 'ding' sounds that punctuate most flights on commercial airlines (stock picture)

On United Airlines, a single chime can mean one of two things: that a passenger is calling for assistance, or that the fasten seat belt sign has been activated, a spokesman told the Huffington Post.

A 'ding-dong' sound effect, meanwhile, signals that flight attendants and pilots are calling each other.

Communication among the crew is one of the most frequent uses of the in-flight chimes. 'Think of it as a language between the pilots and flight attendants,' a Southwest Airlines spokeswoman told the website. She wouldn't disclose specific messages due to safety concerns.

Some airlines, according to commercial pilot Patrick Smith, use the 'ding' sounds to tell the crew it is time to start cleaning up the aircraft, not long before landing.

Passengers might want to listen carefully for the chimes, since they can sometimes go off once the plane is flying at 10,000 feet, meaning they can safely use their electronic devices.

Secret language: Communication among the crew is one of the most frequent uses of the in-flight chimes, which can also signal there's turbulence ahead (stock picture)

On Qantas Airways' Airbus planes, the sounds have various meanings depending on when they go off.

'Youll hear the "boing" sound shortly after take-off  this sound lets crew know that the landing gear is being retracted, the airline previously explained in a post.

'(Depending on where you are sitting, you can probably hear or feel it moving. If youre downstairs in the pointy end of one of our Boeing 747s  youre basically sitting right on top of the front landing gear).

'The second boing is usually when the seat belt sign is switched off.'

In addition to these two messages, Qantas uses a single chime to alert the crew that a passenger needs service at their seat. A high-pitched noise followed by a low-pitched one means crew members are calling each other on the aircraft's phone.

Three low chimes in a row, on Qantas, signal the captain or someone among the crew has an urgent message for the rest of the personnel. This could mean the plane is about to experience turbulence, and flight attendants should get ready to take action if necessary and put the meal carts away.
She was recently promoted to director at the Mayfair gallery where she works, and Princess Eugenie tonight proved her position in the creative world by hosting a glittering charity party at Art Basel week.

The 27-year-old wore a pretty floral dress by designer Erdem to attend a glitzy charity fundraising gala in Basel, Switzerland.

It was the same knee-length look she sported for a fashion shoot for magazine Harper's Bazaar in August 2016, where she also donned several other glamorous gowns by the designer.

The flame-haired Princess of York looked striking as she walked the red carpet for the UNAIDS soiree alongside film producer Caroline Rupert.

Princess Eugenie wore a floral applique dress for the event, the same dress she wore for a Harpers Bazaar photoshoot last year

The Princess of York hosted the fundraising gala alongside South African film producer Caroline Rupert

The pair were also joined on the red carpet by executive director of Design Miami, part of Art Basel week in Basel, Switzerland

The South African film producer hosted the event alongside Eugenie, who wore her shoulder-length hair curled and in a side-parting.

Letting the brightly coloured dress do all the talking, the royal styled the knee-length dress with pointed black stiletto heels.

A pair of silver drop earrings matched her bracelet and simple bands on the middle fingers of each hand.

Smiling away, Eugenie posed side-by-side with Caroline and Rodman Primack, the executive director of Design Miami a global forum for design which occurs during Art Basel week.

(L to R) Simon de Pury, Dustin Yellin, Princess Eugenie of York, Michel Sidibe, UNAIDS Executive Director, Caroline Rupert and Ndaba Mandela all attend the UNAIDS Gala

It brings gallerists, artists, creators and producers together to celebrate design.

The UNIADS gala, part of Art Basel week in Switzerland, is to raise funds to increase access to HIV prevention and treatment services for women and children worldwide.

Nelson Mandela's grandson, Ndaba Mandela also played host alongside Princess Eugenie.

It's the second year in a row Eugenie has hosted the glittering gala in Switzerland - where tickets for a table cost more than 70,000.

Last year's event featured a live performance by Duran Duran and an exclusive design auction and a special reading of Shadows by Keanu Reeves.

The royal proved she isn't afraid of recycling an outfit, opting to repeat the same look from 2016
A new documentary series coming to CNN profiles the 'Badass Women of Washington' who haven't let gender hold them back from becoming involved in politics, the military, and business.

In the series, CNN Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash sits down with some of D.C.'s most high-profile women and gets them to open up about the unique struggles of being female in United States politics.

Bash said she was inspired to create the series following Hillary Clinton's loss of the 2016 presidential election. 'What did that [loss] mean for women?' Bash asks viewers in a note posted to the docu-series' website.

Scroll down for video

Shining a light: CNN Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash has created a new series that focuses on the 'Badass Women of Washington'

Motivation: Bash said she was inspired to create the docu-series after Hillary Clinton failed to take the 2016 presidential election

'The answer - and the need to broaden our lens - seemed clear: Women are already breaking barriers in a man's town, muscling their way into power and staying there.'

The multi-part project turns the camera on women who come 'from a wide range of backgrounds and generations' but have all managed to grapple their way up the political ladder.

Notably, the series features women from both sides of the political aisle. Bash told Glamour that it was 'so amazing' to find out how women in politics share 'so many experiences' that 'completely cross party lines.'

Familiar face: Among those interviewed in the seven-part series is California Senator Dianne Feinstein, who tells Bash she was labeled 'crazy' for getting into politics in the 1960s

An elusive look: In addition to focusing on politicians, the series examines the lives of military women like Lieutenant Genera Nadja West (pictured)

In a clip featuring California Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, the multi-term politician reveals that when she began her political career in the 1960s, she was labeled 'crazy' and left people thinking 'something must be wrong with her.'

Though times have certainly changed - literally and metaphorically - Feinstein acknowledges that 'being a woman in our society, even today, is difficult.'

Another episode, in which Bash speaks to Lieutenant General Nadja West, gives a more elusive glimpse into the life of a military woman. West revealed cruel hazing she underwent at West Point Military Academy, courtesy of her male classmates.

'That was a motivator for me,' West said of the difficult time. 'I can't not make it now.' But the struggle continued - West said a close male friend doubted her success and that, following a promotion, told her that the rise in rank was likely due to her sex and not her ability.

Both sides of the aisle: The women featured in the series are both Democrats and Republicans, such as Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao (pictured)

The episode featuring Trump's Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao features her unique tale of arriving in the United States aboard a cargo ship when she was just a young girl.

As an adult in the political sphere, she shared her experience being married to Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and says that her decision not to have children was a 'trade-off' she needed to make for her career.

Many of the other women share similar stories of overcoming doubt and outright hostility in order to achieve political recognition - but all of them ultimately hope their stories of struggle will uplift, and pave the way for the next generation of women in politics.

The seven-part series, which is currently available to stream, has an episode dedicated to Dianne Feinstein, Nadja West, Jeanne Shaheen, Herrera Beutler, Catherine Cortez Masto, Ronna Romney McDaniel, and Elaine Chao.
Animal rights activists have slammed Sainsbury's after it began selling controversial kangaroo burgers in stores last week.

Dozens of people have left angry comments on the supermarket's Facebook page with links to petitions and websites criticising the kangaroo meat trade.

Among campaigners boycotting the supermarket in protest at the sale of the burgers is Absolutely Fabulous star Joanna Lumley.

But Sainsbury's says the meat they use is '100 per cent welfare friendly' and that it's necessary to manage the kangaroo population due to increasing numbers of the animals in Australia.

Supermarkets advertise kangaroo meat as a lean source of protein that is also environmentally friendly as they claim kangaroo populations need managing

The 228g lean burgers, which cost 1.50 a pack, are only available for a limited time and contain just 3 per cent fat.

But animal rights activists are furious that the supermarket has brought the meat back into stores.

They say kangaroos are wild, intelligent animals which should not be farmed for their meat, while Peta allege that kangaroos are often killed in 'barbaric ways'.

They also dispute claims that killing the animals for their meat helps to manage the population.

Animal rights campaigners have been spamming Sainsbury's Facebook page condemning the sale of kangaroo meat in stores

The Australian Society for Kangaroos points to a study by the University of Technology in Sydney which found that 22 million kangaroos would need to be killed every year to feed Australians one small portion of meat every week. The currently 30-year estimate for the kangaroo population is 27 million.

The Society also highlighted an Australian government study which found that joeys were being left exposed and abandoned after their parents were killed for the meat industry.

One Facebook commenter alleged that some kangaroos are full of 'worms' - though there is no suggestion that the burgers sold by Sainsbury's come from infected kangaroos.

Sainsbury's says their meat is ethically farmed, and produced under Australia's strict codes of practice.

Some claim that the killing of kangaroos is 'cruel' and 'barbaric' while others allege the number of kangaroos in Australia is dwindling due to the meat industry. Sainsbury's denies this

It states that it's necessary to kill some animals for their meat to manage the 'vastly increasing' population.

There was a similar controversy in 2013 when Lidl began selling kangaroo meat burgers.

Hollywood legend Judi Dench was among animal rights campaigners who protested the sale of the meat.

And in 1999, Sainsbury's withdrew the meat from its shelves after a large public backlash, with other supermarkets including Tesco and Morrisons also following suit.

A Peta spokesman told FEMAIL: 'The idea of eating Skippy is enough to turn most people's stomachs  and rightly so, because kangaroos are intelligent, inquisitive, social animals who are killed in barbaric ways for burgers.

'In Australia, that typically means a blow to the head or being shot, and many endure a slow, agonising death because of clumsy slaughter attempts.'

A Sainsbury's spokesman told FEMAIL: 'As you would expect from Sainsburys, all the meat we sell is sustainably and responsibly sourced.

'This includes the kangaroo burgers that offer a healthy alternative to beef and will be available for a short period.'
An Indian boy with a trunk-like nose believed to be a reincarnation of a Hindu God is desperately waiting for life-changing surgery.

Ganesh, named after the Elephant God, is unable to talk or even eat because of the abnormal growth. It also affects his vision.

The nine-year-old orphan has frontonasal encephalocele - a condition which has caused part of his brain to bulge out of his skull.

Because of this, his brain has developed slower than other children his age and has left him with impaired speech and mentally underdeveloped.

But local surgeons are hopeful that an operation will fix the defect, and that Ganesh, who is worshiped by locals, will find a loving family after having treatment.

Scroll down for video

Ganesh, named after the Elephant God, is unable to talk or even eat because of the sheer weight of his nose

Ganesh was initially found roaming aimlessly by local police on a deserted road in a remote village in northeast India.

He was crying incessantly when he was picked up, but was unable to tell officials where he was from due to his impaired speech.

After discovering he had no parents, police handed him over to a non-government organisation (NGO) called Bakakhat Nirman Gut in Assam.

The most special child

Jiten Gogoi, president of the NGO, said: 'He is the most special child in our NGO. I have never seen a child like him before.

'People are looking at him as God's blessings. They were worshiping him when he was here. They adore him.

'He could not talk. Because of the weight of his nose, he could not eat food by himself either.

The nine-year-old orphan has frontonasal encephalocele - a condition which has caused part of his brain to bulge out of his skull

'He was in an extremely painful situation. Our volunteers fed him and looked after him.'

An operation to happen soon

With the government's help, he was admitted to a state-run hospital and was then transferred to Bangalore for advanced treatment.

For the last week, Ganesh has been under observation of a team of six doctors at Narayana Multispeciality Hospital.

He could not talk. Because of the weight of his nose, he could not eat food by himself either Jiten Gogoi, president of a local child welfare committee

Dr Shibu Pillai, senior consultant neurosurgeon, who is looking into Ganesh's case called his condition a rare congenital defect.

He said: 'The boy is suffering from frontonasal encephalocele, a condition in which a part of skull is not developed.

'In his case, because of the defect, a part of brain has bulged out of skull and created a large lump on his forehead.'

Eventually he will lead a normal life

Dr Pillai said while the case is not uncommon, what makes Ganesh's condition so rare is that he was left untreated for a long time.

The doctors are now hoping to conduct a reconstructive surgery and to subside the swelling on Ganesh tomorrow.

But experts believe that he would need a couple of surgeries before he can lead a normal life.

Dr Pillai added: 'Our first priority is to operate on him to reduce the swelling and reconstruct his nose.

Because of this, his brain has developed slower than other children his age and has left him with impaired speech and mentally underdeveloped

'While the surgery would be complex and might last as long as six hours, we are confident that it would be successful.

'Because of the condition, his brain has developed slower than other children his age.

'His speech is impaired and he is mentally underdeveloped. But with treatment and medicines, we are hoping to improve his condition.'

The quest for a loving family

Once the surgery is conducted and Ganesh is sent back to the NGO, Mr Gogoi says they will put him up for adoption.

Mr Gogoi added: 'We are hopeful that once he is back after the surgery, he will get a loving home to stay forever.'
A young soldier who survived a tour of Afghanistan is now facing a new battle  to defeat a rare and aggressive blood cancer.

The family of Private Myles Brown, 27, is appealing for stem cell donors in a desperate bid to help provide him with a transplant which could save his life.

Mr Brown, who has an 18-month-old daughter called Lilian, in April was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) which progresses rapidly and requires immediate treatment.

Without the transplant he faces two years of further chemotherapy  risking long-term damage to his body  to try to keep the disease at bay.

Heartbreakingly, his mother Vikki Brown, 51, has been left feeling helpless as her treatment for breast cancer last year left her unable to donate. His brother Thomas, 30, sister Sophie, 28, and fiancee Vivienne have not proved a match.

Sophie said: 'So many people have no clue about stem cell donation. Before Myles was ill we'd never known about it really.

Precious moments: Private Brown with his fiancee Vivienne and their daughter Lilian

'He fell unwell in April and within a few days of telling doctors they'd began treating his cancer. He's been in hospital ever since.

'They want to start his stem cell next month but he needs a suitable donor. If he doesn't find one they've said he could need chemo for two more years, and that could cause too much damage to his body for him to fully recover.'

Brave battle

Mr Brown, from Sleaford, Lincolnshire, has been told the disease may have already spread. He is currently having radiotherapy due to a suspected growth on his brain after recently contracting pneumonia.

Serving in the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment, he first joined the Army in 2008 and is currently stationed in Germany with his fiancee and their daughter in Germany.

The father, of the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment, has served for almost a decade

Doting father: The 27-year-old urgently needs a suitable donor for a stem cell transplant

Staying strong: Mr Brown with his fiancee Vivienne (middle) and sister Sophie (right)

Sophie said she is proud of her brother's strength both on and off the battlefield.

'He loves being in the Army and he could end up being medically discharged,' she said. 'He's trying to stay positive but it's so hard for him.

'He toured Afghanistan in 2011, and he lost a close friend out there.

'He's really done his part.'

Only chance

Only around 650 people are diagnosed with ALL each year in the UK. Adults and children can get it but it is most often diagnosed in younger people.

The outlook for adults is less promising than for children  around 40 per cent of people aged between 25 and 64 will live for five years or more after diagnosis.

Mr Brown's family are urging people to come forward to become a blood stem cell donor

Mr Brown is unlikely to be cured by standard chemotherapy alone. Leukaemia can return if just one cancerous cell remains in the body.

If he finds a match, he would first have very high doses of chemotherapy and possibly whole body radiotherapy to wipe out the cancer cells.

A transplant means that doctors would be able to put new, healthy stem cells that have been damaged during the aggressive treatment into his bloodstream, where they would begin to grow and make healthy blood cells.

Those interested in donating stem cells to help Mr Brown and others in his position need to sign the register. All that is needed to be tested is a spit in a cup.

Then you would be contacted if your cells are a match to a blood cancer patient. Visit here for more information.
Oil industry representatives, state officials and other observers filled the courtroom Monday as the North Dakota Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a mineral rights dispute that could have implications for other regional property owners.

Attorneys for the William S. Wilkinson family argue the state took their clients oil and gas mineral rights from property acquired by the federal government for the construction of the Garrison Dam.

The family is seeking the state Supreme Court to recognize that an unconstitutional action occurred.

If they were to prevail here, there would probably be a lot of other happy mineral owners, said attorney Josh Swanson. Itll impact mineral owners up and down Lake Sakakawea like the Wilkinsons whose property was acquired for Garrison Dam and Lake Sakakawea.

But the attorney representing the state Board of University and School Lands, the agency that manages state-owned minerals, disagrees with the familys claim.

Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Verleger said the state is a property owner in a dispute with its neighbor over the property boundary.

As such, the state only wants to claim what it rightfully owns, said Verleger, who added the state has a fiduciary responsibility to claim what it owns.

Uncertainty over mineral ownership under Lake Sakakawea and the Missouri River has caused multiple parties to claim ownership of the same minerals, sometimes leading to litigation. Oil industry leaders have said the uncertainty deters oil development around Lake Sakakawea, located in the heart of the Bakken.

The Justices, who peppered the attorneys with questions, took the issues under advisement Monday. Southeast Judicial District Judge Jay Schmitz sat in for Justice Carol Ronning Kapsner, who recused herself.

Several relatives of the Wilkinson family attended the hearing, including family member Lana Sundahl who traveled from Washington state.

Were very, very hopeful, Sundahl said after the hearing. This is our grandparents legacy to us.

State lawmakers spent significant time during the recent session to approve Senate Bill 2134, a bill inspired by the Wilkinson dispute.

The new law clarifies that the state does not own minerals under Lake Sakakawea and sets up a process to define the ordinary high water mark of the Missouri River channel as it existed before the Garrison Dam.

The Department of Mineral Resources has put out a request for proposals and will hire a consultant to assist with that review.

Oil industry attorneys representing Statoil and EOG Resources argued the case should be sent back to district court to reconsider in light of the new legislation.
One of Britain's most premature babies has defied the odds after surviving being born at just 22 weeks weighing 1lb 4oz.

Austin Douglas weighed the same as half a bag of sugar when he arrived 18 weeks early on March 31.

Doctors told his parents Helen, 30 and Rhys, 25, there was very little chance their son would survive after he was born smaller than his mother's palm.

Austin's skin was so thin his organs were visible and the holes in his ears had not yet formed.

Yet after weeks of specialist care at Birmingham Children's Hospital the youngster is recovering well and set to finally go home on his original due date next month.

Current abortions in the UK allow the procedures to be carried out before the 24th week of pregnancy as it is only after this that the foetus is deemed human.

Last year, the Royal College of Midwives argued for women in the UK to be allowed an abortion at any point during pregnancy.

A premature baby has defied the odds by surviving being born at 22 weeks weighing 1lb 4oz

Austin Douglas weighed the same as half a bag of sugar when he arrived 18 weeks early

His parents Helen, 30 and Rhys, 25 (pictured), were told Austin had little chance of surviving

ABORTION TIME LIMIT Most abortions in England, Wales and Scotland are carried out before 24 weeks of pregnancy. They can be carried out after 24 weeks in certain circumstances  for example, if the mother's life is at risk or the child would be born with a severe disability. Yet last year, the Royal College of Midwives (RCM's) argued for women to be allowed to abort at any point without facing criminal sanctions. Critics fear such a radical change in the law will lead to terminations for the inappropriate reasons, including being the 'wrong' sex. The RCM's campaign came after a 24-year-old woman was jailed for deliberately inducing a miscarriage when she was eight months pregnant. Advertisement

Helen was rushed to Leicester General Hospital when she got severe stomach pains and heavy bleeding just over halfway through her pregnancy.

Doctors told her she was fully dilated and there was nothing they could do to stop the birth.

Helen, a catering assistant, said: 'He's been fighting since day one.

'We were asked if we wanted medical assistance for him, given how premature he was.

'I told doctors that if he came out breathing, I wanted them to do everything they could and they did.

'He was translucent and we could see his organs through his skin.

She said: 'His ears hadn't fully developed and neither had his lungs.

'The medical staff whisked him away and put him in an incubator while they worked on him beside my bed.

'It was terrifying but I knew he needed intervention.'

Helen was taken to hospital when she got severe pains around halfway through her pregnancy

Doctors told her she was fully dilated and there was nothing they could do to stop the birth

Born with translucent skin, Austin was immediately whisked away to a nearby incubator

Austin was taken to Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, where he received care for seven weeks

RISKS OF A VERY PREMATURE BABY A premature baby is one born before 37 weeks. Before 28 weeks is 'extremely preterm'. The cause is often unknown. Infection, placental problems and genetics may raise the risk. If extremely preterm, the baby will be unable to breath properly as their lungs will be undeveloped. They will need to be kept very warm and given specialist nutrition to help them grow. At this time, they are at a high risk for infection and low blood pressure. There is also a risk of brain injury. Source: Tommy's Advertisement

Austin was later taken to Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, where he received care for seven weeks.

Doctors warned Austin's parents it was touch-and-go after he twice contracted a lung infection, but he pulled through.

He has recently been moved to Leicester Royal Infirmary and is doing well.

Austin's parents are determined to bring their son home on July 28, his original due date, as he continues to battle against the odds.

Helen said: 'He has grown a lot, I have to hold him with two hands now and he is bigger than my husband's hand.

'His heart beat is strong and breathing on his own gets better and longer every day.

'We have to take each day at a time but I've never prayed so much in my life since he came into the world.'

Doctors warned it was touch-and-go after Austin contracted a lung infection twice in hospital

Austin has recently been moved to Leicester Royal Infirmary and is recovering well so far

Helen described Austin as 'a miracle twice over' after she was told she could not have children

Helen's illness, known as polycystic ovary syndrome, puts her at risk of an early menopause

Austin's parents hope to take him home on his due date as he is recovering well in hospital

Yet doctors have warned Austin still has a long way to go (pictured with his father Rhys, 25)

Helen has polycystic ovary syndrome and has described Austin as a 'miracle twice over' after she was previously told she would never be able to have children.

She said: 'I was told years ago that I would probably have an early menopause and children were off the agenda, so Austin has been a little miracle from the very beginning.

'He is a miracle twice over.

'When I found out I was pregnant, I was ecstatic.

'I love him so much and I'm so grateful for all the care he's had.'

Jonathan Cusack, consultant neonatologist at Leicester's Hospitals, said: 'We are pleased with how well Austin is doing at present given how premature he was at birth - he has clearly shown he is a fighter.

'However he remains on a lot of support and still has a long way to go.'

Helen says Austin has grown a lot quickly and now needs holding with two hands

She added that his heart is strong and his breathing gets better and longer every day

Although they are taking it day by day, Helen says they are praying hard for Austin's recovery
Pregnant women can still tuck into authentic coq au vin and other dishes cooked with alcohol  as long as the chef leaves the lid on the pan loosely.

That's according to scientists who have shown that this way of cooking  compared to without the lid on or with it fully on  has a dramatic effect on reducing the concentration of alcohol in the meal.

How much the dish is reduced is affected by the cooking temperature and the size of dish. How much alcohol is added at the start also make a difference, they found.

Mothers-to-be have been left fearful of accidentally breaking current guidelines to avoid any alcohol during pregnancy by eating meals that include a red or white wine sauce or a meal laced with beer.

Now a team of Denmark has determined a loose lid allows the alcohol to evaporate more rapidly from the saucepan than from water left uncovered.

Scroll down for video

Researchers have offered guidance for pregnant women worried about alcohol in dishes (file)

They have also offered reassurance by providing an example of how much alcohol can be typically left in a meal.

In an experiment using 150ml of beer they found the meal contained just 2ml of alcohol  about a seventh of a unit of alcohol which they say pregnant women are 'able to handle'.

Because of confusing advice about how much alcohol is safe for women to drink in pregnancy, the Chief Medical Officers for the UK recommend the safest approach is not to drink alcohol at all to keep risks to your baby to a minimum.

Drinking alcohol, especially in the first three months of pregnancy, increases the risk of miscarriage, premature birth and your baby having a low birth weight.

Drinking after the first three months of your pregnancy could affect your baby after they're born.

The risks are greater the more you drink. The effects include learning difficulties and behavioural problems.

Why you need to place the lid loosely

We all know that boiling alcohol reduces the concentration, but many of us would expect removing the lid would help more of it escape.

But the scientists say the opposite is true.

Doctor Pia Snitkjaer, of the Department of Food Science at the University of Copenhagen, said: 'By boiling hard, the volume will decrease rapidly.

'By placing a lid on the saucepan, there is a kind of reverse distillation where the alcohol disappears even more rapidly from the saucepan than the water.

'This is because alcohol is more volatile than water and thus can more readily evaporate.

She said the lid doesn't sit tightly on the saucepan, allowing the steam to escape under the lid so that the alcohol evaporates, while the water condenses more preferential on the colder lid and runs back into the pan.

As it cooks, more and more alcohol escapes under the lid, while the contents of the saucepan will contain a higher percentage of water.

'But if you do not want the food to boil down too much, you can keep adding water as water evaporates, which will also lower the alcohol content both by dilution and evaporation,' she added.

How much alcohol remains in a dish depends on three factors: whether it is cooked with or without a lid, how much the dish is reduced, and, obviously, how much alcohol is added from the start.

As well as the cooking temperature, the size of the dish matters too, because this affects how quickly the sauce was reduced, evaporating more alcohol.

How much alcohol is left behind?

Dr Snitkjaer carried out an experiment using 900mls of veal stock plus 150ml beer or wine.

She discovered that with this ratio the alcohol concentration starts at around two per cent but drops to 0.2 per cent after half an hour of cooking.

She said: 'One should remember that you typically eat only one tenth of a litre of sauce.

'If we, for example, assume that you eat 100ml of sauce, with a concentration of two per cent volume it corresponds to an intake of 2ml of alcohol.

'There are 15ml in a unit of alcohol, so a pregnant woman would also be able to handle it.'

Good news for slimmers

We all know that alcohol is calorific and Dr Snitkjaer said that labels on ready-prepared meals containing alcohol are 'misleadingly high' as they refer to the amount before the alcohol was cooked.

She said: 'How many fewer calories there are depends on how much alcohol is evaporated.

'One gram of alcohol gives about seven calories, so every time you evaporate one gram of alcohol, you have seven fewer calories in the saucepan.

'It would be nice to be able to say precisely what this means for a tomato soup, a meat dish etc.'
Being overweight could lead to a longer life for diabetics, a study claims.

Researchers found that overweight patients with type 2 diabetes lived longer than those of a normal weight with the same condition.

Those extra pounds resulted in an 18 percent reduced risk of early death.

However, the longevity benefits were only observed in elderly patients.

The new findings are questionable given that obesity causes a slew of health conditions including heart disease, and is known to limit lifespan.

A new Chinese study claims overweight type 2 diabetics have an 18 percent reduced risk of early death compared to diabetics of a normal weight

The analysis was conducted as part of a Journal of Diabetes Investigation, looking at 20 studies with more than 250,000 patients.

Researchers at Capital Medical University in Beijing examined a range of patients with type 2 diabetes, including those who had overweight BMIs and those with normal BMIs.

A normal BMI is considered as 18.5 to 25 and overweight in being 25 to 30.

Although the investigation found an increased lifespan for older diabetics, it also found these benefits disappeared after 10 years.

Researchers suggest this could be due to a 'catch-up phenomenon' related to chronic disease or old age, both which cause weight loss and increase the risk of death.

Overall, experts said their findings could not determine what caused the link between being overweight and longevity, and only could report the link was there.

WHAT IS TYPE 2 DIABETES? Type 2 diabetes occurs when the pancreas fails to produce enough insulin or respond to the hormone. It is linked to being overweight or obese. Symptoms occur as the body tries to rid excess insulin in the blood. These include extreme thirst, weight loss, tiredness and urinating frequently. Medication may be required to normalize blood glucose levels. The condition can be prevented by eating well, maintaining a healthy weight and exercising regularly. Advertisement

Out of the estimated 29 million Americans with diabetes, 95 percent are diagnosed with type 2.

In the UK, around four million people are believed to be living with diabetes.

Obesity is a major independent risk factor for developing the disease, according to the CDC.

The organization reports that more than 90 percent of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese.

Being overweight or obese has been proven to lead to other health conditions such as heart diseases, strokes, hypertension and high blood pressure.

A study by researchers at Hull York Medical School in England in 2015 found similar results to the new investigation.

These British researchers found overweight type 2 diabetics were less likely to die than normal weight patients with the same condition.

However, overweight patients had the same risk as obese patients to be hospitalized for heart problems, the study claimed.

Previous research suggests that type 2 diabetes might not be caused by piling on the pounds.

People who have been of a stable, but excessive, weight for many years were more likely to develop the condition than those who recently gained a lot of weight, according to a Denmark study in 2014.

As a result, the scientists said the best way to reduce the number of cases of diabetes could be to focus on small weight reductions for the whole population rather than on major weight loss programs for a few high-risk individuals.
Women in New York could soon be allowed to use cannabis to treat period pains.

Lawmakers in the state, which has already legalized medical marijuana, are poised to add dysmenorrhea - i.e.: menstrual cramps - to the list of conditions that warrant taking the drug. Currently the list includes HIV, cancer and multiple sclerosis.

The idea is hardly groundbreaking in the world of medical weed.

Last year Whoopi Goldberg made headlines launching her own line of cannabis-infused products to treat period pains - a sipping chocolate, a balm, a bath soak and herbal tinctures.

Her products join the burgeoning market of cannabis products for that time of the month.

But does it actually help?

A new cannabis-infused vaginal suppository has gone on sale in California and Colorado, where the drug is legal, and claims to offer relief for women suffering menstrual cramps

According to Dr Lauren Streicher, a leading gynecologist, there is not enough research on the subject.

'Patients ask me about it all the time. It could be that in five years it's the first thing I recommend. But right now we need a trial into it. There simply isn't enough research to say one way or the other,' Dr Streicher told Daily Mail Online.

Menstrual cramps, or dysmenorrhea, are throbbing or cramping pains in the lower abdomen.

During a woman's menstrual period, the uterus contracts.

Hormone-like substances, known as prostaglandins, involved in pain and inflammation trigger the uterine muscle contractions.

The higher the level of prostaglandins, the more severe a woman's cramps will be, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Severe contractions can constrict the blood vessels serving the uterus, which interrupts the blood supply to the womb and triggers the pain.

The idea is that CBD - the relaxing component in marijuana - can ease the muscle contractions. However, some products mainly use THC - the psychoactive element.

There are a number of products hitting US shelves that promise to do that.

Last February a cannabis-infused vaginal suppository went on sale in the US, claiming to ease the agony of period pains.

The tampon-shaped capsule is said to harness the pain relieving properties of marijuana 'without a psychotropic (high) effect'.

Women in California and Colorado - where cannabis is legal - are able to purchase packs of four FORIA Relief capsules for $44 (30).

But, while the product is available on sale, it has not yet been evaluated or approved by the US Food and Drug Adminstration, which regulates medications.

A statement on the Foria website, says: 'Our intention is to share the powerful medicinal properties of this plant while utilizing modern extraction techniques to standardize purity and potency, thereby ensuring a safe and accessible experience for all women.'

The suppositories contain 60mg of THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, the chemical responsible for most of marijuana's psychological effects.

In addition the product contains 10mg of cannabidiol, another active ingredient in the drug, and cocoa butter.

The manufacturers claim THC helps to block pain while the cannabidiol works with the immune system to reduce inflammation.

'Through the use of a suppository theses antispasmodic and pain relieving properties go directly to the area in need of relief,' the Foria website adds.

'The plant medicine works with your body to gently, yet profoundly, shift your unique experience in a holistic and natural way.'

Foria Relief contains 60mg of THC, the chemical responsible for most of marijuana's psychological effects. It also contains 10mg of cannabidiol, another of the drug's active ingredients. Experts have urged caution, noting the product has not been evaluated or approved by the US Food and Drugs Administration

But does the product actually help relieve the monthly pain endured by millions of women?

One woman, who reviewed the product for Broadly, said: 'Within 20 minutes, my cramps totally disappeared.'

Meanwhile a testimonial on the Foria website, by Megan C, 35, said: 'Normally, pain is unbearable.

'I was able to use this and have it prevent the worsening pain and cramping and piercing pains in my vaginal canal.'

And Stephanie P, 41, added: 'This product was more effecting than taking modern, over the counter drugs.

'I can confidently say, my symptoms went away entirely.'

However, experts have moved to urge caution.

Dr Helen Webberley, of the Oxford Online Pharmacy, told the Huffington Post, she is very concerned about women using the product, given it has not been approved by the FDA.

She said: This capsule has not even been studied yet. The assumption is that, as cannabis can cause muscle relaxation, it may help to ease period pains.
Although exceedingly rare, two cases of dry drowning have made national headlines this month.

Francisco 'Frankie' Delgado, four, died on June 3, six days after he inhaled water while swimming with his family in Texas.

Doctors suspect the little boy died from a form of dry drowning, a rare medical condition that predominantly affects children because their bodies are small.

This out-of-water drowning happens when someone breathes in water, leading to breathing problems.

After the toddler's story went viral, Colorado father Garon Vega recognized similar symptoms in his two-year-old son Gio and was able to save the child's life.

So what is dry drowning and how can it be spotted in time?

Two cases of dry drowning have made national news. The condition is rare but occurs when water is inhaled and causes breathing problems. Dry drowning normally happens to children because their bodies are so small (file image)

Francisco 'Frankie' Delgado III (pictured) is believed to have died from a form of dry drowning after he went swimming in Texas. The four-year-old died on June 3

What is dry drowning?

Dry drowning isn't limited to swimming pools and it can happen in any body of water, including the bathtub.

It occurs in one to two percent of drowning accidents and most cases occur in children because of their small size, although it still can happen to adults.

According to the CDC, 'injury' drowning is the second leading cause of death among children. The organization does not keep numbers on dry drowning.

Although Freddie's case is being called dry drowning, Dr Ray Pitetti of the Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, said he believes it's a case of secondary drowning.

The associate medical director of emergency pediatric medicine said: 'These terms are used the same way but are two different things.'

Dr Pitetti said water is inhaled and although it doesn't reach the lungs, it causes the larynx, the air passage to the lungs, to shut as a protective response.

He added: 'Dry drowning is a reflex the body has in the upper part of the airway. There is actually no water in the lungs.'

The person's vocal cords begin to seize up, called a laryngospasm, and airways begin to close, making it harder to breathe.

The body is then deprived of oxygen and begins to suffocate.

Dr Pitetti said because the body isn't getting enough air, the obvious symptoms begin to show in minutes after the accident.

HOW TO PREVENT DRY DROWNING In children ages one to four, drowning is the leading cause of death. Dr Ray Pitetti, of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, said keeping an eye out on children is essential. He added in most of the drowning cases he's witnessed, the child was not supervised. Here are some other tips: Learn life-saving skills: Everyone in a body of water should know the basics of swimming, including floating and treading water. Furthermore, experts also advise everyone to learn CPR. Fence the pool area: Home pools should be fenced off to keep children away from water when they aren't supposed to be. Life jackets: Even if they know how to swim, children should wear life jackets in natural bodies of water. These devices are also encouraged for new swimmers in pools. Keep an eye out: Children in or near water should be closely supervised at all times. Drowning can happen suddenly and sometimes silently, so adults should avoid activities that distract them from paying attention. Source: CDC and Dr Pitetti Advertisement

What is secondary drowning?

Dr Pitetti said he believes that both Freddie and Gio had secondary drowning because X-rays showed they had fluid in their lungs.

Secondary drowning is different than dry drowning because water actually reaches the lungs.

Dr Pitetti said this condition happens when water is breathed in and makes its way to the lungs.

The water is trapped inside the organs, causing irritation and inflammation, resulting in trouble breathing. This is known as pulmonary edema.

Secondary drowning can be harder to spot at first because it isn't as immediate as dry drowning.

Dr Pitetti said these two terms are often used interchangeably because both refer to drowning that happens out of the water.

He said knowing their difference is important.

What are the symptoms?

Experts say the first warning sign is when a child has a near-drowning experience.

For dry drowning, symptoms usually occur almost immediately after a person leaves the water.

Dr Pitetti said a child will not be able to breathe or have a very hard time breathing, coughing and gasping for air.

In secondary drowning, symptoms are slower to show up, within an hour to 24 hours.

Dr Pitetti said: 'When they first get out of the water, they may cough and then will normally be okay.

'As the day goes on, breathing gets a bit faster and just progresses.

'They will be working harder to breathe, with the belly moving in and out or the ribs showing the strain.'

Other symptoms apart from breathing issues include coughing, pains, extreme fatigue, throwing up and changes in behavior.

All of these indicate that the brain and body is not getting enough oxygen and the person should receive medical care.

Recent cases of dry drowning

'There are no words to describe how heartbroken we are over the passing of Baby Frankie,' a Go Fund Me page dedicated to raising money for the family said

Francisco Delgado III, known as Baby Frankie to his parents, was swimming with his family at the Texas City dike.

His parents Francisco Jr. and Tara said the boy started to complain of stomach pains shortly after getting out of the water, but they figured he just has a regular bug.

Over the next week, they say that he stared vomiting and having diarrhea, but appeared to be getting better.

Then things got much worse.

Francisco says that his son complained of his shoulders hurting Saturday morning, and went back to sleep, only to wake up in serious pain hours later.

'Out of nowhere, he just woke up. He said, "ahhh,"' his father told KTRK-TV. 'He took his last breath, and I didnt know what to do no more.'

The boy was rushed to the hospital where he later died.

'I walked in. I could see him lying there. They were still working on him. I'm screaming. Let me just touch my baby. Maybe he needs his mama's touch,' Tara Delgado said.

She added: 'When she came in, she told us it's what's called dry drowning. His lungs were full of fluid. There was nothing else they could do for him.'

Gio Vega (left), age two, nearly died after swallowing a small amount of water during a swim at a community pool in Colorado. His father Garon Vega (right) heard Frankie's story and took him to the doctor

Staff Sgt. Garon Vega was able to save his son Gio after hearing of Frankie's case.

Gio had swallowed water during a trip to their community pool and started suffering similar symptoms, including a fever and trouble breathing.

An X-ray showed fluid in the boy's lung. A doctor said it was a good thing that Vega brought his son in as he probably would not have survived the night.

Vega has thanked Delgado's parents, saying he likely wouldn't have taken Gio to hospital if they hadn't spoken out about their own tragedy.

'I feel like I needed to reach out to the parents of little Frankie and tell them, I dont know how to word it, but their little boy saved our little boys life,' Vega told ABC 13.

'There was a purpose.

'It was an unfortunate thing that happened, but if I had not told my wife that he swallowed the water, and if she had not seen that article, I think we wouldve ended up dispelling it as a regular sickness.'
Can you run up the stairs?

Yes. I used to run five or six miles a day and did a lot of weight lifting, but as you get older your knees and joints dont take it so well. Nowadays I do sit-ups and walk every couple of days.

Get your five a day?

I DONT like fruit unless its in a gin and tonic. I have a fruit intolerance  eating raw apples, pears and peaches with their skin on makes my lips burn.

Ever dieted?

I piled on weight after I was injured in the Falklands. I dont eat much fried food or takeaways now. I was just over 20 st at my heaviest and am 16 st now (Im 5ft 10in).

National treasure: Simon Weston became a symbol in Britain after returning miraculously alive from the Falklands War, in which countless died

Any vices?

After my injury Id drink in one day what most people have in two weeks  but now I dont drink to excess, or during the working week.

Any family ailments?

I dont know my biological fathers side because he left when I was young. My mother had a heart attack at 69, but that could happen to anyone.

Worst illness?

I had a kidney stone a few years ago  it was the worst pain Id ever experienced, even worse than after I was burnt. They dragged it out under general anaesthetic.

Pop any pills?

I take ramipril for blood pressure, hay fever tablets and multivitamins.

Had anything removed?

Apart from my kidney stone, my little finger on my left hand. After it got burned it curled up, so I was advised to have it removed.

How much plastic surgery have you had?

I had almost 100 operations, from my head to my ankle, and I may have more, this time on my eyelids. I needed skin grafts because a large part of my body was burnt, but I had infections so the skin grafts had to be replaced.

Miracle: On June 8, 1982, six days before Argentina surrendered, Weston was severely burnt when the ship he traveled on was bombed by enemy aircraft

Survivor: Despite this, he maintains that the incident taught him how to deal with pain

Cope well with pain?

YES, but I didnt know that until I got burned.

Ever been depressed?

I have, but it was inevitable  I was disfigured, disabled, and had lost my friends, fiancee, career, and all that mattered to me. I also had PTSD.

What keeps you awake?

Nightmares used to wake me  I was getting burned and bombed every night. But it was cured by meeting the pilot who blew me up. Latterly my tinnitus would wake me at night, but hearing aids have helped.

Any phobias?

A paralysing fear of heights, which my children (aged 19, 23, 26) used to find amusing when they were small.

Like to live for ever?

If I could always be 35, with no aches and pains.

Simon is an ambassador for hearing health specialist Amplifon. amplifon.com
The US Army has invested $2 million in research to test a promising one-shot injection to treat post-traumatic stress disorder.

The injection - known as stellate ganglion blocks - was invented in 2006, and is used to 'reset' the nervous system in soldiers tormented by past trauma.

Now the Pentagon is backing a major study carried out at three Army medical centers to investigate the treatment.

The method is simple: a physician injects a dose of local anesthetic into the right hand side of the neck, hitting and numbing a cluster of nerves called the stellate ganglion, which connect the body to the brain.

Somehow - for reasons that remain unclear to scientists - this injection seems to reset the nervous system.

The physician injects a dose of local anesthetic into a cluster of nerves called the stellate ganglion, which connect the body to the brain

HOW THE PTSD SHOT DOES IT WORK? Patients pay just under $2 for a dose of SGB. It takes about 30 minutes to administer the injection into the right hand side of the neck, as close to the stellate ganglion as possible. Some patients have reported instant relief. Most patients will only need one injection in their lifetime, though some have required two. The physician injects a dose of local anesthetic into a cluster of nerves called the stellate ganglion, which connect the body to the brain. Somehow - for reasons that remain unclear to scientists - this injection seems to reset the nervous system. The idea is that the SGB shot can minimize symptoms to such an extent that therapy and other drugs can work on a longer-term basis. Advertisement

The stellate ganglion is part of a network of nerves called the cervical sympathetic chain, which alerts the brain to danger.

Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is caused by an overactive fear memory and includes a broad range of psychological symptoms that can develop after someone goes through a traumatic event.

About 70 percent of US adults - 223.4 million people - have experienced some type of traumatic event at least once in their lives.

And an estimated eight percent of Americans, or 24.4 million people, have PTSD at any given time.

As scientists grapple to understand the root cause of the condition, the idea of injecting anesthetic into the stellate ganglion has proved effective.

The method was invented in 2006 by Dr Eugene Lipov of the Global Post Traumatic Stress Injury Foundation.

He was investigating treatment options for a patient who came to him in 2003 with severe menopausal hot flushes and an intense pain in her arm.

He discovered that some doctors had treated this kind of condition - known as complex regional pain syndrome - by injecting their ganglion with a numbing agent.

Doing some intense research into it, Dr Lipov found this was also used for PTSD.

He treated his first patient in 2006; a man who was robbed at gunpoint.

'He was on his way to the mental ward, but we did the block and he didn't have to do it,' Dr Lipov told Daily Mail Online.

'The effect is almost immediate, it takes about 30 minutes.'

Since, Dr Lipov has treated around 400 patients. Most have had about two shots, and haven't seen any symptoms since.

Patients pay just under $2 for a dose of SGB.

It takes about 30 minutes to administer the injection into the neck, as close to the stellate ganglion as possible.

The drug, marketed as Naropin, has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from doctors that have administered it on patients.

However, the US Army will not endorse it until a large-scale clinical trial proves its effectiveness.

The idea is not for the SGB shot to act as a cure.

Rather, scientists say it can minimize symptoms to such an extent that therapy and other drugs can work on a longer-term basis.

But experts insist that should not push it off the list of priorities.

In fact, a report published by the World Institute of Pain in October held up SGBs as crucial for many patients.

'The rapid response and destigmatization the procedure offers may enable this technique to be beneficial for particularly difficult-to-treat patient populations, including military servicemembers and veterans,' the researchers wrote.

It seems the US Army agrees.

RTI International, a research institute in North Carolina, Womack Army Medical Center at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, have all been given funds to investigate the treatment.

The study, which runs until November 2017, is slated to include about 300 active-duty servicemembers per trial.

However, speaking to Stars And Stripes last November, one of the lead researchers from RTI said they have struggled to recruit volunteers - even after offering $115 per person to be involved.

'The stigma associated with PTSD certainly is a consideration,' Kristine Rae Olmsted, a behavioral epidemiologist at RTI and co-investigator in the Pentagon-funded study, told the military publication.

She added: 'People are a little leery about getting an injection in the neck. For some people, it's not that big of a deal; for others, it's quite off-putting.'
Survivor: Juliet Shand is one of thousands diagnosed with thyroid cancer, each year

Juliet Shand thought nothing of it when she developed a deep, gravelly voice and laughed along with husband Matt when he joked that she sounded like Rod Stewart.

Id always had a deeper voice than most women so I didnt think it was anything sinister, says Juliet, 44, a recruitment manager, who lives in Wouldham, Kent with Matt, 45, a computer engineer and their children Joe, 18 and Eloise, 14.

Id developed problems swallowing food  but it seemed to come and go, so I put it down to not chewing it properly, she says.

I was good at explaining away any symptoms as I hated going to the doctor. This went on for months.

By April last year she had joint pain and was feeling tired so did visit her GP. A set of blood tests came back normal. Luckily my GP examined my neck and although he didnt tell me at the time, he felt a lump, recalls Juliet. He referred me for an ultrasound of my thyroid gland.

My grandmother had a goitre, a non-cancerous enlarged thyroid gland, so I thought I probably had a similar problem and it could all be sorted out with a prescription.

But five months later Juliet was digesting the news that she had cancer of the thyroid, the butterfly-shaped gland at the front of the throat that produces hormones for metabolism and energy.

Ironically its the same cancer that Rod Stewart was diagnosed with in 2000. Cases of this type of cancer have shot up 139 per cent since the Nineties, according to Cancer Research UK. One controversial theory is chemicals used in fireproofing may be partly to blame.

A study published in April by Duke University in the U.S. found an association between flame retardants used to treat sofas and mattresses and a higher rate of thyroid cancer. Researchers analysed dust samples from homes of patients with thyroid cancer, comparing them to a control group.

The dust from cancer patients houses had higher levels of two flame retardant chemicals. Homeowners living with the highest levels of the retardant decabromodiphenyl ether were twice as likely to have thyroid cancer as those with low concentrations.

Recovery: The 44 year-old is now in recovery after surgery to remove her thyroid gland and radioiodine treatment, which helped to defeat the rogue growth

Increase: According to Cancer Research UK cases have risen 139 per cent since the 1990s

UK scientists say the study is small and does not prove flame retardants cause cancer. Even the author said the numbers were so small as not to be statistically significant, says Carl Alexander, health information officer at Cancer Research UK.

No causal link between these chemicals and cancer has been found. The levels of exposure to these chemicals is not high enough to cause any harm.

I was good at explaining away any symptoms as I hated going to the doctor. This went on for months.

A more convincing reason for the explosion in thyroid cancer cases is that smaller tumours are now being picked up thanks to better imaging, says Dr Kristien Boelaert, a consultant endocrinologist at the Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research at the University of Birmingham.

Half of those diagnosed with the disease dont have any symptoms, such as hoarse voice, difficulty swallowing or a lump in the neck when they are diagnosed. Instead, their cancer is detected during a routine scan for something else.

Its estimated that about 30 per cent of the population have microcarcinomas  tiny tumours  of less than 1cm in diameter of the thyroid, says Dr Boelaert. These may never get big enough to cause any problems.

The problem is imaging alone cant predict how the tumours may behave in the future and some grow bigger and spread. This raises questions about whether some people are undergoing treatments which bring their own risks of side-effects for a cancer that might never cause any symptoms.

Study finding: Homeowners living with the highest levels of the retardant decabromodiphenyl ether were twice as likely to have thyroid cancer as those with low concentrations

A study published in 2016 in the New England Journal of Medicine by the International Agency for Research on Cancer found hundreds of thousands of cases of thyroid cancer diagnosed in high-income countries were unlikely to cause death.

But because we have no way of predicting whether they are indolent or aggressive, the practice is to treat all thyroid cancers, irrespective of their size, explains Sabapathy Balasubramanian, a consultant surgeon at Sheffield Teaching Hospital and author of a recent review into thyroid cancer published in the journal Thyroid.

Its one of the dilemmas of modern medicine  the more we look for things sometimes, the more trouble we find.

My view is that we should be doing fewer scans as there is no evidence that they improve survival in thyroid cancer.

Yet for some, thyroid cancer can be life-threatening. Researchers are trying to find a way to predict how tumours will behave to avoid needless treatment.

She was sent for a biopsy as her ultrasound showed nodules on her thyroid gland. It sounded routine so I didnt panic as cancer had not been mentioned, she says.

THE FOUR MAIN TYPES OF THYROID CANCER Papillary Carcinoma  the most common type, accounting for about 8 in 10 cases; it usually affects people under 40, particularly women Follicular Carcinoma  accounts for up to 1 in 10 cases and tends to affect middle-aged adults, particularly women Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma  accounts for less than 1 in 10 cases; unlike the other types, it can run in families Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma  the rarest and most serious type, accounting for around 1 in 50 cases; it usually affects people over 60 years Source: NHS Choices Advertisement

She went to get the results in November last year on her own, having assured Matt there was no need for him to come with her.

When I got in the consulting room I saw a box of tissues on the consultants desk and a leaflet about cancer. It dawned on me that I could be about to get some very bad news, Juliet says.

The biopsy had revealed cancerous cells. I was told I needed surgery to remove nodules on my thyroid.

The cancer was stage T2, so there was a possibility it had spread to other parts of my body. I managed to stay calm and ask about the treatment, but I was in shock. She sobbed in the hospital car park and called Matt asking him to meet her at home with the children so she could break the news. She calls it the hardest conversation Ive ever had.

She started researching the condition. Thats when I realised all my vague symptoms had this underlying cause. I was later told that thyroid cancer had a high five-year survival rate of 91 per cent for women and 82 per cent for men, but that didnt reassure me.

Two weeks later, she had an operation to remove her thyroid gland after her surgeon decided that there were too many nodules to remove individually.

After surgery, Juliet was put on a daily dose of levothyroxine to replace hormones produced by the thyroid gland, which she will take for the rest of her life.

In March she was given radioiodine treatment, an internal radiotherapy designed to destroy any remaining thyroid cancer cells. Patients drink radioactive iodine and are kept in isolation for a few days.

Im just grateful my GP ordered that scan and my cancer was found before it had the chance to spread, Julie says. I could so easily have ignored my symptoms. I would urge anyone who notices a change to their voice  not to ignore it.

For more information, visit: butterfly.org.uk
The all-powerful GST Council on Sunday reduced the tax rate on as many as 66 goods including packaged food, computer printers insulin, dental wax, exercise books and school bags.

'The decision to lower rates was taken with the objective to maintain the equivalence with the current tax rates or due to the change in utilisation behaviour,' Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told journalists after the meeting.

A senior official said items such as insulin used by diabetics and packaged food including pickles and ketchups had now become essential goods so the tax rate has been scaled down on these items.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has announced tax cuts on 66 items including packaged food

The tax rate on cashew nuts has also been cut to five per cent from 12 per cent as it is seen primarily as a health food.

The earlier tax rate on schoolbags, exercise books and colour books for school children also needed a relook as these are goods that also come under the essential category for the common man, he added.

Other commodities that figure on the list of 66 are agarbatti which will now be taxed at a five per cent rate and kajal which will face a 12 per cent levy. Earlier the GST on these two items was 12 per cent and 18 per cent respectively.

Construction items such as concrete pipes will also turn cheaper with the lowering of GST which will benefit housing projects.

In order to promote regional cinema, the Council decided to reduce the rate on movie tickets costing Rs 100 or below to 18 per cent. However, movie tickets priced above Rs 100 will continue to attract a GST rate of 28 per cent.

The GST Council also decided to raise the turnover limit from Rs 50 lakh to 75 lakh for traders, manufacturers and restaurant owners to opt for the composition scheme and pay taxes at the rate of one, two, and five per cent respectively.

'The higher upper limit for the composition scheme will help the small and medium enterprises. It eases the burden on these categories as they are mass job creators,' the finance minister said.

'The increase in the threshold should benefit a significant number of small and medium enterprises as they will not have to meet with detailed compliances under GST and also have a lower financial burden on account of GST,' Mahesh Jaising, partner, indirect tax, BMR & Associates LLP told Mail Today.

The finance minister also indicated that the tax rate on hybrid cars will not be reviewed as the industry demands were not in sync with a study conducted by tax officers.

The council had fixed 43 per cent tax (28 per cent GST plus 15 per cent cess) on hybrid cars. Carmakers were seeking a reduction in tax on the ground that these are fuel-efficient green vehicles.

'We have done a detailed study on the demand of the auto industry and a paper has been made which will be circulated among members. If necessary, it would come up for discussion. The fact that is being presented by the industry, according to the paper, is not correct,' Jaitley said.

The council in its previous two meetings had put almost all good and services in the tax brackets of five, 12, 18 and 28 per cent as it prepares to roll out the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from July 1.

Jaitley said the weighted average of all the GST rates decided by the council is significantly lower than the present tax incidence.

Asked if there would be any further revision of rates, the minister said the fitment committee and the GST Council has gone into the depth of all the cases and whatever rates have been decided are based on informed reasons and detailed discussions
In what is expected to be a crucial metamorphosis of the Aam Aadmi Party, the four-year-old political outfit is silently ushering in a slew of changes in its organisational structure and agenda in a bid to give its national ambitions a new direction.

Right from key positions in the national headquarters to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's political secretariat, a new team of leaders is replacing the old order as part of the 'course correction' that the party supremo had promised volunteers and leaders.

In terms of the party's ideology, a group of leaders are working on framing 'a more pronounced' political ideology for the party that so far has ridden only the anti-corruption plank.

AAP leader Ashish Khetan with Atishi Marlena. The changes were long pending but the party leadership chose not to disturb the system ahead of assembly polls

Sources in the party told Mail Today that the organisational changes were long pending but faced with a series of elections the party leadership did not want to disturb the existing system ahead of the assembly polls in Punjab, Goa and Delhi municipal polls.

Two young Turks of the party - Atishi Marlena and Saurabh Bhardwaj - who were working mostly behind the scenes for the, have now been appointed as the official spokespersons for the party in Delhi.

Marlena had been working closely with deputy CM Manish Sisodia on revamping education under the Delhi government and also the party's ambitious mohalla sabha project.

Former national treasurer Raghav Chadha has relinquished his position to oversee the litigation

Even as Marlena will continue to steer the two projects in the government, her role in the media interface in the national Capital will be her prime responsibility.

Bhardwaj, a sitting MLA from Greater Kailash, recently enthralled his audience at the Delhi legislative assembly with a demo of how an electronic voting machine can be hacked.

Apart from his responsibilities as the sitting MLA and to keep up the party's protests against vulnerable EVMs, Bhardwaj will emerge as one of the prominent faces of the party in the Capital.

With an ever-increasing number of legal cases against the party and its leaders, former national treasurer Raghav Chadha has relinquished his position to oversee the litigation.

Chadha, who is also a popular face defending the party on television debates on prime time, has made way for erstwhile national media coordinator Deepak Bajpai, who has been appointed new national treasurer.

Kejriwal's political secretariat comprising advisors to the CM, too has been witnessing change.

Political advisor and former Delhi prabhari Ashish Talwar is set to be moved out and given charge of Karnataka instead.

The changes are said to be part of 'course correction' promised by party supremo Arvind Kejriwal

Rakesh Sinha, former party Lokpal, has been assigned a key role in the party's national expansion.

Even as structural changes are taking place, the party is also working on building a more 'welldefined' ideology.

While all its elections so far have been fought only on an anti-corruption plank, the party is now posturing itself in a pro-poor, pro-farmer stance.

The party has sought ground reports from all state units on the status of farmers and is set to launch a nationwide stir on farmers' issues.

Bhardwaj explained: 'When we were in Punjab contesting the elections, our footprint there was primarily rural. We were seen as a party strong in the rural belts.

'Even in Delhi, our support base lied in the JJ clusters, unauthorised colonies rather than the kothis and DDA flats. As we move forward, we are trying to reach out to farmers.

'While the BJP has never been viewed as a pro-poor party, these sections have traditionally voted for Congress. Now, with the AAP in that similar space, there will be an alternative.'
As I sat at the stop light, practically hyperventilating upon realizing Id left my phone at home, a thought suddenly hit me.

We are allergic to uncertainty.

In a world climate in which most things seem beyond our control, we have done all we can to fight the unknown at an individual level.

Worried that youve had one too many beers to slip behind the wheel? One device measures your blood alcohol level and lets you know for sure. Want to know if youre susceptible to heart disease some day? Home genetic tests will give you the low-down. Concerned about whether that milk soured prematurely? A smart refrigerator will do everything but judge your taste in Blatz beer and Velveeta.

In the past, our day-to-day lives were filled with uncertainty. Like we might miss the end of The Thornbirds mini-series because we were in a Rubiks Cube tournament and our parents hadnt bought a Betamax yet. Or that well get the film back from the drugstore and someones head would be cut off and one of the kids would have his finger up his nose. Or that we might not be able to get the paycheck to the bank in time to beat the check for the electric bill.

We could go for years wondering if Steve Miller really sang the pompatus of love, and several more years wondering what a pompatus was. We werent really sure what the band Supertramp looked like, because they kind of looked like Sugarloaf, Toto and just about every other band from the 70s. We didnt have apps to show us if a home perm was a bad idea. We just wound up trying it and looking like Epstein from Welcome Back Kotter.

In a Wikipedia-free world, we could not immediately check how to spell Cincinnati. We couldnt scan WebMD to find out if that spider bite might need medical attention (on the other hand, we couldnt over-Google and convince ourselves we had somehow contracted leprosy). We couldnt check an app or scan the web to see if that tornado was heading our way. (As an admittedly anxious child, I remember desperately ferreting through a 30-year-old Encyclopedia Britannica for the tornado entry, just to make sure the clouds forming outside looked nothing like the menacing clouds in the book.)

Some of that uncertainty was pretty scary. We didnt have sophisticated ultrasounds to tell us that the baby was developing as expected. We drove all winter without a cell phone, and prayed that we didnt slide into a ditch or have car trouble. Its awesome that technology has helped us in those ways.

And yet a world of certainty-friendly devices has actually created other types of uncertainty. We are never completely sure if our financial information is safe online. We dont know if someone will hack into our computers or if a corporation is selling our identity to the highest bidder. We can never be 100 percent sure that we can trust that Craigslist seller, Match date, Airbnb customer or Amazon purchase.

In short, we can never really nip uncertainty in the bud.

The only thing certain is uncertainty.

Readers can reach columnist Tammy Swift at tswiftsletten@gmail.com.
Confidence among Britain's big businesses has fallen sharply since last month, according to a survey by the Institute of Directors of 700 of its members.

Last Thursday's election that left Prime Minister Theresa May politically weakened ahead of imminent Brexit talks will not have helped in this regard, but confidence had already begun to slip before the election.

The survey found Brexit to be the dominant issue, with concern building among IoD members over political uncertainty and its impact on Britain's economy.

The Institute of Directors' building in London's Pall Mall.

There was a fall of 34 points in the IoD confidence scale from its last survey in May.

While 20 per cent of members questioned said they were 'optimistic' about the economy over the next 12 months, some 57 per cent were either 'quite' or 'very pessimistic.'

This meant that with a -3 per cent score being recorded in May, June's 'net confidence' score was -37.

'It is hard to overstate what a dramatic impact the current political uncertainty is having on business leaders, and the consequences could if not addressed immediately be disastrous for the UK economy,' said Stephen Martin, director general of the IoD.

Carolyn Fairbairn said there is a risk that businesses would cut back on investment.

'The needs of business and discussion of the economy were largely absent from the campaign, but this crash in confidence shows how urgently that must change in the new government.'

The IoD survey also found its members saw no clear way to quickly resolve the political situation, and indicated a belief that another election this year would have a negative impact on the economy.

Earlier today, director general of the Confederation of British Industry Carolyn Fairbairn weighed in on the situation, saying there was now a risk that businesses would cut back on investment, which has largely held up since last year's Brexit vote.

'When uncertainty reaches such a level then you get pause buttons beginning to be pressed and we don't want to see that,' she told the BBC. 'So I think it's time for a bit of a reset, a bit of a mindset change to listen really well to what businesses need.'

Fairbairn said she hoped to see the Brexit negotiations on 'a really positive track so we can see an outcome on really good access to the single market.'
President Donald Trump hailed Thursday's opening of a new coal mine just outside of Pittsburgh - the first to open in at least 10 years.

Corsa Coal Corporation celebrated the grand opening of its new mine Thursday in Somerset County, PA. The mine will supply coal used in making steel and is expected to generate between 70 and 100 full time jobs.

Trump addressed the ceremony in a televised speech, saying: 'I'm absolutely thrilled to be speaking with you on this great, great day. The miners of Pennsylvania are mining goal again.'

Scroll down for video

Pictured from left to right: Ron Aldom, executive director of the Somerset County Chamber of Commerce, Carl Metzgar, PA State Representative, George Dethlefsen, CEO Corsa Coal Corp., Pat Stefano, PA State Senator, and Scott Wagner, PA State Senator hold up a 'Trump Digs Coal' sign at the grand opening of Corsa Coal's Acosta Deep Mine on June 8, 2017

The President addressed the ceremony in a televised speech, saying: 'I'm absolutely thrilled to be speaking with you on this great, great day. The miners of Pennsylvania are mining goal again'

However, the president left out any mention that plans for the mine's opening were actually made well before his November election.

Corsa Coal Corp. said it decided in August of 2016 to open the Acosta mine in Friedens, 60 miles south of Pittsburgh, after a steel industry boom drove up prices for metallurgical coal.

Under a tent perched hundreds of feet above a freshly dug coal pit, about 200 miners, business leaders, and politicians celebrated amid the surge of enthusiasm for the industry. Mining headgear lay atop red, white, and blue table cloths labeled 'Make Coal Great Again.'

Corsa Coal Corp. said it decided in August of 2016 to open the Acosta mine in Friedens, 60 miles south of Pittsburgh, after a steel industry boom drove up prices for metallurgical coal

Under a tent perched hundreds of feet above a freshly dug coal pit, about 200 miners, business leaders, and politicians celebrated amid the surge of enthusiasm for the industry. Mining headgear lay atop red, white, and blue table cloths and decorations labeled 'Make Coal Great Again'

George Dethlefsen, left, CEO of Corsa Coal, speaks with a miner in a coal pit in Friedens, Pa., the day before the mine's grand opening

Trump noted the impending opening of the mine two weeks ago during his speech announcing the nation's withdrawal from the Paris climate accord.

He said then he had hoped to attend the event, but instead participated via the recorded video message. The president even took partial credit for the opening, despite that it was planned before his shocking election.

'One by one, we're eliminating the regulations that threaten your jobs, and that's one of the big reasons you're opening today: Less regulation,' Trump said. 'We have withdrawn the United States from the horrendous Paris climate accord, something that would have put our country back decades and decades, we would have never allowed ourselves to be great again.'

The metallurgical coal being pulled from the new mine is a niche market that makes up only between five percent and 10 percent of coal production and operates independently of the market for power-generating coal. Analysts emphasize that the new mine doesn't reflect a long-term revival in the coal industry as a whole, which continues to struggle.

Even the President's chief economic advisor Gary Cohn said coal 'doesn't really make that much sense anymore as a feedstock,' when speaking to reporters on May 26.

Analysts emphasize that the new mine doesn't reflect a long-term revival in the coal industry as a whole, which continues to struggle

The Lower Kittanning coal seam is exposed near the entrance of Corsa Coal's Acosta Deep Mine

Corsa's chief executive, George Dethlefsen, said Trump has made the entire mining industry more optimistic.

'The war on coal is over,' he said. 'Easing the regulatory burden, lowering taxes, stimulating infrastructure spending, balancing out the interest of economic growth versus environmental policy - it's very good for coal.'

Democratic Governor Tom Wolf said the mine was part of an effort to bring back jobs and industry to the state, whose government awarded a $3million grant for the project.

'We have not always capitalized on our standing as one of the world's leaders in these resources, but we're changing that,' Wolf said.

Trump has made reversing the decades-long decline in coal mining the central tenet of his environmental policy, blaming federal regulations aimed at curbing planet-warming carbon emissions for job losses in the industry.

The White House and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt have targeted laws that protected waterways from coal waste and required states to slash carbon emissions from power plants.

About a dozen protesters chanted in opposition to the mine at the opening.

The price of metallurgical coal tripled to over $300 a ton over the past year after China slashed its coal production and the steel industry bounced back from a global downturn. Cyclones disrupted supplies in Australia, the world's biggest exporter of metallurgical coal, pushing prices higher. Though prices have sagged since then, Dethlefsen said he is confident that the mine will be profitable for a while to come.

'The supply chain for metallurgical coal is extremely fragile. Whether it's cyclones in Australia, government policy in China . there's always something that could disrupt the supply chain and prices to shoot up.' Dethlefsen said. 'If we can keep our costs low, we can compete with any country in the world.'

Corsa hopes to open another metallurgical coal mine next year, and a second in 2019.

A worker waits for a piece of heavy machinery to pass by at a new coal mine in Friedens, Pa., which is expected to produce 400,000 tons of metallurgical coal a year

Corsa hopes to open another metallurgical coal mine next year, and a second in 2019

Power-generating coal mines continue to struggle, facing fierce competition from cheap natural gas and renewable energy. Over a dozen coal-fired plants from Nevada to Massachusetts are projected to shut their doors this year, according to a report by the nonprofit Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

'If Trump brings back the coal, it's not going to bring back the jobs,' said Jay Apt, an energy policy professor at Carnegie Mellon University. 'Those jobs are gone, automation has seen to that.'

Still, for the workers here, the grand opening is allowing them a sigh of relief. Though most are longtime Corsa employees brought in from other facilities, many were jittery after a mine closing in 2014 left hundreds collecting unemployment benefits.

'I won't lie, we doubted if we were going to have jobs, if the company was going to make it,' said Matt Owens, a mine safety coordinator who got into coal after his factory employer shut down a decade ago. 'But they did.'

Analysts emphasize that the new mine doesn't reflect a long-term revival in the coal industry as a whole, which continues to struggle
The sole survivor of a shooting by a Pennsylvania grocery store employee - who killed three co-workers and then himself on Thursday - told authorities that the shooter locked eyes with her but decided to spare her life.

Police said 24-year-old Randy Stair brought two pistol-grip shotguns to work at the Weis Market in rural Tunkhannock, about 150 miles northwest of New York City, and blocked store exits before he began shooting shortly before 1am.

A search warrant obtained for Stair's Dallas-area residence was made public Friday and included an account from a fourth co-worker who escaped the store: Kristan Newell.

Newell said she was wearing headphones while she labeled products but heard shots and saw Stair shoot one of the victims, Victoria Brong, then turn and look at her.

Scroll down for video

Randy Stair shot and killed three of his co-workers at a grocery story in Pennsylvania on Thursday

But a fourth co-worker who was in the Weis Market during the attack said she managed to escape after Stair saw her but didn't shoot

Kristan Newell told police was wearing headphones while labeling products when she heard shots and saw Stair shoot a fellow employee

But she said rather than shooting her, he walked away and went down the next aisle.

Police said she 'hid in the aisle for register 5, heard more shooting' and finally found a way to escape and call 911.

Even after she had gotten out of the store, she continued to hear shots being fired.

Stair killed Terry Sterling, 63, of South Montrose; Victoria Brong, 26, of Factoryville; and Brian Hayes, 47, of Springville.

Stair was dead before police arrived at the supermarket, but he left behind online videos and writings in which he praised the 1999 Columbine High School shooters, among other things.

Court documents indicate that a search of his home turned up seven boxes of 12-gauge shotgun ammunition, shooting goggles, ear protectors, a shotgun buttstock and an owner's manual.

Just hours before the shooting, Stair - who was known under the pseudonym Andrew Blaze - tweeted 'Goodbye humans...I'll miss you...'

Stair was dead before police arrived at the supermarket, but he left behind online videos and writings in which he praised the 1999 Columbine High School shooters, among other things

State police also took two notebooks, his drawings and cartoons, external hard drives, a flash drive, a computer and a camera.

Recordable discs labeled 'Goodbye,' ''Interview Spring 2014' and 'EGS Intro,' as well as five unmarked discs and one marked with illegible writing also were placed into evidence.

An actress who voiced a cartoon character that Stair had created said he sent her an email less than an hour before the killings thanking her for her work and telling her that by the time she read the email he would be dead.

Laura Faverty told WILK radio in an interview posted Friday that message from the man she knew by the pseudonym Andrew Blaze started like a suicide note but got darker as he outlined 'the true purpose' of his videos, the last of which was a 42-minute animated film depicting a massacre at a high school.

Stair also posted a photograph of him wearing a uniform in what looked like a store bathroom at 2.10am on Wednesday - about 24 hours before his rampage.

Court documents indicate that a search of his home turned up seven boxes of 12-gauge shotgun ammunition, shooting goggles, ear protectors, a shotgun buttstock and an owner's manual

There were also pictures of him posing with his shotguns, even kissing them.

He left a note which read: 'These are all of the audio and video recordings pertaining to my death.

'All of these recordings and videos are essential for understanding what I did and how I did it.

'Theyre all just me sitting in front of the camera, just recording with my microphone, or driving and venting my thoughts.'

The biography on his Twitter read read: 'I had to die in order to truly live. Speaking from before and beyond the grave.'

A prosecutor called Stair's actions a mental health situation that 'utterly spiraled out of control.' His family on Friday released a brief emailed statement expressing sorrow for his actions.

'Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families,' said his mother, Lori Ann Stair. 'We are so sorry for all the pain and loss of life this has caused everyone involved.'
Donald Trump's chief spokesman on Monday discounted reports that had the president hedging on whether he will visit the United Kingdom this year.

And Sean Spicer said Trump gives no weight  'none' at all  to how unpopular he might be in a given country when he decides whether to travel there.

'Her Majesty extended an invitation to the president,' Spicer told reporters. 'He's accepted that invitation. And we look forward to scheduling that trip.'

He insisted, however, that there has never been a date on Trump's calendar for his trip to London, saying: 'There is nothing that was scheduled'

'We look forward to working out a mutually acceptable date with the United Kingdom,' Spicer added.

Scroll down for video

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer says Donald Trump has accepted Queen Elizabeth II's invitation to visit London  and he's accepted  contradicting news stories about a possible cancellation

The New York Times and The Guardian had reported that Trump's planned state visit to the UK might not happen, following a phone call between him and Prime Minister Theresa May

Reports abounded over the weekend that the president might scrap the idea of traveling to the United Kingdom following his protracted feud with london Mayor Sadiq Khan.

The state visit is expected in the fall but The New York Times reported that the president has been expressing doubts to aides about the wisdom of going to London, where he is deeply unpopular and mass demonstrations could erupt.

The Times reported Sunday that Trump hasn't completely ruled out going, and administration officials are leaving their options open in the hope of swaying him.

The Guardian reported over the weekend that the trip had definitely been postponed following a phone call between Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May.

Trump engaged in a vicious feud with London Mayor Sadiq Khan, and Londoners would be expected to turn out in force to protest his visit

Asked Monday how much weight Trump gives to his popularity in a given country when he decides whether or not to visit, Spicer shot back: 'None'

The newspaper, citing an unidentified adviser at May's Downing Street office who was in the room at the time, reported Trump had told May by telephone in recent weeks that he did not want to come if there were likely to be large-scale protests.

'We aren't going to comment on speculation about the contents of private phone conversations,' a spokeswoman for May's office said. 'The queen extended an invitation to President Trump to visit the UK and there is no change to those plans.'

The White House also denied the Guardian report, with spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders saying: 'The president has tremendous respect for Prime Minister May. That subject never came up on the call.'

The Guardian, however, spoke to a May aide who said the prime minister heard Trump say he might not come, and was shocked.

No date has been set for the visit, which was agreed during May's visit to Washington in January, but British media had reported it was planned for October.

UK Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn put his stamp of approval on the idea of Trump scrapping his planned visit

Peter Ricketts, David Cameron's former National Security adviser, described the State Visit as 'premature' - though said he is open to a less official trip

Labour MP David Lammy, who represents an area of London, where Trump is unpopular, also came out to support the idea of abandoning the event

Comic Graham Linehan also welcomed the news, though regretted missing the chance to tip the presidential limo over

Scientist Richard Dawkins also poked fun at the idea of the British public supporting Trump

May's hold on power has been significantly weakened since the results of a snap election last week cost her Conservative Party a parliamentary majority. In a bid to save her position, May has been trying to form a government with Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party, a small faction of social conservatives.

British politics is going through an upheaval just a week before talks begin on Britain's exit from the European Union, set for 2019.

Trump's public criticism this month of London Mayor Sadiq Khan's response to an attack by Islamist militants in London was condemned in Britain.

May found herself forced to defend Khan, who is from the opposition Labour party.

At that time, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said there was no reason to cancel the visit, while White House spokesman Sean Spicer said that Trump intended to go and that 'he appreciates Her Majesty's gracious invitation.'

On Sunday the the UK's Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, said on Twitter that Trump's apparent decision to scrap the visit was 'welcome, especially after his attack on Londons mayor & withdrawal from #ParisClimateDeal.'
Taimoor Raza has been sentenced to death

A Pakistani man has been sentenced to death for making a derogatory remark about the Prophet Mohammad in a Facebook post.

A counter-terrorism court has sentenced Taimoor Raza, 30, to be executed after finding him guilty of committing blasphemy online.

It is the first time anybody has been handed the death penalty for blaspheming on social media and follows a high-profile crackdown by the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Blasphemy is a highly sensitive topic in Muslim-majority Pakistan, where insulting the Prophet Mohammad is a capital crime for which dozens are sitting on death row.

Under Pakistan's harsh laws, anyone accused of insulting God, Islam or other religious personalities can be sentenced to death.

Pakistan last year arrested 15 people, 10 Muslims and five non-Muslims, on blasphemy charges, according to a report issued by the independent rights group Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

The country has never executed anyone convicted of blasphemy, but the mere accusation is enough to ignite mob violence or lynching in the deeply conservative country.

Right groups say the harsh blasphemy laws are often used to settle personal scores.

Shafiq Qureshi, public prosecutor in Bahawalpur (pictured), about 300 miles (500km) south of provincial capital Lahore, said Raza was convicted for allegedly making derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammad, his wives and companions

Shafiq Qureshi, public prosecutor in Bahawalpur, about 300 miles (500km) south of provincial capital Lahore, said Raza was convicted for allegedly making derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammad, his wives and companions.

'An anti terrorism court of Bahawalpur has awarded him the death sentence,' Qureshi said.

'It is the first ever death sentence in a case that involves social media.'

It is rare for a counter-terrorism court to hear blasphemy cases but Raza's trial fell under this category because his charge sheet included counter-terrorism offences linked to hate speech.

Qureshi said Raza was arrested after playing blasphemous and hate speech material on his phone at a bus stop in Bahawalpur, where a counter-terrorism officer arrested him and confiscated his phone.

The material obtained from the phone led to Raza's conviction, he added.

'The trial was conducted in Bahawapur jail in tight security,' Qureshi said.

Qureshi added that Raza belongs to the minority Shia community and in court he accused of spreading 'hate speech' against the Deobani sect, which adheres to a strict school of Sunni Islam.

A Pakistani man has been sentenced to death for making a derogatory remark about the Prophet Mohammad in a Facebook post

Relations between Shia and majority Sunni communities have flared up at times in Pakistan, with some extremist Sunni groups such as Lashkhar-e-Janghvi trying to exploit sectarian tensions.

Several other violent incidents linked to blasphemy accusations have alarmed human rights groups and activists in recent months.

Police are currently investigating over 20 students and some faculty members in connection with the killing of Mashal Khan, a student who was beaten to death on April following a dorm debate about religion - an attack that shocked the country.

Since then, parliament has discussed adding safeguards to the blasphemy laws, a move seen as groundbreaking in Pakistan where political leaders have been assassinated for even discussing changes.

As Raza's blasphemy conviction was under the counter-terrorism court, he will be able to appeal his sentence in the High Court and later in the Supreme Court.

There have been at least 67 murders over unproven allegations since 1990, according to figures from a research centre and independent records.
Hundreds of individuals, some armed, gathered at a Houston park Saturday to protest what they believe are efforts to remove a statue of Texas hero Sam Houston because he owned slaves.

There has yet to be any organized effort to remove Houston's statue, which has stood near a city park since 1925, but the recent removal of four Confederate monuments has raised fears that the trend could spread.

A beloved historical figure to many Texans, Sam Houston was the state's first US senator and served as governor in the run-up to the Civil War.

Hundreds of individuals gathered at a Houston park Saturday to protest what they believe are efforts to remove a statue of Texas hero Sam Houston because he owned slaves

The event, which drew a motley assortment of patriot groups, historical buffs, and alt-right groups, was initially designed as a counter-protest to a purported Antifa demonstration

Although he was a slaveholder and opposed abolishing slavery, he was the only Southern governor to reject the Confederacy, and was ousted as governor when Texas left the Union.

Saturday's event was focused on promoting a state bill, HB 1359, that would prohibit the removal of historical memorials or monuments without the permission of the state legislature.

'Preserving our Texas monuments is very important because those who dont understand history are doomed to repeat it,' Brandon Burkhart, a organizer, told the Pink Armadillo.

'Good or bad, this is our heritage and our history needs to be preserved to help ensure our continued freedom.'

HISTORY OF SLAVERY IN TEXAS Texas Governor Sam Houston, a slaveholder, rejected the Confederacy Slavery was legal in Texas for most of the territory's history as a colony, Mexican state, and independent republic. Texas joined the United States in 1845 as a slave-holding state. By 1860, roughly 25 per cent of white Texan families owned slaves, and the slave population made up 30 per cent of the state. In 1861, Governor Sam Houston, a slaveholder, rejected the legality of a vote for Texas to quit the Union for the Confederacy. Houston opposed secession, fearing it would cost countless lives in an ultimately unsuccessful venture. Texas succeeded from the Union in 1861 and Houston was removed from office for refusing to swear loyalty to the Confederacy. Texas slaves were the last to be emancipated, gaining their freedom on June 19, 1865. The event is commemorated as Juneteenth across the country. Advertisement

The event, which drew a motley assortment of patriot groups, historical buffs, and alt-right groups, was initially designed as a counter-protest to a purported Antifa demonstration calling for the removal of the Sam Houston statue.

However the Antifa demonstration announcement was a hoax, the anonymous individuals behind the announcement said shortly before the event.

Sam Houston supporters still turned out in strength. Tensions broke out when one group carrying Confederate flags was shouted down by patriot groups, and separated by police to protest in a separate area.

There were no reports of arrests at the largely peaceful protest.

Although the calls to bring down the Sam Houston statue appeared to be a hoax, they clearly struck many Texans as credible in the wake of New Orleans removing four high-profile Confederate monuments, among the oldest landmarks in the city.

'Erasing history for the sake of political correctness or to make somebody feel better, it's not just stupid - it's dangerous,' organizer David Amad told the Houston Chronicle.

In addition to Sam Houston, many early US statesmen were slaveholders, including George Washington and eight of the country's first 10 presidents.
Charlie Gard's mother has shared an emotional picture of her son with his eyes open as she battles medical experts who believe the boy should be taken off life support.

Connie Yates posted the image on Facebook after the High Court heard that Charlie was 'not able to open his eyes enough to be able to see'.

'Indeed,' doctors said, 'this leads to the difficulty that his brain is failing to learn to see.' The evidence was enough to convince judges that Charlie, who suffers from a muscle wasting disease, should be removed from life support to 'die with dignity'.

But Miss Yates defiantly posted the image on Sunday night, saying 'a picture speaks a thousand words' and claiming it was 'proof' that Charlie deserves the chance to have more treatment.

Connie Yates, the mother of terminally ill baby Charlie Gard, shared this image of her son with his eyes open - saying it is 'proof' that he deserves more treatment

Miss Yates and partner Chris Gard are fighting to keep their son, who suffers from a genetic wasting disease, on life support so they can take him for experimental treatment in the US

The High Court previously heard that Charlie 'was not able to open his eyes enough to be able to see' and as a result 'was not learning to see'. Judges later ruled that the boy must be allowed to 'die with dignity'

Amid protests at the decision, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that doctors must continue treating Charlie until Tuesday this week so they can examine the case (pictured, protesters outside court)

Miss Yates and partner Chris Gard have been fighting a battle to have Charlie kept on life support so they can take him to the US for treatment using 1.3million they raised for the experimental procedure.

Charlie suffers from a rare form of mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome, meaning his muscles are progressively weakening.

On Thursday last week Supreme Court judges in London ruled that Charlie should be taken off life support, a decision that left Miss Yates screaming.

But the couple were granted a last-minute reprieve after judges from the European Court of Human Rights ordered that doctors must continue treatment until Tuesday while they assess the case.

After exhausting legal options in the UK, this is the last chance to get legal clearance to send their ill son to the states.

Charlie is currently being kept alive by machine at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Specialists at Great Ormond Street say therapy proposed by a doctor in America is experimental and will not help.

A High Court judge in April ruled against a trip to America and in favour of Great Ormond Street doctors.

Mr Justice Francis concluded that life support treatment should end and said Charlie should be allowed to die with dignity.

Three Court of Appeal judges upheld that ruling in May and three Supreme Court justices on Thursday dismissed the couple's latest challenge after a hearing in London.

Ms Yates screamed as Supreme Court justices announced their decision.

Both parents appeared to be in tears as they left the Supreme Court in London on Thursday

Ms Yates wept as she was led from the court, where she and the little boy's father had argued that the state has no right to 'extinguish' their little boy's life

Thousands have donated money for Charlie's fight and say they are sickened at the decision by the Supreme Court, which would see his life-support switched off

The ECHR spokeswoman said: 'Today, the European Court of Human Rights decided to indicate to the United Kingdom Government that, in the interests of the parties and the proper conduct of the proceedings before it, they should provide Charlie Gard with such treatment and nursing care as may be appropriate to ensure that he suffers the least distress and retains the greatest dignity consistent, insofar as possible, with maintaining life, until midnight on Tuesday 13 June.

'The interim measure granted ... has been applied temporarily in order to allow the European Court to examine the request.'

She said Charlie's parents wanted a panel of seven judges to analyse the case in detail.

A spokesman for the European Court said they needed more time to process the case so had ordered British doctors to keep Charlie's life-support on until Tuesday at midnight.

This was a request made by seven judges of the court who want to investigate proceedings fully before making a decision.

A spokesman for the court said it only granted requests on an 'exceptional basis' where the applicants would otherwise face a real risk of irreversible harm.

Yesterday saw emotional scenes from outside court after Charlie Gard's mother broke down upon hearing the decision.

Outside court, she cried out: 'How can they do this to us?

'They are lying. Why don't they tell the truth?'

Prior to the decision, Richard Gordon QC, who leads the couple's legal team, had argued: 'Charlie is being deprived of his liberty at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

'Charlie's parents have made a decision, it's not a wish, it's a decision, to try to keep all options open and retain life for their child'.

Save Charlie! His parents have exhausted legal options in the UK but now hope European judges will come to their aid. Pictured above, one of the many supporters of the case outside the Supreme Court yesterday

Outside court on Thursday, the devastated mother cried out: 'How can they do this to us? 'They are lying. Why don't they tell the truth?'

Campaigners gather outside the Supreme Court in London to give their support to the family of Charlie Gard

The Supreme Court justices said doctors should continue life support treatment for Charlie for 24 hours to give the European Court of Human Rights the chance to consider the case

Chris Gard and Connie Yates want ten-month-old Charlie Gard, who suffers from a rare genetic condition and has brain damage, to undergo a therapy trial

Mr Justice Francis said Great Ormond Street doctors had considered the experimental treatment, but decided it would not help Charlie/ He said the case had never been 'about money'.

Three Court of Appeal judges upheld that ruling in May.

Previous court cases have heard how Charlie can not could see, hear, move, cry or swallow.

Experts at Great Ormond Street Hospital, where Charlie is being cared for, say life-support treatment should stop

Katie Gollop QC, who led Great Ormond Street's legal team, said the case was 'sad' but not 'exceptional'.

She said the couple seemed to be suggesting that 'parents always know best'. But she said the paramount interest in such cases was the welfare of the child.

Ms Gollop said the case was 'particularly sad' and 'particularly difficult for all those who care about Charlie'.

But she said there were children who had illnesses which could not be cured.

She said in such cases parents did not want to look back and think something else could have been tried and sometimes became embroiled in disagreements with doctors.

Ms Gollop said Great Ormond Street specialists had tried to work with the couple, had 'listened intently' to them and sought a number of second opinions from doctors at other hospitals.

'Fundamentally the parents don't accept the facts,' said Ms Gollop. 'They don't accept that nucleoside therapy will be futile.'

She added: 'He is on a machine which causes his lungs to move up and down because his lungs cannot go up and down.'

Lawyers representing Charlie's parents say they should be free to make decisions about their child's treatment

Charlie has a rare genetic condition which saps energy from his muscles, lungs and other organs and he is being kept alive by a ventilator

Nine-month-old Charlie Gard's parents (Connie Yates and Chris Gard) have raised 1.3m in public donations for him to undergo experimental treatment, but the courts have repeatedly said they cannot take him to the US for the therapy

Ms Gollop said Charlie's condition 'affords him no benefit'. She said some doctors thought that Charlie felt pain and some thought he did not.

Barrister Victoria Butler-Cole, who is instructed by a guardian appointed to independently represent Charlie's interests, said a trip to the US was not in Charlie's best interests and said life-support treatment should stop.

Doctors have been continuing to provide treatment pending a decision by Supreme Court justices, headed by Lady Hale, the Deputy President of the Supreme Court and the most senior female judge in British legal history.

A Great Ormond Street spokeswoman said the thoughts of staff were with Charlie and his parents.

'This is a very sad day for Charlie's parents and family,' she said.

'It is never easy when medical and judicial opinion goes against the wishes of the parents but our first responsibility at Great Ormond Street Hospital remains to put the interests of the child first and foremost.

'It is also hugely difficult for any clinically-trained professional to be asked to treat a child who has no chance of survival or even improvement in his quality of life.

'We are led by the legal process and when the time comes for a change in treatment, we will support the parents in every way that we can, aiding them through next steps. This would normally take place over at least a number of days.

'For now, our priority is to ensure Charlie remains well cared for and to offer our support to Charlie's devoted parents at this distressing time.'
The childhood friend of Sara Zelenak has paid tribute to the 'kind and caring' Australian nanny who had a 'sense of humour like no other.'

Ms Zelenak, 21, was out with friends when she was killed during the London Bridge terror attack, which left eight people dead and left 48 injured.

A week after the violent rampage, Liv Cootes has written to Mamamia about the shocking loss of her long-time friend, who she calls Sarz.

The two became fast friends while spending holidays together in Noosa during their childhood, Ms Cootes said.

Her earliest memory of Ms Zelenak is her kindness, Ms Cootes said before detailing their days spent picking up rubbish on the beach and eating ice cream.

The childhood friend of Sara Zelenak, 21, has paid tribute to the 'kind and caring' Australian nanny who had a 'sense of humour like no other'

The two became fast friends while spending holidays together in Noosa during their childhood

A week after the violent rampage, Liv Cootes (pictured) has written to Mamamia about the shocking loss of her long-time friend, who she calls Sarz

After Ms Cootes and her boyfriend returned recently from a year abroad in the UK, she said Ms Zelenak worked hard to help the couple settle in in Brisbane.

The 21-year-old soon had a spare bedroom in their new home, which Ms Zelenak had helped pick and unpack, and would often stay over, Ms Cootes said.

She said Ms Zelenak spent a lot of time at their home before she moved to London in March and that their home had never felt the same without her there.

'She really was a pure treasure, taken away from us all too soon. She was kind, caring and provided endless laughs. She had a sense of humour like no other.'

Ms Cootes said Ms Zelenak's 'support, love and care' had helped her on many occasions and she, in return, would do the same for the nanny's family.

'Heaven will be a better place with Sara there. Rest in peace beautiful girl, you will be dearly missed by all,' Ms Cootes ended the tribute.

Brisbane-born Miss Zelenak, who had been working in the UK, was separated from her friend on London Bridge when the violence began.

Sara Zelenak (pictured) was out with friends when she was killed during the London Bridge terror attack, which left eight people dead and left 48 injured

Four Australians including Kristy Boden and Ms Zelenak were caught up in the attack. Eight people have been confirmed dead in the attack, while 48 were injured

Her mother, Julie Wallace, confirmed the devastating news in a Facebook post on Wednesday

Her mother, Julie Wallace, shared a post to the woman's Facebook on Wednesday to tell followers her body had been found.

Ms Zelenak had originally been reported as missing.

'Sara Zelenak is confirmed dead, they found her body and has DNA tests confirmed. Thank you for all the overwhelming love and support from everyone,' she wrote.

Ms Wallace had travelled to London last week to search for her missing daughter.

She revealed Sara had avoided the horror on Westminster Bridge earlier this year and was very nearly caught up in the Manchester suicide bombing.

'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.

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.

Mark Wallace (left) the stepfather of Ms Zelenak (right) said he had called every hospital in London in a desperate attempt to find the 21-year-old

Ms Zelenak's (pictured) 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

Kirsty Boden (pictured), from Loxton, in South Australia, was also killed by knife-wielding terrorists as she ran to help victims of Saturday night's London terror attack

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 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.

Australian nurse Kirsty Boden, 28, from Loxton, in South Australia, was also killed by knife-wielding terrorists as she ran to help victims of the London terror attack.

Two other Australians caught up in the attack were stabbed in the throat but survived and are now recovering.

Last week, family and friends of Ms Zelenak were seen visiting the family home of the 21-year-old in Brisbane
Six years ago, Dr Liam Fox resigned as Defence Secretary over apparent conflicts of interest stemming from his friendship with adviser Adam Werritty whod been best man at his wedding.

Fox departed the political frontline after the revelation that hed asked wealthy individuals and companies to fund Werrittys international trips with him. Now businessman Werritty, who has remained close to Fox, is appealing for money from wealthy Tories  for a Brexit Advent Calendar.

In a letter to potential investors, Werrity says: The concept is a simple one, to produce and sell Brexit Calendars to enable Leave voters to feel part of the historic countdown to Brexit.

The calendar will be similar in design to an Advent calendar, with a single face rather than pages, but featuring coloured scratch panels, mimicking the EU flag, which are to be removed as we progress towards Brexit ... the calendar will be launched on June 23 [2018] to coincide with the anniversary of the referendum. (Negotiations are due to conclude in 2019.)

Liam Fox (pictured) could well be first in line to buy Adam Werrity's 'Brexit Calendar'

Fox, now International Trade Secretary  but who was conspicuously absent from the election campaign  is an avowed Brexiteer. No doubt hell be first in line to buy a calendar.

The Beast - for only 75 The Beast of Bolsover is back  just. Dennis Skinners majority was cut in half, but the 85-year-old Labour veteran won his Derbyshire seat for the 13th time since 1970. Now a documentary about his life  The Nature Of The Beast  is planned, and signed photographs of the MP are being sold at 75 a pop to crowd fund the project. Advertisement

On the Andrew Marr Show yesterday, Jeremy Corbyn was asked whether Labour could afford another snap General Election. We dont have any big donors, he mused. That 12 million from the Unite trade union over the past 18 months clearly slipped his mind.

A poll by PinkNews suggests that Comrade Corbyn is the most trusted party leader among gay voters. This is the same Comrade Corbyn who gave a series of interviews for 20,000 to Press TV, which is the state-owned broadcaster in Iran  where homosexuals are routinely executed.

Someone really should update the Parliamentary Labour Party website, which states that Sir Gerald Kaufman is MP for Manchester Gorton. He died in February.

When David Cameron left No.10 last summer he moved with his family into a 4 million house in Chelsea, loaned by Conservative Party vice chairman for finance Dominic Johnson.

The financier has now written to every Tory peer asking them to make a donation to party funds.

When David Cameron (pictured) left No.10 last summer, he moved with his family into a 4 million house in Chelsea, loaned by Conservative Party vice chairman for finance Dominic Johnson

Please forgive me for sending you this asking letter, but I am sure you understand the task the treasurers team have ahead of them and any assistance would be gratefully received, he wrote.

The letter has gone down very badly, however. One peer said he was already out of pocket because of the election. He has been unable to draw the daily 300 tax-free attendance allowance as Parliament has been in recess.

It went on for seven weeks so that has cost me thousands, he said. He can whistle for the money, especially after that shocker of a result.

Tory grandee Ken Clarke may have to rewrite some of his memoirs following last Thursdays tumultuous events. In A Kind Of Blue, published last autumn, the ex-Chancellor described David Camerons EU referendum decision as the worst political mistake by any British Prime Minister in my lifetime. Until Theresa Mays election gamble, that is.
A heartbroken father has penned an emotional tribute to his two daughters, 10 and 13, who died in their sleep when their makeshift bedroom went up in flames.

The bodies of Shanzel and Ruby Brewer were found after police and Tasmania Fire Service were called to a property at 3am after the backyard shed caught on fire.

Both children lost their lives after an electrical fault sparked the flames on Austin Road in Turners Marsh on Sunday. The shed did not have a smoke alarm inside.

'To my babbie (sic) girl shanzel brewer i love you with all my heart wish was here with me and your sister ruby brewer,' their father Clifford Brewer wrote on Facebook.

'I will always love yous two girl yous was the best thing that ever happened to me xxxxxxooooo.'

Scroll down for video

Shanzel Brewer, 10, (pictured) perished in the flames while sleeping in the Tasmania granny flat

Ruby Brewer, 13, (pictured) also died in the flames with her sister while in the shed

Heartbroken father Clifford Brewer said he would 'always love' the two girls

Other distraught family members and friends have shared their grief online after the death of the two young sisters.

'Waking up to hear this tragic news and still can't believe my two beautiful little cousins have been taken away from us,' Kelsey Lee wrote.

'You will forever be in my heart and I hope you both knew, that I love you dearly. Rest in peace Ruby and Shanzel.'

Inspector John King told reporters at the scene on Sunday that the family was 'extremely distraught.

'The family are extremely distraught ... the father of the two little girls had initially called in the fire to emergency services,' Inspector Kind said.

'Not only have the two little girls unfortunately perished in this fire, the three other children were in the main house.

'An extension cord and an electrical heater in the flat are forming a major part of the investigation.'

The two sisters were sleeping in a shed which had been used as a granny flat (pictured)

Shanzel (pictured) and Ruby's father Clifford Brewer posted an emotional tribute to his two young daughters after they tragically died in the fire

Distraught family members have shared an outpouring of grief after the two sisters died (Ruby pictured)

Tasmania Police say the granny flat had no fire alarm and three more children were asleep in the main part of the property

'Ruby & Shanzel... I honestly don't know where to start I feel so numb! Rip I love you guys heaps will never forget all our good times,' Miraki Thompson said.

Emergency crews arrived at the scene with the granny flat structure completely alight.

The bodies of the two children were found in the shed after the fire was brought under control.

Three other children were sleeping inside the main property, ABC reports.

The bodies of the two children were found in the shed after the fire was brought under control
Linda Oppel, 58, is facing deportation from Australia to South Africa

A woman is set to be deported back to South Africa from Australia after her familial link with her biological sister was 'severed' when she was adopted as a young girl.

Linda Oppel was just 12 years old when both her parents died in a car accident and she was adopted by an older half sister. Her biological sister Monica, who was 18 at the time, was too old for foster care and the pair were split up.

Now 58, Linda is fighting to be able to stay in Australia with Monica and her two adult children - the only family she has after her husband of 30 years died of cancer in 2012.

But according to the Australian government, Linda and Monica are no longer legally considered relatives due to the tragedy that tore them apart as children.

Linda's daughter Venessa (pictured) also faces deportation. According to the Migration Review Tribunal, Ms Oppel's familial link with her biological sister was 'severed' when she was adopted as a young girl

In 2014, Linda applied for a Remaining Relative Visa to live closer with Monica, who moved to Australia over a decade ago and is now an Australian citizen.

But the Migration Review Tribunal found she was not entitled to the visa because their familial link was 'severed' as a result of her adoption as a child.

Now Linda, along with her daughter Venessa, 28, face almost certain deportation back to South Africa where they have no family, home or job prospects.

'My sister and I suffered the tragedy of losing both of our parents when we were just kids,' Ms Oppel wrote in a petition calling for Immigration Minister Peter Dutton to intervene.

'The Australian government is now relying on that tragedy to refuse me a visa that I would have otherwise been entitled to.'

'It is not fair. And it is surely not what was intended by the people who wrote the migration laws.'

Linda Oppel was just 12 years old when both her parents died in a car accident and she was adopted by an older half sister. Her biological sister Monica (pictured), who was 18 at the time and is now an Australian citizen, was too old for foster care and the pair were split up

The pair have less than two weeks until their bridging visas run up.

Ms Oppel says she has no family in South Africa, and couldn't 'fathom' the thought of returning to South Africa.

'I will leave the airport in South Africa, and then what?' she said. 'It's also very unsafe for women in South Africa - I'm really scared to go back,' she told The Australian.

'My only family is Monica,' she said.

Ms Oppel's son Martin is in a de facto relationship and has a young child, and will likely be able to stay in Australia as a result.
Three teenagers who stole $100,000 worth of jewellery in a terrifying armed robbery have escaped jail, provoking outrage from their victims and wider Victorian community.

The group of teenage boys stormed the Toorak IMP Jewellery store, in Victoria's inner-south-east on January 14, smashing glass and getting away with valuables.

One of them hit the manager in the head with a pistol and threatened: 'I'll shoot you, I'll shoot you' before escaping with the $100,000 worth of jewellery.

The three boys pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 18-month youth supervision orders.

The group of teenage boys stormed the Toorak IMP Jewellery store, in Victoria's inner-south-east on January 14 (pictured), smashing glass and getting away with valuables

The order required them to attend school and involve themselves in sport and after school activities.

A fourth teen, who was accused of storming the jewellery store armed with a gun, said at a hearing on Wednesday he would plead guilty. He will be sentenced later.

A fifth teen, who stayed in the car during the robbery, pleaded guilty to armed robbery and dangerous driving while pursued by police. He will also be sentenced later.

The Toorak IMP Jewellery store manager Tony Fialides said he was shocked the teenagers escaped with such a lenient sentence.

The Toorak IMP Jewellery store (pictured) manager Tony Fialides said he was shocked the teenagers escaped with such a lenient sentence

'The judiciary is completely out of touch. I'm very disappointed,' he told the Herald Sun.

'I don't see us as having a justice system. We just have a legal system.'

The Police Association Victoria secretary Wayne Gatt said the court system showed the offenders more decency than they did their victims.

'It's a shame that these young men did not show their victims the same mercy that the children's court has shown them, given their light sentences,' he said.

A gang of five masked thugs armed with hammers robbed the H & H jewellery store in Elsternwick, Melbourne's south-east in April

The men used metal poles and hammers to violenty smash counters and display cabinets before stuffing jewellery into bags and running out of the Melbourne store

He said the broader community falling victim to heartless crimes deserved greater regard from the courts.

The Jewellers Association of Australia said the justice system was failing victims of crime.

Jewellers from across Victoria met with police at Malvern Town Hall on Tuesday to discuss the growing threat to their industry.

Jewellers, many of whom fell victim to dangerous robberies, have also been forced to fork out huge costs to secure their stores.

Jewellers, including IPM Jewellery in Toorak, have been at the centre of a spate of armed robberies in Victoria this year.

A gang of five masked thugs armed with hammers are pictured robbing the H & H jewellery store in Elsternwick, Melbourne's south-east in April

A gang of five masked thugs armed with hammers robbed the H & H jewellery store in Elsternwick, Melbourne's south-east in April.

The men used metal poles and hammers to violenty smash counters and display cabinets before stuffing jewellery into bags and running out.

It was the second attack on the store since the beginning of the year, after it was targeted on January 4 by three men armed with a gun and a machete.

Police said it was possible the raids were linked to organised crime gangs based in the state.
A British yachtsman has relived the dramatic moment he was rescued by a cruise liner after his vessel became severely damaged in a transatlantic race.

Stricken sailor Mervyn Wheatley sent a mayday after his yacht was battered beyond repair in a hurricane in the middle of the Atlantic.

The former Royal Marine, 73, was taking part in a 7,500-mile transatlantic race when his boat was smashed by 50ft waves and winds of almost 70mph - but it was the Queen Mary 2 luxury liner steamed to his rescue.

Stricken sailor Mervyn Wheatley sent a mayday after his yacht was battered beyond repair in a hurricane in the middle of the Atlantic

The Queen Mary 2, as well as an oil and gas supply ship named the Thor Magni (pictured) and a tugboat, all helped with the rescue effort

An RAF Hercules was sent on a long-range rescue mission after the father-of-two sent out a distress beacon during the once-in-a-lifetime storm.

But it was the QM2 ocean liner that saved the day  diverting from its course and arriving to help stricken Mr Wheatley in his badly damaged 38ft yacht.

The veteran sailor, who was on his 19th Atlantic crossing, was said to be uninjured and in good spirits yesterday.

He told The Times: 'I may be a little less snooty about cruise ships now.

'I think I did incomparably better being rescued by the QM2, certainly as far as aftercare is concerned. I have been treated like a prince.'

He was rescued in the area of the Mid Atlantic on Saturday and while his boat, called Tamarind, suffered severe damage

His wife Penny, 67, said he was below deck at 2am on Friday when the storm smashed his boat Tamarind on its side and the mast went under water.

Everything inside was thrown across the cabin and a porthole was smashed, letting water gush in. He then scuppered the boat so it would not be a danger to other boats. Mrs Wheatley told the BBC: He is fine, just tired. He has never lost another boat.

The last 36 hours have been a nightmare because she could have gone down with him on board. Theres no way he would have survived on a life-raft in those conditions.

Mr Wheatley, who was an officer in the Royal Marines for 33 years, was 12 days into a transatlantic race for 22 boats sailed by solo sailors or crews of two from Plymouth to Newport, Rhode Island, in the US.

But the huge storm forced three boats to send out emergency signals, with one sunk and another losing its mast.

His wife Penny, 67, said he was below deck at 2am on Friday when the storm smashed his boat Tamarind on its side and the mast went under water

Captain Chris Wells, master of QM2, who led the rescue mission, said it was standard seafaring practice to go to the aid of a vessel in distress.

The 963ft, 150,000-ton liner has five restaurants, three pools and takes 1,900 passengers.

Captain Wells added: We were pleased to be able to help and delighted that the yachtsman is safe and on board.

He will have a much more leisurely and luxury transit to the other side of the Atlantic than in his 38ft boat.

John Lewis, of the Royal Western Yacht Club in Plymouth, which organises the race, said: These are professional sailors, theyre used to arduous conditions  but not really a once-in-a-lifetime storm like this one.
Hollywood icon Adam West passed away at 88 years old on Saturday

Even Batman had his secrets.

New details of the extravagant sex life of the late Hollywood legend Adam West, have been revealed.

The actor best known for his role as Batman - which he played between 1966 and 1968 - reportedly led a wild life, which was filled with so much sex and booze he slept with up to eight women a night.

'It was the Swinging Sixties with free love and women threw themselves at us,' West said of the attention him and his co-stars would receive in an interview.

The details emerged mere hours after the actor died, aged 88, after a short battle with leukemia.

The actor became an icon when he played the role of his life as Batman. Dressed in a black and grey costume which he said drove the ladies 'crazy', he got a lot of female attention - and he made sure to make the most of it.

Scroll down for video

New details of his secret sex life, which included wild orgies, have been revealed. The actor is pictured here in 1968 with co-stars June Wilkenson and Inga Neilson

West shot to fame and became a sex icon from 1966 to 1968 when he was the lead star in Batman. He cites his costume as the reason so many women swooned after him

He and Burt Ward, his co-star who played Robin, would have 'quickies' with women in between scenes and while in costume.

The actor said, years after the show: 'Because of the physical limitations of the costume, you gotta have quickies.'

Offset, his sex life appeared even wilder.

West reportedly became a regular at orgies. Once, he and his friend and co-star Frank Gorshin - who played the villain, The Riddler - were banned from an orgy because they were mimicking the characters they played on television.

West said: 'We walked in and it was an orgy. So I immediately went into the Batman character, and Frank went into the Riddler character, because we were getting the big giggles.

'It was so funny to us, what we walked into. And we were kicked out. We were expelled from the orgy.'

West - who was twice divorced by the time he took on the iconic role - dated actresses including sisters Natalie and Lana Wood - who was a former Bond girl.

West and Burt Ward - who played Robin, - would apparently sleep with several women in between scenes on the set of Batman. Pictured here in 1966 are Ward, left, Yvonne Craig as Batgirl, center and West as Batman, are pictured right

West says women were eager to sleep with him because of the lax attitude to sex during the sixties. He is pictured here in 1966 with actress Jill St. John at the premiere of 'The Bible' in Los Angeles, California

After the ABC show died out in 1968, West struggled with being typecast and had a hard time finding consistent work.

His personal life became more tame and he married his third wife, Marcelle Tagand Lear, in 1970. The pair had four children together.

'Our dad always saw himself as The Bright Knight and aspired to make a positive impact on his fans' lives. He was and always will be our hero,' his family said in a statement, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

West was born William West Anderson on September 19, 1928 in Walla Walla, Washington. He was the second of two sons.

The star was married three times, and had six children. He had homes in Los Angeles and Palm Springs, but he and his wife, Marcelle, spent most of their time at their ranch near Sun Valley, Idaho.

After the ABC show died out in 1968, West had a hard time finding consistent work, but he married the love of his life, Marcelle Tagand Lear, his third and last wife
The economically struggling US island territory of Puerto Rico voted overwhelmingly on Sunday in favor of becoming the 51st state, although turnout was low and adding another star to the US flag likely faces an uphill battle in Congress.

A government website for the non-binding referendum, Puerto Rico's fifth such plebiscite since 1967, showed 97 percent supported statehood.

Only 23 percent of the 2.2million eligible voters participated in the vote.

Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello campaigned for statehood as the best avenue to boost future growth for the island, which has $70billion in debt, a 45 percent poverty rate, woefully under performing schools and near-insolvent pension and health systems.

Scroll down for video

The economically struggling US island territory of Puerto Rico voted overwhelmingly on Sunday in favor of becoming the 51st state, although turnout was low and adding another star to the US flag likely faces an uphill battle in Congress. Voters lined up to vote

A government website for the non-binding referendum, Puerto Rico's fifth such plebiscite since 1967, showed 97 percent supported statehood. Only 23 percent of the 2.2million eligible voters participated in the vote

'From today going forward, the Federal government will no longer be able to ignore the voice of the majority of the American citizens in Puerto Rico,' Rossello said in a statement.

'It would be highly contradictory for Washington to demand democracy in other parts of the world, and NOT respond to the legitimate right to self-determination that was exercised today in the American territory of Puerto Rico,' he added.

Puerto Rico's hazy political status, dating back to its 1898 acquisition by the United States from Spain, has contributed to the economic crisis that pushed it last month into the biggest municipal bankruptcy in US history.

'I voted for statehood,' Armando Abreu, a 74-year-old retiree, said after voting. 'Even if it's still a long way off in the distance, it's our only hope.'

Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello (pictured) campaigned for statehood as the best avenue to boost future growth for the island, which has $70billion in debt, a 45 percent poverty rate, underperforming schools and near-insolvent pension and health systems

Those in favor of statehood for the mainly Spanish-speaking Caribbean island hope the new status would put the territory on equal standing with the 50 US states, giving them more access to federal funds and the right to vote for the US president.

Under the current system, Puerto Rico's 3.5million American citizens do not pay federal taxes, vote in presidential elections or receive proportionate federal funding on programs like the Medicaid health insurance system for the poor.

The US government oversees policy and financial areas such as infrastructure, defense and trade.

Rossello will ask Congress to respect the result, but Puerto Rico is seen as a low priority in Washington.

The island's two main opposition parties boycotted the vote, which gave Puerto Ricans three options: becoming a US state; remaining a territory; or becoming an independent nation, with or without some continuing political association with the United States.

Those in favor of statehood for the mainly Spanish-speaking Caribbean island hope the new status would put the territory on equal standing with the 50 US states, giving them more access to federal funds and the right to vote for the US president. Pictured is Gov Rossello

Under the current system, Puerto Rico's 3.5million American citizens do not pay federal taxes, vote in presidential elections or receive proportionate federal funding on programs like the Medicaid health insurance system for the poor

Puerto Rico's former governor, Rafael Hernandez Colon, said in a statement: 'A contrived plebiscite fabricated an artificial majority for statehood by disenfranchising hundreds of thousands of Commonwealth supporters.'

Rather than heading to the polls, some 500 Puerto Ricans marched on the streets of San Juan, waving Puerto Rico's flag and burning the American flag while chanting in support of independence.

'This is a bogus plebiscite. Our future is independence. We need to be able to decide our own fate,' said Liliana Laboy, one of the organizers of the protest.

Boycotters were also angry about the costly referendum at a time when over 400 schools have closed and many Puerto Ricans are struggling to make ends meet.

Schools where voting took place were in poor condition, with cracked paint and bare-bones playgrounds.

Puerto Rico spent an estimated $8million on the campaign and election process, according to a government spokesman.
Westpac customers are outraged after they were blocked from accessing their online and mobile banking during a 24-hour systems failure.

Westpac Australia alerted its customers to the system break down on Sunday saying it was 'terribly sorry' and was 'working as quickly as we possibly can' to fix the issue.

On Monday the issues were ongoing.

'Some customers are still experiencing issues logging in to their Online and Mobile Banking,' Westpac posted to Facebook on Monday

Westpac apologised to its customers on Monday following the 24-hour systems failure

The bank took to Facebook again on Monday to apologise for the failure saying: 'Our sincere apologies if this has inconvenienced you'.

The post was inundated with comments from unhappy customers demanding more than just an apology.

'I want access to MY money! Has been like this since Sunday morning  more than 24 hours now. Really not good enough Westpac,' one woman said.

'Couldn't even buy a coffee on my way to work on a cold Monday morning  not usually one to complain but when you can't even get a coffee on a Monday morning things are pretty c*** Westpac,' another said.

'We are asked to enter our email address, and then when we have done so we get to the home page but our account has vanished,' Ms Suttle posted online

' Cardless Cash, ATM, EFTPOS and Telephone Banking services are available and working as normal,' Westpac said

'Couldn't even buy a coffee on my way to work on a cold Monday morning,' one unhappy customer said

Westpac urged those experiencing difficulties to phone a customer service number on Monday, but customers hit back at the suggestion saying the customer service desk was unmanned.

'To add insult to injury, he phone numbers that have been provided are not in service due to a public holiday. Very disappointed with the lack of service,' one woman said.

'Beyond ridiculous now! Lady gave me a number to call and they are closed as it's a public holiday. Come on Westpac, pull your sh** together. For such a big company to have such a fault is not good at all. I'm sure they will lose a few customers out of this,' another said.

'Unacceptable! Have been without access to my bank accounts for over 24 hours now,' Ms Barton said

One customer said she was overseas in London and could not transfer her money and didn't want to pay excessive charges to call overseas

One customer said she was overseas in London and would be forced to pay excessive overseas phone charges to fix it.

'It would be ideal to have access to phone banking to transfer more funds in,' she said.

The technical errors came just two weeks after Westpac last announced difficulties with its online and mobile banking systems.

On Sunday May 28, Westpac said it was updating its systems and thanked its customers for their 'patience'.
A 21-year-old man has died and his 16-year-old passenger is seriously injured after a car crash north of Adelaide.

The Salisbury North man died at the scene when his car crashed into a tree at Salisbury North just before midnight on Sunday, police said.

His passenger, a 16-year-old Salisbury North girl, was taken to the Women's and Children's Hospital.

She remains in a serious condition.

A 21-year-old man has died and his 16-year-old passenger is seriously injured after a car crash north of Adelaide

The Salisbury North man died at the scene when his car crashed into a tree at Salisbury North just before midnight on Sunday

Flowers and a child's toy has been left as a tribute on the tree where a man lost his life

Emergency services attended the scene on Bolivar Road shortly after and investigations are ongoing to determine if speed was a factor.

It was the second fatality in Adelaide over the long weekend.

Natalie Van Der Heiden, 34, died on the infamous Devils Elbow hairpin while riding a motorcycle on Saturday.

She was remembered on Monday by a group of over 100 motorcyclists who laid wreaths at the scene.
Footage of how Victoria's medicinal marijuana is harvested, pruned and turned into oil has emerged.

In a video posted online by the state's Premier Daniel Andrews, forensic testers can be seen planting and tending to hundreds of cannabis plants  the country's first approved crop.

Victoria became the first state in Australia to legalize marijuana use to help treat chronic illnesses.

As of this year, children with severe epilepsy will have access to it.

Scroll down for video

Footage of how Victoria's medicinal marijuana is harvested, pruned and turned into oil was posted to Facebook on Monday by Premier Daniel Andrews

The country's first approved crop contains more than 150 plants

THC  the main constituent of cannabis - will be produced in oil, capsule and vapour form (pictured)

The state government spent close to $1 million in March to transport marijuana from Canada to treat 29 children suffering from the debilitating ailment, according to 9News.

'This treatment is going to change so many lives,' Mr Andrews wrote on Facebook.

The crop contains more than 150 plants and will be run by the Cann group.

The cannabis plants are grown and harvested in a secret location.

THC  the main constituent of cannabis - will be produced in oil, capsule and vapour form, 9News reported.

The crop will be run the by the Cann group and is held in a secret location

In the video forensic testers can be seen planting and tending to hundreds of cannabis plants

Health Minister Jill Hennessy said the government will now evaluate which adults could be eligible for treatment

It will also be made into a spray form so it's easy to use for children.

Health Minister Jill Hennessy said the government will now evaluate which adults could be eligible for treatment.

Additional medicinal crops have since been approved in NSW, Queensland and Western Australia.
A man accused of the attempted kidnapping of a woman a week ago allegedly assaulted three men at the weekend, according to court documents.

Dean McGlinchey didn't appear when his matter was heard at the Parramatta Local Court, in Sydney's west, on Monday.

The 27-year-old was arrested on Sunday alongside a 57-year-old man after a series of assaults on the city's northern beaches.

A 27-year-old man was arrested by police on Sunday over alleged assaults on Sydney's northern beaches (stock image)

Dean McGlinchey did not appear in Parramatta Local Court (pictured) on Monday when his matter was heard

Police allege McGlinchey assaulted two men in Terrey Hills at about 1pm before hitting another man across the face with a bar stool in Dee Why, knocking him unconscious.

The 54-year-old victim underwent surgery at Royal North Shore Hospital for a serious facial laceration and a missing front tooth, police said.

McGlinchey, who did not apply for bail, is expected to appear before Central Local Court on Thursday.

He faces six charges, including attempted kidnapping, affray, assault and low-range drink driving.

McGlinchey was previously charged with the attempted kidnapping of a Taiwanese national in Burwood, in Sydney's inner-west, on June 4.

McGlinchey's lawyer requested medical treatment for her client but did not specify what for.

The 57-year-old man was granted strict conditional bail to appear before Manly Local Court on June 21.
Ardent Leisure announced late Friday afternoon CEO Deborah Thomas would be stepping down from her role.

The decision was made public at 5:18pm before the long weekend.

Thomas will be paid out a year's salary, $731,000, as she leaves the role.

She was in charge of theme park Dreamworld at the time of the Thunder River Rapids tragedy that claimed four lives in 2016.

Thomas will depart Ardent Leisure at the end of June, and will receive an additional $3,000 'consultancy' fee for every day she gives information at the coronial inquest into last year's accident.

Ardent Leisure announced late Friday afternoon CEO Deborah Thomas (pictured) would be stepping down from her role

Thomas will depart Ardent Leisure at the end of June, and will receive an additional $3,000 'consultancy' fee for every day she gives information at the coronial inquest into last year's accident

Thomas will be paid out a year's salary, $731,000, as she leaves the role. She was in charge of theme park Dreamworld at the time of the Thunder River Rapids tragedy that claimed four lives in 2016

The company's stocks have risen 2 per cent since the announcement of her departure.

'On bcehalf of the Ardent board, we want to express our sincere gratitude for Deborah's contribution as CEO and managing director, which coincided with an exceptionally busy and challenging period in the group's history,' Ardent chairman George Venardos said.

'It is a testament to Deborah's professionalism and character that she has agreed to remain part of the team and provide valuable support and continuity to Ardent and the various official bodies preparing for the coronial inquiry into the Dreamworld tragedy.'

The theme park's dramatic fall from grace began when four people were killed while enjoying a day out at Dreamworld on October 25, 2016.

Kate Goodchild, Roozi Araghi, Luke Dorsett and Cindy Low died when a raft on the Thunder River Rapids ride malfunctioned and overturned.

The park reopened on December 10, just six weeks after the horrific accident, but is yet to see a return

Visitors to Dreamworld were down 36.7 per cent in March and April 2017, compared to the same time last year, while revenue dropped 38.9 per cent to $9.6 million.

The theme park is expected to lose as much as $4 million in the year to 30 June 2017.

The company's stocks have rise 2 per cent since the announcement of her departure
FARGO -- Ray Jensen had been keeping his trained eye on the increasingly ominous western sky for more than an hour when he saw a tornado descend from a wall cloud at the end of a line of thunderstorms.

The tornado was about four miles west of Jensens office at the National Weather Service at Fargos Hector Airport. At it emerged, the twister was a sharply pointed black cone that rapidly dropped to the ground.

Once it landed, the tornado quickly became much wider, losing its conical point and whipping a huge swirl of dust and debris. And it was taking dead aim on Fargo as it meandered east. It was 7:28 p.m. on June 20, 1957, and Jensen had witnessed the birth of the most devastating tornado to ever strike Fargo.

Jensen immediately put out a bulletin for local television and radio stations, the latest in a series of warnings hed issued that evening.

As he continued watching the tornado, Jensen saw that it was heading for the Golden Ridge neighborhood in northwest Fargo. Residents in the neighborhood saw the advancing storm heading toward them and many got into their cars to evacuate.

Six of Gerald and Mercedes Munsons seven children were home alone that evening. Their mother was still at work. Neighbors in the Golden Ridge neighborhood urged the Munson children to leave with them, but the children refused to go.

The Munson children were determined to stay home, where they planned a surprise birthday party for their mother, who turned 36 that day. As it happened, Mercedes Munson had asked to get off work early, but the man who was to relieve her was half an hour late.

Frantic because of the approaching storm -- the Munson house had no basement -- Mercedes Munson was able to reach her 16-year-old daughter on the phone. But then the line abruptly went dead.

Jensen, still tracking the tornado, saw the funnel sweep up debris and fling it from its rotating force, laden with what he described as discrete particulate matter.

I could see whole sides of houses being thrown 300 to 400 feet into the air and out -- just like when you are twirling something and the string breaks, Jensen wrote years later.

It was frightening

The dark supercell storm cloud that spun off the tornado bearing down on Fargo loomed for a long time in the western sky. On radar, it showed up as a mass towering 60,000 feet, with a diameter of 50 miles. Many residents were nervously eyeing the massive black funnel cloud, spiraling with menacing potential.

Many drove out of town, heeding warnings broadcast on radio and television. Dawn Morgans father called with instructions for the family to drive north to get out of the storms path. He was E. Vernon Hendrickson, meteorologist in charge, and had gone to join Ray Jensen at the weather service office at Hector.

He could see the tornado coming straight for us, toward the Hendricksons home in north Fargo, Morgan said.

As the Hendrickson family drove north on Highway 81 they saw rope tornadoes dancing in fields to the west. They were part of a procession of cars fleeing the storm.

There was kind of a traffic jam, said Morgan, who was 10 years old at the time. Somehow it didnt seem scary. We were electrified by the experience. It was exciting.

A similar exodus was underway in south Fargo. We could see the cloud brewing, said Don Peterson, whose family lived near Lewis and Clark Elementary School on the southern edge of town. To get a better look, Petersons father drove the family to the school. What the Petersons saw alarmed them, the immense funnel cloud that seemed it would engulf the city.

It was frightening, said Peterson, who was 6 years old at the time. I will tell you to this day I still have dreams about tornadoes.

The Petersons drove south of town, on Highway 81, joining a parade in progress. Peterson watched from a safe distance as the funnel cloud thrashed Fargo. He could see showers of sparks as power lines blew down, like lightning on the ground. It was just eerie.

Unexpectedly, the tornado veered, heading straight for the Golden Ridge neighborhood in northwest Fargo, where the Munson children were home alone.

The whole area was gone

Despite the warnings, Tim Larsons father refused to evacuate, even though the home the family rented lacked a basement shelter.

Then Larsons grown sister drove up, and insisted that she would take the children to her home in south Fargo. Finally, Larsons father relented. Everyone home at the time, six or seven family members, piled into Larsons sisters car.

As they drove off, 10-year-old Larson watched through the cars rear window and saw what he described as a big black volcano behind them. It just kept blowing up and spiraling, he said. It was just huge and dark.

The Larsons made it safely to his sisters home. After the storm passed, they drove back to their rented home in the Golden Ridge neighborhood.

When we got back, there was nothing left, said Larson, who now lives near Harwood. That whole area looked like somebody hit it with a granger. It was just chopped to pieces.

The debris of the Larsons vanished home was indistinguishable from the debris of the other destroyed homes, building remnants mixed with sheared trees and strewn seemingly everywhere.

It was pretty shocking, Larson said. The whole area was gone.

A few blocks from where the Larsons home had been, rescuers sifted through the broken wreckage in search of victims and survivors.

At the Munson house, just a few blocks from the Larsons, the rescuers found tragedy: all six of the children, waiting to surprise their mother with a birthday party, had perished. Days later, their six coffins would be arrayed side-by-side for the funeral.

Years later, during the 50th anniversary of the tornado in 2007, Mercedes Munson-Ericson wrote about the sadness of Christmases and birthdays without the six children she lost.

God takes the prettiest flowers first, she said.

Tragedy and triumph

More victims, unable to get out of the tornados path, were found in the storms aftermath. Ten died that night, but the death toll ultimately reached 12, with some accounts saying the tornado claimed 13 lives.

One-hundred-fifty people were injured, many with broken bones. The influx of injured was so great at St. Lukes Hospital, now Sanford Medical Center, located closest to the devastation, that doctors and nurses had to use the cafeteria as a triage and treatment room. Because the power was out, and the auxiliary generators were not connected to the elevators, victims had to be carried upstairs on stretchers for surgery.

The tornado destroyed 66 city blocks in north Fargo on its 10-mile rampage, leaving a swath of destruction two blocks wide as it weaved its way east, dipping south and then north through town. One high school, two grade schools, four churches and an estimated 1,364 homes were damaged, 329 of them destroyed. Total property damage was estimated at $20 million, $174 million in todays dollars.

Two-thousand people were left homeless.

Amid the staggering tragedy of that night, the capricious winds also granted mercy to some.

One of the most striking examples was that of 7-month-old Jon Davenport, whose family was picnicking at Oak Grove Park when the twister hit. The family was preparing to leave, after police warned of the approaching tornado. But before they could leave, the funnel was upon them.

Trapped, the Davenports sought shelter in a ditch, where Jerry covered their daughter and his wife, LuVerne, clutched Jon. After the tornado passed, she realized she had been hit on the head -- and the tornado had torn her infant son from her arms.

Little Jon Davenport was found in a ditch less than a block away, lying face up with a lacerated scalp, but alive. He grew up to become an X-ray technician, married with two children, in Phoenix. He walks with a slight limp.

The F-scale was born

The mammoth supercell that spawned the Fargo tornado was extensively photographed -- so thoroughly photographed that a researcher from the University of Chicago was persuaded to study the twister in depth.

That researcher, Tetsuya Ted Fujita, became the creator of what was called the Fujita scale, or F-scale, for rating the strength of tornadoes. The scale was partly inspired by the Fargo tornado, which rated F-5, the fiercest magnitude, with maximum wind speeds estimated at 275 mph.

Fujita analyzed approximately 200 photographs -- black and white, color, still and moving -- as well as weather data compiled by the National Weather Service to reconstruct the tornado and evaluate its strength. Some of the photos were taken by Forum photographers Chet Gebert and Cal Olson; The Forum was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for its tornado coverage.

Fujita determined that the massive supercell spawned five tornadoes, including the one that struck Fargo. Tornadoes touched down earlier near Wheatland and Casselton, and also near Glyndon and Dale. During its intense six-hour life, the supercell generated tornadic activity for four hours.

Years later, scientists calculated that the supercell thunderstorm responsible for the tornado that struck Fargo generated 25 times the energy of an atomic bomb.

Despite the primitive warning system of the time, most people were aware of the threat, Jensen said, in recollections of the tornado written in 2007. The enormous funnel cloud acted as its own warning.

Noting the mass exodus heading north on Highway 81, with cars two-abreast in spots on the two-lane highway, Jensen shudders to think at what might have happened if the tornado took a different path.

I have often wondered what the casualty number would have been if the tornado had veered from its eastward path and crossed the highway, or assumed a path parallel to the highway, he wrote. There were no escape exits that I was aware of other than the ditch. It suffices to suggest the casualty figures would have been enormous.
The moment the pilot in charge of the ill-fated China Eastern flight between Sydney and Shanghai called for help on Sunday night has been revealed.

In a very blunt recording of the call between the plane and Sydney's air traffic control the pilot announced 'engine number one f***ed', 7News reports.

The plane which had left Sydney at 8.30 was just 70 kilometres away, above Bulli, west of Wollongong when the call for help was made.

Terrified passengers 'thank God they are alive' after China airlines emergency landing

'It kind of smelt like burning  oh I was scared, I was really scared. Our group was terrified,' one passenger said

The pilot told the air traffic control officers he needed to 'maintain heading' and he was advised to climb to 5000 feet.

The plane then had to circle for an hour to use up enough fuel to make a safe landing - terrified passengers on board revealed how they heard an explosion shortly after take off.

'It kind of smelt like burning  oh I was scared, I was really scared. Our group was terrified,' one passenger said.

'Thank God we're alive,' another added.

Incredible images of the plane resting safely on the tarmac after the emergency landing show huge in an engine cowling.

The plane had left Sydney airport as scheduled at 8.30pm bound for Shanghai but an hour later it had to turn around.

Residents in a built up area of south-west Sydney said they had heard a 'banging noise' overhead before noticing the low-flying aircraft.

'Engine one is f***ed,' the pilot told air traffic controllers as he declared an emrgency

The damaged engine on a China Eastern Airlines plane is seen at the international airport in Sydney on Monday

One passenger revealed the moment a man sitting near the damaged engine began 'waving frantically to the staff'.

'He obviously saw what was going on,' the passenger said.

'There were only about three of four English-speaking people on the plane and the majority of announcements were made in Chinese. That was a little bit tricky.'

Passengers told 9News the flight have said they heard a loud bang or explosion after take off.

The plane had to fly for an hour to dump enough fuel to make a safe landing

'The moment that we took off the wing to my left just started making a massive amount of noise and they cleared all the seats,' one passenger said.

Others said they felt the plane shaking.

'I didn't realise, I guess no-one behind the wing realised how big the engine issue was,' passenger Madeleine Frith said.

'It looks like a pretty big dent in the engine. Just the fact that we were close to it being worse. I didn't see any fire. There are stories of it being much worse than it was.'

The plain reportedly made it as far south as Bulli - near Wollongong before crew made an emergency call to Sydney Airport.

The plane was forced to circle for about an hour to burn fuel before it safely landed.

NSW Emergency fire crews rushed to the scene.

The cause of the damage is unknown but the incident is being investigated.
Details of a bizarre trend where Chinese hire white people to stand at events will be uncovered in a documentary on display at this years Sydney Film Festival.

For a few years from 2012 the film's director David Borenstein was employed as a foreigner-for-hire in China.

The industry is one where Chinese people take on white people, including Australians, to attend events, at times in costume.

Details of a bizarre Chinese trend are uncovered in a Sydney Film Festival flick where Chinese people take on white people to attend events

The film's director David Borenstein (pictured) was employed as a foreigner-for-hire

In some examples foreigners would be required to sit in fake houses, in made up cities where people would just stare at them.

Mr Borenstein, who was living in Chongqing in south west China, told News.com.au the idea was 'absurd'.

'The feeling of being ogled at must have been like the early days of anthropology when you could go to the zoo or a World Fair and see an African tribesman or an Eskimo next to an igloo,' he said.

His movie follows his experiences alongside Yana Yang, a 24-year-old foreigner-for-hire agent eager to earn enough to buy her parents a home from cashing in on the business.

In some examples foreigners would be required to sit in fake houses to lure property buyers into purchasing homes from developers

Mr Borenstein, who was living in Chongqing in south west China, told News.com.au the idea was 'absurd'

On the film festival website the documentary is summarised as 'A Kafkaesque story from western China's real estate boom that involves a young, out-of-her-depth entrepreneur and the 'rent-a-foreigner' industry.'

In one instance he was employed to stand in front of hundreds of people, to be in a internationally successful band despite not being able to hit a note or strum the right chord.

In another 'white monkey gig' Mr Borenstein was asked to dress as a British beefeater solider and stare into the distance not making a sound.

'To me, this era of Chinese history is about dreaming as wildly as one can and believing in the power of the human will to make dreams a realityregardless of the difficulty,' he said.

'The shows will sweep into a pretty empty development, turning it into an absolute spectacle for the afternoon when speculators come in,' he wrote on the Sydney Film Fest page

'Of course when things don't go well, developers need a way to save face and find a way to sell properties.

'That's where these foreign shows come in. The shows will sweep into a pretty empty development, turning it into an absolute spectacle for the afternoon when speculators come in,' he wrote on the Sydney Film Fest page.

He said once they leave it reverts back to nothing. 'The film shows a situation where party stewards are so desperate to show success in these empty cities that they descend into this world of fantasy and lies,' Borenstein said.

In 2014, the Chinese property market crashed and new skyscrapers grew empty and dark, leaving the white monkey without a home as foreigners were no longer the height of wealth and success.
An Uber executive is reportedly planning to resign as soon as Monday as investigations into the company's inappropriate workplace culture expand.

Emil Michael, chief business officer for Uber since 2013 and one of CEO Travis Kalanick's closest confidants, helps oversee broad strategy initiatives such as mergers, acquisitions and fundraising, reported Fox Business.

His exit would be one in a long list of recent executive departures from the company. Though, as acting number two under Kalanick, his would be the most senior.

Scroll down for video

Emil Michael, chief business officer for Uber since 2013, is reportedly planning to resign as soon as Monday

Michael, who is one of CEO Travis Kalanick's closest confidants, helps oversee broad strategy initiatives such as mergers, acquisitions and fundraising. His exit would be one in a long list of recent executive departures from the company

It would also come at a sensitive time to the CEO, Michael's personal friend and the company's co-founder, who likely discussed taking a leave of absence from the company at a private board meeting on Sunday.

It is unclear, though assumed, if Michael's potential resignation would be related to a report prepared by former Attorney General Eric Holder regarding Uber's workplace culture.

The report is expected to reveal damaging information about inappropriate behavior at the company, disclosing instances of sexual harassment, retaliation and bullying, according to Fox.

It is unclear, though assumed, if Michael's potential resignation would be related to a report prepared by former Attorney General Eric Holder regarding Uber's workplace culture (stock image)

It would also come at a sensitive time to the CEO, Michael's personal friend and the company's co-founder, who will likely discuss taking a leave of absence from the company at a board meeting on Sunday

Kalanick has been weakened by the allegations that, under his leadership, the company tolerated sexual harassment and sexism, prompting Holder's investigation.

And this is just one of a string of scandals that have hit hit the company in recent years.

More recently, Google parent Alphabet Inc sued Uber over allegedly stolen self-driving car technologies.

Additionally, there is an ongoing probe into the company's business operations, and the recent admission of intentionally overcharging riders and withholding millions of drivers from New York city drivers.

Kalanick also faces personal crisis, as his mother died at the end of May when she was involved in a boating accident. He has reportedly been spending some time away from work in Los Angeles with his father, who was also seriously injured in the accident.

The decisions about Michael (right) stepping down and Kalanick (left) taking a potential leave of absence were discussed in a meeting Sunday

There is an ongoing probe into the company's business operations, and the recent admission of intentionally overcharging riders and withholding millions of drivers from New York city drivers

At the Sunday meeting, according to two people familiar with the matter, the seven voting members of Uber's board, including Kalanick, were expected to vote on recommendations made by the law firm of former US Attorney General Eric Holder, which conducted a review of the company's policies and culture.

The review was launched in February after former Uber engineer Susan Fowler published a blog post detailing what she described as sexual harassment and the lack of a suitable response by senior managers.

Fowler now works for digital payments company Stripe.

Uber's board will likely tell employees and the public of its decisions by Tuesday, one of the sources said.

An Uber spokesman had no comment. Neither Kalanick nor Holder's law firm, Covington & Burling, responded to requests for comment.
A Melbourne man is accused of supplying the shotgun used in the fatal apartment siege in the city's south-east.

The 25-year-old man is the second alleged gun dealer to be charged following counter-terrorism raids across Melbourne's north in connection with the siege.

The man, from Gladstone Park, was arrested on Monday and charged with dealing a firearm without a licence, possessing a firearm as a prohibited person and other offences.

Police allege he supplied a weapon used by gunman Yacqub Khayre during the siege in Brighton on June 5.

A second man has been charged with firearm offences after allegedly supplying the gun used by terrorist Yacqub Khayre during the Melbourne siege at serviced apartments in Brighton (pictured)

Counter-terrorism police raided five properties across Melbourne on Friday following the deadly siege

Somalian-born, ISIS-inspired Khayre, 29, murdered 36-year-old male receptionist Nick Hao, wounded three police officers and took a woman hostage in the dramatic two-hour siege.

Khayre had called the Channel Seven newsroom during the siege at serviced apartments on Bay Street, Brighton, Melbourne's south-east, to claim: 'This is for IS, this is for al-Qaeda'.

Khayre died in a hail of police bullets, ending the dramatic incident at Buckingham Serviced Apartments.

Police later revealed Khayre had two shotguns at the siege, including a sawn-off shotgun used to fire at police.

Somalian-born, ISIS-inspired Khayre, 29, murdered a man and wounded three police officers during the dramatic siege

Police said Khayre had two shotguns at the siege, including a sawn-off shotgun

Khayre died in a hail of police bullets, ending the siege at Buckingham Serviced Apartments

Counter-terrorism police stormed five properties in Ascot Vale, Gladstone Park, Glenroy, West Meadows and Reservoir on Friday.

Ascot Vale man Kane Dalrymple, 30, was also charged with being an unlicensed gun dealer following the raids and he faced Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Saturday.

The court heard Dalrymple allegedly made use of 'coded' text messages to ply his trade, including code words such as 'bicycle' and 'two-seater'.
Nurses in one of South Australia's major metropolitan hospitals have been ordered not to speak any other language but English in the staff room, in a confronting office email.

Nursing director Suzanne Foot told staff at Flinders Medical Centre in Bedford Park, South Australia, it was 'not appropriate to speak in a language other than English' in the staff room.

'If you are in the staffroom with only staff who speak a particular language and you choose to converse, that's up to you, but I request that you stop when others enter the area,' Ms Foot wrote.

Nursing director Suzanne Foot (pictured) told staff at Flinders Medical Centre in Bedford Park, South Australia, it was 'not appropriate to speak in a language other than English' in the staff room

'It is important that differences are respected, but also, we are trying to value others and ensure an environment and positive communication and teamwork.'

The demand was made in an email Ms Foot circulated to staff at the medical centre, The Advertiser reports.

Hospital heads said they did not condone Ms Foot's message and apologised to anyone who took offence.

Flinders Medical Centre management spokesman Professor Andrew Bersten said the hospital was working with the team to resolve the issue.

Hospital heads at Flinders medical Centre (pictured) said they did not condone Ms Foot's message and apologised to anyone who took offence

Professor Bersten said the centre respected staff and their right to speak in any language in and out of the workplace.

But he said there was a requirement to speak English while performing on-the-job duties.

'When performing clinical duties and lifesaving care to patients in the Intensive and Critical Care Unit, the team is required to communicate to each other in English,' he said.
The rivalry between the Liberal Party's current and former prime ministers has hit new heights as Tony Abbott declared Bill Shorten the favourite to win the next election.

Abbott, speaking with Ray Hadley on 2GB, said 'there should be no doubt' the Labor leader will be front runner to be the next prime minister.

'As things stand, Bill Shorten would have to be the favourite to win the next election,' Abbott said Monday.

Scroll down for video

Tony Abbott (pictured) said 'there should be no doubt' the Labor leader will be front runner to be the next prime minister

Speaking on 2GB, the former prime minister said Shorten (pictured) would have to be the favourite to win the next election'

Abbott said the Liberal Party should 'never underestimate' Shorten and despite disagreeing with his politics, said he is a 'capable politician.'

He likened Shorten's campaign to Jeremy Corbyn's in the UK, identifying how close the Labor leader got to an 'improbable victory' over Theresa May.

Abbott says it is important for the Liberal Party to recognise that 'good people are at the top of their game.'

Abbott (pictured) said Shorten is a 'capable politician' despite disagreeing with his politics

In April, Abbott declared the 'leaking has to stop' after it was revealed he needed the intervention of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (pictured) to avoid defeat in his Sydney electorate

In April, Abbott declared the 'leaking has to stop' after it was revealed he needed the intervention of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to avoid defeat in his Sydney electorate.

Mr Abbott took a swipe at those responsible for leaking private polling information to the media, saying it was done for purely for 'self-serving reasons'.

'I do want to make this point: the sneaky, underhand business of leaking needs to stop, it really does need to stop. It is absolutely corrosive of trust,' he told Channel 9.

'The polling in question was very, very closely held. I had it, [Liberal Party federal director] Tony Nutt had it, the Prime Minister had it. I'm just very disappointed that someone has chosen to put it out there for self-serving reasons.

'Malcolm Turnbull was saving all of our seats, as he was a very popular figurehe would have been very popular in that particular part of Sydney.'
David Davis has denied Theresa May was in floods of tears after her election disaster - and insisted that Brexit will not be watered down.

Mr Davis said Mrs May is '100 per cent' the right person to lead the country and admitted he had been among those who argued strongly for the early general election.

Today he was asked if Mrs May was sobbing in despair when she realised that she lost her majority after her election gamble badly backfired.

Mr Davis said: 'Not when I saw her. She is a formidably good prime minister. She is fine, she is getting on the with the job'.

The Prime Minister's position remains precarious today, with former chancellor George Osborne saying she was a 'dead woman walking'.

Support: Tory Brexit chief David Davis (left today) has denied Theresa May ( pictured yesterday) was in floods of tears after her election disaster - and denied he is plotting to oust her

Uncomfortable: Piers Morgan reeled off some of the DUP's views of homosexuality and climate change, which left David Davis looking uncomfortable

But Mr Davis called the criticism 'wrong and self-indulgent' and insisted he was loyal to Mrs May despite being one of the favourites to replace her.

He said: 'There is a distinction between running a campaign and running a country. Running a country is more difficult and she's formidably good at that.

Theresa May was talked into the disastrous decision to call a general election by her Brexit Secretary David Davis, it has been claimed

'That's what you are going to see, you are going to see in the next few weeks her taking back command, her taking back the reins, her showing the world what she's good at which is delivering for the country.

'She's done it before, she'll do it again. That's why she's going to be there probably for my career.'

The Brexit Secretary also joined the chous of criticism for George Osborne, who was branded disloyal and unprofessional for saying Theresa May was on 'death row' and a 'dead woman walking' in a savage personal attack.

Yesterday the former chancellor beamed as he repeatedly plunged the knife into her political career as he said her days in Downing Street were clearly numbered, exacting revenge on the woman who sacked him last July.

Asked about speculation about her future, especially among other Tories, he said: 'I am not interested. Listen I've done this a few times before, it hasn't been a 100% success. What did I start out by saying to you, it's a complete waste of people's time, it is just unbelievably self indulgent to go into this sort of stuff'.

Ahead of Brexit talks, Davis said the people had demanded in last year's European Union referendum to take control of the United Kingdom's borders which means leaving the single market.

He said the Government would try to get a free trade area 'as close to the single market' as possible, but it could not remain within the single market due to the need to control the UK borders.

He said: 'We've made pretty plain what we want to do, it's outside the single market but with access.

'It's outside the customs union but with agreement, it's taking back control of our laws and borders.

'Those things are fundamental and we didn't just pull them out of the air, we spent 10 months devising that strategy.'

The Prime Minister (pictured in Maidenhead) had previously insisted she personally took the decision while on an Easter walking holiday with her husband Philip in remote north Wales

Mr Davis also moved to reassure voters that a potential deal between the Tories and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) would not change UK law on issues the Northern Irish party has concerns about such as abortion or gay rights.

Pressed on whether he could guarantee these rights, he told ITV's Good Morning Britain: 'Clearly. We are the Conservative Party.

'David Cameron introduced gay marriage, for example, there's a whole series of things we did, Turing's law, you know, the repeal of the effect of the convictions against people for homosexual acts, which were silly, a different era.

'Those things will stay on the statute book. What we have done, we will keep.'

Securing the rights of UK citizens in Europe and EU citizens in the UK will be a key priority when the Brexit negotiations begin next week, alongside the divorce bill and Northern Ireland, Mr Davis told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

He said: 'Of those, the one (EU citizens) that is hyper-sensitive on time because it relates to people's anxiety, you've got people worrying in Britain that they can't stay here. You've got people worrying in Spain that they aren't going to be able to stay there.

George Osborne beamed as he repeatedly plunged the knife into the woman who sacked him as Chancellor

'The worries are unnecessary and they shouldn't have them but we want to make sure they are dealt with as quickly as possible.'

Mr Davis said retaining the single market and controlling the UK's borders was 'not compatible', which he insisted had been made clear during the referendum campaign.

Ministers have prepared a contingency in case they cannot negotiate a good deal with Brussels, he said, adding: 'We have worked up that alternative in some detail, we are still working on it, not because we want to but in Government you have to, if you are responsible, work up every contingency.'

He admitted backing plans for the snap election but said it was the 'height of self indulgence' for the party to focus on blaming each other for the result.

Mr Davis, who kept his job in the Cabinet reshuffle, also welcomed the news of former justice secretary Michael Gove's return to the front bench, saying: 'He's a formidable talent. I'm happy to see him back.'

Theresa May was talked into the disastrous decision to call a general election by her Brexit Secretary David Davis and senior aides by the promise of a three figure majority, it was claimed over the weekend.

The Prime Minister had previously insisted she personally took the decision while on an Easter walking holiday with her husband Philip in remote north Wales.

But as the fall out continued over the spectacular failure that blew away Mrs May's majority focus has turned to who came up with the idea.

The Times reported that it was pressure from Mr Davis, together with her top aides Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, that persuaded Mrs May to roll the dice.

They convinced the Premier that historically large polling leads over a hapless Labour made it worth gambling everything.

The Tories started the campaign with leads of around 20 per cent - rising to more than 25 per cent in the first fortnight.

But as they campaign continued, the Tory lead was eroded and while Mrs May finished in front she only won by a whisker and ended up losing seats and her entire majority.

When she announced the snap election on April 18, Mrs May blamed her political enemies for forcing her hand with an attempt to delay Brexit laws in Parliament.

In response to her Theresa May tore up the controversial Tory manifesto last night as the price for Cabinet support for her leadership.

Plans to scrap the triple lock on pensions, means-test the winter fuel allowance and repeal the foxhunting ban are set to be ditched in a 'slimmed-down' Queen's Speech next week.

Mrs May's dream of creating a new generation of grammar schools is also set to be shelved. Instead, the Queen's Speech will focus mainly on a narrow agenda of Brexit and combating terrorism and extremism.

The embattled Prime Minister indicated that legislation on mental health, housing and the introduction of new technical qualifications will be included, but the controversial social care policies dubbed the 'dementia tax' are expected to be heavily watered down.

Boris Johnson, who was told yesterday he will keep his job as Foreign Secretary, labelled rumours that he would be launching a leadership bid as 'tripe'

As Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson described reports that he was plotting a leadership coup as 'tripe', Mrs May also agreed to open up decision-making to the Cabinet and the wider party. And she sacrificed her joint chiefs-of-staff Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, who were blamed for helping oversee the election strategy that saw the Tories throw away their Commons majority.

One insider said the Prime Minister was now a 'prisoner of her Cabinet'.

After extracting the concessions, ministers rallied behind Mrs May, and MPs stepped back from an immediate bid to oust her, fearing that a round of Tory blood-letting could wreck Brexit and hand the keys of No 10 to Jeremy Corbyn. On another dramatic day in Westminster:

Michael Gove made a dramatic return to the Cabinet as he was appointed Environment Secretary

Michael Gove made a dramatic return to the Cabinet a year after being sacked as Mrs May tried to convince Eurosceptic MPs she will not go soft on Brexit;

The Prime Minister prepared for a showdown with Tory backbenchers tonight at which she is expected to face fierce criticism over her election tactics;

Former Chancellor George Osborne led calls by pro-EU Tories for Mrs May to go, saying she was a 'dead woman walking';

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell indicated that Labour would back the Tories on leaving the EU's single market;

Mrs May appointed her friend Damian Green as First Secretary of State, effectively making the pro-Remain minister her Deputy Prime Minister;

The Prime Minister prepared for crunch talks tomorrow with DUP leader Arlene Foster in a bid to secure a partnership that will give her a Commons majority.

Tory grandee Bernard Jenkin yesterday told Mrs May's Remainer critics to 'shut up'  warning the Government could collapse if she is forced out.

Mr Jenkin said calls for Mrs May to go were being whipped up by pro-EU Tories who believed they could stop Brexit by bringing her down.

He added: 'People like Lord Heseltine and George Osborne who are really rocking the boat should shut up. The big priority is to keep Jeremy Corbyn out of Downing Street.'

However, Mrs May refused to directly confirm that she intended to try to serve a full term, saying only: 'I said during the election campaign that, if re-elected, I would intend to serve a full term. But what I'm doing now is actually getting on with the immediate job.'

Mrs May, who will hold terrorism talks with new French president Emmanuel Macron in Paris tomorrow, had planned a major Cabinet clear-out, but was forced to scale it back after the election result damaged her authority. Most ministers stayed in their jobs, with the return of Mr Gove as environment secretary and the promotion of Mr Green the only eye-catching changes.

Allies of Mr Johnson sounded out MPs about a leadership challenge after last week's catastrophic result. Five Cabinet ministers are reported to have offered their backing. But the Foreign Secretary pulled back after friends warned him he could end up being blamed for plunging the Government into further turmoil.

Mr Johnson said the public were sick of elections, adding: 'I think they have had enough of this stuff, I think what they want is for the politicians to get on, deliver Brexit and deliver on their priorities, and Theresa May is by far the best person, she is the best-placed person, to deliver that.'
A severed head and severely burned body of a young black male have been discovered less than a mile away in Jackson.

Residents said the headless body had been found by a group of children around 3pm on Saturday in a wooded area.

The head had been discovered hours earlier on the front porch of a home.

Police have not yet determined the motive for the killing and would not say whether it was gang-related.

Both sets of remains were only identified as those of a black male.

The severed head was found at this property in Deer Park, in Jackson, on Saturday morning

Jackson Police Department Commander Tyree Jones told WTJV it was the 28th homicide in Jackson, in Mississippi, this year.

He said: 'It's senseless and it's tragic and it's sad.'

One resident said he believed the homicide was intended as a message, saying: 'It's an awful thing, can't put it in words, it's sad, but it's true.'

The severely burned body was found by children in a wooded area in Green Avenue, Jackson

Jackson Police Chief Lee Vance said: 'Due to the type of crime and the proximity of the body parts, we can assume perhaps this is the remains that were attached to the head.

'Obviously, rage was an ingredient, perhaps some type of message sending.'

He said the savage crime was unlike anything he had previously encountered.

The Jackson Clarion-Ledger interviewed a man who said he lived in the home where the head was found.

He declined to say if he knew who the victim was.

He told the newspaper: 'I think it's another funeral to go to. Every Saturday we have another funeral. It's every week.'

Residents reacted with shock to the gruesome killing.

One said: 'Someone's sending a message. Why else do you do that?'

Jackson police are waiting for the coroner and medical examiner to determine whether the head and body belong to the same person.
Dr Peter King, 65, of Sheffield, South Yorks, had an eight-month affair with a woman in 2011 after they met at a local running club

A respected family GP with an unblemished career in medicine dating back 43 years has been publicly shamed and given a written warning over a romance he had with a patient six years ago - during which time he consulted her over breast implant worries.

Dr Peter King, 65, had an eight-month affair with the woman in 2011 after they met at a local running club.

During their relationship, King, who was principal partner at a surgery in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, ignored conflict of interest warnings and consulted her over the implant concerns and also carried out surgery to remove a skin lesion from her leg.

The romance broke up amicably in January 2012 but King carried on treating his former lover for a range of conditions including irritable bowel syndrome and stress.

The affair was reported to the General Medical Council after the unnamed woman's consultant psychiatrist contacted a senior official at NHS England in 2015.

It emerged the woman - known as Patient A - told the consultant about the relationship during counselling sessions.

She said her affair with King began as a 'social relationship' in January 2011 and it became sexual the following May. She insisted she was not vulnerable and had no concerns about King's behaviour. He continued treating her until September 2014.

At the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service, King, who has been a partner at the Far Lane Medical Centre since 1976 having qualified two years earlier, was found guilty of misconduct charges.

However, he was told he was free to continue practising medicine after it emerged colleagues and patients were aware of the romance.

Instead, a warning will be put on King's registration for the next five years saying he had an affair with the woman while providing her with clinical care but adding: 'The behaviour does not meet with the standards required of a doctor and risks bringing the profession into disrepute.'

The woman refused to testify against her former lover or give a statement.

The Manchester hearing was told King was Patient A's GP but he had only seen her once in a medical capacity in the run-up to them meeting socially in January 2011.

At the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service, King, who has been a partner at the Far Lane Medical Centre (above) since 1976 having qualified two years earlier, was found guilty of misconduct charges

Charles Garside QC counsel for the GMC said: 'Dr King is a keen runner and met Patient A at a local running club, following that they grew closer and one thing led to another and the sexual relationship began in May 2011

'While that relationship continued, Patient A did consult Dr King in his capacity as a GP and didn't move practice or change her GP to another in the practice. Dr King excised a skin lesion from her leg in September 2011.

'He also saw her about concerns to do with her breast implants on the 3 January 2012. The relationship ended in January 2012 but Dr King continued to care for Patient A and saw her in July 2013, July 2014, August 2014 and September 2014.

'The relationship was at all times consensual and Patient A is making no comment to these allegations. She will also not be giving evidence. She wants nothing to do with these proceedings.

'Dr King accepts the relationship happened, and accepts that after the relationship ended he should not have continued treating Patient A. He also says that he did explain to Patient A that he should not be treating her at the time of the relationship but she was not having it.

'He also states that he did tell his partners in the GP practice about the situation. It is not clear why Dr King did not stand his ground and it seems very odd that the partners didn't offer to take her as a patient themselves.

The affair was reported to the General Medical Council (above) after the unnamed woman's consultant psychiatrist contacted a senior official at NHS England in 2015

'Dr King did also speak to the GMC but there are no records of what was discussed or said so that cannot be explored further.'

King told the tribunal he contacted the GMC when he believed his relationship with Patient A was progressing from a 'social relationship to a sexual relationship'.

He acknowledged he made an 'error in judgement' in not adhering to advice about not treating her.

He said he was 'deeply sorry' for his misconduct and promised in future that if he received any such approaches from patients, they would be firmly 'rebuffed' and would be discussed with his surgery partners. He said he would ask any such patient to leave the practice list or ensure that the patient would not be treated by him.

His lawyer Stephen Brassington said King had not used 'subterfuge' to conduct the affair and said the 'mischief' was the failure to ensure that treatment did not occur during his relationship with Patient A.

Panel chairman Dr Bernard Herdan told King: 'Your relationship with Patient A developed in a social setting, as a result of a shared interest in running. She was not a vulnerable patient and your relationship was consensual. When it was about to become sexual in nature, you contacted the GMC for guidance on relationships with patients and you informed your GP Partners when the affair with Patient A commenced.

'You readily and openly accepted that you had had a relationship with Patient A between February 2011 and January 2012 and the breakdown of your relationship was amicable. You accepted you were guilty of misconduct, insofar that on two occasions you continued to treat Patient A during the course of your relationship, contrary to the advice given to you by the GMC.

'You expressed deep regret and remorse and the tribunal accepts your assertion that this would never happen again in the future. The Tribunal noted that you are to complete a learning module on "Boundaries with Patients". In the light of your insight, it is highly unlikely that you will repeat the misconduct.'
A woman has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man was pushed in front of a moving tram in a busy city centre.

The 31-year-old woman remains in custody and was quizzed after officers were called to reports of a collision at Manchester Victoria station.

Emergency services rushed to the station shortly after 7.50pm on Sunday but the man, who was in his 30s, died at the scene.

Officers were called to Manchester Victoria station (pictured) after a man was struck by a tram

Stephen Rhodes, customer director at Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), said he was 'absolutely devastated' to hear the man had died.

He said: 'As this is now a police investigation it would not be appropriate for me to make any further comment about what happened at this time.'

The incident caused disruption to services for several hours, affecting thousands attending the Parklife festival at Manchester's Heaton Park.

Senior Investigating Officer Bob Tonge of GMP's Major Incident Support Unit, said: 'This is a tragic event where a man has lost his life and the circumstances surrounding this are being fully investigated.

'We will be questioning the woman in custody later today to ascertain the exact circumstances of how the man came to his death.

The incident caused serious disruption to public transport services in Manchester on Sunday night. The station is pictured above

'My thanks goes to those who witnessed the incident and have got in touch with us  your accounts have been extremely helpful and have meant we have been able to escalate our enquiries quickly.'

A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: 'Shortly after 7.50pm on Sunday 11 June 2017 police were called to Victoria Station to reports of a collision involving a man and a tram.

'Emergency services attended but the man sadly died at the scene.

'A 31-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in custody for questioning.'

Anyone with information should call police on 101, quoting incident number 2139 of 11/06/17, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
A video showing a groom forcefully dragging his bride out of a car during their wedding has sparked discussion in China.

Initial reports suggested that the groom was enraged after his fiancee had demanded a large amount of money to be paid before she would agree to step out of the wedding car.

However, the groom claimed that he got angry because the driver of the wedding car had kept demanding gift money from them, according to an updated report.

Wedding guests surrounded the couple's wedding car in a bid to ask for monetary gifts

Video shows the groom, Mr Li, dragging his bride out of the car in an angry manner

Initial reports suggested the woman had asked for 1,017 before agreeing to get off the car

But the newlyweds explained they had been unhappy with the driver, who demanded money

The couple, Mr and Mrs Li, had their wedding on January 17 in Anyue town of Ziyang city, Sichuan Province, according to Chengdu Evening Post.

The footage of the wedding, uploaded by Xingzhi Media on June 9, shows over 20 guests standing around the red car when the groom appeared to pull the bride out of the car in a forceful way.

The reports initially claimed that the groom kicked the bride and demanded her to return the wedding money he had given to, which was over 300,000 yuan (35,000).

Reports also said the woman had asked to be given 8,800 yuan (1,017) before agreeing to get off the car and meet the wedding guests.

Other reports gave different explanations on why the man had become furious.

Some claimed that the groom found out his fiancee had slept with her ex-boyfriend the night before their wedding.

Others suggested that the bride shocked the groom by bringing her children to the wedding, whose existence the groom had not known.

The groom got angry and decided to drag his bride out of the car before leaving for their home

While different media suggested different reasons for the incident, the couple said they had not been arguing with each other, but with the 'greedy' chauffeur

With over millions views on various social media platforms, many people have blamed the bride for being greedy.

The groom, said to be in his 20s, told the reporters at Chengdu Evening Post that his wife had been wrongly accused by the media.

'It was because of the chauffeur of the wedding car. He stopped the car a few times on a 10-minute journey and asked for red packets,' Mr Li said.

Red packets are monetary gifts used in important events, such as Lunar New Year and weddings, as a symbol of blessing.

Li added that the driver stretched the 10-minute journey to nearly two hours.

'Every time the car stopped, we were surrounded by guests [who also wanted money] and we had given away all the red packets.'

The groom decided to get off the car before dragging his bride out of the vehicle too. He said they walked away quickly because they were 'too angry' and refused to give the driver what he had demanded.

The man, however, did not explain why he pulled the bride in a violent manner.

The couple said the driver kept stopping the car to ask for money during the journey

They had to walk away quickly after refusing to give the driver extra money, said the couple

A bridesmaid, who called herself Xiaoli, also said that the bride had not demanded money from the groom.

She confirmed that the couple had been angry with the driver.

She added: 'The groom got angry because the wedding car drove to the bride's house without him when he was still changing clothes.'

It's understood that the couple's wedding celebration went on as usual after they alighted from their wedding car.

The couple said the unverified reports had disrupted their life.

They also said they had dated for four years before getting married and that they have a good relationship with their families.
Theresa May was said to have been uncomfortable with the Tory campaign

Theresa May wanted to ditch the slogan 'strong and stable' during the election campaign, it has been claimed.

The Prime Minister feared constant repetition of the phrase was making her look 'stupid'. But campaign guru Sir Lynton Crosby is said to have insisted she should stick to the mantra.

The apparent clashes lay bare the problems in the Tory election machine that ended with the party losing its overall majority.

Despite securing scores more seats than Jeremy Corbyn, Mrs May has been left scrabbling around for a deal with the DUP that will allow her to cling on in Downing Street.

According to the Sunday Times, Mrs May was anxious about the tactic of hammering home the "strong and stable" offer against the "coalition of chaos" run by Mr Corbyn.

The PM is said to have complained privately: "I look stupid."

A source told the newspaper: "We ran a campaign against our instincts and when we said 'strong and stable' had become a joke we were told, 'No changes.'"

However, Crosby's allies point out that their lead over Labour remained huge in the early part of the campaign, before fading in the wake of the botched manifesto launch.

Mrs May faces a crucial test today when she addresses Tory MPs at a meeting of the powerful 1922 Committee.

The signs are that her backbenchers will not try to eject her immediately - but she is set to get a rough ride over the way the campaign was bungled.

Allies of Boris Johnson have been gearing up for a fresh leadership bid, although the Foreign Secretary himself has flatly denied he is planning one and appealed for unity behind Mrs May.

Michael Gove made a spectacular comeback to the Cabinet last night as Mrs May fought to shore up her position in the wake of the Tory election catastrophe.

Michael Gove made a dramatic return to the Cabinet last night as he was appointed Environment Secretary by Theresa May

He was ruthlessly axed as Justice Secretary by the PM last year after she swept into the top job.

But she has now appointed him Environment Secretary - as she demoted Andrea Leadsom to leader of the House of Commons.

The embattled Prime Minister will hope that bringing the big political beast back into the fold will help restore her authority in the party.

Mr Gove, who clashed bitterly with Mrs May over tackling extremism when they were in government under David Cameron, said that he had been taken by surprise when the invitation came through to visit No 10.

He said: 'I genuinely didn't expect this role.

'I am delighted to be part of the Government. I am delighted to be able to support Theresa May to ensure that we have a Government capable of delivering on the people's wishes.'

Mr Gove's exile to the backbenches came after he backed Boris Johnson for the Tory leadership before swiftly stabbing him in the back and throwing his own name into the ring.

Mrs Leadsom's demotion may be seen by some as revenge after she suggested in a newspaper interview that she would make a better PM than Mrs May because she has children.

Meanwhile, Mrs May installed Damian Green as her effective deputy as she fights to shore up her position in the wake of the Tory election catastrophe.

Liz Truss has been demoted from Justice to Chief Secretary to the Treasury - going from a full Cabinet member to merely attending meetings of the elite group.
A Sydney man has denied provoking a security guard before being punched and having his jaw broken outside a Gold Coast hotel over three years ago.

Dennis Hecta Tipene Faulkner is on trial on one count of grievous bodily harm at Southport District Court after the incident outside the Grand Chancellor Hotel in Surfers Paradise on February 9, 2014.

Alleged victim Dominic Beinke suffered a double fracture to his left jaw after being punched by Faulkner following a scuffle between the pair, Mr Beinke's brother Patrick, and another guard.

Bouncer Dennis Faulkner has pleaded not guilty to breaking a man's jaw during a scuffle

Alleged victim Dominic Beinke shows the aftermath of his devastating injuries

Faulkner pleaded not guilty to the charge as the trial, set down for three days, began on Monday.

The court heard the incident occurred shortly after Mr Beinke escorted Patrick from a friend's engagement party back to the hotel where he was staying with another brother and his partner.

After being let into the venue by security, the pair got into an argument with security when they were denied access to the hotel due to Patrick not having a key or identification.

Mr Beinke told the court while his brother had got aggressive and demanded to be let into the hotel, he'd attempted to defuse an escalating situation.

CCTV footage played in court showed Mr Beinke and Patrick arguing with Faulkner.

Mr Beinke claimed the guard said he was going to 'knock out' the pair.

The alleged victim suffered a double fracture to his left jaw after being punched by Faulkner following a scuffle

Further footage outside the hotel showed Patrick and the other guard scuffling on the ground when Faulkner swings a right fist into Mr Beinke's jaw, felling him and leaving him momentarily unconscious.

Faulkner's barrister Chris Rosser said Mr Beinke and his brother had both been aggressive when they were denied access to the room, with Mr Beinke pushing his forehead against Faulkner's.

He said Mr Beinke's claims Faulkner had promised to 'knock out' the pair was false and the pair had been constantly swearing and abusing the guard before the incident.

Mr Beinke denied provoking Faulkner before the attack on the Gold Coast in 2014

Mr Beinke denied Mr Rosser's claims he'd called Faulkner a 'dumb black c***' and told him to 'f*** off back to New Zealand'.

'I do not agree with that at all,' Mr Beinke said.

'I was saying 'I'm not going to fight you'.'

Mr Beinke admitted he and his brother were 'somewhat' intoxicated at the time of the incident but he 'knew what was happening'.

The trial continues.
A Sydney man has been reunited with his precious Pomeranian six months after they were separated in a house fire.

Gordon Wiggins was airlifted to hospital suffering extensive burns and smoke inhalation after his home caught fire on December 10, 2016.

Inside the south Penrith home was his five-year-old best friend Whisky who was also clinging to life and rescued by firefighters, Nine News reported.

Sydney man Gordon Wiggins (right) has been reunited with his precious Pomeranian six months after they were separated in a house fire

The five-year-old pup was led with a guard of honour by fire fighters who clapped as the best friends were brought back together again

Whisky spent six weeks recuperating at the vet before the firefighter who found him decided to temporarily adopt the dog and nurse him back to health while his owner could not.

Antony Crowe, from NSW Fire and Rescue, said it was nice to get to know Mr Wiggins and his pooch on a personal level rather than just 'smashing down their door' as a firefighter.

Mr Crowe would take Whisky into the hospital to visit his owner each week but it was not until now the dog could be returned to Mr Wiggins for good.

The five-year-old pup was led with a guard of honour by fire fighters who clapped as the best friends were brought back together again.

'He's my mate. Sleeps with me... he's spoilt,' Mr Wiggins told Nine News.

Mr Wiggins still has his arm in a sling but is well enough to get better from home with Whisky by his side.

Inside the south Penrith home was his five-year-old best friend Whisky who was also clinging to life and rescued by fire fighters, reported Nine News

Whisky spent six weeks recuperating at the vet before the fire fighter that found him decided to temporarily adopt the dog and nurse him back to health while his owner couldn't
Counter-terror police want to interview the younger brother of the Manchester suicide bomber amid reports that he helped his sibling buy bomb-making materials.

Hashem Abedi is currently being held in Libya after he travelled to the country with Salman on April 15, a month before the deadly attack.

Salman would return to the UK and detonate a nail bomb at an Ariana Grande concert on May 22, killing 22 people and wounded 200 others.

Greater Manchester Police said the militia group currently holding Hashem claim he has confessed to knowing about the plot and helped his brother to buy bomb parts.

Hashem Abedi (pictured) is currently being held in Libya after he travelled to the country with Salman on April 15, a month before the deadly attack

Greater Manchester Police said the militia group currently holding Hashem (shown) claim he has confessed to knowing about the plot and helped his brother to buy bomb parts

Detective Chief Superintendent Russ Jackson said: 'Hashem Abedi is currently detained in Libya.

'There is much media reporting about what he has said in Libya and we wish to interview him in relation to this attack.'

Police understand Salman assembled the bomb himself, but believe he may have had help in obtaining all the equipment used in the attack.

CCTV footage shows the terrorist, who was 22 years old when he died in the explosion, buying nuts and bolts from a DIY store in the days before his death.

On Thursday, a spokesman for the Libyan group which captured Hashem last month said he had admitted to helping his sibling organise the attack.

Ahmed bin Salem added: 'Hashem said that he bought all the necessary things for Salman for the attack from the UK and added that Salman was planning to carry out an attack but he did not know where.'

Salman Abedi (pictured) would return to the UK and detonate a nail bomb at an Ariana Grande concert on May 22, killing 22 people and wounded 200 others

Salman would return to the UK and detonate a nail bomb at an Ariana Grande concert on May 22, killing 22 people and wounded 200 others

A total of 21 people have been arrested suspicion of terrorism offences but the final two who were being held were released from police custody on Sunday.

Nobody has been charged in relation to the attack and police are searching a landfill site for a suitcase they believe Abedi may have used to store explosive materials.

On Sunday, police released new images of Abedi waking through Manchester with the blue suitcase, which could contain crucial evidence.

It is believed that the device was put together at various addresses used by Abedi in Manchester before he targeted the pop concert.

Police have released new images of Abedi waking through Manchester with a blue suitcase, which they believe contained bomb materials he discarded after assembling the device

Police have released CCTV images of Salman Abedi as he made his way around Manchester

Police have searched 29 houses and found evidence of explosive materials at several locations, each with links to Abedi.

Russ Jackson, head of counterterrorism policing for northwest England, said police believe Abedi assembled the bomb himself.

Suspects arrested under terrorism laws can be held for up to 14 days before they must be charged or released.

Abedi, who left the UK on 15 April and travelled to Libya before returning on May 18, had sought to transfer money out of the country before the attack.

Key to the investigation is a white Nissa Micra, in which Abedi stored bomb-making items.
A teacher at a Chinese university has been accused of hitting students with an iron rod because they were late for class.

Disturbing footage, which emerged last week, showed the male teacher beating seven female students on the hand in Chengdu, south-west China.

The educator has been dismissed after the clip recently became viral onilne.

A male teacher (pictured left) has been caught hitting students with an iron stick in China. A female student (pictured right) had to keep shaking her hands to relieve the pain

The footage was uploaded to a student forum named 'Sichuan high school headlines' on Weibo on June 9.

In the video, a group of female students lined up to receive physical punishment at a classroom.

The male teacher, in military uniform, could be seen beating each student's hand five times with an iron rod.

Students had to keep shaking their hands to relieve the pain.

The beginning of the video shows a group of female students lining up in front of the teacher (in military uniform) to receive physical punishment at a classroom

The man, surnamed Nie, became angry after the students were late for morning exercise. Each students was beaten on the hand for five times while male students had to be hit for 10 times

The man teaches aviation services at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, according to a report by Beijing Times.

The teacher, surnamed Nie, became angry after students were late for a morning exercise, an eyewitness told Beijing Times.

Mr Nie, a former soldier, demand students line up at the front of the classroom to be punished.

The incident reportedly took place on December 13, 2016, but the video was revealed last week.

Each male students and female students was hit for ten and five times respectively.

The man apparently teaches at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

Mr Nie, a former soldier, was sacked by the university on June 9, according to a statement

The student said it was not the first time Mr Nie had beaten students.

Four out of five students in the class have been punished by Mr Nie in the past.

A statement posted to the school's official Weibo confirmed the incident.

Mr Nie was fired by the university on June 9, according to the statement.
A British Olympic equestrian hopeful who drove a gang of armed thieves to steal 700,000 worth of cars including Audis and BMWs was today jailed for two years.

Kirstie Covele, 18, was behind the wheel during 13 of 33 burglaries which were carried out in just two months last summer.

The group managed to steal a range of vehicles including a number of Mercedes, BMWs and Audis which amounted to 696,500.

They often wore 'skeleton' or ski masks when they raided the homes across Kent and south east London armed with screwdrivers.

Kirstie Covele, 18, (pictured) is a talented horserider and was hoping to compete at the next Olympics

The teenager (pictured) was a keen horserider and wanted to compete at the next Olympic Games

Miss Covele, a talented horserider, later triggered automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras as she travelled in convoy with the stolen vehicles.

She told police after her arrest that although she drove her co-defendants around, she did not know of their criminal activity, and was simply paid petrol money.

Maidstone Crown Court in Kent heard that the gang of eight - mostly teenagers and some aged just 15 at the time - targeted the homes while the occupiers were asleep.

After stealing car keys, the gang would then make off with the vehicles to be either sold on with false plates, stripped of parts or burnt out.

Police later found video footage of one of the vehicles on fire in a field - a Mercedes worth 40,000 and stolen from Petts Wood in Kent - on the phone of one of the thieves.

The court heard they were paid 1,500 to be shared between them for each car stolen between June 12 and August 14 last year.

Several break-ins would be committed in one night, with some residents having two cars stolen off their driveways.

The gang even had the audacity to target one road on two consecutive nights.

Covele (pictured) was caught by police when her car triggered automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras as she travelled in convoy with the stolen vehicles

Miss Covele (pictured) told police after her arrest that although she drove her co-defendants around

Former agricultural college student Covele, of Orpington, looked stunned as she was sentenced to two years in a young offenders' institution on Monday after admitting conspiracy to steal.

Father-of-three Thomas Ripley, 21, was described as the 'controlling mind' of the organised enterprise and involved in 21 break-ins and thefts. He was jailed for five years.

Ripley, of St Mary Cray, Kent, together with Jack Hever, 20, and Freddie Friend, 17, of Orpington and 16-year-old Harry Turner, of Northfleet, admitted conspiracy to burgle.

Apprentice engineer Hever was sentenced to three years' youth custody, Friend was given a two-year detention and training order, and Turner was sentenced to an 18-month detention and training order.

Shannon Kelynack, 19, of Orpington, Charlie Parker, 16, of Orpington, and a 16-year-old girl who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal.

Kelynack was given two years' youth custody and Parker was sentenced to a 12-month detention and training order.

Covele (pictured), from Orpington, was today locked up for two years after admitting conspiracy to steal

Covele (pictured) was described as a hugely ambitious young woman who aimed to compete at the next Olympics

The teenage girl was not at court today as she was sitting a GCSE exam. She will be sentenced tomorrow.

The court heard the burglaries were carried out in Bexley, Bexleyheath, Petts Wood, Orpington, Swanley, West Kingsdown, Otford, Dartford, Hartley, Strood, Higham and Larkfield.

Sentencing the seven gang members, Judge Adele Williams said the burglaries 'bore the hallmarks' of professional crime.

She said: 'Tools were used to gain access and many of the householders were asleep in their homes.

'I have read victim personal statements and they make plain not surprisingly how badly affected they have been by thrse crimes, with feelings of violation of their homes as well as the financial loss and inconvenience they have suffered.

'The houses were targeted for their high-value cars. They were disposed of either in their entirety or for their parts.

'I have no doubt there were those higher up the chain who were older and more sophisticated criminals than you, but each of you played your part in this criminality.'

Shannon Revel, prosecuting, said the eight defendants were identified through mobile phone data and ANPR cameras.

She said: 'A total of 33 burglaries were committed over a two-month period and had the same key elements.

'In groups of two or more, they broke into residential properties and in the majority the residents were at home in the early hours of the morning.

Former agricultural college student Covele (pictured), of Orpington, looked stunned as she was sentenced to two years on Monday

Maidstone Crown Court in Kent (pictured) heard that the gang of eight - mostly teenagers - targeted the homes while the occupiers were asleep

'They stole cars ranging from Vauxhall Astras to Mercedes and BMWs, driving them away.

'They then saw one of two fates - number plates were changed and attempts to scratch off the identification numbers were made, and then sold on.

'A small number were destroyed - smashed up and set alight. Tools were used to enter the properties. Some of the defendants wore masks and gloves.'

Covele was described as a hugely ambitious young woman who aimed to compete at the next Olympics.

Sam Thomas, defending, said she became involved with the gang at a time of 'trauma, distress and stress' as her father was dying from motor neurone disease.

She currently works on a voluntary basis at a livery based in Orpington.

Kelynack was driving a Fiat Punto with Ripley, Hever and two of the 16-year-olds as passengers.

The Mercedes keys were found under a seat, as well as a large screwdriver, ski mask and gloves.

Kelynack - like Covele - acted as a driver in 13 of the burglaries. Her barrister, Daniel Darnborough, said it was a reflection of her naivety and lack of criminal sophistication that she had used her own car.

A court order banning the naming of those under 18 was lifted by Judge Williams, except in the case of the 16-year-old girl.

She said there was a 'strong interest' in the public knowing about the crimes, including the identities of those involved.
John McCain has said US leadership was stronger under Barack Obama and said Donald Trump's criticism of Sadiq Khan suggested American 'doesn't want to lead'.

The senator from Arizona had said America's standing in the world was being damaged by Mr Trump, who has championed an 'America First' approach.

He said the US had been better off under Obama, despite being a fierce critic of the former president and particularly his foreign policy which he awarded an 'F' grade.

Scroll down for video

The decorated war veteran has claimed US leadership was stronger under Barack Obama, whom he had strongly criticized and awarded an 'F' grade for his foreign policy

Mr McCain, who ran against Obama as the Republican nominee in the 2008 presidential election, said Mr Trump was in danger of alienating its allies.

It comes after Mr Trump attacked London Mayor Mr Khan after the London Bridge terror attack which left eight dead and dozens injured.

Mr Trump criticized the mayor after he told Londoners not to be alarmed about an increased police presence following the atrocity on June 3.

Mr McCain, who ran against Obama as the Republican nominee in the 2008 presidential election, said Mr Trump was in danger of alienating its allies

When asked about that, Mr McCain told the Guardian: 'What do you think the message is? The message is that America doesn't want to lead.

'They [the rest of the world] are not sure of American leadership, whether it be in Siberia or whether it be in Antarctica.'

When asked if America's standing around the world had been better under Obama, Mr McCain replied: 'As far as American leadership is concerned, yes.'

Mr McCain's comments are especially relevant as he had been such a fervent critic of the previous administration's foreign policy.

Mr McCain attacked Mr Trump following his reaction to Sadiq Khan's comments about the London terror attack on June 3

Mr McCain had previously said there was 'profound concern across Europe and the world' that America was 'laying down the mantle of global leadership'.

And speaking last month in Sydney he said: 'I know that many of you will have a lot of questions about where America is headed under President Trump. Frankly, so do many Americans.'

Discussing Mr Trump's alleged links to Russia, he added: 'I can remember the Watergate scandal and how it brought down a president. I'm not suggesting that's going to happen to this president, but we are in a scandal and every few days another shoe drops from this centipede, and we've got to get through that.'

Mr Trump's spat with Mr Khan was the latest in a series of clashes between the pair.

Mr Khan had previously criticized Mr Trump's remarks about Muslims and his attempts to bring in a travel ban against people from six mainly-Muslim countries trying to enter the US, and Mr Trump labelling him a 'buffoon' and challenging him to an IQ test.

Asked about the fallout 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.'

Prime Minister Theresa May waded into the row with clear criticism of Mr Trump, insisting he was 'wrong' to be criticizing Mr Khan's response.
A top Iran official has accused the United States of supporting the Islamic State terrorist group and effectively forming an alliance with the terrorist group, saying he has documents to prove the allegations.

Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mostafa Izadi accused the United States of supporting ISIS, saying Tehran has proof to back the claims.

'We possess documents and information showing the direct supports by the US imperialism for this highly disgusting stream [IS] in the region which has destroyed the Islamic countries and created a wave of massacres and clashes,' Fars News agency quoted Izadi as saying.

Izadi has not yet, however, presented the alleged documents that would prove his claims.

Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mostafa Izadi accused the United States of supporting ISIS, saying Tehran has proof to back the claims

Izadi's claims came after Tehran hit out at Washington and Riyadh as tens of thousands attended the funerals Friday (pictured above) for those slain in the first attacks in Iran claimed by the Islamic State group

The Iranian official said that the alleged American support for ISIS is an instrument of 'proxy warfare in the region' and a 'new trick by the arrogant powers against the Islamic Republic'.

Izadi's claims echoed a statement made by Iran's Parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani on Friday.

'The United States has aligned itself with the ISIL in the region,' Larijani said.

He made the comments as he addressed a funeral service for victims of Wednesday's terror attacks on the Iranian parliament and the shrine of late Imam Khomeini in Tehran.

Seventeen people were killed in the attack, which saw four armed assailants storm the national parliament building and a suicide bomber blow himself up at the shrine. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Larijani also called regional rival Saudi Arabia 'a tribal state very far from anything like a democracy' during his comments at the funeral service, and denounced US sanctions against Iran over its ballistic missile programme.

Izadi's claims echoed a statement made by Iran's Parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani (right, during Friday's funeral for the terror victims) on Friday.

Larijani made the comments as he addressed a funeral service for victims of Wednesday's terror attacks. Pictured above at the funeral are Larijani (left), Iranian president Hassan Rouhani (center), Iranian judiciary chief Sadegh Larijani (third from left), and other officials mourning during the ceremony

Larijani (right) greets Iranian president Hassan Rouhani (left), as Iranian judiciary chief Sadegh Larijani (center), looks on, during a funeral ceremony

The US 'knows that the Revolutionary Guard and its Quds force are the most important regional forces fighting terrorists', Larijani said.

The imposition of such sanctions 'demonstrates their alignment with terrorists in the region', said the speaker, a moderate conservative.

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Friday that the attacks would increase the country's hatred toward the United States and its 'stooges', including Saudi Arabia.

'Such acts will have no other result than to reinforce hatred for the US government and its agents in the region, like the Saudi (government),' Khamenei wrote in a message of condolence.

Tehran hit out at Washington and Riyadh as tens of thousands attended the funerals Friday for those slain in the first attacks in Iran claimed by the Islamic State group.

'Death to America', 'Death to the Saud' ruling family, and 'We are not afraid', shouted the crowd behind a lorry bearing the coffins of 15 of the 17 people killed.

After prayers at Tehran University, a long procession left central Tehran for Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery near the Khomeini mausoleum, 20 kilometres (12 miles) away.

The attacks on two of Iran's most symbolic landmarks were carried out by five armed men, including suicide bombers who blew themselves up.

Iranian president Hassan Rouhani (center) takes part during a funeral ceremony of the victims who died in the terror attack

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Friday that the attacks would increase the country's hatred toward the United States and its 'stooges', including Saudi Arabia

Although the US military is also fighting IS in Syria, as well as Iraq, President Donald Trump said in response to the attacks in Iran that the country is reaping what it sows

The intelligence ministry said they were Iranians who had joined the Islamic State group and travelled to its strongholds in Iraq and Syria before returning home.

Iran is a key fighting force against IS and other groups in Iraq and Syria, and the Sunni jihadists consider Shiite Muslims to be apostates.

Shiites make up roughly 90 percent of Iran's population, but the country also has a sizeable Sunni minority, particularly around its restive borders with Iraq and Pakistan

Although the US military is also fighting IS in Syria, as well as Iraq, President Donald Trump said in response to the attacks in Iran that the country is reaping what it sows.

That drew fire from Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, who tweeted: 'Repugnant WH (White House) statement... as Iranians counter terror backed by US clients.'

Since Trump took office in January, relations between Washington and Tehran have worsened.

Washington has imposed new sanctions on Tehran for its alleged support of 'terrorist' groups in the Middle East, ballistic missile tests and human rights abuses.

On a recent trip to Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia, Trump called on all nations to 'isolate' Iran.
David Davis took a swipe at leadership jockeying by Boris Johnson's allies today - warning that their actions were 'unbelievably self-indulgent'.

The Brexit Secretary urged Tory MPs to get behind Theresa May instead of calling for her to step aside - saying she is a 'good Prime Minister'.

The rebuke came after rumours started swirling that Mr Johnson is preparing to launch a fresh leadership bid in the wake of the election debacle.

A close ally of the Foreign Secretary said over the weekend that it was 'go-go-go' for Mr Johnson's leadership push in the wake of the election disaster.

But Mr Johnson has flatly denied agitating for Mrs May's departure and urged Tory MPs to 'calm down' - warning they risk putting Jeremy Corbyn in No10.

Boris Johnson, pictured out for a run this morning, has insisted he is not trying to oust Mrs May and urged Tory MPs to 'calm down'

Mr Johnson was pounding the pavements in Westminster ahead of a crucial meeting of Tory MPs later today

In a round of interviews this morning, the Brexit Secretary urged Tory MPs to get behind Theresa May instead of calling for her to step aside - saying she is a 'good Prime Minister'

In a round of broadcast interviews this morning ahead of a crucial showdown between the PM and angry Tory MPs later, Mr Davis insisted people should show loyalty.

Admitting that the party's campaign had been bungled, he ITV's Good Morning Britain: 'There is a distinction between running a campaign and running a country.

'Running a country is more difficult and she's formidably good at that.

'That's what you are going to see, you are going to see in the next few weeks her taking back command, her taking back the reins, her showing the world what she's good at which is delivering for the country.

'She's done it before, she'll do it again. That's why she's going to be there probably for my career.'

TORY 'SHOP STEWARD' PLAYS DOWN IDEA OF LEADERSHIP CONTEST 1922 committee chair Graham Brady The Tories 'shop steward' has played down the prospect of a leadership contest. Graham Brady, chair of the powerful 1922 committee, said he was not detecting any 'clamour' for a challenge. The comments are a boost for Theresa May ahead of what could be an angry showdown with Tory MPs later. There is fury over the bungled election campaign that saw the party lose its overall majority. Mr Brady told 'I don't see any clamour from my colleagues for a leadership election' Advertisement

Asked about the leadership rumours, he said: 'It's a complete waste of people's time, it is just unbelievably self indulgent.'

Mr David played down fears that parliament is now so badly split it will not be able to agree on a negotiating stance.

After Labour gained seats and the Tories lost their overall majority, there appears to be significantly more MPs in favour of a 'soft' Brexit.

The Foreign Secretary urged his colleagues to 'get behind the PM' in a WhatsApp message that was then conveniently leaked.

He also made a statement last night to cool the speculation after some MPs vented anger at the possibility the turmoil could get out of control and open the door to Labour taking over in government.

He said: 'Of course people are going to be wondering what's happening now there is a hung parliament and there is no absolute majority.

'But Theresa May got by far the biggest mandate anybody has got for my party for decades, she leads by far the biggest party in parliament.

'Jeremy Corbyn did not win this election.

'It is absolutely right she should go ahead for this government and it is absolutely right that she should go ahead and deliver on the priorities for the people and I am going to be backing her.

'Absolutely everybody I am talking to is going to be backing her as well.'

Boris Johnson said last night that the public are fed up with elections and there is no appetite to send them to the polls to pick another PM. He said Tory MPs will rally round the PM

But he sidestepped questions about whether he would launch a leadership bid if the PM is ousted.

He said: 'I genuinely think the people of this country...this is the third year running that we have chivied them out to the polls.

'We have asked them to vote on a General Election then on a referendum then on another General Election.

'I think they have had enough of this stuff, I think what they want is for the politicians to get on, deliver Brexit and deliver on their priorities, and Theresa May is by far the best person, she is the best placed person, to deliver that.'

MAY'S RESHUFFLED TOP TEAM First Secretary of State and Cabinet Office minister: Damian Green Chancellor: Philip Hammond Home Secretary: Amber Rudd Foreign Secretary: Boris Johnson Brexit Secretary: David Davis Business Secretary: Greg Clark Education Secretary and minister for equalities: Justine Greening Work and Pensions Secretary: David Gauke Communities Secretary: Sajid Javid Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor: David Lidington International Development Secretary: Liam Fox Health Secretary: Jeremy Hunt Chief Secretary to the Treasury: Liz Truss Chief Whip: Gavin Williamson Culture Secretary: Karen Bradley Advertisement

As the knives came out for Mrs May yesterday, former Chancellor George Osborne branded her a 'dead woman walking'.

She was also embarrassed as No10 prematurely announced it had done a deal with the Democratic Unionists to prop her up in power - only for the Northern Ireland party to make clear there was no agreement yet. Mrs May will meet DUP leader Arlene Foster in London on Tuesday.

Mrs May reshuffled her top team yesterday afternoon in a bid to restore her authority over the government.

In a sign that she might be leaning towards softening the Brexit process in recognition of her weaker position in parliament, she has appointed her close ally and strong Remainer Damian Green as an effective deputy.

The PM has also tried to cool tempers by calling some of the key Tory candidates who were defeated last week to express her personal sadness. She was heavily criticised for failing to show any contrition after the terrible results came in on Friday.

Talk of a leadership bid came after Mrs May was rocked by the resignations of the two Downing Street advisers who have been blamed for the Election disaster  and a Mail on Sunday poll which found that half of voters want her to quit.

The MoS Survation poll found that 49 per cent of all voters want Mrs May to resign, with only 38 per cent wanting her to stay put.

And out of the contenders to replace her, Mr Johnson outscores his nearest rival, Chancellor Philip Hammond, by a margin of more than two to one.

A separate survey of Tory supporters by the Conservative Home website found that two-thirds wanted Mrs May to announce her resignation immediately.

The Foreign Secretary urged his colleagues to 'get behind the PM' in a WhatsApp message that was then conveniently leaked yesterday (pictured right)

Theresa May and husband Philip went to church in Berkshire yesterday as she endured the General Election backlash from senior Tories who have said she will have to eventually step down

Few Tory MPs believe that Mrs May will still be in No 10 by the end of the summer after losing 13 Tory seats  squandering the party's previous working majority of 12.

Mrs May's joint chiefs of staff, Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, stepped down yesterday amid growing criticism of the power which they wielded in Downing Street. MPs had pointed the finger at Mr Timothy for including the so-called 'dementia tax' in the Tory manifesto, which was linked to a dramatic drop in the party's support.

The aides have also been blamed by MPs and aides for creating a 'toxic' Downing Street in which officials and Ministers are subject to bullying.
This resource is no longer available

This resource is no longer available. Return to previous page.
Norway has proposed a burka ban in schools and university after the immigration minister claimed the ability to communicate was a 'basic Nordic value'/

The country aims to ban face-covering Muslim veils in kindergartens, schools and universities, the government said on Monday, the latest European nation to propose restrictions on wearing burkas and niqabs.

France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Bulgaria and the German state of Bavaria have all imposed restrictions on wearing full-face veils in public places.

Norway's minority government, a coalition of the centre-right Conservatives and the populist Progress Party, said it was confident it would find opposition support for the move.

A young woman wearing the burka, the head-to-toe Islamic veil passing a book shop in Le Bourget, close to Paris, where the Muslim veil is now banned

Norway, which will hold elections on September 11, will be the first country in the Nordics to introduce a ban on burqas for both adults and children.

Acting Minister of Immigration and Integration Per Sandberg said: 'Face-covering garment such as the niqab or burqa do not belong in Norwegian schools. The ability to communicate is a basic value,'

Employees who insist on wearing a veil would risk losing their jobs, and students could face expulsion from university, he added.

Education Minister Torbjoern Roe Isaksen said: 'We have every reason to believe this will be approved by parliament.'

France became the first European country to prohibit the full-veil in public spaces with a law 'banning the hiding of the face in public spaces', with a law that took effect in April 2011.

This year, Morocco banned the production and sale of burqa full-face Muslim veils for security reasons, imposed due to reports felons have been using the garment to help carry out their crimes.

The issue has been brought even further into the spotlight in 2017 with a number of world leaders travelling to the Persian Gulf on political trips.

At the end of last month, Angela Merkel arrived in Saudi Arabia without a headscarf ahead of talks with King Salman.

Women in the kingdom are subjected to strict dress codes in public which includes full-length robes and covering the hair with a veil, but the German chancellor shunned the protocol.

She was not the first to do so, with Theresa May, Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama all having refused to wear the garment, which is seen as a sign of oppression by some critics.

HOW THE BURQA HAS DIVIDED OPINION ACROSS EUROPE Britain There is no law restricting the wearing of garments for religious reasons. However in March 2007 the education ministry published directives allowing directors of public establishments and denominational schools to ban the niqab veil. Judges have on occasion refused to hear veiled women because they could not verify their identity. Netherlands The legislation, which has passed the lower house and now has to be approved by the Senate, bans the wearing of burkas, helmets and face masks on public transport as well as education, healthcare and government buildings. The bill was proposed by Interior Minister Ronald Plasterk last year, as he believed clothing that covered the face hindered communication in public services and could pose a security threat. Violations could result in a fine of up to 410 euros. Germany Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere has proposed a partial burka ban. De Maiziere, one of Merkel's closest allies, said the ban would cover 'places where it is necessary for our society's coexistence' including government offices, schools and universities, courtrooms as well as demonstrations. Earlier this year, several French towns sought to ban burkinis, the full-body Islamic swimsuit. The move was successfully challenged in all but one case on the island of Corsica (file picture) France The first European country to ban the full-veil in public spaces with a law 'banning the hiding of the face in public spaces', with a law that took effect in April 2011. The European Court of Human Rights upheld the burka ban in 2014, rejecting arguments that outlawing full-face veils breached religious freedom. The law has resulted in around 1,500 arrests in the past five years, and violations can result in fines of up to 150 euros. Earlier this year, several French towns sought to ban burkinis, the full-body Islamic swimsuit. The move was successfully challenged in all but one case on the island of Corsica. Belgium The wearing of the full veil is governed by a June 1, 2011 law. It prohibits 'appearing in places accessible to the public with a face masked or hidden, in whole or in part, in such a way as to be unidentifiable'. Exceptions exist, in particular where the workplace requires the face to be hidden, or for the carnival season. Violations can result in fines and/or up to seven days in jail. Bulgaria In September, Bulgarian lawmakers approved a law that bans wearing in public clothing that partially or completely covers the face, with exceptions for health or professional reasons. Initial violations result in a fine of roughly 100 euros, while subsequent violations are fined the equivalent of 750 euros. Italy There is currently a debate over a 1975 law aimed at protecting public order that makes it illegal to cover one's face in public places and the provision applies to the veil, as well as motorcycle helmets and other masks. The anti-immigrant Northern League presented in October a draft law in the Lombardy region around Milan that would ban the burka, niqab and burkini. A region in the Italian Riviera is to ban women from wearing the Islamic niqab in hospitals and public offices. Officials in the northern region of Liguria announced plans to enforce the ban in what is described as an attempt to defend women's freedom. Switzerland Switzerland's lower house narrowly approved in September a draft bill on a nationwide burka ban, but the measure remains far from becoming law. In the southern Tessin region however, the burka has been forbidden since July 1 and violators face a minimum fine of 100 Swiss francs. Norway Education Minister Torbjorn Roe Isaksen said in October that the government was seeking regulations prohibiting the full-face veil in schools and universities. Scandinavian neighbours such as Denmark and Sweden have allowed schools, administrations and companies to decide the issue for themselves, while there is no ban in Finland. Others Three other countries that have not banned the burka are among those closest to the Middle East or North Africa - Greece, Portugal and Spain. Morocco has banned the production and sale of burqa full-face Muslim veils for security reasons. While there was no official announcement by authorities in the North African nation, the reports said the interior ministry order would take effect this week. The ban has been imposed due to reports felons have been using the garment to help carry out their crimes. Advertisement

The Iraqi army became the latest body to ban the use of burqas after Islamic State used the garment to carry out deadly attacks in Mosul.

Residents in the city will not be able to wear the headscarf nor the niqab - the full-face veil - as the government troops attempt to flush the terrorists out of the Iraqi city.

The ban is understood to be a temporary one, and Mosul joins the long list of countries, cities and organisations who prohibit the piece of religious clothing.
Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson upped the pressure on Theresa May to soften her stance on Brexit today - warning that the PM must 'reach out'.

The comments came as Remain-backing ministers are said to be seeking an alliance with pro-EU Labour MPs.

After a meeting of the Tory political Cabinet in Downing Street this afternoon, Ms Davidson insisted the economy should be the top priority in talks with Brussels.

She also pointedly stated that the final deal must work for the 'whole country'.

Ms Davidson has emerged much stronger from the election after effectively saving Mrs May by winning 12 more seats from the SNP north of the border.

And she has been making clear that she intends to use her newly-enhanced influence, despite the potential for a major rift in the Cabinet. A softer Brexit could mean staying in the EU single market and accepting free movement rules - something that is unacceptable to hard-line Brexiteers such as Liam Fox.

After a meeting of the Tory political Cabinet in Downing Street this afternoon, Ms Davidson insisted the economy should be the top priority in talks with Brussels

Leader of the House Andrea Leadsom (left) and Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson were also at the Cabinet gathering this afternoon

Brexit Secretary David Davis (pictured on Sky News today) admitted the talks may not start on Monday as the Tories insisted during the campaign

Theresa May gathered her political Cabinet today for the first time since the election, but is facing a struggle to match up demands for different flavours of Brexit

The new Cabinet unveiled by Prime Minister Theresa May yesterday includes 21 Remainers and seven Brexiteers

Earlier, Brexit Secretary David Davis said talks with Brussels will begin next week - but not on Monday as had previously been expected.

He insisted the UK would still have to leave the single market, customs union and jurisdiction of the European Court.

But he stressed he was open to suggestions from across the House of Commons about how the negotiations should proceed, and would 'take on board' advice.

Mr Davis told Sky News today that his top civil servant was in Brussels laying the ground for the first talks today.

'It's in the week of next week, basically, is the first discussions,' Davis said.

'It may not be on the Monday because we've also got the Queen's Speech that week and I will have to speak in that and so on.'

He added: 'The first round of pretty long meeting is roughly one week a month - much, much faster than on previous trade deals in the past.'

Mr Davis also hinted Britain would now accept the EU timetable of dealing with the divorce before moving attention to the trade deal.

He said: 'What we have said is we will start down this process.

'But I will have some discussions with [Michel] Barnier [the EU's chief Brexit negotiator] about how we progress to the wider thing, of the trade area. The most important thing in the aggregate is the trade area.'

A minister told the Evening Standard: 'This is no longer a question just for Government.

'It is clear to me that Parliament will want to assert its role in a way it did not before.'

At a briefing in Westminster this morning, Mrs May's official spokesman claimed the Government's plans were intact.

He said: 'What was clear in the referendum campaign was that what the British people voted for was to take control of their money, their borders and their laws.

'That is what we are delivering.'

Mrs May was flanked by (left to right) Michael Gove, Greg Clark, Justine Greening, Boris Johnson, Liam Fox, Jeremy Hunt, Chris Grayling, David Mundell, Ruth Davidson and Priti Patel

Ms Davidson's position has been widely interpreted as staying in the EU single market, which would require acceptance of EU free movement rules

WHAT COULD WE END UP WITH? by Jack Doyle The Norway Model Membership of the European Economic Area (EEA) would put Britain in a group alongside Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, and is what Remainers mean when they talk about staying in the single market. It would keep existing trading rules but take Britain out of the Common Agricultural Policy. However, we would also have to swallow EU laws without being able to influence them, accept rulings by European judges and carry on paying into the budget (Norways fee is estimated at around 90 per cent of the UKs per person). Uncontrolled immigration would continue. Unacceptable to Tory Eurosceptics. The Swiss Model A sort of EEA minus. The Swiss are members of the European Free Trade Association but not the EEA. They have a series of bilateral trade deals with the EU, which cover trade in goods but very little in services such as banking. The Swiss can negotiate trade deals with third countries, but also make a huge financial contribution to the EU. They are inside the passport-free Schengen zone and have to accept free movement. This option is also toxic for Eurosceptics. The Ukraine Model A January 2016 agreement between the EU and the Ukraine could form the basis for the UK deal. It includes trade market access and co-operation on defence and security but doesnt require free movement or the application of EU law. However, the UK would also require a deal on financial services. PMs free trade deal In January the Prime Minister said she wanted a deep and special partnership covering trade and security. At the same time she says  echoing the Leave campaign  that Britain should take back control of its laws, borders and money. That means no acceptance of EU laws, no more free movement and an end to vast contributions to the EU budget. Open issues include immigration rules, how much the UK pays to belong to EU agencies such as Europol, the divorce bill and what the new trade rules are. The time it takes to implement such a deal could give Mrs May room for manoeuvre. No deal Britain would revert to World Trade Organisation rules  meaning tariffs on some goods and services. Likely to mean no passporting rights for the City of London to trade on the continent. It would create a legal and administrative vacuum on the rights of EU nationals in the UK and British ex-pats, the Irish border, security co-operation, and deals on aviation, agriculture and fishing. Chaotic in the short term. Advertisement

Ms Davidson secured a new clout within the Tory party at least week's election after she saved Mrs May's job with a stunning gain of 12 new sears in Scotland.

Asked whether Davidson supported single market membership A Scottish Tory source told Reuters said 'yes, but she is aware that we are negotiating and you don't always get what you want in a negotiation'.

Ms Davidson is meeting Mrs May in London today, the source said.

The Scottish Conservative leader is thought to have support from Chancellor Philip Hammond who also believes in putting the economy and jobs ahead of lower migration.

Labour's position on the issue appeared mired in chaos today.

Jeremy Corbyn, pictured leaving his London home, has previously refused to say immigration should come down - but said free movement is likely to end

Shadow chancellor john McDonnell risked inflaming Labour's own tensions on the European issue yesterday by saying the UK could not stay in the single market

Shadow international trade secretary Barry Gardiner risked inflaming tensions over the issue by suggesting the UK could keep 'reformed membership'.

The comment reflects the hopes of significant numbers of pro-EU Labour MPs.

But others warn that it will be impossible to remain inside the single market without accepting free movement - pointing out that high immigration was a key factor in the Brexit vote last year.

Shadow international trade secretary Barry Gardiner suggested the UK could keep 'reformed membership' of the single market

Jeremy Corbyn and shadow chancellor John McDonnell appeared to make clear yesterday that remaining in the single market was off the table.

Asked if he was clear that Brexit would mean leaving the bloc, Mr Corbyn told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show: 'Absolutely.'

Mr McDonnell told ITV's Peston programme: 'I don't think it's feasible.'

Mr Davis reiterated today that the government remains committed to quitting both the Single Market and the Customs Union.

'We've made pretty plain what we want to do,' Davis told ITV's Good Morning Britain.

'It's outside the Single Market but with access. It's outside the Customs Union, but with agreement. It's taking back control of our laws and borders.

'Those things are fundamental and we didn't just pull them out of the air. We spent 10 months devising that strategy.'

He added that Labour's position on Brexit in its manifesto was 'very similar to ours'.

Amid the chaos in London, EU Commission Jean-Claude Juncker today warned the 'dust must settle in Britain' before serious Brexit talks can begin.

The EU Commission President said Brussels was ready at any time and repeated warnings the talks would not be held on 'exclusively British terms'.

Jean-Claude Juncker today warned the 'dust must settle in Britain' before Brexit talks can begin in earnest (file picture)

In an interview with Germany's leading news magazine Der Spiegel, Juncker says 'the dust has still to settle in Britain' before the Brexit negotiations can begin in earnest.

He said: 'We have been prepared to negotiate for months now. We could start early tomorrow morning. The ball is now in the British court.'

Mr Juncker said there was no 'plan B' if the talks fail.

He said: 'We will be reasonable, but we will also negotiate firmly and without gullibility.

'I believe we must come to an agreement for the people of Britain and the people on the Continent, but not under exclusively British terms.

'We must discuss the terms of the divorce first before we can enter into a detailed discussion about future relations.'

Of the infamous dinner he shared with Mrs May at Downing Street - details of which were leaked - he added: 'It was a very friendly and open discussion, during which our contradictory views became apparent

'I sincerely regret that the content of our discussion wasn't always perfectly accurately portrayed to the public, even though we are constantly accused of not being transparent. But this kind of transparency is not something I wanted.

'We don't know where the leak came from. I also didn't ask my cabinet chief because I trust him. He does good work and I have an excellent team.'

He was asked if he thought Brexit was the greatest political defeat of his career and replied: 'No. Contrary to the widely held belief, I don't feel responsible for Brexit. We didn't interfere in the referendum campaign.

'But it is true that negotiating Brexit is not a pleasant future task. It is the unwinding of a grand vision. I continue to see Brexit as a tragedy.

'I enjoy getting married more than I do getting divorced. And now I am spending most of my workweek on Brexit.'
A major investigation was launched today after a huge blaze ripped through one of Rick Stein's flagship restaurants - leaving it 15 minutes from total destruction.

Experts say they are not ruling out arson as they investigate the scale of the damage and the cause of the fire at the multi-millionaire's upmarket eatery in Porthleven, Cornwall.

The blaze - which began at about 1am and raged for more than three hours - follows years of bitterness between Stein and the local community.

Fire crews rushed to Rick Stein's restaurant in Porthleven in the early hours of this morning to deal with the blaze

Experts are still investigating the fire at his flagship restaurant which was reported in the early hours of Monday morning

The well-known chef already owned several fish and chip businesses in Padstow - a success which has led to the port town being nicknamed 'Padstein' - when he moved into Porthleven, 45 miles away.

The new business opportunity angered many locals - including several fisherman - who felt that the chef snubbed them, despite promoting fresh food from local waters on his menu.

An investigation has now been launched, with Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service keeping an open mind as to the cause into the 'severe' fire.

Katherine Billing, the incident commander for Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service, said: 'It is too early to say with any certainty but specialists teams are looking at that currently. It was a severe fire.

'Whether it was arson or not is something that is still being investigated. Nothing has been ruled in our out.'

She added that the restaurant had been 15 minutes away from being totally destroyed.

Ms Billing added: 'We were called to reports of a fire at Rick Stein's restaurant with smoke coming out the front door.

'There were cylinders involved so we made the decision to be more aggressive with our tactics. We knew if we didn't they could start to explode and the whole restaurant could have been destroyed.

'We were a maximum 15 minutes away from the fire destroying the whole of the main restaurant.'

Stein (pictured with his wife Sarah) is believed to have been celebrating his 70th birthday with friends and family when the fire happened

This morning, the restaurant said in a tweet that officers were 'assessing damage' after the fire

The celebrity chef took over the restaurant (pictured) three years ago and the incident comes after he angered locals

She said the actions of fire crews had 'saved' the 'prominent' business.

'This would have spoilt the beauty of Porthleven and affected the economy of the whole village for the summer season,' she added.

'The actions the crews took, I truly believe, were pivotal in ensuring they can re-open the restaurant within weeks rather than miss a whole summer season.'

She added that some stock had been damaged and had to be thrown away but that the restaurant would probably be trading again 'within a couple of weeks'.

Staff at Rick Stein Porthleven were unavailable for comment, but in a tweet the restaurant said it was just thankful no one was hurt.

They said: 'Huge thank you to [fire crews] Most importantly no-one hurt. Currently assessing damage and update to follow.'

Stein is understood to have spent Sunday night with friends and family for the birthday milestone - which he began celebrating on his actual birthday back in January.

But as he spends a lot of his time in his Sydney home, it seems he is continuing the festivities while back in the UK.

Crews attended the blaze just after 1am and crews remained at the scene until around 4.30am.
Advertisement

Summer has been a hit-and-miss affair so far, but sun-seeking Britons can finally rejoice as the mercury could hit 80F by the middle of the week.

The mini-heatwave is set to arrive thanks to warm tropical air from the Azores heading towards the south-east of England.

The UK will get to enjoy 'lovely summer weather', according to Met Office forecaster Emma Salter, with temperatures far higher than the average for this time of year.

Extended dry spells are predicted across the country from tomorrow, with midweek temperatures soaring as high as 80F (27C) in the South and 73F (23C) in the North. Pictured, sun rise today over a poppy field in Blandford, Dorset

Music lovers failed to let the rain dampen their spirits yesterday at Parklife Festival in Manchester, shielding themselves from the elements in wellies and ponchos. But there's good news on the horizon

The mini-heatwave is set to arrive thanks to warm tropical air from the Azores heading towards the south-east of England

'As well as the warm temperatures there will be plenty of dry weather especially on Wednesday and Friday,' she said.

On average, the mercury usually reaches 68F (20C) in London during mid-June, and between 64F (18C) and 66F (19C) across the country for this time of year.

However, extended dry spells are predicted across the country from tomorrow, with midweek temperatures soaring as high as 80F (27C) in the South and 73F (23C) in the North.

Tomorrow will be dry and bright with a high of 73F (23C) in the South and 68F (20C) in the North.

Your browser does not support the <code>iframe</code> HTML tag. Try viewing this in a modern browser like Chrome, Safari, Firefox or Internet Explorer 9 or later.

The heatwave is down to a south westerly flow from the Azores, Miss Salter added.

Although a cold front will move in by Thursday, the warm weather should return by the weekend.

And it is good news for anyone planning a visit to the Continent this week.

It is set to be even hotter in Spain and France, with temperatures reaching 104F (40C) in Seville and 99F (37C) in Bordeaux.
Donald Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame has been vandalized yet again and covered in stickers promoting LGBT rights.

Previously, Trump's star was attacked by a pick ax and one artist built a wall in protest to the president's planned effort to prevent illegal crossings from Mexico into the United States.

One previous attack involved the installation of a golden toilet beside the star with the words 'Take A Trump' stenciled on the cistern.

Scroll down for video

Donald Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was vandalized with stickers by LGBT activists during a massive Pride parade yesterday which was rebranded the ResistMarch

Thousands of gay rights activists took to the streets across the nation yesterday to celebrate pride and to protest against President Donald Trump who was widely criticized by marchers

In West Hollywood, pictured, thousands of protesters chanted 'Love Trumps Hate'

Thousands of people took part in the Los Angeles pride parade, which was rebranded as the ResistMarch.

Many demonstrators carried banners criticizing the president with messages such as 'Love Trumps Hate'.

The Latest on LGBT pride marches around the United States (all times local):

Speakers included U.S. Reps. Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff and Maxine Waters.

Waters led the crowd in rousing chants of 'impeach 45!'

She said 'we're going to take our country back from him,' and told the marchers that they have the strength, the courage and the power to do it.

The LA event was one of 100 planned LGBT marches which took place across the country, including the first ever pride parade in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, a prosperous Detroit suburb.

The one-mile march began at Grosse Pointe South High School to emphasize support for teens who are gay or transgender.

Two 15-year-old marchers, Jessica Dodge and Shekinah Aho, held hands and wore shirts that said, 'Make America Gay Again.'

The centerpiece event, the Equality March in Washington, was endorsed by virtually every major national advocacy group working on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans.

Leaders of those groups have been embittered by several actions of President Donald Trump's administration - including the rollback of federal guidance advising school districts to let transgender students use the bathrooms and locker rooms of their choice.

The pride march in West Hollywood was rebranded the ResistMarch to protest against Trump

The activists also complain that Trump, although he campaigned as a potential ally of gays and lesbians, has stocked his administration with many foes of LGBT-rights advances, including Vice President Mike Pence, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price.

Throngs of marchers, many thousands strong, paraded past the White House and toward the Capitol, trailing behind a giant rainbow flag near the head of the procession.

Demonstrators at one event chanted: 'We're here, we're queer, get that Cheeto out of here,' in reference to the President's orange hue.
Britains banks are being urged to upgrade cash machines because the new 10 and 5 are too slippery.

Bosses at Diebold Nixdorf, the firm which makes ATMs, said the network of around 70,000 UK machines would need to be upgraded once the new polymer 10 notes enter circulation in September.

Some of the devices have already been improved to handle polymer 5 notes after it was released last autumn.

New 5 notes, pictured, made from polymer rather than paper, are 'too slippery' for cash machines, according to ATM firm Diebold Nixdorf

The firm is urging banks to upgrade their cash points before the new polymer 10 note is released in September

Diebold Nixdorf said some of the UK's ATMs had been improved ahead of a industry conference to mark the 50th anniversary of the cash machine (file pictures)

But Andy Mattes, chief executive of Diebold Nixforf, told the Times the new 10 would be a catalyst for innovation around the machines.

He said: Most of the old machines cannot handle polymers because they are too thin and too slippery. There will have to be an upgrade of both hardware and software.

BANK OF ENGLAND'S NEW PLASTIC 5 NOTE: THE FACTS There are currently around 329million 5 paper notes in circulation, so it will take time for the existing notes to be replaced.

The new banknote is resistant to dirt and moisture, helping it to stay in better condition for longer.

Only a tiny proportion of existing banknotes are counterfeit according to the Bank of England's figures - 0.0075 per cent in 2015.

The design of the new 5 note includes a portrait of Sir Winston Churchill from a photograph taken by Yousuf Karsh on December 30 1941 as well as a view of Westminster.

Some 21,835 banknotes were replaced in 2015 due to damage, according to the Bank of England. This included 10,761 notes that were torn as well as notes that had been washed, chewed, damaged by fire or contaminated in some way. Advertisement

It also believed there could be upgrades to allow customers to withdraw cash using their mobile phones following improvements that allow people to pay for products and services using their devices. Barclays is understood to be testing machines to see if it is viable.

Mr Mattes added the death of cash was vastly exaggerated ahead of an ATM Industry Association conference in London this week which marks the 50th anniversary of the cash machine.

According to the Guardian, Diebold Nixdorf has created a prototype iPhone ATM which gets rid of the keyboard and works like a tablet using a touchscreen.

Other futuristic designs include ATMs that allow customers to access funds by scanning a fingerprint or a selfie cash machine where a photo is needed to withdraw funds.

The Bank of England said the new notes are 'stronger, cleaner and more secure', in that they are difficult to tear and can survive being washed.

But the slipperyness of the new notes follows controversy raised last year over the composition of the plastic, which uses animal fat.

The UKs central bank confirmed the 5 notes contain tallow, causing outrage among vegans.

Vegans and vegetarians have pledged to boycott the notes, and a petition urging manufacturers to remove the tallow has received more than 100,000 signatures.
Labour will bid to block the Queen's Speech in a bid to force Jeremy Corbyn into Downing Street.

Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry vowed to use parliamentary tactics to thwart Theresa May's government as she demanded a fresh general election.

Ms Thornberry urged the party's activists to get ready to start campaigning again because of Mrs May's precarious position as Prime Minister.

'If you continue to look at the polling, we continue to get even more popular after the General Election and if an election was called today we would win,' she said.

Mrs Thornberry - who is among Mr Corbyn's most trusted political supporters - said that 'Labour defied all expectations' despite getting 56 fewer seats than the Tories.

Ms Thornberry has repeatedly claimed Labour won last week's election and has accused Theresa May of squatting in No10.

Bold: Emily Thornberry says Labour under Jeremy Corbyn (both pictured today) would win an election today

Mrs Thornberry - who is among the most trusted political supporters of Mr Corbyn (pictured) - said that ' Labour defied all expectations' despite getting 56 fewer seats than the Tories

And in a message for Mr Corbyn's supporters she told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire: 'Don't put your posters away, just put them in the top drawer, because there will be another election, looks like I'm afraid, people may not want to have it, but it looks like that is where we are going to have to go.'

But a shadow cabinet colleague told the Evening Standard that 'premature triumphalism would be foolish' after losing to the Tories by dozens of seats.

Mrs Thornberry said Labour will now 'harry' Mrs May's government by putting down amendments setting out an alternative vision to the Queen's Speech and asking MPs to support them.

Getting the legislative programme over the line will probably require the support of the DUP.

Reaction: Piers Morgan was among the many people on social media reminding Ms Thornberry that Labout got fewer seats than the Tories

The Queen's speech is treated as a vote of confidence - if it fails the PM has to resign and Mr Corbyn would be invited to form a government.

The Labour tactic will almost certainly fail as long as the DUP stands firm, but the votes should prove interesting to flush out how many allies Mr Corbyn has among the smaller parties, like the SNP and the Greens.

If Labour did end up trying to form its own administration, it would not last long.

Even teaming up with all the other parties Mr Corbyn would still be short of a working majority. The next step would be another General Election.

Mrs Thornberry said it was unclear what elements of the Conservative manifesto would get into the Queen's Speech following negotiations between the Tories and DUP.

'Her manifesto didn't win, people don't have confidence in her, she is a wounded Prime Minister, she's not really going to be able to do anything,' she told BBC2's Victoria Derbyshire programme.

'She's going to have to do it with the DUP, which causes all sorts of problems in terms of the peace process in Northern Ireland.

The shadow foreign secretary - who is among Mr Corbyn's most trusted political supporters - said that ' Labour defied all expectations' despite getting 56 fewer seats than the Tories

'Exactly how they are going to patch this together. Who knows? And in the meantime, there's Brexit going on and that's really important to get right.

'We have a really different idea about what kind of Brexit negotiations we should be having than Theresa May seemed to be envisaging.'

A confident Mr Corbyn (pictured today) has insisted he could still become prime minister as he laid out plans to put forward an alternative Queens Speech

Labour added 3.5million votes to his 2015 tally in the sharpest increase since the Second World War. Last night, a Labour source said a frontline return for Ed Miliband could not be ruled out.

Yesterday, Mr Corbyn told the BBCs Andrew Marr Show he had received text messages from party colleagues across the spectrum.

Its important to make that clear, he said. I never get involved in personal abuse. If people have political disagreements, thats fine. We can discuss those. Ill be appointing a shadow cabinet over the next couple of days and announcing it next week.

John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, said: The general view has always been an open-door policy, and weve wanted people to work with us all the way along.

My view is we want to draw upon all the talents  but our shadow cabinet at the moment was a winning team. Its just won, effectively, votes that no one predicted we would, so I dont want to break up that winning team.

In an interview with the Sunday Mirror, Mr Corbyn said: I can still be prime minister. This is still on. Absolutely. We will obviously amend the Queens Speech. Theres a possibility of voting it down  were going to push that.

Mr McCluskey said Mr Corbyn would be in No10 now were it not for attacks from his own MPs.

He told BBC Radio 5 Lives Pienaars Politics: Instead of constantly having to be defending himself against treacherous individuals, hell be able to concentrate even more on what this nation needs. Many of the MPs who have been knifing him in the back owe their jobs to him.
A woman has reportedly been evicted from her apartment in Thailand after turning her rental home of seven years into 'a dumping ground'.

On June 11, the landlord was shocked to find the apartment piled with trash, torn clothes, empty plastic bottles and food dating to 2013.

When the landlord and property managers arrived at the flat, located in the Pinklao area, Bangkok, they said the place was so dirty that 'there is no room for one to stand', according to Thai media.

A landlord was shocked to see the flat filled with rubbish (pictured) on June 11 in Thailand

The pictures of the alleged rental flat were first revealed by a Facebook user 'PETEZ SARE', who posted them to his page on June 9 and June 10.

The shocking images soon attracted over 13,000 shares.

Piles of of rubbish could be seen in front of a TV set.

Hundreds of empty water bottles were left between the wall and a bed, which was also filled with junk items.

An electric fan was seen covered by a thick layer of dust while the floor was stained with disgusting dirt.

Hundreds of bottles were left between the wall and a bed, which is also filled with junk items

The apartment's floor was stained with disgusting dirt as the landlord arrived

The apartment had been rented to a woman for seven years, according to Sing Sian Yer Pao Daily, a Chinese-language newspaper in Thailand.

The situation was said to be discovered after the female tenant, unidentified, had not been paying her electricity bills on time.

According to the report, staff from the property management company decided to enter the flat to inspect its condition on the morning of June 11.

However, they failed to open the door which was blocked by garbage. The staff had to kick open the door by force.

They were shocked to see piles of rubbish in the flat which hardly left any space for them to stand.

The report said the workers had to sweep off the garbage blocking their way 'as if they were swimming in breaststroke'.

An electric fan was found in the woman's home covered by a thick layer of dust

Rubbish found in the flat included food expired in 2013, torn clothes and hundreds of empty plastic bottles.

Worker also discovered a cracked toilet, a broken shower head and damaged water pipes.

'I was furious and I called the tenant. She said it was the responsibility of the property management company to clean the apartment,' claimed the angry landlord, according to Sing Sian Yer Pao Daily.

Apparently, the tenant also told the landlord that she had paid 1,200 baht (27) for the flat to be cleaned.

The landlord demanded she move out of the apartment on the afternoon of June 11.

Upon negotiation, the woman has agreed to pay extra cleaning fees and compensation for the damaged goods.

Apparently, the place, in Bangkok, was so dirty that 'there is no room for one to stand'

The story has sparked an outcry on social media as people expressed their shock in the woman's poor hygiene.

'I can't even stand staring at these photos,' one user said on Weibo, a Chinese microblogging site.

'Where did she sleep? ' An online user wondered.

'I really want to know how she looks like,' a third user said.
As tensions between North Korea and the United States continue to escalate, a Malaysian photographer has encouraged others to visit by releasing photos he took while traveling to the country.

In the images, North Korean residents can be seen going about their daily business in town squares and train stations while children listen to street performers.

Other pictures show the capital Pyongyang illuminated at night with skyscrapers stretched across the city, as well as temples and countryside landscapes.

Photographer Reuben Teo, 31, from Sarawak, Malaysia, took the photos on a trip to the country last month.

Mr Teo was only told not to photograph military, military checkpoints and construction while in the country, and believes his pictures show a different side to North Korea than how it is usually portrayed in the media.

'The country is also extremely clean and I can honestly tell you that it sits next just to Japan in terms of cleanliness. Put North Korea in your list of exotic destinations to visit,' Mr Teo said.

North Korea, meanwhile, says it is continuing to test new missiles that could attack enemy warships.

The country has tested four missile systems year alone, sending a defiant message to its enemies that it will continue to pursue a weapons program that has rattled its neighbors and Washington.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed the launches, according to the official Korean Central News Agency, which said the missiles 'accurately detected and hit' floating targets at sea after making 'circular flights'.
A French serial murderer dubbed the 'bikini killer' for a string of murders in Asia in the 1970s was pictured smiled with his doctor before heart surgery on Monday.

Charles Sobhraj, 73, who is currently serving a life sentence for two murders in Kathmandu in 1975, underwent a five-hour surgery to repair the valves in his heart.

'The good news is the operation was a success,' Sobhraj's wife Nihita Biswas said.

Charles Sobhraj, 73, who is serving a life sentence for two murders in Kathmandu in 1975, posed with surgeon Raamesh Koirala ahead of an operation to fix valves in his heart

'It was a four-hour surgery but they had to extend it for another hour because they found that the other valve was also damaged. Right now they say that he's stable.'

Raamesh Koirala - one of three surgeons involved in the complicated procedure - said Sobhraj would remain sedated for 24 hours.

'We cannot say he is out of danger for 24 hours and maybe longer. But the operation was normal,' said the surgeon, who is a distant relative of Biswas.

The ageing conman - who has been implicated in more than 20 killings - is under tight security in hospital because of threats made against his life, his wife said.

'We did not want the surgery to happen in Nepal because we do not trust Nepal. That is why we got a doctor who is related to the family to do the surgery,' she said of Koirala.

Sobhraj is expected to remain in intensive care for at least four days.

The Frenchman earned worldwide notoriety for a series of poisonings and robberies of backpackers across Asia in the 60s and 70s.

Two of his victims were found wearing only bikinis, earning him the sobriquet the 'bikini killer'.

Charles Sobhraj - a French citizen of Vietnamese and Indian parentage - was also known as 'The Serpent' for his repeated identity thefts and escapes from justice

Sobhraj - a French citizen of Vietnamese and Indian parentage - was also known as 'The Serpent' for his repeated identity thefts and escapes from justice.

He spent 21 years in jail in India where he was jailed for culpable homicide for poisoning a French tourist and killing an Israeli man. He was released in 1997.

The law caught up with him again in Nepal in 2004 when he was jailed for the killing of US tourist Connie Joe Bronzich in 1975.

In 2014, he was handed a second life sentence for the killing of Canadian backpacker Laurent Carriere, whose passport he had used to escape Nepal after killing the pair.

While in jail in Kathmandu, Sobhraj married Biswas, who is 44 years his junior and the daughter of his lawyer.

Biswas and Sobhraj's legal team are currently pushing for septuagenarian to be released from jail so he can return to France.

'He and I have been planning a lot of things for a long of time. I'm not focusing on anything apart from his release. The important thing is to send him back home,' Biswas said, adding that she hoped to go to France with Sobhraj.
On Friday afternoon, Acton Institute Director of Programs Samuel Gregg joins guest host Paul Kengor on Ave Maria Radios Kresta in the Afternoon to discuss the shocking results of last weeks snap UK elections that saw Theresa May and the Tories lose their majority in the UK Parliament. Gregg looks at the coalitions likely to form as a result and the impact the election will have on the upcoming Brexit negotiations. You can listen to the interview via the audio player below.
A nine-year-old boy is believed to be dead in a murder-suicide involving his parents when their house burned down.

Police believe they found the remains of Sebastian Meachum, nine, in his Malabar, Florida, house.

Meachum had been reported missing and was last seen at his house at 855 Atz Road that was burned down Sunday around 10.30am.

Officials have not officially identified the remains in the house, but they believe the child is Meachum, Click Orlando reported.

Meachum was believed to be with his mother Chrissy Hughes, 39, and his step-father Tony Hughes, 39.

Police now believe the nine-year-old and Chrissy were in the house with her sister, Linda Woods, 39, who was visiting from Arkansas.

Sebastian Meachum, 9, and his mother Chrissy Hughes, 39, are believed to be the victims of a murder suicide after their home was burned down Sunday

Officials have found the body of a child and two women in the burned down house. Though the remains have not been identified, police believe the child is Meachum and the women are Chrissy and her sister Linda Woods, 39. They believe Meachum's step-father Tony Hughes, 39, right, killed the three, set the house on fire, then killed himself

Police have also found the remains of two women, believed to be Chrissy and Woods.

Based on the signs of trauma to one woman's body, police believe she was killed before the fire started.

Brevard County Sheriff's Office spokesman Tod Goodyear said police believe Tony may have killed all three people in the house, set it on fire, then killed himself.

The fire department is continuing to search inside the house, which could take several days because of the damage caused from the fire.

The body of Tony is still missing and police believe he committed suicide after setting the house on fire.

Police had initially believed the family had left in their 2012 Nautic Global Group 18-foot boat because it had been missing.

The boat was found Monday seven miles offshore of Sebastian Inlet. It was unoccupied and driving in circles. There was blood inside the boat.

Officials suspect Tony committed suicide and his body fell into the water, Florida Today reported.

The Coast Guard is searching the area and the investigation is ongoing.

Witnesses told police there were domestic issues between Tony and Chrissy, though there were no official reports of any incidents.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement issued a missing child alert Sunday evening for Meachum, saying he could have been with the Hughes.

The body of Tony, left, is still missing. Police initially thought the family had run away on their boat because it was missing, but it was found seven miles offshore of Sebastian Inlet, unoccupied and driving in circles. There was blood inside the boat. Officials suspect Tony committed suicide and his body fell into the water
General Electric says Jeff Immelt is stepping down as CEO and John Flannery, president and CEO of the conglomerate's health care unit, will take over the post in August.

The 61-year-old Immelt will stay on as chairman until his retirement from the position at the end of the year, with the 55-year-old Flannery stepping into the role after that.

Immelt has been at the helm of the conglomerate for 16 years, overseeing a transformation that included selling many of the company's units. Over that time, General Electric sold its insurance, credit card, plastics and security divisions.

General Electric says Jeff Immelt (pictured in May) is stepping down as CEO and John Flannery, president and CEO of the conglomerate's health care unit, will take over the post in August

Following the announcement, GE's stock climbed more than three per cent in premarket trading

It also invested more heavily in new technologies, including a recent $1.65billion acquisition of LM Wind Power, a Denmark-based manufacturer of rotor blades for wind turbines.

Flannery is a longtime General Electric executive, starting his career at GE Capital in 1987. He became president and CEO of the company's equity unit in 2002 and eventually joined the health care unit in 2014, focusing on advanced technologies.

In addition, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Bornstein was named vice chair and Kieran Murphy was named president and CEO of GE Healthcare to succeed Flannery.

GE said Monday that the moves were part of its succession plan.

Shares of General Electric Co. climbed more than 3 per cent in premarket trading. They are down about 7.6 per cent over the last 12 months.
A Muslim imam who campaigns against extremism and Sharia law claims death threats against him escalated after the ABC's Media Watch program described him as 'divisive and offensive'.

Sheikh Mohammad Tawhidi, a Shia imam from Adelaide, was lambasted by Media Watch host Paul Barry late last month.

'No, we're not saying Tawhidi has no right to his opinions but the media should not really be giving him a megaphone nor should they be presenting him as a voice of reason and an imam of peace when it's clear that some of his views are divisive, offensive, abusive and just plain crazy,' Mr Barry said.

Scroll down for video

Shia imam Sheikh Mohammad Tawhidi says the ABC's Media Watch sparked death threats

ABC Media Watch host Paul Barry described Sheikh Tawhidi as 'divisive, offensive, abusive and just plain crazy'

Sheik Tawhidi says this vile Facebook message was posted on June 1, by the same man who abused him in an Adelaide restaurant, 10 days after Media Watch aired

Ten days later, Sheikh Tawhidi was confronted in an Adelaide restaurant as he dined with anti-immigration political aspirant Kim Vuga.

The Iranian-born religious leader told Daily Mail Australia one of the young men who confronted him had mentioned the Media Watch program.

'The guy in the restaurant said, 'Have you seen the ABC expose on this motherf***er',' he said.

On the same day, another man unconnected to the restaurant ambush wrote on Facebook about the sheikh: 'This dog needs a bullet in his head ASAP.'

Sheikh Tawhidi says he was abused at an Adelaide restaurant after the Media Watch segment

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the ABC for comment.

Footage of part of the Adelaide restaurant confrontation aired on the Seven Network's Today Tonight program in early June.

It showed a man swearing at Sheikh Tawhidi and Ms Vuga, who has previously appeared on the SBS program Go Back To Where You Came From.

The 34-year-old religious leader said although it was not shown in the Seven program, this is when a young man abused him, referring to a Media Watch 'expose' on him.

Sheikh Tawhidi often receives threats, however he says Mr Barry's description of him had given radical Muslims ammunition for 'lots of hate'.

Sheikh Tawhidi was dining for Kim Vuga when several men abused them in Adelaide

Sheikh Mohammad Tawhidi says he received this threatening Facebook message in April

Another extremist sent Sheikh Mohammad Tawhidi a message from another country

Sheikh Tawhidi said death threats against him had also increased after the Australian National Imams Council asserted in March they did not recognise him.

In early April, he received several vile threats from Islamist extremists.

'I'm gonna down your throat you son of a pig,' a Facebook message from a man said.

Another message from a different extremist went further.

'You dirty scum of a boy, not worth calling a man. You're a disgrace to your parents,' he said.

Another extremist threatened to bash Sheikh Tawhidi after his Facebook followers mentioned how the Prophet Mohammad had a nine-year-old wife

Another man sent Sheikh Tawhidi a vile message threatening that he would 'remain silent'

'Your mum should have swallowed. I feel sorry for your parents for having a pig of a son like you.

'Keep doing what you're doing because one day, you will remain silent.'

Another extremist threatened to bash him for not refuting a suggestion that the Prophet Mohammad had a nine-year-old wife Aisha.

'You coward dog. If I ever see you, I'm going to cave your dog head in,' he said.

Sheikh Tawhidi received yet another vile death threat on Sunday night from an extremist

The Shia imam received another death threat on Sunday night.

'This bloke needs to be shot and hung,' he said.

'Calls himself a Muslim. Get out of here, you don't know the first thing about being Muslim.'

Sheikh Tawhidi has previously spoken out against halal-certified food being sold in Australia's major supermarkets, called for the closure of Islamic schools and backed the idea of temporary bans on Muslim migration.

For taking these positions and endorsing One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, he has been subjected to criticism from the ABC, including in opinion pieces published on the national broadcaster's Religion and Ethics website.

He also strongly condemns Sharia law, an Islamic legal system which secular Muslims reject.

Sheikh Tawhidi is planning to make an official complaint with the Australian Federal Police about his death threats, adding he had received them since 2014 when he became more outspoken about Islamist extremism.
CCTV footage has revealed how a thief hid in bushes before jumping out on a pensioner and slamming her to the ground.

The 77-year-old was left with a dislocated shoulder after the criminal pounced on her in an alleyway before making off with a necklace.

The cowardly attack, which took place in Crystal Palace, south east London, left the pensioner 'frightened and in enormous pain'.

Police investigating the robbery have released CCTV in the hunt for the suspect after the vile robbery at about 12:20pm on September 30.

Footage shows the woman being approached by a man who lunged at her without warning, knocking her to the ground and then running off

The 77-year-old was left with a dislocated shoulder after the criminal pounced on her in an alleyway before making off with a necklace

Footage shows the woman being approached by a man who lunged at her without warning, knocking her to the ground and then running off.

The force of the unexpected attack caused the victim to fall and land awkwardly, dislocating her shoulder, before members of the public rushed to help her.

About ten minutes after the attack, the woman was found by police and she told officers that the necklace she had been wearing was missing.

The victim was taken to a hospital in south London by the police, as there were no London Ambulance Service vehicles available, police said at the time.

The suspect is described by police as either a white or Asian male, aged 25-35 years old, wearing a blue jacket, red shorts with a distinctive white strip at the side, and white socks and flip flops.

PC Andrew Garland, from Croydon Police, added: 'This was a cowardly attack on an elderly lady that left her frightened and in enormous pain.

'We are asking the public to help us find this man so we can bring him to justice.'
Pictured: Christina Menzies was described as 'generous, kind and loving' by her family

The heartbroken father of a 16-year-old schoolgirl who was brutally murdered after going missing from a disco has revealed his agony on the anniversary of her death as police ramp up their investigation to find her killer.

Christina Menzies would have been celebrating her 40th birthday this year but she was robbed of her life when she was senselessly attacked and strangled near British RAF base Guterlosh in Germany, back in 1993.

In a case shrouded in mystery, her murderer was never found or brought to justice. In between the time she was with friends at Club 49 to when she was discovered dead six miles away the next day, little is known about what happened.

The tragedy made headlines across Europe at the time and now 24 years on, as police have reopened the cold case, her father is hoping someone out there might have the answers to their questions.

Parents John and Christina Menzies, both 58 and originally from Scotland, were living at RAF Guterlosh in Germany at the time of the tragedy as Mr Menzies worked as an administrator in the Royal Air Force.

Speaking to the MailOnline today, he said: 'It won't bring Christina back but it would give her justice and would give us a feeling of closure.'

'It won't bring her back, but we want justice': Christina's parents Mr and Mrs Menzies are asking for anyone with information to contact police

As the army intends to move out of Germany next year, he said he feared the case would get left behind.

Mr Menzies said: 'I don't want Christina and what happened to get forgotten or to be left behind. I don't want it to be parked under all the unsolved cases in Germany, I want it to be solved once and for all so we can all get closure.'

The turmoil for the family has been devastating but despite the heartache, Mr and Mrs Menzies remain united in their quest to get justice for their daughter.

He explained: 'It is an achievement we have been married for 41 years this year, it might have been enough to split some people up but we have a strong drive to see justice done.'

The family hope with the help of social media and increased police technology, new information will help piece together parts of the case.

Investigation: The Royal Military Police have reopened the cold case in a bid to find her killer

Mr Menzies said: 'The police are looking at everything with a fresh pair of eyes, there might be some people who knew things at the time but couldn't say anything because they were protecting friends or because they weren't asked. This is an opportunity for people to come forward.'

Describing his daughter in an interview with MailOnline he said: Christina was a generous, kind and loving person who liked to help other people.

There has been a lot of things missing in my life. My daughter would have grown to have a life of her own, she would have gone on to get married or have children but thats something thats not happened and my life has felt emptier for that.

A good student, Christina excelled at English at school and was an avid reader. She always was interested in books, Mr Menzies said, And she liked writing stories.

The teenager was described by her father as the sort of person who had friends all over the world and talked of becoming a social worker to help others or a journalist.

He said they knew something was up almost straight away when she failed to meet them at midnight after the disco had ended.

Her father said: 'It was completely out of character for her and it was not like her at all, she would never have stayed out all night and not have contacted us. We knew it was serious but it was a case of convincing the police.'

Determined: Mr and Mrs Menzies, pictured together above in Berlin, celebrate their 41st wedding anniversary this year and while the road has been tough, John said their shared drive to see justice has kept them strong

He said his message to anyone reading was: 'If you have any information, no matter how insignificant, please come forward. It might be that police didn't ask things at the time which they would ask now, but please get in touch.'

The Menzies appeal has already gone viral on Facebook, with almost 30,000 shares in less than 24 hours.

Mr Menzies said the response had been 'overwhelming' and said he would be going through each comment when his notifications had calmed down.

The British Military Police said it was investigating the unsolved murder of Christina Menzies and the case had been reopened in 2014 under the name Operation Gemini.

A spokesman said: In November 2014 we were exploring a number of lines of inquiries but so far no new lines have been discovered so we are opening up the appeal to the public for more information. At the moment the investigation is ongoing.

We are appealing from anyone who may have known her or her whereabouts.

A man was tried for murder in 1994 but was found not guilty by a judge in Germany.

The following year, an early day motion was submitted to the House of Commons by the then-Labour MP George Galloway to discuss the police's investigation of Christina's murder.

It is not known if the motion, signed by seven members of parliament including the now Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, went on to be debated.

Mr Menzies now hopes anyone with information will come forward.

Posting to Facebook, in a status update which has now been shared 30,000 times in less than a day, he said: 'My 16 year old daughter Christina went to a disco in Club 47 in RAF Gutersloh on 12th June 1993. She never came home, she was found dead the next day around 10km from the camp, she had been strangled. No one has been convicted of her murder.

'The Royal Military Police, have carried out a review of her case which concluded that there are grounds for a re-investigation. The investigation has now been launched and an appeal for information will be aired on Crimewatch Roadshow at 9.15 am on Tuesday 13th June, the 24th anniversary of her murder.

'If you were in Germany at the time please watch the programme either live, recorded or on the BBC I Player and think back to that time. You will probably have heard about Christina's murder as it was a very big story at the time, both in the services community and in the UK as a whole. If you have any information, or know someone who may have information no matter how insigificant it might seem please pass it to the Special Investigations Branch (SIB) of the Royal Military Police via the number given on Crimewatch.

'24 years have now passed and most of the people that were in Club 47 that night will have children of their own, these changed circumstances may allow them to look at it in a fresh light, some people may have held back information at the time because they didn't want anyone to know they were there or they were protecting friends.

'Please share this post with your friends and ask them to share it further to ensure as many people as possible will see the appeal. After many years of standing still it is hoped that this appeal will be the first step towards achieving justice for Christina.'
More than 1,000 protesters across Russia as thousands responded to a call by opposition leader Alexei Navalny to hold a anti-corruption demonstrations, according to witnesses at the scene.

Pepper spray has been used on protesters shouting 'Putin is a thief' in central Moscow, as other confrontations took place in St Petersburg and elsewhere around Russia.

Navalny was arrested earlier in the day as he tried to leave his home in Moscow ahead of the planned anti-Kremlin protests, his wife Kira Yarmysh said, but she called for the demonstration to go ahead all the same.

Thousands of protesters gathered for an anti-corruption demonstration in Moscow on Monday, which happens to be Russia Day, which marks the country's emergency from the USSR a quarter of a century ago

Russian police on Monday detained more than 118 protesters in the city where people had turned up to demonstrate against official corruption

Russian police officers detain a participant of an unauthorized anti-corruption rally at the Marsovo Field on Russia Day in central St. Petersburg

Russian officers carry a man to be detained as a young man and woman follow closely in St Petersburg

Riot police stand guard next to children in a stroller during an anti-corruption protest organised by opposition leader Alexei Navalny, on Tverskaya Street in central Moscow

Russian liberal opposition leader and anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny has called his supporters (pictured) to hold a protest in Tverskaya Street, which leads to the Kremlin

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was arrested on Monday outside his Moscow home while on his way to an unsanctioned protest demonstration

As many as 750 protesters were held in Moscow where police and national guard special forces used batons to break-up a pro-democracy rally.

Navalny's Fund for Fighting Corruption throughout Monday had been providing updates on protests against what the opposition leader says is a corrupt system of rule overseen by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Moscow authorities had agreed to a location for a protest rally in the capital, but Navalny at the last minute called changing it to one of Moscow's main thoroughfares, citing interference in building a stage at the agreed-upon rally site.

After the change, Moscow police warned that 'any provocative actions from the protesters' side will be considered a threat to public order and will be immediately suppressed'.

It is unknown where Navalny, who once called Putin 'the Tsar of corruption', was taken following his arrest, but officials have said he could face up to 15 days in jail for failing to follow police orders.

Putin's security service chief Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB, accused 41-year-old Navalny of a 'provocation' by moving a scheduled rally in Moscow to the city centre, close to the Kremlin, at the last minute.

Navalny, pictured in May with his wife Yulia (in red) and son Zahar (in front of his mother) during a protest, had made a last-minute location change for a protest rally in Moscow against against what he says is a corruption overseen by President Vladimir Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin gives a speech during the state awards ceremony at the Grand Kremlin Palace on June 12

Protestors are blocked by riot police during a demonstration in downtown Moscow, Russia, on Monday

The Moscow protest was just one of several across the country which saw thousands of demonstrators nationwide

The protesters' (one pictured above being detained) path was blocked by police barriers put in place as part of a festival of historical costumes on Tverskaya Street, Moscow's central thoroughfare

Russian police officers detain a participant of an unauthorized opposition rally in Tverskaya street in central Moscow

Putin's security service chief Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB, accused 41-year-old Navalny of a 'provocation' by moving a scheduled rally in Moscow to the city centre, close to the Kremlin, at the last minute

From the Baltic to the Pacific, pro-democracy activists and their supporters were hauled into custody in a major clampdown by the Kremlin's security services

Police detain a woman as she covers her face an head at a rally at the Marsovo Field on Russia Day in central St. Petersburg

Four police officers carry a man by his arms and legs as they detain him at a rally in St Petersburg

In a statement reported by state news agency Tass, police said Navalny would be charged with failure to follow police orders and violation of public order following his arrest.

Hundreds of police were on standby in central Moscow on Monday to break up the planned mass protest.

Monday is Russia Day, a public holiday, a factor that may boost turnout.

Around 1,000 protesters started to move from the square towards the Kremlin on Monday, but their path was blocked by police barriers put in place as part of a festival of historical costumes on Tverskaya Street, Moscow's central thoroughfare.

A regional security official, Vladimir Chernikov, told Ekho Moskvy radio that police would not interfere with demonstrators on the street as long as they did not carry placards or shout slogans.

Russian police officers detain a participant of an unauthorized opposition rally in Tverskaya street in central Moscow on Monday

The location of the protest was changed at the last minute, provoking clashes between riot police and demonstrators

Russian police have created blockades to keep protesters from unauthorized locations during the protests

As police detained demonstrators, hundreds of others shouted slogans including 'Putin is a thief' and 'Shame!'

Police used pepper spray on protesters as they tried marching toward the Kremlin on Monday

Many protesters appeared to have to be carried to detaining vans as police arrested them on MOnday

A woman gestures during an unauthorized opposition action in Tverskaya street in central Moscow on Monday

A woman wearing a flag around her shoulders carries a globe through protests in Moscow on Monday

But police, who used loud hailers to tell protesters to disperse, detained dozens of people as the demonstration continued.

Russian opposition figure Ilya Yashin was one of the dozens taken into custody after the demonstration began.

As police detained demonstrators, hundreds of others shouted slogans including 'Putin is a thief' and 'Shame!'

There were anti-Putin rallies in more than 180 towns and cities including Russia's Pacific capital Vladivostok where 22 were detained.

In Putin's home city of St Petersburg, there were around 300 arrests by 3pm local time on Russia Day, which marks the country's emergency from the USSR a quarter of a century ago.

About 1,000 people had gathered Monday in the city's Mars Field park for a protest that was part of a nationwide wave of demonstrations.

Russian liberal opposition leader and anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny has called his supporters to hold a protest in Tverskaya Street, which leads to the Kremlin, instead of the authorized by Moscow officials Sakharov avenue. Changing the location has provoked clashes with the police

Russian police pat down a anti-corruption protester in in Tverskaya Street, which leads to the Kremlin, during a rally on Monday

Shortly after the rally began on Monday, police started detaining anti-Kremlin protesters in Moscow's central Pushkin Square

Authorities in Moscow, where the largest protest is likely to be held, started detaining demonstrators shortly after the protests began. Pictured above, riot police detain Russian opposition figure Ilya Yashin during the protest

Yashin gives a peace sign to riot police and demonstrators at the anti-corruption rally as he's detained by police

A man waves Russian Flag as he sits on top of a cover of an entrance during an unauthorized opposition rally in Mosco

Officers hold detainees down by their heads and shoulders as they're arrested in Moscow on Monday

After the detentions, the protest appeared to be breaking up, but some demonstrators remained.

In Vladivostok, the country's Pacific capital seven time zones east of of Moscow, 22 were held.

Local media said roughly 3,000 people protested in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk.

Smaller rallies also gathered in Krasnoyarsk, Kazan, Tomsk, Vladivostok and many other cities.

Schoolchildren and students in Russia have been warned that they could face legal problems if they attend Navalny protests.

In March, Navalny, who is mounting a long-shot bid to unseat Putin in a presidential election next year, organized a similar protest in which thousands took to the streets across Russia.

Those protests were the largest since a wave of anti-Kremlin demonstrations in 2012 and resulted in over 1,000 arrests, putting rare domestic pressure on Putin, who is expected to run for and win re-election next year.

Russian police officers detain participants of an unauthorized anti-corruption rally at the Marsovo Field on Russia Day in central St. Petersburg

Russian police officers detain a participant as they confront others in Moscow's city centre on Monday

Riot police clash with protesters as others look on during an anti-corruption protest in Moscow

Russian police detain a man as others look on in Moscow amid hundreds of other arrests on Monday

There were anti-Putin rallies in more than 180 towns and cities including Moscow (pictured above) and Russia's Pacific capital Vladivostok, where 22 were detained

Riot police detain a man dressed in a t-shirt depicting opposition leader Alexei Navalny, during the protests on Monday

Around 1,000 protesters started to move from the square towards the Kremlin, but their path was blocked by police barriers put in place as part of a festival of historical costumes on Tverskaya Street, Moscow's central thoroughfare

A Reuters journalist at the scene saw people detained by police, who were using loud hailers to tell them to disperse

The scale of the protests will show if Navalny, who is mounting a long-shot bid to unseat Putin in a presidential election next year, can build on the success of a similar event in March, in which thousands took to the streets across Russia

Authorities in Moscow, where the largest protest is likely to be held on Monday, had authorized a venue away from the city center ahead of the rally but arrests came after the protest was moved to an unauthorized location.

Navalny said late on Sunday that the authorities had pressured firms into refusing to supply him and his allies with sound and video equipment, a move he said was designed to humiliate protesters.

For that reason, he said he was unilaterally switching the venue to Tverskaya Street, Moscow's main avenue near the Kremlin.

The police branded his move 'a threat to public order', as a festival planned for Tverskay had turned the area into a pedestrian zone by actors re-enacting periods of Russian history with props such as World War Two jeeps and artillery guns.

Ahead of the protests, Reuters reporters saw a heavy advance police presence on and around the avenue with bus loads of riot police parked nearby, side roads blocked, and airport-style metal detectors installed at pinch points.

Polls suggest Navalny has scant chance of unseating Putin, who enjoys high ratings. It is unclear too if the Kremlin will even let Navalny run for the presidency.

Hundreds of police were on standby in central Moscow on Monday to break up the planned mass protest. Monday is Russia Day, a public holiday, a factor that may boost turnout

Moscow authorities had agreed to a location for a protest rally in the capital, but Navalny at the last minute called changing it to one of Moscow's main thoroughfares, citing interference in building a stage at the agreed-upon rally site. Pictured above, riot police detain a man covered with Russian national flag during an anti-corruption protest organised by Navalny

After the change, Moscow police warned that 'any provocative actions from the protesters' side will be considered a threat to public order and will be immediately suppressed'. Pictured above, riot police detain a man covered with Russian national flag during an anti-corruption protest organised by Navalny

Navalny said late on Sunday that the authorities had pressured firms into refusing to supply him and his allies with sound and video equipment, a move he said was designed to humiliate protesters. Pictured above, riot police detain a man during an anti-corruption protest organised by Navalny

The Navalny-led protest threatened a festival planned for Tverskaya which has already been turned into a pedestrian zone by actors re-enacting periods of Russian history with props such as World War Two jeeps and artillery guns. Pictured above, Interior Ministry soldiers walk past the Manezh Square with the Kremlin at the background in Moscow

But the 41-year-old lawyer turned political street campaigner hopes anger over corruption may boost his support.

A video he made accusing Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, a Putin ally, of living far beyond his means has garnered over 22 million online views to date.

Medvedev said Navalny's allegations were politically motivated 'nonsense' and called him a charlatan.

Navalny, who had a green liquid thrown in his face in April, robbing him of some of his sight, said hundreds of people had attended demonstrations in Russia's Far East on Monday morning.

In January, he told the BBC that he believed that Russian officials had used $50billion of government funds a year in corrupt dealings.

He said that Putin is 'the Tsar of corruption'.

He's the basement of corruption,' he added. 'He's personally involved in the corruption and he's encouraging our officials in corruption because it's his way of ruling the country.'

'I want changes,' wrote Navalny in a blog post last week. 'I want to live in a modern democratic state and I want our taxes to be converted into roads, schools and hospitals, not into yachts, palaces and vineyards.'
Ivor Gifford was caught by online vigilantes after trying to meet an 11-year-old girl for sex

A 92-year-old man who became Britain's oldest paedophile to be caught by online vigilantes after trying to meet a girl for sex was today jailed for 18 months.

RAF veteran Ivor Gifford sent explicit messages to two fake profiles, purporting to be a 12-year-old girl called Jodie and an 11-year-old named Jessie.

Newport Crown Court heard the pensioner was 'well-versed' in chatrooms, using emojis and language to attract and groom young girls.

He was caught by a vigilante group called The Hunted One after arranging to meet Jessie at Llanhilleth, near his home in Abertillery, South Wales.

Gifford sent both Jodie and Jessie an explicit image, asking the girl he believed to be 11 to 'dress sexy' when she visited to 'tempt' him.

A jury convicted him of two charges of attempting to incite a child aged under 13 to engage in sexual activity and attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming.

Judge Daniel Williams jailed former businessman Gifford, who sat next to his barrister in a wheelchair for proceedings, for 18 months.

'You were on the internet looking for young girls and looking for young girls to engage in sexual activity,' the judge told Gifford.

'You were well-versed in using chat sites and very adept at using language and emojis to keep what you believed to be young girls engaged in conversations with you.

'You intended to send them images of your penis. The communications went on for some time. You are 92 years of age.

'That age is reflected in your physical health, which is far from good, but you are mentally well and mentally able to communicate with young girls.'

The judge said Gifford exchanged messages with Jodie, who he believed to be 12, on social messaging site Waplog between September 26 and December 2 last year.

'Yours were often sexual in nature - you telling Jodie that she was gorgeous, asking if she liked making love, asking specifically 'do you want sex, love?',' the judge told Gifford.

'You later said 'I feel I want to have sex with you but keep it a secret'. You asked her to send nude photographs.'

Gifford (pictured) was caught by vigilante group The Hunted One after arranging to meet a girl

When Jodie told Gifford her camera was broken, he graphically described sexual intercourse and told her how to perform a sexual act, the court heard.

'You carried on asking for what you referred to as a 'naughty photo',' the judge said. 'You said you would love to have her at your house for the day.'

The second fake Waplog profile, contacted by Gifford between October 30 and December 3, purported to be an 11-year-old girl named Jessie.

'You asked her if she was looking for sex,' the judge told Gifford. 'You said how your messaging could lead to you taking her virginity.

'You arranged for Jessie to travel to Llanhilleth where you would meet her.

'You told her you would like her to be your secret lover. In relation to that meeting, you asked this 11-year-old girl to dress sexy for you to tempt you.'

Gifford, who had no previous convictions, sent an explicit image to the profile and travelled by taxi to meet Jessie from the station.

When he arrived, he realised he had been set up and was confronted by members of The Hunted One, before being arrested.

He arrange to meet 'Jessie' at Llanhilleth (pictured), near his home in Abertillery, South Wales

Representing Gifford, Jeffrey Jones said his client had suffered a heart attack and a stroke, and had 'very limited' mobility.

'He is very advanced in life,' Mr Jones said. 'He is in a state of shock at the publicity of the matter and the loss of his good name.

'He utters that the last thing he wants to do is bother on the internet again.'

Mr Jones said Gifford has been 'ostracised' from family and friends since being taken into custody following his arrest in December.

Detective Constable Mark Price, of Gwent Police, said: 'Throughout this trial, Ivor Gifford has been shown to be an online groomer and the sentence passed by the courts today reflects how seriously Gwent Police and the criminal justice system take these offences.

'We rely on the assistance of the public in preventing and detecting crime. Working closely with communities is a vital way in which we gain information and their active engagement in fighting crime helps us to do our job.

'Cases involving child sex abuse are extremely serious and have a huge emotional impact not only on the victims but on whole families and the communities in which they take place.

'We understand the desire to protect children and we ask any member of the public who has information about child sexual abuse, online or otherwise, to contact the police so we can investigate and bring people to justice.'
West Ham boss David Sullivan has promised to find a flat for the homeless hero of the Manchester terror blast.

Hammers co-chairman David Sullivan and his son have offered to pay rent on a home for rough sleeper Stephen Jones, after being touched by his courage on the night of the attack at the Manchester Arena.

Mr Jones received worldwide praise after he ran to help injured victims during the Ariana Grande concert and even pulled nails from children's faces.

Stephen Jones (pictured back on the streets) received worldwide praise after he ran to help victims at the Manchester Arena

Mr Jones (pictured today) covers himself in a sleeping bag on a rainy Manchester afternoon

The 35-year-old (pictured) has been pictured sleeping rough outside a bank in central Manchester, just three weeks after his heroics

Dave Sullivan Jnr told the Sun: 'I have spoken to Steven today and he is not homeless, but currently staying in a hotel which we are paying for.

'Steve has been in a hotel for a little while whilst we wait for him to choose his accommodation.

'We aim to have a tenancy agreement in place by the end of the week, and I am going up to Manchester to visit him on 1 July.'

Salman Abedi killed 22 people and injured 119 when he detonated a nail bomb at the Arena.

Mr Jones, who had been sleeping nearby, recalled watching in horror as children covered in blood began pouring out of the arena, leaving behind 'lifeless' bodies.

In the fallout of May 22, the son of millionaire businessman David Sullivan tweeted: 'Me and dad want to rent the homeless man in Manchester a house for 6 months.

'If anyone can help us get in touch much much appreciated. Such a selfless act needs rewarding. Please tag anyone who can help us.'

Just a few hours later, the pair managed to successfully track Mr Jones down with the help of a nearby homeless centre.

Dave Jnr wrote: 'WE HAVE FOUND STEVE! Shows the power for good social media has. Thank you to all those involved, you have helped change a man's life.'

Mr Jones, (speaking immediately after the attack) recalled watching in horror as children covered in blood began pouring out of the arena, leaving behind 'lifeless' bodies

West Ham co-chairman David Sullivan (pictured) and his son even offered to pay rent on a house for him for the next six months to 'help him get on his feet'

Mr Jones is pictured visiting one of the many memorial sites in and around Manchester following the attack

In the fallout of May 22, the son of millionaire businessman David Sullivan reached out to find Mr Jones and thank him

Speaking to MailOnline, Mr Jones said: 'I'm overwhelmed by the support and help, and that people have been setting up money for me. It's incredible.

'I've just been on Skype to the West Ham guy, he was in his Bentley in London.

'We've been having a chat and stuff. He said that he would pay me for six months on a place here, if I find a private landlord.

'Next season when United play West Ham or City he's going to have me as his guest of honour in his box or fly me down to London to watch it there.

'I want to stay here in Manchester. I've had lot of calls from people who have set pages up for me get me own place.

I've got no family but my nana. She had a male friend who I want to stay near and with. This is why we love Manchester the support that everyone gives. It's incredible.'
Police detective James Hansmann, 62, died after he took a hard landing while skydiving in Ellington, Connecticut

An off-duty Massachusetts police detective has died after a parachuting accident on Sunday.

James Hansmann, 62, was reported seriously hurt around 11.30am while he was parachuting in Ellington, Connecticut.

The detective lieutenant had taken a hard landing at a skydiving drop zone at 75 Meadow Brook Road in Ellington, near the Ellington airport.

He was a longtime member of the skydiving club Connecticut Parachutist Inc, and had jumped out of the airplane alone on Sunday.

Hansmann was treated at the scene, then flown to Hartford Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

Police say Hansmann's parachute was functioning properly, and there is no criminal aspect to his death.

Hansmann had been with the Leyden Police Department in Franklin County, Massachusetts, since 2003.

Leyden Police Chief Daniel Galvis says the department is devastated by the loss.

'He was a huge presence in this department and hes really going to be sorely missed,' Galvis said.

Hansmann was engaged to be married and left behind one son and three daughters, according to WWLP.com.

Hansmann was a longtime member of the skydiving club Connecticut Parachutist Inc, which operates near the airport in Ellington, pictured
Advertisement

The sensational story of a casino owner who 'had more fun that most would in ten lifetimes' has been revealed in an illuminating biography.

Willie Martello and his seven brothers, who grew up in California, purchased a hotel in the small town of Searchlight, in Clark County, Nevada, in 1946 and converted it into the 'El Rey Club'.

Black and white images show the casino in its heyday after the Second World War. Mr Martello is seen posing next to his stylish car and inside his glamorous club with a host of women and celebrities.

The casino and one-time brothel hosted many film stars from Hollywood during its prime and launched the career of Francis Ford Coppola, who directed and shot his first film there.

But the rapid rise of nearby Las Vegas meant the El Rey club was virtually forgotten, and for years was only remembered as the seedy venue where Senator Harry Reid learned to swim in the outdoor pool.

Willie Martello pictured in his El Rey club that he converted into a casino in Searchlight

After a horrific blaze destroyed Willie Martellos El Rey Club in 1962, fifty years would pass before anyone knew of how that casino and one-time brothel influenced Las Vegas casinos

A performer does the limbo during a Cinco de Mayo party at the El Rey Club in 1961

Willie Martello (pictured right) apparently 'loved more women, drank more alcohol, and had more fun than most would in ten lifetimes'

His efforts to transform Searchlight into a resort city were doomed by the rapid rise of Las Vegas. Hollywood actress Diane McBain (right) is seen dealing cards to fellow star Sherry Jackson during a game of Blackjack. Willie is supervising

The book 'King of Casinos' was written by author and entertainer Andy Martello. He wrote: 'Willie loved more women, drank more alcohol, and had more fun than most would in ten lifetimes.'

After the Second World War, Searchlight was a ghost town.

Opening of the casino revitalized the area and brought an estimated five-million-dollars a year to the area through Willie's use of prostitutes, plane rides, wild burros and celebrities.

However it was burnt to the ground in 1962 by a horrific blaze.

But the author explained there was more to Willie than his heavy-drinking and womanizing ways.

He said: 'That same man used to go into Las Vegas during the Christmas season, find kids who needed food and toys, and buy them everything they need.

A group of women are seen posing on a Clark County, Nevada, sheriff's car during the casion's heyday. Pictured are (back left to right) Virginia Gordon, Sandi Silver (front left to right) Marli Renfro, Linda 'Ginger' Gibson and Pat 'Patti' Brooks

A junket from Hollywood to Searchlight, March 1961. Many Hollywood performers including, Mousey Garner (centre, front row), Diane McBain (right of Garner), Sherry Jackson (next to the bus driver), Sean Flynn (left of Jackson and Wille Martello (right of McBain) visit the El Rey Club

Willie Martello bought the casino in the town of Searchlight (pictured) after World War Two

The casino man was described as a womanizer in the new book written about his colourful life

The Martello brothers at the original El Rey club in Southgate (pictured left to right: Willie, Buddy, Joe and Tony)

Martello's new club offered gourmet meals, casino table fames and slot machines, live nightly entertainment, and dancing

He also had an airstrip built just south of town, and sponsored junket flights from California to bring in customers

During his time in Searchlight, the El Rey Resort was the place to stop, relax, have a meal, and enjoy the entertainment

The club was burnt to the ground in 1962 after struggling to compete with the rise of Las Vegas

'He gave jobs to people down on their luck and brought major amenities to the town of Searchlight, Nevada, rivaling nearby Las Vegas for tourism and gaming dollars.

'When the town lost their only phone lines he utilised carrier pigeons to communicate with the outside world, as well as embarrass Clark County into running new phone lines to the town. He was quite a character.'

Unfortunately his efforts to transform Searchlight into a resort city were doomed by the rapid rise of Las Vegas.

If it hadn't been for the growth in nearby Sin City, author Martello believes Willie would be cemented in the annals of gambling history.

He wrote: 'Willie Martello should easily be as famous as Howard Hughes or Steve Wynn is today thank to all of the innovations and ideas he brought to the Las Vegas gambling industry. Yet few know his name. It was my intention to change that.'

Willie's poodles, Peppi and Pierre, perch on the seats surrounding the roulette tables inside the casino

A woman named Estelle stands in front of the casino's coffee and gift shop

Willie and another unnamed man are seen discussing plans for a runway that operated at the casino

Martello pictured next to a stylish car in the days when he owned the casino in Searchlight
In April the Trump administration released the presidents tax-reform proposal (see: Explainer: What you should know about President Trumps tax reform plan). The plan was merely an outline and was short on details. Republicans in Congress, though, have released proposals that include three major policy changes: (1) increasing the value of the standard deduction to $11,000 for individuals and $22,000 for married couples, (2) extending the charitable tax deduction to non-itemizers, and (3) decreasing the highest marginal tax rate to 35 percent.

Because changes to tax policy affects charitable and religious giving, the Indiana University Lily Family School of Philanthropy conducted a study to estimate the impact of the proposed 2014 Tax Reform Act.

This study examined the effects of proposed policy changes on charitable contributions and government tax revenue, and examined various combinations of three major policy changes. Some key findings from the study include:

1. The current proposals, which include an increase in the standard deduction and a decrease in the top marginal tax rate, would have a negative effect on charitable giving with giving decreasing between $4.9 and $13.1 billion (-1.7 percent to -4.6 percent). 2. Expanding the charitable deduction to non-itemizers, as a stand-alone provision, increases total giving by between 1.3 percent and 4.3 percent and has a negligible effect on total tax revenue (decrease by 0.41 percent to 0.47 percent). 3. Combined with current tax reform proposals, expanding the charitable deduction to nonitemizers more than offsets the charitable giving lost by other tax reform proposals and increases giving by 0.4 percent to 1.7 percent. Increasing the standard deduction has a negative effect on charitable giving for both religious congregations and other charities but a larger negative effect on giving to congregations than on giving to other charities. 4. All policies proposed have a negative effect on federal tax revenue: expanding the charitable deduction to non-itemizers alone has the smallest effect on tax revenue decreasing revenue by .4 percent to .5 percent and all three proposals combined have the largest effect on tax revenue decreasing revenue by an estimated 3.8 percent.

Read more . . .
A driver and passenger both overdosed in a moving SUV in Ohio on Sunday.

The pair were travelling in the front of a blue Chrysler Pacifica SUV in Shelby, Ohio, when they veered off the road at around 5.30pm.

Another motorist watched as the car ventured off into a ditch with both people inside slumped over in their seats.

A driver and passenger both overdosed in a moving SUV at this intersection in the town of Shelby in Ohio on Sunday afternoon

Emergency responders treated the pair with naxolone at the scene and they were both taken to hospital.

Their conditions were not known on Monday morning.

Ohio Highway Patrol could not confirm which drug the pair had taken as deputies waited for the results of hospital tests.

Trooper Ryan Davenport described how another motorist watched it unfold.

'A passer-by looked at them, saw that they looked hunched over inside the vehicle.

'Then when they passed the vehicle, they saw the vehicle start drifting into the lane, and it drifted off the road,' he told The Mansfield News Journal.

No charges have been brought against either the passenger or driver but the incident remains under investigation.
The fiancee of a pilot who was killed in a tragic plane crash has said her future is bleak and her dreams are 'up in smoke' as she is left to raise their son on her own.

Terri Hutchinson's fiancee Martin Scott, 48, was one of three people killed when their Rossair Cessna plane crashed in rural South Australia.

Wreckage of the plane was found about 7.10pm on May 31, less than three kilometres from the Renmark aerodrome where it took off about 4pm.

Also on board were inductee pilot Paul Daw, 65, and safety officer Stephen Guerin, 56, who were all killed instantly.

Ms Hutchinson said she, her fiancee and their nine-year-old son Andy were happier than ever just before he was cruelly taken away.

Terri Hutchinson (right), whose fiancee who was killed in a tragic plane crash, has said her future is bleak and dreams 'up in smoke' as she is left to raise nine-year-old son Andy (left) on her own

Terri Hutchinson's fiancee Martin Scott (pictured), 48, was one of three people killed when their Rossair Cessna plane crashed in rural South Australia

Wreckage of the plane was found about 7.10pm on May 31, less than three kilometres from the Renmark aerodrome where it took off about 4pm

'When that plane came crashing down, my whole world crashed down with it,' Ms Hutchinson told 9 News.

'I feel quite bleak about the future. I've got a nine-year-old boy to raise without his daddy. And it makes me feel very sad that all our plans and dreams, just up in smoke.'

The pair were set to be married in September after Mr Scott proposed with a music box inside a Christmas cracker.

Ms Hutchinson opened the cracker on Christmas Day and played the music box which was set to the tune of 'here comes the bride'.

She said Mr Scott was a talented pilot who pursued a career in aviation after completing two masters degrees.

'His absolute passion for aviation just took over and he was a truly gifted pilot,' she told 9 News.

Ms Hutchinson said she, her fiancee and their nine-year-old son Andy were happier than ever just before he was cruelly taken away

Despite his father's tragic death, Andy (right) said he still wants to be a pilot when he is older

Rossair's chief pilot Martin Scott, 48, was killed when his plane crashed near Renmark, SA

In 2013, Mr Scott made a successful emergency landing in Western Australia's Kimberley region after the engine cut out on the helicopter he was flying while carrying five people.

Despite his father's tragic death, Andy said he still wants to be a pilot when he is older.

'Whatever happens, I still want to be a pilot ... Even if I have a billion plane crashes, I won't stop,' Andy said.

Rossair operations remain indefinitely on-hold as a safety measure, including 20 charter flights every week.

At the time of the crash, Mr Daw was being assessed by Mr Scott to check he knew the charter company's procedures as part of his induction.

Paul Daw (pictured), 65, was flying the plane as part of a routine crew check flight as part of his induction into charter company Rossair

Rossair said it was the first fatal incident for the 50-year-old company, which flies more than 50 flights a week servicing FIFO mining contracts

Behind them was Civil Aviation Safety Authority officer Mr Guerin who was observing as part of CASA's safety duties.

The plane was fitted with dual controls allowing Mr Scott to take over from Mr Daw if necessary.

The aircraft struck trouble about 20 minutes after departing the Renmark Aerodrome, north-east of Adelaide, at 4.10pm.

The 37-year-old plane's emergency beacon was activated just after 4.30pm.

It is the worst plane crash in SA since eight people on board a Whyalla Airlines flight died when it crashed into the Spencer Gulf on May 31, 2000.

Mr Daw was an experienced pilot who was due to retire as chief pilot for the Bruce Hartwig Flying School in Adelaide on Friday, and take up a casual flying role with Rossair.

Mr Scott (pictured) was assessing Mr Daw to check he knew the charter company's procedures as part of his induction, when he was killed

The plane's wreckage was found less than three kilometres from the Renmark Aerodrome in South Australia

'Typical of Paul, at 65 he had no intention of retiring from being a pilot, so he was working with Rossair to continue his unrelenting passion for all things aviation,' the company said.

'Paul was a very well-known, highly experienced and respected senior pilot. We will all miss our dear friend and valued colleague. May he rest in peace.'

Mr Daw's friend Maikha Ly wrote a lengthy tribute to the veteran pilot, praising him as a 'legend, a great leader' who flew more than 70 types of aircraft over 50 years.

'A great part of his career was also in Training and Checking, imparting his decades of knowledge, experience and wisdom to many a young fledgling pilot,' he said.

Rossair said it was the first fatal incident for the 50-year-old company, which flies more than 50 flights a week servicing FIFO mining contracts.
An aspiring rugby league player who once harboured dreams of making it in the NRL faces a series of charges following his arrest after a string of assaults in Sydney's north over the weekend.

Dean McGlinchey has also been accused of the attempted kidnapping of a woman last week in Burwood after a police officer linked his car to the vehicle used in the abduction attempt.

During his alleged crime spree on Sunday that spanned several suburbs, the 26-year-old is accused of using a bar stool to bash a 54-year-old patron unconscious in a Dee Why bar.

Scroll down for video

Dean McGlinchey has been charged after a series of incidents over the last week including attempting to kidnap a Taiwanese woman by bundling her in his car

McGlinchey, who used to be on the books of Canterbury Bulldogs, has been accused of belting a man across the face with a bar stool on Sunday

Arresting officers on Sunday managed to link his blue Holden Captiva to the abduction case last week after recognising the licence plate

The victim was rushed to Royal North Shore Hospital where he received surgery for facial lacerations as well as losing a tooth.

McGlinchey was accompanied by his father Michael McGlinchey, 57, as the pair walked into the Time and Tide Hotel around 1pm on Sunday afternoon following a previous attack on two men in Terrey Hills just an hour earlier,The Daily Telegraph reports.

One witness at the Terrey Hills Tavern said that after aggressive behaviour that included 'squaring off' with other patrons, they were asked to leave.

On leaving the premises, witnesses alleged one of the men relieved himself on a car in the parking lot and as the owner objected, he too was allegedly attacked.

McGlinchey Jnr has been accussed of assaulting a hotel manager.

The two men were arrested in their car near Frenchs Forrest shortly after the alleged Dee Why attack, as police confirm McGlinchey Jnr was drunk behind the wheel.

On arrest, the police noticed the number plate matched the one of a blue Holden Captiva wanted for the attempted kidnapping of a Taiwanese woman on June 4.

The Time and Tide Hotel in Dee Why where it is alleged Dean McGlinchey bashed a patron of the bar over the head with a bar stool at around 1pm on Sunday afternoon

Police obtain the alleged bar stool that was used to knock a man unconscious during Dean McGlinchey's alleged crime spree on Sunday

One witness at the Terrey Hills Tavern (pictured) said that after aggressive behaviour that included 'squaring off' with other patrons, they were asked to leave

McGlinchey was subsequently questioned and charged with the failed kidnapping in Burwood, in Sydney's inner-west.

Police said the woman, 27, had made attempts to walk around him, however McGlinchey Jnr grabbed her, punched her in the face, breaking her glasses, and flung her in the boot of his car.

After witnesses stopped and helped her, McGlinchey Jnr allegedly drove off with the woman pulled to safety.

McGlinchey Jnr's case was postponed to Central Local Court on Thursday after failing to appear at Parramatta Local Court on Monday as his matter was heard.

He faces six charges, including attempted kidnapping, affray, assault and low-range drink driving.

McGlinchey Jnr was once a promising rugby league player who represented Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs reserves in 2011, after promotion from their under-20s side.

McGlinchey Snr also faced a string of charges yesterday including wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Police do not suspect the 57-year-old of having any involvement in the attempted abduction.

He was granted strict conditional bail to appear before Manly Local Court on June 21.

The 27-year-old man has also been charged with an attempted kidnapping in a Burwood street (pictured)
A Florida couple found dead near their still-running SUV with their three young children in the backseat died of an accidental fentanyl overdose, a medical examiner's report says.

Daniel and Heather Kelsey were found about 2am on New Year's Eve alongside Interstate 4 near DeLand, Florida when police found their car parked with its hazard lights flashing.

The couple's three boys - aged two, one and an infant - were inside the family's SUV, strapped into their car seats watching a movie.

An autopsy for Daniel, 32, and Heather Kelsey, 30, shows they died of an accidental fentanyl overdose after they were found near their SUV with their three children in the back in January

The medical examiner's toxicology results took five months and said the potent synthetic opioid fentanyl was the cause of death.

The Volusia County Sheriff's Office says the couple's autopsies showed no foul play or signs of trauma in the deaths of Daniel, 32, and Heather, 30.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has said rising opioid overdoses nationwide are posing an accidental overdose threat to officers and other first responders because even small amounts of the drug can be fatal.

Officers are being advised to wear gloves and other protection when collecting evidence during investigations.

Daniel and his wife were found about 2am on New Year's Eve alongside Interstate 4 near DeLand, Florida when police found their car parked with its hazard lights flashing

The couple's three boys - aged two, one and an infant - were inside the family's SUV, strapped into their car seats watching a movie

Daniel and Heather, who were married for six years, were returning to their home in Ormond Beach when their SUV came to a stop on the shoulder of the interstate.

Police found the couple unconscious outside their car and were pronounced dead not long after emergency crews arrived on the scene.

Their three young boys were found alive and unharmed in the back of the vehicle.

The couple's children are now being cared for by relatives, according to the sheriff's office.
Donald Trump has set Reince Priebus a deadline of July 4 to 'clean up' the White House - or else.

The president is said to have dished out the ultimatum to his chief of staff almost immediately after returning to Washington from his first international trip last month.

Trump is said to have 'berated' Priebus about White House 'dysfunction' in the Oval Office in front of former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and deputy campaign manager David Bossie.

'I'm giving you until July 4,' Trump said, according to Politico, before adding he could bring Lewandowski and Bossie into the fold after the Independence Day deadline.

Donald Trump has reportedly told Reince Priebus he could be fired if he does not clean up White House 'dysfunction' before July 4. Trump is pictured at the White House on June 9

Priebus (pictured at the White House on June 5) was reportedly torn into by Trump shortly after the president returned from his first overseas trip last month

'I don't want them to come into this mess. If I'm going to clean house, they will come in as fresh blood.'

It has previously been reported Trump has been considering the idea of reappointing both Lewandowski - who was charged with battery for attacking a reporter during the campaign last year - and Bossie.

Bossie is rumored to be in the running to return as deputy chief of staff, while Lewandowski is said to be in the frame for a position as senior adviser.

The White House was quick to shoot down the report on Sunday, with Sean Spicer telling Politico: 'Whoever is saying that is either a liar or out of the loop.'

Trump is reportedly considering rehiring Corey Lewandowski (pictured during an interview with GMA last week) after the July 4 deadline given to Priebus

The website claimed its report was based on conversations with 'two administration officials and three outside advisers familiar with the matter.'

Trump's reported Independence Day deadline for Priebus lines up with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's own deadline for pushing the Republican health care bill through.

The bill failed in its first attempt, for which Priebus reportedly took most of the blame.

But as dire as the situation sounds for the chief of staff, CBS News pointed out this is hardly the first time Priebus has reportedly been just days away from the unemployment line.

'There have been no shortage of stories suggesting that Priebus and others in the White House are close to being fired, and yet Priebus has held onto his job,' the network reports.
The jury has retired to consider their verdict after a day of breathtaking pace in Montgomery County Courthouse in which closing statements were given and the jury instructed after the defense mounted a case that lasted just six minutes.

Judge ONeill read his instructions advising the jurors that their task was one of considerable importance.

He told them to apply the law as Ive given you [it] and the facts as you find them. Emotion, he reminded them had no place in their deliberations, which must be impartial without sympathy, bias or concern of penalty should the verdict, be guilty.

Cosby sat in solemn contemplation as ONeill spoke. With all the show - all the argument, evidence and activity of the trial - now over all that is left between him and a verdict is time.

He stroked his chin, placed his hand partially across his face and then he simply listened as Judge ONeill read.

He reminded them that they had to judge the credibility of witnesses and they should call upon their common sense as men and women of the world.

The burden was on the Commonwealth to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt he said - not beyond all doubt. They did not have to prove it as a mathematical certainty. And whatever the jury decide their verdict must be unanimous.

Looking happy-go-lucky Camille and Bill Cosby arrive at the Norristown, Pa courthouse. But she skipped out before the prosecution began its closing argument

Andrea Constand arrives at court Tuesday just before the prosecution present it's closing arguments

Earlier in the day Brian McMonagle made an impassioned plea in the closing arguments for the defense, hammering home the inconsistencies of Andrea Constands accounts, branding her a stone cold liar who had an affair with Bill Cosby then lied when it ran into the ground.

In the afternoon the tables turned and District Attorney Kevin Steele characterized Cosby as a calculating sexual predator who ingratiated his way into Constands trust then betrayed her in the worst possible way by drugging and sexually assaulting her.

Camille Cosby, who arrived at court all smiles with her husband this morning, did not stay for the prosecutor's skewering of Cosby in the afternoon.

The judge delivered his instructions to the jury, who will now deliberate on whether or not Cosby is guilty in the criminal case. Dinner is being brought in for the sequestered jurors and the judge said they'll go until 'a reasonable time' tonight.

At 7.35pm the jury were back in Courtroom A having returned with a question given to the judge at 7.13pm.

ONeill read: Can we see from Mr Cs testimony the part where he called the pills his friends we need to see the whole context?

By way of answer ONeill read the relevant section of Cosbys deposition and the preceding and following paragraphs when he spoke about the night of the alleged incident and giving Andrea the pills.

He said: She sat with her back to the kitchen well which is the door the door wallour conv at that time was about concentration was about I dont remember that clearly what it was fully about.

But we talked and there was talk of tension yes about relaxation and Andrea trying to learn to relax the shoulders the head etc.

And I went upstairs and went into my pack and broke one in half and took another half and brought them down and said to her Your friends. I have three friends for you to make you relax.

So you brought two and a half pills? he was asked.

Cosby answered, Broke one in half and another half which would be one and a half.

When asked why he would break the pills he said because they were long.

Head to head: Cosby's attorney Brian McMonagle wnt up against DA Kevin Steele in final arguments in sex assault trial today

DA Steele's closing statement lasted two and a half hours.

Earlier Cosbys wife Camille had listened to the defenses closing statements. She was not in court to hear the prosecutions but Constand and her mother watched as Steele urged the jury to convict the one-time actor.

And, though Cosby did not take the stand, Steele urged them to convict on the strength of his own words when questioned by police and later by lawyers in sworn testimony in 2005 and 2006.

In an emotive performance Steele reminded jurors of the words on which the prosecution opened their case, words uttered by Cosby when asked about the night of the alleged incident.

Your friends, I have three friends for you to make you relax, he said referring to what Cosby admitted he said on offering Constand the three blue pills which he led her to believe were herbal.

Why? Why does he say this to Andrea Constand? he asked them.

These will help you relax? She asked him are they natural are they herbal? And he nodded yes with his head and said put em down.

Who says that? Who says something like that when theyre in that situation other than he knew exactly what was going to happen with these and that was the plan

They didnt take the edge off. They put her out.

Steele projected excerpts from various statements onto a screen in the courtroom and said they were damning proof of Cosbys guilt.

Cosby scandal timeline 2002: Basketball coach Andrea Constand meets Bill Cosby March 2004: Constand alleges Cosby gave her 'blue pills to help her relax' at his home. Cosby insists the sex was consensual January 2005: Constand's mother calls Cosby to confront him about he alleged assault January 26, 2005: Cosby is interviewed with his lawyer about the allegations by police on Pennsylvania February 2005: DA decides against prosecuting Cosby for the assault March 2005: Constand takes a civil case against Cosby July 2006: Civil case settled July 2015: Prosecutors reopen Constand case as it was still within the statute of limitations June 2017: Cosby goes on trial accused of sexual assault Advertisement

When investigators asked Cosby if he had had sexual intercourse with Constand, Steele pointed out Cosby responded: No never asleep or awake.

NEVER ASLEEP the usually softly spoken prosecutor bellowed suddenly. That should strike you, he told the jury.

If you have sexual relations with someone when theyre out when theyre unconscious thats a crime. Because that person isnt consenting to what that person is doing. Theyre not capable of it.

A womans got a right. She can say NO. But by doing what he did on that night he took away that ability. He took that from Andrea Constand.

He gave her no choice in that matter. Why? Because of what he wanted. 

Steele also insisted that Cosby revealed his own sense of wrongdoing in the telephone conversation he had with Constand and her mother in which he apologized.

He said: He talks to Gianna Constand and he tells her Im a sick man.

Reading aloud from Cosbys sworn statement Steele said:

And Im apologizing because Im thinking this is a dirty old man with a young girl I apologized I said to the mother it was digital penetration

Appealing to the jury Steele said: Ladies and gentleman he has told you what he has done and there are a number of factors as to what he did afterwards that goes to the consciousness of his guilt. If he didnt do anything wrong why apologize?

Youre apologizing because you ingratiated yourself into this young womans life. You treated her well, you paid her attention and then you drugged her and did what you wanted to.

Cosby also told detectives: And also to be perfectly frank Im thinking and praying that nobody is recording me.

Thats very telling, Steele noted. Why you should be asking? Why are you thinking and praying that nobody is recording you? If youve done nothing wrong why are you worried?

He once again played the recording of a follow up conversation between Cosby and Constands mother Gianna in which he offered to pay from Constands education or help her get into sports broadcasting if that was something that still interested her.

And he reminded the court that Cosby had told lawyers that he planned to write a check about which his wife would know nothing, to get things back on track.

Aware of his guilt, Steele, suggested that Cosby was exhibiting just the behavior about which Forensic Psychologist Dr Veronique Valliere had spoken when sharing her expertise on victims and perpetrators of sexual assault. He was trying to make amends, Steele said.

And he was not behaving like an innocent man. When Mrs Constand asked Cosby if he was really going to write down what he gave her daughter and mail it as promised. He responded I dont think soI wouldnt even worry about that..

Why not just say it? Steele asked the jury. His fear of being recorded and refusal to give Mrs Constand a straight answer were, Steele contended, both evidence of Cosbys guilt.

Yet Cosby told investigators that giving Constand the pills without telling her what they were was something with which he felt comfortable with.

Bill Cosby's wife of 53 years showed up at court today for the first time in the week-old trial

Cosby is once again accompanied by his spokesman Andrew Wyatt (left) as he makes his way to trial

Comfortable, Steele said, because he had prior knowledge of this sort of behavior. The defense had sought to dismiss talk of Quaaludes about which Cosby had spoken in his 2005/2006 deposition.

But Steele insisted that the admissions Cosby made show a pattern of behavior of plying young women with drugs with the intention of having sex with them.

Again he read from Cosbys prior testimony: Question: When you got the Quaaludes was it in your mind to give them to young women you wanted to have sex with? Answer: Yes.

Seven prescriptions, Steele reminded the jury, never took them himself.

Where the defense highlighted the inconsistencies of Constands testimony the prosecution focused on the elements that never changed: that Cosby had given her three blue pills, that she had not known what they were, that her speech had become slurred, her legs rubbery, that she had panicked a little and that he had helped her to the couch. She then said she had awoken to him groping her and with his fingers inside her.

Steele told the jury, this case is pretty much as straightforward as any sexual assault case could be.

He trashed the notion put forward by the defense that Constand and Cosby were romantically involved. According to Steele the jury should be insulted by that suggestion.

He said: To suggest that this was a relationship going to another level doesnt make any sense. Its not what you doas a part of this romantic night together.

This is Jan were talking about. Youve got a 5 bedroom home, you assume there are beds in those rooms. Youre there by yourselves and you dont put her in a bedroom?

You dont help her sleep in a bedroom you put her on a sofa and you do what you do to her? And then you leave her there no blanket. No nothing, disheveled clothes up around her? Come on.

The suggestion of that that this is about the relationship together? Mheh.

Steele reiterated just how much of the evidence was corroborated and undisputed.

The defenses assertion that Constand had changed her story because of uncertainty over the date as distraction.

On Friday, excerpts from a 2005 - 2006 deposition showed Cosby apologized to Andrea's mother because he was a 'dirty old man with a young girl' but refused to tell her what drugs he had given her the night of the alleged sexual assault

Whether it was January or March he said, Theres no dispute, he pointed out, [between Constand and Cosby} that this is the incident were talking about.

Far from being a media tour Kelly Johnson was a vital witness in establishing a pattern of behavior. That pattern was that Cosby met substantially younger women through employment (Constand is 37 years his junior).

He said he then acted as a mentor, ingratiated himself into their lives and families, isolated them and administered pills on the pretext of getting them to relax, before sexually assaulted them.

Johnson and Constand had never met, he reminded the jury. But look at all the similarities in what they experienced.

Cosby is charged with three counts of Aggravated Sexual Assault: administering an intoxicant, unconsciousness (of the victim) and Lack of consent.

Having worked through all three, Steele concluded that the prosecution had proven guilt - beyond reasonable doubt - on all three.

He reminded them, The testimony of Andrea Constand standing alone, if believed by you, is sufficient proof upon which to find the defendant guilty in this case.

The testimony of the victim in a case such as this need not be supported by other evidence to sustain a conviction.

Later he reiterated the point and said: I suggest the evidence bears that outTo come before you and do this and lay it out. You dont think thats hard?

When considering the credibility of Constand as a witness he reminded the jury of her journey that has taken her across 12 years.

First through a series of 2005 interviews first by Durham Regional Police in Canada, then Cheltenham Police and Montgomery before charges were declined. Next to the unsealing of Cosbys deposition which led to the investigation being reopened and finally onto testifying in court for close to eight hours.

He accused the defense of trying to manipulate the facts and took the chance to make a dig at McMonagle for trying to play to the jurors sympathy - a violation, he said, of the oath they had taken to make their decision without sympahty or bias.

He said: For someone to get up in front of you and ask you to give somebody his life back to save his tomorrows?

To say that to engender some kind of sympathy? I suggest to you that that should be put out of your minds. Youre not here for that. I plead with you.

Cosby was someone with the means to commit this crime, he said, who went about creating the opportunity to do it and then sought to avoid the consequences.

Go back to the beginning, he said. When I told you this is a straightforward case. There is not an ability to get around what came out of the defendants mouth.

There was much speculation concerning the whereabouts of Camille Cosby diring the first week of the trial

Their only option was, he said, to find him guilty on all three counts.

Earlier today Cosby's lawyer Brian McMonagle made his case: This isnt a civil case when were talking about money. Were talking about all a mans tomorrows.

Flashing up each of Constands statements on a projection screen McMonagle pointed up the inconsistent, contradictory, untruthful accounts he claimed Constand had given investigators.

He reminded them that her initial reports had stated that the alleged assault took place when she went back to his home after a dinner attended by others in mid January 2004.

She told Canadian police this on 13 January 2005 and Cheltenham police in Pennsylvania the same on January 19. But by Jan 22 when re interviewed by Pensylvannia detectives her story had changed after, McMonagle contended, Constand had realized that telephone records from calls made on the evening of the dinner showed that she could not possibly have been drugged, unconscious and assaulted that night.

Similarly Constand at first claimed to have never been alone with Cosby prior to the night of the alleged assault. That claim unraveled on further questioning, the lawyer maintained, when Constand admitted what Cosby volunteered when he was questioned on 26 January, that there had been three intimate occasions at his home in Philadelphia.

On one she told investigators that she had sipped brandy in front of the fire and that he had unbuttoned her pants and put his hands down them.

He reminded them of the gifts both admitted to having exchanged: T-shirts, incense and bath-salts from her to him, cashmere sweaters, perfume and a hairdryer from him to her.

And he asked why, if the encounters had been unwelcome, Constand had agreed to go to Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut with him and admitted to having gone to his room following dinner. What was her purpose? he demanded of the jury.

And he pointed out that Constand had claimed to have had no further contact with Cosby after the alleged assault only for telephone records to show she called him 53 times.

Why are we running away from the truth of this relationship? he yelled. Why arent we just owning it? Its a relationship. Theyve been intimate. Just say it. Just call it. Its okay!

As far as Cosby offering to pay for Andreas education he said: When you dance outside of marriage you have to pay the band.

Glancing at Cosby he said; And you dance. His voice rising, he shouted as he pointed at Cosbys wife Camille: And she deserved better.

Earlier this morning Montgomery County Courthouse had been left stunned by the brevity of the defense, which saw them call just one witness - Detective Richard Schaffer - and ask half a dozen questions before resting its case.

Constand and her mother Gianna had quietly slipped into the room moments before the defense announced that they were resting.

On the opposite side of the courtroom Cosbys wife of more than five decades took her seat in the front row for the very first time. She has been absent from the week-long trial, a trial in which the court has heard admissions from Cosbys own sworn testimony - given in a 2005 and 2006 deposition - that the 79-year old comic and actor had stockpiled Quaaludes with the intention of giving them to young women with whom he intended to have sex.

Constand had considered Cosby, then a trustee of Temple University where she worked as Director of Basketball, a mentor and friend

The courtroom, according to Cosbys spokesman Andrew Wyatt, would not have been a comfortable place to Camille as, across five days of prosecution the court heard in explicit detail both Constand and Cosbys account of what she alleges were unwanted sexual culminating in her being drugged and raped and what he maintains was consensual.

At one point, during a closing statement that lasted close to two hours and saw McMonagle told the jury, Its sickening whats happening here. Its sickening what happens when lawyers get involved. And told them to. Stop this nonsense.

He dismissed the testimony of Kelly Johnson - the former assistant to Cosbys late agent Tom Illius at William Morris - who claimed to have been drugged by Cosby in a bungalow in the Bel Air Hotel in 1996 but told lawyers in a workers compensation deposition that the event actually took place in 1990.

She had selective amnesia for my questions, he said. Seemed to know all of the answers for their questions (the prosecution) but none of mine.

According to McMonagle Johnsons role was little more than a media tour orchestrated by Gloria Allred - a distraction and an irrelevance.

The same, he claimed, was true of Cosbys admission regarding Quaaludes - a statement made in his 2005 deposition and which the defense had sought to keep out of court.

He was talking about events in 1976, McMonagle said causing a ripple of laughter when he added, when I had a full head of hair. But there was no mention of Quaaludes with regards to Constand he said.

Were not here because of Andrea Constand. That was over in 2005, he insisted. Were here because of this nonsense. Were here because of THEM! he yelled, rounding on the ranks of benches on which members of the media were seated. Bang the drum!

He said: See it for what it is. Stop this.

Earlier he had projected the definition of reasonable doubt onto the screen and reminded the jury that there was no burden on the defense to prove innocence rather that the burden rested entirely on the prosecution to prove guilt - beyond reasonable doubt.

A reasonable doubt, he read aloud, is a doubt that would cause a reasonable careful and sensible person to hesitate before acting upon a matter of importance in his or her own affairs.

We defend innocence at all costs, he reminded them. If were not as sure as we can be. If we hesitate at the end of a trial then your verdict has to be not guilty.

If at the end of a criminal trial youve got more questions than youve got answers youve got reasonable doubt.

On Friday, the court heard Cosby admitted to giving Quaaludes to Therese Picking (pictured) who now goes by Therese Serignese, a woman he met in Las Vegas in 1976 but claimed it was with her consent

Alleged victim Victoria Valentino appeared in court Friday. The former Playboy playmate claims Cosby drugged her and a friend

Day two: Former Cosby Show actress Lili Bernard was seen arriving at Montgomery County Court Tuesday morning wearing a button which read 'We Stand In Truth' and holding a Gladiola flower, a print out of Ephesians 6, and an old photo of her and Andrea Constand

He concluded: Im going to go home and my wife is going to ask my what I did that day and Im going to tell her I spent my day trying to right a terrible wrong. What are you going to say when you go home?

The court heard Cosbys voice for the first time today as his attorneys prepared to mount their defense but only so hear him say that the decision not to testify was one he had willingly made.

Questioned by Judge Steve ONeill, before the jury were called in, Cosbys voice was strong and clear though he did not take the stand to be sworn in, instead remaining seated with his counsel.

Can you see me? he asked the judge before ONeill began.

I can see you, he was assured. But its really your words that count.

There were very few of them as Cosby appeared increasingly exasperated by ONeills repeated questions establishing that he understood the decision he had made and that he agreed to the defenses strategy.

The defense called just one witness - Detective Richard Schaffer, who led the 2005 investigation into allegations that Cosby drugged and violated at his suburban Philadelphia home.

He told jurors that Constand had visited with Cosby at an out-of-state casino and that police knew he had vision problems more than a decade ago.

The judge shot down a defense request to call a second witness, a woman who worked with Constand at Cosby's alma mater, Temple University.

McMonagle asked Shaffer : Do you know if Cosby has any trouble with his vision and do you know how bad that was on the night of the attack?

Detective Schaffer who interviewed Constand three times and Cosby once said that he was aware of Cosbys vision issue but did not know to what degree his vision was impaired.

There was a general sense of confusion in Montgomery County Courthouse as McMonagle returned to his seat after asking a handful of questions of the officer who had been notably prickly with him during the delivery of the prosecutions case.

The defense rested its case after six minutes, stunning the courthouse.

Smiling Camille Cosby, 73, showed up at court on Monday arm-in-arm with her husband as they arrived at the Norristown, Pennsylvania courtroom.

The smiling couple looked as though they were on their way to a party, not to Day 6 of the criminal trial in which Cosby is accused of sexually assaulting Andrea Constand.

Cosby became 'America's favorite TV dad' for his portrayal as Dr Heathcliff Hutxable on the Cosby Show. Keshia Knight Pulliam, who played youngest daughter Rudy (center) spoke out about the allegations last year saying she 'loves [Cosby] dearly' and he is 'innocent until proven guilty'
Libyan authorities said Monday that Moamer Gaddafi's son Seif al-Islam, reportedly set free at the weekend, was still wanted by a Tripoli court for a 2015 conviction.

Seif al-Islam, the second son and heir apparent of the late deposed Libyan dictator, was said to have been released on Friday by a militia group that controls the town of Zintan in western Libya.

The group, which had held Seif al-Islam for more than five years, said he had been set free under an amnesty law promulgated by the parliament based in the country's east during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Seif al-Islam, was reportedly released on Friday by a militia group in western Libya

But the prosecutor general's office in Tripoli, where a rival UN-backed administration is based, said the amnesty could not apply to Seif al-Islam because of the severity of his crimes.

Tripoli prosecutor general Ibrahim Massud Ali said: 'Having been sentenced in absentia on July 28, 2015... (Seif al-Islam) is required to appear before the court'

There was no independent confirmation of Seif al-Islam's release, which could spark further instability in a country already wracked by divisions and violence.

Mattia Toaldo, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, cast doubt over al-Islam's reported 'liberation'.

Toaldo said: 'This is the fourth time in a little bit more than a year that the news of Seif's liberation has spread.

'There is still no visual evidence of his liberation and even the term 'liberation' must be used carefully as he was already free to move within the city of Zintan,'.

The Western-educated playboy has been imprisoned in eastern Libya since 2011

According to Toaldo, people close to Seif al-Islam had set up offices in several foreign capitals.

He said: 'His first goal (if he was indeed freed) could be to rally all the regime loyalists and tribal forces around him.'

Seif al-Islam had been held in Zintan since being detained in November 2011, just days after his father was killed in a NATO-backed uprising against his decades-long rule.

Seif was a key player in attempts to broker deals between his father's regime and the West

The Zintan militia, which opposes Libya's UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) based in the capital, had refused to hand him over to authorities despite several legal cases.

He is also wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague for alleged crimes against humanity.

He says he reportedly wants to bring 'peace' to the war-torn country, his lawyer said yesterday.

The Western-educated playboy was a key player in attempts to broker deals between the despotic regime and the West before the 2011 uprising in which his father was killed.

Seif's lawyer, Khaled al-Zaidi told CNN: 'His priority is to eradicate terrorism, to bring security then bring back life and economic prosperity.

Libya has been rocked by infighting since the western-backed toppling of Gaddafi in 2011

'Any international organisations that want to combat terrorism will find Seif Gaddafi. He will have a major role in bringing peace to Libya.'

Seif's reported release came with the North African country still rocked by infighting, with authorities in the east, reportedly allied with the forces of military strongman Khalifa Haftar, refusing to recognise the GNA.

The power vacuum allowed thousands of fighters from the so-called Islamic State to operate from camps in the country.

Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi returned from Libya just days before he killed 22 people at an Ariana Grande concert last month.

The power vacuum has allowed thousands of ISIS fighters to operate camps in the country

Saif has not been seen by independent observers since June 2014 and a previous report that he had been freed turned out to be false.

The prosecution statement did not confirm he had been set free and gave no indication of his potential whereabouts, and the GNA has not commented on his reported release.

Human Rights Watch called on Libyan authorities to track him down.

Seif was a key figure in the negotiations between Gaddafi and the west

As the one-time heir apparent to the Gaddafi regime, Seif was a key figure in negotiations with Britain over the release of the Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi.

He became close to figures in the British Establishment after Tony Blair signed the notorious 'Deal in the Desert' in 2004 to re-establish diplomatic links.

Seif described Mr Blair as a 'personal family friend' and said he had visited Libya 'many, many times' after he left Downing Street. He also claimed Mr Blair had become an adviser to the Gaddafi family, which the former prime minister denied.

Prince Andrew was also accused of holding 'detailed discussions' with Seif over al-Megrahi's release during a Foreign Office-sponsored trip to Algeria. Buckingham Palace denied any meetings or discussions had taken place.
Shocking footage shows British holidaymakers brawling with staff at a Turkish hotel after one of its maids allegedly pushed over a female guest.

Several Brits staying at the Penita Park Deluxe Hotel in Marmaris claim that heated conversations with staff turned physical after they were confronted about a fire in one of the rooms.

Emma Thorley, 29, claims her boyfriend James Fernandes, 22, was punched and kicked by five people after he jumped in to defend a woman who had been pushed.

In one video, British guests can be heard asking to speak to the manager amid accusations that they are trying to hide evidence of a fire on Monday morning.

Emma Thorley, 29, (shown left) is pictured on holiday with her boyfriend James Fernandes, 22

Holidaymakers can also be heard complaining that none of the fire alarms at the four-star hotel are working and that some of the emergency exits were blocked.

Several staff members are seen standing guard outside a room where the fire is thought to have taken place and a scuffle soon breaks out.

Speaking from Turkey the morning after the fire, Miss Thorley told MailOnline: 'The owner came out into the hallway and was being really aggressive.

'There was a lady with an oxygen mask on and when she was pushed over by one of the cleaning ladies my boyfriend rushed to help her and they all attacked him.

'They attacked James and others as they knew that we knew they were trying to cover it up.'

Miss Thorley says she was woken at about 12.30am in the morning to discover their had been a fire in the room next door, thought to be staff quarters.

British guests can be heard asking to speak to the manager amid accusations that they are trying to hide evidence of this morning's fire

Several staff members are seen standing guard outside a room where the fire broke out and a scuffle soon breaks out

She says she saw workers trying to put out the fire with water bottles after the hotel sprinklers failed to activate.

Miss Thorley added: 'The emergency services came and said that the fire was started by a cigarette coming into contact with a bunch of towels.

'The whole hotel was covered in smoke. Children were vomiting. The staff putting the fire out collapsed and were taken to hospital.

'No one would come back inside because they didn't feel safe and families with children were just sleeping outside in blankets.

'The staff were utterly useless. Most of them took off their work uniforms as well because we were all asking what was going on.'

Emma Thorley, 29, claims her boyfriend James Fernandes, 22, was punched and kicked by five people after he jumped in to defend a woman who had been pushed

In the video, guests can be seen trying to activate the hotel's fire alarms (pictured) to no avail

Stephen Wheeler, another guest who filmed the confrontation, told MailOnline that he and others were taken to a local police station to make a statement.

He added: 'When confronted the owners became very offensive and then started to push a lady who was on oxygen.

'A British man intervened and then around five members of staff, including the owner, started punching and kicking.'

Miss Thorley said: 'We rang the British embassy and about 10 officers and a translator came.

'They took four guests who were attacked to the hospital and a police station. They are trying to sort us out somewhere else to stay as we don't feel safe here.'

MailOnline has contacted the hotel for comment.
Police in Ohio are investigating a triple homicide after a mother and her two adult daughters were found murdered in their home.

The boyfriend of the older of the two daughters came by the family's residence in North Royalton at around 8pm on Sunday and found the three victims slain in a bedroom.

On Monday morning, police identified them as 45-year-old Suzanne Taylor and her daughters, 21-year-old Taylor Pifer and 18-year-old Kylie Pifer.

Triple homicide: Suzanne Taylor, 45 (far left) has been murdered along with her two daughters, 18-year-old Kylie Pifer (center) and 21-year-old Taylor Pifer (right) in Ohio

A friend found the bodies of Taylor (left) and her daughters (pictured together, right), in a bedroom at their North Royalty, Ohio, home Sunday

Investigators initially said that all three of the women suffered gunshot wounds, but later it emerged that the mother had been stabbed to death.

Cleveland19 reported Monday, citing police, that the mother and daughter were still alive Saturday afternoon and were killed sometime that evening.

At around 8pm Sunday, Taylor Pifer's boyfriend entered the familys home, found at least one body and contacted Suzanne Taylor's boyfriend, who then called 91.

The police department on Monday released the call, on which the mother's bpyfriend tells a dispatcher, referring to Pifer's boyfriend, 'He just said there's a body.'

Suzanne's boyfriend also tells the 911 dispatcher that he delivered flowers to the house on Saturday but did not see anyone inside,. The bouquet was still outside the home Sunday.

A motive for the killings remains unclear, but police said the case does not involve a suicide. So far, no arrests have been made.

Taylor was a senior studying fashion design at Kent State University and played softball.

The 21-year-old wrote in the bio on her Facebook page: 'Life's too short to sit and wait for luck to come your way.'

Fox8 reported that Kylie was a sophomore at Bowling Green State University, where she majored in biology and was involved in theater. She would have turned 19 on Sunday.

According to Kylie and Taylor's stepmother, Sonya Pifer, the sisters' biological father had been estranged from them for several years, reported Cleveland19.

'They were great kids... and this totally, totally blind-sided us,' Sonya Pifer said, fighting back tears.

Officers from the local police department and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation were on the scene overnight and into Monday morning collecting evidence.

Manner of death: Investigators initially said that all three of the women suffered gunshot wounds, but later it emerged that one of them has been stabbed to death

Gone too soon: Taylor (left) studied fashion design at Kent State University; Kylie (ight) major in forensic science at Bowling Green University
 Hotbeds of Extremism Exposed | Main | Al Arian To Be Deported After Serving Jail Term 

April 27, 2006

Senior Israeli Official: Sweden is the Country Most Hostile to Israel

The Jerusalem Post reports the claim by a senior Israeli official that Sweden is the country most hostile towards Israel.

The latest anti-Israel indications are the Swedish government's recent decisions a) to withdraw from an international air force exercise because Israel is a participant and b) to grant Hamas terrorist leaders visas to enter Sweden.

Israeli newspapers report that Sweden's Ambassador to Israel Robert Rydberg was invited to the Foreign Ministry to clarify these decisions.

During their Jerusalem meeting Director-General Ron Prosor expressed his grievance to Swedish envoy Robert Rydberg that his nation rejected Israel as a colleague in the European exercise. Whoever rejects Israel rejects itself as a player in the peace process,? Prosor emphasized to Rydberg. He added that Stockholms move could be interpreted as support for those in the international community who call for the de-legitimization of Israel.?

As for the decision to grant visas to anti-Israel terrorists:

The [Israeli] Foreign Ministry Director General expressed his concern regarding reports that Sweden was planning to breach the Wests boycott of Hamas, and offer entry permits to areas of Hamas activity. Prosor noted that this could be a precedential step by a European country, which could be interpreted as approval of terrorism and terror organization.









Posted by RH at April 27, 2006 12:46 PM

Guidelines for posting

This is a moderated blog. We will not post comments that include racism, bigotry, threats, or factually inaccurate material.

Post a comment
Advertisement

President Donald Trump gave his Cabinet a big pat on the back Monday for the 'amazing results' he said it's brought about, despite Democrats' 'sad' attempts to stand in the way of his agenda. But they gave him a bigger pat on the back, going round the table to say nice things about him.

The president convened his full Cabinet for the first time since taking office this morning as his administration attempted another reset now that its on the other side of James Comey's testimony.

Talking up his administration's progress, Trump said 'never has there been a president, with few exceptions' who's had so many accomplishments in such a short time frame.

'We've achieved tremendous success,' he declared. 'I think we've been about as active as you could possibly be at a just about record-setting pace.'

Trump pledged to 'starve the beast' of terrorism by whacking into extremists' financing and go after trade deals that will boost the US economy. He said his Treasury secretary is also working on what 'may be the biggest single tax cut in American history.'

To his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, Trump said the administration has had 'great success' taking out immigrant gangs such as MS-13, which is 'being depleted' and will be 'gone pretty soon.'

Scroll down for video

President Donald Trump gave his Cabinet a big pat on the back Monday for the 'tremendous success' he said it's had, despite Democrats' 'sad' attempts to stand in the way of his agenda

The president convened his Cabinet for the first time since taking office this morning as his administration attempted another reset now that its on the other side of James Comey's testimony

MIND MELD? Jared Kushner, the president's son in law, is pictured during Trump's cabinet meeting this morning in the Cabinet Room of the White House, behind the president

THE CABINET MEMBERS WHO HAD LOTS OF GREAT THINGS TO SAY ABOUT THEIR BOSS This is the greatest privilege of my life is to serve as vice president to a president who's keeping his word to the American people - Vice president Mike Pence It's an honor to be able to serve you in that regard and it sets the exact right message, and the response is fabulous around the country - Jeff Sessions, attorney general I want to thank you for getting this country moving again, and working again - Elaine Chao, transportation secretary Mr President, what an incredible honor it is to lead the Department of Health and Human Services at this time under your leadership - Tom Price, HHS secretary A privilege to be here, deeply honored to be here - Alexander Acosta, labor secretary I'm honored to serve as your CIA director -Mike Pompeo, CIA director On behalf of the entire senior staff around you Mr President, we thank you for the opportunity and the blessing that you've given us to serve your agenda and the American people - Reince Priebus, chief of staff My hat is off to you - Rick Perry, energy secretary Thanks to you we're focusing on the forgotten men and women - Mick Mulvaney, budget director It's a privilege to serve - Betsy DeVos, education secretary Mr President as your SEAL on your staff it's an honor to be your steward of our public lands -Ryan Zinke, interior secretary Mr President I'm honored to serve the country, it's a great privilege you have given me - Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State Thank you for the opportunity to help fix the trade deficit. I'm thrilled to have a chance to help you to live up to your campaign promises - Willbur Ross, commerce secretary Mr President thank you for the opportunity to serve - Linda McMahon, small business administrator Mr President, first of all I want to apologize for being late for work. For four months I got bogged down in that swamp that you want to drain - Robert Lighthizer, trade representative Advertisement

The White House session with agency and department heads was officially called so the beleaguered president to lay out his priorities and get government officials on the same page.

For Trump, the meeting comes at a critical point in his tenure. His administration has no major legislative accomplishments to speak of, despite having Republican majorities in both chambers of Congress.

The top talker since Trump was sworn in has often been the inquiries into his campaign and Russia, thanks in no small part to the leaks coming from within the unpopular president's own government.

A report on Monday said Trump had given his chief of staff, Reince Priebus, a Cabinet member, until July 4 to turn things around. Priebus told him it's a 'blessing' in the meeting to be able to serve him and his agenda.

His attorney general was sucked back into the scandal last week after Comey reportedly told senators in a closed-door session that Sessions had a third undisclosed contact with the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak.

Sessions canceled an appearance before a congressional committee to testify on the Department of Justice's budget Tuesday and said he would talk to the Senate Intelligence Committee about Russia, instead.

The Justice Department chief told the president in a televised introduction during today's Cabinet meeting that law enforcement in America remain 'very frustrated' but they're 'so thrilled' that the administration wants to support them in combating rising crime.

'And it's an honor to be able to serve you in that regard, and it sets the exact right message,' Sessions said.

Trump told him in response, 'Great success including MS-13. They're being thrown out in record numbers, and rapidly. And they're being depleted, and they'll all be gone pretty soon.'

As other Cabinet officials went around the table and boasted about their departments' work at the president's invitation, Trump's CIA director, Mike Pompeo, kept his remarks quick and to the point.

'I'm honored to serve as your CIA director. It's an incredible privilege to lead the men and women who provide the intelligence so that we can do the national security mission. And in the finest tradition of the CIA, I'm not going to say a damned thing in front of the media.'

Trump played to the press on his own behalf, telling his Cabinet while the cameras rolled that 'obstructionist' Democrats are withholding their votes from an Obamacare replacement bill because 'they think that's their best political game.'

'We've been doing very well, but they're obstructionist, and that's sad,' Trump said. 'We've been coming up with something that I will believe will be very good, with zero support from the obstructionist Democrats.'

A major indicator of the problems Trump has faced is the timing of the all-hands convening of his agency directors and executive branch heads.

He held the meeting nearly two months past the point that Obama did when he was a recently-inaugurated president. Obama was able to bring his full Cabinet together on April 20, 2009.

Trump's prolonged battle to get his Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer through the Senate delayed the meeting until after the president's five-nation foreign trip.

The White House and president have accused Democrats of derailing Cabinet-level confirmation processes, but they were not always the cause of the clog.

Multiple Trump picks did not have the requisite paperwork and financial disclosure forms turned in, and Trump waited to make his last cabinet appointment until two days before he took office.

One appointee, Andy Puzder, a fast food executive Trump had tapped to lead the Department of Labor, backed out just as he was supposed to testify, after allegations of spousal abuse of his ex-wife surfaced, and the president had to submit a new name to Congress.

The Senate gave Lighthizer, the last of Trump's 24-member cabinet, the green light a month ago on May 11.

He joked with Trump about it on Monday. 'Mr. President, first of all I want to apologize for being late for work. For four months I got bogged down in that swamp that you want to drain.'

Lighthizer has taken a lead role, along with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, in working with the United States' neighbor to the north and south to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Trump is likely to talk about that effort, as well as his EPA administrator's campaign to extricate the US from the Paris Climate Agreement, as he holds court with his Cabinet today.

At least they got something back: Trump later tweeted that his cabinet was a 'great team'

Embattled Attorney General Jeff Sessions said said, 'it's an honor to be able to serve you in that regard, and it sets the exact right message'

Trump's Homeland Security chief John Kelly is sen at the meeting. Trump said that he and Sessions have been having 'great success' taking down immigrant gangs such as MS-13. 'They're being thrown out in record numbers, and rapidly. And they're being depleted, and they'll all be gone pretty soon'

A report on Monday said Trump had given his chief of staff, Reince Priebus, a Cabinet member, until July 4 to turn things around. Priebus, left, told him it's a 'blessing' in the meeting to be able to serve him and his agenda

A major indicator of the problems Trump has faced - the timing of the all-hands convening of his agency directors and executive branch heads. Barack Obama was able to bring his full Cabinet together on April 20, 2009

The fight against ISIS and the squeeze the US and its allies are putting on the terror group in the Middle East will also be a focal point of the discussion.

'We are stopping the funding of terrorism. They are going to stop the funding of terrorism,' Trump said of US ally Saudi Arabia. 'And it's not an easy fight, but that's a fight we're going to win. You have to starve the beast, and we're gonna starve the beast, believe me.'

Trump also brought up his budget, which touches every one of their departments.

'We will be taking care of the people that have to be taken care of. On a human basis, that's very, very important,' Trump promised.

The administration is urging Congress to pass a series of spending documents that call for steep cuts to every area of the executive branch except the departments that deal with veterans and the United States' defense before it leaves for recess this August.

Trump is also demanding the Congress tackle the debt ceiling and healthcare reform in the same time frame. He wants the tax cuts he promised to be law by the end of the fiscal year.

House Republicans passed an Obamacare repeal bill that ran into roadblocks in the Senate. The president's much anticipated tax and infrastructure plans haven't even made into a legislative format.

Lawmakers are just weeks away from recess and they are nowhere close to finishing a laundry list of tasks sent down by Trump's administration.

Lawmakers are just weeks away from recess and they are nowhere close to finishing a laundry list of tasks sent down by Trump's administration. He played down the dysfunction in a Sunday evening tweet

Rep. Steve Scalie, the House's chief vote counter, warned yesterday that legislators will not get a summer vacation if they don't get to work on the healthcare reform bill and tax cuts they and the president promised.

'We are just going to stay in and get it done,' he told Fox News' Maria Bartiromo. 'That is a thing.'

For his part, Trump has indicated that he's pleased with the progress he's made so far through executive action and listening sessions with industry leaders.

He downplayed the discord in administration and Congress in his Monday meeting and in a tweet on Sunday.

'Great numbers on the economy. All of our work, including the passage of many bills & regulation killing Executive Orders, now kicking in!' he said.
A woman who dubs herself 'Aldi mum' has reveals her tips for feeding the entire family for less than $10.

Sam Jockel shops exclusively at the budget supermarket giant in Brisbane and has taught herself recipes that save families hundreds on their weekly shop.

She has just released an e-book called '10 meals under $10' to highlight how easy it is to make nutritious meals on the cheap.

Inside the e-book is a delicious tuna bake recipe which takes less than 10 minutes to prepare.

She has just released an e-book called '10 meals under $10' to highlight how easily it is to make nutritious meals on the cheap

'This is our most affordable meal of all and costs a mere $5.63 for the family,' Ms Jockel told Nine News

'This is our most affordable meal of all and costs a mere $5.63 for the family,' Ms Jockel told Nine News.

But don't even think about using grated cheese to top your bake with.

'Block cheese is a lot cheaper than grated cheese. So if you just grate your own cheese you'll save a lot of money,' she said.

This is one of ten meals the mother feeds her family of five that costs less than $10.

'Absolutely so important to know what I am cooking, that it's cheap, that it's fast and that my kids are going to eat it,' she told Nine.

All of the meals include protein and vegetables and are calorie counted for nutritional purposes.

One of her other favourite recipes is a creamy chicken pesto pasta which only takes about 20 minutes to make.

All of the meals include protein and vegetables and are calorie counted for nutritional purposes

Ms Jockel suggests that you cook at least two of the meals from her e-book in the same week to keep costs low.

The mum-of-three started her blog Aldi Mum because of her obsession with the brand.

'I love Aldi so much I have started this page,' her website reads.

The mum-of-three started her blog Aldi Mum because of her obsession with the brand

'In my journeys I have realised there are those who have an obsessive love for Aldi and those who are yet to understand its magic.

'I am writing to unite us Aldi lovers and educate those who are yet to love Aldi. It will be practical, helpful, amusing and to the point... a bit like Aldi really.

'Since starting Aldi Mum, Aldi have become aware of this page and they do financially support me to run the giveaways on this page,' she said.

Ms Jockel posts new products on her site so that other mums can review honestly them.
Six Iranian refugees will be deported from Australia after Immigration Minister Peter Dutton overruled the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The men had arrived in Australia from Iran between 2009 and 2014, however they had subsequently been found to have visited the nation they claimed to have fled.

Mr Dutton had cancelled their visas only for the Administrative Appeals Tribunal to overrule the minister in May.

Scroll down for video

Immigration Minister has overruled an Administrative Appeals Tribunal on six Iranian men

The minister wants to climb over Administrative Appeals Tribunal rulings on refugees

Now the Immigration Minister has struck back by overruling this body, the Herald Sun reports.

The minister, who hails from the ideological right of the Liberal Party, is introducing legislation this week to extend the period of permanent residency, before someone can apply to become a citizen, from one to four years.

He also wants more power to overrule the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, after the panel repeatedly interfered with his attempts to deport foreign-born criminals and asylum seekers driven by economic goals.

Since 2011, the tribunal has overturned 81 attempts by Labor and Liberal immigration ministers to deport criminals from the country.

Iranian-born refugee Man Monis arrived in Australia in 1996 and was granted citizenship in 2001, before going on to commit a terrorist act at Sydney's Lindt Cafe in December 2014.

Iranian refugee Man Monis was found to have committed an act of terror in 2014 at a cafe

Peter Dutton has been among a string of ministers to be overruled since 2011 by the tribunal

These included convicted murderers, rapists, drug dealers and paedophiles born overseas.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson last month condemned the tribunal for overruling Mr Dutton on the deceptive Iranian asylum seekers.

'I'm disgusted and I'm fed up with this,' she said in a Twitter video.

The former small business owner from Queensland said the six refugees had fooled Australia.

'They're taking us for fools. That's right, fools,' Senator Hanson said.
North Korea is just one obstacle away from developing a ballistic missile capable of reaching the United States, an expert has warned.

American specialist Jeffrey Lewis said as soon as Kim Jong-Un's army figure out how to attach a warhead that can withstand the heat of being launched from Pyongyang to Washington DC their mission will be complete.

The isolated nation has been building up to a position of being able to launch weapons of mass destruction over the Atlantic and has routinely fired test rockets this year.

Korean People's Armed Forces test-fire a new cruise rocket in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency

Members of the Korean People's Armed Forces react after doing a test-fire of new cruise rocket

Kim Jong-Un surrounded by schoolchildren who are cheering him on in North Korea

Mr Lewis told The Sun North Korea 'almost certainly' has a warhead capable of being fit onto the missile, and now it's a case of making the necessary tweaks.

'The major question now is not whether the warhead is small enough to mount on an ICBM but whether it is rugged enough to survive the shock, vibration and extreme temperatures that a nuclear warhead would experience on an intercontinental trajectory, in which it would be shot into space and then re-enter the Earths atmosphere,' he said.

A month ago North Korea marked a significant step forward towards Kim Jong-un's regime producing an ICBM capable of hitting the US mainland.

The dictator's defence ministry fired a missile named Hwasong-12 on Sunday night which soared 489 miles (787 km) reaching a height of 1,312 miles (2,111 km).

The test 'represents a level of performance never before seen from a North Korean missile', John Schilling, an aerospace expert, said in an analysis on the US-based 38 North website.

'It appears to have not only demonstrated an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) that might enable them to reliably strike the US base at Guam, but more importantly, may represent a substantial advance to developing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).'

The missile was deliberately fired at the highest angle to avoid affecting neighbouring countries' security, but had it been launched at a standard trajectory, it would have reached at least 2,500 miles (4,000km) - almost half the 5,500 miles (8,851 km) required to reach the US mainland.

How far would missile have to travel from Pyongyang to reach the rest of the world? US Naval Base in Guam: 2,114 miles (3,402 km) Hawaii: 4,727 miles (7,670 km) London (over mainland Europe): 5,379 miles (8,657 km) San Francisco: 5,588 miles (8,993 km) Los Angeles: 5,935 miles (9,551 km) Washington, DC: 6,857 miles (11,035 km) Advertisement

South Korea's defence minister said following the test fire the launch shows Kim's missile programme is progressing faster than expected.

The details of the launch reported by KCNA were largely consistent with South Korean and Japanese assessments in that it flew further and higher than an intermediate-range missile (IRBM) tested in February from the same region, northwest of Pyongyang.

KCNA said the test launch verified the homing feature of the warhead that allowed it to survive 'under the worst re-entry situation' and accurately detonate.

The claim, if true, could mark an advancement in the North's ICBM program exceeding most expectations, said Kim Dong-yub, a professor at Kyungnam University's Institute of Far Eastern Studies in Seoul.

The reclusive North, which has defied all calls to rein in its weapons programmes, even from its lone major ally, China, has been working on a missile, mounted with a nuclear warhead, capable of striking the US mainland.

US President Donald Trump's administration has called for an immediate halt to Pyongyang's provocations and has warned that the 'era of strategic patience' with North Korea is over.

US Disarmament Ambassador Robert Wood said on Tuesday China's leverage was key and that it could do more.

South Korean Defence Minister Han Min-koo told parliament Sunday's test-launch was 'successful in flight'.

Asked if North Korea's missile programme was developing faster than the South had expected, he said: 'Yes.'
A mother was able to escape an early morning house fire by jumping out of the second floor window, but it claimed the lives of her husband and two children.

The woman in the Flint, Michigan home ran to a neighbor's house to call 911 about the fire at around 2.30am on Monday, police said.

Firefighters arrived quickly, around seven minutes later, but the home was already engulfed in flames, according to Michigan State Police Sgt. Bruce Payne.

Three bodies were found in the home, believed to be those of the woman's husband and two teenage children.

Scroll down for video

A woman in the Flint, Michigan home managed to jump out of a second-story window and ran to a neighbor's house to call 911 about the fire at around 2.30am on Monday, police said

Michigan State Police fire investigators work to find the cause of an early morning blaze that claimed three lives on Monday

Neighbor Robert Woodruff, right, watches on from the sidewalk as bodies are removed in black bags during the Michigan State Police fire investigation to find the cause of a Monday fire

The victims of the fire have yet to be identified.

The mother was taken to a hospital and is expected to survive.

Neighbor Robert Woodruff says he awoke to his neighbor banging on their door screaming that her house was on fire and her kids were inside.

He says they're in 'disbelief.'

The fire's cause is under investigation.
A 14-year-old California girl has died after she was hit by a train on Friday night. Social media posts and a GoFundMe account set up in the wake of the death identify the teenager as Joanna Lopez (pictured)

A 14-year-old California girl has died after she was hit by a train on Friday night.

The girl, who police have not named but has been identified in social media posts and in a GoFundMe page as Joanna Lopez, was hit by an Amtrak train shortly before 9pm in an industrial area near Santa Fe Springs.

Whittier police said Joanna was sitting on or very close to the tracks and witnesses claimed it looked as though she was listening to music when she was hit, KABC reports.

Investigators said they have yet to determine whether or not the 14-year-old had headphones in at the time, or if there was another reason why she could not hear the train coming.

Whittier police shared a picture on Facebook taken at the scene of the horrible accident. The truck is seen after it came to a halt, with a police cruiser parked beside it.

Based on the photograph, it appears as though there is no barrier stopping people from getting close to the tracks - which are seemingly out in the open.

Lopez was due to start at Pioneer High School, which has the Titans as its mascot, in the fall.

This picture of Lopez was posted online as part of the GoFundMe page set up to raise money for her family. Whittier police said Joanna was sitting on or very close to the tracks and witnesses claimed it looked as though she was listening to music when she was hit

The GoFundMe page set up to help her family speaks of the 'Titan community'.

'Please help us, the Titan community as we raise funds to deliver to the family of Joanna Lopez for funeral expenses,' the page reads.

'We lost our Titan sister on Friday, June 9th in a tragic accident. This is the time that we need to pull together as a family and help the ones in need.

'Any little bit helps. Thank you in advance.'

One of Joanna's teachers also commented on the page, describing the 14-year-old as one of her favorite students.

Police shared this picture from the scene of the crash on Facebook. It shows the tracks appear to be out in the open with no barricades to keep people away from them

'She was such a bright girl. Her smile lit the room and her smile warmed my heart,' the teacher wrote.

'I was so proud to say her name during her 8th grade promotion. She had such a beautiful future ahead.

'My heart aches for this tragic loss. I'm filled with grief for the family.'

The page has a goal of $10,000. As of 9:30am on Monday, it had raised $1,930.

Pioneer High's 'dance company' is also holding a fundraiser for Joanna's family on Thursday evening.
American liberals are very sensitive people.

Some might say, a tad over-sensitive.

Not a minute of any day goes by without one of them being mortally offended by something.

Usually, it involves Donald Trump.

The wild, foot-stomping, shrieking hysteria that greets the President's every utterance and movement is beyond anything I have ever witnessed in global politics.

He seems to turn liberals into gibbering wrecks of blazing fury.

And I say this as someone who would self-identify as more liberal than not.

Trump is an inflammatory, provocative man who loves winding people up and sneering at elites. But liberals are proving very sensitive. Complaining and protesting has crossed a line since he won, and it's crossed a line

Don't get me wrong; much of the adverse reaction to his presidency is perfectly understandable and acceptable.

Trump is an inflammatory, deliberately provocative character that likes nothing better than winding up what he calls the sneering elites into a slathering lather of blind rage.

I have no issue with people complaining or protesting about him, or in journalists holding his factual feet to the fire.

Indeed I often give him a whack myself if I don't agree with him.

But where I do have an issue is when that criticism crosses the line into open calls for him to be assassinated.

Not least because four sitting presidents  around a tenth of the 45 men who have held the office - have actually been assassinated.

Before the election, the violent anti-Trump rhetoric was restricted to people like Robert De Niro saying he'd like to 'punch him in the face.'

But ever since Trump won, it has grown a lot uglier and a lot more serious.

As his daughter Ivanka said today, the viciousness and ferocity of the hatred directed towards him is unprecedented.

Madonna started this disturbing trend by screaming at the Women's March the day after the Inauguration that she dreams of 'blowing up the White House.'

Following this outrageous comment, which attracted global headlines, death threats were aimed at the new president on an unprecedented scale.

Dataminr reported that in the next two weeks alone, more than 12,000 posts with the words 'assassinate Trump' were made on Twitter.

The threats have carried on coming, many of them far more serious than a Twitter post, with Secret Service working 24/7 to stop myriad plots to attack POTUS.

Yet this hasn't stopped people who should know better from fanning the flames.

Two weeks ago, comedian Kathy Griffin posted a photograph of herself clutching an image of Trump's severed, blood-splattered head.

It was a just a joke, she wailed, when all hell broke loose.

Really, Ms Griffin?

You think it's funny to hold your president's severed head to a camera at a time when ISIS barbarians have been doing just that to fellow Americans?

'Like many edgy works of artistic expression,' explained her attorney Lisa Bloom, 'this could be interpreted different ways. But Griffin never imagined it could be misinterpreted as a threat of violence against Trump. That was never what she intended.'

Nonsense.

That's exactly what Griffin intended. She wanted everyone to look at that photo and imagine Trump being murdered by decapitation. There is literally no other thought process it could possibly inspire.

And I'm sorry, but it's just not 'funny'.

Kathy Griffin wanted everyone to imagine Trump being murdered by decapitation. There is literally no other thought process this could inspire and it's just not 'funny'

As outrage grew, and Trump and his family expressed horror over what she'd done, Griffin resorted to the natural modern liberal defence playbook of victimhood; she claimed she was being bullied by old, sexist and misogynist white men. Oh, and irony of ironies, she was now receiving death threats!

Yes, you absurd bleating hypocritical halfwit, that is what happens when you glory in the murder of your president  a lot of your fellow Americans get very angry about it.

And in a country with over 300 million guns and widespread mental illness, that anger can quickly lead to a very nasty conclusion.

No sooner had the Griffin furore calmed down than a similar new one has erupted.

This time, it involves New York's non-profit Public Theater and its new production of Shakespeare's 'Julius Caesar' in Central Park.

New York Public Theater has a production of Shakespeare's 'Julius Caesar' in Central Park featuring Caesar as a petulant blond-haired businessman in an expensive suit with a long tie and a flag pin and wife Calpurnia with an Eastern European accent and designer clothes

The play portrays Caesar as a tempestuous, petulant blond-haired businessman in an expensive business suit with an American pin flag and over-long ties who takes baths in a gold bathtub.

His wife Calpurnia has an Eastern European accent and wears designer clothes.

So, it's Donald Trump.

It ends with Caesar/Trump being brutally murdered by Roman senators who fear he has become too power hungry.

Only in this case, the assassins are all women and minorities, two groups that Trump has been accused of marginalising.

There is zero doubt the play's producers want us to believe it's Trump.

The Caesar is then brutally murdered by Roman senators who are all women in minorities - two groups Trump has been accuse of marginalizing

The New York Daily News said the production 'imagines the Roman ruler as a blond, swaggering egotist who's a dead ringer for the current occupant of the Oval Office. And he gets murdered for his hubris and hunger for power.'

Even the New York Times review last week stated that it 'takes onstage Trump-trolling to a startling new level.'

But as Trump's son Donald Jr. asked: 'I wonder how much of this 'art' is funded by the taxpayers? When does 'art' become political speech?'

Sponsors, led by Delta Airlines and Bank of America, have answered that question for themselves and pulled their financial support.

'No matter what your political stance may be, the graphic staging of Julius Caesar does not reflect Delta's values,' the airline said in a statement. 'Their artistic and creative direction crossed the line on the standards of good taste.'

Bank of America said the production 'was intended to provoke and offend.'

In that regard, it has achieved its goal.

One audience member, Laura Sheaffer, said: 'It was shocking and distasteful. If this had happened to any other president  even as recently as Barack Obama or George Bush  it would not have flown. People would have been horrified. I mean, it was the on-stage murder of the president of the United States. Blood was spewing everywhere out of his body.'

And that, surely, is the nub of all this.

Liberal Trump-haters seemingly have no limit and no filter when it comes to expressing their loathing of the man, even if it extends to his violent death.

The defense from the director, Oskar Eustis, was straight from Kathy Griffin's ridiculous excuse manual: 'Anyone seeing our production will realize it in no way advocates violence towards anyone.'

Er no, Mr Eustis, as you well know, it does the complete opposite.

It depicts the horrific murder of President Trump, stabbed to death by frenzied opponents.

And it is an utter disgrace.

No American should ever be amused by the notion of their president being murdered. The way for liberals to beat Donald Trump is not by wishing him dead but by using everything in the American democratic system to fairly defeat him

Love or hate Trump, no American should ever be amused by the notion of their president being murdered, or having his severed head paraded in the name of comedy.

'This is vile and wrong,' tweeted Chelsea Clinton in a very rare show of solidarity with Trump after Kathy Griffin's stunt. 'It is never funny to joke about killing a president.'

There speaks someone who had to live for eight years as a young girl in the White House with the constant terrifying fear that someone might try to murder her father.

Just as they have tried to murder other presidents a total of 20 times, four times successfully.

The way for liberals to beat Donald Trump is not by wishing him dead.

It is by using everything in the American democratic system to defeat him by fair means not foul.

That means at the ballot box, in the 2018 mid-term elections and the 2020 general election.

And it means by putting constant pressure on lawmakers to enforce every check and balance in their power to keep Trump's more Caesar-esque aspirations at bay.

Just as they have been doing on things like his travel ban.

This week, we will see the full force of US democracy in action when Attorney General Jeff Sessions is grilled at a US Senate hearing about the firing of FBI Director James Comey and alleged Russian collusion in fixing the last election.

It if transpires during any these hearings that there WAS collusion between Trump or his campaign associates and Putin's hackers, then the president will be politically dead. It if doesn't, then unlike Caesar, he will survive to continue his tenure.

That is how US democracy works, not through a knife or gun.
Carol Denise Richardson, 49, has been ordered back to prison by a Houston judge

A grandmother in Texas has been ordered back to prison after violating the terms of her release in a commutation of her sentence by former President Obama.

Carol Denise Richardson, 49, has been ordered back to prison for 14 months by a Houston judge after being arrested on a theft charge in April, violating the terms of her early release.

Richardson had been released from prison in July of last year after serving 10 years of a life sentence for conspiracy to distribute cocaine, as one of 61 non-violent drug offenders to have their sentence commuted by Obama.

'This defendant was literally given a second chance to become a productive member of society and has wasted it,' Assistant US Attorney Ted Imperato said in a statement.

'She has clearly shown a willful disregard for the law and must face the consequences for her crimes and actions.'

Former President Barack Obama commuted the sentences of 61 non-violent drug offenders last March, including Richardson. She is now back behind bars after an arrest on theft charges

Richardson, a native of Texas City, was originally convicted in 2006 for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of crack cocaine as well as two counts of possession with the intent to distribute crack cocaine.

She was given a life sentence, and her case was one that came under scrutiny over the higher penalties dealt out in crack cocaine offences, compared to similar weights of powder cocaine.

'I was a drug user and do not consider myself a drug dealer because I never profited from the sell [sic] of drugs,' Richardson once wrote in a letter pleading for clemency from behind bars, noting that she was in rehab when she came under indictment.

Her case was championed by a clemency group called CAN-DO, and came to Obama's attention.

Richardson's lawyers argued that her involvement in any crack distribution had been minimal, and that her husband, who was also prosecuted, had dragged her into his drug deals though their relationship.

Obama granted Richardson clemency and she was released from federal prison on July 28, 2016 with 10 years of post-release supervision.

Unfortunately, federal prosecutors say that she committed five violations of the terms of her release, stemming from an April 13 arrest for theft.

Richardson failed to report that arrest to her parole officer as required, and also failed to maintain regular contact with the probation office and notify them that she had moved and been fired from her job at a home heath care firm, say prosecutors.

US District Judge Keith P. Ellison, the same judge who originally sentenced Richardson to life, was unimpressed with these lapses, and ordered her back to prison.

The advocacy group CAN-DO said in a statement that addiction was the root of all Richardson's arrests, and condemned the justice system for failing to properly address addiction.

'The system has failed Carol, yet again,' the statement said.

'It will be easy for some to point a finger at Carol and justify their support of harsh mandatory sentences as a necessity to keep people locked up, when we feel Carols current situation is proof that we desperately need to overhaul our current drug policy that treats addiction as a criminal issue, rather than a medical issue.'
Lt Nicholas Robinson denied raping a female sailor when he appeared in the dock at a military court today

A Royal Navy officer has denied raping a female sailor, claiming she 'took the lead' and performed a lap dance for him.

Lieutenant Nicholas Robinson, based at Abbey Wood, Bristol, is on trial for rape and sexual assault at Portsmouth Military Court.

The 28-year-old is accused of carrying out the sex attack in a Radisson Blu hotel in Bahrain, when his ship was in the Middle East.

But he told the military court today that the woman had offered him a lap-dance and removed her clothes after they went to the hotel room.

The court has heard that the pair ended up in the room after going to a party which was attended by scores of Navy personnel.

Lt Robinson had intended to return to his frigate, which was docked there, but instead decided to go to an after-party at the hotel where his alleged victim was staying.

He phoned his ship from the woman's room just before his curfew, to say he would not be back, the court heard.

Lt Robinson said: '[She] offered to let me stay the night in her room, but I did not take it as a sexual promise at the time.

'After calling the ship from her room and telling the quartermaster I would not be returning that night we both sat on the edge of her bed and began chatting about our lives.

'She offered to give me a lap dance in her room. She was taking the lead during what happened between us.'

The alleged attack is said to have happened in Bahrain when Lt Robinson's ship was in dock in the Middle Eastern country

He said the woman then performed what was called a 'special dance' for him, during which she undressed and 'rubbed her breasts in my face'. He said they then had sex.

He added: 'At no point did she say no or ask me to stop.'

The prosecution say sex was not consensual and Robinson forced himself on her after the pair had discussed bondage sex and so-called 'safe words'.

She claims he pinned her down and had sex with her before they fell asleep in her room. The court heard that she awoke in the morning to find him raping her for a second time.

The woman says she only performed the first lap dance for him because he had promised to stop making further sexual advances if she did so.

However, Lt Robinson denied her claims he demanded a lap dance or had discussed 'safe words', insisting sex on both occasions was consensual.

The pair went back to the woman's hotel room before the alleged sex attack. File photo

He said: 'We did not have a conversation about safe words or submissive sex, it didn't happen.

'She was consenting throughout the sex and then after we had both been to the bathroom once it finished we spooned in bed before falling to sleep.

'The next morning I woke up and went to the bathroom and when I came out she was sat up in bed.

'After kissing, things progressed and we had sex again before I left to head back to the ship.'

Robinson denies three counts of rape and one count of sexual assault by penetration against the woman. The trial continues.
Advertisement

An injured jet-skier has been rescued from a cliff ledge where he was stuck for nearly 90 minutes after hitting a submerged object and falling into the sea.

The man scrambled on to a ledge about 10ft up the cliff face after falling into the water off the coast of Seaford, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, which left him with a badly injured leg yesterday morning.

He then got himself to safety away from an incoming tide, jagged rocks and choppy seas. An RNLI lifeboat was unable to reach him, so a coastguard rescue team member was lowered down the 180ft cliff to winch him up.

The man was then attended to by paramedics waiting on the cliff top. A UK Coastguard spokesman praised the jet-skier for wearing a life-jacket and suitable wetsuit, as well as the actions of his companion who phoned 999.

The 999 call was made at 11.25am yesterday, the coastguard teams arrived on scene by 11.40am, a technician was with him by 12.35pm and he had been winched up by 12.55pm.

Temperatures in Seaford reached a high of 64F (17.7C) yesterday while winds were gusting at about 10mph.

A coastguard rescue team member was lowered down the 180ft cliff to winch up the man off the coast of Seaford, East Sussex

The man scrambled on to a ledge about 10ft up the cliff face after falling into the water off the coast near Eastbourne
 USA Today Coverage of 1967 War Blurs Important Truths | Main | The Washington Post: We Print Commonly Used Falsehoods 

June 12, 2017

Award-Winning Swedish Journalist Carries Out Terrorist Attack



The perpetrator responsible for carrying out a June 6, 2017 terrorist attack at the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris was an award-winning journalist? who previously worked as a freelancer for Swedish public radio,? according to an Algemeiner article by analyst Ben Cohen (Islamist Perpetrator of Attack at Paris Cathedral was Award-Winning Journalist in Sweden,? June 7, 2017).

That journalist turned terrorist, Farid Ikken, used a hammer to attack a French police officer outside of Notre Dame, a popular tourist spot and place of worship. Ikken reportedly yelled, This is for Syria? during the attack. He was subsequently shot by an armed police officer. In addition to the hammer, two knives were found on his person. Ikken was taken to the hospital for treatment and questioning by French authorities.

An Algerian national, Ikken moved to Sweden to 2004 and studied journalism at Uppsala University. He worked as a freelance journalist for several Swedish media outlets, including Swedish national public radio (SR). In 2009, Ikken won a European Union (EU) journalism award for a report on healthcare and asylum seekers in Sweden.

Sweden itself has experienced several Islamist terrorist attacks in recent years. On April 7, 2017, Rakhmat Akilov, an asylum seeker from Uzbekistan, used a hijacked truck to run over men, women and children in a shopping center in Stockholm. The attack murdered five people and injured 15. Akilov had expressed support for the terror group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Vehicular assaults are a common terror tactic used by Palestinians against Israelis, as CAMERA has noted. Despite the shared threat presented by Islamist terrorism, some Swedish officials have chosen to attack the Jewish state. Among other acts, Sweden has previously granted visas to members of Hamas, U.S.-designated terror group whose charter calls for the destruction of Israel and the genocide of Jews (Senior Israeli Official: Sweden is the Country Most Hostile to Israel,? CAMERA, April 27, 2006).

As CAMERA has highlighted, Swedish schools have also been caught distributing schoolbooks that praise anti-Jewish violence and depict all of Israel as Palestine (School in Sweden Teaches Pupils Israel Doesnt Exist,? Feb. 1, 2016).?

Posted by SD at June 12, 2017 02:26 PM



Yes; so Sweden is asking for it from terrsts.

when they do that to Israel (Gen. 12:3). Here in

the US, they are handing over our country to the Muslims--so shameful; for all of the men who bled and died for this country! 'The nation whose god you bow the knee to is the nation whose religious group will come to destroy you.' OMG.

Posted by: Elinor R. at June 15, 2017 02:47 PM

I'm confused, did this "journalist get an award from the French for journalism or terrorism?

Posted by: jeb at June 16, 2017 12:44 PM

Guidelines for posting

This is a moderated blog. We will not post comments that include racism, bigotry, threats, or factually inaccurate material.

Post a comment
A man died in a hit and run after confronting another man about beating a small dog.

Jeremy Hardman, 47, was run over in West Valley City, Utah, on Wednesday afternoon by Aaron Hosman, 40.

Hosman was arrested Saturday and booked on charges of murder and obstruction of justice after he intentionally ran over Hardman with his black Lexus.

Jeremy Hardman, 47, left, was run over in West Valley City, Utah, on Wednesday afternoon by Aaron Hosman, 40, right. Hosman was arrested for murder and obstruction of justice

Hardman and one of his co-workers had seen Hosman was allegedly punching a small dog and confronted him, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.

As they were walking away, Hosman got in his car, made a U-turn and hit Hardman while he was in the crosswalk.

The 47-year-old died at the scene.

Hosman drove away, eventually abandoning his car in a nearby neighborhood. The car was found Friday by police.

He was spotted by a police officer around 7pm Saturday and was arrested without incident. He is being held in Salt Lake County Jail.

Judy Crocker, Hardman's mother, said she was relieved Hosman was arrested.

'If he would senselessly beat a dog and then turn around and murder another person for calling him out on it, there's no saying where he would have gone from there,' she told Deseret News.

Hardman saw Hosman punching a dog and approached him. As Hardman was walking away, Hosman got into his car and hit Hardman while he was on the crosswalk and drove away. Hardman died at the scene. He is pictured with his mother, Judy Crocker, left

Crocker said her son had always loved animals and that she is not surprised he stopped to help the animal.

Hosman was also charged with a hit-and-run in 2013 after he rear-ended another driver in Salt Lake City. He drove away and then abandoned his car and ran on foot.

He was charged with failure to stop at a serious injury accident and driving on a revoked license.

Hosman also has a long history of traffic violations including giving false personal information with the intent of posing as another person, driving on a revocation and failure to register a vehicle.

Hosman, pictured, was arrested Saturday night and is being held in Salt Lake County Jail. He was charged in another hit-and-run case in 2013 when he rear-ended another driver and drove away

After hitting Hardman, Hosman drove away and abandoned his car in a nearby neighborhood. Police found the Lexus, pictured, on Friday
More than 100 ravers who had their own bouncer and huge speakers partied until 7am after taking over a 2million Airbnb flat in a posh London street.

The maisonette in Maida Vale, north west London, was full of revellers who kept neighbours up during the 'all-night rave' which sounded 'like Notting Hill Carnival'.

Furious neighbours claim organisers even hired their own bouncer and partygoers were spotted arriving in a brand new BMW and a Porsche 4x4.

People polished off expensive alcohol including Luc Belaire Rose bottles which cost 172 - and one neighbour claims they were throwing glass out of the windows.

More than 100 ravers who had their own bouncer and huge speakers partied until 7am after taking over a 2million Airbnb flat in a posh London street (pictured)

The council had to clear up bottles which were left on the flat after the party (left and right)

They had gathered at the plush property with their own giant speakers and blasted reggae and hip-hop while the owner was on holiday in Portugal. Rubbish is pictured above

They had gathered at the plush property with their own giant speakers and blasted reggae and hip-hop while the owner was on holiday in Portugal.

One eyewitness who lives on the street said she was kept up all night and saw people 'throwing bottles out of the window'.

Others claimed the police and council did nothing to shut the party down and another neighbour said the organsier went home with 'hundreds' of pounds in cash.

The property is owned by author Heidi Kingstone, 59, former wife of newspaper magnate David Montgomery.

She was on holiday in Lisbon, Portugal, and revealed she was 'horrified' after being called at 1am and immediately filed a complaint with Airbnb.

The online rental service today confirmed that they are in contact with the host and have removed the guest from the site.

The exclusive event started late on Saturday night and did not finish until after 7am on Sunday morning.

After the party, a neighbour spotted a man in his late 20s walking to his car as he counted dozens of 20 and 50 notes.

Gareth Robertson, 69, said: 'There were a lot of people sitting and leaning against the railings and the music was blaring.

'Their windows were open and they seemed to have a professional sound system and the music just went 'thump, thump, thump'.

The maisonette in Maida Vale, north west London, was full of revellers who kept neighbours up during the 'all-night rave' which sounded 'like Notting Hill Carnival'

One neighbour wrote on Twitter that those who attended the party were 'throwing bottles' and that her baby had been kept awake all night

Another Twitter user questioned how the posh area of London had become so 'ghetto' following the incident

Bill Earner said the rave was attended by more than 100 people and went on until 7.30am

Another resident said: 'Did you see the size of the speaker?' He said there were complaints and police turned up at 4.30am

'It was a night of completely wasted sleep. In the morning there were hundreds of these metal canisters used for laughing gas in the road.

'This guy came out with a wad of 20 and 50 notes, he was counting them. It must have been hundreds.

'He was wearing jeans below his bottom and a tracksuit underneath. He had a white BMW with no number plate on the front but one on the back.

'It was one of two white BMW's that were parked outside all night.'

People were seen spilling out onto the street and shouting on the balcony, but Westminster Council claimed the party was 'too big' to be shut down.

The property is owned by author Heidi Kingstone (pictured), 59, former wife of newspaper magnate David Montgomery, who was in Lisbon at the time

One mother, who did not want to to be named, said: 'We complained to the council at about 3am and they told us it had been rented through Airbnb and that the landlord knew about it and was coming back to deal with it.

'It started at around midnight and went on until about 7am, the music was reggae and hip-hop, it sounded like Notting Hill carnival.

'I had no sleep at all and neither did my baby. I complained to the council at 3am, they said there were too many people and it was too big a party for the noise pollution team to shut down on their own.

'They called the police but they were not interested. I looked out my window and there were more than 100 people at the first floor flat with the balcony doors open.

'I was really frustrated, I didn't think there could be anything this loud or this big around here.'

A cleaner for the apartment, who also did not want to be named, said: 'It is not very bad, they did not damage anything particularly.'

Several hours after the party finished on Sunday morning the council had a team of street cleaners began clearing up dozens of bottles and broken glass.

Another resident complained to the landlady after being woken up shortly after midnight on Saturday night.

The neighbour said: 'There were some beautiful girls going in, some of them were amazing.

'I think they had a bouncer too, or at least a minder who was showing people where to go.

'People were pulling up in really fancy cars all night and shouting 'this is it, this must be the place'.

Those who attended the all-night rave polished off expensive alcohol including Luc Belaire Rose bottles which cost 172 each

'They weren't bad kids, they were just having a party.

'But on Sunday morning when the council arrived to clean up the mess some of the organisers were waiting around for an Uber to take the sound system away.

'I think it was a professional job. The flat costs around 300-a-night so maybe people were paying at the door.'

He added: 'I texted her (the landlady) and said look this is just not on.

'But it's Airbnb's fault, they do not vet those who try and rent out properties so something like this is bound to happen.'

A Westminster City Council spokesperson said: 'Our noise team responded to a number of complaints in the early hours of Sunday morning at Warrington Crescent.

'Due to the number of people present and nature of activity our officers reported the incident to the police.

'We will be in contact with the landlord and Airbnb to highlight our concerns. Local residents should not have to put up with this level of disruption.'

Airbnb have since condemned the party and claimed that they have removed the guest from the website.

A spokesman said: 'We have zero tolerance for this kind of behaviour. We are supporting the host and have removed the guest from Airbnb.

'There have been over 180 million guest arrivals in Airbnb listings and negative incidents like this are incredibly rare.'
A North Carolina woman has told of the terrifying moment a shark tore her right arm off while she was snorkeling in the Bahamas.

Tiffany Johnson, 32, was on a Caribbean cruise with her husband James last week when she was attacked by the shark.

The mother-of-three from Charlotte said she was swimming in a shallow reef when she felt something bump into her from behind.

Scroll down for video

Tiffany Johnson, 32, was on a cruise in the Bahamas last week with her husband James when a shark completely tore off her right arm when she was snorkeling

'I wasn't in pain, it just felt like I had bumped into something so I just casually turned to my right to look to see and that's when I was face to face with the shark,' she told WSOC.

'He had my whole arm in his mouth and he was just floating there, just staring at me.'

She said when she tried to pull her arm away, the shark clamped down and they struggled in the water for several horrifying minutes.

'I kept trying to yank my hand back and the last time I yanked he had cut it clean off so I was able to actually get free,' Mrs Johnson said.

Her husband was in a boat about 20 feet away and jumped into the water when he heard his wife's screams.

Mrs Johnson was rushed to a Bahamas hospital where doctors managed to stop the bleeding, but she lost her limb from her hand to her elbow.

The mother of three from Charlotte, North Carolina was rushed to a local hospital where doctors managed to stop the bleeding

Tiffany lost the lower part of her arm below the elbow. She is due to have surgery on Friday in North Carolina to prepare the limb for a prosthetic

Tiffany's husband James was in a boat about 20 feet away when the shark attacked and jumped into the water when he heard his wife's screams

Mrs Johnson was airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte to undergo multiple surgeries.

She is due to have another surgery on Friday to help prepare her right arm for a prosthetic.

Mrs Johnson said the whole terrifying ordeal was a miracle.

'I'll have another chance,' she said. 'I'm just so thankful. I'm thankful to be here.

'I'm thankful to be able to share this story and I hope, and I know, that it's going to change people's lives because you can't hear this story and not see God in it.'

Friends of the mother-of-three have set up a GoFundMe page to help cover some of the family's medical costs.

Tiffany, who has three young children with her husband, said the whole terrifying ordeal was a miracle. She said she was thankful to have another chance
An Austrian hospital has been ordered to pay 90,000 euros (80,000) in damages over the mix-up of two babies almost 30 years ago.

Doris Gruenwald, born in 1990, only found out after a routine blood test when she was 22 she was not biologically related to the couple she thought were her parents.

'My whole body started shaking... It was like the ground under my feet disappeared,' she told the Krone daily last year.

Doris Gruenwald (left) and the woman who raised her as her own child Evelin Gruenwald (right)

The clinic, University Hospital Graz, however cast doubt on whether the mix-up happened there, suggesting it may have taken place later and somewhere else.

But the court rejected this, ruling that the mix-up happened in the 20 hours between the birth and the mother, recovering from a caesarean section, being given the child.

Ruling there was 'gross negligence', it awarded damages of 30,000 euros each for Doris and Evelin Gruenwald plus her husband, as well as the costs from the couple adopting her.

Doris Gruenwald still does not know who her biological parents are, while the other victim is unaware that she was brought up by the wrong people.

This is despite the hospital having last year launched a programme offering free DNA tests to the 200 women born in the hospital around the same time and their mothers.

So far, only about 30 women have taken advantage of the tests and no matches have been found.

The local health authority said it planned to appeal against the ruling, saying that the court had failed to establish that the babies were mixed up at the hospital.

Doris' devastated mother Evelin Gruenwald, who raised her as her own, told the Krone daily newspaper: 'Of course it was a huge shock for me and my daughter.

'But we knew from the start that nothing could separate us, that we would stay mother and daughter.

'This child is the best thing that ever happened to me.'

LKH University Hospital Graz said at the time of Doris's birth no other baby girl was born with such a low weight as the premature Doris in its hospital.
A 19-year-old man has been arrested after an Alabama teenage girl was shot dead.

Lauren Wright, 17, was found dead by police officers after they were called out to Demopolis - about 110 miles southwest of Birmingham - shortly after midnight on Saturday.

'Upon Officers arrival they located a female suffering from a gunshot wound, lying on ground,' a police statement read.

Video from WKRG

Lauren Wright, 17, was shot dead in Alabama in the early hours of Saturday morning

Dalton Martin Jowers (left) has since been charged with Wright's (right) murder. The circumstances surrounding what led up to the shooting are still unclear

'The victim was transported by emergency personnel to the Bryan Whitfield Hospital ER, where she succumbed to her injury.'

Dalton Martin Jowers has been charged with Wright's murder.

The circumstances surrounding what led up to the shooting are still unclear, according to WKRG.

Wright worked at Pinzone's Italian Downtown in Fairhope, and colleagues have explained how shocked they were to hear about her death.

Lauren Wright (pictured), 17, was shot dead on Saturday night in Alabama. Police have since arrested 19-year-old Dalton Martin Jowers

Co-worker Steven Thompson said the 17-year-old was 'always happy'.

'Even when she was sad she was happy, she came in with a smile on her face and wanted to make everyone else smile,' Thompson said, according to WKRG.

Owner Shelby Nelson then added: 'Everything she touched turned to gold. There was nothing that baby couldnt do.

'She was the most beautiful human being you could have ever met and she loved everybody all the time.'

Demopolis Police Department said its investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
A hedge fund boss' own children's charity must pay his ex-wife's new philanthropic foundation 282million after their latest 'hostile' legal skirmish.

Sir Chris Hohn split from his American wife Jamie Cooper in an acrimonious battle which saw her walk away with 337million in 2014 - but 'haggling' over a charitable grant only ended last week.

Sir Chris and his ex-wife have given more than 1 billion to charity through the Childrens Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) they set up together, which is linked to his hedge fund.

But the couple's bitter divorce led to Ms Cooper agreeing to move on and set up her own charity - but only on the basis that her ex-husband would support it financially, the High Court heard.

On Friday High Court chancellor Sir Geoffrey Vos agreed that CIFF should pay 282million to Ms Coopers new charity, Big Win Philanthropy (BWP).

High Court battle: Sir Chris Hohn split from his American wife Jamie Cooper in an acrimonious row which saw her walk away with 337million in 2014

Sir Chris had argued that the payout should not be included in their divorce settlement - but a judge ruled it should be, especially as his ex-wife had also pledged to donate 32million of her own money if Sir Chris was forced to pay.

Generous: Sir Chris and his ex-wife have given more than 1 billion to charity through the Childrens Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), which is linked to his hedge fund

The judge said: 'The making of the grant will bring a conclusion to this incredibly hostile dispute'.

During their divorce proceedings it was agreed that Ms Cooper would quite as a trustee of CIFF and her ex-husband would agree a grant to her new charity, BWP.

But Sir Chris has argued since then that his charity should not have to pay up and his QC Jonathan Crow said it was wrong to offer cash to ensure she resigned.

According to the Evening Standard he said the 'haggling is bound up in the financial dispute originating from [the] divorce proceedings.

'The grant would set a poor precedent in that it would allow charitable funds to be used to resolve personal disputes between trustees'.

But Ms Cooper's QC Simon Taube QC said the 28million 'would avoid losing [her] talented services to charity' and 'unleash her creativity and her capacity to contribute to the public benefit'.

Mr Justice Vos ruled in her favour on Friday in a decision her legal team said was a 'well-deserved victory' for their client.

Sir Chris and his ex-wife, 53, became the darlings of the City after their marriage in 1985.

The High Court has ruled that that Sir Chris' Childrens Investment Fund Foundation, which he set up with his wife, should pay 282 million to Ms Coopers latest charity, Big Win Philanthropy (BWP)

They gained a reputation as generous charity givers and were popular members of the London financial set.

But they shocked onlookers when it was reported in 2013 that they were living separate lives.

The marriage quickly descended into acrimony, and their battle over assets ended up in court.

The couple  who had homes in London, the United States and the West Indies  had fought over assets totalling more than 700million at the High Court before a judge finally settled on the staggering 337million sum.

Despite his vast fortune, Sir Chris told the court during their divorce battle that he lived a very simple life. The judge in the case suggested he had a Swatch watch lifestyle rather than a Rolex one.

But in a series of increasingly bitter exchanges, his wife claimed that his philanthropy developed under her influence  and he was once only interested in becoming rich.

In return, Sir Chris reportedly accused her of seeking maintenance payments for a dog that never existed.

She then claimed the couple, who have four children together, were a partnership and she was entitled to half his wealth.

She was ultimately granted 337million, but still railed against the unjust judgement, saying she deserved more from Sir Chris  who was knighted for his fundraising in 2014  before finally deciding not to appeal.
Advertisement

This extraordinary collection of courtroom act details some of the most famous trials in American history, including those of Charles Manson, OJ Simpson and James Earl Ray.

The illustrations on display at America's Library of Congress in Washington DC show court cases dating from 1964 to the present day.

The exhibition begins with the work of Howard Brodie who documented the Jack Ruby trial in 1964. He was sentenced to death after being found guilty of the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin of President John F Kennedy.

His conviction was later appealed and he was granted a new trial, but he died in prison in January 1967 as the date for his new trial was being set.

Other drawings from decades of American trials include those of James Earl Ray, was convicted on his 41st birthday of the assassination of Martin Luther King, and David Berkowitz, also known also as the 'Son of Sam' who killed six people and wounded seven others during bloody shooting attacks in New York City between 1976 and 1977.

Today, courtroom illustration are on the decline. Since 1977, states have increasingly permitted limited camera use in their courtrooms and some federal courts have elected to permit cameras.

With the shift, broadcast and print media news outlets now hire artists primarily for sensational trials, federal trials, and US Supreme Court cases.

The Library's courtroom collection preserves an enduring record of American life and law.

Looking haunted in this drawing, Jack Ruby listens to the March 14, 1964, verdict against him. Howard Brodie captured the quiver of his Adam's apple and nervous gulp, saying, 'You must pick up little details. And I always had to be objective. I couldn't have preconceived attitudes. I viewed the defendant as just another human being, and I simply drew what I saw.' Although he was sentenced to death in the case of the State of Texas v. Jack Ruby for murdering Lee Harvey Oswald, Ruby died of complications from lung cancer while waiting for his new trial to begin

Following his speech the night of his win in the California Democratic presidential primary, Senator Robert F. Kennedy walked through the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968, where Sirhan Sirhan shot him. Court illustrator Arnold Mesches captured his likeness as a slight man entering the courtroom. Despite evidence of psychiatric illness, Sirhan was tried and sentenced to death. He had inititally been convicted on April 17, 1969, and sentenced six days later to death in the gas chamber. Three years later, his sentence was changed to life in prison. After parole was denied for the fifteenth time in 2016, he remains in the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego County, California

During the nine months that he was on trial for the murders of Sharon Tate and Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, Charles Manson was grew increasingly agitated. On October 5, 1970, he quickly leaped from the defense table, pencil in hand, preparing to stab Justice Charles H. Older. Bill Robles captured the dramatic moment

In the summer of 1969, Charles Manson brainwashed his followers, whom he called 'the family,' into committing brutal murders, including Roman Polanski's pregnant wife, actress Sharon Tate, as well as several others in the Los Angeles area. Courtroom illustrator Bill Robles captured Manson's vacant stare in November 1970, several months after the defendant had carved an 'x' into his forehead. In 1971 he was found guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder for the deaths of seven people, all of which were carried out by members of the group at his instruction. Manson also received first-degree murder convictions for two other deaths. He is currently serving a life sentence at California State Prison in Corcoran

In October 1974, James Earl Ray attempted to recant his confession for the murder of Martin Luther King, in Memphis, Tennessee. Aggie Kenny drew Ray as he attempted to argue that he was not well-served by his previous attorney, Percy Foreman. In 1975, Judge Robert McRae rejected Ray's claim, and with the exception of a brief escape in 1977, Ray remained in prison for the rest of his life

David Berkowitz had terrorized New York City for a year, killing and injuring young couples out late at night and sending letters from the 'Son of Sam' to New York Daily News reporter Jimmy Breslin before he was captured. Appearing in court on May 22, 1978, for sentencing, Berkowitz shouted in the courtroom 'I'll kill them all,' as guards bundled him out. The judge delayed his sentencing until June 12, when he was much calmer. Rather than face a jury trial, Berkowitz pleaded guilty. Joseph Papin's drawing, which captured his mental breakdown so vividly, appeared on the cover of the New York Daily News

After the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan on March 30, 1981, by John Hinckley, his lawyer Vince Fuller used the insanity defense for his client. Hinckley refused to participate unless the actress with whom he was obsessed, Jodie Foster, testified. On March 30, 1982, Hinckley in his characteristic slump, shown by artist Freda Reiter, was present for Foster's testimony as it was videotaped, and again on May 12, 1982, when it was replayed during the trial. On June 21, 1982, Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity, and was transferred to St. Elizabeth's hospital in Washington, DC where he remained until he was released to his mother in September 2016

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis returned to court in 1982, having already sued paparazzi photographer Ron Galella, arguing he was in contempt of a 1975 court order. Here, Galella's lawyer Marvin Mitchelson interrogates her, while Judge Irving Ben Cooper presides. Cooper argued that Galella was not going to change his behavior voluntarily and it was therefore necessary to 'positively and effectively stop Galella's unbridled behavior' by penalizing him for his contempt of the court's 1975 order

During the course of a copyright infringement trial, which began on April 18, 1988, in White Plains, New York, Mick Jagger performed for the courtroom. Reggae singer Patrick Alley sued Jagger for seven million dollars over the song 'Just Another Night,' claiming the chorus's lyrics were similar to his own song. Judge Gerard L. Goettel gave instructions to the jury, saying that Alley had to prove that Jagger had prior access to his song and that the two were substantially similar, stating 'accidental similarity is not actionable plagiarism.' On April 26, the six-person jury found Mick Jagger innocent of copyright infringement

Actor Paul Newman casually sits and reads next to his actress wife Joanne Woodward, who knits. His attorney, W. Patrick Ryan, protects his interests against Westport delicatessen owner Julius Gold, who sued the actor for breach of contract in the manufacture of Newman's Own salad dressing. Gold argued that he had been promised a percentage of the profits, but that Newman had reneged on the deal. Newman claimed no promise had been made and gave all profits to charity. On June 23, 1988, Judge Howard F. Zoarski of Connecticut Superior Court in Bridgeport declared a mistrial when jurors inadvertently saw information not admitted into evidence. The judge denied the plaintiff, Julius Gold, the right to have his case retried

Unlike his well-publicized criminal trial, which was broadcast on television, O.J. Simpson's civil trial in 1996 was a quieter affair. Bill Robles drew the former football star during the civil court case on a day in which several witnesses elaborated on his late ex-wife's attempts to end his stalking. When Simpson was ordered to pay $33.5 million to the families of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman, he claimed to be broke and so they received comparatively little

New York Assistant District Attorney Matthew Bogdanos gestures toward defense attorney Benjamin Brafman, as Judge Charles H. Solomon hears rap artist Jamal Barrow, better known as Shyne, plead 'not guilty' in a nightclub shooting that took place on December 27, 1999. Shyne and his mentor Sean 'Puff Daddy' Combs had been charged with the crime. Jennifer Lopez, who had been detained with Combs, her then boyfriend, was released an hour later. Standing with Barrow are rapper Combs and his bodyguard Anthony Jones. On March 16, 2001, Combs and Jones were acquitted in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, while the jury found his protege Barrow guilty of reckless endangerment and illegal possession of a firearm

In 2005, Michael Jackson faced trial in Santa Monica, California, on charges of molesting a teenager. He was found not guilty. After the trial Jackson said, 'I haven't been betrayed or deceived by children. Adults have let me down.' Artist Bill Robles found drawing at the trial a challengehe endured the 'Melville diet' named after Judge Rodney Melville who scheduled only three ten-minute breaks and no lunch. Robles had barely enough time to meet the network news truck to film his drawings before returning inside to draw again

J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter books led to a number of fan-based web sites, including Stephen Vander Ark's The Harry Potter Lexicon. In 2008, Rowling sat in court as Vander Ark sobbed on the witness stand. Rowling and Warner Brothers had sued Vander Ark after RDR Books published the print version of his popular Web site. Judge Robert P. Patterson had to balance fair use against copyright infringement in the 2008 case. Behind Rowling is an unidentified man, lawyer for RDR Books David Hammer, and Rowling's lawyer Dale Cendali. Publication of the book was blocked, as shown in the court order on display, but RDR later released a version which omitted the infringed material
Schapelle Corby has been tagging Discover Queensland on her Instagram photos in places that are actually in NSW.

The convicted drug smuggler has been posting happy snaps in what her followers believed to be the Sunshine State because she used the popular hashtag #discoverQueensland on them.

But The Courier-Mail has revealed the beach-side location of Hastings Point and other destinations are in fact on the Tweed Coast in Northern NSW.

The convicted drug smuggler has been posting happy snaps in what her followers believed to be the sunshine state because she used the popular hashtag #discoverQueensland on them

The six photos were captioned 'Out & About, Australia is so beautiful. Crisp, clean air. #australia #discoverqueensland #freedom.'

The six photos were captioned 'Out & About, Australia is so beautiful. Crisp, clean air. #australia #discoverqueensland #freedom.'

Her followers were quick to guess where the raven-haired Corby was.

'Gorgeous photos. Our country is definitely beautiful, especially Queensland,' one fan wrote.

Another person took a lucky guess asking 'Is that North Stradbroke Island?' while another thought she might be further north in Cairns because it 'looked local.'

Her followers were quick to guess where the raven-haired Corby was

It would appear all their guesses are wrong and she might be using the hashtag as a ploy to gain privacy while in northern NSW.

The hashtag, 'Discover Queensland', has been a popular slogan for the Australian tourism industry and is regularly featured on iconic ads and billboards.

But it would seem the industry wants nothing to do with Corby because none of the main tourism bodies will comment on how the posts might effect their business.

Queensland Tourism Industry Council CEO Daniel Gschwind said it was understandable no tourism lobby groups wanted to be associated with the Corby brand.

But it would seem the industry wants nothing to do with Corby because none of the main tourism bodies will comment on how the posts might effect their business

Aside from holiday snaps Corby has been using her Instagram following of almost 200,000 people to promote the cases of missing persons William Tyrell and Hayley Dodd, promote her use of cold pressed juices and share throwbacks of her time in Bali

'You can understand how marketing agencies wouldn't want to be associated with that,' he said.

'Neither does the tourism industry.'

Aside from holiday snaps Corby has been using her Instagram following of almost 200,000 people to promote the cases of missing children William Tyrell and Hayley Dodd, promote her use of cold pressed juices and share throwbacks of her time in Bali.

She left Denpasar and arrived back in Australia on May 31 after 13 years in Bali.
When President Trump met with Russians Sergei Lavrov and Sergie Kislyak in the Oval Office on May 10, he told the duo, 'I get great intel. I have people brief me on great intel every day,' according to the Washington Post's account.

Now, the New York Times is out with a report shedding light on some of that intelligence, which came courtesy of the Israelis.

Israel's cyberoperators penetrated a cell of ISIS' bombmakers in Syria and told the U.S. about the group's plans to make explosives that look like batteries for laptop computers, which would trick airport X-ray machines.

Scroll down for video

Now, the New York Times has more details about what President Trump (center) told Russians Sergei Lavrov (left) and Sergei Kislyak (right) in the Oval Office in May

President Trump spilled the beans on bombmaking details that were the fruits of an Israeli cyber operation against ISIS, which even found out how the laptop battery bombs would be exploded on airplanes

As the Times put it, the intelligence was so 'exquisite,' that it allowed the U.S. to understand how the bombs could be detonated, two sources told the newspaper.

The intelligence was responsible for the ban on large electronics in carry-ons from 10 airports in eight Muslim-majority countries that fly into the U.S. and the United Kingdom.

The New York Times confirmed that these were the details Trump spilled when he met with Lavrov and Kislyak in early May.

Trump's admissions were then reported by the Post, which quoted sources saying the president disclosed highly classified 'code-word' information and included more details in his conversation than what the U.S. had told its allies.

'It is all kind of shocking,' one former U.S. official told the Post. 'Trump seems to be very reckless and doesn't grasp the gravity of the things he's dealing with, especially when it comes to intelligence and national security.'

'And it's all clouded because of this problem he has with Russia,' the source added.

The White House sent out the president's National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster to push back.

Later in May, while President Trump (left) was on a trip to Israel, he said alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) that he never mentioned the Israelis when telling the Russians about the intelligence

'The president and the foreign minister reviewed common threats from terrorist organizations to include threats to aviation,' said McMaster, who sat in on the meeting with the Russians. 'At no time were any intelligence sources or methods discussed, and no military operations were disclosed that were not already known publicly.'

The Israelis, according to the Times, were reportedly furious.

On his trip to Israel last month, the president tried to make things better, but ended up confirming what he had done.

'I never mentioned the word of the name "Israel,"' he said at a press conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 'Never mentioned during that conversation. They're all saying I did, so you have another story wrong. Never mentioned the word "Israel."'

News reports never said Trump had told the Russians the information came from the Israelis.

While spilling details about what intelligence Trump had passed along, the Times, more broadly, was reporting on some of the difficulties the U.S. and others are having going up against ISIS in the cyber sphere.

While the U.S. has launched cyber attacks on the terror group, including one that tried to sabotage their online videos and propaganda, it's more difficult to go after a many-headed snake than trying to hack a single missile.

ISIS isn't stationary and uses the internet to do basic things like recruitment, fundraising and the coordination of attacks. The fighters can use basic encryption apps like Telegram to suit their needs.

'In general, there was some sense of disappointment in the overall ability for cyberoperations to land a major blow against ISIS,' Joshua Geltzer, the former senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council, told the Times.

'This is just much harder in practice than people think,' he added. 'It's almost never as cool as getting into a system and thinking you'll see things disappear for good.'
This is the stomach-churning moment when a python regurgitated two chickens after being caught by a villager in China.

Apparently, the villager locked up the reptile as it was stealing his livestock.

After being locked up in a cage, the snake started to regurgitate the two chickens. It's believed the python was trying to make its body slimmer so it could escape.

The wild python was caught after stealing two chickens from a farm in south-east China

After being locked up, the python curled up its body and started to stretch its mouth wide

Video, shared by Pear Video on June 10, shows the wild python stretching its mouth wide to force two chickens out from its stomach.

It is reported that the reptile was seen at a local home at Meizhou, Guangdong, Province on June 9.

A villager, whose name has not been revealed, saw the python swallowing his two chickens whole.

The reptile had sneaked into the cage where the chickens were kept.

A chicken's legs and feathers started emerged as the snake opened its mouth wide

The reptile then regurgitated two chickens whole before the shocked villager called the police

He then locked up the reptile and reported the incident to the police.

While waiting, he and other villagers saw the snake regurgitating both chickens.

It's believed that the snake was trying to make its body slimmer so it could slither from the cage.

One and another: The reptile carried on to regurgitate another chicken as video footage shows

The reptile was released back to nature after local policemen arrived the scene

The snake threw up two chicken whole after the regurgitation.

Policemen arrived at the scene upon receiving reports from local villagers.

The python was released back to nature.
A sinkhole that opened up in a restaurant parking lot during a spring storm in north Florida swallowed a car and ruptured a gas line.

A sinkhole opened up on Saturday around 5pm after a strong rainstorm that caused flash flooding and the closure of multiple roads.

When the rain began Janet Coyne and her husband Vincent, both 79, returned to their car after picking up some food from an Ocala Checkers and got into their car.

Scroll down for video

A sinkhole opened up on Saturday at an Ocala, Florida Checkers around 5 pm after a strong rainstorm that caused flash flooding and the closure of multiple roads

79-year-old Janet Coyne and her husband Vincent were returning to their car when the rain picked up. As they were getting in the car the ground beneath them caved

As they were about to leave the front end dropped suddenly. Coyne and her 81-year-old husband managed to get out of the vehicle before it fell into the 25-foot-wide, 25-foot-deep sinkhole.

Mrs Coyne told the Ocala Star-Banner that she was screaming when she quickly jumped out of the car.

The sinkhole caused a gas line to rupture causing an evacuation at Gaitway Plaza. TECO People Gas clamped the lines at 7 pm.

Mrs Coyne told the Ocala Star-Banner that she was screaming when she quickly jumped out of the car

The front caved first before turning into a sinkhole that was 25-foot-wide, 25-foot-deep sinkhole

An official from the company said that the car had to be removed before any decisions on how to fix the line could be conducted.

Ocala city official said that limerock that was underneath the drainage system eroded, causing the area to collapse and create the sinkhole.

The car has yet removed because it is on private property so city officials have to meet with the Coyne's to discuss a plan of action.

The sinkhole caused a gas line to rupture causing an evacuation at Gaitway Plaza. TECO People Gas clamped the lines at 7 pm

Ocala city official said that limerock that was underneath the drainage system eroded, causing the area to collapse and create the sinkhole

Barricades have been set up around the hole and no utilities have been compromised as a result.

Meteorologist Phil Peterson of the National Weather Service explained that there was a small frontal boundary and that plus the East Coast breeze caused the heavy rains that hit the area.

According to Peterson, the area around the sinkhole had a radar estimate of 6.7 inches Saturday.
A landlord's rental home has been left in a squalid and disgusting mess after unruly tenants trashed his apartment.

Daniel Tuang was relieved when he managed to find tenants to fill his empty Perth property with rental vacancy rates in the Western Australia city at an all-time low.

Yet what was to unfold turned out to be a scene from any landlord's worst nightmares.

Scroll down for video

Landlord Daniel Tuang has been left devastated after his rental property has been destroyed throughout by thoughtless residents

Every room was victim of the damage with the kitchen covered in markings as well as several smashed up cupboards and drawers

One vile message was written on the wall that read 'F*** you Daniel' aimed at the apartment's landlord

The damage inside the home is endless with the walls baring the brunt of the damage, stained in grafitti with large holes splattered across what were once pristine white surfaces.

The spray painted scrawlings that also don the property's floors targets Mr Tuang in what can only be described as vile abuse.

One blunt message reads, 'F*** you, Daniel', with many similar references to the landlord visible.

The kitchen has been completely destroyed with smashed cabinets and drawers as the property is strewn with litter.

The toilet has been filled with dirt, as well as the property's drains blocked with filth as the inhabitants have shown complete disregard for the property.

To repair the extensive damage will cost Mr Tuang tens of thousands of dollars.

He has landlord insurance yet the extent of the damage will most likely leave him struggling to fund a full refurbishment, especially as he is currently unemployed.

The toilet had been filled with dirt and filth as Mr Tuang faces huge costs to fix the drainage system inside the Bentley property

Real Estate Institute of WA president Hayden Groves says the damage is some of the worst he has seen in 20 years in the business

Mr Tuang went through Perth courts in an attempt to evict the tenant, yet after lengthy proceedings has failed so far trying to remove the unruly residents

Not only a financial burden, Mr Tuang has spent nearly half a year in an attempt to evict the tenant, spending endless time in and out of court.

Despite the horrendous state of the apartment, the property owner remained optimistic.

'I have to carry on because this is my greatest asset,' Mr Tuang told Today Tonight.

When he managed to obtain an initial eviction notice in February, it was swiftly revoked and he spent months waiting on a new decision as Real Estate Institute of WA president Hayden Groves suggests the system favours the tenant.

'You would expect that landlords should be given preferential treatment with the courts, when those sorts of things occur - unfortunately that can sometimes not be the case,' he revealed.

He also went on to add that after 20 years in the business, he has never seen damage to this extent.

'Nothing as malicious as this. This is deliberate and precise.one of the worst cases I've ever seen.'

Police are investigating as a result of the damage sustained.

Today Tonight spoke with a deflated Mr Tuang who revealed his continued torment at the hands of the tenants
Jamie Atkins (pictured) allegedly sexually assaulted a woman in a busy London bar

A trader slipped his hand inside a woman's dress as she queued at a bar before punching another drinker who tried to intervene, a court has heard.

Jamie Atkins, 39, allegedly assaulted the woman as she waited to buy a round of drinks for colleagues at The Botanist near Liverpool Street station in London.

The woman claims she had been chatting to a stranger as she tried to catch the attention of bar staff in last September last year.

But as the conversation fizzled out, she felt a hand swoop across her body which allegedly went inside the front of her black dress.

She told Southwark Crown Court: 'Out of nowhere a man - the defendant - came from behind me across my right shoulder.

'I heard him mumble or say something and he just reached in and grabbed between my legs on my crotch.'

She said she had been left with a 'cold feeling' before slapping Atkins across the face in order to 'get him off and draw attention' to the incident.

After witnessing the slap, a man checked whether the pair knew each other before remonstrating with Atkins, the court heard.

She described a 'bleary' Atkins - who is a commodities trader - 'stumbling backwards' as she turned and focused on trying to get the staff's attention.

The woman added: 'My attention was on the barman and as he moved away I was aware of the smaller man intervening and speaking to the defendant but I couldn't hear what was going on.

'Then I heard a large thud and the smaller man was out cold on the ground.'

Atkins, of Hornchurch, Essex, denies sexual assault and assault by beating.

He claims to have merely touched the woman's hip innocently before hitting the man in self-defence.

The woman told the court that her and a group of work colleagues had been at the bar for roughly half an hour following a team meeting earlier that day.

Atkins, (pictured) of Hornchurch, Essex, denies sexual assault and assault by beating and is currently on trial

She described wearing a black dress with a slit running across the front from her left hip to a few inches above her right knee, on top of an underskirt layer.

After a brief chat with the other man 'petered out', she described being molested by someone from behind.

She added: 'His hand actually went in between the slit when he grabbed me.

'He grabbed my crotch - as I recall on the underskirt but under the main material of the dress.'

She added: 'He came out of absolutely nowhere and grabbed me.

'I hadn't been talking to him, I hadn't even made eye contact with him at all.'

The woman, who has since thrown away the dress after police opted not to seize it for evidence, denied that the touching could have been an innocent palm on her hip.

She said: 'I remember feeling the man's two or three fingers on my crotch.

'The difference between your hip which you would have to grab with the palm of your hand compared to fingers pressed on the most intimate part of your body is just completely different and that is what I felt on that night.

'He grabbed my crotch in a deliberate manner and squeezed it.'

When challenged with the suggestion that there was no evidence of any contact other than with her hip, the complainant disagreed and insisted she would never hit a stranger under such circumstances.

The trial continues.
Barron Trump proved he is just like every other 11-year-old boy in America, as he spent Sunday fidget spinning up a storm while out with his parents.

Unlike most boys his age however, Barron put on his spin clinic while walking from Air Force One over to Marine One at Joint Base Andrews en route to his new home, the White House.

Barron and the First Lady finally moved into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue on Sunday, almost five months after Donald left the Big Apple to start his new job in the nation's capital.

Scroll down for video

Sick spinning: Barron Trump was seen with a red fidget spinner on Sunday as he made his way from Air Force One to Marine One at Joint Base Andrews (above)

Warming up the fingers: He kept the spinner in his hands and did little with it until just before he was about to board the helicopter, at which point he broke out a perfect spin (above leaving Air Force One)

Barron did little with the spinner while walking down the stairs of Air Force One on Sunday, arriving in Maryland to transfer air vessels after a weekend spent at his father's club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

He continued to keep things low-key as he crossed the tarmac on Sunday evening as well, outfitted in navy blue chinos, New Balances and a $30 J Crew t-shirt with 'The Experts' written across the front.

That shirt is now sold-out at the popular retail chain.

Then, just before he was set to hop on the chopper and head on out to Washington DC, Barron busted out the perfect spin.

His father did not notice because he was deep in conversation with a member of the Air Force and his mom was not in the frame.

Barron however seemed to somehow sense he was being filmed in the distance and slowly turned his head to maker eye contact with the camera.

He then smirked and turned his head back around before hopping in the helicopter to settle into his new digs.

Coincidentally, fidget spinners are said to be fantastic for reducing stress.

His niece and nephew Arabella and Joseph are also big fidget-spinner fans, and were spotted with the popular new toys while out in Washington DC last week.

Low-tech vibes: Fidget spinners are said to be fantastic for reducing stress and have become a popular toy among youngesters

Fixin' to fidget: Barron's niece and nephew Arabella and Joseph are also big fidget-spinner fans

Parent just don't understand: His father was in conversation and his mother could not be seen in the frame

This move now means that by August, President Trump will have three of his children with him in Washington - Ivanka, Tiffany and Barron.

Ivanka will be working in the White House, Tiffany will be attending law school at Georgetown and Barron will be starting at St Andrew's Episcopal School in Potomac, Maryland.

'It is known for its diverse community and commitment to academic excellence,' Melania said in a statement about Barron's new school, which is 20 miles from the White House.

'The mission of St Andrew's is "to know and inspire each child in an inclusive community dedicated to exceptional teaching, learning, and service," all of which appealed to our family,' she added.

Annual tuition ranges from more than $23,000 for pre-K to more than $40,000 for students in grades 9-12. For sixth grade - the grade Barron will be entering - tuition costs $38,590.

Let's do this: Barron slowed down his spinning as he approached Marine One to head off to the White House

Giving up the fidget: Barron did not have the toy while he and his parents walked to the White House (above)

Welcome home: Barron and the First Lady officially became White House residents on Sunday (above arriving on the South lawn on Sunday)

If Barron continues on to high school at St Andrew's, the tuition jumps from $38,590 a year to $40,650 per year.

'We look forward to the coming school years at St Andrew's,' Melania said.

Founded in 1978, St Andrew's has a total enrollment of 580 students in prekindergarten through 12th grade.

It will be a bit of a shift, with the Obama girls and Chelsea Clinton attending Sidwell Friends, the same school attended by Al Gore's children and Joe Biden's grandchildren.

Barron will also be the first boy in the White House in over 50 years, with John F. Kennedy Jr. being the last male child to have graced the halls of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Moviegoers were left fearing for their lives on Sunday night after a group of four Indian men burst into a west Sydney theatre and began chanting Allahu Akbar, a witness has revealed.

The woman, who chose to remain anonymous, told Daily Mail Australia she thought it was just a 'sick joke' when one man stormed into a busy screening of Baywatch in Blacktown chanting the battle cry of Islamic jihadists launching terror attacks.

But when the man returned to the Hoyt's Cinema with three accomplices around 8pm and continued screaming the Arabic phrase, patrons began fearing the worst.

Scroll down for video

Witnesses were left in a state of panic when four men burst inside the Blacktown cinema (pictured) screaming 'Allahu Akbur'

'The first time he came in and screamed it we thought, "this is just a sick joke",' the woman said.

But patrons were left on high alert and when the man returned with three others, the room plunged into panic.

'People were on edge, you could hear everyone whispering among themselves. When they came we got straight out,' she said.

The woman was on her way to alert security when she said she came face-to-face with the group of men outside.

Contrary to prior reports, she said the men were of Indian heritage and not Middle Eastern.

'They were in their late 20s [or] early 30s of Indian heritage. While they were being kicked out they screamed it again. The whole thing was very weird.'

The men entered Sydney's Blacktown cinema (pictured) chanting the battle cry of Islamic jihadists launching terror attacks

A NSW Police spokesman confirmed to Daily Mail Australia they were hunting the men after searching the cinemas for anything suspicious.

'Police were told four men yelled comments within two cinemas at the complex, causing some concerned patrons to leave the building,' the spokesman said.

'Officers searched the cinema and found nothing suspicious, however they are now investigating the circumstances,' he said.

Police has reportedly called on anyone with footage or images of the incident to come forward in the hope of tracking down the men.

A Hoyts spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia they were assisting police with their investigation but could not comment further.

The packed cinema was evacuated for a police search during a screening of Baywatch

Movie-goers have told of their panic at an impending attack inside the cinema

The incident comes amid heightened tensions in Australia after a series of ISIS-inspired attacks recently including a deadly siege last week.

Police shot dead gunman Yacqub Khayre in the city of Melbourne after he killed a man in an apartment block and held a woman hostage for several hours.

The Federal Government is reviewing police tactics and the powers of state and federal authorities to crackdown on the threat of terrorism.

The NSW government is also planning Australia's first prison aimed at isolating militants and stopping the spread of radical beliefs through the prison system.
Burglar Ross Mollard has become the third prisoner to go missing from HMP Sudbury in two months

A third violent prisoner has gone missing from an open jail in less than two months.

Ross Mollard, 30, failed to return to HMP Sudbury in Derbyshire this weekend after he was temporarily released on licence.

He was serving a sentence given him in 2005 for aggravated burglary, and may have fled to Macclesfield or Stockport, Greater Manchester, police have said.

It is the further embarrassment for the category D male prison, which last month had to issue two appeals to track down missing inmates.

The first was for robber Richard Mander, who absconded two years into an eight-year sentence he was serving.

A week later, prison bosses issued a plea for information in finding Michael Ford, of Stoke On Trent.

Ford was three years into an eight-year term he was given for GBH, robbery and conspiracy to supply controlled drugs.

Derbyshire Police today issued a custody picture of Mollard and asked anyone who has seen him to contact them.

The Derbyshire prison has made appeals to track down three prisoners in the last seven weeks

Two weeks ago, a prisoner from the jail had his sentence extended after a court heard he was found with 2,000-worth of drugs in the prison.

Simon Paine claimed he received the bag of drugs for another prisoner to pay off 200 of an 800 drug debt he owed.

Last month, another inmate from the jail appeared in court after he was caught with three mobile phones inside the prison.
A callous carer left a 90-year-old man living in squalor as she emptied his bank account of 50,000.

Mairead Tansley, 49, preyed on her elderly victim at his home in Enfield, north London, while pretending to look out for his welfare.

The non-registered carer was paid 750-a-week to care for the man, but instead subjected him to extreme neglect and siphoned money from his savings.

Police finally stopped her heartless scheme when officers were alerted to abnormally large sums of cash being taken from his account.

Pictured: One of the rooms filled with hoarded items accumulated by callous carer Mairead Tansley, at her elderly victim's home

They then attended his home to find the pensioner living in squalid conditions with rapidly declining health.

A district nurse examined the man and declared he was emaciated, dehydrated and delirious.

Tansley, from Enfield, denied neglect, but was found guilty and sentenced to nine months in prison at Wood Green Crown Court. Charges of theft and fraud will lie on file.

The court heard how a number of rooms in the victim's home were filled with Tansley's belongings.

Among them, officers found paperwork, including the victim's bank statements, and envelopes filled with cash matching the amounts withdrawn from the victim's bank account.

Pictured: Mairead Tansley, who siphoned up to 50,000 from her victim's bank account

There were also items such as women's clothes and handbags.

When questioned by detectives, Tansley claimed to have been diagnosed in 2011 with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

She claimed that her residence was full of hoarded items and this was why she was storing her belongings at the victim's home.

Detectives seized cash among the items to the value of just under 50,000.

Tansley was charged on 21 October 2016 with neglect, fraud and theft.

She pleaded not guilty, later admitted neglect only and was released on bail.

The victim in this case sadly died in hospital on 2 February 2016.

Investigating Officer Detective Constable Leigh Moss of the Met's Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command said: 'The victim in this case was vulnerable in every sense. Tansley was employed to meet the victim's care needs, but instead took advantage of his fragile state and neglected even his most basic needs completely.'

'I hope that the sentence handed down today will bring a measure of comfort to the victim's family.'
A pile of slave registration documents that provide a haunting reminder of Britain's previous dealings with the banned trade have been discovered.

The papers record in detail the slaves owned by former Conservative politician Philip John Miles on his family's sugar plantations in Jamaica and are dated 1817, 1820 and 1823.

Written in neatly headed columns are names of men, women and children, many of them taken from their homes in Africa and sold into slavery in the West Indies.

Their sex, colour, age and their creed - African or Creole - were all recorded. The youngest was eight-days-old and the oldest was 76.

Most poignantly, there was a 'cause of death' column which included the entries of 'worms', 'fever', 'drowning', 'consumption' and 'child birth'.

Slaves' sex, colour, age and their creed - African or Creole - were all recorded in the chilling registration documents that were discovered at a deceased estate in Bristol. The youngest was eight-days-old and the oldest was 76

The alarming documents have been unearthed in a pile of papers at a deceased estate in Bristol, where an auctioneer had been called on a separate matter to look at some militaria items.

The homeowner consigned them for auction with Greenslade Taylor Hunt of Taunton, Somerset, and they have since sold for 635.

The Slave Trade Act 1807 abolished the slave trade in the British Empire, in particular the Atlantic slave trade, and also encouraged British action to press other European states to abolish their slave trades.

To combat illicit transportation many of the British colonies began keeping registers of black slaves who had been 'lawfully enslaved'.

However, it was not until 26 years later that slavery itself was actually abolished so the likes of Miles could carry on using slaves on his Jamaican plantations.

The horrific practice remained legal in most of the British Empire until the Slavery Abolition Act 1833.

Even then, the act provided for compensation for slave-owners. The British government raised 20 million (2billion today) to pay out in compensation for the loss of the slaves as business assets to the registered owners of the freed slaves.

Most poignantly, there was a 'cause of death' column which included the entries of 'worms', 'fever', 'drowning', 'consumption' and 'child birth'

Miles was an English merchant from Bristol. He became a banker, slave owner on plantations in Jamaica and Conservative politician.

He left an estate of 1 million, making him the first recorded millionaire of Bristol.

Miles sat three times as a Member of Parliament, for Westbury from 1826, for Corfe Castle from 1829 and for Bristol from 1835.

Under the Slave Compensation Act he received money for his plantations in Jamaica and Trinidad to cover the loss of his 2,200 slaves.

A FORTUNE BUILT UP BY SLAVES The pile of slave registration documents discovered at a deceased estate in Bristol belonged to Conservative politician, Philip John Miles, whose family owned sugar plantations in Jamaica Born in 1774 to a wealthy merchant's family, Philip John Miles, the second son of William Miles - a Bristol West India merchant - became Bristol's first recorded millionaire. His father had found his fortune in the sugar industry and built up his wealth by managing a sugar plantation in Jamaica. Miles would benefit enormously from his father's estate after the death of his older brother, William, who was 23. He became a Merchant Venturer in 1795 and carried on his father's merchant business but also diversified into banking. By 1794, Miles he was senior partner at the Bristol bank of Vaughan and Baker, which would later be known as Miles and Company. Philip became the Member of Parliament for Westbury in 1826, and held the seat for three terms. In 1811, the same year as the death of his first wife, Maria, Miles bought the Abbots Leight Estate. He remarried in 1813 to Camilla Peach, with whom he had 11 children. Under the Slave Compenstation Act 1837, Miles receive money from the properties he owned in Jamaica and Trinidad. He died on March 24 1845 Advertisement

Malcolm Claridge, of Greenslade Taylor Hunt, said: 'We were called in to look at a deceased estate and I was going through some paperwork when I found these documents.

'At first I didn't realise what they were but then I put two and two together and it was a bit of a shock.

'There are 10 pages and it is made up of three separate returns for different years.

'The returns had to be filled in every three years and these were completed towards the end of the abolition of slavery as a way of stopping more slaves being introduced to the plantation.

'I think it's a very important document. We can't change history and turn back the clock to stop the slave trade but these documents deserve to be aired as a reminder of what went on.

'By putting them up for auction we brought public attention to them.'
Arlene Foster hailed 'positive' talks on how the DUP could help prop up the Tories today but is already under pressure to win new rights for the controversial Orange Order to march in Catholic areas.

Theresa May's Tories have been forced to ask the DUP, a Northern Irish party founded by the late Ian Paisley, for help after last week's disastrous general election.

Despite gambling on calling the poll three years early, Mrs May no longer has a Commons majority without the 10 votes from the socially conservative DUP.

Talks on striking a deal appear to have already delayed the Queen's Speech but Mrs Foster said she was approaching them with the 'national interest at heart'.

Arlene Foster (pictured in Stormont today with her Westminster leader Nigel Dodds) hailed 'positive' talks on how the DUP could help prop up the Tories today

Mrs Foster is already under pressure to win new rights for the controversial Orange Order to march in Catholic areas

Insisting she would not 'negotiate over the airwaves', Mrs Foster said: 'We have had a positive engagement with the Conservative Party.

'Those discussions continue and I am looking forward to going over to London this evening to meet with my parliamentary team, which thankfully has increased since I last met with my parliamentary team, and we will be meeting with the Pime Minister tomorrow.

'We believe in the Union, we believe in national stable government and that will be at the forefront of our mind going into these talks again tomorrow.'

Mrs Foster - who has been embroiled in a public spending scandal in Northern Ireland for months - is due to meet Mrs May for face to face talks tomorrow.

The prospect of the deal has already alarmed many because of claims it could threaten the Northern Ireland peace process.

The intervention of the Orange Order urging the DUP to demand greater marching rights as part of the deal will increase discontent further.

Theresa May (pictured leaving No 10 tonight) been forced to ask the DUP, a Northern Irish party founded by the late Ian Paisley, for help after last week's disastrous general election

Protestant unionist marches in Catholic republican areas have been flashpoints for unrest in the province for decades.

The Orange Order lodge in Portadown issued a statement urging the local Upper Bann MP, David Simpson, to exploit the party's newfound influence.

'We note the invitation from [Theresa May] to the DUP to support her government,' it said.

'We trust that the parading issue especially in Portadown will be high on the agenda for the new government.

'It is clear that the endeavour of the Orange family to maximise the unionist vote paid dividends and consequently the DUP has been given the opportunity and responsibility to deliver for the people of Northern Ireland.

'We trust that they are successful in promoting the values of the Unionist people and the Orange fraternity.'
Fouad Belkacem, 35, Belgium's most notorious jihadi recruiter, has been allowed to marry the mother of his children from jail

Belgium's most notorious terror recruiter has been allowed to marry the mother of his three children from behind bars.

Fouad Belkacem, 35, wed the woman in Hasselt prison several weeks ago in a move that activists and politicians fear could stop him being deported back to Morocco.

Under the alias of Abu Imran, Belkacem ran the Islamist website Sharia4Belgium which aimed to turn the European nation into an Islamic state.

Belkacem openly praised Osama bin Laden and called for the implementation of sharia law, including the death penalty for homosexuals.

He also spent years recruiting jihadist fighters and encouraging them to go and fight in Syria against Bashar al-Assad.

In early 2015 Belkacem was sentenced to twelve years behind bars and handed a 26,000 fine by a court in Antwerp.

Belgian authorities have already started a procedure to strip him of his passport and nationality, which would mean he would be deported after serving his sentence.

Campaigners fear the marriage will stop Belkacem, who ran the terror website Sharia4Belgium, being deported back to his native Morocco

Antwerp alderwoman Zuhal Demir revealed she denied permission for the marriage three times before local authorities approved the union.

In a furious Facebook post, Ms Demir said: 'He detests our laws but used them to legally to marry. To what end?

'We owe this unscrupulous gentleman nothing. I hope that deportation after jail time is still possible.'

Ms Demir, whose parents are Alevi Kurds from Turkey, branded the affair 'a painful missed opportunity.'
Tourists who were trying to dodge a zoo's entry fee were nearly eaten by tigers after scaling a wall - and landing just a few feet away from the beasts' enclosure.

A man and two women looking to save on the 42 yaun (4) fee jumped over a fence to sneak into Changsha Wild Animal Park in Changsha, China, on Saturday.

Wince-inducing footage shows the unwitting visitors strolling casually next to the enclosure which holds seven Bengali tigers.

Two women who were trying to dodge a Chinese zoo's entry fee were nearly mauled to death by tigers after scaling a wall - only to land just feet away from the beast's enclosure

They were joined by a man also looking to save on the 42 yaun fee jumped over a fence to sneak into Changsha Wild Animal Park on Saturday

The trio were also in danger of touching the deadly electric fence.

They were stopped by the park's security after being spotted on camera and taken to the nearest police station.

The zoo section had no wild animals in it at the time. However if it had been feeding time they would have been allowed in the area the trio were in.

Also, if a buys had been driving through, the gate would have opened - allowing the tigers to rush inside and attack the tourists.

Wince-inducing footage shows the unwitting visitors strolling casually next to the tiger's enclosure which holds seven Bengali tigers

The zoo section had no wild animals in it at the time. However if it had been feeding time they would have been allowed in the area the trio were in

A worker at the Changsha Ecological Zoo told reporters that even if they stayed where they were, they were in danger of becoming tiger food.

The three visitors pulled off the life-threatening stunt simply to avoid the 42 yuan fee that's charged for touring the park in the safety of a sightseeing bus.

It comes after a young man was killed by a tiger in front of his horrified wife and child after getting dragged into its zoo enclosure in January.

The incident occurred at the Youngor Wildlife Park in the city of Ningbo, about 200 kilometres (125 miles) south of Shanghai.

It comes after a young man was killed by a tiger in front of his horrified wife and child after getting dragged into its zoo enclosure in January

An onlooker took footage of the tiger dragging the man under some trees and sinking its teeth into his neck as two other big cats lurked behind.

One witness said the tiger wouldn't allow the man escape: 'I saw the tiger mauling the person, whose face was covered with blood. Every time he sat up, the tiger pushed him down again.'

The tigers were eventually driven away by firecrackers and a water cannon, said a report in the Beijing Youth Daily, which added that the man was rushed to hospital but later died.

One tiger in the enclosure was shot dead by local forestry bureau staff.

Despite this, some tourists in China still seem to think it is worth the risk of jumping over some fences to avoid paying a ticket.
A New Jersey teacher has been suspended and accused of censorship for photo-shopping Trump slogans off of students' clothes for their high school yearbook.

The teacher was told not to come back to work at Wall High School, a public high school in a pro-Trump county in New Jersey, until the matter had been investigated.

Two male students who had posed for photographs wearing Trump-branded clothes were shocked when they received their yearbooks and discovered the words had been removed from the images.

Grant Berardo wore a Trump sweatshirt for his yearbook photo at Wall High School in Wall Township, New Jersey, but the branding was photo-shopped out in the book (right)

One female student, who wanted her yearbook quote to be one by the president, was dismayed when it wasn't included under her profile.

One of their parents said the school was guilty of 'censorship'.

'Wall High School chose to photoshop. No other T-shirts touched,' they complained.

High school junior Wyatt Dobrovich-Fago is an enthusiastic fan of the president. He wore a navy blue sweater with the logo 'Trump Make America Great Again' stitched on its breast.

When he received his yearbook, the image had been cropped to exclude the logo.

The same was done to 17-year-old Grant Berardo. His was even more obvious - the large white Trump slogan printed across his chest was entirely wiped from the image before the yearbooks went to print.

Dobrovich-Fago's younger sister submitted a quote by the president to be included beneath her profile but it wasn't printed either.

It was: 'I like thinking big, if you're going to be thinking anything, you might as well think big.'

Wyatt Dobrovich-Fago also wore a Trump sweatshirt but his image was cropped to exclude the slogan when the yearbook was eventually printed

One of the boy's sister's Trump quote was excluded (left) while others by different presidents (right) were printed unedited

She told ABC News how she made sure to submit it on time so that it was included. Another student's FDR quote did make it to print.

Wall Township Public Schools Superintendent Cheryl Dyer told DailyMail.com that the teacher involved had been suspended but would not name them.

NJ.com however gave their name as technology teacher Susan Parsons.

In a statement, Dyer admonished the removal of the Trump references which she said went against the school's open dress code.

'There is nothing in Wall Township High Schools student dress code that would prevent a student from expressing his or her political views, or support for a political figure, via appropriate clothing and attire. Indeed, the administration applauds students for becoming involved in politics, making their voices known, and taking an active part in our democracy.

'Wall High School was not aware of and does not condone any censorship of political views on the part of our students...the allegations are disturbing, and any inappropriate challenge to these principles will be rectified as swiftly and thoroughly as possible,' she said.
The father of Corrie McKeague has revealed his heartache as the family release treasured photos of the missing RAF airman.

Martin McKeague, 48, said loved ones were struggling to cope with the 'horrific' experience of not knowing if Corrie will ever be found.

It has been almost a year since the 23-year-old vanished following a night out with friends in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, last September.

Scroll down for video

RAF airman Corrie McKeague (left) went missing after a night out with friends in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. Right, a family photo of Mr McKeague with his stepmother Trisha

Pictured: One of the photos released by Corrie McKeague's family, of Corrie in his younger days, in the hope it may help the search for the missing airman

Mr McKeague admitted he had been on the brink of a nervous breakdown as the family continue to search - without any answers for Corrie's disappearance.

He said: 'I'm broken. It's horrific - it's just unbelievable.

'I'm not the same person I was all those months ago. I am not working.

'I am on the 'sick' and have been since the day I heard.

'We never thought we'd be here. Half the time we don't even know what day it is, what date it is, what month it is.'

The new photos released by the McKeague family show Corrie to be a fresh faced young man, with a wide grin.

His father said: 'He had a great personality. You know he could be a bit of a handful but he would put a smile on your granny's face.

Pictured: Corrie McKeague with his brother Darroch and stepmother Trisha, on a night out during a family holiday to the Greek island of Crete

Pictured: Corrie McKeague with his friends and father during a night out in Crete

Pictured: Corrie McKeague, left, with step-mother Trisha and his brother Darroch at a Christening in 2007

Pictured: Corrie McKeague (right) with his family at Christmas, during his younger years

'The loves of his life were partying and girls. Girls were Corrie's passion.'

Specialist search teams have so far sifted through around 4,430 tonnes of waste at a landfill site in Milton, Cambridgeshire.

They have so far found no trace of Corrie but confirmed they are now working in an area of the tip which contains waste from the weekend he went missing.

The search was due to finish last week but was expanded as items dating back to last September continued to emerge.

Mr McKeague said: 'Finding an answer is all we have tried to do. Just find out what has happened to my son.

'He probably drunk too much, so there is a point there. He probably over indulged. I have seen all the footage and he is definitely worse when he wakes up after sleeping.

Martin McKeague said his son's disappearance has left him 'broken' and that his family find it hard to get through each day

'He was definitely street-smart.But his sleeping habits, sleeping on top of rubbish or whatever, I didn't know Corrie to do that.

'At the beginning it could have been anything: fallen drunk somewhere?

'He could have ,but within the first week he wasn't found at the side of the road.

'All the searching was done and he wasn't found where the phone last pinged.

'They aren't going to search a landfill for just a phone but now they are searching the landfill site for a body.'

Pictured: Missing airman Corrie McKeague with his girlfriend April Oliver, 21

Mr McKeague admitted he suffered from depression, while his wife Trisha, 54, also has nightmares and wakes in the night from panic attacks.

He said: 'Will I ever give up hope [he is alive]? I didn't really have much hope to begin with. I am not going to lie about it.

'He is in the landfill and that is what we are hoping for. That is where the factual evidence is - it's the landfill. So I hope. I hope we find him.

'The men and women that are searching want to find him. They volunteer. They are made of strong stuff without a doubt.

'I've been there every week, I have seen this hole open up. The cell itself is huge [9,900 square feet]. I would say that they have probably done half of it where everybody said 'this is where we were working' when Corrie went missing.

'I put my trust and faith in the police. And they have done a fantastic job.

'I want the public to know that because they have gone over and above in my eyes. What they are doing in the landfill is unbelievable.'

Mr McKeague is now living in a camper van near to the landfill site as he waits to see whether police will find Corrie's body.

He added: 'If they don't find him I just don't know what I'll do. We need to find Corrie.

'We need closure. How on earth do you go on?'

Corrie's girlfriend, April Oliver, is due to give birth to his child in the coming weeks.

She has been admitted to hospital amid fears over her health until the baby is born.

Corrie is originally from Fife in Scotland and moved down to Suffolk to live at RAF Honington where he worked as a gunner and team medic in the air force.

Anyone with information about his disappearance is asked to call the incident room at Suffolk Police on 01473 782019.
A pilot narrowly escaped with his life after crashing his light aircraft when his satnav directed him to an airfield that 'did not exist'.

The 53-year-old was attempting to fly to a landing strip in rural Aberdeenshire which was listed on the database of his Garmin GPS navigation device, according to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).

Upon reaching the destination he could not see anywhere to land and lost control after conducting three orbits of the area at low altitude in search of the non-existent airfield.

The plane plummeted to the ground, before striking a wall and flipping over in Aberdeenshire. Pictured, the crash scene

The plane plummeted to the ground, before striking a wall and flipping over.

The pilot, who holds a US flying licence, and his passenger escaped from the crash on June 23 last year uninjured. The aircraft suffered 'substantial damage'.

Their flight began around 40 miles away at Forfar, Angus, with an intended destination of a landing strip near Alford, which the AAIB said was 'not a recognised airfield'.

Accident investigators were told by Garmin that the location was 'not in the current database' for its navigation devices.

The AAIB report concluded: 'The airfield that the pilot was attempting to locate does not appear to exist.'

The 53-year-old was attempting to fly a light aircraft, similar to the one pictured, to a landing strip in rural Aberdeenshire
Brandon Russell, 22, who was arrested after explosives were found in his apartment, has been released on bail because he is 'not a threat'

A neo-Nazi who was arrested after explosives were found in his apartment along with a photograph of the Oklahoma City bomber has been released on bail because he is 'not a threat'.

Brandon Russell, 22, was released on bond by a Florida court on Friday despite calls from prosecutors for him to be kept behind bars until he stands trial.

Florida's Middle District Acting US Attorney pleaded with the judge not to release Russell on bond in a motion prior to the decision, saying he: 'poses both a danger to others and the community'.

'No combination of conditions will reasonably assure that he will appear before this Court as directed and the safety of any other person and the community,' W. Stephen Muldrow said.

But the appeal was not granted.

'I am unable to conclude there is clear and convincing evidence that Defendant represents a threat to any other person,' Judge Thomas McCoun said, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Russell, 22, was arrested last month after police found explosives in his apartment. Officers also found a picture of Timothy McVeigh (left); they were found during an investigation into the murder of his roommates, allegedly at the hand of third roommate Devon Arthurs (right)

The 22-year-old is charged with possession of unregistered destructive devices and unlawful storage of explosive material.

He was arrested two days after the explosives were found. In the meantime, he went to a gun shop and purchased two hunting rifles and ammunition.

But even that fact was not enough to convince the judge to hold him until he appears in court.

'His purchase of two rifles and ammunition so soon after speaking with the police is concerning information but insufficient to establish clear and convincing evidence as called for by the statute,' McCoun ruled.

Investigators also claim they found messages from Russell on a neo-Nazi message board in which he 'threatened to kill people and bomb infrastructure', a criminal complaint states.

The judge had not released the details of Russell's bond.

Russell was arrested after police searched his apartment on May 19 and found: 'a cooler full of a white, cake-lake explosive... explosive precursors including potassium chlorate, potassium nitrate, nitro methane and more than a pound of ammonium nitrate in a package addressed to Russell.'

Arthurs told the Tampa Police Department he killed Jeremy Himmelman (left), 22, and Andrew Oneschuk (right), 18, on Friday because they disrespected his new religion

Empty casings that could potentially be used in bomb making were also found.

When police searched his room, they found white supremacist and Nazi materials, as well as a framed photograph of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

When asked what the explosives were for, Russell reportedly said he was used them in 2013 while part of a science club at college that launched homemade rockets and balloons.

That claim was dismissed by explosives experts.

The 22-year-old admitted to having neo-Nazi beliefs, police said, while he was also a member of a online group called 'Atom Waffen' - which is German for atomic weapon.

Police were at the apartment as part of investigation into the murder of two of his roommates - Jeremy Himmelman, 22, and Andrew Oneschuk, 18 - allegedly at the hands of a third roommate, 18-year-old Devon Arthurs.

Arthurs led police to the apartment after he was arrested at the end of a stand-off with officers.

The 18-year-old bragged about killing his roommates and 'blasting their heads', while he held hostages inside a smoke shop with a semi-automatic pistol.

When he was then asked by police if anyone was hurt, Arthurs responded: 'The people in the apartment, but they're aren't hurt, they're dead.' He then allegedly said 'Allah Mohammed' as he was being led away by officers.

Arthurs then took police to the apartment, where the two bodies were found. They had gunshot wounds to the head and chest.

A police document states Arthurs said he killed his two roommates because they disrespected his new religion. He had recently converted to Islam, after previously sharing neo-Nazi views with them.

Prosecutors on Friday requested a 72 hour postponement of his release, as they prepare and submit a detailed application in the hopes of the judge overturning his decision.

Records show Russell is currently being held in the Pinellas County Jail.
CNN's parent company, Time Warner, has come under fire for its support of the New York Public Theater and its re-imagining of Julius Caesar.

The 'Shakespeare in the Park' version of the play is set in a modern political environment, and the titular character is designed to look like Donald Trump.

In one of the more memorable scenes, the Trump lookalike - is stabbed to death on the Senate floor by senators who fear he is becoming a tyrant.

A new version of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar has caused outrage for re-imagining the play with Donald Trump as the titular character

Time Warner was attacked on Monday after a conservative website highlighted its support of the theater

Gregg Henry plays the role of Caesar while sporting a business suit, over-long tie and a reddish comb-over. Tina Benko was cast as his wife, Calpurnia, and she bears a resemblance to Melania Trump and speaks with a similar accent.

Time Warner's support of the theater was highlighted by conservative website CNSNews on Monday.

An article published by the right-leaning group stated the company is supporting: 'a New York Shakespeare group that offers free tickets to anyone who wants to see President Trump assassinated'.

The level of support Time Warner gives to the Public Theater is unclear, however it listed in the grants section of the Time Warner Foundation's website.

'Providing a platform to showcase relevant, diverse storytelling that addresses the most important issues of our day has long been integrated into The Public Theaters mission,' the page read.

'With the support of Time Warner Foundation, their Public Writers Initiative was launched in 2007 and breathed new life into the theaters production archives with a pipeline of developing talent and programs that support a diverse range of writers.

The Public Theater sent out this statement on Twitter thanking fans for their support in recent days

'Since its initial partnership, Time Warner Foundation has provided support toward The Public Theaters Public Studio and Emerging Writers Group, creating space for rising writers to join the conversation shaping contemporary American theatre in widely different styles.

'The Public Theaters commitment to presenting new work by new voices is reflective of their audience, each individual might see a bit of him or herself on stage, and Time Warner Foundation celebrates that success.'

DailyMail.com contacted Time Warner for comment about the controversy and the nature of its support for the theater.

And as the outrage was brewing, the theater sent out a statement thanking its supporters on Monday afternoon.

'We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of public support we have received around our free production of JULIUS CAESAR,' the statement read.

CNN host Fareed Zakaria was attacked for this tweet he sent last month about the play

'We continue to be guided by our values of openness, inclusion, and the conviction that in drama and democracy alike, the clash of opposing views leads to truth.

'The Public Theater has always been  and will remain  of, by, and for the people.

'Thank you for standing with us.'

But just hours before the theater thanked fans on Twitter, support for the play from CNN host Fareed Zakaria was also being highlighted on Monday.

Zakaria tweeted last month: 'If you're in NYC, go see Julius Caesar, free in Central Park, brilliantly interpreted for Trump era. A masterpiece.'

The tweet, which is two weeks old, was pounced on by conservatives on Monday, with many attacking the CNN host and threatening him over the comment.

Julius Caesar is pictured in the new version of the play, which is being performed in Central Park. It shows Caesar dressed in a Trump-like fashion

'Karma will take care of you!' one person wrote to the host.

'Fareed is a danger to the country! A terrorist sympathizer, thus he applauds this horror show, it fits him,' another tweeted.

'Fareed you need to go live someplace else,' another person - who claimed in their Twitter biography they treat people as they would like to be treated - added.

It comes after Delta Airlines announced it was pulling its sponsorship on Sunday afternoon.

The airline typically donates between $100,000 and $499,000 annually to the New York Public Theater.

'No matter what your political stance may be, the graphic staging of Julius Caesar at this summer's Free Shakespeare in the Park does not reflect Delta Air Lines' values,' a Delta spokesperson said in a statement.

The character of Caesar - who was made to look similar to Donald Trump - is pictured being stabbed

The show, which reportedly includes a bloody onstage murder scene (pictured), does not include a warning about the violent or graphic nature of the assassination

'Their artistic and creative direction crossed the line on the standards of good taste,' the statement continued. 'We have notified them of our decision to end our sponsorship as the official airline of the Public Theater effective immediately.'

The airline wasn't the only company to pull out of sponsoring the performance.

Late Sunday night Bank of America tweeted a statement explaining it would also be withdrawing its funding for the Julius Caesar production.

It said the theater 'chose to present Julius Caesar in such a way that was intended to provoke and offend'.

The New York Public Theater's artistic director Oskar Eustis said on the company's website the production should not be taken seriously.

'Julius Caesar can be read as a warning parable to those who try to fight for democracy by undemocratic means. To fight the tyrant does not mean imitating him,' Eustis wrote.

He added: 'Anyone seeing our production of Julius Caesar will realize it in no way advocates violence towards anyone.'

In the wake of two brands pulling their support of the Public, some experts have accused the corporations of hypocrisy.

The New York Public Theater's artistic director Oskar Eustis said on the company's website the production should not be taken seriously

The production, which officially opens Monday, runs through June 18 at the Delacorte Theater

Laurence Maslon, an administrator and arts professor at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, said it was disingenuous for large corporations who have backed the Public for years - and enjoyed co-opting its downtown cool vibe - to sound alarmed now.

'You've got to know what you're getting into,' he said, before adding the Public has '50 years of the most provocative, politically engaged work. It's called the Public Theater for a reason.'

Maslon then threw his support by Eustis, saying: 'Oskar is nothing if not brave.'

He then said any loss in funding the theater suffers as a result of corporations potentially walking away could be covered by public support.

'I think it will probably energize the base,' he said.

'I can imagine any sense that this political regime is imposing a kind of censorship and the free market can help correct it will probably be good for the Public.

'It will probably be a healthy thing, too.'

Julius Caesar runs until June 18 in Central Parks Delacorte Theater. Tickets are free to the public
North Korea has responded to US President Donald Trump's taunting tweets with a threat to launch nuclear weapons at New York City.

The far-fetched boast came in a Monday statement in Rodong Sinmun, a state-run newspaper viewed as a mouthpiece for the official viewpoint of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un's regime.

'The DPRK is about 10,400km [6,462m] far away from New York. But this is just not a long distance for its strike today,' the statement said, referring to the initials for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the country's official name.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (center) is seen last month during a ballistic missile test. The isolated regime has issued a new statement threatening to nuke New York City

The statement pointed to recent missile tests, such as this ballistic missile test seen in a photo released on May 30, as proof that 'its ICBM test is not a long way off at all'

The not-so-veiled threat to nuke New York appears to be a response to a months-old series of taunting tweets from Trump

'Trump blustered early this year that the DPRK's final access to a nuclear weapon that can reach the US mainland will never happen,' continues the bombastic statement written in English.

How far would missile have to travel from Pyongyang to reach the rest of the world? US Naval Base in Guam: 2,114 miles (3,402 km) Hawaii: 4,727 miles (7,670 km) London (over mainland Europe): 5,379 miles (8,657 km) San Francisco: 5,588 miles (8,993 km) Los Angeles: 5,935 miles (9,551 km) New York: 6,783 miles (10,916 km) Washington, DC: 6,857 miles (11,035 km) Advertisement

'But the strategic weapons tests conducted by the DPRK clearly proved that the time of its ICBM test is not a long way off at all.'

The not-so-veiled threat to nuke New York appears to be a response to a months-old series of taunting tweets from Trump.

'North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S. It won't happen!,' Trump wrote on January 2.

Trump's most recent tweet on North Korea came on May 29: 'North Korea has shown great disrespect for their neighbor, China, by shooting off yet another ballistic missile...but China is trying hard!'

Experts believe North Korea's claim to be able to reach New York with its current missile technology is improbable.

But that may not be the case for much longer. The isolated regime has made recent strides in missile technology.

Last month, the regime fired a Hwasong-12 at a maximum angle that suggested the rocket might be able to travel at least 2,500 miles (4,000km) - almost half the 5,500 miles (8,851 km) required to reach the US mainland.

'While the success of the Hwasong-12 may advance the North Korean ICBM program by perhaps a year, deployment of an operational ICBM prior to 2020 is still unlikely,' analyst John Shilling wrote recently for the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
Emil Michael, Uber's senior vice president of business, resigned on Monday

Uber's senior vice president of business has become the latest person to leave the embattled Silicon Valley giant.

Emil Michael confirmed his departure to colleagues in an email but gave no reason for it.

It comes amid claims CEO Travis Kalanick is also considering a leave of absence in light of the company's growing turmoil which was prompted by claims of rampant sexual harassment from a female former employee.

In 2014 , Kalanick distanced himself from Michael after he suggested digging up dirt on journalists and critics of the company.

The comments were rumored to have been made at a dinner party.

Michael has also been accused of circulating the medical records of a woman who was raped by her Uber driver in India among colleagues.

He was also present when Kalanick and his then girlfriend visited an escort bar in Seoul, South Korea. A female marketing executive, who was also in the group, later reported the visit to HR because she was so upset by it.

The New York Times obtained a copy of Michael's farewell email to colleagues.

It read: 'Team 

'Yesterday was my last day with Uber. Starting today, David Richter, our current VP of Strategic Initiatives, will be the new SVP of Business. David is an extremely talented leader and I have high confidence in his ability to help drive the company forward.

CEO Travis Kalanick (pictured last year) is facing pressure of his own to step down

Kalanick tried to distance himself from Michael in 2014 after it emerged the SVP of business had suggested digging up dirt on journalists who were critical of the company

'I signed on with the company almost four years ago and it has truly been the experience of a lifetime helping Uber become the fastest growing company of all-time -- spanning 75 countries with over 14,000 employees.

'I am proud of our business teams part in contributing to the company's overall success... But I am most proud of the quality of the team we have built.

'Uber has a long way to go to achieve all that it can and I am looking forward to seeing what you accomplish in the years ahead.'

Uber did not offer any explanation for his departure. A spokesman also fended off questions surrounding rumours that Kalanick is also facing pressure to step down.

It also emerged on Monday that Wan Ling Martello, a female SA executive from Nestle, was expected to be voted in to the troubled company's board.

That would make her the third prominent female hire in a week, said the Wall Street Journal, which had been tipped off by an insider.

Last week, the company fired 20 employees as part of the ongoing sexual harassment investigation.

Kalanick committed himself to the probe earlier this year when the first complaints were made but has not been able to quell scandal since news of it broke.

Within weeks of the investigation's announcement, he was filmed arguing with an Uber driver after being driven home with two women on Superbowl Sunday.

A nightmarish business year was capped off last month with the sudden and tragic death of his mother who died while out boating with his father near their home in Pine Flat Lake, California.

The company fired 20 people last week amid an ongoing investigation into sexual harassment (file photo)

Kalanick's mother Bonnie died last month in a tragic boating accident with his father Donald (above together)

In March, Uber president Jeff Jones quit. He complained that the company's 'beliefs and approaches' no longer aligned to his own.

Engineering executive Amit Singhal was earlier asked to resign after failing to disclose a sexual harassment from his old job at Google. Ed Baker, the company's vice president of product and growth, also stepped down.

The problems began when a female former employee penned a scathing viral blog post which alleged widespread and systemic sexual harassment.

It opened a Pandora's box of stories and anecdotes from former staff which seemed to prove her claims.

Among the revelations is an email that was sent by Kalanick to staff in 2013 in which he described the circumstances under which they could have sex with each other.

The email preceded a company-sponsored trip to Miami to celebrate Uber reaching its 50th global city.

In it, Kalanick wrote: 'Do not have sex with another employee UNLESS a) you have asked that person for that privilege and they have responded with an emphatic 'YES! I will have sex with you' AND b) the two (or more) of you do not work in the same chain of command. Yes, that means that Travis will be celibate on this trip. #CEOLife #FML.'
He promises strong, if not entirely stable leadership.

And after collecting a grand total of 249 votes in Maidenhead, Lord Buckethead is now basking in international fame.

The eccentric candidate, from hyperspace, was flown over to New York City to appear on John Oliver's HBO show 'Last Week Tonight'.

The British comedian put him forward as a candidate for chief Brexit negotiator in Mrs May's imperiled Cabinet.

Oliver said: 'We fund him, contacted him and actually flew him here to New York this morning.

'Could we have just made a similar costume and put an intern in it? Yes, we could have done that, that's a good point.

'But we didn't, and the fact that we didn't is why I am now able to present to you here tonight your new Brexit negotiator - please welcome Lord Bucketheath!'

Buckethead entered with all the pomp and circumstance you'd expect of an intergalactic Lord

HBO host John Oliver implored Theresa May to 'send the dark lord to Brussels'

The candidate entered the show with all the pomp and ceremony that an intergalactic Lord deserves, a cloud of dry ice around his knees.

As he lifted off on a podium, Oliver implored Theresa May to send him to Brussels.

He said: 'Theresa May, if you are still Prime Minister by the time this show airs, I implore you, send the dark lord to Brussels.

'Is it an absurd idea? Yes, but it would not even be close to the stupidest thing that you have ever done.'

Buckethead's eccentric political candidacy has made him a hit with the internet

Despite his clear novelty status, Buckethead put a lot of effort into his campaign,distributing 4000 leaflets throughout Maidenhead.

In his Manifesto, he has a slew of amusing promises, including the nationalisation of Adele.

Despite the clear novelty factor of his campaign, Buckethead distributed an impressive 4,000 leaflets
A Jordanian jihadi living in the UK, who cannot be identified, is using legal aid to help in his fight against deportation

A terrorist fighting deportation has won 250,000 in legal aid despite being caught with jihadi manuals on attacking nightclubs and airports.

The extremist, who cannot be identified, was granted the taxpayer funds even though he was described in court as the 'very model of a modern Al Qaeda terrorist'.

He is using some of the money to try to stay in the country following a nine-year prison sentence. He claims throwing him out would breach his human rights.

The payments are particularly alarming following the atrocities in Westminster, Manchester and London Bridge that cost 35 innocent lives.

And the election result has cast doubt on Theresa May's pledge to tear up the Human Rights Act in cases where it blocks the deportation of extremists.

The terrorist who has been granted legal aid came to England illegally in the months after the September 11 attacks as a 'sleeper agent' for a group linked to Al Qaeda.

The Jordanian claimed asylum by pretending to have fled the Middle East in fear of his life.

The claim was dismissed and he should have been deported. But he managed to stay and evade authorities simply by using a fake name. He was given a council house with his wife and claimed at least 100,000 in benefits.

The terrorist was arrested after a bank tipped off police about unusual activity on his account.

On his home computers, police found terror manuals detailing how to carry out bombings, with guidance on 'suitable targets' including airports and nightclubs.

The terrorist was found with instructions on how to make a bomb, a list of targets for attacks and instructions of setting up a terror cell linked to Al Muhajiround, the banned group led by jailed hate preacher Anjem Choudary (pictured)

He also had instructions on setting up a terror cell linked to Al Muhajiroun, the proscribed group. It is led by Anjem Choudary, the jailed hate preacher, and was supported by Khuram Butt, one of the London Bridge murderers.

The jihadi was convicted of six counts of possessing material for a purpose connected with terrorism and sent to jail.

A judge said his crimes were some of the most serious before the courts. But since completing his sentence, the Government has failed to deport him.

He was refused refugee status by the Home Office but has launched continued appeals through the courts.

He has gained from 253,000 in taxpayer-funded legal aid since his arrival in the country, according to figures released to the Daily Mail under the Freedom of Information Act.

More than 210,000 covered the costs of defending the initial criminal case against him. Almost 40,000 has paid for lawyers working on other cases, including his deportation.

Philip Davies, Tory MP for Shipley, said the case showed the need for legislation to make it easier to deport terrorists.

He added: 'It's bad enough that we are finding it difficult to kick out somebody who may do us terrible harm, but it's an absolute kick in the teeth to be forking out such colossal sums for his legal bills.

'This is why we need to be looking at the Human Rights Act.' The terrorist is currently living with family and must wear a tag and comply with strict conditions banning him from transport hubs such as international railway stations and airports.

He also cannot own computer equipment or a mobile phone.

The disturbing revelation, under Freedom of Information law, comes after Westminster, Manchester and London Bridge (pictured) attacks which claimed the lives of 36 people

Terrorists often cannot be identified by the press in case it causes them to come to harm when they are eventually deported to their home countries. Being in danger at home could lead to them having fresh grounds to apply for asylum in the UK.

They can be named only if they choose to waive their anonymity, as was the case with Abu Qatada, who Mrs May, then home secretary, managed to have deported following a ten-year legal battle.

The terrorist's lawyer Daniel Furner, of Birnberg Peirce, said: 'There is no association whatsoever between my client and Khuram Butt.

'The bulk of our costs related to demonstrating that the Home Office had been wrong to say my client would not be tortured on return to Jordan. The Home Office now accepts we were right about that.'

The Home Office and Ministry of Justice declined to comment. The terrorist was jailed for nine years at Manchester Crown Court, but released after five years inside.

He argues that if he were deported to Jordan he would be tortured. Under Article 3 of the Human Rights Act the UK is forbidden to deport where there is a real risk of someone being tortured or subjected to ill treatment in their destination country.

A lawyer for the Home Office had said the terrorist's links with other jihadis and his use of aliases made him 'in many ways, the very model of a modern Al Qaeda terrorist'  echoing the major-general's song in Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance.
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos will address the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools annual convention Tuesday. It may not be as comfortable a venue for her as it sounds.

There are some serious rifts in the charter community when it comes to how to react to President Donald Trump, DeVos, and their gung-ho school choice agenda, as my colleague Arianna Prothero wrote in this story last year .

The basic background: The Trump administrations embrace of school choiceincluding chartershas put the charter community in a tough spot. On the one hand, charter advocates, who were pushing the administration to bolster funding for charter schools to $1 billion have to be happy about the presidents proposal to hike charter school funding by $167 million, to $500 million.

But the rest of the budget is tough to swallow. Charter schools, just like traditional public schools take advantage of many of the same programs that Trump wants to cut in his budget in order to boost funding for choice, including grants for teacher quality and afterschool programs .

Whats more, Trumps charter-friendly policies come at an awkward time for the sector, which has been struggling with criticism from some in the black community. Last year, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP, called for a moratorium on new charter schools . The organization says that charters often cherry pick the best students, disproportionately discipline children of color, and steer critical tax dollars away from traditional public schools.

Cozying up to the Trump administrationwhich has drawn widespread criticism from the civil rights community for everything from the travel ban to the choice of Jeff Sessions as attorney generalcould hurt charters with a key constituency. Nationally, black students make up 28 percent of charter school enrollment, compared to only 15 percent of noncharter enrollment, according to an analysis by the Education Week Research Center of federal data from the 2012-13 school year .

And the president isnt popular in the African-American community. He won just 8 percent of the black vote, compared with 88 percent for Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, according to the Pew Research Center .

Charter advocates are painfully aware of this. In fact, Nina Rees, the president and CEO of the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools, told Arianna that she thinks that teachers unions, who tend to be skeptical of charter schools, are trying to leverage Trumps unpopularity with Democrats and communities of color by tying charters to the Trump administration.

"[T]here is definitely the push by the unions to conflate charters with choice, and broader plans to expand choice, Rees said last month. I dont know how consistently theyre going after that, but definitely the embrace of the Trump administration of charters, is something the other side is trying to leverage.

Charter-friendly Democratic organizations, including Democrats for Education Reform, have urged their allies not to work with the administration. And Eli Broad, a philanthropist who has funneled millions to charter schools, came out against DeVos nomination to head the department. So did the Massachusetts Public Charter School Association, which worried that policies backed by by an organization DeVos funded in Michigan led to the proliferation of low-performing charter schools.

All that will be in the background when DeVos steps on stage to address the nations biggest charter group tomorrow. Bonus: Shell be taking audience questions.

Follow us on Twitter at @PoliticsK12 .
A New York taxi caught fire in the middle of Fifth Avenue on Monday as the city endured its first major heatwave of the summer.

The car was parked outside 435 Fifth Avenue, a shopping hub between east 38th and 39th street, when it erupted into flames at 1.30pm when temperatures soared to 94F.

The driver was not inside at the time and no one else was hurt but pedestrians were filmed fleeing from its perimeter in fear it would explode.

Scroll down for video

A taxi caught fire on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on Monday afternoon as temperatures hit 92F

A Fire Department of New York spokesman told DailyMail.com that the cause of the blaze had not yet been determined but it is not being considered suspicious.

It provided dramatic scenery on the sweltering Manhattan afternoon.

Many by-passers filmed the fire and shared their footage and photographs on social media.

It took an hour and 20 minutes for the fire department to put out the flames.

Black smoke plumed from the vehicle, wafting up to the windows of sky scrapers which surrounded it.

The NYPD refused to speculate on the cause of the fire but NBC cites police sources saying it was likely down to the car overheating.

The flames raged as pedestrians and other drivers tried to maneuver their way around the vehicle
Under-fire chief of staff Reince Priebus thanked President Trump 'for the opportunity' and the 'blessing' of serving his agenda in an extraordinary show of gratitude.

With TV cameras rolling, Priebus directed his remarks to the president, who was sitting across a long table inside the packed cabinet room at the White House Monday.

'On behalf of the entire senior staff around you, Mr. President, we thank you for the opportunity and blessing that you have given us to serve your agenda and the American people,' Priebus

'And were continuing to work hard every day to accomplish those goals,' Priebus added.

Scroll down for video

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus (l) thanked President Trump 'for the opportunity and blessing' to serve his agenda and the American people, following a report that his job is on the line

Just hours before Priebus publicly thanked the president, Politico reported that Trump had set a July 4 deadline for a White House shakeup that could include giving the axe to Priebus.

The warning came in a White House meeting where Trump reportedly berated Priebus in front of former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and former deputy campaign manager David Bossie. 'Im giving you until July 4,' he said, according to the story.

Priebus, who ran the Republican National Committee during the 2016 campaign, has struggled to reign in a leak-prone, factionalized, and combative White House. Some of his struggles have been external, with multiple investigations of Russian election interference upending daily communications plans on a daily basis, while the president has posed his own challenges with late-night tweeting and public pronouncements.

Priebus wasn't the only participant to laud Trump, but he is the only one whose job is reportedly in danger. 'Greatest privilege of my life,' said Vice President Mike Pence, who was elected by the people alongside Trump, although he technically could get removed from the ticket in 2020.

HOW AM I DOING? Cabinet officials saluted President Trump's performance during a cabinet meeting Monday

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus attends a Cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump, Monday, June 12, 2017, in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington

(L-R) Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, Press Secretary Sean Spicer and Senior Advisor Stephen Miller walk on the South Lawn of the White House upon their return with President Donald Trump to Washington, U.S., May 17, 2017

One cabinet member, Alex Acosta, began his remarks at the White House Monday by thanking White House aide Ivanka Trump for her work.

The 'thank you for the opportunity' phrase is associated with the Apprentice, including the British version of the show, to the extent that one fired contestant took a stand by refusing to say it.

'I think it's ridiculous when people get up and say, 'Thank you for the opportunity' and leave the room," sacked 2015 candidate Jenny Garbis told Digital Spy, explaining her own defiant exit from the British version of the show show.

"I was never going to do that. And apparently I'm the only candidate ever  and I've apparently made history  because I'm actually the only one to stand up and say what I thought,' she said.
Calling relatives who are on holiday abroad will be no cheaper despite a crackdown on mobile phone charges in Europe.

From Thursday, Britons travelling to EU nations will be able to use their phone as if they were at home  thanks to a ban on any surcharges for making calls, sending texts, surfing the web or downloading videos.

Advocates say this will end the bill shock suffered by millions who are left with costly charges following summer breaks.

However, the roam like home structure  brought in by EU legislation  has complexities that could still leave customers with higher bills, consumer group Which? says.

Advocates say this will end the bill shock suffered by millions who are left with costly charges following summer breaks

The regime caps the cost of calls only for citizens of one EU country who have travelled to another.

Which? said: Calls and texts sent from UK mobiles to the EU will still incur charges.

For example, we found that calling Spain from the UK can cost between 9p (Giffgaff) and 1.50 (O2) per minute.

Which? also said that when customers exceed the agreed minutes, texts and data for their package, they will still be charged in the EU as they would in the UK

The rules also apply only to EU nations, meaning those travelling to places in Europe that are not in the EU, such as Switzerland and even the Channel Islands, could still be hit with high bills.

Some firms voluntarily include these destinations in the new price-cap regime, but others do not.

Which? said: Mobile providers include different countries in their roaming territories and this can vary depending on whether consumers are a pay as you go or pay monthly customer.

For example, O2 pay as you go customers will continue to be hit with roaming charges in the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, Monaco and Switzerland whereas O2 pay monthly customers wont.

Vodafone is the only provider including Turkey, which is outside the EU, in its roaming bundle, meaning there are no surcharges. But calling the UK from Turkey on other networks can cost 1.65 a minute.

Which? also said that when customers exceed the agreed minutes, texts and data for their package, they will still be charged in the EU as they would in the UK.

All providers charge different rates, which can be very high.

The consumer watchdog is advising customers to check tariffs with their provider and shop around for the best deal at the end of their contract.

Advocates hoped the new EU legislation will end the bill shock suffered by millions who are left with costly charges following summer breaks

Alex Neill, of Which?, said: Many will reap the benefits of these changes and will no longer be put off from making calls abroad.

However, it is important that you take a close look at what is or isnt included in your current mobile deal. Not knowing whats included could lead to some surprising charges on your next bill.

Once Britain leaves the EU in two years time, mobile firms would be within their rights to re-introduce higher charges for Britons in an EU country.

But Ernest Doku, of comparison site uSwitch.com, warned that doing so would be a bitter pill for consumers to swallow.

He said: For those providers looking to step up and stand out, they would do well to look at how free EU roaming could be maintained.
Greg Gianforte, Montana's newly-elected congressman, has been sentenced to community service and 20 hours of anger management, but no jail time, after pleading guilty to assaulting a reporter on the eve of his election.

Gianforte, a wealthy businessman, told a packed courtroom in Bozeman, Montana that he had apologized to reporter Ben Jacobs of The Guardian.

Jacobs tried to ask Gianforte about the Congressional Budget Office's analysis of the Republican health care bill as Gianforte was preparing for a television interview.

Gianforte, according to Jacobs at the time, 'body slammed' him to the ground and broke his glasses.

Congressman-elect Greg Gianforte (center) sits during his court hearing on Monday. Gianforte pleaded guilty to assaulting Ben Jacobs, a Guardian reporter, on the eve of his election

Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs speaks on the stand as Montana Republican congressman-elect Greg Gianforte appears in court to face a charge of misdemeanor assault

'Although it was not my intention to hurt him, I understand that Ben was injured during this contact,' Gianforte told the court

'Although it was not my intention to hurt him, I understand that Ben was injured during this contact,' Gianforte told the court.

The 56-year-old Republican was sentenced to six months of deferred jail time, 40 hours of community service, 20 hours of anger management sessions and $385 in fines and court fees for the misdemeanor assault that propelled him and his congressional race into the national spotlight.

'When you make a mistake, you've got to take full responsibility. That's what I've done today,' Gianforte said after the hearing. 'This was not a proud moment, but I'm ready to move on.'

Gianforte was in the awkward position of attending a court hearing on assault charges - and potentially heading to jail - just before going to Washington to be sworn in as the lone representative from Montana.

Democrats had made it a tight race, painting it as a referendum on the first months of the presidency of Donald Trump, who had carried the western state by 20 points last November. But the Republican prevailed.

Jacobs, in the courtroom and reading from a prepared statement, said he 'was doing my job' on May 24 when he asked the candidate a question about the health care bill working its way through Congress.

Newly elected US Rep. Greg Gianforte (left) of Montana issued an apology letter last week for body slamming Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs (right), who has agreed in turn not to sue

'Mr Gianforte's response was to slam me to the floor and start punching me. He injured my elbow, broke my glasses and thrust me into a national spotlight I did not seek or desire,' Jacobs said.

'I had no right to respond the way I did,' Gianforte wrote. 'You were doing your job.'

Last week, Gianforte issued an apology letter and said he plans to donate money to a journalism advocacy organization as part of a settlement agreement with a reporter he is accused of assaulting.

In exchange, Jacobs agreed not to sue Gianforte over the attack, and he will not object to Gianforte entering a 'no contest' plea to the misdemeanor assault charge the Republican faces from the May 24 encounter.

Gianforte then told Jacobs - a political reporter based in Washington, DC - to 'get the hell out of here,' according to an audio recording by Jacobs.

That night, Gianforte was charged with assault.

The next day, Gianforte defeated Democrat Rob Quist to win the special congressional election to replace Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke as Montana's only congressman.

The day after the incident, Gianforte (seen above celebrating with supporters) defeated Democrat Rob Quist to win the special congressional election to replace Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke as Montana's only congressman

Gianforte is expected to be sworn in later this month.

Gianforte's letter says he takes full responsibility for the encounter and that Jacobs was just doing his job.

'Notwithstanding anyone's statements to the contrary, you did not initiate any physical contact with me, and I had no right to assault you,' Gianforte's letter says.

The Gianforte campaign's initial statement the night of the encounter from spokesman Shane Scanlon blamed the 'aggressive behavior from a liberal journalist.'

Gianforte will contribute $50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists as part of the settlement.

Jacobs said in a statement that he accepts Gianforte's apology.

'I hope the constructive resolution of this incident reinforces for all the importance of respecting the freedom of the press and the First Amendment and encourages more civil and thoughtful discourse in our country,' Jacobs said in his statement.

Gianforte put out a statement that said he takes full responsibility for his actions and that he and Jacobs 'are both ready to move on.'
President Donald Trump and senior adviser Jared Kushner are mixed up in a 'conflict of interest' charge that could net a former business partner's company $2 billion.

Vornado Reality Trust is a finalist to build the FBI's new headquarters in Washington, D.C., ABC News reported.

Its founder and chairman Steven Roth has worked with Trump in the past and his company is negotiating a major stake in a building that Kushner's family owns in Manhattan.

'This is a case where the conflict is direct,' Noah Bookbinder, executive director of the watchdog group CREW, told ABC News. 'They have business ties to a company that stands to benefit from a direct decision of the administration.'

Roth is also in charge of Trump's infrastructure advisory council and traveled with the president last week to Ohio for a speech on the topic.

President Donald Trump (right) and senior adviser Jared Kushner (left) are mixed up in a 'conflict of interest' charge that could net a former business partner's company $2 billion

Jared Kushner (left) sits behind President Trump (right) as he holds his first official cabinet meeting Monday. A former business partner wants to build the new FBI headquarters

The Trump Organization and Vornado are jointly invested invested in two buildings in New York and Manhattan, ABC News reported.

Vornado is also in negotiations with Kushner Companies to take make a large investment in its troubled 666 Fifth Avenue building.

According to ABC, it is finalizing a deal to take over 49.5 percent of the office space in the New York property and 70 percent of the retail area.

Kushner is no longer involved in the management of his family company, although he continues to profit off it.

He told ABC through a spokesperson that he's abiding by federal ethics laws.

Vornado Reality Trust chairman Steven Roth has ties to both Donald Trump and Jared Kushner. And his company is a finalist to build the new FBI headquarters

'Jared takes the ethics rules very seriously and would never compromise himself or the administration,' a White House official said. 'In consultation with the Office of the White House Counsel, he is fully complying with federal ethics rules and will recuse as necessary.'

His lawyer, Jamie Gorelick, told the New York Times in April: 'The real estate assets that Kushner is holding on to are unlikely to pose the kinds of conflicts that would trigger the need to divest.

'The remaining conflicts, from a practical perspective, are pretty narrow and very manageable.'

The Trump son-in-law is said to have meet with a Chinese firm about the Manhattan property during the transition. Lawmakers want to question him about his talks with the Russians after the election for the same reason.

A Russian bank says that it met with Kushner in his capacity as the head of his family business. The White House had claimed that he was representing the president in that talk and another one with the Russian ambassador.

Kushner's family's property has $1.3 billion in loans that are due in the next two years, ABC had previously reported. The news outlet said it's not bringing in enough rental income.

It told ABC News for its latest report that it was purposely allowing leasing to expire so it can redevelop those spaces into condominiums.

GSA, the General Services Administration, will decide which company gets the FBI contract. It's part of the executive branch but operates independently from the White House.

It awarded Trump the contract on the Old Post Office Building in Washington, D.C. and ruled after he became a public office holder that his new day job did not violate the rules of the contract's clause pertaining to elected officials.

'Does GSA cut corners when it is politically convenient?' Democratic Rep. Gerald Connolly, a member of the House Oversight Committee, told ABC News. 'Our experience with the Trump Hotel downtown would suggest yes.'

The president also retained ownership of his company.

His assets are a in a trust he can withdraw money from at any time. He cannot make decisions on behalf of his business that he left his two sons, Eric and Don Jr., in charge of, though.

'President Trump believed it was important to create multiple layers of approval for major actions and key business decision,' the Trump Organization told ProPublica earlier this year.

Trump's conflict is mainly derived from his relationship with Vornado's head, Roth.

The two have palled around for decades.

Roth was at Trump's victory speech in New York when he won the state's Republican primary last April and has serves as an adviser to him on infrastructure at the White House.

'It creates a huge conflict,' Connolly told ABC of Roth's bidding for the FBI building while he's technically advising Trump. 'Its an enormous project. The exposure here for the Trump administration is very real.'
British taxpayers could be landed with a 58million bill before Brexit to demolish the European Parliament base and build another.

MEPs want the 880million Brussels headquarters  used for 24 years  to be razed to the ground so a more spacious alternative can be constructed.

The plans, which will reignite accusations of outlandish spending by European lawmakers, have been ordered because the building does not meet EU safety standards.

British taxpayers could be landed with a 58million bill before Brexit to demolish the European Parliament base and build another

Officials have also said it needs to be enlarged to provide more office space for the expanding armies of staff employed by the 751 MEPs.

If the project is approved before Britain cuts ties with Brussels in 2019, the UK would be expected to part-fund it.

Internal documents reveal the total cost of demolishing and rebuilding the dilapidated Paul-Henri Spaak building could hit 380million.

The prospect of another expensive construction project to house MEPs will anger Eurosceptics who have long criticised the cost of running multiple headquarters.

It is one of three seats of the European Parliament, including the second home in Strasbourg that remains unused for most of the year.

MEPs and staff travel at huge cost from Belgium to the duplicate French base for a week each month, to satisfy a deal between the EU and France.

A third chamber, in Luxembourg, has not been used by MEPs since 1981.

The Paul-Henri Spaak building  named after a Belgian PM seen as an EU founding father  is known locally as Caprice des Dieux, or whim of the gods. It was built in 1993 for more than a billion euros.

MEPs want the 880million Brussels headquarters  used for 24 years  to be razed to the ground so a more spacious alternative can be constructed

Concerns about the shoddy condition of the building were raised in 2012 when cracks appeared in the roof of its debating chamber. Inspectors have also drawn attention to persistent leaks and the breakdown of the heating.

Officials have repeatedly said the lifespan of the centre will come to an end in 2019.

Provisional plans for the demolition and rebuilding were presented to the parliaments bureau by secretary general Klaus Welle last night.

He said in a note that alternative proposals to refurbish would prove extremely complicated and expensive.

In a note to the group of high-level MEPs, he urged them to back plans to destroy their base and build a new one despite the huge cost to taxpayers across Europe.

The HQ plans, which will reignite accusations of outlandish spending by European lawmakers, have been ordered because the building does not meet EU safety standards

He said: Any structure that does not have the requisite degree of robustness will behave like a line of dominoes.

When an accidental event occurs, the destruction of a given element will result in the destruction of the surrounding elements  until a large part/all of the structure is destroyed.

He added: The administration recommends that the structure should be rebuilt rather than reinforced.

The official said this would ensure the building meets European safety standards, and satisfy all of parliaments operation requirements.

Ukip MEP Jonathan Arnott, who sits on the committee that polices the parliaments budget, said: How about we tear the whole thing down and dont bother rebuilding at all.

Why should taxpayers have to pay for MEPs to live in such salubrious surroundings?

A decision on whether to rubber-stamp the project was not thought to have been taken at last nights meeting.

Any decision would have to be considered by a number of EU bodies, including the budget scrutiny committee.

Among problems highlighted in the Paul-Henri Spaak building were long waits for lifts and furniture that does not fit the needs of MEPs and staff.

Previous proposals by senior EU officials have called for MEPs to be provided with optimum working conditions in a new building.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions could avoid perilous questions about his conversations with the president by invoking executive privilege during testimony Tuesday  something the White House is not ruling out.

In the latest blockbuster installment in the Russia probe, Sessions will speak before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday afternoon.

His appearance follows one by fired FBI Director James Comey, who spoke at length about private conversations where he says Trump asked him to give an assurance of his loyalty and asked him to back off an FBI investigation of fired national security advisor Mike Flynn.

Although the White House portrayed Comey's appearance as a win, it isn't ruling out invoking privilege for Sessions, which would prevent him from saying everything he knows.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions (C) looks on during a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Cabinet Room of the White House June 12, 2017, where he was seated next to Vice President Mike Pence. He testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday

'I think it depends on the scope of the questions, and to get into a hypothetical at this point would be premature,' said White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Monday.

It would be difficult for Sessions to avoid talking about his past meetings with Russia's U.S. ambassador Sergey Kislyak, since he already was forced to acknowledge contacts after it was revealed he hadn't disclosed them to the Senate during his confirmation.

Other questions are likely to focus on his conversations with Trump leading up to the president's decision to fire Comey, who was then heading the investigation of Russian election interference.

ABC News reported that Sessions isn't expected to answer questions about conversations he had with Trump before the Comey firing. The president himself has publicly described his version of those conversations.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer did not rule out the invocation of executive privilege

Sessions spoke about crime-fighting at Monday's cabinet meeting, but on Tuesday he'll be asked about the Russia probe and James Comey firing

Former FBI Director James Comey

Democrats have said that since Sessions recused himself from the Russia probe following his disclosure of his own Kislyak contacts, he should not have taken part in matters relating to Comey's firing and the hiring of his successor.

Executive privilege isn't absolute and can be challenged in court. To prevail, the administration can try to claim Sessions' conversations were private, privileged communication in connection with the president seeking advice to do his official duties.

Comey during his testimony described a moment when Sessions lingered before Trump asked him to talk one-on-one in the Oval Office about what turned out to be the Flynn probe. He also described asking Sessions not to let Trump speak to him alone in the future, and told how he confided in senior staff rather than Sessions, who campaigned with Trump and was the first senator to endorse him.

The president has the authority to claim executive privilege, but it can be challenged in court and can lead to political charges of covering up

Attorney General Jeff Sessions had at least two contacts with Russia's ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak

He said regarding Sessions: 'We considered whether to tell -- the attorney general ... we believe rightly he was shortly going to recuse,' but didn't say why.

CNN reported that during a closed session that followed the public hearing last week, Comey said Sessions may have had a third undisclosed meeting with Russian ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak.

The president has denied key elements of Comey's testimony.

'No collusion, no obstruction. He's a leaker. But we want to get back to running our great country,' Trump said last week.
Two yoga teachers say they have been told they will be banned from teaching yoga at an Anglican church in Sydney's inner west from July 1 because the practice could lead to Christians 'worshipping false gods'.

The Erskineville Anglican Church has banned yoga classes held on its premises in a bid to stop any 'spiritual confusion' created by the classes, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph - and other churches in the area are following suit.

But a spokesman for the Erskineville church has denied they have made a final decision to ban yoga classes in their halls over concerns the activities will encourage spiritual confusion among Christians.



Inner-Sydney churches are banning yoga classes held in their hired hall spaces (stock image)

Church officials are refusing to allow yoga in their halls (stock image) because they believe the practice may lead Christians to worship false gods

The Anglican Church in Erskinville will refuse to allow yoga classes to be held in its hall after June 30, the report says.

More churches across the region are doing the same after being told by the Anglican church's Sydney Diocese to 'review' yoga classes run on church grounds.

The review follows a 2015 policy meeting which produced a report advising churches to avoid renting the space to yoga classes 'on account of the spiritual confusion this may cause'.

One yoga teacher, who asked to remain anonymous, said the name of his class had to be changed to 'mindful movement therapy' to get around the church ban.

In a bid to stop any 'spiritual confusion' the Anglican Church in Erskineville (pictured) is refusing to allow yoga classes to be held in its hall after June 30

A diocese spokesman confirmed the church was reviewing a number of yoga classes taking place in church halls across the region (stock image)

He said if he continued to say he was teaching yoga then the class was forbidden.

Another teacher admitted the issue had been raised by church officials who told her that she was preaching about yoga, which may push her clients to worship false gods.

She disputed those claims, saying that the practice is exercise, not religion.

A diocese spokesman confirmed the church was reviewing a number of classes taking place on church grounds which offered a spiritual teaching 'as opposed to yoga positions done merely for the sake of exercise'. But he denied a ban was in place.

Other activities such as tai chi and martial arts practices were also singled out (stock image)

'The review is ongoing in a number of churches. In the case of Erskineville, conversations have been entered into with class providers but no final decision has yet been taken,' the spokesman said.

The review comes on the back of a 2015 report from a church committee, which suggested yoga be kicked out of church and school halls because it comes from an Eastern religious background.

Other activities such as tai chi and martial arts practices were also singled out in the report.

Gillian Farrell, who attended yoga classes in Erskinville for four years, told the Telegraph she and others were upset by the church's decision.
Homeowners with gun licences could be encouraged to defend their communities in the event of a terror attack, according to a leading police chief.

Alison Hernandez, police and crime commissioner for Devon and Cornwall, said shoot-to-kill powers could be granted in the event of 'extreme circumstances'.

Speaking on BBC Radio Cornwall yesterday, she said she would raise the idea with her force's chief constable but admitted the legal implications were complex.

Alison Hernandez, police and crime commissioner for Devon and Cornwall (left), raised prospect of legal gun owners fighting terrorists. But Paul Netherton, deputy chief constable for Devon and Cornwall Police (right), said he would not sanction move

Her comments suggest that farmers, firearms dealers and other licence holders could be used to defend remote areas from an attack by marauding gunmen.

There have been concerns that large parts of rural Britain are vulnerable to a terror attack due to a national shortage of elite police marksmen.

Last year, John Apter, head of the Hampshire Police Federation, said the nearest armed response team could be up to 70 miles away from some parts of the countryside.

Miss Hernandez made the suggestion in response to a call from an ex-firearms dealer from the town of Bude, in Cornwall.

He asked: 'If there should ever be a terrorist attack close to the town centre, what happens if people like I and others try to defend themselves using those guns?'

Miss Hernandez replied it was 'a very good question', adding: 'I'm just saying let's officially have a look at that and see what would be the implications of it. Let's unpick it a little bit.'

She later said: 'We work with businesses to keep our communities safe. I'd really be interested in exploring that with the chief constable.'

Miss Hernandez added: 'I think the reality is... if your community was coming under attack, people would do all sorts of things to try to save their community without even thinking.

Miss Hernandez was quizzed by a legal gun dealer whether he would be allowed to shoot a terrorists in the midst of an attack. She replied: 'Let's have a look at that' (file image)

'Look at how some of the emergency services responded  some of the community responded  on the bridge in London.

'People will do incredible things without thinking [in order] to protect themselves and the community around them.'

The caller was then asked if they would be happy taking on a terrorist, to which they replied: 'Yes', which prompted Miss Hernandez to remark: 'She's not messing about. Don't go down to Bude.'

The presenter said he could not believe the chief constable would entertain the idea of the public defending themselves with firearms, to which she replied: 'I'm sure he wouldn't want to entertain it, but these are times that are challenging and I would like to have an official response on that myself.'

But last night, Paul Netherton, deputy chief constable for Devon and Cornwall Police, said only highly trained police firearms officers are capable of defending the public from an attack.

He said: 'Under no circumstances would we want members of the public to arm themselves with firearms, not least because officers responding would not know who the offenders were, and quite obviously they would not have the time to ask.

'Our message to the public is a simple one: to run, to hide and to tell. Having said that, I accept that British policing will require an uplift in resources in response to the unprecedented threats we are currently facing.

'This includes additional operational firearms capability as well as an investment in our local policing which does so much to identify and prevent people from committing terrorist acts.'

In January, Cornwall councillor Candy Atherton called on Miss Hernandez to quit, saying that a police investigation, the county's crime figures and failures to put plans in place during nearly nine months in office, made her position untenable.

But Miss Hernandez defended herself in the interview saying she had been elected to do a job and that she would continue with it.

In 2015 a total of 153,603 people had a licence to carry firearms.
Michael Zeug, police chief of Walnut Grove, the setting for Little House on the Prairie, was charged with soliciting an underage prostitute

The police chief of a town famous for being the location of the Little House on the Prairie television series has been arrested in an underage sex string.

Police Chief of Walnut Grove, Minnesota, Michael Zeug, 45, was charged on Monday with attempting to hire a minor for sex, reported the Star Tribune.

Zeug, who is the small town's only full time police officer, is accused of trying to hire a 17-year-old girl for sex.

The age of consent in Minnesota is 16, but hiring a minor for sex is a felony.

Walnut Grove is the small town where the popular series Little House on the Prairie, based on Laura Ingalls Wilder's autobiographical novels, took place.

The show starred Melissa Gilbert as Laura Ingalls and ran on NBC from 1974 to 1982.

Zeug, right, was attempting to hire a minor for sex; it's unclear if he will keep his job

Video courtesy of KSFY

The press release from the Redwood County District Court didn't mention that Zeug happens to be the town's top cop, an omission that Redwood County Attorney Steven S. Collins defended to the Star Tribune, saying, 'I wasn't trying to hide anything. ... There were three people charged. This is typical of the releases that we do.'

The City Council scheduled an emergency meeting Monday evening to discuss Zeug's fate as the town's top cop.

'It's amazingly unfortunate for everybody,' said Collins. He also said Zeug is married with children.

Little House on the Prairie was an extremely popular TV series based on the Laura Ingalls Wilder books about her childhood. Above, cast members (from left) Melissa Gilbert, Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, Melissa Sue Anderson, Lindsay or her twin, Sydney, Greenbush

The sex sting, part of Operation Guardian Angel, a multi-state, multi-agency task force that works to prevent child sex trafficking, involved undercover officers putting ads for sex with minors in Backpage and Craigslist.

Zeug reportedly told the undercover cop that hiring her wasn't his 'first time' and he wanted her to stand at the front of the house where they were to meet and 'flash him' as he drove by, to prove she wasn't with law enforcement.

He also allegedly asked her sexual questions and for her to send nude photos, according to WCCO.

The Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Walnut Grove is a popular tourist attraction

He faces up to five years in prison if convicted.

He remains in jail on $50,000 bond.

In Little House on the Prairie, Simi, California stood in for Walnut Creek, and patriarch Charles Ingalls was once Deputy Sheriff.
Students in charter schools that are run by for-profit companies perform markedly worse than their peers in charters managed by nonprofit groups, according to a new study .

These findingsreleased during the largest annual gathering of the charter school movementcould potentially drive a wedge further into a growing rift among charter school advocates over the role of for-profit companies in the sector.

What the Study Found

The study, conducted by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University , or CREDO, found that, on average, students attending nonprofit-run schools had faster academic growth than those in for-profit schools that was equal to about 23 extra days of learning in math and six extra days in reading.

Students in nonprofit charters also saw faster academic growth than their peers in traditional public schools, equal to about 11 extra days of reading and math.

CREDOs study also compared performance between students in for-profit charters and their peers in traditional public schools and found that students in for-profit charters do no better in reading, and perform worse in math.

Where all charter schools stumbled is in serving special education students. For example, in charter school networks (where a single organization holds the charter for three or more schools, according to the study), students receiving special education fell behind their peers in traditional public schools in math by the equivalent of about 86 days over the course of a year. For all other types of charters schools, the number was 108 days.

Interestingly, the few schools categorized by CREDO as hybrids"charter networks that hire vendors to operate their schoolssaw boosts equal to an extra 51 days in math and 46 days in reading. The report notes that those effects are largely driven by schools in two states: Florida and Michigan. They also were the only type of school in which special education students demonsrated more academic growth than their counterparts in district schools.

However, hybrid schools, such as the Chicago International Charter Schools, only educate about 60,000 students out of the 5 million in charters nationally.

CREDO researchers looked at more than 5,700 charter schools in 24 states as well as in New York City and the District of Columbia. They found wide variations in charter school performance based on the state.

Big Picture: Debate Over For-Profit Charters Is Heating Up

The growth of nonprofit charter management organizations has been fueled in large part by a handful of wealthy donorssuch as Eli and Edythe Broad and the heirs of Walmart founder Sam Walton, both families with billions to their names.

But the ideological flip sidewhich supports for-profit charter groups as well as virtual schools and private school vouchershas its own billionaire boosters, most notably the family of U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

This split has been most apparent in debates over virtual charter schools , the vast majority of which are run by for-profit companies.



President Donald Trumps embrace of charters and school choice, and his selection of DeVos as education secretary, has further laid bare a divide among choice advocates over the role of for profit companies and private schools in the school choice movement. For an example of this, check out the reaction to Trumps proposed education budget .

More About CREDO

Although CREDO has its detractors, its research is widely considered some of the most rigorous on charter school performance. CREDO uses a unique research method where it matches charter and traditional public school students based on a series of criteria that include demographics and academic performance. It then compares the academic growth of these virtual twins. (More on CREDOs methodology in the full report .)



CREDO also converts its findings on academic growth and performance into days of learning lost or gained.

Taken together, CREDOs studies have shown charter school performance to be a mixed bag, and as a result, are regularly cited by both charter supporters and opponents, depending upon the outcome of a particular study.

Related stories:
Residents on the NSW north coast and the Gold Coast are being urged to brace for flooding, with heavy rainfall predicted to soak the east coast of Australia on Tuesday.

After a wet long weekend in which close to 200mm of rain fell across parts of NSW in just 48 hours, the State Emergency Service warned residents the worst was yet to come.

'Rain is likely to pick up late Tuesday afternoon into the evening and push through until Wednesday morning,' SES spokeswoman Becky Gollings told AAP.

'Tuesday is the day of greatest concern for us at the moment.'

Sydney will also endure a miserable week of wet weather, with rainfall forecast to linger through till next Monday.

Residents on the NSW north coast and the Gold Coast are being urged to brace for flooding, with heavy rainfall predicted to soak the east coast of Australia on Tuesday night

Close to 200mm of rain fell across parts of NSW over the long weekend (Sydney's Parramatta pictured) - but forecasters are warning the worst is yet to come

Torrential downpour and strong winds are also expected to sweep across southeast Queensland on Tuesday.

A low pressure system sitting off the coast should deliver steady rainfall from Brisbane across to the Darling Downs.

Gold Coast residents are being warned to take care ahead of another wet day on the tourist strip.

After copping almost 200mm in parts of the region over the weekend, another 60-100mm is forecast for the 24-hours to Wednesday.

Gold Coast City Council's disaster management centre says the risk to the city is low.

They are however warning about the dangers of flash flooding and road closures in flood-prone areas.

Torrential downpour and strong winds are also expected to sweep across southeast QLD

Gold Coast residents are being warned to take care ahead of another wet day, which could see flash flooding (flash flooding from long weekend pictured)

More than 110mm of rain was recorded on the coastal fringe from Saturday afternoon into Sunday morning.

Beaches will be monitored with offshore gale-force winds forecast and the council is advising beachgoers stay away due to increased swell and strong winds regardless of whether beaches are closed or not.

Surfers are being advised to err on the side of caution when heading out into the waves.

Conditions are not expected to be as troubling as across the border in the NSW northern rivers region, where a severe weather warning was in place on Monday.

Greg Murphy from the SES says up to 150mm of raing could fall in the region over the next few days.

'At this stage, we don't know how bad it will be but we're certainly keeping a close eye on it,' Mr Murphy told Nine on Tuesday.

'Be vigilant, if you haven't prepared yet be prepared for an evacuation warning if it were to come, make sure you give yourself time to get your essentials together,' he said.

After copping almost 200mm in parts of QLD over the weekend, another 60-100mm is forecast for the 24-hours to Wednesday

A severe weather warning is in place for the NSW northern rivers region on Tuesday

He said the Richmond, Wilson and Brunswick rivers were of most concern, where they have already reached minor flood levels.

The Rural Fire Service, Fire & Rescue, local police and councils and the SES are preparing for emergencies and possible flooding in the coming days.

Mr Murphy urged people to stay out of floodwaters with four rescued over the last few days - and 600 this year.

'We would be keen to not have any more today.'
Lawyers for the president may formally accuse fired FBI chief James Comey of a string of leaks to the New York Times, it was reported Monday.

Fox News said a source close to his legal team made the suggestion as they prepared to submit a formal complaint to the Department of Justice's Inspector General and to the Senate Judiciary Committee about Comey's admission that he had leaked once to the Times.

Comey made the disclosure during dramatic testimony last Thursday that after he was dismissed, he passed memos to a friend and had him brief the New York Times.

The report of the attack on Comey after Trump blasted him on Twitter, calling the ousted FBI Director a 'coward' and made the suggestion he had leaked more than he admitted.

Scroll down for video

President Donald Trump gave his Cabinet a big pat on the back Monday for the 'tremendous success' he said it's had, despite Democrats' 'sad' attempts to stand in the way of his agenda - but behind the scenes his lawyers may be getting ready for a new attack on James Comey

The president sent this tweet out on Sunday morning attacking former FBI Director Comey

Trump, who was surprisingly subdued on social media when Comey testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, made up for lost time on Sunday morning.

'I believe the James Comey leaks will be far more prevalent than anyone ever thought possible. Totally illegal? Very "cowardly!" the 70-year-old wrote.

His attack on Comey was in reference to the former FBI Director admitting during his testimony he leaked memos he had written about meetings with Trump.

The 56-year-old said he sent accounts of his conversations to 'a close friend' and professor at Columbia Law School to get his story out after Trump fired him on May 9.

Comey hoped his records would prompt the appointment of a special counsel, which did happen, to oversee the investigation into Russia's meddling in the election.

Daniel Richman, a professor of criminal law at Columbia, confirmed to Reuters he was the person referred to in Comey's testimony.

Richman, who is listed as an adviser to Comey in his official biography on the school's website, did not respond to further requests for comments.

Fox News produced its own analysis of ten New York Times stories which may have links to Comey, many of them written by the reporter who received the leak from his friend.

Submitting a similar dossier to the Department of Justice and the Senate Judiciary Committee would represent a significantly higher level of hostilities with Comey.

Trump's lawyers could try to force an investigation of each alleged leak by the Inspector General of the department.

Republican senators may also feel encouraged to haul Comey in front of the committee to be questioned on whether he leaked.

Such a spectacle could, if there was any hint of evidence he had leaked, damage his integrity, Trump's legal team may be thinking.

Former FBI Director James Comey testifies before a Senate Select Intelligence Committee hearing on Russian interference in the 2016 election on June 8

During his time in office, Trump has raged against the press and its use of anonymous sources.

The 'failing' New York Times has proved to be a particular bete noire for the president too.

Following Comey's testimony, Trump's personal lawyer, Kasowitz, sharply criticized Comey for leaking what he called 'privileged communications' between the president and the then-FBI director.

'Mr. Comey admitted that he unilaterally and surreptitiously made unauthorized disclosures to the press of privileged communications with the President,' Kasowitz said.

Fresh off attacking Comey on Sunday morning, Trump then turned his attention to another favored target - the Democrats.

'The Democrats have no message, not on economics, not on taxes, not on jobs, not on failing #Obamacare. They are only OBSTRUCTIONISTS!' he wrote.

COMEY'S TESTIMONY: AT A GLANCE On letting Mike Flynn probe go: 'I took it as a direction' On obstruction of justice: 'I don't think it's for me to say whether the conversation I had with the president was an effort to obstruct' On asking a friend to leak his account of a Trump meeting: 'I needed to get that out into the public square' On why he got fired: 'It's my judgement that I was fired because of the Russia investigation' On Trump mentioning 'that thing' in a conversation without explanation: The president 'was preparing himself to say I offered loyalty to you you promised loyalty to me' On having to blow off his wife to meet one-on-one with Trump for alleged pressure meeting: 'In retrospect, I lost spending time with my wife, I wish I'd been there that night' On former attorney general Loretta Lynch and the Clinton investigation: 'At one point the attorney general directed me not to call it an "investigation" but instead to call it a "matter," which confused me and concerned me' On White House recordings of his conversations with Trump: 'Lordy, I hope there are tapes!' On his own conduct, which included not confronting Trump directly: 'I don't want it to sound like I was Captain Courageous' Advertisement

Donald Trump (left) shakes hands with then-FBI Director James Comey in the Blue Room of the White House on January 22

Other political figures then were interviewed on Sunday morning about the battle between Comey and Trump, including Senator Dianne Feinstein.

Feinstein appeared on CNN and was asked about Comeys testimony, and whether she believed him or Trump.

Well, at this point, I believe the FBI Director, the California Democrat said.

I know him the best, I have observed him the longest, I know he has his own band of integrity.

I disagreed with him on the emails, let him know that monosyllabically, but in this kind of thing, hes not going to lie. Its just not in him to do this.

So Im one to believe we need the judiciary committee to step up and carry its weight on these hearings.

Other political figures then were interviewed on Sunday morning about the battle between Comey and Trump, including Senator Dianne Feinstein (pictured)

Feinstein appeared on CNN and was asked about Comeys testimony, and she said she believed the ex-FBI boss over Trump
John Bercow is set to remain as Commons Speaker until 2022 after Tory plotters yesterday dropped their bid to oust him

John Bercow is set to remain as Commons Speaker until 2022 after Tory plotters yesterday dropped their bid to oust him.

The controversial Speaker had been expected to face opposition after he announced his intention to go back on a pledge to step down next year.

But the ringleader of an attempt to get rid of him last night admitted there was no appetite to push a vote to challenge him after the Tories lost their majority.

Mr Bercow is now expected to be returned unopposed by MPs when they return to Parliament later today.

James Duddridge, the Tory MP who led a failed challenge against Mr Bercow earlier this year, said: There is no love for Mr Bercow, but there is not an appetite to push it to a vote.

The country has more important battles to fight, backing the Prime Minister, delivering Brexit and growing the economy.

Mr Bercow was last week re-elected in Buckingham, standing as the impartial Speaker, with convention dictating that the main political parties do not stand candidates against him.

MPs, on the first day they meet after an election, must then choose the Speaker - with the incumbent usually returned without opposition.

The ringleader of an attempt to get rid of him last night admitted there was no appetite to push a vote to challenge him after the Tories lost their majority

But if MPs vote against the return of the previous holder of the role or there is no returning Speaker then a secret ballot can take place.

Mr Bercow became Speaker in 2009 and initially said he wanted to serve for nine years, but last month revealed his plan to cling on for the next five years.

Mr Bercow told Sky News that he was entitled to change his mind just as Theresa had gone back on a promise not to call a snap election.

James Duddridge, the Tory MP who led a failed challenge against Mr Bercow earlier this year, said: There is no love for Mr Bercow, but there is not an appetite to push it to a vote'

He said: I had originally indicated an intention to serve for approximately nine years.

If I may legitimately say so, I made that commitment eight years ago, it was before the fixed term parliament act, it was before the EU referendum.

Were in a very different situation.The Prime Minister very properly is entitled change her view about whether the national interest would be served by an earlier election rather than a later one.

I made no criticism or complaint about that whatsoever.

'So if people are entitled to change their minds over a relatively short period of time I think Im entitled to take a somewhat different view now to the one I took back in 2009.

If Mr Bercow serves a full five-year term it would make him the longest serving speaker since Edward Fitzroy, who held the office for 15 years from 1928 to 1943.

Mr Bercow has repeatedly faced accusations that he has failed in his duty of impartiality, including earlier this year when he boasted of backing Remain in the EU referendum.

When David Cameron was PM, he and the Speaker fell out repeatedly, amid accusations of prejudice against the Government.
Labour was accused of rank hypocrisy last night after it emerged Gordon Brown had tried to negotiate a deal with the DUP seven years ago.

Senior Labour figures  including Tony Blairs former spin doctor Alastair Campbell  have spent the days since the election criticising Theresa May for entering into talks with the Northern Irish party.

They say it is wrong that she should be seeking a deal because the party has old-fashioned views on issues such as abortion and homosexuality.

In 2010 Gordon Brown asked the Northern Ireland secretary to make plans for an 'economic package' to woo Ian Paisley's Unionist party

Mr Campbell accused Mrs May of putting the peace process at risk, because the government is supposed to be neutral between the DUP and Sinn Fein.

But it has emerged Mr Brown got then Northern Ireland secretary Shaun Woodward to make plans for an economic package to woo the DUP in 2010.

Leaked emails to Hillary Clinton reveal the existence of the proposed deal  and that Mr Campbell was present at key meetings.

One message written to Mrs Clinton when she was US secretary of state in 2010 reveals that Mr Brown was doing whatever he can to hold on to power.

The former Labour PM had failed to gain a majority in the election and was desperately trying to cobble together a rainbow coalition with other parties.

Hypocrite: Alastair Campbell has now accused Theresa May of putting the Northern Ireland peace process at risk - despite his previous attempts at dealing with the DUP

The Clinton email showed Mr Campbell was at a meeting, on the day after the election, at which a Labour-DUP deal was proposed.

The meeting was also attended by Ed Balls, husband of former shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper who has been critical of the Tory-DUP deal. The email said: Gordon is doing whatever he can to hold on to power.

Shaun, for his part, is working on an economic package for Northern Ireland to win support from the DUP and other parties for Labour  a package to be proposed in the Queens Speech  Alastair has emerged as a stalwart, providing Gordon with talking points and practical ideas hour by hour.

Mr Browns key aim was a deal with progressive parties such as the Lib Dems, the Greens, Plaid Cymru and the SNP.

Mr Campbell has labelled the proposed deal with the party founded by Ian Paisley (pictured) a 'dangerous disgrace'

But he wanted to neutralise the threat of the DUP voting with the Tories against his government, so sought the unionists assurance they would, as a minimum, support his Queens Speech. The plan was to present the spending package in the Speech, in the hope the DUP would vote it through.

But the deal never came to pass because the Lib Dems entered into a formal coalition with David Camerons Tories. Earlier this week, Ian Paisley Jr, a DUP MP, claimed on Twitter that Ed Miliband had also tried to do a deal with the unionist party in 2015.

It is unclear what sort of deal Mr Paisley was referring to, given that David Cameron got an outright majority in 2015. But it could be that Mr Miliband had opened discussions in the run-up to the election in the expectation Labour would be the largest party.

The DUP will insist on an increase in UK defence spending as part of its deal with the Tories

A string of Labour politicians have criticised the Tories proposed confidence and supply deal with the DUP. Mr Miliband tweeted that the deal represented a coalition of chaos.

Miss Cooper went on TV to say that the troubling deal could put the Northern Irish peace process in jeopardy. This drew a rebuke from Caroline Flint, another former Labour minister, who tweeted: No it doesnt. Gordon Brown sought deals with DUP.

In the past few days Mr Campbell has tweeted describing the proposed deal as a dangerous disgrace. He said on Question Time that Mrs May was playing fast and loose on Tony Blair and John Majors greatest achievement which is the peace in Northern Ireland  She is putting that at risk with a sordid, dangerous, distasteful deal.

But Nadine Dorries, Tory MP for Mid Bedfordshire, said: Gordon Brown tried on a number of occasions to form an alliance with the DUP. I think some members of the Labour Party need to learn a little of their own recent history.
Sewing is becoming such an endangered skill that one in four people cannot even stitch a button back onto their clothes, a survey has found.

Almost six in 10 people said they were unable to sew confidently or at all, and half of Brits have to ask their mothers to help with mending.

But the decline in the skill means people are estimated to have spent an unnecessary 3billion on replacement clothes last year, which could have been mended, researchers claim.

And about 260million items were thrown or given away due to a fault that could have been repaired.

A new study carried out for the British Heart Foundation's Big Stitch Campaign found that almost six in 10 people said they were unable to sew confidently or at all, and half of all Brits had to ask their mothers for help

Men were the worst offenders, with 33 per cent unable to sew compared with 15 per cent of women.

And 23 per cent of those surveyed said they could not even sew on a button.

The survey was carried out on behalf of the British Heart Foundation, which has launched a drive to revive sewing.

The charitys Big Stitch Campaign calls for people to buy an old garment from one of its shops and practise sewing to personalise it to their taste.

Allison Swaine-Hughes, British Heart Foundations retail operations director, said: We want to bring sewing back to life. It always amazes me to see how clothes can be transformed so easily and cheaply.

We are really looking forward to seeing what the thousands of style seekers across the UK can create.

The survey also found 37 per cent of people said they could not alter the length of their trousers and 25 per cent could not mend a rip in their clothes.

Around a fifth said that if they lost a button, they would buy a new item of clothing instead of fixing it.

But 55 per cent of those questioned said they wished they could sew and 60 per cent were willing to learn.

The survey of 2,072 people was carried out across UK cities in May by polling firm Censuswide.

It came as Scottish Womens Institute members warned sewing and knitting are in danger of becoming lost arts.

The survey of 2,072 people was carried out across UK cities in May and found that 55 per cent of those questioned wished they could sew and 60 per cent said they were willing to learn

The body, which has about 17,000 members, said there is a lack of traditional home skills among the younger generation.

It believes schoolchildren should learn how to thread a needle, darn socks and knit, as in yesteryear when teaching such skills was a part of the school day.

Linda Retson, the Scottish Womens Institute chairwoman, told The Sunday Times: Handcrafts are not taught in schools anymore and we fear these skills could be in danger of dying out.

A 2014 study also found the days of make-and-do-mend are declining to be replaced by a more throwaway mindset particularly among millennials.

The decline in the skill means people are estimated to have spent an unnecessary 3billion on replacement clothes last year, which could have been mended

Pamela Norum, a professor in the Department of Textile and Apparel Management in the University of Missouri College of Human Environmental Sciences, found that many more of the baby boomer generation possess skills such as sewing, hemming, button repair and general laundry knowledge than Americans 18-33 years of age.

Prof Norums study was published in the Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal.

She surveyed more than 500 people from the baby boomer and millennial generations.

The study found that while the skill had been passed down to older people by their relatives, members of the younger generation lacked knowledge.

Fewer had been taught the by a family member and others were only proficient when they had taken classes.
A surprising new method for catching out online fraudsters has been uncovered by researchers studying computer mouse movements.

Cognitive scientists created AI software that can spot when a person is lying thanks to changes in the way they move their onscreen pointer, with 95 per cent accuracy.

The findings could be used as an additional security step to detect criminal activity when we provide sensitive information over the internet.

Scroll down for video

Scientists measured the mouse movements of participants in a computerised quiz and found that the average movements of people who were told to lie were much less direct than those who told the truth

MOUSE MOVEMENTS Cognitive scientists who measured the mouse movements of a group of 40 participants of a computerised quiz have found that their AI software can spot a liar with 95 per cent accuracy. The researchers found that fake answers produced a different style of movement to people who were answering truthfully, particularly in unexpected questions which required additional thinking or research to answer. Truth tellers generated a smooth line movement while liars produced a more chaotic pattern. And this pattern was visible even when the liars were telling the truth, their dishonesty seemed to affect their movements overall. The findings could be used as an additional security step when we give out sensitive information. Advertisement

Researchers from the University of Padova in Italy asked 40 participants to provide personal details during a computerised quiz.

Half of the group were told to respond truthfully, while the other half were given fake identities to memorise.

They were then asked a series of 12 questions and the computer kept track of the movements of each participant's mouse as they filled out the information.

The quiz consisted of six expected questions, which focused on the type of information contained in online security verification, like 'is Giulia your real name' and 'were you born in Padova'.

But they were also asked six unexpected questions, like 'is Capricorn your Zodiac sign' and 'is Venezia the capital of the region where you live', designed to trip up the liars.

The researchers found that fake answers produced a different style of movement to people who were answering truthfully, particularly in these unexpected questions.

Writing in their paper, published in the journal PLOS One, the researchers said: 'While truth-tellers respond automatically to unexpected questions, liars have to build and verify their responses.

'While truth-tellers easily verify questions involving the zodiac, liars do not have the zodiac immediately available, and they have to compute it for a correct verification.

'This lack of automaticity is reflected in the mouse movements used to record the responses as well as in the number of errors.'

Participants were also asked eight control questions requiring a yes or no answer, which the liars also told to answer truthfully.

A group of 40 participants were asked to provide personal details. Half were told to respond truthfully while the other half were given fake identities. Telling the truth (green) created mouse movements much closer to the ideal than those who were lying (red)

Participants were asked a series of 12 questions, six expected (red) and six unexpected (green). The AI system kept track of the movements of each participant's mouse as they filled out the information. Truth tellers generated a smooth line movement (pictured)

The researchers found that fake answers produced a less direct style of movement to people who were answering truthfully, particularly in these unexpected questions (green). This is because they had to 'build' the answers to the questions, rather than answer automatically

The researchers found that the liars had a distinctive mouse movement pattern that was less direct than truth tellers.

This pattern was visible even when the liars were telling the truth, their dishonesty seemed to affect their movements overall.

'From a cognitive point of view, what is interesting here is that, in the experimental design, the mind-set of the liars also extended its effects to questions when they were responding truthfully,' the researchers added.

'To our knowledge, this pattern of results has never been reported before and could be an indication of the level of sensitivity of the technique of mouse-movement analysis.'
Advertisement

It is the largest man-made object in orbit around our planet, but the International Space Station was dwarfed by the sun as it was captured passing in front of its surface.

A composite image made up of 11 snaps taken at split-second intervals shows the path of the ISS as it crosses over Earth's star at the speed of five miles per second (around 8,000m a second).

Glimpses of the ISS were captured at Csakanyhaza in Slovakia, close to the Hungarian border - and keen space-gazers could be in with a chance of seeing the spectacle for themselves.

A composite image made up of 11 snaps taken at split-second intervals shows the path of the International Space Station as it crosses over the sun in just one second

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION The ISS is roughly 109 metres (358 feet) by 73 metres (240 feet) and takes 90 minutes to orbit the Earth. The orbiting base has been the home of 222 people from 18 countries, who have used its unique conditions to conduct scientific research. It's currently home to a crew of six, made up of Jack Fischer, Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin, Peggy Whitson, Paolo Nespoli, Randy Bresnik and Sergey Ryazanskiy. The crew are part of the 52nd expedition to the International Space Station. Advertisement

The ISS is roughly 109 metres (358 feet) by 73 metres (240 feet) and takes 90 minutes to orbit the Earth.

The orbiting base has been the home of 222 people from 18 countries, who have used its unique conditions to conduct scientific research.

It's currently home to a crew of six, made up of Jack Fischer, Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin, Peggy Whitson, Paolo Nespoli, Randy Bresnik and Sergey Ryazanskiy.

The crew are part of the 52nd expedition to the International Space Station.

Space-gazers can catch a glimpse of the ISS from their own back yards thanks to an interactive tool from Nasa.

Nasa's 'Spot the Station' website tells people when the ISS will be able to be seen from their own city, how long it should be visible and at what point in the sky.

'It is the third brightest object in the sky and easy to spot if you know when to look up,' the Nasa website explained.

The International Space Station (pictured) flies in front of the sun as seen from Csakanyhaza, some 150 kms northeast of Budapest, near the Hungarian border in Slovakia

It took one second for the space station to pass by the sun on June 11. The ISS is roughly 109 metres (358 feet) by 73 metres (240 feet) and takes 90 minutes to orbit the Earth

'Visible to the naked eye, it looks like a fast-moving plane only much higher and traveling thousands of miles an hour faster!'

Scientists from Nasa previously released an image of the ISS flying across the surface of the moon.

Nasa photographers Bill Ingalls and Joel Kowsky captured the fleeting moment from Woodford, Virginia, as it took the ISS just 0.82 of a second to pass in front of the pockmarked lunar terrain.

Together they then managed to take nine frames of the space station as it passed in front of the dusty plains of the moon's surface.

HOW YOU CAN SEE THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION Space-gazers can catch a glimpse of the ISS from their own back yards thanks to an interactive tool from Nasa. Nasa's 'Spot the Station' website tells people when the ISS will be able to be seen from their own city, how long it should be visible and at what point in the sky. The space station is only visible for a few minutes at a time as it speeds past, travelling at 17,100 miles (27,600km) per hour. 'My advice would be to visit Heavens Above, or better yet get their app for your phone, and look at the star charts there,' Sam Spencer, amateur astronomer and president of Durham University's Astronomical Society told MailOnline. 'It'll plot out the trajectory the space station will take at a particular time and date. 'It moves very quickly, it'll probably be visible for less than a minute, so I'd advise you either use the naked eye to see it, or a DSLRcamera on a tripod with a wide angle lens (18mm) set to take ten second exposures continuously at high ISO.' Use the module below or visit the website to see when the ISS will be visible from your city Advertisement

Mr Ingalls said it was the culmination of several attempts to capture the ISS as it passed in front of the moon since it first began being constructed in 1998.

Speaking to Spaceflight Insider, he said: 'This is not an extremely difficult photograph to make, the biggest part is time preparing, doing your homework, collecting the data on when and where the pass will be and then knowing your equipment's capabilities and limitations.

'Finally it's all about getting your location and hoping for good weather.

'This was not our first attempt, so learning from your mistakes and trying again is always important.'

The orbiting space station appears looks minuscule in comparison to the sun, which has a diameter of 1.4 million km (4.6 billion feet)

The ISS (pictured) has been the home of 222 people from 18 countries, who have used its unique conditions to conduct scientific research

In April, veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson broke the record for the longest time spent in space by any American.

The 57-year-old astronaut has also broken records for being the oldest woman in space and for being the woman who has taken the most space walks.

She said on Twitter on April 23: 'It is one of those rides that you hope never ends.

'I am so grateful for all those who helped me on each of my missions! #LifeInSpace'

Glimpses of the ISS were captured at Csakanyhaza (pictured) in the Lucenec District of southern Slovakia, close to the Hungarian border

Nasa photographers tried for several years to capture an image of the International Space station passing in front of the moon and they found success in 2015. In the image above they stitched together nine frames to show the path the ISS took as it passed in front of the lunar surface

Although bigger than a football pitch, the ISS was dwarfed by the crater covered surface of the moon as it passed in front of it. The space station is a small silhouette just above the large crater in the image above

The all-time record belongs to Russian astronaut Gennady Padalka, who has spent 879 days in space.

'At 1:27 a.m. ET on April 24, @AstroPeggy has officially broken @Astro_Jeff's record of 534 days in space.

'Wish her well with #CongratsPenny!'

By the time she lands back on Earth in September, Dr Whitson will have spent 666 days in orbit.

In January, Tim Peake revealed he would be returning to the ISS for a second stint in space.

Exactly when he will be returning is unknown, but the Chichester-born astronaut said he is 'hugely excited'.

'It's great news for the European Space Agency to be involved in the ISS space programmes until 2024,' Major Peake told Sky News.

'It's great news for the UK too to be participating in that programme.

'It is only natural to want to return. The one thing you miss is the view of planet Earth, of course. It is the most spectacular thing you can possibly see.'

Major Peake became Britain's first official astronaut in December 2015 when he spent six months on board the ISS.
Making first contact with intelligent alien life could be difficult if humanity has no way of getting its messages across.

But one a bizarre theory claims the solution could lie in maths.

It suggests our communications with aliens should be based on maths because it is more likely to be familiar and understandable to them.

The idea is that mathematics comes as naturally to us as art or music, and so may be hard-wired into the brains of aliens in a way that human language cannot be.

Now Carl DeVito, a mathematician at the University of Arizona in Tucson, has put forward a new language based on 'plausibly universal scientific concepts'.

Scroll down for video

Making first contact with intelligent alien life could be difficult if humanity has no way of getting its messages across. A bizarre theory claims that our communications with aliens should be based on maths because it is more likely to be familiar to them (stock image)

THE NEW ALIEN LANGUAGE University of Arizona mathematician Carl DeVito suggests that for two societies to trade precise, scientific information, they must first understand one another's units of measurement. Together with linguist Richard Oehrle, Mr DeVito developed a language for this purpose. The system works in a similar way to Morse code. The sender transmits numbers and symbols by transmitting a series of radio or light pulses. This is similar to the semaphore lamps used by the Navy to send messages by Morse code between ships at sea. The duration of each pulse to describe the context of the symbol. Advertisement

The researcher recently presented his work at the Astrobiology Science Conference 2017, held from April 24 to April 28 in Mesa, Arizona.

His language is designed to help aliens and humans trade measurements about their planets by converting between unknown units of measurement.

'Maybe extraterrestrial intelligence will have similar ideas and thereby make themselves known to us,' Mr DeVito told Space.com.

But the researcher noted that humanity must be prepared for alien contacts having different scientific ideas to us.

He said: 'The mathematics of motion is differential calculus. Can we assume that an alien race shares this with us?

'Differential and integral calculus are so fundamental in so many areas of science that it is hard to imagine a science without them.

'But this is, perhaps, a human bias.

'We, of course, can't know, but we must be aware that the physics of an alien race, even in a fundamental area like mechanics, might differ in subtle but important ways from our own.'

Developing a signal for extra terrestrials that both attracts attention and, on examination, is 'clearly' the work of intelligence, is challenging, he told Space.com.

'The concept of first attracting attention and then displaying meaning is, perhaps, the best way to solve the problem,' Mr DeVito said.

For two societies to trade precise, scientific information as a form of communication, they must first understand one another's units of measurement, he added.

The idea is that maths comes as naturally to us as art or music, and so may be hard-wired into the brains of aliens in a way that human language cannot be. One researcher has developed a new language to help humans and aliens communicate through maths (stock image)

Together with linguist Richard Oehrle, Mr DeVito developed a language for this purpose.

The language will potentially allow civilisations from different star systems to communicate the masses of their planets, compositions of their atmospheres or the energy output of their stars.

'It is, of course, based on some assumptions,' Mr DeVito said.

The language presumes that both societies can count and do arithmetic, that both recognise the chemical elements and can perform chemical calculations.

Mr DeVito said that converting mathematical and scientific discussions into topics about how each civilisation lives will be difficult.

'The problem - and it is a difficult one - is how to go from a discussion of mathematics to a discussion of other aspects of human civilisation.'

In a 2001 book on communicating with aliens, UFO expert Brian McDonnell describes Mr DeVito's 'very straightforward' language as using 'a form of signalling similar to Morse code.'

'In his system, the sender transmits numbers and symbols by transmitting a series of radio or light pulses,' Mr McDonnell wrote.

'This is similar to the semaphore lamps used by the Navy to send messages by Morse code between ships at sea.

'DeVito added an interesting twist to his system by using the duration of each pulse to describe the context of the symbol.'
Vegetables with indulgent labels, including 'twisted citrus-glazed carrots', are more likely to be eaten than those with boring packaging.

In study, people offered vegetables with an indulgent label ate around three times more than those offered the same meal with healthy eating packaging.

In contrast, words commonly associated with healthy eating, including 'sugar-free' and 'lighter-choice' may lead people to believe their meal is less appealing.

Buying vegetables that use elaborate words on their labels could trick kids into thinking that they taste more appealing (stock image)

WHY DOES FOOD IN FANCY PACKAGING TASTE BETTER? Vegetables with indulgent labels, including 'twisted citrus-glazed carrots', are more likely to be eaten than those with boring packaging, new research has found. And a study last week also found that the language used on packaging could be as important to your enjoyment as the flavour of the product. Scientists found that the words on a wine bottle's label can influence how drinkers rate their plonk. This is because elaborate and emotional descriptions act as a placebo, tricking our brains into a false sense of quality. And our experience of food and drink may be impacted by emotions, according to a scientist from the University of Adelaide. Dr Sue Bastian told MailOnline: 'Wine is more than just about the sensory attributes, like aromas, tastes, flavours, and mouthfeel, and that the story of the people behind its production, quality and provenance are important to the whole wine consumer experience.' Advertisement

The study was conducted in a large university cafeteria and data were collected each weekday for the 2016 autumn academic quarter.

Each day, one vegetable was labeled in 1 of 4 ways: basic (green beans), healthy restrictive (light 'n' low-carb green beans), healthy positive (healthy energy-boosting green beans or indulgent ('sweet sizzilin' green beans).

Although the labeling changed, there were no changes in how the vegetables were prepared or served.

Research assistants discretely recorded the number of diners who selected the vegetable and weighed the mass of vegetable taken from the serving bowl.

During the study, 8,279 of 27,933 diners selected the vegetable.

Indulgent labeling of vegetables resulted in 25 per cent more people selecting the vegetable compared with basic labeling, 41 per cent more people than the healthy restrictive labeling and 35 per cent more people than the healthy positive labeling.

Indulgent labeling of vegetables also resulted in a 23 per cent increase in the mass of vegetables consumed compared with basic labeling and a 33 percent increase in the mass of vegetables consumed compared with the healthy restrictive labeling.

'Further research should assess how well the effects generalize to other settings and explore the potential of indulgent labeling to help alleviate the pervasive cultural mindset that healthy foods are not tasty,' the scientists from Stanford University, California, said in a research paper.

New research suggests vegetables with indulgent labels, including 'twisted citrus-glazed carrots', are more likely to be eaten than those with boring packaging (stock image)

The research was published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

A study published last week also found that the language used on packaging could be as important to your enjoyment as the flavour of the product.

Scientists found that the words on a wine bottle's label can influence how drinkers rate their plonk.

This is because elaborate and emotional descriptions act as a placebo, tricking our brains into a false sense of quality.

Study participants rated the same wine higher if its description included information regarding winery history and positive wine quality statements, while the drink received worse reviews if it had no description at all.

The study found that the right label can bring out positive emotions, boost consumers' wine liking and even encourage them to pay more for a bottle.

'I think many would agree that wine is an emotional product (and Im not talking about after you have had a couple glasses or more),' Dr Sue Bastian, from the University of Adelaide, told MailOnline.

'From our consumer research in Australia, the UK, USA, China and Vietnam, and the work of others, it represents many different things to different people and cultures.

'Wine is more than just about the sensory attributes, like aromas, tastes, flavours, and mouthfeel, and that the story of the people behind its production, quality and provenance are important to the whole wine consumer experience.'
Around 250 million years ago, a huge mass extinction known as the 'Great Dying' killed 96 per cent of life on Earth.

Scientists still aren't sure what caused the event, although one leading theory is that Earth was hit by a massive asteroid.

But up until now, no one has ever found a crater.

Now researchers say they have found signs of one under ocean sediment near the Falkland islands.

In a paper set to be published in August, researchers will suggest that a 250-kilometre-wide (155-mile-wide) hole was left behind when an asteroid larger than the one that killed the dinosaurs struck Earth.

The potential impact crater is shown in red and The Falklands can be seen on the right

The impact may have been responsible for The Great Dying.

New details of the study, which will be published in the respected peer-reviewed journal Terra Nova, have just been published in a blog post by the non-profit organisation the Planetary Society.

'If the early age is correct, then we could be on the track of an impact structure of the same age as the worst life mass extinction event in the history of Earth,' Maximiliano Rocca, a systems researcher whose part-time work to discover hidden impact craters is funded by The Planetary Society.

'This would match the time period of the Great Dying.'

The existence of a giant impact crater near the Falklands was first suggested in 1992.

Michael Rampino, a geologist at New York University and Nasa's Goddard Space Institute in New York, used maps of Earth's gravitational field to spot a 'gravity anomaly'.

Michael Rampino, a geologist at New York University and Nasa's Goddard Space Institute in New York, used maps of Earth's gravitational field to spot a 'gravity anomaly'. Pictured is a comparison of the gravity anomalies at Chicxulub (left) - and impact crater linked to a mass extinction - and the Falkland Islands (right)

WHAT WAS THE GREAT DYING? The Great Dying, also known as the Permian-Triassic Boundary extinction, took place 252 million years ago. At this time, a single supercontinent called Pangaea covered the Earth. This huge landmass created extremely hot and dry conditions, and by the Late Permian, temperatures were at an all time high. These extreme temperatures already threatened many land and marine species, but this was made worse when large volcanic eruptions began to take place. Huge volumes of viscous basalt lava covered an area roughly seven times the size of France, explained the Natural History Museum, and sulphur dioxide from these eruptions caused vinegar-like acid rain to cover the Earth. As carbon dioxide was released into the atmosphere, global temperatures soared and this caused oceans to get hotter. This also caused a lack of oxygen in the world's waters, killing off marine life and destroying food chains. But it was the acidification of the oceans that was the driving force behind the deadliest phase of the extinction, which dealt a final blow to an already unstable ecosystem. Researchers believe this acidification lasted for around 10,000 years. Advertisement

This suggested that there was a large hole present near the small group of islands that had since been filled with sand and sediment.

Mr Rocco has now carried out research to support the theory, which will be published in August after it has undergone peer review.

With funding from the Planetary Society, he has obtained seismic data of the area from the petroleum company Schlumberger, which further confirmed the crater's presence.

Details of his research will be published in August.

The theory can ultimately only be proved by drilling into the mysterious area to find evidence of geological shock.

If the asteroid theory is true, the impact created a huge dust cloud which blotted out the sun and effectively starved life on Earth. This could have caused the Great Dying, also known as the Permian-Triassic Boundary extinction, which took place 252 million years ago (stock image)

If the anomaly really is an impact crater, it would indicate an asteroid larger than the Chicxulub asteroid - which wiped out the dinosaurs - ploughed into our planet.

'The actual smoking gun would be if you could drill down into that crater and find stuff at the bottom showing there had been a hypervelocity shock event,' Mr Rampino said.

'But that's a very expensive operation.'

If the asteroid theory is true, it's likely the impact created a huge dust cloud which blotted out the sun and effectively starved life on Earth.

This could have caused the Great Dying, also known as the Permian-Triassic Boundary extinction, which took place 252 million years ago.

The mass extinction event wiped out 96 per cent of all life on Earth, but scientists have long wondered what might have caused it.

At this time, a single supercontinent called Pangaea covered the Earth.

Up until it was thought that this huge landmass created extremely hot and dry conditions, and by the Late Permian, temperatures were at an all time high.

These extreme temperatures already threatened many land and marine species, but this was made worse when large volcanic eruptions began to take place.

The new study suggests that an asteroid was in fact responsible for the event.
Success Academy, New York Citys boomingand at times controversialnetwork of charter schools, has been awarded the charter sectors most prestigious prize.



Success Academy was selected over networks based in Colorado and Texas for the sixth annual Broad Prize for Public Charter Schools, which recognizes nonprofit charter networks that are aggressively closing academic achievement gaps between low-income students and their wealthier peers.

But the network, the largest in the city with 41 schools and 14,000 students, has also been at the center of heated debate over special education and discipline in charter schools.

Critics of Success Academy have long claimed that it uses strict codes of conduct and discipline policies to push out harder-to-educate students which, in turn, boost its test scores.

But as the Broad Prize review board notes, Success Academys students, the vast majority of whom are low-income students of color, do really well academically. All of the networks schools ranked in the top 10 percent in New York state for their performance in English, math, and science.

As a nation, we must do more to close persistent gaps in opportunity and achievement that, too often, separate students of color and students from low-income families from their more advantaged peers. Success Academy has been successful in closing those gaps, said John B. King, Jr., the former U.S. secretary of education under President Obama, in a statement. King is also the president and CEO of The Education Trust and a member of The Broad Prize review board.

Success Academy Controversies

A little over a year ago, the network was the focus of two New York Times exposes. In the first, a school principal drew up a list of got-to-go students which was leaked to the Times . A few months later, a video that showed a teacher harshly disciplining a young student was provided to the Times.

Around the same time, a group of parents filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Educations office for civil rights against the network, claiming that it was violating the rights of students with disabilities.

Success Academys founder, Eva Moskowitz, a highly political figure in New York Citys education scene, is a passionate and combative defender of her schools . She has led rallies in the thousands in both New York City and in the state capitol, protesting restrictions on charter school growth.

A former city council member, Moskowitz has publicly clashed for years with New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio over charter school expansion in the city. The network, which has grown to over 40 schools in just 10 years with no plans to slow down , has a voracious need for space, and often ends up co-locating with local district schoolsarrangements which are often fraught.

Moskowitz was also courted by the Trump administration as a possible secretary of education, but the job ultimately went to Betsy DeVos.

The Broad Prize

The Broad Prize was created by the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation. The Broads are well-known and well-heeled charter school advocates based in Los Angeles .

As the winner of the Broad Prize, Success Academy will receive $250,000 to put toward college readiness efforts for its students. Success Academy was a finalist for the prize last year. The other two finalists for this years prize were the Colorado-based DSST Public Charters and the Texas-based Harmony Public Schools.

The winner was announced at this years National Charter Schools Conference hosted by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, the countrys largest charter advocacy group.

Related stories:

Photo: Success Academy founder and CEO Eva Moskowitz accepts the 2017 Broad Prize for Public Charter Schools at the National Charter Schools Conference in Washington, D.C. Photo courtesy of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.
With sunken dead-looking eyes, winged fins, and long whip-like tail, ghost sharks are already known to be rather strange creatures.

And, their sexual habits are, predictably, just as bizarre.

Scientists studying the elusive deep-sea fish have revealed some insight on their reproductive features, including a retractable hook-like apparatus on the heads of males and tubes that allow females to store sperm long after sex  possibly even for years.

Scroll down for video

With sunken dead-looking eyes, winged fins, and long whip-like tail, ghost sharks are already known to be rather strange creatures. And, their sexual habits are, predictably, just as bizarre, researchers have revealed

THE SEXUAL HABITS OF CHIMAERA Male chimaera are equipped with a retractable, hooked sex organ on their foreheads, which allows them to hold onto the fins of the female while they mate. Theyre also equipped with another set of claspers around the pelvis, according to National Geographic. In a new study, researchers also discovered that females in the family Chimaeridae are capable of storing sperm. These fish contain a set of small tubes that allows them to pack in sperm and hold onto it for long periods of time. Its thought that they may even be able to store sperm for years. Advertisement

The hooked sex organ found on male chimaeras foreheads allows them to hold onto the fins of the female while they mate, according to National Geographic.

Theyre also equipped with another set of claspers around the pelvis.

By little surprise, mating does not seem to be a very pleasant experience for the females, lead author Brit Finucci, a PhD student at Victoria University of Wellington, told National Geographic.

While much about these deep-sea creatures remains a mystery, recent efforts have shed some light on their history and anatomy.

In a new study, researchers examined two types of ghost sharks, also known as chimaera, at different stages of sexual maturity.

The brown chimaera (Chimaera carophila) and the black ghost shark (Hydrolagus homonycteris) are both rarely-caught species that can be found off the coast of New Zealand.

Scientists studying the elusive deep-sea fish have revealed some insight on their reproductive features, including a retractable hook-like apparatus on the heads of males and tubes that allow females to store sperm long after sex  possibly even for years

Examining hundreds of chimaera collected from research trawl catches and commercial fishery catches from 400-1300 meters below the surface, as well as preserved museum specimens, the researchers discovered that females in the family Chimaeridae are capable of storing sperm.

These fish contain a set of small tubes that allows them to pack in sperm and hold onto it for long periods of time.

Its thought that they may even be able to store sperm for years, according to National Geographic.

In a new study, researchers examined two types of ghost sharks, also known as chimaera, at different stages of sexual maturity. The brown chimaera (Chimaera carophila) and the black ghost shark (Hydrolagus homonycteris) are both rarely-caught species

The researchers discovered that females in the family Chimaeridae are capable of storing sperm. These fish contain a set of small tubes that allows them to pack in sperm and hold onto it for long periods of time. A light microscopy image of the feature is shown above

While theyve suspected this may be the case, its first time the phenomenon has been confirmed in this family, meaning it is now known to be present in all families in the order Chimaeriformes, the researchers explain in the study.

The behaviour may sound strange, but in the solitary conditions of the deep ocean, it may be crucial to their survival.

Sperm storage could be particularly advantageous for deep-sea species, increasing reproductive efficiency by allowing fertilization to take place at the optimal time in an environment where food resources may be limited, or where mating may be difficult due to infrequent encounters or sexual spatial segregation, the authors wrote in the study.

Hydrolagus homonycteris may also store sperm, but further sampling of female individuals will ve required to confirm this hypothesis.
Advertisement

On August 21st, a total solar eclipse will pass from coast-to-coast through the continental United States for the first time in nearly a century.

The event will be visible to millions of people as it crosses through 14 states, with the path of totality stretching from Lincoln Beach, Oregon, to Charleston, South Carolina.

However, forecasters say there may be a problem that scuppers the plans of millions - cloud.

Scroll down for video and interactive map

The NOAA says the coasts could be susceptible to cloudier conditions and that increased cloud cover may be possible as the eclipse travels across the country east of the Mississippi River. The darker the dot, the greater the chance for cloudiness

WHAT IT SHOWS The darker the dot, the greater the chance for cloudiness at the hour of peak viewing during the total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017. Dots represent automated weather stations that reported the cloudiness data and show the 10-year cloudiness average for August 21, 20012010. Advertisement

The NOAA has revealed its 'cloudiness' map.

The rare total solar eclipse crossing the country on August 21, from Oregon to South Carolina, must contend with the bane of sun seekers: the potential for cloudy weather,' it said.

'We found that the coasts could be susceptible to cloudier conditions and that increased cloud cover may be possible as the eclipse travels across the country east of the Mississippi River.

At its totality, the sun will be completely blocked by the moon, leaving only the pearly white rays of its elusive corona visible to the naked eye  but, even in areas set to experience the longest duration of totality, the sun will only be fully covered for less than three minutes.

To be sure you dont miss out on the rare event, scientists have revealed many ways to prepare, from what time the eclipse will pass through your city, to when you should put on your safety glasses.

While entirety of the event will only be seen along the 70-mile-wide path of totality, even viewers outside the range will be able to see a partial solar eclipse.

The latter will be visible all across North America, and even in parts of South America, Africa, and Europe, according to NASA.

Totality will cross the US from west to east, beginning at Lincoln Beach, Oregon.

This map shows the likelihood of being able to view the August 21, 2017, solar eclipse, based on historical cloudiness data from the NOAA NCEI 10-year hourly climate normals dataset.

There, the total solar eclipse will begin at 10:16 a.m. (PDT).

The phenomenon will then cross through the US over the course of roughly an hour and a half, passing through Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and North and South Carolina.

It will end near Charleston, South Carolina, at 2:48 p.m. (EDT), according to NASA.

While the totality itself will last just a few minutes, the eclipse  from start to finish  will span more than an hour as the moon moves in and out of the suns path, giving rise to a series of crescents along the way.

Its not enough just to know where to see it, though.

Viewers must also be prepared with the proper gear to protect their eyes during the event.

The August 21 event will be visible to millions of people as it crosses through 14 states, with the path of totality stretching from Lincoln Beach, Oregon, to Charleston, South Carolina. A view of the Western and central US is shown. The best views of totality will be along the red line, though it will be visible in areas within the purple as well

During this time, the sun will be completely blocked by the moon, leaving only the pearly white rays of its elusive corona visible to the naked eye  but, even in areas set to experience the longest duration of totality, the sun will only be fully covered for less than three minutes. A view of central and Eastern US is shown

WHERE TO SEE THE 2017 ECLIPSE IN AMERICA The path of totality will stretch from Lincoln Beach, Oregon, to Charleston South Carolina. To find out exactly when and where it will be visible, visit NASA's interactive map, and click on a city along the path. Totality will cross the US from west to east, beginning at Lincoln Beach, Oregon, where totality will occur at 10:16 a.m. (PDT). It will the US over roughly an hour and a half, passing through Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and North and South Carolina. It will end near Charleston, South Carolina, at 2:48 p.m. (EDT), according to NASA. Roughly 100 days from now, a total solar eclipse will pass from coast-to-coast through the continental United States for the first time in nearly a century. The August 21 event will be visible to millions of people as it crosses through 14 states, with the path of totality stretching from Lincoln Beach, Oregon, to Charleston, South Carolina Advertisement

Otherwise, NASA warns, you could severely hurt your eyes.

The space agency says viewers should be equipped with special specs such as Rainbow Symphony, American Paper Optics, Thousand Oaks Optical, and TSE 17.

These are just four that meet the ISO 12312-2 international standard.

The glasses should be put on when the partial eclipse begins, meaning when the sun becomes partially covered by the moon.

Scientists have long been preparing for the August 2017 event, which will offer a rare glimpse at the suns outer atmosphere, known as the corona. This feature is invisible to the naked eye except during a total solar eclipse. To view it otherwise, scientists must use a telescope known as a coronagraph

PROTECTING YOUR EYES Viewers must also be prepared with the proper gear to protect their eyes during the event. Otherwise, NASA warns, you could severely hurt your eyes The space agency says viewers should be equipped with special specs such as Rainbow Symphony, American Paper Optics, Thousand Oaks Optical, and TSE 17. These are just four that meet the ISO 12312-2 international standard. And, they warn that you should never look at the sun through an unfiltered camera, telescope, binoculars. According to NASA, eclipse glasses should be put on when the partial eclipse begins, meaning when the sun becomes partially covered by the moon. And, they should remain on for the entirety of the phases leading up to totality. Once the moon has completely blocked out the sun, causing it to suddenly become dark, viewers can then remove the glasses for a short amount of time. This may last just a minute, though, and the glasses will need to be put back on for the final stages of the eclipse. Advertisement

And, they should remain on for the entirety of the phases leading up to totality.

Once the moon has completely blocked out the sun, causing it to suddenly become dark, viewers can then remove the glasses for a short amount of time.

This may last just a minute, though, and the glasses will need to be put back on for the final stages of the eclipse.

Still, no matter how much you prepare, the ability to see the eclipse will all boil down to the weather conditions that day.

In the event that clouds or storms do pass through, obscuring the phenomenon, NASA will be hosting an Eclipse Megacast for four hours.

While entirety of the event will only be seen along the 70-mile-wide path of totality, even viewers outside the range will be able to see a partial solar eclipse. The latter will be visible all across North America, and even in parts of South America, Africa, and Europe, according to NASA. This is illustrated above, with the path of totality shown in red

While the totality itself will last just a few minutes, the eclipse  from start to finish  will span more than an hour as the moon moves in and out of the suns path, giving rise to a series of crescents along the way

A HISTORIC ECLIPSE The total solar eclipse on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017 will cross the continental United States beginning in Oregon and ending in South Carolina. While a total solar eclipse occurred over the continental US in 1979, the last time one such event spanned the country coast to coast was in 1918. In that event, the the path of totality entered through the southwest corner of Washington and passed over Denver, Colorado, Jackson, Mississippi, and Orlando, Florida before exiting the country at the Atlantic coast of Florida. This year, the path of totality will cross through 14 states, with the path of totality stretching from Lincoln Beach, Oregon, to Charleston, South Carolina. Advertisement

This will be live-streamed on NASA TV, along with local and national TV stations, ensuring that even viewers who cannot make it a location on the path of totality or are experiencing poor sky conditions can see the rare eclipse.

Scientists have long been preparing for the August 2017 event, which will offer a rare glimpse at the suns outer atmosphere, known as the corona.

This feature is invisible to the naked eye except during a total solar eclipse. To view it otherwise, scientists must use a telescope known as a coronagraph.

In the brief window when the sun is blocked out by the moon, scientists will take measurements from both the ground and the sky, the LA Times reports.

Some will even fly specialized planes upwards of 49,000 feet, using custom-built instruments to analyze the corona in infrared.

Previous eclipses have revealed a bizarre phenomenon in which the suns outer atmosphere is far hotter than the surface, at an average of 1 million degrees Kelvin, compared to about 6,000 degrees Kelvin, respectively.

The fundamental question we are asking is, what is causing the atmosphere to heat up like that? Shadia Habbal, a solar wind at the University of Hawaiis Institute for Astronomy who has led 14 eclipse expeditions, told the LA Times.

This is one of the scientific mysteries regarding the sun that remains unanswered.
It was meant to be Samsungs saving grace, but users have found an issue just two months after the Galaxy S8 has hit the market.

Multiple owners of the handset have reported feeling sharp pains and dizziness after using the iris scanner since purchasing the device  and it is so profound that some have reverted back to the fingerprint scanner.

Although the South Korean firm has deemed the technology safe, studies have found that the protein found in the lens of the eye is very sensitive to the infrared radiation used in the biometric and when exposed, can lead to cataract.

Scroll down for videos

Multiple owners of the handset have reported feeling sharp pains and dizziness after using the iris scanner since purchasing the device  and it is so profound that some have reverted back to the fingerprint scanner

DANGERS OF INFRARED RADIATION Researches had discovered that the longer a subject was exposed to infrared radiation, the more enzyme activity was found to decrease. The team had concluded that the technology does have the ability to cause corneal opacity, burns on the retina, breakdown of blood-aqueous barrier and delayed cataract. And the decrease of total lens proteins was more pronounced in the group consisting of animals which were decapitated after 1 hour of exposure, which may be due to cataract formation. Researchers also explained that when IR radiation is incident on the eye, it is absorbed by the cornea and converted into heat which is then conducted to the lens and induces cataract. According to Janet Voke with Nova Southeastern University, IR raises the temperature of the anterior eye. The lens is only able to absorb a small amount of the radiation and for it to cause damage, the overall exposure level would need to be high Voke also noted that damage could occurs as the result of smaller repeated doses - which may be similar to the amount your eyes are exposed to while opening your smartphone. Advertisement

The Galaxy S8 was released less than year after the Note 7 fiasco, when dozens of users reported the handset was catching fire and exploding.

Following the disaster, the South Korean firm seemed to put all of its energy into manufacturing a smartphone with a sleek design and cutting-edge technology  as a piece offering to its users.

However, a group of Galaxy S8 users have flocked to Reddit to investigate strange discomfort or pain after using the iris scanner.

Those in the thread posted that they had experienced discomfort or pain in their eye after using the technology  and one noted that he felt it after the first use.

'I held off because the warnings were pretty dire. Tried it after MKHD said Iris scan worked well,' the Reddit user 'TheAmazinAaron' shared.

'The first use caused definite sharp pain in the nerve behind my eye.

'I won't be using it again and Samsung should look into this.'

But Samsung maintains that its iris scanner is not harmful to eyes.

A spokesperson for Samsung said: 'Samsung takes consumer health and safety very seriously and would like to reassure our customers that our iris scanning technology strictly complies with the industry safety standards set by the International Electronical Committee (IEC).

'Although each person is different, in very rare cases, a limited number of users might have experienced slight discomfort from the use of iris scanners. In addition to implementing the highest safety levels available on the market, the device will automatically turn off if the IR LED light is on for more than nine seconds.

'Samsung recommends that our customers follow the safety instructions for iris scanner use as stated in our user manuals and if anyone has any concerns, they should contact their local Samsung service centre.'

A study conducted in 2013, examined the effects of infrared radiation (IR) on the eyes using 15 New Zealand rabbits.

The animals were separated into three groups during the experiment  one was not exposed, while the other were for a period of five or 10 minutes.

The rabbits in the exposed groups were then divided into subgroups: one of them was decapitated directly after IR exposure, while the other subgroup was decapitated one hour post exposure.

The team placed a General Electric Lamp 20 cm from each rabbit and aimed it directly at their eyes.

After removing the animals lenses, the team separated the lens proteins and analyzed each one for damage.

For normal lens membrane, the enzyme activity was 48.2  3.2 Mpi/hour/g wet wt, the team shared in the study.

Agroup of Galaxy S8 users have flocked to Reddit to investigate strange discomfort or pain after using the iris scanner

Many users had answered the original post and noted that they too had also experienced the same pain when using the iris scanner

One of the users said he had also experienced dizziness after using the technology

After exposure of rabbit eyes to IR radiation for 5 minutes, the enzyme activity was decreased for both the groups (P < 0.01), with an average value of 35.8  1.7 Mpi/hour/g wet wt.

After exposure to IR for 10 minutes also, the enzyme activity for both the groups decreased, with an average value of 25.9  1.5 Mpi/hour/g wet wt.

Because enzyme activity decreasing more with time spent exposed to IR, the team had concluded that the technology does have the ability to cause corneal opacity, burns on the retina, breakdown of blood-aqueous barrier and delayed cataract.

And the decrease of total lens proteins was more pronounced in the group consisting of animals which were decapitated after 1 hour of exposure, which may be due to cataract formation.

Although the South Korean firm has deemed the technology safe, studies have found that the protein found in the lens of the eye is very sensitive to the infrared radiation used in the biometric and when exposed, can lead to cataract

SAMSUNG IRIS SCANNER HACK Using 'a good digital with 200mm-lens' at about 16 feet (5m) from the phone owner, the team snapped the picture and then printed it out with a laser print that so was also manufactured by Samsung. But to make it look more realistic, the hackers thought of adding a contact lens on top of the print out  this 'emulated the curvature of a real eye's surface'. And when he held up the photo in front of the iris scanner, the Samsung Galaxy S8 smartphone instantly unlocked. Advertisement

The team also explained that 'when IR radiation is incident on the eye, it is absorbed by the cornea and converted into heat which is then conducted to the lens and induces cataract.'

Although the study exposed the animals to endless minutes of IR, users are constantly checking their smartphones, which means they could be exposed as much as the rabbits were sometime in the future.

According to Janet Voke with Nova Southeastern University, IR raises the temperature of the anterior eye.

Although many users have come forward with the claims, Samsung did include a warning (pictured) for the Galaxy S8 iris scanner

The lens is only able to absorb a small amount of the radiation and for it to cause damage, the overall exposure level would need to be high

However, Voke also noted that damage could occurs as the result of smaller repeated doses  which may be similar to the amount your eyes are exposed to while opening your smartphone.

Although many users have come forward with the claims, Samsung did include a warning for the Galaxy S8 iris scanner.

The firm noted that users should keep the screen at least 8 inches away from your face when using iris recognition.

Samsung also shared a press release in August regarding the safety of the technology.

'This red light is an infrared LED, and it enables the best range for iris scanning to ensure maximum accuracy,' the firm explained.

'It is completely safe to use and there are no health implications associated with the technology.'

However, Apple is also rumored to include an iris scanner in its upcoming so-called iPhone 8, which leaves many to wonder if iOS users will experience the same discomfort.
Alien life could be discovered within the next two decades  but, these lifeforms will be far from intelligent beings, one expert claims.

According to astronomer Chris Impey, scientists are likely on the verge of detecting microbes on a planet beyond our own, with nearby candidates such as Jupiters moon Europa thought to contain some of the conditions to support life.

While scientists have been searching the skies for decades, the expert says we may now detect microbial life in the next 10 to 15 years, especially as forthcoming instruments such as the James Webb Telescope promise to improve our chances.

According to astronomer Chris Impey, scientists are likely on the verge of detecting microbes on a planet beyond our own, with nearby candidates such as Jupiters moon Europa (on right) thought to contain some of the conditions to support life

WHAT MAKES EUROPA SPECIAL? Europa has a water ocean underneath its icy surface - one of the key components for life. The moon's orbital path takes it deep into Jupiter's magnetic field which rapidly speeds up particles and traps them on the moon's surface. The resulting radiation drives chemical reactions that lead to an abundance of chemicals known as oxidants on the surface. On Earth these oxidants react with compounds known as reductants to form the energy needed for life. Advertisement

I put my money on detecting microbial life in 10 to 15 years, but not at all detecting intelligent life, Impey, professor and deputy head of the department of astronomy at the University of Arizona, said in a recent interview with Futurism.

The researcher says our best chance at finding alien life could be in our own solar system.

While life on Mars  if it exists there at all  would likely be deep below the surface, making it difficult to find, the planet may still hold traces of ancient lifeforms in easier to spot places, Impey told Futurism.

Impey also points to Europa, Jupiters sixth-largest moon, which scientists have recently turned their sights on.

The moon is thought have many features similar to Earth, including an iron core and an ocean of salty water.

But, its ocean covers the entire surface, and is completely frozen over due to its distance from the sun.

NASA and ESA recently announced plans to launch a mission to better study the mysterious water world, and according to Impey, efforts such as this could soon give us a better idea if that ocean could have life in it, Futurism reports.

Looking further into space and beyond our solar system, the expert says an Earth-like exoplanet could be promising as well.

According to Impey, studies on the atmospheres of these distant worlds will be critical in assessing their potential habitability.

With extensive improvements in technology in recent years, the expert suggests our chances of spotting life have vastly increased as well.

When it is launched in 2018, the James Webb Telescope will be the world's biggest and most powerful telescope, capable of peering back 200 million years after the Big Bang. Its been described as a 'time machine' that could help unravel the secrets of our universe

WAS MARTIAN LIFE FOUND 40 YEARS AGO? In a recent study, researchers examined the results from the 1976 Viking Labeled Release experiment, which at the time was said to have found extant microbial life. The results showed simiarities to responses seen in terrestrial soil, including data from samples collected in California, Alaska, and Antarctica They also evaluated non-biological hypotheses which have suggested that the results were most likely caused by a non-biological soil oxidant. But, no such oxidant that could satisfy all of the findings has ever been identified, and there have been no further metabolic experiments on the red planet. The researchers determined that the findings from the Viking experiments are consistent with a biological explanation, suggesting microorganisms on Mars adapted and evolved to meet harsh environmental conditions. Advertisement

Every new SETI experiment done now is about as good as the sum of all previous SETI experiments put together, Impey told Futurism.

Earlier this year, scientists revealed that Saturn's moon Enceladus has nearly all of the ingredients to support microbial life.

In addition, the recent discovery of the Trappist-1 planetary system has reignited hopes for finding alien life not far from our solar system.

The system just 39 light-years away contains seven Earth-sized planets, and researchers say three could be habitable.

And, a study published in April suggests that if life does exist on any of the mysterious planets in the Trappist-1 system, it might not be alone for long.

The recent discovery of the Trappist-1 planetary system has reignited hopes for finding alien life not far from our solar system. The researchers say debris from an asteroid or comet impact could seed life on an adjacent world

The researchers say debris from an asteroid or comet impact could transport bacteria and single-celled organisms through the tightly packed system to seed life on an adjacent world.

While the journey would have to be relatively short, the researchers say the material launched by such a collision could protect the lifeforms through irradiation and re-entry.

Frequent material exchange between adjacent planets in the tightly packed Trappist-1 system appears likely, said Sebastian Krijt, a postdoctoral scholar and lead author, in a statement earlier this year.

If any of those materials contained life, its possible they could inoculate another planet with life.
Multicopter drones - drones with more than two rotors - are finally able to fly in any orientation.

Normally, multicopter drones can only fly parallel to the ground, but a new hexacopter drone with six propellers can tilt 360 degrees, allowing it to fly in any orientation.

The drone, dubbed Voliro, can fly sideways, upside down, diagonally and in other orientations.

The Voliro drone, developed by a team of 11 students, can fly in any orientation including sideways, upside down, diagonally and in other orientations

The Voliro was developed by a team of 11 students at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) and Zurich University of the Arts (ZHDK), who spent 9 months developing a prototype of the drone.

Because the drone can stay stable while flying in any configuration, it's able to fly parallel to walls.

The team is interested in further developing this feature as it could be useful for applications such as building inspections.

THE VOLIRO HEXACOPTER DRONE A team of 11 sudents at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) and Zurich University of the Arts (ZHDK) spent 9 months to develop a prototype of a hexacopter drone. The drone has six propellers that can tilt 360 degrees, allowing it to fly in any orientation. The Voliro drone has six rotors that can tilt 360 degrees, allowing it to fly in any orientation: Sideways, upside down, diagonally and in other orientations The Voliro drone can fly sideways, upside down, diagonally and in other orientations. The team hopes to add other features to the drone in the future, including a large sphere in its center that allows it to roll in any direction on the ground. The team is also interested in developing the drones ability to fly parallel to walls - a feature that could potentially be used in building inspections. Advertisement

The team hopes to add other features to the drone in the future, including a large sphere in its center that allows it to roll in any direction on the ground.

They also want it to ultimately weigh less than 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds) and have a large battery to ensure a long flight time.

The team also plans for the drone to have a short setup time so less time is needed to prepare the drone for flight.

The drone can fly parallel to walls - a feature which the team is interested in developing further, as it could be useful for applications such as building inspections

The team hopes to add other features to the drone in the future, including a large sphere in its center that allows it to roll in any direction on the ground

Cliff Li, a mechanical engineering student and the team leader, told Digital Trends: 'Similar to a regular multicopter, modules can be attached on the underside of the Voliro hecacopter, giving it further functionalities.

'One example is a camera module.

'The hexacopter can act as a gimbal and therefore doesn't need one.

While the drone is able to fly in more complex ways, it will be difficult to learn how to pilot a completely new mode of flying

'It can also fly upside down and take footage of what is above the rotors, which is impossible for a regular multicopter with a gimbal.'

While the drone is able to fly in more complex ways, it will be difficult to learn how to pilot a completely new mode of flying.

So far, there have been no announcements as to whether or not the prototype will eventually be commercially available.
Advertisement

It is synonymous with sex, smoking and seediness.

But there is much more to Amsterdam today than clusters of dingy coffee shops and The Red Light District.

The Netherlands capital city offers everything from fine dining to top fashion names, plus theres the historic canal region and the legacy of Anne Frank.

The Netherlands capital city offers everything from fine dining to top fashion names, plus theres the historic canal region and the legacy of Anne Frank

Not only that, there are exquisite, award-winning treats - from cookies to cheese  on almost every street thanks to dozens of artisan cafes.

Just an hour by plane from London, and with the direct Eurostar link opening within a year, it is fast becoming one of the most accessible options for a European break.

And as Amsterdam goes upmarket, its hotel offerings are following  a string of luxury options have opened within the last two years. Leading names on the citys hotel scene include W Amsterdam, The Hoxton Amsterdam and the new-look Pulitzer Amsterdam.

As Amsterdam goes upmarket, its hotel offerings are following  a string of luxury options have opened within the last two years. Leading names on the citys hotel scene include W Amsterdam, The Hoxton Amsterdam and the new-look Pulitzer Amsterdam, pictured

The Pulitzer is an intricate maze of 25 interlinked 17th and 18th-century houses in the heart of Amsterdam's Unesco-ranked canal district. The hotel's buildings have been painstakingly refurbished

The latter is an intricate maze of 25 interlinked 17th and 18th century houses  located in the heart of the Amsterdam Unesco World Heritage canal district.

First opened 46 years ago, the hotels 400-year-old buildings have recently been painstakingly refurbished and stripped back to their original style.

The newly-restored offering comprises 225 guestrooms and four spectacular suites. Each suite has a unique theme based on the types of people likely to have lived in the citys canal houses throughout the years, such as artists and musicians.

Overlooking the Prinsengracht and Keizersgracht canals, the hotel is located in one of Amsterdams chicest neighbourhoods, close to Dam Square, the Van Gogh Museum and The Anne Frank House.

The newly-restored offering comprises 225 guestrooms and four spectacular suites

Each suite has a unique theme based on the types of people likely to have lived in the citys canal houses throughout the years, such as artists and musicians

HOLIDAY READING This is the perfect time to read The Miniaturist, the award-winning 2014 novel by English actress and author Jessie Burton, set in an Amsterdam canal house in 1686/7. The book was inspired by a doll's house, which is still on display at the Rijksmuseum. Advertisement

Indeed, just moments after stepping outside, you find yourself in the true heart of Amsterdam, climbing humpback bridges and losing yourself in the narrow, cobbled walkways.

The Nine Streets - or De Negen Straajes, the trendiest shopping area - the quaint shops of Jordaan, the flower market and the Royal Palace are also a short distance away.

There are many excellent reasons to stay at the Pulitzer: the outstanding food in the Jansz restaurant, the mouth-watering cocktails in Pulitzers Bar and the delicious and extremely ample breakfast.

However, it was the concierge tour that that really stood out for us  and something I would highly recommend.

The hotel is located in one of Amsterdams chicest neighbourhoods, close to Dam Square, the Van Gogh Museum and The Anne Frank House. Pictured is the property's garden area

Run by fabulous concierge Ron Stoevelaar, a consummate professional and extremely knowledgeable local, tourists get a fascinating insight into the real Amsterdam.

Highlights include a visit to Van Stapele Koekmakerij, where you can bite into what are considered the best cookies in Amsterdam. We can vouch they are sensational - and you can buy beautifully decorated tins of them to take home.

But be sure to leave room for the cheese.

The price for the high life? Rooms at the Pulitzer Amsterdam start from 235

A stop-off at Reypenaer  consistently voted one of the best Dutch producers  is also on the cards, with a variety of samples available to try.

The shop also offers a full sit-down tasting experience.

Ron also includes a pit stop at the legendary Cafe Papeneiland.

This is a traditional Amsterdam hangout known as a bruine kroeg, or brown cafe, serving huge slabs of traditional Dutch apple pie  which many locals claim is the best in town.
Mark and Miranda from Melbourne, aged 33 and 29 respectively, started Instagramming two years ago in a bid to share their travel experiences using the handle @thecommonwanderer.

The couple, who now photograph and blog full-time with more than 27,000 followers, told MailOnline Travel that although some of the shots might seem cliched, they really do work.

Here they reveal their secrets to boosting your followers...

What makes a good travel Instagram?

Of course it's all subjective, but to us, what makes a good travel Instagram is a unique style. Anyone can take a photo of an iconic location, but creating something truly epic takes time, effort and creativity. The accounts we follow and love do this daily.

Having a style and niche that your followers can easily recognise is also extremely important; what do your followers know you for; epic landscapes? Urban scenes? Are you a travelling foodie? This helps you in a couple of ways; your followers instantly know what they can expect to get from you, and goes a long way to helping to curate your feed.

What kind of poses get the most likes?

Adding a human element to any photo is important, as it provides a unique perspective to any generic image. That said, we've found that photos that don't show your face tend to perform better as they put your audience in the moment and it really adds an element of imagination for them. They can really picture themselves in the scene and it's way more inspiring than seeing someone else's holiday snaps. There's a reason those 'cliched Instagram' shots of the back of your head looking out over an epic scene, or wearing a hat, are all over Instagram!

On the whole, keeping your pose game simple and relatable is the best way to approach things.

Is post editing important?

Yes yes yes! Its one of the most important aspects. As photographers, we edit all of our photos through Lightroom or Photoshop. Our aesthetic is light and somewhat whimsical, so we try to make sure our editing style follows this. It also helps to keep the quality of the shots we take. Good editing allows you to create a unique style which can differentiate your account from others.

What can people do to maximise likes and followers?

Overall, creating good content will grow your likes and followers. Focusing on your niche is important, as is engaging constantly with people within your community - like and comment with other accounts constantly and youll reap the rewards. Build your network through the app (some of our best friends now started as Instagram friends!), get creative and collaborate with others in your space.

And whatever you do, dont buy followers!
Advertisement

These eerie images capture all that remains of a once-green and hilly Romanian village.

Most poignant of all is the photograph of a submerged church spire drowning amid 300 feet of industrial sludge, 40 years after the surrounding region of Geamana was evacuated to make way for the Rosia Poieni copper mine - now the second-largest in Europe.

In 1977 communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu announced the plans, offering locals approximately 1,500 per home, leaving around 300 families to disperse throughout Romania.

As a steady supply of acidic grey-and-red liquid filled Geamana's valley following the mine's opening, 20 villagers refused to leave and simply moved to higher ground.

New Zealand-born Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty photographer Amos Chapple travelled to the mostly-submerged ghost town to document its demise, and was surprised by what the few remaining locals told him.

'They were upset that they had lost their graves, but their approach to the loss of their village was, "yeah it's horrible, but without that mine there wouldn't be any jobs here",' he tells MailOnline Travel. 'It was really impressive that they saw the situation as complex, rather than black and white, despite everything they'd been put through.'

This drowning church spire, drowning amid 300 feet of industrial sludge, is one of the few parts of Geamana in Romania still showing

Once a green and hilly settlement, pictured (left) in the early 1970s, and (right) as it is now, Geamana was evacuated 40 years ago to make way for the Rosia Poieni copper mine

New Zealand-born photographer Amos Chapple travelled to the mostly-submerged ghost town to document its demise

In 1977, communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu announced plans for the mines, offering locals like these approximately 1,500 per home. Around 300 families dispersed elsewhere throughout Romania

As a steady supply of grey and red waste liquid filled Geamana's valley following the mine's opening, houses like this one sank

Some sections of the run-off lake have turned red from acid mine drainage - a result of rain and spring water running through the minerals exposed by the mine

Rosia Poieni, pictured, is the second-largest copper mine in Europe and employs around 500 people. The multi-coloured runoff lake in the background is where the village once stood

Once authorities built the dam seen here in the foreground to seal up Geamanas valley, a silty grey liquid began creeping through the lanes of the village

It is this waste that drowned Geamana. The lake continues to rise, climbing the walls of the valley at the rate of around three vertical feet each year

The slurry (pictured), which continues to slop into the valley today, is a result of froth flotation, a process used by most copper mines

While this process occurs naturally, mining intensifies its effect, resulting in the barren landscape witnessed here

Despite promises from the communist authorities that the ancestors graves would be relocated, they too were left to drown

One villager who stayed in Ana Prata, pictured here tending to a grave built above the lake that she will share with her husband, who died in 2012

Another of the 20 remaining locals is 70-year-old Maria Prata, pictured on her land, who spent her childhood in Geamana sleeping in a stable, 'me on one side, the cows on the other'

Maria, pictured (left) with her late husband just a few years before the prospectors arrived. Pictured (right), a graveyard which was flooded only in the past few years

Nicolae Turdean (pictured), general manager of the Rosia Poieni mine, told Mr Chapple about the villagers who took the compensation money but stayed: 'We tolerate the situation and will continue to tolerate the situation as long as they dont affect the works around'
Venice, as they say, is sinking, and so is its ability to sustain an ever-growing influx of tourists.

In their latest crackdown, authorities have banned the opening of new hotels in the historic city centre, and the development of existing properties into tourist accommodation.

It's just the latest in a string of measures - expected to be formally announced this week - to bring visitor numbers under control, as locals continue to protest the heaving crowds and rising cost of living.

In Venice's latest crackdown on tourism, authorities have banned the opening of new hotels in the historic city centre

Massimiliano De Martin, the assessor, told local paper Corriere del Veneto: 'The situation is fairly weighty.

'It is a key resolution for our mandate, and puts us in line with Unesco policy.'

The plans, according to The Independent, are not expected to cover the islands beyond the city centre, nor affect private lettings under companies including Airbnb.

Mr Martinhe revealed that Venice's centre already boasts 25,400 rooms for rent.

Last month also saw plans approved to introduce a ticketing system for Piazza San Marco (pictured) its famed main square, to drive down the number of tourists

It comes a month after authorities banned new kebab and fast food restaurants from opening to, according to tourism chief Paola Mar, 'preserve Venice's cultural heritage'.

The new law, which went into effect in May, also sets a limit on the number of shops that can sell slices of pizza.

Last month also saw plans approved to introduce a ticketing system for Piazza San Marco, its famed main square, in a bid to drive down the number of tourists.

Every year, Venice is flooded by an unprecedented amount of nearly 30 million visitors. This is more-or-less half of the Italian population, according to the Global Tourism Review

In September 2016, hundreds of Venetians carrying flares targeted cruise ships in a huge demonstration against the number of tourists they bring each day

Two months later, hundreds more protesters took to the streets carrying suitcases to symbolize their steady exodus from their beloved city

Meanwhile, Venice's population has shrunk from 175,000 to just 55,000 in 60 years.

According to local media, if things keep going at the current rate, the city won't have a single resident by 2030.

And its natives haven't been taking this lightly.

In September 2016, hundreds of Venetians carrying flares targeted cruise ships in a huge demonstration against the huge number of tourists they bring each day.

Two months later, hundreds more protesters took to the streets carrying suitcases to symbolize their steady exodus from their beloved city.
Tyler Ritter of Arrow fame has welcomed his firstborn child by his wife Lelia Parma - a son they've called Benjamin Parma Ritter.

The 32-year-old actor posted a sweet Instagram photo Sunday of himself sitting shirtless and cradling his swaddled newborn.

Quoting Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley's song Feeling Good, Tyler wrote in his caption: 'It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life,' adding: 'He's Benjamin Parma Ritter. And we're feeling good'.

'It's a new dawn': Tyler Ritter of Arrow fame has welcomed his firstborn child by his wife Lelia Parma - a son they've called Benjamin Parma Ritter

The son of Three's Company icon John Ritter has been married to his wife since 2007, and celebrated her birthday on Instagram recently with a romantic upload.

A photo posted Sunday last captured the two of them in near-silhouette on the beach - Leila still visibly pregnant - as they leaned in toward each other for a kiss.

'Feliz cumpleanos to the love of my life,' Tyler rhapsodized in his caption. 'We have a lucky muchacho on the way who has the fortune of calling you his "mama", but he's waiting it out so this day can be all yours!'

In for the kiss: The son of Three's Company icon John Ritter has been married to his wife since 2007, and celebrated her birthday on Instagram recently with a romantic upload

He'd uploaded a two-photo Instagram album in the middle of last month offering up snapshots from what appeared to have been the same beach photo-shoot.

In one of them, Lelia stood serenely by the water, cradling her bump, as Tyler stood back in the distance, his legs spread and his fists pumping up into the air.

'Maybe the best example of when it's okay for expecting dads to stay OUT of the picture,' the younger brother of actor Jason Ritter quipped in the caption.

Goofing: He'd uploaded a two-photo Instagram album in the middle of last month offering up snapshots from what appeared to have been the same beach photo-shoot

The other photo in the caption was just of Leila, whose feet were submerged in the crashing waves as she gazed down at her belly and placed her hands around it.

Tyler, who'd had a main role on the sitcom The McCarthys during its one-season run, has guest starred on a string of shows including Chicago P.D. and NCIS.

The series he's guested on cover a wide variety ranging from Hot In Cleveland and Young & Hungry to Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., according to his IMDb page.
Ex-Employee Sues After Boss Displays Confederate Flag

'This is not Alabama in the 1940's,' said Tishay Wright in a news release regarding a racial discrimination lawsuit she filed against her ex-employer, Southland Construction. 'No one should be treated this way in America in the year 2017.'

The treatment to which she referred included racist comments from company owners Kenneth and Anita Hayden, culminating in a Confederate flag-bedazzled purse as a Christmas gift, along with photos of the pair dressed as Donald Trump and a supporter, complete with a Confederate flag draped over Wright's desk. "This country is going backwards and it has to stop," Wright said.

Racial Discrimination

The photos depict Kenneth Hayden, dressed as President Trump, in front of a Confederate flag bearing the slogan, "The Southland Shall Rise Again," and a modified Trump banner. Anita Hayden posed as an apparent Trump supporter, wearing the Confederate flag purse later given to Wright as a "gag gift." The photos and purse were ostensibly part of a white elephant gift exchange party at the company, but Kenneth demanded Wright could only take the wrapped box containing the photos.

Wright's lawsuit claims her "shock and horror over the purse and pictures depicting racist symbolism and a hostile potential violent message caused her to become increasingly nauseous and anxiety ridden." She "returned home in tears after opening the gift, horrified, humiliated and deeply fearful that the owners of Southland would go to these lengths to silence and intimidate her after her multiple complaints to management."

Hostile Work Environment

But the Trump- and Confederate-themed gifts weren't the only signs of racism and harassment at Southland. Both Haydens regularly uttered the phrase, "We'll just make the Mexicans do it," Kenneth allegedly told a Sikh intern to "go get your people before they blow something up," and also once hailed Wright and another female employee into his office, and declared "Ya'll are my bitches and you're going to take notes for the smaller projects coming up."

Business owners should make sure that they aren't creating a hostile work environment for employees. If you aren't sure if a certain behavior is inappropriate in the workplace, speak to a lawyer.

Related Resources:
They were polar opposites on Saturday night's instalment of the reality favourite as they suffered a major lover's tiff.

And now Big Brother's married couple Sukhvinder and Imran were certainly on the path to mending their relationship woes on Monday as they got hot and heavy under the Borehamwood bungalow's sheets.

The loved-up couple couldn't help themselves as they found a quiet space to snuggle up together while overcoming the strain living in the house has put on their marriage.

Scroll down for video

Getting steamy: Big Brother's married Sukhvinder and Imran were certainly on the path to mending their relationship woes on Monday as they got hot and heavy under the Borehamwood bungalow's sheets

Getting hot and heavy, the pair couldn't contain their passion for each other as they packed on the PDA while fellow housemates Lotan and Arthur lay in bed.

With Big Brother setting the scene with some sax music in the background, Sukhvinder couldn't help but wrap her hands around her other half's head while she leaned in for a steamy smooch.

While their fellow housemates endured the sound of them locking lips, Sukhvinder called her hubby's name in a flirty manner as they cosied up together under the sheets.

Wishing him a 'beautiful day', it appeared that the steamy clinch left Imran all a fluster as he skipped out of bed holding his crotch, while making his way to the bathroom.

Loved-up: While their fellow housemates endured the sound of them locking lips, Sukhvinder couldn't help but call her hubby's name in a flirty manner as they cosied up together under the sheets

Oh no! Getting hot and heavy, the pair couldn't contain their passion for each other as they packed on the PDA while fellow housemates Lotan (L) and Arthur lay in bed

Packing on the PDA: The loved-up couple couldn't help themselves as they found a quiet space to snuggle up together while overcoming the new strain living in the house has put on their marriage

On Saturday night's episode, the pair locked horns in the house as they feuded over a bottle of stolen wine which had been hidden in the hot tub which the 39-year-old told her not to do.

After telling her to 'calm down', Imran was faced with a furious Sukhvinder who shouted: 'No, no no, dont tell me to f*****g calm down, dont tell me to calm down.'

After Imran informed his wife that her actions had not gone down too well with the rest of the house, she exploded, screaming at him and threatening to go home but soon the pair made up, despite their initial fraught tempers.

Saucy: With Big Brother setting the scene with some sax music in the background, Sukhvinder couldn't help but wrap her hands around her other half's head while she leaned in for a steamy smooch

'Beautiful;: Wishing him a 'beautiful day', it appeared that the steamy clinch left Imran all a fluster as he skipped out of bed holding his crotch while making his way to the bathroom

Left in tears, she was comforted by fellow housemate, Raphael Korine, who reasoned: 'Are you f*****g serious? You think Im here for f*****g alcohol? Dont come for me. You've faced adversity and you need to remember that you know that.'

Sukhvinder is an entrepreneur from Leeds and was raised in a Sikh family before marrying Imran in a Muslim ceremony aged just 17.

No doubt bringing some flavour into the house, the contestant professed her bluntness is the best element of her personality and her impatience the worst.

Rowing again: On Saturday night's episode, the pair locked horns in the house as they feuded over a bottle of stolen wine which had been hidden in the hot tub which the 39-year-old told her not to do

Calm down: After telling her to 'calm down', Imran was faced with a furious Sukhvinder who shouted: 'No, no no, dont tell me to f*****g calm down, dont tell me to calm down'

Imran was raised in a strict Muslim family and met Sukhvinder at the age of eight in school. He revealed their relationship was frowned upon and they would meet in private.

Determined to show the UK what a 'Modern Muslim' is he explained ahead of entering the house: 'I want to show my children how to be a good person.

'I want to be an example to the next generation as well and let them know its not all about social media.'
She's a seasoned pro on the Tony Awards red carpet.

And Anna Kendrick didn't disappoint as she stunned in a sophisticated gown while attending the annual fete celebrating the best on Broadway in New York City.

The 31-year-old actress looking ravishing in a floral number that had a plunging neckline as she posed for the cameras on Sunday.

Stunner: Anna Kendrick didn't disappoint as she stunned in a sophisticated gown while attending the annual fete celebrating the best on Broadway in New York City

The Pitch Perfect star made a grand entrance in a gorgeous black couture number that had pretty white flowers throughout the fabric.

Daring to impress, the beauty showcased her ample assets in a deep neckline that had a cute red and white polka dot bow at the bottom.

Her flawless skin tone was highlighted in her sleeveless gown that draped fabulously to the floor.

Anna threw caution to the wind as paired the look with minimal makeup but pulled it off successfully as she rocked gorgeous earrings.

Red carpet diva: The Pitch Perfect star made a grand entrance in a gorgeous black couture number that had pretty white flowers throughout the fabric

Meanwhile, Natasha, Pierre And The Great Comet of 1812 led the nominees for 71st Annual Tony Awards.

The pop opera is a musical adaptation of a segment of Leo Tolstoy's War And Peace and received a total of 12 nominations included the coveted Best Musical nod.

Josh Groban and Denee Benton each received a nod in the Best Performance by an Actor/Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical categories.

Hello, Dolly! came in with the second most nods in the morning with 10 including Best Revival of a Musical and a Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical nomination for Bette Midler.

Strut: Her flawless skin tone was highlighted in her sleeveless gown that draped fabulously to the floor

Back in 1974 the Beaches actress was given the special honor of Adding Lustre to the Broadway Season as she received her first Tony.

Two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett received her best ever Tony Award nomination in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play category for The Present.

It will be a night of many stars as Kevin Spacey is set to host the gala event as he has previously won Best Featured Actor in a Play for Lost In Yonkers.

Impressive: Daring to impress, the beauty showcased her ample assets in a deep neckline that had a cute red and white polka dot bow at the bottom
She is currently starring in a limited run of George Orwell's 1984 on Broadway.

And on Sunday, Olivia Wilde looked every bit the superstar as she hit the red carpet at the Tony Awards in New York City wearing a low-cut red Michael Kors gown.

The full length frock was covered in sparkles and paired with a gold clutch.

Scroll down for video

Sleek: Olivia Wilde stunned on the red carpet for the Tony Awards on Sunday in New York City

Olivia's brunette locks were slicked back with a side-part for an ultra-sleek look.

Her eye shadow and lipstick had a warm tone that complimented her red dress.

She was joined on the red carpet by her fiance of four years Jason Sudeikis.

Date night: She was joined by her fiance of four years Jason Sudeikis at the event

1812 led the nominees for 71st Annual Tony Awards.

The pop opera is a musical adaptation of a segment of Leo Tolstoy's War And Peace and received a total of 12 nominations included the coveted Best Musical nod.

Josh Groban and Denee Benton each received a nod in the Best Performance by an Actor/Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical categories.

Thespian: Wilde is currently starring on Broadway in George Orwell's 1984

Broadway star: 1984 marks her Broadway debut, she has starred in both TV and film projects

Natasha, Pierre And The Great Comet of 1812 was also recognized for Best Score, Best Book of a Musical, Best Choreography, and Best Direction of a Musical for Chavkin.

Hello, Dolly! came in with the second most nods in the morning with 10 including Best Revival of a Musical and a Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical nomination for Bette Midler.

Back in 1974 the Beaches actress was given the special honor of Adding Lustre to the Broadway Season as she received her first Tony.

Together: Olivia and Jason have been dating since 2011, engaged since 2013 and have two children together

No wedding plans: Despite being engaged for four years, Jason said they will not get married until marijuana is legal in all 50 states

She was not the only Broadway regular recognized for her efforts on the stage as legend Patti LuPone also received a nod for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for War Paint.

Two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett received her best ever Tony Award nomination in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play category for The Present.

Sally Field also received her first nomination as she is up for the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play gong for her work in The Glass Menagerie.

Pals: She also posed with Sara Bareilles, who starred in Broadway's Waitress

Another longtime actor who received his first nod was Danny DeVito who was acknowledged for Best Featured Actor in a Play for The Price.

The coveted Best Play category looks like it will be a tight race as A Doll's House, Part 2, Indecent, Oslo, and Sweat are all up for the prize.

Best Revival of a Play will also be contentious as there will be a showdown between August Wilson's Jitney, The Little Foxes, Present Laughter, and Six Degrees Of Separation.

Fierce: Her gold accessories and simple makeup look perfectly complimented her dress
Revellers turned out for a night of celebrations as the Fitzroy Street Queen's Birthday Party got underway on Sunday.

And socialite Brynne Edelsten was among the celebrity guests who attended the festivities in Melbourne.

The 34-year-old was spotted posing for photos with Seven Year Switch's controversial star Kaitlyn Isham, who wasn't afraid to get hands-on with the former model.

Scroll down for video

Making new friends? Brynne Edelsten and Seven Year Switch's Kaitlyn Isham were spotted attending an event together in Melbourne on Sunday

Kaitlyn, who recently turned 29, beamed as she wrapped her hands around Brynne's slender waist while the pair chatted.

Brynne showed off her slimmed-down frame in a bright pink mini skirt and a cleavage-baring black top.

With her peroxide locks worn out and straight, the ex-wife of Geoffrey Edelsten added height to her look with a air of stiletto boots.

Hands-on: Kaitlyn beamed as she wrapped her hands around Brynne's slender waist during the Queen's Birthday Party

Blonde power: The pair appeared deep in conversation as they enjoyed the festivities

Sporting a golden tan, the American-born star showed off her plump pout with a bright pink shade of lipstick.

Kaitlyn meanwhile, flaunted her curves in a skin-tight blue and black dress, which she teamed with leather boots and stockings.

The outspoken reality star later channeled her inner queen and posed for a snap whilst sitting atop a makeshift throne.

Slim-down: Brynne showed off her slender frame in a tiny pink skirt and cleavage-baring top

Flaunting her curves: Kaitlyn meanwhile, sported a skin-tight blue and black dress with a pair of leather boots and stockings

It also appeared to be a fun night for Brynne, who was spotted planting a kiss on a gentleman's lips as they lounged in front of a table full of drinks.

She even took to posing for a snap with characters dressed up as Queen Elizabeth II.

Kaitlyn gained notoriety during her stint on this year's season of Seven Year Switch.

The former adult webcam model made headlines with her flirty behaviour and was also linked to Married At First Sight's Scarlett Cooper.

Who's the guy? Brynne appeared to have a fun night, with the socialite seen planting a kiss on a gentleman as they held hands

Game of thrones? Kaitlyn channelled her inner queen and posed for a snap whilst sitting atop a makeshift throne inside the venue

Following claims Kaitlyn wooed Scarlett and even invited her to have a threesome with boyfriend Mark Pisani, the blonde spoke out to set the record straight.

Speaking to New Idea magazine, Kaitlyn admits to cuddling and kissing Scarlett - but denies they ever hooked up.

Kaitlyn said she considers Scarlett a close friend and admits to getting 'very flirty' at times with the aspiring author.

'When she stayed with me, Scarlett and I were very flirty - we did cuddle and kiss, but that's just how I am with my girlfriends,' Kaitlyn explained.

Making headlines: Kaitlyn recently revealed she 'kissed and cuddled' Married At First Sight star Scarlett Cooper while she was with her boyfriend Mark Pisani
Advertisement

Stars of the Broadway stage dolled up and flooded into Radio City Music Hall on Sunday to face off against each other at the 2017 Tony Awards.

Bette Midler, who won for leading Jerry Zaks' new revival of Hello, Dolly!, proved the ultimate showgirl - the music to play her off started and ended, and she still refused to leave the stage, bellowing: 'Shut that crap off!'

The 71-year-old dynamo delivered the victory speech of the night, riotously offering her thanks to 'all of the Tony voters, many of whom I have actually dated,' to a roar of laughter from the rapturous audience.

Scroll down for video

Triumph: Bette Midler, who won a Tony on Sunday for leading Jerry Zaks' new revival of Hello, Dolly!, proved the ultimate showgirl - the music to play her off started and ended, and she refused to leave the stage, bellowing: 'Shut that crap off!'

Calling the show 'one of the greatest professional experiences of my life,' she rhapsodized about the 'affection' she's been on the business end of, vamping: 'I can't remember the last time I had so much smoke up my ass, but there is no more room, so thank you.'

Amid a stampede of innumerable thank-yous came a stretch of the speech aimed at producer Scott Rudin, with Bette effusing: 'I owe everything to Scott Rudin,' and touting his 'tenacity' and 'unerring eye' during the 'ride of my life' experience of working on Hello, Dolly!.

She expressed her gratitude to many of the people who'd worked behind the scenes on the production, including Natasha Katz, whose lighting design 'makes me look 30 years younger' - a number Bette swiftly dialed back to possibly '20, but I look okay.'

Vamping: The 71-year-old dynamo delivered the victory speech of the night, riotously offering her thanks to 'all of the Tony voters, many of whom I have actually dated,' to a roar of laughter from the rapturous audience

Choice of music: An orchestral version of There's No Business Like Show Business, an Irving Berlin number from his 1946 musical Annie Get Your Gun, began blaring, but Bette blared more loudly, and continued to do so until the band stopped

Charmed: When Glenn Close presented Bette with her award on on Sunday night, it meant that all three of the women who've played Dolly Levi on Broadway - Bette, Pearl Bailey and Carol Channing - have won Tony Awards for their trouble

An orchestral version of There's No Business Like Show Business, an Irving Berlin number from his 1946 musical Annie Get Your Gun, began blaring, but Bette blared more loudly, and continued to do so until the music ran out.

During and around that little interlude, Bette called her castmates - including Gavin Creel, who also won a Tony that night, and David Hyde Pierce, who'd been nominated - 'the greatest group of clowns I've ever encountered.'

As the music went on, Bette also noted that 'I had teachers like you do, and way back in the '60s before all this stuff happened,' and thanked a couple of her old instructors before her: 'Shut that crap off!' showstopper.

A nice problem to have: Bette joked onstage that ''I can't remember the last time I had so much smoke up my ass, but there is no more room, so thank you'

Merry band: During and around that musical interlude, Bette feted her castmates - including Gavin Creel, who also won a Tony that night, and David Hyde Pierce - as 'the greatest group of clowns I've ever encountered'

The man himself: Amid a stampede of innumerable thank-yous came a stretch of the speech aimed at producer Scott Rudin, who'd accepted the trophy when Hello, Dolly! won Best Revival that night

Once the music was over, she collected herself and kept on going: 'I just wanna say that "revival" is an interesting word. It means that something is near death and it was brought back to life.'

As she sees it, though, Hello, Dolly! - which also won Best Revival of a Musical - 'never really went away' and 'has been here all along,' down to 'our DNA,' where 85-year-old 'Jerry Herman's songs live forever.'

A laundry list of the show's attributes, from 'optimism' to 'democracy' to 'color' to 'love of life' to 'hilarity,' all contribute to its capacity to 'lift your spirits in these terrible, terrible times,' in Bette's view.

Proud winner: A laundry list of the show's attributes, from 'optimism' to 'democracy' to 'color' to 'love of life' to 'hilarity,' all contribute to its capacity to 'lift your spirits in these terrible, terrible times,' in Bette's view

By the end of the speech, she was dedicating the award to the actresses who'd preceded her in the role of Dolly Levi, including still-kicking 96-year-old 'Carol Channing, who made my life, who was a gift to me.'

Carol had not only originated the role when it first opened on Broadway at the St. James Theatre in 1964, but had also played it in two revivals at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, one that began in 1978 and one that began in 1995.

Bette also shouted out the 'extraordinary Pearl Bailey,' who'd led the all-black revival of Hello, Dolly! at the Minskoff Theatre in 1975, as well as 'all the hundreds of women who came after me who lit the way.'

Toast of Broadway: Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical went to Ben Platt for Dear Evan Hansen, which was also presented with the Best Musical Tony that evening by Hamilton impresario Lin-Manuel Miranda (pictured)

When Glenn Close presented Bette with her award on on Sunday night, it meant that all three of the women who've played Dolly Levi on Broadway - Bette, Pearl and Carol - have won Tony Awards for their trouble.

Bette had previously won a Special Tony Award in 1974 from a now-shelved category endearingly called 'adding lustre to the Broadway season.'

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical went to Ben Platt for Dear Evan Hansen, a show that was also presented with the Best Musical Tony that evening by Hamilton impresario Lin-Manuel Miranda.

It was Tina Fey who'd presented the Tony to Ben, who remembered that 'When I was six years old I was the prince in Cinderella,' and that 'I've spent every single day of my life since then just madly in love with musical theater.'

Looking back: It was Tina Fey who'd presented the Tony to Ben, who remembered that 'When I was six years old I was the prince in Cinderella,' and that 'I've spent every single day of my life since then just madly in love with musical theater'

Good heart: His heartwarming speech shouted out his parents as 'The greatest people I've ever met,' and singled out his father for inculcating in him the lesson that 'you have to be a decent human being to be a decent artist'

His heartwarming speech shouted out his parents as 'the greatest people I've ever met' and singled out his father for inculcating in him the lesson that 'you have to be a decent human being to be a decent artist.'

Laurie Metcalf scooped up her first Tony Award out of four nominations, winning for leading the play A Doll's House, Part 2, which is playwright Lucas Hnath's sequel to Henrik Ibsen's legendary A Doll's House.

In her touching speech, Laurie thanked the younger two of her four children, 'my daughter Mae and my son Donovan, for putting up with me being gone for long stretches of time,' enabling 'what I love doing the most, which is working in the theater.'

Fourth time lucky: Laurie Metcalf scooped up her first Tony Award out of four nominations, winning for leading the play A Doll's House, Part 2, which is playwright Lucas Hnath's sequel to Henrik Ibsen's legendary A Doll's House

She's been nominated for Best Leading Actress in a Play twice before: once for starring opposite Bruce Willis in an adaptation of the film Misery last year, and once three years prior for Sharr White's The Other Place.

Laurie, who'd also been nominated for Best Featured Actress in a Play in 2008 for November, was presented her award this Sunday by Bette, who was still waiting to learn whether she'd be winning her own Tony that night.

Returning champion Kevin Kline snapped up his third Tony Award, earning Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for his turn as Garry Essendine in a revival of Noel Coward's Present Laughter.

He effervesced in his speech that 'I wanna thank everybody,' noting that 'we don't do this alone' and vaunting the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as the National Endowment for the Humanities - 'organizations without whom probably half of the people in this room would not be here.'

Revealed: Laurie, who's had three prior nominations, was presented her award by Bette Midler

Tenterhooks: Bette was still waiting to learn whether she'd be winning Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for her new revival of Hello, Dolly!

Returning champion: Kevin Kline snapped up his third Tony Award on Sunday, earning Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for his turn as Garry Essendine in a revival of Noel Coward's Present Laughter

In his speech, Kevin had also thanked 'my wife and my children and my family of actors,' as well as 'my director' Moritz von Stuelpnagel and 'everybody' at his production of Present Laughter.

He served up kudos as well to the American Theatre Wing - the subject of a speech that had only moments before been given on the Tonys stage by his Soapdish co-star and fellow Tony nominee this year, Sally Field.

The A Fish Called Wanda actor was presented his Tony Award that night by Sarah Paulson, who sizzled in a strapless lacy off-white gown, and a dashing tuxedo-clad David Oyelowo.

Kevin's previous Tonys have both been for musicals; he'd snatched up the first in 1978 for his featuring role in On The Twentieth Century, and three years later, got the next one for leading the cast of a revival of Gilbert and Sullivan's legendary operetta The Pirates of Penzance.

Shout outs: He effervesced in his speech that 'I wanna thank everybody,' noting that 'we don't do this alone' and vaunting the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as the National Endowment for the Humanities

Dapper duo: The A Fish Called Wanda actor was presented his Tony Award that night by Sarah Paulson - who sizzled in a strapless lacy off-white gown - and a dashing tuxedo-clad David Oyelowo

That smile; He served up kudos as well to the American Theater Wing - the subject of a speech that had only moments before been given on the Tonys stage by his Soapdish co-star and fellow Tony nominee this year, Sally Field

Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon won Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for a revival of Lillian Hellman's 1939 opus The Little Foxes, and in a politically-tinged speech, she held forth onstage about how 'eerily prescient' the playwright had been about 'this specific moment in history.'

Gravely citing Lillian's quote about those '"who eat the earth and eat all the people on it"' and those '"who just stand around and watch them,"' Cynthia paid her respects to 'all the people in 2017 who are refusing to just stand and watch them do it.'

Before the resistance-themed closing portion of her speech, Cynthia had thanked 'my godsend wife' Christine Marinoni, as well as 'our beloved children.'

Sending a message: Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon won Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for a revival of Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes at the Tony Awards on Sunday speaking onstage about how 'eerily prescient' the playwright had been about 'this specific moment in history'

She and her co-star Laura Linney - nominated for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play - switch back and forth between the roles of Regina and Birdie in the inventively conceived production of The Little Foxes.

Cynthia, who won a Tony in 2006 for leading the original Broadway cast of David Lindsay-Abaire's heartrending play Rabbit Hole, had also thanked Laura 'for thinking outside the box and for thinking of me when she did it' during Sunday night's speech.

Olivia Wilde, in a bright red outfit with a neckline that dipped to her midriff, had presented the award to Cynthia alongside the similarly crimson-clad Tom Sturridge.

For his performance in Oslo, Michael Aronov triumphed over Nathan Lane and Danny DeVito to win Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play.

Hearkening back: In grave tones, Cynthia cited Lillian's quote about those '"who eat the earth and eat all the people on it"' and those '"who just stand around and watch them,"' and Cynthia paid her respects to 'all the people in 2017 who are refusing to just stand and watch them do it'

Duo: Olivia Wilde, in a bright red outfit with a neckline that dipped to her midriff, had presented the award to Cynthia alongside the similarly crimson-clad Tom Sturridge

Taking a bow: Olivia looked thrilled to hand off the prize to Cynthia

The prize was presented by Scarlett Johansson, and in his speech, Michael told his family that 'my victories mean nothing to me unless Im sharing them with you.'

J. T. Rogers' Oslo, which itself won Best Play that night, revolves about the run-up to the signing of the historic Oslo Accords, an agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization.

Winning the Lifetime Achievement Award, James Earl Jones - who's now won three Tonys out of a five-nomination tally - thanked his late wife Cecilia 'Ceci' Hart, who died last October.

Victory! For his performance in Oslo, Michael Aronov triumphed over Nathan Lane and Danny DeVito to win Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play at Sunday's Tonys

He showered her with praise 'for being such a wonderful companion in my life and in my work,' getting laughs by thanking her 'for being the great co-producer of our son Flynn, and for being so dazzling on the red carpet.'

Kevin Spacey, who won Best Featured Actress in a Play for Neil Simon's Lost in Yonkers in 1991, shored up his formidable theater bona fides by compering at Radio City Music Hall on Sunday.

To shrieks of laughter from the crowd, Kevin sang through spoofs of songs from Best Musical nominees including Groundhog Day, and Stephen Colbert popped up for a special cameo, revealing himself by pulling an immense groundhog mask off his head.

Teasing a nervous Kevin that 'Hey, even Steve Harvey would be okay' with the gig, Stephen bolstered the host's morale, singing; 'Be like Audra MacDonald. Six Tonys will follow,' and eventually counseling: 'Let's go get drunk.'

So sweet: The prize was presented by Scarlett Johansson, and in his speech, Michael told his family that 'my victories mean nothing to me unless Im sharing them with you'

'Wonderful companion': Winning the Lifetime Achievement Award, James Earl Jones - who's now won three Tonys out of a five-nomination tally - thanked his late wife Cecilia 'Ceci' Hart, who died last October

Whilst sending up Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, he bewailed the fact that vaunted award show hosts - including Tony hosting darlings Neil Patrick Harris and Hugh Jackman - hadn't turned up to take the job.

Whoopi Goldberg emerged onstage from a closet, prompting Kevin to quip: 'Whoopi, how long have you been in that closet?' and Whoopi's vamping reply that 'it depends on who you ask.'

Billy Crystal, famed for his Oscar-hosting, video-ed in, as 'the 14th choice,' and offered Kevin advice on how to be a host.

'Even Steve Harvey would be okay': Kevin Spacey was joined by guest-stars including Stephen Colbert while hosting the Tony Awards on Sunday night

Location, location, location: The show took place at Radio City Music Hall

Dear Kevin Spacey: Kevin had first taken the stage dressed as cast-wearing teenager Evan Hansen from Best Musical nominee Dear Evan Hansen

Comfort: Teasing a nervous Kevin that 'Hey, even Steve Harvey would be okay' with the gig, Stephen bolstered the host's morale

He did, however, needle Kevin that if he - Billy - hadn't been out of town in California on the night of the Tonys, he would've gotten the gig himself.

In a bravura bit of showmanship, Kevin also found himself dressed as Norma Desmond from the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical of Billy Wilder's 1950 film Sunset Boulevard.

He began his Norma section by roaring: 'I'm coming out...,' before realizing the possible implications of the phrase and amending: 'I'm going in,' and then continuing.

Kevin had first taken the stage dressed as cast-wearing teenager Evan Hansen from Best Musical nominee Dear Evan Hansen.

'I'm coming out...': In a bravura bit of showmanship, Kevin also found himself dressed as Norma Desmond from the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical of Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard

Now Kevin belt: His opening segment began and then closed itself out with I'm Broadway Bound, a take-off from Dear Evan Hansen's ballad I Will Be Found

His opening segment began and then closed itself out with I'm Broadway Bound, a take-off from Dear Evan Hansen's ballad I Will Be Found.

Kevin worked through a series of superb impressions through his hosting gig, including of Bill Clinton and Johnny Carson, but won massive applause near the end of the Tony Awards broadcast when he slid into his House Of Cards role of Frank Underwood.

He was joined by Robin Wright, who plays Frank's wife Claire Underwood on the Netflix program, and he'd quipped about wanting to leave the stage before Bette managed to speak any further.

Fan service: Kevin won massive applause near the end of the Tony Awards broadcast when he slid into his House Of Cards role of Frank Underwood, joined by Robin Wright as his wife Claire Underwood

From the world of politics: Among the starry array of presenters that evening was former U.S. Second Lady Jill Biden, who entered in red to a standing ovation and introduced the musical Bandstand to the audience

Among the starry array of presenters that evening was former U.S. Second Lady Jill Biden, who'd entered in red to a standing ovation and introduced the musical Bandstand to the audience.

Mark Hamill spoke ahead of the In Memoriam reel, paying tribute to late Broadway 'princes,' as well as to 'a princess' - a nod to his Princess Leia-playing Star Wars co-star Carrie Fisher, whose one-woman show Wishful Drinking had opened on Broadway in 2009, and who died last December two days after Christmas.

Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, a pop opera based on War And Peace, nabbed the most nods that night with 12, including for Best Musical, but only won for its lighting design and scenic design.

Aglow: The much-buzzed-about Dear Evan Hansen, starring Ben as a teenager with social anxiety disorder, also earned Broadway veteran Rachel Bay Jones the Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical prize

Dave Malloy, who's also worked on the chamber musical Ghost Quartet, wrote the book, lyrics and music to the Leo Tolstoy adaptation, which premiered Off-Broadway in 2012.

Josh Groban earned a nod for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, his leading lady Denee Benton for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical.

Natasha, Pierre And The Great Comet of 1812 was also up for its score, book, choreography and direction, among other a string of other categories including Best Orchestrations.

Hello, gorgeous: John and Cynthia Erivo, who won a Tony last year for her performance in The Color Purple, both stunned as they took the stage to present the Best Score Award to Benji Pasek and Justin Paul for Dear Evan Hansen

Best Orchestrations wound up going to Dear Evan Hansen, Best Choreography to Bandstand, and Christopher Ashley won big for directing the musical Come From Away.

Best Score, meanwhile, went to Dear Evan Hansen's songwriting team of Benji Pasek and Justin Paul, who'd also won the Academy Award for Best Original Song this year, courtesy their number City of Stars from La La Land.

John and Cynthia Erivo, who won a Tony last year for her performance in The Color Purple, both stunned as they took the stage to present the Best Score Award to Benji and Justin.

Makeup colossi: Tony nods went to both Broadway babies and newcomers, with Great White Way mainstays Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole in competition for co-leading the musical War Paint

There's Uma: Neither Patti nor Christine won, though they'd been introduced by a widow chic Uma Thurman to give a spellbinding performance of Face To Face, a belt-note-heavy duet from War Paint

Also earning a slew of nominations, with nods in 10 categories and victory in four of them, was Jerry Zaks' new revival of Jerry Herman-scored Hello, Dolly! starring Bette.

Tony nods went to both Broadway babies and newcomers, with Great White Way mainstays Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole in competition for co-leading the musical War Paint, in which they play feuding makeup colossi Helena Rubenstein and Elizabeth Arden, respectively.

Victory for Patti would've meant her third Tony Award for leading a musical, an honor she'd first won in 1980 for playing the grasping Argentine first lady Eva Peron in Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita.

Numbers game: Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, a pop opera based on War And Peace, nabbed the most nods that night with 12, including for Best Musical, but only won for its lighting design and scenic design

In 2008, she won again for playing the formidable stage mother Mama Rose in a revival of Gypsy directed by its book-writer, the now late Arthur Laurents.

Taking the stage at the 2008 Tonys, Patti had - like Bette this year - talked over the band when they'd attempted to play her off during her speech. 'Shut up!' Patti'd thundered, to applause. 'It's been 29 years!'

Neither Patti nor Christine won this Sunday, though they'd been introduced by a widow chic Uma Thurman to give a spellbinding performance of Face To Face, a belt-note-heavy duet from War Paint.

The much-buzzed-about Dear Evan Hansen, starring Ben as a teenager with social anxiety disorder, also earned Broadway veteran Rachel Bay Jones the Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical prize.

Gather the ensemble: Dave Malloy, who's also worked on the chamber musical Ghost Quartet, wrote the book, lyrics and music to the Leo Tolstoy adaptation, which premiered Off-Broadway in 2012

Cate Blanchett received her first ever Tony Award nomination, winding up in the running for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play via The Present, but losing to Laurie.

Sally Field also received her first nomination, up for the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play gong by playing the insecure and domineering mother Amanda Wingfield in Tennesse Williams' The Glass Menagerie.

Danny DeVito also earned his first Tony nomination this Sunday, winding up in the running for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play for playing Gregory Solomon in Arthur Miller's The Price.

Star power: David Hyde Pierce and Josh Groban had both been nominated for Tonys for Hello, Dolly! and Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 respectively, but they've both lost to Ben for Dear Evan Hansen

The coveted Best Play category saw A Doll's House, Part 2 strive for the award against Indecent, Sweat, and Oslo, the last of which wound up taking home the honor.

Best Revival of a Play saw August Wilson's Jitney come out on top over Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes, Noel Coward's Present Laughter, and John Guare's Six Degrees Of Separation.

One of the producers of this Jitney revival was John Legend, so its win means that John - who's previously won an Oscar and a Grammy - has three fourths of an EGOT, missing only the Emmy.

His wife Chrissy Teigen crowed as much on Twitter on Sunday night as the show was being broadcast. 'John won a Tony!!! He has a GOT!' she trumpeted.
Television stars Melanie Sykes, 46, Sally Lindsay, 43, and Catherine Tyldesley, 33, are reported to be the latest victims of a hacking scandal.

The Sun reported on Sunday that the British TV favourites 'are feared to have had their iCloud accounts hacked and their intimate pictures posted online.'

Coronation Street actress Kym Marsh is reported to have suffered the same fate just days ago, causing her to contact the police.

Scroll down for video

Victims: Television stars Melanie Sykes, 46, (left) Sally Lindsay, 43, and Catherine Tyldesley, 33, (right) are reported to be the latest victims of a hacking scandal that has left their 'intimate photos leaked' on an X-rated website

Outraged: Coronation Street star Kym Marsh contacted the police after intimate pictures of the actress were shared online ahead of her triumphant appearance at the British Soap Awards last week

According to The Sun, 'Twenty-three photos of Mel were posted online. In three she is naked, five she is topless and in the rest, she is wearing lingerie.'

They report that former Corrie star Sally Lindsay had six pictures stolen, which saw her posing topless in a pantomime dressing room.

And there are three photos of Catherine - she wears lingerie in one and is fully clothed in the rest.'

Awful: Actress Sally Lindsay is also said to be a victim of the terrible crime

MailOnline has contacted the representatives of the women for comment.

Kym, 40, who won the Best Female Dramatic Performance award at the annual British Soap Awards, is understood to have taken action after learning that explicit images, taken while she was in a relationship, had surfaced on the internet.

A source told The Sun at the time: Kym is absolutely sickened that someone has put these photos in the public domain.'

The police are treating this as a case of revenge porn and so are of course treating it very seriously Kym has done nothing wrong, so she is horrified to be in this position. This is a nightmare for her.

The leaked images come little more than a year after the actress, who is currently dating 24-year old Matt Baker, was left 'devastated' after someone tried to sell her alleged sex tape to publication for 30,000.

Nightmare: The 40-year old, who won the Best Female Dramatic Performance award at the annual ceremony, is understood to have taken action after learning that explicit images had surfaced on the internet

Her representatives said at the time: 'Kym is understandably horrified at the claims made in today's newspaper.

'We trust that the Sun newspaper will co-operate fully in identifying the individual behind this plot so that they can be held to account.'

Speaking to OK! magazine abut the leak, Kym said: 'I felt immediately sick to my stomach and was extremely upset - it's been devastating for me and my family.

Previously: Kym married soap star Jack Ryder in 2002 and the couple stayed together until 2009

Old flame: Kym then went out with another personal trainer, Dan Hooper; the pair were engaged until they split in June 2015

She added: 'It's really important that whoever is behind this is caught. It's been one of the worst weeks of my life and I won't rest until the person is caught.'

Growing up in Wigan, before she found fame, she fell pregnant at 18 with boyfriend Dave Cunliffe. The pair have two children together but split in 1999.

She then met Martin Murphy who she had an 18-month romance with in 2000 and 2001 but they broke up during her dramatic rise to fame.

Kym married former soap star Jack Ryder in 2002 and the couple stayed together until 2009.

New man: Kym is currently dating personal fitness instructor Matt Baker

She had a daughter with Jamie Lomas, who was in Hollyoaks, but later started dating personal trainer Matt Baker in 2014.

Kym then went out with another personal trainer, Dan Hooper; the pair were engaged until they split in June 2015, when she rekindled her romance with Baker.

MailOnline has contacted Kym's representatives for further comment.




He left his fans dismayed when he revealed his character Ross would not be getting his chest out in the third series of Poldark.

And incredulous viewers were left wondering how Poldark could stop an out of control horse with just his eyes.

In the first episode of the new series, the mine owner saved his childhood sweetheart Elizabeth when her horse careered out of control.

Scroll down for video

How did he manage that? Incredulous viewers were left wondering how Poldark could stop an out of control horse with just his eyes

When Ross grabbed the reigns, the spooked horse immediately calmed down and appeared tame.

One surprised viewer wrote: 'Did Poldark just tame a horse...with his EYES?'

A hot and bothered Twitter user replied: 'Yes! But then if he looked at me like that I'd probably become tame too!'

Others commented on how romantic gallops across the Cornish coastline were a staple in the period drama.

Keeping his shirt on: Poldark viewers were also left heartbroken when their hero didn't take his shirt off in the first episode (pictured in the first series)

Incredulous: A hot and bothered Twitter user replied: 'Yes! But then if he looked at me like that I'd probably become tame too!'

'Does he actually do anything else?': Others commented on how romantic gallops across the Cornish coastline were a staple in the period drama

One person tweeted: 'Already Ross is riding his horse on the Cornish cliffs. Does he actually do anything else?'

Another posted: 'And so the horse riding begins again.'

Poldark viewers were also left heartbroken when their hero didn't take his shirt off in the first episode, even when he worked up a sweat while thatching his roof.

'Sad times': Viewers were surprised Ross didn't strip off when he worked up a sweat while thatching his roof

Disappointed: One person tweeted: 'That was a full 60 minutes without Ross taking his shirt off. Mugged'

Confused: Another wrote: 'Just seen that rarest of things - an episode where Poldark keeps his shirt on'

Heartbroken: Earlier this year, Aidan Turner revealed he would not be stripping off in the third series of Poldark

One person tweeted: 'That was a full 60 minutes without Ross taking his shirt off. Mugged.'

Another wrote: 'Just seen that rarest of things - an episode where Poldark keeps his shirt on'

One social media user joked: 'Looks like Ross' velcro shirt deal has fallen through..no bare chest.'

New start: In the third series of the period drama Ross throws himself into the business of repairing Nampara, and rebuilding his relationship with Demelza

Getting their kit off: Even though Ross won't be stripping off in the new series of Poldark, there are three other male characters who will

One social media user joked: 'Looks like Ross' velcro shirt deal has fallen through..no bare chest'

Another user said: 'Can't help but notice Ross still has his shirt on. Sad times.'

As the third series of the costume drama airs on the BBC, star Eleanor Tomlinson hinted a fifth series of the show could be made.

The actress, 25, who plays Ross's wife Demelza, said two more series would cover the last six books of Winston Graham's sprawling tale.

She told the Sun: 'If we go to five series that would be a dream. We would be very lucky and honoured to get that far.'

Even though Ross won't be stripping off in the new series of Poldark, there are three other male characters who are planning to mimic the likes of Turners head-turning scything scene when the show returns to the BBC next month.

And judging by the photographs here, viewers will not be disappointed.

Raw talent: Josh Whitehouse, pictured above starring in Northern Soul, will help fill the torso-totty quota

Model Josh Whitehouse, 27, will play aristocratic Hugh Armitage in the new series  and has already had plenty of practice baring his enviable physique in British fashion house Burberrys 2016 Mr Burberry fragrance campaign.

As an actor, he has starred in the British movie Alleycats with his Poldark co-star Eleanor Tomlinson and in Northern Soul alongside Steve Coogan. Like Turner, Whitehouse also has two tattoos  on his upper body  that had to be covered with make-up for filming.

The cast will also be joined by Tom York, 24, who will play one of Demelzas dishy brothers, Sam.

Tom revealed an impressive six-pack in the ITV series Endeavour, and is also known for playing Leo in BBC drama Death In Paradise.

Meanwhile, rising star Harry Richardson, who plays Demelzas other brother, Drake, in the new series, is preparing to expose his attributes for the first time.

According to sources on the show, he is very much ready for the attention and will engage in a Romeo and Juliet-style romance with new character Morwenna, played by Ellise Chappell.

Viewers will recognise the 24-year-old Australian from his role as Frank Gresham in Julian Fellowess adaptation of Anthony Trollopes Doctor Thorne, screened on ITV last year.

Brooding: Whitehouse, as Poldark character Hugh Armitage above, will set pulses racing

Dare to bare: Tom York, above, who stripped off in TV series Olympus, joins the next season of Poldark

Sources on the show told The Mail on Sunday: This series definitely provides the most competition for Aidan Turner with these three rising stars.

It was a rather daunting experience when they joined the cast as they have incredibly big shoes to fill.

But we are fully confident that all are utterly ready for it.

Last week, Irishman Turner, 33, confessed he would no longer be stripping off on camera. I think the clothes stay on this year, he said.

There will be no more scything for me, but instead the other three.
Lauren Scruggs and her E! star husband Jason Kennedy enjoyed a romantic day at the beach in Miami on Sunday.

The blonde beauty looked every inch the model as they went for a sun-kissed splash.

Romantic beach day: Lauren Scruggs and her E! star husband Jason Kennedy hit the surf in Miami on Sunday

Fashion blogger Lauren, who suffered severe injuries after being sucked into an aeroplane propeller, looked simply fabulous in a figure flattering black monokini.

It boasted panels at the side that showcased her toned torso, as well as a plunging neckline.

E! News favourite Jason meanwhile flaunted his physique in a pair of patterned blue trunks.

The pair, who are both Christians, have been married since 2014.

Indeed he is so devout he even leads Bible study classes, which are often attended by young celebrities.

So in love: Jason swam happily in the waves with the blonde beauty

Caught his fancy: The two showed their affection as they played in the water

A model beachgoer: The fashion blogger showcased her fine form in a bathing suit

Going swimmingly: The design showcased her toned torso

Lauren, who was a model before her accident, lost her left arm and eye in 2011 after she was sucked into a plane propeller.

In December 2001, Scruggs and her mother were attending a friend's house for dinner which was next to a private airport.

One of the guests was taking people up for plane rides and she was first in line, but when she got out of the plane in the dark, she was sucked into the propeller.

Now a fashion journalist and blogger, she said at the time: 'It was just such an incredible time in life. I felt like my career was starting. Everything was rolling really fast and then everything came to a halt.'

Shady lady: She completed her look with a pair of trendy sunglasses

Swim team: The devout Christian smiled as he left the water

Perfect pair: The couple toweled off after leaving the water
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree when it comes to Bette Midler and her daughter, Sophie Von Haselberg.

The look-alike mother and daughter attended the Tony Awards in New York City together on Sunday.

Bette defied her 71 years in a slinky silver patterned dress.

Scroll down for video

Keeping it in the family... Bette Midler attended the Tony Awards in New York City on Sunday alongside her daughter, Sophie Von Haselberg

The flattering metallic gown featured a small train and bell sleeves.

The iconic Hollywood star wore her red hair in a tousled updo and accessorized with a pair of drop earrings.

Inside the event, Bette was seen chatting with actor David Hyde Pierce, 58.

Meanwhile, her 30-year-old daughter looked beautiful in a drapey black empire-waist dress.

Eternally youthful: Bette defied her 71 years in a slinky silver patterned dress, which featured a small train and bell sleeves

Working the crowd... Inside the event, the Beaches star was seen chatting with actor David Hyde Pierce

The romantic dress featured a handkerchief hemline and black and white patterning around the hemline.

It also featured a scoop neckline and loose sleeves.

Sophie also donned a pair of metallic high heel sandals.

The actress' brown hair was worn in an updo.

Silver linings: The iconic Hollywood star wore her red hair in a tousled updo and accessorized with a pair of drop earrings

Stepping out: Last year, Sophie accompanied her famous mom to the Met Gala in New York City. 'Me and my gal... she is the greatest!' the proud mom captioned this photo

Bette regularly speaks lovingly about her only child with her husband of 33 years, Argentinian-born actor Martin von Hasselberg, 68.

Last year, Sophie accompanied her famous mom to the Met Gala in New York City.

The Beaches actress took to Instagram to share a photo of the two of them together at the prestigious event.

'Me and my gal... she is the greatest!' the proud mom captioned it.
She is best known for rocking the runway.

And Candice Swanepoel stole the show on Broadway's biggest night.

The 28-year-old model looked stunning as she arrived at the 2017 Tony Awards in New York City on Sunday night.

Golden girl: Candice Swanepoel looked stunning as she arrived at the 2017 Tony Awards in New York City on Sunday night

No doubt she turned heads as she arrived in a completely see-through skirt while strutting her stuff down the red carpet at Radio City Music Hall.

The South African stunner wore a shimmering strapless black gown featuring a completely see-through skirt which revealed her undergarments.

Her blonde locks were pulled back and tucked behind her ear.

Candice showed off her natural looks with complimentary make-up including smokey eye and shiny pink lip.

Wow factor: The 28-year-old model wore a shimmering strapless black gown featuring a completely see-through skirt which revealed her undergarments

Booty-ful: She showed off her pert derriere in the racy look

No doubt it is shaping up to be an exciting night as Natasha, Pierre And The Great Comet of 1812 led the nominees.

The pop opera is a musical adaptation of a segment of Leo Tolstoy's War And Peace and received a total of 12 nominations included the coveted Best Musical nod.

Josh Groban and Denee Benton each received a nod in the Best Performance by an Actor/Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical categories.

Natasha, Pierre And The Great Comet of 1812 was also recognized for Best Score, Best Book of a Musical, Best Choreography, and Best Direction of a Musical for Chavkin.

Stunning: She also took to her Instagram to share this sexy snap

Hello, Dolly! came in with the second most nods in the morning with 10 including Best Revival of a Musical and a Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical nomination for Bette Midler.

Back in 1974 the Beaches actress was given the special honor of Adding Lustre to the Broadway Season as she received her first Tony.

She was not the only Broadway regular recognized for her efforts on the stage as legend Patti LuPone also received a nod for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for War Paint.

Man of the hour: Kevin Spacey hosted the star-studded gala
English Wikipedia participation peaked ten years ago and is down about 20,000 active users a month from its high point. Three big factors often get cited: deletionism, poor mobile editing options, and a lost spirit of inclusiveness. Everipedia wants to address all three with the latest attempt at an encyclopedia of everything. I spoke with co-founder Sam Kazemian about the project, which often pops up as a top search result for college-related news and people. Can they crack the code of next-gen participation?

When I wrote about Wikipedia's deletion of "Chickenhead," I opined that a component of bias led to its deletion. The song is a Dirty South anthem that features underground legend Project Pat and La Chat, a notable female rapper in that subgenre. Wikipedia editors meticulously detail locomotive engines and software programs, while topics like fashion and female scientists get short shrift. However, even a lot of young white nerdy guys who form Wikipedia's base have been driven from the project by deletionists, who search and destroy anything too detailed or obscure, respectively labeled "fancruft" and "non-notable" in Wikipedia lingo.

Unlike Wikipedia, Everipedia has an extensive entry on Chickenhead, including gifs from the music video and links to many sources which confer its notability. In Wikipedia jargon, the opposite of deletionism is inclusionism, and there's an inclusionist spirit to Everipedia. I joined under the name DeletionistsKillWikis to give it a test run and found it to be much more user-friendly, especially on a mobile device.

When they say it's OK to include everything, they mean it. Shortly after my article on the deletion of hemovanadin, Everipedia user DaveLiebowitz

enhanced Everipedia's version of Wikipedia's article on me (called a "fork" in Wikispeak) with some gifs and links. Dave also has an Everipedia entry and even created an article titled Dave's Sriracha Shirt, about his favorite shirt emblazoned with Huy Fong Foods' Sriracha bottle:

Sriracha is a curious obsession on Everipedia. Others have written about their Sriracha onesies:

While this would immediately be deemed unworthy on Wikipedia and deleted, these articles reflect the fun Everipedia is trying to inject back into collaborative editing.

It's been a few months since I last checked in. One aspect of the fun is the gamification of editing, where editors get IQ points for edits. I stopped at 73 IQ because I thought that was funny next to my name. Everipedia's Chickenhead page is still up, but it hasn't had much activity since I did a little test drive. Still, it's vastly better than Wikpedia's deleted page.

Hip-hop culture has a large presence on Everipedia, reflecting its college-age users and their interests. That is also reflected in the interest of their co-founder and guiding spirit Mahbod Moghadam, who got involved after leaving the Rap Genius project he co-founded, bringing in angel investors like Theodor Forselius. Moghadam told me in an email, "I think that just like Genius, Everipedia is transforming the Internet. Sam, our CEO, is the most talented person I've ever met  he is the next Zuck!!" So I reached out to Kazemian for some background on the site he co-founded in 2015.

Above: Kazemian, Forselius, Moghadam

BB: What are Everipedia's five most-viewed pages?

Kazemian: The most viewed page of all time is Cardi B, from Love and Hip Hop. The 2nd-most viewed is her partner Mariah Lynn. I think it is interesting that our two most-viewed pages are women of color, says something perhaps about Wikipedia's bias. The 3rd most-viewed page is also a powerful woman, newscaster Lisa Boothe. 4th is Iranian powerlifter Sajad Gharibi. Jeremy Meeks is the 5th most-viewed page, also a person of color.

BB: That's interesting, because none of those women or people of color have their own articles on Wikipedia. How does Everipedia distinguish its content and approach from fan-powered sites like Rap Genius or Wikia, which has a Hip-Hop database?

Kazemian: Rap Genius is a major source of inspiration for Everipedia. Wikia, like Wikipedia, uses really old software that was built in 2001. Meanwhile there are all these new, modern crowd-knowledge sites like Rap Genius, Quora and StackOverflow, but nobody ever tried to attack the original beast  a wiki of everything  with the new, modern tools. That is what Everipedia aims to do.

BB: Wikipedia's visual editor was released to poor reviews. Wikis live and die by their active user base. What are you doing to attract and retain users that's different from competitors?

Kazemian: It doesn't take that many to do a lot of work. We can give all kinds of incentives that Wikipedia can't match. For one thing, since we're for-profit, we can eventually hire a lot more of our most dedicated users as community managers. Users also get "IQ points" which are a testament to what they've made on the sites. Celebrities can get "Verified Accounts" with a blue checkmark, which means they can use their wiki to interact with fans. We have about 20 college students who are designated "Campus Reps".

BB: What can you tell me about your typical editor, and what trends have you seen in editing patterns?

Kazemian: Our editors are actually extremely diverse which is very cool and promising. Unlike Wikipedia which has a large gender gap and diversity issue where more than 80% of the power users are white males, we have an extremely diverse group of users of all ages, genders, and ethnicities getting involved very early on in the project. The reason this is exciting is that they will all create a more vibrant atmosphere and community for continued, sustainable growth early on in Everipedia's life.

BB: A lot of online encyclopedias have come and gone. How do you plan to avoid the fate of restrictive models like Citizendium or radical inclusionist models like Deletionpedia and Everything2, which have have worked with varying degrees of success?

Kazemian: All of the examples you bring up minus Everything2 use the same outdated MediaWiki software that Wikipedia designed in 2001. The first, and most important, step in distinguishing ourselves from others is to really build our platform from the ground up using modern tooling, features expected in 2017, and sleek software that makes sense for the task at hand. One of the internal questions we like to ask is: "If Apple were trying to make Wikipedia today, how would it look and function?"

BB: I first came across Everipedia because users were constructing articles about whatever internet drama or viral news item was blowing up that day, often about people or events Wikipedia would consider non-notable. In that sense, your site competes with Heavy.

Kazemian: Sort of, but in a more general way, our site has no competitors either, we try to have information on anything that an editor would find interesting enough to make a page for. This wiki-news model is actually something that has been tried before but only we have gotten the right mix of Wikipedia and news to really get it off the ground. We think it's not only the software but also the talented editors we have that have made it such a success. Recently Jimmy Wales, the Wikipedia cofounder, announced that he is making a similar website as Everipedia called Wikitribune, which is a Wiki-based news site. He might have gotten the idea from Everipedia's recent successful model of news plus encyclopedia plus unique wiki software.

BB: One article I read was a summary of a 4chan investigation on the identity of anti-Trump protester Eric Clanton. Some of the information was disputed, and the article stated he committed crimes before he had been charged. What steps are you taking to protect living people from defamation?

Kazemian: We actually have many steps in place to prevent uncited and unfounded accusations. Unlike Wikipedia, we allow the community to up and downvote each citation and when one gets enough downvotes it automatically disappears. We also do not allow anyone to do any original research or original reporting on the platform  everything must have some kind of citation which is then put to the scrutiny and consensus of the community.

BB: It still seems that there's potential for misuse. How would you deal with an article about or referring to someone who doesn't want to be covered?

Kazemian: Our policy is that as long as the citations used for an article are reliable and true, we do not remove the page under any circumstance. The standard is based on community consensus. Should the citations be removed from the web or reliability of their information come into serious question, we will remove any and all related information. We don't see ourselves as making any specific claims or breaking any stories, we simply restate and centralize public sources of information.

BB: Have you had to delete any articles yet? Is so, can you describe them?

Kazemian: If an article is not cited, we delete it. That is the rule. Most of the occasions this has happened so far have been with really unsophisticated users who just totally didn't get what's going on.

BB: Have you had to ban any users, and if so, why?

Kazemian: Our vetting system is pretty robust so we catch vandals immediately. We have had to ban several dozen vandals, but none of done any meaningful damage, the community usually catches them in 5 minutes. Before the vetting system was implemented, we had one rascal who did some damage  but he's this dude who is actually our friend, he was just being annoying.

BB: Is there a limit to what is worthy of a page?

Kazemian: Anything that you can cite! If it exists elsewhere on the Internet, then it is a valid topic on Everipedia. All that matters to us is that Everipedia is never the primary source (unless you are a celebrity with a Verified Account, in which case you are allowed to "self-cite" about topics where you have firsthand knowledge).

Time will tell with Everipedia, but shaking up the status quo is what always leads to advances in knowledge. At the very least, let's hope it prompts Wikipedia to take a harder look at its ongoing issues of including more diversity in both its articles and editors. The two go hand in hand.
Daniel Salazar made a surprise return Sunday to Fear The Walking Dead.

The Salvadoran refugee played by Ruben Blades had been last seen pouring gasoline over himself and lighting it, clearly assumed to have died in the resulting inferno.

But the head of the Salazar family made a stunning return on the latest episode as he reappeared to keep his promise to be Victor Strand's 'guardian angel.'

He's back: Daniel Salazar made a surprise return during Sunday's episode of Fear The Walking Dead

Victor had got himself in trouble after heading to the dam community and angrily asking for Dante, eventually getting passed the line for water and being held at gunpoint.

'Victor  you look like s***,' a voice said in Spanish as the camera panned to show Dante smiling down at him.

Victor initially seemed to think he was in safe hands as he fondly recalled old stories of his late lover and Dante's former friend and business partner Thomas Abigail.

'It's nice to be back with a like mind,' Dante told him with a smile that belied his obvious distrust of Victor.

Guardian angel: Victor Strand was behind bars when he received a visit from Daniel

He then had his men take Victor with them to one of the towering dams, where they saw a man Dante described as 'cartel before the fall' perched on the edge of a huge drop.

'His function was to take from honest people and to kill those who refused, which he did,' Dante said, ordering his men to throw him over.

The cartel man screamed as he plummeted, landing on a stack of walkers who then ate him as he continued screaming.

Big drop: A cartel member was thrown high off the top of the dam

Walkers galore: A large group of walkers were at the bottom

Feeding frenzy: The zombies quickly jumped on the man

Dante's men then held Victor over the edge, dismissing Victor's claim that they were friends because 'we made each other money' and telling him: 'I know why you are here. It's why you were always here  you want what is not yours.'

'Some food, shelter, a cocktail perhaps  that would suffice,' Victor begged, before being held over the edge a second time and screaming: 'You need me Dante!'

'You're begging for an attack. It's only a matter of time before they try to take it, not me,' he told him, insisting that 'water is the currency now' and he could supply the needed transportation and security.

Precarious position: Dante dangled Victor over the high railing

'How could I ever trust a thief?' Dante asked, adding: 'You stole from Thomas. Did Thomas die believing that you loved him?'

'I did love him,' Victor insisted.

Held over the edge again, Victor begged to know why he was doing it to him.

Not trusted: Victor tried to bargain his way out of it

'So you suffer,' Dante told him. 'You exploit everything that you touch, and for that you owe a debt. You will work it off.

'You feel just like the people that you've taken from, You will feel powerless,' Dante warned him.

The episode ended with Victor sitting looking despondent in a jail cell when footsteps were heard and a flask of water was handed through the window.

Flask of water: A flask of water appeared while Victor was despondent in a cell

Victor drank it all greedily  then suddenly seemed to sense something, and looked around quickly at who had handed him the water.

There, Daniel stood staring at him, before calming saying: 'I knew you would drink it all.

'I told you, I'd be your guardian angel.'

Looking out: Daniel appeared and told Victor that he was his 'guardian angel'

Meanwhile, Madison Clark and her kids Alicia and Nick  along with Nick's injured girlfriend Luciana  were seen trying to settle into the new 'sanctuary' farm compound they had found themselves in, despite the presence of Troy Otto who almost killed them.

Compound leader Jeremiah Otto, Troy's father, emerged to be a survivalist who had lived off selling tapes on how to survive 'teotwawki,' or The End Of The Word As We Knew It.

He was shown in old ads for the survival business saying: 'Time's up patriots, the great American experiment has failed. But out of the ashes we start anew.

Survival business: Jeremiah Otto was shown in old survivalist advertisings

'My name is Jeremiah Otto and this is the end of the world as we know it. The only way to protect your family is to be prepared.'

Hs four-part tapes series called 'How to Survive Teotwawki: The End Of The World As We Know It' ls came with a bucket filled with survival tools, and taught how to stockpile supplies including ammo and food, as well as growing crops and raising livestock.

'And most importantly I'll teach you how to defend your sovereignty against the urban hoards who will want what's yours when those four horsemen ride,' he said in the tapes.

Call now: He was pitching products for the end of the world

'Don't be a Pollyanna  if you're going to plan for a future, plan for a better one,' his ad insisted.

Madison, still recovering from the shock death of Travis Manawa, also continued to be troubled by Troy, who broke into their living area and reclined in a bed waiting for her.

'Everything I do is in service to this place,' he told her, adding: 'Complicated problems call for complicated solutions.'

Candid conversation: Troy was waiting for Madison in bead

'Killing people's not complicated,' Madison replied bluntly. 'It's simple.'

'See, you understand this world, you understand me,' Troy told her.

When he insisted he did not pick Nick, she insisted: 'Comes with me. Package deal.'

Madison was stern with him, making him make the bed he had been in, and then going to his father Jeremiah and complaining: 'I'd like you to keep a leash on your son.'

Package deal: Madison insisted that her son Nick was part of the deal

The exchange was frosty at first, with Jeremiah telling her: 'You're a hard woman to like, Madison.'

'I'm extremely goddamn hard to like when someone threatens my family and that's what Troy did,' she told him.

'That's fact. If Jake hadn't shown up at the depot we'd be dead. That's fact. And it's something no one here seems to give a s*** about. He murdered people and he called it science. Maybe the ranch should know that.'

Father figure: Jeremiah listened as Madison talked about her trouble with Troy

Telling her that he wouldn't 'let anyone drown without teaching them how to swim,' Jeremiah then took her to a room to watch his tapes of lectures on survival.

She then stumbled across an outtake where he got angry at his wife and called her 'thirsty' because of her boozing, also calling Troy a 'sniveling idiot.'

'Not my finest moment,' he told Madison after walking in on her watching the outtakes. 'It's funny where we start and where we end up.'

Sharing secrets: Jeremiah and Madison opened up to each other

After Madison admitted her own father had been a drunk, Jeremiah said of his wife: 'Drink took Tracy. Got real ugly at the end. Troy tended to her, fed her and cleaned her. She hated him for it.'

Asked where he had been, he said: 'Selling buckets. I suffered the same infliction.'

They later bonded further when Madison spoke of Nick's addiction, saying: 'Spent the last five years waiting on a call from the morgue. The day I told him if he left I'd let him go.'

Addiction talk: Madison and Jeremiah both dealt with addiction in their families

'Things we do to our children, and the things we do for them to make up for it,' Jeremiah said.

He then took her to a huge basement warehouse he called 'the pantry' that was full of supplies, including weapons, telling Madison: 'Some say this mess we're in is God's vengeance. I'll tell you what it is  it's an opportunity for a new life. A chance to make amends.

'I broke Troy in that old world. This one, he has a purpose. We all do. And nothing heals a family more than that. We will build something better than before.

Supply room: Jeremiah showed Madison a basement stocked with supplies

'It won't be easy Madison. You think your family's up for it?'

'Absolutely' she nodded.

As they were speaking, Nick had joined Troy to go hunting boars  only agreeing to go after being offered a gun.

Out in the dark, Troy had tried to creep up on Nick, just for him to turn the tables and jump on him, holding his gun to his head as he pinned him to the ground.

Boar hunting: Nick went hunting with Troy at night

'Ground's soft, you could dig a grave real easy,' Troy told him with apparent indifference. 'I know people would suspect you but they really wouldn't know for sure.'

When Nick asked how long it would take him to turn, Troy instantly predicted 87 minutes due to his experiments killing people at the military base, telling Nick: 'If you do do it, you should time it. Journal's in my pocket.'

Angrily telling him he is 'not a scientist!' Nick then asked: 'What is wrong with you?'

Table turned: Nick pulled a gun on Troy who was sneaking up behind him

'Newton stabbed his own eye to understand the nature of light I just  I need to know, I need to know why we spoiled,' Troy insisted.

At that, Nick raised up, pointed the gun and fired  shooting just to the side of his head and instead grabbing Troy's journal and ripping pages out, laughing hysterically.

After finally grabbing the book back, Troy also laughed and told Nick: 'I think we can be friends now.'

Good one: They enjoyed a laugh after the tense moment

While most in the compound were hostile to the newcomers, Alicia was approached by a girl in a band she called Christ Risen who asked her to join in their Bible sessions.

When Alicia pointed out she was Jewish, the girl smiled: 'Cool. We'll do Old Testament.'

But when they got to the underground bunker where they met, Alicia discovered the group was really there to drink and take drugs.

Bible study: Alicia smoked out with her peers during a 'Bible study' session

They then brought out 'Jeff'  the still-moving head of a walker that they had locked in a bird cage.

The group then revealed that Troy had taken Jeff's body, with Alicia telling them: 'Troy's done a lot worse than that. You can't rely on the Troy's of this world, not any more.

'Sometimes you have to handle your own s***.'

Severed head: The Bible study session included a talk with severed head Jeff

When they asked 'what bad stuff' she has done she said: 'I killed a man.'

Asked how it felt, she admitted after a pause: 'Easy.'

The family was divided on their future plans, with Luciana telling Nick: 'We must be ready to leave. I can't forgive what they did. As soon as they free me, we go.'

Madison, however, got angry when Nick questioned her decision for them to stay in the compound, telling him: 'Because it's all we have. Because there's no place better. Because we hauled you out of the hellhole and Travis died because of it.'

Later, when Luciana said she was 'sorry for Travis' and saying 'he saved my life,' Madison also told her: 'He saved us. We're not gonna throw that away, are we? We survive now, at all costs.'
Kevin Spacey has battled rumors about his sexuality since the Nineties.

And during his opening number as the host of the Tony Awards on Sunday, the 57-year-old actor made light of the constant accusations with a joke while he dressed up as Norma Desmond of Sunset Boulevard.

'I'm coming out,' he sang to the stunned audience who reserved reaction until his next beat.

Taking on the rumors: Kevin Spacey took center stage as host of the Tony Awards on Sunday, dressing as Norma Desmond at one point and declaring 'I'm coming out!'

He quickly followed it with, 'Wait, no, wait,' as the audience erupted in laughter.

The bit came after Spacey got advice about hosting the show from Billy Crystal.

'Now I know what I have to do to win this audience over, why this Kevin has to play Norma Desmond!,' as they cut to a shot of Glenn Close, who plays Desmond on Broadway, in the audience.

On tap: Spacey tap danced, sang and had many costume changes during the eleven minute set

His eleven minute set began with Spacey parodying Broadway's Dear Evan Hanson, changing the lyrics to reflect the initial reaction to him being named host of the ceremony.

'Have you ever felt forgotten in the middle of going live on air? Have you ever felt the ratings could disappear?,' he sang while playing the role of a high school senior facing social anxiety disorder, played by Ben Platt on Broadway.

Platt could be seen enthusiastically cheering on Spacey's portrayal of his character.

Feedback: The 57-year-old actor parodied Dear Evan Hansen and said he was expecting mean tweets

Special guest: He was joined by Stephen Colbert for a joke about Broadway's Groundhog Day

Spacey was then joined on stage by Stephen Colbert for a set revolving around Broadway's Groundhog Day.

He is then seen putting on a scruffy beard to play Josh Groban's character in The Great Comet.

Groban was shown in the audience stroking his own beard in approval of the parody.

In need of a beard: Spacey took on Josh Groban's role in The Great Comet, which Groban was shown stroking his own facial hair in approval from the audience

In the closet: Former Tony's host Whoopi Goldberg appeared on stage to offer Kevin advice

Former Tony's host Whoopi Goldberg stepped out of a closet on stage to give the House Of Cards star some advice about the role.

'Whoopi, how long have you been in that closet?,' he asked, delivering another gay joke.

'Well Kevin, it depends on who you ask,' she said as the audience roared in laughter.

Song and dance: He closed his number with a musical production featuring tap dancing, jazz hands and plenty of male dancers behind him

He closed his number with a musical production featuring tap dancing, jazz hands and plenty of male dancers behind him.

'I am a host at last,' he sang before leading the dance troupe to their ending pose.

The audience gave their host a rousing round of applause for his efforts.

Leading man: Spacey has battled rumors about his sexuality since a 1997 Esquire article that heavily insinuated he lead a double life as a gay man

Spacey has battled rumors about his sexuality since a 1997 Esquire article that heavily insinuated he lead a double life as a gay man.

Despite a public romance with his Pay It Forward co-star Helen Hunt in 2000, the rumors persisted.

In 2010, he told The Daily Beast, 'It's just a line I've never crossed and never will. I don't live a lie. I am different than some people would like me to be. No one's personal life is in the public interest.'
She's the genetically blessed Australian model who is currently enjoying a vacation in Mexico.

And Sahara Ray, 24, never shy about flaunting her form on social media, posted another raunchy photo to Instagram on Sunday.

Sahara wore nothing but a towel in the photo which she posted from Mexico's Azulik Resort.

Seductive: Sahara Ray, 24, never shy about flaunting her form on social media, posted another raunchy photo to Instagram on Sunday that flaunted a pierced nipple

The towel's placement wasn't there for 'strategic' reasons either as she let it drop to expose a glimpse of her pierced nipple.

Posing seductively as she sat on a bench, Sahara looked back over her naked shoulder at the camera with a steamy expression.

The model's slender pins and well-shaped back were also on full display in the raunchy photo.

Her blonde locks cascaded down her shapely back as the while towel Sahara held around her midriff threatened to expose her derriere also.

Risque: Posing seductively as she sat on a bench, Sahara looked back over her naked shoulder at the camera with a steamy expression

Popular: Sahara's fans gushed at the steamy photo commenting with the likes of: 'What a wonderful skin,'Wow girl that is really beautiful,' and ' You are gorgeous mama!!'

Sahara's fans gushed at the steamy photo commenting with the likes of: 'What a wonderful skin,'Wow girl that is really beautiful,' and ' You are gorgeous mama!!'

Sahara sent Instagram hearts aflutter again on Saturday when she shared a topless 'belfie' that flaunted the brunette beauty's shapely buns.

Posting while on vacation at Mexico's picturesque Papaya Playa Project hotel, Sahara turned up the raunch factor, wearing nothing buy a pair of skimpy, white G-string bikini bottoms that showed off her pert posterior.

Steamy: Model Sahara Ray, 24, sent Instagram hearts aflutter on Saturday when she shared a topless 'belfie' that flaunted the brunette beauty's pert derriere.

The model leant over a while fence as she looked back seductively at the camera and, with her arm dangling loosely over the fence, she also flashed an ample amount of sideboob.

Looking as though she had just stepped out of the azure-coloured water, Sahara's wet, brunette locks clung to her well toned back.

Sahara's steamy photo drew much attention from her 1.3million followers with almost 40,000 pressing 'like' on the risque post.

Hot: Sahara turned up the raunch factor, wearing nothing buy a pair of skimpy, white g-string bikini bottoms that showed off her pert posterior

Comments like: 'Just amazing,' stunning,' and 'so hot' came thick and fast however one follower took the opportunity to ask the bronzed beauty on a date.

'I just want to let you know that I am still looking for a plus-one to my brother's wedding,' the fan commented.'

Revealing: The model leant over a while fence as she looked back seductively at the camera and, with her arm dangling loosely over the fence, she also flashed an ample amount of sideboob

Raunch: Looking as though she had just stepped out of the azure-coloured water, Sahara's wet, brunette locks clung to her well toned back.

Born in the Australian coastal town of Torquay, Sahara was raised in Santa Cruz, California.

Sahara found herself in the spotlight last year after she was spotted skinny dipping in Hawaii with pop star Justin Bieber.

The pair were seen frolicking in what was believed to be a $10,000-a-week villa, after popping up on each other's Instagram accounts.

The daughter of surfing legend Tony Ray has also previously been romantically linked to Australian pop sensation Cody Simpson.
The Today show featured an extended edition on Monday, in honour of the annual Gold Telethon.

The event running from 9am to 4pm, asks viewers to call in and donate, with funds going towards Randwick's Sydney Children's Hospital.

And during a dance-off with co-host Karl Stefanovic, Lisa Wilkinson, 57, was a good sport, continuing to bust a few moves, despite suffering a wardrobe malfunction.

Scroll down for video

She's a good sport! Lisa Wilkinson, 57, continued a dance-off with Karl Stefanovic (centre), 42, in the name of charity, on Monday's Today show, despite suffering a wardrobe malfunction

Lisa wore a stylish ensemble of a white peplum-style jacket, teamed with black trousers and strappy heels.

During a 'dance-off' segment with co-host Karl Stefanovic, 42, the affable journalist gave it her all, performing a series of high-kicks.

Karl also got in on the action, showing off his Lord Of The Dance moves.

Chic: Lisa wore a stylish ensemble of a white peplum-style jacket, teamed with black trousers and strappy heels

She's got the moves: During a 'dance-off' segment with co-host Karl, the affable journalist gave it her all, performing a series of high-kicks

But in an unfortunate turn of events, Lisa suffered a wardrobe malfunction.

Grabbing hold of her microphone pack, the brunette appeared to have split her pants.

Ever the professional, Lisa held onto her microphone and smiled through the remainder of the segment.

Malfunction: But in an unfortunate turn of events, Lisa suffered a wardrobe malfunction. Grabbing hold of her microphone pack, the brunette appeared to have split her pants

Professional: Lisa held onto her microphone and smiled through the remainder of the segment

And that was not the only dancing to have occurred on the program.

Earlier, Karl raised his arms and showed off his signature dance moves, alongside The Voice's Boy George, 55.

The journalist raised his arms and bopped up and down.

The dancing was all in good nature, with Boy George and Karl lending their profile to the Channel Nine Gold Telethon.

Running from 9am to 4pm, the telethon hopes to raise $6 million for sick children at Randwick's Sydney Children's Hospital.

Antics: And that was not the only dancing to have occurred on the program. Earlier, Karl raised his arms and showed off his signature dance moves, alongside The Voice's Boy George, 55
She is the makeup artist who reunited with former AFL champion partner last year.

And Alex Fevola has taken to Instagram to share a snap of her fiance radio presenter Brendan, 36, shirtless and looking out on to the city.

The 40-year-old posted a photo of the afternoon drive host laying back and relaxing on a day bed by the window sill at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Melbourne.

Scroll down for video

Pondering life? Alex Fevola has taken to Instagram to share a snap of her fiance radio presenter Brendan, 36, shirtless and looking out on to the city

Wearing only pajama pants, the 2015 of I'm A Celebrity appeared peaceful and unaware his photographer partner captured him staring out into the distance.

Alex captioned her post: 'I wake up to find @brendanfevola25 pondering life.'

Fans of the blonde beauty liked her candid post her partner.

Loved up! Fans liked her candid post, which she captioned her post: 'I wake up to find @brendanfevola25 pondering life'

Gross: Last week he took part in a disgusting challenge, drinking milk from his shoe in the uniquely Australian tradition of 'doing a shoey'

One wrote: 'At least for once he's not hassling you with the Instagram photo!'

Another said: 'Payback for all the videos he posts of you.'

Brendan himself chimed in and commented Alex's snap saying he was: 'Just waiting for everyone to get up so I can eat.'

Taking part in tradition: The former Carlton player was copying Hugh Grant who recently did the gross ritual with the Oxford University rugby players drinking alcohol instead of milk

Last week he took part in a disgusting challenge, drinking milk from his shoe in the uniquely Australian tradition of 'doing a shoey'.

The former Carlton player was copying Hugh Grant who recently did the gross ritual with the Oxford University rugby players drinking alcohol, instead of milk.

Downing the tainted milk in one hit, Brendan offered a victorious laugh as he threw his now sodden shoe to the floor adding: 'I just lost street cred.'
It's the Queen's Birthday long weekend in Sydney, and Sam Frost appeared to make the most of her break on Saturday.

The 28-year-old looked to be in great spirits as she stepped out with a group of girlfriends to attend a hen's party.

The former Bachelorette was spotted stumbling alongside a pal as she made her exit from the Darlo Country Club over the weekend.

Scroll down for video

Girls' day out! Sam Frost was spotted making the most of her long weekend in Sydney as she stepped out with friends

The former reality star appeared animated as she enjoyed the outing, putting on a bizarre performance in front of her pals.

At one stage, the heavily-bronzed starlet had her tongue poking out while gesticulating with her hand.

Sam and her group of girlfriends chatted outside the venue for some time before making their way down the street.

Animated: The 28-year-old was snapped putting on a rather provocative performance as she stood outside the inner city bar

Losing her footing? The former Bachelorette appeared to stumble as she made her exit from the Darlo Country Club wit her pals

Casual: The former reality star sported a printed wrap dress for the outing, accessorising with a pair of drop earrings

Having fun? Sam and her pals appeared to be in high spirits as they made their way out of the bar

Showing off her slender pins in a wrap dress, the former breakfast radio host appeared to be a little worse for wear as she strolled down the street with one of her pals.

With her locks worn out in tousled waves, the Sydney-based star showed off a sun-kissed complexion and shimmery brown eye makeup.

Additional video footage from the day shows the upcoming Hell's Kitchen star being very animated with her pals as they chatted among themselves.

Playing charades? With her tongue wagging, Sam was spotted gesticulating with one hand in front of her friends

Dressed to impress: With her locks worn out in tousled waves, the Sydney-based star showed off a sun-kissed complexion and shimmery brown eye makeup

Matching: Both Sam and her blonde pal showed off their slender pins in short dresses and black ankle boots

Sam split from her Bachelorette boyfriend Sasha Mielczarek in December after 18 months together.

Rumours surfaced that she'd moved on with new beau Dave Bashford after photos showed the pair celebrating Australia Day together in January.

Last month, the pair emerged again, spotted enjoying a romantic stroll in Bondi Beach.

Girl time: The blonde beauty appeared to be enjoying her time with her friends and hesitant to leave

Re-enacting her Bachelorette kisses? Sam put on a rather strange performance for her friends

One for the road? The former finance worker and her friend were spotted carrying brown paper bags as they strolled through the streets

It has been a difficult past year for the reality star, who suffered her fair share of heartbreak.

Following her split from Sasha, her 2Day FM breakfast show was axed in January, just one year after its debut.

A statement released by Southern Cross Austereo at the time, confirmed Sam and co-host Rove McManus would move to the 7-8pm weekday time-slot.

'The decision came after Rove & Sam along with SCA executives took some time off over the Summer and after review, decided that the best route forward for all was to move their show into another time slot,' it read in part.

Good times: Sam stood outside the venue with her friends while appearing to wait for their car to arrive

The blonde beauty was also subjected to online trolling.

In July last year, she revealed she had been having suicidal thoughts after bullying from cruel online trolls about her radio show, and had been undergoing therapy.

'It got to a point where I wouldn't want to leave my house. I was in a really, really dark place,' Sam she bravely revealed on her radio show.

'I shut my friends out, I shut my family out and I would go home from work and stay in that dark, horrible place. My relationship was also struggling because I shut Sash out.'

Quality time with friends: Sam's rumoured boyfriend Dave Bashford appeared absent from the festivities

'It wasn't until Sash said to after three or four months: ''Sam I don't know what to do anymore because all you do is cry and you're not talking to me".

'And I said to him I don't want to be here anymore. I don't want to wake up every day anymore.'

At the time Sam added that she decided to get better for her boyfriend at the time, Sasha.

Loved-up? Sam's outing comes after she was spotted enjoying a romantic stroll with rumoured beau Dave in Bondi Beach

Her on-air honesty came after she sent a concerning tweet, which read: 'To the fake accounts heavily trolling me online and into my personal life. If you wanted to break me...Congratulations you have won. #broken.'

Fast forward to today, Sam is set to make her return to reality TV as a celebrity chef on Channel Seven's Hell's Kitchen.

The former Melbourne resident will show off her skills on the cooking competition, which also stars top chef Marco Pierre White.

Reality star: The blonde first found fame as a contestant on The Bachelor in 2014

Unlucky in love: Despite becoming engaged to Blake Garvey in the season finale, Sam was dumped in the weeks to follow

However, Sam doesn't seem confident in her culinary performance.

'Hell's Kitchen is going to be pretty bloody hilarious if my cooking skills are anything to go by,' Sam captioned her post of the show's trailer on her Instagram.

She added: 'Legit the worst cook in the world!'

The former finance worker rose to fame in 2014 as a contestant on The Bachelor, in which she fell for 'love rat' Blake Garvey.

Second chance: She went on to become Australia's first Bachelorette, finding love with construction manager Sasha Mielczarek in 2015

Despite becoming engaged during the show's finale, Blake dumped Sam in the weeks to follow and paired up with the show's second runner-up, Louise Pillidge instead.

Sam went on to become Australia's first Bachelorette in 2015 and declared her love for construction manager Sasha.

The couple dated for 18 months before announcing their split in December.
She's The Project host who's tipped to take over Hamish Blake and Andy Lee's soon-to-be vacant radio slot on the Hit Network.

And according to Woman's Day, executives are pulling out all stops to secure Carrie Bickmore, including trying to sway her with a pay cheque rumoured to reach $1.5 million.

The 36-year-old and her radio co-host Tommy Little, 32, are reportedly the current favourites to replace Hamish And Andy.

Show me the money! Radio executives have been trying to sway Carrie Bickmore (centre) with a HUGE paycheque to leave The Project to take over Hamish Blake (left) and Andy Lee's (right) soon-to-be-vacated radio slot

An insider revealed to the magazine on Monday: 'Carrie and Tommy are definitely at the top of the list of potential replacements'.

Carrie, who kicked off her media career in the radio industry, returned to her roots in February to co-host the Hit Network's Carrie & Tommy in the 3pm time slot.

The TV personality would be quite the coup for the radio network, who are rumoured to be looking for a name big enough to match the popularity of Hamish and Andy.

Also potentially alluring for Carrie is the timeslot, with the Gold Logie-winner having admitted in the past that she was finding it difficult to juggle her Project and radio commitments with being a mother.

A turn at the comedians' national drivetime slot would likely offer a hefty financial reward for Carrie, as Hamish and Andy's multi-million dollar salaries made them some of the highest paid stars in the industry.

Returning to television: Andy Lee (left) and Hamish Blake (right) are leaving a vacant radio slot

Familiar face: Carrie (left) recently returned to her radio roots, co-hosting Hit Network's Carrie & Tommy at 3pm with comedian Tommy Little (right)

Hamish and Andy, who debuted their new Channel Nine TV series True Story this month, are leaving big shoes to fill.

Their radio show currently airs on 43 stations and attracts a national weekly audience of 2.5million.

Carrie is a favourite with Australian audiences, having won the coveted Gold Logie in 2015 and being nominated for the award several times.

Before taking on her best known role as host of Network Ten's The Project, the mother-of-two cut her teeth working in radio in Perth.

Gold star: Logie-winning presenter Carrie (pictured with co-host Waleed Aly) continues to be popular with TV audiences thanks to her role on The Project

She was radio newsreader in 1999 before making the leap to the small screen.

She then rose to national prominence when she joined talk show Rove Live in 2006, presenting her own segment 'Carrie @ The News Desk'

Hamish and Andy were also regular guests on the program at the time.
She's one of the most famous teenagers in the world.

And Kylie Jenner is ready to get personal with her fans on her new reality show.

As seen in a new trailer for her show, The Life Of Kylie, the 19-year-old shares some of her most vulnerable moments on camera, breaking down into tears and even stressing out before attending the Met Gala.

Scroll down for video

Vulnerable: Kylie Jenner broke down into tears as she sat inside her car, as seen in a new trailer for her upcoming reality show, The Life Of Kylie

Tied up in knots: The star worried about attending the Met Gala as she declared, 'I'm f**king nervous'

'I'm f**king nervous,' A dressed-up Kylie declares as assistants fuss over her just before the famous fashion gala.

Nevertheless, the teen showed no signs of nervousness as she posed up a storm at the event.

In another scene, Kyle bravely brings cameras in as she breaks down into tears inside her car.

The star chokes up as she wipes away tears from her eyes.

Confidence: Nevertheless, the teen showed no signs of nervousness as she posed up a storm at the event

No holding back: The star chokes up as she wipes away tears from her eyes

Honest: Jenner is ready to get personal with her fans on her new reality show

Kylie also admitted in the trailer she's been 'been putting on this different persona' for the world.

The star's new show is set to premiere on E! on Sunday, August 6 at 9 pm PST.

Also in the clip, the teenager she wants to give fans 'a peek inside all of the exciting things I am working on as well as some personal time with friends.'

Her terms: The 19-year-old star revealed that she's 'been putting on this different persona for the world in the latest trailer for her reality show The Life Of Kylie

The star, who revealed that she is 'just really living my life,' shows off her busy schedule balancing fame, her cosmetics company Kylie Cosmetics and her clothing lines.

Kylie says in the trailer: 'When you grow up on camera, everybody feels like they know you. There's two sides of me.'

Adding: 'There's an image that I feel constantly pressured to keep up with and then there's who I really am. That's who I want you guys to get to know.'

Lighter moments: Kylie's new show is set to premiere on E! on Sunday, August 6 at 9 pm PST; Kylie is also seen tripping during a fitting, while dressed in a gold bodysuit

The star has been on television screens since she was a little girl as the youngest daughter of Kris Jenner on Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

Scenes of Kylie at photo shoots flashed on screen as well as lighter moments of her having fun with friends, including Jordyn Woods.

Kylie is also seen tripping during a fitting, while dressed in a gold bodysuit.

She shares in the trailer that she 'doesn't want to look back and regret not being a teenager.'

Strike a pose: In the clip, the teenager she wants to give fans 'a peek inside all of the exciting things I am working on as well as some personal time with friends'

She's a real person: The star, who revealed that she is 'just really living my life,' shows off her busy life balancing fame, her cosmetics company Kylie Cosmetics and her clothing lines

The makeup entrepreneur also broke down in tears in another scene, as she said in a voice over that 'sometimes I just want to scream.'

In one clip of the latest trailer for The Life Of Kylie, Jordyn revealed that 'it's draining sometimes being Kylie's friend.'

Scenes from Kylie's recent charity trip with Smile Train to Peru was also previewed in the clip.

The star jetted off to the country with mom Kris Jenner and her pal Jordyn to help kids with cleft palate and cleft lip.

Meanwhile, Kylie posted on her social media her trip on Sunday to the Museum Of Ice Cream.

The Life Of Kylie premieres Sunday, August 6 on E! at 9 pm.

For life: Scenes of Kylie at photo shoots flashed on screen as well as lighter moments of her having fun with friends, including Jordyn Woods

So much fun: Meanwhile, Kylie posted on her social media her trip on Sunday to the Museum Of Ice Cream; pictured with a friend
Cigarette in hand, Nina Agdal was photographed on Sunday taking in a walk in New York City with a couple of friends and her new pooch Daisy.

The Danish-born model had wrapped her blonde hair into a high bun and bared her enviably flat midriff from beneath a cleavage-baring crop top.

Nina, 25, was 42-year-old Leonardo DiCaprio's latest model girlfriend for roughly a year before they split up last month, according to a DailyMail.com report at the time.

Scroll down for video

On the go: Cigarette in hand, Nina Agdal was photographed on Sunday taking in a sunlit stroll in New York City with a couple of friends and her new pooch Daisy

For her Sunday stroll, she'd slid into a pair of tiny denim shorts with frayed hems, showcasing her chiseled legs as she headed up the sidewalk.

She'd slid into a pair of blue shoes that complemented what appeared to be a blue bra strap that slid out slightly from under the strap of her crop top.

A source told DailyMail.com after her and Leonardo's split that 'They both decided it was a good idea to break up. They are staying friends and are on good terms.'

Hello, gorgeous: The Danish-born model had wrapped her blonde hair into a high bun and bared her enviably flat midriff from beneath a cleavage-baring white tank top

Later in May, Nina had posted a close-up Instagram photo of herself cradling her new pup, trumpeting her arrival in the caption and writing: 'Everybody say hello to Daisy'.

An emoji of a dog's face was immediately followed by: 'Theres a new pup in town!' plus another emoji chucked between the hashtags: '#mainbitch' and '#nomakeup'.

Nina had appeared in that photo wearing a sleeveless black top speckled with white floral embroidery, as well as a gleaming pendant that dangled behind little Daisy.

The look: For her Sunday stroll, she'd slid into a pair of tiny denim shorts with frayed hems, showcasing her chiseled legs as she headed up the sidewalk

This past Tuesday, she'd uploaded an Instagram photo of herself standing on a Manhattan sidewalk, once again cradling the newest member of her household.

'This bitch owns me,' captioned Nina, who's hair was up in a bun and who'd bundled herself up in a voluminous black, orange and white sweater over black leggings.

Black and white shoes had completed the ensemble for the blonde bombshell, who was leaning down to plant an affectionate kiss on her pet's head.
Sally Field was nominated for her first Tony Award on Sunday night and flashed her trademark radiant smile on the red carpet ahead of the event.

She'd slid into an off-the-shoulder navy gown that featured glistening midnight blue floral embroidery and sprays of matching fringe, as well as a tassel-lined train.

The 70-year-old was up for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play but lost to four-time nominee Laurie Metcalf, who scored her first Tony Award win that evening at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

Scroll down for video

Hello, gorgeous: Sally Field was nominated for her first Tony Award on Sunday night and flashed her trademark radiant smile on the red carpet ahead of the event

Sally's nod was flung her way in aid of her star turn as the insecure and domineering matriarch Amanda Wingfield in Tennessee Williams' play The Glass Menagerie.

Laurette Taylor, in a performance still legendary in the New York theater scene, had originated the part when the play had begun its first Broadway run back in 1945.

Subsequent actresses who've taken on the part of Amanda Wingfield on Broadway have included Maureen Stapleton, Jessica Tandy, Julie Harris and Jessica Lange.

The look: She'd slid into an off-the-shoulder navy gown that featured glistening midnight blue floral embroidery and sprays of matching fringe, as well as a tassel-lined train

Laurie's won for her turn in A Doll's House, Part 2, which opened on Broadway this April and is Lucas Hnath's 2017 sequel to Henrik Ibsen's play A Doll's House.

She's been nominated for Best Leading Actress in a Play twice before: once for starring opposite Bruce Willis in an adaptation of the film Misery last year, and once three years prior for Sharr White's The Other Place.

Laurie had also been nominated for Best Featured Actress in a Play in 2008 for November, a David Mamet play in which she'd appeared alongside Nathan Lane.

The upshot: The 70-year-old was up for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play in The Glass Menagerie but lost to Laurie Metcalf for A Doll's House, Part 2

Meanwhile, though she didn't win, Sally did take the stage to deliver a speech honoring the American Theatre Wing, the organization behind the Tony Awards.

A few minutes later, her old Soapdish co-star Kevin Kline headed up to the stage to collect a Tony for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play.

He'd won it by playing Garry Essendine in a revival of Noel Coward's Present Laughter, which had first opened on Broadway in 1946 after originating in Britain.

The top brass: Though she didn't win, Sally did take the stage to deliver a speech honoring the American Theatre Wing, the organization behind the Tony Awards
Immigration police arrested three Chinese nationals in a raid on a rented room in Tambon Ban Mai Nongsai, charging them with work-permit violations and for "online trading of contraband goods."



The three men were allegedly contracting to use the WeShare app to rack up likes and views on manufacturers' products and services.



The Chinese, identified as Nai Wenjin, 32, told police via an interpreter that they are not members of Call Centre but were just employed by producers, manufacturers or owners to score "likes" and "views" for their merchandises via "WeShare" mobile application to make them most views or most likes on the social media. He said they were on the business for over three months.

Three Chinese arrested for working without permits and illegal online trade

[Thai PBS]





(via Beyond the Beyond)
She's the former topless waitress known to cash in on her D-list celebrity status.

And it was business as usual for Married At First Sight's Cheryl Maitland on Monday as she spruiked a fashion retailer on Instagram.

It comes just days after she was busted staging her own 'candid' paparazzi photos.

Another day, another dollar! Married At First Sight's Cheryl Maitland shared a sponsored Instagram post promoting a fashion retailer on Monday

In her latest 'sponsored post', Cheryl poses in a very risque nightclub dress with her surgically-enhanced cleavage on display.

The Gold Coast socialite and salon worker, 26, then 'thanks' a fashion brand for supplying her 'birthday outfit'.

It's not the first time Cheryl has profited from advertising on her Instagram account - as she has promoted teeth whitening products and protein shakes in the past.

Cashing in! It comes days after Cheryl was busted staging her own 'candid' paparazzi photos

And in a possible breach of advertising regulations, she rarely includes hash tags such as 'ad' or 'spon' to clarify they are paid-for posts.

Last week, the former reality TV star made headlines when she was exposed by photographer Jayden Seyfarth for setting up 'candid' snaps.

On Wednesday, Jayden leaked series of text messages with Cheryl which proved they had coordinated a staged paparazzi shoot.

Whoops! It's not the first time Cheryl has profited from advertising on her Instagram account - as she has spruiked teeth whitening products and protein shakes in the past

Jayden, 20, captioned the screenshot on Instagram: 'When they need to stay relevant'.

Following the embarrassing incident, Cheryl told News.com.au she negotiates staged photos with Jayden because she is 'annoyed' with other photographers.

'He (Jayden) messages me all the time to see where I am,' the 26-year-old said.

'When they need to stay revelant': On Wednesday, photographer Jayden Seyfarth leaked series of text messages with Cheryl which proved they had coordinated a staged paparazzi shoot

'I'm frankly getting annoyed with paps taking photos of me when I don't know and it makes me on edge every day.

'I mentioned to him I would be in Melbourne and if he wanted to meet me there that was fine.

'The paps are going to take photos of me no matter what, so if I already know I won't be so stressed out and they won't be following me as much.'
She was celebrating the release of the special edition of V Magazine, The Gigi Journal.

And Gigi Hadid was supported by her mother Yolanda on Saturday, cutting a stylish figure in a casual ensemble at the bash in New York City.

The blonde beauty looked incredible in a white fitted T-shirt and jeans with cut-out detailing at the hips.

Scroll down for video

Family time: Gigi Hadid was supported by her mother Yolanda on Sunday, cutting a stylish figure in a casual ensemble as they celebrated the release of the special edition of V Magazine, The Gigi Journal. in New York City

Gigi pulled her look together with a printed dress and layered gold necklaces.

The star styled her blonde locks in a sweeping side parting with braid detailing, and set off her pout with a matte shade of pink.

She posed up a storm alongside her Real Housewives star mother, 53, who looked super chic in a simple, all-black outfit.

Chic: The blonde beauty looked incredible in a white fitted T-shirt and jeans with cut-out detailing at the hips

Double trouble: Yolanda put on a united front with her model daughter at the event

Elegant attire: While Gigi opted for an all-white ensemble, Yolanda kept it simple in a sophisticated black outfit

The 22-year-old model was spotted leaving her Manhattan apartment with her mother earlier in the day.

The revealing T-shirt gave onlookers a glimpse of her breasts as she exited a car.

Glam: Gigi pulled her look together with a printed dress and layered gold necklaces

Signing: The star was happy to autograph the special edition of the publication for guests

In her element: Gigi was in her element as she posed for snaps

Keeping it simple: The star was rocking a pair of nude, lace-up heels with a pointed toe

Gigi stepped out in a pair of nude-colored pointy-toe stilettos, featuring tie straps, which she had tied up around her pants.

She also wore a snakeskin belt and carried a small handbag.

Meanwhile, Yolanda opted for an all-black ensemble.

Something missing? Gigi appeared to have gone bra-less when she stepped out in New York City on Saturday

Feeling nippy: The revealing T-shirt gave onlookers a glimpse of her breasts as she exited a car

Tagging along: The 22-year-old model was spotted leaving her Manhattan apartment with her mom, Yolanda Hadid

The 53-year-old former Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills star stepped out in a pair of pants and a patterned tank top.

Like her daughter, she also wore pointy-toe stilettos and carried a small handbag.

The former model accessorized with a cuff bracelet and a pair of jeweled earrings.

Meet and greet: The stunning star appeared to have been in a great mood as she exited the car, smiling and waving at fans

All tied up: Gigi stepped out in a pair of pointy-toe stilettos, featuring tie straps, which she had tied up around her pants

The two women were on their way to a signing of The Gigi Journal, which the It girl created for V Magazine.

The Gigi Journal is described as 'an intimate photo diary dedicated to the people who make up her life in fashion'.

'I'm constantly taking photos of people who I love, who inspire me, who make me laugh, who turn long work days into adventures, who I appreciate, and who I want to celebrate,' Gigi said in a forward for the publication.

Back in black: Meanwhile, Yolanda opted for an all-black ensemble. The 53-year-old former Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills star stepped out in a pair of pants and a patterned tank top
She recently slammed rumours she was romantically involved with 'sex addict' Scott Disick.

And Sofia Richie proved that if she ever needed to catch a suitor's attention, it wouldn't be difficult as she enjoyed dinner at Craig's restaurant on Sunday night.

The 18-year-old daughter of musical legend Lionel Richie looked sensational in a statement long plaid jacket and baggy track pants as she exited the celebrity hot spot.

Scroll down for video

Stylish sighting: Sofia Richie, 18, looked sensational in a statement long plaid jacket and baggy track pants as she exited Craig's restaurant on Sunday night

Sofia, who has been hailed as a rising style icon, was hard to miss in the eye-catching plaid jacket - which she pulled together with her hands.

The model teamed the look with a red sweatshirt and baggy sports-chic inspired bottoms and white trainers.

The beauty harboured all of her essentials in a chic black handbag as she made a high-spirited exit.

Relying on her naturally striking features, the social media savvy star sported a light slick of make-up which complemented her shoulder length blonde locks.

Plaid looks good: Sofia was hard to miss in the eye-catching plaid jacket - which she teamed the look with a red sweatshirt and baggy sports-chic inspired bottoms

Chilling: A pair of white Air Force 1 trainers ensured maximum comfort for her day out

Her night out with pals comes after Sofia was spotted FaceTiming Scoot Disick, 34, on Thursday after touching down in Los Angeles.

Scott had tried his best to get flirtatious with Sofia two weeks ago while they both enjoyed a jaunt on a yacht at Cannes.

But apparently Sofia was having none of it, with the teen seen blocking his would-be advances.

She later took to Twitter to slam suggestions she was anything more than friends with the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star.

Sofia tweeted: 'Just so everyone can get their panties out of their a**es, Scott and I are just homies #relax.'

Stunning: Relying on her naturally striking features, the social media savvy star sported a light slick of make-up which complemented her shoulder length blonde locks

Pals: Her night out with pals comes after Sofia was spotted FaceTiming Scoot Disick, 34, on Thursday after touching down in Los Angeles

'We are just homies': She later took to Twitter to slam suggestions she was anything more than friends with the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star

Sofia has said in the past that her dad, 67, is especially careful with her because her older half sibling Nicole Richie was such a party animal.

'My dad is more strict because of my sister. I feel like now he's on the preventative side,' she told Elle magazine in 2014. She added: 'It's not like I'm doing anything bad, but he went through all that with Nicole, so he's just strict to prevent it from happening again.'

But he has also been a great mentor: 'I'm always in the studio with my dad. I've written a few songs. I'll start off writing rhymes, then freestyles, then I add in beats,' she told Teen Vogue.

Her mother is fashion designer Diane Alexander; Lionel and Diane divorced in 2004.
Their relationship proves that love can conquer anything.

And Samantha Harris and her jailbird husband Luke Hunt looked happier than ever Monday, a year after his release from prison.

The 26-year-old shared a loved-up video of the couple on Instagram, as she planted a kiss on her longtime partner's cheek.

True love! Australian model Samantha Harris (left) and her jailbird husband Luke Hunt (right) looked happier than ever Monday, over a year after his release from prison

Samantha and Luke appear to have got their relationship back on track following his release from prison in May 2016.

In the short video, the Australian beauty looks at her husband with affection before kissing him on the cheek.

The couple secretly married in 2014, two months before Luke began a prison sentence for his role in a fatal car accident in 2012.

Wedded bliss! The 26-year-old shared a loved-up video of the couple on Instagram, as she planted a kiss on her longtime partner's cheek

Luke was behind the wheel in a tragic accident that resulted in the death of grandfather Kenneth Lay, 78.

Mr Lay was killed in May 2012 when Sam and Luke's Commodore crashed into his Hyundai Lantra in Narraweena on the Northern Beaches.

The court heard at the time Luke was going about 95 km/h in a 60 km/h zone and was aggressively changing lanes.

Luke was charged with dangerous driving occasioning death, and was jailed in May 2014. He was released two years later.

Not your typical love story: The couple secretly married in 2014, two months before Luke began a prison sentence for his role in a fatal car accident in 2012

Speaking of their wedding, Samantha hinted the couple decided to keep it under wraps out of respect for Mr Lay's family.

She told Marie Claire last year: 'Would our wedding have been bigger under normal circumstances? Probably not, but I would have posted a photo or something on social media.'

The grief from the accident also took its toll on her husband.

Samantha confessed: 'We don't talk about the accident much because I can't handle it, but I know he feels deeply for Mr Lay's family and always will.'

Tragic past: Luke was behind the wheel in a tragic accident that resulted in the death of grandfather Kenneth Lay, 78. Luke was later charged with angerous driving occasioning death
She's been a guest at several weddings recently while planning her own nuptials with fiance DJ Ruckus.

And over the weekend, Shanina Shaik attended yet another ceremony - only this time it was the wedding of Nigerian billionaire Folorunsho Alakija's son.

Possibly taking inspiration for her own special day, the 26-year-old Victoria's Secret model looked stunning at the lavish ceremony at Blenheim Palace, England.

Glittering in gold! Over the weekend, Australian model Shanina Shaik (pictured) attended the wedding of Nigerian billionaire Folorunsho Alakija's son at Blenheim Palace, England

Showcasing her flawless figure, Shanina wore a dazzling gold dress from Galvan London, which retails at around AU$1600.

Keeping her accessories to a minimum, Shanina opted for three Amethyst and diamond rings.

Hinting that her own nuptials were not far off, she captioned a photo: 'Weddings make you feel so romantic, don't they?'

'Weddings make you feel so romantic, don't they?' Keeping her accessories to a minimum, Shanina opted for three Amethyst and diamond rings by Gemporia

Shanina kept her hair and makeup simple, styling her brunette locks in a chic low bun with a few loose strands framing her face.

Giving her Instagram followers an exclusive glimpse at the grand reception, she congratulated newlyweds Naza and Folarin Alakija.

'Congratulations to the now Mr & Mrs Alakija. It was an honour to witness your union as husband and wife,' she wrote.

'Congratulations to the now Mr & Mrs Alakija. It was an honour to witness your union as husband and wife': Shanina later congratulated the newlyweds after their lavish ceremony

The wedding, which saw Robin Thicke perform, featured one million white roses.

Known for his floral arrangements and elaborate decorating of the Kardashian's homes, it was no surprise that Jeff Leatham was in charge of the flowers.

Bringing over 30 staff members to the UK for the ceremony, he was not only working with copious amounts of roses but white orchids as well.

Only the best! Known for his floral arrangements and elaborate decorating of the Kardashian's homes, it was no surprise that Jeff Leatham was in charge of the flowers for the ceremony

Save us a slice! There were no expenses spared at the wedding of Naza and Folarin Alakija

Shanina previously hinted that her own wedding day isn't far off when the couple attended another recent nuptials.

She shared a photo of herself kissing DJ Ruckus, with the caption: 'We are next.'

Speaking to Stellar magazine earlier this year, Shanina revealed that her wedding plans were well under way.

'We're getting there, which is super exciting,' she said. 'We've got the guest list down, and I'm really happy about that.'
She is known for her love of scanty ensembles.

But Lady Victoria Hervey's latest sartorial choice had left her rather red-faced as she attempted to cover up by the pool while sunning herself in Palm Springs on Thursday.

The socialite, 40, suffered an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction as her perilously low-cut top led to her accidentally flashing her nipples.

Scroll down for video

Not so Lady like! Victoria Hervey, 40, accidentally exposed her boob and nipple while changing back into her beach attire by the pool at the Hard Rock Hotel in Palm Springs

Victoria gave other pool-goers plenty more than they bargained for as she changed back into her beach attire after yet another bronzing session in California.

Sporting semi-sheer aztec trousers, the model had tried to fasten her lemon yellow top together at the side, but had pulled too heavily on the material on one side, exposing her boob in the process.

Thanks to the daring garment's plunging neckline, it did little to cover her bare cleavage underneath.

Oops: The socialite had enjoyed another bronzing session on Thursday, but suffered an embarrassing wardrobe mishap that led to an unmissable nip slip

Red-faced: The model had tried to fasten her lemon yellow top together at the side, but had pulled too heavily on the material on one side, putting her breast firmly on display

Blissfully unaware of the mishap, Victoria continued to preen herself as she prepared to leave the pool, but only showcased more of her bust as her top failed to stay in place - despite her readjustments.

Asides from her unfortunate nip slip. the blonde aristocrat had cut a chic figure while topping up her tan.

Showcasing her already impressive golden glow, Victoria chose to accentuate her natural beauty and forgo her make-up while sunbathing.

Not so subtle: The embarrassing incident appeared to give other pool-goers rather a lot more than they had bargained for

Daring choice: Victoria had chosen a loosely fitted lemon yellow wrap over top that featured a perilously low-cut neckline

Unfortunate: But catwalk star didn't seem too fazed about baring all and looked perfectly at ease as she set about changing and packing up her stuff

She swept her blonde tresses back into a loose ponytail, tucking the front sections of her bonce, that hung loose to frame her face, behind her ears.

Victoria donned a pair of mirrored sunglasses to protect her eyes from the searing sunbeams and she accessorised her pool getup with a beaded necklace and bracelets of the same style on one wrist.

The catwalk star didn't seem too fazed about baring all and looked perfectly at ease as she set about changing and packing up her stuff at the Hard Rock Hotel.

Known for her scanty ensembles: Her wardrobe mishap comes after Victoria recently insisted she doesn't mind looking 'provocative' when it comes to her sense of style

Her wardrobe mishap comes after Victoria recently insisted she doesn't mind looking 'provocative' when it comes to her sense of style.

She told MailOnline: 'Women in London are too conservative and don't have the courage to wear sexy outfits.

'I grew up in South of France, so I have a much more international approach... it's empowering to dress provocatively.'
They recently went public with their romance, several months after her split from rapper Tyga.

And Kylie Jenner looked loved-up with new man Travis Scott as the pair treated themselves to some Mexican fast food in Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon.

The couple didn't care that other hungry customers were watching as they packed on the PDA at Plancha Tacos in West Hollywood.

Scroll down for video

Cosy couple: Kylie Jenner looked loved-up with new man Travis Scott as the pair treated themselves to some Mexican fast food in Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon

Smitten: Kylie kissed and canoodled with Travis as they waited for their order, putting on a very tactile display

Kylie kissed and canoodled with Travis as they waited for their order, putting on a very tactile display.

An onlooker said: 'They only had eyes for each other. They were very touchy and weren't shy about kissing in public.'

The social media sensation cut a casual figure in a grey tracksuit bottoms and a matching top, wearing the hood pulled over her head.

Low-key: The social media sensation cut a casual figure in a grey tracksuit bottoms and a matching top, wearing the hood pulled over her head

An onlooker said: 'They only had eyes for each other. They were very touchy and weren't shy about kissing in public'

The sporty material clung to her pert, unmistakable Kardashian/Jenner derriere.

The following day, Kylie enjoyed a day out with her pals at the Museum Of Ice Cream in Los Angeles, larking about together on Sunday afternoon.

The Keeping Up With The Kardashians starlet, 19, was rocking a laid back look for her outing, slipping into a pair of high-waisted jeans and a khaki bomber jacket.

Figure-hugging: The sporty material clung to her pert, unmistakable Kardashian/Jenner derriere

Loved up: The couple didn't care that other hungry customers were watching as they packed on the PDA at Plancha Tacos in West Hollywood

Out and about: Kylie was enjoying a day out at the Museum Of Ice Cream in Los Angeles the following day

Kylie kept a low profile as she headed home after the visit, donning a pair of shades.

She flashed a hint of her bra in a white top and kept her look casual thanks to a pair of trainers.

The reality TV star shared some Snapchats of her and a friend enjoying the sweet treat themed exhibition.

Sporty style: She flashed a hint of her bra in a white top and kept her look casual thanks to a pair of trainers

So much fun: Kylie shared some fun snaps from her trip on Sunday to the Museum Of Ice Cream with her crew

Monkeying around: The girls treated themselves to a swing in the fun-filled exhibition

The star's trip comes amidst the news Kylie is ready to get personal with her fans on her new reality show.

She revealed that she's 'been putting on this different persona' for the world in the latest trailer for her reality show The Life Of Kylie.

Kylie's new show is set to premiere on E! on Sunday, August 6 at 9 pm PST.

Honest: Kylie is ready to get personal with her fans on her new reality show

In the clip, the teenager she wants to give fans 'a peek inside all of the exciting things I am working on as well as some personal time with friends.'

The star, who revealed that she is 'just really living my life,' shows off her busy schedule balancing fame, her cosmetics company Kylie Cosmetics and her clothing lines.

Kylie says in the trailer: 'When you grow up on camera, everybody feels like they know you. There's two sides of me.'

Her terms: The 19-year-old star revealed that she's 'been putting on this different persona for the world in the latest trailer for her reality show The Life Of Kylie

Lighter moments: Kylie's new show is set to premiere on E! on Sunday, August 6 at 9 pm PST; Kylie is also seen tripping during a fitting, while dressed in a gold bodysuit

Adding: 'There's an image that I feel constantly pressured to keep up with and then there's who I really am. That's who I want you guys to get to know.'

The star has been on television screens since she was a little girl as the youngest daughter of Kris Jenner on Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

Scenes of Kylie at photo shoots flashed on screen as well as lighter moments of her having fun with friends, including Jordyn Woods.

Kylie is also seen tripping during a fitting, while dressed in a gold bodysuit.

She shares in the trailer that she 'doesn't want to look back and regret not being a teenager.'

Strike a pose: In the clip, the teenager she wants to give fans 'a peek inside all of the exciting things I am working on as well as some personal time with friends'

She's a real person: The star, who revealed that she is 'just really living my life,' shows off her busy life balancing fame, her cosmetics company Kylie Cosmetics and her clothing lines

The makeup entrepreneur also broke down in tears in another scene, as she said in a voice over that 'sometimes I just want to scream.'

In one clip of the latest trailer for The Life Of Kylie, Jordyn revealed that 'it's draining sometimes being Kylie's friend.'

Scenes from Kylie's recent charity trip with Smile Train to Peru was also previewed in the clip.

The star jetted off to the country with mom Kris Jenner and her pal Jordyn to help kids with cleft palate and cleft lip.

Meanwhile, Kylie posted on her social media her trip on Sunday to the Museum Of Ice Cream.

The Life Of Kylie premieres Sunday, August 6 on E! at 9 pm.
Advertisement

They've been an item since 2012 and have kept their romance largely out of the spotlight.

And Jessica Chastain and her partner Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo said 'I do' in a lavish ceremony on Saturday, held in the northern Italian city of Treviso, near Venice.

The 40-year-old actress her 34-year-old husband looked blissfully happy as they gathered in front of family and friends at the stunning Passi de Preposulo family estate, Villa Tiepolo Passi.

Wedding bells: Jessica Chastain and her partner Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo said 'I do' in a lavish ceremony on Saturday, held in the northern Italian city of Treviso, near Venice

Jessica stunned in a simple ivory gown with ruched detailing on the strapless bodice and a sweeping train.

The redhead wore her flame-coloured tresses up in an elegant bun, setting off the look with a deep rust lipstick.

The ceremoy was a traditional affair, held in the courtyard against the picturesque backdrop of the traditional property.

Gorgeous: Jessica stunned in a simple ivory gown with ruched detailing on the strapless bodice and a sweeping train

Family abode: The lovebirds said 'I do' in front of family and friends at the stunning Passi de Preposulo family estate, Villa Tiepolo Passi

Elegant: The redhead wore her flame-coloured tresses up in an elegant bun, setting off the look with a deep rust lipstick

Gian Luca hails from an aristocratic family, and their wedding brought together a mix of A-list Hollywood stars and Italian nobility.

Anne Hathaway, 34, was a guest, linking arms with her husband, Adam Shulman, 36, and her The Devil Wears Prada co-star Emily Blunt, 34, as they made their way into the ceremony.

Italian model Bianca Brandolini dAdda, 29, was also in attendance at the star-studded affair.

Star-studded affair: Gian Luca hails from an aristocratic family, and their wedding brought together a mix of A-list Hollywood stars and Italian nobility

Famous friends: Anne Hathaway, 34, was a guest, linking arms with her husband, Adam Shulman, 36, and her The Devil Wears Prada co-star Emily Blunt, 34, as they made their way into the ceremony

What a location: The ceremoy was a traditional affair, held in the courtyard against the picturesque backdrop of the traditional property

Long-term love: Jessica and Gian Luca have been dating since 2012, keeping a low profile over the years

A source told E! News: 'Italy was a place where they always wanted to get married.

'The wedding was stunning. Jessicas dress was perfect and you could tell she was very nervous walking down the aisle. The food was delicious.'

Jessica and Gian Luca have been dating since 2012, keeping a low profile over the years.

A source told E! News: 'The wedding was stunning. Jessicas dress was perfect and you could tell she was very nervous walking down the aisle. The food was delicious'

Close connection: 'Italy was a place where they always wanted to get married', the insider added

Aristocratic heritage: The Italian aristocrat, the former director of public relations for Armani, currently works for Moncler

The Italian aristocrat, the former director of public relations for Armani, currently works for Moncler.

The Zero Dark Thirty actress told W magazine in 2015: 'He's a gentleman. And that's very important to me.

'He's from an old-school Italian family. No one in his family has ever been divorced!'

She also teased that she was 'very, very happy' with Gian Luca, in a rare interview about their romance.

Speaking to Extras Mario Lopez, Jessica enthused: 'Its a wonderful thing when a career does so well and your personal life goes so well.'

The Zero Dark Thirty actress told W magazine in 2015: 'He's a gentleman. And that's very important to me'

Smitten: She also teased that she was 'very, very happy' with Gian Luca, in a rare interview about their romance
Tom Cruise looked like he was conjuring Top Gun memories on a New Zealand runway on Monday.

The 54-year-old looked happy and confident as his helicopter landed in Queenstown in the nation's south.

The Hollywood legend is in the country to continue filming a sixth Mission Impossible movie.

Thumbs up! Tom Cruise looked confident as he touched down in Queenstown, New Zealand on Monday to continue filming the sixth Mission Impossible movie

Sporting a New York Yankees cap, black sweater and jeans, Tom offered a thumbs up after stepping out the black Airbus helicopter.

The actor, who played Maverick in cult '80s film Top Gun, was later spotted laughing alongside several colleagues.

Standing near the tail wing of another aircraft, Tom raised his hands and appeared to yell at someone in the distance.

Still got it! Sporting a New York Yankees cap, black sweater and jeans, Tom offered a thumbs up after stepping out the black Airbus helicopter

In April, filming for Mission Impossible took him to Paris, where photos showed him filming death-defying scenes.

Eagle-eyed fans will notice the tail wing Tom stood next to in Queenstown bears a striking resemblance to the aircraft featured prominently in the French scenes.

The clothes Tom wore on Monday were almost identical to what he was wearing in the Paris shoot, indicating the sequences could appear in succession in the film.

In conversation: The actor, who played Maverick in cult '80s film Top Gun, was later spotted laughing alongside several colleagues

French connection! Eagle-eyed fans will notice the tail wing Tom stood next to in Queenstown bears a striking resemblance to the aircraft featured prominently while filming in Paris in April

Tom appears to have slipped back into the role effortlessly following a tough year of training, which is required as he prefers to film his own stunts.

It has been 21 years since the first Mission Impossible film was released, but Tom has maintained his youthful appearance and happy-go-lucky charm.

Alec Baldwin, Henry Cavill, Simon Pegg and Vanessa Kirby will join Tom for the latest movie in the Mission Impossible franchise.

Step up: Tom (pictured as Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible  Ghost Protocol in 2011) will reprise his lead role as the special agent in the sixth installment of the franchise




Models used to pose for advertisements and be done with it.

But now, thanks to social media, mannequins are reminding their fans over and over again that they're on top of the supermodel food chain.

On Monday Bella Hadid, 20, did just that as she posed in front of her Times Square, New York Calvin Klein advertisement. The beauty had just returned from plugging Nike in Paris.

Check me out! Bella Hadid flashed her nipples in this white crop top in an Instagram photo shared on Monday; she was standing in front of her Calvin Klein ad

The babe, who is the sister of Vogue favorite Gigi Hadid, wore a semi sheer white crop top that made the most of her nipples.

Long chains hung from around her neck and a white jacket fell off her shoulders. She also wore slacks hung low on her hips.

The looker wore sunglasses and looked off in the distance.

Her best pout: Here the sister of Gigi Hadid showed off her closeup pose

Sleepy lady: The 20-year-old said she loved naps in this caption

Bright in white: The stunner in Paris on Saturday at Nike concept store Forum des Halles to celebrate 45 years of Nike cortez sneakers

Behind her she could be see in her Calvin Klein poster as she was topless with a pair of jeans on. On the other side was a man showing off his tattoos.

It is not known if Bella is part of the free-the-nipple campaign that Demi Moore's daughters Scout and Tallulah as well as Kendall Jenner are into.

But the LA native seems to have no issue with showing off her chest.

Well, if you've got it... : Hadid in a bikini while on a tropical vacation

The beauty, who used to date The Weeknd, has posed topless several times already, not just for the Calvin Klein poster that could be seen behind her but also for V magazine, Paper magazine and Paris Vogue.

The beauty is new to the catwalk game as just two years ago she was an equestrian training for the Olympics before she was sidelined by a bout of Lyme disease, something her mother Yolanda Hadid - who used to be Yolanda Foster - also had.
Science fiction writers have a long history of intervening/meddling in policy, but historically this has been in the form of right-wing science fiction writers spinning fanciful superweapon ideas like Ronald Reagan's Star Wars system, or the writers who pitched in with the GW Bush team after 9/11 to design the brutal, endless "War on Terror" we're currently mired in.

But a new, progressive wing of design fiction practicioners are increasingly involved in policy questions, through vehicles like MIT Tech Review's 12 Tomorrows annuals and the Hieroglyph and Pwning Tomorrow anthologies, as well as the forecasting consultancies of writers like Madeline Ashby and Karl Schroeder.

Much of this work is going on at ASU's Center for Science and the Imagination, which just collaborated with MIT Press on an anthology of critical perspectives on Frankenstein to tie in with the book's bicentennial; ASU also recently hired the brilliant Brian David Johnson away from Intel to work on these projects.

In a long piece for Slate, New America Foundation's Kevin Bankston takes the measure of this work  where it's come from, where it's going, and what effect it's having on the world.



Thankfully, an ambitious new project launched this month aims to use the vision and expertise of the science fiction communityincluding Atwood herselfto move past dystopian visions. The newly announced Science Fiction Advisory Council, composed of a stellar selection of 64 bestselling sci-fi writers and visionary filmmakers, has tasked itself with imagining realistic, possible, positive futures that we might actually want to live inand figuring out we can get from here to there. The council is sponsored by XPRIZE, the nonprofit foundation that uses competition to spur private development of things like a reusable suborbital spacecraft. The advisers on the council will "assist XPRIZE in the creation of digital 'futures' roadmaps across a variety of domains [and] identify the ideal catalysts, drivers and mechanismsincluding potential XPRIZE competitionsto overcome grand challenges and achieve a preferred future state."

This new project is reminiscent of Hieroglyph, a project from Arizona State University that is similarly aimed at leveraging science fiction to make positive change in the real world. (ASU is a partner with Slate and New America in Future Tense; I work for New America.) Like the Hieroglyph project, the Science Fiction Advisory Council will be launching with a short story collection. In July, XPRIZE plans to publish an online anthology of original science-fiction stories by members of the advisory council recounting the experiences of passengers on a fictional flight from Tokyo to San Francisco who are mysteriously transported 20 years into the future. (The air-travel theme makes a bit more sense when you realize that the project is cosponsored by Japanese airline ANA.) The stories, published at Seat14C.com, will presumably include visions of some of the "preferred future states" that XPRIZE seeks to identify, and will be followed by quarterly meetings of the advisers as they build out their roadmaps for avoiding dystopia and reaching those better futures.



Prototyping a Better Tomorrow

[Kevin Bankston/Slate]
She's the unlucky-in-love former Bachelorette star who certainly knows how to have a good time.

And Sam Frost, 28, did exactly that over the Queen's Birthday long weekend, as she was photographed enjoying a wild ladies lunch on Saturday.

It now appears the 2Day FM host was actually at a hens party, as a friend of the TV star told The Daily Telegraph: 'She's in a great place and is really happy.'

Scroll down for video

Girls' day out! Sam Frost's lively lunch with her girlfriends in Sydney over the weekend was actually a friend's hens party, The Daily Telegraph reported on Tuesday

Stepping out with a group of girlfriends at Darlo Country Club in Darlinghurst, Sydney, Sam looked to be in great spirits.

Showing off her slim figure in a wrap dress, the former Bachelor contestant stumbled and performed several bizarre gestures.

Sam split from her ex-boyfriend Sasha Mielczarek, who she met on The Bachelorette in 2015, in December after 18 months of dating.

'She's in a great place and is really happy': A friend of the former Bachelorette told the publication that Sam is doing better following her split from ex-boyfriend Sasha Mielczarek

Sam spoke to the Herald Sun last month about the toll the breakup had on her mental wellbeing, saying it pushed her to 'breaking point.'

'I was like, "Oh my goodness I am really, really struggling with my mental health",' she told the publication.

In her first reality TV appearance in 2014, Sam fell in love with The Bachelor Blake Garvey - but the relationship did not last.

Having fun, Sam? Stepping out with a group of girlfriends at Darlo Country Club in Darlinghurst over the Queen's Birthday long weekend, Sam looked to be in great spirits

After proposing to Sam in the series finale, Blake dumped her weeks later and then began dating second runner-up Louise Pillidge.

And after her second chance at love with Sasha eventually didn't work out, Sam was rumoured to be dating Dave Bashford.

But in January, her management claimed they were 'just friends'.
It's all in the genes.

And Helena Christensen's son Mingus proved he has good ones as the handsome 17-year-old smiled next to his mom.

The 48-year-old beauty, who shares Mingus with her ex Norman Reedus, smiled widely beside her son and their beloved pooch Kuma.

Scroll down for video

Good genes: Helena Christensen's son Mingus proved he has good ones as the handsome 17-year-old smiled next to his mom

Helena, who lives in New York City with Mingus, adopted the puppy almost exactly a year ago and the two are regularly spotted walking the dog in the city.

Helena and The Walking Dead star were together for 5 years from 1998 to 2003 and share Mingus, who was born in 1999.

But don't expect the handsome teen to get into showbiz anytime soon.

In 2015, his father revealed Mingus has no desire to follow in the footsteps of his famous parents.

Mother-son bond: Helena and her son are seen taking walks around New York City together with their beloved dog Kuma

He told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in 2015:

'We got this call because they are going to make a new Spider-Man, and he's like 14 or 15. They asked, Would Mingus want to audition for Spider-Man? He's had a couple of these calls, and he always said no to all of them.'

Norman revealed his son, who has a good head on his shoulders, didn't want to 'ruin his life' or 'become famous.'

Father and son: Norman Reedus is the father of Mingus, who says his son has no desire to get into show business

The former Victoria Secret model, who shot to fame in the '90s alongside Tyra Banks and Cindy Crawford, has started posting quite a bit to social media and seems confident as she nears 50.

Whilst Helena has made a successful career from her stunning good looks, she recently revealed that she hadn't always felt so confident with her appearance.

Speaking about being scouted in her teens, the supermodel revealed she was shocked that anyone looked twice as she had 'chubby cheeks'.

She's beautiful! Helena has made a successful career from her stunning good looks, she recently revealed that she hadn't always felt so confident with her appearance

Talking to Red magazine, she said: 'I had a horrible perm, chubby baby cheeks and frosted pink lipstick!'

However while she is one of the most iconic supermodels of all time, Helena admitted at this year's London Fashion Week she is glad she was a model in the nineties rather than now - thanks to the social media movement.

Speaking at a LOVE magazine bash in February, the Danish beauty admitted modelling and beauty had been much more 'mysterious' when nothing was shared online.

She explained: 'I feel so grateful social media wasn't there before.

'I was very happy with just being an elusive, mysterious figure who just appeared in photoshoots.'
He thrilled fans as troubled cop DCI John Luther in the much-loved BBC One series Luther.

And now it has been confirmed that Idris Elba, 44, is set to dust off his character's famous overcoat for the highly-anticipated fifth series which will begin filming early next year.

Returning for four new episodes, his portrayal of the rough and ready, emotionally impulsive cop who breaks all the rules to get his man, has seen him scoop a Golden Globe and SAG award.

Scroll down for video

He's back: Idris Elba is set to return as troubled cop DCI John Luther in four 'scary' new episodes of the hit BBC One show, it was confirmed on Monday7

After battling a cannibal serial killer in the last series - which aired in December 2015 - Luther was last seen walking through his London stomping ground and into an uncertain future in the multi-award winning series.

Many questions were left unanswered including what really happened to his friend/foe, sociopath Alice Morgan.

With John having to deal with the murder of his ex-wife Zoe and partner DS Justin Ripley along with the apparent loss of Alice it is unclear what fresh emotional torment the obsessive DCI will have to endure next.

Next up! The multi-award winning series, written by Neil Cross, will begin filming early next year and Idris, 44, cannot wait to dust off the Luther's famous overcoat for series five

Writer of the beloved crime drama Neil Cross revealed that Luther's unfinished business sealed the deal for him to bring the compulsive cop back.

In statement, he said: 'Now what? Its a question Idris and I get asked a lot. What happened to John Luther after we last saw him striding unbowed through the streets of his city, his blood red London? It cant be over, can it? Theres so much we dont know. So much unfinished business.

'The thing is, weve been asking ourselves the same question. Because we love John and wonder what hes up to. And as for me, Im scared of the monsters.

'The face at the window. The hand under the bed. The shadow at the end of the street. Whos going to stop them, if not John Luther?'

Uncertain: After battling a cannibal serial killer in the last series, Luther was last seen walking through his London stomping ground and into an uncertain future

'In the end, we picked up the phone to some old friends and asked if theyd like to find out what happens next. It turns out, they would. So thats what were going to do. Were going to find out what happens next. Now what? Luthers coming back. Thats what.'

Adding to the excitement, Idris continued: 'Neil, the BBC and I have been talking about a further season and I am thrilled that we have been able to bring it all together. I look forward to putting the coat back on.'

Although Luther won rave reviews for his sizzling chemistry with temptress villain Alice, played by Ruth Wilson, it is unclear who will take on the role of sidekick in the new series.

Unfinished business: Writer Neil Cross said Luther's unfinished business sealed the deal for him to bring the compulsive cop back

The news of Luther's return will no doubt come as a welcome relief to fans of the thriller series, who said the 2015 two episode special wasn't enough for them and begged for more.

Piers Wenger, BBC Drama controller, said: 'Luther is one of BBC Ones most iconic dramas and were thrilled that Idris Elba is reprising his role as John Luther. Neil Cross plans for his return promise some big surprises and what will turn out to be an utterly heart stopping and unmissable fifth series.'

Hilary Salmon, BBC Studios Executive Producer, added: 'We are tremendously proud to be bringing Neil Crosss iconic show Luther back to BBC1. The return of John Luther always feels like an event but this time we will be pulling out all the stops to make the show bigger, bolder and of course more scary than ever.'

Relief: The news of Luther's return will no doubt come as a welcome relief to fans of the thriller series, who said the 2015 two episode special wasn't enough for them and begged for more




She claimed she was once asked go topless during an audition for a bit part in Entourage.

But Mad Men actress Alison Brie has clarified her story by explaining she still had a bikini top on underneath at the time of the incident following an outcry

She had previously spoken of her experience at the ATX Television Festival in Austin, Texas on Sunday following a screening of her new show GLOW, which is set in the world of women's professional wrestling.

Scroll down for videos

Oops: Alison Brie has spoken out to clarify she still had a bikini top on after being asked to 'go topless' for an Entourage audition

In a tweet on Monday she said: 'Re:Entourage - CLARIFICATION - I had a bikini top on UNDER my top. They didn't ask me to get totally topless. Sorry to disappoint you!'

The 34-year-old's story seemed rather different as she and co-star Betty Gilpin talked about roles for women and if things had improved for actresses since GLOW's 1980s setting.

'The audition process has not changed that much,' Brie revealed, according to The Daily News.

'Early in my career, I auditioned for three lines on an episode of Entourage that I had to go on in a bikini!' she remembered. 'Or like shorts and the tiniest shorts. And they were like, "Okay, can you take your top off now?" '

Explanation: She took to social media to clear up any misunderstanding

Bad boys: The 34-year-old auditioned for a role in Entourage starring Adrian Grenier as emerging movie star Vince Chase living the Hollywood high life in Los Angeles with his friends and trusty agent. It ran from 2004 until 2011

True tale: Glow co-star Betty Gilpin, seen at a New York event last week, was also at ATX . She dished about one audition where a man asked her to let her hair down after her scene

She did not reveal whether or not she complied or got the part, but her name isn't listed under the cast for Entourage on IMDB.

The HBO show ran for eight seasons from 2004 until 2011 starring Adrian Grenier as emerging movie star Vince Chase living the Hollywood high life in Los Angeles with his friends and trusty agent.

Nurse Jackie alum Betty Gilpin said that after auditioning for a room full of men, one of them asked her to let down her hair after she finished the scene.

'Thats gross,' added GLOW casting director Jennifer Euston.

'And the hits just keep onnnnn comin!!' Alison shared this Instagram of co-stars Elle Wong and Marianna Palka showing off their moves in the ring in GLOW

Both Alison and Betty stressed that GLOW's audition process was exemplary.

Jennifer later tweeted: 'It makes me sick there are producers who abuse their power & if there was a Casting Director present, they did nothing?'

GLOW will stream in one binge-worthy chunk on June 23 on Netflix.




She admitted that she desperately missed her friends and family as she celebrated her 30th birthday on location for Our Girl season three.

And it seems that homesickness has really taken it's toll on Michelle Keegan as she has reiterated how much she is missing home.

While she shoots in South Africa and husband Mark Wright parties in LA with his sister Jess, Michelle has said that it's so bad she's not sleeping.

Scroll down for video

'I'm shattered, I miss Mark': Michelle Keegan admits she's suffering from sleep deprivation and homesickness as she continues her long summer away from the UK filming Our Girl

Missing each other: While she shoots in South Africa and husband Mark Wright parties in LA with his sister Jess, Michelle has said that it's so bad she's not sleeping

Taking part of a Facebook Live with Revlon, she said that the hardest part of her job is 'sleep deprivation'.

'Im only joking, well, Im not, Im shattered, I am,' she said in the Q&A. 'To be fair, the hardest part is probably not seeing my family and friends for the time that Im away filming.

'Although we FaceTime all the time, Im in a lucky position I know that, but you miss home a little bit.'

She also said that she misses the comforts of home, not just the people.

Tired: Taking part of a Facebook Live with Revlon, she said that the hardest part of her job is 'sleep deprivation'

Globe-trotting: Mark Wright is in the US forging a career as a showbiz reporter and interviewed Jon Hamm and Jamie Foxx at Universal Studios

'I havent had [a Sunday off] for a while. Ill be honest: my favourite thing to do is get up in the morning, have a shower, get back in clean pyjamas, fresh ones, go downstairs with my dogs and just have a DVD day and watch films all day and order takeaway. Im not very rock and roll, am I?'

Michelle is away for the entire summer, and Mark is not in the UK either, DJing in Magaluf last week before jetting to LA.

He has admitted that his new presenting gig in the US could mean he will relocate to the States indefinitely.

Asked on Sunday Brunch what that would mean for his marriage to Michelle, Mark said that it would be her time to relocate to where he's working, as he has traveled to and from South Africa to visit her on set several times.

Homesick: She also said that she misses the comforts of home, not just the people

Back soon: In the same Facebook Live, Michelle confirmed that Our Girl would return at the same time of year it's second season debuted

In the same Facebook Live, Michelle confirmed that Our Girl would return at the same time of year it's second season debuted.

'I think its going to be out in the autumn time. Its exciting,' she clarified.

With regards to beauty advice, she said: 'As long as youre confident in yourself no matter what youre wearing, what your hair looks like, what your make up looks like, as long as youre confident, thats the main thing, because it shows. Just be confident in yourself, love life.'

Michelle celebrated her milestone birthday a week ago, and took to her Instagram on Sunday to show a video of her cutting into a huge chocolate cake, and thanking her co-stars for making her day 'so special'.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder: Michelle celebrated her 30th birthday away from her husband Mark Wright as he is currently away in Magaluf performing a DJ set

Delicious: Posting a video to her Instagram, the former Coronation Street actress cut into a huge chocolate cake, and thanked her co-stars for making her day 'so special'

She captioned the post: 'Although I wasn't at home yesterday and missed my family and friends... the Our Girl cast and production team helped to make my birthday so special. Thankyou so much... Forever grateful!'

Wearing the army uniform of her character, the brunette beauty looked gorgeous as she slipped a pair of dark sunglasses over her eyes and clutched some balloons.

Her emotional husband Mark paid tribute via Instagram.

The former TOWIE star, who married Michelle in May 2015, praised the actress in a post shared with his 1.3 million Instagram followers on Saturday morning.

Sharing a spliced montage of highlights from the first two years of married life, he wrote: Happy birthday to the best friend I ever had my rock, my love and the person who gives me more joy than anything in the world. THE 1

Missing them: She captioning the post: 'I wasn't at home yesterday and missed my family and friends'

Feeling special: 'The Our Girl cast and production team helped to make my birthday so special. Thankyou so much... Forever grateful!'

Beaming: Wearing the army uniform of her character, the brunette beauty looked gorgeous as she slipped a pair of dark sunglasses over her eyes and clutched some balloons

The post comes just four months after Mark celebrated his own 30th birthday during a night out with Michelle, sister Jessica Wright and a group of close family and friends.

Just last week the couple rang in their second wedding anniversary, with former Coronation Street star Michelle sharing a touching snap in which the couple locked lips in a sweet display.

The pair, who celebrated their anniversary by enjoying a day of wine and cheese tasting on the Isle of Fernando's, looked upon each other lovingly in the snap as she added the caption: 'Happy Anniversary to my love ... 24.05.2015'.

My number one: Emotional Mark paid tribute to wife Michelle on social media as she celebrates her milestone 30th birthday the day before

Kiss, kiss: Mark Wright and Michelle Keegan rang in their anniversary on Wednesday, the former Coronation Street star took to Instagram to share a touching snao in which the couple locked lips in a sweet display

Michelle seemed to be sharing the snap from their trip to the destination where Take Me Out contestants jet out to for their date is actually the resort of Puerto de la Cruz in Tenerife.

The sweet snap came after the duo documented the romantic day out on their respective social media pages as they celebrated the milestone a few days early on the island - no doubt due to their busy schedules of late.

Michelle shared snaps of her and her beau enjoying a wine tasting session, captioning a picture of them tucking into a cheese platter with the word 'Anniversary', followed by a love heart emoji.

Meanwhile Take Me Out: The Gossip host Mark posted clips of the scenery going past them as they travelled to another vineyard, describing one mountain as the Isle of Fernando's hills.

Taking her out: Mark and Michelle celebrated their anniversary by enjoying a day of wine and cheese tasting on the Isle of Fernando's on Sunday

Anniversary: The couple documented the romantic day out on their respective social media pages as they celebrated the milestone a few days early

He later said they were on their way home to watch his ITV2 spin-off show, as well as posting a snap of his pizza and ice-cream dinner.

Mark was reunited with Michelle in South Africa two weeks ago, as the actress continues to shoot Our Girl.

The presenter shared a loved-up snap of him and his wife watching the sunset, which he captioned with the words: 'Perfect setting with the perfect person. Can't beat a SA sunset!!'

Earlier this month, the brunette beauty took to Instagram to reveal that she has completed shooting scenes in the Himalayan nation of Nepal - and the experience left her with 'a totally different perspective on life'.

Sharing a shot of herself smiling while sitting on the steps of a breathtaking ancient temple, the actress wrote: 'Last day in Nepal... what an amazing eye opening journey. Coming away with a totally different perspective on life.

'Feeling very blessed and thankful. #itsthelittlethings #glasshalffull #ourgirl3.'

Together again: Mark was reunited with Michelle in South Africa two weeks ago, as the actress continues to shoot Our Girl

Michelle, who plays Lance Corporal Georgie Lane in the programme, is also set to jet off to Malaysia to film the popular series.

Mark will not join her on set for the majority of the time, as he has commitments in Essex, Spain and Los Angeles.

Michelle said she will be away for three months, before returning to attend some events in the summer and then jetting back out again - which is thought to be up to eight months in total.

Despite bring plagued with break-up rumours over the course of their two year marriage Mark recently insisted that his wife is 'the most important thing in my life'.

The TV presenter explained that although maintaining a long-distance romance can be hard, the loved-up couple work hard at keeping their four-year relationship 'exciting'.

New series: Michelle, who plays Lance Corporal Georgie Lane in the programme, is also set to jet off to Malaysia to film the popular series

Mark told MailOnline: 'It doesnt matter what the job is, you make it work. You work around it. The most important thing is your personal life, especially if youre in a relationship. Your relationship comes first.'

The former TOWIE star went on to say that working on different continents can actually have its benefits.

He added: 'It's exciting, it keeps it exciting  separate careers makes the time you spend together more special.

'We do the old Face Time, Whatsapp, talk on the phone. Were always in contact. Its easy  its 2017 theres always a way to stay in contact.'
Sofia Richie has spoken about betrayal in the debut issue of Tings magazine, after being just one of the ladies linked to her sex addict 'pal' Scott Disick in Cannes last month.

The 18-year-old model - who has insisted that there is no romance between herself and Scott, wore a pair of raunchy leather chaps, and a sheer lace jumpsuit.

She told the publication that betrayal has been the hardest lesson that she has had to learn, saying: 'Because its something that you will never really understand, but you have to accept.

Scroll down for video

Raunchy: Sofia Richie, 18, looks sensational for the editorial shoot of Tings magazine, wearing a pair of raunchy leather crotch-flashing chaps

'To deal with that, I spend time with my family, try not to focus on it, try to forgive them in my heart anyway I can, and just move on.'

Sporting an orange jumper, cropped to show off her taut midriff and tiny waist, Sofia is seen to pose seductively by biting her finger.

Wearing a matching pair of briefs, the daughter of legendary crooner Lionel Richie has her hair styled into a messy bedhead appearance as she pulls down the waist of the belted chaps.

Racy in lace: In another shot, Sofia wears a see-through white lace jumpsuit, which clings to her derriere, and accentuates her waist with a pastel pink corset

Full interview: Tings is available for pre order now at shoptingslondon.com

In another shot, Sofia wears a see-through white lace jumpsuit, which clings to her derriere, and accentuates her waist with a pastel pink corset.

With her hair scraped off her face in a sleek ponytail, she gazes over her sunglasses as she steps forward in a pair of heavy Doctor Martin boots.

When asked about how she deals with dating whilst being in the public eye, Sofia, who has previously been linked to Justin Bieber and F1 racer Lewis Hamilton, said that she tries to 'keep it as something special'.

She revealed: 'When it comes to dating you want to keep it as private as possible. As something special between you and the other person.

'You don't really want other peoples' opinions on it - even though it doesn't matter. I just don't want to hear it at the end of the day. I try to just be quiet about my dating life.'

Rumoured flame: Sofia has been spotted out and about with father-of-three Scott Disick, 34, on several occasions, but she insists they are pals

Sofia also spoke of her realisation that her family were in the spotlight as a child, saying that fans would 'attack them' to try and get photographs:

'We would do tons of things in the house and it would be private. Whenever we would just go out in public or to say Disneyland, when I was a kid, and I saw people attack them, and thats when I sort of realized [it all].

'It was crazy and definitely wasn't normal with all the attention.'

Tings is available for pre order now at shoptingslondon.com
Jessica and Ashlee Simpson helped celebrate the marriage of Diana Ross' son Ross Naess and Kimberly Ryan on Saturday.

While Jessica was a guest, Ashlee was one of numerous bridesmaids at the couple's Bohemian (shoes optional) themed wedding held at Rancho Dos Pueblos in Goleta, California.

Jessica, 36, was hard to miss in a sparkly purple cold-shoulder frock and skyscraper heels.

Jessica Simpson attended Diana Ross' son Ross Naess' wedding to Kimberly Ryan on Saturday. The couple married at Rancho Dos Pueblos in Goleta, California

Family love: Ashlee served as a bridesmaid and is pictured alongside mother-in-law Diana Ross

Her blonde locks were styled in glamorous curls and she carried a large metallic clutch and mirrored aviators.

Ashlee, 32, was pictured in an ethereal white gown with floral headband.

The mother-of-two is married to Naess' brother Evan Ross, who was by her side wearing a dark suit and beige fedora.

The Hunger Games actor doted over their one-year-old daughter Jagger while Ashlee fulfilled her duties as bridesmaid.

Soul icon Diana, 73, looked fantastic in a white gown and her trademark curly dark locks styled big and wearing statement earrings.

Blonde beauty: Jessica donned a sparkly purple dress and skyscraper heels for the happy occasion

Ready to party: Jessica's cold-shoulder number skimmed the thigh and she carried a large metallic clutch

Glammed up: The singer completed her look with large mirrored aviators

Suited up: Jessica's husband Eric Johnson looked sharp in a navy suit

The Supremes superstar reportedly sang during the ceremony, just like she did at Ashlee and Evan's wedding in 2014.

Other guests in attendance included Donald Faison and wife Cacee Cobb.

In keeping with the theme Cacee, 39, donned a pretty pink maxi dress while Donald, 42, looked dapper in a cream suit.

Actress Tracee Ellis Ross, 44, was also seen in a cream gown and her hair in a pretty updo as she was also bridesmaid.

Ashley is married to Naess' brother Evan Ross, who was by her side wearing a dark suit and beige fedora

Boho theme: Ashlee wore a flowing white gown and leafy floral headpiece

Blushing bride: Naess' new wife Kimberly wore an embellished white gown which hugged her baby bump

Soul icon Diana, 73, looked fantastic in a white gown as she chatted to her daughter Tracee Ellis Ross

Meanwhile, the blushing bride wore an embellished gown which hugged her baby bump, as well as a long veil and carried a large bouquet of flowers.

Kimberly shared a photo of the wedding party posing outside a converted barn where the reception was held.

'We're married!!' she captioned the happy snap.

The guests apparently spent the night in tents as part of the bohemian theme.

Old friends: Other guests in attendance included Donald Faison and wife Cacee Cobb

Summer wedding: Cacee wore a pretty pink maxi dress and stylish sunglasses while Donald donned a beige suit

Officially married! Groom Ross, 29, is pictured getting a congratulatory hug from big sister Tracee

Special day: The iconic singer is seen alongside daughter Chudney, 41

Family first: The Supremes superstar reportedly sang during the ceremony, just like she did at Ashlee and Evan's wedding in 2014

In another snap she posted on Monday the newlywed is seen dancing with her husband as brother-in-law Evan performs on stage.

'Thank you to my beautiful brother-in-law @realevanross for singing our first dance song! What a magical way to kick off our reception!' she wrote.

Diana has five children including sons Ross, 29, and Evan, 28 with ex husband Arne Naess, Jr. and two daughters, Tracee, 44 and Chudney, 41, with first husband Robert Ellis Silberstein.

Her eldest daughter Rhonda, 45, she shares with former partner Berry Gordy, however, Rhonda was raised by Silberstein.

Ashlee looked beautiful in white while her husband Evan carried their one-year-old daughter Jagger

Baby boho! Little Jagger looked adorable in a white frock and floral headband

Happy day! Bride Kimberly shared a photo of the wedding party posing outside a converted barn where the reception was held
As an entrepreneur and mother of two, Lara Bingle certainly has her hands full.

And that was certainly the case as she enjoyed a day out with her family in Venice, California, on Monday.

The 29-year-old was seeing giving her lookalike son Rocket Zot, two, a piggyback, while hubby Sam pushed their youngest tot Racer, seven months, along in a stroller.

She's got her hands full! Lara Bingle was seeing giving her two-year-old son Rocket Zot a piggyback during an outing with husband Sam Worthington and their baby boy Racer in Venice, California, on Monday

The family blended in with the Venice crowd, dressing casually for the outing.

Blonde beauty Lara accentuated her trim pins in a pair of tight leggings, teaming the active wear with a baggy black T-shirt and comfortable running shoes.

Meanwhile, little Rocket looked cute as a button in a LA Galaxy soccer jersey and a pair of Adidas sneakers.

The shoes matched his father's own Originals, which he wore with a pair of stone-coloured trousers and a printed T-shirt.

Just like dad: Little Rocket looked as cute as a button in a LA Galaxy soccer jersey and a pair of Adidas sneakers that matched his father's own pair of Adidas Originals

Casual: Lara accentuated her trim pins in a pair of tight black leggings teamed with a matching black T-shirt

Little Rocket was the spitting image of his mother with his big blue eyes and flowing long blonde locks.

The youngster clutched onto his mum's back like a monkey as he took in the sights of the popular Los Angeles beach side area.

Earlier this month, Lara confused fans when she once again reverted back to her maiden name 'Bingle'.

Posting an Instagram Story, the blonde beauty shared a note from luxury hotel The Upper House, which was clearly addressed to 'Ms Bingle'.

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!'

Family outing: The family were enjoying some rare downtime together after making the permanent move to Los Angeles

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'.

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.

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.
Australian officials have become increasingly worried about homegrown extremism and officials said earlier this year they had prevented 11 terror attacks on home soil in the past two years

Australia's largest state Sunday said it was building a separate prison wing for extremist inmates to tackle radicalisation following a rise in homegrown attacks.

New South Wales, home to about a third of Australia's 24-million-strong population, has been the site of two terror attacks in recent years, including a cafe siege in 2014 where two hostages were killed.

"We are in new territory. The incidents of terrorism activity we've seen in Australia and around the world has been unprecedented in modern times," state Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney.

The government said it was spending Aus$47 million (US$35 million) to create a jail within Goulburn Correctional Centre to separate inmates with extremist views from other prisoners to reduce radicalisation.

The new facility, which the government hopes to complete by 2018, can house up to 54 prisoners.

More than 30 of the 45 inmates currently held in Goulburn's highest-security wing are behind bars on terror-related charges, Corrective Services NSW Commissioner Peter Severin said.

He added that five prisoners had been radicalised while in jail in recent years.

The announcement came just days after state and territory leaders said they would look to restrict parole for criminals with terrorism-related links.

The changes came after a fatal shootout in Melbourne last week by a man of Somali background in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

The man, 29-year-old Yacqub Khayre, was linked to a 2009 terror plot targeting an Australian army barracks and had been recently released on parole.

Khayre killed a receptionist at a serviced apartment block before dying in a gun battle with police.

Canberra has become increasingly worried about homegrown extremism and officials said earlier this year they had prevented 11 terror attacks on home soil in the past two years.

But several have taken place, including the murder of a Sydney police employee in 2015 by a 15-year-old boy, who was then killed in an exchange of gunfire with officers.

The federal government is also exploring options to increase requirements for mobile phone makers and social media companies to help investigators decrypt communications, Attorney-General George Brandis said Sunday.
A man inspects the damaged engine cowling of a China Eastern Airbus A330 at Sydney Airport on June 12, 2017

A China Eastern passenger plane has made an emergency landing in Sydney after a huge hole appeared in one of its engine casings and forced it to turn back just after taking off.

Terrified passengers described a very loud noise soon after flight MU736 left Sydney Airport for Shanghai at 8.30pm (1030 GMT) on Sunday.

Crew cleared seats near the affected engine and turned the flight back. No one aboard the twin-engine Airbus A330 was injured.

China Eastern said the crew found damage in the casing of the air inlet in the left engine.

"The crew... decided to return to Sydney Airport immediately," an airline spokeswoman added in an emailed statement to AFP.

"The returned aircraft is currently under investigation at Sydney Airport."

Images posted on social media showed a large hole ripped in the casing.

An unidentified passenger told broadcaster Channel Seven: "We, like, went up in the air and all of a sudden, I heard like 'z-z-z-z-z' and it was really, really loud. It kind of smelled like burning.

"Oh, I was scared. Yes. I was really scared. Our group was terrified."

Another passenger told Channel Nine that "the wing to my left just started making a massive amount of noise and they cleared all of the seats".

- Panel detached? -

AirlineRatings.com editor Geoffrey Thomas said investigators would be looking at whether the acoustic panelling of the engine had become detached, citing a similar incident in mid-May involving an Egypt Air A330.

He said the panel might have come back and been sucked into the engine.

Thomas said an Airbus airworthiness directive issued in 2011 and updated in 2014 noted that some operators had found acoustic panelling in the cowling area was disbonding.

"It was a problem that they knew about and airlines had been warned and had been required to inspect their engines and if necessary replace the panels," he added.

"Whoever is looking after the maintenance of the engines, whether it is the airline or the engine maker, it's their responsibility."

He said the China Eastern incident was unusual and the serious damage to the engine meant it was likely to be replaced.

But despite the dramatic scenes, Thomas said the damage was not as severe as the engine failure experienced by Qantas Singapore-Sydney flight QF32 in 2010 due to a separate problem, which led the Australian carrier to ground all its A380s.

The robustness of today's engines also meant twin-engine jets could continue taking off -- when they were under the most stress -- even if there was a failure of one of them, he said.

"Engines today are so reliable that in fact some twin-engine aeroplanes are certified to fly up to 330 minutes flying time away from an alternate airport," Thomas said.

China Eastern said all passengers would be placed on flights departing Australia Monday.
In The New New Civil Wars, a poli sci paper included in this year's Annual Review of Political Science, UCSD political scientist Barbara F. Walter describes the profound ways in which civil conflicts have been transformed by the internet, and makes some shrewd guesses at what changes are yet to come.



Walter's big six are:

1. The net will make it easier to organize protests, and harder for authorities to stop them

2. The net will make conflicts longer, because rebel groups will be able to tap distant supporters for cash to keep fighting beyond the patience of local people

3. Rebellions will have more warring factions, for the same reasons, and this will further prolong conflicts

4. International rebellions will be more prominent because insurgents with ambitious global ambitions are more likely to attract foreign support

5. Rebellions will be contagious, spreading from country to country as social media allows insurgents to forge ideological alliances across borders

6. Networked rebellions can get away with more crimes against noncombatants, because they will be less reliant on local support for materiel and cash

Much of this is in my thinking as I write the third Little Brother book, which is partially set during the GW Bush years at a US Forward Operating Base in Iraq, and partially set in a left-wing uprising in near-future Oakland, California.



Instantaneous, global communication is likely to have at least six major implications for civil

wars that will need to be studied in greater detail. First, information technology is likely to benefit

individual citizens (especially citizens in highly repressive countries) more than political elites in

those countries. Dictators and autocrats will face greater difficulty in limiting and controlling the

flow of information and the messages their citizens receive. Government elites will also have greater

difficulty in preventing individuals from coordinating their protest activity. Citizens are likely to

be better informed about the behavior of government officials, the well being of their particular

ethnic or sectarian group relative to other groups, and the level and extent of dissatisfaction in

society. The result could be a boon for popular demonstrations and grass-roots organizing. Recent

micro-level research on the use of Twitter by protesters in Egypt, for example, found that social

media allowed protesters to better organize their activity and evade government crackdowns,

making spontaneous demonstrations possible (Steinert-Threlkeld 2016). Second, global Internet campaigns are likely to make it more feasible for rebel groups to

form, leading to civil wars with a greater number of warring factions (Cunningham 2006, 2011,

2013). Rebel entrepreneurs formerly required a base of local support and financing to make

mobilization possible. The Internet, however, is likely to change this. ( Jacobson 2010 describes the

dramatic shifts in how rebel leaders can raise and transfer funds.) Internet media campaigns make

it easier for rebel entrepreneurs, especially those with limited local backing, to garner international

attention and solicit the soldiers and financing necessary to start a war (Collier & Hoeffler 2004).

Likely results include greater external involvement in civil wars, in different guises, and a larger

number of warring factions. The evidence seems to support this prediction: The average number

of rebel groups fighting in civil wars has indeed increased over time (Harbom et al. 2008; see

also Christia 2012). In 1950, the average number of rebel groups in civil wars was 8; in 2010, it

was 14. Third, the new information environment also means that rebel groups are likely to have greater

incentives to frame their objectives in global termssomething we have observed with the proliferation

of Sunni groups. First, the Internet allows warring factions to be more ambitious, ignore

international borders, and set their sights on effecting large-scale change by drawing on the resources

of a globalized world. Second, the Internet is likely to reward groups, such as al Qaeda

and the Islamic State, that have global aims, because they then have a wider audience from which

to generate revenue and recruits. In short, the new information environment has shifted the advantage

from home-grown groups with local bases of support to transnational groups with global

networks and connections.
After years of evading capture, Bosco Ntaganda, the Congolese ex-rebel commander dubbed "The Terminator", will testify at the ICC

Congolese ex-rebel commander Bosco Ntaganda will finally testify Wednesday in his trial at the International Criminal Court, fending off accusations of using child soldiers and capturing sex slaves for his rebel army.

Almost two years after the trial opened, the man once dubbed "The Terminator" will take the stand to recall events in 2002 to 2003, when his rebel forces rampaged through the vast central African country's gold-rich Ituri province, murdering and raping civilians and plundering their possessions.

Ntaganda, 43, has denied 13 charges of war crimes and five counts of crimes against humanity committed by his Patriotic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (FPLC), a Hema militia which according to prosecutors targeted the Lendu and other non-Hema groups.

Fighting in Ituri has left some 60,000 dead since 1999 according to rights groups, in a conflict exacerbated by the wealth of regional resources including gold and other minerals used in electronic products.

Ntaganda has been charged with ordering hundreds of deaths through savage ethnic attacks by the FPLC, which was then the armed wing of the Union of Congolese Patriots.

- Sex slaves -

During the prosecution's case, which took 64 days to complete, a witness told the tribunal in The Hague of seeing "tied-up bodies" left in their underwear, "their heads crushed."

"People were beheaded and women were disemboweled," the witness said.

Ntaganda "personally recruited children," said prosecutor Nicole Samson.

Girls became "commandants' wives," added Sarah Pellet, a legal representative for 283 child soldiers.

They were "kept in sexual slavery or simply given to the militia members," Pellet said.

The conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has gone on for decades, often children are recruited as soldiers

Ntaganda "was one of the most important commanders" involved in the savage ethic attacks carried out by the FPLC, said ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda at the opening of the trial in September 2015.

The eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has been mired for two decades in ethnically-charged wars, as rebels battle for control of mineral resources.

The unrest spiralled to encompass armies from at least six African nations, claiming an estimated three million lives in one of the world's most deadly recent conflicts.

- 'Not the Terminator' -

The ICC, the world's only permanent war crimes tribunal, issued a first arrest warrant against Ntaganda in 2006, followed by a second with additional charges in 2012.

He was wanted in particular for a November 2002 attack on the gold-mining town of Mongbwalu that lasted six days and left some 200 villagers dead.

Despite the warrants, he managed to evade capture until he unexpectedly walked into the US embassy in Kigali in 2013 and turned himself in. It is believed dissension within rebel ranks caused him to surrender.

At the start of his trial Ntaganda, known for his trade-mark pencil moustache, penchant for cowboy hats and fine dining, told the judges he rejected being called "The Terminator".

"That is not me. I am a soldier," he said.

Ntaganda's defence team plans to call 109 witnesses and four experts, seeking to overturn his image as a merciless warlord.

The former rebel went on a two-week hunger strike last year after judges slapped tight restrictions on him when prosecutors accused him of bribing witnesses.

At the time, Ntaganda told judges he was "ready to die" and his lawyer Stephane Bourgon said those accusations had not been proven.

If convicted he could face up to 30 years behind bars, or life if such a sentence is "justified by the extreme gravity of the crime," under ICC rules.

Ntaganda's case follows that of his former boss, warlord Thomas Lubanga, who was sentenced to 14 years in jail in 2012 on similar charges, the court's first conviction since it opened in 2002.
Qatari planes are now using Iran's airspace to get to Europe and skirting the southeastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula to avoid Saudi territory

Qatar Airways has made Doha a global hub in just a few years, but barring it from Gulf states' airspace threatens its position as a major transcontinental carrier, experts say.

Along with its Gulf peers -- Dubai's Emirates Airlines and Abu Dhabi's Etihad -- Qatar's national carrier has captured a sizable portion of transit travel, capitalising on the Gulf's central geographic location.

But political differences between Qatar and neighbouring Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, as well as Egypt, exploded last week into a full-blown regional crisis, including severing air links.

The measures meant cancelling dozens of daily flights by Qatar Airways and carriers from those countries, and also mean Qatari aircraft have to make long diversions, mainly around Bahrain and the vast airspace of Saudi Arabia.

"The impact is already bad because it has driven up flight times and therefore costs. As the airspace tightens, the problem grows much worse," said aviation analyst Addison Schonland from US-based AirInsight.

"Operationally, this is a constraint for the airline that is almost certainly now seeing its profits cut deeply," he added.

Qatar is almost completely encircled by Bahraini airspace that covers a large part of Gulf waters, and its planes usually cross Saudi airspace on their way to the rest of the Middle East, Africa and South America.

Qatari planes are now instead using Iran's airspace to get to Europe and skirting the southeastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula to avoid Saudi territory.

- Increased flight times -

Passengers check-in at Hamad International Airport in Doha. Qatar Airways has made Doha a global hub in just a few years, but barring it from Gulf states' airspace could threaten its position as a major transcontinental carrier

The flight time for a Qatar Airways trip to Sao Paulo in Brazil, for example, has increased by around two hours, according to flight detecting websites.

Flights to North Africa are now travelling over Iran and Turkey towards the Mediterranean, instead of flying more directly over Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

However, flights to Europe appear largely unaffected as they continue to use the Iran route, with a just small diversion to avoid Bahraini airspace.

The Islamic republic has opened its airspace to around 100 more Qatari flights daily, increasing Iranian air traffic by 17 percent.

"For the future, Qatar flights' routes and fuel burn will be increased as a result of this," said aviation analyst Kyle Bailey.

Longer routes will bring passenger numbers down, argued Schonland.

"Future long-haul reservations will come down, because even with the high service and excellent amenities, who wants to sit for longer on an airplane?" he said.

About 90 percent of Qatar Airways traffic through Doha is transit, according to a report by CAPA Centre for Aviation.

Qatar Airways branch in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia suspended the airline's flights to the kingdom following a severing of relations between major gulf states and gas-rich Qatar

Saudi Arabia and the UAE represent the two largest markets for Qatar Airways, said Bailey.

Losing these "will no doubt be devastating to the carrier's financial bottom line, wiping out about 30 percent of revenue," he said.

Qatar Airways is also the largest foreign carrier operating in the UAE, and the fifth overall after the country's own airlines, according to the CAPA report.

- Ticket prices -

Part of this transit traffic is likely to be scooped up by Qatar Airways' regional competitors Emirates and Etihad, experts say.

"No question about it. Especially Emirates because they have the A380 (superjumbo) capacity to catch the traffic without even a hiccup," said Schonland.

"There is no doubt that Emirates and Etihad would surely be reaping the benefits... In the long term, the increased passenger loads on the other carriers may push up demand causing ticket prices to go up on the other carriers," said Bailey.

Passengers walk at Hamad International Airport in Doha. Qatar's national carrier has captured a sizable portion of transit travel, capitalising on the Gulf's central geographic location

The two UAE carriers have wide global networks, and together with Qatar Airways have drawn the ire of European and US legacy carriers who accused them of benefiting from state subsidies to expand into their traditional markets.

But Emirates and Etihad, as well as other carriers from countries involved such as the UAE's flydubai and Air Arabia, will also lose out with the suspension of their Doha routes.

"There can be few winners" from the ban, according to the CAPA analysis.

Contrary to the argument that Emirates and Etihad might boost their numbers of transit passengers, CAPA argued that the ban affects the reputation of Gulf aviation in general.

"The nuances of the ban are too particular for the public to understand, but the broader shadow it creates spreads widely," it said.

"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," it added.

The United States and Britain banned laptop and tablet computers on flights from certain Middle Eastern and Turkish airports in March for security reasons.

On a positive note, Qatar Airways announced late Sunday a 21.7 percent rise in its profits to $540 million in the financial year that ended in March.

The airline said it carried more than 32 million passengers, up from 26.65 million the previous year, representing the bulk of some 38 million passengers handled by Doha's airport.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet African leaders on efforts aiming to reduce the poverty and conflict pushing migrants to Europe

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will on Monday meet African leaders in Berlin on initiatives aiming to reduce the poverty and conflict driving a mass migrant influx to Europe.

The idea is to team up African nations willing to reform with private investors who would bring business and jobs to a continent where instability or graft often scare off foreign companies.

Merkel is hosting the initiative as part of Germany's presidency of the Group of 20 powerful economies, whose leaders meet in the northern port of Hamburg a month later.

Invited to Berlin are Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the leaders of Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal and Tunisia.

"In Africa, economic development needs to keep pace with the high and accelerating population growth and promise a future for young people, which would also help to ease migratory pressures," said Merkel's spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer.

Germany, Europe's largest economy, has taken in more than one million asylum seekers since 2015 -- more than half from war-torn Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, but also many thousands from Ethiopia, Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa.

Hundreds of thousands more have trekked through the Sahara into lawless Libya, hoping that traffickers there will take them in rickety boats across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.

Those who can't pay the thousands of dollars demanded by the people smugglers are often held in squalid militia-controlled facilities, which German diplomats have likened to "concentration camps".

- 'Demographic explosion' -

Merkel last year visited major transit countries Mali and Niger as well as Ethiopia, the seat of the African Union, and pledged 27 million euros ($30 million) in aid aiming to stop migrants heading for Europe in the first place.

"The well-being of Africa is in Germany's interest" Merkel said at the time.

Critics have dismissed the latest multilateral Africa initiative as a half-hearted effort without any aid commitment, but organisers say it could help boost prosperity and reduce the mass flight and brain drain, especially of young people.

Under the G20 "compacts" plan, an initial seven African nations will pledge reforms to attract more private sector investment.

Those countries will then receive technical support from the IMF, World Bank, other development institutions and their G20 partner country, which will also support the effort with its own companies.

Germany will team up with Ghana, Ivory Coast and Tunisia, while other G20 members will support efforts by Ethiopia, Morocco, Rwanda and Senegal.

More than 100 banks, companies and other potential investors are expected at the conference.

"This is not about hand-outs or just money or cheap money, but about the opportunity to attract investment, profits and jobs," said a German finance ministry official.

Non-government groups have criticised that the G20 club -- whose only member on the continent is South Africa -- is offering no financial commitments of its own, and that international trade often hurts African farmers and producers.

About 1,000 anti-globalisation protesters marched through Berlin on Saturday, waving signs that said "Africa is not for sale" and decrying the conference as a neocolonial grab for African resources at a time Europe wants to slam the door on its migrants.

The NGO One argued that it does little more than "reiterate existing plans" and remains "insufficient, short-sighted and one-dimensional".

With Africa's population expected to double by mid-century, it said that "the G20 is not yet ready to face the demographic explosion that Africa will experience in the years to come."
The group left Port Moresby on Saturday before their boat sank in rough seas, Australian authorities said

Three men from Australia, Fiji and Papua New Guinea are missing after their boat capsized off PNG, officials said Monday, as a fourth man was reportedly rescued on a isolated beach after scrawling "help" in the sand.

The group left Port Moresby on Saturday before their boat sank in rough seas, Australian authorities said.

PNG authorities launched a search for the missing men some 100 kilometres (62 miles) west of the capital Port Moresby, and are being assisted by Australia, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority told AFP.

The fourth man, from PNG, swam to shore and was able to alert a helicopter passing overhead by writing "help" on sand and waving his shirt in the air, Sydney's Daily Telegraph reported.

The men are staff of KPMG in Port Moresby and a spokeswoman for the accountancy giant said the company was hopeful they would be found.

"We are in close contact with the families and our hopes and prayers are for successful rescue. We are in close contact with (Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs) and local authorities," she said.

Australia's foreign affairs department told AFP they were providing the missing man's family with consular support, but did not provide further details.
No caption

Embattled Philippine troops struggling to drive Islamist militants from a southern city raised the national flag for Independence Day on Monday, in a tearful ceremony dedicated to the scores killed during the conflict.

Thousands of Philippine soldiers, advised by US special forces, are locked in fierce combat with hundreds of insurgents who overran Marawi city on May 23, flying black flags of the Islamic State (IS) group and using up to 2,000 civilians as human shields.

As gunfire rang out and planes flew bombing raids to pummel districts of the largely abandoned city, a crowd of soldiers and teary-eyed officials, firemen, police and clerks gathered outside a nearby government building to raise the Philippine flag.

"This is dedicated to soldiers who offered their lives to implement our mission in Marawi city," said Colonel Jose Maria Cuerpo, commander of an army brigade fighting in Marawi.

The annual ceremony marks the anniversary of an armed revolt against Spanish colonial rule. The Philippines actually won independence from the United States in 1946.

All military camps and government agencies will fly their flags at half-mast on Tuesday in honour of the troops killed in Marawi, said military spokesman Colonel Edgard Arevalo.

In the latest casualties, 13 Philippine Marines were killed on Friday in ferocious street-to-street battles.

Fighting in the city has left a total of 58 soldiers and police and more than 20 civilians dead, the military said, estimating that almost 200 militants have been killed.

On Monday IS released a video via its Amaq propaganda news agency which it said showed jihadists shooting six Christians in Marawi, with a voiceover suggesting further executions had taken place off-camera, according to the US-based SITE monitoring service.

The last time the Philippine security forces sustained large numbers of deaths was in 2015, when 44 police commandos were killed in a botched attempt to capture a Malaysian Islamist militant in the same region.

Tens of thousands have fled Marawi, which is the largely Catholic country's most important Muslim city, since the military says its troops unexpectedly interrupted plans by the fighters to take over Marawi in a spectacular event to show that IS had arrived in the Philippines.

President Rodrigo Duterte has said the militant attack was part of a wider plot by IS to establish a base in the southern region of Mindanao, and has declared martial law there to quell the threat.

But the military has struggled to defeat the heavily-armed gunmen, who have used hostages and pre-existing bomb-proof tunnels to entrench their positions.

"As you know, the target was to liberate Marawi today, June 12, but... you can see how complex the problem is and how many new developments there are," Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano told reporters at the annual flag-raising ceremony in a Manila park.

On Sunday the region's military chief, Lieutenant-General Carlito Galvez, told a news conference the fight would be "most difficult, deadly, bloody, and it will take days and months to clear up".

Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said a captured militant had told the military the IS chief, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had directly "incited" the gunmen to attack the city of 200,000.

As the conflict intensifies, the US embassy in Manila said on Saturday American forces were providing assistance to the Filipino troops, although it declined to give details for security reasons.

The two countries are bound by a 1951 mutual defence treaty, though Duterte has tried to steer the Philippines away from US influence since he became president last year.

Duterte skipped the Independence Day flag-raising in Manila on Monday as he was "extremely tired" after visiting wounded soldiers from Marawi the previous day, his spokesman said.
Mum-to-be Shin Shin delighted huge crowds of well-wishers in Tokyo last month as she sat lazily munching on bamboo and playfully rubbed the husks on her furry belly before being moved into confinement.

A Japanese zoo celebrated the first birth of a baby panda in five years Monday, with the tiny cub small enough to fit in the palm of a human hand.

Eleven-year-old mum Shin Shin gave birth just before noon, officials at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo said in a statement.

Pandas are born pink, hairless and weighing around 100 grams (three-and-a-half ounces) -- so small it can be difficult to determine their sex.

"There have been cases where the sex of a panda has been found to be wrongly determined several years after its birth," a zoo spokesman told AFP amid the panda-monium.

"It could take a while before we know."

Shin Shin, who mated with male Ri Ri in February, had another baby in 2012 -- the first time at the zoo in 24 years, but the cub died from pneumonia six days later.

Footage from a camera inside the panda enclosure showed the moment of birth, when the screeching noises of the tiny baby could clearly be heard as Shin Shin scooped it up with her mouth.

Zoo officials were not immediately able to give exact details about the size and weight of the cub as the proud mum, who tips the scales at 110 kilograms (240 pounds), protectively cuddled her new-born baby.

Proud parents: New mum Shin Shin (bottom) and her mate Ri Ri, seen here in February, around the time the newborn was conceived

"Most of the time the mother has been cradling her baby so we haven't been able to measure it precisely," a spokeswoman told AFP.

"It's almost impossible to see the baby when she's being hugged by mum but we estimate it at about 150 grams."

As a mother-to-be, Shin Shin delighted huge crowds of well-wishers in Tokyo last month as she sat lazily munching on bamboo and playfully rubbed the husks on her furry belly before being moved into confinement.

Considered an endangered species, it is estimated fewer than 2,000 giant pandas remain in the wild, in three provinces in south-central China.

- Clumsy lovers -

Giant pandas are painfully bashful animals and clumsy lovers, with males often miscalculating when a female is in the mood for love and frequently baffled by the mechanics of mating, according to experts.

In the event the cuddly creatures do feel a romantic spark, sex is frequently over too quickly to impregnate the female, who is only receptive to the proposition for two or three days a year between February and May.

Pandacam: Photos taken inside her cage show Shin Shin cradling her newborn. The pink, hairless baby is held in her mouth

Shin Shin's happy news was broadcast on national television and has already had an economic impact on local businesses, with one Chinese restaurant's shares soaring by 38 percent in response.

The Totenko chain, whose main outlet is near the zoo, already reported a jump last month on news of a possible pregnancy.

The birth could also potentially help thaw the often frosty diplomatic relations between Japan and China as Beijing caught the celebratory mood.

"Giant pandas are always messengers of friendship from China towards other countries," said foreign affairs ministry spokesman Lu Kang.

"We also hope giant pandas can play a greater role to promote the affection between Chinese and Japanese people."

Zoo officials briefed hordes of waiting media about the birth of the new panda cub, as everyone from a local Chinese restaurant to the government's chief spokesman got in on the celebrations

Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike also expressed her delight, telling local media: "Romance is not just restricted to humans."

Meanwhile, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, the government's top spokesman, showed his softer side as he weighed in on the day's top feel-good story.

"It is news that will brighten the whole country," he told a daily news briefing. "I wonder why pandas are so popular. It's probably their cute faces and adorable gestures."
This handout from the New Zealand Labour Party taken and released on March 7, 2017 shows Labour Party leader Andrew Little and deputy leader Jacinda Ardern

New Zealand's main opposition party Monday announced plans to almost halve immigration numbers if it wins a September election, with the clampdown focused on international students.

Labour Party leader Andrew Little said it was "time for a breather on immigration" in the nation, which has experienced record annual net arrivals of about 70,000 in recent years.

Little said his centre-left party would cut that by up to 30,000 a year, including slashing an estimated 22,000 student visas.

He said the nation of 4.5 million could not cope with existing migration levels.

"It's contributed to the housing crisis, put pressure on hospitals and schools and added to congestion on roads," he said.

Little said parts of New Zealand's international education sector had become a "back door to residency" which he planned to close if he won the September 23 national election.

Under the plan, visas for many "low value" courses that do not involve at least a bachelor's degree would be cut.

Work visas for international students and recent graduates would also be tightened to stop them taking low-skilled jobs unrelated to their course.

Prime Minister Bill English said the policy would have a major impact on the economy, which is growing at a relatively strong three percent annually.

"Slashing immigration -- whatever you think of it -- slashing it when you need the people to do the jobs that must be done, it doesn't make any sense," he told Radio New Zealand.

English also said the crackdown risked jeopardising the international education sector, New Zealand's fourth-largest export earner.

"This is a sector that has been a key part of diversifying our economy, particularly through the difficult times when dairy prices were low," he said.

"It employs 33,000 people and generates NZ$4.5 billion ($3.2 billion) in exports."

English took over leadership of the ruling National Party-led coalition in December after the shock resignation of his predecessor John Key.

National currently leads Labour 49 percent to 30 percent in opinion polling for the September vote, but the gap narrows to less than one percent if potential coalition partners for Little are factored in.
Lawmakers in Taiwan launched a new group to help promote democracy in Hong Kong on Monday, a move likely to rile Beijing ahead of the 20th anniversary of the handover of the city from Britain back to China.

Lawmakers in Taiwan launched a new group to help promote democracy in Hong Kong on Monday, a move likely to rile Beijing ahead of the 20th anniversary of the handover of the city from Britain back to China.

Taiwan and Hong Kong are thorns in Beijing's side -- both saw huge anti-China protests in 2014, known respectively as the Sunflower Movement and Umbrella Movement.

Ties with self-ruling Taiwan have worsened under China-sceptic President Tsai Ing-wen, who took office last year.

Beijing still sees Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified and wants Tsai to acknowledge that the island is part of "one China", which she has refused to do.

In semi-autonomous Hong Kong, frustration at a lack of political reform and fears that freedoms are under threat have led to the emergence of groups calling for self-determination or even independence from China, infuriating Beijing.

The new "Taiwan Congressional Hong Kong Caucus" comprises 18 lawmakers who say they want to help promote democracy in Hong Kong, including Huang Kuo-chang -- one of the leaders of the Sunflower Movement and now a lawmaker with the New Power Party, which he heads.

Four other NPP legislators are part of the caucus, with the other members coming from Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

"We have seen that the Beijing government continues to suppress Hong Kong people's pursuit of true democracy," Huang told reporters Monday.

The caucus would offer "assistance" by helping campaigners and lawmakers in both places to exchange views and discuss public policies, he added.

Huang and other top activists from the Sunflower Movement have been barred from entering Hong Kong since 2014.

High-profile Hong Kong pro-democracy activists and lawmakers, including Joshua Wong and Nathan Law, also attended the launch.

Law described Taiwan as an "ally".

"We need to be united and share our experiences more as we are faced with suppression," Wong added.

The 20-year-old emphasised that he did not advocate independence for Hong Kong -- his and Law's party Demosisto is calling for self-determination.

But political analyst Willy Lam said Beijing would not differentiate between independence activists and campaigners like Law and Wong.

Lam predicted Chinese authorities would "ferociously attack" the new group as evidence of collusion between pro-independence forces.

Taiwan has never formally declared independence from China and Beijing has said it would react with force if it ever did.

Tsai's DPP is traditionally pro-independence, fuelling Beijing's suspicion of her government.

Hong Kong is deeply divided into those calling for more democracy and pro-China voices as it approaches the July 1 handover anniversary.

Law was attacked by pro-Beijing demonstrators at Hong Kong airport in January on his return from a trip to Taiwan.

Wong and Law were both greeted by pro-China protesters in Taipei on that visit, during which they participated in an exchange of views between the democratic movements of Hong Kong and Taiwan.
South Korea's new President Moon Jae-In speaks during a press conference at the presidential Blue House in Seoul on May 10, 2017

South Korean President Moon Jae-In on Monday urged parliament quickly to approve his $10-billion stimulus plan aimed at tackling youth unemployment, warning the issue could otherwise become a "national disaster".

Moon, who took power in May after the ousting of impeached president Park Geun-Hye, has proposed a 11.2-trillion won ($10 billion) extra budget aimed at tackling unemployment and strengthening welfare provisions in Asia's fourth-largest economy.

The proposal, which requires parliamentary approval, aims to help create 110,000 jobs -- including 71,000 in the public sector -- in response to a record-high jobless rate for the under-30s.

"Unless we come up with drastic measures, the youth unemployment crisis could develop into a national disaster... creating a lost generation of jobless youth," Moon said in a speech to lawmakers.

"Many say that today's youth will become the first generation whose quality of life will be worse than their parents'... the top priority of the extra budget is young South Koreans," he said.

Decades of rapid growth saw the South rise from the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War to become a member of the OECD group of leading economies, but economic expansion has slowed for the past decade.

The jobless rate among those aged below 30 hit 11.2 percent in April, a record and more than double the rate for the overall working population.

Economic frustrations and inequality in wealth and opportunities were among the factors that fuelled mass protests which saw Park impeached and arrested over corruption.

Moon blamed the lack of quality jobs for rising income inequality. He urged lawmakers to help tackle the double challenge posed by rising unemployment and inequality by passing the extra budget.

"Jobs should be created both by private and public sectors, but I believe that the public sector should come forward first to help accelerate the job creation process," he said.

The latest stimulus plan seeks to create public-sector jobs including firefighters, police and social workers, while offering more aid to women on maternity leave and opening more day care centres and nursing homes for the elderly and dementia patients.

The lack of day care centres and a male-dominated workaholic corporate culture, in which maternity leave is seen as an unaffordable luxury, are blamed for the ever-falling birthrate.

The birthrate -- one of the world's lowest -- led to concerns about the burden of future welfare funding for a rapidly ageing population.
Ali Kassem had never seen the sea before he fled his home in Syria for Lebanon, but now he's a regular in the waves and dreams of his own surf school.

Ali Kassem had never seen the sea before he fled his home in Syria for Lebanon, but now he's a regular in the waves and dreams of his own surf school.

Dressed in a purple wet suit, the 17-year-old confidently coats his board with wax and smears sunscreen on his face before dashing into the sea.

He disappears behind one wave and another until his small figure is barely visible from the beach at all, as though he were headed for the horizon.

"When I'm on my board, I feel free. I feel like I'm in another life," the teenager says shyly at a beach in Jiyeh, 30 kilometres (20 miles) south of Beirut.

Kassem is from Aleppo city, though he says he remembers little from his childhood in Syria.

Syrian refugee Ali Kassem surfing off the shore of the town of Jiyeh, south of the Lebanese capital Beirut.

His father has worked in Jiyeh for the past 25 years, and after Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011, he decided to bring his family to Lebanon as well.

Kassem has two brothers and three sisters, but speaks little about his family and his life before he became a refugee.

A third brother died in the conflict, "killed in Aleppo at the beginning of the war", he says, without giving more details.

His life now is dominated by surfing.

"Surfing is like an art. It allows me to express my personality," he says, his eyes sparkling in his tanned face.

"I become someone else. I have more confidence in myself."

- A makeshift board -

Kassem's entry into surfing came through Ali el-Amine, who became his mentor after meeting him in 2015.

Dressed in a purple wet suit, the 17-year-old confidently coats his board with wax and smears sunscreen on his face before dashing into the sea.

At the sandy Jiyeh beach, a popular spot for surfers, Amine spotted Kassem trying his luck in the waves with a makeshift board.

"He was trying to surf with a piece of polystyrene he had cut into a plank shape," says the 34-year-old, who runs a surf school in Jiyeh.

"He was very thin and wearing nothing but shorts. I was afraid he would drown," he says.

But after watching for a few minutes, Amine's fears began to recede.

"He knew exactly what he was doing," he says.

Kassem had spent long hours observing surfers in the water at Jiyeh before deciding to try himself.

"I didn't know this sport existed. The first time I saw the surfers, I wanted to try it," he says with a smile.

Amine decided to take Kassem under his wing, offering him a spot at his surf school and giving him a wet suit and board "on the condition he was good in class and behaved with his parents".

And two years later, the guidance has borne fruit, says Amine, who considers Kassem like "a son".

"He's better than some people who have been surfing for years," he says.

- 'Surf Syria' -

Kassem has stuck with the sport, convinced it can help him "build a better life".

Ali Kassem's ultimate goal is "to become the first professional surfer in Syria and open a surf school in Latakia when the war is over".

During the summer, he works at Amine's school, repairing boards, welcoming customers and helping during lessons.

The job provides income that helps his family, along with his father's wages and support from the UN refugee agency.

"My family really support me in surfing. They have no problem with it," he says.

"Right now I'm teaching my younger brother how to surf, and I'm going to teach my younger sister as well."

But, while Kassem says he has become used to life in Lebanon, he still dreams of returning home.

His ultimate goal is "to become the first professional surfer in Syria and open a surf school in Latakia when the war is over".

Latakia is a popular seaside destination, and a government stronghold that has been largely spared the worst ravages of Syria's conflict, which has killed over 320,000 people.

The International Surfing Association does not so far count a Syrian surf school among its members, and to help Kassem achieve his goal, Amine has set up a campaign on the GoFundMe crowdfunding platform.

The school project might still be far off, but Kassem already has a name for it: "It will be called Surf Syria," he says.


Rather than worry about robots overtaking us, it's more interesting (and realistic) to consider how we might collaborate with our machines. At Institute for the Future where I'm a researcher, we have forecasted how the real power of automation will come from "humans plus machines." BB pal Ken Goldberg, director of UC Berkeley's People and Robots Initiative, and his colleagues are making that real through their pioneering work on cloud robotics and human-centered automation. Forget the Singularity, Ken says. It's all about the "Multiplicity." From Ken's op-ed in the Wall Street Journal:

Most computer scientists agree that predictions about robots stealing jobs are greatly exaggerated. Rather than worrying about an impending Singularity, consider instead what we might call Multiplicity: diverse groups of people and machines working together to solve problems.





Multiplicity is not science fiction. A combination of machine learning, the wisdom of crowds, and cloud computing already underlies tasks Americans perform every day: searching for documents, filtering spam emails, translating between languages, finding news and movies, navigating maps, and organizing photos and videos



While scientists still don't understand Multiplicity very well, they are discovering clear benefits to machine diversity. Researchers have developed a family of techniques known as "ensemble learning," in which a set of specialized algorithms work together to produce a single result. One variant, known as "random forests," was developed by Leo Breiman and Adele Cutler at the University of California, Berkeley. They proved that in complex problems with noisy data, a group of "decision trees" will always outperform a single treeso long as the trees are sufficiently diverse.





By the same token, the benefits and challenges of human diversity have been recognized for centuries in political science, economics and sociology.
Iranian policemen evacuate a child from the parliament building in Tehran on June 7, 2017 during an attack on the complex

Iran has tracked down and killed several suspected jihadists including the alleged mastermind of twin attacks in Tehran last week, a security official and a minister have said.

Dozens of suspects have been arrested since the attacks on Wednesday killed 17 people in the first assault in Iran to be claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group.

Police late Sunday killed four IS suspects in the southern province of Hormozgan, the ISNA news agency on Monday reported police chief Azizollah Maleki as saying.

"Two of the killed criminals were foreign nationals... while the identity of other members is being investigated," Maleki said, adding that weapons and an IS flag were seized during the raid.

Iran has said five Iranians, who had joined IS and travelled to its Iraq and Syria bastions, carried out Wednesday's attacks on the parliament and the shrine of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Late Saturday, Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said the alleged mastermind behind the attacks had been tracked down and killed outside the country.

"The mastermind who controlled the team... who had fled outside the country... paid the price for his crimes, with the cooperation of intelligence services of allied countries," Alavi told state television, without providing further details.

At least 41 IS suspects have been arrested since the attacks, according to Alavi, who said Iran has dismantled suspected jihadist cells with increasing frequency in recent months.

In the entire year to March 2017 "we dismantled 45 cells, while in the past two-and-a-half months alone we have dismantled more than 25 terrorist cells," he said.

Officials have reported the arrests of suspected IS members in and around Tehran, as well as in the country's centre, southern governorates, and western provinces near the Iraqi border.
Indian troops patrol following clashes between police and protesters in Darjeeling on June 8

Thousands of tourists fled the Indian hill resort of Darjeeling on Monday after local activists demanding the creation of a new Indian state warned that a general strike could degenerate into violence.

Hundreds of troops and riot police patrolled the streets of the famed tea-producing resort in eastern India as panicked tourists packed their bags.

Riots and arson attacks in Darjeeling last week left 12 people injured and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) group warned at the weekend that "untoward" events could happen when the general strike started Monday.

The hills are famous for the Darjeeling tea whose production is jealously guarded. It is also famed for its "toy train" -- a 78-kilometer uphill ride from New Jalpaiguri.

But the troubles have dealt a major blow to the crucial tourism industry.

Pradip Lama, secretary of the Darjeeling Tourist Association of Travel Agents, told AFP that worried visitors -- most of them from other parts of India -- are leaving and nearly 70 percent of bookings have been cancelled.

"Till Sunday, 7,000 tourists left Darjeeling," Lama said.

The GJM wants a new state named Gorkhaland in the hill region, which is now part of West Bengal.

Tensions have also risen over a government decision to introduce the Bengali language in schools. Indigenous Gorkhas, who mainly speak Nepali, are furious.

"We had heard about the trouble and still reached the hill resort on Friday, hoping that the situation would be normal," Priya Roy, a visitor from the southern city of Bangalore, told AFP.

"We have decided to leave Darjeeling after GJM's warning to tourists."

Another tourist said their group's vehicle was mobbed by slogan-shouting protesters who demanded to know their identities.

"I clutched at my mothers arm even as she begged with folded hands, pleading with them to let us go," Kamalika Chatterjee told AFP.

Bimal Gurung, head of the GJM, told AFP his warning to the tourists was "for their own safety" as the events could worsen anytime if his group launches a full-scale campaign for a separate state.

Darjeeling district magistrate Joyoshi Dasgupta said at least a dozen GJM activists had been detained for allegedly instigating the violence.

"A group of suspected GJM activists tried to set fire to government offices... on Monday. Security was stepped up in front of all government offices in the hills of Darjeeling as a precautionary measure," Dasgupta said.

The GJM denied its members were involved in violence.

The Gorkhas have been campaigning for decades for the new state. They say Bengali-speaking outsiders have exploited their resources and imposed their culture and language.

A similar agitation in 2007 led to the granting of some administrative powers to local people.

Many groups in India have waged similar campaigns to break away from larger states, mostly on linguistic and ethnic grounds or in hopes of economic benefits.

The last successful agitation led to the formation of Telangana state in 2014.

India is made up of 29 states and seven federally administered territories, which include the capital region New Delhi.
British and Irish Lions prop Kyle Sinckler attends an England training session at Twickenham stadium in London in March 2017

British and Irish Lions prop Kyle Sinckler wants to get in the faces of the Otago Highlanders on Tuesday, but without the lack of discipline that has often landed him in trouble.

The Harlequins and England front-rower admitted he has let his aggressive streak get the better of him in the past before receiving a ticking-off from more experienced team-mates.

Sinckler's club colleagues Adam Jones and James Horwill told him to calm down or risk his career and it has paid off with the 24-year-old set for his second Lions start in Dunedin.

He said the turning point was a match at Wasps last year when he came on at half-time furious at how poorly his team was playing.

"I could've probably been sent off about two or three times in that game. They sat me down on that Monday after and took it upon themselves to tell me: 'Look you've got to stop it'," he said.

"They said it's always me starting the fights and costing the team.

"I needed to sit back and think if Adam Jones -- 95 caps for Wales, and James Horwill -- 62 caps and Australia captain, have gone out of their way to speak to me then I needed to sort myself out."

Sinckler has never made a Test start for England but impressed against the Provincial Barbarians.

- 'Play on the edge' -

With another chance to shine against the Highlanders, his combination of power and set-piece technique could yet see him make the Lions side to face the All Blacks.

"I want to be physical, I want to play on the edge and in people's faces, but in the right way, not to the detriment of the team," he said.

"That conversation with James and Adam put things in perspective for me. I'm still growing, still becoming a man, and learning from my mistakes."

Sinckler, who has a surprising turn of pace for a 122-kilogramme (19.2-stone) prop forward, played in the backs as a youth and said he may show off some of his old skills in Dunedin.

"I enjoy having the ball in my hands and running lines off number nine and 10," he said.

Lions captain Sam Warburton said the covered roof of the Highlanders' Forsyth Barr stadium should make for a faster game than Saturday's 12-3 win over the Crusaders in Christchurch.

"It's a great ground to play in, so I'd imagine the scoreline will be a little bit different to the Crusaders game, it was quite slippy out there," the Welsh flanker said.

"I'm sure it's going to be perhaps a little bit quicker, a little bit more ball in play and some more points scored for sure."
The Afghan government has blamed the Haqqani network for a catastrophic truck bombing in Kabul's diplomatic quarter on May 31, the deadliest in the Afghan capital since 2001 which killed more than 150 people

The head of the Taliban-allied Haqqani network has ruled out any involvement in a wave of deadly bombings in Kabul, reiterating the group's denial as it faces widespread condemnation.

The Afghan government has blamed the Haqqani network for a catastrophic truck bombing in Kabul's diplomatic quarter on May 31, the deadliest in the Afghan capital since 2001 which killed more than 150 people.

The Taliban disavowed any responsibility soon after the explosion, with the group's deputy leader Sirajuddin Haqqani repeating the denial in an audio message posted on the group's website on Sunday.

"We have already condemned the (attacks). The Islamic Emirate (Taliban) is not behind them," he said.

"The enemy wants to defame Mujahideen and create a distance between the nation and Mujahideen."

The bombing triggered angry protests and street clashes in Kabul on June 2, prompting police to respond with live rounds that left at least four people dead.

A day later, 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 statements ruling out any Taliban hand in the bombings have fallen on sceptical ears in Kabul.

"Despite the Taliban's categorical denial, the attack bears all the hallmarks of the movement," Borhan Osman of the Afghanistan Analysts Network wrote in a recent assessment of the May 31 bombing.

"The movement's operational capacity and logistical access to plan and execute such a bombing is beyond question."

Haqqani also rejected it was behind a recent bombing near the Grand Mosque in western Herat city, which left seven people dead and 16 others wounded.

"Even if such incidents... have happened in the past, we have apologised and asked people for forgiveness," Haqqani said.

Since the Kabul truck bombing, protesters have set up sit-in camps in at least six locations around the capital, including one near the bombing site, demanding the resignation of President Ashraf Ghani's government.

In an apparent effort to appease the protesters, the Afghan government on Sunday sacked two top security officials including Kabul police chief over the killing of demonstrators on June 2.

Ghani, who is under public pressure to carry out security reforms, has also pledged a thorough investigation into the bombings, which drew an avalanche of global condemnation.
Mediko Azwar (R), Grab Indonesia's marketing director, told AFP the company was "exploring the possibility" of launching GrabHeli on a commercial basis and a feasibility study was being carried out

Indonesian executives weary of Jakarta's notorious traffic jams may in future be able to order a helicopter ride with their smartphones through a new service being considered by ride-hailing firm Grab.

The Southeast Asian company conducted a trial run of GrabHeli at the weekend, offering free rides to some customers over the megacity that is home to 10 million inhabitants and some of the world's worst gridlock.

Grab already operates popular services in Indonesia, with its app allowing users to hail rides in private cars or on motorbike taxis. It is locked in fierce competition with local ride-hailing startup Go-Jek and US company Uber for market share.

Mediko Azwar, Grab Indonesia's marketing director, told AFP the company was "exploring the possibility" of launching GrabHeli on a commercial basis and a feasibility study was being carried out.

"We see that the public need is there, there are executives who need to move from one point to another in a short period of time," he added.

The plan is still in the early stages, and Azwar did not give details about potential pricing.

Jakarta's monster traffic jams are a headache for company executives seeking to dash between meetings, and it is usual for appointments to be postponed or cancelled entirely due to gridlock.

Grab is not the first company to experiment with a helicopter service in Jakarta -- in 2015, Uber offered free rides to residents in its so-called UberChopper, but it has yet to roll out the service commercially.

And the city's super-rich have turned to helicopters to help them get around the city on occasion in the past, sometimes hiring them at vast expense.

Grab operates in six countries -- Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

The Singapore-headquartered firm's core product platform includes private cars, motorbikes and taxi-hailing services which are rapidly gaining popularity in a region that is home to over 600 million people and a rising middle class.
Qatar's central bank governor Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud al-Thani attends a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Kuwait City on March 24, 2010

Qatar's Central Bank said on Monday banking transactions at home and abroad were continuing normally despite the diplomatic crisis which has seen several Gulf countries sever ties with the emirate.

In a statement released on the state-run Qatar News Agency (QNA), Central Bank governor Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud Al-Thani dismissed concerns over liquidity levels.

"The banking and banking transactions and procedures in the State of Qatar continue to be normal, both at the level of local financial transactions and between the Qatari banking sector and foreign banks," the statement read.

It added that the governor "stressed that the liquidity levels in the Qatari banking sector are good and meet all customer requirements".

Doha is seeking to reassure customers as it is gripped by the biggest diplomatic crisis to hit the region in years.

Qatar has found itself isolated following a decision last week by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and others to cut ties with Doha over its support for "terrorism", a charge the emirate vehemently rejects.

Saudi Arabia on June 5 sealed Qatar's only land border, and the country has been banned from using the airspace of both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Qatari citizens have been ordered to leave the two countries within two weeks.

The UAE has also ordered its banks to stop dealing with major Qatari lenders.

Rumours have circulated in Doha that some exchanges have been hit by a shortage of dollars, potentially affecting remittances by Qatar's migrant workforce, estimated at more than two million people.

The World Bank estimates that expat workers in Qatar sent home $11.4 billion (10.1 billion euros) in 2015.
A Palestinian family eats dinner in the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip during a power cut on June 11, 2017

Israel will reduce electricity supplies to the Gaza Strip after funding cuts by Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, a minister said Monday, worsening an already severe shortage in the Hamas-run enclave.

The security cabinet decided Sunday to reduce the daily amount supplied to Gaza by around 45 minutes, Israeli media reported.

Gazans currently receive only three or four hours of electricity a day, delivered from the territory's own power station and others in Israel and Egypt.

A Palestinian street vendor at his beach-side stall in Gaza City during a power outage on June 11, 2017

Residents who can afford it use generators to power their homes or businesses in the impoverished Palestinian enclave of some two million people.

Israeli Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, also a cabinet member, told army radio the reduction was due to an ongoing row between Abbas and his rivals Hamas.

Abbas has reportedly decided to slash electricity payments for Gaza in a further bid to pressure Hamas.

But the reduction has also sparked fears of another upsurge in violence, with Israel and Hamas having fought three wars since 2008.

Hamas has run Gaza since 2007, when it seized it in a near civil war from Abbas's Fatah following an electoral dispute over parliamentary polls won by the Islamist movement.

Abbas runs the Palestinian Authority, the internationally recognised Palestinian leadership based in the occupied West Bank.

Multiple attempts at reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah have failed, but the Palestinian Authority (PA) has continued to pay Israel for some electricity delivered to Gaza.

Abbas recently decided to "significantly reduce" payments for Gazan electricity, Erdan said.

"It would be illogical for Israel to pay part of the bill," he said.

Israel and the PA cooperate in different areas despite the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but Israel views Hamas as a terrorist organisation and blockades Gaza.

Electricity supply is a major concern in the hot and cramped territory, which is currently marking the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.

"It is not definite this will cause a military confrontation. It is possible that the Palestinians begin to understand the catastrophe that Hamas means for them," Erdan said.

According to Israeli media, the PA decided to cut electricity payments for Gaza in April.

Hamas said then the "catastrophic decision" would have "dangerous" consequences.
The Syrian Democratic Forces, a member of which is shown on June 11, 2017, is battling to retake the city of Raqa from the Islamic State group

US-backed Syrian fighters battling the Islamic State group pushed closer to the Old City in the jihadist stronghold of Raqa on Monday, a monitor said.

The Kurdish and Arab fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) entered Raqa for the first time almost a week ago, after months of battle to encircle the northern city.

In the east of the city, they hold the Al-Meshleb neighbourhood, captured days after the operation inside the city began, and on Sunday they seized their first district in the west, Al-Rumaniya.

On Monday, fighting was continuing on both fronts, with the SDF advancing quickly in the eastern neighbourhood of Al-Senaa, which leads to the Old City of Raqa, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said.

"The SDF forces now control 70 percent of Al-Senaa," next to Al-Meshleb, Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

"If they take Al-Senaa it will be the most important advance in the battle for Raqa because it brings them to the centre of the city where the most important IS positions are," said Abdel Rahman.

"When they have captured Al-Senaa, the real battle will begin."

The fighting is expected to become more difficult as the SDF approaches the more densely populated centre of the city.

"This fight will be tough," SDF fighter Berkhdan Qamishli told AFP on Sunday.

"As we get close to the city centre, we'll be fighting inside multi-storey buildings. Urban battles are tougher than fighting in villages, but we will fight until we control the whole city."

- 'Huge number of mines' -

Raqa

In the west of the city, meanwhile, SDF forces were battling to enter Hatin, the neighbourhood next to Al-Rumaniya, captured on Sunday.

The SDF reported "fierce clashes between fighters and the terrorists" on the two fronts and said 23 IS members had been killed, without specifying in which neighbourhood or when.

An SDF source told AFP that fighters had uncovered a series of tunnels dug by IS jihadists in Al-Meshleb.

"We are moving carefully and cautiously to avoid the huge number of mines that IS has planted in the city," the source added.

An AFP correspondent inside the west of the city on Sunday said the approach was littered with mangled motorcycles and unexploded mortar rounds fired by IS.

The bodies of several alleged IS fighters could be seen on the empty streets, and SDF fighters appeared on edge over the possibility of IS-planted mines and weaponised drones.

The SDF was also advancing outside the city's northern outskirts, where progress has been slower.

After repeated assaults, the SDF seized parts of the heavily fortified Division 17 military base as well as all of an adjacent sugar factory, the Observatory said.

IS had been using the base and the factory to defend the northern approach into Raqa, and the US-led coalition has carried out heavy strikes in the area, destroying most of the factory, the monitor said.

- Civilians trapped -

Tens of thousands have fled Syria's Raqa city and its surroundings since November, including to the northern town of Ain Issa, where a displaced girl and baby are shown on June 10, 2017

Originally a Syrian army base, Division 17 was seized by IS in 2014 when it took control of swathes of the wider Raqa province.

IS seized Raqa in 2014, transforming it into the de facto Syrian capital of its self-declared "caliphate".

It became infamous as the scene of some of the group's worst atrocities including public beheadings, and it is also thought to have been a hub for the planning of attacks overseas.

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.

Tens of thousands have fled from the city and its surroundings since the SDF announced their operation to capture Raqa in November.

The United Nations estimates around 160,000 people remain in the city, where conditions have deteriorated, according to activists.

"Raqa is Being Slaughtered Silently," an anti-IS group, has reported closed bakeries for lack of flour, as well as electricity and water outages.

Civilians trapped in Raqa also face the threat of being caught in the crossfire, with more than 60 killed in the city since the June 6 launch of the SDF operation, according to the Observatory.

The monitor said five civilians had been killed between Sunday night and Monday morning in air strikes and rocket fire on several parts of Raqa city.
Al-Qaeda has flourished in Yemen as the country's deadly two-year-old civil conflict shows no sign of waning

A soldier was killed and two others were wounded in an Al-Qaeda attack Monday on a checkpoint in Yemen's Hadramawt province that also left three assailants dead, the army said.

"A soldier was martyred and two soldiers were wounded in an attack by Al-Qaeda gunmen on our checkpoint near the Dowen military camp," said Major General Faraj al-Bahsani, a regional commander..

Three of the assailants were shot dead and two injured in an exchange of gunfire that followed the attack in the southeastern province, Bahsani told AFP.

Al-Qaeda extremists remain active in the vast region of Hadramawt, where a number of leaders of Yemen's Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) are based.

Since January, the United States has intensified its controversial air attacks on AQAP, which it considers the global terror network's most dangerous branch.

Al-Qaeda has flourished in Yemen as the country's deadly two-year-old civil conflict shows no sign of waning.

More than 8,000 people have been killed and 40,000 wounded since an Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia joined the Yemen war in 2015, according to the UN's World Health Organization.

The coalition is allied with the UN-recognised government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, whose forces are battling Iran-backed Huthi rebels for control of the impoverished country.

Along with Sanaa, the Shiite rebels still control most of the north and the Red Sea coastline, including the key port of Hodeida.

The UN has warned Yemen is at risk of famine, with 17 million people facing dire food shortages. The country has also been hit by a cholera outbreak that has killed more than 780 people.
An Iraqi from Khazir camp for the displaced from the battleground city of Mosul emerges refreshed from a swim in a nearby river on June 11, 2017

With bare tree branches as diving boards, they take off and plunge into Iraq's Khazir River, a rare moment of respite for boys forced from their homes in the battleground city of Mosul.

The river which flows into the mighty Tigris has been providing a welcome escape for dozens of youths displaced by fighting to oust Islamic State (IS) group jihadists from Mosul, ever since the boys made a breach in the fence at their Wazir camp.

They make their way down to the river -- itself the historic site of a battle between Alexander the Great and Darius of Persia -- along a dusty path.

"We come to freshen up a bit now that it's Ramadan and so hot!" said Hamad Shihab Hamad, 19, emerging from the water.

Iraqi youths from Khazir camp for the displaced swim in a nearby river between Arbil and the embattled city of Mosul on June 11, 2017

This year's Muslim dawn-to-dusk fasting month of Ramadan, which started in late May, comes at a time when the mercury can soar to 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) in the Mosul area.

"People have a good time with their friends until late afternoon and then go back to the camp," said Hamad. "We have no work and nothing to do... we're at the camp all day."

The boys clap and cheer every time one of them prepares to jump.

In the absence of a lifeguard, some children, especially younger ones, have taken to wearing rubber rings on their arms or makeshift floats. AFP journalists saw a four-year-old struggle and have to be rescued.

- 'Our only fun' -

Khazir camp, southwest of Mosul, has become home to more than 32,000 people displaced by the battle launched in October by Iraqi forces to expel IS from Iraq's second city.

Iraqi security forces are more than seven months into a massive operation to retake Mosul from IS, which overran the city and swathes of other territory three years ago.

Now, IS's grip on Mosul has been reduced to the Old City and several nearby areas.

Khazir is one of the only camps for the displaced that does have electricity -- but only for the average fours a day that the generators operate, making life almost unbearable especially those observing the Ramadan fast.

"It's hot in the tent and the generator doesn't always work... There's nothing much to do in the camp, so I come here for a swim and for a bit of fun with my brothers and cousins," said 13-year-old Ibrahim Hassan Ibrahim.

Iraqi youths swim in a river near a camp for internally displaced people between Arbil and Mosul on June 11, 2017

"Swimming is the only fun we have," said Saleh, 38, who brought along his five children.

Up until a few weeks ago, leaving the camp which is secured by the Kurdish authorities was not allowed. Security forces quickly repaired a previous breach in the perimeter fence, residents say.

But with the rise in temperatures, the rules have apparently been relaxed.

"Since the start of Ramadan, people have been leaving their tents to come swimming in the cool waters of the river," said 16-year-old Nizar.
Indian police detain a protesting farmer in Fanda village on the outskirts of Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh state on June 9, 2017

A western Indian state has agreed to write off loans to farmers estimated to be worth nearly $5 billion after 11 days of protests that have strangled supplies to the country's financial capital, Mumbai.

Maharashtra state's chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said his government would pay off the loans, bowing to the demands of thousands of farmers who had gone on strike.

"(The) government agrees for loan waiver for farmers," he tweeted late Sunday.

He said the state government would also agree to demands to increase the price of milk.

"Farmers and their betterment was, is and will always be this government's top priority," he added.

He did not give a value for the loans but they are estimated to be worth around 305 billion rupees ($4.75 billion).

Maharashtra is one of several largely agricultural Indian states that have suffered disappointing rains and crop failures in recent years.

More than 1,417 farmers killed themselves in Maharashtra in 2016, according to official figures.

The loans pledge follows a similar move in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, whose new Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has pledged to write off $5.6 billion in debt to help struggling farmers.

India has nearly 260 million farmers and farm labourers and over half the population lives in rural areas, but agriculture accounts for just 17 percent of its gross domestic product.

Farmers around the country have been pressing for more government assistance, often through protests.

Five were killed in Madhya Pradesh state last week when police fired on a group of protesting farmers.

However, India's central bank governor last week criticised moves to write off agricultural loans, saying they undermined the market and hit private lenders.
An aircraft from Saudi carrier flynas at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh

A Saudi Arabian airline on Monday tweeted a warm welcome to pilots and staff from Qatar Airways whom it hopes to poach after the kingdom severed air links with Doha.

On Twitter early Monday, budget carrier flynas said it "welcomes the Saudi employees working on Qatar Airways airbus A320, and invites anyone with the desire to join flynas and work among its crew".

Flynas tweeted that it seeks not only pilots but also sales, security, maintenance and other personnel.

In the Gulf's biggest diplomatic crisis in years, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and others cut diplomatic ties with Qatar last week after accusing it of supporting extremist groups.

The gas-rich emirate strongly rejects the allegations.

Among the punitive measures Saudi Arabia and its allies imposed was a ban on Qatar Airways flights and a prohibition of the airline's use of surrounding airspace.

Analysts say Qatar Airways' position as a major transcontinental carrier is now threatened.

Saudi carrier flynas, looking to expand in a growing domestic market, in January signed an $8.6-billion (7.6-billion-euro) deal with European manufacturer Airbus to buy 80 A320neo single-aisle jets.
Claims of civilian casualties remain a contentious issue in the war against insurgents in Afghanistan, as President Donald Trump mulls sending more troops into the lengthy conflict

An Afghan father and his two young children were killed Monday when US troops opened fire after their convoy hit a roadside bomb, local authorities said.

The civilian and his sons, aged seven and 10, died near their home in the eastern province of Nangarhar, where American forces are conducting joint operations against militants from the Islamic State group.

Claims of civilian casualties remain a contentious issue in the war against insurgents in Afghanistan, as President Donald Trump mulls sending more troops into the lengthy conflict.

"A roadside bomb hit a foreign forces convoy in Ghani Khail district this morning," said provincial spokesman Attaullah Khogyani.

"The troops then opened fire and killed three civilians nearby, a father and his two sons."

The account was confirmed by the district police chief, Sekandar Safi.

The US military confirmed they opened fire in "self defence" but said they had so far not received any official allegations of civilian casualties.

"We take civilian casualties very seriously and all allegations are thoroughly investigated," the military said in a statement.

"The incident is under investigation and more information will be released as appropriate."

Nangarhar is a stronghold of Islamic State and Afghan forces backed by US troops have been battling for months to drive them out.

On Saturday three American soldiers were killed and one wounded when an Afghan commando opened fire on them in Nangarhar's Achin district, in an insider attack claimed by the Taliban.

In April the US military dropped its largest non-nuclear bomb ever used in combat on a complex of caves in Achin used by IS fighters.

The deployment of the so-called Mother Of All Bombs killed dozens of jihadists, but fighting in the area has continued unabated.
The Bab el-Mandab Strait off Yemen, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, is a key passage for world trade

An international naval coalition said Monday it will step up its presence near a strategic shipping lane off Yemen as it warned of risks for boats transiting through the area.

The Bab el-Mandab Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, is a key passage for world trade.

"Recent attacks against merchant shipping in the Gulf of Aden and Bab el-Mandab have highlighted that there are still risks associated with transits through these waters," the Combined Maritime Forces said in a statement.

A small boat exploded late last month "for an unknown reason" in a thwarted attack on a tanker in the area, the statement said.

"In response to these threats, the Combined Maritime Forces will be increasing the naval presence" in the western part of the Gulf of Aden, said the coalition.

The Combined Maritime Forces is a 31-state naval partnership, based in Bahrain and led by the US, that oversees security in some international waters including the Gulf of Aden.

Yemen is locked in a war between government forces backed by a Saudi-led alliance and Iran-supported rebels, who control much of the country's Red Sea coastline.

Earlier this month, an oil tanker came under fire off Yemen while passing through the Bab al-Mandab strait into the Red Sea, according to the Saudi-led alliance.

In March, the United States warned Yemen's Huthi rebels posed a threat to free movement into and out of the Red Sea.
Pope Francis has ordered rebel priests in Nigeria to write to him personally pledging "total obedience" following the spat over the Vatican's choice of local bishop

Pope Francis has given church officials in southern Nigeria a 30-day ultimatum to obey him by accepting the nomination of a bishop -- or face being suspended from office.

During talks with a Catholic delegation from Nigeria, the pope demanded that priests and church members in the southern diocese of Ahiara write to him personally to "ask his forgiveness", the Holy See said in a statement at the weekend.

"In the letter, one must clearly manifest total obedience to the pope, and whoever writes must be willing to accept the bishop whom the pope sends and has appointed," said the statement.

It gave the faithful a 30-day deadline for sending such letters, which ends on July 9.

"Whoever does not do this will be ipso facto suspended a divinis and will lose his current office," it warned.

The dispute involves Monseigneur Peter Okpaleke who was named bishop of the Ahiara diocese in 2012 by Pope Benedict, Francis' predecessor.

But his appointment was rejected on ethnic grounds by the local priests, who protested over the fact the Vatican had not named someone from their own diocese.

As a result, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, the archbishop of Abuja, was appointed the following year as the apostolic administrator of the diocese.

During his talks with the Nigerian delegation at the Vatican on Thursday, at which both Okpaleke and Onaiyekan were present, the pope denounced the situation as "unacceptable", saying he was "deeply saddened."
Donald Trump invited Narendra Modi to Washington after the Indian leader rang him in January to congratulate the new US president on his inauguration

Donald Trump will host Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House this month, US and Indian officials said Monday, as the world's two-largest democracies diverge on tackling climate change.

In a statement, India's foreign ministry said the two leaders would meet on June 26 for the first time after Modi arrives in Washington for a two-day visit.

"Their discussions will provide a new direction for deeper bilateral engagement on issues of mutual interest," the ministry statement said.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer later said that Trump wanted the meeting to advance "our common priorities fighting terrorism, promoting economic growth and reforms and expanding security cooperation in it the Pacific region".

"The two leaders will look to outline a common vision for the partnership that's worthy of India's 1.6 billion citizens."

Trump invited Modi to Washington after the Indian leader rang him in January to congratulate the new president on his inauguration.

During the call, Trump underscored that the US "considers India a true friend and partner in addressing challenges around the world".

But this month, in announcing the US withdrawal from the Paris climate deal, Trump singled out India as a major polluter that he said would gain an edge over the US under the agreement -- a charge New Delhi denied.

Modi vowed India, the world's third-largest polluter, would go "above and beyond" its commitments, as Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj rejected suggestions India acted disingenuously in signing the pact.

Ties between New Delhi and Washington warmed during the Obama years as India sought greater foreign investment and trade ties with Western nations.

But obstacles have already emerged in the early months of the Trump presidency.

A proposed overhaul of H-1B visas -- working permits used by thousands of Indian software engineers to work in the United States -- has caused immense concern.

Modi's flagship "Make In India" policy, designed to reboot local manufacturing and ramp up exports in tandem with foreign investors, could also run aground on Trump's "America first" instincts.

Major US firms such as Walmart and Apple have grown frustrated by regulations and tariffs imposed by Indian authorities as they seek to crack what is a potentially massive market.
A Palestinian family eats dinner in the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip during a power cut on June 11, 2017

Israel will reduce electricity supplies to the Gaza Strip after funding cuts by Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, an Israeli minister said Monday, worsening an already severe shortage in the Hamas-run enclave.

The move has raised fears of a new upsurge in violence, with Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza having fought three wars since 2008.

The security cabinet decided Sunday to reduce the daily amount supplied to Gaza by between 45 and 60 minutes, Israeli media reported.

Gazans currently receive only three or four hours of electricity a day, delivered from the territory's own power station and others in Israel and Egypt.

Residents who can afford it use generators to power their homes or businesses in the impoverished Palestinian enclave of some two million people.

Israeli Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said the reduction was due to an ongoing row between Abbas and his rivals Hamas, but he did not detail the scope of the cuts.

Abbas recently decided to "significantly reduce payments for Gazan electricity," he told army radio. "It would be illogical for Israel to pay part of the bill."

Abbas reportedly decided on the move in a further bid to pressure Hamas.

But the reduction has also sparked fears of fresh violence.

Hamas has run Gaza since 2007, when it seized it in a near civil war from Abbas's Fatah following a dispute over parliamentary elections won by the Islamist movement.

Abbas runs the Palestinian Authority, the internationally recognised Palestinian leadership based in the occupied West Bank.

Multiple attempts at reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah have failed, but the Palestinian Authority (PA) has continued to pay Israel for some electricity delivered to Gaza.

PA official Tariq Reshmawi said for the past 10 years the authority has paid Israel $12.7 million dollars (11.3 million euros) and Egypt $2 million (1.8 million euros) every month for providing power to the strip.

Hamas was responsible for deteriorating conditions in the coastal territory, he told AFP.

"In order to resolve the crisis Hamas must respond to Mahmud Abbas's offer to end the political divisions," he added.

- 'Catastrophe' -

A Palestinian street vendor at his beach-side stall in Gaza City during a power outage on June 11, 2017

Hamas said the cut was made on Abbas's orders and termed it "a catastrophe".

"This decision aggravates the situation and risks an explosion in the Gaza Strip," it said in a statement.

Several protests against power shortages were held in January, including one in which thousands in northern Gaza walked to the local headquarters of the electricity company.

Hamas security forces dispersed the protesters violently, with shots fired in the air and a number of journalists beaten up.

Further protests were prevented by a show of force by Hamas security and jailed demonstrators were released in the following weeks.

Israel and the PA cooperate in different areas despite the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but Israel views Hamas as a terrorist organisation and has imposed a blockade on Gaza.

"My strategy is clear: rehabilitation in exchange for (Hamas) demilitarisation," Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman told the Israeli parliament on Monday.

"If we really want to see change in the Gaza Strip, these are the key words."

Electricity is a major concern in the hot and cramped territory, which is currently marking the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

The United Nations warned last month that the energy crisis was severely harming water supplies and health services and could trigger an outbreak of violence.

It said that 100,000 cubic metres of raw sewage was being discharged into the Mediterranean every day because treatment plants are unable to fully operate.

Erdan said an escalation in the conflict was not inevitable.

"It is not definite this will cause a military confrontation. It is possible that the Palestinians begin to understand the catastrophe that Hamas means for them," he said.

burs-scw/mjs/dv
Hundreds of people have died and 1.3 million have been displaced in months of violence in the Kasai region in Democratic Republic of Congo

A Democratic Republic of Congo military court held a second day of hearings Monday in the trial of a man and a teenager accused of killing two UN experts in March, their lawyer said.

Evariste Ilunga, a 16-year-old student, and Mbayi Kabasele, 30, who sells palm oil, are accused of war crimes, including murder and mutilation, as well as terrorism and taking part in an insurrection.

Their trial follows the March 12 kidnapping of American Michael Sharp and Swedish-Chilean Zaida Catalan, who were investigating mass graves in the restive Kasai region where hundreds of people have died in months of violence.

Their bodies were found 16 days later, with Catalan's decapitated though her head was never found.

The lawyer for the two accused, Tresor Kabangu, told AFP that on Monday the Kananga military court heard the prosecution's response to a defence request for a delay, filed when the trial opened a week ago.

The defence had questioned the court's legitimacy to judge war crimes, saying the imprisonment of the suspects was "illegitimate".

The court said it would hand down its decision on Wednesday.

About 400 people have been killed and 1.3 million displaced in Kasai, according to the UN, since government forces in September killed Kamwina Nsapu, a tribal chief and militia leader who had rebelled against Kabila.

Last week, UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein urged the UN Human Rights Council to conduct an international investigation into abuses in the region, including summary executions, killings of children, recruitment of child soldiers and sexual violence.
Featured Post Mohawk Nation News 'Kahnawake Mohawk Mothers Blazing a Trail' Posted on November 8, 2022 KAHNAWAKE MOHAWK MOTHERS BLAZING A TRAIL Mohawk Nation News https://mohawknationnews.com/blog/2022/11/08/kahnwak...

White Mesa Ute Spiritual March to Shut Down Uranium Mill



Mohawk Warrior Society Book Launch



Lakota Jean Roach: The True Story of Leonard Peltier



Justice for Dad: Taylor Dewey Shares the Harsh Road to Justice



Justice Dept Files Lawsuit Against Rapid City Hotel



Western Shoshone Ian Zabarte Speaks on Radiation



Archive

Search This Blog

About Censored News Censored News is published by Brenda Norrell. Since 2006, Censored News has received more than 20 million pageviews. As a collective of writers, photographers and broadcasters, we publish news of Indigenous Peoples and human rights. Contact publisher Brenda Norrell: brendanorrell@gmail.com

From the publisher Censored News is published by Brenda Norrell, a journalist in Indian country for 40 years. Norrell created Censored News after she was censored and terminated as a staff reporter at Indian Country Today in 2006. She began as a reporter at Navajo Times during the 18 years that she lived on the Navajo Nation. She was a stringer for AP and USA Today and later traveled with the Zapatistas through Mexico. She has been blacklisted by all the mainstream media for 14 years. Contact brendanorrell@gmail.com

Translate
President Donald Trump says the US has had "tremendous success" against the Islamic State group

US President Donald Trump on Monday promised to reveal details of his long-awaited plan for fighting the Islamic State group, saying a press conference will come within weeks.

"We have had tremendous success against ISIS," Trump said at a cabinet meeting at the White House.

"We are going to be having a news conference in two weeks on that fight and you'll see numbers that you would not have believed."

Tackling the group -- which still controls swaths of Syria and Iraq -- was among Trump's most often repeated campaign promises.

Then candidate Trump went as far as to promise to "bomb the hell" out of them and have a military plan on his desk within 30 days of moving into the White House.

Six months after taking office, Trump has yet to sketch out his strategy.

Meanwhile efforts to retake Mosul in Iraq and Raqa in Syria -- the capital of the self-styled caliphate -- have continued apace.

The Pentagon has already taken the decision to arm Kurdish fighters in the assault on Raqa, a move that upset US ally Turkey.

Officials warn that the fight against the Islamic State, while simple on its face, is made more complex by competing interests in Syria.

The United States would like to improve the humanitarian situation, keep Turkey onside, ease the possibilities of clashes with Russia, hasten the transition away from President Bashar al-Assad's rule, limit Iranian influence and keep Syria and Iraq's borders intact.
Uber is expected to release a report this week by former attorney general Eric Holder on misconduct and ethics at the ridesharing giant

A key Uber executive left the company Monday as the ridesharing giant prepared to release results of a far-reaching independent inquiry into misconduct and ethical practices.

A source familiar with the matter said Emil Michael, a senior vice president reported to be close to chief executive Travis Kalanick, was out at Uber, without providing details.

Uber was bracing for more turmoil -- with some news outlets saying Kalanick himself may take a leave of absence -- as a report prepared by former US attorney general Eric Holder was to be given to employees Tuesday.

Uber's board met Sunday with Holder and consultant Tammy Albarran to discuss the findings and "unanimously voted to adopt all the recommendations" of the report, according to the source.

The recommendations were not immediately known, but Uber is facing pressure to rein in its no-holds-barred management style led by Kalanick and to reform a workplace culture criticized for discrimination and cutthroat practices.

Uber also faces questions about its covert use of law enforcement-evading software and tactics apparently aimed at disrupting rivals in the ridesharing business.

As part of the revamping at Uber, Nestle executive Wan Ling Martello was named as an independent board member, according to the source close to the company.

Michael had been linked to a number of questionable practices at Uber, media reports said, including a visit to a South Korean escort-karaoke bar and an attempt to dig up embarrassing information on journalists.

An email from Michael announcing his departure said he would be replaced by another vice president, David Richter, according to The New York Times, which first reported Michael's departure.

- Moment of truth -

It remained unclear what further changes will be made at Uber, which is the world's richest venture-backed startup valued at some $68 billion.

Uber Founder and CEO Travis Kalanick could be forced to take a "leave of absence" amid a management shake-up at the ridesharing company

"It's safe to say that this week will be the week we finally learn just how committed Travis Kalanick and the rest of the senior leadership team at Uber is to meaningful cultural change," said Jan Dawson, an analyst with Jackdaw Research.

The report comes after a series of embarrassing revelations for the company over the past few months.

Last week, Uber said it had fired 20 people following preliminary results of the investigation, after examining 215 claims of discrimination, harassment, unprofessional behavior, bullying, retaliation and "physical security."

The company also ousted Eric Alexander, who headed Asia-Pacific operations, after reports said he read and discussed medical information about a woman raped in India in 2014 during an Uber ride.

Last month, Uber fired executive Anthony Levandowski, who came from Google's self-driving car unit now known as Waymo, for failing to meet a deadline to turn over information for an internal investigation.

Waymo's lawsuit contends that Levandowski in December 2015 downloaded files from a highly confidential design server to a laptop and took the data with him to the startup.

Top engineering executive Amit Singhal resigned in February after the ride-sharing titan learned he ended his career at Google after a sexual harassment complaint, reports said.

In March, Uber's president Jeff Jones resigned after just six months.

The woes so far have not hit Uber's growth trajectory, but some analysts say its problems won't fixed without a change in leadership.

Uber does not file full financial reports but indicated its bookings last year doubled to $20 billion, with net revenue totaling $6.5 billion and an adjusted net loss of $2.8 billion not counting China operations that it sold.

Trip Chowdhry, analyst at Global Equities Research, said Uber is not on the verge of collapse but "they have to reinvent themselves" and "the valuation will be reset."

"They have no focus, no strategy -- they're like rabbits running to the left and to the right with no direction," Chowdhry said.
Guo Wengui, often presented as China's "most wanted," faces a lawsuit in his new home in New York for $50 million over outstanding debts

A Chinese billionaire who made allegations of high-level corruption against Communist Party officials in his homeland and is wanted by authorities in Beijing is facing a lawsuit in New York where he now lives, lawyers said Monday.

Guo Wengui, a real estate tycoon who lives in a luxury Fifth Avenue apartment overlooking Manhattan's Central Park, is being sued by nine creditors for $50 million over outstanding debts, their attorney Kevin Tung told AFP.

They accuse Guo of using complex financial mechanisms to siphon capital from two investment funds, Zenith and Pangu -- in which he held a majority stake -- outside of China.

"Having tried unsuccessfully to seek redress in China, the plaintiffs have turned to New York, where Mr Guo is the owner, either directly or indirectly, of sizeable assets, in order to demand reparations for losses incurred in China," said Tung.

Guo, who left China two years ago, is often presented as "China's most-wanted man."

His accusations have been a thorn in the side of the Communist Party as it prepares for its 19th Congress this coming fall, in which President Xi Jinping -- who launched a much-publicized anti-graft campaign in 2012 -- seeks re-election to another five-year term.

The fugitive billionaire has threatened to release incriminating information about top Chinese officials at a livestreamed press conference coinciding with the leadership gathering.

In particular, Guo said he has details of alleged "overseas transactions" by the family of Wang Qishan, Beijing's all-powerful anti-corruption czar.

On Friday, three executives at the Beijing Pangu Investment fund, which is linked to Guo, confessed to fraud involving 3.2 billion yuan ($470 million) in bank loans at a trial in the northeastern Chinese port city of Dalian.

Guo, who was the main shareholder in the fund, left China in 2015. According to Chinese media reports, he is also accused of paying 60 million yuan ($8.8 million) to disgraced former state security vice-minister Ma Jian.

He is the target of an Interpol "red notice," a non-binding arrest warrant issued by the international policing agency.

The billionaire once again rejected the charges against him on Friday in a message to AFP, in which he wrote, "Of course this isn't true."

"It's very very complicated. It's hard to explain in a few words."
Orlando shooting survivor Jose Ramirez visits the Pulse nightclub, one year after the massacre

Thousands marked the first anniversary Monday of the Orlando massacre that left 49 people dead at the city's Pulse gay nightclub, with US President Donald Trump also tweeting his sympathies.

The shooting spree on June 12, 2016 by Omar Mateen -- who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State before turning his weapons on revelers -- also left more than 50 people wounded.

The building, soon to be converted into a museum, opened its doors at 2am to relatives of the victims and survivors of the attack for a private ceremony attended by city officials in which the names of the dead were read out loud.

"No matter how dark the night, the sun is always going to shine," Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer told the gathering.

Outside, a makeshift memorial was erected with rainbow flags of the gay rights movement, pictures of the slain, flowers, candles, soft toys and other offerings.

The massacre was the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history, and the worst US terror attack since September 11, 2001.

"We will NEVER FORGET the victims who lost their lives one year ago today in the horrific #PulseNightClub shooting," Trump wrote on Twitter.

Forty-nine people dressed as angels, in large white wings and carrying candles, surrounded the building.

The so-called "Angel Force" was formed days after the attack to protect mourners from anti-gay protestors.

"The one silver lining that we can find in all of this, is the amount of love and the amount of care that everybody has for each other," Viviana Torche, one of the people attending the memorial, told local news station WFTV.

At midday, a small group of anti-gay protestors came to the scene, carrying a sign with homophobic slurs, but the majority of the crowd wore rainbow-adorned garb to support gay rights.

Christopher Hansen, paying his respects, told the Orlando Sentinel that he managed to escape the nightclub but stayed outside to help the wounded on the night of the attack.

"The emotion is too much for words," Hansen said.

"I've come back here several times but this was different. Seeing this mural with the faces of the 49, seeing all these people here to support and remember and honor their lives, it's just so beautiful."

- Orlando United Day-

Local authorities declared Monday "Orlando United Day" while Florida Governor Rick Scott said June 12 would be known as "Pulse Remembrance Day," with flags to be flown at half-staff across the state.

A visitor writes a message on a makeshift memorial one year after a gunman killed 49 people and wounded more than 50 others at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida

Scott visited the scene of the shooting early on Monday and observed a minute of silence.

"This was an attack on Orlando, our state, the Hispanic community and on the LGBTQ community. It left a solemn impact on our state that we will carry with us for the rest of our lives," Scott said on Friday, when announcing the new memorial day.

The majority of the victims of the shooting were Hispanic. A quarter of the 2.3 million inhabitants in the greater Orlando area are Hispanic, and half of those are of Puerto Rican heritage, according to the US census bureau.

Mexico's consulate in Orlando also held a ceremony to remember its citizens lost in the tragedy.

Orlando, a city of 260,000 in central Florida, is well known as the host of vast Disney and Universal Studios amusement parks and resorts.

Just before the sun set, thousands of people gathered on the banks of Lake Eola in the center of the city at 7:00 pm (2300 GMT) for another memorial vigil.
General Electric's Jeff Immelt who led the US giant since 2001 will hand his chief executive position over to John Flannery on August 1

General Electric announced a leadership shakeup on Monday as it faces scrutiny after a corporate makeover executed by outgoing chief Jeff Immelt in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis failed to ignite strong growth.

Immelt, 61, will step down as chief executive on August 1, handing the reins to GE Healthcare president John Flannery, a 30-year veteran of the company whose previous roles included country chief in India.

During a conference call with analysts, Immelt said the transition was first discussed in 2013 and GE leadership had targeted summer 2017 to make the change.

But the announcement also comes after activist investor Nelson Peltz, one of the most influential voices on Wall Street, invested in GE, which has been hit hard by the plunge in oil prices. Peltz has pushed GE to deepen cost cuts to boost profits.

Questioned by analysts on the merits of GE's conglomerate model, Flannery, 55, pledged he would undertake "a comprehensive review of the portfolio," with an update in the fall.

But he said he had seen firsthand the benefits of GE's diverse structure while leading the health care division, during which he "borrowed" from the company's technology and global supply chain.

"I see the reality of this in a very tangible way all the time," Flannery said.

The GE transition comes three weeks after Ford abruptly changed chief executives. Others, including Honeywell International and Caterpillar, also have announced new leaders over the last year as traditional industrial companies seek new chiefs to help them adapt to an increasingly digital economy.

- Mixed legacy -

Immelt's 16-year tenure began shortly before the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and was also roiled by the 2008 financial crisis.

In the aftermath of the financial crisis, he oversaw a spate of large divestments from GE Capital to unload what was effectively the fifth biggest US bank.

Immelt, who succeeded the legendary Jack Welch, also led GE through the 2015 purchase of the power assets of French industrial giant Alstom, and a proposed merger with oil services company Baker Hughes engineered to better manage the effects of a two-year slide in oil prices that has dented GE's oil services earnings.

On Monday, US antitrust officials ordered GE to divest a unit that sells chemicals to oil refineries as a condition of winning regulatory approval.

Immelt also has taken steps to beef up GE's technology businesses, including by investing in the 3D printing, which is seen as a growth area.

Despite these efforts, analysts have a mixed views of Immelt's tenure.

"We continue to believe that any new leader here needs a material reset," said JPMorgan Chase analyst C. Stephen Tusa, Jr.

"We are all ears on the new narrative," Tusa said, adding that Flannery will be constrained from making radical changes that could threaten the company's dividend.

CFRA analyst Jim Corridore said while Immelt "should get credit for transforming GE away from consumer finance," the pace of change "has been slow and the company has had execution challenges."

Still, he added, "We think GE remains on the right track with its strategy and expect share performance to improve in the coming year."

Flannery praised Immelt's leadership, saying the changes he made took "courage" and the company now is "clearly better positioned" in its markets because of the outgoing leader's efforts to simplify operations.

Even so, there are "clearly areas where we need to be better," Flannery said. "There are clear areas of concern around cost structure."

GE shares had been down nearly 13 percent in 2017, but Monday they rose 3.6 percent to close at $28.94.
The United States has seen regular protests, as here in San Diego on March 6, against President Donald Trump's revised travel ban

A US appeals court on Monday left in place a block on President Donald Trump's travel ban targeting citizens from six Muslim majority nations -- the latest in a string of judicial blows for the controversial measure.

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit largely upheld an injunction on the ban issued by a lower court, but however said the government was within its right to review the vetting process for people entering the country.

"Immigration, even for the president, is not a one-person show," the ruling said. "The president, in issuing the executive order, exceeded the scope of the authority delegated to him by Congress."

The decision came just ahead of a deadline for states challenging the ban to submit briefings before the US Supreme Court in response to the Trump administration's request that the nine justices hear the case.

The US Justice Department filed an emergency application to the Supreme Court on June 1, urging it to undo two lower court rulings blocking Trump's decision to prevent entry to travelers from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days.

The Trump administration argues the ban is needed to ward off terrorist attacks in the country.

Critics say the ban is discriminatory and violates the US constitution by specifically targeting Muslim-majority countries.
Editor Khaled Elbalshy (C), pictured at a demonstration in Cairo on May 4, 2016, told AFP he submitted a complaint to the Egyption Journalists' Union demanding to know why and under what authority Al-Bedaya, along with other news sites, was blocked

Egypt, under fire for muzzling freedom of expression, has blocked access to around 60 news websites and service providers since the end of May, rights groups and media figures said Monday.

Back in May, around 20 websites based in Qatar and in Egypt were made inaccessible, including the Qatar's Al-Jazeera and the independent Egyptian news site Mada Masr which has been critical of corruption.

By Monday the number of blocked sites had risen to 62, the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression NGO said on its website.

They included 10 Egyptian news websites as well as several providers of virtual private networks (VPN) that can be used to get around state-imposed censorship, it said.

"Some of the sites had been temporarily unblocked but were blocked again," said Fatma Serag, a human rights lawyer who works for the NGO.

The latest Egyptian news websites made inaccessible include Al-Badil and Al-Bedaya, which has often published material critical of government policies.

Al-Bedaya's chief editor, Khaled Elbalshy, told AFP he had submitted a complaint to the Egyptian journalists' union, demanding to know why his website was blocked and by which state authority.

The government has yet to comment on the crackdown.

Elbashy also noted the measures coincide with a debate ongoing in parliament concerning Egypt's plans to hand over to Saudi Arabia two Red Sea islands -- Tiran and Sanafir.

The deal, signed during an April 2016 visit by Saudi King Salman in which Riyadh showered Egypt with aid, provoked accusations in Egypt that Cairo had "sold" the strategic islands.

On April 10, parliament speaker Ali Abdel Aal referred the agreement to the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee for deliberations and a vote.

Hatem Zakaria, secretary general of the journalists' union, told AFP that his and another media organisation were planning to lodge a formal request seeking an explanation as to why the sites were blocked.

Rights groups have repeatedly accused former army chief and now President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of stifling dissent.

An anti-terrorism law, adopted in August 2015, lays down stiff penalties for publishing "false information" on attacks in Egypt that contradicts official reports from the defence ministry, stirring condemnation from rights groups.

In the 2017 press freedom index published by watchdog Reporters Without Borders, Egypt ranks 161st out of 180 countries.
The Treasury Department imposed sanctions on senior Islamic State leader Attallah Salman Abd Kafi al-Jaburi, who is in charge of bomb-making facilities in the Iraqi province of Kirkuk

The United States on Monday slapped financial sanctions on two suspected Islamic State militants accused of manufacturing chemical weapons, the Treasury Department announced.

It was the first time the Treasury Department had imposed sanctions on an IS member accused of involvement in chemical weapons, the department said.

The sanctioned men included senior IS leader Attallah Salman Abd Kafi al-Jaburi, who is in charge of bomb-making facilities in the Iraqi province of Kirkuk, Treasury said in a statement.

The State Department also listed Iraqi IS leader Marwan Ibrahim Hussayn Tah al-Azawi, who also is connected to the manufacture of chemical weapons, as a "specially designated global terrorist."

The move effectively freezes both men out of much of the global financial system, prohibiting banks and individuals from participating in any transactions with them, and freezing any of their assets subject to US jurisdiction.

The department condemned the use of chemical weapons "and will leverage all available tools to target those complicit in their development, proliferation, or use," John Smith, head of Treasury's sanctions office, said.

In November, IHS Conflict Monitor, a London based intelligence analysis service, accused the Islamic State group of having used chemical weapons at least 52 times since the militant organization swept to power in 2014.

As of mid-2016 al-Jaburi was in charge of manufacturing rockets, car bombs and roadside bombs, the Treasury said. He was ordered in January of last year to produce chemical weapons for use in attacks on Iraqi Kurdish fighters.

Separately, the State Department also designated the Indonesian militant organization Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia, accused of involvement in attacks in that country including the May 2012 attack on a book launch by the Canadian author Irshad Manji.
Tunisian protesters hold placards during a demonstration for the right to eat and smoke in public during the Muslim dawn-to-dusk fasting month of Ramadan, on June 11, 2017, in Tunis

A Tunisian court Monday sentenced to one month in prison a man who smoked a cigarette in public during the Muslim dawn-to-dusk holy fasting month of Ramadan, a spokesman said.

The man was seen smoking outside the Bizerte courthouse by a judiciary official who informed the police before they arrested him and referred him to the prosecution, the spokesman Chokri Lahmar told AFP.

He said the man had 10 days to appeal before the sentence takes effect.

On June 1 four men were sentenced to one-month jail terms for eating in public during Ramadan.

There is no law against eating or drinking in public during Ramadan, but every year the issue comes to the fore in the North African country.

Tunisia's constitution guarantees "freedom of belief and conscience", but the state is also the "guardian of religion".

Monday's ruling came a day after dozens of Tunisians demonstrated in the capital Tunis to demand the right to eat and drink in public during the Muslim fasting month.

During Ramadan, Muslims around the world abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and having sex from dawn to dusk.

They break the fast with a meal known as iftar and before dawn they have a second opportunity to eat and drink during suhur.
Republican Greg Gianforte avoided jail time after pleading guilty to assaulting a reporter

A Montana judge Monday sentenced congressman-elect Greg Gianforte to community service, 20 hours of anger management and a fine, but no jail time, after pleading guilty to assaulting a reporter on the eve of his election.

Gianforte, a wealthy businessman, told a packed courtroom in Bozeman, Montana that he had apologized to reporter Ben Jacobs of The Guardian newspaper.

"Although it was not my intention to hurt him, I understand that Ben was injured during this contact," Gianforte told the court.

The 56-year-old Republican was sentenced to six months of deferred jail time, 40 hours of community service, 20 hours of anger management sessions and $385 in fines and court fees for the misdemeanor assault that propelled him and his congressional race into the national spotlight.

"When you make a mistake, you've got to take full responsibility. That's what I've done today," Gianforte said after the hearing. "This was not a proud moment, but I'm ready to move on."

Gianforte was in the awkward position of attending a court hearing on assault charges -- and potentially heading to jail -- just before going to Washington to be sworn in as the lone representative from Montana.

Democrats had made it a tight race, painting it as a referendum on the first months of the presidency of Donald Trump, who had carried the western state by 20 points last November. But the Republican prevailed.

Jacobs, in the courtroom and reading from a prepared statement, said he "was doing my job" on May 24 when he asked the candidate a question about the health care bill working its way through Congress.

"Mr Gianforte's response was to slam me to the floor and start punching me. He injured my elbow, broke my glasses and thrust me into a national spotlight I did not seek or desire," Jacobs said.

Gianforte reached a settlement with Jacobs last week, in which he wrote an apology letter to Jacobs and donated $50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

"I had no right to respond the way I did," Gianforte wrote. "You were doing your job."
Business / Economy

by Stephen Jakes

An economic analyst, Vince Musewe, has challenged the government to convert its wealth into tangible value or wealth in which nobody should be left behind."Once we have a new govt. made up of a team of competent technocrats and political leaders whose values reflect inclusiveness ethical conduct integrity and accountability, I have no doubt in our ability to rapidly develop our country," he said."In my opinion Zimbabweans in the Diaspora are our future competitive advantage . There is no African country with millions of educated skilled citizens out there besides Zimbabwe and a future brain gain will create the necessary energy and momentum."He said besides them coming home, people will have access to a very wide international network of patriots who can facilitate international trade, technology transfers, innovation and investment."We will need to take full advantage of that. Added to this is that Zimbabweans in general have become serial entrepreneurs always looking for opportunities. We must harness this new competence for the betterment of our country," he said."Zimbabweans will rise worldwide and we indeed can become the Singapore of Africa.However there must come a time where economic freedom and not politics leads development. Our new narrative must be built by everyone and we must create wealth for our country and our people. Critical to this is that we do all we can to remove the dictator and his cabal of predators. Divisions amongst opposition politicians are unnecessary. Mugabe and Zanu PF have unequivocally failed to create the Zimbabwe we want or imagine. It will be up to all of us!"
US President Donald Trump Trump kicked off his cabinet meeting by claiming that his White House had achieved "amazing results"

A first full meeting of Donald Trump's cabinet featured effusive praise of the embattled president Monday, a bid to project success that prompted ridicule and criticism from some quarters.

Trump kicked off the meeting by claiming that his White House had achieved "amazing results" and had "been about as active as you can possibly be and at a just about record pace."

That prompted a chorus of flattery, as cabinet members took turns to offer their rose-tinted views on an administration that by any measure has lurched from crisis to crisis and struggled to enact its agenda.

"On behalf of the entire senior staff around you Mr President, we thank you for the opportunity and the blessing that you've given us to serve your agenda and the American people," said chief of staff Reince Priebus.

Priebus is among those whose job is perennially rumored to be on the block, as Trump mulls changes to try and get the administration back on track.

CIA director Mike Pompeo and Vice President Mike Pence described the honor of working in the Trump administration.

"It is the greatest privilege of my life to serve as vice president. The president is keeping his word to the American people," Pence said.

Pompeo then played on Trump's disdain for the press, adding "I am not going to say a damn thing in front of the media."

Attorney-General Jeff Sessions, who will testify to the Senate in connection with the Russia scandal Tuesday, said law enforcement officers across the country were "so thrilled" about the ideas Trump had brought to the White House.

One of those ideas, a signature ban on travelers from several predominantly Muslim countries, has run afoul of the courts.

An appeals court on Monday upheld a block on that policy, saying the president had "exceeded the scope of the authority delegated to him by Congress."

- 'Advice, not adulation' -

Monday's meeting was billed as the first to bring together Donald Trump's complete cabinet, almost six months after the president took office

Trump's UN ambassador Nikki Haley, said "the international community knows we are back."

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue reported that a recent trip had shown him that the people of Mississippi like the president.

Monday's meeting was billed as the first to bring together Trump's complete cabinet, almost six months after Trump took office, after delays in confirming Perdue, as well as Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

The remarkable display prompted ridicule from top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer, who posted a satirical video of himself meeting with staff.

One staff member described Schumer's recent television appearance as "perfect," another suggested "you have great hair. Nobody has better hair than you."

Chris Lu, who served as the White House cabinet secretary for president Barack Obama had more pointed criticism.

"I ran 16 Cabinet meetings during Obama's 1st term. Our Cabinet was never told to sing Obama's praises. He wanted candid advice not adulation," Lu tweeted.

Veteran Washington journalist John Harwood said that "in covering WH over 4 decades, I've never seen a POTUS elicit flattery from aides like Trump today."
Tanzania is rich in minerals

Fraud in the mining sector since 1998 has cost Tanzania 75 billion euros ($84 billion), an investigating commission said Monday, blaming foreign companies failing to declare revenues.

The conclusions of the study, conducted by Tanzanian economists and legal experts and seen by AFP, were approved by President John Magufuli.

The report attributed much of the loss to foreign companies, including mining giant Acacia Mining, also accused of operating for several years in the country without being registered.

The London-listed company immediately rejected the claims.

Magufuli, referring to Acacia Mining, said: "If they admit that they were stealing from us and if they reimburse what they stole, only then can negotiations over registration begin".

"Even the devil is making fun of us. God gave us these ores, these many natural riches and we remain poor while others enrich themselves at our expense. We cannot continue like this," he added, after receiving the report in a ceremony broadcast live.

Last month Magufuli dismissed the country's mines minister after receiving a report from geologists that said mining companies had underestimated their mineral exports in order to pay lower taxes.

The report had said that poor management of the sector meant officials were not able to tell how much or what kind of ores were being exported.

On Monday, Magufuli ordered a revamping of the laws governing mining contracts, telling the justice department to question and if necessary prosecute officials responsible for attributing operating contracts in recent years.

Acacia Mining Monday said in response to the report that the accusations were unfounded and that it has operated in Tanzania in full accordance with the law.

Tanzania is rich in minerals including gold, ranking fourth among gold producers on the continent.

Gold is the country's leading mineral export and one of its primary sources of revenue.

Tanzania also exports copper, nickel, silver, diamonds and other precious stones such as tanzanite.

In March, Tanzania said it was banning exports of non-processed ore in a bid to promote the development of the mineral processing sector, create new jobs locally and increase revenues generated by the sector.
On May 12, 2017, three days after he fired James Comey, President Donald Trump suggested in a tweet that he had recorded their private discussions

The US Secret Service said Monday it does not have any audio recordings or transcripts of US President Donald Trump's White House conversations.

After Trump again intimated last week that he could have recorded his controversial discussions with fired FBI director James Comey, it remained unclear if that claim was true.

The issue could be crucial for the president amid allegations -- though not formal accusations -- that he has sought to obstruct the investigation into possible collusion by his advisors in Russian interference in last year's presidential election.

The Secret Service, which protects the president and his family, maintained a secret taping system for the White House in the eras of John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon.

But in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from The Wall Street Journal, the agency said it did not have any such records for the Trump administration.

"It appears, from a review of Secret Service's main indices, that there are not records pertaining to your request," the agency told the Journal in a letter.

On May 12, three days after he fired Comey, Trump suggested in a tweet that he had recorded their private discussions with Comey.

The claim came in response to reports, since confirmed, that Comey himself had kept detailed notes on those discussions in which, he alleges, Trump demanded a pledge of loyalty and pressed the then-FBI director to pull off on an investigation into Trump's former national security advisor Michael Flynn.

"James Comey better hope that there are no 'tapes' of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!" Trump wrote.

- Trump evasive on 'tapes' -

On Friday, after explosive testimony from Comey in Congress repeated the claims that Trump pressured him over Flynn, Trump responded angrily, calling Comey a liar.

Asked by reporters if he had tapes of their conversations to support his claim, Trump replied demurely, "I'll tell you about that maybe in the very near future."

That left open the possibility that other White House staff, or Trump himself, could have been involved in recording their talks, if anyone.

Members of Congressional committees investigating Russian meddling in the election have shown interest in whether Trump did tape his White House conversations with Comey or anyone else.

On Monday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer, asked again if there were recordings, would not confirm it.

"I think the president made it very clear on Friday that he would get back as soon as possible on this," he told reporters.

"When he's ready to further discuss it, he will."
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump is banking on his loyal base of supporters to help him through the tangle of the Russia turmoil.

Trump had his core backers in mind as he responded to former FBI Director James Comey's blockbuster Senate testimony and the steady creep of multiple congressional investigations and Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe.

Trump's Republican allies might have found Comey credible, but the president called the man he fired as FBI director a liar and a "leaker." Trump said he was the victim of the "fake news" media. And he tried to charge ahead by resorting to what worked for him as a candidate - pushing policies dear to his base and using strong rhetoric to convey that message.

President Donald Trump attends a roundtable on infrastructure at the Department of Transportation, Friday, June 9, 2017, in Washington. Faced with the under-oath allegations of ex-FBI Director James Comey and the steady creep of congressional investigations, Trump's response this week was aimed squarely at rallying his most dedicated supporters to his side. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

"As you know, we're under siege, you understand that. But we will come out bigger and better and stronger than ever. You watch," Trump said Thursday as Comey was telling senators that the president had pressured him to drop an investigation into an ex-White House aide.

His strategy is consistent with the way Trump has governed in his first four months in office. His White House has made little effort to broaden the bedrock of support for a president who lost the popular vote and receives scant backing from Democrats.

Trump has yet to hold a rally in a state he lost to Hillary Clinton in November. He visits many of the small Rust Belt cities and rural heartland communities that went for him.

While backing away from some campaign promises, Trump has made good on policies his loyalists track closely.

When Trump pulled the United States from the Paris climate accords despite pleas from American allies, he framed it as a victory for American industry and the blue-collar workers who backed him. He appointed a conservative to the Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch, and is steadily nominating similar candidates to fill judicial vacancies.

With help from the Republican-led Congress, he has rolled back Obama-era rules on the environment, gun rights, the internet and financial regulations.

Support for the president has broken down sharply along party lines.

Only 4 percent of Democrats back Trump while he has an 81 percent approval rating among Republicans, according to a Quinnipiac poll released this past week. His overall job approval number has fallen to the mid-30s, a new low, but the GOP number has remained steady in the past two months.

Even if Trump's core holds, the erosion of support from independents and wavering Democrats would jeopardize his ability to build support in swing states such as Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida, said Paul Maslin, a Democratic pollster based in Wisconsin.

"He is backing into a corner more than anybody I've ever seen. He's doing it with politics, he's doing it with electorate considerations, he's doing it with the way he views the world," Maslin said. "He's standing increasingly on his own island and the question is whether he's going to have the means and the ability to come to shore because that island isn't big enough to win again."

The White House says the administration is simply keeping the promises that candidate Trump made.

"Voters don't ask who can win, they ask who can lead," Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway said at an event sponsored by Axios this past week.

The message of Trump's recent overseas trip was directed at his supporters back home: He reinforced his "America First" slogan by traveling to NATO's headquarters to demand that allies increase defense spending and refused to explicitly support its mutual defense pact. (At a White House news conference Friday, Trump did say the U.S. was committed to that shared defense.)

"If you asked most Americans where they are, they are in a position where we have our own problems, we don't need to be taking care of the world's problems," said Greg Strimple, a Republican pollster based in Idaho, who said that Trump's play could resonate beyond his base. "I think he is reaching out to the middle with a lot of these policies."

Trump's legislative agenda has slowed to a crawl on Capitol Hill, in large part due to divisions among his Republican allies on health care and taxes. The Republican-led bill to dismantle the Obama-era health law narrowly passed the House, and Senate Republicans have struggled to bridge their divide in crafting legislation.

Democrats have showed little inclination to work with Trump, and the White House has made almost no effort at outreach.

By contrast, Republican George W. Bush, the most recent president to win election while losing the popular vote, took steps during his first months in office to woo the opposition party. He worked closely with Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy, a leading Democrat, to pass the "No Child Left Behind" education law.

And Trump? He held a pair of meetings Tuesday at the White House to go over his legislative agenda.

Only Republicans were invited.

___

Lemire reported from New York. Associated Press writer Jill Colvin in Cincinnati contributed to this report.

___

Follow Lemire on Twitter at http://twitter.com/@JonLemire and Thomas at http://twitter.com/@KThomasDC
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Arkansas' chief medical examiner says nothing in autopsy reports suggest that four inmates put to death in April suffered while they died. But that won't end the debate over whether the state's three-drug execution is cruel.

The state's chief medical examiner, Dr. Charles Kokes, said in an interview with The Associated Press last week there was nothing in the autopsies' lab reports or from witnesses' accounts to indicate anything went awry during executions of Ledell Lee, Jack Jones Jr., Marcel Williams and Kenneth Williams.

"We're just looking at a number" on the lab report, Kokes said. "What's probably more important is what people who were there witnessed."

FILE - In this April 24, 2017, file photo, Arkansas prison department spokesman Solomon Graves speaks to reporters amid a series of executions at the Cummins Unit prison at Varner, Arkansas. Additional arguments over whether the state's three-drug execution protocol are expected if the state sets more execution dates or when a federal judge resumes a hearing on a claim by surviving inmates that they're at a risk for cruel or unusual punishment. (AP Photo/Kelly P. Kissel, File)

Journalists who served as pool reporters said some of the inmates breathed heavily as they died, and Kenneth Williams' movements were described as "lurching, jerking, convulsing and coughing." Kokes said these accounts described typical death throes.

Lab work on the inmates' bodies looked only for the sedative, midazolam, not the other two drugs, vecuronium bromide, which is meant to paralyze the inmate's lungs, and potassium chloride, which is meant to stop their hearts.

"It is surprising that they tested only for midazolam," said Scott Braden, a federal public defender who represents death row prisoners.

Alarmed by Kenneth Williams' final movements, he and other lawyers asked a federal judge to order the preservation of blood and tissue samples for testing by their own expert at a later date. She agreed. He said the additional tests have not been performed.

"I'm sure the medical examiner did the best he could and the person we've retained is very good at what he does," Braden said. "The stuff that is debatable is something for the court to decide."

Ahead of the April executions, lawyers for eight inmates who had been set to die argued that midazolam couldn't keep the inmates from sensing that their lungs and hearts were shutting down.

Braden complained that the state didn't provide timetables of when each drug was administered, and that having such a timetable could allow witnesses to determine whether there was a reaction to a new drug being administered.

Kokes said it is rare for autopsies to check for the presence of vecuronium bromide, which is used during surgery to keep a patient's diaphragm from moving. Also, because cells release stored potassium when they break down after death, it is impractical to test for potassium concentrations, Kokes said. Midazolam levels were so high it is unlikely the inmates felt anything, he said.

"It was certainly effective in the sense that it transpired the way it was supposed to go," Kokes said.

Arkansas has no additional executions scheduled. According to Department of Correction spokesman Solomon Graves, the state hasn't had a full set of execution drugs since its supply of midazolam expired April 30.

Since the April executions, inmate Jack Greene has exhausted his appeals but no execution date has been set. Greene was convicted of killing Sidney Burnett in 1991 after being accused of arson. A clemency recommendation is also pending for Jason McGehee, who had been set to die in April. Gov. Asa Hutchinson has until Dec. 1 to make a decision.

___

Follow Kelly P. Kissel on Twitter at https://twitter.com/kisselAP and go to https://www.apnews.com/search/kelly%20kissel to see his work.
In a two-day span, supporters of LGBT rights are joining in protest marches Sunday in dozens of cities in the U.S. and abroad, and then observing Monday's one-year anniversary of the mass shooting that killed 49 people at Pulse, a gay night club in Orlando, Florida.

The events come amid new political challenges for the LGBT-rights movement in the United States and numerous reports of anti-LGBT violence and persecution abroad. Some examples:

WORLDWIDE:

-According to multiple reports, scores of gay men have been detained and tortured in the Russian republic of Chechnya.

-In Indonesia, animosity toward the LGBT community has been whipped up by anti-gay comments from cabinet ministers and other public figures. In the capital, Jakarta, police detained 141 men in a May 21 raid on a gay gym and sauna. On May 23, on orders from an Islamic Shariah court, two men received more than 80 lashes of the cane for having sex together; hundreds of onlookers jeered at them.

-In Bangladesh, authorities made 27 arrests in a May 19 raid on a group of gay men at a community center near the capital, Dhaka. Last year, a leading LGBT activist, Xulhaz Mannan, was hacked to death in Dhaka by suspected militants.

-In Nigeria, police arrested more than 50 young men celebrating a gay wedding in April. Nigerian law bans gay marriage; violators can be punished by up to 14 years in prison.

-In Moldova, President Igor Dodon spoke out against an LGBT parade organized in the capital city, and said he did not consider himself to be president of the Eastern European country's gays.

-In El Salvador, multiple killings of transgender women drew the attention of the United Nations human rights office, which urged Salvadoran authorities to investigate.

UNITED STATES:

-President Donald Trump's administration revoked federal guidelines advising public school districts to let transgender students use the bathrooms and locker rooms of their choice.

-The Trump administration deleted questions about sexual orientation from two federal surveys.

-Nearly all of the Republicans who hold power in Congress have declined to back a Democratic-backed bill that would provide nationwide non-discrimination protections for LGBT people.

-Legislators in South Dakota, Alabama and Texas approved bills protecting faith-based adoption organizations that refuse to place children with gay parents.
WASHINGTON (AP) - A.C. Strip has long understood the significance of the diary his older brother kept as they fled the Holocaust with their parents. He turned it into a self-published book that he gave to his brother as a 90th birthday gift.

But Strip never considered the diary to be an important historical document. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is making him rethink that.

Strip's brother's journal is one of more than 200 diaries written by Holocaust victims and survivors the museum hopes to digitize and make available to the public with the help of its first crowd-funding campaign. The museum is seeking $250,000 for the project and will begin soliciting donations through Kickstarter on Monday, the birthday of the most famous Holocaust diarist, Anne Frank.

A page of Joseph Stripounsky's diary with a sketch showing "Master Teddy Bear," is shown at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, Wednesday, June 7, 2017. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is launching its first-ever crowd-funding campaign in an effort to preserve and digitize more than 200 diaries from Holocaust victims and survivors. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

The diary has forced Strip to confront painful memories. On a recent visit to Washington to be interviewed for the project, he found it too difficult to tour the museum. But he visited the nearby National Museum of African American History and Culture and gained some perspective on what the Holocaust Museum is trying to accomplish.

"I had forgotten some of these things in my own lifetime, all these stories about people like me and my family," Strip said. "The African-American museum is bringing these things to life that will not permit people to forget, and the Holocaust Museum, their job is not to permit people to forget."

Strip, a native of Antwerp, Belgium, was 5 and Joseph 17 when their family fled the Nazis. Then known as the Stripounskys, they escaped across the border to France and spent a year holed up with a farming family in a small village before going to Spain, Portugal and, finally, the United States.

Joseph - who later became an engineer, settled in New Jersey and lived to 91 - chronicled the journey in meticulous detail, using four notebooks. He accented his writing with sketches, maps and newspaper clippings. One sketch shows "Master Teddy Bear," a stuffed animal the family bought for young A.C.

Strip, 81, a lawyer who lives in Dublin, Ohio, broke down in tears several times while discussing his family's journey in a telephone interview. While his immediate family got across the Belgian border, two aunts and two uncles didn't make it. Their papers were Czech, not Belgian, and they were later killed by the Nazis. Two of Strip's orphaned cousins later joined his family in the U.S. and were raised by his parents. He considers them his brothers.

"Our family, like so many others, got beat up pretty bad," he said.

The diary project is important because Holocaust survivors are rapidly dying off, museum officials said. If the Kickstarter campaign succeeds, the money would mostly pay for the work needed to translate, catalog and digitize them. The museum has diaries written in 18 languages.

"We're living in scary times. Holocaust denial has been on the rise. Anti-Semitism and hatred is extremely worrisome. It's on the front of a lot of minds, certainly this institution. These diaries, these first-person accounts, testimonies, this is the evidence," said Dana Weinstein, the museum's director of membership and new audience engagement. "This evidence will stand as proof that the Holocaust happened."

Many of the diaries were much shorter than Joseph's, kept on scraps of paper or scrawled onto family photographs. The museum received one diary from Warsaw, Poland, that had been hidden behind a radiator in a bombed-out building. It looked like a deck of cards, but it turned out to be four sheets of paper that were folded many times. The author was a woman known as Deborah - it could have been an alias - and that's all the museum curators know.

Strip's brother was careful to write down everything. His maps were so accurate that, during a trip to France two years ago, Strip was able to use them to find the village and the farmhouse where his family hid.

The last name of the family they stayed with was Mech. Strip visited the mayor's office and asked the secretary if anyone with that name still lived in town.

"She went to the computer, picked up the telephone, came back and said, 'One of Mr. Mech's children will be here in 5 minutes,'" Strip said. "Five minutes later, a very nice gentleman, 62 years old, who wasn't born at the time I was there but who knew the whole story, came in, took one look at me and he started crying."

___

Follow Ben Nuckols at https://twitter.com/APBenNuckols.

The travel document of Joseph Stripounsky, who was 17 when he fled Belgium with his family, is shown at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, Wednesday, June 7, 2017. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is launching its first-ever crowd-funding campaign in an effort to preserve and digitize more than 200 diaries from Holocaust victims and survivors. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

A page of Joseph Stripounsky's diary with a sketch showing a map, is shown at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, Wednesday, June 7, 2017. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is launching its first-ever crowd-funding campaign in an effort to preserve and digitize more than 200 diaries from Holocaust victims and survivors. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Dana Weinstein, the museum's director of membership and new audience engagement, speaks to the Associated Press at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, Wednesday, June 7, 2017. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is launching its first-ever crowd-funding campaign in an effort to preserve and digitize more than 200 diaries from Holocaust victims and survivors. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
NEW YORK (AP) - The Latest on Delta Airlines ending sponsorship over New York City's theater's Trump look-alike assassination scene. (all times local):

10:55 p.m.

Bank of America is the latest company to have problems with a Manhattan-based theater company's portrayal of Julius Caesar as a Donald Trump look-alike in a business suit who gets knifed to death.

FILE - In this May 21, 2017, file photo provided by The Public Theater, Tina Benko, left, portrays Melania Trump in the role of Caesar's wife, Calpurnia, and Gregg Henry, center left, portrays President Donald Trump in the role of Julius Caesar during a dress rehearsal of The Public Theater's Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Julius Caesar in New York. Teagle F. Bougere, center right, plays as Casca, and Elizabeth Marvel, right, as Marc Anthony. Delta Air Lines is pulling its sponsorship of New York's Public Theater for portraying Julius Caesar as the Donald Trump look-alike in a business suit who gets knifed to death on stage, according to its statement Sunday, June 11, 2017. (Joan Marcus/The Public Theater via AP)

The Charlotte, North Carolina-based company tweeted a statement Sunday night saying it's withdrawing its funding for the Public Theater's production of "Julius Caesar." It said the theater "chose to present Julius Caesar in such a way that was intended to provoke and offend."

Earlier, Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines said it was pulling its sponsorship, saying "it crossed the line on the standards of good taste."

Performances of the assassination scene began just days before comedian Kathy Griffin was criticized for posing for a photograph in which she gripped a bloodied rendering of Trump's head.

___

8:30 p.m.

Delta Air Lines is pulling its sponsorship of New York's Public Theater for portraying Julius Caesar as a Donald Trump look-alike in a business suit who gets knifed to death on stage.

The Atlanta-based airline released a statement Sunday saying the graphic staging of "Julius Caesar" does not reflect its values and "crossed the line on the standards of good taste."

The play is part of the city's free Shakespeare in the Park festival in Central Park. Its director, Oskar Eustis, says the production "in no way advocates violence toward anyone."

Messages seeking comment from The Public Theater weren't immediately returned.

Performances of the assassination scene began just days before comedian Kathy Griffin was criticized for posing for a photograph in which she gripped a bloodied rendering of Trump's head.
NEW YORK (AP) - A property owner that was charged with causing a gas explosion that leveled three New York City buildings has sold the building's lots for over $9 million.

Records show the lots were sold last month to Nexus Building Development Group for $9.15 million.

The New York Post reports (http://nyp.st/2riVgY6 ) 57-year-old Maria Hrynenko is currently awaiting trial on manslaughter charges for the 2015 blast. Authorities say Hrynenko set up an illegal gas line that caused the explosion.

Lawyers for the victims previously said they were worried the sale of the properties would jeopardize their settlements.

Hrynenko, her attorney and Nexus did not return requests for comment.

The March 26, 2015 explosion killed two people and left more than a dozen others injured.

___

Information from: New York Post, http://www.nypost.com
NEW YORK (AP) - The next Lyft car you book may soon be a Jaguar or a Land Rover.

The British company behind the two iconic car brands announced Monday that it was investing $25 million into Lyft to help the ride-hailing business expand and develop technologies. As part of the investment, Jaguar Land Rover agreed to supply a fleet of its vehicles.

The investment is from InMotion Ventures, a unit of Jaguar Land Rover that focuses on autonomous cars and other technology.

The collaboration will provide a "real-world platform helping us develop our connected and autonomous services," InMotion Managing Director Sebastian Peck said.

InMotion earlier invested in SPLT, a Detroit-based digital carpool business. SPLT works with Lyft to provide non-emergency medical transport.

Lyft announced earlier this month that it was forming a research partnership with self-driving startup nuTonomy. The companies plan to look at how passengers book and route a self-driving car and how they interact with it.

San Francisco-based Lyft operates in 300 cities. It has also partnered with General Motors to research autonomous ride-hailing.
News / Africa

by TimesLIVE

One of the last people to see the Van Breda family alive was domestic worker Precious Myongane who came in three days a week to wash clean and iron at their luxurious home at De Zalze in Stellenbosch.On Wednesday in the High Court in Cape Town she gave poignant details of their family life - from eldest child Rudi napping on the couch to Sasha the dog sleeping by Henri's bed.But what caused a stir in the courtroom were the details she provided of an axe that she always saw in the scullery.Myongane confirmed that she had "seen many axes in her life" and that the one shown to her from the crime scene had the same appearance as the one she had repeatedly seen behind the ironing board.When asked what it was used for she said: "I do not know because I never saw anybody using it."Van Breda's defence counsel Matthys Combrink insisted that by her saying the axe from the scullery was "similar in appearance" to the one used to murder Martin Teresa and Rudi van Breda it did not mean that it was the actual weapon.However Judge Siraj Desai objected to the way in which he was interpreting Myongane's words as spoken by her Shona interpreter in court."You are entitled to cross-examine as you wish" Desai told Combrink "but this is torturous. There has been no suggestion that there was another axe."Myongane's testimony began with her description of how she was able to gain access to De Zalze three times a week by having an access card and using her thumb for biometric scanning. At the family home 12 Goske Street she would open a small gate using a key hanging on a string and enter through the back door.She provided detail of the Monday in January 2015 when three family members lost their lives.Rudi van Breda lay under a blanket in the family lounge Sasha was walking around freely and as usual she could see a list of numbers that Teresa van Breda had shown her when she first joined the family as an employee "in case of any emergencies"."There was nothing strange about the way the family acted that day" she said adding that only Martin and Marli were not present.She said also she could not testify as to "how Rudi and Henri got along or interacted with one another" adding that she did not regularly see them speaking to each other.This came after the testimony of Andre van Breda Martin's brother who painted a picture of a close-knit family that had "absolutely no enemies to speak of".
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Church bells tolled 49 times, a giant rainbow flag hung from a county government building and the names of the victims of the Pulse nightclub attack were read aloud at various ceremonies Monday as people in Orlando and beyond remembered the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

At 2:02 a.m., survivors, victims' families, club employees and local officials were gathered for a private service at the gay club at the exact time Omar Mateen opened fire a year ago and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. He was eventually killed by police after a three-hour standoff on June 12, 2016.

"I realize that gathering here in this place, at this hour, is beyond difficult," Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said. "But I also know that the strength you've shown over the past year will carry you through today and in the future."

Angel Ayala, left, and girlfriend Carla Montanez lean on each other during a community gathering at the Pulse nightclub memorial site in Orlando, Fla., Monday, June 12, 2017. A gunman opened fire at the nightclub one year ago in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history, killing 49 people. (Loren Elliott/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

The service began what would be almost 24 hours of solemn remembrances. During a midday service, the Orlando Gay Chorus performed Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors" and speakers talked less about the tragedy and more about how Orlando area residents came together in the aftermath.

Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs said the city will only partly be remembered for the shooting. Most of the patrons killed were gay Latinos.

"That will be a part of the history books, but the true legacy of our community is going to be in our darkest hour we responded with love and compassion and unity," Jacobs said.

At noon, church bells throughout the Orlando area rang 49 times. Gov. Rick Scott ordered U.S. flags around Florida to be flown at half-staff and a gay-pride flag was unveiled at the Orange County government building.

In the evening, rain didn't deter thousands of people from showing up at a remembrance in downtown Orlando in front of an amphitheater that was painted in gay-pride rainbow colors after the massacre. City officials estimated that 15,000 people showed up for the ceremony during which individuals dressed as angels with white billowing wings took the stage as the names of the 49 people killed were read.

At the last service, a late-night ceremony attended by hundreds of people outside the nightclub, Pulse owner Barbara Poma said she had wanted to start and end the one-year commemoration of the tragedy at the nightclub she had opened in memory of her brother.

"It truly means the absolute world to me to see all of you here," said Poma, who plans to open a memorial at the Pulse site.

Earlier in the day, Poma said when people ask her what has changed in her life since the tragedy, she tells them "everything." But she said she is grateful for the outpouring of support. She plans to build a memorial at the site of the nightclub, which has been closed since the tragedy.

"I miss Pulse," she said. "I miss everything it stood for."

President Donald Trump tweet out a photo of the victims and said: "We will NEVER FORGET the victims who lost their lives one year ago today in the horrific #PulseNightClub shooting. #OrlandoUnitedDay."

Local leaders said Mateen's hateful act caused an outpouring of love from Orlando and the wider world.

"What a terrorist tries to do is divide us," U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson said. "Isn't it interesting it had the opposite effect? It brought us together in unity and love."

Outside Pulse, hundreds of people dropped off flowers, drawings and cards.

"It still hurts, it's still very raw," said Erin Anderson, a friend and former co-worker of Pulse victim Xavier Serrano Rosado.

Jeannine Williams used to live within walking distance of Pulse and was a frequent visitor. She had made plans to be there the night of the shooting but decided to go another night club.

"A year later I think the thing that is most important is this community and why I live here and why I'm so happy to live here," Williams said through tears. "The support we not only have from our city government, it's not fleeting support, it's not support on certain days. It's the way the community is. This is Orlando. This is why I just love living here."

Next door to the club, an anti-gay protester was pushed to the ground by an officer and handcuffed as the crowd chanted "love conquers hate." Local television stations showed police officers talking to two protesters with an anti-gay sign and wearing anti-gay slogans on their shirts, as the men argued with the officers that they had a right to be there.

An officer can be seen holding out his hand to keep one of the men from walking any further as the man pushes back against his hand. Moments later, the officer pushes the man back and the man falls down. Spokeswomen for the police and city didn't return an email or phone call, and it was unknown if the man was taken into custody or charged.

A steady stream of visitors came by the Orange County Regional History Center to see an exhibit of memorial items, including 49 crosses with the victims' names and photos attached.

"The crosses were incredibly impactful," said Monique Stewart, an Orlando resident. "I feel like every piece that they collected was deliberate and serves a point and it just ties back to remembering those 49 people and spreading love."

Mateen's wife, Noor Salman, is facing charges of aiding and abetting and obstruction in federal court. She has pleaded not guilty to helping her husband.

Barbara Poma, from left, owner of Pulse nightclub, Patty Sheehan, city commissioner, and Regina Hill, city commissioner, react during a public remembrance ceremony Monday, June 12, 2017, at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., in honor of the 49 people who lost their lives in the shooting one year ago. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP, Pool)

Lizbeth DaVila looks over the rocks painted with inspirational messages at the "Hugs Not Hate" heart memorial outside the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., on Monday, June 12, 2017, in honor of the 49 people who lost their lives in the shooting one year ago. (Kayla O'Brien/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

People attend the "Hugs Not Hate" heart memorial outside Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., Monday, June 12, 2017, in honor of the 49 people who lost their lives in the shooting one year ago. (Kayla O'Brien/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

Gil Mendez, of San Francisco, holds a sign to honor the victims of the shooting at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Fla., as he marches during the Equality March for Unity and Pride in Washington, Sunday, June 11, 2017. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

FILE - In this June 13, 2016 file photo, Jennifer, right, and Mary Ware light candles during a vigil downtown for the victims of a mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla. Church bells will toll throughout the Orlando area as residents reflect on the 49 patrons killed during a massacre at the gay nightclub Pulse in the worst mass shooting in recent U.S. history. Starting in the wee hours Monday, June 12, 2017, and continuing almost 24 hours later, survivors, victims' families, city officials and central Florida residents will remember the victims with multiple services. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

FILE - In this July 11, 2016, file photo, visitors gather at a makeshift memorial outside the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla. Church bells will toll throughout the Orlando area as residents reflect on the 49 patrons killed during a massacre at the gay nightclub Pulse in the worst mass shooting in recent U.S. history. Starting in the wee hours Monday, June 12, 2017, and continuing almost 24 hours later, survivors, victims' families, city officials and central Florida residents will remember the victims with multiple services. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

Equality March for Unity and Pride participants march past the White House in Washington, Sunday, June 11, 2017. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

FILE - In this June 12, 2016, file photo an Orlando Police officers direct family members away from a fatal shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla. Church bells will toll throughout the Orlando area as residents reflect on the 49 patrons killed during a massacre at the gay nightclub Pulse in the worst mass shooting in recent U.S. history. Starting in the wee hours Monday, June 12, 2017, and continuing almost 24 hours later, survivors, victims' families, city officials and central Florida residents will remember the victims with multiple services. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)

Barbara Poma, left, owner of Pulse nightclub and Patty Sheehan, city commissioner, attend a public remembrance ceremony Monday, June 12, 2017, at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., in honor of the 49 people who lost their lives in the shooting one year ago. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP, Pool)

Dignitaries attend a public remembrance ceremony Monday, June 12, 2017, at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., in honor of the 49 people who lost their lives in the shooting one year ago. (Joe Burbank /Orlando Sentinel via AP, Pool)

Lizbeth DaVila touches a painted rock at the "Hugs Not Hate" heart memorial outside Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., Monday, June 12, 2017, in honor of the 49 people who lost their lives in the shooting one year ago. (Kayla O'Brien/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

Val Demings, congressional representative, listens to the Orlando Gay Chorus perform at a public remembrance ceremony Monday, June 12, 2017, at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., in honor of the 49 people who lost their lives in the shooting one year ago. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP, Pool)

The Orlando Gay Chorus perform at a public remembrance ceremony Monday, June 12, 2017, at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., in honor of the 49 people who lost their lives in the shooting one year ago. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP, Pool)

Barbara Poma, from left, owner of Pulse nightclub, Patty Sheehan, city commissioner, and Regina Hill, city commissioner, attend a public remembrance ceremony Monday, June 12, 2017, at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., in honor of the 49 people who lost their lives in the shooting one year ago. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP, Pool)

Artist Yuriy Karabash, right, helps Saul Barrios place a hand print on a mural at the Pulse nightclub, Monday, June 12, 2017, that commemorates the one-year anniversary of the June 12, 2016, massacre that killed 49 at Pulse. Saul Barrios son, Alejandro Barrios Martinez, was killed in the mass shooting. (Joe Burbank /Orlando Sentinel via AP)

Orquidea Martinez Fuentes cries for her son at the Pulse nightclub during a ceremony at the club in Orlando, Fla., that commemorated the one-year anniversary of the June 12, 2016, massacre that killed 49. Her son, Alejandro Barrios Martinez, was killed in the mass the shooting. (Joe Burbank /Orlando Sentinel via AP)

People gather during a community gathering at the Pulse nightclub memorial site in Orlando, Fla., Monday, June 12, 2017. A gunman opened fire at the nightclub one year ago in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history, killing 49 people. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

Pulse survivor Angel Santiago pushes his nephew's stroller during a community gathering at the Pulse nightclub memorial site in Orlando, Fla., Monday, June 12, 2017. A gunman opened fire at the nightclub one year ago in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history, killing 49 people. (Loren Elliott/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Estella Peterkin, right, hugs Chris Callen during a community gathering at the Pulse nightclub memorial site in Orlando, Fla., Monday, June 12, 2017. A gunman opened fire at the nightclub one year ago in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history, killing 49 people. (Loren Elliott/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Orange county mayor reaches out to Orlando City commissioner Patty Sheehan, right, Monday, June 12, 2017, during a ceremony at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., that commemorated the one-year anniversary of the June 12, 2016, massacre that killed 49. (Joe Burbank /Orlando Sentinel via AP)

Noah Faudree, left, and Tommie Martin hold hands during a community gathering at the Pulse nightclub memorial site in Orlando, Fla., Monday, June 12, 2017. A gunman opened fire at the nightclub one year ago in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history, killing 49 people. (Loren Elliott/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Community members mourn together during a community gathering at the Pulse nightclub memorial site in Orlando, Fla., Monday, June 12, 2017. A gunman opened fire at the nightclub one year ago in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history, killing 49 people. (Loren Elliott/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Stephen Holbrook wears a sign on his back during a community gathering at the Pulse nightclub memorial site in Orlando, Fla., Monday, June 12, 2017. A gunman opened fire at the nightclub one year ago in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history, killing 49 people. (Loren Elliott/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Alvin Mendez, from Patterson, New Jersey, place a palm print on a mural on display at the Pulse nightclub, Monday, June 12, 2017, that commemorates the one-year anniversary of the June 12, 2016, massacre that killed 49 at Pulse. Mendez' brother, Carlos, was killed in the mass shooting. (Joe Burbank /Orlando Sentinel via AP)

Painted rocks are seen at the Pulse nightclub memorial site in Orlando, Fla., Monday, June 12, 2017. A gunman opened fire at the nightclub one year ago in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history, killing 49 people. (Loren Elliott/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Pulse nightclub owner Barbara Poma gets a hug from one of her employees, Neema Bahrami , Monday, June 12, 2017, during a ceremony at the club in Orlando, Fla., that commemorated the one-year anniversary of the June 12, 2016, massacre that killed 49. (Joe Burbank /Orlando Sentinel via AP)

Mourners hold hands during a community gathering at the Pulse nightclub memorial site in Orlando, Fla., Monday, June 12, 2017. A gunman opened fire at the nightclub one year ago in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history, killing 49 people. (Loren Elliott/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Pulse nightclub owner Barbara Poma, left, and Orlando City commissioner Patty Sheehan console each other, Monday, June 12, 2017, during a ceremony at the club in Orlando, Fla., that commemorated the one-year anniversary of the June 12, 2016, massacre that killed 49. (Joe Burbank /Orlando Sentinel via AP)

Tattoos honoring the lives lost at Pulse nightclub are seen on the necks of Luis Vasquez, right, and partner Jeremy Phelps during a community gathering at the Pulse nightclub memorial site in Orlando, Fla., Monday, June 12, 2017. A gunman opened fire at the nightclub one year ago in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history, killing 49 people. (Loren Elliott/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Geovanni Vargas hugs a supportive stranger during a community gathering at the Pulse nightclub memorial site in Orlando, Fla., Monday, June 12, 2017. A gunman opened fire at the nightclub one year ago in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history, killing 49 people. Vargas previously worked at Pulse and lost a friend in the shooting. (Loren Elliott/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

A wall of flowered-hearts, representing each of the victims of the Pulse nightclub massacre, on the side of the club, Monday, June 12, 2017, commemorating the one-year anniversary of the June 12, 2016, massacre that killed 49. (Joe Burbank /Orlando Sentinel via AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump is trying to change the subject from Russia and the election to his promise to create jobs for Americans.

Trump is promoting a proposal to bring more people into the economy by having them start working as apprentices.

The jobs training initiative is aimed at millions who could consider apprenticeships instead of four-year college degrees. Going to school for so long could leave them struggling to pay off student loans. The push so far lacks the details of a significant policy drive.

President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference with Romanian President Klaus Werner Iohannis, in the Rose Garden at the White House, Friday, June 9, 2017, in Washington. Donald Trump is trying to change the subject from scandal back to his promise to make American job creation a top priority. "We want to get back to running our great country," Trump said Friday at a White House news conference. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Trump is scheduled to visit a technical college in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, and then deliver a policy speech at the Labor Department on Wednesday. He also is set to meet with eight governors at the White House on Thursday.
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump is banking on his loyal base of supporters to help him through the tangle of the Russia turmoil.

Trump had his core backers in mind as he responded to former FBI Director James Comey's blockbuster Senate testimony and the steady creep of multiple congressional investigations and Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe.

Trump's Republican allies might have found Comey credible, but the president called the man he fired as FBI director a liar and a "leaker." Trump said he was the victim of the "fake news" media. And he tried to charge ahead by resorting to what worked for him as a candidate - pushing policies dear to his base and using strong rhetoric to convey that message.

President Donald Trump attends a roundtable on infrastructure at the Department of Transportation, Friday, June 9, 2017, in Washington. Faced with the under-oath allegations of ex-FBI Director James Comey and the steady creep of congressional investigations, Trump's response this week was aimed squarely at rallying his most dedicated supporters to his side. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

"As you know, we're under siege, you understand that. But we will come out bigger and better and stronger than ever. You watch," Trump said Thursday as Comey was telling senators that the president had pressured him to drop an investigation into an ex-White House aide.

His strategy is consistent with the way Trump has governed in his first four months in office. His White House has made little effort to broaden the bedrock of support for a president who lost the popular vote and receives scant backing from Democrats.

Trump has yet to hold a rally in a state he lost to Hillary Clinton in November. He visits many of the small Rust Belt cities and rural heartland communities that went for him.

While backing away from some campaign promises, Trump has made good on policies his loyalists track closely.

When Trump pulled the United States from the Paris climate accords despite pleas from American allies, he framed it as a victory for American industry and the blue-collar workers who backed him. He appointed a conservative to the Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch, and is steadily nominating similar candidates to fill judicial vacancies.

With help from the Republican-led Congress, he has rolled back Obama-era rules on the environment, gun rights, the internet and financial regulations.

Support for the president has broken down sharply along party lines.

Only 4 percent of Democrats back Trump while he has an 81 percent approval rating among Republicans, according to a Quinnipiac poll released this past week. His overall job approval number has fallen to the mid-30s, a new low, but the GOP number has remained steady in the past two months.

Even if Trump's core holds, the erosion of support from independents and wavering Democrats would jeopardize his ability to build support in swing states such as Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida, said Paul Maslin, a Democratic pollster based in Wisconsin.

"He is backing into a corner more than anybody I've ever seen. He's doing it with politics, he's doing it with electorate considerations, he's doing it with the way he views the world," Maslin said. "He's standing increasingly on his own island and the question is whether he's going to have the means and the ability to come to shore because that island isn't big enough to win again."

The White House says the administration is simply keeping the promises that candidate Trump made.

"Voters don't ask who can win, they ask who can lead," Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway said at an event sponsored by Axios this past week.

The message of Trump's recent overseas trip was directed at his supporters back home: He reinforced his "America First" slogan by traveling to NATO's headquarters to demand that allies increase defense spending and refused to explicitly support its mutual defense pact. (At a White House news conference Friday, Trump did say the U.S. was committed to that shared defense.)

"If you asked most Americans where they are, they are in a position where we have our own problems, we don't need to be taking care of the world's problems," said Greg Strimple, a Republican pollster based in Idaho, who said that Trump's play could resonate beyond his base. "I think he is reaching out to the middle with a lot of these policies."

Trump's legislative agenda has slowed to a crawl on Capitol Hill, in large part due to divisions among his Republican allies on health care and taxes. The Republican-led bill to dismantle the Obama-era health law narrowly passed the House, and Senate Republicans have struggled to bridge their divide in crafting legislation.

Democrats have shown little inclination to work with Trump, and the White House has made almost no effort at outreach.

By contrast, Republican George W. Bush, the most recent president to win election while losing the popular vote, took steps during his first months in office to woo the opposition party. He worked closely with Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy, a leading Democrat, to pass the "No Child Left Behind" education law.

And Trump? He held a pair of meetings Tuesday at the White House to go over his legislative agenda.

Only Republicans were invited.

___

Lemire reported from New York. Associated Press writer Jill Colvin in Cincinnati contributed to this report.

___

Follow Lemire on Twitter at http://twitter.com/@JonLemire and Thomas at http://twitter.com/@KThomasDC
PARIS (AP) - President Emmanuel Macron's barely year-old party is set to upend politics as France knows it. But the rosy glow of a likely massive victory in next Sunday's final round of French legislative elections could be dimmed without a robust opposition to debate controversial initiatives like far-reaching labor law reforms that scare some, anger others and risk sending those who want none of it into the streets.

France's new leader, at 39 the youngest-ever and just getting his feet wet in politics, aimed from the start to remake the political landscape, much of it populated with old- school career politicians. Based on results from Sunday's first-round of voting, he is shattering it.

His fledgling Republic on the Move - fielding many candidates with no political experience - won 28 percent of the vote, putting it on course to take as many as 450 seats in the powerful 577-seat National Assembly, an unprecedented feat in France. Opponents occupying the remaining seats would represent a fragmented opposition, most without the 15 seats needed to even get speaking time, funding or other ways to weigh on policy.

French President Emmanuel Macron arrives for a press conference with Senegal's President Macky Sall at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, Monday, June 12, 2017. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

Macron's party decimated the Socialist Party that governed France for the past five years and got less than 7.5 percent of Sunday's vote. It flattened the far-right National Front whose leader, Marine Le Pen, was vying with him for the presidency last month. The party got just over 13 percent of the vote. Macron's closest rival, the mainstream conservatives, took less than 16 percent.

Such a parliament would be the most "monochrome of the Fifth Republic," said Frederic Dabi of the Ifop polling firm, speaking on CNews TV.

But another figure also stood out - the record-low voter turnout. Less than half of France's 47.5 million electorate cast ballots.

The Le Figaro daily warned against the "optical illusion" created by the apparent sweep, noting in a commentary that with less than one in two voters casting ballots and a voting system that favors large political parties, the count racked up by Macron's party "is far from equaling support." Macron himself was massively elected on May 7 in large part to keep his rival, Le Pen, from power.

"I'll make their lives hell in the Assembly," declared Jean-Luc Melenchon, the far-left leader whose presidential bid failed - and who, after Sunday's vote, had a comfortable lead in his bid for a parliamentary seat.

Macron intends to set his reform agenda into motion within weeks and has called a special parliamentary session next month to kick-start the process. This includes plans to change French labor laws to make hiring and firing easier - reforms he intends to push through using a system, also used by previous governments, that calls for a measure to be quickly ratified by parliament without an extended debate and no opportunity to amend it.

But Macron is already being warned he will not have carte blanche.

Some unions and a collective, the Social Front, formed to combat Macron's policies, plan a rally next Monday outside the National Assembly to protest Macron's plans to reform the labor law and skirt normal procedure to pass changes.

With a super-majority all but assured in the legislature, "the opposition to Macron ... will be in the street," said Hall Gardner, chair for International and Comparative Politics at American University of Paris and a long-time observer of the French political scene.

"Any system that doesn't use checks and balances is dangerous," Gardner said. "If he's smart he will use the National Assembly and let them moderate the law somewhat. ... But I think he really wants to shake up the labor system."

Macron's electoral success has boosted the morale of France's European neighbors. They, along with foreign investors, are watching to see whether Macron follows through on his pledge to loosen French labor laws and reduce the power of unions, moves he says will help create jobs and inject new confidence into the Europe-wide economy. The past three French presidents also promised labor reforms but failed to make dramatic or lasting change, and France's economy has lagged behind and its jobless rate remains stuck around 10 percent.

Macron also wants to reinvigorate cooperation among the 27 members of the European Union in the wake of Britain's Brexit vote, notably by joint military spending and a shared budget for the countries that use the euro.

At Wednesday's Cabinet meeting, he is to introduce plans to clean up politics, to staunch the steady flow of scandals that have over decades reduced voter trust in the French political class. New terrorism legislation is to be presented on June 21 to make some security measures permanent and to extend the current state of emergency beyond July, when it is set to expire. Last week, he formally presented a "national center of counterterrorism" to be based at the Elysee Palace.

Only four seats were decided in Sunday's first round of voting, and some powerful figures fell, including the Socialist Party leader, Jean-Christophe Cambadelis, and the Socialists' presidential candidate, Benoit Hamon.

Le Pen, who had Europe on edge until she lost the presidential race, was trying to save herself and her party in the legislative contests. She herself made it to the second round in her northern bastion of Henin-Beaumont, but some ranking party members were eliminated outright, notably campaign director Nicolas Bay, the party's secretary-general.

Francois Fezeau is among those happy with the outcome. The 29-year-old Parisian said the election results "fill me with enthusiasm."

"We had a recent (presidential) election that shook up the traditional parties and I think that the legislative elections give Macron the possibility to show what he is able to do," Fezeau said.

French President Emmanuel Macron waves to the audience as he leaves a polling station in Le Touquet, northern France, after casting his vote in the first round of the two-stage legislative elections, Sunday, June 11, 2017. French voters are choosing legislators in the first round of parliamentary elections, with President Emmanuel Macron's party "Republic on the Move" hoping to win a strong majority in the National Assembly to push through bold labor and security reforms. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

French far-right presidential candidate, Marine Le Pen, right, poses for a selfie with a supporter after the first round of parliamentary elections in Henin Beaumont, Northern France, Sunday, June 11, 2017. France's prime minister is declaring victory for President Emmanuel Macron's new centrist party in the first round of parliamentary elections set to reshape French politics. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler)
LONDON (AP) - British Prime Minister Theresa May sought Monday to rally lawmakers from her Conservative Party behind her leadership amid doubts over her ability to remain in power following last week's disastrous election result.

May, who is trying to wrap up an arrangement with Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party that would allow her to lead a government with a majority of votes in the House of Commons, moved to demonstrate that she understands the frustration within her own ranks following the election.

Britain's Press Association, quoting two unnamed sources from the meeting, said May told lawmakers at a closed-door session that she admitted she was the one who "got us into this mess" and vowed that she would be the one who will "get us out of it."

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May leaves after a cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street after the general election in London, Monday, June 12, 2017.(AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

The meeting with the rank-and-file, some of whom have called for May to step aside sooner rather than later, was brought forward a day.

May has taken the blame for the Conservatives' relatively poor showing in last Thursday's election, in which the party surprisingly lost its majority.

With opinion polls showing the Conservatives with a commanding lead over the opposition Labour Party, May had called an early election in hopes of increasing her majority in Parliament and strengthening her position in negotiations over Britain's exit from the European Union.

Instead, the election obliterated her political authority and the party is trying to secure the support of the 10 Democratic Unionist Party lawmakers to assure passage of May's program.

With a deal still to be confirmed, there was speculation that the announcement of the government's agenda, known as the Queen's Speech, could be delayed by from the planned date next Monday. Delay would represent a highly unusual circumstance in a country where the monarch's schedule is determined months in advance.

David Davis, the cabinet member in charge of Brexit, said talks with the EU may not start on Monday as planned because it would clash with the scheduled date of the Queen's Speech. However, he insisted they will begin next week.

"It may not be on the Monday because we also have got the Queen's Speech that week and I will have to speak in that, and so on," he told Sky News.

Davis suggested the government would focus on the divorce proceedings before moving on to trade. The divorce issues include the rights of EU citizens in Britain as well as U.K. citizens in the EU, how much Britain will have to pay to cover previous spending commitments and the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

The EU has said that sufficient progress must be made on these issues before trade deals can be discussed, though Britain had argued the talks should take place simultaneously.

Some lawmakers, particularly those from the Scottish National Party, are urging cross-party discussions to reach a consensus on Britain's exit from the EU.

May's failure to get a majority has undercut her tough Brexit strategy, which had raised fears that Britain was heading for a so-called "hard Brexit," which could potentially see tariffs slapped on British exports to the bloc.

The prime minister's most prominent potential rival, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, sought to quash any suggestion that she would be ousted imminently. Writing in the mass-circulation Sun newspaper, Johnson stressed that the Conservatives won more votes than at any time since Margaret Thatcher and are still the largest party in Parliament.

"The people of Britain have had a bellyful of promises and politicking," he wrote. "Now is the time for delivery - and Theresa May is the right person to continue that vital work."

Over the weekend, May's top two aides stepped aside. Many in the party were furious at the pair for shutting them out of decision-making during the election campaign.

May also restored former Justice Secretary Michael Gove to the Cabinet in another move designed to show she was willing to listen to critics. Gove, who was dismissed when May became prime minister last year, will now serve as environment secretary.

Moody's Investors Service said the inconclusive election outcome would complicate and "probably delay" negotiations with the EU.

"Overall, we believe that the election outcome will hamper Brexit negotiations and increase fiscal risks, and therefore be negative for the U.K.'s credit profile," Moody's said in a statement.

"However, the Conservative Party's reduced share of the vote may indicate a higher likelihood that a 'softer' form of Brexit might now be pursued, involving compromises with the EU that Ms. May would not have countenanced previously, and which would be positive."

With the Brexit process uncertain, the pound suffered further falls in the foreign exchange markets, trading another 0.7 percent lower at $1.2653.

As discussion continued, a leading business organization said the political uncertainty is leading to a "dramatic drop" in confidence. The Institute of Directors survey said company directors see no clear way to resolve the political situation quickly. They also believe another election would negatively impact the U.K. economy.

"It is hard to overstate what a dramatic impact the current political uncertainty is having on business leaders, and the consequences could - if not addressed immediately - be disastrous for the U.K. economy," said Stephen Martin, the director-general of the IoD.

Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, leaves 10 Downing Street after a cabinet meeting after the general election in London, Monday, June 12, 2017. Senior members of British Prime Minister Theresa May's government rallied to her defense Monday amid doubts over her ability to remain in power following a disastrous election result. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, leaves 10 Downing Street after a cabinet meeting after the general election in London, Monday, June 12, 2017. Senior members of British Prime Minister Theresa May's government rallied to her defense Monday amid doubts over her ability to remain in power following a disastrous election result. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May leaves after a cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street after the general election in London, Monday, June 12, 2017.(AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Arlene Foster and deputy leader Nigel Dodds speak to the media at Stormont Castle ahead of talks aimed at restoring powersharing in Northern Ireland, in in Belfast, Monday, June 12, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May is seeking a deal with a Northern Irish party to prop up the Conservative minority administration, and lawmakers said the rebuff from voters meant the government will have to abandon planned policies and re-think its strategy for European Union exit talks. (Niall Carson/PA via AP)

British Prime Minister Theresa May, 4th left, as she holds the first Cabinet meeting of her new team inside 10 Downing Street, in London, Monday June 12, 2017. The government Cabinet met for the first time Monday after a reshuffle by Theresa May following last week's general election. (Leon Neal/Pool via AP)

British Prime Minister Theresa May sits with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson as she holds the first Cabinet meeting of her new team inside 10 Downing Street, in London, Monday June 12, 2017. The government Cabinet met for the first time Monday after a reshuffle by Theresa May following last week's general election. (Leon Neal/Pool via AP)

Michael Fallon, Secretary of State for Defense, arrives for a cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street in London, Monday, June 12, 2017. Embattled British Prime Minister Theresa May appointed ministers to her shaky government Sunday, as some Conservative colleagues rallied to support her - and others said her days were numbered after last week's disastrous election. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd, arrives for a cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street after the general election in London, Monday, June 12, 2017. Senior members in Theresa May's government are moving to support her leadership despite doubts that she will remain in power following a disastrous election result.(AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

David Davis, Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, arrives for a cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street after the general election in London, Monday, June 12, 2017. Senior members in Theresa May's government are moving to support her leadership despite doubts that she will remain in power following a disastrous election result. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

People pose for photographs backdropped by the Houses of Parliament, next to statues of Britain's First and Second World War Prime Ministers David Lloyd George, left, and Winston Churchill in London, Monday, June 12, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May's office has declined to confirm that the Queen's Speech would be held on June 19, and the uncertainty about the speech laying out the government's legislative program comes as May conducts talks with the Democratic Unionist Party, which is certain to expect concessions for its support. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
BERLIN (AP) - A 21-year-old German man arrested over the killing of two foreign women in the southern German city of Nuremberg has confessed to the crimes, police and prosecutors said Monday.

A 22-year-old woman with Romanian and Hungarian citizenship was killed in Nuremberg on May 24. The second victim, a 44-year-old Chinese woman, was killed in the city June 5.

Both women had recently moved to Nuremberg and worked as prostitutes. They were both discovered strangled, with their hands bound, by firefighters responding to apartment blazes.

Police president Johann Rast, speaks during a press conference in Nuremberg, Germany, Monday, June 12, 2017. German police have arrested a suspect in the killing of two women who worked as prostitutes in the southern city of Nuremberg. Public broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk reports that the 21-year-old German citizen was identified with the help of cellphone data and DNA from the crime scene. Nuremberg police declined to confirm details of the man's arrest ahead of a news conference Monday afternoon. A 22-year-old Romanian woman was killed in Nuremberg on May 24. A 44-year-old Chinese woman was killed in the city June 5. (Daniel Karmann/dpa via AP)

The suspect was arrested Friday after police identified him through a cell phone number found on a victim's phone. DNA from the crime scene also corresponded to that of the suspect.

"He has confessed in the meantime and is now in investigative detention," Nuremberg's chief of police Johann Rast told reporters.

The man, identified only as Felix R. in keeping with German privacy rules, was known to police from a domestic violence incident a year ago, for which he had been sentenced to two weeks in a youth detention center.

Prosecutors Alfred Huber said the suspect claimed he had killed the women after an argument about money.
WARSAW, Poland (AP) - Poland's defense minister is hailing an upcoming visit by U.S. President Donald Trump as an "enormous event" and a success of his conservative government.

The White House said Friday that Trump will visit Poland on July 6 before he joins the Group of 20 summit in Germany. It said the visit to Poland is meant to reaffirm America's "steadfast commitment to one of our closest European allies."

Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz said late Sunday the upcoming visit, which Poland had sought, "is an enormous event showing how much Poland's place in geopolitics and world politics has changed" under his party, Law and Justice, which took power in 2015.

The nationalist party shares Trump's opposition to Muslims migrants and, like the U.S. leader, talks of restoring national greatness.
MOSCOW (AP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin says that early on in his tenure he floated the idea of Russia joining NATO.

In a series of interviews with American film director Oliver Stone, Putin said he inquired about Russia joining the alliance when then-U.S. President Bill Clinton visited Moscow in 2000.

"During the meeting I said: 'Let's consider an option that Russia might join NATO,'" Putin recalled. "Clinton said 'Why not?' But the U.S. delegation got very nervous."

FILE - In this July 21, 2000 file photo, President Bill Clinton shares a light moment with Russian President Vladimir Putin before a Group of Eight meeting in Nago, Okinawa, Japan. In a series of interviews with American film director Oliver Stone being shown on U.S. television on Monday, June 12, 2017, Putin said that he inquired about Russia joining NATO when Clinton visited Moscow in 2000. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)

Putin had said in an interview several months before Clinton's June 2000 visit that he wasn't opposed to Russia joining the alliance, but his comment to Stone was the first public indication of his raising the issue.

Stone conducted the interviews in 2015-17. They are to be shown on U.S. cable channel Showtime in four parts beginning Monday. The first two hour-long segments were made available to news media before the showing.

In the segments, Putin portrays Russia under his leadership as seeking to improve ties, but frustrated by Washington's "imperialist mentality."

Despite Putin's onetime interest in joining NATO, in the interviews he criticized the alliance for expanding eastward to Russia's borders.

Putin defended the country's controversial law on banning dissemination to minors of "propaganda" legitimizing homosexuality, saying "the reasoning behind this law is to provide children with the opportunity to grow up without impacting their consciousness." Although there is widespread animosity toward homosexuality in Russia and authorities regularly deny gay rights activists permission to rally, Putin said "our society is liberal-minded to a great extent."

After Putin noted that there is no formal prohibition of gays in the military, Stone asked if Putin would take a shower on a submarine with a gay crewman.

"I prefer not to go to the shower with him. Why provoke him?" Putin said.

He also provided a rare bit of detail about his family, telling Stone that he had grandchildren. Little is known about his two daughters and Putin gave no additional clues, saying only that they were accomplished women.

"You're a very lucky man," Stone told him.

The segments also show Stone praising the film "Doctor Strangelove" as a formative insight into the Cold War, and he then watches it with Putin, who doesn't appear impressed. Stone then presents him with the package for the DVD of the film, forgetting to include the disc itself, and Putin jests: "Typical American gift."
SINGAPORE (AP) - Police in Singapore have detained a preschool assistant who shared pro-Islamic State materials online and intended to travel to Syria, their first arrest of a female Singaporean alleged to be a sympathizer of the radical group, the Home Affairs Ministry said Monday.

The ministry issued a statement saying that 22-year-old Syaikhah Izzah Zahrah Al Ansari was arrested earlier this month under the country's Internal Security Act, which allows for indefinite detention without trial. Singaporean authorities have detained 14 male Singaporean suspected Islamic State sympathizers since 2015.

Singapore's immediate neighbors, Indonesia and Malaysia, have large Muslim populations and hundreds of Islamic State sympathizers are estimated to have traveled to Syria from the two countries to join the group.

The statement said Izzah had been "radicalized in 2013 by online propaganda related to the terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" and in turn posted materials on social media supporting the group. "Several of her social media platforms were taken down by administrators because of the pro-ISIS content, but she created new ones," the ministry said.

Izzah, who worked at PCF Sparkletots, a chain of government preschools, planned to travel to Syria with her young child and "was intent on joining" the Islamic State group, the ministry said. "She also said that she was prepared to undergo military training and engage in armed combat to defend ISIS, if called upon by the terrorist group to do so."

She was allegedly looking for a Salafi or Islamic State group supporter "to marry and settle down with." Salafism is a form of Islam that interprets the Quran literally.

Her parents, both freelance Quranic teachers, and sister were aware of Izzah's plans and tried to stop her, the ministry said. But when Izzah was put under investigation, a family member tried to destroy evidence to "try to minimize her acts."

A report released by the Ministry of Home Affairs this month said that Singapore's terrorism threat "remains the highest in recent years."

It cited two foiled plans. Last August, the terrorist group Katibah Gonggong Rebus, based on the nearby Indonesian island of Batam, attempted to launch a rocket attack on downtown Singapore, the report said. Authorities also stemmed an attack planned by foreign Islamic State group militants last year, it said, but no further details were provided.
News / Press Release

by ZAPU Youth Front

The life of Joshua Mqabuko Nyongola Nkomo ,the longest serving leader of the Zimbabwe African People's Union ( ZAPU) and widely known as " Father Zimbabwe' is still celebrated to this day and well after his death in July 1999. It is our strong belief that his life shall be celebrated for generations to come not for centuries, he is always be remembered.The tireless lifelong serving, commitment and determination on successfully setting, leading and spearheading both political and armed struggle campaign against Zimbabwe's ( then Rhodesia) colonialist's who continued to perpetuate their racist and segregative apartheid system against country's black majority peopleTo succeed his quest for freedom of black majority people in the country, he decided to courageously approach for armed struggleThe military assistance of the Soviet Union and the Cubans led by Russia hence independence in 1980,Joshua Nkomo was in the true sense of the word a true Nationalist and natural non tribal leader , the reason why ZAPU has to this day solidly a multi-racial poli party In Zimbabwe.Joshua Nkomo was naturally the most successful people's unifying leader Zimbabwe has ever had.He offered Zimbabweans equality of opportunities and economically in land ownership, its produces,goods,services and natural resources benefits without prejudiceHe desired and aimed at the country's entire and economic development under the true and complete devolution system with complete devolved provincial powersThus we as ZAPU Youth Front ,we recognize and accept Joshua Nkomo as the true father of Zimbabwe's revolution and a real Pan-AfricanistTo us JMN Nkomo left a durable and never ending legacy in founding (ZAPU) and its military wing ZIPRA without which Zimbabwe to this day would be still languishing under the colonialists rule,its unjust and inhuman laws or systems.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - A man was killed when he was sucked underneath a street sweeper in Florida.

Local news outlets report that a street sweeper operator was killed early Saturday after officials say he became entangled while trying to clear something from the machine at a parking lot in the Mandarin neighborhood of Jacksonville.

Witnesses say the man was heard crying for help, but by the time rescuers had arrived he was already unresponsive.

Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Sgt. Mark Musser says police worked throughout the day to contact both the man's family and his employer. Investigators say they were trying to gather information about exactly how the incident happened.

Musser says no foul play is apparent and that it seems to be a terrible accident.

The man's identity wasn't immediately released.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - The head of France's PSA Group, the maker of Peugeot and Citroen cars, says his goal is to see Opel make money by 2020 - but he'll be doing it without Opel's CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann.

Neumann is stepping down ahead of the completion of the unit's sale by General Motors to PSA.

Opel said in a statement Monday that Neumann was leaving his post as CEO immediately but would remain a member of top Opel management until the sale goes through. Neumann was replaced by the chief financial officer, Michael Lohscheller.

FILE - In this April 23, 2014 file photo Karl-Thomas Neumann, Chairman of the Board of Opel AG, delivers a speech during the presentation of the three millionth car in the German car company Opel Eisenach GmbH in Eisenach, Germany. Neumann, has stepped down amid the company's sale to PSA of France. He has been replaced by the chief financial officer, Michael Lohscheller. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer, file)

The company said Lohscheller's appointment would "ensure continuity" and a "seamless managerial transition" as Opel builds a new strategic plan for its future under PSA Group ownership. PSA Group CEO Carlos Tavares was quoted as saying by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily that Opel had to become profitable by 2020 in order to generate the cash needed to invest in new models, markets and ideas. The goal is to have Opel reach PSA's levels of profitability - 6 percent operating profit margins - by 2026.

Tavares stressed that Opel needed to remain a German brand, and likewise with its right-hand-drive Vauxhall models sold in Britain.

"The more German Opel is, and perceived to be, and the more British the sister company Vauxhall is, the more they complement our brands Peugeot, Citroen and DS," he was quoted as saying.

Formally called Adam Opel GmbH, the German company has scored successes like its Mokka small SUV but has tended to lack models that bring high per-vehicle profits. As a mass-market carmaker, mainstay offerings in the lower price categories such as its small Adam city car and Astra compact face a tough European market with lots of competitors. The company has also struggled against strict worker protections that have slowed efforts to reduce costs and lessen underused factory capacity.

General Motors announced in March it would unload Opel and its Vauxhall brand for $2.3 billion after losing money in Europe for years. The deal will make PSA the No. 2 European automaker after Volkswagen.

"It was a difficult personal decision not to continue with the Opel/Vauxhall team when it transitions to Groupe PSA," Neumann said in the company statement. "I am committed to completing this transaction and will then take some time to decide what is next for me."

This undated photo publicly provided by Adam Opel GmbH shows the CFO of Opel , Michael Lohscheller. The CEO of General Motors' Opel subsidiary is stepping down ahead of the unit's sale to France's PSA Group. Adam Opel GmbH said in a statement Monday June 12, 2017 that Karl-Thomas Neumann would leave his post as head of GM's European carmaker immediately. He will remain a member of top Opel management until the sale to PSA Group goes through. Neumann was replaced by chief financial officer Michael Lohscheller. (Adam Opel GmbH via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) - Former President Barack Obama has officially blessed a book by his White House photographer.

Obama is contributing a foreword to Pete Souza's "Obama: An Intimate Portrait," Little, Brown and Co. told The Associated Press on Monday. Souza's book comes out in November and builds on his widely followed Instagram account that has contrasted the Trump administration with images from Obama's years in office.

Souza has known Obama for more than a decade, dating back to when Obama was a U.S. senator from Illinois. A previous book of Souza pictures, "The Rise of Barack Obama," came out in 2008. Souza also was a White House photographer during Ronald Reagan's administration.

This cover image released by Little, Brown and Company shows "Obama: An Intimate Portrait," by former White House photographer Pete Souza. ( Little, Brown and Company via AP)
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) - The Latest on the sexual assault trial of Bill Cosby (all times local):

10:10 p.m.

The jury in Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial will resume deliberations Tuesday with a review of excerpts from the entertainer's testimony in a decade-old civil lawsuit by his accuser.

Bill Cosby arrives for his sexual assault trial with his wife Camille Cosby, right, at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., Monday, June 12, 2017. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Jurors asked that the judge read them back more than a dozen portions of the testimony, in which Cosby spoke about giving drugs to women he wanted to have sex with.

Jurors deliberated for four hours Monday night after hearing closing arguments on the sixth day of the trial.

Cosby is accused of drugging and violating a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in January 2004. He says what they did was consensual.

The woman had sued Cosby after prosecutors decided a decade ago not to bring charges. In that case he gave damaging testimony, but it did not become public until 2015. It was then that a new prosecutor decided to charge him.

___

9:45 p.m.

Jurors in Bill Cosby's Pennsylvania sexual assault trial are ending deliberations for the night.

The sequestered panel deliberated for about four hours late Monday before asking to go back to the hotel.

They'll resume deliberations Tuesday morning.

Cosby is accused of drugging and violating a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in January 2004.

During deliberations, the jury asked to hear part of Cosby's decade-old testimony in a civil case about the pills he gave the accuser before she said she was sexually assaulted. It was read to them by the judge.

The Pittsburgh-area jury has been away from home for more than a week and was in the courthouse for about 14 hours Monday through a brief defense case and closing arguments.

____

7:55 p.m.

Jurors in Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial are zeroing in on the night Cosby says he gave his accuser three blue pills that he described as "friends."

The jury asked to hear the context of Cosby's deposition testimony about the pills, and then resumed deliberations.

Jurors got the case late Monday afternoon. They've been deliberating for two hours, and have had dinner brought in.

Cosby is accused of drugging and molesting Andrea Constand after giving her the pills. She says they left her semi-conscious. Cosby says he only gave her Benadryl. He says Constand was stressed so he told her, "I have three friends for you to make you relax."

The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission, which Constand has done.

___

7:15 p.m.

The jury in Bill Cosby's suburban Philadelphia sexual assault trial has ordered dinner after 90 minutes of deliberations.

The judge says jurors can continue working as late as they wish.

The jury got the case late Monday afternoon, on the sixth day of the trial.

The 79-year-old Cosby is charged with drugging and violating former Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his home in 2004. Cosby says any contact was consensual.

A conviction could put Cosby in prison for the rest of his life.

___

5:30 p.m.

Jurors in the Bill Cosby sexual assault trial have started deliberating whether he drugged and molested a woman more than a decade ago.

They got the case late Monday afternoon after each side delivered closing arguments.

The 79-year-old entertainer is charged with violating Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.

A conviction could put him in prison for the rest of his life.

Cosby says he gave Constand a cold and allergy medicine to help her relax. He says their sexual encounter was consensual.

Prosecutors suggest Cosby gave her something stronger. She testified the pills left her semi-conscious and unable to tell Cosby to stop.

Dozens of women have come forward to say he had drugged and assaulted them. This is the only case to result in criminal charges against the comic.

___

4 p.m.

A Pennsylvania prosecutor says "fancy lawyering" can't save Bill Cosby from his own admissions about fondling a woman after giving her pills he knew could put her to sleep.

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said in his closing argument Monday that the 79-year-old comedian's decade-old statements corroborate Andrea Constand's allegations that he drugged and violated her at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.

Cosby didn't testify at the six-day sex assault trial. But jurors still heard plenty from him as prosecutors read them excerpts from his 2005 police statement and civil deposition.

Steele also reminded jurors about a telephone conversation in which Cosby apologized to Constand's mother and described himself as a "sick man."

Constand testified the pills left her unable to fight Cosby off. Cosby's lawyers say the two were lovers and the encounter was consensual.

___

2 p.m.

Bill Cosby's chief accuser and his wife sat feet apart as lawyers delivered closing arguments in his trial on charges he sexually assaulted her at his suburban Philadelphia home in January 2004.

Andrea Constand watched from the front row of the packed courtroom gallery on Monday as Cosby's lawyers spent nearly two hours seizing on inconsistencies in her story in a final push for acquittal. Camille Cosby also sat in the front row, with a few other people and the aisle between them.

Cosby lawyer Brian McMonagle told jurors Constand's story evolved and details changed over three interviews she gave to police after coming forward about a year after she says he assaulted her.

Prosecutors are poised to give their closing argument Monday afternoon. Camille Cosby isn't in the courtroom for that.

___

12:45 p.m.

Bill Cosby's defense lawyer says the comedian and the primary accuser at his sex assault trial were lovers who had a consensual sexual encounter.

Cosby is charged with sexually assaulting a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in January 2004.

His lawyers said in closing arguments Monday that Cosby is being prosecuted now because of a media firestorm after excerpts from his lurid deposition became public. The defense says when the case began it was about money, but now it's a about a man's liberty.

Cosby's primary accuser, Andrea Constand, received an unknown amount of money from a civil case she filed.

The defense offered its closing argument after presenting a single witness: a detective who reminded jurors that police wondered why Constand had visited with Cosby at a casino.

Prosecutors will give their closing argument Monday afternoon.

___

This item has been updated to delete an incorrect reference to Constand visiting with Cosby after the encounter.

___

10:30 a.m.

The defense has rested after a single brief witness in Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial.

The defense case consisted of a six-minute appearance by a detective, seemingly designed to remind jurors that Andrea Constand had visited with Cosby at an out-of-state casino and that police knew he had vision problems even then.

Jurors soon will hear closing arguments and could perhaps start deliberating Monday afternoon.

___

10:15 a.m.

Bill Cosby says he will not testify in his own defense at his sexual assault trial.

The 79-year-old comedian told a judge Monday that he made the decision after talking it over with his lawyers.

The defense says it's calling just one witness: the detective who led the 2005 investigation into allegations Cosby drugged and violated Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home.

Detective Richard Schaffer was one of 12 witnesses who testified during the five-day prosecution case.

Cosby says his attorneys won't call any character witnesses.

Judge Steven O'Neill shot down the defense's bid to call a second witness, a woman who worked with Constand at Cosby's alma mater, Temple University.

___

8:45 a.m.

Bill Cosby's wife, Camille, has arrived at court with him on the sixth day of his sexual assault trial.

It's the first day a family member has accompanied him to court. The couple also has four daughters.

The defense opens it case Monday. Cosby had said before the trial he would not testify. But a spokesman said last week it still was a possibility.

Last week, accuser Andrea Constand testified that Cosby drugged and molested her in 2004 at his gated estate near Philadelphia.

Jurors also heard Cosby's version in the form of his police statement and his lurid deposition in her 2005 lawsuit.

The trial will move to closing arguments if no defense witnesses are called.

___

Midnight

Actor Bill Cosby could charm jurors at his sexual assault trial if he testifies this week, but experts say the risk would be considerable.

The defense is scheduled to begin presenting its case on Monday in suburban Philadelphia.

Cosby's spokesman says the 79-year-old actor may testify, but his lawyers remain mum.

Last week, accuser Andrea Constand testified that Cosby drugged and molested her in 2004 at his gated estate near Philadelphia.

Jurors also heard Cosby's version in the form of his police statement and his lurid deposition in her 2005 lawsuit.

The trial will move to closing arguments on Monday if no defense witnesses are called.

The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission, which Constand has done.

Bill Cosby arrives for his sexual assault trial with his wife Camille Cosby, right, at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., Monday, June 12, 2017. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Bill Cosby arrives for his sexual assault trial with his wife Camille Cosby at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., Monday, June 12, 2017. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Bill Cosby walks from the Montgomery County Courthouse during his sexual assault trial in Norristown, Pa., Friday, June 9, 2017. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Gianna Constand, left, and her daughter Andrea Constand, right, walk toward the courtroom inside the Montgomery County Courthouse during Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial in Norristown, Pa., Monday, June 12, 2017. Cosby is accused of drugging and sexually assaulting Constand at his home outside Philadelphia in 2004. (David Maialetti/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP, Pool)

Camille Cosby, left, Bill Cosby's wife, leaves the courtroom during a lunch break in Cosby's sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., Monday, June 12, 2017. (David Maialetti/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP, Pool)
HOBART, Ind. (AP) - Police say a 9-year-old northwestern Indiana girl was shot to death when her father's firearm accidentally discharged.

Olivia Hummel died Saturday from a gunshot wound to the head at their home in Hobart.

Police spokesman Lt. James Gonzales says the girl's brothers told officers that their father's gun discharged as he showed it to them.

The father has been taken into custody for questioning and remains jailed Monday at the Lake County Jail in Crown Point, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) southeast of Chicago.

The (Northwest Indiana) Times reports (http://bit.ly/2skgSYU ) that the father is facing charges of child neglect and possibly reckless homicide. Hobart police and Lake County prosecutors are expected to announce charges Monday.

___

Information from: The Times, http://www.nwitimes.com
NEW YORK (AP) - General Electric says Jeff Immelt is stepping down as CEO and John Flannery, president and CEO of the conglomerate's health care unit, will take over the post in August.

The 61-year-old Immelt will stay on as chairman until his retirement from the position at the end of the year, with the 55-year-old Flannery stepping into the role after that.

Immelt has been at the helm of the conglomerate for 16 years, overseeing a transformation that included selling many of the company's units. Over that time, General Electric sold its insurance, credit card, plastics and security divisions.

FILE - In this Monday, May 8, 2017, file photo, General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt speaks during a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of GE's new headquarters, in Boston. General Electric said Immelt is stepping down as CEO. John Flannery, president and CEO of the conglomerate's health care unit, will take over the post in August. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

It also invested more heavily in new technologies, including a recent $1.65 billion acquisition of LM Wind Power, a Denmark-based manufacturer of rotor blades for wind turbines.

Flannery is a longtime General Electric executive, starting his career at GE Capital in 1987. He became president and CEO of the company's equity unit in 2002 and eventually joined the health care unit in 2014, focusing on advanced technologies.

In addition, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Bornstein was named vice chair and Kieran Murphy was named president and CEO of GE Healthcare to succeed Flannery.

GE said Monday that the moves were part of its succession plan.

Shares of General Electric Co. climbed 91 cents, or 3.3 percent, to $28.84 in morning trading. They are down about 7.6 percent over the last 12 months.

FILE - This April 15, 2010, file photo shows John Flannery, president and CEO of the General Electric's health care unit, at an event in New Delhi, India. General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt is stepping down and Flannery will take over the post in August 2017. (AP Photo/Mustafa Quraishi, File)
MOSUL, Iraq (AP) - U.S.-backed Iraqi forces have pushed toward a medical complex in western Mosul, trying to dislodge Islamic State militants from two neighborhoods they still partly hold outside the Old City.

Brig. Gen. Mustafa al-Azzawi of the Iraqi army's 36th Brigade told The Associated Press on Monday that his forces had established a foothold at the edge of the medical complex, overcoming heavy resistance.

Smoke rose from artillery shelling and coalition airstrikes pounded the area as Iraqi armored vehicles headed toward the front line.

Iraq launched an operation to retake Mosul, its second largest city, in October. IS militants now only control a handful of neighborhoods in and around the Old City.
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) - Estonia has appointed ministers for two key positions in a Cabinet reshuffle prompted by a leadership change in the junior coalition member.

IRL Party members Juri Luik and Toomas Toniste took over the defense and finance ministries respectively immediately after being sworn in on Monday. They replaced party colleagues Margus Tsahkna and Sven Sester.

Luik is a former diplomat and a high-ranking official at the Baltic country's foreign ministry and Toniste is a businessman and former lawmaker.

The conservative IRL is part of Estonia's current three-party coalition government with Prime Minister Juri Ratas' Center Party and the Social Democrats.

IRL elected Helir-Valdor Seeder as its new chairman in May to replace Tsahkna who said he would not seek re-election.
WARSAW, Poland (AP) - Warsaw's city mayor and other officials will be summoned this month to testify before a special state commission investigating questionable restitution of private property that was seized under communism, the deputy justice minister said Monday.

The commission was formed recently in response to growing outrage at some of the returns, which concern highly valuable plots and buildings, in Warsaw and some other cities, that were seized by the state from private owners - Poles, Jews and others - under a 1945 communist-era decree.

In the 1990s, democratic Poland opened the possibility of the return of property, but in many cases the process has gone wrong, the rightful heirs have been tricked out of their rights and the tenants evicted by the new owners, sometimes with nowhere to go.

The commission led by Deputy Justice Minister Patryk Jaki will review dozens of cases. It has the power to take wrong decisions to court to seek their reversal or compensation for the rightful inheritors. It is beginning with restitutions in Warsaw.

Jaki said Monday that the first hearings will be June 28-30 and will concern two plots of land in Twarda street, on which a building was built after World War II and from where a renowned high school was evicted as part of restitution of the land to a Warsaw businessman. A relative of the pre-war Jewish owners recently claimed rights to the plots.

Warsaw's mayor since 2006, Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, refuses to appear and has questioned the commission's authority. The panel wants to know to what extent she was aware of irregularities that have been described in the media.

"This only shows that the mayor is very much afraid to face the commission and answer questions which, I believe, could be difficult for her," Jaki said.

A house returned to Gronkiewicz-Waltz's family is among those being investigated.

Some other city officials have been put under arrest on suspicion of helping in the irregular restitutions and will be brought before the panel.
Opinion / Columnist

Zimbabwe's greatest curse is to have some of the most corrupt and incompetent leaders the world has ever seen!"They (opposition parties) should know first what the coalition is about," Ms Sekai Holland said, according to a New Zimbabwe report."Once you know what the coalition is about, then you really know how the structures are put in place and you know how the leadership is chosen."If you are having a grand coalition, everything must be by consensus building based on the issues that bring the coalition together." She was giving her two-pennies' worth to want the opposition needed to do to win next year's elections.Ask her why did MDC lose the 2013 election and even she will admit the elections were rigged.Ask her why Zanu PF was able to rig the elections and she will probably give one of her long-winded summon on the mount, starting nowhere and going nowhere else! The simple answer is; Zanu PF was able to blatantly rig the vote because MDC leaders had failed to implement the democratic reforms designed to stop the vote rigging.Mai Holland was one of the MDC cabinet ministers in the GNU whose party's primary task was to implement the reforms. The GNU was supposed to last 18 months but ended up lasting 60 months and yet MDC leaders still failed to get even one reform implemented. Not even one!The tragedy was that MDC leaders were repeatedly warned of the critical importance of the reforms and why they should be implemented but they ignored the warning. In a last minute desperate attempt to get the reforms implemented SADC leaders pulled MDC leaders aside at the last regional summit and, literally, begged them not to contest the 2013 elections with no reforms in place."In 2013 the Maputo Summit, in June 2013, before the elections, the Maputo Summit was all about having the elections postponed - the SADC summit. I went there," Dr Ibbo Mandaza told Journalist Violet Gonda."I was there at the Summit and Mugabe pretended to agree to a postponement of the elections. If you recall, the postponement was based on the need to reform at least electoral laws."And after that Summit, Morgan Tsvangirai, Tendai Biti, Welshman Ncube, all of them were called to a separate meeting by the Heads of State of SADC in the absence of Mugabe, that same evening. And they were told; I was sitting there outside the room with Mac Maharaj; they were told 'if you go into elections next month, you are going to lose; the elections are done'."The full interview with Violet is available on violetgonda.com.As we know MDC leaders still paid no heed and went on to contest the July 2013 elections and, as noted above, Zanu PF went on to blatantly rig the vote and win with a landslide.Since the rigged July 2013 elections, the opposition have since vowed they will not contest any future elections until the reforms are implemented. Mai Holland should know that not even one reform has been implemented in the last four years and there is very little hope that any will be implement in the remaining year, before the election.So, to summarise, Mai Sekai Holland knows the follow as established facts:1) MDC lost the 2013 elections because Zanu PF rigged the vote  the coalition was not an issue since Mugabe won 62% of the vote and a single opposition candidate would have got the remaining 38% and still lose2) Zanu PF was able to blatantly rig the vote because MDC had failed to implement even one democratic reform throughout the five years of the GNU. And MDC leaders paid to heed to the warning that, with no reforms, the elections would be rigged.3) Still not even one reform has been implemented in preparation for next year's elections. SADC leaders' warning not to contest the elections with no reforms is as valid today as it was before the 2013 elections. And yet the opposition is once again gearing to contest the flawed election in violation of their own "No reform, no election!" party resolution.So, knowing the above established facts and realities, how is it possible that Mai Holland would be harping on about contesting next year's elections with not even one reform in place. The grand opposition coalition, even if it was finally created, will do nothing to stop the vote rigging! Contesting yet another flawed election knowing fully well Zanu PF will rig the vote and hope against hope the regime will rig the vote but, somehow, lose the election is the crass of insanity!It is said that wisdom comes with age; sadly, that is decidedly not the case in Zimbabwe, especially with our political leaders. They were dumb in their youth and have grown progressive dumber with age. The MDC leaders like slagging President Mugabe for his advanced age and yet he is the one who out foxed them for five years into doing nothing about the reforms. Even now, he is the chief beneficiary of their folly of contesting flawed elections. We do not need to ask Mai Holland or anyone who, amongst our political leaders, is the dumbest; we know!
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Venezuela's Supreme Court on Monday rejected the chief prosecutor's motion to stop President Nicolas Maduro's push to rewrite the constitution as the restive nation continued to be rocked by protests and a transit strike.

The Supreme Court's electoral branch declared Luisa Ortega Diaz's request inadmissible on the same day anti-government demonstrators were marching toward the high court to protest its refusal to stop Maduro's special assembly.

Opposition leaders said pro-government armed groups known as "colectivos" clashed with protesters and journalists near the Supreme Court and witnesses' videos showed fistfights and people being shoved to the ground at the demonstration site. National guardsmen in black helmets and bulletproof vests stretched across a street with plastic shields, blocking protesters from reaching the court.

A government supporter holds a small copy of Venezuela's constitution as she argues with opposition members outside the Supreme Court where opposition protesters gathered to show support for the chief prosecutor's motion to stop President Nicolas Maduro's push to rewrite the constitution Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, June 12, 2017. The court announced Monday it has declared Luisa Ortega Diaz's request inadmissible because she did not present sufficient legal grounds. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

The decision came four days after Ortega Diaz made an impassioned plea on the Supreme Court steps, grasping Venezuela's small blue constitution book in her hands and declaring the future of the nation's democracy was at stake.

Two months of anti-government protests have left at least 68 people dead as demonstrators demand new presidential elections in the face of triple-digit inflation that keeps rising, soaring crime and crippling food and medical shortages.

Venezuelans in Caracas awoke Monday to find their city paralyzed by a public transportation strike that union leaders said stretched through 90 percent of the capital. Transit workers said they were protesting unsafe work conditions and demanding the release of a colleague detained nearly two weeks ago. Bus driver Santos Quevedo was charged with terrorism after allegedly transporting a group of opposition protesters, but local reports say the government opponents forced him to give them a ride.

As during previous protests, the government closed several metro stations.

Speaking outside the Supreme Court, union leaders said transit workers are the first to wake up in the morning and often exposed to dangerous conditions in a country with one of the highest homicide rates in the world.

"Every time we leave our homes we don't know if we'll return alive," said Pedro Jimenez, president of a local union called the Southwest Transporters Bloc. He demanded that the government take action to ensure drivers' safety.

Three kilometers (1.9 miles) away, the Venezuelan Red Cross draped a giant white flag with a red cross above its entrance, an act usually reserved for extraordinary events such as natural disasters, to identify it as a neutral safe haven. The last time the flag is believed to have been raised was in April 2013 during the presidential election to replace the late President Hugo Chavez, which Maduro won by a narrow vote.

The Red Cross raised the flag again as a protective measure in light of recent protests in which authorities have used tear gas near the institution's hospital, said Jose Ramon Gonzalez, the group's national relief director. Though the institution itself has not been attacked, Gonzalez said the flag is meant to help protect both medical aid workers and patients arriving at the hospital.

The agency has treated 254 patients in Caracas and more than 500 nationwide during the recent wave of protests, Gonzalez said. The majority have suffered from ailments related to inhaling tear gas, being struck by rubber bullets and surface wounds.

More than 1,000 people have been injured nationwide in a wave of unrest unleashed after the Supreme Court in late March stripped the opposition-controlled National Assembly of its last powers, a decision later reserved amid a storm of international criticism. Many of the protests have ended with state security launching tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters, some of whom throw rocks and even jars filled with feces at officers.

Maduro has vowed to resolve the crisis by convening a special assembly to rewrite the constitution. But the opposition refuses to participate, denouncing the push as another means by which he will further consolidate his power.

Ortega Diaz, whose agency is semi-autonomous, has emerged as one of the most critical voices of Maduro within the government. A long-time loyalist, she has denounced the constitutional assembly as an affront to the legacy of Hugo Chavez, who crafted the nation's current constitution.

Maduro administration officials have criticized her as a de facto opposition leader responsible for the current wave of violence.

Monday's ruling appeared to further alienate Ortega Diaz from pro-government officials. The chief prosecutor introduced a new complaint contesting the appointment of 13 Supreme Court magistrates and 21 substitute judges approved by the National Assembly in 2015 shortly before the opposition took office. Critics say the judges were quickly ushered in for 12-year terms to assure government control of the nation's highest court, an assertion the Maduro administration denies.

Speaking to Union Radio, Ortega Diaz said her latest legal maneuver was an attempt to "restore the stability of the country." She added that her relatives have received threats and that she would hold Maduro responsible for anything that might happen to them.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court's president accused "terrorists" of attacking the headquarters of the court's executive body in the outskirts of Caracas. Maikel Moreno provided few details but photos posted on the Supreme Court's Twitter account showed parts of the building on fire. Videos shared by government officials captured a plume of dark smoke rising above the building, blaming opposition protesters.

Moreno said he was moving the court's office to another location because its current site in greater Caracas "is a territory without law."

___

Associated Press reporter Christine Armario in Bogota, Colombia, contributed to this report.

A woman signs the chief prosecutor's motion to stop President Nicolas Maduro's push to rewrite the constitution outside the Supreme Court in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, June 12, 2017. The court announced Monday it has declared Luisa Ortega Diaz's request inadmissible because she did not present sufficient legal grounds. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Demonstrators shout slogans against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro outside the Supreme Court to show support for the chief prosecutor's motion to stop Maduro's push to rewrite the constitution Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, June 12, 2017. The court announced Monday it has declared Luisa Ortega Diaz's request inadmissible because she did not present sufficient legal grounds. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

An anti-government demonstrator, left, argues with a government supporter about the devaluation, showing bank notes of one 100 Bolivars, outside the Supreme Court during a protest to support the chief prosecutor's motion to stop President Nicolas Maduro's push to rewrite the constitution Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, June 12, 2017. The court announced Monday it has declared Luisa Ortega Diaz's request inadmissible because she did not present sufficient legal grounds. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Government supporters try but fail to take away a cameraman's camera outside the Supreme Court as he covers an anti-government rally supporting the chief prosecutor's motion to stop President Nicolas Maduro's push to rewrite the constitution Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, June 12, 2017. The court announced Monday it has declared Luisa Ortega Diaz's request inadmissible because she did not present sufficient legal grounds. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) - A top Boko Haram commander was among many insurgents killed Sunday as soldiers fought to rescue nine children being trained at a secret camp, a Nigerian official said Monday.

Soldiers on their way to an Islamic extremist camp in Jarawa village in Borno State, ran into an ambush by Boko Haram fighters, said Nigerian army spokesman Brig. Gen. Sani Usman. The soldiers then killed a large number of Boko Haram insurgents, including one of its commanders Abu Nazir, who was on the military's wanted list, Usman said.

Soldiers also rescued nine abducted children, who are now being given preliminary humanitarian assistance. They will then go to a displaced persons camp in Kala Balge, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) west of Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, the army spokesman said.

Boko Haram sometimes uses kidnapped girls and boys to carry out suicide attacks.

Also Monday, soldiers arrested 24 suspected Boko Haram members in Edo state in southern Nigeria, said a local leader.

Alhaji Aliru Momoh, the leader of the Auchi Kingdom said the Boko Haram members were posing as Fulani herdsman when they were arrested. More than 400 people have lost their lives in clashes between suspected Fulani's herdsmen and local farmers in North Central states of Nigeria in the last two years.

Alhaji Momoh said "the traditional council is collaborating with security agencies and some" local civilian defense force groups to address the issue of militants fomenting violence there.

Boko Haram's eight-year insurgency has killed more than 20,000 people.

___

Uguru reported from Warri, Nigeria.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the United States later this month to meet President Donald Trump for the first time.

India's foreign ministry said on Monday that the two leaders will discuss bilateral relations on June 26 in Washington.

'Their discussions will provide a new direction for deeper bilateral engagement on issues of mutual interest,' the External Affairs ministry statement said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the United States later this month

Ties between the two countries prospered under former US President Barack Obama, when India was seen as a partner to balance China's growing weight in Asia.

But Trump has focused on building ties with China, relying on it as key to tackling problems such as North Korea's nuclear program.

For India, other key concerns are Trump's decisions to pull the US out of the Paris climate accord and review the H1B visa program, under which thousands of skilled Indian workers go to the United States.

He will meet President Trump for the first time since his election last year

Ties between the two countries prospered under former US President Barack Obama, when India was seen as a partner to balance China's growing weight in Asia

In announcing America's withdrawal from the Paris deal last month, Trump irked India by saying New Delhi had made its participation 'contingent on receiving billions and billions and billions of dollars in foreign aid.'

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said India did not sign the Paris accord because of the lure of money and would continue to be part of it, regardless of whether the United States participates.

Both sides have expected a bilateral nuclear agreement signed during the Obama administration to begin bearing fruit.

India is expected to discuss the issue with Washington because China has blocked India's entry into the Nuclear Suppliers' Group, demanding that India's rival, Pakistan, be treated on the same basis.

Modi's flagship 'Make In India' policy, designed to reboot local manufacturing and ramp up exports in tandem with foreign investors, could also run aground on Trump's 'America first' instincts.

Major US firms such as Walmart and Apple have grown frustrated by regulations and tariffs imposed by Indian authorities as they seek to crack what is a potentially massive market.
LONDON (AP) - The Duchess of Cambridge has visited victims of the London Bridge attacks who are recovering in a hospital.

Prince William's wife praised the efforts of staff at King's College Hospital in treating victims from the rampage in which three men killed eight people in a vehicle and stabbing attack. Police killed the three attackers.

The former Kate Middleton on Monday met hospital staff members, many of whom treated victims of Khalid Masood, who mowed down pedestrians on Westminster Bridge before stabbing a police officer in March.

Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge talks with hospital staff at King's College Hospital in London, Monday June 12, 2017, to meet staff and patients who were affected by the attacks in London Bridge and Borough Market on June 3. (Dominic Lipinski/Pool via AP)

She says: "To go through this sort of event twice, it is quite unprecedented."

Emergency consultant Malcolm Tunnicliff praised Kate and other royals for visiting. Prince Charles and Duchess of Cornwall visited patients earlier.

He says "it is a massive lift."

Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge speaks to Clinical Director and Consultant in Emergency Medicine, Dr Malcolm Tunnicliff, at King's College Hospital in London, Monday June 12, 2017, to meet staff and patients who were affected by the attacks in London Bridge and Borough Market on June 3. (Dominic Lipinski/Pool via AP)

Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge talks with hospital staff at King's College Hospital in London, Monday June 12, 2017, to meet staff and patients who were affected by the attacks in London Bridge and Borough Market on June 3. (Dominic Lipinski/Pool via AP)

Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge talks visits King's College Hospital in London, Monday June 12, 2017, to meet staff and patients who were affected by the attacks in London Bridge and Borough Market on June 3. (Dominic Lipinski/Pool via AP)

Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge talks with hospital staff at King's College Hospital in London, Monday June 12, 2017, to meet staff and patients who were affected by the attacks in London Bridge and Borough Market on June 3. (Dominic Lipinski/Pool via AP)
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Gaza's Hamas rulers have detained a young man who criticized the Islamic militant group's call for protests at the border that have set off deadly clashes with Israeli troops.

Mohammed al-Taluli's family said Monday the 25-year-old was detained by Hamas after posting a video on YouTube in which he accused the group of "pushing the youths to death" to stay in power.

For weeks, Palestinians have rallied at the Gaza fence against living conditions in the impoverished coastal territory, which has been under an Israeli and Egyptian blockade since Hamas took over in 2007. Youths have thrown rocks at Israeli soldiers, and two Palestinians have been killed in the clashes.

Al-Taluli and his friends have been detained by Hamas several times since organizing protests in January against power cuts.
LAS VEGAS (AP) - The Latest on the investigation into the discovery of child's remains in Illinois after a woman told police in Las Vegas that her husband killed their 6-year-old daughter in 2013 (all times local):

9:15 p.m.

A mother and father accused in Illinois of concealing the death of a child whose body was found in the garage of an abandoned St. Louis-area house have made separate appearances in different Las Vegas courts.

Jason Quate appears in court Friday, June 9, 2017, in Las Vegas. Quate has been is jailed in Las Vegas on suspicion of sex trafficking, a prostitution-related allegation and suspicion of child abuse. He is also under under investigation after his wife told police he killed their daughter and hid the body in an Illinois garage. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Elizabeth Odell-Quate told a judge on Monday that she won't fight her return in custody to Belleville, Illinois, to face a felony charge.

In another courtroom, a judge postponed Jason Quate's arraignment on felony child abuse charges until Friday.

A prosecutor says other charges might be added by then.

Jason Quate already has been charged with forcing his wife into prostitution, and he's due in court Tuesday on a child pornography charge.

The dead child hasn't been formally identified. Police in Illinois believe she was the couple's daughter and died in 2013, when she was 6.

____

7:20 a.m.

A mother and father under investigation after the remains of a child were found in the garage of an abandoned St. Louis-area house are due to make appearances in separate Las Vegas courts.

Jason Quate is due Monday to face felony child abuse charges.

He was in court Friday on charges that he forced his wife into prostitution.

The mother is due for an extradition hearing Monday on an unspecified out-of-state warrant.

No charges have been filed in the child's death. Police in Illinois believe she was the couple's daughter and died in 2013, when she was 6. They're still investigating.

The Associated Press is withholding the mother's name to avoid identifying the couple's now-teenage children and because authorities say she's considered a victim in her husband's sex trafficking and prostitution case.

She hasn't been charged with a crime in Las Vegas.

____

This story corrects references to the child to reflect that the identity has not been established.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A man was arrested Monday in connection with a fire that burned two apartment buildings under construction, damaged adjacent residential structures and displaced 20 people, Los Angeles fire officials said.

Benicio Garcia, 20, was arrested on suspicion of arson after the Monday morning blaze in the east Hollywood neighborhood, fire department spokeswoman Amy Bastman said.

The blaze, reported about 6 a.m. in the wood framing of buildings on the construction site, blew out windows in an apartment building on one side and damaged a single-family home on the other side. The American Red Cross was assisting 10 adults and 10 children displaced by the fire.

LA City Fire Captain Tim Gill pulls hose during mop up at the scene in the 400 block of Heliotrope Drive in East Hollywood Monday, June 12, 2017, after a fire heavily damaged an apartment building under construction and also damaged an adjacent apartment building, a garage and a house. Firefighters extinguished the flames in about 45 minutes with 1 minor injury to a firefighter. (Al Seib /Los Angeles Times via AP)

A firefighter suffered minor injuries after being struck by wood debris that fell when a portion of the construction collapsed, Fire Captain Erik Scott said. The firefighter was taken to a hospital in good condition, he said.

Arson investigators had detained Garcia at the scene after determining the fire was "incendiary and suspicious in nature," Scott said.

Garcia was being held Monday night on $75,000 bail, according to the fire department. It wasn't immediately clear if he had an attorney who could comment on the allegations.

More than 100 firefighters battled the flames, which were extinguished in about 40 minutes. Fire officials said an investigation was still ongoing.

__

Associated Press writer John Antczak contributed to this report.

__

Follow Michael Balsamo on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MikeBalsamo1 .

LA City Fire arson investigators at the scene in the 400 block of Heliotrope Drive in East Hollywood Monday, June 12, 2017, after a fire heavily damaged an apartment building under construction and also damaged an adjacent apartment building, a garage and a house. Firefighters extinguished the flames in about 45 minutes with 1 minor injury to a firefighter. A suspect who may have set the fires is in custody. (Al Seib /Los Angeles Times via AP)
DETROIT (AP) - The arrests of dozens of Iraqi Christians in southeastern Michigan by U.S. immigration officials appear to be among the first roundups of people from Iraq who have long faced deportation, underscoring rising concerns in other immigrant communities.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials on Monday declined to say how many were taken into custody, but advocates say at least 40 people were arrested near or at homes, mostly on Sunday. Roughly 100 people protested Sunday at a Detroit detention center, many expressing their concern for the arrestees' safety.

Chaldeans are among Iraqi Christian denominations that emerged in the faith's early days, and many speak languages similar to those spoken at the time of Christ. Their population in Iraq has dwindled as hundreds of thousands have fled war and violence over the decades.

Friends and family view a bus outside the U.S. Detention and Deportation Center in Detroit, Sunday, June 11, 2017. A mass immigration and deportation sweep and arrest of dozens of Chaldeans in southeastern Michigan by U.S. immigration officials prompted the protest outside the detention center. Family members of the Catholics with Iraqi roots who were arrested indicate most had criminal records and were awaiting deportation. (Gus Burns/The Ann Arbor News via AP)

The Detroit area has one of the largest Chaldean communities in the U.S. Longtime demographer Kurt Metzger said a community survey estimated there were roughly 120,000 Chaldeans in and around Detroit.

ICE said in a statement released Monday that all of those arrested had criminal convictions, including for murder, rape, assault, burglary, weapons violations and drug trafficking, and were ordered deported by an immigration judge after "full and fair" proceedings.

Immigration officials said the judge determined they were "ineligible for any form of relief under U.S. law," but declined to discuss the appeal process or other legal options. Most of the orders had been issued a while ago but ICE could not remove them until an agreement was reached with Iraq.

The Homeland Security Department has boasted in recent months that Iraq has agreed to start allowing the return of immigrants who have been ordered out of the United States. The first details of that agreement came amid litigation over President Donald Trump's travel ban, and the first version of the order included seven countries.

A subsequent version of that order, intended to quell legal challenges, dropped Iraq from the list of countries whose citizens were banned. The travel ban remains on hold amid legal challenges.

The arrests come amid broader, aggressive immigration policies by the Trump administration. Immigrants who already have deportation orders and were allowed to stay in the country under the prior administration have become a target under President Donald Trump, with some getting arrested on the spot during check-ins with officers. Such arrests have dismayed family members and sent chills through immigrant communities.

ICE said the Detroit-area arrests were part of its efforts to deal with a case backlog, and the vast majority of those arrested were being detained at a facility in Youngstown, Ohio. Officials said they don't confirm specific deportation plans.

Chaldean American educational and community leader Nathan Kalasho, whose family operates a Detroit-area charter school for Chaldeans and others from Iraq and Syria, said the deportations are the result of a "back-door deal" between the U.S. and Iraq.

"Who could think that this deal could possibly be good?" said Kalasho, who added it's particularly concerning after Chaldeans and other Iraqi Christians have been designated victims of genocide. "Iraq assumes a few hundred former nationals - some of these people have spent nearly their entire lives here and some have committed minor offenses. They've paid their debt to society."

Civil rights advocates said those arrested were primarily Chaldean.

Judy Rabinovitz, deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Immigrants' Rights Project, said the removal orders, while legal, could be decades old and don't reflect changing conditions in the countries of origin. She said similar removals have been carried out for Somalia and Cambodia natives.

"Anyone with a final order is basically vulnerable at this point," she said. "The problem is, these aren't cases where these are people who pose a risk to public safety - it's just sort of irrational, low-hanging fruit. Get the numbers, get people out."

___

Caldwell reported from Washington, D.C.
JERUSALEM (AP) - A collection of letters written by Albert Einstein is set to go to auction next week, offering a new glimpse at the Nobel-winning physicist's views on God, McCarthyism and what was then the newly established state of Israel.

The five original letters, dated 1951 to 1954 and signed by Einstein, reveal a witty and sensitive side of the esteemed scientist. They were sent to quantum physicist David Bohm, a colleague who fled the United States for Brazil in 1951 after refusing to testify about his links to the Communist Party to the House Un-American Activities Committee.

Bohm's widow's estate put the documents on the block after she passed away last year. One of the yellowing pages, bearing Einstein's signature and embossed seal, and a handwritten general relativity equation, opens at $8,000 and is expected to sell for at least twice that. In all, the collection is expected to fetch over $20,000.

This photo provided by Winner's Auction House shows a letter of Albert Einstein to Professor David Bohm from 1954. The letter is a part of the collection of unpublished letters written by Albert Einstein are set to go to auction next week, providing a new glimpse into the Nobel winning physicist's views on God, McCarthyism and what was then the newly established state of Israel. (Winner's Auction House via AP)

Einstein and Bohm became friends when they both worked at Princeton University. Their letters touch on quantum physics, the nature of the divine and Bohm's miserable time in Brazil.

"If God has created the world his primary worry was certainly not to make its understanding easy for us," Einstein assured Bohm in February 1954, a year before his death.

In another letter from February 1953, Einstein compares "the present state of mind" of America gripped by McCarthyist anti-Communism to the paranoia in Germany in the early 20th century under Kaiser Wilhelm II. Republican Sen. Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s led a hunt for alleged communist traitors he believed worked in the government and the army.

Bohm, who left the United States in the midst of the so-called Red Scare, conveyed dismay and displeasure about living in Brazil, where he was working at the University of Sao Paulo. He said he had trouble adjusting to the local food.

Einstein, then 75, offers sympathy to his younger colleague for the "instability of your belly, a matter where I have myself extended experience." He suggested getting a good cook.

Einstein said the foreseeable future didn't portend a "more reasonable political attitude" in the United States, and that Bohm ought to hold out in Brazil until he gets citizenship before leaving for a more "intellectual atmosphere."

One idea that came up was relocating to Israel, which had declared independence in 1948. But despite Einstein's ties to Israel's Hebrew University, he believed the country offered limited opportunities. Einstein himself declined an offer in 1952 to become Israel's president, though he served remotely on the Hebrew University's first Board of Governors and left his papers to the school in his will.

"Israel is intellectually active and interesting but has very narrow possibilities," the Nobel laureate wrote. "And to go there with the intention to leave on the first occasion would be regrettable."

Despite Einstein's counsel, Bohm, who was Jewish, left Brazil for Israel in 1955, where he taught at Haifa's Technion Institute of Technology for two years. There he met his wife, Sarah Woolfson. They married in 1956. A year later the couple moved to the United Kingdom, where Bohm taught at Bristol University until his death in 1992.

Mrs. Bohm returned to Israel after her husband's death and resided in Jerusalem. She died in April 2016 and her estate put her husband's letters from Einstein up for sale at Winner's auction house in Jerusalem.

Roni Grosz, curator of the Albert Einstein Archives at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, home to the world's largest collection of Einstein material, said copies of the Bohm letters were already in the archive and that there was "nothing extraordinary" about them. But he said anything connected to Einstein tends to generate interest.

"There's today tremendous interest in all things Einstein. Einstein documents, letters, drafts are being on sale all the time," he said. "There's barely a month that passes with no Einstein documents in auction or in sale."

The auction, which includes copies of other letters sent by Einstein and correspondence by fellow Nobel laureate Louis de Broglie, will be held on June 20, though early bids are being accepted online.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - As officials seek full recovery of the once disastrously depleted red snapper population in the Gulf of Mexico, Gulf states are considering a proposed compromise on a contentious three-day federal red snapper season for recreational anglers.

The Commerce Department has said that if the Gulf states close waters to recreational redfish anglers on weekdays at least through Labor Day, a federal season will run the weekends of June 17 through Sept. 4.

If recreational anglers haven't reached their 3 million-pound (nearly 1.4 million kilogram) quota by then, states could reopen their waters for a fall season.

The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission voted 5-0 for the proposal Monday.

Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida also are being asked to approve it.

Patrick Banks, head of fisheries for Louisiana's Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, told commissioners that an online survey of nearly 5,000 anglers found that they preferred an alternative that would have added Friday to the weekends.

However, that proposal also would have required states to give up the chance for a fall season in state waters. Texas - which has a year-round recreational red snapper season - balked at that, Banks said.

Texas is holding three public hearings Monday night along the coast and a webinar Tuesday. Alabama officials asked for public comment in a Facebook posting Friday, the same day that Florida's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission held a conference call to gauge public comment.

Mississippi, like Louisiana, sent surveys to people who have participated in red snapper landing counts, said Paul Mickle, chief scientific officer at the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources. He said more than 500 people have responded so far.

The Commerce Department made the proposal after talks with state congressional delegations, said Jack Montoucet, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. He said the proposal apparently came from outside the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which set the three-day season held earlier this month.

As red snapper numbers have rebounded over the last nine years, largely due to setting a hard quota for each commercial fishing boat each season, the total weight of red snapper that can be caught has more than doubled.

But recreational anglers have regularly exceeded their 49 percent share of the total - and each year's excess gets subtracted from the next year's recreational quota, cutting the season more and more.

As federal officials have cut the recreational season in federal waters, Gulf states have set much longer seasons within their offshore boundaries.

When NOAA Fisheries set the three-day season in May, regional administrator Roy Crabtree said the short time-frame was largely because private anglers were expected to take 81 percent of their quota out of state waters, where the shortest season is 66 days off Alabama.

That leaves little to be caught farther offshore in federal waters.

State officials and politicians say the truncated season proves that states should regulate the species.

The federal deal would also include fishing on July 3-4 and Labor Day, for a total of 27 days.

"Texas asked for a few extra days so they could get feelers out and get input from their fishermen. I think they're the only ones out there with a little uncertainty," Montoucet said.
Opinion / Letters

The Editor,With so many teachers graduating every year from Teacher's Training Colleges That have mushroomed across the country, the government must put into place a system of hiring only highly qualified and competitive teachers; starting with the principal.The government must come up with reforms that make it easier to fire bad teachers. There is no need to shield teachers producing mediocre results year in year out. The parents must demand results or else withdraw their students from failing schools. There are excellent teachers today heading cattle because there are no vacancies. It is a pity that most vacancies are occupied by non-performing teachers because of the stupid first-in last-out policy. Just because you got a teaching post first does not mean you cannot be removed for non-performance. Simply, fire bad teachers.The unions who are shielding mediocrity must be ashamed of themselves. Zimbabwe sits on number 157 out of the 187 countries ranked by the UN Education index. We are ranked behind South Africa! Despite all the despise we have towards South Africa. Poorly performing teachers must be fired - it is just common sense.Teachers like any other professionals must take a certification exam and renew it after every so often. My observation has been that after Teacher's Training, most teachers take on a teaching job and never bother improving themselves. Their hotspots are local townships where they hang out, drinking beer, and chasing girls - usually school children. Some of them even ask other students to grade fellow student's homework for them. This is a shame in a country with thousands of graduate teachers failing to get job. Government must immediately make the profession competitive and only hire performers.Another approach is to get rid of ZIMSEC exam and let an independent body (like SAT) make the student assessment. The schools will be ranked by results of such an assessment and non-performers must be fired. The independent body can be from Zimbabwe, it does not have to be the corrupt Ministry of Education.Keeping non-performers has a corrosive effect on an entire educational systemon one hand demoralized performing teachers, on the other hand poor students? What motivation does a performing teacher has when it is impossible to fire mediocre teachers? We know that most teachers are average that is why they ended up teachers anyway, but firing the 5% non-performers will send a good message.Sincerely,Sam Wezhira
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The United Nations says a fourth peacekeeper from the West African nation of Guinea was killed in an attack by jihadists last week on a U.N. camp in northern Mali.

U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said Monday the peacekeeper was missing after last Thursday's attack on the camp east of the city of Kidal and his body was found on Saturday. SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors terror groups, said al-Qaida's affiliate in Mali claimed responsibility.

Haq said eight peacekeepers injured in the attack have been treated in the U.N. hospital in Kidal and are in stable condition.

He said the United Nations extends condolences to the victims' families and to the government and people of Guinea.

The U.N. mission in Mali is the deadliest active peacekeeping mission in the world.
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - An Oklahoma prosecutor has dropped drug-related charges against the owner and manager of a now-closed pipe shop in Norman and a store clerk after previous trials on similar charges ended in acquittals and a hung jury.

Online court records indicate charges were dismissed Monday against Robert Cox, who owned Friendly Market, and former clerk James Maxwell Walters.

The dismissal comes after Cox and manager Stephen Holman, who's also a Norman city councilman, were acquitted in May on several charges, including a felony charge of acquiring proceeds from drug activity. The trials of two other clerks ended in a hung jury and an acquittal.

Cleveland County District Attorney Greg Mashburn says in a statement that evidence in the pending cases isn't substantially different than what had already been presented to juries.
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, "The Nashville Sound" (Southeastern/Thirty Tigers)

In the hands of an ordinary songwriter, "Anxiety" would be an ordinary song.

But when the writer is Jason Isbell, arguably the finest songwriter putting pen to paper these days, the song changes tempo and builds to an angsty, gnarling crescendo, all in unspoken support of lyrics about being anxious when you should be happy.

This cover image released by Southeastern/Thirty Tigers shows "The Nashville Sound," the latest release by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit. (Southeastern/Thirty Tigers via AP)

It's not the best song on "The Nashville Sound," the new album Isbell produced with his old band, the 400 Unit, but it shows what a craftsman he has become.

Following "Southeastern" and "Something More Than Free," two masterworks that have grown in stature since their release in 2013 and 2015, "The Nashville Sound" doesn't always rise to Isbell's standards. An angry song called "White Man's World," for example - likely Isbell's take on post-2016 election America - lacks his usual flair for nuanced, show-don't-tell lyrics.

But the album has its moments.

The opener, "Last of My Kind," is an evocative reflection on losing touch with the past. A wistful love song called "If We Were Vampires" rivals Isbell's best work. So does the emphatic, optimistic anthem, "Hope the High Road," the album's first single.

The 400 Unit is in fine form throughout, rocking when Isbell snarls and hanging back in songs that demand restraint.

So even if the album is not as consistently transcendent as the last two, that's a high bar - and nothing here will harm Isbell's soaring reputation.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate's top Democrat says he will back a resolution disapproving of the sale of precision-guided munitions to Saudi Arabia.

In a statement Monday, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York says Saudi Arabia's record of human rights and humanitarian abuses is well-documented. He's also concerned that Riyadh "continues to aid and abet terrorism" through its relationship with a strident form of Islam known as Wahhabism.

Schumer also says Saudi Arabia finances the operations of schools that spread extremist propaganda throughout the world.

Precision-guided munitions worth an estimated $510 million are part of President Donald Trump's proposed $110 billion arms package to Saudi Arabia.

The resolution of disapproval is authored by Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, and backed by Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - A lawsuit that could upend the way New Mexico's public schools are funded went to trial Monday to resolve accusations that the state is failing to meet constitutional obligations to provide essential educational opportunities to all students.

Parents, school districts and advocacy groups say that New Mexico's education system isn't meeting its responsibilities for Native American students, low-income students and those learning English as a second language.

"These failings are costing students the opportunity to succeed," said Marisa Bono, a lead attorney for the plaintiffs, in opening statements to the court. "The state is pumping hundreds of thousands of students into the state economy who are wholly unprepared for college or career."

Marisa Bono, southwest regional counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, outlines accusations that the state of New Mexico has failed to provide essential educational opportunities to all students, outside a state district courthouse in Santa Fe, N.M., Monday, June 12, 2017. Parents, school districts and advocacy groups allege that New Mexico's education system isn't meeting its responsibilities for Native American students, low-income students and those learning English as a second language. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)

Education officials under Republican Gov. Susana Martinez say spending is more than adequate, and that the state has added specialized programs to help struggling students while holding teachers and school leaders more accountable for students' academic progress.

In opening statements Monday, an attorney for the state said high levels of poverty across New Mexico have a major impact on the results of student testing - something that won't be addressed by funneling more money toward public schools.

"The evidence will show that additional spending will have virtually no effect on student test scores," attorney Jeff Wechsler said. "The defendants cannot show that spending more will impact them in any meaningful way."

Courts in several states are being called upon to shore up funding for public schools, amid frustration with elected officials over state budget priorities and the quality of education.

The plaintiffs called on Santa Fe Public Schools Superintendent Veronica Garcia - a former state public education secretary - to testify about what she described as shockingly low levels of proficiency in math and reading among graduating students.

Garcia noted that many schools are not included in new programs that intercede at an early age by expanding pre-school to 4-year-olds and lengthening the school day and school year through third grade. She faulted the overall level of state funding for public schools, as well as limited funds for programs tailored toward the students from low-income households where English is not the primary language.

The New Mexico case merges two lawsuits brought against the state on behalf of parents of public school students, from metropolitan Albuquerque to rural Zuni Pueblo, with seven school districts also joining the lawsuit. They were being represented by attorneys with the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

The plaintiffs argue that New Mexico does not equitably provide enough funding or enrichment opportunities to all students, despite constitutional guarantees to a free, uniform and sufficient public school system for all school-age children. Attorneys assembled state testing data to show that the majority of Native American students fail to meet grade-level proficiency in math and reading.

In a pre-trial ruling, Judge Sarah Singleton said the plaintiffs will have to do more than showcase abysmal test scores to prove that the state is violating constitutional guarantees to sufficient funding.

Plaintiffs of the lawsuit say public schools are underfunded by hundreds of millions of dollars each year. As they struggle with some of the nation's highest childhood poverty rates, New Mexico's school districts rely mostly on state funding for educational programs with some federal aid.

The lawsuit threatened to wrest control of public school funding away from the Legislature and New Mexico Public Education Department, over objections from fiscally conservative lawmakers and the governor.

Criticism of New Mexico's education system has spanned the tenures of governors from both sides of the political aisle.

A state budget crisis has added a sense of urgency to the trial, as New Mexico grapples with a weak local economy and waning income from oil and natural gas.

To close a budget deficit for the budget year ending June 30, state spending on school programs was trimmed by 1.5 percent, with additional reductions to district cash balances and funding for transportation and instructional materials.

In Oklahoma, another energy-dependent state, budget cuts have prompted nearly 100 school districts to move to a four-day school week.

Lawmakers in Washington state have been struggling this year to satisfy a 2012 Supreme Court order to put more money toward basic education. In Arizona, a group of school districts and education associations sued the state in May, saying the Legislature has short-changed them by billions of dollars in required infrastructure spending during the past decade.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - When Richard and Mildred Loving had the audacity to marry, Virginia law officers jailed them. The state's highest court later agreed it was right to outlaw their marriage because he was white and she was black.

Now, a half century after the Lovings won a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized interracial marriage nationwide, the couple has been honored with a historical marker outside the old Virginia Supreme Court building where they suffered a legal defeat.

"We honor their courage to stand up for the right to love unconditionally, their strength to endure the struggle against all odds and their tenacity to prove that loving is really what it's all about," Claire Guthrie Gastanaga, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, said Monday during a dedication ceremony.

CORRECTS FIRST NAME TO LEVAR- Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe , right, looks over a historical marker, along with his wife, Dorothy, center, and Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, left, that was unveiled commemorating the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down bans on interracial marriage Monday, June 12, 2017, in Richmond, Va. The new historical marker to commemorate the lawsuit brought by Richard and Mildred Loving, was dedicated outside the old Virginia Supreme Court, which ruled against the Lovings before they ultimately won in the U.S. Supreme Court. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

It fell on the 50th anniversary of the high court decision dismantling Virginia's anti-interracial marriage law and similar ones in about one-third of the states.

Matt Fritzinger, a state employee who attended the dedication, said he was there to recognize the Lovings for paving the way for his own interracial marriage. Fritzinger is white and his wife of about 10 years is black.

"As bad as it is that we get looks and whispers and my wife gets asked ignorant questions, it's still not as bad as what the Lovings had to do deal with," said Fritzinger, a contracting officer with the Department of General Services.

Weeks after the Lovings were married in Washington, D.C., in 1958, sheriff's deputies burst into their Virginia home in the middle of the night and threw them in jail for unlawful cohabitation.

"They were convicted of the high crime of loving each other," Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said.

The couple agreed to leave Virginia for 25 years in order to avoid a one-year jail sentence, but after several years in Washington decided they wanted to come home. Mildred Loving wrote to then-Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and was referred to the American Civil Liberties Union, which took on the case.

The marker now stands outside the former Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, which ruled against the Lovings. In the Virginia Supreme Court's 1966 opinion, Justice Harry Carrico cited a previous case upholding the state's prohibition on interracial marriage and said the issue should be left to lawmakers.

But in the unanimous 1967 U.S. Supreme Court opinion, Chief Justice Earl Warren said the state's argument - that the policy was necessary to preserve racial integrity - was "obviously an endorsement of the doctrine of White Supremacy."

"Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State," Warren wrote.

Mildred Loving died at her home in rural Milford in 2008. Her husband was killed by a drunk driver in 1975.

____

This story has been corrected to reflect that Harry Carrico was not chief justice when he wrote the 1966 opinion. He became chief justice in 1981.

____

Follow Alanna Durkin Richer at http://twitter.com/aedurkinricher. Read more of her work at http://apne.ws/2hIhzDb

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, left, shares a laugh with Richmond mayor, Levar Stoney, right during a ceremony to unveil a historical marker commemorating the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down bans on interracial marriage Monday, June 12, 2017, in Richmond, Va. The new historical marker to commemorate the lawsuit brought by Richard and Mildred Loving, was dedicated outside the old Virginia Supreme Court, which ruled against the Lovings before they ultimately won in the U.S. Supreme Court. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe stands next to a historical marker that was unveiled commemorating the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down bans on interracial marriage Monday, June 12, 2017, in Richmond, Va. The new historical marker commemorates the lawsuit brought by Richard and Mildred Loving, was dedicated outside the old Virginia Supreme Court, which ruled against the Lovings before they ultimately won in the U.S. Supreme Court. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Dr. Judith Brill, 65, has been accused of hastening the death of a boy she'd taken of life support

Police are investigating a claim by a Los Angeles County coroner's investigator that an anesthesiologist used a painkiller to hasten the death of a gravely injured boy to increase the likelihood his organs could be harvested without deterioration.

Dr. Judith Brill, 65, has been accused of administering a high dose of painkillers to Cole Hartman, eight, before he was taken off life support.

Hartman had gone into cardiac arrest after nearly drowning in a washing machine.

At the time of the autopsy, coroner's investigator Denise Bertone raised questions about the dose of the painkiller fentanyl given to the boy and pressed for re-examination of the case until a subsequent medical examiner added fentanyl toxicity as a significant cause of death.

Eight-year-old Cole Hartman was sent to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center - pictured - because he had gone into cardiac arrest after nearly drowning in a washing machine

Brill's attorney, Mark Werksman, wrote that the anesthesiologist's 'only concern was to assure that this child, who had drowned and was never going to recover, would not suffer any pain following the removal of life support.'

However, the manner of death - accident or homicide - remains open pending the outcome of the police investigation.

The county's chief medical examiner at the time listed significant causes of death at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, as near-drowning and fragile X syndrome, a genetic abnormality that causes intellectual and physical disabilities.

Bertone, who said she reviewed the full medical charts and autopsy records, claims in her lawsuit that the boy 'continued to gasp for air' and that Brill then gave him fentanyl 'with the purpose of inducing his death.'

The lawyer representing Brill - pictured comforting a Nicaraguan patient while volunteering with the non-governmental organization Operation Smile in 2015 - said her 'only concern was to assure that this child, who had drowned and was never going to recover, would not suffer any pain following the removal of life support'

Bertone's allegation is outlined in a whistleblower lawsuit she filed last month claiming she suffered work retaliation for raising questions. Her suit and coroner's records also state that the administered dose was 500 micrograms, an amount Bertone said was too much for a boy who weighed 47 pounds.

The allegation is 'factually wrong and patently offensive,' Brill's lawyer told LA Times.

The county has yet to respond to the suit in court.

'As you can imagine, this is very complicated,' said Capt. William Hayes, who is in charge of the Los Angeles Police Department's Robbery-Homicide Division. 'We need to clearly understand what was done and the implications of those actions.'

According to the coroner's report and a 911 recording, his father came in from mowing the lawn on July 31, 2013, and found Cole headfirst in a running washing machine. His parents estimated he could have been underwater for up to 25 minutes.

Paramedics got his heart restarted and he was driven by ambulance to a hospital and later flown by helicopter to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Physicians told Cole's family that he was not brain-dead but 'would never recover normal neuro function and could never awaken,' according to an entry on his medical chart.

His parents decided to take him off life support and donate his organs.

The process required organ harvesting to wait until a ventilator was removed and Cole's heart stopped beating on its own, a procedure known as donation after cardiac death.

The process has time constraints because organs can begin deteriorating immediately, some becoming unsuitable for transplantation after 30 minutes.

Coroner's investigator Denise Bertone - pictured left - has raised questions about the dose of the painkiller fentanyl given to the boy, who she said was 'gasping for air' as Brill - pictured right- administered the drugs

In addition, physicians don't know for certain whether patients in vegetative states experience pain so they administer painkillers.

In a portion of the medical chart it reviewed, Brill did not mention fentanyl but wrote that 'comfort care was provided throughout,' The Times said.

UCLA's policy allows the use of opioids 'in doses that are clinically appropriate to prevent discomfort'. Under the policy, 'interventions intended to preserve organ function, but which may hasten death, are prohibited.'

Cole's ventilator was removed at 10:40 a.m. The chart said his heart stopped at 10:59 a.m. and Brill declared death four minutes later.

The coroner's office assigned Cole's case to Bertone, a registered nurse who was the only full-time pediatric death investigator.

The case is a rare instance of a criminal investigation into medical procedures used in organ donation. In 2007, a San Francisco surgeon was accused of hastening the death of an organ donor by using excessive amounts of drugs, but a jury acquitted him of the charge of dependent adult abuse.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Attorney General Jeff Sessions steps back into a familiar arena Tuesday when he testifies before the Senate intelligence committee about his role in the firing of FBI Director James Comey and the investigation into contacts between Trump campaign associates and Russia.

Last week, Comey raised additional questions about Sessions' involvement, saying the FBI knew of reasons why it would be problematic for the attorney general to stay involved in the Russia investigation well before Sessions recused himself in March. Comey declined to elaborate in an open setting and Sessions accepted the intelligence committee's invitation to appear in part so he could address those comments.

The former Republican senator took over the Justice Department with a tough-on-crime agenda that included quashing illegal immigration, rooting out drug gangs and leading the charge in helping cities fight spikes in violence. But the Russia investigation continues to cast a shadow over his tenure.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions attends a Cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump, Monday, June 12, 2017, in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

A look at the man who has become a key figure in the probe:

WHO IS JEFF SESSIONS?

Blunt and plainspoken, Sessions, 70, went from a GOP foot soldier to prosecutor to politician and ultimately one of President Donald Trump's leading champions, sharing his hardline views on national security and immigration. Trump rewarded his loyalty on the campaign by tapping him as the nation's top law enforcement officer.

Sessions is a devout Methodist who came of age in the segregated South. He cut his teeth as a federal prosecutor in Mobile, Alabama, at the height of the drug war, and many of the policies he has tried to implement as attorney general have roots in that time period. As a U.S attorney in 1986, Sessions faced allegations of racially charged remarks, and they cost him a federal judgeship. Sessions has called those allegations "false charges," said they were hurtful and has tried to move past them.

WHAT WERE HIS SENATE PRIORITIES?

Sessions generally leaned right of his Republican colleagues, often articulating more conservative views than that of party leaders in the Senate.

Sessions was a leading opponent of the Senate's 2013 immigration overhaul, which he called too permissive. He instead advocated for broad presidential powers to curtail immigration, an issue that drew him to candidate Trump early. He opposed efforts to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, supported expanded government surveillance and criticized the Voting Rights Act as placing an unfair burden on states. He joined a bipartisan push to reduce federal sentencing disparities that treated crack cocaine offenses much more harshly than crimes related to powder cocaine, a disparity that disproportionally impacted minority communities. But he later opposed the Senate's effort to overhaul the criminal justice system, warning it could lead to violence.

WHAT HAS HE DONE IN THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT?

As attorney general, Sessions has quickly worked to undo Obama-era policies. He signaled his strong support for the federal government's continued use of private prisons, reversing a directive to phase out their use. He also recently directed the nation's federal prosecutors to pursue the most serious charges possible against the vast majority of suspects, a rollback of Obama-era policies that aimed to reduce the federal prison population and show more lenience to lower-level drug offenders.

Keeping with the Trump administration's anti-immigration agenda, Sessions has also urged federal prosecutors to intensify their focus on immigration crimes such as illegal border crossing or smuggling others into the U.S. And he has threatened to withhold coveted grant money from localities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities as they try to detain and deport people.

WHAT'S THE TROUBLE?

Sessions has been dogged by the Russia investigation. He recused himself from the federal probe in March after acknowledging that he met twice last year with the Russian ambassador to the United States. He told lawmakers at his January confirmation hearing that he had not met with Russians during the campaign.

Questions are swirling about possible additional encounters with the ambassador, Sergey Kislyak. Senate Democrats have raised questions about whether the men met at an April 2016 foreign policy event at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington. The Justice Department has said that while Sessions was there, for a speech by Trump, there were no meetings or private encounters.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Monday to allow the European Union's maritime force to seize illegal weapons off Libya's coast for another year, a move aimed at helping restore peace to the deeply divided north African nation.

The British-drafted resolution authorizes EU ships in Operation Sophia to stop vessels on the high seas off Libya's coast suspected of smuggling arms in violation of a U.N. arms embargo. Operation Sophia is also charged with seizing migrant-smuggling vessels.

Italy's Deputy Foreign Minister Vincenzo Amendola told the council after the vote that by speaking with one voice the members again showed their "strong commitment to the stability and security of Libya."

He said the council also "emphasized the importance of working together to protect the country from the threat posed by the combination of terrorism and proliferation of weapons."

Libya slid into chaos following the 2011 toppling and killing of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Since 2014, the oil-rich country has been torn between two parliaments and governments, with each backed by a loose set of militias and tribes. Fighters from the Islamic State extremist group have exploited the turmoil, triggering fears in Europe at the prospects of an expanding extremist-run bastion on its doorstep, just across the Mediterranean Sea.

Meanwhile, a U.N.-brokered unity government is struggling to gain control of the country, which is awash with weapons.

"The Mediterranean Sea, especially off the coasts of Libya, is facing multiple challenges" Amendola said, citing human trafficking and the smuggling of weapons, crude oil and other products.

"All these flows benefit from the volatile situation in the country and can increase the intensity, duration and complexity of the Libyan crisis," Amendola said. "The stabilization of Libya is the best way to tackle this problem."

Britain's deputy ambassador Peter Wilson said Libya continues "to suffer from political instability" and illegal arms smuggling is fueling and prolonging the conflict.

Since the council adopted the initial resolution authorizing EU vessels to stop ships suspected of carrying illegal weapons in June 2016, he said Operation Sophia has acted as a deterrent.

Wilson said this has provided "important space" for dialogue between the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli and other political actors.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A lottery computer programmer will tell investigators how he was able to use his position to rig state jackpots for years and he and his brother will repay $3 million in prizes they improperly claimed, under a plea agreement released Monday.

Prosecutors will seek a 25-year prison sentence for former Multi-State Lottery Association security director Eddie Tipton, the mastermind of a scheme that rocked the lottery industry. His brother, former Texas judge Tommy Tipton, is expected to face 75 days in jail.

Wisconsin prosecutors released the agreement Monday after Eddie Tipton pleaded guilty to theft and computer crime charges in Madison. The plea was a surprise for Tipton, who had insisted on his innocence for 2  years and was facing a trial in Iowa next month. The agreement calls for Tipton to soon plead guilty to ongoing criminal conduct in Iowa, and to confess to a civil judgment in Kansas.

FILE - In this Sept. 9, 2015, file photo, former Multi-State Lottery Association security director Eddie Tipton leaves the Polk County Courthouse in Des Moines, Iowa, after his sentencing in a jackpot-fixing scandal. Tipton, a lottery computer programmer, will tell investigators how he was able to use his position to rig state jackpots for years and he and his brother will repay $3 million in prizes they improperly claimed, under a plea agreement released Monday, June 12, 2017. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

"Mr. Tipton's actions defrauding the lottery were a gross violation of the public's trust and confidence," said Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel, praising investigators for "their efforts to find truth and seek justice."

In his job at the Urbandale, Iowa-based association, Tipton wrote and installed code for software that picked random numbers for games sold by its member lotteries. Investigators say Tipton designed his code so that on three days of the year, he could predict winning numbers in some games. The Tiptons and friend Robert Rhodes bought winning numbers for drawings in Colorado, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas and Oklahoma between 2005 and 2011. Other associates were involved but haven't faced charges.

The conspiracy unraveled after Tipton was caught on surveillance video buying a winning $16.5 million ticket in December 2010 in Iowa that he, Rhodes and others unsuccessfully tried to claim.

The Tiptons will tell investigators "all facts related, directly or indirectly, to their actions to fix, win, and claim lottery jackpots." They won't face any additional charges based on their testimony but will cooperate with any additional legal actions related to rigged jackpots.

"There's a lot of value in confirming what we believe we know," said Iowa prosecutor Rob Sand, adding that the brothers' cooperation "is going to be helpful to lotteries around the country."

Tipton and his attorneys declined comment. They'll be free to seek a lesser sentence than the 25-year term Iowa prosecutors will seek.

Tommy Tipton's attorney, Mark Weinhardt, said his client was pleased to reach a "sensible resolution" in which he'll serve 75 days after pleading to a misdemeanor.

"Tommy takes full responsibility for his role in this affair," he said. "This agreement will allow Tommy to continue to be the hard-working citizen and loving father to his children that he has been for many years."

The brothers will repay $3 million to Colorado, Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Kansas.

Rhodes, of Sugar Land, Texas, earlier pleaded guilty, agreeing to repay Wisconsin his share of a 2007 jackpot and to testify against his former best friend. Rhodes had described how the two worked together to claim and split the $783,000 Megabucks prize in Wisconsin.

Rhodes told investigators he visited Tipton at his Iowa home in 2007. Tipton gave him index cards containing a series of numbers for him to play for the Dec. 29 drawing - one of the calendar days when Tipton could predict winning combinations. Rhodes drove around Wisconsin in a rental car, buying tickets from various stores before using a limited liability company to claim the prize.

The investigation started with a mystery in 2011. A newly created trust stepped forward hours before a one-year deadline to claim a $16.5 million jackpot. But it refused to tell the Iowa Lottery who purchased the ticket. Iowa declined to pay and launched a criminal investigation.

Investigators got a break in 2014 after releasing video of a man buying hot dogs and the winning ticket at a Des Moines gas station. Colleagues told police the man looked and sounded just like Tipton, who had access to lottery computers. He was convicted of fraud related to that ticket after a 2015 trial, where Tommy Tipton insisted that couldn't have been his brother on the video.

Investigators then looked into whether Tipton had rigged other games after receiving a tip that his brother won a 2005 Colorado lottery. Wisconsin investigators recovered an old computer from the 2007 drawing, and a forensic analysis revealed how Tipton's code worked.

The association, which fired Tipton after his arrest, faces lawsuits by players who claim they were cheated by Tipton's rigging.

___

Foley reported from Iowa City, Iowa.
DENVER (AP) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had no rules for working around old mines when the agency inadvertently triggered a massive spill from a Colorado mine that polluted rivers in three states, government investigators said Monday.

The agency started work on safety standards after the spill and expects to finish them Friday, investigators from the EPA's Office of Inspector General said.

An EPA-led contractor crew was excavating at the inactive Gold King Mine in southwestern Colorado in 2015 when a debris pile blocking the entrance collapsed. That released 3 million gallons of wastewater tainted with iron, aluminum, lead, copper, arsenic and other heavy metals into rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. Native American tribes in those states were also effected.

FILE - In this Aug. 14, 2015, file photo, water flows through a series of sediment retention ponds built to reduce heavy metal and chemical contaminants from the Gold King Mine wastewater accident outside Silverton, Colo. The Environmental Protection Agency had no rules for working around old mines when the agency inadvertently triggered the massive spill from the Colorado mine that polluted rivers in three states, government investigators said Monday, June 12, 2017. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File)

State, tribal and federal officials have criticized the EPA for not taking more precautions, such as drilling into the mine to determine how much water was pent up inside.

Like previous investigations, the inspector general's report said the EPA knew the Gold King - one of scores of inactive mines in the mountains around Silverton, Colorado - posed a risk of a blowout. Even before the Aug. 5, 2015, spill, the mine was spewing out 200 gallons of wastewater per minute, or about 3 million gallons every 10 days, the report said.

Despite the risk, the EPA had "no specific standards for the level of care to be taken or how to assess a collapsed mine portal," the report said. It said the EPA gives its employees in charge of such operations, known as on-scene coordinators, wide latitude in deciding how to work on old mines, and that both coordinators assigned to the Gold King were experienced and highly trained.

The inspector general's report disputed one key element in a previous review of the Gold King spill, by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which was assigned to conduct an independent, outside assessment of what went wrong.

The Bureau of Reclamation said the EPA-led crew was attempting to insert a drain pipe through a debris pile blocking the entrance of the mine, and that the on-scene coordinator had pushed that work ahead despite the reservations of the other on-scene coordinator, who was not present that day.

But the EPA inspector general said the crew was excavating loose rock around the mine entrance to see if the underlying rock was solid, not trying to insert a drain pipe. The inspector general said the crew did only work that had been planned for that day and was not rushing the schedule.

Bureau of Reclamation spokesman Peter Soeth said he could not comment on the discrepancy, but he said the bureau stands by its version of events. EPA officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The inspector general said the Bureau of Reclamation engineer who lead the review "created the appearance of a lack of independence" because he had worked with EPA on plans for other mines near the Gold King. The engineer, who was not identified by name, was also scheduled to consult with EPA on the Gold King just 10 days after the blowout, and had gone to the scene to help stabilize the mine afterward.

But the inspector general concluded the Bureau of Reclamation's report was still independent. "Bureau of Reclamation reviewers indicated they were able to do their work without any interference," the inspector general report said.

Soeth said the bureau disclosed the engineer's activities in its review, released in October 2015, and that bureau officials had no doubt about his independence.

The EPA inspector general also reviewed how the agency went about notifying state, local and tribal authorities after the spill. Some officials complained they learned about the spill hours afterward, and others said they never heard directly from the EPA.

The inspector general concluded the EPA had complied with all of its own rules for notifying downstream river users, but noted that the agency had taken steps to improve communications.

The report was at least the sixth review of the Gold King spill, including three by the EPA, one by the Bureau of Reclamation and one by federal prosecutors, based on information from the EPA inspector general.

The U.S. attorney's office in Denver declined to charge anyone in connection with the spill, even though the EPA said last year it gave prosecutors evidence that an EPA employee may have violated the Clean Water Act and given false statements. The employee's name wasn't released.

___

This story has been corrected to say the EPA expects to complete new safety standards this week, not release them.

___

Follow Dan Elliott at http://twitter.com/DanElliottAP . His work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/dan%20elliott .
A Georgia sheriff accused of exposing himself in an Atlanta park and running from a police officer has been suspended for 40 days.

Georgia Governor Nathan Deal issued an executive order Monday suspending DeKalb County Sheriff Jeffrey Mann from duty, starting Tuesday.

Mann was arrested after a police officer allegedly saw him masturbating in Piedmont Park on May 6. Mann is said to have flashed his private parts and then led the bike cop on a foot chase through Midtown Atlanta before he was finally apprehended, according to The Atlanta-Journal Constitution.

Georgia governor Nathan Deal suspended DeKalb County Sheriff Jeffrey Mann (pictured above) from duty for 40 days after a committee investigated Mann's arrest for allegedly exposing himself to a cop

Governor Deal issued the executive order on Monday, based on an investigation and recommendation from a committee including the attorney general and two county sheriffs

The area of the park where Mann was seen is 'known for sexual acts after dark,' the cop wrote in his arrest report, according to CNN.

Last month, Deal had instructed Attorney General Chris Carr and two county sheriffs to investigate what happened and report back within 30 days.

The suspension was recommended by the committee after they closed their investigation last Thursday, according to 11 Alive.

State law allows the governor to convene a panel of two sheriffs and the state attorney general to investigate and to recommend whether to suspend a sheriff facing criminal or ethics charges.

Mann has pleaded not guilty to charges of indecency and obstruction of an officer. Mann's attorney has argued the governor shouldn't get involved because Mann is accused of violating Atlanta city ordinances.

Mann allegedly exposed himself to an Atlanta bike cop in an area of the city's Piedmont Park 'known for sexual acts after dark,' according to Mann's arrest report

Governor Deal issued this executive order suspending Sheriff Mann from duty for 40 days

Prior to this 40-day suspension, Mann served a self-imposed, one-week suspension for violating the DeKalb Sheriff's Office code of conduct, but has said he plans to remain in his job.

He is being investigated by George Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, which has the power to suspend or revoke his license. If they chose to revoke his license, Mann could be forced to give up his position.

Mann will also face trial in Atlanta Municipal Court on July 7.
POWAY, Calif. (AP) - A San Diego County couple has pleaded guilty to hoarding more than 170 Yorkshire terriers and Yorkie mixes in filthy conditions.

Authorities say Christine Calvert and Mark Vattimo entered pleas Monday to animal neglect. They face probation and counseling and can't own pets for a decade.

Investigators who went to their Poway home in January found dozens of dogs in a dark room. The floor and walls were covered in excrement, and the dogs had a variety of problems, including fleas and matted hair.

This 2017 photo provided by the San Diego Humane Society shows a dog being groomed after it was rescued from a scene where over 170 Yorkshire terrier and Yorkie mix dogs were discovered Jan. 20, 2017, in Poway, Calif. A San Diego County couple has pleaded guilty to hoarding the dogs in filthy conditions, entering pleas Monday, June 12, to animal neglect. They face probation and counseling and can't own pets for a decade. (San Diego Humane Society via AP)

About 30 dogs were seized later at another location and another 46 were found in a motor home in Primm, Nevada, where Calvert was arrested after fleeing the state.

The dogs - including puppies born to some of the animals - were put up for adoption.

This Jan. 20, 2017, photo provided by the San Diego Humane Society shows the scene where over 170 Yorkshire terrier and Yorkie mix dogs were discovered in Poway, Calif. A San Diego County couple has pleaded guilty to hoarding the dogs in filthy conditions, entering pleas Monday, June 12, to animal neglect. They face probation and counseling and can't own pets for a decade. (San Diego Humane Society via AP)

This Jan. 20, 2017, photo provided by the San Diego Humane Society shows the scene where over 170 Yorkshire terrier and Yorkie mix dogs were discovered in Poway, Calif. A San Diego County couple has pleaded guilty to hoarding the dogs in filthy conditions, entering pleas Monday, June 12, to animal neglect. They face probation and counseling and can't own pets for a decade. (San Diego Humane Society via AP)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Someone claiming to be a fugitive Kentucky lawyer has told a newspaper he had help in his escape about a month before he was to be sentenced in a massive Social Security fraud case.

In an email to the Lexington Herald-Leader, the person purporting to be Eric Conn said the only assistance in his escape was "from someone who is absolutely insusceptible to the reach of American law." It didn't elaborate on the identity of the person or their location.

The FBI has said Conn's electronic monitoring device was found June 2 in Lexington, Kentucky, in a backpack along Interstate 75.

Conn, a disabilities lawyer, had pleaded guilty in March to stealing from the federal government and bribing a judge in a nearly $600 million Social Security fraud case. He was facing up to 12 years in prison and had agreed to pay the government tens of millions of dollars.

The person claiming to be Conn also said in an email to the newspaper that he had noted law enforcement attempts to find him through the IP address on his emails, the Herald-Leader (http://bit.ly/2slLSYG) reported Monday. The email sender said he had been "mentored by the master of such things" to avoid detection.

"Do they really think they can find me with such a blunt method?" the email said.

The person has sent a series of emails to the Lexington newspaper, including offering proposed terms of his surrender.

The FBI said Monday it was aware that someone claiming to be Conn had contacted media.

"That person, however, has not contacted the FBI and we encourage him or her to do so," the FBI said in a statement.

The agency said it's pursuing numerous tips and leads in trying to track down Conn. A $20,000 reward has been offered for information leading authorities to the lawyer.

Meanwhile, an eastern Kentucky lawyer who has sued Conn, said Monday that his law office received a fax from someone claiming to be Conn.

Ned Pillersdorf, who is representing hundreds of Conn's former clients who have sued in seeking damages from Conn, said he's convinced the fax came from Conn.

Pillersdorf, who said he contacted the FBI after receiving the fax, referred to the fax and emails as "the whinings of a desperate man."

The fax lashed out at the government's case against psychologist Alfred Bradley Adkins. A federal jury on Monday convicted the Pikeville, Kentucky, psychologist of participating in the scheme, media outlets reported. Conn would likely have been a witness at Adkins' trial if he had not disappeared.

Adkins was convicted of fraud and conspiracy. He is to be sentenced Sept. 22.

He had been accused of signing mental impairment evaluations on Conn's clients without examining them. Adkins' lawyer, Jonah Lee Stevens, told jurors that Adkins wasn't part of the scheme and was duped by Conn.
Theresa May told Tory MPs Im the person who got us into this mess and Im the one who will get us out of it, at a crunch Conservative Party meeting in Parliament, two people present have confirmed.

The Prime Minister apologised as she faced the backbench 1922 Committee for the first time since a disastrous General Election in which the Tories lost their House of Commons majority.

Mrs May also sought to reassure MPs that any confidence and supply deal with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to prop up her minority administration would not affect power-sharing talks in Northern Ireland or LGBT rights.

It came as her most senior minister Damian Green confirmed that the Queens Speech, due to set out the Governments programme on June 19, could be delayed as the Tories seek an agreement with the DUP.

The PM looks to have withstood immediate internal pressure to resign and there was no discussion at the 1922 Committee of how long she would remain in post, although there were clear signals of how her style of rule would change to keep MPs on side.

MPs agreed that they and their constituents did not want another General Election and were united in the aim of stopping Jeremy Corbyn becoming prime minister.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who has rejected suggestions he is plotting a leadership bid, described Mrs Mays speech to the 22 as a stonking performance, adding on Twitter: One team going forward together for the UK.

Stonking performance by the PM at 1922. One team going forward together for the UK  Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) June 12, 2017

Others present said the PM gave one of her most emotional and warm speeches, with one remarking there was none of the Maybot, while banging of the tables and cheers could be heard throughout the meeting.

There were signs that backbenchers will hold more sway, with one of the biggest cheers coming for the greatly respected Gavin Barwell, the PMs new chief of staff, who will have a great deal of influence alongside Chief Whip Gavin Williamson, according to one MP.

Gavin Barwell

Ex-MP Mr Barwell replaced Mrs Mays key aides Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, whose resignations were reportedly demanded by Tory MPs as the price of their support for the leader.

Another of those present revealed that Mrs May was open to the idea of internal Tory backbench committees of MPs that would provide seamless communication with Number 10.

The meeting came shortly after First Secretary of State Mr Green said that agreement with the DUP would have to be sealed before finalising the details of the Queens Speech, setting out the Governments legislative programme.

Damian Green

Mr Green said talks with the DUP were going well, adding: At this very important time, we want to produce a substantial Queens Speech.

But senior Conservatives acknowledged that the failure to secure an overall majority will mean the agenda set out in their manifesto would have to be pruned back.

An MP at the 22 confirmed the Tories poorly received social care policy  dubbed the dementia tax  looks set to be dropped, while it is thought Mrs Mays cherished ambition to open new grammar schools may have to be ditched.

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, who attended a political cabinet meeting on Monday, said she wanted the economy to be first and foremost in our minds in Brexit talks, in a signal that she wants the PM to scale back her focus on her priority of controlling immigration.

Ruth Davidson

There was a real sense around the Cabinet table today, as you would expect from centre right politicians, that that is the primacy were looking for, she told BBC News.

Ms Davidson also signalled that other parties could be more involved in negotiations.

We do have to make sure that we invite other people in now, she said. This isnt just going to be a Tory Brexit, this is going to have to involve the whole country.

Ruth:

"The key issue is to ensure we put our countrys economic future first and foremost."https://t.co/23OQ40zNnK  Scottish Conservatives (@ScotTories) June 12, 2017

But Mr Green said there was complete unanimity in the Cabinet and overwhelming support for Mrs Mays approach.

The unexpected snap election has already forced the Queen to cancel an Order of the Garter service and to accept a stripped-down State Opening without a procession, robes or the state crown. Any further delay could mean her missing some of the races at Royal Ascot next week.

Additional delay may be caused by the fact the speech read by the sovereign is written on goatskin parchment paper, a long-lasting archival paper which contains no actual goatskin, but requires several days for the ink to dry.

A Labour spokesman said that uncertainty over the date of the State Opening showed the Government was in chaos, while Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said it was an utter humiliation for the PM.

The Labour Party fought a campaign of hope, not fear, and set out our policies which will deliver for the many, not the few. #ForTheMany pic.twitter.com/EOv0lD5aAI  Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) June 11, 2017

It is time to stop trying to cling to power and time to admit enough is enough, said Mr Farron, who branded the possible Tory/DUP deal as a MayDUP government.

Theresa May can squat in Number 10 as long as she wants but the message is stark  she has no power, no influence and her game is up, said Mr Farron.

DUP leader Arlene Foster rejected suggestions that the mooted deal could undermine a return to power-sharing arrangements at Stormont, amid claims from political rivals that the Governments stated impartiality would be fatally undermined.

"We will of course act in the National interest for the UK as whole and Northern Ireland in particular" says @DUPLeader #GE2017 pic.twitter.com/rD6VgiPBf7  Sophy Ridge on Sunday & The Take (@RidgeOnSunday) June 11, 2017

Mrs Foster declined to give details of what she termed a positive engagement with the Conservative Party, but said she would be travelling to London late on Monday for discussions with her team of 10 DUP MPs ahead of a meeting with Mrs May on Tuesday.

Sinn Feins Gerry Adams turned Mrs Mays own slogan against her to brand it a coalition of chaos, adding: Any deal which undercuts in any way the process here or the Good Friday Agreement is one which has to be opposed.
Business leaders have voiced concern about the political uncertainty gripping the country and its impact on the economy.

The first poll of businesses since the General Election revealed a dramatic drop in confidence, said the Institute of Directors (IoD). Company directors see no clear way to resolve the political situation quickly and believe another election this year would have a negative impact on the UK economy.

The 700 members of the IoD who took part in the survey said they were keen to see quick agreement with the European Union on transitional arrangements surrounding the UKs withdrawal, and clarity on the status of EU workers in the UK.

The overall priority for the new Government must be reaching a new trade deal with the European Union, the directors said.

Stephen Martin, director general of the IoD, said: "It is hard to overstate what a dramatic impact the current political uncertainty is having on business leaders, and the consequences could - if not addressed immediately - be disastrous for the UK economy.

The needs of business and discussion of the economy were largely absent from the campaign, but this crash in confidence shows how urgently that must change in the new Government. It was disheartening that the only reference the Prime Minister made to prosperity in her Downing Street statement was to emphasise the need to share it, rather than create it in the first place.

Stephen Martin said the PM's Downing Street statement was disheartening

With global headwinds and political uncertainty at the front of business leaders minds, it would be wise for this administration to re-emphasise its commitment to a pro-business environment here at home.

Carolyn Fairbairn, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), called on the Government to change tack in its approach to the Brexit talks and give business a place at the negotiating table.

Writing in the Financial Times, she said: With negotiations almost upon us, British business does not believe that we are where we need to be. The likelihood of a good deal for the UK is further away with every exchange across the Channel. That cannot be allowed to continue.

Carolyn Fairbairn said growth depended on the Government keeping Britain an attractive place to do business

Ms Fairbairn said growth and jobs depended on the Government keeping Britain an attractive place to do business.

She warned that, the less likely a deal becomes, the more investors will take their money elsewhere.

She said: There is no question this is already beginning to bite: a gradual drip, drip, drip of lost investment and missed opportunity. For the sake of our economy and the prosperity of our regions, it is time change tack.
Daniel Berger successfully defended his FedEx St Jude Classic title in Memphis.

The 24-year-olds one-shot victory saw him follow in the footsteps of David Toms, who won the trophy in 2003 and 2004, after the American claimed his maiden PGA Tour title at this tournament last year.

Berger produced four birdies in his immaculate four-under par 66, matching his round on Saturday, to finish ahead of Charl Schwartzel and Kim Meen-whee on 10 under.

St. Jude Classic golf tournament winner Daniel Berger kisses his trophy during a ceremony after the tournament (Brandon Dill/AP)

A birdie on the 15th saw him move clear of the pack, which at one point included nine players tied for the lead, but he was made to wait for his win to be confirmed as Rafael Cabrera Bello continued his final round.

Yet the Spaniard, joint overnight leader, failed to make up the ground, meaning Berger could celebrate his second PGA Tour victory.

Cabrera Bello was one of five players to finish two shots behind Berger, along with Americans Billy Horschel, Braden Thornberry, Chez Reavie and Kevin Chappell.

.@DanielBerger59's strokes gained stats this week ...



Off-the-tee: 2nd

Tee-to-green: 1st

Putts (GIR): 10th pic.twitter.com/sPjC3Xd2x9  PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 12, 2017

Phil Mickelson was seven under par, one shot ahead of Adam Scott, Stewart Cink and Ben Crane among others.

Cink, level overnight with Cabrera Bello and Crane on nine under, was out in front and setting his sights on a first PGA Tour title since 2009 until he ran into trouble on the back nine.

The American, playing only his second PGA Tour tournament back since taking a sabbatical to care for his wife who has cancer, suffered bogies on the 10th and 15th and a double on the 11th to slide out of contention.
The husband of murdered MP Jo Cox has said she would have been hugely excited by Labours performance in the General Election, which fell days before the anniversary of her death.

Brendan Cox, whose wife was shot and stabbed in her Batley and Spen constituency on June 16 last year, said he felt empty when the results came in as he recalled her excitement at being elected in the 2015 poll.

Describing his wifes amazing empathy and zest for life, he said her murder had failed in its aim to drive people apart and ensured that her voice was heard more than ever.

Mr Cox told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: It was a weird election for me because last time, two years ago, I was with her at the count.

It was a huge moment of excitement, something that she had aspired to do and this moment of personal satisfaction, excitement about all of the things she might go on and do.

This one felt very empty just on a very personal level.

I think overall she would have been hugely excited that the Labour Party was doing much better than she probably would have anticipated it doing.

Final tallies of battleground seats won and lost in the 2017 general election (PA graphic)

His comments came as he urged people to take part in an event called The Great Get Together over the weekend, where scores of small picnics and community events will be held across the UK to mark the anniversary of Jos murder.

Mr Cox, who has written a book called More In Common, inspired by his wifes maiden speech in the House of Commons, said: Jo was this incredible ball of energy, threw herself at life.

Just seen this from the Olympic park #GreatGetTogether Looks amazing! pic.twitter.com/ftpCB0cESn  Brendan Cox (@MrBrendanCox) June 6, 2017

She had this huge enthusiasm, this zest for life, driven by this amazing empathy for people, whether you were a Syrian refugee or an older person in her constituency in Batley.

Jos killing was designed to do a few things. It was designed to divide communities and its failed in doing that, its actually brought Jos community much closer together.

It was designed to stop her speaking, stop her message reaching people, and this book is showing that thats failed as well, that actually her voice and the messages and the things she cared about can reach more people even after her death.
John Bercow appears on course to continue as Commons Speaker after a prominent critic said there is no appetite to push a vote to challenge him.

Conservative former minister James Duddridge added he believes there are more important battles to fight in the UK following the General Election.

Before polling day, Mr Bercow had been expected to face opposition after he said he wanted to serve the full-term of up to five years in the next Parliament, rowing back on a pledge to step down next year.

John Bercow set to continue as Speaker after prominent critic @JamesDuddridge tells @richard_kaputt there's "no appetite" for a challenge pic.twitter.com/y3QDKMFlVl  Richard Woodward (@WoodwardRJ) June 12, 2017

But with the Conservatives losing their Commons majority and Prime Minister Theresa Mays future called into question, Tuesdays election of a Commons Speaker is now expected to see Mr Bercow returned unopposed by MPs.

Mr Duddridge told the Press Association: There is no love for Mr Bercow, but there is not an appetite to push it to a vote. The country has more important battles to fight, backing the Prime Minister, delivering Brexit and growing the economy.

Mr Duddridge added he is not aware of anyone else preparing to challenge Mr Bercow.

James Duddridge said he is not aware of anyone else preparing to challenge Mr Bercow

Mr Bercow faced a no confidence motion earlier this year, tabled by Mr Duddridge and supported by four other Tory MPs, although it failed to make any progress. It emerged in response to criticism of the Speakers remarks that US President Donald Trump should not be allowed to address Parliament on his state visit.

Mr Bercow was last week re-elected in Buckingham, standing as the impartial Speaker, with convention dictating that the main political parties do not stand candidates against him. MPs, on the first day they meet after an election, must then choose the Speaker  with the incumbent usually returned without opposition.

But if MPs vote against the return of the previous holder of the role or there is no returning Speaker then a secret ballot can take place.

Mr Bercow became Speaker in 2009 and initially said he wanted to serve for nine years. He later told Sky News he was entitled to take a somewhat different view now to the one I took back in 2009 following Mrs Mays decision to call a snap election.
Harlequins have announced that James Horwill is to succeed Danny Care as club captain for next season.

Horwill joined Quins in 2015 and has made 40 appearances, scoring five tries, and recently agreed a new contract that will keep the lock at Twickenham Stoop until 2020.

James Horwill announced as Harlequins captain https://t.co/Ev0hpDm1yD  Harlequins  (@Harlequins) June 12, 2017

The 32-year-old former Australia captain said: Im very humbled and honoured to be asked to captain such a great club.

Harlequins have announced that James Horwill is to succeed Danny Care as club captain for next season (Adam Davy/PA)

Its certainly something that I wont be taking lightly.

Proud wife moment. Congratulations @JHorwill Big season ahead  https://t.co/7riucZgKwA  Lauren Horwill (@LaurenHorwill) June 12, 2017

The hard work for us as a squad starts now and we want to make Harlequins as successful as it can be.

The exciting thing is we havent reached our potential. We have played well in parts, but we have more to give, both in an individual capacity and as a group.

Horwill, who has 62 caps with the Wallabies, demonstrated his commitment to Quins last November when he sought to play on despite suffering a gruesome dislocation to his left index finger.
The Duchess of Cambridge has met victims of the London Bridge terror attack and hospital staff who were on duty that night.

Kate visited Kings College Hospital on Monday and spoke to six patients who are still being treated.

In total, 14 people were admitted to the hospital after the atrocity on Saturday June 3, predominantly suffering from stab wounds.

The Duchess spoke to doctors and nurses who were working on the night of the atrocity. She asked about their roles and praised their efforts, saying: Well done.

Kate asked the staff if despite being trained for such events, it was difficult to deal with the incident.

Many of the staff who tended to patients after the London Bridge atrocity were also working on March 22 when Khalid Masood killed five people in an attack on Westminster Bridge.

Kate said: To go through this sort of event twice, it is quite unprecedented. What sort of training do you go through?

The Duchess of Cambridge speaks to Dr Mark Haden during a visit to Kings College Hospital in south London where she met staff and patients who were affected by the terrorist attacks in London Bridge and Borough Market (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

The Duchess of Cambridge speaks to Team Leader Ellen (left, surname not given) during a visit to Kings College Hospital in south London where she met staff and patients who were affected by the terrorist attacks in London Bridge and Borough Market (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

She also spoke to emergency consultant Malcolm Tunnicliff, who had been on his way home from playing cricket when he heard news of the incident and made his way to the hospital.

He said: We are very, very used to dealing with stabbings in this area.

We are one of the busiest hospitals in western Europe for dealing with penetrating injuries, but it was the volume and it is usually young men that stab each other, and there were quite a lot of ladies who were stabbed.

We got through a lot of kit in an hour and a half. Probably what we go through in a week.

The Duchess of Cambridge met staff and patients affected by the recent terrorist attacks in London (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

The Duchess of Cambridge speaks to clinical director and Consultant in Emergency Medicine Dr Malcolm Tunnicliff (Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire)

Asked what he took from the Duchess visiting, Dr Tunnicliff said: The dedication of all the staff, and actually how resilient they are and they are very proud to work for Kings, and the NHS for that matter.

It is nice when you have got someone like the Duchess of Cambridge who comes along. It was only four or five weeks ago Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall came along, and it gives the patients a lift, it gives the staff a lift that theyre being recognised.

And actually, all staff in the NHS want these days is just to be recognised for what they do, because they get knocked for so much. Someone like that coming along and recognising that, it is a massive lift.

HRH meets some of the incredible doctors, nurses and support staff who describe their experiences to The Duchess. pic.twitter.com/Su3dTrtKic  The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) June 12, 2017

After meeting patients, HRH sits with Dr Tunnicliff who explains how important the psychological support offered to staff & patients is. pic.twitter.com/JZpvTenMIu  The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) June 12, 2017

Speaking about the night, head of nursing Lynne Watkins-Hulme said: What was really noticeable on Saturday night was the amount of female patients that were involved.

That was quite traumatic for the staff. We are not used to so many females being injured.

The Duchess says goodbye to the fantastic team @KingsCollegeNHS and thanks them for all their care & support for victims of the attack. pic.twitter.com/hH9qKum1p9  The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) June 12, 2017

We are used to seeing people who are stabbed. But to have six women who were stabbed, multiple times  it was just the amount of people  that was upsetting.
Prime Minister Theresa May is planning to watch Englands friendly in France, where a rendition of Oasis Dont Look Back In Anger will be among the tributes to the victims of the Manchester and London terror attacks.

Just days after the General Election, Mrs May will meet French President Emmanuel Macron over dinner at the Elysee Palace for talks that are set to centre on counter-terrorism.

The pair are expected to go the Stade de France afterwards to watch the friendly between France and England, where tributes will be paid to the victims of the recent atrocities.

A minutes silence will be held at the stadium, where the players will be welcomed by fans holding up red and white placards to form the England flag as Dont Look Back in Anger is played by the Republican Guard.

The Oasis song was sung by mourners as they gathered in the wake of the Manchester attacks and was then played again at Ariana Grandes tribute concert at Old Trafford.

In a change to the usual schedule the French national anthem will go before God Save the Queen, with the lyrics of the two hymns to be shown on the screens. Both sets of players will have a photo together to show solidarity and togetherness.

A general view of the Stade de France

England manager Gareth Southgate said: We are very grateful to the French for offering this tribute to England as a country.

Its nice that the history between us doesnt come between us at those moments.

It is a reversal of the tributes seen at Wembley in November 2015 as the sides met just days after the terror attacks in Paris, one of which was outside the Stade de France.

The last time the teams met players paid tribute to the victims of the Paris terror attacks (Mike Egerton/PA)

France midfielder Lassana Diarras cousin Asta Diakite was among those killed, while Antoine Griezmanns sister managed to escape a mass killing at the Bataclan theatre.

Both players started on the bench at Wembley, where the words to La Marseillaise were shown on the big screen, allowing home supporters to join in a touching rendition of the French national anthem.

The players posed shoulder-to-shoulder for a photo, before standing together around the centre circle during a minute of silence.
Divisive senior advisers who quit after running Theresa Mays disastrous election campaign are in line for payouts of around 35,000 each.

Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, who were the Prime Ministers joint chiefs of staff, resigned amid intense Tory criticism in the wake of the snap election that cost the Conservatives their Commons majority.

The aides, appointed to the roles by Mrs May when she succeeded David Cameron, were earning a salary of 140,000 as of December last year.

Nick Timothy & Fiona Hill, who quit after running the PM's disastrous election campaign, are in line for severance payouts of around 35,000  Sam Lister (@sam_lister_) June 12, 2017

Under government rules, they are entitled to severance pay equivalent to three months pay.

The part Mr Timothy and Ms Hill played in the General Election has been severely criticised by disgruntled Tories.

In a resignation statement on the ConservativeHome website, Mr Timothy acknowledged one of his regrets was the way Mrs Mays social care policy, dubbed the dementia tax by critics, had been handled.

Prime Minister Theresa May's joint chiefs of staff, Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, resigned amid intense Tory criticism (John Stillwell/PA)

The Prime Minister was forced to perform an unprecedented U-turn within days of the publication of the Tory manifesto by announcing there would be a cap on social care costs, something that had been absent in the original policy document.

Mr Timothy said: I take responsibility for my part in this election campaign, which was the oversight of our policy programme.

Ms Hill, a former journalist, was known for her ferocious loyalty to her boss when she worked for Mrs May at the Home Office.

Theresa May holds the first Cabinet meeting since her post-election reshuffle - amid reports next week's Queen's Speech will be delayed pic.twitter.com/aP5mcPOhQs  PA Media (@PA) June 12, 2017

Such devotion led to her losing that job after she became involved in a furious, and highly public, spat with Michael Gove over tackling extremism in schools.

The Prime Ministers former communications chief Katie Perrior, who left Downing Street when the election was called, attacked the two aides at the weekend for their rude, abusive, childish behaviour.
Pressure on Theresa May to pursue a more cross-party approach to Brexit with greater focus on the economy is growing amid reports of secret talks between Cabinet ministers and Labour MPs.

Scottish Conservatives leader Ruth Davidson, whose influence has grown dramatically with the election of 13 Tories north of the border, has already broken cover to say this isnt just going to be a Tory Brexit.

Mrs Mays weakened position in the House of Commons as a result of losing her majority has fuelled speculation the Tories would be forced to soften their stance on Brexit.

Protest against 'hard Brexit'

The Evening Standard edited by Tory former chancellor George Osborne, and the Daily Telegraph, have reported that Cabinet ministers have initiated talks with Labour MPs to secure cross-party backing for a softer Brexit.

Ms Davidson was the first senior Tory to break cover with calls for a change in approach.

After attending the Prime Ministers political cabinet on Monday, she told BBC News: Im suggesting that the Conservative Party works with those both within the House of Commons and with people without to ensure that as we leave the EU we have a Brexit that works for the economy and puts that first.

There was a real sense around the cabinet table today, as you would expect from centre right politicians, that that is the primacy were looking for.

Ruth Davidson

Ms Davidson suggested the Government may shift its priority from cutting immigration to ensuring a good deal for business and the economy.

After Mrs May addressed the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs on Monday, some of those present suggested the PM would consult more with business on her approach to the talks.

Prime Minister Theresa May met with the 1922 committee on Monday (John Stillwell/PA)

Ms Davidson said: We do have to make sure that we invite other people in now. This isnt just going to be a Tory Brexit, this is going to have to involve the whole country.

We can make a big, bold offer that brings the country with us, that brings people in from the other side of the aisle in the House of Commons but also brings people in from outside the Commons too.

It comes after Brexit Secretary David Davis revealed that discussions on the UKs exit from the European Union may start later than the previously anticipated date of June 19.

It came as the European Commissions chief negotiator warned that Britain risks crashing out of the EU with no deal if it wastes any more of the time available for Brexit negotiations.

#Brexit negotiations should start when UK is ready; timetable and EU positions are clear. Let's put our minds together on striking a deal  Michel Barnier (@MichelBarnier) June 9, 2017

Michel Barnier urged Mrs May to very quickly start talks and appoint a negotiating team that is stable, accountable and with a mandate with the clock ticking to March 29 2019, when the UK is expected to leave after the two-year Article 50 process.

Next week, it will be three months after the sending of the Article 50 letter, Mr Barnier told the Financial Times and a group of European newspapers.

We havent negotiated, we havent progressed. Thus we must begin this negotiation. We are ready as soon as the UK itself is ready.

He added: Time is passing. It is passing quicker than anyone believes because the subjects we have to deal with are extraordinarily complex.

It will take months to draw out the conditions of an orderly withdrawal. Lets not waste time.
By Neil Jerome Morales and Simon Lewis

MARAWI CITY, Philippines, June 12 (Reuters) - Bomb blasts rocked Marawi City in the southern Philippines on Monday as the national flag was raised to mark independence day, almost three weeks after hundreds of Islamist militants overran the town and hunkered down with civilians as human shields.

Rescue workers, soldiers and firemen sang the national anthem and listened to speeches as three OV-10 attack aircraft darted through the cloudy sky, taking it in turns to drop bombs on areas where fighters are still holed up.

"To our Muslim brothers there, we want to tell them to stop their meaningless fight because we are all Muslims," Vice Provincial Governor Mamintal Adiong Jr. told the gathering.

Flag ceremonies are normally performed twice a week, but this was the first in the mainly Muslim town since May 23, the first day of the siege, when the militants killed and abducted Christians, and torched a cathedral.

Almost the entire population of about 200,000 fled from the lakeside town on the Philipppines' southernmost island of Mindanao, but beyond the checkpoints fencing it off there are still some 500-1,000 civilians trapped or being held hostage.

As of Saturday the number of security forces killed in the battle for Marawi stood at 58. The death toll for civilians was 20 and more than 100 had been killed overall.

The seizure of Marawi by fighters allied to Islamic State, including some from the Middle East, has alarmed Southeast Asian nations which fear the ultra-radical group - on a backfoot in Iraq and Syria - is trying to set up a stronghold on Mindanao that could threaten their region.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte said on Sunday he had not expected the battle for Marawi to be as serious as it has turned out, adding it had now emerged "that Baghdadi himself, the leader of the ISIS, has specifically ordered terroristic activities here in the Philippines".

Duterte did not say how he knew that Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, whose movement is commonly referred to as ISIS, had given instructions for the attack on Marawi.

PLAN TO TAKE OTHER CITIES FOILED

Foreign Affairs Minister Allan Peter Cayetano said in an independence day speech in Manila that the militants' had planned to take over at least two or three cities in Mindanao.

Their plot was foiled because troops made a preemptive raid on Marawi to capture Isnilon Hapilon, leader of the Abu Sayyaf group and Islamic State's "emir" of Southeast Asia.

"We want to coordinate very well with Indonesia and Malaysia so they won't also suffer in the hands of extremists," he said.

"But the president knew at the start of his term that, as the allies become more successful in Syria and Iraq, they (Islamic State) will be looking for a land base, and Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines will be a potential target to them."

Washington said at the weekend it was providing support to the Armed Forces of the Philippines to clear the militants from pockets of Marawi. Manila said this was technical assistance and there were no U.S. "boots on the ground".

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said support included aerial surveillance and targeting, electronic eavesdropping, communications assistance and training. A U.S. P-3 Orion surveillance plane was seen over the town on Friday.

The cooperation between the longtime allies in the battle is significant because Duterte, who came to power a year ago, has taken a hostile stance towards Washington and has vowed to eject U.S. military trainers and advisers from his country.

The Pentagon has no permanent presence in the Philippines but for years has kept 50 to 100 special forces troops in the south of the country on rotational exercises.

Duterte said on Sunday he had not sought support from Washington to end the siege and had not been aware that U.S. special forces were assisting.

Cayetano said the government did not need to be involved in decisions on U.S. participation because of a bilateral visiting forces agreement and, with "events happening real time", such matters are left to the armed forces and defence department.

(Additional reporting by Karen Lema and Manuel Mogato in MANILA; Writing by John Chalmers; Editing by Michael Perry)
TOKYO, June 12 (Reuters) - A female panda gave birth at a Tokyo zoo on Monday, zoo officials said, five years after her first cub was found dead just days after it was born.

Shin Shin, Ueno Zoo's 11-year-old giant panda, began pacing her cage and showing other signs of agitation late on Saturday, prompting keepers to keep watch around the clock.

Cries from a cub were heard shortly before noon and it was seen on a monitor soon after.

"We are very happy," Yutaka Fukuda, deputy head of the zoo told a news conference aired live on public broadcaster NHK.

"The cub is just born, so we would like to carefully watch over the progress of this tiny life."

The sex of the cub has yet to be determined but its weight was estimated at around 150 grams, and both mother and cub appeared in good health, another zoo official said.

Share prices of companies operating restaurants near the zoo soared after news of the birth on expectations they would benefit from a stream of visitors keen to view the newborn cub.

Totenko Co jumped as much as 38 percent to 290 yen, near a 10-year high, while K.K. Seiyoken climbed 11 percent to 978 yen, its highest since March 2014.

Shin Shin and her partner, Ri Ri, arrived from China in February 2011 and went on view shortly after a devastating earthquake and tsunami the next month, providing some welcome good news for the reeling nation.

The birth of a male cub the following year was the first at Ueno Zoo for 24 years and was greeted with widespread rejoicing. However, the tiny cub was found motionless on its mother's belly six days later and all efforts to revive it failed.

Panda pregnancies are difficult to confirm scientifically. Zookeepers announced that Shin Shin was possibly pregnant last month and removed her from public view soon after. (Reporting by Elaine Lies and Linda Sieg; Editing by Paul Tait and Joseph Radford)
BEIJING, June 12 (Reuters) - China and Singapore will do their best to expedite talks on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Singapore's foreign minister said, calling the potential pact a statement on the importance of free trade.

The Beijing-backed RCEP has been given new impetus by U.S. President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement, to which China is not party.

The two trade deals are not mutually exclusive, and some countries would be members of both.

But Singapore's prime minister has said that the United States' exit from the TPP had hurt confidence in U.S. policies. Beijing is also increasingly positioning itself as a global free trade champion.

"If we can successfully conclude these negotiations quickly, it will be an important statement in favour of free trade and economic integration," Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan told reporters in Beijing after meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

"At this point in time, it is more necessary than ever before," he said.

Wang repeated China's position that it would work to conclude RCEP negotiations as soon as possible.

The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is joined in RCEP talks by China, India, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea, but not the United States.

Nations party to the talks, launched in 2012 and expected to create a free trade area of several billion people, have expressed hope of signing a deal by the end of the year, though previous targets have been missed.

RCEP is less comprehensive than TPP and the main focus is reducing tariffs. Coverage of services is more modest than in the TPP, and it would not have protection for labour rights or the environment.

China-Singapore ties have showed recent signs of strain but Balakrishnan said that both he and Wang had agreed that bilateral relations were "stable, calm, and positive".

Recent sore points between the two countries include Hong Kong's seizure of nine Singaporean armoured vehicles in November that were being shipped from military exercises in Taiwan.

Singapore's armed forces have maintained long-standing if low key military training facilities in Taiwan, and Beijing officials used the seizure to warn countries against security ties with the island, which it regards as a breakaway province.

Singapore has also deepened its security ties to the United States in recent years and remains concerned over China's assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea.

(Reporting by Michael Martina; Writing by Ryan Woo and Michael Martina; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Edwina Gibbs)
By Dhara Ranasinghe

LONDON, June 12 (Reuters) - Prospects of victory for French President Emmanuel Macron's fledgling party and a setback for Italy's populist 5-Star Movement soothed political worries in euro zone debt markets on Monday, sending yields to multi-month lows.

Projections from the first round of Sunday's French parliamentary election suggested Macron's LREM party was set to secure a big majority to push through pro-business reforms.

But Italy's 5-Star Movement looked likely to suffer a severe setback in local elections, a development that could undermine its hopes of winning a national vote due by May 2018 and which suggests it is losing steam like other anti-establishment parties across Europe.

Those signs of stability and cohesion in two of the euro zone's biggest economies were viewed as positive not just for French assets, but also for peripheral markets that have been in the firing line from any signs of instability in the bloc.

That comes on top of stronger economic growth and indications that the European Central Bank is in no rush to withdraw its massive monetary stimulus. "Confidence in the euro zone is building and political risks are fading," said RBC's global macro strategist Peter Schaffrik.

"The data is strong and the ECB is keeping monetary policy loose, so we have this Goldilocks scenario for bond markets."

Italian 10-year government bond yields slid 8 basis points to 2.01 percent, the lowest since January. That pushed the gap over German peers to around 175 basis points -- its narrowest since late May and down almost 30 bps from Wednesday.

Italian yields ended Friday with their biggest weekly fall of 2017 as a failure to reach an agreement on a new electoral law was seen reducing the chances of early national elections.

Portugal's 10-year bond yield hit a nine-month low at 2.97 percent on Monday, while Spanish peers fell to 1.39 percent -- their lowest level since January.

The euro firmed against the dollar, while euro zone shares were broadly weaker.

MACRON BOOST

French bonds outperformed higher-rated euro zone equivalents, with 10-year yields falling 5 bps to a seven-month low of 0.60 percent.

That left the gap over Bund yields at around 35 bps versus 39 bps on Friday.

Pollsters project Macron's alliance could win as many as three-quarters of the seats in the lower house after next week's second round of voting, giving Macron a powerful mandate.

Rating agency S&P Global Ratings said on Monday it was likely to raise its growth outlook for France and the euro zone now that Macron looks poised to win a huge majority.

Stability in France also contrasts with Britain, where the ruling Conservative party lost its parliamentary majority last week, just days before negotiations over the UK's departure from the EU begin.

"While the political situation in the UK has become more complicated, across the Channel, conventional wisdom appears to have been turned on its head as Macron's new party ... has swept the board in the first round of French parliamentary elections, no mean feat for a movement that didnt even exist two years ago," said CMC Markets chief market analyst Michael Hewson.

For Reuters Live Markets blog on European and UK stock markets see reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=http://emea1.apps.cp.extranet.thomsonreuters.biz/cms/?pageId=livemarkets

(Editing by Catherine Evans)
By Ahmad Sultan

JALALABAD, Afghanistan, June 12 (Reuters) - As many as three Afghan civilians were killed early on Monday morning when American troops opened fire after their vehicle struck a roadside bomb, an official in eastern Nangarhar province said.

A man and his two sons were killed at their home in Ghani Khel, a district in the south of Nangarhar, on the border with Pakistan, said Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

"After the bomb blast hit them, the American forces then started shooting and killed one man and two children nearby," he said.

The U.S. military command in Kabul said it was investigating the reports.

Civilian casualties have running at near record highs as fighting spreads to more areas of Afghanistan, according to the United Nations.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani generally has been less vocal than his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, in publicly criticising the U.S. military when troops are involved in incidents where civilians are killed.

On Saturday, three American soldiers were killed and one wounded when an Afghan soldier opened fire on them in Nangarhar, where elite U.S. troops have been helping Afghan forces battle Islamic State militants.

Also over the weekend, an American air strike in southern Afghanistan killed at least three Afghan policemen and wounded several others during a joint operation by Afghan and U.S. special forces. U.S. and Afghan troops have been battling militants in Nangarhar province for months.

Islamic State, or Daesh as it is generally known in Afghanistan, has established a stronghold in the region, which borders Pakistan. U.S. military officials estimate there are about 600 to 800 Islamic State fighters in Afghanistan, mostly in Nangarhar, but also in the neighboring province of Kunar.

The increase in involvement by U.S troops and warplanes comes as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration weighs whether to deploy more troops in the war-torn country.

Reuters reported in late April that the U.S. administration was carrying out a review of Afghanistan and there were conversations over whether to send between 3,000 and 5,000 U.S. and coalition troops to Afghanistan.

Deliberations include giving more authority to forces on the ground and taking more aggressive action against Taliban fighters. This could allow U.S. advisers to work with Afghan troops below the corps level, potentially putting them closer to fighting, a U.S. official said. (Writing by Josh Smith; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
PHNOM PENH, June 12 (Reuters) - The number of foreign tourists visiting Cambodia in 2016 rose 5 percent to five million, bringing in about $3 billion in revenue, the prime minister said on Monday.

Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for more than 30 years, said he expected about 5.5 million tourists this year.

"Cambodia has clearly established itself as an attractive destination for cultural and natural tourism," Hun Sen said at an international tourism conference in Siem Reap province.

Hun Sen projected there would be seven million tourist arrivals by 2020, which should earn the country $5.5 billion and create 800,000 jobs.

Despite its beaches and Angkor temples, Cambodia long had a reputation for war, genocide and violent political instability.

But it has been become a favourite with backpackers and budget travellers over the past decade or so and has more recently begun to establish itself as a luxury destination.

Foreign tourist arrivals rose 11.9 percent in the first quarter of 2017, according to figures from the Tourism Ministry, with a total of 1.5 million visitors from January to March.

Chinese tourists accounted for the biggest group of visitors in the first quarter, data showed.

Kong Sopheareak, director of the Tourism Ministry's statistics department, told Reuters that good ties between Phnom Penh and Beijing had contributed to an increase in Chinese arrivals.

"There are more direct flights now and Chinese tourists also seek investment opportunities when they visit," he added. (Reporting by Prak Chan Thul; Editing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Robert Birsel)
By Henning Gloystein

SINGAPORE, June 12 (Reuters) - Qatar's isolation by other Arab nations has dealt a strong hand to Japanese utilities in talks reviewing long-term gas contracts with the top LNG exporter, likely accelerating a shift to a more openly traded global market for the fuel.

If Japan gets its way in the periodic contract review, the world's biggest buyer of LNG would have to import more short-notice supplies from producers such as the United States, another step away from rigid deals that run for decades towards a more active spot market.

At stake for Qatar are 7.2 million tonnes of annual liquefied natural gas (LNG) sold in contracts that expire in 2021. The $2.8 billion a year in gas mostly goes to Japan's JERA, a joint venture between Tokyo Electric and Chubu Electric that is the world's single biggest LNG buyer.

"Since the crisis emerged, the Japanese are sure not to renew all contracts and they will push very hard to get more flexible terms," said an advisor on LNG contracts, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of ongoing negotiations.

Qatar and Japan as seller and buyer will each account for nearly a third of 300 million tonnes to be shipped this year in 500 tankers. Any change in how volumes trade between them is sure to jolt an industry where practices in place since the 1970s are already being challenged.

In some ways the situation is similar to what happened in Europe between 2008 and 2014, when amid an economic crisis and tensions between Europe and Russia, European utilities renegotiated gas purchase terms, freeing up more supplies for spot markets.

Three deals between Japan and Qatar are under a periodic review, three sources with knowledge of the matter said, potentially allowing for some adjustments, and the buyers may also only partially renew the contracts when they expire.

An official with a Japanese buyer would not comment on individual contracts, but said purchase agreements were typically reviewed every five years.

That fits with the deals under discussion, which will expire in 2021 and were signed in 1997/1998 and in 2012.

Qatar Petroleum was not available for comment.

TABLES TURN

LNG volumes grew to 260 million tonnes last year from 250 million tonnes in 2015, produced by around a dozen countries, with more than half coming from Qatar, Australia and Malaysia.

Thirty-nine countries imported LNG in 2016, up by four from the previous year, with 70 percent of world consumption in Asia.

Facing competition from new producers, Qatar talked tough with Japan ahead of the contract reviews, warning buyers not to demand too many changes, or Japanese companies could be squeezed out of their stakes in Qatar's LNG projects.

But the tables have turned since Arab nations including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) cut ties with Doha, boycotting its trade and weakening Qatar's negotiating position.

Cheniere, the only U.S. company to export LNG so far, is offering its supplies as an alternative.

"This dispute is a timely reminder of the value of the diversity and flexibility of supply that destination-free U.S. exports bring to individual buyers," said Cheniere spokesman Eben Burnham-Snyder.

Unlike other exporters, Cheniere allows its buyers to re-sell cargoes.

The Qatar crisis "will further encourage international LNG buyers to include more American LNG ... for reliability reasons," said Kent Bayazitoglu, director of market analytics at Gelber & Associates in Houston.

MORE TRADE: SURVEY

This all comes as a growing number of producers and importers are joined by more commodity houses that trade LNG.

Supplies are outpacing demand, leaving a lot of LNG stranded without takers and pulling down Asian LNG spot prices <LNG-AS> by over 70 percent since 2014 to below $6 per million British thermal units.

Trying to bring their LNG to the market, producers including Australia's Woodside Petroleum and Royal Dutch Shell have said they will grant greater contract flexibility.

Spot LNG trading made up 18 percent of supplies in 2016, up from 15 percent a year before, according to the International Group of Liquefied Natural Gas Importers.

In an informal Reuters survey, a majority of more than 30 industry experts expected at least 25 percent of Asian LNG volumes to be traded in the spot market by the end of next year. And if Japan wins concessions from Qatar, this share could rise faster, traders said.

Preparing for this, trading houses are beefing up their LNG presence.

Top commodities traders Vitol and Glencore have both said this year that they expect more spot trading over the next 18-24 months.

Vitol says its physical LNG trading volumes will rise from 3 million tonnes in 2016 to 4.5 million tonnes this year.

Japanese trading houses, eyeing the changes being driven by the country's utilities, are also preparing for more spot trade.

"We are going to reinforce our LNG team at our energy trading unit in Singapore as LNG spot trading is on the rise," Hiroyuki Kato, executive vice president of Mitsui & Co Ltd said last week.

(Reporting by Henning Gloystein; Additional reporting by Scott DiSavino in NEW YORK, Mark Tay in SINGAPORE, and Aizhu Chen in BEIJING; Editing by Tom Hogue)
By John Kemp

LONDON, June 12 (Reuters) - Hedge funds have turned much more bearish towards U.S. natural gas prices after stocks built much more than expected at the start of the summer cooling season.

Hedge funds and other money managers cut their net long position in the two main futures and options contracts linked to Henry Hub prices by 765 billion cubic feet in the week to June 6.

Fund managers cut their net long position by a total of 1,349 billion cubic feet over the two weeks since May 23, after boosting positions by 1,721 billion cubic feet over the previous 12 weeks (http://tmsnrt.rs/2rRAYZa).

By May 23, hedge funds had accumulated a near-record net long position of 3,919 billion cubic feet, according to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (http://tmsnrt.rs/2sTeDch).

Fund managers had the biggest bullish bias on record, with more than five long positions for every short position (http://tmsnrt.rs/2rmwMwV).

But the concentration of hedge fund long positions left prices looking stretched and vulnerable to a correction.

Fund managers gambled that strong exports coupled with a new wave of combined-cycle power plants would tighten gas stocks this summer.

But instead stocks have risen in line with the normal seasonal pattern as power producers have switched back to burning coal.

With ample stocks, the bullish bias among the hedge fund managers was no longer sustainable and a correction became inevitable.

TURNING POINT

Spot prices and calendar spreads peaked in the middle of May, and started to soften gradually, before tumbling after May 22.

Gentle liquidation of long positions by former hedge fund bulls has been accelerated by a new wave of short selling from hedge fund bears anticipating a price correction.

Hedge fund long positions were reduced by 453 billion cubic feet over the two weeks ending on June 6, but fund managers also established 896 billion cubic feet of new short positions.

Gas prices have fallen sharply to encourage electricity generators to run their gas-fired power plants for more hours and ease back on coal burning.

Nearly all the decline in prices has been concentrated in near-dated futures contracts to encourage maximum power burn this summer.

The price of gas for delivery at Henry Hub in July 2017 has fallen by more than 40 cents per million British thermal units, around 12 percent, since May 22 (http://tmsnrt.rs/2rRvNIz).

By contrast, there has been little change in forward prices, with the price of gas for delivered in July 2018 down by just 2 cents since May 22.

Calendar spreads have collapsed, with the backwardation from July 2017 to July 2018 easing from 47 cents on May 22 to just 9 cents on June 12 (http://tmsnrt.rs/2rmq3mx).

The sharp reduction in hedge fund long positions and establishment of a significant number of new short ones has left the risks around gas prices looking much more balanced.

Gas prices are now much more competitive with coal, which should encourage power producers to run their combined-cycle units for more hours as baseload and limit further downside risks.

Related columns:

"U.S. natural gas prices tumble as power producers switch back to coal", Reuters, June 5

"U.S. natural gas prices soften, market eyes big hedge fund longs", Reuters, April 24

"U.S. natural gas prices rise to limit summer power burn", Reuters, March 31 (Editing by Edmund Blair)
By Andrew Torchia and John Davison

DUBAI/DOHA, June 12 (Reuters) - Qatar's financial markets stabilised on Monday after a week of losses as the government showed it had ways to keep the economy running in the face of sanctions by other Gulf states.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and transport ties a week ago, accusing Doha of backing terrorism. This has disrupted imports of food and other materials and caused many foreign banks to scale back business with Qatar.

But on Monday, it was becoming clear that Qatar could prevent the economic damage from becoming critical. Some of its food factories are working extra shifts to process imports from nations outside the Gulf, such as Brazil, and shipping lines are operating via Oman instead of the UAE.

These measures may be inconvenient, involve delays and raise costs for Qatar; on Monday Fitch put Qatar's AA credit rating on Rating Watch Negative, saying a sustained crisis could hurt its credit outlook. But they are unlikely to prevent the economy from functioning in any fundamental way.

In the local money market, where Qatari banks have often depended on loans and deposits from foreign banks, local institutions made up liquidity shortfalls by borrowing from the central bank's repo facility, bankers said.

In an interview with CNBC television, one of the first public appearances by a Qatari economic policy maker since the crisis erupted, Qatari finance minister Ali Sherif al-Emadi sounded confident.

He said the energy sector and economy of the world's top liquefied natural gas exporter were essentially operating as normal and that there had not been a serious impact on supplies of food or other goods.

Qatar can import goods from Turkey, the Far East or Europe and will respond to the crisis by diversifying its economy even more, he told CNBC.

"Our reserves and investment funds are more than 250 percent of gross domestic product, so I don't think there is any reason that people need to be concerned about what's happening or any speculation on the Qatari riyal."

In the Gulf's tense political climate, many independent analysts in the region decline to discuss Qatar's economy publicly for fear of irritating their governments.

But Jason Tuvey, Middle East economist at London-based Capital Economics, said that as long as the other Gulf countries did not interfere with Qatar's LNG exports, which would be a major escalation of the crisis, the tiny state would probably be able to carry on without a serious recession.

"It seems Qatar would be able to weather quite a prolonged period of sanctions," he said, adding that economic growth, fuelled by government spending and infrastructure projects, was "highly unlikely to grind to halt".

MARKETS

Qatar's riyal currency, pegged at 3.64 to the U.S. dollar, was under pressure last week as banks reacted nervously to the diplomatic rift. On Monday, the currency came off last week's lows in the spot and offshore forwards markets.

Bankers said the central bank, which has $34.5 billion of net foreign reserves, backed by an estimated hundreds of billions of dollars of assets in Doha's sovereign wealth fund, was supplying enough dollars to the spot market to keep exchange rates under control.

The cost of insuring Qatar's sovereign debt against default fell back for the first time in a week, while yields on Doha's international bonds dropped almost 10 basis points and the stock market stabilised after sliding 8.7 percent in the past week.

One result of the sanctions has been a severe shortage of U.S. dollar cash at Qatar's money changers; supplies used to be flown in from the UAE but that route is closed. The shortage persisted on Monday although some dealers said efforts were underway to obtain supplies from elsewhere, such as Hong Kong.

Tuvey said the main threat to the economy was that Qatari banks could find it much harder to obtain wholesale funding from other banks to sustain growth in their loan portfolios. This could force them to call in loans, hurting the economy.

However, if the situation becomes critical, the Qatari government can liquidate some of its overseas assets and provide the funds to its banking system, much as Saudi Arabia did last year when its banks faced a funding squeeze due to low oil prices, he said.

Qatar's sovereign wealth fund has major stakes in top Western companies such as Credit Suisse. Asked by CNBC whether it might now sell some of these stakes to raise money, Emadi indicated this was not on the cards at present.

"We are extremely comfortable with our positions, our investments and liquidity in our systems," he said. (Additional reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh in Dubai; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
ISTANBUL/ATHENS, June 12 (Reuters) - A powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck the western coast of Turkey and the Greek island of Lesbos on Monday, killing one woman and rattling buildings from the Aegean Turkish province of Izmir to the Greek capital Athens.

The epicentre of the quake was about 84 km (52 miles) northwest of the Turkish coastal city of Izmir and 15 km south of Lesbos, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said on its website. The National Observatory of Athens put it slightly lower at 6.1.

Extensive damage was reported at a village on Lesbos, which was at the forefront of a migration crisis two years ago when hundreds of thousands of war refugees landed there seeking a gateway into Europe.

TV footage showed collapsed buildings and debris blocking narrow streets at Vrisa, a community of around 600 people to the south of the island.

"Tens of buildings have collapsed and roads are blocked off," said Marios Apostolides, the divisional commander of the fire brigade.

A woman, believed to be about 60, was crushed by the roof of her home and died, the island's mayor said. Local officials said at least 10 people were injured.

The quake was felt as far away as Athens, some 367 km (228 miles) southwest of the island.

Major geological fault lines cross the region and small earthquakes are common, though anything higher than 5.5 is rare. Anything exceeding that is capable of causing extensive damage.

"The trembling was really bad. Everything in my clinic started shaking wildly, we all ran outside with the patients," said Didem Eris, a 50-year-old dentist in Izmir's Karsiyaka district. "We are very used to earthquakes as people of Izmir but this one was different. I thought to myself that this time we were going to die."

Social media users who said they were in western Turkey reported a strong and sustained tremor.

"We will be seeing the aftershocks of this in the coming hours, days and weeks," said Haluk Ozener, head of Turkey's Kandilli Observatory, adding that the aftershocks could have magnitudes of up to 5.5.

More than 600 people died in October 2011 in Turkey's eastern province of Van after a quake of 7.2 magnitude and powerful aftershocks. In 1999, two massive earthquakes killed about 20,000 people in the densely populated northwest of the country. A 5.9 magnitude quake in 1999 killed 143 people in Greece. (Reporting by Turkey and Athens newsrooms; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
DUBAI, June 12 (Reuters) - A United Nations body should declare Gulf Arab measures against Qatari air traffic as illegal, the chief executive of Qatar Airways said in comments to CNN published on Monday, after some Arab states cut ties with Doha in a diplomatic row.

Akbar Al Baker criticised Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain for closing their airspace to Qatari flights. He appealed to the International Civil Aviation Organization, a U.N. agency which administers the Chicago convention that guarantees civil overflights.

"We have legal channels to object to this," he said. "ICAO... should heavily get involved, put their weight behind this to declare this an illegal act."

The UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have signed the convention. (Reporting by Sylvia Westall)
OSLO, June 12 (Reuters) - Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said on Monday the Trump administration will end up abiding by the 2015 nuclear deal despite its protestations to the contrary because it is in the national interest of the United States.

Trump has previously said that the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran is a "disaster" and the "worst deal ever negotiated".

"Unfortunately the behaviour from the new administration in Washington is not very promising," Zarif told reporters after meeting his Norwegian counterpart. "We believe that at the end of the day they will find it necessary to abide by the deal.

"I believe the U.S. administration will find it in the interest of the United States, as well as the interest of international peace and security, to live up to its commitments." (Reporting by Gwladys Fouche; Editing by Alison Williams)
ADEN, June 12 (Reuters) - Al Qaeda militants claimed responsibility for a car bomb and gun attack on an army camp in southeastern Yemen early on Monday that killed at least 10 militants and two soldiers, according to a statement posted on Twitter.

The attack, near the town of Baddah in oil-producing Hadramout province, came after a lull in attacks by the Islamist militant group's Yemeni affiliate, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Attackers set off two car bombs outside the camp, a military official said. Residents said they also heard gunfire after two loud explosions.

"Our soldiers foiled the attack and managed to secure the camp and we are still pursuing those who have escaped in nearby farms," the official told Reuters by phone.

In its statement, al Qaeda said several "elite" troops were killed and vehicles destroyed, and that one of its fighters died.

Al Qaeda took advantage of years of turmoil to build up one of its most active branches in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country.

It has been forced out of some areas in recent years by Yemen's army and allied Saudi-led coalition forces backing President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi in Yemen's civil war.

But its militants have retreated to mountainous and desert areas and launch regular attacks on Yemeni troops and government facilities.

The United States has launched two commando raids on al Qaeda forces in Yemen this year and stepped up drone attacks. (Reporting by Mohammed Mukhashaf and Ali Abdelatti; Writing by Sami Aboudi and Katie Paul; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Alison Williams)
June 12 (Reuters) - Latin America needs to take action to help Venezuela resolve its political crisis or risk the country turning into a "sea of blood," Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said on Monday, warning that a wave of refugees could hit neighboring Colombia.

Kuczynski said during a conference in Madrid that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro should let humanitarian aid enter his oil-producing but economically ailing country.

Dozens of people have been killed in protests against Maduro's socialist government since April.

"If nothing is done, we are going to end up with a sea full of blood," said Kuczynski, a former banker who has taken the lead among Latin American leaders in criticizing Maduro.

He warned of the threat of massive immigration to Colombia, and said desperate refugees might even try to get to the Caribbean island of Curacao, risking a replay of the deadly Mediterranean journeys of refugees from Syria and Iraq.

"We have to avoid that. If Latin America has any solidarity among countries, we have to try to find a solution," Kuczynski said, according to a statement from his office in Lima.

Venezuela has lost many regional allies as several Latin American countries have moved to the right in recent years.

Human rights groups have criticized the Venezuelan government's response to the protests, saying its "excessive use of force" and militarization have escalated the violence.

Venezuelan officials say the world is turning a blind eye to opposition brutality including shootings of security officials and recruitment of underage protesters.

(Reporting by Marco Aquino in Lima; Writing by Hugh Bronstein; Editing by Peter Cooney)
ANKARA, June 12 (Reuters) - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday blamed the United States for instability in the Middle East and said Washington's fight against the Islamic State militant group was "a lie".

"You (the United States) and your agents are the source of instability in the Middle East...who created Islamic State? America ... America's claim of fighting against Islamic State is a lie," Khamenei said in a meeting with high-ranking Iranian officials, according to his official website.

Iran and the United States cut diplomatic ties shortly after Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution and enmity to Washington has long been a rallying point for hardline supporters of Khamenei in Iran.

Khamenei has made several statements denouncing the United States since the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, while U.S. President Donald Trump has spoken out against Iran in harsh terms since taking office, indicating that he will reverse the previous admistration's attempts at rapprochement with Tehran.

The Iranian leader has accused the United States and its regional ally Saudi Arabia of funding hardline Sunni militants, including Islamic State, which carried out its first attack in Iran on Wednesday in Tehran, killing 17 people.

Riyadh has denied involvement in the suicide bombings and gun attacks on Iran's parliament and the mausoleum of the Islamic Republic's founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who favours opening up to the world, has condemned the attacks, without pointing a finger at any country.

The pragmatist president championed a nuclear deal with the United States and five other powers in 2015 that led to the lifting of most sanctions against Iran, in return for curbs on its nuclear program.

But the deal has not led to normalization of ties between the two countries that Rouhani hoped for. Trump has frequently called the agreement "one of the worst deals ever signed" and said Washington would review it.

Khamenei said Iran had no intention of normalising ties with the United States.

"The American government is against an independent Iran ... They have problems with the existence of Islamic Republic of Iran...Most of our problems with them cannot be resolved," the semi-official Fars news agency quoted him as saying.

Khamenei's hardline loyalists, drawn from among Islamists and the Revolutionary Guards, fear that normalisation of ties with the United States might weaken their position.

"America is a terrorist country and backs terrorism ... therefore, we cannot normalise ties with such country," he said. (Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Alison Williams and Angus MacSwan)
By Camillus Eboh

ABUJA, June 12 (Reuters) - Nigeria's anti-corruption agency is investigating the speaker of the lower chamber of parliament, according to a document seen by Reuters on Monday, part of a campaign against graft being waged by President Muhammadu Buhari's government.

Yakubu Dogara, the speaker of the House of Representatives, is under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over allegations he illegally added figures to Nigeria's 2016 budget after it was passed by parliament, according to a letter from the watchdog dated June 9 and seen by Reuters.

A spokesman for Dogara did not respond to repeated calls for comment.

Buhari won the presidency on promises to combat Nigeria's endemic corruption. But halfway through his four-year term, the results have been mixed, and one of his own senior advisors was suspended after a Senate investigation into embezzlement .

(Writing by Paul Carsten)
Qatar Airways today released its annual report for the fiscal year 2017 (April 1st 2016 to March 31st 2017) revealing a 21.7 per cent year-on-year net profit increase. The results also show an annual revenue increase of 10.4 per cent.

This is an outstanding result for the award-winning airline, which has experienced a busy year of expansion and investment, as well as celebrating its 20th anniversary in the global aviation industry. Qatar Airways Available Seat Kilometres (ASK) increased by 21.9 per cent in the fiscal year 2017, to 185,208 million.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: Our annual results once again reflect the success of our expansion and growth strategy that has seen the Qatar Airways Group grow from a small regional airline into an aviation powerhouse over the last two decades. As we celebrate our 20th anniversary in the industry, I am proud to share our annual results with the world so that they can see how far we have come as an airline group and how our dedicated team of more than 43,000 employees have worked together to make Qatar Airways the huge success it is today.

During the fiscal year 2017, Qatar Airways has made significant investments and partnerships; launched 10 new destinations; announced industry-changing on-board product developments and expanded its modern fleet to 196 aircraft.

In July 2016, the airline announced an increase in its stake in International Airlines Group (IAG) from 15.24 per cent to 20.01 per cent, strengthening its position as a shareholder in one of worlds biggest airline groups. A further strategic investment was made by the airline in December 2016, when it acquired 10 per cent of LATAM Airline Groups total shares.

Other key partnerships secured throughout the same period include a joint business agreement with IAG subsidiary, British Airways, with revenue sharing on the London Heathrow-Doha route, as well as new codeshare partnerships with airlines such as Finnair, Iberia, Sri Lankan, Vueling and Air Botswana.

During the fiscal year 2017, the airline continued to build its global network, adding 10 new destinations: Adelaide, Australia; Atlanta, United States; Auckland, New Zealand; Helsinki, Finland; Krabi, Thailand; Marrakech, Morocco; Pisa, Italy; Mahe, Seychelles; Windhoek, Namibia; and Yerevan, Armenia.

The airline has also announced that it will launch a record number of 24 new destinations in the next year, including exciting cities such as Dublin, Republic of Ireland; San Francisco, United States; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Santiago, Chile.

In order to support this ambitious growth strategy, the airline continues to expand its fleet, which as of 31 March 2017 boasted a total of 196 aircraft including 7 Airbus A380s, 30 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and 16 Airbus A350s. Showing its ongoing commitment to this evolution of its fleet, the airline also announced an historic agreement with Boeing in October 2016, to purchase up to 100 aircraft comprising 30 firm 787-9s and 10 firm 777-300ERs with a letter of intent to purchase up to a further 60 B737 MAX 8 aircraft.

Continuing to spearhead innovation in the aviation industry, Qatar Airways revealed its revolutionary new First in Business seat concept, Qsuite, at ITB Berlin in March 2017. The patented design brings a new level of comfort and privacy to the premium class passenger experience with its fully customisable suites that allow parties of two, three or four to create their own unique space within the Business Class cabin.

Qatar Airways success relies on the support of its home and hub, Hamad International Airport, which was opened in 2014 and now processes more than 38 million passengers a year. As a testament to its design and efficiency, the state-of-the-art airport was classified as a Five-Star airport by Skytrax at its 2017 World Airport Awards, becoming the first ever Middle East airport to achieve this honour.

In early June 2017, four specific countries namely the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom of Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and the Arab Republic of Egypt took steps to sever diplomatic ties with the State of Qatar, and also closed transport connectivity by road, sea and air to these countries from the State of Qatar. Qatar Airways continues to operate to the rest of its network as per its published schedules with day-to-day adjustments for operational and commercial efficiencies, which is standard airline practice.
A 48-hour strike will be launched by employees of the United Postal Trade Unions Front from midnight today.

The trade union staged a protest outside the Postal Headquarters in Colombo today over a number of unresolved issues in the Postal Department.

The protestors charged that the government was trying to handover several buildings which house postal offices in Nuwara Eliya, Galle and Kandy to an Indian company to build hotels.

"These buildings have historical value but they are in grave danger today. Since the government has failed to take prompt action, we will go for a 48-hour token strike from midnight today. If the government comes up with solutions before midnight, we will not engage in the strike, United Postal Trade Unions Front President Chinthaka Bandara said. (Thilanka Kanakarathna and Sheain Fernandopulle)
Every year, thousands of Sri Lankan women brave the desert, leaving behind almost everything, just so they could send their hard-earned money to their loved ones back here. Most of them toil as maids in the Middle East. While many of them are, if not happy, satisfied, with their employment, their earnings take shape of a major source of foreign income to the island. Often tabled are reports of maids being held in an unknown territory against their will; many of them return home with physical and mental bruisers as a result of ill-treatment and torture.

W.W. Indrakanthi belongs to the unfortunate faction. It was only last month she returned home with severe governmental intervention, after a video clip in which she claims she was held against her will and her employer demanded her kidney went viral. Now, she has been accused of making a bogus claim by more than one source. We at Daily mirror interviewed Indra Kanthi to inquire her side of the story.



The following is Indra Kanthis account of what she endured whilst employed abroad.

Two years ago, Withanagoda Wattage Indra Kanthi (36), a single mother of three girls aged eighteen, eleven and seven, considered foreign employment as her last resort. After her husband deserted his wife and the children for another woman, Indra Kanthi was burdened with loans and the future of her children. With an education only up to Grade ten, Indra Kanthi decided to go abroad as a house maid in search of greener pastures -- to overcome the severe financial constraints and secure a bright future for her children.



As such, she boarded her flight on March 14, 2015, leaving behind her family in the care of her mother, to do the chores of an unknown family. She was however not worried about herself as she had once worked as a house maid in the same country, and the experience turned out to be better than she anticipated. She contacted the same agency for the same reason and she was piloted to her destination through a private visa sponsored by the employer. According to her, things had been very difficult at her new workplace from day one.



Even though they said I had to work for one family only, I had to do the work of several families related to my employer. I didnt have allocated working hours as such. From the moment I woke up, which was before 7 a.m., to the moment I went back to sleep, which was around 2 a.m., I worked continuously; cooking, cleaning and washing for ten or more people. I was not given proper food and even though I am ashamed to reveal, there were many occasions where I took empty utensils and scraped off the remaining rice (dankuda) to satisfy my hunger. I was hospitalised more than once and was given saline because I was physically weak. They didnt give me my salary on date. I had to beg for my salary which I had to send home, to my mother and children who depended solely on my meager earnings. Once, I had a severe chest pain and even found it difficult to talk to my employer. Although it is the employers responsibility to look into the medical needs of a maid, I was never taken to a doctor until the agency called them from Sri Lanka and told them to.



Complaints of physical abuse are not uncommon in returnees from the Middle East. Did she have to go through that particular challenge?

The first time a woman of the household hit me, I called the agency. They called my sponsors and advised them not to do so in future. They didnt hit me again until towards the end, when a son of my employer slapped me for asking to let me go home, she confessed.



Speaking about her employers demand for her kidney, she said her employer offered money for her kidney.

Indra Kanthi with two of her daughters



There was an old lady in the house. She was feeble and suffered from diabetes. About two months before my contract expired, they discovered her need for a kidney transplant.



They started looking for donors everywhere. They asked me to donate a kidney and offered 50,000 Riyals (approximately LKR 2 million). When I refused, they asked me to reconsider.



They kept nagging me, asking if I changed my decision. I always said no.



During the last couple of months, they approached me again and said they would give me a thumping amount of money. My answer was still no. When I explained to them that it would be difficult for me to work and take care of my family after the surgery, they told I did not have to return to Sri Lanka but could settle down in Saudi with a man they would find for me with my money. I vehemently refused.



When we asked if she were told that she was held because she refused to donate the kidney, she said: No. They never put it like that. Even though I was being forced to stay in the house after my contract period expired, with them having asked for the kidney and with the day of the surgery approaching, I felt really scared, said Indrakanthi.



When asked if she underwent any tests for kidney donation, she said: No, I didnt. They asked me my blood group and even though I knew it, I told them I didnt, for the fear of being forced to donate my kidney if it were the correct type. More than once they attempted to take me for tests, saying it will only consume a little time, but I refused.



She speaks about the difficult times she had after her contract expired: Even though my contract was for two years, they did not allow me to leave once it was over. In the last three months of my stay, they did not pay me my salary, preventing me from going home. I had to borrow money from a Sri Lankan friend who worked in another house to recharge my phone to call home. This is when I tried contacting the Sri Lankan Embassy in Saudi Arabia for the first time. To my dismay, I found that none of the embassy numbers given to us by the SLFEB before departure could be contacted.

So I contacted an embassy officer through a number the agency person had given me. She told me that in order for them to help, I had to first make a complaint at a Sri Lankan branch of the foreign employment bureau. Even after doing that through my mother, the officer kept making excuses to not come and get me. For three weeks, each time I called the officer on the day she promised to come for me, she made various excuses not to come. She was quite impatient with me when I called, and yelled saying I was not the only woman they have to look into, and to be patient until they arrive. Later, she stopped answering my calls.



Meanwhile, the family of the old lady was saying the day of the surgery was quite close and that they havent found a donor yet. With them not allowing me to leave and the embassy not responding, I was frightened and became desperate. That was when I decided to involve the media. My final message in the form of a video.



When asked if the foreign employment bureau was involved in her rescue, Indra Kanthi responded negatively.



I was contacted by a person working at a Sri Lankan media institution and he gave me the number of the Sri Lankan Ambassador in Saudi. He was quite nice to me when I contacted him over the phone and promised to get me out within two days. He kept his word.



Indra Kanthis account of what happened at the police station is however somewhat different to that of Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau (SLFEB), whose source, according to them was the Sri Lankan Embassy of Saudi Arabia.



The police confiscated my phone and after going through the video I sent home, they said keeping something like that in the phone was wrong, and deleted it then and there. Then, the people from the household said they would only be able to give me one months salary because Baaba (sponsor) had gone abroad. They urged me to remain at the police station for at least a week until his return to settle the dues. Confused, I grilled them about this new name, Baaba. The name they said was the name of my Mama (mistress) who had not gone anywhere but was at home.

When I mentioned it to them, they ignored me. I didnt want to stay another week at the police so I agreed to get only one months salary and the return ticket. Even though they have to pay for my return ticket, they paid only 600 Riyals and the rest I had to bear. Before being released, I had to sign a letter the police gave me, which was in Arabic language, Indra Kanthi narrated.



In addition to having signed a letter in a language that she doesnt even comprehend, Indra Kanthi had been asked for another letter by the people of her own country too, according to her confession.

At the embassy, I was asked to write a letter saying I was rescued by two personnel from the ambassadors office and that Im withdrawing my claim about not receiving two months salaries. After reading this, the embassy officer asked me to add that I will withdraw my accusation about my employers demand for my kidney. So I appended that sentence to the already signed letter.



Were the Saudi Police going to take any action on her for defaming the country as the SLFEB has suggested? I dont know anything like that. No one mentioned about taking legal action against me at that time, was her reply.



The approached SLFEB Deputy General Manager Madhawa Deshapriya to inquire his stance on the incident



Actually, this is not a recent development but has happened when our embassy officers have gone to the police to rescue her. In addition to the video that was released to the media, she has sent home some other clips too. The police have said by sending videos carrying the message that the Saudi employer have threatened to take her kidney by force, she has insulted the government and that the police is taking legal action against her. Our officers have settled the matter with the police, talking on her behalf saying that she had only made that claim to go home, and by apologising for her, he said.



Meanwhile, we asked Indra Kanthi about the accusation that she had gone abroad illegally.



I used the same agency located in Armour Street that I used the previous time, trusting the madam there. When my family had contacted the relevant government authority, they have sent a foreign employment officer from the divisional secretariat office and she called me saying I have gone abroad through illegal means. That was the first time I heard about it. They said I have been registered under an agency I have never heard about. The madam in the agency, who helped me by giving the number of the embassy, avoided me later. She didnt answer my calls. I dont have any relevant papers with me, since I have been recruited through a private visa and I didnt directly sign an employment contract with my employers. Daily Mirrors efforts to contact the said agent were not successful.



We asked her about the allegations by the SLFEB saying she had made a false claim about her employer demanding her kidney.



All I have to say is that Im telling the truth. The embassy and SLFEB are accusing me to prevent shedding light on the fact that they did not intervene on my behalf. Had they responded aptly the first time I complained to the embassy, I wouldnt have undergone so much trauma, she said.



She ended her conversation with a plea to the government on behalf of the Sri Lankan women travelling to Saudi Arabia among many hardships: Women should not be sent to Saudi Arabia in the first place because it is not a good country for a woman to work. Even though there are some employers who treat them really well, some others treat our women like animals.



Speaking for the women who are already employed in Saudi Arabia, she stresses the importance of government intervention with regard to women in distress. We are alone with no one to turn to. In a foreign country, the embassy is the only place we can lodge our complaints. Therefore, at the first complaint itself, take necessary action to address the situation, she appealed.



When we contacted the SLFEB Deputy General Manager to inquire the injustice meted out by forcibly detaining Indra Kanthi for two months after her contract expired, the Deputy General Manager said according to what they knew, she had been asked by the employer to remain until a replacement was made. When inquired about the legality of offering money to donate her kidney, his reply was that he didnt know the legal background of the organ donation procedure in that country.



Our readers should note that according to Indra Kanthis account, in addition to being offered money for a body organ, which equals to organ trade (a punishable offence in Sri Lanka), the employer has done it when she was under their authority. Looking back at the SLFEB officials statement, it is unfortunate that the embassy and the SLFEB that were quick to point fingers at the Sri Lankan maid saying she had made false accusations, being ignorant about the legal background of a situation where her employers may have done something illegal and unethical with their offer for an organ.



There also lies the question of the agency she used to go abroad. Indra Kanthi says the SLFEB had said she was sent abroad via illegal means. If so, has any action been taken against the agency? The government should look into her complaint over the inability to contact the embassy via the channels that were provided to her and every other woman who goes to Saudi Arabia; there may be many women who are in dire situations and whose only means of escape may be a call to the embassy. Indra Kanthi had been informed that she couldn't contact the embassy through landlines as the officials were always busy. Even if it were a matter as simple as that, it may decide the life of another woman out there.



Finally, even after contacting the embassy, their inability to improve her situation until Indra Kanthi approached the ambassador directly, highlights her story. If the ambassador was able to take her out within two days as promised, why have the other embassy officials been unable to achieve the same feat the numerous times Indra Kanthi contacted them?



Indra Kanthi is reunited with her family and in a few more days, her confession will become just another story amongst the many horrors of Sri Lankan maids who have suffered at the hands of their employers in faraway lands. Whether we should use this information to prevent the occurrence of another incident with worse outcomes is in our hands.
As a nation focused on development and in the midst of transitioning from a lower middle income country to an upper middle income country it is no surprise that Sri Lanka is facing a rise in demand for electricity. With ambitious goals and recent economic developments, Sri Lanka has been experiencing a 4% annual increase in electricity consumption. This growth is led by the domestic and hotel sectors with domestic alone accounting for at least 40% of the electricity consumed  a steep contrast from developed nations that only witness 20% domestic consumption.

Rapid urbanization and a growing population with more disposable income have put a strain on the electrical grid that needs to be alleviated. This became evident in a series of island-wide power outages in early 2016. If Sri Lanka is to achieve its long term goals and take its place on the world stage, then it will need to resolve this critical issue by securing additional power sources. Sri Lankas electricity regulator, the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), said as much when they recommended the Power and Energy Ministry take urgent steps to purchase new power plants in order to avoid a power crisis.

However, a major hurdle in the construction of power plants in developing countries has been the installation of the large, heavy generators that produce the electricity in a power plant. The poor infrastructure within the country including narrow road network, low overhead wires, and weak bridges can make it difficult to transport oversized cargo. Additionally, the lack of skills and logistical expertise in these regions have been a factor that made these projects problematic if not impossible in the past. Due to this reason, Sri Lanka has relied on foreign expertise to manage the transportation of such generators making it an added financial burden to the country. However, today it is no longer the case thanks to a more experienced and mature local industry.

At the forefront of this industry is Advantis Projects (formally known as Logiventures Pvt Ltd.), a subsidiary of the Hayleys Group, who have the necessary expertise and the specialized equipment to manage such projects, providing an end-to-end logistics solution that caters to specific needs. With a wealth of knowledge and strategic partnerships across the region they are also able to draw upon the expertise of foreign consultants if the situation should call for it, while ensuring that costs are contained, through the local management of the project.

Their track record includes an array of projects that required bespoke solutions utilising specialised equipment  such as multi-axle trailers with the ability to transport cargo up to 300MT in weight  owned only by them, customs clearance, liaising with relevant organisations to ensure the smooth transportation of cargo, and marine logistics facilities such as vessel chartering and providing barges. All these features are supplemented with their in-house logistics team which include master mariners. By using in-house expertise and owning the specialised equipment needed to successfully accomplish these projects Advantis Projects is able to provide thefast end-to-end transfer of heavy cargo easily and safely.

Shadil Rizan, General Manager of Advantis Projects said, We approach each project with a view of accomplishing it safely, on budget and on time. We are able to do this thanks to our wealth of knowledge in handling an array of different logistics projects over varying terrain using a myriad of solutions. We are a highly coordinated team that rely on precision planning to accomplish our tasks.

Advantis Projects movement of heavy cargo for the power and energy sector covers a vast array of projectsincludingthe handling of windmill cargo for the renewable energy sector which requiredship to shore ground logistics in the North of Sri Lanka, for the successful installation of 16 wind turbines in Pallali. There was also the transportation of four 100 ton diesel engine generators from the Horana BOI zone to Lahore, Pakistan which required a mix of ground and marine logistics solutions as well as liaising with all stakeholders. It is logistics providers like this that will enable the growth of Sri Lankas energy sector and pave the way for the country to achieve its economic goals.

Advantis Projects is the market leader in providing project logistics solutions to local and international contractors who are involved in large-scale infrastructure projects. The company brings over 16 years of experience and a proven delivery record that has been driven with technology innovation and adherence to industry best practices. The company specializes in freight, chartering, customs clearance & forwarding (C&F), project & general cargo handling, inland transportation, storage facilities, and numerous services related to logistics chains.
(c) 2017, The Washington Post  Jun 10, 2017 - KABUL, Afghanistan - An Afghan soldier opened fire on U.S. troops in a restive eastern province of Afghanistan on Saturday, killing two and injuring at least two more, authorities said.



The shooting occurred in the Achin district of Afghanistans Nangahar province, according to a U.S. defence official, an area where both Islamic State and Taliban insurgents are contesting territory.



Early media reports suggested the assailant was an elite Afghan commando, although that is not confirmed. The gunman was killed by American troops, according to a security official in the province. The Taliban are also active in the area. A Taliban spokesman sent a text message to journalists Saturday claiming the alleged assailant was an infiltrator of the Afghan army.
If the pot calling the kettle black type article of Dr. Jeevana Mendis, which appeared recently in the Daily Mirror on the above subject for the consumption of the general public (gullible readers) goes unanswered or without being properly answered, it might cause irreparable damage to the opinion of the fair minded or the balanced minded citizens of the country with regard to the GMOA and its repeated stoppages of work or as they call it trade union actions.

At the very outset, I as a direct and indirect taxpayer in Sri Lanka must say that though I do not accept the contents of Dr. Mendis article which are erroneous and misleading, I respect his right to hold his opinion or view on the matter as a member of the trade union of government doctors though it is called Government Medical Officers Association.



As claimed by the learned doctor in his article it is now an accepted fact among the public that almost all politicians and their cronies and henchmen are engaged in making money not only by misappropriation of public funds but also by fraud, corruption and bribery and thereby have become the biggest holders of black money second only to drug traffickers, and it is very unfortunate to see some powerful corrupt politicians are in the payroll of well known drug traffickers in the country and overseas.



When you read the doctors article as a whole, his complaint is that as the ministers and the other parliamentarians are the worst culprits wasting public money it is a joke for them to accuse doctors alone. It is similar to the common complaints of some politicians when charges are levelled against them that the law enforcement authorities are not taking action against some government politicians. This is like one set of culprits are saying to another set of culprits not to throw stones from the glass houses.



In the same breath I must say with thanks that the learned doctor has not forgotten the fact that from politicians in the highest place to the ordinary man on the street are chanting a manthra saying that since the doctors are educated with the tax payers money it is the duty or the obligation on the part of the doctors to serve the very people who fund their education. They are chanting that manthra because they are of that view. No one can complain about that as they too are entitled to hold their view and in one way or the other they too have contributed for the free education of the country and the doctors to obtain further qualifications and specialized training in Sri Lanka and abroad.



Therefore it is very clear that by citing many an occasion of how the politicians arc playing out public funds the author cannot justify the doctors and medical students wasting public money. It is not a secret that not only the doctors but all government servants are paid for their services not by the government or by the politicians but by the state through the money collected from the common man of the country, by way of direct and indirect taxes. The indirect taxes are 80% of the total taxes and therefore you must be mindful of the fact that even a pauper who drinks a plain cup of tea from a roadside kiosk is also a contributor to the salaries of government servants inclusive of doctors. It is also not a secret that this section of the poor people are the main beneficiaries of the free medical services of the country as they are unable to pay the doctors who are selling medical services to the patients through private medical institutions.



Sri Lanka being a democratic country, all employees of Sri Lanka except a few in the armed forces and police are constitutionally guaranteed the formation of trade unions to safeguard the terms and conditions of their respective service or employment, violation of which is generally considered an industrial dispute. A trade union has a fundamental right to engage in strike action to safeguard the condition of service or employment at an industrial dispute, but only as a last resort because the ultimate victims of strikes are the ordinary citizens of the country.



It is not my task in this article to discuss the propriety or the legality of the repeated strikes organized by the GMOA sometimes in collaboration with some other trade unions, when those unions have their own and separate conditions of service or employment to maintain and safeguard. By writing this what I wish to show is, that not attending to educational activities by the medical faculty students for so long will definitely waste public money allocated for medical education by taxpayers of this country, because whether the students attend lectures or not the expenses incurred by the medical faculty are the same.



In view of all that I said above it is regrettable to note that Dr. Jeevana Mendis is trying to single out doctors in the GMOA and portray them as a special category of government servants on the basis that they contribute to the free health care services, doing on call duties, maintaining high health care standards, treating various types of patients of accidents, natural disasters and civil wars etc. conveniently forgetting the fact that they were taught by the state by spending billions of rupees for those very purposes and also on a very attractive monthly salary, overtime and many more perks for which no tax payer or other government servant who does not enjoy such high salaries and perks ever complain against.



We as taxpayers of this country who have unfortunately no voice, by funding the free medical education of the country expect only one thing in return, that is a healthy society. I think that is a very fair expectation of us by all means. At this juncture it is very pertinent to note the fact that most of the doctors who are practising now and medical students who are budding doctors would not have pursued or shall not pursue their medical education unless the state allocated funds for the free medical education at the government medical faculties by using taxpayers money. Therefore doctors are eternally in-debted to the ordinary citizens of the country for making them doctors and further educate them to obtain additional qualifications and specialized training in Sri Lanka and abroad which enhanced their capacity to earn more and more at private practice on which the income tax department does not have control at all.



So as I demonstrated, there is a duty and obligation for a doctor to serve his or her motherland without going after greener pastures and earning several times the salary a doctor can earn in Sri Lanka as stated by the author in the article, because no man will knowingly fund anybody to be a medical student or a doctor to obtain qualifications to serve in a foreign country at his expense.



Ironically Dr. Jeevana Mendis has given another reason why doctors should be treated differently from other professionals. According to him the public are completely oblivious to the difficulties of the medical students and their families when their children are studying for medical degrees. It is natural for the ordinary public to be oblivious about the situation in the higher studies sphere but it is unbelievably surprising for a professional like Dr. Mendis to be in the complete dark of the difficulties faced by the other students and their families as well of the other streams of higher education like engineering, accountancy, agriculture, law and many more when they pursue their selected fields of education. The whole paragraph of the article of Dr. Mendis regarding the difficulties of the medical students are without any exception relevant to the other streams of higher education as well. So there is hardly any difference between doctors and other professionals on that account.

Almost all politicians and their cronies and henchmen are engaged in making money not only by misappropriation of public funds but also by fraud, corruption and bribery



In any case it is an open secret that nobody forces any student to pursue medical education or for that matter any other stream of education. Therefore no one is entitled to complain about the difficulties when pursuing their chosen field of education as students are well aware of not only the difficulties but also the prospects and fortunes awaiting them before hand.



According to the trade union activists of the GMOA, all their strikes are 100% successful and almost all government hospitals are at a standstill at the time of the strike. Therefore taking into account the total working hours lost of all workers due to work stoppages of the doctors alone, no fair-minded man will deny the fact that the so-called strikes of the GMOA is in fact a waste of public money which is in anyway not beneficial to the general public.



Dr. Jeevana Mendis in his article said that he was compelled to write his article after listening to some comments regarding money spent to educate doctors (I think it should be corrected to say educate the doctors and budding doctors). In this respect I wish to pose one single question to the learned doctor i.e. why are the doctors of the GMOA getting together with the government medical faculty students and causing them to refrain from educational activities and cause the waste of public funds while private medical college students are carrying on their educational activities?



So I wish to conclude by quoting the same paragraph of the article of Dr. Mendis which goes on as follows; So are doctors wasting public money spent on their education? It is high time the people realize the truth and understand who is really giving them full value for their money and who is actually wasting them.
Blue Mountains erected lanterns to brighten up the streets of Colombo for Poson. This initiative carried out in partnership with the Colombo Municipal Council to celebrate the poya. Like with every Poya Day during the year, Sri Lankan Buddhists celebrate different aspects of Buddhism through various practices. Poson is especially regarded, like Vesak, because it represents the introduction of Buddhism to Sri Lanka.

Over 2000 years ago, the son of Indias King Asoka, Arahat Mahinda, came to Sri Lanka preached Sri Lankas first Buddhist sermon to King Devanampiyatissa, which officially introduced Buddhism to our beautiful country. A major symbol during this event is Mihintale, the location where his historic event locally known as Mahindagamanaya took place.

Blue Mountains also recently illuminated the UN Vesak Day celebrations which was celebrated in Sri Lanka this year with the participation of Buddhist leaders from around the world. The three-day celebration began on 12th May in Colombo and consisted of an International Buddhist Symposium with the participation of over 400 delegates from 100 countries. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Nepali President Bidya Devi Bhandari attended the UN Vesak Day celebrations.

For Poson, Sri Lankas foremost real estate company, Blue Mountain, placed over 600 lanterns on either sides in and around the Townhall area with 6-feet tall lanterns in the shapes of lotus flowers and stupas (daagaba) at every six metres to light up the streets and spread the joy of Poson.
SPOTLIGHT ON DOCTORS EARNINGS

I wrote an article titled Are doctors wasting public money spent on their education? which was published on 24th May, in response to which an article was published on 31st May under the caption Doctors are well paid and enjoy many perks written by

Mr. Roshan Dodanwela.

There are several issues brought up, also raised by many, that need to be addressed, which is the purpose of my writing again. Since they should be explained in detail, unfortunately due to space constraints, I have to restrict to only a few matters here, and the rest would be addressed in another article shortly.



My previous article was to emphasize that doctors were doing justice to the public money spent on their education by contributing to the public health sector despite the accusations of people who only seem to consider a one-day strike, ignoring the work done on all other days and conclude doctors are wasting public money, and publicize this erroneous impression among the public.



Mr. Dodanwelas article brings out a deep-rooted misconception among the public about doctors remunerations, high salaries and perks, highlighted several times. He has mentioned the Sri Lankan public sector employee pay scales, but hasnt come out with the full story.



In brief, when the salary scales were decided, public sector employees were given marks according to various factors like educational qualifications, language proficiency, degree, service etc., and doctors received higher marks than most, with our professional degree (MBBS) and one year internship period. Consequently, we are placed in a high salary category. Our salaries and other benefits are decided according to this, hence theres nothing extraordinary.



If you compare a doctors salary with lower salary categories where a number of other government servants are, obviously it is high as stated by Mr. Dodanwela. However, if you compare with employees of other services in a similar category as doctors, you can see that what we get is actually less than what we should get. To name a few, they get government quarters, transport facilities with government vehicle, a driver and fuel (or fuel allowance) etc., and separate staff where necessary. Although doctors are also entitled to these facilities, in reality, what do we get? Only a very few doctors are given quarters, or even a room. In certain stations, some consultants have to be satisfied with a room. The majority of doctors have to find accommodation at their own expense, and considering the fact that we have to change stations every four years, this is a great inconvenience, especially in rural areas.



What about transport facilities? They dont get a government vehicle, a driver, fuel or a fuel allowance. The permit we get, which is only after five years of service after internship, just gives a tax concession and NOT tax free as some critics say, and it actually brings an income to the government because part of the tax is paid by us (unlike tax free permits where the government doesnt get any income). If the permit is not given, that income is lost, as doctors wont be importing vehicles. Therefore the government is profiting by giving doctors a permit instead of a government vehicle, driver and petrol.



One can allege that some doctors are selling their permits as some are unable to buy a vehicle even with the tax concession. Hence they have no option but to sell the permit and use that money to buy a second hand vehicle. Those who use the permit for themselves have to obtain a bank loan, or earn extra money through private practice. Another factor is the narrow salary compression ratio which causes problems in salaries of public servants. Since they were compressed to a ratio of about 1:4, salaries of employees in high categories cannot be increased beyond this limit.



By now, we have compromised many facilities we are entitled to because we understand that the government is unable to bear that cost due to the large number of doctors, but still we serve the public without demanding our pound of flesh. The allowances we get and the extra duty (which some dont get in certain stations and units) that people are critical about, dont compensate for what we are missing out. Unfortunately these facts are not considered when they talk about the perks of doctors. No one seems to complain about the perks of other employees parallel to doctors and those in higher categories, who would also have been educated by the same public money; and no one seems to be obsessed about how they contribute to the public sector. There is so much prejudice and contempt towards doctors by some critics who talk about us with malicious intent because of a one-day strike.



What most people use to attack and condemn doctors is private practice (PP) and some blame doctors as if its illegal. The government has allowed doctors to do PP as a way of compensation because they are aware of the fact that we are not getting whats due to us. When PP is done outside our duty hours, theres no hindrance to their service towards the public, nor any danger of a lapse to the government health system. Only a small number of GPs engage in full time PP, whereas the vast majority are doing part time, while working in government hospitals, and contribute to the public health service. Many doctors (myself included) dont do PP, but some are drawn to it to earn some extra money, at the expense of time that could be spent with their families. Many would gladly quit PP if they could earn a good salary from the government sector, because its not as pleasurable as people think.



By the time they doctors begin to earn money, they are past their mid-twenties, and its from then onwards that they can strive to achieve some financial stability (which others in the same age group would have already achieved), and the so called high salaries and perks are not sufficient. One can bring about an argument that other graduates face the same problem, and my question is, should doctors give up the opportunity to earn in their free time just because others are unable to do so?

Some blame doctors for charging exorbitant fees, but its only by a very few who practise in major cities, whereas in all other areas, that is not the case. Whats been done by a few are blown out of proportion and used to tarnish the image of all doctors in general. If anyone is against private practice or is concerned about the charges, they can always seek treatment from the government hospitals free of charge, as they have never let the public health system collapse because of PP. Another fact is that it helps to ease the burden in government hospitals, and provides convenience to

the patients.



There are numerous other government employees who make private earnings in their leisure time as well, but nobody seems to care so much. Even regarding doctors, if they opt to do something else to earn extra money like engage in some cultivation in their spare time instead of PP, it wont raise any eyebrows. But if they do PP and treat people who come at their own free will, it would raise a hornets nest.



Another issue to be sorted out is regarding public money utilized for further training of doctors which includes specialization training abroad. Doctors who do postgraduate studies have to undergo a period of 4 to 5 years in Sri Lanka where they have to dedicate themselves for further studying and training in the relevant speciality. Afterwards they need to work in hospitals abroad for foreign training for about 1 to 2 years. For this, they are granted paid leave, and if they are going for unpaid jobs, an additional allowance. This is after signing a bond which requires them to work in the government sector for 8 years after returning to Sri Lanka.



Mr. Dodanwela has commented the public spending on doctors further training enhances your capacity for private earning. So you are in a win-win situation at the expense of the public. Again, the attention is on the earnings rather than the benefit the people of this country would be getting. Its unbelievable how the much needed specialized services they would be providing in rural places most of the time, and the commitment they have put into their training are disregarded. To call it a win-win situation at the expense of the public is unacceptable, because when more hospitals are facilitated with specialized services, the ultimate winners would be the public. Also, a large number of patients are transferred to other hospitals each day because of lack of specialized services.Not only doctors, but a number of employees in other public institutions are also going abroad for various training programs at the expense of public money, but no one seems to be concerned about how they use their training to provide a better service to the public. Though consultants can earn through private channelling, they are doing a great service to the public in the government sector, which unfortunately is disregarded.



There are more important issues in Mr. Dodanwelas article that need be to addressed, but they would be discussed in another article.



The writer is a Medical Officer attached to the Ratnapura Provincial General Hospital, and is a graduate of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura.
Steve Dearnley

Leading logistics provider EFL announced the appointment of three new Independent Directors to its international board as part of its ongoing efforts to add international expertise to its management team. Ram Menen, Stephen Dearnley and Mike Sherman joined as Independent Directors to the board led by Founder and President Hanif Yusoof.

All three Directors carry with them a wealth of experience having led and grown international brands for over three decades. In their new roles, they will guide EFLs global expansion strategy as the company establishes itself as Sri Lankas first international logistics brand.

I am extremely pleased to welcome Ram, Steve and Mike to the EFL team. They each come from a different area of supply chain and their collective insights and knowledge will drive EFL towards the next stage of our ambitious plans. Their appointments are in line with our efforts to keep raising the bar towards developing innovative solutions and becoming more technology enabled, said Hanif Yusoof.

Ram Menen

Among the most respected and leading personalities in the Asian region, Steve Dearnley carries with him more than 35 years experience in freight and logistics. Prior to retiring in 2011, he was the CEO for DB Schenker Asia Pacific.

Ram Menen is among a few icons in the modern air cargo industry. Widely recognised and admired, he was the cornerstone of building Emirates as the world largest cargo carrier during three decades at the airline. He retired in 2013 with his last role as Divisional Senior Vice President - Cargo.

With over 40 years of experience, Mike Sherman has worked with some of the largest retail brands such as Limited Brands, Abercrombie & Fitch and Sony. He has held leadership positions in both financial management and supply chain operations and last served as VP Transportation and Trade Compliance at Abercrombie & Fitch before retiring in 2017.

EFL first ventured overseas in 1993 going into Bangladesh and since then has established over 55 offices in strategic locations across the globe. This announcement follows the appointment of Peter Larsen last year as Chief Operating Officer to head all overseas expansions.

S. Senthilnathan CEO added Over the years, we have worked with Ram, Steve and Mike in their various roles and seen them transform companies and make them global brands. We are excited to have them on board and engage with them at this significant time in our journey.

Mike Sherman

EFL is a prominent logistics company and one of the largest freight forwarders in Asia, with operations in 18 countries and business in four continents. It is a member of Expolanka Holdings PLC and now a part of the larger SG Holdings Group, a leading logistics group in Japan.
The Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) today urged Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne to extend the term of Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) President Prof. Carlo Fonseka for a further five years.

Addressing a media briefing, GMOA Assistant Secretary Dr. Haritha Aluthge said Prof. Fonsekas term ended last December and it has been extended for a further 6 months ending on June 30.

According to the SLMC constitution, the Health Minister has the power to extend the term or to appoint another to the presidency. Prof. Fonseka has served the SLMC and fought to safeguard medical education during his tenure, he said,

Dr. Aluthge said political henchmen interested in the position are waiting to snatch the position however, the future of the medical education cannot rely on them.

Further he said the Indian Medical Council President has also been accused of corruption and a bribery case has been filed against him.

Therefore Dr. Aluthge said without extending Prof. Fonsekas term for another six months, the minister should extend and create an environment to work with him for another five years. (Thilanka Kanakarathna)
This Ramadan, Hameedia is offering a range of exciting offers and collections, exclusively for ladies. Whether its a rich embroidered shalwar or a classic shawl that youre in search of, you can now stock up on elegant and fashionable outfits that will ensure you look stylish, smart and sophisticated throughout the month of Ramadan.

10% off on ladies and kids items: Ladies visiting the Hameedia showrooms will be able to get 10% off of onall ladies wear and clothing for boys and girls. The collections available for girls include frocks, leggings, and kurtis. Ladies can choose from a range of blouses, kurtis, leggings and more. This offer is open until the 26th of June.

An amazing offer for a collection of shalwars: Ladies who want to buy one of Hameedias elegant and beautifully embroidered shalwars, can get 15% off on any preferred Shalwar available. Those who purchase two or more shalwars, will be eligible for a reduction of 25%.Made from the finest fabrics and tailored in the very latest contemporary styles (with more traditional options available as well), Hameedias shalwars are a must-have staple in every ladys wardrobe this Ramadan. The shalwars are available in a range of colours, fabrics, styles and sizes to offer customers ample choice and variety. This special offer is open until the 26th of June.

These special offers cannot be used in conjunction with any other ongoing promotions and are available at varying time periods. Hameedia has become a leading brand that is synonymous with style and quality. All of Hameedias collections are designed and tailored according to the highest international standards and only the finest fabrics and embellishments from around the world are used. Since its inception 67 years ago, the company has achieved phenomenal growth and today the Hameedia brand is a household name across Sri Lanka and is rapidly gaining popularity around the world.
Traditional Japanese therapy helps open doors for the visually impaired

In 1992, Sanjeewa Adhikari, at the age of just 20 years, suffered an accident which left him visually impaired. Undeterred, Sanjeewa continued his higher studies, where he entered the University of Sri Jayawardenapura, Colombo with a Bachelor of Arts special degree in Political Science. In 2004 Sanjeewa received an appointment as a development officer of the Department of Social Service. In recognition of Sanjeewas determination and spirit, he was presented with the opportunity to follow a Shiatsu therapeutic training programme for the visually impaired in Japan, with the assistance of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Following a comprehensive training, Sanjeewa returned to the island where he started his career as an instructor at the Vocational Training Centre in Seeduwa. He has trained nearly 20 visually impaired who are working as Shiatsu therapists in several institutes and clinics.



Through Parliamentary Act No 09 of 1992 to establish a fund for visually impaired persons, the government has initiated various services in support of disabled persons. One such initiative, the Visually Handicapped trust fund is implemented by the Ministry of Social Services. The mission of this fund is to provide services needed to the visually handicapped, for rehabilitation and to provide relief. It is evident that authorities are attempting to create equal opportunities for visually impaired persons. However Sanjeewa laments that even with such assistance some of his trainees find it difficult to lead a comfortable lif e with the ever-increasing expenses.



There are several vocational training facilities in Sri Lanka for the visually impaired, sponsored by the Ministry of Social Services. There are several programmes launched by the Social Services Department to assist those like us. For women, there is a programme to train them in handlooms and textile weaving. For men, the programmes include training in local manufacturing products such as coir products. The Shiatsu therapeutic massage training programme was introduced as a vocation for visually handicapped men, as it is an age old medical tradition practised by the blind in Japan. But in Sri Lanka, this tradition is unfortunately perceived with negative connotations,

Sanjeewa revealed.



At the Seeduwa Training Centre where Sanjeewa imparts his knowledge to those who are similarly disadvantaged, groups of four to six undergo a Shiatsu training programme annually. With the batch who just completed their training, I have served as an instructor for 15 therapists. Some of them are employed at institutes while some practise this therapy on their own, Sanjeewa said.



Dhanushka Prabath, another visually impaired Shiatsu therapist who completed training under Sanjeewa, says that even though their training was completed, their career is full of challenges. We have learned that in other countries such as the United States or even China, this form of therapy is a well respected one. However in Sri Lanka, people have a bad perception of it. People have confused our tradition with other massage techniques. But the Shiatsu therapeutic massage belongs to a branch of oriental medicine. It is used to alleviate many ailments in the body and also used for relaxation. It can be performed while the patient is clothed and in an open space, Prabath said. Prabath with the assistance of a colleague who completed the Shiatsu training programme conducts this therapy for a nominal fee every day, at the Nawala Jogging path.



However Prabath did not fail to mention that taking approval from authorities for his practice at the path was not easy, as they suspected his therapy to be a hoax.



The ethical form of therapy is practised by 15 visually impaired individuals who have been trained through the Department of Social Services, at various locations. However the challenges that await these victims of fate do not stop with their handicaps. They too have to deal with meaningless stigma and disapproval of society over things they have little or no control over.

Those who wish to contact these healers with kind hearts can contact Prabath on 011-2721586 or Sanjeewa on 0714451862

What is Shiatsu therapeutic massage?

Shiatsu is an age old Japanese healing therapy. It has the ability to cure specific injuries as well as the general symptoms of poor health such as headache, shoulder pain, back and lower back pain. It is also a way of providing deep relaxation therapy to alleviate mental stress.



It has been helpful in treating ailments such as fatigue, headache, constipation, insomnia and many others.



In Japan, Shiatsu is a common and age old practice for the visually impaired. The form of therapy naturally favours the blind because of their advanced sense of touch. When mastered under proper guidance, the blind can practise it as a form of self-employment, which helps them earn a living and provides them an opportunity to contribute to the society.



The core principle of Shiatsu is the vital energy [Ki in Japanese] that flows throughout the body in connected channels called meridians. Ki can stop flowing freely owing to many reasons, producing symptoms that can then be healed by Shiatsu.
From left: Ari Sarker, Co-President for Asia Pacific at Mastercard; Silvio Barzi, Independent Director, Mastercard Inc. and Nguyen Duc Hoang, Deputy Country Director, United Nations World Food Programme

Lending its support to the innumerable Sri Lankans affected by torrential rains, Mastercard announced that it has partnered with the United Nations World Food Programmes (WFP) flood relief efforts in Sri Lanka. Silvio Barzi, Independent Director, Mastercard Inc., handed over a donationfrom the company to WFP Deputy Country Director NguyenDuc Hoangrecently.

With the funds from Mastercard, WFP was able to contribute 22.5 metric tonnes of lentils to the Governments relief efforts. These will be made into dhal for distribution to 75,000 of the most vulnerable people in temporary government shelters.

While we are pained by the scale of devastation by the floods around the island, we are truly inspired by the resilience and unity of Sri Lankans who have come together in support of one another, said Barzi. As a company that has been a part of this community for some 30 years, we are committed to providing support and assistance to its people during this difficult time. As a first step, we have contributed funds to the World Food Programmes ongoing relief efforts and will continue to do what we can to help the country recover from this natural calamity.

This support is vital to our ongoing efforts to respond as the country faces an unprecedented double burden from floods and landslides in the south and ongoing drought in northern areas, said Hoang. WFP is preparing to assist the 75,000 most vulnerable people in the hardest-hit flood areas for a two month period, in addition to 25,000 people who had already needed assistance in drought affected areas.

Mastercard and WFP have been working together for over five years to end hunger. Believing that technology has the power to unlock innovation in food assistance delivery, the partnership has worked to bring new ideas to WFP programs and raise important funds.

In addition to leveraging its technology, Mastercard has enabled employees around the world to undertake temporary assignments at WFP offices in order to take a hands-on approach to the partnership. In one example, a cost-benefit analysis of the School Meals Programme conducted by WFP in Sri Lanka with the support of Mastercard found that each dollar invested to feed a schoolchild produces a return on investment of US$8.32 throughout the child's life.

Furthermore, with the creation of a donation platform that integrates charitable giving into everyday life, Mastercard and its bank and retail partners have helped raise funds to provide over 17 million school meals to vulnerable children around the world.
By Chandeepa Wettasinghe

Sri Lankas rubber industry, which faced one of the toughest years, last year, due to lower global commodity prices, doesnt appear to be recovering, with a few companies discontinuing their rubber production.

According to the Central Bank data, Sri Lankas raw rubber production in 2016 fell 10.72 percent year-on-year (YoY) to 79.1 million kilogrammes.

(Its) the lowest production volume reported in the past 50 years. This was mainly due to the reduction of the extent under tapping and the number of tapping days in response to the lower prices mainly in the smallholder sector, Kegalle Plantations PLC Chairman Dr. Sena Yaddehige said in his annual review.

Some smallholders have also been cutting down rubber trees and selling them for timber and firewood in times of trouble. Since the commodity prices in the global market are linked to the global crude oil prices, the global crude price free fall in 2015 resulted in a major drop in the rubber prices.

Further, since synthetic rubber is produced from crude oil, the substitute has become cheaper, although some processed rubber products require a blend of both synthetic and natural rubber.

Although the commodity prices somewhat recovered in the recent months along with the crude oil prices, there is currently a glut in the natural rubber market.

Following the fall in rubber prices due to a supply glut in major producers in Southeast Asia, the Sri Lankan government for a majority of 2015 set a price ceiling, with the highest grade RSS 1 price set at Rs.350, although the effectiveness of this programme is debatable.

The differences in the prices were borne by the taxpayers, although the imports ranged as low as Rs.220 during the period.

The local RSS 1 prices in 2016 were around Rs.240. Elpitiya Plantations PLC Managing Director Dr. Rohan Fernando in his annual review to the shareholders said that the rubber prices are unlikely to show signs of recovery this year.

This trend cannot be easily reversed as the global rubber prices dont see any signs of resilience in the future, he said.

Watawala Plantations PLC, considered one of the most profitable plantation sector companies, discontinued its rubber production during the past year due to segment losses. It started investing in oil palm over a decade ago and is currently the largest local producer.

Watawalas foresight earned praise from the government recently and most of the other plantation companies are now increasingly investing in oil palm cultivation.

Oil palm, planted for the purpose of import substitution, generate returns in as low as three years after plantingcompared to rubber with around five to seven yearsand gave Watawala nearly Rs.400,000 in gross profits per hectare during the past year. Rubber gross profits per hectare are around Rs.25,000-50,000.

Last year also saw the Browns group divesting the rubber-heavy plantation companies Agalawatte Plantation PLC and Pussellawa Plantations Ltd to the furniture giant Damro, which may cut down the rubber trees for furniture production, followed by replantation.

Kegalle Plantations recommended protectionism to boost the rubber prices.

If the Sri Lankan government brought restrictions on importation of natural rubber to the Board of Investment (BOI) industries, an improvement in prices locally could also be seen, the company said.

The Central Bank data showed that rubber and plastic production capacity utilization in the country is relatively stable, indicating high imports compensating for low local production.

The low rubber prices resulted in the industrial rubber product exports growing 8.26 percent YoY to Rs.111.79 billion, while the agricultural rubber exports grew 34.10 percent YoY to Rs.4.58 billion.

Analysts opine that the import policies of China, which currently has a large rubber stock, would be the decider in the future global rubber prices, as the Asian giants middle-income segment booms and demands products that have rubber components.
REUTERS, 11th JUNE, 2017-South Koreas President Moon Jae-in on Sunday nominated a former navy chief as his defence minister, the presidents office said, as the government faces challenges tackling North Koreas rapidly developing weapons program.



The nominee, Song Young-moo, was well suited to deal with North Koreas nuclear and missile threat, the presidential Blue House office said.



Under third-generation leader Kim Jong Un, North Korea has been conducting missile tests at an unprecedented pace in an effort to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of striking the mainland United States. The North test-launched a new type of its cruise anti-ship missiles on Thursday, its fourth missile test since the Souths Moon took office on May 10, pledging to engage in dialogue with Pyongyang.



Song, who served in the navy for more than three decades, was Moons main security adviser during his presidential campaign, reprising his role in Moons 2012 presidential campaign. A decorated veteran, Song took part in a 2009 skirmish between North and South Korean naval vessels off the western coast of the Korean peninsula.



Songs appointment does not need parliaments approval, but he must attend a hearing and answer questions from lawmakers.
Karthik Elangovan, President  SLIM

Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM), the national body for marketing, invites organisations to nominate outstanding individuals from their sales teams for the National Sales Congress (NASCO), the premier national level event dedicated to recognise and reward the efforts and performance of sales personnel. The NASCO awards is the only National level Sales Awards of its kind in Sri Lanka. Winners at NASCO gain valuable exposure, experience and recognition for themselves and for the companies they work for, by being awarded in the presence of their industry peers. Entries for the NASCO awards close on 16th June 2017.

Stephen Paulraj  Head of the Judging Panel of NASCO awards, commented, Selling is an integral part of any business growth. It is a must to reward, recognize, encourage and also promote sales as a profession at national level to make it a career to choose and prosper. Taking part in a national level event such as NASCO gives the necessary confidence, pride and recognition to everyone who participates. NASCO provides a great foundation for young sales talent to nurture and prosper. We welcome all companies who want to boost their sales function to enter the NASCO awards.

Although sales teams are generally rewarded and recognized by their organizations, gaining recognition at NASCO focuses the national spotlight on these deserving candidates. Organizations are increasingly recognizing the significance of the sales function, as sales teams are the ones who convert organizations plans and objectives into action. This national level recognition imparts communication, self-esteem and self-confidence for sales personnel as they make that significant transition from being heroes in their organizations to national sales heroes.

Stephen Paulraj  Head of the Judging Panel of NASCO awards

Commenting on SLIM NASCO 2017, Karthik Elangovan, President  SLIM,said, Winning a NASCO award can enhance the careers of those nominated as it reflects the value that the company places on them. We expect NASCO 2017 to be an exciting platform for the sales fraternity to network among themselves and celebrate their noteworthy sales achievements. We are delighted to invite entries for NASCO 2017 to recognise and reward outstanding sales personnel from diverse sectors who make an immense contribution to their companys success. The objective of NASCO Awards is to motivate and nurture the sales fraternity of the country by enhancing their learning curve in salesmanship.

Commenting on the judging process, Stephen Paulraj, said The NASCO award winners are selected after a stringent selection and judging process. The participants are divided into three groups based on the general sales role that they play in an organization. A Front liner is a person who converts products and services into cash, a supervisor/executive is who supports and functionally guides a Front liner to make a sale and Area/Regional manager is one who plans and executes all selling activity including managing, guiding and directing his people to achieve organizational objectives. The judging process is also different as per the levels, front liners and supervisors will be interviewed but the regional managers are to make a presentation with a Q & A session.

There are 19 industry and product categories with some sub-divisions. Under each product and industry category there will be three awards (Gold, silver & bronze) each for three levels. The best female competitor in every level is also awarded to encourage gender balance and participation. Judging panel comprises of professionals with experience and deep knowledge in sales and also represents a wider industry sector. A panel of judges of three to four are allocated for an industry/product and they will sit through the process to ensure consistency in judging

SLIM invites companies to send in their entries before 16thJune 2017. The entry kit can be downloaded at www.slim.lk/nasco.For entry kits and further details call Dimithra: 0703463171 or Manthika: 0773359170

Since its inception, the NASCO awards have helped enhance the sales professionalism in Sri Lanka.
There is a groundswell of public discontent at the government, partly due to its own inability to deliver on high expectations it set during the election, as well as due to its own misdemeanours, which at times mirror its predecessor. The former is understandable for governing requires a different set of skills (as well as luck) than those required to oppose a government. Thus it is easier to criticize the Rajapaksas economic model than delivering a sustainable growth. Also, it was easier to allege the former regime of corruption than prosecuting the looter of public funds. That may be perhaps because the former regime always kept a step ahead of public prosecutors.



In part the governments current misfortune emanates from the fact that it was in the opposition mood, almost a year after it won elections and kept on dismantling its predecessors economic legacy and suspending development projects, rather than forging ahead with the momentum.



However, when the governments own misgivings are added, the things get more complicated. Its vacillation in mega investment projects as the country is facing a foreign exchange crisis is robbing this country of much more than the Rajapaksas might have robbed during their ten years. Its indifference to rising fringe Buddhist extremism is a dangerous oversight. And when it sought to allocate (and later rescinded) limited public funds to purchase luxury vehicles for ministers while the country was reeling from a natural disaster that smacks of utter callousness.



Be it about the members of the current government or its predecessors, average folks have a low opinion about the politicians in general. They are often described (not always rightly) as corrupt, nepotistic, free-wheeling spenders of public money and thugs. Yet, the funny thing is that come the next election, it will be the same lot who will be elected to Parliament by the voters, who detest them. Thus, if the public hold the politicians with contempt, the feeling appears to be mutual. Politicians know with near certainty that by pandering to tribal instincts of an electorate, they can win a seat in Parliament.

Sri Lanka is not the only country where the traditional political order and traditional politicians are under attack.



Sri Lanka is not the only country where the traditional political order and traditional politicians are under attack. This is however one country where such discontent is confined to ineffectual complaints by the public, who cannot do much else other than to keep complaining.



Elsewhere popular disenchantment has led to drastic changes in the political order -- and in some others not so drastic flash in the pan moments. In India, the public outrage at the corruption of the former Congress administration led to the rise of Aam Aadmi Party (The Common Mans Party) which campaigned on an anti-corruption pledge. While New Delhis middle class wallahs were mesmerized by its single issue campaign, Indias rural electorate proved to be more commonsensical and AAPs luck soon ran out and business friendly BJP soon cemented its hold.



In America, public discontent with the political establishment brought Donald Trump to the White House. Mr Trumps dog whistle demagoguery appealed to a large segment of the white-collar working class who felt their traditional privileged place being compromised by cosmopolitanism and globalization.



A different scenario where public discontent fed into a positive transformation of the political order was in France, where President Emmanuel Macron won against the traditional political elites and now his political movement built only a year ago is set for a landslide win the Parliament election. Mr. Macrons win was hailed as the most decisive push back as of yet of the retrograde xenophobic and often authoritarian populism that made headway in recent times.



It is one thing to be fascinated by the political changes in France. However, the prospect of such grass root movements centred on liberal centrist ideology evolving into national level agents is limited in our part of the world. That in effect multiplies the danger of public antipathy towards traditional politics being morphed into a something that is more sinister, dangerous and destabilizing. In the absence of a liberal democratic alternative, it is demagogues who would exploit the social woes.



The absence of a liberal democratic alternative or the lack of popular appeal for such can be explained in different pathways of popular empowerment in our region. In the recent history, there were several different approaches of political mobilization adopted by the new States that emerged during the period of decolonization.



There was secular Arab autocracies which galvanized their public under pan Arab nationalism popularized by Gamal Abdul Nasser and had its hey days leading up to the Six-Day War in 1967. Secular Arab autocracies were modernist, they kept religion at bay; harnessed and channelled collective hatred towards Israel and ran a rentier state centred on centralized economic control. The common denominator for all (even those such as Irans Shah, who unlike his Arab peers followed a blatantly pro- Western line) was that they wielded absolute political control, jailing opponents and crushing dissents . When secular Arab nationalism ran out of steam after the bitter defeat of the Six Day War, a milder version of political Islam gradually made its presence, and was exploited by some leaders as means of regime legitimization and was crushed by others aware of its destabilizing propensity. The monopoly of popular power meant that those countries did not build independent institutions. Thus when those states crumbled, first Shahs Iran and later Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Mubaraks Egypt, in the absence of institutions and long suppressed sectarian rivalries, the alternative was proved to be far more sinister than their predecessors. Now few talk about an Arab Spring.

Politicians know with near certainty that by pandering to tribal instincts of an electorate, they can win a seat in Parliament



We in South Asia followed a different approach. Nehrus India adopted universal suffrage while a large swathe of public was stilling living in sub human conditions, thus hoping that political rights would better their lot. We in Sri Lanka opened floodgates of political and social mobilization in 1956, adopting the Swabhasha policy and lowering requirements for entry to bureaucracy, which over time has unintended consequences of lowering the efficiency of those institutions as well.



Fast-tracked and often well- intended political mobilization has unintended negative fallout. It to some extent legitimized the regressive grassroots impulses. Their tribal instincts overtime made their presence in Parliament, and were in part responsible for ethnic unrest . However, in the process of popular empowerment, the leaders of this country ( and India as well) opted out the most crucial avenue of empowerment: free market. In effect they ran miniature renter states, doling out public funds to their electorates, while their very economic policies deprived the public from making an honest living. Finally we now have a skewed kind of popular empowerment as we experience now.



The third model was approached by the pro- growth authoritarian states in the East and South East Asia and to some extent, Chile. Those were autocrats who like their Arab counterparts kept a tab on political freedoms and dissent, but unlike the latter, they focused on economic development through private investment. Overtime, economic imperatives mandated that those states evolve functioning arbitration mechanisms for commercial disputes, and build some kind of independent institutions and gradually unfold basic rule of law. The economic windfalls of authoritarian development dampened the level of political oppression. When those autocratic regimes finally cave into popular opposition from an economical empowered populace, they left behind a functioning economy and modest independent institutions. Their comparative economic positions meant that they also gave a greater attention to individual rights. Over time they are more like to become liberal democracies, than us. That may explain why it is Taiwan and not India which is likely to be the first Asian state to legalize gay marriages.



Our flawed pathways of political empowerment did not lead to political enlightenment. They only legitimized the existing primordial instincts of a largely rural and backward population. The result of that process is our not so enviable position today.



Follow RangaJayasuriya @RangaJayasuriyaonTwitter
Princess Cruises most luxurious ship, The Majestic Princess called over in Colombo today on her 49 day maiden voyage from Rome Italy to Shang Hai China called the Silk Road Sea Route cruise stopping over in 23 ports. The ship would be based in Australasia over the next few months offering many cruises. Pix by Pradeep Dilrukshana
Princess Cruises most luxurious ship, The Majestic Princess, called at the Colombo port yesterday on her 49-day maiden voyage from Rome, Italy to Shanghai, China. The ship, which can accommodate over 3500 passengers, is scheduled to stop at 23 ports by the time it finishes its first voyage. Sri Lankas Worldlink Travel Group represents Princess Cruises in Sri Lanka

Pic by Pradeep Dilrukshana
Tourism Development and Christian Affairs Minister John Amaratunga was caught in camera scolding and apparently attempting to assault a journalist at his party office in Kandana last week. Although Sri Lankans are used to seeing this kind of behaviour by politicians and high ranking officials, as if they had the right to behave in such a manner, this particular incident has not created an uproar in society.



Political parties, trade unions, human rights organizations and most importantly the major media organisations are relatively silent on this incident. They need to at least issue statements condemning the behaviour of the minister of a government that vowed to ensure good governance, including media freedom. The civil society organisations that toiled hard to bring the current government to power have also been indifferent.



The ministers press Secretary, Lawrence Madiwela had issued a statement on Friday claiming that the minister was provoked by the journalists by their uncomfortable questions and that journalists had not been invited for the event. The whole country witnessed the incident on television and they heard the questions posed by the journalists as well as the reaction by the minister. The question posed by the journalist was just about the dumping of garbage in Bopitiya. What was there in it for the minister to be uncomfortable, if he had not done anything wrong?



The journalist did not ask any question on a matter that involved the ministers personal life or that infringe on his privacy, for him to be infuriated. He questioned the minister on a matter of public importance, the garbage problem which had become a life-threatening menace in the country.



Many politicians, especially those in the ruling party and government officials seem to think the journalists are their clerks who should be prepared to write what they dictate. If the journalists dared to question this lot, they would be met with arrogant responses. However, when the same politicians were in the Opposition they went behind the provincial reporters begging for publicity.



After a regime change, a thus far media friendly Opposition becomes the ruling party with a crowning arrogance and shamelessness to forget what they promised to the masses while the party that ruled the country so far, turning into a champion of democracy, good governance, media freedom and what not. This vicious cycle has been continuing for decades, hoodwinking the media community, with political parties taking turns.



Journalists have met with this kind of responses several times after the advent of the so-called Yahapalanaya government which came to power on a plethora of promises for democracy, including media freedom. Had the journalists supported the leaders of this government to come to power, they had more than sufficient reasons, because during the previous regime many journalists were abducted, assaulted, tortured, forced to leave the country, unjustly incarcerated or killed. And media institutions were torched, bombed and attacked then.



But the attitude of most of the leaders of this government seems to be the same, though the gravity of the incidents occurred under their rule is lesser than what it was during the Rajapaksa regime.

Last December, the Navy Commander Ravi Wijegunawardena had assaulted a journalist who had gone to the Hambantota Harbour to cover a protest by the harbour workers. And last week hadnt the security personnel prevented him, John Amaratunga might have assaulted another journalist. At none of these occasions, did the government as an entity, at least express its regret. Definitely, this is not good governance, in spite of the fact that recent UNP-led governments had promulgated media friendly laws such as the Right to Information Act.
Its not uncommon to wake up in Charlottesville and think of David Byrnes famous refrain: Well, how did I get here? The here where youve gotten, beautiful Charlottesville  formed in 1762, population 150,000, with an $11B economy  is what it is because of a series of intelligent decisions made by generations of wise and forward-thinking stewards. Here are the top 5 business decisions made during the history of Charlottesville.  Rob Jiranek and Bob Gibson

1. The dredging of the Rivanna River from Milton to Pireus (now the Woolen Mills) in 1763 and the subsequent improvements by way of locks and dams effectively transferred the economic powerbase from Scottsville along the James to Charlottesville up the Rivanna and alongside the Three Notched Road, paving the way for all that follows.

2. Thomas Jefferson founds The University of Virginia in 1819, setting the stage for the growth and development of the hippest college town in Virginia.

3. Charlottesvilles position as a growing business crossroads without a bank prompted years of lobbying in Richmond that paid off in 1837 for banks in Albemarle. A coalition of UVa professors requested a bank because of the towns emergence as a transportation nexus, and because merchants and farmers are put to very serious inconvenience for lack of banking facilities, said local architectural historian Henry Hull in a 2016 article in the Magazine of Albemarle County History. The advent of banks in Charlottesville enabled more efficient funding of enterprise that enabled continued growth before the Civil War.

4. In March 1865, Charlottesville council members and the mayor met U.S. Army Gen. Phillip Sheridan on Carrs Hill and dissuaded him from laying torches to the Rotunda and our quaint town. And, while later in that century (1895), the Rotundas roof caught fire, we might never have recovered from destruction by an irate federal army. When our delegation flatteringly offered that the towns best houses be thrown open to officers, Sheridans assistant George Custer remarked, There must be no sniping at my troops.

5. In 1961, a famous call was made from Charlottesville lawyer William C. Battle to the Kennedy Administration to request that Interstate 64 pass through Charlottesville, rather than Lynchburg on its westward jog. UVa alumni and Richmond officials teamed to establish Charlottesvilles transportation advantage, which has helped feed commerce ever since.
Bernie Sanders & The People's Summit Highlight Progressives' Future Agenda

By aaroncynic in News on Jun 12, 2017 6:34PM



Thousands of progressives and other activists spent their weekend at McCormick Place for one of the nations largest conferences of those seeking to network and organize with left-leaning movements.



The three day long Peoples Summit featured workshops, teach-ins, trainings, lectures and speeches from a host of progressive activists, organizers and others seeking to build and sustain a movement in the face of both an emboldened right wing and traditional centrist and neoliberal Democrats, who critics say have abandoned or sidelined the ideals of the left.



We are corporate free, fat cat free, and lobbyist free, said author and columnist Jim Hightower, who spoke on Friday at the summits opening reception. It's not enough to be progressive anymorewe also gotta be aggressive.



The summit featured sessions and speeches covering many issues progressives and others have long fought and tried to propel to the national stage, from combatting income inequality and big/dark money in elections to the medias role in movements, organizing in local elections, and environmental justice.



"I'm an indigenous environmental organizer from the so-called land of Minnesota, Dallas Goldtooth, who spoke on the protests at Standing Rock surroudning the Dakota Access Pipeline told the crowd on Friday night. "What did we learn in Standing Rock? When you let indigenous people lead, tremendous action will happen...we are our ancestors' wildest dreams. Let's live up to that.



Delivering the keynote address on Saturday night, Vermont Senator and former Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders criticized both establishment Democrats and President Donald Trump.



Trump didnt win the election, the Democrats lost the election, Sanders told a packed house who cheered and gave him many standing ovations. The Democratic party must finally understand what side it is on.



The firebrand politician had harsh words for the President as well. "Today in the White House we have perhaps the most dangerous president in U.S. history...the degree which he tells lies is unprecedented for an American president.

In addition to Trump, Sanders also called out Illinois Republican Governor Bruce Rauner, urging him to sign a bill championed by state legislators for a $15 an hour minimum wage. "I understand in Illinois there's a bill for $15 minimum wage. Governor Rauner, sign that bill.



The Vermont Senator ended the evening with a short question and answer session, and also told his supporters to look beyond him in their fight to bring their issues to the forefront.

Its not about Bernie. Its about you, he said. We are in this together. We always have been and always will be.
Much-Anticipated Restaurant Split-Rail Is Now Open In West Town

By Anthony Todd in Food on Jun 12, 2017 7:56PM



The exterior of Split-Rail. Photo via Facebook.

I've been eagerly awaiting Chef Zoe Schor's return to the scene since I talked to her about the concept more than a year ago, and the time is finally here: Split-Rail is open in West Town.

Schor got her Chicago start at Ada Street, taking that DMK-owned restaurant to the top of best-of lists all over town. After a few years there, she left to open her own place. The new restaurant is at 2500 W. Chicago Ave., in a former donut factory, and boasts lots of industrial and reclaimed design elements. The menu is filled with fun riffs on American food, like loaded baked potato gnocchi and green bean casserole (updated for 2017, of course).

Some dishes on the list have been around since her early previews, including a "Study in Eggs," a 64-degree egg combined with caviar, uni cream and brioche, and "Childhood in New England," a dessert with steamed brown bread and sweet corn ice cream.

According to Eater, there was supposed to be a "secret opening" last week, but the Tribune broke the newsthough, if you were paying attention on social media, it wasn't that hard to tell the place was about to soft-open. Drama aside, they're officially open, and you can dine there starting at 3 p.m. today.
The acclaimed Polish theater director Krystian Lupa will bring to life a work by the late Chinese writer Shi Tiesheng.

Polish director Krystian Lupa has adapted a novella by Chinese author Shi Tiesheng about a drunken man's struggles into a theater production. Photos provided to China Daily

Polish theater director Krystian Lupa received an email from Qian Cheng, the general manager of Tianjin Grand Theater, in early 2016, asking him to direct a play based on a novella written by the late Chinese writer Shi Tiesheng (1951-2010).

The novella titled Guanyu Yibu Yi Dianying Zuowei Wutai Beijing De Xiju Zhi Shexiang, which means "a stage idea with film as backdrop", was Shi's only script. It is about a drunken man talking to a mouse about his childhood, parents, ex-wife and his life's struggles.

Lupa did not know of the Chinese writer and had not read any of his works. However, he was intrigued by the story.

After Lupa made several trips to China from April to meet with actors and stage a rehearsal, the play, titled Mo Fei, will be staged at the Tianjin Grand Theater on June 24 and 25. It is part of the ongoing Lin Zhaohua Theater Arts Festival, an annual event initiated by Chinese theater director Lin Zhaohua in 2010.

The play, which is about four hours long, will have Chinese actor Wang Xuebing play the title character, Mo Fei.

"This novel is a monologue for Shi, though Shi's wife told me that he was not an alcoholic," says the 73-year-old director.

"I like the drunken man's language. He is marginalized by society and lonely. But he is frank and brave to confront himself."

To better understand Shi, Lupa read the writer's works, including one of his famous essays, I and the Temple of Earth, which was published in 1991 and was about the writer visiting the Temple of Earth in a wheelchair.

The Polish director also visited the Temple of Earth, a park in downtown Beijing, several times, which, as Lupa says, is "an important place for Shi".

He rode bicycles there, walked around in the park and watched the trees and flowers.
China Guardian's 2017 spring auction will be held in Beijing from June 19 to 23, featuring eight Chinese paintings and calligraphy pieces estimated at over 50 million yuan ($7.35 million).

Emperors' calligraphy from the Sounthern Song Dynasty [Photo provided to China Daily]

The highlight is a calligraphy work consisting of four scripts by four emperors from the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). The scripts represent four consecutive generations of emperors of the Southern Song Dynasty in the 12th century, including Emperor Gaozong, son of the well-known poet Emperor Huizong in Chinese history. The imperial family is known for their talent in literature and art.

The emperors' calligraphy has an estimated value over 100 million yuan. Luan Jingli, head of ancient Chinese painting and calligraphy of China Guardian Auctions, says that it's very rare to see an emperor's calligraphy from the Southern Song Dynasty, let alone a piece gathering four emperors' scripts.

According to Luan, the calligraphy of four emperors first appeared in an auction in Hong Kong many years ago and then went to auction in New York in 2012.

In the modern Chinese painting and calligraphy section, the auction house offers three large paintings by three modern masters of painting  Huang Binhong, Li Keran and Pan Tianshou.

Huang's large landscape painting of Huangshan Mountain in Anhui province was the artist's last important work. He painted it at the age of 92.

The highlights of the contemporary art include paintings from Luo Zhongli, Wu Dayu and Chu Teh-chun.

To diversify its goods on auction, China Guardian offers three guqin, a seven-stringed instrument similar to zither, which are from three different dynasties, including the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

A preview of the spring auction will be held in the Beijing International Hotel from June 16 to 18.
Liu Yunshan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, addresses the opening ceremony of the BRICS Political Parties, Think-tanks and Civil Society Organizations Forum held in Fuzhou, capital of southeast China's Fujian Province, June 11, 2017.

Senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Liu Yunshan on Sunday called on political parties, think tanks and non-governmental organizations in BRICS countries to cement exchanges and boost cooperation within the group.

Liu, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks while addressing the opening ceremony of a forum held in Fuzhou, capital of southeast China's Fujian Province.

Liu said the Ninth BRICS Summit, scheduled for September in Xiamen, Fujian Province, will be another important global conference following the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in Beijing in May.

In a letter sent to other BRICS leaders after China took the BRICS rotating presidency on Jan. 1, 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping said China will work with other BRICS countries to make the Xiamen summit a success and move forward BRICS cooperation to a new level, in accordance with an open, inclusive and win-win BRICS spirit.

"We hope this forum will pool more wisdom and efforts for the Xiamen summit and future BRICS cooperation," Liu said.

The forum, which runs from Saturday to Monday, drew more than 400 participants from political parties, think tanks and non-governmental organizations from BRICS and other developing countries.

Liu said over the past ten years, BRICS cooperation has achieved remarkable progress and the group has become an important platform for cooperation among emerging economies and developing countries, as well as a great force in improving global governance, promoting global economic growth and democracy in international relations.

He urged BRICS political parties, think tanks and non-governmental organizations to play their unique roles to guide BRICS cooperation, offer suggestions, jointly promote economic globalization, innovate cooperation measures, promote implementation of BRICS cooperation projects, and consolidate the social foundation for BRICS cooperation.

Liu called on them to advocate the idea of a community of shared future for mankind, plan for stronger BRICS cooperation, carry forward the open, inclusive and win-win BRICS spirit, respect each other's concerns, and build a new model of BRICS win-win cooperation.

He hoped BRICS political parties, think tanks and non-governmental organizations would enhance cultural exchanges and dialogue, create new highlights in cultural exchange, and promote the building of cooperation mechanisms to create more effective BRICS cooperation.

Song Tao, head of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, presided over the opening ceremony. Members of political parties, think tanks and non-governmental organizations addressed the attendees.

Before the opening ceremony, Liu met with participants of the forum.

The forum aims to build consensus and build stronger BRICS cooperation through in-depth exchanges to offer proposals and create a sound environment for the upcoming Xiamen summit. It is sponsored by the International Department of the CPC Central Committee.
New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday took stock of the finances of public sector banks as also the resolution of bad loans or NPAs, with heads of the lenders.

Besides NPA resolution and bank finances, the meeting also featured the government's financial inclusion schemes.

RBI, Jaitley said, is in an advanced state of preparing a list of bad loans where resolution is required under the insolvency and bankruptcy rule. Also, the government is actively working on consolidation of state-owned banks.

Public sector banks made a "stable operating profit" of Rs 1.5 lakh crore in 2016-17 and had a net profit at Rs 574 crore after making due provisions.

The finance minister observed that there are challenges to credit growth and speedy resolution for all pending NPA cases is the need of the hour.

"The RBI is at a fairly advanced stage of preparing a list of those debtors where a resolution is required through the IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code) process and you will shortly be hearing about it," he told reporters after the meeting.

On the farm loan waiver announced by the Maharashtra government, he made it clear that states which want to go in for waiver will have to generate funds from their own resources.
New Delhi: The government is "actively working" towards consolidation of banks, said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today.

The meeting of top bankers with the finance minister, where ministry officials and RBI Deputy Governor S S Mundra were present, was called to take stock of lenders' financial position and speedy resolution of bad assets.

"Consolidation of banks was not on the agenda as far as this present meeting is concerned. But I can tell you, we are actively working in that direction," Jaitley told reporters at a question-answer session, post first round of the discussions.

"I can't give you further details because some of these are price sensitive, but you can take it that there is a movement going on in that direction," he emphasised.

The minister hinted that a solution is coming very soon. Public banks are sitting on a mountain of bad loans to the tune of over Rs 6 lakh crore at the end of 2016-17.

A top ministry official said there is no option but to resolve the NPAs as far as the sectoral source is concerned. Rules have been framed for the six such large sectors and task forces have been on the job.

"We worked out four refined institutional ways in which banks can actually put their points across to the task force to the specific sector and telecommunication is one of them. In each of the sectors, there is no option but to resolve as you go along," the official stressed.
New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is at an advanced stage of preparing a list of bad loans where resolution is required under the country's insolvency and bankruptcy rules, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Monday.

Last month, India tweaked its laws to help tackle a record $150 billion in troubled bank debt. The government has authorised the central bank to direct banks to initiate an insolvency resolution process in the case of a default under provisions of the bankruptcy code.

"The RBI is at a fairly advanced stage of preparing a list of those debtors where a resolution is required through the IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code) process and you'll shortly be hearing about it," Jaitley told reporters after meeting bank chief executives.

The finance minister also said the government was actively working on consolidating state-run banks, although Monday's meeting did not discuss the topic.
The newborn and grown-up version of Abhishek Bachchan with dad Amitabh Bachchan. (Instagram/amitabhbachchan)

Mumbai: When it comes to sharing some nostalgic throwback pictures with his fans on social media, superstar Amitabh Bachchan always takes the cake.

Today, the 74-year-old actor took to Instagram and shared a throwback picture of the newborn Abhishek, which is surely going to make his fans smile wide.

He captioned the snap, "That is Abhishek a few minutes after birth .. and then before you know it he becomes a strapping 6'3" lad .. kids I tell you .."

In the photo, the ' PINK' star is engrossed watching his little bundle of joy a few minutes after his birth.

Recently, the actor shared a picture of himself with son Abhishek, when he had just returned from the hospital after suffering the fatal accident.

The caption read, "Me recovering from my Coolie accident at home and a most caring and loving male nurse - ABHISHEK."

Me recovering from my Coolie accident at home and a most caring and loving male nurse - ABHISHEK A post shared by Amitabh Bachchan (@amitabhbachchan) on Jun 10, 2017 at 12:45am PDT

Later, Abhishek too shared a family portrait with his dad that was clicked on the same day, after Big B returned home from the hospital.

Since @amitabhbachchan posted a photo us post his Coolie accident whilst recovering at home, here's another.... Taken on the same day. A post shared by Abhishek Bachchan (@bachchan) on Jun 10, 2017 at 11:02pm PDT

It's very heart-warming to see the father-son duo sharing these priceless pictures.

On the professional front, Amitabh Bachchan will be next seen in ' Thugs of Hindostan' alongside Aamir Khan and Fatima Sana Shaikh in Malta.

The movie also stars Katrina Kaif in the lead and will release in Diwali 2018.
Mumbai: Katrina Kaif may have joined the party (called social media) late but the actress is enchanted by it already. Almost a year into Facebook usage, the actress is using it as a platform to share her biggest passion with the world- films.

A leading daily sat down with the lovely actress and talked about the downside of social media and what is her takeaway from it. Here is how the lady tackled those questions:

What would Katrina Kaif post on her Facebook page:

Films for me are my biggest passion. My art, at this point of time in my life, is my reason to get up in the morning. So, if I am not going to share that aspect of my life on my social media accounts, thats unbalanced.

On celebrities making important announcements on social media:

That is absolutely fine as they are using the platform to announce whats special to them. If I was in that situation I would too. But I am not. So whenever that happens, of course.

On a recent survey suggesting people with obsession for selfies may be lonely or attention seekers:

When people talk to me about selfies, I feel like it has a negative connotation. Like is everyone who takes a selfie a megalomaniac? The answer is no. I can do a study with a 100 candidates and prove that people, who are on social media in ten years, will be slightly emotionally dysfunctional. These are studies which we can never prove or disprove. Today, I can tell you something and I can change my mind in one week. Unfortunately, that is the way the world works. The world moves so fast, we all change our minds. I dont think there is anything wrong with taking selfies. But I can tell you what has become annoying or for lack of a better word, funny. It is the way people behave before clicking a picture. I am very happy to take pictures. But maybe, just figure the arrangement of your hair in advance or just get ready and come. Doing a 10-minute tayyari (preparation) for a picture is a bit obnoxious

Kats will next be seen in Anurag Basus Jagga Jasoos opposite rumoured former lover Ranbir Kapoor.

The film releases on July 14.
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has questioned the state over the soft stance it has taken to release actor Sanjay Dutt eight months before his prison term and whether the same was applied to other prisoners too.

The court also asked the state the criterion for releasing Mr Dutt and parameters for assessing his good conduct while he was in and out of jail for the most part of his sentence. It also asked the state to submit details of the decision-making authority in such matters and whether the DIG prisons was in the loop while truncating the term. The court was hearing a PIL against the early release of Dutt, who was convicted for possessing arms that were part of haul smuggled into India to carry out the 1993 blasts and was undergoing his sentence in Yerwada jail.

In July 2007, the TADA court held Dutt guilty of illegally possessing an AK 56 rifle in a notified area of Mumbai and sentenced him to six years rigorous imprisonment.

Later, in May 2013, Dutt appealed in the Supreme Court but the court turned down his plea. However, it reduced his sentence to five years. In February 2016, Dutt completed his sentence after it was curtailed by eight months due to good behaviour.

A division bench of Justice R.M. Savant and Justice SS Jadhav was hearing a criminal public interest litigation filed by Pune-based activist Pradeep Bhalekar who had challenged the regular paroles and furloughs granted to Dutt when he was serving his sentence and his subsequent early release by almost eight months.

Taking cognisance of the objections, the bench directed the state to elaborate on how it decided that Dutt deserved leniency. The court also asked to know whether the DIG prisons was aware of the recommendation sent by the jail superintendent for permission to curtail Dutts sentence by eight months.
Rajinikanths Kaala manages to pique the curiosity of people every day. The film, directed by Pa Ranjith and produced by Dhanushs Wunderbar Films went on floors in Mumbai on May 28. Ever since, several pictures from the shooting spot which were leaked managed to keep the interest of the fans intact.

A couple of weeks ago, it was officially announced that Bollywood actor Nana Patekar is part of the ensemble cast which also includes Eswari Rao, Huma Qureshi, Samuthirakani, Anjali Patil and more. Now, a source close to the team reveals some tidbits about Nana Patekars role in the film. He will be seen as a politician who pushes the people of Dharavi to vacate their lands for commercial purposes. Rajinikanth who plays Kaala, an aged gangster stands up for the rights of people, the source says.

Meanwhile, it has now been confirmed that Huma Qureshi is not playing Rajinikanths pair in the movie. Actress Easwari Rao is Rajinikanths pair and it is not Huma (Zareena in Kaala) as speculated, the source shares.

Kaala has music scored by Santhosh Narayanan while G Murali and Sreekar Prasad take care of cinematography and editing respectively.
Aerial photo taken on April 1, 2017 shows Anxin County, north China's Hebei province.[Photo/Xinhua]

Beijing and Xiongan New Area will need systematic cooperation to achieve coordinated development and mitigate urban ills, experts said on Sunday.

Lin Jian, a researcher at Renmin University of China's National Academy of Development and Strategy, said Xiongan will take over many functions of Beijing to help the capital ease its population pressure.

"How to attract people to move there will be a crucial task," he said. "The authorities need to make plans in the sectors of education, medical care and cultural development in Xiongan," Lin said. "Beijing can offer its help."

He said many State-owned enterprises, colleges and government institutions will move to Xiongan. The corresponding educational and medical resources should be planned in advance for people who will move there; otherwise, problems could occur, he warned.

"Xiongan cannot be a cultural desert, which means Beijing should also provide cultural facilities to the new area," Lin said.

On Friday, Beijing pledged to closely cooperate and fully support the development of Xiongan and encourage people to move there as needed.

Liu Bozheng, deputy director of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei development leading group, said Beijing will cooperate with Xiongan on construction and services, accelerating the relocation of industries that suit the new area.

"The Beijing municipal government attaches high importance to the development of Xiongan New Area," he said.

He said Beijing will assist in planning and policymaking in sectors such as infrastructure construction, transportation integration and the sharing of public services. The capital will also encourage innovative companies to establish themselves in Xiongan.

China announced plans to create Xiongan New Area in April as part of the integration of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. It is designed to ameliorate urban ills such as traffic congestion and air pollution.

Located about 100 kilometers southwest of downtown Beijing, the new area will have a substantial footprint in three existing counties of Hebei provinceXiongxian, Rongcheng and Anxin.

Zhao Weidong, spokesman for the Beijing Municipal Commission of Commerce, said on Friday that Beijing has established a platform to cooperate with Tianjin and Hebei and has transferred some wholesale markets and logistics facilities to Hebei.

The commission promoted 26 projects with a total investment of more than 5 billion yuan ($740 million) last year involving the move of markets and logistics facilities to Hebei.

According to data from the city, Beijing's population and its growth rate has been declining for the past three years. Meanwhile, the city's GDP was up 6.7 percent last year compared with 2015.
Shruti Haasan, who has been in several controversies in recent times, just got another big blow, with her recent Hindi film Behen Hogi Teri bombing at the box-office. Interestingly, the film didnt get any openings and on the first day, the film collected only Rs 40 lakh, which is very low for a Hindi film.

This is not good news for the actress whose career is not doing well at all. Shruti recently opted out of the big budget biopic Sangamitra, after working for nearly six months in the film on pre-production. Even her last Telugu film Katamarayudu opposite Pawan Kalyan didnt do well, with many criticising her outfits in the film. She didnt bag any Telugu film after that and filmmakers too are steering clear because of her bad attitude while shooting the film.


The research work by him on modern Telugu poetry assessing the influence of tradition and experiment on it became a classic since its publication in 1967. (Photo: Facebook)

Hyderabad: Legendary Telugu poet and writer C Narayana Reddy, a recipient of the prestigious Jnanpith award, passed away here in the early hours today.

The 85-year-old doyen of Telugu language had to his credit more than 80 publications, which include poems, songs, lyrical dramas, ballets, essays, travelogues, ghazals - original and in translation - and literary criticism."After he developed health complications he was shifted to a private hospital at around 3 am where doctors pronounced him dead," sources said.He is survived by four daughters, they said.

Born on July 29, 1931 in Karimnagar district, the eminent writer and lyricist was the most distinguished Telugu poet of his generation. He was also the president of the Telangana Saraswatha Parishath. He had received the Jnanpith Award for the year 1988. He was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1977 and the Padma Bhushan in 1992.His works have been regarded as trend-setters. His

research work on modern Telugu poetry assessing the influence of tradition and experiment on it became a classic since its publication in 1967. He had nearly 3,500 film songs to his credit.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao expressed condolences over Reddy's death. Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu Governor C Vidyasagar Rao

also expressed grief on Reddy's demise. In a condolence message, Rao said, "I am deeply saddened and at a loss of words to know about the demise of Dr

C Narayana Reddy, professor, poet, writer, Jnanapith awardee and former member of Rajya Sabha."

"Dr Reddy was a versatile genius, - one of the finest poets and lyricists produced by Telangana. He was a wordsmithhaving mastery over Telugu language and literature."He was passionate about preserving and popularising Telugu language and culture, especially among the young generation. He also enjoyed mastery over English, Hindi and Urdu languages, Rao said.

"Dr Reddy was a fine human being, having friends cutting across the entire political spectrum. He also made his mark as a member of Parliament. I was privileged to have friendship with Dr Narayana Reddy."In his demise, the world of Telugu language and literature has lost a bright star. The void caused by his loss

can never be filled," said the Governor.
Sometimes no amount of exercise helps get rid of the "bra bulge". t(Photo: Pixabay)

Women sometimes go to extreme lengths to achieve physical perfection. But how far is too far?

A report reveals a new procedure becoming popular with women wanting to get rid of a part of the skin, so they can wear a bra without the bulge. The "bra bulge" is the skin between the armpit and breast that becomes a fat bump when wearing a tight top or bra. Women with bigger breasts tend to feel more self-conscious about the flap.

While it can be toned with strengthening exercises, sometimes no amount helps get rid of the fat. Doctors claim more and more patients are asking to have the cosmetic surgery, according to The Sun.

Dr Galyna Selezneva, an aesthetic doctor at the Dr. Rita Rakus Clinic in Knightsbridge in London told The Sun the procedure is "revolutionary. The method called SculpSure, she explains uses "a laser light which passes safely through the skin and heats the underlying fat cells". This triggers the body to naturally eliminate the fat cells and reduce the bulge.

Apart from the "bra bulge", Dr Galyna revealed the treatment is also used on other body parts like the knees, elbows and ankles.
Hyderabad: The Congress on Saturday reiterated its demand for a CBI probe into all the multi-crore land scams that have surfaced during the three years of TRS rule in the state. Senior Congress legislator T. Jeevan Reddy and Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Mohd Ali Shabbir asked Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao why he was silent on the CBI probe demanded by AICC general-secretary Digvijay Singh during his last visit to Hyderabad.

They said that since the reports about the involvement of TRS MP K. Kesava Rao and his family members in the land scam have surfaced, people have the right to know the facts from the government. They alleged that the CID and ACB had failed to catch the culprits and in fact allowing them to roam free since the government was involved neck deep in the scandal and was in charge of the investigations.

The Congress leaders recalled the various scams that surfaced during the TRS rule like cash-for-vote, Eamcet paper leak, Alair police encounter of Muslim youths and the gangster Nayeemuddin case. Mr Shabbir Ali said that the state was facing yet another important issue of deadly bacteria found in the fish seed supplied by the government. He said that the fish has been affected by the bacteria and died fish are floating on tanks and lakes.

Spurious fish seed supplied by the government has affected the lives of the fishermen. Government supplied 20 crore spurious fish seeds and projected 20,000 crore revenue, but ultimately the fishermens cooperative societies have suffered, he said. Mr Shabbir Ali demanded the officials responsible for this fish seed be suspended and fishermen across the state should be given compensation and extended financial assistance for at least one year for their sustenance.

Kesava Rao denies charges:

Rajya Sabha Member and TRS secretary-general K. Kesava Rao on Saturday denied the allegations against him that he purchased lands in Hafeezpur in Ibrahimpatnam illegally and bought government lands. Mr Kesava Rao said that he bought the lands in the village from Virgo Media Ltd. and got them registered under the orders of High Court based on Writ Petition 39658 dated February 3, 2016.

He said the registration was affected under High Court order in which the government was the respondent. It was nobodys mercy. I bought the lands from private entities absolutely following all guidelines and rules and Acts. Am I not aware of the Act, being a Member of Parliament? he asked. Later, in a statement, Mr Kesava Rao said, I bought 25 acres in Hafeezpur village taking extraordinary precautions after seeing the clearances given by Supreme Court, High Court, Special Chief Secretary, Chief Commissioner of Land Administration and the Ranga Reddy district collector. All my lands form part of court decree CS No 14/ 58 where the government was a party to it. It must be noted that in any dispute, the Court verdict is final, any adverse action or comment on such court decision is nothing but contempt.
Farmers torched trucks at Mhow-Neemuch Highway in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday. (Photo: File/PTI)

Mandsaur: Curfew was lifted completely from Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur district, the epicentre of a violent stir by farmers, as the situation there remained peaceful on Saturday.

Curfew was lifted from all three police station areas of Mandsaur city on Sunday, but was in place in Pipliamandi police station area, which is 15 kms from Mandsaur district headquarters and where five farmers were killed in separate police firings during the agitation.

The curfew from 8 pm to 8 am has been lifted although prohibitory orders under CrPC section 144, which bans assembly of more than four persons, will remain in force, Additional Collector of the district Arjun Singh Dabar said.

Farmers in the state began protests over low prices for their crops on June 1.

The Mandsaur-Neemuch region, about 300 km from the state capital Bhopal, became the nerve centre of the gathering storm of farmer distress. Later, protests spread to some other parts of the state.

In Mandsaur, the curfew was imposed after five persons were killed in police firing during a farmers' protest on June 6.
BENGALURU: A 22-year-old youth was fatally stabbed by three men in HAL police station limits on Saturday night. The deceased, identified as Sai Charan (22), a resident of Kaggadasapura and employed as an office boy at a private firm in Koramangala.

He had to pay with his life for allegedly trying to foil a chain snatching attempt by the accused near his house.

Charan sustained grievous injuries in the attack and was rushed to the Bowring hospital, where he died while undergoing treatment.

The police have detained three men who they suspect were involved in the murder. HAL police station inspector Sadiq Pasha, who is investigating the case, told Deccan Chronicle that both the deceased and the suspects were heavily drunk and one of them was Charans friend.

He said that there were three stab injuries on Charans back. This doesnt seem like a murder while thwarting a chain snatching bid, as it occurred around 11 pm and all the four were drunk. However, we are investigating, he said.
New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government has proposed to the Supreme Court for setting up a Neet-like examination to recruit judges to the lower judiciary.

The proposal comes close on the heels of several states, including some ruled by the BJP, opposing the formation of an all-India judicial service, a 60-year-old idea.

A letter written by the secretary (justice) in the law ministry to the secretary general, Supreme Court said, Adoption of the model followed by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) for conducting the National-Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Neet) for admission to undergraduate and postgraduate medical courses could also be explored. As per the process followed by Neet, the CBSE is responsible for conducting the entrance test, declaration of result and preparation of an all-India rank.

The ministry has suggested various models to the apex court so that vacancies in the subordinate courts are filled up fast. The law ministry has also proposed that a centralised exam could be held by a recruitment body for selection of candidates and it will be under the supervision of the Supreme Court.
Chennai: Leakage in water pipelines across the city is alarming as it wastes thousands of litres of nature's elixir every day. The water pipelines that supply water to Triplicane, Chintadripet, Royapettah, Manali, Washermanpet and Omandurar Government Estate are damaged in many places. Residents complain that the water wastage due to this is unacceptable when the city is suffering from an acute water crisis.

Three days have passed since the water pipeline near Iyya Mudali Street at Chintadripet burst open, which led to a loss of wastage of thousands of litres of water, but the authorities have not attended to the problem yet. The old water pipeline incurred damages at many spots, from where the water gushes out for hours. The residents are collecting the water for their daily use.

We had to stay without water for two-three days as we will not receive water from the pipeline. We do not want the water to get wasted and are collecting it to use it in the times of need, said V. Jawahar, a resident of Chintadripet. Damage to the water pipelines in several places has been reported to Chennai Metro water officials, but the problem has not been provided with a permanent solution. We have limited water supply for two hours a day with a slow flow, whereas we see the water being wasted on roads due to leaking water pipeline, says D.Radha, Triplicane resident.

Chennai Metro water officials admit that these incidents occur on a daily basis. Measures are taken to repair the pipeline every time such incidents take place, but replacement of old pipeline seems to be the need of the hour, say residents.

When contacted, Metro water officials said that the pipelines that extend 6,000 km cannot be completely replaced, as it requires a large sum of money. We are using an allocation of `115 crores to replace the water pipeline for 300 km, which will be possibly completed by December," he added.
Bhopal: Congress on Monday said Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan should have met the families of those killed in Mandsaur police firing instead of resorting to the "drama" of going on a "seven-star fast".

Chouhan sat on an indefinite fast on Saturday, appealing for peace to farmers demanding loan waivers and remunerative prices for their produce. He ended it on Sunday while announcing a slew of schemes but issued a stern warning to those who engaged in "incendiary activities".

"Rs 5 crore was thrown down the drain in holding the sheer natuanki (drama) and wasteful event of fast by the chief minister. It was a seven-star fast," state Congress president Arun Yadav alleged while talking to PTI.

He claimed that various district collectors arrange buses and people were ferried from different parts of the state to Chouhan's venue, where he sat on a fast to quell the farmers' agitation, at Dussehra maidan here.

Instead of holding the fast, he should have gone to Mandsaur - the epicentre of the farmers' agitation in MP  and comforted the families of the five persons killed in police firing last week, Yadav said.

Rather than doing the "nautanki", he should mitigate the problems of farmers, the Congress leader said.

The Aam Aadmi Party also criticised Chouhan's hunger strike.

"Chouhan's fast was a hypocrisy. He (Chouhan) is a complete hypocrite," AAP national spokesperson and party's Madhya Pradesh unit convener Alok Agrawal alleged.

"Chouhan is responsible for the suicide of a large number of farmers in MP and killing of the five farmers in Mandsaur recently," he charged.

"Now he stands exposed, he, instead of hypocrisy, should work for farmers who are in deep distress and ensure that they get satisfactory price for their produce and loan waiver," Agrawal said.
Mysuru: State BJP president B.S. Yeddyurappa said on Sunday that he was no longer interested in merely discussing the issue of farm loan waiver and would hold a satyagraha on July 7, 8 and 9 after which he would bring three lakh farmers to Bengaluru on July 10 to exert pressure on CM Siddaramaiah to waive farm loans taken from co-operative banks, or give up power.

While speaking to mediapersons during his visit to Mysuru district on Sunday. the former CM was asked if he would also bring pressure on the Central government to waive loans taken by farmers from nationalised banks. My focus now is on getting loans taken from co-operative societies waived. As for loans from nationalised banks, I dont want to discuss it here. I will talk about it at the right place, he said.

He also announced that after June 30, he will stay for two days in each district, hold public rallies in two constituencies in each district and has plans to cover 224 constituencies by August end. People are frustrated with the Siddaramaiah government, they are looking for change. We are 100% sure we will come to power in the next polls, he said. The former CM lashed out at the Siddaramaiah government saying the Central government had given `1966.44 crore under Swachh Bharat scheme to ensure a toilet for each house, but the funds have not been completely spent.

Breakfast at noon!

On Sunday, Ms Renuka woke up as early as 4 am to prepare breakfast while husband M Narasimhamurthy too put off a wedding programme to make sure everything was in place when BJP state president B.S. Yeddyurappa came visiting them.

Mr Yeddyurappa who was supposed to arrive for breakfast with the Dalit family, finally made it for brunch at 12 noon! The couples two children, Neethan and Namith, delayed their breakfast and were overjoyed when the former CM finally arrived to have food with them at their residence at No. 17, Ambedkarnagar, Kuri Mandi at Kesare here. The couple served ragi roti, uchchal chutney and uppit to Yeddyurappa who was accompanied by former Union minister V. Srinivasprasad, Mysuru MP Pratap Simha, former IAS officer Mr Shivram and Mr Kote Shivanna. All the BJP leader did was smile when asked if it was not too late for breakfast.

The couple also treated over 500 party workers to uppit, idli and chutney, prepared by a caterer. Mr Narasimhamurthy is general secretary of BJP in NR constituency.

However, some poor Dalits who waited eagerly to share their grievances with Yeddyurappa, remained disappointed as he rushed back soon after his brief speech.

I did not go to sell my soppu (green leaves) so that I could spend time with Yeddyurappa and share my grievances with him. The fair price shop owner claims he gives us 5 kg rice, if we get it weighed elsewhere, it weighs just 4 kg, a vendor Lakshmi complained.
The first artificially bred snow leopard in the snow leopard pavilion at the Tibetan Plateau Wildlife Park in Xining, Qinghai Province, on June 10, 2017. [Photo/163.com]

The Tibetan Plateau Wildlife Park has asked the public to name China's first artificially bred snow leopard to mark the first birthday of the cub.

The existence of the zoo's 'little princess' has only just been revealed, as artificial breeding is only deemed successful after babies are at least six months old, according to Qi Xinzhang, deputy director of Wildlife Park.

Born on June 10, 2016, the female snow leopard is the offspring of an eight-year-old male 'Zhuangzhuang' and a ten-year-old female called 'Erbao'.

Weighing 18.5 kg, the cub is said to be full of energy, walking and jumping up and down in the newly built snow leopard pavilion of the wildlife park.

The baby snow leopard's original 20 square meters 'small room' has been upgraded to 850 square meters 'presidential suite' in the park to give the cub more space.

The wildlife park is hoping the new female will have her own offspring in two or three years' time, making a significant contribution to the wildlife park's breeding of snow leopards.

The snow leopard is regarded as a barometer of the health of the high-altitude ecosystem. In 1996, it was on China's Red List of endangered animal species. China accounts for 60% of the world's snow leopard habitats.
Nepal police academy which is also called National Police Academy (NPA) will provide training to 410 Nepalese police officers annually.(Representational Image)

Hyderabad: The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National police academy (NPA) will help Nepal to set up a national police academy near Kathmandu. The feasibility study for the academy was done by the NPA, Hyderabad, while India's Ministry of Home Affairs is doing consultancy service for the project monitoring and quality assurance services.

Nepal police academy which is also called National Police Academy (NPA) will provide training to 410 Nepalese police officers annually. The academy at Panauti, 35 km south-east of Kathmandu, will be on lines of Hyderabads NPA, where officials of Indian Police Service usually get trained.

Nepal's Ministry of Home Affairs is the executing agency that is coordinating with the government of India-nominated officials in a joint project monitoring committee.

India is providing Rs 550 crore for construction of the academy. At present, some 350 police officers from Nepal undergo training in India each year. The new academy in Nepal will help train 410 Nepalese police officers annually, a central home ministry official said.
New Delhi: At the invitation of US President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Modi will visit Washington DC on June 25-26.

It will be Prime Minister Modi's first meeting with President Trump, whose presidency began on January 20. The two leaders have spoken over phone at least thrice since the latter assumed office.

This meeting comes at a time when Trump made critical comments about India while announcing America's decision to pull out of the Paris climate change agreement. President Donald Trump has accused India and other countries of trying to extract "billions and billions and billions" of dollars in foreign aid from the developed world to sign up for the climate accord.

Inspite of the difference on some issues, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's discussions with Trump are likely to find a common approach on matters related to South Asia, particularly the rise in infiltration from the neighbouring Pakistan, terrorism and India's case for a seat at the nuclear supplier's group. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reiterated India's support to the Paris agreement and said he is willing to go further than what has been committed under the Paris accord.

Both the leaders will hold discussions on taking the bilateral ties to a new level, convergence of strategic interests in South Asia, joint effort in fighting terrorism, trade and specifically the vexed issue of H-1B temporary visa, the biggest concern for New Delhi.

Moreover, US National Security Adviser (NSA) Lieutenant General H R McMaster has re-affirmed India's position as the US's "major defence partner" during talks with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Lieutenant General McMaster had discussed bilateral ties, situation in the South Asian region including Afghanistan and Pakistan with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his April visit.

Under the previous administration, Prime Minister Modi had a record eight meetings with former US president Barack Obama.

On the US executive order on H1B visas, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has reportedly hit back at the United States on the H1B visa issue and said that their companies in India will also be affected .She has said that it is not only the Indian companies which will get affected but also the US companies who earn profits which go to their economy.
The Indian Government's decision to repatriate Pakistani prisoners shows that India attaches huge importance to addressing all humanitarian matters (Photo: ANI/Twitter)

New Delhi: As a goodwill gesture, India is going to release 11 Pakistani prisoners, who had served out their sentences, and repatriate to Pakistan via the Attari- Wagah border.

The Indian Government's decision to repatriate Pakistani prisoners shows that India attaches huge importance to addressing all humanitarian matters, at a time when the India-Pakistan tensions are at an all time high with Pakistan rangers violating ceasefire along the Line of Control almost on a daily basis.

India had moved the International Court of Justice seeking a stay on the execution of alleged Indian spy and former Indian Naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, who the Pakistan Military Court had accused of being involved in subversive and espionage activities.

The ICJ had given its verdict in India's favour following which the tension between the two neighbouring nations escalated to even higher levels.

Earlier, India had accused Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), and its leader Maulana Masood Azhar for orchestrating a deadly attack on an Indian air force base in Pathankot in January. The composite dialogue between India and Pakistan were cancelled in August 2015 .

Moreover, on March 1, India reciprocated by releasing 39 Pakistani prisoners, comprising 21 civil prisoners and 18 fishermen, lodged in jails after Islamabad freed 218 Indian prisoners.
Jammu: With the Pakistani Army resorting to unprovoked mortar shelling and automatic weapons fire at various places along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, Defence Ministry spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Manish Mehta said the situation is under control and no casualty has been reported so far.

Talking to ANI, Lieutenant Colonel Mehta said this is Pakistan's ninth ceasefire violation since June 1st.

"Monday morning, Pakistan has violated the ceasefire violation at two places in KG (Krishna Ghati) Sector and also in the Naushera Sector and a befitting reply has been given by the Indian Army. Since the first of June this is the ninth ceasefire violation done by the Pakistan Army. Our troops are hitting them hard and it will hit them hardest," he said.

"The Pakistan Army is using heavy mortars, they are using RCL guns. Heavy automatics are being used by them and we are giving befitting reply in equal measures to them. We have the situation under control. Presently we do not have any reports of casualty," he added.

The Pakistani Army initiated indiscriminated firing of small arms, automatics and mortars at 6:20 am on Monday. On Sunday, the Pakistan Army violated ceasefire in the Naushera sector.
Earlier on Sunday, the Pakistan Army violated ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir's Naushera sector. (Representational Image)

Srinagar: The Pakistani Army initiated indiscriminated firing of small arms, automatics and mortars at 6.20 a.m. on Monday along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Krishna Ghati sector.

The Indian Army posts are retaliating strongly and effectively.

Earlier on Sunday, the Pakistan Army violated ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir's Naushera sector.

This came after the Pakistan Army earlier in the day initiated indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics and mortars in Naushera along the Line of Control (LoC).

Pakistan initiated the indiscriminate firing at around 12:40 p.m. and exchange of gunfire continues.

The Pakistan Rangers had, in a separate instance, violated unprovoked ceasefire on forward Border Security Force (BSF) troops in Jammu and Kashmir's Ramgarh sector at 10.45 a.m.

The Indian Army posts retaliated strongly and effectively. The firing continued for about 45 minutes.

No injuries or damages was reported

In an another incident, the Army retaliated to a ceasefire violation by Pakistan along the LoC in the Bhimber Gali sector in Rajouri district at 9.45 a.m.

On Saturday, the Pakistan Army initiated indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics and mortars in the Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district along the LoC.

In all these incidents, the Indian Army posts retaliated effectively.
Members of the Federation of Kannada organisations protest in Bengaluru on Sunday in support of farmers and against Mondays Karnataka Bandh. (Photo: KPN)

Hubballi: Various farmer organisations have expressed support for the bandh in north Karnataka on Monday demanding early implementation of the Kalasa-Banduri project.



They have decided to block movement of KSRTC buses and other vehicles from dawn to dusk to express their anger against the failure of MPs to exert pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking his intervention to resolve the water dispute.

Total bandh expected

Nargund and Navalgund town, where violence had broken out last year over the issue, is expected to witness a total bandh as farmers in the region will benefit from the water project.

The farmers here are also angry over the state governments move to distribute meagre compensation to those who were injured in the police lathi-charge during the violence.

Blame-game

Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party leaders are involved in a blame-game without trying to find a solution to the Mahadayi water dispute.

The state government continues to harass farmers by lodging cases against them for staging a protest in front of the residence of elected representatives two years ago. We will not relent until the water project is implemented and will make the bandh successful on Monday by appealing to all business establishments in the region to down shutters, said farmer leader Lokanath Hebasur said.

No plan to take another delegation to PM: Siddu

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah clarified that the state government has no plans to take another delegation to the Prime Minister seeking his intervention to resolve the water dispute. Addressing mediapersons here, he said the Mahadayi water tribunal has advised that the dispute be resolved through dialogue.

He also said that he has already written letters to the Chief Ministers of Goa and Maharashtra apprising them about the need to solve the issue in the interests of farmers. Stating that he is ready to host a meeting with these Chief Ministers, Siddaramaiah claimed that he is not sure they will attend it.
The house which was damaged in a landslide at Tandrakuli on NH 66 near Kumta on Sunday. (Photo: KPN)

Karwar/Udupi: In a tragic incident, three children were killed and eight injured in a landslide at Tandrakuli village in Kumta Taluk on Sunday.

The coastal districts have been receiving heavy rain in the last two days. While the landslide in Kumta killed three children, the one in Ottinene in Udupi district blocked National Highway 66. In both places, local residents blamed the contractor carrying out the four laning of National Highway 66, for unscientific work.

Those killed in the landslide at Tandrakuli in Kumta have been identified as Dhanush Manjunath Ambiga (1), Yathin Narayana Ambiga (7) and Bhavya Narayana Ambiga (10). The incident took place when huge amount of mud from the hillock at Tandrakuli fell on the National Highway and later on four houses situated on the other side of the road! The landslide was so severe that the mud and stones fell across the road and completely damaged the houses on the other side.

Workers clear the National Highway 66 which was blocked after a landslide near Kumta on Sunday. (Photo: KPN)

The incident took place around 10 am on Sunday. Though Dhanush and Yathin were rushed to hospital, they could not be saved. Bhavyas body was found under the mud after about two hours, according to officials. About eight who were injured in the incident have been rushed to the Kumata Government Hospital.

The government has declared Rs 4 lakh compensation for the families of those killed in the incident. The injured are being provided treatment. The houses along with all the inmates belongings have been damaged. We are assessing the loss, Additional DC Prasanna H told DC. Local residents blamed the contractors- IRB Infrastructure for the unscientific work.

We may have to start an agitation against the contractors and authorities if they do not take necessary steps, local resident Raghavendra Deshbhandary told reporters. People allege that the mud and boulders in the hillock must have got loose as the contractors had blasted the stones for road widening. According to officials, the contractors had informed the district administration that they had taken all scientific measures, including step cutting of the hillock. Officials of IRB and NHAI have rushed to the spot. As the mudslide was on a highway, the traffic had to be diverted. The traffic resumed late in the evening, Kumta AC Ramesh said.

The second landslide took place at Ottinene in Udupi on Sunday around 4 am.

As the landslide was on NH 66, traffic was stalled. Vehicles were forced to wait in a 6 km line! Traffic flow was restored only by 10 am.
New Delhi: Congress MLA Shakuntala Khatik on Monday brushed aside the allegation of inciting violence during farmers protest in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh.

"I didn't instigate the workers. Would they have remained silent, had I asked them to do so?" Khatik told ANI.

Khatik further said that she only told the police officers that they shouldn't sit in the police station and go ahead to set it on fire, if they can't ensure women safety.

Earlier, a video of the Congress MLA had surfaced showing her purportedly inciting party workers and farmers to torch a police station during the farmers protest.

The Congress' Shivpuri MLA was seen in the video repeatedly inciting people to accompany her to burn down the nearby police station, whereas a police official was seen requesting the MLA to calm down.

Following the video, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded MLA's arrest and cornered the Congress asking party vice-president Rahul Gandhi to apologise for the irresponsible behaviour of his party leader.

"Certain Congress elements, who are instigating violence and appealing the mob to set the police station on fire, have been caught on the camera red-handed. It's unfortunate that just for the sake of votes, the Congress has stooped so low and staged a violent protest. The Congress should answer for this and Rahul Gandhi should apologise for the irresponsible behaviour of his party leader. I request the government to immediately arrest the miscreants and book them under relevant acts to ensure normalcy in MP," BJP leader S Prakash told ANI.
New Delhi: Paving the way for declaration of National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) examination results, the Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Madras High Court's interim order restraining publication of the results for admission to MBBS and BDS courses.

The apex court also directed the authorities concerned to proceed with the process of declaration of results, subsequent counselling and admission as per the schedule fixed by it earlier.

However, a vacation bench of Justices PC Pant and Deepak Gupta said the declaration of results as well as the subsequent counselling and admission will be subject to the decision of the apex court in the matter pending before it.

The bench also requested all the high courts not to entertain petitions in the matters relating to the NEET examination 2017.

The order came on the plea by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and others challenging the May 24 order of the Madras High Court which had restrained the Board from publishing the results of NEET examination 2017 in which around 12 lakh aspirants had appeared.
Darjeeling: Paramilitary troops were patrolling the streets of Darjeeling on Monday morning to prevent any untoward incident during an indefinite shut down of the city called by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM).

Monday's GJM-led shut down call came a day after the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal had issued an order that all offices have to remain open in Darjeeling and Kalimpong.

The state government order also made it mandatory for government employees to attend work.

"In view of the call given by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha for indefinite bandh/strike on and from 12 June, 2017, it has been decided that all state government offices situated in the District of Darjeeling and Kalimpong, including those provided with grants-in-aid by the state government, would remain open and all the employees of those offices should report for duty on each day till the call for such bandh is not withdrawn, a state government released said.

The release also stated, It has also been decided that no leave shall be granted to any employee on any of these bandh days.

State Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi also announced that absence of employees from work would be treated as 'dies non', and will constitute a break in service.

The state government said that no salary will be given to absentee employees unless they were in an emergency like hospitalisation or death in the family, among other things.

GJM President Bimal Gurung and other party leaders have challenged Mamata Banerjee and her government to try and stop them from achieving their cherished goal of a separate state of Gorkhaland.

GJM General Secretary Roshan Giri, on Monday, said that the party would ensure that all central and state government offices - including block development offices, sub-divisional offices and district magistrate offices, banks, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (the hill development body) offices - will be closed as part of the shutdown.

Schools, colleges, transport and tourism will be outside the purview of the shutdown, he added.

State government revenue sources like electricity, mines and boulders will be part of the GJM's shutdown, Giri said.

So far, five GJM activists have been arrested, and flag marches by the army have been withdrawn.

Many tourists are still stuck in Darjeeling.

GJM president Gurung has advised tourists to leave the hills because of the possibility of "untoward" incidents.

A state of uncertainty, however, continues to prevail. Further details are awaited.
Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday ended his peace fast in which his wife Sadhna gave him company, by taking a glass of coconut water from veteran saffron leader Kailash Joshi.

Chouhan, who began the fast on Saturday to calm frayed tempers of the farmers demanding a loan waiver and remunerative prices for their produce, announced a slew of schemes for their benefit but issued a stern warning to those who engaged in incendiary activities.

Peace has been restored in MP and no case of violence has been reported on Saturday and Sunday. Even kin of victims of police firing at Mandsaur met me here requesting me to end fast Chouhan told reporters here before ending his fast.

On Sunday morning, he met 15 delegations of small farmers and representatives of 236 farmer bodies to hear their grievances.

The occasion turned a show of unity in BJP with the senior party leaders, both loyalists and dissidents, seen congratulating him for breaking his 28-hour-long fast.

There was no curfew in all three police stations areas of Mandsaur city for the second day, but prohibitory orders under section 144 CrPC banning assembly of more than four people remained in force in the entire district.
Jalandhar (Punjab): A probe has been ordered for playing a porn clip during a darbar meeting of the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel at the headquarters of the 77th Battalion in Punjab's Ferozepur.

Inspector General Mukul Goyal on Monday said, "An objectionable clip played on laptop for 2-5 sec during a BSF meet in Firozpur, it was immediately stopped. But because a government laptop was used, court of inquiry has been ordered."

Officers and jawans of the BSF were left red-faced when an alleged pornography clip was played during a presentation in Ferozepur on Sunday.

According to reports, a documentary on training was to be shown to the 77th battalion.
New Delhi: Lashing out at the Congress for demeaning Army Chief General Bipin Rawat to a "street thug", the Centre on Monday said party chief Sonia Gandhi should issue an apology and clarify its stand on remarks against the Indian Army.

"It shocks us. It did not come from a somebody from Congress, but from a very eminent Congress leader," Union Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the media here.

Accusing the Congress of "consistently questioning the integrity of the Indian Army to shame and demoralise them," she said, "I wonder if this is a strategy of the Congress to undermine the Indian Army, weaken our institutions. 'Sadak ka gunda?' Is that a language a senior politician uses against our Army Chief? Sonia Gandhi should disown their leadership which is going on insulting Indian Army, is not what the Congress wants and should apologise. The Congress should clarify its stand on remarks against the Indian Army."

Meanwhile, Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit on Monday tendered an apology for the second time, saying shouldn't have used "uncivilised" words to convey his message.

"It was a statement given to you (ANI) only and it was in the context of the constant statements that the Army Chief has made with regard to the army's preparation and Pakistan. I thought Indian Army chiefs normally don't make these statements and they have a different manner in which they approach. However, this was a separate issue. If I had to say something of this kind, there was a different language and manner in which I should have said it. It doesn't make any sense to use words that are not correct and civil and I apologise for that," Dikshit told ANI.

Inviting a huge backlash from various quarters, the Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit on Sunday said General Rawat shouldn't make statements like a 'Sadak ka Gunda' (a road-side goon).

Speaking to ANI, Dikshit had said, "It feels our Army chief speaks like a roadside thug. While this is expected from Pakistan who are like the mafia, why does our own chief make such pronouncements?"

Dikhsit's remark came in the backdrop of General Rawat's recent statement, where he said that the Indian Army is well prepared to face external and internal threats of the country.

"Indian Army is fully ready for a two-and-a-half front war", General Rawat had said.

The Congress party, however, sidelined itself from Dikshit's controversial statement, saying that the party does not support use of such language at all.

"I don't know why he used such language. We have discussed this issue with him, but the party doesn't support this for sure," Congress leader Meem Afzal told ANI.
BMTC and KSRTC buses ran as usual, unaffed by the bandh. Schools, shops were open in Bengaluru and it was a day like any other. (Photo: Satish B)

Bengaluru: The Karnataka bandh fizzled out into a non-event on Monday as people and organisations went about their chores without paying heed to the protest.

It was evident from early morning that the bandh would not affect normal life as there was no disruption of night service buses, which arrived in the city post 6 am.

A large posse of the city police had been deployed at both BMTC and KSRTC terminuses, but no protester turned up to stop the buses. Transport services continued throughout the day without a hitch.

Hotels and restaurants too functioned normally as the city hotel owners association had rejected a request by bandh organisers to down the shutters. By the time Bengalureans headed out to work around 9 am, it was evident that the bandh would not be a success.

Interestingly, there were no leaders to take charge of protests. Mobile phones of most of the leaders, who had extended support for the bandh, were either not reachable or were switched off. With Kannada Okkoota leader Vatal Nagaraj's mobile too not reachable, none of the protesters came to the street demanding the closure of business establishments. All the city malls opened and screened early movie shows. Schools and colleges too functioned normally.

There was some confusion for a few minutes near Devanahalli in the morning as activists tried to stop traffic heading to the Kempegowda International Airport. But Devanahalli police personnel rushed to the spot and cleared the road. Airport cabs and bus services did not face any other problem throughout the day.

The Praveen Shetty faction of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike had announced that roads leading to Vidhana Soudha would be blocked.

But he was arrested with his supporters near Mekhri Circle as the police feared that a march would disrupt the convoy of AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who was in the city.

The city police issued a notice to Mr Shetty and others for calling for a bandh in violation of a Supreme Court order. Mr Shetty confirmed that he has received the police notice.

All the film theatres on Kempegowda Road, which connects Corporation Circle with Majestic, cancelled their morning shows in support of the bandh.

In Anekal, agitators held a protest march and burnt tyres. Buses heading to Pavagada, Chikkaballpur and Kolar were cancelled because of protests in these cities.

The bandh failure led to a verbal war between Mr Vatal Nagaraj of Kannada Okkoota, who had called for the bandh, and Karnataka Rakshana Vedike president Narayana Gowda.

Mr Gowda blamed Mr Nagaraj for going against the wishes of the people and calling for the bandhs. Karnataka is not the property of anyone, he said.Mr Nagaraj hit back, saying, Let Mr Gowda call for a bandh for the cause of Kannada, and we will support him.
The IMD has issued a heavy rainfall warning for both Telangana state and Andhra Pradesh till June 14. (Representational image)

Hyderabad: Many places in the two Telugu speaking states received heavy showers on Monday. The rain was caused by a deep depression and low pressure area and not due to the southwest monsoon, India Meteorological Department officials said.

The IMD has issued a heavy rainfall warning for both Telangana state and Andhra Pradesh till June 14. The IMD said the southwest monsoon had further advanced into the remaining parts of central Arabian Sea, the Konkan area, north interior Karnataka, Rayalaseema, and some more parts of coastal Andhra Pradesh.

A deep depression over south Bangladesh and neighbourhood had moved north-northeastwards. It was likely to continue to move north-northeastwards and weaken into a depression during next 12 hours.
Hyderabad: Five years after social activist Medha Patkar took to the streets leading an agitation against the Metro Rail project saying that the project would serve as a death knell to schools in Chadarghat, the Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited has put up an exhibition of pictures that shows that all such fears have been put to rest.

In 2012 December Medha Patkar took on the government for extending support to the project that could spell imminent doom to the future of school children of Chadarghat. She had called the governments go-ahead as government gunda gardi. She had also visited Sultanbaazar and expressed solidarity with the traders.

Before and after pictures of the Kukatpally and Chanderghat government schools at the permanent photo exhibition put up at the new HMRL office in Rasoolpura, Begumpet. (Photo: DC)

The Hyderabad Metro Rail Project did pull down the dilapidated old school buildings but has built swank new school buildings in its place and has showcased this in the photo exhibition. The permanent photo exhibition which was recently put up at new HMRL office in Rasoolpura of Begumpet HMRL exhibited photographs of Medha Patkar agitating against the project stating that it is affecting the Chaderghat and Kukatpally government schools.

HMRL has also exhibited the pictures of old dilapidated buildings of schools in Chaderghat and Kukatpally as well as the newly constructed and completed buildings.

An HMR official said, The photo exhibition is only to show the commitment of the project towards the city. National Alliance of Peoples Movements (NAPM) had also represented to the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to intervene and stop the project. They said the schools would be demolished as part of the project. We rebuilt the dilapidated buildings and these look like corporate schools now.
Minister K.T. Rama Rao unveils the Telangana Industrial Health Clinic Limited logo at Tourism Plaza on Monday. Minister Jagadeeswar Reddy and others are also seen. (Photo: Deccan Chronicle)

Hyderabad: The Telangana state government has attracted industrial investments worth Rs 73,000 crore in the last two years and provided direct and indirect employment to over 8 lakh persons.

Industries minister K.T. Rama Rao, who released the Annual Report 2016-17 on Industries and Commerce department here on Monday, said that over 50 per cent of 3,828 industries that were approved in the last two years commenced commercial operations within six months.

These 3,828 industries have provided direct employment to 2.46 lakh persons in state. For every job provided under direct employment, 3 to 4 jobs will be created under indirect employment. This way, the government was able to provide employment to over 8 lakh people in two years, Mr Rama Rao said.

He credited the results to TS-iPASS industrial policy brought by the state government on June 12, 2015, to give approvals for setting up industries within 15 days in a zero corruption manner.

Earlier in undivided AP, industrial approvals meant corruption, lobbying, delays, land scams etc. But we brought TS-iPASS in Telangana in June 2015.

Within two years of its launch, the results are here for all to see. No investor needs to meet ministers or officials offering bribes to get approvals. They will get approvals within 15 days, that too in self-certification mode. Even KPMG Global chairman appreciated our TS-iPASS terming it as first-ever in the world, Mr Rama Rao said.

He said Hyderabad Pharma City phase-I being set up on city outskirts will be launched in October-November this year.

Phase-I is being developed in 8,200 acres. Of this, 6,300 acres were already acquired. The balance will be acquired soon, Mr Rama Rao said.

The minister added the Telangana state government will create Life Sciences Infrastructure Fund with a corpus of Rs 1,000 crore that will be used to set up sophisticated modular plug-and-play specialised infrastructure for pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and medical devices industry.
New Delhi: With the date of notification for the presidential polls fast approaching, BJP president Amit Shah on Monday set up a three-member committee comprising finance minister Arun Jaitley, information and broadcasting minister M. Venkaiah Naidu and home minister Rajnath Singh to talk to political parties within the NDA as well as the Opposition in a bid to reach a consensus on a presidential candidate.

A BJP statement said the three-member committee will consult leaders of different political parties over the presidential polls and try to evolve a consensus. The process of filing of nominations for the election begins with the notification being issued on June 14, while the last day of filing is June 28. The polling, if required, will be held on July 17.

Sources said the names of former Chief Justice of India and Kerala governor P. Sathasivam and Jharkhand Governor Draupadi Murmu were doing the rounds as presidential candidates and that of Hukum Narayan Yadav was being considered for the post of vice-president. Mr Yadav is a former socialist leader and Ms Murmu is a tribal and a woman, while Justice Sathasivam belongs to a farming family.

Many among the 17-party Opposition conglomerate who joined hands to field a candidate may support the NDA if the government fields these names.

Contest likely for Presidential poll

The Opposition parties, led by the Congress. have been saying they would field a candidate if the BJP fields a right-wing candidate with RSS links. None of these three names are linked to the RSS.

This, however, may not mean there will be no contest as the Left parties may field their own candidate for the presidential election in a rerun of 2002 when they had fielded Capt. Lakshmi Sehgal of Netajis INA against A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who was supported by the ruling NDA and most of the Opposition, including Congress. BJP sources said though the three veteran ministers will consult all political parties, the final decision will be that of Narendra Modi and Mr Shah.
Hyderabad: Accusing the state government of totally ruining the future of landless poor who were assigned lands which were then clandestinely handed over to real estate sharks and land mafia, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council Mohd. Ali Shabbir on Monday demanded a probe into a major land scam in Bandlaguda.

He said that after the Miyapur land scam, the Bandlaguda scam in the state capital has exposed the nefarious deals of the TRS leadership with the land mafia.

In an open letter to the Chief Minister, he demanded a fair inquiry and also directions to the Revenue authorities to take immediate possession of the land in compliance of the earlier orders of the High Court.

He said the Miyapur land scam had exposed a massive loss of revenue of over Rs 15,000 crore. Now with Bandlaguda scam, the loss could be much more, Mr Shabbir Ali added.

He said that Bandlaguda scam pertains to approximately 79-04 acres in survey Nos. 103/12, 103/15, 103/17, 103/18, 103/19 and 103/20/1 at Bandlaguda Khalsa village of Bandlaguda mandal.

Pride India Developers promoted the Mahavir Institute of Science & Technology on government land without statutory permissions from GHMC for constructing the building and nala conversion from the revenue authorities concerned, Mr Shabbir Ali said in the letter.

As per the details of the case, about 79.04 acres of land had been resumed by the government as surplus land under Section 10(6) of ULC Act and handed over to tahsildar, Bandlaguda who took possession of the said land.

Later, land sharks with political clout violated the order of special officer and competent authority, ULC, Hyderabad, he wrote.

Why did the government remain a mute spectator when vested interests promoted an engineering college on the state-owned land? Mr Shabbir Ali asked.

He said Pride India developers sold the encroached land by making layouts without obtaining permissions.
Hyderabad: The Telangana state government is planning massive transfers soon to check corrupt officials.

It was found that most of the officials working in key revenue-earning departments like commercial taxes, excise, stamps and registration etc had been holding the same posts for more than five years and they had formed a network with unscrupulous elements to siphon off government funds.

As per norms, the officials and staff working in revenue earning departments should not be allowed to work at a single place for more than two-and-a-half years.

But there are instances of officials and staff working at the same place for more than five years, exerting political pressure and also putting pressure on employees unions.

Recent incidents of officials and staff siphoning off government funds paid by the public for various taxes and fees has become a cause of serious concern for the TS government. The transfers will be done in the next 15 days.

The commercial taxes scam in Bodhan, land registration scam in Miyapur, and the second vehicle registration scam in RTA Hyderabad came to light within a few months recently when officials and staff colluded with private individuals and brokers, resorting to irregularities and siphoning off public money, causing huge embarrassment to the state government.

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao took a serious view of the issue and directed ministers and heads of departments concerned to take corrective measures immediately to prevent recurrence of such scams in future. Deputy CM and revenue minister Mohd Mahmood Ali on Monday held a meeting with senior revenue and registration officials to take stock of the Miyapur land registration scam.

He directed officials to identify those officials and staff who were working at the same place for over two years and transfer them immediately.

We have also decided to remove certain discretionary powers accorded to officials of revenue and stamps and registrations department to prevent such scams occurring in future. The departments will be streamlined soon, he added.

Orders were also issued to commercial taxes and excise departments to identify officials and staff working for over two years at the same place so that they can be transferred immediately.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (3rd L), leaders of other Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states and prime ministers of India and Pakistan pose for a group photo during the 17th meeting of Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana, Kazakhstan, June 9, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

At this year's summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, South Asian neighbors India and Pakistan were formally inducted as members by President Xi Jinping.

Xi declared, "Firmly committed to the Shanghai Spirit, SCO member states are making solid progress in building a community of shared future, thus establishing a fine example of the new type of international relations featuring win-win cooperation. In this context, today we are going to admit India and Pakistan as new member states of the SCO."

Geographically, SCO now represents three-fifths of Eurasia and provides an umbrella for half the world's population. Starting out in 1996 as the "Shanghai Five," today SCO members are also linked with the Belt and Road Initiative, a global mega-project.

Recently, there has been concern that including India and Pakistan will prove counter-productive, as they are regarded as bringing them the baggage of decades-old grudges; still there is no reason why past issues cannot be resolved. In the past, SCO has managed differences between members through dialogue, so it has the dynamics and the experience.

The SCO platform brings India and Pakistan closer in accordance with the "Shanghai Spirit." While the resolution of bilateral issues may take a while, but membership of the SCO is a significant game-changer for South Asia.

As observed by Professor Zhang Li, director of Sichuan University's Center of Afghan and Regional Security Studies, "The SCO will undoubtedly help India and Pakistan narrow their differences in perceiving [their mutual interest in] some important regional issues, including terrorism, border management and physical connectivity [] increasing mutual trust and even reconciling their respective policy approaches to regional security challenges."

At the very least, adherence to the SCO Charter will bind both nations. Article 1, for example, states the main goals as being to jointly counter separatism and terrorism in all manifestations, enhance regional cooperation in politics, trade, economy and defense, as well as working together to prevent international conflicts and achieve their peaceful settlement.

Meanwhile, Article 2 specifies adherence to the basic principles of mutual respect of sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and inviolability of borders, observing non-aggression, non-interference in internal affairs, abstaining from the use of force or threats in international relations, non-pursuance of unilateral military superiority in adjacent areas; working towards peaceful settlement of disputes between the members; implementing the obligations mentioned in the Charter and other documents adopted within the framework of SCO.

Not only that, members have to mutually agree to reduce their armed forces in border areas to gain mutual trust; thus, the SCO Charter is the key to solving longstanding hostility between the two South Asian powers through dialogue and confidence-building measures.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying has already stated, "[We] hope India and Pakistan strictly follow the charter of the SCO and the idea of good neighborliness, uphold the SCO spirit, improve their relations and inject new impetus to the [organization's] development."

Another area of concern is terrorism that most countries now face in some form; hence, there is room for security pacts, joint counter-terrorism, exchange of intelligence, joint military drills and exercises under SCO auspices. Having said that, it is not visualized as a "military bloc" for now, as the group works in adherence to international laws and the UN Charter.

As the Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the summit: "The role of the regional anti-terrorist structure of the SCO is growing, and an important step in strengthening the legal framework of its activities is the convention on countering extremism." For the record, Pakistan was the very first country outside the original consortium applying for membership, and it also played an intrinsic role in the launching of the Belt and Road Initiative as the flagship trade corridor, the CPEC, runs through the length and breadth of the country and is a major transport route for Central Asian exports.

Pakistan foresees no impediments to furthering the vision and aims of the SCO; instead it is an opportunity to share its expertise in counter-terrorism and participate in military, trade and technical ventures. All this was possible due to mutual trust and the exemplary brotherly relations between China and Pakistan.

At the summit, the next five-year development strategy of the SCO Interbank Consortium (IBC) was formalized to work in tandem with the Silk Road Fund to provide financing and banking services for Belt and Road countries. Welcoming the new members, SCO Secretary-General Rashid Alimov said the expansion would provide greater financial advantages.

"The admission of these two powers, which are respected not only in the region but also the whole world, will certainly strengthen the SCO and broaden its potential and capability. This will also have a positive effect on the SCO IBC, which is an effective instrument of banking, financial and investment cooperation within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization," he said.

Sabena Siddiqui (Twitter: @sabena_siddiqi) is a foreign affairs journalist and lawyer based in Pakistan.
Hyderabad: The Telangana state government created a record on Monday by opening 169 residential schools in a single day for students from SC, ST, BC and minority categories.

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao congratulated the officials concerned for their efforts in successfully launching the new schools on the very first day of the new academic year on Monday.

Mr Rao said 169 schools were opened out of the planned 255 schools across the state, aimed at imparting free quality education on par with corporate schools for SC/ST/BC and minority students.

He called upon the students who joined these schools to take inspiration from Mahatma Jyotirao Phule and Babasaheb Ambedkar and come up in life.

He said he is happy that as per the promise given in the election manifesto, the KG-to-PG free education for the weaker and backward section children has begun with the starting of residential schools.

He said that before the formation of the state there were only 259 residential schools for SC/ST/BC and minorities. Now within the three years, the Telangana government has increased the number to 527. He said the government will soon increase these schools to 786.

Half of the residential schools are exclusively meant for girls  to encourage them, provide facilities and protection.

The government will be spending Rs 1.25 lakh per year on each student on an average.

He said that in the government residential schools, education, meals and boarding is given to the students for free.

The CM said that his aim is to enable even the poor student to get quality education and attain higher positions in society.

He said that the government has started residential schools in a big way with English as the medium of instruction so that students who passed out of these institutions could compete with others in the country.

The CM also said that students who passed out of the social welfare residential schools are getting good ranks in the entrance tests like the Eamcet, IIT and getting into prestigious institutions in the country.
Thrissur: The Kerala State Meat and Cattle Merchants Association has decided to step up its protest against the central notification restricting cattle trade. The association will decide its future course of action after the Supreme Court delivers its verdict on the plea challenging the notification on Thursday. The district unit of the association held a special convention on Monday. The association leaders had handed over a memorandum to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan last week to counter the notification that had adversely affected their livelihood.

Only aged cows are taken for slaughter and the notification restricting cattle trade will affect traders, workers and the farmers. Like in the case of chicken trade, were are ready to pay tax for the cattle brought from other states, association state president P. Paramarajan told DC. If tax was paid at the check posts, the traders would not face issues from the police or the cow vigilantes, he said. The movement of the cattle to the state is gradually improving. At the Vaniyamkulam cattle market in Palakkad on Monday, more trucks carrying cattle were brought compared to the previous market day. On the first week of June, the number of trucks coming to Vaniyamkulam was reduced to 15 from the normal 80. On the four market days in a week, more than 20,000 cattle reach different cattle markets in Kerala. The numbers have gone down by half now, the association members said.
Kochi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the commercial operations of the Kochi Metro in the 13 km-long Aluva-Palarivattom section at a function to be held at the Kaloor Jawaharlal Nehru stadium at 11 am on June 17. Mr Modi will also board the train from Palarivattom and travel till Pathadipalam and back along with other dignitaries. The ride will be taken before the official launch at 11 am, a metro spokesperson said.

Mr Modi will fly down to the Naval airport at Willingdon Island on Saturday morning and then proceed to the stadium. Nearly 3,500 invited guests are expected to take part in the inauguration event. A fool-proof security will be deployed at the venue and the route and a high level meet of security agencies is scheduled at Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday to finalise the security plan.
Thiruvananthapuram: Former chief minister Oommen Chandy has written to Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Sasikanth Sarma citing lapses in the report against the Vizhinjam international seaport project deal.

The letter says some points raised in the report were not accurate. It alleges that there has been some external interference of those opposing the project in the CAG report.

Mr Chandy also argued that the explanations given by the government to the query from the CAG for preparing the audit report had not been included in the report.

He pointed out that the CAG was not ready to compare the project report of the previous LDF government led by V. S. Achuthanandan with the present one.

He said the CAG report was repeating the criticism in an article published two years ago in a leading magazine by R. Thulasidharan Pillai, who was an external consultant assigned by the Accountant-General for its audit.

The article has mentioned that the concession period for the project being extended to 40 years instead of 30 will incur massive losses to the state government.

The International Finance Corporation, which was appointed by the state government in 2009 as a consultant on the Vizhinjam transhipment container terminal, had recommended 30 years to finish the project.

Mr Chandy explained that the Union government was ready to provide a viability gap fund because there was a report that it would incur losses. The extra concession period was granted to Adani taking this fact into consideration.

Meanwhile, the CAG on Sunday summoned officials who prepared the report based on a complaint filed by the additional chief secretary in charge of ports James Varghese. He alleges that the report was one-sided.
Panneerselvams announcement of disbanding the committee to negotiate the merger came just hours after Lok Sabha deputy speaker M. Thambidurai expressed confidence that both the factions would merge soon.

Chennai: In yet another twist to the never ending merger saga, former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam on Sunday announced the disbanding of the merger committee of his faction of AIADMK for negotiating a merger with the ruling AIADMK led by his successor Edappadi K Palaniswami.

Addressing a public meeting at suburban Thiruverkadu late Sunday evening, Panneerselvam said there was no need for such a committee since people do not want a merger of both factions.

The people of Tamil Nadu are not desiring such merger initiatives. We have the support of the people and they want us to fight alone. So, I have disbanded the committee formed to negotiate merger talks with immediate effect, Mr Panneerselvam told the public meeting.

His comments assume significance in the wake of a three-way split in the AIADMK with more than 30 MLAs owing allegiance to partys deputy general secretary TTV Dhinakaran and the Edappadi Palaniswami faction pushing for the merger with OPS faction.

Panneerselvams announcement of disbanding the committee to negotiate the merger came just hours after Lok Sabha deputy speaker M. Thambidurai expressed confidence that both the factions would merge soon. Mr. Panneerselvam has told me that he is keen on merger, he told reporters in Krishnagiri on Sunday.

At the public meeting, Mr Panneerselvam alleged that the ruling AIADMK was presently under the control of one single family and the party should be retrieved.

He also reiterated the demand for CBI probe in the mysterious death of late Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa. The official twitter account of Panneerselvam @OfficeOfOPS also tweeted his announcement of disbanding the panel.

The merger of the two factions has been a mystery since no talks took place publicly. Ever since both factions named representatives to the committee, there has been public criticism of each other and imposing of conditions in the public domain and before the media. Both factions had exchanged barbs against each other for the past few months.
Thiruvananthapuram: Tripura has expressed solidarity with the state on its opposition to the Centre's cattle trade restrictions.

Manik Sarkar in reply to the chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan's letter said Tripura agreed to the demand for calling chief ministers' meeting to discuss the issue.

Mr Vijayan had written to all chief ministers saying the restrictions would adversely affect the livelihood of the millions of people, especially the agriculture sector.

Mr Sarkar pointed out that many states shared similar anxieties and perspectives.

The convening of such a meeting is essential to highlight the anti-democratic and anti-federalist stand of the Union, he said.

Mr Vijayan had urged the chief ministers of other states to support the fight against Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017 issued on May 23, 2017, by the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change.

Karnataka chief minister K. Siddaramaiah had earlier come out against it saying it was not mandatory to follow every notification from the Centre and made it clear that it was a state subject.

Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee had also come out against the Centre. However, they are yet to respond to Mr Vijayans letter seeking support for a joint action on the issue.
Patna: In a sharp reaction to BJPs demand for holding an early election in the state, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said he was ready to face polls if only BJP agrees to dissolve the assembly in Uttar Pradesh.

The statement was made in reaction to Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya who had dared Bihar CM to accept his challenge for early assembly elections in Bihar.

Mr Maurya during his speech had said that your alliance with Lalu Yadav is apavitra (impure) and causing hurdles in the development of the state. Mr Maurya had further said that things were different when you were with BJP, leave the alliance now as people are not happy with the performance.

Mr Maurya who was on a two-day tour of Bihar to highlight the achievements of BJP led NDA government at the centre had raised questions on the performance of Nitish Kumar-led grand secular alliance government in Bihar on Sunday.

I am ready if election is held simultaneously in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, If they have the guts then they should come forward, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on the sidelines of his Samvad programme in Patna on Monday.

Mr Kumar further said that members of NDA should resign and face fresh elections on all Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar if they have guts.

Party sources said that Nitish Kumar had not expected remark of this sort from a BJP leader who had telephoned him before attending the political function in Patna.

RJD Chief Lalu Yadav who celebrated his 70th birthday on Sunday had said, grand secular alliance in Bihar is intact and BJP has failed in their efforts to break this alliance".
Warangal: While the chilli farmers in the state are suffering due to the lack of minimum support price, the BJP and TRS are playing cat and mouse with each other instead of working towards finding a solution to their woes, said TPCC president Uttam Kumar Reddy. He was at Bhupalapalli on Saturday to extend support to senior Congress leader Gandra Venkata Ramana Reddy who has embarked on fast unto death demanding respite to the chilli farmers since three days.

On Friday midnight, the police forcefully shifted Mr Ramana Reddy to the hospital. In protest, the Congress called for a bandh in Bhupalapalli on Friday. Mr Reddy and other party leaders arrived in Bhupalapalli and met him at the hospital.
There is delicious irony in Indias participation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit held in Astana, Kazakhstan, recently for the first time as a full member. It came at Moscows initiative, but China made sure that its all-weather friend Pakistan was given similar status. China now assumes the presidency of the SCO for its next summit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his points against the evils of terrorism and extremism, but the SCO was founded 15 years ago with the aim of fighting three evils, terrorism, separatism and extremism. In reality, the SCO was searching for a role commensurate with Beijings dreams and a measure of Russian wariness in its own borderland backyard. Initially, the original members of the SCO were taken up with such issues as the demarcation of borders of the former Soviet republics among themselves and with China. There was obvious geopolitical play between Moscow and Beijing because the former was cautious about the latter undertaking bilateral deals. After the SCO completed its immediate task, there was vagueness about the organisation turning its attention to combating the three broad areas it had envisaged. And then, as manna from heaven for China, the Astana summit came after the high-powered Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) summit in China attended by 50 heads of state. And the SCO, Beijing decided, was the ideal forum to further the Chinese cause in developing its BRI promotion of a Chinese arc of influence through bountiful resources and surplus production capacity, In fact, President Xi Jinpings spokesmen made a point of suggesting that the summit was in the spirit of BRI.

Where does India fit into this jigsaw puzzle? Mr Modi was a singular absentee at the Chinese BRI summit, for good reasons. The Chinese eastern corridor, part of an agreement with Islamabad, passes through Pakistan-occipied Kashmir. In any event, since the Chinese projects will take decades to become reality, there is plenty of time to reassess the shape they will take. Is India then an odd man out in its role as a full member? First, it is good to be in, rather than out of, an organisation that touches national interests. Interestingly, India gave a positive spin to Mr Modis meeting with President Xi on the sidelines, with issues such as Beijings opposition to New Delhi joining the Nuclear Suppliers Group still hanging in the air. While Moscow hopes to buttress the close relationship with India, particularly in defence, India can play its hand in an increasingly complex milieu of conflicting geopolitical conflicts. In a sense, SCO will play a role in defining latent Russian-Chinese tension. Iran is an observer in the SCO but is unlikely to become a member soon. Indias desire to interact more closely with Central Asia is frustrated by Pakistans refusal to open its borders to through trade. This stalemate will continue. But the SCO could prove useful in providing a window on Chinas future policies in furthering its ambition of shaping a future Chinese-centric Asia. It is useful to note that China immediately grasped the opportunity of leading the climate change debate after President Donald Trump withdrew his country from the Paris climate agreement. And Beijing will make full use of the US quitting the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal of largely East Asian countries while keeping China out.

Indias full membership of the SCO will have other consequences. There is little doubt that China is in an expansionist mood and will fully exploit the Trump era, however short it might be, to look inward, rather than play its allotted role as the protector of the Western world and its safety as that of Asia and the wider world in the post-World War II scenario. India has a more modest and important role to play in safeguarding its interests in its immediate neighbourhood and further afield in Asia and the Pacific. Despite President Trumps unpredictability, there is no substitute for the close Indo-US relationship. And recent developments point to a closer relationship with Japan and Australia. As far immediate neighbours are concerned, except for Pakistan, they must decide for themselves where their interests are. They did attend the BRI summit. Chinas ability to realise its expansive dreams will depend upon a host of factors, among them the phase of instability administered by the Trump administration, the future shape of the European Union and Moscows ability to surmount its travails enhanced by Western sanctions.

India must plough its own course taking into consideration its troubled relationships close to home, brushing up the ties with the US, reaching out to a closer relationship with the European Union and keeping ties with Russia in good repair. The SCO is another instrument that can be employed to achieve a balanced setting in an unbalanced world. India had an easier task in charting its course after independence. Much has changed in the world, with the disappearance of the Soviet Union, the reunification of Germany, which has emerged as the mightiest state in the European Union, and now the turning inward of the most powerful nation which has enjoyed the status of the sole superpower. American strategists are suggesting that their country passes through 20-year cycles, with an outward-looking policy alternating with an urge to look inward. What is self-evident is that the world cannot wait another 20 years to find out. Indeed, the next decade will be important in determining how the future will look like. For India, there is the problem of coping with a changing world while keeping the domestic scene as sane as possible. The ruling BJPs target of changing the idea of India to its own conflicted ideology means that the domestic pot will keep simmering, even if it does not come to the boil. The need of the hour is to avoid divisions at home to cope with a chaotic world.
Finnish company Nokia has confirmed a media event in India tomorrow. HMD Global, which owns the rights to market Nokia branded phones, had sent out press invites earlier this month for a Nokia event on June 13, in New Delhi, but never confirmed what it would be about. Late last week, the firm confirmed the event has been set to unveil the much-awaited Android-powered Nokia smartphonesNokia 6, 5 and 3 to Indian market.

Also read: Nokia 6, 5, 3 to debut in India today; prices leaked ahead of launch

The trio devices were globally unveiled at the Mobile World Conference (MWC) held in Barcelona in February, and according to a report by Nokiapowerusers the Nokia 3 could have a price tag of Rs 9,000; Nokia 5 will be around Rs 12,000 and Nokia 6 may cost Rs 15,000 here in India.

To recall, Nokia 6 features a 5.5-inch (1920 x 1080) display, powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 SoC, coupled with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage, which can further be expanded via microSD card, a 16MP rear camera and an 8MP front camera.

The Nokia 5 features a 5.3-inch HD display protected by Corning Gorilla Glass, runs on Qualcomms Snapdragon 430 processor and Adreno 505 GPU, coupled with 2GB RAM and have 16GB storage option, 13MP rear camera, and an 8MP front camera. It will be available in four colours  Matte Black, Silver, Tempered Blue, and Copper.

The entry-level Nokia 3 features a 5-inch display protected by Corning Gorilla Glass, powered by MediaTek MTK 6737, coupled with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage. The front and rear camera have both 8MP sensors. The device will feature four coloursSilver White, Matte Black, Tempered Blue and Copper White.

All of the Nokia smartphones will run on the latest version of Android Nougat 7.1.1. Once launched, the Nokia line-up could pose a strong threat to the mid-range offerings from Samsung, Xiaomi, Lenovo-Moto, and HTC.

Stay tuned for more information about the devices on 13th June.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.
Samsungs mid-range smartphone Galaxy A9 Pro has been tipped to receive the Android Nougat update soon. The device  which was launched in May 2016 with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow out-of-the-box  was recently spotted on Geekbench and GFXBench running the latest Android Nougat OS. This has led many to believe that Samsung has commenced software testing on the Galaxy A9 Pro smartphone.

In any case, if the Galaxy A9 Pro does receive the Nougat update, it will be the original v7.0 and not the latest v7.1.1. Nonetheless, the smartphone has been confirmed to receive all major updates with the latest Google June security patch.

The latest Android Nougat update will bring several new features such as night mode, bundled notification, improved battery optimisation, multi-window options and more. Samsung is also believed to incorporate custom features of its own to the software including the Always On Display that lets users change the clock colour, enhanced accessibility, lock screen personalisation option to improve notifications on display, card dynamic adjustment of display size, revamped calendar app, new font option for titles among other new features.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.
One man openly smoking a cigarette -- this is also deemed unacceptable during Ramadan daylight hours -- held a placard in French that asked: "Why does it bother you if you fast and I eat?" (Photo: AFP)

Tunis: Dozens of Tunisians demonstrated on Sunday to demand the right to eat and drink in public during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan and to protest against non-fasters being arrested.

There is no law against eating or drinking in public during Ramadan, but every year the issue comes to the fore in the North African country. Tunisia's constitution guarantees "freedom of belief and conscience", but the state is also the "guardian of religion".

Following a call by the "Mouch Bessif" (Arabic for "Not against our will") group, protesters in central Tunis shouted that "Individual freedom is guaranteed by the constitution!"

One man openly smoking a cigarette -- this is also deemed unacceptable during Ramadan daylight hours -- held a placard in French that asked: "Why does it bother you if you fast and I eat?"

Demonstrators also protested against the arrest of people who were not fasting.

At the beginning of June, four men were sentenced to a month in jail for "public indecency" after eating outside during daylight.

"We're protesting about lawsuits against non-fasters... Whoever wants to fast can fast, but whoever doesn't want to shouldn't have to," demonstrator Karim Chair said. Since the 2011 revolution there have been calls for the right not to fast, but this was the first time such a demonstration has taken place in Tunisia.

"I fast but I came to join this protest and call with these people for respect for the freedom of belief and conscience," said another demonstrator, Kamel Jalouli. Most cafes and restaurants in Tunisia close during the day in Ramadan, and those that open do so discreetly.

As this year's fasting month began, a media-oriented preacher went round cafes, open during the day, to record footage of clients and shames them in a move that was heavily criticised on social networks.
Preet Bharara, the India-born former top US federal prosecutor, has revealed that he was sacked by President Donald Trump after receiving several unusual phone calls from him.

Mr Bharara told ABC News This Week that he felt the calls from Mr Trump had crossed the usual boundary separating the executive branch and independent criminal investigators. Mr Bharara said he had been fired after refusing to take a third call.

The number of times that President Obama called me in seven and a half years was zero, he said.The number of times I would have been expected to be called by the President of the United States would be zero because there has to be some kind of arms-length relationship given the jurisdiction that various people had.

The former top federal prosecutor in Manhattan also said that there was enough evidence to begin an obstruction of justice case against Mr Trump over his alleged interference in the Russia probe.

He alleged that before firing him, Mr Trump had tried to cultivate relationship with him and that the pattern was similar to that of sacked FBI director James Comey.

Mr Bharara was one of the 45 attorneys who were asked to resign earlier this year by the Trump administration.I think theres absolutely evidence to begin a case (against Trump). I think its very important for all sorts of armchair speculators in the law to be clear that no one knows right now whether there is a provable case of obstruction, he told ABC News.

Its also true I think from based on what I see as a third party and out of government that theres no basis to say theres no obstruction, he said in his first television interview after being fired.

His remarks come after Mr Comey testified on Thursday that Mr Trump asked him to drop an investigation involving former national security adviser Michael Flynn as part of the probe into Russias alleged meddling in the 2016 US polls.

Mr Bharara said, at this point, on whether or not the President has legal authority to fire or to direct an investigation, he does really get it.Its a little silly to me. The fact that you have authority to remove someone from office doesnt automatically immunise that act from criminal responsibility, the 48-year-old attorney argued.

Coming out in defence of Mr Comey, Mr Bharara said nothing in the memo or in the conversations that the sacked FBI chief had with his friend at Columbia Law School was classified.
Visitors look at the booth of BrahMos, the India-Russia joint venture, during " MAST Asia", Japan's international arms exhibit, supported by Japanese government, in Chiba, near Tokyo. The three-day exhibit, second since Japans 2014 easing of arms export rules, began Monday near Tokyo. (Photo: AP)

Makuhari (Japan): A Japanese defense official says Japan is seeking to increase its sales of military equipment to Southeast Asian nations amid growing tensions with China and North Korea.

Hideaki Watanabe, head of the Defense Ministry's Acquisition Technology and Logistics Agency, says Japan will host a meeting Thursday with defense officials

from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to discuss the sharing of equipment and technology.

He spoke Monday at an international arms exhibit near Tokyo that was attended by defense officials from around the world.

Watanabe said there have been aggressive attempts by nations in recent years to change the status quo, in an apparent reference to China's building of artificial islands in disputed areas of the South China Sea.

"It is essential to maintain the open and stable sea under the rule of law," he said. "Ensuring safety of navigation and flight contributes to the peace and prosperity of Japan and the international society. Japan's research and development of high-quality defense equipment contributes to the defense of Japan and elsewhere."

Japan's defense industry at home is worth about 1.8 trillion yen ($16 billion) annually, a fraction of the country's 52 trillion yen ($470 billion) auto industry.

Japan had restricted arms exports under its postwar war-renouncing constitution, limiting joint research and development to the US under a bilateral security pact. Since the 2014 easing of the rules, Japan now has joint research deals with Britain, Australia and France.

In order to scale up the defense industry, Japan's government has bolstered research funding to more than 10 billion yen ($90 million) this year.

Japan has been promoting the transfer of defense equipment to Southeast Asian countries to help their maritime security capabilities amid China's growing presence in the South China Sea, but deals have been limited to the sale of TC-90 surveillance aircraft to the Philippines.

China already exports mostly low-cost military equipment to many Southeast Asian countries.

The arms exhibit included panel discussions focused on missile defense. North Korea has conducted several missile tests this year.
"Dozens of homes have collapsed and village roads are blocked," regional fire service supervisor Marios Apostolides told ERT. (Representatioanl image)

Athens: At least 10 people were hurt when a strong 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck the Aegean coast of western Turkey and the Greek islands of Lesbos and Chios on Monday, Greece's ERT state TV reported.

The broadcaster said ten people were injured in the village of Vrisa on the island of Lesbos, where a number of old homes collapsed.

"Dozens of homes have collapsed and village roads are blocked," regional fire service supervisor Marios Apostolides told ERT.

"We are trying to disengage a woman trapped in debris" in Vrisa, he said, adding that this area was hit hardest by the quake.

The US Geological Survey said the epicentre of the quake was in the Aegean sea 11 kilometres (6.8 miles) south of Plomari, a village on the southern coast of Lesbos, and there were several aftershocks.

Plomari Mayor Manolis Armenakas told ERT that "We have damage to several buildings, old and new. We are now evaluating the damage."

Reports said the quake was also strongly felt in the Karaburun district of Turkey's Izmir Province, as well as in Athens, Greece. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties in Turkey.

AFP reporters in Izmir, Turkey's third-largest city, said the earthquake was felt in the city centre and caused alarm among residents.

Turkey and Greece sit on significant fault lines and have regularly been hit by earthquakes in recent years.

This year alone, Turkey's western Aegean coast was hit by several earthquakes of up to 5.5 magnitude, which brought back memories of past deadly earthquakes.

On August 17, 1999, a huge earthquake measuring more than 7.0 magnitude near the city of Izmit devastated vast zones in the country's densely populated northwestern zone, notably around Istanbul, killing over 17,000 people.
Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday apologised to Tory MPs for the partys election performance, telling them I got us into this mess Ill get us out of it.

Ms May was greeted with table banging and a brief cheer at the closed-door meeting of the party MPs. Ms May reportedly told her MPs she will be their leader for as long as they want her to. One senior backbencher told the BBC that Ms May had appeared contrite and genuine but not on her knees.

The session had originally been scheduled for Tuesday, but was brought forward a day so that Ms May could explain the status of her efforts to ally with Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party before any deal is finalised.

The meeting comes amid reports that the British government will delay by a few days the presentation of its programme in parliament following its setback in the general election last week.

The pageantry-filled ceremony, officially the State Opening of Parliament but more commonly known as the Queens Speech, is an outline of the governments policy proposal read by Queen Elizabeth II. It had been set for June 19.

Strange ways of the British
Dozens of suspects have been arrested since the attacks on Wednesday killed 17 people in the first assault in Iran to be claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group. (Photo: AP/Representational)

Tehran: Iran has tracked down and killed several suspected jihadists including the alleged mastermind of twin attacks in Tehran last week, a security official and a minister have said.

Dozens of suspects have been arrested since the attacks on Wednesday killed 17 people in the first assault in Iran to be claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group.

Police late Sunday killed four ISIS suspects in the southern province of Hormozgan, the ISNA news agency on Monday reported police chief Azizollah Maleki as saying.

"Two of the killed criminals were foreign nationals... while the identity of other members is being investigated," Maleki said, adding that weapons and an IS flag were seized during the raid.

Iran has said five Iranians, who had joined IS and travelled to its Iraq and Syria bastions, carried out Wednesday's attacks on the parliament and the shrine of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Late Saturday, Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said the alleged mastermind behind the attacks had been tracked down and killed outside the country.

"The mastermind who controlled the team... who had fled outside the country... paid the price for his crimes, with the cooperation of intelligence services of allied countries," Alavi told state television, without providing further details.

At least 41 IS suspects have been arrested since the attacks, according to Alavi, who said Iran has dismantled suspected jihadist cells with increasing frequency in recent months.

In the entire year to March 2017 "we dismantled 45 cells, while in the past two-and-a-half months alone we have dismantled more than 25 terrorist cells," he said.

Officials have reported the arrests of suspected IS members in and around Tehran, as well as in the country's centre, southern governorates, and western provinces near the Iraqi border.
The new flights have increased Iranian air traffic by 17 per cent, the official state news agency has reported. (Photo: AP/Representational)

Tehran: Iran has sent five planes of food to Qatar, Irans national carrier told on Sunday, days after Gulf countries cut off air and other transport links to the emirate.

So far five planes carrying perishable food items such as fruit and vegetables have been sent to Qatar, each carrying around 90 tonnes of cargo, while another plane will be sent today, Iran Air spokesman Shahrokh Noushabadi said. We will continue deliveries as long as there is demand from Qatar, Noushabadi added, without mentioning if these deliveries were exports or aid.

Three ships loaded with 350 tonnes of food were also set to leave an Iranian port for Qatar, the Tasnim news agency quoted a local official as saying. The port of Dayyer is Irans closest port to Qatar.

In the biggest diplomatic crisis in the region in years, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, plus Egypt and Yemen, on Monday announced they were cutting all ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting extremism.

Iran has urged Qatar and neighbouring Gulf countries to engage in dialogue to resolve their dispute. The Islamic republic has also opened its airspace to about 100 more Qatari flights a day, after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates banned Qatari planes from their airpace.

The new flights have increased Iranian air traffic by 17 per cent, the official state news agency has reported.
Dubai: The political crisis engulfing Qatar stems from accusations by its Arab neighbours that it supports terrorism.

Qatar denies the allegations, but its ties with Iran and embrace of various Islamist groups have brought intense scrutiny, made it a regional outlier and created enough smoke to suggest a fire.

Last week, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed ties with Qatar amid a slew of punitive measures. On Friday, the four Arab states upped the pressure by naming 59 people and several charities linked to Qatar on a terrorist list.

Governments across the region routinely cite terrorism as justification to clamp down on political opposition and rights activists. Some groups Qatar has backed such as the Muslim Brotherhood are seen by many as a legitimate political force.

Others, including some hard-line Sunni rebel factions in Syria, are not that different ideologically from groups that Saudi Arabia backs there.

Here's a look at the various groups Qatar's accused of supporting and its relationship with them:

Al-Qaida and Islamic State Group:

Qatar's Arab neighbors have accused it of backing al-Qaida and the Islamic State group's ideology across the region, from Syria to the Sinai Peninsula. Experts and groups in Syria say Qatari finances have indirectly propped up militant groups.

Similar accusations were leveled at Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries in the early days of Syria's 2011 uprising, but experts say these governments amended their official stances and financing laws.

Some express concern that the row between Saudi Arabia and Qatar could undermine all finances to the Syrian opposition where, on the ground, the lines are blurred over which groups cooperate with radicals.

Hassan Hassan, a Syria expert, said Qatar has never supported al-Qaida or IS directly. However, he said Qatar has supported Ahrar al-Sham, whose founders are linked to al-Qaida. For its part, Saudi Arabia once hosted members of Ahrar al-Sham at a Syrian opposition conference in its capital.

Muslim brotherhood, A polarizing force:

The Islamist Sunni group remains one of the region's most polarizing. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt view it as a direct threat to their rule and deem it a destabilizing force. However, the Brotherhood's offshoots remain active in Jordan and Tunisia.

The Brotherhood was elected to power in Egypt after protests toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and Qatar aided the Brotherhood-led government in Cairo with billions of dollars. It was a key supporter of the group's offshoots in Syria and Libya.

Qatar argues it supported Egypt as a whole, and not one particular faction, when the Brotherhood was in power. Egypt's military ousted the Brotherhood and unleashed a lethal crackdown against its members amid mass protests in 2013.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt outlawed the group and branded it a terrorist organization, accusing it of plotting attacks. Brotherhood affiliates in the Gulf have been arrested.

Gulf monarchies also accuse Qatar of providing financial support, a safe haven and even citizenship to Islamist opposition figures from their countries.

Hamas, The ruler of Gaza:

The Palestinian group, an offshoot of Egypt's Brotherhood, is considered a terrorist organization by Israel and its Western allies. The group, which rules the Gaza Strip, has fought three wars with Israel and is seen by some in the Arab world as an armed resistance force against Israeli occupation. Saudi Arabia says Qatar must sever ties with Hamas.

Qatar has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in roads, housing and a major hospital in the Gaza Strip offering a lifeline for jobs in the devastated area that is under an Israeli-Egyptian blockade. Its support for the territory makes Qatar one of its few foreign backers.

Qatar says its work in Gaza is "purely humanitarian" and its engagement with the group has been in the context of internationally backed peace talks.

Group holding hostages for ransom:

A deal negotiated recently to release kidnapped members of Qatar's ruling family has been a source of anxiety for Gulf leaders, particularly in Saudi Arabia, which views Iran as its top adversary.

Qatar reportedly paid hundreds of millions of dollars to an Iranian-backed Shiite militia that had kidnapped the 26 hostages on Dec. 16, 2015 from a desert camp for falcon hunters in southern Iraq.

Egypt has asked the UN Security Council to investigate reports that Qatar "paid up to USD 1 billion to a terrorist group active in Iraq" to free the hostages, which would violate UN sanctions.

Qatar says it only supported the Iraqi government financially for its efforts in the release of hostages, and that it did not deal with armed groups there. The deal also allegedly resulted in the evacuation of residents of predominantly Shiite villages in Syria, where Iran's proxies hold sway.

Several people close to the negotiations say Qatar also paid a hefty sum to Islamist groups in Syria, including one linked to al-Qaida, for the evacuation of the residents. They told The Associated Press that the talks were probably the region's most complex and sensitive hostage deal.

Iran, The Shiite Powerhouse:

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain accuse Qatar of supporting Shiite militant groups in both countries. Violence has increased in recent weeks between militants and Saudi security forces in a predominantly Shiite town in the country's east.

In Bahrain, the Sunni-led monarchy crushed an uprising by majority Shiites there in 2011 and continues to crack down on peaceful dissent. Bahraini security forces have since been targeted by local Shiite militants.

Saudi Arabia has also accused Qatar of backing Iranian-allied rebels in Yemen, known as Houthis. However, Qatar was a member of a Saudi-led coalition bombing the Houthis in Yemen.

Experts say there is no evidence to support the claims, but that the accusations appear to stem from negotiations for a transfer of power in Yemen in 2012.

Qatar and Saudi Arabia were in disagreement over how to go about it, and Qatar was accused of trying to sabotage a Saudi-led initiative by working with Houthis.

Qatar's ambassador in Washington Meshal bin Hamad Al Thani has said that while the country has ties with Iran and shares with it a vast underwater natural gas field its stance is similar to that of other Gulf Arab states.
Islamabad: Chastened by the ISIS's claim to have killed two kidnapped Chinese teachers, Pakistan is beefing up security around Chinese citizens streaming into the country on the back of Beijing's "Belt and Road" infrastructure splurge.

China has often urged Pakistan to improve security after pledging around $57 billion to build power plants, railways, and roads that will cross the Himalayas to connect western China with Pakistan's Arabian Sea port of Gwadar.

Pakistani officials have outlined to Reuters extensive security plans that include thousands-strong police protection forces, tighter monitoring of Chinese nationals, and in the province of Baluchistan - where the two teachers were kidnapped on May 24 - a review of security arrangements.

The protection forces will buttress a 15,000-strong army division set up specifically to safeguard projects in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiative, which has been credited with rejuvenating Pakistan's $300 billion economy.

"We are already alert, but this incident has made us extra vigilant over Chinese security," said Amin Yousafzai, deputy inspector general of police for the southern province of Sindh, which is home to about 50 million people.

Sindh is raising a protection unit of about 2,600 police officers to help safeguard 4,000 Chinese working on CPEC projects, and another 1,000 working in other businesses.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which signed billions of dollars in contracts with Chinese companies, is also conducting a census of Chinese nationals and raising a force of about 4,200 officers to protect foreigners.

Baluchistan would "review the whole security arrangement" and Chinese nationals who come in a private capacity should inform the authorities about their activities, said Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, spokesman for the provincial government.

The number of militant attacks in Pakistan has fallen sharply in recent years, but violent terrorist groups still pose a threat, and in Baluchistan separatists opposed to CPEC also carry out attacks.

The ISIS killings were a rare attack on Chinese nationals in Pakistan, but the incident has unnerved Islamabad and the growing Chinese community.

Miftah Ismail, a state minister involved in CPEC planning, said Pakistan had devoted huge resources to improving security and Chinese investors should not be put off by a one-off attack.

"The country's security situation has improved," Ismail said.

The scale of the task facing security agencies is increasing by the day as more Chinese entrepreneurs arrive to set up businesses. Most stay in big cities, but some venture into riskier areas.

The challenge for authorities will increase in 2018, when the corridor is due to become operational and trucks ferrying goods to and from China cross more than 1,000 km (620 miles) of road in remote Baluchistan areas currently off-limits to foreigners.

Protection force

The two Chinese-language teachers were kidnapped by gunmen pretending to be police, but little else is known about how the they ended up in Baluchistan's provincial capital, Quetta.

Baluchistan's government afterwards evacuated 11 other Chinese nationals based in the city. "There are no more Chinese living in Quetta", said Ahsan Mehboob, Baluchistan's inspector general of police. It was not clear why the 11 were there.

The new Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa forces resemble the Special Protection Unit (SPU) recently established by Punjab, Pakistan's biggest province, which has attracted most Chinese investment.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province was already working on plans to set up the force, but after the Quetta kidnappings the process was "accelerated", according to one regional official. Sindh was also planning to set up a force before the Quetta attack, and was now expanding it, another official said.

Punjab's SPU, dedicated to protecting Chinese nationals and other foreigners, has more than 6,000 officers and is set to grow to 10,000.

Raja Jahangir, Punjab secretary for information, said SPU chiefs hold daily meetings with intelligence agencies and police chiefs to ensure Chinese nationals stay safe, while a database has been set up to track foreigners from their arrival, to their hotels, and their departure.

Jahangir said security has been stepped up since the Quetta attacks. "Almost all personnel are on alert and they are on their toes," he said.
Pakistan has never executed anyone convicted of blasphemy.(Representational Image)

A man belonging to the minority Shia community in Pakistan has been sentenced to death by an anti-terrorism court for posting blasphemous content on Facebook, the first capital punishment handed down for blasphemy on social media in the country.

The sentence is the harshest among cyber-crime related sentences handed down so far in the country. Pakistan has never executed anyone convicted of blasphemy.

Judge Shabir Ahmed of the anti-terrorism court in Punjab provinces Bahawalpur district announced the sentence for 30- year-old Taimoor Raza on Saturday after holding him guilty of posting derogatory content on Facebook.

According to the counter terrorism department of Punjab Police, Raza, who hails from Okara, some 200 km from Lahore, was arrested last year at Bahawalpur following complaints by his co-workers that he had shared blasphemous content on Facebook.

Pakistans tough blasphemy law has attracted criticism from rights groups worldwide, who say they are frequently misused to settle personal scores.
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patras attempted to get back at NDTV for asking him to leave when the former laced them with accusations of running an agenda, but his effort backfired when he shared a tweet without verifying the source.



On Sunday, Patra shared a link of the Times of Islamabad's news story where they criticised Narendra Modi's Make in India programme, which they based on data, apparently sourced from NDTV.



Patra immediately took to sharing the tweet with a message: "Hmm...agenda!".



However, he learnt that he'd made the classic mistake of not verifying the news beforehand and ended up falling into the pit of 'Fake News' when NDTV caught wind of the tweet and promptly corrected the spokesperson by clarifying that the data was not sourced from NDTV. They also said "Fake story, also does not refer anywhere to NDTV. We are wrongly named in headline and URL. Please issue a clarification.



The tweet has since been deleted.
The BJP on Monday formed a three-member panel of senior union ministers to hold consultations with other parties for reaching out "consensus" on the Presidential candidate with the filling of nominations to begin from June 14.



The committee, comprising Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and M Venkaiah Naidu, will "consult leaders of different political parties over the presidential poll and try to evolve a consensus," the BJP said in a statement released on Monday. With the BJP constituting its panel, it has scotched buzz about one of the ministers being in the race for Rashtrapati Bhavan. Though, the vice president election is still open.



In view of the Presidential election, BJP president Amit Shah has postponed a planned visit to Arunachal Pradesh. The BJP is also likely to defer its national executive meeting at Visakhapatnam, scheduled for July 15-July 16, for the same reason.



Party sources said though internal meetings are taking place on securing numbers required for the presidential elections, about the choice of candidate only Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah are aware. Outside structured consultations have not taken place so far, added party sources.



The last date for filling nominations is June 28 for the poll which would take place on July 17 as President Pranab Mukherjee's five-year term would come to an end a week after that.



The politics on the presidential elections is hotting up as at least nine opposition parties will hold a meeting on Wednesday to finalise their strategy on naming a candidate for the contest in the absence of consensus. Congress, Left, TMC, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, JD(U), RJD, NCP and DMK have formed a sub-group to come up with a combined opposition strategy for taking on the ruling NDA in the poll for the post of president.



The Opposition parties are waiting for the NDA to announce its own choice before they open their card but BJP sources said that the declaration of the face for the battle may happen at a time leaving little room for political manoeuvring. A candidate bearing social moorings would be hand-picked for the presidential election to send a strong message in the country.



Opposition parties feel the BJP panel may come up with a consensus candidate



With the BJP setting in motion the process to select a Presidential candidate, a section of the Opposition parties now feel that the government side may come up with a name acceptable to them.



They believe the constitution of the committee with Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and M Venkaiah Naidu as members is a positive sign. The moderate panel, as some of the opposition leaders put it, is expected to come up with a moderate candidate whom the opposition could also support.



Sources said Congress could also agree if the BJP-led NDA comes up with a candidate from the Dalit or tribal communities. The Opposition camp feels that the BJP may look for candidates like a former Chief Justice.



The opposition expects that the BJP panel could throw names like that of Draupadi Murmu, former Governor S C Jamir and even Kerala Governor and former Chief Justice of India P Sadasivam as a Presidential candidate.



However, this may not mean that there will be no contest as the Left parties may field its own candidate for the Presidential polls in a redux of 2002 when it fielded Captain Laxmi against A P J Abdul Kalam, who got support from the then ruling NDA and most of the Opposition, including Congress. Though the ruling side have enough numbers, the entire socialist parties may break ranks with opposition to vote if BJP fields former socialist Hukum Narain Yadav as its Vice Presidential candidate.






Businessman Raj Kundra and his actress wife Shilpa Shetty have been granted permission by a sessions court to travel abroad after they sought the relaxation of conditions in the anticipatory bail granted to them in a cheating case.



Sessions Judge SC Khalipe granted the permission on June 9 to the celebrity couple on certain conditions.



Aniket Nikam, the counsel for the duo stated in the plea that the couple wanted to travel to London, UK and USA between June 12 and July 21 for business-related work and submitted their tentative schedule about the business meetings there besides the IIFA awards on July 14-15.



The plea said that if the two were denied permission, it cause grave prejudice to their business.



It further submitted that the couple have been cooperating with the probe and all the necessary travel documents would be submitted to the Kongaon Police Station.



Assistant public prosecutor Vinit Kulkarni opposed the application, saying the offence is serious in nature.



"If the application is allowed there are strong chances of tampering and hampering the investigation as the accused are influential people. On the previous occasion, one of the accused has threatened the complainant in the court. Hence, the application deserves to be rejected," he said.



After hearing the defence and prosecution, the judge said that applicants had been granted anticipatory bail on the condition that they would not to leave the country.



However, when the investigation officer did not object to the application, the court granted permission to the duo to go ahead with their travel abroad.



They were also directed to submit their residence address, contact numbers in UK and USA. The court also told them to submit self-attested copies of visa to the police station concerned and said that they will have to give an undertaking that they shall not stay in the UK and USA beyond July 21.



After their arrival, they should intimate the police station as well as the court. The court pointed out that this compliance shall be done without fail or their permit will be cancelled.



On April 26, complainant Ravi Bhalotia, the proprietor of Bhalotia Exports had alleged in a FIR before Kongaon Police Station in Bhiwandi that he had delivered bedsheets through Best Deal TV (BDTV) but was yet to receive payment and has been duped of Rs 24 lakh.



Subsequently, a case was registered against Shilpa Shetty, Raj Kundra, Darshit Shah, Vedant Bali and Uday Kothariwho are all former directors of the BDTV company.



Later, on May 9, the five moved the Thane sessions court which granted interim bail to Shetty and Kundra and three others in the case of alleged cheating and breach of trust filed against them with Kongaon police.



They were granted pre-arrest bail on the bond of Rs 50,000 each on May 19.
While the 'ulemas' (religious leaders) continue to dilly-dally on taking a tough stand on the issue, a panchayat in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal district, about 450 kilometres from here, imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh on a man for giving triple talaq.



The panchayat also made the man pay the amount of 'mahr' (mandatory payment to the bride by groom at the time of marriage), which was RS 60 thousand, to the bride.



According to the reports, a man at Musapur village had given divorce to his wife through the triple talaq a couple of days back. Their marriage had been solemnised barely ten days back.



The parents of the woman approached the panchayat seeking justice for her. On Sunday, the members of the panchayat, who were drawn from over 50 villages, discussed the matter at a meeting held at a 'madarsa'.



After several hours of deliberations, the panchayat members unanimously decided to punish the man and imposed a fine of Rs. two lakh besides ordering him to pay the amount of 'mahr', reports said. All the items given to the man as gift at the time of marriage were also returned to the woman's family.



Liyaquat Hussain, a senior member of the panchayat said that triple talaq was not acceptable. ''We feel that this practice should be abolished...we will punish any one, who resorts to triple talaq....the amount of fine will be decided keeping in mind the financial condition of the man,'' he said.



The panchayat's decision comes amid a raging debate on triple talaq. The matter is currently pending before the supreme court. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), an apex organisation of the Muslims in the country, has rejected demands to abolish the practice and said that it was in accordance with the 'shariat' (Islamic Law).



Hussain said that the panchayat of the 'turk' community had also issued a set of guidelines to be followed by all the members. They included education for the girls, a complete ban on child marriages and lavish spending during social functions.
Two persons belonging to the North East have been arrested for allegedly duping a woman of over Rs 21 lakh after luring her with the promise of providing foreign currency and an expensive gift, police said today.



The woman, Violet DSouza, in her complaint lodged with the Ullal police station here had stated that she got a mail in the name of Royal Bank of Scotland, New Delhi, offering an expensive gift and foreign currencies and the procedures to be followed for this and other expenses involved.



Later, D'Souza also got a call on her mobile with the offer which appeared to be convincing and she transferred Rs 21,58,200 to the account number given by the accused persons.



After realising that she had been cheated, the woman filed the complaint with the police on May 31.



Investigations revealed that the accused had created a fake website to cheat gullible victims, police said.



A police team led by Ullal police inspector K R Gopikrishna traced the accused, LalthanMawia (34), of Mizoram and Khup Boih(32),fromManipur, to Vikaspuri in New Delhi and arrested them on June 10, they added.
In a shocking incident, a man allegedly beheaded his 50-year-old wife in a fit of rage following an argument today, the police said.



The 52-year-old man then walked to a nearby police outpost, carrying the severed head of his wife in his hands, and surrendered, officials said.



According to the police, the victim Usha Devi and her husband Ram Sewak had an argument over a family matter.



"Sewak brutally killed his wife with a 'khurpa' (shovel liketool) and beheaded her. He then went to the Behjam police outpost with his wife's severed head and surrendered. A case of murder has been lodged and Ram Sewak has been sent to jail," Neemgaon, station officer, DK Singh said.



Singh said the couple, residents of Behjam in this district, had gone to their fields this morning.



"They had an argument following which Ram Sewak lost his cool and killed his wife. The villagers claimed that Ram Sewak was mentally unstable, and had once earlier even chased his brother in a fit of anger. However, this is yet to be proved," Singh said.
Power Minister Piyush Goyal today lambasted the Karnataka government for not giving right of way for power transmission projects, saying that if the way had been given the Southern Grid capacity could have been expanded four times within five years.



Southern Grid transmission capacity, he said, was enhanced 89 per cent in the last three years due to which states can draw power round the clock.



"I have committed to further double this capacity in the next 3 years. We would have expanded the capacity of Southern Grid four times five years...one project got delayed. We are not getting right of way, particularly in Karanataka.," Goyal told the media here.



He said Karnataka, being strategically located, "I cannot take new transmission lines to Tamil Nadu and other Southern states (without passing through Karnataka). It is important that all states should give right of way".



He also informed that during the ongoing summer season, states are not finding it difficult to buy power from exchanges because there is an improvement in transmission network and they were able to buy power for not more than Rs 3.5 per unit at exchanges.



The Performance Report of Power Ministry states that the transmission network in the country had increased by 40 per cent to 7.4 lakh MVA in March this year, from 5.3 lakh MVA in March 2014.



Power transmission lines have also increased from 2.9 lakh CKM to 3.7 lakh CKM during the period.



The report also says that transmission projects worth Rs 1.5 lakh crore were commissioned during 2014-17, which is 83 per cent higher than those commissioned in 2011-14.



Besides there was not a single disturbance occurred since May 2014, it added.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi today accused the Narendra Modi-led central government of "forcing everyone into silence with Dalits being beaten up, minorities frightened and journalists and bureaucrats threatened.



Speaking at a function of the National Herald newspaper here, he said, "The power of truth is being completely replaced with the truth of power and anybody who attempts to speak the truth and stand for it is being pushed aside."



Gandhi also alleged that thousands of journalists were not being allowed to write what they wanted to. "They (journalists) tell me that they are not being allowed to write what they want to," he said.



Recalling that he was not allowed to visit Madhya Pradesh during the recent farmers' protest and Uttar Pradesh and was stopped at the border of both the states, he said, "This is the India we are living in...an India where power will simply manufacture the truth."



Recollecting a Soviet poet (Yevgeny Yevtushenko), who said, "When truth is replaced by silence, the silence is a lie," Gandhi said, "This is what the government is trying to do."



"...Everybody knows what the truth is. But they are scared to say it," he said at the function where Vice- President Mohammad Hamid Ansari released the National Herald's commemorative publication to celebrate 70 years of India's independence.



The Congress vice-president recalled that when the editor of National Herald approached him recently, he told him that there might be times when the paper would want to write things against him or his party or its policies, but "you (editor) should be absolutely comfortable. That is the spirit we expect from National Herald."

"National Herald has a strong spirit. It is not going to be silenced," he added.



Congress leader Oscar Fernandes, who is on the Board of Directors of the newspaper, said the paper, which was founded by former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1938 and the publication of which was suspended a few years ago, was in the process of reviving its Hindi and Urdu editions as a multi- media outlet.



He said the National Herald website, launched eight months ago, was being upgraded and would be fully operational later this month.



The function is being seen as a prelude to the launch of the daily National Herald English edition.



Efforts to revive the newspaper started amid a legal battle launched by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, who has filed a criminal complaint against Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others.



In his private criminal complaint, Swamy has accused the Gandhis and others of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds by paying only Rs 50 lakh, through which Young Indian Pvt. Ltd (YI) obtained the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore, which its publisher, Associate Journals Ltd (AJL), owed to the Congress party.



The Gandhis and the other accused -- Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda -- have denied the allegations levelled against them.



The Delhi High Court had recently declined to stay the Income Tax proceedings against Young India Ltd in the National Herald case.


"The Act, I believe, is now in disuse and short-term contracts, which make the journalists beholden to the preferred lines of the publications, are in vogue," he said.



Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said it was heartening to note that Associated Journals Limited was reviving the National Herald newspaper by launching its English website and resuming its phased publication as a multi-media outlet, focussing primarily on news in a digital form.



He said he was sure that the newspaper would re-emerge as a "potent voice of all the right-thinking people of India".





Vice-President Hamid Ansari today said a free media was not only beneficial, but necessary in a free society and any attack on the freedom of press would jeopardise the citizens' rights.When faced with "unjust restrictions" and the "threat of an attack", self-censorship in the media could have an "opposite effect", aiding the covering up of abuses and fostering frustration in the marginalised communities, he said.Ansari said the constitutional framework provided for the required intervention by the State to ensure a smooth working of the press and society, but the laws made it clear that it should only be in the interest of the public.By the same token, the State should not impede the free flow of information which would go a long way in protecting and promoting the citizens' rights, he added."The media, if it is to remain true to its calling, has to do likewise," Ansari said after releasing the National Herald newspaper's commemorative publication, '70 years of India's Independence', in the presence of Congress vice- president Rahul Gandhi at a function here.The vice-president also said, "In an open society like ours, we need a responsible press to hold those in power to account."That is why the freedom of press under Article 19(1)(A) of the Constitution is subject only to reasonable restrictions in the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, public order, decency, contempt of court, defamation and incitement to an offence."He said in this age of "post-truths" and "alternative facts", where "advertorials" and "response features" edged out the editorials, "We would do well to recall (Jawaharlal) Nehru's vision of the press playing its role of a watchdog in a democracy and look at the ethos and principles that powered his journalism."Noting that Nehru, who founded the National Herald newspaper, believed that the media was a pillar of democracy, Ansari said he envisioned a free, unfettered and an honest press."He watched over the interests of the mediapersons in an independent India."The Working Journalists Act, which tried to give a degree of protection to the journalists to ensure the freedom of press, was largely the former prime minister's doing, he said.
Around 50 cow vigilantes on Sunday attacked five trucks in Barmer district of Rajasthan ferrying cows to Tamil Nadu on suspicions of cattle smuggling. After attacking the drivers, vigilante also blocked National Highway 15.



The officials of the Tamil Nadu Animal Husbandry Department had purchased 50 bovines from Jaisalmer and transporting them in five trucks with. Despite getting NOC and all required papers and permission from the authorities and police when the cow vigilantes attacked them. Cows were rescued and taken to a local cow shelter for the time being. Officials with Animal Husbandry of Tamil Nadu government confirmed that cattle were purchased under Rashtriya Gokul Mission, launched by the centre.



Police have also lodged a case against 50 people for voluntarily hurting public servant and deterring him from the discharge of duty. Superintendent of Police Barmer, Gagandeep Singla confirmed the arrest of seven people. He told media, "The accused pelted stones at the trucks and damaged one truck. The accused tried to attack the government officials. They also tried to set a truck on fire but police reached the spot and prevented them. The officials, drivers and cleaners were rescued and taken to the local police station."



According to the police on Monday seven persons have been arrested for pelting the truck with stones and blocking National Highway 15 in order to stop the trucks. They include Chainaram, Kamlesh, Vikram and Jaswant. Police have also taken action taken against seven policemen, including an inspector, for reaching the spot late on Sunday night. Singla confirmed that policemen were shunted for reaching late on the spot, "As a disciplinary action, SHO Jairam, Sub Inspector Dhruv Prasad, Assistant Sub Inspector Majid and two head constables and as many head constables were shunted to police lines," Singla added.



In the span of three months, this is second such incident in which cow vigilante have brutally attacked cattle owner. In another instance, Vigilante attacked a 55-year-old cattle trader, Pehlu Khan in Alwar and four others. Pehlu Khan died, his companions were injured.
Her eldest son Tej Pratap is reportedly mired in controversy over the construction of biggest shopping mall in Patna on a land owned by Lalu Prasads family. But Rabri Devi feels that girls who love visiting shopping malls or movie theatres are a strict no, no as a prospective daughter-in-law.



I want a daughter-in-law, who should be like me....well-cultured, well-groomed who could manage house-hold affairs, look after domestic assignments, respect elders, and, if required, take care of outside work too, she told a national daily.



Rabri, who served as Bihar Chief Minister from 1997 to 2005, said this in response to a query related to the possibility of wedding of Tej Pratap, who is Health Minister in Nitish Cabinet.



Admitting that her daughters were looking for brides for both Tej Pratap as well as Tejaswi Yadav (who is also Bihars Deputy Chief Minister), Rabri said, Tej Pratap and Tejaswis sisters are on the job. They know their brothers likes and dislikes well. They will find suitable brides. Even media persons can also suggest a few names, she hastened to add.



Tej Pratap, who is said to be deeply religious person, returned to the State Capital from Vrindavan after offering prayers in the neighbouring State Uttar Pradesh. He has been offering prayers so as to tide over the crisis hanging like a Damocles' sword over Lalus family for the last couple of months.



All these allegations against us (of benami property) is a baseless charge made by a jobless BJP leader. The property we have is in public domain. And it has been shown in Income Tax return, after paying due taxes, said Rabri, who won the legal battle in the disproportionate assets (DA) case from the apex court.


"Someone from the press told me today that a Congress leader has made comments about the Army chief. This is absolutely wrong," he said, addressing a Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee meeting in Bengaluru.



"People should not make any comments against the Army chief. I want to make it clear that the Indian Army works for us, it protects India. There is no need for any political leader to make comments against the Army chief," he said.



Facing flak, the Congress has already distanced itself from Dikshit's remarks, over which the BJP had demanded his expulsion from the organisation and its President Sonia Gandhi's apology.



Condemning the remark, Union minister and senior BJP leader Nirmala Sitharaman said the Congress had shown a "consistent pattern" in undermining democratic institutions and it was shocking that its leader had now targeted the Army.



"There is no sense of apology in his(Dikshit) tweets. No less than Congress president Sonia Gandhi should come out and apologise," Sitharaman told a press conference in New Delhi.



Calling Dikshit an eminent leader and well-known face, she said the Congress should disown him for trying to shame and demoralise the Army.



Referring to the 2008 Batla House encounter in which a Delhi Police officer was also killed, she said Congress leaders had then visited houses of killed terrorists. Congress functionaries had repeatedly made comments which targeted institutions, the minister said.



Sitharaman also referred to Rahul Gandhi's 'khoonkidalali' barb at Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year. The Congress leadership has allowed many of its leaders to go "haywire" and there is a pattern in it, she said. "It shocks me and my party."



Even when India lost a war, this kind of name calling did not happen, she said. Such comments by Congress leaders had become useful for India's opponents and given them a leverage. "I wonder if there is a strategy of the Congress to undermine our institutions. They do so in Parliament but to do so to the Army is shocking," she said.



Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju had also slammed Dikshit over his remarks and wrote on Twitter, "What's wrong with Congress Party? How dare Congress call Indian Army Chief as "Sadak Ka Gunda"!! (sic)."



Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi today ticked off a party leader Sandeep Dikshit for likening Army Chief General Bipin Rawat to a "goon on the street", a remark over which the BJP demanded an apology from no less than its chief Sonia Gandhi.Rahul Gandhi said the remark by Diskhit, an ex-Lok Sabha MP from East Delhi and son of former Delhi chief minister Sheila Diskhit, was "absolutely wrong." Dikshit had made the controversial remark yesterday."Ours is not a mafia army like the Pakistani army which makes statements like the goons on the street. It looks bad when our Army chief gives a statement like a 'sadak ka goonda' (goon on the street)," he said.He later withdrew his remark and tweeted, "I have reservations on a comment of the Army chief, but I should have chosen appropriate words. I apologise."The BJP, however, insisted on an apology from Sonia Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi said the Indian Army works for the country and there was no need for any political leader to make comments against the Army chief.
In an attempt to expedite the probe into the mysterious death of Karnataka cadre IAS officer Anurag Tiwari, who was found dead near a guest house in the state capital last month, the family members of the officer will be meeting union home minister Rajnath Singh.



According to the sources, Tiwari's family will soon approach the aides of Singh, who is also a Lok Sabha member from Lucknow Parliamentary constituency, to seek a meeting with the latter.



Sources said that the family members of the officer were sore at the delay on the part of the CBI in taking over the probe of the case from the Special Investigation Team (SIT).



They feel that the delay may result in the destruction of crucial evidence in the matter.



The family's decision to seek an audience with the union home minister comes amid reports that the CBI may soon take over the case. UP government had almost immediately after the death of the officer recommended for a CBI inquiry.



UP government has formed a SIT to investigate the death. The SIT had visited Bangalore and met the officials besides visiting Tiwaris house there. It had apprehended that Tiwari might have died of drug overdose. The family members of Tiwari had said 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 a sharp exchange of words.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) today again questioned Altaf Ahmed Shah, son-in-law of hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, in connection with its probe into the funding of terror and subversive activities in Kashmir.



Shah, popularly known as Altaf Fantoosh, was earlier questioned by the NIA on June 9 about his movable and other properties, including houses in the Valley as well as in Jammu, and the source for their funding, official sources said.



Shah, who arrived again at the NIA headquarters today, was questioned by a team of agency officials about the alleged funding of the Geelani-led Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, the sources said.



There was no immediate reaction from Shah's camp but his father-in-law had yesterday questioned the role of the NIA and said the probe agency was being used as a "war weapon" against separatist leadership in Kashmir.



Geelani, while chairing a meeting a day after his son- in-law was questioned by the NIA, alleged that the agency had crossed all limits and there was no legal justification for such arbitrary measures.



"Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, its leadership and cadre is the main target for authorities. It is a pre-planned psychological crackdown...," he had said in Srinagar on Saturday.



Shah's Srinagar house was raided by NIA sleuths, who also searched the premises of others, such as Shahid-ul-Islam, a close aide of Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, who heads the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference, and businessman Zahoor Watali.



Apart from being the son-in-law of Geelani, Shah is perceived to be influential in the policies of the Tehrek-e- Hurriyat.



Hafeez Saeed, Pakistan-based chief of Jamaat-ul Dawah, the front of the banned Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT), has been named in the FIR as an accused besides organisations such as the Hurriyat Conference (factions led by Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq), Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and Dukhtaran-e-Milat.



The raids were part of NIA's efforts to clamp down on separatist groups allegedly receiving funds for subversive activities in the valley.



The NIA had recovered unaccounted account books, Rs 2 crore in cash and letterheads of banned terror groups, including LeT and HM.



The NIA investigation also seeks to identify the chain of players behind the financing of terrorist activities, including those who threw stones at security forces, burned down schools and damaged government establishments.



This is for the first time since the rise of militancy in Kashmir in the early 1990s that a central probe agency has carried out raids in connection with funding of separatists.



In 2002, the Income Tax department had executed searches against some separatist leaders, including Geelani, and seized cash and documents.



However, no criminal case was registered then.




The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will hold examinations in July for the Class XII board students who were placed in compartments in this year's board examinations.



For the Class X board students whose results were declared as EIOP (Eligible for Improvement Of Performance), examinations will be held in July by their respective schools.



The CBSE, which announced the results of both the Class X and Class XII board examinations recently, opened the registration of such students on Monday. The board has directed the principals of the schools to submit the list of such students.



The last date for submission of the list of such students along with prescribed fee for the examinations without any fine for delay is June 21. Students' list can be submitted by their respective schools with prescribed late fee till July 3, according to a notification issued by the CBSE on Monday.



The online submission of the list of Class XII students placed in compartment and Improvement of Performance (Class X) for the examination scheduled to be held in July 2017 has been started. Only those Candidates whose name is submitted through the online process shall be allowed to appear for Examination to be held in July 2017, the board said.



Candidate of Class X board examination (school-based), 2017 whose results have been declared as EIOP due to them being absent in SA-2 (scholastic assessment) should approach to their schools to get registered for the score improvement examination, it added.



Students who obtained Grade E1 or E2 in their Class X board examinations are declared as EIOP candidates, instead of pass or fail. They get only one chance to to improve their performance after the declaration of their results. In case such candidates fail to improve their performance in this examination, they will have to appear afresh in the board examinations next year with all subjects as private candidates through the CBSE affiliated schools.
Embattled Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will become Pakistan's first sitting premier to depose before a Joint Investigation Team probing the high-profile Panamagate graft case when he appears before it on Thursday. The unprecedented development will make Sharif the first incumbent to appear before such a panel, let alone one probing allegations of financial irregularities or fraud against nearly his entire family, going back three generations, Dawn newspaper reported.



Joint Investigation Team (JIT) chief Wajid Zia, in a letter dated Saturday, asked the prime minister to appear before the six-member probe team at 11:00 AM (11:30 IST) on June 15 with all documents relevant to the case. The summon was issued to Sharif, 67, after he returned from his Kazakhstan visit where he attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.



The JITs summons also reminded Sharif to "kindly bring along relevant record/documents/material" related to the Panama Papers case. This will entail nearly all the documents and evidence submitted before the Supreme Court by the Prime Minister's counsel, Makhdoom Ali Khan. The report also said that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar may also be questioned by the team before Sharif's appearance.



In its judgement of April 20 in the Panama Papers case, the Supreme Court had constituted a JIT and empowered it to summon the prime minister, his sons and any other person necessary, to investigate allegations of money-laundering, through which the four apartments in London's posh Park Lane area were purchased. Sharif had met with his close aides yesterday in Lahore to discuss the issue. After consulting with them, the prime minister has decided to honour the summons and appear before the JIT on Thursday.



Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Heritage Marriyum Aurangzeb, talking to some TV channels, said that the prime minister had received the JIT summons and in pursuance of the Supreme Court's order of April 20, he would ensure his presence accordingly.



The Joint Investigation Team had questioned Sharif's sons -- Hussain and Hasan -- last month over the family's alleged improper business dealings. His eldest son Hussain was questioned five times while Hasan, the younger son, was summoned twice. The court last year took up the case and issued a split decision over allegations of money laundering when Sharif was prime minister in 1990s.



On May 5, the Supreme Court set up a high-level six- member JIT to probe Sharif and his sons' alleged corruption in the Panama Papers case. The JIT is bound to complete the probe in 60 days unless it is granted additional time.



It is for the first time that a sitting prime minister would appear before a high-level probe team traditionally constituted to investigate high-profile criminal cases.

It is not yet clear that Sharif will be questioned for once or would be called again like his two sons
Not long ago, a physicist at Stanford posed a rhetorical question that took me by surprise. Why is there so much beauty? he asked. Beauty was not what I was thinking the world was full of when he brought it up. The physicist, Manu Prakash, was captivated by the patterns in seawater made as starfish larvae swam about. But he did put his finger on quite a puzzle: Why is there beauty? Why is there any beauty at all? Richard O Prum, a Yale University ornithologist and evolutionary biologist, offers a partial answer in a new book, The Evolution of Beauty: How Darwins Forgotten Theory of Mate Choice Shapes the Animal World  and Us. He writes about one kind of beauty  the oh-is-he/she-hot variety  and mostly as it concerns birds, not people. And his answer is, in short: Thats what female birds like.



This wont help with understanding the appeal of fluid dynamics or the night sky, but Richard is attempting to revive and expand on a view that Charles Darwin held, one that sounds revolutionary even now. The idea is that when they are choosing mates  and in birds its mostly the females who choose  animals make choices that can only be called aesthetic. They perceive a kind of beauty. Richard defines it as co-evolved attraction.



They desire that beauty, often in the form of fancy feathers, and their desires change the course of evolution. All biologists recognise that birds choose mates, but the mainstream view now is that the mate chosen is the fittest in terms of health and good genes. Any ornaments or patterns simply reflect signs of fitness. Such utility is objective. Richards  and Darwins  notion of beauty is something more subjective, with no other meaning than its aesthetic appeal.



Evolutionary theory



Richard wants to push evolutionary biologists to re-examine their assumptions about utility and beauty, objectivity and subjectivity. But he also wants to reach the public with a message that is clear whether or not you dip into the technical aspects of evolution. The yearning to pick your own mate is not something that began with humans, he says. It can be found in ducks, pheasants and other creatures. To grasp his view, a little bit of history is in order. Darwin famously proposed the idea of evolution by natural selection, what is often called survival of the fittest. To put it simply, living things vary in their inherited traits, from speed to colour to sense of smell. The traits of the individuals who survive longer and have the most offspring become more common. So, over time, the faster antelope have more young, the fastest of them have more offspring, and antelope end up very speedy.



But reproduction isnt just about surviving and staying healthy long enough to mate. You have to find a mate. And in many species, your mate must choose you. This process is sexual selection. Female birds are often the ones choosing. And their choices can produce male birds that are incredibly colourful, and some that are elaborate dancers or designers of striking boudoirs  like the bower birds. If, for example, females like males with long tails, then long-tailed males have more offspring, and the longest-tailed of those offspring reproduce more. In the end, that species becomes known for its long tails.



Alfred Russel Wallace, who came up with the theory of evolution at the same time as Darwin, preferred the idea that the colours and patterns meant something  either they were signs that this was a male of the right species, or they indicated underlying fitness. Perhaps only a strong, healthy male could support such a big, beautiful tail. At the very birth of evolutionary theory, scientists were arguing about how sexual selection worked. And they kept at it, through the discovery of genes and many other advances.



Genetic fitness



Fast forward to the 1980s, when Richard was in graduate school at the University of Michigan, USA, sharing an office with Geoffrey Hill, now a professor at Auburn University, USA. At that time, mainstream evolutionary thought took a big swing toward the idea that ornaments and fancy feathers were indications of underlying fitness. Animals with the best ornamentation were the best males, Geoffrey said. This was called honest signaling of underlying genetic fitness. The idea, he said, almost completely ran over what was the old idea of beauty.



Geoffrey, for one, was completely convinced. I was pretty sure I could explain all ornaments in all animals as honest signaling. But, he added, he has since reconsidered. There are some extreme forms of ornamentation that he thinks dont signal anything, but rather are a result of the kind of process Richard favours. Richard is indeed given to enthusiasm, and to intellectual contention. He has been on the winning side of initially unpopular ideas.



As a graduate student, he sided with researchers who wanted to change the way animals are classified, to emphasise their evolutionary descent. The new idea was called cladistics and it is now an established idea. He has done groundbreaking research on both the physical structure and the evolution of feathers, and he was an early supporter of the notion that birds descended from dinosaurs, another new idea that is now the mainstream view.



He has disagreed with the dominant view of sexual selection since graduate school and sees his new book, which he hopes will reach beyond scientists, as a kind of manifesto. It has too many parts to summarise. He takes a chapter, for instance, to speculate that same-sex attraction in humans evolved in our ancestors through female choices that undermine male sexual coercion. But one particular aspect of his argument is his distress at the idea that almost all evolutionary change is assumed to be adaptive, contributing to fitness. In other words, if a fish is blue, it must be blue for a reason.



The colour must help it escape predators or sneak up on prey, or be otherwise useful in some way. Beauty, therefore, must be adaptive, or a sign of underlying qualities that are adaptive. Pick a behaviour or an ornament or a physical trait, and it is useful until proven otherwise. Thats backward, says Richard. Take beauty. Since animals have aesthetic preferences and make choices, beauty will inevitably appear. Beauty happens, as he puts it, and it should be taken as nonadaptive until proven otherwise.


Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi today decried the trend of "outsiders" walking away with party tickets and made it clear that "performance" would be the main criteria in the choice of candidates for the 2018 Karnataka Assembly polls.



He expressed reservations about 'outsiders' getting tickets through "helicopter system".



"We have elections before us; I have told Venugoaplji (General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka) that whoever stands with the people and is working for the Congress, whether it is a leader or a worker, only they get the tickets," he told a KPCC meeting here.



"...party workers work, leaders work, but sometimes some other people get tickets through helicopter system just ahead of elections. Some time even people from other party get tickets through helicopter system," he said.



Gandhi said he had sought a list of MLAs actively working for the party.



"You still have time...go amidst people, raise their issues and find solutions for them. Whoever works well, whoever is seen amidst the people, Congress will give ticket to him or her, whether he or she is a big leader or a small worker," the Congress vice president said.



He was speaking at the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee's (KPCC) extended general body meeting here in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, party's state chief G Parameshwara and other leaders.



The party has already announced that Siddaramaiah will be the party's face in the state Assembly polls.



In an attempt to maintain balance, the party has retained G Parameshwara as the PCC chief and appointed two working presidents and a campaign committee chief.



On BJP trying to come to power in Karnataka, Gandhi said wherever they go, they will make one community fight with another.



While accusing the BJP of winning the elections in Uttar Pradesh by dividing the communities, he said Congress believed in uniting the communities.



"They divided every single community in Uttar Pradesh and that is how they won the election; when they divide, we unite. So our job is to ensure everybody in Karnataka feels that this is their government," he said.



Talking about the new AICC team sent to Karnataka under the leadership of party General Secretary In-charge Venugopal, Gandhi said the team was directed to ensure every worker and leader in the state feel that he is part of the "family" called Congress.



"This is a family and every member must feel that he has a place and he is being heard. Everyone can't be made happy, but every one can be embraced," he said.



Noting that across the country, farmers were struggling, Gandhi said there was "fear and pain" among them.

He accused the BJP of abandoning and forgetting the farmers and advised the state government to assist the ryots.



"Karnataka's farmers should feel that this is their government, and I am confident that the chief minister is constantly listening to them and working for their interest," he added.



Gandhi's statement comes at a time when there has been a strong demand for farm loan waiver, owing to consecutive years of severe drought in the state.


BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa, on Monday, predicted that the Congress term in the state would end in the next eight to nine months and that Siddramaiah was spending his last few days as Chief Minister.



Addressing leaders of various communities at a meeting held at Ramasamudra village in the taluk here, he said that 25 families in Gundlupet have been socially boycotted just because they voted for the BJP in the recent bypolls. A woman, who was injured during the by-election has been admitted to a hospital but the police have not taken any action in this regard despite a complaint being lodged. Such incidents are taken lightly by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The CMs dictatorial attitude and arbitrariness will not last long, he said.



Congress treats Dalits as their vote bank and has no real concern for them. I dont have the desire to become the chief minister again. It is enough for me if the BJP comes to power in the state. The BJP government will implement various pro-people programmes, Yeddyurappa said.



He described the arrogance of the Congress government in the state since four years as goondaism. Law and order has totally collapsed. People fear to venture out in the cities during the night. Cases of murders and extortion are reported almost everyday. The situation has turned so worse that Siddaramaiah himself has been telling in press meets that goonda culture is on the rise in Bengaluru, he pointed out.



Commenting on the ban on liquor shops on highways, Yeddyurappa said that, Siddaramaiah, who has been denotifying national highways, has to clarify his stand on the issue. His move in connection with the issue is not acceptable, he said.



Loan waiver

Yeddyurappa reiterated that he would waive farm loans within 24 hours of coming to power. In an interaction with the farmers at Arakalwadi village, he said, the BJP is staging a Satyagraha from July 7 in Bengaluru and a mega protest on July 10. Lakhs of farmers will be participating, he said.


Shankar and Sabeena Banu, who were once school dropouts and child labourers, are now members of Its Time to Talk, an international agency which campaigns against child labour.



Shankar and Seema were working as child labourers to support their families but today they feel empowered as they work for the cause of deprived children.



The two, both aged 17, are members of Its Time to Talk - Childrens Views on Childrens Work. As members of the campaign they visit various places across the country including New Delhi to create awareness about child labour and other issues pertaining to children. The campaign has members from 37 countries and aims to support the voice of working children from different contexts and facilitate it to be heard and considered in local, national and global meetings on child labour.



Sabeena says every child has a dream and having been a child labour herself, she is aware of the plight of such children. Being a victim of child labour myself, its my duty to create awareness about the ill-effects of child labour. Education is the key to eradicate the social evil and governments should provide free and compulsory education till students complete II PUC, she says.



While Sabeena was working in an incense manufacturing unit in Mysuru, Shankar was a flower vendor. Sabeena discontinued school when she was pursuing class V to support her family. Similarly, Shankar had to give up studies after his parents died.



Thanks to the city-based Rural Literacy and Health Programme (RLHP), an organisation working for deprived children, the two got a chance to become a part of mainstream society.



Sabeena says that when she was working in the incense unit, a few volunteers of the RLHP noticed her and made all necessary arrangements to continue her education. My mother was the breadwinner for the family. When I was in Class V, we faced severe hardships and thus I started working. I had to then give up my dreams of getting an education, she says. Sabeena has now completed first PUC and has also completed basic courses in spoken English and computers.



Shankar says that members of the RLHP contacted him and took him along with them during one of their field visits. I was admitted to Asha Kiran, a shelter house for boys, and I started going to school. I completed SSLC and applied for ITI, he said. Shankar is also trained in organic farming and is well aware of farming methods.


The High Court of Karnataka on Monday came down heavily on the government for not complying with its directions with regard to transfer of government officials.



A division bench comprising Justice H G Ramesh and Justice John Michael Cunha lambasted the government for causing revenue loss to the state exchequer.



The bench said that the state government has become incapable of running the administration and it is very unfortunate that the high court has to handle all the administrative issues of the government. Justice Ramesh asked why the government was delaying giving a posting to a government official who had been transferred.



Instead of serving the government, the transferred official has to spend most of his time in the corridors of the court seeking directions to the government. Despite directions from a division bench to the government to ensure that transfers are completed, the government has not taken any action. It has become a habit for the government to violate court orders, the bench stated.



The matter pertained to Sreedharan K, who was working as Special Land Acquisition Officer, Tumakuru. He had approached the court as he has not been given any posting. H V Omkarmurthy, who was working as a development officer in Karnataka Udyog Mitra, was transferred to Sreedharan's post in Tumakuru.



During the hearing, the government counsel informed the court that Sreedharan was appointed on deputation from another department and before the government could decide on allotting him a post, he has approached the court.



The bench directed the government to inform the court about the post that would be allotted to Sreedharan in the next hearing on June 14.



No narco test without accuseds consent

The High Court of Karnataka on Monday dismissed the petition seeking directions to conduct special tests on Naresh Shenoy, the main accused in the murder of RTI activist Vinayak Baliga.

Baliga was murdered on March 21, 2016, in Mangaluru.

The victims father, Ramachandra Baliga, had approached the high court seeking directions to the police to conduct brain mapping, narco analysis and polygraph tests on Shenoy.

The petitioner contended that the murder of his son is a conspiracy and asked the police to collect evidence against the accused by adopting scientific methods. Shenoy, one of the founders of the NaMo Brigade and a business tycoon, is out on conditional bail.

Justice K N Phaneendra dismissed the petition on the ground that the Supreme Court has ruled that such tests can be conducted only with the consent of the accused. The lower court had earlier dismissed the petition on the same ground. The judge, however, granted liberty to the petitioner to approach the Supreme Court.




With the BJP setting in motion the process to select a Presidential candidate, a section of the Opposition parties now feel that the government may come up with a name acceptable to them.



They believe the constitution of the committee with Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and M Venkaiah Naidu as members is a positive sign.



The moderate panel, as some of the opposition leaders put it, is expected to come up with a moderate candidate whom the Opposition could also support.



Sources said the Congress could also agree if the BJP-led NDA comes up with a candidate from the Dalit or tribal communities. The Opposition camp feels that the BJP may look for candidates like a former chief justice.



The Opposition expects that the BJP panel could throw names like that of Jharkhand Governor Draupadi Murmu, former Governor S C Jamir and even Kerala Governor and former Chief Justice of India P Sadasivam as the Presidential candidate.



However, this may not mean that there will be no contest as the Left parties may field their own candidate in a redux of 2002 when it fielded Captain Laxmi against A P J Abdul Kalam, who got support from the then ruling NDA and most of the Opposition, including Congress.



Though the ruling side have enough numbers, the entire socialist parties may break ranks with the Opposition to vote if BJP fields former socialist Hukumdev Narain Yadav as its vice presidential candidate.
In what is seen as a clear message to the party government in the state to waive farm loans, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Monday asked Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to rescue farmers in distress.



The distressed farmers are in need of help. It is important for the government to assist the farmers... I am confident that the Chief Minister is already looking into the issue and is working in this direction, he stated, while addressing the extended KPCC general body meeting at the Jnana Jyothi auditorium here.



Rahuls advice is seen as a bid by the party to pre-empt the state BJPs threat to launch a stir demanding farm loan waiver. Siddaramaiah has been stalling a waiver decision, claiming that he was ready to do it if the Centre waived loans availed by farmers from nationalised banks. Farm loan waiver, it is contended, will provide the much-needed moral high ground to the Congress to take on the BJP in the next assembly election.



This is not the first time the Congress vice president has nudged the party government in Karnataka to provide succour to indebted farmers. After visiting families of farmers who committed suicide in October 2015, he made the government announce a slew of measures, including higher compensation, for the aggrieved families, which the government obeyed instantly.



The BJP has abandoned the farmers. They (farmers) are in distress. They have accumulated massive loans...They deserve remunerative price for their produce, he stated, adding that Opposition leaders, including him, were not allowed to enter the BJP-ruled states of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh to meet farmers, who are up in arms.



Shifting focus on the next assembly poll, Rahul said only loyal leaders, who work for the party and the people, will earn the ticket to contest the next assembly poll. The helicopter system of ticket distribution has been done away with, he said. Whoever interacts with the people regularly and who work for the party get a ticket, he added, referring to an incident in Davangere where a local leader managed to get a party ticket at the last minute. The ticket was handed over to him using the helicopter system, he said and assured the Congress workers that the party will not entertain party-hoppers and last-minute entrants as far as ticket distribution is concerned.


Government offices here recorded normal attendance although some stray incidents were reported during the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM)-sponsored indefinite bandh in Darjeeling hills, which began on Monday.



The GJM has called for the shutdown in central, state government and Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) offices in the hills in support of their demand for a separate Gorkhaland.



State Tourism Minister Gautam Deb claimed that attendance in the government and GTA offices was normal in Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong and Mirik.



People have defied the GJMs diktat and attended office. We hope good sense will prevail on the GJM leadership, Deb said.



The situation is peaceful here and everything is normal. Attendance in schools is also normal. We have taken all precautionary measures to check any untoward incident, Darjeeling District Magistrate Joyoshi Dasgupta said.



Police pickets and barricades were placed in front of the government and GTA offices, while Rapid Action Force (RAF) and a sizable number of women police personnel were deployed, Joyoshi said.



She said the army was present in the hills as a backup.



The administration will act as per the law if anybody is found forcing others as well as establishments to participate in the bandh, Joyoshi said.



The administration will also see that no tourist faces trouble because of the bandh. We will not allow anything or anybody to disturb normal life here in the hills, she said.



GJM general secretary Roshan Giri claimed that the response to the bandh was good.



We could have enforced the bandh, but we have not done that. We only appealed to the people, he said, adding, The state government may claim almost cent per cent attendance, but that is not the case.

We want central intervention. Our party chief has written to the prime minister and Union home minister to sympathetically consider our demand (for Gorkhaland), Giri said.



GJM activists reportedly damaged a panchayat office and a PWD office in the hill and resorted to picketing at some places in Kurseong and Kalimpong. Police said eight GJM activists were detained for trying to set fire to a BDO office at Phulbazar in Bijanbari block.



The GJM workers also damaged a PWD office in Darjeeling, the police said, adding that another office at Sonada was damaged. Giri, however, denied his partys involvement and said that it was an attempt to defame the GJM.

Schools, colleges, transport, hotels and shops were exempted from the purview of the shutdown. Banks would remain open twice a week. Most of the tourists have left the hill station in view of the GJMs

agitation.



GJM president Bimal Gurung said, It is better if the tourists leave as the situation is deteriorating.

The state government has ordered all its employees and those of institutions receiving grants-in-aid from it to attend office during the bandh period, and warned that absence from duty would be considered as a break in service.


Congress vice president Rahul Gandhis less than three-minute-long visit to the residence of Dr Rajkumar to offer his condolences over the death of the late actors wife Parvathamma Rajkumar angered the thespians fans.

During his visit, Rahul termed Parvathamma a great woman, took a group photo with her children and advised her elder son Raghavendra Rajkumar to continue physiotherapy to overcome the effects of a stroke he had suffered sometime ago and left the place.



The visit concluded even before Bengaluru Development Minister K J George and KPCC Working President S R Patil, who had accompanied Rahul, could enter Dr Rajkumars house.



George and Patil had to return halfway to hurriedly get into their vehicles.



A large number of fans of Dr Rajkumars family, who had gathered near the actors Sadashivanagar residence, termed Rahuls visit a farce. They questioned the very purpose of his visit to the residence and called it a political gimmick.



Later, speaking to reporters, Raghavendra Rajkumar said that it was a courtesy call and Rahul wanted to console the members of the family. The Congress leader garlanded a portrait of Parvathamma. There was no discussion on any political issues, he said.


The customs officials at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) on Monday arrested a man for trying to smuggle gold bars worth Rs 58.60 lakh. The arrested, V M Fahad (37) of Goa had concealed the gold in his shoes. He landed at the KIA by flight AI 994 from Dubai. The sleuths grew suspicious after observing his body language.



Concealment in shoes is an old trick. Passengers try to smuggle gold by carrying them inside their shoes thinking that it would be difficult for sleuths to check all 200 passengers, but we have our own methods to keep an eye on smugglers, said an officer.


Small-time actor Kritika Choudhary (30) was found dead under mysterious circumstances at her residence in suburban Andheri on Monday.



Police suspect it to be a case of murder, an investigating officer said.



Kritika was a resident of Bhairavnath Society in Char Bungalow area in Andheri West.



The incident came to light when Kritikas neighbours complained of foul smell emanating from her flat. Amboli police broke open the door, which was locked from the outside. On entering her flat, the police found the decomposed body.



Initially, an accidental death report was registered, an officer said. But later, during investigation, it came to the fore that Kritika was murdered, the officer said.
A Dalit girl from a village in the taluk has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking justice, after she was raped three months ago by the peon at her school and his three accomplices.



The victim has marked copies of the letter, translated into English with the help of a teacher, to Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi, the state womens commission, the chief executive officer of the zilla panchayat, the office of the superintendent of police and the Hubballi office

of DH.



The suspect, Vijaykumar Kalavvagol, and the others, whose identities the victim does not know, tricked her into going with them in a car on the pretext of taking her to Bagalkot for availing benefits given to SC/ST students.



On the way, the suspects drugged her by offering her a cool drink and assaulted her sexually. The girl regained consciousness after three hours, returned home and was down with fever at night. After she was taken to the doctor by her mother, he told her that the girl had been raped and asked the mother to approach the police.



The girls father was not keen on filing a complaint, fearing consequences, and she was sent to her aunts house. The victim then underwent treatment at a hospital.
The Opposition BJP on Monday put the Siddaramaiah government on the mat in the Council accusing it of deliberately delaying the release of the report of the socio-economic survey, commonly known as the caste census.



Social Welfare Minister H Anjaneya in reply to a question raised by Tara Anuradha (BJP) said the chief minister will announce the date of release soon. However, Leader of the Opposition K S Eshwarappa insisted that the government give a specific date. In November last year, Siddaramaiah said the report will be released in January. The chief minister, in January, said the report will be released in May. What is preventing the government ? Is there is any pressure? he sought to know.



The BJP members cha-rged that the government wanted to release the report closer to the 2018 Assembly elections to reap maximum advantage.



Eshwarappa said Karnataka Backward Classes Commissioner H Kantharaj had stated that the report is ready and he is waiting for a green signal from the government. Anjaneya said preparation of the report is in its final stage and the pending work is to include data on SC/ST employees in government service.



Health Minister K R Ramesh Kumar agreed that there has been a delay in releasing the report. If there are any hurdles in releasing the report, then the chief minister will inform the same to the House during his reply to the budget discussions.



In reply to a question by Amarnath Patil (BJP), Anjaneya said 6,583 group D posts will be filled in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region as per the provisions of 371 (J) of the Constitution within three months.
Monsoon showers continued across the state on Monday.



Moderate to heavy rains lashed the twin cities of Hubballi and Dharwad from Sunday night to Monday morning. Roads were waterlogged, causing inconvenience to motorists.



Rural areas in Dharwad district too witnessed rain, much to the joy of farmers who were waiting to prepare the fields for kharif sowing. Light intermittent showers were experienced in Mundargi, Ron, Lakshmeshwar, Mulgund, Dambal and Shirahatti of Gadag district.



Davangere city, its surroundings and other parts of the district received moderate rainfall. There was intermittent rain throughout the day with occasional heavy showers.



Water entered agriculture fields and houses were flooded in Bhatkal taluk of Uttara Kannada district. Drizzling was reported from across the district as also neighbouring Belagavi district.



Heavy showers were reported from most taluks in Bidar district. Rainwater entered a few houses as roads and drains were flooded in Bidar city.



Temperature came down by a few notches due to the day-long drizzling in Raichur district. Slush filled the roads much to the discomfort of motorists. Heavy rain was reported from Yadgir and surrounding areas from afternoon to 8 pm on Monday.



Mysuru city and surrounding areas experienced light intermittent showers throughout the day on Monday. Hassan city and surrounding areas, Sakleshpur taluk, and Belur also experienced light rain.

Though intermittent rain lashed several parts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts, the intensity was less compared to the last two days. A man was washed away when he accidentally fell into the Kiruhole rivulet at Bijoor, Kundapura taluk, Udupi district on Sunday night. The deceased is Harish (34).



The Mangaluru Central-Madgaon intercity train was held up between Padil and Jokatte from 8.55 am to 10.10 am, due to a landslide on the track.



Movement of vehicles on the state highway connecting Hosanagar in Shivamogga district and Kollur in Udupi district was disrupted as a bridge at Shantapura village in Hosanagar taluk collapsed due to heavy rain that lashed Malnad region over the last 24 hours.



A KSRTC bus was on its way to Kollur from Bengaluru when the bridge collapsed in the wee hours of Monday. Noticing this, the driver took an alternative route to reach Kollur. Heavy rain also lashed Sagar taluk and power supply was disrupted in the villages of the taluk. Shivamogga, Shikaripur, Thirthahalli, Bhadravathi received rains intermittently. Water level in Linganamakki dam rose to 1,744.55 feet from 1,743.05 feet. The maximum level of the dam is 1,819 feet. The inflow was 6,115 cusecs.


A post by Social Welfare Secretary P Manivannan on a messenger group instructing officers to suspend teachers of Morarji Desai residential schools who go on strike, came in for criticism by members of Legislative Council on Monday.



Arun Shahapur (BJP) said teachers of Morarji Desai and Kittur Rani Chennamma residential schools had held a protest at Freedom Park in Bengaluru in support of their various demands. The protest was peaceful. Still, Manivannan posted a message on Telegram Messenger group of the department directing his officers to take video of those who participate in the strike, check their attendance and suspend them. The post further states that the department can run the schools by utilising the services of guest lecturers. With Rs 12,000 salary we will get good teachers, the post states, a printout of which was circulated by Shahapur.



Ganesh Karnik (BJP), Basavaraj Horatti (JD-S), N Sharanappa Mattur (Cong) criticised Manivannans attitude. This is dictatorship. The teachers have every right to put forth their demand, they said.

Mattur said the departments crackdown on the teachers was in violation of Article 19 of the Constitution which guarantees freedom of speech.



Social Welfare Minister H Anjaneya said Manivannan might have posted the instruction out of concern for students, fearing they will lose out on classes. The minister, on the insistence of members, said the instruction will be withdrawn and will not be implemented.


The Congress is all set to table a no-confidence motion against Legislative Council Chairman D H Shankaramurthy on the floor of the House on Tuesday.



The BJP held a strategy meeting at the residence of Shankaramurthy on Monday evening in this regard. It was decided to wait for a day to know the final decision of the JD(S) on whether the party will support the Congress to remove the Chairman.



If the JD(S) decides to support the Congress or remain neutral then Shankaramurthy will tender his resignation on Wednesday. However, JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy has assured me that his party will not support the Congress at any cost. The JD(S) has time till Wednesday morning to convey its final decision, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council K S Eshwarappa told DH.



To remove the Chairman of the Council, the Congress needs the support of 38 members. At present, the Congress has 35 members including independents. With Governor Vajubhai Vala clearing C M Lingappas nomination, the Congress strength has now gone up to 36. Lingappa is yet to take oath. The JD(S) has 14 members and the BJP 24.



In accordance with the procedure, once the Chair makes a mention of the motion, as many as 10 MLCs have to be in the House to register their support for the no-confidence. V S Ugrappa (Congress), one of the signatories to the motion, said this procedure will be taken up immediately after the Question Hour on Tuesday. A resolution that the House has no confidence in the Chairman, with voting required, will have to be passed within five days from Tuesday. The notice to move the motion was submitted to the Council secretary on May 30. The Chair has 14 days to consider the notice since the time of submission.



Session extended



The ongoing monsoon session of the state legislature has been extended by three days and, will conclude on June 21.


The Karnataka bandh called by various organisations on Monday, demanding permanent irrigation for arid districts and farm loan waiver, evoked poor response.



There was lukewarm response for the bandh call in Mumbai Karnataka and Hyderabad Karnataka regions. Life was normal in Dharwad, the epicentre of Mahadayi protests. While some traders had shut up shops till 12.30 pm, schools and colleges functioned as usual. However, KSRTC and private operators suspended bus services from 9.30 am to 6 pm. The situation was similar in Belagavi.



The bandh call evoked poor response in Ballari also. Government offices and banks functioned as usual. Schools and colleges were open and transportation was not affected. The bandh call had no effect in Kalaburagi, Bidar, Yadgir, Raichur and Koppal districts.



In Yadgir, NEKRTC operated mofussil and city bus services. Private buses and other vehicles too operated.



Members of pro-Kannada organisations staged a protest in Kalaburagi. In Raichur, the protesters burnt an effigy of the state government and blocked movement of vehicles at Ambedkar Circle. Life was normal in Koppal, Bagalkot and Vijayapura districts.



The state-wide bandh call evoked poor response in Mysuru, Hassan, Mandya, Chikkamagaluru and Chamarajanagar districts. Buses, taxis and autorickshaws plied as usual. Schools and colleges were open. Hotels, theatres and petrol bunks did normal business.



In Hassan, protesters attempted to forcefully close a few shops near the old bus stand. But, police personnel who were deployed across the city as a precautionary measure intervened and thwarted the attempt.



The bandh had no effect in Mandya and Chamarajanagar districts also. Normal life went on as usual in Shivamogga, Chitradurga, Davangere and Haveri districts. The bandh call did not evoke any response in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada.


The dawn-to-dusk Karnataka bandh called by pro-Kannada organisations on Monday evoked a poor response in the city.



The normal life, by and large, remained unaffected. BMTC and Namma Metro operations were not affected. Cab services, including Ola and Uber, were normal though the waiting time seemed to be a bit longer.



Schools and colleges recorded good attendance. Shops, hotels and all other business establishments remain opened through the day.



Police had made elaborate security arrangements to thwart any untoward incidents.



About 2,000 police personnel from the law and order and traffic wings, besides CAR and KSRP, were deployed.

Additional deployments were made at railway station, bus stands and Kempegowda International airport to ensure peace and harmony.



The police had enhanced security at all shopping malls, markets and business establishments.



About 200 Kannada activists were taken into preventive custody when they attempted to take out a procession from Town Hall to picket Vidhana Soudha.



We had anticipated that the bandh would be a flop show as Kannada organisations were divided on calling for a bandh. Various government and private organisations too had clarified that they would not support the bandh.



There were intelligence alerts that public and business community were opposed to the bandh and might not participate, said a police officer.



There were attempts to stage protests at Mysore Bank circle, Kengeri, K R Puram and Chamarajpet, but the police detained protesters and released them later.



As a precautionary measure, we had warned certain leaders about participating in the bandh to trigger violence. These were the leaders whom the police had kept under control during the Cauvery bandh, he said.




The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) planned to transform the place into a beauty spot in 24 months but more than three years later, it has become an eyesore.



A proposed park in the heart of Koramangala, whose foundation stone was laid with much fanfare in January 2014, is now lying in a neglected state with weeds growing as tall as trees.



The 2.7-acre land on Jyoti Nivas College Road has been under dispute for quite sometime. The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) had transferred it to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) for developing a park. But a person has approached the court, contending that the BBMP had issued the propertys khata in his name.



Local residents who earlier strolled in the park are now wary of entering it. They say the place looks more like a mini-forest and has become a den of vice with liquor bottles thrown all over.



Lalitha N is one such resident. She said: Though the park was not fully developed earlier, at least it had a walking path where people could take a stroll. Now with weeds growing wildly in the park, we fear chain-snatchers and other miscreants could be on the prowl and attack us.



Govardhan Reddy, another local resident who is also president of the block Congress, said the park must be restored before the beauty spot turned into an ugly spot. He said the park was located on the border of three localities  Koramangala, Jakkasandra and Eijipura, leading to confusion in survey numbers.



The person who lays claim to the park has his property located elsewhere, but he argues that the BBMP issued the khata for this place in his name. As per the village map, the area has not been handed over to any private person and still belongs to the government. The matter is now before a city civil court, and the BBMP has to produce original documents to reclaim the property, he added.



What does MLA say?

Local MLA and Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said the government was determined to convert the land into a park and thats why the foundation stone was laid in a discreet manner despite the court case. The land belongs to the BBMP which will develop it into a park. We have been granted Rs 2 crore under the Nagarothana scheme to develop the park and the contractor has been finalised. We hope the dispute will be settled quickly and the park will be opened to the public by the end of this year, he said.


It turned out be a hectic day for the Bengaluru police on Monday due to the Karnataka bandh, the visit of Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari and AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi for the release of commemorative edition of National Herald.



The entire police force and reserve forces were on duty to ensure law and order and smooth vehicular flow. About 2,000 policemen, including the city police, KSRP and CAR platoons, were pressed into service. Though the bandh did not affect the citys life and passed off peacefully, the police did not take any chances and deployed forces till late evening. There was heavy concentration of the police force in the central business district as Kannada organisations took out a procession from Town Hall while the event to mark relaunch of

National Herald was held at Vasanthnagar.



The bandh failed to evoke any response, while there was less congestion on roads. All DCPs and ACPs personally supervised security arrangements and visited sensitive areas like Gandhinagar, Srirampuram, KR Puram, Old Madras Road and Electronics City, said a senior police officer. Though the police had to be on their toes on roads, the situation was by and large peaceful and no violent incidents were reported. Peace and harmony are more important for us than working additional hours, he said.
The Jnanabharathi police have arrested four people, including two juveniles, on charges of robbing people of their mobile phones.



The suspects are Pavan (19) and Yuvraj (19), both residents of Moodalapalya. The two juveniles have been handed over to the remand home, the police said. The suspects would move around on bikes and target lone people walking in the night. They would approach their victims on the pretext of asking an address, threaten them with weapons, snatch their mobile phones and flee the spot, said the police.



The suspects were involved in two cases in Ramanagaram district and three in Western Bengaluru.



Cab driver ends life

A 22-year-old cab driver committed suicide by hanging himself at his house in Rajagopalanagar on Sunday night.

The victim was identified as Rangaswamy (22), a resident of GKW Layout, Peenya 2nd Stage. He hailed from Hiriyur in Chitradurga district and was staying with his brother here.



Rangaswamy hanged himself from a ceiling fan when his brother was away in Hiriyur. There was no response from Rangaswamy to the phone calls from his brother. So, his brother called up his friend and asked him to meet Rangaswamy, said the police. The friend reached the house around 9.30 pm and knocked on the door. When there was no response, he broke open the door and spotted Rangaswamys body hanging from the ceiling fan. The police said there was no death note.



Rider killed in accident

A man was killed on the spot after his bike hit a medianstrip in K R Puram on Sunday midnight. The deceased Dhananjay (22), a private firm employee, hailed from Assam. He was staying at JC Palya. The accident occurred around 12.30 am on the service road near Graphite India office when he was returning home. On entering the main road, he lost balance and hit the median. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead on arrival, the police said.



Disinfectant fluid seized

A black disinfectant fluid worth Rs 40,000 used for cleaning was seized from an unlicensed manufacturer in Vidyaranyapura.



A team under the surveillance of the drugs controller on Monday seized the fluid from a company named Marvel Enterprises. We were informed in the morning that the company that manufactures the fluid is not licensed, said Bhagoji T. Khanapure, Drugs Controller, Karnataka.



The team seized around 850 bottles, each containing 500 ml of black disinfectant fluid.




By Chris Mooney

24 May 2017

(The Washington Post)  In a sign of growing tensions between scientists and the Trump administration, researchers published a scientific paper Wednesday that was conceived and written as an explicit refutation to an assertion by Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt about climate change.The study, in the journal Nature Scientific Reports, sets up a direct test of a claim by Pruitt, made in written Senate comments following his confirmation hearing, that over the past two decades satellite data indicates there has been a leveling off of warming.After reviewing temperature trends contained in three satellite data sets going back to 1979, the paper concludes that the data sets show a global warming trend  and that Pruitt was incorrect.Satellite temperature measurements do not support the claim of a leveling off of warming over the past two decades, write the authors, led by Benjamin Santer of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Santer co-authored the study with three Livermore colleagues and scientists from MIT, the University of Washington in Seattle and Remote Sensing Systems, which keeps one of the three satellite temperature data sets.In my opinion, when incorrect science is elevated to the level of formal congressional testimony and makes its way into the official congressional record, climate scientists have some responsibility to test specific claims that were made, determine whether those claims are correct or not, and publish their results, said Santer in an interview, when asked about the framing of the research. [more]
Former Hospital Management CEO Dares Business Owners to Operate by Biblical Principles in New Book Joe Greene shows entrepreneurs and executives how to do business 'by The Book'



Contact: David R. Shepherd, 615-476-3297, david@drsagency.com



FRANKLIN, Tenn., June 12, 2017 /Christian Newswire/ -- Hospital management pioneer and CEO Fellowship founder, Joe Greene, challenges Christians who are starting or currently running businesses to look to the Bible for success in operating their enterprises.



In his long-awaited new book, Dare to Succeed: Experience the Satisfaction of Doing Business by The Book, Greene tells story after storymany of them humorous and all of them firsthand experiences that demonstrate biblical principles in action in business and how these principles can turn a for-profit business into a prosperous operation and a powerful ministry for the gospel.



"When I left a top position in a Fortune 500 company to start a business that would operate strictly on principles that I gleaned from the Bible, most people thought I was doomed to fail," Greene said of his initial efforts. "Yet no one could tell me exactly which biblical principles wouldn't work for running a company."



As Greene proved when he started Hospital Management Associates in 1977, later known as Health Management Associates, all of the Bible's guidelines for living a wholesome, productive life work extremely well.



Greene points to one principle in particular that inspired an accounting practice that he says "would disturb most Chief Financial Officers."



"I recognized in Proverbs the principle that one shouldn't be using money he owes to someone else," Greene recalls. "So I insisted on paying every vendor's invoice within 24 hours of receiving it."



Greene said that instead of failure, his practice elicited an offer from a large vendor to provide investment capital, which Greene did not need, to expand the company simply because it was so well run and exhibited such integrity.



Greene's company grew into a multi-million-dollar operation that became a Wall Street darling when it went public. After retiring, Greene went on to found the Brentwood, Tennessee-based CEO Fellowship to mentor corporate executives and business owners in incorporating business principles based on the Bible.



Greene's collaborator on the book project is Greg Webster, who has collaborated on more than 20 books, including Dreams and Visions: Is God Awakening the Muslim World? and Killing Christians: Living the Faith Where It's Not Safe to Believe, both of which recount gripping, true life stories of Christians under persecution. He is founder and creative director of Webster Creative Group and lives in Giles County, Tennessee.



Birmingham-based New Hope Publishers has acquired Dare to Succeed, which will release in paperback in August 2017. The book is now available on Amazon for pre-release sales and retails for $16.99. For more information, visit www.DaretoSucceedBook.com.

Share Tweet
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!
Uber CEO, Travis Kalanick, may temporarily step away from the company, only to return in a lesser role.

Global ride hailing service Uber might soon be without its CEO and Co-Founder, Travis Kalanick. As per reports, Uber Technologies held a board of directors meeting on Sunday, in which all recommendations from a long drawn sexual harassment investigation were unanimously adopted.

The recommendations were made by former US Attorney General Eric Holders law firm. Uber had retained the firm after a former employee, Susan Fowler, wrote a blog post alleging sexual harassment practices in the company. The Uber board is expected to release these recommendations to all employees on Tuesday, a source told livemint. Details of the investigation have also not been revealed yet. It is expected that the recommendations will help improve HR practices at the company and make for stricter regulation of executives under Kalanick's management. Sources also tell livemint that executives led by Kalanick enjoyed surprising amount of autonomy and this might change once the boards recommendations are put in effect.

Further, some reports claim that Kalanick might temporarily step down as CEO of Uber or step away from the company for a while. It is believed that the board discussed Ubers strategy in the absence of Kalanick, who might return to the company in a lesser role after his break. Kalanick and his management came under fire recently after a report by Recode revealed that the companys APAC boss Eric Alexander illegally obtained medical records of a rape victim from India. It was also reported that Kalanick knew about this highly inappropriate incident and had personally seen the medical reports in question.

Ubers public image has already received several blows this year. The company was accused of illegally tracking and avoiding government officials in certain countries and was blamed for unofficially fingerprinting iPhones and making them traceable. A company executive was also accused of stealing technology from Googles self-driving arm Waymo. Reports of serious internal conflicts within Ubers own self-driving group also made things worse for the company.

For now, there is no official word on whether or not Kalanick will step down as CEO of Uber. Stay tuned to Digit for more updates on this developing story.
Asus Vivobook with intel Evo processor

Get the ASUS Vivobook S15 with the new Intel Evo i5 processor with 16GB RAM & 512 GB SSD on amazon.

Click here to know more

Advertisements
Googles Daydream VR headset is accompanied by a motion controller. The headset works exclusively with Daydream-ready smartphones such as the Google Pixel, Pixel XL. There are multiple buying offers and deals listed on Flipkart as well.

Google announced its very first Virtual Reality headset, the Daydream View, at the 2016 Google I/O developer conference last year. While the VR headset has been available in select markets globally, the Mountain View-based tech company has officially launched Daydream View in India today, an entire year after its I/O reveal. The Google Daydream VR is priced at Rs 6,499 in India and will only be available online through Flipkart. The headset will also have a year's warranty from the date of purchase. There are a few discount offers also available for the Daydream View. PhonePe users on Flipkart that buy Daydream via UPI will get a flat Rs 300 off on payment. Also the first 30 customers will receive a Google Chromecast free, and the first 50 customers will receive a Google Play Store Credit worth Rs 500.

A marked improvement over the Google cardboard, the Daydream View VR is a platform built on top of Android Nougat and is accompanied by a motion controller. The Daydream View headset, unlike the Cardboard, will work exclusively with Daydream-ready smartphone; it has specific component requirements such as SoCs, sensors, and displays. At the time of its launch, Google had listed eight manufacturers as partners who would eventually launch Daydream-ready smartphones. These included - LG, HTC, Samsung, Huawei, ZTE, Asus, Xiaomi and Alcatel. Of these, only Huawei, ZTE and Asus have extended support for the Daydream VR platform, while Motorola also added Daydream support with the Moto Z. However, Googles other official partners have not paid much attention to the headset till now. There are, of course, Googles own Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones that support the VR headset and in a product note shared with us, the company has noted that the Samsung Galaxy S8 will extend support for the Daydream View very soon.

On mounting the Google Daydream View, users will be greeted by a home screen with apps and VR content, much like the Samsung Gear VR. Google has developed VR versions of some of its most popular apps such as - YouTube, Street View, Google Play Store, and more. The company has also partnered with the likes of Ubisoft, EA, LEGO and Warner Bros to make games for the Daydream View VR headset. Some of these games include - Need for Speed No Limits VR, LEGO BrickHeadz Builder VR, Fantastic Beasts, and more. Other Daydream-ready apps include - Google Arts & Culture, NYT VR, YouTube VR, The Guardian VR, The Turning Forest, Labster: World of Science, Netflix VR, Google Play Movies, Within, and more.

In our first impressions of the Daydream View VR, we noted that it was much smoother and richer than the Gear VR. We experienced the device using a Google Pixel smartphone and noted that the screen was very clear, the headset was comfortable to wear and the frame rates were smooth while turning the head. The controller with the Daydream View features 9-axis motion control, which is great for gaming and navigation. It connects to the smartphone via Bluetooth and has a battery life of 12 hours. It can be charged via a USB-C cable.

As Google launches the Daydream View in India, the company is also known to be working on new Daydream standalone VR headsets, which wont require a phone or a PC to run on. The company made the announcement at the I/O conference this year. Google has even developed a prototype of the new headset and will be partnering with HTC and Lenovo to deliver the mainstream units based on its concept. Take a look at a quick demo of the Daydream View VR headset below and stay tuned for the complete review of the device.
Subscriber content preview

CHICAGO (AP)  A big Blue Cross-Blue Shield insurer is returning to the Affordable Care Act's health insurance exchanges next year in several states, including markets like Texas and Illinois.

Health Care Service Corp. says it also intends to sell coverage in Oklahoma, where it is the only insurer on the exchange, as well as New Mexico and Montana.





. . .
This domain was recently registered at Namecheap.com. Please check back later!
Panama Papers: Pak PM Sharif to appear before probe team

Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will appear before a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) in connection with a probe into his family's assets connected to the Panama Papers, the local media reported today.

Sharif will become the first sitting Pakistani prime minister to appear before an investigating agency.

Sharif has been summoned on Thursday by investigators probing the assets owned by him, details of which were disclosed in the Panama Papers leak, an official at the Prime Minister's house confirmed on Sunday.

On 8 June, the team issued summons asking Sharif "to appear on 15 June at 11 am at the office of the JIT, Federal Judicial Academy, Islamabad".

The summons also instructed the Prime Minister to "kindly bring along relevant record / documents / material" related to the Panama Papers case which will entail nearly all the documents and evidence submitted before the Supreme Court by Sharif's counsel, Makhdoom Ali Khan.

Sources told Pakistani daily The Dawn, finance minister Ishaq Dar may also be questioned by the team before Sharif's appearance.

In its judgement of 20 April in the Panama Papers case, the Supreme Court had constituted the JIT and empowered it to summon the prime minister, his sons and any other person necessary, to investigate allegations of money-laundering, through which four apartments in London's Park Lane area were allegedly purchased.

On 2 June, the prime minister's youngest son Hassan Nawaz appeared before the six-member probe team headed by Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) additional director-general Wajid Zia, reports Dawn.

A day earlier, Sharif's elder son, Hussain Nawaz, appeared before the JIT for the third time to defend the money trail of the Sharifs' London properties.

In his first appearance, Hussain refused to answer questions put forth by the investigative body, saying that the JIT's status was "sub judice" as he had already filed a petition before the apex court regarding two of its constituents.

Subsequently, the apex court rejected Hussain's plea, seeking exclusion of the two JIT members.

After each of the next two hearings, he told the media that he answered all of the questions put forth to him by the members of the JIT.

Sharif's government has accused some of the JIT members of having sympathies with opposition parties. The Supreme Court, however, rejected these objections and asked the investigators to continue its work.

In his defence, Sharif told the Supreme Court that the flats in question were originally purchased by a Qatar-based firm in which his family had invested. Later, in 2000, the flats were transferred to his son Hussain.

The Supreme Court took the case last year and in its judgment held that an investigation team should probe the money trail after the Prime Minister's family failed to establish how it had amassed these assets abroad. Two of the five apex court judges had then said that Sharif was not being truthful.
Offshore wind turbines built according to current standards may not be able to withstand the powerful gusts of a Category 5 hurricane, creating potential risk for any such turbines built in hurricane-prone areas, new reserch led by University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) shows. The study, which was conducted in collaboration with the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado and the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, highlights the limitations of current turbine design and could provide guidance for manufacturers and engineers looking to build more hurricane-resilient turbines in the future. Offshore wind-energy development in the US has ramped up in recent years, with projects either under consideration or already underway in most Atlantic coastal states from Maine to the Carolinas, as well as the West Coast and Great Lakes. The first utility-scale offshore wind farm in the US, consisting of five turbines, began commercial operation in December 2016 off the coast of Rhode Island. Turbine design standards are governed by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). For offshore turbines, no specific guidelines for hurricane-force winds exist. Offshore turbines can be built larger than land-based turbines, however, owing to a manufacturer's ability to transport larger molded components such as blades via freighter rather than over land by rail or truck. For the study, CU Boulder researchers set out to test the limits of the existing design standard. Due to a lack of observational data across the height of a wind turbine, they instead used large-eddy simulations to create a powerful hurricane with a computer. "We wanted to understand the worst-case scenario for offshore wind turbines, and for hurricanes, that's a Category 5," said Rochelle Worsnop, a graduate researcher in CU Boulder's Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (ATOC) and lead author of the study. These uniquely high-resolution simulations showed that under Category 5 conditions, mean wind speeds near the storm's eyewall reached 90 meters-per-second, well in excess of the 50 meters-per-second threshold set by current standards. "Wind speeds of this magnitude have been observed in hurricanes before, but in only a few cases, and these observations are often questioned because of the hazardous conditions and limitations of instruments," said George Bryan of NCAR and a co-author of the study. "By using large-eddy simulations, we are able to show how such winds can develop and where they occur within hurricanes." Furthermore, current standards do not account for veer, a measure of the change in wind direction across a vertical span. In the simulation, wind direction changed by as much as 55 degrees between the tip of the rotor and its hub, creating a potentially dangerous strain on the blade. The findings could be used to help wind farm developers improve design standards as well as to help stakeholders make informed decisions about the costs, benefits and risks of placing turbines in hurricane-prone areas. "The study will help inform design choices before offshore wind energy development ramps up in hurricane-prone regions," said Worsnop, who received funding from the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program to conduct this research. "We hope that this research will aid wind turbine manufacturers and developers in successfully tapping into the incredibly powerful wind resource just beyond our coastlines." "Success could mean either building turbines that can survive these extreme conditions, or by understanding the overall risk so that risks can be mitigated, perhaps with financial instruments like insurance," said Professor Julie Lundquist of ATOC and CU Boulder's Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI), a co-author of the study. "The next stage of this work would be to assess how often these extreme winds would impact an offshore wind farm on the Atlantic coast over the 20-to-30-year lifetime of a typical wind farm." The findings were recently published online in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, a publication of the American Geophysical Union.








Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.

Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.

If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .

Support our mission and join our community now.
A radiologist at Letterkenny University Hospital (LUH), Dr. Conall Mac a Bhaird, has said that he was shocked at a recent experience in A&E in the hospital, and the intolerable working conditions of staff there.

In an interview with Dr. Mac a Bhaird on Barrscealta on RTE Raidio na Gaeltachta, he said that he had visited A&E in Letterkenny University Hospital with a sick friend in the last week and that he was appalled by what he saw.

I have never seen it as bad as it was that day, he said, adding that you couldnt walk around due to overcowding.

"I dont know how the staff can continue to work in those conditions, he said.

He said that nobody should be asked to work under such circumstances, and that the situation was resulting in very low morale.

No doubt about it. Its not just in A&E either, its throughout the hospital, staff have extra duties, extra hours, and morale is very low, Im only surprised that its not worse, the LUH employee said.

He spoke about the need for reform and the burden of excessive bureaucracy on the health service: "Theres so much paperwork. Were practising defensive medicine, defensive nursing, in case theres a court case. We need to get rid of some of that bureaucracy, and to direct our attention and enthusiasm towards patient care again. We need to make it more personal and more humane than it is now.

Dr. Mac a Bhaird called on the public to use their voice to put pressure on politicians and bring about change:I dont think theres much political will to fix this problem. I dont think were vocal enough about it. If you compare it with the protests over water charges in the last few years, weve got the emphasis on the wrong thing, we dont have enough effort focused on fixing these problems.
A Florida company hired to assist the Dale County Water Authority in the installation of new water lines pleaded guilty to wire fraud recently for its role in the falsifying of water testing.

Roberson Excavation of Milton, Florida, entered the plea Friday in U.S. District Court in Dothan during the course of its trial.

The company and its owner, Billy Ray Roberson, were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and making a false statement. As part of the plea agreement, all charges other than the single count of wire fraud were dismissed.

According to the plea agreement, the Dale County Water Authority hired Roberson Excavation as the general contractor for the Marley Mill water line replacement project. Part of the companys responsibilities included drawing water samples from the new lines and taking the samples to a licensed lab to make sure the water was safe to drink.

After the contract extended past its due date, the company hired Darin Lewis to work on the project. Lewis has already pleaded guilty to his role in the case and is set to be sentenced later this month.

According to the plea agreement, Lewis withdrew water from a fire hydrant on the newly installed water line and used that sample to submit to a laboratory, knowing the test results would come back clean. He indicated the water had been drawn directly from the newly-installed lines. The plea agreement states the wire fraud occurred when Roberson Excavation transmitted a request for payment to the water authority that contained materially false statements related to the water testing.

Sentencing will be held at a later date, but the government has indicated it will recommend a sentence range near the bottom of the recommended guidelines for the offense.
The new trial of an Ashford man who originally pleaded guilty to molesting 10 girls began Monday with additional testimony from another girl who said she was victimized.

Bobby Lynn Smith, 57, pleaded guilty in 2013 to 27 felony sex crimes. Circuit Judge Michael Conaway sentenced Smith to more than 600 years in prison after ruling his prison terms would run consecutively.

Smith was granted a new trial last year after it was determined Smith's attorney did not not properly advise Smith of the possible enhancement and range of punishment for all the charges before he pleaded guilty.

Conaway heard an additional juveniles testimony Monday morning.

Houston County Assistant District Attorney Russ Goodman said the state has seven additional charges against Smith. Charges include three counts of first-degree rape, three counts of first-degree sodomy and one count of sexual abuse.

During opening arguments Monday, Goodman said evidence will indicate Smith is guilty of the additional charges as well.

Smiths attorney Derek Yarbrough argued against the additional testimony. However, Conaway allowed the testimony Monday.

The Houston County District Attorneys Office believes the case will be ready for a verdict by Wednesday.

Smith was initially arrested in August of 2011. According to arrest warrant information, Smith was accused of molesting an 8-year-old Georgia girl on May 8, 2002 in Houston County, a 9-year-old Newville girl between January and December 2009, a 5-year-old Dothan girl between January and December of 2007, a 9-year-old Ashford boy twice between June and October 2010 and a Webb girl on July 2, 2009.

Records also indicated deputies charged Smith with enticing a 10-year-old girl to enter his Ashford home for the purpose of sexual contact between June and October 2010.

Court records also indicated deputies charged Smith with the rape of two Dothan girls, one who was under the age of 12 and another who was a teenager. Both rape offenses allegedly happened in 2001.

In 2013, additional criminal charges were brought that included additional victims. However, according to former District Attorney Doug Valeska, the charges were dismissed so the victims would not have to testify and go through any court proceedings.
Although there are many ways of developing green vehicles such as going the Hybrid way or even Hydrogen fueled cars, right now it does seem like an all-electric drivetrain is the best alternative to fossil fuel guzzling internal combustion engines.

The Green trend is hot even in the commercial vehicle segment, and manufacturers are going all out to develop green commercial vehicles. Hyundai's Initiative in developing this bus is also seen as a result of the drive to go green.

The Elec City is powered by electric motors driven by a 256 kilowatt-per-hour battery and can run up to a claimed 290 kilometres on a single charge, which takes 67 minutes. A short 30-minute charge is enough to see the bus run 170 kilometres. So it is clear that the Elec City is intended for intra-city commuters. There are rumours that Hyundai might also launch a long-range electric bus in 2018.

Hyundai has a strong presence in its home country and hence might easily be able to market the Elec City there. But would it be able to compete with global giants like Volvo, Scania, MAN and Daimler if the electric bus is launched in the European market? Well, we can see for ourselves if it is launched in Europe.

India is not far behind when it comes to electric commercial vehicles. Ashok Leyland launched an electric bus last year, Mahindra and Tata too have plans to develop electric buses. While cities like Mumbai and Delhi are now adopting electric buses as their green alternative, Bangalore became the first city to consider electric buses.

The Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) began testing an electric bus from Chinese manufacturer BYD in 2014, and in 2016 confirmed an order for 150 electric buses. A spokesperson from the BMTC confirmed that using electric buses had reduced the cost per kilometre by more than 60 percent.

The bus is priced at 200 million won (Rs 1.15 crore).
ECB Youth Dialogue

The ECB Youth Dialogue gives you the chance to do exactly that. We hold events throughout Europe  and also online  that put you in direct contact with ECB policymakers so you can ask any questions you have and share your views with us.

We know that the decisions we take can have an impact on your day-to-day life. Thats why we want to make sure that, instead of just hearing about us and what we do, you also have the chance to talk with us directly.

Around 200 students from the University of Cologne asked Vice-President de Guindos their questions on the ECBs response to the coronavirus crisis, the euro area economic outlook, and climate change and central banking. The online event, which took place on 16 December, was organised in collaboration with the University of Cologne.

I think completing the banking union could be key to address certain issues at the European level, such as the low profitability of European banks.

Monetary policy is not about revolution, it's about evolution. The ECBs definition of price stability can be modified, but I think what is much more important is the instruments that we are going to use to deliver it.

Climate change is part of the work of any central bank, because it affects financial stability, the economic outlook, inflation and growth.

We have to strike a balanced approach between avoiding zombie companies and helping so-called sleeping beauties: companies that are viable but suffering because of the pandemic.

This is an unprecedented crisis in terms of the origin of the shock and how rapidly the pandemic has caused a decline in GDP around the world. Our measures have helped reduce the impact of the crisis, but GDP levels will take around two years to fully recover.

Past events

Ask Christine Lagarde at the European Youth Event, online, May 2020

Young Europeans asked President Lagarde their questions on the ECB's response to the coronavirus pandemic emergency in an online youth dialogue. The event was organised together with the European Parliament as part of the European Youth Event 2020 and took place on 27 May 2020. Participants also sent questions about their concerns for their careers, the future of Europe, digitalisation and climate change. Here are the highlights from the discussion! President Lagarde's thoughts... ...on the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic Viruses know no borders, so all of us are affected. However, there will still be different consequences depending on factors such as a country's situation before the pandemic and the nature of its economy. It is our collective duty to make sure that we come out of this in as balanced a way as possible. ...on countries increasing their debt What we are investing in is what really matters. We should transform our economies and make them more efficient, productive and responsive to people's needs. We should also encourage the use of debt to invest in resisting climate change and stimulate sustainable growth. ...on European institutions working together EU policymakers have kept in constant contact in this crisis situation in order to compare best practices and deliver a coordinated response to the pandemic. We need to respond collectively. With the right measures, we stand a chance of coming out of this together. ...on climate change Climate change needs to be addressed collectively. This is not something that can be done in isolation. The ECB belongs to the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS), which brings together nearly 50 national central banks and supervisors to explore possible responses to the incredible challenge of climate change. ...on the future of young people Young Europeans have to prepare themselves for change. We will all train over the course of time, we will acquire new skill sets, new tools. We will transform ourselves and we have to just get ready for that. Watch the full event Photos

Winners of the Generation uro Students Award ask former President Draghi their questions, Frankfurt, May 2019

More than 5000 students, from ten different countries across the eurozone, participated in the eighth edition of the Generation uro Students Award  a competition that challenges teams of students from eurozone schools to suggest solutions to European monetary policy issues. The ECB invited successful teams to Frankfurt on 8 May 2019 to discover even more about central banking, and to meet former President Draghi for a Q&A session. Heres a taster of how Mario Draghi responded to students questions! What he said  on how young people can shape the future of Europe Europe works if we work together, and for this we need you. We want to hear what you have to say. We need you to get involved in debates and speak up for what you believe in. One way to do this is by taking part in the European elections. With your vote you can shape the future of Europe.  on central banks communicating to the public Central banks nowadays make a constant effort to be transparent and to explain their work to the general public. We have a continuous flow of information through press conferences, press statements, speeches, and youth dialogues.  on completing the economic and monetary union Our monetary union is not yet optimal, nor is it complete. Sharing a single currency requires deeper integration in the European Union.  on cryptocurrencies Cryptocurrencies are not currencies but very risky assets. A euro today is a euro tomorrow. The ECB is behind the euro, but who is behind cryptocurrencies?  on support for the euro Support for the euro is at a historical high of 75% of eurozone citizens. But research published by the Banque de France shows that people are convinced the euro has done more for other countries than for their own. This is probably due to the unprecedented crisis we have experienced. As the memory of the crisis fades away, we hope that this uneasiness will also disappear.  on what he will remember most from his time as President of the ECB In 2012, lots of people were thinking that the euro was dead. And then there was a European Council meeting which created the banking union. Markets were so discouraged at the time that they underestimated its importance. But it was a big change, it produced important results, and what this Council meeting showed is the political commitment of our leaders to the euro. Watch the Q&A between President Draghi and the successful teams from the Generation uro Students Award by following the links below. Watch the Generation uro Students Award Ceremony Have a look at the photos of the event

Youth Dialogue with Benoit Cure, Milan, Italy, March 2019

The ECB held its sixth Youth Dialogue in partnership with Bocconi University and Debating Europe  an online platform where young people can discuss current issues with Europes leaders. On 13 March 2019, ECB Executive Board member Benoit Cure met with students to discuss the challenges faced by young Europeans today. Ahead of the event, we asked you to send in your questions for Benoit Cure via Twitter or by commenting on the Debating Europe platform. We added a selection of these questions to the live debate. Heres a taster of the discussion! ...on the importance of education We need to redirect public spending towards education in Europe. Young students should receive the education they need to successfully compete in the global digital labour market. ...on innovation and digitalisation We must strengthen Europes capacity to innovate. Public and private investment should support digitalisation in leading industries, and capital market union can play a pivotal role in allocating capital where it is most needed. ...on the role of young Europeans You are the ones who will chart the path that decides where the currents of history will take Europe next. ...on the Italian economy Italys economic situation is not a threat to the eurozone. Italys main challenge is to increase productivity in the longer term. ...on gender equality Gender inequality is a limit to growth. If more women work and get equal pay, that would raise the standard of living in Europe. ...on cash in a digital age Cash is an essential part of trust in currency. Means of payment have to be driven by social demand. We are studying digital currencies, but we still see strong demand for cash in the eurozone. Watch the exchange of questions and answers on these and other topics between Benoit Cure and students of Bocconi University.

Youth Dialogue with Mario Draghi: #AskDraghi, January 2018

Youth Dialogue with Mario Draghi, Dublin, Ireland, September 2017

President Mario Draghi met with young Europeans on Friday, 22 September 2017, at Trinity College Dublin. The event was organised in partnership with the Central Bank of Ireland and Trinity College Dublin. Will blockchain have a role in the future? Is the potential for house price bubbles a growing concern for the Governing Council? To what extent is forward guidance and clear communication seen as a key component of modern central banks? Watch the exchange of questions and answers on these and other topics between President Draghi and economics students from Trinity College Dublin. ECB Youth Dialogue Dublin

Photos

Youth Dialogue with Mario Draghi, Lisbon, Portugal, June 2017
Blog Archive June 2021 (1) May 2021 (77) April 2021 (77) March 2021 (82) February 2021 (68) January 2021 (64) December 2020 (67) November 2020 (66) October 2020 (66) September 2020 (67) August 2020 (74) July 2020 (83) June 2020 (92) May 2020 (86) April 2020 (104) March 2020 (105) February 2020 (74) January 2020 (75) December 2019 (75) November 2019 (70) October 2019 (89) September 2019 (69) August 2019 (81) July 2019 (77) June 2019 (73) May 2019 (110) April 2019 (110) March 2019 (102) February 2019 (85) January 2019 (123) December 2018 (116) November 2018 (112) October 2018 (121) September 2018 (107) August 2018 (150) July 2018 (163) June 2018 (190) May 2018 (145) April 2018 (112) March 2018 (124) February 2018 (113) January 2018 (164) December 2017 (150) November 2017 (144) October 2017 (169) September 2017 (171) August 2017 (135) July 2017 (131) June 2017 (147) May 2017 (160) April 2017 (138) March 2017 (156) February 2017 (143) January 2017 (203) December 2016 (208) November 2016 (185) October 2016 (173) September 2016 (194) August 2016 (232) July 2016 (225) June 2016 (238) May 2016 (231) April 2016 (215) March 2016 (246) February 2016 (226) January 2016 (252) December 2015 (230) November 2015 (250) October 2015 (234) September 2015 (222) August 2015 (253) July 2015 (275) June 2015 (279) May 2015 (223) April 2015 (226) March 2015 (243) February 2015 (258) January 2015 (281) December 2014 (292) November 2014 (296) October 2014 (413) September 2014 (472) August 2014 (506) July 2014 (483) June 2014 (488) May 2014 (512) April 2014 (497) March 2014 (531) February 2014 (482) January 2014 (535) December 2013 (482) November 2013 (441) October 2013 (416) September 2013 (491) August 2013 (521) July 2013 (491) June 2013 (470) May 2013 (457) April 2013 (426) March 2013 (420) February 2013 (414) January 2013 (489) December 2012 (433) November 2012 (504) October 2012 (469) September 2012 (430) August 2012 (427) July 2012 (360) June 2012 (336) May 2012 (362) April 2012 (322) March 2012 (263) February 2012 (224) January 2012 (291) December 2011 (295) November 2011 (325) October 2011 (330) September 2011 (319) August 2011 (333) July 2011 (318) June 2011 (387) May 2011 (373) April 2011 (389) March 2011 (375) February 2011 (335) January 2011 (400) December 2010 (445) November 2010 (395) October 2010 (312) September 2010 (262) August 2010 (277) July 2010 (323) June 2010 (386) May 2010 (360) April 2010 (333) March 2010 (351) February 2010 (336) January 2010 (384) December 2009 (353) November 2009 (300) October 2009 (308) September 2009 (350) August 2009 (298) July 2009 (255) June 2009 (203) May 2009 (193) April 2009 (186) March 2009 (197) February 2009 (173) January 2009 (148) December 2008 (181) November 2008 (197) October 2008 (236) September 2008 (304) August 2008 (314) July 2008 (273) June 2008 (27) May 2008 (1) April 2008 (6) October 2007 (1) May 2007 (1) April 2007 (6) March 2007 (2) February 2007 (1) October 2006 (1) September 2006 (1) August 2006 (4) July 2006 (4) June 2006 (1) July 2005 (1) May 2005 (2) March 2005 (1) June 2004 (2) May 2004 (1) April 2004 (4) March 2004 (2) February 2004 (2) July 2003 (2) June 2003 (5)
As states move to adopt college- and career-ready accountability systems under the Every Student Succeeds Act , many educators and researchers argue that assessments will not be able to adequately measure the career part of that equation.

Over the years, weve built tests that measure better and better whether a student will be able to get at least a C in their first year of collegebut they explain almost nothing about whether a student will succeed in an occupation, said Anthony Carnevale, the director of Georgetown Universitys Center on Education and the Workforce.

Career assessments typically focus on the occupations that provide high enough wages to support a family and require some postsecondary training, though usually not a bachelors degree. But Carnevale and other researchers have found that the material on career-readiness tests, like the U.S. militarys Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, or ASVAB, and the civilian WorkKeys run by ACT Inc., still overlap significantly with the academic content of college-readiness tests like the ACT or SAT, which focus on early-college content, rather than content geared toward the workplace.

Even the National Assessment of Educational Progress, commonly dubbed the nations report card, was not found to be particularly aligned to the types of reading and math skills needed on the job in eight major job clusters, such as health care.

The whole impetus by states and the feds, and all of the discussion, has been around college readiness and what skills were needed for that, said Wayne Camara, the senior vice president of research at ACT.

College- and career-readiness is used almost interchangeably to cover everyone, but there is a paucity of evidence that those assessments bear any relation to careers, and theyre at a level of abstraction that means theres often very little utility in using the results to gauge a students likelihood of success in the workplace, as opposed to the academic field, Camara said.

Some countries, such as Switzerland, integrate their career and academic training more throughout the elementary and secondary grades and have more integrated assessment of different skills, too, according to Robert Schwartz, a professor emeritus at the Harvard Graduate School of Education who has studied international career-education systems. In the United States, he said, we still think of assessments as academickids ability to tell you what they have learned, rather than reflect what they have learned by doing.

By contrast, the Swiss system includes career-skills testing in regular classrooms, skill-focused industry centers, and required job internships.

Generally, there is much more focus on assessing the underlying critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, Schwartz said. They focus on deep, transferable skills, because students switch tracks regularly.

Under the Every Student Succeeds Act, a few states are starting to incorporate more accountability for career-related skills, but David Conley, the director of the Center for Educational Policy Research at the University of Oregon, said the current crop of career tests do not focus enough on those underlying skills. The career space is completely different from the college space, and people havent really come to grips with how to test it, he said.

The ASVAB and WorkKeys have each been used for decades with students and adult job seekers, but in the past five years both tests have updated their assessments and ramped up testing among high school students in efforts to match evolving occupationsparticularly in the technology sectorand meet the needs of states interested in college and career readiness.

Evolving Assessments

Four states require and fully pay for all students to take WorkKeys: Alabama, Michigan, South Carolina, and Wisconsin. Another nine pay for the test for specific groups of students, such as those in career-tech courses, or they allow districts or students to choose between it or another test. The test has grown from about 700,000 participants a year in 2000 to more than 2 million a year today.

The ASVAB has been required for all students entering the military since 1976, but it also is given to high schoolers across states and is an option for high school graduation in states including Colorado, Kentucky, Mississippi, Minnesota, New Mexico, and New Jersey. It, too, has seen growth recently, with 600,000 to 700,000 total test-takers each year for the past five years.

While both tests gauge basic math and reading skills, the ASVAB also gauges students electronics, automotive, and mechanical understanding, as well as their ability to assemble objects. WorkKeys recently added measures of graphical literacy"being able to draw information from charts and dataand updated about 1,000 occupations it uses to determine skill levels.

Probably the biggest challenge is going to be to keep up with how jobs change. College hasnt changed that dramatically in the last 40 years, particularly for students who attend brick-and-mortar schools. But jobs have changed dramatically, ... and the workplace now demands continuous improvement of skills, ACTs Camara said. We can only hope to measure a small portion; we can never measure all of the behaviors and values required by a particular company.

Bringing in Business

Michigan is one of a handful of states trying to incorporate career-readiness assessments more directly into its accountability system. All students in that state must create an education development plan in 7th grade, including career interests and long-term goals, and update it every year to prompt discussions of what skills and experience students will need to acquire the job they want.

Before graduating, all high school students must take WorkKeys in addition to the College Boards SAT and Michigans own science and social studies tests; participation is part of schools required accountability reporting, but the actual scores are not.

"[WorkKeys] provides a balance to the SAT, which is really driven by four-year university admissions, said Brandy Johnson, the executive director of the Michigan College Access Network, a nonprofit advocacy group. It is symbolically really powerful for the state to say we want students to be college ready, ... but we also know there are other types of skills that are extremely important in both college and workplace settings that we want to acknowledge.

The nonprofit Talent 2025 is a coalition of 13 school districts, businesses, and community groups in western Michigan that is trying to connect school assessments to industry needs. For example, in the past two years, the group has increased from 50 to 250 the number of employers who ask for career-assessment scores like WorkKeys on job applications.

Were working to promote the [career] test and certificates as another piece of information employers use to assess a candidate for a job, just as you would review education or related job experiences, said Kevin Stotts, the president of Talent 2025. Everyone understands the value of an ACT or SAT score, but we havent really done a good job of explaining the value of a career assessment.

Next-Generation Career Tests?

Debates around the reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Actoverdue since 2006have included proposals to use state longitudinal student databases to track career outcomes, such as whether a student ends up working in the field for which he or she studied. If accepted in the next version of the federal law, the measures could help researchers devise better indicators of career readiness.

Some of Talent 2025s districts are developing digital transcripts that allow students to include scores from an array of teststhe SAT and the International Baccalaureate as well as WorkKeys or industry-certificate examswith other indicators that employers have considered useful, such as extracurricular activities and experiences with team projects or problem-solving.

Stephen Watson, the director of Navy selection and classification, who helped develop the ASVAB, said he expects the next generation of career assessments to include more of those other indicators that can point to a students motivation and problem-solving approach to work.

The armed forces have already been exploring better ways to measure students interests in certain fields. Theyre also experimenting with simulations designed to test how students would approach specific experiences at work, such as teaming up with colleagues or tackling a crisis. We have to predict what matters, Watson said, and what matters is how successful people feel in their jobs, how successful they are in their jobs, and how long they stick around.
Preparing for a K-12 future that is digitally driven and more student-centered will change the role of almost everyone involved in educationand companies are among those trying to figure out just how to respond.

That challenge was top of mind for the 40 businesses and organizations that participated in an ed-tech meeting last month that was a run-up to the 2017 Content in Context Conference here. The groups from the United States, South Africa, and Sweden that attended the meeting grappled with several key questions, including:

 What will students come to expect as they learn in ways that are relevant to them and take greater responsibility for their learning?

 How will teachers practice change to guide student learning, rather than leading it every step of the way?

 And how can ed-tech businesses provide instructional materials that support these changes in the classroom?

Make no mistake: Student-centered learning is disruptive, said Jeff Livingston, the president and CEO of EdSolutions Inc., who spoke at the meeting, which was organized by the Association of American Publishers PreK-12 Learning Group .

How do we acknowledge what is coming without going broke waiting for it to come? asked Livingston, who spent more than a decade as a senior executive at McGraw-Hill Education before starting his own company. How do we recognize that our existing revenue streams are vulnerable without throwing them away reaching for revenue streams that are not there yet?

Unlearning to Do

The Pre-K-12 publishing industrywhich includes digital and print productshas held steady at about $8 billion in revenues over the past several years, said Jay Diskey, the executive director of the associations PreK-12 Learning Group. But products are more diversified, and adoption markets are more flexible in recent years, he said.

For instance, about $1 billion that schools traditionally invested in core curricular products are now spent on subsectors like supplemental resources, education media, courseware, and assessment products, he said.

Although Livingston said he couldnt give attendees a blueprint for responding to the new environment, he did elaborate on what he thinks is the wrong approach: to do what you always did, but only more so.

Old assumptions about what schools really need will be called into question, he said, as a teacher-centered and curriculum-centered world is likely to be organized differently, with the student learner making more decisions.

We have a lot of unlearning to do in schools, said Chris Lehmann , the founding principal of Philadelphias Science Leadership Academy, a science and technology high school that emphasizes project-based and tech-focused learning.

The purpose of education is not what many adults insist it is: to prepare students for specific jobs in the 21st-century economy, argued Lehmann.

In reality, schools have no idea what a 5-year-old is likely to do as he or she grows and enters the job market until retirement in 2077. Instead, he favors an inquiry-driven education in which students ask powerful questions that no one knows the answer tountil they do their research.

Competency-Based Learning

More than 40 states are investigating how they might use competency-based learning, an approach in which students progress through grades based on mastery of content, not time spent in classes, said Fred Bramante, a former chairman of the New Hampshire board of education who launched the National Center for Competency-Based Learning in 2013. He told publishers that students engaged in this form of education will learn sometimes in a classroom, sometimes online, and sometimes in a real-world setting.

When you think about creating materials for school districts, how much are your efforts going to be put into that 20th-century modelimproving upon things that dont work? he asked. Or will you start investing significantly in thinking about where this is going?

The decisionmaker is changing as to what is happening in the classroom and how, said Livingston, and with that, K-12 purchasing decisions will change. The notion that discrete units of knowledge are packaged for delivery to an industrialized system by decisionmakers in a hierarchical classroom setting will be part of that transformation, he said.

The shift will require companies to move from simplicity to elegance for this technology-intensive endeavor, said Michael Jay, the president of Educational Systemics, a consulting firm that helps K-12 organizations and companies.

Educators will need help sorting through newly available information, because millions of years of evolution have not prepared us to read streams of data, he said. At the same time, good educators develop intuition about their students academic and social issues, and companies will need to understand how to replicate that intuition via technology.

Research Experts Needed

Finding ways to stay current on the latest educational research will be essential, Jay added. If you dont have somebody whos well-versed in staying up on research, find somebody who is, he said.

The meeting focused on some key technological features that ed-tech companies will need to pay close attention to in the years ahead. They include interoperability for assessments, learning analytics, mapping educational requirements, collecting valuable metadata, and tracking how it is used to make inferences about student learning.

Whatever technology is necessary to drive student-centered learning, Livingston advised that companies be prepared to offer an array of options to schools, and by extension, to students.

If students are really at the center, they will make big changes often and be upset when they dont have real choice, he said. Think of that as a strategic business initiative.




South Africa hosts Cobb Middle East broiler seminar





Close to 50 delegates from 24 customers in 10 countries took part in the Cobb Middle East Broiler Seminar held in Cape Town, South Africa.

The opening presentation in the four-day seminar was delivered by Pieter Oosthuysen, senior manager for Cobb in Africa, who spoke about the trends and challenges facing the South African poultry market.

The fluctuations in the price of maize and currency exchange rates, coupled with predictions of lower economic growth, posed challenges for the future, he said. Yet, the broiler industry in South Africa provided some 57% of the animal protein in the country, and is on par with the best in the world in terms of technical performance.

"The industry needs to rebuild relationships with the government and move from conflict to collaboration," he said. "There is a need to reinvest for future efficiency and foreign competitiveness, and to adjust the business model to better suit market demand."



Commenting on the Middle East market, Mohamad Kallas, Cobb senior accounts manager, stated: "The Cobb team has built an excellent relationship with our distributors and customers in the region that is based on trust, openness, reliability and loyalty. We anticipate these relationships growing further due to advancing genetics and performance."

The technical presentations covered many aspects of broiler management, from incubation effects to lighting, nutrition and health, along with a focus on ventilation in hot climates as presented by Matthew Wilson, Cobb regional technical services director. His presentation covered tunnel ventilation, evaporative cooling, water recovery units and pad housing. Wilson concluded with the importance of sealing the poultry house and guidelines on how to test its effectiveness in achieving the minimum pressure of 37.5 Pascals.

The programme also included two farm visits. The first was to the farm of Quantum Foods located in the Atlantis area near Cape Town, where Andre Bester gave delegates a tour of the brooding facilities which achieve commendably high seven-day weights of around 190 grams.

The following day at RCL Foods, they were shown modern panel housing designed for improved insulation and energy efficiency, now achieving 1.97 kg (4.34 lb) in 32 days.

Delegates expressed their appreciation of the opportunity to learn and share their interests and knowledge.

- Cobb




Alltech Ireland named "Agricultural Laboratory of the Year"



Alltech Ireland has long been a leader in both the Irish and European agriculture industry.

Located in Dunboyne, Co. Meath, Ireland, it became the first Alltech office to be established in mainland Europe in 1981 and serves today as Alltech's European headquarters and Bioscience Centre.



Recently, the company's research team celebrated being awarded the Agricultural Laboratory of the Year by the Irish Laboratory Awards, the benchmark for those demonstrating excellence, best practice and innovation within Ireland's lab industry.



Richard Murphy, director of research at Alltech, praised his dedicated team members on achieving the recognition.



"At Alltech, we strive for success," said Murphy. "Our innovative solutions and cutting-edge technologies deliver for our customers and farmers, and so this award is a tremendous achievement for us as a research team.



Alltech's European Bioscience Centre serves as Alltech's pivotal research centre in Europe.



The research work carried out at the centre specialises in cellular biotechnology, and the team of 20 scientists based in Dunboyne have developed unique insights into specific focus areas such as yeast cell wall architecture, trace element chelation, bio-marker detection and microbial population dynamics. This work has resulted in the development of new solutions, services and analytical tools that improve producers' profitability and efficiency.



"We have approximately 20 full-time scientists on-site in Dunboyne," said Murphy. "We are very proud of our highly educated team and close links with Irish universities. The majority of the team have earned their Ph.D. or master's degree with Alltech. Since redevelopment work in 2013, the team at Alltech are very lucky to work in labs of exceptional quality and standard thanks to Mrs. Deirdre Lyons, Alltech's director of corporate image and design, who is responsible for designing our labs to provide a state-of-the-art platform that enables young scientists to work with Alltech's expert team of biochemists, microbiologists and nutritionists."



Alltech's European Bioscience Centre is one of three major bioscience centres around the world and each centre has its own focus. The centres are complemented by more than 20 research alliances with leading universities globally.



Alltech's research team are responsible for over 500 patents awarded to Alltech globally.



- Alltech
Electoral register deadline approaches

Those eligible to vote on the Isle of Man have until the end of the week to submit their details to this year's electoral register update.

The Manx Government updates the register every year to ensure addresses, eligibility and other details are accurate.

The Cabinet Office warns not being on the register can have an impact on a person's credit rating, as well as preventing them from voting in House of Keys and local authority elections.

Reminder forms have been sent to those who are yet to respond, while forms can also be obtained by emailing elections@gov.im or calling 685754.

Responses must be submitted by Saturday.
Collective responsibility By Robert T. Smith

Islamic terrorism has struck Great Britain again and we are reminded that we are at war with an enemy who hides among us. We cannot identify the Islamic terrorists because the uniform they wear into battle is indistinguishable from the uniform every other Muslim wear. Thoughts are the sole distinguishing characteristic of the Islamic terrorists; the term radicalization is the vernacular excuse of the politically correct. How do we fight such an enemy? The notion of suddenly being radicalized is a bit of a bizarre theory. It is difficult to imagine how an individual suddenly converts from living a peaceful, bucolic lifestyle, enjoying the benefits of modern society, to suddenly contemplating killing as many innocent men, women, and children as possible in as medieval a manner as can be conceived as a tool to terrorize. Sudden onset radicalization currently appears a bit more endemic to a certain group than others. Because of their small numbers and being ill equipped to militarily take on an entire nation, the Islamic terrorists use the notion of collective responsibility against innocents in an attempt to achieve their religious goals. Certainly the killing of innocent women and children with a bomb at a concert, on a roadway with a truck, or in a public setting with a knife cannot be justified in any other application other than to attack the western and/or Christian societies as a whole. Acquiescence to their cause is the goal, accomplished by their draconian methods. As reported by those who have interrogated the terrorists, the terrorists believe that their god provided us our modern notions of liberty and religious freedom to be used against us as a weakness, so that we may be defeated by them, by their exploiting what we believe to be virtuous. Unafraid of repercussions from their host country western governments, the Muslim population in which the terrorists hide themselves appears to provide uniform cover, and active or tacit approval of terrorism, otherwise we should be witness to an inter-Muslim community cleansing of staggering proportion. As a Christian, I would be on the front lines of identifying to the authorities any possible terrorist in my church or local community who I knew was using my Christian religion as an excuse for terrorism, since they denigrate the members of my church and all Christians in general. Why then does this not happen with the Muslim community?... it seems in almost every instance that others had known about the terrorists among them. To great effect during Americas Civil War, the north used collective responsibility against the people of the southern states. As example, General Sherman had difficulties subduing confederate snipers who blended in with the general population. His response was to use collective responsibility to attack the civilian population, burning towns and taking civilian hostages. During World War II the bombing of the City of Dresden by the allies was a strike at the heart of the German people, not the German military. The city was destroyed and tens of thousands of civilians killed. To great effect the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japans civilian population brought the grind of the war with Japan to a quick end. Collective responsibility is brutish, but effective. Individual and society existential issues should call for the application of collective responsibility when fighting this Islamic terrorist enemy, in order to bring an end to the barbarians activities. According to the Democrat party, the Islamic terrorists pose no existential threat to the United States as a national entity and we are constantly admonished to not consider the common group source of the terrorists, multiculturalism and not Americanism being of paramount importance to the Democrat. Consequently, this is and has been a law enforcement issue and not a nation at war issue to the Democrats. In American-think terms, the Islamic terrorist existential threat to any individual is clear and the preservation of Americanism is paramount, we are at war with an ideology antithetical to the virtues of our people and country. Since we cannot identify the Islamic terrorists among us from the Muslim non-terrorists, and this group does not seem inclined to help with this endeavor, perhaps it is time for a bit of collective responsibility to be applied. You are either with your fellow citizens, or you are an enemy living in their land and on the side of the terrorists. Robert T. Smith is an environmental scientist who spends his days enjoying life and the pursuit of happiness with his family. He confesses to cling to his liberty, guns and religion, with antipathy toward the arrogant ruling elites throughout the country. Home
The dark origins of Communism: Part 1 of 3 By Joshua Philipp

If you were to ask most people about the origins of communism, theyd likely point to Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, authors of The Communist Manifesto. If you asked a Marxist, however, theyd likely point to Francois-Noel Gracchus Babeuf, who is regarded as the first revolutionary communist. And if Babeuf could still speak today and was asked about the origins of his belief, hed likely reply that, well, its complicated. On July 28, 1794, French politician Maximilien Robespierre was beheaded in front of a crowd by guillotine, bringing an end to the dictatorship of the Jacobin Club, a revolutionary political society, during the French Revolution. The beheading of Robespierre also brought an end to his Reign of Terrora bloody segment of the French Revolution in which he had more than 16,000 people beheaded. Babeufs role in history came soon after the death of Robespierrean event that sent the numerous radical figures beneath him into disarray. According to the book The Red Flag by David Priestland, Babeuf condemned Robespierre for betraying the artisans and peasants of France, and became the leader of one of the first communist movements. Babeufs goal was to overthrow the French Directorythe revolutionary government that lasted from 1795 to 1799and to restore power to the Jacobins with egalitarian communism under a new system drawn from the then-emerging ideas of socialism. Babeuf had developed a more radical condemnation of property than he had under the Jacobins, according to Priestland, and he abandoned the idea that agrarian law alone could bring about his new vision of absolute equality. Under his new vision, money would be eliminated, and people would be forced to hand over all fruits of their labor to a common storehouse. From there, an all-powerful government would be in charge of redistributing these goods. Babeuf took a lesson from what he regarded as the shortcomings of moderate Jacobinism and took note of Robespierres widespread use of violence in the Reign of Terror. Babeuf sought an even more extreme system that would use violent revolution to seize control and force its will on society. This plot took form in Babeufs Conspiracy of Equals, which he formed while imprisoned in February 1795 for inciting rebellion, murder, and dissolution of the national representative body, according to A Critical Dictionary of the French Revolution. The book notes that the conspirators included ex-terrorists and neo-terrorists among the prisoners: Germain, Bodson, Debon, and Buonarroti. They were soon joined by other radicals. However, before Babeufs armed uprising could unfold on its set date of May 11, 1796, the French Directory caught wind of it. On May 10, one day before the plot was to unfold, Babeuf and many of his conspirators were arrested, and after a two-month trial, many were sentenced to death. Babeuf was beheaded by guillotine on May 27, 1797, yet his theories were carried on by one of his surviving conspirators, Filippo Buonarroti, who documented the history of the failed movement. Built on the ideas of Babeuf, a new secret society known as the League of Outlaws soon emerged in Paris. A German tailor named Wilhelm Weitling joined the society after arriving in Paris in 1835, according to Priestland, and soon became one of the best known communist figures of the 1840s. Weitling took Babeufs ideas of violent revolution, state-enforced equality, and the destruction of ownership and, according to Priestland, infused these with his own ideas of a Christian apocalyptic vision. Under him, the League of Outlaws also changed its name to the League of the Just. Many radical secret societies existed in Europe at the time, and many figures and newspapers were spreading the new ideas of socialism and communism. This held especially true in Paris, which saw many attempted revolutions throughout the 1800s. The League of the Just joined the May 1839 Blanquist rebellion, led by Louis Auguste Blanqui. He would later become leader of what may be regarded as the first communist government, the Paris Commune of 1871, which waged a program of killing and destruction that in just over two months left tens of thousands dead and an estimated quarter of Paris and its cultural relics in ruins. However, communism had begun to take root before the Paris Commune, and from those early beginnings, modern communism, based in state-enforced atheism and endless struggle, would grow. The League of the Just relocated to London after the failed 1839 rebellion and formed the Educational Society for German Workingmen in 1840. Then, at a congress in June 1847, the League of the Just joined with the Communist Correspondence Committee formed one year prior and headed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. They then formed the Communist League, with Marx and Engels at the helm. From within the league, Marx and Engels wrote The Communist Manifesto, which they published a year later in 1848. The manifesto has since become a core text of modern communist regimes. Yet, according to Marx and the Permanent Revolution in France by Bernard H. Moss, it was at the time merely a sketchy pamphlet written for a small sect and didnt immediately gain much attention. The manifesto had little immediate impact because in 1848 most of the ideas it contained were commonplace among working-class democrats, certainly in France, according to Moss. Instead, it gained popularity as Marx and Engels raised their profiles over time, since it provided a short and consolidated pamphlet that would relay its teachings to people who would be unlikely to slog through Marxs and Engelss other writings. Another major part played by Marx and Engels, however, was in their attempts to unify the various socialist and communist movements of their timework first attempted in the German Workers Club, then successfully through their roles in the International Workingmans Association, also known as the First International. Marx and Engels sought to unite the numerous socialist and communist movements under a common ideology, and they set down a form of communism that pulled deeply from its roots in the ideas behind the French Revolution. Marx and Engels made a fervent call for the destruction of all hierarchy that could challenge their own totalitarian hierarchy and, like the French Revolution, took aim to destroy the family, property, nobility, and religion. While The Communist Manifesto seemed to call for lofty-sounding concepts like equality and sharing, it promotes ideas that are disastrous to humankind. The manifesto states that communism abolishes eternal truths, it abolishes all religion, and all morality. In place of traditional virtues and personal accountability, the manifesto wanted an all-powerful government that would forcefully destroy all social structures and place itself as the sole power that would force on its citizens a new system of atheism and class struggle. Marx and Engels wrote in 1845, in The Holy Family, that the revolutionary movement which began in 1789 in the Cercle Social  and which finally with Babeufs conspiracy was temporarily defeated, gave rise to the communist idea which Babeufs friend Buonarroti re-introduced in France after the Revolution of 1830. This idea, consistently developed, is the idea of the new world order. In just over a century, this new system would, according to The Black Book of Communism, be responsible for the deaths of over 100 million people. Joshua Philipp is an award-winning investigative journalist at The Epoch Times where he covers national security relating to China. He is an expert on hybrid warfare, including Chinas roles and approaches in espionage, organized crime, and unconventional warfare. Reprinted with the kind permission of The Epoch Times. Home
My pilgrimage, Chapter Eighteen: Why Wont Anyone Tell the Truth?! By Michael Moriarty

The President actually fired me because of the Russia investigation. Thats what James Comey said under oath before a Congressional investigating committee. Is he right?

Fair Weather Friends If that is true, then the allegations of a Russia/Trump connection that tampered with Americas 2016 election must have more than smoke. Will the new special counsel Robert Mueller inevitably find fire? Will such evidence empower Mueller and the American government to indict, prosecute and find President Donald Trump guilty of a number of crimes, including collaboration with a sworn enemy of American Democracy? That Russia Connection can quite possibly appear to be not only incriminating but could actually, in the final analysis, be found to involve an indisputable act of high treason. Fox News Bret Baer has concluded,

And,

In my opinion,

wisely determined

that the most important issue to be decided upon,

in the aftermath of the Congressional Q & A

with James Comey,

is: What was and has been

the depth of collusion

between Russia and the Trump Campaign? Even James Comey stated, confirming his repeatedly firm declarations to the President, that Donald Trump, as President, was not under investigation of any kind. However, Robert Mueller is now involved as special counsel to investigate everything to do with President Trumps behavior in office. Why? Basically because Donald Trump fired James Comey as head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I think this more than eager testimony by Comey before Congress is, without question, payback. If the Mueller investigation proves this all to be more than a simple matter of revenge? If James Mueller discovers enough evidence to prove that Donald Trump has been not only a long-time, business friend of Russia  which is apparently an indisputable fact within Trumps career  but a more than willing operative of Russian Intelligence?! That Trump welcomed Russias assistance in the 2016 election and Moscows promise that, with their indispensable help, Donald Trump can become President of the United States?! This, at any rate, is exactly what Trumps political opposition would like to prove in its efforts to have President Donald Trump impeached. This article is entitled Why Wont Anyone Tell the Truth? because of the refusal by both sides of this war, this mortal struggle between Donald Trump and his mostly Democrat Partys opposition, their mutual inability to mention the grandest Hidden Agenda in the history of American Politics: The New World Order and its influence upon all of American Politics in the Third Millennium. The New World Order was, at one brief moment in American history, and, in George H. W. Bushs own opinion, one of that former Presidents finest hours. The New World Order

Is now,

However,

So hot a potato,

So flamingly ablaze with treason

That no Bush,

Rino Republican

Will mention it,

Let alone confirm

That George H. W. Bush

Had even brought the subject up! Why? The treasonous idea, briefly referred to again before Congress, unequivocally reveals the Bush Familys determination to hand America and her Declaration, her Constitution and her Bill of Rights over to the United Nations, which has been George H. W. Bushs specific choice to run this singularly all-powerful New World Order. Because the Bush lawyers have obviously advised the Bush Family to not bring up the phrase, New World Order, again?! Does that mean the worldwide campaign to hand American sovereignty over to the chronically impotent and dysfunctional United Nations is over? Hardly! The furiously committed corner of Congress to see President Donald Trump impeached, however, has everything to do with those tumors of corruption within both the House and the Senate that want to rid America of any opposition, any formidable American obstacle to the creation of a New World Order and the ultimate creation of a One World Government to be ostensibly run by the United Nations. Both Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have expressed their clear and unequivocal opposition to any idea of a New World Order. No wonder their mutual admiration for one another sets these architects of a New World Order into political hysteria! The real Treason that The Establishment sees in Donald Trump?! The so-called Treason is Donald Trumps clear opposition to a New World Order with his nationalistic and committedly patriotic slogan, Make America Great Again! Why neither side will admit that?! Why President Donald Trump, the major victim of all this nefariously hidden plotting by what I consider unequivocally true American traitors, why the POTUS wont accuse his enemies of treason?! Why the President wont label them for what theyve been ever since President Kennedy was assassinated?! The New World Orders profoundest traitors to the United States of America?! Perhaps a seemingly inevitable, Second American Civil War with this Confederation of New World Order Traitors will be the only thing to bring us the Truth. Michael Moriarty is a Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actor who starred in the landmark television series Law and Order from 1990 to 1994. His recent film and TV credits include The Yellow Wallpaper, 12 Hours to Live, Santa Baby and Deadly Skies. Contact Michael at rainbowfamily2008@yahoo.com. He can be found on Twitter at https://twitter.com/@MGMoriarty. Home
Obama hampered law enforcement investigation of Iranian terrorism funding By Jim Kouri

Last Thursday all of the attention of Trump-impeachment-obsessed Democrats and the majority of their news media minions was focused on the hearing of fired FBI director James Comey. These President Donald Trump-hating leftists were disappointed when Comey testimony showed that: Trump is not now, nor has he ever been, under investigation by the FBI; President Obama's attorney general, Loretta Lynch, told Comey not to call the probe into Hillary Clinton's endless scandals an "investigation," but rather a "matter"; and that Comey himself leaked his own memo about meetings with Trump, giving them to a leftist university professor to secretly turn over to a news media denizen. But on Thursday, there was another hearing that uncovered much more explosive and disturbing information: President Barack Obama and his administration disbanded national security units which were originally charged with investigating Iran's network of Islamic terrorism funding.

Obama, Valerie Jarrett (born in Iran), Susan Rice and other members of the former President's inner-circle systematically disbanded special law enforcement units throughout the federal government that were investigating the Iranian, Syrian, and Venezuelan terrorism financing networks. Obama and his Secretary of State John Kerry were concerned the counter-terrorism units would lead to Iranian officials walking away from Obama's precious nuclear deal with Iran, according to a former U.S. official with expertise in dismantling criminal financial networks.

The key witness during the Iran hearing, David Asher, had worked for U.S. Army Gen. John Allen at both Defense and State Departments. He testified before Republican and Democratic members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee that top cops and spies with several key law enforcement and intelligence agencies in the Obama administration were intentionally prevented from targeting the terrorism financing operations of Iran, Hezbollah, and Venezuela during Kerry's nuclear negotiations with his Iranian counterparts. After months of investigating President Donald Trumps unproven conspiracy with Russias President Vladimir Putin to derail the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton, some lawmakers are turning their attention to the alleged deception by President Barack Obama and his minions to get his do or die nuclear deal with Iran. Republican leaders of the House Committee initiated a full-scale investigation into the Obama administrations activities getting a nuclear deal many believed was a farce at best, a deadly mistake at worst. They are also probing last years controversial prisoner swap with Iran for over a billion dollars. Lawmakers and national security experts believed  and continue to believe  that Obama, his Secretary of State John Kerry and White House advisers actually hurt the U.S. governments effort to end Irans nuclear weapons program. The so-called pact was also sold to the American people as a step in the right direction to ceasing the Iranian governments weapons trafficking networks. A number of former intelligence and counter-terrorism officers were concerned with the way the deal was negotiated and the misrepresentation of the nuclear pacts details by Obamas questionable national security team, said former military intelligence operative and police unit commander George OBrien. Remember how the assistant national security adviser Ben Rhodes admitted to being deceitful in order to get the deal accepted? That alone should have triggered a probe not only by Congress, but also the Justice Department, Lt. OBrien said.

In a May 5 letter, Republican Reps. Jason Chaffetz and Ron DeSantis asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions to produce Justice Department documents they said would help the Committee in better understanding these issues. They sent the same letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson demanding all related documents to the Iran deal in the State Departments possession. Chaffetz gave both officials a May 19 deadline to provide one copy of them to committee Republicans, and another to the Oversight Committees Democratic Party lawmakers. In part, the letter stated: When President Obama revealed a prisoner exchange agreement with Iran in January 2016, he announced the release of one Iranian and six Iranian-Americans convicted of crimes or awaiting trial. The President described the exchange as a benign reciprocal humanitarian gesture, and went as far as to call the individuals released civilians who were not charged with terrorism or any violent offenses. Among those granted clemency were individuals that the Justice Department deemed threats to national security. The news account identified 14 Iranian fugitives accused of serious crimes for whom the Obama Administration dropped criminal charges, but never released the names or charges. These reports note an Iranian spokesperson contradicted the Administrations position by claiming there were 28 Iranians freed or relieved from judicial restrictions as part of the prisoner exchange agreement. If true, this leaves seven individuals unaccounted for. [It was] also reported that Obama Administration officials blocked and delayed law enforcement efforts to lure Iranian fugitives to countries where they could be arrested and to extradite Iranian suspects in custody overseas. Chaffetz also wrote to the officials, please also make your staff available for a briefing on these issues no later than May 25.

The noose tightens, the clock is ticking and Jason Chaffetz will get to the bottom of this. Dont forget Jason has an ace up his sleeve, Trey Gowdy is also on the committee investigating Obama. That should terrify him, according to the Republican Post. Conservative Base's editor, Jim Kouri, CPP, is founder and CEO of Kouri Associates, a homeland security, public safety and political consulting firm. He's formerly Fifth Vice-President, now a Board Member of the National Association of Chiefs of Police, a columnist, and a contributor to the nationally syndicated talk-radio program, the Chuck Wilder Show. He's the author of two books: "Crime Talk: Conversations with America's Top Law Enforcement Officers" and "Assume the Position: Police Science for Journalists and Screenwriters." He's former chief of police at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at St. Peter's University and director of security for several major organizations. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. Kouri appears regularly as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Fox News Channel, Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, etc. He also serves as political advisor for Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Michael Moriarty (Law & Order). He holds a bachelor of science in Criminal Justice from Southwest University and SCI Technical School in New York City and completed training at the NYC Police Academy, FBI Continuing Education Program, and the Certified Protection Professional (CPP) of the American Society for Industrial Security. To subscribe to Kouri's newsletter write to COPmagazine@aol.com and write "Subscription" on the subject line. Home
Rouhanis second term: On a collision course with the Revolutionary Guards By Lt. Col. (ret.) Michael Segall

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was elected to a second term, winning 57 percent of the votes in the May 19, 2017, election. During the campaign, Rouhani ended up going head-to-head with the conservative candidate, Ebrahim Raisi, who was supported by the spiritual Leader of Iran, Khamenei, and is on the list of candidates to succeed him. The fact that Rouhani was elected despite Iranians growing disappointment with him may reflect, when all is said and done, the choice of the lesser evil. The other option, Raisi, was responsible for mass executions of political prisoners in the late 1980s. Rouhanis first four years in office  which most notably will be remembered for the nuclear deal with the West  did not bring about the hoped-for economic transformation. The election campaign also put Rouhani on a direct collision course with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). That pertains particularly to sensitive issues such as Irans missile program, its nuclear program (Rouhanis concessions during the negotiations have not been forgiven), and Irans regional policy. It pertains to economic issues as well, including the need to subject the IRGCs shadow economy to transparency and taxation. Most of all, however, the collision course has to do with the issues on which Iranians most fervently long for a change  human rights, womens rights, individual freedom, and freedom of expression. On all these, Rouhani has no good tidings to offer. In the foreign sphere, it is indeed symbolic that on the very day Rouhanis election victory was announced, U.S. President Donald Trump opened a new chapter in U.S. regional policy with his visit to Irans bitter political-religious adversary, Saudi Arabia. From there, Trump went on to Israel, a country Iran does not recognize and whose destruction it calls for. Perhaps as a sign of what is to come, a short time before Trump landed in Saudi Arabia, the Houthi rebels in Yemen fired a 675-km-range Burkan-2 (Volcano-2) ballistic missile at the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Although not the first of its kind, such a launch at such a sensitive time was carried out with Irans approval. It conveyed the message  both to the United States and to the reelected Iranian president  that the IRGC, which has the Leaders support, has no intention of forgoing its ambitious goals either at home or abroad. The West, of course, lauded the victory of the so-called moderate, pragmatic, reformist leader over his conservative, hardline opponent. The desire to return to business as usual with Iran is very strong. The galloping of Western companies, accompanied by delegations of politicians, is heard in the streets of Tehran. To the ordinary Iranians deep disappointment, human rights and civil society issues go almost unmentioned. As in the past, the West prefers to hide behind the fig leaf of a reformist president who  helped by the will of the Iranian people  defeated his ultra-conservative rival and proved that Iran is looking westward, wishing only to return to the international communitys good graces. At the start of his second term, Rouhani faces a huge challenge both in the domestic and foreign spheres. At home, despite a change for the better in the macro- economic sense, he has not succeeded to bring about a tangible desired micro-economic improvement in Iranians lives. The distress of young Iranians, who constitute many of those who elected him, remains unchanged. The promises of the first term have not been borne out. Unemployment rates are still high, particularly among the educated young. Rouhani is again promising jobs, social justice, reforms, as well as personal and political freedom. Yet, he has not been able to secure the release from house arrest the leaders of the reformist camp, former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi and former Majlis (parliament) Chairman Mehdi Karroubi, to reopen reformist newspapers and websites, or to improve the human rights situation. That failure continues to be felt, and Rouhani could not cite even a symbolic achievement to his supporters who cried, during the campaign rallies, Ya Hossein, Ya Hossein. On the other hand, the ongoing, now eight-year house arrest of the reformist Green leaders  whom young Iranians continue to regard as representing the hope for a change  reflects the regimes fear of a resurgence of the protest movement that was violently suppressed in 2009. Hence, there may still be hope for a change in Iran under the right domestic and international circumstances. Collision Course The measures Rouhani alluded to during his election campaign for improving the economic situation  in particular, taxing individuals and entities connected to the IRGC economy (such as foundations that finance the export of the revolution, as well as aid Middle Eastern terror groups and families of shahids)  will likely put him on a direct collision course with the IRGC. Their economy constitutes more than half of the Iranian economy. It mainly benefits IRGC members and their families, who have become, since the revolution and the crucible of the Iran-Iraq War, a separate socioeconomic stratum. Rouhanis task has become much harder since the death in 2017 of Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. One of the instigators of the Islamic revolution, a confidant of Khomeini, and the last line of defense against the IRGC, Rafsanjani tried to curb its growing influence on the economy, the military, and the Iranian government  without success and at a heavy personal price. Externally, in the regional and international arenas, Iran is facing a bleeding Middle East that still has not assumed its final form and still is wracked by the upheavals of the Arab Spring. Iran is striving  mainly via the IRGCs long arm  the Quds Force  to be a key factor in the reshaping of the Middle East in its own revolutionary Shiite supremacy vision. Iran is active in some of the main fronts in the Middle East, where their fate remains uncertain, seeking to ensure its control on the day after and guarantee a territorial Shiite strip that stretches from Iran to the shores of the Mediterranean with strategic posts on the Red Sea in Yemen. In Syria, a long-time battleground in which Iran invests huge human and economic capital (at the expense of promoting its own economy and people), Iran is continuing, with Hizbullahs help, to guarantee the survival of the Syrian president, remain in proximity to Israels borders, and fund and arm Shiite militias. In Iraq, Iran and the numerous Shiite militias it supports are working to liberate the cities that have fallen under Islamic State control; Iran is also striving to create a continuous Shiite swath that will lead through Syria to Lebanon and southward toward the Gulf States and Saudi Arabia as well. In addition, in Yemen, Iran is providing vital support to the tenacious Houthi struggle against the Saudi-led Arab coalition. President Rouhani has no real control over foreign policy and the export of the revolution, and he does not determine Irans foreign policy goals. Those responsibilities are in the hands of Khamenei and the IRGC, who work to safeguard Iranian national interests in the turbulent region. They will not hesitate to challenge Rouhani with an ambitious and defiant foreign policy, especially toward the United States (the firing of the missile at Riyadh is a good example) and even provoke the United States if necessary (in the Strait of Hormuz and off the shores of Yemen) to validate the chant Death to America, which has accompanied the Islamic revolution for almost 40 years. Rouhani, however, begins his second term just as the United States is taking a clear-cut stance at the forefront of the moderate, Saudi-led Sunni axis after it had been abandoned during President Obamas eight years in office. The aim is to counteract the threat emanating from Iran. Back to the Axis of Evil Iran still has not shaken off its image as a member of the axis of evil, as President George W. Bush termed it. The mounting confrontation between the United States and North Korea (another member of that axis), along with Irans support for the Assad regime in Syria (another state in the axis of evil), which is using chemical weapons, further emphasizes Irans membership of the axis. In a spate of defiant statements after Rouhanis election, senior IRGC officials have already hinted that they do not intend to make his life easier domestically or externally or to take into account the possible ramifications of their activity on Irans foreign policy and Rouhanis desire to improve ties with the West. On May 25, 2017, Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGCs Aerospace Force, said the IRGC was developing a new missile, the Dezful (named after the city in western Iran that the Iraqis failed to conquer in 1980 at the start of the Iran-Iraq War), in the third underground production plant to have been built in recent years, and that Iran would continue to advance its missile program. In his words: It is natural for the United States and Israel to be concerned and nervous about our missile production, missile tests, and the display of our missile sites as they always want the Iranian nation to be in the position of weakness. Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehqan asserted, Today, we have reached a point that we can design and produce all of our needs in the area of ballistic and cruise missiles. The deputy chief of the IRGC intelligence branch, Hossein Nejat, said that Iran must neither project weakness to the enemy nor engage in a dialogue with the West to solve its economic and political problems since that option is doomed to fail. He also warned the U.S. Fifth Fleet in the Persian Gulf and vowed, If the American aircraft carriers fire even one bullet toward Irans borders they will encounter a decisive response. President Rouhani has also expressed support for the continued development of Irans missile program for defensive purposes. Rouhani has very little influence over Irans foreign relations. He and his ministers, particularly Foreign Minister Zarif, are responsible for the charm offensive aimed at the West and the attempts to clean up after the IRGC. Mahmoud Nabavian  former Majlis member and vocal critic of the nuclear deal  accused Zarif of agreeing to hand over the Quds Forces commander, Major General Qassem Soleimani to Washington in exchange for establishing banking relationships with Tehran. Rouhanis real influence over Irans strategic plans, which are devised by the powerful office of the Leader, is negligible. Irans deep involvement in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen will continue, and could even intensify toward the decisive stages of those imbroglios as plans emerge for the day after. In the wake of President Trumps visit to the region, renewed dialogue over the Israeli-Palestinian peace process will probably again put Iran in a negative light. Iran is the leader of the so-called resistance camp that rejects any political settlement with Israel, and it funds and trains the terror organizations that work to foil such a settlement (Hizbullah, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which Trump groups with the Islamic State). In the Trump era, the Palestinians are not a main or even a secondary player. If, in the past, a regional peace agreement was to be paid for in the Israeli coin, now Irans lengthening shadow, coupled with the United States and the Sunni camps stance against Iran, pushes the Palestinian issue from the spotlight. Iran, for its part, is trying to put the Palestinians front and center again and to emphasize to the Arab street (over the heads of the pro-Trump Arab rulers) that it maintains its support for the Palestinians despite the treason of the Arabs. This policy is likely to escalate the friction between Tehran and Washington. Rouhani Will Not Deliver The Iranian population longs for reforms, for a change in the regimes priorities including the resources that it allocates and for openness to the West. The last victory the conservatives achieved was in the parliamentary elections of 2012 (and then only after the reformists boycotted the elections). That does not prevent them, however, from dictating their policy both domestically and externally. During President Khatamis term (1997-2005), change was almost in sight. But Khatami went too far and too fast, and the IRGC quickly halted the reform process and the freeing of the press that he impelled. In a letter they sent him after the student riots of July 1999, they criticized his leniency and told him in no uncertain terms that the reform process had ended. After the fraudulent 2009 elections in which Ahmadinejad won a second presidential term, there was a sense that a change was possible. But the silence of President Obama, who had taken office at the beginning of the year, along with his lack of support for the protest movement that had erupted after the elections, enabled the IRGC and the regime to crush the movement, and indeed led to its quiescence during the years of negotiations on the nuclear issue. The Iranian elections have put President Rouhani on a double collision course. Domestically, his desire to bring about economic and social reform puts him at odds with the IRGC, which will not agree to any infringement of its economic assets nor to any laxity in implementing the Leaders instructions regarding the values of the revolution at home and their export abroad. Externally, as the U.S. president renews the alliance with Middle Eastern states, his unequivocal remarks about Irans negative role in the region and support for the terror organizations put Iran and the United States at loggerheads. The United States has opened a new page in its Middle East policy and is challenging Iran, which regards itself as a rising regional superpower that will remold the Middle East both close to its borders (Iraq) and beyond them (Syria, Lebanon, Yemen). The growing confrontation with the United States will likely give a boost to the IRGC, which will probably portray Trump as the enemy at the gate. It was one thing for Iran to pursue such a course during Obamas presidency when it acted almost untrammeled in the region and openly defied the Fifth Fleet. The beginning of President Trumps tenure heralds a change and a challenge to Iranian policy from the direction of Saudi Arabia as well, which leads the Sunni camp against Irans provocations. It appears that the renewed U.S. support for Saudi Arabia will encourage the kingdom to act more decisively against Iran and its expansionism, and that the rivalry between Tehran and Riyadh along the Sunni-Shiite fault line will emerge more starkly in their main arenas of confrontation. It is possible that by the time of the next elections in Iran, the U.S. president will no longer stand aloof. IDF Lt.-Col. (ret.) Michael (Mickey) Segall, an expert on strategic issues with a focus on Iran, terrorism, and the Middle East, is a senior analyst at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and at Alcyon Risk Advisors. Home
Shades of quickly fading blue  the decline of the Tory tradition in Canada since the 1980s (Part Two) By Mark Wegierski

By the early 1990s, the federal PC party had conclusively proved to most people that it did not really embody the traditions and principles of Canadian conservatism. The three largest groupings in the federal PCs were mostly anti-conservative. Probably the largest of these groupings were the "situationists" (1) -- persons such as Brian Mulroney, who could be considered "conservative" only in the sense of wanting to maintain the status-quo, and keep themselves in so-called "power", without any reference to conservative principles. In the run-up to the 1983 Party convention, and to the 1984 federal election, Mulroney had, by a few partisan-sounding statements, allowed the mantle of being a right-winger to fall on him. He probably did so because he believed that it would be to his advantage in the upcoming election. The mood of the electorate was unusually tending towards a sense of revulsion against what were becoming perceived among considerable numbers of people (outside of the media and intellectual elites) as the excesses of the radical Trudeau social experiments. One especially remembers Mulroneys statement that he would try to appoint every living, breathing Tory to government positions ahead of Liberals. But his behaviour upon attaining office was completely different. Mulroney governed with a timidity that suggested that he had won a minority, not a majority government. The ferocious, round-the-clock media attacks against the allegedly hard-right Mulroney regime, in a period when the conservative media presence in Canada was virtually non-existent, did not increase his confidence. The situationists or upholders of the status-quo were the ones who aspired to be superficial administrators or managers, rather than trend-setting political leaders of the country. The support of the status-quo, no matter what it is, is obviously not the key tenet of conservatism -- by that calculus, the geriatric Soviet Politburo members (with their official atheism and Marxism-Leninism) could have been seen as the greatest "conservatives" in the world! To be a "situationist" is to sacrifice principles for the sake of a blind support of the status-quo, and one's place in it. It is the very opposite of what has been called in earlier articles "governing strategically". The second major grouping were persons who could be called the "social democrats", such as Joe Clark (Canadas Prime Minister for nine months in 1979-1980, and leader of the federal Progressive Conservative party from 1976-1983, and 1998-2003) and Flora Macdonald. They were, in their arguments, very similar to the situationists, but as "Red Tories" they also made the claim of representing "the real tradition" of the Tory party, which they defined as an extensive welfare-state and intense government interventionism. They appeared to forget that the core of a real "National Policy" could only be an authentic Canadian nationalism. It could be argued that their support of the excesses of multiculturalism, of virtually the entire social agenda of left-liberalism, of special benefits for recognized minorities, and so forth, contradicted the notion of a more traditionally-based "Tory welfare-state", which was, historically-speaking, grounded on the social unity and cohesion generated though such immemorial institutions as family and church. Indeed, the term "Red Toryism" may be seen as a misnomer. Rather than representing a more positive synthesis of toryism and social democracy (as typified by George Parkin Grant, Eugene Forsey, and certain elements of the old Co-operative Commonwealth Federation - CCF) -- such persons typically combine the less salubrious aspects of both liberalism and socialism, i.e., socially-anarchic liberalism without individual enterprise, and collectivistic socialism without any genuine social sense. Most of the so-called "Red Tories" have only a superficial and tenuous resemblance to the real Tory tradition. Thirdly, there were the so-called "libertarians", persons like Sinclair Stevens, who looked to America for inspiration and were, above all else, gung-ho free-marketeers and capitalists. It is a fundamental mistake to automatically and totally equate conservatism and capitalism. How can the strong traditional ethos of conservatism endure within a system that places its highest values on hyper-consumption, the unrestricted inflaming of the lower human desires, and the promotion of a soulless and rootless "market-ethic"? As the preeminent Canadian political philosopher, George Parkin Grant, once remarked, it is liberalism, not conservatism, that is "the perfect ideology for capitalism". The "Red Tories" are right insofar that Sir John A. Macdonald was no fan of either America or materialistic capitalism. Canadians should remember that the United Empire Loyalists came here precisely because they did not want to be Americans. They chose loyalty to their Sovereign, and a higher order, to the freewheeling liberal republicanism of America. Canada was itself created as an act of national and political will in direct contradiction to "basic economic realities" (which dictated north-south trading patterns). To a large extent, Canada attempted to maintain its independence in contradiction to the notion that economic forces are the overwhelming factor in history. The defining moment of the Dominion of Canada, the British North America Act (1867), established "peace, order, and good government" as Canada's founding principle, not the ultimately liberal "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". For most of Canada's history, "Free Trade" was fiercely opposed by the Conservative Party, as a fundamental threat to Canada's once considerably tory identity. Footnote: (1) The author is aware that there is a big-S philosophy of Situationism, which originates in the radical thought of media critic Guy Debord. The terms are obviously unrelated. The author uses the term situationist to suggest in situ  sitting in one place  and also because a locution like status-quo-ist sounds too awkward. To be continued. Mark Wegierski is a Canadian writer and historical researcher. Home
Time to true the vote By Daniel M. Ryan

James Comey, in his testimony last Thursday, presented himself as a beleaguered public servant of integrity forced to make choices he deeply regrets. He also said, quite explicitly, that he mistrusted Donald Trump from their first meeting: so much so, that he began making private notes on their conversations and arranged for a dead-man drop to leak the notes to the press. After he first said that he did so in response to Trumps fear-the-tapes Tweet - this was quickly debunked - the story switched to the claim that he arranged the leak so as to force the appointment of a special prosecutor. With this and other inconsistencies that suggested Comeys beleaguered-public-servant air was an act, it wasnt long before the Internet was flooded with pieces that showed him in a different light. In the questioning of him, Sen. John McCain was good enough to point to a double standard  but he did not point to the most eyebrow-raising one. Comey was apparently so rattled by President Trump that he immediately started penning CYA memos. But, he was not rattled by Loretta Lynch directing? him to square off the FBIs official language with the Hillary Clinton campaign, by calling the Email classified-info investigation a matter.? Even though this direction? meant openly partisianizing the FBI, he was not rattled enough to jot down a single memo. He was not upset enough to refuse to comply; as he himself admitted, he did comply. True: he expressed deep regret after the fact. But in the moment, he went along with an alarming partisanization without being stunned? enough to write even a single CYA memo. The double standard - his favourable treatment of Lynch versus his resistance to President Trump - is glaring enough to make one wonder if he had the FBI square off with the Hillary campaign on another important matter. Its worthwhile looking at this from President Trumps perspective. Since its consistent with his habit, its a safe bet that President Trump turned on the charm when he first met with Comey. Imagine you were doing that, only to see that hes reacting like he had seen evidence left by one of our furry friends in his backyard. You afterwards express a hope that hell stop going after an ex-member of your team, on the grounds that the poor fellow lost his job and hes suffered enough. You do so with the knowledge that the man in front of you performed the same favour to your opponent under much cloudier circumstances. The guy replies in a manner out of character for him: he responds like a stereotypical bureaucrat. As time goes on, you see your Administration ridden by leaks  including leaks of information that the law says should not be leaked. The man youre having the conversations with, despite being described as a public servant with integrity, shows zero interest in tracking down those leakers  even though he shows a definite interest in investigating your former team member. He does not explain this discrepancy by saying that he has profound regrets about signing off on the Hillary defence,? and that his tenacity about investigating Gen. Flynn is a way of closing the barn door after an important horse escaped. No: instead you get a picture of a man thats operating on a visible double standard. This double standard includes obvious reluctance to announce that you are not under investigation, even though hes told you so to your face more than once. This reluctance makes for a sharp contrast from the way he very publicly announced that the investigation of your electoral opponent was dropped like the proverbial hot potato. In consequence, you begin to really wonder about him and where his loyalties lie. When you look at these meetings from President Trumps perspective, Comeys fate is monumentally unsurprising. Even if were charitable towards him and assume that he signed off on decline-to-indict because he feared that the FBI would be acting like Praetorian Guards otherwise, he did put his stamp on the now-extant Hillary Defence. We can only guess how many others will use extremely careless? as a defence against a charge of mishandling classified information. We can only guess how many defence lawyers will rely on Comeys understanding? of the relevant statutes instead of the plain wording of them. Former prosecutor Andrew McCarthy, in his original column on the Hillary Defence, noted out loud that the explanation proffered was another instance of the Justice Department [then headed up by Lynch] adopting Clinton campaign cant.? That campaign cant,? Comey complied with....without so much as a single CYA memo to buttress his later-stated regret. It remains to be seen if the Hillary Defence will be as influential as the Twinkie Defence: whether diminished intent will become the new diminished capacity.? There may be an understanding that the Hillary Defence will only work for someone like Hillary. It certainly has not worked, at least at the per-indictment stage, for a pretty, young and cute fellow woman with the improbable name of Liberty Winner. Despite her last name, shes now cooling her heels in jail after having lost bail. Liberty Does Whistleblowing Her own fate, at least so far, does suggest that Hillarys woman card only works one way. Miss Winner is a pitiable figure from a certain angle, in that she seemed to think that the new laxity granted to the likes of Hillary would help her out too. Needless to say, it hasnt. Through being swiftly caught due to her own kind of carelessness, and then being swiftly indicted and denied bail, shes found out the hard way about the real rules of mishandling: Hillary up, Liberty down. Theres a definite irony in her sure-to-be-sorry fate. Until she sent that classified NSA dossier which claimed that Russian intelligence? was attempting to hack the systems of electoral districts, the only evidence buttressing the mountain of Putin-did-it rhetoric was the Crowdstrike molehill - a hill built by moles that proved to be somewhat blind later on. James Clapper, John Brennan and James Comey should be sending her flowers with thank-you cards. She put in the public record the only other publicly-available document, even if it was written by NSA analysts who might have been squaring off with the Narrative, that indicates Russian interference in the last U.S. election. She deserves to be the alt-rights poster foil-girl, as she fits perfectly the alt-rights characterization of leftie Trump-hating rebels as being foot soldiers for the globalist establishment.? She certainly did the globalist establishment? a favour by giving them more than the Crowdstrike claims to point to. Despite her motives, she did the public a service too. We can now see that malicious hacking threatens the integrity of the vote. That is a huge deal, a real threat that goes beyond who mighta dunnit. The report points to vote fraud taken to a new high-tech level. Since vote fraud period is a very serious crime, her leaking reminds us that its high time to True the Vote. The Canadian Option As someone who did duty as a poll clerk in Canadas last federal election, I can say flatly that the Canadian system is both tamper-resistant and impossible to hack. After authenticating the voters right to vote  yes, with photo ID  the voter got a paper ballot which he or she marked with a pen behind a privacy screen. Neither me nor the Deputy Return Officer (DRO) were allowed to be in the voters presence when (s)he made the choice. The votes went into a sealed ballot box. Throughout the voting day, each political party was entitled to send an observer to make sure that no funny stuff took place; there was at least one of those observers in the room for the entire day. When the day ended, I and the DRO opened the ballot box and I carefully counted the results by hand. I was watched not only by the DRO but also by two representatives from Canadas two biggest parties. When my work was done and my count checked, the DRO got on the telephone and phoned the results in. At no stage in the process was a computer even involved, let alone a computer that was vulnerable to being compromised by malware. The whole process was as secure as a hand-written sealed letter delivered by a human courier. To provide added assurance, the DRO was obliged to return the ballot box and the votes for archiving. If anyone thinks I pulled something funny, or even sloppy, (s)he can order the box up and audit my work. Granted, this system is low-tech. But its a low-tech system that has strong controls against low-tech vote fraud and is absolutely proof against high-tech shenanigans. Not coincidentally, Canada has not had a vote-tampering scandal in my lifetime. Its a low-tech system, but its tried and true. As noted above, checking photo ID is part of the procedure; this part is not controversial in Canada. Moving to this kind of system may seem like an embarrassing step backwards, but its tamper resistance speaks for itself. When combined with a clean-up of the voter registries, very much including removing ineligibles from the rolls, adopting this system will not only strengthen the integrity of American elections but also will make the electoral system absolutely invulnerable to malicious hacking. Surely, hardening the motor of democracy is more than worth some tech-heads eating a little crow? Daniel M. Ryan, as Nxtblg, is shepherding the independently-run Open Audi Initiative Prediction Market Shadowing Project. He has stubbornly assumed all the responsibility and blame for the workings and outcome of the project. Home
The divide between the European Union and Russia is getting wider, in fact wider than those in Brussels who are calling for a rapid normalization of relations with Moscow out of ideological or economic reasons think. While normalization is very unlikely to happen this year, what is at stake is much more than the bilateral relationship between the EU and Russia  it is the very nature of the EU and Russia themselves.

Moscow hopes that given the changes in Washington coupled with its own domestic challenges, the EU will soften its stance on the conflict in Ukraine and especially the sanctions. Getting the sanctions removed is one of Russias most immediate objectives. On the flip side, the EU is mostly concerned about the future of the bloc and the strength of its transatlantic link and especially NATO  the most tangible expression of the current rift between Brussels and Washington. The recent history shows that Moscow knows how to exploit anything vulnerable in the EU-US relations and the period of Euro-Atlantic crisis seems propitious for adventurous moves by the Kremlin.

Brussels and Moscow no longer see each other as strategic partners and this is not going to change in the near future but still their relations will continue to be strategic for both sides. While the evolution of each will have a direct and meaningful impact on the other, the Kremlin has displayed increasing determination to challenge Brussels strategically in two sensitive areas: in the ideological dimension and the shared neighborhood, though this very expression greatly irritates Russia.

On top of the rattle around the word strategic, the clash of perceptions and symbolism will play a central role in the geopolitical dispute between Brussels and Moscow in the years to come. From the European perspective, the struggle is about how to contain Russian aggressiveness and figure out what its objectives are. The EU is simply weighting how to respond to the many uncertainties produced by the Kremlin. From the Russian perspective, movements in Ukraine and Syria are both defensive as well as meant to restore the balance previously violated by the West.

In the foreseeable future, the lack of trust will remain the main obstacle in the mutual relations between both sides. Vladimir Putin still perceives the EU and European values to be a potential existential threat and the EU actively believes that Russia is encouraging all parties with an anti-EU agenda. To describe this very complex situation simply as incompatibility of geopolitical approaches would be a serious understatement  to be more accurate, it is the area of influence/control that Moscow claims against the progressive European integration that is driving the EUs foreign policy. Moreover, Moscow wants to position itself as a political alternative model for the EUs xenophobic right wing and populist left. All of this shows that the paradigm of Russian modernization and its progressive integration into a shared European space, which has shaped the EU-Russia relations for the past twenty-five years, is no longer appropriate. Another one must replace it and be based on new foundations.

No Reset in Sight: The EU-Russia Conflict in the Trump Era  Study by Nicolas de Pedro  Barcelona Center for International Affairs (CIDOB).

(The Study can be downloaded here)
The major oil producers  Saudi Arabia and Russia  dont seem to be perturbed by the recent slide in crude oil prices.

Both have voiced support to the existing production cut agreement and have said that it is sufficient to rebalance the oil markets.

They have denied that the recent fall in crude oil prices warrants a deeper production cut .

The Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih denied that the political rift between Saudi Arabia and its allies with Qatar will affect the agreement.

I dont expect the diplomatic and political issues that have surfaced with Qatar to have any impact whatsoever on the oil production agreement, he told reporters in Kazakhstan, reports Hellenic Shipping News.

Falih also called the recent rise in US crude inventory levels a local phenomenon. Time will correct for this statistical glitch that we saw last week, he said and he expects the oil inventory drawdowns to pick up pace in the next three to four months, which will stabilize the oil markets.

Russia also sounded a similar tone.

"As of today, (oil) supply is exceeding demand, and we see that global inventory is dropping, but to ensure a true market balance, it is required that the inventory drops down to the five-year average, and we are sure that it will happen in the next few quarters, probably, by the end of the first quarter of the next year," said Russia's energy minister Alexander Novak, reports CNBC.

The US EIA inventory report will dictate the next move

Though crude oil is attempting to take support at the $45 levels, a weak inventory report this week will resume the downtrend, which can take oil down to the $43.76 levels. On the other hand, if this weeks report shows a large drawdown, oil is likely to rally to $48 levels.
The bull run in the cryptocurrencies continues unabated, with the top two cryptocurrencies making new lifetime highs. Bitcoin hit $3003 on the Bitfinex exchange, whereas, it traded at a high of $2980 on the Bitstamp exchange. Currently, it is trading close to the highs at the $2950 mark.

While bitcoins tripling in value since the start of the year is unmatched across all other asset classes, it pales in comparison to that of Ethereum, which has risen more than 40 times during the same period.

As a result, bitcoin, which started the year with a market share of about 80% of all the cryptocurrencies has seen its share dwindle down to just 41.7% according to coinmarketcap.com.

The inflows into alts are greater than those into bitcoin. In other words, bitcoin is growing at a very nice pace, but non-bitcoin cryptocurrencies are growing even faster, cryptocurrency hedge fund manager Tim Enneking told CoinDesk.

Ethereum, which was launched only in 2015 is quickly catching up with bitcoin. While bitcoin has a market capitalization of close to $48 billion, Ethereums market capitalization has crossed $34 billion.

A meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ethereums founder Vitalik Buterin boosted Ethereums recent rally. Rumours are that the Russian Central Bank and the Royal Chinese Mint are looking to use Ethereum as a base protocol to digitize their respective currencies.

Additionally, the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance formed by 116 organizations  which includes big names like Samsung, Microsoft, JP Morgan, ING etc.  put the cryptocurrency on an advantage against bitcoin.

On the other hand, bitcoin is yet to find a solution to its scaling issue, which has increased both the transaction time and the transaction cost and is hindering its growth.

Until now, 2017 has been the year of cryptocurrencies, which continue to scale new highs, surprising everyone. However, the rally has been vertical and cannot go on like this forever. Hence, the small investors should trade with caution.


For students looking to study overseas and determined to find the very best place to do so, they need to the look to the United States or the UK, which dominate the 2018 university rankings.For the sixth year running, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) tops the QS World University Rankings, followed by Stanford, Harvard and the California Institute of Technology. In ninth place is the University of Chicago.The UK also features highly in the top 10 with the University of Cambridge in fifth, the University of Oxford in sixth place, University College London in seventh and Imperial College London in eighth.Although theres a lack of change at the top, with no new entrants in the global top 10, there are six Chinese universities featuring in the top 100 for the first time and Russian universities have moved up considerably in the 2018 rankings.According to Ben Sowter, head of division in the QS Intelligence Unit, said that MIT could dominate for some time to come. MIT has a network of successful alumni who make substantial donations to their alma mater and the power these connections grant the university cannot be overestimated, he said.Other institutions are scrambling to catch up, but MIT has a 20 year head start so will be pretty difficult to dislodge, he added.But not all universities in North America are doing as well. Lower down the rankings 21 of the top 50 universities in the US and Canada have fallen down the ranking since last year.The rankings report points out that in recent years, Russian universities have benefited from increased Government funding and a concerted attempt to improve student mobility and that investment looks to be paying off. Of the 24 universities from Russia included in this years ranking, only two have fallen compared to last year, while the others have either held firm or made impressive gains on their competition.Elsewhere in Europe, UK universities struggle for a second straight year although Cambridge, Oxford, University College London and Imperial College all retain places in the top 10.The report also points out that Brexit could make it harder still for UK universities to make international connections and political changes in France, Germany and other European nations could cause plenty of shifts in the world of higher education in the years ahead.In China the Zhejiang University and the University of Science and Technology have been ranked in the top 100 and in total, China has nearly 50 universities in this years ranking. Elsewhere in Asia, the Nanyang Technological Institute has overtaken the National University of Singapore and is on the cusp of the top 10.The world is changing quickly and rankings will increasingly chart the triumph of younger, more agile universities over their more traditional counterparts, as has happened in Singapore, said Sowter.There is also improvement in universities in less obvious parts of the world. In Latin America, for example, both Argentina and Brazil have seen a flagship university climb the ranking. Argentinas University of Buenos Aires ranked 75, while the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil is up to 120.In the Middle East, the top four universities in Saudi Arabia have all improved on last years positions. If these performances continue, the need for students to travel abroad to find a good university education may decrease. Even in countries such as Russia and China, there is still work to be done to convince young people they can get a strong education without moving away.Perhaps the only part of the world which remains under-represented in this years rankings is Africa, although the University of Cape Town continues to hold a spot in the top 200. Other African universities may feature lower down the ranking, but there are no signs to suggest a rapid advance up the rankings is on its way.
I'm really unsure what to do, it says we can submit supporting documents, but I'm not sure where to even send them to or what kind of thing to send.



What is the difference between an oral hearing and a paper hearing?



Do we have to send my partners passport back?



Also we received a package with some of our supporting documents, but they have kept a lot of them, including my partners birth certificate, our marriage certificate, and his IELTS test certificate. Is that normal? They have kept mostly his things, my tenancy agreement etc was returned.



Feeling really lost, confused and unhappy. Any advice would be really appreciated.
I would like to bring into your notice that as per CIC website my current score under Federal Skilled Worker is 435. With spouse my points are 458.



However I recently got nikkahofied in February 2017 but we are not living together yet. My nikkah is registered in court but my CNIC is not yet updated. I want to lodge my profile as single because my husband's papers are not ready yet, his WES assessment is in process and it will take a while.



Since my spouse's papers are not yet ready to claim our points together, so can i still apply as single and update my profile later as married when his documents are ready?

Also, if i get invitation before my husband's documents are ready then would i be able to apply later for my spouse under same invitation? Can you tell me if it would be considered fraudulent to apply as single while am married due to incomplete documents of my husband?



If i can claim for my husband under same invitation, then how lengthy will be the process? Also what documents will be required for my spouse in this case.

Do you recommend me to wait for my husband's WES assessment or apply as single rite now and update my profile later when his documents are complete?



The current cut off for invitation was around 419 points. Do you foresee the cut off to further go up or down in near future.



Thanking you in anticipation.
Hi,

I got a job offer from total uae. I do not know whether that company is valid or not.

I just send my CV only, no interview call. They offered me a job. I have to sign the contract along with that i need to provide my passport number.



Company address:

P.O.Box: xxxxxx, xxxxxxx Business Towers, xxth Floor, Sheikh KhalifaBin Zayed road, Al Karama, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Fax: +9714 xxxxxxxxxxx, Phone:+971xxxxxxxxxx



Is this valid.



They have a clause in the contract. Is it normal in UAE.

Any candidate that accepts this offer will have to contact the XXXX INTERNATIONAL TRAVELS & TOURISM LLCand shoulder all the expense for the processing, procurement and acquisition of their necessary permits clearance papers with the MINISTRY OF INTERIOR and the company will be reimbursing back the expense. Note that all UAE based employees' are to report personally to our office with identification materials for signing and collection of hard copy of their contract documents.



Thanks in advance for help.
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
CPS Energy is using behavioral science techniques, and some high-tech data analysis, in a new program that taps on deeply rooted psychological drives to reduce energy usage during peak times.

The pilot program will be rolled out to up to 100,000 customers this summer and uses data culled from the companys new smart meters to influence consumer behavior. The strategy itself is relatively simple: showing customers their energy consumption compared with their neighbors and letting their competitive instincts do the rest.

Plucking on their competitive spirit, you can get them to reduce their energy use, anywhere between 1 and 3 percent over the course of a year, said Neel Gulhar, a senior director of product strategy at Oracle Utilities. CPS has contracted with the company to run the program.

Oracle Utilities draws on behavioral science techniques to motivate the change. The most-used technique, according to Gulhar, is called normative comparison.

This is where you compare the energy use of a household to households that are like them, he said, later adding, Time and time again, we find that if you use these different behavioral science techniques, you can actually change behavior.

Competition is a deeply rooted instinct in human nature, a biological trait that evolved along with the basic need for survival, social psychologist Sander van der Linden at Cambridge University wrote in Psychology Today.

The program taps on that drive to win by sending out reports through email that analyze a customers behavior and compare it with others in the program. Its a little bit of a gamification thing, said CPS Chief Operating Officer Cris Eugster. The program wouldnt have been possible without more granular data from the utilitys new smart meters, which transmit data remotely and eliminate the need for a meter reader to record it each month, said Rick Luna, senior manager of product development at CPS.

The goal is to persuade customers to reduce their use during high-demand days, and the utility projects that it can save about 11 megawatts of energy usage, Luna said. One megawatt can power roughly 200 Texas homes during peak usage, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.

The program could target up to 12 peak days this summer for this first stage of the program if its a hot one, less if its a mild summer, Luna said.

Small actions people can take, while they may seem small individually, when you look across a large number of customers, it actually adds up to pretty significant savings for the energy grid, Luna said.

San Diego Gas & Electric has a similar program called Reduce Your Use Rewards Program that gives customers credit on their bills if they can cut energy use by a specific amount on peak days, spokeswoman Helen Gao said via email.

The program saved the utility 8 megawatts of energy last year, a 9 percent load reduction, Gao said. About 78,700 residential customers were enrolled in the program as of May, she said.

The CPS program will be focused on peak periods but wont offer billing credits for savings  yet.

Ultimately, you could make it a competition, you could get points, frequent flyer miles, you know that kind of stuff down the road, Eugster said.

Glendale Water & Power, a municipal utility in Southern California, combined a behavioral energy efficiency program with one to encourage reducing peak energy use and cut demand during peak periods by more than 6 percent, according to Oracle.

Peak event programs are focused around the specific days and times CPS would target for conservation, Gulhar said.

An example from Gulhar, was that if a customer actually does reduce their consumption between 2 and 7 p.m. well send them a message afterwards and say, hey guess what? You did a great job reducing your energy use between 2 and 7 p.m., and in fact you ranked No. 6 out of 100, compared to your neighbors in doing that.

Before a peak day, customers also get customized recommendations on how to reduce their use based on data from a variety of sources, Gulhar said.

The segmentation is very important depending on who the customer is, what kind of home they own, and so we personalize every single communication that goes out the door, Gulhar said. Thats what makes this so difficult, because if you just blast the same message out to everybody, it doesnt work. But if you personalize that messaging to every customer, thats really where we see the impact starts to add up.

Things such as the size of the customers house (or apartment), whether or not the home has central air and even the persons age could influence the message they receive, Gulhar said. For example, demographic data could be used to try to estimate if an elderly person lives in the home  and the utility usually doesnt want to risk asking elderly customers who may have health constraints to reduce their use, he said.

And so with those customers, youre going to have completely different messaging, which might be hey, just turn your lights off and youll be able to earn some credit, Gulhar said.

Voter Guide: What to know for the midterm election Your guide to the Texas and San Antonio races and candidates on the Nov. 8 ballot.

CPS will be doing personalized messaging, called dynamic segmentation, Gulhar wrote via email.

The messaging in the communication is personalized based on the characteristics of the home, the demographic data and even the energy use level. An owner of a large 3,000-square-foot home with lots of energy usage in the summer will receive a different email than a low-income renter of a small apartment, he said. This is important because these two different customers will have vastly different ways of saving energy. You cant tell the renter to swap their fridge out for a more efficient and more expensive version.

The number of data points on a customer Oracle has to work with depends on the utility, he noted, adding that the company adheres to all privacy rules set on the utility.

Oracle Utilities will help CPS get its messages out, and it has that expertise, Luna said.

Its important that we present it to customers the right way, to really drive engagement and get them to pay attention, to take action, to continue to perform and improve how they save energy over time, Luna said. And so thats really what Oracle brings to the table is sort of that know-how, in addition to just the computation power, right? To be able to take the data, run the calculations and provide those back to the customer on a next-day basis.

CPS will choose the customers for the program if they have a smart meter and arent already part of one of the utilitys existing thermostat programs. CPS has rolled out about 75 percent of its smart meters so far, Eugster said.

Customers chosen for the program will be automatically enrolled and begin receiving usage notices around peak events unless they opt out, Luna said.

sehlinger@express-news.net

Twitter: @samehlinger
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

In the cockpit of a Korean War fighter jet, Guillermo De La Cruz busted out his smartphone and took photos of 70-year-old aluminum. A patchwork of metal panels, some dating to 1947 and some fabricated in San Antonio this year, graced the sides of the airplane on a recent Saturday.

For two years, De La Cruz and other airmen from Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland have trekked to Camp Mabry in Austin to restore an F-84E Thunderjet, one of only five still in existence.

De La Cruz, a tech sergeant with the 149th Fighter Wing, said he hopes to finish restoration of the plane by July 15, at which point the jet will be the centerpiece of the Korean War Exhibit at the Texas Military Forces Museum.

The jet is the same kind as those flown by Texas Air National Guardsmen in the Korean War, the museums director, Jeff Hunt, said. The museum brought the jet from Georgia in 2013. They had to tear down a wall to fit the aircraft, Hunt said.

Photos of the aircraft then show a plane without wings, just a dusty tube with holes in its sides. The airplane was missing panels, the small pieces of aluminum that form the sides of the plane, like the scales of a fish.

It looked horrible, De La Cruz said. He learned about the aircraft in 2015 and wanted to help restore it. De La Cruz is both a mechanic and a historian who said he has loved aviation all his life.

De La Cruz began measuring the holes in the sides of the aircraft, then went back to his shop in San Antonio and began fabricating new panels. Hed take a plate of metal, cut it to the right size, round the corners and then carefully fit it into the side of the jet.

He said he fabricated 30 to 45 panels in San Antonio and brought them to Austin to install. Around 25 percent of the plane is made of new parts he and other airmen have installed. The sides of the plane look like an aluminum quilt, with some panels new, some very old.

On Saturday, De La Cruz inspected the instruments that he plans to install inside the planes canopy. He went into the still-dusty cockpit, carrying a map made of metal. The map, the same size as the instrument panel, showed where De La Cruz hopes to install gauges and instruments.

De La Cruz hopes future visitors to the plane will be able to see what Korean War pilots saw.

Little by little, I play with it, patching it, he said.

The F-84E was always a work in progress, even when it was new, De La Cruz said. The plane was a mishmash of different airplane parts, crafted in an era when jet fighters were still new to the U.S. Air Force.

The Korean War was the first conflict to include dogfights between planes. In 1950, the Air National Guard provided almost 70 percent of the countrys fighters. The Texas National Guards 136th Fighter Group got its call to Korea in October of that year. In Korea, they flew low and slow as they strafed railroad yards and dams and truck convoys.

The Thunderjet was known for its durability, and not for its speed, said Staff Sgt. Nic Hoefer, an airman who works with De La Cruz. Hoefer came to work on the plane along with his two stepsons.

The Thunderjet was much slower than enemy jets. Standing orders were for their pilots to avoid tangling with enemy jets if possible, Hunt said.

The Air Force was still figuring out jet planes in those days. The Thunderjet was known for burning outrageous amounts of fuel. Enemy pilots liked to attack them on their way back to base, knowing the Thunderjets wouldnt have the juice to fight back.

In response, pilots of the 136th developed an unconventional solution to their fuel woes. Two lieutenants learned to climb to 31,000 feet or higher, shut down their engines, and then glide the last 125 miles to their airfields. An entire flight of 32 jets from the 136th once glided back to base.

Despite the planes flaws, pilots of the 136th managed to shoot down five enemy jets during their time in Korea. The unit is also known for completing the first combat midair refueling in history.

It is unknown if the plane in the museum flew over Korea. Many of the planes used in the war were stacked up and discarded afterward, which is one of the reasons De La Cruz said it is so hard to find parts for the plane.

What De La Cruz and crew did was paint the planes nose in the red garb of the Texas National Guard during the Korean War. On the side of the plane, they painted FS-189, the same number on Lt. Col. James Witts Thunderjet when he was shot down over Korea in October 1951.

Witt, a Bryan resident who served in the 136th, spent two years as a prisoner of war. He remained in the Air Force, retired in 1974, and is now buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.

The restored Thunderjet at Camp Mabry is in honor of Witt, De La Cruz said.

You have to take care of the history, somehow, De La Cruz said.

jlawrence@express-news.net
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

After Gov. Greg Abbott announced last week hed call a special session that would include the bathroom bill as one of many agenda points, local and statewide advocacy groups decided to gather their bearings in preparation for another emotionally charged fight.

The one thing we all need the most is stamina, said Chuck Smith, CEO of Equality Texas.

The nonprofit held a Special Session Town Hall on Sunday morning to review their advocacy work this spring and gear up for the fight this summer  largely against Senate Bill 6, known as the bathroom bill, which would prohibit transgender students from using the bathroom that matches their gender identity.

Smith called the bill nothing more than a political attempt to discriminate against people and remove them from public life. But Republican legislators in support of the bill say it is about respecting privacy and protecting women and children in public bathrooms.

Only a handful of people attended the town hall at Pearl Stable. Smith attributed the low turnout to election fatigue from the results of the previous nights mayoral runoffs  the organizations political action committee, Texas Equity PAC, endorsed Ron Nirenberg, who beat incumbent Mayor Ivy Taylor. Many advocates in the room expressed mental exhaustion from the intensely emotional legislative session.

It was just a beating, said Angela Hale, who handles media relations for Equality Texas. All the stuff that we were able to kill and stop, now were having a special session with it all back again.

Equality Texas spent the spring collaborating with other advocacy organizations across the state and country to shut down the bathroom bill, and now are trying to keep that sense of urgency afloat throughout the summer.

We still have a long way to go, Hale said.

The organization will need to raise $30,000, Smith said, to retain the contract staffers they had hired during this legislative session.

Smith encouraged others to take advantage of the brief respite from state politics, so by July 18, when the special session begins, everyones once again ready to rally. He said if a committee hearing day is once again scheduled for the bathroom bill, people can expect a replay of the regular session, with all hands on deck.

In March, hundreds of people gave testimonials against the Senates bathroom bill for about 13 hours in an overnight hearing, and in April for the Houses version  House Bill 2899  the debate went well into the night.

I think were all scrambling to find what is the secret sauce that gets someone to go from one position to another. I tell my colleagues all the time, that they continue to try to use logic and reason in a place where that isnt valued, said state Rep. Diego Bernal, D-San Antonio, who spoke at the town hall.

The key, Bernal said, is making someone feel like they could lose their seat  what he calls the politics first, logic second approach.

He also criticized the city of San Antonio, saying it did not appear as engaged as the other major Texas cities.

I found the city of San Antonios aggressiveness on these issues and other issues during the session to be lukewarm. Wanting, he said.

With Nirenberg as mayor, though, Bernal said he expects that to change.

Many advocates also reiterated that telling the story of transgender people, and making those outside the LGBTQ community identify and empathize with those in it must continue with equal and more force.

I never would have been an advocate for this issue because it was nothing that ever touched my life  which is sad but true, said Ginger Chun, mother of Marceline Chun, 16, who is transgender.

A lot of people like myself out there dont have the power or the ability to be who they are, Marceline said, adding that she wants to convince people that were a legitimate community.

sfosterfrau@express-news.net
Officials at San Antonios public universities are both relieved and troubled by the final verdict for their campuses contained in the $216.8 billion two-year state budget now awaiting Gov. Greg Abbotts signature.

Relieved, because they avoided the drastic funding cuts initially proposed by the Senate, which would have nearly zeroed out universities special items funding  some 56 percent of Texas A&M-San Antonios state funding overall. Now, the university expects a cut of 10 percent, with state funding totaling $40.5 million, still hard to swallow given its rapid enrollment growth.

From the standpoint of where the Senate started  were grateful, said Bill Spindle, chief financial officer at A&M-San Antonio.

The University of Texas at San Antonio will see a 1.7 percent increase in its formula funding for two years, bringing it to $158.2 million  the only university in the UT System that saw such growth.

But it will face a 35 percent reduction in its special items funding, from $25.5 million to $16.9 million  an important category that supports the Institute for Texan Cultures, the Small Business Development Center, the San Antonio Life Sciences Institute, the universitys pre-engineering program, the Texas State Data Center and the institutional enhancement money that supports UTSA's tier-one aspirations.

We appreciate everything the Bexar County legislative delegation did to minimize budget cuts to higher education institutions in San Antonio. The reality, though, is that with substantial reductions in funding for special items, our budget is going to be very tight, said Kathryn Funk-Baxter, vice president for business affairs at UTSA.

We will need to think creatively about how we fund our priorities, including student success initiatives, new faculty, research and community service programs, she said.

UTSA officials had expected austerity this session, said Joe Izbrand, the universitys associate vice president for communications and marketing. The Legislature did increase funding for the statewide TEXAS Grants program, a win for higher education in general, he noted.

Interim president Pedro Reyes post on UTSA Today said the budget presents fiscal challenges for us. Even with the formula increase, we recognize it is not enough to accommodate our expected growth, he said.

Equally troubled was Spindle at A&M-San Antonio, which is one of the fastest growing universities in Texas. Its 10 percent cut hurt our ability to grow at the rate we need to grow in terms of the staff and faculty, and to keep up with the huge number of students coming in, he said.

Were going to have to take care of 1,000 more students (this fall) with the same as we had before. And that, over time, will erode the quality of our effort, Spindle said.

Legislators were handed limited resources this session, largely attributed to fluctuations in Texas oil and gas income from public land, as well as previous tax cuts. Larger institutions like the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University, and the University of Houston dodged cuts in the budget this session, and some received revenue increases.

Texas universities depend on student tuition, endowments, and state funding. The state dollars mainly go to either formula funding, which is based on student enrollment, or the special items category that supports specific university programs or initiatives.

The belt tightening has already started.

While we are going to experience a tight budget next year, this is an opportunity for all of us to assess our operations, identify efficiencies and more clearly focus our limited resources on strategic priorities, Reyes said in a recent post on UTSA Today.

To that end, UTSA will continue a hiring freeze until the end of the 2017-2018 fiscal year, with a few exceptions. Additionally, Reyes wrote, half of all unexpended unrestricted funds, money left unspent by departments at the end of a budget year, will be put in the universitys central reserve. Ordinarily, the departments could accrue those to spend on other items, Izbrand said via email.

TAMUSA officials are bracing for the fiscal blow even as they expect the schools enrollment of roughly 5,500 to more than double in 10 years. Their special items category pays for 73 percent of its teachers and its ability to expand into lower grades. It only recently started serving freshmen and sophomore students.

The bottom line is because of the cut from the state were in a much more fragile situation, Spindle said. Because our only growth is in enrollment.

A committee comprised of House and Senate members will be formed to examine special items funding, and possibly advise on phasing it out by 2019.

Thats our biggest fear, Spindle said. That really helps a new, young university like us move forward, and if that is all taken away after this biennium, we will all be hurting.

sfosterfrau@express-news.net
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

The night Anthony Diaz walked through the doors of a gay club for the first time, he found it a breathtaking experience.

Diaz, then 18, felt the adrenaline coursing through him as he presented his newly issued drivers license to the San Antonio clubs security guard, who gave him the OK to enter.

You walk into this place, and its so surreal, Diaz said, now 27. In a crowd, you dont want to stand out  in a good way. Here, nobody stands out.

Like any other kid navigating the hurdles that come with being LGBTQ, it was a metamorphic moment that signaled he had arrived at adulthood as a gay man after years of being told it gets better.

For Diaz, it wasnt the nights pounding of bass-heavy electronica or the cute boys trading glances at the bar that stands out in his memory, but something else entirely: a sense of family.

But going to a club changed for Diaz and many in his LGBTQ family after June 12, 2016, when a gunman opened fire inside the popular Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, killing 49 predominately Latino LGBTQ people and leaving 53 more severely injured. Officials said it was a hate crime and terrorist attack, the worst since 9/11.

The tragedy sent shockwaves through the community of an estimated 10 million LGBTQ people living across the country, including San Antonio. Memorials and vigils quickly popped up as the Orlando Police Department and national media scrambled to address the question on every LGBTQ persons mind: Why?

This is our place, Diaz said. This would be like somebody attacking a church and you go to church every single day.

The answer to the question why? is far from satisfactory but today, a year later, many in the LGBTQ community have moved on, after turning the tragedy into a valuable lesson about the need to be prepared.

I don't think its (the shooting) anything more than a memory, a bad memory, said Randy Cunniff, owner of four LGBTQ-friendly properties in the downtown San Antonio area, tears glistening in his eyes.

It's in the back of their mind, and they think about it respectfully, but the general consensus of the entire population is we won't want to feel like we're scared all the time, he added.

The tragedy struck a nerve for Diaz, other Latinos and LGBTQ people of color because it signified the immense difficulty in bridging together aspects of identity. Overcoming instances of racism and microaggressions can be difficult.

As an artist who seeks to connect the Latino community and the gay community through his artwork, Diaz started MexiQueens, a night of drag performances by Latina drag queens where Diaz and other artists could also feature their work in a receptive space. The show, which saw its second iteration last month, features some of the biggest drag performers in San Antonio and seeks to increase representation for those who find themselves stuck in the middle.

The day of the attack in Orlando, the San Antonio Police Department held a news conference with leaders in the community to announce there would be new safety initiatives in downtown areas. Patrols were increased.

There was a heightened sense of fear, naturally, said Sgt. Jesus Salame, SAPD spokesman.

Salame said SAPD held formal active shooter trainings for employees at several of the citys largest gay nightclubs.

SAPD uses the Run, Hide, Fight model pushed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, where those who find themselves in an active shooter situation should first attempt to evacuate the area and then hide if running isnt possible. Only as a last resort should someone try to take action against the shooter and then only if the persons life is in immediate danger, according to DHS.

From a performers standpoint, its not easy going to a new club or bar and being on your toes with that haunting in the back of your mind like youre next, said Brian Hernandez, 22, a drag performer who goes by the stage name Miss Taint. Anything can happen in a blink of an eye.

Those fears kept people from going to the clubs in the weeks after the shooting, but by August, Diaz  like many others  was ready to return to his club home. Police patrols have returned to normal.

At some point, I was just done  I was done being scared, I was done being angry, I was done with it all, Diaz said. "If some idiot is going to come filled with hate and do what they do, then so be it  at least I know I'm going to die amongst friends, people who love me, people who are free and liberated. From there, I wasn't scared anymore.

fmilburn@express-news.net
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Long before jumping into the mayoral race, Ron Nirenberg was quietly putting into place all the pieces he needed to succeed in a gamble that most people saw as a losing bet.

On Saturday, he did what no candidate has done in two decades: defeat a mayor running for re-election. It was the first time since Howard Peak defeated Bill Thornton in 1997 that a challenger ousted an incumbent.

Nirenberg said he began plotting a path to the mayors seat when he concluded that Mayor Ivy Taylor was derailing the progress San Antonio had been making.

There had been hints that he was interested in the job. The first came in the summer of 2014, when then-Mayor Julian Castro left to join President Barack Obamas Cabinet. His replacement, per the city charter, had to come from within the ranks of the council. Nirenberg, then the councilman for District 8, raised his hand. But just a year into his freshman term, he couldnt persuade his colleagues to support him.

He supported Taylors appointment, along with other council members, in part because she said she wouldnt seek a full mayoral term in 2015. But when she ultimately ran and was elected, Nirenberg saw San Antonio tack toward a different course  one that he didnt think was the right trajectory.

Months before he officially declared his candidacy, Nirenberg posted midyear fundraising totals in July 2016 that showed he was clearly gearing up to challenge Taylor. He said many warned him that taking on an incumbent was foolish. But Nirenberg saw a path to victory where few others did. He passed on a near-certain re-election to his District 8 seat and rejected the conventional wisdom of not challenging sitting mayors.

Nirenberg said his election was a win for democracy.

Anybody can do this if they work hard enough, he said. Being truly independent isnt about a party label. Its who you answer to. And for me, thats the public.

On the campaign trail, Nirenberg said he constantly met people who said they were voting for the first time, contributing financially for the first time or volunteering for the first time. A stalwart supporter of civic engagement, he plans to push for more interaction with the public, including inviting dissenting voices to the table. Hes a proponent of moving the municipal elections to November in order to increase voter participation.

Nirenberg ran a campaign that focused on issues and drawing distinctions between himself and Taylor, doubling down on the idea that a majority of San Antonio wanted change in the mayors office. He defeated Taylor 54.6 percent to 45.4 percent.

On Sunday, before a morning church service, he worked on weekly household chores, folding laundry, among other things.

Nirenbergs wife, Erika Prosper, who was a migrant farmworker until she graduated from high school, said her husband starts every Sunday by sorting laundry and prepping his protein shakes for the week.

She always thinks Im stressed out doing the chores, Nirenberg said. But Im only stressed out if the chores dont get done.

Then they headed to Colonial Hills United Methodist Church, where the mayor-elect received a heros welcome. Folks patted him on the back, shook his hand and hugged him as he made his way into the sanctuary. During the service, the Rev. Diana Phillips requested that Nirenberg and his family come to the front. She described her pride to the congregation that their member had been elected mayor, and the Nirenbergs received a standing ovation.

Afterward, the family, including Nirenbergs father and stepmother, feasted on a sushi lunch  a post-election day tradition theyve kept up since 2013, when Nirenberg first ran for the District 8 seat. The day wasnt all respite, however. Nirenberg met with a transition team at his home Sunday afternoon to begin sketching out the formation of his administration.

Hes working on putting together a team that will be significantly larger than his council office staff. Hes also formalizing his agenda. Among the priorities for his first 100 days in office are plans to create a strategy for a long-term, comprehensive modern transportation system and to build a framework for a housing policy that addresses gentrification and reinvestment in communities that doesnt threaten those who have lived there for generations.

And Nirenberg has begun drafting the initial steps for ethics reform. He has called for an independent ethics czar and Ethics Review Board that arent controlled by the City Council or the city manager. Still, Nirenberg has a strong relationship with City Manager Sheryl Sculley, whose future appears solid in his administration.

On Sunday evening, the mayor-elect met with Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, who had endorsed Taylor in her re-election bid. Wolff had backed former state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte in her 2015 mayoral bid against Taylor, and afterward Wolff pledged his support to Taylor. Still, he said he and Nirenberg align on a lot of issues, including their opposition to Senate Bill 4, the divisive anti-immigration law, and their displeasure of the Trump administrations decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Accord.

Nirenberg said he plans to sign on to a U.S.-cities commitment to uphold the accords ideals even if the federal government wont.

Wolff said hes looking forward to working with Nirenberg.

Hes a very intellectual, very smart guy, Wolff said. I think hes going to be a very good mayor.

Sandwiched between those meetings, Nirenberg got in a workout. A former bodybuilder, he is arguably the physically strongest mayor San Antonio has ever had. On Sunday, he knocked out multiple sets of back squats at 315 pounds. At his victory party the day before, campaign officials told the crowd about the feats of strength Nirenberg has accomplished. With a physique not unlike the cartoon character Popeye, Nirenberg has a small can of spinach tattooed on his inner forearm.

While hes physically strong, hes aware he is taking over a position that is weak, at least on paper.

But two of Nirenbergs predecessors, former Mayors Castro and Phil Hardberger, both found power in the seat. Part of that comes through building coalitions with council colleagues, said Christian Archer, a political consultant who worked for Castro and Hardberger. He said both men built alliances early in their tenures. Nirenberg needs to set his agenda and meet with the 10 council members to discuss their district agendas, Archer said. If he helps them be successful, theyll support his agenda, the consultant said.

Citing a tremendous victory, Archer said Nirenberg has a mandate and is positioned to build strong coalitions with a majority of the council members, six of whom are new to the dais. Archer praised the council as a whole, noting there are some young, aggressive, sharp new members in William Cruz Shaw, Greg Brockhouse and Ana Sandoval. Nirenberg also will likely find natural allies in Roberto Trevino, Manny Pelaez, John Courage and, perhaps, Shirley Gonzales.

Rey Saldana, who often has sided with Nirenberg over the past two years, could end up being one of the new mayors top lieutenants.

This sounds like a shot at Ivy Taylor, and I dont mean it to be, but you want the leadership from the mayors office, steadfast leadership, Archer said. And people get that from Ron. They see Ron as a leader.

jbaugh@express-news.net
President Donald Trump slammed James Comey, days after the fired FBI directors testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee and as Attorney General Jeff Sessions offered to speak to the same panel to answer questions about alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

I believe the James Comey leaks will be far more prevalent than anyone ever thought possible. Totally illegal? Very cowardly! Trump told his 32 million Twitter followers on Sunday.

On Friday, Trump said during a news conference at the White House that Comeys Senate testimony a day earlier showed that the president hadnt colluded with the Russian government to rig the 2016 election, and hadnt obstructed a federal investigation into the meddling.

Trump also said hed be 100 percent willing to testify under oath that he didnt demand a pledge of personal loyalty from Comey -- an offer that Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer jumped on.

Sessions late Saturday canceled planned appearances at a pair of appropriations panels on Tuesday and instead said he would appear before the intelligence committee.

That panel hasnt announced the timing of a hearing with Sessions, though, or said whether hell appear in an open or closed format.

Senator James Lankford, Republican of Oklahoma, said on CBSs Face the Nation on Sunday that the committee is still in a final conversation with Sessions but assumes the hearing would be public.

Cant Run Forever

Two leading Democrats, Senator Dianne Feinstein of California and Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, called on Sessions to appear -- in public -- before the Judiciary Committee, which has oversight responsibility for the Department of Justice. You cant run forever, Leahy said in a Twitter message to Sessions.

It would be fitting for the attorney general to appear before Judiciary, Feinstein, the top Democrat on that panel, said on CNNs State of the Union. I have written two letters to Senator Grassley suggesting that, she added, referring to Iowas Charles Grassley, the committees chairman.

The Judiciary staff are all lawyers, most very good lawyers. And so there is an opportunity to look at the law with respect to obstruction of justice, to hold a hearing, and also to have those relevant people come before the Judiciary Committee, said Feinstein, a member of both committees.

Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and another member of the Judiciary Committee, said both Sessions and former Attorney General Loretta Lynch should appear. Comey testified that Lynch asked him during last years presidential campaign to call the investigation into Democrat Hillary Clintons emails a matter.

If the attorney generals office has become a political office, that is bad for us all, Graham said on CBS. So I want to get to the bottom of that, and it should be in Judiciary.

Preet Bharara, the former New York Attorney, said that theres absolutely enough evidence to begin an obstruction case against Trump for his dismissal of Comey and what Comey described as an attempt during a private meeting to have the bureau drop inquiries into Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser.

QuickTake Q&A: Unwinding the Twists, Turns in Trump-Russia Probe

Trumps alleged comments to Comey about Flynn is a big deal, and cant be excused by simply being a novice, Bharara said on ABCs This Week, the first televised interview since his own firing by Trump in March. He added that no one knows right now whether there is a provable case of obstruction.

Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, said her theory is that Trump thought his conversations with Comey were how a president should interact with the FBI director.

The president clearly does not fully understand or appreciate the boundaries. But he should, she said on CNN. Im not excusing his behavior. But Im saying that there are a lot of people in government who should have set him straight.

Schumer, speaking on CBS, invited the president to testify before the Senate. I think we could work out a way it could be dignified, public,  he said.

Appropriate Forum

In letters Saturday to the two appropriations panel chairmen, Sessions said hed concluded that regardless of which committees he appeared before, the questions would inevitably focus on the Russian probe.

Following Comeys testimony, it is important that I have the opportunity to address these matters in the appropriate forum, Sessions wrote, adding that members of the intelligence committee are in the middle of an investigation and have access to relevant, classified information.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will stand in for Sessions at the two appropriations subcommittee hearings on Tuesday. The House hearing had already been rescheduled from May 24.

--With assistance from Chris Strohm and Todd Shields
Warrenton, VA (20186)

Today

Cloudy with occasional rain late. Low 54F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Cloudy with occasional rain late. Low 54F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.
Adnan Khashoggi, the Saudi arms dealer in the middle of the giant 1970s bribery scandal that led to enactment of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, has died in London at 81.

From 1970 through mid 1975, Lockheed paid Khashoggi and his company, Triad, $106 million in commissions.

A U.S. Senate investigation in September 1975 also revealed that Northrop paid Khashoggi $54 million and Raytheon paid him $23 million.

When the wider Lockheed bribery scandal broke into public view, several overseas governments collapsed. The U.S. Congress launched an investigation and looked for ways to end the graft.

Khashoggi worked as Lockheeds sales agent in Saudi Arabia. At first he denied paying bribes to win sales there.

But on September 13, 1975, Lockheed chairman Daniel Haughton testified to the Senate that Khashoggi had told him bribes were necessary.

Haughton did not estimate how much of the $106 million [that Lockheed paid to Khashoggi] may have been paid to Saudi officials as bribes, the New York Times reported then.

Khashoggi said Lockheeds records and testimony were based on misunderstanding, confusion and hearsay.

Haughton testified that Lockheed also paid bribes directly to Saudi officials through numbered bank accounts in Switzerland and Lichtenstein, the Times report said.

The Times said in 1975 that Khashoggis empire includes banks in California and herds of cattle in Arizona as well as a furniture factory in Lebanon and an insurance company in London. All together, he owns more than a score of businesses.

Senator Frank Church said through these extortionate practices, American companies are really financing the purchases in the United States of Mr. Khashoggi and his associates. Thats one of the ways these bribes are being recycled.

The NYT reported in 1975 that an internal investigation at Northrop showed payments of $450,000 to Triad, Khashoggis company, that went to two Saudi generals.

Khashoggi was the model for Harold Robbins bestseller The Pirate, published in 1974.

He owned a dozen homes, the Guardian said in its June 7 obituary, and a thousand suits. He spent $70 million on his third yacht and $40 million on a customized Douglas DC-8 described as a flying Las Vegas discotheque.

After the House and Senate finished the Lockheed hearings, they ironed out a bill to stop overseas bribery. President Jimmy Carter signed the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act into law on December 19, 1977.

____

Richard L. Cassin is the publisher and editor of the FCPA Blog.
A U.S. Army colonel, his wife, and a former defense contractor were indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday for using bribery and fraud to rig military contracts.

Anthony Tyrone Roper, 55, is an active duty colonel with the U. S. Army stationed at Fort Gordon, Georgia.

Also charged was his wife, Audra Roper, 49, and Dwayne Oswald Fulton, 58, a former employee of a defense contracting firm.

Audra Roper allegedly operated Quadar Group, one of several shell companies used to funnel bribes to her husband.

The DOJ didnt name the defense contractor Fulton worked for.

All three defendants live in Augusta, Georgia.

The DOJ said,

[B]eginning in 2008 and lasting almost a decade, Colonel Anthony Roper conspired with his wife, Fulton and others to solicit and accept cash bribes in exchange for rigging the award of over $20 million in U. S. Army contracts to selected individuals and companies.

Colonel Roper was charged with one count of conspiracy, three counts of bribery, four counts of false statements, and one count of obstruction.

He faces a maximum sentence of 85 years in prison and a $1.75 million fine.

Audra Roper was charged with one count of conspiracy, one count of false statements, and one count of obstruction. She faces up to 25 years in prison and a $750,000 fine.

Fulton was charged with one count of conspiracy and one count of obstruction. He faces up to 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.

The indictment further alleged that to hide their bribery and fraud, the defendants tried to obstruct an official investigation,

The DOJ said an indictment is only an accusation and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the Governments burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

____

Richard L. Cassin is the publisher and editor of the FCPA Blog.
To mark the release of her new book Troublemakers, author Catherine Barter offers her top ten books for children and young people that tackle the topic of politics.

Catherine Barter by Georgie Lord

Welcome to Nowhere by Elizabeth Laird

The conflict in Syria is one of biggest political issues of our time. Elizabeth Lairds novel is the story of an ordinary Syrian family whose lives are thrown into chaos by the outbreak of war; its a serious, sympathetic introduction to this complex conflict and especially its effects on children.

Sweet Pizza by G.R. Gemin

This is a light, warm and compassionate story about Italian and Polish families living in a small town in Wales. Sweet Pizza is a much-needed antidote to the angry debates over Brexit still dominating the headlines: a story about shared histories, the meaning of community, and the things that bind us together.

The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon

The Bone Sparrow takes place in an Australian detention centre, and is told through the voice of a boy who is born there after his family flees persecution in Burma. Its another powerful story of global political upheaval, viewed through the eyes of the children affected by it.

I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Mala Yousafzai

Who could be more inspiring than Malala? This memoir by the young activist is a powerful, enlightening story and an important read at any age.

For older readers

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, Angie Thomass YA novel has been a huge hit and rightly so. Its a fierce, moving story about friendship, family, racism and community; it doesnt shy away from complex issues and ends with a powerful call for a new generation of activists to rise up.

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

This graphic memoir, now a classic, might seem to be rooted in the specific politics of its time and place (Iran, before and after the Islamic Revolution), but its also a riveting and often witty account of how a young womans identity develops against a backdrop of political crisis.

Here We Stand: Women Changing the World, edited by Helena Earnshaw and Angharad Penrhyn Jones

Here We Stand is a collection of interviews and essays with women campaigners and activists. Perfect for dipping in and out of, the range of topics covered makes this book a useful overview some of the big social justice struggles of the last ten years. Its an inspiring introduction to politics for young womenand menwho might want to change the world.

Everyday Sexism by Laura Bates

Every young woman should arm themselves with this indispensable guide to societys sexist double standards, and how to fight back against them.

We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

For something more pocket-sized than Everyday Sexism, try We Should All Be Feminists, the printed version of Adichies influential Ted Talk. Its a bold rallying cry for all young people starting to find their political identities.

What the **** is Normal?! by Francesca Martinez

Francesca Martinezs memoir is very funny, but its also a fantastic introduction to the politics of being normal, as well as disability rights. I wish Id read this when I was at school.
Miranda Kerr kicked off her "magical" wedding day with yoga.

Miranda Kerr and Evan Spiegel

The 34-year-old model and 26-year-old billionaire Evan Spiegel, who founded social media app Snapchat, tied the knot in a small ceremony at their home in Los Angeles late last month and Miranda revealed that the entire day was extremely relaxed.

Speaking at Gwyneth Paltrow's 'In Goop Health' conference in Los Angeles over the weekend, Miranda said: "Our wedding was just so joyful. We started the day, did yoga, and then our families came over and we literally all just had, like, this celebration in our backyard. It was magical, really."

When asked what it feels like to be a newlywed, Miranda - who was previously married to Orlando Bloom, the father of her son Flynn, six - said: "It's crazy because it is the beginning of something, even though it's coming up to four years this November that we've been together. We still have so much to learn from each other and we do every day."

And Miranda revealed that she loves that she and her new husband have such vastly different experiences because they still share the same values and morals.

She said: "We see things from a different perspective and we bring that to the table. It's just really good to have that partnership and have the same values. Even though we come from completely different backgrounds - I come from a tiny country town in Australia and he grew up here in L.A. - we have the same values and morals. And it just feels really good when you find that."

Miranda and Evan started dating in 2014 and got engaged in July 2016, with the model revealing earlier this year that they were waiting until they got married to have sex.

She said: "My partner is very traditional. We can't... I mean we're just...waiting."

And she often gushes over her love in interviews, previously saying: "Evan is real homebody like me. We have little dinner parties for our friends - he loves my cooking. Both of us are quite conservative even though we come from different worlds.

"But we have common values, a sense of loyalty, family and honesty. I tend to trust other people more easily. Evan is more guarded and reserved. It's a good balance.

"We spend hours talking about everything. He listens to me and he understands me.

"He works very hard and he's proud that I've started my own business. He gives me tons of advice. He's my soulmate."
A memorial service for Sir Roger Moore was held in Monaco on Saturday (10.06.17).

Sir Roger Moore [Twitter]

Friends and family of the late James Bond star - who passed away last month at the age of 89 after a "short but brave battle with cancer" - gathered at Saint Paul's Church in Monte Carlo, to say goodbye.

Roger's manager and biographer Gareth Owen shared a picture of the order of service on Roger's Twitter page and wrote: "Yesterday we said our goodbyes in a beautiful service and celebrated a wonderful life. (Gareth) (sic)."

Roger's close friend Joan Collins shared a picture of herself at the service on her own Twitter page and wrote: "One last drink. Goodbye, dear @sirrogermoore - a beautiful and loving service for one of the great Saints, Knights and Gents of our time (sic)."

Last month, Roger's children with third wife Luisa Mattioli - Deborah, Geoffrey and Christian - announced his death in a statement.

They said: "It is with a heavy heart that we must announce our loving father, Sir Roger Moor, has passed away today in Switzerland after a short but brave battle with cancer. The love with which he was surrounded in his final days was so great it cannot be quantified in words alone.

"We know our own love and admiration will be magnified many times over, across the world, by people who knew him for his films, his television shows and his passionate work for UNICEF which he considered to be his greatest achievement."

Following the sad news of Roger's passing, a host of former James Bonds, led by Sir Sean Connery, paid tribute to the star.

Original 007 Sean said: "I was very sad to hear of Roger's passing. We had an unusually long relationship by Hollywood standards, that was filled with jokes and laughter, I will miss him."

Pierce Brosnan, who portrayed the British secret agent from 1994 to 2005, hailed him a "magnificent James Bond" who paved the way for him to take on the iconic role.

He wrote on Facebook: "Dear Sir Roger Moore, It is indeed with a heavy heart that I hear the news of your passing this morning.

"You were a big part of my life, from The Saint to James Bond, you were a magnificent James Bond and one that lead the way for me, the world will miss you and your unique sense of humor for years to come. My sincerest condolences to your family and children. RIP. (sic)"

Current Bond, Daniel Craig, made a brief but poignant tribute.

He simply said: "Nobody does it better."
Ahead of its UK cinema release later this month, a brand new poster has been unveiled for upcoming Hollywood flick, Transformers: The Last Knight. You can check it out below:

In UK cinemas July 22

Shattering the core myths of the franchise, the film will explore exactly what it means to be a hero, as Michael Bay returns for what is looking increasingly likely to be his final outing in the Directors Chair for the series.

Optimus Prime is gone, with war breaking out between humans and Transformers. The history of Transformers on Earth provides the key to stopping the conflict, but itll be down to an unlikely alliance of misfits to unearth it and save countless lives.

Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg) heads up that alliance, alongside an English Lord (Sir Anthony Hopkins), an Oxford Professor (Laura Haddock) and trusty Transformer, Bumblebee.

As the hunted become heroes and heroes become villains, it becomes clear that if the war goes on, only one world will survive: theirs or ours.

Transformers: The Last Knight hits cinemas across the UK on June 22, 2017.

by Daniel Falconer for www.femalefirst.co.uk

find me on and follow me on
Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), the apex council for garment exports conducted a survey to find the catalyst for the exceptional differentiated export growth of 31.7 per cent in April, 2017 and found that ROSL has a huge impact on the industry's performance. The industry believes that over the next 3 years they can consistently increase exports.

According to the survey done by AEPC in 8 states where there is significant apparel production, 85 per cent of apparel exporters were substantially benefited by ROSL in their export performance, while 65 per cent rate the impact of ROSL as high or game changing.

The industry also believes that given the ROSL impact in such a short span of time, they can increase their capacity over a period of three years consistently. About 61 per cent of industry respondents believe that they can deliver growth above 15-20 per cent. With as many as 6 per cent believe more than 30 per cent is possible.

Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), the apex council for garment exports conducted a survey to find the catalyst for the exceptional differentiated export growth of 31.7 per cent in April, 2017 and found that ROSL has a huge impact on the industry's performance. The industry believes that over the next 3 years they can consistently increase exports.#

Further, 64 per cent of the respondents are of opinion that continued ROSL support will help them expand their factories. The respondents are also of the opinion that expansion of factories will also lead to higher rate of employment (67 per cent), better work environment (73 per cent) and better prices for farmers (50 per cent).

Moreover, 77 per cent exporters are of the view that ROSL can be continued in its existing form.

"AEPC has been reiterating the importance of ROSL for the industry. ROSL has helped industry deliver phenomenal growth for the sector. ROSL since its announcement in last June added a positive sentiment amongst exporters and roll-out in September last year helped lifting the falling apparel exports. Since then the growth has been on an upward trajectory peaking in April this year," said Ashok G Rajani, chairman, AEPC.

India's apparel export registered momentous growth of 31.7 per cent in April 2017 compared to the same period last year. The data of the apparel exports shows that after the commencement of disbursement of ROSL, the apparel sector has been registering double digit growth. During March-April, 2017, Indian garment exporters were able to increase production by around 30 per cent for achieving this growth and employed at least 5 per cent more workers during the same period. (KD)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
The state government of Assam has said that it will soon introduce a new textile policy to produce and market handloom products for the global market. The policy will work towards boosting the handloom and textile industry of the state. It will integrate production and marketing of textile items, empower weavers and create a niche market for handicrafts.

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal directed this while reviewing the activities of the handloom and textile department. He also directed the department to set up a state of the art emporium showcasing unique and attractive fabrics of all communities of the state shortly, according to an official statement by the government.

Sonowal has asked officials to design a strategy for showcasing handloom items at the India-International Textile Summit, which will be held in Gujarat in July. The CM has also urged the department to make strategies for empowering weavers from rural Assam and motivating young entrepreneurs to trade in the sector.

The state government of Assam has said that it will soon introduce a new textile policy to produce and market handloom products for the global market. The policy will work towards boosting the handloom and textile industry of the state. It will integrate production and marketing of textile items, empower weavers and create a niche market for handicrafts.#

He also encouraged planning for chain-linked exhibition system that will cover all the districts of the state to market handicrafts. (KD)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Apparel Training and Design Centre (ATDC) in Noida and Noida Apparel Export Cluster have jointly organised 'As a Responsible Citizen Initiative on awareness of Skill Development, Swacch Bharat Abhiyan and Road Safety'. The aim of launching the campaign is to educate people about cleanliness and sanitation under the Swacch Bharat Abhiyan.

The initiative also aims to organise road safety programmes through road safety march and regulation of traffic and to make aware the disadvantaged and unemployed youth about job oriented skill based training and huge opportunities in apparel sector.

The campaign included pledging ceremony by around 200 students of ATDC for Swacch Bharat Abhiyan & Road Safety followed by road safety march for the same. ATDC students regulated traffic in the presence of traffic police and also educated vehicle drivers to follow traffic rules. They participated in cleaning Sector 12/22 and performed Nukkad Natak for the skill training awareness. The participants were spotted wearing T-shirts with the ATDC logo, sponsored by Noida Apparel Export Cluster.

Apparel Training and Design Centre (ATDC) in Noida and Noida Apparel Export Cluster have jointly organised 'As a Responsible Citizen Initiative on awareness of Skill Development, Swacch Bharat Abhiyan and Road Safety'. The aim of launching the campaign is to educate people about cleanliness and sanitation under the Swacch Bharat Abhiyan. #

Dr Mahesh Sharma, minister of tourism and culture Government of India said, "I wish you all the best wishes and congratulations that all of you have followed your social responsibility on Clean India Campaign and Road Safety Campaign and organised this programme for promoting them. All of you are giving your contribution as a youth power in this crusade."

Simultaneously, he thanked Lalit Thukral, chairman, NAEC & ATDC Convener, UP state, for the successful participation of ATDC in the cleanliness drive of the Prime Minister and said that as a social worker, he has been supporting these social problems, whether serious or small.

He said, "Today when these problems have spread all over the society, through these small efforts only can we achieve success and make our city and country - clean and safe. Move one step forward and the world will follow itself."

Dr Darlie Koshy - director general & CEO, ATDC said, "We at ATDC, have imparted skills to nearly 2 Lakh candidates under the ISDS, MOT, GOI, and have transformed lives by providing gainful employment to youth, and disadvantaged section of the society. This event reflected our resolve of skilling the youth, and making them responsible citizens ready for the future."

ATDC is playing a key role in evangelising skills like a religion in India and making the youth a job-ready and professional workforce through 'Skill Excellence', so that, they can make India a manufacturing hub in order to fulfil PM's vision of 'Make in India'.

Speaking on the occasion, Thukral said, "With our own persistent activities, we have to make these causes widespread and successful and move forward with them. The oath that was sworn today should not only be in name and our head, we should act on it and try to be responsible citizens. Whether around our workplaces, home or anywhere, we should always give our best in maintaining cleanliness and regulating traffic."

The event witnessed participation from a huge number of the citys youth. The spectators excitedly cheered up for the participants and boosted up their energy. Everything was well coordinated by the Noida Police and the volunteers. Appreciation from the audience marked a successful end to the event. (KD)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
The organisers of the upcoming Apparel Textile Sourcing Canada (ATSC) show, the premier international apparel and textile sourcing event in Canada, are set to unveil the latest innovations in smart apparel and textiles on June 14, 2017. It will be a sneak peek of trending technologies that will be showcased at ATSC show that will begin from August 21, 2017.

The technologies to be unveiled include self-heating winter coats and boot insoles, smart shirts for men, women and children that monitor everything from steps and calories, to breathing and heart rates, leg bands that measure muscle performance and help avoid injuries, LED-backlit apparel and textiles and socks that improve balance, and multi-sensor insoles that help prevent falls.

Representatives from over 20 countries will visit the ATCS show to exhibit their trending apparel and textiles. "The participation of a rapidly-growing number of local and international exhibitors demonstrates confidence in the Canadian economy and the importance of the apparel and textile industry both in Toronto and nationally," said Jason Prescott, CEO of JP Communications, North America's leading publisher of B2B trade platforms TopTenWholesale.com and Manufacturer.com and organiser of ATSC.

ATSC will also feature three full days of seminars, panels and sessions by leaders in industry, government and fashion, and a fashion runway event showcasing Canadian student and international exhibitor designs. (RR)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), functioning under the ministry of commerce and industry, Government of India, has constituted a Goods and Services Tax (GST) facilitation cell. The cell will assist and advice exporters, trade and industry for smooth transition from present tax regime to GST regime with effect from July 1, 2017.

Functioning from DGFT headquarters in New Delhi, the GST facilitation cell is headed by Nikunj Kumar Srivastava, additional DGFT, and comprises two other officersRakesh Kumar, joint DGFT and Kaushlendra Pratap Singh, deputy DGFT. Exporters can email their queries concerning GST and pertaining to Foreign Trade Policy (FTP), to these officers.

Similarly, all regional offices of DGFT have constituted GST facilitation cell, which would be headed by head of the regional office i.e. additional DGFT/ joint DGFT with other two officers of the rank of deputy DGFT or assistant DGFT.

Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), functioning under the ministry of commerce and industry, Government of India, has constituted a Goods and Services Tax (GST) facilitation cell. The cell will assist and advice exporters, trade and industry for smooth transition from present tax regime to GST regime with effect from July 1, 2017.#

Recently, DG, DGFT also convened a meeting of stakeholders (FIEO/ trade/ industry) to understand the issues being faced by them in GST system. These issues have been taken up with department of revenue and GST Network (GSTN), who have informed that most of the issues have already been resolved.

Earlier this month, DGFT, jointly with FIEO, had also organised an outreach programme to educate the exporters about GST regime. This programme was attended by large number of exporters. Ajay Bhalla, director general DGFT addressed the exporters and explained them about all aspects of GST including benefits that will accrue to them because of automatic and quick refund of all taxes paid on inputs. DG also responded to many queries of the exporters regarding various export promotion schemes, filing of GST returns and claiming refund.

Meanwhile, the department of commerce had announced aligning the mid-term review of FTP with roll out of GST for the convenience of exporters and industry. (RKS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Following pleas made by several textile bodies like The Southern India Mills Association (SIMA), the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has slashed tax rate on textile job work from the earlier decided 18 per cent to 5 per cent. This will benefit powerloom and handloom weavers, and processing and dyeing units that carry out production on job work basis.

In its request sent out to the Union finance minister Arun Jaitley, textiles minister Smriti Irani and other, SIMA said, Over 80 per cent of manufacturing activities in textile industry are carried out on job work basis especially by powerloom weavers, handloom weavers, knitters, processing units, dyeing units and garment/made-up manufacturers.

SIMA appealed for classifying all textile job works under 5 per cent GST rate to enable the job workers to take the input tax credit (ITC) on other inputs.

Welcoming the decision, Indian Texpreneurs Federation (ITF) secretary Prabhu Damodaran, said, "Our heartfelt thanks to finance minister and textiels minister and GST Council for this decision and this will help SME clusters like Coimbatore,Tiruppur, Erode and Karur in a big way to be inside the tax net and contribute to the nation by way of taxes at the same time without any big burden on tax outgo."

Following pleas made by several textile bodies like The Southern India Mills' Association (SIMA), the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has slashed tax rate on textile job work from the earlier decided 18 per cent to 5 per cent. This will benefit powerloom and handloom weavers, and processing and dyeing units that carry out production on job work basis.#

"The much required decision is a big relief to the Tiruppur knitwear garment sector as all the intermediate processes of garments are being carried out by job working units, mostly MSMEs and this has avoided the apprehension of job working units in blocking of working capital and the job working units would not be in a position to take input tax credit," said Tiruppur Exporters' Associaiton (TEA) president Raja M Shanmugam.

Following pleas made by several textile bodies like The Southern India Mills' Association (SIMA), the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has slashed tax rate on textile job work from the earlier decided 18 per cent to 5 per cent. This will benefit powerloom and handloom weavers, and processing and dyeing units that carry out production on job work basis.#

At its 16th meeting, the Council also increased the upper limit for the composition scheme to Rs 75 lakh from the earlier Rs 50 lakh. Now traders and manufacturers with an annual turnover of Rs 20 lakh to Rs 75 lakh can opt for the scheme and pay tax at one per cent and two per cent respectively.

Following pleas made by several textile bodies like The Southern India Mills' Association (SIMA), the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has slashed tax rate on textile job work from the earlier decided 18 per cent to 5 per cent. This will benefit powerloom and handloom weavers, and processing and dyeing units that carry out production on job work basis.#

The composition scheme exempts tax payers with an aggregate turnover in a financial year up to Rs 20 lakh  Rs 10 lakh in North-East and special category states  from GST. An entity whose aggregate turnover in the preceding financial year is less than Rs 75 lakh  earlier Rs 50 lakh  can opt for a simplified composition scheme where tax will be payable at a concessional rate on the turnover in a state.

Following pleas made by several textile bodies like The Southern India Mills' Association (SIMA), the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has slashed tax rate on textile job work from the earlier decided 18 per cent to 5 per cent. This will benefit powerloom and handloom weavers, and processing and dyeing units that carry out production on job work basis.#

The decision to lower rates was taken with the objective to maintain the equivalence with the current tax rates or due to the change in utilisation behaviour, Jaitley told press persons after the meeting.

Following pleas made by several textile bodies like The Southern India Mills' Association (SIMA), the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has slashed tax rate on textile job work from the earlier decided 18 per cent to 5 per cent. This will benefit powerloom and handloom weavers, and processing and dyeing units that carry out production on job work basis.#

The higher upper limit for the composition scheme will help small and medium enterprises. It eases the burden on these categories as they are mass job creators, Jaitley said. Similarly, to promote outsourcing in the employment-intensive sectors of textiles, leather, diamond processing and jewellery, the Council approved a rate of 5 per cent on job work, he added. (RKS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
The Southern India Mills' Association (SIMA) has appealed to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council to include garmenting, made-ups and other sewn textile products under the textile job work list which will attract 5 per cent tax. Currently, only textile yarns (other than MMF and filaments) and textile fabrics producing activities are classified under it.

The Council slashed the tax rate on textile job work from the earlier decided 18 per cent to 5 per cent in its 16th meeting held on June 11 after the textile industry appealed for the reduction. The industry had urged to slash the rates as over 80 per cent of the manufacturing activities in the textile value chain are carried out on a job work basis by the MSME due to the decentralised nature of the segments of textile industry.

M Senthilkumar, chairman, SIMA said that garmenting and made ups predominantly work on a hub and spoke model and creates 70 to 150 jobs per crore of Investment especially for the rural women and people below the poverty line. He has mentioned that the term fabrics would apply only up to the stage of finished fabric cutting and thereafter they would be termed as garment or made-ups or any other sewn products and therefore, suitable amendment/inclusion is required to avoid any ambiguity at a later stage.

The Southern India Mills' Association (SIMA) has appealed to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council to include garmenting, made-ups and other sewn textile products under the textile job work list which will attract 5 per cent tax. Currently, only textile yarns (other than MMF and filaments) and textile fabrics producing activities are classified under it.#

SIMA chief has also reiterated that the industry demand of reducing the GST rate on manmade fibre, filaments and spun yarn from 18 per cent to 12 per cent as the fabric attracts only 5 per cent GST, may be considered. He has added that such an exorbitant rate would increase the clothing cost of the poor mans fabrics by 5 to 6 per cent and would seriously affect the major textile clusters such as Surat, Bhiwandi, Panipet, etc., making several lakhs of people jobless. He has pointed out that the Indian textile industry could achieve the potential and envisaged growth rate only when the raw materials, especially synthetic fibres, are made available at an internationally competitive rate.

Meanwhile, Senthilkumar has welcomed the decision of GST Council and thanked the finance minister and the textile minister for favourably considering the appeal made by the association and reducing the service tax on textile job work to 5 per cent. He said that under current tax structure, textile job works are exempted from service tax as such activities are manufacturing processing and not servicing in nature. He added that 5 per cent service tax with full input tax credit would enable the various textile manufacturing segments including reeling, sizing, powerloom, handloom, knitting, yarn dyeing, fabric bleaching, mercerising, dyeing, printing and finishing segments to set off their input credits and pay very minimal GST on services. (KD)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Megastar Amitabh Bachchan is quite active when it comes to social media. He regularly keeps sharing throwback pictures on his Twitter and Instagram pages which is quite a treat for all his fans who get to have a rare sneak-peek into his personal life.

FLASHBACK! Abhishek Bachchan Shares A Touching Memory As A Kid When His Dad Was In The Hospital

Recently he had shared a picture of himself with son Abhishek, when he had just returned from the hospital after suffering the fatal accident. Big B had captioned that photo as, "Me recovering from my Coolie accident at home and a most caring and loving male nurse - ABHISHEK."

Have a look at it here...

Me recovering from my Coolie accident at home and a most caring and loving male nurse - ABHISHEK A post shared by Amitabh Bachchan (@amitabhbachchan) on Jun 10, 2017 at 12:45am PDT

Later Abhishek too shared a family portrait with his dad Amitabh Bachchan that was clicked on the same day, after Big B returned home from the hospital. That's such a happy picture...

Since @amitabhbachchan posted a photo us post his Coolie accident whilst recovering at home, here's another.... Taken on the same day. A post shared by Abhishek Bachchan (@bachchan) on Jun 10, 2017 at 11:02pm PDT

One more snap shared by him...

#throwbackthursday A post shared by Abhishek Bachchan (@bachchan) on Jun 7, 2017 at 11:22pm PDT

Meanwhile. Sr Bachchan shared one more adorable click with his doting son. In the said picture, we can see the veteran actor trying to teach Abhishek Bachchan how to use camera. The toddler on the other hand is quite smitten by the camera.

I once , not so long ago showed him the workings of technology .. now he teaches me .. Kids, I tell you .. A post shared by Amitabh Bachchan (@amitabhbachchan) on Jun 11, 2017 at 2:58pm PDT

He captioned the picture as, "I once , not so long ago showed him the workings of technology...now he teaches me...Kids, I tell you .."

Isn't it adorable?

On the work front, Big B is currently busy working for Thugs Of Hindostan in Malta. The film also stars Aamir Khan, Katrina Kaif and Fatima Sana Shaikh.

Abhishek Bachchan, on the other hand has been rumoured to have signed a couple of films which include names like Sanak, Erase, Lefty, Gulab Jamun, Ronnie Screwvala's next, Sanjay Leela Bhansali's next among others.
The entire Kannada Film Industry has vowed its support to the state-wide bandh which was called by veteran politician and activist, Vatal Nagaraj. On account of Karnataka Bandh today, theatres will stop exhibiting shows of movies and no film shooting or related work will take place today.

The Karnataka Film Academy has extended its support to the bandh, too. The president of KFA, Sa. Ra. Govindu has said, "No filming will take place today, all over the state. Also, theatres and multiplexes have been instructed to stop running film shows for today. The entire Sandalwood industry will always support Vatal Nagaraj in his fight for justice."

With drought being declared in Karnataka, Vatal Nagraj had called for a state-wide bandh today. The demands of the bandh include farm loan waiver, Prime Minister's intervention in the Mahadayi river dispute and a permanent solution to water scarcity in the arid regions of the state.

The bandh is called by Kannada Okkoota, headed by Vatal Nagraj. More than 2000 organisations and other activist groups have lent their support to the bandh, including the Sandalwood.
Mammootty, the megastar is joining hands with scenarist Sethu for his directorial debut, which has been titled as Kozhi Thankachan. Recently, the sources close to the project revealed some new updates about the project.

As per the reports, Kozhi Thankachan is not a mass entertainer as expected. The movie is said to be a light-hearted comedy which revolves around a rural village in Kuttanad, and the people who live there.

Interestingly, Mammootty, who depicts the title role Thankachan, appears as a rural man in the movie. The team ensures that it will yet another highly interesting role from the megastar, who is an expert when it comes to playing the 'common man' characters.

Kozhi Thankachan will be entirely shot at the various locations of Kuttanad. The movie, which is scripted by director Sethu himself, will feature three popular actresses as the female leads.

Anu Sithara has reportedly been roped into essay one of the three female leads in the movie. Reportedly, including Miya George, Vedhika, Nyla Usha, Deepti Sati, etc., are in talks to essay the other two female leads.

Young actor Unni Mukundan will foray into direction field by assisting director Sethu in the movie. Kozhi Thankachan is produced by Muraleedharan and Shantha Muraleedharan, for Anantha Vision.
Update On Mohanlal's Randamoozham/Mahabharata

Reportedly, the makers of the upcoming magnum opus Mahabharata, based on the Malayalam novel Randamoozham, will retain the same title. According to the reports, Mahabharata will go on floors on August 2018. The official launch of the movie will be held within the next 3 months and the rest of the cast of the film is expected to be announced then.

Role Models To Come Out On Eid

Fahadh Faasil will be seen in the lead role in the upcoming comedy entertainer Role Models, directed by Rafi. The film that feature Namitha Pramod as the leading lady will hit the theatres during the Eid season.

Mohanlal To Host A New Television Show

Superstar Mohanlal is all set to make a mark of his own on the miniscreen. Reportedly, the actor will don the hat of a television host for a programme named on Lal Salaam, which will be aired on Amrita TV. The show will take a look at the actor's career spanning 38 years.

Priyadarshan To Remake Maheshinte Prathikaaram

Popular Malayalam movie Maheshinte Prathikaaram is all set to have a Tamil remake soon. Reportedly, Priyadarshan will be helming this Tamil remake and actor Udayanidhi Stalin will reprise the role of Fahadh Faasil from the original. Interestingly, the film will have some changes according to the regional demands.

Jude Anthany Joseph Clears The Air On Mammootty's Biopic

Earlier, rumours were rife that Nivin Pauly, Dulquer Salmaan etc., will don the lead role in Mammootty's biopic, which will be helmed by Jude Anthany Joseph. Now, the director himself has cleared the air on such rumours.

The film-maker revealed that it is too early decide the lead actor of the movie. The film-maker hasn't started the scripting of the movie. He also added that he is planning to cast Indrajith in the role of actor Sukumaran and would love to cast Vineeth Sreenivasan as Sreenivasan.

Release Date Of Varnyathil Aashanka

The shoot of Varnyathil Aashanka, directed by Siddharth Bharathan has been completed. Reportedly, this film, in which Kunchacko Boan will be seen the role of a person named Kavta Sivan, will hit the theatres on August 4, 2017.

Syam Pushkaran's To Make His Debut As Director?

According to the latest reports, popular screenwriter Syam Pushkaran is all set to don the hat of a director. Reportedly, the debut directorial venture of Syam Pushkaran will feature a superstar in it. No official confirmation has been made regarding the same.
LG Chem(KRX: 051910) is stepping up a drive to lead the global water treatment market after winning Egypt's largest project to turn sea water into fresh water.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170611005018/en/

LG Chem (KRX: 051910) chosen as the sole supplier of Reverse Osmosis (RO) membranes to a seawater desalination plant in Egypt with 300,000-ton capacity which Metito will build in El Galalah and Port Said. It is the largest desalination plant in the country which can provide fresh water to about 2 million people a day. Last year, LG Chem won an order from a plant in Oman with 250,000-ton capacity. LG Chem has supplied its products to world renowned companies in the industrial RO membrane market, raising its global competitiveness. (Graphic: Business Wire)

LG Chem announced today it has been chosen as the sole supplier of Reverse Osmosis (RO) membranes to a seawater desalination plant with 300,000-ton capacity which Metito, a global water treatment company, will build in El Galalah and Port Said in Egypt.

It is the largest desalination plant in the country which can provide fresh water to about 2 million people a day. LG Chem is scheduled to supply RO membranes from the second half of this year.

Last year, LG Chem won an order from a plant in Oman with 250,000-ton capacity. The two contracts brought LG Chem closer to the global market leadership.

Salt concentration and water temperature in the Red Sea area including El Galalah are the highest in the world, requiring RO membranes to satisfy difficult conditions. But LG Chem's RO membranes are 25 percent superior to competitors in terms of filtered water quality. They also save much energy.

LG Chem has supplied its products to Coca Cola, Panasonic and other world renowned companies in the industrial RO membrane market, raising its global competitiveness. It also has expanded its customer base to various industrial fields at home and abroad. LG Chem has provided its products to KEPCO in Korea, Shoaiba power plant in Saudi Arabia, Petrobras, a Brazilian petroleum corporation, and the waste water treatment plant of the city of Scottsdale in Arizona, the United States.

The sales of its residential RO membranes are increasing noticeably in the fast growing region including China, India and Mideast countries. LG Chem unveiled new products at Aquatech China 2017, the largest trade show in Asia, in early June.

"We will provide our global customers with differentiated values by utilizing our worldwide sales and technical support network of more than 16 countries. We will also take the initiative in the global market leadership with bold and proactive investments," Cheoldong Jeong, President of IT&E Materials Co., LG Chem, said.

For more information on LG Water Solutions and Reverse Osmosis (RO) membranes, visit www.LGwatersolutions.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170611005018/en/

Contacts:

LG Chem

Chang Seon Park, +82-2-3773-1114

lgchempr@lgchem.com


ATLANTA (dpa-AFX) - Georgia Power, electric subsidiary of Southern Co. (SO), said that it entered into a new agreement with Toshiba, the parent company of Vogtle contractor Westinghouse. The agreement, approved by the U.S. Department of Energy, affirms the value of Toshiba's guarantee at $3.68 billion - providing additional protections for Georgia electric customers following Westinghouse's March bankruptcy.



Additionally, Georgia Power and Westinghouse have finalized a new service agreement which allows for the transition of project management at the Vogtle expansion from Westinghouse to Southern Nuclear and Georgia Power. The service agreement is subject to approval of the Westinghouse Board of Directors and certain other conditions, including bankruptcy court approval. The project is co-owned by Georgia Power, Oglethorpe Power, MEAG Power and Dalton Utilities.



'We are pleased with today's positive developments with Toshiba and Westinghouse that allow momentum to continue at the site while we transition project management from Westinghouse to Southern Nuclear and Georgia Power,' said Paul Bowers, chairman, president and CEO of Georgia Power.



'We are happy to have Toshiba's cooperation in connection with this agreement which provides a strong foundation for the future of these nuclear power plants,' said Thomas A. Fanning, chairman, president and CEO of Southern Company.



In addition to affirming the value of $3.68 billion in parent guarantees from Toshiba, the new agreement also adds clarity on the timing and form of payments for that obligation. Parent guarantees were put in place to protect Georgia electric customers as part of the original contract and the first payment under the new agreement is due from Toshiba in October 2017.



The scope of the service agreement with Westinghouse includes engineering, procurement and licensing support, as well as access to Westinghouse intellectual property needed for the project. The agreement will take effect after approval of the bankruptcy court and rejection of the current engineering, procurement and construction contract by Westinghouse. The interim assessment agreement, which has allowed progress to continue on the construction site, has been extended through June 22.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
SINGAPORE -- (Marketwired) -- 06/11/17 -- Konica Minolta Business Solutions Asia (BSA), an integral value provider with customer-centric solutions has been awarded a contract of $405,000 to provide business process automation for an established fragrance and cosmetics distributor's invoice processing needs.

The key challenge faced by the distributor was the time-consuming manual workflow its employees underwent to get invoices approved, leading to prolonged lead time in the procurement of business deals. Requiring significant manpower for approval and accuracy in filing, storing and retrieval, the manually-processed invoices also generated a high print quantity, and were prone to clerical errors.

The Accounts Payable Solution, interfaced with SAP ERP helps transform the distributor's current processes to be more agile, efficient and cost effective. It reduces manual processing, facilitates ease of sharing across departments, and allows storage and archival of documents through the automated workflow and digitisation. Audit trail and control are also in place to provide visibility of the entire process. Users can also approve invoices on the go through their mobile devices.

"With the expertise in advanced document management solutions and IT services, Konica Minolta continues to create value in the advent of technology advances in this IOT era for our customers today. By aligning and developing solutions from a customer's perspective, we help organisations make the seamless shift into the digital smart workplace, enabling enhanced optimisation and productivity in their operational processes," said Mr Jonathan Yeo, General Manager for Konica Minolta BSA.

Press Contacts:

Konica Minolta Business Solutions Asia Pte. Ltd.

Celine Long

Email Contact



PR Contact:

Huntington Communications

Eugene Chuang

Email Contact



Carina Chan

Email Contact




Cubic Global Defense to demonstrate next-generation "Top Gun" innovations to support mission readiness

Cubic Global Defense, a business division of Cubic Corporation (NYSE: CUB), today announced it will highlight advanced air combat training systems that bridge the gap between current training and next-generation live, virtual and constructive (LVC) training at the International Paris Air Show from June 19-25 at the Le Bourget Airport in Paris, France. The International Paris Air Show is the largest and longest-running aerospace trade show in the world, bringing together key players in the industry for a weeklong event consisting of the latest technological innovations, product demonstrations and commercial opportunities.

"For more than four decades, Cubic has been the market leader in air combat training systems for the United States and its allied nations," said Dave Buss, president of Cubic Global Defense. "Aircrew continue to rely on our airborne and ground subsystems for complete mission readiness to effectively train for air combat missions with less risk. We look forward to sharing with the aerospace community our performance-based capabilities and NextTraining strategy, which meet the demanding requirements of our customers."

"Cubic invented Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation in the early 1970s and LVC is the natural evolution for air combat training," said Mike Knowles, vice president and general manager of Air Ranges, Cubic Global Defense. "Airborne LVC provides an increased threat density, wider expanse of virtual airspace and an interoperable multilevel secure environment where pilots can 'train as they fight' in the highest fidelity environments."

Cubic Global Defense will exhibit the following solutions at the Le Bourget Airport in Trade Show Hall #3, booth #3-B158:

P5 Combat Training System (CTS/TCTS): Cubic's P5CTS provides real-time and post-mission training for air-to-air, air-to-ground and surface-to-air combat missions by displaying the live-air picture, recording mission data and relaying Time, Space and Positioning Information (TSPI) between participating aircraft during training sorties. Key components of the system include GPS-enabled, aircraft-mounted airborne instrumentation "pods" plus ground stations, which help aircrew conduct, monitor and manage air combat training and post-flight debriefing.

Cubic's P5CTS provides real-time and post-mission training for air-to-air, air-to-ground and surface-to-air combat missions by displaying the live-air picture, recording mission data and relaying Time, Space and Positioning Information (TSPI) between participating aircraft during training sorties. Key components of the system include GPS-enabled, aircraft-mounted airborne instrumentation "pods" plus ground stations, which help aircrew conduct, monitor and manage air combat training and post-flight debriefing. Secure Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation (ACMI): The Cubic Miniature Encryptor (CME) is a mature, low-cost, low-risk, form-fit encryption solution readily available to provide increased security for the P5CTS pod and ground station. The CME is also designed to be interoperable with the JSF P5 Internal Subsystem, thereby enhancing fourth/fifth-generation air combat training.

The Cubic Miniature Encryptor (CME) is a mature, low-cost, low-risk, form-fit encryption solution readily available to provide increased security for the P5CTS pod and ground station. The CME is also designed to be interoperable with the JSF P5 Internal Subsystem, thereby enhancing fourth/fifth-generation air combat training. LVC Training: Cubic is the industry system integrator for the Air Force Research Lab's Secure LVC Advanced Training Environment (SLATE) and Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD). The SLATE ATD uses fourth-generation aircraft with a multi-level encrypted ACMI waveform and airborne subsystems, in both tethered and untethered LVC training scenarios.

Cubic is the industry system integrator for the Air Force Research Lab's Secure LVC Advanced Training Environment (SLATE) and Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD). The SLATE ATD uses fourth-generation aircraft with a multi-level encrypted ACMI waveform and airborne subsystems, in both tethered and untethered LVC training scenarios. Synthetic Training Environment (STE): Cubic's Tactical Engagement System and LVC simulation delivers a deployable and scalable combined arms mission training capability back into the hands of the unit commander. Calling for fire and delivery of effects from the air is seamlessly integrated into simulation training by overlaying instrumented live training with representative virtual systems to meet complex training objectives for the Tactical Air Control Party (TACP), Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTAC) and Joint Fires Observers (JFO).

Cubic's Tactical Engagement System and LVC simulation delivers a deployable and scalable combined arms mission training capability back into the hands of the unit commander. Calling for fire and delivery of effects from the air is seamlessly integrated into simulation training by overlaying instrumented live training with representative virtual systems to meet complex training objectives for the Tactical Air Control Party (TACP), Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTAC) and Joint Fires Observers (JFO). Bandit Board: The Bandit Board is an integrated low-cost tactical training capability that transmits the live P5CTS picture onto an aggressor pilot's electronic kneeboard. It delivers a synthetic sensor capability that provides the aggressor pilot a 360-degree display of all P5CTS mission participants. This innovative, effective capability transforms a second- or third-generation aircraft into a formidable opponent during air combat training, while supporting enhanced situational awareness, safety and the precise execution of desired training scenarios.

The Bandit Board is an integrated low-cost tactical training capability that transmits the live P5CTS picture onto an aggressor pilot's electronic kneeboard. It delivers a synthetic sensor capability that provides the aggressor pilot a 360-degree display of all P5CTS mission participants. This innovative, effective capability transforms a second- or third-generation aircraft into a formidable opponent during air combat training, while supporting enhanced situational awareness, safety and the precise execution of desired training scenarios. Individual Combat Aircrew Display System (ICADS Cubic's ICADS is an advanced Windows-based aircrew combat display and debrief software system that is operated by multiple air forces worldwide. The system supports individual pilot, squadron-level or mass, live and debriefing operations. ICADS is also highly portable and operates with air combat training systems on a fixed range or in the range-less/autonomous mode. Utilizing ICADS and the P5CTS Live Monitor capability, Range Training Officers can reduce risk, coordinate with pilots in real time, manage training objectives, control simulated threats and record data for playback at aircrew debriefs.

Follow Cubic Global Defense at @CubicDefense and join the social conversation during the show with the hashtag PAS17. For more information on Cubic Global Defense's presence at the show, please visit cubic.com/parisairshow.

About Cubic Corporation

Cubic Corporation designs, integrates and operates systems, products and services focused in the transportation, defense training and secure communications markets. Cubic Transportation Systems is a leading integrator of payment and information technology and services to create intelligent travel solutions for transportation authorities and operators. Cubic Global Defense is a leading provider of live, virtual, constructive and game-based training solutions, special operations and intelligence for the U.S. and allied forces. Cubic Mission Solutions provides networked Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) capabilities for defense, intelligence, security and commercial missions. For more information about Cubic, please visit the company's website at www.cubic.com or on Twitter @CubicCorp.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170612005381/en/

Contacts:

Cubic Corporation

Laura Chon

Corporate Communications

+1 858-505-2181

laura.chon@cubic.com
The Estonian defence solutions provider Milrem and the Estonian Defence league signed a cooperation agreement to start rigorous tests of Milrem's unmanned ground vehicle THeMIS during live military exercises.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170612005436/en/

Milrem's THeMIS towing equipment during the Spring Storm exercise. (Photo: Business Wire)

Feedback from the tests will be used for further development of the UGV and its tactical advancements.

Milrem and the Defence League already performed live tests during the biggest Estonian annual military exercise Kevadtorm (Spring Storm) in May. During that exercise a transport UGV was provided to a Defence League unit for carrying soldier load and other essential equipment.

The cooperation between Milrem and the Defence League is closely tied to the DIBS (Digital Infantry Battlefield Solution) program initiated by Milrem and carried out together with several universities in Estonia and abroad.

The aim of the cooperation with the Defence League and DIBS is to develop efficient and powerful manned-unmanned teaming technologies for military forces that reduce battlefield risks to warfighters.

DIBS will also produce recommendations for military doctrine in order to effectively use the capability of robotic systems.

"Feedback and know-how input from military units that have firsthand experience with our products is essential to us," explained Kuldar Vaarsi, CEO of Milrem. "This cooperation will allow us to develop further robotic solutions that will become an integral part of warfighting," he added.

"The cooperation between the Defence League and Milrem allows the latter to develop innovative products and us to strengthen our military capabilities. Together we will boost the Estonian defense industry and hopefully it's exports," said Major General Meelis Kiili, commander of the Defence League.

A video from the Spring Storm exercise is viewable here https://youtu.be/S63wVVgiQno- and downloadable here https://www.dropbox.com/s/74ifrjrv2tfu6lj/Milrem%20UGV%20Kevadtorm%202017.mp4?dl=0

Pictures can be found here https://www.dropbox.com/sh/0p992smg8lct9h2/AAD_MbAItCCFDh5TuEuPdF1la?dl=0

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170612005436/en/

Contacts:

Milrem

Gert Hankewitz, +372 56644416

Marketing Director

Export Director.

gert.hankewitz@milrem.com
TORONTO, 2017-06-12 13:00 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IC Potash Corp. (TSX:ICP) (OTCQB:ICPTF) ("IC Potash" or the "Company") is extremely pleased to announce that ICP and Intercontinental Potash Corp. (USA) ("ICPUSA") have received a formal offer from the company H20 of Lea County ("H20") to purchase ICPUSA's Capitan Reef Complex Aquifer water.



H20 is committed to building the required infrastructure and providing the equipment costing approximately USD$2M at no cost to ICPUSA. The potential annual revenue for ICPUSA is USD$4M to USD$6M under the proposed offer by H20.



Mehdi Azodi, President & CEO of IC Potash stated, "We are pleased to receive such a positive proposal for the highly valuable Capitan Reef Complex Aquifer water asset."



H20 will be responsible for identifying, purchasing, and installing the required pumps, treatment facilities, pipelines, electrical power, storage facilities and related infrastructure. The ongoing operations and related monthly cost of electricity, labor, maintenance and process chemicals will be carried out by H20.



Oil producers require 160,000 to 200,000 barrels of water per well to fracture multiple formations. There are multiple wells completed each month in South East New Mexico. H20's expectation is that ICPUSA's water wells, located about 10 miles northeast of the Ochoa Project, drilled and available for pumping and distribution, will provide water for approximately seven fracturing jobs per month.



The proposal has been submitted to the board of ICPUSA and is valid until July 10, 2017.



About IC Potash Corp.



IC Potash has previously demonstrated a method to make Sulfate of Potash ("SOP") from the Ochoa polyhalite deposit in Southeast New Mexico in which it has an interest and is currently examining ways to become a low-cost fertilizer producer. The current review of the Ochoa project's existing feasibility study is being extended to determine a viable positive economic path to the production of direct application polyhalite. The Ochoa project has access to excellent local labor resources, low-cost electricity and natural gas, water, rail lines, and the Port of Galveston, Texas. The Ochoa project's land holdings consist of nearly 90,000 acres of potassium prospecting permits and mining leases issued by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and State of New Mexico. For more information, please visit www.icpotash.com.



Forward-Looking Statements Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of IC Potash to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements that use forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "potential" or the negative thereof or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding trends in the markets for Sulfate of Potash and polyhalite, the timing for completion of an updated feasibility study by the Company, the Company's intention to investigate the feasibility of polyhalite product production, the potential value of water resources and other statements that are not historical facts. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of IC Potash, including, but not limited to, changes in market trends, the completion, results and timing of studies undertaken by IC Potash, risks associated with mineral exploration and mining activities, the impact of general economic conditions, commodity prices, industry conditions, dependence upon regulatory and environmental approvals, the uncertainty of obtaining additional financing, and risks associated with turning reserves into product. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements.



For More Information, Please Contact: IC Potash Corp. Mr. Mehdi Azodi, +1-416-779-3268 Chief Executive Officer MAZODI@ICPOTASH.ORG

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
Employees give back with "Good Spirited" initiative for the third year in a row

CORAL GABLES, Florida, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --Time spent among trees is time never wasted, and this could not be truer for Bacardi employees in the United States. For the third year in a row, a team of Bacardi employees from its regional headquarters office in Coral Gables, Fla., planted 26 oak and mahogany trees in partnership with the American Forests and Neat Streets Miami/Million Trees Miami at Amelia Earhart Park, part of the Miami-Dade Parks and Recreation System.

Video - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/521932/Bacardi___Tree_Planting_2017.mp4

"Bacardi employees' good-spirited efforts like this annual tree planting show that our eco-conscious roots run deep-we are committed to making a difference in the local communities where we live and work," says Ed Knutel, commercial planning and activation manager, for Bacardi in the United States. "Planting trees increases sustainability for everyone."

In fact, as part of its "Good Spirited" environmental sustainability initiative, this local Bacardi commitment has helped produce nearly 100,000 tree plantings across the nation with the help of American Forests over the past three years.

"There are many social, economic and ecological benefits to planting trees that go beyond just beautification," says Ian Leahy, director of Urban Forest Programs, with American Forests, who referred to mounting scientific evidence on how trees can improve communities. "By stepping out into the community, Bacardi is making a statement to the residents of Miami that they not only work here, but they are investing in the community."

According to American Forests, two mature trees provide enough oxygen for one person to breathe each day. Trees help clean the air of harmful pollutants such as ozone, nitrogen oxides, ammonia and sulfur dioxides. Also, trees absorb storm water flow, which helps reduce flooding. Moreover, while trees provide food and shelter to wildlife, they also offer green space for recreation within cities. What's more, trees can store tons of carbon to mitigate climate change as they cool air, urban centers and provide protective shade for community residents and visitors.

"Our goal is to return to the environment at least as much as we take away. We're setting a sustainability standard for others in the spirits industry to follow," adds Pete Carr, regional president for family-owned Bacardi in North America. "Giving back to communities is just part of our DNA."

Census reports indicate that more than 40,000 people move to Miami each year and, because of this, construction is booming as green spaces are turned into concrete jungles. Despite this building trend, studies are clear regarding the immense benefits of green spaces. This research underscores the importance of tree plantings as increases in residents, traffic and construction heighten stress levels for many. Along these lines, new medical data shows that the use of nature walks for "forest bathing" provide measurable mental health benefits such as a reduced risk of depression and emotional stress.

"Trees have a huge effect on communities as they promote healthy living and make areas cooler," says Gaby Lopez, manager, Neat Streets Miami. "This is important because of the record and early heat our state is experiencing and because of the large flow of new residents that move to Miami-trees remove about 5,500 tons of carbon from the air each year."

To learn more about Bacardi Limited and its "Good Spirited: Building a Sustainable Future" environmental initiative for sourcing, packaging and operational efficiencies across the entire Bacardi family of premium spirits and wine brands, visithttps://www.bacardilimited.com/corporate-responsibility/good-spirited-sustainability-initiative/.

About Bacardi

Bacardi, the largest privately held spirits company in the world, produces and markets internationally recognized spirits and wines. The Bacardi brand portfolio comprises more than 200 brands and labels, including BACARDA rum, GREY GOOSE vodka, DEWAR'S Blended Scotch whisky, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE gin, and MARTINI vermouth and sparkling wines. Founded more than 155 years ago in Santiago de Cuba on February 4, 1862, family-owned Bacardi manufactures its brands at 29 facilities and sells in more than 160 countries. Bacardi Limited, headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda, refers to the Bacardi group of companies, including Bacardi International Limited. www.bacardilimited.com

About American Forests

American Forests restores and protects urban and rural forests. Founded in 1875, the first national nonprofit conservation organization in the country has served as a catalyst for many key milestones in the conservation movement, including the founding of the U.S. Forest Service, the national forest and national park systems as well as leading thousands of forest ecosystem restoration projects and public education efforts. Working in forests in all 50 states and in nearly 50 countries, American Forests planted its 50 millionth tree last year. The impact has resulted in cleaner air and drinking water, restored habitat for wildlife and fish, and the removal of millions of tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. http://www.americanforests.org/

About Million Trees Miami and Neat Streets Miami

Launched byNeat Streets Miami,theMillion Trees MiamiCampaign is a community-wide effort to plant one million trees by 2020 in order to achieve a 30 percent tree canopy cover for Miami-Dade County. Housed in the Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department, Neat Streets Miami is a multi-jurisdictional county board dedicated to the maintenance and beautification of transportation corridors, gateways and connections. For more information about Neat Streets Miami visit: neatstreetsmiami.com

Media Contacts

Amy Federman, 441.294.1110, afederman@bacardi.com

Chris Horn, American Forests, 1.202.370.4517, chorn@americanforests.org

ENJOY RESPONSIBLY.

 2017 BACARDI

BACARDI, THE BAT DEVICE AND OTHER MARKS APPEARING ON THE BACARDI GROUP PRODUCTS SHOWN AND/OR QUOTED IN THIS VIDEO NEWS RELEASE ARE TRADEMARKS OF BACARDI & COMPANY LIMITED OR OF OTHER SUBSIDIARIES OF BACARDI LIMITED.

Logo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/346386/bacardi_limited_logo.jpg
SANTA MONICA, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 12, 2017 / The novelty of the legal cannabis market is fading to a degree, leaving some upstarts in its initial wake while others ride the wave to establish leadership positions that should continue to grow for decades to come as the industry matures. An area of particular interest is cannabis testing, an industry segment that without it, will leave the broader movement in a chaotic state.

Thanks to governments enacting and enforcing regulations, the evolution of a structured legal marijuana environment is taking shape. It's the importance of the analysis market segment underpinning safety that has analysts at MarketsandMarkets forecasting the global cannabis testing market will reach $1.42 billion by 2021 from $822 million in 2016. There are many drivers according to MarketsandMarkets, with limiting factors including things such as the high cost of equipment and dearth of skilled professionals in the space.

In order to capitalize on the opportunity, Signal Bay Inc. (OTCQB: SGBY) and its life sciences testing division EVIO Labs have already established a footprint with five operating labs, four in Oregon and one in California.

As explained by Signal Bay CEO William Waldrop in a conference call discussing the fiscal second quarter ended March 31, 2017, "With four labs in Oregon, we have access to almost 100% of the legal cannabis clients available in the state." Waldrop estimates the revenue potential for Oregon testing market at approximately $15 million, with expectations of continued growth.

The California market is considerably larger, especially now that marijuana for recreational purposes was passed on November's ballot, making both medical and recreational cannabis legal in the nation's most populous state, home to over 38 million citizens. The revenue potential in California is more than 10x that in Oregon - exceeded $150 million annually, says Waldrop.

Demand is, of course, key, but that seems to be in Signal Bay's favor as it builds its brand. One key is staying out in front and keeping on the right side of stringent testing regulations, such as those implemented in Oregon in October. That means being nimble enough to quickly adapt and meet specifications to ensure safe products are reaching consumers.

"The market demand for clean cannabis through our Compliance Science program has exceeded initial expectations," said Waldrop during the call. He added that many cultivators and processors across California see the future - new testing regulations go into effect in January 2018 - and want to remain proactive in establishing themselves as providers of clean cannabis products ahead of the deadline. As such, they're turning to companies like EVIO as a core part of business.

In that lane, the company spent nearly half a million dollars on new equipment recently, making it possible to do all their pesticide testing in house, rather than outsourcing. The cap ex should deliver an ROI through improved margins and hastened turn-around times once the equipment is in full operation, which is anticipated by the end of the month.

To further bolster margins, Signal Bay bought three new courier and sampling trucks. This means no more paying mileage and fuel to drivers to use their own vehicles involved in these operations.

Overall, constraining factors noted by MarketsandMarkets don't seem to be affecting Signal Bay much. The company has grown five-fold from its first year and is on track to repeat that metric again. Management is tight-lipped on certain development and value catalysts, such as a collaboration with a major University in the Pacific Northwest, for confidentiality reasons, while others are kept hush-hush to maintain a competitive edge over rivals.

Testing services revenue during the recent quarter totaled $745,426, while advisory services brought in another $87,297 for combined revenue of $832,723, according to SEC filings. That's up 696% from combined revenue of $104,606 in the year prior quarter. From a sequential quarter view, revenue was up 25% from Q1. Not surprisingly, the upstart is not yet profitable, registering a net loss of $469,434 for the quarter, versus a net loss of $335,483 in Q2 fiscal 2016, as SG&A expenses rose significantly.

Gross margin surged 279% from a negative margin in Q1 fiscal 2016 to $218,723 in the recent quarter.

Signal Bay also improved its cash position to $264,590, compared to $57,486 a year earlier.

Looking ahead, Signal Bay plans to employ organic and inorganic strategies to maintain its steep growth curve. This means building company-owned labs from the ground up and acquiring existing cash-flowing labs. This is all part of a corporate goal to have 18 EVIO Labs operating by the end of next year, a milestone which Waldrop says that are on target to meet.

Signal Bay's top executive concluded by advising that announcements on developments are anticipated for the near future, words that should keep investors on the lookout for the next move for Signal Bay and EVIO to establish an even stronger market presence.

Legal Disclaimer: This newsletter/article is a paid advertisement and is neither an offer nor recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security. Online Media Group, Inc. is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority and holds no investment licenses and does not provide, nor claims to provide, investment advice. Investing intrinsically involves substantial risk and readers are reminded to consult an investment professional and complete their own due diligence, including SEC filings, when researching any companies mentioned in this release. This release is based upon publicly available information and, while vetted, is not considered to be all-inclusive or guaranteed to be free from errors. With respect to Section 17(B) of the Securities Act of 1933 and in the interest of full disclosure, we call the reader's attention to the fact that Online Media Group, Inc. received $2,500 in compensation by a third party for content creation, advertising and distribution services related to this material.

Contact:

Online Media Group, Inc.

310.413.5788

Online Media Group, Inc.
According to the Complaint, during the Class Period, United Technologies issued and reaffirmed unfounded and inflated earnings guidance, primarily based on the planning assumptions in two of the Company's key business units: UTC Aerospace Systems ("UTAS") and Otis Elevator Co. ("Otis"). The Company failed to disclose or indicate that its earnings forecast relied on planning assumptions for the UTAS and Otis units that were not fully scrutinized and were too aggressive. On July 21, 2015, United Technologies cut its 2015 earnings guidance, based on the weak performance of the UTAS and Otis units. When this news was announced, the Company's stock price dropped materially, which caused investors harm.

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.
LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 12, 2017 / Lundin Law PC, a shareholder rights firm, announces the filing of a class action lawsuit against Asanko Gold Inc. ("Asanko" or the "Company") (NYSE MKT: AKG) for possible violations of federal securities laws between October 24, 2014 and May 31, 2017 inclusive (the "Class Period"). Investors who purchased or otherwise acquired shares during the Class Period should contact the firm prior to the July 31, 2017 lead plaintiff motion deadline.

To participate in this class action lawsuit, click here.

You can also call Brian Lundin, Esq., of Lundin Law PC, at 888-713-1033, or e-mail him at brian@lundinlawpc.com.

No class has been certified in the above action yet. Until a class is certified, you are not considered represented by an attorney. You may also do nothing and be an absent class member.

According to the Complaint, throughout the Class Period, Asanko made false and/or misleading statements, and/or failed to disclose that: Asanko Gold's Mineral Resource Estimates are flawed; that some of the Company's resources models exhibit signs that they have been "smeared," which would cause estimates of their ore contents to be inflated; and that as a result of the above, Asanko's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. On May 31, 2017, research firm Muddy Waters published a report asserting, among other things, that: Asanko made investments based on flawed geology in Nkran, its satellite pits, and Esaase that Muddy Waters believes "will never be recovered;" and that there are indicia that some of the Company's resources models have been "smeared," which would cause estimates of their ore contents to be inflated. Upon the release of this news, Asanko shares decreased in value, which caused investors harm according to the Complaint.

Lundin Law PC was founded by Brian Lundin, a securities litigator based in Los Angeles dedicated to upholding the rights of shareholders.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethics rules.

Contact:

Lundin Law PC

Brian Lundin, Esq.

Telephone: 888-713-1033

Facsimile: 888-713-1125

brian@lundinlawpc.com

http://lundinlawpc.com/

SOURCE: Lundin Law PC
LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 12, 2017 / Lundin Law PC, a shareholder rights firm, announces a class action lawsuit against Barrick Gold Corporation ("Barrick" or the "Company") (NYSE: ABX) for possible violations of federal securities laws between February 16, 2017 through April 24, 2017, inclusive (the "Class Period"). Investors, who purchased or otherwise acquired shares during the Class Period should contact the firm prior to the July 10, 2017 lead plaintiff motion deadline.

To participate in this class action lawsuit, click here.

You can also call Brian Lundin, Esq., of Lundin Law PC, at 888-713-1033, or you can e-mail him at brian@lundinlawpc.com.

No class has been certified in the above action yet. Until a class is certified, you are not considered represented by an attorney. You may do nothing and be an absent class member as well.

According to the Complaint, throughout the Class Period, Barrick made materially false and/or misleading statements, and failed to disclose: that the pipes and safety systems at its 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 at Veladero of 630,000-730,000 ounces, compared to its previously-issued guidance of 770,000-830,000 ounces. When this news was announced, Barrick's stock price dropped materially, which harmed investors according to the Complaint.

Lundin Law PC was established by Brian Lundin, a securities litigator based in Los Angeles dedicated to upholding the rights of shareholders.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethics rules.

Contact:

Lundin Law PC

Brian Lundin, Esq.

Telephone: 888-713-1033

Facsimile: 888-713-1125

brian@lundinlawpc.com

http://lundinlawpc.com/

SOURCE: Lundin Law PC
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 12, 2017 / KAPUSKASING GOLD CORP. (TSX-V: KAP) (the "Company" or "KAP") announces that, further to its news release of April 25, 2017, the Company has closed on a total of 2,960,000 Non Flow-Through Units ("NFT Units") at a price of $0.05 per NFT Unit and 886,664 Flow-Through Units ("FT Units") at a price of $0.06 per FT unit for aggregate gross proceeds of $201,199.84 (the "Offering").

Each NFT Unit consists of one NFT Common Share (a "NFT Share") and one Non Flow-Through share purchase warrant ("NFT Warrant"). Each FT Unit will consist of one FT Common Share (a "FT Share") and one half of one NFT warrant. Each whole NFT Warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one NFT Share at $0.10 for 24 months from the date of issuance.

All securities issued in connection with the Offering will be subject to a four month hold period expiring on October 12, 2017, in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws. Net proceeds of the private placement will be used for general working capital purposes and to advance the company's mineral properties. The Offering remains subject to final acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange.

On behalf of the Board of Directors:

KAPUSKASING GOLD CORP.

Jonathan Armes

President & CEO, Director

Phone 1 (416) 708-0243

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.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws and regulations, including statements regarding the future activities of the Company. Forward looking statements reflect the current beliefs and expectations of management and are identified by the use of words including "will," "anticipates," "expected to," "plans," "planned" and other similar words. Actual results may differ significantly. The achievement of the results expressed in forward-looking statements is subject to a number of risks, including those described in the Company's management discussion and analysis as filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities which are available at www.sedar.com. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon forward-looking statements.

SOURCE: Kapuskasing Gold Corp.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 12, 2017) - Nebu Resources Inc. (TSXV: NBU) ("Nebu" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a letter of intent dated May 29, 2017 (the "Letter Agreement") with Linceo Media Group Inc. ("Linceo"), for Nebu to acquire a 100% of the issued shares of Linceo, which will constitute a reverse takeover of Nebu by the shareholders of Linceo (the "Transaction"). As presently contemplated, it is expected that the Transaction will be completed by way of a merger under the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) or similar business combination transaction. The proposed Transaction is an arm's length transaction.

As part of the Transaction, Nebu will spin-out its existing mining properties for shares of a private company on behalf of the existing shareholders of Nebu, and also will settle certain debt owed to existing creditors.

About Linceo

Linceo is a private company incorporated under the laws of Province of Ontario. Linceo is engaged in the business of mining and exploration of industrial and other minerals. Linceo has acquired from Electra Stone Ltd. all the rights pursuant to a lease agreement (the "Lease Agreement") dated September 30, 2002 among Electra Stone Ltd., Robert Wayne Howich and Johan Thom Shearer related to the Apple Bay Alumina Silica property located near Port Hardy, British Columbia (the "Port Hardy Property").

Management and Directors of the Resulting Issuer

Linceo is currently managed by an experienced group of mining executives, including the following individuals:

Kyler Hardy - President and CEO

Experienced operator, investor and executive in the natural resource sector - 14+ years

Partner in Venex Capital Corp - a resource-focused merchant banking group

Founder and former CEO of a large geosciences and logistics management group.

Neil Froc, P.ENG - VP Project Management

26+ years at senior level managing and developing large exploration and mineral development projects

Formerly Executive VP with a large nickel focused development company and project manager with a large PGE development company in western Canada

Founder of Integrity Geoconsulting Inc.

Jesse Anaka, P.BIO - VP Environmental and Permitting

17 years of operational biology and natural resource management experience in Western Canada

Primarily focused on provincial and federal environmental assessments for resource projects

Founder Anaka Environmental Consulting, previously operation manager Triton Environmental and ECL Environmental Solutions

Dean Daly, RPF - Aboriginal Relations Consultant

25+ years involved at a senior level managing and developing forestry operations in B.C. and Yukon

Specializes in developing memoranda of understanding, impact benefit agreements, and joint ventures between First Nations and industry proponents

Lead negotiator with several First Nations for jurisdictionally complex multi billion dollar infrastructure projects

The Board of Directors of Nebu after completion of the Transaction (the "Resulting Issuer") is expected to include Kyler Hardy, and 2 or 3 other members designated by Linceo and to include Mr. Paul Crath and Mr. Rocco Liscio who are currently members of the Board of Directors of Nebu.

Highlights of the PEM 100 Quarry and Operations on the Port Hardy Property

The PEM 100 Quarry is located on Holberg Inlet, Vancouver Island within 1km from tidewater

Two marketable products, geyserite (alumina silica) and high grade silica are both used in concrete and in short supply

Accessible by 23km of paved and 12km of graded gravel road from the community of Port Hardy

Regionally, high grade alumina silica is consumed by cement producers, and other industrial manufacturers

Quarry has not been tested to depth and minimal regional drilling has been completed

Current Permits for mining up to 2 49 ,000 tpa is proposed to be expanded to 750,000 tpa

Environmental permitting being updated

Updated water treatment and discharge pond in process

The Company cautions that it is not basing its production decision on a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability, and as a result there is increased uncertainty and there are multiple technical and economic risks of failure which are associated with this production decision. These risks, among others, include areas that are analyzed in more detail in a feasibility study, such as applying economic analysis to resources and reserves, more detailed metallurgy and a number of specialized studies in areas such as mining and recovery methods, market analysis, and environmental and community impacts.

Principal Shareholders of the Resulting Issuer

As of the closing (the "Closing") of the Transaction, the following three shareholders will beneficially own or exercise control or direction over Common Shares of the Resulting Issuer carrying more than 10% of the votes attached to such Common Shares. Ridge Resources Inc. 15.4%, Lauterbrunnen Developments Inc. 14.1% and Rev Royalty Income and Growth Fund 12.3%.

Ridge Resources Inc. is a company owned and controlled by Kyler Hardy, CEO of the Resulting Issuer.

Rev Royalty Income and Growth Fund is an investment trust where Paul Crath, Director is a member of the Trustee. Mr. Crath has no investment decision or management authority in his role with the trust.

Proposed Share Reorganization of Nebu

Prior to the Closing of the Transaction, Nebu intends to consolidate its issued and outstanding common shares, on the basis of five (5) old Nebu Shares for one (1) new Nebu Share (the "Consolidation"). All outstanding options and warrants of the Company shall be appropriately adjusted to reflect the Consolidation.

Proposed Financings

In the near term, it is contemplated that Linceo will complete a financing (the "Bridge Financing") by way of a private placement to provide bridge financing for the completion of the Transaction. The Company also intends to complete, concurrent with the Closing of the Transaction, an equity financing (the "Concurrent Financing") by way of a private placement to raise sufficient funds to carry out the business plan of the Resulting Issuer. The detailed terms of the financings will be disclosed in a follow-up press release.

Both the Bridge Financing and the Concurrent Financing are subject to approval of the Exchange.

Transaction Conditions and timing

The Transaction is subject to customary conditions for a transaction of this nature, which include the receipt of board and shareholder approval of both Nebu's and Linceo's shareholders, in addition to any approvals required the Exchange or other regulatory bodies.

The Transaction is expected to close in September 2017. Additional details of the Transaction will be available in the related meeting materials to be mailed to shareholders in connection with the various meetings required to approve the Transaction and a listing statement disclosure document completed in accordance with the Exchange policies. The meeting materials and listing statement will also be available on SEDAR upon mailing.

Trading Halt

Nebu's common shares are currently halted and Nebu anticipates they will remain halted until the documentation required by the Exchange for the proposed Transaction can be provided to the Exchange.

Neil Froc, P.Eng., is the Qualified Person, as defined by NI 43-101, responsible for the disclosure in this news release.

For further information please contact:

Paul Crath, President & CEO

Nebu Resources Inc.

Telephone: 416-504-4128

pcrath@princearthurcapital.com

Forward Looking Information

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements that reflect the current views and/or expectations of management with respect to performance, business and future events, including but not limited to express or implied statements and assumptions regarding the Company's intention to negotiate for or complete the Transaction. Forward-looking statements are based on the then-current expectations, beliefs, assumptions, estimates and forecasts about the business and the industry and markets in which the Company operates. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions which are difficult to predict. In particular, there is no guarantee that the parties will successfully negotiate and enter into a definitive agreement or complete the Transaction contemplated herein, that the Company's due diligence will be satisfactory or that the Company will obtain any required shareholder or regulatory approvals, including approval of the TSX Venture Exchange . Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information, which are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The Company does not undertake any obligations to release publicly any revisions for updating any voluntary forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable securities law.

All information contained in this press release with respect to Linceo, its business and proposed corporate reorganization and financing was supplied by Linceo for inclusion herein. The Company has not conducted due diligence on the information provided and does not assume any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of such information.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulations 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.
SAN JOSE, CA and CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/12/17 -- Dtex Systems, a leader in user behaviour intelligence and insider threat detection, today announced that it has signed a partner agreement with Delv, leaders in security and mobility services across Australia. Under the agreement, Delv will deliver the Dtex Advanced User Behaviour Intelligence Platform -- a powerful solution combining endpoint-based user visibility with adaptive analytics -- alongside Dtex and Delv's robust professional services offerings to the Australian Government.

Delv and Dtex are pleased to be part of the global cyber security market, currently valued at more than AU$100 billion and expected to more than double by 2020. The new partnership strengthens Australia's cyber security capabilities, and ensures both businesses and government organizations are equipped with the skills and technology needed to address the growing threat of malicious cyber activity.

The threat is so significant, in fact, that the Australian Government has set forth a national Cyber Security Strategy, a philosophy and program for meeting the security challenges, risks and opportunities presented by the digital age. In addition to emphasizing a commitment to fostering innovation and growth through strong cyber security, the Strategy outlines plans to invest more than AU$230 million to enhance Australia's cyber security capabilities.

This includes more than AU$30 million to establish a Cyber Security Growth Centre - the Australian Cyber Security Growth Network (ACSGN) -- an industry-led, not-for-profit company responsible for growing Australia's cyber security sector and deepening Australia's understanding of the importance of a cyber-secure economy. The ACSGN is working closely with Australia's cyber security sector to take advantage of the growing global market for cyber security products and services.

"We are truly excited to see Dtex, a company with both roots in Australia and years of formative growth in Silicon Valley, returning to the local market to join forces with a leading Australian security services provider," said Michelle Price, Chief Operating Officer at ACSGN. "It's a signal that our economy is in a phase of significant growth around secure technology, and we're ready to establish and support a thriving cyber security ecosystem. Not only will this partnership enable today's Australian businesses to identify and combat potentially catastrophic security threats, but can inspire our next generation to help build the cyber-secure businesses and solutions of tomorrow."

Delv has deep experience in developing, deploying and supporting security and mobility services for both government and private sector organizations. The company's most recent focus has been on securing end-user devices and associated user data. Delv is expanding that focus to address the larger enterprise security challenges resulting from user behaviour, both negligent and malicious. With roots in Canberra, Delv has a strong understanding of public sector requirements -- particularly in the areas of governance, compliance and the need to deliver an integrated approach to cyber security.

"Delv is recognized as a highly respected, trusted industry partner by public and private organizations across Australia and we are excited to work together to protect the government sector from the potentially catastrophic effects of data loss while playing a part in boosting the country's cyber security capabilities," said Mohan Koo, CTO and Co-Founder of Dtex Systems. "Insider threats require a unique, comprehensive approach that goes far beyond traditional network defenses and legacy security technologies. To successfully identify and mitigate these threats, it is imperative to analyze and build a contextual understanding of user behaviour while also putting a clear focus on maintaining user privacy."

"The cyber security landscape is currently serviced by a range of products. At Delv, we have been on the hunt for new and innovative approaches that can extend an agency's security capabilities," said Sam Smair, CEO of Delv. "In general, we have always maintained a strong focus on new products that complement an organization's existing security posture, technology and processes, and come with integrated data analytics. Dtex, with the unique and powerful ability to close major security gaps caused by negligent and malicious insider behaviour, as well as integrate with existing security log data management and analysis tools, fits this context perfectly. "

Recognized as a pioneer in insider threat detection, Dtex understands the wide range of insider threat types -- including negligent users, malicious actors and outside infiltrators -- and is tuned to pinpoint them with greater accuracy than legacy enterprise security vendors without compromising user privacy or productivity. With the industry's most comprehensive library of thousands of known user threat behaviour patterns -- enhanced with advanced risk modeling and combined risk scoring -- the Dtex Advanced User Behaviour Intelligence Platform can identify abnormal user behaviour and provide contextual insights that help inform action.

To ensure visibility into user activity without impeding user productivity, Dtex employs an ultra-lightweight data collection method that can be deployed in just hours with no network impact. The platform also provides anonymization capabilities to strip metadata of any identifying information to maintain user privacy, deeming it suitable for use even under the strictest privacy laws and within the most sensitive government and public sector environments.

For more information about Dtex and the company's Advanced User Behaviour Intelligence Platform, visit www.dtexsystems.com. For more information about Delv, visit www.delv.com.

About Dtex Systems

Dtex Systems arms enterprises across the globe with revolutionary technology to protect against user threats, data breaches, and outsider infiltration. As the only solution combining unparalleled endpoint visibility with advanced analytics, Dtex is able to pinpoint threats with greater accuracy than traditional security methods without adversely impacting user productivity. In 2015, Dtex secured $15 million in Series A funding led by Norwest Venture Partners and Wing Ventures. To learn more, visit www.dtexsystems.com.

About Delv

Delv has a successful background in the architecture, design, deployment and support of security and mobility services for government and private sector organizations. Having been recognized by the Australian business press as a "Fast 100" company, Delv continues to expand in the areas of service provision and security. Delv has a strong focus on security for endpoints as well as maintaining a strong focus on positive outcomes for clients and staff alike. Delv prides itself on finding innovative and quality technology partners that complement our existing capabilities and satisfy gaps in our client's requirements. Please visit www.delv.com for more information.

Erika Kamholz

Bhava Communications for Dtex Systems

Email Contact

949-282-8560




Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - August 16, 2017) - Avalon Advanced Materials Inc. (TSX: AVL) (OTCQX: AVLNF) ("Avalon" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has completed a non-brokered private placement today consisting of 3,100,000 flow-through shares at a price of $0.145 per share for gross proceeds of $449,500.

In conjunction with this private placement, Avalon paid finder's fees of $26,970 and issued 186,000 non-transferrable finder's warrants, with each finder's warrant being exercisable to acquire one common share of the Company at a price of $0.145 for a period of 24 months from today. Pursuant to Canadian securities laws, the securities issuable under this private placement are subject to a hold period which expires on December 17, 2017. The proceeds from this offering will be used primarily to continue to advance the Company's Separation Rapids Lithium Project including the summer field work programs currently in progress and additional metallurgical testwork.

The work program is being supervised by Bill Mercer, P. Geo. (ON) and Vice President, Exploration of Avalon who is a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101.

This press release is not an offer of securities for sale in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "US Securities Act"), and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to US persons (as defined in Regulation S under the US Securities Act) absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration. All currency reported in this release is in Canadian dollars.

About Avalon Advanced Materials Inc.

Avalon Advanced Materials Inc. is a Canadian mineral development company specializing in niche market metals and minerals with growing demand in new technology. The Company has three advanced stage projects, all 100%-owned, providing investors with exposure to lithium, tin and indium, as well as rare earth elements, tantalum, niobium, and zirconium. Avalon is currently focusing on its Separation Rapids Lithium Project, Kenora, ON and its East Kemptville Tin-Indium Project, Yarmouth, NS. Social responsibility and environmental stewardship are corporate cornerstones.

For questions and feedback, please e-mail the Company at ir@AvalonAM.com, or phone Don Bubar, President & CEO at 416-364-4938.

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements related to how the Company plans to use the net proceeds from the Private Placement and that proceeds from this offering will be used primarily to continue to advance the Company's Separation Rapids Lithium Project. Generally and these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "potential", "scheduled", "anticipates", "continues", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "scheduled", "targeted", "planned", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be" or "will not be" taken, reached or result, "will occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Avalon to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable at the time such statements are made. Although Avalon 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. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from expected results described in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to market conditions, and the possibility of cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses as well as those risk factors set out in the Company's current Annual Information Form, Management's Discussion and Analysis and other disclosure documents available under the Company's profile at www.SEDAR.com. 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. Such forward-looking statements have been provided for the purpose of assisting investors in understanding the Company's plans and objectives and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Avalon does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that are contained herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
awamo GmbH, a Frankfurt/Main, Germany-based fintech startup, increased its seed funding to 2m.

Backers included elea Foundation for Ethics in Globalization as well as business angels such as Bernard Wendeln, cofounder of Germanys first social venture

capital fund, and Jochen Berger, founder of intergenia, one of the leading suppliers of professional web hosting and server solutions.

The company intends to use the new funds to roll out its solution in Uganda.

Founded in 2015 by Benedikt Kramer, Philipp Neub and Roland Claussen, awamo offers a mobile, biometric banking solution (SaaS) for unregulated microfinance providers in sub-Saharan Africa. awamo 360 facilitates the work of microfinance providers by digitizing their business processes and enables credit information sharing between lenders for the first time.

The company also has a subsidiary in Uganda with branches in Kampala and Mbarara.

FinSMEs

12/06/2017
Exari, a global provider of enterprise contract management software, received US$24m in debt financing from Wellington Financial.

Beacon Equity Partners, a private equity firm that invests in innovative software companies, the companys principal shareholder, contributed additional funding alongside Wellington to support Exaris acquisition of UK-based Adsensa. Adsensa is a supplier of document intelligence solutions to over 100 major insurance companies, legal, banking, commercial and regulatory organizations in the US, UK and worldwide.

The company is also using the funds to continue to expand its global presence.

Led by Bill Hewitt, CEO, Exari provides global insurance companies, banks and Global 2000 companies with software solutions to create, store, manage and optimize their contracts.

The company has offices in Boston, Melbourne, London and Munich.

FinSMEs

12/06/2017
Smart Pension, a London, UK-based auto enrolment pension provider, completed a 15m Series B funding round.

The round, which brought total funding to date to 25m and values the company at more than 65m, was led by the Stensrud family who are owners of Skagen, Norways largest privately owned asset manager, joined by existing investors Tom Valentine, and William Reeve.

The company intends to use the funds to continue to expand operations and to export its technology-led pension solution overseas.

Founded in 2014 by Andrew Evans, CEO, and Will Wynne, MD, Smart Pension is a MAF-accredited online auto enrolment provider. Its auto enrolment solution aims to improve the experience of hundreds of thousands of small and micro businesses that must comply with new pension legislation.

Advisers and employers can use it for free, with no upfront or ongoing charges.

FinSMEs

12/06/2017
New Delhi: General Motors, which has decided to stop selling vehicles in the Indian market from year-end, has given its employees here less than a month to opt for a voluntary separation scheme (VSS) as it starts winding down operations in the country.

After announcing its decision to stop retailing vehicles on 18 May, the company sent mails to employees the very next day about the VSS that will close on 15 June, 2017.

General Motors India President and Managing Director Kaher Kazem had stated around 400 employees engaged in domestic sales and after sales activities would be impacted.

According to the internal communication accessed by PTI, the company offered compensation of "45 days salary for every year of completed year of service or part thereof in excess of six months" in normal cases.

On the other hand, for those who are nearing retirement, GM offered employees compensation of "monthly salary multiplied by the remaining months of service till normal age of retirement".

The minimum compensation payable eligible shall be three months salary, it added.

According to sources, nearly 250 people in marketing, sales, finance and administration are likely to be given golden handshakes by September itself.

Kazem had, however, stated at the time of announcing the company's decision to exit from domestic operations that only half of 400 affected employees "are expected to move on by the end of 2017".

Employees in after sales department have, however, been issued letters for continuation of service till further notice, the sources added.

When contacted, a GM India spokesperson said: "GM understands this is a difficult decision that impacts a number of our hard working and professional employees, and we are providing counselling, financial advice and outplacement support, as well as a separation package in excess of the statutory requirements."

In case of Halol plant, where the company has ceased production since April this year, GM India had come out with a fresh voluntary retirement scheme last month for a short period citing request from workers.

The company had reportedly increased VRS offer to workers at the plant to 100 days of salary per year of work from an earlier 40 days of every year of completed service.

Already, dealers of GM India are gearing up to drag the auto major to court while also exploring possibility of a class action suit in the US over inadequate compensation.

A majority of 96 dealers, which operate around 140 showrooms across India, are unhappy with the company's offer of just around 12 percent of total investments they have made as compensation.

Moreover, they also said there would be job losses of around 9,500 due to closure of showrooms and service outlets.

In 2015, the company had announced to invest US $1 billion (Rs 6,400 crore) in India to enhance manufacturing operations and roll out 10 locally produced models in the

country over the next five years.

In January this year, the American firm put on hold its investments on new models for the country as it undertook a full review of its future product portfolio in India.

On 18 May, General Motors suddenly decided to stop selling its vehicles in India as there was no turnaround in its fortunes here after struggling for over two decades to make a mark.

The company will now focus on exporting vehicles from its manufacturing plant at Talegaon in Maharashtra after it stopped production at its first plant at Halol in Gujarat last month.

GM India sells models like Beat, Sail and Cruze in India.
New Delhi: Endorsing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Make In India vision, French conglomerate Alstom plans to manufacture 800 "super high-power" locomotives in India over a decade, its Managing Director for India and South Asia Bharat Salhotra said.

Salhotra said in an interview that the company was also planning to export rail solutions from India to Australia, Central Asia and SouthEast Asia.

Awarded a contract to manufacture 800 electric locomotives for Indian Railways, Alstom, a world leader in rail transport business, has decided to produce them in India -- at a factory in Madhepura in Bihar.

"The factory will produce 800 locomotives of 12,000 horsepower each. The first phase of the factory should get over in September and the first locomotive will roll out from that plant in February 2018," Salhotra told IANS.

He added that almost 85 percent of the supply chain for all those locomotives would be based in India.

"Eight hundred locomotives would be made in India. We would be importing some initial parts. But then we would subsequently move it to the plant in Madhepura."

To achieve that, he said, local competency would be developed in India at supplier end through a partnership with France.

"Combining French technology and expertise with Indian talent and entrepreneurship would help us make rapid strides."

Salhotra, who received the French honour insignia of the Knight of the National Order of Merits from the French Ambassador Alexandre Ziegler on Thursday, added that the company had already started moving towards the Make in India vision.

"Four years ago, we started with 30 percent (of the supply chain) coming from India and 70 percent coming from elsewhere. Now it is the other way around."

However, Salhotra said he had larger plans not just to meet the Indian requirements but to expand the business to Central and SouthEast Asia.

"Our strategy is to develop our Indian footprint, first to deliver projects for India" and then to expand to other lucrative markets as well, he said.

"Today we have 1,000 plus engineers in signalling who are booking almost 1.5 million hours a year, partly for India and partly for various projects across the world.

"On the rolling stock front, we are designing trains in India for other countries. For example, we are going to export trains from India to Australia," Salhotra said.

He added that Alstom would invest and expand its existing factories "depending on as-needed basis".

"And not to forget we have the new Madhepura plant coming up. Once we have fulfilled the obligation of the Indian Railways for delivering the 800 locomotives, we can use that resource for various other projects," he added.

In India, the French conglomerate started with Chennai Metro where it is providing 42 trains of four cars each.

For Kochi Metro, it is providing rolling stock, signalling and power supply solutions and receiving sub-stations.

It is also providing signalling system for Bengaluru Metro, train control system for Jaipur Metro and is doing track work for the Delhi Metro.

In the mainline space, Alstom is working on signalling system and power supply for the World Bank-funded 343-km eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC).

Salhotra said Alstom's work does not end there as it is looking at building 50 metros across the country over the next 10-15 years, electrifying 4,000 km of Indian rail track every year and transform the transportation system in urban Indian cities.

"The 50 metros would take some time. Typically, we would see three or four metros coming every year.

"We believe we have the ability and capacity to handle that workload. And in addition to that, to also handle some workload beyond India," the Indian Institute of Management alumni said.
New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today reiterated that states which want to go in for waiver of farm loans will have to generate funds from their own resources.

This is the second time Jaitley is making this comment. Earlier after Uttar Pradesh announced Rs 36,000 crore waiver, the finance minister had made it clear that states wouldn't get my financial assistance from Centre on this count.

The comment now comes in the wake of Maharashtra announcing a waiver of farmer loans to buy peace with agitating farmers.

Though the Maharashtra waiver is at present seen at Rs 30,000 crore, there are chances that the amount will swell. According to media reports, 1.36 crore farmers have about Rs 1.14 lakh crore loans.

Jaitley also took stock of the finances of public sector banks as also the resolution of bad loans or NPAs, with heads of the lenders at today's meeting with heads of public sector banks.

Besides NPA resolution and bank finances, the meeting also featured the government's financial inclusion schemes.

RBI, Jaitley said, is in an advanced state of preparing a list of bad loans where resolution is required under the insolvency and bankruptcy rule. Also, the government is actively working on consolidation of state-owned banks.

Public sector banks made a "stable operating profit" of Rs 1.5 lakh crore in 2016-17 and had a net profit at Rs 574 crore after making due provisions.

The finance minister observed that there are challenges to credit growth and speedy resolution for all pending NPA cases is the need of the hour.

(With PTI inputs)


New Delhi The country's largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI) has expressed apprehensions that demonetisation may continue to result in slowing down of the economy, and adversely affect its business.

The government had discontinued Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 banknotes from 9 November, 2016 and issued new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 currency notes in exchange for the discontinued ones.

The long-term impact of this move on the economy and the banking sector is uncertain, SBI told institutional investors prior to its Rs 15,000 crore share sale through private placement.

The effects of the demonetisation decision are uncertain, which may adversely affect the banks business, results of operations and financial condition, the bank said in the Preliminary Placement Document to investors while flagging the 'risk factors'.

"The demonetisation has and may continue to result in a slowing down of the Indian economy, which may adversely affect the Bank's business," it said.

The document, SBI had said contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Further, the financial performance may differ from "such forward-looking" statements as a result of certain

Post-demonetisation, there has been a surge in the CASA deposits of banks.

As per a RBI report, the sharp increase in the share of CASA deposits in aggregate deposits by 4.10 percent to 39.30 percent (as of February 17, 2017) resulted in a reduction in the cost of aggregate deposits, and banks have correspondingly lowered their term deposit rates.

As a result, the bank may face increased competition from commercial banks and other lending institutions, it said while highlighting the risks associated with demonetisation.

SBI said increased competition may have an adverse effect on the net interest margin and other income and if the bank is unable to compete successfully, its profitability may decline.

"The move could also result in an increase in compliance costs and higher incidents of fraud. Any one or more of these if and when they occur, could have a material effect on the bank's business, results of operations, financial conditions as well as reputation," the document said.

Post-merger of five associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank effective 1 April, SBI catapulted into one of the top 50 global banks (up from 55th position in 2016).

SBI's balance sheet size is Rs 33 lakh crore and has 24,017 branches and 59,263 ATMs servicing over 42 crore customers.
New Delhi: There is significant potential for cross border investments to India and China as large and medium sized US firms plan to incrementally invest in these Asian economies than in Western Europe, says an UBS report.

According to the UBS Evidence Lab USA C-Suite survey within emerging Asia, China is the preferred economy, as 40 percent of larger companies surveyed expressed a likelihood of incremental investment over the next year, while over a quarter of larger companies expressed an intention to invest in India.

The survey of 500 corporate leaders in March-April 2017 included questions on where in the globe their corporates might invest incrementally on average, noted that a greater share of larger and medium sized firms plan to incrementally invest in China and India than in Western Europe.

"...the preferences shown by larger US companies in the UBS Evidence Lab USA C Suite survey for India, combined with the relative economic weight of that economy and the low share of the US FDI stock support the case for currency supporting capital inflows," it noted.

The report further said the US FDI is heavily biased towards Western Europe, and China and India host just 2 percent of total.

"This suggests potential for cross-border flows in support of these Asian currencies. We believe the rupee will be supported on the basis of solid FDI flows," the UBS report said.
Mumbai: Budget carrier SpiceJet will launch next month two new daily direct flights to Porbandar and Kandla from here under the Central government's regional connectivity scheme - UDAN.

The Gurgaon-based carrier would be the first major airline to launch flights on the RCS route.

The two new routes -- Mumbai-Porbandar-Mumbai and Mumbai-Kandla-Mumbai -- will be operational with a 78-seater Bombardier Q400 regional jet from 10 July, SpiceJet said.

Under the UDAN scheme, the airline will be operating the new flights on the Mumbai-Porbandar route with RCS seats at Rs 2,250 (all inclusive) whereas the fare on the Mumbai- Kandla and Kandla-Mumbai routes would be Rs 2,500 (all inclusive) for RCS seats.

The government had in March awarded 128 regional routes to five airlines - Alliance Air, SpiceJet, Turbo Megha, Air Odisha and Air Deccan -- for launching flights under UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik) scheme, which aims at boosting air connectivity to the hinterland.

As many as 70 airports, including 31 unserved and 12 under-served ones, would be connected with the UDAN flights. Under the scheme, on each flight, 50 percent of the seats would have a cap of Rs 2,500 per seat/hour.

An unserved airport is one to which there is no daily service, while an under-served airport is one which has not seen a flight for two consecutive flight schedules.

"I am delighted that SpiceJet is helping realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of ensuring that every Indian can fly," SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh said.

"UDAN is a grand scheme and we are proud to be amongst the pacesetters for the scheme. It has been our constant endeavour to enable the common man to fly since we began

operations 12 years back. We will connect many more small towns and cities in times to come," Singh said.

SpiceJet also said it is the only airline which hasn't sought subsidy or viability gap funding under this scheme.

Under UDAN, the operators would be extended viability gap funding.

SpiceJet was awarded six proposals and 11 routes under the first phase of the Regional Connectivity Scheme.

Out of the six proposals, four will cater to unserved markets of Adampur, Kandla, Puducherry and Jaisalmer whereas two will be for under-served markets of Porbandar and Kanpur, the airline said.

SpiceJet is country's largest regional player operating a fleet of 19 Bombardier Q400 planes, which can seat 78 passengers. Besides it had 33 Boeing 737s as well in the

fleet.
Travis Kalanick and Uber have been in the news for the wrong reasons. The latest is that the 40 year-old Founder and CEO may be forced to go on leave temporarily or his role as a CEO may be curtailed.

The news is not surprising as the ride-hailing app has been embroiled with aggressive and abrasive behavior by the founder who is leading the company. Remember the incident in San Francisco in February this year, where Kalanick was found arguing with an Uber cabbie who complained of dropping prices and less pay to drivers?

When does the founder of a company, with an innovative idea that gets traction and is successful, cross the line and think that success equals bad behavior and he/she can get away with it?

It is also true that startups by its nature is about working with an idea that is innovative and solving an issue. When the idea gets traction with several rounds of funding, and the founder/s are valued and serenaded by investors and the media, they sometimes falter in handling the success thrust upon them as most of them have no experience of managerial skills or running a company.

Santosh Desai, social commentator, and Managing Director-CEO, Future Brands, says that often when the founder/co-founders are successful, they err in thinking that the skills required to run a business and manage it is the same. The startup founders have the passion and have developed the business to scale, but to expect them to also have the skills to manage the business is stretching it, he says.

However, Mahesh Murthy, Founder, Seedfund, feels that it is fallacious to think that a founder of a start-up or fast-growing company can be sidelined. He feels it is easier, relatively, to do that for large, established companies.

Murthy says that the personal charisma of a founder/s plays a huge role in the loyalty and motivation of the team that reports to them. And it's hard for a replacement to take their place and command the same respect and energy. He posits: Do you know who Michael Scott, Mike Markkula, Michael Spindler and Gil Amelio were? The answer - they were the CEOs of Apple after and before Steve Jobs. Apart from John Sculley and Tim Cook, of course. Yet, there is no doubt that Apple's best years have always been identified with Steve Jobs himself. Yahoo was never the same without Jerry Yang and David Filo.

But does that excuse bad behavior in a co-founder/CEO? The fact that a startup is successful, is being funded and is in the news should ensure that it is about time for the founders to behave maturely against oft-seen startup brattish behavior, isnt it?

Uber has been notorious for brash behavior and in fact that has been its culture, says Sanchit Vir Gogia, chief analyst, Founder and CEO of Greyhound Knowledge Group, a global strategy and transformation research, advisory and consulting group. He says that it is difficult to comprehend that Kalanick would have not noticed the brashness in employees in key positions in the firm.

Uber hired the law firm of former US Attorney General Eric Holder which conducted a review of the company's policies and culture. Employees and former employees interviewed by Holder's team complained about sexual and racial bias, bullying and retaliation, according to people familiar with their accounts.

They said that Kalanick and his lieutenants had favorites who played by different rules than other employees, and that even those favorites were nervous that they could fall from grace, which they sometimes did. Uber declined comment on that characterization, Reuters reported.

So Kalanick was aware of what was going on with the company. As a Founder-CEO, Kalanick has to take charge and the onus of what is going on within Uber. He cannot have missed the culture within, says Gogia. It also seeps in from the top to bottom with one instance of Kalanicks record of brashness being recorded on video.

However, Kalnick apologized. But that does not mean anything, says Gogia. He says that a startup can get away with a lot but that is not par for the course when it becomes successful and is no longer a startup. Sensitivity has to kick in, he says.

One cannot be comfortable with success, points out Santosh Desai. Granted, the nature of a startup is such that bad behavior by its founders are unnoticed when it is just that  a startup that is struggling to make it. Once success has touched it, it has a responsibility to behave in a mature manner. Many times bad behaviour in Founders/CEOs are celebrated by the media. When it gets the approval of the employees, the people around the CEO/Founder and the media, the Founders make a grave mistake of making it part of their psyche, says Desai.

Will Travis be replaced or sidelined in the company he founded and is now a world famous name albeit with its warts all up for everyone to see? Murthy says that he knows of no case where the sidelining of a startup founder created a better company than the original. "While in large companies, changing of the CEO is a more common occurrence: Jack Welch was replaced by Gary Immelt and GE has been fine right through," he points out.

In a matter of hours, the board is likely to reveal its decision on Kalanick's role. Whatever the outcome of the board meeting, one thing is clear: He indeed has to take responsibility for the goings-on in the company. No escaping that.
Abdellatif Kechiche, the critically acclaimed director of the 2013 winner of the Palme d'Or at the Cannes film festival, is taking the drastic measure of auctioning off the esteemed trophy, in order to get through the post-production phase of his latest venture Mektoub, My Love, states the Hollywood Reporter.

The movie was halted from completion as the director ran into financial difficulties.

Starring the up-and-coming French actors Shain Boumediene, Lou Luttiau, and Ophelie Bau, the new two-part feature, was going through post-production when the financing bank abruptly blocked line of credit of the movie, reportedly leaving the project in limbo, Kechiche told The Hollywood Reporter.

Cofiloisirs was the bank in question, and it also happens to be one of the top two lenders for French films.

In order to raise the necessary funds for the completion of post-production without further delays, the French production and distribution company Quat'Sous is auctioning film memorabilia related to Kechiche's work. Items to be offered range from the Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival 2013) to the oil paintings that played a central role in Blue Is the Warmest Color," states the same report from Hollywood Reporter.

It is unknown exactly how much more money is required to see the movie through, owing to a non-disclosure agreement between the production company and the financiers.

Kechiche however, is no stranger to controversy. This is not the first time that the director has been in the news over something outrageous.

A lesbian love story that is arguably the most sexually explicit and forward movie that has ever received the honour that is the Palme d'Or  the movie also ensured that the two female leads, actresses Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux were also bestowed with Palme d'Ors of their own. Seen as a triumph for queer storytelling and artistic cinema, Blue Is the Warmest Colour was touted as a game changer by many  viewers and critics alike.

Apart from the content of Blue Is the Warmest Colour, Kechiche was also embroiled in a controversy surrounding him and his lead actress Lea Seydoux. A Guardian report said that Seydoux called the experience of filming with Kechiche 'horrible', stating that she would never work with him again. She reportedly went so far as to say that she felt 'like a prostitute' while filming the rampant sex scenes in the movie.

Kechiche responded to Seydoux with an open letter of sorts, in which he called out the actress for being an arrogant, spoiled child.
Off-late John Abraham seemed to have carved a niche for himself in Bollywood as the resident action man. Last seen in the out and out action flick Force 2, preceded by Dishoom  one would think Abraham has altogether given up on the romantic comedies that he previously garnered fame from (read Garam Masala, Dostana).

However, a DNA report states that Abraham is most likely to return to the romantic comedy genre with director Anees Bazmee with whom he had previously worked in the Bollywood hit comedy Welcome and Welcome Back.

Housefull 2 was the last comedy movie that Abraham found himself a part of. For now, the actor is busy shooting for his upcoming December release Parmanu  The story of Pokhran. The movie is based on the greatest nuclear espionage that the world had witnessed in the year 1998. Declared to be one of the biggest, and most impactful covert operations to ever take place in the history of the world  it was India's direct ticket into the nuclear map of the world.

A search for a leading lady opposite Abraham has commenced, and Parineeti Chopra seems to be one of the top contenders according to the same DNA report.

Parineeti Chopra had a recent release at the box-office opposite Ayushmann Khurrana in the Yash Raj Productions movie Meri Pyaari Bindu, which also marked her singing debut. Chopra is going to be seen in Golmaal 4 next.
Kangana Ranaut has started prepping for her role in the period drama Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi. According to Mumbai Mirror, Ranaut, who just got back from London, has started taking sword-fighting lessons from famed Hollywood action director Nick Powell. Powell is known for coordinating stunts in Resident Evil, X-Men and The Last Samurai among others.

It looks like the film, which was earlier embroiled in a blazing controversy has started rolling. "We are starting with basic swordtraining and hand combat. Nick was figuring out if my wrists are flexible so I can fight with both hands and is happy with the result," said Ranaut in a Mumbai Mirror interview.

Manikarnika is a biopic based on Rani Lakshmibai, the prime figure in the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Rani Lakshmibai is remembered for her unmatched valour and dedication towards the nation.

Since the film chronicles such a monumental nationalist movement for freedom, it is bound to have ample combat scenes. Ranaut is currently undergoing arduous training so that she can do justice to the role.

The difficult action sequences are bound to exhaust anyone which is why Ranaut is building her strength, steadily. "I am sure I will be able to go on for three-four hours soon. Nick admits that for a woman to convincingly bash up people is challenging but speed always beats strength, thats the only rule that applies to warfare and the only way to make a woman look powerful convincingly," added Ranaut in the same interview.

Manikarnika is being directed by Krish. The story has been written by KV Vijayendra Prasad of Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Baahubali fame.The poster of the film was recently released at the Dashashwamedh Ghat of Varanasi, by the river Ganga.

The film releases on 27 April, 2018.
By Benjamin Lesser and Elizabeth Dilts

| NEW YORK

NEW YORK In three years of managing investments for North Dakota farmer Richard Haus, Long Island stock broker Mike McMahon and his colleagues charged their client $267,567 in fees and interest - while losing him $261,441 on the trades, Haus said.McMahon and others at National Securities Corporation, for instance, bought or sold between 200 and 900 shares of Apple stock for Haus nine times in about a year - racking up $27,000 in fees, according to a 2015 complaint Haus filed with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).Haus alerted the regulator to what he called improper churning of his account to harvest excessive fees. But the allegation could hardly have come as a surprise to FINRA, the industrys self-regulating body, which is charged by Congress with protecting investors from unscrupulous brokers.FINRA has fined National at least 25 times since 2000. As of earlier this year, 35 percent of Nationals 714 brokers had a history of regulatory run-ins, legal disputes or personal financial difficulties that FINRA requires brokers to disclose to investors, according to a Reuters analysis of FINRA data.McMahon did not respond to requests for comment. National declined to comment.National is among 48 firms where at least 30 percent of brokers have such FINRA flags on their records, according to the Reuters analysis, which examined only the 12 most serious incidents among the 23 that FINRA requires brokers to disclose. That compares to 9 percent of brokers industry-wide who have at least one of those 12 FINRA flags on their record.In total, the 48 firms oversee about 4,600 brokers and billions of dollars in investor funds. For a graphic with the complete list of firms and statistics on each, see: tmsnrt.rs/2rtbhOlFINRA officials acknowledged in interviews with Reuters that the longstanding hiring practices at certain firms are a threat to investors. But they also argued that they can do little to stop firms from hiring high concentrations of potentially problematic brokers because doing so is not illegal.That leaves investors like Haus vulnerable to a small group of brokerages that regularly hire advisors with blemishes on their backgrounds that would make them unemployable at most firms, former regulators and industry experts said.The dozen FINRA flags examined by Reuters include regulatory sanctions for misconduct, employment terminations after allegations of misconduct and payments by firms to settle customer complaints. They also include brokers personal financial troubles, such as bankruptcies or liens for nonpayment of debts. [L1N1J9032] (For full coverage, including an explanation of Reuters methodology, see: here ) Last year, a FINRA official told Reuters, the regulator identified 90 firms as posing the highest risk to investors and flagged them internally for higher scrutiny. But FINRA declined to name the firms publicly or to release statistics showing the concentration of brokers with a history of FINRA flags within each firm.In an interview with Reuters, FINRAs executive vice president of regulatory operations, Susan Axelrod, declined to comment on any specific firm identified by Reuters. She would not directly address why the regulator will not publicly name the firms it identified as high-risk.Lets just say those are not new names to us, she said of the firms identified by Reuters.FINRA Chief Executive Robert Cook, however, addressed its unwillingness to name names in a speech on Monday morning in Washington at Georgetown University, according to prepared remarks released by FINRA.We must consider fairness and due process, Cook said. FINRA does not possess a crystal ball - someone who we may identify as a high-risk broker for oversight purposes is not necessarily a bad actor.The regulator has created a dedicated unit focused on those high-risk firms, Axelrod told Reuters, but she declined to discuss its budget, staffing or specific duties. Cook on Monday said the unit included an unstated number of examiners and managers with experience dealing with high-risk brokers.FINRA makes data on individual brokers backgrounds available through its Brokercheck website, which Axelrod said provides unparalleled transparency to investors. That site allows the public to search histories of complaints and sanctions against individual brokers  but only one at a time.The regulator will not release the data in bulk form, such as a database, that would enable researchers to identify firms with high concentrations of brokers with a history of FINRA flags.Reuters analysed the FINRA data after receiving it from researchers at Columbia University Law School DataLab, who wrote computer code to extract it from the regulators website.Reuters sought comment from officials at all 48 firms. Some responded that many of the FINRA-mandated disclosures do not necessarily equate to misconduct by brokers, such as when a firm pays a client to settle a complaint without admitting wrongdoing.Cook, the FINRA chief, echoed that point in his speech Monday.A broker who has an unpaid lien because of a debt accrued due to a medical issue in her family must disclose that lien, he said. That event should not be treated the same as fraud or stealing money from customers.At least one executive from a firm identified in the Reuters analysis serves on FINRAs 24-member Board of Governors - Brian Kovack, president of Fort Lauderdale-based Kovack Securities Inc.Thirty-four percent of the firms 388 brokers have a history of FINRA flags, according to the Reuters analysis.In a statement, Brian Kovack attributed those figures to the firms decision to take on a large number of new brokers from another brokerage in 2014, which prevented the firm from using its usual vetting process for new employees.Asked why, three years later, the firm still has a high concentration of brokers with FINRA flags, Kovack said it took considerable time to ensure the review of new brokers backgrounds was fair and transparent. After the review, the firm asked some advisors to leave, Kovack said, without specifying how many or the reasons they were dismissed.SELF-REGULATION

FINRA is not a government agency, but rather an industry-financed self-regulatory organization - as FINRA puts it - that is not subject to public records laws and receives no taxpayer support.Its annual operating budget of about $1 billion - supporting about 3,500 staffers in 16 offices - comes primarily from dues paid by member firms and individual brokers. FINRA has the power to fine, suspend and ban firms and brokers, and it can refer potentially criminal cases to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).Last year, in an unlikely collaboration, Senators Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, and Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas, sent FINRA a letter demanding the regulator do more to stop broker misconduct and to prevent those with troubled histories from concentrating in the same firms.FINRA is not doing nearly enough to fulfil its investor protection mission, the letter read.

The regulator responded with a letter on June 15 of last year saying that it closely oversees firms to determine whether they present a heightened risk to investors.From 2013 to mid-2016, the regulator told the senators, it identified 279 high-risk brokers. After identifying them, the regulator permanently banned 238 brokers from the industry for subsequent violations.FINRA oversees about 3,800 brokerages and 630,000 brokers.In interviews with Reuters, Axelrod pointed to firms that FINRA expelled. The regulator shut down about 130 firms in the six years ending in January 2017, with many cited for securities fraud, misuse of funds or falsifying records.But the Reuters analysis of FINRA data found that the regulator did not expel the firms chief executive in 58 percent of those cases, leaving him or her free to join other brokerages. The brokers at those banned firms typically were also able to continue working in the industry.Axelrod said that FINRA gives extra scrutiny to former executives of expelled firms after they show up with new jobs at other firms.OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE

Regulators in at least one state think more can be done to crack down on brokers and brokerages with track records of violations.Massachusetts securities regulators are considering changing their licensing practices after completing a review last year of brokerages with a high proportion of brokers with troubled histories.The evidence is pretty overwhelming that there is a practice here - a history here - of people moving from one firm to another and re-offending, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin told Reuters. We cant simply stand by and say, The companies will do a better job. They wont do a better job unless they feel some incentive.Some former regulators contacted by Reuters agreed with FINRAs policy of withholding its internal risk ratings of firms from the public.Susan Merrill - former head of enforcement at FINRA and now a partner with the law firm Sidley Austin LLP - said that releasing such ratings would be unfair to firms who have not necessarily broken laws or regulations.If there is a finding by the regulator, Merrill said, then thats fair game.FINRAs former CEO, Richard Ketchum, told Reuters last June that the regulator was considering publicly disclosing more information about firms with high concentrations of problematic brokers.We are looking hard at questions about how we can appropriately and fairly provide that broader disclosure ... when firms have concentrations of persons that have similar problems, Ketchum said in an interview.Cook said Monday that FINRA was considering additional measures to rein in high-risk brokers, but he didnt go into specifics.

WOLVES OF WALL STREET

Many of the 48 firms identified by Reuters regularly cold-call customers on the phone with high-pressure sales pitches, according to regulatory complaints and sanctions against the firms and their brokers.Long Island, New York, has historically been a haven for boiler-room brokerages, which inspired the movie, The Wolf of Wall Street, based on the true story of broker Jordan Belfort and his firm, Stratton Oakmont. Belfort pleaded guilty to securities fraud and money laundering in 1999.FINRA warned in a news release last year that boiler-room tactics were on the rise, particularly those targeting the elderly and other vulnerable investors.Brokers generally know which firms will hire them despite past sanctions, said Dean Jeske, a lawyer at Foley & Lardner and FINRAs former deputy regional chief counsel for enforcement in the Midwest.When you get a mark on your (record), its hard to get a job at Morgan Stanley or Merrill Lynch, Jeske said.Mike McMahon has had little trouble landing jobs at brokerages despite a trail of allegations and settlements.McMahon left National in 2014 and later joined a smaller firm, Long Island-based Worden Capital Management - where 43 percent of 79 brokers had a history of FINRA flags as of earlier this year.Forty-one percent of the firms brokers had at some point in their careers worked at firms that were later expelled by FINRA, according to the Reuters analysis.Jamie Worden, head of Worden Capital, said in a statement that his firms compliance team vets all prospective brokers and that FINRA-mandated disclosures do not necessarily indicate wrongdoing.The public disclosures only represent a sliver of the information surrounding any circumstance, Worden said.McMahon, National and another firm where he worked have agreed to pay a total of $1.35 million since 2007 to settle 10 separate client complaints involving McMahon, according to McMahons record on FINRAs BrokerCheck website.In addition, McMahon currently faces four additional complaints to FINRA - which have yet to be resolved in a settlement or arbitration ruling - from clients he advised while working with National, the regulators records show.McMahon denied any wrongdoing in several of the settled complaints.Haus - the customer who lost more than half a million dollars with McMahon and others at National - told Reuters that the ordeal made him contemplate suicide.I was ashamed, said the soybean farmer and U.S. military veteran. I didnt want to tell anyone Im losing my life savings.

Haus settled his complaint against National in November for an undisclosed amount of money. The settlement required him to sign a nondisclosure agreement, and he has since not responded to Reuters inquiries.HIRING OPPORTUNITY

In many cases, the firms identified by Reuters continue to operate after years of repeated run-ins with FINRA and other regulators.Take Los Angeles-based WestPark Capital Inc, where about half of the firms 95 brokers have FINRA flags on their records. More than 47 percent of WestPark brokers once worked at firms that were later expelled by FINRA.Regulators including FINRA and the New Jersey Bureau of Securities have sanctioned WestPark six times in the past 11 years for a variety of alleged violations.In 2004, FINRA suspended WestParks chief executive, Richard Rappaport, for 30 days from his management role and fined him and the firm $50,000 in response to allegations that WestPark omitted critical information from investment research reports and lacked supervisory controls. Without admitting wrongdoing, Rappaport agreed to the punishment in a settlement with FINRA. But he then ignored the suspension and continued to actively manage WestPark, according to FINRA disciplinary records reviewed by Reuters.His punishment for ignoring the 30-day suspension? Another 30-day suspension from FINRA and a $10,000 fine.In 2016, West Park saw a hiring opportunity. The firm started taking on dozens of brokers from Newport Coast Securities - a firm that FINRA banned from the industry that year for excessive trading in client accounts to rack up fees and for recommending unsuitable investments. Newport appealed the expulsion.By early 2017, WestPark had hired about 40 brokers from Newport Coast - including its former CEO, Richard Onesto.WestPark and Rappaport declined to comment. Onesto did not respond to requests for comment.PUMP AND DUMP

Another firm Reuters identified in its analysis - Windsor Street Capital - has been fined 12 times by FINRA since 2000 but may now face much stiffer penalties from the SEC.Fifty-eight percent of the firms 48 brokers had FINRA flags on their records, according to the Reuters analysis. Over the years, FINRA fines have cost the firm about $300,000, and Windsor has appealed two other fines totalling more than $1 million.In January, the SEC brought administrative actions against Windsor Street Capital and its former anti-money laundering officer, John Telfer, for allegedly facilitating a $25 million pump-and-dump scheme - in which investors promote or pump the value of a dubious stock they own just before selling, or dumping it.Windsor declined to comment to Reuters but denied any misconduct in an SEC filing.The SEC alleges that Windsor allowed clients to sell hundreds of millions of unregistered penny stocks through Windsor brokerage accounts and did not report the suspicious transactions to the U.S. Treasury Department.The Windsor clients bought stock in dormant shell companies, spread false information to promote the companies products and then dumped the shares as other investors bought in at inflated prices, the SEC alleges in a case that is still pending.Windsor made about $500,000 in commissions and fees from transactions related to the scheme, according to the SEC.When asked if FINRA investigators contributed to the SECs investigation, an SEC official declined to comment and pointed to the agencys press release, which only credits SEC investigators.FINRA did not respond to requests for comment on whether it had a role in the Windsor investigation.HAPPY NEW YEAR!

At Long Island-based Joseph Stone Capital, 71 percent of the firms 59 brokers had FINRA flags on their records, according to the Reuters analysis.Joseph Stone was investigated by the state of Montana after one of its sales representatives, Lawrence Sullivan, cold-called the office of Montanas Commissioner of Securities and Insurance to pitch an investment on January 15, 2016, according to a report on the incident by the regulator.The securities commission launched an investigation into the firm after the call, during which Sullivan quickly backtracked and denied he was pitching securities, according to the report.Reuters could not reach Sullivan for comment. The staffer he called - Patrick Navarro, an assistant analyst at the state regulator - did not respond to requests for comment.Investigators ultimately unearthed fraudulent and unethical practices, including excessive trading in client accounts - resulting in commissions totalling 28 percent of the $877,493 invested by clients in Montana, according to the regulators report.The firm settled with the state on April 18, agreeing to pay $30,000 in restitution to clients without admitting wrongdoing.During the call that got the firm into trouble, Sullivan pitched Navarro on an investment in Paypal stock, the report said. After Navarro informed Sullivan that he worked for the states securities regulator, Sullivan blurted out Happy New Year! and hung up.(For a graphic, click tmsnrt.rs/2sut9tA) (Edited by Lauren LaCapra, Janet Roberts and Brian Thevenot)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday asked Education Minister Manish Sisodia to explore the possibility of giving 80 percent reservation to students of the national capital in the Delhi government-aided colleges.

Kejriwal also asked him to see if 80-85 percent of guest teachers could be inducted from the national capital through a drive being conducted to appoint 9,000 teachers. This move would help generate jobs for the people of Delhi.

Interacting with volunteers through Google Hangout, Kejriwal listed measures taken by his government, especially in the health and education sectors and urged them to popularise the AAP dispensation's schemes.

He said the AAP government want to achieve 100 percent literacy in the national capital.

The chief minister said he had been receiving complaints from students belonging to Delhi about not getting admission in the city-based colleges.

"Delhi is the capital of the nation. It belongs to everyone and all are welcome here. But the colleges being run with the money of Delhi's taxpayers should have some reservation and students of Delhi should be given priority.

"I request Manish ji (Sisodia) to explore the possibility of giving reservation in 28 colleges which get aid from the Delhi government," he said.

The AAP had proposed a similar move in the past. With high cut-offs for admission to several colleges in Delhi, many students in the national capital complain of not getting seats.

Also, the Delhi students have to compete with those who complete their Class XII from outside the national capital.

At present, Delhi Technological University and the Indraprastha University give reservation to students domiciled in Delhi.

Kejriwal said the ambit of the Delhi government's education scheme to stand as a guarantor for students seeking education loan up to Rs 10 lakh has been expanded.

"This scheme was applicable to students pursuing courses in colleges in Delhi. Now, they can take benefit of the scheme to study anywhere in the world," he said.

He, however, rued that the government's flagship scheme for providing free treatment in private hospitals was not being implemented properly.

"When I visited the hospitals, I realised that not all know about the scheme. I have told the medical superintendents to popularise this scheme," he said.

Kejriwal also demanded that the Centre waive farm loans and implement the Swaminathan Commission report.

If the Centre can waive loans of industrialists, then it can also write off the debt of farmers.

Earlier in the day, Kejriwal visited his constituency of New Delhi and interacted with people.
New Delhi: Come 2019 Kumbh, pilgrims will be able to use Ganga waterway to reach Allahabad from Varanasi, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Monday.

The Kumbh mela, the world's largest religious gathering held on the banks of Triveni Sangam (the confluence of the three rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati) in Prayag near Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh, is likely to witness 15 crore pilgrims in 2019.

"We will convert Allahabad to Varanasi stretch on Ganges into waterways and make it navigable so that people visiting 2019 Kumbha mela could travel between Varanasi and Allahabad easily," Shipping, Road Transport and Highways Minister Gadkari said in Delhi.

Gadkari, who was jointly addressing the media with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, said the fair may see about 15 crore pilgrims in 2019 Kumbh and it would be ensured that their travel is hassle free.

"The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), which is implementing the waterways project will purchase steamers under special schemes to transport people during the upcoming fair. Private parties will also be encouraged to ply their vessels," he said.

The minister said massive work is already underway on 1,680 km stretch between Varanasi to Haldia by IWAI and dredging is being done.

"We are building multi-modal transport hubs at three places on this 1,680 km stretch at Varanasi, Haldia and Sahibganj. We are also building 40 river ports besides operationalising nine ferry services," he said.

The project worth about Rs 5,000 crore is being underway with assistance from the World Bank.

Gadkari said this waterway will be a "growth engine" for Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal and the work on Varanasi-Haldia stretch will be completed by December next year.

Besides, road infrastructure will also be augmented for the Kumbha mela in the state, the Union minister said.

UP Chief Minister Adityanath said Maha Kumbh is held in Allahabad every 12th year and Ardha Kumbha on every 6th year which witnessed 10-12 crore pilgrims.

"We have decided to augment this internal road infrastructure of 76 km for Kumbh mela before 2019. Detailed project report will be completed within six months," Adityanath said.

He said work will also start on a Rs 2,460 crore project to construct a six-lane bridge on Ganga at Allahabad.
Chennai: CPI Tamil Nadu unit on Monday strongly condemned the attack on government officials by cow vigilantes in Rajasthan, and sought stern action against them.

CPI Tamil Nadu unit secretary R Mutharasan urged the state government to exert pressure on the Centre and Rajasthan government to ensure legal action was taken against the vigilantes, who attacked the officials.

"The CPI State Committee strongly condemns this attack," Mutharasan said in a statement.

Around 50 cow vigilantes targeted officials of the Tamil Nadu government transporting cows from Jaisalmer to their state, pelted stones at a truck and blocked National Highway 15 on suspicion of cattle smuggling in Rajasthan's Barmer district.

Four persons had been arrested while action had been taken against seven policemen, including an inspector, for allegedly not taking the matter seriously and reaching the spot late Sunday night.
New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which has been under attack for acting against NDTV and its promoters on the basis of a private complaint, on Monday said about six of the 10 cases registered against employees of private banks were based on "private and source information".

The agency is probing over 100 cases related to bank fraud involving funds to the tune of about Rs 35,000 crore. The 10 cases are included in this, an agency spokesperson said.

In the last three years, CBI spokesperson R K Gaur said, 171 cases were registered to look into alleged bank frauds. A preliminary enquiry (PE), which precedes an FIR, was registered in 11 cases, 6.4 percent of the total.

"We have registered 10 cases against private bank employees which include six cases registered on the basis of private and source information. As of now, there are over 100 cases of bank fraud under probe which involve funds of about Rs 35,000 crore," he said.

The CBI has been facing criticism for allegedly singling out NDTV in filing a corruption case against it on the basis of a private complaint.

The case pertains to a loan which has already been paid by the company in 2009 and there was no complaint from the bank. The CBI registered an FIR on the basis of a complaint by Sanjay Dutt, a shareholder of NDTV and ICICI Bank.

The move of the agency to proceed against NDTV without conducting a preliminary enquiry was criticised by the media fraternity as an attempt to muzzle the press.

The agency got its powers to register cases against private banks after the Supreme Court order in the Global Trust Bank case in 2016 which said executives of private banks were covered under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The CBI has registered cases against officials of several private banks, including Axis Bank, Karnataka Bank, Dhanlaxmi Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank as well as cooperative banks like Awami Cooperative Bank and Jain Cooperative Bank.

Over the last six months, some big bank fraud cases have been registered against private individuals like Sandeep Jhunjhunwala in a Rs 3,800 crore case, Sunil Kakkad in a Rs 900 crore case and Jatin Mehta in an over Rs 4,500 crore case.

According to CBI sources, the agency registered its first case against former liquor baron Vijay Mallya on the basis of a complaint from a private person who did not wish to be identified. It was therefore kept as source information.

A source information pertains to inputs where private individuals complain but do not want to reveal their identity.

The CBI, in its statement after the NDTV FIR, had said it is not probing loan default but alleged violations of RBI rules, SEBI guidelines and reduction in the rate of interest by ICICI Bank which caused a loss of Rs 48 crore to the bank.

NDTV denied any wrongdoing and termed the act of the agency a "witch-hunt".
Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman has demanded that Sonia Gandhi apologise for Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit calling the army chief a 'sadak ka goonda' on Sunday.

Earlier, several BJP leaders demanded an apology from the Congress.

Sitharaman said, "The attitude of the Congress is shocking. It's a plot to undermine the role of army. They have questioned army's integrity. They should apologise. Sonia Gandhi should issue an apology letter," The Times of India reported.

She also condemned Rahul Gandhi's khoon ki dalali comment. "Our brave soldiers destroyed terror launchpads in PoK and they (Congress) call it khoon ki dalali."

According to Live Mint, Sitharaman said, "The proof of success of army operations that they would require, the shaming by calling names that they would take up, the choice of words that they would use raises a very important question in our minds... over the years the Congress party consistently with a pattern questions the integrity of the Indian Army, names the Indian army to shame them and demoralize them."

According to ANI, After Sitharaman's tweet, Sandeep Dikshit apologised for the second time:

After Dikshit likened army chief Bipin Rawat to a "goon on the street", the BJP demanded his expulsion and an apology from Sonia Gandhi. The Congress was quick to distance itself from Dikshit's remarks, who, following criticism, withdrew his remarks and apologised.

#WATCH: Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit says it feels bad when our Army Chief gives statement like a "sadak ka gunda". pic.twitter.com/Kh1DdtLfbL  ANI (@ANI_news) June 11, 2017

"Ours is not a mafia army like the Pakistani army which makes statements like the goons on the street. It looks bad when our army chief gives a statement like a 'sadak ka goonda' (goon on the street)," the former Congress MP and son of former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit said. He also said the Indian Army had depth and was gentlemanly and as it was a great institution, it brought along a particular culture with it. "I don't think our army chief lived up to that...I believe this army chief does not live up to my image of what the Indian Army should be. I believe the army chief should not make political statements," Dikshit said. He, however, later tweeted:

I have reservations on a comment of the Army Chief, but I should have chosen appropriate words. I apologise  Sandeep Dikshit (@_SandeepDikshit) June 11, 2017

Dikshit's comments on the army chief drew flak from Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju. He tweeted: What's wrong with Congress Party? How dare Congress call Indian Army Chief as "Sadak Ka Gunda"!!

 Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) June 11, 2017

Congress spokesperson Meem Afzal said, "Our party respects the army and so does the country. If some words have been used for its chief, it is unfortunate."

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra was quick to demand an apology from Congress president Sonia Gandhi over the episode and Dikshit's expulsion from the party.

"This statement is absolutely shocking, it is appalling. Calling the respected army chief of the country a 'sadak ka goonda', the Indian people will not accept it. Sonia Gandhi should expel such leaders and apologise," he said.

Patra alleged that the Congress had a "tradition" of making such remarks as its vice-president Rahul Gandhi had earlier used words such as "khoon ki dalali".

He added, "We see a trend of Congress leaders speaking against the Indian Army and the army chief."

He added that this will not be accepted by the people of the country and the democracy will reject the Congress party for this kind of language against the army chief.

General Rawat, in a recent interview to PTI, had defended Army Major Leetul Gogoi's act of tying a Kashmiri man to his jeep and using him as a "human shield" against stone-pelters in the Valley.

"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 (wanted to do)," he had said.

The army chief's comments had come under criticism from various quarters, including mainstream political parties such as the Left parties and the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress.
The decision to impose Bengali language in all schools from Class I to Class IX by the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal has sparked violent protests in Gorkha-led Darjeeling. On 6 June, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) took out procession in the hill during the visit of Mamata.

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 Mamta and posters of the party.

While Mamata accused GJM of fanning divisive politics in the hill region, West Bengal BJP unit accused the chief minister of 'step-motherly' attitude towards GJM. "A GJM delegation met me and complained about the step motherly attitude of the state government. How Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) is not allowed to work properly and they don't receive funds regularly. The GJM delegation told me how they are being hounded and victimised by the state government. The autonomy of GTA is only on paper, the reality is something else," West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh told PTI. GJM and BJP are allies in Darjeeling.

On 8 June, the army was deployed in the restive town after GJM supporters indulged in violence and arson. PTI reported that the troops were brought in after the protesters damaged police vehicles and set some of them ablaze, prompting the police to fire teargas and lathicharge the violent GJM supporters.

Accusing the West Bengal government of interfering in the working of GTA - the development body in the north Bengal hills, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri on Wednesday said a separate state was now the only solution for the Darjeeling hills.

"A separate state is the only solution for the development of our people," Giri told IANS. "Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has not let the GTA run smoothly. The board faced a lot of interference from the state government since the time of t's inception," he alleged. The GJM and other organisations fighting for a separate state said that the state of Gorkhaland is not only for Darjeeling, but for about 4 million to 10 million Gorkhas estimated to reside across India.

Expressing discontent at the powers given to the GTA, Giri claimed there were still a host of major issues in the hills that is needed to addressed.

"The GTA hasn't changed anything there. There is a constant issue with electricity in the hills. We are also not able to constitute the boards for school service commission, college service commission and subordinate service commission board in the hills," he said.

Language is at the heart of the Gorkhaland crisis which has been ongoing for over decades. Supporters of Gorkhaland want a separate Nepalese-speaking region.

Historically, until 1905, when the then Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon, effected the partition of Bengal, Darjeeling was a part of the Rajshahi division, now in Bangladesh. From 1905 to 1912 Darjeeling formed a part of the Bhagalpur division now in Bihar. It was given back to Rajshahi in 1912 and remained with the Rajshahi division till Partition.

The demand for a Gorkhaland is one of the oldest in the country. Speaking to The Business Standard, GJM spokesperson Harka Bahadur Chhetri said, "This demand is among the oldest such demands across the country." The first plea, The Indian Express reported, made for an administrative set-up outside of Bengal was in 1907 to the Morley-Minto Reforms panel. Thereafter, numerous representations were made every few years, first to the British government and then to free India's government for separation from Bengal.

The demand for Gorkhaland is based on ethnic identity. "We want a homeland for ourselves  for our own identity. Although we are bona fide Indian citizens, we are still called 'Nepali'. To get rid of the stigma we feel it's essential that we have our own state," Amar Singh Rai, GJM leader, told Scroll.

In 1952, The All India Gorkha League submitted a memorandum to the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru demanding separation from Bengal. In 1955, president of District Shamik Sangh Daulat Das Bokhim submitted a memorandum to the chairman of State Reorganisation Committee and demanded creation of separate state consisting of Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar district.

From 1977 till 1981, the West Bengal government passed a unanimous resolution supporting the creation of an autonomous district council consisting Darjeeling and adjoining areas. The bill, reported The Indian Express, was forwarded to central government for consideration. In the 1980s, the demand for a separate statehood intensified under the leadership Gorkha National Liberation Front supremo Subhas Ghising.

Between 1986-1988, the protests turned violent and at least 1,200 people were killed. Ghising, a former soldier, led a prolonged violent struggle in the 1980s for a separate Gorkhaland state, before signing an agreement on 22 August, 1988 with the central and state government for creation of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC), an autonomous governing body for the hills. He chaired the DGHC till 2008. Ghising lived-in-exile from the hills after his GNLF was sidelined in early 2008 by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha that spearheads the movement now.

As Left Front limped to its last phase of clout in Bengal, the movement for Gorkhaland shifted under the leadership of the GJM under the leadership of Bimal Gurung.

A 2007 agitation, led by GJM, led to the formation of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, with its powers expanded vis-a-vis the earlier Hill Council. The 2007 agitation also ensured the state and Centre initiative for a permanent solution in the by bringing it to the sixth schedule of the Constitution giving some degree of autonomy to a predominantly tribal area. But the Gorkhas opposed this sixth schedule and intensified their demand for a separate statehood.

As the Trinamool Congress formed the new goverment in Bengal, the four-year long movement came to an end with Mamata declaring the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and making Gurung its leader. However, in 2013 after the formation of Telangana, Gurung quit as GTA chief and severed ties with the Mamata government, saying that people have lost all faith.

In 2017, when asked why was the demand for a separate statehood being revived, Gurung told The Indian Express, "We were fooled by state government when we signed the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA). Nearly 50 departments were to come under GTA but only three or four came. Nearly five years have passed and nothing happened. We were not allowed to work and GTA became a sham Then suddenly, government imposed Bengali on us, making it mandatory to be studied in schools. What about our mother tongue Nepali? Then police lathicharged us."

With inputs from agencies
Life was returning to near normalcy in West Bengal's troubled Darjeeling hills as no fresh violence was reported on Sunday, but uncertainty prevailed ahead of beginning of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM)-called indefinite shutdown.

Countering the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha's (GJM) call for indefinite shutdown in the hills, the West Bengal government on Sunday issued an order that all its offices will remain open in Darjeeling and Kalimpong and also made it mandatory for employees to attend work.

"In view of the call given by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha for indefinite bandh/strike on and from 12 June, 2017, it has been decided that all state government offices situated in the District of Darjeeling and Kalimpong, including those provided with grants-in-aid by the state government, would remain open and all the employees of those offices should report for duty on each day till the call for such bandh is not withdrawn."

"It has also been decided that no leave shall be granted to any employee on any of these bandh days," said a state government release.

Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi, the statement said, has also decided that absence of employees on any of these days will be treated as 'dies non', which will constitute break in service and no salary will be admissible unless in emergency circumstances like hospitalisation of the concerned employee, death in the family among other things.

After the GJM's central committee meeting chaired by its President Bimal Gurung on Saturday, the party leaders threw a virtual challenge to the Mamata Banerjee-led state government to press for a separate state of Gorkhaland.

According to GJM General Secretary Roshan Giri, all central and state government offices  including block development offices, sub-divisional offices and district magistrate offices, banks, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (the hill development body) offices  will be closed as part of the shutdown from Monday.

The strike

About the shutdown, Giri said all central and state government offices  including block development offices, sub-divisional offices and district magistrate offices, banks, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (the hill development body) offices  will be closed from Monday.

However, schools and colleges, transport and tourism  hotels, eateries, shops  will be outside the purview of the shutdown.

Giri said the state government's revenue sources like electricity, mines and boulders will also come under the purview of the GJM's shutdown.

After the GJM's central committee meeting chaired by Gurung on Saturday, the party leaders threw a virtual challenge to the Mamata Banerjee-led state government and pressed for a separate state of Gorkhaland.

After the clash between the police and GJM supporters, the district police launched a search operation.

Five GJM activists have been arrested so far, according to a police official of Darjeeling Sadar police station. The army units which earlier patrolled Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong towns were not seen on Sunday morning.

Tourism affected

Many tourists, who were stuck in the picturesque tourist town, reached Kolkata on Sunday heaving a sigh of relief after tense few days in the hills. The West Bengal government has arranged buses to ferry the tourists free of cost from Sealdah station of Kolkata to their homes.

"We are relieved to be back home. It was a disappointing trip in the hills as we had a harrowing time. The experience was bitter and we lived in fear and could not visit any tourist spot," a tourist said.

GJM president Bimal Gurung meanwhile advised the tourists to leave the hills because of the possibility of "untoward" incidents. GJM general secretary Roshan Giri meanwhile claimed that 44 families who had previously switched allegiance from their party to the Trinamool Congress are back with the Morcha. Trinamool leader in the hills Binny Sharma, however, dismissed Giri's claims.

"There is uncertainty. We do not know what would happen from Monday even though GJM said tourism will not fall in the purview of shutdown. We are planning to leave for Siliguri. Some tourists are also going to Sikkim," a tourist said.

With inputs from agencies
Darjeeling: Sporadic incidents of violence marked the early hours of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha's (GJM) indefinite strike in Darjeeling on Monday, amid massive security arrangements.

The regional party had on Saturday called for a shutdown in the northern West Bengal hills, demanding a separate Gorkhaland.

Early on Monday, the Block Development office (BDO) in Darjeeling's Bijanbari was torched, allegedly by a group of GJM activists.

Three activists were arrested in connection with the incident, according to police.

"The situation is under control. Three persons have been arrested for trying to incite violence," a senior police officer said.

While calling for a strike in Darjeeling and Kalimpong, the GJM leadership accused the West Bengal government of "high-handedness and committing atrocities" on the people of the hills.

The GJM is also protesting against, what it calls, the state government's "attempt" to impose Bengali on the Nepali-speaking people of the region, even though Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has ruled out any such plans for the hills.

"All central and state government offices, banks, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration offices will be closed as part of the shutdown from Monday. Block Development Offices, Sub-divisional Offices and District Magistrate's offices will also be closed," GJM General Secretary Roshan Giri had said on Saturday.

Educational institutions, transport and tourism  hotels, restaurants and shops  have been kept out of the purview of the shutdown.

However, on Sunday, GJM chief Bimal Gurung "advised" tourists to leave the hills, saying the situation could deteriorate.

To avert any ugly turn of events, massive security arrangements have been put in place at all important roads and public offices.

Six columns of the army have been deployed in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong towns since Thursday.

State police along with CRPF and combat force personnel were seen manning the important and critical points in Darjeeling wearing protective body armour and helmets.

Meanwhile, the famous toy train service in Darjeeling was kept shut considering the possible security threats to the tourists.
Patna: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Monday blamed the Narendra Modi-led central government's failure to fulfil promise on the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for the ongoing farmers' protests in the country.

The Janata Dal-United (JD-U) President also warned that "there will be more crisis in the agriculture sector in the coming days, thanks to the apathy".

"Farmers are in a bad condition but the central government is indifferent to them. The government's failure to enforce MSP for farm produce has forced the farmers to protest. The country has been facing an agrarian crisis due to the low price of farm produce," Nitish told the media in Patna.

The Bihar chief minister also said the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government had in 2014 promised that it would implement the MSP with 50 percent additional incentive for farmers. "What happened to that promise?"

He also said, "Loan waivers are not the only way to solve the farmers' problems as they have been facing different problems at different places".

"During his campaign in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Modi promised to farmers to provide MSP. But it is yet to be announced. Farmers are angry over it. BJP had promised many things to farmers and now forgot," he said.

Nitish Kumar also said the central government is yet to formulate a national policy for farmers in the country. "Farmers have been committing suicide because they are not getting adequate price for their produce".

The JD-U leader said "agrarian crisis is the main cause behind the reservation demand by the Marathas in Maharashtra to Patidars in Gujarat".
Recently, a private high school in Mumbai expelled twenty students because their parents were protesting against unjustified fee hike. It was the continuation of what has become a chronic occurrence in elite private schools throughout India. We the people promised ourselves a socialist state that would ensure an affordable access to public services such as health and education. But, with aggressive mushrooming of private players there have been increasing incidents of parents harassment through frequent fee hike and unreasonable charges levied on school related material. Parents associations in different parts of India have been fighting a long drawn battle that doesnt seem to have an immediate end.

Lets have a look at some of the facts related to schools across India

1. In 2012, a Delhi High Court appointed committee indicted 64 private schools for unjustifiably hiking tuition fee and recommended that the excess amount must be refunded to parents with 9 percent interest. The panel observed that these schools have abused their leverages by capitalising on the government order (which allowed them to hike fees by up to 25 percent) for unjust enrichment, causing great prejudice to the interests of students and parents.

2. In early 2016, the Delhi government asked schools (intending to hike the fees) to get the approval for the same from the government. With initial applicants being 172, when the requirement of auditing before the approval was put forth, 28 schools withdrew their applications and of the remaining, only five were granted the hike.

3. In a recent survey, over 75 percent parents from Kerala, West Bengal, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Goa said that their childs school increased the fee by more than 10 percent; while 15 percent of the total number of parents surveyed claimed the hike of more than 20 percent.

4. As per several recorded statements, parents are compelled to buy the shoes and bags of a particular brand, a sack-full of school stationery and overpriced notebooks and workbooks. Most of the items are sold within the school premises and if that is not the case then at the outlet of some prescribed vendor with whom the school authorities have a tie-up.

What has led to this?

The answer lies in states apathy towards school education and lax regulation of unaided schools. Around fifty years ago, in 1966 the Kothari Education Commission recommended allotment of 6 percent of the GDP to the education sector. Fifty years since the recommendation and sixty seven years since we adopted the constitution, the government continues allocating not more than 3.8 percent of the total GDP to the grooming of what we call the future of India. According to the data, nearly 75 percent of elementary, 43 percent of secondary and 40 percent of higher secondary schools are still government run. Most of these schools are battling with the situation of  abysmal teacher quality, poor attendance, non-existent infrastructure and rampant corruption.

The natural consequence of this has been an increase in the migration of children from public to private schools; reflecting parents growing distrust towards capability of public schools in delivering quality education. The data shows that between 2010 and 2014 total enrollment in government run schools fell by 1.16 crore while simultaneously increasing by 1.85 crore in private schools. We dont know statistically, whether this migration  borne out of states failure to provide competent options, has made parents and children more vulnerable to exploitation by private schools, but with other available facts and situations, that certainly seems to be the case.

Role of the CBSE

As a response to the harassment by private schools, in a circular dated 19 April 2017, CBSE issued an advisory to not to indulge in commercial activities by way of selling of books, stationery, uniforms, school bag etc within the school premises or through selected vendors. CBSE Affiliation Bylaws were cited in the circular to remind the owners that schools must run as a community service and not as business enterprises. It was further emphasised that schools shall desist from compelling the children and their parents to buy textbooks other than CBSE/NCERT. A week after the CBSE circular, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) also issued a strict warning to all private and government primary schools that they cannot make it compulsory for parents to purchase any school material from them or any selected vendor.

But what is the legal effect of this CBSE directive? There is no punishment prescribed for its violation. Thus, instead of commanding any binding value the circular merely serves as a persuasive guideline. In Delhi it can be said to have become the binding law because recently on 2 May the bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Anu Malhothra directed the CBSE to ensure that its circular is strictly complied with, in accordance with law, by the institutions. Rest of India still awaits a court ruling to enforce the circular. Perhaps, a Supreme Court verdict would do?

On fee hike, there is a terse circular of 2016, prohibiting charging of capitation fee or voluntary donations. It warns the schools of consequences as grave as disaffiliation. However, there is a loophole here as well. On overall fee hike issue the circular merely says unaided schools should consult parents through parents representatives before revising the fee. Some pertinent questions arise in this regard. What is the effective value of consultation in schools decision making? Would it ensure that schools will take genuine concerns of parents on board? Who would qualify as parents representative in the places where there are no active parents associations? Can pro-management parents be appointed as parents representatives by the management? In case there are no clear representatives and parents and the management disagree on fee hike, would it be ensured that the children of the aggrieved parents will not be harassed? The circular is silent on this.

The TMA Pai case and the legal matrix

Under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution gives fundamental right to carry out any occupation, trade or business of ones choice. However this right is not absolute. The state under Article 19(6) can make any law imposing, in the interests of the general public, reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right conferred. Hence there has to be a fine balance between revenue generation and charitable nature of imparting education. The Supreme Court in TMA Pai Foundation and Ors versus State of Karnataka and Ors stated  maximum autonomy has to be with the management with regard to administration, including the right of appointment, disciplinary powers, admission of students and the fees to be charged. The government nevertheless can provide regulations to ensure prohibition of capitation fee and profiteering by educational institutions since their object is by definition  charitable. Therefore, they cannot charge such a fee that is not required for the fulfillment of object. The court further said that a reasonable revenue surplus may be generated but only for the purpose of development of education and expansion of the institution. The understanding of expansion of the institution was however not clarified.

Today, private unaided schools contend that in the times of increased costs, to develop facilities and infrastructure a fee revision is necessary. Also, after the 7th Pay Commission there is an increasing pressure to update the salary structure of teachers. It is fair enough, to allow a reasonable fee hike as per TMA Pai ruling on these grounds. In fact the 2016 circular of CBSE had already allowed the schools to commensurate fee charge with the facilities provided by the institution.

The problem arises when private schools tend to adopt an aggressive corporate model with the sheer intent of profiteering. For instance, apart from having exclusive tying agreements with the vendors regarding books, notebooks with logos, stationery, school bags and shoes the schools have also been reported to have similar agreements for uniforms which are overpriced and substandard and keep on changing frequently. Quite different from the times when parents of the eighties born child would get a little oversized dress that lasted comfortably for two years at least. It worked out completely fine and children did manage to get quality education and do exceptionally well in life.

These tying agreements, with vendors are illegal and anti-competitive. Section 3 of the Competition Act, 2002 provides that an agreement controlling the flow of goods and services in a manner that drives existing competitors out of the market would be prohibited. Section 3(4) specifically refers to vertical agreements (between enterprises at different level of business activities) and prohibits any type of tying arrangements and exclusive supply and distribution agreements. The coterie of vendors and school authorities as discussed above is a clear case of anti-competitive arrangement. Apart from constitutional remedies such as Public Interest Litigation, concerned parents can simultaneously explore the option of approaching the Competition Commission of India which has been producing excellent jurisprudence since its inception.

Education lies in the Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. It means both  the Centre and State government(s) have power to legislate over the issues of education. While there is no overarching law yet promulgated by the central government, very few states (such as Gujarat and Punjab) have taken the lead to deal with the issue and pass the law. Other states are also contemplating to follow the suit. It is however, always desirable to avoid any fragmentation of law on such an important issue and come up with an umbrella legislation that operates throughout India.

Before ending, it would be pertinent to remember Babasaheb Ambedkar. He was vehemently against commercialisation of education and wanted the system to be inclusive in all ways. In his words, education authorities cannot be treated on the basis of quid pro quo; rather it is something ought to be cheapened in all possible ways to the greatest possible extent.
Panipat: A 30-year-old man was killed, while eight others were injured when a portion of a Gurudwara collapsed here on Monday, officials said.

The Gurudwara, where some construction work was going on, is located on the busy GT road, police said.

"Dheeraj, a labourer hailing from Uttar Pradesh's Sitapur district has died in the incident," an official of the Civil hospital said.

He said some of the injured have been referred to various hospitals including at Delhi and Karnal.

As the Gurudwara is located on the busy National Highway 1, the collapse resulted in a traffic jam.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (Panipat City) Atma Ram said rescue operation was launched immediately after the incident.

Police and fire department officials were still at the incident spot to see if any more persons could be trapped under the debris.
Srinagar: The army and police on Monday busted a Hizbul Mujahideen module in Jammu and Kashmir's Handwara district, arresting two militants and two supporters.

A police spokesman said in Srinagar that police and Rashtriya Rifles caught Mehrajudin and Obaid Shafi, both residents of Awantipora in Pulwama district, at Chogal while moving in suspicious circumstances.

The two were asked to stop but they tried to escape, the spokesman said. When they were caught, arms and ammunition were recovered from them. "They said they came to Handwara to get ammunition."

Photo of the 2 terrorists arrested after joint team of Police & Army busted an active Hizb-ul-Mujahideen module, in Kashmir's Handwara (J&K) pic.twitter.com/h8b9xP9nXm  ANI (@ANI_news) June 12, 2017

"Preliminary investigations reveal these militants were members of a militant module who would recruit youths for militancy by radicalizing them over social media and coordinate their training and supply of arms and ammunition," the spokesman said.

Later, two militant supporters, Shahid Ahmad Thoker and Irfan Ahmad also of Awantipora, were arrested.
Oh, the places Bangla has gone! Offensive, defensive, and plain defiant, a language a quarter of a billion of us speak, has witnessed journeys along interesting, and ironical, bylanes.

The most recent instance of Bangla offensive had a dramatic blowback. West Bengal's chief minister Mamata Banerjee found out the hard way that language lessons can hurt. Her government's order in May to make study of Bangla compulsory in all schools across the state provided additional spark to the movement for Gorkhaland, she has worked so assiduously to undermine since being first elected as chief minister in 2011.

Mamata's government has since modified the order to assuage those of Nepali and Koch-Rajbongshi origin in northern Bengal, but it's all a bit late; as is the realisation that an area administratively made part of Bengal in colonial times does not mean that people in the area compulsorily care to be identified with Bangla beyond it occasionally being a link language. And, that being part of a Bengali majority state doesn't detract from their own identities, including their primary, not-Bengali language.

Language often imposes as politicians, political leaders and political expediency dispose, as we have seen, not just in West Bengal but across India, South Asia and large swathes of the world where languages from Tibetan and Basque to those of indigenous Australian and South American cultures have been swamped by languages of political command and control.

An aside, in an irony of impressive proportion: it is difficult to ignore the near-complete domination of the language of the early settlers of the Darjeeling hills  and Sikkim  by several waves of Nepali-speaking immigrants, who now collectively demand revocation of Bangla!

But let that rest a while to journey with Bangla.

Bangladesh was born in great part because it wanted to be Bengali, speak Bangla, ultimately breaking away from the construct of Pakistan, its development and racial bias against East Pakistan and its repeated attempts to impose Urdu as the state language in its more populous eastern wing where relatively few had acquaintanceship with Urdu. That language nationalism was truly birthed on what in Bangladesh is revered as Ekushe, twenty-first, the day in February 1952 when several language protesters were killed by state security.

Of course, after gaining independence Bangladesh has discriminated linguistically and ethnically against its own minorities who do not profess Bangla as a mother tongue, such as in the country's Chittagong hill districts  indigenous people!

Few Bengalis, either in West Bengal and Bangladesh, recognise though the emotional Unishe, the nineteenth, that Bengalis of the Cachar area of Assam hold to their heart to mark their own language martyrs, created that day in May 1961.

There is an interesting history to it. In the administrative reorganisation following the usurpation of the British East India Company's powers by the British Crown, after the mutiny of 1857 or, if you prefer, 'war of independence', the largely Bengali speaking districts of Sylhet, Cachar, and Goalpara  hitherto part of Bengal province  were with some hill districts merged into the newly created Chief Commissioner's Province of Assam.

In 1947, much of Muslim-majority Sylhet went over to Pakistan after a referendum in July that year; except for the areas of approximately three-and-a-half police areas, or thanas of a majority Bangla-speaking area remained with India  and Assam. Trouble began to brew with this legacy, this outcrop of Bengalis, cut-off from West Bengal and from the very Bengali East Pakistan.

The Assam (Official) Language Act, 1960, in December of that year made Assamese the official language of Assam. This touched a raw nerve, especially as it followed what came to be called the 'Bongal kheda' campaign: get rid of Bengalis  who held positions of industry and influence even in several parts of Assam where Bengalis were not in majority. Those were violent, cynical times  much like now.

Several Assamese writers and thinkers of the time fully justified the move to make Assamese the only language. "Bengali has been declared as the State Language for the Darjeeling District of West Bengal where it is spoken only by about 16 percent of the population," maintained PC Goswami in the July 1960 issue of The Economic Weekly. "So, there should be no hesitation in declaring Assamese as the State Language of Assam for fear of offending the people of Cachar and Hill Districts, particularly when adequate safeguards are provided for the minorities." What cascading irony!

Anyway, resistance began to grow in the Cachar area, peaking with the incident of militant protest on 21 May 1961: Nine protesters died as security forces waded into them, fired at them. Two more died later. Bangla had more martyrs. By October that year, backed by unending protest, Bangla was made officially on par with Assamese in the Cachar area, and a language of education and administration.

In Tripura successive pre-and-post Partition waves of immigration has ensured a massive skewing of ethnicity from not-Bengali to Bengali  and so, to Bangla  till today a point of resentment among those who answer to the composite, not-Bengali tag of Tiprasa, a collective of people of largely Tibeto-Burman stock.

In Manipur, Bangla  more precisely, the Bangla script  had a near-fantastic run. From the Manipuri nationalist perspective, conversion to a Vaishnav and caste-ridden Hinduism from the traditional Manipuri practice of Sanamahi followed rapidly when the king Pamheiba, who later took on the name Garib Nawaz, declared Hinduism as a state religion in 1720. Those who resisted were punished. Priests arrived from Sylhet in the 1730s. With them arrived more Bengalis, and more Bangla influence. So much so that over time, Meiteilon, the language of the majority Meitei people of Manipur, began to be written in Bangla alphabet.

As demands of autonomy and outright freedom from India grew from the 1970s, Manipuri  Meitei  nationalists have fought in some cases to recreate history to a suitable self-image, and jettison Bangla in which much of Manipur's history was written. This move to formally have the local government accept Meitei Mayek as the official script for writing Meiteilon came about in 2005 in a violent manner. In April that year protesters of a pro-Mayek group backed, according to local assumption, by a puritanical rebel group set fire to the Central Library in Imphal. An estimated 145,000 books and manuscripts, mostly using Bangla script, were lost.

A month later, Manipur's legislature formally voted in Mayek as an official script of communication and instruction. Schools began to change over the following year, beginning with junior school, and working its way up. Newspapers using Bangla script began to include articles written in Mayek. Signage and advertising have since used Mayek and English  as with the rest of India, this language of colonialism survived as a link language: media, government, schools, writers and rebels freely use it, besides those of the minority non-Meitei stock, such as the Naga, Kuki and Zomi people who often see Meiteilon as subsuming their own tribal languages and identity.

The abhorrent act of book-burning  some moderate Meitei intellectuals called it 'Taliban-like'  was accepted by several prominent ultra-nationalist intellectuals and writers as a necessary act of sacrifice, including of their own works, written in Bangla script, that would gradually face extinction unless re-written in Mayek.

Scripted hatred and nationalistic pride sometimes provide little room for civilised behaviour  all in the name of a particular civilisation. Bangla has been there and done that, as victim, victor, and oppressor. Perhaps, Mamata would appreciate it had she more time for history and less for histrionics.

The author has penned several award-winning books, is a columnist and consultant for think-tanks and media. His forthcoming book is The Bengalis: Portrait of a Community. He tweets @chakraview
The angst of a ruling regime against independent media is not a new phenomenon. Every ruling party has been at loggerheads with the independent gestures of media. Congresss hostile attitudes towards Ramnath Goenka and The Indian Express in the 1970s and 1980s under Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi's leadership are perfect pointers. Going a step further, the present ruling regime has used the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to register a case against the promoters of NDTV and conduct raids at four locations to collect documents related to an alleged loss of Rs 48 crore to the ICICI Bank.

One cannot deny the fact that no person/institution shall be exempted from the test of fair principles of equality before the law. But given the past experiences of CBIs misuse, the mala fide intention of the government to use this investigative agency to intimidate NDTVs promoters to soften the channel's anti-establishment reporting cannot be ruled out. In other words, it would be wrong to assume that the CBI can do no wrong under BJPs regime.

The colonial origin

The CBI owes its origins in a special order passed by the British government in the early stages of World War II (1941). A Special Police Establishment (SPE) under a deputy inspector general in the then Department of War was created with the mandate to investigate cases of bribery and corruption in transactions with which the War and Supply Department of the pre-Independence Government of India was concerned. Later, the activities of the SPE were extended to the Railways, and in 1946, the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act was passed, which led to the establishment of the Central Bureau of Investigation by a resolution dated 1 April, 1963.

The mandate was that the CBI would investigate not only cases of bribery and corruption, but also major financial law violations, and other serious crimes.

The CBIs power to investigate crimes currently arises from Section 2 of the DSPE Act, 1946. Section 3 of the DSPE Act confers upon the CBI concurrent and coextensive powers to investigate offences mentioned under the same section. Additionally, the central government has the power to extend the jurisdiction of the CBI to any area  except Union territories  that falls within the geographical boundaries of our country, subject to the consent of the state so concerned (Section 6 of the DSPE Act).

DSPE sans constitutionalism

It is prima facie deceitful to confer such an unguided discretion to the CBI and the central government to pick and choose a particular case. The necessity of speedy and serious investigation in a particular case is too vague to withstand the test of reasonable classification. Also, there is no intelligible differentia which can sustain the classification, and hence, it is hostile, discriminatory and contrary to the basic tenants of the Article 14 of the Constitution.

The excessive and unguided delegation of power to the executive and its instrumentalities has been professed to be contrary to the constitutional scheme by the Supreme Court in a number of cases such as State of West Bengal vs Anwar Ali Sarkar, Ram Krishna Dalmiya vs Justice SR Tendolkar, etc.

A dubious record

Undoubtedly, the CBI is the premier investigative agency of India and has a brilliant track record of convictions. As per the latest data presented to the Lok Sabha, from 2006 to July 2016, the CBI has secured 68 percent conviction rate in corruption cases. The agency probed 7,000 cases, filed charge sheets in 6,533 cases, secured a conviction in 4,054 cases while 2,095 cases ended in acquittal. But despite this fact, the credibility of CBI is not firmly entrenched in India in dealing with high-profile cases.

The elitist and feudal bias of the CBI is reflected in the socio-economic profile of those convicted in corruption cases as most of these include lower officials, people without political patronage and police officials while it dealt with few cases of politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen. To put it differently, the CBI records bear testimony to the fact that, in identical circumstances, the common people are convicted but the highly networked people are spared.

Strangely, in the last five and half decades of CBIs existence, no substantive action has taken place against the political masters and their close associates except in few cases like the conviction of Om Prakash Chautala for illegal teacher recruitment scam in Haryana, Lalu Prasad Yadav and 43 others in the fodder scam in Bihar, and late J Jayalalithaa in a disproportionate asset case.

Even these recent convictions do not add glory to the CBI as the convictions happened at the fag end of the political careers of these leaders and with the approval of a hostile central regime.

Inexplicable accountability

The accountability of the CBI is fixed to the government than the people. As a result, the autonomy of CBI has been seriously compromised at the behest of a ruling party. The officials of CBI are intimidated if they insist on discharging their duties against the bureaucrats, leaders and other allies of the ruling party, but suitably rewarded if spared from the operation of laws.

In most of the high-profile situations, cases were registered hesitantly, searches and investigations were unduly delayed, charge sheets were poorly filed, arrests were scrupulously avoided for long and convictions were exceptional.

In the worst possible scenario when a charge sheet and arrest become inevitable under public pressure, it is being tailored with many holes and weak evidence to conveniently support the accused in the court to emerge as a bigger hero.

It is because of the vested interests of the ruling parties that no significant progress has been made in the Bofors case, Hawala Scandal, Rajiv Gandhi assassination case and Beant Singh murder case despite many decades of filing the case with CBI. Even the impartial role of CBI in cases like HDW Submarine, the Airbus 320, Czech Pistol, Nusli Wadia, S Gurumurthy, St Kitts, Chandraswamy, Lalloo Bhai Pathak, JMM, Mumbai Port Trust and so on, was highly suspected.

Similarly, the CBI has a history of burying huge scams under mountains of bureaucratic red tape or putting them under the lid for a long period of time till public memory gets exhausted. In 2013, the Supreme Court had criticised the then law minister Ashwini Kumar for interfering in the investigation of the coal block allocation case. The apex court also noted the tardiness of the CBIs investigation in the 2G Spectrum case.

Frankensteins monster

The CBI has also been used both as an instrument of intimidation and a tool of a political bargain with political opponents of a ruling party. On the directions of Congress and BJP, the CBI played a mysterious role in Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawatis disproportionate assets cases. As a result, both the parties had to shift from their political stand to support not only the ruling regime but also to save their skin from convictions.

Having once termed CBI as the Congress Bureau of Investigation, BJP is manoeuvring in its right-wing circle that the CBI is no more working as an institution of intimidation, rather it's discharging its duties without any political pressure under the Narendra Modi regime. It is being done while highlighting the final charge sheet against BJP leaders including Lal Krishna Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti in Babri Masjid demolition case. But in all probability, allowing the CBI to file charge sheet against its leaders and then ensuring bail is a master stroke of BJP for the 2019 General Elections to Lok Sabha.

The Ram Mandir agenda is revived, and BJP has much to gain in both conviction and acquittal of its leaders. If convicted, a sympathy wave will help the party preserve its forte in 2019 the way the death of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi did for Congress. If acquitted, then victorious flamboyant-ism will infuse new energy in the party.

The tactics of intimidation and bargain were used against Arvind Kejriwals government, Mamata Banerjee's government and Virbhadra Singhs government. And most recently, the CBI carried out raids on properties of Karti Chidambram  son of P Chidambaram  in connection with alleged favours granted in FIPB clearance to a company in 2007. But, the CBI did not make any progress in the Vyapam scam which involves top BJP officials.

How could one differentiate the intention of the present government from the previous government when we notice a similar pattern of use and abuse of CBI that is more focussed on intimidation rather than the conviction of the political elites? The consistent display of the ugly side of CBIs non-performance in ensuring deterrent punishment to the political accused in financial scandals finally erodes public trust in the entire criminal justice system. The present regime is no better in saving the grace of this institution.

The CBI has failed to establish its image to fight corruption without prejudice for which it was created in 1963. In fact, it has metamorphosed into a Frankensteins monster and is still working on the selective principles of the applicability of the law to preserve the Jungle Raj within.

Afroz Alam is an associate professor and head of the Department of Political Science at Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad. Yogesh Pratap Singh is associate professor of law at National Law University Odisha and works as deputy registrar of the Supreme Court of India.
Amid the ongoing tension between the two neighbours, India on Monday released 11 Pakistani prisoners and handed them over to authorities of that country at the Wagah Border post.

The Pakistani nationals were released after they completed their respective prison terms, official sources said.

The move comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi exchanged greetings with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Astana.

Ties between India and Pakistan have nosedived over a range of issues including the beheading of two soldiers by the Pakistan military along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir and the death sentence handed down to former Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav by a military court in Pakistan on charges of spying.

The Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir has also been witnessing rising tensions.
Khunti (Jharkhand): The security personnel on Monday seized huge quantity of explosives and arrested two ultras belonging to People's Liberation Front of India (PLFI) from naxal-affected Khunti district, a senior police officer said.

The seizure was made during a joint operation launched by the District Armed Police and CRPF in Gitilbeda village, Superintendent of Police, Ashwini Kumar Sinha said.

The SP said the security personnel found explosives kept hidden and seized 20 kg of claymore bomb, 15 kg of liquid explosive in eight packets, 25 gelatine sticks and a grenade.

Sinha said search operation in the area was continuing.

In an another incident, he said two PLFI ultras were apprehended from Kolamba village under Murhu police station

limit.

The arrested ultras have been identified as Chunu Munda, a resident of Lukubera and Jeevan Pahan
Pro-Kannada outfits have called for a state wide bandh on Monday demanding solution to number of issues including Mahadayi river dispute and drinking water crisis in several parts of the state.

The dawn-to-dusk bandh, called by 'Kannada Okoota', an umbrella organisation of Kannada bodies, is unlikely to affect the state capital as public transport services will operate as usual, reported The Indian Express.

The protesting organisations have demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention in the river dispute, The News Minute reported. The organisation has also asked for farm loan waiver and removal of Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti activists from Karnataka for their alleged anti Kannada activities.

The New Indian Express reported that organisations led by Vatal Nagaraj  social activist and pro-Karanataka supporter  have threatened to pelt stones.

As many as 20,000 police personnel have been deployed across Bengaluru to prevent any disruption as the protesting organisation will be holding march from Town Hall to Freedom Park on Monday, said The Indian Express report.

According to The New Indian Express, 16,000 policemen have been deployed. "More than 200 Hoysala vehicle staff will be patrolling. Apart from this, one water jet, one Quick Response Team platoons are deployed, a senior police officer is quoted as saying.

Taxi and auto-rickshaw unions have not joined the bandh.

School and colleges will also remain open, however, some exams in Bengaluru University have been postponed and the new dates are yet to be announced. The university has also postponed its seventh semester examinations, reported The Hindu.
Uri: At around midnight on Friday, a group of militants had cut a hole in the 550-kilometre fence lining a section of the 740-kilometre Line of Control, and entered Kashmir. Indian soldiers, using night vision devices, noticed the movement and a gunfight began. In the firefight, five suspected militants were killed.

The Guwalata forests, where the intruders were confronted, are right next to the LoC in Uri sector of north Kashmir. It is a deep and densely forested area where combing operations are difficult to carry out.

On Sunday afternoon, however, deep inside these jungles, groups of Indian Army soldiers walked in pin-drop silence, broken only by the chirping of birds, and carried out search operations, looking for two more militants, who they believe might have separated from the original group that had infiltrated on Friday.

The forest itself offers a breathtaking sight. One end of the mountains, covered with pine trees, ends right inside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, while the other end is in India, where soldiers have until now found the bodies of five militants, along with weapons, eatables, medicines and, surprisingly, nine thousand rupees of Indian currency in five hundred notes. The operation still continues.

The army claims to have thwarted an Uri-style attack (that left 19 soldiers dead last year), by killing five militants on the LoC on Friday in north Kashmir. These militants, according to the army, were wearing "unique body-fitted IEDs", which had been earlier used by militants to carry out suicide attacks along the LoC.

"They (militants) were wearing unique body-fitted IEDs with timers  all indicating that this was a fidayeen (suicide) group trying to infiltrate into Uri, with a plan to carry out attacks on an army installations or maybe target civilians in order to vitiate the atmosphere," Brigadier YS Ahlawat, commander of the 12 Brigade in Uri, told Firstpost on Sunday.

"Although the gunfight ended with the killing of five terrorists, the operation continues. They were trying to exploit the cover of thick jungles when they crossed over," he added. While the five bodies, that have yet to be identified, were recovered from the site along with the ammunition, there is still a possibility that two more militants could be hiding in the jungle, which is the reason the operation continues.

Ahlawat said this summer is likely to be more 'hot' and in just a few days, this is the second attempt made by militants to infiltrate across the LoC, but the troops on duty were prepared for any eventuality. In the past month, this is the second attempt to break through the security grid along the LoC in Uri. The first one took place on 26 May when the Indian Army said that it had killed two Pakistani Border Action Team (BAT) members, who were trying to infiltrate into the Uri sector to carry out an attack on the soldiers.

"The fresh group," Ahlawat said, "belonged to Lashkar-e-Taiba and it was a suicide squad. There has been a surge in infiltration attempts over the past month and this is likely to continue," he said. More than 13 militants have been killed in the past week on the Line of Control, as the number of infiltration attempts and gunfights along the de facto border have increased dramatically.

The army has accused its Pakistani counterpart of engineering the infiltration of armed militants into Kashmir, saying these groups were being provided active support, including covering fire, during their infiltration bids at the Line of Control. Uri largely remained peaceful during the 27 years of insurgency in Kashmir because of the high presence of armed forces in the town. But the borders of this small town surrounded by the Jhelum have witnessed action on the LoC all along.

In recent years, after India and Pakistan agreed to an unsigned ceasefire along the LoC in Kashmir, the border residents of this town had enjoyed a peaceful life.

However, an attack last year on the 12 Brigade in Uri by armed gunmen who had reportedly infiltrated on the same day, has vitiated the atmosphere in the town. In recent days the militants seem to have been also exploring the possibility of entering Kashmir valley through this sector. "It was not completely peaceful on the LoC, but Uri had enjoyed a peaceful atmosphere for years. But after last year's attack, there have been restrictions imposed by the army to prevent any untoward incidents," an army official admitted.

The escalation on the LoC has sparked fears among the residents that the bad old days might return again. "If there is a fight on the LoC, we suffer, our children suffer  which is not a happy situation for us," Ghulam Muhammad Khatna, a resident of Sultan Daki, a village on the LoC, said.

Although the army has been able to keep a tight lid on the infiltration attempts here, one miscalculation could see another Uri-style attack in the coming days in Kashmir. "We are prepared for any eventuality. We will not allow a repeat of the Uri attack," the army officer said.
Jaipur: Patidar quota stir leader Hardik Patel arrived in Udaipur on Monday and said that he would leave for Mandsaur, the epicentre of the farmers' stir in Madhya Pradesh, with his supporters on Tuesday.

He arrived in Udaipur from Gujarat by road to attend a private function.

Gehrilal Dangi, the district president of Patel Navnirman Sena had on Sunday said Hardik Patel has plans to leave for Mandsaur, but it is uncertain whether the administration allows him to do so.

He said the Patidar community in Gujarat and Rajasthan stands in support of the Madhya Pradesh farmers.

Asked about his plan to go to Mandsaur, Patel said he will go there on Tuesday.

"I will do my work and police and administration will do their job," he said when asked what if the police prevents him from going to Mandsaur.

Hardik, who had spent six months of exile in Udaipur after a Gujarat High Court order, had returned to his hometown in January 2017. He was staying at a former Congress MLA's house during this period

He was released from jail in Gujarat after nine months in confinement in July 2016.

The Mandsaur-Neemuch region, about 300 km from Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal, became the nerve centre of the storm of farmer distress, as protests over low prices for crops and heavy farm debts started on 1 June and snowballed into a widespread agitation.

In Mandsaur, curfew was imposed after the five farmers were killed in two incidents of police firing during the protest on 6 June.
Mandsaur: Curfew was lifted completely from Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur district, the epicentre of a violent stir by farmers, as the situation there remained peaceful on Sunday.

Curfew was lifted from all three police station areas of Mandsaur city on Saturday, but was in place in Pipliamandi police station area, which is 15 km from Mandsaur district headquarters. This was where five farmers were killed in separate police firings during the agitation.

The curfew from 8 pm to 8 am has been lifted although prohibitory orders under CrPC Section 144, which bans assembly of more than four persons, will remain in force, additional collector of the district Arjun Singh Dabar said.

Farmers in the state began protests over low prices for their crops on 1 June.

The Mandsaur-Neemuch region, about 300 km from the state capital Bhopal, became the nerve centre of the gathering storm of farmer distress. Later, protests spread to some other parts of the state.

In Mandsaur, the curfew was imposed after five persons were killed in police firing during a farmers' protest on 6 June.
After an initial intelligence failure which led to a large-scale rampage across several districts in Madhya Pradesh, including Mandsaur, the epicentre of farmers' agitation, the state police have started verifying evidences gathered from multiple sources to have water tight case against the perpetrators.

The police have informed Firstpost that they have zeroed in on a few 'faces' and most likely be soon cracking the alleged network that was involved in turning the farmers' agitation into a mob violence and rampage.

The focus of the investigation is to find the source of the farmers' agitation, which took an ugly turn last week  the perpetrators, their modus operandi, involvement of political, non-political and criminal groups, identifying faces behind the violence, role of social media that led to spreading of rumours and use of dirty money from narcotic smuggling. Another important aspect, police have been looking into is whether there had been any 'deep-rooted conspiracy' behind the violent agitation, and the faces involved.

The investigators believe that the massive destruction of public property to the tune of crores of rupees just couldn't be the act of farmers, especially from the Malwa belt, which otherwise is known as a peaceful place.

"Finding the real faces behind instigating this mob violence is the main area of our investigation. The real farmers who work on field can't do this kind of destruction and rampage on such a large scale, that too across various districts. No names or persons have been identified yet. It will be hard as well, because people came in large numbers. Many had their faces covered. However, we have few names that we plan to investigate. We've zeroed in on these faces and trying to verify the identities," a senior official, who's a part of the investigation, told Firstpost on condition of anonymity.

Key areas under investigation

The investigation team of Madhya Pradesh police have been trying to focus on the following key areas and verify the inputs they have received from multiple sources:

- Who are the faces behind the rampage and mob violence under the garb of farmer organisations?

- Whether political parties or groups were involved?

- What is the identity of the small groups, especially comprising young men, from age groups 18-25, and people behind them to instigate violence?

- Who supplied the lathis, petrol, etc to these groups and mobilised them?

- Whether opium smugglers were involved?

- Whether there were anti-social elements involved?

- Whether dirty money from narcotics used in instigating violence?

- Was there a 'deep-rooted conspiracy' that took advantage of the outburst of farmers' anger against the establishment?

- Whether social media and cyber techniques were used to fuel the agitation?

- Whose bullets killed the five farmers?

"They were mostly young people in the age group of 18-25 years involved in stone pelting and rampaging. We have got lots of inputs from various sources and we are trying to verify them. We are also trying to find out who gave incentives and money to these groups to create violence, burn vehicles in large numbers and de-stabilise the entire system," the official said.

As per inputs available with the police, large number of group messages and photos through SMS and WhatsApp were circulated to fuel the agitation until the administration blocked internet services in Mandsaur, Ratlam, Neemuch, Ujjain and Shajapur.

"Once the internet services are restored, we will probe whether cyber techniques were used to circulate messages and photos. We're matching call details. We've already got some important links and inputs," the official said. As Mandsaur and Neemuch fall under the opium belt, and are known for narcotics smuggling, the investigators will also probe involvement of opium/narcotic smugglers in the violence.

According to police sources, of the five farmers who were killed during firing, one Kanhaiyalal had allegedly been involved in opium smuggling. "Kanhaiyalal who got killed in the firing had five NDPS cases against him related to smuggling of opium and heroin. He was out on bail in one such case. We're investigating involvement of narcotic smugglers and use of dirty money. Usually smugglers and criminals wait for such opportunities during mob and communal violence. But we need solid evidence," the senior official said.

The police do not want to rule out the involvement of 'Kanjars' (a nomadic group from Rajasthan) in burning buses and trucks and looting passengers at Sonkatch (between Bhopal and Indore) and around Mandsaur. "Kanjars have been active in these areas and are involved in criminal activities. We've inputs on this as well," a police source said.

The police have ruled out involvement of SIMI (Students Islamic Movement of India) activists in the violence. "Though Ujjain district (close to Mandsaur) has been a hotspot of SIMI activities and Ujjain has also been hit by this agitation, there is no involvement of SIMI activists in this case," an investigating officer told Firstpost.

However, the investigators are tight-lipped over the involvement of political parties and it's leaders or any political conspiracy. "No, I can't say whether any political party was involved or not. Investigation is going on," Superintendent of Police, Mandsaur, Manoj Kumar Singh told Firstpost.

Echoing a similar reaction, the senior investigating officer remarked, "It's too early to comment. It's not necessary that the Congress or the BJP was involved. But any person involved in the violence may be associated with a party and for that entire party can't be blamed. Similarly, the youngsters involved in the rampage could be the sons or family members of farmers, and they are named as farmers."

Besides, the investigators are also trying to identify faces behind the bullets that killed five farmers. Finally, MP government has officially admitted that five farmers were killed due to police firing.

"Now it's clear that police had only fired. We've got the post mortem report and waiting for the ballistic and other reports. After matching these reports, we can come to a final conclusion," the official added.
Finally, Maharashtras BJP-government and its Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis too have succumbed to the tremendous political pressure post the Uttar Pradesh farm loan waiver and the subsequent farmer agitations. The state has just announced a blanket farm loan waiver to the protesting farmers that, the government estimate, will cost the exchequer about Rs 35,000 crore while in reality this figure could go up since there are about 1.36 crore farmers in Maharashtra whose loans total to Rs 1.14 lakh crore.

Even by the official estimates, this exercise is likely to be the biggest loan waiver conducted by any state governments in India in recent past. It is surprising to see the U-turn by Fadnavis on the waiver issue. It wasnt long ago, the chief minister batted against the loan waiver lobby listing its demerits in detail. This was in April this year during his interaction with farmers on the programme, Mee Mukhyamantri Boltoy (I am CM speaking), Fadnavis spoke against the waiver. Any crop loan waiver is not a lasting solution. It helps farmers get rid of debt but doesnt increase his repaying capacity when he goes for his next crop loan. Instead of a one-time crop loan waiver, which will certainly give us political mileage, our policies are to free farmers from the vicious cycle of debt, the CM said.

Fadnavis discourse didnt end there, then.

The chief minister further said. Today, even if we were to give a Rs 30,000-crore loan waiver, it will surely give us political mileage. But does it make farmers self-reliant? It only helps them wipe off the current debt and seek a fresh loan. They land in the same debt trap. But what about their repaying capacity for the next term? My efforts are to infuse this Rs 30,000 crore regularly in agriculture to provide water, power and strong market linkages to farmers, which will minimise their debt burden with assured income provided through sustainable agriculture practices. Fadnavis concluded his remarks during the programme saying I reiterate a crop loan waiver can be one of the many solutions, provided it is adequately supported with other aspects to help farmers. We will consider it at the right time.

So, what has changed in just two months in Maharashtra to announce a blanket farm loan waiver, Mr Fadnavis? Have the agriculture infrastructure woes that were cited as fundamental reason of farmers problems been addressed in this one month? Back then Fadnavis was bang on with his arguments against the perils of farm loan waivers on farmers and its lack of logic. But, certainly, the chief minister failed to walk his talk and has taken an epic U-turn on the issue.

Take a look at his latest statements:

Fadnavis is now describing the decision as historic. The loan waiver is for all farmers and not confined to just small and marginal categories. There will be defined parameters to ensure genuine and needy farmers are not left out of the institutional credit bracket, the chief minister has said, even boasting that by the volume, the proposed loan waiver will be the largest the state has ever offered and hinted that the farm loan model would be almost on the lines of Uttar Pradesh and Telangana.

Fadnavis has certainly scored political points here. The states farmers have called off their strike post the announcement. The states BJP government would have won praises and support from the poor farmers in the state hearing this announcements. But, in reality Fadnavis is harming the kisaan by making way to irreparably damage his credit culture, set a bad precedent for future governments and, more importantly, reaffirming the impression within the farmer that loan waiver is the ultimate solution to any agriculture crisis. What is lost here is a brilliant opportunity for Fadnavis to walk his bold talk and set a good example for everyone by bringing awareness to the farmer, though this might have cost him politically in the immediate future.

Loan waivers neither bring long-term welfare to the farmer nor get votes for the sponsor. A good example is the UPA-sponsored 2008 farm loan waiver. Had it been enough to win votes, the Congress party would not have been reduced to a practically non-existent force in Uttar Pradesh, one of the biggest agrarian states in India. Sure, it does work wonders for the moment -- for the politician (who gets political mileage) and the farmer (who gets a temporary relief and false notion of being in the good books of his lenders). But, waivers instantly destroy the credit discipline in that particular geography as even honest borrowers will be then tempted to stop making repayments expecting a waiver on their loans. It also breaks the back of state finances for a long period. Even in the case of Maharashtra, the state has a constrained balance sheet, so was Uttar Pradesh and Telangana.

The biggest danger is the after effects of loan waiver announcements by UP and MP. This will force more states to follow the path. Fadnavis gave hopes of a change in loan waiver culture and the promise of the state setting a good example for others when he spoke against the loan waiver in April. But, in hindsight, this was all big talk, no action.
Mumbai: Seeking to corner the Shiv Sena over its president Uddhav Thackeray's statement last month that the party is ready to forgo power if the BJP government waives debt of farmers, the NCP Monday asked him to walk the talk, a day after a loan waiver was announced.

The state government on Sunday agreed in principle to grant a complete but conditional loan waiver to farmers, against the backdrop of strident protests by cultivators in various parts of the state for various demands.

According to a farmer leader, the move is expected to benefit 1.07 crore farmers in the state, who have land holdings of less than five acres.

Taking a swipe at the Sena chief, the NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik today said, "Uddhav Thackeray should show the state that he is a man of his word and relinquish power by withdrawing his ministers from the government. This is one chance for him to prove to his detractors that his party is not power-hungry and really cares for the welfare of farmers".

Speaking at an agricultural convention organised by his party in Chopada town in Jalgaon on 20 May, Thackeray said he was prepared to forego power and withdraw all Sena ministers from the BJP-led government in the state if Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is willing to announce a blanket loan waiver for farmers. Thackeray had also said Sena would continue to provide outside support to the BJP government.

Malik further said if Thackeray goes back on his words now, it would mean he was only playing with the emotions of farmers all along, who had sought in him their supporter.

"We are hopeful that he (Thackeray) will not betray farmers now that the loan waiver is announced. Instead of being a part of the government and criticising it, he will now become an outside critique," Malik said sarcastically.
New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission has sent a notice to Bihar government over reports of a man carrying his wife's body on a motorcycle after allegedly being denied a mortuary van by a hospital in Purnia.

Expressing its displeasure over the incident, the NHRC has observed that this is "not the first" such instance which has come to its attention.

"At several places across the country, such shameful incidents have happened and the commission has also taken cognisance in some of these cases. It seems that authorities are lacking on their part in understanding the sensitivity involved in such situations," the commission said on Monday.

Taking suo motu cognisance of a media report that authorities at the District Purnia Sadar Hospital, where she had died, "failed to provide him a mortuary van", the NHRC has issued the notice to the state's chief secretary and sought a report in four weeks.

The deceased, Susheela Devi, 50, had died of illness at the hospital on 2 June. When the husband requested for a vehicle to carry the body of his wife, the medical staff had told him to arrange on his own, according to the report, said the NHRC.

"Reportedly, the man, a poor labourer, approached the driver of an ambulance, who demanded Rs 2,500, which he (husband) could not afford. Ultimately, with the help of his son, the man had to carry the body on a motorcycle, holding it as a pillion rider," the commission said.

"This amounts to violation of right to life and dignity of the persons and is also indicative of negligence by the

hospital administration and lack of proper infrastructure," it said.

According to the media report, carried on 4 June, the civil surgeon of the hospital has said that mortuary van is

not available at the Sadar Hospital and that people have to arrange it on their own, the NHRC said.

"The District Magistrate has reportedly ordered a probe into the matter," the commission said.

The incident serves as a painful reminder of the similar cases reported in other parts of the country.

In August 2016, the country was shocked to see images of Dana Majhi carrying his wife's body slung over his shoulder for 10 km to reach his village in Odisha's Kalahandi district after being denied help from the hospital authorities.

Last month, 45-year-old labourer Udayveer had to carry his teenage son's body on his shoulders as he was allegedly

denied an ambulance by a hospital in Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh.

In a video which had then gone viral on social and electronic media, the labourer had alleged that doctors at the Etawah government hospital did not treat his son Pushpendra and turned him away.

Taking suo motu cognisance of media reports, the NHRC had issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government.

The commission had observed that the content of the media report was "painful and indicative of insensitive and negligent attitude" of the doctors at the hospital where most of the visitors are from poor families.

It had sought a detailed report from the chief secretary, including information on ambulance services offered by the government-run hospital.
Aizawl: The Centre on Monday set up an expert committee to examine the rules which allow free movement of Indian and Myanmarese citizens within 16 kms of the border, but are exploited by militants for smuggling arms, drugs, and fake Indian currency.

The decision was taken at a meeting of chief ministers of the northeastern states which share a porous border with Myanmar.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh decided to constitute the committee, headed by the special secretary (Internal Security) in the Ministry of Home Affairs, which will examine the rules and regulations adopted by the border states for free movement of the people, an official release said.

The committee will give its report for uniform and effective implementation of free movement regime within three months, it said.

India's 1,643-km border with Myanmar touches four states: Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram.

It is unique in many ways as it has a visa-free movement regime for people living within 16 kms on either side of the border.

They can stay up to 72 hours with effective and valid permits issued by the designated authority on either side.

This regime has been in place keeping in view the traditional social ties among the border people.

"However, it is misused by militants and criminals who smuggle weapons, narcotics, contraband goods and fake Indian currency notes (FICN)," the home minister told reporters.

Singh said that with fast improving security situation in this region, militants are denied hideouts and some of them have relocated themselves across the border.

"Taking advantage of the free-movement regime, occasionally they enter India, commit crimes and escape to their relatively safer hideouts," he said.

The committee will prepare standard operating procedures common for all the four states so that militants, criminals and contraband are filtered at the border without causing inconvenience to genuine people.

The international border with Myanmar is porous with cross-border movement of insurgents and smuggling of arms and ammunition is common.

"Our government is committed to fast tracking of development in the northeastern region. Work on road and rail network extension is going on. We want to extend these networks to border areas," Singh said in his opening remarks at the meeting.

He said the region is immensely rich in human and natural resources and its ethnic and linguistic diversities enrich

India's cultural heritage.

The meeting was convened to discuss the issues relating to the Indo- Myanmar border and attended by Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju, besides Pema Khandu, N Biren Singh and Lal Thanhawla, the chief ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Mizoram, respectively, and Nagaland Home Minister Yanthungo Patton.

This is for the first time that such a meeting has been called to discuss issues concerning the Myanmar border with active participation of the state governments.

Referring to the internal security situation, the home minister said although Myanmar border is peaceful and

friendly, yet it is very sensitive.

Singh advised the state governments to extend cooperation in the survey work for erection, construction of subsidiary pillars for removing differences in perception of zero line and for understanding the boundary demarcation clearly.

He sought cooperation of the chief ministers and the people in the region for the joint survey of border pillars on

the boundary.

Singh said there are over 240 villages with over 2.5 lakh people within 10 kms of the border.

He urged upon the chief ministers to bring these areas under active policing by setting up police stations and police posts to reassure the people and also to prevent illegal cross-border activities.

Singh said a steady progress in infrastructure development has been made in the region including in inter and

intra-regional road, rail and air connectivity, power, education, health and setting up of institutions of excellence and research in various fields.

The home minister said greater connectivity within the region and with the neighbours was likely to give impetus to

enhanced movement of goods, services and people across the border.

Improved connectivity and relations with Myanmar were opening new opportunities of growth in the region and these would play a much greater role in near future and therefore, the Centre and the states must be adequately prepared for it, he said.
New Delhi: Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar on Monday said South Asia was a "sea of faiths, opinions, voices" and the people had to ensure they lived by "faith equality", and not "faith supremacy".

At the convocation ceremony of the South Asian University (SAU) in Delhi, the minister said the individuals had to find their own way to faith.

"It is not for us to judge whose way is better or whose way is worse," the minister of state for external affairs said.

Akbar, who was the chief guest at the convocation, said freedom, faith and equality were the pillars of modernity.

"Modernity must have freedom. Many countries got freedom from the British, but they forgot to transfer it to their own people. Freedom is not the one exercised by governments. That is a small part. Freedom is the one exercised by individuals," the BJP leader said.

Holding that no nation could be called modern unless it ensured gender equality, he said modernity was also determined by the social and economic empowerment of women.

Reaffirming India's commitment towards regional education, the minister said New Delhi was fully committed to building a permanent campus for the university, and would bear its full cost of Rs 2500 crore. The varsity currently operates from Akbar Bhawan.

"This university has succeeded in translating a vision into a reality in a short span. It has already produced about 900 scholars," he said.

Applications for admission to SAU  primarily for the member-nations of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)  witnessed a rise this year, reflecting its popularity among students of the region, he said.

For this academic year, the varsity received 7188 applications for 238 seats. Most applicants  5875  were from India, followed by Afghanistan (854), Bangladesh (236) and Nepal (104).

Eighty-six applications were received from Pakistan, 30 from Bhutan, 22 from Sri Lanka and five from Maldives.

"The number of applications for SAU programmes jumped considerably in 2017-18 as compared to previous academic years," Akbar said at the convocation, presided over by Deep Kumar Upadhyay, Nepal's ambassador to India.

A total of 185 students were conferred their Masters and MPhil Degrees in various programmes. Eleven programme toppers were honoured with the SAU Gold Medal.

Out of the year's graduates, 21 are from Afghanistan, 28 from Bangladesh, one from Bhutan, one from Maldives, 16 from Nepal, 11 from Pakistan and three from Sri Lanka. The remaining 104 are from India.

Nine students got their MPhil Degrees  one each from Sri Lanka and Afghanistan and seven from India.

The SAU commenced its academic operations in 2010. It reserves seats for each member nation. Not more than 50 per cent of students can be from India, while Pakistan and Bangladesh have 10 per cent of the total seats each.

The remaining countries  Afghanistan, Maldives, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Nepal  have four per cent reservation each. Ten per cent seats are reserved for international students from countries outside the SAARC.

This year, tests were conducted for Masters and PhD programmes in Applies Mathematics, Biotechnology, Computer Science, Economics, Legal Studies, International Relations and Sociology.

Urging students to work for the development of South Asia, Ambassador Upadhyay said it was their responsibility to strive for the prosperity of the region.

Technology should be used to improve life in South Asia, where poverty was an "extreme challenge", Upadhyay said.

"But South Asia is not all about poverty and backwardness. It is also about potential, determination and wisdom," he said.
With just a week left for the completion of his three-year tenure as countrys top law officer, Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi wrote to the Centre informing expressing his desire to step down from his post. Rohatgi's term ends on 19 June.

Rohatgi's letter has come nearly a week after the government notified extension to his tenure as the attorney-general, and that of four other law officers till further orders. In his letter, Rohatgi has given personal reasons for quitting his post and expressed his desire to return to private practice.

Rohatgi was appointed as the attorney-general in June 2014, a month after the BJP government came to power.

During his stint, he argued in many contentious matters like the challenge to National Judicial Appointment Commission (NJAC) Act on the appointment of judges for the higher judiciary and assisted the Supreme Court in the triple talaq case.

Talking about his tenure to News18.com, Rohatgi said his only regret was about quashing of the NJAC by the Supreme Court in 2015 when he had led from the front for the government, but the government lost this battle and the apex court revived the power of the collegium to appoint judges. I hope the court reviews the NJAC verdict, he added.

Son of a former Delhi High Court judge, Rohatgi is perceived to be close to the present BJP dispensation, with finance minister Arun Jaitley considered to be his close friend.

In the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat riots, Rohatgi had represented the Gujarat government in the Supreme Court in the riots and fake encounter death cases, including the Best Bakery and Zahira Sheikh cases, reported The Indian Express.

Controversies

Despite being seen as an upright and workaholic person  Rohatgi is known to work seven days a week some of his acts as attorney-general have courted controversies as well.

In July 2015, as countrys attorney-general, Rohatgi had appeared in the Supreme Court on behalf of Kerala bar owners against the state governments move to make three-star hotels ineligible for licenses to sell Indian manufactured foreign liquor. This led to a protest from the states chief minister Oommen Chandy, who had described Rohatgis act as unethical and not right, reported The Economic Times.

Activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan had said that it was inappropriate for the attorney general to appear for private parties against a state government in which there was no substantial public interest, The Economic Times added.

Views on triple talaq issue

Rohatgi, who was assisting the Supreme Court in the triple talaq case, told News18.com recently that the custom of Muslim community of the country was not only unconstitutional but should also be made punishable by law.

On the role of the Indian Army in Kashmir

Batting for the Indian Armys role in Kashmir, Rohatgi told in the same interview to News18.com that the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) should stay in Kashmir.

Indian forces were working under challenging circumstances in Kashmir and these are disturbing times and AFSPA can stay in Jammu and Kashmir for now," Rohatgi told News18.com.

Talking about the incident where an army major named Major Leetul Gogoi had tied a Kashmiri man to his jeeps bonnet and drove him in the area, Rohatgi said, Major Leetul Gogoi didn't do anything wrong because he saved the lives of a lot of people there. It was one of those spur-of-the-moment decisions... If Army major got away without hurting anybody, it's a great job."
Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi, whose three-year tenure will come to an end on 19 June, has asked the Central government not to consider him for reappointment or an extension as the countrys top law officer.

Rohatgi said that he had written to the government last month conveying his desire to discontinue as Attorney General and return to private practice.

He said that the extension given to him by the government earlier this month was "adhoc", till further orders, as it was done when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on a visit to Russia.

"So, the government has to take a call on my decision," he said.

Rohatgi's decision instantly gave rise to speculation about his successor. A report in News18 quoted sources that point towards Harish Salve and Solicitor-General Ranjit Kumar as possible candidates.

Salve, one of Indias most expensive lawyers, had recently argued Indias case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against the death penalty awarded to alleged spy Kulbhusan Jadhav by Pakistan.

The report suggests that Kumar, who was appointed as the Solicitor General in 2014, is in the running but pointed out that he could lose out on the top post to Salve, given Modi's interest in having him.

Modi was inclined to offer the job to Salve in 2014, when the BJP government came to power, but Salve's offshore assignments at the time prevented him from doing so.

According to an Economic Times report, Modi had tried to persuade Salve to change his mind, and had even delayed the announcement of his pick. It was the second time that Salve had declined the coveted post. The first offer came under Atal Bihari Vajpayee's regime after Soli J Sorabjee wanted to step down after completing three years as Attorney General.

It was the second time that Salve had declined the coveted post. The first offer came under Atal Bihari Vajpayee's regime after Soli J Sorabjee wanted to step down after completing three years as Attorney General.

Rohatgi was appointed as the Attorney General on 19 June, 2014, immediately after the BJP government came to power in May that year.

During his three-year stint, he argued many contentious matters like the challenge to NJAC Act on the appointment of judges to the higher Judiciary. He also defended the government, which was in a tussle with the Supreme Court Collegium of judges over the appointments.

Recently, he assisted the apex court in the triple talaq matter, in which the judgment is reserved. He has also advanced the government's stand of defending the policy of Aadhaar, in which the issue of Right to Privacy has been raised and is pending before the apex court.

As a top law officer, Rohatgi had defended the government's policy of demonetisation in which the high denomination currency of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 were declared as illegal tender.

With inputs from agencies
Allahabad: The AIMIM's city unit on Monday demanded that "alternative arrangements" be made ahead of the Eid festival by the Yogi Adityanath administration for those adversely affected by the recent crackdown on illegal slaughter houses.

At a meeting convened here, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen's city convener, Afsar Mahmood, said if the state government failed to act, then all party workers here would boycott Eid celebrations and observe a protest on the day by wearing black badges.

"Our protest enjoys the full support of the Qureishi community which has been badly hit by the high-handedness of the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh. Let the administration be forewarned that its inability to redress our grievances in time may lead to a massive public stir after the festivities, in which thousands will court arrest," Mahmood said.

The crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses across the state came soon after the BJP came to power in UP in March this year.

In its manifesto for the assembly polls, the party had promised closure of all unlicensed abattoirs and a ban on mechanised ones.

Headed by the firebrand Owaisi brothers of Hyderabad, the AIMIM has been trying to make its presence felt in UP, where parties traditionally favoured by the Muslim community  the Congress, the Samajwadi Party and the BSP  appear to be in decline.
The Narendra Modi government has proposed to the Supreme Court to conduct NEET-like entrance exams to recruit judges in lower courts of India, reports said. The central government came up with the proposal on Monday after several states including those ruled by the BJP, namely Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and Arunachal Pradesh, opposed Centre's plan to establish an All-India Judicial Service (AIJS) to fill vacancies in the lower judiciary.

According to Hindustan Times, Snehalata Srivastava, law ministry secretary (justice), recently wrote a letter to the Supreme Court, saying, Adoption of the model followed by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) for conducting undergraduate and postgraduate medical courses could also be explored.

The Tribune mentioned that as per Srivastava, recruitment of judges can have some characteristics that are followed by the Institute of Banking and Personnel Selection. The Tribune references Srivastava's special letter. The meeting was held between government representatives and the judiciary to discuss speedy justice, and the issue of vacancies in lower courts also came up for discussion. The government also proposed that the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) could also conduct the entrance test.

Srivastava's letter had come after a meeting between the government representatives and the judiciary on 8 April.

The Times of India reported that Adarsh Goel, apex court judge, chaired the meeting. Goel also heads the Arrears Committee. The meeting further suggested alternative methods of recruitment, namely creation of a central selection mechanism.

Srivastava's letter has been sent to the states for their views, as per India Today, and the issue of recruitment may come up for hearing in July after the court's summer break ends.

According to the report, the lower judiciary is facing a crunch of judges with vacancies nearing 4,500, and although the sanctioned strength is 20,502 in the country, the actual number of judges/judicial officers in subordinate courts amounts to only 16,050.

In order to resolve the pending cases that amount to three crore, the Centre will have to work efficiently with the Supreme Court, DNA said. A plausible reform will have to be enforced soon to avoid people's lack of belief in the judiciary.

According to DNA, the law ministry, in another proposal, had also said that a "centralised examination" could be held by a "recruitment body" for selection of candidates. The recruitment body can function under the supervision of the Supreme Court, it added.

Incidentally, the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre had supported forming an AJIS a few months back, but the decision had faced stiff resistance from states.

According to India Today, while Maharashtra is not against AIJS, it wanted recruitment for it to be done in such a way that the Law Ministry feels is "not in consonance" with the provisions of the service included in the Constitution. The report also says that governments of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Manipur, Odisha and Uttarakhand also wanted major changes in AIJC.
New Delhi: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Monday set in motion the process for declaring the result of NEET 2017 after the Supreme Court gave a go-ahead to the board.

The apex court on Monday stayed a 24 May interim order of the Madras High Court, which had restrained the CBSE from publishing the result of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) 2017.

Images of OMR answersheets and aspirants' responses to the questions will be displayed on the CBSE website for challenge by students only for two days, instead of three as mentioned in the information bulletin, the board said.

"The OMR answersheets and responses will be put on display on 13 June and candidates can challenge them till 5 PM on 14 June," an official statement said.

The answer keys will be displayed on 15 June and can be challenged till 5 PM on 16 June.

The CBSE will announce the result of the national medical entrance examination within a week of the completion of these two processes.

In staying the Madras HC order, the Supreme Court paved the way for the declaration of results of the exam taken by around 12 lakh students aspiring to join medical and dental colleges across the country.

The top court said it was inclined to grant a stay on the high court's order which was indirectly "diluting" the schedule for NEET 2017 earlier fixed by the apex court.
Former Tamil Nadu chief minister O Panneerselvam announced that a seven-member panel formed to broker merger talks with the rival faction of AIADMK, headed by the present chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami, has been dissolved.

Panneerselvam made the announcement at a meeting of party functionaries in Thiruvallur on Sunday after senior party leaders pressed him for a decision in this regard, PTI reported.

"In this situation, the panel that was formed on behalf of our team (to hold merger talks) is being dissolved," PTI quoted Panneerselvam as saying.

The panel was established on 21 April to reconcile the two AIADMK factions that formed after former chief minister J Jayalalithaa's death.

The Panneerselvam camp said that the rival faction of the party has not honoured their demands of expelling party chief VK Sasikala and her nephew TTV Dinakaran, NDTV reported.

"EPS camp hasn't met our two key demands: to expel Sasikala and Dinakaran. They've not sought CBI probe into Jayalalithaa's death," said Rajya Sabha lawmaker V Maitreyan, who was a member of the now dissolved committee, the report added.

Panneerselvam reportedly said he was being "forced" to come up with such an announcement as he had been "tolerating" all kinds of "irresponsible statements" from the opposition camp.

At the meeting, he also said that MLAs were gifted "gold, diamond and cash" during their stay at a resort at Koovathur, prior to the 18 February trust vote won by Palaniswami, PTI reported.

Palaniswamy had said recently at a meeting that the party had enough numbers to lead the Tamil Nadu government without the Panneerselvam camp's support, an India Today report said.

The party broke into two factions following Jayalalithaa's death in December 2016 as the then AIADMK chief VK Sasikala tried to replace Panneerselvam as chief minister before her conviction in a corruption case.

After the conviction, Sasikala appointed Palaniswami, who many see as her proxy, as Tamil chief minister, and her nephew Dinakaran as the party's second-in-command.

After the divide, the Election Commission froze the party's symbol of 'two-leaves' as both sides staked claim for it. In April, Dinakaran was arrested on charges of bribing Election Commission officials to be allowed to use the symbol.
Aizawl: A committee will be set up for identification of gaps in basic facilities and infrastructure along the India-Myanmar border and prioritise them for measures in the short-term, medium-term and long-term, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Monday.

"The panel, under the chairmanship of secretary, Border Management will find out and pool all resources and dovetail programmes of various ministries including those of North Eastern Council, Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) and Border Area Development Programme (BADP)," he said.

The home minister made the announcement while stressing on better connectivity with Myanmar.

The committee will submit its report taking into account short-term (three years), medium-term (three to six years) and long-term (six to ten years) before the end of the year, Singh said.

"Greater connectivity within the region and with our neighbours is likely to give impetus to enhanced movement of goods, services and people across the border," he said at the meeting of chief ministers of North Eastern states which share a porous border with Myanmar.

Singh said that for specific developmental needs of border areas, allocation under Border Area Development Programme (BADP) to 17 border states, which was Rs 990 crore in 20162017, has been raised to Rs 1,100 crore in 20172018.

This is for the first time that such a meeting has been called to discuss issues concerning Myanmar border with active participation of state governments.

The meeting was attended by Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju, besides Pema Khandu, N Biren Singh and Lal Thanhawla, the chief ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Mizoram, respectively and Nagaland Home Minister Yanthungo Patton.

"Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh were released Rs 567.39 crore during the last three years. For integrated development of 41 model villages Rs 92.39 crore were released in the last financial year, which included three villages in Manipur and one village in Nagaland," Singh said.

Noting that Assam Rifles has given a proposal for construction of roads and airports for their operational requirement, he stressed on addressing the issue of improvement of basic facilities like roads, power,

telecommunication, health and education.

Noting that there are over 240 villages with over 2.5 lakh people within 10 km of the Indo-Myanmar border, Singh urged these bordering states to bring these areas under active policing.

The international border with Myanmar is porous with cross-border movement of insurgents and smuggling of arms and ammunition being common there.

The chief secretaries, directors general of police (DGPs) of the states, the director general of the Assam Rifles and senior officials from the central ministries concerned were also present at the conclave.
As the presidential election are slated to begin next month, BJP chief Amit Shah formed a three-member committee, consisting of Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Venkaiah Naidu, for consultations with political parties for presidential poll.

The committee will consult political parties  including the Opposition  to select a consensus candidate for the presidential poll. The panel will hold meetings with BJP allies and Opposition parties, PTI reported. The presidential election is scheduled for 17 July.

"The committee's mandate is to consult leaders of all political parties for the presidential poll and try to evolve a consensus," a BJP statement said. The last date for filing nominations for the poll is 28 June.

PTI reported that the Election Commission, on 7 June announced the schedule for the presidential poll. The nomination process will begin on 14 June with the issuance of a notification and the counting of votes will take place on 20 July in New Delhi. The tenure of incumbent President Pranab Mukherjee ends on 24 July.

On Sunday, Shah had postponed his visit to Arunachal Pradesh and he told mediapersons that the BJP will most likely defer its national executive meeting, scheduled for 15-16 July, in view of the presidential election. With the last date for filing nomination being 28 June, Shah's presence in New Delhi was deemed essential and his trip was cancelled so that BJP can start the process of electing the next presidential candidate said the report.

Shah said there was no point in keeping the national executive meeting scheduled for 15-16 July in Andhra Pradesh, as the presidential election is scheduled for 17 July. If the Opposition, too, puts up a candidate, which is very likely considering the ongoing talks among top leaders in the Congress, the Left, JD(U), among others, a contest will be inevitable.

Meanwhile, leaders of, at least, nine non-NDA parties came together to form a sub-group constituted to arrive at a consensus on an opposition candidate for the presidential election, during a lunch hosted by Congress president Sonia Gandhi on 26 May.

The report said leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, among others, were part of the group. The meeting was attended by the leaders of 17 Opposition parties.
New Delhi: Opposition parties will meet on 14 June to formally begin discussions on the presidential and vice presidential elections, sources said on Monday.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi has initiated moves to bring the opposition parties on a common platform for the presidential election scheduled in July.

Gandhi, earlier this month, constituted a ten member sub-group of representatives from opposition parties to take forward the deliberations and discussions on the elections.

"Members of the sub-group of the opposition parties will meet on 14 June to formally begin their discussion on presidential and vice-presidential elections," a senior opposition leader said.

The sub-group consists of Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mallikarjun Kharge, JD-U leader Shard Yadav, RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, TMC leader Derek O'Brien, Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav, BSP's Satish Chandra Mishra, DMK leader R.S. Bharathi and NCP's Praful Patel.

The Election Commission last week announced that the election of the next President will be held on 17 July and counting of votes will take place on 20 July.

The term of the country's 13th President Pranab Mukherjee will end on 24 July. The term of Vice President Hamid Ansari will end in August.

The Election Commission said the filing of nominations will begin on 14 June and the last date for the purpose will be 28 June. Scrutiny will take place on 29 June and the last date for withdrawal is 1 July.

Several opposition parties have held parleys to find a consensus candidate but have decided to wait for the ruling alliance to reach out to them with the name of its candidate.

The parties have said that if a consensual candidate does not emerge, they will field a candidate "who will steadfastly defend the constitutional values".
Aizawl: Hundreds of people on Monday took part in a beef party to coincide with union home minister Rajnath Singh's visit as a mark of protest against new rules restricting the sale of cattle for slaughter.

Over 2,000 people gathered at the Vanapa Hall, just 200 metres from the Raj Bhavan where Rajnath Singh presided over a high-level meeting to review security along the India-Myanmar border.

The beef festival was organised by Zolife, a local organisation. The organisers clarified that the event was not aimed at promoting beef eating but to reassert the freedom granted to citizens by the Indian Constitution.

"Earlier, there was no objection to eating of beef. But now we see a conspiracy to deprive us of some of our basic rights. What one eats should be decided by him or her. There should not be any imposition," Zolife member Remruata Varte told IANS.

"People of different religion are living peacefully in Mizoram, with a majority of them Christians. There is no restriction on anyone that he cannot follow or practice his religion in Mizoram," Varte said.

He said the beef party was a token protest against the Centre's notification. He added that people braved rains to participate in the event.
Jaipur: RSS-affiliated farmers' outfit Bhartiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) on Monday announced that it would stage sit-in protests across Rajasthan on 15 June demanding minimum support prices for farm produce and a special assembly session to discuss farmer issues.

"We had convened a meeting of farmers here and handed over a representation to the government last month demanding that a special session of the legislative assembly be called for one day to discuss farmers issue but the government has shown no interest," BKS general secretary Kailash Kangolia told reporters in Jaipur.

He said the the outfit has now decided to start Mahapadav (sit-in) of farmers at all the divisions for resolution of their issues.
Since 2014, the role of the cow has changed drastically in India. At first, there were beef bans proposed, approved and instituted. And then, leather came under the scanner. In the over 36 months since the General Election that gave the BJP a thumping majority in the Lok Sabha, the party's idealogue  that has made no bones about the idea of the cow as a Hindu symbol  has slowly shifted its focus. In a bid to move away from the conventional dimensions of the cow debate in India, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is now making an economic argument for the well-being and preservation of the cow.

The RSS, the powerful think-tank of the ruling BJP-led NDA government, will now be in the business of selling products from the cow as medicinal properties. The RSS is also talking of economics, exhorting people to pick up licences to open stores across India and turn entrepreneurs.

The move is in tune with repeated messages from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and also Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Both have urged Indians to save milk-producing animals and support industries derived from their waste and turn entrepreneurs rather than looking for jobs in an already-saturated market. So, products flowing out of the website of a RSS-run laboratory located near Mathura will also have "Modi" and "Yogi" kurtas, standard khadi outfits with new tagline.

The so-called medicinal qualities of cow urine has not been scientifically proven, even though the proponents of Ayurveda claim that cow urine contains special therapeutic properties and health benefits. Last year, newspapers quoted scientists at Junagadh Agricultural University, Gujarat, as claiming to have found how traces of gold were found in the urine of the local Gir breed after analysing 400 specimens.

"The medicinal products from the cow are many. We are encouraging an already existing industry to flourish, there is no debate here, there should not be any politics here. It's pure economics," RSS member Vagish Isaar said. He estimates cow attendants can make Rs 1,200 a month from the sale of a cow's liquid waste, which can easily pay for the beast's upkeep.

The products from the pharmaceutical laboratory at the RSS-run Deen Dayal Dham at Farah in Mathura will be branded as Kamdhenu, a divine bovine-goddess of "plenty" who provides her owner whatever he desires.

Isaar shared some numbers. In India, unadulterated cow urine and dung is now a Rs 200-crore market. Once upon a time, these were procured from cow-shelters by the traditional for use, but now, many have started procuring it for a wide range of therapeutic and beauty products. There are face packs, bath scrubbers, mosquito coils and incense sticks which contain cow dung. And there are face creams, cough syrups, body oils, health tonics, weight-loss tonics, and floor disinfectants that contain distilled cow urine.

Issar said RSS volunteers will ask farmers across India to store urine and cowling and hand it over for proper use. "We want to cut out middlemen who have routinely exploited poor farmers and taken the cowling for measly Rs 200 a cart of over 60 quintals. We will give them better price and a share in profits," Isaar told Firstpost.

Officials at Deen Dayal Dham claim that the Kamdhenu brand of products will include a lot of medicinal products. Their list is long.

There are tablets and powders to cure indigestion, Kamdhenu Madhunashak Chur can keep diabetes in check, Kamdhenu Kafsudha can cure lung infection. There are oils for sprains and arthritis, eye drops to check cataract and improve eyesight, toothpaste to check decay in gums, incense sticks both cheap and long lasting and face packs that claim to cure pimples within months and soaps with ingredients to cure rashes.

"Our products have been clinically tested and now proven to be sold in the markets," claimed Manish Gupta of Deen Dayal Dham. Gupta said that the products will be available at all RSS offices and on various shopping websites. There is a high probability that the Haridwar-based Patanjali Group of Baba Ramdev might source some of the raw products from Deen Dayal Dham. Ramdev, authorities claimed, knows Patanjali Ayurveda pays a whopping Rs 300,000 per day to procure raw materials to make his products.

Patanjali's bestseller is urine-based floor-cleaner Gauntly, RSS needs to catch up. The organisation knows cow urine is now the hot commodity in India. The Modi government has spent Rs 5.8 billion on cow shelters and taken measures to stop smuggling of cattle to neighbouring Bangladesh.

Gupta says distilled urine from female cattle  122 million in numbers  currently fetches at least as much as milk in India. And not even a drop should be wasted. "We are in the process of registering with online shopping websites. Products in which cow urine is being used are for Kamdhenu Ark," Gupta said. Sales are on an all-time high, claimed Gupta. Almost all products sold by the Deen Dayal Dham have seen a near 100 percent jump in sales for the last two years, and now, with the RSS push, there are chances that people from across India will order the product online.

RSS insiders say scientists at the Mathura laboratory are encouraging villagers to make as many as 30-40 remedies at home with cow urine. "The farmers are being encouraged not to spill any of the golden liquid because our foremost ambition is to ensure that it reaches every Indian," said a senior RSS functionary.

Once collected, the pungent-smelling 'booty' is poured into a distiller to remove impurities. The distillate, then, is reduced to powder or sold as a liquid concentrate to various makers of traditional medicines and herbal remedies.

The RSS is confident of its new marketing plan, especially in a majority-Hindu India, where cows are considered sacred. The party knows how cattle  300 million units and growing  remains an important part of the Indian economy.

The BJP ideologue is carefully not calling the current push for products made from by-products of cows a Hindu agenda, instead, it is calling it simple, pure economics. It is a way for the farmers to grow in India minus the middleman, almost like the famous Farm To Form concept fashioned by the country's richest industrialist some years ago.

Issar said when RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat talked about a nationwide ban on cow slaughter, he was referring to this very economics that farmers were missing in India, where cow slaughter is illegal in 21 of 29 states. "We are trying to create a climate persuasive social and economic campaigns. We are empowering farmers, especially those who would always end up sending cattle to slaughterhouses once they stopped giving milk. Now, we have opened up new ways of earnings from those very cattle."

Critics still blame the RSS for its influence on cow politics and the lack of "good governance" for the ban mania. Many claim the recent appointment of Yogi Adityanath as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh has given rise to a fresh wave of conservatism.

As of now, the dice is heavily loaded on the side of RSS, which is making the most of it.
The Supreme Court delivered the much awaited Aadhaar-PAN judgment on Friday. The upholding of Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act, 1961, and the limited relief granted for those without Aadhaar, has led to the assumption that the judgment is entirely a victory for the government, with little hope for those against Aadhaar.

It is, on the other hand, both a victory and a setback, equally for the government and the anti-Aadhaar advocates. The judgment makes it clear that Section 139AA is yet to survive the more stringent test  of the right to life and liberty under Article 21. This point is reiterated as many as four times in the judgment.

The implications of this are clear, Section 139AA is legal and binding, but only for now. The decision of the Constitution Bench in the Aadhaar-privacy case will decide the final fate, of both Aadhaar as well as Section 139AA.

Setback for anti-Aadhaar advocates

The setback to anti-Aadhaar advocates and the corresponding victory for the government is obvious. Making Aadhaar mandatory for filing ITRs (after 1 July), while applying for PAN and mandating Aadhaar-PAN linkage will only increase the pervasiveness of Aadhaar. The relief granted to persons without Aadhaar is also very limited, and only with respect to Aadhaar-PAN linkage.

The permitting of laws like Section 139AA which make Aadhaar mandatory, even though the Aadhaar Act itself makes it voluntary, is a major concern. Moreover, the Supreme Court supported the governments' creation and use of Aadhaar for purposes like weeding out black money, preventing PAN duplicates and discovering shell companies.

Understanding the Aadhaar-PAN judgment

Despite the setback, the judgment must be read and understood keeping some important points in mind. These lend a different perspective to the Aadhaar-PAN judgment, thus giving hope to privacy and anti-Aadhaar advocates:

Judicial discipline prevented consideration of privacy arguments

The Supreme Court made it clear, multiple times, that it will not be considering any arguments around the right to privacy or Article 21. The reason for this is judicial propriety, where a judicial bench will not adjudicate on matters that are already pending before a larger bench, in this case the Aadhaar-privacy case before the larger Constitution bench.

Arguments on violation of bodily integrity, surveillance, were not rejected

The apex court thus only considered arguments based on a violation of other fundamental rights, namely the right to equality (Article 14), and the right to freedom of profession (Article 19(1)(g)). Considering that the main concern with Aadhaar is the violation of privacy (Article 21), arguing against it without touching on privacy was definitely a difficult job.

In fact, several arguments made in this case on the violation of Article 14 and 19 also involved the right to privacy. Be it the arguments on the right to bodily integrity, the right to live with dignity, the arguments against the collection of biometric data, and even arguments against surveillance, all had shades of the right to privacy.

Thus, these very crucial arguments based on privacy could not be considered. It is important to take note that the Supreme Court in no way rejected these arguments. The Supreme Court, in fact, specified that these arguments should be brought up before the Constitution Bench.

Why relief granted was so limited

It must be kept in mind that, in addition to the reasons given in the judgment, the relief granted was so limited for the same reason. Many of the arguments made against the rest of the provisions of Section 139AA were related, in one way or the other, to the right to privacy, and so were not considered. The provision on invalidating PAN was the only part read down because it was the only part which could be found unconstitutional, completely independent of a violation of the right to privacy.

Courts' powers of judicial review are limited

Along with naming its limitations with hearing privacy based arguments, the Supreme Court also brought to notice another restriction it faced. Courts have limited powers of reviewing a law.

The first ground of review is that the parliament enacted a law on a subject that wasnt on the Union List in the Constitution. In this case, enacting laws on income tax was clearly on the Union List, giving the Parliament the power to enact this law.

The second is that the Act violates the Constitution, such as a violation of the fundamental rights. Section 139AA passed the tests of the right to equality and the right to freedom of profession, though the test based on the right to life and liberty remains.

As the grounds for judicial review are limited, arguments on other grounds, like unreasonableness or arbitrariness of the act (unless this results in unconstitutionality) will not be considered.

Courts cannot question parliaments motive

The Court, also, cannot question the Parliament's motives behind passing a law. For instance, it cannot be argued that the Aadhaar Act was enacted with a dishonest or underlying motive, such as to enable surveillance. It can, however, be argued that the all-pervasiveness of Aadhaar in effect enables surveillance, thus resulting in a violation of peoples right to life and liberty. This, it is to be remembered, is an argument which can only be brought up before the Constitution Bench in the Aadhaar-privacy case.

Dont lose hope yet

Thus, while the prospects of preventing privacy violations by Aadhaar may appear bleak, people mustn't lose hope yet. This judgment certainly cannot be seen as a prediction of the outcome of the Aadhaar-privacy case, since no decision whatsoever was passed on the right to privacy arguments. Moreover, the Supreme Court in this judgment asked the government to take steps to protect Aadhaar related data. This is a positive indication of the Supreme Court's focus on privacy.

Despite the huge delay in setting up the Aadhaar-privacy Constitution Bench, as the Supreme Court itself states, Section 139AA and the Aadhaar Act are yet to stand a lot more stringent test  that of Article 21. While a lot banks on the effectiveness of the right to privacy arguments, the final word on Aadhaar is yet to come.
Srinagar: Four security men were injured late on Sunday evening in a grenade explosion in old city area of Srinagar.

Police said militants hurled a grenade at a bunker of the security forces in Saraf Kadal in Srinagar around 10.30 pm.

"Four security men, including a CRPF sub-inspector and three police constables were injured in the explosion.

"The injured have been shifted to hospital for treatment," a police spokesman said.
BEIRUT U.S.-backed Syrian militias advanced further into Islamic State's Syrian stronghold of Raqqa from the east on Monday, reaching the walls of the Old City, a war monitor and a militia spokesman said on Monday.The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a group of Kurdish and Arab militias supported by a U.S.-led coalition, began to attack Raqqa last Tuesday with the aim of taking it from Islamic State militants, after a months-long campaign to cut it off. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said the SDF took the al-Sanaa industrial neighbourhood on Monday as part of their push into the eastern half of the city, and had reached the walls of the Old City neighbourhood.SDF media officer Ahmad Mohammed said the SDF had reached the walls but there were still fierce clashes in al-Sanaa and the district had not yet been totally secured.

The Old City, east of central Raqqa, is a neighbourhood of modern housing bordered on two sides by fortified city walls built in the eighth century by the Abbasid Islamic Caliphate which at one point used Raqqa as its capital.Residents said on Monday the Old City area was being shelled intensely.

The U.S.-led coalition estimates that Raqqa, which Islamic State seized from Syrian rebels in 2014 during their lightning advance in Syria and Iraq, is defended by 3,000 to 4,000 jihadists.It has been a hub both for Islamic State's military leaders and its bureaucrats, and has been used to plot attacks in countries around the world.

The SDF also advanced from north of the city on Monday, taking a sugar factory complex northeast of Raqqa. A video said to show SDF officers within the complex shows heavy damage to the factory.Since the offensive began the SDF, supported by heavy coalition air strikes, have taken territory to the west, east and north of the city. The fighting has caused large numbers of people to flee the city and surrounding areas. (Reporting by Lisa Barrington; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
On the same day when the Maharashtra government announced its decision to waive loans of farmers owning land up to five acres, journalist P Sainath criticised the agriculture policies of the current BJP-led NDA government, the previous UPA governments of Congress as well as governments of states facing an agrarian crisis, stating that farm loan waivers are not a solution.

Speaking in a live video streaming on YouTube on Sunday, Sainath also said that agrarian crisis in India should not be assessed based on the events unfolded in the last few days in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh stating there are far bigger issues in Indian agriculture. He also criticised Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan, saying that he could have just taken action against those who opened fire instead of sitting on a fast.

"The loan waiver issue started to be discussed in 2007, but relief is not an answer for it," Sainath said. He added, "My request to you is do not try to understand the agrarian crisis through episodic situations like the strike in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu or even the firing in Mandsaur. These are manifestations of the crisis, they are not the crisis."

However, Sainath said that what has happened in Maharashtra in the last two days is somewhat good. A chief minister (Devendra Fadnavis) who had said that he won't talk to the farmers, is now taking measures by announcing loan waivers. "Farmers will get a much better price and the issue of loan waiver will begin immediately. If everything works out by 26 July, well and good or the agitation will resume," Sainath said.

He also said that those outside the government should "try understanding the farm crisis through the lives of farmers, agricultural labourers and those dependent on farming".

"A much larger population is dependent on farming than farmers. Try understanding it through their lives, not through bogus numbers that are manipulated like the advertisements in Madhya Pradesh newspapers on the morning of Mandsaur firing," Sainath said on the larger issue of agrarian crisis.

Sainath also spoke of how the government evaded the responsibility of seeing that input costs were held in check. "Every government, the Manmohan Singh government, his predecessors allowed corporations to run amok with the price of seeds, pesticides, fertilisers. Input prices have been relentlessly rising for two decades," he said.

Sainath spoke about how the cost of an unirrigated acre of cotton in Vidarbha in 2003 was Rs 4,000 but it has risen to Rs 10,000-15,000 in 2017. The irrigated area of cotton, on the other hand, cost Rs 10,000-Rs 12,000 in 2003 which has risen to Rs 40,000 in 2017.

While the input cost has risen starkly, the farmer's earning has stagnated over the years, the journalist said.

"It was loot and grab for the corporations in seed sector  a gouging of the farmers through skyrocketing input costs. This is why the issue of prices for their produce is very central," said Sainath.

On farmer suicides, Sainath said that the suicides were again another episode in the larger picture of agrarian crisis which has been an issue for the last two decades. "A bulk of farmer debt is private debt. They didn't have accounts in their names and were excluded from waivers in their names," he said.

"When Sharad Pawar, the agricultural minister during UPA era, made the loan waiver policy and he knew what he was doing  who would benefit it mostly unirrigated dry area farmers were left out of it. Around 53 percent of the waiver went to six districts in western Maharashtra. It is good that today's farmer representatives compel the government to take note of this anomaly," Sainath said.

Sainath also slammed the government for routinely writing off lakhs of rupees of corporates every single year. "There's enough money to give Vijay Mallya, but who gets the farm credit? How many farmers take loans of Rs 10 crore?" Sainath asked.

The journalist said that rising medical costs were an important cause of family deaths in rural areas. "Apart from not earning as much as production costs, this is another problem they have to deal with," Sainath added.

Sainath also demanded that the government call a special 10-day parliamentary session devoted to the agrarian crisis in India, and to debate the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission report. "We should also keep one day to hear testimonies from farmers and widows of those who have committed suicides. Input cost, the price of milk and other things could be clearly discussed during such a session," Sainath added.

On criticism that he has been harsher on one government, Sainath said, "I have have been critical of the agrarian crisis in the 250 reports I have published on the issue in during the Congress rule just like I am doing now. There has not been any gigantic difference between the UPA and BJP. Considering the UPA has been longer in power, a bulk of my criticisms seem against them."
A recent United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) report highlighted that children account for more than half the worlds refugees even as they comprise only a third of the worlds population.

Many of them and their families  from conflict-ridden nations such as Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia and Myanmar  have sought refuge in India.

The United Nations High Commission of Refugees (UNHCR) has estimated that in 2016, there are around 29,000 refugees and 6,000 asylum seekers in India. The largest groups hail from Myanmar, Afghanistan and Somalia. India has also given refuge to a large number of minorities, including Tibetans and Sri Lankan Tamils.

The UNICEF report emphasises how 50 million children have either migrated to another country or have been displaced internally. Syria and Afghanistan account for the largest number of child refugees who have fled to try and rebuild their lives. Many of these children end up in the hands of human smugglers and traffickers only to suffer the worst forms of abuse.

But if there are children suffering displacement due to violence, even larger numbers of child migrants in Asia, and India are suffering displacement due to social and economic reasons. Professor Shantha Sinha, an anti-child labour activist and former chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, says that during her tenure as commissioner she met with several children from Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Myanmar and Nepal.

"These children had no citizenship and no rights. Locals would say that these are not our children, so we can exploit them. I would insist to them that children are children, regardless of borders. We need to create social concern about them in order to make our system more sensitive to their needs. Unfortunately, children are not a priority for Indian democracy," Sinha lamented.

"In Meghalaya, children from Nepal were working in the coal mines. This is exploitation," added Sinha.

India has one of the largest population of child migrants. Many of them are victims of trafficking. Recently, the Delhi Police arrested Affaq Husain and his wife Saira, kingpins of a child-trafficking racket which forced thousands of vulnerable girls from Nepal and the 24 Parganas district in West Bengal into the flesh trade.

Following the 2015 Nepal earthquake, Husain went to Kathmandu with his key aides. He posed as an educationist, toured the most vulnerable areas and asked parents to send their daughters with him to India. He assured them that they would be educated and cared for. The girls were subsequently smuggled into five brothels he owned on GB Road in New Delhi.

During the past 15 years, Husain and Saira trafficked over 5,000 girls. Each girl was sold for up to Rs 5 lakh. When the law finally caught up to them, the couple was found to have Rs 10 crore in their bank account and assets worth over Rs 100 crore.

The CBI also, some months ago, unearthed information about a human trafficking racket which highlighted how 8,000 women were transported to Dubai via Delhi. But this is only the tip of a very large iceberg. Advocate Anant Asthana, who works in the area of juvenile justice says, "The trafficking industry is very well organised. Many people profit from it. No wonder its tentacles are growing bigger and bigger."

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has collated data which shows that human trafficking cases have increased by 38.3 percent over five years  from 2,848 cases in 2009 to 3,940 cases in 2013  in contrast, the conviction rate for such cases has declined by 45 percent: From 1,279 convictions in 2009 to 702 convictions in 2013.

The data further revealed that in 2013, maximum crimes (65.5 percent) were registered under the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act 1956 whereas Procuration of minor girls (Section 366-A) accounted for 31.1 percent of crimes. These figures further show that cases under Section 366-A have surged dramatically over five years, from 237 cases in 2009 to 1,224 cases in 2013  a 416 percent increase  which means minor girls are increasingly vulnerable.

Not only is human trafficking on the increase but traffickers are increasingly targeting minors. Delhi-based Subash Bhatnagar, who heads the National Platform for Domestic Workers and is chairperson of the National Campaign Committee for Construction Labour rues the fact that, "increasing numbers of minor girls are being trafficked."

"Most of them are being brought from Assam, Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha. But there are also large numbers of girls from Nepal and Bangladesh who are being trapped," Bhatnagar adds.

Explaining the modus operandi of the traffickers, Asthana says," Most of the time, girls are betrayed by girls from their own community. A well-dressed girl from their community will arrive and promise to help them find jobs in Delhi or some other metropolitan cities. The girls who live in great poverty are obviously happy at the chance of improving their prospects and are willing to go with them. But once they leaves home, they are vulnerable to sexual exploitation by strangers. The main problem is that even when these girls are rescued by government agencies, they do not want to return to their homes. Interventions by NGOs remain limited and largely inadequate," Asthana says.

Asthana believes young boys are as much victims of exploitation as girls. He cites the example of a 13-year-old boy from Bangladesh who was arrested for attempting to murder an aged couple who had employed him.

Asthana says, "An aged couple picked him up from an agency. He'd had scarcely worked there for a couple of days when the people running the agency asked him to poison the couple's food because they wanted to rob them. The boy initially refused, but relented after they threatened to kill him. He was given a white powder and told to put it in their food. He put in a small quantity and threw the rest away. The couple fainted after eating the spiked food. Thankfully, they did not die. I fought the boy's case. His parents were sent for and he was ultimately repatriated to Bangladesh."

UNICEF is investigating the various factors that are driving children to move from one place to another. Data shows that refugee and migrant children continue to face poverty and exclusion in the countries where they have sought asylum.

Census data from 2011 confirms the extent of migration. It shows an annual inter-state migration of about 5 to 6.5 million between 2001 and 2011. Railway passenger data

analysis suggests an annual inter-state migration flow of close to 9 million since 2011. Clearly, rising growth after the 1980s has led to an acceleration of labour migration. Traffickers are using all means to accelerate these flows.

Nobel prize winner Kailash Satyarthi, head of Bachpan Bachao Andolan rues how the last four years have seen an increase in child labour. He says: "The United Nations warned in 2016 how nearly 170 million children were being ruthlessly exploited. The last decade has seen the death of 10 million children in conflicts, and has pushed another six million into exploitation."

Rishi Kant, who runs NGO Shakti Vahini, has been working tirelessly to promote human rights and against child trafficking for the past three decades. Kant says: "Whenever the police mounts a rescue operation, the traffickers, madams and pimps on GB Road receive a tip-off. The minors are immediately shifted to Meerut, Jaipur and Agra. When the situation cools down, they are brought back. The police and other enforcement agencies have to take steps to out think these criminal elements."

With 12 June being World Day Against Child Labour, it is imperative that governments and societies all over the world join hands to halt the slave trade.
When consumerism replaces idealism as the collective motto of a society, a 'Mahatma' becomes a "chatur baniya". And when winning an election replaces the fight against colonialism, bigotry and inequality as the hallmark of heroism, a party president becomes the 'Shah' of India and a 'Gandhi' just the butt of insensitive, uncouth remarks.

Albert Einstein was right when he said of Mahatma Gandhi: "Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth."

That generation of politicians is upon us. They can scarcely believe such a man could have ever walked in flesh and blood upon the ungrateful land of this country.

Two days ago, when BJP president Amit Shah called Gandhi a 'chatur baniya' at a gathering of the Chhattisgarh elite, the big surprise was not his choice of words. Considering the BJP's background, ideological predilection and its alma mater's  the Sangh Parivar's  uneasy equation with Gandhi's legacy, such denigrating descriptions are expected and understandable.

What's surprising is the complete nonchalance with which many Indians now accept such monikers for the Mahatma; the utter disinterest in standing up for the Father of the Nation, fighting for his legacy.

This is not the place to recount Gandhi's virtues or his contribution to the idea of India. Across the world, he is revered as a noble soul who denounced violence in every form and turned the power of human will and resistance into mass weapons.

As the world burns in fires of terrorism, xenophobia and violence, every day we long for a messenger of peace who could turn the tide towards principles of love, kindness and compassion  the founding ideals of humanity. The Mahatma's denigration, in many ways, is a rejection of whatever is good and noble in all of us.

The BJP's problem is that it doesn't know how to come to terms with Gandhi's legacy. In its politics of symbolism, it tries to subconsciously embrace his ideals  of course, without accepting it boldly  but it simultaneously holds a grudge against the Mahatma for representing some of the very ideals it detests. It is this very dilemma that leads some of its leaders to praise his assassin Nathuram Godse at home and eulogise Gandhi in South Africa  a chatur (clever) political play best described by the 'moonh main Ram, bagal main Nathuram' philosophy.

As argued by Firstpost earlier, six decades after Gandhi's assassination, we find ourselves in a very strange place: the prime minister hails many of Gandhis ideals, though he has conveniently split Gandhi into two: good Mahatma and bad politician; the RSS is backing the BJPs claim to Sardar Patels legacy and Narendra Modi plans to build a gigantic statue of the leader; the Hindu Mahasabha is petitioning the government to install Godse's statues across India, while BJP parliamentarian Sakshi Maharaj argues that he should be called a patriot.

Consider the irony of Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan sitting on a "peace fast" as a defining symbol of the BJP's dichotomous relation with Gandhi. Chouhan sat on a fast  a gruelling self-sacrifice Gandhi made many a times to bring the British to their knees and stop Indians from killing each other  to restore "peace" after his own police force had fired on protesting farmers, using it as a tool to put the moral blame for the incident on others (read the Congress and farmers).

Contrast this with Gandhi's five-day fast after the violence at Chauri Chaura as a form of penitence for his moral and political failure to stop his peaceful movement from turning violent. It is primarily because Chouhan's "fast" lacked the moral force and legitimacy of Gandhi, that he had to wind it up just a day into the televised tamasha.

The BJP's other problem is that it has nobody from its own stables to compare with the Mahatma.

Its ideological fathers, Guru Golwalkar or KB Hedgewar, may be the ruling deities of the Sangh, but outside its haloed precincts in Nagpur, not many identify with their ideology or politics. Its other hero, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, is a controversial subject with his history of seeking clemency from the British and charges of involvement in the Mahatma's assassination.

Among its post-Independence icons, LK Advani is on the sideline, marginalised by his own protegees, left alone to defend the charge that he planned the demolition of the Babri Mosque at Ayodhya  ironically, a claim that one presumed the militant Hindutva-wadis would have worn as a badge of honour.

So, belittling India's icons gives the saffron brigade a false sense of equality. By pulling them into its own swamp, it gets the satisfaction of having at least tried to make its own past bearable and more respectable, even if it means disrespecting the only post-Independence Indian to have become a global hero.

Einstein would have scarcely believed the metamorphosis of a Mahatma into a chatur baniya.
Agartala: In an interesting development, a Congress MLA in Tripura has urged the Union Home Ministry to provide security to a BJP leader claiming his life is "under threat", official and party sources said in Agartala on Monday.

A police official said Congress legislator Ratan Lal Nath has written to the Union Home Ministry requesting that central para-military forces be asked to provide security to BJP's national "Prabhari" (observer) Sunil Deodhar.

The official on condition of anonymity said the Union Home Ministry has sought the Tripura government's views on the issue.

The Congress MLA confirmed that he has written to the Union Home Ministry in this regard.

"I have learnt that some smugglers and anti-social (elements) have chalked out a plan to kill (Sunil) Deodhar. Hence, I have written this letter to the MHA," he said.

Deodhar, who hails from Maharashtra, is the BJP's national "Prabhari" in Tripura and has been spearheading various agitations on behalf of his party against the ruling Left Front.

BJP's spokesman Mrinal Kanti Deb refused to comment on the issue.

The Congress recently served a show cause notice to Nath for "anti-party activities" and meeting BJP leaders, including party President Amit Shah and state BJP chief Biplab Kumar Deb.

"We have recently served a show cause notice to (Ratan Lal) Nath," Tripura state Congress President Birajit Sinha told IANS.

"(Ratan Lal) Nath during a debate on demonetisation in the state assembly talked in favour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He has also not attended any party (Congress) programme during the past two years," added Birajit Sinha, a sitting Congress MLA and former minister.

Ratan Lal Nath, 71, told IANS, "I have received the show-cause notice of the state Congress President." But he declined to make any comment on the issue.

The Congress legislator has been elected five times to the state assembly since 1993 and was also the opposition leader for many years.

In the 2013 assembly elections, the Congress won 10 seats in the 60-member state assembly.

Six Congress MLAs, led by Sudip Roy Barman, resigned from the party last year. They have joined the Trinamool Congress in protest against the Congress' electoral alliance with the Left parties in the West Bengal assembly elections.

Another Congress legislator Jitendra Sarkar resigned from the Tripura assembly and rejoined the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM), reducing the Congress' strength in the state assembly to three.

Sarkar joined the BJP on Sunday.

With these political developments, the Congress' strength in the Tripura assembly has gone down from 10 to three  the lowest ever  in the House.

The ruling Left Front has 51 legislators after it won the by-poll last year. The CPM alone has 50 members.
Bhubaneswar: Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday accused the Congress of using "disrupt, disinform and defame (3Ds)" formula against the Modi government that works on the sole agenda of development.

"Unable to digest that a chaiwallah (tea-seller) is gaining popularity across the world, the Congress has adopted 3Ds- disrupt (Parliament and government works), disinform (false propaganda) and defame (give a bad name to the prime minister)," the Union Urban Development and Information and Broadcasting minister told reporters.

The prime minister has only one agenda which is development, Naidu said.

"Our government has been focusing on 3Ds - decisiveness, dynamism and development," he said, adding that the three years of the Modi government has remained corruption free.

"Our overhead tank (the prime minister) is clean and that is why there has been no allegation of corruption in the last three years on the NDA government," Naidu said, adding "there were scams and scandals in each sphere of life during the UPA regime".

Coming down heavily on Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, the Union minister claimed that the Gandhi-scion loves only photo sessions with the people.

"He usually forgets his assurances and promises after having a photo session with the people wherever he goes. Be it the issues of Hyderabad University, JNU or agitation by farmers in Maharashtra or Madhya Pradesh, Rahul comes back home only after a photo session," he said.

"Why did Congress not think of crop insurance and irrigation to farm lands in its 50 years of rule while Modi introduced the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana within three years in office?" he asked.

On the issues related to farm loan waiver, Naidu said it is a state subject and the Centre has nothing to do with it.

He said the farmers issues are the creation of the Congress that has ruled the country for nearly 60 years.

"When the NDA came to power in 2014, the economy of the country was in a bad shape. Under the able stewardship of Modi, the Indian economy is growing fast. It is now a leading and emerging economy in the world," he said.

He claimed that the NDA government had never waived the loans of any industrialist. Vijay Mallya, who has defaulted loan payments, had advanced the loans during UPA period, Naidu claimed.

Answering a question on the farmers issue in Madhya Pradesh, the Union Minister said, the problem being faced by the farmers now were not created overnight. Rather it is the decade long neglect of their issues by the previous successive Congress governments which has led to the present situation, he said.

While addressing the Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas programme at Salia Sahi, the city's biggest slum, Naidu said the NDA government has so far released more than Rs 7 crore under MUDRA loans to women, schedule caste and tribe, and small businessmen.

Speaking on black money, the Union Minister claimed the Prime Minister's "historic" demonetisation drive has garnered about Rs 1,25,000 crore black money so far.

JAM (Jan-Dhan, Aadhar, Mobile) has promoted digital literacy and prompting people to go for e-transaction. This has also made DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) a success story and the government subsidies are reaching the accounts of beneficiaries in a targeted way now, he said.

So far, the Centre has constructed 4.7 lakh toilets in schools under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Naidu said.

"As per the Prime Minister's direction, so far 13,560 villages have been electrified out of 18,452 un-electrified

villages in the country," he said.

Under the Smart City Project, Rs 200 crore was given to Odisha's capital Bhubaneswar, he said, adding that so far 1.2 crore consumers have given up their LPG subsidy.

Naidu said the naxals are working against development.

"The NDA government is strongly in favour of cooperative federalism, the Centre and the states should work together to raise the socio-economic standards of vulnerable sections of the society," he said.

Reacting to the statements made by Naidu, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Prasad Harichandan said, "The "BJP-led government also has 3Ds (deaf, dumb, deceiver). The three years of the Modi government has been the era of destruction (Teen Saal, Vinash Kaal)."
Kerala has been witnessing a series of hartals (strikes) ever since the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and its allies came to power last year and, strangely, the ruling parties enforced more shutdowns than the main Opposition Congress party.

Every hartal creates a warlike situation with vehicles keeping off roads and shops, hotels, schools and factories shut and even more strangely, the authorities declare a holiday for educational institutions and cancel public exams and job interviews.

The state-run Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) calls off its services, and the shutdown enforcers attack the vehicles daring to venture out or shops or eateries keeping open.

This year, there were 63 hartals  both statewide and regional  and 25 of them were called by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is trying its level best to position itself as a third force in the state's largely bipolar politics since Narendra Modi came to power.

The CPM, which leads the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), enforced 18 and the Congress party-led United Democratic Front (UDF), which brought legislation to ban forced hartals when in power last year, 11.

Even smaller groups like the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) of Muslim extremist Popular Front enforce shutdowns.

Hit hard by these strikes, traders in Kerala, the primary source of funding for politicians, have resolved to defy their calls and keep shops open during the hartals unless they are provided with enough time to take precautions.

They took out a protest march in the northern city of Kozhikode, which was shut for the second consecutive day on Saturday, this time by the BJP protesting attacks on its offices during the hartal called by the CPM.

"They are cowing us into silence, and we dont let them anymore. We are losing crores of rupees, and they are driving tourists away," T Nasruddin, president of the Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi, an apex body that claims a membership base of a million traders, told Firstpost.

"These flash strikes called at the drop of a hat mostly hit small traders who have no refrigeration facilities. They lost all the perishables stocked for the Ramadan sales. Who will compensate for their losses?" he asks.

The CPM has been conducting "beef festivals' throughout the state, successfully instilling fear among the Muslim and Christian minorities of an impending "food code", at the cost of the traditional Congress vote bank since the 2015 civic polls.

The two parties are engaged in a series of violent incidents, including targeted killings by their hit squads, to establish supremacy in their strongholds  since BJP started attracting CPM cadres systematically. They engage in "night raids" on homes and offices of rivals almost every day.

The latest provocation was the Hindu Sena protest at CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechurys press conference at AKG Bhavan in New Delhi last week.

There was widespread propaganda that Yechury was manhandled by Sangh Parivar men who intruded into their party headquarters on Wednesday.

"We will not be cowed down by any attempts of Sangh's goondagardi to silence us. This is a battle for the soul of India, which we will win," he tweeted.

Violence erupted in Kozhikode district that night with workers attacking each others homes and offices. Even libraries were not spared. Both enforced local hartals in many places on Thursday, and past midnight, a crude bomb was hurled at the CPM office by an unidentified man.

The CPM soon alleged that it was an attempt on the life of P Mohanan, its district secretary, whom the court had earlier acquitted after spending one and a half years behind bars for the 2012 murder of TP Chandrasekharan, a "renegade" who floated his outfit  Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP).

"This is absurd and an attack on citizens who vote for them," said Raju P Nair, who leads a campaign, Say No to Harthal, against the forced shutdowns for the last few years.

"They are in power, and they should bring the culprits to book. Why they take ordinary people hostage to score their political points?" he asked.

Say No to Harthal members volunteer to help people stranded at airports and railway stations, mostly expatriates arriving on vacation, tourists and patients heading for tertiary care hospitals in cities.

They also come under attack often.

"They are all partners in crime," Nair told Firstpost. "The politicians, largely of the CPM and the BJP, are trying to incite riots and create fear among ordinary citizens."

Frequent shutdowns also drive investors away; despite the state topping the human development index and often being compared to developed nations, and having abundant human resources.

More than two million of its educated youngsters now work abroad, a vast majority of them in the Gulf, and almost an equal number in other Indian states. And the steady outflow continues.

The NRIs alone sent back Rs 148,074 crore in foreign exchanges to the state's banks last year, despite the oil crisis, sustaining the consumerist state's economy.

Though it had the early bird advantage of setting up its first software hub in the state capital, Technopark, nearly three decades back, it lags far behind its southern neighbours  Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Last year, Kerala exported software worth Rs 3,000 crore as against Karnatakas Rs 1,25,419 crore, Tamil Nadus Rs 33,900 crore, Telangana's Rs 41,480 crore, Maharashtras Rs 64,063 crore, Haryanas Rs 19,265 crore and Uttar Pradeshs Rs 16,450 crore, as per STPI figures.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan came to power last year on the promise of creating 2.5 million jobs, including half a million in the IT sector. But he could not initiate any major project with large-scale employment potential so far.

On 5 September, the national strike called by trade unions against labour reforms turned into a bandh in Kerala, with Vijayan himself making a call to make it a success.

On 28 November, Kerala again witnessed another state-sponsored hartal, this time against the scrapping of high-denomination currencies, putting people through more hardships. They also laid a siege to the Reserve Bank of India (RB) office, hitting the cash flow further.

Earlier, he and his ministers staged a sit-in before the RBI office, with jurisdiction over Kerala and Union Territory of Lakshadweep, true to its policy of "agitation and administration" carried out parallelly.

The Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) estimates the losses by every statewide hartal at around Rs 1,500 crore to the trade and industry alone, besides human sufferings and job losses.

Tourists, mostly backpackers, desperately searching for food and water is a common sight during hartals.

"Any excuse for a hartal from the party that claims to stand for development. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has called 22 hartals in Kerala already this year!" tweeted Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who had spoken against his own party holding people to ransom.

The Congress party-led United Democratic Front (UDF) enforced a state-wide shutdown on 6 April, accusing the police of assaulting a woman petitioner at their headquarters.

"In a democracy, everyone has the right to protest or air their views. But you have no right to restrict freedom of others to work and move freely," said former chief minister Oommen Chandy.

In 2013, while in office, the Congress leader was hurt on his forehead and chest when CPM workers pelted him with stones in Kannur, the hotbed of political violence and home to many CPM leaders, including Vijayan.

The mob was led by CPM district leaders. But he asked his party to refrain from calling a shutdown or protest.

His governments legislation banning shutdowns affecting normal life, which has not seen the light of the day, says those blocking roads and closing shops and offices will attract six months in jail and a fine of Rs 10,000.

Those who block the staff and individuals visiting offices, hospitals, schools and hotels were also to face similar punishment. Flash strikes are completely banned, and those who want to use hartal as means of protest should inform the public at least three days in advance.

They should avoid issuing calls to shut hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and medical stores and distribution of milk, newspaper, fish, water, food and other essentials.

"The ruling parties, at the Centre and in the state, are competing against each other for enforcing local hartals every day," Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, who piloted the Bill as the home minister, said.

In 2004, the Kerala High Court ruled that the state should take measures to ensure that normal life is not paralysed and that those who call hartals or strikes should not compel anyone to participate.

Rejecting the then Left governments claim that people enjoyed shutdowns, the court had even asked it to call in the Army if necessary to see that normal life is not hit and its order is carried out in its real spirit.

Ten years later, in 2014, the high court intervened again and asked the state to bring in legislation to control the menace.

But both the government and the political parties, big and small, continued to ignore it and enforced paralysing shutdowns at will.

Kerala High Court was the first to ban bandhs in India way back in 1997, which was later upheld by the apex court and made applicable to the entire country.

But soon, politicians began calling hartals to enforce shutdowns. The name made no difference.

The high court again intervened and held the government responsible for the free movement of people, which now comes to the aid of individuals who seek legal solace, with little support from the authorities.

"The problem here is that there are people who love hartals so that they can stay home and enjoy their drinks," says historian MGS Narayanan.

"And during the hartals, the criminals, even those who do not have a party affiliation, engage in violence. They are waiting for an opportunity to turn violent."
New Delhi: The Congress on Monday accused the BJP-led NDA government of betraying the farmer community by not fulfilling its promises to them and said as a responsible Opposition it will "awaken" the public on the issue.

The Congress also said it will try and coordinate with other Opposition parties to raise the issue both inside and outside Parliament.

Party senior spokesperson CP Joshi said the Modi government in three years of being in power has put the agriculture sector in the "ICU" as it is gripped with widespread distress and farmers are committing suicide due to BJP's anti-farmer policies and its "callous" approach. He also dubbed as "farcical" the token fast by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and accused him of wasting crores of taxpayers' money.

"The farmers of the country have been mercilessly backstabbed by the callous and insensitive attitude of the BJP government. We as a responsible Opposition will awaken the people on this issue and if need be will also coordinate with other opposition parties to raise it both outside and inside Parliament," Joshi told reporters.

He said no amount of diversionary tactics can take away the focus from BJP's "sins against farmers".

"Why is the Prime Minister of India silent on the shooting of farmers and the massive farmer strike which took place in BJP-ruled states?" he asked.

The Congress leader also said that demonetisation has broken the cash-cycle the farmer had with the commission agents and it will take some time for things to normalise. He said the BJP should first fulfil its primary promise of giving the farmers MSP plus 50 percent of cost inputs as it promised in its manifesto ahead of the 2014 elections.

The Congress leader said if BJP had fulfilled this promise, this distress situation would not have arisen. He also criticised the Centre for leaving the farm loan waiver to the states and demanded that it should announce a uniform farm loan waiver from the Central funds to all states which are demanding the same.

Joshi posed a set of questions to the BJP which every farmer in the country was asking and said, "Why should the farm loan waiver be left to state governments? Why shouldn't the Central government announce the loan waiver?" He alleged the BJP-ruled government in Madhya Pradesh shot dead innocent farmers who were agitating for their promised rights.

Criticising zero import duty on foodgrains, he alleged the nexus with food grain mafia is evident, as reducing import duty has helped ease imports and farmers are not getting remunerative prices for their produce.
New Delhi: Leaders of top Opposition parties will meet here on 14 June in a bid to reach a consensus on a joint candidate for the upcoming presidential election. The 10-member group set up by the Opposition will meet for the first time after its constitution, sources said.

The opposition move on Wednesday's meeting came soon after BJP president Amit Shah announced that a panel of three senior ministers  Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and M Venkaiah Naidu  would talk to allies and other parties on presidential candidates.

Several rounds of talks have already been held among senior opposition leaders on the issue. Congress president Sonia Gandhi has been trying to reach a consensus in the opposition on candidates for the presidential and vice presidential election.

The Opposition is waiting for the ruling dispensation to come up with its candidate and will discuss if the name proposed by the NDA is acceptable to them.

A senior leader said if there was no consensus in the talks with the NDA, the opposition would put up a joint candidate against the NDA nominee.

The sources said Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mallikarjun Kharge represent the Congress in the 10-member group, which also includes other senior opposition leaders such as JD-U's Sharad Yadav, RJD's Lalu Prasad and CPM's Sitaram Yechury.

DMK's Rajya Sabha member RS Bharathi, Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav, Bahujan Samaj Party's Satish Chandra Misra, TMC's Derek O'Brien and NCP's Praful Patel are also on the panel. While the ruling party is holding its cards close to its chest, the Opposition has already discussed the names of possible candidates and has held talks with one, former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi. Among the other names doing the rounds are those of former Speaker Meira Kumar and former defence minister Sharad Pawar, though the NCP strongman has said he is not in the race.

The poll to elect the next president will be held on 17 July and counting will take place on 20 July. The term of incumbent Pranab Mukherjee ends on 24 July and that of Vice-President M Hamid Ansari on 10 August.

A united Opposition had met at a lunch hosted by Sonia Gandhi in Parliament, where it was decided that if the ruling dispensation failed to come up with a candidate with "secular credentials" for the presidential poll, the Opposition would field someone who would "steadfastly defend" the country's constitutional values.

After the meeting last month, Azad and Sharad Yadav read out a joint statement stating that in a presidential election, the ruling party traditionally took the initiative to build a consensus on candidates.

"This has not happened so far. If acceptable consensual candidates do not emerge, then we (opposition parties) shall field such persons who shall steadfastly defend the Constitutional values of our republic," the statement said.

Yadav said while the opposition appealed to the BJP to take the lead and come up with a consensus candidate for the president and vice president's posts, consensus between the ruling and opposition appeared remote.
Bhubaneswar: Senior BJP leader and Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday said that the party might consult BJD president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in order to reach a consensus about a candidate for the upcoming Presidential poll.

Naidu, who was attending a Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas programme, said, "It will be a good tradition to elect a person as the president of India on consensus."

Asked whether they will consult BJD president Naveen Patnaik, Naidu said that they would like to discuss the matter

with all the opposition parties including BJD.

Naidu's statement came barely hours after BJP president Amit Shah formed a three-member committee to consult political parties in a bid to elect the new President on consensus.

Besides Naidu, the committee comprises Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Arun Jaitley.

JD(U) president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, party leader Sharad Yadav, TMC president and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee have met Patnaik on the issue of Presidential election.

However, Patnaik has not given any assurance to any leader and maintained that he will would take a decision at the appropriate time, sources said.

Nomination papers for the Presidential election can be filed between 14 and June 28. The poll is scheduled to be held on 17 July.

BJD's decision regarding the presidential polls is considered significant as the party has 20 members in the Lok Sabha, nine members in the Rajya Sabha and 117 MLAs in the 147-member Odisha Assembly.
Bengaluru: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Monday decried the trend of "outsiders" walking away with party tickets and made it clear that "performance" would be the main criteria in the choice of candidates for the 2018 Karnataka Assembly polls.

He expressed reservations about 'outsiders' getting tickets through "helicopter system".

"We have elections before us; I have told Venugopalji (General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka) that whoever stands with the people and is working for the Congress, whether it is a leader or a worker, only they get the tickets," he told a KPCC meeting in Bengaluru.

"...party workers work, leaders work, but sometimes some other people get tickets through helicopter system just ahead of elections. Some time even people from other party get tickets through helicopter system," he said.

Gandhi said he had sought a list of MLAs actively working for the party.

"You still have time...go amidst people, raise their issues and find solutions for them. Whoever works well, whoever is seen amidst the people, Congress will give ticket to him or her, whether he or she is a big leader or a small worker," the Congress vice president said.

He was speaking at the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee's (KPCC) extended general body meeting here in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, party's state chief G Parameshwara and other leaders.

The party has already announced that Siddaramaiah will be the party's face in the state Assembly polls.

In an attempt to maintain balance, the party has retained G Parameshwara as the PCC chief and appointed two working presidents and a campaign committee chief.

On BJP trying to come to power in Karnataka, Gandhi said wherever they go, they will make one community fight with another.

While accusing the BJP of winning the elections in Uttar Pradesh by dividing the communities, he said Congress believed in uniting the communities.

"They divided every single community in Uttar Pradesh and that is how they won the election; when they divide, we unite. So our job is to ensure everybody in Karnataka feels that this is their government," he said.

Talking about the new AICC team sent to Karnataka under the leadership of party General Secretary In-charge KC Venugopal, Gandhi said the team was directed to ensure every worker and leader in the state feel that he is part of the "family" called Congress.

"This is a family and every member must feel that he has a place and he is being heard. Everyone can't be made happy, but every one can be embraced," he said.

Noting that across the country, farmers were struggling, Gandhi said there was "fear and pain" among them.

He accused the BJP of abandoning and forgetting the farmers and advised the state government to assist the ryots.

"Karnataka's farmers should feel that this is their government, and I am confident that the chief minister is constantly listening to them and working for their interest," he added.

Gandhi's statement comes at a time when there has been a strong demand for farm loan waiver, owing to consecutive years of severe drought in the state.
Bengaluru: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Monday disapproved of his party leader Sandeep Dikshit likening army chief General Bipin Rawat to a "goon on the street", saying it was "absolutely wrong".

Gandhi said the Indian Army works for the country and there was no need for any political leader to make comments against the army chief.

"Someone from the press told me on Monday that a Congress leader has made comments about the army chief. This is absolutely wrong," he said, addressing a Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee meeting here.

"People should not make any comments against the army chief. I want to make it clear that the Indian Army works for us, it protects India. There is no need for any political leader to make comments against the army chief," he said.

Facing flak, the Congress has already distanced itself from Dikshit's remarks, over which the BJP had demanded his expulsion from the organisation and its president Sonia Gandhi's apology.

Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju had also slammed Dikshit over his remarks and wrote on Twitter, "What's wrong with Congress Party? How dare Congress call Indian Army chief as "Sadak Ka Gunda"!! (sic)."

"Ours is not a mafia army like the Pakistani Army which makes statements like the goons on the street. It looks bad when our army chief gives a statement like a 'sadak ka goonda' (goon on the street)," the former Congress member of parliament and son of former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit had said on Sunday.

He, however, later withdrew his remarks and tweeted, "I have reservations on a comment of the army chief, but I should have chosen appropriate words. I apologise."
Amid an ongoing legal tangle that involves Congress and two of its top leaders, Rahul Gandhi is all set to relaunch the Congress-run newspaper National Herald  which was started by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1938.

Gandhi and several other Congress leaders were in Bengaluru on Monday afternoon to release a commemorative edition of the paper titled "India at a Crossroads: 70 years of Independence".

During the release, Gandhi asked the editors of the newspaper to criticise Congress when required saying, "The National Herald should speak the truth," Scroll.in reported.

Speak the truth. Do not be silenced & do not be scared.This is what we expect from the National Herald #NationalHeraldLive @NH_India pic.twitter.com/qb7kuTDcau  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) June 12, 2017

In the National Herald case, it was alleged that the Gandhis had set up the Young Indian company to buy the newspaper's debts using Congress party funds, and illegally acquired property worth Rs 5,000 crore.

The newspaper, which was shut in 2008 due to financial constraints, made a digital comeback in 2016. The print version of the newspaper will be formally launched in the presence of President Pranab Mukherjee on 20 June, according to a report by NDTV.

In an interview with National Herald, Gandhi described unavailability of jobs as a "dangerously clear" challenge and specifically called out Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP-led government for not tending sufficiently to the issue of joblessness.

"Today, China has become the most efficient job producer in the world  over 12 million new jobs each year for the last five years. Neither the West nor India has developed a response to this challenge," Gandhi said, claiming that Modi gave India the highest level of unemployment in the last five years.

Gandhi stressed that the lack of jobs exposed us to vulnerability. He went on to explain how the rural inhabitants leave a familiar environment to seek employment in the city but are instantly feel lost on arrival. "Imagine the tremendous anxiety and fear that these internal migrants face  its shattering," he said.

"The ideology that drives Modi, the RSS and BJP uses this anxiety and insecurity to spread anger and hatred... But anger and hatred will not convert into jobs or solutions. Once this engine of hatred starts, you cannot control it," he added. Gandhi accused Modi of feeding off the hatred, rather than making attempts to control it.

On being asked if the UPA government was able to cope with the challenge of migration for job search, Gandhi claimed that they had MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act)-like schemes to tackle the situation. Through MGNREGA, individuals are given a job guarantee of a minimum 100 days a year.

The Congress vice-president emphasised that the UPA policies were way forward, even though the architecture failed to deliver back then. "I am happy to see that over the last three years, despite their loud and critical speeches, the BJP government may have changed some of their names, but it has not been able to shut down the UPAs flagship programs  MGNREGA, UID, RTI, RTE, RTF," Gandhi said.

Speaking of his vision for Congress, Gandhi said that the party saw politics as a process and that it was "designed for listening".

"It (Congress) is perhaps the only party that has changed itself continually according to the needs of the times; a party that gave the country bank nationalisation, also liberalised the economy two decades later. We were successful because we listened to the people. This is at the core of the Congress culture, we listen to the people and make policies accordingly," he said.

Criticising the BJP for lacking the ability to listen, Gandhi said, "For a people so entrenched in the past and so frightened of the future, they dont realise that gradually people will run out of patience for their hollow words and unfulfilled promises,"

Gandhi lashed out at the NDA government over possessing "a very narrow, personal idea of development". He said, "For them, (NDA) giving benefits to a handful of people and business cronies is development of the whole country. For me, inclusiveness is a priority. I take inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi. The welfare of the last man is the only parameter for me."

Speaking of Congress' plans on changing the governance narrative, Gandhi said that he believed in the resilience of the country.

"The idea of India is at its core about forgiveness and embracing difference. And that is the fundamental idea of Hinduism too. Gandhis credo was  I embrace and I forgive. He did not hate anyone, not even the British. He refused to give in to anger," he said.

"People ask me  what is Congressiya? A true Congressperson is someone who cannot carry hatred or anger, and loves and respects the plurality of our nation. Hate can only distract India from the real task at hand," he added.
Ahmedabad: A man was detained by the police on Monday for throwing bangles at Union minister Smriti Irani while she was addressing a function at Amreli town in Gujarat.

The man, in his mid-20s, was identified as Ketan Kaswala, a resident of Mota Bhandaria village in Amreli district, the police said.

The incident happened in the evening when the Union textile minister was addressing a gathering as part of the celebrations of the completion of three years of the Narendra Modi government, said Amreli Superintendent of Police (SP) Jagdish Patel.

"As the minister was addressing the crowd, Kaswala, who was sitting far from the dais, suddenly got up and threw two or three bangles towards the stage and shouted 'Vande Mataram'. Due to the distance, the bangles did not reach the stage and the policemen quickly took him away," he said.

While the local Congress leaders claimed that Kaswala, by throwing the bangles, had actually raised the demand for a complete farm loan waiver in the state, the police denied it.

"Kaswala is not associated with the Congress or any other organisation. While throwing the bangles, he had shouted 'Vande Mataram' and no other slogan," said Patel.

He added that when the policemen were taking him away, Irani urged them to let Kaswala take part in the event.

"The minister even told the policemen to let him throw the bangles which she would send them to his wife as a gift," said Patel.

Ahead of the function, which was held at an agriculture university hall, the police had briefly detained around 25 Congress workers for staging protests against the ruling BJP outside the venue.

Local Congress MLA Paresh Dhanani claimed that Kaswala was a farmer who raised the demand for a complete farm loan waiver in Gujarat by throwing the bangles at Irani.

"As per my information, Kaswala is a farmer who wanted the government to announce a farm loan waiver. He expressed his anger as Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, both BJP-ruled states, did that recently. But, the BJP government here is yet to announce a farm loan waiver," he said.

This is the second such incident in the recent past in which a Union minister was targeted in Modi's home state.

Meanwhile, Twitterati went berserk on the whole incident and came up with a few interesting reactions.

Bangles thrown at #SmritiIrani by a young farmer during her speech in Amreli - Gujarat! pic.twitter.com/LeQuXIQD4N  Maulin Shah (@maulinshah9) June 12, 2017

#SmritiIrani wrap them nicely and present them to the PM https://t.co/qWTs90CuKS  alka narula (@narulaAlka) June 12, 2017

On 28 May, a member of the Hardik Patel-led Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti had hurled a shoe at Union minister Mansukh Mandaviya in Bhavnagar district, alleging that the BJP government was not doing anything for the educated youth of the country.
Aden: A soldier was killed and two others were wounded in an Al-Qaeda attack on Monday on a checkpoint in Yemen's Hadramawt province that also left three assailants dead, the army said.

"A soldier was martyred and two soldiers were wounded in an attack by Al-Qaeda gunmen on our checkpoint near the Dowen military camp," said Major General Faraj al-Bahsani, a regional commander.

Three of the assailants were shot dead and two injured in an exchange of gunfire that followed the attack in the southeastern province, Bahsani told AFP.

Al-Qaeda extremists remain active in the vast region of Hadramawt, where a number of leaders of Yemen's Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) are based.

Since January, the United States has intensified its controversial air attacks on AQAP, which it considers the global terror network's most dangerous branch. Al-Qaeda has flourished in Yemen as the country's deadly two-year-old civil conflict shows no sign of waning.

More than 8,000 people have been killed and 40,000 wounded since an Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia joined the Yemen war in 2015, according to the UN's World Health Organization.

The coalition is allied with the UN-recognised government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, whose forces are battling Iran-backed Huthi rebels for control of the impoverished country.

Along with Sanaa, the Shiite rebels still control most of the north and the Red Sea coastline, including the key port of Hodeida. The UN has warned Yemen is at risk of famine, with 17 million people facing dire food shortages.

The country has also been hit by a cholera outbreak that has killed more than 780 people.
By Julia Edwards Ainsley

| WASHINGTON

WASHINGTON U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions will testify publicly to a Senate panel on Tuesday, its chairman said, setting up another potentially dramatic hearing on possible ties between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential race.Sessions is likely to face tough questioning from Senate Intelligence Committee members over his dealings with Russian officials during the campaign and whether he had a role in the firing of former FBI Director James Comey, who testified last week before the same panel.Until a statement on Monday from committee Chairman Richard Burr, a Republican, it had been unclear whether Sessions would testify in an open or closed setting.Comey told the panel last week that the FBI had information in mid-February on Sessions that would have made it "problematic" for him to continue leading a federal probe into Russian attempts to influence the presidential election.Sessions recused himself from that inquiry in March after media reports that he had been in two previously undisclosed meetings last year with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak.Tuesday's testimony, scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m. (1830GMT), will be the first for Sessions in a congressional hearing since he became attorney general. During his nomination hearing in January, the former senator told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he had no contacts with Russian officials as part of the Trump campaign.

Sessions is likely to be questioned over the truthfulness of his answers in January.A spokesman for the Justice Department said after media reports emerged in March of the meetings that Sessions had answered honestly because the encounters were part of his job as a senator and not as a surrogate of the Trump campaign. Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, a member of both the Senate intelligence and judiciary committees, has said Sessions should answer questions about his January testimony.

Intelligence committee members are also likely to ask Sessions about a possible third undisclosed meeting with Kislyak that is now under investigation, according to media reports.Sessions, an early supporter of Trump's election campaign, will be the most senior government official to testify to the committee on the Russia issue, which has dogged the Republican president's early months in office.Critics charged that by firing Comey on May 9 Trump was trying to hinder the FBI's Russia probe and the ex-FBI chief added fuel to that accusation with his testimony last week. Trump has denied he tried to interfere with the probe.

In his testimony, Comey said he had asked Sessions not to leave him alone with Trump following meetings where he said Trump had asked Comey for his loyalty. The attorney general may also face questions on this.A Justice Department spokeswoman said Sessions requested the open setting because "he believes it is important for the American people to hear the truth directly from him."Media reports last week said Sessions offered to resign because of tensions with Trump over his decision to recuse himself from the FBI's Russia probe. The matter is also being investigated by several congressional panels, including the Senate Intelligence Committee. Russia has denied interfering in the U.S. election. The White House has denied any collusion with Moscow. (Reporting by Julia Edwards Ainsley; additional reporting by Jonathan Landay; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Frances Kerry)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
OTTAWA Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday denied he had suggested deleting mentions of the Paris climate pact from the final communique of a major summit to appease U.S. President Donald Trump. German magazine Der Spiegel on Saturday said Trudeau made his comments in a call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who will host a G20 summit in July.

Pressed in Parliament as to whether he had made the remarks in question, Trudeau replied: "No, I did not say that".Canada says it is deeply disappointed by Trump's announcement on June 1 to withdraw the United States from the Paris accord. A source familiar with the matter said Trudeau had last month strongly urged Trump to stay in.

"We will not let climate policy, or indeed international policy, (be) dictated by any country," Trudeau told legislators.

Earlier, Environment Minister Catherine McKenna told reporters that Canada would be "strong on climate action at the G20".McKenna, in Italy for a meeting of G7 environment ministers, said she had told Scott Pruitt, head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, how dismayed she was at Trump's decision. (Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Bernard Orr and Grant McCool)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Washington: US president Donald Trump on Monday promised to reveal details of his long-awaited plan for fighting the Islamic State group, saying a press conference will come within weeks.

"We have had tremendous success against ISIS (Islamic State)," Trump said at a cabinet meeting at the White House.

"We are going to be having a news conference in two weeks on that fight and you'll see numbers that you would not have believed."

Tackling the group  which still controls swaths of Syria and Iraq  was among Trump's most often repeated campaign promises.

Then candidate Trump went as far as to promise to "bomb the hell" out of them and have a military plan on his desk within 30 days of moving into the White House.

Six months after taking office, Trump has yet to sketch out his strategy.

Meanwhile efforts to retake Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria  the capital of the self-styled caliphate  have continued apace.

The Pentagon has already taken the decision to arm Kurdish fighters in the assault on Raqqa, a move that upset US ally Turkey.

Officials warn that the fight against the Islamic State, while simple on its face, is made more complex by competing interests in Syria.

The United States would like to improve the humanitarian situation, keep Turkey onside, ease the possibilities of clashes with Russia, hasten the transition away from President Bashar al-Assad's rule, limit Iranian influence and keep Syria and Iraq's borders intact.
Paris: French president Emmanuel Macron's party is on course for an overwhelming parliamentary majority, after Sunday's first round of voting for the National Assembly left traditional parties in disarray.

Projections showed Macron widening his centrist revolution, with his Republique en Marche (Republic on the Move, REM) party and its ally MoDem tipped to win between 400 and 445 seats in the 577-member National Assembly in next Sunday's second round.

Such a share would give Macron one of the biggest parliamentary majorities for 60 years.

"France is back," Prime Minister Edouard Philippe declared triumphantly.

"For the past month, the president has shown confidence, willingness and daring in France and on the international stage," Philippe said, calling the result a vindication of Macron's "winning strategy".

But the vote was marked by record low turnout of 49 percent, possibly reflecting fatalism among Macron's opponents in the face of his seemingly unstoppable advance, experts said.

The right-wing Republicans  who had hoped to rebound from their humiliation in the presidential vote  were shown trailing in second with a predicted 70-130 seats while Marine Le Pen's far-right National Front (FN) was forecast to garner between one and 10 seats.

The FN's result showed the party is struggling to rebound from Le Pen's bruising defeat by Macron in the presidential run-off.

The FN's deputy leader Florian Philippot admitted to "disappointment" and called on voters to "mobilise massively" for the second round.

The worst losses, however, were for the Socialists of Macron's predecessor Francois Hollande, who are predicted to lose a staggering 200 seats.

The party's chief Jean-Christophe Cambadelis and its failed presidential candidate Benoit Hamon both lost their seats.

Conceding that the party was facing "unprecedented" losses, Cambadelis appealed to voters to rally behind Macron's rivals to avoid the president monopolising power.

Parliament risked having "no real oversight powers and no democratic debate worth speaking of," he warned.

Former Republicans party leader Jean-Francois Cope said the results were "a disaster".

"It's the continuation of the real disaster that the presidential election was... we need to rebuild everything," he told BFMTV.

Official final results released early Monday showed Macron's one-year-old REM and MoDem winning 32.32 percent in the first round, ahead of the Republicans on 21.56 percent and the FN on 13.20 percent.

Few MPs were elected outright on Sunday.

If no candidate wins over 50 percent, the two top-placed contenders go into the second round  along with any other candidate who garners at least 12.5 percent of registered voters in the district.

France's youngest-ever president at 39, Macron has gained praise for appointing a balanced cabinet that straddles the left-right divide and taking a leading role in Europe's fight-back against United States president Donald Trump on climate change.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel congratulated Macron on a "great success" Sunday.

If the seat projections are confirmed next week, he will have a strong mandate to push through the ambitious labour, economic and social reforms he promised on the campaign trail.

New Faces

Macron, who had never held elected office before becoming president, will also have succeeded in ushering in a younger and more diverse parliament with more women and ethnic minorities.

His party fielded political novices in around 200 constituencies.

They include Marie Sara, a retired bullfighter, who went through to a runoff against FN stalwart Gilbert Collard in southern France, and star mathematician Cedric Villani.

Macron is also trying to bring in an era of cleaner politics. His government's first bill proposes to ban lawmakers from employing family members or performing consultancy work while in office.

The measures follow the scandal that destroyed the presidential bid of Republicans candidate Francois Fillon, who has been charged over payments to his wife and two of his children for suspected fake jobs as parliamentary assistants. Fillon denies the charges.

Macron's party has largely avoided controversy but one of his ministers who is running for re-election in Brittany, Richard Ferrand, is being probed over a property deal involving his girlfriend.

FN falls short

Forecasts show Le Pen's party will struggle to win the 15 seats it would need to form a parliamentary group and help shape the assembly's agenda.

The radical-left France Insoumise (France Unbowed) party of Jean-Luc Melenchon who finished fourth in the presidential race also fell short of expectations. His camp was tipped to only take 10-23 seats.

Macron has urged voters to back his reform proposals including an overhaul of the rigid rules governing the job market, blamed by many economists for holding back growth.
Bologna, Italy: Differences between the United States and other leading economies over climate change remain wide and are not likely to narrow, environment ministers from G7 countries said on Sunday.

Group of Seven (G7) environment ministers and officials are meeting in Bologna on Sunday and Monday to discuss issues ranging from climate change to sustainable development and litter at sea.

But earlier this month US president Donald Trump said he would withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, drawing condemnation from other world leaders.

"Positions over the Paris accord are far apart ... and will remain that way," Italian Environment Minister Gian Luca Galletti said on the sidelines of the meeting.

Italy holds the G7 presidency for 2017.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French president Emmanuel Macron and Italian prime minister Paolo Gentiloni have said the Paris agreement cannot be renegotiated, urging their allies to speed up efforts to combat global warming.

German environment minister Barbara Hendricks said all seven countries had agreed on the need to take action but disappointment had been expressed at the US decision to leave the Paris Accord.

"There will be a final comunique tomorrow that will differentiate opinions," she said, without providing details.

Trump has said the Paris accord would undermine the US economy, cost jobs, and put the country at a permanent disadvantage compared with its competitors.

Scott Pruitt, head of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), attended the morning meeting in Bologna but flew back to the United States on Sunday evening to attend Trump's first full cabinet meeting scheduled for Monday.

In a statement the EPA said Pruitt had emphasised it was time to move forward and find ways to engage with other countries to protect and use US natural resources.

"I believe engaging in international discussion is of the utmost importance to the United States when it comes to environmental issues," he said in the statement.

According to Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Pruitt told delegates in the opening session that the United States wanted to continue making efforts in combating climate change.

"He also mentioned he wants to engage with the (UN's) Climate Change secretariat," she said.

Trump said when he announced he was pulling out of the Paris accord that his administration would begin negotiations either to re-enter the deal or set up a new agreement on "terms that are fair to the United States".

Italy's Galletti said the United States was looking to take the climate change debate forward on a voluntary basis while Paris was a multilateral accord requiring monitoring, deadlines and transparency.

"That's a substantial difference," he said.

The United States is the world's second biggest carbon emitter behind China.

United Nations executive director for the environment Erik Solheim, present at the morning sessions, said G7 countries, excluding the United States were absolutely committed to move ahead with climate action whatever happened in the White House.

"We cannot allow one nation to derail what 190 other nations are happy to do," he said.
Riyadh: Saudi Arabia has denied barring Qatar nationals from entering the holy city of Mecca.

It confirmed that 206 people coming from Qatar were allowed to cross the Salwa border on 9 June so that they could perform Umrah pilgrimage in Mecca, reports Xinhua news agency.

The Saudi authority that supervises the affairs of the two grand mosques in Mecca and Medina confirmed in a statement that it provides services for pilgrims from all countries of the world, including Qatar, describing circulated news in social media as baseless accusations.

According to Al Arabiya, several media outlets reported on Sunday that Qataris were denied access into Mecca and the two grand mosques, which Saudi Arabia has refused.

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Yemen, Libya, the Maldives, Mauritius and Mauritania last week severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism.

Saudi officials also declared that it would provide all facilities and services needed by Qatari pilgrims currently in the kingdom.
ANKARA Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday blamed the United States for instability in the Middle East and said Washington's fight against the Islamic State militant group was "a lie"."You (the United States) and your agents are the source of instability in the Middle East...who created Islamic State? America ... America's claim of fighting against Islamic State is a lie," Khamenei said in a meeting with high-ranking Iranian officials, according to his official website.Iran and the United States cut diplomatic ties shortly after Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution and enmity to Washington has long been a rallying point for hardline supporters of Khamenei in Iran.Khamenei has made several statements denouncing the United States since the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, while U.S. President Donald Trump has spoken out against Iran in harsh terms since taking office, indicating that he will reverse the previous administration's attempts at rapprochement with Tehran.

The Iranian leader has accused the United States and its regional ally Saudi Arabia of funding hardline Sunni militants, including Islamic State, which carried out its first attack in Iran on Wednesday in Tehran, killing 17 people. Riyadh has denied involvement in the suicide bombings and gun attacks on Iran's parliament and the mausoleum of the Islamic Republic's founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who favours opening up to the world, has condemned the attacks, without pointing a finger at any country.

The pragmatist president championed a nuclear deal with the United States and five other powers in 2015 that led to the lifting of most sanctions against Iran, in return for curbs on its nuclear programme. But the deal has not led to normalization of ties between the two countries that Rouhani hoped for. Trump has frequently called the agreement "one of the worst deals ever signed" and said Washington would review it.

Khamenei said Iran had no intention of normalising ties with the United States."The American government is against an independent Iran ... They have problems with the existence of Islamic Republic of Iran...Most of our problems with them cannot be resolved," the semi-official Fars news agency quoted him as saying.Khamenei's hardline loyalists, drawn from among Islamists and the Revolutionary Guards, fear that normalisation of ties with the United States might weaken their position."America is a terrorist country and backs terrorism ... therefore, we cannot normalise ties with such country," he said. (Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Alison Williams and Angus MacSwan)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
ANKARA Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday blamed the United States for instability in the Middle East and also said Washington's fight against Islamic State Sunni militant group was a lie, his official website reported.

"You (the United States) and your agents are the source of instability in the Middle East ... who created Islamic State? America ... America's claim of fighting against Islamic state is a lie," Khamenei said in a meeting with high-ranking Iranian officials.

Iran and the United States cut diplomatic ties shortly after Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution and enmity to Washington has long been a rallying point for hardline supporters of Khamenei in Iran. (Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Alison Williams)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Washington: Fellow Republicans pressed President Donald Trump on Sunday to come clean about whether he has tapes of private conversations with former FBI director James Comey and provide them to Congress if he does  or possibly face a subpoena, as a Senate investigation into collusion with Russia or obstruction of justice extended to a Trump cabinet member.

It was a sign of escalating fallout from riveting testimony from Comey last week of undue pressure from Trump, which drew an angry response from the president on Friday that Comey was lying.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is in for sharp questioning by senators on the Senate Intelligence committee on Tuesday. Whether that hearing will be public or closed is not yet known.

"I don't understand why the president just doesn't clear this matter up once and for all," said Republican senator Susan Collins, a member of that committee, referring to the existence of any recordings.

She described Comey's testimony as "candid" and "thorough" and said she would support a subpoena if needed. Trump "should voluntarily turn them over," Collins said.

Republican senator James Lankford, also a member of that committee, agreed the panel needed to hear any tapes that exist. "We've obviously pressed the White House," he said.

Trump's aides have dodged questions about whether conversations relevant to the Russia investigation have been recorded, and so has the president. Pressed on the issue on Friday, Trump said "I'll tell you about that maybe sometime in the very near future."

Lankford said Sessions' testimony on Tuesday will help flesh out the truth of Comey's allegations, including Sessions' presence at the White House in February when Trump asked to speak to Comey alone. Comey alleges that Trump then privately asked him to drop a probe into former national security adviser Michael Flynn's contacts with Russia.

Comey also has said Sessions did not respond when he complained he didn't "want to get time alone with the president again". The Justice Department has denied that, saying Sessions stressed to Comey the need to be careful about following appropriate policies.

"We want to be able to get his side of it," Lankford said.

Senator Jack Reed said "there's a real question of the propriety" of Sessions' involvement in Comey's dismissal, because Sessions had stepped aside from the federal investigation into contacts between Russia and the Trump campaign. Comey was leading that probe.

Reed said he also wants to know if Sessions had more meetings with Russian officials as a Trump campaign adviser than have been disclosed.

Trump on Sunday accused Comey of "cowardly" leaks and predicted many more from him. "Totally illegal?" he asked in a tweet. "Very 'cowardly!'"

Several Republican lawmakers also criticised Comey for disclosing memos he had written in the aftermath of his private conversations with Trump, calling that action "inappropriate." But, added Lankford, "releasing his memos is not damaging to national security."

The New York City federal prosecutor who expected to remain on the job when Trump took office but ended up being fired said he was made uncomfortable by one-on-one interactions with the president  just like Comey was. Preet Bharara told ABC's "This Week" that Trump was trying to "cultivate some kind of relationship" with him when he called him twice before the inauguration to "shoot the breeze".

He said Trump reached out to him again after the inauguration but he refused to call back, shortly before he was fired.

On Comey's accusations that Trump pressed him to drop the FBI investigation of Flynn, Bharara said "no one knows right now whether there is a provable case of obstruction" of justice. "But I think there's absolutely evidence to begin a case," she said.

Democratic senator Dianne Feinstein of California, a member of the Intelligence committee, sent a letter to Senator Chuck Grassley urging him to investigate possible obstruction of justice by Trump in Grassley's position as chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Feinstein is the top Democrat on that panel and a member of both.

She said Sessions should also testify before the Judiciary Committee, because it was better suited to explore legal questions of possible obstruction. Feinstein said she was especially concerned after National Intelligence Director Dan Coats and National Security Agency Director Michael Rogers refused to answer questions from the intelligence committee about possible undue influence by Trump.

Feinstein said she did not necessarily believe Trump was unfit for office, as House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi has asserted, but said he has a "destabilising effect" on government.

"There's an unpredictability. He projects an instability," Feinstein said, "Doing policy by tweets is really a shakeup for us, because there's no justification presented."
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
Islamabad: Two Chinese nationals abducted from Quetta last month and reportedly killed by Islamic State militants were involved in "preaching" instead of business activities  their declared purpose for visiting Pakistan  interior minister Chaudhry Nisar was told on Monday.

The Dawn newspaper reported that Nisar was told that the abductees had gone to Quetta and were engaged in preaching under the garb of learning Urdu from a Korean national, Juan Won Seo, who is the owner of ARK Info Tech.

Lee Zing Yang, 24, and Meng Li Si, 26, were abducted from Jinnah Town Quetta in the restive Balochistan province on 24 May and later murdered. The Islamic State had claimed responsibility for their killing.

The minister was informed that the two were part of a group of Chinese citizens who obtained business visas from the Pakistani embassy in Beijing and entered Pakistan.

It was not immediately clear what the interior ministry suspected them of 'preaching', the newspaper reported on the high-level meeting attended by Nisar.

The minister observed that it is "highly unfortunate that a misuse of the terms of business visa contributed to the unfortunate abduction and subsequent murder of two innocent Chinese".

The murder of the two Chinese nationals apparently forced Chinese president Xi Jinping not to meet Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif for a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Astana last week. However, Beijing on Monday asserted that the two leaders met "several times" during the meeting.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's interior minister Nisar has ordered an initial review, followed by regulation and the streamlining of the visa process to avoid the misuse of business visas by foreign nationals.

Nisar expressed his displeasure at the laxity often shown in granting visas by Pakistani missions abroad. He directed all Pakistani missions to undertake proper scrutiny of visa application forms and acquire all necessary details before exercising their powers.

Nisar directed the ministry of foreign affairs be taken on board and their input be included while formulating new visa policy guidelines for issuance of visas to the foreigners on various visa categories.

He also called for a data bank of Chinese nationals present in the country to be maintained.

This data bank, to be prepared by National Database Registration Authority (Nadra), should be shared with all security agencies, ordered the minister in the meeting, which was attended by the secretary interior, advocate general, director general of immigration and passports, the deputy chairman Nadra and others.

The minister also said that ensuring the security of foreign nationals is a shared responsibility and that the Pakistani government was doing its bit to secure foreigners.

However, he was quick to point out that the visitors held some responsibility as well, and should inform local authorities about their movements and activities.

The Islamic State has been making inroads in Pakistan with the help of its ties with local militant outfits like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar. However, the government has largely downplayed the presence of the dreaded terror outfit.
Nepals newly elected Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba began his fourth term as prime minister on 7 June on a positive note after a smooth transition from the previous Maoist-led government of Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda. Deuba took over as part of a deal with the Maoists under which Prachanda became prime minister in August 2016 for nine months and then stepped down in favour of Deuba.

According to Deuba, his primary responsibility is to ensure that local bodies, provincial and parliamentary elections are held before 18 January, 2018  the deadline for holding parliamentary elections. Prachanda had claimed the successful holding of the first phase of the elections to the local bodies as a major achievement of his government. Deubas immediate challenge is to complete the ongoing elections. But the task has become more difficult with one of the Madhesi parties vowing to boycott the election due to be held on 28 June.

Deuba has listed as his main priorities the amending the constitution to address the demands of Madhesi and other socially marginalised groups, economic reforms and rapid development through focus on electricity, transportation and irrigation sectors. But he needs to conduct a peaceful series of elections for Nepal to transit to a democratically elected government with peoples mandate. The aggressive boycott by Rashtriya Janata Party Nepal could lead to a tense election in the Terai or Madhes region.

The first phase for the local bodies election held on 14 May had seen a voter turnout of 71 percent indicating the high public enthusiasm for the elections. The local elections are being held after two decades, seeking to revive democratic politics at the lowest level to bodies that have had their responsibilities and financial powers greatly enhanced as part of the governments plans of decentralisation of powers. Prachanda had postponed the second phase by two weeks to 28 June; it was meant to give time to the RJP to register with the Nepal election commission for participating in the election. The first phase of elections was held in the hill regions where the Madhesi parties do not have a presence.

The RJP, a coalition of six Madhesi parties, has belied general expectation that the Madhesi parties would participate in the local elections that include two provinces in the Madhes region. The RJP had supported Deuba in his election last week. But it has not only decided to boycott the election but is planning to actively disrupt the polls, bringing back memories of the five-month-long Madhesi agitation. It has begun attacking workers of the other Madhesi groups that are campaigning for the 28 June elections.

Two other Madhesi groups, the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum Loktantrik led by Bijaya Kumar Gachachadar, and the Federal Socialist Forum led by Upendra Yadav are participating in the election. These parties are of the view that boycotting the local elections would allow marginal players to take over the panchayat bodies which would be the primary interface between the government and the public. With the other two Madhesi parties participating in the election, the RJPs boycott call is unlikely to keep the Madhesi from voting on 28 June. But its aggressive stance could lead to disruptions and violence during the campaign.

Nepal has had a period of calm after the political instability of the long Madhesi agitation. During his nine-month tenure, Prachanda had tried to bring down the political acrimony that had been exacerbated by his predecessor KP Olis policies. Prachandas government introduced a constitutional amendment in Parliament that covered the majority of the Madhesi demands. The constitution amendment bill was opposed by the KP Oli-led Communist Party of Nepal (UML) and the Maoist-Nepali Congress combine could not muster the two-thirds majority required to get the legislation adopted.

Prachanda sought to maintain a balance in Nepals ties with India and China as he actively tried to repair the ties with India that had been strained during the KP Oli government. He went ahead with two proposals initiated by Oli despite the UML trying to brand him as pro-Indian. These were the signing of Chinas Belt and Road Initiative and granting a 1200 MW hydel project on the Budigandaki to a Chinese company. The first China-Nepal defence exercises took place during this time.

Deubas term as prime minister will be a short one but he has a clear objective for his tenure. After the local bodies election is completed, the Nepali Congress-Maoist coalition will have to create the conditions for holding the provincial and parliamentary elections. That would require the constitutional amendment to be passed.
Seoul: Sanctions have failed to stop North Korea's weapons program because the regime has a "complex overseas financing and procurement system" earning hard currency from anything from cybercrime to wildlife smuggling, a report said on Monday.

Successive rounds of United Nations sanctions in response to nuclear and ballistic missile tests have sought to choke off North Korea's external economic lifelines, but the report by Washington-based think tank C4ADS argues the measures are not efficient enough.

Pyongyang, "far from being isolated, is globally active through its overseas networks," which are helping to raise the funds and materials the country needs for its weapons programmes, the report said.

Last September the North conducted its fifth nuclear test, triggering international outrage and further sanctions.

The most recent round of sanctions came earlier this month in response to a string of missile tests this year.

As sanctions have tightened, Pyongyang's overseas networks have become increasingly important, with regime officials learning how to "nest" their illicit activities within apparently legitimate international trade, the report said.

It argued that more targeted sanctions  if applied correctly  could help bring Kim Jong-Un's regime back to the negotiating table.

The last report released by C4ADS last year highlighted the key role played by a prominent Chinese businesswoman and her vast conglomerate, resulting in US and South Korean sanctions against the firm, Dandong Hongxiang, and specific individuals associated with it.

The companies in Pyongyang's networks use "layers of shell and front companies" which help them obscure their true activities, the new report said.

This allows regime-linked individuals repeatedly to conduct illicit behaviour abroad on North Korea's behalf.

From weapons export to imports of "both sophisticated technology and mundane items like switches and relays," Pyongyang depends on "trusted intermediaries" to hide its involvement in overseas deals.

"The repeated use of the same commercial facilitator across multiple major weapons shipments is indicative of the limited nature of North Korean overseas networks," and highlights how vulnerable they are to targeted sanctions, it said.

Financing similarly relies on a small number of "gateway firms" which allow the North "to access the international financial system".

"Targeted international action against entities like (Dandong Hongxiang) strike at where the North Korean overseas financing system is most vulnerable, at key 'chokepoints,' where licit and illicit activities converge," the report said.

Moreover, just 5,233 companies within China either import goods from or export goods to the North, compared to some 67,163 Chinese firms exporting to South Korea, the report said, making it easier to target specific firms that may be helping the country violate sanctions.

"A concerted effort by the international community to target specific sanctions-violating entities is needed to curb the North Korean (Weapons of Mass Destruction) program," the report said.
Oslo: Norway aims to ban face-covering Muslim veils in kindergartens, schools and universities, the government said on Monday, the latest European nation to propose restrictions on wearing burqas and niqabs.

France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Bulgaria and the German state of Bavaria have all imposed restrictions on wearing full-face veils in public places.

Norway's minority government, a coalition of the centre-right Conservatives and the populist Progress Party, said it was confident it would find opposition support for the move.

"We have every reason to believe this will be approved by parliament," Education Minister Torbjoern Roe Isaksen told Reuters.

Norway, which will hold elections on 11 September, will be the first country in the Nordics to introduce a ban on burqas for both adults and children.

"Face-covering garment such as the niqab or burqa do not belong in Norwegian schools. The ability to communicate is a basic value," acting Minister of Immigration and Integration, Per Sandberg, told a news conference.

Employees who insist on wearing a veil would risk losing their jobs, and students could face expulsion from university, he added.
By Syed Raza Hassan

| KARACHI, Pakistan

KARACHI, Pakistan Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will be questioned on Thursday by investigators probing how his family obtained its vast wealth, the first time a sitting Pakistani premier has appeared before any investigative agency.Sharif's office on Monday confirmed the prime minister had received a summons by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), set up by the Supreme Court to investigate corruption claims that surfaced following the Panama Papers leak. It said he would be attending an interview on Thursday.Pakistan's stock market slumped 4 percent as the news sent shudders through investors, fearful that instability in its fragile democracy would undermine an economy that has shown stronger growth in recent years.Sharif has denied any wrongdoing over his family allegedly using offshore companies to buy luxury flats in a posh London neighbourhood, and said his family wealth was acquired legally.His spokesman did not respond to requests for comment over the latest development.

In April, the Supreme Court ruled that there was insufficient evidence to remove Sharif from office on the back of Panama Papers leaks, but it ordered further investigations. The JIT team comprises members of civilian agencies, such as the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), as well as members of powerful military bodies, including the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency.

The JIT's work has become highly politicised in recent weeks. Sharif's camp has sought to remove two members of the JIT team, and his PML-N party voiced outrage over a leaked photograph taken from security camera footage showing Sharif's son, Hussain, appearing before the JIT.According to the summons document, seen by Reuters, JIT asked the Prime Minister's office to bring "all relevant record/documents/material" to the interview at its office in the capital, Islamabad on Thursday."Its a litmus test of our laws that are all citizens are equal in front of law, so we believe that Nawaz Sharif should appear before JIT in this case," said Naeem ul Haque, spokesman for opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.

The Supreme Court began investigating Sharif after the main political parties failed to agree on a committee to probe the Panama Papers leaks, and PTI's chairman, Imran Khan, threatened mass protests and to shut down Islamabad.If Sharif survives the JIT probe, opinion polls suggest he is favourite to win the next election, due by June 2018. Sharif, a three-time prime minister, was ousted twice in the 1990s, including by a military coup in 1999, but he swept back to power in an election in 2013.The internal political tensions have coincided with a fresh bout of tension with arch rival India. Pakistan's Foreign Office summoned India's deputy high commissioner on Monday after an outbreak of cross-border shelling in the disputed Kashmir region, in which it said one person was killed and several wounded. (Writing by Drazen Jorgic; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Islamabad: Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif has been summoned by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) investigating the high-profile Panama gate case on 15 June to question him about the scandal, the first sitting premier to appear before a team probing graft charges.

JIT chief Wajid Zia, in a letter dated Saturday, asked the prime minister to appear before the six-member probe team at 11.00 am on 15 June with all documents relevant to the case.

The summon was issued to Sharif after he returned from his Kazakhstan visit where he attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.

Sharif, who is currently in Lahore, met with his close confidantes Sunday morning to discuss the issue. After consulting with his aides, the prime minister has decided to honour the summons and appear before the JIT on Thursday, the Dawn reported.

The Joint Investigation Team, formed by the Supreme Court to probe the money trail of the property owned by Sharif family in London, had questioned Sharif's sons - Hussain and Hasan, last month over the family's alleged improper business dealings.

His eldest son Hussain was questioned five times while Hasan, the younger son was summoned twice.

The court last year took up the case and issued a split decision regarding allegations that money laundered when Sharif was prime minister in 1990s was used to buy the property.

On 5 May, the Supreme Court set up a high-level six-member JIT to probe Sharif and his sons' alleged corruption in the Panama Papers case.

The JIT is bound to complete the probe in 60 days unless it is granted additional time.

It is for the first time that a sitting prime minister is appearing before a high-level probe team traditionally constituted to investigate high-profile criminal cases.

It is not yet clear that Sharif will be questioned for once or he would be called again like his two sons.
France said on Monday that the global fight against climate change was irreversible and could even be accelerated, despite Donald Trump's decision to pull the United States out of the Paris accord on carbon emissions.

Joining other G7 environment chiefs at talks in Italy, French minister Nicolas Hulot said United States allies were determined not to let Trump's controversial climate stance "poison" cooperation on other ecological issues, and said the world could work around the United States position, even though it is a damaging one.

"The only legal framework for climate negotiations is the accord and objectives fixed in Paris and there is no doubt that they are irreversible," said Hulot, a former TV star and a longstanding environmental campaigner who was persuaded to enter government by new French president Emmanuel Macron.

Hulot said United States commitments on other environmental issues, notably cleaning up the world's plastic-choked oceans, were not in doubt, and the commitment of industry players to green technologies and renewable energy would not be affected by Trump's position.

While acknowledging that Trump's ending of United States financing for developing countries affected by climate change was an important setback, he said France and other countries were looking at ways of compensating through multilateral banks.

"We have to stay prudent and not fall into catastrophism. The transition to a low-carbon economy is on the march and it has an irreversible dynamic, including in the United States," he said in comments that played on the name of Macron's "En Marche!" movement.

"Now, we want to try and accelerate rather than hit the brakes," Hulot added, promising to step up carbon-curbing overhauls at a national and European level.

As at a meeting of G7 leaders attended by Trump in Sicily in May, the two-day meeting in Bologna ended with the United States disassociating itself from the final communique's section on climate change.

In a footnote, the United States said it was showing its commitment to a reduced C02 footprint by achieving pre-1994 levels of the gas.

"The United States will continue to engage with key international partners in a manner that is consistent with our domestic priorities, preserving both a strong economy and a healthy environment," the note read. "Accordingly, we the United States do not join those sections of the communique on climate and MDBs, reflecting our recent announcement to withdraw and immediately cease implementation of the Paris Agreement and associated financial commitments."

Trump was represented in Bologna by Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt, who flew home at the end of the first day after insisting that the United States was continuing to seek "positive engagement" with its partners in the club of wealthy democracies.

"The United States has always been a world leader when it comes to environmental stewardship," Pruitt said in a statement.

Hulot added: "Symbolically it is important that the United States remains in an environmentalist dynamic, even if it wants to maintain a degree of latitude on climate change and prefers a bilateral approach to a multilateral one on that issue."

Pruitt left early to attend Trump's first full Cabinet meeting on Monday.

Hulot's comments about the irreversibility of the deal struck in Paris in 2015 were echoed by other senior officials in Bologna.

Erik Solheim, head of the United Nations Environment Programme, said on Sunday that the six other G7 countries shared an "absolute determination" to keep climate action on track "whatever happens in the White House."

Patricia Espinosa, the United Nations official in charge of implementing the Paris accord, emphasised that the US could not take any concrete steps to exit Paris for three years, under the terms of the accord, a view the White House does not appear to share.

Trump announced in June that the United States would not be bound by Paris targets on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, saying they were unfairly damaging to the American economy and overly generous to India and China.

The Paris accord is aimed at capping the increase in global temperatures at two degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.

Scientists warn that the alternative is unprecedented devastation as sea levels rise and extreme storms, droughts and heatwaves becoming more common, endangering crops and fragile environments with knock-on effects in the form of new conflicts and mass movements of people escaping affected areas.
Marawi: Embattled Philippine troops struggling to drive Islamist militants from a southern city raised the national flag for Independence Day on Monday, in a tearful ceremony dedicated to the scores killed during the conflict.

Thousands of Philippine soldiers, advised by US special forces, are locked in fierce combat with hundreds of insurgents who overran Marawi city on 23 May, flying black flags of the Islamic State (IS) group and using up to 2,000 civilians as human shields.

As gunfire rang out and planes flew bombing raids to pummel districts of the largely abandoned city, a crowd of soldiers and teary-eyed officials, firemen, police and clerks gathered outside a nearby government building to raise the Philippine flag.

"This is dedicated to soldiers who offered their lives to implement our mission in Marawi city," said Colonel Jose Maria Cuerpo, commander of an army brigade fighting in Marawi.

The annual ceremony marks the anniversary of an armed revolt against Spanish colonial rule. The Philippines actually won independence from the United States in 1946.

All military camps and government agencies will fly their flags at half-mast on Tuesday in honour of the troops killed in Marawi, said military spokesman Colonel Edgard Arevalo. In the latest casualties, 13 Philippine Marines were killed on Friday in ferocious street-to-street battles.

Fighting in the city has left a total of 58 soldiers and police and more than 20 civilians dead, the military said, estimating that almost 200 militants have been killed.

On Monday, IS released a video via its Amaq propaganda news agency which it said showed jihadists shooting six Christians in Marawi, with a voiceover suggesting further executions had taken place off-camera, according to the US-based SITE monitoring service.

The last time the Philippine security forces sustained large numbers of deaths was in 2015 when 44 police commandos were killed in a botched attempt to capture a Malaysian Islamist militant in the same region.

Tens of thousands have fled Marawi, which is the largely Catholic country's most important Muslim city, since the military says its troops unexpectedly interrupted plans by the fighters to take over Marawi in a spectacular event to show that IS had arrived in the Philippines.

President Rodrigo Duterte has said the militant attack was part of a wider plot by IS to establish a base in the southern region of Mindanao, and has declared martial law there to quell the threat.

But the military has struggled to defeat the heavily-armed gunmen, who have used hostages and pre-existing bomb-proof tunnels to entrench their positions.

"As you know, the target was to liberate Marawi today, June 12, but... you can see how complex the problem is and how many new developments there are," foreign secretary Alan Peter Cayetano told reporters at the annual flag-raising ceremony in a Manila park.
San Juan: The economically struggling US island territory of Puerto Rico voted overwhelmingly on Sunday in favour of becoming the 51st state, although turnout was low and adding another star to the US flag likely faces an uphill battle in Congress.

A government website for the non-binding referendum, Puerto Rico's fifth such plebiscite since 1967, showed 97 percent supported statehood. Only 23 percent of the 2.2 million eligible voters participated in the vote.

Puerto Rico governor Ricardo Rossello campaigned for statehood as the best avenue to boost future growth for the island, which has $70 billion in debt, a 45 percent poverty rate, woefully underperforming schools and near-insolvent pension and health systems.

"From today going forward, the Federal government will no longer be able to ignore the voice of the majority of the American citizens in Puerto Rico," Rossello said in a statement.

"It would be highly contradictory for Washington to demand democracy in other parts of the world, and NOT respond to the legitimate right to self-determination that was exercised today in the American territory of Puerto Rico," he added.

Puerto Rico's hazy political status, dating back to its 1898 acquisition by the United States from Spain, has contributed to the economic crisis that pushed it last month into the biggest municipal bankruptcy in US history.

"I voted for statehood," Armando Abreu, a 74-year-old retiree said after voting. "Even if it's still a long way off in the distance, it's our only hope."

Those in favour of statehood for the mainly Spanish-speaking Caribbean island hope the new status would put the territory on equal standing with the 50 US states, giving them more access to federal funds and the right to participate in vote for US president.

Under the current system, Puerto Rico's 3.5 million American citizens do not pay federal taxes, vote in presidential elections, or receive proportionate federal funding on programs like the Medicaid health insurance system for the poor. The US government oversees policy and financial areas such as infrastructure, defense, and trade.

Rossello will ask Congress to respect the result, but Puerto Rico is seen as a low priority in Washington.

The island's two main Opposition parties boycotted the vote, which gave Puerto Ricans three options: becoming a US state; remaining a territory; or becoming an independent nation, with or without some continuing political association with the United States.

Puerto Rico's former governor, Rafael Hernandez Colon, said in a statement: "A contrived plebiscite fabricated an artificial majority for statehood by disenfranchising hundreds of thousands of Commonwealth supporters."

Rather than heading to the polls, some 500 Puerto Ricans marched on the streets of San Juan, waving Puerto Rico's flag and burning the American flag while chanting in support of independence.

"This is a bogus plebiscite. Our future is independence. We need to be able to decide our own fate," said Liliana Laboy, one of the organisers of the protest.

Boycotters were also angry about the costly referendum at a time when over 400 schools have closed and many Puerto Ricans are struggling to make ends meet. Schools where voting took place were in poor condition, with cracked paint and bare-bones playgrounds.

Puerto Rico spent an estimated $8 million on the campaign and election process, according to a government spokesman.
Qatar Airways on Monday called on the UN's aviation body to declare a Gulf boycott against the carrier "illegal" and a violation of a 1944 convention on international air transport.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt this month announced they had suspended ties with Qatar over the emirate's alleged support for extremists, banning all flights to and from the capital Doha and shutting down the offices of the country's national carrier.

The four countries have also granted Qatari nationals two weeks to repatriate and barred Qataris from transiting through their airports.

In televised interviews on Monday, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker called the move an "illegal blockade" and urged the United Nations' civil aviation branch to intervene.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation "should heavily get involved, put their weight behind this to declare this an illegal act", he told CNN Money.

Baker said the move was in violation of the 1944 Convention on International Civil Aviation, charged with overseeing and regulating international aviation.

Saudi Arabia is not a signatory to the convention.

In an interview with Al-Jazeera English, Baker also came down hard on US President Donald Trump, whose country has been a longtime ally of Qatar.

"We expect our friends to stand up with us in this unfair, illegal blockade conducted by four countries," the CEO told Al-Jazeera.

"I want the American people to realise that they are trying to intimidate a small country which has the closest relation with the United States," Baker said.

"I think that President Trump's comment about my country is ill-placed, ill-informed, and I can again repeat that I'm very disappointed in him."

Trump on Sunday accused Qatar of bankrolling extremists, throwing his weight behind Saudi Arabia and its allies in the worst crisis to grip the Gulf in years.

As part of the measures against Qatar, Al-Jazeera has also been blocked in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain.
Paris: Qatar's foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani on Monday denounced the sanctions imposed against Doha by Saudi Arabia and its allies as "unfair" and "illegal".

"Whatever relates to our foreign affairs... no one has the right to discuss," Sheikh Mohammed said during a visit to Paris, calling for "dialogue based on clear foundations" over accusations that Qatar supports extremist groups.

"Qatar is willing to sit and negotiate about whatever is related to Gulf security," Sheikh Mohammed told a news conference.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt this month announced they had suspended ties with Qatar over the emirate's alleged support for extremists, banning all flights to and from Doha and shutting down the offices of the country's national carrier.

The unprecedented Gulf diplomatic crisis has seen the four countries give Qatari nationals two weeks to leave the country.
Beijing: The membership of India and Pakistan in the SCO could bring them closer to address their differences and help facilitate New Delhi's attendance at the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit in Islamabad, a senior Pakistani diplomat said on Monday.

"The SCO is an important organisation for Pakistan and India. This not an organisation to settle disputes but work for the region and common challenges and for common development," Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, Deputy Ambassador of Pakistan to China, said.

At the same time the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) could help bring India and Pakistan closer to address their differences.

"Of course, when you are together and work for the same organisation, you have opportunities to resolve many of the issues and come close," she told at an SCO briefing specially arranged to highlight the entry of India and Pakistan into the grouping at the just concluded summit at Astana.

Baloch along with India's Ambassador to China, Vijay Gokhale, attended the briefing along with other diplomats at SCO headquarters here.

At the same time, Baloch also hoped that the entry of India and Pakistan into the SCO would pave the way for the 19th summit of SAARC in Islamabad which could not be held in 2016 after India along with other members of the grouping decided to stay away following the Uri terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir.

"We really hope that SAARC which is our regional organisation would find a way to move beyond the differences," she said.

"We really hope that India would able to come to Pakistan for the SAARC summit. In the end, we are neighbours and it is important for us strengthen SAARC as an organisation," she said.

While Baloch dismissed apprehensions over India and Pakistan's entry into China-dominated SCO, official Chinese media said with their entry, the SCO is now facing both an opportunity and challenges.

"If the two countries  which have had long-term disputes over issues such as anti-terrorism efforts and Kashmir  bring their disagreements to the SCO, the clubs internal cohesion is likely to be challenged," Chen Xiaochen, director of the International Studies, Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, told state-run Global Times.

However, on the positive side, the SCO is set to become an international organisation with its members accounting for the majority of the worlds territory and population, and this offers a huge amount of potential for development and expand the influence of the organisation in international and regional affairs in various fields, especially in security, geopolitics and the economy.

"Russia has showed a positive attitude toward joining the CPEC, and SCO membership will offer opportunities for Pakistan to launch direct talks with Russia and other countries if it wants to. The organisation will perhaps provide a fresh platform for China, India and Pakistan to talk about the CPEC and help reduce Indias misunderstanding of the project. The SCO's expansion is likely to be good news for the development of the CPEC," he said.
Kathmandu: Notorious serial killer Charles Sobhraj, a Frenchman of Indian and Vietnamese parentage who has been in Nepal's jail for years, on Monday underwent a five-hour open heart surgery and is yet to regain conciousness, a media report said.

Sobhraj, 73, was admitted to a hospital after doctors diagnosed leakage in a valve.

According to a source at the hospital, Sobhraj was scheduled to undergo heart surgery on Tuesday, but it was carried out on Monday. He was hospitalised last Friday after he complained of severe chest pain.

His tricuspid valve has been repaired while his mitral valve has been replaced with an artificial one. He is yet to regain consciousness, Republica quoted doctors as saying.

Sobhraj had recently fainted in the Central Jail, Sundhara, where he has been kept in confinement for the last 12 years.

Nicknamed "the Bikini Killer" and "the Serpent" due to his skill at deception and evasion, Sobharaj is serving a life-term in the Kathmandu jail since 2003 for the murder of US woman Connie Joe Bronzich in 1975.

A life-term in Nepal means 20 years in jail. Even if Sobharaj completes the jail term another case is pending in a district court of Nepal to convict him.

He had been linked to multiple killings of backpackers.

Sobhraj spent 21 years in jail in India with a brief 22- day break in 1986 when he escaped Tihar Jail after drugging security guards, whom he had served sweets on the pretext of celebrating his birthday.

Sobhraj is believed to have killed 15 to 20 people in 1970s. Two of his victims were found wearing only bikinis. He befriended mostly Western tourists in Asia, later drugging and killing them mostly between 1972 and 1976.
London: Supporters of "hard" and "soft" Brexit tried to take advantage of the political chaos in Britain on Monday to promote their visions amid fears that their rivalry could revive old divisions in the Conservative Party.

Prime Minister Theresa May is in a weakened position after losing her parliamentary majority in last week's snap election, leaving her vulnerable to both hardliners and moderates in her party.

"May has lost all authority on Brexit and everything else. All options are back on the table," Stephen Barber, associate professor of public policy at London South Bank University, told AFP.

Under the "hard Brexit" scenario, which has prevailed so far, Britain would leave the European single market and the customs union and curb EU immigration.

It would also leave open the option of walking away from the negotiations with no deal in place  a decision that many businesses warn could be disastrous.

Advocates of a "soft Brexit" scenario say Britain could retain access to the European single market like non-EU member Norway and allow certain levels of EU immigration.

Sparring between the two sides is in full force ahead of the scheduled start of complex negotiations with Brussels next week, with a tight timetable that would see Britain leave the EU in March 2019.

Setting the tone, Michael Heseltine, a leading pro-European Conservative told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show on Sunday that "hard Brexit" was "the cancer gnawing at the heart of the Conservative Party".

'Soft Brexit'?

In the hours immediately after Thursday's embarrassing election setback for the Conservatives, British media reported that finance minister Philip Hammond had told May she needed to put "jobs first" in any new deal with Brussels.

Other powerful critical voices quickly followed.

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, whose 13 MPs saved May from election disaster, said the government should "think again" about its approach.

She has called for an "open Brexit" strategy that would focus on retaining trade ties and has said she wants a role in devising the government's policy.

Scotland voted by 62 percent to remain in the European Union in last year's historic referendum but it wasn't enough to change the overall UK result, with 52 percent in favour of leaving.

Arlene Foster, leader of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party, will also have an important voice as the government will have to rely on her party's 10 MPs to effectively govern.

While her party supported Brexit, Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU and many residents have voiced concern about the return of border checkpoints which were removed over a decade ago.

Foster, who is due to meet May on Tuesday, could insist that Britain stay in the customs union, and that would probably make it easier to keep an open border with the Irish Republic.

'Hard Brexit'?

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said on Sunday that the plans were unchanged but added it was "very, very important that we're careful about the existing trade that we do with Europe, about access to the single market".

He also said that there should be "some agreement on the immigration that we can accept from Europe".

Brexit minister David Davis took a harder tone, however, when he took to the airwaves on Monday.

"The reason for leaving the single market is because we want to take back control of our borders. They're not compatible," he told BBC radio.

Asked about the possibility of a Norway option, he answered: "We're not going down that route."

He also said the government was still open to not accepting a bad deal.

"It's important we have the option if it comes down to it to walk away," he said.

May's appointment of top Brexit campaigner Michal Gove to the cabinet on Sunday could help bolster the "hard Brexit" view.

Financial Times columnist Wolfgang Munchau warned against overestimating the effect of Britain's election on Brexit strategy, as many of the decisions will depend more on its EU partners.

"The degrees of hardness and softness are not unilateral choices to be taken by the UK electorate," he wrote.

"The only conclusion I can draw... is that the election has changed absolutely nothing for Brexit".
Dublin: Talks due to start Monday on restoring a key power-sharing deal in Northern Ireland risk becoming even more arduous as the province's ultra-conservative Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) nears an alliance with Britain's Conservative Party.

The power-sharing executive is the cornerstone of a peace process that ended three decades of violence in Northern Ireland between Catholic Irish nationalists and Protestant British unionists.

It fell apart in January when the Irish republican Sinn Fein party pulled out after months of simmering conflict with the pro-British DUP.

But the DUP is now negotiating an imminent deal with British Prime Minister Theresa May, who is reeling from the loss of a parliamentary majority in last week's election and hoping to secure the DUP's backing to remain in power.

Critics say an accord would threaten the "rigorous impartiality" the British government must demonstrate when dealing with competing political views in Northern Ireland, as set out in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

British Secretary of State James Brokenshire, who will chair the Northern Ireland negotiations, has called a 29 June deadline to conclude the talks "final and immovable".

"Northern Ireland's political leaders now have this chance to take control and restore effective power-sharing government under the current assembly mandate," he told reporters ahead of Monday's talks.

"If they do not, the power to make decisions passes to others."

Failure to reach agreement would probably mean a return to an indefinite period of direct rule from London, since yet another local election would be unlikely to break the logjam between the main parties.

Outgoing Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny voiced concern in a phone call with May that the proposed deal between her Conservatives and the DUP could undermine the Northern Ireland peace process.

"The Taoiseach (prime minister) indicated his concern that nothing should happen to put the Good Friday Agreement at risk and the challenge that this agreement will bring," the Irish government said Sunday.

Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams also criticised the proposed Conservative-DUP deal and claimed it further undermined British claims of neutrality in Northern Ireland's affairs.

"The pro-unionist and partisan nature of this British government has contributed directly to the current deep political crisis in the North," he said in a statement.

"If the DUP don't prioritise the restoration of the institutions, and instead decide to become a prop for a dysfunctional minority government in London, then the parties should consider inviting an independent chairperson to oversee proceedings."

Power-sharing in Northern Ireland collapsed in January after Sinn Fein withdrew from the assembly citing DUP "arrogance" and demanding its leader Arlene Foster step aside pending an investigation into her role in a mismanaged green energy scheme that could cost taxpayers 1 billion pounds.

A subsequent election in March ended in stalemate and several deadlines to conclude a restoration of the institutions have since passed without an agreement.
London: The customary Queen's Speech will not take place as scheduled on 19 June and has been delayed for a few days, the British media reported on Monday citing efforts of embattled Prime Minister Theresa May to form a minority government.

The Queen's Speech is written by the government and presents an outline of its planned legislation for the next Parliamentary session.

The Queen's Speech is read by the Queen from the throne in the House of Lords at the State Opening of Parliament.

The set-piece event had been due to take place next Monday with the 91-year-old Queen Elizabeth II delivering the address.

The Conservative Party of Prime Minister Theresa May was negotiating with the Democratic Unionist Party to get support for their minority government.

Brexit Secretary David Davis predicted some parts of the Tory manifesto would now have to be "pruned" after the Tories lost their Commons majority.

The BBC reported that the decision to delay it revealed an "ambiguity" about what would go in it  with several manifesto pledges expected to be watered down or dropped  but also the need for the Tories to "nail down" DUP support.

A defeat for its Queen's Speech would be tantamount to a vote of no confidence in the new minority government, it said.

One of the reasons for the delay is also believed to be because the speech has to be written on goat's skin parchment paper, which takes a few days to dry - and the Tory negotiations with the DUP means it cannot be ready in time, the report said.

Any delay in the Queen's speech would be difficult to accommodate, given the monarch is scheduled to attend Royal Ascot from next Tuesday until the end of next week, The Guardian reported.

There has already been one major change to the royal diary because of the Queen's speech: the Order of the Garter service was cancelled to accommodate the 19 June date at short notice.

May will face questions later from her backbenchers for the first time since Thursday's election that saw her party dropping 13 seats.

The Conservatives went from 331 seats to 318 in the general election, while Labour increased its number of MPs from 232 to 262.

They are expected to raise concerns about her leadership style, and press for more details on talks with the DUP.

May's new Cabinet will also meet for the first time after a reshuffle.

Speaking to BBC Radio, Davis said that while the Tory election campaign had been disappointing, May was a "formidable prime minister" and accused people speculating about her leadership of "the absolute height of self-indulgence".

But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has accused May of "squatting" in No. 10 Downing Street, saying that the country "cannot go on with a period of great instability".

The prime minister finalised her cabinet with a small reshuffle, with Michael Gove returning to a ministerial role as environment secretary.

A number of high-profile members kept their posts in Sunday's Cabinet reshuffle, with Philip Hammond staying at the Treasury, Boris Johnson remaining at the Foreign Office, Amber Rudd keeping the Home Office brief and Priti Patel remained the senior-most Indian-origin Cabinet minister, holding on to her position as the secretary of state for international development.
British Prime Minister Theresa May's future was hanging in the balance on Monday as she prepared for a showdown with angry MPs from her Conservative party following its disastrous performance in last week's election.

May's Conservatives unexpectedly lost their majority in parliament in Thursday's snap vote, causing political chaos ahead of Brexit talks with the European Union set to start next week.

She is due to face MPs later on Monday, where she could face more demands to quit over her lacklustre campaign and decision to call the election in the first place.

The chaos has weighed on the pound, which has plunged almost two percent since Thursday, and the government may have to delay the announcement of its policy plans to parliament.

May however has vowed to stay on, and on Sunday unveiled a largely unchanged new cabinet, which met for the first time on Monday.

Foreign minister Boris Johnson, who was reported by British media to be lining up a leadership bid, insisted May should stay.

"The people of Britain have had a bellyful of promises and politicking," he wrote in The Sun tabloid. "Now is the time for delivery and Theresa May is the right person to continue that vital work."

May's party fell eight seats short of retaining its parliamentary majority, and is now in talks with Northern Ireland's ultra-conservative Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)  which won 10 seats  to forge an informal alliance.

DUP leader Arlene Foster is due to see May on Tuesday for crunch talks, which could force the delay of the government's presentation of its legislative programme to parliament by Queen Elizabeth II, due on 19 June.

"Obviously until we have that we can't agree the final details of the Queen's Speech," said May's deputy Damian Green, referring to a DUP agreement.

'Walk away' with no deal

Brexit minister David Davis insisted the government still aimed to take Britain out of the EU single market.

"The reason for leaving the single market is because we want to take back control of our borders, they're not compatible," he told BBC radio.

He also said the government would "walk away" with no deal if talks broke down on ending Britain's four-decade membership of the bloc.

But Ruth Davidson, the pro-EU leader of the Conservatives in Scotland, called on May to "reopen" the government's Brexit plans.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said May's government lacked the credibility necessary for Brexit talks and should delay the negotiations.

"The idea that the UK led by this prime minister and this government can just blunder into negotiations starting one week today, I just don't think it's a credible proposition," she told reporters in London.

'Dead woman walking'

May has a busy schedule on Tuesday, hosting a cabinet meeting and talks with the DUP leader before travelling to Paris to meet French President Emmanuel Macron.

Brexit will likely be on the agenda at the Paris meeting, after May confirmed she will stick to the negotiating timetable.

"Going abroad and being seen to be the prime minister and talking to the president of France... is a classic move to shore up authority at home," said Colin Talbot, professor of government at the University of Manchester.

May tried to reassert her shattered authority at the weekend by announcing her new cabinet with no changes among her top team.

In a surprise move, Michael Gove was appointed environment and agriculture minister less than a year after the prime minister sacked him as justice minister.

After the opposition Labour party made hefty election gains by focusing heavily on national issues, May listed areas such as education and housing as top policy priorities.

May has shown little public contrition for the electoral gamble that backfired spectacularly, but was forced to accept the resignations of her two top aides  reportedly a requirement by cabinet colleagues for allowing her to stay in office.

On Monday, she faces members of the Conservatives' 1922 Committee, which can trigger a vote of confidence in a party leader if it receives letters from 15 percent of the party's MPs.

They are expected to make demands on Brexit negotiations and any deal with the DUP.

Concern over DUP deal

DUP leader Arlene Foster said there had been "positive engagement" so far.

"We are going into these talks with the national interest at heart. The union as I've said before is our guiding star," she said.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said the government was not looking at a formal coalition but would seek assurances that the DUP would vote with May "on the big things".

He stressed he did not share their ultra-conservative views on issues such as abortion and homosexuality, which have caused disquiet among many Conservatives.

The deal has also caused consternation in Dublin, with Irish premier Enda Kenny warning such an alliance could upset Northern Ireland's fragile peace.

London's neutrality is key to the delicate balance of power in Northern Ireland, which was once plagued by violence over Britain's control of the province.
It is an indisputable fact that the results of the British general election firmly established the credentials of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as a serious contender for prime minister.

His elevation could occur largely due to his overwhelming support among the youth.

Consider the facts: Hardly a month ago, Corbyn, the radical leftist, was considered a liability for Labour politics.

Soon after the Brexit vote last year, a majority of the shadow Cabinet resigned, voicing lack of confidence in his leadership. The parliamentary wing of the Labour party, in fact, passed a formal no-confidence motion against him. But Corbyn survived as leader as the majority of party workers stood by him.

Corbyn has been winning his seat as a Labour MP since 1983 (he was re-elected for the 9th time this year), but he has been a backbencher all through because of his extreme left-wing views that were perceived as an anathema to the general electorate.

Corbyn was catapulted to the leadership position because of the strange confluence of events: The Labour Party debacle in 2015 general election and the subsequent resignation of Ed Miliband as party head. But his election was seen as an albatross round the partys neck by those who, for decades, saw themselves as frontrunners.

That is one reason why Theresa May, the prime minister, decided to advance the election by three years. She expected Labour to fall apart under Corbyns leadership; surmising it would help increase her party's seat share in parliament.

Everyone, including the majority of Labour leaders, also feared the worst  they were expecting a complete decimation of Labour as an electoral force  thanks to what was perceived as Jeremy Corbyn's unacceptable radicalism.

But Friday's election results were an earthquake. All calculations went topsy-turvy. The ruling Conservative Party was reduced to a minority. The unelectable Labour increased its tally by about 30 seats and its vote share went up by a mind-boggling 10 percent (compared to 2015) which even eclipsed the record of nine percent advance in the 1997 landslide victory achieved under the leadership of Tony Blair, the most successful Labour leader in recent history.

How did this miracle happen? It was largely due to the unprecedented support Labour received from the youth. While the official data is not yet available and might not be for some time, credible private pollsters indicate a youth surge in Corbyn's favour. An exit poll survey by NME estimated the turnout among under 35s went up by 12 percent and nearly two-thirds of them voted for Labour.

Another estimate said that the turnout among 18-24 year olds reached a stratospheric high of 72 percent, compared to just 43 percent in 2015.

The sheer force of the youth turning out completely reconfigured the United Kingdom's electoral arithmetic. At the beginning of the campaign, in April, Theresa May started off with a +28 approval rating, whereas Corbyn began with a -23 approval rating.

By the end of the campaign in the first week of June, Mays rating had plummeted to +6 whereas Corbyns rating had blown through the ceiling, to a remarkable +39.

Labour did not win the election because the majority of older voters simply don't agree with it, especially Corbyn's policies to do away with tuition fees in educational institutions, to make education debt-free and increase the minimum wage substantially. However, these very policies forged a bond between Corbyn and younger voters.

Corbyns radical ideas  not cutting down on benefits to reduce the debt, raising taxes on the rich, clamping down on the exemptions on the corporate tax and using 93 billion pounds of withdrawn corporate tax relief to create a national investment bank  induced the youth to rally around him in a big way.

It isn't as if the youth overwhelmingly supporting a self-proclaimed socialist in his late 60s was a one-off spectacle in the heartland of capitalism. The United States witnessed a similar phenomenon during the battle for the Democratic nominee for president between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton.

While the 74-year old Sanders eventually went down to the Clinton machine, Hillary had to admit that Sanders completely dominated the youth vote. The statistics said it all: Sanders won more votes among those under 30 than that of the combined vote of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the final contenders in the presidential race.

A report by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts University suggested that more than two million youth voted for Sanders in the 21 states that had been surveyed and where exit polls had included data on the youth vote. Clinton and Trump together garnered a little less than 1.6 million votes.

Why was Sanders a darling of the youth? Because he promised to take on Wall Street, make college less expensive and to take drastic steps to close the wealth gap, to ensure that the 1 percent who have accumulated more than the rest of the 99 percent combined pay their fair share.

So dramatic was his appeal among the younger generation that a later Quinnipiac poll, said that among 18 to 44 year olds, Sanders had the support of an overwhelming 74 percent compared to 23 percent for Clinton.

Contrast this picture  youth in the advanced capitalist countries rallying around left-wingers like Corbyn and Sanders  with the young folk in India who have found their saviour in Narendra Modi, a right-wing ideologue.

An India Today-CVoter poll in the run-up to the 2014 general election had this to say: 40.5 percent of those surveyed felt that the Indian youth was best represented by the BJP and Narendra Modi was their aspirational hero who could rebuild the nation.

This was further corroborated by a research article by Deepankar Basu and Kartik Mishra of the Department of Economics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst in the Economic Political Weekly (17 January, 2015).

The rigorously-researched and statistically corroborated article headlined BJPs Youth Vote Dividend, began like this: This article aims to test the hypothesis that young voters, in particular, first-time voters, were an important constituency in determining that the outcome of the 2014 elections was in favour of the BJP. We measure BJPs electoral success by the change in its vote share between 2009 and 2014, and capture the importance of young voters by their share in total votes in 2014. While vote share data is from the Election Commission of India, we used the 2011 Census of India to estimate the share of young voters.

This article had the following conclusion: The empirical analysis presented here shows that BJPs electoral success in 2014  measured as the change in vote share between 2009 and 2014  was crucially dependent on the support of younger, especially first-time, voters. A cross-state regression analysis shows that states with a 1 percentage point higher share of first time voters (age group 18-22 years in 2014) in the states population recorded a close to a 3.7 percentage point increase in BJPs vote share between 2009 and 2014.

The overwhelming support of the youth for the BJP put Narendra Modi at the same pedestal with Corbyn and Sanders. All three share a generational factor. At 67, he is a year younger than Corbyn and eight years younger than Sanders. Like Corbyn and sanders, Modi is the darling of the youth. But unlike Corbyn or Sanders, Modi is a fervent advocate of the Right in terms of political, social and economic philosophy. One would not hear Modi talk about closing the income gap, or taxing the rich more to fend for the poor.

The contrast is much more glaring because India is a self-avowedly socialist country, socialism being the guiding principle enshrined in the preamble to the Indian Constitution.

If the younger generation in India is not enthused by the socialist ideas, unlike the youth in the United Kingdom or in the United States, it could be because we lack firebrand leaders like Jeremy Corbyn or Bernie Sanders to fire the imagination of the youth for radical politics.

Or it could be because socialist principles have become an anathema for India's younger generation, quite unlike the youth of the advanced capitalist nations.
Raqa: US-backed Syrian fighters seized a second district of Raqa on Sunday and launched a renewed assault on a base north of the city, as they pursued an offensive against the Islamic State group.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) broke into Raqa earlier this week after announcing the start of a final assault on the IS-held city.

On Sunday the Arab-Kurdish alliance said its fighters had "liberated the neighbourhood of Al-Romaniya on the western front of Raqa, after two days of continued clashes".

The SDF also holds the Al-Meshleb district, which it seized after announcing the final push for Raqa city on Tuesday. Fighters in Al-Meshleb were pushing deeper towards the city centre on Sunday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said they had also seized almost half the adjacent district of Al-Senaa from the jihadists.

"If they're able to take the whole neighbourhood, it would be their most important advance to date because it would put them at the gates of the Old City," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

The western approach to the city was littered with mangled motorcycles and unexploded mortar rounds fired by IS, an AFP correspondent said.

Three bodies of alleged IS fighters lay in the eerily empty streets of western Raqa, and SDF commanders took up positions on the rooftops of one-storey houses.

The SDF fighters appeared on edge, both over IS-planted mines and reconnaissance drones that the jihadists have weaponised.

"Daesh is shooting anyone who sticks their head out," one SDF fighter said, using the Arabic acronym for IS.

Artillery, sniper fire and air strikes rang out throughout the day and thick black smoke billowed from the city skyline. Bombardment had taken chunks out of the white dome of a neighbourhood mosque, and the notorious black IS flag hung limply from a nearby roof.

After its capture by IS in 2014, Raqa city emerged as a key hub for IS's operations in Syria, neighbouring Iraq and beyond. The SDF  an Arab-Kurdish alliance formed in 2015  spent seven months tightening the noose on Raqa city from the north, east, and west.

The fighters have made less progress on the northern front, where jihadists are using a military base and an adjacent sugar factory to defend the approach into the city. On Sunday they battled to dislodge the jihadists from the Division 17 base, with backing from the US-led coalition bombing IS, the Britain-based Observatory said.

Originally a Syrian army base, Division 17 was seized by IS in 2014 when it took control of swathes of the wider Raqa province.

Abdel Rahman said IS had "heavily fortified" the base in anticipation of a ferocious SDF assault.

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, and the UN humanitarian office estimates about 160,000 people remain in the city.

They have no electricity and were facing severe water shortages, according to the activist collective known as Raqa is being slaughtered silently.

"Most of the bakeries are closed because of the lack of flour," the group wrote on Sunday.

The Observatory said that coalition air strikes on Saturday killed 24 civilians inside Raqa, up from an earlier toll of 13.

Since the SDF first broke into Raqa on 6 June, at least 67 IS fighters and 58 civilians had been killed, the Observatory said. There was no immediate toll for SDF fighters.

To back the assault, the US-led coalition has provided the SDF with air cover, special forces advisers, weapons and other equipment.

The alliance first began bombing IS positions in Iraq in August 2014, and expanded its operations to Syria the following month.

In addition to heavy raids on Raqa, the coalition also pounded the IS-held town of Al-Mayadeen in eastern Syria on Sunday, the Observatory said.

"Many of IS's second-tier leaders fled to Al-Mayadeen when the offensive for Raqa started months ago," said Abdel Rahman.

More than 320,000 people have been killed since Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011 with demonstrations against President Bashar al-Assad.

It has since been transformed into a complex, multi-front conflict pitting jihadists, rebel groups, government forces and Kurdish fighters against each other.
Sanaa: The World Health Organisation (WHO) announced that the death toll in the cholera outbreak in Yemen has reached 859, with 70 new deaths reported in the last three days.

The WHO on Sunday said the number of suspected cases has increased to 116,700, which is 14,880 more than on 8 June, reports Efe News.

The epidemic, which began in April, has spread to 20 out of the 22 provinces in the country, especially in capital Sanaa and, the agency added.

The organisation warned that the healthcare system in Yemen is on the verge of collapse as many hospitals have shut down because of the ongoing conflict.

It said only 45 percent of the hospitals are still operational and they are facing a shortage of supplies and staff.

The war has so far killed more than 10,000 people, half of them civilians, and displaced over 2 million others, according to humanitarian agencies.
Chocolate and cocoa giant Barry Callebaut has ushered in a new era of innovation with the reveal of its second-generation chocolate in Venice, Italy, this week. The... Read More
The Latest on Delta Airlines ending sponsorship over New York City's theater's Trump look-alike assassination scene. (all times local):

10:55 p.m.

Bank of America is the latest company to have problems with a Manhattan-based theater company's portrayal of Julius Caesar as a Donald Trump look-alike in a business suit who gets knifed to death.

The Charlotte, North Carolina-based company tweeted a statement Sunday night saying it's withdrawing its funding for the Public Theater's production of "Julius Caesar." It said the theater "chose to present Julius Caesar in such a way that was intended to provoke and offend."

Earlier, Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines said it was pulling its sponsorship, saying "it crossed the line on the standards of good taste."

Performances of the assassination scene began just days before comedian Kathy Griffin was criticized for posing for a photograph in which she gripped a bloodied rendering of Trump's head.

___

8:30 p.m.

Delta Air Lines is pulling its sponsorship of New York's Public Theater for portraying Julius Caesar as a Donald Trump look-alike in a business suit who gets knifed to death on stage.

The Atlanta-based airline released a statement Sunday saying the graphic staging of "Julius Caesar" does not reflect its values and "crossed the line on the standards of good taste."

The play is part of the city's free Shakespeare in the Park festival in Central Park. Its director, Oskar Eustis, says the production "in no way advocates violence toward anyone."

Messages seeking comment from The Public Theater weren't immediately returned.

Performances of the assassination scene began just days before comedian Kathy Griffin was criticized for posing for a photograph in which she gripped a bloodied rendering of Trump's head.
The prime ministers of Croatia and Romania have signed agreements to boost trade and protect classified information.

Romanian Premier Sorin Grindeanu, who is on a one-day visit to Croatia, said Monday that he and his Croatian counterpart, Andrej Plenkovic, see the "important potential that should be capitalized."

Romania's national news agency Agerpres reported that in 2016 bilateral trade was worth euros 270 million ($302 million).

Croatia joined the EU in 2013, while Romania became a member in 2007.
General Electric's Jeff Immelt is stepping down after 16 years as CEO of the iconic conglomerate, having succeeded in repositioning the company as a producer of large industrial products but failing to fully revive its lagging stock price.

John Flannery, president and CEO of the GE's health care unit, will take over as CEO in August, the company said Monday.

Immelt took the helm in 2001 from legendary CEO Jack Welch. After the financial crisis, he sharply pared down the financial services business that Welch had built up and went on a spending spree to acquire businesses in the power and oil and gas sectors. During his tenure Immelt also disposed of GE's appliance unit and the NBC television business.

The 61-year-old Immelt will stay on as chairman until his retirement from the position at the end of the year, with the 55-year-old Flannery stepping into the role after that.

GE traces its roots to 1878, when inventor Thomas Edison formed the Edison Electric Light Co. in New York City after having opened his famous laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey. The next year, Edison invented the first successful incandescent electric lamp.

Recent reports say GE is considering selling the lighting business, which could fetch about $500 million.

While GE credits Immelt with improving its financial performance and its focus, GE's stock price has trailed the market with him as CEO.

The stock was worth a bit less than $40 on Immelt's first day in 2001, with the U.S. in the middle of a recession. The stock briefly rose above $40 in 2007, just ahead of the economic crisis. It sank as low as $6.66 in March 2009 in the depth of the crisis, and closed at $27.94 a share Friday.

Analyst Robert McCarthy at Stifel Nicolaus wrote in a note to clients that the timing of the change in leadership was "unsurprising since the serial underperformance of the stock." GE said the moves were part of its succession plan.

An investor who bought $1,000 in GE stock when Immelt took over would have $1,243 today, including dividends. The same amount invested in the S&P 500 index would be worth $3,206 today.

GE's stock rose 4.1 percent to $29.10 in afternoon trading Monday.

Immelt spent the second half of his time as CEO returning the company to its less-risky industrial roots. In 2007, GE's finance arm accounted for about 55 percent of its profits, but its large exposure to commercial real estate left it vulnerable during the financial crisis.

Immelt instead focused on products like energy-generating windmills, gas turbines for power plants, online medical records and energy saving equipment for electrical grids as a source of new profits.

GE made big acquisitions under Immelt to bring new business and technologies to GE. The company acquired the power business of France's Alstom three years ago. GE on Monday received U.S. antitrust approval to combine its oil and gas operations with Baker Hughes, potentially creating an oil services powerhouse with more than $32 billion in revenue. The approval is conditioned on GE selling its Water and Process Technologies business.

GE also remains one of the world's biggest producers of jet engines.

Flannery is a longtime General Electric executive, starting his career at GE Capital in 1987. He became president and CEO of the company's equity unit in 2002 and eventually joined the health care division in 2014, focusing on advanced technologies.

In addition, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Bornstein was named vice chair and Kieran Murphy was named president and CEO of GE Healthcare to succeed Flannery.

___

This story has been corrected to say that the former CEO of GE is Jack Welch, not Welsh.
Childrens apparel retailer Gymboree filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday as, like many traditional bricks-and-mortar retailers, it attempts to turn more focus to online shopping channels amid a sea change in consumer spending behaviors.

We have three great brands, strong operations and dedicated employees, and throughout this process, we will continue to deliver superior service to our customers and put them at the center of all we do, Gymborees President and CEO Daniel Griesemer, who joined the company as chief executive last month, said in a statement.

The San Francisco based company signed a restructuring agreement with a majority of its term loan lenders to reduce Gymborees debt load by more than $900 million, much of which stemmed from Bain Capitals $1.8 billion leveraged buyout of the company seven years ago.

To aid in the process and ensure it will continue to meet its financial commitments throughout the bankruptcy process, Gymboree said it secured $308.5 million in additional financing. In its second quarter results, Gymboree said it had more than $1 billion in outstanding debt, of which $871.9 is due before March of next year.

Sales at two of its brands open at least a year all fell in the most recent quarter with Gymboree and Crazy 8 declining 6%. Same-store sales at Janie and Jack rose 1%, a slower pace of growth than the 11% it notched in the same period a year ago. At the same time, net sales declined 6.4% from the year ago period to $356 million.

Gymboree also said Monday Chief Financial Officer Andrew North would step down from his post for personal reasons, but will remain on with the company for an unspecified period of time as a consultant. Liyuan Woo, director of AlixPartners  the turnaround firm Gymboree hired prior to its bankruptcy filing  will serve as interim CFO as the company searches for a permanent replacement. James Mesterharm, managing director and co-lead of turnaround and restructuring services at AlixPartners, was appointed chief restructuring officer.

Gymborees troubles follow a wave of similar circumstance for many mall-based retailers that have fallen on hard times as the shopping-mall era winds down and consumers hunt for bargains online and at off-price retailers like Marshalls and TJMaxx (NYSE:TJX). Once-giants in the industry, including Macys (NYSE:M), JCPenney (NYSE:JCP) and Sears (NYSE:SHLD), have been forced to offer more discounts and shrink their physical-store footprints to combat the growing popularity of e-commerce websites.
The Latest on a lawsuit brought by Maryland and DC attorneys general against Trump (all times local):

2:15 p.m.

The White House says a lawsuit filed by the attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia is driven by partisan politics and the president hasn't violated the Constitution.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer says it's "not hard to conclude that partisan politics may be one of the motivations" in the lawsuit filed against President Donald Trump. He says the Trump administration will continue to move to dismiss the lawsuit in the normal course of business.

District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine and Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh filed the lawsuit. They say that Trump's leases, properties and other business "entanglements" around the globe have led to a conflict of interest under the so-called emoluments clause of the Constitution.

Spicer says the president's interests "do not violate the emoluments clause" and he pointed to the fact that both AGs are Democrats.

___

1:30 p.m.

A spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee says a lawsuit filed against President Donald Trump by the attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia "is absurd."

Lindsay Jancek said Monday that Trump has been committed to "complete transparency and compliance with the law." She says the lawsuit represents "the kind of partisan grandstanding voters across the country have come to despise."

Jancek also says the American people elected Trump president, and that it's time Democrats "end their efforts to delegitimize his presidency."

Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh and District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine filed the lawsuit Monday. It alleges Trump is violating the Constitution by taking payments from foreign governments while president.

___

1:10 p.m.

A statement by the attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia says the lawsuit they've filed in federal court against President Donald Trump over his business dealings seeks an injunction to stop what they allege are the president's "constitutional violations."

District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine and Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh announced the suit at a news conference in Washington. They said the suit involves so-called emolument clauses of the Constitution  little-known anti-corruption provisions meant to shield the president from outside influence.

Frosh says "elected leaders must serve the people, and not their personal financial interests." He adds the two officials are seeking to serve as a "check and balance" against the president."

At their news conference, the two Democrats said their effort is non-partisan and that other attorneys general, including Republicans, were welcome to join their effort.

The White House didn't immediately respond to requests for comment Monday. The president called an earlier, similar lawsuit about the so-called emoluments clause of the Constitution an issue "without merit, totally without merit."

___

12:30 p.m.

The attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia have announced they've filed suit against President Donald Trump, alleging he violated the Constitution by retaining ties to a sprawling global business empire.

District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine and Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh made the announcement at a jointly held news conference in Washington, confirming the suit has been filed in federal court in Maryland. Frosh and Racine cited Trump's leases, properties and other business "entanglements" around the world as the reason for the suit, saying those posed a conflict of interest under a clause of the Constitution.

"The president's conflicts of interest threaten our democracy," Frosh told journalists. "We cannot treat the president's ongoing violations of the Constitution and his disregard of the rights of the American people as the new acceptable status quo."

Racine says the president has spoken about drawing a line between the presidency and his many businesses and properties but that he "has walked his promise back."

"We have a duty to enforce the law and that's why we are taking action today," Racine added.

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday. The president called an earlier, similar lawsuit about the so-called emoluments clause of the Constitution an issue "without merit, totally without merit."

___

9 a.m.

The attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia plan to sue President Donald Trump.

District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine and Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh plan to announce what they call a "major lawsuit" Monday against the president. A statement released to the press Monday says they'll announce the suit at a news conference in Washington.

According to The Washington Post , the suit alleges that Trump violated constitutional anti-corruption clauses by taking payments from foreign governments while in office. The Post says the lawsuit centers on Trump retaining ownership of his company when he became president.

Trump said he was shifting assets into a trust managed by his sons to eliminate potential conflicts of interest.
The Latest on the outcome of Britain's general election (all times local):

5:55 p.m.

Prime Minister Theresa May has sought to rally her rank and file lawmakers behind her leadership after her Conservative Party lost its majority in the House of Commons.

Britain's Press Association says May, who was greeted with around 25 seconds of table banging and a brief cheer, told lawmakers at the closed-door meeting that she planned to sort out the problems facing her party.

The agency, quoting two unnamed sources from the meeting, said May told lawmakers that she was the one "who got us into this mess" and that she was the "one who will get us out of it."

The session had originally been scheduled for Tuesday, but was brought forward a day so that May could explain the status of her efforts to ally with Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party before any deal is finalized.

___

3:20 p.m.

The pound has fallen further amid doubts about Theresa May's ability to form a government and start the Brexit talks on time.

The British currency fell to a two-month low of $1.2659, from $1.2780 late Friday, after officials suggested both the announcement of the prime minister's agenda and talks over Britain's divorce from the European Union could be postponed.

The pound has dropped from $1.2950 before the result of the election, which left no party with a majority.

Investors are trying to gauge what impact the vote could have on the economy and the Brexit talks. Amid the uncertainty, they're selling off the British currency as business leaders warn that the lack of clarity could hinder investments.

___

1:40 p.m.

Germany is angling to host the London-based European Medicines Agency and the European Banking Authority after Britain leaves the European Union.

Government spokesman Steffen Seibert says Germany will apply to move the medicines regulator to the western city of Bonn, which already hosts several national and international agencies.

Seibert says the banking authority would move to Germany's financial capital, Frankfurt  already home to the European Central Bank  if the application succeeds.

He told reporters in Berlin that the exact procedures for the move could be decided at a meeting of EU leaders later this month.

Seibert was unable to say which other countries are applying to host the two agencies.

Britain is set to leave the EU by March 2019.

___

1:30 p.m.

Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams has expressed his concerns for the Northern Ireland peace process if the Conservative government is propped up by the Democratic Unionist Party.

Adams told reporters Monday that he shared the concerns of outgoing Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny that a deal between the two could jeopardize the peace process.

Adams says Ireland's incoming government must act to protect the peace process.

Some involved in the Irish peace process are alarmed at any alliance between Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives and the DUP because the Good Friday peace accords call for the British government to be neutral in the politics of Northern Ireland.

May lost her majority in the House of Commons in last week's election and is looking to get the backing of the DUP's 10 lawmakers.

Republican Sinn Fein won seven seats but historically hasn't taken them up in the London chamber.

___

1:05 p.m.

The European Union's executive arm has indicated that negotiations with the British government over the country's exit from the bloc may not start next week as planned.

European Commission spokesman Alexander Winterstein said "we are quite confident" that technical talks "can start soon, maybe even this week."

However, when asked about whether the Brexit talks would start for real on June 19 as planned, Winterstein said: "I cannot say. This doesn't depend entirely on us."

Prime Minister Theresa May is trying to thrash out details of a parliamentary arrangement with a party from Northern Ireland to get her the votes to run a minority government after last week's election, which saw her Conservative Party lose its majority. Already there are expectations that the Queen's Speech, which would outline the government's legislative agenda for next year, will be delayed from next Monday.

In March, before calling the election, May triggered the two-year timetable for Britain to leave the EU.

___

12:20 p.m.

British Prime Minister Theresa May's office has declined to confirm that the Queen's Speech would be held on June 19 as previously announced.

May's official spokesman told a media a briefing that the new leader of the House of Commons, Andrea Leadsom, will soon be releasing a statement on the date.

The uncertainty about the speech laying out the government's legislative program comes as May conducts talks with the Democratic Unionist Party, which is certain to expect concessions for its support. May lost her parliamentary majority in a disastrous election for her Conservative Party last week.

___

11:25 a.m.

Britain's chief negotiator for leaving the European Union says the talks for exiting the trading bloc may not start as scheduled next week.

David Davis told Sky News on Monday that the talks tentatively set to begin on June 19 might not take place because it would clash with the Queen's Speech, which sets out the legislative agenda for the new government.

Davis also suggested the government would focus on the divorce proceedings before moving on to trade.

The EU has said that Brexit talks need to make sufficient progress before trade deals can be discussed, though Britain had argued the discussions should take place simultaneously.

The change of position comes after Prime Minister Theresa May lost her majority in the House of Commons in a disastrous election last week.

___

9:30 a.m.

Senior members in Theresa May's government are moving to support her leadership despite doubts about whether she will remain in power following a disastrous election result.

The prime minister is meeting members of her party Monday after losing her majority in the House of Commons last week.

Seeking to set the tone, David Davis, the cabinet member in charge of European Union exit negotiations, says speculation about her removal is "unbelievably self-indulgent."

Davis told ITV he's loyal to May and there's a distinction between "running a campaign and running a country. Running a country is more difficult and she's formidably good at that."

Davis also sought to reassure the public that any deal between the Tories and the Democratic Unionist Party would not change abortion or gay rights laws.
The head of France's PSA Group, the maker of Peugeot and Citroen cars, says his goal is to see Opel make money by 2020  but he'll be doing it without Opel's CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann.

Neumann is stepping down ahead of the completion of the unit's sale by General Motors to PSA.

Opel said in a statement Monday that Neumann was leaving his post as CEO immediately but would remain a member of top Opel management until the sale goes through. Neumann was replaced by the chief financial officer, Michael Lohscheller.

The company said Lohscheller's appointment would "ensure continuity" and a "seamless managerial transition" as Opel builds a new strategic plan for its future under PSA Group ownership. PSA Group CEO Carlos Tavares was quoted as saying by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily that Opel had to become profitable by 2020 in order to generate the cash needed to invest in new models, markets and ideas. The goal is to have Opel reach PSA's levels of profitability  6 percent operating profit margins  by 2026.

Tavares stressed that Opel needed to remain a German brand, and likewise with its right-hand-drive Vauxhall models sold in Britain.

"The more German Opel is, and perceived to be, and the more British the sister company Vauxhall is, the more they complement our brands Peugeot, Citroen and DS," he was quoted as saying.

Formally called Adam Opel GmbH, the German company has scored successes like its Mokka small SUV but has tended to lack models that bring high per-vehicle profits. As a mass-market carmaker, mainstay offerings in the lower price categories such as its small Adam city car and Astra compact face a tough European market with lots of competitors. The company has also struggled against strict worker protections that have slowed efforts to reduce costs and lessen underused factory capacity.

General Motors announced in March it would unload Opel and its Vauxhall brand for $2.3 billion after losing money in Europe for years. The deal will make PSA the No. 2 European automaker after Volkswagen.

"It was a difficult personal decision not to continue with the Opel/Vauxhall team when it transitions to Groupe PSA," Neumann said in the company statement. "I am committed to completing this transaction and will then take some time to decide what is next for me."
The CEO of Opel, General Motors' (NYSE:GM) European subsidiary, has resigned, as the unit's sale to French automaker PSA Group nears completion.

In a statement Monday, Adam Opel GmbH said Karl-Thomas Neumann would step down effective immediately. He will maintain a role in Opel's top management ranks until the deal closes.

Chief Financial Officer Michael Lohscheller was named Opel's new CEO.

"This will ensure continuity for the business and its stakeholders as well as a seamless managerial transition with the priority task to build the new strategic plan for Opel," the company said.

GM has said it expects to complete the Opel sale by the end of 2017. PSA Group is the parent company of Peugeot.

General Motors announced in March it would unload Opel and its Vauxhall brand for $2.3 billion after losing money in Europe for years. The deal will make PSA, which makes Peugeot and Citroen cars, the No. 2 European automaker after Volkswagen.

"It was a difficult personal decision not to continue with the Opel/Vauxhall team when it transitions to Groupe PSA," Neumann said in the company statement. "I am committed to completing this transaction and will then take some time to decide what is next for me."

German weekly Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung reported on Saturday that Neumann was leaving.

A report from Reuters said Audi could look to rehire Neumann, a former Volkswagen (OTC:VLKAY) executive.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Trump administration intends to unveil this week a plan to trim regulations it believes constrain U.S. manufacturing growth, potentially affecting environmental permits, worker safety and labor rules, an administration official said.

The U.S. Commerce Department's regulations "hit list" recommendations follow more than three months of study and consultation with industry on ways to streamline regulations and ease burdens on manufacturing firms.

A Trump administration official with knowledge of the recommendations to be sent to the White House said the Environmental Protection Agency's complex permitting rules will be a key focus, echoing comments to Reuters by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross last month.

The 171 public comments submitted by companies and industry groups offer a strong hint to priorities for Commerce's streamlining efforts, with numerous industry groups and firms complaining that EPA air quality permit rules for new facilities are often redundant.

The report will analyze the submissions and "will identify a lot of problems and lay out ways to take responsible actions," said the official, who declined to be identified by name. The process has looked at many regulations finalized under Trump's predecessor, President Barack Obama.

A common demand from industry was that the Trump administration should reject a planned tightening of ozone rules under the U.S. Clean Air Act's National Ambient Air Quality Standards, with several groups arguing this would expose them to increased permitting hurdles for new facilities, raising costs.

3M Co said other permitting requirements under the Clean Air Act contained "overlapping rules, redundant requirements, conflicts between rules and undue complexity."

The National Association of Manufacturers said the EPA's review requirements for new sources of emissions such as factories can add $100,000 in costs for modeling air quality to a new facility and delay factory expansions by 18 months.

It added that EPA should find ways to ease burdens for smaller projects and smaller firms.

Also drawing complaints from construction groups and iron foundries is an incoming Occupational Safety and Health Administration rule reducing by 80 percent the amount of crystalline silica dust that can be inhaled.

The dust, common on construction sites, can cause lung cancer, according to OSHA, but industry groups say reducing it to those levels will be prohibitively expensive.

"To meet these much lower levels, new engineering controls and other measures will become necessary within the roofing industry," said the National Roofing Contractors Association.

Trump has already taken steps to roll back some not fully completed Obama-era environmental regulations such as restrictions on coal-fired power plants and a clean water rule greatly restricting runoff into small streams.

But the Commerce list may target some rules already on the books.

"We are at the outset of what we think will be a very intense deregulatory agenda from the Trump team," said Amit Narang, regulatory policy advocate at Public Citizen, a consumer watchdog group. "We are concerned that they are looking to gut regulations that benefit workers and benefit consumers."

Another OSHA rule that drew industry complaints is one that further reduces worker exposure to beryllium, another potential carcinogen, that became effective on May 20 after a decade-long rulemaking effort.

Manufacturing groups including auto parts makers have also targeted labor rules that make it easier for unions to organize workers, expand the number of employees eligible for overtime and govern the reporting of workplace injuries.

The range of industry complaints is vast. Mining giant Freeport-McMoRan argued that planned EPA financial responsibility requirements for hard rock mining operations costing billions of dollars were based on inadequate study and "will have disastrous consequences for the mining industry."

Guitar maker Taylor Guitars said that permits needed from the Fish and Wildlife Service for mother-of-pearl used to decorate instruments was unnecessarily raising its costs.

"This declaration requirement does not seem to serve any conservation or other purpose. The shell is not a species that is protected under law," the company said.

(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
Paul Chabot, founder of conservativemove.com, is helping conservative families in blue states relocate to more conservative states such as Texas. But the FOX Business Networks Stuart Varney, said he disapproved, asking Chabot, The Republicans, how are they ever going to win in a place like California or New York state, if all the conservatives move to Texas where theyre already winning?

Well, I think that would make it quite difficult Stuart, you are quite correct on that assumption, Chabot responded.

Chabot then explained the reasons behind his own familys decision to make the move to Texas.

California is no longer the same state that we were raised in, crime is out of control, taxes, lack of good paying jobs, illegal immigration [is] a major problem. And so we just decided its no longer a place we want to raise our family.

According to Chabot, the idea for Conservative Move came from his familys going away party.

This idea of Conservative Move sort of came about as an accident. At our going away party, we noticed a lot of people asked us about moving to Texas as well.

Though Chabot says it is a company looking to be profitable, he also hopes Conservative Move will lead to a discussion on the key building blocks of a good community.

We want people to have a broader conversation about what makes up a good community.great schools, great jobs, low crime, those things dont exist in the liberal bastions of California where we escaped from.

Though the company originally focused on California, Chabot says they are receiving interest from families across the country.

We now have families from 40 different states looking at our corporation to help them.
The Trump administration is refocusing efforts back on its biggest campaign promise  putting more Americans back to work  following a week of turmoil centered on former FBI Director James Comeys congressional testimony.

On Monday the president communicated the White Houses renewed message via Twitter, pointing to recent economic data as a positive indicator of whats in store for the American economy.

Daughter Ivanka, the presidents special advisor, was also stumping for jobs Monday, mentioning the animal spirit that is being set free among the small business community. However, she acknowledged there is still much more work to do, highlighting that while economists say the labor market is at or near full employment, many Americans have either stopped searching for jobs altogether or are working part-time when they want to be full-time.

We need the full participation, so many people are also working jobs that are part-time. And its an enormous problem in this country, the number of part-time workers who are working two and three jobs, that, collectively, theyre making less than when they worked one job, Trump said during an interview on FOX & Friends Monday.

While the traditional unemployment rate fell to 4.3 percent in May, the number of part-time workers seeking full-time employment or discouraged job seekers  called the U-6 unemployment rate  was still at 8.4 percent. Even though the U-6 has been closing in on pre-crisis levels, Trump says a priority for the administration is to bridge that gap and connect job seekers with the millions of openings executives are trying to fill.

There are 6 million available American jobs. So were constantly hearing from CEOs that they have job openings but they dont have workers with the skill set they need to fill those jobs, she said.

One way the White House intends to help remedy that problem is by promoting skill-based or education-based training programs. President Trump will visit a technical school in Wisconsin Tuesday to highlight the importance of vocational training as both a viable alternative to the traditional four year higher education path and as a tool to retrain employees who may have been displaced in the labor market.

Next week Congress will vote on the Perkins Act, which would increase appropriations for career-technical education programs to $1.23 billion by 2022 and return oversight authority from federal officials to local ones. The bill has enjoyed bipartisan support thus far.

As for Ivanka Trump, despite recent distractions in the media, she insists the entire administration has been trying their best to stay on course and help workers adapt to modern economic conditions.

At the White House and throughout the administration were incredibly focused on the reason we all went to Washington and what were all fighting for, she said.
Sustainable Technology LLC Principal Bruce Blakeman on Monday discourses how solar panels can help pay for President Trumps border wall.

I dont think it would finance the whole border barrier, but certainly most of it the top would be a photovoltaic energy gathering component and the bottom would be steel mesh that would be 30 ft. in height that would exceed the specifications of the Department of Homeland Security and the General Services Administration, he told FOX Business Stuart Varney.

Blakeman believes that the solar panel wall along the U.S.-Mexico border could generate millions of dollars in revenue for the U.S.

We think it would generate 2 billion megawatt hours per year so you are talking about $120 million dollars that it could potentially generate, he said.

The principle of Sustainable Technology LLC, trusts that Mexico will pay for a part of the wall.

We want to help pay for the wall and we want to construct it in component parts in the rustbelt, sell the electricity to the grids in the southwest of the United States and Mexico, so Mexico pays for part of the wall, he said.
U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta detailed the Trump administrations plan to bridge the labor gap Monday, to connect job seekers with executives looking to fill 6 million open positions in the country through expanded high quality apprenticeship programs.

Our program will be geared toward all industries and all jobs. The point here is to foster private-private partnerships between industry and educational institutions  so that when [students leave the program] they have the skills necessary to enter the workforce, Acosta said during a White House press briefing Monday.

Acosta noted that graduates of vocational schools are more in-demand than traditional college graduates.

[Apprentices have an] average starting salary of about $60,000 per year. Nine out of 10 are employed upon completion of the programs. Both the starting salary and the employment rate are higher than that of traditional college graduates, he said, adding they arent burdened by crippling student loan debt either.

Right now, the U.S. labor secretary said only 3 percent of the American workforce are apprenticeship graduates. The White House has been working to expand this number by hosting business roundtables with executives and Ivanka Trump, special advisor to the president, has personally conducted meetings with CEOs across the country. Acosta said CEOs are open to the idea because they are having trouble finding employees with the right skill sets to fill certain positions.

Every CEO that I have spoken with has made a personal commitment to pursuing these [programs]. The CEOs are excited. I attended a business roundtable event around this and  the CEOs are looking forward to it because the CEOs want a skilled workforce  and they recognize Americans want to work, we just need to marry up the desire to work with the workforce skills, Acosta said.

Ivanka Trump also spoke about the importance of apprenticeship programs during an interview on FOX & Friends Monday, saying they could help bring the labor market to full participation.

The push comes ahead of President Donald Trumps trip to a technical school in Wisconsin Tuesday, where the administration is expected to make an announcement regarding vocational and apprenticeship programs.
Richard Hammond is back to his joking self after a fiery car crash in Switzerland on Saturday.

The Grand Tour host posted an upbeat video titled Im not dead from his hospital bed thanking supportive fans, the emergency and medical personnel that assisted him, and co-host James May for sneaking him a bottle of gin.

Hammond was filming a segment for the Amazon show that involved him driving an electric Rimac Concept One in a hill climb event in the town of Hemberg when he lost control of the 1,088 hp supercar, crashed through a guard rail and flipped it down the side of the hill, where it ended up sitting on its roof.

The incident and its aftermath were captured on video.

The 47-year-old was dragged free just moments before the million-dollar car burst into flames, according to May.

While visiting Hammond in the hospital, May did the world a favour and pulled the plug out, but he was still working.

Hammond was involved in an even more spectacular crash in 2006 when he flipped a rocket-powered drag racer at an airfield and suffered a brain injury that put him into a coma for two weeks.

The married father of two was airlifted to the hospital following the crash and will be operated on for a fractured knee before being released.

The accident will likely be featured in Season 2 of "The Grand Tour" when it debuts this October.
Sir Patrick Stewart has boldly gone were no one has gone before.

While taking part in the festivities at the Formula One Grand Prix in Montreal on Sunday, the Star Trek star took a sip of champagne from third-place finisher Daniel Ricciardos shoe.

Stewart was on the podium interviewing the top three drivers when Ricciardo took a celebratory slug of bubbly from his racing boot. The Australian Red Bull driver then asked if Stewart would like some, to which he replied Id love some, yea, yea, come on, to cheers from the crowd.

And he didnt hold back, taking a good five-second chug from the no-doubt sweaty Puma.

It sure was a switch from the tea, Earl Grey, hot, that Stewarts Captain Picard enjoyed on many, many occasions.
ABC has stopped filming the upcoming season of "Bachelor in Paradise" after the network became "aware of allegations of misconduct on the set."

The ABC reality series recently started production of its fourth season in Mexico. The show was set to premiere August 8.

According to multiple media reports, the trouble began when contestants Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson began getting "hot and heavy" in the pool while cameras were rolling. Their behavior made a "third party" feel uncomfortable.

TMZ reports there are accusations of sexual assault. According to the gossip site, a field producer filed a complaint claiming Olympios was too drunk to consent to Jackson's advances but producers reportedly allowed the behavior to go on.

Warner Bros., which produces the series, said it reacted swiftly to the complaint.

"We have suspended production and we are conducting a thorough investigation of these allegations," Warner Bros. said in a statement Sunday. "Once the investigation is complete, we will take appropriate responsive action."

"Everyone is just going about their business....producers are everywhere," a source told ET. "That's when a 'third party' felt uncomfortable, claiming misconduct in the workplace."

A fan snapped a picture of the "Bachelor in Paradise" cast at the airport in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Olympios and Jackson were not in the photo.
Bill Cosby's lawyer called accuser Andrea Constand "a liar" during his nearly two-hour long closing argument in the comedian's sexual assault trial Monday. The prosecution countered that claim in a two-hour-plus closing argument of his own that followed.

Now, it's up to the jury. They spent 4 hours deliberating before being sent back to the hotel to continue Tuesday. The star could spend the rest of his life behind bars if convicted.

Cosby's attorney Brian McMonagle argued that Constand and Cosby had a year-long consensual relationship. He admitted Cosby failed his wife Camille by having an extramarital affair, but said his client is being prosecuted now because of a media firestorm after excerpts from his lurid deposition became public.

McMonagle pointed at Cosby's wife of 53 years several times during his closing statements to emphasize his points. This is the first time Camille Cosby joined her husband in court since the start of his sexual assault trial last week.

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele then addressed the jury, calling the sexual assault trial a "very straightforward case."

"He assaulted her. Drugging somebody and putting them in position is not romantic, its criminal," Steele told the court.



Cosby's defense team called just one witness on Monday and then promptly rested its case. Cosbys team called up the detective who led the 2005 investigation into allegations Cosby drugged and violated Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home.

Detective Richard Schaffer was one of 12 witnesses who testified during the five-day prosecution case.

Cosby attorneys said they would not call any character witnesses. Then, Judge Steven O'Neill shot down the defense's bid to call a second witness, a woman who worked with Constand at Cosby's alma mater, Temple University.

The defense rested their case after questioning Schaffer for approximately four minutes.

The prosecution rested its case Friday after five swift days of testimony in the case that could send the 79-year-old Cosby to prison for the rest of his life.

Accuser Constand, 44, has told her side of the story. The jury also heard Cosby's version in the form of his police statement and his lurid deposition in her 2005 lawsuit.

The defense's main goal this past week has been to attack the credibility of Constand and another accuser who was called to the stand, William Morris assistant Kelly Johnson.

Constand filed a police complaint in January 2005 after moving back home to the Toronto area, and then sued Cosby in March 2005 when the local prosecutor decided not to charge him.

Cosby's testimony in her civil case shows just how hard a witness he would have been to control. His answers, like his comedy routines, meandered from point to point and veered toward stream of consciousness.

And he used jarring language to describe his sexual encounters with various young women. He spoke in the deposition of "the penile entrance" and "digital penetration." And he displayed hints of arrogance.

"One of the greatest storytellers in the world and I'm failing," Cosby said when asked to repeat an answer in the deposition.

In his final arguments, Steele reminded jurors about a telephone conversation in which Cosby apologized to Constand's mother and described himself as a "sick man."



Fox News' Tamara Gitt and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
About two weeks before New York City's Shakespeare in the Park started taking heavy fire for their production of "Julius Caesar," starring a Trump-inspired lead who (SPOILER ALERT) gets stabbed to death, CNN's Fareed Zhakaria had already weighed in on the production.

The TV host tweeted on May 31 that the 2017 show was "Brilliantly interepreted for the Trump era. A masterpiece."

It would turn out that not everyone agreed.

Delta Air Lines and Bank of America said Sunday that they were pulling their sponsorships of the Manhattan-based theater company's production, which is free to the general public.

"No matter what your political stance may be, the graphic staging of Julius Caesar at this summer's Free Shakespeare in the Park does not reflect Delta Air Lines' values," the companys statement said. "Their artistic and creative direction crossed the line on the standards of good taste."

BONGINO: THE LEFT HAS GONE MAD WITH RAGE

Bank of America added it was withdrawing funding for the production.

"The Public Theater chose to present Julius Caesar in such a way that was intended to provoke and offend," the bank said in a tweet. "Had this intention been made known to us, we would have decided not to sponsor it."

American Express also took to Twitter and announced their sponsorship doesn't support the play.

"We would like to clarify that our sponsorship of the Public Theater does not fund the production of Shakespeare in the Park nor do we condone the interpretation of the Julius Caesar play," the financial corporation tweeted.

One sponsor that so far remains is the Time Warner Foundation, the philanthopic arm of the parent company of Zhakaria's employer, CNN.

Performances at Central Parks Delacorte Theater began in late May, just days before comedian Kathy Griffin was condemned for posing for a photograph with a bloodied rendering of Trumps head, and later fired from her gig hosting CNN's New Year's Eve special.

Oskar Eustis, the Public Theater's artistic director who also directed the play, said earlier in a statement that "anyone seeing our production of 'Julius Caesar' will realize it in no way advocates violence towards anyone."

A spokesperson for the National Endowment for the Arts told Fox News funding wasn't provided to "Julius Caesar."

"The National Endowment for the Arts makes grants to nonprofit organizations for specific projects," explained the spokesperson. "In the past, the New York Shakespeare Festival has received project-based NEA grants to support performances of Shakespeare in the Park by the Public Theater. However, no NEA funds have been awarded to support this summer's Shakespeare in the Park production of 'Julius Caesar' and there are no NEA funds supporting the New York State Council on the Arts' grant to Public Theater or its performances."

The spokesperson added the last grant was awarded in 2016 for "The Taming of the Shrew" and "Troilus and Cressida."

"We haven't made any award to date for this year's festival," they said.

"Julius Caesar" tells a fictionalized story of a powerful, popular Roman leader who is assassinated by senators who fear he is becoming a tyrant. It is set in ancient Rome, but many productions have costumed the characters in modern dress to give it a present-day connection.

The production runs through June 18.

Fox News' Stephanie Nolasco and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Paula Abdul has postponed her upcoming shows after suffering an injury on Saturday.

The 54-year-old entertainer made the announcement on Instagram and insisted shell return to the stage soon. She did not reveal the details of her injury.

Abdul, who is touring for the first time in 25 years, is part of the Total Package Tour alongside New Kids on the Block and Boyz II Men.

PAULA ABDUL DISCUSSES HER STRUGGLES WITH TOURING AGAIN

She recently admitted to Closer Weekly performing on stage again isnt so simple.

Im having lots of talks with my body like, We gotta do this, she explained. Its not easy and the older you get well, Im doing stuff I did 28 years ago, so its kind of nuts.

The former American Idol judge told E! News in May she previously took time off to heal from injuries. Abdul was also busy with the singing competition series.

I started to train and get my cardiovascular situation better than it was because of singing and dancing and because, you know, the older you get the harder it is, she said. Its constant work, but I like the challenge of that. I like to push myself so its kind of a labor of love. Its like being in school again and studying for your exams, you have to do the work.
Looking for an excuse to buy new shoes? Turns out, wearing high heels can actually save you money... on your bar tab, that is.

My Place Cafe & Bar, a new venue located on the first floor of the Hilton Osaka hotel in Japan, is offering female customers a discount on their food and drink orders based on the height of their high heels, Sora News 24 reports.

TOKYO RESTAURANT OFFERS ALL-YOU-CAN-DRINK ALCOHOL FOR LESS THAN $1

To qualify for the promotion, heels must be at least five centimeters (two inches) tall. But the higher the heel, the greater the discount on the bars select dining options, craft beer, organic wine and cocktails.

Discounts start at 10 percent off your order, with each additional two centimeters of heel height receiving a better deal.

Heels from seven to nine centimeters get 15 percent off, nine to 11 centimeters 20 percent, 11 to 13 centimeters 25 percent and 13 to 15 centimeters 30 percent. Anyone wearing heels above 15 centimeters (almost 6 inches!) will 40 percent off their bill.

My Place is running its High Heels Ladies Night Discount on Thursday nights starting June 15 and it lasts from 6 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

My Place isnt the only bar offering unusual promotions to attract customers.

Mong Bar in Ko Lanta, Thailand, offers visitors free shots if theyre willing to partake in an extreme version of the famous knife game. The popularity of this deal proves people will go to just about any length to save money on alcohol.
Again and again, President-elect Donald Trump presented himself as the coal miners candidate. During the campaign, he promised to bring coal back into the economy, and jobs back into struggling Appalachian towns.

But now some in coal country are worried that instead of helping, Trumps first actions will deprive miners  and their widows and children  of the compensation they can receive if they are disabled by respiratory problems linked to breathing coal mine dust.

Thats because buried in the Affordable Care Act are three sentences that made it much easier to access these benefits. If Trump repeals Obamacare  as he vowed to do before the election  and does not keep that section on the books, the miners will be back to where they were in 2009, when it was exceedingly difficult to be awarded compensation for black lung disease.

You couldnt ever win back then, said Sue Toler, a coal miners widow in Huntsville, Tenn., of claims for black lung benefits. It didnt matter what kind of evidence you had.

Read more: For Trump and GOP, Obamacare repeal is complex and risky

Of the 27 years her husband Arvis worked for Eastern Associated Coal in Kopperston, W.Va., 16 of them were spent underground. When he had to stop working because of breathing trouble, a doctor ordered chest X-rays and saw the telltale dark scars on his lungs. His doctors diagnosis, his widow said, was coal workers pneumoconiosis  or black lung.

That was in 1993. Five years later, after two appeals and innumerable examinations with doctors chosen by the coal company, Toler was denied benefits, in part because hed smoked cigarettes before his diagnosis.

At the time, to qualify for benefits, miners had to prove not only that they were disabled because of breathing problems, and that they had coal workers black lung, but that their disability was caused by their years in the mine.

It was almost impossible, said Phil Smith, a spokesman for the United Mine Workers of America. The vast majority of people were denied benefits. People would take these cases through the black lung court system and they would be denied because the companies could sow the shadow of a seed of a doubt.

The Affordable Care Act changed that. Under Miscellaneous Provisions is a small section sponsored by a self-proclaimed child of the Appalachian coalfields, the late West Virginia Democratic Senator Robert Byrd.

The Byrd Amendments shifted the burden of proof from the miners onto the mining companies. If a miner has spent 15 years or more underground and can prove respiratory disability, then it is presumed to be black lung related to mine work, unless the company can prove otherwise.

Often the person whose job it is to do the convincing loses, said Evan Smith, a lawyer for the nonprofit Appalachian Citizens Law Center, who represents many miners affected by black lung. That change had a significant impact: In 2009, 19 percent of claims for black lung benefits were successful; in 2015, that percentage had jumped to 28.

Read more: Wildfires cause hacking and wheezing across the South

The Byrd Amendments also had a huge effect on the families relying on that compensation. Before their enactment, when a miner died, his widow would keep getting compensation only if she could prove that her husband died because of black lung  a process that often took years, if it was successful.

Now, with a bit of paperwork, she keeps getting a portion of the money the family got when her husband was alive. The amount changes according to the number of family members dependent on the coal miner or widow. At the top end, a beneficiary with three or more dependents gets $1,289 a month, while a single beneficiary gets $644.50.

These changes in the Affordable Care Act not only meant that Arvis Toler ended up being awarded benefits shortly before he died in 2015, but also that his 70-year-old widow, Sue, has continued to receive compensation every month.

The coal industry opposes these rules. Our concern back then, which continues today is that  compensation is not based on occupational disease, but rather this is becoming a supplemental pension program, and that was not what it was ever intended to be, said Bruce Watzman, vice president of the National Mining Association.

But, he said, industry representatives have other priorities than undoing Byrds changes, such as reversing what he called Obamas war on coal.

Even so, many coal miners and their advocates are concerned that their fates are tied to a piece of legislation that has, in a certain sense, just lost an election, especially in coal-producing states such as Kentucky and West Virginia. Lawyers working on this issue are worried that repeal of the ACA could mean no compensation for new claimants and the potential loss of benefits for anyone who won them since the law passed.

The Trump transition team did not respond to STATs request for comment. Since the election, though, Trump has softened his rhetoric about completely doing away with Obamacare, and miners have advocates in the House and the Senate. Repealing and replacing Obamacare will be a top priority for the new Congress, but Congressman Rogers has advocated for a piecemeal approach  many Members of Congress have acknowledged that some portions of the law are worthy of continuation, such as critical protections for coal miners, said a spokesperson for US Representative Hal Rogers, a Kentucky Republican who chairs the powerful House Appropriations Committee.

The offices of Democratic Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania said they would fight any attempt to remove these protections from coal miners. A spokesperson for Kentucky Republican and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said by email that the senator has no announcements on any legislative action for next Congress.

Read more: Where hepatitis C rates are seven times the US average  and a cure is kept out of reach

Evan Smith, the attorney, warned against complacency. I want to make sure that coal country doesnt assume that they are going to be taken care of just because a lot of our political leaders have voiced support for our region, he said. I wish I could be more optimistic that they truly would keep their promise.

Dr. Cecile Rose, director of the Miners Clinic of Colorado and a professor at National Jewish Health in Denver, noted that black lung benefits can be especially vital for the many former miners who dont have pensions. Retired miners, a lot of them have also lost their pensions because of the bankruptcies that many of the coal mines have declared, she said. They may be hanging on by a thread.

The uncertainty about these benefits is even more worrisome to her because of evidence showing an increase in both the prevalence and severity of black lung cases.

Sue Toler takes issue with Trumps way of talking, and she isnt sure about his plan to get miners back to work. Ive got mixed feelings about that  I watched my husband suffer, she said. But if its good for the country, then Im all for it.

To her, though, it would be sad if black lung benefits like her husbands got taken away after the 22 years of suffering that preceded his death.

He couldnt breathe, and that just kept getting worse. He just died a little bit every day, and there was nothing you could do about it, she said. Words cant describe what somebody goes through when they are dealing with black lung.

Her brother-in-law is dealing with that now, she added. Ive seen him walk through the house when it looked like he was going to draw his last breath, and I had held my own breath until he was able to set down.
A father in Colorado was able to recognized "dry drowning" symptoms in his son before it turned fatal after reading about a Texas toddler's recent death due to the rare condition, the family said.

Garon Vega, of Fort Collins, said his 2-year-old son Gio went swimming last Wednesday and complained about head pain shortly after, KUSA reported. The boy reportedly swallowed a small amount of water.

INDIANA TODDLER DIES FROM SUSPECTED TICK BITE INFECTION, FAMILY SAYS

"Little boy started complaining about head pain, he would say, 'mama head hurt, mama head hurt,' Vega told the news station.

The head pain developed into a fever that persisted throughout the day. Vega started to search the internet about his son's symptoms and came across Frankie Delgado's story, a Texas toddler whose death is suspected to be caused by "dry drowning," or secondary drowning. The rare condition happens when fluid fills a person's lungs, according to USA Today. It's more common among children and can occur with only a "few gasps" of water through the mouth or nostrils.

TEXAS BOY DIES OF 'DRY DROWNING' AFTER SWIMMING TRIP, FAMILY SAYS

In Delgado's case, the 4-year-old boy swallowed some water while on a swimming trip during Memorial Day weekend, KTRK-TV reported. He showed symptoms of a stomach bug, but his family didn't think much of it. Nearly a week later, Delgado suddenly woke up and died moments later. Though an autopsy is still being conducted to determine the official cause of death, doctors and paramedics said Delgado most likely died of dry drowning.

"When [the doctor] came in, she told us it's what's called 'dry drowning.' His lungs were full of fluid. There was nothing else they could do for him," Tara Delgado, the mother, told the news station.

The Vegas immediately took their son to the emergency room where doctors discovered a "significant amount of fluid in his lungs."

"If we had waited the night, he probably wouldn't have made it," Vega said.

Vega credits Delgado's story for saving his son's life. He is following Delgado's family and telling his story to spread information about dry drowning.
Some women will go to any length for the sake of beauty.

Former Victorias Secret model Miranda Kerr revealed shes no stranger when it comes to bizarre beauty treatments.

Kerr, who was on a panel at the Goop Health Summit in Culver City, California over the weekend, told host and Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow that shes tried leech therapy, People reports.

"Ive had a leech facial," said Kerr at the summit. She also noted that she enlisted the blood-sucking worms to help with her tailbone as well.

JAMBA JUICE INTRODUCES NEW COLLAGEN SMOOTHIE: CAN IT REALLY REDUCE WRINKLES?

But wait, there's more.

When the facial was finished, the Australian model decided to take the leeches home with her so they didnt die. I kept the leeches, theyre in my koi pond. Youre not allowed to reuse them and if you dont take them home then she kills them and I didnt like that idea, said Kerr.

Leech therapy has been a Hollywood craze for several years, which some believe helps brighten and tighten skin and give it a more youthful glow, according to Refinery29.

Paltrow, whos no stranger to testing out unusual and often outrageous treatments herself, was surprised by Kerr. Wow! I thought I was bats--- crazy! she remarked.

In an interview with the New York Times, Paltrow discussed her own beauty regimen, including one particularly uncomfortable procedure.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

Ive been stung by bees. Its a thousands of years old treatment called apitherapy. People use it to get rid of inflammation and scarring. Its actually pretty incredible if you research it. But, man, its painful, Paltrow said.

So don't go flower picking with Paltrow.

And don't dangle your toes in Kerr's koi pond.
The yearbook class at Wall Township High School may need to create a new senior superlative: Most Likely to Violate the First Amendment.

And the first inductee might just be the schools yearbook adviser.

Click here to for a free subscription to Todds newsletter: a must- read for patriotic conservatives!

Cheryl Dyer, the superintendent of Wall Township Public Schools told me the yearbook adviser has been suspended amid an investigation into the alteration of photos and the omission of text from students who support President Trump.

The Board of Education president authorized me to suspend the yearbook adviser. I cannot comment further on personnel matters at this time, Dyer told me.

In an earlier statement, Dyer said the school district values free speech and said the allegations of censorship were disturbing.

Any inappropriate challenge to these principles will be rectified as swiftly and thoroughly as possible, she said.

She went on to say the administration does not condone any censorship of political views on the part of our students.

However, at least three students who support President Trump have reported instances of censorship in the student yearbook.

Junior Grant Berardo could not believe it when he discovered his yearbook photo had been digitally altered. His Make America Great Again shirt had been covered up by a black T-shirt.

It was photo-shopped, he told the newspaper. I like Trump, but its history, too. Wearing that shirt memorializes the time.

Siblings Wyatt and Montana Debrovich-Fago also reported being censored. The words Trump-Pence were digitally removed from his sweater.

Montana, the schools freshman class president, reported that her Trump quote had been taken out of the yearbook. The quote read, I like thinking big. If you are going to be thinking anything, you might as well think big.

Their mother is demanding answers.

Im disappointed and angry, Janet Dobrovich-Fago told me. The [censorship] leads me to believe its definitely against President Trump.

Mrs. Dobrovich-Fago said its hard to believe something like this could happen.

I dont know how somebody could have done that and thought it was okay to do, she told me.

She said Wyatt is a passionate supporter of the president.

He went to the inauguration. He went to rallies, she said. He has a voice and he wants to be heard. He is so upset with whats going on in our country.

Unfortunately, the youngster has been receiving quite a bit of hate mail from the anti-Trump crowd  some of it quite disturbing and vile, his mother said.

He said, Mom, its so sad to think that people would do this. He is our president. You may not like him, but you should show respect to him because he is our president, she said.
In analyzing the issue of whether President Trump can be guilty of obstruction of justice, two distinct questions must be addressed. The first is whether Trump had the constitutional authority to do what he did. The second is, if he acted within his constitutional authority, can his actions be a crime if they were improperly motivated.

The answer to the first question seems beyond dispute now, though some seemed to dispute it in weeks past. As Comey himself testified: speaking as a legal matter, the president is the head of the executive branch and in theory and we have important norms against this [can] direct that anybody can be investigated or anybody not be investigated. He is correct. As a matter of constitutional law, the president as the head of the executive branch may order the director of the FBI to end his investigation of Michael Flynn and may fire the director for refusing to obey his order. He could also pardon Flynn (as President George H.W. Bush pardoned Caspar Weinberger) thus ending the criminal investigation of Flynn.

Until recently, presidents  from Adams to Jefferson to Lincoln to Roosevelt to Kennedy  played active roles in deciding who to investigate and prosecute. In recent years a tradition had developed under which the FBI and the criminal division of the Justice Department were more independent of the White House. But this tradition did not and could not limit the constitutional authority of the president, especially in the absence of explicit legislation. There is no longer an independent prosecutor statute on the books, so the president retains the authority he had before that statute was enacted. It is clear therefore, that Trump acted within his constitutional authority if he directed Comey to end his investigation of Flynn. It follows from this that he certainly acted within his authority if he merely requested or hoped that Comey stand down. And he surely acted within his authority when he fired Comey for disobeying his authorized order or for any other reason. Indeed, Comey himself confirmed the above constitutional principles.

I doubt that those who are making this argument would be doing so if the political shoe were on the other footif Hillary Clinton had been elected president and the Republicans who were yelling lock her up were investigating the Clintons based on equally vague criteria.

With regard to the second question, some have argued that even if Trump acted within his constitutional authority, he may still have been guilty of obstruction of justice if his actions were corruptly motivated or intended. They look to these vague and elastic terms as satisfying the mens rea requirement for crimethe mental element. But this is a dangerous argument that would turn the exercise of a president's constitutional authority into a crime based on what was in the president's mind. Do we really want to give a jury the power to probe the presidents motives and intentions in order to convict him based on what he was thinking rather than what he was doing? Do we want the elected president to be subject to prosecution based on a finding that his constitutionally authorized conduct was corruptly motivated or intended? No one who cares about civil liberties should be willing to go down that dangerous road. And I doubt that those who are making this argument would be doing so if the political shoe were on the other footif Hillary Clinton had been elected president and the Republicans who were yelling lock her up were investigating the Clintons based on equally vague criteria.

There is a precedent to look to. And I challenge my critics to distinguish that precedent. The first President Bush pardoned Caspar Weinberger, his Secretary of Defense, and five other individuals who had been indicted or convicted in connection with the Iran-Contra arms deal. The special prosecutor, Lawrence Walsh, was furious, accusing Bush of stifling his ongoing investigation and suggesting that he may have done it to prevent Weinberger or the others from pointing the finger of blame at Bush himself. That was not an obstruction and neither would a pardon of Flynn have been a crime. A president cannot be charged with a crime for properly exercising his constitutional authority. For the same reason President Trump cannot be charged with obstruction for firing Comey, which he had the constitutional authority to do.

The reason that Walsh did not seek to indict or recommend impeachment of Bush is that he understood the obvious constitutional principle that a presidential may not be found guilty of a crime for simply exercising his constitutional power to pardon anyone regardless of his mental state. Obviously if a president accepts a bribe in exchange for a pardon that is a corrupt act, without regard to motive or intent. The same would be true if he destroyed evidence or lied to the FBI. But in the absence of a criminal act, a president cannot be guilty of obstruction of justice for simply exercising his constitutional power to pardon, fire or direct.

I suspect that my critics would better understand and advocate this principle if the political shoe were on the other foot, because it is a salutary and neutral principle consistent with civil liberties and constitutional protections.
Here we go again. We have seen this show before, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has  once again on Monday  ruled against President Trumps Article II national security prerogatives and in favor of an overbroad interpretation of the First Amendments religious liberty guarantee. Bottom line: Time for the U.S. Supreme Court to give the President back his constitutional role.

Like it or not, after recent events in Europe and predictions of incipient terrorism in the United States, much hangs in the balance. This is not an academic discussion, but one that directly affects all Americans. It boils down to whether or not more caution in screening potentially dangerous entrants to the United States is warranted, and who has the power to make that call.

To date, liberal judges have asserted that the presidents overbroad comments during a rough and tumble campaign mitigate against him, and that they have the power to say what national security is.

Put differently, they claim the presidents Article II powers to protect all Americans, through tailored means, from a palpable, identified foreign threat is second to their ability to read his mind  and they think he holds a prejudice against Muslims which justifies sidelining his constitutional ability to protect the nation.

Liberal judges claim the presidents Article II powers to protect all Americans from a palpable, identified foreign threat is second to their ability to read his mind.

Specifically, the latest ruling upholds a March 2017 decision by a federal district judge in Hawaii who found that the presidents narrowly recrafted order requiring a pause in migration from some countries and tighter vetting disfavors Muslims.

Lets get down to basics. A presidential candidate, concerned about rising global terrorism and tracking his Democratic predecessors focus on specific nations, talked of a halt to immigration from those nations. As these terror-afflicted nations were majority Muslim, he used shorthand. As in other instances, the presidents shorthand was easily subject to multiple interpretations.

Now, wind the clock forward. More than a dozen terrorist events have occurred since that moment. Many have been devastating. Many have been tied back to those specific nations, which  yes  remain majority Muslim.

History does not stand still. People learn, refine their thinking, and refine their words. The onetime candidate is now President of the United States. In that role, he has constitutionally prescribed rights and duties.

He has gone directly to the Middle East, has spoken forthrightly, earnestly and hopefully to 55 top leaders of the region, most of whom are Muslim. He has found common purpose with them, in battling terrorism.

More, he has actually inspired them  across the board  to join him in making their world and ours more secure by focusing on terrorism, and going the next step, restarting a moribund regional peace process.

Reactions to President Trumps personal outreach to the Muslim world have been remarkable. Foreign minister for the United Arab Emirates wrote: Bravo President Trump, an effective and historic speech defining approach towards extremism and terrorism with candid respect and friendship.

Egypts president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, said President Trump is a unique personality that is capable of doing the impossible. Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, standing with our leader, said: I want to thank you [for inviting me to work on this] historic deal to bring about peace, adding you have the desire to see it come to fruition and to become successful.

These leaders  and those they represent  are all Muslim. As were others who thanked him and have pledged to work with him for peace in the Middle East, beginning with an end to terrorism. No president has ever garnered that kind of response from such a group, and then beyond.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, for the first time in my lifetime, I see a real hope for change, adding hope to roll back aggression and terror. The Vatican and our president spoke of a joint commitment to promotion of peace in the world through political negotiation and interreligious dialogue.

In short, the president has made clear his tolerance for all religious perspectives, so long as they foreswear terrorism, and do not seek violence against innocents. What could be more clear, or more convincing than the actions that he has taken?

Yes, he also wants to protect all Americans. That is part of what he was elected to do, what the U.S. Constitution asks and demands of him, and what he remains resolved to do. The redrafted executive order was part of that process, and it is narrowly tailored to achieve that purpose, in an increasingly dangerous world.

Is it not time that those who freely and safely breathe rarified air in ivory towers and federal courtrooms step back, and thoughtfully take another look at this process? The president is not blithely propagating prejudice or unfairly describing the problem.

Moreover, the president possesses Article II prerogatives of which no judge in America should be able to strip him. This is not politics, not a time for cerebral jousting, and not a joke. The presidents executive order is real, targeted and completely defensible. The Supreme Court should now summarily uphold it  allowing Americans everywhere to breathe a sigh of relief. If not now, when?
There are few phrases that stand alone in American history that encapsulates American exceptionalism: Franklin Roosevelts The only thing we have to fear is fear itself; John Paul Joness I have not yet begun to fight; and Abraham Lincolns government of the people, by the people, for the people.

Thirty years ago, the Great Communicator added another phrase for the ages.

In the 1980s, the Reagan administration took a decisively stronger tone against the Soviet Union than previous administrations, especially Richard Nixons pure-intended-but-failed detente.

In 1983, Reagan called the USSR the Evil Empire, sparing no ambiguity in where it stood in relation to the free world. He never visited Eastern Europe, save for Moscow once in 1988, a cold shoulder for the Cold War. SALT II, a nuclear arms reduction treaty that was Carters main goal for the Soviet Union, was immediately thrown away for another, more favorable treaty to the United States.

The Soviet Union went through four leaders within the eight years of Reagans presidency: the thuggish Leonid Brezhnev, the intellectual but provocative Yuri Andropov, the forgettable Konstantin Chernenko, and the reformer Mikhail Gorbachev.

The first three died in such a short period of time that Reagan had frustratingly said to Nancy, How am I supposed to get anyplace with the Russians if they keep dying on me?

It was finally Gorbachev who took a serious interest in reforming  not destroying, but reforming  the Soviet Union, and Reagan took that chance.

It was the year 1987; President Reagan visited West Berlin for only the second time in his presidency, in commemoration for the citys 750th anniversary.

He spoke in front of the eighteenth-century Brandenburg Gate with West German President Richard von Weizsacker, Chancellor Helmut Kohl, and West Berlin mayor Eberhard Diepgen behind him. Crowds waved American and German flags.

In perhaps a throwback to John Kennedys Ich bin ein Berliner over twenty years earlier, Reagan spoke some heavily accented German: Es gibt nur ein Berlin. There is only one Berlin.

It had been over forty years since the end of the Second World War, when the Allies divided and conquered war-torn Germany, and for many in the audience, during their entire lives Berlin been a divided city.

The first phase of the Berlin Wall  die Berliner Mauer in German  was constructed in the early 1960s, in response to an exodus of the intelligentsia from the East. Hundreds of escape attempts had occurred within those twenty years, all risking their lives for freedom.

To hear the president of the United States  the president of the free world, the only man who can and will stand up to the Soviet Union and their oppressors  say factually, objectively, and truthfully, that there was one city, that mustve resonated with them.

Behind me stands a wall, Reagan said to the crowd, with the full view of the graffiti-covered monument, that encircles the free sectors of this city, part of a vast system of barriers that divides the entire continent of Europe... Standing before the Brandenburg Gate, every man is a German, separated from his fellow men. Every man is a Berliner, forced to look upon a scar.

The audience, flags and hands waving, looked to him. Hope. Optimism. Freedom. It was all there.

There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, Reagan continued, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace. General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate!

Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!

It was a command heard round the world, and immediately entered the history books.

Some still disagreed with its message, such as the Washington Post, which published an oped the day after making the case that Germany should always be divided. It's just that, considered as a unified nation, in a world parched for peace, the Germans are not quite ready for self-government, wrote Frank Getlein. He argued with irreparable bias that Germany, whenever it had been united, caused war and destruction. Take the country under Adolf Hitler, when he united the decrepit Weimer Republic and turned it into Nazi Germany; take Imperial Germany under the Kaisers, with a powerhouse of a military in World War I. Getlein argued that, for such a short history of modern Germany, it certainly had caused a lot of deaths.

Luckily, no one listened to Getlein or the Post.

It was Reagan  provocative to some, strong to others  who looked at the Soviet Union straight in the eye, and did not blink. It was Reagan who, along with other political heavyweights such as Margaret Thatcher of the United Kingdom and Pope John Paul II from Poland, who pressured and commanded Mikhail Gorbachev to reform the Soviet Union to nonexistence.

It was prophetic. On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall began deconstruction as a mass of East and West Berliners climbed over it, took sledge hammers, and celebrated new freedom. Referring to the former and hardline Communist leader of East Germany, Erich Honecker, one East Berliner laughed: Honecker thought it would take a hundred years for the Wall to fall. I bet he can't believe what is happening now.

Soon, each of the other Warsaw Pact countries followed suit: Hungary, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Yugoslavia, and others. They all looked to the fall of the Wall as an example of the power of the people against an oppressive government. And the people looked to Reagan as the fire to light that spark for freedom.

Craig Shirley is a presidential historian and bestselling author of four books on Ronald Reagan, most recently Reagan Rising. He has a political biography of Newt Gingrich, Citizen Newt, coming out August 29, 2017.

Scott Mauer is Craig Shirleys researcher. Previously, he had presented and guest-lectured on Soviet and Russian history, as well as other works specializing in Eastern European events. He earned his Master of Arts in History from Hood College in Frederick, Maryland.
Vastly outnumbered, outgunned, besieged on every front and overwhelmed by the wealth and diplomatic influence of the Arab States, Israel faced its hour of maximum danger 50 years ago. And it did so alone: 100,000 Egyptian troops, armour and artillery had amassed on Israels southern border; the UN peace-keeping force along the Israeli-Egyptian frontier had been expelled by Egypt; a naval blockade upon Israels southern port of Eilat had severed Israels maritime routes to the world; and further Egyptian forces had been transferred to the Jordanian-controlled West Bank to prepare the eastern front of attack. The Arab public from Cairo to Damascus to Baghdad was alight, euphoric in anticipation of the final defeat of Zionism and all the plunder and spoils the conquest would surely entail.

Chaim Herzog, an officer in Israels War of Independence and future President of the state, had been appointed military commentator on Israeli radio station Kol Israel in the weeks before the outbreak of war. He would speak directly to the public each night to comfort and inform, to maintain morale and keep dread at bay. On June 1, 1967, he dedicated his broadcast to Egypts aerial superiority. I want to discuss our air problem, he began, before examining the size of the Egyptian, Syrian and Jordanian forces and conceding their heavy quantitative advantage over solitary Israel. He took solace in the prowess of the Israeli pilot and the traditions of self-sacrifice of countless Jewish generations, the spirit of pioneering and volunteering. He concluded by assuring the public that in spite of the undeniable might of the Egyptian and allied forces, given the choice of being in an Egyptian bomber bound for Tel Aviv or being in Tel Aviv awaiting the payload, out of purely a selfish desire for self preservation he would opt to be in Tel Aviv. The broadcast reflected the mood of Israel in those days - stoic, plucky and ready to work and carry on, never mind the horrors that had preceded them or the periled path ahead. There was no time for pessimism.

While on the face of it, little has changed, some crucial differences can be detected. Egypt and Israel have been at peace since 1979. Israel and Jordan since 1994. Iran has surpassed Israel as the greatest threat to regional peace in the eyes of the Arab world.

The six days of combat that followed, June 5-10, 1967, could scarcely be believed. Had they taken place in the age of the prophets, the Six Day War would now be enshrined in Jewish liturgy and marked each year by the eating of magnificent foods and the recital of words of praise to the glory of the Almighty.

But this was a more rational time, and the causes and forces that drove the parties to war have been subjected to more sober analysis. Even so, the dramatic context in which the war arose, the sense of doom and foreboding of it all, and the manner of the victory, both decisive and inconceivable, ensure that a sense of wonder remains around those few days in June 1967.

In the opening hours of the war, Egypts air force was reduced to a smouldering ruin on the ground, immediately neutralizing the great threat that Herzog had identified in his radio broadcast. In the following days, Egyptian troops were driven out of the Sinai to the western side of the Suez Canal. Israel responded to Jordanian attacks on the eastern front by driving them out of eastern Jerusalem and the West Bank, which Jordan had conquered and annexed in 1948, depriving access by Jews to their holiest prayer site, the Western Wall. The territories were not named the Occupied Palestinian Territory by the UN until Israel replaced the Jordanians in controlling the area. The Syrians meanwhile were driven off the Golan Heights.

At the end of those six days, Israel stood in possession of the Holy Basin, including the Temple Mount and Western Wall, the entirety of the West Bank, the strategically vital Golan Heights, the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza.

Twenty years earlier, the United Nations General Assembly had sought to settle the question of Palestine by resolving, with both Soviet and American support, that the territory relinquished by Britain following the end of its League of Nations mandate, be partitioned to create two states, one Jewish and one Arab. The Jews acceded and declared independence the following year. The Arabs bristled, rejected partition, and put the nascent Jewish state through a frantic war of independence, an exercise in needless bloodletting and displacement brought about by the Arab rejection of an autonomous Jewish presence in the Middle East. Uneasy armistice agreements were concluded at the end of the war.

The impermanence of the armistice agreements in law  they were expressly stated not to be treaties or to delineate borders  plus the failure of the 1948 war to either give Israel the defensible borders it needed or the Arabs the destruction of Israel they demanded, created a sense of unease that made a fresh war almost inevitable. This was sharpened by the strategic positioning of the Arab forces, which threatened the slow strangulation of the Jewish state. Syria held the high ground in the Golan Heights from which they routinely shelled Israeli villages in the Jordan Valley. The Jordanians held the high ground around Jerusalem, while the Egyptians in Gaza could easily advance on Israels heartland. An Israeli civilian could never be more than 30 miles from an Arab soldier.

All this contributed to ensure that the interwar period (1949-1967) was marked by excruciating tension which manifested in a pattern of Arab ambush and Israeli reprisal, with each move carefully calibrated to restore some semblance of deterrence without prematurely pushing the region into another full-scale war.

The Palestinians, frequently seen as mere bystanders in the drama, played a crucial role in the years leading up to the Six Day War.

On the one hand, the Palestinian guerrilla organizations launched regular attacks on Israeli targets from the territory of the neighboring Arab states, with the aim of eliciting an Israeli response capable of setting off a new regional war.

As much as the Palestinians sought to draw the Arab world into a war fought on their behalf, the Arab dictators each used the Palestinian issue to satisfy their own domestic and regional interests, all the while ensuring that the refugee camps remained and the Palestinians never integrated into their respective lands. They would goad one another into war, score points against regional rivals by deriding each others failure to quash Zionism once and for all, and of course, use bellicose words and acts towards Israel to cement their own rule by igniting and satisfying that tempestuous creature, the Arab street.

While on the face of it, little has changed  the Arab world is as divided now as it was then - some crucial differences can be detected. A hatred of the Jewish state is no longer sufficient to temporarily unify the Arab nations, nor is a sense of responsibility to the Palestinians enough to draw them into wars against their own interests. Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, national security advisor to President Trump, observed a reassessment of regional relationships, most notably between Israel and a number of Arab partners. Egypt and Israel have been at peace since 1979. Israel and Jordan since 1994. Iran has surpassed Israel as the greatest threat to regional peace in the eyes of the Arab world. Qatars patronage of the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups that seek the overthrow of sitting governments is of far greater concern to Egypt and Saudi Arabia than the actions of Israel.

And yet, the Palestinian question remains as vexed now as fifty years ago. Israel is justifiably wary of relinquishing captured territories to the Palestinians and again putting every Israeli civilian within thirty miles of an Arab soldier, or worse, a jihadist. After all, the 1949 armistice lines failed to hold as permanent lines of separation in 1967, and unilateral withdrawals by Israel from Gaza and south Lebanon have neither ended grievances nor violence. Meanwhile the Palestinians, now seemingly incapable of drawing their Arab patrons into full-blown war, instead seek to perpetuate the conflict through political means, advancing the narrative of their misfortune in the halls of the United Nations, the Church synod, the trade union assembly and the university campus. All in all, the prospect of a harmonious Middle East appears as fanciful now as it was in that week in June 1967.

Alex Ryvchin is director of public affairs at the Executive Council of Australian Jewry. His new book is The Anti-Israel Agenda  Inside the Political War on the Jewish State (Gefen Publishing House, 2017)
The folks who run the Town Hall in Jackson, Wyoming proudly displayed a portrait of President Obama during his terms in office. But they wont be extending the same respect to President Trump.

Mayor Pete Muldoon removed portraits of President Trump and Vice President Pence  replacing them with a portrait of Chief Washakie, a renowned Native American warrior.

Click here to for a free subscription to Todds newsletter: a must- read for patriotic conservatives!

The mayor told me in a lengthy email that he stands by his decision  even though he acknowledged Trump won the election under the rules we have in place.

Dictators like Joseph Stalin required their portraits to be displayed everywhere, Mayor Muldoon told me. Luckily, we do not live in a dictatorship.

The mayor said since the town government is a non-partisan body and they do not work for the federal government, there is no requirement to display a picture of the president.

The Town of Jackson is not in the presidents chain of command, the mayor said. The idea that we are required to display a portrait of the president at Town Hall is simply not true. Theres a tradition of hanging portraits of the president in federal offices within the executive branch  not unlike how grocery stores display pictures of the manager.

He suggested there were only two reasons for displaying the presidents portrait: for education purposes or to honor the commander in chief.

I see no educational value in such a display, the mayor said.

Click here to read the full story on ToddStarnes.com.
The first family has officially moved into the White House.

First lady Melania Trump arrived at the executive mansion Sunday evening alongside her husband, President Donald Trump and the couple's 11-year-old son, Barron.

The trio arrived on Marine One, which landed on the south lawn of the White House as the sun set behind the Washington Monument.

Barron, who will attend St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Maryland this fall, wore a gray t-shirt with the words " The Expert" inscribed on it in blue letters.

Melania Trump's parents, Viktor and Amalija Knav, also arrived on Marine One with the first family. The Knavs were living with their daughter and grandson in Trump Tower.

At one point, Barron Trump turned back to see if his grandparents were behind him.As the president entered into the White House he waved, and smiled towards the cameras.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday ruled in part against President Trumps so-called travel ban, upholding an injunction that prevents the administration from enforcing a suspension on travel from six mostly Muslim countries.

"We conclude that the President, in issuing the Executive Order, exceeded the scope of the authority delegated to him by Congress," the opinion said.

The ruling Monday from a unanimous three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals deals the administration another legal defeat as the Supreme Court considers a separate case on the issue.

The judges say the president violated U.S. immigration law by discriminating against people based on their nationality and that Trump failed to show their entry into the country would hurt American interests.

In a statement, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the Justice Department disagreed with the decision, adding that the order was "well within [Trump's] lawful authority to keep the Nation safe."

The judges did not rule on whether the travel ban violated the Constitution's ban on the government officially favoring or disfavoring any religion. The 9th Circuit, considered among the most liberal circuits in the country, did side with the administration Monday in allowing the government to review vetting procedures. The judges directed a lower court to re-issue its preliminary injunction following the new guidance.

The 9th Circuit opinion represents just one development in the fast-moving legal battle.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Virginia also ruled against the travel ban May 25. The administration has appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court.

Earlier Monday, lawyers for Hawaii also told the Supreme Court that letting the Trump administration enforce the ban would "thrust the country back into the chaos and confusion" that resulted when the policy was first announced in January.

The state urged the justices to deny the administration plea to reinstate the policy after lower courts blocked it. The high court is considering the administration's request and could act before the justices wind up their work at the end of June.

Under the Trump policy, immigration officials would have 90 days to decide what changes are necessary before people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen may resume applying for visas. The U.S. refugee program would be halted for 120 days.

It would take a majority of the Supreme Court, at least five justices, to put the policy into effect.

The 9th Circuit weighed in Monday after a federal judge in Hawaii already blocked the ban.

Trump signed his first executive order on travel a week after he took office in January. It applied to travelers from the six countries as well as Iraq and took effect immediately, leading to commotion at U.S. airports as the Homeland Security Department scrambled to figure out who the order covered and how it was to be implemented.

A federal judge blocked it eight days later.

In March, Trump issued a narrower order, but federal courts that have examined it so far have blocked it as well.

On Twitter last week, Trump said the "courts are slow and political" and he said the government already is "EXTREME VETTING people coming into the U.S."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
President Trumps legal team may be prepared to show a trail of leaks to The New York Times by former FBI Director James Comey  dating back to at least March  in a pair of complaints set to be filed to the Justice Department inspector general and Senate Judiciary Committee, a source close to the team told Fox News.

An independent Fox News review of The New York Times reporting dating back to January reveals a host of stories sourced from top FBI and DOJ officials  or those privy to their conversations  that either paint Comey in a positive light or push a message he was unable to personally disclose.

Though Comey told the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 3 hed never been -- or directed another FBI official to be -- an anonymous source for news reports about the Trump and Hillary Clinton investigations, the then-FBI chief did not deny orchestrating leaks using, for instance, an old friend who works at Columbia University, or providing the information to a wide enough group to ensure it would leak.

And in reference to a separate case, he acknowledged sending his infamous letter to lawmakers last fall announcing a revival of the Clinton email probe knowing full well what they'd do: "Did I know they were really going to leak it? Of course, I know how Congress works.

Comey, who was fired by Trump in May, was open about at least one leak in testimony last Thursday.

He admitted to using an ex-U.S. attorney, later identified as Columbia University Prof. Daniel Richman, to leak to The Times the contents of alleged memos Comey wrote about his one-on-one interactions with Trump. He was not asked if he had ever used Richman on other occasions; however, Richman is mentioned in 151 results in a New York Times search dating back to 1993, with 11 of those articles also featuring Comey and six of them being authored by Michael S. Schmidt  who later wrote the Comey memos story which Comey told Congress he directed Richman to leak.

Dating back to at least Jan. 10, The Times has published confidential information related to Trump and the FBI, mostly sourced anonymously from senior officials in the FBI and DOJ:

Jan. 6  Comey, in written testimony, said he briefed then-President-elect Trump while the two men were alone in Trump Tower on this date. The briefing dealt with the salacious and unverified dossier alleging that Russia had compromising information about Trump. According to Comeys account, both he and ex-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper decided Comey should be the only one to brief Trump. One of the reasons for this arrangement, Comey wrote, was because he was staying on as FBI director  though no official announcement had been made about this and subsequent reports indicate Trump didnt ask Comey about remaining in his capacity until this meeting took place.

Jan. 10  The Times reports on the Comey/Trump dossier meeting, citing 2 officials with knowledge of the briefing. More inside-the-FBI information also exists in the article, including when the FBI first became aware of the dossier and the troubles agents had confirming the documents details.

Jan. 24  Though Trump hadnt made an official announcement, The Times reports Comey would be staying on as FBI director. Comey had reportedly told a large group about the news, in this case special agents in charge from across the nation. Trumps request that Comey remain on allegedly occurred during the Jan. 6 Trump Tower meeting. Schmidt wrote the story.

Feb. 24  Following a CNN report about contacts between Trump associates and Russia, The Times reports (the same day) that both Comey and Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe allegedly called White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus to assure him the CNN report was false. Priebus asked the FBI leaders if they could refute the report in public, though they both declined. When the reported calls between the FBI officials and Priebus surfaces, Trump is infuriated and tweets that the FBI needs to work aggressively to stop the leaks.

March 1  A DOJ official confirms to The Times that Attorney General Jeff Sessions had a pair of conversations with Russian official Sergey Kislyak despite Sessions Jan. 10 testimony that he hadnt had contact with Russians in a campaign capacity. This news, and the ensuing firestorm, leads to Sessions recusing himself from the Russia investigation. Comey said in his June written statement that he knew as far back as mid February that Sessions would likely be recusing himself. This was one of the reasons he gave for not telling Sessions about his interactions with Trump. Schmidt contributed to this article.

March 4  Trump infamously tweets that his phones had been tapped at Trump Tower by the Obama administration during the transition. A senior law enforcement official from the Obama Administration tells The Times that Trumps claim is 100 percent untrue. Schmidt contributed to this article.

March 5  Several senior American officials and senior FBI officials tell The Times that Comey argued that Trumps surveillance claim was false and had to be publicly corrected, even going so far as to ask DOJ to push back on the allegation. The Justice Department does not do so, though Comeys concerns are voiced in the article without him ever giving an on-the-record quote. Schmidt contributed to this article.

March 6  The Trump administration pushes back on the reported Comey concerns publicized in the previous days Times story. Comey was said to be disturbed by the claims because the Trump allegations insinuated the FBI had broken the law. Schmidt wrote this article.

April 22  The Times publishes a very lengthy profile of Comey featuring several in-depth, inside-the-room details and on-the-record quotes from Richman. The piece portrays Comey as a man attempting to shield the FBI from politics while struggling to do the right thing. Schmidt contributed to the article.

May 9  Comey is fired by Trump.

May 10  Richman is quoted in a Times story about Comey and foreshadows the alleged request for loyalty Trump made of Comey: With a president who seems to prize personal loyalty above all else and a director with absolute commitment to the Constitution and pursuing investigations wherever the evidence led, a collision was bound to happen.

May 11  In the afternoon, Trump gives an interview to Lester Holt in which Trump calls Comey a showboat. Later that night, The New York Times publishes details of an alleged dinner meeting between Trump and Comey in which Trump demanded loyalty and Comey demurred. The article, written by Schmidt, cites associates of Comey.

May 12  A tweet from Trump, ostensibly sent in response to the latest Times story, suggests Comey is the source of the leak and tells him he should hope Trump doesnt have tapes of their conversations.

May 16  Comey testified in June he woke up in the middle of the night and decided he needed to get his side of the story out (though most of the details were already reported in the May 11 article). That day, the story about Comeys alleged memos of the Trump meetings is reported in a New York Times story. Schmidt wrote the article. This is the only leak Comey has acknowledged some role in.

A spokesperson for Trumps legal team said Monday there was no update on the filings.

Fox News John Roberts contributed to this report.
James Comey has gone from hero to zero and back more times than seems humanly possible.

Hes become a walking Rorschach test on which partisans project their passionate feelings.

At the moment, the fired FBI director is being hailed by the left and drawing applause from much of the mainstream media.

Comey is a Shakespearean character, the New York Times says, with a theatrical swagger to match the moment.

He is blunt and folksy, says the Washington Post, both a prototypical G-man and the aggrieved victim of an undisciplined, line-crossing president.

But Comey is being pilloried on the right for not having much of a legal case against President Trump, and for being a leaker to boot. The latter is not a crime in leak-crazed Washington, but it does tarnish Comeys halo, since he scolds journalists for inaccurate leaked stories while slipping his memos through a friend to the New York Times.

Somehow, it often seems all about Comey. He infuriated the right by declining to seek an indictment against Hillary Clinton in the email investigation, while also upsetting the left by castigating her at a news conference for negligent conduct. Then he infuriated the left for reopening the case in late October for what turned out to be nothing. To this day, Clinton blames Comey for costing her the election.

This goes back to 2004, when Comey was Attorney General John Ashcrofts deputy, got an urgent call and rushed to the bedside of his hospitalized boss. Comey was able to block other Bush administration officials from having Ashcroft sign a reauthorization of the presidents domestic surveillance program. And who did Comey take with him? FBI Director Robert Mueller, whos now investigating Comeys charges as special counsel in the Russia investigation.

The liberals treated him as a saint.

Trump has now called Comey a liar, and with his 100 percent offer to testify under oathif indeed that ever happensthe two men are on a legal collision course.

With the absence of a White House war roomand with officials under orders not to comment on the investigationCorey Lewandowski is leading the rapid response.

The presidents first campaign manager was all over the airwaves late last week, defending his former boss and saying that Comey might potentially have to be prosecuted for leaking. Dave Bossie, Trumps former deputy campaign manager and now a Fox News contributor, has been defending him as well.

Trump has explored bringing them into the White House, but that is apparently not happening, at least for now. And both men are more free to speak their mind on the outside than if they were part of the administration.

Whether Comey lays low now or not, he has become the presidents chief antagonist. And whether he is praised or pilloried depends heavily on whether you support Trump, just as it did when Comey was investigating Hillary.

Not long ago, Comey was resented by both sides. But now that hes testified at a hearing watched by 20 million people, the ground has shifted once again.
Montana Congressman-elect Greg Gianforte pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault on Monday for body slamming a reporter last month.

Gianforte, who did not fight the charges, was sentenced to community service and fined $385 for assaulting Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs the day before his election.

Under the terms of his plea, the polician is also required to undergo anger management classes.

Gianforte faced up to six months in jail for assaulting the newpaper reporter after Jacobs asked him about a Republican healthcare bill. But the judge said Gianforte took responsibility for his actions and felt the lawmaker should not go to jail.

"My intent is for you to grow," said judge Rick West. "My intent was not for you to sit in jail."

GREG GIANFORTE: FOX NEWS TEAM WITNESSES GOP HOUSE CANDIDATE 'BODY SLAM' REPORTER

Gianforte has said his behavior was "unprofessional, unacceptable and unlawful."

The incident was captured on audio tape. Initially, Gianforte said the reporter initiated the fight, but the politician recanted hours after Fox News reporter Alicia Acuna, who witnessed the incident, described what she saw.

He then apologized for his actions.

I made a mistake and I took an action that I cant take back and I'm not proud of what happened, Gianforte said. I should not have responded in the way that I did and for that I'm sorry.

GREG GIANFORTE: A LOOK AT THE NEWLY-ELECTED MONTANA CONGRESSMAN ACCUSED OF ASSAULTING REPORTER

Jacobs has accepted the apology and has agreed not to sue the wealthy Republican.
Ivanka Trump, in an interview Monday with Fox & Friends, said she has been surprised by the viciousness and ferocity that greeted her fathers presidency -- but also said President Trump felt very vindicated by former FBI Director James Comey's recent Senate testimony.

Ivanka, a political novice like her dad who has been thrust into the Washington spotlight as a senior adviser to the president, nevertheless glided past the more controversial interview topics like a seasoned vet Monday. But she did provide a glimpse into the first familys daily battle with detractors.

Theres a level of viciousness that I was not expecting, Ivanka said, in between promoting Trumps initiatives in infrastructure and job creation. I was not expecting the intensity of this experience.

She added: But this isnt supposed to be easy. My father, and this administration, expects to be transformative.

President Trump has been routinely assailed by a Democratic opposition that, at the least, seeks to stall his ambitious agenda and, in some corners of the party, seeks impeachment.

Some of the distractions and some of the ferocity, I was a little blindsided by on a personal level, Ivanka said.

She said, however, that Comeys testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday backed up much of what her dad had been telling the press  to little avail  for months: that Trump was not being personally investigated for any alleged Russia ties and that Comey had orchestrated a leak to The New York Times on at least one occasion.

My father felt very vindicated in all the statements that hes been making and feels incredibly optimistic, Ivanka said. [Were] incredibly focused on the reason we all went to Washington and what were fighting for.

Ivanka spoke about the Trump administration's efforts to upgrade the skills of working Americans in an effort to match those who are searching for work with jobs. Noting that there were 6 million available jobs in the U.S., she said the White House was "trying to bridge the gap between skills and the jobs."

Ivanka also praised President Trump's first foreign trip, during which he visited Saudi Arabia, Israel and Italy. Ivanka, who converted to Judaism before she married Trump senior aide Jared Kushner, said she was particularly struck by a visit to the Western Wall.

"Every day in this experience has been surreal, but that was truly an unbelievable moment," she said.

Dismissing rumors that Kushner was embroiled in so-called palace intrigue, Ivanka said Team Trump is trying to ignore the news cycle and work toward fulfilling campaign promises.

"Ultimately," she said, "we're really focused on why the American people elected Donald Trump president."
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is slated to appear before the Senate intelligence committee on Tuesday.

His testimony follows fired FBI Director James Comey's session before the same Senate panel last week. Comey spoke of receiving pressure from President Donald Trump to drop a probe into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's contacts with Russia.

Here's what you need to know about Sessions before he testifies.

Controversial appointment

As president-elect, Trump nominated the Republican Alabama senator in November to serve as his attorney general.

The pick proved divisive, with Democrats and Republicans debating bitterly over the nomination. Democrats claimed Sessions was weak on civil rights for various groups.

During the nomination process, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., was rebuked for reading a 1986 Coretta Scott King letter. The letter opposed Session's previous federal judgeship nomination.

The Senate Judiciary Committee had rejected Sessions' federal judgeship nomination in 1986 after it was alleged that as a federal prosecutor, Sessions had called a black attorney "boy" and had said organizations like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the American Civil Liberties Union were un-American. Sessions said earlier this year that he'd never harbored racial animus.

Ultimately, senators voted 52-47 in favor of Sessions' nomination to serve as attorney general in February.

ATTORNEY GENERAL JEFF SESSIONS WILL TESTIFY IN PUBLIC

Sessions' recusal

Sessions stepped aside in March from the federal investigation into contacts between Russia and the Trump campaign after acknowledging that he had met twice last year with the Russian ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak.

Sessions told lawmakers at his January confirmation hearing that he had not met with Russians during the campaign. Sessions has been dogged by questions about possible additional encounters with Kislyak.

As for the timing of Sessions' recusal, Comey said the FBI expected the attorney general to recuse himself weeks before he actually did. Comey declined to elaborate in an open setting.

THE COMEY CONUNDRUM: LIBERAL CRITICS EMBRACE HIM NOW THAT HE'S ATTACKING TRUMP

"He was very close to and inevitably going to recuse himself for a variety of reasons," Comey said Thursday. "We also were aware of facts that I can't discuss in an open setting that would make his continued engagement in a Russia-related investigation problematic."

The Department of Justice (DOJ) spoke out on Thursday, saying that "Given Attorney General Sessions' participation in President Trump's campaign, it was for that reason, and that reason alone, the Attorney General made the decision on March 2, 2017 to recuse himself from any existing or future investigations of any matters related in any way to the campaigns for President of the United States."

Trump has been upset with the AG since his recusal, with Sessions even offering to resign, according to reports.

JUDGE NAP: SESSIONS IS IN A 'DANGEROUS POSITION,' SHOULD NOT TESTIFY

What do we know about the hearing?

Sessions' testimony will be open to the public. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 2:30PM EST, according to a press release from Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C.

Sessions is expected to face sharp questioning from his former Senate colleagues about his role in the investigation into contacts between Trump campaign associates and Russia during the 2016 election.

Sessions requested Tuesday's committee hearing be open because he "believes it is important for the American people to hear the truth directly from him," the DOJ said Monday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Justice Neil Gorsuch issued his first Supreme Court opinion on Monday, exhibiting his famed flair for writing in a unanimous decision that sided with a company in a debt collection case.

Gorsuch read a portion of the opinion from the bench. In the decision, the court ruled that Santander Consumer USA  which had bought defaulted car loans and sought to collect the money owed  does not fall under a federal law aimed at unscrupulous debt collectors.

While the dispute might fall on the drab side of the spectrum for high court cases, Gorsuch nevertheless took care to hook the reader at the start of his opinion:

Disruptive dinnertime calls, downright deceit, and more besides drew Congresss eye to the debt collection industry, he wrote.

From there, Gorsuch explained how that scrutiny prompted a federal law authorizing lawsuits and weighty fines designed to deter wayward collection practices.

READ THE OPINION

The case at hand, he wrote, looked at who qualifies as a debt collector:

Everyone agrees that the term embraces the repo mansomeone hired by a creditor to collect an outstanding debt. But what if you purchase a debt and then try to collect it for yourself does that make you a debt collector too?

In the end, Gorsuch and the court affirmed lower rulings that Santander does not qualify as a debt collector because it purchased the loans in question and was not trying to collect on someone else's behalf.

Fox News Bill Mears and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A recent lawsuit filed in Berks County Court aims to end a Pennsylvania school districts practice of paying full-time officers of teachers unions with taxpayer dollars.

An Oklahoma City-based nonprofit group called Americans for Fair Treatment filed the lawsuit against the Reading School District with the help of the Fairness Center in Harrisburg. The lawsuit charges that since 2011, more than $500,000 in tax funds have been used to pay for ghost teachers, or those who are paid as if they had jobs in public classrooms but are actually employed by the Reading Education Association.

The plaintiffs are seeking the return of the funds, including more than $400,000 in salaries, about $50,000 in pension contributions and about $73,000 in health benefits. They allege the funds were illegally funneled to officers of the union local.

Its clear that the Public School Code does not provide authority for this  Karin Sweigart, deputy general counsel for the Fairness Center, told Watchdog.org. At the end of the day, teachers should be paid to teach.

The Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) has received a copy of the complaint and is now reviewing it, according to PSEA spokesman Wythe Keever.

Click for more from Watchdog.org.
Tens of thousands of LGBT rights supporters marched across the U.S. on Sunday, celebrating gains but expressing anger over threats they say are posed by the Trump administration.

Activists have been embittered by the White Houses rollback of federal guidance advising school districts to let transgender students to use the bathrooms and locker rooms that corresponds to their gender identities.

They also complain that Trump, who campaigned as a potential ally of gays and lesbians, has stocked his administration with foes of LGBT rights, including Vice President Mike Pence, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price.

The centerpiece of the pride marches were held in Washington. Throngs of marchers paraded past the White House and toward the Capitol, trailing behind a giant rainbow flag near the head of the procession.

"We're here, we're queer, get that Cheeto out of here," was among the chants directed at Trump.

Also marching, and singing freedom songs and patriotic songs along the way, were scores of members of gay choruses from various cities.

"It's an opportunity to tell everyone we're still here, and we're not going away at all," said Gregory Elfers of Teaneck, New Jersey, who was with a contingent from the New York City Gay Men's Chorus.

"We have to be heard  we have to be sure we're not trampled on," said L. Owen Taggart of Washington's Gay Men's Chorus.

Meanwhile, what was once known as the Los Angeles Pride Parade was replaced with the ResistMarch. Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff, Maxine Waters and Nancy Pelosi were among the speakers.

Waters led the crowd in a chant of Impeach 45, while marchers carried rainbow flags or signs reading Love Trumps Hate.

"We're going to take our country back from him," she said. "I know that you have the strength. I know that you have the courage. And I know that each of you understand you have the power."

Brian Pendleton, who organized the event, told the Los Angeles Times the political climate in the U.S. drove everyone to unite. He added that people felt the need to make some statement against regressive policies.

This year, the LGBTQ community is lending our iconic rainbow flag to anyone who feels like their rights are under threat and to anyone who feels like Americas strength is its diversity, Pendleton said.

Sarah Kate Ellis, the president of GLADD, attended the D.C. march and noted that Trump broke from the practice of Barack Obama declining to issue a proclamation in honor of Pride Month. She added that the Trump administration has deleted questions about sexual orientation from planned federal surveys.

"If you look at their prioritization, we're really low on it," she said. "There absolutely is a resistance aspect to this march."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Special counsel Robert Mueller is said to be building out his investigative team with some of the countrys best legal minds, in a development that speaks to the seriousness of the Russia probe but also is raising red flags on the pro-Trump side.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, citing the hires, said theyre setting up to go after Trump.

This is going to be a witch hunt, Gingrich said on Fox News Sunday.

Not all Republicans feel that way, and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., told Fox & Friends on Monday that Mueller just wants to get to the truth.

But recent hires show Mueller is building a formidable team, poised to either root out wrongdoing or prove the Trump teams claims that theres no there there.

The National Law Journal first reported that Mueller has tapped on a part-time basis Deputy Solicitor General Michael Dreeben, regarded as one of the best government attorneys in the country.

Dreeben, who has been with the solicitor generals office dating back to 1988, has argued over 100 Supreme Court cases, a rare achievement. Paul Rosenzweig, a former Homeland Security official and visiting fellow at The Heritage Foundation, attested to Dreebens skill in a post for Lawfare.

I once saw him argue a Supreme Court matter without a single note, Rosenzweig wrote. In short, he is quite possibly the best criminal appellate lawyer in America (at least on the government's side).

Mueller also reportedly has hired Andrew Weissmann, head of the fraud section in the DOJ Criminal Division. Weissman led the Enron Task Force from 2002-2005, overseeing the investigations and prosecutions of dozens of individuals including Kenneth Lay.

As Mueller builds up his team, Trump allies are moving to downplay the Russia controversy. They say fired FBI Director James Comeys testimony last week affirms the presidents claims that he didnt try to stop the Russia investigation as a whole. Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said on Fox News Sunday that the testimony showed there was no obstruction, though Comey made clear he was leaving that judgment to Mueller.

Whether the team build-up indicates an effort to pursue criminal charges remains to be seen. And for the record, a spokesman with the special counsel's office could not confirm the names of any of the lawyers working on Mueller's team when asked by Fox News.

Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney fired by Trump along with dozens of other holdover prosecutors earlier this year, tweeted that Dreeben is 1 of the top legal & appellate minds at DOJ in modern times.

However, Bharara said Dreebens loyalty is to the Constitution alone and Mueller is looking to find the truth, apply the law and yield a just result. Charge or no charge.

Gingrich has called for Muellers probe to be shut down, claiming its not truly independent.

On Monday, Kinzinger said he disagrees with that approach.

Thats the wrong answer, he said, calling Mueller a good American that wants to get to the answers.

Speaking on ABCs This Week, member of Trumps legal team Jay Sekulow raised some concerns about the special counsel probe so far, including the special counsels involvement in reviewing Comeys testimony.

He did not say definitively whether the president would commit to not try to shutter the probe.

The president is going to seek the advice of his counsel and inside the government as well as outside. And I'm not going to speculate on what he will or will not do, he said.  I can't imagine that that issue is going to arise. But that again is an issue that the president with his advisers would discuss if there was a basis.
The Senates Russia probe will hit a new level of intensity Tuesday when Attorney General Jeff Sessions becomes the highest-ranking official to testify  in what Senate Intelligence Committee leaders confirmed will be an open hearing, in the spirit of last weeks dramatic session with James Comey.

The circumstances are different for Sessions appearance. While Comey was a witness scorned by President Trump and ready to dish on the leader who fired him, Sessions remains the top law enforcement official in the country, working for Trump's administration.

But lawmakers  particularly Democrats  are preparing tough questions for Sessions both about Russias contact with Trump campaign associates and the circumstances of Comeys firing.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who had called for Sessions testimony to be public, welcomed the open hearing as a positive step but said the attorney general should be forthcoming regarding unanswered and troubling questions.

MUELLER'S LEGAL BUILD-UP RAISES FLAGS

He called for Sessions to clarify what involvement he had in the Russia probe before his recusal; what safeguards are now in place; and why he felt it was appropriate to recommend Comeys firing when he was leading that investigation.

Recommending Director Comeys firing would seem to be a violation of his recusal, and Attorney General Sessions needs to answer for that, Schumer said in a statement.

For the Trump team, Tuesdays open hearing runs the risk of escalating the political drama surrounding the Russia probe and continuing to distract from the policy agenda the administration is trying to jump-start.

But Sessions apparently wanted to testify in public, to help clear the air.

He believes it is important for the American people to hear the truth directly from him and looks forward to answering the committee's questions tomorrow, a Justice Department spokesperson said.

Sessions had been set to testify before a budget-related subcommittee on Tuesday but, in letters to key lawmakers, said the intelligence committee that heard from Comey would be the more appropriate venue considering the Russia-related questions.

It was initially unclear whether the hearing would be open, but committee leaders announced Monday it would be public.

The hearing is now set to begin at 2:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday in open session.

On Fox News Sunday, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said he also has questions about Sessions participation in Comeys firing.

[Sessions] had already recused himself and then, suddenly, he's the one apparently recommending to the president that Comey be fired and the president has  declared it was all about the Russian investigation, Reed said.

The Trump administration has given numerous reasons for Comeys firing, including his handling of the Hillary Clinton email probe. But Comey testified last week that he thinks the Russia probe was the driving force.

Reed, further, said he has questions about Sessions past meetings with Russian officials beyond those hes already declared.

That will come up, he vowed.

Sessions recused himself from the Russia probe after acknowledging he met twice last year with the Russian ambassador.

During his testimony last week, Comey suggested there might be more to Sessions' recusal from the Russia probe, telling lawmakers he believed it was inevitable that Sessions would recuse himself and there were facts he could not discuss in an open hearing.

The Department of Justice, however, issued a statement standing by the original explanation that Sessions recused himself due to his participation in Trumps campaign.

[I]t was for that reason, and that reason alone, spokesman Ian Prior said.

Republicans have moved to downplay the Russia controversy in the wake of Comeys testimony, claiming the fired FBI director affirmed some of Trumps key claims. On Fox News Sunday, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel appealed to lawmakers to drop their line of investigation regarding the question of collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow.

This is a fishing expedition, she said. Im calling for an end to the investigations about  President Trumps campaign colluding with the Russians. Theres been no evidence of it.
The attorneys general of Maryland and Washington D.C. reportedly plan to file a lawsuit Monday against President Trump alleging that foreign payments to his businesses violate the Constitution.

A similar lawsuit was filed in January, but the case from two Democratic attorneys general may stand a better chance in court because it is the first brought by government entities, according to Reuters. The attorneys allege Trump violated the Constitutions emoluments clause.

According to The Washington Post, which first reported the lawsuit, the lawsuit focuses on Trumps decision to retain ownership of his company when he became president. Trump insisted in January that he was moving business assets into a trust to be managed by his sons and eliminate possible conflicts.

D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine and Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh said Trump has failed to keep his promises involving his businesses, including having his son Eric Trump update his father about the companys finances.

This case is, at its core, about the right of Marylanders, residents of the District of Columbia and all Americans to have honest government, Frosh told The Post. The emoluments clauses command that the president put the country first and not his own personal interest first.

The attorneys said that if the lawsuit is able to proceed it could force Trump to hand over his personal tax returns in an effort to get a grasp around his foreign business dealings.

The lawsuit, which will be filed in the U.S. District Court of Maryland, will be the second of its kind related to emoluments. An ethics non-profit, restaurant group and hotel events booker alleged Trump violated the emoluments clause.

The Justice Department on Friday argued that the plaintiffs in that lawsuit lack the legal standing to sue because they cannot allege enough harm caused by Trumps businesses. Justice Department lawyers also contended that Trump hotel revenue is not an improper payment under the Constitution.

Click for more from Reuters.
As Washington continues its investigation into Abu Khattala  the former leader of the Ansar al-Sharia militia, which waged the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya  his defense lawyers are alleging that U.S authorities inappropriately denied him his right to an attorney.

They contend his initial FBI statements should be dismissed as meaningless as his capture and detention were "coercive," according to the Washington Post.

Prosecutors argue that Khattala never definitively requested legal representation and, according to the Washington Post, implicated himself as a conspirator when he cooperated with the interrogation process in addition to signing waivers surrendering his lawyer rights.

However, Khattalas counsel claims that such waivers are meaningless and they are now accusing the U.S government of having explicitly crafted his capture and interrogation around being able to flout legal challenges, which included such actions as having the suspect shackled, masked and donning sound-cutting headphones during the boat ride, being interrogated by a High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group of military, intelligence and law enforcement officials for three days and then handed over to a second FBI team to collect evidence for civilian court purposes.

He was reportedly masked for all movements outside his cell and, at least in the initial stages of the interrogation, was moved at least every two hours with lights kept on the entire time.

However, Khattala also is believed to have been read and shown his Geneva Convention rights prior to questioning, and issued a mattress, prayer rug, writing materials and later a watch so he was aware of his prayer times.

In October 2014, Khattala pleaded not guilty in a brief court appearance to charges related to the 2012 attacks, some of which could carry a death sentence  including one count of murder of an internationally protected person and two counts of maliciously damaging and destroying U.S. property by means of fire and an explosive causing death.

The 6-foot auto mechanic, held for a decade as a political prisoner by ousted dictator Muammar Qaddafi, was captured four months earlier in a raid by U.S special operations forces and remains the only person charged by the U.S for involvement in the attacks. Khattala was then brought to the United States over a 13-day period crossing the Atlantic Ocean aboard the USS New York.

He is currently being held in the Alexandria, Va., city jail and his trial is slated to begin in September. Nonetheless, Khattalas case also may enter unchartered territory and signal the first time a federal judge rules on the constitutionality of interrogation practices developed for terrorism suspects captured overseas, the Washington Post reports.

The attack, which he is suspected of orchestrating, claimed the lives of four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.

READ THE HOUSE BENGHAZI REPORT

BENGHAZI HERO KRIS 'TANTO' PARONTO: SUSAN RICE IS A PATHOLOGICAL LIAR

Late last month, Khattala's former group  Ansar al-Sharia  announced that it has dissolved, with most of its leadership being eliminated while fighting the Libya National Army. Majority of the groups fighters are believed to have defected to ISIS in recent years.

The embattled countrys leadership remains crippled by two rival parliaments and three governments, with the magnitude of the fighting for control between the UN-supported Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli and the Libyan National Army.

Furthermore, the wrongful death suit brought against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by the parents of two Americans -- Sean Smith and Tyrone Woods -- murdered in the 2012 attacks was dismissed late last month. Federal judge Amy Berman ruled that Clinton was acting in her official capacity when using her private email server, thus the U.S government should have been named the defendant, and that the parents should have taken their accusations to the State Department before initiating legal action.
Police in suburban Denver have arrested a 15-year-old boy on suspicion of murder in the death of 10-year-old Kiaya Campbell.

Thornton Police said the teen was arrested late Saturday and taken to a juvenile detention facility. The statement added that the 15-year-old's identity would not be released because he is a juvenile.

Campbell was reported missing Wednesday night. Her body was found the next day about 1.5 miles from her father's house. Investigators said her body had signs of severe trauma, though the coroner was unable to establish an exact cause of death.

Campbell's father told police that she and his girlfriend's 15-year-old son left home to walk to a nearby shopping center. The 15-year-old told investigators that the pair were separated when a thunderstorm rolled in.

It was not immediately clear whether the teen was the same one arrested Saturday night.

Click for more from KDVR.com.
A U.S. Army veteran in New York City was celebrating the return of his service dog after a couple of attackers stole the animal nearly a month ago, the service member told Fox News on Monday.

Army Ranger Robert Lebron, who served in Afghanistan, said he was attacked from behind while taking his 8-month-old service dog, Mala, on a walk on Mothers Day in the Bronx. He said two men approached the pair and one pounced on Lebron while the other took Mala by the leash and ran away.

On Friday, his heartbreak turned to joy. He said an anonymous hero returned the dog, so he quickly posted a picture on Instagram to say thank you.

In fact, he said he received other acts of kindness. There are people even donating gift baskets for her with toys, food and clothes.

MILITARY SERVICE DOG, HANDLER REUNITED AFTER 3 YEARS APART

Lebron also said he got Mala a tracking chip so he wouldn't lose his dog again.

When talking about Mala, Lebron told WPIX, what she gives me I cant get from someone else: not a therapist or a family member or my friend, its unconditional love.

Lebron served as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He said Mala changed his life. It was one of the most amazing things that happened to me in a long time because I can take her everywhere  to the store, to church, to the hospital  and I do, said Lebron about Mala.

While Mala was missing, Lebron created a Go Fund Me page to raise money for food, safe housing and supplies for Mala upon her return.

AUSTRALIAN DOG GETS NEW JOB AFTER FAILING POLICE PUP TRAINING

Lebron posted a video on Instagram Sunday of Mala enjoying the weather outside.
Crews are working to repair major leaks and stop flooding on board the historic Battleship Texas in Houston. As a result, the site is closed to the public until further notice.

The ship is constantly leaking and a system of pumps are in place to push out the water, according to Bill Erwin, Superintendent for San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site.

But a new six-by-eight-inch hole in the blister tank let in a substantial amount of water that the current pump system could not control. The extra water caused the ship to list six degrees to the starboard or to the right.

Texas Parks and Wildlife hired a contractor who installed additional pumps and put divers in the water to find and patch the hole. As of 9:30 local time Monday morning, the hole was fixed and crews were working to get the pumps operating again.

Were going to be working on this with our contractors until we come to a resolution and get the ship righted, said Erwin. He believes there was another leak in the ship and divers are scheduled to get back in the water and check the hull again.

ARMY VETERAN REUNITED WITH STOLEN SERVICE DOG

Battleship Texas took part in some of the most significant battles in both World Wars. At the time she was built in 1914, she was the most powerful weapon in the world according to Texas Parks and Wildlife. USS Texas was the first ship to have anti-aircraft guns and was one of the first to have radar installed in 1939. She was decommissioned in 1948 and became a memorial ship.

Shes a hundred-year-old battleship whos sitting in water and her hull is made of steel and steel rusts. Eventually were going to have deterioration within the hull. Until and if we can get her into dry dock and do a more complete repair of the hull, said Erwin.

Crews started working to restore damage from age and deterioration to keep the ship afloat. They said that they werent sure when the ship would open again, but that they needed to definitively identify the leaks and pump all the water out.

THREE U.S. SOLDIERS KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN ARE IDENTIFIED

This is such a wonderful symbol of our history and our heritage, said Erwin. Our goal is to keep her preserved, to allow many, many future generations to understand and experience her significance.

Erwin said Texas Parks and Wildlife if always looking for volunteers and donations from the public. Volunteers can work on repair and restoration on the battleship. The Texas Parks and Wildlife website has a list of volunteer opportunities at the battleship.
The volunteer fire department saved the day after a trolley bus carrying a wedding party in Connecticut suddenly caught fire.

The bus was preparing to take the wedding party from the West Avon Congregational Church, west of Hartford, to the reception. Justin Stone, 31, and Maria Leonardi, 30, had just said I do when they realized flames had broken out on the bus.

The driver used a fire extinguisher to keep the flames under control until trucks arrived. The Avon Volunteer Fire Department of Connecticut put out the fire -- but then realized the bride and groom had lost their ride to their wedding.

The crew wasn't able to help the whole wedding party, but offered to get the couple to the party in the Leonardi family's backyard.

JANICE DEAN: TEN YEARS TOGETHER. AS HUSBAND AND WIFE. AMEN.

Engine 14 with a crew of four  Lt. Kaswer, Lt. Baldwin, Firefighter Costill and Firefighter Del Gallo  had the wonderful honor of making sure the happy couple didnt miss their own party, said the AVFD on Facebook Saturday.

Chief Michael Trick told ABC News, "Im very proud of our volunteer fire department and the men and women who are a part of it, "we were able to assist and make their memorable day just a little bit more special."

Pictures show the couple didnt seem too upset about the last minute change in plans. Leonardi told ABC News "I thought it was the best thing ever and they were so incredibly nice. They were just so gracious and wonderful."

The newlyweds got engaged in May 2016 after over a year of dating and will celebrate their wedding with two honeymoons, one in Napa Valley, California, next week, and a second to Australia, New Zealand and Tahiti later this year.

WHITE CASTLE WANTS TO GIVE YOU A 'ROYAL' WEDDING AND HONEYMOON

"People think that getting married is this life-changing event, and everything changes, but youre reaffirming to spend the rest of your life with your best friend," Leonardi said. Stone added, "And thats more than anything what it's all about."
Nearly 30 wildfires tore through dry and windy Arizona on Monday, drawing crews from across the Western United States to the state with the most blazes burning in the nation.

Thousands of firefighters were battling 28 wildfires throughout the state, many of them ignited by lightning or people, as gusty winds and parched vegetation fueled the flames, said Tiffany Davila, a spokeswoman for the state forestry department. No one has been injured, and just one empty house has been destroyed.

Some southern Arizona residents were allowed to return home Monday after fleeing last week from a wildfire in the community of Dragoon that burned a vacant home. Evacuation orders were in place for at least 30 houses.

Heather Floyd, who lives in Dragoon, said an official came to her house with a warning to evacuate Wednesday. Floyd decided to spend the night at her daughter's home in a nearby town, but her husband stayed behind.

When she left, she took multiple suitcases  one with five days' worth of clothes, and another with photo albums and picture frames she grabbed off the walls.

"It's weird," Floyd said. "What do you pack? It's 10:30 at night, you're not really thinking."

The fire came within half a mile of her house, but she went back the next morning and they have stayed since.

Davila estimates at least 80 square miles (207 square kilometers) across the state are ablaze. She said crews from seven other states are working to control the fires.

Officials closed a section of highway in northern Arizona last week because smoke from a mountain fire restricted visibility. State Route 180 about 10 miles north of Flagstaff will stay closed at least until Sunday, when the state Department of Transportation will re-evaluate.

Arizona has seen 858 fires so far this year that have charred 205 square miles (530.95 square kilometers).

Dry lightning, or lighting without rain, sparked some of the bigger fires burning now. It is more common in summer months leading up to the state's monsoon, said Hector Vasquez, a spokesman for the National Weather Service. Fire danger decreases as more moisture moves in and rain begins accompanying the lightning storms.

The National Weather Service warned residents in eastern and northern Arizona that high winds and low humidity could lead fires to spread more easily.

State forestry officials predicted two months ago that southern Arizona would have a higher fire risk than the northern, forested parts of the state, because winter rain and snow increased the amount of vegetation that fuels fires in later months after it dries out.

___

A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the number of fires cited in 2016 was for the entire year, but it was a year-to-date figure.
A Florida sheriff who posted a controversial message on social media urging citizens to arm themselves in self-defense said Monday the response has been overwhelmingly positive.

Less than one percent of the people on Facebook disliked it, Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey told Fox & Friends. Everybody else loved it and the comments were overwhelmingly positive.

Ivey posted the video on Facebook Wednesday two days after a deadly workplace shooting in nearby Orlando killed five people.

Folks, now more than ever is the time for our citizens to be prepared to serve as the first line of defense, not only for them, but for their families, Ivey said in the video.

The video was about preparedness, Ivey said on Fox & Friends. We want our citizens to understand that theres no way to prepare where the next attack is coming from, even the next active shooter."

OPINION: AMERICA'S POLICE OPERATING IN DANGEROUS TIMES

The sheriff said the best law enforcement agencies in the country have response times in the minutes but a violent criminal can take you in a second.

So we need our citizens to be well prepared, to have already though out their emergency plan, Ivey said. If theyre concealed carry holders, carry their gun with them. Its not doing any good at the house or in the car.
In January of 1945, J. Herman Sitrick was caught in the midst of a snowstorm in Belgium when he encountered an unarmed German soldier.

Sitrick  a U.S. Army infantryman who was part of the 610,000 troops involved in the decisive Battle of the Bulge  approached the soldier, who begged him in German not to shoot.

"Don't shoot! I have three children, Sitrick recalled the German soldier saying. Sitrick understood enough German to take pity on his enemy and, instead of shooting him, took his prisoner to a bombed-out farmhouse to wait out the storm.

Sitrick put the German in the basement of the house and then settled down to ride out the bad weather. But as the storm wore on, more German soldiers kept stumbling upon the farmhouse and Sitrick found himself taking in more and more prisoners.

By morning  as tanks from the U.S. 3rd Armored Division rolled by the house  Sitrick had 21 German soldiers held captive in the basement. He turned the nearly two dozen soldiers over to Allied forces before spending a week in a hospital for what he called frozen feet.

When he returned to his unit, his comrades told him that reporters and photographers were looking for him, but Sitrick never gave interviews.

More than 72 years later, France awarded Sitrick the Legion d'Honneur on Monday for his heroics in the European theater during World War II. Established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802, the Legion d'Honneur is the highest honor bestowed by France for military and civil actions.

What this award means to us more than anything is that his bravery, selflessness and service is not taken for granted at this stage of his life.  Ron Sitrick, J. Herman Sitrick's son

France began honoring American World War II veterans who fought on French soil in 2004 as part of the 60th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.

Besides his feat in Belgium, the now 92-year-old Sitrick also fought in Normandy and Brittany in France and in Luxembourg, among other locations in Europe. He eventually left the military in 1946 and went on to found Sitrick Advertising in Skokie, Illinois, where he still works.

Sitricks family says despite his heroics in World War II, the former soldier has always remained humble and reserved about his time fighting in Europe, "like most true heroes."

"What this award means to us more than anything is that his bravery, selflessness and service is not taken for granted at this stage of his life," Sitricks son Ron told the Chicago Tribune. "The outpouring of love and admiration for our father by so many is astounding and touching for all of us as a family."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
India announced Monday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Washington later this month for his first meeting with President Donald Trump.

The External Affairs Ministry said Modi will meet Trump on June 26 to discuss bilateral relations.

Ties between the two countries prospered under former U.S. President Barack Obama, when India was seen as a partner to balance China's growing weight in Asia.

But Trump has focused on building ties with China, relying on it as key to tackling problems such as North Korea's nuclear program.

For India, other key concerns are Trump's decisions to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord and review the H1B visa program, under which thousands of skilled Indian workers go to the United States.

In announcing America's withdrawal from the Paris deal last month, Trump irked India by saying New Delhi had made its participation "contingent on receiving billions and billions and billions of dollars in foreign aid."

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said India did not sign the Paris accord because of the lure of money and would continue to be part of it, regardless of whether the United States participates.

Both sides have expected a bilateral nuclear agreement signed in 2006 during the George Bush administration to begin bearing fruit. India is expected to discuss the issue with Washington because China has blocked India's entry into the Nuclear Suppliers' Group, demanding that India's rival, Pakistan, be treated on the same basis.

___

This story has been corrected to show that the nuclear agreement was signed in 2006 by then-President George Bush for the United States and not during the Obama administration.
A pastor in Kansas City, Kan., said he knew his church had been vandalized -- but what he saw led him to break down in tears.

Pastor Bryan Mann of the Bethel Seventh Day Adventist Church got the call from his head deacon on Sunday morning, alerting him to the overnight vandalism. Upon seeing the destruction, Mann said, I expected it to be bad, but not to this degree.

Toilets were broken and water was running across the floor, pews were overturned, a keyboard was destroyed, and a glass panel had been broken to enter the church. The alarm system never alerted the police because the door was not opened.

He said about the damage, this is Gods house and to do the type of things that have been done here, and Ive seen it before, but to take hours to do this type of damage, police say this didnt happen in 15 minutes or an hour; it took hours, even with multiple people. Who would have that much anger, and that much disregard?

KANSAS MAN ACCUSED OF HATE CRIME IN DEATH OF INDIAN CITIZEN

Mann said he wanted those responsible to be caught.

The churchs food pantry, which serves more than 100 families monthly was destroyed as well.

When I walked in I actually just broke down in tears, because just to know the dedication they give, and the people it impacts, and to look at how it was trashed, it just brought tears to my eyes, Mann says. He has been a pastor at the church for about a year.

Mann says they are assessing the damage and working with insurance, but that the act of vandalism just motivates them to do more good to outweigh the evil.

TEACHER LEAVES POSITIVE SIGNS IN FRONT OF LEBRON'S OHIO HOME A WEEK AFTER L.A. VANDALISM INCIDENT

I dont have anger toward them, you just pray for them,Mann said. Its going to rally the church to be better, and to engage even more.

The church is collecting donations of food and personal hygiene items.

Click for more from Fox 4 Kansas City.
Two sheriffs deputies in Kentucky were shot when they attempted to serve an indictment warrant at a mobile home in Knox County, according to Kentucky State Police.

The officers, Deputy Claude Hudson and Deputy Keith Liford, had gone to a residence in the Trosper community to serve a warrant when an individual began shooting at them, a Kentucky State Police spokesman told WYMT.

EX-COP GOES ON TRIAL IN KILLING THAT IGNITED MILWAUKEE RIOTS

Deputy Hudson was shot in his badge and bulletproof vest, and has been released from the hospital, WYMT reported. Deputy Liford was shot multiple times and flown to a medical facility where he is expected to recover.

The shooter, John Wesley Bays, was fatally shot on the scene, according to the news outlet.

Bays was often in trouble with the law, with court officials noting 43 cases he had been involved in since 1999.

'THIS IS WAR': FLORIDA SHERIFF URGES CITIZENS TO ARM THEMSELVES IN CASE OF ATTACK

Kentucky State Police said another man was inside the mobile home during the incident. He was arrested and taken in for questioning. Kentucky State Police are investigating the situation.
Delta Air Lines and Bank of America became the first companies to announce they are pulling their sponsorships of a Manhattan-based theater companys portrayal of Julius Caesar as a Donald Trump look-alike in a business suit who gets stabbed to death on stage.

Delta and Bank of America both announced their intentions on Sunday.

"No matter what your political stance may be, the graphic staging of Julius Caesar at this summer's Free Shakespeare in the Park does not reflect Delta Air Lines' values," the companys statement said. "Their artistic and creative direction crossed the line on the standards of good taste."

Bank of America added it was withdrawing funding for the production.

"The Public Theater chose to present Julius Caesar in such a way that was intended to provoke and offend," the bank said in a tweet. "Had this intention been made known to us, we would have decided not to sponsor it."

American Express also took to Twitter and announced their sponsorship doesn't support the play.

"We would like to clarify that our sponsorship of the Public Theater does not fund the production of Shakespeare in the Park nor do we condone the interpretation of the Julius Caesar play," the financial corporation tweeted.

Performances at Central Parks Delacorte Theater began in late May, just days before comedian Kathy Griffin was condemned for posing for a photograph with a bloodied rendering of Trumps head.

Oskar Eustis, the Public Theater's artistic director who also directed the play, said earlier in a statement that "anyone seeing our production of 'Julius Caesar' will realize it in no way advocates violence towards anyone."

A spokesperson for the National Endowment for the Arts told Fox News funding wasn't provided to "Julius Caesar."

"The National Endowment for the Arts makes grants to nonprofit organizations for specific projects," explained the spokesperson. "In the past, the New York Shakespeare Festival has received project-based NEA grants to support performances of Shakespeare in the Park by the Public Theater. However, no NEA funds have been awarded to support this summer's Shakespeare in the Park production of 'Julius Caesar' and there are no NEA funds supporting the New York State Council on the Arts' grant to Public Theater or its performances."

The spokesperson added the last grant was awarded in 2016 for "The Taming of the Shrew" and "Troilus and Cressida."

"We haven't made any award to date for this year's festival," they said.

"Julius Caesar" tells a fictionalized story of a powerful, popular Roman leader who is assassinated by senators who fear he is becoming a tyrant. It is set in ancient Rome, but many productions have costumed the characters in modern dress to give it a present-day connection.

The production runs through June 18.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ohio police released a 911 recording Monday in the deaths of two college students and their mother who were killed in their home.

North Royalton police said the victims were Taylor Pifer, 21, Kylie Pifer, 18, and their mother Suzanne Taylor, 45. They were found Sunday night.

The mothers boyfriend Scott Plymale called 911 after the older daughters boyfriend Dale Koster found the bodies, WOIO-TV reported.

They didnt answer the door and he picked the lock and went in, Plymale says during 911 recording obtained by the Cleveland Plain Dealer. He said the bedroom door is closed and he opens the bedroom and he says there is dead body in here.

Plymale then tells the 911 dispatcher that Koster called him earlier and said something was wrong because all the cars were there and all the doors were locked and he didnt hear the dog.

(Saturday) I dropped off flowers and it was kind of the same thing, Plymale says, according to the recording. I didnt hear the dog and all the cars were there.

A woman who says she was the stepmother of the two sisters told WOIO Kylie attended Bowling Green College and Taylor attended Kent State University.

Police said one of the victims was stabbed, Fox 8 reported. Injuries of the other victims were not known.

Initially cops said they had been shot to death.

A motive for the killings was not known.

Fox 8 reported there were no suspects.

North Royalton Det. Dave Loeding told WOIO that evidence recovered at the scene was being sent to the lab.

Let police work take its course, he said. "I know people need answers. Id like to give you answers.

He said evidence was being sent to the lab.

Click here for more from Fox 8 Cleveland.
Around 200 miners, business leaders and local politicians stood around tables covered in mining headgear and tablecloths labeled Make Coal Great Again as they overlooked a freshly dug coal pit located around 60 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

The group was assembled for the opening of Corsa Coal Corps Acosta mine  the countrys newest mining operation - which will dig up metallurgical coal for use in a booming steel industry and is expected to generate up to 100 full-time jobs. Hundreds of job applications already have poured in.

Although many analysts have predicted a decline in coal extraction, the mine has been praised locally as an economic lifeline for a region hard hit by the decline in coal-fired power plants and  despite Corsa starting work on the mine last August  it's been hailed by President Trump as proof that environmental deregulation will bring jobs to the struggling industry.

When I campaigned for president I said that we would end the war on coal and put our incredible miners-that's what you are you are incredible - back to work, Trump said in a video played for the crowd gathered in Somerset County.

Trump has made reversing the decades-long decline in coal mining the central tenet of his environmental policy  blaming federal regulations aimed at curbing planet-warming carbon emissions for job losses in the industry. The revival of the industry was one of Trumps main talking points while on the stump last year and helped him win over working class voters in Pennsylvanias coal country.

The tone of government has completely changed, Corsa CEO George Dethlefsen told Fox News. Coal is no longer a four letter word.

Since taking office, Trump and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt have targeted laws that protected waterways from coal waste and required states to slash carbon emissions from power plants. About a dozen protesters chanted in opposition to the mine at the opening, but the mine seems to be overwhelmingly popular in Somerset County.

It will put guys back to work and out money in their pockets, James Yoder, a Somerset County Commissioner, told Fox News. Its going to be a boom for everyone.

Somerset County  which is best known for being the site of the United Airlines Flight 93 crash on September 11, 2001  has an unemployment rate of around 6.8 percent, almost 2 points more than Pennsylvania as a whole, and Yoder said that any new jobs in the region are not going to hurt.

The coal industry here is like a rollercoaster, he said. Weve been going downhill for a number of years, but now it looks like were starting to go back up.

The mine will produce approximately 400,000 tons of metallurgical coal annually during its 15 year lifespan and will employ between 70 and 100 people, while the mines trickledown effect could create another 300 to 400 jobs.

There may be an uptick in the industry from time to time, but overall the outlook for the future of coal is pretty bleak.  Tom Sanzillo, the director of finance at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis

While Trumps pro-coal agenda has put him at odds with many Democratic lawmakers, the Acosta Mine enjoys bipartisan support in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf  a Democrat who is a sharp critic of Trumps plan to leave the Paris Climate Accord  was on hand for the mine opening. The state doled out a $3 million grant for the mine, which helped offset the $15 million or so initial investment, and Wolf called the mine an effort to bring back jobs and industry to an economically-beleaguered part of Pennsylvania.

"We have not always capitalized on our standing as one of the world's leaders in these resources, but we're changing that," Wolf said.

Part of Wolfs support for the mine may be the mine will be used for metallurgical coal, which has less impurities and is generally seen as cleaner than the coal used to fire power plants.

The price of metallurgical coal tripled to over $300 a ton over the past year after China slashed its coal production and the steel industry bounced back from a global downturn. Cyclones disrupted supplies in Australia, the world's biggest exporter of metallurgical coal, pushing prices higher.

The metallurgical coal being pulled from the new mine, however, is part of a niche market that makes up only between 5 percent and 10 percent of coal production and operates independently of the market for power-generating coal plants.

Analysts emphasize that the new mine doesn't reflect a long-term revival in the coal industry as a whole, which continues to struggle amid mechanization and cheaper, cleaner energy alternatives such as natural gas and renewables.

There may be an uptick in the industry from time to time, but overall the outlook for the future of coal is pretty bleak, Tom Sanzillo, the director of finance at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, told Fox News. Over the next 35 years, Sanzillo said, the market for metallurgical coal is expected to remain stagnant, while steaming coal will continue its downward trend.

That means there will not be much of a robust job market, he added.

Fox News' Leland Vittert and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A Minnesota police officer who shot and killed a black driver just after the man told him he had a gun did what he had to do, a defense attorney argued Monday.

Officer Jeronimo Yanez fatally shot Philando Castile, a 32-year-old cafeteria worker, during a traffic stop on July 6, 2016. The shooting drew widespread attention because Castiles girlfriend livestreamed the aftermath on Facebook.

AUTHORITIES IDENTIFY OFFICER JERONIMO YANEZ AS MAN WHO FATALLY SHOT BLACK MAN IN MINNESOTA

Prosecutors earlier argued Yenez never saw Castile with a gun, and had plenty of options that did not involve shooting Castile.

The manslaughter trial went to a jury after both sides gave closing arguments Monday.

Castile looked like a man who robbed a convenience store days earlier, Yanezs attorney Early Gray argued to the jury. He said Castile ignored Yanezs orders and reached for his gun while high on marijuana, adding Yanez felt his life was in danger during the situation and did what he had to do.

Prosecutor Jeff Paulsen argued that autopsy evidence showed a bullet wound to what would have been Castiles trigger finger, and that there was no corresponding bullet damage nor wounds in the area of Castiles right shorts pocket, where he carried his gun.

MN OFFICER BACK ON JOB MONTH AFTER SHOOTING PHILANDO CASTILE IS 'LEVEL-HEADED,' CHIEF SAYS

Paulsen asked the jury to consider what might have happened if Yanez, when told of the gun, would have stepped back a few feet to better assess the situation. Officer Yanez might have heard that Castile was reaching for his wallet, he added.

Castile had THC, a component of marijuana, in his blood when he died.

Conviction of the officers manslaughter charge requires the jury to find Yanez guilty of culpable negligence, which the judge described in jury instructions as gross negligence with an element of recklessness.

After three white alternates were dismissed after closing arguments, the 12-member jury included two black and ten white people.

Fox News Matt Finn and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A year after gunman Omar Mateen opened fire in Orlando's Pulse nightclub, his widow, Noor Salman, is currently awaiting trail, accused of helping her husband carry out the massacre on June 12, 2016.

Salman pleaded not guilty in April to federal charges including aiding and abetting, the Orlando Sentinel reported. In May, an appeals court ordered her to stay in jail until her trial starts next year.

FBI agents arrested Salman last January in her California home where she had been living with her son.

The trial is scheduled to begin in March 2018, with jury summonses to be sent out in September. She could face life in prison if convicted.

PULSE NIGHTCLUB SHOOTING: 49 VICTIMS REMEMBERED ONE YEAR LATER

Salman knew about her husband's plan before the attack and how he pledged allegiance to the Islamic State terror group, prosecutors said. She shopped with her husband the night before the attack when he bought five containers of ammunition, a source close to the investigation told Fox News.

She also failed four lie detector tests, according to the source.

More than 60 families of victims and survivors have joined a lawsuit against Salman and Mateen's former employer, G4s security firm, on the same claims as the federal case, according to the Orlando Sentinel. They allege both parties ignored warning signs that could have prevented the massacre from happening.

AFTER PULSE ATTACK, GAY LATINO COMMUNITY SEEKS STRENGTH

The lawsuit is seeking an unspecified amount of compensation for the families' victims, including medical and funeral expenses, loss of support, along with other possible payments.

Mateen killed 49 people and wounded dozens of others just before 2 a.m., around closing time at the gay nightclub. He was killed in a shootout with police after a three-hour standoff. The city of Orlando remembered the victims in the shooting on Monday, marking one year since the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. The day was named "Orlando United Day" -- a day of love and kindness.

Fox News' Mike Arroyo, Malia Zimmerman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A Texas drug dealer is back in prison a year after she was granted clemency by President Obama.

Carol Denise Richardson, 49, was sentenced to 14 months in prison last week for violation the terms of her supervised release, according to the Department of Justice. Prosecutors say she committed five separate violations of those terms.

This defendant was literally given a second chance to become a productive member of society and has wasted it, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ted Imperato said in a statement. She has clearly shown a willful disregard for the law and must face the consequences for her crimes and actions.

OBAMA'S CLEMENCY DID NOT EXTEND TO BERGDAHL, SNOWDEN, OTHERS

After a drug dealing conviction, Richardson, who had a lengthy rap sheet, was sentenced to life in prison in June 2006. But she was released from prison last July after Obama commuted her sentence. Obama granted clemency to 1,715 people -- many of them drug offenders -- during his eight years in office.

On July 28, she was a free woman.

But $60 worth of laundry detergent landed her back in jail in April. She was caught stealing the detergent in Pasadena, Calif. and planned to sell it to buy drugs, her attorney told the Houston Chronicle.

Mark Anthony Diaz told the newspaper that his clients problems stem from her ongoing crack addiction.

Prosecutors say among other conditions Richardson violated are staying in contact with a probation officer and failing to report that she had moved.

OBAMA'S RECORD WAVE OF PARDONS, COMMUTATIONS

The nonprofit that took up Richardsons cause to receive clemency last year said the system has failed her once again. Clemency for All Nonviolent Drug Offenders, or CAN-DO, said in a statement released Sunday that Richardson was not given proper support after her release from prison.

It will be easy for some to point a finger at Carol and justify their support of harsh mandatory sentences as a necessity to keep people locked up, when we feel Carols current situation is proof that we desperately need to overhaul our current drug policy that treats addiction as a criminal issue, rather than a medical issue, the group said in a statement. Imagine locking up an alcoholic for life simply because they suffer from a disease that science claims is often genetic.
A plane heading to Shanghai returned safely to Sydney after an in-flight problem left a gaping hole in an engine casing.

China Eastern Airlines said the crew on Flight 736 noticed damage to the air inlet on the left engine after takeoff Sunday evening and the captain decided to return.

The airline said on its Sina Weibo microblog that the plane landed safely and the airline was taking care of passengers' needs. The Airbus A330 plane has two engines.

Passengers told Australian media they heard a massive noise and smelled something burning.

Passenger Ashley Beck told Australia's Channel Nine television that after the passengers heard the loud noise, the crew started moving everyone from the left side of the plane.

Photos showed a jagged, vertical hole in the side of the casing.
German authorities arrested four Syrian brothers on terrorism charges Monday for allegedly fighting for an extremist group in their homeland five years ago.

Mustafa K., 41, Abdullah K., 39, Sultan K., 44, and Ahmed K., 51, whose last name wasn't released because of privacy regulations, are accused of membership in a terrorist organization for fighting for the Nusra Front in the northern Syrian city Ras al-Ayn starting in late 2012.

Federal prosecutors said the men were allegedly involved in the group's fight against Syrian government troops and Kurdish defense forces.

Mustafa and Sultan K. are also charged with war crimes for allegedly forcing civilians from the city and plundering their possessions. Prosecutors refused to say when the brothers entered Germany.

In a separate case, prosecutors said Monday that a 31-year-old Syrian arrested in February has been released. He was accused of membership in the Islamic State group and of committing a war crime by raping a woman as she tried to flee IS-controlled territory in Syria.

The suspect, Akram A, was released on Friday, federal prosecutors said in a statement.

Prosecutors have said that the suspect ran an IS checkpoint set up to control people leaving territory held by the group. The allegations relate to an incident in early 2016 in which a Syrian woman tried to flee with her children.

Prosecutors said Monday further investigations now suggest that "a different sequence of events" is also possible, but didn't offer details. That meant that the evidence was no longer strong enough to justify keeping him in custody.
The Pentagon on Monday released the names of the three U.S. soldiers killed in an attack by an Afghan army soldier over the weekend.

The U.S. soldiers were identified as:

- Sergeant Eric M. Houck, 25, of Baltimore, Maryland

- Sergeant William M. Bays, 29, of Barstow, North Carolina

- Corporal Dillon C. Baldridge, 22, of Youngsville, North Carolina

The soldiers were shot Saturday in Peka Valley, Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan. A fourth U.S. soldier was injured in the attack.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the act. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement that a militant loyalist had infiltrated the Afghan army "just to attack foreign forces."

The soldiers were assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 3rd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and Company D, 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, KY. The 3rd Brigade Combat Team Rakkasans deployed last fall in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel.

"Today, as we grieve, our thoughts and prayers are with the families of Cpl. Baldridge, Sgt. Houck and Sgt. Bays. We take this as a family loss, said Maj. Gen. Andrew Poppas, Commanding General of the 101st Airborne Division and Fort Campbell. In the days ahead, the 101st Soldiers and the Rakkasans will continue the fight against terrorism with unbridled determination. Our Soldiers are battle-hardened and committed to the defense of our nation and the freedoms for which we fight."

The three soldiers posthumously earned the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart. Baldridge was posthumously promoted to Sgt., and, along with Bays, earned the Combat Infantry Badge and Army Commendation Medal. Houck was posthumously awarded the Combat Action Badge and Army Commendation Medal.

In his White House press briefing Monday afternoon, Press Secretary Sean Spicer acknowledged the loss of the soldiers in Afghanistan. Spicer said their thoughts and prayers are with the families of the American heroes.



The Pentagon is investigating the incident.

Fox News' Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.
The political crisis engulfing Qatar stems from accusations by its Arab neighbors that it supports terrorism. Qatar denies the allegations, but its ties with Iran and embrace of various Islamist groups have brought intense scrutiny, made it a regional outlier and created enough smoke to suggest a fire. Last week, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed ties with Qatar amid a slew of punitive measures. On Friday, the four Arab states upped the pressure by naming 59 people and several charities linked to Qatar on a terrorist list.

Governments across the region routinely cite terrorism as justification to clamp down on political opposition and rights activists. Some groups Qatar has backed  such as the Muslim Brotherhood  are seen by many as a legitimate political force. Others, including some hard-line Sunni rebel factions in Syria, are not that different ideologically from groups that Saudi Arabia backs there.

Here's a look at the various groups Qatar's accused of supporting and its relationship with them:

AL-QAIDA AND ISLAMIC STATE GROUP

Qatar's Arab neighbors have accused it of backing al-Qaida and the Islamic State group's ideology across the region, from Syria to the Sinai Peninsula. Experts and groups in Syria say Qatari finances have indirectly propped up militant groups. Similar accusations were leveled at Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries in the early days of Syria's 2011 uprising, but experts say these governments amended their official stances and financing laws.

Some express concern that the row between Saudi Arabia and Qatar could undermine all finances to the Syrian opposition  where, on the ground, the lines are blurred over which groups cooperate with radicals. Hassan Hassan, a Syria expert, said Qatar has never supported al-Qaida or IS directly. However, he said Qatar has supported Ahrar al-Sham, whose founders are linked to al-Qaida. For its part, Saudi Arabia once hosted members of Ahrar al-Sham at a Syrian opposition conference in its capital.

MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD, A POLARIZING FORCE

The Islamist Sunni group remains one of the region's most polarizing. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt view it as a direct threat to their rule and deem it a destabilizing force. However, the Brotherhood's offshoots remain active in Jordan and Tunisia. The Brotherhood was elected to power in Egypt after protests toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and Qatar aided the Brotherhood-led government in Cairo with billions of dollars. It was a key supporter of the group's offshoots in Syria and Libya.

Qatar argues it supported Egypt as a whole, and not one particular faction, when the Brotherhood was in power. Egypt's military ousted the Brotherhood and unleashed a lethal crackdown against its members amid mass protests in 2013. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt outlawed the group and branded it a terrorist organization, accusing it of plotting attacks. Brotherhood affiliates in the Gulf have been arrested.

Gulf monarchies also accuse Qatar of providing financial support, a safe haven and even citizenship to Islamist opposition figures from their countries.

HAMAS, THE RULER OF GAZA

The Palestinian group, an offshoot of Egypt's Brotherhood, is considered a terrorist organization by Israel and its Western allies. The group, which rules the Gaza Strip, has fought three wars with Israel and is seen by some in the Arab world as an armed resistance force against Israeli occupation. Saudi Arabia says Qatar must sever ties with Hamas.

Qatar has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in roads, housing and a major hospital in the Gaza Strip offering a lifeline for jobs in the devastated area that is under an Israeli-Egyptian blockade. Its support for the territory makes Qatar one of its few foreign backers. Qatar says its work in Gaza is "purely humanitarian" and its engagement with the group has been in the context of internationally backed peace talks.

GROUPS HOLDING HOSTAGES FOR RANSOM

A deal negotiated recently to release kidnapped members of Qatar's ruling family has been a source of anxiety for Gulf leaders, particularly in Saudi Arabia, which views Iran as its top adversary. Qatar reportedly paid hundreds of millions of dollars to an Iranian-backed Shiite militia that had kidnapped the 26 hostages on Dec. 16, 2015 from a desert camp for falcon hunters in southern Iraq.

Egypt has asked the U.N. Security Council to investigate reports that Qatar "paid up to $1 billion to a terrorist group active in Iraq" to free the hostages, which would violate U.N. sanctions.

Qatar says it only supported the Iraqi government financially for its efforts in the release of hostages, and that it did not deal with armed groups there. The deal also allegedly resulted in the evacuation of residents of predominantly Shiite villages in Syria, where Iran's proxies hold sway. Several people close to the negotiations say Qatar also paid a hefty sum to Islamist groups in Syria, including one linked to al-Qaida, for the evacuation of the residents. They told The Associated Press that the talks were probably the region's most complex and sensitive hostage deal.

IRAN, THE SHIITE POWERHOUSE

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain accuse Qatar of supporting Shiite militant groups in both countries. Violence has increased in recent weeks between militants and Saudi security forces in a predominantly Shiite town in the country's east. In Bahrain, the Sunni-led monarchy crushed an uprising by majority Shiites there in 2011 and continues to crack down on peaceful dissent. Bahraini security forces have since been targeted by local Shiite militants.

Saudi Arabia has also accused Qatar of backing Iranian-allied rebels in Yemen, known as Houthis. However, Qatar was a member of a Saudi-led coalition bombing the Houthis in Yemen. Experts say there is no evidence to support the claims, but that the accusations appear to stem from negotiations for a transfer of power in Yemen in 2012. Qatar and Saudi Arabia were in disagreement over how to go about it, and Qatar was accused of trying to sabotage a Saudi-led initiative by working with Houthis. Qatar's ambassador in Washington Meshal bin Hamad Al Thani has said that while the country has ties with Iran and shares with it a vast underwater natural gas field its stance is similar to that of other Gulf Arab states.

__

El Deeb reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Josh Lederman in Washington and Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed.

___

Follow Aya Batrawy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ayaelb and Sarah El Deeb at https://twitter.com/seldeeb
Retired Bolivian Gen. Gary Prado Salmon, who in October 1967 captured Ernesto "Che" Guevara, said that the leadership of the Cuban communist party sent the iconic Argentine-Cuban guerrilla leader "to die in Bolivia" because they didn't want to put up with him any longer.

In an interview with EFE in the eastern city of Santa Cruz, Prado defended that hypothesis, which will be in the prologue of the new edition of his book "La Guerrilla Inmolada," which analyzes Guevara's downfall while serving with a guerrilla group in Bolivia almost 50 years ago.

"After so many years, what has come out is that ultimately they sent Che here to die. They rid themselves of him. That is the reality. (Fidel) Castro rid himself of (Che). Not only because he wanted to, but because the Cuban communist party leadership could not stand him any longer because of his character and his way of being impulsive," Prado said.

A captain at the time, Prado on Oct. 8, 1967, commanded the army patrol that wounded and captured Che in southeastern Bolivia.

Prado turned him over to his superiors, who the next day executed him in the nearby town of La Higuera.

The fourth Bolivian edition of the book, which first came out in 1987, analyzes the guerrilla experience in Bolivia and will be released in the coming days.

MILLENNIALS ARE CLUELESS ABOUT SOCIALISM (CALL IT THE 'BERNIE SANDERS EFFECT')

The hypothesis about Cuba's abandonment of Guevara and his differences with Castro regarding relations with the USSR and the Soviet model have sparked controversy and have been rejected by Havana and Che's family.

The Bolivian Rangers, including Prado, were trained by the US Green Berets who were dispatched to Bolivia to prepare the local troops for the fight against the guerrillas.

CBS: GO SEE FAMED REVOLUTIONARY CHE GUEVARA BEFORE U.S. RUINS CUBA!

Prado, who has been in a wheelchair since being accidentally shot by another officer in 1981, said that the book has given him great satisfaction because it's been released in Argentine, US and Italian editions, as well as two editions in Spain.

But he says that "In my life, I did more important things than capture Che Guevara."
One woman was killed and at least 10 people were injured after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck western Turkey and the Greek island of Lesbos on Monday, damaging dozens of homes in the area, authorities said.

The earthquake hit at 3:28 p.m. local time, with the epicenter in the Aegean Sea at the very shallow depth of about four miles, Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management said. At least 10 people were injured and one woman was found dead in the village of Vrisa, Greek authorities said.

Tremors from the earthquake were felt as far away as Istanbul and Athens, The Sun reported. In Lesbos, roads were closed and dozens of homes were damaged. Video of the aftermath showed debris covering the streets, with walls of buildings completely destroyed. Officials recorded at least 20 aftershocks.

"We are advising residents in affected areas of Lesbos to remain outdoors until buildings can be inspected," senior seismologist Efthimios Lekkas said.

In Turkey, Ayse Selvi, 61, told The Associated Press that she felt the tremors in her summer home in Karaburun near the quake's epicenter.

"My God, all the picture frames fell on the ground and I have no idea how I ran out. I'm scared to go inside now," Selvi said.

Earthquakes are frequent in Greece and Turkey, which are on active fault lines. Two devastating earthquakes hit northwestern Turkey in 1999, killing some 18,000 people.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Nearly complete results in Kosovo's national election are showing that a coalition of ethnic Albanian former leaders of a war of independence against Serbian troops in 1998-1999 is leading with a third of the vote.

The Central Election Commission reported Monday afternoon that the ex-rebels' coalition came in first with around 34 percent of the vote. With more than 99 percent of votes counted, the nationalist Movement for Self-determination had about 27 percent, more than a point ahead of a coalition led by former Prime Minister Isa Mustafa.

No group can govern alone and a coalition is likely.

Final results for the new 120-seat parliament are expected later in the week. Twenty seats in parliament are reserved for ethnic Serbs and other minorities.

Commission head Valdete Daka said that due to "heavy traffic of more than 2 million clicks" the institution's webpage was temporarily blocked Monday morning. She added that officials are working to produce final results, likely later this week.

Ramush Haradinaj, 48, the leading coalition's nominee to be prime minister, told supporters at a midnight rally in Pristina that "we know that there is a lot of work ahead of us. But we are going to achieve it together."

The Movement for Self-determination also celebrated the results, which saw the party double its share of the vote. The party has been a disruptive force, releasing tear gas in the previous parliament while its supporters threw firebombs outside to protest contentious deals with Montenegro and Serbia.

The party has nominated its former leader, 42-year-old Albin Kurti, as candidate for prime minister.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said the victory of hard-liners in the Kosovo elections will create "a lot of difficulties and problems," but added that the European Union-mediated dialogue with Kosovo must continue.

The Serbian leaders consider Haradinaj a war criminal and failed to get him extradited earlier this year from France where he was detained on a Serbian arrest warrant.

Serbia does not recognize Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn said he hopes that Kosovo's representatives understand that "a future perspective, in terms of more and better living conditions, is only achievable embedded into the European Union."

"It's now the responsibility of political leaders in the country to form  very fast hopefully  a new government ... it's so important for this country to stay committed to the reforms."

The U.S. Embassy in Pristina congratulated "the people of Kosovo on their democratic elections" but also expressed concern on "some reports of outdated voter registries, double-voting and other sporadic irregularities."

"The voters of Kosovo have spoken, and now the critical process of forming a new government must begin. We look forward to working closely with whomever forms the new government," a statement said.

Any government will face a number of thorny issues, including approving a border demarcation deal with Montenegro Brussels insists Kosovo's parliament must approve the deal signed in 2015 as a condition for adding Kosovo to western Balkan countries whose citizens don't need visas to enter the EU's Schengen zone.

A further issue is the prospect of former ethnic Albanian senior rebel commanders facing prosecution in the newly established war crimes court. The court in The Hague is expected to shortly issue indictments for crimes committed against civilians during and after the 1998-1999 war with Serbia.

___

Semini reported from Tirana, Albania; Dusan Stojanovic in Belgrade, Serbia, and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed.
The Israeli government is asking the United Nations Security Council to condemn Hamas after the terror group reportedly built a tunnel underneath two Gaza schools run by the UN Relief and Works Administration (UNRWA.)

Hamas regularly uses tunnels to smuggle arms and supplies in and out of the Gaza Strip and has dug extensive attack tunnels that cross into Israeli territory and have been used to commit acts of terrorism. But the discovery of a terror tunnel beneath two UN-run schools made some question whether the UNRWA was actually surprised by it or whether it was secretly colluding with a terror group.

Danny Danon, Israeli ambassador to the UN, sent a letter to the UN Security Council, urging UNs most powerful body to openly rebuke Hamas.

OBAMA'S LAST MONEY SHOWER FOR THE UN: SOME $9.2 BILLION

The latest finding verifies once again that Hamass cruelty knows no limits, including endangering centers of learning and education, and using children as human shields, Danon wrote, according to the Times of Israel. I call on the Security Council to strongly and unequivocally condemn Hamas and its repeated abuse of civilian infrastructure, and designate this group as a terrorist organization.

The tunnel beneath the UNRWA schools was apparently discovered June 1, but the news was only widely reported last Friday when the organizations spokesman, Chris Gunness, issued a statement condemning the tunnel "in the strongest possible terms."

It is unacceptable that students and staff are placed at risk in such a way, Gunness said. The construction and presence of tunnels under UN premises are incompatible with the respect of privileges and immunities owed to the United Nations under applicable international law, which provides that UN premises shall be inviolable. The sanctity and neutrality of UN premises must be preserved at all times.

He said the agency's immediate priority is to seal the tunnel.

SYRIAN AID WORKERS BREAK WITH UN RELIEF EFFORT OVER ITS ASSAD TIES

The tunnel was found under the Maghazi Elementary Boys A&B School and the Maghazi Preparatory Boys School in the Gaza Strip while the two schools were under construction.

UNRWA was founded in 1949 to aid Palestinians who fled when Arab armies invaded the new State of Israel in 1948. It is controversial for several reasons, among them its decision to list as refugees not only those who fled but also their descendants, a unique policy that is not followed anywhere else in the world.

In an article for The Tower, Asaf Romirowsky said that UNRWA has since become all but indistinguishable from the Palestinian national cause.

Today, it is essentially a massive social welfare system serving millions of Palestinians, primarily in the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan, he wrote. At the same time, its activities go well beyond simple humanitarianism. It plays a distinctly political role in Palestinian society, working to further the cause of Palestinian nationalism through politicized education, activism, anti-Israel propaganda, and other activities.

UNRWA has also been accused of colluding with terrorists but it has adamantly denied doing so.

UNRWA has taken very few steps to detect and eliminate terrorists from the ranks of its staff or its beneficiaries, James Lindsay, a former UNRWA official, said in a 2009 report, and no steps at all to prevent members of terrorist organizations, such as Hamas, from joining its staff.
Officials say Indian and Pakistani troops have traded fire in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, killing two civilians and wounding three others on the Pakistani side.

A Pakistan army statement Monday says that Indian troops targeted civilians in the Jandrot and Hot Spring sectors along the military control line, killing two people and wounding three. The statement says Pakistani troops returned fire.

Lt. Col.Manish Mehta, an Indian army spokesman, said Pakistani soldiers fired at Indian positions in two sectors early Monday with no report of casualties.

India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, which both claim in its entirety, since gaining independence from British colonial rule in 1947.
London police arrested a 19-year-old man Sunday night in connection to the London Bridge terror attack.

The man had been arrested in the east London neighborhood of Barking, police said. He was being detained on suspicion of violating the Terrorism Act.

LONDON ATTACKERS FAKE SUICIDE BELTS REVEALED

Police are currently holding six other men, who are between the ages of 27 to 30, in the assault on the London Bridge area, the BBC reported. The suspects have not been identified or charged.

Police have released 12 others who had been arrested in the early days of the investigation.

Three attackers drove a van into pedestrians on the bridge on Saturday, June 3, killing three people, then went on a stabbing spree in Borough Market, an area that contains many restaurants and bars. Five people died after being stabbed, and dozens of others were injured. Police shot and killed the three terrorists.

LONDON POLICE CHIEF: ATTACK VICTIMS SHOW CITYS DIVERSITY

The 48 wounded people who were transported to hospitals survived.

Britains terrorism threat level remains at severe meaning officials believe that an attack is highly likely.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Salman Abedi, the bomber in the Manchester terror attack, wasn't part of a large network, but other people involved may still be at large, a senior police officer said on Wednesday.

Police may make more arrests in the investigation into the attack, Russ Jackson, head of counterterrorism policing for northwest England, said July 6.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the May 22 concert bombing that killed 22 people, plus Abedi, and wounded more than 200 others. Here's what we know.

The bomber, Salman Abedi

British officials said Abedi had been on the radar of the country's intelligence services but was considered a peripheral figure.

"We are still working to understand the manner by which he became radicalized," Jackson said.

Jackson said police have reconstructed Abedi's movements in the weeks before the attack, as he obtained components and built his deadly device.

On the day of the bombing, Abedi spent several hours carrying the bomb though central Manchester before he detonated it in the foyer of Manchester Arena as an Ariana Grande concert was wrapping up.

Abedi's parents came to Britain early in the 1990s, and he reportedly was in contact with family members just before the attack.

Abedi was born in Britain to a Libyan family, grew up in Manchester's southern suburbs and once attended Salford University there. He was a business management student but dropped out, according to The Telegraph.

Neighbors recalled Abedi as a tall, thin young man who often wore traditional Islamic dress and did not talk much.

"He was such a quiet boy, always very respectful towards me," a member of the Libyan community in Manchester recalled to The Guardian. "His brother Ismail is outgoing, but Salman was very quiet. He is such an unlikely person to have done this."

UK POLICE: OTHERS MAY BE AT LARGE IN MANCHESTER ATTACK

That perspective clashed with others. Mohammed Saeed, with the Didsbury Mosque and Islamic Centre told the newspaper he had once delivered an anti-terrorism sermon. Abedi did not like what he heard, Saeed said.

"Salman showed me a face of hate after that sermon," he recalled. "He was showing me hatred."

Abedi was driven to extremism after seeing a friend fatally stabbed last year, a female relative said. He complained of being treated badly in Britain and was troubled why there seemed to be no outrage over his friend's death, she said.

Abedi believed it was because the friend was Muslim, according to the relative.

She said that Abedi also referred to Britons as "infidels" who "are unjust to the Arabs." She defended him as "a great kid" and said he had no links to ISIS or other militant groups.

However, Abedi is believed to have traveled to Syria and had "proven" links with ISIS, French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb has said.

Abedi's father, Ramadan Abedi, denied in May that his son was linked to militants or to the deadly attack. He said that when he spoke to his son in recent days, he sounded "normal.

"We don't believe in killing innocents. This is not us," the elder Abedi told the AP by telephone. "We aren't the ones who blow up ourselves among innocents. We go to mosques. We recite Quran, but not that."

He said his son had visited Libya and never visited Syria.

Abedi spent three weeks in Libya prior to the Manchester bombing, returning to England just days before the attack, two U.S. defense officials confirmed to Fox News.

ARIANA GRANDE CONCERT BLAST: PHOTOS SHOW PANIC AT MANCHESTER ARENA

What do we know about his father, Ramadan Abedi?

Ramadan Abedi fled Tripoli in 1993 after Moammar Gadhafi's security authorities issued an arrest warrant for him. He eventually sought political asylum in Britain. Now, he is a manager for the Central Security force in Tripoli, Libya's capital.

He has denied having ties to any of Libya's militant groups, including the Libya Islamic Fighting Group, which was linked to Al Qaeda.

However, former Libyan security official Abdel-Basit Haroun told the AP that the elder Abedi was a member of the group in the 1990s. Although it disbanded, Haroun said the father now belongs to the Salafi Jihadi movement, the most extreme sect of Salafism from which Al Qaeda and ISIS both hail.

Ramadan Abedi was arrested in Libya after the attack and is still being held, The Guardian reported.

What about Abedi's brothers?

Ramadan Abedi confirmed that another son, 23-year-old Ismail, was arrested in Manchester.

And Salman's younger brother, 18-year-old Hashem, was taken into custody in Libya. Hashem was in contact with Salman, Ahmed bin Salem, the spokesman for a counter-terrorism force told Reuters.

"We have evidence that he is involved in Daesh (ISIS) with his brother," bin Salem said. "We have been following him for more than one month and a half. He was in contact with his brother and he knew about the attack."

Hashem was allegedly plotting an attack in Tripoli, Reuters reported.

MANCHESTER ATTACK: FATHER'S OPEN LETTER TO ARIANA GRANDE GOES VIRAL

Back in Britain

All 22 people arrested on suspicion of terrorism offenses have now been released without charge, Greater Manchester police said last month. Salman's brother Ismail was released, the Financial Times reported.

Jackson said last month that some of those arrested had offered "accounts which explain innocent contact with Abedi." He said at the time that risk to the public had been considered before the suspects were released.

Suspects arrested under terrorism laws can be held for up to 14 days before they must be charged or released.

"We don't have evidence of a large network," Jackson told reporters July 6. "We do, however, suspect others were either aware or complicit in the knowledge of this attack."

Detectives want to question Abedi's younger brother Hashem, who has been detained in Libya, and are "engaging with" British prosecutors and Libyan authorities, Jackson said.

Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Filipinos marked their country's Independence Day by raising the national flag Monday in a southern city where troops pressed assaults to quell a three-week siege by Islamic State group-aligned militants that has left 270 combatants and civilians dead.

Many were teary-eyed during the flag-raising ceremonies at the heavily guarded city hall and provincial capital building in Marawi, the heartland of the Islamic faith in the country's south, where hundreds of gunmen went on a deadly rampage on May 23.

Blasts from airstrikes thudded in the distance during the events.

While the flag-raising was mainly to mark Independence Day, it also symbolized the reclaiming of city hall and other areas of Marawi by government forces. Policemen roamed a community that troops had wrested back from the militants and festooned abandoned houses with small flags.

Marawi Mayor Majul Gandamra fought back tears as he thanked troops, police and volunteers in the crisis that has turned parts of the previously tranquil lakeside city of more than 200,000 people, most of whom have fled the fighting, into a smoldering battlefield.

Villager Janisah Ampao, who fled her home with her husband and two children when the fighting broke out last month, felt a sense of relief and pride when she saw the flag being raised at the provincial capital building. She has been living with other evacuees in a nearby government building that has been turned into an emergency shelter.

"I don't know how we can re-start our lives after the fighting," Ampao said by telephone. "Our city is in ruins, all the people have gone and the stores are closed. I saw on TV that our village has been destroyed."

Facing the worst crisis in his yearlong presidency, President Rodrigo Duterte canceled an annual Independence Day diplomatic reception at the presidential palace and skipped a flag-raising ceremony in Manila.

"He doesn't feel like giving a toast, even symbolic, when soldiers are dying and the evacuees and the displaced are in the provinces and in Marawi's margins," Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano told reporters.

Philippine flags were also flown at half-staff as the country mourned the killings of 13 marines in a fierce battle in Marawi on Friday. Some of the marines perished in a fire ignited by the militants at the height of the fighting, military officials said. They said 58 soldiers and policemen, 191 militants and 21 civilians have been killed in the three weeks of clashes.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson conveyed independence greetings on behalf of President Donald Trump and the American people, saying the U.S. stands as an ally with the Philippines as it confronts the attacks in Marawi and other terrorist threats.

The U.S. military has deployed a spy plane at Manila's request to help provide surveillance to troops battling militants still holed up in a few buildings in Marawi with an unspecified number of civilian hostages. The tough-talking Duterte took an adversarial stance toward former U.S. President Barack Obama, who had criticized his bloody anti-drug crackdown, but his relations with Trump have been markedly better.

The Marawi siege unfolded after a May 23 army raid failed to capture a top terror suspect, Isnilon Hapilon, who has been designated by the Islamic State group as its leader in Southeast Asia. The raid pre-empted a plot by about 500 gunmen waving Islamic State group-style black flags to capture all of Marawi and kill as many Christians as they could, military officials say.

Duterte told reporters Sunday that he decided to declare martial law in the southern third of the country to better stop the gunmen from escaping from Marawi or launching new attacks elsewhere.

While he has warned before that the Islamic State group has gained a foothold in the country's south, Duterte said he was still surprised by the magnitude of the violence in Marawi, adding that he has been told that Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was behind the Marawi attack.

"I did not realize that it was that bad because now it appears that Baghdadi himself, the leader of the ISIS, has specifically ordered terroristic activities here in the Philippines," Duterte said, without elaborating. ISIS is an abbreviation for the Islamic State group.

___

Associated Press writer Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, contributed to this report.
Pakistani police say a lone gunman has shot and killed a journalist in the northwestern town of Haripur.

Senior police officer Mohammad Sabir says 39-year-old Bakhshish Illahi, bureau chief of a local daily newspaper and television station, was targeted Sunday near his home while on his way to his office.

Sabir says the journalist was a father of four and had recently joined television channel K-2 and daily newspaper K-2 Times after serving at another local newspaper for 14 years.

Sabir says an investigation hasn't revealed any personal enmity toward Illahi and he was apparently killed for some other reason. He didn't elaborate.

Journalists in Haripur protested the killing.

Pakistan is considered one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists.
Alexei Navalny, the man who is planning to challenge Russian President Vladimir Putin in the 2018 Russian presidential election, was just arrested.

Heres a quick breakdown of who he is, why he was detained, and why it seems that will do little to dissuade his political ambitions.

Who is Putin critic Navalny? Alexei Navalny is a Russian activist and lawyer who has announced his intentions to challenge President Vladimir Putin in Russia's 2018 election. He is perhaps best known for the work of his Anti-Corruption Foundation, a group he created to keep tabs on Kremlin politicians, though his documenting of alleged Kremlin abuses of power began with a blog he started nearly a decade ago. He has since amassed a loyal following of mostly younger and middle-aged Russians, with more than 2 million followers on Twitter alone. Navalny is so popular he placed second in the 2013 Moscow mayoral election. While his request for a recount was ultimately rejected, his stronger-than-anticipated finish reportedly rattled the Kremlin in a big way.

RUSSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER ARRESTED BEFORE MASS DEMONSTRATION IN MOSCOW

Why was Navalny arrested? On the eve of a series of protests he had been organizing, Navalny announced that he would be changing the location of the planned demonstration in Moscow to one of the citys most popular streets. Navalny claims he was forced to change venues for logistical reasons, even suggesting that some contractors were being pressured not to work with him. Russian law enforcement officials, however, are reportedly calling Navalny's decision a "provocation" intended to encourage his followers to engage in an unsanctioned, and therefore illegal, protest. The protest also happens to be coinciding with the national holiday known as Russia Day, a celebration of the nation's declaration of sovereignty. Navalny was arrested at his home before he could attend the demonstration. There have been reports that internet and electricity were cut in his office as he was being detained.

Second arrest this year: Navalny was arrested back in March after allegedly refusing police orders during a widespread day of protest (which he helped organize) that has been described as the largest the country has seen in years. The protests came just a few weeks after Navalny published the results of an investigation he and his associates had been conducting, in which he claimed Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was allegedly concealing lucrative business deals via a web of charities run by his associates. The accompanying video presentation Navalny posted to YouTube has been watched more than 22 million times since March 2. The State Department condemned the arrest of Navalny and hundreds of other peaceful protesters, as well as the raids carried out at Navalnys organization. Spokesperson Mark Toner added that [t]he Russian people, like people everywhere, deserve the ability to exercise their rights without fear of retribution. Medvedev suggested a few weeks later that Navalny's investigation was an "absolutely false" product of people he described as "political scoundrels."

THE LATEST: HUNDREDS ARRESTED IN RUSSIAN CORRUPTION PROTESTS

Will the recent arrest deter Navalnys presidential aspirations? Alexei told me to pass on to us that the plan hasnt changed, Navalnys wife, Yulia Navalnaya, tweeted earlier Monday. While she may have been referring to the plan to hold protests in a new and unsanctioned location, Navalny has previously made clear that he plans to continue his political campaign despite suggestions that he may be disqualified from running. In February, Navalny was found guilty of embezzlement, but was given a five-year suspended prison sentence. He denies wrongdoing, and suggests the charges were trumped up to prevent him from following through with his presidential run. However, Russian law reportedly stipulates that being sentenced to prison time for a crime such as embezzlement is a disqualifying factor for anyone trying to run for political office. Navalny believes that because his sentence was suspended, the constitution legally allows him to run.

A controversial figure: Navalny says accusations that he represents a dangerous form of Russian nationalism are part of a coordinated attempt to sabotage his movement. In response to claims that he views some groups as second-class citizens, Navalny has argued that he himself is half-Ukrainian, and detests the notion of second-class citizen entirely. He is frequently criticized for his 2007 call for the legalization of firearms, and his previous attendance at the Russian March, a yearly rally featuring neo-Nazi groups and imagery.

So strong, so dangerous or so free? After interviewing Navalny for a piece in The New Yorker, Masha Gessen had this to say about what she called the "very strange form of freedom" being enjoyed by this potential Putin presidential challenger: "The strangest thing about Alexey Navalny is that he is walking around Moscow, still. Here is what has happened to the other men who headlined the Russian protests in 2011 and 2012: Boris Nemtsov, the liberal, is dead, shot in view of the Kremlin in February of last year; Sergei Udaltsov, the radical leftist, is in jail, serving a four-and-a-half-year sentence for allegedly plotting to overthrow the Russian government; Garry Kasparov, the chess champion who became a politician, is in exile, as are many others. Meanwhile, Navalny is living in Moscow and openly running several political projects... Since Navalnys prison sentence was aborted, he has continued to occupy a unique space in Russian society: he is a man so strong, or so dangerous, or so freeor all of those thingsthat the usual Kremlin tools cannot work against him."
One of Russian President Vladimir Putin's top critics was arrested minutes before a massive protest that drew thousands of people Monday in Moscow.

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny was later sentenced to 30 days in jail. Navalnys wife, Yulia, said on his Twitter feed that he was arrested outside his home about a half-hour before the demonstration was set to begin.

SENATE DEMOCRATS ENTER NEW TERRITORY ON RUSSIA PROBES WITH PUSH TO GRILL SESSIONS, TRUMP

Thousands of angry demonstrators thronged to Tverskaya Street, a main avenue in the capital, chanting "Down with the czar" and singing the Russian national anthem.

The protests coincided with Russia Day, a national holiday that this year brought out historical re-enactors, some of them dressed in medieval costumes. At one point, the Moscow demonstration featured an unlikely scene of about 5,000 protesters rallying next to an enclosure with geese, a medieval catapult and bearded men in homemade tunics and carrying wooden shields.



The re-enactors watched the rally before riot police broke up the crowd and randomly seized the protesters.

The Associated Press reported that more than 1,000 people were arrested across the country as more than than 100 rallies were held in cities and towns stretching through all 11 of Russia's time zones -- from the Pacific to the European enclave of Kaliningrad.



Over 800 people were arrested in Moscow, while in St. Petersburg, about 500 were forced into police buses at an unsanctioned rally that drew up to 10,000 people. Navalny was taken to court Monday evening and sentenced to 30 days in jail shortly after midnight for repeated violations of the law on public gatherings.



"The scope of the rallies was amazing, and so many people came out," Navalny told reporters shortly before he was sentenced, point to protest rallies held in towns which have not seen any public show of discontent for decades.



PUTIN: CLAIM THAT RUSSIA HAS DAMAGINING INFORMATION ON TRUMP NONSENSE

In his trademark humor, Navalny lamented on Twitter shortly before he was led out of the courtroom that he would have to skip a Depeche Mode concert while he is in jail.



The demonstrators appeared to skew predominantly younger -- those who were born or grew up during Putin's 17 years in power. Similar crowds turned out on March 26, rattling officials who had perceived the younger generation as largely apolitical.



Three 16-year-old girls brought sheets of paper to the Moscow protest and sat on the pavement to write the articles of the Russian Constitution on them; a nearby group of teenagers climbed atop of a tent with posters saying, "Corruption kills the future." Other protesters scaled a scaffold and hung a sign saying, "Only revolution will defeat corruption."



School and university staff who reportedly reprimanded their students for attending the March protests warned them against going to Monday's rally.



Ivan Sukhoruchenkov, 19, attended anyway with four university classmates to protest what he described as "stagnation of the political system."



"Change is always good," Sukhoruchenkov said, adding that he and his friends were concerned about corruption -- Navalny's rallying cry -- that "manifests itself in all areas: from traffic police to university professors."



Navalny had called the anti-corruption demonstrations, and they drew crowds of several dozen to the 10,000 in St. Petersburg. Some of the rallies were sanctioned by authorities and peaceful, but police cracked down brutally on others.

Although it was not immediately clear if Monday's protests were larger than those in March, they underlined the deep dismay with the government. Putin is expected to seek another term in 2018, and Navalny has already announced his intentions to run.



Moscow officials had agreed to allow Navalny's rally, but late Sunday, he said official interference had prevented contractors from erecting a stage at the agreed-upon venue and instead urged demonstrators to gather on Tverskaya Street, which was closed to traffic for the Russia Day festivities.



Most of the Moscow protesters appeared to be under 30, although there was a sizeable number of middle-aged people and couples with children.



With opposition sentiment strong or even growing, authorities appear to be seeking a strategy to undermine the opposition without provoking more animosity.



Authorities allowed the unsanctioned rally to proceed, although riot police cut the crowd in half and began pushing the lines while grabbing some people from the crowd. Some of the arrests were violent with police using batons and dragging people along the street.



In Washington, White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters the United States "strongly condemns the detention of hundreds of peaceful protesters" which he described as an "affront to core democratic values." Spicer called on the Russian government to immediately release all peaceful protesters.



Navalny rose to prominence for detailed open-source investigations of government corruption. That was a key issue Monday for protesters, particularly his report on vast wealth allegedly acquired by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.



"We are against the corruption that is costing the future of our young people," said Moscow protester Maria Badyrova, a 33-year-old finance specialists who came to the rally with a Russian flag.



Alexei Borsenko, a Vladivostok demonstrator who eluded a police attempt to detain him, cited Iceland's prime minister stepping down in the fallout from the "Panama Papers" scandal, while "our prime minister is caught on such big corruption cases and he doesn't go anywhere."



"This is very strange," Borsenko added. "It's a dead end for the country's development."



The popular anger has spread beyond Medvedev, with many demonstrators chanting "Putin is a thief" within earshot of the City Hall that later dismissed the protests as an "overt provocation."



The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Singapore is offering up its financial industry to help bankroll China's ambition to develop a network of ports, railways, power plants and other projects across a broad swath of Asia, Europe and east Africa.

By partnering on financial matters, Singapore appears to be looking to smooth recently strained ties with China and profit from the Asian giant's rising global aspirations.

Experts say it faces stiff competition from other financial centers including Hong Kong and London, which also hope to play key roles in China's bid to integrate economies along the path of the historic Silk Road.

"Singapore has been a believer in China's rise," Singapore Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said after meeting with Chinese officials in Beijing on Monday. "This is a wonderful opportunity to restore, in a sense, these ancient trade links."

The small but economically powerful island nation also will work with China to advance a pending trade deal among the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations, China, India, Japan and others, Balakrishan said.

That deal has taken on enhanced significance since President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from another regional trade agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which included Singapore but not China or India. The U.S. is not part of the proposed new agreement, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

Longstanding relations between China and Singapore were tested in recent months by Singapore's support for an international court ruling against China's territorial claims to most of the South China Sea.

Adding to the pressure, China in November seized a shipment of armored vehicles from Singapore that had taken part in military exercises in Taiwan, which China views as a break-away province. The nine armored vehicles were released in late January.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made only a passing mention of those tensions during a joint media event Monday with Balakrishnan. When asked by a reporter about the situation in the South China Sea, Wang remarked that the various parties involved needed to guard against "interference" from outside the region.

But the emphasis was on cooperation.

Wang said the two nations had established a platform of shared interests that included Singapore's financial capabilities and a planned road, railway and port route from inland China to Singapore through the Chinese coastal province of Guangxi.

"In the face of a sluggish global economy and rising backlash against globalization, China and Singapore as champions of regional integration need to work together," Wang said.

Despite the mutual praise on display Monday, questions remain over how much financing of China's development plans will come from Singapore, said Chong Ja Ian, an assistant professor at Singapore's National University focused on Asia-Pacific politics.

Hong Kong in particular could prove a more attractive alternative, given that it's part of China and has significant experience working with Chinese firms and the Communist Party government, Chong said.

Chong added that Singapore does not see its ties with China as exclusive, meaning the smaller nation won't give up its relationships with the U.S. and others outside the region. The U.S. Navy has a support facility at the Port of Singapore since 1992 and periodically holds joint exercises with Singapore's navy.

That means underlying tensions are likely to continue between China and Singapore, Chong suggested. "Some in China may see too much of a role by other actors, particularly those it sees as rivals, as more concerning," he said.

___

Follow Matthew Brown on Twitter at twitter.com/matthewbrownap
Iran's official IRNA news agency is reporting that police have killed four Islamic State group-linked gunmen in the country's south.

The Monday report quotes the chief of police of Hormozgan province, Gen. Azizollah Maleki, as saying his forces killed the gunmen Sunday in a shootout near the town of Roudan, 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) southeast of Tehran.

Maleki said police confiscated an IS flag and four machine guns, bullets and some explosives. He added that two of the four were foreigners. He did not elaborate.

Five IS-linked attackers stormed Iran's parliament and a shrine to revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini on Wednesday, setting off clashes with security forces and killing at least 17 people and injuring more than 50.
The U.S. military in Africa says it carried out an airstrike in southern Somalia that killed eight Islamic extremists at a rebel command and logistics camp, 185 miles southwest of Mogadishu, the capital.

A U.S. military statement said the attack happened Sunday morning. There was no immediate comment on the airstrike from Somalia's homegrown extremist group, al-Shabab, which is allied to Al Qaeda.

Somali president Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed confirmed the airstrike, saying that Somali and partner forces destroyed an al-Shabaab training camp near Sakow, in the Middle Juba region. He said such attacks would disrupt the group's ability to conduct new attacks within Somalia.
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.
When Danielle Haynesworth walked into La Boutique on Thursday morning, she was greeted with all of the accoutrements of trendy womens clothiers: jewelry displayed in boxes, a wide assortment of brands and sizes divided on the racks and tables, piped-in music from the Beach Boys and Simon & Garfunkel over the loudspeakers and a staff ready to help her choose new items.

But Haynesworth wasnt in one of the Central Park shopping centers many stores. She was at Lifepoint Church, where a one-day charitable event was held to help local women facing financial barriers find professional clothing.

When she tried on a suit, volunteers were nearby to accessorize it with a scarf or necklace. And when she needed a different size, someone was on hand to whisk a new item in for her to try on.

A client of the Rappahannock Area Community Services Board, Haynesworth is getting her life back on track and looking for an administrative job. But professional clothes can be expensive and she doesnt normally enjoy shopping.

They made it fun, she said, while looking for shoes to match her new outfits.

The Fredericksburg Area Association of Realtors held a professional clothing drive with the RACSBs ProjectLINK to help local women who cant afford suits and other work clothes dress for the job they want.

Kim McClellan of FAAR and Century 21 New Millennium agent Mary Beth Rich organized the one-day event.

McClellan said about 1,500 clothing items and accessories were donated starting in April through the June 8 event, at which there were about 50 volunteers and 100 shoppers.

Wells Fargo Mortgage and Embrace Home Loans provided financial support for items to create the boutique-feel: clothes racks, tables, dressing rooms and bags. And NSWC Federal Credit Union took leftover clothes to Washington for use at a clothing closet.

Held last year for the first time, Lifepoint offered a bigger space to accommodate more clothes and shoppers.

A lot of these women are returning to work after having a child or getting their first job. Its a boost up, giving them confidence, said McClellan.

Rich said it was special to see a women who worked her way out of addiction and needed clothes to wear for a new job.

We want to give enough so they dont have to wear the same outfit during a week, Rich said. They say dress for the job you want. We want to help women do that.

She said for women, professional clothing can be a particular burden.

Men can get a suit, three shirts and ties and have a weeks worth of outfits, but its different for women, she said.

They opened the clothing event up to other nonprofits in the area serving women, including Beauty for Ashes, Empowerhouse and Hope House.

Lauren Russak from Pittsburg was addicted to heroin for seven years but got clean six months ago at the local center and is now interning with Beauty for Ashes.

She found the center because it is one of the few places that allows residents to bring their children.

She was able to get clean once before, when she was pregnant with her three-year-old daughter, but fell back into the cycle of addiction.

This is the first place that has helped me really break my chains, she said. I had only been to secular places before, but here you are surrounded by people who love God and are there for you.

She shopped for clothes that fit with her new leadership role and what she hopes will be a career in ministry when she returns to Pittsburgh with other women from Beauty for Ashes like staff member Stephanie Weitzenkorn and executive director Cindy Zello.

Weitzenkorn held up a coral-colored sweater for Russak to consider, but she wrinkled her nose and said, not my color.

She found new jeans, TOMS shoes, dresses, shirts and scarves.

Its really hard being away from home and not having nice clothes, she said. Looking good, it helps your confidence, and providing good, tasteful clothes here is a blessing.

Traci Anderson also shopped at La Boutique on Thursday and considered multiple handbags to see which ones she could use with different outfits and for different purposes.

She looked for dresses to match a blazer she already owns and stretchy clothes that she can grow into and out of while pregnant.

She was referred to the event from the department of family services, where she is in parenting classes to prepare for her first child.

At the same time, she is applying to move up to management from her clerk position at an area gas station.

Im so appreciative, she said. Its hard to find things on a budget.

She ended up with dresses, shoes, scarves and a few versatile handbags.

Ivy Lee, ProjectLINK specialist with RACSB, said she invited more than 30 women from the program to participate.

Its been amazing to see their faces light up, she said about the boutique. The fact that they come in, are greeted with a smile and are helpedit increases their self esteem.

She said the event brings dignity back into charitable giving. For the women she supports, it helps them maintain sobriety and find gainful employment

It shows how someone in the community giving a simple pair of shoes changes a womans life, Lee said.
Franklin Rinko worked his scholarship applications like a part-time job his senior year at King George High School, earning a ticket to the college of his dreamsand $180,000 in financial awards.

Thats more than 10 times the norm. In recent years, students heading to private universities earned an average of $15,680 in scholarships while those going to state colleges received about $5,750, according to the financial-management website debt.org.

Those whove watched Rinko in school arent surprised by his latest achievement. Hes one of a kind, said Kelley Ross, his literature and language teacher in the Commonwealth Governors School.

His counselor, Kellyn Enos, said she could not even begin to compare Franklin to his classmates because he is in a league of his own.

Rinko is a straight-A student and class leader, a community activist, DECA champion and Eagle Scout who juggles all his involvements while managing his health. Hes had diabetes since he was 8.

People sometimes tell me I wear myself too thin, but I love to be involved, he said.

The 18-year-old had his heart set on attending Washington and Lee University, a private liberal arts school in Lexington. Tuition, room and board there costs about $63,000 a year, and that was beyond the budget set by his parents, John and Terri Rinko of Dahlgren. They were looking at a state school, where annual expenses average $25,000.

But the young Rinko, who described himself in one of the dozens of college essays he wrote as dedicated, driven and hopelessly optimistic, was not to be deterred. He worked the scholarship network like a politician on the campaign trail, garnering enough aid not just to study finances at W&L, but perhaps to teach a class on it.

Daniel McNamara, his math teacher, wondered when Rinko had time to sleep. His heavy school workload his senior year included five Advanced Placement classes, projects that advanced to the international level of DECA competition and statewide level of public speaking and participation in all three plays the high school produced this year.

Franklin Rinko is by far, hands down, one of the single greatest students I have ever taught, McNamara wrote in a recommendation. He understands that hard work and determination will take him far in life.

VERY DILIGENT

Franklin Rinko received a W&L merit scholarship worth $34,000 a year. Hefty as that was, it still left about $29,000 a year for the family to pay, which was above the parents threshold.

Thats why he threw out a net and gathered information on every scholarship available. He looked at local ones as well as national awards. He marked due dates on his calendar, asked for recommendations from teachers and advisers, the chairman of the King George County Board of Supervisors and the School Board, and had essays at the ready.

For each specific application, he tailored his essays to match the questions asked. He checked in regularly at the school guidance office to see what other offers were out there.

He was very diligent, said said Terri Morrison, King George High Schools counseling secretary and scholarship coordinator.

While the amount he received clearly was over the top, Morrison said, Rinko was one of several students who searched high and low for financial help.

On awards night, the students who put in the time and effort, they were the ones who were up onstage a lot, she said.

Rinko and other members of the King George DECA were in Anaheim, Calif., in late April for the International Career Development Conference. With Thomas Melton and Eric Davis, he had developed a project on financial literacy and shown elementary students how to set up saving accounts and senior citizens how to avoid scams. The project won state and regional awards and was entered in a worldwide competition.

Exciting as that wasand Rinkos face lights up when he describes the hotel, which was like a palacethere was still a cloud of uncertainty hanging over his head. He hadnt made a college commitment, and the deadline was nearing.

Christopher Newport University and Roanoke College made offers that were close to full rides, and Rinko was prepared to pick Roanoke if he didnt get enough financing for W&L. Hed filled out the paperwork for Roanoke and left it at home with his father.

The day before the deadline to apply for W&L, he got a call that changed his life.

I was losing my mind in the hotel lobby, Rinko said, when he checked his phone messages.

HIS DREAM SCHOOL

Rinko learned he had earned the Fary Memorial Scholarship Fund. Based in Tappahannock, its a $6,000 awardrenewable each year for four yearsfor students from rural areas. Its given in honor of T. Franklin Fary, a self-made multimillionaire who lived in King and Queen County and earned his money through astute investments in real estate and the stock market.

With the W&L money and the Fary fund, Rinko had enough to meet his parents criteria. From California, he sent in his deposit to W&L and sealed the deal.

When King Georges awards night rolled around, Rinko received another 18 scholarships from community and civic groups. They ranged from $500 to $5,000 each and totaled about $20,000.

Rinkos logical father, who works at the Navy base in Dahlgren, calculated that he and his wife saved 71 percent on the W&L price tag, thanks to the scholarships. But he also added that the Rinkos could have done even better, had their son accepted a different offer.

His mother, a former school teacher and current Mary Kay skin care consultant, puts things in a different perspective.

I know he would have done well at any of the schools where he was accepted, said his mother, but were thrilled that hes able to go to his dream school.
Steven John Reed, 63, of Spotsylvania County, passed away Wednesday, June 7, 2017 at Mary Washington Hospital. Mr. Reed was a U.S. Army veteran. He was an active, longtime member of New Life in Christ Church. The family will receive friends from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, June 13 at Covenant Funeral Service, Fredericksburg. A service will be held at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, June 14 at New Life in Christ Church. Burial will follow in Quantico National Cemetery.
Vickie Sue Patton, 53, of Mineral in Louisa County was called to her eternal home on Sunday, June 4, 2017 as the result of injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident in Spotsylvania County.

Cremation is being handled by Covenant Funeral Service, Fredericksburg. A celebration of life will be held later in the summer at the funeral home, date to be determined. Visit covenantfuneralservice.com for full obituary.
A class assignment led to an opportunity for a Dickinson College student to serve as a founding board member of a new nonprofit organization in Carlisle.

Stephanie Applegate, who graduated from Dickinson College in May, first came in contact with Carlisles homeless population as a sophomore when she spent a night a Carlisle CARES. A chance encounter there inspired her to continue working with the homeless population, which led to a senior thesis on homelessness in Carlisle in which she researched community-based solutions to permanently house Carlisles homeless.

Along the way, she became a founding board member of New Options for Affordable Housing, an all-volunteer organization dedicated to placing homeless people into permanent housing.

Applegate plans to continue her education to earn a masters degree in public policy. She is working at the Pennsylvania Senate with Sen. Ryan Aument as a legislative assistant.

Q. How did you first become connected with the homeless population in Carlisle?

A. When I was a sophomore at Dickinson, I participated in a class where we were tasked with spending one night at the local homeless shelter, Carlisle CARES. During my night at CARES, I met up with another girl about my age who was staying in the shelter. After we had been talking for a while, we realized that we had gone to the same elementary school together in Middletown. This realization brought with it a flood of emotions  awkwardness, shock, but mostly frustration. It was incredibly frustrating to me that two people could begin life in the same place, an equal playing field, with the same opportunities laid before them, but end up in two wildly different destinations  one in an esteemed educational institution like Dickinson, and the other fleeing from domestic abuse in a homeless shelter. This encounter is what first inspired me to begin working with the local homeless population, with the hope that I could help make a meaningful difference in their lives.

Q. What is NOAH, and how did it come about?

A. NOAH is a coalition of human services experts, local church members, and concerned citizens and students like myself who have come together with the ultimate goal of placing homeless individuals into permanent housing and providing them with the resources and support that they need to succeed in their new home and in the community. NOAH began informally in the fall of 2016 when a small group of interested and caring individuals came together to organize a community forum on homelessness. The purpose of the forum, which took place at the auditorium in the Penn State Dickinson School of Law, was to gauge community interest in alleviating homelessness in our area. Because NOAH is comprised entirely of volunteers, the initial core group of NOAHs founders wanted to ensure that there would be enough interest across a diverse skill-set spectrum to effectively launch NOAH. More specifically, in order to provide our clients with the supportive services that they need to thrive in their living situation, NOAH is intentionally organized in such a way that each aspect of life is covered by our volunteers. For example, our Social Necessities Team works to provide case management to clients, as well as to link them to the social service agencies and organizations that they need. Our Employment and Career Team seeks to link clients with employment skills and opportunities, and to help them build a network of support for job skill development, including volunteer mentors and business internships/apprenticeships, trade unions and skilled workers. Other NOAH teams include the Housing Resources Team, Maintenance and Construction Team, Health Care Team, Transportation and Car Maintenance Team, Child Care and Early Education Team, Household Needs Team, Legal Team, and more. Our goal at NOAH is to do everything in our power to ensure that our clients are properly cared for and given the resources that they need to improve their lives.

Q. What is the vision for NOAH going into the future?

A. As NOAH grows and becomes a more recognizable organization in Cumberland Countys human services network, our primary goal is to build relationships with the surrounding community including landlords, religious groups, Dickinson College and the Penn State Dickinson School of Law, existing nonprofits and service organizations, and any individual interested in serving the homeless population here in the area. Building these relationships and growing our network is the key to achieving our long-term goal of acquiring housing units or partnering with landlords to provide these units to our clients. Because our focus is on quickly transitioning our clients into a permanent housing unit to get them off the streets, we will eventually begin investing time and resources into the housing search.

Q. How will you take what you have learned as a founding board member into your future endeavors?

A. The most important lesson that I have learned from working at NOAH is the value of service. Every time I attend a NOAH meeting, I am constantly floored by the generosity and devotion that each and every member of the group possesses. Again, all of our members are volunteers; all of our meetings take place at the home of one of our founders; and everything that we have achieved to date has been done without any capital. NOAH has actually already been able to house a formerly homeless veteran and his young son in a unit that was graciously donated by one of our members. All of the subsequent case management and services that these clients have received since they came to NOAH have been provided by professionals working entirely for free. This concept amazes me, and I am so proud to be a contributing member at NOAH.

Q. What practical steps can people take to help the homeless in our area?

A. One practical step that anyone in the community could take to help our homeless population would be to donate their time and skills to NOAH. As I mentioned, the services we offer represent almost every skill set there is from web design to construction to health care. Our teams are in need of devoted individuals interested in putting their unique skills to good use by helping the underserved. Anyone interested in donating their time to a good cause at NOAH can volunteer by contacting us on our newly developed website (created entirely for free, of course) http://noahcarlislepa.org/ and clicking the How Can I Help? tab at the top right of the home page.
The pipeline concern is not confined to South Africa or to HIV. A commentary published recently in Clinical Infectious Diseases, the journal of the Infectious Disease Society of America, warned of a shortage of infectious disease specialists in the United States, with 20 percent of ID fellowships at U.S. medical centers going unfilled for 2017, substantially more than other medical subspecialties. One demand among many for ID specialists is the increasing number of people who are now, thanks to antiretroviral treatment, living with HIV.

In sub-Saharan Africa, which has far fewer physicians overall and a far greater number of people with HIV, the imbalance between supply and demand is exponentially greater. South Africa has more people infected with HIV than any other country in the world, and despite recent strides made in getting those infected on treatment, Gray and other experts know that successfully developing a preventive vaccine is critical to ending the epidemic.

Were still in the most serious infectious disease outbreak not only of our generation but among the top three or four in history, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which funds the HVTN, at the May meeting. We absolutely need a vaccine. Anybody who thinks were going to end HIV without one doesnt understand this epidemic.

The goal: physician-researchers

Moodley understands the epidemic. Lifesaving antiretroviral drugs that transformed AIDS in Western countries in 1996 took more than a decade to reach South Africa. Moodley entered medical school at a terrible time, she said.

You graduate medical school when youre still very young, youre still very naive, she said. The death and devastation that you find in the real world is scary.

She was particularly struck by seeing young women her own age and younger dying. For complex biological, sociological and cultural reasons, young African women are particularly hard hit by HIV/AIDS. In South Africa alone, 2,000 women aged 15 to 25 become infected with HIV every week. More than 100,000 a year die of AIDS.

Instead of feeling daunted by the devastation, Moodley was drawn to help. Soon her interest in HIV expanded to include addressing systemic problems affecting large groups of people rather than treating individual patients. So after finishing her medical degree, she added a masters in public health. The HVTN early stage investigator program allowed her to go on for a doctorate.

She started her Ph.D. four months after her first son, Kieran, was born. She finished writing her dissertation just before the birth of her second son, James.

Combining work with study while juggling childrearing with her equally busy husband, who is also in academia, teaches you how to manage your time because you have to manage it, Moodley said.

Still, she admitted, I am missing about four or five years of sleep.

Practicing research as well as medicine can be like holding two  or three or four  full-time jobs, but those who do so strongly believe that each practice informs the other. Clinic experience grounds the researcher in real-world needs and speeds the translation of lifesaving innovations from the bench to the bed.

Most of Moodleys peers focused on clinical work, not research. Few went on to pursue a Ph.D.

But with the disease burden that we carry, there needs to be research in place, she said.

Others in the HVTN agreed.

While South Africa has strong senior-level HIV researchers, there arent sufficient numbers of junior-level researchers being developed behind them, said Danna Flood, manager of training, evaluation and information technology for the HVTN. Flood worked with HVTN investigators Drs. Jim Kublin and Linda-Gail Bekker to look at barriers to doctors entering research careers. Medical training in South Africa has focused on training primary care doctors because of an overall shortage in that field. While critical to address, one consequence is that medical students now get limited exposure to research and dont always think of it as career option. Among their studys recommendations was to provide a clearer path to a research career, including training, mentorship and financial support.

Funded by Faucis NIAID and the Fogarty International Center, both part of the National Institutes of Health, and coordinated by the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre at the University of Cape Town, the early-stage investigator program provided a salaried, three-year appointment at an HVTN clinical site, tuition for a concurrent Ph.D. program and support for a mentored research project.

It wasnt very realistic to finish in three years, Flood said. Its remarkable that Nishila managed to do it.

Making a difference

For her Ph.D. project, Moodley focused on modeling the best way to get an HIV vaccine  once one is found to work  to the people who need it.

Its never a simple issue, rolling out a vaccine, said HVTN founder and principal investigator Dr. Larry Corey. Modelers make a difference in planning public health policy.

But not everyone was as supportive.

When I first started this project, I received many rejection letters from journals and conferences, Moodley said. Mostly I was asked, What HIV vaccine? Thats crazy.

Developing a vaccine against HIV has been challenging. The virus attacks the very immune system that is supposed to protect against it and then mutates too rapidly for any response to keep up. Over the years, more than 100 HIV/AIDS vaccine candidates tested clinically have not made it to late-phase trials. Recent scientific discoveries pointing to a new approach, along with a clinical trial that showed at least partial protection, have renewed hope, however. A late-phase trial is underway now, with results expected by late 2020.

If others dismissed planning ahead for that day as crazy, then I needed to find a supervisor whos equally crazy  or visionary  to help me through such a project, Moodley decided.

She found one in Gray, who, like Corey, believes that plans for implementing vaccination programs need to be laid well in advance.

Glenda has a sign on her door that says, Well-behaved women never make history, Moodley said. You need someone like that. Shes a visionary. She had no qualms about letting me explore new avenues.
Free Freightnet Membership

List your company in the Freightnet directory. It's Free, it's Easy and your company can be displayed in front of potential freight buyers within 24 hours.
Two farmers have been fined for polluting a waterway and another has been given a suspended sentence for breaching animal welfare rules in three separate incidents in Northern Ireland.

James Steele, 48, of Gobrana Road, Glenavy, Crumlin, County Antrim, received a nine-month suspended sentence after he was convicted at Antrim Crown Court of causing unnecessary suffering to 11 cattle and one charge of causing unnecessary suffering to a sheep.

He was also convicted of three charges of failure to dispose of animal carcasses and three charges of failing to comply with an animal by-product requirement.

See also: Farmer banned from keeping animals after welfare offences

The case arose after officers from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs carried out a welfare inspection on Mr Steeles farm.

They found dead cattle and sheep which Mr Steele had failed to dispose of. They also had to euthanise a number of cattle and sheep to prevent any further suffering.

It is the first time the department has taken an animal welfare prosecution to the crown court, which it said was due to James Steeles continuing and inexcusable disregard for the care of his animals.

The farmer was known to the department because of previous animal welfare convictions.

In addition to the suspended sentence, Mr Steele was disqualified from owning, keeping or transporting farm animals for 25 years.

Fish killed

Two farmers from Fermanagh have also been fined at Omagh Magistrates Court in connection with an incident in the Ballinamallard River which killed more than 190 fish.

Francis White from Magheralough, Trillick, pleaded guilty to making a polluting discharge of effluent to a waterway and was fined 750 and ordered to pay a further 885.60 to cover costs relating to the dead fish.

In a separate case, but connected to the same incident, Brendan McBride of Gragadis Road, Trillick also pleaded guilty and was fined 750 and ordered to pay costs of 354 for making a polluting discharge of silage effluent to a waterway.

Wales

Meanwhile, one of the biggest dairy farms in Wales has been fined 36,000 plus costs of 8,500 after slurry polluted a nearby stream.

Cwrt Malle admitted six offences of breaching environmental regulations at the case at Llanelli Magistrates Court on 8 June.
Jones said plan is to play Friday since also chance of rain Thursday

The Indians playoff motto is a familiar and simple one: Survive to play another game. The Indians did just that with a 60-23 win over Rock Hill this past Friday...
Story Highlights 73% support euthanasia, highest level since 2005

Liberals most supportive; weekly churchgoers least supportive

A new high of 57% say doctor-assisted suicide is morally acceptable

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As right-to-die legislation is under debate in many states, 73% of U.S. adults say a doctor should be allowed to end a terminally ill patient's life by painless means if the patient requests it. This is in line with the 69% to 70% Gallup has recorded since 2013, but much higher than support for euthanasia before 1990.

These data come from Gallup's annual Values and Beliefs poll, conducted May 3-7. Last month, the Nevada state senate voted narrowly to advance legislation that would allow terminally ill patients in the state the option to end their lives. Maine's House of Representatives rejected similar legislation that same week, however, after it barely passed in the state Senate.

According to the Death with Dignity National Center, five states and the District of Columbia currently have "death with dignity" statutes that "allow mentally competent adult state residents who have a terminal illness with a confirmed prognosis of having six or fewer months to live to voluntarily request and receive a prescription medication to hasten their inevitable, imminent death." The District of Columbia, however, could be barred from funding its recently passed law under President Donald Trump's proposed budget.

Support for euthanasia is nearly double what it was when Gallup first polled on the question in 1947, when 37% said it should be allowed by law. By 1973, a slim majority of 53% supported it. Since 1990, solid majorities of Americans have expressed support for euthanasia, ranging from 64% to 75%.

Smaller Majorities of Weekly Churchgoers, Conservatives Support Euthanasia

Gallup has found that people's views on the subject often differ based on their religious and political persuasions. A slim majority of weekly churchgoers (55%) support allowing a doctor to end a terminally ill patient's life through painless means upon request, whereas nearly nine in 10 adults who rarely if ever go to church say this should be allowed (87%).

The issue is somewhat less divisive among party and ideological groups. About nine in 10 liberals (89%) support euthanasia, compared with 79% of moderates and 60% of conservatives. Also, 81% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents as well as 67% of Republicans and Republican leaners say euthanasia should be allowed.

Support for Euthanasia, by Group When a person has a disease that cannot be cured, do you think doctors should be allowed by law to end the patient's life by some painless means if the patient and his or her family request it? Should be allowed % Attend church weekly 55 Attend church nearly weekly/monthly 66 Attend church seldom/never 87 Conservatives 60 Moderates 79 Liberals 89 Republicans/Republican-leaning independents 67 Democrats/Democratic-leaning independents 81 Asked of a half sample GALLUP, MAY 3-7, 2017

Support for Doctor-Assisted Suicide Now Similar to That for Euthanasia

Since 1996, Gallup has asked a separate question about a practice related to euthanasia -- whether doctors should be allowed to assist a terminally ill patient living in severe pain "to commit suicide if the patient requests it." Currently, 67% say doctors should be allowed to do so. This is on the higher end of what Gallup has measured historically. Consistent majorities have expressed support for doctor-assisted suicide in Gallup's trend since the question was first asked in the late 1990s. The low point was 51% in 2013.

Americans have historically responded less favorably to the "doctor-assisted suicide" question than to the euthanasia item, but the gap has diminished in recent years. From 1996 through 2013, an average of 58% supported doctor-assisted suicide, while 69% supported euthanasia. Since then, the averages are 65% and 70%, respectively. The diminished gap could be a result of greater exposure to the issue as some states have passed "death with dignity" laws. Additionally, Americans have recently expressed more liberal views on a variety of issues.

It should be noted that, for many "death with dignity" advocates, semantics are important. According to the American Public Health Association, "Medical and legal experts have recognized that the term 'suicide' or 'assisted suicide' is inappropriate when discussing the choice of a mentally competent terminally ill patient to seek medications that he or she could consume to bring about a peaceful and dignified death." Americans, too, may see less of a distinction between euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide than they have in the past.

Views on Moral Acceptability of Doctor-Assisted Suicide

Since 2001, Gallup has measured Americans' views on the moral acceptability of doctor-assisted suicide along with more than a dozen other issues.

In the latest poll, 57% of Americans say doctor-assisted suicide is morally acceptable -- the highest, by one percentage point, in Gallup's trend.

With 67% of Americans saying doctors should be allowed to assist terminally ill patients in committing suicide but 57% saying it is morally acceptable, some segment of the public thinks it should be legal even though they do not find it a morally acceptable practice.

Bottom Line

In the past year, death with dignity legislation has gone into effect in two states, California and Colorado, and legislation has been passed in the District of Columbia. Though the movement appears to have stalled at least temporarily with legislative roadblocks in Maine and Nevada, Americans' support for the practice remains high.

While Gallup has found that solid majorities support euthanasia in recent decades, the current level of support is on the high end of this trend.

Americans' views on euthanasia have evolved, generally becoming more liberal, and could shift further as states continue to debate a suffering patient's right to die. But support for euthanasia has not been a steady, upward climb; unique cases like those of Terri Schiavo and, more recently, Brittany Maynard, have influenced the national conversation. For the time being, more than two-thirds of national adults continue to support euthanasia -- with majorities in favor even among the least supportive groups, such as weekly churchgoers.

Historical data are available in Gallup Analytics.
Ill never lie to you. Jimmy Carter, the 1976 presidential campaign.

All politicians lie, because they are human and all humans lie. The question before us is this: If President Trump lied to FBI Director James Comey, should that lie, lead to impeachment? Did he obstruct justice when he allegedly hoped that Comey would not pursue an investigation of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn? Many Democrats think so. Most Republicans do not.

Comey testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee that President Trump lied about him after his dismissal. The assertion was based on what the president said of him (a real nut job) and on his belief that Comey misled the public about the alleged lack of support among Comeys FBI colleagues.

Trumps newly hired attorney, Marc Kasowitz, returned fire. Speaking at the National Press Club, Kasowitz effectively accused Comey of lying about his recollection of a private dinner at which, according to Comey, Trump said, I need loyalty. Kasowitz accused Comey of leaking privileged communications to the media, which Comey admitted he did for the purpose of obtaining a special counsel to investigate Russian influence in the 2016 election.

Recordings of the Comey-Trump meetings would clear this up. The president has suggested they may exist and Comey said he would be happy to have them released. They should be, but even if they corroborate Comeys recollections, House Select Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes said recently that he still believes there is no ...credible evidence that there was any collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian government. Everyone seems to agree that the Russians attempted to interfere, but no one claims that attempted interference affected the outcome. Hillary Clinton lost and so did Democrats  at all levels across the country. They need to get over it and figure out why.

The word hypocrisy was invented for such moments. The left is suddenly aghast about lying, but was fine with Barack Obamas numerous lies, from If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor, to Benghazi, Fast and Furious, the red line in Syria and the list goes on. Lets not even get started with the Clintons. Theyre serial liars.

Media reaction swiftly followed Comeys testimony. The New York Times and Washington Post seemed to favor Comey. A Wall Street Journal editorial even said that Comey should have resigned if he believes what he now says. Charles Hurt, editorial page editor of the conservative Washington Times, summarized his view of Comeys testimony: The only verified leaker exposed: Jim Comey. The only person we know is not and never was under investigation for ties to Russia: Donald Trump. The only person exposed for trying to influence an election: (Obama attorney general) Loretta Lynch. The only paper accused of publishing fake news: The New York Times. The only person who attempted to obstruct justice: Loretta Lynch and probably Bill Clinton.

Even the reliably liberal Chris Matthews of MSNBC said: The assumption of the critics of the president, of his pursuers, you might say, is that somewhere along the line in the last year the president had something to do with colluding with the Russians ... to affect the election in some way. And yet what came apart this morning was that theory.

Do I wish the president would conform just a little to the traditions most Americans expect of a White House occupant? I do. But for me and many other conservatives, policy overcomes deportment. Last week the president nominated 11 solid conservatives to federal benches. His policies on border security, repealing and replacing Obamacare, cutting taxes and reforming the tax code, strengthening the military, among others, are why he was elected.

Democrats have nothing, other than more of the same failed policies, which have contributed to their recent election losses. They are banking on undermining the president by accusation and insinuation.

The major media  which Trump regards as the mother of all liars  are in bed with his Democratic critics, while dismissing the lies of Democrats past and present. And thats no lie.
Story Highlights Almost all investors (92%) say they pay all bills on time every month

Barely half (52%) track all their spending by category

Nearly one in five (19%) would have difficulty building an emergency fund

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Majorities of U.S. investors say they are practicing each of eight financial behaviors, from 92% who are paying all of their bills on time every month to 52% who are tracking their spending by category.

Barely Half Check Spending by Category, but Almost All Pay Bills on Time For each of the following financial behaviors, please say if that is something you already do, something you don't do but would be easy for you to do, or something you don't do and it would not be easy for you to do? Already do Would be easy to do Would not be easy to do % % % Pay all bills on time every month 92 7 1 Make regular progress toward paying down high-interest debt 77 17 5 Contribute to savings through payroll deductions or automatic transfers 71 22 7 Review insurance needs at least once a year 68 28 3 Save at least 10% of income for retirement 67 14 19 Check credit score at least once a year 61 35 3 Contribute to emergency fund to cover three to six months of expenses 57 23 19 Track all spending by category 52 38 9 WELLS FARGO/GALLUP, Feb. 10-19, 2017

Results are from the 2017 first-quarter Wells Fargo/Gallup Investor and Retirement Optimism Index survey of 1,007 Americans who have at least $10,000 in investments. The eight actions for financial health correspond with Wells Fargo's "8 Rules of Thumb to Financial Health," which the bank describes as "small changes" that "can easily turn into habits that could have a big impact on your financial health."

Investors are least likely to say they are tracking spending by category, but it is not because a higher proportion say tracking is not easy. Rather, more investors perceive that saving money for a specific purpose -- for retirement in one case, for an emergency fund in the other -- is difficult than perceive this about tracking spending. For both saving measures, nearly one in five (19%) say they do not do it, "and it would not be easy ... to do."

Saving is most challenging for those with investments totaling less than $100,000.

Ability to Save Tied to Amount of Assets Percentage who say they do not do each of the following, and it would not be easy for them to do it. Assets of $100,000 or more Assets less than $100,000 % % Contribute to emergency fund to cover three to six months of expenses 13 28 Save at least 10% of income for retirement 14 24 WELLS FARGO/GALLUP, FEB. 10-19, 2017

Older Americans Less Likely to Track Their Spending, Check Credit Scores

Investors aged 65 and older are less likely than younger investors to check on their credit scores and spending habits. Forty-eight percent of the older group check their credit score annually, compared with 65% of investors aged 64 or younger. Among older investors, only 44% track all their spending by category, compared with 54% of younger investors.

On another action to monitor finances, however, older investors are about as likely (67%) as younger investors (68%) to review their insurance needs at least once a year.

Bottom Line

With investor optimism at its highest level since 2000, investors are generally willing and able to take the kinds of actions identified as important for financial health. However, there is plenty of room for improvement. Only 8% take all eight actions on the checklist, and almost seven in 10 do fewer than five.

The actions that investors are least likely to carry out fall into two broad categories: monitoring finances and saving for specific purposes. The percentages of those monitoring finances -- checking credit scores and tracking spending by category -- are driven downward by older investors, who may believe they have compiled enough experience to have some understanding of where they stand in both cases.

Among those who choose not to save for specific purposes -- not putting money into an emergency fund or not saving 10% of income for retirement -- there are obvious risks. Lower unemployment rates have reduced workers' risk of losing their jobs, but they have not erased the threat altogether, and unexpected expenses such as medical emergencies are a real possibility for most in U.S. society today.

The third of nonretired investors who are not saving at least 10% of their income for retirement could face some unhappy consequences. More than half of all retired Americans say they rely on some form of savings for either a major or a minor source of income. This lack of savings for retirement comes as a growing percentage of Americans are confident in their ability to maintain their lifestyles through this period of their lives.
Fact Box: Tele-Law Initiative

Published: June 12, 2017

The Ministry of Law and Justice has launched the Tele-Law initiative in collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to provide legal aid services to the marginalized communities and citizens living in rural areas through the Common Service Centres (CSC) at the panchayat level, spread across the country.

Salient Highlights

Tele Law initiative would help people to seek legal advice from lawyers with the help of video conferencing facility available at the Common Service Centres (CSC). Apart from the lawyers, law school clinics, District Legal Service Authorities, voluntary service providers and Non-Government Organisations working on legal aid and empowerment can also be connected through the CSCs.

In the initial phase, the initiative will be tested as a pilot project across 500 Common Service Centres (CSC) in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. In this phase, challenges to the initiative would be identified and necessary corrections would be made and would eventually be rolled out across the country in a phased manner.

A new portal called Tele Law will be made available across the CSC network to connect the citizens to legal service providers with the help of technology-enabled platforms. The initiative would strengthen access to justice for the marginalized communities.

The government will also put in place a robust monitoring and evaluation system to assess the quality of the legal advice delivered to the people.

Under the initiative, a Para Legal Volunteer (PLV), would be employed in each CSC. The volunteer would serve as the first point of contact for the marginalized communities in the rural areas who will help them understand the legal issues, explain the advice given by lawyers and assist in further action as per the advice of the lawyer.

Around 1000 women Para Legal Volunteers will also be trained under this initiative to provide legal aid services through the CSCs. This is expected to promote women entrepreneurship and empowerment.

Further, the National Legal Service Authority (NALSA) will also provide a panel of lawyers who will provide advice from the state capitals to the applicants in the CSCs through video conferencing.

Month: Current Affairs - June, 2017

Topics: Government Schemes  Insights  Legal aid  Legal Services  Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology  Ministry of Law and Justice  NALSA  National  National Legal Service Authority

Latest E-Books
A Farmington man is being charged after police say he assaulted an employee at the Southeast Missouri Mental Health Center in Farmington.

Shaun Rose, 30, is charged with a class E felony of assault in the third degree and a charge of assault in the fourth degree.

According to a probable cause statement, on May 11 at 6:54 a.m. Farmington Police were called to Southeast Missouri Mental Health Center located at 1010 West Columbia St. in reference to an assault.

According to an employee at Southeast Missouri Mental Health Center, Rose punched the employee in the throat and mouth while waiting at the window for his medication.

Another employee said Rose put his arm around her neck. She believed Rose was trying to isolate her inside a room to commit a sexual assault on her.

A third employee said that on May 3 Rose had been placed in secured restraints and then placed in the seclusion room. He had his right leg free and began kicking and spitting in the employee's face.

Rose is wanted on a warrant with a $7,500 bond. He was not taken into custody at the time of the incident, since he is a patient at the Southeast Missouri Mental Health Center.
Arguments over shop opening times : Bonn traders concerned about Sunday openings

Bonn Businesses in Bonn believe the Bonn-Fest could be in danger because of the discussion about Sunday openings and are demanding legal certainty. Unions are taking a closer look after the Federal Administrative Court ruled such Sundays must be linked to an event.

Teilen

Teilen Weiterleiten

Weiterleiten Tweeten

Tweeten Weiterleiten

Weiterleiten Drucken

The demand by several department store chains to be able in the future to open at will on Sundays is worrying more than a few traders in Bonn. They fear the move could backfire by providing unions with ammunition to act against Sunday opening.

Since the Federal administrative court expressly stated in a decision at the end of 2015 that Sunday opening must be linked to an event and cannot be a goal in itself, the unions have gained momentum and have overturned Sunday openings in several cities, including Wuppertal and Dusseldorf. Traders now fear something similar could happen in Bonn. They are particularly concerned about the approval for Sunday openings for the Town Festival in Beuel at the start of September and for the Bonn-Fest at the beginning of October.

We dont want to open on more Sundays, but to gain legal certainty for the four Sundays a year allowed by law, says Adalbert von der Osten, head of the Retail Association Bonn/Rhein-Sieg/Euskirchen. In the city of Bonn there are currently only three Sunday openings a year: besides opening for the Bonn-Fest, the shops also traditionally open for Bonn Leuchtet and on one Sunday in Advent during the Christmas market.

German trade union confederation sceptical

Since 2013, the Shop Opening Laws have stated that the unions must be heard on the issue. A somewhat sceptical response from the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) and Verdi unions about Bonn-Fest is currently on the table. While Judith Govert (DGB) and Monika Bornholdt (Verdi) expressly praise the performance by City-Marketing as the organiser of the planned event, they complain that there has been no legal assessment of the Bonn-Fest event by the city of Bonn. Govert and Bornholdt are convinced: In our view, Bonn-Fest is a sales promotion event, as the event could not take place without Sunday opening.

Harald Borchert, vice head of citizens services, responded: Of course we have assessed the legalities in accordance with new case law, and also stated this in a draft resolution for Bonn city council. It was the custom for years in Bonn that trades, churches and the unions sought and found a compromise to the controversial question of Sunday opening. It was agreed there would be three Sundays on which shops open, and not the four allowed by law. In 2013, Verdi backed out of the agreement.

Four Sundays are enough

Von der Osten says City-Marketing has now reworked the information about the Bonn-Fest. We will take a close look at it and then decide how we proceed, said Bornholdt. The same applies to the Sunday opening for the Beuel Town Festival on 3 September. The unions are of the view that there is no legally robust reason for Sunday openings at a town festival, because the aim is sales promotion.

Von der Osten hopes the new regional government will reform the shop opening laws to provide traders with certainty in the future. The current law is unrealistic. His association believes the four Sundays allowed by law are sufficient. They should act as an impetus for discovering the attractiveness of the city, he says. This effect is lost when shops are always open on Sundays.

The future coalition partners in the regional parliament are also aware of the problem and it is part of the coalition negotiations with the FDP.
An opportunity for foodies and beer lovers to get lost in a world of food and drink from a hand-selected range of food trucks and breweries from around New Zealand.
The Farmington Regional Chamber of Commerce will host the Business & Community Luncheon at noon on Thursday at the Centene Center in Farmington.

Missouri Speaker of the House, State Representative Todd Richardson is the scheduled speaker for the luncheon. Representative Richardson will bring those in attendance up-to-date on current and pending legislation, as well as an overview of the condition of the state.

Richardson, a Republican, represents part of Butler County, including the City of Poplar Bluff and part of Dunklin County, including the City of Malden (District 152) in the Missouri House of Representatives. He was elected to his first two-year term in November 2010. Richardson served as the House Majority Leader for the 98th General Assembly before being elected to his current position as Speaker of the House.

In addition to his legislative duties, Richardson is a practicing attorney in Poplar Bluff. He previously served as an adjunct instructor at Three Rivers College where he taught business law and national and state government classes.

Richardson is a 1995 graduate of Poplar Bluff High School. He received his B.A. in Political Communication from the University of Memphis in 2004. He obtained his J.D. from the University of Memphis in 2007. As a law student, Richardson led the University of Memphis to the finals of the National Moot Court competition and was recognized for outstanding advocacy and trial skills. He graduated from law school with honors and at the top of his class. He was also selected by his peers to give the commencement at his graduation.

Richardson is a member and serves on the board of the First Christian Church in Poplar Bluff and currently lives in Poplar Bluff with his wife and their two children.

The event is free to attend. Lunch is available from Bow-Tie Catering for $10 per person.
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.
bayonel3 at 12-06-2017 10:04 AM (5 years ago) (m)

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari will not return home from medical leave in Britain soon, presidency sources said on Saturday, having previously told Reuters the ailing leader would be returning by the weekend. Buhari's doctors said they will need to carry out testing on him on Monday (today), and the test results will determine when he returns to Nigeria, the sources said.

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari will not return home from medical leave in Britain soon, presidency sources said on Saturday, having previously told Reuters the ailing leader would be returning by the weekend. Buhari's doctors said they will need to carry out testing on him on Monday (today), and the test results will determine when he returns to Nigeria, the sources said. The president's undisclosed ailment has left his deputy, Yemi Osinbajo, in charge. While the vice president has been praised for his activity in Buhari's absence, pressure has been mounting on the government to sign off on key decisions such as the 2017 budget.

On Friday, the speaker of the lower chamber of parliament said the budget would be signed into law the following week, after months of delays despite promises for it to be passed before May.

Nigeria's president, whose official age is given as 74, travelled to Britain last month for what his office described as medical tests. Officials have refused to disclose details of his condition. His first absence began in January and lasted nearly two months.

The president's undisclosed ailment has left his deputy, Yemi Osinbajo, in charge. While the vice president has been praised for his activity in Buhari's absence, pressure has been mounting on the government to sign off on key decisions such as the 2017 budget.On Friday, the speaker of the lower chamber of parliament said the budget would be signed into law the following week, after months of delays despite promises for it to be passed before May.Nigeria's president, whose official age is given as 74, travelled to Britain last month for what his office described as medical tests. Officials have refused to disclose details of his condition. His first absence began in January and lasted nearly two months.

Post Reply I scour the world wide web to bring you interesting stories from around the globe. [email protected] Posted: at 12-06-2017 10:04 AM (5 years ago) | Hero
Dual-SIM smartphone with expandable storage

Going by the FCC listing, the Nokia 9 is likely to be a dual-SIM smartphone that will also support expandable storage using a microSD card. This hints that the device might not have a hybrid SIM card slot. This will make the Nokia 9 different from the existing flagship smartphones on the market that lack support for expandable storage and/or the second SIM card.

5.3-inch display likely

The Nokia 9's FCC listing confirms that the device might arrive with a 5.3-inch display, but the resolution remains unknown for now.

EU Union and Bluetooth certifications

The Nokia 9 cleared the Bluetooth and EA Union certifications. As mentioned above, these certification listing and Geekbench database have revealed their share of Nokia 9 specs. Going by the same, the upcoming flagship smartphone might arrive with a Snapdragon 835 SoC and 4GB RAM. The device will feature a dual-camera setup at its rear with Carl Zeiss optics too. Qualcomm's Quick Charge 4.0 technology is also expected.

Nokia 9 release details

The previous rumors and speculations have pointed out that the Nokia 9 could be launched sometime in the third quarter this year. Also, there are claims that it might be priced around Rs. 44,999. We are yet to get a clear chit from HMD regarding the same.

Nokia 8 and Nokia 7 are also expected

Along with the Nokia 9, the company is expected to unleash the Nokia 7 and Nokia 8 smartphones too. HMD is rumored to be all set to launch around six to seven Nokia Android smartphones and three of them including the Nokia 6, Nokia 5 and Nokia 3 are already official.
Nokia 3310 (2017) specs

While the potential launch time frame and price tag details of the VKworld Z3310 have been leaked, there is no mention on the possible specs that it might arrive with. To refresh on the specifications of the Nokia 3310, the feature packs a 2.4-inch display, a 2MP main snapper at its rear, 16MP default storage that can be expanded further up to 32GB using a microSD card and a 1200mAh battery.

VKworld Z3310 to have better specs

There are claims that the VKworld offering in the making might feature a larger storage space, a high resolution camera and a relatively bigger battery.

Similar color variants

Going by the leaked image of the VKworld Z3310 will be launched in Red, Dark Blue/Black, Yellow and Grey color options similar to the Nokia 3310 (2017).

If you want to purchase the Nokia 3310 (2017) and feel that it is too expensive, then you can wait for the alleged VKworld Z3310 to see the light of the day.
Telcos may meet IMG today News oi -Priyanka Officials will meet telecom minister Manoj Sinha on June 22. They added that the officials is likely to meet finance minister Arun Jaitley.

Telecom Players is likely to meet inter- ministerial group (IMG) today to discuss the financial stress and other operational issues they are facing.

According to the sources close to the development, the group will meet Reliance Communications, Tata Teleservices, MTS and Aircel on Monday. The panel will meet representatives from all top three telcos i.e Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular on June 15 and from new entrant Reliance Jio. The meeting with both public sector utilities like MTNL and BSNL will be held on June 17.

Sources also said that after the IMG meeting, officials will meet telecom minister Manoj Sinha on June 22. They added that the officials is likely to meet finance minister Arun Jaitley.

The sector is in under pressure due to increasing pressure after the entry Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio and a debt of about Rs. 4.6 lakh crore.

Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha has recently said that Government will intervene "at the right time in a right manner".

He said, "the Government is aware and concerned about the sector, we will intervene at the right time in a right manner, we have also set up an inter-ministerial committee to look into the financial woes of the telecom sector." Added that the industry has faced the same situation earlier in 2003.

Sinha further added that the market is very big and which is transforming into data-centric from voice-centric.

The Minister has also advised the telecom players to talk to the banks about their borrowings, and if any restructuring could be done As banks have recently raised an alert after the loan to the sector crossed Rs 8 lakh crore.

Best Mobiles in India

Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications
Overall, dont let the bhoot mislead you, nothing bhootiya about this story. Had the makers tried to push the envelope, the idea could have been outstanding for a bhootiya comedy.
U.S. Department of Defense

Press Operations

News Transcript

Presenter: Colonel Ryan Dillon, Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve Spokesman; Captain Jeff Davis, Director, Defense Press Office June 08, 2017

Department of Defense Press Briefing by Colonel Dillon via teleconference from Baghdad, Iraq

CAPTAIN JEFF DAVIS: All right. Good morning. This is more of a crowd that I expected.

I am pleased to introduce to many of you at his first-ever appearance on the big screen here, Colonel Ryan Dillon, coming to us live from Baghdad. He's the new OIR spokesperson. Most of you already do know him or at least have heard him on the phone.

Ryan, you look great. And we -- we look forward -- and you're competing with some other big news, obviously, in this town. But that said, the crowd's pretty good and we're looking forward to hearing from you.

We'll turn it over to you.

COLONEL RYAN DILLON: All right. Thanks, Jeff.

And first off, as I stated last week in my first Pentagon press corps briefing, I know it was over telephonic, that I had not met, or had worked with many of you prior to last week. I think that's changed over the course of this last week as I've either talked to or e-mailed with several of you. So, we'll go ahead and get started. We'll start in Iraq and then we'll move to Syria.

This week in Mosul, Iraqi security forces continue to push forward on the west and northwest portions of the forward line of troops keeping pressure on ISIS. As expected, the tight confines of the remaining neighborhoods, the well-defended urban canyons, have proven to be very difficult to liberate.

The ISF are methodically clearing ISIS, street by street, house by house, and room by room. The ISF have remained focused on the safety of civilians as they clear ISIS-held areas, moving them out of danger as much as possible. Meanwhile ISIS reverts to brutalizing and murdering plain civilians, as your journalist colleagues have sadly, but importantly, documented.

On Tuesday, the United Nations reported that 163 bodies of murdered Iraqi men, women, and children, lay on the streets of Al-Sheer neighborhood of Western Mosul after being shot and killed by ISIS snipers while attempting to desperately flee to safety. Moving west, the popular mobilization forces under the Iraqi security forces successfully recaptured Baaj and retook almost 1,000 square kilometers this week, liberating terrain and villages all the way to the Iraq/Syria boarder.

Moving to Syria, on June 6th our partner force, the Syrian Democratic Forces began their offensive to defeat ISIS in Raqqah. ISIS' de facto capital of their self-proclaimed caliphate has served as an important hub for recruiting, inspiring, financing and planning external attacks. This weeks attacks in London, Paris, Melbourne, and Tehran, are further evidence of the danger this evil terrorist group poses, not only to their region, but to all nations.

The liberation of Raqqah, as with a string of other ISIS strongholds, Dabiq, Manbij, Tabqa, to name a few will further degrade ISIS's ability to export terrorists, plot external attacks, recruit members and subjugate populations. The STF has moved to isolate the city of Raqqah with forces to the west, north, and east. To the South is the Euphrates River and with bridges that cannot be used to cross, ISIS is limited to using water craft to move in to or out of Raqqah. Understanding this the coalition conducted several strikes this week, destroying 20 boats, attempting to shuttle ISIS fighters across the river.

The liberation of Raqqah will deal the enemy a punishing blow and further degree their ability to move throughout the region and further spread terror and kill innocent civilians.

In Southern Syria, this morning, the United States conducted strikes against two technical vehicles, pickup trucks with weapons, that were assessed to be posing a threat to coalition in partner forces based at at-Tanf Garrison. Later this morning, after that first incident, the United States also shot down a suspected pro-regime drone that fired on coalition forces conducting patrols outside of the deconfliction zone to the East. There are no coalition casualties and today was the third set of kinetic strikes the United States has conducted in response to threats posed to the coalition forces and partners operating out of at-Tanf.

The first was one 18 May. The second was on the 6th of June. And today, in one air-to-ground, in one air-to-air engagement. We're watching the situation very closely. The coalition does not seek to fight Syrian regime or pro-regime forces, however we remain ready to defend ourselves against any threat.

The coalition has been very clear through the deconfliction line, through leaflets, messages and actions, to warn pro regime forces not to advance toward, or otherwise threaten coalition forces at at-Tanf. 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 the region and the rest of the world.

And with that, I will now take your questions.

CAPT. DAVIS: We'll start with Lita Baldor from the Associated Press.

Q: Hello Ryan. Good to finally see you. A couple questions on at-Tanf, you talked about some recent attacks today. Can you tell us, first of all, the drone that was shot down, was it armed? And Hezbollah has warned and threatened that it would strike U.S. and coalition troops with a drone, was that the threat? And can you tell us how many, if any of these Hezbollah, Iranian backed forces are still within the deconfliction zone?

COL. DILLON: Okay. Thanks, Lita.

I will -- I got the first one and I think I've got the other ones, but if not I'll definitely follow up. The first one, the drone that was used in the -- the attempted attack on U.S. forces or coalition forces was a MQ1-like Predator -- or not Predator it was like that kind of, a UAV. It was armed and still had weapons on it when it was fired upon by U.S. forces from an aircraft.

And as far as your other question about whether or not these are Iranian backed or -- we assessed them to be pro-regime forces and they posed a threat to the coalition and our partner forces and that is why these -- each one of these engagements happened and why we struck -- why we struck when we did. I don't know if that answered all your questions. If not, I will have you ask again and if you have a follow up, I'll be prepared to answer that as well.

Q: Did the -- follow up. Did the drone fire on coalition forces? And the other question was how many of these pro-regime forces are still within the deconfliction zone?

COL. DILLON: The drone did fire on the coalition forces that were operating and conducting a patrol to the east, outside of the deconfliction zone, doing patrols with our partner forces, as we have done for many months now. And whether or not we still have coalition forces that are within the deconfliction zone, yes there are a few hundred of coalition members and as far as pro-Syrian or pro-regime forces within the deconfliction zone. Yes, there are still some pro-regime forces that remain inside the deconfliction zone, but we have continued to reiterate through the deconfliction line that we want them to vacate the- that zone.

Q: Do you know how many?

COL. DILLON: We assess it to be about a platoon-size element or less.

CAPT. DAVIS: Next to Thomas Watkins with Agence France-Presse.

Q: Hello, Colonel.

When you say the drone did fire on the coalition forces, can you give us a little more detail about that? And how far inside the deconfliction zone did this incident occur? Coalition forces, can you just speak to that? What are we talking about? Like U.S. and Brits? Or can you give us any more clarity on this incident?

COL. DILLON: Okay. So the first answer is that the drone did drop a munition. That munition did not have effects on the coalition forces. So, that happened. It had remaining munitions that were still on the drone when we fired and we shot it down.

As far as the coalition footprint, that is at the at-Tanf garrison. I won't go into specifics on who it is and who makes up the coalition forces that are in there. There are a few hundred total, to include our partner force that we are training. And we have been training there.

So, in total, there are a few hundred coalition members with our partner forces. And again, this is a location that we have operated out of for more than a year, but we've been established at at-Tanf for many months now.

Q: This is -- this is a pro-regime attack on Coalition forces. Did they give any kind of warning? What precipitated this incident?

COL. DILLON: We don't know. There was no warning that was provided prior to them releasing this munition on our forces. We did have a view of this particular drone, and we were able to quickly engage and take this threat away for any further action that they may have tried to conduct.

They were obviously seen as a threat and we engaged that and took that out of the battle space for them to use again.

CAPT. DAVIS: Next to Michael Gordon, New York Times.

Q: Colonel, I know you mentioned -- I think this is the third incident -- you said the third instance in which the coalition has taken action against these forces in the -- in this zone. But is this the first time that the pro-regime forces in the zone have actually fired on the coalition or taken aggressive action?

Because my impression is that in the previous cases, it was their presence in the zone that was deemed to be a threat, but they didn't necessarily fire on the coalition.

And I have a followup.

COL. DILLON: Yes, sir, that's exactly right. The previous -- previous strikes that the coalition conducted on pro-regime forces, those were all perceived as threats through several warnings, through leaflets, through shows of force, before we conducted any kind of kinetic strikes on those forces.

The second incident today, the one that happened with the UAV or the drone, that was the first time that we saw them actually firing or shooting at coalition forces.

Q: Just a quick followup. Is this an Iranian drone? Or an Iranian-manufactured drone in your assessment? And you may have explained this prior, but what are -- what is this -- how large is the zone that you've established? And what are its contours? Obviously, you've told them what it is because they have to stay out of it. So what -- how large is the zone that you've set up around at-Tanf?

COL. DILLON: Okay. The first question. We assess this as a pro-regime drone. We're still doing analysis on -- on whose it could possibly be. But it was a -- it was the same size as our MQ-1 Predator. It was kind of like that.

As far as the second question, the deconfliction zone that has been established is a 55 kilometer ring around at-Tanf, and that allows for ground deconfliction and air deconfliction over the battle space as well. If you have a follow up, I'm prepared to answer that as well.

Q: Okay, thank you.

CAPT. DAVIS: Carlos Munoz, Washington Examiner. You may need to speak up from the back.

Q: Carlo Munoz, Washington Times. Just wanted to clarify on some of the pre-warnings or -- or notice that you got before these strikes happen. In the previous incidents, there was some back and forth between U.S. and the Russian counterparts, as far as trying to clamp down on tensions. It doesn't seem like that was the case this time.

Does these two incidents represent sort of a break down in that deconfliction channel that you have with your Russian counterparts?

COL. DILLON: All right. You came in a little fuzzy at the end, but what I was -- I think you were asking is the deconfliction that happened between us and the Russians, there is a deconfliction line. We have used that from the middle of May when pro-regime forces first arrived. And as we've seen prior to the May 18th strikes, we definitely maintained an opened deconfliction line with the Russians in that sense. We also dropped leaflets, we also provided video -- or not video -- but messaging to them and we also conducted shows of force and warning shots before conducting kinetic strikes.

After that strike on the May 18th, we thought it has been very clear our position on what we do not -- what we perceive as a threat -- any armed vehicles or armed forces that are moving into and towards our forces that pose a threat. We will engage and we will defend ourselves.

CAPT. DAVIS: Barbara Starr, CNN.

Q: Can we go back over a couple of points on this.

So number one, if this is the first time that you have now seen them fire at coalition troops, including U.S., much more than just a threat. They actually fired at you. Why are you stopping at just firing back at them? I don't know of any case where the United States is fired upon that you don't do something with -- in return to defend yourselves with slightly more overwhelming force. I realized you don't want to talk about future operations, but frankly, is this it and you're just waiting for next time?

My second question is, when you said they used a munition, if it's a predator type, was it actually a missile that they used? What kind of munition and why not fire at them if you saw this threat before they fired at you? I'm not clear why there was firing back by the U.S. only after they fired.

So what type of munition and why would you wait? And when you said there was no effect of that munition on coalition forces, should we take that to mean no U.S. wounded?

COL. DILLON: Okay, so the first question, ma'am, is that our focus is on fighting ISIS and that's what we want to do. That is why we are there. That is why we have been there before. That is why we are training these partner forces so that they can go and fight ISIS, either in this area where they are from. They are from a region that is north of the Jordanian border all the way to the Euphrates River Valley.

And so, we want to focus on that and we want the regime, with whatever their goals and objectives are to -- to focus on that as well. So we do not want to have a fight with the pro-regime forces. Our focus is on ISIS. So I think that's the answer to the first questions.

The second question is the munition that was used by this drone. It was a munition that was dropped from this drone. I can't classify to say whether it was a missile, but I will say that it did not have effects that cause any casualties whatsoever to the forces that we have on the ground. I don't know if that answered all your questions. If not, I'll wait for a follow up.

Q: Just very quickly. I take it no U.S. wounded and to follow up, I understand you don't want to fight with the regime. You're not looking to fight the regime and you're not looking to fight the Iranian-backed forces that has been stipulated are there. But do you -- do you think that U.S. commanders should worry -- they're just giving them a bit of a pass to do this again.

COL. DILLON: Okay. So the first question, no casualties, that also means there are no wounded. So didn't have any coalition members that were wounded or casualties as a result of this -- this failed attempt of this drone to strike our forces.

Secondly, I'm not going to think on behalf of what the pro-regime forces are -- are doing, but I know that we are very well prepared, in position to defend ourselves. We have clearly showed that we are able to do that. And in the case of today, not once but twice, when the pro-regime forces presented a threat and showed hostile action, we were able to quickly defeat them and take that threat away. Again, we do not want to continue this everyd ay, it distracts from our number one goal, which is to defeat ISIS.

CAPT. DAVIS: OK. Ma'm next to Carlo Munoz. I don't know your name.

Q: Hi, I'm Laura Kelly also from the Washington Times.

Sir, is there concern from the coalition over recent attacks in Baghdad and terrorist attacks around the world, but just in Baghdad in particular, that you'll be moving Iraqi security forces from Mosul back to Baghdad for security? Or no?

COL. DILLON: Came in pretty loud, but as far as our concerns about attacks in Baghdad or elsewhere, our focus right now in Iraq is on Mosul and in Syria it is on Raqqah. And we have seen in the past that ISIS, when faced with being defeated, where we know our concentration of our efforts and our focus is, there are these attacks elsewhere to distract us and to try to take us away from that number one goal.

So we will continue to support our Iraqi Security Force partners, number one, in Mosul, but also elsewhere throughout Iraq wherever ISIS presents itself.

And as far as Baghdad, there is a robust security force that is the Baghdad police. And they also have a -- many of their -- they have a way to handle this insurgent threat. And so I would, you know, turn that back over -- that question to the government of Iraq, but I believe that they're prepared to handle what comes after ISIS as they devolve into an insurgency.

CAPT. DAVIS: Next to Hans Nichols, NBC News.

Q: Yes, thanks, Colonel Dillon.

If I could just get clarity on one point. I know I'm being a bit precious here. But is the 55-kilometer ring, is that the radius or the circumference?

And then I heard it both ways that the -- the coalition forces were patrolling inside and outside the de-confliction zone.

And then I'll have another separate line of questioning.

COL. DILLON: Okay. Thanks for that.

The 55-kilometer ring is a -- the radius. And that allows for de-confliction, but it doesn't limit us to continuing to patrol outside of that area. Again, our focus -- we know where the regime forces are, and we want to make sure that we, you know, keep our distance from them. Our focus is on predominantly in the north, and to the east towards the Euphrates River valley, and in that area, and in the Hama desert.

So that's where we have been in the past conducting our training. And that's where we've operated. So, that's kind of our focus right now in southern Syria.

Q: But the- the patrolling group that came under fire, were they inside or outside the de-confliction zone?

COL. DILLON: They were outside of the de-confliction zone, conducting patrols, normal patrols that we have been doing for many months now.

Q: And just a total separate line, but could we get an update on how many ISIS fighters are inside of Raqqah? And if you think external operations are still being plotted from inside Raqqah?

COL. DILLON: Right now, the estimated enemy force inside Raqqah is about 2,500. I can't say whether or not there are still attempts for ISIS to conduct external attacks. We know in the past that Raqqah has been a planning base, in particular for attacks in Paris and Berlin. Our goal is to defeat them, obviously, in Raqqah.

And to not allow them sanctuary not just in Raqqah, but throughout the rest of Iraq and Syria, so that we do not have to -- so they cannot finance; they do not have the ability to conduct battlefield operations; they don't have the ability to finance, to recruit, and to plan other external attacks.

CAPT. DAVIS: Next to Tara Copp, Stars and Stripes.

Q: Hi. Good to see you for the first time in here. A couple of questions.

The drone -- do you think it was a pro-regime forces drone? Or actually direct regime? And same with the forces on the ground where you have these three incidents. Are these Syria direct forces? Or are these Iranians? Or Hezbollah? That's the first question. I have a couple more.

COL. DILLON: Okay. So the first one, we saw it as a regime drone. And regardless of what kind of drone it was, it fired upon our coalition forces, and therefore showed hostile intent, and it was perceived as a threat. So regardless of what kind of drone it was, we engaged and we successfully destroyed that drone.

As far as the other elements that are still within the deconfliction zone, those are also regime forces -- we asses to be regime forces. And I think that answers it.

Q: And then the forces that were on patrol, did they have U.S. advisers with them, at the time? Were these partner forces, were these -- if you could describe what was the patrol composed of.

COL. DILLON: All right, Tara, I'm not going to go in to the number. It was a patrol and it was a patrol of our partner forces. And we did have coalition members that were advising them and that were with them -- who were with them on this patrol.

Q: So forces, U.S. advisers?

COL. DILLON: I'll just leave it at coalition. We had coalition advisers that were with these -- these partner forces on these patrols.

CAPT. DAVIS: Kasim Ileri, Anadolu News Agency.

Q: Hi, how are you? Nice to see you. Does the SDF have any anti-attack weapons currently being delivered to -- for the Iraq operation?

COL. DILLON: Okay, I think you're asking about the SDF and the weapons that have been provided to the Kurdish element for the Raqqah operation. That authority had been approved and we have already started to provide the weapons and the equipment and the ammunition that we said that we would, and we will continue to provide those to our Syrian Democratic forces, both the Syrian Arabs and the Syrian Kurds for this fight against ISIS is Raqqah. We want to make sure that they are prepared and they have the equipment that they need to be successful against ISIS in Raqqah.

We are looking at the types of threats that have emanated, or that have -- that we've seen in Mosul, and we expect the same type of threats, with the vehicle born, improvised explosive devices, and the car bombs that they have shown, and so we're going to make sure that they are successful.

Now as far as the- what we are giving them, we are being very clear, and open, and transparent with the equipment that we're providing with our ally Turkey.

Q: We heard that the coalition support strike operation with HIMARS, Apaches and 777 howitzers. Are they currently being employed or will you provide those platforms to the operation in the future?

COL. DILLON: Yeah, each one of those capabilities that you just discussed are being used for this operation to defeat ISIS in Raqqah, supporting our Syrian Democratic forces.

Q: Up on the number of the ISIS fighters inside Raqqah, the other day we heard that they're 800, and then now you are saying there are 2,005, your estimate -- approximate estimate is 2,500 fighters inside Raqqah. Are you talking about the core city of Raqqah or include -- are you including the vicinity of this areas as well?

COL. DILLON: Well, right now we're talking those that are in the Raqqah city center in the environs that are just on the outskirts, the suburbs if you will. And when I'm saying suburbs, I'm talking about, right now the Syrian Democratic forces have already gotten a foothold into the eastern part of Raqqah city center, and on the west side. To the north, they're still about three kilometers to the north of Raqqah city.

So this is the area that I'm talking about, and we estimate about 2,500 ISIS fighters that are in there right now.

CAPT. DAVIS: Next to Kevin Baron, Defense One.

Q: A couple of things. I'm back to the drone. I mean, I'm trying to figure out what kind of drone this is. Maybe we can -- (inaudible). Do you have any imagery that you're going to release to us, to the public? Or -- it would be interesting to know more about what it is.

On Raqqah, can you just talk a little bit more about the next steps to get to the city center? What -- what can be expected? And Turkey's response, cooperation, both with not with the fighting, but the expected civilian/military group that governs after?

COL. DILLON: Okay. I got the first question about the imagery, about providing that. I'd have to go back and look into that and find out if it's something we can declassify. And if so, and we are -- I can provide that. I will find that out. That's a due-out.

And then your second, after you asked about the imagery, it was completely choppy. I didn't get any of that question. I don't know if you need to move somewhere else.

Q: I'll try a little more loudly. But I just wanted a little more clarity on what to expect going forward in Raqqah, getting toward the city center. And then any -- what's the state of cooperation with Turkey both on -- on the fighting or allowing Kurds to fight, and moving ahead to the post-fight governance to come.

COL. DILLON: Okay. So, on 6 June, that's when they began their offensive operations to defeat ISIS in Raqqah. They have made some steady progress in the first neighborhoods and have successfully been able to take ground from ISIS already in Raqqah. We expect to have the coalition continue to provide our intelligence, our surveillance, our reconnaissance, and our advisers will be with them throughout this engagement fight.

And our air, artillery, and as the question asked earlier, we'd also have helicopters in support of the Syrian Democratic Forces as we move forward.

We expect this to be a fight very similar, not quite as built-up and as a dense urban terrain as we've seen in Mosul, but nonetheless ISIS has had almost three years to prepare for this fight, and we expect it to be very difficult, just as we've seen in Mosul.

I don't know if that answered your question.

Q: Yeah- for now, that's okay.

CAPT. DAVIS: He was asking you about Turkey.

Did you get that?

COL. DILLON: Oh. I didn't -- no, I did not.

Q: Are you getting any resistance from Turkish- anything at all with Turkey when it comes to the ground fighting and the coalition job that you want to happen?

COL. DILLON: Outside of some of those -- some of the comments that we've seen in open source, no, we have not. The Syrian Democratic Forces are clearly in a position. They have been a force that is most prepared and ready and poised to start this offensive operation. And as they've kicked it off and already begun making some progress, you know, they are the right force. And we'll continue to support them, we will defeat ISIS and we'll move on to wherever they are next.

We do continue to service ISIS targets continuing in Deir ez-Zor and in Abu Kamal and elsewhere wherever they present themselves and wherever they have been a threat. And we'll continue to do that as well.

CAPT. DAVIS: (inaudible)  from Jane's.

Q: Thanks. So there've been the three groups of strikes as well as the leaflets and some of the messaging, but has there been any indication that that platoon sized element inside of the 55 kilometer buffer zone is preparing to leave or has, in any way, diminished its presence inside of the deconfliction zone?

COL. DILLON: Yes. We have -- we have still not seen any physical signs of them departing that area. We will continue -- they have not presented a threat. They have not continued to move towards our forces in the at-Tanf garrison, but we will continue to attempt to get them to vacate the area. I think that we have seen how clear we are about the threat that has been presented and posed to us and we'll continue to push to have them vacate that area.

Q: And there's only been three sets of strikes, but have they had, in your assessment, had any meaningful impact on the capability of the pro-regime forces in the vicinity? Has their ability to pose a threat to coalition forces been diminished at all as a result as those three groups of strikes?

COL. DILLON: And I don't want to speak on behalf of the, you know, the pro-regime forces. They have their objectives and, you know, we -- we think that they are also towards defeating ISIS, but I'm not going to make that assessment for them.

CAPT. DAVIS: Okay. Elizabeth, from ABC News.

Q: Hello, Colonel.

Can you just clarify on the Tuesday strike the Syrians conducted that the Russians used the deconfliction channel to communicate with us? And then on this third strike, was the deconfliction channel again used? And what is your assessment of how successful that's been?

COL. DILLON: We have used the deconfliction channel with the Russians and that is in place and it is something that we use regularly to do. And I don't want to sound cheeky to deconflict and I know that we have -- we have confirmed in certain instances when we have not had coalition forces in the area to allow them to conduct their operations.

I'm not going to every single instance, but I'll just say that the deconfliction line is open. It is in use and as far as it being successful, you know, unfortunately there have been some -- these incidents that have taken our focus away from fighting ISIS. But we have used this deconfliction line, believe that they have used it in a way to persuade the pro-regime forces to not do -- make these threats that we have seen happen. And that's why we have used other means to let them know that they pose a threat before we conduct any type of kinetic strikes.

Q: Just to be clear, it was used in this third strike. You have confirmation that the Russians did communicate to those pro-regime forces that -- a warning that you wanted them to leave again?

COL. DILLON: Yes, and so what I will say is that, we use the deconfliction line and now whether or not that deconfliction from the other end makes that message all the way down to the driver of the technical vehicle who came in to the -- who posed a threat to us this morning, I don't -- I can't say that. But the deconfliction line is in use.

CAPT. DAVIS: Shawn Snow, Military Times.

Q: Thank you for doing this Colonel. The drone that was shot down, was that an Iranian Shahid 129? CENTCOM says that that drone has been active in southern Syria.

And also back to Raqqah, the Syrian observatory for human rights says that U.S. Special Operations Forces are on the front lines of Raqqah. Are U.S. Special Operations Forces operating on the front lines in Raqqah or are they embedded at a headquarters level? Thank you.

COL. DILLON: Okay, so the first one, the drone was as I stated, we assessed it had to be pro-regime -- a regime drone. It was an MQ-1-like drone and that's as far as I know right now.

As far as the second question on the advisers and the forces -- the coalition forces that advise and assist our partner force in Raqqah, as was stated a few weeks ago by General Dunford, our forces have to put themselves in the best place where they can provide the assistance to our forces that are conducting these operations.

They are I've been told not to -- to be at the very front, kicking down doors and to be at the very front of these formations conducting operations and so I will leave it at that. They are supposed to go to the last cover and concealed position from the front line of advance of the partner force.

CAPT. DAVIS: Carla Babb, VOA.

Q: Hi, Colonel, a lot of clarifications. Let's start with the drone.

You mentioned that there were no casualties, no wounded, was there any damage to coalition or our partner equipment? And where specifically was this strike? What town? How far away from this was- were the coalition and their partner forces to those regime forces that you had mentioned?

COL. DILLON: Okay, so first question, there was no damage to coalition forces or partner forces equipment. And the second question, this strike -- or the attempted strike that happened -- well, first off we'll say that the attempted strike by the drone was west -- or correction, east of at-Tanf while we were conducting operations.

So I'm not going to say how far out that was. It was outside of the deconfliction line, you've already heard that, I've said that that was 55 kilometers in radius, so it was outside of the confliction zone. And they are conducting operations moving to the east area. And that is the same area where the drone was also shot down.

Q: Where is that in relation to where those regime forces are located?

COL. DILLON: So, regime forces have been located from the beginning, when they showed up in mid-May, are to the northwest. So, our patrols were in the opposite direction of where the regime forces were.

Q: A couple more follow-ups.

How many regime drones are still in the area do you assess? And when you struck what was mentioned in the strike report, the two artillery systems which you said were two technical vehicles, were those inside the de-confliction zone? Or were those outside -- were those regime forces outside of the de-confliction zone?

COL. DILLON: Okay. The first question, I don't know the number of drones that are not coalition forces that are in the air around at-Tanf. I know that we have the right amount of forces that are able to defend ourselves both on the ground -- and the capabilities both on the ground and in the air.

As far as your second question, yes, those -- those artillery pieces and the damaged tank and the other vehicle that we struck on the 6th of June, they were inside of the de-confliction zone. They were moving towards at-Tanf, and posed a threat. And we -- we did try to dissuade them before conducting a kinetic strike.

Q: And so my final follow-up -- sorry, because there were a lot of questions. What was the aircraft that shot down this drone? Was it a U.S. aircraft?

COL. DILLON: Yes, it was. It was a U.S. aircraft. I won't go into the type or kind that it was, but it was U.S.

CAPT. DAVIS: T-M Gibbons-Neff, Washington Post.

Q: Yes, sir. How's it going?

A couple of questions. The first on this drone strike on the pro-regime forces. At any time in the three strikes that led up today and today's strike, was -- did U.S. aircraft take any effective or ineffective fire? I know there was anti-aircraft weapons on the ground.

Then I have two followups on Mosul and Raqqah.

COL. DILLON: Yeah, Tom, on that first question, not that I know of. Our aircraft, as far I know, aircraft they were flying, you know, coalition-wise above at-Tanf, none of them were engaged as far as I know.

Q: Awesome. And then on Raqqah, the SDF have told civilians to flee and now they've kind of switched the messaging, telling them to hold in place. What precipitated that decision?

And second, on Mosul, white phosphorus use -- that kind of popped up over the weekend. Can you kind of describe the circumstances of that? And also the U.N. claims and HRW claims or requests to stop using indirect fire weapons in the city because of civilian casualties?

COL. DILLON: Okay. So for the first question in Raqqah, the Syrian Democratic Forces prior to conducting the offensive had encouraged civilians to depart and to leave Raqqah city if they could do so freely and safely. We did see several of them do that.

As far as -- as soon as they started the offensive, they have since encouraged civilians that remain inside of Raqqah to remain in their homes, shelter in place, and to avoid ISIS fighting positions. So, that is what the current guidance is from the SDF to civilians that remain inside of Raqqah.

And as far as the -- the white phosphorus question that you had asked, the coalition -- we won't confirm whether or not we used white phosphorus, but we do reserve the right to use it in accordance with the law of armed conflict, which says that you can use it is you're using it obscuration, for screening or for marking. And in don't know what your last question was, but I'll go ahead and pause and have you ask again.

Q: Yeah, the last question was about HRW, Airwars, a couple groups came out today requesting that the coalition Iraqi forces stop using weapons such IRAMs, mortars, et cetera in western Mosul because of a spike in civilian causalities.

Can you just kind of address their request and -- and kind of what you guys are doing to mitigate civilian causalities. I know ISIS has been -- been killing a lot in the recent days, kind of where you guys are coming down on that?

COL. DILLON: Okay, yes thanks. The -- ISIS clearly as you had stated, continue to kill at an alarming rate and we do not want to see that. The -- the quickest way that we see stopping the human suffering that has happened within Mosul is by defeating ISIS as quickly as we possibly can. That said, the coalition will continue to support Iraqi security forces as they push into an attempt to free and liberate Mosul. We will continue to be very deliberate with our strikes.

We will factor in all the tactics that we know that ISIS uses. But we will continue to support our Iraqi security forces with ISR, with our strikes, with our advisers and we're not going to let up on ISIS, but we are always going to be mindful. Our goal is always to have zero causalities, unlike our enemy that we face today.

CAPT. DAVIS: Luis Martinez, ABC News

Q: Hey Colonel- a question about that platoon sized element that's up inside the deconfliction zone?

How -- these three airstrikes, have they been taken against elements that were originally part of that element? Or did it come from outside the confliction zone? And is there a larger pro-regime force outside that deconfliction zone, and can you give us an estimate of how large it is and what kind of activities have they been undertaking, prior to this early contact?

COL. DILLON: Okay. The -- the first question, the elements we have conducted strikes on have all come from outside of the deconfliction zone into the deconfliction zone. They have all had weapons systems, or they have all posed a threat. If -- I'm not saying that we have seen other vehicles that have come in that do not pose a threat, that do not have certain weapons systems on them and we have not struck those.

As far as the outside of the -- the other pro-regime elements that remain outside, it is larger, obviously than the platoon-sized element, or the smaller element that is inside the deconfliction ring, but I won't characterize how large it is or take a guess as to what they're doing.

Q: And -- and this -- I guess there was an airstrike yesterday that the Syrian air force conducted on their behalf. Who were they fighting that they needed to call in an airstrike to support them on the ground?

COL. DILLON: Yeah, as far as who they were fighting, we assess that to be a counter-Syrian regime force and I don't know who that is. What I do know is that, it was not coalition who ended that attack nor was it our partners that are with us at at-Tanf.

CAPT. DAVIS: Phil Stewart, Reuters.

Q: Can you just give us a sense, what actually did the drone hit? I know they fired at something. What did it fire at, what did it hit?

COL. DILLON: It hit dirt. It didn't hit any of the coalition forces.

Q: But you're sure that it was a strike? Because you said repeatedly this was a strike against coalition forces, so did it hit dirt next to them, really far away from them, are they really bad at shooting? Serious question.

COL. DILLON: It was -- no, and it was a -- it was -- it was clearly meant as an attack on the coalition forces and our partner forces in the area. The proximity -- and I don't want to get into details, but it made it very clear who they were trying to fire upon and they were unsuccessful.

Q: You don't think this was a warning shot?

COL. DILLON: We saw it as a threat. I do not see this as a warning shot. This is -- this clearly showed a threat even if it were a warning shot. It was something that showed a hostile intent, a hostile action, and posed a threat to our forces because this drone still had munitions that were still on it and we saw this as a threat and we shot it down.

Q: Part of the threat would also be the person piloting that drone, correct? Was there any action taken against the pilot of that drone?

COL. DILLON: Not that I know of, but yes, that would be -- you would be correct in saying that the pilot of that drone could very well be considered a threat as well.

CAPT. DAVIS: Bill Hennigan -- excuse me -- L.A. Times.

Q: Hey, Colonel. Where did this drone take off from?

COL. DILLON: Bill, I don't know the answer to that. I just know that it posed a threat to our forces and we shot it down. I don't know where it came from.

Q: Okay. You said before that it -- it doesn't much matter what -- you know, who -- what kind of drone it was. But if it was an attack on presumably U.S. forces or at the very least coalition forces, it seems to me that you'd want to figure that out. And the number of forces that actually have that asset in the region can be counted on one hand.

So do you have a good idea of -- of, you know, who was piloting that aircraft and you're just not telling us? Or do you just -- do you not know?

COL. DILLON: So, the first one, yeah, I'm sure that we are assessing and identifying, you know, where and who this drone came from. What I meant before is, regardless, this drone showed a threat when it released munitions and that's why I said it doesn't really matter. If it was -- anything that poses a threat to our forces there, we're going to defend ourselves.

Now, as far as everything else, I'm sure we're conducting assessments right now to identify, you know, who did fire, but I don't know that right now.

Q: Okay. Was the -- did the Russians use the deconfliction line on the flight of this aircraft?

COL. DILLON: We use the deconfliction line every single day. And, you know, we used the deconfliction line today as well.

Q: Had you seen this aircraft in the region before?

COL. DILLON: Not to my knowledge and, you know, if --

(AUDIO GAP)

CAPT. DAVIS: I swear that's an accident.

(Laughter.)

Anybody see any hand signals through the window? He's throwing his hands up in despair. That's not good.

Q: Thumbs down.

CAPT. DAVIS: Thumbs down. I will tell you. We are -- are you back?

COL. DILLON: I can still hear you, can you hear me? I can hear you okay.

CAPT. DAVIS: I got you.

Q: We can't hear him though right?

(CROSSTALK)

CAPT. DAVIS: All right. We got you back can you hear us?

COL. DILLON: Okay. I can. I can hear you okay.

CAPT. DAVIS: Where were we?

Q: Okay. So you haven't seen the aircraft in the region before. Was the aircraft that shot it down a manned U.S. aircraft? And you said before, that the U.S. is -- you said last week that the U.S. is increasing combat power at the at-Tanf Garrison. Is that continuing to happen? Are there more assets going into the region or into the garrison there?

COL. DILLON: Yes. First off, you know, was it shot down by a manned U.S. aircraft, yes it was.

Secondly, to your question, we have the, you know, capabilities I'm not going to talk about whether or not we continue to beef up the at-Tanf Garrison, but we do have the capabilities required to defend ourselves and to continue our mission towards training our partner forces and preparing them to fight and defeat ISIS.

CAPT. DAVIS: Dion (inaudible) I guess I should just tell you, for the rest of you, we do have a number of people in the queue, but we are about out of time. So we'll -- we'll get to maybe one or two more.

Dion.

Q: Thanks, Colonel.

Got a couple of quick, clarifying questions. At one point you described the forces as regime forces. Are there elements of the Syrian military as part of these forces inside or outside the deconfliction zone?

COL. DILLON: Yes. We assess there are regime forces that are both inside and outside of the deconfliction zone.

Q: And then last week, you said there was a buildup of these forces outside the deconfliction zone. Are they still continuing to add forces outside the zone that pose a threat to U.S. forces?

COL. DILLON: I -- just like the question earlier, there is a larger force that is outside of the deconfliction zone. I can't tell you whether or not they have continued to, you know, pile on. I know that it's much larger than the force that is inside, but this is a natural -- is what we believe is their natural progression to continue to move east into areas that have not been taken by the regime against ISIS.

Q: You're painting a pretty grim picture of what's happening down there. It seems like the situation is deteriorating, and we're getting into a situation where we're now getting into more serious direct conflicts with the Syrian regime. Is that an accurate assessment of the picture you're painting?

CAPT. DAVIS: Can you hear us?

(CROSSTALK)

COL. DILLON: Everyone, can you hear me now?

CAPT. DAVIS: We've got you now again.

Do you want to repeat that, Dion?

Q: Just that you're painting a very grim portrait of what's happening there. We're getting into more direct conflicts -- you got it.

COL. DILLON: Okay. So, our number one focus is still to defeat ISIS and clearly the de-confliction line has not worked to prevent these mishaps from happening. That said, we do not want to focus our efforts on the regime. We'd much rather focus them on training our partners and defeating ISIS.

So, we would certainly like this to deescalate so we can, you know, refocus our efforts on the larger threat to the region and to the rest of the world, and that is on ISIS.

Q: Okay. Thank you, Colonel.

CAPT. DAVIS: With apologies to several others, I know we are out of time. In closing, Ryan, anything you wanted to tell us before we sign off?

COL. DILLON: No. I've obviously seen many of these Pentagon press conferences. Now I understand some of the difficulties in communicating through several thousand miles. But we'll definitely work through it and obviously everybody has -- should have my contact information. If I didn't get to answer all of your questions, please feel free to hit me up and I will follow up with you.

CAPT. DAVIS: Thank you.

Thank you, everybody.

-END-

http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Transcripts/Transcript-View/Article/1208742/

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






USS Gabrielle Giffords Commissioned in Galveston

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS170610-01

Release Date: 6/10/2017 6:13:00 PM

From Naval Surface Forces Public Affairs

GALVESTON, Texas (NNS) -- USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10), the Navy's newest littoral combat ship, was brought to life by her crew before a crowd of nearly 2,500 guests at Pier 21 at the Port of Galveston, June 10.

Adm. William Moran, Vice Chief of Naval Operations, delivered the ceremony's principal address before officially commissioning the ship into service.

"As we man the rails today, blood gets pumped, the ship comes alive, and the heart begins to beat," said Moran. "It's the blood that is infused by the spirit, the attitude, and the courage of its namesake. We are so proud to be part of Gabrielle Giffords' legacy to the United States."

Following the commissioning, Dr. Jill Biden, the ship's sponsor and wife of former Vice President Joe Biden, gave the time-honored Navy tradition of ordering the crew to "man our ship and bring her to life!"

The crowd sounded its approval as the crew ran aboard the ship to man their assigned stations and complete the ceremony of bringing the ship into active service to end a story that began more than five years ago.

In 2012 the Secretary of the Navy announced the future ship's name, and USS Gabrielle Giffords became the 16th ship to be named for a woman and only the 13th ship to be named for a living person since 1850.

The ship is commanded by Cmdr. Keith Woodley, a native of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, who leads the core crew of 50 officers and enlisted personnel.

During the ceremony Woodley praised the crew for their dedication and hard work in getting the ship ready for service.

"This is not just a new ship. This is a new class of ship and that makes it even more challenging for the crew," said Woodley. "They have risen to that challenge and performed exceptionally well in getting this ship ready for service."

Most other Navy surface combatant ships have a crew of 300 or more Sailors, but littoral combat ships like Gabrielle Giffords have more automated systems and much smaller crews than their counterparts. Gabrielle Giffords' crew is just 73 at the ship's commissioning.

"It's not easy being an LCS Sailor," said Gunner's Mate 1st Class Mark Dobrinin. "We have to wear so many hats and be trained on systems and duties outside of our normal job specialty due to the small crew size. Every enlisted Sailor here volunteered for the program and we're excited to serve on USS Gabrielle Giffords."

The 3,200-ton Gabrielle Giffords was built by Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama. The ship is 421 feet in length and has a beam of 103 feet and a navigational draft of 15 feet. The ship uses two gas turbine and two diesel engines to power four steerable waterjets to speeds in excess of 40 knots.

Littoral combat ships are fast, agile, mission-focused platforms designed to operate in near-shore environments, while capable of open-ocean tasking, and win against 21st-century coastal threats such as submarines, mines, and swarming small craft.

A fast, maneuverable, and networked surface combatant, Gabrielle Giffords is capable of operating independently or with an associated strike group. It is designed to defeat growing littoral threats and provide access and dominance in coastal waters.

USS Gabrielle Giffords will depart Galveston and begin her transit to her homeport at Naval Base San Diego.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Military Strikes Continue Against ISIS Terrorists in Syria and Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, June 11, 2017  U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 34 strikes consisting of 70 engagements, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of yesterday's strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 27 strikes consisting of 35 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Abu Kamal, two strikes destroyed three ISIS oil storage tanks.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, eight strikes destroyed 23 ISIS oil tanks, three ISIS separation tanks, two ISIS well heads, an ISIS-held building and an ISIS refinery.

-- Near Raqqah, 17 strikes engaged 15 ISIS tactical units and destroyed six fighting positions, four vehicles, two ISIS front-end loaders, two ISIS headquarters, an ISIS unmanned aerial vehicle and an ISIS barge.

Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted seven strikes consisting of 35 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Bayji, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed three vehicles, two tactical vehicles, two ISIS-held buildings, an anti-air artillery system and an ISIS staging area.

-- Near Kisik, a strike engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed six fighting positions, four car bombs, two mortar systems, a medium machine gun, and an ISIS staging area.

-- Near Mosul, three strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units; destroyed five fighting positions, two mortar systems, two car bombs, a supply cache, and an explosives cache; and suppressed a mortar team.

-- Near Tal Afar, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.

Previously Unreported

Additionally, 11 previously unreported strikes were conducted in Syria and Iraq on June 8-9.

-- On June 8, near Raqqah, Syria, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit.

-- On June 9, near Raqqah, Syria, nine strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units and destroyed four fighting positions, two car bombs, two weapons caches, and an ISIS staging area.

-- On June 9, near Mosul, Iraq, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed an artillery system, an ISIS staging area, a fighting position, and a tunnel; and damaged two ISIS supply routes.

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.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Egypt to keep administration of Red Sea islands after Saudi transfer

Iran Press TV

Sun Jun 11, 2017 5:26PM

Egypt is set to keep administrative control over two Red Sea islands Cairo plans to transfer to the Saudi regime under a controversial deal.

A government report advising parliament on the terms of the agreement said on Sunday that Cairo would maintain administrative control but not sovereignty over the uninhabited islands.

"The agreement only ends (Egyptian) sovereignty and does not end the necessity of Egypt protecting this area for reasons of Egyptian and Saudi Arabian national security," the report said.

Egyptians would not need visas to visit the islands of Tiran and Sanafir, located about 4 kilometers apart in the Red Sea, the report added.

They are situated in the narrow entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba leading to Jordan and the occupied Palestinian territories.

The North African government submitted the report to parliament to answer questions from lawmakers who had objected to the transfer.

Some Egyptian lawmakers argued that ceding territory amounted to treason.

Any such transfer must be also approved by the parliament. The legislators have not voted on the deal yet.

The parliament on Sunday began discussions about the accord ahead of a vote.

The islands transfer to Saudi Arabia sparked fury among many Egyptians and had already been declared illegal by an Egyptian court.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's government announced last year a maritime demarcation accord with Saudi Arabia, ceding control of the Tiran and Sanafir islands to the Persian Gulf kingdom.

Since its announcement by the government of Sisi, the Cairo-Riyadh controversial maritime re-demarcation has triggered unprecedented protests by the Egyptian public and a large number of lawyers who say the islands are Egyptian. The deal also initiated a lengthy litigation process by both the government and the opponents.

Demonstrators have accused Sisi of surrendering Egyptian territory in return for Saudi money amid reports that Cairo was receiving 20 billion dollars in aid from Riyadh to relinquish the sovereignty of the islands.

A series of court rulings and protests have irritated Riyadh and raised tensions between two Arab states.

Riyadh and Cairo argue that the islands belong to Saudi Arabia and that the Arab kingdom asked Egypt in 1950 to protect them. However, lawyers and opponents say Egypt's sovereignty over the islands dates back to a 1906 treaty, before Saudi Arabia was even founded.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Netanyahu calls for dismantling of UNRWA

Iran Press TV

Sun Jun 11, 2017 1:18PM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for the dismantling of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which aids millions of Palestinian refugees across the region.

In public remarks to his cabinet at its weekly meeting on Sunday, Netanyahu accused UNRWA of anti-Israeli incitement, which, he said, was rife in institutions, including schools, run by the agency.

"It is time UNRWA be dismantled and merged with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees," the Israeli premier said.

Netanyahu said UNRWA had perpetuated, rather than solved, the Palestinian refugee problem, adding that he had conveyed his message to Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the United Nations.

Referring to a meeting he held in the occupied Jerusalem al-Quds on Wednesday with Haley, Netanyahu said, "I told her it was time the United Nations re-examine UNRWA's existence."

A 'fantasizing' Bibi

Netanyahu's comments did not go unnoticed in the besieged Gaza Strip, which has been blockaded by the Israeli regime for nearly ten years now.

Adnan Abu Hasna, a Gaza-based spokesman for UNRWA, said the Israeli prime minister was pursuing a "fantasy."

Chris Gunness, UNRWA's chief spokesman, said only the UN General Assembly, by a majority vote, could change the agency's mandate.

"In December 2016, UNRWA's mandate was extended for three years by the General Assembly by a large majority," he wrote in an email to Reuters.

UNRWA was established by the UN General Assembly in 1949 after thousands of Palestinians fled or were expelled by Israeli forces from their homes in the 1948 war.

UNRWA is tasked with providing assistance and protection to a population of some five million registered Palestinian refugees.

According to UNRWA, over 1.5 million Palestinians, almost a third of the registered Palestinian refugees, live in 58 recognized refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Yemeni forces attack Saudi mercenaries' positions, leave casualties

Iran Press TV

Sun Jun 11, 2017 10:8AM

Yemeni army soldiers, backed by fighters from allied Popular Committees, have launched fresh attacks against positions held by Saudi mercenaries in several provinces across the conflict-ridden country.

The Arabic-language al-Masirah television network reported on Sunday that the Yemeni forces had hit militants' positions in Fatim Mountain and nearby areas in Sana'a Province and caused heavy damages.

Mercenaries also came under mortar and rocket attacks in the Sirwah district of Ma'rib Province and Khabb and Sha'af neighborhood of Jawf Province.

The Yemeni forces further thwarted an attempt by the militants to advance on the Mukha district of Ta'izz Province, killing and injuring a number of them.

Meanwhile, Saudi jets bombed Sirwah as well as Hotel Sofitel in Ta'izz. Saudi mortar and rocket fire also struck Razih District in Sa'ada Province.

Saudi Arabia has been leading a brutal military campaign against Yemen for more than two years to eliminate the Houthi movement and reinstall a Riyadh-friendly former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.

The military campaign, however, has failed to achieve its goals and left over 12,000 Yemenis dead.

The Houthi Ansarullah movement, backed by the army and popular forces, has been defending Yemen against the protracted Saudi war. The movement has also been running state affairs since 2014, when Hadi resigned and fled to Riyadh, further destabilizing the country, which was already grappling with threats from al-Qaeda terrorists.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






US troops join fight in southern Philippines

Iran Press TV

Sun Jun 11, 2017 10:2AM

American Special Operations Forces have joined Philippine troops battling Daesh terrorists in a town in the southern Philippines.

The Philippine military said on Saturday that the US special forces would be providing "technical assistance" to the operations against Daesh in Marawi City on Mindanao Island and would not participate in the actual fighting there.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a US official said military support, including aerial surveillance and targeting, electronic eavesdropping, communications assistance, and training, were being given to the Philippine forces.

Terrorists from local militant groups that have pledged allegiance to Daesh have taken over large parts of Marawi, and at least 200 militants are holed up in a corner of the town. An estimated 500 to 1,000 civilians are trapped there, some being held as human shields, while others are hiding in their homes with no access to running water, electricity, or food.

The Philippine government has downgraded its military ties with the US over Washington's criticism of President Rodrigo Duterte's trademark war on drugs in the Southeast Asian country. The deployment of US forces to Marawi may now be a prelude to a potential renewal of such ties.

The military said it was making headway in the town but was proceeding with care so as not to destroy mosques, where some of the militants have taken up positions.

"We give premium to the mosques, because this is very symbolic to our Muslim brothers," military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jo-Ar Herrera said.

The military has said it is aiming to end the operations and eradicate Daesh by Monday, the Philippines' independence day.

The death toll from more than two weeks of fighting so far includes 58 government troops, 138 militants and 20 civilians, according to government sources.

The majority of the people in the Philippines are Christians, but Mindanao has a significant population of Muslims and Marawi is majority-Muslim.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Away From The Fighting, Kabul Takes On Another Enemy: Corruption

Frud Bezhan June 11, 2017

Afghanistan's government is mired in a war against a 16-year insurgency that has forced the capital into virtual lockdown, ignited deadly protests, and compelled the head of state to retreat behind the barricaded walls of Kabul's presidential palace.

But off the battlefield, it is also waging a campaign against another evil: systemic government corruption.

President Ashraf Ghani has made tackling Afghanistan's entrenched culture of corruption a top priority as he tries to curb lawlessness and improve his administration's tarnished image following a wave of deadly attacks that have dented public confidence in the government.

The latest major incident came when a tanker truck loaded with "military-grade" explosives detonated during rush hour in the capital on May 31, killing more than 150 people and injuring hundreds more in the deadliest act of terror in Afghanistan's post-9/11 history.

In an effort to turn the tide against insurgents, Ghani's deeply unpopular and divided national unity government has specifically targeted the security apparatus, said to be a hotbed of corruption.

For years, analysts have regarded corruption as key to fueling grievances and channeling support to the insurgency. They say endemic graft remain an existential threat to the government and warn of the huge task Ghani faces in tackling misconduct in one of the world's most corrupt countries.

"Security-sector reform is the key for peace," Ghani said on June 6, following protests that turned deadly as public anger boiled over from a spate of bombings in the capital that killed more than 160 people over several days.

But the violence has also included a brazen Taliban attack on a military compound in Balkh Province in April that left 140 troops dead, a raid on a major hospital in Kabul in March that killed more than 50 people and was claimed by Islamic State (IS) militants, and twin blasts in July that tore through a demonstration in the capital by minority Shi'ite Hazaras, killing at least 80 people.

Ghani, who has ruled the country since a U.S.-brokered deal produced a sometimes shaky national-unity government in 2014, has sought to reform the Interior Ministry, which earned a reputation for being notoriously corrupt. He has recently overseen hundreds of dismissals of government employees for graft. And he has now drawn a bead on the Defense Ministry.

But the rising violence of the past year has heaped pressure on Ghani and his administration for demonstrable results.

Michael Kugelman, South Asia associate at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, says there is a "clear connection" between government corruption and insecurity.

"State corruption strengthens Taliban narratives about an ineffective and illegitimate state and helps recruit more foot soldiers to its cause," he says, "especially when you promise swift justice and a regular paycheck."

In rural areas, where hard-line militants exert considerable influence and many people view government bodies as corrupt or unreliable, some Afghans still turn to Taliban courts to settle disputes. Such Shari'a courts routinely prescribe punishments that can include stoning and executions. The militants also match or better the salaries paid by the Afghan National Army.

"When an Afghan soldier, officer, or higher-ups engage in the sale of equipment, provide erroneous procurement reports, or are involved in contractual kickbacks, then that can lead to insecurity, negligence, and mismanagement," says Omar Samad, a former Afghan ambassador and government adviser.

Afghanistan has struggled with "ghost" soldiers on its military payrolls, with such salaries frequently ending up in the pockets of corrupt officers. The NATO-led mission in Afghanistan announced in January that it had finally stopped paying more than 30,000 such "ghost soldiers."

Meanwhile, weapons, ammunition, and fuel have been openly sold by Afghan officers, sometimes to the Taliban militants on the other side of the fight.

Ghani has implemented some of the anticorruption moves that emerged from the October 2016 Brussels Conference On Afghanistan, when the Afghan government agreed to draft and pursue an anticorruption strategy for the whole of government by 2017.

The president has also established a special court, the Anticorruption Justice Center (ACJC), to oversee major corruption cases.

And there are signs of progress.

In March, the Defense Ministry said it had dismissed nearly 1,400 employees over the past year for alleged corruption. More than 300 officials had been brought to justice, it said. The ministry also said it was reviewing more than 1,800 allegations of corruption in national defense structures, adding that nearly 170 cases had been referred to law enforcement agencies.

The biggest name among those officials was Mohammad Faqir, a former commander of the 215th Corps in Helmand Province, who was accused of misuse of supplies and rations, neglect of duty, and a lack of transparency in the use of fuel, food, and other supplies.

The anticorruption effort has spread beyond the security ministries. In May, Kabul Mayor Abdullah Habibzai said he had dismissed 180 staff members over a six-month period for alleged involvement in corruption.

In March, the ACJC convicted four Urban Development and Housing Ministry officials on charges of embezzlement and abuse of authority. Two were sentenced to 20 years in prison for embezzling more than $12.8 million, while two others were sentenced to seven years each. That same month, the ACJC sentenced the provincial council chief of Herat Province, in absentia, to 2 1/2 years in prison for abuse of authority.

Ghani also reopened the investigation into the Kabul Bank corruption scandal, a $900 million case that wrecked the country's largest bank and further shredded its international reputation. The president also sacked much of the administration of western Herat Province over allegations of corruption and incompetence.

The NATO mission noted that the government in Kabul had "increased will to respond to corruption" following the Brussels Conference.

But observers warn that there has been little evidence of far-reaching results.

"There is a lot of talk and pledging by the government, especially to the donors, and there are occasional dismissals from the lower ranks," says Samad. "But there are allegations of serious corruption at the higher levels, where patronage, nepotism, and influence peddling make it difficult to fight the darker side of corruption: bribery from the award of contracts, drug trafficking, and money laundering."

Anticorruption activists warn that bribery and related misconduct permeate all levels of Afghan society. Integrity Watch Afghanistan estimated that Afghans paid an estimated $3 billion in bribes in 2016.

Analyst Kugelman says Ghani has taken a personal interest in the need to combat corruption, and there have been some successes in the justice system and in the language of anticorruption legislation still awaiting approval in parliament.

"However, in a nation like Afghanistan, where the depths of corruption know no bounds and [the problem] is both structural and psychological, even a determined leader like Ghani will face many obstacles," Kugelman says.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan- corruption-graft-fight/28540795.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.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Kosovo Center-Right PDK Coalition Scores Parliamentary Win; VV Set To Finish Second

RFE/RL June 11, 2017

PRISTINA The ruling center-right Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) was heading toward victory in the country's snap parliamentary election, but it seems unlikely to win enough seats to govern even with its planned coalition partners.

The June 11 vote also confirmed the strong rise of the leftist Self-Determination Movement (VV) party, which nearly doubled its support since the last election and looked set to finish second in the overall vote.

With more than 90 percent of the ballots counted, the coalition headed by the PDK of President Hashim Thaci was leading with 34.65 percent of the vote, according to the Central Election Committee.

The PDK coalition includes former prime minister and rebel leader Ramush Haradinaj's Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK).

The nationalist VV, also known as Vetevendosje, had 26.59 percent of the vote, just ahead of a coalition led by outgoing Prime Minister Isa Mustafa's Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) with 25.82 percent.

If those results are borne out, no single group would be able to govern alone, making further coalition attempts likely.

Final distribution of seats is unlikely to come before June 12 or even later in the week, official have said. Turnout was put at 41.79 percent.

Albert Krasniqi from Democracy in Action, a coalition of nongovernmental organization monitoring the elections, said voting took place peacefully. The head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Jan Braathu, said the process "seems to be going smoothly."

PDK and VV voters took to the streets to celebrate in Pristina, Kosovo's capital.

This was the country's third election since it declared independence from Serbia in 2008, a move recognized by 114 countries, but not by Serbia and Russia.

Haradinaj, the PDK-led coalition's candidate for prime minister, declared victory during a press conference in Pristina, though he did not provide specific numbers.

"The coalition's victory is very convincing," he said.

The PDK coalition, with a large number of former guerrilla fighters, has been dubbed the "war wing" by Kosovo's media.

If Haradinaj does assume the prime minister role, it would complicate relations with neighboring Serbia, which has issued an international arrest warrant against him on suspicion of committing war crimes when he was a guerrilla fighter during Kosovo's 1998-99 independence war.

Haradinaj, 48, has been tried twice and acquitted of war crimes at the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague. Haradinaj was elected prime minister of Kosovo in 2004 but resigned after 100 days in order to surrender himself for trial in The Hague. He has denied all charges.

His coalition and allies appeared unlikely to get the 51 seats in the 120-member parliament needed to govern.

Parliamentary rules reserve 20 seats for ethnic Serbs and other minorities. The PDK is looking to form a coalition with the 10 deputies representing the non-Serb minorities, including ethnic Turks and Roma.

Any new cabinet will have a tough job dealing with many problems facing the country, which is predominantly populated by ethnic Albanians.

Many of Kosovo's 1.8 million inhabitants blame politicians from all sides for a stubbornly high unemployment rate that hovers around one-third of workforce despite solid economic expansion of about 4 percent annually in one of the poorest countries in Europe.

Other key priorities the next government faces include establishing better control over privatization and creating a functioning war crimes court and prosecution office, which would start the process of sidelining wartime leaders from political and public life.

Yet the biggest issues surrounding the vote are a pair of agreements signed in 2015: one setting the border with Montenegro and another with Serbia that increases powers held by ethnic Serbs in Kosovo.

Those issues have helped stalled reforms in the legislature and angered the electorate in a country where about one-third of the population is under the age of 15.

"For more than a year we didn't have a functional government, and now I don't trust them," said Islam Fehmiu, a retiree from the capital, Pristina.

"Parliament couldn't finish its sessions. I have very low hopes. The pre-election coalitions are looking out only for their own interests and I absolutely think they won't solve ongoing issues such as border demarcation with Montenegro," Fehmiu added.

The election marked the rise of the Self-Determination Movement, which was a disruptive opposition force in the previous parliament and would make any coalition-building difficult. VV party supporters at one time released tear gas inside parliament and threw firebombs outside it to protest the deals with Montenegro and Serbia.

Albin Kurti, the party's candidate for prime minister, said the VV would fight corruption, jail former officials, end talks with Serbia, and seek a closer union with neighboring Albania.

With reporting by Alan Crosby and Amra Zejneli in Pristina, and Rikard Jozwiak in Brussels, AP, BBC, and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/kosovo-election- mustafa-serbia-parliament-pristina/28540021.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.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Philippines' Duterte: I Never Asked Washington for Help in Mindanao Siege

Sputnik News

22:57 11.06.2017(updated 01:29 12.06.2017)

After the US announced it had sent in Special Forces to assist Manila in its fight against Islamist militants, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte claimed that he never asked for the help.

Following a US embassy announcement on Saturday that Pentagon Special Forces would provide non-combat logistical military support to the beleaguered Philippine Army in their desperate fight against extremist militias in the country's south, Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte claimed on Sunday that he did not ask for the assistance.

Duterte told reporters on Sunday that he "never approached America" for military assistance and was "not aware of that until they arrived," according to a Reuters report.

Manila's army is locked in a desperate struggle to dislodge an armed Islamist rebellion allied with Daesh that began on May 23 on the large southern island of Mindanao.

Duterte has refuted the long-term alliance between Washington and Manila, going so far as to call former US president Barack Obama a "son of a whore," vowing to close US bases in the island archipelago, and claiming that Russia and China will provide the only military and financial assistance his country needs.

But the question remains as to how US Special Forces teams gained local authorization to join the fight, indicating that Filipino military assets made the call, and did so behind Duterte's back.

A spokesperson for the Philippines military asserted on Saturday that US military forces were providing logistical and reconnaissance support, but have no "boots on the ground," according to Reuters, confirming a Pentagon statement that US involvement in the fight was requested by an unnamed agency within Duterte's government.

A statement from within Duterte's administration noted that US forces are prohibited from engaging in combat in the country, adding, however, that "The fight against terrorism [] is not only the concern of the Philippines or the United States but it is a concern of many nations around the world."

"The Philippines is open to assistance from other countries if they offer it," according to the statement, cited by Reuters.

Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao after Islamist fighters allied with Daesh seized the town of Marawi. The president claimed that under Philippines martial law he can control the country's military.

The Filipino president did not comment on allegations that Philippines military officials bypassed his authority to request assistance from US Special Forces, instead remarking that, "our soldiers are pro-American, that I cannot deny."

Some 300 have been killed in the fighting, including militants, Philippine army fighters and civilians. An estimated 250,000 people have been displaced in the ongoing battles.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






US Special Forces Join Battle for Marawi in Philippines

Sputnik News

03:53 11.06.2017(updated 06:54 11.06.2017)

US special forces are helping the Philippines Army as they attempt to get rid of Islamist militants in south of the country, according to a Saturday statement by the US embassy.

The announcement follows remarks by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who previously asserted that he would reduce his nation's acceptance of US military and economic aid and turn instead to China and Russia.

According to the Manila Times, the Philippine Army is struggling to defeat the extremists who are attempting to hold the city of Marawi. Daesh-affiliated militants with the Abu Sayyaf and Maute jihadist groups have used anti-tank weapons and tunnels in the city, and are accused of using innocent bystanders as human shields.

Some 13 Philippine troops were killed on Friday in a street firefight with the extremists, in some of the heaviest fighting of the campaign, according to Agence France-Presse journalists in Marawi.

The US embassy in the Philippines, declining to provide specifics, has announced that American forces are now assisting the embattled Filipino troops in the southern regions of the archipelago.

"At the request of the government of the Philippines, US special operations forces are assisting the [Philippine Army] with ongoing operations in Marawi," stated a US embassy spokesperson.

A spokesperson for the US Army detailed that US forces were not involved in combat, but were "providing technical support."

Some 20 civilians and an estimated 138 extremists have been killed in the ongoing fighting, the Philippines government stated.

Reports on the ground reveal that Daesh tactics are making it difficult for military units to attack without collateral deaths.

"Local terrorist groups are using the mosque, they are entrenched there. They also used civilians as human shields we are very precise in our operations to avoid collateral damage," stated a Philippines Army spokesperson, according to the Manila Times.

Duterte has declared martial law in the region in his attempt to stop the spread of Daesh.

According to a Saturday statement from the US embassy, Washington will "continue to work with the Philippines to address shared threats to the peace and security of our countries, including on counterterrorism issues."

Some 200,000 have been displaced and 250 killed in the ongoing armed conflict in Marawi, which began May 23.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Somali, US Military Claim to Destroy an Al-Shabab Training Base

By Harun Maruf June 11, 2017

Somali and U.S. military forces have destroyed an al-Shabab training base in Somalia's Middle Jubba region.

Somalia's President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo said Sunday he authorized the country's special forces with support from international partners to conduct a pre-dawn strike against an al-Shabab training camp near Sakow.

He said the strike destroyed a key al-Shabab command and supply hub, which will "disrupt the enemy's ability to conduct new attacks within Somalia."

The U.S. military confirmed it participated "as a direct response to al-Shabab actions," including recent attacks on Somali and African Union forces. It says eight al-Shabab militants were killed in the strike.

Farmajo said Somalia has long suffered in the hands of al-Shabab, which he says is supported by global terror networks.

He did not say if any senior al-Shabab commanders were at the camp during the strike. Sakow is in the heartland of al-Shabab controlled region of Middle Jubba, ruling out ground troops involved in the attack.

In recent years U.S. drone strikes have targeted a number of key al-Shabab commanders, including former leader Ahmed Abdi Godane who was killed on September 1, 2014.

Pentagon Chief Spokesperson Dana W. White says the United States is "committed to working with our Somali partners and allies to systematically dismantle al-Shabab, and help achieve stability and security throughout the region."

A source tells VOA Somali an airstrike took place near Sakow and that it may have targeted a group of about 10 al-Shabab members, including key figures.

Al-Shabab has reportedly sealed off the area and are questioning people in an attempt to identify who may have collaborated with the operation.

"We and our international partners will take every possible precaution to protect our civilian population from harm during these operations while targeting terrorists," Farmajo said.

The Somali president reiterated his call to al-Shabab to take advantage of his amnesty issued on April 6.

"To the members of al-Shabab, I tell you that we are bringing the fight to you. If you, however take advantage of my amnesty offer and denounce violence, we will integrate you into our reform program," he said.

"You have no future with the terrorists, but you can still be a part of Somalia's future; a peaceful and prosperous future."

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Afghan Terror Chief Haqqani Denies Role in Bloody Kabul Attacks

By Ayaz Gul June 11, 2017

The head of the dreaded Haqqani network who also is second-in-command of the Afghan Taliban has denied insurgents' involvement in recent bloody attacks in Kabul.

Fugitive Sirajuddin Haqqani made the remarks in a rare Pashto language audio message released late Sunday by the Taliban to VOA.

He specifically referred to the May 31 tanker truck bombing of the Afghan capital's heavily guarded Wazir Akbar Khan diplomatic sector followed by a triple suicide attack on a funeral in Kabul and last week's bombing of a mosque in the western city of Herat.

The three strikes killed at least 180 people and wounded hundreds of others. Almost all of the victims were civilians.

"Whoever planned and organized them, this was certainly not the work of the Islamic Emirate [the Taliban], nor will it conduct such activities anywhere [in the country] that are harmful to innocent [Afghan] civilians," Haqqani asserted.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the blasts in Kabul and Herat.

Most of the casualties were caused by the tanker truck, filled with an estimated 1,500 kilograms of explosives. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani told an international conference in Kabul last week that the massive explosions killed more than 150 people and wounded 350 others, including foreigners.

The attack was the deadliest in Afghanistan since 2001.

'Foreign invaders'

The Afghan spy agency swiftly blamed the Haqqani network of plotting the massive blast, allegedly with direct assistance from neighboring Pakistan's spy agency.

Haqqani in his audio message reiterated that the Taliban will not end its insurgency until all the U.S.-led "foreign invaders" are expelled from Afghanistan.

He criticized the Afghan government for allegedly promoting Western traditions in the country, "contrary to Islamic traditions," in the name of human rights.

"The way you [Afghans] celebrate Afghanistan's independence from Russians and the way you celebrate Afghanistan's independence from British invaders, God willing, there will be a time when you will be proudly celebrating independence from Americans and their allies," the fugitive commander asserted.

The U.S. Department of State designated Haqqani a global terrorist in 2008, before designating his network a foreign terrorist organization in 2012.

Washington also has offered a $10 million reward for the Afghan terror chief, dubbed "Khalifa" or "the boss," who is believed to have masterminded some of the deadly attacks against local and foreign forces in Afghanistan.

Afghan and U.S. officials alleged Sirajuddin Haqqani orchestrates the violence out of his sanctuaries in volatile tribal areas of Pakistan and with the help of that country's intelligence operatives.

Islamabad rejects the charges and says its military operations over the past three years have "uprooted all terrorist groups, including the Haqqani network" from the tribal belt near the border with Afghanistan.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Iran, Turkey Send Food to Qatar Amid Fears of Shortages

By VOA News June 11, 2017

Iran has sent at least four cargo planes of food and will continue to send more to Qatar after its biggest suppliers cut ties with the import-dependent country, according to Iran Air spokesman Shahrokh Noushabadi.

Turkey has also said it would contribute food to Qatar amid fears of a food shortage after Saudi Arabia sealed Qatar's only land border, through which it imported most of its food.

Qatar hires former US Attorney General

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt severed relations last week with Qatar, accusing the small nation of supporting Islamist militants and Iran, allegations Qatar has said are baseless. U.S. President Donald Trump has also had strong criticism of Qatar.

In a bid to rebut these accusations, Qatar is paying $2.5 million to the firm of John Ashcroft, who served as U.S. Attorney General during the September 11th attacks, to audit its efforts at stopping terrorism funding.

Ashcroft is expected to personally lead his Washington-based firm's efforts "to evaluate, verify and as necessary, strengthen the client's anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing" compliance, according to documents filed with the Department of Justice.

Tillerson, Cavusuglu discuss Qatar

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spoke on the phone late Saturday with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu about the dispute between Qatar and its Arab Gulf neighbors.

Tillerson urged Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states Friday to "no further escalate" the crisis and ease their blockade of Qatar, which he said was causing unintended humanitarian consequences and affecting the U.S.-led fight against Islamic State.

In reference to Tillerson's comments on the blockade, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday in Istanbul it "should be lifted completely."

"Tonight, U.S. Secretary of State [Rex] Tillerson made a statement," he said. "He had a statement about easing the process and reducing the sanctions [against Qatar]. I say let us lift it entirely. This should not be happening between brothers."

Speaking at a Ramadan fast-breaking dinner, Erdogan vowed to continue supporting Qatar after his rapid approval of legislation on deploying Turkish troops there.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






U.S., Canadian military personnel earn German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge in Jordan

By Master Sgt. A.J. CoyneJune 12, 2017

AMMAN, Jordan -- Following three grueling days of physical tests, more than 50 U.S. Army Central Soldiers, a U.S. Air Forces Central Airman and two Canadian Armed Forces soldiers earned the German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge May 30, 2017, in Jordan. The GAFPB is a decoration of the German Armed Forces, authorized for wear by the U.S. military, and awarded to soldiers of all ranks. A German air force officer from the German Embassy in Amman served as an advisor and oversaw the three-day event, which was hosted by the Kentucky Army National Guard's 149th Military Engagement Team.

"For American Soldiers the GAFPB is a sign of international military cooperation," said 1st Lt. Pete Knight of the 149th MET, who served as officer in charge of the event. "It signifies that a Soldier has worked with a foreign military officer, competed in a multiple-day series of challenging events, and proven him or herself to be capable of performing in conditions that often are not within their comfort zone."

Among the U.S. personnel who earned the coveted badge were active duty Soldiers from the 35th Signal Brigade, the 513th Military Intelligence Brigade and U.S. Special Operations Command Central, as well as U.S. Army Reserve Soldiers from the 354th Civil Affairs Brigade and the 195th Medical Detachment Veterinary Service Support.

In addition, Ohio National Guard Soldiers assigned to the 1st Battalion, 148th Infantry Battalion, Maryland and Virginia National Guard Soldiers assigned to the 29th Infantry Division, Kentucky National Guard Soldiers from the 149th Military Engagement Team, two Canadian Armed Forces soldiers and one U.S. Air Force Airman earned the badge.

"The amount of participation in this event was phenomenal," Knight said. "We had participants between the ranks of E-2 and O-6 compete. Furthermore, we had participants from active duty Army, Army National Guard, Army Reserve, Air Force and participants from both enlisted and officer ranks of the Canadian Armed Forces.

"Additionally, we had multiple echelons of logistical support from the Jordan Armed Forces, Jordanian civilian contractors and Jordanian Special Operations leadership, whose help was critical to its success," he added.

"Everyone was involved, not just the participants," said Command Sgt. Maj. James Nugent of the 29th Infantry Division, who served as noncommissioned officer in charge of the event. "Whether it was in planning, setting up the lanes, grading, performing duties as a safety monitor, or cheering on the Soldiers from their sections, everyone here had a stake in the event."

The first day's challenge was a 100-meter swim in full uniform in under four minutes. Participants, who wore shorts and t-shirts under their combat uniforms, were then required to remove their uniform jacket and pants and throw them to the pool deck while treading water.

"The most challenging event for our participants was the 100-meter swim," Knight said. "Even for strong swimmers, it can prove to be very challenging. We lost about one third of our participants during the swim."

Day two featured a fitness test and pistol qualification. The fitness test included a sprint test, a flexed arm hang and a 1,000-meter run. After changing into their duty uniform, participants then moved to the firing range for the marksmanship challenge. Here they were provided with an M9 pistol and were required to hit three targets at least once with one five-round magazine.

On the final day, participants took part in a ruck march in full uniform while carrying a 33-lb rucksack. Competitors were required to march either 6km, 9km or 12km at a pace of at least 10 minutes per kilometer.

All of the GAFPB activities took place early each morning, meaning the participants still had to tackle a full day of work before coming out the next morning for another round of activities.

"We knocked the stations out early in the day, so as not to interfere with the battle rhythm," Nugent said. "When it was all said and done, 58 Soldiers earned the badge and we didn't miss a beat. That is due to the quality of the Soldiers and the leaders that participated."

Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Kramer, deputy commanding general of the 29th Infantry Division, Col. Joseph Gardner, commander of the 149th MET, and Capt. Alexander Seelig, a German air force officer currently assigned to the German Embassy in Amman, were all on hand to congratulate the recipients of the GAFPB and present them with the certificate acknowledging their achievement.

"Of course it makes me proud to see that so many of the U.S. Soldiers want to compete for the GAFPB," Seelig said. "I could see in the participants' faces that they really want to gain the badge. This shows not only the connectedness between our nations but also that our standard in military proficiencies is something the Soldiers approve. All in all it gives confidence that the German military work is appreciated by so many U.S. Soldiers in different ages and ranks."

"Many of our Soldiers have never had the opportunity to compete for a foreign award," Knight added. "This event, courtesy of the German Embassy to Jordan and Capt. Seelig, provided a rare opportunity for coalition forces to compete together for a foreign badge, as well as a great opportunity for our junior Soldiers to see leaders at every level participate together."

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Secretary General welcomes Prime Minister Zaev to NATO Headquarters

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

12 Jun. 2017

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Prime Minister Zoran Zaev to NATO headquarters on Monday (12 June 2017) for talks on the partnership between the Alliance and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The Secretary General congratulated Prime Minister Zaev on his appointment and welcomed the formation of a new government.

Mr. Stoltenberg encouraged all political parties to focus on necessary reforms, including on good governance and the rule of law. He noted that these reforms will benefit all citizens of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and will further advance the country's Euro-Atlantic aspirations. "We want to see your country as part of a stable, democratic and prosperous region," he added.

Calling Skopje "an important partner" for NATO, the Secretary General also thanked Prime Minister Zaev for his country's contribution to NATO's Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan. He noted that the Alliance will continue to support Skopje's path towards Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership.

 Turkey recognises the Republic of Macedonia with its constitutional name.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






USS Coronado Makes Technical Port Visit to Cam Ranh, Vietnam for Expeditionary Maintenance

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS170612-06

Release Date: 6/12/2017 10:07:00 AM

From Task Force 73 Public Affairs

CAM RAHN, Vietnam (NNS) -- USS Coronado (LCS 4) is conducting an Expeditionary Preventive Maintenance Availability in Cam Ranh, Vietnam June 11-15 as part of a technical visit to the international port.

The technical port visit marks the first demonstration of expeditionary maintenance capabilities for the rotationally deployed Littoral Combat Ship independence-class variant.

"This technical visit advances our expeditionary maintenance capabilities and further strengthens our partnership with Vietnam," said Rear Adm. Don Gabrielson, Commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific/Task Force 73. "Technical visits benefit both nations and increase our geographic flexibility in repairing and maintaining a high state of readiness in our ships. We appreciate the opportunity to partner with Vietnam and look forward to working together to enhance stability and create mutually beneficial relationships."

During the technical visit, contractors and ship's force will execute more than 450 preventive maintenance requirements. To conduct the maintenance at locations outside the normal Littoral Combat Ship supply and maintenance hub in Singapore, ship maintenance staff from Commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific coordinated closely with the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, contractors, and local authorities at the international port.

"There is significant planning and coordination that goes into expeditionary preventive maintenance availabilities," said Cmdr. Fernando Maldonado, Assistant Chief of Staff for ship maintenance and repair. "We approached this maintenance availability very methodically and we had great support from our contractors, the country team, and our Vietnamese partners."

The ability to conduct expeditionary preventive maintenance availabilities at ports across the region enables flexibility in Littoral Combat Ship operations.

"The Littoral Combat Ship was built with agility in mind, so the more flexible we can be with our expeditionary maintenance, the higher the state of readiness, and we get these ships out to sea and on mission for longer periods of time."

Commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific/Task Force 73 staff conduct advanced planning, organize resources and directly support the execution of NEA Vietnam in addition to maritime exercises such as the bilateral Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) series and the multilateral Southeast Asia Cooperation and Training (SEACAT) with Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. The staff also directs logistics and ship maintenance on behalf of the U.S. Pacific Fleet across the Indo-Asia-Pacific.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Haqqani Network Chief Denies Taliban Role In Kabul, Herat Bombings

June 12, 2017

The Afghan Taliban's second-in-command and head of the Pakistan-based Haqqani network has denied any involvement in recent deadly attacks in Kabul and Herat.

Sirajuddin Haqqani issued the denial in an audio message distributed to the media late on June 11 by a Taliban spokesman.

A May 31 truck bombing in Kabul killed more than 150 people.

The attack, the deadliest in the Afghan capital since the ouster of the Taliban following the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, has sparked calls for the resignation of Afghanistan's national unity government.

On June 2, at least five people were killed in deadly clashes between police and antigovernment protesters. At least seven other people died on June 3 after three suicide bombers detonated their explosives at the funeral of one of the demonstrators. And in the western city of Herat on June 6, at least seven people were killed in a bombing near a mosque.

No group has claimed responsibility for the bombings, but Afghan officials blamed the Haqqani network for the massive Kabul blast.

In his audio message, Haqqani condemned the three attacks but also warned that the group will continue to wage war until foreign forces have withdrawn from Afghanistan.

Also on June 11, the Afghan presidential palace confirmed that two top security officials -- Kabul Police Chief General Shah Hassan Frogh and Kabul Garrison Commander General Gul Nabi Ahmadzai -- were suspended in the wake of the violence in the capital.

Based on reporting by AP, Khaama Press, and Pajhwok

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-haqqani-network- denies-taliban-role-bombings-kabul-herat/28542365.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.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






As Tensions Remain High, No End in Sight Seen for Qatari Crisis

By Edward Yeranian June 12, 2017

Gulf nation sanctions against Qatar are wreaking havoc to its economy. Kuwait's Emir Sabah Ahmed al-Sabah, who is mediating between both sides, insists that Qatar is "ready to act on the concerns of its neighbors," but there appears to be no quick end to the crisis in sight.

Behind-the-scenes efforts to mediate between Qatar and its Gulf neighbors continued Monday as liquid natural gas shipments, Qatar's chief export, were disrupted by the sea-blockade imposed by a number of Gulf countries and their allies, including Egypt.

Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdel Rahman al-Thani traveled to Europe to meet with his British and French counterparts Monday, insisting that the "blockade" imposed on his country was unfair and that Qatar was ready for "dialogue" with its Gulf Cooperation Council neighbors.

He says that Qatar's main preoccupation is the "lifting" of what he called an "illegal" embargo against it, both by land and by sea, as well as to ease the humanitarian crisis that has arisen because of it.

The United Arab Emirates Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash insisted in a tweet, however, that the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Kuwait had imposed "sanctions" on Qatar, and not a "blockade." Gargash noted that sanctions have been imposed on Doha for supporting terrorist groups. Qatar denies the accusations.

Arab media, however, continued to broadcast the names of terrorist suspects living in Qatar, along with accusations by Egypt, Bahrain, Libya's parliament in Tobruk, Tunisia and Algeria of sponsoring terrorist groups. Egypt issued a list of "terrorist" suspects living in Qatar, including exiled Egyptian Sheikh Youssef Qaradawi, who has issued fatwas calling for the killings of Egyptian military personnel and police.

Arab media reported that the Egyptian government had presented Interpol with a list of 50 alleged terrorists living in Qatar.

Arab media showed video of what it claimed were currency exchange shops in Qatar that had run out of dollars and other foreign currencies, amid the unprecedented demand by Qatari citizens and foreign residents to sell Qatari riyals. Sanctions by Qatar's GCC neighbors and their allies have caused the riyal to lose value and many Arab banks have stopped dealing with Qatar's national currency.

Qatari Finance Minister Ali Shareef al-Emadi, however, downplayed the effects of Gulf sanctions in an interview with CNBC, insisting that Qatar has a "large and well-diversified economy," able to resist sanctions, while going on to argue that "if we lose a dollar, they will lose a dollar, also."

Both Turkey and Iran have sent planes and ships loaded with foodstuffs and other staples to Qatar in a show of solidarity with Doha. The Sultanate of Oman, which has not cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, has also begun to transport goods to Qatar via its own ports of Sohar and Salalah.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Puerto Rico - Introduction

Puerto Ricans voted 11 June 2017 for their fifth [non-binding] plebiscite asking voters if they want to be a free nation, become the 51st US state or remain a US territory. The plebiscite, which is not binding, saw the island's more than 2.2 million registered voters choose amid a debt crisis and growing protests against austerity measures in the island.

Nearly half a million votes were cast for statehood, about 7,600 for free association/independence and nearly 6,700 for the current territorial status, according to preliminary results. Voter turnout was just 23 percent, leading opponents to question the validity of a vote that several political parties had urged their supporters to boycott. Even among voters who supported statehood, turnout was lower this year compared with the last referendum in 2012.

The referendum coincided with the 100th anniversary of the United States granting U.S. citizenship to Puerto Ricans, though they are barred from voting in presidential elections and have only one congressional representative with limited voting powers. Those who support statehood, like Governor Ricardo Rossello, claimed that the change in status would help resolve the islands US$123 billion debt load, including pension debts. Rossello said that being incorporated into the U.S. would allow Puerto Rico to become a diplomatic center and a business center of the Americas.

Puerto Rico on 03 February 2017 approved a measure to hold another referendum to vote on becoming a state, set for June 11. It came as the U.S. territory continues to struggle with the ongoing effects of colonialism and a major debt crisis. The referendum would be the fifth vote in the island's history to change the dynamic of the current colonialist relationship with the US. Governor Ricardo Rossello approved the non-binding referendum and said that Colonialism is not an option for Puerto Rico.

The new referendum asked voters for the option of statehood or for independence/free association. If the majority of people had voted for independence/free association, a second referendum would have taken place in October to choose the countrys political status. The island had so far had four referendums on its political status: in 1967, 1993, 1998 and 2012. In the last referendum, the majority of voters favored statehood, but the measure had not yet been approved by U.S. Congress, the final hurdle on the path to statehood.

Puerto Rico has been a territory of the U.S. since 1898 when it seceded from the Spanish empire. In recent years, the island has struggled with a US$70 billion government debt. Many Puerto Ricans who support statehood say that becoming the 51st U.S. state could help the island tackle the deficit. Unlike a state, Puerto Ricos colonial status denies it the legal right to file for bankruptcy, which would allow the protection of public assets and pay for essential services. Puerto Ricans currently do not have the right to vote in presidential elections and have no voting powers in the U.S. Congress.

Since becoming president, Donald Trump had not spoken on the issue of Puerto Rican statehood. In his election campaign, he said that the will of the islands people should be considered by U.S. Congress. Having a Republican House, a Republican Senate and a Republican president, there's no excuse for not carrying it out, Rossello earlier said.

Puerto Rico - the All-Star Island - is a US commonwealth and the U.S. dollar is the official currency; U.S. citizens dont need a passport or a currency converter. Spanish and English are the official languages; most Puerto Ricans speak English. El Yunque is the only subtropical rainforest in the U.S. National Forest Service, a place so indescribable that it must be seen, heard and felt. Its one of our must-visit destinations. More than 70% of the rum sold in the U.S. comes from Puerto Rico; sample favorite local brands and enjoy a tour of our rum distilleries. Puerto Rico houses the world's second largest single-dish radio telescope, spanning almost 20 acres. It was responsible for the first asteroid images in history.

Maintaining Puerto Ricos Spanish heritage included changing its official name from Porto Rico back to the original Spanish, Puerto Rico. The United States used Puerto Rico in diplomatic correspondence before the Spanish-American War but used the anglicized spelling Porto Rico in the Treaty of Paris, which ended the conflict. The House eventually passed S.J. Res. 36 changing the name 88 to 31; without debate, the Senate concurred, changing the name in May 1932. The passage of the resolution was a symbolic victory in the battle to maintain Puerto Ricos cultural heritage.

Puerto Rico is neither a sleepy little Caribbean Island, nor is it a lush tropical paradise, as is sometimes depicted in tourism advertisements. There are places in Puerto Rico where both can be found, but, in fact, Puerto Rico today is the commercial engine of the Caribbean, and in many ways it has most of the contemporary problems and concerns that fully developed economies exhibit: air and water pollution, protection of endangered species and their habitats, forest management, regulation of all forms of waste and their disposal, pesticide regulation, marine protection, and others. Puerto Rico has over 2 million automobiles, trucks, and buses constituting one of the highest vehicle densities in the world.

At times, its metropolitan traffic jams rival those of California freeways. It built a 17.2-kilometer (10.3-mile) elevated train/subway at a cost of nearly $2 billion to alleviate traffic congestion in metropolitan San Juan. Old infrastructure is also a big problem for the islands water supply in that almost 50 percentabout 950 liters (250 million gallons) per dayof all potable water processed by the Water Authority is lost prior to delivery because of leaks, broken hydrants, and unmetered connections to the system. Puerto Ricos sewerage system is still developing. Fifty percent of the island lacks sanitary sewer lines, and some communities still have difficulty meeting secondary sewerage treatment standards, which is of concern to beach communities and the tourism industry. Sixty-eight treatment plants discharge into the ocean.







NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Kosovo - Politics

Kosovo is a parliamentary democracy. The constitution and laws provide for an elected unicameral parliament, the Assembly, which in turn elects a president, whose choice of prime minister the Assembly must approve. Civilian authorities maintained effective control of the security forces.

Human rights issues included refoulement; endemic government corruption; crimes involving violence or threats of violence against journalists; and attacks against members of ethnic minorities or other marginalized communities, including by security forces. The government sometimes took steps to prosecute and punish officials who committed abuses in the security services or elsewhere in the government. Many in the government, the opposition, civil society, and the media believed that senior officials engaged in corruption with impunity.

National unity has unraveled since the country declared independence in 2008. Kosovo's present conditions are bleak: Ethnic disputes remain unresolved, crimes committed during the 1990s war remain unprosecuted, and there are serious corruption, extreme poverty and mass emigration to deal with.

After indepedence, Serb hardliners employed violence and intimidation against domestic opponents and international security forces, resulting in deaths and injuries. Roadblocks that Serb hardliners established in the northern part of the country seriously restricted basic rights, including freedom of movement and movement of goods. Ethnic minorities, which included Serb, Romani, Ashkali, Egyptian, Turkish, Bosniak, Gorani, Croat, and Montenegrin communities, faced varied levels of institutional and societal discrimination, in areas such as employment, education, social services, language use, freedom of movement, IDPs right to return, and other basic rights. Members of the Romani, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities were subject to pervasive social and economic discrimination; often lacked access to basic hygiene, medical care, and education; and were heavily dependent on humanitarian aid for survival.

Dr Ibrahim Rugova was the first elected president of the Republic of Kosovo. Dr. Ibrahim Rugova was elected President of the Republic of Kosovo in the first multi-party elections for the Assembly of Kosovo, held on 24 May 1992. Following that, Dr. Ibrahim Rugova, was reelected the President of the Republic of Kosovo in the elections held in March 1998. Ridiculed by young Albanians for his opposition to the 1998 insurrection against Serbian rule, Mr. Rugova staged an electoral comeback to twice defeat political parties linked to the Kosovo Liberation Army, the militant group that took up arms against Serbia, and later entered the political fray. The Democratic League of Kosovo (DLK) under the leadership of Dr. Ibrahim Rugova also won the majority of votes in the first local elections in Kosovo in October 2000, in the first national elections in 2001, and he was re-elected President in the second local elections in 2002 and in the national elections in 2004.

Kosovo under UNMIK administration held its first parliamentary elections in November 2001. After significant political wrangling, politicians agreed to establish a coalition government in March 2002, with Bajram Rexhepi (PDK) as Prime Minister and Ibrahim Rugova (LDK) as President. In the same year, the Kosovo Assembly began to function and pass its first laws. Beginning in 2003, UNMIK began transferring governing competencies to these ministries.

In the 2009 and 2010 elections, election fraud was grave, widespread, and visible. To prevent it, Kosovos elite pledged to their own citizens and to the international community that they would reform the inadequate electoral law and vet the bloated voters list. Yet nothing was done. In the 2014 election fraud was less prevalent, apparently, and certainly less visible.

The law provides citizens the ability to choose their government in free and fair periodic elections held by secret ballot based on universal and equal suffrage. Despite undertaking to dismantle them, the Serbian government continued to operate some illegal parallel government structures in Serb-majority municipalities. Illegal parallel institutions also operated in Serbian and Gorani enclaves throughout the southern part of the country.

Party affiliation played an important role in access to government services and social and employment opportunities. Clan loyalties also played an important role in political organizations. Ethnic minorities representation in the Assembly was more than proportionate to their share in the population, but political parties representing ethnic minorities criticized majority parties for not consulting them on important issues.

Newly independent Kosovo spent much of its first decade stuck in the political mud. Led almost exclusively by veterans of a bloody war for independence, it was weighed down by only being partially recognized and by an exodus of emigres who could have helped the tiny Balkan country gain economic traction. Kosovo has the youngest population in Europe, and there is a growing confidence of young generations, and also women, and they want to see a different type of politics.

When voters in 2019 appeared to plot a new course behind an emerging nationalist party that challenged the old guard, Kosovars watched one year later as their push for change sputtered into a political dead end. The resulting power vacuum and caretaker leadership persisted through national tests like an unprecedented health crisis, mounting pressure to mend diplomatic fences with neighbor Serbia, and war crimes indictments that unseated a powerful president and other senior politicians.

Kosovar President Hashim Thaci, indicted 24 June 2020 for war crimes and crimes against humanity, accused the international justice system of attempting to rewrite history. On June 24, the Specialist Prosecutors Office (SPO) said in a statement that Thaci and other suspects were "criminally responsible for nearly 100 murders," as well as the "enforced disappearance of persons, persecution, and torture." Hashim Thaci announced 05 November 2020 he would resign as the president of Kosovo. Thaci, a guerrilla leader during the country's war for independence from Serbia in the 1990s, resigned after confirming that he had been indicted by the Kosovo Specialist Chamber (KSC) in The Hague for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Hysni Gucati, the head of the association of former Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK) veterans, was led away from the headquarters of the organization by EU police units on 25 September 2020 amid taunts from onlookers. Gucati was arrested on suspicion of criminal offenses "against the administration of justice, namely for intimidation of witnesses, revenge, and violation of the secrecy of the procedure." The deputy head of the Kosovo War Veterans Association, Nasim Haradinaj, has been transferred to a war crimes tribunal in the Netherlands, the Kosovo Specialist Chambers said on September 26. According to the arrest warrant, Haradinaj is suspected of intimidating witnesses, retaliation, and violating the secrecy of proceedings by releasing confidential information, including the names of witnesses.

Early elections have become routine in Kosovo, wearying a public that has low faith in a political class that seems to lurch between crises. Since the former Serbian province declared independence in 2008, which Serbia refuses to recognise, not a single government has finished its full term.

"Kosovo's had so many elections and everybody considers every election to be a turning point," says Robert Austin, an East-Central and Southeastern Europe specialist at the University of Toronto. "And the problem with Kosovo is sometimes you reach a turning point and then nothing turns."





NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Experts Skeptical About Reports of Death of al-Baghdadi

By VOA News June 11, 2017

U.S. military officials say they have no information to confirm or deny a report Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghadi has been killed in an airstrike.

Independent experts are expressing skepticism about the fast-spreading claims of the terrorist leader's death, which reportedly was broadcast late Saturday on Syrian state television. However the British Broadcasting Corporation's monitoring service said Sunday it had detected no such report on either state television or Syria's state news agency, SANA.

A spokesperson on weekend duty at the U.S. Defense Department told VOA she had received queries about the reports but had no information to confirm or deny it.

Air raids on Raqqa

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has confirmed intense air raids on Raqqa, where anti-IS forces began a major offensive last week. Reports from the region say the Amaq news agency, which is publicly identified with Islamic State, showed video of a body purported to be that of al-Baghdadi.

However, the British newspaper The Scotsman cited a tweet by terrorism analyst Michael Smith saying he has viewed the video and does not believe the body to be that of al-Baghdadi.

Multiple previous claims that the IS leader had been killed have proven to be false.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Rules Against Travel Ban

By VOA News June 12, 2017

A second U.S. federal court has voted to uphold a block on President Donald Trump's executive order restricting travel from six mostly Muslim countries.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled unanimously Monday against Trump's temporary ban, on the grounds that the president overstepped his authority when he issued his March 2 executive order, "Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry in the United States."

The three-judge panel said that while the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act gives the president broad powers to both control entrants to the U.S. and protect U.S. security, "immigration, even for the president, is not a one-person show."

Monday's decision echoes a previous ruling by the Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which on May 25 upheld a Maryland judge's ruling blocking parts of the order. But the two courts made very different arguments.

The 4th Circuit focused largely on statements and tweets made by President Trump that indicated his order was a ban on Muslims, something he advocated during his campaign for president. But the 4th Circuit was only ruling on the portion of the law restricting travel from the six countries for 90 days. The 9th Circuit ruled more broadly and focused on the INA and what the judges saw as insufficient justification to support the travel order.

"In suspending the entry of more than 180 million nationals from six countries, suspending the entry of all refugees, and reducing the cap on the admission of refugees from 110,000 to 50,000 for the 2017 fiscal year, the president did not meet the essential precondition to exercising his delegated authority: The president must make a sufficient finding that the entry of these classes of people would be "detrimental to the interests of the United States," the judges wrote.

Security

The INA gives the president authority to restrict the entry of foreign nationals when they would be "detrimental to the interests of the United States," the judges wrote. But they went on to say that there is no demonstration in the travel order that admitting travelers from Somalia, Sudan, Iran, Yemen, Syria and Libya would be detrimental to U.S. national security

"The order does not tie these nationals in any way to terrorist organizations within the six designated countries. It does not identify these nationals as contributors to active conflict or as those responsible for insecure country conditions. It does not provide any link between an individual's nationality and their propensity to commit terrorism or their inherent dangerousness."

The judges said the travel order does not really curtail travel on the part of individuals, but rather on countries that it says are inherently dangerous. In this, they did cite one of the president's tweets: "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!"

Refugees

Similarly, the judges found no adequate explanation for the restriction of refugee admissions to 50,000 for the 2017 fiscal year. Noting that the administration of former President Barack Obama had established a level of 110,000 and justified it on humanitarian grounds, the judges said the order "gives no explanation for why the 50,001st to the 110,000th refugee would be harmful to the national interest, nor does it specify any further threat to national security."

"We do not anticipate any change to the current status of refugee admissions processing as a result of the 9th Circuit ruling," a State Department spokesperson told VOA Monday.

The State Department, which oversees in part the early stages of refugee admission to the U.S., said last week that it would be processing refugee applications under the original cap for the fiscal year, rather than under the significantly reduced number set by Trump's executive order. The announcement followed congressional approval of a federal budget in May for the remaining months of the fiscal year. It also came after the 4th Circuit upheld an injunction on part of the president's travel related executive order.

Just over 47,000 refugees have resettled in the United States since October, at a greatly reduced pace since the first travel ban was signed January 27. In recent weeks, that number has been about 800-900 refugees a week. The State Department said it could not speculate about the final number of refugees that would ultimately come to the U.S. by the end of September; at the current rate, that would mean about 60,700 refugees overall for the year.

"In upholding the lower court's decision to stop President Trump's travel and refugee ban from going into effect, we are staying true to our American values," wrote Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, one of the largest U.S. refugee agencies. "As a country, we must remain compassionate, welcoming and accepting toward those who are fleeing war, violence and persecution."

The Trump administration has appealed the 4th Circuit ruling to the Supreme Court, asking for immediate relief from restraining orders issued on both coasts. Also on Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a brief with the Supreme Court pointing out that very soon the 90-day ban on travel will expire and "the appeal will be moot, in a matter of days. There is no reason for this court to grant review."

The travel order that was the subject of Monday's ruling is a second attempt by the Trump administration. The first was withdrawn after it, too, was stayed by a district court. That stay also was upheld by the 9th Circuit.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Chinese naval fleet visits Pakistan

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 13:20, June 11, 2017

A Chinese navy fleet comprising three warships arrived at Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi on Saturday for a four-day goodwill and training visit.

Speaking at the welcoming ceremony hosted by the Pakistani side, Commander of the Chinese navy fleet Rear Admiral Shen Hao said the visit will further promote the understanding and mutual trust between the two peoples, and boost the cooperation and friendship between the two countries.

Shen hoped that the pragmatic cooperation and communication between the two navies will be further strengthened so as to contribute to regional stability and world peace and play an active role in promoting common development.

Chief of Naval Staff of the Pakistan Navy Admiral Mohammad Zakaullah visited the fleet.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






French President Macron Wins Big in Parliamentary Vote

By Maria Gallivan June 11, 2017

The fledgling party of France's new centrist president Emmanuel Macron is set for a landslide victory in parliamentary elections, as early results from Sunday's first round of voting showed it taking more than 32 percent of the vote.

That would put La Republique en Marche (LREM) within reach of an overwhelming majority in the National Assembly, with between 400 and 440 seats in the 577-seat lower house.

Voter turnout, however, hit a record low, as an estimated 52 percent of the population stayed away. That's being blamed on voter fatigue, after a long and divisive presidential campaign that saw Macron elected last month.

The result is seen as a strong endorsement of President Macron. Many of those who voted for him in the presidential election, particularly left-wing voters, said they were doing so only to keep Marine Le Pen out. At the time, many of them, and those who abstained, promised to vote against the new president in the parliamentary elections. However, it is clear that a large percentage of them changed their minds.

Making his mark

In the 28 days since his inauguration, Macron has made his mark on the international stage: playing President Donald Trump at his own handshake game and winning; criticizing Russia's Vladimir Putin while standing beside him; and jumping in with new proposals after the U.S. announced a U-turn on climate change.

That has had an effect at home. After five years of Socialist Party rule, in which former president Francois Hollande failed to meet his objectives of reducing unemployment and giving a boost to the flagging economy, the French were depressed and downbeat.

Seeing the new president widely acclaimed and admired on the international stage has made voters at home sit up and take note  and decide to give him a chance.

The president needs a strong majority in order to push through his promised reforms of France's strict labor laws, and its ailing social security system.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said the result is a clear signal that the French support Macron's plans. "France is back," he said, noting that the president, in his first month in office, "has embodied trust, willingness and audacity."

He continued: "Next Sunday, the National Assembly will embody the new face of our republic: a strong republic, a unified republic, a republic that listens to everyone, the French Republic."

Unknowns headed to government seats

LREM, formed just a year ago to get Macron elected, fielded an unprecedented number of unknown candidates. Most had never held elected office and just five percent were outgoing parliamentarians. The few non-politicians who were known to the public included a woman who used to be a bullfighter, a former anti-corruption judge and a video game magnate.

"It is neither healthy nor desirable for a president who gathered only 24 percent of the vote in the first round of the presidentials and who was elected in the second round only by the rejection of the extreme right should benefit from a monopoly of national representation," said Socialist Party leader Jean-Christophe Cambadelis as results flowed in.

Cambadelis later confirmed he had been eliminated from the competition for his Paris seat, one that was previously a safe one for the Socialists.

It had been expected that the conservative Les Republicains (The Republicans) would be mobilized to form the largest bloc in the National Assembly. But Macron's impressive performance in his first month, coupled with astute moves, including naming an LR deputy as prime minister, took the wind from their sails. The party is still expected to form the second largest bloc, with a predicted 95-125 seats.

The big losers in this first round were the Socialists, with less than 10 percent of the vote. That would give the PS and its allies just 10-25 seats in the new Assembly.

The far-right National Front party failed to capitalize on Marine Le Pen's record score of 33.9 percent of the presidential second round vote. It scored just 14 percent Sunday.

A second round of voting takes place next Sunday. Prime Minister Philippe urged French voters to improve on Sunday's turnout, stressing the importance of going out to vote.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Iran Navy flotilla to set sail for Oman, high seas

Iran Press TV

Sun Jun 11, 2017 12:33PM

Two Iranian warships are scheduled to set sail for Oman and the high seas to carry out a mission, Iran's Navy says.

The 47th flotilla of Iranian warships, comprised of Alborz destroyer and Bushehr logistic vessel, is to embark on the voyage on Sunday.

It will leave southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas for Oman and then for the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden.

Iran's 46th naval fleet, comprised of Sabalan destroyer and Lavan logistic warship, left Bandar Abbas for the Gulf of Aden on April 17 through a ceremony attended by Iran's Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari. It is set to return to the country later on Sunday after managing to successfully conduct its mission.

In recent years, Iran's Navy has increased its presence in international waters to protect naval routes and provide security for merchant vessels and tankers.

In line with international efforts against piracy, the Iranian Navy has been conducting patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008, safeguarding merchant containers and oil tankers owned or leased by Iran or other countries.

Iran's Navy has managed to foil several attacks on both Iranian and foreign tankers during its missions in international waters.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






'North Korea's Denuclearization is Matter of Survival for South Korea'

Sputnik News

18:32 12.06.2017

South Korea reiterated its call for ending Pyongyang's nuclear program.

TOKYO (Sputnik)  The end of Pyongyang's nuclear program is a matter of survival for Seoul, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Monday.

"North Korea's denuclearization is needed to ensure peace in the world and Northeast Asia, but for South Korea, it is a matter of survival," Moon said at a meeting with Toshihiro Nikai, a special envoy of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, as quoted by the Yonhap news agency.

According to Moon's office, Nikai conveyed to the South Korean leader a letter from Abe, in which the Japanese prime minister stressed the need to continue putting pressure on North Korea and to strengthen the sanctions until Pyongyang completely abandons its nuclear program.

Moon, in his turn, said that sanctions and pressure alone were not enough to settle the issue, and stressed the need to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table, Moon's spokesman Park Soo-hyun said, as cited by the media.

Moon explained that South Korea must keep up with sanctions and pressure, but at the same time show its northern neighbor that once Pyongyang ends the nuclear program, it will receive help from Seoul.

Earlier in June, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution to expand the scope of sanctions, travel ban and asset freeze against North Korea.

North Korea conducted its most recent ballistic missile launch on June 8, launching several short-range surface-to-ship cruise missiles off the country's eastern coast in what was the fourth missile test over a month.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Navalny, Hundreds Of Others Detained At Russian Anticorruption Protests

RFE/RL's Russian Service June 12, 2017

MOSCOW -- Riot police in Moscow and St. Petersburg have detained nearly 1,000 anticorruption protesters in Moscow and St. Petersburg, clamping down on unauthorized demonstrations organized by opposition politician Aleksei Navalny.

Police detained more than 600 people at the June 12 protest on Moscow's central Tverskaya Street, according to OVD-Info, which monitors police actions at protests.

Officials in St. Petersburg reported that more than 300 people were detained there. Activists in St. Petersburg immediately began collecting money for a legal-defense fund.

Navalny, an anticorruption activist and vocal Kremlin foe who is seeking to run for president in March 2018, was detained outside his home in an outlying Moscow neighborhood before he could get to the rally downtown.

Opposition politician Ilya Yashin and Maria Baronova, an activist with former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky's Open Russia movement, were among those detained in Moscow.

Dozens of people were detained at some of the more than 200 similar demonstrations held in cities and towns nationwide on the Russia Day holiday. There were no reports of violence or injuries.

Rights watchdog Amnesty International said the crackdown "demonstrates the authorities' utter contempt for fundamental human rights."

"The Russian authorities' stranglehold on freedom of expression grows tighter by the day," Denis Krivosheev, deputy director for Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty International, said in a statement.

"Peaceful protest is a fundamental human right, not a privilege to be bestowed or refused on a whim. We are calling for all peaceful protesters swept up in these arrests to be immediately freed, and the right to hold peaceful rallies fully and genuinely respected."

Yashin posted on Facebook that when he asked the police why he was being detained, an officer told him, "Russia Day must be celebrated normally."

In Moscow, there was a heavy police presence in the city center after Navalny announced plans to protest on Tverskaya Street instead of a less central site that was proposed by the city government.

Police linked arms and batons and herded protesters together in an area far from the Kremlin as demonstrators periodically chanted slogans like, "Shame, shame," "Putin is a thief," and "Freedom for Navalny."

The Reuters news agency reported that pepper spray was used during the Moscow protest, but that it was not immediately clear who sprayed the gas. Interfax reported that one demonstrator had been detained for purportedly spraying a police officer with pepper spray.

A helicopter was flying overhead throughout the demonstration.

Navalny, who has made waves with reports detailing allegations of corruption among senior allies of President Vladimir Putin, was detained by police outside his apartment building shortly before the scheduled start of the demonstration.

Police said he faced misdemeanor charges of violating rules on public demonstrations and resisting the police. If convicted, he could face up to 15 days in jail and a fine.

Sources at Navalny's Anticorruption Foundation (FBK) reported that electricity and Internet access at their offices were cut off before the demonstration started. Several FBK activists, including director Roman Rubanov, were detained at the Moscow protest.

The Moscow demonstration had been planned to be held at a city-approved location outside the center. But on June 11 Navalny urged supporters to march instead on the downtown thoroughfare of Tverskaya Street, near the Kremlin.

Navalny said authorities had pressured suppliers not to provide audio, video, or other equipment for the demonstration.

Moscow authorities said before the demonstration that citizens would be allowed to "stroll" on Tverskaya, which has been turned into a pedestrian zone for Russia Day, but that anyone carrying political signs or shouting slogans would be subject to arrest.

Because the protest was taking place together with the Russia Day celebrations, it was difficult to estimate the number of demonstrators.

Some of the demonstrators were seen holding toy rubber ducks, a reference to an allegation in one of Navalny's videos that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev controls a lavish vacation house with a pond and duck house.

"I'm completely sick of putting up with these authorities," 70-year-old Anatoly Kyurin told RFE/RL in Moscow. "I'd have been ashamed of myself if I didn't come."

In St. Petersburg, demonstrators inflated a large duck, which police quickly pulled down.

Navalny was hoping to build on momentum gained by a national anticorruption protest in March, which drew unexpectedly large crowds and ended with more than 1,000 people detained in Moscow alone.

Navalny was detained amid those demonstrations -- the biggest antigovernment rallies since a wave of protests that he helped lead in 2011-12 -- and served 15 days of administrative detention in jail.

According to the OVD-Info website, demonstrators and demonstration organizers were detained in several cities, including Nizhny Tagil, Lipetsk, Tula, Tambov, and Sochi. Thirty-six protesters were reportedly detained in the far western exclave of Kaliningrad.

In Russia's Far East, which is up to seven hours ahead of Moscow time, police detained several people participating in the anticorruption protests. At least four people were detained in Blagoveshchensk, including the organizer of the unauthorized protest there.

Local media reports said riot police scuffled with demonstrators and detained at least 20 people as a few hundred people protested in Vladivostok, which is seven hours ahead of Moscow.

Video footage showed helmeted officers with batons dragging two men or boys from a crowd of people while protesters shouted "Shame! Shame!"

"I'm here because of the corruption that is reaching huge proportions in Russia," said Aleksei Borisenko, a protester in Vladivostok who said he narrowly escaped police trying to detain him. "It's a dead end for the country's development."

"We have been silent, but we won't be anymore. We will make the authorities answer!" a woman at the Vladivostok protest shouted.

Sizable crowds turned out in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk and in Barnaul, capital of the Altai Krai region bordering Kazakhstan, and protests were held in other cities -- from Kazan in Tatarstan on the Volga River to the Pacific coast.

An unauthorized protest was also planned for St. Petersburg. Andrei Pivovarov, an organizer in the northern capital, posted on Facebook on June 12 that police had come to his residence and accused him of "organizing mass disorder." After he refused to open his door, police took up positions outside, Pivovarov said.

In Moscow, Tverskaya Street was turned into a pedestrian zone and the authorities have planned a celebration focusing on Russia's military glory. Photographs on social media showed the street blocked with sandbags, antitank emplacements, and vintage military equipment.

Navalny announced the location change less than 24 hours before the protest, accusing the authorities of pressuring providers of audio, video, and stage equipment not to work with demonstration organizers.

On June 12, an anonymous pro-Kremlin Twitter account posted a video purporting to show an empty stage and sound equipment at the originally approved protest site.

Russian state media reported that 1,000 people were protesting at the officially approved site and that police and National Guard troops were "providing security."

In his June 11 video, Navalny called on supporters to march peacefully and not to allow themselves to be caught up in provocations.

After Navalny announced the switch, the Moscow prosecutor's office warned that "any attempts to hold an unauthorized event on Tverskaya Street" would be illegal and "law enforcement organs will be forced to take all necessary measures" to maintain order.

In a separate statement issued hours before the planned march, Moscow police warned that "any provocative actions by protesters will be considered a threat to public order and immediately halted."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the issue was a matter for city authorities, adding that it was "important to avoid any provocations or illegal actions."

Vladimir Chernikov, head of the city's regional security and anticorruption department, told Ekho Moskvy radio that citizens would be allowed to stroll on Tverskaya but would not be allowed to carry signs or shout slogans.

"If someone appears with a political sign or shouting slogans, then the chances are 100 percent he will be a potential client of the police," Chernikov said. "If a citizen is strolling peacefully and is demonstrating a spirit of solidarity with the majority of people who come out to mark Russia Day, everything will be calm and fine."

The demonstrations were being held to protest what Navalny says is a system of corruption and cronyism that President Vladimir Putin presides over.

Navalny, 41, is trying to get on the ballot for the presidential election next March in which Putin -- who has held power as president or prime minister since 1999 -- is widely expected to seek and secure a fourth term as president.

Navalny has been convicted three times in financial-crimes trials that he calls Kremlin-orchestrated retribution for his activism, though he has been handed suspended sentences rather than actual prison time.

Russian authorities have suggested that he could be barred from the presidential ballot due to his criminal record. But his backers say the rules are unclear, and Russian officials have not stated clearly whether he will be allowed to run.

A day before the planned June 12 protests, a video produced by Navalny and his supporters accusing Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of corruption was published on two government websites.

The video, which played a central role in galvanizing protesters for the March 26 demonstrations, was published briefly on the websites of the regional prosecutor's office in the central city of Yaroslavl and the St. Petersburg regional administration.

Yaroslavl prosecutors said they suspected their website was hacked.

With reporting by Tom Balmforth in Moscow, Current Time TV, Dozhd TV, Meduza, and RBK

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-navalny-anticorruption- protests-kremlin-detentions-moscow/28542055.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.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






US-backed SDF militias seize 2nd Raqqah district from Daesh

Iran Press TV

Sun Jun 11, 2017 4:36PM

The so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has retaken a second district of Syria's troubled and militant-held northern city of Raqqah from Takfiri Daesh terrorists, and launched a renewed assault on a base north of the city as they press ahead with an offensive against the extremists.

The US-backed SDF, made up of an alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters, announced in a statement on Sunday that their fighters "liberated the neighborhood of al-Romaniya on the western front of Raqqah, after two days of continued clashes."

This is the first time that SDF forces have regained control over a western district of Raqqah. The militiamen had earlier seized control of the eastern neighborhood of al-Meshleb

Also on Sunday, SDF forces battled to capture the Division 17 military base and an adjacent sugar factory, which Daesh militants have used to repulse approaches into Raqqah.

The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the fighters sought to dislodge the extremists from the base, with backing from the US-led coalition purportedly fighting Takfiri Daesh terrorists in Syria.

"Blasts could be heard throughout the night because of the exchange of fire between the two sides," the Britain-based monitoring group said.

Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said Daesh had "heavily fortified" the base, expecting a major SDF offensive.

It is estimated a population of 300,000 civilians are trapped inside Raqqah, including 80,000 displaced from other parts of Syria. Thousands have fled in recent months, and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) believes about 160,000 people remain in the city.

On June 6, SDF said it had launched an operation aimed at pushing Daesh out of Raqqah.

The city of Raqqah, which lies on the northern bank of the Euphrates River, was overrun by Daesh terrorists in March 2013, and was proclaimed the center for most of the Takfiris' administrative and control tasks the next year.

Syrian jets destroy Daesh positions, kill many terrorists in Dayr al-Zawr

Meanwhile, Syrian Air Force fighter jets have carried out a series of strikes against Daesh positions close to Panorama district, al-Iman oil station, al-Tharda roundabout, Alloush Hill, al-Erfi neighborhood and al-Joneina village in the country's eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr.

A reporter for Syria's official news agency SANA said scores of Takfiri militants were killed and injured in the aerial assaults, and their vehicles destroyed.

The reporter added that army units also clashed with Daesh terrorists in vicinity of Panorama district, inflicting heavy loss on the militants in terms of military equipment and personnel.

Syria has been fighting different foreign-sponsored militant groups since March 2011. UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimated last August that more than 400,000 people had been killed in the crisis until then.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Turkish-EU Talks Rekindle Membership, Human Rights Hopes

By Dorian Jones June 12, 2017

European Union and Turkish officials are scheduled to meet in Brussels Tuesday to try and put Turkey's decades-long, on-again, off-again bid to join the EU back on track.

Turkish-EU relations recently hit one of their lowest ebbs following a bitter war of words between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Brussels over his controversial referendum to extend his powers. The latest effort to reset ties was the fruit of Erdogan's visit to Brussels after his April referendum victory.

"It's very encouraging because it shows both sides are willing to maintain dialogue," said Unal Cevikoz, a retired Turkish ambassador to London who now heads the Ankara Policy Forum research group.

"If the dialogue is interrupted, then it will be very difficult to start that kind of contact again. They [Erdogan and EU leaders] have also agreed on a road map which will continue for one year and, in this road map, that certain steps ... have to be taken, step by step."

Shared interests in dealing with the Syrian refugee crisis and regional security concerns have provided a powerful incentive to reset relations. Brussels hopes that will give it new leverage to press Ankara over its ongoing crackdown following a coup attempt last July. The crackdown has resulted in more than 100,000 people losing their jobs and the arrests of more than 50,000 others, including many presidential critics.

"There is a serious attempt in Turkey by pro-democratic forces to keep the democratic flag flying, and support from democrats and democratic regimes around the world, including the EU, is needed," said Al-Monitor columnist Semih Idiz "But pressure from Europe on this score, unless accompanied by some tangible carrot, will not have many results and could aggravate the situation further."

Erdogan is pressing for the opening of new EU membership chapters (i.e., statutes). Currently, 16 out of the 35 membership chapters required to join the EU have been opened and only one has been completed.

"The priority should be Chapters 23 and 24 because these are very much in relation to justice and judiciary, the rule of law, fundamental rights and freedoms," said Cevikoz.

The call to open Chapters 23 and 24 is backed by Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party, along with human rights groups. Opening those chapters is opposed by the Greek Cypriot government in connection with its ongoing dispute with Ankara over the divided Mediterranean island. Other EU members, however, privately say not opening those chapters would be exploited by Erdogan.

There are growing doubts over Brussels' commitment to confronting Ankara over its human rights record. "The role of appeasement is not going to work with Turkey," said Emma Sinclair-Webb, senior Turkey researcher for the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch.

"It's no good for the EU to turn a blind eye to the head of Amnesty International in Turkey being jailed, to the crackdown in civil society in Turkey, the way the media has been decimated in Turkey," she said.

Last week, Taner Kilic, the head of Amnesty International in Turkey, was charged with supporting terrorism in connection with July's failed coup and jailed.

Sinclair-Webb added that "the EU is much more focused on keeping refugees and migrants out of EU and on counterterrorism cooperation, and all of that has put human rights very much on the back burner for the EU."

Last March, Ankara signed an agreement with Brussels to stem the flow of millions of migrants and refugees entering the EU. Erdogan has repeatedly threatened to end the deal, accusing Brussels of failing to honor its commitment to grant visa-free travel for Turks to the EU. Keeping the deal alive is widely seen as a priority for Brussels.

EU members are also courting Ankara for greater security cooperation in the war against Islamic State. Turkey, which borders Syria and Iraq, is the main route for jihadists seeking to enter Europe. According to Turkish authorities, the suicide bomber responsible for last month's blast outside of a concert in Manchester entered the UK via Istanbul, while one of the assailants in this month's attack in London tried last year to enter Syria by traveling to Istanbul.

Analysts say Turkey's role in counterterrorism will grow with Islamic State facing defeat in Iraq and Syria. Many European jihadists are expected to try and return home.

Cengiz Aktar, a political scientist and expert on European affairs, said "EU-Turkish relations will be revised completely in coming months."

"Turkey's relationship will be limited to the refugee deal and an enhanced free trade agreement," he added. "Not only will the Turkish regime not let the EU meddle in Turkish politics, but the Europeans are not interested in saving Turkish democracy. They [Ankara and Brussels] both agree on that."

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






RALEIGH  When Craig Blitzer campaigned to be Rockingham Countys district attorney, he promised to change the direction of the office.

Speeches were laced with words like tougher on crime, harsher sentences and a promise to build a working relationship with law enforcement.

No one could foresee that less than two years later, Blitzer would resign and be on the other side of a criminal investigation.

Since July 25, 2016, the offices of Blitzer and former Person/Caswell District Attorney Wallace Bradsher have faced scrutiny by the State Bureau of Investigation after both men were accused of putting each others wives on their payrolls, resulting in more than $100,000 in combined and, apparently, unearned annual salaries.

Little has been known about the details of the investigation until a search warrant became public last week.

That 25-page warrant, sealed for 90 days starting March 8, gives lengthy details about Blitzers wife, Cindy, who allegedly collected $48,000 in annual pay from the state while enrolled fulltime in a nursing program. It also paints a vivid picture of the work SBI agents did to build their case to the point where they could ask a judge to approve a search of Blitzers office, which took place in March.

Much of their investigation clearly was centered on the whereabouts of Cindy Blitzer, who was working for Bradsher as an investigator.

For the first time we now know the steps the SBI has taken to develop its case and a timeline of those events.

***

It all started when Blitzer was sworn in as district attorney on Jan. 1, 2015, and immediately hired his wife to work for him as a legal assistant.

On Jan. 8, Blitzer received an email from the N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts telling him that employing her violated state law and that she must resign.

The email came in response to an ongoing discussion among courts officials and Bradsher.

For four years, Bradsher had employed his wife, Pamela, as a legal assistant in Person County. In December 2014, he wanted permission to promote her to investigator with an annual salary of $48,000.

When state officials realized Bradsher was employing his spouse, they told him she needed to resign.

Instead, the two district attorneys decided to hire each others wives and have them swap roles.

According to court records, however, both wives worked sporadically.

Cindy Blitzer never had security access to the Person or Caswell County courthouses, which means, if she came to work, she would have to go through metal detectors before being allowed entry. Employees in those offices said they saw her fewer than fives times in her nearly two-year employment there, which was from Jan. 13, 2015, to Oct. 25, 2016.

She maintained an office in the Rockingham County courthouse, which also requires a keycard to access. Keycard data obtained by the News & Record recorded 79 dates between January 2015 and July 2016 that she entered the building.

What has not been clear is where Pamela Bradsher fits into this investigation. Little has been said about her by officials.

What we do know is that she began working for Craig Blitzer on Jan. 13, 2015, and quit on Aug. 18, 2015.

According to courthouse records, Bradsher swiped a keycard to gain access to the Rockingham County district attorneys office on 36 of the 156 business days she was employed.

As a sidenote in this saga, there is Tyler Henderson, a Person/Caswell County legal assistant.

Henderson was hired by Wallace Bradsher after being sworn in on Jan. 1, 2011, and continued to work there until Aug. 18, 2015, when Pamela Bradsher left Blitzers office.

On that day, Henderson went to work in Rockingham County as a legal assistant  but employees say they never met him, and court records indicate he never had security access to the office.

***

Employees in both district attorneys offices were taking note of these peculiarities.

Jason Ramey, a Rockingham County assistant district attorney, was one of them. Ramey said he went to the SBI in December 2015, believing that Cindy Blitzer was collecting a paycheck from the state for hours she wasnt working because she was enrolled fulltime at South University in High Point.

I came forward because the district attorneys office is in a sacred position in the sense that it has the responsibility to prosecute all criminal actions, Ramey said. When something of this magnitude happens, it weakens peoples faith in the entire justice system.

Ramey wasnt interviewed by SBI agents until April 6, 2016, when he reiterated his concerns.

Soon after, Ramey was approached by Spencer Morrow, an assistant district attorney, who admitted Blitzer asked him to take an online algebra class for his wife.

I didnt want to take the class, Morrow told the News & Record. I felt pressure to take it and felt really bad.

Both men said last week that they had an ethical responsibility to go to the SBI.

Ramey said he chose to speak with the News & Record to set the record straight on Morrows actions.

He was one year out of law school when this happened, Ramey said. It angered me greatly that he (Blitzer) took advantage of him and put him in this position. Spencer looked up to him, and he betrayed him.

Unknown to Ramey and Morrow, someone else also was speaking with the SBI.

Enter Debra Halbrook, a former administrative assistant in the Caswell County district attorneys office. She spoke with an SBI agent on May 16, 2016, and said that Cindy Blitzer had worked only six days between January and March 2015.

Halbrook said Blitzer had been hired to reduce her workload.

Only that didnt happen.

Halbrook told the SBI that when Blitzer did work, she didnt put in a full day. Halbrook was told that Wallace Bradsher allowed her to work shorter days so she could pick up her son from Greensboro Day School, roughly 39 miles away.

Halbrook said she was told by supervisors that Blitzers frequent absences were because she was working four days a week in Rockingham County to investigate a homicide case.

Halbrook said she became suspicious after several supervisors demanded she stop asking questions.

***

By May 2016, the SBI had begun a preliminary investigation.

The SBI contacted Debbie Tant, an administrative specialist for the Administrative Office of the Courts, who confirmed that Blitzer made $48,000 as an investigator and that her former supervisor, John J. Stultz, a Caswell County chief assistant district attorney, signed off on the time cards.

Special Agent D.W. Mayes at one point spent 21 days monitoring the South University parking lot looking for Blitzers vehicle.

He spotted it 14 out of 21 days  and Blitzer, too.

***

On July 18, 2016, Mayes and SBI Criminal Specialist David Whitley met with Person/Caswell County Superior Court Judge W. Osmond Smith. Mayes told Smith about the allegations and the information he had gathered.

Smith wanted to be recused from the case, and he contacted Iredell County Superior Court Judge Joe Crosswhite, asking him to review the facts.

On July 25, Crosswhite ordered the SBI to begin a full investigation into the possible theft of state funds through the misuse of the states payroll system by Cindy Blitzer.

On July 29, agents gathered Blitzers time cards from the AOC and learned that from Jan. 1, 2015, through July 29, 2016, she had recorded, with few exceptions, working eight hours a day.

On Sept. 6, Whitley met with members of the Person/Caswell County district attorneys office to ask them about Blitzers nearly two-year employment there. District Attorney Wallace Bradsher told an SBI agent that Blitzer worked for his office but was assigned to Rockingham County as a liaison for conflict cases that Craig Blitzer could not prosecute because he had served on them as a defense attorney before his election.

Hollie McAdams, a senior district attorney, said she thought Blitzer was working in Rockingham County handling conflict cases.

Gayle Peed, an administrative assistant, told Whitley she hadnt seen Blitzer work in Caswell County since 2015.

Assistant District Attorney Edward Willaford told SBI agents he had seen Blitzer fewer than 10 times since January 2015.

Stultz, the chief assistant district attorney, also met with the SBI. He said he was in charge of approving Blitzers hours until February 2016, when he requested to be relieved of the responsibility.

***

On September 22, 2016, the SBIs Whitley went to South University to talk with Sandra Blackstock, the head of the schools nursing program.

She confirmed that Blitzer was a student in a 14-month nursing program. The professor added that Blitzer spent Tuesdays from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. performing clinicals at Adams Farm Nursing Home.

Blackstock said Blitzers attendance only was affected when child care issues arose.

SBI agents then interviewed Craig Blitzers staff in Rockingham County. On Sept. 28, several employees met with Whitley individually in the basement of the Reidsville Library.

Melinda Richardson, an administrative assistant, told agents she had approved the payroll for all hourly employees in Craig Blitzers office, including Henderson, who she said didnt work in Rockingham County. She said she assumed there was an agreement between Blitzer and Bradsher that he work in Caswell County.

As for Cindy Blitzer, Richardson said she didnt know the last time she saw her in the office. Richardson said she assumed she was working for Bradsher.

On Oct. 3, Whitley received a call from Richardson. She told him she remembered Cindy Blitzer asking her to fill out her time card four times in two years.

Richardson later revised that statement. She told agents she entered the hours Cindy Blitzer worked more often than Blitzer herself did.

On Oct. 11, Kyle Ambrose, a victim-witness coordinator, met with the SBI and said he never had worked with Blitzer. However, Ambrose told the SBI he took an online algebra II class for her at the request of her husband. He said he spent two hours a week doing her homework and took quizzes and tests using both his personal and state computers.

He also told the SBI that Craig Blitzer had asked Morrow, the assistant district attorney, to take an online algebra class for his wife.

Craig has a way of asking you to do something, where hes really not asking you, Morrow said. I had been working here for under a year, and I hadnt been a lawyer long. I think I was just young and naive.

Morrow said he spent 30 minutes to an hour each week at work doing her assignments for five weeks. That included taking a placement course to get her into the algebra class.

To show her appreciation, Morrow said Cindy Blitzer bought him a vanilla cake and a $50 gift card to LongHorn Steakhouse.

***

In November 2016, Crosswhite said he felt the SBI had gathered enough information to bring in a prosecutor. He asked the N.C. Attorney Generals Office to take on the case, but he was refused.

The case remained stagnant until Feb. 21, 2017, when Halbrook, the former employee in the Caswell County district attorneys office, filed a whistleblowers lawsuit in Wake County Superior Court, alleging Bradsher had fired her for reporting him to the SBI.

At that point, Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman accepted the case and ordered the SBI to continue investigating.

On March 8, she sent SBI officials to raid the Rockingham County district attorneys office and seize the computer used by Cindy Blitzer.

Craig Blitzer resigned as Rockingham Countys district attorney two days later.

Its not clear what agents found on that laptop, but the search warrant remained sealed until Tuesday.

Three other subsequent search warrants have been filed but remain under seal.

Wallace Bradsher has continued to maintain his innocence, but he resigned unexpectedly on May 19.

The case remains under investigation, although Freeman said that it should come to a close soon.

Freeman said last week that charges will be filed.
Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) is pleased to recognize the strong performance of its mine rescue teams from Lucky Friday, Greens Creek and Casa Berardi during this years Central Mine Rescue and Quebec Provincial Mine Rescue Competitions.

The strongest result came from the Lucky Friday team, consisting of veteran professionals who volunteered to form a team and represent the mine despite it being on care and maintenance, and who placed first overall out of seven teams. In addition, the team from Greens Creek placed second overall out of seven teams, and the team from Casa Berardi placed sixth overall out of 17 teams.

Mine rescue competitions are an important part of emergency preparedness and overall safety, said Phillips S. Baker, Jr., President and CEO. The performance shows our teams are ready to act in the event of an emergency, and we thank them for their dedication and sacrifice.

ABOUT HECLA

Founded in 1891, Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) is a leading low-cost U.S. silver producer with operating mines in Alaska, Idaho and Mexico, and is a growing gold producer with an operating mine in Quebec, Canada. The Company also has exploration and pre-development properties in seven world-class silver and gold mining districts in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, and an exploration office and investments in early-stage silver exploration projects in Canada.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Statements made or information provided in this news release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Words such as may, will, should, expects, intends, projects, believes, estimates, targets, anticipates and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information include statements or information regarding estimates of silver production for 2017 on a consolidated basis and at each of the Greens Creek, Lucky Friday and San Sebastian mines, annual gold production for 2017 at Casa Berardi, and second quarter 2017 production. The material factors or assumptions used to develop such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information include that the Companys plans for development and production will proceed as expected and will not require revision as a result of risks or uncertainties, whether known, unknown or unanticipated, to which the Companys operations are subject.

Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, anticipated, expected or implied. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, metals price volatility, volatility of metals production and costs, litigation, regulatory and environmental risks, operating risks, project development risks, political risks, labor issues, ability to raise financing and exploration risks and results. Refer to the Companys Form 10K and 10-Q reports for a more detailed discussion of factors that may impact expected future results. The Company undertakes no obligation and has no intention of updating forward-looking statements other than as may be required by law.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170612005263/en/

Contact

Hecla Mining Company

Jeanne DuPont, 800-HECLA91 (800-432-5291)

Corporate Communications Coordinator

Investor Relations

hmc-info@hecla-mining.com

www.hecla-mining.com


TORONTO, June 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IC Potash Corp. (TSX:ICP) (OTCQB:ICPTF) ("IC Potash" or the "Company") is extremely pleased to announce that ICP and Intercontinental Potash Corp. (USA) ("ICPUSA") have received a formal offer from the company H20 of Lea County ("H20") to purchase ICPUSA's Capitan Reef Complex Aquifer water.

H20 is committed to building the required infrastructure and providing the equipment costing approximately USD$2M at no cost to ICPUSA. The potential annual revenue for ICPUSA is USD$4M to USD$6M under the proposed offer by H20.

Mehdi Azodi, President & CEO of IC Potash stated, "We are pleased to receive such a positive proposal for the highly valuable Capitan Reef Complex Aquifer water asset."

H20 will be responsible for identifying, purchasing, and installing the required pumps, treatment facilities, pipelines, electrical power, storage facilities and related infrastructure. The ongoing operations and related monthly cost of electricity, labor, maintenance and process chemicals will be carried out by H20.

Oil producers require 160,000 to 200,000 barrels of water per well to fracture multiple formations. There are multiple wells completed each month in South East New Mexico. H20's expectation is that ICPUSA's water wells, located about 10 miles northeast of the Ochoa Project, drilled and available for pumping and distribution, will provide water for approximately seven fracturing jobs per month.

The proposal has been submitted to the board of ICPUSA and is valid until July 10, 2017.

About IC Potash Corp.

IC Potash has previously demonstrated a method to make Sulfate of Potash ("SOP") from the Ochoa polyhalite deposit in Southeast New Mexico in which it has an interest and is currently examining ways to become a low-cost fertilizer producer. The current review of the Ochoa project's existing feasibility study is being extended to determine a viable positive economic path to the production of direct application polyhalite. The Ochoa project has access to excellent local labor resources, low-cost electricity and natural gas, water, rail lines, and the Port of Galveston, Texas. The Ochoa project's land holdings consist of nearly 90,000 acres of potassium prospecting permits and mining leases issued by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and State of New Mexico. For more information, please visit www.icpotash.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of IC Potash to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements that use forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "potential" or the negative thereof or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding trends in the markets for Sulfate of Potash and polyhalite, the timing for completion of an updated feasibility study by the Company, the Company's intention to investigate the feasibility of polyhalite product production, the potential value of water resources and other statements that are not historical facts. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of IC Potash, including, but not limited to, changes in market trends, the completion, results and timing of studies undertaken by IC Potash, risks associated with mineral exploration and mining activities, the impact of general economic conditions, commodity prices, industry conditions, dependence upon regulatory and environmental approvals, the uncertainty of obtaining additional financing, and risks associated with turning reserves into product. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements.

For More Information, Please Contact: IC Potash Corp. Mr. Mehdi Azodi, +1-416-779-3268 Chief Executive Officer MAZODI@ICPOTASH.ORG
MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - Jun 12, 2017) - Niobay Metals Inc. ("NioBay" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:NBY) has been informed by the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines of Ontario (''MNDM") that its application for an exploration permit on the James Bay Niobium project will remain on temporary hold for now. Despite a number of requests, the leadership of Moose Cree First Nation ("MCFN") has to this day refused to open a dialogue with the Company and to discuss their concerns associated with the exploration program and the project. The MNDM is taking steps to organize a meeting with representatives of the MCFN to address any concerns they may have about the proposed drilling campaign.

The Company has filed a permit application in October 2016 with the MNDM to conduct a drilling program on the James Bay Niobium project. The program consists of 10 to 12 drill holes for a total of approximately 4,000 m and the objective is to validate historical data obtained from a drilling campaign conducted in the 1960s.

The Company's focus remains on the development of the James Bay Niobium project. The Company will continue to hold discussions with the local community members, government officials and will maintain its efforts to engage with the MCFN leadership.

About the James Bay Niobium Project

The James Bay Niobium property is located in the district of Cochrane, 40 km south of Moosonee in Ontario, Canada. It was discovered in 1966 with significant exploration work carried out subsequently, including 14,000 meters of drilling over 85 holes, which established a deposit extending to 275 meters in depth and 500 meters longitudinally. A historical estimate was finalized by Bechtel Canada in 1967 and indicated 62 million tonnes at 0.52% Nb 2 O 5 . Moreover, pilot plant tests demonstrated a recovery rate of 78%, which is considered high for niobium processing.

The historical resource estimate and the historical metallurgical testing are based on data obtained by previous operators in the 1960s. NioBay Metals has not done sufficient work to verify or classify those historical results. Economic studies completed in the 1960s do not mean the James Bay Niobium deposit would be found to be economic today. NioBay Metals is not treating the historical results as a current mineral resource nor as having been verified by a qualified person.

About NioBay Metals Inc.

Niobay Metals Inc. is a mining exploration company holding a 100% interest in the James Bay Niobium property in Ontario, Canada and a 72.5% interest in the Crevier niobium / tantalum resource in Quebec, Canada. The Company is also actively reviewing the potential of other mineral properties, including properties in Quebec jointly held with SOQUEM.

Cautionary Statement

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward looking information under the provisions of Canadian securities laws. Such statements include, without limitation, the Company's plans and objectives to conduct a drilling program and complete a resource estimate. Such statements reflect the Company's views as at the date of this press release and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Such risks include, but are not limited to: delays in obtaining or failure to obtain all the necessary permits to conduct a drilling program and uncertainties related to historical data, historical resources and future exploration results. Actual results may be materially different from those currently anticipated. Many factors, known and unknown could cause the actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements and information, except as required by law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Follow us on Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/NiobayMetals

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/niobay-metals-inc.?trk=biz-companies-cym
The rivalry between Antonio Villaraigosa and Gavin Newsom intensified Saturday as the former Los Angeles mayor suggested his chief opponent in the governor's race was a finger-in-the-wind politician unworthy of leading California's resistance to President Trump."His M.O. is to be for something, then be against it, then be for it again, depending on the polls or popular whim," Villaraigosa said after a speech on immigration at East Los Angeles College, alluding to Newsom's stands on high-speed rail and a single-payer healthcare system.With the June 2018 primary still a full year away, Villaraigosa's attacks on the lieutenant governor came remarkably early in the campaign. In a wide-ranging interview, Villaraigosa dropped any pretense that his veiled criticisms of unnamed Democrats in recent weeks were aimed at anyone other than Newsom, a former San Francisco mayor."I call them Davos Democrats who fly over the homes of people left behind, but never have been in their living rooms," he said, naming Newsom as one of those Democrats. "I grew up in those living rooms."Newsom campaign spokesman Dan Newman said he would not dignify Villaraigosa's "pile of inaccurate silliness" with tit-for-tat responses."I find it curious and a bit disappointing how early in the campaign Antonio has shrunk to juvenile name-calling and facile negativity," Newman said in an email. "I really believe that voters -- particularly in the Trump era -- are eager for more positive, intelligent, and substantive discussions. Hopefully he'll join us in that effort at some point."A poll last month by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies found 22% of likely voters supporting Newsom and 17% backing Villaraigosa. A handful of other candidates were clustered in the single digits.Newsom was the favorite of upscale white liberals, especially in the Bay Area, while Southern Californians, Latinos and voters with lower incomes preferred Villaraigosa. Both are Democrats.Newsom's steady lead in recent polls makes him an inevitable target, but so far Villaraigosa is the only one to attack him. Their rivalry was spawned a dozen years ago when both were high-profile mayors aspiring to statewide and perhaps national office."I think it was inevitable that we would end up where we are, on the same ballot, and that always made for an interesting political dance, to be candid," Newsom said in an April interview. "You always felt that, and it's unfortunate."Newsom said he had "a much stronger relationship" with Eric Garcetti, Villaraigosa's successor as mayor.On Saturday, Villaraigosa campaigned at a California Latino Congreso forum on immigration at East L.A. College in Monterey Park. He described Trump's anti-Mexican rhetoric as part of a long-standing tradition.Villaraigosa told the audience that hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens of Mexican ancestry were forced to "repatriate" to Mexico in the 1930s, and that more mass deportations occurred in the '50s under President Eisenhower.Villaraigosa also paid tribute to Jose Luis Hernandez, a 30-year-old Honduran immigrant who told the crowd he'd lost his right leg and right arm when he fell off a train crossing Mexico on his journey to the U.S."You don't have to be Mexican, or Latino, or an immigrant to feel what he has gone through," Villaraigosa said. "And as we all know, he's not the only one."In the interview afterward, Villaraigosa shifted his focus to Newsom. "Gavin, he tweets a lot, but I think people want more than tweets and talk," he said. "They're looking for leadership."Villaraigosa argued that his years as a president of the ACLU's Southern California chapter and speaker of the state Assembly gave him real-world experience that Newsom can't match."I came out of the civil rights movement," he said. "I've stood up for justice and equality my whole life, for working people." Turning sarcastic, he added: "So you know, 'resist' with talk and tweets? Yeah. That's not what people are looking for."
The School Employees Retirement System

Ohio Public Employees Retirement System

Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund

State Teachers Retirement System

Ohio Highway Patrol Retirement Fund

Public-employee pension funds are big business in Ohio, providing a safety net for 1.75 million people.There's a lot riding on them.Collectively, Ohio's five public pension funds have $192 billion in assets and last year paid out more than $15 billion in pension benefits and $1.1 billion in health-care benefits. They are not required by law to provide health insurance, but all five do. Whether they will in the future is uncertain.Although the funds have been mostly reliable and financially sound for decades, recent economic downturns, soaring health-care and prescription-drug costs, and the increased longevity of retirees have taken a toll. Several of the funds are reducing or eliminating cost-of-living adjustments, cutting subsidies and increasing health-care premiums.The five funds are the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (public workers); State Teachers Retirement System (teachers); School Employees Retirement System (school-bus drivers, cafeteria workers, janitors, secretaries); Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund (municipal police officers and firefighters); and the Highway Patrol Retirement System (state troopers). The Ohio General Assembly has oversight of all five through the Ohio Retirement Study Council.The big question: How long can the pension funds hold out financially in this economic climate? A study released in December by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University painted a gloomy picture."Ohio's four largest public pension plans are severely underfunded based on traditional metrics of pension solvency, and they are only guaranteed to be able to finance their promised obligations for roughly the next decade without additional taxpayer contributions," economists Erick Elder and David Mitchell wrote."However, the funding ratio does not take into consideration the investment risk associated with pension-plan assets; even if Ohio's pensions were fully funded today, they would still only have a fifty-fifty chance of being able to fulfill their promises in the year 2045."Members of this pension fund are the lowest-paid of the five, averaging about $24,000 a year, and the fund is under fire from members and the Ohio Association of Public School Employees, a labor union, because of proposed changes in cost-of-living adjustments.Retirees receive a 3 percent COLA one year after retirement, but fund administrators propose eliminating the COLA from 2018 to 2020 and then capping it at 2.5 percent thereafter. Retirees would get no COLA until their fourth anniversary.About 200 union members marched last week from the Statehouse to the fund headquarters at 300 E. Broad St. in protest. Some said they are worried that the proposed COLA changes signal bigger problems."The fear people have is not having a pension," said OAPSE President JoAnn Johntony, 76, head custodian in the Girard City Schools in Trumbull County, where she has worked for 50 years. "To try to solve these problems on the backs of school employees is wrong."We have to live and pay bills like everybody else," Johntony said. 'They're not seeing the human side of this. They're not seeing how this affects our daily lives."Lois Carson, 57, the union's vice president and a secretary in the Columbus school district, said she will live on her late husband's small pension and her pension when she retires."I will probably be moving in with my kids to survive," she said. "I've very scared about it."Facing increases in health-care costs, SERS retirees will be making less in retirement benefits than they did 30 years ago, Carson said.The fund must get legislative approval for the COLA changes. Bills are pending in both the Ohio House and Senate. Administrators say the changes are needed to stabilize the fund and continue to provide health-care benefits that otherwise probably would run out in less than a decade.The Ohio Retirement Study Council recommended last week that the legislature approve the COLA adjustment for the school-employees fund.With 1 million active members and retirees, this is the largest public pension fund in Ohio and the 12th-largest public retirement system in the nation. It affects about 1 in 12 Ohioans and has 3,680 public employers in the system.Changes began in 2012 when the General Assembly approved increasing employee contributions, raising retirement ages and allowing COLA adjustments.OPERS spokesman Todd Hutchins said the changes keep the health-care package intact "for the foreseeable future." Hutchins said the fund is 85 percent funded for the future, falling within the 30-year requirement under state law for paying off pension liabilities.Some of the changes, however, will make it harder for younger retirees and spouses of retirees. New retirees will pay about $219.33 in monthly health premiums, more than six times what retires paid last year. The fund is also ending both premium payments and reimbursement of some Medicare expenses for the spouses of members.The fund provides pension, disability and optional health-care benefits to full-time police officers and firefighters and their dependents."We continue to meet the state requirements as far as our funding level. That's something we have to look at every year," spokesman David Graham said. "We must be able to pay off our unfunded liabilities in a 30-year period, and we're at 29 years."But changes are coming for fund members as trustees begin the process of providing stipends to retirees to seek their own health-care coverage rather than providing health insurance for them.John Gallagher, the fund's executive director, told The Dispatch, "Our investment returns in 2016 were excellent, with a net 10.9 percent return for the year. Our current challenge is finding a way to sustain a health-care option for our retired population. While it is not a requirement that we provide a health-care plan, we realize it is a vital part of a secure retirement."Like other public employees, retired teachers face big changes in their benefits. As of July 1, the system will temporarily eliminate all new cost-of-living increases in pensions to "preserve the fiscal integrity of the system." Spokesman Nick Treneff said the situation will be re-evaluated in five years.The system previously reduced the annual increase to 2 percent from 3 percent.Treneff said the decision to eliminate the COLA resulted from three factors: lower-than-expected returns on investments, a larger-than-expected payout in pension benefits, and new mortality statistics showing that retirees are living longer, thus increasing the fund's financial liability."Health care isn't a requirement, but we know members value it," Treneff said "To have good coverage is essential to the life of retirees. We don't divert any money to health care from employee contributions."With 3,200 members, the fund is by far the smallest pension system, and it has had to increase health-care premiums annually to remain in the black.Like the other funds, the patrol system is struggling to meeting costs, said Mark Atkeson, the executive director. "Health-care costs have skyrocketed. The collapse of 2008-2009 set everything back, and we're not completely recovered from that."Last week, the retirement study council approved removing a provision allowing patrol members to retire at age 48 with unreduced benefits; it also approved some reductions in off-duty disability and survivor benefits. The changes need the approval of the legislature.Although those adjustments will help, the system's health-care fund is projected to run out of money in less than a decade, Atkeson said.
Halfway between the big Texas cities of Austin and San Antonio lies lesser-known Hays County, which is growing faster than either of them. Lured by affordable housing and reasonable commute times, thousands are relocating to the suburban county each year. Mostly farmland not too long ago, Hays has doubled in population since 2000.Hays County is typical of many suburban places in the United States that have been growing dramatically after a brief drop-off during the Great Recession, generally outpacing the larger urban jurisdictions around them. Last year, migration to the suburbs accelerated even more. A review of the latest Census data finds that, in metro areas with at least a half million residents, urban counties containing large cities lost 232,000 total residents via domestic migration. Meanwhile, the other counties within these same metro areas -- many of them burgeoning suburbs like Hays County -- added nearly 268,000 new residents, the largest net migration gain in recent years.Across the country, many urban counties that posted steep population gains around the start of the current decade are now experiencing slowdowns. Some, such as Austins Travis County, are still growing, but at a slower pace than before. Others, including Davidson County, Tenn., home to Nashville, and Harris County, home to Houston, saw more people move out than moved in from other parts of the country last year.Scores of new developments can be found in the northern part of Hays County, along the corridors leading into Austin. The county has, in many ways, played off the success of the big city. Austin has become very easy to identify internationally, says County Commissioner Will Conley. That helps us in describing and getting the word out to people about our community.Nearly a third of all newcomers to Hays County have moved from Austin and surrounding Travis County in recent years. Conley says the top reason people move to Hays is lower housing costs, along with roads that are far less burdened by congestion than the ones Austin residents have to contend with.The suburbs that welcomed the most new residents last year are concentrated in the Sun Belt, particularly Florida and Texas. This is part of a larger, longer-term shift in migration to all areas of the South and West as Americans retire or just seek warmer weather. Demographer Steve Murdock, former director of the Census Bureau, says lower land costs also make southern suburbs an attractive option compared to the more built-out northern urban areas with less space. The main things driving the suburban growth, Murdock says, are cheaper housing than in the central cities, more space and quality of schools with reputations for kids getting into universities.Booming Sun Belt suburbs like Hays County are also becoming employment centers. Until fairly recently, the state Capitol and the University of Texas, in the center of Austin, functioned as the regions primary employment base. But that changed dramatically with the arrival of Dell and other tech companies in the surrounding areas. Amazon opened a massive fulfillment center in Hays County last fall and is already the countys top employer, with more than 3,000 workers. There are now about as many people living and working in the county or commuting to it as there are workers commuting out.Some of the more recent migration patterns have further altered the demographic profile of suburban America. Contrary to their image as older, whiter communities, many are gradually becoming younger and much more diverse. The median age for Hays County is just 31, thanks in part to the expanding presence of Texas State University in San Marcos, and young adults whove relocated from Austin.s analysis shows that counties with medium population densities, those between 200 and 1,000 people per square mile, recorded on average the highest domestic migration rates last year. By contrast, its the densest counties that are losing residents at the fastest rates, regardless of whether theyre considered urban or suburban.This represents a dramatic reversal from the conditions that prevailed during and immediately after the recession. For a few years, urban jurisdictions experienced a resurgence, with many gaining population for the first time in decades. More recent Census estimates suggest many of those same places are now seeing growth level off or start to reverse.Comparing migration patterns within a given region tells a similar story. Last year, Americans moved to suburban counties at greater rates than they did to nearby urban counties in 72 of 82 metro areas with at least 100,000 suburban and urban residents. Only Washington, D.C.; Richmond, Va.; and a few smaller metro areas recorded higher migration rates for urban counties.None of this means that Americans are necessarily rejecting urban life wholesale. Individual cities may or may not be experiencing the same declines depicted by the Census estimates. In fact, cities downtowns and central business districts continue to prosper, even in places like Chicago and St. Louis that are losing population. And while in-migration has dropped, some cities are still recording total population increases, mostly a result of international migration.Employers, too, are continuing to relocate to downtowns. Bethany Schneider, who tracks commercial real estate trends for Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, says the shift from suburban office parks to more urban settings hasnt slowed.In Nashville and other successful urban centers, theres a supply problem. Not much land is left for development within the city, so homebuyers opt for suburban neighborhoods even if an urban lifestyle might have been their first choice. We have such a supply problem that homebuilders inside and outside the city are working feverishly to improve the supply, says Scott Troxel, president of Greater Nashville Realtors.Some of those who desire urban amenities in the Nashville area -- but not at Nashville prices -- are heading out to places like Murfreesboro, about 30 miles away. That city doesnt offer all the luxuries of Nashville, but its home to a large university and has ranked among the fastest-growing places nationally in recent years. Similarly, much of the growth in Williamson County, which borders Nashville, has taken place in a few incorporated cities.Williamson County Mayor Rogers Anderson says one of the top concerns of newer residents is easing congestion. Officials have identified potential investments in public transit -- another urban convenience -- and are exploring funding sources. Williamson Countys other selling points include low property taxes and good schools. As is the case in other suburbs, though, local leaders say that maintaining these advantages while accommodating the rapid growth projected over many years wont be easy.
Description

GIS 12 June 2017: The importance of health to improving the quality of life cannot be underestimated, underlined the Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mr Pravind Jugnauth, in the 2017-2018 Budget speech. A sum of Rs 11.6 billion has thus been earmarked to the Ministry of Health and Quality of Life.

Government will invest to expand hospital infrastructure and health care facilities. This includes: two linear accelerators for the treatment of cancer patients at Victoria hospital and at the New Cancer Hospital and other high tech equipment; three new Mediclinics namely at Quartier Militaire, Bel Air and Stanley; two new Community Health Centres at St Francois Xavier and LEsperance; upgrading the Yves Cantin Community Hospital in Black River; construction of a modern Warehouse Facility for pharmaceutical drugs and medical consumables, and five new SAMU ambulances

Speaking on the improvement of health care facilities, Mr Jugnauth announced that an increase of 20 per cent is being allocated for the acquisition of medicine, drugs and vaccines bringing the total amount to around Rs 1 billion.

The Budget also makes provision for consultancy work relating to the setting up of a state-of-the-art Neurosurgery Unit at Dr Jeetoo Hospital.

Furthermore, with a view to increase human resources in hospitals, with regards to the Budget 2017-2018 makes provision for the recruitment of some 624 personnel, including specialists in various fields, student nurses and general staff.

The Finance Minister stated that Government is also promoting private health care by introducing a Visitor Medical Visa upon arrival for foreign patients.

In its endeavour to fight the excessive consumption of alcohol and cigarettes, Government is increasing the rates of excise duty for beer and other alcoholic products, and for tobacco products by 5 per cent and 10 per cent respectively.

Moreover, the Minister further highlighted that in view of improving quality of life, the maximum allowable deduction for medical or health insurance policies premiums is being raised as follows: from Rs 12 000 to Rs 15 000 in respect of the taxpayer; from Rs 12 000 to Rs 15 000 in respect of the first dependent; and from Rs 6 000 to Rs 10 000 in respect of each two additional dependents.
Description

GIS - 1 2 June, 2017: A five-day capacity building programme focusing on Strengthening Multi-Agency Response to address Gender-Based Violence (GBV) opened this morning at Balaclava. The workshop is an initiative of the Ministry of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare in collaboration with the Embassy of the United States of America .

Some 52 stakeholders from the judiciary system, Mauritius Prison Service, Police department, amongst others are participating in this workshop with the view to be equipped with appropriate knowledge and technical expertise to combat GBV. The objective of the workshop is to facilitate and accelerate the development of sustainable solutions to fight GBV and to elaborate on domestic violence perpetrators rehabilitation programme.

Speaking on behalf of the Minister of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare, at the opening ceremony, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mrs Jaunbocus, highlighted that GBV is a pervasive and global phenomenon which undermines not only safety, and dignity but also public health and economic stability and security of nations. GBV hinders the ability of individuals to fully participate and contribute to the development of their families and communities to strive economically, politically and socially, she added.

With regard to the impacts of GBV, she pointed out that it has adverse physical and mental health outcomes, resulting to limited access to education and poor learning outcomes. This type of violence rooted in structural gender inequalities affects and places women and girls disproportionately.

The incident of GBV, more particularly Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), Mrs Jaunbocus said, is prevailing at an alarming rate in Mauritius. She underscored that the perpetrators of GBV may be intimate partners, family members, members of the community or strangers.

The reports of a study on the prevalence of IPV commissioned by the Ministry last year highlighted that extreme IPV cases for women stood at one episode every seven to eight days, occasional IPV episodes for women stood at one per month and one episode every three months for men. This collaborative workshop will help Mauritius to strengthen intervention mechanism for better service delivery to understand issues surrounding IPV, she added.

For her part, the Charge DAffaires of the United States Embassy, Dr Melanie Zimmerman, who was also present, highlighted that the multi-agency approach calls for every sector to work together to fight this widespread phenomenon. Everyone is called upon to be agents of the change and not to remain a silent observer of this type of violence, she stressed.
Daniel Castro is the vice president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) and director of the Center for Data Innovation. Before joining ITIF, he worked at the Government Accountability Office where he audited IT security and management controls.
(TNS) -- Former executives of Facebook, Google, eBay and other hyper-growth companies have come together to form a global city with everything a startup needs to scale internationally.Co-founding the unique venture, called TheVentureCity , is Laura Gonzalez-Estefani, former director of international business development and mobile partnerships for Facebook, and Clara Bullrich, a 20-year private banking and asset management veteran. They call it an accelerator for the global tech ecosystem.With an international-first approach, the accelerator will create cross-functional bridges between key regions to scale startups on a global level, Gonzalez-Estefani said. The headquarters of TheVentureCity will be in Miami Beach, currently in the 1111 building off Lincoln Road, with a second campus in Madrid and a presence in San Francisco, with plans to expand into a number of cities worldwide by 2020, Gonzalez-Estefani she said.All my team has worked all over the world, they have all spent years working outside their countries of origin, Gonzalez-Estefani said, in an interview last week. When we see a startup that has all the right bones, we will advise where to scale first and how the product needs to be tailored for those companies.In addition to the international focus, the all-in-one approach for startup needs and consistent support is what will set TheVentureCity apart, said Gonzalez-Estefani, who is a native of Spain. While others provide entrepreneurs with the initial tools to get them started, TheVentureCity is our response to the need for a solution that offers startups everything from engineering and product optimization to data analysis, guiding them throughout the entire process.To be considered for either theVentureCitys 36-month incubator or 18-month accelerator program, startups that can be in any place in the world must demonstrate at least a six-month track record and solid numbers on growth and engagement metrics, not necessarily revenue. Using a data-driven approach, TheVentureCity builds on that foundation of solid data to help them make the best business decisions to achieve long-term growth. We arent afraid of working with international-first companies all over the world, we just have to fall in love with the founders, she said.About 25 startups a year from all over the world will be selected to enter the factory each year. Other parts of the city include the data library, the heart of the city, the airport for internationalization, the laboratory for the product engineering and the bank for venture capital. TheVentureCity will not run a fund; instead it will tap into resources already out there, she said.TheVentureCity will be paid in startup equity as the partnership progresses, Gonzalez-Estefani said.Directing the Miami campus will be Elisa Rodriguez-Vila, who formerly worked at Fusion and was part of the co-founding team at The LAB Miami. TheVentureCity is already working with 15 startups, including Boatsetter The Fastmind and RecargaPay from South Florida.TheVentureCity has forged partnerships with a number of entitities including Beacon Council, Startupbootcamp, Venture Cafe and Facebook on the local level. She said TheVentureCity has been working with Miami Dade College on a two-year degree in entrepreneurship and innovation, for instance. We make things happen, we are not afraid of taking risks, Gonzalez-Estefani said. That is the mindset we want to bring here and we are learning everyday from the pioneers and we want to partner with them.Gonzalez-Estefani came to Miami 2 1/2 years ago with Facebook; she also worked in Facebooks operations in Silicon Valley and Europe from 2008 to 2014. Before that she worked at eBay, Siemans and Ogilvy.Upon arrival from Silicon Valley she noticed something quickly: a welcoming community.The Medinas [Manny Medina, founder of eMerger Americas] opened the door to their home to us. They introduced me to to everything that was happening here. That soul, that spirit, is something that I have never seen anywhere else. Everyone they introduced me to, the Knight Foundation, the Endeavor family, everyone was the same way, Gonzalez-Estefani said.There must be something in the water in Miami that makes everyone so welcoming and so enthusiastic about the unknown. I found that willingness to take a risk. Hopefully I can contribute with my team to help make this one of the most exciting and vibrant ecosystems in tech around the world.Gonzalez-Estefani will be giving a talk about TheVentureCity at eMerge Americas at Miami Beach Convention Center on Tuesday.
With the availability of new hardware, two apps and a portal, Washington states child welfare agency hopes to use mobile technology to enhance security and productivity in a sector where the privacy of client data and the availability of social workers are crucial.In a series of rollouts and launches spanning the past 12 months, the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) Childrens Administration  which oversees child safety and protection, foster parenting and adoption  has made a variety of mobile options available to its roughly 2,800 total employees and to authorized members of around 5,000 licensed foster homes.After a pilot, Childrens Administration Technology Services (CATS) made 2,000 iPhones and Dell Venue tablets available to employees in June and July of 2016, and adopted an IBM mobility management product to secure and control it all.Later in the year, CATS issued an RFP, ultimately selecting Deloitte Consulting to help it design two privately available mobile apps for Apple and Android devices. The first,, became available to employees in November and December; the second,, became available to foster parents in May. The portal launched in early May.Michael Smith, who became director of technology services for the Childrens Administration in March 2014, toldhe had inherited a legacy Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS) the department still uses, but quickly realized after doing ride-alongs with workers in the field, the need for mobility.I recognized early on that social workers as well as foster parents had the need to access the same or like-kind information about the kids in their care, said Smith, who spearheaded the move to mobile but is now an IT security consultant in the states Economic Services Administration.CATS kept SACWIS, but virtualized all infrastructure and migrated it in-house. Staffers drew inspiration by attending 2016's First Ever White House Foster Care & Technology Hackathon . They partnered with Deloitte using agile collaboration techniques to design the two apps around similar needs for employees and foster family members.Benush Venugopal, a principal at Deloitte, praised the state for taking child welfare employees mobile so they can engage more effectively with the families that they serve; and CATS staffers for working agile with his company  chunking larger problems into smaller, bite-size problems capable of being solved in two weeks.But the larger accomplishment, he said, lies in the scalability of the technology.Im not aware of any other states that have developed such child welfare apps at the state level. In that regard, Washington state is a leader, Venugopal said.Employees who still used pen and paper to take field notes, then drove to the office to type them into state computers, urgently needed to be able to access information during visits and on the job as well as upload notes, photographs and even digital recordings into their case notes.Now, they have at their fingertips the kind of critical data that supports safety decision-making, Norah West, DSHS media relations manager said via email, including intake histories related to abuse or neglect, any case actions and activities.Theyre notified via mobile of pending assignments; and can upload notes, photographs and recordings through a single device, or leave notes in draft format and return later to finalize them.This means information is entered in a timely fashion and workers can be more efficient with their down time while waiting for court hearings or for visitations to end, West told said, noting that supervisors have access to information too.users, around 245 so far according to West, wanted constant access to information on their young charges. Likeoffers demographic, education, legal and medical information as well as access to authorized and paid services and social worker contact information.use rates are slightly lower, with around 200 workers per day logging in  numbers Smith said are depressed because use is optional, it hasnt been well marketed, and training hasnt been offered. Hed like to see the number of daily log-ins up around 1,000, he added.But the former CATS director said he thinks theres still a compelling use case to be made forsaving employees around one hour, 38 minutes each work day  time they would otherwise have spent doing their job traditionally.Smith hopes a Deloitte time and motion study halted for scrutiny by an employee union will ultimately confirm that employees really are saving that much time.My goal was to save 20 percent of a social workers day. Thats really what its all about. Its not about new cool cloud and mobile technology. Its really about Lets help these kids and families and lets get the social workers back to doing social work, he said.It seems achievable, a realistic and certainly a hoped-for outcome, West said. Staff are so happy to be able to access that information and do work from the field."
(TNS)  Looking at a map of broadband internet resources in Southwestern Pennsylvania is a little like looking at a Jackson Pollock painting.Erratic splotches of fiber-optic service are heaviest in large urban areas such as Allegheny County but dwindle to trails of small spots in rural areas such as Somerset County.Bridging that digital divide  in which remote parts of the state don't enjoy the Internet speeds of the big cities  is becoming more of a priority for local officials, who see broadband availability as the key to economic development.Definitely, the high-speed portion is where we're lacking, said Somerset County Commissioner Gerald Walker. For our existing industry in the county, so much of their ordering  is done over the Internet anymore. It just hampers them in their ability to work to their full potential.Somerset County officials hope to overcome that technology deficit, at least in part, with a project that will extend fiber-optic cable to four key industrial areas by next year. Federal and state grants totaling $1.5 million, plus a match from commissioners, will fund the installation of 22 miles of fiber-optic cable to bring broadband to more than 1,000 businesses and 3,900 households, according to the Appalachian Regional Commission.The expansion will include the Somerset Industrial Park and Laurel Highlands Business Park, both near the county seat of Somerset, the borough of Meyersdale in the southern part of the county and the North Star Industrial Park in Jenner Township, according to the U.S. Economic Development Administration.Commissioners plan to release a Request for Proposals later this month and to award a contract by the end of the summer, Walker said. Their long-term goal is for residents, schools, libraries and businesses to be able to tie into the fiber-optic system, he said.We're hoping to get whatever we can out of the $1.5 million, Walker said. We'd love to see it expand. We've already been approached by other communities. We're hoping it starts the ball rolling.Two Westmoreland County Internet providers  Citizens Fiber and LHTC Broadband  have expressed an interest in the project, which builds on their efforts to expand broadband service in the eastern and southern parts of Westmoreland County.Tim Pisula, an analyst with LHTC Broadband, said the Stahlstown-based company likely will bid on the project.It'd be fairly easy from a network design perspective for us to run fiber from our central office and Indian Head into Somerset, he said. This network would border our existing service area, so it's a logical extension for us.LHTC Broadband, founded as a local telephone company in 1908, provides fiber-to-the-home service to 3,500 customers in Westmoreland and Fayette counties. Citizens Fiber, founded as a local telephone company in 1906, switched 2,500 of its cable modem customers to fiber in November. Both offer gigabit internet, with upload and download speeds of up to 1,000 megabits per second (Mbps), and both are looking to expand.The Federal Communications Commission defines broadband as Internet access at speeds of at least 25 Mbps for downloads and 3 Mbps for uploads. In a 2016 study, the FCC said 18 percent of Somerset County's population doesn't have broadband Internet, compared to 3 percent in Westmoreland County and 1 percent in Allegheny County.The digital divide persists, in part, because of the unwillingness of larger providers to build the necessary infrastructure in rural areas, Pisula said. Running fiber-optic cable from farm to farm is not considered cost-effective, he said.We're not as appetizing as some of the bigger areas, Walker said. It is sometimes hard to get them to show interest.It's a very expensive endeavor to get those lines out there and to maintain them  versus the revenues from a dispersed number of customers, said Robert Dillon, co-owner of In the Stix Broadband, based in Cresson.The company provides Internet to underserved communities in Cambria County and portions of Somerset County via wireless microwave technology. Customers have upload and download speeds of 3 or 6 Mbps, while some have access to download speeds of 10 Mbps and upload speeds of 5 Mbps, Dillon said.We are trying to get closer to what the FCC defines as broadband, he said.One of the main costs of running fiber to underserved areas has to do with what Zach Cutrell of Citizens Fiber calls the politics of pole attachments. For a company to have access to a utility pole requires the permission of whoever owns the communications space on the pole  often the incumbent telephone company in the area, he said.Such permission usually comes with costs and delays that are prohibitive for small companies such as Citizens Fiber, Cutrell said.It's an extremely frustrating case to bring high-speed internet into those areas, he said, noting that the cost can be $3,000 to $4,000 per pole. Is there enough of a demand to justify us building into those areas?
(TNS) - Emergency response agencies throughout Laramie County, Wyo., are preparing for an influx of visitors who want to experience a total solar eclipse this August in central Wyoming.The rare chance to view a total solar eclipse from the United States is expected to draw thousands to hundreds of thousands of people to the state.A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, temporarily blocking out the suns rays. When that happens, day turns to night for a few moments.In Casper, the eclipse will start at 11:43 a.m. Aug. 21, with the period of darkness lasting 2 minutes, 26 seconds.The path of this years eclipse will cut a wide arc across much of the United States, moving west to east from coast to coast. In Wyoming, the total phase of the eclipse, called the path of totality, will cross the middle section of the state.Those who want to see a total solar eclipse had better do so this year. It wont be seen again in Wyoming until May 3, 2106, and again June 25, 2169.The Laramie County Emergency Management Agency is coordinating local response efforts to deal with the surge of visitors expected here. It has sponsored several meetings with people from similar groups during the last few months. Among those attending these meetings include representatives from the American Medical Response ambulance service, firefighters, law enforcement agencies and other first-responders.They are figuring out ways to deal with the large number of people expected to come through Cheyenne on their way to where the eclipse will cause complete darkness.Its impossible to know how many people will pass through Cheyenne in the few days before the eclipse, said Jeanene West, a trainer with Laramie County Emergency Management. Some people have estimated as many as 250,000 to 300,000 people could pass through here on their way to Casper or other places in the state.One sign people are coming is that rooms at most all hotels and motels in Cheyenne are sold out for the days around the time of the eclipse. State officials and business people hope the eclipse will bring visitors to Wyoming and strengthen its tourism market.Emergency planners want everything to go as smoothly as possible, West said, adding they are planning for the worst that could happen and hoping for the best. For example, they want to make sure the communication system for first-responders works well, as thousands of visitors are likely to use cellphones to send images of the eclipse.Laramie County Emergency Management also will publish information for area residents about the eclipse, including reminding people to stock up on supplies like food and gasoline before crowds arrive, West said.The agency also will help nearby Albany, Goshen and Platte counties. Officials expect thousands of people to congregate there because these counties are in or near the path of totality.John Kelley of the Cheyenne-Laramie County Health Department said his agency will buy a limited number of eclipse glasses for local residents. He will distribute them at events like Super Day, Fridays on the Plaza and Cheyenne Frontier Days. People must wear protective eyewear because they will damage their eyes if they look directly at the eclipse.Candis Pickard, emergency management coordinator at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center, said the hospital is getting ready too.She predicts slowdowns on the areas highways and interstates because of increased traffic.These things may never occur. But weve got to be prepared, West said.A lot of people ask Pickard why the eclipse is such a big deal, given that the city deals with crowds every year at Cheyenne Frontier Days.But Frontier Days is spread out over as much as three weeks of activities, Pickard said. In this case, weve got a large amount of people coming in a very short period of time, and then they are all going to leave at the same time. So that is the impact.Cheyenne Regional Medical Center employees will bring a mobile command center to the hospital for the eclipse. Well pull our incident command team together on Friday morning, Aug. 18, she said. The incident command center will be set up Aug. 20 at the hospital.The hospital also has a stockpile of supplies for emergencies, including extra bandages and IV fluids that it can use.In addition to handing out eyeglasses, the Cheyenne-Laramie County Health Department will help in other areas, too. The department wants to make sure food truck operators are properly licensed. These operators may come from Colorado and not be properly inspected for food quality and cleanliness, he said.City-County Health also will watch for signs of illegal dumping of black water from the tanks of recreational vehicles. The health department wants to make sure drivers use designated dump sites in the county, Kelley said.The planning that has gone on is not a waste of time, he said.It might be much ado about nothing, but its better to over-plan.2017 Wyoming Tribune-Eagle (Cheyenne, Wyo.)Visit Wyoming Tribune-Eagle (Cheyenne, Wyo.) at www.wyomingnews.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
(TNS)  An award of $2.7 million is a good start toward getting the Public Schools of Robeson County facilities back to their pre-Hurricane Matthew state.After Hurricane Matthew struck North Carolina in October, state lawmakers allocated $25 million in relief funding and asked Golden LEAF Foundation to administer it. The foundation approved $3.5 million recently for projects in Robeson County. The Public Schools of Robeson County received $2.7 million for six projects to return damaged facilities to the state they were in before the storm. Most of the money will go toward reimbursing the district for work already completed.We are very grateful to receive these funds, said Craig Lowry, a member of the school board. I think it is the largest allocation of funds we have had from them. It helps us replenish a lot of the monies we have spent.Lowry also appreciates getting money to pay the districts $1 million insurance deductible. West Lumberton Elementary School and the districts central office, which were damaged by floodwaters, each had $500,000 deductibles. Payment of the deductibles means the district will have access to money for rebuilding efforts.The central office will have to be relocated because it cannot be rebuilt in the flood zone in which it now sits.Many central office functions are now housed at the Native Angels facility at COMtech near Pembroke. The districts lease for space at the facility expires in July 2018. The $9,000-a-month rent is expected to be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.I dont really know, but I hope we can look at something where we can get everything together in one location, Lowry said. It is too early to say right now.Board members have expressed repeatedly the desire to have the central office, the transportation department, warehouse and nutritional services in one location. In March it was suggested that site be where the districts maintenance warehouse is located on U.S. 74. The warehouse now is being used for office space, storage and its normal maintenance duties.Almost half of the total Golden LEAF allotment, $1.28 million, is for work undertaken to improve the warehouse facility. The Transportation Department received $145,216.25.The funds for the U.S. 74 warehouse and the Transportation Department have already been spent completing necessary repairs and renovations that were a direct result of Hurricane Matthew, said Erica Setzer, the districts chief financial officer.In March the board voted unanimously to spend $170,000 bringing the warehouse up to building code. A firewall between the office space and the storage facility was built.Board member Steve Martin said he hopes the board will spend money on a permanent home for the district, rather than a quick, short-term fix.That land is in an industrial park in the county. It is good land, easily accessible for the entire county, board member Brenda Fairly-Ferebee said in March. In my opinion, that would be a good area and we already have a start.The BB&T building in downtown Lumberton was considered by the board as a central office site when county commissioners considered handing it over. However, that idea was not popular among county commissioners.The commissioners have hired an architectural firm to draw up plans for renovating the facility so it eventually can house the Tax Office, Register of Deeds, county managers office, computer operations, the Finance and Human Resources departments, the county attorney, and Veterans Services.Three other buildings currently used by county government have been proposed as school district offices. The three Elm Street buildings would become available if the county moved into a refurbished BB&T building. Martin has suggested offering to buy the buildings at their current property tax valuations, about $2.1 million.Other projects funded by Golden LEAFs grant are the refurbishing of W.H. Knuckles Elementary School.The cafeteria and kitchens at W.H. Knuckles were destroyed by floodwaters. As a result students had to eat lunch in the school gymnasium. All meals for students were prepared at another school and delivered to W.H. Knuckles.Golden LEAF funds in the amount of $265,800 helped refund the district for restoration projects completed in the school and cafeteria. The district has said the cafeteria and kitchen will be operational at the start of the 2017-2018 school year.The Golden LEAF Foundation was formed by the state General Assembly to provide assistance to poor or tobacco-dependent regions of North Carolina where local economies were damaged by the tobacco buyout.2017 The Robesonian (Lumberton, N.C.)Visit The Robesonian (Lumberton, N.C.) at www.robesonian.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
(TNS) -- MAROA  The skyline in the northeastern part of Macon County is changing as wind turbines begin sprouting, reaching into the sky for the promise of cleaner energy. But even as the machines will soon tower over farmland west of Maroa, pending litigation is casting a shadow over a project that's been years in the making.The 139 turbines of Radford's Run Wind Farm, a subsidiary of E.ON , the American unit of Germanys largest utility company, are expected to be operational by the end of the year.Not everyone is pleased.Three dozen landowners in the area of the wind turbine filed a lawsuit to halt the project in 2015, and a summary judgment hearing is scheduled for June 27. The court could determine whether the landowners case has merit and halt the turbine project or let it move forward.When they decided to move forward with this project despite the pending lawsuit, they did it at their own risk, said Richard Porter, a Rockford attorney representing 36 landowners in the lawsuit. And they may have to remove all of those turbines.The suit argues the county did not properly provide statutory notices for a public hearing leading up to the boards decision or allow them to view the wind farm applications in time for the hearing.Several landowners contacted by the Herald & Review declined to comment due to the pending litigation, deferring questions to Porter.Porter said the parties responsible for the wind farm are constructing the turbines "at their own risk." He reiterated several of the health concerns raised in the lawsuit, such as shadow flickers and ultrasound emissions.Matt Tulis, communication manager for E.ON, did not directly respond when asked about the lawsuit, instead focusing on what the company sees as the long-term community benefit for the turbines.The wind farm will help grow the areas economy through creating jobs and driving construction spending, while also contributing millions of dollars in tax revenue for local schools, roads and other needed projects, Tulis said.Since May 22, the area west of Maroa and north of Warrensburg has turned into a massive construction site. Up to 300 workers will spend the rest of the summer assembling the wind farm, formerly known as the Twin Forks Wind Farm project.As of Friday morning, one 400-foot turbine was standing tall just a few miles west of U.S. 51 and another turbine nearby was set to be completed.When the turbines are running at under normal wind conditions, Tulis said, they will produce about 300 megawatts per hour, which would provide power to about 90,000 homes.The county board approved a special permit in 2013 to allow the construction of a 5-acre electric substation that acted as the starting point for the wind farm. Public discussions of a wind farm in Macon County date back to 2008.Radfords Run Wind Farm will operate in Macon County for 30 years, with an estimated $46 million in new property tax revenue generated over the project's life, according to the original application to the county.Macon County would receive $6.1 million, while the Austin, Maroa, Illini and Hickory Point townships would split the remaining $7.8 million.Calculating the new revenue for school districts is more complicated because increased property values also mean a reduction in general state aid for the district, according to an economic impact study submitted as part of the application.Over the course of three decades, Maroa-Forsyth School District would receive an additional $17.1 million in property taxes, according to the study. However, it would also lose millions in state aid during that time, so overall gain for the district would be just $4.4 million. Similarly, Warrensburg-Latham School District would receive $14.6 million more in property taxes but a net revenue gain of just $4.1 million, the study said.Clinton and Mount Pulaski school districts would receive $305,000 and $440,000 in net revenue, respectively.Once operational, the wind farm is expected to create 10 full-time service jobs.With the timing of the construction, the wind farm will not be assessed for property taxes until next year, said Joshua Tanner, chief county assessment officer. That means tax dollars will not be collected for the wind farm until 2019.The county would collect $95,000 to $100,000 in the first year on the turbines, said board Chairman Jay Dunn. That number would decrease each subsequent year of the turbines' lifespan.It will definitely help us some, Dunn said. Were just happy to see the project finally starting.The county has already brought in about $3 million in special permits for the turbines. Part of that money went toward purchasing new election equipment in the Macon County Clerks office.The application for the wind farm states turbines will not be placed within 1,500 feet of any residence. Energy generated by the wind warm would go into the PJM Interconnection, a massive grid spread throughout 13 states in the Midwest and East.For those not directly affected by the wind farm, opinions are mixed.Just a few miles away at the Casey's General Store in Maroa, Clint Johnson said he did not know much about the the project, but he did not look forward to seeing the the turbines in the fields."They're kind of an eyesore," he said.But as Diane Roberts stopped by the store, she said she was happy to see Central Illinois move toward clean energy."We should be promoting clean energy projects like wind and solar," she said.While clean energy's impact on the environment is often lauded, some worry about birds and other animals and the effects on their habitat when a wind farm is operational.The American Wind Wildlife Institute is a nonprofit partnership of leaders in the wind industry, science and environmental organizations, and wildlife management agencies. Its goal is to promote wind energy while protecting wildlife.In a 2016 report by the institute, the annual fatality rate for birds in most studies ranged from 3 to 5 birds per megawatt. Radfords Run Wind Farm will have turbines that produce just over 2 megawatts per hour.The report does note that newer, larger turbines seem to have a lower fatality rates due to fewer overall rotations."The amount of research in the peer-reviewed literature continues to grow, reflecting the continued interest in understanding wind-wildlife interactions," the reported noted.As for why this location was chosen for its latest wind farm, Tulis praised the area and the wind that sails through Central Illinois.The wind resource in Illinois is one of the best in the country," he said, "and there was transmission capacity to get the power to market."This story has been corrected to reflect the correct location of the wind farm, west of U.S. 51 in northern Macon County.
We tend to think of innovators in the public sector as those agencies working together with flashy startups to get the next big idea in government, and the United States Postal Service usually isnt part of that group. But that wasnt always the case.A story by Kevin Kosar explores the idea that throughout much of its history, the title of the most innovative agency in government could have easily been handed to the Post Office, as it was officially called until 1970. To figure out how to deliver mail across the country quickly and cheaply, the postal service had to think big.For example, in 1897, work began on a system of pneumatic tubes beneath the streets of Philadelphia to shoot letters around the city in just a few minutes, and it was funded through a public-private partnership between the city and the Pneumatic Transit Company of New Jersey. In 1959, the agency proposed sending mail across the country via guided missile. While the plan didnt pan out, it certainly would have been groundbreaking.For generations, U.S.P.S. integrated new technologies and adapted to changing environments, underpinning its ability to deliver billions of pieces of mail each year, Kosar wrote on Politico , from the beaches of Miami to the banks of Alaska, for just cents per letter.
Fernando Alonso is no longer ruling out quitting F1 at the end of the year.

Earlier, the Spaniard said that despite the difficulty of his last three seasons with McLaren-Honda, he was fully committed to trying to win a third title beyond 2017.

But that was before he obviously enjoyed the experience of skipping Monaco and being competitive in the fabled Indy 500.

So when asked if he might switch full-time to the Indycar series for 2018, he said on Sunday: "Why not? I'm very open to anything.

"I would be lying if I said I know what will happen next year."

Marc Surer, a former F1 driver and now commentator for German television Sky, said he thinks a full Indy switch is actually a probably outcome for Alonso.

"Basically, there are only three ways for Fernando," he said.

"He either stays at McLaren-Honda, he returns to Renault, or he does a full season in Indycar.

"On the normal (Indy) tracks he would beat his opponents, and he has shown at Indianapolis that he can learn about the ovals.

"Alonso wants to win races again and he can most likely do that in Indycar," Surer added.

(GMM)
The relationship between Toro Rosso drivers Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat has hit a bump in the road.

In Montreal qualifying, Spaniard Sainz hit out about supposed unfair treatment when it came to getting an aerodynamic 'draft' on the straight.

"We change the order the cars go out at every race and everyone in the team knows it," Kvyat said.

"From my side everything is clear, so if he is brave, he should come and talk to me. But it seems that he prefers to talk to me through journalists.

"From my side I have nothing to say to him. I know that I behaved properly.

"In Baku he should be behind me but now I'm not sure I want to work with him after everything he said. I'm not sure that we want to cooperate in the qualifying," Kvyat added.

(GMM)
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Scammers claiming to be computer professionals targeted a number of people in and around Winston-Salem, warning people their security systems had failed and charging $400 to $500 for bogus work.

The thieves were able to remotely access some computers after telling victims those computers were otherwise susceptible to cyber attacks which could leave their owners the victims of identity theft.

Worse than the fraudualent charges, the scammers also left an invasive program on computers, opening the possibility that the thieves could steal banking and other personal information, the Better Business Bureau of Northwest North Carolina reported Monday.

The BBB attributed that information to Ann Pate, president of Computing Solutions Group Inc. of Winston-Salem, who said the company was able to restore one victims computer.

Pate also told the BBB that scammers, who got in touch with computer owners over the telephone, claimed to be solving a problem that did not exist. When they grained access to computers, they created a shortcut to a disk cleanup function included in Microsoft Windows and then ran that program.

It was not clear how scammers picked their victims or obtained their phone numbers.

BBB research of the information has led investigators to two websites that appear to be part of the scam: http://globalsoftwaredesign-com.3dcartstores.com/ and https://sylvertechsolutions-com.3dcartstores.com/. These sites are virtual mirrors of each other, and both of the companies provide addresses that point to apartment complexes in Michigan.
You have permission to edit this article.

Edit Close
Something went wrong, please try again later.

Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later.

Sign up to the Grimsby Live newsletter for daily updates and breaking news

Popular Mexican restaurant Chino Chino has been given a one star food hygiene rating - with even the safety of the food being served there being brought into question.

The swanky South American themed restaurant and bar, in Market Place, Cleethorpes, has been ordered to make "major improvements" following an inspection on March 27.

Food Standards Agency officers slammed the resort restaurant for its poor management of food safety, food handling and cleanliness and condition of facilities and the building.

Chino Chino has only been open for just over a year, having held a VIP ribbon cutting and taster night in April 2016.



(Image: Duncan Young)

Since then it has proved to be a hit with the locals, and has drummed up a fierce reputation online. On Facebook, guests have rated Chino Chino an average of 4.7 out of 5, whilst its TripAdvisor rating is a respectable 3.5 out of 5.

It is the town's only Mexican style restaurant and can accommodate up to 70 diners at any one time.

Chino Chino serves Tex-Mex style and traditional Mexican dishes, and had been 10 years in the planning.

However, food hygiene officials have heaped criticism on the restaurant, having handed it the second lowest food hygiene rating.

Areas inspected were its food handling procedures, which includes food preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage, which was rated as needing improvement.

This was also the case for the cleanliness and condition of facilities and the building, and included inspectors deciding if the restaurant has suitable hand washing facilities and pest control to enable good food hygiene.

And even worse for restaurant bosses, inspectors decided that management of food safety, which covers ensuring that food sold or served is safe to eat, evidence that staff know about food safety, and the food safety officer has confidence that standards will be maintained in future, was rated as needing major improvement.

However, owner of the business, Sri Lankan-born Suti Thirukumaran, blamed the shortcomings on one chef who no longer works there.

He said: "The kitchen was not tidy and he let me down. He no longer works for us. I sacked him two weeks later.

"It's not good enough and I asked the officer to come back and review us again, but they never did.

"I am 100 per cent confident that we are up to a better standard. It's only on one day that we weren't good enough," he claimed.
Something went wrong, please try again later.

Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later.

Sign up to the Grimsby Live newsletter for daily updates and breaking news

The council has vowed to investigate reports of fly-tipping on a Grimsby playing field occupied by travellers, who have been served notice to appear in court this week.

The group moved onto Hardy's Recreation Ground last week , and it is believed that during that period, piles of rubble have been dumped.

North East Lincolnshire Council has now confirmed that the group of travellers were issued a court summons last Friday, and that they are due to appear in court this week.

They will also be investigating the reports of fly-tipping, saying that action will be taken if enough evidence is found.

A North East Lincolnshire Council spokesperson said: Officers visited the unauthorised encampment off Humberstone Road last Monday to serve a legal notice directing the group to leave. A statutory welfare check was also carried out.

A court summons was served on Friday and the group is due in court this week.

The law allows the council to move people on when they set up camp on public land without permission, regardless of who they are, but we must follow a legal process through the courts in order to do this.

The council works closely with partners to establish the most effective course of action available and we follow this process whenever there is an unauthorised encampment on public land.

Reports of fly-tipping at Hardys Recreation Ground will be investigated and action taken where there is enough evidence.

As reported local residents and councillors have spoken out against the dumping, questioning where the money will come from in order to have it cleared up, calling the mess "disrespectful."

Ukip Councillor John Stockton also called for a change in the laws , so that groups of travellers will be able to be moved from a location within 24 hours.

North East Lincolnshire Council's Regeneration, Environment and Housing Scrutiny Panel decided in April this year that the Orwell Street/Nacton Street car park, close to Riby Square, be used for a stop-over site for travellers.

However that decision has been met with outrage from residents and businesses in the surrounding area and earlier this month, travellers told us they wouldn't use it anyway.

A group of travellers, that are believed to be separate from the group on the recreation grounds, have also now pitched up inside the premises of the former XPO Logistics factory on Ladysmith Road.


Something went wrong, please try again later.

Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later.

One of the UK's top brass bands is making its way to North East Lincolnshire this summer.

The East Yorkshire Motor Services Brass Band will be performing at St Matthew's Church in New Waltham on Saturday, July 7, as they bring a brand new programme to the village that they have happily been visiting for 12 years, creating a loyal fan base.

This year's show will pay tribute to two very special fans in particular.

Formerly known as The City of Hull Band, the group with their players' dressed in smart new uniforms of black and red with plenty of gold braid and buttons, formed 28 years ago and have since been crowned Northern Area Champions for a remarkable three successive years.

The group have been performing in New Waltham for the past 12 years, and band member Julia Mathews said that this year the group were very excited to hold a special performance for two fans, Roy May and Barry Mathews, Julia's father-in-law, who were a huge help to the band, but have now sadly passed away.

She said: "Ron May was a member of St Matthews congregation, formerly church warden and friend to the band. He always attended our concerts, sold tickets and helped prepare the venue.

"While Barry, my father-in-law, was a well known local brass musician and conductor who learnt his trade in the Salvation Army and then as an army musician. Over a lifetime he has played and conducted the Kingsway Printers Band and Market Rasen Band.

"He was a former member of the, now defunct, Grimsby Band and many other local music making organisations. He also conducted the Harold Street Junior band and left a legacy of players as a result. In later years he played with EYMS brass band and became our unofficial photographer when he retired from playing the tenor horn."

EYMS Band has taken part many times at the National Finals at the Royal Albert Hall, has toured Holland and France and has built up an enviable reputation for its concerts.

As ever, the band will cater for all tastes with a winning mix of traditional fare, film and show music, classical favourites and its roster of classy soloists.

Tickets are just 9 and are available by calling John on 01472 328825. Should any remain, they will be on sale on the door, although the concert normally sells out.

The band, as ever, has a busy year of concerts and competition invites which can be viewed at its website at www.eymsbrassband.co.uk, which also has details of the players and the bands latest news and history.
We have more newsletters

Something went wrong, please try again later.

Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later.

Sign up to the Grimsby Live newsletter for daily updates and breaking news

Lincolnshire astronaut, Michael Foale has boldly gone to join the space elite.

The 60-year-old born in Louth who visited Grimsby schools after his first voyage into space described his pride at his induction into the The National Aeronautics and Space Administration hall of fame at Kennedy Space Centre, Florida.

He joins the first man to walk on the moon Neil Armstrong and John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth.

He has added the honour to his honorary doctorate he received at Grimsby Auditorium in July 2000 from the University of Lincolnshire and Humberside.

The Louth-born astronaut received a CBE in 2005.

He also visited a number of schools in Grimsby to inspire children.

In an emotional speech in Florida, he described his joy at telling his mother Mary of the Hall of Fame honour shortly before she died in Cambridgeshire earlier this year.

His achievement as the first Briton to walk in space was recognised with a CBE by The Queen.

He also held the record for the longest time in space - more than 374 days in space.

He held that until April 2008.

His father Colin, a former squadron leader, was stationed at RAF Manby in 1957 when he was born in Louth.

The town of his birth honoured him by naming Michale Foale Lane, after the astronaut.

He was educated at The Kings School Canterbury and studied at Queens college, Cambridge and was a fellow along with presenter, Stephen Fry.

He recalled Fry mocking him for his ambition to go into space.

Michael, who has joint British and American citizenship, has become the only Briton to have served on both Mir and the International Space Station (ISS).

During his NASA career, he became Chief of the Soyuz Branch at Johnson Space Center supporting Soyuz and International Space Station operations.

His first mission was in 1992 to study the atmosphere and solar interactions, returning to make observations of the solar corona in 1993.

In 1995, during a rendezvous with the Russian space station Mir, he made a space walk for four hours 39 minutes, evaluating cold conditions on spacesuits.

Two years later, Foale spent 145 days on Mir.

He is respected for the crisis he endured during a five-month stay on Mir in 1997, when a Progress supply ship crashed into the outpost, causing it to lose power, depressurize and begin tumbling.

That mission I thought was just going to be kind of a ho-hum for me research mission, but it wasnt, said Foale.

It became one of the most rewarding experiences in a weird and odd way, even though so much trouble befell that mission.

Foale worked with ground teams to stabilize the space station and later performed a spacewalk to inspect damage to the Spektr module and a solar panel.

In 2003 Foale, Russian cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri and Spanish astronaut Pedro Duque reached the space station after a two-day trip.

When he retired in 2013, Foale initially set out to develop an electric aircraft, but has moved on to applying machine learning to aerospace systems.
Google has launched its VR headsey, the Daydream View, in India. The headset is listed on the Google online store but isnt actually available there. For now, Flipkart is the only official retailer for this headset.

Daydream View is Googles first VR headset. It lets you plug in your phone and uses the display and sensors on the phone to power your VR experience. There is also a wireless remote available with additional buttons and sensors for further control. The headset is made out of breathable fabric for a comfortable fit.

The headset currently is only compatible with select smartphones, including the Google Pixel and Pixel XL, Moto Z, ZTE Axon 7, and Huawei Mate 9 Pro. Support for Samsung Galaxy S8 and ASUS ZenFone AR has also been announced and is coming soon.

The Daydream View is priced at INR 6499 ($100) and it is available today in the Slate color.
We already know the Motorola Moto X (2017) will arrive as Moto X4. Key specs of the device have also been leaked and now, we have the unveiling date for the handset as well. According to a new rumor, the phone will be made official on June 30.

If you're looking for a complete all rounder, the #motoX4, out supposedly June 30th, is your best bet. IP68, Dual Camera, Glass build. #moto  Andri Yatim (@HeyAndri) June 9, 2017

3800mAh. SD 660, so fast charging 3.0 via USB type C  Andri Yatim (@HeyAndri) June 10, 2017

The rumor also mentions some specs - dual camera setup and glass build. That aligns nicely with previous reports so there's good reason to believe it's spot on.

Wow. Getting a LOT of #motoX4 questions. 5.2" FHD, SD660, 4GB+32/64GB, 3800mAh, Dual 13MP f1.7+f2.2 Front w LED. NFC, TouchID. Glass+Metal.  Andri Yatim (@HeyAndri) June 10, 2017

As for pricing, it's said to be INR 20,999 (around $325)

iPhone 7 DUAL CAMERA envy? #motoG5S+, #motoX4 and #motoZ2Force all coming summer 2017. Rs 17999, Rs 20999 and Rs38999 respectively. #Moto  Andri Yatim (@HeyAndri) June 8, 2017

Source | Via 1 2
Job Archive July 2021 (524) June 2021 (681) May 2021 (698) April 2021 (659) March 2021 (688) February 2021 (615) January 2021 (698) December 2020 (714) November 2020 (671) October 2020 (631) September 2020 (690) August 2020 (713) July 2020 (713) June 2020 (690) May 2020 (713) April 2020 (690) March 2020 (713) February 2020 (667) January 2020 (713) December 2019 (713) November 2019 (687) October 2019 (711) September 2019 (689) August 2019 (711) July 2019 (707) June 2019 (688) May 2019 (2002) April 2019 (1978) March 2019 (2039) February 2019 (1688) January 2019 (2251) December 2018 (2095) November 2018 (1932) October 2018 (1984) September 2018 (1914) August 2018 (39) July 2018 (72) June 2018 (44) May 2018 (76) April 2018 (65) March 2018 (16) February 2018 (32) January 2018 (201) December 2017 (352) November 2017 (381) October 2017 (600) September 2017 (1211) August 2017 (1655) July 2017 (1590) June 2017 (1506) May 2017 (1902) April 2017 (1965) March 2017 (1417) February 2017 (1808) January 2017 (1807) December 2016 (1593) November 2016 (1376) October 2016 (1408) September 2016 (1317) August 2016 (1499) July 2016 (1504) June 2016 (1421) May 2016 (1391) April 2016 (1340) March 2016 (1476) February 2016 (1396) January 2016 (1474) December 2015 (1409) November 2015 (1367) October 2015 (1478) September 2015 (1441) August 2015 (1467) July 2015 (1465) June 2015 (1410) May 2015 (1057) April 2015 (1269) March 2015 (1132) February 2015 (1151) January 2015 (1152) December 2014 (1156) November 2014 (1267) October 2014 (81)




Haiti - Tourism : Haiti attends the Caribbean Tourism Week





On the sidelines of the Caribbean Tourism Week of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), which ended on Saturday in New York, the Ministry of Tourism also represented Haiti on Thursday at the Caribbean Media Market Place. Through its kiosk, the Ministry's team has presented the gastronomy and tourist attractions of Haiti to a public composed of journalists specialized in tourism, travel and leisure based in the United States and other countries of the Caribbean.



The members of the Haitian delegation led by the Director General, Andy Durosier, composed of Godson Lubrun of the Department of Communication of the Ministry and Mrs. Carine Beauvoir of the Cabinet of Minister Menos, joined by the team of the Consulate of Haiti In New York led by the Consul General, Peter Helder Bernard held many fruitful exchanges during this week dedicated to tourism, focusing on targeted topics for the development of tourism in the region.



The Haitian delegation, in addition to the statuary sessions, also participated in the conference on marketing of tourist destinations and on the new trends in the Caribbean tourism market.



SL/ HaitiLibre


















Published on 2017/06/11 | Source

Apartment prices in Seoul grew at the fastest clip in the country in the first half of this year, surpassing even the booming southern port city of Busan.

Advertisement

Until early May, Busan still had the highest growth in apartment prices, but Seoul apartment prices have grown at a faster pace since the election of President Moon Jae-in.

According to property information service Real Estate 114 on Thursday, Seoul apartment prices had soared 2.04 percent as of June 2, compared to 1.89 percent in the first six months of last year.

Lee Mi-yoon at Real Estate 114 said, "Expectations over the new administration's economic stimulus measures stoked investment demand for apartments, so prices are rising quickly".

Busan apartment prices rose 1.66 percent over the same period.
Published on 2017/06/11 | Source

In a sign that summer has arrived, city officials in Seoul on Friday began taking bookings for public campsites along the Han River in Seoul.

Advertisement

The campsites are very popular summer getaway destinations among city residents, with tents set up for campers' convenience.

This year the campsites will be available from July 7 to Aug. 20. A total of 430 tents will be provided: 200 in Yeouido, 130 in Ttukseom, and 100 in Jamwon. The fees are W25,000 on weekends and holidays, and W15,000 on weekdays (US$1=W1,123).

Reservations started Friday for July 7-31, and will begin June 16 for the Aug. 1-20 period, at www.hancamp.co.kr. Bookings are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.
Remy Martin goes virtual

By Jo Gilbert

Remy Martin is the latest brand to hop on board the virtual reality train to explore new ways of engaging with customers.

The historic Cognac house has gone from vertical to virtual tasting with the launch of a "mixed reality" learning experience, which uses elements of the real and the virtual to interact with audiences.

The initiative, called Rooted in Exception, which will launch in Los Angeles on June 15, before being rolled out to stores and events worldwide.

The company has partnered with Kazendi for the initiative, which holographically displays the Cognac Grande Champagne and Cognac Petite Champagne vineyards in three-dimensions.

The interactive experience features the voice of cellar master Baptiste Loiseau, and uses virtual technology, called HoloLens from Microsoft.

Remy Martin said the initiative combines core values of creativity and craftsmanship with the aim of targeting modern consumers.

To us, mixed reality is an amazing opportunity for storytelling. How better could we engage our customers and tell them about our roots than by bringing our story to life, for them to see? said global executive director, Augustin Depardon.

Engaging people in new social experiences was the goal for Kazendis Maximillian Doelle, which launched its first consumer brand experience using HoloLens with Remy Martin.
There are no preconditions for continuing co-operation with the Finns Party led by Halla-aho, Sipila and Orpo tweeted shortly after 2pm on Monday.

The chairpersons of the Centre and the National Coalition, Prime Minister Juha Sipila (Centre) and Minister of Finance Petteri Orpo (NCP), have announced they are not prepared not continue coalition co-operation with the Finns Party following two hours of discussions with the newly-elected chairperson of the populist party, Jussi Halla-aho, on Monday.

Sipila is therefore expected to begin negotiations with representatives of the opposition parties over the formation of a new coalition government. The other, albeit very unlikely, alternative is to call snap elections.

The Swedish Peoples Party has already announced its willingness to discuss forming a coalition government with the Centre and the National Coalition, its chairperson, Anna-Maja Henriksson, said to Helsingin Sanomat. The Christian Democratic Party has similarly announced its readiness to sit down with the two remaining members of the ruling coalition.

The Left Alliance, Green League and the Social Democrats, by contrast, have declared that they are only willing to participate in coalition formation talks after parliamentary elections.

The negotiations between Sipila, Orpo and Halla-aho began at 10am on Monday. Halla-aho walked out on the negotiations shortly at midday, leaving Sipila and Orpo to weigh up their options.

Sipila is scheduled to hold a news conference at 5pm today, while the parliamentary groups of both the Centre and National Coalition are to convene at 7.30pm to discuss the proposals of their chairpersons to dismantle the government.

UPDATE 4.15pm: The Social Democratic Party has announced it is not willing to begin talks over forming a new coalition government. The Christian Democrats, on the other hand, said it is willing to sit down with the Centre and National Coalition.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Emmi Korhonen  Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
Jussi Halla-aho, who is known for his hard-line views and outspoken comments on immigration and multiculturalism, was elected as the chairperson of the populist party by an absolute majority in Jyvaskyla on Saturday.

Finlands ruling three-party coalition is at risk of collapsing due to the changing of the guard at the Finns Party, a number of leading legislators warned on Saturday.

He has promised to place greater emphasis on issues important to the rank and file of the party  namely, immigration and the integration of the European Union  and is widely expected to live up to his promises due to the strong mandate he received from his fellow members of the Finns Party. Halla-aho won more than a half (949) of votes cast in the first round of voting to beat his closest rival, Sampo Terho, by a margin of 320 votes and guarantee that no second round of voting was necessary.

His emergence to the helm of one of the three ruling parties could ignite a coalition crisis, admitted both Prime Minister Juha Sipila (Centre) and Minister of Finance Petteri Orpo (NCP).

This is a tough spot for the government. Well decide together how to proceed, he commented to Helsingin Sanomat in Estonia on Saturday.

The National Coalition will consider whether or not the preconditions for continuing the coalition co-operation remain in place following the change of leadership at the Finns Party, according to Orpo.

Several open questions arose during the course of the leadership campaign and already before it when it comes to the Finns Party, he commented in an interview with Verkkouutiset on Saturday.

The National Coalition, he emphasised, will only be part of a ruling coalition the policies of which are founded on positive and sustainable values, such as inalienable human rights and principles of the rule of law.

Its also a question of principles, the principles on which the government programme was built, he said according to Helsingin Sanomat.

Halla-aho, who is currently a Member of the European Parliament, dismissed such concerns as unwarranted in his acceptance speech in Jyvaskyla on Sunday, assuring that no dramatic changes will be introduced to the political platform of the Finns Party and reminding that he is simply demanding that the government implement its action plan in full.

I dont think thats an unreasonable demand, he said.

His election victory has also stirred up concerns among the ranks of the opposition parties.

Li Andersson, the chairperson of the Left Alliance, argued that snap elections are required due to the growing divide between the three ruling parties. The Finns Party, she says, is likely to shake up its political platform considerably regardless of whether or not its newly-elected chairperson decides to take on a ministerial portfolio.

If the party decides to remain a part of the coalition government, the emphasis placed on its new platform would be disproportionately high in comparison to its vote share in the previous parliamentary elections, according to Andersson.

It would be good to hold new elections to guarantee consumer protection for voters, she argues in a press release.

Ville Niinisto, the chairperson of the Green League, estimated that the election result will test the commitment of the Centre and the National Coalition  the two other members of the three-party ruling coalition  to fostering their equality and tolerance-based ideological legacy.

The Finns Party will become a single-issue party under the leadership of Halla-aho: a divisive party that seeks to erode the position of minorities and confine the global position of Finland. Finland cannot afford to have such a party as part of the ruling coalition, he wrote on Facebook.

What is at stake is more than the fate of a single government, he added.

Sipila, Orpo and Halla-aho will meet for the first time after the elections in Helsinki on Monday. Sipila estimated in an interview on YLE Radio Suomi on Sunday that the meeting will determine whether or not continuing the coalition co-operation is possible.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Jussi Nukari  Lehtikuva
A Dutch accountancy student flying to Dublin on a class trip hurled drunken abuse at cabin crew after downing nearly a full bottle of whiskey.

Sandro Taruchaladze (25) had drunk the spirits before boarding the plane, became aggressive en route and was arrested on arrival in Ireland.

Giving him a two-month suspended sentence, a judge ordered Taruchaladze to stay sober for the rest of his visit and advised him not to go on any of Dublin's famous brewery tours.

The accused, from Zoutmanstraat, Amsterdam, pleaded guilty to intoxication and being threatening and abusive on board an aircraft on June 8.

Garda Sharon Breen told Dublin District Court Taruchaladze left his seat several times during the flight and refused to obey the flight crew. He also became aggressive to one of them.

Gda Breen said she arrested Taruchaladze at 4.40pm on June 8 and brought him to Ballymun Garda Station, where he later made no reply to the charge.

Foolishly

The accused had been highly intoxicated and was still drunk when arrested, his solicitor said.

His professor had been able to reason with him on the plane and put him back in his seat, where he fell asleep. He continued to shout in his sleep.

He had "foolishly" drunk most of a bottle of whiskey in duty free in Amsterdam and did not remember anything after he got on the plane.

The accused's professor told Judge Alan Mitchell it was a trip for international business and to "see the sights" in Dublin.

"I might suggest the trip does not include the distilleries - Jameson and Guinness - he might stay in the hotel," the judge said.

He suspended the sentence for a year and refused to leave him without a conviction.

"You might think in one way it's a bit harsh, but on the other hand people on planes can't behave like that - situations have escalated on planes," he said.
This is the dramatic moment when armed police swooped on a Dublin man over the feud murder of Gareth Hutch.

Jonathan Keogh (31) was arrested at 1am in Essex on a European Arrest Warrant.

Our exclusive picture shows how undercover detectives surrounded Keogh's car before smashing the windows to get him out of the vehicle

Officers from the UK's elite National Crime Agency (NCA) stopped his car in the Romford area early yesterday morning.

Keogh, whom gardai want to question in relation to the murder, was arrested and cuffed at the scene

He now faces extradition from the UK.

Gareth Hutch (35) was shot dead at the Avondale House apartment complex in North Cumberland Street, Dublin 1, in May last year.

CCTV footage showed two gunmen, with their faces covered, approaching Gareth Hutch from behind before shooting him a number of times.

Detained

Last night Keogh, originally from Dublin's north-inner city, was being detained in a London Metropolitan Police station before the extradition process begins.

His brother, Michael, became the latest victim of the Hutch/Kinahan feud when he was gunned down in the city centre last month.

Michael Keogh (37) was considered a soft target and is not believed to have been directly involved in the ongoing feud.

In relation to yesterday's arrest, a gardai spokesman said: "The NCA, in conjunction with An Garda Siochana and the London Metropolitan Police have arrested a 31-year-old man in the Romford area of Essex in the UK on foot of a European Arrest warrant."

Photos obtained by the Herald show undercover detectives with their faces covered standing around Keogh, who is handcuffed.

Shattered glass can be seen on the ground next to the vehicle he was travelling in.

Up to six police units were involved in the arrest on Victoria Road shortly before 1am.

It comes as gardai put in place a comprehensive security plan for today's funeral of Michael Keogh.

The ceremony will be held in Dublin's Sean McDermott Street, where a number of other funerals of feud victims have already taken place.

Torched

Members of the Armed Support Unit (ASU) as well as local armed detectives and uniformed gardai will be on duty throughout the service to prevent any attacks from the opposing faction.

Sources have stated that tensions between the two feuding sides remain extremely high in the wake of the recent murder. A number of tit-for-tat attacks targeting the cars of innocent family members have also taken place in recent weeks.

Four cars belonging to the relatives of the Hutch family have been burnt out. Another, belonging to the mother of a Kinahan associate, was also torched.

Michael Keogh became the 12th victim of the deadly Hutch/Kinahan feud when he was shot dead in his car in the underground car park at the Sheridan Court flats complex early on the morning of Wednesday, June 31.

The father-of-two had just started a new job in the construction industry.

While not considered a major criminal, he was linked to the so-called New INLA faction which has aligned itself with the Kinahan cartel.

He was found in his car in the car park by a council worker shortly before 10am.

Tensions

A car, which gardai believe was used as a getaway vehicle, was later found burnt-out on Clonliffe Avenue at 7.30am.

Inside was a handgun with a silencer attached.

So far, the ongoing gangland feud has claimed 12 lives both in Ireland and abroad

This tally includes two innocent men who were shot dead in a case of mistaken identity. Gardai said more than 20 lives have been saved as a result of interceptions and arrests of people linked to both gangs.

"While it is regrettable that we have had this, the first gangland murder in Dublin this year, the investigation team based in Mountjoy and those assisting from around the Dublin Metropolitan region have built up a level of experience," said Assistant Garda Commissioner John O'Driscoll.
A cocaine dealer has threatened to "slice the throat" of drug mule Michaella McCollum unless she returns money owed after she was caught smuggling in Peru, it has been claimed.

The terrifying messages were sent to a friend of the Northern Irish former model (24) via social media earlier this year.

The sender threatened to "slice her throat" and demanded cash for the "11kg of pure" she was caught with at Lima's Jorge Chavez International Airport in 2013.

Kill

The messages were sent from an anonymous social media account to McCollum's friend Kaouthar Essafi over Instagram.

"I'm gonna kill her ... and that's on my mother's life, I am gonna slice her throat. I just want my money ... 11kg of pure we are talking about here. This ain't no small change ... she is trying to make a media career out of us. And I want it back or she's dead," the messages read.

They emerged after McCollum was photographed enjoying her freedom on a Spanish beach earlier this year and was reported to have been working on a TV crime documentary.

However, Dutch woman Essafi, who served time with McCollum in Ancon II prison and lived with her in Lima following her release, claimed police were not able to further the matter, reportedly describing it as "nothing serious".

"Michaella went to them and it was no help at all," Essafi told the Sunday World.

In 2013, McCollum and her Scottish friend Melissa Reid were sentenced to six years and eight months in prison but were released a year ago after serving less than half the sentence.

Admissions

The pair, who were both living and working in Ibiza before their arrest, both claimed to have been kidnapped from the party hotspot and forced at gunpoint to carry the drugs.

But they eventually admitted to smuggling the drugs and police believe they were going to be paid around 5,700.

According to a Peruvian drugs chief, McCollum agreed to take part in the deal after being approached by a low level dealer in a bar. Police were never able to identify the members of the drug cartel behind the stash seized from the pair.
Moves are afoot to block the Christian Brothers from selling an 18m site for housing surrounding a Dublin school.

Councillors will tonight debate a series of motions seeking emergency changes to the zoning around Clonkeen College in Deansgrange.

The religious order is in the process of selling seven acres at the school, including a number of playing pitches.

Contract

It says the money raised will be used to pay compensation for victims of clerical abuse and the Brothers have promised to secure 3.5 acres and 1.3m for the school.

However, the potential sale has been met with outrage from teachers and parents.

Discussions on selling the land began in May 2016 - but the school management was not told until recent weeks when a contract was entered into by the Brothers and developer Patrick Durkan Senior. Clonkeen is the only non-fee-paying post-primary school in an area that has an expanding population. Motions have now been placed before Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in a last ditch bid to derail the sale.

The land in question is currently zoned as 'residential' but among the measures being proposed is to rezone it as 'open space and recreational'. This would effectively block a developer from building homes. Nineteen schools in the Deansgrange area feed into the college, Fine Gael councillor John Bailey told the Herald.

"This is a disgrace. The local zoning plan will have to be changed, and quickly," he said.

An application for 48 apartments in the area was turned down in 2008 because it would have impacted badly on the character of the area and traffic, he added. He also noted the Department of Education and Skills has spent 10m in recent years upgrading the school.

"If this plan by the Christian Brothers goes ahead, it will leave the school with just over three acres for playing pitches. That's not enough," he said.

"It's in a very tightly-knit area. This school is ready now to expend and cater for further needs of the area."

Opposed

Cllr Bailey wants the council to write to the Minister for Education to see whether it is possible for the State to buy the land with a view to building further educational facilities.

"People are totally opposed to any residential development on this site," he said.

It is understood the school presented its own plans for the development of an all-weather facility on the playing fields to Edmund Rice Schools Trust just weeks after the charity was approached by developer Patrick Durkan Snr.

The charity is legally responsible for the congregation's property.
A Dublin woman staying in emergency accommodation with her two children has said she leaves the room in the morning and does not return until late at night because there is nothing to do.

Jennifer Daly, from Dublin city centre, has been homeless for almost a year and has been staying in hotels since September 2016 with her children, aged six and one.

Ms Daly is currently availing of emergency accommodation where a family hub is expected to be located in the near future.

Speaking to the Herald, Ms Daly said she tries to spend as much time as possible out of her accommodation, and that once she finishes the school run, she stays away as much as possible.

She said she has been given very little information on her situation when it comes to family hubs, but said she does not expect much to change at the current property when it is transformed into a hub.

"All they're doing is changing the name, the rooms are still going to be the same," she said.

"There's nothing for the kids to do around here, it's a bad spot. There's really nothing for them at all.

"I haven't got a clue what the next step is [in relation to the family hub] - I would like to know what's happening," she added.

Ms Daly explained that her current living situation is cramped.

"It's very basic, the room is a box room, we do have a bathroom though," she said.

Privacy

Another mother availing of emergency accommodation previously hit out at the proposed family hubs.

Cheryl Barnwell said that the hubs are not sufficient because they are just hotels, with the name removed.

She added that everyone should have their own home and privacy.

Last month, Cheryl (26) spoke of how she had to seek refuge at a garda station with her partner and her two children, due to the lack of emergency accommodation.

After making hundreds of phone calls to secure emergency shelter at hotels and B&Bs, the family from Finglas was even turned away from spending the night in a garda cell.

They spent the night sleeping on the floor of a homelessness charity's office.

Ms Barnwell said they were told by officials from Focus Ireland's Homeless Action Team (HAT) that the only option to ensure their safety was to present themselves at a garda station.

Yet when they arrived at Finglas Garda Station, Ms Barnwell said a garda told her: "There's nothing we can do for you. You can't stay here."
GLADE SPRING, Va.  Glade Christian Academy flooded twice this spring during heavy downpours  just a few months after the last payment was made on the 15-year mortgage.

There is no flood insurance on the two-story building in Glade Spring, so Administrator Donna Stanley is trying to raise the money for repair costs in hopes downstairs classrooms can be used by the time the new school year begins in August.

After learning those costs could be as much as $22,000, Stanley is uncertain how they will raise the money in only three months. She is asking for donations from members of the community who want to help rebuild their school.

Were trying to look at the positive side. Even though its devastating, God is in control. Theres a purpose in this. We dont know what good may come out of this, she said.

Stanley and Marsha Smith, who also teaches at the academy, worked hard to make sure students didnt miss any school days after the flooding. Classrooms were moved to the cafeteria upstairs for the last two weeks of the school year. The school even managed to conduct a graduation ceremony for two of its 19 students at Little Flock Church in town. Summer school classes continue to meet upstairs.

Parents and former students of the academy recently pitched in to help move heavy furniture and school supplies into a rented storage building to help reduce the fees charged by a professional cleaning crew.

Justin Smith and his sister, Brittany Smith, both graduates of the academy, didnt hesitate to offer their help.

I think its cool I was able to go back after I graduated to offer a hand when the school needed it the most. Its a good school and I really enjoyed going there, said Justin Smith.

Then it happened again

On May 24, the building flooded for a second time.

Water was standing everywhere, said Stanley.

It was the same scenario all over again. Staff members and volunteers came to their aid. Fans were used to help dry out the water, much of which receded on its own this time.

According to Stanley, the school will conduct studies during the summer to determine if the cause of the flooding is isolated to the school property.

An assessment by the Army Corps of Engineering, which recently visited the town, indicated several nearby drains that flow into Hutton Creek, which runs underneath the school, are not being properly maintained and may be clogged.

When the water in the ground goes down, we hope to open pipes on our property to see if thats where the problem lies, Stanley said.

Selling lunches on Fridays

Stanley said they will do their part to raise money to pay for the necessary repairs. Instead of replacing the sheet rock down to the floor, they have been advised to use wainscoting. They plan to install ceramic tiles in the rooms that had carpeting.

The administrator recalled the school building was paid for with money raised from selling lunches prepared in their cafeteria to business people in town.

So, we plan to do that again, said Stanley. We may have to take out a bank loan, too.

Were a non-profit organization. We pay our bills solely on the tuitions we receive. And, of course, God has blessed us with donations along the way. Theres not much money left over. Sometimes, I dont get paid. But, its rewarding for me to walk in that school every day and see those kids who are blessed by coming here.
ABINGDON, Va. -- A multiple partner active shooter drill will take place on Thursday at the C.B. Hale Community Services Building on Lee Highway in Bristol, Virginia.

Agencies taking part in the drill include the U.S. Marshal Service, Washington County Department of Emergency Management, Virginia State Police, Bristol Virginia Police Department, Washington County Fire and Rescue, along with several volunteer fire departments and the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.

In todays society of public violence, preparation for these types of situations is key," said Washington County, Virginia Sheriff Fred Newman. "We have worked diligently with our partners, DSS, VDH and CCC, not only to conduct a real-life scenario, but to put a plan in place, should something like this happen in our community."

The C. B. Hale Community Services Building will be closed from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on June 15. Residents, commuters and citizens should be aware an increase in law enforcement and rescue personal presence in this area of Lee Highway during that time.
There will be much for special counsel Robert Mueller to unpack after last weeks momentous testimony of James Comey: Did President Trumps actions amount to obstruction of justice? Did Attorney General Jeff Sessions violate his recusal from the Russia probe? Should Comey have acted sooner?

But such legal considerations, though important, miss the real significance of Comeys testimony heard-round-the-world. In the three hours I sat transfixed in Room 216 of the Hart Building, 15 feet behind the fired FBI director, the line that chilled me more than any other was Comeys account of why he wrote extensive, real-time notes of his conversations with Trump. The nature of the person, Comey explained in part. I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting, and so I thought it really important to document.

The nature of the person.

This was the essence of Comeys testimony: that the president of the United States is, at his core, a dishonest and untrustworthy man. It was a judgment on character, not a legal opinion, and even Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee made no real attempt to dispel it.

By itself, its neither a high crime nor a misdemeanor for a president to be dishonorable. But its a stain on the country, and it defines this moment. This is why Trump cant get legislation through Congress or get allies to cooperate, and why so many worry he will disregard constitutional restraints. The president is not to be trusted.

The founders did not anticipate this, a defect not just of private misconduct (which weve seen before) but of public character. The process of election affords a moral certainty, Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist 68, that the office of president will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications. Talents for low intrigue, and the little arts of popularity, may alone suffice to elevate a man to the first honors in a single state; but it will require other talents, and a different kind of merit, to establish him in the esteem and confidence of the whole Union, or of so considerable a portion of it as would be necessary to make him a successful candidate for the distinguished office of president of the United States. It will not be too strong to say, that there will be a constant probability of seeing the station filled by characters pre-eminent for ability and virtue.

But the moral certainty of the Enlightenment broke down with the election of something more medieval. When Sen. Angus King, the Maine independent, asked Comey whether he took as a directive Trumps expressed hope that Comey drop the FBIs probe of ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn, Comey reached back to the words of 12th-century autocrat Henry II that led to the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket. Yes, Comey said, it rings in my ear as kind of, Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?

The former FBI chief and top official in the George W. Bush Justice Department was unsparing in his challenge to Trumps character, saying that Trumps administration chose to defame me and the FBI with lies  plain and simple. Comey noted that he never felt the need to document his conversations with Presidents Bush or Barack Obama, telling Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, that he got a gut feeling about Trump and the nature of the person that I was interacting with.

Republicans on and off the panel largely accept Comeys assessment of Trumps character. House Speaker Paul Ryan suggested that the presidents new at this and probably wasnt steeped in the long-running protocols. But, he added, Im not saying its an acceptable excuse.

Republicans on the committee defended Trump on some technical points but not on matters of integrity. Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, called Comeys testimony as good as it gets for legal writing and accepted that we know exactly what happened between him and Trump. Collins said Trump never should have cleared the room, and he never should have asked you, as you reported, to let it go  to let the investigation go.

Trump is growing lonely in his protestations of his own probity. Friday morning, he inexplicably claimed total and complete vindication. Trumps spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders vouched that the president is not a liar. I think its frankly insulting that that question would be asked.

No, whats insulting  to America  is that the question doesnt need to be asked. Comey, until last month the nations top lawman, confirmed what we already knew.

Follow Dana Milbank on Twitter, @Milbank.
Elbit Systems unveiled today an advanced capability that has been operational for several years with the military forces of several nations, in homeland security and the war on terror.

The system known as SkEye performs Wide Area Persistent Surveillance (WAPS) video surveillance by airborne manned and unmanned platforms. SkEye is a unique, new system that enables security or military forces to constantly and closely monitor an area of interest up to 80 square kilometers large. (the actual size of the area is determined by the sensors height). The system uses a single payload integrating multiple cameras that together provides an image of one billion pixels in size.

SkEye provides real-time, high-resolution monitoring of the entire area, providing up to ten simultaneous areas of interest in real time. In addition, it also provides operators and analysts backtracking capability tracing events back in time to detect the origins of related movements and events.

Unlike conventional EO payloads that record and display imagery in specific resolution and magnification as it was obtained at the time of vision (real time) SkEye enables users to simultaneously look at up to 10 Regions of Interest (ROI), using different viewing angles and magnifications (zoom in or out). At any time they can look back in time to analyze how a situation unfolds.

SkEye is not positioned to replace traditional payloads, but provide a new capability we know as WAPS  it provides a clearer picture in less time, thus exponentially increasing trust in the decision-making process explain Yair Ganor, business development manager, for persistent surveillance and WAPS at Elbit Systems Intelligence & C4ISR division. While looking over a large Area-of-Interest (AOI), operators can zoom into multiple Regions of Interest (ROI) simultaneously and understand the connection between them. This is achieved without neglecting the rest of the area, which is still being recorded and constantly analyzed.

At the heart of the system is the airborne segment consisting of the EO sensor unit, an advanced image processing unit, a large mass-storage unit and analysis applications enhancing the imagery with geolocation anchoring of video imagery, video motion detection (VMD), adhering to safe zones and application of multiple target trackers.

Via an embedded data link, the relevant information is transmitted from the aircraft to the SkEye, Control, and Management Center (SCMC) that can be located at a fixed site, or transported in a standard 20 foot ISO shelter. The ground segment includes the communications, processing and display systems, as well as a local database saving a short version of history. The fixed installation would have access to longer history for deeper analysis. The ground segment can operate independently or integrate with the customers other Command & Control (C2) solutions. The system can also operate with the Ground Eye surveillance system, that provides ground-level surveillance with multi-sensor units covering arcs of 70 to 90 degrees providing similar capabilities  a high resolution all seeing eye supporting eight areas of interest and video backtracking capability through the entire area.

SkEye WAPS features a fully-programmable alerting system that allows commanders to be notified of specific/unusual events through a customized alert mechanism. These capabilities complement and enhance SkEye WAPS unparalleled persistent surveillance functions, providing operators with an exceptional solution for locating and monitoring different situations.

The solution is operational in several countries, utilizing unmanned platforms such as the Hermes 900 and Hermes 450, as well as various light manned aircraft including Cessna C208 Caravan and Viking Air Twin Otter DHC-6. The aircraft installations are often used over urban areas where access to unmanned systems is limited. Such platforms are more suitable for border and infrastructure security, as well as military persistent surveillance in combat theaters where permissive environment enable continuous loitering of drones.

Elbit Systems will reveal at the 2017 Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, taking place this week, an innovative wide area persistent surveillance solution  SkEye WAPS.
HICKORY  For more than a year, Americans discussed health care reform, a politically charged topic.

The American Health Care Act of 2017 (AHCA), which failed to pass in March, made it through the U.S. House of Representatives on May 4.

Senators now have a chance to write their own bill or utilize the House's efforts; however, insurance companies, hospitals and individuals face a possible change and uncertainty.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC) President and CEO Brad Wilson recently wrote a blog post about the AHCA to address the unknown.

Uncertainty over the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is not helping health insurers prepare to offer ACA coverage next year, Wilson said. It also is not helping the more than 500,000 North Carolinians who depend on the ACA for access to health care.

AHCA vs. ACA

The ACA, also known as Obamacare, mandates citizens have health insurance via their full-time employment, Medicaid or Medicare, or insurance purchased individually or through the insurance exchange.

The law created state-based health insurance exchanges and decreased Medicare spending by reducing payments for Medicare Advantage plans, hospitals and other providers, according to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), a nonpartisan, nonprofit group that reports on health policy.

The AHCA (also known as Trumpcare), as it currently stands, would repeal ACA mandates, retain private market rules and impose a late enrollment penalty for people who do not stay continuously covered, according to the KFF.

The biggest unknown that affects premiums and coverage for ACA customers for 2018 boils down to this: Will Congress ensure that federal payments continue for the program that helps certain lower-income ACA customers pay their out-of-pocket costs? Wilson said via his blog post.

The ACA's mandate taxed individuals who didn't purchase insurance, but some people could avoid the tax via exemptions.

Examples of the exemptions include homelessness, experienced damage from a fire or flood, or individuals in debt due to medical expenses, according to Healthcare.gov.

The ACA encourages Americans to purchase insurance plans. However, some employers found it more cost effective to pay a penalty and let employees purchase insurance through the exchange, and insurance companies canceled many of its plans because policies didn't cover the ACA's 10 essential benefits, according to FactCheck.org.

The ACA also imposed surtaxes on high-income families; excise taxes on health insurers, pharmaceutical companies, and manufacturers of medical devices; and increased limits on the income tax deduction for medical expenses or raised additional revenue for reform, according to the Tax Policy Center.

The Congressional Budget Offices (CBO) cost estimate for the AHCA identifies the largest savings would come from reductions in outlays for Medicaid and from the replacement of the ACAs subsidies for nongroup health insurance with new tax credits.

Vice president of Communications at the North Carolina Hospital Association (NCHA) Julie Henry said the organization is advocating for key items in the new legislation.

We want to work with Congress to make improvements to the AHCA, Henry said. I feel sure there will be changes.

The NCHA advocates for access to affordable insurance while sustaining the coverage North Carolinians received via the ACA, and the group hopes health insurance reform is not rushed.

Reform shouldn't be hastened too quickly, Henry said. We had five years to adjust to the ACA, and we would want a similar phase under different legislation.

The CBO and the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimated by 2018, 14 million more Americans would be uninsured by the AHCA than under current law.

The increase in the number of uninsured people relative to the number projected under current law would reach 19 million in 2020 and 23 million in 2026.

In 2026, an estimated 51 million people under the age of 65 would be uninsured, compared with 28 million who would lack insurance under the current law.

Henry explained hospitals and other medical organizations many times foot the bill for patients in some way, whether it is writing costs off or increasing prices.

If you are not going to help underwrite the cost upfront, you will pay for it in some other way, Henry said.

Medicaid

The ACA expanded Medicaid to 133 percent of the federal poverty level as an option for states and required a single, streamlined application for tax credits, Medicaid and the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP), according to KFF.

The AHCAs changes and cuts to Medicaid could cost some Americans their access to government health care.

"Some nonelderly adults with disabilities have gained Medicaid eligibility through the ACAs expansion, and the House bill calls for eliminating the expansions enhanced federal matching funds, according to KFF.

The Catawba Valley Medical Center Chief Financial Officer Kimberly Crews said via a statement the hospitals 15 primary care practices would give residents a more affordable option versus using the Emergency Department.

Regardless of pending legislation, CVMC is focused on improving population health, Crews said via the statement. (The primary care practices) serve individuals and families with preventive care, life-saving screenings and chronic disease management in more affordable primary care settings rather than the Emergency Department or repeated hospital admissions.

The ACA also closed the Medicare Part D coverage gap, enhanced coverage of preventive benefits in Medicare and required 10 essential health benefits to be covered by all individual and small group health insurance policies.

The 10 health benefits are: ambulatory patient services, emergency services, hospitalization, maternity and newborn care, mental health and substance abuse disorder services, prescription drugs, rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices, laboratory services, preventive and wellness services and chronic disease management, and pediatric services.

Medicaid covers more than three in 10 nonelderly adults (about seven million nationwide) with disabilities and provides a broad range of medical and long-term care services that enables people with disabilities to live and work in the U.S., according to the KFF.

States could be offered increased flexibility beyond what is available under current law in future legislation and may look to cuts in Medicaid eligibility, benefits and provider reimbursement as a result of the associated federal funding reductions, according to the KFF.

While we are still evaluating the newly proposed ACHA, we believe speculation on its financial impact would be premature at this time," Crews said via the statement. "The goal of any comprehensive health care legislation should be to support access to care and coverage for as many people as possible.

Aside from nonelderly, disabled adults, the AHCA could impact 18 percent of North Carolinians, and 20 percent nationwide, who are currently enrolled in Medicaid.

The bill lowers, from 133 percent to 100 percent of the official poverty line, the minimum family-income threshold that a state may use to determine the Medicaid eligibility of children between the ages of 6 and 19," according to the House bill. "In addition, the bill reduces the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) for Medicaid home- and community-based attendant services and supports.

The AHCA would change the health care system  as far as Medicaid is concerned  in two ways, according to an article published by the New England Journal of Medicine.

The legislation would drastically reduce federal support to states with expanded Medicaid, and the AHCA also would cap the amount of federal funding states receive per Medicaid enrollee.

As the regions only not-for-profit hospital, we operate without direct funding from taxes and serve as the communitys safety-net provider distinguished by a commitment to provide access to care for all people regardless of their financial circumstances, insurance status or health condition, Crews said via the statement.

Financial Impact

Tax credits and premiums would fundamentally change if the AHCA was signed into law.

Both the ACA and the American Health Care Act include tax credits in their approach," according to the KFF. "However, the law and the proposal calculate credit amounts differently: the ACA takes family income, local cost of insurance, and age into account, while the replacement proposal bases tax credits only on age, with a phase out for individuals with incomes above $75,000.

The AHCA would modify ACA premium tax credits for 2018-19, which would increase credits for younger adults and reduce credits for older adults. It also would allow tax credits to apply to coverage sold outside of exchanges and to catastrophic policies, according to the KFF.

In 2020, the AHCA also would replace the ACAs income-based tax credits with flat tax credits adjusted for age.

Under the act, premiums for older people could be five times larger than those for younger people in many states, but the size of the tax credits for older people would be only twice the size of the credits for younger people," according to the CBO report.

Frye Regional Medical Center Chief Financial Officer Jamey Stoner said in a statement the hospital has a commitment to making communities healthier.

Frye Regional Medical Center is committed to providing quality care close to home to everyone who comes through our door, regardless of their insurance coverage, Stoner said via the statement. We donated more than $11 million in charity or uncompensated care to our community in 2016 to individuals who were unable to pay for the care they needed.

In 2016, Frye Regional treated more than 40,000 patients in its Emergency Department, Stone said via the statement.

As the regions only full-service Heart Center and an American Heart Association Mission LifeLine STEMI Receiving Facility, we work closely with local EMS teams when an individual is suffering a heart-related event and needs emergent care, Stoner said.

Pre-existing conditions

The CBO report anticipates less healthy people or those with pre-existing medical conditions would opt for community-rated premiums. The premiums would rise over time, and eventually, premiums would be so high in some areas, plans would have no enrollment.

Some individuals with pre-existing conditions may lose coverage under AHCA, Director of Research and Data at NC Child Laila Bell said.

Examples of these pre-existing conditions include diabetes, pregnancy or congestive heart failure.

As far as maternal and child health goes, the AHCA would add problems and have a negative impact on health outcomes, Bell said.

Bell said most analyses she has read were not positive.

If the AHCA passes  it is not what communities need, Bell said. Now is the time to talk to representatives.

On average, AHCA premiums for older people with a lower income would be much larger, premiums for younger people with a lower income would be smaller or remain the same, and premiums for people with higher income would be reduced for most age groups.

As a result of the narrower scope of benefits included in many plans, however, enrollees who would use services that were not covered by the available plans would face substantial increases in their out-of-pocket costs under the act," according to the CBO report.

Blue Cross NC is the only option on the exchange for 95 of North Carolinas 100 counties.

With no funding for the federal payments for cost-sharing reduction plans, Blue Cross NC will need to factor the missing federal payments into our 2018 rates, Blue Cross NC President and CEO Wilson wrote in his blog. That will drive more customers away from coverage and toward being uninsured.

For some insurers, this additional pressure on premiums might lead to a decision to leave the exchange or the ACA market entirely.
Community is important to Joe McCorkle.

The 60-year-old was raised in the Startown area of Catawba County, a rural setting where everyone was a neighbor and everyone was ready to lend a hand.

Its a characteristic hes taken with him through every phase of life from the military to the hospitality industry in Charlotte and now as a non-traditional college student at Catawba Valley Community College (CVCC).

Throughout lifes journey, McCorkle has looked to surround himself with a community of friends and family.

Most recently, hes built friendships with members of the Catawba County Library staff, who helped transition him back into college life.

Catawba County Library Senior Librarian Regina Reitzel said it was a joy to help when he first started classes at CVCC.

(Joe) was just learning how to do online classes with the college. He didnt know how to download things. He didnt know how to upload things, so I was able to help him with those, Reitzel said. Its very difficult for students who are returning to school and having to learn not only software but all the course work. Thats always very stressful for people.

McCorkle said the library staff was very encouraging and was a significant support group for him.

They were a catalyst for me, going back to college, he said.

His time at CVCC also allowed him to help share his familys story with the rest of the county, as a member of Richard Ellers African-American History Class at Catawba Valley Community College this past semester.

For part of their class work, the students worked on an exhibit for the Catawba County Museum of History called African-American Heritage in Catawba County.

They gathered photos, letters and various memorabilia from local residents, chronicling their contributions to African-American history in the county.

Joe McCorkle shared the story of his grandfather, Henry Buck McCorkle.

Along with being members of the rural community in the county, Buck McCorkle ensured the familys connection to the local community with 44 years of service at Startown School as a custodian and general maintenance director.

Buck became an icon in the community because of his dedication to the school and its students, never missing a day of work the entire time he was employed there.

Community connections

Startown School and the Startown area in general gave Joe his first view of what a community could look like, even during the turmoil of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s.

We just kind of coexisted. Everybody coexisted. Even with the race riots and even though I heard about Hickory High going through some changes, problems during integration, Startown School never went through anything like that, McCorkle said.

He admits its not a perfect world and racial slurs would be heard, but it wasnt anything directed toward him.

At the time I was going to Startown, it might have been four or five black kids going there, McCorkle said. We never went through any kind of fighting.

While his time at Startown School was peaceful, it didnt mean his family didnt know about the racism the country dealt with during the 1960s.

His father worked at General Electric and his mother worked at different factories. McCorkle had five siblings, an older brother, Larry, who recently died and four sisters: Brenda, Vanisha, Elaine and Mia.

I can remember playing in the front yard, and we could hear Ku Klux Klan rallies being held maybe two or three miles away, McCorkle said. They made us aware of it. As a child, I would ask, momma what is that, and she would tell us it was the Klan holding a meeting.

We werent totally removed from (racism). We just werent thrust into it because of the environment we came from.

He said one reason people living in a rural setting didnt feel the same heat of racism as others living in more urban environments is because everyone knew their place.

You never had too many people who really stepped outside of those boundaries, McCorkle said. They did coexist with fellow white farmers, so there really was no reason back then to buck the system. I think black people just waited around for that savior, and Dr. King was probably it.

Lessons from family

He remembers being a young child in 1968 and seeing the news on the television of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.s assassination.

My sister and I were sitting in the den, and it came across the news, and that just blew our minds, McCorkle said. Momma had told us what he was trying to do, so we jumped up and run in the kitchen and said, momma, Martin Luther King just got assassinated.

His uncle was there as well and he looked in at the television, and McCorkle was surprised by his reaction.

He said, Thats what he get, that old trouble maker. That always stuck in my mind, McCorkle said. Going forward and learning the history and what (King) stood for, I didnt understand how could you, as a black man, say thats what he gets.

Maybe they felt things were OK because they werent being directly affected and anybody who pushed the envelope any further was deemed trouble.

This world of opposing points of view shaped McCorkles outlook on life as he got older. He thinks he became a better communicator, learning to be more understanding of other peoples beliefs and feelings.

It was a valuable skill for him as he moved on in life. He believed people were all pretty much the same.

Just because Im black doesnt mean Im an idiot, doesnt mean that I dont want the same things you want. Were the same, he said.

McCorkle went on to join the U.S. Army in 1975 after graduating from Maiden High, inspired by his older brother who used the time in service to help pay for college. After his enlistment, McCorkle signed up for classes at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte. He got an office job with Bell South as well.

After 13 years, he got bored with the job, and his cousin told him about his job with the Marriot Hotel in downtown Charlotte.

He would tell me about all the celebrities and the rock bands and the tips he would make, and I thought it sounded cool, McCorkle said.

He started working for the Holiday Inn at the airport and loved every minute of the job, driving the shuttle to and from the airport along with delivering room service and meeting different people. Unfortunately, the Holiday Inn changed ownership, so he was looking for another job.

Hed go on to open his own foreclosure related business, preparing homes for resale.

McCorkle decided to come back home a few years ago, and thats when he decided to finish what he started decades earlier. He started classes at CVCC in 2013-14, pursuing an associate degree in liberal arts. His passion is music, and in the future, he may even look to perform in public playing classical guitar.

Reitzel said McCorkle was a quick study and enjoyed using the technology once he learned it.

He felt accomplished, and Im happy hes pursuing his education, she said. (Joe) is a prime example of someone who is wanting to better the world and his community.

McCorkles advice to upcoming generations is to slow down.

They want everything now. The world cant give you everything now. The world has given you too much, and you dont even appreciate that, he said. Everything is fleeting, so slow down and live life.
This domain has expired. If you owned this domain, contact your domain registration service provider for further assistance. If you need help identifying your provider, visit https://www.tucowsdomains.com/
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan ended his peace fast on Sunday evening 27 hours after he started it.

There was no talk of a loan waiver for protesting farmers but Chouhan, who faces election next year, announced that buying agricultural produce below the minimum support price would be treated as a crime. He also promised action against those who instigated violence.

The chief minister started the indefinite fast to restore peace after five farmers were killed in police firing on June 6, leading to violence in Mandasur and other districts of the states farm belt of Malwa. A farmer died on Friday of injuries suffered during a baton charge.

The violence in #Mandsaur will be investigated thoroughly & people involved in it will be punished: CM @ChouhanShivraj #Shivraj4Peace pic.twitter.com/lzC9DIQe8N  CMO Madhya Pradesh (@CMMadhyaPradesh) June 11, 2017

But why fast?

Chouhan is the government. Farmers are angry because the government has failed to ensure good prices for their produce and has failed to alleviate growing farm distress. Farmers died because police opened fire at them or beat them up and police report to the government.

Whose attention was Chouhan trying to draw is the question being asked by rivals as well as a section of the ruling BJP.

Drama, job-saving bid

The opposition and farmer leaders say the fast was a gimmick, some party colleagues see it as a desperate bid by Chouhan to save his job.

The fast was against the CMs own hypocrisy (pakhand), farmer leader Shivkumar Sharma said. He met farmers during the fast to know their problems, it proved their charge that his government was not even aware of their distress, Sharma said.

For days, the CM, his ministers and party colleagues said it was Congress-sponsored violence. If that was the case then Chouhan should have acted against the miscreants but why fast, a BJP leader said.

The fast was meant to reassert the chief minister position within the party and save his chair given the ire of the central BJP leadership, the leader said on condition of anonymity.

Chouhan and home minister Bhupendra Singh, who is in charge of police, were criticised for denying police had fired at protesting farmers. It took them hours to admit to polices action.

If Chouhan was trying to reach out to people, why he, his ministers or officers have not visited the families of those killed, ask opposition and farmer leaders.

Leader of the Opposition in the assembly Ajay Singh dismissed the fast as a drama. It was a film script and the drama finally came to an end on Sunday with the breaking of the fast, the Congress leader said. When he began the fast it was decided which day and at what time he would end the fast.

The fast was the fourth in the last six years by Chouhan and on all the four occasions farmers, his core constituency, have been at the heart of them.

The previous three, however, were against the Centre, when rival Congress-led UPA was in power.

The first ended before it could even start. Chouhan had just arrived in the dais on February 14, 2011 at the Dussehra Maidan, the same spot where he was observing the peace fast, when he got a message from the governor. The chief minister was told he couldnt resort to a protest against the Centre being a constitutional authority appointed by the governor.

The next time was June 15, 2012 and then two years later.

What this fast was meant for if it was not for repentance? former state director of agriculture GS Kaushal said. The CM might have felt he couldnt control the violence, so he decided to fast.

My advice to @ChouhanShivraj: spirit of fast requires introspection, repentance. If heis (sic) genuine he should extend fast, give up CM posts, Swaraj India president Yogendra Yadav tweeted after his arrest in Ratlam on Sunday.

My advice to @ChouhanShivraj:spirit of fast requires introspection, repentance. If he'is genuine he should extend fast, give up CM posts  Yogendra Yadav (@_YogendraYadav) June 11, 2017

Yadav, social activist Medha Patkar and others were arrested for trying to enter Mandsaur to meet the families of farmers killed in police firing. They were freed later.

A fast is not observed against a person or a government, state BJP spokesperson Rajneesh Agrawal said. It was an Indian tradition, practised to restore peace and order in society. Mahatma Gandhi had shown the world the effectiveness of fast, he said.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Nothing gets hurt as fast  and as frequently  in India as religious sentiments. Cinema, being a mass medium, naturally ends up stomping on those fragile sentiments, making them crack like eggshells, even when filmmakers dont intend to do anything like that.

In the long line of Bollywood films that have unwittingly hurt religious sentiments, the latest are Behen Hogi Teri (starring Rajkummar Rao and Shruti Haasan) and the animation film Hanuman DaDamdaar (voiceover by Salman Khan).

The first film outraged an upright citizen for showing the lead character dressed as Lord Shiva and sitting on a motorcycle, even though the characters job in the film is to dress up as Lord Shiva. A police complaint was filed and one of the producers was arrested, along with the director of the film.

Actor Rajkummar Rao dressed as Lord Shiva in the film Behen Hogi Teri.

In the second case, the lingo used by Hanuman was considered objectionable by Pahlaj Nihalani, chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification, informally the Censor Board. Several cuts were demanded before the film could get a U/A certificate. The trendy language applied to religious characters may not be taken in the right spirit by everyone better safe than sorry, said Nihalani.

Ruchi Narain, director of Hanuman DaDamdaar, says, I dont really think its the audience thats the problem Theres some kind of a fear factor being created about what can be shown and what cant be shown. Technically, its not the censor board, which it has become; its supposed to be the certification board.

Actor Salman Khan gave the voiceover for Lord Hanuman in the film Hanuman Da Damdaar.

Amul Vikas Mohan, one of the three co-producers of Behen Hogi Teri, says that it was really strange when his partner [producer] Tony Dsouza and director Ajay K Pannalal got arrested. I feel Indias favourite pastime is to get offended. People get offended about anything and everything, he says. I dont know what the solution is, but its there right now and we have to live with it.

Actor Mandira Bedi, who had a criminal case filed against her once for getting tattoos that were Sikh religious symbols, says, Ive been the target of all this, so I know how it feels. I dont see anything offensive about these films. India is very sensitive about lots of things, but I really feel one needs to calm down. There are people who look out for things like this, and make a big deal out of that. Why should filmmakers not be able to tell the stories they want to tell?

The socio-conditions of a country probably make the people cling more to religion, says trade analyst Omar Qureshi. He cites a couple of other examples (outside India) in which films caused widespread outrage. The line between cinematic liberty and hurting sentiments shouldnt blur but it shouldnt damage anyone either, he feels.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
Jacqueline Fernandez, who has joined hands with The Body Shop, as its face, for the first ever campaign of its kind for a global ban on cosmetics animal testing, feels there is need of pet education and animal welfare to be taught at the school level.

Jacqueline launched The Body Shops campaign Forever Against Animal Testing (FAAT), and the brand has pledged to generate 500,000 petitions towards the cause in India.

Talking about the issue, Jacqueline noted, Animals are such innocent creatures, they dont have voices and language to communicate, I really feel there is a responsibility, I wish everyone opens their eyes to them, its such an amazing feeling when you can be there for something that is vulnerable and they are vulnerable and they need us.

Adding, We are hoping out of India itself we are able to sign 2 million petitions and India has actually banned animal testing which is a huge thing and its a major victory for us, which is why we are hoping we get these 2 million petitions signed thats like out of 8 million 2 million coming from India, which is putting a lot of faith in us to actually make a huge contribution, so with those 2 million we will be able to create a lot of awareness.

The campaign aims to get a global ban imposed on cosmetics animal testing on products and ingredients by 2020.

On the film front, Jacqueline Fernandez has an interesting line up for the year with A Gentleman opposite Sidharth Malhotra and Judwaa 2 opposite Varun Dhawan.
General Electric says Jeff Immelt is stepping down as CEO and John Flannery, president and CEO of the conglomerates health care unit, will take over the post in August.

The 61-year-old Immelt will stay on as chairman until his retirement from the position at the end of the year, with the 55-year-old Flannery stepping into the role after that.

Immelt has been at the helm of the conglomerate for 16 years, overseeing a transformation that included selling many of the companys units. Over that time, General Electric sold its insurance, credit card, plastics and security divisions.

It also invested more heavily in new technologies, including a recent $1.65 billion acquisition of LM Wind Power, a Denmark-based manufacturer of rotor blades for wind turbines.

Flannery is a longtime General Electric executive, starting his career at GE Capital in 1987. He became president and CEO of the companys equity unit in 2002 and eventually joined the health care unit in 2014, focusing on advanced technologies.

In addition, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Bornstein was named vice chair and Kieran Murphy was named president and CEO of GE Healthcare to succeed Flannery.

GE said Monday that the moves were part of its succession plan.

Shares of General Electric Co. climbed more than 3 percent in premarket trading. They are down about 7.6 percent over the last 12 months.
The government is close to resolving bad loans made in the power industry for companies that owe money and are not avoiding repayment on purpose, power minister Piyush Goyal told reporters on Monday.

We are close to resolution of stressed thermal power projects soon where developers are not wilful defaulters, Goyal said while speaking about three years of the governments performance.

Bad loans in the power sector continue to weigh on Indias banks, and the government has been looking for ways to help ease the pain for companies struggling to service their debts.

Signalling the intent of the government, Goyal said the ministry is doing its job to revive stalled and stressed thermal and hydro power projects.

The power ministry, which is also working on reviving stalled hydro projects, already had extensive discussions with bankers and stakeholders.

According to sources, the ministry has firmed up a policy for stalled hydro projects to revive 11,639 MW by dispensing Rs 16,709 crore till 2024-25.

Additionally, the government has decided to provide interest subvention of about 4% to developers to turn around hydro projects.

The power ministry and the Niti Aayog, Goyal said, are jointly working on a policy for next 25 years to ensure energy security. He expects renewable energy capacity to surpass thermal power by 2022.

India is committed to create 175 MW of renewable energy capacity by 2022.
Budget carrier SpiceJet will launch two new daily direct flights to Porbandar and Kandla from Mumbai next month under the Central governments regional connectivity scheme - UDAN.

The Gurgaon-based carrier would be the first major airline to launch flights on the RCS route.

The two new routes -- Mumbai-Porbandar-Mumbai and Mumbai-Kandla-Mumbai -- will be operational with a 78-seater Bombardier Q400 regional jet from July 10, SpiceJet said.

Under the UDAN scheme, the airline will be operating the new flights on the Mumbai-Porbandar route with RCS seats at Rs 2,250 (all inclusive) whereas the fare on the Mumbai- Kandla and Kandla-Mumbai routes would be Rs 2,500 (all inclusive) for RCS seats.

The government had in March awarded 128 regional routes to five airlines - Alliance Air, SpiceJet, Turbo Megha, Air Odisha and Air Deccan -- for launching flights under UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik) scheme, which aims at boosting air connectivity to the hinterland.

As many as 70 airports, including 31 unserved and 12 under-served ones, would be connected with the UDAN flights. Under the scheme, on each flight, 50 per cent of the seats would have a cap of Rs 2,500 per seat/hour.

An unserved airport is one to which there is no daily service, while an under-served airport is one which has not seen a flight for two consecutive flight schedules.

I am delighted that SpiceJet is helping realise Prime Minister Narendra Modis vision of ensuring that every Indian can fly, SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh said.

UDAN is a grand scheme and we are proud to be amongst the pacesetters for the scheme. It has been our constant endeavour to enable the common man to fly since we began operations 12 years back. We will connect many more small towns and cities in times to come, Singh said.

SpiceJet also said it is the only airline which hasnt sought subsidy or viability gap funding under this scheme.

Under UDAN, the operators would be extended viability gap funding.

SpiceJet was awarded six proposals and 11 routes under the first phase of the Regional Connectivity Scheme.

Out of the six proposals, four will cater to unserved markets of Adampur, Kandla, Puducherry and Jaisalmer whereas two will be for under-served markets of Porbandar and Kanpur, the airline said.

SpiceJet is countrys largest regional player operating a fleet of 19 Bombardier Q400 planes, which can seat 78 passengers. Besides it had 33 Boeing 737s as well in the fleet. PTI IAS RAM GK BAS
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio on Monday ascribed financial stress in the telecom sector to existing operators like Bharti Airtel and Idea running businesses on debt and investing heavily in unrelated sectors.

Incumbent operators have blamed Jios promotional free voice and data offering for seven months for the financial woes of the sector. But Jio said the problem lies elsewhere, as the Airtel, Vodafone and Idea milked the sector all these years by running the businesses on debt and now when consumer is benefiting, why should anyone complain.

In a detailed presentation to an inter-ministerial group constituted to look at the telecom sector woes, Jio said the operators complaining of financial stress havent invested in equity or even in their own networks and have over-leveraged balance sheets.

Jio claimed the incumbent operators made significant returns over the years but have not invested in equity.

Their excessive dependence on debt has led to unsustainable balance sheets, Jio said, citing Airtel drawing Rs 2,28,831 crore debt since 2010 while infusing just Rs 6,978 crore as fresh equity in business.

Idea raised Rs 32,986 crore debt in the 7-year period as compared to Rs 3,846 crore infusion as fresh equity while Reliance Communication drew Rs 56,319 crore debt on fresh equity infusion of Rs 6,071 crore, Jio claimed.

Jio said there was reluctance on part of their promoters to dilute shareholding to raise funds for investment in new technologies while they invested in unrelated businesses or overseas acquisitions by borrowing extensively.

It went on to cite Airtel investing Rs 40,000 crore to acquire Zain Africa and that UKs Vodafone paid premium to acquire stake of Hutch and Essar.

For the current financial woes, it said, easy credit for buying spectrum has worsened matters.

Government provided option for deferred payment without any credit check, it said, adding that deferred payment makes up for about 70% of the gross debt of Airtel, Vodafone and Idea.

Jio said business of smaller operators was impacted very badly by Airtel, Vodafone and Idea between 2014 and 2016.

Interestingly, there have been strong signs of cartelisation in the behaviour of the big three operators as tariffs were aligned and designed to thwart entry of new operators, it said.

Both TRAI and CCI have found evidence of cartelisation in the behaviour of Airtel, Vodafone and Idea, it added.

Jio squarely blamed industry body COAI for the state of the sector and alleged that the current stress can be equally attributed to COAIs anti-competitive actions over the years.

It further said that the existing telecom operators are not investing in technology and instead passing the blame to the new operator for the sectors problems.

Incumbent operators that have tried to block the entry of the new operator and prevented launch of new technologies are now passing the blame and seeking relief, it added.

Interestingly, Jio has sought repayment of deferred payment liability for spectrum at a time when the other operators are unified in demanding that the period of repayment should in fact be extended to 20 years, the life of the spectrum.
The Uber Technologies Inc board of directors voted unanimously to adopt all recommendations from a report stemming from allegations of sexual harassment at the company and other employee concerns, a board representative said on Sunday.

The board, at a meeting on Sunday, adopted a series of recommendations from former U.S Attorney General Eric Holder following a sprawling, multi-month investigation into Ubers cultures and practices.

The recommendations will be released to Uber employees on Tuesday, said the representative, who declined to be identified.

Holder and his law firm were retained by Uber in February to investigate company practices after former Uber engineer Susan Fowler published a blog post detailing what she described as sexual harassment and the lack of a suitable response by senior managers.

The recommendations in Holders firms report are expected to force greater controls on spending, human resources and other areas where executives led by Chief Executive Travis Kalanick have had a surprising amount of autonomy for a company with more than 12,000 employees, a source familiar with the matter said.

The meeting, which Uber did not publicize, is a pivotal moment for the worlds most valuable venture-backed private company that has upended the tightly regulated taxi industry in many countries but has also run into legal trouble with a rough-and-tumble approach to local regulations and the way it handles employees and drivers.

Ubers image, culture and practices have been largely defined by Kalanicks brash approach, company insiders and investors previously told Reuters.

Also at the meeting on Sunday, board members were expected to discuss Kalanick temporarily stepping away from the embattled ride-hailing firm - possibly returning to a role with less authority - and other changes to executive leadership.

The boards decisions follow a series of public-relations crises for Uber. The company faces a criminal probe related to a technology it created called Greyball that was used to deceive regulators in cities where it was operating. Its self-driving car program is in jeopardy after a lawsuit from Alphabet Inc alleging trade secrets theft, and the company has suffered an exodus of several of its top executives.

One Uber investor called the boards decisions on Sunday a step in the right direction, giving Uber an opportunity to reboot.
Uber Technologies Inc chief executive Travis Kalanick is likely to take a leave of absence from the troubled ride-hailing company, but no final decision has yet been made, according to a source familiar with the outcome of a Sunday board meeting.

Emil Michael, senior vice president and a close Kalanick ally, has left the company, the source said.

At the Sunday meeting, the companys board adopted a series of recommendations from the law firm of former U.S Attorney General Eric Holder following a sprawling, multi-month investigation into Ubers culture and practices, according to a board representative.

Uber will tell employees about the recommendations on Tuesday, said the representative, who declined to be identified.

Holder and his law firm were retained by Uber in February to investigate company practices after former Uber engineer Susan Fowler published a blog post detailing what she described as sexual harassment and the lack of a suitable response by senior managers.

The recommendations in Holders firms report force greater controls on spending, human resources and other areas where executives led by Kalanick have had a surprising amount of autonomy for a company with more than 12,000 employees, a source familiar with the matter said.

The worlds most valuable venture-backed private company has found itself at a crossroads as its rough-and-tumble approach to local regulations and handling employees and drivers has led to a series of problems.

It is facing a criminal probe by the U.S. Department of Justice over its use of a software tool that helped its drivers evade local transportation regulators, sources have told Reuters.

Last week, Uber said it fired 20 staff after another law firm looked into 215 cases encompassing sexual harassment, discrimination, unprofessional behavior, bullying and other employee complaints.

SILICON VALLEY SHOCK

Even a temporary departure by Kalanick would be a shock for the Silicon Valley startup world, where company founders in recent years have enjoyed more autonomy and often become synonymous with their firms.

Ubers image, culture and practices have been largely defined by Kalanicks brash approach, company insiders and investors previously told Reuters.

Uber board member Arianna Huffington said in March that Kalanick needed to change his leadership style from that of a scrappy entrepreneur to be more like a leader of a major global company. The board has been looking for a chief operating officer to help Kalanick run the company since March.

The debate over Kalanicks future comes at a moment when he is also facing a personal trauma: His mother died last month in a boating accident, in which his father was also badly injured.

Michael, described by employees as Kalanicks closest deputy, has been a recurring flashpoint for controversy at the company.

He once discussed hiring private investigators to probe the personal lives of reporters writing stories faulting the company. Kalanick disavowed and publicly criticized the comments.

Alongside Ubers management crisis, its self-driving car program is in jeopardy after a lawsuit from Alphabet Inc alleging trade secrets theft, and the company has suffered an exodus of top executives.

One Uber investor called the boards decisions on Sunday a step in the right direction, giving Uber an opportunity to reboot.
The US Supreme Court on Monday cut the time it will take for copycat versions of biologic drugs to get to the market in a pivotal ruling about an expensive class of medicines that can yield billions of dollars in sales for drug companies.

The justices, in a 9-0 ruling, overturned a lower court decision that had prevented Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG from selling its copycat version of California-based Amgen Incs Neupogen until six months after the US Food and Drug Administration approved it.

The decision has major implications for the pharmaceutical industry because it will dictate how long brand-name makers of biologic drugs can keep near-copies, called biosimilars, off the market. Even the six months at issue in the case can mean hundreds of millions of dollars in sales.

Health insurers expect biosimilars to be cheaper than original brands, like generics, saving consumers billions of dollars each year.

The dispute involved a section of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, dubbed Obamacare, that created an expedited path for regulatory approval of biosimilars while trying to respect the patent rights of brand-name manufacturers.

Novartis complained that the 2015 ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington handed Amgen an extra six months of exclusivity on top of the 12 years already provided under the law.

Rising drug prices are a matter of concern for patients and policymakers. President Donald Trump has criticized the pharmaceutical industry over pricing practices, promising to encourage competition and bring down drug costs.

Unlike traditional drugs, biologics are made from living cells and cannot be copied exactly to make generic versions. They are used to treat a range of conditions, including Crohns disease, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, plaque psoriasis, breast cancer and diabetes.

Novartis unit Sandoz in September 2015 began selling Zarxio, the first biosimilar drug to win US regulatory approval. Amgens Neupogen and Zarxio boost white blood cell counts in cancer patients to help fight infections.

After launch, Zarxio cost 15 percent less than Neupogen at list prices, according to Novartis. Sales of Neupogen, meanwhile, dropped from more than $1 billion in 2015 to $765 million last year, primarily due to competition in the United States, the company said in regulatory filings.

Biologics account for an ever-increasing share of US prescription drug costs, according to an insurer trade group. It cited as an example AbbVie Incs Humira, which costs more than $50,000 per year.

Amgen sued Sandoz in 2014 in San Francisco federal court alleging patent infringement and violations of the Affordable Care Act provision governing biosimilars.

The companies disagreed on how to apply that laws requirement that a biosimilar drug maker give the brand-name manufacturer 180 days notice before launching its copycat version.

In July 2015, the appeals court ruled that the 180-day notice must be given after FDA approval. Novartis appealed to the Supreme Court, with the Trump administration backing the companys arguments.

(Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham)
Carmaker Volkswagen is looking at rehiring the chief executive of General Motors Opel, possibly to lead its Audi brand, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday, following a media report the executive will quit Opel.

Opel boss Karl-Thomas Neumann plans to resign as General Motors (GM) prepares to sell the business to Frances PSA Group, German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (FAS) reported over the weekend.

Without citing its sources, the newspaper said Neumann saw the sale as the right strategic step, but was concerned PSA under-estimated the growing importance of electric cars.

The source said Volkswagen (VW) bosses were informally discussing giving Neumann, who quit VW in 2013 for the Opel top job, a prominent position, potentially as head of premium brand Audi.

VW and Opel declined to comment.

Audi CEO Rupert Stadler has come under fire for how he has handled the fallout from VWs diesel emissions scandal.

He only received a five-year contract extension last month because of an agreement among supervisory board members that he would not serve out his full term, two sources have told Reuters.

Pressure has built on Stadler after Munich prosecutors widened an investigation into the premium carmaker, and after Germanys transport ministry accused Audi of cheating on emissions tests.

In an interview with trade publication Automobilwoche, Stadler over the weekend defended his record: The diesel crisis has consumed and is still consuming resources. Im still convinced that we have initiated the right strategic steps.

Neumann, 56, planned to inform Opels supervisory board about his decision at its next meeting on June 22, FAS said, adding he wanted to stay on only until GM completed the sale of Opel to PSA, owner of the Peugeot, Citroen and DS brands.

Opel this week said the 2.2 billion euros ($2.5 billion) deal could be completed as early as July 31, pending regulatory approval from antitrust authorities.

Neumann joined GM in 2013 to lead the US carmakers European operations, which include the Vauxhall brand, after losing out in a management reshuffle at VW. In his former roles at VW, he was in charge of electro-mobility and head of China.
They are like migratory birds who make permanent, if makeshift, nests in a faraway land.

A group of 40 Kashmiri men live in a corner at Old Delhis Turkman Gate Bazaar. They are from Dolegam, a village near Banihal, and have been here for three decades.

They work as daily-wage labourers, hauling load on their reris (wooden trolleys). Their customers could be anyone  from wholesale dealers to shopkeepers or homeowners wanting to move a sofa from the first floor of their apartment to the fourth.

We meet them late one night. Some are sleeping on the pavement. The rest are awake, sitting on the trolleys, watching the crowded street.

Kashmir has made a place for itself in the Old Quarter. Matia Mahal and Urdu Bazaar are dotted with a dozen Kashmiri eateries. In the morning, a few tea stalls also serve noon chai and lavasa roti, the Kashmiri breakfast.

In the winter, a number of Kashmiri families leave for Delhi and check into hotels surrounding Jama Masjid. However, this band of Kashmiri men remain in Delhi the whole year round.

We do go to our village twice or thrice a year depending on the state of our finances, says Abdul Hameed, who seems the least shy in the group. We have no work there we barely have any land for farming.

The congested street is cloaked with the golden glow of street lamps. Some of the light is falling on these men, making them look like figures in a renaissance painting.

There is no certainty of income for them. One day, I may earn as much as 400 and one day it may be nothing at all... depends on the availability of work, says Abdul Hameed.

The most that they expect to earn in a month, he says, is 10,000. Even so, they send money to their families each month without fail, even if they have to borrow from each other.

These days Kashmir is in the grip of violence. Do these men worry about their families, especially their children?

Our areas are away from the turmoil, says Abdul Hameed. We are strict about the education of our children. We dont want them to become like us.

If the future of their children turns out to be different, this little Kashmir enclave will vanish. For now, young men keep coming from the villages. We meet the youngest, Muhammed Shareef, 22. He is too shy to speak.

Interestingly, the first man who arrived here and started the migration is still living here. Muhammed Abdullah must be in his 70s, Abdul Hameed says. He no longer works. We take care of him. He is not to be seen. He keeps to himself, Abdul Hameed says. He has a family in the village but he prefers living in Delhi.

Just then a potential customer arrives, even though it is past midnight. An air-conditioner has to be carried from Phatak Teliyan to Pahari Bhojla. The customer offers 150. One of the men insists on 200. A deal is struck.
With the Delhi University admission process underway, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal reiterated his partys stand of fixing a quota for city students in Delhi university colleges.

Addressing party volunteers on Sunday, Kejriwal asked his deputy Manish Sisodia, who also holds the education portfolio, to explore if quota can be fixed for Delhi students in the 28 DU colleges that get financial aid from the Delhi government.

I would request Manish (Sisodia) to explore reserving 80-85% seats in these colleges for Delhi students, Kejriwal said, adding that the government is making plans to take education to the next level by promoting value education after bringing the Delhi government schools at a par with the private schools.

This is an age-old demand of the city students, and political parties across the spectrum have spoken in favour of it.

However, university officials said this demand cannot be met as DU is a central university and they cannot give reservation based on domicile.

DU is a central university which means students coming from any part of India have to be treated at par. As long as the constituent colleges, even if they are 100% funded by the Delhi government, are under DU Act, there cannot be reservation based on domicile, said a top DU official.

Another official said that reservation for Delhi residents is possible in state universities such as Ambedkar University Delhi and Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University but not at DU.

Both AUD and GGSIPU have 85% seats reserved for Delhi students.

However, speaking in favour of the move to reserve seats for Delhi students in Delhi government funded colleges, a principal of one such college said, There should be some provision for Delhi students at least in the colleges which receive 100% funding from the state government.
Besides absorbing the 10-12 million youth who are joining the labour force every year, a recent Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) report has rightly added 5-8 million more jobs needed to absorb Indians who are leaving farms to seek work in manufacturing and services. Going by the higher end of such estimates, this means a national requirement of 20 million new jobs a year. This is equal to the entire population of Malaysia. In contrast, the major services and industrial sectors of the formal economy together barely generated 150,000 new jobs last year including heavy industry and software.

India largely missed the manufacturing boom that lifted so much of Asia out of poverty between the 1970s and 1990s thanks to layer upon layer of populist laws governing labour, land rights and so on that systematically destroyed the competitiveness of Indian industry. Most developed economies saw manufacturing employment reach about 25% of their workforce before making the switch to services. Export-driven industrial economies like China and Germany have seen that figure reaching over 40%. Indias manufacturing employment has never gone above 15% and is now about 12% and declining. Manufacturing jobs are socially important as they absorb poorly skilled farm labour and provide a springboard for the next generation to acquire the skills to move into services. Having laid waste to its manufacturing sector thanks to socialism, India has depended on construction to act as the transition job sector. But construction jobs unlike factory jobs are poor conduits for social mobility. Poor farm labour becomes equally poor construction labour  and stays that way.

Each Indian government has sought to address this with a patchwork of solutions. These have included financial handouts to keep unviable farms staggering along for a few more years, creating large numbers of pointless government jobs, import substitution strategies and, as the present regime is doing, encouraging self-employment. The private sector chipped in by seizing the opportunity created by the arrival of call centres and internet-based services. Leftwing and rightwing governments in India have only differed on the emphasis placed on certain instruments over others. But this bandaid approach did not provide real solutions. The Narendra Modi government deserves to be commended for addressing the structural problems that hold back the manufacturing front and investing in a future economic model built around digitalisation. However, its tolerance of the cultural campaigns against, for example, the meat industry means it may still destroy as many jobs as it is creates. Jobs are the countrys main challenge and New Delhi needs to prioritise it as the main yardstick by which to judge almost all policies.
The CBSE will declare by June 26 the result of an exam for admission to the countrys medical and dental colleges after getting the go-ahead from the Supreme Court on Monday, bringing relief to more than a million students.

The Supreme Court stayed a Madras high court order that restrained the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) from declaring the result of the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) 2017.

After the courts go-ahead we have started the process of preparing the result... We will declare the results within two weeks, a CBSE official told HT.

The board would have to put online more than a million answer sheets and the process would take a few days but the result would be out not later than June 26, the official, who didnt wish to be identified, said.

A vacation bench of justice Prafulla C Pant and justice Deepak Gupta accepted the CBSEs argument that if the stay was not vacated, college schedules would be thrown out of gear.

The high court shouldnt have easily and liberally interfered with the schedule, the bench said of the May 24 order.

The top court said the result, counselling and admissions would be conditional to its decision on matters pending before it, as it asked high courts not to entertain petitions relating to NEET.

The CBSE had on June 9 sought an immediate stay on the Madras high courts interim order that came on a bunch of pleas that alleged the question paper was not uniform and there was a vast difference between the ones in English and in Tamil.

Similar pleas were filed in other high courts. The petitioners demanded the test, which was held on May 7, be conducted afresh with uniform question papers.

The question papers in regional languages and English were different but the difficulty level was identical, the CBSE told the court.

NEET is conducted for admissions to under-graduate medical (MBBS) and dental (BDS) courses as well as post-graduate (MD/MS) programmes in government and private colleges.

NEET replaced a web of tests conducted by states and various medical colleges, which often used to clash, required students to criss-cross the country and were expensive. A few colleges still hold their own tests as they were created under a separate law.

This year, more than 1.2 million students sat NEET. A million of them wrote the exam in English and Hindi and about 150,000 students used eight regional languages, including Tamil and Gujarati.

(With agency inputs)
The Supreme Court on Monday ordered the CBSE to declare the result of the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to medical and dental colleges, bringing relief to more than a million students.

The Central Board of Secondary Education had on June 9 sought immediate stay on the Madras high court order that restrained it from declaring the result.

The high courts interim order had come on a batch of pleas alleging that a uniform question paper was not given and there was a vast difference between the ones in English and in Tamil.

The Supreme Court said the result, counselling and admissions would be conditional to its decision on matter pending before it. It also asked high courts not to entertain petitions relating to NEET.

Almost 1.2 million students appeared for the exam in various languages, including English and Hindi.
A study has warned that newborns, who had obese mothers at the start of pregnancy, were twice as likely to develop non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) as adolescents.The study also found that adolescent children of women, who were obese at the start of pregnancy, were twice as likely to have NAFLD, while those fed with infant formula milk before completing six months of breastfeeding, had a 40% increased likelihood of NAFLD.

NAFLD is the most common liver disorder in developed countries, affecting up to one in four adults. It occurs when fat accumulates within the liver cells in people who do not consume excessive alcohol, and is commonly associated with obesity and insulin resistance.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease occurs when fat accumulates within the liver cells in people who do not consume excessive alcohol, and is associated with obesity and insulin resistance. (Shutterstock)

Lead investigator Oyekoya T Ayonrinde from the University of Western Australia, Perth, said that there have been studies into the benefits of breastfeeding on other diseases, but there is little information about benefits of breastfeeding linked to liver disease.

Dr Ayonrinde added that the team therefore examined records of Australian adolescents to establish whether infant nutrition and maternal factors could be associated with the subsequent diagnosis of NAFLD. The team performed liver ultrasound on more than 1,100 adolescents aged 17 years and were followed even before their birth.

The study found that NAFLD was diagnosed in about 15% of the adolescents examined. 94% had been breastfed as infants. The duration of breastfeeding before starting supplementary milk was four months in 55% and six months in 40%.

The researchers explained that this study further provided additional reasons to support opportunities for women to breastfeed their infants for at least six months while delaying the start of infant formula milk. This study further supports the need to encourage comprehensive healthy lifestyles before and during pregnancy and prolonged exclusive breastfeeding for the long-term health benefits of future generations, the team concluded.

The research has appeared in the journal of Hepatology.

Follow @htlifeandstyle for more
Around two weeks after the Manesar gang-rape and murder incident, local industry owners, police, civic authorities and village panchayats met around 4pm on Monday to discuss ways to improve safety and security in the industrial township.

Some of the measures discussed at the meeting at the IMT Association office in Sector 8 are to be implemented immediately.

One of the measures pertains to autorickshaws. Unregistered and unverified autos and their drivers are a major problem in Manesar. Lack of public transport compels people to take shared autos crowded with eight to 10 people.

Read more: After gang-rape: Manesar industry owners come forward to improve law and order situation

We will conduct a dual verification of the autos in Manesar. We are preparing a list of all auto drivers in the area. Once that is done, every driver will be given an identity number without which they wont be allowed to drive. They will also have to wear uniforms. Further, there will be identification of the autos and numbers will be allotted to vehicles, said Dharamvir Singh, ACP, Manesar.

Local residents and the townships industrialists also told the Gurgaon police commissioner and Manesar police representatives that lack of patrolling was a major concern.

As the police force is itself short of vehicles, OP Goel, assistant general manager of Haryana State Industry and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC), said they will provide five cars for patrolling in Manesar.

The locals were also perturbed by the lack of functional streetlights and CCTV cameras.

It has been decided that while the defunct streetlights will be immediately replaced with LED bulbs, CCTV cameras are to be installed at the three entry and two exit points in Manesar and at major intersections such as Maruti Chowk, Bas Gao Chowk and others, Manoj Tyagi, president, IMT Manesar Welfare Association, said.

The change of streetlights and installation of CCTV cameras will be done by the HSIIDC once the tenders are passed.

Read more: Post Manesar gang-rape, police propose well-lit streets, patrolling of secluded areas

Further, industrialists have been asked to install CCTV cameras at the gates of all the factories in the township so that the road outside their factories is visible. They have been given a month to do so.

Other suggestions such as verification of tenants in nearby villages and workers in the areas factories, putting up gates at the entry of every village and constructing a boundary for the township were discussed and will be acted upon later.

According to an IMT member, Gurgaon police commissioner Sandeep Khirwar categorically told Manesar police that he wont tolerate drinking in public places and the police should take the matter very seriously, .

In the Manesar gang-rape case, the three men who allegedly raped the19-year-old woman and killed her daughter on May 29, were all drunk and were tenants of a nearby village.
The Gurgaon police has been sanctioned 10 new police stations by the Haryana government but the number of personnel has remained the same, putting the force under severe pressure to deliver.

The department is short 856 personnel against a sanctioned strength of 4,922 posts.

The shortage is more critical when it comes to the number of women personnel. Against a sanctioned strength of 630, the force has only 430 women personnel in a city that is witnessing a rise in crimes against women.

According to the Bureau of Police Research and Development, one police personnel was taking care of 547 people at the national-level whereas in Gurgaon, if the average population is taken as 25 lakh, every policeman is responsible for around 625 citizens.

With Gurgaon expanding at a fast pace  almost 58 more sectors have been added in the last five years  the police are struggling to man all areas. Only recently, the government sanctioned 10 more police stations and also called for making the force more diverse and cosmopolitan.

Although there were talks of 1,000 more police personnel joining the ranks after their graduation from the Police Recruitment Centre in Sunaria, Rohtak, nothing has materialised. The result is that despite doing their utmost, the force has not been able to cover large areas in the peripheries of city that include sectors 58 to 71 and sectors 81 to 115.

The problem becomes acute as the maximum shortfall is in middle and lower ranks, which do the maximum legwork in terms of detection, investigation and maintenance of law and order.

While the city police has 175 posts of sub-inspectors, only 131 are present, amounting to a shortfall of 44. The sanctioned posts of assistant sub-inspectors is 423, but the number of officials posted is 391.

The shortage of head constables is also acute with just 266 personnel against a sanctioned strength 723.

As far as senior officials are concerned, the city needs two more deputy commissioners of police and four more assistant commissioners of police .

The only post for which the Gurgaon police has personnel in excess is that of inspectors  there are three more than sanctioned.

The Gurgaon police has seven posts of women inspectors and is short of five.

The maximum shortage is in the number of women head constables with 77 posts out of 86 lying vacant. The city police is also short of 83 women police constables.

Police commissioner Sandeep Khirwar, however, said he is confident that the new police stations and new graduates who will be joining the force soon will improve policing.

Ten new police stations have come up and these will help in curbing crime. A state-of-the-art police control room is on the anvil and more recruitment will also take place, he said.

Apart from that a new action plan is being formulated to tackle crime against women in the city, Khirwar said.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has said it will relocate the crematorium from Sector 29 to Sector 16, near a water booster pumping station, over the next couple of days.

The MCG reply follows a slew of reminders from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on shifting the crematorium as it is deemed a hindrance to the construction of an elevated U-turn near Sector 29.

We need (the) land (on which the crematorium presently stands) urgently, so that the construction of the elevated U-turn can go on uninterrupted. The crematorium is proving to be the only hindrance to the project, AK Sharma, project director, NHAI, said.

The crematorium, which belongs to Sukhrali village, goes back more than 500 years. However, due to its convenient location, it often draws visitors from New Gurgaon areas as well.

MCG officials said the villagers had objected to the alternative locations proposed for shifting the crematorium and the same delayed the relocation. However, they said the land issues are now settled and the Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) has given them possession of a plot for the shifting.

We have got possession of the land from the Huda and will soon start work on the crematorium, V Umashankar, MCG commissioner, said.

The new crematorium site is close to Chander Nagar village and is roughly 150 metres from the NH-8, near Hudas booster pumping station.

Sudhir Chauhan, senior town planner (STP), MCG, said, Over the next couple of days, we will raze the Sector 29 crematorium and formally hand over the plot to the NHAI.

A group of residents of Chander Nagar, however, staged a protest against the new site claiming that the plot, in question, is mired in a legal tangle.

Manoj Sharma, resident of Chander Nagar, said, Despite protests by residents of Chander Nagar and owners of commercial establishments located nearby, the Huda allotted the alternative plot to the MCG for (shifting the) crematorium.

The locals said Huda acquired nearly three acres here in 1980, but did not use it for any public project. This prompted the locals to move a petition at the Punjab and Haryana high court in February 2016, seeking release of the plot.

The court advised the Huda to hold discussions with the petitioners and settle the matter amicably. The Huda claims to have issued a speaking order on resolving the dispute through discussions. However, we have no knowledge of the same, Sharma said.

Yashpal Yadav, Huda administrator, said, Following the court order, I issued the speaking order a couple of weeks ago.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) said it will not create a separate detailed project report (DPR) for the cloverleaf proposed to be constructed on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway near the Kherki Daula toll plaza.

The cloverleaf is to link the southern and northern peripheral roads (SPR and NPR) and ease traffic movement on both sides of the expressway and across the district.

The Haryana urban development authority (Huda) had written to the NHAI in this regard a couple of weeks ago.

AK Sharma, project director, NHAI Gurgaon, said, We have forwarded Hudas letter to the NHAI headquarters. The NHAI has appointed a consultant to prepare DPR of the entire Dwarka expressway (NPR), including the cloverleaf. The consultant is likely to submit it by June-end. We think a separate DPR for the cloverleaf is difficult.

The DPR is at an advanced stage already and we doubt the headquarters will approve a separate DPR for the cloverleaf, he added.

Huda urgently wants the cloverleaf in order to enhance the citys traffic network by connecting SPR and NPR.

The Haryana government wants the NHAI to construct the cloverleaf first. Huda wrote the letter after it came to know that the DPR for the whole project would take a lot of time and thus construction would be delayed further. Huda is worried about the citys traffic and wants a permanent solution. There is no harm if the NHAI starts cloverleaf construction at the earliest, said Yashpal Yadav, Huda administrator.

Once the cloverleaf is complete, traffic coming from Manesar and Jaipur will be able to reach Faridabad directly via the SPR.

During his visit to the city on April 15, chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar had told Huda and NHAI officials to work in coordination to decongest traffic at Hero Honda Chowk, Rajiv Chowk, Signature Tower and Iffco Chowk. He had also had also inspected the SPR and NPR to review their progress.

In the absence of a cloverleaf, Hudas purpose of decongesting traffic by adding a lifeline to the citys road network will stand defeated. Presently, if we take the SPR to reach Badshahpur from Pataudi, we go left for two km on the NH-8 before taking a further U-turn at Kherki Daula and then reach Hero Honda Chowk. The cloverleaf would reduce the journey by at least 9 km, said Rambir Singh, a Badshahpur resident.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Want to apply for an arms licence in Gurgaon? Got a new help or tenant to be verified? Just open your smartphone and visit the Haryana Police portal  Harsamay  not only because it will save time, but now it will also save a lot of money.

In a major digital push, the Haryana government on Monday reduced the fee for online services on the state policing portal from Rs 500 to Rs 50.

The 31 services offered online comprise 10 online verification services such as character certificate, police clearance certificate, employee, tenant and domestic help verification. Besides these, 17 services related to arms and arms licensing can be availed online but only for Gurgaon, Faridabad and Panchkula.

However, if one wants to avail these services by going physically to a police station, a fee of Rs500 still has to be paid. A spokesperson for the Haryana Police department said that the step has been taken to reduce the cost of services related to policing.

He said that certain services such as filing complaints or missing person reports online will continue to be free. He also said that filing RTIs or applying for private security agencies online will be chargeable as per existing rates.

Residents can go to the websites www.haryanapoliceonline.gov.in or www.harsamay.gov.in and register to avail the services.

Besides phones, laptops and cyber cafes, this portal can also be accessed at common service centres, Harsamay centres at the Gurgaon secretariat and free registration centres at police stations.

Many flat owners in the city have received notices from RWAs in the past to get their tenants verified. Also, the laws pertaining to guns were made more stringent last year. Besides rifles and pistols, a licence is required for blank guns (mostly used by the film industry), certain types of battery-powered batons that deliver electric shock and paintball guns used in games.
The Meghalaya assembly on Monday passed a resolution against Centres recent notification banning cattle trade in animal markets for slaughter.

The resolution, moved by the states Congress government, was passed during a special day-long session of the assembly to approve the GST bill.

Meghalaya becomes the second state after Kerala to pass a resolution through the state assembly opposing the notification on cattle trade issued last month.

There has been considerable opposition in Meghalaya against Narendra Modi governments notification on Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017.

The ruling Congress, opposition partiesUnited Democratic Party, Hill State Peoples Democratic Partyand even National Peoples Party, which is part of NDA government in Centre, have opposed the notification.

The BJP too has witnessed setbacks in Meghalaya on the issue. Two district presidents and nearly 5,000 youth wing members from Garo Hills region of the state have resigned from the party in the past weeks.

On Saturday, the former leaders and their supporters organised a beef party in Tura to show their opposition to the notification. Beef is a consumed widely in Christian dominant Meghalaya.

Assembly poll in Meghalaya is scheduled for next year and the sensitive issue could hurt the BJP, which is aiming to overthrow the Congress government.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Irked by the Centres notification banning cattle trade in animal markets for slaughter, a group in Mizorams capital organised a beef fest on Monday to coincide with Union home minister Rajnath Singhs visit.

A social media group called Zolife, which has over 9,000 members on Facebook, and some other activists held the event at Vanapa Hall in Aizawl, which was attended by hundreds despite inclement weather.

Despite heavy rain, nearly 5,000 people turned up. But we were able to serve only around 2,000 as we ran out of beef, Remruata Varte, one of the organisers, said over phone from Aizawl.

Singh arrived at Aizawl on Monday and held a meeting with chief ministers of four northeastern states to review security along the Indo-Myanmar border.

Mizoram, Nagaland and Meghalaya, which go to polls next year, have a dominant Christian population and beef and buffalo meat are widely consumed here.

For Mizos, beef is part of our culture. We have a right to eat whatever we want without fear of being persecuted, Varte added.

Meanwhile, Singh said the Centre will not impose any restrictions on peoples choice of food. Responding to a question on a protest against the Centres ban on sale of cattle for slaughter at animal markets, Singh said there should be no restriction.

Managing border with Myanmar

Singh held discussions with CMs of Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, which share boundary with Myanmar. Union minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju was also present.

Singh stressed on strengthening and upgrading police stations and ordered constitution of a committee to identify gaps in basic infrastructure in the areas.

The committee headed by secretary (border management) will submit a report by December 31. Another committee was formed to examine the present rules and regulations for implementation of free movement regime (FMR), which allows people of border areas to travel 16km into the neighbouring countrys territory. FMR is being misused by militants and trans-border criminals who smuggle weapons, contraband goods and fake Indian currency, Singh said.

India and Myanmar share a 1,643-km long porous border.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The Bharatiya Janata Party demanded on Monday the Congress leadership apologise for comments made by its member Sandeep Dikshit, who referred to the army chief as a sadak ka gunda (a street goon).

Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman called the comments shocking and outrageous in a press conference in the capital, setting the stage for a bigger confrontation between the two arch-rivals who have often clashed over the army.

The Congress consistently, in a pattern, questions the integrity of the Indian Army questions the army, to name them and shame them and demoralises them. A responsible party allows its well-known faces to go haywire and doesnt bother about coming out clean on what its approach it about the Indian Army, she said.

The Congress was quick to distance itself from Dikshits comment. Party vice president Rahul Gandhi told newspersons that no politician should comment on the army chief. I dont agree, not good, Rahul was quoted by news channels.

Training her guns at the Congress leadership, Sitharaman said on Monday: ...No less than Sonia Gandhi should apologise for the comment that has shocked the BJP and led to outrage everywhere.

Dikshit has apologised for his remarks. On Sunday, hours after he made the controversial remark, he tweeted: I have reservations on a comment of the Army Chief, but I should have chosen appropriate words. I apologise.

But it failed to cut ice with the ruling party.

Sitharaman said comments attacking the army were not made even when India lost a war soon after Independence when the Congress was in power.

This is not the first time the BJP and the Congress have traded barbs over the army. Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi had in an election campaign last year accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using soldiers to score points, a reference to the surgical strikes carried out by India in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

You are hiding behind the blood of our soldiers who have sacrificed their lives in Jammu & Kashmir. Our jawans have given blood, they carried out surgical strikes. You are doing khoon ki dalali with the blood of our martyrs, Gandhi had said, triggering anger from Modis colleagues.

On Monday, CPI(M)s Brinda Karat supported Dikshit.

But it is a matter of concern generally that the present Army chiefs statement result in controversy because the statements itself are quite objectionable, Karat was quoted as saying by ANI.
Calcutta high courts justice CS Karnan on Monday became the first judge to retire while being on the run, facing arrest.

Incidentally, his unceremonious exit coincides with his 62nd birthday.

Calcutta high court, in another first, did not host the customary farewell dinner for the retiring judge, who is also facing a six-month jail sentence.

Justice Karnan has been absconding since May 9 after a seven-judge Supreme Court bench passed an unprecedented arrest order against him.

The order was issued after his embarrassing spat with senior judges of the top court in the course of which he even ordered the arrest of the Chief Justice of India.

While issuing the arrest warrant against him, the Supreme Court also ordered the media to refrain from reporting Karnans statements.

Karnan has alleged that he is being targeted because he is a Dalit.

His last official working day would have been Friday because his retirement came into effect on Sunday.

Since Monday is the first working day, there would have been a full-court reference in Court No 1 to bid adieu to the retiring judge, a senior Calcutta high court official told HT. This is done whenever a judge retires or gets transferred, he added.

This is followed by a farewell dinner hosted at the judges lounge adjacent to the court library in the main building. It is usually a buffet. A temporary canopy is also set up on the lawn so that the judges can spend time in the outdoors while exchanging pleasantries, the official added.

None of these were being organised on Monday.

In fact, a lot of other things, too, had not been done. Court officials said that paperwork involving a judges post-retirement benefits is usually taken care of at least two months before retirement so that there is no delay in disbursement of pension. But the judge had been barred by the Supreme Court from attending office. He did not come to court for months, said an official.

Interestingly, after joining duty Karnan opted not to take the monthly automobile allowance of Rs 60,000 that high court judges are entitled to.

He was the only Calcutta high court judge who used to travel in a pool car, the official said. A few days ago, even the official landline at his New Town apartment was disconnected apparently because of non-payment of bill. It was brought to our notice by Karnans personal security officer who visits the apartment although nobody lives there now, said the official.

Nearly a month after the arrest order, police are clueless about the whereabouts of the judge.

At least two teams of Kolkata Police comprising senior officers of West Bengal Police and headed by DGP (Home Guards) Raj Kanojia are engaged in the hunt for the judge who hails from a village in Tamil Nadus Cuddalore district.

The futile search in several states has triggered speculation that the judge could be hiding in Andhra Pradesh or Tamil Nadu.

A senior Kolkata police officer tracking the case said, Justice Karnan has switched off his phones and is not using the two SIM cards he had. On why the trail had gone cold, the officer said, The lack of knowledge of Tamil and the local topography have hindered the search and forced the Bengal police to rely on their Tamil Nadu counterparts.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Police recovered banners on Monday suspected to be put up by Maoists in support of agitating farmers in Madhya Pradesh, from a remote part in insurgency-hit Kanker district in Chhattisgarh, police said.

The banners issued in the name of Pratappur Area Committee of Maoists displayed messages supporting the farmers who were protesting in the neighbouring state for their various demands since June one.

The banners were recovered from a road between Kapsi and Barda villages under Pakhanjore police station area of the district, a senior police official told PTI.

In the messages written on banners, naxals have protested against alleged injustice being done to cultivators in Madhya Pradesh. Besides, they have also extended support to the demands of farmers, he added.

Police have seized the banners from the spot after they weer informed by local people, the official said.
Cruising from Indian shores is likely to get a lot more exciting in the near future.

A global consultant appointed by the Union shipping ministry to prepare an action plan for the development of cruise tourism in India has zeroed down on five probable international cruise circuits originating from here. These circuits include India-Dubai, Cochin-Colombo-Male-Seychelles, and India-Malaysia.

Currently, Indians mostly have to go to South Asian countries such as Singapore or the Mediterranean to experience ocean cruises in luxury liners.

Developing these circuits can give a big fillip to cruise tourism in the country. A final call on which circuits should be taken up for development on a priority will be taken after the consultants submit their final report next month, said a source.

A cruise originating from India can give boost to the economy by generating substantial employment and revenue from passengers. The average employment on a cruise ship is one job for every three to four passengers.

Home porting generates substantial employment as a vessel with a capacity of 3,000 passengers using Indian ports as home ports can generate direct employment of approximately 1,000 jobs, said an official of the shipping ministry. Indian ports are primarily ports of call for cruise lines. In 2015-16, cruise vessels made 128 calls at five major ports  Mumbai, Cochin, Goa, New Mangalore and Chennai.

In 2016-17, about 1.22 lakh cruise passengers visited India, which is 0.5 % of the global share, show ministry figures.

Presently, while foreign cruise ships are allowed only in Mumbai, Chennai and Cochin, domestic operators offer river cruises on the Brahmaputra and Ganga, which are a part of the National Waterway 1 & 2.

Domestic cruise ships also

ply in Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshwadeep.

Despite having a 7,500-kilometre coastline, cruise tourism in the country is still at a nascent stage. Inadequate infrastructure and taxation hurdles have deterred operators from plying from Indian shores.

Several initiatives have been taken by the government to promote cruise tourism in the

last year, including allowing foreign flag vessels carrying passengers to call at Indian ports without obtaining licence from director general (shipping) till February 2024.

Besides, e-visa facility has also been extended to five ports.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The raging fire in Indias biggest coalfields in Jharkhands Jharia district has taken its toll, with the Railways having decided to suspend movement of freight and passenger operations on the 41-km-long Chanderpura-Dhanbad stretch from Thursday.

Fire has continued to spread at 80 underground locations in the area since 1916, damaging the surface below the train tracks. In 2007, operations in Jharia had to be discontinued for similar reasons. The line has not been restored so far.

At several locations on the stretch, including the Bansjora station and the Katrasgarh-Sonardih section, the underground fire is reported to have crossed rail tracks.

Annually, train operations have accounted for the movement of 12 million tons of freight and 10 million passengers in the Chanderpura-Dhanbad section. The Railways are estimated to suffer an annual loss of 1,250 crore on account of the decision, railway board member (traffic) Mohd Jamshed said.

The decision to discontinue service on the route has been taken on the advice of the coal ministry, an official release said.

An estimated 50% of the coal supply in states including Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal was sourced from the Dhanbad area in past years. The Railways are taking steps to ensure that coal supply to the power units in these states is not adversely affected. Diversions and alternative routes will be finalised soon,an official said.

In a circular issued on

Monday, the Railways announced the cancellation of 13 pairs of mail and express trains and six passenger trains. Seven pairs of trains, including Dhanbad-Gomoh-Chandrapura Shatabdi Express, will run on a diverted route.

Official assessments are that train punctuality in Indias eastern sector in particular will get adversely impacted.

The move follows recommendations made in recent reports by the director general of mining safety and other bodies, including the Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research (CIMFR) and the Central Mine Planning and Design Institute (CMPDI).

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The office of the sub- assistant engineer of the state public works department (PWD) at Lebong Cart Road and panchayat officers chamber in Bijanbari village near Darjeeling were set on fire by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) activists on Monday during an indefinite strike called by the regional party for a separate Gorkhaland.

The Centre should now intervene and take some concrete steps in the direction of formation of separate state of Gorkhaland, GJM general secretary Roshan Giri said on Monday.

Giri emphasised that if there was substantial attendance in the government offices in the hills, it was only because they issued only an appeal to the employees and did not want to flex muscle.

The GJM has called for an indefinite bandh in all the government offices and banks from Monday in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) in addition to organising weekly meetings and torch light rallies to press for the creation of a

separate state.

In late evening, the police arrested Satish Pokhrel, the elected GTA member of Relling-Kaijalay constituency. The arrest could be in connection to the torching of Bijanbari block office on Sunday night. The total number of arrests has now reached three. Massive raids are being conducted in the Hills.

Paramilitary forces are deployed on the streets of Darjeeling. (Bikram Sashanker/ HT Photo)

GJM leaders claimed that the bandh was successful. However, Joyoshi Dasgupta, the district magistrate of Darjeeling, said, The attendance in government offices was more than 93%.

Dr Vishwanath, the district magistrate of Kalimpong, said, The attendance in the district was more than 90%.

The day passed off peacefully on the whole despite tension prevailing throughout the day and barring two incidents of suspected GJM workers setting fire to a block development office in Bijanbari and a PWD office in Darjeeling. They also vandalised the office of a state-run power utility in Sonada near Darjeeling. There was no report of any untoward incident in Kalimpong district, said Dr Vishwanath.

In south Bengal, chief minister Mamata Banerjee scoffed at GJM agitators. I was threatened that I wont be allowed to visit the hills. But I did not care. I went there, held meetings, restored peace and came back. Those who are trying to create problems in the hills might hurl a couple of bombs, and then flee, she remarked in a public programme in Bhangar in south Bengal.

If we wanted, we could have marshaled thousands of people and blocked the offices. But we only appealed to the employees, said Giri in Darjeeling.

Gorkhaland is a matter of aspiration of the locals and Trinamool will never find popular support, said Giri

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Controversial Calcutta high court judge CS Karnan on Monday ended his tenure as a fugitive from law with no customary farewell being given to him.

Sixty-two-year-old Justice Karnan has been evading arrest since May 9 after being sentenced to six months imprisonment for contempt of court by the Supreme Court.

He has the dubious distinction of being the first sitting high court judge to be awarded a jail term by the apex court.

A customary farewell by the high court administration to the retiring judge could not be held as Justice Karnan was not present.

A farewell given by the administration is held, which is attended by judges and senior lawyers and speeches are made as per the custom. This was not held as he was not present, Calcutta HC registrar General Sugato Majumdar said.

Asked about clearance of Justice Karnans retirement benefits, Majumdar said, All formalities will be completed as per the law.

A retiring judge is also given a farewell by the Bar (lawyers), though not mandatory.

Had Justice Karnan been here, the Bar would have considered. There is a procedure by which an invitation is sent to a retiring judge and if he accepts, necessary arrangements are made.

Since we do not know where he is, the question does not arise, additional advocate General Abhratosh Chowdhury told PTI.

Owing to the unprecedented situation prevailing after the Supreme Court order and owing to his absence, a farewell could not be considered, Calcutta HC Bar Association President Suranjan Dasgupta said.

Born on June 12, 1955, he has been evading arrest since a seven-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India J S Khehar passed the unprecedented arrest order against him.

Despite several attempts, Justice Karnan has failed to get any relief from the apex courts vacation benches which refused to hear his plea seeking a stay of its jail term order.

His lawyers had also claimed to have approached President Pranab Mukherjee for exercising his power to stay the apex courts order, but till now, no relief has come to the judge.

The seven-judge bench had also asked the West Bengal director general of police to take Justice Karnan, who has been on a warpath with the Supreme Court for the last several months, into custody.

According to his lawyers, the ground taken in the application to the president was that the judge will be unable to exercise any remedy if he was arrested.

After being sentenced to a six-month jail term, Justice Karnan had on May 12 moved the apex court for relief, saying neither the high courts nor their judges, were subordinate to it.

He had sought recall of the apex courts order, contending he could not be held guilty of contempt of court.

Justice Karnan had said the Contempt of Courts Act was a cathartic jurisprudence which belonged to the Dark Ages, the era of inquisition and torture, distinct from the classical Roman Law which constitutes the foundation of modern jurisprudence.

He had also sought a stay on all further proceedings pursuant to the May 9 order.

Earlier, the apex court had issued a bailable warrant against him to secure his presence in the contempt case.

He had appeared before the apex court on March 31, a first in Indian judicial history, and had asked for restoration of his powers as a precondition for his re- appearance, but the plea was rejected.

Justice Karnan, who enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu in 1983, was appointed a judge of the Madras High Court in 2009. He was transferred to the Calcutta High Court on March 11, 2016.

He was transferred from the Madras high court for his repeated allegations and run-ins with its then chief justice and fellow judges.

The high court judge had on February 15, 2016 stayed his transfer order, which was suspended by the Supreme Court.

The apex court had earlier even asked the chief justice of the Madras High Court not to assign him any judicial work.
Amid ongoing tension between the two neighbours, India released 11 Pakistani prisoners on Monday and handed them over to authorities at the Wagah border post.

The Pakistani nationals were released after they completed their respective prison terms, official sources said.

The move came days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi exchanged greetings with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Astana.

The released prisoners were identified as Mohammad Javed, Mohammad Sajid, Zakir Ali, Rishi Mahender Kumar, Masood Akhtar, Murtaza Aqib, Asif Khan, Qari Mohammad, Shokat Ali, Rashid Ahmed and Saifullah.

While four of the prisoners were in Jammu and Kashmir, three were in Rajasthan, two in Punjab and one each in Delhi and Haryana.

The Pakistani prisoners who were released on Monday included a Hindu.

Sources said most of the released prisoners had crossed into India inadvertently in different period of time in different sectors along the border.

All of them have completed their prison terms and they were released after the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi verified their credentials.

Most of them belong to Punjab province of Pakistan and are in their 30s, the sources said.

The release of Pakistani prisoners came amid the ongoing hostilities between India and Pakistan.

Even today, in Islamabad, the Pakistan Foreign Office summoned the Indian Deputy High Commissioner and condemned the alleged firing by Indian troops along the Line of Control in which three Pakistani civilians were killed.

The relations between the two nations deteriorated due to the continuing firing along the border, cross-border infiltration and unrest in Jammu and Kashmir.

It further nosedived over the death sentence given to Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav by a Pakistani court for alleged spying.

India, last month, successfully got a stay from the International Court of Justice on Jadhavs death sentence.
Days after his loyalty was questioned at the Aam Aadmi Partys national executive meeting earlier this month, senior leader Kumar Vishwas continues to aggravate the partys top brass. At a conference of AAP volunteers from Rajasthan on Saturday, Vishwas gave a speech that included a scathing critique of the partys handling of the Punjab and Goa elections.

Vishwas said that the partys Rajasthan unit would be run according to the wishes of local volunteers, and that it would raise its own funds for next years assembly election. He received cheers and applause for the comment that the days of Delhis dominance are over.

He also outlined specific reforms, saying that no central leaders pictures will be used in campaign material and that no one who joins the party within one year of the poll, slated for November 2018, will be given a ticket.

A video of the speech is available on YouTube.

Vishwas and others have criticised the party for excessive centralisation in the past. On April 28, Vishwas said in a TV interview that AAP should introspect rather than blame its losses on electronic voting machines.

In Punjab, the only state other than Delhi where the party has elected representatives, Gurpreet Singh Waraich quit last month after being summarily replaced as party chief. Many in the AAP now admit that trying to run the Punjab state unit from Delhi was among the factors that cost it the election.

AAP leaders were livid over Vishwass latest critique. You should ask him if his speech was provided to him by a rival party, said one senior member of the party. This politician, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, disclosed that the AAP is in talks with other parties in Rajasthan that may be jeopardised by Vishwass comments.

Vishwas himself was not available for comment on Sunday and Monday morning. On Sunday, his office said the AAP leader was in a poor connectivity zone in Bareilly. On Monday, Vishwas responded to a phone call by asking for an SMS to be sent, but did not reply to the message.

A Delhi state legislator said that Vishwas addressed the volunteers in his signature style. Given the recent tension between KV and the party, he admitted, the timing could have been better.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
A 16-minute-long documentary film on Kashmir made by two filmmakers from Kerala has invited the wrath of the central government.

The documentary is on young artists and musicians of the trouble-torn state.

On Saturday, the ministry of information and broadcasting denied permission to screen In the Shade of Fallen Chinar at the upcoming tenth edition of the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK).

The ministry also denied screening permission to two other filmsone on the student agitation in Jawaharlal Nehru University and the other on Dalit scholar Rohit Vemula. Rohiths suicide had sparked nationwide outrage over caste discrimination in university campuses.

Shot at the Kashmir University in June last year, In the Shade of Fallen Chinar captures the works of young artists, musicians and a photographer, who are also students of the institute. The protagonists in the film narrate the decades-old conflict in the strife-torn Valley as seen through their eyes and interpreted through their art.

The film was released on YouTube in August last year when Kashmir was witnessing massive street protests and retaliation by state forces after the killing of Hizbul Mujahedeen commander Burhan Wani in July.

Two directors Shawn Sebastian (26) from Kochi and Fazil NC (28) from Calicut spoke to HT on their film, the denial of screening permission, and how they plan to protest against the denial.

The two completed their post graduation in journalism from the Hyderabad University in 2014, and since then have been making documentary films.

In the Shade of Fallen Chinar was made under the banner of their collective production house Drokpa Films.

Here are excerpts from the interview:

How do you see this ban on screening of your film?

Shawn: Its totally unexpected. Normally, if selection jury of a film festival selects any film for screening, its considered as final decision. The procedure is that the organisers send all the films selected by the jury to the ministry for an exemption certificate, and invariably each one gets it.

This time, all the selected films were given exemption certificates expect three, including ours. The government order did not mention any reason.

If you stitch together the three films, it is understood why the government did not allow them. They deal with issues that the Centre does not want people to discuss. They are films on campuses, on a vibrant youth community. Since the BJP came to power, students are at the centre of the political discourse. But then again, our film doesnt deal with any specific political uprising, but uses artists and art to understand Kashmir.

Fazil: My assumption is that the government does not have a tool to deal with the issues portrayed in the three films. The JNU student protests or the Rohit Vemula case or the Kashmir issue ... the government has been struggling to deal with all the three. Perhaps they think its good to keep people away from these issues.

Tell us about the film.

Shawn: The film was shot before Burhan Wanis death and the beginning of the protests in Kashmir. Fazil had met few Kashmiri artists when they came to Kochi some years back and that led us to visiting the KU campus.

When we visited the campus, it came as a spontaneous decision to shoot and tell a story. We shot for a week and post-processing took two more. We had initially decided to do its premiere at any film festival but then, as Kashmir became the centre of the discourse after Wanis death, we uploaded it on YouTube. It has over 45 thousand views now.

Fazil: The characters on the film are born in the 1990s. They grew up amid the conflict and are virtually the children of conflict. They saw and experienced it all. And in the film, they spoke their hearts out without any inhibition and thats why the film is powerful.

These young artists do not belong to any party and are completely genuine. What could the government do to control their emotions?

Does preventing a film from screening in a festival when it has already been up on YouTube for almost a year serve any purpose for the government?

Shawn: The ban does not affect viewership and number of people watching our film. Although qualitatively you get a very good audience in such festivals, quantitatively it is less. On a higher level, this is a symbolic battle because if this becomes a norm then in the future there can be serious restriction on the kind of documentary films which can be and cannot be shown in festivals.

Fazil: It should be emphasised that the government has only denied screening permission for this particular festival and its not an overall ban on the film.

Whats next? How do you plan to protest against this?

Shawn: We have two things on mind right now. We will approach the Kerala High Court on Monday to seek an interim relief, so that we can screen the film in the festival. Secondly, along with several cultural groups we will be conducting protest screenings of the film. ..

Fazil: We have been getting many calls from film fraternity and artists after the news broke. We are trying to arrange screening in colleges and institutes -- protest screening, where we will speak about the film and the censorship.

They (ministry) have given a new life to the film. The denial of screening has actually worked in our favour. We have become more fearless after this.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Traders rued their burnt shops, farmers mourned the death of their sons to police bullets; but as four days of violence drew to a close, both sides could only speak of one thing: demonetisation.

Notebandi destroyed the trust between farmer and trader, said Sunil Ghatiya, a soybean trader in Mandsaurs Pipliya Mandi, It finished off our market.

A farmer sells when he needs cash immediately  for a wedding, a funeral, to pay a loan, said Madan Lal Viswakarma, But after notebandi, traders at the government-run markets only pay by cheque.

The traders exploited us, said Dinesh Patidar, whose son Abhishek was killed when police opened fire on farmers demanding loan waivers and better prices for their crops, They knew the farmers were desperate for cash. The Modi government insists the economy has weathered the shock of demonetisation of 86% of Indias currency on 8 November last year, even as evidence to the contrary piles up and economists say they lack the tools to isolate its effects.

In Mandsaur, where four days of rioting resulted in the deaths of five farmers and the destruction of crops, farms, shops, and trucks, the policys effects are visible: demonetisation has disrupted every aspect of the rural economy  land markets, credit networks, procurement, and crop prices. A farmer sells when he needs cash immediately  for a wedding, a funeral, to pay a loan, said Madan Lal Viswakarma, But after notebandi, traders at the government-run markets only pay by cheque.

The cheques take 20 days to clear, Madan Lal said, and then the banks have no currency to give. If you want cash, the traders beat down your price, and charge two rupees on every hundred they pay, he said.

The quest for cash, Lakshmi Narayan Viswakarma said, had pushed farmers deeper into debt.

At harvest, everyone rushes to sell so they can pay back their loans, he said, explaining that money lenders lend at 2% per month, or 24% a year, and settle all accounts in cash. Those who cant pay, like farmer Dinesh Patidar, are forced to sell their land.

But land prices have halved, from Rs 5 lakh per bigha, to Rs 2.5 lakh per bigha, said Patidar. After notebandi, no one has the cash to buy land, he added.

Across the road from Patidars home, traders said the note-ban had destroyed them as well. The farmers demanded cash, but the government tied our hands, said Ghatiya, the soybean trader. Some cheques bounced because of a spelling mistake, the farmers felt we were cheating them.

Trader credit had dried up as well, reducing each traders purchasing power. A lot of chit-fund money finds its way into the agricultural markets, said a pulse trader, That completely vanished this year, so traders couldnt buy as much as they usually do. As a result, unsold produce started piling up, and the price of all crops crashed.

The price-crash has affected us as well, said Ghatiya, The value of the stocks in our godowns has fallen too.

This spiral of currency shortage and falling prices, traders and farmers agreed, meant the market was on edge even before the protests began on June 1. So when farmers and traders got into an argument on June 5, the violence quickly escalated. On one hand you had gun-powder, on the other a match, said a senior cop, All you needed was a spark.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday again questioned Altaf Ahmed Shah, son-in-law of hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, in connection with its probe into the funding of terror and subversive activities in Kashmir.

Shah, popularly known as Altaf Fantoosh, was earlier questioned by the NIA on June 9 about his movable and other properties, including houses in the Valley as well as in Jammu, and the source for their funding, official sources said.

Shah, who arrived again at the NIA headquarters today, was questioned by a team of agency officials about the alleged funding of the Geelani-led Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, the sources said.

There was no immediate reaction from Shahs camp but his father-in-law had yesterday questioned the role of the NIA and said the probe agency was being used as a war weapon against separatist leadership in Kashmir.

Geelani, while chairing a meeting a day after his son- in-law was questioned by the NIA, alleged that the agency had crossed all limits and there was no legal justification for such arbitrary measures.

Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, its leadership and cadre is the main target for authorities. It is a pre-planned psychological crackdown..., he had said in Srinagar on Saturday.

Shahs Srinagar house was raided by NIA sleuths, who also searched the premises of others, such as Shahid-ul-Islam, a close aide of Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, who heads the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference, and businessman Zahoor Watali.

Apart from being the son-in-law of Geelani, Shah is perceived to be influential in the policies of the Tehrek-e- Hurriyat.

Hafeez Saeed, Pakistan-based chief of Jamaat-ul Dawah, the front of the banned Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT), has been named in the FIR as an accused besides organisations such as the Hurriyat Conference (factions led by Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq), Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and Dukhtaran-e-Milat.

The raids were part of NIAs efforts to clamp down on separatist groups allegedly receiving funds for subversive activities in the valley.

The NIA had recovered unaccounted account books, Rs 2 crore in cash and letterheads of banned terror groups, including LeT and HM.

The NIA investigation also seeks to identify the chain of players behind the financing of terrorist activities, including those who threw stones at security forces, burned down schools and damaged government establishments.

This is for the first time since the rise of militancy in Kashmir in the early 1990s that a central probe agency has carried out raids in connection with funding of separatists.

In 2002, the Income Tax department had executed searches against some separatist leaders, including Geelani, and seized cash and documents.

However, no criminal case was registered then.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, on Monday, offered to dissolve the state assembly and hold fresh election if the BJP was ready to do the same in the neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh. where the BJP and its allies won 325 out of total 403 seats, just three months ago.

He blamed inadequate minimum support prices for farm produce and the union governments failure to take corrective measures, as the main reason for the farmers unrest in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and some other states.

Obliquely referring to UP deputy chief minister KP Mauryas call for mid-term polls in Bihar, at a function held here on Sunday, Kumar said he was ready for the challenge if the BJP was so convinced about its electoral resurrection in Bihar.

The BJP could win just 53 seats in the 243-member Bihar assembly, in the election held in November 2015, as against 178 seats won by the RJD-JD (U)-Congress grand alliance. The present Bihar assembly still has three and a half years of its term left.

Kumar said he was also ready for simultaneous Lok sabha by-elections in Bihar and UP, states in which the BJP holds a majority of seats.

Talking to media persons on sidelines of his weekly Lok Samvad programme here, Kumar said waiver of loans would not help much inresolving the crises facing farming community. Loan write-off may be a temporary and area specific solution, but it will not resolve the agrarian crisis, he added.

He said the country had slipped into an agrarian crisis as the cost of farm production had escalated and farmers were not able to get a reasonable return on their produce, due to faulty policies of the Centre.

Recalling Prime Minister Narendra Modis promise to fix MSP of farm produce with additional 50% incentive to farmers on their input cost, Kumar said a substantial hike in prices of agriculture produce could dole out reasonable respite to the enraged farmers.

Kumar said soil health card and crop insurance policy were not benefitting the farmers. Complicating the woes of agriculturists was the governments bid to encourage genetically modified seeds being marketed by multinational companies, he added.

The condition of farmers has worsened over the past few years. Besides economic deprivation, they are unable to provide quality education to their children, owing to decreasing farm income. This is why, communities like Jat, Patidar and Maratha, who are primarily into agriculture, are demanding reservation, said the CM.

Kumar said BJP chief Amit Shahs chatur bania remark on Mahatma Gandhi was not an issue to take note of. Comments on the father of the nation reflect the mind-set of the people. Our government is committed to take Gandhis ideology to the people by celebrating the centenary year of his Champaran Satyagraha, he said.

Kumar said the whole idea about celebrating the occasion was to expose the people to Gandhian philosophy, which, if adopted even by 10-15% people, could change the whole society, riddled with violence, distrust and intolerance.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The NDA government believes in freedom of press as it wants a vibrant media for betterment of democracy, union information and broadcasting minister M Venkaiah Naidu said on Monday.

We will never compromise on press freedom. The government will never interfere except when the issue relates to national security, unity and integrity of the country and the established social order comes under threat, he said.

The Modi government has come under fire over the recent CBI raids on the homes and head offices of Delhi-based NDTV. Many journalists have termed the incident as muzzling the press freedom.

You can see how much criticism the government faces from the media. Even the prime minister is criticised, but the government never meddles with it, Naidu said.

He said a Delhi-based national daily never hesitates to write worst on Narendra Modi.

But we have not reacted, he said, adding giving a political colour to the NDTV case is unfortunate.

Rejecting allegations of attack on freedom of press in the NDTV case, the BJP leader said, The ongoing investigation against NDTV is in no way an attack on press freedom. It will be better if they (NDTV) cooperate with the ongoing probe.

The Union minister was here to attend a Sabka Saath Sabka Bikas programme.

Is it wrong if there is a probe on an allegation against management or owner of a media company? Shouldnt an allegation be probed? he asked.

He said the allegations against the NDTV were made way back in 2011-12 when Narendra Modi was in Gujarat.

The allegation was made when Manmohanji was the Prime Minister, Chidambaram a minister and Rahul Gandhi was managing the government, he said.

Meanwhile, a group of journalists here staged a demonstration during Naidus visit.
Under attack for acting against NDTV and its promoters on the basis of a private complaint, the CBI on Monday said about six of the 10 cases registered against employees of private banks were based on private and source information.

The agency is probing over 100 cases related to bank fraud involving funds to the tune of about Rs 35,000 crore. The 10 cases are included in this, an agency spokesperson told PTI.

In the last three years, CBI spokesperson RK Gaur said, 171 cases were registered to look into alleged bank frauds. A preliminary enquiry (PE) was registered in 11 cases, 6.4% of the total. A PE precedes an FIR.

We have registered 10 cases against private bank employees which include six cases registered on the basis of private and source information. As of now, there are over 100 cases of bank fraud under probe which involve funds of about Rs 35,000 crore, he said in response to a PTI query.

The CBI has been facing criticism for allegedly singling out NDTV in filing a corruption case against it on the basis of a private complaint.

The case pertains to a loan which has already been paid by the company in 2009 and there was no complaint from the bank. The CBI registered an FIR on the basis of a complaint by Sanjay Dutt, a shareholder of NDTV and ICICI Bank.

The move of the agency to proceed against NDTV without conducting a preliminary enquiry was criticised by the media fraternity as an attempt to muzzle the press.

The agency got its powers to register cases against private banks after the Supreme Court order in the Global Trust Bank case last year which said executives of private banks were covered under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The CBI has registered cases against officials of several private banks, including Axis Bank, Karnataka Bank, Dhanlaxmi Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank as well as cooperative banks like Awami Cooperative Bank and Jain Cooperative Bank.

Over the last six months, some big bank fraud cases have been registered against private individuals like Sandeep Jhunjhunwala in a Rs 3,800 crore case, Sunil Kakkad in a Rs 900 crore case and Jatin Mehta in an over Rs 4,500 crore case.

According to CBI sources, the agency registered its first case against former liquor baron Vijay Mallya on the basis of a complaint from a private person who did not wish to be identified. It was therefore kept as source information.

Source information pertains to inputs where private individuals complain but do not want to reveal their identity.

The CBI in its statement after the NDTV FIR had said it is not probing loan default but alleged violations of RBI rules, SEBI guidelines and reduction in the rate of interest by ICICI Bank which caused a loss of Rs 48 crore to the bank.

NDTV denied any wrongdoing and termed the act of the agency a witch-hunt.
Pakistani troops began firing and mortar shelling along the Line of Control (LoC) in Krishna Ghati and Nowshera sectors in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday with the Indian army retaliating to the attacks.

Pakistan Army initiated indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics and mortars from 0620 hours in Krishna Ghati sector, defence spokesperson Lt Col Manish Mehta said.

He also informed that firing of small arms, automatics RPG , recoilless rifles and mortars started in Nowshera sector of Rajouri district from 0845 hours .

Since 1st June, this is ninth ceasefire violation done by Pakistan army and in last 72 hours this is the sixth ceasefire violation, he said.

The Army said the situation was under control and there was no report of any casualty.

Our troops are hitting them hard, where it will hit them the hardest: Lt Col Manish Mehta, Defence spox on ceasefire violations by Pakistan  ANI (@ANI_news) June 12, 2017

The entire area along LoC, especially Rajouri and Poonch, has become more volatile after the Indian army said two jawans were beheaded by Pakistan forces on May 1.
Pakistan on Monday summoned the Indian deputy high commissioner and condemned the alleged firing by Indian troops along the LoC in which three Pakistani civilians were killed.

Director general (South Asia and SAARC) Mohammad Faisal summoned the Indian deputy high commissioner JP Singh and condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian forces, the Pakistan Foreign Office said.

It said that three civilians were killed in the firing in Chirikot and Hot Spring sectors on June 10 and June 12.

The deliberate targeting of civilians is indeed condemnable and contrary to human dignity and international human rights and humanitarian laws, the foreign office said.

The director general urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement, investigate this and other incidents of ceasefire violations, instruct the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit, and maintain peace on the LoC, it said.

Indian troops initiated unprovoked heavy weapons including mortar firing targeting civilian population along the LOC in Jandrot and Hot spring sectors on Monday, the Pakistan Army said in a statement.

Three more civilians were injured due to the Indian firing, it said.

The Pakistan Army also claimed that they inflicted damage to Indian posts.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused the Narendra Modi-led central government of forcing everyone into silence with Dalits being beaten up, minorities frightened and journalists and bureaucrats threatened.

Speaking at a function of the National Herald newspaper in Bengaluru, he said, The power of truth is being completely replaced with the truth of power and anybody who attempts to speak the truth and stand for it is being pushed aside.

Gandhi also alleged that thousands of journalists were not being allowed to write what they wanted to. They (journalists) tell me that they are not being allowed to write what they want to, he said.

Recalling that he was not allowed to visit Madhya Pradesh during the recent farmers protest and Uttar Pradesh and was stopped at the border of both the states, he said, This is the India we are living in...an India where power will simply manufacture the truth.

Recollecting a Soviet poet (Yevgeny Yevtushenko), who said, When truth is replaced by silence, the silence is a lie, Gandhi said, This is what the government is trying to do.

...Everybody knows what the truth is. But they are scared to say it, he said at the function where vice- president Mohammad Hamid Ansari released the National Heralds commemorative publication to celebrate 70 years of Indias independence.

The Congress vice-president recalled that when the editor of National Herald approached him recently, he told him that there might be times when the paper would want to write things against him or his party or its policies, but you (editor) should be absolutely comfortable. That is the spirit we expect from National Herald.

National Herald has a strong spirit. It is not going to be silenced, he added.

Congress leader Oscar Fernandes, who is on the Board of Directors of the newspaper, said the paper, which was founded by former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1938 and the publication of which was suspended a few years ago, was in the process of reviving its Hindi and Urdu editions as a multi- media outlet.

He said the National Herald website, launched eight months ago, was being upgraded and would be fully operational later this month.

The function is being seen as a prelude to the launch of the daily National Herald English edition.

Efforts to revive the newspaper started amid a legal battle launched by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, who has filed a criminal complaint against Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others.

In his private criminal complaint, Swamy has accused the Gandhis and others of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds by paying only Rs 50 lakh, through which Young Indian Pvt. Ltd (YI) obtained the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore, which its publisher, Associate Journals Ltd (AJL), owed to the Congress party.

The Gandhis and the other accused -- Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda -- have denied the allegations levelled against them.

The Delhi high court had recently declined to stay the Income Tax proceedings against Young India Ltd in the National Herald case.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump will meet for the first time on June 26 during the Indian leaders two-day visit to the United States, with their discussions expected to set the agenda for strengthening the bilateral strategic partnership.

Their discussions will provide a new direction for deeper bilateral engagement on issues of mutual interest and consolidation of multi-dimensional strategic partnership between India and the US, the Indian external affairs ministry said in a statement on Monday.

The White House said the leaders can be expected to set forth a common vision for expanding the US-India partnership in an ambitious and worthy way.

President Trump looks forward to advancing our common priorities  fighting terrorism, promoting economic growth and reforms and expanding security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters.

Terrorism is expected to figure significantly on the agenda of both countries, according to officials and experts. The issue of Americas H-1B visas for highly skilled foreigners could be next for India, and trade for the US.

The US has emerged as a top arms supplier to India and the two sides will be looking to move forward with deals such as unarmed drones that India wants for its navy, Reuters reported citing sources in New Delhi.

Equally important, the two leaders, who have spoken three times on phone since Trumps election last November, will use the meeting to strike a personal rapport for the future. Their officials have met and interacted over phone multiple times.

The US withdrawal from the Paris climate accord and Trumps harsh remarks could come up, but Indian officials have said that climate change was never going to figure prominently in discussions with this White House, knowing where it stands on the issue.

Highlights The meeting comes against the backdrop of Trumps remarks about India in his speech announcing US pullout from the Paris climate deal. Trump has repeatedly accused India and some other countries of trying to extract billions and billions of dollars in foreign aid from the developed world to sign up for the climate accord. Modis visit also assumes importance in view of Trumps efforts for stricter norms for the H1-B visa programme -- often used by IT companies to hire Indian engineers in the US.

Mondays announcement ends speculation about the timing of Modis visit, which had been known for a while but had remained officially unconfirmed and unannounced by both sides for an unusually protracted period of time.

New Delhi has indicated in news reports in the run up to the announcement it would discuss terrorism as it has in all interactions with the Trump administration, including during National Security Adviser HR McMasters recent visit to India.

Also expected to be brought up by India will be H-1B visas for highly skilled foreigners that US companies are allowed to hire abroad and at home, which have come under close scrutiny by the Trump administration, with Indian IT firms in the crosshairs.

The Trump administration has tweaked some rules to redefine speciality occupations, raising the bar for those qualifying for H-1B high-skilled jobs, suspended premium processing of applications, and issued warnings against misuse.

Through an executive order, Trump has sought a comprehensive review of the visa system to make sure it is used to hire most-skilled and highest-paid applicants and did not cause the loss of jobs for Americans.

To stave off further attention and punitive measures, Indian IT companies have announced plans to significantly ramp up hiring of locals. Infosys, for instance, is building a tech hub in Indianapolis that will create 2,000 jobs.

The fight against terrorism, which has been high on Trumps agenda, will be on the table from the US side as well, continuing the discussions with McMaster in New Delhi, in relation to Afghanistan and the Islamic State.

But bilateral trade could find a prominent place on Trumps to-do list, equally if not more. The US trade deficit with India is among those Trump has tasked the US commerce department to investigate and recommend correctives.
Congress vice president president Rahul Gandhi said on Monday politicians need not comment on the army chief, apparently snubbing a party leader who stoked a controversy for saying General Bipin Rawat should not behave like a roadside goon.

The Centres ruling Bharatiya Janata Party launched a spirited attack on the principal opposition party after Sandeep Dikshits remarks, saying the Congress had shown a consistent pattern in undermining democratic institutions.

The Congress was quick to distance itself after the row erupted on Sunday, and a party spokesperson said they respected the army.

Even Dikshit apologised for his comments, but that did not stop the BJP from seeking Congress president Sonia Gandhis apology.

It feels our army chief speaks like a roadside thug. While this is expected from Pakistan who are like the mafia, why does our own chief make such pronouncements, Dikshit had said.

#WATCH: Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit says it feels bad when our Army Chief gives statement like a "sadak ka gunda". pic.twitter.com/Kh1DdtLfbL  ANI (@ANI_news) June 11, 2017

General Rawat, in a recent interview to PTI, had defended army Major Leetul Gogois act of tying a Kashmiri man to his jeep and using him as a human shield against stone-pelters in the Valley.

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 (wanted to do), he had said.

The army chiefs comments had come under criticism from various quarters, including mainstream political parties such as the Left parties and the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress.

But Dikshits comments on the army chief drew flak from Union ministers Kiren Rijiju and Nirmala Sitharaman.

At a press conference on Monday, Sitharaman said: There is no sense of apology in his tweets. No less than Congress president Sonia Gandhi should come out and apologise, Sitharaman said.

Calling Dikshit, a former Lok Sabha MP, an eminent leader and well-known face, she said the Congress should disown him for trying to shame and demoralise the Army.
Home minister Rajnath Singh will arrive at Aizawal on Monday to hold talks with chief ministers of four northeastern states to review security along the Indo-Myanmar border.

Singh will hold discussions with CMs of Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, which share boundary with Myanmar. Union minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju will also be present during the deliberations.

The meet is being held six days after five persons, including a Territorial Army Major and three United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent) cadres, were killed in an encounter in Nagalands Mon district bordering Myanmar.

Reports say the encounter ensued when nearly 20 ULFA (I) cadres, who were on their way from their base in Myanmar to Assam via Nagaland, were intercepted by a team of security personnel.

Security apparatus in the northeast are hoping cross-border militant activities would subside following the demise of the NSCN (K) chairman S S Khaplang, who was a rallying point for various outfits operating out of the bases he provided them in the Naga-inhabited areas of the neighbouring country.

Besides his meeting with the CMs, Singh is also scheduled to visit Parva village in Lawngtlai district and other border areas by chopper before returning to New Delhi on Tuesday.

Home ministers, home secretaries, police chiefs of the four states and also senior home ministry officials will also take part in the meeting.

India and Myanmar share a 1,643-km long porous border, which is used by militant groups in the region to send cadres for training to Myanmar and use the same routes for trained militants to enter the country again.

The same routes are used by smugglers to bring in drugs, arms and other items.

Mizoram shares a 510-km border with Myanmar, Manipur (398 km), Arunachal Pradesh (520 km) and Nagaland (215 km). Just over 100-km of the entire stretch is fenced.

Beef fest to coincide with Rajnath visit

Irked by Centres recent notification banning cattle trade in animal markets for slaughter, a group in Mizorams capital is planning to organize a beef feast on Monday to coincide with Union home minister Rajnath Singhs visit.

A social media group called Zolife, which has over 9,000 members on Facebook, and some other activists are planning to organise the protest event at Vanapa Hall in Aizawl at 2 pm.

Mizoram, Nagaland and Meghalaya, which go to polls next year, have a dominant Christian populations and beef and buffalo meat are widely sold and consumed in these states.

According to data released by National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) in 2015, seven of the eight states in the region (except Tripura) were among the top 10 beef/buffalo consuming states in the country.

Meghalaya topped the list with nearly 81% of the total population consuming both beef and buffalo meat. The figure for Nagaland was 57% and 23% for Mizoram.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia and firebrand Patidar leader Hardik Patel will visit Mandsaur on Tuesday to meet the families of six farmers who were killed in police firing at Pipliyamandi on June 6. Their arrival is expected to rankle the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government that has been on the backfoot over the incident.

Scindia and Patel will enter Madhya Pradesh through different routes.

Scindias visit will the second high-profile visit by a Congress leader after the killings. AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi had attempted to enter Mandsaur on June 8 but he was stopped as the curfew was on.

As of now, only prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC are in place. Scindia will be going by road and will pass through Ujjain, Nagda and Jaora to reach Mandsaur.

Scindia, who reached Indore on Monday evening, first visited MY Hospital to meet all those injured in the firing and lathicharge during the 10-day agitation in Mandsaur.

Addressing the media, Scindia said the firing in Mandsaur was a blot on the state government.

He said he met the injured and their narration of how they were shot horrified him. In the land of Gandhi, farmers were shot in their head and stomach with an intention to kill them. Their bodies were dragged and money and mobiles taken away, Scindia alleged.

Criticising the chief ministers fast, Scindia said it was a farce.

Meanwhile, talking to HT over phone, Hardik said he will be entering the state through Nayagaon in the adjoining Neemuch district, which borders Rajasthan.

Asked if he is stopped by the administration, Patel said he did not expect so as he was not from a political party .

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
A soldier was injured as the Pakistani army targeted Indian posts and forward villages along the Line of Control (LoC) in Balnoi area of Krishna Ghati sector in Poonch district on Monday.

A soldier identified as Havaldar Dinesh Kumar of 20 Kumaon Regiment was injured when a rocket exploded at 636 TAK headquarters on the LoC in Mankote area of Balnoi this evening, said an intelligence official.

Defence spokesman Lt Col Manish Mehta said that Pakistan Army began indiscriminate fire with small arms, automatics and mortars from 6:45 pm in Krishna Ghati sector.

Reports said that Pakistani troops have been targeting forward villages triggering panic among hapless villagers.

Sounds of explosions could be heard in Mendhar town.

Earlier in the morning, Pakistan opened heavy fire in Nowshera and Krishna Ghati sectors of Rajouri and Poonch districts.

Lt Col Mehta said the Pakistani army used small arms, automatic weapons and mortars.

He said the Indian Army retailed strongly and effectively.

Read more: Pakistan continues ceasefire violations, opens fire along LoC in J-K

Ahead of annual Amarnath Yatra, which is scheduled to begin on June 29, Pakistan has repeatedly violated truce along the LoC and has also stepped up terror attacks in Kashmir.

Pak army chief General Qamar Bajwa has visited Pakistani forward posts opposite Poonch thrice in the past one month.

Over the past four days, the Indian army has gunned down 14 Pakistani terrorists on the LoC in Kashmir.

While the LoC has been witnessing heavy fire by Pakistani troops, Pakistani Rangers have also been opening unprovoked fire on the 198 km long international border in Jammu region.

Going by the circumstances this summer, Pakistan has been trying its best to fuel terrorism in the state and flare up the borders at the same time to attract the attention of international community, said an intelligence official.

Over 2400 villagers continue to live in five relief camps in Nowshera town.

Since May 1 when Pakistan killed and mutilated two Indian soldiers--JCO Paramjit Singh and BSF head constable Prem Sagar, Pakistan has stepped by shelling on the borders.

Pakistan has also stepped up terror attacks in Kashmir with two attacks in Lower Munda and Qazigund areas on Jammu-Srinagar highway thereby raising serious concerns over safety of Amarnath Yatra this year.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Union finance minister Arun Jaitley hinted on Monday that the central government will not help with money for farm loan waivers, underscoring a major economic challenge for Maharashtra, which promised to write off loans equal to nearly 80% of its fiscal deficit, and for at least four other states facing similar demands.

Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab have witnessed growing resentment in the agriculture sector where inflation and stagnated incomes have left millions with piling debt. The crisis has triggered violent protests recently, with a debt write-off a central demand among all of them.

Protests in Madhya Pradesh left five people dead last week and cultivators in Maharashtra held a more than a week-long agitation that ended on Sunday only after the government agreed to waive off loans for 1.34 crore farmers.

Similar protests spread to Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab, weeks after Uttar Pradeshs new government wrote off Rs 35,500 crore in loans to small farmers.

An HT analysis shows that if the governments agree, most states will almost double their fiscal deficit and be left with practically no money for welfare projects (see box).

The waiver will translate into a cut in development spending by 30%, said a Maharashtra finance department official. Officials in Uttar Pradesh say the loan waiver has led to pruning of allocations of all departments as the Centre was not willing to share the burden.

In almost all major agrarian states, the loans of small farmers are close to 80% of the fiscal deficit last year.

The last big farm debt waiver came in 2009, when the UPA government wrote of Rs 72,000 crore before the general elections.

In Madhya Pradesh, home to the bloody farmers protest in Mandsaur, the estimated loan waiver for small and marginal farmers with less than 2 hectare of land  similar to the one given in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh  would cost roughly Rs 30,000 crore, or 85% of the states agriculture budget.

In Rajasthan, which goes to polls late next year, farmers owe Rs 67,500 crore to banks  double the states fiscal deficit. Farm debt here is fast becoming a political issue, with chief minister Vasundhara Raje facing pressure from the Opposition Congress and an outfit much closer home: the RSS-affiliated Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS).

Haryana, another BJP-ruled state, is also facing pressure from farm unions. They threatened on Monday that they will block national highways if their debt is not written off. More than half of Haryanas population is into farming.

Adjacent Punjab, the posteboy of Indias farming revolution, too has been hit by calls for a loan waiver. Here, a million farmers owe Rs 90,000 crore to banks but the Congress government is not in a financial position to absorb such debt considering it has around Rs 2 lakh crore  almost half of its 2016-17 budget  as state debt.

Punjab can, however, reduce its burden if the scheme is extended to the 5.71 lakh small and marginal farmers. It would mean a debt waiver of Rs 9,845 crore. But, national farmer bodies such as Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) want a write-off for everyone. The Amarinder Singh-led government is expected to take a decision later this month.

A number of other non-BJP ruled states like West Bengal have no plans to waive farm loans, saying they provide interest-free loans to the farm sector. Officials in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka also said they were not considering any waiver.

(With inputs from state bureaux)
A street dog was allegedly killed by unidentified persons in a posh residential colony in the Anand Vihar area here, the police said on Monday.

The incident came to light on Sunday when the carcass of the dog was spotted by some residents of Surya Niketan, who used to feed the animal. They called the Police Control Room (PCR) and informed an NGO, which deals with cases of animal rights, about the incident.

It was only after the residents created a ruckus over the incident that an FIR was lodged at the Anand Vihar police station under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, section 429 (Mischief by killing or maiming cattle, punishable with a maximum jail term of five years) and section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC.

The residents pointed fingers towards a family living in the colony, said a senior police officer. They claimed that the members of the family did not like the dogs presence in the area and had problems with the animal sleeping under their car, he added.

The dogs head was found crushed and the locals alleged that the animal could have been intentionally run over by a vehicle.

One of them alleged that while they gathered around the carcass, one of the members of the family which had problems with the dog, asked them to keep quiet. They even expressed happiness at the animals death, the officer said, quoting from the complaint given by Rahul Kapoor, a resident of the area.

The police said as there was no eyewitness to the killing of the animal, they were questioning the locals about the family under suspicion and trying to get hold of CCTV footage from the locality to identify the accused.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has begun examining senior Uttar Pradesh officials in its probe into illegal sand mining that was rampant during the Samajwadi Party era.

The probe agency contacted officials of five districts last month and some have been examined by CBI sleuths. The examination is under way and action will be taken based on the findings of our probe, said a source.

The development comes more than two months after the CBI, on the directive of the Allahabad high court, registered five preliminary inquiries over allegations of illegal sand mining in the five districts  Shamli, Hamirpur, Fatehpur, Siddharth Nagar and Deoria. A preliminary inquiry is done to ascertain if the accusations merit a probe and is followed by an FIR. Sources said that the CBI might file an FIR if prima facie evidence against the government officials is found.

The court directed CBI to probe the matter in March after a PIL was filed alleging that illegal sand mining was taking place with an active involvement of government officials.

News of illegal mining had hit headlines during the SP regime in 2013 when IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal was suspended.

Apart from the illegal mining, the CBI is likely to look at cases, including the infamous Jawaharbagh encounter during the SP regime which left 24 dead.

Among the cases that the UP government is planning to hand over to CBI is the Jawaharbagh encounter that took place last year in June, sources added.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Foster and May: bed news for the U.K.

Jack Bernhardt is a British comedy writer. His stuff foris witty and well-worth your time. This week though, his most important writing wasn't in, but in a Twitter storm about the Unionists this weekend. Actually, it all did start in acolumn, Feeling blue about Mays disaster? Reasons to be cheerful if youre Tory , where he had some politically incorrect laughs at Northern Ireland's expense. "I know that to most of you," he wrote, "Northern Ireland is just where Jeremy Corbyns terrorist friends come from-- but it turns out its also a country now! Who knew? Not you guys, certainly, given that under the Conservatives power-sharing collapsed last year and you did sweet strong and stable butts about it, but now its suddenly become incredibly important with your new, slightly scary bestie Arlene Foster! And that means youll be going over there to see the sights: Titanic Belfast, the Giants Causeway, the populace that voted over 60% remain and is becoming increasingly concerned about the prospect of a hard border post-Brexit, and Victoria Square! Its fancy, its got a House of Fraser and everything! Sure, you may have to a deal with some slightly unsavoury members of the DUP , many of whom have some pretty retro ideas about things such as same-sex marriage and abortion, but think of it more like making new friends. Who you have to get along with, and make concessions to, otherwise theyll fire you from your job. Fun!"

OK, so what's this all about? As you know, Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May managed to lose her parliamentary majority-- down 13 seats to 317 (9 fewer than needed to elect a prime minister). Arlene Foster is the head of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP, or the Unionists), Northern Ireland's biggest party, and they managed to win 10 seats in Parliament Thursday. The party was founded by far right Protestant extremist Ian Paisley, a terrorist, in 1971. Foster took over in 2015. She has agreed to support Theresa May's minority government, something the Daily Mirror commemorated with this memorable front page:

The party is virulently anti-gay and anti-Choice, xenophobic, anti-EU and is riven with climate change deniers and religionist lunatics. Below are a series of Bernhardt tweets that began with this one : "So the DUP's inherent bigotry, homophobia, climate change and evolution denial should disbar them from mainstream politics, full stop. But." And was followed by this eye-catcher:

 I sound like a broken record but please please please can we talk about how powersharing has collapsed in Northern Ireland?





 It's been like this for three months. This crisis dates back to the Cash for Ash scandal involving current head of the DUP Arlene Foster.





 It's a frankly unbelievable story of sleaze at the top of NI politics. It would be difficult for most governments to deal with.





 Add in the inherent sectarian tension in Northern Irish politics, plus heightened fears over a hard border post-Brexit, and it's paralysing.





 Sinn Fein pulled out of the executive in protest at Arlene Foster, triggering elections which eventually gave SF an increased vote share





 They had six weeks after that point to form a government. SF demanded Foster quit as head of DUP, she refused. Again. Things got more tense.





 The deadline for forming government passed. At that point either ANOTHER election had to be called, or you revert to Direct Rule.





 At this point Westminster woke up. The idea of Northern Ireland slipping back to Direct Rule months before Brexit negotiations = NOT GOOD.





 So at the end of March James Brokenshire went over to NI to generally just ask people to get along/be totally useless. It didn't work.





 He said there was no appetite for another election (true) and no appetite for Direct Rule (also true). So they just extended the deadline.





 Keep in mind, this is end of March. We've just triggered Article 50 and we're currently having a totally pointless argument about Gibraltar.





 Should we have been having a discussion about the steady erosion of the peace process in Northern Ireland instead? YEAH MAYBE.





 The deadline is shunted on further. Talks between SF & DUP are going nowhere. But at least the UK government is aware of the problem now.





 Things are tense, complicated and messy. You know what the situation doesn't need? A snap general election.





 Suddenly Northern Ireland is facing the prospect of ANOTHER election, for Westminster this time, while dealing with a constitutional crisis.





 So the deadline gets shunted until after the election. The parties are now negotiating and campaigning at the same time. Great stuff.





 And so to yesterday. SF get 8, DUP 10. The more moderate SDLP, UUP and Alliance fall away. Northern Ireland is more polarised than ever.





 Before today, TM's government has been criminally negligent of Northern Ireland. Think about how little you've heard about NI this election.





 It was only ever brought up in relation to Corbyn and the IRA. There was NO discussion of Stormont impasse, or even the border post-Brexit.





 You'd think we'd have learnt our lesson after the EU referendum and actually thought about the consequences of a Hard Brexit in NI. But no.





 So here we are, June 9th, 10 days before Brexit negotiations, with no Stormont government and mass confusion over the NI Brexit border.





 We have three months of inaction. We have the DUP and SF in a stalemate. The deadline is approaching again. Direct rule looms.





 These problems will only be solved by careful, strategic leadership from Westminster, working with both parties to deescalate the situation.





 What Theresa May has done today has destroyed any hope of that. At one of the most dangerous times in its recent history, May has done this.





 Any pretense that the UK government could be neutral in this is gone. Their entire existence is now dependent on the DUP.





 Direct rule is not an option because the DUP has an unrealistic amount of sway over Westminster. It throws the balance of power totally off.





 Arlene Foster, who should have resigned months ago for her rank corruption, now holds more power over the UK government than...anyone?





 The next deadline, by the way, is June 29th. But now the DUP is in bed with the UK government, will James Brokenshire have any authority?





 Has anyone in gov thought about what happens when THAT expires? Why should Sinn Fein treat the UK gov as a neutral arbiter after that?





 Power-sharing relies on a neutral UK government. If the government is beholden to one side in power-sharing, it is fatally undermined.





 It's hard to see what happens in N Ireland without power-sharing or without direct rule. Either it will float on, pushing that deadline...





 ...or the whole thing is irrevocably damaged and the system implodes.





For what, a two seat majority?





 I may be wrong - there may be some incredible fudge that Tories/DUP/SF have planned. Maybe the DUP are hoping the SF will just accept it.




Residents of a village in Uttar Pradeshs Kanpur district have found a unique way to protest the lack of the most basic of facilities. They have renamed Simmranpur as PoK or Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, saying their situation is no better.

Villagers complain Simmranpur, which falls under Daulatpur gram panchayat of Ghatampur, lacks educational and health facilities as well as electricity, proper roads, school and dispensary. There is only one hand pump in the village that is now used by villagers to tie their cattle and children, who play with its lever, after it stopped working eight years ago.

Village shopkeepers even put up placards at their establishments last Thursday, saying renaming the village was the only option left for them to ensure development. We will keep referring to the village as PoK till the time electricity, water and proper roads are made available to us, read the hand-written placards.

The decision to change the name was taken after much deliberation by the entire village, which has a population of 800 people.

Simmranpur has a population of 800 people. (HT Photo)

We have been reading in newspapers about PoK and its people living in servitude and neglect. Our condition is no different, Sonu Yadav, one of the lead campaigners, says.

The people approached BJP MLA Abhijeet Singh Sanga but no action was taken. Earlier too, the villagers raised the issue with SP MLA Munidra Shukla but he took no action, he says.

He said the high tension electricity lines already pass through the village and it can easily be electrified.

The electricity poles in the village, which do not have wires, were erected by a contractor from his own resources when he was contesting the panchayat election in 2008. Electricity has not been made available in our village in the last 70 years. Even worse, we are going to have one of the biggest power plants near the village, Vinay Mishra, who spent 14 years in Mumbai but settled down in Simmranpur, says.

After their pleas failed to make an impact, the villagers put up posters at temples, walls and outside the village and at the house of the village pradhan in Daulatpur. Simmranpur village falls under Daulatpur gram panchayat. Unlike Simmranpur, Daulatpur has all the facilities including a school and a water tank.

Residents say every other village, and some on the other side of the road, under Daulatpur gram panchayat are completely electrified and have all the facilities.

Development ends at Daulatpur and surrounding villages. It never reaches us. The MPs, MLAs and village headmen generously release funds for these villages but not ours, Brijesh Singh, a villager, says.

After their pleas failed to make an impact, the villagers put up posters at temples and other structures. (HT Photo)

The desperation stems from the fact that monsoon is about to set in and only 30 people have ration cards in the village. The quotadaar (the person who runs the fair price shop) doesnt give kerosene even to ration card holders. We dont have electricity and we will not get kerosene too, says Mishra.

The villagers have another problem.

The absence of basic facilities has become a stumbling block for the young men from the village to find a bride in marriage.

People arent comfortable with the idea of marrying off their daughters to someone from this village. There are dozens of men who could not marry for this very reason, another villager Amit Kumar said.

The villagers say they are being forced by the politicians to drop their PoK campaign but they are united this time to get electricity and water even if it means keeping the new name forever.
The Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) Monday threatened to launch protest across Rajasthan if the BJP government failed to meet its demands that include minimum support prices for farm produce and a special assembly session to discuss farmer issues.

The Rajasthan Congress has already announced a state-wide agitation on June 14 in support of the farmers.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliated farmers outfit also wants the Vasundhara Raje government to declare as crime the procurement of agricultural produce below the MSP from farmers.

We will organise an indefinite maha padav (sit-in) at seven divisional headquarters, including Jaipur, Kota, Jodhpur, Udaipur and Sikar, from Thursday morning. We will come with our families and cattle and cook food there. The agitation will continue until the government agrees to our demands, BKS state general secretary Kailash Gandolia told reporters here.

After two years of drought, the farmers reaped a good harvest this year but the government did not purchase many crops such as groundnut, mustard, and moong dal at MSP. We approached the government but it paid no attention. The attitude of the government towards the farmers is not right, Gandolia added.

Gandolia said that this year the mustard production in Rajasthan was 37 lakh tonnes but farmers sustained a loss of 2,600 crore as government did not purchase the oil seed at MSP.

In March, we held demonstrations in all the districts after which the government assured that it will begin procuring mustard at MSP from April 1. The government, however, kept delaying the procurement process and as a result many farmers committed suicide. When we told state agriculture minister Prabulal Saini about the crash in prices of garlic during his visit to Kota, he said who had asked us to plant so much garlic, he alleged.

Unlike the farmers in some other state, the BKS is not demanding loan waiver.

THE BKS demands

1. Call a special Assembly session to make suitable changes in policies for benefit of farmers

2. Purchase the agriculture produce at MSP

3. Purchase of crops below MSP should be made a crime

4. Implementation of irrigation projects

5. Electricity to those whose applications are pending

6. Electricity should be provided at flat rates
The arrest of billionaire transport officer RS Yadav by Jaunpur Police has once again brought to the fore the involvement of officials and transporters who connive to allow overloaded trucks to ply on the roads in Uttar Pradesh.

Yadav, an assistant regional transport officer (ARTO) at Chandauli, was booked on Saturday after the arrest of his driver and an aide, who were caught extorting truck drivers allegedly at the officers behest.

Officials said a diary recovered from Yadavs vehicle contained registration numbers of 9000 trucks, which indicated he used to distribute tokens or a secret code to truckers to pave way for safe passage to overloaded vehicles.

Yadav Singh of Purvanchal? In its initial probe, the enforcement directorate has come across important information related to possession of property worth crores of rupees by ARTO RS Yadav. Sources said the ED had found Yadav owned a hotel in Varanasi, a shopping/housing complex and half a dozen plots at various places, apart from a few high-end Volvo buses. He is already being referred to as the Yadav Singh of Purvanchal for the huge property that he has amassed during his two-decade career in the transport department.

This is, however, not the first time that an ARTO has been nabbed on such a charge. Specialised agencies such as the special task force (STF) and the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) have gathered evidence from time to time that suggested a deep-rooted scam being run by the RTOs and ARTOs and transporters and traders.

An ARTO, who is now posted at the transport commissioners office in Lucknow, was nabbed by the STF three years ago for running a similar scam in Sonbhadra. No action was taken against him though the then transport commissioner Rajnish Gupta recommended his suspension and sent several reminders to the state government.

STFs additional director general Mukul Goyal got a probe conducted against the ARTO (administration and enforcement) after the then transport commissioner requested for it.

During the probe, the STF intercepted calls and text messages between the ARTO and a roadside eatery owner and other private agents. The calls showed that the eatery owner and others used to collect money from overloaded trucks and provided code words for each truck to the ARTO, who would not check the vehicles after the driver mentioned the token.

The ARTO and others involved in the crime used fake SIMs to make calls or send text messages among themselves.

Sources said such activities were carried out in many districts in the state. In its inquiry in 2008-09, EoW had confirmed that overloading of trucks was thriving in the state in connivance with RTOs/ARTOs and private agents, they said.

According to sources, the EoW report revealed that when trucks drivers were stopped for checking, they uttered a secret code word such as Sai Kripa and Hari Kripa to the checking staff to get a safe passage. The agency, however, failed to pinpoint the involvement of RTOs or ARTOs.

Sources said overloading of trucks in the state was getting political patronage especially in mine-rich districts of the Bundelkhand region. Authorities, they pointed out, find it difficult to check plying of trucks overloaded with building material as politicians are directly or indirectly involved in mining contracts.

Two years ago, two trucks loaded with coarse sand belonging to a minister in the Samajwadi Party government were seized in random checking in Mahoba. Sources said the minister made desperate calls to higher authorities but it was too late by then as the matter had been recorded in black and white.

As the racket was often patronised by politicians under the previous governments, action was hardly taken against any RTO/ARTO, president of All-India Transport Trust Jagdish Chandra Gupta said.

Though overloading of trucks has been under some check, corrupt RTOs and ARTOs are still not desisting from extorting truckers, he said.

In its initial probe, the enforcement directorate came across important information related to possession of property worth crores of rupees by ARTO Yadav. Sources said the ED found Yadav owned a hotel in Varanasi, a shopping-housing complex and half a dozen plots at various places, apart from a few high-end Volvo buses.

He is already being referred to as the Yadav Singh of Purvanchal for the huge property that he has amassed during his two-decade career in the transport department.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Shia cleric Maulana Yasoob Abbas asserted on Sunday that Islam did not oppose yoga and its practise should not be associated with any religion.

Launching yoga classes at the Shia Post-Graduate Degree College in the holy month of Ramzan, he said Islam was not weak and yoga posed no threat to the religion.

Commenting on controversies related to yoga, the cleric said: Taliban culture will not be allowed in India. Those who want to see India sick are opposing yoga.

Abbas, who is facing opposition from a section of the Muslim community for his pro-active role in propagating yoga, brushed aside all opposition.

Read more: Fasting Muslims to take part in PM Modis yoga day event in Uttar Pradesh

I am not afraid of fatwas. It (fatwa) will make me more popular, he said.

On the controversy related to Surya namaskar (sun salutation), the cleric said: There is no compulsion on performing Surya namaskar. Everyone is free to do whatever he feels right.

Shia PG College is a minority institution run by the Shia community and the Maulana is a member of its board of trustees. Apart from Shia and Sunni students, a large number of Hindus also study at the college.

Abbas, along with 50 students, participated in yoga classes. Ensuring that yoga classes do not end up as a ceremonial exercise, the college management has ensured that classes are conducted daily.

Yoga instructor JK Sharma and Mohammad Farman will impart lessons to students.

It is not a publicity stunt and classes will be held regularly. Yoga has been made a part of physical education curriculum of the college, he said.

Read more: UP governor Ram Naik, CM Yogi Adityanath join Baba Ramdevs yoga session

The college will also participate in the International Yoga Day event at Ramabai Ambedkar ground in Lucknow on June 21 in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the chief guest.

Union home minister Rajnath Singh, governor Ram Naik, chief minister Yogi Adityanath and ministers in the state government will also participate in the event.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
A revolution knocks on the door  and it comes with a fork and knife. The world of food is more exciting than ever before. New restaurants are coming up offering novel cuisines or digging out old ones. Chefs are looking at unusual ingredients and dramatic ways of presenting food. Meanwhile, some wizened old experts continue to wield magic with their skewers and ladles in remote parts of the city. There is a world waiting to be discovered or re-embraced new cooking styles, world food, sub-regional cuisine and tiny holes in the wall which produce the most delightful dishes. Heres a guided tour.

I always thought one of the best parts of a road trip to the hills was the dhaba by a highway in Punjab where you stopped for a hot and tasty meal. But the times have changed: my Yezdi, which took me to Manali, is quite possibly sighing in a junkyard now; traffic is manic, which prompts me to take a train; dhabas are not what they used to be and authentic Punjabi food outside homes is almost as rare as a Dilliwallah who doesnt honk incessantly.

Just what happened to the dhabas? There was a time when a dhaba was a small unit with a counter where huge utensils carrying dal or chicken curry stood, while rotis were baked in a tandoor on the side. The last time I went to a dhaba off a highway, I found that it was a glitzy multi-storeyed building with liveried staff, air-conditioned rooms, a huge menu but dishes that all tasted the same.

I have no problems if dhabas wish to expand, but I feel sorry when the food changes. I have eaten delicious Punjabi food  cooked in friends houses and at modest dhabas. The yellow daal tadka -- boiled yellow lentils, tempered with cumin seeds in a bit of desi ghee, and cooked with onion, tomato and green chilli  was so delightful that you could make a meal of just the daal and a small hillock of phulkas. I fondly remember a bharwan baingan that a close friend cooks and I start to drool when I recall a Pune chefs nostalgic account of his mothers dish of shalgam (turnip) and shalgam leaves.

Yet, if you ask anyone to think of one Punjabi dish, chances are that they will mention butter chicken. I dont mind the dish, and must say that I cook a mean butter chicken myself. Sadly, even this dish has almost been standardised  with butter, cream, tomato puree and cashew nuts.

But Chef Ravi Saxena of Dhaba by Claridges believes that the old favourites can be cooked in such a way that the taste lingers long after the last chicken morsel is gone.

Butter chicken is the most famous Punjabi preparation where marinated chicken tikka is cooked in a tandoor for a smoky flavour, and then finished in sweet and sour tomato gravy flavoured with kasoori methi, he says.

The Dhaba, which is a landmark restaurant in The Claridges and now has outlets elsewhere in Delhi, has been celebrating Punjabi food for decades now. Its kanastari baingan bharta is like the way the brinjal is cooked at home  roasted and mashed brinjal fried with onion, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and spices.

I fear that some dishes are going out of our lives. I cant remember when I last ate chargah -- a roasted whole chicken -- or kunna gosht, a mace-flavoured lamb cooked in an earthenware pot.

But an exotic dish that is still with us is balti gosht. This may have come to Punjab from elsewhere (the origins are in dispute), but it is a dish that is truly delightful.

Chef Saxena describes it as a robust mutton curry prepared with onion and tomato, and a host of spices such as black and green cardamom, mace, clove, cinnamon, Kashmiri red chilli, garam masala, coriander and cumin powders, peppercorn, fresh coriander leaves and curd.

I think the time has come to celebrate the cuisine of Punjab. Like the people, it can be mild or fiery, soft or loud, modest or exotic. But always worth recalling.

(Rahul Verma has been writing on food for over 25 years now. And, after all these years, he has come to the conclusion that the more he writes, the more there is left to be written)

Follow @htlifeandstyle for more
Close to 1,700 students will be barred from appearing for Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) exams next year. The state education department issued notices to 86 colleges for admitting students in 2016 by violating the online admission process.

The list includes reputable colleges such as KC College, Churchgate, St Andrews, Bandra, RD National, Bandra, KJ Somaiya College of Arts and Commerce, Vidyavihar and Anjuman-i-Islam Junior College, CST . The highest number of illegal admissions (454 in science stream) were reported from Ajit Pawar College, Borivli, which was shut by the department of late.

A third-party audit of the first year junior college (FYJC) admission process 2016-17 by the department revealed that more than 771 students were admitted in commerce, 726 in science, and 206 in arts streams across Mumbai and Thane. The students were admitted offline.

Offline admissions are considered illegal, as all seats in the FYJC sections are supposed to be filled via centralised online admission process, conducted by the department between March and September 2016. While all the colleges were expected to conduct their admissions on merit-basis and in a transparent manner, the identified colleges carried out offline admissions. They violated the Maharashtra governments orders, reads the notice issued by BB Chavan, deputy director of education, Mumbai region.

The notice states that students will not be allowed to appear for HSC exams and college managements must initiate an inquiry against principal and heads for permitting offline admissions.

Officials said explanations offered by the colleges for violating the norms were unsatisfactory.

We do not want to put students at risk, but these are serious offences and will be considered as contempt of court. The Bombay high court had ordered all admissions to be done online , said Chavan.

In their defence, colleges blamed clerical errors and changing of streams by students for the alleged violation.

We were allotted students online, but we switched their streams on humanitarian grounds, said Pratibha Gaddagali , vice-principal, Bunts Sanghs SM Shetty Junior College, Powai, which admitted six students offline. One student was allotted a science seat online, despite failing in math, and others were moved to commerce as they found science tough.

Other colleges said it was a clerical error. We are accused of two offline admissions. It was an oversight. We have apologized to the department, said Marie Fernandes, principal, St Andrews.

She complained that the flawed online admission process is equally responsible for these mistakes. Last year, the online admissions stretched for over three to four months. The department conducted too many rounds, confusing our staff.

Similarly, Sudha Vyas, principal, KJ Somaiya, said, The offline admissions were a result of a typing error by the college staff. We have already replied to the notice.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Next time you visit Versova beach, you can bask in the shade of 300 coconut trees planted by residents over the weekend.

As many as 500 members of Versova Residents Volunteers (VRV), led by lawyer Afroz Shah, planted 10-foot-tall trees at Sagar-Kutir, the entrance to the beach, adjacent to mangroves.

Over 88 weeks, VRV removed 5.6 million kg of trash from the 2.5 km-long beach located at the northwestern part of Mumbai. Residents will plant 200 more trees next weekend, to complete their coconut lagoon project.

Residents will plant 200 more trees next weekend. (HT Photo)

The beach had a coconut lagoon almost two decades ago. People chopped all the trees and reclaimed the land, said Shah. We want to restore the lost beauty of this beach, he added.

Coconut trees (cocos nucifera) can grow up to 100-foot-tall and are native to the Indian coastline. We planted two-year-old trees, which have a better survival rate. We ensured they were transplanted with the entire root-ball, he said. We had dug pits earlier. Residents lent their support to the plantation drive, he said.

On May 28, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the clean-up during his weekly radio address to the nation.

Meanwhile, Juhu beach, which is near Versova, is overflowing with garbage. Heavy rain in the city led to large quantities of plastic being washed ashore during high tide. Environmental watchdogs said a similar clean-up movement is required at Juhu.

As many as 500 members of Versova Residents Volunteers participated in the drive. (HT Photo)

Garbage disposal has become a serious issue at several beaches in and around Mumbai. Citizens do not realise just how much waste is generated and how its effects are seen during the monsoon, said Sumaira Abdulali, convener, Awaaz Foundation. The state needs to formulate a policy for the west coast, where citizens and the government can work together and trap the trash before it reaches the sea.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Here are five things the Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP government in Maharashtra offered farmers to get them to call of their agitation for farm loan waiver:

1. Complete waiver of loans of 1.34 crore farmers of the state, but with some riders. One of them is that those with earnings from different professions or working in government or the private sector or with a strong financial background will be excluded.

Government agrees for loan waiver for farmers.

Conditions and detailing will be finalised by a Joint Committee.  CMO Maharashtra (@CMOMaharashtra) June 11, 2017

2. All the criminal cases against agitating farmers will be withdrawn where there is no loss to property or theft. This is assumed to be a big victory for the farmers.

3. The chief minister will lead a delegation of farmers to meet the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to press for implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report so as to ensure better prices for crops.

4. The farmers share in the profit of milk societies will go up to 70% share; the rest will go to the administration of the societies.

At the same time, the milk societies will have to agree with 70:30 formula of profit sharing on the lines of sugar industry .  CMO Maharashtra (@CMOMaharashtra) June 11, 2017

5. The high-powered group of ministers will discuss and decide on other demands such as a scheme to subsidise farmers pending power bills, efforts to set up cold storage chains and warehouses to improve supply chain management for agricultural produce, and subsidies for setting up food-producing units.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
An Indian Coast Guard helicopter helped rescue a drowning person in Mumbai on Sunday.

According to the officials, around 3.30pm, the Coast Guard received an alert that two persons were drowning near Priyadarshini Park at Malabar Hill.

A Coast Guard helicopter was then launched for the search and rescue operation, with air divers.

Within 10 minutes, the helicopter scanned the area and lowered the air diver at the shore to look for the drowning persons

People at the shore informed the Coast Guard diver that one person had strayed into sea, and was seen desperately trying to come back to the shore. Some local youths jumped into sea to pull him back, but started to drown.

The Coast Guard team managed to save the man who jumped in as well as the drowning person.They were sent to a nearby hospital, officials said.
The Maharashtra governments plan to regulate first year junior college (FYJC) admissions for minority and management seats could be shelved this year.

From the academic year 2017-18, the education department had decided to include minority quota (50% reserved seats for minority students in colleges belonging to the same community or linguistic group) under the common online admission process followed across Maharashtra.

A zero round for minority admissions was to be held before the general category admissions. Students aspiring applying through minority quota were supposed to register online like last year. But this year, the department wanted to allocate seats on the basis of merit, just like the general category.

While the department said it was acting on orders issued by the high court to bring in transparency and ensure merit-based admissions, P N Mehta Educational Trust, Mumbai, and the Boys Town Junior College, Nashik, challenged the government notification, issued January 1, 2017, to regulate admissions across the state, in the Bombay high court last week.

The petition filed by the institutes argues that minority institutions are protected under Article 30(1) of the Constitution, whereby all religious and linguistic minorities have a right to establish and administer educational schools of their choice. It also claims that the state does not have power to interfere and can only take regulatory measures. The petition states the notification bringing minority educational institutions under its (states) purview abrogates their rights and the state cannot force admissions so as to affect the minority character of the institutions.

Institutes claim the common online admission process infringes on their constitutional right to admit students of their choice, said BB Chavan, deputy director of education, Mumbai region.

He said the department might drop its plan to include minority seats during the online process this year. We will have to stick to the way we were conducting minority admissions earlier. The final decision will be taken soon, he said.

Until last year, the education department had no control over the minority quota admissions. The admissions were done by the colleges on their own. Last year, the department had asked all students to register online, but colleges were allowed to fill minority seats offline and later upload the details of students admitted through the quota  with their unique identification number  to the admission portal.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
A sub-adult leopard jumped a 7ft-high compound-wall and a barbed wire fence to attack a dog on the steps of the Bombay Veterinary College (BVC) girls hostel on early Friday morning.

Officials from the college confirmed and shared the CCTV video of the incident with HT on Monday.

The hostel is located within Aarey Colony and is close to Sanjay Gandhi National Park, which is known to have 35 free-roaming leopards.

The CCTV video shows the leopard chasing the dog around 4.22am on Friday. The dog is pinned down by the leopard for about 15 seconds, after which he leaves the prey and makes a run. Another dog is seen frantically running in the background. The video ends with the leopard running in one direction, the dog running in the other, and the leopard later following the dog.

Representatives from the college said while leopard sightings were frequent on the 145-hectare college campus, a dog attack is a first in the past few years. We believe the leopard climbed a tree and jumped into the campus to look for dogs, said Dr Ashish Paturkar, dean of the college, adding there was no need to panic. There are around eight stray dogs within the 6,000 square-foot girls hostel.

Paturkar said the dog mauled by the leopard has not been found. There is a chance the dog has been eaten by the big cat, but we are not sure, he said.

The college authorities have now written to the forest department informing them about the incident. We have about 60 girls living in the hostel and all of them are fond of strays and feed them regularly. We had a meeting with the forest department over the weekend. They asked the girls not to panic, said Paturkar. We have put in place strict rules and installed high-mast lights. There is security outside the hostel throughout the night.

Forest department officials said the hostel authorities were told to inform the department about any such sighting. We conducted an awareness drive and sensitised the girls about the danger of living in close proximity to leopards, said a forest official.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The state may fix Rs75,000-Rs1 lakh as the limit up to which a farmers loan will be waived.

The government on Sunday announced a complete loan waiver for farmers, irrespective of their landholding. According to sources, the estimated burden of loan waiver is expected to go up to Rs32,000 crore.

The aim behind putting a cap is to cover a majority of farmers who have been unable to pay their loans over the past few years.

The state also plans to release Rs10,000 in the next few days, so farmers can start sowing for the kharif season which starts with the monsoon. The amount will be adjusted in the waiver to be given to the farmers.

The high-powered group of ministers met on Monday to decide the parameters and criteria for eligibility.

Farmers whose family members have government jobs or those filing income-tax returns will not be eligible for the waiver. Of the 1.37 crore registered farmers in the state, 80 lakh have taken loans, while 30 lakh have been unable to repay them. Our aim is to reach out to most farmers in distress, said a senior minister, on condition of anonymity.

While the government wants a limit of Rs50,000, farmers outfits are unlikely to agree to anything below Rs1 lakh. According to the governments estimates, 80% of indebted farmers own less than 5 acres.

We dont want rich farmers to get waiver. We will amicably decide the limit after meeting all stakeholders. We plan to conduct surveys to ascertain the pending loan amounts, said revenue minister Chandrakant Patil, who heads the high-powered group of ministers.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Applauding Shivraj Singh Chouhan for going on a hunger strike, the Shiv Sena said the Madhya Pradesh chief minister used Gandhian means to quell the farmers movement even as his party president described Mahatma Gandhi as a chatur baniya.

A chief ministers role is to govern, said the Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) bickering ally. Mahatma Gandhi went on a hunger strike to fight against injustice towards the Indians. Today, however, neither the British nor the Congress are ruling the country, read an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana.

Chouhan started his fast on Friday, to restore peace after five farmers demanding loan waivers were killed in police firing. He ended it the next day, announcing a slew of schemes for farmers. He also issued a stern warning to those engaging in incendiary activities.

A day before Chouhans fast, BJP chief Amit Shah called Gandhi a chatur baniya, a reference to the mercantile caste into which he was born.

While BJP president Amit Shah was commenting on Mahatma Gandhi, his senior party leader was using Gandhian means to solve the problems of his state. This is a victory for Gandhian thoughts, read the editorial.

The party said Chouhans fast displayed his sensitivity towards the farmers, whereas Maharashtra politicians tried to create a rift between cultivators.

Chouhan neither played dirty politics, nor termed the farmers stir that of anti-social elements, said the party.

Farmers in the BJP-ruled states of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh went on strike on June 1, demanding loan waivers and fair prices for their produce.

After a few days, a section of Maharashtra farmers called off their strike after talks with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. However, another section of farmers said the strike was still on. The government then announced a complete loan waiver for farmers, after which the remaining farmers called off their strike.
Police suspended two constables attached with the main control room for leaking information to bar owners. Constables Hemant Babaji Raskar and Ashok Dattatrey Shinde had told the owner of a bar in the western suburbs who had complained against his establishment. The owner used this information to harass the man.

The complainant couldnt sleep at night owing to loud music coming from a bar near his house.He called the police six months ago. Police ensured that the bar was shut, added an officer.

This is just one of several instances in which the two constables would leak information about the complainants, their names and addresses. Operators have been given strict instructions not to leak information to anyone, especially the names of complainants, said an officer, who did not wish to be identified.

The complainant in the earlier case approached senior officials of the Mumbai police department. We found out who had been assigned the job of an operator during that time and monitored their movements, added an officer.

After keeping an eye on the constables for six months, their suspicions were confirmed and they arrested the man.We even checked their call data records and decided to suspend them, said an officer.

Commissioner of police Rashmi Karandhikar confirmed the development.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Nearly a decade ago, a 14-year-old cancer patient from Uttar Pradesh died at Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) of intracranial haemorrhage owing to the unavailability of a blood donor. The girl was undergoing chemotherapy when her platelet count dropped drastically.

The incident prompted the doctors to increase awareness about platelet donation through Save A Life initiative. Today, the hospital has 4,500 registered donors. Doctors are hoping the initiative attracts more donors on the occasion of World Blood Donor Day on June 14.

Chemotherapy and cancer cells can kill other dividing cells, including bone marrow, which makes platelets, said Dr Tushar Vora, associate professor at TMHs department of medical oncology.

He was one of the doctors associated with the case.

When platelet count drops below 10,000 per cubic millimeter, it can result in fatality. It was not cancer or lack of finances or treatment, but unavailability of platelets which killed the girl, Vora added.

Dr Sunil Rajadhyaksha, professor and head of blood transfusion medicine, TMH, said the hospital needs at least 10,000 donors.

He said, We need 4,000-plus units of platelets annually, of which 2,500 units are donated by self-motivated donors. To meet the rest of its requirement, the hospital reaches out to donors listed in its database. But they may not always be available.

He added that for nearly 5% of patients, the hospital needs donors immediately. However, only two donors may turn up after making 10 calls. Platelets have a shelf life of five days. Given the need at TMH, we need donors regularly so that platelets are available round-the-clock, Rajadhyaksha said.

Donor speaks

Sanjay Bapat, a Dadar resident, has donated platelets 218 times and whole blood 56 times since 1987. It is satisfying to know that a simple gesture of blood donation helps save lives, he said.
A 20-year-old man running a pan-beedi shop in Andheri (West) was arrested for allegedly selling two cigarettes worth Rs10 to a 16-year-old around 7.45 pm on Saturday. If convicted, he may be sentenced to seven years in jail and may have to pay a fine of Rs1 lakh, under section 77 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.

Amboli police said they were patrolling Veera Desai Road, when they saw a young boy buying something from a paan shop. Suspecting him of being underage, the cops kept an eye on him and saw he had bought two cigarettes.

They asked the boy to show them his Aadhaar card, which verified his age. Police then nabbed the shopkeeper under section 6A of Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003. He was produced before a court and sent to judicial custody till June 23.

Cops produced the boy and his parents before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC).
An eight-lane controlled-access expressway, one would think, runs straight from point A to point B. But, the planned Mumbai-Nagpur expressways alignment even zig-zags at some places, and runs just 300m from the existing Mumbai-Nasik-Ghoti-Sinnar highway at some points.

Farmers who will lose their land to the new highway have questioned the need for building a greenfield project instead of just widening the existing highway. This would have, they point out, minimised impact on farmers.

Many have questioned how the alignment suspiciously misses land bought by outside investors but runs through their irrigated fields.

The alignment of this expressway has changed several times. It conveniently skirts a developers township project situated right next to our irrigated fields. The realty project will lose just one bungalow, but we will lose 120 acres of paddy fields here. The old highway is close by, why cant that be widened, asks Shivram Mhaskar of Dalkhan village, a former sarpanch.

Shivram Mhaskar, former sarpanch of Dalkhan village in Shahapur, will lose his paddy fields to the project. (Vijayanand Gupta/HT Photo)

So why is the government keen on building a new project instead of just widening the existing highway?

The Indian Road Congress insists on a green field project for the expressway as old highways have limitations. The road widening comes at the expense of commercial establishments, hotels, shops and residences along the highway and causes a lot of displacement. The alignment of our road is as straight as possible and as per our measurement only 12 per cent of the land is completely irrigated, claimed Kurundkar.

Farmers ask why disruption of their livelihood is less of a priority than the concerns of hotels and commercial establishments.

Politicians make a big deal about the kisan but his priorities are always second to everyone elses. Even we know that agriculture is not productive, but the government thinks the way out of this crisis is to make farmers landless, said Vinayak Pawar, president of the Shetkari Sanghatana Samiti in Shahpur taluka of Thane.

Pawar had complained to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis how large plots of land along the alignment were brought by serving and retired bureaucrats who knew beforehand the project was coming.

What next ?

With the farmers protests snowballing into a political controversy for the Fadnavis-led government, the state is looking to take a step back on the acquisition by first focussing on only the right of way for the expressway.

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar as well as Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray have waded into the issue promising to back the farmers.

We are not looking to acquire land for the smart cities at this stage. We will focus on only the land required for the right of way and highway amenities. That is around 10,000 hectares (24,000 acres), said Kurundkar. He added that six smart cities would be developed where farmers have not opposed the project.

At the same time, the MSRDC is not giving up on the idea of 24 smart cities because without these nodes the project loses its edge and viability.

The agency has already moved a proposal to be declared as special planning authority across 25,000 acres in these 10 districts, to ensure no planning or development takes place without their approval.
Mumbai police said they will continue their police didi initiative, in which women officers and constables educate minor girls on how to be alert and prevent abuse and harassment. The move comes after a three-year-old girl from an International school in Andheri was allegedly raped by the schools trustee and class teacher.

The initiative was introduced by Mumbai police commissioner Datta Padsalgikar last year. The police are spreading awareness among minor girls so sexual offences against them can be prevented. Girls are also being taught to differentiate between good touch and bad touch, spokesperson for Mumbai Police, woman deputy commissioner of police, Rashmi Karandikar told HT.

Like last year, police will focus on students who live in slums, where they are more vulnerable to such offences.

Additional commissioner of police, south region, Pravin Padwal said the teachers, students and parents responded positively to the initiative last year. This year, we have visited two schools so far, Padwal told HT.

An officer, who did not wish to be identified, said the initiative helps bridge the gap between the police and the young students. It also makes students more confident of approaching the police to report crimes against them.

A girl recently told her police didi that a man had been molesting her. We registered a case and arrested the offender, he said.
Fearing that terrorists may seek refuge in Mumbai, police have issued a circular ordering all landlords and homeowners to submit the details of their tenants to the cops. If you do not comply, you may be arrested and jailed.

Police said they were acting on confidential reports stating that anti-social elements may be hiding in the city. Mumbai police spokesperson Rashmi Karandikar, acting in her capacity as the deputy commissioner of police (operations), issued the order under section 144 of the Criminal Procedural Code 1973, read with the commissioner of Mumbai police brihanmumbais order and the Maharashtra Police Act.

Tenants, homeowners and landlords must submit a written report to the senior inspector of their local police station. If the tenant is a foreigner, the homeowner must give the police his name, nationality and passport details, such as the place and date of issue, validity, and visa details, including his reason for residing in Mumbai.

Those who do not comply will be arrested under section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code and may have to pay a fine of Rs1,000.
The manager of a parking lot run by a private operator was arrested on Monday for allegedly overcharging people at Santacruz and making more than Rs15 lakh by doing so since January.

The Santacruz police said the issue came to light after a lawyer, Samir Sahani filed a complaint. In his FIR, Sahani said he parked his car on around 4.44pm in front of Hotel Ramada on the Juhu Tara road last week.

Three hours later, when he went to take his vehicle, an employee of the agency asked him to pay Rs80 as parking fee. Sahani asked for the fee chart and the mans license. When he refused, Sahani approached the police.

The Santacruz police then called Pramodkumar Dubey,31, a manager at the firm. As he did not cooperate, he was arrested, said the police. After the complaint, the police took the fee chart and accounts register. For three hours, parking charges was Rs25.

The register showed between May 20 and June 7, 2,574 vehicles were parked at the lot  the operator earned Rs1.51 lakh more. Dubeys lawyer, Sandeep D Sherkhane, said, Dubey is innocent. He was doing his job. He was unaware of rules.

Read more: Pay-and-park policy in Mumbai: BMC gets applications for only 60 cars

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will now have to consider the opinions of all the 227 corporators before redrawing the boundaries of the 24 wards in the city.

The proposal to redraw the ward boundaries was discussed at the group leaders meeting on Monday. It was referred back and will be discussed after all party leaders take the corporators views into consideration.

The proposal lists a shift of several electoral wards to maintain a balance and for better administrative services. A committee comprising three deputy municipal commissioners (DMC) and chief engineer of the development plan, was instructed to study the possibility of a reshuffle.

The proposal looks at bringing a parity by having a minimum of eight electoral wards and a maximum of 11 electoral wards under one administrative section. At present, there are some wards, for example Ward B, which only has two electoral wards while P North has 18 electoral wards.

The proposal merges two wards  B and E  that includes areas in Masjid and Byculla to form one ward. C and D, which includes Kalbadevi, Marine Lines, Malabar Hill, Peddar Road, Girgaum also will be merged together. However, P (north), which includes Malad (East and West) will be split into two wards  P (west) and P (east). P north is to be changed to P (west). The same has been done with L ward that comprises Kurla.

This proposal was also to be discussed on April 1, but was not taken up. Many leaders are not in favour of it.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Monday asked farmers to unite against the proposed Mumbai-Nagpur super expressway, a pet project of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis which will require a huge amount of land from farmers.

Pawar also slammed the government for not conducting a survey for the project.

The farmers have formed a committee, Shetkari Sangharsh Samiti (SSS), to oppose the project.

Pawar, who met members of the Samiti, said, I urge farmers to unite like they did for the loan waiver. The state government will have to consider their concerns. It seems the government took decisions based on surveys conducted through GPS mapping.

The former union agriculture minister said they are not against development, but feel destroying the future of farmers for a project is not unfair.

Pawar said NCP leaders and farmers representatives will soon meet the government to discuss the issues.

The expressway needs about 20,820 hectares, of which 84.13% is agricultural land.

In most districts, farmers have opposed the land pooling scheme, which offers Rs30,000 to Rs60,000 an acre a year as compensation for 10 years, with an annual increase of 10% every year.

The farmers will also be entitled to 25-30% of the developed land along the corridor. The government has now offered famers four times the market rate of the land, which they have rejected.

What is the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway?

The Rs 46,000-crore super-communication expressway will pass through 10 districts, covering a distance of 710-km and connecting adjoining 24 rural districts

It will require 20,820 hectares, of which 8,520 hectares will be for the road and 12,000 hectares for development of 24 townships

The objective of the expressway is to provide seamless connectivity across districts namely Nagpur, Wardha, Amravati, Washim, Buldhana, Aurangabad, Jalna, Ahmednagar, Nashik and Thane

The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) is the nodal agency for the project.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authoritys decision to penalise Sai Estate Consultant of Rs1.20 lakh for misrepresentation of facts has evoked fear among builders and brokers in the state.

The first penal action in the country under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act 2016 has made both builders and brokers cautious about registering their projects, as any error can invite penal action.

We can be asked to pay 5% of the value of the apartment as fine, although we just get 1% brokerage. If such steep fines are levied, many real estate agents will be out of the business, said Vikram Mehta, president, Confederation of Real Estate Brokers of India (CREBAI), an association of real estate brokers.

He said although 1,100 brokers have registered with RERA in the state, they are not given any protection in cases of non-payment of brokerage to them by builders or buyers.

Found guilty of advertising and marketing an unregistered project last week, the RERA directed Sai Estate Consultants to withdraw the advertisement and apologise for it. The consultant was penalized under Unfair Trade Practices on grounds of misleading the public.

RERA has mandated that the builders need to give full disclosure of the type of the firm, their experiences, their construction plans along with the time of delivery of the apartments.

Builders are taking care of minute details as RERA is very strict with regards to change of plans. We are taking all precautions. This is leading to a delay in registering, said Manohar Shroff, vice-president, MCHI (Navi Mumbai).

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
While Mumbai commuters can expect the Tejas Express to arrive early despite having left three hours behind schedule, they cannot expect the Eastern Expressway to be free of traffic snarls as repairs on the Amar Mahal flyover will only be completed in March next year.

Sanjay Dutt found himself in hot water once more, after the Maharashtra government was asked to justify why it had released him early.

1. Tejas Express leaves Goa 3 hours late, still reaches Mumbai a minute early

Commuters at Mumbais Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus were pleasantly surprised to see the Tejas Express arrive a minute ahead of schedule on Sunday, considering that it had left Karmali station in Goa after a three-hour delay.

2. Typewriters better than computers, necessary, say Maharashtra institutes

The Maharashtra State Council of Examination (MSCE) recently said it was necessary to keep the manual typing course alive.

3. After worlds largest beach clean-up, Versova gets a coconut lagoon

Next time you visit Versova beach, you can bask in the shade of 300 coconut trees planted by residents over the weekend.

4. Traffic snarls to continue on Eastern Expressway, Amar Mahal flyover to reopen only next year

Commuters on the Eastern Expressway Highway in Mumbai will have to face traffic snarls until March next year as that is when repairs to the Amar Mahal flyover are expected to be completed.

5. Sanjay Dutt was out on parole half the time, why did govt still release him early: Bombay HC

The Bombay high court on Monday asked the Maharashtra government to justify its decision to release actor Sanjay Dutt from prison eight months early.
The Bombay high court on Monday asked the Maharashtra government to justify its decision to release actor Sanjay Dutt from prison eight months early.

Dutt was sentenced to five years in jail for his role in the 1993 blasts case. He served his sentence in Yerawada Central Prison in Pune for illegal possession and destruction of an AK-56 rifle. He was let out in February 2016, on account of his good behaviour.

A bench of justices RM Savant and Sadhana Jadhav, however, asked the government to file an affidavit detailing the parameters considered and the procedures followed before concluding that Dutt deserved any leniency.

Was the deputy inspector general of police (prisons) consulted or did the jail superintendent directly send his recommendation to the governor? the bench asked.

How did the authorities assess that Dutts conduct was good? When did they get the time to make such an assessment when he was out on parole half the time? it said.

The high court was hearing a public interest litigation challenging Dutts early release and questioning the frequent paroles granted to the actor.

In October 2013, Dutt was granted furlough. This was extended by 14 days. In December 2013, he was granted parole for 30 days, which was extended twice. The actors sister had stood as guarantor and deposited Rs15,000 as a surety. Since his sentence began, the actor has been out of jail for 146 days.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
After protesting against its own government by backing the farmers agitation, the Shiv Sena is now attempting take credit for the Maharashtra governments decision to grant a loan waiver to all needy farmers in the state.

Local Sena leaders have put up banners outside its ally Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) office in South Mumbais Nariman Point saying farmers achieved a wonderful victory under the leadership of Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray.

The Shiv Sena has not officially put up these posters. Our local leaders have put them up out of their own enthusiasm. The party officially never puts up posters or banners, a senior Sena leader said. He, however, added that it was because of the Sena chiefs perseverance right from the beginning and the pressure exerted by the party on the Devendra Fadnavis regime that the government finally decided to concede the farmers demands. Sena workers are happy about it and the posters are a manifestation of that. They will be removed in a day,he added.

After discussions between a ministerial committee and farmers representatives on Sunday, the BJP-led Maharashtra government announced a blanket loan waiver for farmers in the state. The government said it would put in place parameters to ensure that big business houses, professionals and politicians who own agricultural land did not benefit and only genuine farmers got the waiver.

Farmers in Maharashtra were protesting from June 1 demanding a loan waiver, a minimum support price and implementation of other recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission.

The Shiv Sena, which had joined the opposition in stalling legislative proceedings over the issue during budget session, backed the farmers right from the start of the agitation, with their leaders even taking to the roads to press the farmers demands. Sena ministers even skipped a cabinet meeting saying they first wanted clarity from the government about how it planned to solve the issue, and also wanted to be taken on board in the process.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Commuters on the Eastern Expressway Highway in Mumbai will have to face traffic snarls until March next year as that is when repairs to the Amar Mahal flyover are expected to be completed.

The state public works department has finally issued orders giving the Nagarjuna Construction Company (NCC) nine months to complete repairs to the flyover that was shut to traffic on April 8 as two of its steel joints were found damaged. The government has decided to replace the entire steel superstructure of the entire 230-m flyover after an expert committee had declared it unreliable. NCC bagged the bid for repairs after it emerged the lowest bidder last week.

The superstructure refers to the part between the pillars and the deck of a flyover. In the case of Amar Mahal, the superstructure is made of steel and owing to excess load on the flyover, the joints have been damaged, officials said.

The northbound carriageway of the flyover was shut to vehicular traffic on April 8 after two of the joints were found damaged. The government then formed an expert committee headed by Dr Ravi Sinha, professor of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B), to study the problem. The committee found five of the ten joints were damaged after which it had recommended replacing the entire superstructure of 230 metres.

The repair work will be completed in two phases  in the first phase, work on the north-bound stretch  towards Thane  will be done and the repairs on the south-bound stretch  towards Mumbai  will be taken up in the second phase.

The public works department had called tenders for repairs and got three bidders  NCC Limited, J Kumar Infraprojects and Larsen and Toubro (L&T). On May 16, all three qualified the technical bid but in the financial bid opened on May 19, NCC emerged as the lowest bidder. It has quoted Rs 61.5 crore while the two others  J Kumar and L&T -- quoted Rs66 crore and Rs89 crore respectively, officials said.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The Maharashtra State Council of Examination (MSCE) recently said it was necessary to keep the manual typing course alive.

The statement comes as the state government prepares to axe the manual typewriting exam from next year onwards, in favour of going digital. As many as 10,000 employees at 3,500 typewriting institutes across the state face the threat of unemployment.

In a report sent to the state education department, MSCE officials said typewriting was a basic skill and acquiring it was necessary for computer-related work. People who know the basic layout of a typewriters keys can use computers more efficiently owing to structural similarity, reads the report, filed in response to the state governments question as to whether typewriting skills were required in the age of digitalisation.

When the government planned to phase out manual typing courses in April 2013, MSCE fought back, voting against the idea. After numerous extensions since then, the August 2017 government certificate in computer typing basic course (GCC-TBC) will be the last ones in which typewriters are used.

No offices use typewriters today. Knowledge of how computers work is more important than learning how to type quickly. There is no point keeping typewriters alive, said Dinkar Patil, chairman,MSCE, Pune.

MSCE officials will be content with a compromise. Keep the current manual typing courses alive. But, considering changes in digital world, it is important to combine computer training courses and typewriting courses, the report read.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis met typewriting institutes last month to discuss the technical and practical issues this practice faces. The institutes had said it was impossible to conduct the examinations on computers owing to a lack of resources.

Power cuts are frequent at villages in Pune, Satara, Sangli, Kolhaur, Marathwada and Vidarbha. We have been conducting exams on typewriters since the past 65 years. Can government assure us of the same now? What about the lack of well-maintained computers, erratic electricity supply and internet facilities? asked Vinay Rane, owner of a Mumbai-based typing institute and general secretary of Bombay, commerce educational institute association.

Institute owners said typewriters touch method keys make it easier for visually challenged people to learn typing. The keys are disabled-friendly, unlike computers that need external audio-visual software for visually challenged students. The feel and sound of a typewriter gives visually challenged students more confidence, which will only help them handle computers in future, said Prabhakar Dambal, president, MCEIA.

Institutes said the governments claim that there was a lack of spare parts of mechanics to repair typewriters is false. Last year, mechanics wrote to us saying they had the spare parts and expertise to repair typewriters. They asked us to forward their letter to the education ministry. If we lose our jobs, they will to, said Lalit Bhatti, who runs a typing institute near Kandivli station.

Dambal added that big institutes might switch to computer training. However, those with limited resources are sure to perish, just like the sound of typewriters, he said.
The police on Monday arrested a gang of 10 persons for allegedly operating a fake company and duping customers by providing low-cost imported phones instead of 4G mobile phone handsets.

The police said that the accused procured cheap Chinese mobile phones from Gaffar Market in Delhi and sold them to customers in Delhi-NCR by branding them as 4G handsets, along with accessories.

The police said that they received information about Voice Tele Services, floated by Akash, the prime accused, who is on the run. He formed the company along with other partners and procured phones for Rs2,000-2,200 from Delhi.

Akash signed a rent agreement and operated his office from the densely populated Khoda to hide his activities. He had opened a call centre with 20 telephone lines and employees were asked to dial potential customers randomly. Once lured, they would tell customers that they were offering 4G handsets priced at Rs10,000 for Rs5,000 after discount, along with a power bank and a card reader, said Akash Tomar, superintendent of police (city).

Officials said that the company came into existence in February and the accused sold 50-100 mobile phones per month. They also procured a service centre telephone number to which the customers were diverted whenever they complained of malfunction in the mobile phones.

Nearly 50% of the low-cost mobile phones got defunct. Whenever the customers called them for repair, they would divert them to the service centre number that never got connected. This way, they cheated people after repacking the low-cost mobiles and passing them off as 4G mobile phones. We received complaints and our team raided their office, Tomar said.

The accused were booked under sections of cheating and forgery, and were produced before a Ghaziabad court. As part of the modus operandi, the customers were sent mobile phones through couriers. The police are also trying to scan the bank account in which the accused received money from customers.

Following a raid, the police seized mobile phones, chargers, wireless walkie-talkies, printers, power banks, fake company seals along with other incriminating documents. A team is also trying to trace Akash Sharma, the prime accused, the police said.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Timely help by a Ghaziabad subdivisional magistrate (SDM) helped save the life of a 30-year-old woman who had approached his office, after consuming poison, to complain about police inaction over her problems.

The woman, Rekha, works as a domestic help. She alleged that her husband had run away with a 19-year-old woman around four months ago but the police were not registering a complaint in this regard. Rekha has been running from pillar to post to trace her husband, Harish Kumar, and was upset over the failure of her second marriage, sources said.

On Monday afternoon, she visited my office with her complaint. She narrated the issue and also told me that she had consumed poison at home before approaching me. Within minutes, she fell from her seat, said Dr Gajendra Singh, SDM.

The incident took place at the district headquarters. The SDM immediately transported the woman in his official Gypsy vehicle to the emergency ward of MMG district hospital. Midway, the official also informed the district magistrate about the incident.

Doctors at the hospital were informed beforehand and were able to immediately administer treatment to flush out the poisonous substance from her stomach.

Had there been even a little delay, the woman would not have survived. She is under immense mental trauma but will be stable in some time. She had consumed a chemical along with a pesticide, a lethal combination. The substance was flushed out and she will recover, Dr AK Dixit, the emergency medical officer who treated the woman, said.

The woman is from Nandgram which is nearly four kilometres from the district headquarters. The womans brother and other family members also rushed to the hospital.

She walked nearly two kilometres and then boarded an auto to the district headquarters. This is her second marriage; her first husband died from an ailment. We got her remarried five years ago and she is also bringing up an adopted daughter who is 16 years old. Since her second husband fled with another woman, she has been approaching the police for help, said Ajay Kumar, womans brother.

Read I Man thrashed by woman in Ghaziabad for obscene phone calls dead

The family members of the 19-year-old woman are also threatening her to snap ties with her husband completely. This is why she is mentally stressed and wanted the police to help, Kumar said.

Upon receiving her complaint, the SDM forwarded womans application to the officials concerned at Sihani Gate police station. The superintendent of police (city), Akash Tomar, refused to comment on the alleged inaction over the womans repeated complaints.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The Ghaziabad police on Monday arrested two of the five who are accused of abducting and murdering an 11-year-old boy, whose body was found in a pit inside the house of the accused in Shaheed Nagar.

The duo, Abbas, 55, and Jannati, 50, are accused of murder, abduction, criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence.

The boy had an altercation with Abbass grandson, Innu, on the morning of June 5. He was filling up a balloon but it burst near Innus face, after which Jannati had allegedly threatened the victim, Sameer. He went missing on the evening of the same day, the police said.

The two were arrested for the boys murder. As per investigation, Jannati and her son Sajid are the prime accused in the case. The other family members, also accused of similar charges, are presently on the run. They will be nabbed soon. A day after killing and burying the body in their house, the family members also sought help from the elders of their community, said Akash Tomar, superintendent of police (city).

On June 6, Abbas and his family went to a panchayat in nearby Pasonda and allegedly discussed killing and burying the boys body in their house. However, no one supported them and told them that it was a heinous crime they had performed during the Ramzan period, sources said.

Some of those who participated in the panchayat also informed the police, which helped us nab the two accused, Tomar said.

After the incident, Abbas sent his sons and the women in the family to their relatives residence. He ran a cardboard making workshop in front of his house but had also asked the daily wagers who worked for him not to attend work. The 2.5-foot deep pit was covered with a cardboard sheet.

The police said that Jannati had previously locked the victim inside her residence over a year ago over some mischief committed by the boy and was released only upon the intervention of the boys family.

The victim is the youngest of six siblings  two brothers and four sisters. The victims father runs a small tailor shop that specialises in stitching school uniforms in Gandhi Nagar area of Delhi.

However, the accused gave a different account of the incident and claimed innocence.

We found the boys body on the roof of our house. I told my husband to inform the police but he did not do so. Later, all of us decided to break the cemented floor of the workshop and bury his body in the pit. We did this out of fear; we did not murder him, Jannati said.

The post-mortem report of the body stated that the boy was strangled and sustained severe injuries to his head and near his ear.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The Uttar Pradesh Police is mulling to call for digital volunteers to reach out to the public through social media in crisis situations, such as the recent Saharanpur clash, train accidents, crime against women and riots.

As a pilot project, the UP Police will implement the plan in Noida, Lucknow, Allahabad, Kanpur, Varanasi, Sitapur and Barabanki.

Recently, the UP Police tweeted seeking suggestions to create a credible and strong digital volunteer base. Social media is playing a massive role in mobilising people for any cause. We also want to use this medium to reach out to the maximum number of people. The digital volunteers can help us in multiple ways to combat crime and maintain law and order during a crisis, Rahul Shrivastav, spokesperson for the UP Police, said.

These volunteers will be used to communicate correct information during any crisis in a city or village. Through this initiative, the police are expecting to control rumours during crisis situations.

Rumours can create a lot of havoc in problematic situations such as those we faced during the Saharanpur clashes. These volunteers can help by giving out credible information about the whole situation to people through social media, Shrivastav said.

On May 5, a Dalit group had objected to a procession of Thakurs to mark the birth anniversary of Rajput king Maharana Pratap, which triggered violence, leaving one dead and over 15 injured.

The police said that in case of a train accident or a stampede, it becomes difficult for people to find out about the well-being of ones relatives and friends, so they are planning to use these volunteers to give out information about helpline numbers, names of those injured and dead.

These digital volunteers, through various social media platforms, can give credible information on missing people and also circulate important contact numbers. These people can work as a link between the force and the public, Shrivastav said.

The police are also planning to streamline traffic movement by informing citizens of diversions and jams through the digital medium.

The police department will maintain a database of the digital volunteers, including details such as names, addresses and other important information. The police are also planning to run social media campaigns with the help of these volunteers. Volunteers will also be rewarded for their contribution towards maintaining peace and harmony in the state, the police said.

At present, senior police officers are brainstorming with experts and citizens to come up with a system for digital volunteers.

The police are hopeful that the digital volunteers will help build a bridge between the force and the public, mainly those who arent tech-savvy. Citizens who are not active on social media can approach these volunteers to get in touch with the police. They can also inform us about problems faced by citizens, Shrivastav said.
In May 2017, China hosted the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRFIC) in Beijing. Beginning with this forum, the Chinese government appears to be preparing for upcoming high-profile events, including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Banks annual meeting in June, the annual strategic talks and a summit meeting with the US in July on the strength of the political achievements made by Xi Jinping both at home and abroad over the past five years, toward autumn of this year, when he is set to be re-elected as president.

The BRFIC serves as a key diplomatic policy in the Xi administration, which has succeeded the peripheral diplomacy promoted by his predecessor Hu Jintao. However, the policies contained in this Initiative remain unclear in many ways, lacking specifics about the future action plans and members or participating countries in the project, while only supervisory administration offices have been designated for the initiative.

China invited a number of leaders and government officials to the forum from countries around the world, and consequently succeeded in presenting an outline of the project while making it clear that the Initiative will provide opportunities not only to promote infrastructure projects and other economic cooperation but also to bring regional stability.

Japan and the US, which had remained rather indifferent to this Initiative, sent their delegates to the forum. Nikai Toshihiro, secretary general of Japans ruling Liberal Democratic Party was sent to attend the forum in Beijing, where he was given prime minister-level treatment. Imai Takaya, Prime Minister Abes executive secretary, was also sent to attend the event, seeking to meet with high-ranking Chinese officials to pave the way for improved bilateral relations. Given this situation, it appears that the strained relations between the two countries are beginning to show signs of recovery.

In contrast, India did not participate in the forum in May. The Indian government did not send its leaders or government officials to the event. According to the media, India did not participate in the forum over criticisms of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. However, that does not seem to be the only reason for its absence. I believe that Indias criticisms of Chinas Belt and Road Initiative are based on other more fundamental reasons.

The Belt and Road Initiative is referred to as an attempt to build a modern day Silk Road by land and sea. China probably has no choice but to remain cautious while developing the land transportation corridor, because it will pass through territories or domains under strong Russian influence. Moreover, it will not be a simple task for the Beijing government to get easily along with countries in Central Asia in the face of controversial issues with them.

Meanwhile, the Maritime Silk Road project consists of large-scale infrastructure investments related to the ports and harbors in Brunei and Sri Lanka, pipelines connecting Myanmar and Pakistan and bridges in Brunei and Maldives, creating an ocean route for the Chinese Navy between the South China Sea and its naval base in Djibouti. Furthermore, efforts are underway by China to secure a shipping lane for importing crude oil from Nigeria and Angola.

Obviously, Chinas maritime expansion associated with the ocean route initiative is bad news for the Indian government due to concerns about sovereignty in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The Indian government seems concerned about Chinas influence growing even stronger, particularly in neighbouring countries around India, given that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is aimed at establishing a link between the land route and Chinas maritime expansionism in the Indian Ocean.

Based on the points mentioned above, it is possible to understand why India did not participate in the Belt and Road forum in May. However, its absence does not necessarily suggest that its relations with China will sour immediately.

India and Pakistan will be accepted as full members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which will hold a summit meeting in June. Until recently, it was often understood that the policies undertaken by the SCO were consistent with those of the Belt and Road Initiative, while it seems possible that the two high-profile initiatives driven by China will play different roles in the international arena, depending on Indias actions in the coming years.

On one hand, India seems to engage with China, but on the other it expresses criticism toward Chinas approach in trying to establish regional stability. This policy undertaken by India against China could be interpreted as a hedge-and-engage approach. How will this approach work for India with respect to its relationship with China? Future developments in Indias diplomatic strategy will be worthy of attention along with the SCO.

Kawashima Shin is professor, University of Tokyo

The views expressed are personal
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is gearing up to corner the Punjab government over a host of issues, including farmers suicides, farm debt waiver and mining mafia, during the Amarinder Singh dispensations maiden budget session which would begin on June 14.

The budget session is scheduled to commence at 2pm on June 14 with obituary references and adjourn sine die after the proposed legislative business on June 23.

We will be taking up several burning issues like rising number of farmers suicides taking place in the state. Non-implementation of farm debt waiver by the Congress-led government is also another issue which will be taken up during the budget session, AAP MLA and leader of Opposition in Vidhan Sabha HS Phoolka said on Sunday.

Phoolka, a Supreme Court lawyer, said the party will also highlight the poor education system in Punjab and demand doubling of budget on education. The party will also demand filling vacant seats of teachers in government schools for the standard of education in the state, he added. Sand mining mafia is another important issue which we will be raising in the assembly, Phoolka said.

AAP, the main Opposition party in the state assembly, has also decided to train several of its first-time legislators in parliamentary exercises so that they can effectively raise burning issues in the House.

A team of subject experts will also be attached with each legislator by the party to help them prepare for discussions in the assembly, he said.

Notably, opposition parties have been demanding sacking of Punjab cabinet minister Rana Gurjit Singh, who was facing the allegations of impropriety in the sand mining contracts.

With a woman constable in Ludhiana committing suicide on June 9 after allegedly being harassed by his colleague, AAP will be demanding that female staff in police should not be given duties during night, said Phoolka, the MLA from Dakha seat.

A discussion and training programme will be held on Monday here in which former minister and party Delhi MLA Sourabh Bhardwaj will train the legislators, said Phoolka.

We have also decided to provide each MLA an expert on particular subject matter to assist legislator for participating in the discussion in the House. The person who will be attached with MLA will be an expert in his subject. He will provide facts and figures to the MLA to make their points effectively, said the leader of Opposition.
Faridkot-based Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) on Monday shifted 200 MBBS students of Gian Sagar Medical College, Banur, to other colleges across the state.

The Punjab government had on May 10 withdrawn permission to Gian Sagar Trust to run medical, dental, nursing and physiotherapy colleges. The classes in the college remained suspended since February 1 after the staff went on indefinite strike against the management for not clearing their dues.

Of the 1,437 MBBS, BDS and nursing students of the 2012-2013 batch, 200 were shifted to government medical colleges in Patiala, Amritsar and Faridkot, Dayanand Medical College, Ludhiana, Sri Guru Ram Das Institute of Dental Sciences and Research, Amritsar, Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences, Christian Medical College, Ludhiana, and Adesh Institute of Dental Sciences and Research, Bathinda, as per the merit.

The university will hold counselling of 300 MBBS students on Tuesday.

The seats to NRI students were allotted through draw of lots. Some NRI students urged the university to allow them to choose an institute of their choice for internship. According to university rules, a student will have to do internship from the college where is he/she is enrolled.

BFUHS vice-chancellor Dr Raj Bahdur said students will have to follow the rules. He said the students shifted to other colleges will pay the same fee as fixed during admission to the Gian Sagar College. But the shifted students will have to arrange for their accommodation as hostels in these colleges are already full.

Meanwhile, students of 2008, 2009 and 2010 batches also reached the counselling venue. A special committee was formed to look into their queries. We were not expecting students from old batches for the counselling. They should have completed their five years degree by now. We have asked the students to submit their applications and we will fix the date of their counselling, said an official.
In an embarrassment to the Border Security Force, an officer played a porn clip during a darbar meeting of personnel at the headquarters of the 77th Battalion in Ferozepur on Sunday.

BSF inspector general, Punjab frontier, Mukul Goyal orderd an inquiry after the porn clip was played at the meeting where eight women personnel were also present.

The darbar is a platform to discuss issues faced by the personnel but it left many red-faced when a deputy commandant started giving a presentation through his official laptop only to play the porn movie. The clip played for 90 seconds before it was abruptly shut down, said a source.

The IG said, Such material should not have been on the official laptop of an officer. We are taking the matter seriously. Thats why an inquiry has been ordered.

The incident comes months after a BSF jawan, Tej Bahadur Yadav, shared the poor quality of food served in the force on social media. He was later dismissed from service.
For Sidhu, Jaitley is still his guru

(Arun) Jaitley saab is still my guru, said Punjab local bodies minister Punjab Navjot Singh Sidhu told reporters the other day. Reminiscing about his association with the Union finance minister during his BJP days, the Congress leader added: Even though I have not met him for many days, it has not changed anything. Sidhu is bitter about the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which ran the government in Punjab for 10 years, is usually soft on BJP, its alliance party. The role of BJP was negligible. They were just one-fifth (in terms of seat agreement with the Akalis) and were made to sit in waiting rooms, while Akalis ruled the state, he said.

Badal bahus in action

Saturday belonged to Badal bahus in Bathinda. Union food processing minister Harsimrat Badal and her sister-in-law Vinu Badal, wife of finance minister, Punjab, Manpreet Badal, were in the district, targeting each others parties. Harsimrat addressed a gathering of workers of SAD and BJP on three years of Modi government and spoke about its achievements. But she didnt spare the Congress government in Punjab, raising farmers suicides and law and order. Its an indicator of what will happen in next five years, said the Bathinda MP. Vinu, on the other hand, was on a thanksgiving trip. She travelled to different parts of the city, addressing people and listening to their grievances. In her speeches, she targeted the previous SADBJP for the states bad financial condition and loot of state resources.

Modi fest a flop show in Amritsar

After Modi magic failed to work in Punjab during the parliamentary and assembly polls, his partys celebrations to mark three years of the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre also did not draw much response in Amritsar. The Modi-Fest (The Making of Developed India) started in the state by BJP national general secretary Anil Jain and state unit president Vijay Sampla from the city more than a week ago was a flop show. The turnout upset the two leaders. The event was curtailed the next day with only a small stall at the venue.

Cong leaders selfies with Rahul irk SGPC staff

During his low-profile visit to Golden Temple in Amritsar on Saturday, Congress vicepresident Rahul Gandhi did not indulge in any political activity. The local leaders sought time to meet him, but were told to avoid any political talk, as his trip was private. Being left unheard, all they could do was take selfies with Rahul when he stood in queue outside sanctum sanctorum at Golden Temple. And, they did so despite a ban on taking pictures there. SGPC employees were seen asking them not to violate maryada.

Angry Khattar gets taste of his own medicine

Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar got angry during his visit to a Karnal village to address a public meeting last week. A group of religious leaders from Balolpur village met the chief minister to discuss a land dispute after he finished his speech. But he flew into a rage, accused them of insulting him. You all started hooting when I was addressing a gathering. Dont you think you insulted me? If you think you did not, come to Chandigarh. I will take up your demand, Khattar told them. Taken aback by the CMs surprising reaction, the villagers also gave it back. We made you CM. Now you are asking us to come to Chandigarh. You will get same reply when you for votes again, replied a young villager.

When Hooda had to face barrage of queries

Queries pertaining to CBI cases will dog former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda for long, it seems. In Chandigarh to give his reaction to police firing on farmers in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress leader had to face a volley of questions during his latest interaction with reporters in Chandigarh last week. He maintained a brave face and recited an Urdu couplet, though only a few listened to it. He recited it twice and noticed that not many had heard it. They were more interesting in knowing about the ongoing probes. He literally requested them to pay attention. As newspersons agreed, he recited: Is daur-esiyasat ka itna sa fasaanaa hai, basati bhi jalaani hai, maatam bhi mananaa hai (the long and short of contemporary politics is to set afire the settlements and then mourn over it too).

Bali, Bharmauri locked in war of words

Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh and his cabinet colleagues ere shocked when transport minister GS Bali and forest minister Thakur Singh Bharmauri entered into a heated argument during the cabinet meeting over a trivial issue. The two ministers accused each other of interfering in each others constituency. Bharmauri, who could not control his anger, even threatened to expose Bali, claiming that he was promoting a youth leader in his (Bharmauris) constituency. Bali retaliated by claiming that people were aware of Bharmauris misdeeds. The heated exchange ended only after the chief minister intervened. With the state assembly polls just a few months away, the reports of spat must have been music to leaders of the opposition parties.

At IOC event, Cong, BJP men slug it out

It was perhaps for the first time that people of Himachal saw a live face-off between leaders of BJP and Congress. The occasion was the foundation stone-laying ceremony of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) terminal in Una district. Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan, chief minister Virbhadra Singh and opposition leaders were present. As Congress and BJP workers indulged in intense sloganeering, BJP MP Anurag Thakur taunted Congress workers, saying that they should not sweat it out at the event but serve at the border. Reprimanding the slogan- raising BJP workers, Mukesh Agnihotri of the Congress told them to wait for another six months and they would come to know where they stand. As the slanging match continued, Pradhan intervened to say that he is son-in-law of the state and deserves some respect.

Publicity stunts: Bali knows them all

Transport minister GS Bali has a penchant for publicity. Just when the memories of an uproar he created after Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhis Dharamshala rally started to fade away, he has come up with another trick to stay in the limelight. The whole discussion is revolving around a slogan  Kaam Kiya Hai Kam Karenge, Jhuthe Wade Nahi Karenge  on the back of the new digital ration cards launched by Bali, who also holds the food and civil supply portfolio. His opponents have termed the use of slogan that was once the tagline of the Congress as unethical. Anything is possible for some mileage in an election year?

Shimla MC polls: Nadda wants to be at centre stage

Union health minister Jagat Parkash Nadda seen as the chief ministerial candidate by a section of BJP leaders in Himachal Pradesh, is sparing no effort to stay in the limelight as campaigning for the municipal corporation polls in Shimla gains momentum. Nadda first claimed at partys convention that its prestige was a stake in the civic body elections. He then walked the streets of the state capital to campaign for BJPbacked candidates. The keen interest taken by the central minister has left everyone wondering about former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumals role in the state. The senior party leader has kept a rather low profile. Is a sign of things to come?

(CONTRIBUTED BY GURPREET SINGH NIBBER, SUJRIT SINGH, SACHIN SHARMA, NEERAJ MOHAN, RAJESH MOUDGIL, GAURAV BISHT, NARESH K THAKUR)
Five days after the carjacking incident in Sector 20 market here exposed chinks in the police set up to deal with such cases, Haryana director general of police (DGP) BS Sandhu raised concerns over the rising crime graph in Panchkula and asked the local police officials to crack unsolved cases at the earliest.

In indirect reference for the top brass to be vigilant, Sandhu said if senior officials remain more in field following major incidents, it helps in maintaining pressure on the ground staff and crack cases fast.

The unsolved cases are piling up in Panchkula and latest addition to it is the last Tuesdays case when a youth drove off an Infosys engineers Renault Duster from Panchkulas busy Sector 20 market at 10.15pm with a five-year-old boy in the back seat.

DGP Sandhu who chaired a meeting of all the top brass of Panchkula police, including all police station heads, said he has asked the DCP office in Panchkula and other districts too to make the list of all such sensational cases, take special interest in solving them and also send regular status report to head office.

Panchkula police commissioner RC Mishra and DCP Ashok Kumar assured positive results in the last weeks matter within a week.

RECENT UNSOLVED CASES IN PANCHKULA Jan 19: An unidentified miscreant allegedly kidnaps a 21-yearold engineering student from Sector 20 and rapes her. No arrest so far May 11: A 39-year-old woman schoolteacher is found dead in her car in Chandimandir with at least 25 stab wounds on her body. No arrest so far June 5: Snatchers chopped off the fingers of HUDA employee when he resisted snatching bid in Sector 5 market. No arrest so far June 6: Youth drove off an Infosys engineers four wheeler from Panchkulas Sector-20 market with a five-year-old boy in the back seat, while the woman jumped out of the vehicle

CITY GETS TOP PRIORITY IN STRENGTHENING MANPOWER

DGP said given the manpower shortage in the state, more than 13,000 recruitments are being done and their induction is expected by April next year.

Panchkula district will definitely get enough manpower to improve the core job of policing here. The district will also get new police stations, he said. Panchkula police have proposed five new police stations in the district.

CITY TO GET UNIT TO CRACK DRUGS SUPPLY

DGP said the state police are in process of constituting a special task force headed by IG-level officer to crack down on drug supply and one such unit will be set up in Panchkula that will coordinate with the local police.

CENTRAL CONTROL ROOM IN PANCHKULA SOON

Haryana police, he said, will constitute a central control room in Panchkulas Sector 3 that will be set up in the next 15 months. It will receive calls through number 100 from across Haryana and immediately alert the respective district heads. Every district will also be given two dedicated PCR vehicles under this project.

UNDERAGE DRIVING MAJOR CONCERN

DGP said that underage driving is a major concern. I have directed local police officials to go to schools and colleges after summer vacations and spread the message that the police will book parents if they give vehicles to underage drivers.
This Dussehra is going to be exciting in Tollywood as two of the most anticipated films -- Balakrishnas Paisa Vasool and Mahesh Babus Spyder -- are set to battle it out at the box-office. Both the films are targeting September 29 release and its going to be one epic fight at the ticket window. While Spyder was originally slated for June 23 release, it had to be postponed because its shooting couldnt be wrapped up in time. According to reliable sources, there is still another 10 days of shooting left in Spyder, and this includes two songs that have to be shot.

Puri Jagannadhs Paisa Vasool, on the other hand, is progressing at brisk pace. Marking the first time collaboration of Puri and Balakrishna, the film is tipped to be a high-octane action entertainer. Balakrishna will be seen in a full-length commercial avatar and if the posters are to go by, we wouldnt be disappointed. Last seen as a warrior in Gauthamiputra Satakarni, it will be a welcome change for Balakrishna and his fans in Paisa Vasool, which also stars Shriya Saran. The makers are currently shooting in Portugal and are expected to return to India later this month.

In Spyder, Mahesh plays an intelligence bureau officer and he has apparently performed stunts sans body doubles. The film, which is being made on a budget of over Rs 100 crore, also stars Rakul Preet Singh and SJ Suryah in important roles. Harris Jayaraj is composing the music. Spyder marks the first time collaboration of director AR Murugadoss and Mahesh Babu.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop
Authorities detained Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny and more than 900 of his supporters on Monday, as they mounted demonstrations across the nation against government corruption.

The protests are the second mass action since March called by Navalny, who has announced his intention to run for president next year and has drawn a new generation to the streets through a relentless online campaign.

At least 600 people were detained in Moscow -- where riot police tried to push the crowds back sometimes by beating them with batons -- and 300 in Saint Petersburg, according to an NGO that tracks arrests, with Navalny himself picked up by police as he was headed to the event.

The specialised NGO, OVD-Info, had previously reported detentions in Vladivostock, Kaliningrad, Norilsk and Sochi.

On central Moscows Tverskaya Street, a helicopter hovered overhead as riot police lined up and pushed back against the crowd, grabbing people and leading them to police vans as others shouted Shame!, Putin is a thief! and Freedom to Navalny!

The action also drew thousands to the streets in cities across Russia, with authorities sanctioning some gatherings and banning others. Some reports said authorities threatened university students with expulsion if they attended.

The 41-year-old Navalnys anti-corruption videos have needled the countrys most powerful and drawn to the streets crowds unseen since a wave of protests against President Vladimir Putins reelection for a third term in 2012.

Mired in corruption

Navalny, who plans to stand against Putin in presidential elections in March, faces up to 30 days in administrative custody for breaking rules on organising demonstrations, according to his lawyer.

The recent rallies were galvanised by a film released by Navalny in early March which accused Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of controling vast personal wealth through a shadowy network of foundations, which has since been viewed over 22 million times.

Putin has been in power for 17 years and is not planning to leave. He has usurped all power, said protester Alexander Tyurin, 41.

Corruption is a system. I work in a construction company and everything is mired in corruption.

Another protester Yevgeny, 19, said he was expelled from university after participating in a previous rally.

Our government shouts that enemies are everywhere and is becoming closed in on itself, he said.

We want turnover among those in power. Pressure on young people has increased.

Navalny has brought a new generation to the streets through his embrace of YouTube, and his team was broadcasting from a studio set up in Moscow, though the electricity was periodically cut forcing the presenter to speak in total darkness.

The head of Navalnys anti-corruption group FBK, Roman Rubanov, was detained by police who came to his house, arrest tracking group OVD-Info said.

Moscow police said Navalny would be charged with administrative offences of resisting arrest and a second violation of demonstration organisation rules.

Russia Day

The wave of protests called by Navalny coincides with a public holiday, Russia Day, with Putin handing out awards and holding a reception in the Kremlin.

Turnout was difficult to calculate as ordinary people mingled with those protesting, but thousands filled the Tverskaya Street area in Moscow, many waving Russian flags and banners.

On the eve of the event -- which was authorised -- Navalny announced the protest was changing location to Tverskaya because authorities blocked his efforts set up a stage and sound equipment.

Authorities are forbidding any contractors from getting us a stage and sound, he wrote on his blog Sunday.

We are cancelling the rally on Sakharov Avenue and moving it to Tverskaya Street, a main thoroughfare to the Kremlin, he said.

Moscow City Hall labelled the decision a provocation while the police warned that any provocative actions by the protesters will be viewed as threat to public order and immediately thwarted.

The protest eventually coincided with events held by the City Hall for Russia Day like the reenactment of various eras in Russian history, from World War I trenches to a Renaissance fair and sword fighting.

In surreal scenes, dozens of buses filled by policemen were parked nearby ahead of the rally while ordinary people gawked at actors in period costumes.

Later, however, riot police and the national guard moved in even on people sitting in nearby cafes, shouting Go away! There is an unauthorised protest here!
Another US appeals court upheld a decision blocking President Donald Trumps revised travel ban Monday, dealing the administration another legal defeat as the Supreme Court considers a separate case on the issue.

The ruling from a unanimous three-judge panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals said the president violated US immigration law by discriminating against people based on their nationality and by failing to demonstrate that their entry into the country would hurt American interests.

Immigration, even for the president, is not a one-person show, the judges said. The presidents authority is subject to certain statutory and constitutional restraints.

It keeps in place a decision by US District Judge Derrick Watson in Hawaii that he based largely on Trumps campaign statements calling for a complete and total shutdown of Muslims entering the US

Watson ruled that the true purpose of the temporary ban on travel from six mostly Muslim nations was to discriminate against Islam  not to protect national security. That violated the Constitutions prohibition on the government officially favouring or disfavouring any religion, he said.

The 9th Circuit judges said they didnt need to reach the constitutional question because the travel ban violated immigration law, and thus wasnt allowed.

The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Virginia also ruled against the travel ban May 25, citing the presidents campaign statements as evidence that the 90-day ban is steeped in animus and directed at a single religious group. The administration has appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court.

The high court is considering a request to reinstate the policy and could act before the justices wind up their work at the end of June.

The 9th Circuit heard arguments May 15 in an expedited appeal of the Hawaii case. Acting solicitor general Jeffrey Wall said the travel ban is well within the presidents broad authority to secure the nations borders, an assertion that drew sceptical questioning from the judges, all appointees of President Bill Clinton.

How is a court to know if, in fact, its a Muslim ban in the guise of national security justification? asked Judge Ronald Gould.

Neal Katyal, an attorney representing Hawaii, which sued to stop the ban, told the judges the policy could not be squared with US immigration law, which bars nationality-based discrimination in issuing immigration visas, or with the US Constitutions prohibition on the government favouring or disfavouring any religion.

He too faced some difficult questioning, including queries on whether the lower-court decision was too broad.

Trump issued his initial travel ban on a Friday in late January, bringing chaos and protests to airports around the country. A Seattle judge blocked its enforcement nationwide in response to a lawsuit by Washington state  a decision that was unanimously upheld by a different three-judge 9th Circuit panel.

The President then rewrote his executive order rather than appeal to the US Supreme Court at that time. The new version, designed to better withstand legal scrutiny, named six countries instead of seven  Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, with Iraq dropped  and spelled out more of a national security rationale.

It also listed some reasons that travellers from those nations might be granted waivers allowing them into the US despite the policy.

Like the initial executive order, it also suspended the nations refugee program.

Several states and civil rights groups also challenged the revised ban, saying it remained rooted in discrimination and exceeded the presidents authority.

In March, the judge in Honolulu blocked the new version from taking effect, citing what he called significant and un-rebutted evidence of religious animus in Trumps campaign statements.
Serial killer Charles Sobhraj underwent a successful open heart surgery at a Kathmandu hospital on Monday and is recovering, his doctor said.

A team of doctors led by Raamesh Koirala conducted the surgery on the criminal implicated in the killing of more than 20 people in Nepal, India and other Asian countries, including the poisoning of backpackers.

Yes! He has a heart and I just fixed valves inside. Recovering normally, Koirala posted on Twitter. He shared a photo of himself with Sobhraj minutes before the 73-year-old was taken into the operation theatre at Shahid Ganga Lal Heart Hospital.

Nihita Biswas, a young Nepalese woman to whom Sobhraj became engaged in 2008, donated blood before the surgery. She visited the hospital with her mother, Sakuntala Thapa, who is a lawyer and had fought Sobrajs case in Nepals courts.

Biswas has said in the past that she fell in love with Sobhraj, who is 44 years older than her, when she visited him in prison after learning that he was looking for an interpreter for his visiting French lawyer.

She had not been seen visiting Sobhraj for some time, leading to questions about her relationship with the criminal who was dubbed the Bikini Killer by the tabloids in the 1970s. She appeared in the hospital on Sunday and donated blood for Sobhraj.

The blood group of Sobhraj and Biswas is O-negative, a hospital source said. Ahead of the surgery, the hospital was told to arrange some blood in case it was needed. She came and donated one pint of blood for him, the source said.

Sobhraj, who has been serving time in the central jail of Kathmandu for the past 12 years, was diagnosed with a leak in a valve. The French national recently fainted in jail and was rushed to hospital, where he was diagnosed with the mitral valve leak.

The mitral valve is a dual-flap that controls the flow of blood in the left section of the heart. If it fails to function adequately, patients exhibit symptoms such as palpitation, exertion and shortness of breath.

After he suffered a mild heart attack in May, authorities suggested he should undergo heart surgery to fix the valve.

Sobhraj has been in prison since the Supreme Court sentenced him to life for murdering an American tourist, Connie Joe Bronzich, in Nepal in 1975. He had been linked to the multiple killings of backpackers.

He earlier spent 21 years in prison in India and escaped from Tihar Jail in 1986 after drugging security guards, serving them sweets in the name of his own birthday.

According to a biography, he is believed to have killed 20 people up to the late 1970s, including in Nepal and India.
Bomb blasts rocked Marawi City in the southern Philippines on Monday as the national flag was raised to mark independence day, almost three weeks after hundreds of Islamist militants overran the town and hunkered down with civilians as human shields.

Rescue workers, soldiers and firemen sang the national anthem and listened to speeches as three OV-10 attack aircraft darted through the cloudy sky, taking it in turns to drop bombs on areas where fighters are still holed up.

To our Muslim brothers there, we want to tell them to stop their meaningless fight because we are all Muslims, Vice Provincial Governor Mamintal Adiong Jr. told the gathering.

Flag ceremonies are normally performed twice a week, but this was the first in the mainly Muslim town since May 23, the first day of the siege, when the militants killed and abducted Christians, and torched a cathedral.

Almost the entire population of about 200,000 fled from the lakeside town on the Philipppines southernmost island of Mindanao, but beyond the checkpoints fencing it off there are still some 500-1,000 civilians trapped or being held hostage.

As of Saturday the number of security forces killed in the battle for Marawi stood at 58. The death toll for civilians was 20 and more than 100 had been killed overall.

The seizure of Marawi by fighters allied to Islamic State, including some from the Middle East, has alarmed Southeast Asian nations which fear the ultra-radical group - on a backfoot in Iraq and Syria - is trying to set up a stronghold on Mindanao that could threaten their region.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte said on Sunday he had not expected the battle for Marawi to be as serious as it has turned out, adding it had now emerged that Baghdadi himself, the leader of the ISIS, has specifically ordered terroristic activities here in the Philippines.

Duterte did not say how he knew that Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, whose movement is commonly referred to as ISIS, had given instructions for the attack on Marawi.

Plan to take other cities foiled

Foreign affairs minister Allan Peter Cayetano said in an independence day speech in Manila that the militants had planned to take over at least two or three cities in Mindanao.

Their plot was foiled because troops made a preemptive raid on Marawi to capture Isnilon Hapilon, leader of the Abu Sayyaf group and Islamic States emir of Southeast Asia.

We want to coordinate very well with Indonesia and Malaysia so they wont also suffer in the hands of extremists, he said.

But the president knew at the start of his term that, as the allies become more successful in Syria and Iraq, they (Islamic State) will be looking for a land base, and Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines will be a potential target to them.

Washington said at the weekend it was providing support to the Armed Forces of the Philippines to clear the militants from pockets of Marawi. Manila said this was technical assistance and there were no US boots on the ground.

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said support included aerial surveillance and targeting, electronic eavesdropping, communications assistance and training. A US P-3 Orion surveillance plane was seen over the town on Friday.

The cooperation between the longtime allies in the battle is significant because Duterte, who came to power a year ago, has taken a hostile stance towards Washington and has vowed to eject U.S. military trainers and advisers from his country.

The Pentagon has no permanent presence in the Philippines but for years has kept 50 to 100 special forces troops in the south of the country on rotational exercises.

Duterte said on Sunday he had not sought support from Washington to end the siege and had not been aware that U.S. special forces were assisting.

Cayetano said the government did not need to be involved in decisions on U.S. participation because of a bilateral visiting forces agreement and, with events happening real time, such matters are left to the armed forces and defence department.
Its strongholds in Iraq and Syria slipping from its grasp, the Islamic State group threatened to make this years Ramadan a bloody one at home and abroad. With attacks in Egypt, Britain and Iran among others and a land-grab in the Philippines, the group is trying to divert attention from its losses and win over supporters around the world in the twisted competition for jihadi recruits during the Muslim holy month.

The militants insisted in their English language magazine this week that losing territory has only made it work that much harder to kill. The attacks since Ramadans beginning on May 26 show the sweep of the groups ambition  from attacking the West, to expanding in the Philippines, to targeting Shiite powerhouse Iran  something al Qaeda itself never risked.

They can say here is something that al Qaeda has refrained to do, said Assaf Moghadam, an author and analyst of jihadi groups. From their perspective its been a great Ramzan so far.

But a powerful counter-message is emerging in recent days. With the month of fasting also a time of high television ratings in the Arab world, the telecommunications company Zain has launched a commercial that begins with footage of a man fabricating a suicide bomb. By the end, faced with bloodied victims and survivors of extremist attacks, the man stumbles and fails in his mission. Lets bomb delusion with the truth, a man sings. The ad has been viewed more than 6 million times on YouTube. We will counter their attacks of hatred with songs of love, it ends.

Iran

The attack on Iran marked a new stage for the Islamic State group, which had threatened the Shiite-majority state repeatedly without actually striking it.

Five Islamic State group extremists battle-tested in strongholds Mosul and Raqqa simultaneously targeted the countrys parliament and shrine of late founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, killing 17 people. More than any of the other Ramzan attacks, the bloodshed in Iran shows the groups violent attempts to persuade potential recruits it has the staying power to endure beyond the loss of its two major strongholds.

IS and al Qaeda, both radical Sunni groups, are competing for recruits in the global jihadi movement. Al Qaeda, however, has never attacked Iran. Founder Osama bin Laden had put the Persian state off-limits, citing and the countrys role as a conduit for arms and money.

London Bridge

Three men armed with knives plowed a rented van into pedestrians on London Bridge, then slashed their way through the evening crowd at Borough Market on June 3, killing eight people.

The man believed to be the groups ringleader, Khuram Butt, had appeared in a documentary last year called The Jihadis Next Door and his neighbours said he was recruiting young people to join Islamic State. It was the third attack in Britain in three months claimed by the extremists.

Philippines siege

Islamic militants in the Philippines aligned with the Islamic State group two weeks ago assaulted the southern lakeside city of Marawi, parts of which they occupy to this day, in a plot that they sketched in chilling detail on the back of a paper calendar. Among those at the table for the secret meeting was the purported leader of the Islamic State groups Southeast Asia branch, Isnilon Hapilon, who is on Washingtons list of most-wanted terrorists and has a $5 million bounty on his head.

Egyptian Christians

Masked Islamic State gunmen ambushed a bus carrying Coptic Christians to a monastery south of Cairo on May 26, killing 29 people on the eve of Ramzan. The group has singled out Egyptian Christians with ferocity, carrying out four attacks since December and warning of more to come.
Prime Minister Theresa May reappointed most of her ministers on Sunday but brought a Brexit campaigner and party rival into government to try to unite her Conservatives after a disastrous election sapped her authority, days before Brexit talks begin.

The 60-year-old leader said she had tapped experience across the whole of the Conservative Party when she appointed Michael Gove, a long-serving cabinet minister who had clashed with May when she was home secretary, as environment and agriculture minister.

It was a surprise move - Gove was sacked as justice minister by May last year after his bid to become party leader forced now-foreign minister Boris Johnson from the race, amid accusations of treachery and political backstabbing.

Michael Gove, has been appointed secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs. (Reuters Photo)

But after gambling away a majority in parliament in an election she did not need to call, May needs to unite a disillusioned party around her to not only support her in the Brexit talks but also to strike a deal with a small Northern Irish party that will enable her to stay in power.

What I am doing now is actually getting on with the immediate job. And I think thats whats important, I think thats what the public would expect. They want to see government providing that certainty and stability, she said.

What I have done today is see people from across the party accepting the invitation to be in my cabinet, and crucially I have brought in talent from across the whole of the Conservative Party. I believe that is important.

WEAKENED STATURE

May formed her cabinet despite failing to win a majority in Thursdays parliamentary election, when her Conservatives won 318 House of Commons seats. Labour, the main opposition party, won 262.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he could still be prime minister, although his party has no obvious way to build a majority coalition. He said a new election might be necessary later this year or early in 2018.

Apart from Gove and her close ally Damian Green, promoted to cabinet office minister to oversee the day-to-day running of the government, May confirmed most of the ministers from her previous cabinet.

This marked an apparent reversal of plans to turf out those considered less than loyal - a sign of her weakened stature in a party that traditionally craves strong leaders.

In return, she won effusive pledges of loyalty, but she will have to sell her premiership to Conservative lawmakers at a meeting on Monday.

I am going to be backing her, and absolutely everybody Im talking to is going to be backing her too, said Johnson, who had been touted as a possible successor to May. Liam Fox, trade minister, also said that May was the only person to take Britain out of the European Union.

KEEPING ENEMIES CLOSE

The political turmoil comes a week before Britain is due to start negotiating the terms of its exit from the European Union in talks of unprecedented complexity that are supposed to wrap up by the end of March 2019, when Britain actually leaves.

That timeline now looks even more ambitious than before, not least because Mays electoral debacle has emboldened those within her own party who object to her hard Brexit approach of leaving the European single market and customs union.

A Conservative source said the move to include Gove in her cabinet may suggest she has learnt a lesson after firing George Osborne, the former finance minister who as editor of Londons Evening Standard newspaper, has become a vocal critic

Theresa May is a dead woman walking. Its just how long shes going to remain on death row, Osborne told the BBC.

The move might offer hope to Conservative lawmakers who have criticised her style of government. Several have said that she seeks to concentrate too much power in her immediate circle, leaving her cabinet and parliament powerless.

Two of her closest aides, Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, who had been the focus of some criticism, resigned on Saturday.

We are going to see, I hope, more collective decision-making in the cabinet. I and other senior colleagues have made that clear to her, said defence minister Michael Fallon.

DUP DEAL

Mays only hope of forming a government now is to win support from Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party, which won 10 seats. She is seeking a so-called confidence and supply deal, which would involve the DUP supporting the Conservatives on key votes but not joining a formal coalition.

The DUP does not work or negotiate on Sundays for religious reasons, but officials from both sides are due to meet on Monday, and DUP leader Arlene Foster told Sky News she would meet May on Tuesday.

Senior Conservative lawmaker Graham Brady said the prospect of being propped up by the socially conservative DUP, which is strongly focused on Northern Irelands specific political complexities, was causing concern in his party.

I think there is concern about the policies of the DUP, the domestic policies in Northern Ireland, but I think its pretty clear that any arrangement that is reached is not going to be a full coalition, he told BBC Radio.

The DUP is strongly opposed to single-sex marriage and abortion, at odds with Conservative policies.

There are also concerns about the potential impact of the proposed arrangement on Northern Irelands peace agreement, which relies in part on London being an impartial arbiter between those, such as the DUP, who want the province to remain in the United Kingdom and those who want it to be part of Ireland.

Even if a deal is struck, May could struggle to get backing from parliament for her Brexit stance.

Fallon told the BBC the government would be able to muster parliamentary support for its Brexit plans, adding: Our view of Brexit I dont think has changed.

But Anna Soubry, a Conservative member of parliament who campaigned ahead of last years referendum for Britain to stay in the EU, disagreed.

I dont think she does have a majority in the House of Commons for leaving the single market, she told Sky News.
China on Monday dismissed reports that President Xi Jinping snubbed Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif by not holding a formal meeting with him on the margins of the SCO Summit last week, saying the two had several meetings and the countries enjoy an all-weather friendship.

Reports from Beijing had said Xi snubbed Pakistan at the SCO meet after two Chinese language teachers were killed by suspected Islamic State fighters in Balochistan. The Chinese nationals - a man and a woman - were kidnapped in Quetta last month.

India and Pakistan were admitted to the SCO at the summit in Astana and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Xi met on the sidelines.

Sharif held bilateral meetings with the heads of state of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Russia.

It now appears that though there was no formal bilateral meeting between Xi and Sharif ahead of the summit or on the sidelines, the two actually met more than once.

I can tell you that during the 17th SCO heads of state meeting, President Xi met with Pakistan Prime Minister Sharif several times. Some reports are just nonsense and unwanted. China and Pakistan enjoy an all-weather strategic partnership, foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang told a regular news briefing.

Xi and Sharif had also met in May ahead of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, where the Chinese president had called for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to be pushed forward.

China-Pakistan relations remain a priority for Beijing and it is willing to enrich the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership, Xi had said. The two sides should not only continue high-level exchanges but increase interactions between governments, legislative bodies and political parties, Xi was quoted by the official Xinhua news agency as telling Sharif.

Xi had added the two countries should strengthen cooperation in counter-terrorism and security and enhance coordination on major international and regional issues.

Ahead of the Belt and Road Forum, China and Pakistan had signed several infrastructure agreements to boost cooperation on the CPEC, including the development of the Gwadar port in Balochistan. The pacts were signed in the presence of Sharif and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

Referring to the SCO Summit, Lu said it spoke highly about the Belt and Road Forum.

The summit speaks highly of the BRF held at Beijing in May and also supports the building of Belt and Road and the synergy between this initiative and the regional development initiatives and individual country's develop strategies, he said.
US President Donald Trump on Monday promised to reveal details of his long-awaited plan for fighting the Islamic State group, saying a press conference will come within weeks.

We have had tremendous success against ISIS, Trump said at a cabinet meeting at the White House.

We are going to be having a news conference in two weeks on that fight and youll see numbers that you would not have believed.

Tackling the group -- which still controls swaths of Syria and Iraq -- was among Trumps most often repeated campaign promises.

Then candidate Trump went as far as to promise to bomb the hell out of them and have a military plan on his desk within 30 days of moving into the White House.

Six months after taking office, Trump has yet to sketch out his strategy.

Meanwhile efforts to retake Mosul in Iraq and Raqa in Syria -- the capital of the self-styled caliphate -- have continued apace.

The Pentagon has already taken the decision to arm Kurdish fighters in the assault on Raqa, a move that upset US ally Turkey.

Officials warn that the fight against the Islamic State, while simple on its face, is made more complex by competing interests in Syria.

The United States would like to improve the humanitarian situation, keep Turkey onside, ease the possibilities of clashes with Russia, hasten the transition away from President Bashar al-Assads rule, limit Iranian influence and keep Syria and Iraqs borders intact.
Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is on the brink of losing the two main centres of his caliphate but even though he is on the run, it may take years to capture or kill him, officials and experts said.

Islamic State fighters are close to defeat in the twin capitals of the groups territory, Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria, and officials say Baghdadi is steering clear of both, hiding in thousands of square miles of desert between the two.

In the end, he will either be killed or captured, he will not be able to remain underground forever, said Lahur Talabany, the head of counter-terrorism at the Kurdistan Regional Government, the Kurdish autonomous region in northern Iraq. But this is a few years away still, he told Reuters.

One of Baghdadis main concerns is to ensure those around him do not betray him for the $25 million reward offered by the United States to bring him to justice, said Hisham al-Hashimi, who advises Middle East governments on Islamic State affairs.

With no land to rule openly, he can no longer claim the title caliph, Hashimi said. He is a man on the run and the number of his supporters is shrinking as they lose territory.

Iraqi forces have retaken much of Mosul, the northern Iraqi city the hardline group seized in June 2014 and from which Baghdadi declared himself caliph or leader of all Muslims shortly afterwards. Raqqa, his capital in Syria, is nearly surrounded by a coalition of Syrian Kurdish and Arab groups.

Damaged cars are seen stacked in the middle of a road in western Mosul's Zanjili neighbourhood on June 9, 2017, during ongoing battles to try to take the city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters. (AFP Photo)

The last public video footage of him shows him dressed in black clerical robes declaring his caliphate from the pulpit of Mosuls medieval Grand al-Nuri mosque back in 2014.

Born Ibrahim al-Samarrai, Baghdadi is a 46-year-old Iraqi who broke away from al-Qaeda in 2013, two years after the capture and killing of the groups leader Osama bin Laden.

He grew up in a religious family, studied Islamic Theology in Baghdad and joined the Salaafi jihadist insurgency in 2003, the year of the US-led invasion of Iraq. He was caught by the Americans who released him about a year later as they considered him then as a civilian rather than a military target.

Bounty

He is shy and reserved, Hashimi said, and has recently stuck to the sparsely populated Iraq-Syria border where drones and strangers are easy to spot.

The US Department of States Counter-Terrorism Rewards Program had put the same $25 million bounty on Bin Laden and Iraqi former president Saddam Hussein and the reward is still available for Bin Ladens successor, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Neither Saddam nor Bin Laden were voluntarily betrayed, but the bounties complicated their movements and communications.

The reward creates worry and tension, it restricts his movements and limit the number of his guards, said Fadhel Abu Ragheef, a Baghdad-based expert on extremist groups. He doesnt stay more than 72 hours in any one place.

Baghdadi has become nervous and very careful in his movements, said Talabany, whose services are directly involved in countering Islamic State plots. His circle of trust has become even smaller.

His last recorded speech was issued in early November, two weeks after the start of the Mosul battle, when he urged his followers to fight the unbelievers and make their blood flow as rivers.

US and Iraqi officials believe he has left operational commanders behind with diehard followers to fight the battles of Mosul and Raqqa, to focus on his own survival.

It is not possible to confirm his whereabouts.

Baghdadi does not use phones and has a handful number of approved couriers to communicate with his two main aides, Iyad al-Obaidi, his defence minister, and Ayad al-Jumaili, in charge of security. There was no confirmation of an April 1 Iraqi state TV report that Jumaili had been killed.

Baghdadi moves in ordinary cars, or the kind of pick-up trucks used by farmers, between hideouts on both sides of the Iraqi-Syrian border, with just a driver and two bodyguards, said Hashimi.

The region is well known to his men as the hotbed of the Sunni insurgency against U.S. forces that invaded Iraq and later the Shia-led governments that took over the country.

At the height of its power two years ago, Islamic State ruled over millions of people in territory running from northern Syria through towns and villages along the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys to the outskirts of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

It persecuted non-Sunnis and even Sunnis who did not agree with its extreme version of Islamic law, with public executions and whippings for violating strict controls on appearance, behaviour and movement.

But the group has been retreating since in the face of a multitude of local, regional and international forces, driven into action by the scores of deadly attacks around the world that it has claimed or inspired.

A few hundred thousand people now live in the areas under the groups control, in and around Raqqa and Deir al-Zor, in Syrias east, and in a few pockets south and west of Mosul. Hashimi said Islamic State was moving some fighters out of Raqqa before it was encircled to regroup in Deir al-Zor.

Displaced Iraqi children gather behind a fence at the Hasan Sham camp for internally displaced people on June 10, 2017. (AFP Photo)

Mosul, with pre-war population of 2 million, was at least four times the size of any other the group has held. Up to 200,000 people are still trapped in the Old City, Islamic States besieged enclave in Mosul, lacking supplies and being used as human shields to obstruct the progress of Iraqi forces by a US-led international coalition.

The Syrian Democratic Forces, made of Kurdish and Arab groups supported by the US-led coalition, began to attack Raqqa last week, after a months-long campaign to cut it off.

The militants are also fighting Russian and Iranian-backed forces in Syria loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, and mainly Sunni Muslim Syrian rebels backed by Turkey.

The last official report about Baghdadi was from the Iraqi military on Feb. 13. Iraqi F-16s carried out a strike on a house where he was thought to be meeting other commanders, in western Iraq, near the Syrian border, it said.

Overall, Islamic State has 8,000 fighters left, of which 2,000 are foreigners from other Arab states, Europe, Russia and central Asia, said Abu Ragheef.

A small number compared to the tens of thousands arrayed against them in both countries, but a force to be reckoned with, made up of die-hards with nothing to lose, hiding in the middle of civilians and making extensive use of booby traps, mines and explosives, he said.

The US government has a joint task force to track down Baghdadi which includes special operations forces, the CIA and other US intelligence agencies as well as spy satellites of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency.

It will take more than that to erase his influence, Talabany said. He is still considered the leader of ISIL and many continue to fight for him; that hasnt changed drastically, he said, using one of Islamic States acronyms.

Even if killed or captured, he added, his legacy and that of ISIL will endure unless radical extremism is tackled.
An Afghan father and his two young children were killed Monday when US troops opened fire after their convoy hit a roadside bomb, local authorities said.

The civilian and his sons, aged seven and 10, died near their home in the eastern province of Nangarhar, where American forces are conducting joint operations against militants from the Islamic State group.

Claims of civilian casualties remain a contentious issue in the war against insurgents in Afghanistan, as President Donald Trump mulls sending more troops into the lengthy conflict.

A roadside bomb hit a foreign forces convoy in Ghani Khail district this morning, said provincial spokesman Attaullah Khogyani.

The troops then opened fire and killed three civilians nearby, a father and his two sons.

The account was confirmed by the district police chief, Sekandar Safi.

The US military confirmed they opened fire in self defence but said they had so far not received any official allegations of civilian casualties.

We take civilian casualties very seriously and all allegations are thoroughly investigated, the military said in a statement.

The incident is under investigation and more information will be released as appropriate.

Nangarhar is a stronghold of Islamic State and Afghan forces backed by US troops have been battling for months to drive them out.

On Saturday, three American soldiers were killed and one wounded when an Afghan commando opened fire on them in Nangarhars Achin district, in an insider attack claimed by the Taliban.

In April the US military dropped its largest non-nuclear bomb ever used in combat on a complex of caves in Achin used by IS fighters.

The deployment of the so-called Mother Of All Bombs killed dozens of jihadists, but fighting in the area has continued unabated.
Pakistani police say a lone gunman has shot and killed a journalist in the northwestern town of Haripur.

Senior police officer Mohammad Sabir says 39-year-old Bakhshish Illahi, bureau chief of a local daily newspaper and television station, was targeted Sunday near his home while on his way to his office.

Sabir says the journalist was a father of four and had recently joined television channel K-2 and daily newspaper K-2 Times after serving at another local newspaper for 14 years.

Sabir says an investigation hasnt revealed any personal enmity toward Illahi and he was apparently killed for some other reason. He didnt elaborate.

Journalists in Haripur protested the killing.

Pakistan is considered one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists.
Police in Iran killed four Islamic State suspects, two of them foreigners, in the southern province of Hormuzgan and seized explosives, guns and the groups flag, an Iranian news agency said on Monday.

A major security operation is underway after 17 people were killed last Wednesday in suicide bombings and gun attacks in Tehran, the first to be claimed by the hardline Sunni Islamist group Islamic State inside Iran, a Shia power.

Police forces clashed with the four men and killed them in a mountainous area in southern Iran, the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted a local police chief as saying.

Two of those killed were not Iranian, he said.

Guns, ammunition, explosives and the flag of Islamic State were seized during the operation, Tasnim reported, citing the police chief.

Hormuzgan, which borders Pakistan and Afghanistan, is home to a Sunni minority and has seen previous clashes between security forces and Sunni insurgent groups.

The authorities say Iranian security forces killed the mastermind of the attacks on Saturday and that more than 50 suspects have been arrested around the country.

Iran accuses Saudi Arabia of funding hardline Sunni militants, including Islamic State, and in the wake of last weeks attack pointed the finger at its regional rival. Riyadh has denied involvement in the attacks.
Israeli government spies hacked into the operations of Islamic State bombmakers to discover they were developing a laptop computer bomb to blow up a commercial aircraft, the New York Times reported on Monday.

The Times said the work by Israeli cyber operators was a rare success of western intelligence against the constantly evolving, encryption-protected and social-media-driven cyber operations of the extremist group.

It said the Israeli hackers penetrated the small Syria-based cell of bombmakers months ago, an effort that led to the March 21 ban on carry-on laptops and other electronics larger than cellphones on direct flights to the United States from 10 airports in Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa.

The Israeli cyber-penetration was how the United States learned that the terrorist group was working to make explosives that fooled airport X-ray machines and other screening by looking exactly like batteries for laptop computers, the Times said.

The intelligence was so good that the detonation method for the bombs was understood, the Times said, citing two US officials familiar with the operation.

Following the US laptop ban, Britain announced a similar prohibition for flights originating from six countries.

Israels contribution to the intelligence on the laptop bombs became public after President Donald Trump revealed details on it to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in a May 10 White House meeting.

Trumps disclosure infuriated Israeli officials, according to the Times.
The next hearing in the extradition case of Indian businessman Vijay Mallya in the Westminster Magistrates Court here is scheduled for Tuesday, when the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will argue the matter on behalf of the Indian government.

Mallya, wanted in India for financial offences, was arrested and bailed during a preliminary hearing held on April 18 as part of stage five of the seven-stage extradition process. The next stage is the extradition hearing on Tuesday.

A team from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate was in London recently for talks with CPS lawyers, who were provided necessary documents to substantiate the case for extradition. An India-UK extradition treaty is in force since 1993.

A CPS official told Hindustan Times: I can confirm that our lawyers met with officials from the CBI to discuss the (Mallya) case.

Informed sources said more care was being taken in Mallyas case because earlier extradition requests from India had failed mainly due to poor paperwork and the quality of evidence that did not hold up in British courts.

At Tuesday's extradition hearing, the judge will have to be satisfied that Mallya's conduct amounts to an extradition offence (dual criminality), none of the bars to extradition apply, where applicable, there is prima facie evidence of guilt (in accusation cases), and whether extradition would breach the persons human rights, according to the rules.

The rules add that if the judge is satisfied that all of the procedural requirements are met, and that none of the statutory bars to extradition apply, he or she must send the case to the Secretary of State for a decision to be taken on whether to order extradition.

The legal process is likely to be long drawn-out, given several opportunities for appeal. If the courts clear the extradition, it has to be finally ordered by the home secretary.

Such individuals also have the last option of appealing to the European Court of Human Rights (at least until the UK leaves the European Union, likely in 2019).

Extradition is prohibited if the person could face the death penalty (unless the Secretary of State gets adequate written assurance that the death penalty will not be imposed or, if imposed, will not be carried out).

It is also prohibited if there are no speciality arrangements with the requesting country. Speciality requires that the person must be dealt with in the requesting state only for offences for which he or she has been extradited, except in certain limited circumstances.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa left for a day-long visit to Saudi Arabia on Monday for consultations on the rift caused by the snapping of diplomatic ties with Qatar by several Gulf countries.

They were accompanied by finance minister Ishaq Dar, Sartaj Aziz, the adviser on foreign affairs to Sharif, and other senior officials.

A brief official statement said Sharif would hold consultations on (the) Gulf rift and the emergent situation among GCC countries with the Saudi leadership.

He will hold talks with the Saudi leadership on the latest situation developing amongst the GCC countries, it added.

Sharif is also expected to travel to Qatar and Kuwait, media reports said.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates and several other countries cut ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of backing terrorism. The move triggered a diplomatic crisis. Qatar rejected the charges and said it was willing to hold talks to end the row.

Turkey and Iran have backed Qatar, rushing food and other supplies to the country after Saudi Arabia and the UAE snapped road, air and sea links that are used to ferry supplies.

Pakistan responded to the crisis by calling for unity in the Muslim world and dialogue to end the standoff. Members of the National Assembly or lower house of Parliament have expressed deep concern over the rift and passed a resolution urging all countries to show restraint and resolve their differences through dialogue.

According to media reports, a Qatari delegation visited Pakistan last week to relay a message from the countrys ruler, who asked Islamabad to play a positive role in resolving the crisis.

The Foreign Office denied knowledge of any such visit. It also denied media reports that 20,000 Pakistani troops would be deployed in Qatar.

Sharif is believed to have close ties with Qatars ruling family. He is also very close to the Saudi royal family, which provided him shelter after he was deposed during a bloodless coup led by Gen Pervez Musharraf in 1999.

Pakistan has close economic ties with countries on both sides of the rift. Millions of Pakistanis live and work in the Gulf countries, and their remittances amount to billions of dollars. Qatar is the biggest supplier of LNG to Pakistan, providing 2.75 million tons a year.
Pakistan hopes India will attend the Saarc Summit expected to be held in Islamabad later this year, a top Pakistani diplomat said on Monday, adding the two countries need to move beyond differences.

Speaking on the sidelines of a Shangani Cooperation Organisation (SCO) event in Beijing, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the deputy head of the Pakistani mission, said it is important for both countries to strengthen the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc).

We really hope that Saarc, which is our regional organisation to move beyond the differencesthat India would be able to come to Pakistan for the summit because in the end we are neighbours, Baloch said.

India pulled out of last years Saarch Summit in Pakistan after a string of terror attacks blamed on Pakistan-based militants, leading to a pullout by Bangladesh, Afghanistan, the Maldives, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The summit was subsequently cancelled.

Its still not clear whether the summit will be held at the end of this year either, given Indias position on Pakistans involvement in cross-border terror.

Baloch, however, indicated that Islamabad is working to holding the summit.

She played down speculation that the inclusion of India and Pakistan in the SCO would lead to disruptions in the Beijing-led security blocs agenda.

It is an important organisation for Pakistan and it is an important organisation for India. This is not an organisation to settle disputes. This is an organisation to work for the region and for common challenges and work for common development, she said.

Pakistan, she said, hoped the inclusion of the two countries will contribute to our regions development and more understanding between all parties in the SCO.

Talking about possible cooperation within the SCO framework, Baloch said: Of course, when you work together (in the same organisation), you are in the same organisation, you have opportunities to resolve many of the issues.

With the increase of the membership with the inclusion of Pakistan and India, we have made this organisation more inclusive and we will be able to work together to fight common challenges.

Speaking earlier, secretary general Rashid Alimov said the SCOs convention on countering extremism has become the collective response of the SCO member-states to the growing threat of this dangerous phenomenon for humanity.

He added, The convention is aimed at improving the mechanism for countering extremism in the SCO area (and) developing the provisions of the SCO Development Strategy until 2025.

(eom)

--
Pakistan interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Monday confirmed that two Chinese nationals who were abducted from Quetta had been killed.

This was the first reaction by a Pakistani official after the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the killing of the Chinese nationals  a man and a woman who were working as language teachers  last week.

Khan, who was chairing a meeting at the interior ministry in Islamabad, said a misuse of the terms of business visa issued to the two Chinese nationals had contributed to their abduction and subsequent murder, according to media reports.

He was silent on the Islamic States claim. The Pakistan government has for long contended the terror group led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi does not have a presence in the country even though it has claimed a string of terror attacks.

Media reports had said that Chinese President Xi Jinping had snubbed Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif over the killing of the Chinese nationals by not holding a formal bilateral meeting on the margins of the SCO Summit in Astana. However, the Chinese foreign ministry dismissed these reports on Monday and said the two leaders had met several times in the Kazakhstan capital.

The Chinese nationals - Lee Zing Yang, 24, and Meng Li Si, 26  were kidnapped by armed men from Jinnah Town in Quetta on May 24.

Hours after the Pakistan Army announced last week that it had carried out an operation against IS-linked militants in Balochistan, the terror group claimed it had killed the Chinese nationals in the same area.

During the meeting in Islamabad, Khan was informed that a group of Chinese citizens, including Lee and Meng, obtained business visas from the Pakistan embassy in Beijing and entered Pakistan.

Instead of engaging in any business activity, Lee and Meng went to Quetta and engaged in preaching while pretending to learn Urdu.

Khan directed the interior secretary to investigate the matter and to ensure that such misuse of visas does not occur in future. He directed the interior ministry to review and regulate the process of issuing visas to Chinese nationals and to maintain a databank of Chinese nationals in Pakistan.
Beleaguered Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will appear before the Joint Investigation Team probing the high-profile Panamagate graft case on Thursday to become the first sitting premier of the country to depose before such a panel.

Joint Investigation Team (JIT) chief Wajid Zia, in a letter dated Saturday, asked the prime minister to appear before the six-member probe team at 11.00 AM (local time) on June 15 with all documents relevant to the case.

The summon was issued to Sharif, 67, after he returned from his Kazakhstan visit where he attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.

Sharif, in Lahore, met with his close confidantes on Sunday to discuss the issue. After consulting with his aides, the prime minister has decided to honour the summon and appear before the JIT on Thursday, Dawn News reported.

Minister of state for information and broadcasting heritage Marriyum Aurangzeb, talking to some TV channels, said that the prime minister had received the JIT summons and in pursuance of the Supreme Courts order of April 20, he would ensure his presence accordingly.

The Joint Investigation Team, formed by the Supreme Court to probe the money trail of the property owned by the Sharif family in London, had questioned Sharifs sons -- Hussain and Hasan -- last month over the familys alleged improper business dealings.

His eldest son Hussain was questioned five times while Hasan, the younger son, was summoned twice.

The court last year took up the case and issued a split decision over allegations of money laundering when Sharif was prime minister in 1990s.

On May 5, the Supreme Court set up a high-level six- member JIT to probe Sharif and his sons alleged corruption in the Panama Papers case.

The JIT is bound to complete the probe in 60 days unless it is granted additional time.

It is for the first time that a sitting prime minister would appear before a high-level probe team traditionally constituted to investigate high-profile criminal cases.

It is not yet clear that Sharif will be questioned for once or would be called again like his two sons
This time, the British Queens speech is going to be delayed because it has to be written on goatskin paper and the ink takes days to dry, media reports said on Monday quoted government sources as saying.

Prime Minister Theresa Mays official spokesperson suggested at a briefing of journalists today that the state opening of parliament, scheduled for June 19, will be pushed back.

The Telegraph, quoting government sources have now claimed that the reason for the delay is the amount of time it takes to write the legislative agenda onto special archival paper.

The Queens speech is written by the government and presents an outline of its planned legislation for the next Parliamentary session.

It is read by the Queen from the Throne in the House of Lords at the State Opening of Parliament.

Also known as the gracious speech, the Queens speech was historically written on vellum with ink that takes three days to dry.

Although it is now written on thick goatskin parchment paper, this also needs several days to dry, meaning a speech cannot be amended at the last minute.

However, critics have suggested that the government is playing for time as it tries to hammer out the terms of a deal with the Democratic Unionist Party.

The difficulty lies in the simple fact that the contents of the Queens speech are yet to be finalised after voters returned a hung Parliament on June 8.

There are reportedly copies of a Conservative majority Queens Speech and a Labour majority Queens speech written on the goatskin parchment paper and ready to go, the paper said.

But with the Tories and DUP still negotiating a deal to prop up Mays minority Government the contents of the Speech are still to be finalised.

The ruling Conservatives went from 331 seats to 318 in the general election, while Labour increased its number of MPs from 232 to 262.

Once the details are set in stone they can be committed to the goatskin paper and sent away for binding before being presented to Queen Elizabeth II.

The Cabinet Office has confirmed that the speech is not printed on vellum, which is made of calfskin, but goatskin paper which also takes a few days for ink to dry.

However, despite its name, goatskin paper is not actually made from goatskin.

The material is in fact high-quality archival paper which is guaranteed to last for at least 500 years.
Qatar and container lines have launched new shipping services via Oman in an effort to sidestep a port ban in neighbouring countries and secure a food lifeline after other Gulf states severed ties with Doha last week.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and some other Arab countries cut diplomatic, travel and trade ties with Qatar last week, accusing it of supporting Iran and funding Islamist groups, accusations Doha denies.

The severing of air, sea and land transport links has closed crucial import routes for Qatar and its population of around 2.7 million people who are dependent on imports for most of their food needs.

Chinas COSCO Shipping Lines Co Ltd, Taiwans Evergreen and Hong Kong Kongs OOCL have suspended container services to and from Qatar.

Qatar Ports Management Company (Mwani) announced on Sunday two new shipping services will each run three times a week between Qatars Hamad Port and the Omani ports of Sohar in the north and Salalah in the south.

Oman is a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council but takes a relatively independent diplomatic approach to the other five states in the bloc, particularly over Iran, the non-Arab, Shiite Muslim state across the Gulf.

It is impossible to confidently predict how the situation will develop, for how long the Qatar ban will remain in place and whether any further restrictions will be implemented, said Rania Tadros, managing partner with law firm Ince & Co Dubai.

Larger container ships are unable to dock at ports in Qatar due in part to shallow waters, so shipping lines use feeder services, which transport containers from the larger regional port of Jebel Ali in the UAE.

Thousands of containers destined for Qatar are still stuck at Jebel Ali, according to Qatari importers.

A Qatari food company owner said shipments began arriving on Sunday from Oman, and that some 12 vessels were headed to Qatar from Sohar and Salalah.

There are around 300 containers of fresh and frozen food coming. Some have arrived and the others are on their way, Ahmed al-Khalaf said.

He said containers at Jebel Ali were still stuck, but that others, including from Europe, were being diverted to Omans ports.

The worlds no. 1 container line, Maersk of Denmark, said on Monday it would accept new bookings for container shipments to Qatar from Oman.

Swiss-based MSC, the worlds no. 2 line, said it would deploy a new dedicated shipping service to Qatar from Salalah.

Suppliers are working on trying to route shipments through Oman. There is still a question over whether there will be diplomatic pressure brought to bear on Oman and what impact that could have on this latest effort, a shipping source said.

Iran and Turkey have already flown in food supplies to Qatar as the gas-rich country seeks other sources.
A 23 year old woman from Bihar is struggling to find a way to get back the body of her husband who was allegedly stabbed to death by a Pakistani co-worker-cum-room partner, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Saturday

Mahajni, wife of the deceased man, Mohammad Sohail, 28, said she got a call from Saudi Arabia, around 3 pm on Saturday. The caller informed me that my husband was killed by Mohammad Waqas Ahmad, a Pakistani national, who shared a room with him, she told HT.

The woman, who lives wit h other members of her (late) husbands family at Sibotar village in Pandaul block of Madhubani district in north Bihar, said because of extreme poverty her husband was living in the room with three others, including a youth from UP and two Pakistanis, one of whom had stabbed Sohail.

Since then, the family is at its wits end, trying to find a way to get Sohails body back home.

The problem is we dont even known the name of the city in which my husband was residing in Saudi Arabia. All we know is he was engaged by Al-Jazeera Company iand left Mumbai for Saudi Arabia, along with others, on January 13 this year, said Mahajni.

An agent had helped Sohail reach Saudi Arabia on a visiting visa, about five months ago, she added.

The family now wants external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj to facilitate speedy transit of the body through diplomatic channels in Saudi capital Riyadh.

We also want her to get an inquiry instituted into the murder of Sohail, ensure punishment for the culprit(s) and to take steops to make the Al Jazeera Company pay adequate compensation to us, as next of Sohails kin, said Mahajni.

She expressed hope ministry of external affair moves fast for any delay might prompt the hospital concerned to even dispose of the body. She also claimed Sohail was often humiliated by his Pakistani co-workers and room mates for being Indian.

Mahajni urged the BJP MP from Jhanjharpur in north Bihar, Birendra Choudhary, who met the bereaved family on Monday, to talk to the authorities concerned to help bring Sohail's body home.

Madhubani district magistrate Giriwar Dayal Singh told HT, he would talk to the officials in the ministry of external affairs, and arrange for the body to be brought back to India.

This is really a very sad end of a family bread winner, said Sohails co-villager Pratik Ranjan.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Officials in Maryland and the US capital Washington will sue President Donald Trump for accepting payments and benefits from foreign governments through his business empire, news reports have said.

The suit, to be unveiled on Monday, centres on the so-called emoluments clause, which bans US officials from taking gifts or other benefits from foreign governments.

An NGO that works on ethics issued filed a similar suit in January. But this is the first one presented by government entities.

The announced lawsuit adds to Trumps woes as he grapples with congressional and a special prosecutors probes into his campaigns alleged ties with Russia, which US intelligence agencies say meddled aggressively in the 2016 election to held Trump win.

Since taking power in January, Trump has turned day to day control over his real estate empire and other assets to his adult sons, but not sold them off as many in America said he should to avoid conflicts of interest.

The lawsuit will be filed Monday by the attorneys general of Maryland and Washington in the US district court for the District of Maryland, the Washington Post reported.

Maryland attorney general Brian Frosh said the case is about Trumps failure to separate his personal interests from his presidential duties.

Frosh told the Post that the emoluments clause mandates that the president put the country first and not his own personal interest first.

A key case in the dispute is a hotel that Trump opened last year by leasing a large, stately building that used to be a central post office, just down the road from the White House.

Aside from the issue of the foreign payments ban, Maryland and Washington complain that the presence of a Trump hotel hurts competing hotels in their jurisdictions.

The Post cited examples of foreign government showing preference for that hotel over others, at what neighboring Maryland and Washington say is their expense.

It said the embassy of Kuwait had planned to hold an event at a Four Seasons hotel but eventually moved it to the Trump property, which is called the Trump International Hotel.
US attorney general Jeff Sessions will testify at an open hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday in connection with the ongoing probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and allegations of collusion by campaign aides of President Donald Trump.

The committee announced on Monday the hearing will be public as was demanded by Sessions. He (Sessions) believes it is important for the American people to hear the truth directly from him and looks forward to answering the committees questions tomorrow, justice department spokesperson Sarah Isgur Flores said.

Sessions will be asked about his contacts with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, which he had not disclosed in his confirmation hearing and which led to him recusing himself from the Russia probe being conducted by the FBI, which has since been taken over by special counsel Robert Muller.

The public hearing could test Sessions strained relationship with Trump, which started when the attorney general recused himself from the Russia probe. He is understood to have offered to resign just before Trump left for his recent foreign tour. Though Trump did not accept it, he has expressed unhappiness with the justice department, which Sessions heads, in a series of posts on Twitter for watering down his travel ban.

Sessions will also face questions arising from sacked FBI director James Comeys public hearing by the same committee last week. He is expected to be asked specially about the meeting between Trump and Comey in the Oval Office after Sessions and other senior officials had been asked to leave.

Comey has said it was at this meeting that Trump had asked him drop the case against Michael Flynn, his first National Security Adviser who he fired the day before for misleading vice-president Mike Pence about his meetings with Kislyak.

Trump has denied making that request to Comey and has offered to testify under oath, as did the former FBI director. Senator minority leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, took up that offer and invited Trump on Sunday to testify before a Senate committee.

In all likelihood, Sessions will also be asked about Comeys statement that he had felt so uncomfortable by his meeting with Trump that he asked Sessions, his boss, to never leave him alone in a room with the president again. As I said in my testimony, Comey said at the hearing, I told the attorney general, it can't happen that you get kicked out of the room and the president talks to me.
The United States refused Monday to sign onto a Group of Seven pledge that calls the Paris climate accord the irreversible global tool to address climate change.

The G7 environment ministers issued a final communique Monday after their two-day meeting, the first since the United States announced it was withdrawing from the Paris climate pact. In a footnote to the communique, the United States said it wouldnt join with the other six countries in reaffirming their Paris commitments, but said it was taking action on its own to reduce its carbon footprint.

The United States will continue to engage with key international partners in a manner that is consistent with our domestic priorities, preserving both a strong economy and a healthy environment, the footnote read.

As a result, the US said it would not join those sections of the communique on climate and multilateral development banks.

The head of the US Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, had attended the first few hours of the summit Sunday, but left to attend a Cabinet meeting in Washington.

Presenting the communique Monday, Italys environment minister, Gian Luca Galletti, called the Paris accord irreversible, non-negotiable and the only instrument possible to combat climate change. He said the other G7 countries hoped to continue constructive dialogue with the US, but insisted on the Paris parameters.

Everything else for us is excluded, he said.

The 2015 Paris agreement aims to prevent the Earth from heating up by 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) since the start of the industrial age. Since the world has already warmed about 1.1 degrees Celsius (2 degrees Fahrenheit) since the Industrial Revolution, the accord aimed at making sure the threshold was not breached with each nation curbing heat-trapping emissions.

All but a very few scientists say the overwhelming majority of warming is man-made, as do dozens of scientific academies and professional societies. Scientists have known since the 19th century that burning coal, oil and gas spews carbon dioxide into the air, which then acts like a blanket to trap heat on Earth.

President Donald Trump announced the US was withdrawing from the Paris accord earlier this month, framing it as a reassertion of Americas sovereignty. He has said the US could try to re-enter the deal under more favourable terms, but Italy, France and Germany have said the Paris accord cannot be re-negotiated.
US Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer on Sunday invited US President Donald Trump to testify before the Senate about his interactions with former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) James Comey.

Id like to invite the president to testify before the Senate. I think we could work out a way that it could be dignified, public with questions with (Senate Republican) Leader (Mitch) McConnell, Schumer told CBS News.

Schumer said Trump could clear up that cloud surrounding his presidency by testifying or publicly releasing tapes he alluded to recording his interactions with Comey.

If there are tapes, he alluded to the fact that there are tapes, maybe as a threat or taunting Comey. He should make them public right away. If there arent tapes, he should let that be known. No more game playing, Schumer argued.

And of course, he said he would testify. So I m inviting him to come testify, and we could work that out, Schumer said, adding they would also consult with Robert Mueller, the special counsel to oversee the probe into the Trump campaigns relations with Russia, before the hearing.

At a press conference on Friday, Trump denied Comeys account that he asked Comey to pledge allegiance or he asked the then FBI director to drop the investigation into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.

Some of the things he said just werent true, Trump said, adding he is 100 per cent willing to speak under oath to give his version of those events.

The Trump administration fired Comey in early May, citing his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation during the 2016 US presidential elections.

But Comey believed that he was fired because of his investigation into Russias ties to the Trump campaign.

I was fired in some way to change, or the endeavour was to change, the way the Russia investigation was being conducted, Comey said on Thursday at a Senate hearing.
A US government official said on Monday US immigration agents are conducting targeted operations to arrest Iraqi immigrants who had been ordered deported after committing serious crimes, the result of a deal struck after Iraq was dropped from a list of countries targeted by President Donald Trumps travel ban.

As a result of recent negotiations between the US and Iraq, Iraq has recently agreed to accept a number of Iraqi nationals subject to orders of removal, said Gillian Christensen, a spokeswoman for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement told Reuters.

While some reports of the arrests came out in recent days, it has not been reported that they were the result of negotiations between the two governments.

The Iraqi embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Christensen said the agency recently arrested a number of individuals, all of whom had criminal convictions for serious crimes. Each of these individuals received full and fair immigration proceedings, after which a federal immigration judge found them ineligible for any form of relief under US law and ordered them removed, Christensen said.

She declined to give more details about the operations because they were ongoing.

Attorneys, activists and family members interviewed by Reuters say ICE officials were arresting people in the Chaldean Catholic community in Detroit, Michigan and Kurdish Iraqis in Nashville, Tennessee over the weekend and last week.

They say they have reports of dozens of arrests so far, but Reuters could not independently confirm all of the cases.

The moves come after the US government dropped Iraq from a list of countries targeted by a revised version of President Donald Trumps temporary travel ban issued in March.

The first version of the ban, signed just days after Trump took office in January, had originally included Iraq along with Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The March order said Iraq was taken off the list because the Iraqi government has expressly undertaken steps to enhance travel documentation, information sharing, and the return of Iraqi nationals subject to final orders of removal.

There are approximately 1,400 Iraqi nationals with final orders of removal currently in the United States.

US officials previously considered Iraq a recalcitrant country because it refused to cooperate with ICEs efforts to remove its nationals from the United States. As of May 2016, it was considered one of 23 countries in that category, along with China, Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia and others, according to congressional testimony by ICE Deputy Director Daniel Ragsdale in July 2016.

At least some of the people who were picked up came to the United States as children and got in trouble with the law, in some cases years ago, according to immigration attorneys and local activists. They had been given an effective reprieve from deportation after serving their sentences because Iraq would not take them back.

Suddenly after years of living their lives and getting past that theyre being greeted by ICE at the door saying that theyre going to be deported to Iraq, said Drost Kokoye, a Kurdish-American community organizer in Nashville, Tennessee home to the countrys largest Iraqi Kurdish population in the country.
Ameet Jogia, an Indian-origin Tory candidate, was allegedly subjected to racial abuse after a racist graffiti was drawn on a wall of a voting booth in his own constituency during the UK polls, according to a media report.

Jogia, who stood against Labours Barry Gardiner in Brent North, was shocked when he came across the graffiti reading Vote Labour Barry, not Jogia. Keep p*kis out of politics in Wembley on June 8.

The 30-year-old was alerted to the message by one of his supporters who spotted it in a polling booth, at The Ascension Church in north London, the metro.co.uk reported.

Jogia, who went to investigate shortly before voting closed, said he was saddened to see the racist message still there.

He said when he first heard about it, he thought it was just a prank, but after seeing it he was left disappointed that no one did anything to take it down.

Jogia allegedly brought it to the attention of a presiding officer but claims they literally just shrugged their shoulders saying it was 10:00 PM and nothing they could do.

I was so angry they had not noticed this message. I wouldnt be surprised if they had turned a blind eye to it!, he added.

Calling it ignorance, Jogia said it was the first time he had ever experienced this type of racism, especially in his constituency, which has a large South-Asian community.

He has since reported it to Brent council and said he will be taking it up with the electoral commission for failing to do anything.

Jogia, who gained 18,435 votes, lost the seat to Labours Barry Gardiner, who received 35,496 votes.

Speaking about the result, he told us: It feels amazing. Im so proud and privileged that over 18,000 people trusted in me.

The general elections have overturned all opinion poll projections of a strong Conservative party majority, recorded the highest turnout in 25 years at 68.7 per cent, with nearly 32 million of the 46.9 million registered voters casting their ballots.

Prime Minister Theresa Mays gamble of calling snap polls spectacularly backfired with the British electorate delivering a hung Parliament and forcing her to seek the support of a small Northern Irish party for staying in power.
Latest reports indicated that Coca-Cola and Pepsi are battling their way to present healthier and fresher face to the public. With this, the two companies are looking forward to serving and sell coconut water which can be a good drawer of customers.

According to QUARTZ, Pepsico was looking forward to acquiring and buy All Market, the company which offers and sells Vita Coco. It can be recalled that Vita Coco is considered nowadays as the leading brand of coconut water.

If the said transaction and sale will happen, Pepsi will have an advantage over Coca-Cola. For the rival company, most consumers are aware that it currently owns the Zico coconut water. In the market, there is a possibility that Pepsi will acquire the global leader in sales of the product.

Coca-Cola and Pepsi have long been rivals when it comes to providing the best and popular beverages and drinks across the globe. But now, it looks like the two companies are aiming to offer another face to the consumers and it has something to do with coconut water.

Apart from this, these two soda companies were also blamed before for providing drinks to the consumers which are indeed detrimental to one's health. It was learned in one study that sugar-heavy products have negative effects not only on Americans but all people in the world most especially with the issue of obesity.

Because of that, some companies were pressured to change their products and some consumers believed that this was the reason Coca-Cola and Pepsi were thinking to have coconut products. Meanwhile, the CEO of Pepsico said that the company is trying to offer products which will be low in sugar with a lot of positive nutrition.

Coca-Cola and Pepsi have no choice but to change and diversify their strategy by selling products other than soda and fruit juices heavy in sugar. If the two companies will also embark on selling coconut water products, it will assure them of an increase in sales as the product is a natural target.

Considering Vita Coco's huge market success Pepsi might be able to gain an advantage over Coca-Cola. But this will only happen if the transaction will be successful too.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The Converse Fastbreak Mid that Michael Jordan laced up for the 1984 Olympic gold medal game against Spain sold for $190,373 at auction over the weekend, setting a new world record.

The previous record was for an autographed, game-worn pair of MJs Flu Game Air Jordan 12s which sold for $104,765.

The kicks, which were reportedly obtained by a ballboy, are believed to be the last sneakers worn by Jordan before turning pro.

Jordan Brand will be commemorating Jordans Converse-wearing days later this month with a special edition pack that includes an Air Jordan 2 and a Converse Fastbreak Mid featuring a UNC colorway.

Check out the upcoming Air Jordan x Converse pack here, and take a look at the $190,373 Converses below.

MJ Converse
Nigel Grainge, the London born music entrepreneur who lived the remainder of his life in LA, was vital for a number of prominent artists, including Thin Lizzy and the Boomtown Rats.

The music industry executive died aged 70 in Santa Monica, California, following complications from a recent surgery, his family has announced.

Grainge, who was the brother of Universal Music boss Sir Lucian, began his music career in the 1970s, working in the accounting department at Phonogram, before being appointed label manager for the US repertoire and then head of A&R, where he began to sign famous acts.

He would then go on to form his own label "Ensign" in 1976 and would eventually sign a whole host of artists ranging from Sinead O'Connor to The Boomtown Rats, Thin Lizzy, The Waterboys, 10cc, World Party, Steve Miller Band, Eddy Grant, The Blue Aeroplanes, and Graham Parker & The Rumour, among many others.

The label would also release several influential reggae and jazz-funk recordings throughout its ten year existence. According to Billboard Magazine, of the first 50 singles released by Ensign, more than half of them charted, which was a virtually unprecedented success for the UK record industry.

Advertisement

A decade later, Ensign was sold to Chrysalis Records, and Grainge embarked on his next venture, a successful publishing company called Dizzy Heights, which was sold to German music company Edel in 2000.

In 2002, Grainge moved to Los Angeles where he served as a consultant to artists, publishers and record companies, as well as a highly sought after lecturer. Grainge served as a consultant on the HBO series Vinyl.

His most recent venture was a Los-Angeles based start-up, TunesMap - an innovative company dedicated to "visualising the world around your favourite music."
SAN FRANCISCO - Uber's board of directors was meeting on Sunday to discuss a leave of absence for Travis Kalanick, the company's chief executive, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.

Separately, the board members will also address the recommendations of Eric Holder's monthslong investigation into the company's culture, a deeply researched look backed by interviews with hundreds of employees. The meeting, which will be held in the Los Angeles offices of Covington and Burling, Holder's law firm, is expected to last for a number of hours before the board makes any decisions on Holder's recommendations. The three people requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak for the company.

One of the recommendations in Holder's report is that Emil Michael, Uber's senior vice president of business and a close confidant of Kalanick's, be asked to leave the company, according to the three people. The board is currently meeting to discuss the firm's recommendations - which will include a series of other sweeping changes at the company - and is expected to vote to accept the firm's findings.

Michael has not resigned nor has yet been contacted to do so, according to a person familiar with the matter, but he is currently evaluating his options for the future.

Uber has spent the better part of the last six months dealing with allegations of sexual harassment from current and former employees. Last week, it emerged that executives mishandled the medical records of a woman raped by an Uber driver. The company also admitted to using software to hide Uber drivers from the law.

'Window dressing'

In the weeks leading up to the meeting, Uber executives have vowed to reset the company. But skeptics of the company's resolve to fix what even Kalanick says is broken are focused on one question: How far is Uber willing to go to change itself?

"Can they use this report as an opportunity to turn the corner?" asked Andrew Gilman, chief executive and founder of CommCore, a crisis communications firm. "Or is this just window dressing on the way to more bad behavior?"

It is a crucial moment for the ride-hailing company, which is privately valued at nearly $70 billion and operates in hundreds of cities around the world. Uber is fighting significant employee attrition, the tens of thousands of drivers it depends on are angry about their pay, and investors are concerned that one of the most well-funded startups in history has come unglued.

Adding to the concerns is the tricky structure of the San Francisco company's board of directors, as well as Kalanick's outsized voting power that, when aligned with board allies, essentially gives him the right to ignore any of the recommendations of the report prepared by a former United States attorney general, Holder.

Uber's board follows a "founder-friendly" governance structure, made popular in Silicon Valley by Google and Facebook. Seven of Uber's nine board members hold so-called super-voting shares, allowing them to have a stronger say in the board room. Four director seats are empty.

Because Kalanick and a handful of close allies hold a majority of these shares, the chief executive's position has remained safe through months of controversy.

This hinges on the continued support of Garrett Camp, Uber's co-founder and chairman, and Ryan Graves, a longtime employee and well-liked Uber executive who is a board member, according to five people familiar with the board's internal workings who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Both have super-voting rights. Other board members with super-voting shares, like Arianna Huffington, are also supportive of Kalanick.

Continues scandals

All of the board members agree that significant changes are needed, but what those changes should be is the question.

Kalanick, through a spokesman, declined to comment.

Employees and close watchers of the company worry that even the most damning conclusions of the Holder investigation could be ignored.

Uber has long been known for its combative, raucous culture. The downside of that environment became clear in February when Susan Fowler, a former Uber engineer, wrote a public blog post detailing her history of sexual harassment and systemic issues with a dysfunctional human resources department.

The scandals kept coming. In March, the tech news site The Information reported that Kalanick and other executives attended an escort bar in South Korea with Uber employees, which later sparked a human resources complaint from an employee who was present.

Uber's reputation became so bad that hiring managers in San Francisco were ordered to stop sending recruiting emails to potential candidates for a number of weeks, according to two people familiar with the matter. The company has since resumed recruiting efforts.

Last week, Uber announced it had terminated 20 employees over harassment, discrimination and other complaints uncovered in a separate internal investigation.
Smiley N. Pool/Staff

Colliers International ranked Houston fourth among U.S. metro areas for volume of industrial transactions in the first quarter of 2017, putting the Bayou City above Northern New Jersey, a major national port area, and suggesting a relatively resilient local economy.

A current boom in industrial real estate has been fueled largely by demand for warehouse space for distribution of consumer goods as retail models shift towards e-commerce. Colliers said industrial real estate was the only real estate sector to post year-over-year sales volume gains last quarter.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 2 1 of 2 Hasan Jamali/STR Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Akos Stiller Show More Show Less



Oil steadied after a third weekly loss as predictions by Saudi Arabia and Russia that crude markets will rebalance vied with signs that U.S. companies are drilling even more wells.

Futures added 1.4 percent in New York after sliding 3.8 percent last week. Inventories are declining and reductions will accelerate in the next three to four months, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said at a briefing in Kazakhstan with his Russian counterpart, Alexander Novak. Russia is committed to doing everything it can to balance the market, Novak said.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have been dating for over a year now and the wedding bell rumors are ringing online.

During a Q&A script-reading session at the ATX Television Festival in Austin on Sunday, the 35-year-old was posed with the personal question of whether she hoped to marry her royal boyfriend. Story continues below.
When Houston chef/restaurateur Claire Smith announced last month that she was temporarily shuttering her popular Shade in the Heights to reconcept the restaurant and menu, details were slim.

We knew the chef: Kent Domas assisted by chef/consultant Jason Vaughn. And we knew the new name: Alice Blue.

But even the name was odd. Who's Alice? Why is she blue? Nothing on Smith's initial press release referenced the name change.

Well, after 3  weeks of being closed to renovate the restaurant and refine the menu, Alice Blue's doors are open. With it comes plenty of new information about the restaurant's post-Shade life, which judging from a first look of the space and Domas' new dishes, should be long and prosperous.

Let's start with that name. Smith, who also owns Canopy and Woodbar in Montrose, is an admirer of Alice Roosevelt Longworth, President Theodore Roosevelt's first child, known as one of the White House's most colorful residents. At 17 she became a fashion icon at her 1902 social debut when she wore a blue colored gown that was known afterward as "Alice blue."

"It's a blue Claire is fond of," said Sean Jensen's the restaurant's consulting beverage manager.

Smith, currently on vacation in France, worked with Carl Eaves, development director for F.E.E.D. TX restaurant group, on the design. It's a sophisticated new look accented by various shades of indigo (baby to cerulean to turquoise to navy, including "Alice blue") offset by lighting, furniture and artwork in white, gray, and other pops of cobalt hues. The entrance has now been re-routed to the side alley patio, and the division between the bar area and the main dining room is more pronounced (the bar has its own seating configurations and lounge area). Overall, it's a striking, beautifully realized design.

The fresh new space is a perfect backdrop for the new menu. Gone is Shade's family globally-inspired Southern fare. In its place Domas, formerly of Down House and Bernadine's, has forged an exciting new direction of French/Italian/Spanish influences grounded in classic European technique.

"We wanted to start something brand new," Domas said. "This doesn't feel like Shade. And we mean that in a good way."

The new menu opens with appetizers such as deep-fried squash fritters (looking like crispy tumbleweeds) with a sumac-spiced yogurt; nubby whipped brandade with garlic toast; cheese and blood sausage fondue with ciabatta; steak tartare on a bed of creme fraiche wearing shavings of freshly grated horseradish and bottarga; and grilled eggplant, pomegranate and pistachio with seeded lavash.

Salads include a bright tomato panzanella salad bolstered with cubed cantelope on a bed of labneh; marinated shrimp and shaved vegetables in citrus vinaigrette; heirloom beans and feta tossed with pine nuts and roasted peppers; and gem lettuce with pickled carrot, celery and croutons with green goddess dressing.

The restaurant is now making its own bread. And pasta, such as tagliatelle married to sweet corn, pancetta and chile oil; cavatelli making nice with tomato, burrata, and nasturtium in smoked butter; and eggplant agnolotti in a lusty dance with goat cheese and sweet peppers.

Domas lavishes even more passion on entrees such as skin-on pork belly served with green farro and peaches in a spiced pork vinaigrette; seared dorade with bok choy and escabeche; snapper, shrimp, and clam bouillabaisse with rouille; roast chicken with chanterelles and potato puree; and New York strip steak with confit potatoes and blistered shishito peppers.

For dessert there's a sweet corn panna cotta with blueberries; a cherry almond tart served with madeira ice cream; and a rum-soaked layer cake with Nutella ganache and buttercream.

The bar's cocktail program holds dear the classics: gin martini, Old Fashioned, Manhattan, Sazerack, Americano, a tequila Paloma, and a mezcal Negroni. Jensen, formerly of Public Services and the hay Merchant, has put together a smart wine list, and Summer Sepeda, formerly of One Fifth and the Pass & Provisions, is leading the restaurant team as general manager.

For now, Alice Blue is dinner only, serving Monday through Wednesday from 5 to 10 p.m., and Thursday through Saturday from 5 to 11 p.m. (closed Sunday). But check back soon: the restaurant plans to begin weekday lunch service followed by Saturday and Sunday brunch. Alice Blue, 250 W. 19th, also has separate vegetarian menus and gluten-free menus. For more information call 713-864-2050; alicebluehouston.com
ICYMI: A baby born without an immune system benefits from lessons learned from Houston's "Bubble Boy" decades ago; a hard-charging new police chief; the quiet resignation of an officer involved in a controversial unarmed shooting; Houston attorneys joining forces with a family battling deportation, a new state initiative attempts to track CPS runaways and more in this week's top investigative and in-depth reporting.

Beyond the bubble: Baby born without an immune system benefits from lessons learned decades ago

Story by Mike Hixenbaugh @Mike_Hixenbaugh; Photos by Mark Mulligan

The doctor's call came in late February when Blanca Romero and her husband brought their third child home from the hospital Newborn Sebastian suffered from a rare genetic disorder made famous by another Houston child - the "Boy in a Bubble," David Vetter, who died at age 12 after making headlines around the world. Knowledge gained from Vetter's tragic case are helping others like Sebastian.

A vicious cycle: CPS runaways often are caught in a troubling cycle

Story by Monica Rhor @monicarhor; Multimedia by Jon Shapley

Angel sat hunched like a shivering puppy, by a sign with arrows pointed in opposite directions and the warning: "My way. The highway." This round-faced 17-year-old is one of many children who ran from a Child Protective Services shelter in Houston, where she had been placed because the state had nowhere else to put her.

As the teenager nibbled on a Pop-Tart, Shitonda Johnson hustled down the hallway on the second floor of the CPS building. Johnson's job is to track down children like Angel - and to try to help them as part of a new state effort. As a special investigator with the Department of Family and Protective Services, she had seen what happens to runaway foster kids. Pimps eager to lure them into prostitution. Men who offer help but deliver sexual assault. A swift descent into homelessness and hunger.

Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle

Officer who shot neighbor last year has resigned

By St. John Barned-Smith @stjbs

Casey Brown was unarmed and in his own yard when his neighbor, off-duty Houston Police Department officer Jason Loosmore, shot him. Loosmore quietly resigned from the department April 11, but remains under criminal investigation and the newly-elected District Attorney has promised his case is getting attention. His resignation was not revealed publicly by HPD until the Chronicle inquired. Last year, a Chronicle investigation found only five of 40 cases involving police shootings of unarmed people from 2010-2016 had resulted in disciplinary action, even after police chiefs found officers had violated policy.

Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle

Man on a Mission: Houston's top cop sets whirlwind pace during first six months

By St. John Barned-Smith @stjbs

The radio crackled with reports of a New Year's holiday shooting in south Houston. Art Acevedo rushed to the scene to find a patrol officer picking up shell casings for evidence.'What are you doing?" the brand new police chief asked.

The patrolman looked up, confused. "Chief, detectives don't come to these scenes unless somebody's dead or on the verge of death," he said.

Acevedo, who had taken charge of the Houston Police Department just a month before, delivered a message to his command staff the next day: No more bankers' hours. The hands-on new chief has made many changes in just six months.

Marie D. De Jesus/Houston Chronicle

Out of Time: Houston lawyers join fight against Salvadoran's deportation

By Olivia P. Tallet @oliviaptallet

Three lawyers arrived in separate cars last Thursday afternoon, pulling up in front of the orange-brick house where Juan Rodriguez and his family live in southeast Houston. They came to offer help. A Houston law firm is offering to intervene in the deportation case of Juan Rodriguez - arguing. The group said people like the Rodriguezes were suffering "devastating family break-ups as a result of an immigration policy and enforcement action morally untempered by prudence.

Read more in the series Out of Time
You might think other Caribbean tourism destinations would be ready to flip their sandals as Cuba's tourism numbers continue to climb.

International visitors to Cuba last year rose by 13.9 percent to a record of just over 4 million, second only to the Dominican Republic (5.96 million). Meanwhile, international tourist arrivals in the Caribbean region as a whole increased 4.2 percent in 2016, according to provisional data from the Caribbean Tourism Organization. Cuban tourism officials are expecting another record year in 2017.

But some Caribbean leaders say they view the Cuban tourism juggernaut not so much as competition, but as a way to raise the profile of the entire Caribbean tourism industry.

"Cuba opening up is a fantastic thing for the Caribbean," said St. Lucia Prime Minister Allen M. Chastanet. "It only strengthens the brand of the Caribbean. It's more important for all of us to be strong partners. The more Jamaica grows, the more potential clients there are for St. Lucia. It's the same with Cuba."

During the first four months of 2017, Cuba received 2 million international visitors, putting it on track to smash last year's record. But Jamaica also was breaking tourism records during the same period. The Gleaner newspaper reported Jamaica had a record winter season, pulling in $1 billion in tourism earnings. Overnight visitors and cruise passengers combined were up 13.6 percent compared to the 2016 winter season.

"Cuba is huge into Latin America, Europe and Canada and now even the United States of America," Chastanet said. "There are a lot of people who haven't come to the Caribbean, and now maybe coming to Cuba will give them the appetite to come to the rest of the Caribbean islands."

A new International Monetary Fund study on the potential impact on the rest of the Caribbean if tourism from the United States to Cuba eventually opens up concludes that one destination's gain isn't necessarily another's loss.

Currently, the United States allows U.S. travelers who fall into 12 categories, such as those making family visits to the island, on people-to-people tours or on religious or humanitarian missions, to visit Cuba. But U.S. regulations still don't allow American travelers to make conventional tourism trips where they just lounge on the beach.

If those travel restrictions are lifted, the IMF paper says, it could result in 3 million to 5.6 million U.S. arrivals in Cuba - with most of the boost coming from new tourists to the Caribbean. Last year, visits by Cuban Americans and other U.S. travelers to Cuba totaled 614,433, a 34 percent increase.

Another recent analysis by The Boston Consulting Group estimated that even with current U.S. restrictions on travel to Cuba, as many as 2 million American travelers could visit Cuba annually by 2025. Even without the recent influx of American travelers, Cuba would still rank as the No. 2 destination in the Caribbean.

While it's still unclear what the administration may do on Cuba travel policy, last month the Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act was reintroduced in the Senate with the support of 55 senators. It would eliminate all travel restrictions for Americans.

THE TRUMP EFFECT

Former President Barack Obama lifted some travel restrictions with Cuba and allowed the first regularly scheduled commercial flights between the United States and Cuba and the first cruises in more than a half-century to go forward under his rapprochement policy.

But it's unclear what U.S. policy toward Cuba might be under President Donald Trump.

Trump, who has been critical of Cuba's human rights record and political system, has said Cuba didn't offer any concessions to the U.S. and that he wants a better deal for this country in its relationship with the island. The president has ordered a review of all of Obama's executive orders on Cuba, and Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said he expects changes in U.S.-Cuba policy at its conclusion.

More than 40 U.S. travel companies and organizations, including the American Society of Travel Agents, the National Tour Association and the United States Tour Operators Association sent a letter to Trump recently urging him not to roll back travel to Cuba. "U.S. travelers to Cuba are the best ambassadors of American society," the letter writers said.

The recent surge in U.S. travel to Cuba, they said, has increased their revenue and allowed them to hire more American workers as well as benefited Cuba's private sector. "We encourage your administration to take note of the wide-ranging U.S. economic benefits and prioritize economic growth and job creation in the review of U.S. policy toward Cuba," the letter said.

U.S. hotel companies also have made it clear they are interested in Cuba as a destination, but their involvement is dependent on U.S. policy going forward. Marriott International, Hyatt, Choice Hotels and Wyndham Hotel Group were among "platinum sponsors" - the highest level of sponsorship - at the recent Latin American Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference in Havana. Hilton was a "gold sponsor."

And just before Obama's 2016 visit to Cuba, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, which has since merged with Marriott International, signed a management agreement to operate two Havana hotels, making it the first U.S. hospitality company in more than a century to crack the Cuban market.

The former Hotel Quinta Avenida hotel in Havana's Miramar section was rebranded a Four Points by Sheraton and has been open since last year. After undergoing renovations, the Hotel Inglaterra was originally scheduled to open as part of Starwood's Luxury Collection last July, but has been delayed.

U.S. policy currently allows American hotel companies to sign management contracts with Cuban tourism entities but they must obtain licenses from the Treasury's U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control.

If the U.S. does at some point allow tourist travel to Cuba, the Caribbean tourism industry's apprehensiveness is "likely unwarranted," the IMF concluded. "The history of tourism in the region has shown that it is possible for all destinations to grow despite large changes in market shares."

But the IMF did note that some destinations are more at risk than others if the United States were to allow unrestricted tourism travel to Cuba because so many of their current visitors come from the United States. The U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos, The Bahamas and Cayman Islands, for example, receive more than 70 percent of their tourists from the United States.

In some ways, the U.S. restriction on tourism to Cuba may have hurt the Miami market, the IMF said. In the interim, Cuba has developed bargain-priced beach resorts that attract large numbers of Canadians.

"One could argue that the U.S. travel restrictions to Cuba have in some ways punished the Miami tourism industry by making Cuba artificially cheap for Canadian tourists (who) would have otherwise vacationed in Miami," said the report. "Hence, a reversal in U.S. policy towards Cuba could potentially be a windfall to Miami." As more Americans visit Cuba, the IMF said, prices there would be expected to rise.

CARIBBEAN TRAVEL CONTINUES TO GROW

Over the past 20 years, with the exception of the Bahamas, tourist arrivals throughout the Caribbean have grown, despite rapid expansion in destinations such as Cancun, the Dominican Republic and Cuba, the IMF report said.

"I don't see Cuba as a threat, and I don't believe the region as a whole sees Cuba as a threat," said Grenada Prime Minister Keith Mitchell. "It's true Cuba has been growing phenomenally in the last year or so. But what has happened in Grenada is that we also have been growing."

Last year, Grenada - known as the Spice Island because of its exports of nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and other spices - welcomed 144,333 tourists, a 2.6 percent increase, and in January, tourist arrivals were up 2.7 percent over January 2016, according to the Caribbean Tourism Organization.

"Cuba being the giant that it's going to be now can help us if we integrate our efforts in the region much more than we have done at this point," Mitchell said. The Caribbean, he said, needs to work together to improve transportation links to the region and marketing.

"I think it's more important than ever that we have a Caribbean brand that we're out promoting," Chastanet said. "The fact is that the Caribbean is only 1.5 percent of the global tourism market."

To confront increased competition from Cuba, the IMF also recommends that Caribbean nations diversify their marketing strategies to attract more visitors from emerging markets in Latin America and says that improving quality and reducing costs, as well as building new partnerships, would be helpful.

For years, Caribbean countries have been talking about jointly marketing the region, but egos, competitive instincts and rivalries have marred the effort and little has come of it.

"Fundamentally it's an old problem. We must stop thinking of our countries individually. We must think of the Caribbean as a whole," Mitchell said.
Eighty-four years before Richard Loving and Mildred Jeter traveled from their home in Virginia to wed in Washington, there was another interracial couple who made the same trip for the sake of love.

On November 4, 1874, the day interracial marriages became legal in the nation's capital, Andrew Kinney, a black man, and Mahala Miller, a white woman, left their home in Augusta County, Virginia, where they lived with their two sons, traveled to the District and married.

They spent 10 days on their honeymoon before returning home to Augusta County, Virginia, where they lived as husband and wife.

Then, in 1877, they were arrested and charged with "lewd and lascivious cohabitation" and violating Virginia's law banning interracial marriage. On February 2, 1878, they were found guilty of miscegenation and fined $500 each.

The case was appealed to the Augusta County Circuit Court, where Andrew Kinney's attorney argued the charges should be dismissed because Kinney's marriage to Mahala was legal in Washington.

But the circuit court refused his argument, ruling that "the said marriage" between the Kinneys was "but a vain and futile attempt to evade the laws of Virginia, and override her well known public policy" against interracial marriage.

Kinney's attorney appealed the case to the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals - the state's highest appellate court.

On October 3, 1878, the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals upheld the state's law prohibiting interracial marriage and affirmed that Virginia law had priority over other jurisdictions.

Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Judge Joseph Christian wrote that marriage, "the most elementary and useful of all" social relations, must be regulated and controlled by the state.

"The purity of public morals, the moral and physical development of both races, and the highest advancement of our cherished southern civilization, under which two distinct races are to work out and accomplish the destiny to which the Almighty has assigned them on this continent," Christian wrote, "require that they should be kept distinct and separate, and that connections and alliances so unnatural that God and nature seem to forbid them, should be prohibited by positive law, and be subject to no evasion."

The court declared in the case of Kinney v. The Commonwealth that the marriage celebrated in the District between Andrew Kinney and Mahala Miller, "though lawful there," was "invalid" in Virginia.

Christian called their marriage "a mere evasion of the laws of this state." The judge ordered that if the Kinneys wanted to maintain their marriage, "they must change their domicile and go to some state or country where the laws recognize the validity of such marriages."

It would take nearly a century to overturn the state's laws against interracial marriage, which had a long history in Virginia. According to the Library of Congress, the Virginia General Assembly approved its first miscegenation law on April 3, 1691, as part of legislation for "suppressing outlying slaves."

The act gave power to sheriffs, deputies and any other "lawful authority" to slay enslaved people who resisted, ran away or refused to surrender upon order. The act, according to Encyclopedia Virginia, also sought to prevent "abominable mixture and spurious issue" by prohibiting mixed-race marriages.

It sought to prevent "Negroes, mulattoes, and Indians intermarrying with English, or other white women." And the act declared "whatsoever English or other white man or woman being free shall intermarry with a negroe, mulatto, or Indian man or woman bond or free shall within three months after such marriage be banished and removed from this dominion forever."

In 1848, the Virginia General Assembly passed legislation making the penalty for white people entering into interracial marriages even more harsh. The sentence was increased from six months to twelve months in prison. A year later, Virginia declared all interracial marriages between black people and white people "absolutely void."

Despite the state law, love could not be stopped. Interracial couples kept marrying. From 1865 to 1870, "more than 24 interracial marriages are reported in the Richmond Enquirer alone," according to Encyclopedia Virginia. The penalty for such marriages remained harsh.

On June 14, 1871, according to the Richmond Daily Dispatch, a white woman discovered living with a black man in Wythe County, Virginia, was "tarred and feathered and exiled from the county."

Over the years, the General Assembly steadily increased its punishment for interracial marriages in Virginia. In 1873, according to Encyclopedia Virginia, the General Assembly passed a law requiring the punishment for interracial marriage to be a year in jail and a $100 fine for the white person. It voted to fine any person officiating an interracial wedding $200.

Five years later - in 1878 - Virginia passed a law again increasing punishments for interracial marriages, requiring both parties to serve from two to five years in the state prison.

It was against this backdrop of harsh punishments that the Kinneys, who eventually had six sons together, went to the District to wed.

According to an 1880 census record, Kinney, a blacksmith, is listed living in Virginia, with Mahala, who is listed in the record as his wife. His age is listed as 45; her age is listed as 40. The census taker indicates Kinney's race as "B." Mahala's race is listed as "W." Their five sons (one son had died by then) ranged in age from 13 to 3. The sons were listed as "Mu," for mulatto. Kinney's "Sist & Law," age 22, is listed as "W."

Seventy-eight years after the Kinneys were listed in the 1880 Census, a sheriff arrested Richard Loving and Mildred Loving and charged them with violating Virginia's miscegenation laws. In Oct. 1958, the Lovings were indicted in Caroline County Circuit Court. Three months later - in January 1959 - the Lovings pleaded guilty, and Judge Leon Bazile suspended their one-year jail sentence if they agreed to leave Virginia and not to return together for decades.

Four years later, while living in the District, Mildred Loving wrote a letter to then-Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, seeking help.

In the letter, Mildred Loving explained: "Dear sir: I am writing to you concerning a problem we have. In 1958, my husband and I were married here in the District. We then returned to Va. to live. My husband is White. I am part Negro and part Indian.

"At the time we did not know there was a law in Virginia against mixed marriages. Therefore we were jailed and tried in a little town of Bowling Green. We were to leave the state to make our home."

The problem, she wrote, was that they were not allowed to visit family in Virginia. "The judge said if we enter the state within the next 30 yrs., that we will have to spend 1 yr. in jail. We know we can't live there, but we would like to go back once and a while to visit our families and friends."

The letter was sent to the ACLU, whose lawyers took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled unanimously on June 12, 1967, that Virginia's laws against interracial marriages violated the 14th Amendment. The ruling overturned laws against interracial marriages in sixteen states.

The Lovings had made history.

- - -

Part of a continuing series about facets of the past that remain relevant.
Marriage between partners of different racial or ethnic backgrounds has been used as a measure of progress since the landmark Loving v. Virginia case 50 years ago struck down a state ban on interracial marriage. Since then, rates of intermarriage have steadily crept upward; by 2015, 17 percent of newlyweds were couples with different backgrounds, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center.

Breaking it down by metropolitan area, some trends emerge. Cities in the western part of the U.S., for example, have some of the highest rates of intermarriage among newlyweds. Asian and Hispanic people are much more likely than white or black people to intermarry, but the rate of intermarriage among black people is the fastest growing in recent years. And intermarriage is more common in metropolitan areas than rural areas, where both attitudes and demographics are markedly different.

The report, authored by Gretchen Livingston and Anna Brown, also cites changing attitudes nationally. "The growth in intermarriage has coincided with shifting societal norms as Americans have become more accepting of marriages involving spouses of different races and ethnicities, even within their own families," they write.

But diversity and changing attitudes don't necessarily mean higher rates of intermarriage. Just look at Houston.

50 YEARS LATER: After Loving, 1 in 6 new couples are racially mixed

The Houston metropolitan area is recognized as the most diverse in the country. Eighty-two percent of Kinder Houston Area Survey respondents said they would approve of a family member marrying someone of a different background, back in 2011, the last time that question was asked. Eleven percent said ethnicity made no difference at all. But only 19 percent of Houston-area marriages between 2011 and 2015 were intermarriages, according to the Pew report. That puts Houston below dozens of metropolitan areas, including Miami, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Austin and other major Sun Belt cities.

Honolulu tops the list, with 42 percent of recent marriages happening between partners of different racial or ethnic backgrounds. Places like Albuquerque, San Diego and Sacramento are all in the high 20s. Rates can also be broken down by specific groups.

So, for example, 34 percent of recently married white people in Honolulu were part of an interracial or interethnic marriage. In Los Angeles, 30 percent of black people married between 2011 and 2015 intermarried. Tampa and Denver both saw the highest percentage of intermarried Hispanic newlyweds at 36 percent. And Chicago's Asian community was the most likely to intermarry, with 35 percent of Asian newlyweds intermarrying.

AP

Houston's rate of intermarriage might be relatively low because its different racial/ethnic communities are so large, argues Jenifer Bratter, a sociologist at Rice University's Kinder Institute for Urban Research. In other words, the communities are large enough that it's relatively easy to marry within them.

"Houston is this place where you have really established communities, and with established communities, you have marriage markets," said Bratter, who studies interracial marriage and racial identity. "There are probably numerically more mixed couples and kids here but in terms of rates, I wouldn't anticipate that it would be higher than other places."

Some diversity allows for the opportunity of intermarriage, but in certain cases a substantial enough population means there's more opportunity to marry someone of the same background. The smallest of Houston's four major ethnicities  its Asian population  also has the highest rate of intermarriage with 22 percent. The white and Hispanic population, meanwhile, marry outside their respective communities at an equal rate of 19 percent. Black people are the least likely to intermarry in Houston, with just 11 percent marrying someone of a different race.

GRAY MATTERS: Why Houston remains segregated

Which demonstrates the next crucial point to understanding these numbers: The context of the metropolitan area matters as well. Though Houston is a diverse city, it's also a historically segregated city, where deep divisions remain evident in the landscape.

"There's a huge role played by just the numbers game and the kind of way in which groups are distributed," said Bratter. "It matters to the opportunities for that kind of contact. I think our cultural story doesn't do a good job of acknowledging that sort of reality. The larger narrative around intermarriage is that it's driven by cultural shifts," she said, citing the Loving case and the belief that younger people will be more open.

"I think it's true people are more open in terms of attitudes; people are generally pretty resistant to saying that they oppose intermarriage. But there's other work that shows if you ask someone how would you feel about someone in your family or yourself (intermarrying), there's more resistance," said Bratter.

Researchers have documented this phenomenon, describing it as a gap between global and personal attitudes. Indeed, in Houston, despite the reported overwhelming support for intermarriage, only 41 percent of respondents said in 2016 that they had ever been in a romantic relationship with someone of a different background.

Leah Binkovitz (@leahbink), formerly of the Houston Chronicle, is now a staff writer for Rice University's Kinder Institute for Urban Research. This post originally appeared on the Kinder Institute's blog, The Urban Edge.





Bookmark Gray Matters. The community is large enough that it's relatively easy to marry within it.


It starts with a 32-once mason jar that is rimmed with frosting and sprinkles and filled with a vanilla milkshake, but that's not where Pasadena's Brain Freeze experience stops.

Gummy stars, gummy frogs, sour punch straws, lollipops, an ice cream sandwich, a strawberry ice cream bar and a mountain of cotton candy round out the sweet shop's signature drink  The Whole Shebang  a $15 rainbow-colored confection that stands almost two feet tall.

It's Brain Freeze's best seller, with wait lines often exceeding more than 20 minutes, Brain Freeze manager Lilia Martinez said. But they didn't always make monstrous treats. In fact, Martinez said the business had humble beginnings as a regular snow cone shop in a small building in Pasadena.

"We started out small about five years ago," said Martinez. "It was just a snow cone shop where we sold regular snow cones  they were good snow cones, but they didn't have all the extra things we put on them now, but we were slow. Business wasn't really picking up so we thought, 'We need to do something.'"

That's when the snow cones started getting bigger.

More Information See More Collapse

"First we started adding gummies," said Martinez. "We started putting more into our menu. By the third year we were adding fruit kabobs to our drinks."

The sweets, along with their architecture, snowballed into the byzantine desserts they are today. Martinez feels that it's no coincidence that the expanding menu and size of their offerings seems to coincide with the growth in business for Brain Freeze.

"What's interesting to me," she said, "is that a lot of our customers don't come from Pasadena. We'll tell people that there's a 20-minute wait and they'll tell us, 'that's ok  we came from an hour away so we're waiting'."

Social media, she said, has been her biggest ally.

"We've noticed that most people hear about us from Facebook and Instagram," she said. "What we have is a lot of word-of-mouth business, which is fantastic."

Social media was exactly brought Reyna Sanchez and her family in from Crosby May 3, after seeing some Candy Land-inspired concoctions on Instagram.

"We like fun drinks," she said. "When we saw that they had different kinds, different flavors with the candy all mixed in we had to come. It makes you want to try all of them."

The draw was similar for Jorge Gaytan, who was at Brain Freeze with his sister and nephew.

"This is my first time here," Gaytan said. "We read about it on Facebook and wanted to check it out  just reading the menu makes your mouth water."

Gaytan and his family drove from Memorial City in Houston  a 40 minute drive  with the specific plan of visiting the local confectioner's.

"We don't have anything like this where we live," he said, "so making the drive was worth it. We wanted to try it out."

But it's not all sweets at Brain Freeze. A medley of hot Cheetos, pickles and Valentina hot sauce, which is a menu item Martinez calls Cheekles, is another big seller for the business.

"We use Valentina hot sauce. There's a big difference between that and tabasco  it's a Mexican hot sauce and the flavor is different  that was an important choice for us," she said.

They also have a pickle juice snow cone sprinkled with hot Cheetos.

"It sounds like a weird combination but it tastes really good. It's for wild people," Martinez laughed. "You have to go to the wild side for that one."

There are also healthy options at Brain Freeze.

"Not everyone can eat a big dessert or drink a milkshake with cotton candy," she said. "People jokingly give us a hard time, but we have carrot juice, fresh fruit, orange juice  a lot of healthy options for people who want to enjoy the shop but can't eat too much sugar."

Brain Freeze is closed for a few months over the winter, typically from October until March.

"The fruit isn't as sweet then and we want to make sure that we're providing the best for our customers."

Currently, the shop is open from noon until 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and are closed on Sunday. The business accepts cash only and is located at 2716 Preston Avenue in Pasadena.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

ACC posts record number of dual degree gradUATES

A total of 131 students from four high schools earned an associate's degree in general studies through Alvin Community College's dual credit-dual degree program as well as a high school diploma, the largest crop of students to do so since the dual credit program started.

The students, from Alvin, Manvel, Dawson and Turner high schools completed 60 hours of college course work through the program, taking classes on their high school campus and any additional courses needed at ACC or online.

Students seeking the associate's degree have increased dramatically since ACC's first dual degree graduate, Thomas Schuenemann, in 2008. Since then, 337 students have graduated from the program.

Currently, there are more than 1,600 students from six high schools enrolled in the program. A seventh high school - Shadow Creek - has been added for the next school year.

This year, many of the top students at Alvin, Manvel and Turner High Schools are also ACC students including: 15 of the top 20 at Alvin, 17 of the top 20 at Manvel and all of the top 10 students at Turner. For more information, visit www.alvincollege.edu/dualcredit, Facebook or Twitter.

FriendswoodRotary fundsyouth exchange ambassadors

Friendswood Rotary is sending three foreign exchange students abroad this summer. Sebastian Bartlett and Macie Robertson are headed to France on a short-term exchange, while Mackenzie Finch will spend a year in Belgium.

D'Jazz Prevel has spent the last school year in Friendswood and is returning to France.

Challenger elementary dedicates library to principal

The Challenger Elementary Parent Teacher Association dedicated a Little Free Library to retiring principal Lisa Nelson at the end of the school year.

The BookBot, named after Nelson, is near the entrance of the school and allows children to take and leave a book at any time. The Little Free Library would not have been possible without the Houston Chronicle for donating an old newspaper vending machine, Foundation for Creative Learning, Sherrill family for creating and implementing the design, Challenger PTA and artist Chris Garcia for painting the space-themed mural.

TxDot proposeswidening of FM 521

Texas Department of Transportation is proposing to widen FM 521 from FM 2234 to Texas 6 in Fort Bend County.

The project proposes to widen the 5.3 mile stretch of roadway from a two-lane undivided highway to a four-lane divided highway and includes adding a raised median, turn lanes, a sidewalk and an overpass on Broadway.

The project will add capacity, improve mobility and traffic safety.

The agency has made the draft environmental documents available for public review and is affording an opportunity for a public hearing on the proposed project. Requests for a public hearing must be submitted in writing on or before June 23 to TxDot Houston District Office, Director of Project Development, P.O. Box 1386, Houston, TX 77251-1386.

Exhibits showing plans for the project and other information are on file and available for inspection Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. at the following locations: TxDot Houston District Office, 7600 Washington Ave. by appointment at 713-802-5513; TxDot Area Office, 4235 Texas 35, Rosenberg by appointment at 281-238-7900; and TxDot Area Office, 1033 E. Orange, Angleton by appointment at 979-864-8500.

Alvin author haschildren's book published

Alvin writer Janice Frankum recently had her new children's book "I'm Not You & You're Not Me" published.

The 36-page paperback book explores the lives of three year-old twins, Rachel and Erika, who differ in so many ways but have one thing they agree on - their love of their grandpa.

Frankum uses her own experience as grandmother of twin girls, born in 1992, to tell the story. Frankum and her husband Floyd "Bubba" owned and operated Dixieland Antiques before retiring. Now they work together, creating useful things out of leftovers from their antiquing days.

Published by RoseDog Books of Pittsburgh, the book sells for $16 and is available at www.rosedogbookstore.com

Houston Methodist St. Johnwelcomes new physicians

Houston Methodist St. John Hospital added two new physicians to its roster. Board certified otolaryngologists Alfredo Jimenez, M.D, and Melissa Hu, M.D., have joined Houston Methodist ENT and Facial Plastic Surgery Associates, now open on the hospital's campus.

Jimenez treats pediatric and adult ear, nose and throat disorders. He has an established pediatric practice for ear tubes, tonsil surgeries and tongue ties. He also manages sleep apnea, swallowing and voice problems, hearing loss and balance problems.

In addition to general otolaryngology, Hu is board-certified in facial plastic surgery, with expertise in rhinoplasty and skin cancer reconstruction. She also offers a broad range of cosmetic procedures, manages advanced sinus diseases and performs balloon sinuplasty.

Jimenez and Hu are joined by audiologist Carrie Raz, who provides diagnostic services for hearing loss, balance disorders and vertigo. She also fits patients for hearing aids and other forms of hearing amplification.

Houston Methodist ENT and Facial Plastic Surgery Associates is located at 18100 St. John Drive, Suite 240. Visit houstonmethodist.org/stjohn for more information. To find a Houston Methodist St. John physician visit houstonmethodist.org/appointments or call 281-333-8899.

COM graduates 41 nursing students

After more than 1,660 hours of clinicals, classes and labs, 41 students in the College of the Mainland Associate Degree Nursing Program have graduated ready for service.

Two students received awards for their outstanding work. Julianna Cody, of Dickinson, received Student of the Year Award, and Crystal Gant, of Houston, received the Outstanding Clinical Performance.

Gant completed clinicals at facilities, including Michael DeBakey VA Medical Center and a capstone course at the University of Texas Medical Branch, where she shadowed nurses. Gant hopes to serve in an intensive care unit.

The nursing program helps each student succeed through faculty mentors for each student, interactive labs and group and individual tutoring at no cost.

League City seeks to issuebonds for new projects

League City is proposing to fund projects identified in the 2017 to 2021 Capital Improvement Plan through the issuance of certificates of obligation.

If approved, the proposed bond issue will fund $13.47 million in city projects. The project would include construction of the Ervin connector; design of the new animal shelter and fire and emergency medical services station No. 6; utility relocations and park improvements related to the downtown revitalization project; the west side well and booster pump station and waterline; the southeast service area water trunks; the north service area 16-inch water line at Grissom; annual sanitary sewer rehabilitations; annual lift station improvements; improvements for Countryside #1 Lift Station; and improvements to the Dallas Salmon Wastewater Treatment Plant effluent discharge.

Total cost for the certificates of obligation include $4.93 million for tax supported projects, $8.33 million for revenue supported projects and approximately $210,000 for the cost of issuance. In addition, the proposed certificates of obligation include Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone No. 4 borrowing $4.5 million to fund payments to the developer for costs related to the extension of League City Parkway and Maple Leaf Drive in conjunction with the Westwood Development.

City Council was to hold a public hearing and vote on the bond issue on June 13. Visit www.leaguecity.com/bondissue for more information.

Seabrook again ranks asone of safest cities in Texas

The city of Seabrook has been ranked as one of the 50 safest cities in Texas for the third year in a row by SafeWise, a security system company.

In SafeWise's annual report Seabrook was ranked 35th. This is the third consecutive year Seabrook has ranked in the top 50 of the report.

Overall, 80 percent of this year's safest cities reported fewer than ten robberies; 96 percent reported fewer than five arsons; and 20 percent reported zero incidents of rape. To compile this report, SafeWise used the most recent FBI crime data to analyze and rank Texas cities that have a minimum population of 10,000 people.

"The devoted men and women in our department approaches public safety through community policing principles of public trust, community partnerships and services," Police Chief Sean Wright said.

The Seabrook Police Department pledged to continue to improve their "Safe and Secure City" initiatives each year. For more information, visit. www.safewise.com/home-security/tx

Newest COM trusteewants to give back

Getting elected to College of the Mainland board of trustees on May 6 is a way that Don Gartman, a strong believer in community colleges, can pay forward his own good fortune and give back to the educational community.

"Your degree from a community college can be rewarding to your career, or it can be a stepping stone toward a four-year degree at a major university, without the large debt," Gartman said.

No one in his family had gone to college, and it didn't look like Gartman would be going either. His career began when he joined the Army three days after high school graduation. After military service, he worked various construction jobs and with the City of Austin electrical utility department.

It wasn't until the foreman on the site he was working told him he was too smart to work outside and needed to get a degree. In June 1966, Gartman earned a bachelor of business administration degree from Southwest Texas State University, with a major in business management and minor in economics.

Gartman said the foreman changed his life.

Gartman went on to hold a number of executive positions with Houston Lighting and Power, Reliant Energy and CenterPoint Energy. From 1995 to 2002, he was chairman, president and chief executive officer of "EDESE," an electric distribution company in Argentina that was recently purchased by Reliant Energy. In 2004, he helped restructure and develop the Galveston County Economic Alliance and created the Galveston County Economic Alliance Foundation that sponsors the Galveston County Small Business Development Center.

Since retiring from a 36-year career in the electric utility industry, Gartman has been active with Rotary, Chambers of Commerce and numerous other service organizations over the years.

A family man, Gartman likes to relax at his 68-acre cattle and hunting ranch near Goliad.

Morgan's Point has openingfor full-time police officer

The City of Morgan's Point Police Department is currently accepting applications for a full-time police officer position. Qualified applicants must be TCOLE certified, hold a current Basic Peace Officer Certification and have a minimum of three years patrol experience.

Applicants are subject to screening and testing prior to employing, including but not limited to; a physical exam, drug screening and thorough background investigation. Salary starts at $45,795 for the first year and increases yearly per salary schedule. Other benefits and incentives are offered.

Applications can be obtained online at www.morganspoint-tx.com or in person at 1415 E. Main, Morgan's Point. Applications will be accepted by mail, in person, by fax and email to the City of Morgan's Point Police Department.

For more information, call 281-471-2171, or email Sgt. Richardson at brichardson@morganspoint-tx.com.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

President Donald Trump will not unconditionally cooperate with special counsel Robert S. Mueller's recently opened investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 campaign and any possible coordination with the Trump campaign, a lawyer for Trump signaled on Sunday.

Jay Sekulow also questioned the appropriateness of Mueller's advance review of the prepared testimony that former FBI Director James B. Comey delivered last week to the Senate Intelligence Committee.

While noting that Trump said Friday that he would answer Mueller's questions under oath, Sekulow declined to rule out firing the widely praised Mueller, who preceded Comey as FBI director.

"The president is going to seek the advice of his counsel and inside the government as well as outside," Sekulow said on ABC's "This Week," adding: "I'm not going to speculate on what he will or will not do."

Sekulow's position points out the complexity created by the parallel congressional and criminal investigations into what happened during the campaign and afterward. Mueller's inquiry may also now include questions about whether Trump tried to influence the FBI investigation.

Comey has made it clear that he vetted his prepared Senate testimony with Mueller and his aides to avoid revealing information that might compromise the special counsel's ongoing pursuit of possible criminal wrongdoing.

Yet by vetting his testimony, Comey provided Trump's defense team an opening to question his coziness with Mueller. The two worked together during the George W. Bush administration, when Comey was deputy attorney general and Mueller was FBI director, a position he kept until late 2013, when Comey succeeded him.

"What is the role of the special counsel here?" said Sekulow, who is chief counsel for the Washington-based American Center for Law & Justice. "The special counsel allowed James Comey to testify. James Comey said he reviewed his testimony with the special counsel. I think this is unprecedented."

Comey, in his appearance before the Senate committee Thursday, said Trump pressured him to end the FBI's investigation of Michael Flynn, shortly after Flynn resigned as the president's national security adviser. Flynn was forced out after the Washington Post reported that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence about Flynn's contacts during the presidential transition with Russia's ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak.

On Friday, Trump disputed some of Comey's recollections and denied that he had in any way sought to obstruct the investigation.

The conflicting characterizations invite a contest between the credibility of the president and the man he inherited as FBI director.

When asked Friday about the existence of recordings of his conversations with Comey, Trump said he would provide the answer "within a fairly short period of time," adding, "Oh, you're going to be very disappointed when you hear the answer. Don't worry."

Sekulow declined Sunday to commit Trump to releasing any recordings. "That's a decision that the president will make in consultation with his chief lawyer, Marc Kasowitz," Sekulow said, adding that Trump would "address it next week."

Three senators said Sunday that Trump should now divulge or acknowledge any such recordings.

"If there are tapes - and the president's equivocal on this - bring those tapes forward," Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said on CNN's "State of the Union." Feinstein is on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

"He should give a straight yes or no answer to the question of whether or not the tapes exist," said another committee member, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. "I don't understand why the president doesn't clear the matter up."

Appearing on CBS's "Face the Nation," Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York said, "He should make them public right away. If there aren't tapes, he should let that be known. No more game playing."
Battleship Texas faces one of its most challenging conflicts to date  staying afloat as old age and decay chip away at its supports. Officials say the current crisis further exhausts any time they have remaining to save the ship from being entrenched in Buffalo Bayou.

On Sunday, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials closed Battleship Texas after emergency crews reported a leak in the ship about 8 to 10 inches wide.

Water gushing into the ship has caused it to tilt to one side.

Theres no word yet on when the exhibit will reopen or what caused the leak, but the ship is no stranger to such conditions. Officials liken the current leak to an outbreak of leaks in 2012 that forced park officials to close the museum for three months.

That year crews rushed to patch more than 90 leaks and spent more than $2 million to save the vessel.

The ships dire situation has caught the attention of state officials who have unsuccessfully pleaded with the U.S. Congress to help with rehabilitation costs. The long-term plan is to take the ship out of the water.

At 105 years old, the battleship's supports under the engines are deteriorating, causing the vessel to leak periodically.

READ ALSO: Happy berth day to the Battleship Texas

This is a fight between water and steel and water always wins that fight, said Bruce Bramlett, Battleship Texas Foundation executive direction. Hopefully, this is the wake up call we need to stop spending money on patch jobs and water pumps and to focus on getting her out of the water.

But plans to repair the ship and exhibit it in an out-of-water setting were put on hold after officials of the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife, which operates the vessel, learned the undertaking would cost approximately $70 million.

Battleship Texas has a long history of dealing with leaks.

READ ALSO: The Battleship Texas played a big, booming part at D-Day 70 years ago

In 2010 the battleship, which has been moored at the San Jacinto Battleground since 1948, underwent emergency repairs and pumping to prevent it from sinking.

In 2012, millions were spent to pump water out of the ship and to patch a series of debilitating leaks. At that time, the ship was closed for about three months, Bramlett said.



In 2013 park crews discovered about four fist-sized leaks throughout the course of the year. Following those leaks, in 2014, the Texas Park and Wildlife documents show the battleship underwent ultrasonic testing and corrosion analyses.



The engineering firm that conducted the analyses concluded that the battleship contained corroding "hot spots" and concluded that the ship's protective coating system needs to be replaced it the ship is to remain in its current berth at the Battleship Basin.

This story is developing.
Houston's suburbs are booming and that means new residents deciding where to raise their children and what schools to send them to.

While public schools largely study the same curriculum, not all perform the same.

Children at Risk, a nonprofit organization that studies Texas' public education system, recently released its annual rankings for the Lone Star State's best elementary, middle and high schools.

IN THE LOOP: Ranking HISD's best schools

Their data show that even schools within the same district can vastly differ in the quality of their education.

In order to rank the schools, researchers examined standardized test scores, high school graduation rates and participation rates in advanced placement courses.

In addition, researchers compared campuses across the state with similar levels of poverty to eliminate bias against economically disadvantaged schools.

SUBURB THEFTS: The strange things people steal

Dozens of school districts in the Houston area were ranked against each other, as well as schools around the state.

The new data can serve as an interesting tool to narrow down the cream of the crop when it comes to public education.

Click through above to see the Houston-area suburbs' best elementary, middle and high schools.
Published June 11, 2017

The three lawyers arrived in separate cars last Thursday afternoon, pulling up in front of the orange-brick house where Juan Rodriguez and his family live in southeast Houston.

They came to offer help.

Rodriguez has to appear before Immigration and Customs Enforcement on June 29 to be deported, and the clock is ticking. For his family  his wife, Celia, and their three daughters, Karen, Rebecca and Kimberly  the days are moving too fast, and the nights are restless.

Timidly, each of the Rodriguezes shook hands with each of the three men, all dressed in black suits, and they made introductions.

The lawyers are members of the Hispanic Bar Association of Houston and partners in the law firm Chamberlain Hrdlicka.

David Calvillo, a civil trial lawyer, brought a watermelon and offered it to Celia, along with a story from his childhood.

Calvillo said he grew up in the town of Weslaco, near the border with Mexico. When his father brought watermelons to the house, it was a celebration, a way to appease the incessant Texas heat.

Calvillo said he was bringing the gift to the Rodriguezes to celebrate two things. One was Karen's recent graduation from Cristo Rey Preparatory. The other, he hoped, would be a fruitful meeting that night. The men had a proposition to make.

In the living room, the family piled together on a large couch. Calvillo and Juan Vasquez sat in the loveseat.

David Medina, a former justice of the Texas Supreme Court, took a seat in the large armchair. When he began to speak, everyone fell silent.

David Calvillo attorney at law and senior counsel at the Chamberlain Hrdlicka law firm, former Texas Supreme Court Justice David Medina and Juan F. Vasquez, Jr. Chamberlain Hrdlicka law firm shareholder share a snack with the Rodriguez family at their home in Houston, Thursday, June 8, 2017. less David Calvillo attorney at law and senior counsel at the Chamberlain Hrdlicka law firm, former Texas Supreme Court Justice David Medina and Juan F. Vasquez, Jr. Chamberlain Hrdlicka law firm shareholder share a ... more Photo: Marie D. De Jesus, Houston Chronicle Photo: Marie D. De Jesus, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 7 Caption Close OUT OF TIME 1 / 7 Back to Gallery

The day before, the Hispanic Bar Association had issued a statement calling for community action to prevent Juan's deportation.

The group said people like the Rodriguezes were suffering "devastating family break-ups as a result of an immigration policy and enforcement action morally untempered by prudence."

Until February, Juan had benefited from prosecutorial discretion. He regularly checked in with ICE, so agents could affirm that he was not causing trouble.

His story is like thousands of others.

He came to the United States in 2001, to reunite with Celia and their then 2-year-old daughter Karen. Celia and Karen had come to Houston with resident visas sponsored by Celia's parents, who are American citizens. A coyote led Juan from his native El Salvador up through California, but he was detained by authorities as he traveled from there to Texas.

He was released, with the understanding that he would file a petition for temporary protected status. The petition was later denied.

A New America Keep up with the latest immigration coverage here. To see more stories about the Rodriguez family, go here. And to see what the Rodriguezes are going through in photos, go here. FIEL Houston has created a website  www.fielhouston.org/Rodriguez  to gather support for the Rodriguez family. The lawyers are asking local residents to contact them, and share their own stories, via email at FamiliesUnited@HisBAHouston.com.

The lawyer who represented him at the time had the wrong dates on paperwork and did not introduce the required documents in time for Juan's court hearing, according to FIEL Houston, an organization that supports immigrant families.

He faced voluntary deportation, but Celia begged him to stay.

By then, she was pregnant with Rebecca. She could not imagine herself alone with the two girls or how she would make ends meet on a janitor's salary.

Everyone said that if Juan left, it would be years before they'd be together again.

People told Celia not to worry, that soon there would be immigration reform, pushed then by President George W. Bush. That's what was in the papers and on the TV news, Celia remembers. "It was just around the corner, and everything was going to be all right," she said.

Juan was arrested again at the end of 2005 and detained for three months, but later released on humanitarian grounds. Soon after, he began his visits with ICE.

Raed Gonzalez, Juan's current lawyer, said President Donald Trump's tougher stance on undocumented immigrants has pushed ICE to work without mercy.

On Friday, Gonzalez went to court to file a petition for the cancellation of Rodriguez's removal and was told that Juan must present the petition himself. Gonzalez, however, would not allow Juan to go personally. He feared that the deportation order could be sped up and Juan immediately taken into custody. The lawyer is planning to ask for the Stay on the same date of the deportation.

"I do not trust the authorities nowadays," he said.

The Hispanic Bar Association was drawn into the case after reading about the family in the Houston Chronicle. It created a group  The Families United Committee  to evaluate legal strategies for a lawsuit. But the association decided to focus not on Juan, but on his children.

A lawsuit filed on their behalf could have national repercussions, benefitting children in similar situations around the country. They are trying to quickly craft a novel argument, since there is no legal precedent. The lawyers are working pro bono.

Vasquez, a father of four, said the family's story "hits incredibly close to home."

He is troubled by the idea of the girls without a loving father.

"I cannot imagine my own children without me," he said.

Over the last few days, the three lawyers traded text messages. They were heartbroken and inspired. This was unacceptable, they felt. They had to do something.

Medina, a Republican appointed to the state's highest court by former Gov. Rick Perry, feels this is more of a moral issue than a political one. All three men are devout Christians, they say, and proud Americans. They expect their case to include an argument about this country's religious and immigrant foundations.

"It's easy to do nothing and think that someone else is going to take care of the problem," Medina said, but "we have the duty to stand up for these people."

At the Rodriguez home on Thursday night, the family spent time talking with the lawyers, sharing the details of their story and growing less nervous as the time passed.

A bond was formed.

Medina asked if he could offer a prayer.

They held hands and stood in a circle around the den's coffee table.

Medina asked God to provide strength to the family and wisdom to the lawyers.

Juan then offered his own prayer, starting with "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name...Thank you, Lord, for sending us these great blessings. I thought we were alone, my Lord, and today, I realize that you have everything under control."

Juan thanked the lawyers for their "love and mercy."

Later, Celia gently asked permission to say another prayer. She didn't want to keep the lawyers too long, she knew they were important people.

Celia swallowed several times, choking on her tears. Finally, she uttered: "God. Father. Thank you, Lord, for your mercy."

For a moment, she couldn't continue. There was silence. Then Celia recovered.

"All these days, Father, I asked youI asked you, Lord, to put righteous people in our way. I asked you to help us, God, and you are answering our prayers....We ask you, Father, that as you bless us, bless all the people who are willing to help us, Father. Protect them, Father, bless them at all times. Stay with us, our Lord, in You we trust. Amen."

Before saying goodnight, Celia cut the watermelon into big pieces.

Medina sprinkled his with Tajin, a spicy chile pepper with lime and salt, just like he used to as a child. His family once grew watermelons in their backyard in Hitchcock, down the road from Galveston.

Before they left, the lawyers reminded Karen about paperwork she'd need to bring to their office the next day. There, they would strategize, along with the leaders of FIEL, Cesar Espinosa y Alain Cisneros, and Peter Tumminello, one of the presidents of Southern Company, where Karen is working as an intern. He and members of his staff are contacting local and national politicians and religious leaders.

Medina calls it the battle of our community.

They must move quickly, because time is the enemy now.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

A Texas Syndicate gang member with some recognizable face tattoos has been captured in Alma, Georgia.

According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, Agapito Salinas, 45, was arrested on Thursday.

FACE TATTOOS: Florida man's wild tattooed mugshots stun the internet

Salinas was wanted for parole violation. The U.S. Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force in Georgia took the gang member into custody. Deputies from the Bacon County Sheriff's Office and the Appling County Sheriff's Office assisted in the arrest.

Salinas had been wanted since April 2015. In 2003, he was convicted in Dallas County of aggravated robbery and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. In the 1990s, Salinas served time in prison for multiple drug and burglary convictions.

A reward of $12,500 was offered for information leading to the arrest of Salinas. However, since the arrest was not the result of tip information received through Texas Crime Stoppers, no reward will be paid.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

There's a quote out there on the internet that goes like this: "Freedom is lost gradually from an uninterested, uninformed and uninvolved people."

Widely attributed to Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, officials at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation in Virginia told us it is a "spurious" quote. Their reference librarian is on the case to track down its origin.

"It appears that everyone online thinks TJ said this, but no one can say when or to whom," said the foundation's editorial staff in an email.

Amid the decline in knowledge of U.S. history among high school and college students, the "quote-gate" offers a timely display of the widespread ignorance among Americans about our nation's founding.

According to the most recent reports from the National Assessment of Education Progress, which periodically tests students in grades four, eight and 12 in broad subject matters, just 20 percent of fourth graders, 18 percent of eighth-graders and 12 percent of 12th graders performed at or above grade-level proficiency when it came to U.S. history.

Non-students, we suspect, would not fare much better, if recent events are any indication. For example, it was a bit astonishing when President Donald Trump showed his basic misunderstanding of the Civil War, slavery's roles in creating the conflict and the fact that President Andrew Jackson, whose portrait is now on prominent display in the Oval Office, was not an abolitionist.

Equally egregious misunderstandings of history also have been demonstrated by newly minted appointees to Trump's Cabinet, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Dr. Ben Carson as well as White House press secretary Sean Spicer.

Everyone can and needs to gain a better understanding on how past examples of a changing society are key to understanding a new day. That's why we encourage everyone this summer to visit a bookstore or local library, check out a book, or even sign up for the library's summer reading program. You might even consider diving in to the Federalist, a collection of op-eds written to newspapers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay, arguing for ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

There are myriad reasons to do it, one of which we offer from a 1998 essay on the American Historical Association website: "A study of history is essential for good citizenship. ... History that lays the foundation for genuine citizenship returns, in one sense, to the essential uses of the study of the past."

Jefferson, who served as this nation's third president, certainly wouldn't argue with that quote.
Special session

Regarding the photo of Gov. Abbott calling for a special legislative session (Page A1, Wednesday), I've got to ask: at whom is he shaking his finger? Is it at the women, who despite his disapproval insist on their right to make their own medical choices regarding their bodies? Is he outlining his continued vendetta against Planned Parenthood, an agency that has long provided routine, affordable medical care for many women? Is he admonishing transgender people, who just want to go to the bathroom, preferably to the one they deem they fit best?

Is he warning Texas cities, who prefer to make regulations that protect their interests regarding policing, ridesharing, mobile phone use while driving, tree removal and other environmental issues, that he is the boss?

Is he telling the teachers that yeah, we'll give you a $1,000 raise but won't put up money for it so you'll be scrambling for resources at work, and by the way, we think it best that you can't deduct union dues from your paycheck?

Maybe he's warning school districts that he's giving a handout of two or three thousand dollars of taxpayer money to anyone who claims a special need to use toward a much more expensive private school. Perhaps that wagging finger is his final threat against the perpetrators of mail-voting fraud, which though practically nonexistent will be addressed in the special session.

I'm hoping that he is warning Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick that he is the big dog in the governor's mansion. Then the two of them can fight it out and the more reasonable legislators can use their time wisely in this $800,000-plus, taxpayer-funded special session to solve some of the many real problems we face in this state.

Margaret Sweeney,Houston

Squabbling

Regarding "Special session ruins summer plans" (Page A3, Thursday), as the governor calls a special session for July, at a cost to taxpayers of $800,000, our legislators whine about missing conferences and lost vacations.

I have a very hard time finding sympathy for any of the parties involved. That Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick could hold the Legislature and governor "hostage" over a bathroom bill is beyond belief. With the stellar exception of House Speaker Joe Straus and a few others, our governing body in Austin spent the majority of the session arguing and squabbling with each other.

I have taught preschool for nearly 20 years. Perhaps our state government needs to come to my class and learn how to get along and work things out. We elected them to pass legislation benefiting all Texans. This, they failed to do. Let's hope we see a rejection of the bathroom bill and passage of important bills in July.

Kathy Grundy, Houston

Paris accord

Regarding "Cities, firms step up to fight climate change" (Page A17, Wednesday), the only thing that's going to change after President Trump withdraws America from the Paris climate agreement is the U.S. no longer will give billions and billions of dollars to other countries to fight climate change.

The business leaders and mayors of cities have stepped up to the plate and said that they will continue the fight on climate change. Well, that's what they should have been doing all along without the United States sending all that money (my tax dollars) to foreign countries!

Lillian Shaver, Sugar Land
Too many Texas legislators think their job is to benefit the people who make money off of housing, not the residents who live in it.

In this state, a legislative session is usually a windfall for landlords, developers and builders and a gut punch for low-income residents, especially renters. The session that just ended was no exception.

Legislators filed dozens of bills written by wealthy special interests to drive up rents, stack the deck against tenants in court, block local initiatives to build more affordable housing and otherwise make the already difficult task of finding a decent place to live in Texas even harder.

Make no mistake - this state is in the middle of a housing-affordability crisis. More than a third of Texans are renters. Yet there's a statewide shortage of more than 677,000 rental units affordable for low-income households, one of the worst deficits in the nation. The situation is especially dire in our major cities, where renters outnumber homeowners and housing deficits are growing daily.

Session after session, the Texas Legislature ignores this crisis - or finds ways to make it worse.

Lawmakers didn't do anything to try to help families afford their rent and avoid eviction. They took no interest in alleviating the severe cost burdens that force 72 percent of extremely low-income Texans to spend more than half their incomes on housing. Nearly every bill filed to address resident issues went nowhere fast.

Meanwhile, legislators fell over themselves to pass a bill, proposed by millionaire developers, to allow construction of even more low-income housing on cheap land near low-quality schools. They prohibited tenants from disputing unfair water charges in court, allowing landlords to charge whatever they want with little consequence. They tried to hike renter late fees and blocked attempts to give tenants more notice about rent increases or make it easier for them to pay rent electronically.

State lawmakers also don't want cities to solve their own housing problems, echoing owner fears that profits would be jeopardized. Last session, the Legislature banned local efforts to stop landlords from discriminating against people with housing vouchers. Now wide majorities in the House and Senate have voted to prevent municipal fees that could have generated tens of millions of dollars to build more affordable housing. And several attempts to expand local tools to preserve affordable land and prevent displacement were crippled or shot down.

Texas' large-scale housing problems remain entirely unsolved. The state has not dedicated new resources to its already meager housing production fund in years, starving programs that create homes for residents in rural areas, veterans and people with disabilities. Many of the farmworkers fueling our state's economy live in inhumane conditions, crowded by the dozens into unsanitary rooms, but the state hasn't fined or enforced a violation against any facility in more than a decade. Hundreds of thousands of Gulf Coast residents, especially low-income families unable to rebuild on their own, remain vulnerable to years of displacement if a hurricane strikes due to the incredibly slow, expensive and inequitable way Texas administers disaster housing recovery.

The for-profit housing industry had another successful session at the Texas Capitol. But millions of lower-income residents have once again been left wondering: What about us?

Henneberger is co-director of the Austin-based Texas Low Income Housing Information Service and a 2014 MacArthur fellow. He wrote this commentary for TribTalk.org.
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft will visit Houston today to discuss Missouris new voter ID law.

{{tncms-inline account=MissouriSOS html=<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Looking forward to continuing to visit with <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MOvoters?src=hash">#MOvoters</a> about <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ShowIt2Vote?src=hash">#ShowIt2Vote</a> next week! Learn more at <a href="https://t.co/c9JTchuYAS">https://t.co/c9JTchuYAS</a>. <a href="https://t.co/4zcZUU1Zp1">pic.twitter.com/4zcZUU1Zp1</a></p>&mdash; Missouri SOS Office (@MissouriSOS) <a href="https://twitter.com/MissouriSOS/status/873320337274011651">June 9, 2017</a></blockquote> id=873320337274011651 type=twitter}}

Ashcroft is stopping Monday, June 12, at the Houston Storm Shelter as part of a statewide Voter ID Informational Tour. The meeting begins at 10 a.m.

In November 2016, Missourians passed Constitutional Amendment 6 to approve photo voter ID and, this year, the Secretary of States Office has and will continue to work closely with local election authorities and poll workers statewide to effectively implement the new law.

We heard the voice of Missouri voters loud and clear in November and have worked diligently to implement photo voter ID, Ashcroft said If youre a registered voter, you can vote. Its important that we protect the integrity of our elections by ensuring that every vote counts, but only once.

Public Service Announcements also began airing on radio and television networks across the state informing Missourians of the new voter ID law.

Ashcroft asked voters who do not have a photo ID to vote to call the Show It 2 Vote Hotline at 866-868-3245.

If a voter does not have a government-issued photo ID, such as a Missouri driver license, non-driver license, U.S. Passport, or U.S. Military ID, the voter can provide other documents, such as a Voter Registration Card, and sign a statement that affirms his or her identity. If the voter has no documents available, he or she may cast a provisional ballot. That ballot counts if the voter brings an acceptable photo ID back to the polling place that day, or if the signature matches the signature on file with local election officials.
Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print.

Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition.

If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create.
Canadians and Americans agree on one thing: Airlines suck.

Roughly two-thirds of people in both countries agreed that the airline industry is dysfunctional in a new poll from the Angus Reid Institute.

Respondents were asked whether they saw airlines as working well, with competition leading to the best combination of prices and service, or whether they saw it as broken and operating like a cartel.

Advertisement

The survey, which Angus Reid funded itself, was carried out from May 24-28, in the wake of the infamous passenger-dragging incident on a United flight at Chicagos OHare International Airport.

That was followed by several other stories reflecting poorly on airlines, including an incident in Charlottetown, P.E.I., in which a 10-year-old boy travelling with his family was bumped off an Air Canada flight to Costa Rica.

The incident led to a few changes in the industry, with United upping the amount of money it offers bumped passengers, and Southwest announcing it would no longer overbook flights.

Advertisement

Where Canadians and Americans differed is on what to do about the airline industry. While nearly two-thirds of Canadians agreed that stricter government regulations would help, only 37 per cent of Americans agreed.

The survey found that, among Americans, United scores the worst on passenger satisfaction, with Southwest and Jetblue coming out on top among major airlines.

Perhaps surprisingly, among Canadian respondents, Air Canada scored worse than United did among American respondents.

Advertisement

Seventeen per cent of Canadian respondents said they had a poor or terrible experience with Air Canada, compared to 12 per cent of Americans who felt that way about United.

Shachi Kurl, executive director of the Angus Reid Institute, suggests that this has to do in part with the greater degree of consolidation in Canadas airline industry than in the U.S. After all, Canada has only two major airlines.

For many routes, chances are you are dealing with Air Canada, she told HuffPost Canada.

Canadians, overall, seem somewhat more pessimistic about the airline industry as a whole. For instance, 76 per cent north of the border agree that the negative media coverage of United and other airlines shows that airlines have a serious problem with customer service, but a smaller majority (66 per cent) of Americans agree.

Advertisement

If Canadians are more negative about their airlines, it may simply be due to a lack of experience with U.S. airlines, Kurl suggested.

They havent seen how no-frills or how just stripped-down it can get, she said, adding that shes inferring from personal experience.

It could just be that Canadians dont have a sense of how much worse it might be.

The Most Important Stories Sent To You 'The Daily Brief' connects you with our best stories sent right to your inbox.

Follow HuffPost Canada on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Its time to drop any negativity around the Canadian economy, Bank of Montreal economist Benjamin Reitzes declared in a client note Friday.

Elated by new numbers showing Canada had added a stellar 77,000 full-time jobs in May, Reitzes argued that even though doubters remain  the data are all but overwhelming at this point.

Advertisement

Canadas economy has grown at a 3.5-per-cent pace over the past three quarters, a rate generally not seen since the good old days before the Great Recession of 2008-09. Quebec just recorded its lowest unemployment rate on record. Nationwide, there are 1.8 per cent more jobs today than a year ago, well above population growth.

So why are so many experts  from the Bank of Canada to the OECD to private economists  sounding so concerned about the risks in Canadas economy today?

Simply put, its because theyre worried that the growth is coming from the wrong place. Rather than coming from business investment across various sectors of the economy, strength is concentrated in the housing market  which appears to have peaked.

Advertisement

That means Canada's economy is increasingly dependent on households taking on more debt  even though Canadians' debt loads are already the highest among G7 economies. And if those debt loads grow too far, these housing markets that are on fire today ... could simply burn down.

The incoming data over the past several weeks provides further evidence that the housing market is on the verge of a potentially severe downturn, Capital Economics senior Canada economist, David Madani, wrote in a client note Friday.

The uptick in Vancouver home sales is nothing more than a head fake, while the worsening sales slump in Torontos much larger housing market points to a correction in prices.

Indeed, on a month-to-month basis, home prices did slide in Toronto in May, the first full month that Ontario's new housing rules were in place. The average selling price for all housing types fell by $57,000 from April to May, to $863,910. But experts are quick to point out that one month of data doesn't make a trend.

Advertisement

What's Going On In Housing? Our weekly newsletter delivers the news and analysis you need on Canada's housing market. Sign up below and don't miss an issue.

'Fire sales' in Toronto's housing market?

While the Bank of Canada sounded a more optimistic note in its latest Financial System Review last week, suggesting only a slim chance of a major housing correction, the almost obsessive focus on household debt and house prices in the report clearly signalled the bank is worried.

Even though the economy is being held up by strong fundamentals  these fundamentals cannot readily explain the pace of the price increases seen in the GTA over the past 18 months, the bank said.

It hinted clearly that speculation is driving up house prices in Greater Toronto.

When expectations reverse and prices recede, investors may quickly sell their assets, possibly leading to fire sales with adverse consequences for the rest of the market.

Advertisement

While the bank sees only a moderate chance of a housing correction, the banks governor, Stephen Poloz, used even stronger language last week, saying anything could bring down the housing market at this point.

The longer [speculation] goes, the bigger it gets, the more you start to be concerned that not necessarily a global recession, but just about anything could be responsible for causing a correction in housing, Poloz told reporters in a press conference.

If the Toronto and Vancouver housing markets were to turn down, it would primarily hurt those cities, the bank wrote, with only a limited spillover to the broader economy.

Capital Economics disagrees, and has already pegged how much damage a housing slump would cause.

Considering that Toronto accounts for 20 per cent of the national housing market, this slump in sales will hit national second-quarter GDP, subtracting as much as 0.5 percentage points from Canadas economic growth, Madani wrote.

Advertisement

Slowing or even falling house prices in Toronto might discourage households from using their homes as an ATM, potentially slowing growth in household consumption later this year, he added.

Market 'heals itself'

So are we headed towards a debt crisis, or will the boom times continue? No one can say for sure at this point, but Bank of Montreal CEO Bill Downe had some big-picture words of advice last week, reported The Canadian Press.

When house prices decline, people tend to stay in their current homes and pay down their debt, Downe said at the Canadian Club of Toronto on Thursday. That would, in effect, fix the debt problem Canada is facing.

Thats what happened in the U.S. after its housing bubble burst, and even though Canadas situation is different, Downe believes that would happen here too.

The market essentially heals itself, he said.

Also on HuffPost

House For Sale May Be Canadas Most Expensive, March 2017 See Gallery
A lot of people werent happy with the finale of "How I Met Your Mother." Alyson Hannigan was one of them.

In a new interview with News.com.au, the actress who played Lily revealed that she thought it was confusing for viewers.

Advertisement

The final episode, which aired in spring 2014, packed in a lot. We learned that "The Mother," the woman Ted had been referencing the entire show, had died of an illness six years before he told the story to his kids.

We also found out that Robin and Barney got divorced about three years after their wedding. Barney goes back to his playboy ways and eventually fathers a baby girl named Ellie.

At the end, Teds children convince him to ask Robin out on a date. The show then comes full circle  Ted shows up at Robins place with the blue French horn. Perfect, right?

Advertisement

But while the finale was dramatic, Hannigan said she thought there wasn't enough time for viewers to process all the information. A lot was cut from the final version of the episode, she told News.com.au, including a funeral scene.

It just seemed too quick, she said.

Obviously it was a tear-jerker, but with all the stuff that got cut out it was too fast ... like OK, now were going to find out the mums dead, then suddenly, OK  hes with Robin now, and youre just like, wait, what happened?!

She also said she didnt think Barney should have gotten married.

I liked Barney and Robin. But in my heart, I always wanted her with Ted. I just feel they [Barney and Robin] shouldnt have gotten married.

The death of the mother, Tracy, played by Cristin Milioti, was also upsetting for some fans.

But Josh Radnor, who played Ted, told HuffPost last year that he thinks the media overblew the outrage about the finale. He said he asks people during speeches at colleges what they thought and has found that that usually 60 per cent were disappointed and 40 per cent liked it.

Advertisement

He also thinks that viewers would have been peeved regardless of how it ended.

"If Ted and Tracy walked off into the sunset together, I think people would have called it a soft or sentimental ending, or that it was a fairy tale," he said.

"But something about 'How I Met Your Mother' was it always upended your expectations, it always made you cry, it always was not what you thought it was."

That's something any viewer can agree with.

Also on HuffPost
We've all wanted to be a mermaid at some point in our lives.

Don't lie  you've wanted the sparkling, colourful tail. The seashell bra. The perfect beachy wave hair.

So it only makes sense that a countless number of women are starting to conduct mermaid-themed maternity shoots, showing off their baby bumps in the most magical way possible.

Advertisement

With hashtags like #PregnantMermaid floating around, mermaid maternity photo shoots are bringing our underwater dreams to life.

A post shared by Themermaidmission (@themermaidmission) on Nov 18, 2016 at 7:01am PST

Cosmopolitan notes that Ulysses Padilha, a photographer from Rio de Janeiro, posted a photo of a "pregnant mer-mom-to-be" on Instagram in 2016 and has since been making waves with his mermaid photography.

Advertisement

According to Cosmo, Padilha's goal is to pair the beauty of women with the mystery of mermaids. From snaps of women basking in the sand, to shots of mothers moving through the water, the Brazilian photographer said he has now shot 14 pregnant women. And if you're wondering how the heck they're able to look so flawless underwater, it's thanks to an independent makeup artist Ulysses hires to get his clients that perfect under-the-sea glow.

Quando a sua foto e um sucesso , postada a dois dias com mais de 105 mil likes  @projeto_sereias, uma ideia que tive no fim do 2015, e hoje conta com o apoio do fabricante das caudas, @mertailor . obrigado a todos que curtem meu trabalho!  A post shared by Ulysses Padilha (@ulysses_padilha) on May 1, 2017 at 12:07pm PDT

No wonder the Internet loves the photos!

And look! Even the babies are getting in on the mermaid action too!

ADORABLE.

Sweet little merbaby #mermaid #beachbaby #phtography #merbaby #babiesofinstagram #babymodel A post shared by Brittany (@beachy.mom.blogger) on Jun 4, 2017 at 8:39am PDT

Advertisement

This photo craze comes after South Florida photographer Adam Opris became a viral sensation in 2014 when he shot mothers-to-be in delicate, flowing dresses underwater. The results? Mermaid enchantment.

Underwater Mermaid Maternity! A post shared by Adam Opris Photography (@adamoprisphotography) on Apr 22, 2017 at 6:00am PDT

"Ive practically lived in the ocean my whole life," Opris told Bored Panda. "With that great love for water, I am bringing mermaids out of my maternity clients. By embracing buoyancy and enabling these pregnant women to be free, I am creating magic to capture pregnancy in all of its glory."

A post shared by Adam Opris Photography (@adamoprisphotography) on Apr 2, 2017 at 3:47pm PDT

And if you happen to be interested in creating a shoot like this before you welcome your own little mermaid into the world, Mermaid Kariel, based out of Hawaii, makes magical mermaid tails and ocean-inspired tops. And we think those might be a gifts you need for yourself.

Advertisement

Check out more mermaid maternity photos below!

Also on HuffPost
Sadeugra via Getty Images Big piggybank with a graduation cap is standing next to an education chart showing a rising trend in Education costs

A few days ago, we learned some of the details of the Quebec government's plan to invigorate higher education in the province. The plan sprinkles roughly $90 million on different universities in Quebec for them to expand both their teaching and research programs. This plan is meant to address years of so-called underinvestment in Quebec universities.

However, investing more dollars in the current system is like filling your leaky gas tank. It may alleviate the problem for some time, but it does not solve the core underlying issue.

Advertisement

For Quebec's universities, that core problem is the current system of tuition fees. For many years now, the province has kept tuition fixed, with a few occasional bumps along the way meant to partially catch up with the cost of education. This cap on fees was accompanied by a policy of charging all students the same price regardless of the program of study, so that law students and French literature students pay similar fees.

Yet, the population of students has increased since then, and so has the cost of educating them. This means there was a financial shortfall that had to be addressed through government subsidies. This had two effects. The first was to hinder their capacity to properly finance teaching and research activities, while also constraining them because of the conditions attached to government funding. The second was to saddle all taxpayers with very expensive university studies through a greater tax burden than would have otherwise been the case.

Going forward, as education and specialized skills become increasingly valuable, the current funding model and tuition policies will become increasingly problematic. This is why Quebec should move away from the current system of capped tuition and allow universities to charge the fees they want.

Advertisement

In practice, this means that McGill University, for example, could charge its students different prices for different programs. Political science studies might cost less than Law. And Law at McGill might cost more than Law at Universite de Montreal. Communications studies at UQAM might be more expensive than comparable programs elsewhere, since it is considered a top program.

Allowing universities to set their own rates will also send information into the marketplace. Prices are a source of information. They give a sense of the value and the reputation of specific products or services. They also provide information on the value of the brand. With such a system, universities in Quebec would do an even better job at creating an environment worth the investment in time and money.

Since education is an investment in higher future earnings, an inflow of funds from higher tuition fees will allow universities to improve the quality of their services and, consequently, increase the returns from education.

The liberalization of tuition fees in Quebec would also inject a healthy dose of competition. Free to set their own prices, universities would be able to customize their programs and practices in order to attract particular clienteles. With this flexibility, universities would also be incentivized to offer education that is better adapted to students' and employers' needs, to concentrate on the specialties in which they excel, and to innovate in their practices. A university that did not maintain its competitive position would be at risk of losing students, which would lead to a loss of revenues.

Such a reform would represent a sound policy course. Higher education in Quebec would improve, and incentives to compete would generate positive outcomes for the entire system. Some provinces are contemplating the possibility of following the course that Quebec has charted by capping their own tuition fees. It ought to be pointed out that if Quebec is distinct, on higher education, this distinction hurts both the system itself and the students.

Advertisement
Have you ever planned a party, but worried that nobody would come?

In February, the Liberal government launched consultations with Canadians on what should be included in the country's first-ever poverty reduction strategy. Similarly, the Minister launched a "national conversation" at the end of June 2016 -- but on the specific and more limited topic of housing. Over 7,000 Canadians participated.

So far, the consultation process on a poverty reduction plan for Canada, however, seems to be attracting a more limited response. The Ministry's website reveals that very few MPs are holding townhall meetings on poverty. The government's public discussion paper, which serves as a basis for its online survey and discussion questions, may detract from citizen engagement because of its very technical nature. The first question poses a query that academics have debated for years: how poverty should be measured. This could make an ordinary person's eyes glaze over. The consultation process ends at the end of June, with some community consultation meetings only now taking place.

Advertisement

The Dignity for All campaign has offered a more user-friendly web-based survey that informed citizens can easily access and respond to. So far, about 700 Canadians have used this platform to express their views to government. We've organized workshops in several cities, to allow groups to know what the process entails, and how they might present their views to the Minister. But some of the best input seems to be coming from faith-based groups who have engaged their own MPs in the discussion.

In Toronto for example, four women, members of various Catholic religious congregations, visited their local MP. They presented Dignity for All's model anti-poverty plan, which makes recommendations in six action areas for federal response: income security, housing and homelessness, healthcare, food security, employment and early childhood education and care. The nuns expressed their strong desire to see robust targets, timelines, and accountability measures in any eventual plan, as well as sufficient funding to support the strategy's implementation.

In another event organized by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto, 60 women invited two Liberal MPs from that city to hear their views. Five sisters presented their lived-experience of ministry among their most vulnerable neighbours.

One sister, who has lived in a residence of people with mental disabilities for 40 years, described how families are exhausted (and their finances exhausted as well) by caring for children with various cognitive and physical impairments. Another recounted her experience of living in an Aboriginal community in northern British Columbia, where resource developments (especially logging) take the riches of the land while leaving few benefits for these original residents.

Advertisement

Another sister, who works in an urban area, noted how funding was cut for a program providing good food, including fruits and vegetables, for low-income people in her neighbourhood. Yet another wondered aloud why Ontario currently spends more than $30 million on dental problems in hospital emergency departments, and more than one in five Ontarians does not visit a dentist because they cannot afford it, instead of including oral health care in the Canada Health Act. Finally, another sister spoke of her experience starting a furniture bank to support those who could not afford the basics for their homes, another form of hidden poverty.

More study is not what is needed.

One of the attending MPs, Julie Dabrusin, later spoke in the House of Commons about her experience of this meeting, recounting how valuable it was for her to hear residents of her own constituency calling for change.

Consultation processes are only partially about governments receiving expert opinion. After all, we have already had several Parliamentary studies and motions in the House of Commons that espouse the knowledge of what needs to be done to address poverty in Canada.

More study is not what is needed.

In the case of poverty, moreover, no one answer is the "correct" reply to such varied and complex realities. The consultation process can and must also be seen as a political gauge -- are there sufficient voices and votes in the community for proceeding with change?

So, even if the formal consultation finishes at the end of this month, community voices still need to be continuously heard. Politicians must know that there is a constituency advocating for the promised change, and that we will not go away.

Advertisement

Canadians can continue to advocate for action, most notably next October 17th, the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, by participating in Chew on This! events in over 60 communities where the demand will continue to be for the promised strategy to become a significant step forward, with multiple, comprehensive measures that eventually legislate steps to reduce and eliminate the scourge of poverty in our country.

Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook
This World Day Against Child Labour is a poignant one for me. It's been over three years since I started living as a more conscious consumer, by educating myself about child labour in the products I buy and use. That all started with a little blue dress I bought in England.

It was my second trip to the U.K. on my own, and I was loving it. I had been living in Tunisia, North Africa for almost a year, and though I loved my new life as a journalist, it was also hard to be away from home and friends. My short time in England allowed me to enjoy some of the comforts of home (like good strong tea!), while exploring the land of my ancestors.

Advertisement

On a trip to Oxford street, I popped into one of the U.K.'s biggest fast-fashion chains: Primark. For a fashion lover on a budget, it felt like I had found the mother lode: two floors of cheap, adorable clothing. With little time left in my schedule, I settled on a cornflower-blue polka-dot shirt dress and headed to the checkout, elated.

Tragedy Strikes

A few months later, on April 24, 2013, the world was struck with the tragedy of the Rana Plaza collapse. A factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, collapsed, trapping thousands of workers sewing clothing for fast-fashion brands. In total, over 1,129 people lost their lives.

One of the companies who used this building of horrors for their clothing manufacturing was Canadian brand Joe Fresh. Another was Primark.

Advertisement

In my own little news bubble in Tunisia, I didn't hear about the tragedy. In May, I celebrated my birthday at the beach, wearing, of course, my blue polka-dot dress, oblivious to its connection to such a huge global event.

I played a part

It wasn't until the first year anniversary of the Rana Plaza event that I discovered the global outcry on social media. Sitting on my computer, I clicked through an interactive feature on The Guardian that told the stories of victims and survivors, tears streaming down my face. I had been ignorant of the consequences of my purchase, but now I knew I was complicit in this suffering.

Did my money contribute to their abuse?

My cute blue dress took on a different meaning to me then. Were some of the hands who had stitched on its bows and pockets now still? When it was revealed that some of the workers and victims were children, some no older than 12, I wondered -- did my money contribute to their abuse?

Giving up her dreams

She may not have worked at Rana Plaza, but one Bangladeshi child labourer whose story has stuck with me is Bithi. If you've been following World Vision's blogs for a while, you may remember her. She's the young woman who started working in a factory at age 12, sewing 60 pockets an hour on designer jeans.

Advertisement

Bithi and her older sister have given up their dreams of becoming doctors, because their mother can't make enough money to support them. Both girls have dropped out of school, and their future holds little more than the same factory job for years to come.

This is the true cost of the fast fashion industry: cheap clothes mean low wages for parents. And low wages mean that children are forced to work to help their families survive.

Turning the tide

The first anniversary of Rana Plaza was a turning point for me. After educating myself about the rampant child labour, unsafe working conditions and environmental abuse in the fashion industry, I drastically changed the way I shopped. Today, the majority of my closet is second-hand. As I sit here typing, everything from my sweater to my shoes were bought at the thrift store. I hope that by shopping second-hand, I can slow down the cycle of the fast fashion industry just a bit. If we all did the same, maybe brands would take notice.

Since it no longer fits me, I've also passed on my polka-dot dress to my younger sister. I wanted to honour those who made it by not simply putting it in the donation pile -- where many items eventually end up in landfill. It looks even cuter on her, and it makes me smile to see her wear it.

My little blue dress changed the course of my life as a consumer. I realized that with all the information of the digital age at our fingertips, ignorance is no longer an excuse to participate in child labour. That's why I love our new interactive tour of a typical Canadian household that lets you see how everyday items could be connected to child labour.

Advertisement

What we can do

And I am still learning. I recently discovered that mica, a key ingredient in the glowy makeup I love to wear, is often mined by children in India. I've begun writing to my favourite cosmetics brands, asking them what they are doing about this. I know it's not possible to do everything, but I can do something.

And so can you. Will you sign this petition to our Canadian government, asking that companies be required to disclose their supply chains? I want to be able to be an informed consumer. But until companies are required to tell us how and where their products are made, that's just not possible. This World Day Against Child Labour, let's make it happen.

Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook

Also on HuffPost:
You know the drill: You submitted your job application, complete with a cover letter and resume. You were selected for an interview (cue a happy dance!). You got up early, picked out a nice outfit, and gave yourself a pep talk in the mirror. Then you headed to your potential-future-employer to shake some hands and answer every single interview question.

But what if some of those questions seem a little ... off?

Experts say there are certain questions you might not want to answer -- and some that are downright illegal for violating your basic human rights.

Advertisement

What to watch out for

Mark Franklin, practice leader at Toronto-based CareerCycles and co-founder of One Life Tools, says candidates should be aware that there are many illegal question areas that can pop up in the job application process.

"Things like your race or religion, affiliation, citizenship, disabilities," he says.

Many people are not Canadian citizens -- they were born elsewhere -- so, "Are you legally allowed to work in Canada" is a perfectly legal question, Franklin adds. "But 'What is your citizenship' or 'Where were you born' are not appropriate," he says.

Asking about your marital status or questions about your height or weight are off-limits, too.

So, in other words, some of the big red-flag questions are along these lines:

What is your race/where were you born? Are you a Canadian citizen? What is your religious affiliation? Do you have any disabilities/health issues? Are you married/do you have kids? How much do you weigh? How old are you?

But sometimes things aren't quite so clear-cut.

Stephen Wolpert, associate lawyer at Toronto employment law firm Whitten & Lublin, says most employers are savvy enough to not ask clearly inappropriate questions like, 'How old are you?'

Advertisement

"The more insidious questions are the ones that are subtle forms of discrimination," he says.

That could mean an employer asking a 60-year-old if they're 'up for the challenge' of a certain role.

"The problem is, if it's only asked to the 60-year-old, it starts to look like age discrimination," Wolpert explains.

How to avoid answering

If you face an off-limits or uncomfortable question in a job interview, it can be a stressful experience, but Franklin and Wolpert have a few suggestions for navigating that kind of awkward scenario in a tactful way.

Wolpert suggests offering an answer that redirects from the inappropriate line of questioning. For instance, if an employer asks if you have available child-care, that's out of line. But what they might really want to know is if you're willing to work overtime. Wolpert suggests saying 'What I think you're getting at...' before you offer an answer about your willingness to work long hours when needed.

Simply saying you "refuse" to answer a question can be quite abrupt, but could be necessary if something feels particularly violating, and you're within your rights to do that.

"Try to reframe the question for them so you need not disclose personal information that an employer is not entitled to," he says.

It's also good to keep in mind that interviewers sometimes make unintentional blunders and don't even realize they've asked something inappropriate.

"You might turn it around and say, 'How will that help you make a good decision about choosing a candidate?'" he says. "It turns it around, and sometimes the interviewer realizes that wasn't a great question, and they move on."

Simply saying you "refuse" to answer a question can be quite abrupt, but could be necessary if something feels particularly violating, and you're within your rights to do that. Remember that the interview process is a two-way street -- you need to decide if the company is a good fit.

"If some of the questions being asked make you uncomfortable, that's a red flag," says Franklin. "Do you really want to be working with that employer?"

Advertisement

See also:

_______

- Follow Workopolis on Twitter

- Sign up for the Workopolis Weekly newsletter

Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook
Anthony Devlin via Getty Images

Momentum, the campaign group set up in the wake of Jeremy Corbyn's victory in the 2015 leadership election, has become one of the biggest political success stories of this election. The 24,000 strong campaign group has played an essential role in the mass mobilisation of activists across the country, which in turn proved essential in driving a high turnout at the election - especially among the young.

Building on Jeremy Corbyn's 2016 leadership campaign, Momentum's General Election operation brought in a number of activists from the Bernie Sanders campaign in the US. The American activists' knowhow proved vital in building an innovative and dynamic campaign to mobilise campaigners and galvanise support.

Advertisement

The Sanders people gave short talks on their experiences campaigning in the US and their success in driving Bernie from the position of rank outsider to a serious contender for the Democratic Party nomination. The presence of international activists already points towards a future in which similar political projects collaborate to share ideas, strategies and people.

During the last leadership election Momentum had developed a phone canvassing app designed to allow members to phone bank from home. This allowed our activists to make over 100,000 calls in the 2016 Labour leadership election. An updated version of this app was utilised by Momentum for the General Election, which supplemented our large phone banks in London and elsewhere.

Momentum also developed My Nearest Marginal, an easy to use website designed to direct activists towards their nearest key seat and help to ensure marginal constituencies had enough activists fighting for a Labour victory. More than 100,000 people used My Nearest Marginal during the General Election campaign, over four times the size of Momentum's membership. This was one among many factors which allowed Labour to stack up votes in marginal constituencies, which pundits had assumed Labour would lose, as well as retaking seats lost by Labour in 2015. Seats such as, Gower which saw a swing of 12.9% toward Labour and Derby North which saw an 11.9% swing in our favour.

Over the course of the election, Momentum ran campaign days where we mobilised Momentum supporters to join Labour canvassing sessions in key marginals. We held nearly fifty sessions in constituencies such as Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, Crewe and Nantwich, Sheffield Hallam and

Advertisement

Croydon Central - all of which were gains for Labour, often with extraordinary surges in the Labour vote.

Croydon saw as many as 200 activists turn out for the session, many of whom were new to canvassing.

In the last week of the election, Momentum's Facebook videos reached over 23million views and were watched by 12.7million unique users. Our most viral video, 'Daddy why do you hate me?', achieved 5.4million views in just two days, while a clip of Theresa May refusing to debate with Jeremy Corbyn garnered 4.3million views within just three days.

We also had a significant impact on social media in key areas Labour needed to win, including Cardiff, Derby, Sheffield, Canterbury and Plymouth. In the final week alone, 42.2% of Facebook users in Canterbury viewed our videos, while in Sheffield Hallam the percentage was 55.9%.
Mira Duma and I at Copenhagen Fashion Summit - Image: Techstyler

When I met Mira Duma at Copenhagen Fashion Summit a few weeks ago she was just beginning to discuss an initiative she had been working on for over a year - Fashion Tech Lab. She has for years been a recognisable fashion week figure and favourite of street style photographers, so launching a fashion tech venture was a strong sign that fashion and technology may finally be starting to get along in a meaningful way.

While interviewing Mira I asked what inspired her new venture, which seeks to innovate in the fashion tech space (including wearables) and harness new and existing technologies to help make fashion more sustainable. She had been sitting in the front row of a fashion show a few years ago, watching fellow attendees responding to the show as though it was the "most important thing in the world". This sparked her to act - to "do something useful" - in what we know to be the second most polluting industry in the world, after oil and gas.

Advertisement

In fashion, it is unlikely that transformative innovation will come from within. It is even less likely to come from the luxury sector, which prides itself on craft and exclusivity. When millennials think of innovative, cool brands they don't think of luxury - they think of Adidas's trainers and apparel using recycled plastic, H&M's Conscious Collection which uses recycled textiles, or Reformation's pioneering local manufacturing hub and use of textile surplus that would otherwise end up in landfill. Ostensibly, luxury fashion is about artisans, excess and heritage - these are not priorities for millennials.

In conversation with Mira Duma - Image: Techstyler

Mira knows this, and she is very clear on investing in, and providing, solutions to consumers to solve their problems. When we spoke again more recently, I wanted to know more about how Fashion Tech Lab aims to help clean up the fashion industry, keeping consumers at the heart of its model. Mira's children will soon be those consumers, and at 7 months pregnant with her third child, she is focused in her determination to make sure they inherit a more viable and sustainable planet.

Advertisement

We talked about Mira's visit to Tesla for the launch of Elon Musk's electric cars; the world's first desirable and luxurious electric car. Before Tesla, electric cars were seen as ugly - a compromise on the luxury and lifestyle associated with the world's top cars. Tesla offers what other car brands offer, plus the kudos of being a responsible and ethical consumer. By association, a Tesla owner is a forward-thinking person - someone who cares about environment and design. It's not difficult to see how this thinking could translate to luxury fashion too.

Mira and her team are working with a global cohort of scientists and technologists to tap existing knowledge and apply it to solving problems in the fashion industry. The use of silver as an antibacterial agent in textiles is well established, but mining is a downside. A recent innovation using peppermint for the same outcome is one discovery that Mira is considering investing in (each t-shirt only needs to be washed after 20 wears). She also mentions radiation absorption properties, which (as an ex-radiographer) piques my attention and hints to a potential healthcare application for the technologies she is investing in. Another innovation which she has been looking at is a citrus waste textile from Orange Fiber that exploits its cellulose to create a silk-alternative that has been used in a collaboration with Salvatore Ferragamo in a capsule collection. She is hoping that technologies like these will inspire and revolutionise the processes used across the fashion industry.

Advertisement

Above: Salvatore Ferragamo X Orange Fiber Capsule Collection, Below: citrus waste fabric - Images: Fashion Tech Lab

Revolution is something that Mira brings up regularly. In particular, the third and fourth industrial revolutions. She has done solid research on tech companies and the transformative effect they have had on the telecommunications industry (iPhone), transport (Uber), and travel (Airbnb) and shows a great appreciation for these progressive business models.

Mira has immense respect for the people who have developed the technologies and innovations that can help deliver solutions to fashion. Fashion Tech Lab has hired a team, including designers, creatives and executives, spanning China, Russia, the US, Italy and France. They also work on the global Experimental Lab, which is the in-house innovation and product development arm of the venture. Although the idea for Fashion Tech Lab was born a year ago, Mira told me a story about visiting Reformation's factory in LA a year earlier and being inspired by founder Yael Aflalo, citing her as "a great inspiration for us".

The Experimental Lab is an area I want to dig deeper into, but Mira is unable to give much detail as the projects are still confidential - more will be revealed over the coming months. Mira did confirm that the team will be showcasing 5-8 new technologies that they have been experimenting with at Paris Fashion Week in 2018. When I asked about whether the Lab, headed up by Chief Innovation Officer Amanda Parkes (alongside the soon-to-be-announced FTL Chief Creative Officer), would be creating products that would form a collection (in a traditional fashion sense) or more iterative and individual products, this was also not able to be divulged yet.

Advertisement

Image: Techstyler

Mira's Fashion Tech Lab is the epitome of cross-collaboration and multidisciplinary problem-solving that exists readily in many sectors, but to the frustration of fashion-tech pioneers, has eluded fashion for so long. Scientific and medical discoveries made in one discipline are often applied to others, for example, GPS (funded and developed by the military) being used in medical examinations. Mira's venture seeks to harness existing technologies and employ scientific thinking alongside design and aesthetics, to develop new ones. She is fiercely focused and pragmatic about the fact that the fashion industry needs urgent solutions for sustainability, but is also aware that consumer "needs and desires are eternal", and this is what makes her proposition so significant.

On the subject of sustainability across the fashion industry, I mention that sometimes it is treated like a 'trend'. She acknowledges this, and openly says there are brands clearly using sustainability as a PR and CSR tool, while others invest in their own labs and are committed to finding sustainable solutions. Mira is refreshingly pragmatic about this, saying that she does not care what the initial motivation is to put sustainability on their agenda, as long as they are open to sustainable practices.

I asked Mira, "What is your view on the current education provided to fashion students around the use of tech and sustainability", and "does Fashion Tech Lab have plans to improve this area?" She explained that Burak Cakmak, Dean of Parsons, is on their advisory board and they are at this moment working on courses, initiatives, and strategic and tactical partnerships with a number of universities including MIT, Parsons, London College of Fashion and Central Saint Martins.

Image: Techstyler

Our conversation has taken several detours, including one about the mind-boggling array of goods at Wholefoods and how Mira likes to wander through it when in London as much for the artistry of the food as for the purchasing of it, and also to the implications of our automated, AI-led future. Her fear of sweeping new technologies, like imminent driverless cars, which makes her worry about the tens of thousands of drivers who will lose their jobs, is balanced with the knowledge that the App economy arising from the launch of the iPhone spawned tens of thousands of engineering jobs. We are both interested in the subject of robotics, and Mira accepts that within her ventures, robots in production make sense. Acknowledging the technological landscape where mixed-reality, gene-sequencing, quantum computing and robotics collide, turning "science fiction to science fact", Mira openly says that she, her friends and colleagues are "scared about the world".

Advertisement

Reflecting on the launch of Fashion Tech Lab, I ask Mira if she sees herself as an ambassador for fashion tech and sustainability - previously, people from a fashion tech background have tried to fulfil this role but the fashion industry did not take to them. Mira takes the point of view that her current position and that of Fashion Tech Lab is down to timing - the right technologies identified, developed and employed, at the right time. Like Uber. Like Apple. I look forward to discussing the innovations which are soon to find their way out of the Experimental Lab and into Paris Fashion Week. Bring on the fashion tech and sustainability revolution.

For more on sustainability and fashion tech innovations see Techstyler.fashion
Getty

She needed bringing down a peg or two didn't she? She thought it would be a landslide, a cakewalk, a slam-dunk. She was so confident of her chances that the Tory manifesto included an attack on its own core vote. When the predictable outrage ensued she buckled, visibly. Whilst Corbyn addressed massive, enthused crowds she spoke in small, sanitised venues of party loyalists, bleating her tired 'strong and stable' mantra. Her lead in the polls quickly evaporated. She had taken the electorate for granted.

Additionally, she had greatly underestimated her main opponent. If last Thursday's results are proof of anything it's that contrary to the claims of so many, Jeremy Corbyn isn't destroying the Labour Party. Imagine how the final result could have looked if, for the last couple of years, he'd enjoyed the support of the PLP. If they had only respected his democratic mandate and rallied around him from the beginning it could have made all the difference in some of the key marginals. Sadly, they couldn't and didn't, even mounting a leadership challenge in which thousands of Corbyn supporters were purged for the most trifling of offences - my own was ''inappropriate comments made on twitter''. Yet none of it worked. Corbyn triumphed regardless of their attempts, and now they have no option but to admit his competence as a leader, albeit through gritted teeth.

Advertisement

So whilst Corbyn is set to continue, defying all expectations from the espousers of conventional wisdom, it is Theresa May whose days are numbered. Her gamble was ill-conceived, her campaign abysmally fought. Her Tory colleagues reportedly hate her. The ''coalition of chaos'' to which Labour would allegedly preside over has materialised in a very different form, namely a Conservative/DUP coalition. Her own words have come back to haunt her. More importantly, a coalition with the DUP has serious implications for the Good Friday agreement. It's a precarious course of action to embark upon, to say the least. Some might say she's putting her interests before those of the country.

Similarly precarious is May's position in the upcoming Brexit negotiations. The significance of having lost her parliamentary majority is self-evident. If she remains Prime Minister long enough to reach the beginning of the negotiations she's in no position to claim, as she had hoped, that Britain is full square behind her. It isn't. Her 'strong and stable' leadership will be anything but. She'll be arriving with proverbial egg all over her face, having handed Brussels a massive victory before negotiations have even started. Her bargaining position has been considerably weakened, and Jean-Claude Juncker (to whom she promised to be a ''bloody difficult woman'') will find recent events to be rather to his advantage.

It seems impossible to imagine that after having presided over such a woeful performance, there isn't a Tory out there plotting May's removal. There will be an attempt on its way - it's only a matter of when. Her leadership could yet survive for the short term by dint of the fact that nobody cares for any of the alternatives. The most likely candidates for the job consist of Johnson, Rudd, Davis, and Davidson. None of them, with the possible exception of Davidson, are remotely popular with the general public. The idea of it being Liam Fox or Michael Gove is even more far-fetched. Thanks to May's gamble they are a party which is effectively leaderless - a party in crisis.

Advertisement

The Tories have enjoyed almost two years of Labour infighting, pointing at the fractures in the party as evidence that it's unfit to govern. Labour would be well-advised to sit back and watch the same unfold in reverse. It can now unite - however begrudgingly in some cases - behind Corbyn's leadership. They've won hearts and minds. They've won seats. They can convince remaining doubters that another way isn't only possible but greatly desirable. The Tory lie that living ''within our means'' requires massive privatisation and the axing of public services can be exposed for the ideology-driven asset stripping it really is.
But some wonderful outcomes

I have been involved in helping to run election campaigns since I was 14. Then I was helping at the constituency office in Okehampton, Devon where I went to school. For many years I was an organiser and then Election Agent. I worked in by-elections as well as General and European elections. So I've seen a lot in 45 years.

But this election was unlike any other I've ever been involved in.

For the first time, Social media had a huge impact. I was running two different twitter accounts. I was also re-tweeting for our next door candidate, who is a personal friend. I could have spent my whole time doing nothing but tweeting everyday. There were also two Facebook pages to maintain and update. I also had a very sharp learning curve in how to use Instagram. I still don't really understand why the memes I posted had so much impact.

The next thing that was so different was the diametrically opposite campaign strategies of the two main party leaders. Theresa May, seemed very reluctant to meet any of the public. Possibly a sensible strategy, bearing in mind how badly she came over when people tried to talk to her. Jeremy Corbyn was the opposite, and welcomed meeting voters and listening to what they had to say.

Advertisement

But the most noticeable difference to me was the lack of political mud slinging from Jeremy's team. It made a refreshing change and was clearly popular with the electorate.

For many people it wasn't 'All about Brexit' as Theresa May wanted it to be. Talking to people on the doorstep, what excited people were the Labour manifesto pledges. The memes about them were some of the most popular images shared on social media.

What was also new in this election, particularly in the Labour Party was the involvement of Momentum, the campaigning organisation set up to back Jeremy Corbyn's leadership bids. Momentum ran an excellent social media campaign. They also attracted large numbers of young people to help with phone banking. Some of the training sessions were run by staffers from Bernie Sanders' campaign team.

Two other organisations, Collective Voice and EL4JC, produced wonderful literature and memorable short videos. The endorsement from actors, film makers and grime artists ensured the enthusiasm of the younger generation.

Advertisement

They also surprised the pollsters by going out and voting.

For me as a disabled person, I was able to be involved in campaigning from my bed. Many other disabled people helped the campaign by being able to phone-bank from the comfort of their own homes. There will always be room for more inclusion, but we have made a good start.

Two Labour candidates with disabilities won seats, and a third came within 1,200 votes of winning. Marie Rimmer who retained her seat of St Helens South and Whiston has a hearing impairment. She was Shadow Minister for Disabled People before the election. So Labour now has three MPs with declared disabilities.

Stephen Lloyd is the only Liberal Democrat MP with a declared disability. He has had a hearing impairment since childhood. Two Conservative MPs, Paul Maynard and Robert Halfon both have cerebral palsy. I have been unable to discover any other MPs who have disabilities. By having less than 1% of MPs with a disability, Westminster is clearly not representative of the 19% of disabled people in the UK.

It is often difficult for people with a disability to get accepted as political candidates, either for local councils or for Parliament. For a few years the Access to Elected Office Fund was able to give financial support to disabled candidates to cover extra expenses. But this fund closed in 2015, just four years after its launch. It leaves prospective MPs or councillors who are disabled with no additional funding support.

One previous parliamentary candidate was unable to stand during the recent campaign. Emily Brothers who has both vision and hearing impairments, was a Labour candidate in 2015. She was financially supported and able to campaign effectively. This time with no funding available she felt unable to be a candidate.

Advertisement

Mary Griffiths Clarke, was another Labour candidate with a disability. She has ME. She stood in a Tory/Labour marginal in Afron, Wales. Mary was beaten by just 92 votes. I'm sure the extra money would have supported her and enabled her to win. It is disgraceful that the last Tory government closed the AEO Fund. I would expect any future Labour government to restore it as soon as possible. Disabled people have a right to enter public life and should be assisted to do so.

The two new Labour MPs, Marsha de Cordova, who is visually impaired and Jared O'Mara who has cerebral palsy both had historic victories.

Marsha won Battersea, overturning a Tory majority of almost 8,000. She ousted Jane Ellison, a Treasury Minister, in an amazing campaign. She had hundreds of young people, many from Momentum, door-knocking and delivering leaflets for her. This, together with Marsha's own work ethic, activist background and focus on local issues assured her victory. I'm proud that I played a part, albeit a small one.

Jared's victory over Nick Clegg was considered one of the most dramatic results of election night. He again was a local activist and campaigner, who like Marsha had worked for disability charities. I know little of his campaign, but he must have got the vote of every student in the city who wanted revenge on Nick Clegg. The former Liberal Democrat leader who dramatically u-turned on his party's policy of free university tuition, once in coalition.

I wish the two new Labour MPs well and will be keeping my posters and t shirts ready for when this current coalition of chaos implodes.

Advertisement
mrtom-uk via Getty Images

You will all remember from school science lessons that two minuses make a plus. Not in politics it seems.

The political commentariat stand stunned. Once again our political pollsters are undermined, and the received wisdom of political norms have been consigned to the dustbin. I recently wrote of the unknown unknowns that could defy the Conservative majority consensus, and as it turns out there were rather more unknowns than many were banking on.

Advertisement

Perhaps one of the biggest unknowns of this election, which now looks to have had a significant impact on the result, is the youth vote. 32 million people voted in this election - that's 68.7% of the eligible voting public, making it the highest turnout at an election in over 20 years.

The turnout matters enormously. The Conservatives knew that if turnout was high it was only going to benefit one party - Labour. If turnout was high, that meant the young would have pitched up, and that was only going to benefit one party - Labour.

So what did they do about this issue, knowing full well its potential consequences? They made it worse.

Lynton Crosby is an Australian political strategist who has been advising the higher echelons of the Conservative party for many years. Mr Crosby is extremely successful, and very good at what he does. But he has a certain tactical brand that not everyone likes, and doesn't always work - as has just been demonstrated (also see Zac Goldsmith's abortive mayoral campaign). He is renowned for the, often, effective use of negative campaigning. Negative campaigning traditionally drives down turnout (as it doesn't exactly inspire people to go out and vote). The Conservative strategy of negative personal targeting of Jeremy Corbyn and his immediate team was a conscious one.

Advertisement

It clearly hasn't worked this time, and frankly it didn't deserve to.

Much like our school science lessons, the Conservative Party hoped that if you combined the negative fear inspired by the uncertainty of Brexit with the negative fear of an 'incompetent/extremist' Jeremy Corbyn you would get the plus of an increased Conservative majority.

Instead they created a circular narrative of negativity that didn't benefit anyone, least of all their Party. They repeatedly committed a cardinal communications sin. If you identify a problem, have a clear solution, or, even better, have several.

The problem they posited was Jeremy Corbyn and the solution they proposed was 'Strong and Stable' Theresa May. The only problem was, a few botched interviews, a U Turn, and a no show TV debate later it turned out she wasn't so 'Strong and Stable' after all. Live by the sword, die by the sword.

Personality politics is a high stakes game. If you're saying your opponent's problem is his personality, you better be bloody sure that your candidate is up to muster. The Conservative Party (and indeed elements of the Labour Party) have been so good at rubbishing Mr Corbyn that the expectation levels of him were practically subterranean. All he needed to do was show that he was better than that and he was going to be able to demonstrate progress, in fact all he needed to do was exceed those expectations to create the sense of gathering momentum (pun intended).

Mrs May on the other hand was weighed down by totally unrealistic expectations (as I cited at the start of this election, though my analysis from then seems it was 'over-optimistic'). The Conservatives completely failed to manage expectations, with early talk of landslides and triple figure majorities. Their exercise in electoral double think - Corbyn could never be PM, but do vote for us just in case - has clearly been a massive failure.

Advertisement

For a woman who famously highlighted the Conservative dilemma of being seen as the "nasty party" she did a very good job of being as nasty as possible. As Hugo Rifkind, rightly, recently wrote, one of Mr Corbyn's most 'endearing' features is the way he did not rise to the bait of personal attacks during the election campaign. Despite early moments of grumpiness he stayed remarkedly chipper, indeed as it went on he really seemed to get into the swing of it - enjoying it in fact.

Again, this matters. Millennials (of which I am one apparently) are often rather cynically accused of being naive and wanting to change the world. There might be an element of truth in this, but if so, perhaps we should not be surprised that Corbyn Labour's message cut through with them.

For one rather crucial thing had changed recently that many pollsters and the Westminster bubble had not accounted for - Brexit. That other surprise vote that created political shockwaves. The Brexit vote has had important electoral consequences that have directly reverberated into this election.

People voted in the Referendum who hadn't voted before - it looks like many of them turned up again on Thursday (and more besides). Secondly, the Referendum showed that voting isn't a futile gesture - it can change things. This, I believe, was an important wake up call for the disenfranchised who for many elections have felt their vote didn't count. This particularly applies to younger voters who saw themselves outvoted on Brexit by the old grey hairs. Well apparently they're mad as hell and they're not going to take it anymore. How else can you explain 68% turnout, the Conservatives going backwards, and the Labour Party winning in Canterbury of all places.

Regardless of the economics of their proposals, or whether you think they were right or wrong, the clarity of Labour's message was compelling.

Advertisement

Our national religion, the NHS, was under threat from Tory privatisation - correct or not, it was simple, it was clear. The Labour Party was for the "many not the few," right or not, it was simple, it was clear. He was a man proud to stand on his record and principles - he was not ashamed to say you might not like me, you might not agree with me, but you know where I stand. Again, this was simple, this was clear. Could that be said for Theresa May? I don't think so.

Clarity was something the Conservatives supremely lacked. The party of a "Better Brexit" - what on earth does that mean? "Me and my team," who were they? Well it turned out they were just Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy. "Strong and Stable"? One U Turn and that balloon burst.

Labour didn't win this election, but the Conservatives certainly lost it. And both parties provided object lessons in the many dos and don'ts of campaigning:

Manage expectations (people won't turnout for you if they think you're a shoe in)

Know your brief (cough, cough Diane Abbot).

Have a story to tell (the supposed strength of one character is a weak narrative).

Get your vote out.

Don't write off the young.
Standing on the frontline with ISIS in Northern Iraq, I stood flanked by a group of female Peshmerga soldiers. Just over the mountain behind the small Peshmerga army base, we could see a cloud of smoke shooting up into the air. The women pointed excitedly and shouted, 'they're bombing ISIS.'

I was on a trip to Northern Iraq to learn more about violence against women as part of my work with my foundation Project Monma, when I had the great privilege to meet this tremendous group of women.

On the other side of the mountain where this small army camp stood, was the Islamic state. A small village was situated in front of the army base and a group of young boys stood nearby, guarding a flock of sheep. I wondered what had brought these women here, to take arms against a group that have become synonymous with rape, torture and slave markets. As I found out, it was precisely because of these horrific deeds committed by the Islamic state, that these women had decided to take up arms. They wanted the Islamic state out of Iraq and they wanted to rescue the thousands of Yezidi women who have been kidnapped by ISIS and sold into sex slave markets.

Advertisement

This desire for justice had brought them to frontlines in Mosul and they were willing to risk their lives for what they believed in.

I was impressed.

I have travelled to Northern Iraq before to document the various forms of violence facing women in the region. It's not good. Women are up against extreme cultural ideals of honor and shame. They say that a woman's sexual behavior must at all times be under control of a man. A woman must never engage in a sexual relationship with anyone other than her husband, should she dare to do so, this would bring shame on her family. The only way then to restore the family's honor, is to kill her. This is otherwise known as an honor killing, which, are prevalent in the region.

Aside from these extreme forms of cultural ideologies, women deal with domestic violence, daily sexual harassment that include stalking, leering and what I came to observe as just blatant discrimination. Women seemed to be deemed as having less value than men and therefore deserving less honor, respect and rights, than men.

As one northern Iraqi woman said to me, 'it's incredibly unfair.'

Though what I have noticed not only in northern Iraq, but throughout the world, is that women are never given credit for the tremendous strength that it takes, to endure these extreme forms of violence and discrimination. Rarely does anyone acknowledge just how difficult it is to survive when you endure harassment on a daily basis or consistently be treated in a manner that indicates that you are second class. Nobody credits you for the strength that it takes to live an environment where your culture tells you that you can be killed for something as small, as wanting a boyfriend.

Advertisement

And it does take strength.

In a small Syrian refugee camp in the Beqqua valley in Lebanon I met with Om Noor. She had fled Syria after the war began with her five daughters. They fled bombs, bullets and sexual violence. Her husband abandoned them and they were left to fend for themselves. Arriving in Lebanon she had to find a way to survive and this has in part meant enduring relentless sexual harassment from Lebanese men. In Lebanon, it seemed that there was a perception that all Syrian women are prostitutes. As I came to learn, this was because as a result of fleeing war, many women were vulnerable and they were trying to survive admist severe economic difficulties in a climate that is hostile to women. For some Syrian women, prostitution has been a means of survival.

How Lebanese men seemed to be interpreting this situation was that, because these women were vulnerable, they thought that they could do as they pleased. They could assume that all Syrian women were prostitutes and could treat them as such. Rather than show sympathy towards women who were trying to escape war, they were instead using it to their advantage to be able to gain access to sex.

Women reported being asked for sexual favors in return for work, harassment on the street and being treated in a blatantly disrespectful way.

After speaking with several Syrian women in various refugee camps, it became apparent to me just how stressful their situation was, which was in a large part due to the harassment from the Lebanese men.

It takes tremendous strength to endure this type of situation. It takes strength to deal with leers and sexually degrading behavior on a daily basis, to be treated as if you are only a sexual object. It takes strength to know that your only choice is to sleep with a man you do not want to sleep with or watch your children go hungry. Yet on the several occasions that I met Om Noor and her daughters, in fact all the Syrian women I met in Lebanon, they held their heads high and smiled.

Advertisement

That takes strength.

There is no shortage of incredibly strong, powerful women within our world. I am sure that all of us can all think of a woman that we know that has been able to survive unspeakable violence, that has brought up her children alone or has been able to push past oppressive patriarchal structures just to be able to do the basic things in life that she wants to do, like work. I am sure that we all know a woman who has had to battle relentless sexual harassment when she has tried to go about her daily life at work, at school or on the street.

These women need to be recognized. It takes strength to endure the extreme levels of violence and discrimination facing so many women and girls around the world today. It takes strength to push past the discomfort of endless lecherous stares by men on the street and to believe that you have worth, when the men around you are treating you as if you don't. This is particularly so for women who have been able to survive these attitudes with limited education and few opportunities.
I failed to notice that the train I was on was actually sat at my destination train station, Cheltenham Spa. Truthfully, I was rather too immersed in my new One Love Manchester playlist on Spotify. So I was forced to quickly - stroke survivors don't do anything at speed - exit the train in just my bare feet, seconds before it continued onto its final stop, Plymouth.

As usual, because of my damned OCD, I arrived six hours early to deliver 'My Recovering Brain' talk, panel discussion and audience Q & A session, at Cheltenham Science Festival 2017. Reflecting on it, I could have traveled all the way to Plymouth and still got back to Cheltenham Spa in time to deliver my talk!

Cheltenham Science Festival is an annual event which attracts the world's greatest scientists, big thinkers and comedy geniuses to help us answer some pretty big questions. (Even our PM - for now- Theresa May, visited the day before the election, although it seems she didn't get any answers to her big questions!)

Advertisement

Our session was to be chaired by fellow obsessive spinning enthusiast Julia Wheeler, a former BBC Gulf correspondent and journalist. Joining us was Dr Parashkev Nachev - senior clinical research associate at the Institute of Neurology at UCL. His research deals primarily with behavioural neurology. I'll be honest I was a little intimidated!

We were invited to talk about the recovering brain to a sold out paying audience - that's a first for me! (Ok, so it was only 8 a ticket, but that was the closest I'd get to being like my new guilty pleasure, Ariana Grande!!)

I kicked off proceedings with a ten minute justification for why I believe the brain recovers. I spent my short talk explaining why self-belief combined with repetitive, frequent and intensive effort by the patient, with a damaged brain, can and DOES dramatically improve brain recovery. I used video evidence of some of the remarkable and instant results, from patients all over the world I've visited over the last six years. The crowd were aghast, engaged and interactive.

Advertisement

Then Dr Nachev spoke and explained how the scientific theory behind brain recovery, was now catching up with me! He talked about how we needed to treat all brains individually and that 'trying' repetitively was the key to recovery or improvement. Therefore, our challenge was to try to unlock patient motivation.

I was quite emotional, extremely proud and felt totally vindicated after all these lonely years of campaigning/educating/boring & alienating family and close friends about locked in syndrome and patients. My breakthrough moment must have felt similar to how Erin Brokovich must have felt when she made the link between water and illness, in her famous film some years ago.

So when Dr Nachev - a respected expert in the field - agreed and confirmed that the scientific community was now aligned with MY brain recovery theories, I was stoked. Furthermore he said,

"The future [of brain recovery] belongs to a very different way of thinking, one that is closely aligned with your [ME] own." Dr Nachev.

He went onto say that,

"Knowing how to motivate cognitive brainstem stroke patients who aren't as motivated as me was the challenge and we needed more research on motivation.... but that every stroke patient needed a 'shot of Kate Allatt' in their arms to aid their recovery.' We say self belief is EVERYTHING!

Advertisement

In absence of that injection there is my video I filmed some years ago to give you some inspiration!

My Book "Running Free - Breaking out of locked in syndrome."
NUS

Thursday night was nothing short of a political earthquake.

The Conservatives were odds on favourites to gain a thumping majority. Instead they have found themselves weakened and demoralised, seeking an agreement with the right-wing Democratic Unionist Party just to get over the threshold. The pollsters claimed that Labour would lose over 50 seats in this election. On the night they gained almost 30.

The professional pundits are now scratching their heads, wondering how they got it so wrong. According the rules of an ordinary election, this wasn't supposed to happen. But this was no ordinary election.

Advertisement

Thousands upon thousands of young people came out to vote, engaging with politics for the very first time. So often alienated and disillusioned with our political process in the past, our generation turned out en-masse: smashing aside conventional wisdom with the kind of irreverent, meme-fuelled fervour that only the millennial generation can.

In short, we have claimed a stake in our future like never before.

The result? A huge increase in turnout that even by modest estimates could be up by as much as 20% from 2015. We saw huge swings in student seats such as Cardiff North, Bristol North West, Brighton Kempton, and even Canterbury.

There will now likely be an inquiry of sorts - with the great and the good competing to offer their hot takes on what really swung the election. It reminds me of a saying I once heard: every great victory has a thousand fathers, and every defeat an orphan.

But there is no doubt in my mind that if it wasn't for tremendous strength of the student movement, then none of this would have happened.

Advertisement

We have seen hundreds of student activists up and down the UK working tirelessly to turn the tide on previous years: to show once and for all that student apathy is a myth.

NUS launched its #GenerationVote campaign to re-engage students and young people with the political process. We have seen a diverse and innovative campaign including flash mobs, hustings, and ice-cream vans - culminating in adding over two million extra millennials to the electoral register. I want to give my heartfelt thanks to those within our movement that worked so hard to make this possible.

However, I want to emphasise another crucial ingredient in creating yesterday's result. Hope. Without that, all the ice cream vans in the world couldn't have got us to where we are now.

The students I've been speaking to throughout the campaign want to see progressive and fair policies that will have a very real and positive impact on all our futures. We want a government that does everything in its power to welcome International students and keep our universities and colleges diverse and vibrant. Under recent governments, further and higher education funding has radically reduced and student debt now follows us into mid-life. We want opportunities for young people to develop skills and access education. We want a fairer and equitable society that offers respect for all.
Jack Taylor via Getty Images

As dawn broke on Friday morning, Jeremy Corbyn had secured one of Labour's highest vote shares in a generation - only fractions off Labour's '97 landslide. His impressive, emboldened campaign that offered real alternative encouraged a record registration surge, captured the youth vote and made massive gains in an election intended to bury Labour, and destroy progressive, hope-filled politics forever. In doing so, the media and political elite, who had spent almost two years with the misguided narrative that he was somehow 'out of touch,' and a 'hopeless extremist' woke with the shocking realisation that it was they who had called it so drastically wrong. "Who's 'out of touch' now?" I wondered.

In 2016, covering the budget I spoke of the real and pressing need for the type of policy and promise I was adamant Jeremy would make. Britain was crumbling under the strains of austerity with communities, individuals and services crippled by bleak Conservative governance that crushed hope and stunted aspiration. A whole generation of young people had largely abandoned politics with little to interest them under the rigid and extreme-centre inevitability of inequality and war.

Advertisement

In launching Labour's manifesto Corbyn reversed years of neglect overnight and offered policies of mass popularity at the heart of the nation's needs. He instantly inspired a national conversation and response unseen in politics for generations - halls, squares and gigs were suddenly packed with the sight and sound of hopeful Britons and inspired young voices that typified his energised campaign.

Pre snap-election, Corbyn's ratings had inevitably hit rock bottom following constant assault from all corners of the press - most disturbingly from those who should have supported him. In the publications who supposedly believe in pro-people politics, the daily focus and attacks on Corbyn's leadership style consistently outweighed any real criticisms of the sheer damage conservatism was inflicting across Britain. In fact, only The Daily Mirror can claim to have supported Corbyn throughout - that is just one newspaper against Britain's entire established media.

While The Guardian limply offered support a few days prior, even on pre-election night journalists were rushing to denounce him; rushing to distance themselves for self-gain. Marina Hyde, for instance, likened making the choice between May or Corbyn as requiring a 'gun to the head.' She then self-assuredly called for a future Centre-Left leader to 'adopt some of the emotion' Corbyn had apparently used in his campaign. This cold-hearted call for spin, and style over substance failed to recognise the break from Blairite politics and approach that would prove so popular in Corbyn's appeal. Unwittingly, Hyde's metaphor for gun-to-head life and death mirrored the tragic reality some Britons faced as the nation chose between these two very different futures.

The Guardian and other publications' constant assaults on Corbyn will lead to plenty of those who value truth, fairness and an anti-austerity future, to turn away in distrust from the content they assumed and hoped served their interests. In my mind, there is no doubt that the 'Left' helped fuel Corbyn's pre-campaign poll-ratings and actively encouraged the Tory landslide that they apparently so feared. Channel 4's John Snow today spoke of a media out of touch with reality. For the integrity and future of Journalism many such admissions should follow.

Advertisement

We must ask more from the Left-leaning press, because while Jeremy received little or no backing from his own corner; he received fire, accusation and fury from the Right. The flaky terrorist sympathiser (see peacebroker; or Thatcher/Pinochet for balance) rhetoric was constantly splashed across front pages, while his moves towards a more equal, fairer society were predictably labelled 'dangerous,' and 'extremist.' Any tourist visiting Britain would be forgiven for taking the first flight back home after seeing word of the crazed, maniacal despot that the Right-wing press so desperately tried to paint.

But while the media worked relentlessly to destroy him, it seems their grip on the public's conscience has loosened. On election night, Murdoch is said to have stormed out of a party on sight of the Exit Polls. For Murdoch, it symbolised a spell broken after years of controlling British hearts and minds, and showed a people tired of false claims and wild accusations. Corbyn's reasoned, mild-mannered character, energised campaign and very British personality simply didn't fit the distorted narrative of danger, threat and extremism that Murdoch's Empire and many on the Right wanted us to believe.

With these great misconceptions rubbished; Corbyn sits in a position of strength with solid foundations unseen in Labour for years. In gaining 30 seats, and recapturing Wales so effortlessly it's clear his message speaks to old Labour heartlands, and by galvanising the youth vote he's shaped politics for years to come with voters who simply won't settle for anything less. His remarkable climb from 20 points down to the tight margin he finished election night on was title-winning form. The longer the campaign ran the stronger he looked.

And now, as the political elite and media comes to terms with this great paradigm shift, and a battered Conservative Party re-enters Parliament weakened and exposed, it is clear Corbyn and his policies have set Britain on a path with a new found vision that is here to stay.

Remarkably, more than 150,000 people have joined the Labour Party since the election alone.
Eddie Keogh / Reuters

Quite a lot has been said in the last few days about the results of the General Election. From the moment the exit poll was released, GE2017 has been edge-of-your-seat electoral politics, which prior to 2015 seemed a rare thing. Those of us who threw in the towel in the wee hours of 9 June woke up to a hung parliament, a galvanised Labour electorate, and the name of a political party some had never heard. Google searches for the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) were tapped out as many tried to piece together what they had missed in the night. And while some celebrated the surprise gains of Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party, some of us felt a (now familiar) icy block growing in our stomachs as it seemed that Theresa May was ready to forge ahead with the backing of the DUP in order to cling to a small majority.

Advertisement

An alliance with the DUP could be disastrous, not only for the people of Northern Ireland but the rest of the United Kingdom. Almost instantly, voters in the rest of the UK learned what many in Northern Ireland had already known - the DUP has a shocking record on social issues and human rights, from reproductive rights to the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community to the denial of climate science. Almost instantly, there were questions: what would the future of reproductive rights in Northern Ireland be if the anti-choice DUP became Mrs. May's queenmakers? How could the Tories claim to support the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community while jumping into bed with a virulently bigoted party? What did any of this mean for the already delicate situation in Northern Ireland?

Ideally, power-sharing arrangements ensure that communities within deeply divided societies are able to participate in governance on more or less equal footing. On the whole, power-sharing solutions, while difficult and often fragile, are a solid way of managing civil conflict. The arrangement in Northern Ireland has been lauded in the scholarship on deeply divided societies as a success and deservedly so, but it is by no means a perfect peace. Power-sharing agreements are by nature delicate, fraught arrangements, and Northern Ireland is in no way an exception.

In Northern Ireland, the political climate is tense enough without a Conservative Party- DUP alliance. Power-sharing talks between the two major parties broke down early this year, with the deadline for an agreement requiring extension to save it. Only two months ago the Guardian reported the possibility of a return to direct rule - although direct rule by a Parliament propped up by the DUP is certainly not what anyone had in mind as a viable solution. If in a few months' time direct rule is instated, the DUP is sure to be favoured in some capacity - how could they not be, when they prop up Mrs. May's small majority? There have been calls for Sinn Fein to take their seats in Westminster in order for nationalist interests to have some kind of voice, breaking with their abstentionist practices. But relying on Sinn Fein to appear at Westminster unduly places the burden of responsibility on a party that as a matter of course does not appear at Parliament, and demanding this demonstrates a lack of consideration and care for the very real principles that inform abstention. A neutral arbiter cannot afford to ignore the road to abstention and in good faith retain claim to its neutrality by knowingly putting nationalist politicians on the back foot, and no one would blame the nationalist community for fearing political exclusion.

Advertisement
We are in the holy month of Ramadan. For millions of Muslims that means fasting, prayer and rejoicing in our faith. Yet for a second year, Daesh has marked this month with mass murder and bloodshed. This time, they have brought their horror to the streets of London.

In recent weeks, I have stood with other faith leaders at Westminster Bridge and in central Manchester to mourn those slain by Daesh in senseless attacks. Teenagers killed at a pop concert and tourists enjoying the sights. Now the terrorists have unleashed their horror on friends and colleagues enjoying a Saturday night by the river Thames.

Advertisement

This is how Ramadan is marked by the terrorists. Last year, they openly boasted of the number of people killed and maimed during the holy month around the world. Dhaka, Istanbul and Baghdad saw unspeakable atrocities and Daesh even exploded a bomb near Prophet's Mosque in Madinah killing four people.

Then there was also the hideous massacre of 49 people in a night club in Orlando and the cold-blooded murder of a police officer in Magnanville, France. This year has seen a bomb explosion at an ice cream parlour in the Iraqi capital killing families breaking the Ramadan fast. It's hard to imagine the brutal mindset that would consider committing such an act.

Around the world, people of all faiths have been slaughtered by Daesh. The objective is to create a division between Muslims and non-Muslims. They strive for a thoroughly polarised society where suspicion and hatred would be the norm. In this, they are assisted by the extreme Right. Both seem to be locked in a symbiotic relationship, supporting each other's arguments.

It suits both Daesh inspired terrorists and extreme Right demagogues to see Muslims demonised. Daesh wants to create conditions for Muslims that are so intolerable that they believe it would make their so called "Islamic state" an attractive option. The extreme Right dreams of its "clash of civilisations", a fantasy replay of the medieval crusades. All of us must reject these two bleak and dystopian alternatives.

Advertisement

The real dichotomy is between terrorists on the one side and the rest of society on the other. Anything less is a victory for the terrorists. If we are going to defeat Daesh, we have to stand together as a nation. That's why inter-faith work is so essential. By reaching out to Jews, Christians, Sikhs and Hindus, we are confounding the terrorists. The more unity we display, the more futile their violence becomes.

The only way we can understand why they do what they do - is to grasp this essential fact. They are trying to drive a wedge between us. It's their overriding objective. The more provocative and blood soaked the act, the more likely that division will be fostered. That's why we must continue to react to terrorist attacks with unity and resilience.

It's not going to be easy. Daesh will do everything in its power to test our strength as a society. By striking at teenage girls at a pop concert, the terrorists are seeking to provoke us. They want to wound all of us at the deepest psychological level. Success is measured by the degree of division that results.

This is a twisted strategy. But then what can you expect from a terrorist group that committed genocide, mass rape, murder and theft in Syria and Iraq? Daesh brutalised those it ruled over in Mosul and Raqqa. It sold women as slaves and taught children how to perform executions. This is a group with no moral core, no conscience, no sense of regret. Power is its only driver.

Now that it sees its grip loosening on the territory it illegally seized in Iraq and Syria, it's bringing death to the streets of London and Manchester. It is mestasising like a cancer across Europe. Using social media, it's preying on vulnerable and disaffected individuals as agents of destruction and death.

Advertisement
Paper Boat Creative via Getty Images

For the past few years, I have been researching the impact of modern society upon mothers. What I have found is a range of issues causing distress to families with young children, mothers in particular, who report feeling torn between parenting and paid work, experiencing an overwhelming guilt that they are failing in both roles due to lack of time and money. I have previously argued that neoliberalism, the dominant force in contemporary British culture is anti-feminist in essence and should be challenged as such.

The demonisation of mothers across various areas of the media is a publicly visible element of this issue; for example the tabloid stereotype of the 'yummy' (prosperous, well groomed, hard-working, successful) "mummy" and her antithesis, the 'slummy' (poor, shabby, work-shy, failing) "mummy" . Prosperous middle class 'yummy' mummies are insidiously marshalled through a range of media, particularly of the social variety, to voice disapproval of the perceived lack of enterprise shown by socio-economically deprived, apparently shiftless 'slummy' mummies.

Advertisement

In just one example, this situation was recently explicitly played out through the setting up of an apparent stand-off between two mothers whom circumstances placed in tragic circumstances, in which widely pilloried 'slummy' Karen Matthews publicly alleged that Kate McCann, who might appear to be a standard 'yummy' is in fact 'a dreadful mother'. Through this process, mothers are induced to argue amongst themselves, and are thereby distracted from opposing the underlying establishment which oppresses them. This shields an unsupportive elitist state from the discontent that arises amongst women trying to raise young children in an arena of austerity policy, struggling to manage both time and money.

It is time for British women of all political persuasions to consider whether they really want Theresa May to lead the nation, when she has been seen hand in hand with a man who boasts that power brings the advantage of being able to 'do anything to' women, and she has now shown willing to do a deal with a political party which views women as utterly subordinate to men and a draconian state.

Advertisement
What a mess. Just when you thought that the governing class could do no more to fail in their custodianship of Britain's political settlement, it surprises us all. And let's not forget the role of "the people" in creating the current impasse.

The result of the UK general election has made it clear that the nation - the people, the politicians, the media, everyone - have surpassed themselves.

Theresa May, the prime minister, chose to go to the country in order to create "unity" in parliament and unite the country behind her diamond-hard Brexit strategy. That has not happened. The result reveals a country still divided along the lines of age, education, income and geography. Any hopes that people were coming back together after the division and unhappiness of last year's Brexit referendum have been dashed. And, having squandered a working majority in parliament, May now seems prepared to put the whole Northern Irish peace process at risk in order to struggle on in a minority government with the help of the Democratic Unionist Party.

Advertisement

May's arrogance and hubris may be the immediate cause of these troubles but what we are seeing now is the effect of many chickens coming home to roost. The UK is the creation of armed force, global expansion, and the projection of power around the world. It was the beating heart of a great empire that brought enormous wealth for the few and knitted a people together in a shared identity. That identity was underpinned by military prowess, material progress and a belief in the superiority of UK institutions, with a centralisation of power in one of the world's great cities, London.

Today, the empire is long gone and so has the shared belief in the UK and what it means. The military prowess is not what it was, the nation's material progress has been eclipsed by that of its trading partners, and the belief in the superiority of UK institutions has taken a battering.

Many of the drivers of this decline go back over a century but more recently to the impact of Thatcherism. Labour's well-intentioned but ultimately fudged programme of devolution and constitutional reform has also driven the constituent nations of the UK apart.

In Northern Ireland, the Troubles may have ended but there is no agreement on the future of the province and a significant minority of its population wants to leave the UK. Despite the most recent electoral setbacks, it's also only a matter of time before the Scottish National Party finds the opportunity to restage 2014's independence referendum. And while there is currently no significant support for independence in Wales, Plaid Cymru pushes a strong cultural nationalist message that has been taken up by many in Welsh Labour as well.

Advertisement

The elephant in the room in all of this is England. It was English voters, particularly in the South-East, who showed the most enthusiasm for the Thatcher project and voted in sufficient numbers to effectively impose it on the rest of the UK in the 1980s. And it was the English question that Labour ignored when it drew up its devolution plans a decade later.

In the absence of a legitimate democratic stage on which to express itself, the last decade has seen English nationalism take on a darker, more anti-system tone. It drove the vote to leave the EU and continues to poison political discourse today. It now seems impossible to provide a political expression for English identity that does not drown out the voices of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This is an apparently intractable question and potentially fatal for the United Kingdom.

Divided at a crucial moment

Last year's Leave vote also fractured the UK's most important external links and further weakened its already diminishing influence in the world. Yet voters, often admired for their pragmatism and tolerance in the past, do not seem unduly troubled by that fact.

May's embrace of the hardest of Brexit strategies - leaving the single market and the customs union in order to slice off the influence of the European Court of Justice and control immigration - reflected this reality. It offered voters a certain clarity of purpose, albeit at considerable economic cost.

This electoral humiliation is a rejection of May's vision for a hard Brexit - but where does it leave the nation? The prime minister remains in power, for now at least, without a clear direction to take and with just days to go before negotiations begin with Europe.

Advertisement

So, as the dust settles, we are left with a prime minister who must now negotiate Brexit at the head of a minority government that will be propped up by some of the most socially conservative and sectarian politicians in Western Europe and will inevitably be at the mercy of its most disgruntled and xenophobic backbenchers.

And when she gets the chance to be debriefed on her electoral meltdown, May will see evidence of an electorate that has doubled-down on its position in the Brexit referendum. Thus, in constituencies where there was a majority for Remain, such as in Bristol West, Labour easily exceeded the national swing towards the party. Yet barely 40 miles away, in pro-Brexit Yeovil, the Conservatives increased their already substantial majority over the pro-Remain Liberal Democrats. And we see the same pattern around the country.

UK voters are estranged from one another, convinced of the virtue of their own positions, and in no mood to compromise with their fellow citizens. At the same time, the UK's governing class is paralysed and its politicians can see no further than their own survival. The UK's national nervous breakdown continues.
IT'S NOT DEMOCRACY

How the EU referendum was hijacked - and Article 50 has not been triggered

The Cameron government hijacked the EU Referendum and converted it into a political agenda to suit their own internal party politics. They succeeded in fooling the public and even the other parties into believing that their political agenda was inherent in the referendum Act, and that the result had to be "implemented".

There has never been a constitutional decision that the UK shall leave the EU. The Article 50 Notification served on 29 March is invalid.

Advertisement

This explains why:

An exit of the UK from the EU and its subsequent consequences may go down in history as the most momentous change of constitutional status in Britain in living memory. It may surprise you to know that it would be carried out without any democratic mandate or legal basis whatsoever.

Tory, Labour and LibDems all hold the same position: "The result of the EU referendum was the democratic will of the people and must be respected." As is often heard: "It's democracy!". Any challenge is undemocratic.

Is it democracy?

Let's start with these basics. The UK has an elected Parliament. This is the foundation of our democracy. We accept that Parliament is the supreme legislative authority. Governments cannot override the supremacy of Parliament. They are not permitted to bend either the laws or the clear intent of Parliament to suit their own agenda.

Who would dispute that? Yet this fundamental principle has been overridden; and this abuse has been accepted without question. Both the public and Parliament itself have been deceived and fooled.

Advertisement

How?

In 2015 Parliament passed the EU Referendum Act. The Act was quite simple; it authorized an advisory referendum with two simple alternatives: Remain in the EU or Leave the EU.

The advisory status was confirmed beyond doubt to MP's when the Referendum Bill was presented in June 2015. The Minister for Europe David Lidington said: "The legislation is about holding a vote; it makes no provision for what follows. The referendum is advisory, as was the case for both the 1975 referendum on Europe and the Scottish independence vote last year. In neither of those cases was there a threshold for the interpretation of the result."

In case some MPs had not been paying sufficient attention, further confirmation of the advisory status was given to them in the House of Commons Briefing Paper of June 2015: "This Bill requires a referendum on the question of the UK's continued membership of the European Union. It does not contain any requirement for the UK Government to implement the results of the referendum, nor set any time limit by which a vote to leave the EU should be implemented Instead, this is a type of referendum known as pre-legislative or consultative which enables the electorate to voice an opinion which then influences the Government in its policy decisions."

The fact that the status was advisory had two crucially important implications:

Firstly: There was no debate about the setting of a majority or supermajority vote threshold, whether 50%, 60% or even 66%, which would have been an essential legal requirement to include in the legislation for a binding vote.

Being advisory, there was no need to even discuss this issue. It was not a vote, it was a consultation. Nowhere, neither before or afterwards, has Parliament determined 50% as a threshold. That is a fiction created since by the Cameron government.

Advertisement

Secondly: The actual choice offered of "Leave the EU" was astoundingly simplistic.

"Remain" needed little amplification. It was the status quo. "Leave the EU" can have very many different meanings, as has become clear since June 2016.

Clearly, Parliament made no attempt to clarify the intent or meaning because there was no need to. The referendum was advisory. It was not a vote, it was a consultation of public opinion. The result was to be considered, but Parliament would still have the right and the duty to consider the national interest and take such decision as it thought fit.

Parliament passed the Referendum Act on that clear legal basis. The Conservative party's position, as set out in their 2015 manifesto, was that they would 'respect the outcome'. Quite right, all MPs should "respect" the outcome.

But what happened ?

David Cameron created the Great Pretence that the referendum was binding, and deliberately concealed its advisory status in all public information. It is suspected that MPs were instructed to be complicit in this concealment.

Cameron's legal duty, and May's, was to present the result of the referendum to Parliament for due debate and consideration, and it should then have been subject to a free vote, allowing MPs to put the nation's interest above party politics.

Advertisement

But in early 2016 the Government announced that they will not just "respect the outcome", but will "implement the result". This created a wholly new context. The precise meaning of the very simple and loose consultative question "Do you want to Leave the EU?" now became very important, since it had to be "implemented".

"Leave the EU" was acceptable as a gauge of public opinion, but it was clearly not acceptable as a ballot paper option for a binding vote to "implement" specific action. Leave the EU - regardless of the consequences? Leave the EU - once you have established acceptable alternatives? Leave the EU - at some point in the future if it doesn't reform itself to our satisfaction...? Leave the EU and stay in the single market, leave and stay in the customs union, leave and limit free movement or allow free movement, leave and adopt a Norway model, make a total break and go off the cliff into WTO trading.... There are 101 variations. "Leave the EU" was virtually meaningless.

Cameron added the fiction that the vote would turn decisively on a 50% threshold. Parliament has never set that threshold. A petition signed by over 4 million demanded in fact that in order to be decisive the vote should require at least a 60% threshold.

The Great Pretence succeeded in fooling the public into believing that the referendum was a binding vote turning on a 50% threshold.

Ironically, shortly before the June 23 vote, Nigel Farage MEP said: "If it's a 52-48 result it's unfinished business". Clearly he intended to challenge a 52% Remain/48% Leave result. How? Presumably by making the very same case as outlined here.

Advertisement

Even Farage has now admitted that the referendum was advisory. On the Andrew Marr Show on 6th November 2016 he turned and said to Gina Miller: "I take the advisory point, and I would now wish to see constitutional change to make referendums binding."

Well, you can hardly get a better endorsement than that. The referendum was advisory, not a binding vote

The Pretence that the referendum was the democratic and mandatory "will of the people" has been repeated so extensively that it has become accepted as conventional wisdom, and is largely unchallenged. Parliament itself determined that the referendum was no more than a consultation. That remains the case to this day.

So the referendum was advisory, and it was hijacked.

What about the Article 50 Notice?

This may come as another surprise to the reader: the Article 50 Notification served by Theresa May on 29th March is not worth the paper it's written on.

Here is the problem: The famous Article 50 is very clearly written.

1.Any Member State may decide to withdraw from the Union in accordance with its own constitutional requirements.

Advertisement

2.A Member State which decides to withdraw shall notify the European Council of its intention.

So first you make the decision to withdraw, then you must notify your decision. Clear enough. But now ask the question: When, where and by whom was a decision made?

Ministers and Lords have told Parliament, and May wrote in her famous letter, that the "decision" was made by "the people" on 23rd June 2016.

Was it?

Last January the Supreme Court ruled in the Gina Miller case that only Parliament may remove rights which Parliament has granted in the first place. No Minister can do it. Even a Prime Minister wearing an imaginary crown of "Royal Prerogative" can't do it. Only Parliament may do it, and then only through an Act of Parliament.

And perhaps most importantly, even the "People" can't do it.

How can Mrs May claim that "the People" made a decision which removes the rights of their fellow citizens? This would be illegal.

"But - there was a decision - there was a vote - 52% voted to Leave".... Yes there was a vote, and 37% of the electorate did choose the Leave option, but that was not a binding vote. Cameron created the Pretence that it was binding so that when the anticipated vote for remain was announced, he could say " well that's it", the eurosceptics have had their chance, end of story. As we know the Pretence backfired. Goodbye Cameron and Hello May, who continued the pretence.

Advertisement

The government's official position is that the referendum was the decision. David Davis told the Commons; Lord Bridges told the Lords; Theresa May told President Tusk; the referendum result itself was the decision required by Article 50(1).

The referendum result itself cannot be the "decision".

1.It was not binding.

2.There was no set threshold.

3.The Supreme Court has confirmed that only Parliament can make such a decision, and by means of an Act of Parliament.

When did Parliament make such a decision? The answer is - never. Parliament has never been asked to make a decision. It has passed no such Act.

So the government has to claim that "the referendum result was the decision".

The government is either badly advised by its legal experts, or is deliberately misleading the public and the EU.

Is this the 'legal problem' that William Cash was about to raise in the Commons when May shut him up? This is the exchange that took place on 14th March 2017:

Advertisement

Sir William Cash (Stone) (Con):

"I congratulate my right hon. Friend not only on her statement and the way in which she dispatched the Leader of the Opposition, but on the passage of the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill. Does she accept that now is the time for the UK to do all the things that she has recommended in her statement and, in addition to that, to take urgent legal advice in respect of the legal warnings that have been given by Lord Hope of Craighead to be sure that we do not have any unforeseen further attempts to undo that Bill in the courts?"

The Prime Minister:

"I can assure my hon. Friend that, as we move ahead with this, as we have at every stage, we will take appropriate legal advice, but as he will know we do not discuss that on the Floor of the House."

In other words - Shut up you idiot!

So - why the omission to mention 50(1) in the Bill or elsewhere? Pure incompetence? Or some more sinister intention?

What could the sinister intent be? Leaving an emergency exit open - to be able to say at some time down the line - "oh sorry President Tusk, the Notice was invalid, so you can't boot us out of the EU after all"?

Is May that cunning? Hard to believe. So perhaps it is pure incompetence. It's an open question. Are the autocratic Empress Theresa and her band of hapless Brexiteers so out of touch with reality and the results of their bungling that they simply refuse to confront reality? Or is there still a dark reason, known only to the few?

Advertisement

Conclusion

Democracy in Britain is based upon the firm principle that the elected Members of Parliament make the law. Parliament in its wisdom passed the 2015 EU Referendum Act with the clear intent that it should be advisory, and that its result should then be considered by Parliament. Whatever was put in the Conservative manifesto of 2015 has no bearing upon the legal status of the Act.

The Cameron government hijacked the Act and converted it into a political agenda to suit their own internal party politics. They succeeded in fooling the public and even the other parties into believing that their political agenda was inherent in the Act, and that the result had to be "implemented".

There has never been a constitutional decision stating that the UK shall leave the EU. The Article 50 Notification served on 29 March is invalid.

This scandal has never been challenged by the other parties. They seem to be terrified of being labelled 'undemocratic". Yet the hijacking of the Act is the most undemocratic event in living memory. It is not democracy. Democracy will only be served by allowing Parliament to freely debate, consider and vote upon what action should be taken in the national interest as a result of the advisory referendum of 23 June 2016. To date, Parliament has not been permitted to do that. It must be permitted to do so, and in a free vote.

If that is not done, an exit of the UK from the EU and its subsequent consequences may be carried out without any democratic mandate or legal basis whatsoever.

Advertisement

History may not treat that fiasco kindly.
BEN STANSALL via Getty Images

"I have been studying hard in prison and must thank PET for giving me hope and direction in my life." -Letter from a prisoner studying to be a trainee hotel manager

This week the Rt Hon David Lidington MP took up responsibility for for the tens of thousands of men and women in our prisons. The aftershocks from the General Election will leave MPs and Ministers wrestling with major political decisions facing the country, but the new Justice Secretary cannot afford to be distracted. The issues he faces are urgent and hugely important. The reports of individual inspectors as well as his own department's statistics chronicling dismal increases in violence, self-harm and deaths can have left him in no doubt of the precarious state of the country's prisons.

Advertisement

One of the most acute examples of this lies in his own constituency. Aylesbury young offender institution (YOI) holds some of the country's youngest prisoners serving the longest sentences. Branded the UK's "toughest youth prison" by The Mirror, it was one of several institutions to suffer riots at the end of last year. Its situation has caused repeated concern among inspectors - who in 2015 reported alarming rates of violence and self-harm, under a "punitive and restrictive" regime that offered little opportunity for prisoners to leave their cells, let alone spend their time purposefully.

The impact goes beyond the qualification itself - this boy is suddenly engaged with something he is interested in and is good at; he is able to imagine his life beyond prison; he is hopeful.

Short-staffed establishments like Aylesbury face enormous pressures and huge daily risks. But by locking up human beings for hours on end, they are doing very little to return those people to our towns and cities as successful citizens, who can support their families and contribute to their communities. The truth is that a prison sentence reinforces a person's identity as a criminal and loses homes, jobs and family contacts - some of the elements that will be vital to a law-abiding life on release.

But it is possible to help people in prison to see a way out of the cycle of limited opportunities. Every month Prisoners' Education Trust (PET) funds around 400 people in prisons across England and Wales to take distance-learning courses, in subjects ranging from beekeeping to bookkeeping, from vocational certificates to degree-level study. And every week we receive letters from prisoners thanking us for the hope that education has given them. They tell us it has helped them cope with their lives in custody; has made their families proud, and is building the confidence they need to make a constructive life after release. A tutor in a young offenders' institute told us last week that a boy in his care has stopped self-harming since, through PET, he has begun to study AS Level Maths. The impact goes beyond the qualification itself - this young man is now engaged with something he is interested in and is good at; he is able to imagine his life beyond prison; he is hopeful.

Advertisement

Education is one area in which there is a clear path forward, offering dramatic results.

And we have more than these examples: statisticians from the Ministry of Justice have shown that prisoners who have applied and been helped by the education we offer have gone on to reoffend over a quarter less than a matched control group of prisoners.

There is a lot to be done to bring our prisons to a state in which they can support their inmates to achieve more with their lives. But education is one area in which there is a clear path forward, offering dramatic results. Just over a year ago, Dame Sally Coates published a major review of how prison education could be made more effective, through flexibility for governors to meet prisoner needs more effectively, through offering a broader range of opportunities with genuine educational progression and through using secure IT to enhance opportunities.
Hannah Mckay / Reuters

Arrogant and Vain - those were the damning words used by the Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron to describe Theresa May and her decision to call a snap general election. As the polls closed and that shocking and ultimately spot on exit poll came out declaring the result would be a hung parliament - I felt the same. "Hubris" - I declared to my husband - "that is what has done for the Prime Minster". Supporters and detractors alike were no doubt having the same thought.

But as the hours ticked by and the dawn of yet another new reality begins to sink in I've been starting to wonder if perhaps excessive pride and self-confidence were not in fact behind this ultimately foolish decision. Sure, she will have been buoyed by the polls putting her streets ahead of Corbyn in any popularity contest. But perhaps deep down there was something else going on.

Advertisement

Here was a Prime Minister un-elected by the people and not even ultimately chosen by her own party. Perhaps the decision was about something every successful woman I've ever met or interviewed suffers from- imposter syndrome. Maybe she just didn't feel good enough to be Prime Minister - didn't feel like she'd earned it or that people believed in her, and by going to the country she could finally put those self-doubts to rest.

This fear of being exposed, of feeling that you don't deserve your success, aren't as good as others and could be "found at" any time is shockingly common amongst high achieving women.

One of the most successful and high-profile women on the planet, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg has spoken of the numerous days she has woken up feeling like a fraud. Many famous actresses have outed themselves as having dealt with this syndrome, including Emma Watson, Kate Winslet and the poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou.

Every article I've ever read about the Prime Minister presents her as strong and self-assured. Indeed, that's certainly how she seemed when I met her. But isn't that what we think about all women in high position.

Advertisement

For the first few years of my presenting career I definitely struggled with imposter syndrome. There were countless days I would sit in this space ship size studio in the big black presenter chair feeling nauseous with anxiety. Sure, I had spent a decade working my way up the greasy pole of journalism - but who was I to be putting the big questions of the day to the big beasts of politics and business? Did I really know enough to be asking the right probing incisive questions? But despite the worries and doubts I just kept going. But then I've never run the country.

Is this ultimately what happened here? Were Theresa May's insecurities to blame?

Perhaps I am being too charitable - giving the Prime Minister the benefit of oh, oh so many doubts.
Something went wrong, please try again later.

Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later.

Sign up to the Hull Live newsletter for daily updates and breaking news

A Hull man and a teenage girl have been banned from Hull train station for causing distress to members of the public.

Ashley Smith, 29, of Walliker Street, west Hull, and Jade Stacey, 15, of Hampshire Street, off west Hull, have been banned from Paragon Interchange by British Transport Police.

Smith has been banned for 10 offences of antisocial behaviour, theft, robbery and assault carried out between now and October 2015.

He is also banned from Terry Street Hostel and The Warren in Queens Dock Avenue.

Stacey has carried out 59 offences of antisocial and criminal behaviour in the station and nearby St Stephens Shopping Centre since February 2015.

Both have been handed criminal behaviour orders at Hull Magistrates Court.

PC Cheryl Scrase from BTP said: Our job is to make sure passengers and rail staff using the station and interchange feels safe and secure and ensure the station remains a safe and pleasant environment to travel through and work in.

Smith and Staceys anti-social behaviour was affecting this and causing distress to members of the public, which we will not tolerate.

The order in place prevents them both from intimidating people at the station and allows the courts to take swift action if their anti-social and unacceptable behaviour continues.

The order also prevents Smith from acting in an antisocial manner and abusing emergency services staff.

Stacey is also banned from Kings Kebab Highcourt and the Parks Childrens Centre unless accompanied by a parent, carer or family member over 18.

The separate orders were granted following the applications by the British Transport Police, supported by Humberside Police, Hull City Council, Carlisle Support Services, the rail industry and local businesses.

The BTP spokesman said: The orders are as a result of some excellent partnership work we have carried out with other agencies.

I hope this will send a clear message to those people who engage in criminal and anti-social behaviour in Hull that we will do everything in our power to stop them and to protect the public.
We have more newsletters

Something went wrong, please try again later.

Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later.

Sign up to the Hull Live newsletter for daily updates and breaking news

Police discovered a cannabis factory after raiding a home in east Hull.

The Hull East team posted photographs of the factory which shows complexity of the set up with with lighting and temperature control in place at the property in Brazil Street, off Holderness Road.

Humberside Police carried out the raid on Sunday evening with a total of 84 plants discovered - which could yield thousands of pounds worth of cannabis.

Officers say the plants will now be disposed of, saying in the tweet: "The Drypool Team clearing a cannabis factory on Brazil Street. That's 84 plants in the skip.

A Humberside Police spokesman said: "We were called at 2.51am on Saturday 10 June following reports of suspicious activity at a property on Brazil Street, Hull.

"Officers attended and discovered the property was being used to grow cannabis.

(Image: Humberside Police)

"Two men, aged 23 and 24, were arrested at the address and have subsequently been released under investigation while enquiries continue.

"A scene guard was briefly at the address prior to the plants being destroyed."
Something went wrong, please try again later.

Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later.

Sign up to our free email alerts for the top Hull Foodies stories sent straight to your e-mail

It is a street already filled with international flavours but now a new restaurant could be opening up in Hull's Princes Avenue.

While no tenant has been confirmed for the premises at the Freshair hair salon, there has already been interest from those wishing to offer Thai, Spanish and English food.

An application has been submitted to turn the salon into the 60-seater food outlet and will see the Freshair salon relocate and it would create several new jobs.

A spokesman for applicant Townglow said: "Freshair has asked to vacate the property which requires substantial investment to bring it up to the standard required.

"Princes Avenue is changing and requires help to sustain the best suburban eating drinking area in Hull as the focus seems to have turned to Hull Marina.

"All good cities require good out of town venues on suburban roads such as the Avenues.

"There is a demand for specialist smaller restaurants on Princes Ave that offer different international foods. We have interest from good Spanish, Thai and English, operators that would all add to Princes Avenue."

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon 8 Cancel Play now

The offering in Princes Avenue already includes Italian places such as Lucia Grill and Uno, tapas bar El Toro, seafood restaurant Bait, Wildair offering Mediterranean cuisine, the Thai House restaurant and Moroccan eatery Marrakech.

As part of the proposals, the applicant will build an extension at the rear of the property which is next to the Fish and Chip Kitchen.

There will also be a new shop front and the use of the enlarged ground floor will be for the restaurant with function room with toilets and stores on the upper floors.

The applicant said: "A survey we carried out has revealed that of 73 business units on Princes Avenue only 26 per cent are in bar, restaurant or cafe use.

"This reflects the area's change over the years to providing a mixed leisure and retail function. The area as a whole is vibrant with plenty of activity and footfall. There are not many empty units.

"Another restaurant into this mix is not going to harm the existing shopping function of the area as a whole."

The application is set to be considered by Hull City Council's planning committee next month.
Something went wrong, please try again later.

Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later.

Sign up to the Hull Live newsletter for daily updates and breaking news

A Hull teacher missing for nearly 20 years has been declared dead despite his body never being found.

It has taken almost two decades for an inquest to be held after Richard Hall went missing in November 1998 - prompting Humberside Police to issue a frank apology to his family.

Senior officers have admitted historic missing persons case files were misplaced and have only just been discovered, leading to a delay in bringing them to a coroner.

There was a huge appeal to find Mr Hall, a former assistant principal at Wilberforce College, who went missing from his Hessle home in November 1998.

But his family had to wait until Friday for a coroner to confirm he had died, despite no body ever being recovered.

Detective Superintendent Matthew Baldwin has been tasked with ensuring the forgotten missing persons cases are dealt with.

Following an inquest on Friday, Det Supt Baldwin said: "We consider this to be a serious failing and we have launched an internal investigation into how this has happened.

"We have also met with the families involved to explain the situation. We fully understand the distress this has caused and have apologised sincerely to them all.

"We are working closely with the coroner to have all identified cases considered and for inquests to be held, where appropriate, at the earliest opportunity."

Det Supt Baldwin admits the police have to learn from the mistakes.

He added: "There are clearly lessons to be learned from what are shortcomings on our part and we have reviewed our policies and procedures to try and ensure this does not happen again."

The inquest heard from witnesses who gave evidence shortly after Mr Hall disappeared.

In a statement, one witness said: "I was travelling along the Humber Bridge with my wife when I saw a male on the footpath. The weather was appalling and it was raining hard. He was facing towards me and his right leg was over the hand rail.

"We then went on holiday but three weeks later I saw a poster for missing man Richard Hall and it was the same man I saw on the Humber Bridge. I am 95 per cent sure it was the same man."

But another witness told the police she was sure she saw Mr Hall a year later living homeless by the Kwik Save store in Beverley Road.

"I was positive it was the same man," they said.

Detective Constable Graeme Jones described how Mr Hall had voluntarily checked into a psychiatric hospital. He suffered depression and his condition declined after the death of his mother a short while before he went missing.

He said: "His disappearance created a lot of interest at the time as he was assistant principal and Wilberforce College and he was a well-known member of All Saints Church in Hessle.

"He left with little money and there is no evidence of any financial activity or any medical treatment since he went missing. All our investigations from appeals and information received proved negative."

The family of Mr Hall admitted they were shocked when they were told an inquest would take place and did not realise it could be done without a body.

Assistant coroner David Rosenberg told the inquest he was satisfied Mr Hall was dead but could not make a ruling on when where or how he died.

He said: "It must have come as a huge shock to the family when they were told about the inquest but hopefully it will provide some closure."
Something went wrong, please try again later.

Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later.

Sign up to the Hull Live newsletter for daily updates and breaking news

A fish and chip shop from Hull is going to become the first ever to send a portion of fish and chips into space.

Papas, who have restaurants in Willerby and Bilton, are celebrating being named the UKs favourite Fish and Chips by sending a portion of haddock and chips into the stratosphere.

The meal in a box will be strapped to a weather balloon before being released into the sky at SentIntoSpace in Sheffield at 12pm on Tuesday, June 13.

The owners say they have been playing with the idea for years to prove their fish and chips is out of this world.

Dino Papas, who runs the award winning fish and chip shop, alongside his brother, George, and dad, Sid, says he hopes it shows Hull to be the home of fish and chips.

He said: Tomorrow Papas will be sending a portion of fish and chips into space to show its truly out of this world.

Weve tried to play it down a bit, as we heard rumours some people down south were going to do it first, but we are looking forward to being the first.

We want it to be clear that Hull is the home of fish and chips. With City of Culture, and winning the best fish and chips, we really wanted to do something a bit extra.

The fish and chips will reach four times higher than any commercial aeroplane has ever reached.

His brother George said: It will take a couple of hours before it gets up there and spends some time floating in space. Its just a celebration really, because its a once in a lifetime thing.

We are going to filming it and get that amazing of the earth and the skyline from our chips on the balloon.

After a while the balloon will start to drift and then pop, so it will end up raining fish and chips over Yorkshire.

The fish and chip shop sold more than 10,000 portions in one day in March during a 1p giveaway, after being named Britains Best Fish and Chip Shop on BBCs Britains Best Takeaways.

Its something weve been thinking about for a couple of years, George said. Its not easy to just send anything into space and took a lot of planning and hard work. It would be nice to do it closer to home but this was the only place we found able to do it.

It will just be one of our portions of haddocks and chips, cooked in Hull. We did think about sending some mushy peas with it but thought there might be an issue sending anything slightly liquid.
Something went wrong, please try again later.

Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later.

Sign up to the Hull Live newsletter for daily updates and breaking news

Police have stepped up their appeal to find a Hull woman who has been missing since Saturday.

There is still no news about Patricia Herdsman, 57, who was last seen in the Aysgarth Avenue area of north Hull, off Cottingham Road, at 10.30am on Saturday.

Now police are growing increasingly worried for her welfare and are desperately appealing for the publics help to find her.

A spokesman for Humberside Police said: "Over the weekend we issued an appeal to locate Patricia Herdsman. We have still not been able to find Patricia and would ask for Patricia or anyone who knows where Patricia is to contact us as a matter of urgency.

She is around 5 feet tall, of slim build with shoulder-length fair hair. She is believed to be wearing a grey and brown raincoat.

Patricia, if you see this appeal please contact us, we want to make sure you are safe and well. You can ring 999 if you have not credit on your phone or call into any police station.

Anyone with information about Patricias whereabouts should call 101 quoting log 550 of 10 June.
The video will auto-play soon 8 Cancel

We have more newsletters

Something went wrong, please try again later.

Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later.

Sign up to the Hull Live newsletter for daily updates and breaking news

This is the moving video created by Sutton Park Primary School following the recent terror attacks in London and Manchester.

The whole school took part, making posters and signs as they all sang along to Where Is The Love by The Black Eyed Peas.

It was their way of sending a message of love and support to those hurt in the attacks.

(Image: Sutton Park Primary School)

Year 2 teacher Rebecca Rothwell, who is also the school's music co-ordinator, said: "We came back on Monday after the One Love Manchester concert and what happened in London the day before that.

"We had a singing assembly and we decided to link it to what happened."

The school also took part in a minute's silence to show their respect.

(Image: Sutton Park Primary School)

Ms Rothwell said it all meant a lot to the children.

"I think they feel quite proud they was able to do something," she said.

"We have had lovely feedback from parents.

"The children couldnt imagine anything happening to anyone their age or younger. It made it more real.

"We are thinking of people and we are standing together and supporting each other."

To view the video, which has been posted on YouTube with the soundtrack, including the children singing along, click here.
#Midem 2017 Attendance Flat Despite Music Industry Upturn

Despite a significant uptick in the global music industry over the last year, attendance at international music industry convention Midem was flat this year. Held June 6-9, 2017 in Cannes, France, the 51st Midem drew 4400 attendees, the exact same number as 2016, according to show officials.

_______________________________________

Attendance at Midem 2017 matched 2016 numbers, drawing 4400 from the worldwide music industry to the French Riviera last week. Those numbers were both down from 5500 in 2015, a year when the music industry was far less sure of the positive impact that streaming would have on overall revenue.

But new Midem director Alexandre Deniot remained optimistic. By changing the listening experience, making it personalised, improving discoverability of catalogues and creating a stronger link with music fans, streaming services improve the monetisation of music, opening new business opportunities for artists, labels, publishers and even for the live music ecosystem, Deniot said in a statement. After some challenging years for the music industry, this years MIDEM felt like the labels, publishers and artists appeared far more confident that a return to growth is no longer a dream but a reality.

The global reach of music and the exciting potential for growth in such areas as Asia and Africa, means it is important for MIDEM to showcase countries and explain the different ways for entering those markets, he added.

All 3 major label groups were present at Midem 2017, along with many indies. Trade groups including A2IM, AIM, WIN, BPI, A2IM, IMPALA and others had a strong presence; as did music tech companies including Spotify, Amazon, Deezer, SoundCloud, Napster and China's Tencent.

Share on:
The social media giants based in the U.S. may soon face a new attack in Europe: There's a perception among activists and officials that the basis of their business model -- targeted advertising -- can be a threat to democracy.

In a speech on Wednesday, Commissioner Margrethe Vestager -- who, as the top European Union antitrust official, has been the nemesis of U.S. tech companies such as Google and Apple -- laid out her problems with the way social networking changes people's political behavior. One of her complaints is familiar and much-discussed: Facebook and its peers tend to sort people into political and ideological filter bubbles and silos, destroying, as Vestager sees it, the chances of meaningful debate. The other has received less media attention. It concerns political ads and, generally, campaigns' social messaging. Vestager:

If political ads only appear on the timelines of certain voters, then how can we all debate the issues that they raise? How can other parties and the media do their job of challenging those claims? How can we even know what mandate an election has given, if the promises that voters relied on were made in private?

There are reasonable arguments against both of Vestager's complaints. Long before social networks, people have grouped together on the basis of compatible views; confirmation biases, too, are as old as human society. The social networks merely reflect reality and make it more palpable. As for targeted messages, old campaigning instruments, such as direct mailings and phone calls, also delivered private messages to potential voters, and the media usually parsed them -- just as they parse modern campaign activities on social platforms. It's actually become easier because everyone is on Facebook and Twitter.

Vestager, however, is on to something. The old tools allowed for rather generic targeting -- say, by voting or campaign donation history. Modern campaigns try to target messages using people's private data or even psychological profiles created on the basis of social network and browsing activity. That's not necessarily effective -- I've argued that it isn't -- but it means certain voters get ads and messages that they wouldn't have chosen to receive.

Imagine I'm a social media junkie for whom Facebook is the primary news source, as for about two-thirds of Americans and a fifth of Europeans. I see a political ad because someone -- or, most likely, an artificially intelligent entity -- has profiled me in a certain way, not because I made a donation to a certain party or voted for a specific candidate in the last election. Unless another algorithm profiles me differently, I don't see the other parties' responses to the content with which I've been plied. I have no idea what the party that advertises to me has promised people in different target groups. I have less of an idea of the campaigns parties are running than if I watched TV like a 20th century voter.

At the same time, Facebook doesn't release any data about what campaigns do on its platform. In a country that hasn't removed campaign spending limits as the U.S. effectively did with Citizens United, that makes it hard to check what they spend on ads. Facebook's position is that it's the campaigns' responsibility to follow their countries' laws, and that a user has full control over which ads are shown to him or her. The former is irrelevant to the task of checking campaigns' self-reporting. The latter is only true to a degree: On Facebook, you can opt out of certain ads, but algorithms will still decide how they will be replaced.

In the run-up to Thursday's U.K. election, a group called Who Targets Me recruited 10,000 volunteers to install a browser extension that registers targeted messages, ranging from Facebook videos to Google search ads. The group calls them "dark ads" because they are so hard to monitor: They've been targeted to specific local constituencies, gender and age groups.

Last year's U.S. election led to pressure on the social networks to crack down on fake news stories and the bot networks that spread them. Facebook responded by introducing well-publicized mechanisms for reporting likely fake stories and having them fact-checked. During the recent French presidential election, it said it also suspended 30,000 fake accounts to stop them from spreading false stories. None of that really fixes the filter bubble problem -- people will still believe what they want to believe, and if they mistrust mainstream media, they are likely to discount fact-checkers' efforts, too. So the pressure is still on for a more pertinent response, but it's not clear what that could be -- short of having human editors remove stories deemed to be fake, something the networks will resist because it's contrary to their self-perception as neutral platforms.

If a regulatory backlash starts against political targeting, though, it's clear what the social networks might be required to do. Regulators could order them to disclose what messages campaigns are using and how much they are paying to circulate them. In an extreme scenario, they could even ban paid political advertising on social networks, arguing, as Vestager did in her speech, that politics is different from business, so rules for targeted messaging should be different to protect democracy.

In a manifesto earlier this year, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg wrote about moving relationships and social structures formed on the networks into the offline world. "These changes have been so fast that I'm not sure our democracy has caught up," Vestager said in her speech. One can be sure European regulators will choose to slow down the development of Zuckerberg's vision rather than rewrite campaigning rules to catch up with it.

Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-06-08/democracy-never-faced-a-threat-like-facebook
At the High-Level Roundtable on the European Union Ministerial Declaration on Digital Government, delegations from 13 member states met to discuss a concept paper prepared by the Lisbon Council.

It spelled out three areas for highlight:

the once-only principle open government eIdentity and security

Delegations promised to take up the discussion in the Council of the European Union, but they want to hear from you, too. If you havent already, please visit www.ideas4digitalgov.eu, where you will find a commentable version of The 2017 Ministerial Declaration on Digital Government: Key Principles and Guidelines, the thought paper launched at the high-level roundtable.

Let us know what you think. The consultation is open and the results, if successful, will contribute to a new Ministerial Declaration on Digital Government to be adopted at the Council of the European Union informal meeting in Autumn, 2017.

More information

Your ideas for the next Ministerial Declaration on digital government are very much welcomed by 21/6/2017.
Pointing to the latest terror attack to hit the United Kingdom , U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May again called for "international agreements" to regulate and censor the Internet under the guise of battling extremism. Under the proposed plot, international agreements would be used to regulate speech in cyberspace with a goal of stopping ideologies that authorities do not agree with from having a safe space online. The scheme also seeks to conscript private companies and foreign powers into the government assault against freedom of speech and freedom of religion. But critics have expressed alarm over the Orwellian implications of allowing the government to decide what can and cannot be said.

As is typical when politicians are working to restrict freedom and expand government power, the plot to clamp down on free speech online was marketed as a tool to keep people safe. At first, it would reportedly be used primarily to target certain violent Islamic teachings and extremism. But just as has occurred with assaults on other freedoms around the world, the schemes will undoubtedly expand. And already, top British political leaders have revealed that they want the dictator-dominated United Nations to wage a global war against even non-violent extremism. That would include a crackdown on unapproved conspiracy theories, End Times prophecies, biblical views on sexuality and marriage, and much more, top U.K. officials have said.

Speaking after the London Bridge attack that left seven dead and some 50 wounded over the weekend, an attack that followed the recent suicide bombing in Manchester, May blamed free speech, ideology, online freedom, and a lack of government regulation for the atrocities. We cannot allow this ideology the safe space it needs to breed, May said Sunday, without elaborating on the ideology but demanding more war abroad and an end to safe spaces for extremism online. Yet that is precisely what the Internet and the big companies that provide Internet-based services provide.

Like May's predecessor from the same Conservative Party, former Prime Minister David Cameron, May outlined a vision suggesting she wants the war against unapproved ideologies and speech to be global in scope. We need to work with allied democratic governments to reach international agreements that regulate cyberspace to prevent the spread of extremist and terrorism planning, she said in a speech following the Islamist terrorist attack, one of several to hit Europe in recent months. We need to do everything we can at home to reduce the risks of extremism online. Ironically, many brutal dictatorships, including the mass-murdering regime ruling Communist China, have made similar statements in recent years amid the push for global Internet regulation.

Beyond the Internet, May also called for robust efforts aimed at stamping out so-called extremism, not just online and in foreign nations, but across the British government and even across society. Already, homeschooling families and Christian churches have been caught up in the U.K. government's extremism crusade, with churches and Sunday schools forced to register with authorities to prevent radicalization. School teachers have been conscripted, too, with authorities demanding that children with a negative view of homosexuality, for example, be reported to police and social services for extremism.

May also hinted at what sounded like a plan for government-mandated integration of fast-growing Muslim communities in Britain with the natives. The whole of our country needs to come together to take on this extremism, and we need to live our lives not in a series of separated, segregated communities, but as one truly United Kingdom, the prime minister said, noting that her agenda would require some difficult and often embarrassing conversations. In other parts of Europe, private property is already being commandeered to house Muslim migrants.

Of course, even before the latest terror attacks, May and other top British politicians were pushing the exact same agenda. Most recently, the ruling Conservative (Tory) Party released a manifesto calling for an Orwellian censorship regime to control speech and ideology online. Some people say that it is not for government to regulate when it comes to technology and the internet, the bizarre manifesto explains. We disagree. Under the plan, the United Kingdom would become the global leader in the regulation of the use of personal data and the internet, presumably usurping that dubious honor from the mass-murdering regime in Beijing and its so-called Great Firewall of China.

Despite the focus on Islamism and jihad for the purpose of marketing the totalitarian plan, the Tory manifesto makes clear that the war on speech and online freedom will be much broader than simply targeting Islam. We will put a responsibility on industry not to direct users  even unintentionally  to hate speech, pornography, or other sources of harm, the Conservative Party explained, without admitting that in Britain and across much of the European Union, speaking out against homosexuality or Islam, for example, is a criminal offense under totalitarian hate speech laws.

As this magazine has documented extensively, the status of free-speech rights in the U.K. and all over Europe is already abysmal. In Britain, quoting former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill's negative views on Islam has resulted in arrest  even of a political leader. Quoting the Bible on homosexuality, too, has landed people in jail. And in Sweden, justice authorities decided that the Bible itself  the foundation of Western civilization  runs afoul of draconian hate speech laws for its condemnation of homosexual activity as a sin. The list of prohibited speech is constantly expanding.

Instead of displaying hate speech or other sources of harm  an undefined term that is ripe for abuse  tech companies such as search engines and social media would be forced under the Tory scheme to help promote government propaganda in the form of counter-extremist narratives, the manifesto explains. To fund it all, the government would impose a new tax on Internet companies, the burden of which would of course be shared by Internet users. The money raised would then be used to fund government propaganda that would support awareness and preventative activity to counter internet harms, according to the manifesto.

It would hardly be the first time propaganda has been used to change minds. U.K. authorities have already been caught using behavioral science, government-run social-media trolls, and online propaganda to manipulate public opinion and destroy the reputation of critics at home and abroad. The scheming, run by the Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group (JTRIG), used propaganda and its legions of online trolls to promote obedience and conformity, official documents revealed. And even that was not enough, with the out-of-control bureaucrats seeking still more behavioral science support to further enhance their capabilities for manipulating public opinion.

Even the news media  much of which is already controlled and funded by government  will be affected under the Tory plot to crush online free speech. According to the manifesto, the Conservative Party intends to use government to take steps to protect the reliability and objectivity of information that is essential to our democracy. In what sounded like a bid to gin up support from the press for the totalitarian vision, the Tory plan would seek ways to coerce online companies and social media platforms to ensure that establishment media outlets are able to earn enough money via ad revenues. So far, though, independent media outlets have reacted to the plot with horror, with one prominent outlet saying May was plotting to shut down the Internet as we know it.

The widely reported Tory manifesto demanding government control of the Internet follows the recent entry into effect of the Investigatory Powers Act drastically expanding authorities' snooping powers under the guise of fighting terror. Under the highly controversial U.K. scheme, the government is allowed to force Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to hand over their customers' browsing history to authorities. The scheme also allows authorities to break into people's online communication services such as WhatsApp so the government can spy on the content of private messages. And back doors into programs and hardware are being demanded to facilitate the mass surveillance.

Of course, the agenda for a global jihad on free speech and even non-violent extremism is nothing new. As The New American reported in 2014, then-U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron told the UN and its largely autocratic member regimes that a global war on Internet freedom was needed to combat extremism and ideologies, even if they were not violent. As examples of the sort of thought crimes that should not be tolerated, Cameron pointed to unapproved conspiracy theories about terrorist attacks as well as religious prophecies about the end of the world.

We must be clear: to defeat the ideology of extremism we need to deal with all forms of extremism  not just violent extremism, he explained, acknowledging that the machinations would not be entirely compatible with free speech and intellectual inquiry. For governments, there are some obvious ways we can do this.... We shouldnt stand by and just allow any form of non-violent extremism. And we need the strongest possible international focus on tackling this ideology  which is why here at the United Nations, the United Kingdom is calling for a new Special Representative on extremism.

With a broad coalition of strongmen and mass-murdering dictatorships spending years demanding UN regulation of the Internet, the UN and the Obama administration were more than happy to jump on the bandwagon. In fact, in October of 2015, the UN and Obama unveiled a global plot to wage war on unapproved ideologies. Among the ideologies in the UN's crosshairs, the dictator-dominated global outfit said, were anti-Muslim bigotry, as well as opposition to immigration. The UN plot calls for a combination of censorship and government-funded propaganda.

Domestically, Obama unleashed intervention teams to tackle ideologies he did not think should be tolerated. The Obama FBI even conscripted school teachers into the war on extremism, urging them to report children as extremists if they disagreed with homosexuality or Islam. And before that, multiple Obama bureaucracies disgorged bizarre propaganda reports painting conservatives, libertarians, patriots, veterans, pro-life activists, nationalists, and others as extremists and even potential terrorists. U.S. troops were even subjected to an indoctrination course labeling Catholics, evangelical Christians, and Orthodox Jews as religious extremists and equating them with terror groups such as Hamas and al Qaeda.

In the EU, the lawless superstate's fledgling law enforcement agency Europol already unveiled its plot to censor the Internet under the guise of stopping extremism. Globalist-controlled U.S. tech companies such as Facebook, Google, Twitter, Microsoft, and others eagerly joined in the censorship mania, promising to work with the EU to remove content that the unelected, unaccountable superstate deems unacceptable. The recent terror attacks have reminded us of the urgent need to address illegal online hate speech, claimed Vera Jourova, the EU Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality.

At the global level, the UN International Telecommunications Union (ITU)  currently led by a Chinese Communist who claimed censorship is in the eye of the beholder  is being groomed to become a global Internet regulator. And now, with Obama's giveaway of key Internet architecture, it will be much easier for the global censorship movement  backed by dictators, communists, socialists, progressives, Islamists, globalists, and the establishment  to make progress on creating an international regime to control the World Wide Web and the content that appears on it. Global taxes have been proposed, too.

British voters are now being told that a vote for the Conservative Party in the upcoming election is a vote for breaking free from the oppressive and unpopular European Union  something voters already voted for when they approved the referendum last year for a British exit from the EU, known as Brexit. However, now, the party is also hitching withdrawal from the EU to its manifesto and the plot to crush online freedom. In other words, if voters vote for Tories to get out of the EU, as expected, authorities will exploit that as a public mandate in support of Internet censorship and will move ahead with their anti-free speech jihad.

That totalitarian-minded politicians would blame free speech and online freedom for terrorism is hardly surprising  before that, they blamed gun rights and succeeded in disarming the British population. More credible analysts, though, have blamed the ongoing tsunami of terrorist attacks on everything from Islamic teachings from the Koran to the influx of millions of Muslim migrants and the blowback resulting from U.S. and U.K. government bombings and regime-change operations across the Middle East and North Africa. Much of the terrorist threat has actually been deliberately fostered by governments around the world.

One thing, at least, is certain. As America's founders are said to have warned, giving up liberty under the guise of security will result in having neither liberty nor security. And so, giving up more rights  in this case, free speech, online freedom, and free expression  will not stop terrorism. Instead, it will further empower government and will undoubtedly be followed by further government attacks on fundamental human rights. The British people must stand firm for their liberty by refusing to be bullied or terrorized by either Islamist terrorists or totalitarian politicians. Americans, too, must hold the line.

Source: https://www.thenewamerican.com/world-news/europe/item/26208-u-k-leaders-fight-terror-with-global-internet-censorship
The rise of the internet from back-room DARPA project to its present omnipresence is one of the great success stories of the 20th century. Roughly half of the world population is online today and some estimates put the webs contribution to global GDP as high as $4.2 trillion in 2016, and in G20 countries alone, the internet generated up to 5.3% of GDP that year.

Yet, the internet calls out for governance, as a phenomenon that crosses borders and flows over regulatory landscapes with remarkable ease. Its because of the webs sheer lack of boundaries or center that its governance is so fraught. Any decision-making process needs to consider a plethora of stakeholders, platforms, and infrastructure providers in order to keep it running smoothly. That the internet is so decentralised is both a blessing and a curse for those seeking to govern it.

A debate over internet governance which had been simmering away in the background, out of sight of all but a handful of insiders and experts finally boiled over in 2016, as American legislators scrapped over whether they could, or indeed, should, stop the White House from relinquishing ultimate control over the of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). ICANN, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization, is regarded as the internets phonebook. Much of what the body does is effectively clerical, as it is in charge of the policies and procedures that underlie the Domain Name System (DNS) at the backbone of the web  ensuring that web addresses point to the right places, and ensure that one machine can talk to another.

Although the handover was made final on October 1st 2016, critics of the decision regard the move as ceding control of the internet over to foreign governments. This isnt quite right: contrary to a popular belief, the U.S never owned the internet in the first place. But the White Houses critics arent entirely wrong, either, because whoever controls the address book has no small amount of power. They can censor the internet by deleting domain names, leading to worries that countries with less respect for privacy and human rights than the US would profit from this new set-up by trying to influence decision-making within ICANN.

That the internet is so decentralised is both a blessing and a curse for those seeking to govern it.

However, ICANN does not work that way  it is hard for any one actor to wield any degree of influence over the organization, which is accountable to a plethora of international stakeholders including technical and industrial committees, internet users, and telecommunications experts. And, like any large organization, ICANN has rules and procedures and by-laws of its own. Although governments do have a voice in the organization, this voice is heard in quangos which do not have the power to make decisions by themselves. Essentially, ICANN is not the UN.

The multi-stakeholder model adopted by ICANN, akin to that of their larger cousins, the Internet Governance Forum, confers no small degree of legitimacy and transparency to their decisions, providing a good model for centralized internet governance. However, consensus-based approach makes agreements hard to reach, slowing down the pace of transformation in a way that frustrates participants and puts the brakes on development. Besides, not everyone is truly comfortable with diluting the influence of states on the future of the internet, leading to calls for truly decentralized control.

No one person, one body, no one state has complete control of the internet globally. States still have the power to determine how the flow of data is managed within national borders, leaving space for countries dissatisfied with sluggish pace of global governance to advocate for internet sovereignty.

Russia, China, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, are examples of such states. They have long since lobbied the UNs International Telecommunication Union to repatriate powers of decision-making to individual states governments, a bid that has been roundly rejected by most Western states. In face of such rejection and the rise of online forces that disrupt traditional national power structures, some states are increasingly looking to defect from global dialogue at both a political and a technical level, opting to implement their own mechanism at national level, to erect firewalls or to create their own infrastructure. The result: a balkanization of the internet that poses significant dangers one of its most crucial factors  its interoperability throughout the globe.

The most extreme example of state control of the internet is the Great Firewall of China. With one of the strongest systems of control in the world, the Chinese government currently blocks access services as innocuous to Westerners as Gmail, Facebook and Netflix. Some behind the Firewall had begun to use virtual private networks (VPNs)  especially foreign ones  to circumvent censoring, but the government got wise to those tunneling under the wall, launching a crackdown on VPN users. But the Chinese are not alone. In 2012, Iran established a Supreme Council on Cyberspace in order to disseminate online propaganda and prevent cyber-espionage, including attacks such as 2010s Stuxnet. Russia, in turn, currently requires that the personal information of Russian citizens is stored within national databases. Even Germany is pushing to keep data within its borders.

States have been given further impetus to bring the internet under their control lately owing to threats such as the use of social networking in the spread of radicalism, and an increase in misinformation campaigns  fake news. But as well as damaging freedom of speech, this fragmentation can disrupt normal business activities and cause serious harm to an increasingly important internet economy.

But something far more disruptive looms on the horizon, and its power is only just being recognised. A disproportionate amount of traffic passes through a small handful of privately owned sites and services such as Google and Facebook, companies which have a great degree of soft power over internet users and infrastructure. Fears are only now being raised that vast private companies are becoming the de facto stewards of the internet, wresting control both from states and from ICANN.

Some companies have used their influence over internet service providers (ISPs) to offer what are known as zero-rated services, allowing end-users to access some corners of the internet without using up their data  without paying, in effect. Such policies allow companies to funnel internet consumption into patterns that best suit their own bottom line, structuring users online lives in new and potentially worrying ways.

Corporations can also use terms and conditions to impose limits on the behavior of their users. Social media companies have the power to restrict content to suit their own dictates, and can moderate the content shared on their platforms to suit their own biases. The new prominence of big private actors in internet governance is shown by a recent slew of court rulings. The European Court of Justice, for instance, forced Google to implement the controversial right to be forgotten, a process which allows users to request that historic materials about them be suppressed from search results. The ECJ ruling is a very public admission that the responsibility to implement privacy measures lies with companies like Google, like Facebook, and like Twitter.

Question of internet governance will only grow more pressing in the future. As the internet grows vaster and harder to avoid, so too do problems inherent to governing it. But the sheer multiplicity of actors involved in decision-making only makes things harder. Fragmentation ultimately puts into jeopardy the existence of an invisible complex of rules, regulations and safeguards that allow the internet to function, and that we take for granted. Preventing fragmentation is the most vital of tasks for anyone interested in ensuring the internet reaches its full potential.

Source: http://raddingtonreport.com/what-does-the-future-of-the-internet-look-like/
The class of 2017 ended one chapter in their lives on Sunday and moved onto the next. PreviousNext

210 Braves Graduate From Taconic High School



Valedictorian Raeayn Warren spliced humor and seriousness together in delivering her address to her fellow classmates during Sunday's ceremony. See more photos here. PITTSFIELD, Mass.  The graduates from Taconic High School know there will be challenges and failures in the future. But, they're also confident that they are brave enough to overcome anything.

"In the coming years, each one of us will face challenges and failures. So whenever you need to, go back to the basics and get in touch with your high school roots," Valedictorian Raeayn Warren told her classmates.

"With that being said, let's not forget to share our successes. We have accomplished so much this past four years and I can only imagine the amazing feast that the next four will bring. We've grown an incredible support system here, that I am so grateful to be a part of. Even in our toughest times, we have been able to come together."

A total of 210 students graduated on Sunday during a ceremony in the gymnasium. Warren asked that the class of 2017 "stay all in this together," a reference from "High School Musical." She said she and her classmates have already tackled difficult challenges while balancing work and career readiness on top of sports, friendships, and classes. Warren said the class has shown the passion for overcoming anything.

"Our class always had an inextinguishable drive to be more than we were yesterday, to be who we wanted to be and we wouldn't let anybody stop us," Warren said.

What is facing those leaving high school is what gives Superintendent Jason McCandless fear for the students.

"You are entering an America that has its greatest divide between the rich and the poor in our history, and where we are about as divided ideologically as we were during the Civil War era. You enter an adult world where we can't even agree on the fundamentals of what it means to be American. We live in a nation where 153 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, the strategic and purposeful alienation and discrimination of people of color continues on a daily basis. Nearly 100 years after women were given the right to vote, the United States House of Representatives is still 81 percent men and we've never had a female president, although she may be sitting in front of us today," McCandless said.

"You enter an adult world where nearly 300 million people suffer from depression and one where more than 20 million Americans over the age of 12 suffer from a substance use disorder. You cross the stage into adulthood in the nation where a quarter of all children live below the federal poverty limit. You graduate into an economy where it is fair enough if you are thinking 'am I going to do as well as my parents did or my grandparents?'"

But McCandless said humans can feel more than one feeling at a time. So while he is fearful of the world the students are entering, he also knows how the students have grown in the last four years. He said this generation is the most prepared to take on those challenges.

"You are well educated, academically and emotionally. Ultimately my confidence and the competence of you as individuals and as a community of graduates leads me to feel nothing but hope, to feel assurance to feel gratitude," McCandless said.

Salutatorian Jac Lun Lin evoked confidence in the class during his address. He said while high school has ended, the class can't start slacking.

"Remember that these journeys can never be predicted because our futures have yet to be mapped. The best we can do is excel and dedicate our efforts to shaping our futures because hard work really does pay off in the end," Lin said.

He said not "life is a complicated map" and that everyone will have their own route. He reminded them that the destination isn't what's important but the lessons one acquires along the route.

"We are the next generation. Don't forget to get out there and show them what it means to be a brave," Lin said.

Mayor Linda Tyer told the students to incorporate kindness and gratitude into their lives.

"As you move through the day today and into the warm days of summer, you may feel uncertainty about your future. Big life decisions about college, career, who you'll love, and where you'll live, can cause even the most confidence person to lose a few nights sleep," Tyer said. "While these are all significant decisions that will determine the arc of your life, I encourage you, like others who spoke today, to remember two life calming practices  kindness and gratitude."

She encouraged the students to enjoy the small things in life, whether that be fresh snow or the crack of the bat at Fenway Park. She told the students to be in awe of simplicity." The key to a peaceful life isn't determined by geography, she said, but by embracing the everyday joys.

The ceremony also included the Honors Chorus singing 'The Climb' by Miley Cyrus, the presentation of valedictorian, high honors, and honors awards. The students then proceeded out of the hot gymnasium and spilled into the hallways and courtyards to meet with family and friends.

"Now is the time to turn the page. It is your story and you get to write it," Principal John Vosburg said.
The class of 2017's top 10. PreviousNext

With Mixed Emotions, PHS Grads Celebrate Commencement



Class President Mary Tullock addresses the class of 2017 during graduation exercises at Tanglewood on Sunday. PITTSFIELD, Mass.  Pittsfield High School class President Mary Tullock is both a little scared and excited about graduation.

"We are all diving into what feels like our first mid-life crisis," Tullock said as she addressed the class of 197 students from the Tanglewood stage at Sunday's commencement.

She praised her family, friends, and staff at PHS for helping the students not only get to graduation but set the foundation for each student's future.

"Today is the beginning of the rest of our lives. I don't know about you guys, but I'm pretty excited. We have spent the past 12 years building the foundations of our lives and today we begin to build our houses," Tullock said.

The graduating class will all go separate ways, and Tullock said, "we are jumping into adulthood and it is a little scary. But we are all experiencing the same thing, for one last time. After 2,160 days of school  yes, I did the math  we have finally made it to this ending."

Being both afraid and excited is how Superintendent Jason McCandless feels about the students. He said while dogs "focus like a laser beam on one thing at a time," humans are a "complex web of emotions." That's why the students looked forward to graduation, while at the same time dreading it. They were excited sitting in seats at Tanglewood while bored listening to McCandless. They are excited about what is next but also scared of it. The superintendent said he is both scared and excited for the students as well.

"I'm jealous of you, collectively and as individuals, you have so much talent, so much promise, so much courage, so many choices, so many opportunities that lay behind you and you have a hundred times that many choice and opportunities that lay in front of you," McCandless said.

"On the other hand, I am very afraid for you. Coming of age in the second decade of the 21st century in America is no joke. You're wise if you are feeling afraid of entering the adult world at this point in time. It shows you have a sense of history, a grasp of current events, and a good dose of common sense."

McCandless praised the students for helping him grow as a person as well, and he recited a number of lessons he's learned since taking over as superintendent when the graduating class was entering 9th grade.

"Thanks for being a daily reminder that hope is always better than fear, knowledge is always better than ignorance, love is always better than hate, acceptance is always better than alienation, and that our hopes for our best Pittsfield, our best Massachusetts, our best United States, our best world lie with you, our newest high school graduates," McCandless said.

Mayor Linda Tyer recapped a passage of the novel "Lonesome Dove." She told how Texas cowboys were driving cattle across the country looking for unpopulated lands. One character, Lorena, joins the trip because she believes Jake, another in the cattle drive, would bring her to live in San Francisco. However, at one point Jake leaves her alone for days, leaving Lorena upset and crying.

That's when Lorena is told that "life in San Francisco is still just life" and that if you want something too badly, it is going to be a disappointment.

"The very best way to thrive throughout all of life is to avoid the lure of your San Francisco and savor the journey," Tyer told the class.

The lesson from the book is to enjoy the journey of life.

"Many things will be out of your control, especially the behavior of other people. The only sure thing is that unexpected things will happen, some of it exquisite like falling in love, other things will be difficult to accept," Tyer said.

She hoped the Generals now leaving high school will embrace a love for the joys in life, and the show kindness and gratitude.

"Throughout your life, you will cross paths with people fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind, always. Toss it around like confetti," Tyer said.

As the students do travel through life, Principal Matthew Bishop hopes they take this important lessons from coming of age at a downtown school, "if you get to crossroads in your life, use a crosswalk," Bishop joked. Tullock had also joked about the crosswalks, a lesson the students have heard frequently over the last four years, as the mention of it evoked laughter.

"Today, we leave behind everything we loved about PHS  the fires, the unknown species of bugs in the basement, and the unpredictable temperature changes," Tullock also joked.

The humor brought out smiles and laughter from the class members, who tossed beach balls around and broke into into song. Retiring Band Director Ronald Lively earned a standing ovation on Sunday as he led the band in the song "Tribalesque," as his last performance as conductor. The honors chorus, with soloist Alyssa Puntin, sang "The Parting Glass." And various awards and honors were passed out, including awards to Vincenzo Coppola and Tyrell Boire for perfect attendance from kindergarten through Grade 12, an accomplishment that wowed many in the audience.

This year's class also the first in Berkshire County to have students graduate with a seal of biliteracy, a new program for those who master multiple languages.

After receiving diplomas, the class then moved out onto the lawn to celebrate with families and friends. School Committee Chairwoman Katherine Yon recited a number of ways in which the students had demonstrated courage. As they leave high school, she encouraged them to take that courage with them.

And she told them that the "best exercise of the heart is to bend down and help someone up."
North Adams City Council Will Seek Candidates for Vacant Seat

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  The City Council intends to fill the vacancy being left by the resignation of Councilor Nancy Bullett.

In a communication to the full council, President Benjamin Lamb wrote, "it is our responsibility to select and appoint an individual to fill the seat she is vacating for the remainder of the current term to expire January 2018."

He intends to open up a submission period for letters of interest from citizens interested in serving out the final six months of Bullett's two-year term.

Bullett tendered her resignation effective July 1 because she has purchased a home outside of Massachusetts. She had wanted to give the council time to find a suitable candidate, believing the seat should not sit vacant for the rest of the year.

The council has taken different options in the past, including soliciting letters of interest, picking the individual who came in 10th place in the most recent election, and leaving the seat vacant. Mayor Richard Alcombright, for example, was selected to complete the term of his late father, longtime Councilor Daniel Alcombright. However, no attempt was made to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Councilor Clark Billings, which had occurred in August.

The city charter states that any vacancy "shall be filled" by council members and the council's own rules state that candidates can submit letters of interest and letters of endorsements may also be submitted.

Lamb will announce the opening of the submission period at Tuesday's City Council meeting with a deadline of July 3. Letters may be submitted in person to the city clerk's office.

Individuals who have submitted letters by the deadline will be able to make five-minute statements in support of their candidacy at the Tuesday, July 11, meeting of the City Council. Councilors will also be able to ask them "relevant questions."

The council will then discuss the candidates, make nominations and vote. The new councilor will take the oath of office and join the full council at the next meeting on July 25.

All of the seats on the City Council will be up for election on Nov. 7, so any appointment can only last until New Year's Day, with the mayor and City Council is sworn in for the next two-year term.

"My sincere thanks and well wishes go out to Councilor Bullett as she leaves the council, and my added thanks goes out to this council as we look to fill the seat being vacated as Councilor Bullett departs," Lamb wrote.
We Must Always Choose a Side

The Fellowship | June 12, 2017

Nikki Haley, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, recently paid a visit to the Holy Land, where she toured much of the Jewish state, from the north to the south. One of the most meaningful moments of Haleys trip, The Jerusalem Post reports, was her visit to Yad Vashem, Israels official Holocaust memorial:

Haley toured the vast Holocaust museum in Jerusalem, accompanied by Dr Robert Rozett, Director of Yad Vashem Libraries, and participated in a memorial ceremony in the museums Hall of Remembrance. Haley laid a wreath in memory of those killed during the Holocaust.

Signing the Yad Vashem guest book, Haley wrote that we must always honor and remember the lives lost during one of the most horrible times in history. There is a lesson here. Leadership is not about power. Leadership is the acknowledgment and value of human dignity. We must always choose a side

Her visit was closed to the media, but the US Embassy posted a short video of the trip, including shots of Haley standing in the tunnel Hamas had dug from Gaza into Israel.

In Kibbutz Nahal Oz, she spoke with residents about their experience of living under fire from Gaza, asking mothers there how it is to live in the shadows of the missiles. In 2014, Daniel Tregerman, four, was killed by mortar fire there. One boy told her, The children of Nahal Oz thank you. Have a nice day in Israel.

The American diplomat then flew north, first for security briefings along the Lebanese border. She visited Kibbutz Misgav Am, received a security briefing, met with UNIFIL head Maj.-Gen. Michael Beary, and spoke to female IDF soldiers responsible for monitoring developments directly across the border.
Sign up to Roisin OConnors free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things music Get our Now Hear This email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Roisin OConnors email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

The Glastonbury 2017 line-up has a few surprising new additions in the form of Liam Gallagher and Hollywood actor Johnny Depp.

The announcement was made on the festival's official Twitter page confirming that former Oasis star Gallagher would play a Saturday teatime slot on The Other Stage.

Pirates of the Caribbean star Depp has been described as the festival's 'guest of honour.' He'll appear at the site's new drive-in movie area Cineramageddon introducing his personal choice of films followed by a discussion with the area's curator Julien Temple. The films will then be screened throughout the night on Thursday 22 June.

Depp's selections include The Libertine, Withnail & I and Jim Jarmusch film Dead Man.

Glastonbury 2016 - in pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Glastonbury 2016 - in pictures Glastonbury 2016 - in pictures Festival-goers arrive for the Glastonbury festival at the Worthy Farm site PA Glastonbury 2016 - in pictures Festival-goers wearing matching tie die t-shirts do a star jump in front of the Glastonbury sign Rex Features Glastonbury 2016 - in pictures Festival-goers relax and walk at the top of the hill over looking the tipi village, the Ribbon Tower and the Park Stage Rex Glastonbury 2016 - in pictures Participants arrive for the Glastonbury Festival at the Worthy Farm site, Somerset, where heavy rain over a prolonged period has caused isolated flooding and muddy fields PA Glastonbury 2016 - in pictures Members of the Shakti Sings National Choir sing during a procession from the Stone Circle to the Headling Field. The choir was formed to honour the earth through song Rex Features Glastonbury 2016 - in pictures A reveller carries her belongings after arriving at Worthy Farm in Somerset for the Glastonbury Festival REUTERS Glastonbury 2016 - in pictures Revellers set up their tent after arriving at Worthy Farm in Somerset for the Glastonbury Festival REUTERS Glastonbury 2016 - in pictures Participants arrive for the Glastonbury Festival at the Worthy Farm site PA Glastonbury 2016 - in pictures Festival-goers arrive for the Glastonbury festival at the Worthy Farm site PA Glastonbury 2016 - in pictures Festival-goers arrive for the Glastonbury Festival at the Worthy Farm site PA

NASA astronaut Mike Massimino will also be attending the festival to speak at The Free University of Glastonbury on Friday 23 June.

This year's Glastonbury Festival is being headlined by Radiohead, Foo Fighters and Ed Sheeran. It runs from 21-25 June.
Sign up to Roisin OConnors free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things music Get our Now Hear This email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Roisin OConnors email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

After a six-year hiatus, Gorillazs cartoon universe set its sights on the sleepy seaside town of Margate with a one-day festival named after the bands second studio album, Demon Dayz.

But as the sun blazes down on a 15,000 strong crowd, one begins to wonder why co-creators Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett decided to skip down to the Isle of Thanet to host their event.

Hampered by a reputation that haunts many British coastal towns, Margate is well known for its dilapidated seaside charm and, controversially, as an area forcibly hounded by UKIPs Nigel Farage back in 2015.

Recommended How UK rappers helped Jeremy Corbyn

Inevitably, it seems that rather than the towns burgeoning coastal art scene, stunning seafront or Carry On-style cockles n muscles, it was politics that brought the two together.

Envisioned as a party album for a world gone mad, Humanz made a worthy addition to Gorillazs politically charged collection of hit records and just three days after an election result that shocked the country, the bands message had never felt more fitting.

Its been a weird week in this country, Albarn said. A real surprise and then an inevitable bullshit outcome.

Held just days after the general election results, the bands message had never felt more fitting (Credit: Mark Allan)

But this is only the beginning cos theres some of you out there who werent able to vote this time, but next time youll be able to vote, he continued. Its going to grow.

An optimistic, buoyant atmosphere that felt palpable at all times, Albarn delivered a star-studded spectacle packed with stellar performances from the likes of De La Soul, Kelela, Vince Staples, Danny Brown and Kano.

Tickets for the star-studded show sold out in just an hour (Credit: Mark Allan)

But it was a warm-up performance by London-born Little Simz that really shone through. A rapper who has been compared to iconoclasts like Lauryn Hill and praised by Kendrick Lamar; the 23-year-old artist commanded the stage as she shifted seamlessly between singing, spitting and jamming on the guitar.

Returning to join Gorillaz on the stage for an exclusive performance, Little Simz was just one of many guests to come and go throughout the night with Shaun Ryder roaring along to Dare, while De La Souls Maseo let out his notoriously fanatical laugh for Feel Good Inc.

While politics predictably loomed over the show, Demon Dayz festival demonstrated Albarns ability to get the very best out of his collaborators and to create a sound that still sounds just as fresh and inventive as it did some 16 years ago.
Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

In Saudi Arabia, women are forbidden to drive - it damages our ovaries, apparently.

But one woman is fighting to change that, and that woman is 38-year-old Manal al-Sharif.

One evening six years ago, al-Sharif was on her way home from a doctor's appointment and was struggling to find a taxi. Men in cars kept driving past, jeering at, harassing and following her - she was terrified.

Despite having a driving licence and owning a car, she wasnt allowed to drive due to Saudi law (shed bought the car when she was married and could afford a driver).

Why do I have to be humiliated? she said to The Times. Why cant I drive, when I have a car and a licence? Why do I have to ask colleagues to give me a ride, or my brother, or look for a driver to drive my own car?

In 2011, al-Sharif made history by filming a video of her driving and posting it on YouTube - it racked up over 700,000 views in just one day.

As a result, she spent a week in a prison riddled with cockroaches for the offence of driving while female.

Al-Sharifs family were affected too - her brother and his family were forced to leave the country because they were being harassed so much.

It was when Al-Sharif went to the US for three months for work that she realised just how differently women were being treated. She stopped wearing her hijab and only wore it at work once back in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi women face many forms of oppression, but its driving that al-Sharif feels most strongly about: I believe that when women drive in my country, that will liberate them, she said. We dont have pedestrianised cities, theres no proper public transportation. Driving is the key.

It means that women are independent, they can leave the house, they dont have to wait for a male guardian. Guardianship is the source of all evil when it comes to binding women.

Im 38 years old, I have two sons, I pay my own bills, but legally Im a minor. I cant do anything. I have to go to my father to get my passport. Its outrageous. Once women can drive, all this evil will fall.

Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Show all 13 1 /13 Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Ida Wells An African-American journalist and activist born in Mississippi in 1862, she wrote prolifically on the fight for womens suffrage as well as the struggle for civil rights. She documented the practice of lynching black people in the southern states showing how it was often used as means of controlling or punishing black people who competed with whites rather than as a means of justice for crimes. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Lotifa El Nadi Egypts first female pilot born in 1907 in Cairo. Although her father saw no need for her to pursue secondary education, expecting her to marry and have a family, she rebelled and worked as a secretary and telephone operator at a flying school in exchange for lessons as she had no other means to pay for the training. Her achievements made headlines around the world when she flew over the pyramids and competed in international flying races. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Frida Kahlo A Mexican painter and activist born in Mexico City in 1907, her work has been celebrated internationally as emblematic of Mexican national and indigenous traditions and by feminists for its honest depiction of female experience. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Lina Bo Bardi A Brazilian architect, born in Italy in 1914, she devoted her life to the promotion of the social and cultural potential of architecture and design. She is also celebrated for her furniture and jewellery designs. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Olga Skorokhodova A Soviet scientist born into a poor Ukranian peasant family in 1911, she lost her vision and hearing at the age of five. Overcoming these difficulties in a remarkable way, she became a researcher in the field of communication and created a number of scientific works concerning the development of education of deaf-blind children. She was also a teacher, therapist and writer. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Miriam Makeba A South African singer and civil rights activist born in Johannesburg in 1932, she was forced to work as a child following her fathers death. She became a teenage mother after a brief and allegedly abusive marriage at 17, before she was discovered as a singer of jazz and African melodies. After becoming hugely successful in the US and winning a Grammy, she became involved in the civil rights struggle stateside as well as in the campaign against apartheid in her home country, writing political songs. Upon her death, South African President Nelson Mandela said that her music inspired a powerful sense of hope in all of us. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Sally Ride An American astronaut and physicist, she was born in Los Angeles in 1951 and joined NASA in 1978 after gaining her PhD. She became the first American woman and the third woman ever to go into space in 1983 at the age of 32. Prior to her first space flight, she attracted attention because of her gender and at press conferences, was asked questions such as, Will the flight affect your reproductive organs? She later worked as an academic at the University of California, San Diego. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Halet Cambel A Turkish archaeologist born in 1916, she became the first Muslim women to compete in the Olympics in the 1936 Berlin games as a fencer. She declined an invitation to meet Adolf Hitler on political grounds, and after the conclusion of the Second World War, she trained as an architect and later worked as an academic in Turkey and Germany. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Ada Lovelace An English mathematician and writer born in 1815, she became the worlds first computer programmer. The daughter of poet George Byron, she is chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine, and was the first to recognise the machine had applications beyond pure calculation, creating the first algorithm intended to be carried out by such a machine. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Rukmini Devi An Indian dancer and choreographer credited with reviving Indian classical dance, she was born in 1904 and presented her form of dance on stage even though it was considered low and vulgar in the 1920s. She features in India Todays list of 100 people who shaped India having also worked to re-establish traditional Indian arts and crafts and as an animal rights activist. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Cecilia Grierson An Argentine physician, reformer born in Buenes Aires in 1859, she became the first woman in Argentina to receive a medical degree having previously worked as a teacher. Women were barred from entering medical school at the time, so she first volunteered as an unpaid lab assistant before she was allowed to train as a doctor. She was acclaimed for her work during a cholera epidemic before going on to found the first nursing school in Argentina. The harassment she experienced at medical school helped make her a militant advocate for womens rights in Argentina. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Lee Tai-young Koreas first female lawyer and judge born in 1914 in what is now North Korea, she was also an activist who founded the countrys first legal aid centre and fought for womens rights throughout her career. Her often mentioned refrain was, No society can or will prosper without the cooperation of women. She worked as a teacher, married and had four children before she was able to begin her legal career after the Second World War, becoming the first woman to enter Seoul National University. She also fought for civil rights in the country and was arrested in 1977 for her beliefs, receiving a three-year suspended sentence and a ten year disbarment. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Suzanne Lenglen A French tennis champion born in 1899, she popularised the sport winning 31 championships and dominating the womens sport for over a decade. She was the first female tennis celebrity and one of the first international women sports stars, overcoming a childhood plagued with ill health including chronic asthma  which continued to plague her in her adult life. At 15, she became the youngest ever winner of a major championship and lost only seven matches during her entire career. She received widespread criticism for her decision to turn professional, but defended her right to make a decent living in the days when the grand slam tournaments paid a relative pittance to the winners.

Al-Sharif is anti-veil too: I was brought up to follow the rules and listen to the man, she said. They said that covering our faces was to please God, but if you cover a womans face then she becomes invisible. She loses her identity.

Its got nothing to do with being devout, its about controlling womens bodies. Its about men being seen to be in charge. When a man asks his wife to cover her face, it says, You belong to me.

She has now written a book, Daring To Drive, in which she writes: Im proud of my face. I will not cover it. If it bothers you, dont look. If you are seduced by merely looking at it, that is your problem. You cannot punish me because you cannot control yourself.

Despite the fact that many of al-Sharifs peers - both male and female - warned her not to write the book, the majority of millennials are on her side: They talk the same as me. Finally I dont feel like Im ostracised. How long do we have to shush each other?

She believes Western governments need to do more to help, but ultimately, equality will only really be achieved if it comes from within:

You cannot ask for your rights if you dont believe you have rights, she says. Women need to believe that they deserve to be treated equally and that they deserve to be full citizens in their own country.

Through her struggle, al-Sharif has lost her job as well as custody of her son - she was refused permission to marry a Brazilian man so the couple went to Dubai to get married. They now live in Sydney, Australia, and she sees her son, who is 12, only two or three times a year.

Al-Sharif has a second son, who is two, but hes never met his half-brother: I want to go back to Saudi Arabia, of course I do. I want my children to be together.

I thought Id get government approval for my marriage in a few months and Id be back, but its now been five years. Thats being an activist in my country. Welcome to my life. Welcome to Saudi Arabia.


Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Every year, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), puts together a comprehensive ranking of the best universities on the planet.

A university's ranking is based on the institution's reputation with academics and employers, and the number of research citations the school gets per paper published in a specific discipline  in this case, law. QS then gives a score out of 100.

UK universities have been on a downward trend. Most have dropped down the global rankings and Cambridge, the UK's best, fell out of the top three in 2016 and hasn't managed to reclaim its spot.

Check out Britain's top universities below. We've included their global ranking in brackets.

17: University of Leeds (101st globally)  Located in England's biggest county, Leeds scored best for employer reputation, picking up 86.9 points.

16: University of St. Andrews (92nd globally)  The UK's third oldest university, after Oxford and Cambridge, scored 98 out of 100 for its international faculty.

14= University of Birmingham (84th globally)  An employer reputation score of 88.6 wasn't enough to stop Birmingham dropping two places globally.

14= University of Nottingham (84th globally)  Nottingham has dropped nine places globally, but scores well for employer reputation and its international faculty.

13: University of Sheffield (82nd globally)  Sheffield rose two places in the ranking, increasing its overall QS score to 67 points, up from 66.9 last year.

12: Durham University (78th globally)  The north-eastern university, which counts famous actor Sir Peter Ustinov among its alumni, has an employer reputation score of 97.1.

11: University of Glasgow (65th globally)  The Scottish university scores highly for its academic reputation, getting 80.4 out of 100 points.

10: University of Warwick (57th globally)  A near perfect employer reputation of 98.9 and a world-renowed business school puts Warwick in the top 10 British universities.

9: University of Bristol (44th globally)  The best university in south-west England, Bristol fell out of the global top 40 two years ago and is yet to reclaim its place.

8: London School of Economics and Political Science (35th globally)  LSE, located in central London, scored 99.7 out of 100 for employer reputation, and 81.8 overall.

7: University of Manchester (34th globally)  Scoring 99.4 for employer reputation and 97.4 for academic reputation, the university at the heart of the Northern powerhouse ranked as the best in northern England.

5= King's College London (23rd globally)  Despite a top 10 spot in the UK, KCL has declined in the global rankings from 19th to 21st last year, to 23rd this year.

5= University of Edinburgh (23rd globally)  Scotland's best university is in its capital, with Edinburgh picking up 99.1 points for academic reputation.

4: Imperial College London (8th in the world)  Famous for its science degrees, Imperial rose one place to rank eighth in the world this year.

3: University College London (7th globally)  UCL has held onto its position as the seventh best university in the world, making it the best in London three years in a row.

2: University of Oxford (6th globally)  While there are five better universities in the world, there is only one better in the UK than Oxford.

1: University of Cambridge (5th globally)  Britain's top university once again is Cambridge. But the institution drops one place in the world rankings to fifth.

Read more:

 This chart is easy to interpret: It says we're screwed

 How Uber became the world's most valuable startup

 These 4 things could trigger the next crisis in Europe

Read the original article on Business Insider UK.  2016. Follow Business Insider UK on Twitter.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Smirnoff has mocked US President Donald Trumps alleged ties to Russia with a new advertising campaign.

The vodka brands new ad posters are emblazoned with the message: Made in America, but we'd be happy to speak about our ties to Russia under oath.

Smirnoff is owned by British drinks giant Diageo but was founded in Moscow in 1864 and is one of the best selling spirits brands in the world.

The line is apparently a reference to Mr Trumps current troubles, as he faces broadening investigations by the FBI and congressional committees into his campaigns alleged Moscow links.

The President has been accused of obstructing justice by allegedly pressuring former FBI director James Comey to stop the Bureaus investigation into communications between key Trump aides and Russian intelligence officials.

In his testimony last week, Mr Comey suggested that he had been fired for continuing to pursue the Russia investigation. He also said that Mr Trump had said he "hoped" Mr Comey could find a way to end the probe.

The President maintains that Mr Comeys version of events is incorrect.

On Sunday, senators invited Mr Trump to testify under oath after he said he would be 100 per cent willing to answer questions on the Russia investigation and the supposed tapes of his conversation with the former FBI director.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer told CBS that he wanted to invite Mr Trump to testify before the Senate.

I think we could work out a way it could be dignified, public, with questions, with [Senate majority leader, Mitch] McConnell.

The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Show all 17 1 /17 The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Paul Manafort Mr Manafort is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign manager. He resigned from that post over questions about his extensive lobbying overseas, including in Ukraine where he represented pro-Russian interests. Mr Manafort turned himself in at FBI headquarters to special counsel Robert Muellers team on Oct 30, 2017, after he was indicted under seal on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Getty The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rick Gates Mr Gates joined the Trump team in spring 2016, and served as a top aide until he left to work at the Republican National Committee after the departure of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Mr Gates' had previously worked on several presidential campaigns, on international political campaigns in Europe and Africa, and had 15 years of political or financial experience with multinational firms, according to his bio. Mr Gates was indicted alongside Mr Manafort by special counsel Robert Mueller's team on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. AP The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation George Papadopoulos George Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, having joined around March 2016. Mr Papadopoulos plead guilty to federal charges for lying to the FBI as a part of a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mr Papadopoulos claimed in an interview with the FBI that he had made contacts with Russian sources before joining the Trump campaign, but he actually began working with them after joining the team. Mr Papadopoulos allegedly took a meeting with a professor in London who reportedly told him that Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The professor also allegedly introduced Mr Papadopoulos to a Russian who was said to have close ties to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Papadopoulos also allegedly was in contact with a woman whom he incorrectly described in one email to others in the campaign as the "niece" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twitter The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Jr The President's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - on 9 June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York. He said in an initial statement that the meeting was about Russia halting adoptions of its children by US citizens. Then, he said it was regarding the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. In a final statement, Mr Trump Jr released a chain of emails that revealed he took the meeting in hopes of getting information Ms Veselnitskaya had about Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. He and the President called it standard "opposition research" in the course of campaigning and that no information came from the meeting. The meeting was set up by an intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also at the same meeting. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jared Kushner Mr Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key adviser to the White House. He met with a Russian banker appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Mr Kushner has said he did so in his role as an adviser to Mr Trump while the bank says he did so as a private developer. Mr Kushner has also volunteered to testify in the Senate about his role helping to arrange meetings between Trump advisers and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rob Goldstone Former tabloid journalist and now music publicist Rob Goldstone is a contact of the Trump family through the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which took place in Moscow. In June 2016, he wrote to Donald Trump Jr offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, who had information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Goldstone was the intermediary for Russian pop star Emin Agalaraov and his father, real estate magnate Aras, who played a role in putting on the 2013 pageant. In an email chain released by Mr Trump Jr, Mr Goldstone seemed to indicate Russian government's support of Donald Trump's campaign. AP images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Aras and Emin Agalarov Aras Agalarov (R) is a wealthy Moscow-based real estate magnate and son Emin (L) is a pop star. Both played a role in putting on the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. They allegedly had information about Hillary Clinton and offered that information to the Trump campaign through a lawyer with whom they had worked with, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and music publicist Rob Goldstone. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Natalia Veselnitskaya Natalia Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. She has worked on real estate issues and reportedly counted the FSB as a client in the past. She has ties to a Trump family connection, real estate magnate Aras Agalarov, who had helped set up the Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant which took place in Moscow. Ms Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 but denies the allegation that she went there promising information on Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. She contends that the meeting was about the US adoptions of Russian children being stopped by Moscow as a reaction to the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Mike Flynn Mr Flynn was named as Trump's national security adviser but was forced to resign from his post for inappropriate communication with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He had misrepresented a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, telling him wrongly that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sergey Kislyak Mr Kislyak, the former longtime Russian ambassador to the US, is at the centre of the web said to connect President Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Roger Stone Mr Stone is a former Trump adviser who worked on the political campaigns of Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan. Mr Stone claimed repeatedly in the final months of the campaign that he had backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that he knew the group was going to dump damaging documents to the campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton - which did happen. Mr Stone also had contacts with the hacker Guccier 2.0 on Twitter, who claimed to have hacked the DNC and is linked to Russian intelligence services. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeff Sessions The US attorney general was forced to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation after it was learned that he had lied about meeting with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Carter Page Mr Page is a former advisor to the Trump campaign and has a background working as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Mr Page met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Mr Page had invested in oil companies connected to Russia and had admitted that US Russia sanctions had hurt his bottom line. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeffrey "JD" Gorden Mr Gordon met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republian National Convention to discuss how the US and Russia could work together to combat Islamist extremism should then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump win the election. The meeting came days before a massive leak of DNC emails that has been connected to Russia. Creative Commons The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation James Comey Mr Comey was fired from his post as head of the FBI by President Donald Trump. The timing of Mr Comey's firing raised questions around whether or not the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign may have played a role in the decision. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Preet Bharara Mr Bahara refused, alongside 46 other US district attorney's across the country, to resign once President Donald Trump took office after previous assurances from Mr Trump that he would keep his job. Mr Bahara had been heading up several investigations including one into one of President Donald Trump's favorite cable television channels Fox News. Several investigations would lead back to that district, too, including those into Mr Trump's campaign ties to Russia, and Mr Trump's assertion that Trump Tower was wiretapped on orders from his predecessor. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sally Yates Ms Yates, a former Deputy Attorney General, was running the Justice Department while President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general awaited confirmation. Ms Yates was later fired by Mr Trump from her temporary post over her refusal to implement Mr Trump's first travel ban. She had also warned the White House about potential ties former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Russia after discovering those ties during the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia. Getty Images

Mr Comey testified last week that the President had falsely claimed that the FBI was in disarray. Mr Trump wanted assurances he would be loyal and that he himself was not under investigation, Mr Comey said.

The former FBI director also confirmed he had his friend leak a series of memos he had written about his relationship with the President to the press.

Mr Trump responded on Twitter, I believe the James Comey leaks will be far more prevalent than anyone ever thought possible. Totally illegal? Very cowardly!
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

General Electrics long-time chief executive and chairman Jeff Immelt is retiring.

The 61-year old, who took over the top spot from Jack Welch in 2001, has been credited with guiding the massive conglomerate through the financial crisis and turbulent markets in the years that followed.

He will be replaced as CEO by John Flannery, the head of GE healthcare, on 1 August and as chairman by Mr Flannery on 31 December.

During his tenure, Mr Immelt oversaw the restructuring of the companys GE Capital unit and steered the group as it shifted its focus from finance to manufacturing. GE returned $143bn to investors in dividends while Mr Immelt was CEO, which is more than in the entire prior history of the company.

In a press release on Monday, the group said that the leadership announcements are the result of a succession plan that had been run by the companys board of directors since 2011.

Mr Flannery, 55, began his career at GE Capital in 1987 where he focused on evaluating risk for leveraged buy-outs. He later moved to Argentina where he led GEs equity business in Latin America and the overall GE Capital business for Argentina and Chile.

GE is one of the biggest public companies in the US with segments in industries including automation, energy, oil and gas, transportation and finance.
Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

A poll of almost 700 business leaders conducted in the immediate aftermath of last weeks general election reveals a dramatic drop in business confidence and major concerns relating to political uncertainty.

The survey, conducted by the Institute of Directors (IoD), shows that 65 per cent of leaders questioned believe uncertainty over the make-up of the Government is a significant concern for the UK economy. A further 27 per cent think of it as a slight concern.

Since May, there has been a negative drop of 34 points in confidence in the UK economy, the IoD said. Although 20 per cent are still optimistic about the UK economy over the next 12 months, some 57 per cent are now either quite or very pessimistic. Last month, 34 per cent registered their optimism and only 37 per cent reported pessimism.

It is hard to overstate what a dramatic impact the current political uncertainty is having on business leaders, and the consequences could  if not addressed immediately  be disastrous for the UK economy, said Stephen Martin, director general of the IoD.

The needs of business and discussion of the economy were largely absent from the campaign, but this crash in confidence shows how urgently that must change in the new Government.

He said it is disheartening that the only reference the Prime Minister made to prosperity in her Downing Street statement [on Friday] was to emphasise the need to share it, rather than create it in the first place.

With global headwinds and political uncertainty at the front of business leaders minds, it would be wise for this administration to re-emphasise its commitment to a pro-business environment here at home.

He also said that there is little appetite among members of the IoD for a further election this year.

Business leaders are keener to see the new Government get to work in Brussels and on the domestic front, said Mr Martin.

Ensuring negotiations start well, and delivering higher quality skills and infrastructure across the country, must be the priority.

The survey asked the respondents to name three areas of Brexit negotiations which should be prioritised by the new Government. A total of 58 per cent cited an agreement on rights and entitlements for EU citizens in the UK and vice versa.

Business news: In pictures Show all 13 1 /13 Business news: In pictures Business news: In pictures Flybe collapses Airline Flybe has collapsed. All future flights on the Exeter-based airline have been cancelled  leaving more than 2,300 staff facing an uncertain future, and wrecking the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. The chief executive, Mark Anderson, said: Europes largest independent regional airline has been unable to overcome significant funding challenges to its business. AFP via Getty Business news: In pictures Future product placement will be 'tailored to individual viewers' Marketing executives say that product placement in films and televison shows on streaming services such as Netflix may be tailored to individuals in future. For instance, if data shows that a viewer is a fan of pepsi, a billboard in the background of a shot would host an advert for pepsi, while for a viewer known to have different tastes it could be for Coca-Cola Paramount Business news: In pictures Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company's 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: "You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share" Business news: In pictures No deal, no tariffs The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers Getty Business news: In pictures Fingerprint payment NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user's fingerprint NatWest/PA Wire Business news: In pictures Mahabis bust High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019 Mahabis Business news: In pictures Costa Cola Coca-Cola has paid 3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant PA Business news: In pictures RIP Payday Loans A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain's biggest, went into administration on August 30 PA Business news: In pictures Musk irks investors and directors Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks Getty Business news: In pictures Jaguar warning Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a "bad" Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures Spotif-IPO Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn't issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify's private investors will be sold AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures French blue passports The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rues contract ends in July. The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process. Business news: In pictures Beast from the east economic impact The Beast from the East wiped 4m off of Flybes revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airlines estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year.

Negotiating an early agreement on transitional arrangements and securing zero for zero tariffs were the joint-second most popular answer, given by 38 per cent of business leaders.

On the subject of transitional arrangements, 86 per cent said that striking a deal on that issue was somewhat or very important.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

A surge in spring shopping came to a halt last month, with new figures showing footfall in the UK in May fell by 1 per cent compared to the same month last year, the first such decline since February.

The UKs high streets in particular suffered from a miserly May, registering a 2 per cent drop in footfall, the steepest decline since a 3.7 per cent fall in the wake of the EU referendum in June 2016, according to retail footfall analyst Springboard.

Despite the loss in momentum, average growth over the three-month period from March through May remained positive at 0.7 per cent thanks to Easters boost in shopper numbers. The news means that it is the first time UK footfall has experienced two consecutive periods of three-month average growth since June-August 2013, following positive average growth from February through April.

Recommended April retail sales beat expectations as consumer show resilience

Footfall to retail park destinations grew by 1.5 per cent in May, but this was below the three-month average growth rate of 1.8 per cent.

Shopping centre footfall fell by 1.3 per cent during the month, below the three-month average decline of 0.5 per cent.

The drop in footfall was mirrored by a drop of 3.7 per cent in UK sales, as measured by Springboards sales index, which tracks sales in bricks and mortar stores.

Diane Wehrle, Springboard marketing and insights director, said that Mays decline was unsurprising given the Easter surge and the fact that UK consumers tend to exercise greater restraint in the run up to a general election.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said that Mays poor weather may also have contributed to a drop in footfall, with more people electing to stay indoors.

In an uncertain economic climate, retailers will be looking to the next Government to deliver on their commitment to fundamental reform of business rates; to implement a more sustainable system that allows for growth and investment, she added.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Newly-elected centrist President Emmanuel Macron is on course for a landslide victory in the French parliamentary election after the first round of voting.

With 94 per cent of votes counted, the Interior Ministry said Mr Macron's new En Marche! movement won 28 per cent of the votes.

The exit poll showed En Marche! and its centrist allies on course to win between 415 and 445 seats  significantly more than the 289 needed to secure a majority. The party is expected to gain the backing of around 33 per cent of voters.

But the victory for Mr Macron is slightly tainted by the historically low turnout of below 50 per cent, with rival parties warning that French democracy is "ill".

Undeterred by the low turnout, Mr Macron's Prime Minister Edouard Philippe declared "France is back".

The poll shows the mainstream French right struggling to make an impact in the wake of its poor performance in the presidential election. They look set to end up with just 80 to 100 seats, if the exit poll proves accurate.

The Republicans were rocked by the failure of their presidential candidate, Francois Fillon, to progress to the second round of voting following relentless allegations of corruption.

Leader Francois Baroin called on supporters to turn out en masse next Sunday, saying: Our country expects balanced powers, not concentrated in a single party.

The far-right struggled to make an impact, in one of the more surprising results of the exit poll, with the Front Nationale winning just 13 per cent of votes compared to the 23 per cent it took in the first round of the presidential elections.

 French president Emmanuel Macron offers refuge to American climate scientists

This drop could see Marine Le Pen's party win a small handful of seats  between one and four  well short of the 15 seats needed to form a parliamentary group.

Ms Le Pen appeared to remain optimistic when she said that in spite of "catastrophic" abstention levels, her party might still end up winning "several" constituencies.

She finished first in the northern Henin-Beaumont district with 45 per of the vote, and will face a battle against an En Marche candidate in round two in her third attempt to win a seat.

The far-left La France Insoumise party is set to finish with around 12 per cent of the vote, which would see it take between 10 to 20 seats.

While there are several factors which could impact on the second round next Sunday, the expected outcome will give Mr Macron the ability to implement the economic and social reforms he promised during the presidential campaign, including relaxing employment laws, cutting corporation tax and investing billions of euros in job training and renewable energy.

Success would mark a stunning rise to prominence for the party, founded just 14 months ago.

It has capitalised on disarray in the two main parties, with the Socialist Party suffering from the unpopularity of Francois Hollandes five-year presidency and high rates of unemployment.

It is predicted to retain just 20 to 30 of the 384 seats it currently holds.

French Presidential Election Show all 20 1 /20 French Presidential Election French Presidential Election Voters line up to cast their ballots REUTERS French Presidential Election REUTERS French Presidential Election REUTERS French Presidential Election Police patrol polling stations in France REUTERS French Presidential Election REUTERS French Presidential Election REUTERS French Presidential Election REUTERS French Presidential Election REUTERS French Presidential Election Emmanuel Macron and wife Brigitte Trogneux REUTERS French Presidential Election Emmanuel Macron casts his ballot REUTERS French Presidential Election SAA/ French Presidential Election REUTERS French Presidential Election Front National leader Marine Le Pen casts her ballot REUTERS French Presidential Election Early ballots are read as results continue to come in Reuters French Presidential Election Macron supporters react as results come in early in the evening AP French Presidential Election Supporters of Front National leader Marine Le Pen cheer as early results come in Reuters French Presidential Election Alamy French Presidential Election Front National leader Marine Le Pen takes to the stage to address her supporters as fans cheer Reuters French Presidential Election Emmanuel Macron greets supporters on Sunday night AP French Presidential Election Emmanuel Macron and wife Brigitte Trogneux celebrate the incoming results EPA

Jean-Christophe Cambadelis, the partys secretary general, called it an unprecedented setback for the Left and notably for the Socialist Party.

He added: It is neither healthy nor desirable for a president who gathered only 24 percent of the vote in the first round of the presidentials and who was elected in the second round only by the rejection of the extreme Right should benefit from a monopoly of national representation.

Parliamentary candidates must secure at least 12.5 per cent of the vote in order to progress to the second round of voting, which will take place on 18 June.

Should a candidate receive a majority of votes and the backing of at least 25 per cent of voters, they are elected in the first round without the need for a second vote.

Speaking on Friday, Mr Philippe, who was previously part of the Republican Party, urged voters to back Mr Macron.

He said: "The question that the French people must answer on Sunday is, do they want to give the President and the government he named a sufficient majority to begin the work of turning around the country.

Others, however, have argued that a parliamentary majority would hand Mr Macron and his party too much power.

We shouldn't have a monopolistic party," said former French prime minister Bernard Cazeneuve, a Socialist.

The political infancy of En Marche! means many of its parliamentary candidates are newcomers to politics. They include a retired bullfighter, a fighter pilot and a prize-winning mathematician. Half are women.

Candidates were chosen from a pool of 19,000 people who applied. 1,700 were interviewed before the final candidates were selected.

The run-off next Sunday will decide the exact number of seats for each party.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Norway aims to ban face-covering Muslim veils in kindergartens, schools and universities, the government said on Monday, the latest European nation to propose restrictions on wearing burqas and niqabs.

France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Bulgaria and the German state of Bavaria have all imposed restrictions on wearing full-face veils in public places.

Norway's minority government, a coalition of the centre-right Conservatives and the populist Progress Party, said it was confident it would find opposition support for the move.

Recommended Austrian parliament votes to ban burqa in public

We have every reason to believe this will be approved by parliament, Education Minister Torbjoern Roe Isaksen said.

Norway, which will hold elections on 11 September, will be the first country in the Nordics to introduce a ban on burqas for both adults and children.

Face-covering garment such as the niqab or burqa do not belong in Norwegian schools. The ability to communicate is a basic value, acting Minister of Immigration and Integration, Per Sandberg, told a news conference.

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

Employees who insist on wearing a veil would risk losing their jobs, and students could face expulsion from university, he added.

In May, Austrias parliament approved a burqa ban that will see women wearing full-face veils in public fined 150 (130).

The prohibition will come into effect in October to outlaw burqas, niqabs and other clothing obstructing facial features in public places, universities, courts or on transport.

Reuters
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Another arrest has been made in the investigation into the London Bridge attack.

A 19-year-old man was held on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts following a raid at an address in Barking, east London, at 9.50pm on Sunday, Scotland Yard said.

Detectives from the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command were searching the address and another in Barking where a 28-year-old man was arrested on Saturday.

A total of seven men are being held in custody under terror laws after the 3 June atrocity that left eight dead and dozens wounded.

The development came as new testimony emerged from a woman who was knifed in the throat in the attack.

Australian Candice Hedge was working at Elliot's Cafe in Borough Market when attackers Khuram Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba launched their van and knife rampage.

The 34-year-old said: They were behind me so I couldn't see, one was standing basically beside me as I was huddled down in the corner. I did see one of our customers get stabbed by one of the guys and the one who was standing beside me was shouting.

Ms Hedge said it was one quick go and that was it. I was vomiting blood.

Describing her horror as blood gushed from the wound, she told Australian programme Sunday Night: I was thinking, I don't want to die.

On Sunday police released images of the terrorists' blood-spattered fake suicide belts.

The phoney bombs were simply disposable water bottles wrapped in silver and black tape and attached to leather belts, although they were designed to create maximum fear, police said.

Metropolitan Police Commander Dean Haydon praised the bravery of the police officers and members of public who tackled the three - despite the possibility they could have been killed in an explosion.

One week on from the atrocity, revellers returned to the Borough Market area on Saturday night in a show of defiance, although the market is expected to remain closed into this week.

On Sunday Southwark Cathedral, which had remained shut since it was reportedly stormed by armed police during the attack, reopened.

Detectives have made 21 arrests as part of the probe.

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

Twelve people arrested in the initial stages were released without charge.

A 27-year-old arrested under the Terrorism Act on Tuesday was also released without charge on Saturday.

A man arrested on suspicion of drugs and firearms offences in connection with the investigation was bailed until a date in late June.

Press Association
Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Boris Johnson said he was "delighted" the Tories won the seat of Clwyd South  which the Tories did not win  in an article to prove Jeremy Corbyn lost the election.

The gaffe occurred as the Foreign Secretary told readers of The Sun newspaper that Tory MPs were united behind Theresa May and Labours surge in the votes was not enough to challenge their victory.

But at the risk of stating the obvious, Jeremy Corbyn Did Not Win This Election. He didnt even come close. Yes, he picked up Kensington  but then he also lost Mansfield, wrote Mr Johnson.

I am delighted to see that we Tories have just won Clwyd South  the seat where I was first defeated in the great Blair landslide of 1997.

Labours Susan Elan Jones won the constituency on 8 June, beating Conservative candidate Simon Baynes by more than 4,000 votes.

The paragraph was later deleted from the article.

 General Election 2017: Boris Johnson's majority slashed

Mr Johnsons article continued: For all his ludicrous boasting, Mr Corbyn does not have the numbers to form a government, even if he could get the Liberals and the Scottish Nationalists to serve under him.

He has about as many MPs as Gordon Brown when he was defeated in 2010.

He added: To those that say the PM should step down, or that we need another election or even - God help us - a second referendum, I say come off it. Get a grip, everyone.

Last week Labour defied the polls and the pundits and gained 34 seats, leaving the Tories short of an overall majority.

Ms May went quickly to Buckingham Palace to announce a deal with the DUP, the socially conservative Northern Ireland party.

 Boris Johnson criticises Jeremy Corbyn for voting against an anti-terrorism law he also opposed

As Tory MPs such as Anna Soubry suggested Ms May should resign, a group Whatsapp conversation between Tory MPs was leaked to the media, which showed they were backing up the Prime Minister.

Folks we need to calm down and get behind the prime minister, he wrote, listing eight reasons why, including that Ms May was a woman of extraordinary qualities.

The leaked conversation followed another Daily Mail article stating Mr Johnson was planning a bid for Prime Minister.

Mail on Sunday tripe - I am backing Theresa may. Let's get on with the job, he responded on Twitter.

Mr Johnson consistently attacked Mr Corbyn during the campaign, including criticising the opposition leader for voting against the same anti-terrorism measures as he had.

During a Radio 4 interview, host Mishal Husain to tell him to please stop talking as he had mentioned former shadow home secretary Diane Abbott several times.
Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

The number of European nurses registering to work in the UK has plummeted by 96 per cent since the EU referendum last June, prompting critics to warn Brexit has caused an unforgivable drain of talent in the health sector.

Just 46 nurses from EU countries registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) in April 2017, compared with 1,304 in July 2016, according to figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request by the Health Foundation.

The monthly statistics show the number of nurses registering with the NMC peaked in July 2016 at 1,304, before undergoing a steep decline  falling to just 244 in the two months until September, and down to 46 by April 2017.

(Health Service Journal (HSJ) (Health Service Journal (HSJ))

The decline has raised alarm among experts, who warned the figures should be a wake-up call to politicians.

Health service leaders also warned of the urgency to offset any further loss in EU nursing staff in the near future.

The UK has repeatedly used international recruitment as a stop-gap measure to fill staffing shortages. Since 2008, the majority of international nurses registering in the UK have come from within the EU.

The recruitment and retention of nurses is one of the biggest challenges facing health and social care, with a shortage of 30,000 nurses in England alone, said Anita Charlesworth, director of research and economics at the Health Foundation.

Without EU nurses, it will be even harder for the NHS and other employers to find the staff they need to provide safe patient care.

The findings should be a wake-up call to politicians and health service leaders. Clearly action is needed to offset any further loss of EU nursing staff in the near future.

Ms Charlesworth added that the decline in EU nurses comes at a time when there is already a chronic shortage of nurses in the UK, due to long-term failings in workforce planning and the scrapping of training bursaries.

Clearly action is needed to offset any further loss of EU nursing staff in the near future, she said. But the overall shortage of 30,000 nurses is not a shortage caused by the Brexit vote.

The chronic shortage of nurses is the result of years of short-term planning and cuts to training places. A sustainable, long-term approach to workforce planning is desperately needed.

Labours Shadow Health Secretary, Jonathan Ashworth, accused the Tories of overseeing an unforgivable drain of talent which he warned patients would pay the price for.

Theresa Mays weak and unstable government has pushed NHS services to the brink and it is patients who will pay the price, Mr Ashworth said.

Our health service has always relied on the contribution of overseas workers, yet these staff are being forced out by this Governments neglect and disregard. The Tories are overseeing an unforgivable drain of talent out of our country because of their chaotic attitude to the Brexit negotiations.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 7 November 2022 Handout photo issued by Just Stop Oil of a protester who has climbed a gantry on the M25 between junctions six and seven in Surrey, leading to the closure of the motorway PA UK news in pictures 6 November 2022 A grey seal with its pup, at the Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in north Lincolnshire, where they come every year in late October, November and December to give birth to their pups near the sand dunes, the wildlife spectacle attracts visitors from across the UK PA UK news in pictures 5 November 2022 Demonstrators with placards calling for a General Election march near the Houses of Parliament AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 4 November 2022 A peacock is seen in the early winter sunshine in the Dutch Gardens in Holland Park AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 3 November 2022 A villager cooks roti bread at the site of the annual Camel Fair in Pushkar, in India's desert state of Rajasthan AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters

He urged the Government to prioritise the NHS in Brexit negotiations, and immediately guarantee the rights of EU nationals.

The truth is that Theresa May has tried to use NHS staff as bargaining chips in her negotiations with Brussels, he said. The NHS should be a priority in the Brexit negotiations and the Government should immediately guarantee the rights of EU staff who are working here in our health and care service.

The new figures came after it emerged in March that almost 2,700 EU nurses handed in their resignation letters in 2016, compared to 1,600 in 2014  a jump of 68 per cent, according to Freedom of Information requests filed by the Liberal Democrats.

The following month, a leaked internal document from the Department of Health claimed Britain should prepare for a possible shortage of up to 42,000 nurses after Brexit.

It warned that if nurses from EU and non-EU countries stop coming to the UK in 2019, there would be a nursing staff shortage of between 26,000 and 42,000 within six years.
Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

A member of the public who says he voted for the first time in the 2017 general election has told LBC he chose Jeremy Corbyn after reading negative headlines about him in the Daily Mail.

Speaking to the radio station, caller Ibrahim blasted the right-wing newspaper for scare-mongering and said it had the opposite of its intended effect of swaying him towards the Tories.

Recent headlines from the paper include Corbyns fantasy land, talking down his socialist proposals, and labelling Mr Corbyn, John McDonnell and the former shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott apologists for terror.

"Every time I read the Daily Mail, all they do is to try to talk nonsense about Jeremy Corbyn," said Ibrahim.

The more they talked about him, the more I liked him.

When the election started, I had never heard him talk before. But when he started talking, I had a connection with him.

So thats the reason that motivated me [to vote for him].

He said the Daily Mail focused more on the negatives of Mr Corbyn rather than the potential positive outcomes of voting for the Conservatives.

The caller's remarks follow an astounding rise for the Labour party after months of persistent negativity in the press and Mr Corbyn's own colleagues calling for him to resign.

Labour gained 34 seats last week, including in traditional Tory strongholds such as Kensington and Canterbury, leaving the Conservatives without an overall majority.

Theresa May visited Buckingham Palace on Friday to propose a deal with Northern Irelands DUP in order to prop up the Tories majority in Parliament.

As rumours swirled around how long Ms May would last in the top job, Mr Corbyn's success prompted the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson to write in The Sun that Mr Corbyn did not win the election.

He argued the Tories won more votes than Tony Blair in the landslide of 1997, and boasted that his party had won back Clwyd South despite the fact they actually lost the constituency to Labour.
Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson walked out in the middle of an interview after she was questioned about Democratic Unionist Partys stance on LGTB rights.

The Northern Irish party is currently in talks with senior Tories about an agreement which would keep Theresa May's minority government in power.

The DUP's 10 parliamentary seats would give the prime minister a majority of three.

However, the party has gained a reputation for its strong and controversial views on a number of social issues. It opposes same-sex marriage and is anti-abortion - with abortion remaining illegal in Northern Ireland, except in specific medical cases.

Ms Davidson has already sought assurances over LGBT rights from Mrs May about the potential alliance, but when she was asked on Channel 4 News about the deal she walked off camera.

"We have to work with other parties and that means taking on some of their ideas as well," she told reporter, Ciaran Jenkins.

Continuing his line of inquiry he asked: Just on the DUP. Theresa May yesterday described the DUP as her friends. Are you prepared to use that word? Are they your friends?

Miss Davidson replied: Well look, I have friends in politics across many parties but what I spoke to the Prime Minister about yesterday was the need for a category assurance that talking with the DUP would not result in any roll back of LGBTI rights in the rest of the UK because as the Conservative party we are the party of equal marriage, we introduced it to the House of Commons and also we would use our influence to try and advance LGBTI rights in Northern Ireland and they are assurances that I got.

But as he attempted to ask a follow-up question Miss Davidson walked off.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 5 November 2022 Demonstrators with placards calling for a General Election march near the Houses of Parliament AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 4 November 2022 A peacock is seen in the early winter sunshine in the Dutch Gardens in Holland Park AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 3 November 2022 A villager cooks roti bread at the site of the annual Camel Fair in Pushkar, in India's desert state of Rajasthan AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images

It is unclear why the Conservative leader decided to end the interview.

Miss Davidson helped Theresa may secure 13 seats in Scotland, and George Osborne has described her as the heroine of the party.

She is expected to prioritise free trade in the upcoming negotiations, and has said she does not intends the topic of restricting immigration to be a key focus.

The Independent has approached Ms Davidson for comment but none had arrived at the time of publication.
Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Cartoonists around the world have ridiculed Theresa May after an election predicted to be a Tory landslide became a disaster for the party.

With Brexit negotiations fast approaching as the Conservatives attempt to reach an agreement with Northern Irelands DUP, artists have had no shortage soundbites from which to draw inspiration.

From Japan to Ireland and continental Europe, the Ms May and her party were the subject of a range of cutting cartoons - many of which appeared to reference the self-inflicted nature of their problems, given the election was called three years earlier than it needed to be.

Recommended May asked if Murdoch told her to give Gove a Cabinet job

In the wake of the election on 8 June, several Tory MPs joined the opposition's calls for Ms May to resign and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was forced to announce he had no plans to bid for leadership.

By Sunday, Ms May had sacked her two closest advisers, Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy. The next day she received a letter from Deputy Labour Leader, Tom Watson, asking her if Rupert Murdoch had instructed her to give Michael Gove a job, a year after she sacked him, in the cabinet reshuffle.

One of the first acts of Ms May after the election was to seek a deal with the DUP and take this proposal to the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Show all 7 1 /7 General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nick Clegg Darren O'Brien General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Gavin Barwell Getty General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Angus Robertson General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nicola Blackwood PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Alex Salmond PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Rob Wilson Rex Features General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Ben Gummer PA

In the Irish News, cartoonist Ian Knox shows Ms May kneeling at the feet of DUP leader Arlene Foster, portrayed as the Queen, asking for a deal to form a majority in government.

The discussions with the DUP have prompted a backlash, including from the Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson, given the party's opposition to abortion and gay marriage, and scepticism around climate change.

In Japan, cartoonist Masaaki Sato depicted Ms May asking Prime Minister Shinzo Abe not to delay an election too long.

During the campaign, a Tory advertising bus blew over in the wind on the M6, prompting further mirth about a Government whose slogan was "strong and stable".

In The Times, Ms May sat on a street corner, a gambler ruined, with an animal bearing the face of Jeremy Corbyn relieving itself on her.

In Kenya and South Africa, cartoonists depicted Ms May hanging by a rope, a controversial reference to the hung parliament created by the election.

Dutch artist Jos Collignon showed the Prime Minister bashing herself over the head with a mallet as European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker asks, Are you alright Mrs May?

Another Dutch publication chooses to show Ms May entering the Brexit talks with her severed head on her hand.

In a Belgian cartoon, the Prime Minister is depicted bleeding after shooting herself in the foot.

In a similar vein, Swiss newspaper Neue Zurcher Zeitung showed Ms May as a boxer, punching herself with her own gloves against the ropes.

German newspaper Politik had the Prime Minister beaming under a hot Brexit sun in May, then grimacing under a black storm cloud in June.

Brexit Secretary David Davies told Radio 4s Today Programme that the Government would continue to aim for a hard Brexit, leaving the single market and ending free movement in the EU.

Mr Davis said the election outcome was not the one the party had been hoping for, but he insisted it had been right to call the snap election and he was happy the Tories were back in power.

Negotiations are set to start next week and will last until 2017, no doubt providing plenty of fodder for political cartoonists in the process.
Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

David Gauke, a relatively unknown MP who was previously chief secretary to the treasury, has been appointed the new Work and Pensions Secretary in Theresa Mays cabinet reshuffle.

He will take over the role from Damian Green, who will effectively function as Deputy Prime Minister in his new job as First Secretary of State and Cabinet Office Minister.

Mr Gauke, a solicitor regarded as a quietly effective performer, has been given the high-profile role at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) as Ms May attempts to shore up her position in the wake of her disastrous performance in the general election.

He said he was delighted and honoured to have been appointed to the role.

Ms May is attempting to negotiate an agreement with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to allow her to run a minority government after she unexpectedly lost her majority, leaving the country with a hung Parliament.

Although socially conservative, the DUP is pro-welfare and is opposed to Tory manifesto proposals to means test pensioner benefits such as the winter fuel allowance.

Concessions on welfare might be one of the DUPs conditions for propping up the Conservatives in an arrangement known as confidence and supply where the 10 MPs from the Northern Irish party would support the Government on a case-by-case basis, without entering into a formal coalition.

Recommended Orange Order asks DUP to use banned Dumcree march in deal with Tories

Ms May has said she intends to serve a full five year term as Prime Minister in spite of widespread speculation about how long she can last after her high-stakes gamble in calling the snap general election to strengthen her hand ahead of the Brexit negotiations ended in abject failure.

Notable Cabinet appointments include Ms Mays former foe Michael Gove, who returns to the fold after eleven months in back-bench exile following his decision to stand against her in last years Tory leadership contest.

Liz Trust has been moved from Justice Secretary to Mr Gaukes old job as chief treasury secretary  effectively a demotion.

General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Show all 7 1 /7 General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nick Clegg Darren O'Brien General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Gavin Barwell Getty General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Angus Robertson General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nicola Blackwood PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Alex Salmond PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Rob Wilson Rex Features General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Ben Gummer PA

Commons leader David Liddington takes over as Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor.

Former Chancellor George Osborne, who Theresa May sacked last year, described Ms May as a dead woman walking and said she was certain to be ousted as Conservative leader.

Its simply a question of how long she wants to remain on death row, he said on the Andrew Marr Show.

Ms May said of her reshuffle: Crucially I've brought in talent from across the whole of the Conservative party. We want a country that works for everyone."

"That's about delivering a successful Brexit negotiations. And those negotiations start in a week's time."

The majority of the Cabinet remains unchanged after rumoured plans for a more radical reshuffle were derailed in the fall-out from the election, where the Tories won just 318 seats.
Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Brexit Secretary David Davis has said criticism of Theresa May is the height of self-indulgence  and signalled the Government would continue to pursue a hard Brexit.

The Prime Minister is under increasing pressure after a disastrous general election that saw the Conservative Party lose its Parliamentary majority, and was due for a crucial meeting with Tory MPs yesterday.

But the leader received strong backing from Mr Davis, who told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: Look, I view the stuff in the papers this weekend as the absolute height of self-indulgence, on [the part of] people who speculate on leadership or so on or getting involved in it.

We have been given an instruction by the British people and the decision by the British people is now for us to go back and do the job, not to bicker amongst ourselves whose fault it was or whatever.

The comments come after the Tories failed to secure an overall majority in Parliament while Labour gained 34 seats, forcing the party to make a deal with Northern Irelands unionist party, the DUP.

Ms May, with Mr Daviss support, called a snap election within seven weeks as she claimed there was a lack of unity in Westminster.

After repeated claims that she would not hold a snap election, she said the turnaround was to provide her with a mandate to hold successful Brexit negotiations.

Mr Davis said during the Radio 4 interview that he would take responsibility for holding another election along with the other 20 or so cabinet members who agreed with the decision.

 David Davis: Theresa May is 'fine' and wasn't sobbing when I saw her

It was nothing to do with the polls, per se, it was to do with the timetable, he claimed, adding that holding an election on the old timetable would have clashed with the Brexit negotiations and given the opposition an easy pressure point.

He said the priority for the Tories in the Brexit negotiations was the status of British people living in the European Union as the issue was time sensitive, while European counterparts was focused on their citizens in the UK, money and Northern Ireland.

Mr Davis also insisted the Government would leave the single market and end free movement.

Its not hard [Brexit], its just a logical outcome, he said.

General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Show all 7 1 /7 General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nick Clegg Darren O'Brien General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Gavin Barwell Getty General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Angus Robertson General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nicola Blackwood PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Alex Salmond PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Rob Wilson Rex Features General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Ben Gummer PA

He added that the Government would stick to its mantra of a no deal is better than a bad deal.

If you go into a negotiation without the ability to walk away, then you will have a poor outcome in the negotiation  it doesnt matter whether youre buying a house or doing an international treaty, he said.

After the weak election result for the Tories, the Daily Mail claimed Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was planning to launch a bid for Prime Minister  a claim he dismissed as tripe.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called for Ms May to resign, as did Tory MPs such as Anna Soubry.

In response, Mr Johnson wrote in The Sun that people engaging in speculation should get a grip.

 Theresa May: I've brought 'talent' to the cabinet from across the Conservative Party

The same day, pictures of a group WhatsApp conversation, including Mr Johnson and Michael Gove calling Ms May a woman of extraordinary qualities, was leaked to the press  some say deliberately.

At the time the party called an election, the Prime Minister was enjoying record-high approval ratings, but they plummeted in parallel with Labours rise in May and June after several U-turns from Ms May including the dementia tax and social care.

The Tories lost traditional seats such as Canterbury and Kensington, despite winning more votes than former Prime Minister Tony Blair gained in the landslide of 1997.

The election outcome was not the one we would have liked, admitted Mr Davis, but said he was happy the party was back in government.

He added that the Brexit talks represented the largest negotiations for the UK since WW2. Talks are set to start this month.
Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

New Justice Secretary David Lidington has consistently opposed LGBT rights including gay marriage and has voted in favour of repealing the Human Rights Act.

Prime Minister Theresa May replaced Liz Truss with the MP for Aylesbury during her cabinet reshuffle, following the Conservatives disastrous performance in the general election. He will also hold the office of Lord Chancellor.

But the 60-year-old's record shows he has voted against gay rights since the 1990s.

Recommended Ruth Davidson storms out of interview over DUP gay rights question

Mr Lidington takes a traditional view of marriage and was one of just 47 MPs to vote against the civil partnerships bill in 2004, which other MPs who opposed gay marriage for religious reasons were happy to vote for.

According to the website, They Work For You, Mr Lidington twice voted against allowing same-sex couples to marry in 2013.

He also voted against an amendment to the Adoption and Children Bill to allow same-sex couples to adopt children.

An Anglican, he told his local newspaper, The Bucks Herald, that the purpose of marriage was not only to provide mutual love and commitment but also for the procreation and care of children.

Between 1998 and 1999, he also voted three times against reducing the age of consent for gay sex from 18 to 16 to bring it in line with the law for heterosexual sex.

Mr Lidington also voted to maintain a ban on the promotion of homosexuality in schools  not teaching children that some people are gay.

On other matters of equality, Mr Lidington voted against making it illegal to discriminate on the basis of caste.

He also voted to remove the duty on the Commission for Equality and Human Rights to work to support the development of a society where peoples ability to achieve their potential is not limited by prejudice or discrimination.

As Justice Secretary Mr Lidington, who is not a lawyer and has no legal background, will be responsible for overseeing the judiciary, the court system and prisons and probation in England and Wales.

The Justice Secretary also oversees the UK Supreme Court and judicial appointments by the Crown.

Defenders of the Human Rights Act will be concerned that Mr Lidington voted in favour of repealing it just last year. He also voted in favour of restricting the scope of legal aid and limiting fees paid to solicitors in no-win no-fee cases.

He has been the Tory MP for Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire since 1992 but retained a relatively low profile, serving as a shadow minister of the environment and of Northern Ireland during the Blair and Brown years.

Under David Cameron, he was the countrys longest-serving Minister for Europe and campaigned to remain in the EU. He was appointed Leader of the House of Commons by Ms May when she became Prime Minister.

General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Show all 7 1 /7 General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nick Clegg Darren O'Brien General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Gavin Barwell Getty General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Angus Robertson General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nicola Blackwood PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Alex Salmond PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Rob Wilson Rex Features General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Ben Gummer PA

His predecessor, Liz Truss, the first woman to hold the job, lasted just 11 months having come under fire for her weak response following media attacks on High Court judges during the Article 50 High Court Hearing which saw them branded enemies of the people.

Following the announcement of his appointment, Mr Lidington said he was pleased and honoured.

In a statement, he said: Democracy and freedom are built on the rule of law, and are protected by a strong and independent judiciary. I look forward to taking my Oath as Lord Chancellor, and to working with the Lord Chief Justice and his fellow judges in the months ahead, to ensure that justice is fairly administered and robustly defended.

Mr Lidingtons socially conservative views could line up well with those of the Democratic Unionist Party, which is currently in talks with senior Tories about an agreement which would keep Theresa May's minority government in power.

The Northern Irish party's 10 parliamentary seats would give the prime minister a working majority of three on a "confidence and supply" basis.

But it has gained a reputation for its strong and controversial views on a number of social issues. It opposes same-sex marriage and is anti-abortion - with abortion remaining illegal in Northern Ireland, except in specific medical cases.

The new intake following the general election sees a record 45 out LGBT MPs in the House of Commons  seven per cent of the total.

Tories including the partys leader in Scotland, Ruth Davidson, have warned against allowing the DUP to influence social policy in any deal brokered to prop up the Government, although issues such as abortion and gay marriage are devolved.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn told the Pink News newspaper: "LGBT rights are human rights. They must not be sold out by Theresa May and the Conservatives as they try to cling to power with the DUP.
Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

The White House has denied claims Donald Trump wants to delay his state visit to the UK over fears of protests about his presidency

The Guardian reported on Sunday that Mr Trump had told Theresa May in a phone call he wanted to put the trip on hold until the British public supported it.

But the White House has flatly denied the leaders discussed the topic at all. A spokesman said: "The subject never came up on the call."

Downing Street said: "The Queen extended an invitation to President Trump to visit the UK and there is no change to those plans."

Ms May had extended the invitation during her visit to Washington in January.

After it was announced campaigners immediately said they would organise mass protests, and nearly two million people signed a petition against the visit.

Mr Trump's criticism of Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, following the Borough Market terror attack has also fuelled opposition to the idea of his coming to the UK.

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

The President did not visit the UK on his first foreign trip as President, choosing instead to visit Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the Vatican. He also attended summits in Italy and Belgium.

The White House recently announced that his next foreign trip will include a visit to Poland.
Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

A company told its employees they would be the first to lose their jobs if business slowed down and they had voted Labour.

In an email sent to staff on the day of the general election on Thursday, John Brooker, owner of Watford-based IT firm Storm Technologies Ltd, said Labour voters will be made redundant first if Jeremy Corbyn's party won the election.

The firm has since told The Independent the email was merely internal banter and that no offence had been intended.

Storm Technologies is understood to hold a Government contract for IT services.

If by any chance Labour win, well have to re-think a few things here at the company so if you value your job and want to hold onto your hard earned money vote Conservative, the email, which is signed with Mr Brookers initials, said.

Labour voters will be made redundant first if Labour do win and things slow down.

Mr Brooker started the email by saying he hoped employees had exercised their right to vote, before adding: Just a heads up though, VOTE CONSERVATIVE.

He told employees Mr Corbyn resents those making good money, citing plans to increase taxes on the rich and on corporations in the Labour manifesto.

He finished the message saying: Anyway, just sharing my personal thoughts with you. Feel free to vote for whoever you want but I have said my piece.

According to their last set of accounts, filed 26 May 2016, Storm Technologies made 2.2m profit in 2015. Its highest paid director received 355,382 and shareholders were paid 1.6 million in dividends.

Mr Brooker holds more than half of the shares in the company and has an interest-free loan of 2.9m from the firm.

The GMB union said the email, which was leaked by a whistleblower, was sent to around 109 members of staff at the company.

The union is a founding member of the Labour Party and is its third largest affiliate. Tens of thousands of GMB members are also members of the Labour Party.

Warren Kenny, GMB London region secretary, said in a statement: It is unacceptable and morally and ethically wrong for a company director to tell his staff that Labour voters will be made redundant first if Labour do win.

A boss should not be harassing employees or interfering with their right to vote for who they wish  its Dickensian, workhouse nonsense.

Staff ... should be able to vote for their candidate or party of choice without fear for their jobs and their livelihoods.

If you want to see an example of kind of oppressive working environment seven years of Tory rule has created, this is it.

General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Show all 7 1 /7 General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nick Clegg Darren O'Brien General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Gavin Barwell Getty General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Angus Robertson General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nicola Blackwood PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Alex Salmond PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Rob Wilson Rex Features General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Ben Gummer PA

When asked about his comments, Mr Brooker said: The email was a tongue in cheek note sent immediately after a large group of my staff and I were having a joke in the company canteen on the day of the election and was totally meant in jest.

We have a very open culture in the office here, where people are free to express their opinions and share a joke or two. No offence was intended, nor was there any threat whatsoever levelled at staff.

This was nothing more than internal banter now completely taken out of context. Obviously in hindsight I regret any offence this has caused and have reiterated to all my staff the respect I have for their political views and opinions.

The Labour Party defied political commentators and pollsters in the general election, gaining 30 seats. Its share of the vote rose by 9.6 points to 40 per cent, the largest increase in a general election since 1945.

Meanwhile, the Tories fell short of a majority, losing 13 seats. It is now expected they will now be running a minority government through a non-binding agreement with the DUP.
Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

The Womens Equality Party (WEP) has said it has no regrets in the fight to oust Conservative MP Philip Davies from Shipley, despite gaining a very small share of the vote in the general election.

The pro-gender equality partys leader, Sophie Walker, ran against the Tory MP and clocked up just 1.9 per cent of the vote.

The percentage, although small in terms of the overall share, beat the surge of popularity for the Liberal Democrats and even the Tories rise of 1.4 per cent compared to the 2015 election.

WEP faced accusations of splitting the vote, but figures show that the votes for all parties opposing the Conservatives combined would still have fallen short by 1,439 votes. Mr Davies ended the night with 27,417 votes, making up more than 51 per cent of the overall share.

Ms Walker claimed that her party forced Mr Daviess stance into the spotlight  he was criticised for filibustering an anti-domestic violence bill as he said it did not provide equal protections for men  and the competition halved his majority from almost 10,000 votes in the 2015 general election to less than 5,000 votes in 2017.

No regrets re Shipley. Our publicity & huge ground campaign mobilised vote that halved PD's majority, tweeted Ms Walker.

Also personally I lived & worked every day for 2 months to learn & listen to Shipley. Now look 4wd to deepening ties.

Mr Davies said the Conservatives had made a bit of a pigs ear of the national campaign but boasted of his own result, joking on Twitter that he was considering bidding for prime minister.

A spokeswoman from the party told The Independent: "The Women's Equality Party was set up to challenge the idea that votes belong to other parties who are not doing enough on women's equality or working collaboratively to challenge the kind of regressive politics that Philip Davies represents.

This has added urgency now that the Conservatives plan to make a deal with the DUP, and Owen Paterson has already suggested that abortion rights may become a bargaining chip.

Sophie Walker debates Philip Davies in Shipley (Getty)

WEP warned in our campaign manifesto that collaboration would be vital to ensuring women do not pay the price for Brexit and we will continue to push for this, especially in the event of another election.

On the eve of the election, social media users prematurely celebrated the ousting of Mr Davies, before the final results showed he had in fact held on to his seat.

WEP supporter canvasses doorsteps in Shipley (Getty)

Mr Davies described outlets, such as BuzzFeed and Huffington Post, who had reported the initial feminist celebrations, as fake news, and added: "More proof of needed that people shouldn't believe anything they read on Twitter."

WEP fielded seven candidates in the election across the UK, two years after it was founded by Catherine Mayer and Sandi Toksvig.

General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Show all 7 1 /7 General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nick Clegg Darren O'Brien General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Gavin Barwell Getty General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Angus Robertson General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nicola Blackwood PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Alex Salmond PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Rob Wilson Rex Features General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Ben Gummer PA

Announcing her candidacy for Shipley in April, Ms Walker said: Philip Daviess track record of misogyny should have no place in Parliament.

In response, the Liberty Belles, a group of five anti-feminist women, launched a campaign called Ladies for Phillip Davies to support his quest for real gender equality.

During the election campaign, Ms Walker and Ms Mayer protested TV and radio networks decision to minimise coverage of smaller parties like WEP and the Greens, while frequently giving a platform to former Ukip leader Paul Nuttall.

The DUP, Northern Irelands socially conservative and unionist party, is forming a deal with the Tories after the latter failed to gain an overall majority last week. The DUP has been criticised for its stance against gay marriage, abortion and progress on climate change.
Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

A Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) councillor has posted a mocked up image of a terrorist groups flag raised outside 10 Downing Street.

In an apparent celebration of his partys prospective role in government, Ian Stevenson posted the picture of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) flag flying next to the Prime Ministers residence.

Few changes made in Downing Street today, the former mayor of Ballymoney wrote next to the image, according to The Belfast Telegraph who first reported the post.

The UVF is classified as a terrorist organisation by the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and United States.

After its formation in 1966, the loyalist paramilitary group issued a statement saying it declared war against the Irish Republican Army and its splinter groups.

Known IRA men will be executed mercilessly and without hesitation, it said. Less extreme measures will be taken against anyone sheltering or helping them, but if they persist in giving them aid, then more extreme methods will be adopted.

It went on to kill hundreds of people.

Mr Stevenson, who is a councillor for Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, told The Independent: I honestly dont know why its a story. It wasnt intentional. It didnt mean anything.

In a separate interview with The Belfast Telegraph, he claimed to have mistaken the UVF flag for that of a Protestant fraternal society, the Apprentice Boys of Derry.

The latter is red, with a logo featuring cannons at its centre. The UVF flag is purple, with an orange border, a St Georges Cross in one corner, and the letters U. V. F. emblazoned in orange diagonally across it.

The councillor has since deleted the image from his Facebook page. The Independent has approached the DUP for comment about the post, but none had arrived at the time of publication.

Mr Stevenson posted the image as talks continued by members of the DUPs parliamentary party and senior Tories, about an agreement which would keep Theresa Mays minority government in power.

The Northern Irish partys 10 parliamentary seats would give the prime minister a majority of three. Despite some claiming otherwise, Downing Street was forced to retract a statement suggesting an arrangement of confidence and supply had been outlined.

DUP leader Arlene Foster nonetheless said the party had held good discussions with the Conservatives on how they could support them in the formation of a government, after Theresa May failed to retain her majority in the Commons.

General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Show all 7 1 /7 General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nick Clegg Darren O'Brien General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Gavin Barwell Getty General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Angus Robertson General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nicola Blackwood PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Alex Salmond PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Rob Wilson Rex Features General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Ben Gummer PA

The Conservatives have been criticised for trying to strike a deal with the party, which holds controversial views on a number of social issues.

The DUP opposes same-sex marriage and is anti-abortion, as well as pro-criminalisation of abortion remains illegal in Northern Ireland, except in specific medical cases.

Some have claimed that the DUP could destabilise the peace process in Northern Ireland, since the UK Government must maintain a neutral position between the nationalists and the unionists in accordance with the Good Friday agreement.

Irelands Prime Minister Enda Kenny has warned Ms May that any arrangement with the DUP must not compromise the accord.
Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Michael Gove is entirely unfit to be the countrys new Environment Secretary, the co-leader of the Green Party Caroline Lucas has said.

The Green MP said Mr Goves return to front-bench politics in the role is evidence of Theresa Mays complete disregard for the environment.

Conservative MP Mr Gove, a potentially troublesome voice on the backbenches, was brought back into Ms Mays fold as she used a reshuffle to try and shore up her position following the election result.

The Green Party co-leader said: It is hard to think of many politicians as ill-equipped for the role of Environment Secretary as Mr Gove.

His record of voting against measures to halt climate change and his attempt to wipe the subject from our children's curriculum show him entirely unfit to lead our country in tackling one of the greatest threats we face.

And as we enter Brexit negotiations, Gove's past suggestion we scrap vital EU environmental protections becomes ever more concerning.

Ms Mays poor performance in the election left her all but powerless to change people in her top team. Chancellor Philip Hammond, who had been earmarked for the sack, instead found himself in a position to make demands of the Prime Minister on Friday morning.

 Michael Gove 'standing out of conviction not ambition'

Mr Gove was left off the front bench by Ms May after his run for the leadership in 2016 ended in ignominy, having initially supported Boris Johnson only to betray him at the last minute.

The former Education Secretary also had a run-in with Ms May when she was Home Secretary, with the pair falling out over who was responsible for the Trojan horse scandal, which saw fears raised over growing Islamist extremism in schools.

But Mr Goves return was preceded by supportive articles written about Ms May in the run-up to the election.

A Downing Street spokesman said: Michael Gove has a wealth of experience in Cabinet and he will be an excellent addition to the team.

Greenpeace has urged the former Justice Secretary to move swiftly to prove that he's better than his [voting] record suggests.

The charity's executive director, John Sauven, said: He once described himself as a 'shy green', and that shyness was fully on display when he tried to remove climate change from the school curriculum, called for the Habitat Directive to be scrapped, and voted to sell off our forests.

But he has also spoken of his love for the great Scottish outdoors and of the importance of preserving this natural beauty for the next generation  a key promise in the Conservative manifesto.

He urged Mr Gove to channel his trademark reformist zeal into tackling urgent environmental problems, such as reshaping the farm subsidy system and protecting oceans from over-fishing and plastic waste.

 Five people who could replace Theresa May

In 2013, in his role as Education Secretary, Mr Gove was accused of trying to airbrush climate change from the national curriculum.

Two petitions to keep climate change in the curriculum attracted more than 65,000 signatures over two months amid concerns that references to the topic were to be removed from the geography syllabus.

The Socialist Environment and Resources Association, an environmental group that campaigns for Labour to adopt ambitious environmental policies, tweeted: Gove, the DUP & Brexit? The need for a Labour Party that's strong on the environment has never been more important.

Martin Harper, global conservation director of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), welcomed the appointment, tweeting: Congratulations michaelgove  RSPB looks forward to working with new Environment SoS to take forward manifesto commitments.
Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Supporters of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) are demanding Theresa May allow a banned loyalist march as part of an agreement by the Northern Irish party to prop up a minority Conservative government.

The Portadown Loyal Orange Lodge (LOL), who are currently prevented from marching in the flashpoint Gavaghy Road following a long history of sectarian violence, put out a statement amid speculation as to what concessions the DUP could demand in return for striking a deal with the Tories.

Orangemen were banned from marching through the nationalist area of the mainly loyalist town following repeated riots during the Troubles. Protests against the ban culminated in 1998 with the shocking murders of three young boys after their house was firebombed in a loyalist arson attack.

 General election 2017: Irish PM warns May about deal with the DUP

Recommended Clashes at Protestant march in Liverpool as May brokers DUP deal

The boys mother was Catholic and the family lived in a mainly Protestant area. The brothers  Richard, Mark and Jason Quinn, aged 11, 9 and 7  were asleep when a petrol bomb was thrown through the window of their house.

The statement on Twitter congratulates the Orange Orders fellow Brother David Simpson, the MP for Upper Bann, known for strident religious views including a belief in creationism, for his newfound place at the centre of mainstream British politics.

Portadown District LOL notes the outcome of the recent general election with interest. We would like to congratulate fellow Bro. David Simpson and all the other unionist representatives," it said.

We note the invitation from the Prime Minister to the DUP to support her government. We trust that the parading issue especially in Portadown will be high on the agenda for the new government.

It is clear that the endeavour of the orange family to maximise the unionist vote paid dividends and consequently the DUP has been given the opportunity and responsibility to deliver for the people of Northern Ireland. We trust that they are successful in promoting the values of the Unionist People and the Orange fraternity. We wish them well in the weeks and months that lie ahead.

It concludes, in block capitals: HERE WE STAND WE CAN DO NO OTHER.

The Orange Order is in effect asking the DUP to use its sudden influence to allow their Protestant members to march from Drumcree church in Portadown through the mainly nationalist area, in spite of the widespread objection that the parade is intimidating.

Orange Order members have held protests at Drumcree every Sunday since July 1998 when the parade was banned, and the Portadown lodge has continued to ask permission to march down the Gavaghy Road every week. The march is said to celebrate the 1690 Battle of the Boyne.

At the height of the troubles in Northern Ireland, the UK Government was forced to spend millions on security and draft in hundreds of extra troops to try and combat the tensions caused by inflammatory sectarian marches.

The Orange Order claims the restriction along the Gavaghy Road is a breach of their human rights. But the Parades Commission, which regulates the marches, said in a statement: The commission believes that the conditions it imposes strikes a fair balance between the needs of the community and the rights of the individual.

Following the murders of the three children, William Bingham, a member of the Orange Order negotiating team, said that walking down the Garvaghy Road would be a hollow victory, because it would be in the shadow of three coffins of little boys who wouldn't even know what the Orange Order is about. He said the order had lost control of the situation and that no road is worth a life  but later apologised for having implied the Orange Order rather than terrorism was to blame.

A deal between the Conservatives and the DUP has not yet been reached, with Downing Street forced to retract a statement suggesting an arrangement of "confidence and supply" had been outlined.

DUP leader Arlene Foster said the party had held good discussions with the Conservatives on how they could support them in the formation of a government after Theresa May fell short of the 326 seats she would need for a majority.

 Who are the DUP?

The DUP was founded in 1971 by rabble-rousing Protestant preacher Ian Paisley, who was known for his association with loyalist paramilitaries.

The party is known for its Christian fundamentalist views on gay marriage and abortion, although these are devolved issues so the Northern Irish MPs are unlikely to be able to influence such matters of social policy on the mainland.

But protests have been held in London and other cities by those concerned about the possible influence of the Northern Irish group on the Conservatives.

The DUPs list of demands in return for supporting the Conservatives could include a soft exit from the European Union rather than a hard Brexit. Although the party is pro-Leave, it is opposed to a hard border with the Irish Republic and to any new customs operations.

In spite of protesters fears, the price of the DUPs backing is likely to be economic rather than social. The party is pro-welfare and opposes Tory plans to means test pensioner benefits and other cuts.

The DUP is thought likely to demand funds of around 350m lost through the withdrawal of EU subsidies from farmers once Brexit is concluded.

Northern Ireland currently receives around 100m a year through a peace process dividend for community development and cross-border projects, and the protection of these funds is likely to be on the DUPs list of priorities.

UK Election Day 2017 Show all 38 1 /38 UK Election Day 2017 UK Election Day 2017 Door of Number 10 Downing Street is seen on the morning after Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves his home in north 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" PA UK Election Day 2017 Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell arrives at Labour Headquarters on June 9, 2017 in London, England. After a snap election was called by Prime Minister Theresa May the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday. The closely fought election has failed to return a clear overall majority winner and a hung parliament has been declared Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britain's Green Party, speaks after retaining her seat in the general election, in Brighton REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey (R) following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre on June 9, 2017 in Kendal, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Paul Nuttal, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party reacts after failing to win the seat of Boston and Skegness at the counting centre for Britain's general election in Boston REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon arrives at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election. PA UK Election Day 2017 Anna McMorrin hugs Jo Stevens MP after winning Cardiff North for Labour at the Sport Wales National Centre on June 9, 2017 in Cardiff, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Vince Cable wins the Twickenham election for the Liberal Democrats. Richmond and Twickenham election Rex Features UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn rubs his face after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Emily Thornberry speaks after holding her Islington South and Finsbury seat at the Sobell Leisure Centre in Islington, north London PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May listens as the declaration at her constituency is made for in the general election in Maidenhead, England, Friday, June 9, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May's gamble in calling an early election appeared Friday to have backfired spectacularly, after an exit poll suggested her Conservative Party could lose its majority in Parliament AP UK Election Day 2017 Labour Party candidate Emily Thornberry smiles at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 A picture shows the Elizabeth Tower, commonly referred to as Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament in central London on June 8, 2017, on the night of Britain's general election. Prime Minister Theresa May is poised to win Britain's snap election but lose her parliamentary majority, a shock exit poll suggested on June 8, in what would be a major blow for her leadership as Brexit talks loom AFP/Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 DUP candidate for Lagan Valley Jeffrey Donaldson celebrates following his election at the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd attends the count for her seat at a counting centre for Britain's general election in Hastings REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London Reuters UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in blue, representing the Conservative Party, after the first exit polls announced in Britain's general election AP UK Election Day 2017 Election officials count votes in the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in red, the color of the Labour Party, after first exit polls of Britain's national election announced in London AP UK Election Day 2017 BBC Television centre is illuminated with the exit poll results for Britains general election Eddie Keogh/Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Labours Bridget Phillipson (centre) smiles after being announced as the winner of the election for the constituency of Houghton and Sunderland South at a counting centre Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Members of the election staff prepare to count ballots, in Theresa Mays constituency in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Ballot papers are checked ahead of the count at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Getty UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for Britains general election in Kendal Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Theresa May arrives to vote at a polling station in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Jeremy Corbyn arrives to cast his ballot at a polling station in north London EPA UK Election Day 2017 Lib Dems leader Tim Farron outside a polling station at Stonecross Manor Hotel in Kendal, Cumbria PA UK Election Day 2017 The leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip) Paul Nuttall arrives to vote at a polling station in Congleton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon with her husband Peter Murrell (left) the CEO of the SNP after casting their votes at a polling station at Broomhouse Community Hall, Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britains Green Party, arrives with her husband Richard Savage, to vote in Brighton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 An advertising van showing caricatures of Tim Farron, Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn and Paul Nuttall with the message who will be looking for a new job as Britain goes to the polls to elect a new government Rex UK Election Day 2017 Performers pose with puppet caricatures of Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, leader of the Liberal Democrat Party Tim Farron and leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn, in front of the Palace of Westminster Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Dogs wait for their owner outside a polling station in Penally, Wales Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Police officers speak with a Labour Party activist outside a polling station in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Benedictine nuns from Tyburn Convent leave after voting in Britain's general election at a polling station in St John's Parish Hall, London AP UK Election Day 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty

Critics claim a deal between the Conservatives and the DUP could destabilise the peace process in Northern Ireland as the UK Government must maintain a position of neutrality between the nationalists and the unionists in accordance with the Good Friday agreement.

Many have pointed to the apparent contradiction between the Conservatives repeated criticism of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for having held talks with Republicans during the Troubles and the Tories' sudden willingness to forge an agreement with the DUP, a party endorsed by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA)  a violent loyalist paramilitary group still active in Northern Ireland and responsible for two murders this year.

Irelands Prime Minister Enda Kenny has issued a warning to Ms May that any arrangement with the DUP must not compromise the Good Friday agreement.
Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson is meeting Theresa May in Downing Street on Monday, after demanding that the Prime Ministers Brexit plan is re-opened.

Ms Davidson also attended a meeting of top cabinet ministers, since emerging from last weeks election as one of the most powerful figures in the party.

The Scottish leader went into the 'political cabinet' meeting having also spoken openly of her concerns at Ms Mays attempts to win a deal with the DUP, needed to secure the Prime Minister a Commons majority.

Ms Davidson sought to play down her appearance today, taking to Twitter to point out that she has an open invitation to attend political cabinet meetings in Westminster and has done in the past.

But the Scottish leader's significance to the party's Brexit plan and other issues, is underlined by her having led the party north of the border to win 12 extra seats that are critical to Ms May's ability to pass laws.

General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Show all 7 1 /7 General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nick Clegg Darren O'Brien General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Gavin Barwell Getty General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Angus Robertson General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nicola Blackwood PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Alex Salmond PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Rob Wilson Rex Features General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Ben Gummer PA

Amid the fallout of last week's election campaign, she gave interviews saying she wanted a consensus on a Brexit deal that puts economic advancement and jobs at its heart, something seen as a different path to Ms May's focus on immigration.

Asked whether the Government would be changing course, Ms May's spokesman said on Monday: "We are going to deliver the wishes of the British people and that was to retake control of our borders and our laws."

 Ruth Davidson storms out of interview when asked about DUP's LGBT views

But Ms Davidson is part of a powerful new soft-Brexit axis at the top of the Tory party, along with Chancellor Philip Hammond, who is said to have demanded a 'jobs first' approach as a condition of backing Ms May's leadership.

Damian Green, who backed remain in last year's referendum, has also been appointed First Secretary of State, a title which effectively makes him Ms May's deputy.

Ms Davidson is also among Tories raising concerns about Ms May's potential partner, the DUP, and the party's record on gay rights.

 Boris Johnson expresses support for PM despite leadership bid rumours

She said after the election: "Well look I have friends in politics across many parties, but what I spoke to the Prime Minister about yesterday was the need for a categoric assurance that talking with the DUP would not result in any rollback of any LBGT rights in the rest of the UK.

"Because as the Conservative Party, we are the party of equal marriage, we introduced it to the House of Commons.

"And also we would use our influence to try and advance LGBT rights in Northern Ireland and they are the assurances that I got."
Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Theresa May was not in floods of tears over last week's failed election gamble when he met her after the vote, David Davis has said.

"She is fine, she is getting on the with the job," the Brexit Secretary said when he was asked how Ms May was.

When asked if she was sobbing on Friday, Mr Davis told ITV's Good Morning Britain show: "Not when I saw her. She is a formidably good prime minister."

Mr Davis also dismissed questions over the Prime Minster's leadership as "unbelievably self indulgent".

General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Show all 7 1 /7 General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nick Clegg Darren O'Brien General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Gavin Barwell Getty General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Angus Robertson General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nicola Blackwood PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Alex Salmond PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Rob Wilson Rex Features General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Ben Gummer PA

Senior Tories have moved to back Ms May despite rumblings over whether she could remain in her role, with former chancellor George Osborne saying she was a "dead woman walking".

Mr Davis insisted he was loyal to Ms May: "There is a distinction between running a campaign and running a country.

"Running a country is more difficult and she's formidably good at that.

"That's what you are going to see, you are going to see in the next few weeks her taking back command, her taking back the reins, her showing the world what she's good at which is delivering for the country.

"She's done it before, she'll do it again. That's why she's going to be there probably for my career."

Asked about speculation, he said: "It's a complete waste of people's time, it is just unbelievably self indulgent."

 George Osborne calls Theresa May a 'dead woman walking' two days after election

Mr Davis also moved to reassure voters that a potential deal between the Tories and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) would not change UK law on issues the Northern Irish party has concerns about such as abortion or gay rights.

Pressed on whether he could guarantee these rights, he said: "Clearly. We are the Conservative Party.

"David Cameron introduced gay marriage, for example, there's a whole series of things we did, Turing's law, you know, the repeal of the effect of the convictions against people for homosexual acts, which were silly, a different era.

"Those things will stay on the statute book. What we have done, we will keep."
Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Theresa May is fighting for her political life, facing the anger of Conservative MPs and members for destroying her Commons majority after a botched election campaign.

Now the Queens Speech could be delayed from next Monday, as cobbling together a deal to be propped up by the ultra-socially conservative Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is proving more difficult than originally thought.

Can the Prime Minister survive in No 10  and will it mean yet another general election if she is forced out?

How long can Ms May remain in Downing Street  given we have a hung Parliament?

As the incumbent prime minister  and as the leader of the party with the most seats  she has the first shot at forming a new government. Ms May remains as prime minister unless and until she loses a vote of confidence in the House of Commons, such as defeat on her Queens Speech.

Will the DUP support that Queens Speech (when it eventually reaches Parliament)?

The Northern Ireland party appeared to resent Ms Mays attempt to bounce it into agreeing a deal had already been reached  forcing No 10 into an embarrassing retraction in the early hours of Sunday. The talks re-start on Tuesday, but all the indications are that the DUP will eventually sign up, in return for big extra funding for Northern Ireland.

But could Conservative MPs still decide to get rid of Ms May?

Yes they could. A vote of no confidence in her leadership will be triggered if 48 MPs write to Graham Brady, the chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, to request it. Some have been sent already, it is believed. Ms May would be forced to resign if she then failed to win a majority in that vote.

Are Conservative MPs ready to take that draconian step?

Over the weekend, George Osborne called the Prime Minister a dead woman walking and Nicky Morgan said she would be out within weeks  but both oppose her on Brexit, having been sacked. Anti-EU Tory MPs will support her as long as she sticks to her hard Brexit policy. Mr Brady himself said: I dont see any clamour from my colleagues for a leadership election.

What about the suggestion of a showdown meeting with her MPs?

It will take place at 5pm on Monday  having been brought forward by 24 hours. Ms May will have to appear contrite, accept she made serious mistakes and promise to be a different leader in future, working more closely with her Cabinet and backbenchers. But even if she receives the traditional happy banging of desks at the end, it does not mean she is safe other than in the short term.

Would it mean a general election if Ms May is toppled?

No. There was no immediate election when she replaced David Cameron last year and the Fixed Term Parliaments Act remains in place, requiring two thirds of MPs to vote for an early election. That would mean both the Conservatives and Labour would have to support it, as happened when last weeks election was called. Nevertheless, many Tories fear toppling Ms May would set off a chain of events making another election inevitable  with Jeremy Corbyn favourite to win it. If there is a vote of no confidence, all parties are given 14 days to form another government. If none can be formed, a new election is held.

What about Conservative Party members?

One poll at the weekend will have a sent a shiver down Ms Mays spine. Almost 60 per cent of grassroots Tories told the ConservativeHome website that the Prime Minister must fall on her sword  suggesting Conservative MPs will be facing strong pressure to mount a leadership challenge. However, only those MPs can act to bring her down.

So how long will the Prime Minister last?

Impossible to say, but no one thinks the Conservative party will allow her to fight another general election. Beyond that, forecasts range from a few months to about a year, which would mean Britain switching leaders halfway through the Brexit talks  to Brussels horror no doubt.

How long would a deal with the DUP last?

Outside No 10 on Friday, the Prime Minister claimed her new government would last the full five years  but minority administrations have an unhappy history, falling after just 10 months in 1924 and after just over two years in 1929. James Callaghans in the 1970s lasted for 17 months. They lack the stability of the Cameron-Clegg formal coalition, which went the full five years.

So can this Parliament last until 2022, as planned?

It seems highly unlikely, especially as no other alliance of parties looks possible, given the Commons arithmetic. Put your money on an earlier election  at some point.
Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

The Prime Minister is facing demands to say whether Rupert Murdoch asked her to appoint Michael Gove to the Cabinet.

In a letter to Theresa May, deputy Labour leader Tom Watson said it had been "suggested" to him that Mr Murdoch, owner of The Times and The Sun, had lobbied the PM for Mr Gove's return to front-bench politics.

Ms May sacked the now-Environment Secretary last year when he was serving as Justice Secretary, having previously headed the Department for Education.

Mr Watson's letter says: "Given your failure to secure a parliamentary majority and the consequent weakness of your position, it might be tempting to allow yourself to be influenced by powerful media proprietors who can shape the way your government is covered.

"Since you became Prime Minister, has Rupert Murdoch ever made suggestions to you about ministerial or staff appointments?

"Has Rupert Murdoch ever suggested to you that there might be consequences if you fail to take his advice, in terms of his newspapers' coverage of you and your government?"

Downing Street and News UK have been contacted for comment.

After the general election delivered a hung parliament, Mr Watson claimed voters had seen "through the lies of the Murdoch machine who tried to frighten people into voting Tory".

UK Election Day 2017 Show all 38 1 /38 UK Election Day 2017 UK Election Day 2017 Door of Number 10 Downing Street is seen on the morning after Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves his home in north 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" PA UK Election Day 2017 Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell arrives at Labour Headquarters on June 9, 2017 in London, England. After a snap election was called by Prime Minister Theresa May the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday. The closely fought election has failed to return a clear overall majority winner and a hung parliament has been declared Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britain's Green Party, speaks after retaining her seat in the general election, in Brighton REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey (R) following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre on June 9, 2017 in Kendal, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Paul Nuttal, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party reacts after failing to win the seat of Boston and Skegness at the counting centre for Britain's general election in Boston REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon arrives at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election. PA UK Election Day 2017 Anna McMorrin hugs Jo Stevens MP after winning Cardiff North for Labour at the Sport Wales National Centre on June 9, 2017 in Cardiff, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Vince Cable wins the Twickenham election for the Liberal Democrats. Richmond and Twickenham election Rex Features UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn rubs his face after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Emily Thornberry speaks after holding her Islington South and Finsbury seat at the Sobell Leisure Centre in Islington, north London PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May listens as the declaration at her constituency is made for in the general election in Maidenhead, England, Friday, June 9, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May's gamble in calling an early election appeared Friday to have backfired spectacularly, after an exit poll suggested her Conservative Party could lose its majority in Parliament AP UK Election Day 2017 Labour Party candidate Emily Thornberry smiles at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 A picture shows the Elizabeth Tower, commonly referred to as Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament in central London on June 8, 2017, on the night of Britain's general election. Prime Minister Theresa May is poised to win Britain's snap election but lose her parliamentary majority, a shock exit poll suggested on June 8, in what would be a major blow for her leadership as Brexit talks loom AFP/Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 DUP candidate for Lagan Valley Jeffrey Donaldson celebrates following his election at the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd attends the count for her seat at a counting centre for Britain's general election in Hastings REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London Reuters UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in blue, representing the Conservative Party, after the first exit polls announced in Britain's general election AP UK Election Day 2017 Election officials count votes in the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in red, the color of the Labour Party, after first exit polls of Britain's national election announced in London AP UK Election Day 2017 BBC Television centre is illuminated with the exit poll results for Britains general election Eddie Keogh/Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Labours Bridget Phillipson (centre) smiles after being announced as the winner of the election for the constituency of Houghton and Sunderland South at a counting centre Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Members of the election staff prepare to count ballots, in Theresa Mays constituency in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Ballot papers are checked ahead of the count at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Getty UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for Britains general election in Kendal Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Theresa May arrives to vote at a polling station in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Jeremy Corbyn arrives to cast his ballot at a polling station in north London EPA UK Election Day 2017 Lib Dems leader Tim Farron outside a polling station at Stonecross Manor Hotel in Kendal, Cumbria PA UK Election Day 2017 The leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip) Paul Nuttall arrives to vote at a polling station in Congleton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon with her husband Peter Murrell (left) the CEO of the SNP after casting their votes at a polling station at Broomhouse Community Hall, Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britains Green Party, arrives with her husband Richard Savage, to vote in Brighton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 An advertising van showing caricatures of Tim Farron, Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn and Paul Nuttall with the message who will be looking for a new job as Britain goes to the polls to elect a new government Rex UK Election Day 2017 Performers pose with puppet caricatures of Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, leader of the Liberal Democrat Party Tim Farron and leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn, in front of the Palace of Westminster Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Dogs wait for their owner outside a polling station in Penally, Wales Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Police officers speak with a Labour Party activist outside a polling station in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Benedictine nuns from Tyburn Convent leave after voting in Britain's general election at a polling station in St John's Parish Hall, London AP UK Election Day 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty

Both The Times and The Sun endorsed the Conservative Party ahead of the election, with the latter publishing a controversial front page that was highly critical of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on the day of the vote.

Last week's general election was the first in which The Sun endorsed a candidate who did not go on to secure a majority, in a development many have suggested reflects the waning influence of the right-wing tabloid press.

 David Davis: Speculation over Conservative party leadership is the 'height of self-indulgence'

Following his departure as Justice Secretary Mr Gove returned to work at The Times as a columnist. He secured the UK press' first interview with President Donald Trump.

Mr Murdoch also owns Fox News, the conservative-leaning US TV channel.
Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Theresa May has issued a grovelling apology for her catastrophic election campaign, admitting to a meeting of Tory MPs: I'm the person who got us into this mess."

The mea culpa made to a packed room of Conservative MPs saw the Prime Minister accused of running a Laurel and Hardy government, as she acknowledged a string of mistakes that squandered her partys grip on power.

The consequences of Ms Mays election gamble were further underlined on Monday as her administrations ability to pass a Queens Speech  the most basic test of a governments credibility  was cast into doubt.

The most senior minister in her cabinet admitted the monarchs ceremonial speech could be delayed if Ms May fails to convince the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to back her.

It also emerged that Brexit talks may be set back as a result of the chaos in British politics, decreasing chances of a withdrawal deal by 2019.

The crunch meeting of the 1922 Committee  representing the voice of Tory backbenchers  lasted longer than usual, for more than an hour while Ms May was interrogated by MPs.

As she marched to the door of the Commons committee room, she refused to speak to reporters, one of whom shouted: Are you nervous Prime Minister?

On entering there were some cheers and desk banging, but it was far from the rapturous greeting she had last year on taking office.

UK Election Day 2017 Show all 38 1 /38 UK Election Day 2017 UK Election Day 2017 Door of Number 10 Downing Street is seen on the morning after Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves his home in north 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" PA UK Election Day 2017 Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell arrives at Labour Headquarters on June 9, 2017 in London, England. After a snap election was called by Prime Minister Theresa May the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday. The closely fought election has failed to return a clear overall majority winner and a hung parliament has been declared Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britain's Green Party, speaks after retaining her seat in the general election, in Brighton REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey (R) following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre on June 9, 2017 in Kendal, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Paul Nuttal, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party reacts after failing to win the seat of Boston and Skegness at the counting centre for Britain's general election in Boston REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon arrives at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election. PA UK Election Day 2017 Anna McMorrin hugs Jo Stevens MP after winning Cardiff North for Labour at the Sport Wales National Centre on June 9, 2017 in Cardiff, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Vince Cable wins the Twickenham election for the Liberal Democrats. Richmond and Twickenham election Rex Features UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn rubs his face after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Emily Thornberry speaks after holding her Islington South and Finsbury seat at the Sobell Leisure Centre in Islington, north London PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May listens as the declaration at her constituency is made for in the general election in Maidenhead, England, Friday, June 9, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May's gamble in calling an early election appeared Friday to have backfired spectacularly, after an exit poll suggested her Conservative Party could lose its majority in Parliament AP UK Election Day 2017 Labour Party candidate Emily Thornberry smiles at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 A picture shows the Elizabeth Tower, commonly referred to as Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament in central London on June 8, 2017, on the night of Britain's general election. Prime Minister Theresa May is poised to win Britain's snap election but lose her parliamentary majority, a shock exit poll suggested on June 8, in what would be a major blow for her leadership as Brexit talks loom AFP/Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 DUP candidate for Lagan Valley Jeffrey Donaldson celebrates following his election at the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd attends the count for her seat at a counting centre for Britain's general election in Hastings REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London Reuters UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in blue, representing the Conservative Party, after the first exit polls announced in Britain's general election AP UK Election Day 2017 Election officials count votes in the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in red, the color of the Labour Party, after first exit polls of Britain's national election announced in London AP UK Election Day 2017 BBC Television centre is illuminated with the exit poll results for Britains general election Eddie Keogh/Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Labours Bridget Phillipson (centre) smiles after being announced as the winner of the election for the constituency of Houghton and Sunderland South at a counting centre Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Members of the election staff prepare to count ballots, in Theresa Mays constituency in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Ballot papers are checked ahead of the count at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Getty UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for Britains general election in Kendal Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Theresa May arrives to vote at a polling station in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Jeremy Corbyn arrives to cast his ballot at a polling station in north London EPA UK Election Day 2017 Lib Dems leader Tim Farron outside a polling station at Stonecross Manor Hotel in Kendal, Cumbria PA UK Election Day 2017 The leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip) Paul Nuttall arrives to vote at a polling station in Congleton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon with her husband Peter Murrell (left) the CEO of the SNP after casting their votes at a polling station at Broomhouse Community Hall, Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britains Green Party, arrives with her husband Richard Savage, to vote in Brighton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 An advertising van showing caricatures of Tim Farron, Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn and Paul Nuttall with the message who will be looking for a new job as Britain goes to the polls to elect a new government Rex UK Election Day 2017 Performers pose with puppet caricatures of Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, leader of the Liberal Democrat Party Tim Farron and leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn, in front of the Palace of Westminster Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Dogs wait for their owner outside a polling station in Penally, Wales Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Police officers speak with a Labour Party activist outside a polling station in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Benedictine nuns from Tyburn Convent leave after voting in Britain's general election at a polling station in St John's Parish Hall, London AP UK Election Day 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty

The event was so packed that one Conservative peer had to be turned away. Those inside described conditions as swelteringly hot and a sauna.

Addressing MPs, she said: Im the person who got us into this mess  and Im the one whos going to get us out of it.

People there said she uttered the word sorry repeatedly, and as the meeting dragged on was asked if she had time to continue, replying: No, no, Ive got time  I said Id changed.

One MP told The Independent: She said she had been stuffing envelopes for the party since she was 12 years old and that she would continue to serve as long as we wanted her to.

The acknowledgment that her own backbenchers have power to make or break her, appears to have been a key turning point as she went on to pledge more involvement in decision-making for her backbenchers.

 Election fallout: Queen's speech could be delayed

Ann-Marie Trevelyan, a Conservative MP in the North East, said the Prime Minister had given a full mea culpa, adding: She said, Its my fault  I take full responsibility.

She had clearly considered deeply, over the weekend, whether she should continue and now felt absolutely that she should.

She came to us to say that she would continue as long as we wanted her to  which is exactly what we wanted her to say. The room really warmed up after that.

Another MP said the apology had been cathartic for MPs, confirming they wanted Ms May to stay: If the mood had flickered immediately after the election, then it is behind her again now.

Ms May also signalled she could be willing to soften her approach on Brexit as she pledged to listen to all the voices in the party on the issue, following calls to adopt a more jobs first approach from both members of her cabinet and the back benches.

Shortly after she did, Mid Norfolk MP George Freeman tweeted: This is a moment for Cabinet to drop Hard Brexit message.

The scene is now set for another damaging and destabilising Tory row over the European Union, with Leavers demanding Ms May maintain her tough stance, but others pointing out that her approach had been rejected by the electorate.

Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson  who came to Downing Street for talks today  and Chancellor Philip Hammond have both told Ms May she must put the economy, as opposed to immigration, first in Brexit negotiations.

 Ruth Davidson arrives for cabinet meeting

MPs also said the Prime Minister had given the necessary reassurance on the consequences of a tie-up with the DUP at the 1922 meeting, promising it would not threaten the partys stance on gay rights or the Northern Ireland peace process.

Another Tory MP said there was no discussion at the meeting of how long Ms May would remain in post, adding: Shes won, shes got to be PM.

But despite her efforts to placate her own benches, the difficulty of Ms Mays position was further underlined as Damian Green, the First Secretary of State, admitted the Queens Speech may have to be put back.

The ceremonial speech marks the publication of a governments legislative agenda, and an inability to win a vote approving it means the administration cannot function.

With the speech pencilled in for Monday, Mr Green confirmed there could be a delay while an agreement is sought with the DUP, saying: Obviously, until we have that we cant agree the final details of the Queen's Speech.

Brexit Secretary David Davis admitted that the Tories manifesto programme would have to be pruned, with a string of policies set to be dumped  likely including the social care plan, proposals to ditch the triple-lock on pensions and to means-test the winter fuel payment.

He also signalled that discussions on the UKs exit from the EU may not start on 19 June as anticipated, but hoped they would begin sometime the same week.

The Prime Minister is set to meet the leader of the DUP Arlene Foster on Tuesday, to plead for the partys backing in the Commons, something which would give her a working majority.

Ms Foster declined to give details of what she termed had so far been a positive engagement with the Conservative Party.

She said she would be travelling to London late on Monday for discussions with her team of ten DUP MPs ahead of her meeting at No 10.

But Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said the events of the day showed the complete chaos [Ms May] has left the country in.

He went on: Theresa May certainly did get us into this mess. She promised strong and stable, but weve ended up with Laurel and Hardy government.

If she cant even properly organise a Queens Speech, how can she possibly run the country for five years?

A Labour spokesman said: No 10s failure to confirm the date of the Queens Speech shows that this Government is in chaos as it struggles to agree a backroom deal with a party with abhorrent views on LGBT and womens rights.
Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

At the looming Queens Speech, Theresa May will outline her minority governments plans for new laws. It should have been an opportunity for the Prime Minister to implement the main contents of the Conservatives general election manifesto.

But with her authority in tatters following last weeks calamitous election result, Ms May will be forced to substantially water down some of the policies in the Conservative manifesto, or drop them entirely.

David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, said on Monday that some sections of the manifesto will have to be pruned away due to the weak position of the Government.

Ms May will also have to make some concessions in order to form an agreement with the DUP to ensure the Queens speech actually passes a Commons vote. Here The Independent looks at some of Ms Mays pledges that are likely to be abandoned.

Fox hunting

Any attempt to try and change the laws on fox hunting in the aftermath of the general election have been described as absolute insanity by the former Conservative party chairman Grant Shapps. On the campaign trail Ms May admitted she had always been in favour of fox hunting  opposed by the majority of the public according to recent polls  and said she would grant a free vote on the contentious issue.

Its absolute insanity to start talking about passing and changing fox hunting laws, what an Earth was that about? Mr Shapps added. I thought a mistake had been made, perhaps an off-the-cuff comment. This now stands absolutely no chance. Its a silly idea.

Its fair to say plans for a vote on fox hunting will now be kicked into the long grass.

Brexit

Ms May will undoubtedly have to soften her stance on Brexit if she is to pass crucial votes in the Commons over the coming months and years. The Brexit Secretary also admitted on Monday he was open to co-operation with Labour but rejected the possibility of retaining membership of the single market.

 Ruth Davidson hints at lobbying for softer Brexit

Senior Tories including Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, and Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Conservative leader, have both stressed the need to put the economy at the forefront of the negotiations, which has been taken to suggest disagreements with the focus on curbing immigration.

It is likely the PM could also be held to ransom by pro-EU Tory MPs who have been vocal in their opposition to Ms Mays approach to Brexit, including the former ministers Nicky Morgan, Anna Soubry and Kenneth Clarke. Expect key concessions to be made to Conservative MPs ahead of any votes.

Grammar schools

Ms Mays mission to turn Britain into a the  worlds greatest meritocracy by increasing the number of grammar schools for the first time in decades is now likely to be shelved. Graham Brady, who chairs the Conservatives influential 1922 Committee of backbenchers, said at the weekend his party could be forced to settle for introducing a rather modest pilot in place of its manifesto commitment.

 Theresa May's cabinet reshuffle: The key positions

Nick Timothy, one of the Prime Ministers former chiefs of staff, was also one of the main architects of the grammar schools programme. But he was forced to resign after the election amid strong criticism of his role in the campaign.

Free-school meals

The Conservative manifesto also proposed cutting free school meals for thousands of children in Britain  a policy introduced during the coalition years. Ms May had intended to replace them with free school breakfasts. But lacking any parliamentary authority and considerable opposition to the plans, it is another policy that could be dropped in its entirety.

Social care (dementia tax)

Mr Timothy also came under intense criticism for the social care reforms proposed by Ms May in her programme for government. Announcing his resignation, he said he regretted the decision not to include in the manifesto a ceiling as wells as a floor in our proposals to help meet the increasing cost of social care.

General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Show all 7 1 /7 General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nick Clegg Darren O'Brien General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Gavin Barwell Getty General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Angus Robertson General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nicola Blackwood PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Alex Salmond PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Rob Wilson Rex Features General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Ben Gummer PA

It is likely the plans for social care  dubbed a dementia tax by critics  will be substantially watered down or dropped all together.

Triple-lock and means testing winter fuel payments

It is unlikely the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), who Ms Mays administration are currently negotiating with to form a supply and confidence set up for the new government, will support these contentious reforms. According to one report in the Sunday Post, DUP source said they will not support any changes to the triple lock, forcing Ms May to drop the plan.

There will be no formal coalition and we have other priorities  not least Brexit  for the negotiations, but we wont support any changes to the pensions triple lock, the source told the newspaper.
Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Theresa Mays failure to achieve a majority in the general election has put the prospect of a soft Brexit back onto the agenda.

The Prime Minister had hoped to win a mandate that would strengthen her hand on the EU negotiating table.

But the prospect of the UK leaving the talks without a deal in place, an outcome known as "hard Brexit", appear to have diminished after her Conservative Party lost its parliamentary majority on 8 June.

So what would a so-called soft Brexit mean?

Access to the Single Market

A soft Brexit would likely see the UK have a Norway-style membership of the European Economic Area (EEA).

This would allow the UK almost full access to the Single Market while also letting it make deals without the rest of the EU.

Goods and services would be traded with the remaining EU states on a tariff-free basis and financial firms would keep their passporting rights to sell services and operate branches in the EU.

This would mean that British firms could do cross-border business in any part of the bloc.

Remaining in EU customs union

A "softened" departure would also probably see the UK remain within the EU customs union, meaning exports would not be subject to border checks.

The customs union facilitates free trade between EU states by ensuring that they all charge the same import duties to countries outside the union.

The 27 nation bloc also agree not to impose tariffs on goods travelling between countries in the union.

Remaining in in the customs union would help avoid the risk of increased tariffs which lead to rising prices.

It will also prevent Britain from having to trade on standard tariffs under World Trade Organisation rules.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 10 November 2022 A grey heron lands on the river Dodder in Dublin on a sunny autumn morning PA UK news in pictures 9 November 2022 Australia and Spain play during the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup group A match at the Copper Box Arena, London PA UK news in pictures 8 November 2022 A migrant attempting to communicate with journalists is pinned against a fence by members of staff, before being taken out of view, at the Manston immigration short-term holding facility, located at the former Defence Fire Training and Development Centre in Thanet, Kent PA UK news in pictures 7 November 2022 Handout photo issued by Just Stop Oil of a protester who has climbed a gantry on the M25 between junctions six and seven in Surrey, leading to the closure of the motorway PA UK news in pictures 6 November 2022 A grey seal with its pup, at the Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in north Lincolnshire, where they come every year in late October, November and December to give birth to their pups near the sand dunes, the wildlife spectacle attracts visitors from across the UK PA UK news in pictures 5 November 2022 Demonstrators with placards calling for a General Election march near the Houses of Parliament AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 4 November 2022 A peacock is seen in the early winter sunshine in the Dutch Gardens in Holland Park AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 3 November 2022 Florence Kasumba, Letitia Wright, Tenoch Huerta and Lupita Nyongo attend the European Premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in London Getty UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA

Accepting the 'four freedoms'

Remaining part of the Single Market would require the UK to make payments into EU budgets and accept the four freedoms of movement of goods, services, capital and people.

This would mean continued free access for European nationals to work and settle in the UK.

As a result the Conservative Party's manifesto commitment to bring immigration down to the tens of thousands per year would be highly unlikely.
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Families from one of the USs most notorious school shootings have reacted with outcry after NBC broadcast an interview with a leading conspiracy theorist who said the incident never happened and that parents faked their children's deaths.

Alex Jones, host of the Infowars, has claimed over the years that the US government was involved in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and the attacks of 9/11. He also said the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook that left 26 people dead, including 20 children, never happened.

Mr Jones has now repeated his comments, including about what he says never happened at the elementary school in Connecticut, in an interview to NBCs Megyn Kelly. Ms Kelly, who earlier this year quit Fox News, started by asking him if he was the most paranoid person in the country.

She said he had made his reputation by spreading conspiracy theories, including the claim that Sandy Hook did not happen.

When you say parents faked their children's deaths, people get upset, she said.

Mr Jones responded: But they dont get angry about half-a-million dead Iraqis killed by sanctions.

Ms Kelly told Mr Jones that his response was a dodge. He denied it, adding: I looked at all the angles about Newtown, I made my statement before the other media picked it up.

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

Ms Kellys decision to to provide a platform to Mr Jones had raised questions even before she released parts of the interview ahead of its broadcast, scheduled for June 18.

When it emerged Ms Jones had defended his views about Sandy Hook, an incident he said was staged with the use of child actors, some of the parents of the youngsters and teachers killed, wrote to NBC and Ms Kelly, expressing their outrage.

The family of slain teacher Vicki Soto, posted a letter on Facebook, saying they were "disgusted and disappointed" in the decision to air the interview.

Alex and his followers have done nothing but make our lives a living hell for the last four-and-a-half, they said.

 Alex Jones says Manchester victims are a bunch of 'liberal trendies'

This incessant need for ratings at the cost of the emotional well-being of our family is disgusting and disappointing. You should be ashamed of yourselves for allowing this behaviour.

Nelba Marquez-Greene, whose six-year-old daughter, Ana Grace, was among those killed, said she feared the interview with Mr Jones would encourage other conspiracy theorists who have harassed her and accused her of being part of a hoax.

Any time you give someone like Alex Jones a platform, their followers will double-down or increase their attack on grieving families, she told the Associated Press.

You cant just put him in a box and say he's just a character. Hes really hurting people.

Ms Kelly has reportedly defended the decision to interview Mr Jones by saying it her job to shine a light.

NBC did not immediately respond to inquiries.
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Angela Merkel has condemned putting up walls during a visit to Mexico, in a thinly veiled criticism of Donald Trump.

The German Chancellor was speaking on a panel with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, but did not explicitly mention the US President.

Mr Trump has vowed to build a wall on his countrys southern border, making it a key tenet of his 2016 election campaign.

 US had 'no conversation' with Mexico about paying for Trump's border wall, Rex Tillerson admits

Ms Merkel said the key to solving problems with migration was building relationships and understanding with other countries.

"Obviously the main reason for people leaving must be addressed on site first, which means putting up walls and cutting oneself off will not solve the problem, Ms Merkel said.

She said lessons could be drawn from the great empires of the past.

Essentially, only when great empires have managed to forge sensible relationships with their neighbours and to manage migration has it been a success, the Chancellor said.

Ms Merkel added that she didn't think that "simply improving the border facilities" would solve the problem.

President Trump made a US border wall with Mexico a consistent  but controversial  theme of his campaign, claiming it was needed to keep out illegal immigrants and criminals.

At rallies, Mr Trump would tell supporters the Mexican government would pay for the structure.

But Mr Pena Nieto ruled out paying for a wall several times and Mr Trump did not allocate funding for it in his April budget plan.

Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Show all 33 1 /33 Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's first 100 days in office were marred by a string of scandals, many of which caught the eye of the Independent's cartoonists Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Trump's first 100 days have seen him aggressively ramp up tensions with his nuclear rivals in North Korea Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump has warned of a "major, major conflict" with the pariah nation lead by Kim Jong Un Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump dropped the "mother of all bombs" on alleged ISIS-linked militants in Afghanistan, amid an escalation of US military intervention around the globe Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump has been accused of falling short of the standards set by his predecessors in the Oval Office, including Franklin D Roosevelt Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons The tycoon's ascension to the White House came at a time when the balance of power is shifting away from Western nations like those in the G7 group Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Western politicians, including the British Conservative party, have been accused of falling in line behind Mr Trump's proposals Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Brexit is seen to have weakened Britain, reducing still further any political will to resist American leadership Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump's leadership has been marked by sudden and unexpected shifts in global policy Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Trump's controversial missile strike on Syria, which killed several citizens, was seen by some analysts as an attempt to distract from his policy elsewhere Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons The President has also spent a large majority of his weekends golfing, rather than attending to matters of state Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Though free of gaffes, a visit from Chinese president Xi Jinping spotlighted trade tensions between the two states Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons One major and unexpected setback came when Mr Trump's Healthcare Bill was struck down by members of his own party Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump has been a figure of fun in the media, with his approval at record lows Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons A string of revelations about Mr Trump's financial indiscretions did not mar his surge to the White House Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Outgoing President Barack Obama was accused of wiretapping Trump Tower by his successor in America's highest office Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons The alleged involvement of Russian intelligence operatives in securing Mr Trump the presidency prompted harsh criticism Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons The explosive resignation of Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who lied about his links to the Russian ambassador, was just one scandal to hit the President Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Many scandals, such as the accusation Barack Obama was implicated in phone-hacking, first broke on Mr Trump's Twitter feed Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's election provoked mass protests in the UK, with millions signing a petition to ban him from the country Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump cited a non-existent terror attack in Sweden during a campaign rally Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump stands accused of stoking regional tensions in Eastern Asia Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons North Korea has launched a number of failed nuclear tests since Mr Trump took power Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Theresa May formally rejected the petition calling for Mr Trump to be banned from the UK Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons When Mr Trump's initial so-called Muslim ban was struck down by a federal justice, the President mocked the 69-year-old as a "ridiculous", "so-called judge" Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons A week after his inauguration, Theresa May met with Mr Trump at the White House Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's first days in office were marked by a hasty attempt to follow through on many of his campaign promises, including the so-called Muslim ban Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's decision to ban citizens of many majority-Muslim countries from the US sparked mass protests Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Revelations about Donald Trump's sexual improprieties were not enough to keep him from being elected President Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons British PM Theresa May was criticised by many in the press for cosying up to the new President Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons One of Mr Trump's top aides, Kelly Anne Conway, was mocked for describing mistruths as "alternative facts" Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons British PM Theresa May was quick to demonstrate that her political aims did not hugely differ from Mr Trump's Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's inauguration, on 20 January 2017, sparked protests both at home and abroad

Soon after his inauguration, Mr Trump signed an executive order authorising the wall, but work on it is yet to begin.

Last week, Mr Trump proposed funding the wall by installing solar panels on it.
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

The defence presented by Bill Cosbys legal team in the comedians long-awaited sexual assault trial lasted all of six minutes, and produced a single witness.

Its closing statements, however, lasted two hours.

In a sprawling statement to a Pennsylvania courtroom, lawyer Brian McMonagle presented the case for the innocence of Cosby by painting his client as honest, his accuser as inconsistent, and the media as complicit.

This is not a civil case about money, money, money, Mr McMonagle told the jury. Were talking about all the mans tomorrows.

Cosby, who has been charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault, could spend the rest of his life in jail if found guilty.

The charges stem from an incident in 2004, in which both Cosby and his accuser agree they engaged in sexual contact. Cosbys defence has claimed the encounter was consensual. His accuser, Andrea Constand, says it was assault.

Ms Constand testified last week that she had attended a private dinner at Cosbys home, where he gave her pills that made her slur her speech, see double, and feel frozen. She said he then helped her to his couch and molested her.

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

In his closing remarks, Mr McMonagle focused primarily on poking holes in Ms Constand's story. He pointed out inconsistencies in her statements to police over the years, and highlighted the dozens of phone calls she made to the comedian in the months after the alleged assault.

This isnt talking to a trustee, Mr McMonagle said, referring to Cosbys role as trustee at the university where Ms Constand was employed. This is talking to a lover.

It was the last of several attempts by the defence to paint Cosby and Ms Constands relationship as romantic, and their encounters as consensual. Lawyers had previously detailed instances in which Ms Constand visited the entertainers hotel room alone, and attended dimly lit dinners at his home.

Ms Constand claims she saw the entertainer as a mentor and somewhat of an older figure.

At one point, in a rare moment of self-awareness for the trial, Mr McMonagle addressed the larger context of the allegations: more than 50 women have accused Cosby of sexual assault in recent years, setting off a firestorm of media coverage and essentially destroying the comedians family-friendly image.

Some of the accusers sat in on the closing arguments today.

You know why were here; lets be real. Right? Mr McMongale said at one point, gesturing to the area where the accusers, the press, and members of the public sat.

Were not here because of Andrea Constand, he told the jury. That was over in 2005. Were here because of this nonsense. Were here because of them.

Cosby did not testify at his trial. Instead, the defence called a single witness, Detective Richard Schaffer, who lead the 2005 investigation into Ms Constands allegations.

Lawyers questioned Mr Schaffer for approximately six minutes, then rested their defence.

Judge Steven ONeill denied the defences request to bring forward a second witness, a woman who had worked with Ms Constand at Cosbys alma mater.

Cosbys long-expected decision not to testify means his only statements in the trial come from a previously sealed deposition. The deposition was taken for a lawsuit filed by Ms Constand in 2005, after detectives unexpectedly closed her sexual assault case.

The prosecution presented excerpts from the deposition last week, including segments in which Cosby admitted to engaging with Ms Constand in the area that is somewhere between permission and rejection.

She did not stop me. And I wanted to go, Cosby told detectives at the time.

The jury will now move to deliberations.
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Senators have invited Donald Trump to testify under oath after he said he would be "100 per cent" willing to answer questions on the Russia investigation and the supposed tapes of his conversation with former FBI Director James Comey.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer told CBS that he wanted to invite Mr Trump to testify before the Senate.

I think we could work out a way it could be dignified, public, with questions, with Leader McConnell.

He added he would have to consult with prosecutor Robert Mueller, who is investigating alleged ties between Russia, interference in the election and Mr Trumps campaign.

Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein and Republican Senator Susan Collins, who sit on the Intelligence Committee, backed up Mr Schumers call for the President to testify.

Mr Muellers probe has now widened into why Mr Trump fired former FBI Director Comey, and whether, as per Mr Comeys testimony, the President pressured him to stop investigating former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Mr Flynn was forced to resign after he misled Vice President Mike Pence about his communication with the Russian ambassador.

The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Show all 17 1 /17 The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Paul Manafort Mr Manafort is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign manager. He resigned from that post over questions about his extensive lobbying overseas, including in Ukraine where he represented pro-Russian interests. Mr Manafort turned himself in at FBI headquarters to special counsel Robert Muellers team on Oct 30, 2017, after he was indicted under seal on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Getty The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rick Gates Mr Gates joined the Trump team in spring 2016, and served as a top aide until he left to work at the Republican National Committee after the departure of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Mr Gates' had previously worked on several presidential campaigns, on international political campaigns in Europe and Africa, and had 15 years of political or financial experience with multinational firms, according to his bio. Mr Gates was indicted alongside Mr Manafort by special counsel Robert Mueller's team on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. AP The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation George Papadopoulos George Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, having joined around March 2016. Mr Papadopoulos plead guilty to federal charges for lying to the FBI as a part of a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mr Papadopoulos claimed in an interview with the FBI that he had made contacts with Russian sources before joining the Trump campaign, but he actually began working with them after joining the team. Mr Papadopoulos allegedly took a meeting with a professor in London who reportedly told him that Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The professor also allegedly introduced Mr Papadopoulos to a Russian who was said to have close ties to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Papadopoulos also allegedly was in contact with a woman whom he incorrectly described in one email to others in the campaign as the "niece" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twitter The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Jr The President's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - on 9 June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York. He said in an initial statement that the meeting was about Russia halting adoptions of its children by US citizens. Then, he said it was regarding the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. In a final statement, Mr Trump Jr released a chain of emails that revealed he took the meeting in hopes of getting information Ms Veselnitskaya had about Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. He and the President called it standard "opposition research" in the course of campaigning and that no information came from the meeting. The meeting was set up by an intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also at the same meeting. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jared Kushner Mr Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key adviser to the White House. He met with a Russian banker appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Mr Kushner has said he did so in his role as an adviser to Mr Trump while the bank says he did so as a private developer. Mr Kushner has also volunteered to testify in the Senate about his role helping to arrange meetings between Trump advisers and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rob Goldstone Former tabloid journalist and now music publicist Rob Goldstone is a contact of the Trump family through the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which took place in Moscow. In June 2016, he wrote to Donald Trump Jr offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, who had information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Goldstone was the intermediary for Russian pop star Emin Agalaraov and his father, real estate magnate Aras, who played a role in putting on the 2013 pageant. In an email chain released by Mr Trump Jr, Mr Goldstone seemed to indicate Russian government's support of Donald Trump's campaign. AP images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Aras and Emin Agalarov Aras Agalarov (R) is a wealthy Moscow-based real estate magnate and son Emin (L) is a pop star. Both played a role in putting on the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. They allegedly had information about Hillary Clinton and offered that information to the Trump campaign through a lawyer with whom they had worked with, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and music publicist Rob Goldstone. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Natalia Veselnitskaya Natalia Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. She has worked on real estate issues and reportedly counted the FSB as a client in the past. She has ties to a Trump family connection, real estate magnate Aras Agalarov, who had helped set up the Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant which took place in Moscow. Ms Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 but denies the allegation that she went there promising information on Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. She contends that the meeting was about the US adoptions of Russian children being stopped by Moscow as a reaction to the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Mike Flynn Mr Flynn was named as Trump's national security adviser but was forced to resign from his post for inappropriate communication with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He had misrepresented a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, telling him wrongly that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sergey Kislyak Mr Kislyak, the former longtime Russian ambassador to the US, is at the centre of the web said to connect President Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Roger Stone Mr Stone is a former Trump adviser who worked on the political campaigns of Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan. Mr Stone claimed repeatedly in the final months of the campaign that he had backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that he knew the group was going to dump damaging documents to the campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton - which did happen. Mr Stone also had contacts with the hacker Guccier 2.0 on Twitter, who claimed to have hacked the DNC and is linked to Russian intelligence services. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeff Sessions The US attorney general was forced to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation after it was learned that he had lied about meeting with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Carter Page Mr Page is a former advisor to the Trump campaign and has a background working as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Mr Page met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Mr Page had invested in oil companies connected to Russia and had admitted that US Russia sanctions had hurt his bottom line. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeffrey "JD" Gorden Mr Gordon met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republian National Convention to discuss how the US and Russia could work together to combat Islamist extremism should then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump win the election. The meeting came days before a massive leak of DNC emails that has been connected to Russia. Creative Commons The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation James Comey Mr Comey was fired from his post as head of the FBI by President Donald Trump. The timing of Mr Comey's firing raised questions around whether or not the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign may have played a role in the decision. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Preet Bharara Mr Bahara refused, alongside 46 other US district attorney's across the country, to resign once President Donald Trump took office after previous assurances from Mr Trump that he would keep his job. Mr Bahara had been heading up several investigations including one into one of President Donald Trump's favorite cable television channels Fox News. Several investigations would lead back to that district, too, including those into Mr Trump's campaign ties to Russia, and Mr Trump's assertion that Trump Tower was wiretapped on orders from his predecessor. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sally Yates Ms Yates, a former Deputy Attorney General, was running the Justice Department while President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general awaited confirmation. Ms Yates was later fired by Mr Trump from her temporary post over her refusal to implement Mr Trump's first travel ban. She had also warned the White House about potential ties former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Russia after discovering those ties during the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia. Getty Images

Mr Trump told journalists last week he would testify, and when asked about the tapes of his private conversation with Mr Comey, he said he would provide the answer within a fairly short period of time.

Oh, youre going to be very disappointed when you hear the answer. Dont worry, he said.

Mr Trumps defence lawyer Jay Sekulow acknowledged that the President had agreed to be questioned under oath, but he refused to rule out whether Mr Mueller would also be fired in the future.

The president is going to seek the advice of his counsel and inside the government as well as outside, Mr Sekulow told ABC News.

Im not going to speculate on what he will or will not do.

Mr Mueller was FBI Director while Mr Comey was deputy Attorney General until 2013, when Mr Comey replaced him as head of the intelligence agency.

Mr Comey denied submitting his testimony last week to Mr Mueller to review before reading it at the Senate.

 Comey on his conversations with Trump: "Lordy, I hope there are tapes"

Mr Comey was dismissed by the President last month via a letter delivered by a body guard to the FBI headquarters.

During his testimony last week, Mr Comey did not say he had been dismissed due to his involvement in the Russia investigation.

He said the President had lied that the FBI was in disarray, and that Mr Trump wanted assurances he would be loyal and that he himself was not under investigation.

Mr Comey also confirmed he had his friend leak a series of memos he had written about his relationship with the President to the press.

Mr Trump responded on Twitter, I believe the James Comey leaks will be far more prevalent than anyone ever thought possible. Totally illegal? Very cowardly!
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

A year after 49 party-goers were gunned down by a man with a assault-style rifle at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando  the worst mass shooting in modern US history  Democrats in Florida say just about every attempt to pass gun control legislation in the wake of the massacre has been blocked.

These types of weapons are the gold standard of mass murders, said State Representative Carlos Guillermo-Smith, who sponsored an assault weapons ban in tandem with a state senator.

With these rifles, folks who have a really troubling history of hatred and bigotry and homophobia have been able to carry out their attacks successfully on the groups and the communities they most hate.

That is certainly true for Omar Mateen, the gunman who attacked Pulse who pledged allegiance to Isis before the attack.

Recommended Orlando faces more questions than answers in wake of Pulse shootings

Mateen, who had previously been investigated by the FBI on two occasions, walked into a gun store and bought a Sig Sauer MCX just nine days before the killings. He later returned for a larger magazine so he could fire more rounds in rapid succession without reloading.

Although the background check performed would have ran his name against the FBIs central watch database, Mateens name was removed from that list in 2014.

Mr Guillermo-Smith wasnt a member of the state legislature when the Orlando 911 dispatch received a call at 2.28am on 12 June from the man who would go on to commit the atrocity. But on the campaign trail in 2016, he pledged to do his best to do something about it.

The first bill he introduced as a newly minted congressman was an assault weapons ban, alongside a similar bill from State Senator Linda Stewart.

It was dead before it was even introduced, Ms Stewart told The Independent of her bill.

In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims Show all 30 1 /30 In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims People gather at a vigil in solidarity for the victims of the Orlando nightclub mass shooting, at Taylor Square in Sydney EPA In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims Brett Morian, from Daytona Beach, hugs an attendee during the candlelight vigil at Ember in Orlando AP In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims People and members of the gay community holding the peace rainbow flag gather for a vigil near the Beaubourg art center in downtown Paris AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims A man places a hand print on a makeshift memorial in a parking lot near the Pulse nightclub in Orlando AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims People attend a candlelight vigil for the victims of the Orlando attack against a gay night club, held in San Francisco REUTERS In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims People place candles by a statue of Abraham Lincoln during a candlelight vigil for the victims of the Orlando attack against a gay night club, held in San Francisco REUTERS In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims Tel-Aviv city hall lit up with rainbow flag colors in solidarity with Florida's shooting attack victims AP In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims Juan Mantilla (L) stands with his partner during a vigil in memory of the victims of the Orlando mass shooting, in Miami Beach AP In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims A couple shares a kiss as they embrace each other under a pride flag while residents of San Francisco and the Bay Area gather to mourn, honor, and remember the victims of a mass shooting at a LGBT nightclub in Orlando EPA In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims Austin Ellis, a member of Metropolitan Community Church, carries a cross with a sign in memory of the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting as he marches in the 2016 Gay Pride Parade in Philadelphia Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims A rainbow flag flies at half mast on the Space Needle in Seattle, in honor of the victims of the nightclub shooting in Orlando AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims People at the LA Pride event in West Hollywood, write signs and light candles showing solidarity with victims of the mass killings in Orlando AP In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims In reaction to the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida people hug outside the Stonewall Inn near a vigil for the victims in New York AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims A woman offers free hugs in Washington, in reaction to the mass shootings at a gay club in Orlando AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims A U.S. flag is flown at half staff at the White House after the Orlando mass shooting Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims A man lays flowers on a rainbow flag in front of the embassy of the United States in Madrid, to pay tribute to the victims of the shooting of Orlando AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims The Michael Fowler Centre is lit in rainbow colours by the city council during a candle lit vigil across the road at Frank Kits Park in Wellington, in remembrance of victims after a gunman opened fire in a gay nightclub in Orlando AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims Participants hold candles during a vigil at Frank Kits Park in Wellington, in remembrance of victims after a gunman opened fire in a gay nightclub in Orlando AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims Vixon Noir (R) consoles Trashina Cann, both of San Francisco, during a vigil at Harvey Milk Plaza in the Castro district of San Francisco AP In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims People gather in the Castro District for a vigil for the victims of the Orlando shooting at a gay nightclub, in San Francisco REUTERS In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims A couple joins residents of San Francisco and the Bay Area to mourn, honor, and remember the victims of a mass shooting at a LGBT nightclub in Orlando EPA In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims Mourners pay tribute to the victims of the Orlando shooting during a memorial service in San Diego AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims The Orlando Eye observation wheel lights up in rainbow colors, to remember the people killed and injured in the Pulse nightclub shooting AP In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims People sit by the water with candles during a vigil in a park following a mass shooting at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando REUTERS In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims Members of The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence carry a sign of remembrance for mass shooting victims in Orlando, at the 46th annual Los Angeles Gay Pride Parade in West Hollywood REUTERS In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims Former Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra and Shawn Lang of Hartford embrace after Segarra spoke, during a vigil organized by the state's Muslim and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities, on the steps of the state Capitol building in reaction to the mass shooting in Orlando AP In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims The City Hall Building is lit in the rainbow colors in New York, in reaction to the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims One World Trade Center is lit in the rainbow colors in New York, in reaction to the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims People hold a vigil after the worst mass shooting in U.S. history at a gay nightclub in Orlando, in front of the White House in Washington REUTERS In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims A man lays down 50 roses to honor each victim of the gay Orlando night club shooting as people gather outside of the Stonewall Inn as a vigil is held following the massacre Getty Images

Neither chamber in Tallahassee even allowed the assault weapons ban to have an open hearing for discussion. When Ms Stewart tried to urge her colleagues to allow discussion on her bill, she was met with blank stares.

If it were up to central Florida and central Florida only, it would pass, she continued, but the problem is we have to sell it to all of the elected officials and we still have a very big National Rifle Association (NRA) push for anything that we file. It doesnt matter what it is, just anything that deals with guns or the restriction of any kind of guns.

In the past year, Democrats in the Florida legislature have introduced a series of gun control measures that aim at restricting firearms but none of those ended up as laws. They face a formidable opponent in the form of the NRAs most prominent and effective lobbyist Marion Hammer, who Ms Stewart says can be seen in nearly any hearing that discusses guns or gun control.

Efforts by Ms Hammer and other pro-gun advocates have led to Florida being one of the worst states for gun crime in the country, Ms Stewart and Mr Guillermo-Smith said. Guns are easy to come by and, as exemplified in the Orlando shooting, that can have deadly consequences.

But, with that picture of lax gun laws and an effective pro-gun lobby as a backdrop, Mr Guillermo-Smith said that this past legislative year has actually been something of a victory for gun control advocates in one simple way: Orlando made it difficult for anyone to loosen legislation, so things didnt get worse.

The gun safety advocates saw this past legislative session as a victory and the reason why is because all of the gun lobbys  all of the bills that the gun lobby pushed was defeated, he said.

Its a win. They didnt get anything they wanted in this last legislature, which is kind of a sea change. I know that Pulse was a reason why the gun lobby was denied everything on their wishlist.

Both Floridians said they plan continue their push in the new legislative session. The NRA did not respond to requests for comment on this story.
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

The US has refused to endorse a joint communique with other G7 countries on climate change at the end of a two-day summit in Bologna, Italy but says it will continue to work with international partners on environment matters.

The final document from the meeting does not mention the US, the world's second largest polluter, at all in light of Donald Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Alden Meyer, director of strategy and policy for the Union of Concerned Scientists, said in a statement that this split within the G7 is "unprecedented".

At the last general G7 meeting, world leaders tried to convince Mr Trump to stay in the accord, which nearly 200 countries signed in December 2015 in an effort to lower greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to a warmer planet.

The entire discussion about climate was very difficult, if not to say very dissatisfying, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said of the group's time in Sicily last month.

Scott Pruitt, head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was at the meeting for a mere five hours before coming back to the US for what officials said was a Cabinet meeting at the White House according to Bloomberg BNA. The meeting appears to have been scheduled weeks ago, however.

Mr Pruitt has repeatedly echoed Mr Trump's insistence that the Paris Agreement put the US economy and American workers at "a disadvantage".

Speaking during a news conference at the White House the day after the US withdrawal, the EPA chief was bullish, telling reporters that US was ready to renegotiate the Paris deal or talk about a new one altogether despite Italy, France, and Germany issuing a joint statement saying they would not be open to doing so.

He said a seat at the negotiating table was a given because were the United States, adding: We have nothing to be apologetic about."

Mr Pruitt's "many distortions and falsehoods about the Paris agreement, the reality of the climate threat, and the economic and employment benefits of the clean energy revolution have been sharply rejected by the other G7 environment ministers. As their statement makes clear, there is no appetite to renegotiate the Paris agreement," said Mr Meyer.

The "America First" doctrine employed by the Trump administration coupled with commitments by several US mayors, governors, and major US corporations put Mr Trump in an isolated position, argues Mr Meyer.
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

The economy of California - poised to create a market for legal marijuana - could see its economy boosted by as much as $5bn, according to a new study.

The report by the University of California Agricultural Issues Centre, says that the legalisation of the drug will provide the state a further reason for tourists - or at least some tourists - to visit.

Yet it also warns that around 30 per cent of people who use cannabis may remain in the illegal market, in order to avoid the financial impact of regulations that require marijuana to be tested, tracked and taxed at 15 per cent of its retail value.

 USA: Sanders calls for an end to federal marijuana prohibition

The Los Angeles Times said that state officials developing the regulations, hope they will be able to persuade the majority of cannabis users to go through the legal market.

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

Lori Ajax, director of the state Bureau of Marijuana Control, which commissioned the report, told the newspaper: Its going to take some time. While its unlikely that everyone will come into the regulated market on Day One, we plan to continue working with stakeholders as we move forward to increase participation over time.

The survey has calculated that once California, which has the word's fifth largest economy, adopts the new regulations, legal recreational cannabis use will make up 61.5 per cent of the total market, illegal cannabis will account for 29.5 per cent, with nine per cent coming from legal medical marijuana.

We projected that when legally allowed, slightly more than half of the demand currently in the illegal adult-use segment will quickly move to the legal adult-use segment to avoid the inconvenience, stigma, and legal risks of buying from an unlicensed seller, says the study.

In 2012, the states of Colorado and Washington because the first in the US to pass laws legalising recreational cannabis. Research released last year found that it had contributed $2.39bn to Colorados economy in 2015.

The report from the Marijuana Policy Group, a Denver-based economic and market research firm, said it had also created more than 18,000 jobs.

By legalising, the state has gained a windfall more or less for free, Miles Light, one of the reports authors said.

Cannabis remains illegal under federal law.
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Brandon Russell is capable of making a bomb - and he admitted doing so.

Officials believe he also participated in neo-Nazi chat rooms where he threatened to kill people and blow up places.

Investigators found guns, ammunition and white supremacist propaganda in his bedroom, court records say. A framed photograph of convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh was on his dresser.

Prosecutors believe those reasons should keep Russell behind bars while he awaits trial on federal charges. A judge, however, disagreed and decided that Russell can be released on bond.

In a ruling on Friday, US Magistrate Judge Thomas McCoun III of a federal-district court in Tampa said he does not believe there's clear and convincing evidence that Russell is a threat to the community. Russell, 21, was charged last month with possession of unregistered destructive devices and unlawful storage of explosive material.

Federal officials found out about Russell after his roommate, a former neo-Nazi who is believed to have converted to Islam, admitted killing two other roommates. Devon Arthurs confessed that he shot his roommates for disrespecting his new faith. The 18-year-old also told police that all four of them, who lived in an apartment in Tampa, shared common neo-Nazi beliefs, until he reportedly converted to Islam.

Arthurs was arrested on 19 May. Police found his roommates, 22-year-old Jeremy Himmelman and 18-year-old Andrew Oneschuk, with gunshot wounds in the head and upper body. They also found Russell, crying outside their apartment after finding his roommates dead.

Police discovered Russell's bomb-making devices, as well as an explosive known as HTMD (hexamethylene triperoxide diamine), in the garage after searching the apartment, court records say.

Russell admitted to detectives that he's a white nationalist, and that he's a member of a neo-Nazi group called Atom Waffen, German for atomic weapon. The Southern Poverty Law Center lists it as a hate group.

Russell also told investigators that he used HTMD and the bomb-making devices when he was part of an engineering club at the University of South Florida in 2013, court records say. He said the explosive was used to boost homemade rockets and send balloons into the air for testing. But officials believe HTMD is too strong and volatile for those types of uses.

After he talked to detectives, Russell went to a gun store in Homestead, Florida, where he bought two hunting rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. He was later arrested.

McCoun, the federal judge, said in the ruling that Russell's purchase of the rifles and ammunition is concerning, but he did not believe it was enough to deny his request for a bond. Russell, a member of the Florida National Guard, also does not have any arrests or criminal history, and relatives have agreed to allow him to stay with them as he waits for trial. There's also no evidence that Russell used or planned to use the explosive he created, the judge wrote.

It's unclear what the conditions of his release are.

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

Prosecutors on Friday requested Russell's release be postponed for 72 hours so they have time to submit a detailed motion asking McCoun to change his ruling.

Russell is being held in the Pinellas County Jail.

The Washington Post
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Puerto Rico's voters have overwhelmingly chosen for the territory to become the 51st US state in a non-binding referendum, the island's governor said.

Ricardo Rossello said that voters have sent a strong and clear message to the US Congress and the world.

However, a low turnout and a boycott by several opposition parties called into question the validity of the vote.

More than 480,000 votes were cast for statehood, more than 7,500 for free association or independence and more than 6,500 for independence, with roughly half of polling centres reporting.

The participation rate was low at nearly 23 per cent with roughly 2.26 million registered voters.

US Congress has final say on any changes to the US territory's political status, regardless of the referendum's final outcome.

Governor Ricardo Rossello greets people before voting (Associated Press)

Three Puerto Rican political parties that favour other options than statehood boycotted the vote, which took place amid an economic crisis that has triggered an exodus of islanders to the US mainland.

Puerto Rico Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz vowed to push for statehood anyway.

Congress never freely gave away statehood, he said. U.S. states had to fight for it.

The referendum coincides with the 100th anniversary of the United States granting US citizenship to Puerto Ricans, though they are barred from voting in presidential elections and have only one congressional representative with limited voting powers.

Among those hoping Puerto Rico will become a state is Jose Alvarez, a 61-year-old businessman.

Now is the moment to do it, he said. We've spent a lot of years working on a socioeconomic model that has not necessarily given us the answer.

Many believe the island's territorial status has contributed to its 10-year economic recession, which has prompted nearly half a million Puerto Ricans to flee to the US mainland and was largely sparked by decades of heavy borrowing and the elimination of federal tax incentives.

Puerto Rico is exempt from the US federal income tax, but it still pays Social Security and Medicare and local taxes and receives less federal funding than US states.

Those inequalities and the ongoing crisis prompted 66-year-old Maria Quinones to vote for the first time in such a referendum, the fifth on Puerto Rico's status.

We have to vote because things are not going well, she said. If we were a state, we would have the same rights.

Quinones said many of her relatives are among the nearly half a million Puerto Ricans who have moved to the US mainland in the past decade to find a more affordable cost of living or jobs as the island of 3.4 million people struggles with a 12 per cent unemployment rate.

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

Those who remain behind have been hit with new taxes and higher utility bills on an island where food is 22 per cent more expensive than the US mainland and public services are 64 per cent more expensive.

David Aldarondo, a 31-year-old law student from Fishkill, New York, has lived in Puerto Rico for nearly a decade and said he believes independence is the best option.

It would be rough, he acknowledged. Eventually, maybe not in my lifetime, but we could become a great nation.

Those who oppose statehood worry the island will lose its cultural identity and warn that Puerto Rico will struggle even more financially because it will be forced to pay millions of dollars in federal taxes.

Recommended Majority of Americans in every US state supports Paris climate deal

The cost of statehood on the pocketbook of every citizen, every business, every industry will be devastating, Carlos Delegado, secretary of the opposition Popular Democratic Party, told The Associated Press. Whatever we might receive in additional federal funds will be cancelled by the amount of taxes the island will have to pay.

His party also has noted that the US Justice Department has not backed the referendum.

A department spokesman told the AP that the agency has not reviewed or approved the ballot's language. Federal officials in April rejected an original version, in part because it did not offer the territory's current status as an option.

The administration of Gov. Rossello added it and sent the ballot back for review, but the department said it needed more time and asked that the vote be postponed, which it wasn't.

 Donald Trump is willing to testify under oath on Comey

No clear majority emerged in the first three referendums on status, with voters almost evenly divided between statehood and the status quo.

During the last referendum in 2012, 54 per cent said they wanted a status change. Sixty-one percent who answered a second question said they favored statehood, but nearly half a million voters left that question blank, leading many to claim the results weren't legitimate.

Some statehood supporters on Sunday expressed dismay that certain voting centers appeared empty.

We are worse off than I thought, in the sense that we don't give a damn what happens to this island, said Jose Miranda, a retired TV and radio producer who lived 30 years in the U.S. mainland and is returning because he believes life is better over there.
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Sources say board members are considering a mandatory leave of absence CEO Travis Kalanick of Uber, the popular ride-sharing company that has transformed the transportation industry but has also found itself embroiled in controversy.

Ubers nine-member board will debate whether Mr Kalanick should be forced to take time off, or even be demoted to another role, sources tell Reuters.

The conversation has been raised in light of the scandals brewing around the fast-growing start-up, including allegations of lawbreaking and underpayment, a federal probe into the companys business practises, and an alleged botched rape investigation concerning one of its drivers.

The company is also facing hundreds of complaints about its workplace culture. In February, for example, former Uber employee Susan Fowler wrote a searing blog post accusing her former boss of sexual harassment, and senior managers of negligence.

That complaint sparked a review of the companys policies and culture from an outside law firm headed by former US Attorney General Eric Holder. The board is expected to review the firms suggestions at their meeting on Sunday.

Another outside law firm, Perkins Coie, recently submitted a separate review of more than 215 cases of sexual harassment, unprofessional behaviour, bullying, and other workplace complaints within the company, which resulted in the firing of 20 employees last week.

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

Some employees, however, have attributed the prevalence of these workplace complaints to Mr Kalanick himself. The 40-year-old CEO is a controversial leader with an allegedly aggressive management style.

He was recently caught on video yelling at an Uber driver, and was also involved in an incident with other executives at a South Korean escort bar that resulted in a formal human resources complaint.

Still, sources with knowledge of the matter tell The New York Times that Ubers board is arranged in favour of its founder, and may protect him from repercussions.

Seven of Ubers board members are so-called super voters, who have a stronger say in the boardroom.

Mr Kalanicks future is said to lay in the hands of super voters like Garrett Camp, Ubers co-founder and its chairman; Ryan Graves, an Uber executive; and Arianna Huffington, co-founder of The Huffington Post, who still support the CEO.

Also on the chopping block is Uber CBO Emil Michael, who has been involved in several of the companys more prominent scandals.

Sources tell The Wall Street Journal that Mr Michael is expected to resign as soon as Monday. The board is expected to announce its decisions by Tuesday.
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

The US Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, could invoke executive privilege before Congress in response to questions about his private conversations with Donald Trump, White House press secretary Sean Spicer has suggested.

I think it depends on the scope of the questions, Mr Spicer told reporters during a briefing. To get into a hypothetical at this point would be premature.

Mr Sessions will testify publicly to the Senate intelligence committee as part of its ongoing investigation into whether Trump campaign advisers colluded with the Russian government to influence the 2016 presidential election.

Recommended Jeff Sessions to appear before Senate intelligence committee

Mr Sessions recused himself from that investigation in March after it was revealed that he met twice with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the presidential campaign and did not disclose those encounters to Congress during his confirmation hearing in January.

Mr Sessions is likely to face questions about those meetings, as well as about his conversations with former FBI director, James Comey.

Mr Comey, fired by Mr Trump last month, has alleged that he had asked the attorney general to shield him from having to have private conversations with the President. Mr Sessions did not verbally respond to his request, Mr Comey said.

The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Show all 17 1 /17 The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Paul Manafort Mr Manafort is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign manager. He resigned from that post over questions about his extensive lobbying overseas, including in Ukraine where he represented pro-Russian interests. Mr Manafort turned himself in at FBI headquarters to special counsel Robert Muellers team on Oct 30, 2017, after he was indicted under seal on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Getty The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rick Gates Mr Gates joined the Trump team in spring 2016, and served as a top aide until he left to work at the Republican National Committee after the departure of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Mr Gates' had previously worked on several presidential campaigns, on international political campaigns in Europe and Africa, and had 15 years of political or financial experience with multinational firms, according to his bio. Mr Gates was indicted alongside Mr Manafort by special counsel Robert Mueller's team on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. AP The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation George Papadopoulos George Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, having joined around March 2016. Mr Papadopoulos plead guilty to federal charges for lying to the FBI as a part of a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mr Papadopoulos claimed in an interview with the FBI that he had made contacts with Russian sources before joining the Trump campaign, but he actually began working with them after joining the team. Mr Papadopoulos allegedly took a meeting with a professor in London who reportedly told him that Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The professor also allegedly introduced Mr Papadopoulos to a Russian who was said to have close ties to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Papadopoulos also allegedly was in contact with a woman whom he incorrectly described in one email to others in the campaign as the "niece" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twitter The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Jr The President's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - on 9 June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York. He said in an initial statement that the meeting was about Russia halting adoptions of its children by US citizens. Then, he said it was regarding the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. In a final statement, Mr Trump Jr released a chain of emails that revealed he took the meeting in hopes of getting information Ms Veselnitskaya had about Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. He and the President called it standard "opposition research" in the course of campaigning and that no information came from the meeting. The meeting was set up by an intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also at the same meeting. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jared Kushner Mr Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key adviser to the White House. He met with a Russian banker appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Mr Kushner has said he did so in his role as an adviser to Mr Trump while the bank says he did so as a private developer. Mr Kushner has also volunteered to testify in the Senate about his role helping to arrange meetings between Trump advisers and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rob Goldstone Former tabloid journalist and now music publicist Rob Goldstone is a contact of the Trump family through the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which took place in Moscow. In June 2016, he wrote to Donald Trump Jr offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, who had information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Goldstone was the intermediary for Russian pop star Emin Agalaraov and his father, real estate magnate Aras, who played a role in putting on the 2013 pageant. In an email chain released by Mr Trump Jr, Mr Goldstone seemed to indicate Russian government's support of Donald Trump's campaign. AP images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Aras and Emin Agalarov Aras Agalarov (R) is a wealthy Moscow-based real estate magnate and son Emin (L) is a pop star. Both played a role in putting on the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. They allegedly had information about Hillary Clinton and offered that information to the Trump campaign through a lawyer with whom they had worked with, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and music publicist Rob Goldstone. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Natalia Veselnitskaya Natalia Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. She has worked on real estate issues and reportedly counted the FSB as a client in the past. She has ties to a Trump family connection, real estate magnate Aras Agalarov, who had helped set up the Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant which took place in Moscow. Ms Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 but denies the allegation that she went there promising information on Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. She contends that the meeting was about the US adoptions of Russian children being stopped by Moscow as a reaction to the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Mike Flynn Mr Flynn was named as Trump's national security adviser but was forced to resign from his post for inappropriate communication with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He had misrepresented a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, telling him wrongly that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sergey Kislyak Mr Kislyak, the former longtime Russian ambassador to the US, is at the centre of the web said to connect President Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Roger Stone Mr Stone is a former Trump adviser who worked on the political campaigns of Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan. Mr Stone claimed repeatedly in the final months of the campaign that he had backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that he knew the group was going to dump damaging documents to the campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton - which did happen. Mr Stone also had contacts with the hacker Guccier 2.0 on Twitter, who claimed to have hacked the DNC and is linked to Russian intelligence services. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeff Sessions The US attorney general was forced to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation after it was learned that he had lied about meeting with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Carter Page Mr Page is a former advisor to the Trump campaign and has a background working as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Mr Page met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Mr Page had invested in oil companies connected to Russia and had admitted that US Russia sanctions had hurt his bottom line. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeffrey "JD" Gorden Mr Gordon met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republian National Convention to discuss how the US and Russia could work together to combat Islamist extremism should then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump win the election. The meeting came days before a massive leak of DNC emails that has been connected to Russia. Creative Commons The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation James Comey Mr Comey was fired from his post as head of the FBI by President Donald Trump. The timing of Mr Comey's firing raised questions around whether or not the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign may have played a role in the decision. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Preet Bharara Mr Bahara refused, alongside 46 other US district attorney's across the country, to resign once President Donald Trump took office after previous assurances from Mr Trump that he would keep his job. Mr Bahara had been heading up several investigations including one into one of President Donald Trump's favorite cable television channels Fox News. Several investigations would lead back to that district, too, including those into Mr Trump's campaign ties to Russia, and Mr Trump's assertion that Trump Tower was wiretapped on orders from his predecessor. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sally Yates Ms Yates, a former Deputy Attorney General, was running the Justice Department while President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general awaited confirmation. Ms Yates was later fired by Mr Trump from her temporary post over her refusal to implement Mr Trump's first travel ban. She had also warned the White House about potential ties former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Russia after discovering those ties during the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia. Getty Images

Mr Trump has recently seemed to demonstrate a lack of confidence in Mr Sessions.

After the London Bridge terror attack, the President declared that the Justice Department should have fought for his original travel ban, which limited travel from several predominantly Muslim countries, 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. On Monday, the Ninth Circuit joined the Fourth Circuit in Virginia in upholding blocks on that version.

We continue to be confident that the President's executive order to protect this country is fully lawful and ultimately will be upheld by the Supreme Court, Mr Spicer said.

Mr Trump was also reportedly furious over Mr Sessions recusal from the Russia investigation, which is now being overseen by special counsel Robert Mueller.

When asked if the President is okay with Mr Sessions testifying in an open setting tomorrow, Mr Spicer responded: I think he's going to testify. We're aware of it and we'll go from there.
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions has requested that his testimony before Congress be open to the public because he believes it is important for the American people to hear the truth directly from him, the Justice Department has said.

Mr Sessions announced over the weekend that he planned on appearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee to respond to the testimony of former FBI Director James Comey.

Mr Comey, fired by Donald Trump in May, alleged last week that he had asked the attorney general to shield him from having to have private conversations with the President.

The day before he made this request to Mr Sessions, Mr Comey said he believed that Mr Trump had directed him to end an investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's alleged ties to Russia. According to the ex-FBI chief, Mr Sessions did not verbally respond when he implored Mr Sessions to prevent any future direct communication between him and Mr Trump, as the FBI is meant to be insulated from the political pressure of the White House.

Several members of Congress had urged the Senate Intelligence Committee to hold the Sessions testimony openly. That includes Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, who sent a letter to the chairman and vice chairman of the committee saying that the Senate owes the American public transparency because the matters being discussed are critically important for the US.

The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Show all 17 1 /17 The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Paul Manafort Mr Manafort is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign manager. He resigned from that post over questions about his extensive lobbying overseas, including in Ukraine where he represented pro-Russian interests. Mr Manafort turned himself in at FBI headquarters to special counsel Robert Muellers team on Oct 30, 2017, after he was indicted under seal on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Getty The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rick Gates Mr Gates joined the Trump team in spring 2016, and served as a top aide until he left to work at the Republican National Committee after the departure of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Mr Gates' had previously worked on several presidential campaigns, on international political campaigns in Europe and Africa, and had 15 years of political or financial experience with multinational firms, according to his bio. Mr Gates was indicted alongside Mr Manafort by special counsel Robert Mueller's team on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. AP The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation George Papadopoulos George Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, having joined around March 2016. Mr Papadopoulos plead guilty to federal charges for lying to the FBI as a part of a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mr Papadopoulos claimed in an interview with the FBI that he had made contacts with Russian sources before joining the Trump campaign, but he actually began working with them after joining the team. Mr Papadopoulos allegedly took a meeting with a professor in London who reportedly told him that Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The professor also allegedly introduced Mr Papadopoulos to a Russian who was said to have close ties to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Papadopoulos also allegedly was in contact with a woman whom he incorrectly described in one email to others in the campaign as the "niece" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twitter The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Jr The President's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - on 9 June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York. He said in an initial statement that the meeting was about Russia halting adoptions of its children by US citizens. Then, he said it was regarding the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. In a final statement, Mr Trump Jr released a chain of emails that revealed he took the meeting in hopes of getting information Ms Veselnitskaya had about Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. He and the President called it standard "opposition research" in the course of campaigning and that no information came from the meeting. The meeting was set up by an intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also at the same meeting. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jared Kushner Mr Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key adviser to the White House. He met with a Russian banker appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Mr Kushner has said he did so in his role as an adviser to Mr Trump while the bank says he did so as a private developer. Mr Kushner has also volunteered to testify in the Senate about his role helping to arrange meetings between Trump advisers and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rob Goldstone Former tabloid journalist and now music publicist Rob Goldstone is a contact of the Trump family through the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which took place in Moscow. In June 2016, he wrote to Donald Trump Jr offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, who had information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Goldstone was the intermediary for Russian pop star Emin Agalaraov and his father, real estate magnate Aras, who played a role in putting on the 2013 pageant. In an email chain released by Mr Trump Jr, Mr Goldstone seemed to indicate Russian government's support of Donald Trump's campaign. AP images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Aras and Emin Agalarov Aras Agalarov (R) is a wealthy Moscow-based real estate magnate and son Emin (L) is a pop star. Both played a role in putting on the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. They allegedly had information about Hillary Clinton and offered that information to the Trump campaign through a lawyer with whom they had worked with, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and music publicist Rob Goldstone. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Natalia Veselnitskaya Natalia Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. She has worked on real estate issues and reportedly counted the FSB as a client in the past. She has ties to a Trump family connection, real estate magnate Aras Agalarov, who had helped set up the Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant which took place in Moscow. Ms Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 but denies the allegation that she went there promising information on Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. She contends that the meeting was about the US adoptions of Russian children being stopped by Moscow as a reaction to the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Mike Flynn Mr Flynn was named as Trump's national security adviser but was forced to resign from his post for inappropriate communication with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He had misrepresented a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, telling him wrongly that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sergey Kislyak Mr Kislyak, the former longtime Russian ambassador to the US, is at the centre of the web said to connect President Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Roger Stone Mr Stone is a former Trump adviser who worked on the political campaigns of Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan. Mr Stone claimed repeatedly in the final months of the campaign that he had backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that he knew the group was going to dump damaging documents to the campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton - which did happen. Mr Stone also had contacts with the hacker Guccier 2.0 on Twitter, who claimed to have hacked the DNC and is linked to Russian intelligence services. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeff Sessions The US attorney general was forced to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation after it was learned that he had lied about meeting with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Carter Page Mr Page is a former advisor to the Trump campaign and has a background working as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Mr Page met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Mr Page had invested in oil companies connected to Russia and had admitted that US Russia sanctions had hurt his bottom line. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeffrey "JD" Gorden Mr Gordon met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republian National Convention to discuss how the US and Russia could work together to combat Islamist extremism should then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump win the election. The meeting came days before a massive leak of DNC emails that has been connected to Russia. Creative Commons The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation James Comey Mr Comey was fired from his post as head of the FBI by President Donald Trump. The timing of Mr Comey's firing raised questions around whether or not the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign may have played a role in the decision. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Preet Bharara Mr Bahara refused, alongside 46 other US district attorney's across the country, to resign once President Donald Trump took office after previous assurances from Mr Trump that he would keep his job. Mr Bahara had been heading up several investigations including one into one of President Donald Trump's favorite cable television channels Fox News. Several investigations would lead back to that district, too, including those into Mr Trump's campaign ties to Russia, and Mr Trump's assertion that Trump Tower was wiretapped on orders from his predecessor. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sally Yates Ms Yates, a former Deputy Attorney General, was running the Justice Department while President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general awaited confirmation. Ms Yates was later fired by Mr Trump from her temporary post over her refusal to implement Mr Trump's first travel ban. She had also warned the White House about potential ties former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Russia after discovering those ties during the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia. Getty Images

At the time of his dismissal, Mr Comey was also leading an investigation into whether Trump campaign advisers had colluded with the Russian government to influence the 2016 US election.

Mr Sessions had recused himself from that investigation in March following reports that he met twice with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the presidential campaign and did not disclose the encounters to Congress during his confirmation hearing in January.

Our judgment was that he was very close and inevitably going to recuse himself, Mr Comey said on Thursday. We were also aware of facts I cant discuss in an open setting that would make his continued involvement in a Russia investigation problematic, he added.

Mr Comey also reportedly told senators behind closed doors that Mr Sessions may have met with Russias ambassador a third time.

The Justice Department on Thursday defended Mr Sessions, saying that shortly after being sworn in as attorney general, he began consulting with department officials to determine if he should recuse himself from any matters relate to the presidential campaigns.

Given Attorney General Sessions participation in President Trumps campaign, it was for that reason, and that reason alone, the Attorney General made the decision on March 2, 2017 to recuse himself from any existing or future investigations of any matters related in any way to the campaigns for President of the United States, a Justice Department spokesman said.

Mr Sessions' testimony has the potential to derail work again this week on the Republicans' legislative agenda, distracting Congress from big-ticket policy items such as healthcare and tax reform.

The attorney general had originally been scheduled on Tuesday to testify before the Senate and House Appropriations subcommittees about the Justice Department's budget. Now that he's appearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee tomorrow, Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein will testify before those panels instead.
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

US leadership on the global stage is worse under Donald Trump than his predecessor Barack Obama, according to veteran Republican senator, John McCain.

The long-serving conservative who frequently criticised Mr Obama's foreign policy said Mr Trump's penchant for inflammatory tweets sent a message that "America doesnt want to lead".

The world was "not sure of American leadership, whether it be in Siberia or whether it be in Antarctica," he told The Guardian.

Recommended Stephen Colbert compares Trump presidency to worst musical ever

Mr McCain, who ran unsuccessfully against Mr Obama for the Presidency in 2008, added: "As far as American leadership is concerned," the US' global standing had worsened under Mr Trump.

His comments came after the US President took to Twitter, to accuse Qatar, a key US partner in the Middle East and host to thousands of American troops, of "funding extremism".

He called a diplomatic blockade by the Gulf country's neighbours: "The beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism".

The social media posts put him at odds with his own Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, who had called for a deescalation of the crisis.

Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade Show all 8 1 /8 Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AP Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AP Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AP Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AP Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AFP/Getty Images Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AP Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AFP/Getty Images Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AP

The US leader also took to Twitter to criticise London's mayor Sadiq Khan, after the terror attack at London's Borough Market, which claimed the lives of eight people.

Taking a quote from Mr Khan which people not to be alarmed by the presence of armed police, out of context, he wrote: "At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is 'no reason to be alarmed!' 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's decision to withdraw the US from the Paris climate accord had also dismayed leaders around the world.
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

This years Pride parades are more than just a symbol of support for the LGBT community: They are centres of opposition to President Donald Trump.

In Washington DC, hundreds marched in an inaugural Equality March for Unity and Pride. The march drew inspiration from the hugely popular Womens March, organised in protest of Mr Trumps inauguration.

Dozens of cities across the US planned sister equality marches for the same day.

"We are here to stand and be counted," Washington march participant Daniel Dunlop told the BBC. "There's a growing hostile rhetoric from the White House and we don't like the point of direction."

Across the country in Los Angeles, organisers turned their annual Pride parade into a Resist March, where participants carried signs reading Make America Gay Again, and Gay, undocumented and unafraid.

Thousands turned up to protest the President on the streets of Hollywood and West Hollywood. Marchers even covered the former reality stars spot on the Hollywood walk of fame with Pride stickers.

This year, the LGBTQ community is lending our iconic rainbow flag to anyone who feels like their rights are under threat and to anyone who feels like Americas strength is its diversity, march organiser Brian Pendleton told The Los Angeles Times.

Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade Show all 8 1 /8 Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AP Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AP Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AP Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AP Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AFP/Getty Images Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AP Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AFP/Getty Images Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AP

Many members of the LGBTQ community feel ignored by Mr Trump  who at one point in his campaign unfurled a rainbow flag and declared himself a real friend of the LGBTQ community.

The President did not acknowledge the start of Pride month this June, but did speak at a conservative Christian conference championing religious liberty.

"The fact that Trump did not even recognise Pride month is an omen of what's to come, and we need to mobilise now, Mr Dunlop said.

Still, the new tenor of the Pride marches has not come without controversy. Some conservative members of LGBTQ community say they feel ostracised by the marches political bent. Still others claim they have been outright banned from participating.

At another Washington DC Pride march, meanwhile, counter-protesters turned up to insist the march was still not political enough.

Protestors at the Capitol Hill Pride Parade wanted a focus on social justice, police brutality and the corporate sponsorship of the event.

Capitol Hill Pride Parade organisers responded by asking for a robust, civil, and healthy conversation within the community.

In these challenging times for LGBTQ+ people, Capital Pride will continue to focus on how we can all move forward as a community striving for equal treatment and respect for all, they said.
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Five months after Donald Trump became US President, and at a cost of millions to the taxpayer, Melania and Barron Trump have joined him in the White House.

In a break with the tradition of previous First Families, the 47-year-old former model decided to stay in New York with her 11-year-old son following Mr Trumps inauguration, so Barron could finish school.

But on Sunday the family finally touched down in Washington DC, arriving on the White House lawn in the Marine One helicopter.

 Melania wears a jacket that cost just below an American's median annual salary

Ms Trump later confirmed the move with a tweet of a photo showing a view from the Presidential residence.

Looking forward to the memories well make in our new home! she said, adding the hash tag #Movingday.

Barron Trump will attend the private St Andrew's Episcopal School in Potomac, Maryland for sixth grade in the autumn.

The First Family's stay in New York is estimated to have cost the US taxpayer at least $17.6m (13.8m) in security costs.

After Ms Trump returned to Trump Tower on 22 January, a minimum of $127,000 per day (100,000) has been spent on security for her and Barron, according to Police Commissioner James O'Neill.

The cost is likely to be much higher, as some days the cost rose to $146,000 (115,000) to protect Melania and Barron, even when Mr Trump was not in town.

President Trumps older children have had a much higher public profile. His daughter, Ivanka Trump, took an office in the West Wing in March.

She is an influential member of the Presidents team, along with her husband Jared Kushner.

Mr Trumps other sons, Eric and Donald Jr, do not have official government roles and took over the family business when their father took office. They remain vocal supporters. Mr Trumps other daughter, Tiffany, has maintained a lower profile but attended several of her father's key 2016 campaign events.

Melania Trump stayed largely out of sight during her husband's presidential campaign and was an absent First Lady at the outset of the administration.

But she has slowly been raising her profile at the White House, joining the President when foreign leaders and their spouses visit, co-hosting the annual Easter Egg Roll and holding some solo events.

She recently accompanied Mr Trump on his first foreign trip, a nine-day journey through Saudi Arabia, Israel, Belgium and Italy that marked her first extended turn as First Lady in the public spotlight.

Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town Show all 18 1 /18 Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town The 12th-century castle dominates Sevnica old town Getty Images Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town The old town has a beautiful riverside setting Getty Images Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town 'White House' slippers in Sevnica castle Nick Redmayne Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town The annual salami festival, the Salamiada Nick Redmayne Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town Sevnica was a nondescript town before Melania hit the big time AFP/Getty Images Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town Sevnica butchers take their sausage-making skills seriously Nick Redmayne Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town Only men are allowed in the Salamiada Nick Redmayne Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town As American as.... a Sevnica apple pie Nick Redmayne Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town There are no plans to make a Donald pie Nick Redmayne Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town The slippers featured in a recent fashion show AFP/Getty Images Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town The castle is one of the top tourist sites in town Getty Images Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town Melanija cake has gone down a storm AFP/Getty Images Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town The smart house still owned by Melania's parents Nick Redmayne Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town They live in America but visit occasionally Nick Redmayne Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town The communist block of flats in which Melania grew up Nick Redmayne Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town Melania skin cream, for a presidential complexion Nick Redmayne Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town First lady chocolates, dusted with gold Nick Redmayne Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town Even locals can't get enough of the Melanija cake Nick Redmayne

Now that she is at the White House full time, pressure will build for her to be seen more and to do more. She said during the campaign that she would work on the issue of cyberbullying as first lady, but she has made no further announcements about the subject.

She has also shown an interest in military veterans and empowering women and girls.

Additional reporting by AP
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Donald Trump has overseen his first full cabinet meeting, at which his top officials took turns to heap praise on the President.

Mr Trump took the opportunity to try and use his full first meeting to make the case that, despite the problems created by the controversy over his campaigns alleged collusion with Russia, the administration was making rapid progress.

Never has there been a president, with few exceptions - case of FDR, he had a major depression to handle - who has passed more legislation and who has done more things than what weve done, said Mr Trump, in a reference to Franklin D Roosevelt.

I think weve been about as active as you can possibly be at a just about record-setting pace, Mr Trump said.

The Washington Post said the meeting was exceptional that the President then sat and listened at his cabinet members took turns - all of them aware the media was listening - to praise him for his performance in the Oval Office.

We thank you for the opportunity and blessing to serve your agenda, White House chief of staff Reince Priebus.

Tom Price, the Secretary of Health and Human services, said it was an honour to head the department under Mr Trumps leadership.

I can't thank you enough for the privileges you've given me and the leadership that youve shown, Mr Price said.

 Ivanka Trump: I have been shocked by the level of 'ferocity' and 'viciousness' against my father

The newspaper pointed out that despite Mr Trump having signed a series of executive orders - one of them, a travel ban, has been placed on hold by the courts - Congress has yet to pass any of the major proposals he campaigned on as a candidate.

Despite that, his cabinet members took the opportunity to suggest he and they had preformed wonders. A pool report of the meeting noted that after Mr Trump spoke, cabinet members each introduced themselves and said a few words about how happy they were to be there.

Vice President Mike Pence said: It is the greatest privilege of my life to serve as Vice President. The President is keeping his word to the American people.

Attorney-General Jeff Sessions, who is due to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee, claimed he had been receiving support from law enforcement officers all over America.

They are so thrilled that we have new ideas and that we support them, he said.

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

Rick Perry, Mr Trumps Energy Secretary, said he had been in China last week where his hosts were delighted to learn that, despite Mr Trump saying he was withdrawing the US from the Paris Accord, we are still going to be leaders in the world when it comes to the climate.

My hats off to you for taking that stand and sending a clear message around the world, he said.

Nikki Haley, US Ambassador to the UN, said it was a new day at the United Nations.

It was Mr Trump's first full cabinet meeting (AP)

We now have a very strong voice. People know what the United States is for. They know what we are against. And they see us in a new way across the board. I think the international community knows we are back, she said.

Wilbur Ross, Mr Trumps Secretary of Commerce, said: Thank you for the opportunity to help fix the trade deficit.

Sonny Perdue, the Secretary of Agriculture, responded to the large number of cabinet members mentioning their international trips. He said: While we are bragging about international travel I just got back from Mississippi and they like you there.

Democrats have seized on the episode.

You have great hair, said Democratic senator Chuck Schumer, in a mocking video. Nobody has better hair than you.
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

A US Army Captain has said that the American military is perhaps not the best in the world because it is "not as prepared or ready for combat as their multinational partners".

Captain J Scott Metz wrote in an Army professional journal that he feels other countries' troops are "now tactically better than we are at company level and below because we do not train enough at home station".

He includes allies and "some potential enemies" as better prepared than US forces.

Captain Metz puts the blame on the issue of "readiness" - a term which encompasses everything from making sure soldiers have up to date immunizations to weapons certifications to proper paperwork on file in the Defence department's antiquated computer systems.

One example he writes about is a US platoon not knowing how to use "terrain to their advantage in every engagement" and being outmanoeuvred in an exercise by their foreign counterparts. It is something it should have trained for at its home base before arriving at JMRC, he argues.

Captain Metz said that senior army leaders make readiness a top priority but small units and commanders over-tasked with training requirements and administrative work are not given enough time to be fully ready. Tom Ricks, a columnist for Foreign Policy who has covered the US military since the early 1990s, wrote that Captain Metz is "speaking truth to power".

Until recently, Captain Metz was stationed at the Joint Multinational Readiness Centre (JMRC) in Hohenfels, Germany giving him a unique look at the US military - but somewhat limited given his rank and the fact that he is only writing about his perspective in the Army and not the military as a whole.

The article - most likely cleared through the active duty Captain's chain of command - has been lauded by many in military community for its forthrightness, especially with the current state of US foreign policy, the ongoing war in Afghanistan, and other engagements in Iraq, Syria, and a number of other places.

Mr Ricks wrote that Captain Metz's piece is a "tough, informed article that challenges the prevailing wisdom. Doing that is a big part of the role of military professional journals, but they dont always carry it out."
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

An Australian man is facing up to 10-years imprisonment in Cambodia after he allegedly flew a drone over an opposition rally.

James Ricketson, a 68-year-old filmmaker, has been accused of espionage by authorities in the country.

If convicted under article 446 of Cambodias Penal Code he could be sentenced to between five and 10 years behind bars for receiving or collecting information, processes, objects, documents, computerised data or files, with a view to supplying them to a foreign state or its agents, which are reliable to prejudice the national defence.

He was arrested after he was seen flying a drone over a gathering of members from the CNRP, the countrys main opposition political party, according to local media reports.

Held in pre-trial detention at the Prey Sar prison in the capital of Phnom Penh, he was eventually charged with collecting information prejudicial to national security.

The crime is listed under the treason and espionage section.

Lou Rabo, the deputy municipal police chief in charge of immigration, told the Australian Associated Press that he was arrested after failing to immediately produce a passport.

He didn't respond about where he lives," he said. "Under questioning, he didn'tt reply, meaning he was living in our country illegally, therefore we took him to the office.

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

Cambodian Legal expert Sok Sam Oeun told Cambodia Daily: Its assumed guilt. With any information, we can arrest; we can detain. Our system is like that.

Mr Oeun has advised Mr Ricketson to find a good lawyer to represent him.

Mr Ricketson has been making films since the 1970s, and has been a loud critic of the country's government, recently calling it a dictatorship in a Facebook post.

The misuse of the justice system by legal authorities has increased in the lead up to the 2017/2018 elections, with security forces harassing and punishing civil society and silent critics of the regime, according to a recent report by Amnesty International.

Human rights defenders have been systematically arrested and held in pre-trial detention centres, it added.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

South Korea has warned Japan to exercise caution when making remarks about bilateral ties, including the issue of Korean comfort women forced to work in Japanese military brothels during the Second World War.

The warning followed reported comments by Toshihiro Nikai, secretary general of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, during a visit to Seoul to meet South Korean President Moon Jae-in and lawmakers.

Speaking with South Korean lawmakers, Nikai said on Saturday that those plotting schemes to block bilateral ties from moving forward should be eradicated, several Japanese and South Korean media reported.

I don't know if in South Korea there are even a handful, but they must be eradicated, Nikai was quoted as saying. He also expressed hope for the two countries to get along well and not to have relations tangled with trivial matters.

Nikai's office at the Liberal Democratic Party could not confirm his reported comments, which appeared not to include any direct reference to the comfort women issue.

Recommended Japan recalls ambassador to South Korea over wartime sex slave statue

But he came under fire from South Korean civic groups for possibly criticising people who support the reversal of a controversial agreement struck by Tokyo and Seoul's former conservative government in 2015 to resolve the issue.

Comments related to relations between South Korea and Japan, including those regarding the comfort women issue, should be made with care, a South Korean foreign ministry official said, in response to Nikai's reported comments. The official declined to be identified citing sensitivity of the issue.

'Comfort women' is a euphemistic term referring to those forced to work in Japan's wartime brothels, an issue that has long plagued bilateral ties.

Under the 2015 agreement, the two governments agreed that the issue would be irreversibly resolved if both sides fulfilled their obligations.

Nikai, the number two executive in his party behind Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, is usually known for his generally warm ties with South Korea and China.

He is slated to meet with Moon later on Monday, where he is expected to deliver a letter from Abe.

During his successful campaign for a 9 May election, Moon suggested he could try to renegotiate the 2015 comfort women agreement, reached by his predecessor Park Geun-hye and Abe in which Japan made an apology to the women affected and promised about one billion yen (7 million) for a fund to help them.

Some of the comfort women, most of whom are now deceased or very elderly, have rejected the agreement and asked for a personal apology from Abe himself, among other demands.

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

In a phone call a day after taking office, Moon told Abe many of the public do not agree with the deal and the government needs more time to resolve the issue.

Abe and other Japanese officials have repeatedly said it was vital for the 2015 agreement to be implemented and for the two sides to move ahead based on a future-oriented relationship.

Reuters
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

The location of the long lost eighth wonder of the world has been rediscovered in New Zealand, researchers claim.

The pink and white terraces of Lake Rotomahana, on the countrys North Island, were a major tourist attraction in the 1800s and people travelled from far and wide to see them. It was thought they had been destroyed by a volcanic eruption in 1886 and as they were never surveyed by the government of the time, there was no record of their latitude or longitude.

But the 2010 discovery of a geologists long-lost diaries in a Swiss collection has allowed researchers to estimate their location, to within 35 metres.

Hundreds of whales dead after becoming stranded on New Zealand beach

"We have put in 2,500 hours of research in the last 12 months, one of the team, Rex Bunn, told the Sunday Star Times. We're confident, to the best of our ability, we have identified the terrace locations. We're closer than anyone has ever been in the last 130 years."

The diary was found by Dr Sascha Nolden in the Hochstetter Collection, based in the Swiss city of Basel. It belonged to Dr Ferdinand von Hochstetter, a respected geologist who was employed by New Zealands government in 1859 to survey the islands. He recorded the bearings of the terraces.

Recommended Australian lake turns pink in incredible natural phenomenon

But the 2,000 acre lake area was never officially surveyed and the landscape changed dramatically after nearby Mount Tarawera erupted 27 years later.

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

After discovering the diary, the researchers translated and interpreted the works, using a variety of complex geological methods. Publishing their findings in the Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, they wrote that they believe the terraces were covered by ash during the eruption and lie at least 10 metres below the surface of the ground next to the lake.

Conventional wisdom was that the volcano had destroyed them. But Dr Nolden and Mr Bunn believe that the terraces are likely to be intact, although. final imaging proof is needed. They also think that they could be restored and turned into a landmark again. "The pink and white terraces may in some small way return, to delight visitors to Rotorua as they did in the 19th century," Mr Bunn said.

The researchers said the local Tuhourangi tribal authority is supportive of their efforts and they are now trying to organise an excavation of the site.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Prominent Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has been jailed for 30 days by a court in Russia after authorities accused him of helping to organise public protests.

Mr Navalny was detained on his way to a protest in central Moscow  one of more than 100 organised across the country.

The demonstrations coincided with Russia Day, a national holiday, and triggered a fierce response from riot police who quickly swept in to make arrests.

Over 800 people were detained in Moscow, while in St Petersburg, about 500 were forced into police buses at a rally that drew up to 10,000 people.

Mr Navalny, who has vowed to stand in the 2018 Russian presidential election, possibly against Mr Putin if the incumbent decides to run for reelection, helped coordinate the demonstrations.

Some of the rallies were permitted by authorities and passed peacefully, but police cracked down brutally on others.

Mr Navalny's wife, Yulia, earlier said her husband was arrested at the entrance to his home in Moscow about half an hour before the demonstration was due to begin.

Mr Navalny was jailed in March after he organised massive anti-government protests across Russia.

 Anti-Putin protests: Russian police arrest hundreds as thousands rally against Kremlin corruption

Then, thousands of anti-corruption protesters took to the streets of Moscow and other cities demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

The political activist was sentenced to 15 days in prison after a court ruled he had disobeyed instructions from a police officer during the demonstration.

Mr Navalny is arguably Russias best known and most popular opposition leader, running on a campaign to clean up Russias political system and tackle corruption in politics and the courts, as well as huge disparities in wealth.

However, opinion polls suggest he would stand little chance of beating Mr Putin, who continues to enjoy favourable ratings.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Hundreds have been arrested as a swathe of protests against President Vladimir Putin take place across Russia.

Associated Press journalists witnessed at least 50 arrests in St Petersburg, Russias second-largest city, with Russian media reporting at least 300 arrests.

At least 200 protesters were detained by police near central Moscows Pushkin Square, Reuters reported.

Several teenage girls were arrested in St Petersburg, and authorities removed a large yellow inflatable duck, images on social media showed.

The leading critic of Mr Putin, Alexei Navalny, was detained by authorities in the capital half an hour before the demonstration was due to begin.

Police later confirmed the arrest, saying he could get up to 15 days in jail on charges of failing to follow police orders and violating public order.

Thousands of Russians are protesting against corruption, part of Mr Navalnys long-shot drive to unseat Mr Putin next year, by harnessing anger over what he calls official fraud.

Posters reading 'Corruption steals the future' and 'Miserable cowardly thief' during the unauthorised opposition rally (MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP/Getty Images) (Getty)

Moscow police blocked part of the street with trucks in a bid to block the movement of protesters, warning: Any provocative actions from the protesters side will be considered a threat to public order and will be immediately suppressed.

The protesters, some carrying Russian flags, were chanting loudly as Moscow riot police stood watch.

A regional security official, Vladimir Chernikov, told Ekho Moskvy radio that police would not interfere with demonstrators on the street  as long as they did not carry placards or shout slogans.

The anti-corruption protest was organised by opposition leader Alexei Navalny (REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov)

The prosecutor's office authorised a venue well away from the city centre, but Mr Navalny said the authorities had pressured firms into refusing to supply him and his allies with sound and video equipment, a move he said was designed to humiliate them.

For that reason, he said he was switching the venue to Tverskaya Street, central Moscows main avenue near the Kremlin.

Tverskaya, known in Soviet times as Gorky Street, was closed off to traffic for commemoration of the national holiday Russia Day, which includes people dressed in historical Russian costumes.

More than 1,000 protesters were arrested at a similar rally on 26 March.

Russian media reports at least three hundred arrests were made

Those protests took place in scores of cities across the country, the largest show of discontent in years and a challenge to Mr Putins dominance of the country.

The Kremlin has long sought to cast the opposition as a phenomenon of a privileged, Westernised urban elite out of touch with people in Russia's far-flung regions.

But the latest protests could demonstrate that it has more significant support throughout the vast country.

Mr Navalnys website reported protests were held in more than six cities in the Far East, including the major Pacific ports of Vladivostok and Khabarovsk, and in Siberias Barnaul.

Eleven demonstrators were arrested in Vladivostok, according to OVD-Info, a website that monitors political repressions.

Opposition figure Navalny was attacked in April and suffered severe eye damage (Evgeny Feldman/Pool Photo via AP)

Mr Navalny has become the most prominent figure in an opposition that has been troubled by factional disputes. He focuses on corruption issues and has attracted a wide following through savvy use of internet video.

His report on alleged corruption connected to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was the focus of the March protests.

Mr Navalny has announced his candidacy for the presidential election in 2018.

He was jailed for 15 days after the March protests. In April, he suffered damage to one eye after an attacker doused his face with a green antiseptic liquid.

Additional reporting by agencies
Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Brexit negotiations could be delayed for a year as the European Union will draft a new mandate for chief negotiator Michel Barnier if Theresa May insists on discussing a new trade relationship at the same time as Britain's divorce bill.

Senior sources for the 27 nation bloc have said they may put the talks, which are due to commence on 19 June, on hold, while they restructure their plans.

They had been planning to resolve the divorce bill, discuss citizens rights and resolve the issue about the border with Ireland before discussing trade.

If they dont accept the phased negotiations then we will take a year to draw up a new set of negotiating guidelines for Barnier, one senior EU diplomat told The Guardian.

 George Osborne calls Theresa May a 'dead woman walking' two days after election

The revelation comes after European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker urged Britain to strike a deal with their European counterparts.

Shortly after it emerged that Theresa May's Conservative Party had lost their parliamentary majority in the general election, he tweeted: We dont know when Brexit talks start. We know when they must end. Do your best to avoid a no deal as result of no negotiations.

However, it has subsequently emerged that the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) sent a note to the European commission on Friday evening to signal that pre-negotiation talks about logistics should begin this week.

The prime minister has directed that the procedures for preparing the negotiations for the formal withdrawal from the European Union should start as soon as possible, said Olly Robbins, Ms Mays EU adviser.

However, one senior Cabinet source told Sky News that Ms May needs to discard her ideologically driven approach in favour of  practical pragmatism.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 5 November 2022 Demonstrators with placards calling for a General Election march near the Houses of Parliament AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 4 November 2022 A peacock is seen in the early winter sunshine in the Dutch Gardens in Holland Park AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 3 November 2022 A villager cooks roti bread at the site of the annual Camel Fair in Pushkar, in India's desert state of Rajasthan AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images

However, Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon has insisted the governments view on Brexit negotiations has not changed.

We want a successful Brexit that is a new partnership with Europe that is careful about the trade we already do with Europe that comes to some agreement on the immigration we can accept from Europe and that enables us to continue to pursue new markets elsewhere,  he told the BBC's Andrew Marr show.

Our view of Brexit has not changed.We want an agreement that maximises our access to the single market, comes to an arrangement on immigration, continues the security operation we already have with Europe  a successful Brexit  an agreement that is in the interests of us, but also is in the interests of Europe."
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

The vice president of France's Front National (FN) has said the party was "disappointed" after it suffered a deep setback in the French elections.

The success Marine Le Pen achieved during the French presidential race failed to transfer to support for the far-right party in the parliamentary vote.

Ms Le Pen saw her share of the vote drop from 21 per cent in the presidential election, to between 13 and 14 per cent.

Meanwhile, newly-elected centrist President Emmanuel Macron won a landslide victory.

FN was on course to win between one and 10 seats in the National assembly in the 18 June run-off. It had hoped to win as many as 15 seats.

Fewer than half of all registered voters cast a ballot on Sunday, unprecedented in France's post-war Fifth Republic. Pollsters pointed to voter fatigue, disillusion with politicians and projections that Macron would secure a commanding majority for the high abstention rate.

Ms Le Pen blamed the low voter-turnout for the result. The 48-year-old said: "This catastrophic abstention rate should raise the question of the voting rules which keep millions of our compatriots away from the polling stations."

Vice president of the party, Florian Philippot. said it had "maybe been disappointed by the score and we have paid the price, I think, for a low turnout".

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

Mr Macron said he would "restore the trust" of the French people amid the low turnout, the government's spokesman said on Monday. His party is still poised to win comfortably in the second round.

"It is a failure of this election," spokesman Christope Castaner, who is also minister for parliamentary relations, told France 2 television. "We have to take note, we have to restore trust."

Reuters contributed to this report
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Emmanuel Macron is on course for a landslide victory in France's parliamentary elections, but the worst turnout in modern history has put a damper on celebrations in Paris.

Despite being founded just over a year ago, the final count of the first round result showed Mr Macron's party La Republique En Marche! and their MoDem allies on 32.3 per cent of the vote, leaving rival parties crushed.

Their closest rivals, the traditional conservative Les Republicains party, took just 21.5 per cent.

Though almost every seat will go to a second-round run-off, the first round results suggest En Marche! and MoDem will end up with up to 445 seats in the 577 seat National Assembly, while Les Republicains could end up with fewer than 100.

 Macron reacts to Trump's Paris decision: 'Make our planet great again'

The win is expected to be one of the biggest ever in post-war France and will consolidate Mr Macrons position following his landmark presidential victory in May.

France is back, said Prime Minister Edouard Philippe last night. Voters sent a "message without ambiguity" that they want a parliament with a new face, Mr Philippe added.

But turnout at the poll was also the lowest the country has seen in modern times, with just 48.7 per cent of 47 million registered voters casting their ballot -- a nadir for modern France.

Earlier this year, 67.9 per cent of the French electorate voted in the presidential elections, as demonstrated by Statista.

(Statista/The Independent (Statista/The Independent)

And in 2012, turnout was almost 10 points higher, at 57.2 per cent.

Despite fielding a number of politically inexperienced candidates, the victory for Mr Macron is expected to be so large that opposition leaders fear he could rule unchallenged. They are urging voters to unite around the remaining non-En Marche! or MoDem candidates.

A final round of voting will be held in a weeks time, and a similar victory is expected for En Marche!.

The parliamentary support is much needed for the 39-year-old President, who aims to roll out a number of business friendly reforms to labour laws  which French socialists have strongly resisted in the past.

But the victory is expected to provide the President with a strong mandate.

Mr Macrons promises of reforms also went further than the economy. His campaign sold voters a vision of a cleaner politics after years of scandal.

We have to restore trust," said minister for parliamentary relations Christophe Castaner, as the victory became clear on Monday morning.

It is the government's responsibility, that of the President, that of the Prime Minister, to restore trust in the election process, he told France 2 Television.

We don't want a majority to have an easy time of it. We want a majority that will reform, he added.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, regarded as the most powerful politician in Europe, offered Mr Macron her congratulations on Monday.

My heartfelt congratulations to Emmanuel Macron [for] the great success of his party in the first election round, said Ms Merkel via Twitter. Strong vote for reforms."

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

Opposition leaders decried the low turnout, with the National Fronts Marine Le Pen calling it catastrophic. Her far-right party had 13.2 per cent of the vote, despite experiencing a wave of popularity over the last year.

Far left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon said the low turnout meant there is no majority in this country to support Mr Macron's reform agenda, which he says includes destructive labour rules and would reduce freedoms. His party, La France Insoumise (France Unbowed), was on just over 11 per cent.

The first secretary of the Socialist party, Jean-Christophe Cambadelis, said the record low participation is a sign of huge democratic fatigue. The party was on course for just 7.4 per cent.

Trade unions are now likely to be the main obstacle to Mr Macron imposing his pro-business reforms.

Additional reporting by Reuters
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

The leading Vladimir Putin critic Alexei Navalny has been detained by authorities on his way to a protest in Moscow, his wife has claimed, ahead of a day of anti-Kremlin protests across Russia.

Mr Navalny's wife Yulia said he was arrested at the entrance to his home in Moscow about half an hour before the demonstration was due to begin.

"Alexei was detained in the entrance hall of our building," she wrote on social media. "He asked me to tell you that the plans (for the protest) are unchanged."

A live internet feed run from the opposition leader's office went offline and his spokeswoman said electricity to the office was cut.

Reuters witnesses saw a police car leaving Mr Navalny's apartment compound at high speed, followed a few minutes later by a minibus carrying around 10 policemen.

Around 100 protesters were detained near central Moscow's Pushkin Square, witnesses told Reuters, as police uesd pepper spray.

Eleven demonstrators were also arrested in Vladivostok, according to OVD-Info, a website that monitors political repressions.

 Putin: It's "possible" that Russian hackers interfered with US election

Thousands are expected to protest against corruption, part of Mr Navalny's long-shot drive to unseat President Vladimir Putin next year by tapping into anger over what he says is official fraud.

There is a risk of violence as Mr Navalny's supporters descend on Moscow city centre for an unauthorised protest.

Around the venue for the planned protest, on Tverskaya Street in central Moscow, hundreds of riot police and military conscripts were waiting.

Mr Navalny's website reported that protests were held in more than half a dozen cities in the Far East, including the major Pacific ports of Vladivostok and Khabarovsk and in Siberia's Barnaul.

Photos on the website suggested turnouts of hundreds at the rallies.

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

Mr Navalny has announced his candidacy for the presidential election in 2018.

He was jailed for 15 days after the March protests. In April, he suffered damage to one eye after an attacker doused his face with a green antiseptic liquid.
ELKO  Flag View Intermediate School students celebrated the end of the school year with a hot dog barbecue cooked by employees of Cummins Inc.

Its a yearly thing weve done the last nine or 10 years, said Principal Bobby Steensen about the tradition that was organized by Communities in Schools.

Cummins donated $300 for the hot dogs and buns, said Steensen. Bonanza Produce contributed food and Western Nevada Supply and Blach Distributing provided water, added Maria Ruiz, site coordinator for CIS.

Regional Leader Ben Simpson said this was his first cookout in Elko, arriving in the area five months ago. He said he has participated in other school barbecues wherever he is located, including Las Vegas and Phoenix.

Its one of our goal tree objectives as a company to invest in our communities, said Simpson.

Branch Manager Terry Ash, General Manager Chuck Faul, Regional Vice President Wayne Lepine, Administrative Assistant Kellie Hantzsche, and Leader for Business and President Jacque Fourie also participated in the cookout.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Thousands of Russians are expected to protest against corruption, part of opposition leader Alexei Navalny's long-shot drive to unseat President Vladimir Putin next year by tapping into anger over what he says is official fraud.

There is a risk of violence as supporters of Mr Navalny are expected to descend on Moscow city centre for an unauthorised protest.

The prosecutor's office authorised a venue well away from the city centre, but Mr Navalny said the authorities had pressured firms into refusing to supply him and his allies with sound and video equipment to make themselves heard and seen, a move he said was designed to humiliate them.

For that reason he said he was switching the venue to Tverskaya Street, Moscow's main avenue near the Kremlin, meaning the protest will be illegal in the authorities' eyes and riot police could be ordered to move in to break it up.

Small protests have also been reported in cities in the Russian Far East, the BBC reports.

Today is Russia day, a public holiday, a factor that may boost turnout.

 Putin: It's "possible" that Russian hackers interfered with US election

The scale and geographical reach of the protests will give an indication as to whether Mr Navalny can build on the success of a similar protest in March, when thousands took to the streets to call for Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, a close ally of Mr Putin, to quit.

Those protests were the largest since a wave of anti-Kremlin demonstrations in 2012 and resulted in over 1,000 arrests, putting rare domestic pressure on Mr Putin, who is expected to run for and win re-election next year. Many of those who attended last time were young people, including some school children.

For now, polls suggest Mr Navalny, who was jailed for 15 days for disobeying a policeman at the last protest, has scant chance of unseating Mr Putin, who enjoys high ratings. It remains unclear too whether the Kremlin will let Mr Navalny run for the presidency.

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

But the 41-year-old lawyer turned political street campaigner hopes anger over corruption may boost his support.

A video he made accusing Mr Medvedev of owning a giant estate and of living far beyond his means has garnered over 22 million online views to date.

Mr Medvedev dismissed Mr Navalny's allegations as politically motivated "nonsense" and called the opposition politician a muck-raking charlatan.

One of Russia's richest businessmen, whom Mr Navalny accused of graft in the same video, won a defamation lawsuit against him last month. A court ordered the video to be redacted to remove the graft allegations.

Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny was attacked by an assailant wielding a green chemical and suffered severe damage to his eye (Evgeny Feldman/Pool Photo via AP)

Mr Navalny, who had a caustic green liquid thrown in his face in April, robbing him of some of his sight, said he expected demonstrations from Moscow to Murmansk.

"I want changes," wrote Navalny. "I want to live in a modern democratic state and I want our taxes to be converted into roads, schools and hospitals, not into yachts, palaces and vineyards.

Additional reporting by Reuters
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Benjamin Netanyahu has said there is a need to tighten Israels laws to prevent foreign governments from funding Israeli human rights organisations.

The Prime Minister said the current law requiring some non-profit groups to disclose the funding they receive from foreign governments was not strong enough, Haaretz reported.

Mr Netanyahu said he had managed to stop funding from the Norwegian government, an apparent reference to Norways decision to withdraw funds from a Palestinian womens organisation named after Dalal Mughrabi, who was part of the 1978 Coastal Road massacre that killed 38 civilians, including 13 children.

He said the move was part of Israels decisive foreign policy.

 Trump: Israelis and Palestinians are 'reaching for peace'

The current law, which requires Israeli organisations receiving a majority of their financial support from overseas governments to disclose their funding, mainly targets human rights groups.

There are only 27 Israeli organisations that receive more than half of their funding from foreign governments, according to the Justice Ministry.

Of those, 25 are human rights organisations.

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

It comes after Mr Netanyahu called for the dismantling of a UN agency that aids millions of refugees, which he accused of anti-Israeli incitement.

He accused the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) of perpetuating, rather than solving, the Palestinian refugee problem and said anti-Israeli incitement was rife in its institutions, which includes schools.

It is time UNRWA be dismantled and merged with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Mr Netanyahu said.

Ben Jamal, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said: There is only one reason that the UNRWA provides crucial humanitarian support to 5 million Palestinian refugees  the continuing illegal occupation of Palestinian land by the Israeli military and state and the denial of the right of return.

Netanyahus notion that the UNRWA perpetuates Palestines refugee problem suggests a break with reality. Netanyahus defence minister Avigdor Lieberman said that disloyal Palestinian citizens of Israel should be beheaded, and his justice minster Ayelet Shaked described Palestinian children as little snakes. Lets take his complaints about incitement with a pinch of salt.

UNRWA was established by the UN General Assembly in 1949 after hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were expelled from their homes in the 1948 war that followed Israels creation.

It says it currently aids five million registered Palestinian refugees in the Middle East.

Additional reporting by Reuters
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for the dismantling of the UN agency that aids millions of Palestinian refugees, accusing it of anti-Israeli incitement and saying he had conveyed his message to the US ambassador to the United Nations.

Adnan Abu Hasna, a Gaza-based spokesman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), said Netanyahu was pursuing a fantasy. The United States, Israel's main ally, was the biggest donor to UNRWA last year, pledging $368 million (289 million).

In public remarks to his cabinet at its weekly meeting, Netanyahu said UNRWA perpetuated, rather than solved, the Palestinian refugee problem and that anti-Israeli incitement was rife in its institutions, which includes schools.

It is time UNRWA be dismantled and merged with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Netanyahu said.

Referring to a meeting he held in Jerusalem on Wednesday with Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, Netanyahu said: I told her it was time the United Nations re-examine UNRWA's existence.

UNRWA was established by the UN General Assembly in 1949 after hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were expelled from their homes in the 1948 war that followed Israel's creation.

It says it currently aids five million registered Palestinian refugees in the Middle East.

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

Chris Gunness, UNRWA's chief spokesman, said in an email to Reuters that only the General Assembly, by a majority vote, could change the agency's mandate.

In December 2016, UNRWA's mandate was extended for three years by the General Assembly by a large majority, he added.

Netanyahu made his comments two days after UNRWA said it had discovered part of a tunnel running under two of its schools in a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.

UNRWA said it had protested to Hamas, the Islamist group that rules the enclave and which had used a network of cross-border tunnels to launch attacks inside Israel in a 2014 war. UNRWA condemned the tunnel as a violation of neutrality. Hamas denied it was responsible for building it.

Abu Hasna, speaking in Hebrew on Israel Radio, cautioned that if UNRWA is gone in the Gaza Strip, where its food, educational and health services are crucial, two million people will turn into IS (Islamic State) supporters.

Reuters
Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

A China-bound plane made an emergency landing back at Sydney after a gaping hole was ripped in an engine casing just after take-off.

The China Eastern Airbus A330 twin-jet was flying to Shanghai as flight MU736. It took off at 8.42pm on Sunday night, but almost at once the pilots reported a problem with the port engine.

The plane initially continued to climb and head north, but then turned south-west and then east to fly out over the Pacific. It landed safely after 42 minutes airborne.

An airline statement said the crew had observed the abnormal situation of the left engine and decided to return to Sydney airport immediately.

A passenger, Madeleine Frith, posted on Facebook: Flight just got diverted back to Sydney airport due to technical issues... Thankful for a safe landing!

She told 9NEWS told the I didnt realise, and no one behind the wing, realised how big the engine issue was. It looks like a pretty big dent.

It is not known where the debris fell to earth; there were no reports of debris at Sydney airport after a runway sweep.

Passengers were placed in hotel rooms overnight and took off just before noon on Monday, over 15 hours late.

The engine involved is a Rolls-Royce Trent 700.

Four weeks ago, an EgyptAir A330 with the same engines encountered a very similar problem while on the runway at Cairo. The pilots of the flight to Beijing aborted the take off and passengers were transferred to another plane.

In 2010, a Qantas Airbus A380 flying from London to Sydney suffered an uncontained engine failure on one of its Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines shortly after take-off from Singapore. The engine manufacturer paid 62m in compensation after the airline's fleet was temporarily grounded.
Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Britains biggest budget airline has dismissed reports that passengers on a heavily delayed flight from Malaga to Bristol were potentially asked to vote on whether to take off with only one engine working.

The Daily Mail reported that the easyJet captain asked for a vote over whether they would like to remain on the plane or get off and that he told them there was a high chance that only one engine would be working.

Flight EZY6058 from Malaga had originally been due to take off shortly before midnight on Thursday 8 June. But the flight was grounded and the passengers spent two nights in hotels in Malaga before reboarding the Airbus hoping to return to Bristol.

The pilots needed to try to use one engine to start the other, a standard procedure. According to easyJet, the captain asked the passengers if they would like to get off or remain on board whilst the engine start up sequence continued.

It appears that some passengers wrongly inferred that the aircraft might take off with only one engine working. While all twin-jets are designed be capable of taking off and flying with only one engine, no pilot would contemplate doing so.

An easyJet spokesperson said: At no point did the pilot ask passengers to take a vote on flying the aircraft. Nor would we ever attempt to fly the aircraft without both engines working correctly.

Recommended easyJet reveals the secret hand signals crew use to talk about you

Eventually a replacement aircraft was flown in, and deployed to operate the flight. It landed at 6pm on Saturday 10 June, 40 hours behind schedule.

Another planeload of easyJet passengers were heavily delayed at the weekend. Saturday afternoons flight from Ljubljana to Stansted made an emergency landing at Cologne after passengers reported a suspicious conversation. Three men were arrested but then released without charge. The flight arrived 19 hours late.
Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

A Ryanair passenger on a Brussels-Berlin flight was prevented from boarding the budget airline after launching into an angry tirade at a boarding-gate attendant.

The American man, said to be called Rudy Kendall, was irked after learning he had to pay 50 at the check-in desk to print his boarding pass, having not done it himself. The 'print or pay' policy has been in place at the low cost airline since 2011.

Mobile phone footage, which the passenger appears to have filmed himself, shows him becoming increasingly agitated after he is told of the cost for printing his boarding pass at the airport.

He demands that the attendant, working for Ryanair's handling agent Aviapartner, call her supervisor and when she does not respond he shouts: Im paying your salary, what kind of customer service is this? I'm a customer, lady. I'm asking your supervisor's name so I can speak with your supervisor because I'm unhappy with the way you're performing your job.

"You tell me I have to pay 50 for a flight I'm already checked in on."

Abusive behaviour will not be tolerated by the airline (Getty Images)

As the attendant gives a slight smile while picking up the phone  presumably to security  he says: "Is there something funny here? What's the joke? Is it your attitude?

"You have a bad attitude. You have no business working here and dealing with customers."

After berating her for more than three minutes at a packed boarding gate, a fellow passenger wades in to diffuse the situation and asks the man in the video to stop harassing the attendant.

He responds by calling the man fat and bald, telling him, "You're nothing man, you're nothing."

Witnessing the argument the attendant buries her head in her hands and starts to cry. As other passengers attempt to help, he tells them to mind their own business.

Recommended Former Ryanair cabin crew reveals most annoying things passengers do

The man, who is black, later claimed later he was a victim of "mob tendencies by Europeans against dark-skinned foreigners".

However, a witness named Philipp said racism did not play a part in the incident.

John Walton, deputy editor at Runway Girl Network, told the Independent that passengers sticking up for staff is unusual. He said: Weve seen recently that some passengers are sticking up for other passengers when they feel that airline staffers or local authorities arent treating them right. But its unusual for other passengers to feel like they need to stick up for airline staffers, though Im heartened that they did in this case, since the angry passenger is clearly abusive.

Unfortunately, staff working for Ryanair and airlines like it are at the sharp end of the consequences of airlines treating customers with contempt.

While theres no excuse for the way this passenger behaved, Ryanairs policies for charging to print boarding passes are excessive and punitive. Regular Ryanair flyers know how not to get stung, but if the airline wants to attract international passengers then it needs to consider its own policies role in the escalation of this situation.

A Ryanair spokesman said: "Our handling agent at Brussels Airport, Aviapartner, is looking into this matter. We will not tolerate unruly or disruptive behaviour at any time."

"Terms of travel are agreed to at the time of booking and all customers are sent three reminder emails and an SMS text message advising them of the need to check-in. Over 99.5% of customers check-in online and travel without issue.

"Customers who check-in online but fail to produce their boarding pass are subject to a 15 boarding card reissue fee. Customers who fail to check-in online are subject to a 50 airport check-in fee."

A spokesman for Aviapartner said: A passenger who had failed to check-in on-line (as required) became disruptive during the boarding of this flight from Brussels to Berlin and refused to pay the Airport Check-in Fee due, distracting the gate agent from her duties and disturbing other passengers.

"The flight departed on-time and the passenger in question did not travel. We at Aviapartner take the safety and wellbeing of our staff seriously and do not tolerate this type of behaviour and we are taking all the legal steps necessary to protect our valuable employees in regards to this matter."
Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Officials have announced that access to one of Croatias most beautiful  and Instagrammable  destinations will be tightly controlled from this summer.

From now on, visitors to the Skradinski buk waterfall in Dalmatia's Krka National Park will be limited to 10,000 at a time due to concerns over safety and damage to the landscape. The new rule has been enacted just before peak tourist season.

Recommended Eight places that hate tourists the most

Skradinski buk, which covers about 2,625 feet, has a large pool for swimming surrounded by three waterfalls. It has become a huge draw for tourists, especially during the warmer months.

When the waterfalls are at capacity visitors will asked to wait and directed to other areas of the park to explore.

The changes were announced last week by the director of Krka National Park, Kresimir Sakic, who explained the move was vital to protect the falls. While visitors wait to visit Skradinski buk, they will able to visit instructive hiking trails and viewpoints and will able to enjoy the sacred heritage of Krka, Sakic said.

Krka has had national park status since 1985 and Croatian authorities are tasked with protecting the 109 square kilometre area, which the Krka river flows through. As well as Skradinski buk, the park is home to six other waterfalls, caves and lush forests.

Croatian park officials seem to have heeded lessons from last year's disastrous season. Visitors to Plitvice National Park last summer caused huge damage when they veered off designated pathways at the UNESCO World Heritage site, apparently to capture better photos. As a result, Plitvice  Croatias oldest national park  is now at risk of losing its UNESCO status.

Around 3.5 million people visited Croatias national parks in 2016.
Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Imagine there was a turkey farm where they were not just being asked to vote for Christmas, but where the turkeys had organised themselves into various groups and each group had different ideas about whod do better out of Christmas than the other lot; and where they could actually try to move the date of Christmas; and where the rules about voting for or against Christmas were almost impossible to understand in any case.

Thats more or less where the UK is now: a dysfunctional version of the Bernard Matthews estate  stuffed.

The question When will the next election be? ought to be easy to answer. It is not. The answer should be not before 5 May 2022. Beyond that  in terms of the formal legal position  it is extremely difficult to be, in the buzzword of the moment, certain. It is likely to be before 5 May 2022.

In the old days an election could be called pretty much when the prime minister wanted to or, more rarely, a government lost a vote of confidence. Thats how we got Margaret Thatcher, for example. When the Labour government led by James Callaghan lost a vote of confidence on 28 March 1979, that was that. The election was on.

Now, partly because of some systematic abuse of the power by prime ministers engineering pre-election booms, we have the Fixed-term Parliaments Act. This was passed in 2011 by the Coalition Government at the insistence of the Liberal Democrats, and was supposed to weaken prime ministerial privileges by transferring the power to call an election to the House of Commons as a whole. Under this law, an early election (before 5 May 2022) can only be held if one (not both) of these conditions is met:

 General election 2017: Irish PM warns May about deal with the DUP

A) If a motion for an early general election is agreed either by at least two-thirds of the whole House (including vacant seats), ie 434 Members out of 650, or without division (ie so unanimous is the House that it can show its opinion with a deafening chorus of yes to the Speaker, so that a formal vote would be unnecessary, a nod to old fashioned conventions).

Or, B) If a motion of no confidence is passed and no alternative government is confirmed by the Commons within 14 days by means of a confidence motion.

When Theresa May made her dramatic announcement in the street outside Number 10 on 18 April, it was technically not legally binding, despite the sensation it caused, because it didnt follow the 2011 Acts procedures. That was, if you recall, why there was all that talk about whether Jeremy Corbyn would agree to it  because only with Labour votes could the Commons have the two-thirds majority required by law. (It would have been possible for her to propose no confidence in her own government, but that would have been too bizarre for her). Had Corbyn said no to an early election then May wouldnt have had her bid for a new mandate (if only shed known what was to follow).

But Corbyn had to agree to an election as the political damage of running away from one, and being seen as cowardly, would be too great. (Shrewdly, the SNP opted to abstain.) Ironically, some commented at that time that Corbyn should have refused to facilitate the 2017 election because it would have smashed the Labour Party for ever and made May invincible. That recent episode also persuaded some that the Fixed-term Parliaments Act was irrelevant; maybe thats true under a majority government  but it comes into its own viciously when theres a minority administration, as we are about to discover.

So now what would need to happen to trigger an early election?

The immediate option is for the Prime Minister to pull the rug on her own certain pact with the DUP at a time of her choosing  provided all of her MPs and all 10 DUP MPs vote solidly in a vote of no confidence in their own government (more irony, right there). Bizarre, but possible.

That would just be the first step, though. There would then be a period of two weeks in which Corbyn could seek to form a government of his own.

Say he managed to pull off a similar pact to Mays, but instead with the Liberal Democrats, the Green MP Caroline Lucas, the Scottish Nationalists and Plaid Cymru. There is also the possibility, merely theoretical of course, that the DUP could switch sides (but as they despise Corbyns past links to Sinn Fein, in this particular instance they almost certainly wont). Corbyn would even then not command a full majority, and the Conservatives might want to bring him down straight away with the vote of no confidence required within 14 days.

The other crucial factor in such a vote of confidence is how many MPs would abstain from voting. Corbyn would still need some votes from other parties to bridge the 60-seat gap between himself and the Tories (that is if the Tories did intend to vote against him). A Corbyn governments survival relies on the DUP abstaining, which it probably would not  but they could threaten it now, to maximise leverage over the Tories. That, in turn, might be unacceptable to the other parties and the mainland British voters.

The point here is that votes of no confidence have only to be a simple majority of the votes cast. Corbyn would only need 50 per cent plus one of the votes, not a fixed barrier of 50 per cent plus one of the number of MPs (unlike the two-thirds rule for an early dissolution). Even so, hed definitely need minority support if the Conservatives were against him.

Even if such events occurred, he might only be Prime Minister for a short time  the 2011 Act isnt clear on whether May would resign straight away. Still, the logic is that Corbyn would need to face the Commons as Prime Minister in order to debate the motion of confidence in Her Majestys government  because that would have to be the current government and could only be the one led by Corbyn, seeing as they'd already passed the motion about May. If he lost, he would be prime minister during the election campaign, because the Queens government must continue and there cannot be a vacancy. He would have to stop himself attacking the record of this government, because it is technically his own. The irony.

 Jeremy Corbyn says there may be another election later this year

Another scenario is that the DUP become disillusioned with May and opt out early, and then vote against her government in a vote of no confidence with every other opposition MP. That would bring her down, and usher in a Corbyn-led government, at least for the short period before it too faces a vote of no confidence (and assuming it loses, which it might not), within a fortnight. Again it probably rests on the DUP abstaining, which makes them kingmakers once again.

So, either way, after May lost her vote, Corbyn could conceivably form a completely go-it-alone minority administration and put forward measures that were timid enough to pass without a vote of no confidence being tabled, or he could brazen it out. This is what he and McDonnell are floating. In such a situation the power of the smaller parties becomes hugely magnified.

Given all that, the Labour and Conservative parties could decide to conspire, as last April, to pass a motion calling for an early poll, just to end the chaos. Theyd have to agree to forget the tussle about who gets to be prime minister going into the election and not bother with a series of votes of confidence. Unless they compromised on Tim Farron being acting prime minister for a fortnight; this is how odd it gets.

The difficult thing is that, if it is in the party political interest of one major party go for an election  because they have a commanding poll lead  then it is not necessarily in the interests of the other party, who would want to avoid it like hell (though Corbyn was game enough to go for it a few weeks ago). So the two-thirds rule couldnt work.

Nor, in the alternate case of a motion of no confidence, is it necessarily something the Lib Dems or, say, the SNP would welcome if they felt they would lose more ground by having an early poll. For the SNP, it might mean falling below half the Scottish seats in the Commons  a psychological barrier they clearly fear.

So all the way through the Brexit talks we could be left with permanent chaos.

Recommended Tories need to learn from Ruth Davidson if they want to stay in power

That, in a way, was the point and the design of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act. It was aimed at cementing the Lib Dems and the Conservatives in a tight coalition government for a full five-year programme, and to minimise the risk that one or other of them would peel off (or an internal faction pull the administration down). The whole idea was to make an early election so difficult to achieve it just wouldnt happen. You might think that the Fixed-term Parliaments Act was a mistake and a thing of its time, and the best thing would be to abolish it: but that would require a majority in the Commons, so could amount to much the same thing.

Yes, the Tories and the DUP could ask Parliament to abolish the Act now, but that would also mean breaching Section 7 of the Act, which requires the prime minister to make arrangements between June and November 2020 for a committee to carry out a review of the operation of the Act. Not binding on the following parliament, that, but something of a brake on a hasty abolition of the Act. The House of Lords (who didnt like it much in the first place) would also need to be agree, though it is surely primarily a Commons matter.

Abolition of the 2011 Act was in the Conservative manifesto this time round, but the DUP was silent on this issue. Whether it is subject to the Salisbury Convention that states a winning party manifesto cannot be blocked is debatable. No doubt someone would try and send it off to judicial review, ironically including to the European Court. You could argue, for example, that the effect of abolition at that moment would be to extend the life of a parliament, contrary to the Parliament Act (the 1911 not the 2011 one). It could get messy.

The other thing to remember is that, under the 2011 Act and previous conventions, a government can lose all manner of important votes  on the Budget, say, or Trident, or Brexit, or the Queens Speech  but still not be thrown out if it returns to the Commons and then wins a vote of no confidence (which, by the way, only counts if it is couched in the special wording in the 2011 Act  That this House has no confidence in Her Majestys Government. If this motion is carried, there is a 14 calendar day period in which to form a new Government, confirmed in office by a resolution as follows: That this House has confidence in Her Majestys Government. So if the Commons just wanted to blow off steam in a big protest they could pass a motion saying, for example, That this House has no confidence in the policies of Her Majestys Government or This House has no confidence in the Prime Minister, and nothing electoral need happen). In the 1990s, John Majors government lost loads of votes but he just kept going for a full five year term; it wasnt much fun for anyone

All of that is just the constitutional rules. Then theres the politics.

We now have an unworkable situation where the Conservatives unspoken but settled public policy is that May will not lead their party into the next general election, whenever it occurs. Therefore they need to organise a leadership election (or the coronation of a successor) in advance of that. Given that the party polls its MPs in exhaustive ballots and then reaches out to the membership across the country over months, that is not a rapid process. In the meantime, the opposition parties are in effect given notice that an election is coming (McDonnell even claims that Labour knew thered be an election early precisely because May ruled it out last November). In such circumstances party calculation and game-playing become amplified, and not necessarily will they deliver strong and stable administration.

To get a new Tory leader without a bloody battle requires an old one to quit, preferably quietly. Would May oblige? Would she insist on being a candidate once again (as Corbyn did in similar circumstances)? Its likely shed not resist, but then again she has a reputation for being bloody difficult.

It is a complete shambles and will be for the foreseeable future. It might also drag the Queen into controversy if we find, for example, that the only way of breaking the deadlock would be to revive the Royal Prerogative, explicitly ended in the 2011 Act. Or if she invited Corbyn to form a government when it was plain hed lose a subsequent vote of no confidence, because the wording of the Act is imperfect. Her courts might have to decide on Her decisions about Her government. That really would be a crisis. In any event, it would not be strong and stable governance of Her realm.

General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Show all 7 1 /7 General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nick Clegg Darren O'Brien General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Gavin Barwell Getty General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Angus Robertson General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nicola Blackwood PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Alex Salmond PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Rob Wilson Rex Features General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Ben Gummer PA

The only stable and certain thing we have to look forward to is that the instability and uncertainty will be permanent. The most terrifying thing is if there was another election and it gave us another hung parliament. This is quite possible, given that there are relatively few swing seats to fight over these days, a modern psephological accident.

The big factors that have moved elections in recent years  the collapse of the Lib Dems in 2015 (which gave David Cameron his majority); the rise and fall of the SNP which helped Cameron and then Corbyn in 2015 and 2017; and the rise in youth participation, which boosted Corbyn  must surely be subject to the law of diminishing returns. A boundary review might tilt things towards the Conservatives, but not for a while (until 2020 at the earliest). So the next election is likely to be tight and, if held in the next year or two, not so very different to the last one. Its also one which, given the economic crash that is on its way, especially with Brexit, no politician in their right mind should actually want to win: why not let the other lot get the blame? But the Fixed-term Parliaments Act doesnt say anything about that, either.

The conclusion? If countries get the politicians they deserve, you wonder what the British people have done to have this kind of karma visited upon them.
Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Its hardly worth putting this sentence into words, but here goes: Michael Gove is not the most popular British politician. After a disastrous stint as Education Secretary, followed by a botched and, quite frankly, absurd leadership bid; his reputation lay in tatters. And yet, after six months in the political wilderness  and as is all too often seen in the Old Boys Club of Westminster  privilege and ego have resulted in Murdochs protege (and Trumps latest admirer) being rewarded: yesterday, Michael Gove was made Secretary of State for Environment and Rural Affairs.

It is hard to think of many politicians as ill-equipped for the role as Gove. This is a man who voted for the fracking nightmare; for putting a tax created to discourage fossil fuels on clean, renewable energy; and against putting our climate targets in line with our international responsibilities. A man who wants to see the fox-hunting ban lifted; who supports the scientifically-illiterate, never mind cruel and callous, badger cull; and who, despite apparently being a shy Green, tried to wipe climate change from the national curriculum.

More recently, Gove has been a cheerleader for ditching EU environmental laws designed to protect many of our most precious and wildest places. Much of the UKs environment safeguards come from Brussels, and, with Brexit negotiations set to start imminently, Goves inclination to burn what he calls EU red tape is particularly concerning. He cant be trusted to ensure vital safeguards are transferred into UK law during the Brexit process.

 Theresa May to form new government with DUP support

The Prime Ministers decision to include Gove in her Cabinet is self-serving: drafting in a Brexiteer to defend the hard and dirty Brexit the public rejected last week. But it also demonstrated just how far down the political agenda the environment has fallen; that someone who has repeatedly shown such disregard for the environment is now in charge of the Government portfolio for it. Alone, this should be a cause of great concern for those of us who care about the environment. Placed in the bigger picture, it is truly frightening.

We have just emerged from a general election campaign that was almost environment-free. With bio-diversity in free-fall, the threat of an extreme Brexit, and accelerating climate change, it is sad that the environment has been conspicuous in the past seven weeks only by its absence. It received almost no mention in the leaders debates, and was glossed over in the manifestos. In the Conservative manifesto air pollution was mentioned just once, despite the fact that the current crisis facing our country is linked to 40,000 premature deaths a year.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 5 November 2022 Demonstrators with placards calling for a General Election march near the Houses of Parliament AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 4 November 2022 A peacock is seen in the early winter sunshine in the Dutch Gardens in Holland Park AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 3 November 2022 A villager cooks roti bread at the site of the annual Camel Fair in Pushkar, in India's desert state of Rajasthan AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images

The vote last week stripped away the Conservative Party strong and stable rhetoric to lay bare a party on its knees. As the results trickled in it quickly became apparent that if the environment was absent during the Conservative campaign, it would be in jeopardy under their Government. Theresa Mays plans to prop up her slender majority with the climate-change denying DUP places the party in a worrying position of authority. The DUPs past Environment Secretary, Sammy Wilson, has gone so far as to call the Paris Agreement window dressing for climate chancers.

In the US, meanwhile, Donald Trump has made clear his intention to push the environment to the back of the political queue by pulling the US out of the Paris Agreement. It is a sad reminder of the times we are living through that one man can take the most powerful nation in the world out of the single most important treaty that exists today.

Of course Goves appointment as Environment Secretary is the most recent threat to our environment  and that is why it is more important than ever to have a strong green voice in Parliament to defend it. The environment is the ultimate source of all we do, everything we make and use, and we must stand up for its future or we risk losing our own.

Caroline Lucas is co-leader of the Green Party and MP for Brighton Pavilion
Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

The important thing now, says Theresa May, is to enjoy a period of stability. This is always the tricky part after an election  to keep everything stable, and not let things get messy by taking any notice of the result.

Its probably for the best if the Tories who lost their seats carry on anyway, rather than have the newly elected ones moving in with all the fuss of rearranging plants. That makes things very unstable just as were off to talk to the Germans.

The Tories have been insistent on staying stable. And there can be no more stable way of running a country than calling a referendum to settle an issue, losing it, the leader of that country resigning, his schoolmate rival trying to take over but being usurped by his colleague who, in turn, is pushed out by another rival, who is adamant she wont have an election, so she calls an election as shes guaranteed to win a majority of 200  but then loses the majority altogether, so her own side start calling for her to resign as well. Thats the sort of stable, loving environment that social services insist on before placing foster kids from a care home.

As well as leaving Europe and holding a snap election, Theresa May suddenly announced just before the election she would ignore the Human Rights Act, having said previously it could not be ignored. She's not afraid to change her mind. There must have been a chance shed get to the polling booth and say "sod it, Im voting Labour".

 General Election 2017: The biggest shocks

But whatever the result, its also fair we respect the achievements of her party, as every politician loses an election at some point. But the genius of Conservative leaders is to keep losing elections they dont need to have.

Thats two in a year. If they cling on for a while longer, theyll try to defeat internal dissent by announcing a referendum on whether our official language should become Danish, then go "whoops, I dont know how we lost that". Then theyll hold another, on whether it should become compulsory to own an antelope; then, when the countrys full of antelopes, they'll decide the antelopes are a nuisance so call an election against them and lose 40 seats and have to go into coalition with the antelopes.

But this would still be better than allowing Labour to take over with its coalition of chaos. Tory coalitions are smooth and stable, comprising an alliance with militant Presbyterians who have a Creationist minister who insists the world is 4,000 years old and dinosaurs didnt exist; the sort of people you can rely on.

The stability weve come to admire from Theresa May was displayed for us at around three in the morning, as she waited to make her speech in Maidenhead. By now she knew her night had gone a little wayward, and she looked as if she was about to be presented with a box of orange chocolates for working 20 years at Debenhams.

There will, presumably, now be another vote for a new Tory leader. If its Amber Rudd, at the next election she can refuse to take part in the TV debate and send Theresa May in her place instead.

But maybe the Conservatives have an even bigger problem. Because, in another election, what can they say about Corbyn they havent already said? The newspapers will declare that Corbyn once supported Vikings and pillaged our towns. Corbyns beard made from specially murdered pandas. New footage shows Corbyn speaking on same platform as breast cancer.

In another election theyll have run out of these phrases, so it will say Corbyn is AWFUL on biscuits, DISGUSTING with tadpoles, SOFT on pilates, a FRIEND of wasps.

But none of the normal tactics worked. Because it might not help to scream: This madman wants to carry out Marxist nonsense such as renationalising railways, an extremist measure supported by only 95 per cent of the population. And hes promising to RAISE TAX for much loved figures such as bankers and Philip Green. The youth were dismissed, but several hundred came into towns on countless evenings to knock on doors, grime artists wrote songs for him, their enthusiasm fizzing across the country, barely spotted by most commentators and polling companies.

 Jeremy Corbyn: We are ready to serve this country

Yet the most important thing in moments like this is not to gloat. It would be wholly wrong, at this delicate juncture, to recall the thousands of Conservatives who wrote articles beginning Ha ha Jeremy Corbyn? We cant fail to win every seat in the world because the scruffy twat doesnt sing the national anthem and makes sandwiches for Hamas, so lets pay three pounds to become a Labour supporter and elect Jeremy Corbyn because then well get so many votes well be allowed to rule Argentina as well, and well be in power FOREVER.

And it would be impolite to giggle at the Labour MPs now saying, Its true I said Corbyn is a repellent earwig who could no more win an election than fly to Barbados on a marrow from his allotment, as hes a festering pustule of uselessness destined to get no votes whatsoever, especially in Battersea and Croydon Central. But I always liked him and fair play, he appears to have done slightly better than expected.

It's true that Corbyn cant seem to do all the normal politician stuff, so he even stumbled over his call for Theresa May to resign. Maybe thats why so many people are coming to adore him. And maybe that's why suddenly we appear to be living in a completely different country.
ELKO  Mining companies are looking to hire a few good women  and more.

In an industry that used superstition and laws to keep women from working mining claims in the 19th and 20th centuries, the tide has turned in the new millennium and women are now sought to work in nearly every aspect of todays multi-billion dollar corporations.

Companies are increasingly looking for women to fill jobs, said Nevada Mining Association President Dana Bennett  a huge contrast to what women endured when they found themselves in the West during minings heyday over a century ago.

While most know of the old, bearded prospector, some women began as a support system for miners providing cooking, cleaning and all that stuff that allows men to go out and do other activities, said Bennett, while others contributed in various ways, as hotel owners, mining financers and school organizers.

However, in some states, including Arizona, Colorado, Utah and Washington, women were legally banned to work in a mine, said Bennett, with some men considering it bad luck for a woman to even go underground, a prevailing thought even into the 1980s.

Slowly, progress was made, according to Bennett, with other countries such as South Africa and the Philippines relaxing the laws as late as 2001.

However, some women did not always follow legal and societal constraints, added Bennett.

Notably, Belle Butler, founder of the Mizpah Mine that put Tonopah on the map; and Maggie E. Smith Johnson, who operated a less sizeable mine near Cortez; and Rose OConnor, whose occupation as a miner was listed on her death certificate, were exceptions to the rule.

As the 20th century progressed, women began drilling their own path in mining through a different vein  education. The former Mackay School of Mines at the University of Nevada Reno graduated two women in 1937. Renamed the Mackay School of Earth Sciences & Engineering, the college now boasts a student body that is one-third female and currently the captain of the Mackay Muckers mining team is a woman, according to Bennett.

Women at Mackay have varied career options including geography, geological engineering, geophysics, hydrogeology, metallurgical engineering and mining engineering. However, there are women who are interested in the field and are willing to get their hands dirty.

Great Basin College in Elko has 15 female students earning degrees or certificates in diesel, welding, electrical and millwright vocations, said Career and Technical Education Administrative Assistant Christine Marshall.

Female students enter the technology programs for various reasons, said Marshall. Some feel at home in a shop thanks to brothers, fathers and grandfathers allowing them to work on an old truck or other mechanical projects. Others want the pay that comes with the work to make a living for them and their families.

The mines have been very supportive, and we currently have six females on scholarship with Barrick, Newmont and Round Mountain, said Marshall, yet some of her students still feel the need to prove themselves.

I find the female students are very dedicated to succeeding  maybe to show the boys she can do it, Marshall said.

I do think females have to work harder to be accepted into technical trades. One of the female electricians on internship said it took almost the entire school year to be trusted by her supervisor and co-workers to handle the job she was given. Now she is accepted as one of them, Marshall added.

I see an acceptance of women in the technical fields and an acceptance from society (and fellow students) that it is OK for them to be on this career path, Marshall said.

The shift into hands-on, technical work and away from clerical or administrative assistant jobs that women traditionally filled over the past century is very apparent, and almost as dramatic as the entrance, and acceptance, of women in leadership positions a few years after Nevada voted to give women the right to vote in 1914.

Entering the state legislature in the early 20th century, many women came from mining backgrounds or family connections and represented the industry as policymakers, explained Bennett.

Today, the mining industry has dramatically changed, taking notice of womens potential, added Bennett, noting that corporations see women as a benefit to their company in all areas of the industry, from haul truck drivers to geologists to corporate managers.

Yet, some were hesitant to take that first step, notably when a woman who worked as an office manager for the NvMA was asked to become the associations president in 1965. The woman declined it, saying that no woman will ever be the president of the Nevada Mining Association.

Almost 50 years later, Bennett was chosen in 2014 as the first woman president in the 104-history of the association.

Women are far less hesitant to forge their own path in the mining industry today, much of it due to the examples of first and second-generation mining families who planted the seeds of possibility in young minds, said Bennett.

For young teens exploring career options, they need to be introduced  to find out what they might like to do said Bennett.

Theres a lot to be said for seeing someone do a job and the possibilities are endless for the next generation of women entering the mining industry.
Four hundred jobs are to be created over the next five years by a financial services firm.

Northern Trust, an asset and wealth management fund set up in Chicago in 1889, is to expand its operations in Limerick.

The company has had a presence in Ireland since 1989, opened its Dublin office in 2000 and it now employs 1,000 people across its two sites in Limerick at Hamilton House and City East Plaza.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan met Northern Trust bosses in London last year.

"The access to markets, the skilled workforce and the quality of life in this region, I'm sure, are all positive influences in this decision," he said.

"In the wake of Brexit it's important that we continue to add jobs to the local economy and, having met with Northern Trust in London late last year, I'm grateful that they see Limerick as a key part of their future plans for their operations in Europe."

The expansion is supported by the Department of Jobs through IDA Ireland.
A former taoiseach has warned of the risk of clashes on the high seas in the wake of Brexit.

John Bruton, who previously served as the European Union's ambassador in Washington, said it is easy to imagine physical confrontations over fishing rights in the seas around Britain and Ireland.

And he urged Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionists to get the Customs Union and jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice onto the Brexit negotiating agenda.

Mr Bruton said fishing rights are a highly emotional and symbolic issue.

"Fish do not respect territorial waters. While fishing boats can, in theory, be restricted to territorial waters, fish cannot," he said.

"Overfishing in one jurisdiction affects the livelihood of fishermen in another. Conservation is vital. Who will adjudicate on this, 10 years from now? Will there be quotas? Who will allocate them?

"In the absence of agreement, one can easily envisage clashes, even physical clashes, in seas around us."

Mr Bruton issued the warning as he delivered the Grattan Lecture in the Irish Embassy in London.

He called on the DUP - on course to prop up Theresa May as the UK's Prime Minister - to use their influence to reopen questions relating to customs and human rights.

"I hope that these are thoroughly looked at again, in an open-minded way, in the inter-party negotiations and the options properly debated. That debate did not take place in the general election campaign at all," Mr Bruton said.

The DUP are said to favour a soft Brexit with no physical border controls on the island of Ireland in order to maintain the virtually seamless trade with the Republic of Ireland.

But the unionists also do not want to see UK customs, immigration or border controls set up outside Northern Ireland, for instance in the ports and airports in Britain.

Elsewhere, Mr Bruton warned about experienced civil servants being diverted from their work to focus on Brexit negotiations.

"It will, I regret to say, involve the diversion of top level official talent, in 28 capital cities, away from anticipating the challenges of the future, and instead towards reopening agreements made over the past 44 years," he said.

"Our most talented civil servants will be taken up with digging up the past, rather building the future. It is a tragedy.

"The Brexit process will not be like a member leaving a club of which he or she no longer wishes to be a member, which is an easy enough process, once the bar bill has been settled.

"It will be much more like a divorce between a couple, who have lived together for years, have several small dependent children, a mortgage, and a small business they had been running together.

"Not only have past bills to be settled, but future liabilities have to be anticipated, decisions made about the running of the business, and rights and responsibilities in respect of the children agreed."

Mr Bruton also highlighted the issue of European powers sharing information on terrorism in a post-Brexit world.

He said access to intelligence currently passed between EU nations may not be automatic, particularly if the UK rejects the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice on disputes about what is shared.

Mr Bruton also said the DUP and Sinn Fein have revived the issue of territorial sovereignty.

And with weeks of power sharing talks looming at Stormont, he added: "In the past, Prime Ministers and retired statespersons could fly into Belfast, to provide cover for a new compromise between the parties that allowed them to get back to work.

"As Brexit will absorb so much of everyone's time in coming years, the scope for this sort of high-profile counselling will be less. Reality therapy may be needed."
Two farmers from Fermanagh have been fined at Omagh Magistrates' Court in connection to a fishkill in which over 190 fish were found dead.

Francis White from Magheralough Road, Trillick pleaded guilty to making a polluting discharge to a waterway and was fined 750 (852) and ordered to pay fish costs of 885.60 (1,005).

In a separate case connected to the same fishkill incident, Brendan McBride of Gargadis Road, Trillick also pleaded guilty and was fined 750 (852) and ordered to pay fish costs of 354 (402) for making a polluting discharge to a water way.

On 3 July 2015, Water Quality Inspectors (WQIs) acting on behalf of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) inspected a tributary of the Ballinmallard River and observed a discharge of strong smelling effluent entering the waterway via concrete pipework.

The waterway appeared clean and clear of any pollution above this discharge. The discharge was traced to farm premises owned by Mr White.

The WQIs also traced a discharge to farm premises owned by Mr McBride. Investigation revealed silage effluent escaping through a hole in PVC piping used to take silage effluent to a holding tank

Upon further investigation, 189 native brown trout were noted dead in the main Ballinmallard River down to below Ballinapaste Bridge, along with a number of dead stoneloach, minnows and crayfish.

Samples taken at the time of the incident confirmed that the discharges contained poisonous, noxious or polluting matter which was potentially harmful to fish life in the receiving waterway.
Both farmers and dog owners must be clear on their rights.

A farmer in Donegal is appealing for information in relation to a dog attack on his sheep on an island of the Donegal coast.

Sheep farmer Paddy Boyle says the sheep were attacked around 11am on Wednesday 8 on Ballyboyle Island, which is located very close Donegal town.
Just eight months after advertising for what Ryanair described as the worst job in Ireland, the airline is again on the hunt for a new personal assistant to its outspoken boss, billionaire Michael OLeary

But this time around, the job description has been completely toned down and stripped of any colourful references to bolloxology.

When the post was advertised last November, Ryanair said that it wanted candidates with an aversion to bolloxology, a thick skin, saint-like patience and the ability to operate without sleep or contact with the outside world.

Dubs fans, Man U supporters and cyclists will not only be automatically excluded from the process, but will be tracked down, tortured and shot, it previously said.

However, the latest role with Mr OLeary is understood to be more of a secretarial position than the previously advertised post. Its believed that the personal assistant job advertised last year was filled and that the newly-advertised job will mean a second PA being appointed to the airline chief.

This time around, the advertisement for the post is far more boring.

The airline said its seeking someone with a friendly, open, approachable personality, who is a fast thinker with a positive attitude.

The ability to read and interpret general business-related documents, including proposals, is also essential, it says.

And it appears the successful candidate might also have to delicately handle Ryanairs halls of power, or maybe even be able to tell Mr OLearys wife why hes going to be late home again.

The job, the advert says, requires self-direction, tact, diplomacy and a clear, courteous and professional manner when dealing with clients, managers and co-workers.

The person who gets the countrys worst job will also be screening incoming calls, email and correspondence, take minutes, and arrange detailed travel plans and itineries.

And another task for the billionaires personal assistant? Submitting his expense receipts for reimbursement.
LAS VEGAS (AP)  A federal appeals court says police in Nevada violated a Hawaii mans constitutional rights, and the government cant keep $167,000 in cash found in his motor home on Interstate 80 in 2013.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled Monday that a pair of traffic stops by a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper and an Elko County sheriffs deputy with a drug-sniffing dog amounted to an effort to get around Straughn Gormans right to be free from unreasonable searches.

Gormans lawyer, Vincent Savarese, noted the appeals court characterized the one-after-another stops as impermissible gamesmanship by officers buying time to get a drug-sniffing dog to search the vehicle.

According to earlier reports, Gorman was first stopped by a trooper just outside of Wells for driving too slowly in the left lane. The trooper requested a drug-sniffing canine but none was available.

After questioning the driver about his personal income and travel plans, the trooper let him go. Then the NHP contacted Elko County law enforcement, and a deputy pulled Gorman over near Elko.

The dog reportedly alerted to something in the rear of the vehicle, but when deputies searched it they found cash, not drugs.

Gorman was not charged with a crime, but federal prosecutors sought to keep the money.
The price of holidays to European hotspots has shot up so much that it can now cost almost as much to visit Spain or Portugal this summer as it does to travel to some far-flung destinations, such as Thailand and the Caribbean. Recent terror attacks have pushed Egypt and Tunisia off the holiday brochures and demand for holidays in the Canary Islands and Algarve has shot up as a result - along with their prices.

This means that holidays to certain long-haul destinations are only costing a couple of hundred euro more than holidays to popular parts of Spain or Portugal and may even be slightly cheaper - particularly if you have left it until the last minute to book. Luxury holidays to some long-haul destinations can even cost the same as one in Europe.

"If you're only booking your summer holiday now, you could get a holiday to the likes of Thailand or the Dominican Republic for only a couple of hundred euro more than the price of Spain or Portugal," said Eoghan Corry, editor of the travel publication, Travel Extra.

Earlier this month for example, Sunway quoted 1,698 for a couple staying in a four-star hotel (including breakfast) in Gran Canaria in late August. A week in a three-star hotel (including buffet breakfast) in the Thai island of Phuket in mid-August was available from the travel agent for 1,938 per couple - 240 more than the price of the holiday in Gran Canaria.

Trailfinders quoted 2,198 for 10 days in Thailand in late August - for a couple staying in four-star hotels (including breakfast).

"Long-haul holidays may be better value this summer," said Sarah Slattery, founder of the travel website, thetravelexpert.ie. "If you don't mind the heat, there's great value on trips to the Middle East." Earlier this month, Trailfinders quoted 1,998 for a couple staying for a week in a five-star hotel (including breakfast) in Abu Dhabi in late August - 300 more than Sunway's four-star holiday in Gran Canaria.

Choice of flights

"This will be the year that long haul comes within the reach of families - because of the sheer number of flights," said Corry.

There has been a big increase in the number of long-haul flights out of Ireland in recent years.

Since last summer, it has been possible to fly direct from Dublin to Mexico and Jamaica (on charter flights operated by Falcon Holidays and Thomson), and direct from Dublin to Vancouver (with Air Canada Rouge).

In 2014, Aer Lingus launched its first flight to Toronto and resumed flights from Dublin to San Francisco. Aer Lingus also resumed direct flights from Dublin to Los Angeles last summer and launched one-way flights from Dublin to Hartford in Connecticut last September.

Delta Air Lines launched a new Dublin to Boston flight - which runs daily over the summer - last month. The Icelandic airline, Wow Air, started year-round flights from Cork to Reykjavik last month too. Wow also flies from Cork via Reykjavik to 10 destinations across North America, including Chicago, Montreal and San Francisco.

Ethiopian Airlines has been flying from Dublin to Los Angeles, and Dublin to Addis Ababa for about two years. Emirates has been flying from Dublin to Dubai since 2012 while Etihad Airways has been doing so for 10 years.

New flights are also in the pipeline. Qatar Airways will begin daily flights from Dublin to the Qatari capital Doha tomorrow. Norwegian Air International will begin a number of new flights from Irish airports to the US east coast in July, including Providence, Rhode Island from Dublin, Cork and Shannon. Aer Lingus will launch direct flights from Dublin to Miami in September.

"With all the extra direct flights from Ireland to North America, other airlines -such as British Airways - are responding by offering discounts on flights out of Britain," said Corry. "They're trying to entice Irish customers away from Aer Lingus and other airlines offering direct flights out of Ireland."

Finding a deal

To find some of the best long-haul deals, consider flying on a route just launched by an airline, advised Corry.

Qatar Airways, for example, is due to launch flights from Doha to Chiang Mai in Thailand this October. This, combined with its flight from Dublin to Doha, could be a good deal for Irish people seeking to fly to Thailand this autumn, according to Corry.

Stopping over in a location where some people are reluctant to travel to could also save you money - but be sure you're not taking too much of a risk in doing so.

For example, should you wish to holiday in Thailand, Turkish Airlines could work out as one of the cheaper airlines to fly with, according to Corry. It flies direct from Dublin to Istanbul - and direct from Istanbul to Bangkok and Phuket. "People are reluctant to go through Istanbul [due to the threat of terror attacks] and the only weapon which the airline has to fight that reluctance is price," said Corry.

Going through a travel agent - rather than directly with an airline - could save you money on long haul. "You'd nearly get a package of flights and accommodation from a travel agent for the same price as you'd pay for a flight if you go direct to an airline," said Slattery, who advised holiday hunters to check offers from Sunway, Tropical Sky, clickandgo.ie, Teletext Holidays, loveholidays.ie, and Alpharooms.

It's also worth checking thetravelexpert.ie every Tuesday for details of the latest travel deals.

Although you are likely to struggle to get a good holiday deal for June and July at this stage, you could still get a good price if you travel in August - particularly late August. "Most long- haul airlines drop their prices around August 23," said Jonathan Bridge, a spokesman for the travel agents, Trailfinders.

On the ground costs

Before choosing a long-haul destination, keep on-the-ground costs in mind - some countries will be very cheap to holiday in while others will be very expensive. "South Africa is very reasonable," said Slattery. "Thailand is very cheap. The cost of living is quite high in America so on-the-ground costs can be high. Iceland is expensive."

One of the inconveniences of long-haul travel is that you will be outside the eurozone - so you will need to buy some of the local currency of the country you're travelling to. Avoiding countries where your euro has weakened in value against the local currency can make your holiday easier on your pocket. The more of the local currency that your euro can buy, the better - though as holidays are typically booked in advance, it can be hard to guard against swings in foreign exchange.

Buy some of the local currency in your bank in advance of travel -otherwise, you could be hit with higher foreign exchange charges abroad.

There are certain currencies which you will struggle to order in advance of travel, particularly if you are travelling off the beaten track. Most Irish banks do not sell Argentine, Chilean and Colombian pesos; Icelandic kronas; Indonesian rupiahs; Venezuelan bolivars; Brazilian reals; Afghanistan Afghanis; Egyptian pounds; Tunisian dinars; Zimbabwe dollars; and Russian rubles. Only Ulster Bank said that it sold some of these currencies: the Chilean and Colombian pesos; Indonesian rupiahs; and Brazilian reals.

Once you arrive in your destination, you can typically buy more of the local currency in a bank or hotel there - or use your bank or credit card to withdraw money. Get up to speed on - and do your best to limit - the charges you will face for using your card abroad though.

In certain countries, you may have little choice but to change your money on the black market because there are either no banks nearby - or the poor exchange rate offered by the banks could see you quickly running out of money. This is particularly true of Venezuela.

"ATMs are available in cities and larger towns in South America, and they're almost always the most economical, reliable and convenient way of getting cash," said MaSovaida Morgan, destination editor for South America with the travel guidebooks, Lonely Planet. "Venezuela is the exception, as ATM and credit card transactions cost twice as much as exchanging cash on the black market. Venezuela is the only country where it's essential to use the black market in order to be able to afford travel there. Unfortunately even paying for a bus or taxi in Venezuela without black market rates is prohibitively expensive. Outside of Venezuela, the only time that a traveller may have to use the black market in South America is when crossing remote and isolated borders where a regulated, official exchange facility isn't nearby."

Before changing any money on the black market in Venezuela or anywhere else, do your research so that you know the value of currency being exchanged, advised Morgan. "Be vigilant of scammers or counterfeit bills," said Morgan. "Be aware that if you are exchanging money this way, you will have no back-up from local police and do so at your own risk."

Allow plenty of time to change money as it is often hard to find a bank in remote areas. Being organised with your finances is just as important on holiday as it is at home.
The giant we once knew as Fiat is at the centre of this challenge. But the company is no longer the fabled mainstay of Turin.

The phrase convulsive change underestimates the events that have taken place in the world of business over the past decade.

The global crash saw impregnable commercial fortresses tumble and fall at a bewildering pace. Many of us were often so busy looking after personal and parochial business that we need reminding that the business/economic world suddenly became a different place; even the names changed.

The state of the world motor industry is a classic case in point. The biggest and best needed the billion dollar bailing bucket to give them any chance of survival and legendary players have surrendered any chance of a return to their 'old' normality. On top of this, the industry faces unprecedented technology challenges - including electric cars.

The giant we once knew as Fiat is at the centre of this challenge. But the company is no longer the fabled mainstay of Turin. Today it is the globally focused owner of the once proud Chrysler group and is now called FCA. It is incorporated, for tax purposes, in the Netherlands, has its HQ in London and enjoys a market value of 15bn.

The metamorphosis at Fiat happened eight years ago when Chrysler was rescued by Barack Obama's government and the Italian group agreed to acquire it in a complicated deal.

The accepted view is that the deal helps both companies. Fiat was handed access to the US car market and Chrysler was in a position to benefit from the Italian firm's small, fuel-efficient vehicles. Both opportunities, their sharing of technology and components and the consequent cost reductions, were needed to compete with the bigger global players.

Naturally, not everyone saw the deal as positive. The powerful Italian trade unions muttered about the future and needed assurance about Italian jobs. Some US commentators worried that the task of combining two smallish debt-laden (24bn) car companies from two separate continents into a single global entity can be achieved.

Some analysts also worried that new product development, which is very expensive, would require another car producer to share the cost. A Chinese car concern has been mentioned. US President Donald Trump may yet be tweeting about this too.

A major benefit for Fiat is that the Chrysler name is identified by most Americans. Founded by Walter Chrysler in 1925, over the years the company has been no stranger to near-death experiences. It traded as the Chrysler Corporation up to 1998 but in market and financial terms it always trailed GM and Ford. It had an unsuccessful tie-up with Daimler Benz for almost a decade ending in the early 2000s. Today, as an integral part of FCA, it has 36 manufacturing facilities - 23 in the US, six in Canada, seven in Mexico - with brands like Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep and RAM Trucks.

Fiat, founded 118 years ago, has always been the quintessential Italian multinational with a finger in everything mechanical. But it recognised the need to refocus in the late 1990s and offloaded its rail, military equipment, toll roads, office equipment and insurance business. Later it floated its construction equipment, Iveco Trucks and its marine business on the Milan Stock Exchange. It also brought the icon of Italian style, Ferrari, to the market. Today, the slim-down Fiat as part of FCA produces and sells Fiat, Maserati, Abart, Alfa Romeo and commercial vehicles Ducato, Doblo and Scudo, but it plans to phase out the Lancia brand.

I find it hard to make a firm and fast judgment of the investment potential of motor stocks these days. The FCA stock has value and today, at 9.60 a share, is almost double that of a year ago. There is no doubt that it has capable leadership in the CEO Sergio Marchionne but the group's debt and the threats coming down the line from the Silicon Valley giants Tesla and Google are of concern. But then Fiat and the fabled Italian business family the Agnellis, which own a lot of shares, are survivors.

Nothing in this section should be taken as a recommendation, either explicit or implicit to buy any of the shares mentioned.
You don't see this on every flight.

Former President of America Jimmy Carter has been filmed shaking hands and chatting to every onbe of his co-passengers on a recent flight to Washington.

It seems the Democrat, who served as President from 1977 to 1981, has made a habit of meeting and greeting fellow fliers, but has only recently went viral for his friendly hobby.

Passenger James Parker Sheffield was on the Delta flight from Atlanta to Washington and captured the kind gesture on camera.

"It's hard to put into words what a nice reprieve from the current political theater this moment was," he told Atlanta's WSB-TV.

"His enthusiasm was authentic and humble, in a way that made things feel less heavy for a moment."

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

Twitter user Ginger Sanders was also on the flight and said: "The plane erupted it with Applause and tears it was awesome".
The 1975 play Malahide Castle this Saturday and we can probably expect some political musings from frontman Matt Healy.

During his set at the Parklife festival in Manchester this weekend he criticised UK Prime Minister Theresa May and her plans to form a coalition with the Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party.

"Theresa May needs to resign," he said. "She needs to stop squatting in Number 10 with a coalition that sounds like an STI."

"I don't want DUP."

The Manchester band have paid tribute to the victims of the Manchester terror attack at their recent gigs and Parklife was no different.

However, Healy said they wanted to do a "moment of noise" rather than a "moment of silence".

"I think we've all spent a lot of time mourning since what happened - but this is a music festival and we've had our silence," he said.

"We didn't want to do a moment of silence, we wanted to do a moment of noise."

The band will be supported by Irish band The Blizzards at the Malahide Castle gig, and frontman Bressie revealed that he will put the Manchester attacks to the back of his mind.

"Hand on my heart its not on my mind at all and thats probably a personal thing," he tells Independent.ie. "I cant let that stuff be on my mind playing gigs.

"I keep thinking back to the people [at Ariana Grande's Manchester gig] and how music is escapism. Everybody goes to a gig as an escape, to get away from the world, and it was very sad to see what happened. The world is quite chaotic and people were coming somewhere to get away from that.

"For me personally just the way I am I have to put that in the back of my head with gigging. Since what happened [at the Bataclan] in Paris its frightening but if you let that overly submerge you you wont leave the house and thats essentially what terrorism is. Thats where its most effective, making people terrified.

Video of the Day

"You cant live like that. I do what I do every day and everybody is the same. You cant stop doing what you do."
Back in the day, the Followill brothers - Caleb, Nathan and Jared - would journey through the dusty, hot South with their preacher papa Ivan Leon Followill, as he spread the Word, healed the unholy and watched them speaking in tongues. The Word never faltered. The Chrysler that transported the Followills all over the Bible Belt was not so reliable...

"It would backfire," Nathan recalled of their godless vehicle, "and we were so embarrassed that when we'd pull into a church, we'd have to kill the engine and coast into the parking lot."

Their father, a preacher at the United Pentecostal Church, could also "backfire the car on command", not least, added Nathan, when they were driving past a building site.

"The guys would literally drop to the ground. I don't know how my dad did it. He was a man of God. He was gifted."

By the summer of 2008, the gifted Followill brothers' transport had been upgraded considerably after they had formed a band, Kings of Leon, with cousin Matthew Followill (Caleb on vocals, Nathan on drums, Jared on bass, and Matthew on guitar). The southern quartet were travelling in their sleek tour bus en route to headline the opening night of Glastonbury. Caleb announced to no one in particular: "I'm definitely nervous." "Don't you worry, baby - Mama's here," Caleb's mother, Betty-Ann Murphy, piped up to soothe her sons.

"Just remember, there may be bands that are louder or bigger than you, but no one's as good looking as you boys or plays as well as you boys do." Caleb reportedly slunk deep down into his seat with mortification spreading across his face, in the direction of his brothers: "Uh, thanks, Mom."

The Followills and their band have been on a magical if sometimes turbulent journey since that successful headline slot at Glasto almost nine years ago. Their 2008 album Only By The Night - with global smash Sex On Fire as its centrepiece - sold six million copies. They became huge internationally; problems emerged within the band fuelled by drink, drugs and egos...

On July 29, 2011, Caleb told the crowd at a big Dallas show: "I'm gonna go backstage for a second. I'm gonna vomit, I'm gonna drink a beer and I'm gonna come back out here and I'm gonna play three more songs." He never returned. Jared referred to the incident when he tweeted, "There are problems in our band bigger than not drinking enough Gatorade."

In 2013 Kings of Leon (named after their father and grandfather) released their sixth album, Mechanical Bull. It was, in a word, average.

They didn't split up but they took a break and came back with their first album in three years, the excellent Walls.

It was a painful journey that began for the Followill brothers in a very real sense in 1997, when their father suddenly resigned from the United Pentecostal Church and divorced his wife Betty-Ann.

"Our parents' divorce shattered the whole mirage of this perfect little existence the outside world couldn't touch and couldn't pollute," Nathan, the oldest Followill brother, said later.

Video of the Day

"We realised that our dad, the greatest man we ever knew, in our eyes, was only human. And so are we... this whole new world was open to us."

In a 2011 documentary about the band, Talihina Sky: The Story of Kings of Leon, Jared said: "I always felt like we were the Christians and everybody else were sinners." Southern dis-comfort.

Kings of Leon (with very special guests Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats) play the 3Arena in Dublin on Ju1y 1, 2 and 4. Ticketmaster.ie
US television series Damnation, which stars Killian Scott in the lead role, has been picked up by Netflix to run outside the US.

The Dublin actor plays Seth Davenport, a man posing as a small town Iowa preacher in 1930s America who is hoping to kick off an insurrection against the status quo.

However, he's unaware that an industrialist tycoon has hired a professional strikebreaker named Creely Turner (Logan Marshall-Green) to stop the uprising.

The men share a secret bloody past that nobody else knows about.

Expand Close Damnation / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Damnation

The USA Network series, which is expected to air in October, is written by Tony Tost and the pilot was directed and produced by David MacKenzie.

It's great news for Scott who became a household name in Ireland thanks to his role as Tommy in RTE's hit gangland series Love/Hate.

Expand Close Love/Hate Series 3 Killian Scott as Tommy and Charlie Murphy as Siobhan RTE One 6 part series starts on Sunday November 11th / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Love/Hate Series 3 Killian Scott as Tommy and Charlie Murphy as Siobhan RTE One 6 part series starts on Sunday November 11th

He followed up with roles in Ripper Street last year and big screen outings, Calvary, Get Up and Go, Traders and Belfast thriller '71.
The charges against one of seven men on trial for falsely imprisoning former Tanaiste Joan Burton and her adviser at an anti-water charges protest have been dropped.

On day 27 of the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court trial today, Judge Melanie Greally told the jury she would be discharging Ken Purcell from the indictment and he was free to go.

Clapping broke out in court as Mr Purcell shook hands with the six remaining defendants before leaving the court room.

The jury was told that prosecution counsel Sean Gillane SC had an application to make as a result of a ruling Judge Greally made earlier today following legal argument in their absence.

Mr Gillane then said that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had asked him to enter a nolle prosequi in relation to the two charges against Mr Purcell.

The case proceeds no further against Mr Purcell, Mr Gillane said.

Mr Purcell (50) of Kiltalown Green had pleaded not guilty to falsely imprisoning Ms Burton and her adviser Karen OConnell by restricting their personal liberty without their consent at Fortunestown Road, Jobstown, Tallaght on November 15, 2014.

After clapping broke out in court, Judge Greally reminded supporters that the trial was not a public performance.

You can continue whatever celebrations you like outside the court room, she said.

Mr Gillane said the prosecution case is now concluded. The jury was told it will not be required again until later this week.

Paul Murphy (34) of Kingswood Heights, Tallaght; Kieran Mahon (39) of Bolbrook Grove, Tallaght; Michael Murphy (53) of Whitechurch Way, Ballyboden, Dublin; Frank Donaghy (71) of Alpine Rise, Tallaght; Michael Banks (46) of Brookview Green, Tallaght and Scott Masterson (34) of Carrigmore Drive, Tallaght have pleaded not guilty to falsely imprisoning Ms Burton and her adviser Karen OConnell by restricting their personal liberty without their consent at Fortunestown Road, Jobstown, Tallaght on November 15, 2014.

The trial continues.
A troubled teenage girl went on to attempt suicide after being released from a secure detention centre, despite repeated requests from her mother that she undergo a psychiatric assessment.

The High Court heard that Tusla, the child and family agency, had decided the teenager was ready to be discharged directly home - even though key arrangements were not in place to support her.

The court heard that there was no funding in place for items needed for the home, no external worker had been allocated and her social worker was leaving her role.

At one point in the case, details of which were reported by the Child Care Law Reporting Project, a High Court judge remarked that the failure to provide a psychiatrist was "simply not good enough".

During the teenager's nine-month stay in secure detention, which began in mid-2016, she actively self-harmed.

The High Court heard that within five months her behaviour had deteriorated significantly.

Yet no psychiatric assessment was carried out in terms of a formal diagnosis and no onward placement was identified for her.

Her mother repeatedly asked for such an assessment as her daughter had spoken of suicide.

The teenager herself asked to speak to someone in Pieta House, which provides treatment programmes for people with suicidal ideation.

Serious

Within two weeks of her discharge home there was a "serious incident of self-harm". Still no psychiatrist was in place.

Two weeks later there was a further serious act of self-harm and the teenager was admitted to hospital.

After her discharge she threatened to throw herself out of a window.

Gardai had to be called to help and she was readmitted to hospital.

The High Court ordered that she be returned to secure care, with the proviso she be immediately assessed by a psychiatrist.
A Dutch accountancy student flying to Dublin on a class trip hurled drunken abuse at cabin crew after downing nearly a full bottle of whiskey.

Sandro Taruchaladze (25) had drunk the spirits before boarding the plane, became aggressive en route and was arrested on arrival in Ireland.

Giving him a two-month suspended sentence, a judge ordered Taruchaladze to stay sober for the rest of his visit and advised him not to go on any of Dublin's famous brewery tours.

The accused, from Zoutmanstraat, Amsterdam, pleaded guilty to intoxication and being threatening and abusive on board an aircraft on June 8.

Garda Sharon Breen told Dublin District Court Taruchaladze left his seat several times during the flight and refused to obey the flight crew. He also became aggressive to one of them.

Gda Breen said she arrested Taruchaladze at 4.40pm on June 8 and brought him to Ballymun Garda Station, where he later made no reply to the charge.

Expand Close Facebook pic of Sandro Taruchaladze from Zoutmanstraat, Amsterdam / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Facebook pic of Sandro Taruchaladze from Zoutmanstraat, Amsterdam

Foolishly

The accused had been highly intoxicated and was still drunk when arrested, his solicitor said.

His professor had been able to reason with him on the plane and put him back in his seat, where he fell asleep. He continued to shout in his sleep.

He had "foolishly" drunk most of a bottle of whiskey in duty free in Amsterdam and did not remember anything after he got on the plane.

The accused's professor told Judge Alan Mitchell it was a trip for international business and to "see the sights" in Dublin.

"I might suggest the trip does not include the distilleries - Jameson and Guinness - he might stay in the hotel," the judge said.

He suspended the sentence for a year and refused to leave him without a conviction.

"You might think in one way it's a bit harsh, but on the other hand people on planes can't behave like that - situations have escalated on planes," he said.
Hundreds of relatives, friends and neighbors of Ignacio Echeverria  and many people who never knew him personally  gathered on Sunday at the funeral home holding the remains of a man who has been dubbed a hero for standing up to a terrorist at the Borough Market attack in London.

Ignacio Echeverria's funeral was attended by relatives, friends and neighbors. Javier Lopez (EFE)

His body arrived in Spain on Saturday to an official ceremony led by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who posthumously awarded Echeverria the Great Cross of Civil Merit for his bravery.

Echeverria, 39, died after trying to defend a woman who was being stabbed by one of the three terrorists who drove a vehicle into pedestrians, then attacked passersby with knives on the night of June 3. For days following the attack, he was reported only as missing, prompting Spanish authorities to ask UK officials for a speedier identification of victims.

The Spaniard had been working for HSBC in London, tracking suspicious financial transactions, including those related to possible terrorist activities.

Ignacio Echeverria was posthumously awarded Spains Great Cross of Civil Merit for his bravery. Leon Neal (Getty Images/EPV/AP)

He was buried in Las Rozas, northwest of Madrid, where the family had been living for years after moving from the northeastern Spanish region of Galicia when Echeverria was young.

People came from all over Madrid region to express their condolences and admiration for Echeverria, who took on a terrorist with his skateboard and was stabbed to death himself.

Its a bit like he was my own son, said one Las Rozas resident who did not know him personally. I feel sadness and pain and also anger. I am here to support the family, I felt an obligation to do so.

The father of a former colleague of Echeverrias praised his courage in defending a person under attack. We dont see a hero like this every day, he said. This kid has taught us a very valuable lesson.

English version by Susana Urra.
UK police have arrested a 31-year-old Irishman who gardai want to question in relation to the gangland feud murder of Gareth Hutch last year.

Jonathan Keogh, whose brother was also shot dead last month, was detained in Essex in the early hours of yesterday by elite officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA).

The London police officers were acting on foot of a European Arrest Warrant issued by gardai in recent weeks.

Several unmarked police vehicles and undercover officers were involved in the large operation, which resulted in the Dubliner being detained in the Romford area of Essex.

The arrest was carried out shortly before 1am yesterday.

Mr Keogh was last night being held at a London police station.

A Garda spokesman said: "The NCA, in conjunction with An Garda Siochana and the London Metropolitan Police, have this morning arrested a 31-year-old man in the Romford area of Essex in the UK on foot of a European Arrest Warrant."

Gareth Hutch (35), who was a nephew of Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch, was shot dead as part of the ongoing Hutch/Kinahan feud.

The father-of-one had raised fears over his personal security with Dublin City Council officials in the weeks before he was shot dead by two people.

Mr Keogh's brother Michael was shot dead in the north-inner city last month, in a murder linked to the feud.

Michael Keogh (37) was not considered to be directly involved in the feuding. His funeral will take place in the north-inner city this morning, with a heavy armed garda presence expected at the ceremony.

Members of the Armed Support Unit, as well as local armed detectives and uniformed gardai, will be on duty during the service on Sean McDermott Street to prevent any potential attacks from the opposing faction.

Mr Keogh became the 12th victim of the deadly Hutch/Kinahan feud when he was shot dead in his car in the underground car park at the Sheridan Court flats complex early on the morning of Wednesday, May 31.

Father-of-two Keogh had just started a new job in construction. While not considered a major criminal, he was linked to the so-called New INLA faction, which has aligned itself with the Kinahan cartel.

Keogh was found in his car in the car park by a council worker shortly before 10am. A car was found burnt-out on Clonliffe Avenue at 7.30am and a handgun with a silencer attached was found in this vehicle, which gardai believe was used as the getaway car.
The healthcare system is financially "biased" toward nursing homes for the elderly despite claims by the State that community-based care is favourable, the Citizens' Assembly has heard.

The Assembly, which has already drawn up recommendations on Ireland's abortion law, convened once again to discuss Ireland's ageing population.

Eamon O' Shea, personal professor at NUI Galway's School of Business and Economics, said: "Although current policy purports to favour community-based care, the funding system is biased in favour of residential care. Spending on home care services and supports was 345m in 2014 compared to almost 1bn on residential care.

"Home care provision is currently weak, relative to need, and distributed unevenly across the country.

"The result is that family carers bear most of the care burden and financial cost of providing care to older people living at home in the community. If families stopped caring, the care system would collapse."

Fashion designer Brendan Courtney, whose late father Frank (75) was buried last week, gained national attention for this issue earlier this year with his RTE documentary 'We Need To Talk About Dad'.

Brendan, from Tallaght, Dublin, told the moving story of how his family had struggled to gain access to the State's complex Fair Deal scheme.

The Department of Health committed to holding a public consultation on home care for the elderly in the wake of the programme.

Ms Justice Mary Laffoy concluded the Assembly, saying: "I think we have all been struck by the intricacies within current practice in Ireland. At our next meeting, I will be asking the members to make recommendations to the Houses of the Oireachtas on this topic and the work programme for the next weekend will be developed through this prism."

The Assembly will meet again on July 8 and 9.
OSheas on Merchants Quay, Dublin: there are plans to expand the emergency accommodation located above the premises. Picture: Arthur Carron

Dublin City Council's next hub for homeless families is set to be located on one of the city centre's busiest streets, the Irish Independent can reveal.

It is understood that plans are in place to transform current emergency accommodation on Merchants Quay into a family hub under the drastic plans by Housing Minister Simon Coveney to ensure there will be no families living in hotels or B&B's by the beginning of July.

The emergency accommodation - located above O'Shea's Merchants pub on the south quays - will be transformed into one of 15 family hubs planned by the council's Homeless Executive.

None of the hubs will be run directly by the Homeless Executive, and will instead be taken over by housing services. No detail has been released as to the opening date at O'Shea's or of the number of families due to stay there.

It is understood the families currently availing of emergency accommodation above the pub are expected to remain as the property is transformed.

The Homeless Executive has said that those living in the hubs will be allowed visitors, but will not be permitted to have anyone stay overnight.

Meals will be provided on-site at the properties, while each family will have their own en suite washing facilities.

Homework clubs for children will also be included.

Last month city councillors backed a motion for future protocol on any family hub plans after they were left in the dark over the current sites until they were finalised.

Cllr Mannix Flynn - who tabled this emergency motion - has hit out at a lack of information for families and councillors.

He said the latest hub is set for a "highly inappropriate" location.

"They (DCC) are not telling us what buildings they're looking at or where the money is going," Mr Flynn said.

"It's highly inappropriate - a really busy corner of a main street.

"It's also a stone's throw away from Merchants Quay Ireland (homeless and drug service) which is an issue of constant complaint from the public over anti-social issues," he added.

Just two weeks ago it was revealed that a hub would be located at a former Bargaintown site in a Coolock industrial estate.
Hundreds of new homes, built to ease pressure for first-time buyers and those hoping to move, are being snapped up by investors.

One-in-seven new homes sold since January 2016 have been bought by "non-occupiers", with investors accounting for a quarter of total house purchases. New data reveals almost 11,000 units have been bought by investors over the last 16 months as the housing crisis deepens.

The figures, gleaned from property price data produced by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), will add to pressure on the Government to ramp-up housing delivery to ease rising prices and soaring rents.

Last year, just under 15,000 units were completed, at least 10,000 fewer than the number needed to meet demand.

In the first three months of 2017, almost 3,900 are finished. This suggests that while numbers will increase year-on-year, the shortage of supply is likely to fuel further price hikes.

The data shows that so far this year, some 871 newly constructed houses and apartments were sold, of which 135 - or 15pc - were bought by investors.

In six areas, all new units were bought by non-occupiers, according to the CSO. In Carragaline, Co Cork, just seven new homes were sold, all to investors. Just one new home was sold in Dublin 5, Cavan, Clones, Fermoy and Skibbereen, and all were sold to non-occupiers.

Property prices have risen by 10.5pc in the year to date - the fastest rate of growth increase since May 2015. Rents have also reached an all-time high, according to property website daft.ie, with average monthly rents now standing at 1,131.

Unless there is a dramatic increase in supply, prices are expected to continue to rise.

The analysis also shows between January last year and April 2017, some 3,546 new homes have been sold. Of these, 548 were by non-occupiers.

When all sales across the 16 months are taken into account, the data reveals that 44,979 existing houses and apartments traded hands, of which 10,713 were snapped up by investors - almost 24pc. Of the 139 areas for which data is available, investors bought at least 20pc of all homes available for purchase.

Read More

Just over 60pc of units were bought by investors in Clifden, Co Galway, an area popular with holidaymakers. This is the highest rate in the country.

Dublin 2 and Dublin 1 are the most popular locations in Dublin. This includes the IFSC and headquarters of multi-nationals. The figures also show investors are busy in the regional cities, where prices are also rising fast and supply is not meeting demand.

In Galway and the northside of Cork city, one-in-three of all homes sold was to a non-occupier. In south Cork, it drops to just under 30pc. In Limerick, the figure stands at 27.6pc and rises to 33pc in Waterford.

The Government has made repeated efforts to boost supply including reducing development levies and introducing the 200m Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (LIHAF). This is designed to open up large tracts of land by providing services including roads or community facilities, and applies to developments in excess of 500 units in the Dublin area or in excess of 200 units outside Dublin, and is expected to yield 23,000 units.

The Department of Housing said there was no policy to restrict buyers of homes, adding that the LIHAF fund would help "promote the pace" of housing.

"There are no proposals under Rebuilding Ireland to introduce measures which would restrict who could buy new homes. With regard to LIHAF, developers are not receiving any financial assistance under this scheme. Funding is going to Local Authorities who will build public infrastructure such as roads and bridges by means of a public procurement process.

"The acceleration in the delivery of necessary public infrastructure will enable developers to develop sites quicker than would otherwise have been the case and promote the pace of housing delivery."
The islanders fear they face further population losses unless local authorities provide critical funding for social and council housing.

The warning came after it emerged a number of island residents were warned that if they wanted council housing they would have to relocate to the mainland.

In Cape Clear, off the west Cork coast, three houses came on the market but, despite Cork County Council being asked to consider purchasing them, none has so far been secured.

The island lobby group, Comhdhail Oilean na hEireann (COE), wants greater housing support from councils.

COE chairman Simon Murray warned that access to affordable, quality housing is critical "if Irish island populations are to be sustainable".

Island campaigners said they were "deeply shocked" that some islanders in need of housing have been advised by councils that it can only be provided if they relocate to the mainland.

"This is a policy that can only contribute to island decline," a COE official warned.
A furious battle is under way to be Foreign Affairs Minister in Leo Varadkar's new Cabinet with Simon Coveney and Charlie Flanagan vying for the key Brexit post.

Mr Coveney is understood to have expressed an interest in the job during his meeting with the incoming Taoiseach, in the aftermath of the Fine Gael leadership contest.

However, the Irish Independent understands that Mr Flanagan, who has held the post since 2014, has met with Mr Varadkar in recent days to make a pitch for why he should not be moved.

Mr Flanagan is understood to have briefed the new Fine Gael leader on his work in Northern Ireland and the relationship-building that has taken place with other European ministers since last year's Brexit vote.

Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald is also understood to be interested in the role, but is seen as an outsider.

The job is set to create a major headache for Mr Varadkar, who is due to announce his new Cabinet on Wednesday.

Ministers have expressed "surprise" at Mr Coveney's bid for Foreign Affairs, given the political capital he has invested in trying to solve the housing and homelessness crisis over the past year.

However, one noted that it might suit Mr Varadkar to give the busy post to his leadership rival, as it will regularly keep Mr Coveney out of the country.

That will be a big call for the soon-to-be-former Social Protection Minister against a backdrop of political turmoil in the UK.

Although Mr Coveney appeared all but guaranteed whatever ministry he chose, his decision to target Foreign Affairs is problematic in light of recent events.

"Anybody who thinks they can just parachute into Northern Ireland talks or deal with other foreign ministers right now is optimistic at best," said one minister.

Another source said the DUP and Sinn Fein would "have a field day" and "throw curveballs" to test a new minister.

As well as Foreign Affairs, Mr Flanagan has been linked to a new department which will deal with home security.

Mr Varadkar's Cabinet will have a heavy focus on Brexit, with the post of European Affairs Minister likely to be elevated to 'super junior' status.

Dara Murphy, who currently holds that portfolio but backed Mr Coveney, is likely to be demoted.

Eoghan Murphy, who was Mr Varadkar's campaign manager, is believed to be in line for a central Brexit role in the Department of Finance.

It comes as Mr Varadkar's path to the Taoiseach's office was cleared by the Independent Alliance. The Alliance's five TDs confirmed yesterday they will support his election after Enda Kenny steps down.

The group, led by Transport Minister Shane Ross, met with the new Fine Gael leader last week but wanted issues clarified before giving him their backing.

At a second meeting yesterday, Mr Varadkar gave assurances that there will be more free votes in the Dail and agreed a list of priority legislation with the Alliance.
A 32-year-old Spanish architect who found himself the victim of US President Donald Trumps tough new entry policies spent 40 days in a US jail and was then deported after it was noted on a visa application that he had traveled to Syria on vacation six years ago.

Leandro Perez Cadarso, back home in Pamplona in northern Spain. Luis Azanza

More information Cuarenta dias en prision por viajar a Palmira

Leandro Perez Cadarso, who moved to Mexico four years ago in search of work, was arrested as he tried to cross the border into the United States at Tijuana on April 23. He was not charged and no explanation was given as he was manacled, taken away and held in jails in San Diego and Calexico.

Finally, after more than a month, he was deported, arriving in Madrid two weeks ago. He will now not be able to apply for a visa to the United States for five years.

Ive been through some frightening moments, says Perez. I didnt understand what was going on. I hadnt done anything wrong. Nobody told me anything. I thought that some criminal had the same name as me or that somebody had put drugs in my backpack, he adds.

I thought that somebody had put drugs in my backpack Leandro Perez Cardoso

Perez says that at the crossing into the United States at Tijuana, he told an immigration official that he had a valid entry visa from a previous visit to Los Angeles, but that when he renewed his passport during a recent visit to Spain, he had applied for another visa to include it in his new passport. That visa had been denied because he had ticked a box saying he had traveled to Syria.

The 32-year-old says he visited Syria in 2011 on a trip with his parents, sister and an aunt, taking in ancient monuments, among them the Roman ruins at Palmyra  parts of which have now been destroyed by the so-called Islamic State (ISIS).

The customs official typed in his details, which is when his nightmare began. He looked at me in a strange way and asked me to go into a room. He didnt speak Spanish, explains Perez. Two police officers then put him up against the wall and handcuffed him from behind. I was very frightened and told them I had done nothing wrong and that if I couldnt enter the United States they could let me return to Mexico.

Nobody from the Spanish consulate visited Perez during his ordeal

He was then taken to a detention center in San Diego and put in a holding cell with 30 other men for three days, unable to sleep.

He had been allowed a phone call on the day of his arrest and had contacted his girlfriend, who told his family. Perezs father then contacted the Spanish consulate in Los Angeles, which phoned Perez. But nobody from the consulate paid him a visit, and officials said they could do nothing as the matter was in the hands of the US Customs and Border Protection service. A French citizen arrested earlier this year because he had visited Iran was reportedly visited by consulate officials and informed of his situation.

On April 27, Perez was transferred to Calexico, which houses 700 prisoners, where he was held until his deportation. During his time there he says he helped the mainly Hispanic prison population fill in forms in English. He says he was he ever asked about his trip to Syria.

Perez says he now intends to study an MBA in Business Management and hopes to find work in Spain as an architect after his experience in several firms in Mexico.

English version by Nick Lyne.
Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin: I keep my finger on the pulse and feet on the ground. That work is ongoing. Photo: Tom Burke

As Micheal Martin and Leo Varadkar sat across from each other in Government Buildings last week they found far more common ground than either might have expected.

The Dail isn't working; more investment is needed in health, housing and education; and Brexit is the biggest issue facing the country at this moment.

But the Fianna Fail leader was clear in his contribution that while they agree on the problems, it is up to the incoming Taoiseach to provide the solutions.

"We pointed out that we feel that the last year was wasted somewhat because of the internal angst within Fine Gael," Mr Martin told the Irish Independent.

"There hasn't been enough progress on housing and homeless issues. Health is getting worse in terms of access. Disabilities issues still loom large. Mortgage arrears.

"I signalled to him that in the context of Brexit and the strategic future of the country education has to be centre-stage in terms of planning for the future."

Expand Close Leo Varadkar surrounded by his political supporters at the Mansion House in Dublin during the Fine Gael leadership contest. Photo: Gareth Chaney/ Collins / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Leo Varadkar surrounded by his political supporters at the Mansion House in Dublin during the Fine Gael leadership contest. Photo: Gareth Chaney/ Collins

And yet Mr Martin is happy to continue the 'confidence and supply' arrangement, on the basis that Mr Varadkar should be given time to turn it all around.

But how much time before Fianna Fail loses its patience?

"I think certainly over the next 12 months we'd need to see progress on the substantial issues of housing and health. They affect people's daily lives.

"It's terrible that so many people have huge anxiety about where they'll be living next month or the next months. People are living within very short horizons at the moment. That's not acceptable," Mr Martin said.

Expand Close Leader of Fine Gael Leo Varadkar (right) and partner Matt Barrett (left) in the stands during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying, Group D match at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin. Credit: Niall Carson/PA Wire / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Leader of Fine Gael Leo Varadkar (right) and partner Matt Barrett (left) in the stands during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying, Group D match at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin. Credit: Niall Carson/PA Wire

The nature of 'new politics' means both Fine Gael and Fianna Fail are in a position to spark an election at any moment - but the spectacle of Theresa May's fall from grace in the UK has sunk the idea of a snap election for now.

Mr Martin is seen among his colleagues as a cautious leader. Mr Varadkar is viewed as somewhat more unpredictable. The odds favour the Fine Gael boss being the one to call an abrupt end to their three Budget deal - but Mr Martin didn't get the impression that such a move is on his mind.

"I didn't get the sense last week that he was contemplating an early run - but nonetheless the pressure comes on, the opinion polls happen and people get carried along with it," he said.

"I get the sense that he wants to give this a chance and create his own space and room. I don't see him going for a snap election in terms of policy platform. We spoke about the confidence and supply and the need for action and delivery."

That doesn't mean Fianna Fail isn't quietly preparing in the background for a day at the polls.

Party headquarters is compiling fresh policies and revisiting older ones. It is also looking at its "strengths and weaknesses across the constituencies", and representatives are expected to relentlessly continue the ground war.

While he would never say it out loud, Mr Martin is acutely aware that many inside and outside of Fianna Fail believe he has one final shot at becoming Taoiseach. If he doesn't win the next election, he will be the first leader of his party not to head a government.

The passing of the baton from Enda Kenny to Mr Varadkar makes that task more difficult, but Mr Martin's strategy remains unchanged.

"Because of the enormous profile that the Fine Gael leadership contest generated there will be a bounce in the short-term - but that will level out over time. Let's not get fixated about opinion polls," he said.

The Cork South Central TD is a long-time critic of opinion polls, arguing there is "something going on" with polling in every country. He argues it is "on the ground" that politicians can get a real feel for where the country is and people are not ready for another election yet.

"I keep my finger on the pulse and feet on the ground. That work is ongoing. I do it over five years.

"I find it very helpful in terms of my presentation in Leinster House. It helps me get out of the Leinster House bubble to keep in touch with real people."

But he added: "One could argue one will always be ready and one will never be ready in terms of preparation for election. But if at any stage an election happens we will be ready for such. We came out of the last election with renewed vigour as a party, that's evident in terms of membership across the country.

"One of the essential characteristics of any politician is to have that part of the DNA, to be ready to respond to the unexpected and particularly the electoral unexpected. Anything can happen, you've got to be ready for it.

"That has to be hard-wired into your DNA. So the answer, in short, is yes we'll be ready."

Asked if he will make it to the Taoiseach's office after that election, he admitted its "an important one for the party".

"We're on 45 seats. I've an ambition to raise that so that we can be of a critical mass and that we will be involved in the formation of the next government, and that we'll be leading that government," he said.

"That will put us in a position to implement the policies that we think are best attuned to the people of the country. That is the objective we have set ourselves as a party and it's one we will be pursuing."

In the meantime, he intends to take the battle to Mr Varadkar.

"In the Dail we will be forceful and holding the Government to account. But we will be coming up with ideas too," he said.

"There have been criticisms of poor legislative output from this Dail. I would argue that's predominantly the Government's fault."

During his meeting with Mr Varadkar, he named seven bills that could be progressed if the two parties work together. These include legislation relating to institutes of technology, the sale of alcohol, affordable childcare, zero hours contracts, school admissions, mental health and mortgage rates.

Mr Varadkar has committed to working on these and to paying particular attention to the areas of mental health and education.

"There's practical things that could happen that would give a sense of commitment to the content for the Programme for Government," Mr Martin said.

So what kind of leader does he believe Mr Varadkar will make?

"It remains to be seen. I think he was listening a lot. I'm not sure he's on a certain pathway yet.

"I get the sense of a pragmatic approach and from what I could judge at that meeting a sense of willing to engage. He will be different from Enda Kenny in many respects," he said.

"But I think fundamentally it remains to be seen how he will rise to the challenge and adapt to the political realities of being Taoiseach."
Enda Kenny has heaped pressure on embattled Theresa May in what is likely to be his last major act as Taoiseach.

He spoke to the British prime minister by phone yesterday and expressed his concerns about her bid to prop up the UK government with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

There are fears the central role being offered to the DUP could call into question the "rigorous impartiality" expected from Mrs May's administration under the Good Friday Agreement in the event of political disputes in the North.

DUP leader Arlene Foster is set to hold talks with Mrs May in Downing Street tomorrow to finalise a deal which will see the Conservative Party leader hang on as prime minister for now.

Downing Street initially said on Saturday that an arrangement had been reached but it later emerged that talks were ongoing. The intervention by Mr Kenny has added to Mrs May's woes at a time when she is desperately fighting for her political career.

Former British chancellor George Osborne has described Mrs May as "a dead woman walking", saying her bid to stay in Number 10 could collapse as early as next week.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has vowed to try to bring down the government by defeating Mrs May in parliament, insisting: "I can still be prime minister.

Read More

"I think it's quite possible there will be an election later this year - or early next year. We cannot go on with a period of great instability," he said.

There was widespread criticism of Mrs May's move to enter a deal with the DUP, which is being portrayed in the British media as anti-LGBT rights, anti-abortion and as denying climate change.

Sources told the Irish Independent the Government here sees the DUP's position as a "delicate balancing act" that could prove difficult for stability in the North but positive for the Brexit negotiations.

"In theory, the DUP's position on Brexit is closer to our view in that it wants an open Border and strong trade.

Rethink

"Hopefully it can convince Theresa May to rethink her policy on leaving the customs union," a senior source said

Mrs May is already coming under pressure from within her own cabinet to tone down her rhetoric on the UK's divorce from the EU and to alter her approach in order to deliver a "pragmatic Brexit".

Such a move could lead to a softer Brexit, which would be welcomed by businesses on both sides of the Border.

Fresh talks between the DUP and Sinn Fein, aimed at resurrecting the Stormont Assembly, are due to get underway today. The power-sharing executive has not sat since the elections on March 2.

A spokesperson for Downing Street said Mrs May explained to the Taoiseach that she is working towards a confidence and supply deal with the DUP but remained committed to seeing the restoration of the Northern Ireland Executive "as soon as possible".

Noting that the Irish Government wants a speedy resolution to the impasses, Mr Kenny expressed "concern that nothing should happen to put the Good Friday Agreement at risk and the challenge that this agreement will bring".

The Taoiseach, who will formally step down tomorrow, also noted the absence of any nationalist voice in Westminster as a result of Sinn Fein's decision not to take up its seven seats in the London parliament.

And he reiterated Irish concerns in relation to Brexit, suggesting that Mrs May should schedule an "early meeting" with his successor, Leo Varadkar.

Ahead of the talks in Belfast today, Sinn Fein has already accused the DUP of betraying the interests of Northern Ireland by agreeing to prop up a minority government.

The party's northern leader, Michelle O'Neill, predicted the deal with the Tories will "end in tears" for the DUP.

"But it will be the people of the North who will have to pay the price for the DUP's support for Brexit and for cuts," she said.

Ms O'Neill said the Tories have an "increasingly partisan approach" to Northern Ireland and called on the Irish Government to "stand up for the rights of all citizens in the North".
Gardai investigate an incident at Shangan Green in Ballymun. Picture: Arthur Carron

Gardai investigate an incident at Shangan Green in Ballymun. Picture: Arthur Carron

Gardai investigate an incident at Shangan Green in Ballymun. Picture: Arthur Carron

Three teenagers have been taken to hospital after a shooting incident in North Dublin this evening.

Gardai and emergency services responded to reports of a shooting on Shangan Green in Ballymun shortly before 8pm.

On arrival they discovered three males who had suffered apparent gun shot wounds.

A source said the injuries were most likely caused by shotgun pellets.

Expand Close Gardai investigate an incident at Shangan Green in Ballymun. Picture: Arthur Carron / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Gardai investigate an incident at Shangan Green in Ballymun. Picture: Arthur Carron

They were taken by ambulance to The Mater Misericordiae University Hospital and Children's University Hospital, Temple Street.

They are understood to be suffering from minor injuries.

The scene is preserved for a technical and forensic examination and Gardai are appealing for witnesses.

Gardai are investigating if the gun attack this evening is linked to an earlier stabbing in the area.

Expand Close Gardai investigate an incident at Shangan Green in Ballymun. Picture: Arthur Carron / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Gardai investigate an incident at Shangan Green in Ballymun. Picture: Arthur Carron

A teenager suffered knife injuries during an earlier attack.

A source said the incidents are connected to a local feud.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Ballymun Garda Station on 016664400, The Garda Confidential Telephone Line 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station.
Belfast International Airport has come under fire after it launched a Brexit-style advertising campaign in a bid to drive passenger numbers from the Republic of Ireland.

The campaign is called Vote to Leave and it says "choose BEXIT and enjoy more destinations and greater savings than ever before when you EXIT from Belfast International".

It comes as Belfast International Airport recently predicted its busiest summer yet with 2.3 million travellers expected to pass through its gates between now and the end of September.

The airport launched its billboard campaign aimed at people who live in the southern border counties to encourage them to use Belfast International Airport over Dublin.

We're launching advertising campaign in border areas in Rep of Ire to persuade people to use us as main airport. https://t.co/hTk7FFJPkE pic.twitter.com/bBSnZGbTFg  Belfast Airport (@BelfastAirport) June 11, 2017

Who thought this would be a good idea? #fail pic.twitter.com/4BJiNk186s  Lorcan Mac Aoidh (@miselorcan) June 12, 2017

Wont be long until this is withdrawn & your marketing department isn't based in London, who know nothing about Irish Brexit vote..  Chris :) (@chris_derry) June 12, 2017

As a person with 10+ yrs experience in marketing, this is a woeful idea. This screams of a half arsed mktng dept with no clue.  Freddy Lisburn (@aboutye1) June 12, 2017

This just reinforces my choice to only fly from Dublin.  Country's cowped (@MccarronMmc) June 12, 2017

Really... given that Brexit is such a divisive subject it's a tad distasteful. Shame on you. #Bexitnothankyou.  Margaret (@MPM76) June 12, 2017

Dublin airport is one of the fastest growing in Europe and has seen the number of its Northern Ireland based passengers continue to rise.

A Dublin Airport source said that, while Belfast International claims it's due to see 2.3 million passengers between the start of June and September, Dublin Airport managed 2.6 million in May alone... which puts it into context.

Launching the campaign, Belfast International Airport's managing director Graham Keddie said there is a cost advantage of departing from Belfast given the strength of the euro against the pound.

Mr Keddie said: The strength of the euro over the pound gives a distinct and clear advantage to southern passengers.

Weve been seeing a noticeable increase in the number of southern-registered cars in our car parks. We fly to 90 destinations in Europe and, at the beginning of July, Norwegian will commence trans-Atlantic services to New York and Providence (Rhode Island/Boston).

He added: "Savings are appreciable. Convenience, too, is a factor as, for many in the southern border region, its easier to drive north than south."

Expand Close Dublin airport (File photo) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Dublin airport (File photo)

However the adverts, which were carried out externally by RLA Ireland, were not overwhelmingly well received on social media.

Twitter users accused the campaign of being "distasteful" in using the "divisive subject" of Brexit. Others said the premise of the advert didn't appear to make sense and questioned why the aviation code of "BFS" wasn't used.

However a spokeswoman for Belfast International Airport said they never use this in advertising campaigns.

One user said: "Belfast airport, you realise this is not a clever play on words right? Your airport code is BFS not BE and majority here voted remain".

Another said: "Given that Brexit is such a divisive subject, it's a tad distasteful. Shame on you."

And another said the advert read as though the airport was "supporting Brexit".

In response to the criticism, Belfast International Airport said it wanted to "make an impact" with its latest campaign.

A spokeswoman said: "We wanted to make an impact with our next marketing campaign and we have certainly done that. The fact is the current exchange rate makes Belfast International Airport a great value option for those passengers travelling from the Republic of Ireland.

"In the last few months we have seen an incredible increase in passengers from the border counties of Donegal, Sligo, Cavan, Monaghan, Louth and Leitrim using Belfast as a departure point and we very much hope to see many more of them."
Kerry is often referred to as 'the Kingdom' because it has heart-stopping beauty, an illustrious cultural and political history, and it has the Rose of Tralee.

But very few people know about a special project sprouting in the heart of the largest town in the county; a project that is bringing meaning and purpose to the lives of some very important people who have, until now, been marginalised.

The initiative is the brainchild of Carlow native Maree O'Connor, who moved to Tralee in 1987 with her husband, Donal. They have four children, including Labhaoise, a 22-year-old living with Down syndrome (DS). Maree says her gentle, softly spoken daughter was supported during her school years, but as she approached adulthood, warning bells began to sound. And these resulted in more questions than answers. What did the future hold for Labhaoise? How would she manage in the wider world as she grew older? What work could she do? And so on.

Seven years ago, Maree formed an informal friendship club. The principal members were her son, Fiachra - who was then in transition year - and his friends, as well as Labhaoise and her friends. "Once a week, they would have an activity of their own choosing," explains Maree. "Bowling, pizza parlours and shopping were firm favourites, but the thing they most enjoyed was chatting in a coffee shop."

However, when she was 18, Labhaoise's social life began to fall apart as school came to an end. Meanwhile, her siblings were heading off to college and pursuing their own individual paths. But Labhaoise didn't have those same choices and that saddened her. "People don't realise that those living with intellectual disabilities have hopes, dreams and feelings like everyone else," says Maree. "But there is no recognition of that, and they are not being catered for."

But as a parent, Maree did have options: she could sit back and blame the government for this glaring lack of services, or she could act decisively. And that's what she did. Having identified Labhaoise's particular needs, and those of other people living with intellectual disabilities, she set about creating an organisation that would support them. Someone who was with her from the very beginning was Donie O'Keeffe, who also has a daughter living with DS.

According to voluntary office manager Yvonne O'Brien, "The two of them wore the feet off themselves traipsing around streets of Tralee trying to find the right premises [for Inspired]." Apart from the need to find a building with adequate meeting spaces, affordability was also an important issue, as they rely entirely on donations from the public.

Eventually, Maree and Donie found premises in a quiet street close to the town centre and Inspired was born. According to the centre's brochure: "This is a community development project serving adults with intellectual disabilities in Tralee and surrounding areas."

However, be warned - on entering this modest building, expect to be overwhelmed by the sheer energy, and constant laughter of all involved. Most of the members participate enthusiastically, providing much good-humoured banter along the way. But there are others who prefer to bide their time, saying little, quietly listening. Nonetheless, you can see they too are glad to be part of a vibrant, supportive community, one they can really relate to.

Maree explains why this facility is so important: "When you see someone with DS packing the shelves in a shop, you may think, 'Isn't that great?' But it's actually an illusion, because it's probably only for three weeks; meanwhile, there's another 199 people like them, sitting at home doing nothing."

She says the levels of depression and anxiety among adults with intellectual disabilities is "astronomical". This is not surprising, given that the lack of services and the fact that the fluctuating circumstances at home often cause them to feel abandoned and alone. "Between the ages of 18 and 21, Labhaoise became depressed and anxious because her life was changing," says Maree. "These days, Inspired is giving her, and the other members, a sense of belonging and of purpose."

There are various activities on offer such as yoga, Zumba, photography and life-skills classes. As this is a user-driven initiative, the participants themselves decide which courses should be on offer. The organisers then appoint voluntary or paid tutors to run them.

On the day I visited, high-energy Liz O'Gorman was leading a life-skills session. This module allows participants to discuss, in a safe space, things that bother them. "Bereavement has been an issue recently," says Maree. "Often people with intellectual disabilities feel things very deeply, and sometimes they don't really know what's going on. But here they can see someone in the group who has been bereaved come out the other end, and they learn from that. Sometimes they just need to be encouraged to let go and move on."

Another important aspect at Inspired is helping members find job placements. When Labhaoise expressed an interest in hairdressing, arrangements were made for her to spend one morning a week at Frances McCarthy's Blush 'N' Brush salon in Caheranne. "The first time Labhaoise washed and blow-dried someone's hair [with help] it was like winning the Lotto," says Maree. "She was so thrilled, her self-esteem shot up. We pick employers carefully and rely on Charlotte Dolan to do that, and to support our members in their various job placements."

The members are also encouraged to participate in projects that can enhance their local community. "They get involved in the Tidy Towns competition and Daffodil Day," says Maree. "Right now, we're busy with a tourism research project. Our guys are going to various businesses in Tralee and finding out how to make the town more ability friendly. Once the information has been collated, they will present their findings to Kerry County Council and to the Tralee Chamber Alliance."

Maree says it's important to note that although some members receive services from other State-funded organisations, they are also choosing to attend Inspired.

On June 16, the Ballyroe Hotel will be rocking when 60 enthusiastic models (comprising Inspired members and their families) strut their stuff on the catwalk.

"They range in age from 0 to 50," says Maree. "Every one of them will have a great time. Many local suppliers lend us clothes and support us with services. Normally, Labhaoise is shy. But once she gets on that stage, she shines, as do all the others, every single one of them. It makes them feel so good, so positive and so proud of themselves. Even if we didn't raise a penny, I'd still do this show. Big events in their lives are so rare."

For more information, see inspired.ie or tel: (087) 245-7826

To donate: Bank of Ireland, Listowel, BIC: BOFIIE2D IBAN: IE94BOFI90578279279410
Foreign Minister of Armenia to participate in the Fifth Paris Peace Forum

Armenia: EU and Armenia Hold annual Dialogue on Human Rights

Todays Shushi, Occupied and Cleared of Armenians, is a Real Example of Turkish-Azerbaijani Policy of Ethnic Cleansing of Artsakh

Ookla, the the global leader in internet testing and analysis has awarded Ucom

Sweden will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union

Ameriabank: At the Vanguard of Armenia's Banking Sector

STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH

SUBSCRIBERS OF UCOMS ALL TIME BEST OFFER TO ENJOY ADDITIONAL BENEFITS

Armenia-Azerbaijan: EU sets up monitoring capacity along the international borders

PACE co-rapporteurs on Armenia concerned by reports of alleged war crimes or inhuman treatment perpetrated by Azerbaijans armed forces

There is still 35% gender pay gap: Sona Ghazaryan

Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia

Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair

Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan

I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General

I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox

Google Ad

UCOMS SPECIAL OFFER OF THE UNLIMITED INTERNET IS NOW TERMLESS

There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur

EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol  Armenia and Azerbaijan  to do so without delay

An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan".

UCOM AND PES-PES CONTINUE COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EDUCATIONAL PROJECT

The statement of the meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, President Macron and President Michel of October 6, 2022

Largest Corporate Bond Program at the Securities Market of Armenia Completed Successfully

The statement of the Defender on the video of the execution of Armenian PoWs by the Azerbaijani armed forces

LEVEL UP ONLY FOR STUDENTS: UCOM OFFERS X2 AND X3 MORE INTERNET

STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN

This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan

Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments

Delegation by Nancy Pelosi Accompanied by Alen Simonyan Visits Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex
Nha Trang - home to some of the best beaches and dive sites in Vietnam

Small, luxury cruises mean shorter lines, sumptuous food and spoilt-rotten passengers, says Kirsty Blake-Knox.

Ever since I watched Jane McDonald shimmy around a poop deck on 1990s docu-soap The Cruise, it's been my dream to high-tail it around the seven seas in the lap of luxury.

Cruise liners tend to divide travellers. There are those who love them (people who have been on a cruise) and those who sneer at them (people who have never been on a cruise). The latter ask lots of questions when I tell them I'm going on a seven-day cruise around the coast of Vietnam.

Won't I get seasick? Won't I get bored? Won't I miss the 'real' Vietnam? And didn't I know that the only people who go on cruise ships are so old, they remember getting oranges as Christmas presents?

I didn't care - my cabin had a terrace where I could drink cocktails while watching the sun set over the Mekong Delta. How could you get bored of that?

The cruise had set sail in Singapore, but I was hopping aboard in Ho Chi Minh City - formerly Saigon. It's one of those turbo-charged Asian cities, with swarms of mopeds zooming by (on one, I see a family of four; on another, a man carrying a pig).

Expand Close Waiter on Deck, Silversea Cruises / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Waiter on Deck, Silversea Cruises

After ditching my bags, I make a beeline for Binh Tay Market in search of some decent pho. The aisles of the indoor market are narrow and the astringent smell of cured fish catches in your throat.

Everyone is hustling. "Looking," I tell one vendor. "I'm just looking".

"Well, I'm just selling," she replies, nonplussed.

Sweating profusely but determined to get my pho on, I settle into a stall and am served up the hot, clear broth. Pho is such a messy delight to eat. Afterwards, with soup down my dress and delighted with life, I jump in a cab to see the Jade Emperor Pagoda before heading for the ship.

When I see Silversea's Silver Shadow, I coo at the size. "It's humongous!"

Except it's not, really. Silversea specialises in 'small' all-suite ships with a firm emphasis on luxury. Just 380 passengers are on board, compared to the 6,000 who can travel on Royal Caribbean's biggest ships. Not only are the queues for the buffet shorter, but the crew-to-passenger ratio is higher (you get spoilt rotten) and it's quicker getting on and off board.

I settle in with a glass of Champagne and, the following morning, stepping onto my terrace, I see we have been transported to our next destination, Nha Trang.

Nha Trang (pictured) is home to some of the best beaches and dive sites in Vietnam, and tucked in the mountains are the spiralling Po Nagar Cham Towers. However, I decide the best thing for me to do is lie on the beach, swim and read Jilly Cooper's latest novel, Mount (perfect cruise reading material). As I pour over Rupert Campbell- Black's latest sexploits, a lady wearing a conical hat wanders by carrying two silver tiffins stuffed with fat, fresh lobster and begins cooking them. Before I can ask how much, I remember the boat is leaving in 30 minutes so I rush back. (If you miss boarding, you must make your way to the next destination at your own expense.)

That afternoon we sail towards the South China Sea, and I spend the day in the hot tub chatting to other passengers. This is one of my favourite things about the cruise - it's filled with fun stock characters: the newlyweds, the pensioners squandering their children's inheritance, sisters in their 60s doing a 'golden gals on tour' holiday, the second and third wives' clubs, the glam Russian lesbians, and the ultra-camp air steward. I feel like I have walked into the pages of my Jilly Cooper novel.

But there are plenty of other Great Gatsby- esque things to do - like playing shuffle- board, or watching the crew talent show, or retiring to the cigar and Cognac room. Last but not least, you can go for a sunset walk with the ship's resident 'gentleman host', Art - who I'm told is definitely not a gigolo.

Expand Close Kirsty on Silver Shadow / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Kirsty on Silver Shadow

As the cruise unfolds, the days on board seem to melt together and drift apart. One minute you're storming the stage at the Dolly Parton tribute night; the next you're slap bang in the middle of the busy port of Chan May - from where we take a jaunt to the pretty town of Hoi An (above).

"Gooood morning, Vietnam," says our tiny tour guide, Jimmy, who makes adorable dad jokes every two minutes and thanks us individually for laughing.

Located on the banks of Thu Bon river, Hoi An is filled with saffron- coloured 18th- century merchants' houses that are now part museums and part shops. You can spend a tonne of money here very quickly - I ended up with an enormous wooden carp and 'wishing bowl'. Shopping in the sun is hungry work, too, but this is a good thing, as that evening we are eating in La Champagne - the only floating Relais & Chateaux restaurant in the world.

The food here is rich: gold-leaf risotto, seafood bisque and lobster thermidor all fly out of the kitchen in a flash. Packing on weight on a cruise is exceptionally easy. It's always booze and food o'clock.

The following morning, there's a flurry of excitement as we sail into Halong Bay. Legend has it that the bay was formed when a dragon, sent by the Jade Emperor, descended from heaven into the sea and sprayed a thousand emeralds and pearls from its mouth. From these jewels, the 3,000 islands were formed. Passengers crowd around the railings as the karst islands emerge on the horizon.

This is the real beauty of being on a cruise - there is no better way to see anything for the first time than from the bow of a ship. The Halong Bay vista is incomparable. There are no traffic jams or taxi ranks; the landscape unfolds in a whooshing, panoramic sweep. Afterwards, we putter about on junk boats before setting off on our final leg to Hong Kong.

This involves a whole day at sea. It's a wet and stormy day, too, but I discover that sleeping as the boat rocks is a dream. So is dancing - you career from one side of the floor to the other as water pulls and pushes the hull. The last night is a scream. My new friends and I stay up late, vowing to stay in touch but knowing we won't.

Stepping onto dry land the next day, I realise that none of the things grouches had warned me about were founded. The cruise wasn't boring, it wasn't filled with OAPs, and I didn't get seasick. It had been a total and utter riot. My own little fantasy world filled with beautiful strangers, Champagne, and the Vietnamese landscape unfurling around me.

What to pack

Sunglasses and sunscreen (it's easy to burn while lounging on the decks); a smart suit and/or LBD (there's usually one formal night on board and passengers really do make an effort); espadrilles (high heels are a disaster on a cruise) and binoculars for peering at the sights on shore!

Getting there

Expand Close Silverseas Ship / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Silverseas Ship

Silversea's Silver Shadow departs on a 14-day voyage from Hong Kong to Singapore on October 8, 2017, calling at Halong Bay, Chan May, Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh City,; Bangkok and Koh Samui. Fares start from 4,550/ 5,237pp based on two sharing the Vista Suite. See silversea.com or call 0844 251 0837 for more information.

Cruise tips

Expand Close Silverseas Cruise Ship / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Silverseas Cruise Ship

Wi-Fi can be shaky at sea, so bring books and embrace being cut off from reality for a while. Be warned, too, that there can be a real difference in temperature between home ports and ports of call. It's also a good idea to bring a few jumpers and cardigans, as the sea breeze can be chilly once the sun sets.

Read more:
Going down the country on the train is always great fun. There's the chat, bags of crisps, and watching the fields whizz by - and me and my pal are in relaxed holiday form when we're met by James Doran in Kilkenny. James is our driver for the weekend, and on his taxi tours he regularly shares his knowledge of the area with tourists, and it seems quite a few visiting Dubs.

James drops us off at Lyrath Estate Hotel, our five-star luxurious base for the weekend, and which is a short drive outside the medieval capital of Ireland. As soon as we're in the door of this 17th century country house, which has been restored to its original grandeur, we find ourselves in a light-filled lobby with larger-than-life Greek-style statues - the very playfulness of which lets us know we're about to get a real break from life.

But before we get too comfy in our splendid suite, which is a short walk from the hotel's spa, we're off to Ryeland House Cookery School in Cuffesgrange for a cookery lesson - the first activity in our all-go couple of days.

Ryeland House is a country farm house which was built in 1845, and has been the home of the Neary family for over four generations. We're welcomed into the house by Anne Neary, cook, writer and broadcaster, and told to make ourselves at home. It's an easy ask, as Ryeland House is a house full of old-world charm and elegance, right down to its antique furnishings and fine bone china.

Anne opens her cookery book, as in the cookery book she has written, and sets about teaching us how to make two recipes in her rustic kitchen - Brazilian chicken with spicy tomato and coconut sauce, and a rhubarb tart.

Did you know the secret to a perfect rhubarb tart is to slice up a couple of ripe strawberries and place them on top of the rhubarb? The added sweetness is delicious.

I keep saying it's the nicest cake I've had in a long time and my pal keeps saying I'm only saying it because I think I have made it. But it is the tastiest cake I've had in a while whatever she says.

Next we're off to Highbank Orchards to meet owners Rod and Julie Calder-Potts, who give us a guided tour of their apple orchards and distillery. The couple planted their first apples in 1969, and today they turn their apples into cider, gin, vodka, whiskey and brandy, and their award-winning Highbank Orchard syrup.

Their passion for apples - all of their production is to the strictest of organic standards - is palpable, and it's not surprising their tours are popular. Their lives are a lovely slice of artisan heaven, and they've added two small lakes, woodland and various wildlife habitats to their orchards.

It's time to return to gorgeous Lyrath Estate Hotel, where we dine in Yindees restaurant. This is a chic Pan-Asian restaurant, and it's buzzing on a Sunday night (we're told Sunday is the new Saturday in Kilkenny). The food - prawn massam curry and duck khao san - is yum.

The following morning, Monday morning, begins as every Monday morning should begin, with a fortifying fry-up followed by a back, neck and shoulder massage and mini facial in the hotel's spa. The spa has a 17-metre infinity edge pool. It's an effort to drag ourselves away.

Lunch is in the award-winning Foodworks restaurant on Kilkenny's Medieval Mile. A cafe-style bistro, it offers a farm-to-fork experience, with the ingredients for the dishes sourced from the restaurant's own farm. Fish and chips and mussels do the trick nicely, and we've a great chat with owner Maeve Moore.

It's time for us to do some culture-vulturing on Kilkenny's Medieval Mile. Our first stop-off is the Smithwick's Experience, which offers a tour of the original site where Smithwick's was brewed from the 1700s until 2014.

Central to the story is John Smithwick, a brewer who lived in Kilkenny in the early 1700s and who because of penal laws for Catholics, couldn't own property or run for elected office. So clever Catholic John quietly went into business with ambitious Protestant Richard Cole who leased a piece of land, and the duo got down to the business of giving the drinking public the intoxicating red ale.

The Medieval Mile Museum is Kilkenny's newest visitor attraction, located in the 13th century St Mary's Church and graveyard, and it tells the stories of Kilkenny's powerful patrons through the monuments and artefacts they've left behind. It's hugely engaging and atmospheric, though it's hard not to be distracted by the church's magnificent windows which frame a blue sky and dancing leaves.

Next stop is Kilkenny Castle, a 12th century castle set in rolling parklands, which was built for Strongbow's son-in-law, William Marshal. Its connection to British royalty lies in the castle having been the principal seat of the Butlers of Ormonde - and especially in how Lady Margaret Butler (1465-1539), the daughter of Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormonde, grew up skipping about this vast and imposing edifice. She would go on to marry Sir William Boleyn, and become the paternal grandmother of Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII.

Anne was beheaded in 1536, so lord knows what affect this had on her granny.

It's hard to believe it, I know, but we head for more food. This time we go to the popular French-inspired Rive Gauche, an enveloping restaurant with a rich red interior, glossy wood and a chandelier, which is situated opposite Kilkenny Castle.

We don't need to be convinced that people linger in this lush environment over cocktails and wine long after their dinner is devoured.

We find room for a delicious meal of Mediterranean risotto Wellington - with plum tomatoes and mozzarella cheese - and herb rack of lamb and shoulder, followed by two vanilla creme brulees because neither of us wants to be the one who has to share.

It's time to return to Lyrath Estate Hotel and our elegant suite which has a dining area, a wall-mounted fire, two bathrooms and beautiful views, and is pure luxury.

On Tuesday morning James, who has been a fount of information throughout our trip, drops us to Cakeface Patisserie near St Canice's Cathedral, where Ballymaloe-trained Rory and Laura Gannon make really pretty and theatrical cakes which would be a crime to eat. They insist we leave with a few in case we get hungry on the train home.

GETTING THERE

Let the summer fun begin at the Lyrath Estate: www.lyrath.com

For more information on events, tours and special offers, visit www.visitkilkenny.ie

James Doran taxi tour: www.kilkennytaxitours.com

Ryeland House Cookery School: www.ryelandhousecookery.com/ Highbank Orchards: highbankorchards.com/

Foodworks restaurant: www.foodworks.ie/

Smithwick's Experience: www.smithwicksexperience.com/ Medieval Mile Museum: www.medievalmilemuseum.ie/

Kilkenny Castle: www.kilkennycastle.ie/

Rive Gauche restaurant: www.rivegauchekk.com/

Cakeface Patisserie: www.cakefacepastry.com/
Premium

John Downing Opinion New British prime minister Rishi Sunaks succession proves an important milestone in British political inclusivity

There is an old saying in British politics that goes: The right looks for converts while the left seeks out traitors. It comes to mind when one reflects upon the election of Rishi Sunak as the UKs first non-white prime minister in a party traditionally seen as most opposed to mass immigration and the dilution of national identity via multiculturalism.
Delegates voting at the INMO Annual Conference at Whites Hotel in Wexford last month. Photo: Patrick Browne

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) is calling for a special deal for groups such as nurses and doctors in pay talks, in light of continuing shortages of staff numbers in hospitals. This is having a huge impact on patient care, writes Eilish O'Regan (Irish Independent, June 8).

A spokesperson for Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Crumlin said that she would like to see a Dublin weighting allowance, which would give nurses in the capital extra allowances to cover the cost of higher rent. Incentives like that, and also better pay and conditions, might attract home again the huge number of talented young nurses and doctors who have emigrated from our shores in recent years.

This shortage of healthcare professionals has created a major problem for our hospitals countrywide, as they grapple with overcrowding and a continuing backlog of patients on ever-increasing waiting lists.

Because of cutbacks, and lower pay and conditions introduced during the years of austerity, many young nurse graduates left our shores to pursue better pay packages abroad. Contrast this with the surge of 9pc in the number of HSE managers appointed in recent times, as the number of public health nurses continues to dwindle.

The only thing that seems to have increased at a faster rate than managers in the health service is the number of patients waiting quietly in line for their all-important treatment. All the while, our young healthcare graduates line up to board the aircraft that take them to foreign lands.

Unfortunately, the losers in this whole scenario are the young, the sick and elderly patients, who are caught as the "piggy in the middle".

Tom Towey

Cloonacool, Co Sligo

Money won't solve services malaise

So Paschal Donohoe (Irish Independent, June 9) treats us to 27 paragraphs explaining why the new public sector pay deal is fair, and good value for us taxpayers.

Mr Donohoe makes not a single mention of issues such as transparency, accountability or value for money.

Has the concept of "quid pro quo" occurred to this, or any, Irish Government?

Quite aside from the issue of pay and pensions, Irish public services appear to vary from poor to abysmal to downright dysfunctional.

So yet again, the solution is simply to throw away more of the taxpayers' money, and ignore the profound malaise in our public services.

Good politics and a good way of ensuring electoral success; but, alas, a very bad way to run a country.

Gerard Kelly

Rathgar, Dublin 6

Make a stand against EU cash fraud

Why did Ireland not join the European Public Prosecutor's Office?

It will investigate, prosecute and bring to justice those who commit criminal offences affecting the EU's financial interests.

Fraud and criminal misapplication of EU money could be ongoing throughout the EU, including in Ireland.

Sixteen countries have signed, but not us. Why?

Martin Sinnott

Foxrock, Dublin 18

We need to tame the digital beast

Congratulations to chairman of the Press Council of Ireland, Sean Donlon, for his article (Irish Independent, June 10) warning us in relation to "digital media", which he says includes "the largest and most influential entities in the world of news business". It is totally unchallenged at the moment, since the ordinary individual has little or no defence to being attacked.

In addition, in contradiction of the right to free speech, they have the ability to exclude all and sundry who do not meet the conditions imposed by their various agendas.

The democracies of the world fail to deal with this situation at their peril.

At the moment, the threats to the rights of ordinary people by these powerful institutions are limitless.

In order to defend the rights of the ordinary citizen against the limitless power of those in control of digital media, they have to be challenged by the institutions of democratically elected governments.

A Leavy

Sutton, Dublin 13

Change of tune on Sinn Fein

What a difference a day makes. Before the British election, Irish political parties wouldn't dream of working with Sinn Fein. Now, our pathetic TDs are begging Sinn Fein members to take their seats in Westminster.

Eve Parnell

Dublin 8

Ugly tangle of Irish-UK politics

W B Yeats, in 'Easter, 1916' wrote the lines: "All changed, changed utterly: A terrible beauty is born", and "polite, meaningless words".

Perhaps one could paraphrase after last Thursday's UK election outcome to say: "Three terrible beauties have been 'reborn', in the eternal tangle that is British and Irish politics."

Firstly, the minority government of Theresa May: a return to government of "[im]polite, meaningless words".

Secondly, the yet-again hold of an Irish political party on a British government of the day.

Alas, the DUP does not count a Parnell, let alone a Dillon or Redmond, in its flock.

Thirdly, Sinn Fein, which now imagines it can demand speaking rights in the Dail, the parliament of the Republic of Ireland, for its abstentionist MPs elected to the Westminster parliament in Northern Ireland constituencies.

It would appear that Sinn Fein has adopted the Fianna Fail position of being a slightly constitutional party.

Leo Varadkar will, without doubt, receive a baptism of fire in the coming weeks - a fire that hopefully will temper the man's leadership qualities.

Declan Foley

Berwick, Australia

Westminster in disguise

Listening to a debate on RTE radio last week in the wake of the UK general election, I was forced to check my facts, because two of the interviewees, Micheal Martin and Mary Lou McDonald, referred to the parliament in "Westminister".

I had, up until now, understood it to be at "Westminster".

Paul Connolly

Co Kildare
Rock the system, not the cradle: former President Mary Robinson

During his election campaign for the leadership of the Fine Gael party, Leo Varadkar, one of the two male candidates, said: "Women are just as bright as men. They're just as capable."

The fact that he even said this speaks volumes about where we are at in terms of equality in Ireland.

The National Women's Council of Ireland (NWCI) recently ran an AGM conference titled 'Feminists are Everywhere' - and it seems they are.

The NWCI, which has done sterling work for women, posed the question: 'Why are you a feminist?'

The answers ranged from interesting and thought-provoking, to those verging on the ridiculous.

Senator Aodhan O Riordain opined on social media: "I'm a feminist because I know girls and women have to battle harder and longer for what men take for granted."

Please. Spare me. I am sure it was well intentioned, but it was patronising in the extreme.

The problem with feminism being everywhere is that its potency and focus will inevitably be lost. And it will crash under the weight of those jumping on the bandwagon.

I propose we focus on the term equality rather than feminism, which has become a bit fuzzy for my tastes.

What do women want?

We want equality in our wallets and not Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald spouting platitudes at a feminist gathering about the gender pay gap being "unacceptable in this day and age".

Talking the talk is easy. Delivering real results on something as important as equality of income is what women require.

The gender pay gap here currently stands at around 16pc. Over a lifetime, that amounts to a lot of money.

It is discrimination, plain and simple, to pay women less for the same work.

Women are also overly represented in the areas of low-paid and part-time work and this must change to achieve economic equality.

I sense that a lot of young women feel that by calling themselves a feminist, they are being radical and this will deliver results. I am not so sure.

Marches and gatherings raise morale, but they don't deliver results.

We hear very few women's voices on radio. I'm tired listening to male presenters and male guests on radio. It's a turn-off, literally.

If I choose to watch an Irish current affairs programme, the likelihood is that I will see a 'manel' rather than a fair gender mix.

And I don't buy that old chestnut that women are unwilling to appear on television programmes.

Women are seriously under-represented in Irish boardrooms, with around an 18pc participation rate.

In Irish academia, men significantly outnumber women in senior positions in spite of a 50/50 staff divide. This is simply wrong.

Irish theatre also has a significant gender imbalance problem. And those theatres with the highest State funding - the Gate, the Abbey, the Druid and the Dublin Theatre Festival - have the lowest levels of female representation. Totally unacceptable.

Less than a quarter of TDs are women. This is not a representative parliament.

This has to change and young women in particular need to step up to the plate and get off Twitter.

The gender quota system has delivered some results. We now have 22pc of TDs who are female, and 32pc of senators.

Women make up 50pc of the electorate, yet male and stale it remains.

In 1990, when Mary Robinson was elected President, she urged Irish women to instead of "rocking the cradle, to rock the system".

And she was on the money.

Gloria Steinem, the great American feminist, stated that US President Donald Trump has galvanised more activists than the Vietnam War, many of whom are women.

Ireland needs more female activists, rather than feminists, to deliver equality to women.

And I mean activists, not online 'hashtivists'.

And, no, men are not the problem. The problem is the system. Currently men control the system and operate it to their own advantage.

Surely feminism, a belief in equality between the sexes, is a given for all women.

The next stage is activism, but perhaps that is a term that we as women are less comfortable with.
Sheet masks are having more than just a moment right now. While they might have been around for years and have a horde of celebrities, including January Jones and Victoria Beckham, championing their hydrating powers, it took most of us until around 2014 to get on-board with the idea of wearing a serum-drenched cloth over our face for 10 minutes.

Fast-forward three years and the global sheet-mask market is predicted to be worth more than 269m by 2024. While we might not all be willing to take a selfie with a Hannibal Lecter-style white mask on our face like Chrissy Teigen and January Jones, social media has been one of the key driving forces behind the success of the trend. It's no surprise that some brands have introduced floral and panda-face designs in an attempt to make them more visually appealing.

Our growing appreciation of K-beauty (Korean-inspired) has also fuelled our appetite for masking. They are, after all, a Korean invention. It was Canada that took the concept to the next level, though, with biotech company Biomod's breakthrough imprinting technology (itself originating in Japan), and this month it's a British make-up artist who is sharing it with the masses.

Last May, a new brand called Nannette de Gaspe launched the first dry sheet mask, which subsequently sold out in Selfridges and has since been picked up by Net-a-porter.com. To say it has been a runaway success would be an understatement.

Expand Close Alexa Chung / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Alexa Chung

While the Restorative Techstile Face Masque looks like a nude-coloured standard face sheet, the texture is totally different. It's bone dry, and there are hooks to go around your ears, so you can go about your business as the formula gets to work for 15 minutes.

"The technology is based on a biomimetic lipids [fat-soluble molecules that are similar to your skin's composition] delivery system, which has been infused into the fabric. As soon as it makes contact with your skin, the lipids merge seamlessly with it and begin the prolonged release of active ingredients," explains brand founder and executive chair of Biomod Nannette de Gaspe. "The masks gently wrap around your face and are activated by humidity, temperature, ph or natural body movements."

In layman's terms, ingredients melt into the skin as the mask rubs against your face. Is this better than the traditional wet sheet masks we've come to love, though? If the brand's clinical-study results are anything to go by, then yes - three hours after one use you can expect to see a 20pc reduction in wrinkles, which is increased to up to 39pc after four days of use. The water-free formula ensures that the results are longer-lasting than traditional sheet masks. "Wet masks are on average 85pc water and glycerin, with 5-7pc active ingredients; whereas our masks are 87pc active ingredients and emollients," says de Gaspe. "By using lipids with a very high content of actives and delivering them without water, you don't just temporarily fill lines and wrinkles, you help repair them."

Each mask can be used four or five times as the lack of water prevents any build-up of bacteria, which makes the price tag of 85 slightly more understandable.

For those who are struggling to get their head around the concept, you're not alone. The big players of the beauty industry were equally flummoxed when de Gaspe took the technology to them a few years ago. "The plan was never to create my own brand. I visited all the major beauty companies to encourage them to buy the technology and bring it out under their name," she says. "They tested the science and agreed that it worked, but they were hesitant about whether the consumer would be able to adapt to the dry texture."

All was not lost though as, fortuitously, de Gaspe gave members of the Weston family, who own Selfridges, a mask each as a hostess gift when they stayed with her one weekend. They were so impressed that they put her in touch with Sebastian Manes, the director of buying and merchandising for the store, who convinced her to create her own brand. "When we launched at Selfridges in May last year, we had every major skin-care company watching," says de Gaspe.

Expand Close Chrissy Teigen / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Chrissy Teigen

Video of the Day

It was make-up artist Charlotte Tilbury who was the quickest off the mark.

"I wanted to launch a mask that was unlike anything else," says Tilbury, who unveiled her aptly named instant Magic Facial Dry Sheet Mask last month. While de Gaspe's mask is focused on repairing and rejuvenating skin and targets the anti-ageing market, Tilbury's contains a potent dose of vitamin b3 and peptides to give a hydrated glow. Her masks are more affordable at 18 each, and can still be used several times.

"In just 15 minutes you feel as though you've experienced a celebrity facial," she says.

While de Gaspe has launched bum-lifting and breast-enhancing patches this year, Tilbury also hints at further innovation.

"All I can say is watch this space!" she says. "I will only ever launch products that I know are the absolute best in the industry."

What can be said with certainty is that dry sheet masks are here to stay, and we will see plenty more brands unveiling their takes on the new texture. If you haven't tried one yet, now is the time.
Serzh Sargsyan congratulates Russians (video)

On the occasion of Russias State holiday - Russia Day - Serzh Sargsyan visited today the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Armenia. Serzh Sargsyan congratulated RF Ambassador Ivan Volinkin, the embassy staff and the brotherly people of Russia, wishing them peace and prosperity. On this occasion, the President of the Republic of Armenia sent congratulatory messages to RF President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. In the congratulatory message addressed to RF President Vladimir Putin, President Serzh Sargsyan underscored that as based on a solid foundation of friendship and brotherhood between the two nations, the Armenian-Russian relations have been enriched with a new content in recent years. According to Serzh Sargsyan, the active political dialogue and the ongoing constructive interaction on key issues of regional and international agenda, the implementation of joint projects in the economic, military-technical, cultural-humanitarian and other spheres are fully consistent with the spirit of allied relationship between Armenia and Russia. I am convinced that together we will be able to ensure further growth of the whole complex of strategic partnership between Armenia and Russia in both bilateral and multilateral formats for the benefit of our countries and peoples, as well as in the best interest of regional security and stability, President Serzh Sargsyan said in his congratulatory message, addressed to the President of the Russian Federation.
Mike Tindall carries his daughter Mia Tindall on his shoulders at the Maserati Royal Charity Polo Trophy at Beaufort Polo Club in Tetbury, Britain, June 11, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls

Mike Tindall carries his daughter, Mia, on his shoulders at the Maserati Royal Charity Polo Trophy at the Beaufort Polo Club in Tetbury, Britain June 11, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls

Mike Tindall carries his daughter Mia Tindall on his shoulders at the Maserati Royal Charity Polo Trophy at Beaufort Polo Club in Tetbury, Britain, June 11, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls

The Duke of Cambridge (right) hugs Mia Tindall, daughter of Mike and Zara Tindall, at the Gloucestershire Festival of Polo at Beaufort Polo Club in Tetbury, Gloucestershire

Zara Tindall with daughter Mia (left) at the Gloucestershire Festival of Polo at Beaufort Polo Club in Tetbury, Gloucestershire

Mia Tindall at the Gloucestershire Festival of Polo at Beaufort Polo Club in Tetbury, Gloucestershire

Mia Tindall at the Gloucestershire Festival of Polo at Beaufort Polo Club in Tetbury, Gloucestershire

Autumn Phillips (left) and Zara Tindall at the Gloucestershire Festival of Polo at Beaufort Polo Club in Tetbury, Gloucestershire

The Duke of Cambridge chases Mia Tindall, daughter of Mike and Zara Tindall, at the Gloucestershire Festival of Polo at Beaufort Polo Club in Tetbury, Gloucestershire

Royals - they're just like us.

During a charity match at the Gloucestershire Festival of Polo on Sunday, pictures of Prince William chasing his little cousin Mia all seemed like any other family occasion, except for the fact that the man doing the chasing is second in line to the British throne.

Mia's father Mike, a former English rugby player and his wife Zara, Queen Elizabeth's granddaughter have managed to enjoy many of the perks of a royal association without the borderline invasion of privacy that William, Kate Middleton and Prince Harry experience.

The Tindalls and The Cambridges represent a new generation of royals trying to forge some semblance of a normal life in a very public job, many of whom seem to have learned from their parents mistakes.

Expand Close Mike Tindall carries his daughter Mia Tindall on his shoulders at the Maserati Royal Charity Polo Trophy at Beaufort Polo Club in Tetbury, Britain, June 11, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Mike Tindall carries his daughter Mia Tindall on his shoulders at the Maserati Royal Charity Polo Trophy at Beaufort Polo Club in Tetbury, Britain, June 11, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls

Could you imagine Prince Charles, as a young father, playfully chasing anyone around a polo field?

The fact that Zara and William married non-royals has impacted their parenting decisions, in fact Mike previously said he refused to send his three-year-old daughter to boarding school when she is older, bucking royal tradition in the process.

"I'm certainly not keen on sending Mia away to a boarding school at the other end of the country," he told the Daily Mail.

Mike, who was a day student at a private school in Wakefield, England, as a child, would prefer Mia to follow a similar path.

Expand Close Mike Tindall carries his daughter Mia Tindall on his shoulders at the Maserati Royal Charity Polo Trophy at Beaufort Polo Club in Tetbury, Britain, June 11, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Mike Tindall carries his daughter Mia Tindall on his shoulders at the Maserati Royal Charity Polo Trophy at Beaufort Polo Club in Tetbury, Britain, June 11, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls

"I know many people who say boarding was the making of them because they forged great independence from their parents, but I dont really want her to be distanced from us.

"Personally, I'd rather she attend a school that's nearby, where we'll always be on hand if she needs us," he said. "Anything else goes against my instincts."

Video of the Day

Similarly, Prince George has enrolled in a day school in Battersea instead of following in his father's footsteps and attending the Wetherby School as expected.

There are virtually no pictures of George, his little sister Princess Charlotte or Mia published without their parents' consent - whether it's an official portrait released for a special occasion or at public event like this; which is why royal watchers cling onto something like the polo, admittedly disappointed that George and his little knee socks weren't there too.

Expand Close Mia Tindall at the Gloucestershire Festival of Polo at Beaufort Polo Club in Tetbury, Gloucestershire / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Mia Tindall at the Gloucestershire Festival of Polo at Beaufort Polo Club in Tetbury, Gloucestershire

In the meantime, we over-analyse every snippet of information we get about day-to-day life for the royal family, including grainy photos that give us any insight into what makes them tick.
Marchers unfurl a huge rainbow flag at the Equality March for Unity and Pride in Washington (AP)

Supporters of LGBT rights have mobilised for marches and rallies across the US, celebrating their gains but angered over threats to those advances.

The centre-piece event, the Equality March in Washington, was endorsed by virtually every major national advocacy group working on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans.

Leaders of those groups have been embittered by several actions of President Donald Trump's administration - including the rollback of federal guidance advising school districts to let transgender students use the bathrooms and changing rooms of their choice.

The activists also complain that Mr Trump, although he campaigned as a potential ally of gays and lesbians, has stocked his administration with many foes of LGBT-rights advances, including Vice President Mike Pence, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price.

Throngs of marchers, many thousands strong, paraded past the White House and toward the capital, trailing behind a giant rainbow flag near the head of the procession.

"We're here, we're queer, get that Cheeto out of here," was among the chants directed at Mr Trump.

For the LGBT community nationwide, it's an emotional time. Monday is the anniversary of the mass shooting a year ago in Orlando, Florida, that killed 49 people - mostly Latinos - at Pulse, a gay nightclub.

Among the marchers in Washington was Gil Mendez, a Puerto Rican native who travelled with his partner all the way from San Francisco to join the parade. He carried a sign that included the names of all the Pulse victims.

"The attack on Pulse really struck me hard," he said. "It made the connection between the physical violence of guns and the political attacks on our community."

Also marching, and singing freedom songs and patriotic songs along the way, were scores of members of gay choruses from various cities.

"It's an opportunity to tell everyone we're still here, and we're not going away at all," said Gregory Elfers of Teaneck, New Jersey, who was with a contingent from the New York City Gay Men's Chorus.

"We have to be heard - we have to be sure we're not trampled on," said L Owen Taggart of Washington's Gay Men's Chorus.

Roughly 100 marches and rallies were planned across the US, from Portland, Maine, and Boston to Anchorage, Alaska, and Honolulu. More than 100,000 people were expected to turn out in Los Angeles where the annual Pride Parade was renamed the ResistMarch. Activists in Casper, Wyoming, planned that city's first-ever pride parade.

Among the activist leaders on hand in Washington was Sarah Kate Ellis, president of GLAAD, which monitors media coverage of the LGBT community.

She noted that Mr Trump, breaking from the practice of Barack Obama, has declined to issue a proclamation in honour of Pride Month, and that the Trump administration has deleted questions about sexual orientation from planned federal surveys.

"If you look at their prioritisation, we're really low on it," she said. "There absolutely is a resistance aspect to this march."

AP
French President Emmanuel Macrons year-old party is set to land an overwhelming majority in the countrys parliamentary elections following the first round of voting on Sunday.

With the traditionally mainstream parties lagging behind, the 39-year-olds centrist movement La Republique En Marche (LREM) is set to mark a dramatic shift in the make-up of French politics with a landslide win.

Ahead of the final round this Sunday, heres what you need to know about the countrys legislative poll.

What are the elections for?

There are 577 seats up for grabs in Frances National Assembly, with 289 needed for a majority. Some 11 of those seats are reserved for French citizens living abroad, while 27 are in overseas territories.

Held a month after the nations presidential polls, deputies of the National Assembly  Frances lower house in Parliament  are elected to serve a five-year term via a first-part-the-post system in two rounds.

Candidates need to secure at least 50% of all votes in the first round, out of 25% of eligible voters, to win outright. If not, voting proceeds to a second round between candidates who secured at least 12.5% of the vote.

At least seven parties are vying for constituencies around the country, with polls showing a clear lead for LREM  which is expected to gain more than 440 seats.



Why is Macrons lead significant?

The presidents year-old movement, En Marche! (Forward!), morphed into La Republique En Marche (LREM) after he won the presidency in May.

His likely majority signals an earthquake in the traditional make-up of French politics, which has for decades been dominated by a two-party system between conservatives, now represented by Les Republicains, and socialist movement Parti Socialiste.

Both parties are set to be almost wiped out by Macrons centrist group, with the Republicans on 21.1% and the Socialists on 10%, compared to LREMs 32% vote share.

The breakdown of the vote share starkly displays this shift: the parliamentary left won 2.1 million votes and the right garnered 4.8 million votes, compared to the the centre, which landed 7.3 million votes. Centrist groups barely made a dent in the 2012 parliamentary poll.

Marine Le Pens far-right Front National came third, landing 13.2% of the vote. Le Pen, who failed in her leadership bid last month, looks set to win a seat in the Assembly.

What will a majority will mean for his five-year term?

Given his huge majority, the 39-year-old president will not need to form alliances with smaller parties to push through reforms, and can expect to govern without much opposition.

However, rivals have pointed out that despite his landslide, a low voter turnout of less than 50% points to a lack of wider support outside parliament and his voter base.

How many people voted?

Turnout in the first round was around 49% of Frances 47.5 million registered voters, a decline from 57% in 2012.

Who are the LREM candidates?

Many of the partys candidates are completely new faces to politics, who will push out well-recognised, establishment figures. Hopefuls include an ex-bull fighter and a former fighter pilot.

They are also younger, with an average age among hopefuls of 46, compared to 60 years old among outgoing representatives.

In an effort to shake up the old order, more than half (52%) of LREMs candidates in the legislative elections will be civilians, not having run for political office before. Exactly half of all candidates are women.

The partys representatives illustrate the political spectrum, while the countrys Prime Minister Edouard Philippe  who was appointed shortly after the presidential election  is centre-right.

What are Macrons main policies/ideas?

Emmanuel Macron is faced with a raft of challenges, not least concerns about security in the country.

The former banker wants to recruit 10,000 more police officers, is keen on positioning France as a green tech leader, and is proudly pro-EU.

He also wants to restore voter confidence in French politics, following scandals which overshadowed much of the presidential campaign. Centre-right front-runner Francois Fillon was harshly criticised during the run for allegedly employing his wife and children as assistants for a total of around 900,000 worth of taxpayers money.

With one-in-10 jobless, the fresh-faced leader aims to reform the labour market by lowering corporation tax to 25%, bringing unemployment down to 7%, and cutting social security contributions.
Amongst the rainbow flags and glittery costumes at this weekends Pride marches, a slightly unexpected figure could be spotted in the crowds: the Babadook.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

For those not in the know, the Babadook is a character from an Australian film of the same name, and it has recently become the LGBTQ communitys newest icon.

Released in 2014, the psychological horror movie features Mister Babadook, a monster who enters the real world from a childrens book to terrorise a widow and her son. The films refrain is: If its in a word, or its in a look, you cant get rid of the Babadook.

At the end of last year, a Tumblr post went viral raising the idea of the Babadook being gay. It said: Whenever someone says the Babadook isnt openly gay its like?? Did you even watch the movie??? and sparked a whole lot of debate.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

An image showing The Babadook on Netflixs LGBTQ Movies list soon started circulating the Internet (whether it was real or doctored is unclear), and soon there were many Tumblr posts insisting that the top hat-wearing character was indeed gay.

Whilst it started as an in-joke on the internet, there are perhaps more serious reasons behind the Babadook becoming a gay icon than you might think. Karen Tongson, an associate professor of gender studies and English at USC, told the LA Times: Someone was like, How could The Babadook become a gay film? and the answer was readily available.

He lives in a basement, hes weird and flamboyant, hes living adjacently to a single mother in this kind of queer kinship structure.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

In fact, its being used by many in the LGBTQ community ironically  comparing how the Babadook is seen to how gay people are seen by some people.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

Safe to say that the Babadook has been welcomed as an icon with open arms. Fan art has been made showing the character sporting rainbow flags over its normal black attire.

his first pride :) reblog if u support him

June is Pride Month, an opportunity for LGBTQ people to reflect on their history and celebrate the community. Pride marches take place all over the world this month, and this weekend cities mainly in the US (from LA to Washington DC) saw a whole lot of Babadooks joining the parade.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

There were also Babadook signs out in force.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

People are absolutely loving the communitys newest icon, joining the auspicious ranks of Madonna and Lady Gaga.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

People have even started imagining the Babadook as a contestant on RuPauls Drag Race.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

Who would have thought that a creepy horror movie character would be re-appropriated as a symbol of love and acceptance?
Sir Patrick Stewart has achieved many things in his illustrious acting career, and over the weekend he added to that list.

The 76-year-old was in Canada being hosted by Lewis Hamiltons Mercedes team and joined winner Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas and third-placed Daniel Ricciardo on the Canadian Grand Prix podium.

Red Bulls Ricciardo has a habit of drinking champagne from his sweaty shoe whenever he makes the podium, which he did this time  before being joined by the Star Trek actor.

Presenting Sir Patrick Shoe-art.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

I am proud of you for doing that, Hamilton told Stewart, who had been conducting the podium interviews.

The screen star replied: I dont care. I made the podium for the first time so I will drink out of anybodys shoes.

The celebration has been dubbed the shoey, and Stewart was keen to make sure he didnt miss out on it.

As for the race  Hamiltons victory marked the 10th anniversary of his first ever victory in the sport, on the same track in Montreal.

I had my first pole here, and my first win here 10 years ago, so to repeat it this weekend is incredibly special, Hamilton said.

I have to thank my team who made this possible. All the guys back at the factory who have worked so hard to really fix what we had in the last race, to bring it here and really give it to the Ferraris. I am over the moon.
Theresa Mays Cabinet features a handful of MPs who didnt exactly win by a landslide in the general election.

Despite holding some of the highest positions within the Government, there wasnt much in it between some of this lot and their political rivals when it came down to the public vote.

Here are the Cabinet ministers with the smallest majorities:

Home Secretary Amber Rudd  346

Rudd retained her seat in the constituency of Hastings by one of the smallest of majorities seen on the night, with Labours Peter Chowney coming a very close second.

Education Secretary Justine Greening  1,554

Labours Neeraj Patil was unable to knock Greening off her Putney seat and turn the only blue constituency in central London red  but only just.

Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns  2,190

While the Tories lost three seats in Wales, Alun Cairns managed to keep his in the Vale of Glamorgan. But Labours Camilla Beaven slashed his majority by over 4,000 from the previous election.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson  5,034

Political heavyweight Johnson held onto his Uxbridge & Ruislip South constituency by just over 5,000 votes from Vincent Lo. That may seem like a lot, but keep in mind Labour overturned a Tory majority of nearly 10,000 in Canterbury last week.

Secretary of State for Scotland David Mundell  9,441

Mundell fought off the SNPs Mairi McAllan to hold onto his Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale & Tweeddale seat and his majority actually increased  but its still one of the lowest in Mays Cabinet.

Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Karen Bradley  10,830

Bradleys majority grew slightly on 2015, with both she and Labours Dave Jones increasing their share of the vote. Should there be another election soon, the Tories would be pretty confident of holding on to her Staffordshire Moorlands constituency.

And on the other end of the spectrum, if you were wondering, the Cabinet ministers with the largest majorities are Leader of the House of Commons Andrea Leadsom with a solid 22,840 and Environment Secretary Michael Gove with a whopping 24,943.
Mile-long stretches of shore are being covered in dead or dying fish in Texas.

Footage taken in Matagorda  situated on Texas gulf coast  shows the extent of the extraordinary event.

It was crazy, said Kyle Naegeli, 19, who caught the footage. There were literally miles of fish washing up dead.

The dead fish were largely menhaden, but also included some larger fish such as flounder.

Although an official explanation has not been given, Naegeli said most people he had spoken to though it was a lack of oxygen which caused the phenomenon.

The UKs Marine Biological Association (MBA) told the Press Association this effect can be caused by algal blooms  rapid growths of algae in a body of water.

Guy Baker of the MBA said: When the bloom dies and sinks to the bottom in a coastal body of water with restricted circulation in hot weather, that could cause deoxygenation of the water to the extent that fish die.

Naegeli posted the footage to his YouTube channel The Fish Whisperer, and you can watch his full video here.
Michael Gove has returned from the cold and been appointed as Theresa Mays Environment Secretary.

The former justice secretary was dropped from the Cabinet when May became Prime Minister in 2016, but finds himself back on the frontbenches following the latest reshuffle.

Gove will oversee the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs  a role that includes farming, flooding and safeguarding of the environment.

But environmentalists are a bit thrown by the appointment.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

Questions have been raised about his voting record on the environment

During his time as an MP, Gove has generally voted against measures to prevent climate change, according to They Work For You.

In 2008, as secretary of state for children, Gove was absent during the second and third readings of the Climate Change Bill, and last year voted not to reduce the permitted carbon dioxide rate of new homes.

In total, between 2008 and 2016, he voted for measures to prevent climate change five times, against 12 times, and was absent 11 times.

Expand Close The new Environment Secretary Michael Gove. / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp The new Environment Secretary Michael Gove.

Gove has also twice voted in favour of selling Englands state owned forests, as well as culling badgers.

Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas is not impressed.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

Goves treatment of climate change on the school curriculum was controversial

During his time as education secretary, Gove made plans to drop climate change from the geography curriculum, according to the Guardian, as part of a drive to slim the curriculum down.

The newspaper reported that the plans would see climate change moved to the science curriculum, but said there were fears this would downgrade the subject.

The decision to abandon the plans was claimed as a victory for Ed Davey, the then Lib Dem energy and climate change secretary  a role which has remained unfilled since Amber Rudd became Home Secretary in 2016.

He hoped Brexit would mean the end of some wildlife protection regulation

Gove was a key figure in the Brexit campaign, and took aim at EU rules following the referendum which he said prevented homes being built.

I am very, very keen  I may be odd in this respect as Conservative MP  on having more homes built in my constituency. Its a social and economic good. But homes built in my constituency are governed by the Habitats Directive, he said in March, in quotes reported by the Independent.

The Habitats Directive holds that if you build a home within five kilometres of a particular type of terrain, heathland, then you have to allocate, at the same time, something called suitable alternative natural green space to offset the environmental impact.

He added: As a result my constituents, and perhaps your children find homes more expensive and mobility in this country impeded.

But he has spoken of the need for conservation

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

In a 2014 Westminster speech, Gove took questions from the floor on his climate stance, a topic he said had many feel had been colonised by the left, saying Conservatives want to see natural beauty respected and observed and enhanced.

He said: It seems to me unarguable that man has an impact on the climate. It seems to me unarguable that climate change can have a devastating and damaging impact on societies and economies that are even less developed.

And therefore it seems to me unarguable that we should seek first to lessen the impact that man might have on the climate, and secondly invest appropriately in measures to mitigate and protect individuals and societies from the impact of climate change.

In the same speech, Gove said his level of knowledge and technical expertise could be a barrier to helping those on the political right lead the climate change argument.
Armenia is attractive for NATO (video)

Armenia will sooner or later join NATO, says Davit Shahnazaryan, Senior Analyst at Regional Studies Center. He adds that the regional processes lead to membership, In current geopolitical instable situation, the question of withdrawing from the CSTO or the Eurasian Union is out of question. But NATO is expanding, moreover NATO isnt expanding itself, but the neighboring countries of NATO lead a policy so that NATO expands. The political expert notes that Turkey is already a member of NATO, and Georgia is directly moving towards NATO. Armenia simply has no alternative, I dont think that the CIS has chances to expand, vice versa, it seems that we have no partners in the CIS, except legally established partner- Russia. CIS is a club of countries having relations with Russia. Mr Shahnazryan cannot predict when Armenia will join NATO. Boris Navasardyan, Head of Yerevan Press Club, has difficulty even in predicting whether Armenias membership is possible or not, I am not Vanga, anyway. The current developments in the region, according to Mr Navasardyan, make the predictions on Armenias possible membership even more difficult. But in all cases Armenia is attractive for NATO at least as a threat, For NATO any region, which has a border or is close to NATO member states, is a potential threat or a country, nation, territory having a solution to potential security issue, and Armenia is not an exception, taking into account that there is fire very close to us and at any moment Armenias role may be important. Armenia can use NATO as a platform for discussing concerning issues, says William Lahue, NATO representative in the South Caucasus, Every time, when Armenia goes to NATO, it speaks of Karabakh, Azerbaijan and Turkey and tries to convince member states of the alliance of Armenias viewpoints. Consequently it is an important platform for Armenia. By the way, touching upon the participation of servicemen from NATO member state Turkey in April War in support of Azerbaijan, representative of NATO Magnus Eyjolfsson noted that everything which NATO 29 member states do within the frames of independent politics, isnt business of NATO.
An elephant that was part of a Buddhist procession has attacked and killed a monk, police in Sri Lanka said.

Police spokesman Priyantha Jayakody said three elephants were marching in a procession in Colombo on Sunday night when one suddenly went on the rampage and attacked the monk.

The monk suffered serious injuries and died in hospital early on Monday.

Colourfully decorated elephants are a significant part of Buddhist religious processions and festivals. Temples and wealthy families often own the animals and rent them out for such events.

However, animal rights activists say the elephants are often kept in inhumane conditions.

Sri Lanka has nearly 6,000 elephants, but those in the wild are threatened with habitat loss and degradation. An estimated 200 elephants are killed every year, mainly by farmers trying to protect their crops.
It is being claimed that Donald Trump is violating the US constitution (AP)

The attorney generals of Maryland and the District of Columbia have announced they have filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump, alleging he violated the US constitution by retaining ties to a sprawling global business empire.

District of Columbia attorney general Karl Racine and Maryland attorney general Brian Frosh made the announcement at a jointly held news conference in Washington, confirming the suit has been filed in a court in Maryland.

Mr Frosh and Mr Racine cited Mr Trump's leases, properties and other business "entanglements" around the world as the reason for the suit, saying those posed a conflict of interest under a clause of the constitution.

"The presidents' conflicts of interest threaten our democracy," Mr Frosh told journalists. "We cannot treat the president's ongoing violations of the constitution and his disregard of the rights of the American people as the new acceptable status quo."

Mr Racine says the president has spoken about drawing a line between the presidency and his many businesses and properties but that he "has walked his promise back."

"We have a duty to enforce the law and that's why we are taking action today," Mr Racine added.

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday. The president called an earlier, similar lawsuit about the so-called emoluments clause of the constitution an issue "without merit, totally without merit".
French president Emmanuel Macron casts his ballot in the first round of the two-stage legislative elections (Christophe Petit-Tesson/Pool Photo/AP)

Candidates in the run-off of French parliamentary elections are hitting the campaign trail, shaken by a record abstention rate in the first round and the prospect of a sweep by President Emmanuel Macron's new party.

Less than half of registered voters cast ballots on Sunday, the Interior Ministry said in its final count the morning after. Those who did gave Mr Macron's En Marche party over 28% of the vote - more than 12 points ahead of the closest rival, the mainstream conservatives.

If the sweep holds as expected, representatives of Mr Macron's party, many of them new to politics, could take more than 400 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly, the lower house - unprecedented in the Fifth Republic, like the 48.7% participation rate.

Marine Le Pen's far-right National Front fell flat with 13% of the vote. Ms Le Pen, who had Europe on edge until she lost the May 7 presidential race, was trying to save herself and her party in the legislative contests. She moved to the second round in her northern bastion of Henin-Beaumont. But some ranking party members were eliminated outright, notably campaign director Nicolas Bay, the party's secretary-general.

"Lots of voters thought that (the election result) was played out in advance," Mr Bay said on Monday on CNews television, reflecting a sense expressed by others that the huge presidential win by Mr Macron demotivated many potential voters. Mr Macron, an upstart centrist, formed his En Marche movement less than 14 months ago then turned it into a political party, promising to return politics to the people.

Now, Mr Macron's rivals fear the elections will eliminate any effective opposition to counter an all-powerful president. He wants, within weeks, to start reforming French labour laws to make hiring and firing easier, and legislate a code of ethics in politics to end the scandals that over decades have eroded voter trust in the political class.

The Socialist Party of the deeply unpopular former president Francois Hollande was shredded in the first round, with its leader, Jean-Christophe Cambadelis eliminated along with Benoit Hamon, the party's presidential candidate. The party took less than 7.5% of the vote.

Francois Fezeau, a 29-year-old Parisian, said the results so far "fill me with enthusiasm".

He said: "We had a recent (presidential) election which shook up the classic parties and I think that the legislative elections give Mr Macron the possibility to show what he is able to do."

AP
A man with his motorcycle passes next to a damaged house after an earthquake in the village of Plomari on the northeastern Greek island of Lesbos, Monday, June 12, 2017. A Turkish government agency says an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 has shaken western Turkey. The Greek island of Lesbos has also been rattled. (Manolis Lagoutaris/InTime News via AP)

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 has shaken western Turkey and the Greek island of Lesbos.

It was not immediately clear if the quake had caused any major damage in Turkey or Greece. Earthquakes are common in both countries.

Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management said the earthquake was in the Aegean Sea at a depth of more than four miles and hit at 3.28pm local time.

Tremors were also felt in densely-populated Istanbul and in the western Turkish provinces of Izmir.

Expand Close A woman clears her shop after an earthquake in the village of Plomari on the northeastern Greek island of Lesbos, Monday, June 12, 2017. A Turkish government agency says an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 has shaken western Turkey. The Greek island of Lesbos has also been rattled. (Manolis Lagoutaris/InTime News via AP) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp A woman clears her shop after an earthquake in the village of Plomari on the northeastern Greek island of Lesbos, Monday, June 12, 2017. A Turkish government agency says an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 has shaken western Turkey. The Greek island of Lesbos has also been rattled. (Manolis Lagoutaris/InTime News via AP)

The private Dogan news agency showed residents in western Turkey leaving buildings.

State-run radio in Greece said hundreds of residents left buildings and waited out in the street in Lesbos' capital, Mytilene.

Authorities in Lesbos said dozens of homes were damaged in parts of the island and some roads were closed, but there were no reports of serious injuries.

"We are advising residents in affected areas of Lesbos to remain outdoors until buildings can be inspected," senior seismologist Efthimios Lekkas said.

In Turkey, 61-year old Ayse Selvi felt the tremors in her summer home in Karaburun near the quake's epicentre.

"My God, all the picture frames fell on the ground and I have no idea how I ran out. I'm scared to go inside now."

Her sister Seval Isci, 57, was ironing at home in Izmir when the earthquake hit and left her home along with the other residents of the building when the first aftershock hit.

"We were really scared," she said.

Expand Close People look at the debris of a damaged building after an earthquake in the village of Plomari on the northeastern Greek island of Lesbos, Monday, June 12, 2017. A Turkish government agency says an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 has shaken western Turkey. The Greek island of Lesbos has also been rattled. (Manolis Lagoutaris/InTime News via AP) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp People look at the debris of a damaged building after an earthquake in the village of Plomari on the northeastern Greek island of Lesbos, Monday, June 12, 2017. A Turkish government agency says an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 has shaken western Turkey. The Greek island of Lesbos has also been rattled. (Manolis Lagoutaris/InTime News via AP)

Turkey's emergency management agency said there were no reports of casualties in the country.

Two devastating earthquakes hit northwestern Turkey in 1999, killing some 18,000 people.
Donald Trump has told Theresa May he does not want to go ahead with his controversial state visit to the UK if it is going to lead to large-scale demonstrations.

It was reported that the US president said he wanted to be sure he had the support of the British public before coming to the country.

His comments - effectively putting the visit on hold - were said to have been made in a telephone call made in "recent weeks".

Downing Street refused to comment, saying only that the invitation which was given by Mrs May on behalf of the Queen when she met Mr Trump in Washington just seven days after his inauguration, remained unchanged.

A spokesman said: "We aren't going to comment on speculation about the contents of private phone conversations. The Queen extended an invitation to President Trump to visit the UK and there is no change to those plans."

The decision to accord such a controversial president the honour of a state visit so soon after taking office was widely criticised at the time.
School teachers and religious leaders, as well as unarmed police, will become crucial tools in the battle to counter terrorism.

Since the spate of terror attacks throughout Europe, the focus has been largely on a hard-edged law enforcement.

However, best practice in countering terrorism has shown that if you first counter extremism in the community you may avoid suffering the worst excesses of terrorism.

What this means is that teachers, social workers, community activists and religious leaders are as much front-line responders in keeping our community safe as guards, paramedics and soldiers.

Counter-terrorism is a spectrum - we are always focusing at the end of that spectrum in this country.

It's time we focused at the start point of that spectrum, countering the contagion of extremism in the communities at risk.

In this case, it is the Muslim communities we are most concerned with. But countering extremism is something we need to develop a concerted and policy-led approach to throughout our society.

It's worth remembering that the most recent seizure of explosives by gardai was from allegedly home-grown dissident terrorists. However, while a more immediate threat, we are better configured to handle this, as the recent arrests show.

This is why we now must adopt a 'fusion' approach. This means our Government commencing with a needs-based policy assessment on communities at risk of developing extremist attitudes and behaviour.

A policy and framework must be put in place that allows for training of public servants other than just our gardai to recognise the seeds of extremism.

A joined-up approach between the Departments of Justice, Education, Social Welfare, the Revenue Commissioners and others, can see a much wider spread of those who deal with the public being able to recognise the early starting points of extremism.

But for this to work, there must be a strategy in place in how to counter extremism once it is recognised. This involves 'breaking the narrative'. This cannot be done without the members of the communities at risk being fully brought into this counter-extremism strategy.

Because we are a small island, with a small population with an even smaller Islamic population, we have a golden opportunity to develop a counter-extremism programme that could be a shining light of best practice to other jurisdictions.

Religious and community leaders, parents and siblings all can have a role to play here and an influence on developing this. This is about giving people a stake in mapping out their own futures and not foisting a cobbled-together security-heavy strategy that has no credibility or buy-in from the community.

Believe me, most Muslims in Ireland want their kids to become doctors and teachers, not bomb makers and jihadis. Irish Muslim citizens deserve to be protected from extremism as much as anyone else.

If what I am saying seems naive or idealistic, then remember we have a template to use that already works.

The headlines last week were dominated by calls for Dublin's Garda Armed Response Unit to be increased. But the real news that will significantly improve our national security is that newly promoted Assistant Commissioner Pat Leahy is to be allowed to roll out his home-grown Small Area Policing Strategy throughout the State.

He invented and honed this new initiative on community policing in Dublin's north-central division where it received a European Best Practice award. But more importantly, it received the endorsement of the local population and their public representatives.

Essentially, every small block and cluster of streets was given a designated garda to constantly patrol this small area and get to know the locals and their needs. The guard didn't just deal with crimes, he or she helped with social matters and intervened for locals when the city council needed reminding to collect the rubbish.

The guards appointed to this small area, however, were not just dealing with minor matters. Though dealing with a relatively small area, the guard was expected to know as much as possible about the people in this neighbourhood.

This ensured the guard was better informed at all levels and that specialist units turned to them for assistance when murders or more serious crimes were committed on their patch.

More importantly, the guard in the small patch built a liaison network with the people, local politicians, teachers and community activists. The information flow upward to the policing management at divisional level allowed for strategic decisions to be made based on timely, accurate and relevant information.

As a result, the people in these areas had a renewed relationship with their garda.

Now Asst Commissioner Leahy (pictured below) plans to map out every street in the State and ensure a guard is empowered to be the sheriff of that area.

By giving the guard more scope and ensuring they build a relationship that has real reach into the community, Leahy is giving more specialised police units a real asset to call on in times of emergency.

It is this kind of unglamorous but necessary relationship-building work among law enforcement, other arms of public service and the community that will contribute most to our long-term national security.

Declan Power is an independent security analyst and writer who has worked abroad on Counter Extremism and Terrorism projects for the European Union
French president Emmanuel Macron casts his ballot in the first round of the two-stage legislative elections (Christophe Petit-Tesson/Pool Photo/AP)

Near-final results from France's first-round parliamentary elections show President Emmanuel Macron's new movement winning by a large margin and set to land a huge majority in the final-round vote.

The newly elected French leader's gamble that voters wanted to throw out old faces and try something new is paying off in full - first by giving him the presidency and, on Sunday, the crucial first step toward securing the legislative power to deliver on his pledge of far-reaching change.

His fledgling Republic on the Move! - contesting its first-ever election and fielding many candidates with no political experience at all - was on course to deliver him a legislative majority so crushing that Mr Macron's rivals fretted that the 39-year-old president will be able to govern France almost unopposed for his full five-year term.

Record-low turnout, however, took some shine off the achievement. Less than 50pc of the 47.5 million electors cast ballots - showing that France's youngest president has limited appeal to many voters.

Mr Macron wants, within weeks, to start reforming French labour laws to make hiring and firing easier, and legislate a greater degree of honesty into parliament, to staunch the steady flow of scandals that over decades have eroded voter trust in the political class.

With 94pc of votes counted, Mr Macron's camp was comfortably leading with more than 32pc - putting it well ahead of all opponents going into the decisive second round of voting next Sunday for the 577 seats in the lower-house National Assembly.

Mr Macron's prime minister, Edouard Philippe, confidently declared on Sunday night that the second round vote would give the assembly a "new face."

"France is back," he said.

Pollsters estimated that Mr Macron's camp could end up with as many as 450 seats - and that the opposition in parliament would be fragmented as well as small.

The Socialist Party that held power in the last legislature and its allies were all but vaporised -their 314 seats likely reduced, according to pollsters' projections, to as few as 20 seats, and possibly no more than 30, in the new assembly.

Socialist Party leader Jean-Christophe Cambadelis warned that Mr Macron's party could end up "almost without any real opposition".

"We would have a National Assembly with no real power of control and without democratic debate to speak of," he said.

On the right, the conservative Republicans were also reeling, projected to end up with possibly no more than 110 seats, and possibly as few as 70, having controlled 215 in the outgoing parliament.

Read More

The National Front of far-right leader Marine Le Pen looked unlikely to convert her strong showing in the presidential election into anything more than a small handful of legislative seats and certainly not enough to make the party into a major opposition force. That was Ms Le Pen's hope after she advanced for the first time to the presidential runoff that Mr Macron won on May 7.

Ms Le Pen complained that the legislative voting system did not fully represent voters' wishes - because her party got around 14pc of votes but was not able to greatly improve on the two legislators it had in the last legislature.

The party's secretary general, Nicolas Bay, warned of Mr Macron getting "a majority so big that he will have a sort of blank check for the next five years".

Read More

Another sign of voters' rejection of the political mainstream was that far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon was, with the Communist Party, projected to see his camp win as many as 18 seats, an improvement on the 10 they held before.

Voters said polls that had predicted a large majority for Mr Macron's camp likely dissuaded people from turning out. They also blamed the long election cycle, with party primaries that started last year before the two rounds of presidential and then legislative voting, for turning voters off.

"I've voted seven times in the last few months," voter Jean-Luc Vialla said after casting his ballot in an eerily quiet voting station in Paris where voters came in a trickle.

"And the result seems written in advance. It demotivated people."
Arpine Hovhannisyan receives Ambassador of Timur Urazayev

On June 12, the RA NA Deputy Speaker Arpine Hovhannisyan received the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Armenia Timur Urazayev. The RA NA Deputy Speaker highly assessed the current level of the parliamentary relations between Armenia and Kazakhstan and especially highlighted the Ambassadors contribution to the expansion and deepening of bilateral relations. By Arpine Hovhannisyans assessment, the parliamentary diplomacy can be of key importance in the bilateral cooperation, thus the parliamentarians should effectively use that most important platform. The Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Armenia Timur Urazayev congratulated Arpine Hovhannisyan on being elected in the responsible post of the RA NA Deputy Speaker and wished her fruitful work. The Ambassador highly appreciated Mrs Hovhannisyans work in the elaboration of strategy on the fight against corruption and presented the measures taken in his country in this sphere. He emphasized the deepening of the Armenian-Kazakh cooperation in different spheres and presented the implemented programmes and steps taken in recent period. The interlocutors touched upon the formation of Armenia-Kazakhstan Friendship Group in the parliament of the sixth convocation and expressed conviction that it will raise the Armenian-Kazakh relations to a new level. The parties also talked about the cooperation in the international parliamentary structures and spotlighted the coordinated work in the issues of bilateral interest.
Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik, who murdered 77 people in 2011, has officially changed his name to Fjotolf Hansen, his lawyer said on Friday.

Oeystein Storrvik declined to give Breivik's reasons for adopting Hansen, one of Norway's most common surnames, or the extremely rare Fjotolf.

"He told me some reasons but I don't want to talk about what he told me," Storrvik told Reuters, confirming Norwegian media reports of the name change.

In Norway, citizens can freely change their names in the official register but are not allowed to pick words that are likely to cause offence to others or harm the individual. It was unclear when he made the change.

Read More

On Thursday, the Norwegian Supreme Court said it would not consider an appeal lodged by Breivik protesting against his prison conditions.

The anti-Muslim far-right extremist killed 77 people in Norway's worst peacetime atrocity in July 2011. He killed eight with a bomb in Oslo and then gunned down 69, many of them teenagers, at a youth meeting of the then-ruling Labour Party.

Norway's Statistics Bureau says that there are more than 52,000 people with the surname Hansen in a population of five million. On Fjotolf, it merely says that it is used by fewer than four people.
Theresa May faces a crunch meeting on Monday with Conservative MPs whose support she desperately needs to avoid the imminent collapse of her premiership.

Tories furious at the election fiasco will demand changes to her leadership style and concessions on key policy areas, including Brexit.

In a sign of the impossible task ahead, the weakened leader must appease both those who believe voters have rejected a hard Brexit, and others demanding she plough on with a tough approach.

Ms May appears to have avoided an immediate coup, with Boris Johnson telling unsettled MPs to calm down, but Conservatives from all wings of the party are still openly speculating that the Prime Ministers days are numbered. The former chancellor George Osborne yesterday branded her a dead woman walking.

The Prime Minister sought to shore up her extremely vulnerable position with a reshuffle that confirmed most key figures in their existing jobs, although there were a couple of unexpected moves that saw the return of Brexiteer Michael Gove as Environment Secretary, well as key promotions for Tories who backed remaining in the EU  including Damian Green, who was made First Secretary of State.

Read More

Her survival also depends on the Northern Irish DUP committing to a deal to prop up the Government in the Commons, with the partys leader now due in Downing Street on Tuesday for talks.

The chairman of the influential Tory backbench 1922 Committee, Graham Brady, confirmed Ms May would be attending a meeting of the group on Monday, brought forward a day to address the the partys crisis.

He insisted there was no immediate leadership challenge which could plunge them into another general election, but acknowledged policies set out in the Tory manifesto would have to be abandoned.

The Monday afternoon meeting is likely to see Ms May face further demands to transform the way she operates, similar to the ones already made by senior ministers.

One Brexit-backing MP Andrew Bridgen said: We owe it to the country to really get behind the PM and deliver stability, but she knows what she has to do. She needs to be strong and stable, but contrite  about the way the campaign went and whats got to change.

There needs to be a much more extensive group of people around Number 10 to hold the party together.

Main candidates to replace Theresa May 'would all hurt Tories'

But she also needs to commit to a clean Brexit, that was in our and Labours manifesto, and she must not bow to Remainers who are trying to tie everything they want to the election result.

Others like Philip Hammond saw things differently, with the Chancellor reported to have told Ms May she must put jobs first in negotiating a new deal with Brussels, a veiled swipe at her focus on immigration.

Read More

A senior Tory MP said: If we fail to deliver stable government now, theres a serious risk Jeremy Corbyn could be elected with a majority. So the key thing is not doing anything that would mean him ending up in Downing Street now.

But beyond that, Brexit and its economic consequences are still massively de-stabilising. It needs to be dealt with swiftly, but in a way that recognises where we are at the moment.

Another ex-Tory minister explained: Her Brexit strategy has been completely blown out of the water.

Some people dont understand that. The penny hasnt dropped. Maybe it will drop when she speaks at the '22.

Ex-business minister Anna Soubry told The Independent: Shes got to be more inclusive, yes with the party, but in the cabinet too.

The Chancellor and the Business Secretary, Greg Clark, have got to be at the front. They have got to be at the heart and soul of the Brexit deal.

At the same time she has to stop the rhetoric of hard Brexit, and all of the no deal, better than a bad deal. The British people have rejected that, and she needs to reflect it.

Stating that nothing should be off the table, she indicated that she wanted a different approach to the single market and immigration.

She moved off the centre ground and she lost, said Ms Soubry.

I want to see her move back towards it and that would mean its necessary to work with the sensible people in the Labour party to reach a consensus on Brexit and what getting a good deal means.

But another former Tory minister told The Independent: Can a leopard change its spots? She is at the mercy of events, principally how the EU negotiations go.

Read More

While the threat of the coup appears to have momentarily receded, senior Conservatives warned she will never lead the party into another election after last week's humiliation at the ballot box.

Mr Osborne, sacked by Ms May when she became Prime Minister, said it was clear her days in Downing Street were numbered after seeing her Commons majority wiped out in the election she had so confidently called.

The ex-chancellor, who now edits the London Evening Standard, said: Theresa May is a dead woman walking. It is just how long she is going to remain on death row.

I think we will know very shortly. We could easily get to the middle of next week and it all collapses for her.

Former cabinet minister Nicky Morgan, who was also sacked by Ms May, predicted that there could be a leadership challenge over the summer.

I think it's fairly clear Theresa May cannot lead us into another election  of course, we don't know when that's going to happen, and I don't think we should rush that. But I do think if we're going to have a leadership contest in the Conservative Party, what we cannot do is have another coronation like last summer.

One Brexiteer Tory MP, who said Ms May staying for now was crucial to keeping Brexit on track, said: Its unlikely that this parliament will go on five years and unlikely that Theresa May will lead us into another general election.

Everyone thinks that, but we need her to be strong and stable and tough it out for a while.

The talks with Arlene Foster, the Democratic Unionist leader, will not start until Tuesday  after Ms Mays perilous post-election meetings with her Cabinet and backbenchers.

In a Saturday night of farce, No 10 first announced that an agreement had been reached  only to release a second statement, just five hours later, admitting it had not.

The DUP issued its own statement, dismissing the claim of an agreed deal, apparently angry at the attempt to bounce the party into signing up before it was ready.

Mr Gove's return as Environment Secretary sees the lead Brexiteer repaid for loyalty since his demise in the last Tory leadership contest.

The reshuffle saw other key Cabinet ministers remain in post, including Jeremy Hunt (Health), Justine Greening (Education), Chris Grayling (Transport), Greg Clark (Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy). Sajid Javid (Local Government) and Priti Patel (International Development).

Meanwhile, Jeremy Corbyn predicted Theresa May will be forced into another general election within months, insisting: We are ready any time.

It would require 15 per cent of Conservative MPs  a total of 48  to write to Mr Brady to trigger a vote of no-confidence in her leadership.

But Michael Fallon, the Defence Secretary, dismissed suggestions that Ms May was fighting for her political life, insisting Tory MPs would rally behind her and give her their support.

Asked if she was a dead woman walking, he said: I dont agree with that. She won the biggest share of the vote since the 1987 election, for over 30 years.

The Prime Minister is reported to have been in floods of tears as her election disaster unfolded, but Sir Michael said: I dont know about that.
Smoke rises over buildings that were hit by Syrian government forces in Daraa (Nabaa Media, via AP)

Syrian government forces and rebels have traded fire across Daraa as opposition activists warned the government was preparing to try and retake the remainder of the southern city.

The activist-run Nabaa Media outlet released footage of thick black smoke rising over the city following a string of blasts. It alleged the government was using napalm-like weapons. The footage was filmed on Sunday.

Daraa is an important link on the highway connecting Damascus to Jordan and was once an important source of customs revenue for the capital. It has been contested between the government and the opposition since the first anti-government demonstrations in 2011.

Nabaa contributor Mohammad Abazeid said the city's opposition-held areas are "nearly empty" and have been heavily damaged by the bombardment.

He said some 20,000 residents have fled the opposition-held quarters of the city since February.

The government's attacks have been concentrated on Daraa's Old City and its Palestinian refugee camp, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

It reported clashes between rebels and pro-government gunmen inside the camp, which is a built-up residential area.

An infant was killed in rebel shelling of the government-held parts of the city, according to the Observatory and Syrian state media.

A "de-escalation agreement" brokered by Iran, Russia and Turkey in May has not brought any relief for the city, activists said.

The agreement covers four zones in Syria where the rebels are fighting pro-government forces.

Syria is in the sixth year of a civil war that has killed more than 400,000 people.

AP
Nearly complete results in Kosovo's national election are showing that a coalition of ethnic Albanian former leaders of a war of independence against Serbian troops in 1998-1999 is leading with a third of the vote.

The Central Election Commission reported on Monday afternoon that the ex-rebels' coalition came in first with around 34% of the vote.

With more than 99% of votes counted, the nationalist Movement for Self-determination had about 27%, more than a point ahead of a coalition led by former Prime Minister Isa Mustafa.

No group can govern alone and a coalition is likely.

Final results for the new 120-seat parliament are expected later in the week. Twenty seats in parliament are reserved for ethnic Serbs and other minorities.

Commission head Valdete Daka said that due to "heavy traffic of more than 2 million clicks" the institution's webpage was temporarily blocked on Monday morning. She added that officials are working to produce final results, likely later this week.

Ramush Haradinaj, 48, the leading coalition's nominee to be prime minister, told supporters at a midnight rally in Pristina that "we know that there is a lot of work ahead of us. But we are going to achieve it together".

The Movement for Self-determination also celebrated the results, which saw the party double its share of the vote. The party has been a disruptive force, releasing tear gas in the previous parliament while its supporters threw firebombs outside to protest contentious deals with Montenegro and Serbia.

The party has nominated its former leader, 42-year-old Albin Kurti, as candidate for prime minister.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said the victory of hard-liners in the Kosovo elections will create "a lot of difficulties and problems," but added that the European Union-mediated dialogue with Kosovo must continue.

The Serbian leaders consider Haradinaj a war criminal and failed to get him extradited earlier this year from France where he was detained on a Serbian arrest warrant.

Serbia does not recognise Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn said he hopes that Kosovo's representatives understand that "a future perspective, in terms of more and better living conditions, is only achievable embedded into the European Union."

"It's now the responsibility of political leaders in the country to form - very fast hopefully - a new government ... it's so important for this country to stay committed to the reforms."

The US Embassy in Pristina congratulated "the people of Kosovo on their democratic elections" but also expressed concern on "some reports of outdated voter registries, double-voting and other sporadic irregularities".

"The voters of Kosovo have spoken, and now the critical process of forming a new government must begin. We look forward to working closely with whomever forms the new government," a statement said.

Any government will face a number of thorny issues, including approving a border demarcation deal with Montenegro Brussels insists Kosovo's parliament must approve the deal signed in 2015 as a condition for adding Kosovo to western Balkan countries whose citizens do not need visas to enter the EU's Schengen zone.

A further issue is the prospect of former ethnic Albanian senior rebel commanders facing prosecution in the newly established war crimes court. The court in The Hague is expected to shortly issue indictments for crimes committed against civilians during and after the 1998-1999 war with Serbia.

AP
A 73-year-old British sailor was rescued by the Queen Mary 2 luxury liner after his yacht was severely damaged in an extreme north Atlantic storm.

The lone yachtsman, understood to be former Royal Marine Mervyn Wheatley, was taking part in a transatlantic race when it was hit by the tempest in the early hours of Friday.

Despite Mr Wheatleys yacht, called Tamarind, being battered in 15-metre seas by winds reaching 60 knots (69mph), the pensioner was described as being uninjured and in good spirits.

A profile on the Royal Western Yacht Club (RWYC) website said the experienced sailor left Plymouth for Newport, Rhode Island, on the slow and comfortable American cruising boat  which is fitted out below with teak and a bath  on 29 May.

It was his 19th Atlantic crossing and he had planned to sail back single-handed, with the 6,500-nautical-mile voyage ending in July or August.

The UK Coastguard and counterparts in Halifax, Canada, launched a long-range rescue mission involving an RAF C-130 Hercules after detecting a distress beacon at around 4am on Friday.

Meanwhile coordinators radioed the luxury QM2 for assistance, which diverted its course and headed to the scene, arriving at around 1pm on Saturday.

Master of QM2, Captain Chris Wells, who led the rescue mission, said it was standard seafaring practice to go to the aid of a vessel in distress.

He added: We were pleased to be able to help and delighted that the yachtsman is safe and well and now on board.

Mr Wheatley, a father-of-two of Newton Ferrers, Devon, served 33 years as an officer in the Royal Marines, according to the RWYC.

Among his achievements is skippering one of the eight boats to take part in the inaugural Clipper Round the World Race in 1996, which he also competed in again in the 2005/6 race/

According to a fundraising page, it was the fifth time Mr Wheatley had competed in the Original Single Handed Transatlantic Race, known as OSTAR, with Tamarind.

The yacht was one of five craft competing in the OSTAR and Two Handed Transatlantic Race to be affected by the storm, three of which are understood to have been piloted by British skippers.

Despite all of the boats suffering damage, there were no reports of injuries.

n its website, the RWYC, which organises the races, said: The RWYC would like to thank all personnel at the Halifax Coastguard for their immediate and magnificent response to this emergency situation. All seafarers owe them a debt of gratitude.

John Lewis, race director, told BBC News that in 25 years he had not seen conditions so bad. It's unusual, it's extreme, but it does happen in the North Atlantic, he said.

Daniel Bailey, maritime operations officer for the UK Coastguard, said: We are extremely grateful for the support and professionalism that the RMS Queen Mary 2 provided during this rescue.
As many as three Afghan civilians were killed early on Monday morning when American troops opened fire after their vehicle struck a roadside bomb, an official in eastern Nangarhar province said.

A man and his two sons were killed at their home in Ghani Khel, a district in the south of Nangarhar, on the border with Pakistan, said Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

"After the bomb blast hit them, the American forces then started shooting and killed one man and two children nearby," he said.

The U.S. military command in Kabul said it was investigating the reports.

Civilian casualties have running at near record highs as fighting spreads to more areas of Afghanistan, according to the United Nations.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani generally has been less vocal than his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, in publicly criticising the U.S. military when troops are involved in incidents where civilians are killed.

On Saturday, three American soldiers were killed and one wounded when an Afghan soldier opened fire on them in Nangarhar, where elite U.S. troops have been helping Afghan forces battle Islamic State militants.

Also over the weekend, an American air strike in southern Afghanistan killed at least three Afghan policemen and wounded several others during a joint operation by Afghan and U.S. special forces. U.S. and Afghan troops have been battling militants in Nangarhar province for months.

Islamic State, or Daesh as it is generally known in Afghanistan, has established a stronghold in the region, which borders Pakistan. U.S. military officials estimate there are about 600 to 800 Islamic State fighters in Afghanistan, mostly in Nangarhar, but also in the neighboring province of Kunar.

The increase in involvement by U.S troops and warplanes comes as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration weighs whether to deploy more troops in the war-torn country.

Reuters reported in late April that the U.S. administration was carrying out a review of Afghanistan and there were conversations over whether to send between 3,000 and 5,000 U.S. and coalition troops to Afghanistan.

Deliberations include giving more authority to forces on the ground and taking more aggressive action against Taliban fighters. This could allow U.S. advisers to work with Afghan troops below the corps level, potentially putting them closer to fighting, a U.S. official said.
Donald Trump denied telling former FBI director James Comey that he hoped he would let go of the investigation of Michael Flynn and his links to Russia.

Yet the Presidents eldest son appeared to back up Mr Comeys version of their conversation.

During an interview with Fox News, Donald Trump Jr expressed disbelief that Mr Comey felt threatened by his conversation with the President before he was fired.

When he tells you to do something, guess what? There's no ambiguity in it, there's no, 'Hey, I'm hoping,' 39-year-0ld Mr Trump said.

You and I are friends: 'Hey, I hope this happens, but you've got to do your job.' That's what he told Comey.

And for this guy [Comey] as a politician to then go back and write a memo: 'Oh, I felt threatened.' He felt so threatened  but he [President Trump] didn't do anything.

The alleged conversation between Mr Comey and the President earlier this year, apparently backed up by the Presidents son, led Mr Comey to write a series of memos about their relationship and which were leaked to the press.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

Mr Trump tweeted that the leaks were cowardly.

His lawyer said the President never, in form or substance, directed or suggested that Mr Comey stop investigating anyone.

The Presidents son said the family was vindicated after the Comey testimony as what he said was basically ridiculous and that Mr Comey had never been asked to drop the Russia investigation.

The interviewer, Fox News anchor Jeanine Pirro, reportedly attended a baby shower with Lara Trump, the wife of Eric Trump, later that day.
A man has been released from prison after 17 years when witnesses admitted they could not tell him apart from a lookalike.

Richard Anthony Jones, from Kansas City in Missouri, was convicted of aggravated robbery in 1999, based largely on eyewitness evidence.

But two witnesses  and even the alleged robbery victim  have now testified that they could not distinguish him from a local man known only as Ricky.

Johnson County District Judge Kevin Moriarty ordered Jones's release on Thursday, reported the Kansas City Star.

Mr Jones, who had unsuccessfully tried to appeal his case numerous times, learned of the existence of his look-alike from fellow inmates.

He brought the information to workers at the Midwest Innocence Project and the Paul E Wilson Defender Project, who helped file an appeal in his case.

Lawyers quickly discovered that Ricky lived close to the Walmart at which the robbery allegedly occurred.

At Mr Jones appeal hearing, they presented presented the plaintiff, two witnesses and the prosecutor in his case with photos of the two look-alikes. All four said they could not tell the two apart.

Judge Moriarty did not go as far as convicting his lookalike of the crime, but conceded that no reasonable juror would have convicted Mr Jones.

Mr Jones only became the focus of the police investigation after one man  who was admittedly on drugs during his only interaction with the suspect  picked a picture of him out of a police database, according to the defence. There was no DNA or physical evidence presented in the case.

Mr Jones, who maintained his innocence throughout his nearly two-decade sentence  said finding his doppelganger was like finding a needle in a haystack".

We were floored by how much they looked alike, his attorney, Alice Craig, added.

Mr Jones told the Kansas City Star he will return home to his wife and children.
Foreign Minister of Armenia to participate in the Fifth Paris Peace Forum

Armenia: EU and Armenia Hold annual Dialogue on Human Rights

Todays Shushi, Occupied and Cleared of Armenians, is a Real Example of Turkish-Azerbaijani Policy of Ethnic Cleansing of Artsakh

Ookla, the the global leader in internet testing and analysis has awarded Ucom

Google Ad

Sweden will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union

Ameriabank: At the Vanguard of Armenia's Banking Sector

STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH

SUBSCRIBERS OF UCOMS ALL TIME BEST OFFER TO ENJOY ADDITIONAL BENEFITS

Armenia-Azerbaijan: EU sets up monitoring capacity along the international borders

PACE co-rapporteurs on Armenia concerned by reports of alleged war crimes or inhuman treatment perpetrated by Azerbaijans armed forces

There is still 35% gender pay gap: Sona Ghazaryan

Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia

Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair

Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan

I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General

I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox

Google Ad

UCOMS SPECIAL OFFER OF THE UNLIMITED INTERNET IS NOW TERMLESS

There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur

EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol  Armenia and Azerbaijan  to do so without delay

An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan".

UCOM AND PES-PES CONTINUE COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EDUCATIONAL PROJECT

The statement of the meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, President Macron and President Michel of October 6, 2022

Largest Corporate Bond Program at the Securities Market of Armenia Completed Successfully

The statement of the Defender on the video of the execution of Armenian PoWs by the Azerbaijani armed forces

LEVEL UP ONLY FOR STUDENTS: UCOM OFFERS X2 AND X3 MORE INTERNET

STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN

This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan

Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments

Delegation by Nancy Pelosi Accompanied by Alen Simonyan Visits Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex
Ministers and European Union representatives pose for a family photo at the opening of a two-day G7 summit on the environment, in Bologna, Italy, Sunday, June 11, 2017 (AP)

Grass covers the round table where environment ministers sit at the opening of a two-day G7 summit on the environment, in Bologna, Italy, Sunday, June 11, 2017. (Giorgio Benvenuti/ANSA via AP)

Differences between the United States and other leading economies over climate change remain wide and are destined to stay that way, Italy's environment minister Gian Luca Galletti said on Sunday, as Washington's environment chief left a Group of Seven meeting a day early.

G7 environment ministers and officials are meeting in Bologna again today to discuss issues including climate change, sustainable development and litter at sea.

"Positions over the Paris accord are far apart ... and will remain like that," Galletti said on the sidelines of a meeting of G7 environment ministers from the United States, Canada, Japan, France, Germany, Italy and Britain. Italy holds the G7 presidency for 2017.

Scott Pruitt, the US Environmental Protection Agency chief, was called back to Washington from the G7 to attend President Donald Trump's first full cabinet meeting on Monday. Pruitt said in March he did not believe carbon dioxide was a primary contributor to global warming,

Trump said this month he would withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, drawing condemnation from other world leaders.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni have said the Paris agreement cannot be renegotiated, urging their allies to speed up efforts to combat climate change.

Expand Close Ministers and European Union representatives pose for a family photo at the opening of a two-day G7 summit on the environment, in Bologna, Italy, Sunday, June 11, 2017 (AP) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Ministers and European Union representatives pose for a family photo at the opening of a two-day G7 summit on the environment, in Bologna, Italy, Sunday, June 11, 2017 (AP)

"There's a willingness to find a common thread. ... We're looking to mend things," Galletti told reporters, without providing details.

Trump, who has called climate change a hoax, has said the Paris accord would undermine the U.S. economy, cost jobs, and put the country at a permanent disadvantage compared to its competitors.

Pruitt said in a statement later on Sunday that the United States had always been a world leader on environmental stewardship and "that was demonstrated on a global stage today."

According to Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Pruitt told delegates that Washington wanted to continue making efforts in combating climate change.

"He also mentioned he wants to engage with the (UN's) Climate Change secretariat," she said.

Trump has said that his administration would begin negotiations either to re-enter the Paris deal or set up a new agreement on "terms that are fair to the United States," which is the world's second biggest carbon emitter behind China.

Supporters of the Paris accord have called Trump's move a blow to international efforts to tackle dangers of global warming.
The car involved in a crash where Richard Hammond escaped serious injury. Photo: PA

British television presenter Richard Hammond gesturing towards an x-ray of his injured knee as he sits in a hospital room in St Gallen, after he was involved in a car accident while filming in Switzerland. Photo: AFP/Getty Images

Richard Hammond pulled himself out of a crashed car just seconds before it burst into flames it has emerged.

The accident is the former Top Gear presenters second serious crash while filming.

Mr Hammond (47) was in Switzerland doing a shoot for his Amazon show, The Grand Tour, when the car he was driving veered off the road, flipped over and caught fire.

The Grand Tour have confirmed that Mr Hammond was conscious and talking, and climbed out of the car himself before the vehicle burst into flames.

They said: He was flown by Air Ambulance to hospital in St Gallen to be checked over, revealing a fracture to his knee.

Nobody else was in the car or involved in the accident, and we'd like to thank the paramedics on site for their swift response. The cause of the crash is unknown and is being investigated.

Yesterday Mr Hammond posted a video of himself from his hospital bed online, confirming that he was okay and apologising to his wife and children.

He said: "Hello, yes it's true I binned it again," before adding he will need surgery to fix his broken leg.

Expand Close The car involved in a crash where Richard Hammond escaped serious injury. Photo: PA / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp The car involved in a crash where Richard Hammond escaped serious injury. Photo: PA

"I would like to thank all of the medical professionals who got me by air ambulance from the crash to the hospital and who have dealt with me ever since."

In the 'Drive Tribe' video message, titled 'I'm Not Dead', Hammond adds: "And most importantly, sorry to my wife Mindy and to my daughters Issy and Willow."

This video was originally posted to DriveTribe.com where Richard frequently contributes his work, which can be read here.

The crash took place as the TV presenter drove an electric super-car, with his colleague Jeremy Clarkson describing it as "the biggest crash I've ever seen, and the most frightening".

Mr Hammond also made a lucky escape from a serious accident 11 years ago, when he crashed while partaking in a Top Gear stunt. He suffered life threatening brain injuries and was in a coma for two weeks, before eventually making a full recovery.

Mr Hammond, along with Jeremy Clarkson and James May, were presenters of the BBCs Top Gear but defected to Amazon after Mr Clarkson was fired by the broadcaster for punching a producer.

The Grand Tour made its debut on Amazon Prime in November 2016.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was arrested outside his Moscow home as thousands of anti-government activists challenging President Vladimir Putin's rule protested across the country.

Mr Navalny's wife, Yulia, said on his Twitter feed that he was arrested about half an hour before the main demonstration in Moscow was to begin. Police later confirmed the arrest, saying he could get up to 15 days in jail on charges of failing to follow police orders and violating public order.

Although city authorities had agreed to a location for the Moscow protest, Mr Navalny called for it to be moved to Tverskaya Street, one of the city's main thoroughfares. He said contractors hired to build a stage at the agreed-upon venue could not do their work after apparently coming under official pressure.

Tverskaya, known in Soviet times as Gorky Street, was closed off to traffic on Monday for an extensive commemoration of the national holiday Russia Day, including people dressed in historical Russian costumes.

Moscow police blocked part of the street with trucks in a bid to block the movement of protesters. Associated Press journalists witnessed at least 50 arrests in St Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city, with Russian media reporting at least 150 arrested there. AP reporters also saw at least 10 arrests in Moscow, with reports saying there were up to 100 so far in the capital.

After the change, Moscow police warned that "any provocative actions from the protesters' side will be considered a threat to public order and will be immediately suppressed".

Expand Close Riot police detain a demonstrator during an anti-corruption protest organised by opposition leader Alexei Navalny, on Tverskaya Street in central Moscow, Russia June 12, 2017. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Riot police detain a demonstrator during an anti-corruption protest organised by opposition leader Alexei Navalny, on Tverskaya Street in central Moscow, Russia June 12, 2017. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

The protesters, some carrying Russian flags, were chanting loudly as Moscow riot police stood watch.

A regional security official, Vladimir Chernikov, told Ekho Moskvy radio that police would not interfere with demonstrators on the street - as long as they did not carry placards or shout slogans.

More than 1,000 protesters were arrested at a similar rally on March 26.

The protests in March took place in scores of cities across the country, the largest show of discontent in years and a challenge to Mr Putin's dominance of the country.

The Kremlin has long sought to cast the opposition as a phenomenon of a privileged, Westernised urban elite out of touch with people in Russia's far-flung regions. But Monday's protests could demonstrate that it has significant support throughout the vast country.

Mr Navalny's website reported on Monday that protests were held in more than a half-dozen cities in the Far East, including the major Pacific ports of Vladivostok and Khabarovsk and in Siberia's Barnaul.

Eleven demonstrators were arrested in Vladivostok, according to OVD-Info, a website that monitors political repressions.

Mr Navalny has become the most prominent figure in an opposition that has been troubled by factional disputes. He focuses on corruption issues and has attracted a wide following through savvy use of internet video. His report on alleged corruption connected to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was the focus of the March protests.

Mr Navalny has announced his candidacy for the presidential election in 2018. He was jailed for 15 days after the March protests. In April, he suffered damage to one eye after an attacker doused his face with a green antiseptic liquid.
A young protester shouts out as he is blocked during a demonstration in Moscow (AP)

A Moscow court has ruled that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny should be jailed for 30 days for staging an unsanctioned rally in the city.

The anti-corruption rallies called for by Mr Navalny were held in more than 100 Russian towns and cities on Monday.

In Moscow, thousands of angry protesters held an unsanctioned rally on Tverskaya, the capital's main street.

More than 1,000 people have been arrested across Russia.

The judge at the Simonovsky district court ruled after midnight on Monday that Mr Navalny should be jailed for repeated violations of the law on public gatherings.

Mr Navalny was detained outside his home an hour before the rally was to start.

The Moscow protest was the most prominent in a string of more than 100 rallies in cities and towns stretching through all 11 of Russia's time zones - from the Pacific to the European enclave of Kaliningrad - with many denouncing President Vladimir Putin.

Thousands of angry demonstrators thronged to Tverskaya Street chanting "Down with the tsar" and singing the Russian national anthem.

The protests coincided with Russia Day, a national holiday that this year brought out historical re-enacters, some of them dressed in medieval costumes.

More than 700 people were arrested in Moscow, while in St Petersburg, about 500 were forced into police buses at an unsanctioned rally that drew up to 10,000 people.

The demonstrators appeared predominantly young - those who were born or grew up during Mr Putin's 17 years in power.

Similar crowds turned out on March 26, rattling officials who had perceived the younger generation as largely apolitical.

Three 16-year-old girls took sheets of paper to the Moscow protest and sat on the pavement to write the articles of the Russian Constitution on them; a nearby group of teenagers climbed on top of a tent with posters saying "Corruption kills the future".

Other protesters scaled a scaffold and hung a sign saying "Only revolution will defeat corruption".

Some of the rallies were sanctioned by authorities and peaceful, but police cracked down brutally on others.

Although it was not immediately clear if Monday's protests were larger than those in March, they underlined the deep dismay with the government.

Mr Putin is expected to seek another term in 2018, and Mr Navalny has already announced his intentions to run.

Moscow officials had agreed to allow Mr Navalny's rally, but late on Sunday, he said official interference had prevented contractors from erecting a stage at the agreed-upon venue and instead urged demonstrators to gather on Tverskaya Street, which was closed to traffic for the Russia Day festivities.

Most of the Moscow protesters appeared to be under 30, although there was a sizeable number of middle-aged people and couples with children.

With opposition sentiment strong or even growing, authorities appear to be seeking a strategy to undermine the opposition without provoking more animosity.

Mr Navalny rose to prominence for detailed open-source investigations of government corruption.

That was a key issue for protesters, particularly his report on vast wealth allegedly acquired by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

"We are against the corruption that is costing the future of our young people," said Moscow protester Maria Badyrova, a 33-year-old finance specialist who went to the rally with a Russian flag.

Alexei Borsenko, a Vladivostok demonstrator who eluded a police attempt to detain him, cited Iceland's prime minister stepping down in the fallout from the "Panama Papers" scandal, while "our prime minister is caught on such big corruption cases and he doesn't go anywhere".

"This is very strange," he added. "It's a dead end for the country's development."

AP
British imams and other religious leaders and other religious leaders hold up signs with hashtags to show the internet can be a force for good during another vigil in the UK capital. Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA

A vigil beside Tower Bridge for the victims of the June 3 terror attacks

As Imam of the mosque in Blanchardstown, Dublin, Dr Umar Al-Qadri says he has been warning for years that hateful messages have been spread by jihadists in Ireland over the internet.

The violence of Islamist extremism came uncomfortably close to home this week when it emerged that Rachid Redouane, one of the attackers at London Bridge a week ago, had lived in Rathmines, Dublin.

The gang that perpetrated the attack which killed eight people and left 48 injured was linked with an online subculture of violent extremism. The second attacker was Youssef Zaghba, an Italian of Moroccan descent with no previously known links to Islamic State. The third man, Khuram Butt, had appeared in a Channel 4 documentary alongside a well-known extremist preacher Abu Haleema.

Haleema has built a huge following on social media with his inflammatory videos.

Expand Close Warning: Dr Umar Al-Qadri. Photo: Gerry Mooney / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Warning: Dr Umar Al-Qadri. Photo: Gerry Mooney

In the past, the preacher has called for gay people to be executed and unbelievers to be killed by being thrown into a fire.

In the Channel 4 documentary, he is shown laughing at videos of prisoners being drowned in a swimming pool by Islamic State.

Although he is banned from Twitter, many of his videos are still available on YouTube.

It is not known to what extent Rachid Redouane was influenced by this type of online material or radicalised during his stay in Ireland.

An important responsibility

But Dr Al-Qadri of the Islamic centre in Blanchardstown says internet companies need to do more to clamp down on hate propaganda spread on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Expand Close British imams and other religious leaders and other religious leaders hold up signs with hashtags to show the internet can be a force for good during another vigil in the UK capital. Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp British imams and other religious leaders and other religious leaders hold up signs with hashtags to show the internet can be a force for good during another vigil in the UK capital. Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA

"The companies should be moving much faster to remove these posts. We should recognise that anyone who is propagating hatred is a potential terrorist threat.

"He may not commit an atrocity, but he may inspire others to do so. Social media companies have a very important responsibility. One of the problems is that supporters of terrorism put up videos and it often takes some time for them to be taken down. And sometimes they are not taken down at all," Dr Al-Qadri adds.

The Imam has highlighted Facebook posts by an Irish convert to Islam with extremist views, including one where he criticises those who condemn atrocities. In one post the extremist says: "May Allah give them what they deserve."

In another post, the same Dublin-based Islamist supporter paid tribute to Khalid Kelly, the Irish suicide bomber who died in an attack in Iraq last year. Since the posts were highlighted by Dr Al-Qadri this week they have been removed.

The Imam said his eyes were first opened to the problem of extremism two years ago.

"I came across a group of young men who were aggressive in their mentality.

"I met someone who I used to teach and he said he wanted to go to fight for ISIS. That was really a wake-up call for me."

A central part of training

Dr Al-Qadri says there are about 100 supporters of Islamist terrorism in Ireland who should be monitored closely.

Milo Comerford, analyst for the London-based Centre on Religion & Geopolitics, says: "Jihadis have been adept and innovative in using the internet to popularise their brand and channel their extremist ideology to new audiences.

"Although leaders around the world have rightly identified the scale of the online challenge, authorities have struggled to keep up with the volume and variety of online extremism."

Comerford says the current generations of jihadis see the internet as a central part of their strategy. He says Islamic State even has its own training manual for media operations. He says a senior figure within the group acts as 'media emir,' and he is focused on winning hearts and minds through a strategic propaganda campaign.

The volume challenge

Part of the difficulty for those policing the internet is the sheer volume of jihadist content online.

Even if the social media sites get around to banning users who spread violent propaganda, the phenomenon is like the many-headed hydra of mythology.

Once you cut off one head, metaphorically speaking, another one soon appears.

Dubliner Emma Kelly, a lecturer in security studies at Birmingham City University, has observed the spread of messages online, and their effect on local communities.

"The problem is that if someone tweets something that is objectionable, Twitter may shut them down pending an investigation.

"But there is nothing to stop them setting up another account by putting a number after their name. In terms of cybersecurity, it is hard to ban someone completely from Twitter."

Kelly, who acts as advisor to West Midlands Police, says that for most of the young men involved in violent incidents, the motivation is frequently not religious.

"These are often people who are not very religious. They lack identity. It is the terrorism aspect that they identify with.

"What motivates them is the feeling that they are going to make a difference and be a martyr."

"Often they don't attend mosques. They are being radicalised in their bedrooms over the internet, and often they are not engaged with any community."

"There is a lot in the news about Syria at the moment, and these people are jumping on the bandwagon.

"It's like the Columbine High School shootings (when 12 students and a teacher where murdered in a school). There was a spate of school shootings after that.

"Usually the people involved in these kinds of attacks have no jobs and no careers and their parents are not interested. They want to sign up for something."

The offline extremist link

The lecturer says a lot of people who commit the crimes hear information through a propagandist known as a disseminator.

"These disseminators may have no desire to commit a crime, but they have a grudge against society. They take messages from Syria or wherever and they make it accessible to young men who feed off it."

While the terrorists are receptive to online propaganda, they are usually spurred on to action by meeting other jihadists in person.

Milo Comerford says: "Few jihadis have carried out attacks or travelled abroad to fight based solely on online radicalisation, without some other facilitating network present in the real world.

"A parallel offline effort is almost always present in converting this into coherent operational networks. This is particularly clear in the UK, where the majority of foreign fighters travelling to Syria are alleged to have had direct links to ideologues such as Anjem Choudary [a preacher currently serving a prison sentence for inviting support for Islamic State].

"It is where the online extremism intersects with offline extremism which is of greatest concern to the authorities."

So could the big internet companies do more to police the content themselves by improving their technical tools to scan material posted online?

A key problem is the sheer volume of material online. YouTube viewers worldwide are now watching more than one billion hours of videos a day, and on Facebook the daily figure for videos is 100 million hours.

The technical tools to root out extremist content largely rely on "fingerprinting" existing videos and images that have been banned, and detecting when they are uploaded again.

A joint approach

This system has been used successfully to tackle pirated videos, and Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft and YouTube announced recently they were setting up a joint database of terrorist images and videos, so that footage on one website would be available to the others.

But according to technical experts, these programs can still struggle to identify new material. While a human viewer can easily track whether video material has the potential to incite violence, it is harder for the online tools to understand the nuances.

To a great extent, the internet companies still rely on users to report violent content, but a video can go viral before it is taken down.

A live-streamed video of a man in Thailand murdering his daughter last month was viewed 370,000 times before being taken offline.

Social media companies have said they are employing more moderators to track content. Facebook's founder Mark Zuckerberg said recently that the company has around 4,500 moderators, and was hiring 3,000 more.

Google says it employs thousands of people and invests hundreds of millions of pounds in checking content.

Milo Comerford says encryption is increasingly a concern for law enforcement authorities trying to monitor internet accounts.

The public use of sites such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook to disseminate propaganda may cause the most outrage, because they are visible.

The invisible content

But the terrorists themselves are increasingly using secret encrypted messaging sites such as WhatsApp and Telegram to communicate. Using encryption, messages are converted into a code, and this makes it harder for security authorities to monitor them.

WhatsApp commanded the headlines after killer Khalid Masood sent a message over the platform in March before killing five people in the Westminster attack.

Comerford says the encrypted messaging app Telegram is also very popular among jihadis.

Maura Conway, professor of international security at Dublin City University, says: "Encrypted messaging sites are often used by recruiters, who spot people in other online settings and reach out to them with encrypted messages.

"They may be used by networks of people who are already in contact - they might be groups of friends or relatives.

"Encrypted channels can also be used for direct communications in preparation for attacks." The use of these encrypted messaging services has been highlighted by the British government, and the Home Secretary was even reported to have called for an encryption ban.

Professor Conway warns that a ban would be impractical for a variety of reasons.

"The problem is that if you break encryption, you break the internet," says Prof Conway. "We are heavily reliant on encryption technologies all across the internet for day-to-day business."

If messages can be deciphered by law enforcement authorities, there is also a fear that they will be tracked by criminals and hackers.

Prof Conway says it may now be time to look at how intelligence services are organised in Ireland. At present, the threat from Islamist terrorism is monitored by the garda Crime and Security Branch (CSB), which is also involved investigating the major criminal gangs and dissident republican activity.

It is widely believed in security circles that the CSB is overstretched. Prof Conway says the Government should consider the introduction of a new intelligence service, separate from the garda and the Defence Forces.

"It would be a good time to have a rethink of what the national and international security situation now looks like - and whether we are as well prepared as we might be."

@KimBielenberg

What the internet companies say

Big internet companies have been urged to do more to take down Islamist content in recent months as the spate of terrorist attacks continues.

After the Westminster attack in London in March, Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Twitter promised to work together to create a forum to accelerate and strengthen efforts to block access to terrorist propaganda. Their aim was to create better tools to identify and remove terrorist propaganda and share those methods with smaller companies.

In December 2016, the big four said they were creating a joint database to help prevent the spread of terrorist content including videos and images online.

In a statement after the London Bridge attack, Facebook said it sought to be a hostile environment for terrorists.

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 it  and if we become aware of an emergency involving imminent harm to someones safety, we notify law enforcement. We have long collaborated with policymakers, civil society and others in the tech industry, and we are committed to continuing this important work together.

A statement from Twitter said: 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.

In a statement this week, Google said: We want to make sure that terrorists do not have a voice and cannot spread extremist material on our services. We are working urgently to improve and accelerate our ability to remove content which violates our policies and the law.
India to be a favored FDI destination in 2017: UNCTAD report

The World Investment Report 2017 published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) predicts that India will continue to be an attractive investment destination despite stagnant trends. Key to the optimistic outlook is the recent government approval for cross-border mergers and acquisitions in India, opening up the domestic market to greater foreign direct investment (FDI).

Investor confidence in India will therefore pick up in 2017, after a more or less sluggish two years; FDI reached US$44 billion in 2016  just one percent up from 2015.

In 2017, China, India, and Indonesia will be key markets in developing Asia for foreign investors, amid liberalized federal policies.

Finally, while Indias tax treaty with Mauritius will slow down FDI inflows due to reduced round-tripping, China has emerged as the worlds second largest investor at FDI outflows of about US$183 billion.

RELATED: Pre-Investment, Market Entry Strategy Advisory

Internet user base in India to double by 2021

Internet users in India will double to 829 million by 2021 from 373 million users in 2016. This will be driven by accelerating digital access as two billion devices will be connected to the internet, up from 1.4 billion networked devices in 2016. IP traffic is projected to grow four-fold during this period of five years at a compounded annual growth rate of 30 percent.

The forecast is put out by the Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI), and shows that 59 percent of the Indian population will be online by 2021. Cisco VNI highlights three essential factors contributing to this digital transformation, namely, improved device capabilities, higher bandwidth offered, and more intelligent networks.

RELATED: Indias Digital Payments Future

Office space absorption in IT/ITeS sector rises in 2016

Office space absorption by Indian Information Technology (IT) and IT-enabled services companies rose by 10 percent to 16.81 million square feet (sq ft) in 2016 over the previous year. Bangalore and Hyderabad accounted for more than 50 percent of this space demand.

Additionally, the number of lease transactions in the IT/ITeS sector grew upwards of 52 percent year-on-year (y-o-y), from 414 in 2015 to 628 in 2016.

This trend indicates a flexible approach adopted by software companies over going for built-to-suit complexes. Moreover, the transaction space in the sector is contracting as the average area leased in 2015 was slightly above 31,200 square feet, which reduced to below 27,000 square feet in 2016.

The statistics come from a report by real estate investment management firm, JLL India. Developers designing IT business parks will need to respond to these changing requirements of the Indian IT sector that is still growing while combatting both global uncertainty and technological disruption.

RELATED: Information Technology Solutions

India flags errors in World Banks 2017 assessment

Much to the chagrin of the federal government, India was ranked 130 in the World Banks Doing Business Report 2017, up just one place from 2016.

Among other things, the World Bank ranked India at a low 172 out of 190 on the parameter of enforcing contracts. This is why the Indian government has submitted a report to the World Bank (WB) citing various reforms such as the introduction of a single company registration window for all clearances.

The Indian government also disputes the World Banks reporting on attorney fees for arbitration in India, and points to the neglect of financial incentives offered by India to parties that attempt mediation or conciliation to resolve commercial disputes, as well as reforms that speed up the enforcement of judgments.

World Bank officials will be sending a team to India in July to gather feedback from industry and users to vet the governments assertions.
Keystone Realtors (Rustomjee) IPO to open on 14th November The IPO of Keystone Realtors will open on November 14th. It will close on November 16th. The issue size is of Rs 635 crore. Price band has been set at Rs 514 - 541 per share. Mi... November 10, 2022 | 10-11-2022 3:51 pm

GST officials detected Rs 55,575 crore worth of tax evasion, arrested over 700 people, in the past 2 Over the previous two years, the GST officials have discovered fraud totalling Rs55,575 crore and have detained over 700 people for defrauding the exchequer, an official told ET on Thursday. Th... November 10, 2022 | 10-11-2022 2:58 pm

Bharat Electronics inks agreement with Goa Shipyard for development of autonomous navigation Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) has signed an MoU with Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) for joint development of products/solutions in the area of Autonomous Navigation an... November 10, 2022 | 10-11-2022 12:54 pm

PSP Projects secures work order worth Rs200 crore; Stock rises PSP Projects Limited has informed to the exchanges regarding receipt of work order. In a regulatory filing, the company said, "We are pleased to inform that we are in receipt of... November 10, 2022 | 10-11-2022 12:37 pm

Five Star Business Finance IPO receives .02 times subscription application at the end of day 1 Five Star Business Finance IPO has received .02 times subscription application at the end of day 1. Five Star Business Finance, a non-banking financial organization with headqu... November 10, 2022 | 10-11-2022 11:39 am
Servicemans mother asks to save her sons life: Do not show national discrimination (video)

Woman, asking the Government for help, is taking one pill after another. Expecting to meet with officials, the servicemans mother is spending hours outside the Government building, I ask to help my son; do not show national origin discrimination. Before the April War, Asya Hasanyan, woman of Yazidi origin living in Gyumri, had heard only good news of her son Arthur Hasanyan serving in the army, Blast of grenade hit my sons spine, his leg started aching, he fainted in the front line and fellow servicemen helped him. The soldier, who was wounded in the positions, is now at the hospital of Red Cross. It was impossible to arrange treatment in Stepanakert. According to the words of the woman, the health condition of her son deteriorated due to the leadership of the army, The Ministry was negligent, now my sons leg nerve is damaged. For organizing Arthur Hasanyans treatment abroad the servicemans mother turned to Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan, when the latter was in Gyumri within the frames of pre-election campaign of the Republican Party. She hasnt received a reply for months, They will probably show national origin discrimination; what kind of illness is it that they cannot treat it? I gave them my healthy son, now lets them treat him. The answers from the Ministry of Defense dont satisfy the woman, too, When I go to meet with Vigen Sargsyan, I am told that he isnt free to meet with me. Artsrun Hovhannisyan, press secretary of the Ministry of Defense, assured us that Arthur Hasanyan is under permanent control of medics. He also rejected Asya Hasanyans claim that the Ministry of Defense was negligent, as a result of which her sons health condition deteriorated.
An act of kindness goes a long way especially in the times we are living in. Here are 11 times people helped another of their kind:

1. British people offer roses 3,000 Roses To Passersby At London Bridge After Recent Attacks

Twitter/RosesLondon

Days after the London Bridge attack that claimed eight lives, a group of Muslims handed out 3,000 roses to passersby and tourists at the monument as a gesture of love. "After the events of last weekend we are making a symbolic gesture of love for the communities affected by the attack," said Zakia Bassou, one of the organisers of the event.

"The whole concept is we are not going to let London Bridge, or any bridge, fall down," she was quoted as saying by the Press Association.

2. Manchester People Get A Bee Tattooed To Raise Money For Terror Attack Victims

Chris Burwin

Mancunians got bees tattooed following the terror attack in Manchester.

One tattoo parlour in the city thought bees, which represent Manchesters industrial past, would be a great way to unite and raise money for the victims of the blast that happened at Ariana Grandes concert at the Manchester Arena.

Also read: Manchester People Are Getting A Bee Tattooed To Raise Money For Terror Attack Victims

3. Local gurudwaras offered food and shelter to people after Manchester Attack

Representational image

Gurudwaras in Manchester supported victims and those stranded by offering shelter and food. These include Sri Guru Gobind Singh Gurdwara Educational & Cultural Centre, Gurdwara Sri Guru Harkrishan Sahib, Dasmesh Sikh Temple, and Central Gurdwara Manchester. The information was shared by Twitterati Harjinder S Kukreja.

4. Manunians offer accommodation to the stranded

Indian express

After the recent attack in Manchester killed 22, people started the trending topic, #RoomForManchester, online to offer shelter and support to anyone in need.

5. Sikhs in Pakistan serve iftar to Muslims during Ramadan

Sikh brethren continues feeding muslims at iftar in #Pakistan Such a great bond between Muslims and Sikhs A historic one .. so #loveislove pic.twitter.com/QtC3pyRbrt  Usman Shafqat Chatha (@UsmanOnBoard) June 3, 2017

In an act of harmony, Sikhs in Pakistans Peshawar served iftar to Muslims during Ramadan.

Also read: Pakistani Sikh Community Serving Iftar To Muslims During Ramzan Is Winning The Internet

6. People helped those hurt in the London Attacks

People lauded the courage of doctors and nurses who ran into the road on Westminster Bridge where around a dozen pedestrians were mowed down by the car.

Also read: This Is How Strangers Helped Victims Of The Horrific London Terror Attack

7. Hindu temple in Kerala serves iftar

Indiatimes

A Hindu temple in Kerala's Malappuram district held an Iftar party for Muslims observing Ramadan fast.

The Lakshmi Narasimhamurthy Vishnu Temple held a vegetarian party and around 500 people attended the event.

Also read: Setting A Great Example Of Harmony, A Temple In Kerala Holds Iftar For Muslims Who Helped Rebuilding It

8. In Darjeeling, Locals Give Food And Water to Stranded Tourists

AFP

Scores of tourists were gathered at the Motor Stand in Darjeeling, waiting to catch a Siliguri-bound vehicle. Just when the queue began to grow, locals stepped out of their homes to offer food and water to the stranded.

Also read: Locals Help Stranded Tourists With Food And Water As Protests Continue In Darjeeling

9. A Group Of Muslims In Britain Collects $33,500 To Help Parliament Attack Victims

Reuters

A group of Muslims in Britain began a crowdfunding campaign for the victims of the London Attack. Al Jazeera reported that $33,500 were collected for around 1,000 people.

Also read: A Group Of Muslims In Britain Collects $33,500 To Help Parliament Attack Victims

10. Chai stall in London opens to employ refugees

artefact magazine

A Delhi born and raised opened Chaigaram, a tea stall in London as a way to offer employment to refugees. Pranav Chopras stalls now exist at two food markets in the UK Capital and even supply tea to 20 independent cafes, and they are all managed by refugees.

Also read: 'Chaigaram' - A Desi Cafe In London That Helps Refugees, One Masala Chai At A Time

11. Children raise money to build home for friend

the hindu

Students of a school in Kerala raised Rs 4.5 lakhs to help build a home for their friend, Arunima R. Nair. They collected the money to move her from a mud house into a proper house.

Also read: Kind-Hearted School Students In Kerala Raise Rs 4.5 Lakhs To Help Build A Home For Their Friend
Amid Pakistan army violating ceasefire at LoC and terrorists trying to sneak into the country on a daily basis, India in a goodwill gesture has decided the release 11 civil Pakistani prisoners on Monday.

AFP

Though Pakistan has repeatedly denied India consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav, whom Pakistan allegedly calls an Indian spy, India has given nod to Pakistans request of the release of these prisoners because they all have completed their respective sentences.

The release is significant as it also comes days after Modi's "exchange of greetings" with Sharif in Astana on the margins of the SCO summit. According to official sources, since it was the first occasion when the two leaders came across each other after Sharif's operation, PM enquired about his health. He also enquired about Sharif's mother and family.

Only last week India had released two kids, Ali Reza (11) and Babar (10) who had "accidentally" crossed the international border in Punjab along with their uncle Mohammed Shahzad, who continues to be in India's custody. The kids were to be released in April but Indian authorities had put it on hold after Pakistan announced the death sentence to Jadhav.

Indian officials said the release of prisoners was a humanitarian issue and should not be linked with further downturn in ties over Jadhav. The government hopes that Islamabad too will facilitate the release of Indian prisoners lodged in Pakistani jails.

According to the government, there are 132 Indian prisoners in Pakistani jails, out of which 57 have already served their jail term. Pakistan says India must confirm their nationality before it releases them.

PTI

The release of Pakistan prisoners comes in the middle of what might turn out to be lengthy legal tussle at the ICJ over India's petition for Jadhav's acquittal. India successfully got a stay on Jadhav's death sentence but Pakistan has said that arguments on the merits of the case will only begin now. It has sought an expedited timetable from the Court for an early "substantive" hearing of the case.
New York city's Times Square was recently host to nearly 200 nude models, out in force to spread the message of body positivity. Artist Andy Golub organised the 'Body Notes Bash' and was inspired by New York's post election subway 'Post-it wall'.

Here are the pictures from the event.

Twitter

Golub has founded an organisation called Human Connection Arts that organised the Body Notes event.

1. A model looks on as another is painted at the Human Connection Arts piece 'Body Notes' at Times Square in New York City.

Reuters

2. Nearly 200 models came together in Times Square in New York City to take part in the body painting event.

Reuters

3. An artist paints a model with the message 'Art is free'.

Reuters

4. Nude models are painted during the Human Connection Arts piece 'Body Notes' at Times Square in New York City, U.S.

Reuters

5. Some of the messages painted on the models were from New York City's post election 'Post-it wall'.

Reuters

6. The messages aren't just about body positivity, but also call for hope and acceptance.

Reuters

7. Age was no bar as both youngsters and older models turned up for the event.

Reuters

8. Not just nude models, but hundreds turned up to witness the event that was meant to spread awareness about things including social issues.

Reuters

9. Models sit in Times Square during the Human Connection Arts piece 'Body Notes'. An hour long photo session was held following the body painting.

Reuters

10. Models were first painted in a base colour and then a message painted on the torsos.

Reuters

11. Models and artists braved the heat to take part in the event.

Reuters





12. Nude models sit in Times Square during the Human Connection Arts piece 'Body Notes' in New York.

Reuters

13. Nude models walked through Times Square during the Human Connection Arts piece 'Body Notes'.

Reuters

14. A model who has been painted helps the artist paint another.

Reuters

15. A nude model who is also a wheelchair user took part in the Body Notes body painting event.

Reuters

16. An artist paints a nude model. Warning signs around the square warned people of public nudity so as to not offend anyone.

Reuters

17. New Yorkers and photographers look on as nude models took over Times Square.

Reuters
The Niger State Police Command on Sunday confirmed the arrest of two men in connection with the death of one Rogo Azozo, who killed Bulus Musa of the same address, over misunderstanding between them in Magama Local Government Area.

It was learnt that Azozo inflicted multiple cuts on Musa which led to his death on the spot.

The relatives of the deceased as a result mobilised some youths that killed the suspect.

The state Commissioner of Police, Zubairu Muazu, confirmed the arrest to Northern City News in his office in Minna, Niger State.

Muazu said the suspects, Ciujiya Sori and Bitrus Musa, were arrested in Mashegu Local Government Area in connection with the crime.

The CP also said the commands Special Anti-kidnapping and Violence Crime unit intercepted notorious kidnappers at Sabon Lahu in Gurara Local Government Area of the state.

He added that the operatives rescued victims whose names were given as Abubakar Abdullahi and Hsbiba Abdullahi from the hands of the suspected kidnappers.

Mauazu said the command will not relent in its fight against criminality and killers in the state, adding that the suspects would be charged to court on conclusion of investigations.
Peterborough, ON (June 10, 2017)- Chamber of commerce weather conditions greeted fans at Peterborough Speedway on Saturday, June 10th for a show that also featured the third event of 2017 for the Ontario Modifieds Racing Series, powered by Torque Builders Inc.

A dozen starters rolled to the starting line for the 25-lap feature tilt that kicked-off the nights main events. Mark Gordon and Willow Barberstock paced the field to green flag. Shortly after things got rolling, the pace was slowed by a caution in the second turn. Scorers quickly checked the line-up and the pack got ready for the restart.

Gordon jumped-out to an early lead, but Brad Stevenson and John Baker Jr.  who had come from the eighth and 12th place starting spots respectively  charging toward the front of the running order. Bakers effort had been plagued by mechanical issues during the tours first events, but he worked the outside line to gain a number of spots. Another yellow flag  with 17 laps on the board  slowed the march again and put Stevenson on Gordons back bumper for a late race charge.

Piloting the same equipment that Stevenson had steered for most of last year, Mark Gordon held-off his challenger and became the third straight first time main event winner in as many starts on the current OMRS schedule. Baker Jr., Chris Burrows and Duane Cinnamon completed the top five. Rick Warnes, Connor James, Randy Hollingsworth, Craig Stevenson, Rob Warnes, Linc Brown and Barberstock rounded-out the finishing order.

Stevenson had a pair of checkered flags from qualifying action earlier in the day. Gordon and Baker Jr. took the other preliminary rounds.

Ontario Modifieds Racing Series Peterborough Speedway Notebook: Former provincial Late Model runner Linc Brown made his first career OMRS start and spent most of the day troubleshooting his equipmentThe series hosted its annual open Test a Mod session before the showOntario Modifieds Racing Series action returns to Canadas Toughest 1/3-mile Paved Oval Saturday, June 24th.

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
The May 2017 article about Mike Milken recognized some (but only a fraction) of his philanthropic initiatives, as well as the innovative and positive nature of the Milken revolution in finance. It also properly credited his extraordinary intellect, dedication to family, and loyalty to friends; the social impact of the events he convenes; and his insights that led to more efficient pricing and rewarding of capital market risks.

Other parts of the article, however  in fact, its overriding tone  show a profound misunderstanding of who Mike is, the arc of his entire lifes work, and his motivations. Particularly troublesome are such inaccurate phrases as one of the greatest comeback stories, now giving away a lot of money, and a good case for redemption.

There is no redemptive need  the author said his legal case involved technical violations, and some legal authorities have concluded that no crimes were committed. In any event, the articles description of the Milken plea and his payments is misleading and wrong. The charges noted had not been the subject of criminal prosecution before the Milken case and have not been since. The fine he paid was only one-third the amount that the article erroneously mentioned. Other payments went into a fund to settle lawsuits in which he denied any liability. It has never been shown that his acts cost anyone a cent, and he certainly was not liable to any private investors who may have lost money when Drexel went out of business. Drexel lost money and went out of business after Mike had left the firm. Most importantly, his philanthropy is part of a consistent lifelong quest that began decades before and is unrelated to the case. His charitable motivations spring from basic character, not a search for redemption.

It is offensive to those employees who have dedicated their careers to working with Mike on his many nonprofit initiatives to read the implication that a half century of benevolence is just some public relations ploy to burnish his image. Also discouraging is the reference to giving away money as if all he did was put checks in the mail. Thousands of grateful beneficiaries of his philanthropy  many of whom owe their very lives to programs he guided  will tell you how strategically he works. It is perhaps significant that Fortune called him the Man Who Changed Medicine  not supported medicine, but changed it.

Mikes charity has deep roots. Growing up in an extraordinarily close-knit family in the 1950s, he was strongly influenced by his parents emphasis on giving back to society. As a ten-year-old, he collected dimes and quarters from neighbors for the Community Chest (now called the United Way). As a high school senior, he was honored with the Junior Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Young Man award for having performed the greatest community service during his school years. As a businessman, he initiated a series of philanthropic endeavors long before most people had heard of him or any legal questions were raised. These and many other activities between 1956 and the early 1980s give lie to the idea that his later philanthropy should be considered suspect.

Finally, the article was unclear about what his annual conference refers to. The Milken Institute alone hosts more than 200 events each year, including major conferences in Washington, New York, London, Los Angeles and Singapore. The Milken Family Foundation and other affiliated groups also host many conferences. These are part of Mike Milkens remarkably successful lifelong efforts to change the world for the better.

Geoffrey Moore is a senior associate of Michael Milken.
Changes are being considered to revive the federal governments struggling $29.9 million farm risk management initiative.Two years since its launch, the Multi-Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) farm business assessment program, which allows individual farmers to seek a $2,500 grant to help meet the $5,000 cost of being assessed on their suitability for MPCI, continues to suffer from low uptake.Described as a sad joke by shadow agriculture minister Joel Fitzgibbon, the scheme  which was first announced in the Coalitions Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper in 2015  has only paid out $107,000 to 48 farm businesses, and spent some $40,000 for advertising the program.This in another example of poor policy development and program design under (Agriculture and Water Resources minister) Barnaby Joyces watch, Fitzgibbon said of the scheme in a Queensland Country Life report.While the government does not intend to subsidise insurance companies to help establish MPCI, it is now considering consulting with grain industry groups on how to use the remaining funds in order to serve the risk management intent of the four-year program, while being able to meet any ongoing demands of the original insurance assessment rebates, the report said.Daryl Quinlivan, Department of Agriculture and Water Resources secretary, told the senate last month that the policy experiment was not able to stimulate the development of the multi-peril insurance market as intended, and that there are unspent funds in that program.Andrew Weidemann, Grain Producers Australia chair and Victorian grain program, agreed that the scheme was essentially a waste of effort.Just offering up a business risk management program isnt going to set up a successful industry, he told the publication.Weidemann said nows the time for a roundtable involving farmers, the grain industry, insurance agents, and the government to flesh it [the scheme] out properly and continue the push for MPCI, as there was currently no great need for the scheme because of the good weather and great growing conditions for farmers.The moneys still there and so we need to look at other ways of using it to help manage risk, in the longer term, he told Queensland Country Life.Right now nobody is knocking on anyones door saying were struggling because its too dry so we need to keep this on the political agenda before we hit a massive dry spell and everyones out asking the minister for something to be done urgently, because the sky is falling in.
XL Catlin has announced the appointment of a new senior underwriter, casualty, for its Melbourne office.David Mutton has been appointed to the role and joins the firm from Zurich where he was most recently underwriting manager, energy & construction, in its corporate casualty team.With more than 15 years experience in the industry, Mutton has specialised in the corporate and commercial casualty space and has also held positons at Zurich Global Energy, ACE Insurance, AIG Europe (UK) and Jardine Lloyd Thompson Australia.Mutton will report to Rory Morison, head of international casualty for XL Catlins insurance business in Asia Pacific.Davids hire is reflective of our continued investment in underwriting and claims talent to provide our Australian clients and brokers with differentiated solutions and excellent service, Robin Johnson , country head of XL Catlin Insurance, Australia, said.Morison welcomed Mutton to the firm and said that his wealth of technical and commercial expertise will strengthen the companys casualty offering as demand for coverage continues to rise in Australia.
Indianapolis-based health insurer Anthem is reportedly looking for its next deal, just weeks after abandoning its $48 billion merger with Cigna due to anti-trust issues.The Indiana Business Journal has also reported that Anthem is also planning to repurchase up to $2 billion in stock, invest an undisclosed amount in the business, and move ahead with plans to set up a new pharmacy-benefits management plan effective in 2020, when its current deal with Express Scripts expires.Last May, a Delaware judge ruled that Cigna could walk away from the merger - months after another judge ruled the deal as anticompetitive. The Justice Department sued in July 2016 to block the merger, arguing it would further consolidate an already concentrated market and lead to higher costs for employers, Bloomberg reported.I think its really important to understand weve not been sitting back, relaxed, through the Cigna journey, Anthem CEO Joseph Swedish told investors at a UBS Global Healthcare Conference in New York City on May 24, as quoted by the Indiana Business Journal.Over the past year, weve been sort of assessing various scenarios that would play outone, of course, being we would go on our own.The paper said any deal Anthem will make would likely be smaller than the Cigna deal, to avoid antitrust issues.We have really committed ourselves to being a growth company, Swedish said, as quoted by the report. That is first and foremost on our list of responsibilities Were going to be successful one way or another, regardless of what the decision [on Cigna] was going to be.
Small towns are losing their police forces due to significant financial losses from lawsuit settlements, but insurance firms may be able to do something about it.In recent years, cities in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Tennessee, Louisiana and parts of California have had to disband their police forces after insurance firms withdrew coverage.However, insurance firms could also help these same forces clean up their act and improve their risk profile.Citing a paper by University of Chicago law professor John Rappaport, The Atlantic said that insurance firms are stepping in to get law enforcement agencies into shape, help prevent misconduct and minimize lawsuits against police officers.One advantage of having risk managers step in to initiate reform, he said, is that they are apolitical.I think the debates about policing have become so fraught and inflammatory. To have this big, well-heeled institution saying Were not interested in that debate, we just want to get those numbers downit can make reform more palatable because it takes the electricity out, the professor told Atlantic journalist Rachel B. Doyle.Furthermore, having insurers on hand can help augment the limited resources of the local governments that support police forces. They offer services such as training sessions, applicant screenings and data analysis to help prevent officers commit offences.In Irwindale, California, a private risk management firm helped reform the police form by conducting biweekly meetings, providing training sessions on topics such as sexual harassment and undue use of force. It had 18 months to clean up its act or it risked losing coverage due to high profile and big ticket cases - but it succeeded.Ive never seen such a thing in my whole life. Im going on 27 years, police Chief Anthony Miranda told the publication.However, insurers are not the only answer to police reform. California Joint Powers Insurance Authority (CJPIA) assistant executive officer Norman Lefmann said the role of risk managers in reform has its limitations.We have no ultimate enforcement ability, so it still does require the city and police department to have the wherewithal to make the changes that need to be made. We have no control over them, he emphasized.
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is making progress towards reauthorization.The Register-Herald reports that three US Senators from both the Democratic and Republican parties have put forward a law that will create reauthorization of the NFIP for the next 10 years.Republican senators Shelley Moore Capito and Dr. Bill Cassidy; and Democrat Kristen Gillibrand have together sponsored the proposed law to extend the program to eliminate uncertainty for residents.Capitos home state of West Virginia was among those that were severely damaged by flooding last June, with 90% of homes and businesses left uncovered by insurance.Almost one year later, West Virginia continues to pick up the pieces from the devastating flood that ripped through our state. The (NFIP) is important for communities that have experienced severe flood damage like those in West Virginia, Capito said in The Herald report.The Senator also said that the measure is expected to lower individual insurance costs and will appropriate funding for mapping flood zones, as well as provide affordable protection for West Virginia homes and businesses against future natural catastrophes.Cassidy of Louisiana also explained in the report: The goal of this bipartisan bill is to bring peace of mind for Louisiana families, and for all American families, seeking to buy flood insurance.The legislation outlines reforms to the current NFIP by making insurance more affordable and accessible, putting in place instruments that will make the program more sustainable and solvent and providing access to private market providers.
It may be the latest technology, but insurance contractors are questioning its effectiveness.Auto insurance firms have started adopting photo claims, where customers are allowed to use photos to submit claims for damage to their cars, but body shops arent happy with the new arrangement.A FOX61 report said that Connecticut repair shops are airing their concerns over the new service. Anthony Ferraiolo, president of the states Auto Body Association, said that photographs do not always accurately record the damage to a vehicle, which makes the repair and claims process more complicated.He explained that a customer brought in a vehicle, which was estimated through the photo claims service for a $600 or $700 repair, but when he inspected it and did the repair job, the cost amounted to $4,000.The cars are so complex today that you cant see all the damage, Bill Denya, a body shop owner said in the FOX61 report.The Connecticut Insurance Department has heard these concerns and is encouraging consumers to come forward with their feedback about the service. The department, however, reported that no consumers have raised issues with it yet.It is new technology and it is like anything else that the department is going to look at and make sure that it is working properly within the market, Gerard O Sullivan, director for consumer affairs for the department, said in the report.This is always going to be the consumers choice, its up to the consumer if they want to do it this way if they feel more comfortable then by all means thats their right to have someone come out and look at the car, he also explained.Esurance, Metlife and Allstate are some of the insurance firms in the state that are providing the service.
A former police officer who fraudulently claimed his half-sister was his wife as part of an insurance fraud scheme to get coverage for her and her son will be allowed to a pre-trial program.

The charges against Alix Antoine could be dismissed if he successfully completes the program. But authorities say his approval for the program is contingent upon his sister, Patricia Louis, accepting a similar deal when shes sentenced later this month.

Antoine and Louis both pleaded guilty in February to insurance fraud. They also agreed to pay nearly $190,000 in restitution.

Antoine served with the Asbury Park, N.J., force for 12 years. Prosecutors say that from 2009 to 2013, the Neptune Township man falsely claimed that Louis was his wife, but an investigation revealed she was his biological half-sister.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Fraud New Jersey
Markel International, a specialist insurer, has appointed Dillon Matthews as trade credit underwriter and senior risk analyst in Singapore, in a move to strengthen and broaden its Asia Pacific resources.

Matthews will focus on expanding Markels trade credit business in the region, including growing broker and client relationships.

He will report to Abhishek Chhajer, senior underwriter and head of trade credit in Singapore, who has led Markels trade credit business in the Asia Pacific region since 2011. He also joins Bennett Wong, underwriter, appointed in 2015 and Lynn Koh, underwriting assistant.

Prior to Joining Markel, Matthews was a senior underwriter at Atradius in its Special Products division, focusing on single situation credit risks and structured trade finance. He began his career in trade credit insurance in 2011 with Atradius in Cardiff, moving to Amsterdam in 2013 and on to Singapore in September 2015, where he was responsible for establishing the companys Special Products Asia Pacific risk team.

The appointment follows the addition of a surety capability to Markels trade credit and political risk business and the on-going investment in its activities in London, New York and Dubai. The Markel trade credit team in Singapore writes business throughout Asia.
A federal appeals court on June 9 upheld an $11 million verdict against Toyota Motor Corp. over a fatal 2006 car crash in Minnesota, which a jury found was caused by an accelerator defect in a 1996 Camry.

A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the Minnesota jury had enough evidence to conclude in 2015 that Toyota was 60 percent liable for the crash and that the driver of the Camry, Koua Fong Lee, was 40 percent liable.

Lee was criminally charged in connection with the crash and served nearly three years in prison for vehicular homicide, according to his lawyer, Robert Hilliard. In 2010, when reports of unintended acceleration in other Toyota vehicles surfaced, Lee won a motion to set aside his conviction, and he was released from prison.

The car in the accident was not covered by Toyotas recall of more than 10 million vehicles between 2009 and 2010 over acceleration issues.

Im grateful to the 8th Circuit but Im also relieved for Mr. Lees family, Hilliard said of Fridays decision.

We sympathize with everyone affected by this unfortunate accident from 2006, Toyota said in a statement. While we respect the 8th Circuits decision, we continue to believe the evidence shows that Mr. Lees 1996 Camry was well-designed and was not the cause of this accident.

A lawyer representing other people injured in the accident could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Minnesota trial stemmed from a lawsuit filed on behalf of passengers injured or killed in the 2006 crash in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Lee, who later joined the lawsuit, said he was driving his 1996 Toyota Camry when it inexplicably began to accelerate as he approached other vehicles stopped at an intersection.

The Camry slammed into an Oldsmobile Ciera, killing the driver, Javis Trice-Adams Sr., as well as his 9-year-old son, according to the 2010 lawsuit. A 6-year-old girl who was also in the car was paralyzed and later died. Two other passengers were seriously injured, according to the lawsuit.

Though it upheld the jurys findings, the 8th Circuit did find that the trial court judge had improperly calculated the damages for Bridgette Trice, mother of the 6-year-old, Devyn Bolton, and ordered that the amount be recalculated.

(Reporting by Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

Topics Minnesota
A federal jury in East St. Louis, Ill., has awarded $15 million to a 10-year-old boy whose mother blamed his birth defect on AbbVie Inc.s bipolar disorder drug Depakote that she took while pregnant, in the latest trial among hundreds of lawsuits over the product.

Jurors in federal court in East St. Louis, Illinois, awarded the compensatory damages to Stevie Gonzalez, who was born with spina bifida. His mother, Christina Raquel, said she was not adequately warned about a risk of birth defects when she took Depakote while pregnant.

Jurors awarded no punitive damages during a second phase of the trial, according to court papers. The lawsuit was filed against Abbott Laboratories Inc.

AbbVie spun out of Abbott in 2013 and assumed all rights and responsibilities for the drug. About 695 injury claims related to Depakote are pending in federal and state courts, according to AbbVie.

In a statement, AbbVie said in several prior cases, juries have unanimously found that Depakotes label enables doctors to make properly informed decisions about Depakotes demonstrated benefits and the clearly disclosed risk of birth defects.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In 2012, Abboutt agreed to pay $1.6 billion to resolve federal and state claims that it promoted Depakote for uses that were not approved by U.S. health regulators.

In her lawsuit, Raquel claimed that her child was born in 2007 with birth defects after she took Depakote to treat her bipolar disorder while she was pregnant.

The lawsuit said Abbott failed to provide adequate warnings to her psychiatrists regarding the risk of birth defects associated with Depakote use.

Lawyers for the company said doctors were warned about the drugs risks. It also argued Raquel cannot prove Depakote caused her childs injuries.

Depakote cases have had mixed results in court. In 2015, a Missouri state court jury awarded 24 plaintiffs $38 million.

But a federal jury in Ohio in 2015 cleared Abbott and AbbVie of liability in another lawsuit. In February, another federal jury in Ohio returned a defense verdict.

The case is E.R.G., a minor, by Christina Raquel, individually as parent and next friend of E.R.G., v. Abbott Laboratories Inc, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois, No. 15-cv-00702.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by David Gregorio and Cynthia Osterman)

Topics Illinois
Adequacy of income benefits is one of the long-standing concerns about the performance of workers compensation systems. However, there is little known about whether income benefits (also called wage-loss or indemnity benefits) provide adequate financial support for injured workers.

According to a new study based on Michigan data, the total earnings and income benefits an average worker received within 10 years after an injury stack up to just 88 percent of what a worker would have earned if not injured.

The study  published by the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI)  highlights a dimension of worker outcomes that may be useful for policymakers and stakeholders when measuring the adequacy of income benefits that workers receive after an injury.

The WCRI study addresses the following questions:

How does the total income that workers receive after an injury from benefits and earnings compare with what workers could have earned without an injury?

Does the adequacy measure differ by subgroups with different duration of disability?

How many workers experience large declines in total income after an injury and how does this compare with what is observed for comparable workers without an injury.

This report provides important metrics that policymakers can use to assess the adequacy of benefits in their state, said Dr. John Ruser, president and CEO of WCRI.

The study, Adequacy of Workers Compensation Income Benefits in Michigan, shows how adequacy can be determined by examining the extent to which workers compensation income benefits help maintain income after an injury, using workers compensation and earnings data from Michigan.

The following are among the studys findings:

Within 10 years after an injury, the earnings and income benefits an average worker received were projected to be 88 percent of what a worker would have earned if not injured. However, these aggregate results hide important differences across different types of workers.

Workers with one to 12 months of temporary disability benefits had total income that was projected to replace 91 to 95 percent of earnings had they not been injured. Workers with permanent partial disability and/or lump-sum payments had total income that was projected, within 10 years post-injury, to replace 69 percent of earnings had they not been injured.

Post-injury employment patterns may contribute to the estimates of adequacy presented above. While 44 percent of workers with more than one month of temporary disability benefits returned to work and stayed continuously employed, another 31 percent had a sustained initial return to work but sporadic employment after initial return to work. An additional 21 percent of workers with more than one month of temporary disability benefits either had no meaningful return to work or only had sporadic intermediate-term employment patterns. In contrast, a comparison group of workers with medical-only injuries was more likely to have sustained return to work.

This WCRI study focused on the adequacy of income benefits for injuries in 2004. For every worker in the analysis, the study directly observed post-injury earnings through the end of 2008 (an average of 4.5 years after the injury) and projected potential earnings losses to up to 10 years after an injury. Although the data focused on experience for injuries that happened more than a decade ago, and despite changes in Michigans policy and economic environment, the information is still valuable because there is rarely an opportunity to examine post-injury earnings or to relate benefit adequacy to postinjury employment patterns, the WCRI stated. It is also the first benefit adequacy study of a wage-loss system.

The authors of this study are Bogdan Savych and H. Allan Hunt.

WCRI is an independent, not-for-profit research organization based in Cambridge, Mass.

Source: Workers Compensation Research Institute

Topics Workers' Compensation Profit Loss Talent Michigan
Big automakers are rushing to launch self-driving cars as early as 2021, but the industrys major players are moving slowly when it comes to widespread deployment of a less expensive crash prevention technology that regulators say could prevent thousands of deaths and injuries every year.

Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. said on Thursday it would make automatic braking systems standard on an estimated 1 million 2018 model cars and light trucks sold in the United States, including high-volume models such as the Rogue and Rogue Sport compact sport utility vehicles, the Altima sedan, Murano and Pathfinder SUVs, LEAF electric car, Maxima sedan and Sentra small car.

Nissan sold about 1.6 million vehicles in the United States last year.

Rival Toyota Motor Corp.U.S.U has said it will make so-called automatic emergency braking standard on nearly all its U.S. models by the end of this year.

Overall, however, most automakers are not rushing to make automatic brake systems part of the base cost of mainstream vehicles sold in the competitive U.S. market. The industry has come under pressure from regulators, lawmakers and safety advocates to adopt the technology, which can slow or stop a vehicle even if the driver fails to act.

So far, only about 17 percent of models tested by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) offered standard collision-avoiding braking, according to data supplied by the auto safety research group backed insurance industry. Many of the models with standard collision-avoiding brake systems are luxury vehicles made by European or Japanese manufacturers.

The systems require more sensors and software than conventional brakes, and automakers said they need time to engineer the systems into vehicles as part of more comprehensive makeovers.

Last year, 20 automakers reached a voluntary agreement with U.S. auto safety regulators to make collision-avoiding braking systems standard equipment by 2022.

Safety advocates have petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to begin a regulatory process to require the technologies, but the agency has said the voluntary agreement will result in faster deployment than a formal rule-making process. NHTSA says the technology could eliminate one-fifth of crashes.

Do the math. Thats 5 million crashes every year  20 percent reduction means 1 million less. Those are big numbers, Mark Rosekind, the NHTSAs then-administrator, told Reuters last year.

But customers would likely experience the benefits of the technology infrequently. The technology to enable a car to drive itself is far more costly, but industry executives foresee autonomous vehicles driving revenue-generating transportation services that could be attractive to investors.

General Motors Co. offers automatic braking as optional equipment on about two-thirds of its models. The company did not say last week how many vehicles have the technology as standard equipment. GM has not made public its plans to make the technology standard across its lineup.

Any time you have a voluntary agreement you have a spectrum of implementation, Jeff Boyer, GMs vice president for safety, told Reuters earlier this week. Asked when GM would roll out standard automatic braking, Boyer said, lets just say we honor the voluntary commitment.

Ford Motor Co has a plan to standardize over time, the company said in a statement on Thursday. Currently, automatic braking systems are optional on several 2017 Ford and Lincoln models, and will be offered on certain 2018 models including the best-selling F-150 pickup truck.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV offers automatic braking as optional equipment in nine model lines, using cameras and radar to detect hazards ahead. The company has said it will meet the 2022 target for making the systems standard.

As 2018 models roll out during the second half of this year, more vehicles will offer automatic braking, said Dean McConnell, an executive with Continental AGs North American business. Continentals automatic braking technology systems will be on certain Nissan models.

We see it accelerating, he said. It varies. There are some (automakers) that are being aggressive and others that are waiting.

Nissan did not disclose how much prices for vehicles would rise to offset the cost of standard automatic emergency braking. The 2018 models will be launched later this year. Currently, Nissan, like most carmakers, offers automatic braking as part of a bundle of optional safetyand technology features.

A 2017 Nissan Sentra compact sedan has a starting price of $17,875. To buy the car equipped with automatic braking requires spending another $6,820 for a Sentra SR with a premium technology package.

German auto technology suppliers Continental and Robert Bosch GmbH will supply the systems, Nissan said.

(Additional reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

Related:

U.S. Sees Mandate on Talking Vehicles Cutting Road Crashes, Deaths

Safety Advocates Frustrated that Accident-Prevention Technologies Remain Optional

Topics USA Auto InsurTech Tech
As more bots handle claims and perform underwriting tasks, should human employees be concerned? Human 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 serving up quick quotes 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 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, their cost and a 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.

Johnson is editor of ClaimsJournal.com, where this article originally appeared.

Topics Carriers Auto Claims
A Claremore, Okla.-based manufacturer of sucker rods and accessories for the oil and gas industry will pay $106,000 and furnish other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

According to the EEOCs lawsuit, Lydia Summers began working as a temporary receptionist and assisting in the accounting department. After five months, UPCO made Summers a conditional offer of full-time, permanent employment, conditioned on Summers passing a pre-employment medical exam conducted by a third-party vendor.

Following the exam, the vendors physician, who never examined or questioned Summers, refused to approve her for employment with UPCO because of the supposed side effects of her prescription medications. Even after Summers provided UPCO with a letter from her personal physician stating that she was not impaired by her medications, UPCO rescinded its job offer, the EEOC alleged.

Discrimination against employees or job applicants based on unsubstantiated assumptions regarding medication side effects violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma (EEOC v. UPCO, Inc., Case No. 4:16-cv-00609-CVE-TLW) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

In addition to the monetary relief for Summers, the consent decree resolving the case requires UPCO to adopt policies that prohibit the unlawful use of employees and applicants medical information and to train its employees regarding the ADA. The decree also enjoins the company from engaging in this type of disability discrimination in the future.

Source: EEOC

Topics Oklahoma
Caps on how much money patients injured by a doctors mistakes can receive were declared unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday, a decision that strikes down one of former Gov. Jeb Bushs major policy victories.

The court ruled that the caps placed into law in 2003 were arbitrary and theres no proof that they reduced malpractice insurance rates that lawmakers were attempting to contain. Even if they have, theres no present crisis to justify the caps. In a 4-3 decision, justices also said the caps unfairly hurt those most severely injured by doctors mistakes.

The caps on noneconomic damages  arbitrarily reduce damage awards for plaintiffs who suffer the most drastic injuries, the court said.

The law limited non-economic damages, which includes pain and suffering, against doctors in malpractice case to $500,000, or $1 million if the injuries were catastrophic. The issue was so important to Bush that he called lawmakers back to the Capitol for three special legislative sessions to get a bill passed.

The case the court ruled on involves a woman who was severely injured while doctors performed wrist surgery to alieve her carpal tunnel syndrome at a Broward County hospital. An anesthesia tube punctured Susan Kalitans esophagus during the surgery. She awoke and complained of severe back and chest pain. Doctors were unaware of the injury and gave her pain medication and sent her home, according to court documents.

A neighbor checking on Kalitan the next day found her unconscious. She was rushed to the hospital where doctors performed life-saving surgery. She remained in a drug-induced coma for several weeks and later had additional surgeries and intensive therapy to be able to eat again, according to court documents. She continues to endure pain and mental trauma.

A jury awarded her $2 million for past pain and suffering and $2 million for future pain and suffering. A lower court judge determined that Kalitans injuries were catastrophic, but the non-economic award was reduced by about $3.3 million because of the medical malpractice caps and separate law that limited the government-run hospitals liability to $100,000.

She suffered mentally and will for the rest of her life, said Nichole Segal, a lawyer representing Kalitan. She has issues raising her arms and going through the motions of daily life.

Segal said the ruling not only helps a deserving client, but will change future malpractice cases from the moment theyre filed. She said many plaintiffs were settling for less than they deserved because of the caps and some law firms werent taking up cases because they can be very expensive to litigate and the limits made them less profitable.

This will affect every single person who brings a medical negligence case, she said.

The Florida Medical Association, which supports caps, didnt immediately comment on the ruling.

The ruling is North Broward Hospital District v. Susan Kalitan.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Florida Legislation Medical Professional Liability
A Miami insurance agent accused of stealing insurance premium payments from a client and providing fake insurance documents has been arrested, according to a statement from Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle.

Diomari Diaz is alleged to have stolen insurance premium payments her South Florida client and providing him with fake proof of insurance documents. She is also accused of stealing thousands in escrow funds from the Florida Trust Insurance Agency account. In total, Diaz allegedly misappropriated nearly $25,000, and insurance fraud investigators have reason to believe that additional individuals may have fallen victim to Diazs scams.

DFS said a client contacted the Department of Financial Services Bureau of Insurance Fraud after he suspected that insurance documents provided by Diaz were fake. Investigators confirmed that although the client had paid nearly $4,000 in insurance premium payments, Diaz never actually purchased policies to cover his two South Florida properties. Instead, she created fake documents and used the money for personal purposes.

Investigators later revealed that Diaz opened a corporate bank account and listed herself as the only authorized user. The account included overdraft protection and was set up to transfer funds from the companys escrow account if overdrawn. DFS said by intentionally overdrafting the account, Diaz was able to divert more than $20,000 from the companys escrow account, all of which was used for personal gain.

Diaz was arrested and booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Facility. She has been charged with uttering a forged instrument, and misappropriation of insurance funds greater than $20,000. Florida Trust Insurance Agency has since surrendered its agency license and Diaz is no longer authorized to sell insurance. This case will be prosecuted by the Miami-Dade State Attorneys Office Insurance Fraud Unit and if convicted, Diaz faces up to 15 years in prison.

The Department believes that additional individuals may have been defrauded, and investigators are encouraging anyone who has conducted business with Diomari Diaz or the Florida Trust Insurance Agency to contact the Departments Fraud Tip Hotline by calling 1-800-378-0445.

Source: Florida Department of Financial Services

Topics Florida Agencies Fraud
A magnitude-5.3 earthquake shook Hawaiis Big Island, the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed.

No damage was reported in the quake, which the USGS said was centered about 11 miles (18 kilometers) southeast of Volcano town on the states southernmost island at a depth of 5 miles. Thats on the south flank of Kilauea volcano, which has been erupting continuously since 1983.

The scientist in charge of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, Christina Neal, said the earthquake on Thursday didnt appear to affect Kilaueas eruptions.

Marie Onouye, a part owner of the Volcano Store, said she felt one large jolt. She said the temblor didnt cause anything to fall to the ground and she didnt see any damage.

The south flank of the Kilauea volcano has had 29 earthquakes measuring magnitude-4 or higher over the last 25 years, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said in a statement.

Most have been caused by the settling of lava built up over time and the abrupt movement of the south flank over the earths crust as magma pushes into Kilaueas East Rift Zone.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says no tsunami was expected as a result of the earthquake.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Earthquake
A major fire broke out and burned for hours at a company that produces cleaning chemicals in Anaheim, Calif., leaving three people injured.

Anaheim fire officials say the blaze was reported shortly after 3 p.m. at American Chemical and Sanitary Supply Inc. in an industrial section of the city.

The fire burned for four hours on Friday and forced the evacuation of dozens of surrounding businesses.

Anaheim police Sgt. Daron Wyatt says one employee and two firefighters were injured, but all are expected to survive. One firefighter had heat exhaustion, the other an electrical injury.

Company owner Luis Salazar told KNBC-TV that the 10 to 15 people inside his business all got out, but one woman ran back inside for her purse and injured her ankle.

The blaze was contained at about 5 p.m. and under control by about 7:15 p.m.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics California Chemicals
It has been common practice for groups operating in Mexico to subcontract all personnel in order to mitigate the impact of mandatory employee profit sharing and labour risks. This has generally been done by either setting up an intragroup service company that houses the groups employees and renders services to the other group companies, or by subcontracting third parties that render services with their own employees.

Service companies recognise as taxable income the service fee received from the contractor, which covers the cost of labour plus a mark-up, and are able to deduct their payroll. Additionally, service companies should shift a 16% VAT on such fees to the contractor. In turn, the contractor is generally able to deduct the service fee for income tax purposes and credit the 16% VAT paid on such services.

Several tax precedents emerged during 2016 when the Mexican tax authorities intended to reject the deduction of the service fee paid by the contractor, or disallow the corresponding VAT credit, by making an assessment of the nature of the contractor/subcontractor relation based on the provisions of the Federal Labour Law. Tax and federal courts upheld opposing positions and divergent approaches to reach their conclusions, which generated a great deal of uncertainty for the contractors, which in a couple of cases were deemed employers of the service companies employees for tax purposes.

The tax authorities issued new rules for 2017 in order to clarify their position and strengthen the requirements for contractors to be able to deduct for income tax purposes the service fees paid to subcontractors, and claim the corresponding VAT credit. The reform included several amendments to the Mexican Income Tax Law, Value Added Tax Law and Miscellaneous Tax Rules.

In general terms, the recent changes require the contractor to obtain certain information on the payments made by the subcontractor to its employees, including copies of payment slips and timesheets associated to the services provided to them, and regarding actual payment of the VAT to be submitted by the subcontractor to the tax authorities. Non-compliant contractors would not be able to deduct the service fees for income tax purposes and/or claim the corresponding VAT credit.

It is worth noting that the new requirements included in the tax laws refer in general to subcontracting arrangements regulated under the Federal Labour Law, without making any distinction among different types of service agreements. As a result, it could be interpreted that the new legislation covers all types of service agreements, even if not related to the outsourcing of personnel.

The above conclusion is very sensitive because if contractors make a distinction between personnel outsourcing contracts and other subcontracted services they may weaken their employee profit sharing planning.

Contractors must meet the new requirements as of January 2017. However, the tax authorities granted an extension that allows them to meet such requirements by July 2017, regarding services subcontracted from January through to June 2017.

Taxpayers must carefully review the documentation supporting their subcontracting arrangements from a tax and labour perspective to determine their tax position regarding the new requirements included for 2017 and, if deemed necessary, obtain all applicable documentation in order to submit it to the tax authorities by July 2017 to avoid risking the deduction of the service fees for income tax purposes and the corresponding VAT credit.

It is also recommendable to evaluate if a ruling should be requested from the tax authorities in order to confirm which specific service contracts should be excluded from the new reporting obligations (e.g. auditors, advisers, time charters, brokerage agreements, freights, to mention a few).

This article was written by Oscar A. Lopez Velarde and Santiago Diaz Rivera Bravo of Ritch, Mueller, Heather y Nicolau, S.C.

Oscar A. Lopez Velarde (olopezvelarde@ritch.com.mx)

Santiago Diaz Rivera Bravo (sdiazrivera@ritch.com.mx)

Ritch, Mueller, Heather y Nicolau, S.C.

www.ritch.com.mx
Noel was the head of tax at Europcar France before joining the tax department of the French law firm Fidal, where he became partner.

Noel handles M&A, issues relating to the taxation of profits, VAT, business transfers, real estate taxation, and business taxation transactions. He advises the taxation of individuals.

He will work with Freddy Desplanques, the partner in charge of the customs department, on issues concerning customs taxation and VAT.
Panoramica privacy

Questo sito web utilizza i cookies per fornire all'utente la miglior esperienza di navigazione possibile. L'informazione dei cookie e memorizzata nel browser dell' utente, svolge funzioni di riconoscimento quando l' utente ritorna nel sito e permette di sapere quali sezioni del sito sono ritenute piu interessanti e utili.
Top News - Investor Idea

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.

Top EV Stock News - Investor Idea

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.

Top AI Stock News - Investor Idea

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.

Check out our Podcasts for great investor ideas:

Get new posts by email: Subscribe Powered by

Investorideas.com Newswire:

Subscribe to Investor Ideas Newswire
Reza Seifollahi, an official in the countrys Supreme National Security Council, was quoted by the independent Shargh daily as saying that the perpetrators of the attacks were Iranian nationals. He did not elaborate.

The bloodshed shocked the country and came as emboldened Sunni Arab states  backed by U.S. President Donald Trump  are hardening their stance against Shiite-ruled Iran.

The White House released a statement from Trump condemning the terrorist attacks in Tehran and offering condolences, but also implying that Iran is itself a sponsor of terrorism.

We grieve and pray for the innocent victims of the terrorist attacks in Iran, and for the Iranian people, who are going through such challenging times, the statement said. We underscore that states that sponsor terrorism risk falling victim to the evil they promote.

In recent years, Tehran has been heavily involved in conflicts in Syria and Iraq against the Islamic State, but had remained untouched by IS violence around the world. Iran has also battled Saudi-backed Sunni groups in both countries.

Irans Revolutionary Guard indirectly blamed Saudi Arabia for the attacks. A statement issued Wednesday evening stopped short of alleging direct Saudi involvement but called it meaningful that the attacks followed Trumps visit to Saudi Arabia, where he strongly asserted Washingtons support for Riyadh.

The secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran issued a statement in this regard as follows:

Following the initiative launching a broad international coalition of Arab and Islamic countries and the United States against the clerical regimes warmongering and terrorism, ISIS carried out unexpected attacks in Tehran against its own godfather, at Khomeinis tomb and the regimes parliament. It is noteworthy that ISIS has never acted against the regime in past years.

The Iranian regimes President Hassan Rouhani claimed that the incident was not unexpected and Khamenei downplayed these firework displays as insignificant and ineffective.

The terrorist rivalry between the claimants of a Sunni Caliphate and the so-called Shiite Caliphate dubbed the velayat-e faqih in Iran, even if not tailor-made or staged, is the source of jubilation and elation for mullahs Caliph Khamenei.

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, condemned the shedding of innocent peoples blood under any pretext. ISISs conduct clearly benefits the Iranian regimes Supreme Leader Khamenei, who wholeheartedly welcomes it as an opportunity to overcome his regimes regional and international impasse and isolation. The founder and the number one state sponsor of terror is thus trying to switch the place of murderer and the victim and portray the central banker of terrorism as a victim, Mrs. Rajavi added.

The NCRIs President-elect recalled: The Iranian Resistance has always maintained that the Iranian people and Resistance have the responsibility to overthrow the religious, dictatorship ruling Iran and to dismantle all institutions and symbols of suppression and repression. We, therefore, call for an end to the policy of appeasing the mullahs regime and recognizing the just resistance of the Iranian people.

To uproot terrorism in the region:

 The IRGC must be designated as a terrorist entity.

 The IRGC and paramilitary proxies of the Khamenei caliphate must be removed from Syria, Iraq, and Yemen.

 The Organization of Islamic Cooperation must expel the mullahs regime and recognize the Iranian Resistance for ending religious fascism.

After 38 years of brutal suppression, executions and incarceration, the people of Iran will not be satisfied by anything less than freedom, democracy, and popular sovereignty.
By Ciara Phelan

The trailer for Fifty Shades Freed is finally here and we think this will be the best one yet!

The trailer shows Anastasia Steele, played by Dakota Johnson, in a wedding dress at the beginning but the trailer implies that something sinister is going to happen.

Christian Grey, played by Irish hunk Jamie Dornan, is seen in the trailer with a gun while Anastasia looks to be in some sort of trouble.

Already looking forward to Valentine's Day 2018, #FiftyShadesFreed  Ims (@immy4567) June 12, 2017

That little #Fiftyshadesfreed sneak peak omg   Diana (@dianaavee_) June 12, 2017

I want Monique Lhuillier to be the designer that did Ana's wedding dress #FiftyShadesFreed  Jenny  (@jendolph) June 12, 2017

We also get a glimpse of Mr Grey's torso while the love of his life declares she can't believe that this is now her life.

Fifty Shades Freed is the third and final instalment of EL James' erotic romance which will be released on Valentines Day 2018.

Last years Fifty Shades Darker roped in 378.8 million dollars in box office sales.
Former Taoiseach John Bruton has warned of the risk of clashes on the high seas in the wake of Brexit.

Mr Bruton, who previously served as the European Union's ambassador in Washington, said it is easy to imagine physical confrontations over fishing rights in the seas around Britain and Ireland.

And he urged Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionists to get the Customs Union and jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice onto the Brexit negotiating agenda.

Mr Bruton said fishing rights are a highly emotional and symbolic issue.

"Fish do not respect territorial waters. While fishing boats can, in theory, be restricted to territorial waters, fish cannot," he said.

"Overfishing in one jurisdiction affects the livelihood of fishermen in another. Conservation is vital. Who will adjudicate on this, 10 years from now? Will there be quotas? Who will allocate them?

"In the absence of agreement, one can easily envisage clashes, even physical clashes, in seas around us."

Mr Bruton issued the warning as he delivered the Grattan Lecture in the Irish Embassy in London.

He called on the DUP - on course to prop up Theresa May as Prime Minister - to use their influence to reopen questions relating to customs and human rights.

"I hope that these are thoroughly looked at again, in an open-minded way, in the inter-party negotiations and the options properly debated. That debate did not take place in the general election campaign at all," Mr Bruton said.

The DUP are said to favour a soft Brexit with no physical border controls on the island of Ireland in order to maintain the virtually seamless trade with the South.

But the unionists also do not want to see UK customs, immigration or border controls set up outside the North, for instance in the ports and airports in Britain.

Elsewhere, Mr Bruton warned about experienced civil servants being diverted from their work to focus on Brexit negotiations.

"It will, I regret to say, involve the diversion of top level official talent, in 28 capital cities, away from anticipating the challenges of the future, and instead towards reopening agreements made over the past 44 years," he said.

"Our most talented civil servants will be taken up with digging up the past, rather building the future. It is a tragedy.

"The Brexit process will not be like a member leaving a club of which he or she no longer wishes to be a member, which is an easy enough process, once the bar bill has been settled.

"It will be much more like a divorce between a couple, who have lived together for years, have several small dependent children, a mortgage, and a small business they had been running together.

"Not only have past bills to be settled, but future liabilities have to be anticipated, decisions made about the running of the business, and rights and responsibilities in respect of the children agreed."

Mr Bruton also highlighted the issue of European powers sharing information on terrorism in a post-Brexit world.

He said access to intelligence currently passed between EU nations may not be automatic, particularly if the UK rejects the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice on disputes about what is shared.

Mr Bruton also said the DUP and Sinn Fein have revived the issue of territorial sovereignty.

And with weeks of power sharing talks looming at Stormont, he added: "In the past, Prime Ministers and retired statespersons could fly into Belfast, to provide cover for a new compromise between the parties that allowed them to get back to work.

"As Brexit will absorb so much of everyone's time in coming years, the scope for this sort of high-profile counselling will be less. Reality therapy may be needed."
Iran says it has killed the alleged mastermind of twin attacks last week claimed by the Islamic State group.

The official IRNA news agency on Sunday quoted intelligence minister Mahmoud Alavi as saying the suspect left Iran for a neighbouring country after the attacks, but "was sent to hell" by Iranian intelligence agents and " fellow intelligence services".
Following in their footsteps, the following Irish teenage entrepreneurs have started their own businesses while still at school.

Fenu Health, an equine health company, came about when sisters Annie and Kate Madden achieved second place for their entry at the 2015 Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition in Dublins RDS. The sisters from Co Meath grew up around horses, and their project was based on encouraging horses to eat by adding various flavours to their feed. A congratulatory phonecall from Michael Connolly of animal feed company Red Mills led to an invitation for the sisters to attend Equitana, the worlds biggest equestrian fair in Germany two weeks later.

Annie, who is sitting her Junior Cert, says at the time a business wasnt even on their radar. We were at the exhibition for a bit of fun and all of a sudden we were thrown into the big bad world of business, she said.

Jordan Casey, who at age 16 has already had three companies, set up Casey Games at the age of 12. Two years later he launched TeachWare, a cloud-based app for managing the classroom. His third company, KidsCode, is an app to teach young people how to program in a games environment.

Jordan, who began programming at nine, started to build games after discovering the video game Minecraft. His parents, who are accountants, were persuaded to invest in an Apple Mac by the then 12-year-old, who had discovered he could sell the games he had made in the Apple store.

Katie McGloins entrepreneurial streak began in first year when she imported a shipment of One Direction bracelets from China to sell at a school fair. Her company KT Clothing, which makes gender-neutral clothing, came from her experience trying to find clothes. While three of her friends are very girly, she says she wasnt really comfortable in dresses or skirts. The company which launched last December has three products, a sweatshirt with the slogan I am Myself and two T-shirts.

Katie built a website, which has seen a surge in traffic since she won Foroige Youth Entrepreneur of the Year earlier this year. The 16-year-old, from Bundoran Co Donegal, says she gets a lot of her drive from her mother, who is a reflexologist, and her teacher Ms Igoe who helped her get her idea to market.

Running a company which exports to 12 countries and employs eight staff, while keeping on top of your homework is not easy.

Our phones are our office. Id be on the bus on the way in the morning, and doing my emails and taking phonecalls, sorting out the days work, she says.

Staying organised is important, says Jordan.

I schedule my day down to a tee. I go to school normally, I do studies afterwards, and I work on my business at night, he said.

A big challenge to overcome is scepticism in the business world towards entrepreneurs still at school. Equitana was an eye-opener for the Maddens, and though the attitude towards them was sceptical at first, by the third day people were queueing up to talk to them, says Annie Madden.

Annie and Kate Madden who hope to crack US market with their equestrian idea. Picture: Maxwells

CoderDojo started around the time Casey Games was set up. Jordan, who is invited to speak at business conferences around the world, says Ireland is a lot more receptive to the idea of school-age entrepreneurs because of the computer club movement.

The next step for the Madden sisters is breaking into the US market.

Theres no reason why in five years time that we cant be in 120 countries with 80 employees, says Annie.

The next step for Jordan is an initiative called the Teenage Entrepreneur Movement, a sort of LinkedIn for young entrepreneurs all over the world, he said.
For Limerick native, Ivor Downey, professional life couldnt have worked out better, being tempted home from Boston to head up human resources for US giant Regeneron in Ireland.

The icing on the cake is that the New York-headquartered biopharmaceutical company invested not just in his home city of Limerick, but in Raheen  just 5km down the road from where he grew up.

In October 2015, Regeneron announced it was investing an additional $350m (313m) in Limerick, promising to add another 200 jobs, bringing the total expected job creation in the Limerick area to 500, and total investment to $650m (580m) by the end of 2017. It is involved with medicines as diverse as oncology to high cholesterol to eye disease.

For a city shocked by the closure of Dell in the past, it was music to the ears of business and community leaders. However, they could be forgiven for being sceptical of any new multinational coming into the area, seeing as Dell and others eventually upped and left.

Regeneron is not only here to stay, said Mr Downey, but also committed to partnering with the likes of his alma mater, University of Limerick, and Limerick Institute of Technology, to nurture the best local talent to transform the region into one that can rival its neighbour Cork for housing the best pharma and biopharma companies in the world.

Biotech coming to Limerick is such a significant investment in a whole new wave of skill sets for the region. Having come from Limerick, my own association with UL, Im very strong on wanting to build a partnership with UL and LIT and with other colleges in the region.

If we work in partnership, our growth will come from local people in the region rather than having to pull people into the region, he said.

He added: We are playing catch-up to the Cork region, to be fair. The Cork region has 30-plus years of pharmaceuticals. Were really only getting going, but our intention is to build that. The local colleges want to engage with us to grow that skill set in the region.

The people of Limerick have proved down through the decades that they are adaptable, according to Mr Downey.

If you go back to the 1980s and even the 1970s in Limerick, you had Ferenka [a factory which closed in 1977 with the loss of 1,400 jobs], you had Krups, you had Atari and Dell. All of those foreign-owned companies in Ireland, you always had a strong HR presence in this region. The colleges were always very good at working closely throughout that time. What is key, not just for me, also key for Regeneron, is local employment, he said.

Any worries that the current US administrations protectionist rhetoric may affect Irish plans for Regeneron are misplaced, he insisted.

Part of Ivors mission is to reach out to second and third-level students across the region and show them the attractiveness of Regeneron.

Theres a significant capital investment gone into the site  600m. We really havent gotten going yet. Were really only scratching the surface of our commercial manufacturing capabilities. The second thing I would say is that  and it was a key thing for me when joining  is the pipeline of drugs that we have is so strong that I would say it is second to none in the industry.

He added: Weve had two FDA-approved drugs already this year. There are many companies in our industry that would go through their whole lifetime with maybe one FDA-approved drug. There really is a background in science and a belief in the mantra of doing well by doing good here in Regeneron. When you consider the pipeline of drugs we are releasing this year and bringing to commercial production over time  you have one manufacturing facility in upstate New York and the other is in Raheen in Ireland.

Were only in our infancy in getting going in Raheen. In time, with the infrastructure we have in place already, I think its only going one direction, and that is forward.

Regeneron has already surpassed its own expectations with 550 now employed, and hiring still ongoing. The company wants not just third level students, but all the way down to primary school students, to know they are wanted.

From a regional perspective, the parents from Limerick, north Kerry, Tipperary, east Clare  we want them aware of what Regeneron does and what roles we can provide their sons and daughters into the future. Taking that approach means engaging with local schools both primary and secondary as well as the colleges.

Weve very much a community-based culture within the company. Theres a strong volunteering element to it. Its getting the name out there and that awareness. Corporate social responsibility is hugely important to us.

I was born and bred about 5km from our plant here in Raheen, in Ballyclough. I went to primary school and secondary school locally, and went on to the University of Limerick. Its a wonderful thing to now come home. Limerick is on the up, he said.
Ms Fitzgerald has proposed that Section 8 of the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009 should be continued for a further 12 months up to the end of June 2018.

The Special Criminal Court has still to deal with a single conviction of organised crime. However, gardai believe Section 8 will be needed in the future if any senior criminals involved in the ongoing Kinahan-Hutch gangland feud are brought to trial.

The legislation has been criticised by a number of groups including the Irish Council for Civil Liberties which described Section 8 as draconian.

The act was brought in by a Fianna Fail-led government amid concerns that the ordinary courts were inadequate to secure the effective administration of justice in case relating to gangland crime.

It followed the murder of Limerick businessman Roy Collins by one of the citys notorious criminal gangs in 2009.

The provisions in Section 8 are expressly aimed at ensuring the integrity of the criminal justice system and protecting it from being subverted by criminal groups, Ms Fitzgerald said.

She claimed it removed the possibility of jurors being intimidated during the trial process.

Ms Fitzgerald said 33 arrests had been made under the act over the past 12 months and a total of 311 arrests since the legislation was enacted.

Although no cases have proceeded to trial at the Special Criminal Court, Ms Fitzgerald said 14 individuals who were originally detained under Section 8 were subsequently convicted of other criminal offences including robbery, possession of firearms, and the unauthorised taking and handling of stolen property.

Noirin OSullivan, the Garda Commissioner, said the legislation had proven an effective tool in tackling organised criminal groups including those involved in burglaries, cash-in-transit robberies and so-called tiger kidnappings.

Ms OSullivan said Section 8 greatly assisted in the investigation of criminal acts being planned and committed by organised criminal gangs in the Republic.

Based on the view of senior gardai, Ms Fitzgerald said she concluded the legislation should continue to operate for a further 12 months when it will be reviewed again.

Both the Dail and the Seanad are required to pass a resolution for the continuation of the legislative powers.

Section 8 allows the DPP to direct that an accused should not be sent forward for trial at the Special Criminal Court.

A small number of convictions secured to date under Section 8 have all been obtained in the ordinary courts.

Offences under the legislation include directing the activities of a criminal organisation which can carry a penalty of up to life imprisonment upon conviction.

Other offences include membership of a criminal gang and committing an offence for a criminal organisation which carry maximum jail terms of 15 years.
Jimmy Allen, managing director of De Roiste Foods in Baile Mhuirne, expects shortly to complete the purchase of a 1.9 acre site in nearby Reidh na nDoiri, on part of the area formerly occupied by a mushroom production facility.

He has been granted planning permission for a 600 sq m factory which will include a production hall, industrial catering kitchen, slicing rooms, and offices.

The company, whose products include sausages and black and white puddings, has grown rapidly since its foundation in 2012.

Now supplying Irish retail giants Musgraves and Dunnes Stores and in talks with Tesco, it has outgrown its unit on the Udaras na Gaeltachta business park in Baile Mhuirne.

The planned new facility would allow the business to expand, with its workforce increasing from nine to approximately 18.

Mr Allen envisages the facility as the first step in a possible food hub in Reidh na nDoiri and urged Udaras na Gaeltachta to purchase the remaining part of the site to provide start-up units.

However, he revealed his hopes were dealt a heavy blow by cuts in Leader funding announced during the planning process for the new De Roiste Foods facility.

Stressing the factory plan would still go ahead, he was critical of the decision not to allow the West Cork Development Partnership, with which he had been in discussions, to continue its administration of Leader rural development funding for the Muscrai Gaeltacht.

When we started buying the site in Reidh na nDoiri, there was Leader funding available, he explained.

We sat down with West Cork Development and they were after doing a lot of funding for businesses in the area, and that support for small business was absolutely invaluable. We were getting very positive feedback.

"There was 75% funding from Leader at the time. Every bob we had ourselves was going into the new factory and the bank was going to make up the rest.

De Roiste Foods first planning application was refused. A revised application has now been approved, but West Cork Development had in the meantime ceased to administer Leader funding.

It is now administered in Muscrai by Udaras na Gaeltachta, which recently announced 60,000 total funding for social inclusion and economic, enterprise, and job creation projects.

Mr Allen criticised Government policy regarding enterprise development and handling of Leader funds.

Theyre talking about developing small business but, in actual fact, theyre working against it, he said.

We had the best Leader funding not alone in Ireland but in Europe. I saw what they were doing for small businesses. Why break something that was working? Theyve given it to Udaras na Gaeltachta and theyve given 60,000 for four years.

Applying to a fund with such a small total available wouldnt be worth it by the time youve gone through the rigmarole, he said. You might get 1,500.

Udaras Munster regional manager Donal O Liathain confirmed the 60,000 Leader funding total for Muscrai but said: A strong case is being made by Udaras na Gaeltachta and the Local Community Development Committee to increase this budget significantly. The overall budget for the South Cork region was reduced by over 80%.
The Government, Nama, and Dublin City Council have hailed the potential economies of scale in developing the lands as key to solving the national housing crisis.

Much of the 84 acres has been earmarked for housing, under a strategic development zone.

However, Paul Johnston, adjunct professor of environmental engineering at TCD, said identifying potential risks by drilling boreholes and making good the contaminated lands will likely be far more complex and entail more costs than cleaning up contaminated sites at Haulbowline in Cork and the remediated extensive Lagan gas works site in Belfast.

The costs of the investigation and remediation of this site [Poolbeg West] have not been factored in and it doesnt appear to be well understood what level of remediation is going to be required, said Prof Johnston.

It will likely be costly to investigate the large range of industrial and municipal waste dumped on Poolbeg.

The problem we have in Ireland is we have no mechanism for dealing with hazardous waste materials, so nearly all has to be exported or somehow isolated, said Prof Johnson.

A report under a strategic environmental assessment by Dublin City Council published earlier this year says it had provided a review of available documentation on contamination, a conceptual site model for the area of the planning scheme and a highlevel qualitative risk assessment to establish low, medium and high-risk areas.
DUP leader Arlene Foster is due for talks in Downing Street tomorrow with a view to finalising the arrangements, but former Tory chancellor George Osborne warned that Ms May would have to soften her stance on Brexit if she wanted the backing of the DUPs 10 MPs in the Commons.

Outgoing Taoiseach Enda Kenny has raised concerns with Ms May about the lack of Irish nationalist voices in Westminster.
While the threat is not explicitly contained in the draft document, Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe and the Government are clear that only those who sign up to the deal can benefit from its terms, the Irish Examiner can reveal.

This means that pay awards of 1% due to commence from next January will not be paid to those unions who reject the deal.

In line with LRA  which this proposed agreement will be an extension of  the general position is that those who do not subscribe to agreement should not avail of the benefits of that agreement, Mr Donohoes spokesman told the Irish Examiner.

The matter of excluding unions who do not accept the deal is tied up with the terms of the financial emergency legislation (Fempi) which Mr Donohoe needs yearly approval from the Dail to continue.

This issue is being explored at the moment, in the context of the Fempi Acts, which Minister Donohoe is required to make a statement to the Dail on shortly, his spokesman said.

The generous pay award of 7% is being seen by many as a catalyst in the significant decision of the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI) to suspend their current campaign of industrial action at the weekend.

The union had been refusing to work additional hours due to their opposition to the first Lansdowne Road Agreement and had objected to junior cycle reforms.

However, at a special ASTI convention held in Dublin on Saturday, members decided to suspend the current campaign of industrial action by 240 votes to 121.

This is seen by some as a victory of the moderate side of the union and it opens the door to the union signing up to the benefits of the new pay deal.

Mr Donohoe, his officials, and other union leaders were taken by surprise by the decision of the INTO, the countrys largest teacher trade union, to recommend a rejection of the new pay deal which runs until 2020.

The INTO said the move was based on the failure of the proposed agreement to progress the issue of pay equality for new entrants, which would cost 208m in the first year.

However, speaking to the Irish Examiner, sources close to Mr Donohoe have said those new entrants are the biggest gainers in the deal.

They argue the deal provides a triple-lock mechanism to address the concerns around new entrants.

Firstly, the lower paid will be entitled to higher rates of pay increases, up to 10% in some cases, which are not open to other state employees.

Secondly, they will pay a far lower pension contribution on their earnings to reflect their final pension will be lower than those working in the public service pre 2011.

And finally, according to the text of the deal, new entrants will have a review of the deal after 12 months.

But any change cannot impact on the fiscal envelope assigned to pay for the deal.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Bernard Harbour of the Impact union said there is still scope to further addressing the issue of new entrants and the major problem of retaining staff in certain sectors like nursing.

There is no deal which resolves every problem or that you get everything you want. But in terms of new entrants what we have is a process so nothing is closed off on that, he said.

Early indications are that while the INTO has recommended rejection, the other big unions Siptu and Impact are likely to recommend acceptance of the deal and that is likely to create momentum behind the deal.

Fianna Fail public expenditure spokesman Dara Calleary said the deal remains imperfect until new entrants are properly dealt with.

He told the Irish Examiner: It does nothing for new entrants and we need to see far more urgent action to deal with those sectors where there are real difficulties in hiring staff.

We need to see far more action from Government.
Growing up in Rioja, Clara Canals always wanted to work in the wine industry.

As the second largest wine region in Spain, the lush countryside produces practically as many vintners as it does bottles of the stuff, and as a little girl, she never dreamt of doing anything else.

Since I was a kid, wine is part of our lives, said Clara, a winemaker at the Campo Viejo vineyard in the province. Ive seen my parents drinking wine and during harvest we used to help picking the grapes.

Obviously, in Spain, for us wine is a way of life. Its in our blood.

At university, I first studied biochemistry and then when I finished its like, Well, this is not for me  I need to be a bit more out.

The rioja expert jetted into drizzly Dublin last week to help launch the seventh annual Campo Viejo Tapas Trail promotion, which brings a splash of Spanish colour to Cork, Galway and the capital later this month.

Restaurants including Eco in Douglas and Feed Your Senses in Cork City are set to join forces with the brand to bring guests on a culinary tour of the region without even leaving the country.

Wine lovers can also join trails in Cork and Galway for the first time this year.

But Clara insisted you dont need a degree in grapes like her to enjoy the event, which kicks off on June 21 and continues throughout July.

Winemakers are not born knowing how to taste, said the 34-year-old, who has a European masters degree in oenology and viticulture. Anyone can learn how to taste  its just a matter of memory.

If you like coffee, then you keep that in the back of your memory and when you taste another coffee [you think], Ah, but I like this more than the other one.

[Within the wine industry], sometimes we speak very technical and people they dont understand, she added. One of our biggest competitors is not the different wine brands, its the beer because beer is easy  its always cold, you dont have to taste it and see it its OK or not.

It happens a lot in Spain you get to the restaurant and they [give] you the wine menu and people are intimidated to order a bottle of wine because then you have to pour the wine, you have to taste it, you have to say if its OK and thats wrong.

We need to make wine a bit more accessible [so that] people are not scared.

Despite being the tipple of choice of so-called wine oclock women all over the world, today viticulture remains an overwhelmingly male-dominated field.

However, Clara revealed that all that is slowly changing, not least at Campo Viejo, where all three resident winemakers are female.

It was a very, very male industry, conceded the expert, who perfected her craft in wineries in South Africa and New Zealand before returning to Spain six years ago. Now its surprisingly a lot of women winemakers in Rioja.

At university, it will be like half women, half men.

Its funny, with the same grapes, if its a male winemaker or female, the wine will be different, she continued. It doesnt mean it will be better if made by the woman or the man  its just different.

I think we have a different approach to tastings.

One of the challenges also is to attract male [drinkers] and to see that its not a womans drink or a mans drink. Wine is there to be enjoyed by everyone.

People think that we are just drinking every day but its a very challenging job, explained Clara. For four years, I was just travelling north and south  what we call a flying winemaker  following the harvest.

There are so many things that we cannot control like the weather. You keep the whole year working in the vineyard protecting everything and suddenly one night there is frost and then its like what can you do.

So you work really hard to make the wine, but the reward is that you get to see people enjoying that wine. I love the job because its very social also  you get to know a lot of people.

Meanwhile, the rioja queen revealed she was looking forward to sampling Graham Nortons eponymous sauvignon blanc while in Ireland and refused to w(h)ine about the countrys gin and whiskey explosion. I am keen to taste them. Its great. I think we have to have an open mind and keep tasting new wines and keep learning about new grape varieties and new regions

I hope we will continue drinking wine. Food gets better with wine and wine gets better with food thats the magic thing. Its not the same if you have a steak with a gin and tonic.

www.campoviejotapastrail.ie for more
As British prime minister Theresa May seeks to form a new government, following an election in which her Conservative Party lost its parliamentary majority, she knows that, within days, she will also need to get down to the nitty-gritty of negotiating Britains exit from the European Union.

Preparations for the Brexit negotiations have been underway for some time, but they have so far been impaired by three elementary negotiating mistakes, and now must deal with the fact that the British governments mandate to act has been damaged severely.

The first classic mistake made thus far was for the UK government to imagine that it was headed into battle. According to this view, negotiators must obscure their real plans or intentions, as they work to seize a dominant position and, ultimately, to vanquish their foes.

Throw in some elaborate deception, and it is as if we were preparing for the D-Day landings in Normandy.

But Brexit is not D-Day. Far from attempting to defeat its enemies, the United Kingdom is attempting to preserve mutually beneficial relationships with countries from which it cannot distance itself geographically  and from which it cant afford to distance itself otherwise.

It should not keep its plans secret, as it has so far done, and it certainly should not engage in brinkmanship, such as that exemplified by Mays battle cry that no deal is better than a bad deal.

Instead, the UK must advance a collaborative process centered on joint problem solving.

The negotiations should focus on creating as much value as possible for both parties, including through the bespoke UK-EU free-trade arrangement (FTA) that May aspires to create.

Fairness, openness, and transparency are vital to enable both sides to appraise the prospective gains accurately and efficiently, not to mention to allow the private sector and other parties to contribute innovative solutions.

The second classic negotiating error is to focus exclusively on your own interests.

Effective negotiations require a deep understanding of the other sides interests, priorities, and constraints. What do they stand to win or lose? Where cant they afford to compromise? What could impede their ability to reach an agreement?

For example, both the UK and the EU have capacity constraints. Britain is cobbling together a team to handle trade negotiations as fast as possible. As for the EU, it is already engaged in negotiations for some 10 FTAs, with everyone from the Gulf Co-operation Council to the United States.

European governments still need to implement five other previously agreed FTAs with Canada, Singapore, Vietnam, West Africa, and East Africa.

Britain expects to jump the queue, because of the scale, depth, and significance of its economic relationship with the EU. But, if it does, the EU may face some backlash from those who are stuck in line.

In fact, throughout the Brexit negotiations, the EU will need to consider the messages it is sending to its other negotiating partners. If the UK is to help bring about a mutually beneficial agreement, its strategy must recognise this, as well as the other constraints that may affect the EU and its member states.

The third mistake is to create unrealistic expectations.

The Brexit talks will undoubtedly be long and difficult  all the more so if citizens, businesses, or the negotiators themselves become discouraged, after excessive expectations are not met.

Managing expectations regarding timing may be most important.

The UK hopes to conclude a bespoke FTA with the EU within the allocated two-year negotiation period.

But comparable negotiations with other major EU partners, such as Japan and Canada, have taken nine-10 years. And they have been crafted gradually, not in one fell swoop.

Consider the EUs FTA with Canada, which began with the establishment, in 2004, of a framework for negotiations. Nearly nine years later, in 2013, an agreement in principle was reached. The actual deal was struck last September.

Then the process of approval by European institutions began, ultimately gaining the European Parliaments approval in February.

And the process is still not complete: national legislatures have yet to ratify some elements of the pact.

This suggests that, within the two-year period, the UKs best hope is to complete a framework agreement with the EU.

A final deal will almost certainly take much longer, not least because parts of it will require ratification by individual member states. The UK government should be open and unambiguous with the public about this.

In the meantime, the UK must commit to securing an interim agreement with the EU.

Theresa May

Some 40% of British exports go to the EU market, and Britains factories rely heavily on goods swiftly crossing European borders, whether it be livestock from Ireland or crankshafts from Germany.

In short, the UK cannot afford to lose frictionless borders, even temporarily, as it awaits agreement on a final deal.

It certainly cannot afford to lose them for the long term, as would probably occur if no deal were reached within the allotted two years.

Indeed, Mays threat that no deal is better than a bad deal does not just undermine the negotiation process; it is simply wrong.

No deal would probably mean reverting to standard World Trade Organisation rules  which is the worst case scenario for Ireland.

That would mean a 14.4% tariff for Britains agricultural sector, which will already suffer from the loss of financial support through the European Common Agricultural Policy. The UKs dairy exports will be subjected to a 40% average tariff.

As for services  by far the UK economys largest sector  the WTO rules governing exports are some 20 years old and woefully out of date. To get a sense of just how undesirable these rules would be, consider that all but six of the WTOs 164 members either has an FTA with the EU, or is working to establish one.

May called the recent election because she wanted a stronger mandate to negotiate a good deal for her country. She didnt get it.

Now more than ever, securing a deal will require shifting to a collaborative, outward-looking, and realistic negotiating strategy.

Ngaire Woods is dean of the Blavatnik School of Government and founder of the Global Economic Governance Programme at the University of Oxford.

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2017.
THE Conservative Partys loss of its parliamentary majority, in the United Kingdoms snap election last week, has proved political pundits, pollsters, and other prognosticators wrong, once again.

And, once again, various explanations are being offered for an outcome that few expected. Many have said that the prime minister, Theresa May, campaigned poorly, and that pollsters models underestimated turnout by younger voters. Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, appeared competent and confident. But these explanations may be irrelevant, because they focus strictly on how the campaign was conducted.

A better explanation comes from psychology. If pundits had paid attention to a well-established theory about the psychology of snap elections, they could have foreseen the UK elections outcome.

According to research by New York University political scientist, Alastair Smith, who has examined British general-election polling data and results dating back to 1945, decisions by prime ministers to hold early elections often backfire.

By holding an election three years ahead of schedule, May made a serious, though hardly unprecedented, miscalculation. She assumed that the popular support she had when she announced the election would translate into votes.

Former British prime minister, Harold Wilson, made the same mistake in May, 1970, when he tried to take advantage of Labours popularity. During the ensuing campaign, Labours support collapsed, and the Conservatives won 330 of 630 seats.

Theresa May

Similarly, in 1997, former French president, Jacques Chiracs decision to call an early parliamentary election resulted in large electoral gains for opposition parties on the left. The same thing happened in Australia in 1998.

In a 2003 study, published in the British Journal of Political Science, Smith concluded that popular support for leaders who call early elections wanes in the run-up to the vote. The more popular a leader when calling an early election, the more likely it is that he or she will lose support during the campaign.

When May called a snap election in April, she was riding so high in the polls that she and the Tories had expected to win in a landslide. But an early general election is a psychological poker game in which the electorate often calls a leaders bluff.

May thought that she had a strong hand, because she has more information than the average voter about the countrys future prospects. As prime minister, she has been briefed on the UKs near-term economic conditions and the probable outcome of the Brexit negotiations with the European Union.

But Mays decision to hold an early election tipped her hand to voters, who probably suspected that she was exploiting her informational advantage to reinforce her own political position. To illustrate this point, Smith uses the example of former British prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, whose own strategy in the election poker game was the opposite of Mays.

In 1982, Thatcher was at the height of her popularity, having just declared victory in the Falklands War. And while she was not required to call an election before May, 1984, she could conceivably have parlayed her enormous popularity into another five-year term.

Public opinion polls from 1982 suggest that Thatcher almost surely would have won had she called an election that year. Instead, she waited, despite the risk that future policy failures might erode her popularity.

How Thatcher assessed that risk depended on her own anticipated performance in the coming year. If she was convinced that she would have effective solutions to problems that might emerge, then there was little risk in waiting to be tested at the polls. On the other hand, if Thatcher had not been confident about her policies, she would have had a stronger incentive to cash in on her popularity by calling a snap election.

Jeremy Corbyn

Thatcher eventually called an election for June, 1983. Later, in their autobiographies, she and her chancellor of the exchequer, Nigel Lawson, explained that their timing had been influenced by fears about inflation in the coming year. By calling the election a year early, they avoided a scenario in which worsening inflation would have sapped the Conservatives popularity.

The timing of elections can reveal how well incumbents expect to perform in the future. All else being equal, competent governments will wait longer before going to the electorate, whereas insecure leaders will try to capitalise on their popularity when they have it.

According to Smiths theory, any leader who calls a snap election should expect to see his or her support decline, as has just occurred in Britain.

May has proved to be a far less confident leader than anyone had expected. She led an uninspiring campaign, in which her promise of strong and stable leadership rang hollow. But her humiliating defeat could have been predicted before the campaign had even begun.

Raj Persaud is a consultant psychiatrist in Harley Street, London. Adrian Furnham is professor of psychology at University College London. Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2017.
BECAUSE taxi drivers were scarce when he wrote his plays, Shakespeare, when he needed a character who knew everything and occasionally hit the nail on the noggin, went for Dick the Butcher. Dick maintained that progress towards a coup required pre-emotive action.

The first thing we do, he proposed, lets kill all the lawyers. The new version of that, pioneered by Theresa May, is that when you want to survive, after an unprecedented outbreak of self-harm: The first thing we do, lets kill all the advisers, starting with Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy, her joint chiefs of staff, who, in fairness, seem to have rendered themselves roughly as popular as bubonic plague with everybody in the Tory government other than the prime minister in an impressively short period of time. This they achieved, according to sources close to the plague, by rude, abusive and childish behaviour and by forming a Praetorian Guard around the prime minister. Understandably, the people who couldnt get past them tended to use descriptions other than Praetorian Guard, since those lads, in Ancient Rome, were seen as highly skilled and admirable, and Hill plus Timothy were not so seen.

Timothy exemplified the old principle of the pecking order: I thump you, you thump someone else and the final person in the thumping chain clatters the dog. The dog, in this instance, being the communications people. Timothy took some blame on the day of his departure, before getting to the dog-kicking point.

The Conservative election campaign, however, failed to get Theresas positive plan for the future across, he wrote, in a form of epistolary wound-licking. It also failed to notice the surge in Labour support, because modern campaigning techniques require ever -narrower targeting of specific voters and we were not talking to the people who decided to vote for Labour.

The former adviser does have two points, here. The Conservatives have enough money and contacts to tap into all the Cambridge Analytica algorithms and methodology to reach voters as individuals as often and as pointedly as they needed to, but so far, no evidence has surfaced that they availed of it. And when it comes to the alleged positive plan, the record shows that, instead of presenting the British voters with any kind of future vision, instead of indicating that she knew where they were coming from and where they wanted to go to, Theresa Mays entire campaign centred on a self-directed process issue: a result that would give her a stronger hand in negotiating Britains exit from the EU. It made no sense. Indeed, whenever a political leader opts for a snap election in order to strengthen their mandate or give them a stronger hand, the move is, ipso facto, a confession of personal weakness.

It was a version of the demand for a strengthened mandate that led to the Cameron disaster. He didnt need it. He underestimated the current lust for change  change of any kind  within the electorate. And because of complacency and overconfidence, he ran a rotten referendum campaign.

During that referendum, May had been in the Remain camp. To become prime minister, she had to accept the will of the people, who wanted her to simply get on with it. However, she seems to have wanted to prove that she could be an Iron Lady when it came to implementing the will of the people. Someone should have told her the truth. Theresa, you are no Margaret Thatcher. You are a dull ladylike woman, you have the top job, just do it, rather than looking at issues of branding or framing or strengthened mandates.

When she refused to take part in a major TV debate on the spurious grounds that she was constantly seen in televised coverage of the Houses of Parliament dealing with Jeremy Corbyn and therefore didnt need an extra opportunity to do the same, that  in and of itself  was a mistake.

It was a mistake because, while social media is now central to electoral success, social media feeds off the big staged events that happen on mainstream media  witness the negative social media coverage for several days after her earlier Jeremy Paxman outing. To opt out of a debate argues lack of confidence. But it manifests something more subtly significant. Voters want to see energy and commitment. As one expert in getting people elected muttered to me this week, Voters want to be danced for. May wouldnt dance. Or, perhaps, as later seemed to be the case, couldnt dance.

Inevitably, when, during that latter debate, instead of being in the studio, she was out on the streets meeting the real people in twos and threes, the end result was that media, even the bulk of British print media who were bought into the Conservatives, had to cover what actually happened. One encounter with a woman who attacked the prime minister over what is dubbed her dementia tax  a plan to make old people pay more for their inevitable care  would have put immediate fear into the hearts of even heartland Tory voters. Or, indeed, particularly of Tory voters, whose demographic naturally skews towards the old.

The fact is that, although the outward and visible sign was poor communications, the underlying policy reality was the problem. According to disgruntled ministers and candidates, thats because the central policy platforms were dreamed up by May together with Timothy and Hill.

Within days, the dementia tax proposal had been withdrawn. The problem then was that, like those who, even when the sea retreats to an unprecedented point, never see a tsunami coming, she stayed infuriatingly on message, rabbiting on with the same slogan about strong and stable government. This clearly overestimated the contradictions voters would swallow. May was clearly neither strong nor stable throughout the campaign, and she ended up with a significantly weakened position, with the possibility of support from the DUP grating with many of her colleagues.

The interview she gave, having visited Buckingham Palace to state her intention of forming a government, was so dire as to suggest that no communications advisor was on the job. She never answered any of the questions put to her, simply repeating two points in the same words more than three times. Thats not the communication of an intellectually competent adult, never mind an able prime minister.

She was, she promised, going to reflect. One day later, her two closest advisors were reflected right out of Downing St, by implication indicating that May follows the Clinton approach of blame-delegation. Leadership, though, is about picking the right people, managing them and selecting from what they offer. May didnt do any of those things.

This turned out to be an old fashioned contest between left and right, between complacency and consistency, between inertia and energy, between incumbency and outsider hunger. The end result is a lame duck leader whose first move after personal failure is to kill her advisers off.
Monday, June 12th, 2017 (3:17 pm) - Score 1,155

A recent review of the state aid supported roll-out of superfast broadband services in East Sussex (e-Sussex) has triggered a row between Conservative and opposition Liberal Democrat councillors, which focuses upon whether or not the project ever promised to deliver 100% coverage.

Officially the original 34m+ e-Sussex contract, which was agreed with Openreach (BT), pledged to make fibre broadband (FTTC/P/Cable etc.) services available to 99% of local premises in the county (96% will get superfast speeds of 24Mbps+), which was allegedly completed in March 2017 (here).

The latest independent estimates from Thinkbroadbands database suggest that 99% of premises in East Sussex are indeed covered by fibre broadband, although the figure drops to about 94% when looking at speeds of 24Mbps+ (rises to 95.7% if you include the city of Brighton).

On top of that a second Superfast Extension Programme (SEP) contract was agreed all the way back in 2015 (here), which should add another 7,000 premises to the total and this is due to complete by December 2017. A third contract is now being debated that will go even further.

ESCC Broadband Contracts

 Contract 1 (signed in May 2013) to deliver a 3 year programme of infrastructure improvements funded by ESCC 15m, Broadband Delivery UK [BDUK] 10.64m and BT 4.4m.  Contract 2 (signed in June 2015) to deliver an infrastructure programme to provide superfast broadband coverage to a further 5,000 premises (recently increased to 7,000). The work related to this contract is taking place during 2016 and 2017, and is funded by ESCC 3m (re-invested from the first contract), BDUK 3m and BT 265,000.

However Kathryn Field, the LibDem councillor for Battle and Crowhurst, has criticised a new Scrutiny Report that was tasked with examining the first contract because she claims that ESCC had promised to deliver 100% coverage of superfast broadband (here), which so far has not been achieved. Kathryns view has also been echoed by other local LibDem councillors.

Councillor Kathryn Field said: The very last recommendation talks about creating a fact sheet to address misconceptions. The only misconception that needs addressing is the promise and it was a promise, it was not a we will try our best, it was a promise by Councillor Jones that every single household in this county would be enabled to receive superfast broadband. That has not happened. That is a promise that has been broken and our residents deserve better.

In fairness the local authority deserves some of the blame for this confusion because they often used the tedious fibre broadband terminology to explain their aspirations and this usually gets jumbled together with the term superfast (24Mbps+). Crucially hybrid-fibre services, such as Openreachs favoured Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC) technology, will in some areas deliver much slower speeds than 24Mbps (i.e. hence the difference between the 99% and 96% figures at the start of our article).

As the review itself notes, Given that 100% coverage was merely an aspiration, it is unsurprising that public expectation had interpreted some of the hype surrounding initial announcements, as committed goals.

Keith Glazier, Tory Councillor for Rye and Eastern Rother, added: Lets be absolutely clear, when Councillor Jones made promises all those years ago he was absolutely convinced what he was saying was going to be true, but actually the world changes. The ability to deliver, as has been explained earlier, was not simple and straightforward. Lets move on. At the end of the day I have been leader for four years. Councillor Jones has not been a councillor for four years. We can harp on about the past as many do or we can actually say that what we are currently delivering is a credit to the team that are undertaking this.

The above remarks were also echoed by another Conservative councillor, Rupert Simmons, who noted that the local authority do intend to get as close to 100 per cent as physically possible. In fairness East Sussex currently has better coverage of superfast broadband than a lot of local authorities, although theres clearly room for improvement, both in terms of how such progress is communicated and with regards to future network coverage.

The report itself also notes feedback from some of those who have been covered by the service, which found some all too familiar concerns.

19. Councillors and residents expressed concerns centred around broadband speeds and coverage achieved under Contract 1 delivered by BT Openreach, namely:  Broadband speeds have not improved for some residents and small businesses, despite being connected to fibre enabled services;  Broadband speeds are slow at peaks times of demand;  Coverage has not reached all residents and premises and some have been left with slow or no broadband;  In a number of cases, provision of information concerning the timing and availability of superfast broadband has been poor and precise information about when or whether superfast broadband will be provided to particular premises is not available.

The good news is that Openreach are expected to deploy more FTTP as part of Contract 2, which delivers much more reliable ultrafast speeds. Unfortunately the review doesnt tell us anything new about the plans for Contract 3, which will focus on reaching at least some of the the c.20,000 premises that cannot currently receive a superfast service.

However we do learn that Contract 3 will prioritise those that are experiencing speeds less than 15Mbps and the service provision to any remaining business parks (the latter is difficult and so far the team has only identified two such parks).

Likewise the council confirms that there may be a minority of premises, at the end of the project, which will be unable to access superfast broadband and extra funding is expected to be set aside for these in order to help them find an alternative (e.g. satellite, mobile, fixed wireless etc.). Heres a full list of all the recommendations.
Monday, June 12th, 2017 (5:15 pm) - Score 1,420

The director of SSEs UK broadband business, David Walter, has hinted that the utility provider might be willing to make a major investment into building their own ultrafast broadband network, which could take fibre optic (FTTP/H) cables directly to customers (homes and businesses).

At present the broadband and phone service that SSE offers is effectively piggybacking off another network, while building their own network would be a completely different ball game and carries huge financial risks. However the companys SSE Enterprise division has already established a strong network (here) and theyve clearly got the skills to do something bigger. Nevertheless we doubt that SSE could go it alone.

According to the Telegraph, Walter is interested in pushing deeper into the telecoms sector but the company has not yet made any solid decisions about their future investment strategy. The report notes that SSE hasnt ruled out the possibility of gobbling a major broadband ISP (TalkTalk?) or they could move forward in cooperation with a partner.

Were inclined to take all of this with a pinch of salt, not least since context and correct terminology can be tricky things to get right in the broadband market. SSE could simply be referencing the additional investment required in order to expand their current wholesale deal to cover FTTP and G.fast services, or they might be talking about a tie-up with an operator like Cityfibre (e.g. not unlike Sky Broadband and TalkTalk did in York).

On the other hand SSE might be considering an agreement that would see them work more closely with Openreach and other ISPs. Openreach has recently hinted that they might be able to expand FTTP to 10 million premises by around 2025 (here), although they also said that this would only be possible with the support of Ofcom and other providers.
Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!

Your notification has been saved.

There was a problem saving your notification.

{{description}}

Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
This Week in Review

A weekly review of the best and most popular stories published in the Imperial Valley Press. Also, featured upcoming events, new movies at local theaters, the week in photos and much more.
By continuing to browse or by clicking "Accept," you agree to our site's privacy policy.
There were expressions of joy and tears all around during the graduation ceremony for seniors at Winston-Salem Preparatory Academy on Sunday as both the graduating class and the schools principal, Richard K. Watts, said farewell.

Many in the graduating class had big and extended hugs for Watts, who got teary-eyed when he found out that a new scholarship is being set up in his name, but who also made sure his departing words to the seniors were focused on their future.

I challenge you to press on, Watts said. When folks get in your way, press on. When they call you anything but a child of God, press on.

It was an emotional time for the graduating class of about 50 seniors, who are now looking forward to their next steps in life.

Im excited, very excited and it is a bittersweet feeling because it is over, said Niaja Wilds. It is definitely scary, the fact that I am about to be on my own.

Wilds said she is going to UNC Charlotte this fall to major in criminal justice, and hopes to become a lawyer.

I watch a lot of crime shows, she said, explaining her interest. I want to be a lawyer and help people.

Samantha Woods, standing nearby, said the feeling of graduation is a good one even if it also involves being scared and stressed.

Woods said she is planning to double major in psychology and criminal justice at UNC Pembroke, and sees herself as helping those whose brush with the law sent them to prison.

I want to help people who are coming out of prison to adjust to society, she said.

During the ceremony, the graduates and hundreds of onlookers heard words of reflection and encouragement from Joshua Cornelius Gould, the salutatorian of the graduating class, and from Tanita Amour Brunson, the valedictorian.

Brunson thanked parents, friends and teachers for encouraging her to keep going when times were tough.

I am really, really proud of you, she told her classmates, adding that each of her classmates is unforgettable.

The students and members of the audience laughed when Lori Goins Clark, with the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education, held up her cellphone to give some advice.

Choose people instead of this thing, she said. I would say put this thing away and have a real conversation.

Keynote speaker Melvin Aikens, valedictorian of the Class of 2009 who is pursuing a career in music, told members of the graduating class to give their dreams time to mature.

Aikens told how discouraged he felt when he was 22 and still hadnt published a song. That was the deadline he had given himself. It took a couple more years, he said, but by the time he was 24, I was on the radio talking about my song.

District Court Judge Denise Hartsfield appealed for the graduating seniors to get in the way when they see something wrong going on.

Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere, Hartsfield said.

Annie Marie Searcy said after the ceremony that she was proud her son Rico Hough was the first of her children to graduate from high school. She said her son is an inspiration to two of her younger teens who should also be graduating when their times come.

I am proud, happy and excited, Searcy said.

Watts said he was speechless when he found out a scholarship would be made in his name. Hes been principal at Winston-Salem Prep for 10 years and held other teaching and administrative jobs in the local school system before that. He said hes put in 32 years in education and that it is time to let someone else do it.

It is definitely bittersweet when you think about all the people connected to the school, he said. So many young people need someone to stand in their corner, and that is what we do at Winston-Salem Prep. These are all my kids.
Almost 15 hours elapsed between the time a young Yadkin County woman wrecked the car she was driving on Transou Road and the time her body was found in the car, according to reports from the Winston-Salem Police Department.

A section of Transou Road was blocked off Sunday evening after the body of Sydney Nicole Caudle was found in a 2010 Honda Civic that had crashed into a tree on the side of the road in the 3300 block of Transou.

Corp. J. Gerald of the Winston-Salem Police Department said investigators believe the wreck occurred about 3 a.m. Sunday off the east side of Transou Road just north of its intersection with Peter Pfaff Drive, a residential street.

Apparently, the people who live nearby and who reported the crash returned home Sunday evening to discover the wrecked car.

Caudle lived on Todd Drive in Yadkinville, and had been reported missing Sunday. Her next of kin were notified of her death after discovery of the wrecked Honda.

Investigators said it did not appear that the Honda had braked before it crashed into the tree. They also said that they have not yet determined whether alcohol was a factor in the crash.

Transou Road goes into a gentle left-turning curve as it heads north from the Peter Pfaff Drive intersection. Police said it appeared the car ran off the road to the right and collided with the tree. The front of the car appeared badly damaged when a wrecker removed it from the scene Sunday evening.

The crashed marked the 12th fatal vehicle crash in Winston-Salem since the beginning of the year. By this time last year, only five fatal crashes had occurred.
WASHINGTON -- Having coined Bush Derangement Syndrome more than a decade ago, I feel authorized to weigh in on its most recent offshoot. What distinguishes Trump Derangement Syndrome is not just general hysteria about the subject, but additionally the inability to distinguish between legitimate policy differences on the one hand and signs of psychic pathology on the other.

Take Trump's climate-change decision. The hyperbole that met his withdrawal from the Paris agreement -- a traitorous act of war against the American people, America just resigned as leader of the free world, etc. -- was astonishing, though hardly unusual, this being Trump.

What the critics don't seem to recognize is that the Paris agreement itself was a huge failure. It contained no uniform commitments and no enforcement provisions. Sure, the whole world signed. But onto what? A voluntary set of vaporous promises. China pledged to "achieve the peaking of CO2 emissions around 2030." Meaning that they rise for another 13 years.

The rationale, I suppose, is that developing countries like India and China should be given a pass because the West had a two-century head start on industrialization.

I don't think the West needs to apologize -- or pay -- for having invented the steam engine. In fact, I've long favored a real climate-change pact, strong and enforceable, that would impose relatively uniform demands on China, India, the U.S., the EU and any others willing to join.

Paris was nothing but hot air. Withdrawing was a perfectly plausible policy choice (the other being remaining but trying to reduce our CO2-cutting commitments). The subsequent attacks on Trump were all the more unhinged because the president's other behavior over the last several weeks provided ample opportunity for shock and dismay.

It's the tweets, of course. Trump sees them as a direct, "unfiltered" conduit to the public. What he doesn't quite understand is that for him -- indeed, for anyone -- they are a direct conduit from the unfiltered id. They erase whatever membrane normally exists between one's internal disturbances and their external manifestations.

For most people, who cares? For the president of the United States, there are consequences. When the president's id speaks, the world listens.

Consider his tweets mocking the mayor of London after the most recent terror attack. They were appalling. This is a time when a president expresses sympathy and solidarity -- and stops there. Trump can't stop, ever. He used the atrocity to renew an old feud with a minor official of another country. Petty in the extreme.

As was his using London to support his misbegotten travel ban, to attack his own Justice Department for having "watered down" the original executive order (ignoring the fact that Trump himself signed it) and to undermine the case for it just as it goes to the Supreme Court.

As when he boasted by tweet that the administration was already doing "extreme vetting." But that explodes the whole rationale for the travel ban -- that a 90-day moratorium on entry was needed while new vetting procedures were developed. If the vetting is already in place, the ban has no purpose. The rationale evaporates.

And if that wasn't mischief enough, he then credited his own interventions in Saudi Arabia for the sudden squeeze that the Saudis, the UAE, Egypt and other Sunni-run states are putting on Qatar for its long-running dirty game of supporting and arming terrorists (such as the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas) and playing footsie with Iran.

It's good to see our Sunni allies confront Qatar and try to bring it into line. But why make it personal -- other than to feed the presidential id? Gratuitously injecting the U.S. into the crisis taints the endeavor by making it seem an American rather than an Arab initiative and turns our allies into instruments of American designs rather than defenders of their own region from a double agent in their midst.

And this is just four days' worth of tweets, all vainglorious and self-injurious. Where does it end?

The economist Herb Stein once quipped that "if something cannot go on forever, it will stop." This really can't go on, can it? But it's hard to see what, short of a smoking gun produced by the Russia inquiry, actually does stop him.

Trump was elected to do politically incorrect -- and needed -- things like withdrawing from Paris. He was not elected to do crazy things, starting with his tweets. If he cannot distinguish between the two, Trump Derangement Syndrome will only become epidemic.

The Washington Post
WASHINGTON  What does the FBI director do when he suspects the president is a manipulative liar? The answer in James Comeys case is that he writes memos, tries to evade demands for loyalty  and anguishes about protecting himself and the FBI.

But by Comeys own admission, perhaps he should have done more.

The big news had already surfaced before Comeys appearance Thursday at the Senate Intelligence Committee, with the release of his prepared testimony. What we got at the hearing was the raw morality play, told in Comeys words, about his dealings with a president whose behavior frightened him.

I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting, and so I thought it really important to document, Comey said about his Jan. 6 meeting with Donald Trump. Comey had just briefed the president-elect, alone, about salacious, unverified details of a dossier alleging various Trump escapades in Moscow.

What troubled Comey, he said, was the circumstances, the subject matter and the person I was interacting with. As he left Trump Tower, he began writing a self-protective memo describing the encounter.

Comey was a compelling witness to the bullying behavior of this president. But Trump supporters can argue that the presidents hand was strengthened by Thursdays Super Bowl hearing. Even as Comey chronicled his disturbing encounters with Trump, he also affirmed some important strands of the White House narrative.

Comey said that as of May, when he was fired, Trump was not personally under FBI investigation  offering, finally, the public acknowledgment Trump had been requesting so assiduously. Comey also said Trump had never ordered him to halt the overall FBI investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

And on the sensitive subject of leaks, Comey revealed that to prompt the appointment of a special counsel, he had used a cut-out to share with The New York Times details of a memo recounting Trumps Feb. 14 request, I hope you can let this go, referring to the FBI investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Thursdays hearing offered a haunting portrait of a moralist confronting a dealmaker. Comey conveyed his fastidious attention to ethics, and to his own reputation. He spoke of his personal pain in dealing with the Hillary Clinton investigation, his concern for morale if FBI agents heard that Trump wants the Flynn investigation  to go away.

He wrote memos after his encounters and briefed his closest aides. But he didnt take the evidence of what he saw as Trumps wrongdoing to Justice Department superiors or congressional oversight committees.

It was Pilgrims Progress meets House of Cards when Comey arrived for a one-on-one dinner at the White House Jan. 27. Comey described his fear that Trump wanted to create a patronage debt by making Comey ask for his FBI job. He said Trump might have similarly hoped to induce an obligation in a March 30 phone call suggesting that he hadnt questioned the Democratic political ties of the wife of Comeys deputy. As Trump stressed so baldly, in Comeys telling, he wanted loyalty  much as a feudal lord might seek allegiance from his barons.

Comey imagined that by offering Trump only honest loyalty during the dinner, he had diluted his demand. But in their last phone call, on April 11, Trump protested: I have been very loyal to you, very loyal; we had that thing you know. Comey didnt push back. He wrote another memo.

The most poignant moments in Thursdays hearing were Comeys reflections on what he might have done differently. When Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., asked why he hadnt rejected outright Trumps hope that he close the Flynn investigation, Comey answered: Maybe other people would be stronger in that circumstance. ... Maybe if I did it again, I would do it better.

Later Comey was pressed about why he accommodatingly told Trump in the March 30 call that he would see what we could do to lift the cloud of the Russia investigation. He conceded that his response was a slightly cowardly way ... of getting off the phone, frankly.

What is it about being FBI director that makes people so concerned about image, yet unable to be entirely independent of the politicians they serve? Thats been part of the bureaus history, ever since J. Edgar Hoover. Comey couldnt escape it.

Comeys personal ethical dilemmas are now interwoven with the nations political history. Its the stuff of high drama  the temporizing ethicist meets the amoral bulldozer. The story didnt have a happy ending for Comey  or, it seems, for the country.
The attorneys general of Maryland and Washington, DC, filed suit [complaint, PDF] Monday against US President Donald Trump, alleging that he has violated the constitution by accepting payments and gifts from foreign governments while in office. The suit claims that by retaining ownership of and involvement in his company, Trump is in violation of the foreign and domestic emoluments [text] clauses of the US Constitution. According to the complaint:

President Trumps continued ownership interest in a global business empire, which renders him deeply enmeshed with a legion of foreign and domestic government actors, violates the Constitution and calls into question the rule of law and the integrity of the countrys political system. Whatever the sincerity of the persons involved, foreign and domestic officials are put in the position of considering whether offering benefits to businesses associated with the President is important to maintaining goodwill. And irrespective of whether such benefits affect the Presidents decision-making or shift his foreign or domestic policy, uncertainty about whether the President is acting in the best interests of the American people, or rather for his own ends or personal enrichment, inflicts lasting harm on our democracy. The Framers of the Constitution foresaw that possibility, and acted to prevent that harm.

The suit, filed in Maryland federal court, seeks an injunction to bar the president from further constitutional violations.

This is the third such suit filed against the president, but the first by a government entity. In January the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) [advocacy website] filed a lawsuit [JURIST report] in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York [official website] claiming Trumps continued business dealings violate the emoluments clause. And in March a DC restaurant filed suit, claiming a new Trump hotel is unfair competition. Last week a group of Democratic lawmakers said they plan to file suit as well.
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] on Monday ruled against [opinion, PDF; case materials] the majority of President Donald Trumps revised executive order limiting travel from six Muslim-majority countries. The ruling affirmed the majority of a district court injunction [JURIST report] that blocked the order from being enforced. The judges affirmed the injunction on statutory grounds, finding the order in violation of federal Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) [text], rather than constitutional grounds. The judges wrote:

We conclude that the President, in issuing the Executive Order, exceeded the scope of the authority delegated to him by Congress. In suspending the entry of more than 180 million nationals from six countries, suspending the entry of all refugees, and reducing the cap on the admission of refugees from 110,000 to 50,000 for the 2017 fiscal year, the President did not meet the essential precondition to exercising his delegated authority: The President must make a sufficient finding that the entry of these classes of people would be detrimental to the interests of the United States. Further, the Order runs afoul of other provisions of the INA that prohibit nationality-based discrimination and require the President to follow a specific process when setting the annual cap on the admission of refugees.

The appeals court vacated the injunction on portions of the order pertaining to interagency review.

The ruling is expected to be appealed to the US Supreme Court, which has also been asked to review a similar decision [JURIST reports] from the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Unlike the Ninth Circuit, the Fourth Circuit rejected the order on constitutional, rather than statutory grounds. Both courts made references to Trumps own Tweets, in which he has referred to the order as a travel ban.
[JURIST] A Tel Aviv Magistrates Court on Sunday awarded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu [BBC profile] and his wife, Sara Netanyahu, USD $32,500 in a libel case. The Netanyahus filed the suit against Igal Sarna [Facebook profile], who alleged in a Facebook post that the prime minister was kicked out of his car by his wife during an argument. Prime Minister Netanyahu testified at trial that the alleged incident never occurred and that [Sarna] crossed the line. In his 55-page judgment, Judge Azaria Alcalay [official profile] stated [Times of Israel report] that he believed that the publication was, at least partially, malicious and ugly, intended to humiliate and shame the plaintiffs. Reacting to the ruling on Facebook, Sarna wrote that he intends to appeal the verdict and that it is only the beginning of the struggle against the attempt to silence.

Sara Netanyahu is currently being investigated [Haaretz report] for improper behavior and misuse of state funds. The allegations include [Jerusalem Post report] breach of trust, falsifying documents and receiving goods under false pretenses. The Netanyahus have denied all allegations. The investigation into spending by the Netanyahus began [Time of Israel report] in 2015 after a state comptroller report criticized [NYT report] their spending habits. In 2015, Israels attorney general ordered [JURIST report] a criminal probe into excessive residential spending by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. This is not the first time an Israeli prime minister has gone through a criminal investigation. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was convicted [JURIST report] of accepting bribes relating to the construction of a luxury apartment complex.
[JURIST] Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of late Libya leader Muammar Gaddafi, was released from prison Friday, according to the Abu Bakr al-Sideeq militia, which was held him for the past five years. Saif, 44, who was the most high-profile of Gaddafis children, was expected to lead Libya after his father. Saif was released under a General Amnesty Law passed by the Libyan House of Representatives [official website]. Saif is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] for crimes against humanity. According to Sarah Leah Whitson [advocacy profile], Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch [advoacy website], the reported release of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi based on the Libyan parliaments 2015 flawed amnesty law does not change the fact that he is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity related to the 2011 uprising. Saifs lawyer told media [Reuters report] that he will not be turning himself in to the ICC.

Saif has faced a long list of legal issues ever since the 2011 revolt. In 2013 about 30 aides to Muammar Gaddafi, including Saif, were indicted [JURIST report] by a Libyan court for a list of offenses allegedly committed during the 2011 revolt [JURIST backgrounder], including murder, kidnapping, complicity in incitement to rape, plunder, sabotage, embezzlement of public funds and acts harmful to national unity. In August 2013 Saif al-Islam and Abdullah al-Senussi were charged [JURIST report] in Libya with murder relating to the 2011 revolt. A month earlier the ICC rejected [JURIST report] the countrys request to suspend an order to hand over Saif to face the international charges.
Switzerlands highest administrative court [official website] on Friday ruled to suspend the provisions of the Dublin Convention [text] in relation to Hungary because of humanitarian and legal concerns over conditions. Hungary has continually been sharply criticized for its harsh treatment of refugees. The court stated [SWI report] that the situation in Hungary is too insecure and argued that the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) [official website] was the only organization able to evaluate the asylum cases in Switzerland. Under the EUs Dublin Convention, member states can return asylum seekers to the country where they first applied for protection. Switzerland is not an EU member state, but it is a signatory to the accord. This ruling concerns 202 people who have been refused asylum in Switzerland under Dublin accord provisions.

The refugee crisis in Europe has been one of the most significant humanitarian issues in the world. Last May a UNHCR press release urged [JURIST report] Greece to improve the living conditions in several of the refugee camps in the country. In April several aid organizations called on [JURIST report] EU leaders to stop deportations of migrants from Greece to Turkey and to stop detaining asylum seekers. Also in April Human Rights Watch reported [JURIST report] that the first deportation of 66 people from the Greek island of Chios to Turkey was riddled with an array of irregularities. Earlier in April 2016, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights advised [JURIST report] Turkey to focus on human rights in the wake of their anti-terrorism security measures.
Adoption of Industry 4.0 manufacturing techniques could culminate in more jobs being generated says Chinese supplier, Yanfeng Automotive Interiors (YFAI), although it nonetheless concedes staff will need more training to cope with new methods.

Increasing use of factory automation has caused some to fret this will lead to a haemorrhaging of staff, but some component producers such as Yanfeng believe customer preference for personalisation may trigger further employment opportunities.

When you talk to Nike today, you have your personalised shoe, YFAI CEO, Johannes Roters told just-auto on the sidelines of last weeks (8 June) opening of its new interiors plant in Plana nad Luznici in the south of the Czech Republic.

This creates new jobs  that is why Industry 4.0 is changing the shop floor. We need a much better educated shop floor, so the challenge is how do we include our people on the shop floor? We need to come together with the unions.

I believe in ten to 15 years, production will not go for labour costs any more. Industry 4.0 [is] driving efficiency much better than low labour costs.

Yanfeng is adding considerably to the labour pool with its recent moves into Central and Eastern Europe, building on the opening of the Plana nad Luznici plant, as well as its Automotive Business Centre in Bratislava a few weeks ago and the inauguration of its Technical Centre in Trencin, Slovakia.

In addition to these locations, the supplier also has a plant in Zatec manufacturing door panels, floor consoles and other interior components in the Czech Republic as well as production sites in Papa, Hungary and Namestovo, Slovakia.

In the Czech Republic we are driving our footprint mainly with our customer decisions, added Roters. We chose this hub because we are serving our customers here  this hub was needed. If we are producing big parts like instrument panels  you cant ship these parts for thousands of miles [from China for example].

Prague is strongly encouraging inward manufacturing from overseas and the presence in Plana nad Luznici of several Czech government officials such as the Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade as well as his counterpart at the Labour and Social Affairs department, is testament to the countrys determination to attract high-tech foreign investment.

We talked about incentives and we got confirmation [from the Czech government] we will get EUR7.2m (US$8.1m), so the question is what will we do with this money? YFAI VP & general manager, Jochen Heier told just-auto at the Plana nad Luznici factory.

We explained we will do Industry 4.0 and invest in this plant to make a benchmark. With unions it is important to explain. That is a learning curve at the moment; they understand, it is not losing workforce it is changing workforce to be competitive, for example with autonomous driving.

Small batches [for customisation for example] means we have to be more efficient, that you can only do with 4.0.

Extending his theme from the Czech Republic, the Yanfeng CEO remains confident the Chinese supplier will reach its goal of becoming a US$10bn company as vehicle demand recovers from the global economic downturn a few years ago.

In the last years we [the market] recovered nicely and we believe in 2017 this European market could hit 20m cars again  we could hit 21m in the next years, added Roters. Specifically here in Central and Eastern Europe, we are seeing strong growth.

We are a global player  we have a strong order book [to] lead us to US$10bn in the near future. Mergers and acquisition will continue and we will see consolidation of the entire industry in the future as well as changes on the OEM side  this industry will go through massive changes.

On the interior side it is definitely ongoing. We have a nice set up  we have the focus on technology and innovation and a strong order book. We also work effectively on partnerships with other companies to create the total interior approach.

The importance of the Plana nad Luznici plant opening was also gauged by the attendance at the event of Chinese Ambassador to the Czech Republic, MA Keqing.
NEWSLETTER

Sign up

Tick the boxes of the newsletters you would like to receive.

Just Drinks Daily News

The top stories of the day delivered to you every weekday.

Just Drinks Weekly News

A weekly roundup of the latest news and analysis, sent every Monday.

Just Drinks Magazine

The industry's most comprehensive news and information delivered every quarter
Dallas, 06/12/2017 /SubmitPressRelease123/

It sounds like something out of a crime novel. Unfortunately, its reality. A New York Times report states that Louis Scarcella, an infamous New York City detective, is facing an inquiry into his past police work.

So far, Mr. Scarcella has not been accused of a crime. However, courts have overturned seven murder convictions brought about by his investigative work  and more could follow. In 2013, the Brooklyn district attorneys office ordered a review of 50 murder cases Scarcella worked on throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

Inquiry Reveals Pattern of Unreliable Investigative Techniques

A closer look at dozens of Scarcellas cases reveals what the New York Times has called a disturbing pattern. Throughout his career, evidence shows that Scarcella relied on the same eyewitness  a drug addict  over and over again across multiple cases.

In one case, a court overturned a conviction after the defendant had already spent 23 years in prison for allegedly murdering a rabbi. The New York Times reports: [Scarcella and his partner] removed violent criminals from jail to let them smoke crack cocaine and visit prostitutes in exchange for incriminating [the defendant]. Another witness said that Scarcella told him who to choose in a police lineup rather than letting him select a person on his own.

Despite never charging Scarcella with a crime or officially accusing him of police misconduct, the State of New York and New York City have paid over $40 million in civil claims stemming from his police work.

The article goes on to state that even if Scarcella was accused of a criminal act, the statute of limitations has most likely passed, which means he would not be subject to prosecution in connection with any of the cases currently under review.

Study Says 1 in 25 Death Row Inmates Are Innocent

The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world. According to one study, 1 in 25 inmates facing execution is actually innocent. In 2015 alone, 149 people were exonerated and released from prison after having served time for a crime they didnt commit. In 2014, there were 139 exonerations. And in 2015, an astounding 40 percent of the exonerations involved official misconduct.

Contact an Experienced Texas Criminal Defense Lawyer If You Have Been Charged with a Crime

Although it might sound dramatic or farfetched to claim you were framed by the cops, the Scarcella cases show that detectives and police officers arent always interested in pursuing justice. No one can give back the 23 years of life and freedom that the wrongfully convicted man in the overturned murder case lost. Tragically, police and detectives really do frame people. They also engage in official misconduct that can end up putting an innocent person behind bars for decades. If you believe you have been the victim of police misconduct, get in touch with a Texas criminal defense lawyer right away.

Sources:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/25/nyregion/louis-scarcella-murder-dismissals.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/12/nyregion/doubts-about-detective-haunt-50-murder-cases.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/exonerations-2015_us_56ac0374e4b00b033aaf3da9

Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyers Broden & Mickelsen, LLP

http://www.brodenmickelsen.com/

2600 State St Dallas, Texas 75204

Main Phone: (214) 720-9552

source: http://www.brodenmickelsen.com/blog/detective-behind-seven-wrongful-convictions-facing-inquiry-framing-defendants/

Social Media Tags:Detective Framing Defendants, Experienced Texas Criminal Defense Lawyer, Wrongful Convictions

Newsroom powered by Online Press Release Distribution  SubmitMyPressRelease.com

Like Us on Facebook

It's only fair to share... Pinterest Linkedin email Print


Chairman of the Cuban National Assembly Esteban Lazo Hernandez (Source: radiorebelde.cu)



Since Vietnam and Cuba established diplomatic ties in December 1960, the bilateral relations have been incessantly reinforced and developed.

Cuba was the first Latin American country and one of the first nations in the world to recognise the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam.

After the wartime, Cuba still stood side by side with Vietnamese people in the cause of national reconstruction and development, helping the Southeast Asian country build transport infrastructure, develop animal husbandry and train human resources in the fields of agriculture, construction, architecture, medicine, and social sciences.

Regarding the parliamentary relations, the Vietnamese National Assembly regularly sends delegations to Cuba.

The two legislatures also established friendship parliamentarians groups.

Along with sound political relations, the bilateral economic-trade ties also received due attention. Two-way trade reached USD247.64 million in 2016.

Currently, Vietnam is the second largest Asian trade partner of Cuba. Vietnam mainly exports rice, coal, chemicals, garment-textile and computers to Cuba while importing pharmaceutical products from the market.

During the trip to Vietnam, the Cuban parliamentary delegation wants to study the role, functions, apparatus and activities of the Vietnamese legislature, especially of the NA Standing Committee, as well as share experience in renovation and national development./.
It tells a story about the impact of climate change and the ecological havoc created by giant dams, deforestation and over-exploitation of natural resources in the Mekong Delta. These factors have contributed to more extreme weather, droughts, heavier rains, floods, coastal erosion, dramatic decline of mangrove forests and much hotter temperatures than ever before.

A video captured on Youtube

While the local citizens livelihoods have been threatened, the Vietnamese Government and the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) implement the Integrated Coastal Management Program (ICMP), financed by the Australian and German Governments, aiming to supporting the Mekong Delta to improve its climate resilience.

One of the most effective low-cost solutions is T-fence that were applied in the provinces of Soc Trang, Bac Lieu and Ca Mau. Made of natural materials like bamboo or melaleuca, T-fence could help to reduce wave strength and encourage sedimentation so that the mangrove forest would be rehabilitated and regenerated.

Besides, the piloting of T-fence by ICMP in many coastal sites in the Mekong Delta witnessed its great advantages such as flexibility, easy maintenance and cost-saving effects.

Also known as one of the annual the prestigious film award of the Vietnam Cinema Association, the Awards honors the countrys best motion pictures, television dramas and documentaries from the previous year./.
KEARNEY Members of the Buffalo County Board of Realtors will serve lunch Friday at Builders Warehouse at 4600 Second Ave., to support Kearney Area Habitat for Humanity.

June is National Homeowners Month, so we really want to promote the benefits of home ownership, and where better to do that than Builders parking lot? said Nicole Straka, a member of the Board of Realtors.

The lunch will be served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Builders parking lot, and will include a hot dog, chips and a drink served on a flying disc for $5. Builders staff will assist with the lunch.

All proceeds from the lunch will go to Kearney Habitat. Last year, the event raised $1,000. The lunch is part of a Realtors Growing Communities initiative.
After the latest terror attack in London, the True Trump was unleashed and unhinged. One target of his frustration: an American court system that has repeatedly thwarted his attempts to block travelers to the U.S. from six predominantly Muslim nations.

We need the courts to give us back our rights, he thundered. We need the Travel Ban as an extra level of safety!

Once again, this president has shown profound ignorance about the American system. The courts he denounces are specifically designed to balance the rights of the majority and their elected leaders against the rights of minorities who cannot win elections, and at times need the protection of the legal process.

Thats exactly whats happened with Trumps Travel Ban. A series of federal judges have firmly ruled that the presidents edicts unlawfully violate the rights of one religious minority.

By a vote of 10 to 3, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals provided the latest setback for Trump last month. Chief Judge Roger Gregory, writing for the majority, said that Trumps order speaks with vague words of national security, but in context drips with religious intolerance, animus and discrimination.

In a sense, Trump is right: We do need the courts to give us back our rights. But we dont need judges to bolster the presidents alarming over-reach. The presidents lawyers have appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the justices should disregard his frequent campaign calls for a total and complete shutdown against Muslims entering the country. Trump is now a different person, they wrote, because once a candidate becomes a president, taking that oath marks a profound transition from private life to the nations highest public office.

Thats clearly wrong. Trump hasnt made any kind of profound transition; hes the same person with the same prejudices violating the same principles.

In one of his latest tweetstorms, he denounced federal jurists as slow and political, another display of ignorance. They are slow because they carefully weigh evidence and arguments. Thats their job. And its Trump who wants them to be political, to bend to the pressure he is deliberately trying to generate on social media.

In one tweet, he blamed his own Justice Department for crafting a watered-down politically correct version of his first executive order. He favors a MUCH TOUGHER ban, he told his Twitter followers. We cannot rely on the MSM (mainstream media) to get the facts to the people. Spread this message. SHARE NOW.

To many lawyers, including Republicans, the president has undercut his own case by reinforcing Gregorys conclusion that his policy drips with religious intolerance.

The president is correct that he has the primary responsibility for regulating immigration, but as Gregory pointed out, that power is not absolute.

Like other judges who have examined the evidence, Gregory concluded that the travel ban was not essential to safeguarding national security.

Quoting the English writer Jonathan Swift, Gregory added: Theres none so blind as they that wont see.
FILE - In this May 21, 2017, file photo provided by The Public Theater, Tina Benko, left, portrays Melania Trump in the role of Caesar's wife, Calpurnia, and Gregg Henry, center left, portrays President Donald Trump in the role of Julius Caesar during a dress rehearsal of The Public Theater's Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Julius Caesar in New York. Teagle F. Bougere, center right, plays as Casca, and Elizabeth Marvel, right, as Marc Anthony. Delta Air Lines is pulling its sponsorship of New York's Public Theater for portraying Julius Caesar as the Donald Trump look-alike in a business suit who gets knifed to death on stage, according to its statement Sunday, June 11, 2017. (Joan Marcus/The Public Theater via AP)
THE CENTRAL ORGAN OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF VIETNAM The Voice of the party, State and Vietnamese people on the internet

Notify:

The requested content was not found or the content is invalid!


Minister of Defence Harjit Sajjan arrives at CFB Trenton in Trenton, Ont., on Thursday, June 8, 2017. Although the Trudeau government launched its long term plan for modernizing the military last week, more immediate realities are tugging for attention on the Liberals' list of defence priorities.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Lars Hagberg
Kyiv will file appeal against London court ruling on debt dispute between Ukraine and Russia by June 23

Ukraine will file an appeal against the decision of the High Court of Justice in London on the debt dispute between Ukraine and the Russian Federation regarding $3 billion eurobonds by June 23, Ukraine's Ministry of Finance has said.

"At a meeting held in the court on May 26, 2017, judge Blair extended the appeal period for Ukraine for 14 days [from June 9, 2017 to June 23, 2017]. Accordingly, Ukraine will file documents on the appellate appeal within the extended term," reads a posting on the website of the Finance Ministry.
Kozelschyna district court of Poltava region has declared financing of Poltava regional organization of Agrarian Party of Ukraine by a company with a citizen of Britain as ultimate beneficiary breach of law, Head of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) Natalia Korchak has said.

"Yesterday Kozelschyna district court of Poltava region issued a ruling regarding provision of funds to the account of a political party by a company the ultimate beneficiary of which was foreigner  a citizen of Britain," Korchak wrote on her Facebook page on June 9.

She said that Dobrobut Agrofirm three times sent a large sum in the form of charitable assistance to the account of Poltava regional organization of Agrarian Party of Ukraine. When the sum was sent the ultimate beneficiary of the company was a foreigner. This is violation of Part 3 of Article 15 of the law on political parties of Ukraine.

"The court confirmed the fact of breaching law and declared the head of the company guilty in committing administrative crime under Articles 212-15 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses," Korchak said.

The court closed the case and imposed a fine on the head of the company.

Korchak said that this is a first court ruling in the case initiated by NACP using the analysis of the report of a political party on its assets, revenue, expenses and financial liabilities.
115 Shares Share

America seems to have a more divisive tone now compared to recent years. New Orleans has seen protests spark over the removal of Confederate monuments. Images are all around us with one that seems to have people quite divided  the Confederate flag.

I often have a sense of curiosity when I see this flag flown on peoples front porch, flag pole or on their car. I wonder if the person is from the Deep South and proud of their Southern roots? Are they racist and support the heritage of slavery? After all, this same flag was taken off of the General Lee from The Dukes of Hazzard. Yet, until 2015, it was still flying high at the South Carolina State Capital from which it was flown since the 100th anniversary of the Civil War. Whereas in Mississippi, it is incorporated into the state flag and flies high today.

When I looked into this further, there are several polls looking at societys view on this flag. Many Americans view the Confederate flag as a symbol of Southern pride. However, when viewed upon along racial lines, a different story is told. There are 17 percent of African Americans and 66% of Caucasians who think that it is a symbol of Southern Pride. Conversely, 72% of African Americans and 25% of Caucasians think it is symbolic of racism.

Before reading the polls, how would I know any of this? I have a conscious bias against the Confederate flag.

Explicit (conscious) bias is a part of all of us. It is a core part of our beliefs and expressions. Bias helps to shape our opinions and perspectives based upon life experiences. It can also affect our decision making. When biases are known, one can make choices independently, attempting to disregard them in order to make an objective decision.

However, implicit (unconscious) biases can affect our decisions unknowingly. We are largely unaware of the effects of this type of bias. We cant predict the effect of implicit bias upon our decisions because we are largely ignorant of them.

Implicit bias has been long studied with evidence supporting its presence in health care. Unconscious biases against race, ethnicity, gender, weight and disabilities among others have been studied. These views are pervasive within society, industry and the medical profession at large.

Implicit bias has been a key contributor to health disparities, or the unequal treatment of certain populations. This is concerning as medical professionals strive to treat all of their patients equally with high-quality care. There have been publications that link differences in actual health outcomes or a lack thereof.

In the latter example, stronger and trusting relationships were thought to be the key mitigating factor to the effects of bias. Furthermore, increased awareness of biases can be helpful to develop more trusting and satisfying health care and professional encounters.

Increasing awareness of biases can reduce its effect upon decision making. The Implicit Association Test (IAT) is one way that you can learn more about your implicit biases. By going online, you can test your association to race, gender, weight, disability or even presidents among others. This free computerized test uses timed responses to pictures and words to detect implicit bias. By doing so, you can learn more about yourself and reduce the potential effects of bias within all interpersonal relationships, including professional encounters. Beware; you may be surprised at the results. However, you will be armed with information about your implicit biases that will encourage healthier and more trusting relationships.

Jarret Patton is a pediatrician.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
Canada's Earth Alive Clean Technologies has gained registration in Ukraine for the sale of its organic and patent-pending biofertilizer, Soil Activator.

"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," the company said in a press release citing Director of Business Affairs for Earth Alive Miguel Monroy.

According to the report, Ukraine has 32.5 million hectares in arable crops, which benefit from the countrys 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 Alives Chief Agronomist Simon Neufeld said thatSoil 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, he said.

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.

"Registration in Ukraine gives Earth Alive new visibility in the European market, and begins the companys expansion in this dynamic region," Chief Executive Officer Michael K. Warren said.

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.
A new wastewater treatment plant has been officially opened in Castlecomer this morning, as part of an overall investment of almost 6 million by Irish Water to upgrade and modernise the wastewater infrastructure in Kilkenny.

It's part of Irish Waters commitment to end the practice of discharging inadequately treated sewage into Irelands waterways and seas, while also providing the capacity for future population growth and economic development.

The new plant in Castlecomer was delivered as part of a 3.1 million project, which also included upgrades to the wastewater infrastructure in Urlingford and Stoneyford.

The plant in Castlecomer has a capacity of 2,500 population equivalent (PE), while Urlingford and Stoneyford have capacities if 1,500 and 600 PE, respectively. This increased treatment capacity will support the ongoing growth of these three villages, while also helping to protect the Nore and Barrow rivers and their tributaries.

A further 2.6 million has been invested by Irish Water to upgrade the wastewater treatment at Freshford, Johnstown and Goresbridge. This work, which was completed at the end of last year, has resulted in the ending of the long-standing practice of discharging inadequately treated sewage from the three villages into the rivers Nuenna, Goul and Barrow.

The completion of these projects will also ensure that wastewater discharges are fully compliant with Irish and EU environmental standards. Carlow-Kilkenny TD John Paul Phelan performed the official opening and unveiled a plaque at the new treatment plant this Monday morning.

I am delighted to be here to officially open this new wastewater treatment plant in Castlecomer, said Deputy Phelan.

The upgrade of this treatment plant, alongside those in Urlingford and Stoneyford, will lead not only to a big improvement in the quality of water in the River Nore and its tributaries by ensuring that all water is fully treated before being discharged into the river, but it will also provide the capacity for future residential and commercial growth in the three villages.

Brian Sheehan, Irish Waters Head of Asset Delivery said there are major deficiencies in the wastewater treatment infrastructure throughout the country, which Irish Water is committed to addressing.

Prior to the completion of this project, partially treated wastewater was being discharged from Castlecomer to the River Nore and its tributaries, he said

Untreated stormwater overflows were also discharged to the rivers during periods of high rainfall. The opening of this new plant will end this practice, leading to significant improvement in water quality which will bring benefits for everyone in the county.

Cathaoirleach of Kilkenny County Council, Cllr David Fitzgerald also welcome the project.

A modern, robust wastewater treatment infrastructure is essential for the ongoing development of our county both from an economic and environmental point of view, he said.

This will have huge benefits for all who use the River Nore and its tributaries for angling, swimming, boating, kayaking and a range of other activities.

The works were carried out by Response Engineering (now Ward & Burke Group) in partnership with Irish Water and Kilkenny County Council.
Kingstree, SC (29556)

Today

Thunderstorms likely. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low 67F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms likely. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low 67F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%.
The European Union supports Ukraine in preserving the status of a transit country, but stresses the need for reforms, Deputy Minister of Energy and Coal Industry for European Integration Issues Natalia Boiko said following a meeting with Vice President of the European Commission on Energy Union Maros Sefcovic.

"We have discussed the issue of maintaining Ukraine's status as a reliable transit country, and we discussed all possible actions on our part, the support they can give us. Our position is as follows: Russia is trying to use the Nord Stream as an instrument of political pressure, the situation with the Turkish Stream is the same. Mr. Sefcovic understands and supports us, we are in a constant dialogue," Boiko told reporters in Astana on Monday.

In her words, Europe still makes a number of demands on Ukraine. "They tell us: please, hold the reforms, we are watching you... The ministry, for its part, also continues to work: they will carry out an unbundling, the requirements of the third energy package will be implemented so that our gas transportation system should work according to a new pattern. This is the most important requirement," the deputy minister said.

Boiko also stressed that Europe will take steps to meet Ukraine only if the necessary measures are taken.

According to her, the Ukrainian side is working both with the European Commission on transit issues and bilaterally with member countries regarding their positions on OPAL and the Nord Stream 2 project.

"We will fight for our transit, it is important for Ukraine to maintain its transit, we will negotiate with everyone we need to in order to defend the state interests... At the end of this month we will again be in Brussels, we will again raise this issue unequivocally," the deputy minister added.

She recalled that the reform of Naftogaz Ukrainy will be completed after the final ruling by the Stockholm Arbitration.

"We are very much waiting for this decision, after it we will start active unbundling with the transfer of assets and other necessary measures," Boiko added.
June 12 - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

The Times

Business confidence has plunged since the election and company bosses blame uncertainty over the make-up of the government, according to a poll by the Institute of Directors. Lawyers have excessive influence over swathes of public life, from security to the compensation culture, according to Stephen Hester, chief executive of RSA Insurance Group Plc . The Guardian

Private schools are set to get tax rebates totalling 522 million pounds ($664.56 million) over the next five years as a result of their controversial status as charities, according to a study of local council records. Theresa May is to be told the European Union will take a year to draft a new mandate for its chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, effectively killing the Brexit negotiations, if she insists on discussing a future trade relationship at the same time as UK's divorce bill. The Telegraph

Centrica Plc has launched its own rival to Homeserve Plc after a potential bid for the boiler repair service provider was scuppered by competition fears. The Guardian newspaper will soon abandon its European-style "Berliner" print format and go tabloid to help stem heavy losses. Sky News

The member-owned convenience store group Nisa Retail is exploring a shock sell-off that would underline the seismic shifts taking place across Britain's food retailing industry. The Independent

Michael Gove has been appointed environment secretary by Prime Minister Theresa May in her cabinet reshuffle. ($1 = 0.7855 pounds)

(Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)
* "Minor" impact from accounting loss on FY2016/17 results

* FY2016/17 net profit estimate raised on securities gains

* Shares up 1.6 percent, outperforming Nikkei average

(Adds reason for net profit estimate rise, share price reaction)

TOKYO, June 12 (Reuters) - Japan's Fujifilm Holdings Corp said on Monday it now estimates the impact of improper accounting at its overseas units at a 37.5 billion yen ($340 million) loss for the past few years, up from the 22 billion yen loss it had flagged in April.

A third-party panel has been looking into accounting practices used in some lease transactions at Fuji Xerox New Zealand Ltd for periods before the 2015 financial year.

Fujifilm said the panel also found improper accounting at Fuji Xerox Australia Pty Ltd, in addition to the New Zealand unit, resulting in the bigger loss.

But the digital camera and copier maker said the overall impact on its results for the year ended in March was minor. Shares in Fujifilm rose 1.6 percent in early trade, outperforming a 0.8 percent fall in the benchmark Nikkei average .

Fujifilm separately revised up its net profit estimate for the last business year to a record 131.5 billion yen, up from the 112 billion yen forecast in January, citing gains from the sale of cross-held shares.

The company will provide a detailed report on the accounting review at 3 p.m. (0600 GMT), it said. ($1 = 110.2900 yen)

(Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Edwina Gibbs)
* Altice USA to sell up to 7 pct of its shares

* Parent company to retain 75 pct stake

* U.S. business to receive up to $374 mln from IPO proceeds

By Mathieu Rosemain

PARIS, June 12 (Reuters) - Altice USA, the cable operator that Netherlands-based Altice NV put together by acquiring Cablevision and Suddenlink Communications, will be valued at up to $22 billion after its initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange.

The Dutch holding company said on Monday that it plans to sell up to 7 percent of Altice USA, indicating an expected price range of $27-$31 per share, valuing the business at between $20 billion and $22 billion.

Of the projected $1.6 billion in proceeds at the top end of the price range, Altice USA would receive $374 million because about three quarters of the shares sold will be offered by London-based private equity firm BC Partners and fellow stakeholder the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).

The IPO announced in April is viewed as a means for Altice's founder, French billionaire Patrick Drahi, to expand his burgeoning U.S. cable empire by giving Altice USA public stock it can use for further acquisitions. Altice USA will need all the financial firepower it can muster to compete for U.S. acquisitions with rivals Charter Communications Inc and Comcast Corp in an expected wave of sector consolidation.

The company has yet to indicate when it expects the IPO to take place.

Upon completion of the IPO, Altice USA's parent and its affiliates will hold 75.2 percent of the company's capital and 98.5 percent of the voting rights thanks to a separate bundle of stock.

BC Partners and CPPIB would jointly own about 17 percent of Altice USA, according to its filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

This means that Drahi, the majority owner of Altice, will keep tight control of its U.S. division, led by Dexter Goei.

JP Morgan , Morgan Stanley , Citigroup and Goldman Sachs are joint bookrunners on the IPO.

(Editing by David Goodman)
By Tiemoko Diallo

BAMAKO, June 12 (Reuters) - Australia's Resolute Mining will start producing gold from a 3 million ounce underground deposit at its Syama gold mine next year, its CEO told Reuters.

In an interview while visiting Mali's capital Bamako this weekend, Resolute Mining CEO John Welborn also said a recently discovered adjacent deposit called Nafolo was expected to yield between 1.5 million and 2 million ounces of recoverable gold reserves.

The Syama gold mine had already produced around 2 million ounces from open pit mining at its surface before it was exhausted in 2015. However, there remain a further 3.1 million ounces of recoverable reserves deep underground.

"We will start underground production from the end of 2018. The preparatory work for the construction of this underground mine has already begun," Welborn told Reuters.

He added that Syama's production would be 250,000 ounces a year, up from the 200,000 ounces it produced as an open pit mine, and it would last until 2028. The necessary investment in the mine would be $100 million, he said.

Regarding the Nafolo project, he said "evaluations are in process which in the coming months will yield a precise estimate but I can tell you already that reserves are going to reach 1.5 million to 2 million ounces."

Mali is the third biggest gold producer in Africa behind South Africa and Ghana, and has attracted investors including Randgold Resources and AngloGold Ashanti .

(Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Aaron Ross and Louise Heavens)
ATHENS, June 12 (Reuters) - Emergency central bank funding to Greek lenders dropped by 1.4 billion euros, or 3.3 percent, in May compared to the previous month, Bank of Greece data showed on Monday.

Emergency funding, which is more costly than borrowing from the European Central Bank, dropped to 40.7 billion euros ($45.71 billion) from 42.1 billion at the end of April, the data showed.

Greek banks have relied on emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) drawn from the Greek central bank since February 2015 after being cut off from the ECB's funding window due to stalled bailout talks between the government and its official lenders.

Their dependence on the ELA emergency lifeline has declined since June last year when the European Central Bank reinstated banks' access to its cheap funding operations. ($1 = 0.8905 euros)

(Reporting by George Georgiopoulos)
* Disruptions early in year prompted worries about shortages

* Extra scrap copper, ramping up of mines helping to fill gap

* Some analysts now expect surplus instead of deficit

* Graphic on copper surplus: By Eric Onstad

LONDON, June 12 (Reuters) - Disruptions at the two biggest copper mines early this year may have only a muted impact on prices after a surge of scrap metal partially filled the supply gap and a recovery in mine output is due to help in the second half.

A strike at the world's biggest copper mine, Chile's Escondida, and other disruptions initially prompted worries about shortages of the metal used in construction and power transmission, pushing up prices.

Analysts polled by Reuters in April expected a copper deficit this year of 17,000 tonnes versus a consensus forecast in January of an 80,000-tonne surplus. But some analysts now say supplies will be adequate and that the market will end the year with a modest excess of metal.

"It's a smaller surplus, but it's still essentially a surplus," said Karen Norton, an analyst with Thomson Reuters GFMS.

"There were enough stockpiles during that critical period and there was also the secondary (scrap) offsetting as well."

The benchmark copper price on the London Metal Exchange climbed 12 percent early in the year to a peak of $6,204 a tonne by mid-February as investors fretted over supplies, but it has since given up 7 percent.

BIG MINES RAMP UP

BHP Billiton lifted force majeure this month at Escondida after a strike that lasted 43 days, the longest in Chilean mining history. The second-biggest copper mine, Grasberg in Indonesia, has been ramping up shipments after the government granted an export permit in April following a 15-week outage related to a dispute over mining rights.

On Friday, Freeport-McMoRan Inc said it was "on a path" to get a new mining deal with Indonesia this year for Grasberg, although the company continued to grapple with labour problems. While the Grasberg situation has created some uncertainty, other mines such as Chile's Collahuasi have agreed new contracts. "Looking forward, we see limited scope for further major, labour-related supply disruptions this year," analyst Natasha Kaneva at JPMorgan said in a note.

Kaneva forecasts copper mine production to grow by an average of 2.1 percent year-on-year from April to December and the copper price to weaken to $5,000 by the end of the year.

Mining operations could also benefit from having had time during the strike to perform extra maintenance, said analyst Vivienne Lloyd at Macquarie.

The market remained relatively well-supplied when the two biggest mines were shut after high copper prices late last year drew a wave of scrap metal into the market.

"It looks as though the scrap inflow into the market really diluted the impact of the primary shortage, because we saw scrap moving in, not so much into smelter furnaces, but in place of cathode being consumed by the fabricators," Lloyd said.

The flow of scrap is now dissipating, which may support copper prices temporarily, she added.

"We saw the second quarter as a bit of a deficit, but we think it will move back towards surplus in the second half," Lloyd said.

In another sign of healthy supply, copper concentrate treatment and refining charges have risen to the highest levels since mid-February, specialist publication Metal Bulletin said.

The charges, paid to smelters to process concentrates into metal, move higher when supply rises.

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Graphic on global copper surplus ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Eric Onstad; Editing by Dale Hudson)
BERLIN, June 12 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel congratulated French President Emmanuel Macron on the victory of his party in the first round of parliamentary elections, calling the result a strong vote for reforms. Projections after the first election round showed on Sunday that Macron's fledgling party is set to trounce France's traditional main parties in the parliamentary election and secure a huge majority to push through his pro-business reforms. "Chancellor Merkel: My heartfelt congratulations to @EmmanuelMacron to the great success of his party in the first election round. Strong vote for reforms," read the message on a government Twitter account on Monday.

(Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing bt Andrew Heavens)

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 12 (Reuters) - Qatar's stock market may stabilise on Monday on hopes that the region's diplomatic crisis will eventually be resolved, while other Gulf markets look set to consolidate because of a lack of positive corporate news.

The Qatari stock index index has dropped 8.7 percent since four Arab states cut links a week ago, and the initial shock of the sanctions against Qatar may now ease. Qatari finance minister Ali Sherif al-Emadi, in one of the first detailed public responses of a Qatari economic official to the crisis, told CNBC television that the economy was essentially operating as normal and Doha could easily defend its currency. Also, many investors are still hoping for a diplomatic solution in coming weeks. Doha is ready to listen to the concerns of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait said on Sunday, as it tried to mediate a solution.

Brent crude oil is trading at $48.41 a barrel, marginally higher than the previous close but still well below this year's average, while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan is down 0.8 percent.

Two UAE stocks could continue to attract the interest of speculators. In Abu Dhabi, Dana Gas soared 13.2 percent and was the most heavily traded stock on Sunday; it has rocketed 46 percent this month on news that it has received a portion of its overdue payments from Egypt and on hopes for its legal efforts to recover money from Iraqi Kurdistan.

Meanwhile, Dubai builder Drake & Scull rose 1.2 percent to 0.422 dirham; it has risen 5.5 percent since Thursday in unusually large volumes. Former chief executive Khaldoun Tabari has sold his stake in the company to Tabarak Investment, a source told Zawya, a Thomson Reuters publication.

(Reporting by Celine Aswad; Editing by Andrew Torchia)
JOHANNESBURG, June 12 (Reuters) - Sibanye Gold's $1 billion rights issue, aimed at raising capital to help fund its acquisition of U.S. platinum producer Stillwater, was oversubscribed by almost five-fold, the company said on Monday.

Such capital raising efforts are comparatively rare at the moment in South Africa's troubled mining sector, which is beset by a range of challenges including policy uncertainty and labour and social unrest.

But Sibanye, which has built a reputation on its dividend flow, is diversifying away from its home base with its Stillwater acquisition, reducing its exposure to the risks associated with doing business in South Africa. Those risks are underscored by a violent, wildcat strike unfolding at Sibanye's Cooke operation west of Johannesburg, which was triggered by worker resentment at the company's drive to root out illegal miners. "Approximately 97 percent of shareholders subscribed for 1.2 billion new Sibanye shares in terms of the rights offer resulting in ... Excess applications were received for an additional 5.9 billion new shares, almost five times more than the rights offer shares available," Sibanye said.

Offered at a discount of 60 percent to its closing price on May 17, the funds raised will repay a portion of a $2.65 billion loan facility it used to acquire Stillwater.

Sibanye's dividend yield is 5.64 percent, well above the 2.16 average of its South African peers, Reuters data shows.

(Reporting by Ed Stoddard; editing by Jason Neely)
(James Saft is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own)

By James Saft

June 12 (Reuters) - Lousy incentives for corporate stewardship is a flaw at the heart of our system of delegated asset management.

What's more, index funds, which are rapidly becoming the dominant force in investment management, have the lowest incentive to spend money to chivy the companies whose shares they hold to perform better.

The upshot is that companies in the U.S. are increasingly free to act without proper shareholder oversight, theoretically leading to more executive self-dealing, lower investment returns and lower economic growth.

Activist hedge fund investors are part of this ecosystem, and can do excellent work in holding corporate feet to the fire, but they are, while growing, relatively few in number and will tend to have a short-to-medium-term outlook.

"Investment managers of mutual funds - both index funds and actively managed funds - have incentives to under-spend on stewardship and to side excessively with managers of corporations," Lucian Bebchuk and Scott Hirst, both of Harvard Law School, and Alma Cohen of Tel Aviv University write in a newly revised study. ( )

"We show that these incentives are especially acute for managers of index funds, and that the rise of such funds has system-wide adverse consequences for corporate governance."

The nexus of the problem, as is so often the case, is a regulation intended to protect investors in mutual and similar funds from self-dealing by asset management companies themselves. Under these rules if a mutual fund spends a dollar on corporate governance issues - and the research and campaigns involved are labor intensive - they must bear those costs out of their fee income. So if a mutual fund wants to launch a proxy fight it bears the cost out of its fees.

In theory this allows some upside to activist stewardship for active fund managers, but not a lot. Given that the average active equity management fee is 79 basis points annually, active investors spending money on corporate governance only stand able to benefit by the amount it increases the value of the holdings times 0.79 percent, not a lot.

They also might attract new funds by outperforming against active peers based on corporate governance campaigns, but this too makes a weak tea. Active managers really only have an incentive to intervene and spend money beating up company management if they are overweight a company. This also means they have the opposite incentive if they are underweight.

RISE AND RISE OF INDEX FUNDS

That's not even counting the conflicts of interest which fund families can have; as they provide corporations with pension and cash management services, angering them with a proxy fight isn't always good business.

For index funds the self-interest math is even worse. If an index fund can drive up the value of a holding it will collect more fees, as fees are calculated on a percent of portfolio basis, but that is a tiny amount. The average equity index fund stands to make just 12 basis points annually on the increase in value of a holding if it goes higher due to better corporate governance.

But index funds, which own almost a third of the equity market, don't differentiate themselves on performance; their selling proposition is a market return at a low price. So if one index fund family decides to spend a lot of money on corporate governance research and campaigns, their peers can get a free ride, enjoying the extra fee income as shares rise in value but funding none of the underlying costs.

Research by the Wall Street Journal in October found that Vanguard, BlackRock and State Street Global Advisors, who together control about $7.5 trillion in index fund assets, have between 40 and 50 employees dedicated to voting and stewardship activities. ( )

Those three, and a host of other institutional investors, as part of the Investor Stewardship Group, have launched a framework intended to set a baseline of investment stewardship and corporate governance guidelines. This takes effect Jan 1, 2018. ( /)

This is welcome, but the underlying tension between profits at the asset manager level and stewardship issues remains.

"These agency problems limit the extent to which our corporate governance system is able to benefit from the increased concentration of shareholdings, and are a key impediment to improving the governance of publicly traded corporations," Bebchuk, Cohen and Hirst write.

One welcome step would be a review of the regulations requiring investment firms to eat all of the costs of stewardship out of their fees.

With returns in equities potentially sub-par for the next decade or more due to demographic and other pressures, pressuring corporate America to run itself better may prove to be money well spent.

(Editing by James Dalgleish)
Construction of the first stage of solar power plants in the exclusion zone of Chornobyl nuclear power plant (NPP) could start soon, Deputy Energy and Coal Industry Minister for European Integration Natalia Boiko has said.

"We visited jointly with Minister [Ostap] Semerak Informal Ministerial Council in Energy Community in Vienna. The minister informed colleagues from other states that there are around 60 potential investors. There is large interest to this. I think that we would see the first stage soon," Boiko told Interfax-Ukraine in Astana on Monday.

She also said that the launch of all of these power plants is a serious process.

The deputy minister said that the fact that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed the bill on the new electricity market would trigger the arrival of investors.

"We have a lot of investors who are even ready to invest in "green" [power plants]. They were waiting for the launch of the market, as until the bill is signed and they do not see the text it was hard to understand our top priorities in developing the market," Boiko said.

As reported, a land parcel of 1,172 ha was selected in the exclusion zone for solar power plants.
JOHANNESBURG, June 12 (Reuters) - South Africa's Sibanye Gold on Monday updated the number of illegal miners arrested at its Cooke operations to 202 from 178 since workers downed tools last week, a company spokesman said.

The company also said it would shut down operations until the end of week.

"We will review the situation again closer to the weekend," Sibanye spokesman James Wellsted said.

(Reporting by Ed Stoddard; writing by Mfuneko Toyana; editing by Jason Neely)
HANOI, June 12 (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 0402 GMT.

June 12 USD/VND mid-point 22,408 USD/VND interbank 22,657/22,720 USD/VND unofficial 22,680/22,710 SJC gold (mln dong/tael) 36.23/36.45

Interbank offered rates Overnight 1.9-2.5

1 week 2.4-2.7

1 month 3.0-3.7

3 months 3.9-4.5

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)
ZURICH, June 12 (Reuters) - The Swiss blue-chip SMI was seen opening 0.1 percent lower at 8,834 points on Monday, according to premarket indications by bank Julius Baer .

The following are some of the main factors expected to affect Swiss stocks:

BANKS

The idea of creating a superbank for administration and processing has failed, said a SIX Group spokesman on Sunday. "We have seen banks have very different priorities, systems and timings, which is why it was too difficult to find a common denominator," the spokesman told news agency SDA, confirming earlier media reports. UBS and Credit Suisse were among the lenders who supported the idea last year.

For more news, click UBS Chairman Axel Weber told German weekly Welt am Sonntag he does not expect excessive deregulation in the U.S. banking sector and also does not expect European regulators to tighten rules "as on auto pilot" in the future.

For more news, click ROCHE Roche is convinced a new breast cancer drug will have a significant role in treating the disease despite recent trial results that disappointed analysts, the Swiss drugmaker's chief executive said in an interview published on Sunday.

The company also said the Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products (Swissmedic) has granted approval to the cancer immunotherapy Tecentriq, which is used to treat people with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer following previous treatment with chemotherapy.

For more news, click JULIUS BAER Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Julius Baer to 5.01 percent, according to a notice on the Swiss stock exchange. Wellington previously held a 3.06 percent stake in the Swiss private bank, according to a Nov. 24 filing.

For more news, click COMPANY STATEMENTS * Johnson & Johnson said Friday's approval of its proposed acquisition of Swiss biotech company Actelion from the European Commission meant all regulatory approvals required to complete the $30 billion deal have been received. Idorsia, the research spin-out from the J&J-Actelion deal, will be listed, with its shares due to begin trading on June 16. * Partners Group announced adjustments to its organizational structure and global leadership team. Among the changes, CFO Cyrill Wipfli will take on a new role as co-head portfolio management and member of the Global Portfolio Committee. The company's finance & corporate development team, co-headed by Manuel Ottinger and Philip Sauer, will absorb the CFO role, the company said. * Temenos Group announced the early termination of its 2016 share buyback programme, having reached its stated objective of repurchasing up to 99 million Swiss francs of shares. * Evolva said Scott Fabro will join the company in early July and shortly thereafter take over as chief commercial officer, succeeding Luc Gruner. * Ascom said it secured a long-term contract with a multi-institutional integrated delivery network for healthcare in the United States. * Basilea said it had forged a clinical study agreement with Adult Brain Tumor Consortium to study BAL101553 in newly diagnosed glioblastoma, the most common primary brain tumour in adults. * Sandpiper Digital Payments posted a full-year loss after tax of 8.3 million euros. ECONOMY The Swiss National Bank is due to publish the latest sight deposit data at 0800 GMT.

(Reporting by Zurich newsroom)

Daily Swiss stock market report in German................ All SMI constituent stocks............................ News on major Swiss stock price moves.................. FTSE Eurotop 300 index................................ DJ STOXX index........................................ Top 10 STOXX sectors............................. Top 10 EUROSTOXX sectors........................ Top 10 Eurotop 300 sectors....................... Top 25 European pct gainers... , losers... Swiss mid-cap index SMI futures Swiss all-share index Market statistics Swiss market digest Sector overview All Swiss news Swiss research news All equity news INTERNET ADDRESSES: Swiss Exchange / Eurex STOXX Ltd SPEED GUIDES: ))

Keywords: MARKETS SWISS STOCKS/
(Recasts with details, background)

By John Irish

PARIS, June 12 (Reuters) - Qatar supports Kuwait's efforts to end a rift with Saudi Arabia and other Arab states, its foreign minister said on Monday, but the emirate remains puzzled over why "abusive measures" had been imposed on it.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and transport ties a week ago, accusing Doha of backing terrorism .

"Kuwait's foreign minister is making efforts to mediate between our countries. We support this effort and our choice is resolve this through dialogue," Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told reporters in Paris after meeting his French counterpart.

"But there are other problems that need to solved and it seems that they are trying to destroy Qatar. That doesn't seem to be very timely."

Speaking amid a tour of European capitals to gauge support among Doha's traditional allies, Sheikh Mohammed said there was "no proof" to accusations that his country financed terrorist groups, supported the Muslim Brotherhood and the Palestinian group Hamas and had close ties with Iran.

"We still have no clue what is behind these measures," he said. "Whatever is related to the collective security of the Gulf countries, Qatar is ready to negotiate ... but we have the right to react to these accusations that we are interfering in their internal affairs.

"Our foreign policy is subject to the sovereignty of our country and is based on our own assessment and our own principles."

The campaign to isolate Qatar is disrupting trade in commodities from crude oil to metals and food. It also raises the prospect of a shock to the global gas market, where the Gulf state is a major participant.

The Arab states have also accused Doha of undermining other Arab countries and the Palestinian Authority with its backing of the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.

Sheikh Mohammed said the allegations on the Muslim Brotherhood were "false" and that it did not understand why it needed to cut ties with Hamas, since it was a resistance movement and not a terrorist group.

He said European countries, including France, were trying to ease tensions in support of Kuwait's mediation efforts, and he believed that the United States, which was also backing mediation, wanted restrictions on Doha to be lifted.

"We in Qatar are prepared to engage in dialogue positively, but in accordance with the international norms and standards that govern any dialogue as per international law," Sheikh Mohammed said.

(Reporting by Jojn Irish; Editing by Larry King)
(Adds details)

By Ed Stoddard

Westonaria, SOUTH AFRICA June 12 (Reuters) - South Africa's Sibanye Gold said on Monday that 202 illegal miners have now been arrested at its Cooke operations southwest of Johannesburg since the start of a violent wildcat strike last Tuesday.

Sibanye said the strike, which has seen more than a dozen miners assaulted by those striking, was triggered by workers angered by a company drive to root out illegal miners which has included the arrest of employees for collusion and taking food down to the illegal miners working underground.

Illegal gold mining has plagued South Africa for decades, with bullion pilfered from both disused and operating mines, and Sibanye has vowed it will clear all illegal miners from its shafts by January 2018. A company spokesman said on Monday the entire Cooke operation would remain closed for the rest of the week as the firm assessed the security situation. "We will review the situation again closer to the weekend," the spokesman said.

The illegal miners arrested have been forced to come to the surface because of the strike, which has emptied the shafts of employees, thereby starving them of their sources of food and water underground - an unintended consequence of the stoppage.

Sibanye's Cooke site appeared quiet on Monday with the road to the Cooke 1 and 2 shafts blocked off by a chain strung along three barrels.

"Everyone had gone home," a local union source told Reuters.

The Cooke operations are situated in the working class town of Westonaria, around 40 kilometres outside Johannesburg, which in the last three years has been hit by several violent protests over government services and high unemployment.

(Writing by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by Louise Heavens, Greg Mahlich)
* Improved risk appetite boosts rand, bonds

* Rand hedges lead stocks lower

(Updates levels, adds quotes)

JOHANNESBURG, June 12 (Reuters) - South Africa's rand firmed against the U.S. dollar and government bonds firmed on Monday, shrugging off a credit downgrade by Moody's of both local and foreign currency ratings as investors kept faith in the high yields on offer.

Stocks fell, led by rand hedge shares which came under pressure on a stronger rand.

At 1519 GMT, the rand traded at 12.7925 per dollar, 1.21 percent firmer than its close of 12.9475 on Friday in New York.

In fixed income, the yield for the benchmark government bond due in 2026 dropped 8.5 basis points to 8.405 percent.

Investec chief economist Annabel Bishop said the rand and local currency debt were boosted by renewed risk appetite.

"The global risk-on phase has been aided by particularly low yields in developed economies offering a good differential," Bishop wrote in a note.

"The inflows have strengthened the rand, proving the current risk-on cycle to be an opportune time to receive downgrades from a yield and currency perspective."

Moody's on Friday lowered South Africa's rating by a single notch from Baa2 to Baa3, the bottom of the investment grade table with a negative outlook, citing an abrupt cabinet reshuffle and reduced growth prospects. On the bourse, the benchmark Top-40 index fell 1.54 percent to 45,169 points while the All-Share index was down 1.25 percent to 51,564 points.

Among the biggest losers were rand-hedged stocks, which make the bulk of their revenue outside South Africa and tend to weaken as the currency strengthens.

British American Tobacco fell 1.93 percent to 883.83 rand, Richemont lowered 1.37 percent to 103.44 rand and Reinet dropped 0.84 percent to 29.34 rand.

"Those kind of stocks are coming under pressure on the back of a stronger rand," said BP Bernstein trader Vasili Tirasis.

Bourse heavyweight Naspers fell 5.89 percent to 2525.00 rand after Chinese internet company Tencent Holdings , a third of which is owned by Naspers, came under pressure as Asian stocks began tracking the slump in U.S. technology stocks. (Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Tanisha Heiberg; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
DUBAI, June 12 (Reuters) - The veteran banker who helped Saudi Arabia sell the world's largest emerging market bond issue last year has been appointed head of the kingdom's Debt Management Office (DMO), the Ministry of Finance said on Monday.

Fahad al-Saif, who has held senior positions at Saudi British Bank and HSBC Saudi Arabia, was originally seconded to supervise the DMO last year as the body was established to help finance a large state budget caused by low oil prices.

He oversaw Saudi Arabia's record $17.5 billion debut bond issue last October but then returned to the private sector, becoming deputy managing director at Saudi British Bank.

The ministry said on Monday that as permanent head of the DMO, Saif would now build the office's capacity and skills in order to strengthen its position in international debt markets.

During Saif's absence, the DMO was run on an acting basis by a senior central bank official, Ayman al-Sayari. In April, it raised $9 billion with Saudi Arabia's first international issue of sukuk.

Saudi officials said last year that they planned to borrow a total of $10 billion to $15 billion internationally in 2017, but Minister of Finance Mohammed al-Jadaan told Reuters in April that those figures might be exceeded, depending on market conditions.

In principle, Riyadh aims to cover its state budget deficit - officially estimated at 198 billion riyals ($52.8 billion) this year - with foreign or domestic bond issues rather than by drawing down its financial reserves, he said.

(Reporting by Andrew Torchia; Editing by Alison Williams)
LONDON, June 12 (Reuters) - Light sweet grades remained under downward pressure, although the Bonny Light force majeure took some barrels off the market. Shaky Asian demand concerned sellers of medium and heavier grades.

PHYSICAL MARKETS

* The overhang of Nigerian oil remained acute despite a force majeure from SPDC on Bonny Light crude.

* Traders said cargoes of Bonny were still loading and trading despite the force majeure, which came following a leak on the Trans Niger pipeline. * Forcados was loading as planned and even trading, although details on the counterparties were not immediately available. Offers were at premiums of around 50 cents for June loading and 80-90 cents for July loading.

* Deals on Forcados were more likely at discounts of 10-30 cents, traders said, until the grade's quality and loading stabilised.

* Medium and heavier crudes were faring better, given less competition from the likes of Libya and the United States.

* Roughly five cargoes of Angolan oil for July loading were left, including Saturno and Cabinda.

* Some crude was booked to sail west, with Phillips66 loading Olombendo and CLOV to sail to Canada and Aseng from Equatorial Guinea loading for the U.S. Gulf.

* Still, slowing demand in China for new oil bookings cast a shadow over August loadings, which were due later in the week.

TENDERS

* India's IOC was running a tender to buy crude loading in August, but earlier cargoes could be accepted as well, traders said.

* A tender from India's MRPL was due later in the week.

RELATED NEWS

* Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, will limit volumes of crude to some Asian buyers in July and deepen cuts in allocations to the United States, industry sources with knowledge of the matter said on Monday. * China's top state refiner Sinopec Corp 0386.HK may cut fuel output in the third quarter, said four sources with knowledge of the matter, as the company contends with a domestic fuel glut, competition from independent rivals and slower demand growth. * Nigeria's acting president Yemi Osinbajo signed a 7.44 trillion naira budget into law on Monday as Abuja plans record spending to pull the economy out of recession. (Reporting By Libby George; Editing by Edmund Blair)
Matt Vickers writes at The Spin Off:

When Seales v Attorney General came before the courts in 2015, the evidence was clear cut. There was no evidence of abuse of assisted dying laws in countries that had it. Despite all of the conjecture from opponents that these laws were harmful or led to a slippery slope, the trial judge in the Supreme Court of British Columbia found scant evidence to support those claims were true. When the case moved to the Canadian Supreme Court, a bench of nine supreme court judges upheld that ruling, given that no other reliable evidence had appeared to undermine that decision. As a result of that case, assisted dying became legal in Canada, and has been working without issue since June last year. Less than 0.5% of all deaths in Canada in the last twelve months were assisted.

The Canadian Supreme Court ruling is very persuasive.

Nevertheless, I take opponents concerns very seriously. Last year, I visited Dignitas in Switzerland and DMD Colombia, meeting with those that worked in the sphere of assisted dying, to understand how these laws work in practice. What struck me was how high the barriers are to accessing an assisted death. It is far from death on demand, but rather a rigorous and challenging process that requires a person to be extraordinarily determined in order to gain access to assistance. In fact, the evidence shows that individuals who access these laws are almost uniformly independently-minded, resolute, and driven, which were all characteristics that my late wife possessed. As a doctor in Oregon said, It doesnt need to be easy, it just needs to be possible.

Thats a great quote. Not easy, just possible.

Seymours bill introduces safeguards that are in fact more stringent than those found in any other jurisdiction in the world, with its system of review and oversight.

The safeguards are key.

It does go further than Oregon in its scope, allowing not only those with a terminal illness to access assisted dying, but also those with a grievous and irremediable medical condition, such as motor neuron disease, spinal stenosis, or Huntingtons disease. It is often sufferers of these diseases who take legal action around assisted dying  such as Kay Carter in Canada and Noel Conway in the United Kingdom. Wellington-based filmmaker Wendell Cookes extraordinary mini-documentary Ginaillustrates the plight of individuals in this situation.

As I have blogged an acquaintance with Huntingtons killed himself when relatively young as the only alternative to a future where he has no physical and mental capacity. This bill would have allowed him to live for many more years knowing he could have assistance when he got to the stage he had no physical capacity.

Some Members of Parliament have taken issue with the fact that Davids bill is not restricted to the terminally ill, but the parliamentary process allows for those concerns to be addressed. MPs who are concerned should vote for the bill at first reading, and let the parameters and scope of the bill be explored in select committee, and the evidence and arguments supporting a given scope assessed. When the bill comes back to the house a second time, MPs will have a chance to reflect on the scope of the bill once more, with select committee analysis in support of a given drafting. Its my hope that the Greens, whose party policy is to support assisted dying for the terminally ill, will take this approach.

The scope of who is eligible is also a key one, and exactly what select committee is for. Also worth noting that further refinements can be made at the committee of the house stage.

Lecretias story provides one example of many such cases where access to assisted dying can provide comfort and control to individuals in their final days. If MPs take the time to put themselves in her shoes, its my hope that their consciences will see their way to making assisted dying legal in New Zealand. A law change will not result in more people dying  we all die at some point, after all  but in fewer people needlessly suffering. As a compassionate society that cares for its citizens, that is only decent and fair.

So very true.

Share this: Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Reddit

WhatsApp

More

Pinterest

Print



Tumblr


Top managers of the Energy and Coal Industry Ministry of Ukraine have discussed construction of a centralized spent nuclear fuel storage facility with representatives of Bank of America Merril Lynch, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), an U.S. Government agency, and the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, the ministry's press service has reported.

The meeting took place on June 8 in Kyiv.

"This project is special, as Energoatom is entering the U.S. stock market," the press service of the ministry said, referring to director of the nuclear policy and nuclear-industrial complex department Hryhoriy Plachkov.

As reported, the government of Ukraine approved the project for building a centralized storage facility for spent nuclear fuel from VVER power units of domestic nuclear power plants (NPP) for a total of UAH 37.217 billion, designed for 16.5 years and including 15 launching complexes, in the Chornobyl zone.
Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 21F. Winds NNW at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 21F. Winds NNW at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.
Sweden is interested in the further development of relations with Ukraine and intends to further support and monitor the ongoing reforms in the country, Ambassador of Sweden to Ukraine Martin Hagstrom has stated.

"Sweden has long-term interests in Ukraine and wants the reforms in Ukraine to be real to continue friendly bilateral relations... My task as an ambassador is to support reforms in Ukraine, this is the main task of the embassy... We try to politically support the reforms," the ambassador said during the presentation of the study of the Institute of World Politics "Foreign Policy Audit: Ukraine-Sweden" in Kyiv.

According to him, the annual financial aid for reforms in Ukraine from Sweden is $25-30 million.

The ambassador noted the plan is also to help create a fiscal system in Ukraine, which they trust.

"As for Russian aggression... Sweden's policy is based on the fact that the world should be governed by order based on international rules, this is important both for our security and for the security of Ukraine. And our point of view with Ukraine in this case is the same. We fully support the view of Ukraine in the UN Security Council and other organizations," the official said speaking about Russian aggression.
Toshihiro Nikai, secretary-general of Japan's ruling Democratic Party, pays his respects at Seoul National Cemetery, Monday. He visited Korea as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's special envoy. He delivered Abe's letter to President Moon Jae-in on bilateral cooperation and had meetings with dozens of Korea's ranking officials. / Yonhap
President Moon Jae-in's approval rating increased slightly last week to nearly 80 percent, a survey showed Monday, despite unceasing disputes over his picks for top government and judicial officials.

In a survey conducted from Monday through Friday by local pollster Realmeter, Moon's rating was tallied at 78.9 percent, up 0.8 percentage point from a week earlier.

In the same poll, 14.7 percent disapproved of Moon's job performance, up 0.5 percentage point, while 6.4 percent said they were not sure.

The pollster said that the uptick in his rating appears to be attributed to his supporters joining forces to back him during parliamentary confirmation hearings last week for his nominees for the foreign and finance ministers, and the Constitutional Court president.

The survey was conducted on 2,022 eligible voters across the country. Its margin of error was plus or minus 2.2 percentage points with a 95 percent confidence level.












By Choe Chong-dae





Buddhist contact between Korea and Sri Lanka can be traced back to the 13th century. In the modern era, Venerable Anagarika Dharmapala, a Ceylonese revivalist of Buddhism whose adopted name means "homeless," visited Korea in 1913 and donated the Sacred Relics of the Buddha (sarira) to the Jogye Buddhist Order. Since my office in Seoul is near Joogyesa Temple where the Sacred Relics are enshrined in a seven-story stupa, I frequently pay respects to them and am reminded of Sri Lanka's contribution to Korean Buddhist culture.

Sri Lanka is known to us as "the Pearl of the East" which shines brightly for its breathtaking natural beauty where refined jewels are produced. The country boasts centuries of arts and culture amidst the azure waters of the Indian Ocean. It has a rich artistic tradition, with distinctively creative forms that encompass music, dance, the visual arts and its seemingly endless tea plantations producing the world famous Ceylon tea. In Marco Polo's autobiography, "The Travels of Marco Polo," co-writer Rustichello da Pisa describes Sri Lanka as the most beautiful island in the world. Also, in the sixth voyage of "Sinbad the Sailor," Serendib (the old Persian name for Sri Lanka) is known as "Treasure Island," where "diamonds are in its rivers and pearls are in its valleys." No wonder Korean tourists have increasingly been drawn to the allure of this ancient tropical paradise.



To commemorate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Korea and Sri Lanka, the Embassy of Sri Lanka and Korea Foundation organized a special performance by choreographer and percussionist Ravibandhu Vidyapathy and a traditional Sri Lankan art troupe at the National Theater of Korea on May 19. Many figures from a variety of sectors of Korean and foreign society, including the Minister of Foreign Employment of Sri Lanka Thalatha Atukorale and Her Excellency Manisha Gunasekera, Ambassador of Sri Lanka, took delight in the wonderful display of moving art.



The unique performance under the title of "Sri Lanka  The Treasure Island of Dance and Music" featured a feast of traditional Sri Lankan drums and dances showcasing the history, religions, myths and art of Sri Lanka.



Ravibandhu Vidyapathy's ensemble stage fascinated the viewers with a mysterious Kandyan and passionate performance of traditional Sri Lankan music, recitals and dance named Raksha, Vannam, Krishna and Salu Paliya.



Vidyapathy, renowned as an outstanding percussionist, excels at playing various drums of Southeast Asia, traditional drums of northern India and common percussion instruments in Hindustani music such as "Pakkawaj," "Tabla" and "Kandyan" drums. Drawing on his extensive musical knowledge, he has created new percussion instruments to reflect his eclectic musical style.



Of all the 10 distinctive stages titled Swasthi, Naga Raksha, Gajaga, GetaBera, Krishna, Thelme, Macbeth, SaluPaliya, Mayura and Bheri Nada, my favorite was the Swasthi. I was captivated by the harmony found in its intense drum sounds, music from various traditional instruments, swift dance moves, female dancers' colorful costumes and graceful gestures. Swasthi's initial ritual drum sounds were followed by Kandayan dance that was originally performed at court banquets of the Kandy Dynasty.



Most recently, there have been an increasing number of people-to-people exchanges between Korea and Sri Lanka. Many Korean Buddhist organizations participate in social welfare activities benefiting Sri Lankans. For example, Jeong Heon-dae, Chairman of the Korean-Sri Lanka Buddhist Welfare Association in Gyeongju, has been providing financial assistance and charity since 2002 to support the health and education of children at Uda Walawe Kumara Primary School in southern Sri Lanka and other schools in the northeastern Trincomallee region.



This longstanding Buddhist connection between Sri Lanka and Korea is the drum that will lead the beat as the two countries expand their political, economic and cultural ties.





Choe Chong-dae is a guest columnist of The Korea Times. He is president of Dae-kwang International Co. and Director of the Korean-Swedish Association. He can be reached at choecd@naver.com.
USDA improves forecast for corn harvest and exports from Ukraine in 2017/2018 MY by 500,000 tonnes

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in June 2017 improved its forecast for corn yield in Ukraine in the 2017/2018 marketing year (MY, July-June) by 500,000 tonnes compared to the May forecast, to 28.5 million tonnes.

According to a report on the website of the U.S. department, the forecast for corn exports was also raised by 500,000 tonnes, to 20.5 million tonnes.

The USDA maintained the forecast for wheat exports from Ukraine in the 2017/2018 MY at the level of 14.5 million tonnes with the yield being 25 million tonnes, which corresponds to the figures published in May.

In general, the U.S. agency improved the forecast for grain production in Ukraine by 500,000 tonnes, to 62.29 million tonnes, exports by 500,000 tonnes, to 38.81 million tonnes due to the growth of corn figures.

As reported, Ukraine since the beginning of the 2016/2017 MY and as of June 8, 2017 had exported 41.667 million tonnes of grain.

Grain harvest in Ukraine in 2016, according to the State Statistics Service, amounted to about 66 million tonnes.
L&K Cosmetic CEO Kwon Yong-soo poses at his office during an interview, in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Friday. / Courtesy of L&K Cosmetic



By Lee Min-hyung

TOKYO  L&K Cosmetic CEO Kwon Yong-soo hopes to turn the company into one of Asia's leading beauty brands by expanding its private label product lineup.

Kwon, 50, started his business in 1993 as a Seoul-based cosmetics retailer, going through a series of ups and downs before launching the cosmetics retail and manufacturing brand in 2013.

"My first online cosmetics site generated more than 15 billion won ($13.33 million) in annual sales back in the early 2000s when the internet shopping industry began to take shape," he said in an interview at the firm's Tokyo branch, Friday.

But he said it was not long before he ended up with mounting debt due to burgeoning rivalry and the lack of private brand products.

"As a retailer, I could not pile up enough margins by selling products from other companies," he said. "But I was confident if we develop and manufacture our own products, the quality will be more trustworthy, helping us to generate more revenue."

He has experience running some cosmetics retail stores in one of Korea's largest shopping districts, Myeong-dong in central Seoul.

"Overseas travelers  mostly from China and Japan  are the major revenue source for most cosmetics stores there. But the Myeong-dong stores always come with risks  such as cross-border political conflict or the spread of infectious diseases," he said.

"For example, when the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) hit Korea in 2015, we had to suffer deficits for almost half a year when foreign travelers were reluctant to visit the nation."

Such unexpected risks were the key reasons for his decision to tap into the Japanese market.

L&K Japan was established in 2013 when Kwon turned his eyes on manufacturing private label products.

The decision came as he has sought to create a stable and profitable source of income for the long term, which he thought would prevent the recurrence of his previous downfalls.

"We launched our private mask sheet pack brand, Mask Diary, in 2014, with our Japanese subsidiary running three retail stores there," he said. "Mask Diary will also be available in the Chinese market soon."

Other private products of the company include wrinkle essence, regenerative skin cream and UV protection BB cream.

In a bid to seek new revenue areas, L&K Japan also opened an aesthetic skin massage therapy store in Tokyo's commercial center of Shinjuku last week.

"Demand for Korean beauty services and products remains strong in Japan," he said. "That is why I decided to start the new business here."

The company also seeks to continue its winning streak in China. In 2015, L&K opened its online mall at the country's largest online marketplace, Taobao. The Korean firm has since forged partnerships with such local internet titans as Alibaba and Alipay.

"Our ultimate goal is to diversify our product lineup and enhance our brand image, so we can set foot in other territories such as North America and Europe," he said. "Toward that end, L&K will continue to spare no efforts in cosmetics R&D."
Social media like Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat seem like a good place to interact with fans. However, these 5 big stars in the industry are still reluctant to share a little piece of their daily lives to fans.

Koreaboo has wrapped a list of major K-celebrities who don't do social media. Check out the list below!

Song Joong Ki

Song Joong Ki emerges as one of the most prominent figures in K-showbiz. His good-looking face, decent personality, and marvelous act in K-dramas are what have got people rooting for him. Since his appearance in top-grossing drama "Descendants of The Sun", people are getting more interested to know more of him, including his personal life. However, Song Joong Ki doesn't seem to will his personal life on social media, simply because he thinks he's not familiar with technology.

Park Bo Young

Park Bo Young loves the old-school way to express her feelings, by writing them into a diary. The "Strong Woman Do Bong Soon" actress doesn't think her personality is big enough to keep up with social media. She also reveals that malicious commenters also take part to add more reasons for her to not do social media since she sometimes gets hurt easily.

Gong Yoo

Gong Yoo is probably one of the celebrities who respect private life more than anything in the world. That's why he refuses to open up his private life through social media. During his fan meeting in Taiwan, he said it himself that social media have made people try too hard to seek approval from others.

"Why I personally don't like social media is because you're intending to show photos to others that are most likely to make you create things, and it's a little uncomfortable for me," said the "Goblin" actor as cited by Allkpop.

Park Hae Jin

Park Hae Jin is extremely cautious when it comes to social media. According to his observation, social media do more harm, although he admits that he could communicate or promote his works through social media. Besides, numerous incidents and scandals stem from social media, so that's why Park Hae Jin tries his best to avoid using social media.

Yoo Jae Suk

Yoo Jae Suk thinks that social media make their users engrossed and distract them from doing actual works in real life. The "Running Man" member prefers to focus on his works in real life than being captivated by social media,
The Individuals' Deposit Guarantee Fund has satisfied an offer made by TAScombank, owned by ex-head of the National Bank of Ukraine Sergiy Tigipko, to act as an assuming bank for part of the assets and liabilities of insolvent Diamantbank, ex-head of Diamantbank Oleh Khodachuk has said.

"The Individuals' Deposit Guarantee Fund has just made the decision on the assuming bank for the Diamantbank assets. TAScombank was determined as an assuming bank," he wrote on his Facebook page.

According to Khodachuk, the volume of assets that is transferred will allow to fully compensate the entire amount of deposits of up to UAH 200,000. He noted at the time of temporary administration introduction this amount was UAH 1.24 billion.

"But the most important news for depositors with the deposits exceeding UAH 200,000 is that the fund has kept the overall amount of cash that was on the accounts and in the cash department of the bank! At the time of administration introduction the figure stood at almost UAH 600 million," the banker added.
Some $25.47 million has been withdrawn from Bank National Credit in favor of insiders, the Individuals' Deposit Guarantee Fund reported on its website.

"The amount equivalent to a quarter of the balance sheet of PJSC Bank National Credit has been debited from the correspondent account of Bank Frick and Co Aktiengesellschaft (Liechtenstein) in favor of foreign companies. And these were the newly created firms, and their founders were employees from Bank National Credit. The matter concerns about $25.47 million, or more than UAH 500 million," a statement reads.

According to the report, the market value of all the assets of Bank National Credit was estimated by independent appraisal companies at UAH 178 million, which is 9% of the amount indicated "on paper"  UAH 1.943 billion (as of December 1, 2015).

"Another reason for this difference was the signing of agreements unprofitable for PJSC Bank National Credit prior to the introduction of temporary administration in the bank. For example, the rights of claim were bought at an overvalued price, the bank alienated property at the prices lower than usual, and there are also cases when the bank refused its own property claims," the report says.
Fitch Ratings has affirmed the Long-Term Foreign Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) of PJSC Credit Agricole Bank (CAB), ProCredit Bank (Ukraine) (PCBU), PJSC Pravex-Bank (Pravex), PJSC Alfa-Bank (ABU) and Ukrsotsbank (Ukrsots) at 'B-' with stable outlooks, reads a posting on the rating agency's website.

"Fitch has also upgraded the Viability Ratings (VRs) of CAB to 'B' from 'B-', PCBU to 'B-' from 'CCC', Pravex to 'B-' from 'CC' and Ukrsots to 'CCC' from 'CC'. ABU's VR has been affirmed at 'CCC'," according to the document.

"All five banks' IDRs and National Ratings factor in the likelihood of support they may receive from their foreign shareholders. The affirmations of CAB's, PCBU's and Pravex's 'B-' Long-Term Foreign Currency IDRs reflect the constraint of Ukraine's Country Ceiling of 'B-', which captures transfer and convertibility risks and limits the extent to which support from the majority foreign shareholders of these banks can be factored into the ratings. The stable outlooks on the Long-Term Foreign Currency IDRs of CAB and PCBU are in line with that on the Ukrainian sovereign. The revision of the outlook on Pravex's Long-Term Foreign Currency IDR to stable from negative reflects Fitch's view that the rating at this level is now also underpinned by the bank's VR, following its upgrade to 'B-' from 'Cc'," the agency experts said.

"The Long-Term Local Currency IDRs of CAB, PCBU and Pravex at 'B' also take into account country risks. The stable outlooks on the Long-Term Local Currency IDRs of CAB and PCBU reflect Fitch's view of the likely evolution of these risks. The negative outlook on Pravex's Long-Term Local Currency IDR reflects the potential for the bank to be sold and hence for potential shareholder support to be reduced, in which case this rating would likely be downgraded to the level of the bank's VR," they stated.

"CAB is fully owned by Credit Agricole S.A. (A+/Stable). PCBU is controlled (94% of voting stock) by Germany's ProCredit Holding AG & Co. KGaA (BBB/Stable). Pravex is fully owned by Intesa Sanpaolo (BBB/Stable), but has been managed as a non-core asset from 2014 when it was put up for sale," Fitch said.

"The affirmation of ABU's and Ukrsots' Long-Term IDRs, National Ratings and ABU's senior debt ratings reflects Fitch's unchanged view of the potential support both banks may receive from other assets of Alfa Group. However, the probability of support is limited due to the banks' indirect relationship with other group assets and the mixed track record of support (for ABU) from the shareholders," the rating states.

"ABU and Ukrsots are both ultimately owned by ABH Holdings S.A. (ABHH), which is part of Alfa Group's financial business and is the owner of several other banking subsidiaries, mostly in the CIS, including Russia-based OJSC Alfa-Bank (BB+/Stable). In October 2016, Ukrsots' former owner, UniCredit S.p.A. (UniCredit, BBB/Stable), transferred its 99.9% share in Ukrsots to ABHH in exchange for 9.9% of ABHH's shares," the document says.

"The upgrades of CAB's, PCBU's, Pravex's and Ukrsots' VRs reflect reduced pressures on asset quality mostly due to the more stable Ukrainian economy, the banks' modest growth/deleveraging (except for PCBU) and generally moderate risk appetites since the downturn in Ukraine's economy in 2014. The VR upgrades also consider improved loss absorption capacity following recent bank recapitalizations (Pravex, Ukrsots, PCBU) and/or continued resilience in operating performance (CAB, PCBU) that allowed for stronger coverage of problem assets and more comfortable capital cushions," the agency added.

"The VRs of all five banks remain constrained by the challenging operating environment and/or still large stocks of legacy impaired loans (in particular at Pravex, Ukrsots and ABU), which pressure performance. We do not expect material improvements in asset quality metrics in the near term as Ukraine's economic recovery is only moderate; Fitch expects GDP growth of 2% in 2017 and 3% in 2018," the experts stated.

"The VRs of all five banks also reflect stabilization of funding profiles, driven by decreased hryvnia volatility, and comfortable liquidity cushions accumulated in a period of low credit growth. Non-deposit funding is limited at these banks," they said.

"CAB's 'B' VR reflects the bank's stronger standalone creditworthiness than peers'. It is supported by the bank's more balanced business model, benefitting from access to cheap (by market standards) and stable client funding, and a focus on lower-risk lending segments (multinational clients, better performing agro producers, car loans in retail) resulting in more resilient financial metrics," Fitch said.

"CAB's non-performing loans (NPLs, loans more than 90 days overdue) stood at 14.5% of loans at end-2016, and performing restructured loans were at 10.5% (end-2015: 15% and 12%, respectively). Impaired loans (NPLs plus restructured) were comfortably (74%) covered by impairment reserves; however, the unreserved portion of these amounted to a significant 50% of Fitch Core Capital (FCC). Loss absorption capacity is underpinned by solid pre-impairment profitability (equal to 10% of average gross loans for 2016), and a capital buffer is also available to absorb additional credit losses (FCC ratio of 12.7%). CAB reported a solid 36% return on average equity (ROAE) in 2016 (2015: 27%)," the report says.

"PCBU's 'B-' VR factors in the risks associated with a largely unseasoned loan book following the bank's rapid growth in the core SME segment (by 52% in 2016 and 32% in 2015, adjusted for FX effects). Loans, however, have been originated under reasonably strict underwriting criteria with limited inflows of new problem loans to date," it states.

"PCBU's NPLs and restructured (classified as standard, watch-list and impaired) loans stood at 2.9% and 7.6%, respectively, at end-2016, down from 5.6% and 14.4% at end-2015. Impairment reserves provided moderate (62%) cover for NPLs and restructured loans. The unreserved portion of these moderated to 28% of FCC at end-2016 from 129% at end-2015 following an equity injection in 2016, which also caused the FCC ratio to increase to 14% from 7.3%. Loss absorption capacity is underpinned by reasonable pre-impairment profitability (equal to 6% of average loans in 2016), net of unpaid accruals and non-core revenues. PCBU reported a solid 33% ROAE in 2016 (2015: 18%)," the agency said.

"Pravex's 'B-' VR reflects progress in the clean-up of the bank's balance sheet. NPLs decreased to 25% of loans at end-Q1, 2017 from 72% at end-2015 after write-offs, and the remaining NPLs were fully covered by specific reserves. Restructured loans were a moderate 6% of loans at end-2016 (or 18% of FCC) and weakly provisioned. Apart from loans (a low 18% of the balance sheet at end-Q1, 2017), other assets were of moderate- to low risk, and mostly liquid assets (cash and equivalents and short-term investments into National Bank of Ukraine securities) which were equal to around 86% of customer deposits," it stated.

"Pravex's solid capital buffer (FCC ratio of 22% at end-2016) should be seen in the context of the bank's still weak operational performance (annualized pre-impairment loss amounted to 18% of FCC in Q1, 2017), constrained by a low share of high-earning assets and a still sizable cost base," it reads.

"ABU's and Ukrsots' 'CCC' VRs factor in both banks' high levels of NPLs (end-2016: ABU: 35% of loans, 74%-covered by reserves; Ukrsots: 75% and 82%, respectively) and restructured loans (ABU: 33%; Ukrsots: 15%). The unreserved portions of these problem exposures were high at both banks (ABU: 5x FCC; Ukrsots: 2x FCC) and the FCC ratio was low at ABU (7.9%), but stronger at Ukrsots (25.2%) supported by the equity contribution provided by UniCredit before the bank's sale in 2016. ABU also expects to receive moderate capital support of $60 million in 2017 (equal to 0.6x FCC or 5% of risk-weighted assets at end-2016)," the experts said.

"Both banks were deeply loss-making in 2016 (ROAE of -170% at ABU and -131% at Ukrsots, which reported pre-impairment losses in 2015-2016), due to a large share of weakly performing assets, low margins on the restructured portfolio (Ukrsots) and high provisioning needs at both banks. Performance prospects will depend on the ability to generate new healthy business (currently less evident for Ukrsots) and avoid new credit losses," the document reads.

"Liquidity is comfortable at both banks and managed jointly suggesting some fungibility between the banks' balance sheets. The buffers of liquid assets (calculated as liquid assets net of near-term wholesale funding repayments) were equal to 17% of customer deposits at ABU and 33% at Ukrsots at end-4M17," the report says.

"The IDRs of CAB, PCBU and Pravex could be upgraded if Ukraine's sovereign ratings are upgraded and the country ceiling revised upwards, and downgraded in case of a sovereign downgrade. An upgrade of ABU's and Ukrsots' IDRs and Support Ratings would require a strengthening of the support track record for both banks," it reads.

"A significant weakening of the ability and/or propensity of shareholders to provide support could also result in downgrades. A sale of Pravex to a weaker investor would result in a downgrade of its support-driven Long-Term Local Currency IDR and National Long-Term Rating," it says.

"The VRs could be downgraded if additional loan impairment recognition undermines capital positions without sufficient support being made available. Upside for banks' VRs is currently limited," Fitch summarized.

The rating actions are as follows:

CAB:

Long-Term Foreign Currency IDR: affirmed at 'B-', outlook stable

Long-Term Local Currency IDR: affirmed at 'B', outlook stable

Short-Term Foreign Currency IDR: affirmed at 'B'

Short-Term Local Currency IDR: affirmed at 'B'

Support Rating: affirmed at '5'

Viability Rating: upgraded to 'b' from 'b-'

National Long-Term Rating: affirmed at 'AAA(ukr)'; outlook stable

ProCredit Bank (Ukraine):

Long-Term Foreign Currency IDR: affirmed at 'B-', outlook stable

Long-Term Local Currency IDR: affirmed at 'B', outlook stable

Short-Term Foreign Currency IDR: affirmed at 'B'

Short-Term Local Currency IDR: affirmed at 'B'

Support Rating: affirmed at '5'

Viability Rating: upgraded to 'b-' from 'ccc'

National Long-Term Rating: affirmed at 'AAA(ukr)'; outlook stable

Pravex-Bank:

Long-Term Foreign Currency IDR: affirmed at 'B-', outlook revised to stable from negative Long-Term Local Currency IDR: affirmed at 'B', outlook negative Short-Term Foreign Currency IDR: affirmed at 'B' Support Rating: affirmed at '5' Viability Rating: upgraded to 'b-' from 'cc' National Long-Term Rating: affirmed at 'AA+(ukr)', outlook negative PJSC Alfa-Bank: Long-Term Foreign Currency IDR: affirmed at 'B-', outlook stable Long-Term Local Currency IDR: affirmed at 'B-', outlook stable Senior unsecured local currency debt: affirmed at 'B-'/'RR4'/, 'AA(ukr)' Senior unsecured local currency market linked securities: affirmed at 'B-(emr)'/'RR4'; 'AA(ukr)(emr)' Short-Term Foreign Currency IDR: affirmed at 'B' Support Rating: affirmed at '5' Viability Rating: affirmed at 'ccc' National Long-Term Rating: affirmed at 'AA(ukr)'; outlook stable Ukrsotsbank: Long-Term Foreign Currency IDR: affirmed at 'B-', outlook stable Long-Term Local Currency IDR: affirmed at 'B-', outlook stable Short-Term Foreign Currency IDR: affirmed at 'B' Support Rating: affirmed at '5' Viability Rating: upgraded to 'ccc' from 'cc' National Long-Term Rating: affirmed at 'AA(ukr)'; outlook stable
Executive Director of UN Women, UN Under-Secretary-General Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and Swedish Ambassador to Ukraine Martin Hagstrom have signed an agreement on financing the project "Gender Equality in National Reforms and Establishment of Peace and Security in Ukraine."

"The project provides for a budget of EUR5 million and is designed for four years," the press service of Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze said.

The funds will be used for providing an integrated national mechanism for introducing gender equality in sectoral reforms through supporting the newly established office of the government commissioner for gender policy, as well as aid in implementing the national action plan "Women, Peace, Security."

Klympush-Tsintsadze stressed the priority tasks of this project are monitoring the current state of gender issues in Ukraine and the dynamics of social changes, implementing a pilot project to introduce the post of advisers in law enforcement agencies, enhancing the institutional capacity and improving coordination of all structures that should ensure gender equality.
Margaret Atwood has fit the work of many lifetimes into one. Author of more than 40 books and an environmental activist, she will be presented PEN Center USAs lifetime achievement award at its annual dinner in October. This wont be her first time at this type of rodeo  Atwood received the National Book Critics Circle lifetime achievement award in March  and she is both gracious and jocular about the honor. Nobody gives you the lifetime achievement award when youre 25, she says, reached by phone in Toronto.

What might I do with my other lifetime? she muses with a telling voracity when asked if she might like to do it all again. Well, do I only get one other one?



For the record: An earlier version of this post said that the PEN awards ceremony would be held at the Beverly Hills Hotel; it will be held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.

Atwood has long been an ally of PEN, internationally and in her native Canada, where we started it with no money and some postage stamps and dining room tables, she says. Little did people in North American know when they were working with PEN over the past 30 years that it was going to be their turn, she says of PENs continued necessity, which for many is now feeling closer to home. It may be our turn to have people advocate for us, but I dont think its quite come to that yet.

Advertisement

PEN Center USA, the West Coast branch of the international literary organization, defends freedom of expression and advocates on behalf of writers and journalists worldwide, in addition to working locally to foster interest in the written word.

Atwood is best known for her speculative, dystopian fiction, including the Maddaddam Trilogy and the The Handmaids Tale, the latter of which has recently reentered the zeitgeist via Hulus TV adaptation, recapturing the popular imagination as a prescient, fun-house mirror through which to view political concerns. The slyly subversive nature of speculative fiction is something Atwood is well aware of, citing the ingenuity of science fiction authors during the McCarthy era.

They said quite specifically, I wrote sci-fi because it allowed me to deal with power structures and what was going on in the United States in a way that if I had dealt with directly I probably would have found myself in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee,  she says. The task she gave herself in writing The Handmaids Tale was more literal  and bold: If you were going to have a totalitarian dictatorship in the United States, what would it look like?

I think that she has written dangerously about topics that needed to be explored, maybe at a time when it wasnt popular to be exploring them, says Michelle Franke, executive director of PEN Center USA. Frankes first experience with Atwoods work came at a time when she did not yet consider herself a feminist. Margarets work maybe at first pass reads as a kind of warning, but then the deeper you go its also a kind of reminder of where weve been.

Committed to conservation, Atwood draws a direct link between environmental advocacy and human rights: Theyre joined at the hip because were not apart from the environment, she says, noting that environmental degradation creates social unrest, war and, in turn, more excuses for human rights violations. Its all linked.

Her work with the Future Library Project in Norway, which collects texts to be read  time-capsule style  in 2114, is an expression of this commonality. It assumes that there will be people in 100 years. It assumes that there will be libraries  and because its teamed with the growing of a forest  it assumes that the trees will grow. Theyre all pretty hopeful things, and none of them can be taken for granted, because you cant take anything for granted in the very shifty world in which we now live.

PEN champions freedom of expression, a right and a privilege that Atwood has made good and prolific use of, and which she is careful to define as the right not to be jailed or murdered because of something youve written  it doesnt mean that people are not allowed to object.

Atwood waves off a mention of school board challenges to her work, which has remained perennially controversial. On a scale of banning, having your book excluded from a school is junior league. Real banning is when we make big bonfires of them and shoot people for having one. Now thats banning, she says. Still, she notes an organization called Out of Print that sells a banned book scarf adorned with banned book titles  including The Handmaids Tale. Atwood owns one and is proud to be on it, she says.

The awards ceremony in October will be hosted by comedic actor Nick Offerman and held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. As one of L.A.s premier, red-carpet literary events, its a high-end fundraiser where the public can, for $250 and up, break bread and get swanky with free-speech activists and literary giants.

Atwoods take on the timing is charmingly wry. Theyre taking a chance, because I could fall over at any minute, she jokes about the PEN honor. Theyre thinking, well, we better give it to her now  just in case.

As for alternate lifetimes: It might have been fun to be a ballet dancer, she says, quipping, I got dizzy on the turns. Ultimately, she is coy about the question, or perhaps privately whirring with the infinite possibilities that her particularly imaginative mind might conjure. Of course, its fun to speculate, she says, but what would I do with it indeed?

agatha.french@latimes.com

@agathafrenchy
The parent of Ann Taylor, Lane Bryant and other womens clothing stores said it plans to close up to 667 of its locations in the next two years as consumers shift to online shopping keeps battering traditional retailers.

The stores are part of Ascena Retail Group Inc., which also operates Loft, Maurices, Dressbarn, Catherines and the Justice kids fashion chain. The company had 4,850 stores overall as of April 29.

David Jaffe, Ascenas president and chief executive, told analysts Thursday that the company has identified more than 250 locations that will be closed permanently through July 2019 on top of the 71 stores it has already shut this year.

Advertisement

Jaffe said an additional 400 or so more stores will be closed if Ascena is unable to obtain certain rent concessions from mall operators and other landlords. Ascena later updated the figures to show 268 definite closures and 399 stores that also could close, or 667 total.

Although the store closures affect all of Ascenas brands, Jaffe and the company did not specify which store locations would close. In California, the company has 64 Lane Bryant stores, 48 Dressbarn stores, 38 Loft stores, 30 Justice stores, 20 Catherines stores, 17 Ann Taylor stores and 17 Maurices stores, according to the chains websites, for a total of 234.

Jaffes comments came as Ascena, based in Mahwah, N.J., posted sharply lower fiscal third-quarter financial results. Jaffe blamed the declines on an extremely competitive market environment that included persistent declines in store traffic and intense promotional activity.

We expect these factors will remain major headwinds for the foreseeable future and reflect an accelerated shift to consumer demand toward e-commerce, he said.

That shift has upended the retail industry, with conventional retailers such as Macys Inc., Sears Holding Corp. and J.C. Penney Co. also closing stores to slash costs.

Other chains have closed stores because theyve entered bankruptcy proceedings, such as Payless ShoeSource Inc. Childrens clothing retailer Gymboree Corp. filed for bankruptcy protection Monday and said it plans to close certain stores out of its 1,281-store portfolio.

Ascena said its third-quarter profit, excluding a $1.3-billion, noncash charge to write down the value of certain assets, fell to $9.6 million, or 5 cents a share, from $30 million, or 15 cents a share, a year earlier.

Sales fell to $1.57 billion, down 6% from $1.67 billion. Ascenas overall same-store sales  that is, sales at stores open at least a year  tumbled 8%, with every one of its brands showing a decline in same-store sales.

Ascenas stock was up 15 cents, or 7%, to $2.36 a share in midday trading Monday.

james.peltz@latimes.com

Twitter: @PeltzLATimes

UPDATES:

12:30 p.m.: This article and its headline have an updated count for the stores being closed and that could be closed in the next two years, based on updated information provided by the company.

This article was originally published at 10:30 a.m.
Southern California has experienced a boost in trade and logistics employment in the last decade, but policy and labor challenges lie ahead, according to a new economic report.

Trade-related jobs increased nearly 10% from 2005 to 2015, more than double the overall regional employment increase of 4.2%, the report released Monday by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. found.

Warehousing and logistics jobs led the charge, jumping 55.1% over the decade, said the report, titled Trade & Logistics in Southern California.

Advertisement

The growth came at a cost, however. Wages in warehousing dropped 9% during the period, compared with an increase of almost 3% in the industry overall, which includes the highly paid dockworkers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the nations largest cargo complex.

The average trade industry worker still made more than $63,000 in 2015, about 14% higher than the average wage for other industries in the area.

Shannon Sedgwick, an economist with the L.A. County Economic Development Corp., attributed some of the employment growth to the decentralization of warehousing and distribution. Consumers are demanding faster shipping, which forces companies to move warehouses closer to population centers to save time and money.

Distribution is becoming more localized, and more localized growth means more new facilities, Sedgwick said. That means job growth.

The job growth has also coincided with major technological advancements in the industry that increase productivity.

Automation and robotics technology enables companies to maximize their footprint by stacking products in warehouses, Sedgwick said. These facilities often reach above 40 feet and use automated vertical tracking systems to place pallets higher than previously possible with older systems.

For now, these machines dont hinder jobs because laborers are still needed to pick many items and move them onto trucks.

When they create a robot that accurately and efficiently picks the order  that will be a drag on job growth, Sedgwick said.

Trade and logistics is vital to Southern California, accounting for around 13% of the regional domestic product, according to the report. In 2015, 598.3 million tons of freight valued at $1.7 trillion moved through the region.

Including the half a million people directly employed in the industry, trade supports 1.2 million jobs in the region.

Sedgwick predicts the industry will focus on increasing efficiency through innovations in technology to overcome the looming challenges on the horizon, which include trade policy, environmental regulation and recurring labor disputes.

President Trumps repeated threats to impose punitive tariffs on Chinese imports are a cause for concern for the industry.

Last year, a Chinese investment company bought Irvine electronics distributor firm Ingram Micro for $6 billion, marking the largest acquisition of an American tech company by a Chinese firm. Chinese money is also pouring into Temecula, Southern Californias wine region, where investors are funding at least five major projects.

Any major shift from the Trump administration  misguided as it may be  could have a substantial impact on our ports, said Jock OConnell, international trade advisor for Beacon Economics.

International freight flowing through the region accounts for 22% of volume but 36% of total value because foreign trade flows have an average value of $4,800 per ton versus $2,300 for domestic flows.

OConnell also said the industry is concerned about increasingly strict environmental regulations from the California Air Resources Board.

He estimates that the cost of complying with new regulations and implementing new equipment will total $35 billion over the next two or three decades, as opposed to the $7 billion it would cost to keep the current equipment functioning.

The implementation of air quality standards is expensive, OConnell said. The real question is whether ports  will collectively be able to afford the tens of billions of dollars it will cost to comply.

jack.flemming@latimes.com

Twitter: @jflem94
Emil Michael, Ubers senior vice president of business and Chief Executive Travis Kalanicks right-hand man, has left the embattled ride-hailing company, according to an email he sent Monday to employees.

It is unclear whether Michael was fired or resigned. An Uber spokeswoman confirmed that he is no longer with the company but declined to comment further.

In the email, initially obtained by the New York Times and independently verified by a person familiar with the matter, Michael said that Sunday was his last day, and that David Richter, Ubers current vice president of strategic initiatives, would replace him.

Advertisement

His email did not give a reason for his departure.

Michaels departure was foreshadowed on Sunday when Ubers board of directors convened in Los Angeles to vote on a series of recommendations about Ubers corporate culture. The suggestions  which were drafted by former U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric. H. Holder Jr. as part of a company investigation into complaints of widespread harassment  reportedly included forcing out Michael and ordering Kalanick to take a leave of absence.

A spokesman for the board of directors confirmed that the board met with Holder and Tammy Albarran, both partners with Covington & Burling, the law firm hired to conduct the investigation.

Board members voted unanimously to adopt all of the firms recommendations, which will be released to employees Tuesday, the spokesman said.

He would not comment on any further actions taken by the board, including whether it discussed the future of Kalanick.

Michael has been at the center of a number of Ubers scandals, such as in 2014 when he told BuzzFeed that the company should spend millions of dollars to investigate journalists critical of the firm. He reportedly played a role in an incident in which Uber executives  including Eric Alexander, who was recently fired  obtained the medical records of a passenger who was raped by a driver in India.

Throughout the crises, Michael had Kalanicks unwavering support. At one point both executives were seen as untouchable because many had credited their brash and hyper-competitive leadership style with Ubers early success.

Ubers recent string of scandals left both executives vulnerable, though.

According to multiple news reports, Holders advice included ordering Kalanick to step down temporarily and forcing out Michael. The board consists of seven voting members, including Kalanick.

But the decision on whether to step aside could ultimately fall to Kalanick because of his outsized voting power. According to various reports, Ubers governance and share structure follows a founder-friendly model in which some board seats carry more voting power than others. Kalanick and two of his board allies, co-founder Garrett Camp and longtime Uber employee Ryan Graves reportedly hold super-voting seats.

This structure is not unusual in the tech world, where the success of founder-led companies such as Google and Facebook has given investors confidence in founders, and the hot startup market has led investors to offer founders friendly terms in exchange for allowing them to fund the company.

Snap, Inc. implemented such a structure when it went public in March, consolidating power in its co-founders Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy, and giving them ultimate control of Snap  even if they no longer work at the company.

 The New York Times reported that Uber had been using a program to thwart authorities trying to curtail or shut down the service. (April 24, 2017) (Sign up for our free video newsletter here http://bit.ly/2n6VKPR)

If Kalanick decided to go on leave, though, it is unclear who would fill in for him, especially now that Michael is out of the picture. Uber is without a chief operating officer, a chief financial officer, a chief marketing officer or a head of engineering.

Uber also faced high turnover on its top ranks earlier this year, including the departure of Rachel Whetstone, Ubers head of communications, in April, and the resignation of company president Jeff Jones in March after less than a year on the job. He said his beliefs and approach to leadership were inconsistent with those of the company.

Under Kalanick, Uber has shaken up the taxi industry in hundreds of cities and become the worlds most valuable start-up. Ubers valuation has climbed to nearly $70 billion.

But Kalanick has acknowledged his management style needs improvement. The 40-year-old CEO said earlier this year that he needed to fundamentally change and grow up.

In February, former Uber engineer Susan Fowler wrote on a blog that she had been propositioned by her boss in a series of messages on her first day of work and that superiors ignored her complaints. Uber set up a hotline for complaints after that and hired the law firm Perkins Coie to investigate.

That firm checked into 215 complaints, with 57 still under investigation.

Uber has been plagued by more than sexual harassment complaints in recent months. It has been threatened by boycotts, sued and subject to a federal investigation that it used a fake version of its app to thwart authorities looking into whether it was breaking local laws.

Stepping down as CEO, even temporarily, would be a major setback for Kalanick, who founded the company in 2009 and has been running it ever since  despite mounting criticism over the hard-charging office environment he helped create.

Uber announced last week that it fired 20 employees for harassment problems after a separate investigation by a different law firm.

Kalanick lost his temper earlier this year in an argument with an Uber driver who was complaining about pay, and the CEOs profanity-laced comments were caught on video.

In a March conference call with reporters after that incident, board member Arianna Huffington expressed confidence that Kalanick would evolve into a better leader. But Huffington, a founder of Huffington Post, suggested time might be running out.

Hes a scrappy entrepreneur, she said during the call, but one who needed to bring changes in himself and in the way he leads.

Sundays board meeting comes shortly after personal tragedy in Kalanicks life. His mother was killed and father was injured in late May after a boat they were riding in hit a rock.

In addition to firing 20 employees, Uber said last week that it was hiring an Apple marketing executive, Bozoma Saint John, to help improve its tarnished brand. Saint John most recently was head of global consumer marketing for Apple Music and iTunes.

It also announced Monday that it brought on Wan Ling Martello to join its board as an independent director. Martello is a senior executive at Nestle and sits on the audit committee of the board of Alibaba.

Below is a copy of the email Emil Michael sent on Monday to Ubers employees:

Team 

Yesterday was my last day with Uber. Starting today, David Richter, our current VP of Strategic Initiatives, will be the new SVP of Business.

David is an extremely talented leader and I have high confidence in his ability to help drive the company forward. I signed on with the company almost four years ago and it has truly been the experience of a lifetime helping Uber become the fastest growing company of all-time -- spanning 75 countries with over 14,000 employees.

I am proud of our business teams part in contributing to the companys overall success. We have fueled our growth by raising more money than any other tech company in history; we completed one of the most valuable mergers in American/Chinese tech history with the Didi deal; and we have secured ground-breaking partnerships with automobile companies all over the world to support our autonomous vehicle efforts.

But I am most proud of the quality of the team we have built. Beginning with my first day at Uber, I have been committed to building a diverse Business Team that would be widely recognized as the best in the technology world: one that is welcoming to people of all genders, sexual orientations, national origins and educational backgrounds. I am proud that our group has made so much progress toward these goals and is a leader in the company in many of these categories. As an Egyptian immigrant who was taken under the wing of a great business leader like Bill Campbell, I have an abiding belief that we all should pay it forward by ensuring that our workplace represents all types of people.

Uber has a long way to go to achieve all that it can and I am looking forward to seeing what you accomplish in the years ahead.

-Emil Michael

The Associated Press was used in compiling this report.

ALSO

Kids clothing chain Gymboree files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

Delta, Bank of America pull sponsorships of Trump-like Julius Caesar play over killing scene

Grand Rapids boasts the large manufacturing sector Trump wants, but is it a model for the nation?

UPDATES:

2:40 p.m.: This article was updated to include more information about Ubers board structure.

11:05 a.m.: This article was updated to include context about other executive vacancies at Uber.

10:15 a.m.: This article was updated to include news of Emil Michaels departure from Uber.

This article was originally published at 7:10 a.m.
In the midst of the social media-firestorm surrounding the Public Theaters staging of Julius Caesar featuring the brutal stabbing of an orange-haired dictator, Donald Trump Jr. asked two questions Sunday on Twitter.

I wonder how much of this "art" is funded by taxpayers? Serious question, when does "art" become political speech & does that change things? https://t.co/JfOmLLBJCn  Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) June 11, 2017

The same day, the National Endowment for the Arts had its answer.

Advertisement

A statement posted on the embattled agencys website read: The National Endowment for the Arts makes grants to nonprofit organizations for specific projects. In the past, the New York Shakespeare Festival has received project-based NEA grants to support performances of Shakespeare in the Park by the Public Theater. However, no NEA funds have been awarded to support this summers Shakespeare in the Park production of Julius Caesar and there are no NEA funds supporting the New York State Council on the Arts grant to Public Theater or its performances.

The NEA distanced itself from the controversy in a year when the endowments very existence was threatened by the budget blueprint from President Donald Trumps administration for 2018. Although funding for the agency was extended through the end of September, its future is still uncertain.

The clamor over Julius Caesar is affecting Delta Air Lines and Bank of America. Amid threats of a boycott, the businesses withdrew their sponsorship of the Public, a move that resulted in calls for a boycott from those on the other side of the debate. In the current, political environment, it seems, there is no winning.

The Public answered the second question in the younger Trumps tweet with a statement that read:

We stand completely behind our production of Julius Caesar. We recognize that our interpretation of the play has provoked heated discussion; audiences, sponsors and supporters have expressed varying viewpoints and opinions. Such discussion is exactly the goal of our civically-engaged theater; this discourse is the basis of a healthy democracy. Our production of Julius Caesar in no way advocates violence towards anyone. Shakespeares play, and our production, make the opposite point: those who attempt to defend democracy by undemocratic means pay a terrible price and destroy the very thing they are fighting to save. For over 400 years, Shakespeares play has told this story and we are proud to be telling it again in Central Park.

jessica.gelt@latimes.com

Twitter: @jessicagelt

ALSO:

A blond Julius Caesar in a business suit looks too familiar for comfort

Cowardly Delta Air and BofA bail on Shakespeare

9th Circuit Court of Appeals refuses to reinstate Trumps travel ban
In February, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul fell just short of Hollywoods highest honor when La La Land, the Southland-set musical they penned the lyrics for, failed to win best picture at the Academy Awards.

No misses this time.

The stars shone for the composer-lyricists and book writer Steven Levenson, as Dear Evan Hansen nabbed the Tony Awards top honor of best musical at Radio City Music Hall on Sunday night. The trios show, an emo-pop piece about an awkward teenager who becomes an accidental hero, won over voters with a story thats both a timeless tale of teenage anxiety and an of-the-moment examination of social media.

The show won six Tonys, including for book, score, orchestration and featured actress. Ben Platt, who plays the title character and became a Broadway sensation this season, won the Tony for best actor in a musical.

Advertisement

At its core our musical is about wanting to belong, said producer Stacey Mindich in accepting the prize. You have been seen and heard around the world, she said, addressing fans who have responded to the production.

FULL COVERAGE: Tony Awards 2017 

Evan Hansen earned the U.S. theaters top honor in what many regarded as the deepest musical season in recent memory including such heralded shows as Come From Away and Groundhog Day. With its win, Evan Hansen joins a short but notable list of intimate pieces, including Once and Fun Home, to take the top prize in recent years.

We hoped to write a show where people looking for a home can find one, Paul said of Hansen, which with humble roots in Washington, D.C., and off-Broadway was hardly even guaranteed to get to Broadway.

1 / 77 Producer Stacey Mindich, at the mike, and the cast of Dear Evan Hansen accept the award for best musical at the conclusion of the 2017 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 2 / 77 Josh Groban and the cast of Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812" perform at the 71st Tony Awards. (Michael Zorn / Invision/Associated Press) 3 / 77 Tina Fey, presenting at the Tony Awards (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 4 / 77 Stephen Colbert speaks during the 2017 Tony Awards. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 5 / 77 The cast of Bandstand performs during the 2017 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 6 / 77 Kevin Spacey, left, Michael Kelly and Robin Wright appear as their characters from House of Cards as they present Lin-Manuel Miranda with the envelope for best musical. (Michael Zorn / Invision/Associated Press) 7 / 77 The cast of Bandstand performs at the 71st Tony Awards. (Michael Zorn / Invision / Associated Press) 8 / 77 Jill Biden introduces a performance by the cast of Bandstand. (Michael Zorn / Invision/Associated Press) 9 / 77 The cast of Bandstand performs at the 71st Tony Awards in New York. (Michael Zorn / Invision/Associated Press) 10 / 77 Ben Platt, an L.A. native, accepts the award for lead actor in a musical for Dear Evan Hansen. (Michael Zorn / Invision/Associated Press) 11 / 77 The mix of performers, presenters and winners backstage. From left, Josh Groban, Allison Janney, Rachel Bloom, Christopher Jackson and Come From Aways Tony-winning director, Christopher Ashley. (Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images) 12 / 77 Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, last years big Tony winner, announces the best musical prize the 2017 awards. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 13 / 77 Josh Gad presents the educators awards at the 71st Tony Awards. (Michael Zorn / Invision / Associated Press) 14 / 77 Rebecca Taichman accepts the award for direction of a play for Indecent. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 15 / 77 Andy Karl and the cast of Groundhog Day The Musical perform at the 71st Tony Awards. (Michael Zorn / Invision / Associated Press) 16 / 77 Christopher Ashley accepts the award for direction of a musical for Come From Away. (Michael Zorn / Invision / Associated Press) 17 / 77 Mimi Lien accepts the award for scenic design of a musical for Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812. (Michael Zorn / Invision/Associated Press) 18 / 77 The Rockettes perform New York, New York at the 71st Tony Awards. (Michael Zorn / Invision / Associated Press) 19 / 77 Rachel Bay Jones accepts the featured actress in a musical award for Dear Evan Hansen. (Michael Zorn / Invision / Associated Press) 20 / 77 Bette Midler presents the award for performance by a leading actress in a play. (Michael Zorn / Invision/Associated Press) 21 / 77 Patti LuPone, left, and Christine Ebersole perform from the musical War Paint during the 2017 Tony Awards. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 22 / 77 Andy Blankenbuehler accpets the award for choreography for Bandstand. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 23 / 77 Uma Thurman at the 2017 Tony Awards. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 24 / 77 David Hyde Pierce performs the song Penny in My Pocket from the Broadway revival of Hello, Dolly! (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 25 / 77 Choreographer-director Tommy Tune at Radio City Music Hall. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 26 / 77 Patina Miller, left, and Sara Bareilles speak during the 2017 Tony Awards. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 27 / 77 Host Kevin Spacey impersonates Johnny Carson. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 28 / 77 Kevin Kline accepts the award for his lead performance in the play Present Laughter. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 29 / 77 Christopher Akerlind accepts the award for lighting design for the play Indecent. (Michael Zorn / Invision / Associated Press) 30 / 77 Alex Lacamoire accepts the award for the Dear Evan Hansen orchestrations. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 31 / 77 Ben Platt, who portrays the title character in Dear Evan Hansen, performs the song Waving Through a Window during the Tony telecast. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 32 / 77 Betsy Wolfe, left, and Tracie Thoms perform with the cast of Falsettos. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 33 / 77 Gareth Fry, left, and Pete Malkin, receive a special Tony Award for their sound design for The Encounter. (Michael Zorn / Invision/Associated Press) 34 / 77 Cynthia Nixon, left, accepts the Tony Award for featured actress in a play for Lillian Hellmans The Little Foxes. The handoff is by presenters Olivia Wilde and Tom Sturridge. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 35 / 77 Scarlett Johansson presents the award for featured performance by an actor in a play. (Michael Zorn / Invision/Associated Press) 36 / 77 Jenn Colella of Come From Away links arms with Rockettes during a production number at the 71st Tony Awards. (Michael Zorn / Invision/Associated Press) 37 / 77 Justin Paul, left, and Benj Pasek accept the original score award for Dear Evan Hansen. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 38 / 77 James Earl Jones accepts the special Tony award for lifetime achievement in the theater at the 71st Tony Awards. (Michael Zorn / Invision / Associated Press) 39 / 77 The cast of Come From Away performs onstage during the 2017 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 40 / 77 The cast of Miss Saigon performs onstage during the 2017 Tony Awards. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 41 / 77 Whoopi Goldberg and host Kevin Spacey perform onstage during the 2017 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 42 / 77 Stephen Colbert and host Kevin Spacey perform onstage during the 2017 Tony Awards. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 43 / 77 Host Kevin Spacey, center, performs the intro to the 2017 Tony Awards. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 44 / 77 Host Kevin Spacey during the intro to the 2017 Tony Awards. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 45 / 77 Host Kevin Spacey arrives at the 71st Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. (Evan Agostini / Invision/AP) 46 / 77 Anna Kendrick (Jemal Countess / Getty Images) 47 / 77 Sutton Foster (Angela Weiss / AFP/Getty Images) 48 / 77 Uma Thurman (Angela Weiss / AFP/Getty Images) 49 / 77 Presenter Scarlett Johansson arrives at the 71st Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall. (Evan Agostini / Invision/Associated Press) 50 / 77 Glenn Close, whos on Broadway in a revival of Sunset Boulevard, arrives at the 71st Tony Awards. (Evan Agostini / Invision/Associated Press) 51 / 77 Olivia Wilde attends the 2017 Tony Awards. (Jemal Countess / Getty Images) 52 / 77 Bette Midler, nominated in the musical-lead-actress category, arrives at the 71st Tony Awards. (Evan Agostini / Invision/Associated Press) 53 / 77 Jason Sudekis (Jemal Countess / Getty Images) 54 / 77 John Legend and Chrissy Teigen (Angela Weiss / AFP/Getty Images) 55 / 77 Nominee Cynthia Nixon and presenter Orlando Bloom arrive at the 2017 Tony Awards. (Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images) 56 / 77 Its a selfie moment for actors, from left, Nick Kroll, John Mulaney and Darren Criss on the red carpet at the 2017 Tony Awards. (Jenny Anderson / Getty Images) 57 / 77 Actor Jonathan Groff (Jason Szenes / EPA) 58 / 77 Eva Noblezada, nominated in the lead actress category for the revival of the musical Miss Saigon. (Jenny Anderson / Getty Images) 59 / 77 Tina Fey (Evan Agostini / Invision/AP) 60 / 77 Josh Groban, nominated in the lead actor category for the musical Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812. (Jemal Countess / Getty Images) 61 / 77 Actress Sally Field (Jemal Countess / Getty Images) 62 / 77 Actress Cynthia Erivo (Evan Agostini / Invision/AP) 63 / 77 L.A. native and lead actor nominee for the musical Dear Evan Hansen Ben Platt arrives at the 2017 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall. (Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images) 64 / 77 Laurie Metcalf, lead actress nominee for the play A Dolls House, Part 2" (Evan Agostini / Invision / AP) 65 / 77 John Lithgow. (Evan Agostini / Invision / Associated Press) 66 / 77 Christine Ebersole, left, Baayork Lee and Courtney Reed. (Evan Agostini / Invision/ AP | Jenny Anderson/Getty Images | Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images) 67 / 77 Jenn Colella. (Bryan Bedder / Getty Images) 68 / 77 Mark Hamill. (Evan Agostini / Invision/AP) 69 / 77 Actors John Mulaney, left, and Nick Kroll. (Jemal Countess / Getty Images) 70 / 77 Patina Miller, left, Steven Levenson and Cobie Smulders. (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP | Jenny Anderson/Getty Images | Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images/Getty Images) 71 / 77 Christian Borle. (Evan Agostini / Invision / Associated Press) 72 / 77 Andrew Rannells. (Evan Agostini / Invision / Associated Press) 73 / 77 Andy Karl, a musical-lead-actor Tony nominee for Groundhog Day, arrives at the awards with his actress-singer wife, Orfeh. (Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images) 74 / 77 Jordan Roth, president of the Jujamcyn Theaters on Broadway, attends the 2017 Tony Awards. (Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images) 75 / 77 Denis Arndt, a leading actor nominee for the play Heisenberg, at the Tonys. Hes headed to L.A. this month to perform the play at the Mark Taper Forum. (Evan Agostini / Invision/AP) 76 / 77 Members of the Radio City Rockettes. (Jemal Countess / Getty Images) 77 / 77 The entrance to the 2017 Tony Awards red carpet at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. (Angela Weiss / AFP/Getty Images)

Platt, a Los Angeles native and the son of film and theater (Wicked) producer Marc Platt, thanked his family and drew on the musicals heartfelt core in his acceptance speech.

You taught me you have to be a decent human being to be a decent artist, Platt said, addressing his father. He added a plea to idiosyncratic types in keeping with the theme of his show. Dont change, he said, The things that make you strange are the things that make you powerful.

But if the night celebrated the outsider, it was the consummate showbiz insider who was its biggest star. The evening was a coronation for Hello, Dolly! the Jerry Zaks-directed revival that brought Bette Midler back to the Broadway stage. The show won four Tonys, including revival of a musical, featured actor Gavin Creel, and for costume. Midler took lead actress in a musical, her first-ever Tony win.

Midler has waited a long time for her award  and she was bound and determined to make the most of the moment.

Midler marked the occasion with a rat-a-tat riff that included her thanking all the Tony voters, many of which Ive actually dated and noting that I cant remember the last time I had so much smoke blown up my (butt) but there is no more room. The acceptance speech went well beyond the allotted time, but Midler pressed on, saying shut that crap off, to the orchestra music attempting to play her off.

The surprising speech did not match the upsets from the podium. Many of the awards followed form, as J.T. Rogers Middle East-peace drama Oslo and Jitney, August Wilsons American Century cycle classic about livery drivers in Pittsburgh, won best play and best revival of a play, respectively; both were favorites.

Still, there were some whoppers, Oslos Michael Aronov, playing an Israeli foreign-ministry official, bested Danny DeVito in featured actor in a play. Making his Broadway debut, DeVito was favored as a slippery furniture salesman in the revival of Arthur Millers The Price.

In direction Indecents Rebecca Taichman and Come From Aways Christopher Ashley were both unexpected winners in play and musical, for their shows about 20th century artistic oppression and post-9/11 global community, respectively.

A genuinely shocked and breathless Taichman talked about the plays message in accepting the award: This is about making art when one is in great danger.

It was a season when Broadway was politicized following the election of President Trump and the stormy visit of then-vice-president elect Mike Pence to Hamilton. The Tony Award show on CBS was expected to go heavy on ideological statements, but it only went intermittently to that well.

CBS personality Stephen Colbert made several appearances, including one in which he riffed on Trump. This Broadway production is supposed to have a four-year run but reviews have not been kind, he said, to applause in the room. Cynthia Nixon, accepting the featured actress in a play prize for her repertory turn in Little Foxes, cited playwright Lillian Hellmans line about people who stand back during injustice. All my love and respect and undying gratitude goes out to all the people refusing to just stand, she said, also to loud cheers.

And in a kind of bookend moment to the Pence fracas, Jill and Joe Bidens presence was noted and met with a standing ovation in the Radio City theater during a pre-show segment. Jill Biden had come to promote a veterans charity, which she later talked about in introducing a number from the PTSD-themed musical Bandstand.

The Tonys come at a time of crossover in between the theater and movie worlds, when musicals on Broadway are more cinematic and musical films are more common.

Still, some distinctions remain.

Backstage, a reporter asked Pasek and Paul to describe the feeling of being here as opposed to the Oscars.

This is sacred ground to us, Pasek said. Nothing compares to this.

The Tonys were returning to their regular home at Radio City after a one-year interlude at the more intimate, or cramped, space at the Beacon Theatre uptown. That made for a more formal show  there werent the same bits done around the theater and even outside the theater, as James Corden did last year. The show also had a more celebratory feel compared to last years ceremony, which followed the Orlando nightclub shooting by less than 24 hours.

Host Kevin Spacey took an unorthodox approach to the job, trotting out impersonations  Bill Clinton, Johnny Carson and his own House of Cards Frank Underwood character  in lieu of more conventional hosting technique. He began the night with a Billy Crystal-like medley  the Oscar veteran even appeared in a screen bubble of wisdom  in which he self-deprecatingly took shots at his own host undesirability. In a line that either boldly or naively tempted fate,he sang, "Have you ever felt the ratings could disappear/and if you host no one could cheer.

The routine featured many riffs on nominated shows and slayed in the room, even as many of their nuances went over the heads, or provoked annoyance, from those following on TV and social media.

But Spacey had the ad lib of the evening when he appeared as Underwoodat the end of the telecast. He was helping Lin-Manuel Miranda hand outbest musical, and he managed to upstage even the favored Broadway sonwith a comically calibrated turn of impatience. I want to get thehell out of here, he said, before Bette Midler thanks anyone else.

Patrick Pacheco contributed this report.

steve.zeitchik@latimes.com

Twitter: @ZeitchikLAT
Inequality is a brute fact of American life and Broadway, increasingly divided between blockbuster hits and struggling also-rans, is hardly immune. But the Tony Awards tried to impose some justice on Sunday night by widely distributing the statuettes as though they were loaves of bread in a socialist state.

In a ceremony that was defiantly clubbish, hosted by Kevin Spacey in a manner that seemed targeted to the demographic that hasnt missed a musical in the last 50 years, the Tonys accepted the reality of a post-Hamilton hangover and took pride in a Broadway year in which fine work was accomplished even if not many people watching across the country could tell you much about what was being feted.

Naturally, a few shows separated themselves from the pack. The evenings big winner, Dear Evan Hansen, took home the prize for best musical along with five other awards, including lead actor in a musical for the 23-year-old Los Angeles native Ben Platt, who became an overnight Broadway star in the title role.

Advertisement

An article last week in Slate sparked debate over whether Dear Evan Hansen, which tells the story of a vulnerable high school student who becomes a social-media sensation under false pretenses, lionizes a liar. But nothing could slow the musicals momentum. Fake news may be bedeviling our democracy, but fiction fabricates for a higher purpose, and audiences have embraced a flawed protagonist who helps us empathetically understand his brokenness.

Director Jerry Zaks exuberant revival of Hello, Dolly!, the pricey ticket that has baby boomers draining their retirement accounts, was also lavished with love. The production picked up four awards, including best musical revival. As expected, Bette Midler won for her delicious performance as Dolly Levi, one of the highlights not just of last season but of recent Broadway history.

The Divine Miss Ms win was such a fait accompli that it hardly mattered that she refused to perform on the telecast. Not even the orchestra music trying to curtail her lengthy acceptance speech could tell her what to do, but who would be foolish enough to complain? After squeezing out every drop of modern vaudeville wisdom from her brilliant career for the role, she has earned the right to enjoy this victory lap on her own terms.

Playwright J.T. Rogers speaks after his play received the Tony Award for best play. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images/Tony Awards Productions)

SIGN UP for the free Essential Arts & Culture newsletter 

J.T. Rogers Oslo, a three-house historical drama about backchannel negotiations between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization that led to a rare (if fleeting) moment of diplomatic hope, won for best play. But the real winner was American playwriting. All the nominated plays (including Lucas Hnaths A Dolls House, Part 2, Lynn Nottages Sweat and Paula Vogels Indecent) were by American playwrights, veteran and rising stars alike, making their Broadway debuts.

Oslo was so splendidly produced by Lincoln Center Theater that audiences were able to cope with the longueurs that are an inescapable part of difficult peace talks. All credit to Bartlett Sher, who didnt win for his direction but whose adroit staging magisterially served a drama that might have seemed dry and dutiful in less expert hands. I didnt expect to be as moved as I was by the play, but the ending stirred powerful emotions that were no doubt intensified by the undiplomatic times were living through.

Michael Aronov from Oslo deservedly won for featured actor, but the productions strength was its extraordinary ensemble. Jitney, which won for best play revival, was also heralded for its superb company, raising the question again of whether the Tony Awards ought to introduce an ensemble category.

Two veteran performers whose technique is as fresh and supple as ever took home top acting prizes. Laurie Metcalf, winning her first Tony on her fourth nomination, was honored for her crackling work in A Dolls House, Part 2. And Kevin Kline, in top farcical form in a revival of Noel Cowards Present Laughter, picked up his third Tony for his suavely rakish portrayal of an actor whose London home is invaded by those who have a romantic or professional interest in him.

Any year in which a woman is added to the list of director winners has to be put down as a special year. Rebecca Taichman won for her stunningly fluid staging of Indecent. In the other directing category, I had expected Rachel Chavkin to win for her audaciously inventive production of the musical Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, but La Jolla Playhouse Artistic Director Christopher Ashley won for his finely tuned direction of the 9/11-themed musical Come From Away.

My biggest disappointment of the evening was the short shrift given to The Great Comet in the major categories.

The authors of Dear Evan Hansen were all rewarded, with Steven Levenson winning for his book and Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (who won an Oscar for their work on La La Land this year) winning for their original score. To my mind the show has been both over-touted and wrongheadedly criticized. (My reading of the musicals moral, without giving too much away, is that a lie, born out of vulnerability and perpetuated partly out of shame, can end up having some positive effect if compassion and forgiveness are part of the equation.)

My biggest disappointment of the evening was the short shrift given to The Great Comet in the major categories. In a perfect world, the awards would have been more equitably split between David Malloys musical and Dear Evan Hansen. (For the record, I thought The Great Comet was the superior production, though Dear Evan Hansen is the more enduring musical.)

The American musical needs more of this kind of risk-taking. The last two best musical winners, Fun Home and Hamilton, opened new horizons not only of storytelling content but also of style. But diversity and innovation dont come naturally to backsliding Broadway.

Opening next season are SpongeBob SquarePants, the Jimmy Buffett musical Escape to Margaritaville (now at La Jolla Playhouse), Mean Girls and Frozen, among other commercially promising properties. The critically praised off-Broadway musical The Bands Visit is also in the mix, but art can easily get lost in the commercial shuffle.

Broadways business model, in which rising ticket prices compensate for any drop-off in attendance, encourages the manufacturing of marketable hits. Plays in this environment are perhaps the most vulnerable, which is why its heartening to see producers ponying up to make this a vibrant year for American plays on Broadway. The Brits, our theatrical confreres, will always be with us.

The theater community is too cosmopolitan, thankfully, to ever get behind an American First campaign. But Oslo and Dear Evan Hansen are part of a distinguished Broadway season that should fill us all with pride.

charles.mcnulty@latimes.com

Follow me @charlesmcnulty

MORE TONY AWARDS:

Theaters biggest night, category by category

High-school teachers remember a young Ben Platt

Bette Midler leads a strong night for veteran actors
With the implementation of visa-free travel to the European Union countries, Kyiv now has more arguments for the prospective membership in the European Union, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said.

"I would like to say that the greater progress we show on the path of reforms, the more arguments the Ukrainian people and I have to give Ukraine a prospect of the membership in the EU as well. Because Ukraine is a European country in accordance with the Article 49 of the Rome Statute," Poroshenko said in his joint statement with Slovak President Andrej Kiska at the Uzhgorod border crossing point in Zakarpattia region on Sunday.

Ukraine "is leaving the Soviet past for good" and "returning to the European family," the Ukrainian president said.

"Over than 4 million Ukrainians already have biometric passports, they no longer need some visas, paperwork, collection [of documents] and lines, and it increases the value of a Ukrainian passport," he said.

Kiska, for his part, congratulated the Ukrainians on visa-free travel to the European Union countries.

"A lot of efforts and a great deal of hard work are behind this day. Ukraine has fulfilled its promises and the European Union did the same. That is the way it should be, everyone should fulfill their promises," the Slovak president said.

Kiska called on Ukraine to continue reforms and move forward on this path.
Celebrating #HarryPotter20: How Harry Potter and his blockbuster films came of age on screen

The Boy Who Lived has cast his spell on the box office since Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, the first film in Warner Bros. blockbuster franchise, hit theaters in 2001.

The bestselling, seven-book series was adapted into eight record-breaking films -- and a two-part play -- as the boy wizard ventured through Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and the wizarding world with his pals Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, taking on the enigmatic Lord Voldemort and his magical henchmen each school year.

As J.K. Rowlings debut novel Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone -- the first of the books from which the decade-spanning films were adapted -- marks its 20th anniversary, heres a reminder of how Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan reviewed the Harry Potter films. (Spoiler alert: He didnt always like them.)

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone film is imaginative and faithful but shuns any risk-taking (2001)

As his 11th birthday approaches, orphan Harry Potter learns that hes a wizard and enrolls at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where his reputation as the Boy Who Lived precedes him during his magical training.

The result is a remarkably faithful copy of the book that treats the text like holy writ (hence its 2-hour-and-33-minute length), wrote The Times film critic Kenneth Turan. From the gold in Gringotts, the safe-as-houses goblin-run bank, to the centaur lurking in the forbidden forest that adjoins Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, so much is presented just as written that Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone starts to resemble one of those fiendishly exact replicas of great works of art that Sunday painters can be seen working on in galleries of museums.

2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets doesnt capture the well-balanced tone of the book (2002)

In their second year at Hogwarts, Harry and his pals Ron and Hermione contend with a celebrity author professor and a well-meaning house elf named Dobby who thwart the trio in unexpected ways.

The darkness that invades Chamber of Secrets underlines how well the books managed to exactly balance good and evil, dark and light, so that within their pages you seemed to be experiencing both at the same time. Not so here, Turan wrote. Because Chamber of Secrets cant seem to get the balance right, it ends up broadly overdoing things on both ends of the spectrum. The films scary moments are too monstrous and its happy times have too much idiotic beaming, making the film feel like the illegitimate offspring of Alien and The Absent-Minded Professor.

3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban film comes close to capturing the essence of the books (2004)

The wizarding world gets markedly darker as convicted murderer Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), who is believed to have killed Harrys parents, escapes from the Azkaban prison and the soul-sucking Dementors are loosed to chase him down. Director Alfonso Cuaron takes the helm from Chris Columbus, who directed the two previous films.

"[T]he final hour of the two-hour-and-21-minute Azkaban is the closest any of the films has gotten to capturing the enormously pleasing essence of the Potter books, wrote Turan, adding, Those three leads (Daniel Radcliffe as Harry, Emma Watson as Hermione, Rupert Grint as Ron) play characters who are now 13, an age when anger and frustration are more publicly expressed. One of the benefits of Cuarons direction, his expertise with younger actors, means that the constant determination and occasional fury exhibited by the characters, especially Harry and Hermione, are completely convincing.

4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire finally gets Harry Potter right (2005)

Harrys surprising inclusion in the prestigious Triwizard Tournament, as a fourth-year student, raises concerns and brings danger to the Hogwarts castle.

Its taken them long enough, but the movies have finally gotten Harry Potter right, wrote Turan. It has fallen to the veteran [director] Mike Newell, eager, in his own words, to break out of this goody-two-shoes feel, to make the first Harry Potter film to be wire-to-wire satisfying.

Though memorable acting is neither called for nor delivered on the part of Goblets collection of juveniles, Radcliffes Harry does get one thing exactly right. Watching him face myriad challenges, were convinced that Harrys heart will lead him to do the right thing. He does good in the most natural way and, like so much of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, thats just how it should be.

5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix cant shake an episodic feeling (2007)

With the Ministry of Magic refusing to acknowledge Lord Voldemorts (Ralph Fiennes) return, fifth-year Harry is brooding at school as he contends with spooky visions and Ministry transplant Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton). His knowledge of the dark magic-fighting organization, the Order of the Phoenix, and a prophecy further complicate matters.

"[Director David] Yates and his team handle the films visuals well, including the impressive sets for the atrium of the Ministry of Magic and its Hall of Prophecy, as well as fine flying sequences involving either broomsticks or equine creatures called Thestrals, Turan wrote. The director also works well with the films juvenile leads, which is important, because these are the raging hormone years at Hogwarts School, and that is especially true where Harry is concerned. Looking so disgruntled in his gray hoodie that you fear he might start rapping, Harry comes off as more Grumpy Potter than the bright light of the wizarding world.

6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is well-crafted but sometimes hard to endure (2009)

As dark magic spills into the Muggle world, Harrys mentor, Professor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon), tasks him with bringing down Lord Voldemort. But Harrys discovery of an old textbook teaches him more than he expected about his past.

Now in its sixth episode shot over an eight-year span, with two more features still to come, this one-of-a-kind film cycle has become as comfortable and reliable as an old shoe, providing a degree of dependability thats becoming increasingly rare, Turan wrote. As directed by David Yates, who did the previous film and is on tap for the final two, Half-Blood Prince demonstrates the ways that the Potter pictures have become the modern exemplars of establishment moviemaking. We dont turn to these films for thrilling or original cinema, we look for a level of craft, consistency and, most of all, fidelity to the originals -- all of which we get.

7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 1" (2010)

The penultimate film sees Harry, Hermione and Ron venturing out into the real world to locate and destroy Lord Voldemorts soul-encapsulating Horcruxes as Hogwarts and the wizarding world fall to He Who Must Not Be Named.

Much of the plot of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows involves the attempt to find and destroy a series of Horcruxes, and if you havent a clue about what they are or why theyre important, you might as well stay home, Turan wrote. There is something different, however, about this Potter movie, and that is the words Part 1' that end the title. Understandably distraught about Hallows being the last of the phenomenally popular J.K. Rowling novels, Warner Bros. has split the final effort into two films and is likely kicking itself for not having thought of that with the earlier books.

(It should be noted that the studio reboots the wizarding world with the forthcoming Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them series. The first film hit theaters in 2016.)

8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 2" (2011)

Harry goes wand-to-wand with Lord Voldemort, concluding Harrys final year at the wizarding school with the epic Battle of Hogwarts.

In a classic storybook finish, however, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 2' turns out to be more than the last of its kind. Almost magically, it ends up being one of the best of the series as well, Turan wrote. The Harry Potter films, like the boy wizard himself, have had their creative ups and downs, so its especially satisfying that this final film, ungainly title and all, has been worth the wait. Though no expense has been spared in its production, it succeeds because it brings us back to the combination of magic, adventure and emotion that created the books popularity in the first place.

For more of The Times Harry Potter anniversary coverage, go here.
Over the course of a three-decade directing career, Oliver Stone has built a reputation as a political provocateur. In narrative and documentary films, hes presented unorthodox takes on John F. Kennedys assassination and Richard Nixons presidency, and humanized foreign leaders including Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez.

His willingness to contradict the accepted narrative of American history has led some to dismiss him as a conspiracy theorist. His latest project, Showtimes The Putin Interviews, seems similarly fated to provoke controversy.

In the four-part documentary series beginning Monday, Stone sits with Russian President Vladimir Putin for a dozen conversations filmed over two years. The topics range from Dr. Strangelove to Russias track record on LGBTQ rights to Putins passion for judo.

Advertisement

Oh, and that whole hacking-the-election thing.

At a moment when much of the country is fixated by the unfolding Russian saga, The Putin Interviews represents a massive get for Stone and for Showtime, which has been investing heavily in politically themed documentary programming.

(By contrast, Megyn Kellys much-touted interview with Putin, which aired June 4 on NBC, lasted for about 10 minutes.)

But while some might be hoping for a tense showdown  especially given the shows title, which consciously evokes David Frosts Watergate-era The Nixon Interviews  Stones goal was understanding, not grilling.

My role is really to go to him and ask him to explain how he sees the world and what he thinks, Stone says by phone. By listening to him, we may not agree with it, but its important we hear it.

The project emerged during research trips to Moscow for Snowden, Stones 2016 narrative film about former National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden. The director met with Putin to discuss the Snowden affair, and it eventually led to a series of conversations  a total of about 20 hours of footage  filmed as recently as February.

No questions were banned, there were no need to see the questions beforehand. It was totally in our control, says Stone, who made the series with his longtime documentary producer Fernando Sulichin.

As to why Putin, who has rarely given such access to Western reporters, agreed to participate, Stone says, He knew who I was. Im sure that Platoon made quite an impact there. And JFK. He also points to his behemoth 12-part documentary series, The Untold History of the United States, which offered a critical look at American involvement in World War II and the Cold War.

The series marks Stones second collaboration with Showtime, after The Untold History, and its another in a string of timely documentaries to land at the premium cable network. President and Chief Executive David Nevins has made a priority of political programming that offers rare access to newsworthy figures.

Its possible to trace the bizarre tale of the 2016 election through the channels documentaries, beginning with Weiner, the Sundance favorite that cast a spotlight on scandal-prone politician Anthony Weiner and his wife, Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin, and continuing with The Circus, Mark Halperin and John Heilemanns behind-the-scenes look at the campaign and, now, the Trump White House. July brings the premiere of Risk, Laura Poitras critical portrait of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

People want to understand, and I think the great promise of what we bring is greater depth than you can get on a basic cable news show, says Nevins, adding that he approaches nonfiction shows in much the same way as scripted series: from a place of character and personality.

Whatever you think about Olivers politics, he says, he lets Putin speak for himself and lets you judge.

In Stones portrayal, Putin emerges as a shrewd and highly disciplined leader, if also a macho showboat who makes cringe-worthy jokes about showering with gay people and womens menstrual cycles. (He has some good lines too, as when Stone gives him a DVD of Dr. Strangelove as a present, only to discover the case is empty. Typical American gift, he says.)

In the two episodes made available to the media, Stone broaches some fraught subjects, most notably Russias track record on LGBTQ rights. But he also makes the case that the U.S. and its European allies are partly to blame for the increasingly frosty relations with Russia, and argues that Putin, who has been accused of ordering the killings of his opponents, has been unfairly vilified by the Western media  a point he stands by.

Even Hitler was more popular, he says.

Stone is also on the record as a skeptic regarding Russian interference in the election. He told CNNs Christiane Amanpour last year that the hacking of the Democratic National Committee was a great fiction and speculated that it was an inside job. On social media, he has criticized the Washington Post and the New York Times for reporting that reflects a stagnant Cold War vision ... where the Russians are to blame for most everything. (His son, Sean Stone, also co-hosts a show for Russia Today.)

Stones stated aim is to provide historical perspective so you dont overblow the hacking issue. Its a thing that I think happens in America, we tend to run into the headline-grabbing thing in the moment. The tyranny of now.

Though some critics thought Kelly, NBCs new star hire, was out of her depth with Putin, Stone thinks she erred by establish[ing] a hostile relationship with him. If I had done that [with Putin], it wouldnt have lasted. You have to have a relationship with your subject and a sense of trust. Im not there to prove myself a tough guy. Thats not going to get me anywhere.

Some have accused Stone of being a Putin apologist. Writing for the Daily Beast last week, Marlow Stern suggested the filmmaker liked cozying up to dictators and engaging in hero worship.

Stone disputes the claim.

I just love dictators. I really do, he says with a sarcastic laugh. Hell, I like peace. Id like to see the world in harmony. I think the U.S. and Russia could be great partners. Why has it deteriorated to this point?

See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour 

meredith.blake@latimes.com

Follow me @MeredithBlake
Kevin Spacey was the somewhat surprising  though certainly not unqualified  host of the 71st running of the Broadway theater-honoring Tony Awards, broadcast Sunday night from New Yorks Radio City Music Hall. Having made his first Broadway appearance 35 years ago and, more recently, serving as artistic director of Londons Old Vic Theater for about a decade, he has theater cred to spare.

He even has a Tony himself, awarded in 1991 for Neil Simons Lost in Yonkers. Most important, he has a sense of play and fun. What mattered all the way through is that he was game.

But unlike last years host James Corden, and other recent hosts such as Neil Patrick Harris and Hugh Jackman, Spacey is not known for his singing or dancing. And so, naturally, he sang and danced through the first 10 minutes of the broadcast from New Yorks Radio City Music Hall in a medley of numbers playing off of current Broadway musicals.

Advertisement

Spacey was unveiled as Ben Platts character in Dear Evan Hansen, sporting a cast on his arm signed #HOST, a dressing that was later moved to his leg in reference to the knee injury Andy Karl suffered during previews for Groundhog Day.

But the import was clear, even to a person unfamiliar with any of these shows, because all the lyrics were about Spacey hosting the Tonys, including one playing off his own earlier joke that he was 15th choice for the job.

Stephen Colbert appeared from inside a groundhog head, Whoopi Goldberg came out of a closet and Billy Crystal flew in via video, all to advise the host.

This was, of course, the first Tonys of the Donald Trump administration, with which the theater world is in many ways philosophically at odds. Still, politicking was kept subtle. Here, acceptance speeches often celebrated parents, teachers and the community.

Kevin Kline, however, did name-check the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and former Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden, introducing a number from the veteran-themed Bandstand, arrived to a standing ovation. Husband Joe, meanwhile, was in the audience. (No members of the current administration were evidently in attendance.)

2017 Tony Awards: The complete list of winners and nominees 

More overtly, Colbert, introducing the award for musical revival, characterized the Trump administration itself in theatrical terms. Couple of problems, he noted. Main character is totally unbelievable, and hair and makeup, yeesh. This D.C. production is supposed to have a four-year run but reviews have not been kind. Could close early, we dont know.

As with all awards shows, three hours is a long time to sustain interest. There is a reason that Broadway plays do not generally last that long. An evening with so many scheduled high points, so many moments of focused energy, can have a cumulative enervating effect.

And yet, I will be honest, I choke up regularly and reliably through the Tonys.

It is, along with the production numbers, scripted banter and parade of internationally and locally famous faces, a performance by the fans, who are present in person at the Tonys along with the people who make the work. However big a business Broadway is, it remains the property of the people who create it and love it  its a community, and one thats interactive by nature.

1 / 77 Producer Stacey Mindich, at the mike, and the cast of Dear Evan Hansen accept the award for best musical at the conclusion of the 2017 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 2 / 77 Josh Groban and the cast of Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812" perform at the 71st Tony Awards. (Michael Zorn / Invision/Associated Press) 3 / 77 Tina Fey, presenting at the Tony Awards (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 4 / 77 Stephen Colbert speaks during the 2017 Tony Awards. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 5 / 77 The cast of Bandstand performs during the 2017 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 6 / 77 Kevin Spacey, left, Michael Kelly and Robin Wright appear as their characters from House of Cards as they present Lin-Manuel Miranda with the envelope for best musical. (Michael Zorn / Invision/Associated Press) 7 / 77 The cast of Bandstand performs at the 71st Tony Awards. (Michael Zorn / Invision / Associated Press) 8 / 77 Jill Biden introduces a performance by the cast of Bandstand. (Michael Zorn / Invision/Associated Press) 9 / 77 The cast of Bandstand performs at the 71st Tony Awards in New York. (Michael Zorn / Invision/Associated Press) 10 / 77 Ben Platt, an L.A. native, accepts the award for lead actor in a musical for Dear Evan Hansen. (Michael Zorn / Invision/Associated Press) 11 / 77 The mix of performers, presenters and winners backstage. From left, Josh Groban, Allison Janney, Rachel Bloom, Christopher Jackson and Come From Aways Tony-winning director, Christopher Ashley. (Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images) 12 / 77 Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, last years big Tony winner, announces the best musical prize the 2017 awards. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 13 / 77 Josh Gad presents the educators awards at the 71st Tony Awards. (Michael Zorn / Invision / Associated Press) 14 / 77 Rebecca Taichman accepts the award for direction of a play for Indecent. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 15 / 77 Andy Karl and the cast of Groundhog Day The Musical perform at the 71st Tony Awards. (Michael Zorn / Invision / Associated Press) 16 / 77 Christopher Ashley accepts the award for direction of a musical for Come From Away. (Michael Zorn / Invision / Associated Press) 17 / 77 Mimi Lien accepts the award for scenic design of a musical for Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812. (Michael Zorn / Invision/Associated Press) 18 / 77 The Rockettes perform New York, New York at the 71st Tony Awards. (Michael Zorn / Invision / Associated Press) 19 / 77 Rachel Bay Jones accepts the featured actress in a musical award for Dear Evan Hansen. (Michael Zorn / Invision / Associated Press) 20 / 77 Bette Midler presents the award for performance by a leading actress in a play. (Michael Zorn / Invision/Associated Press) 21 / 77 Patti LuPone, left, and Christine Ebersole perform from the musical War Paint during the 2017 Tony Awards. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 22 / 77 Andy Blankenbuehler accpets the award for choreography for Bandstand. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 23 / 77 Uma Thurman at the 2017 Tony Awards. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 24 / 77 David Hyde Pierce performs the song Penny in My Pocket from the Broadway revival of Hello, Dolly! (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 25 / 77 Choreographer-director Tommy Tune at Radio City Music Hall. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 26 / 77 Patina Miller, left, and Sara Bareilles speak during the 2017 Tony Awards. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 27 / 77 Host Kevin Spacey impersonates Johnny Carson. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 28 / 77 Kevin Kline accepts the award for his lead performance in the play Present Laughter. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 29 / 77 Christopher Akerlind accepts the award for lighting design for the play Indecent. (Michael Zorn / Invision / Associated Press) 30 / 77 Alex Lacamoire accepts the award for the Dear Evan Hansen orchestrations. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 31 / 77 Ben Platt, who portrays the title character in Dear Evan Hansen, performs the song Waving Through a Window during the Tony telecast. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 32 / 77 Betsy Wolfe, left, and Tracie Thoms perform with the cast of Falsettos. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 33 / 77 Gareth Fry, left, and Pete Malkin, receive a special Tony Award for their sound design for The Encounter. (Michael Zorn / Invision/Associated Press) 34 / 77 Cynthia Nixon, left, accepts the Tony Award for featured actress in a play for Lillian Hellmans The Little Foxes. The handoff is by presenters Olivia Wilde and Tom Sturridge. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 35 / 77 Scarlett Johansson presents the award for featured performance by an actor in a play. (Michael Zorn / Invision/Associated Press) 36 / 77 Jenn Colella of Come From Away links arms with Rockettes during a production number at the 71st Tony Awards. (Michael Zorn / Invision/Associated Press) 37 / 77 Justin Paul, left, and Benj Pasek accept the original score award for Dear Evan Hansen. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 38 / 77 James Earl Jones accepts the special Tony award for lifetime achievement in the theater at the 71st Tony Awards. (Michael Zorn / Invision / Associated Press) 39 / 77 The cast of Come From Away performs onstage during the 2017 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 40 / 77 The cast of Miss Saigon performs onstage during the 2017 Tony Awards. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 41 / 77 Whoopi Goldberg and host Kevin Spacey perform onstage during the 2017 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 42 / 77 Stephen Colbert and host Kevin Spacey perform onstage during the 2017 Tony Awards. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 43 / 77 Host Kevin Spacey, center, performs the intro to the 2017 Tony Awards. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 44 / 77 Host Kevin Spacey during the intro to the 2017 Tony Awards. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images) 45 / 77 Host Kevin Spacey arrives at the 71st Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. (Evan Agostini / Invision/AP) 46 / 77 Anna Kendrick (Jemal Countess / Getty Images) 47 / 77 Sutton Foster (Angela Weiss / AFP/Getty Images) 48 / 77 Uma Thurman (Angela Weiss / AFP/Getty Images) 49 / 77 Presenter Scarlett Johansson arrives at the 71st Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall. (Evan Agostini / Invision/Associated Press) 50 / 77 Glenn Close, whos on Broadway in a revival of Sunset Boulevard, arrives at the 71st Tony Awards. (Evan Agostini / Invision/Associated Press) 51 / 77 Olivia Wilde attends the 2017 Tony Awards. (Jemal Countess / Getty Images) 52 / 77 Bette Midler, nominated in the musical-lead-actress category, arrives at the 71st Tony Awards. (Evan Agostini / Invision/Associated Press) 53 / 77 Jason Sudekis (Jemal Countess / Getty Images) 54 / 77 John Legend and Chrissy Teigen (Angela Weiss / AFP/Getty Images) 55 / 77 Nominee Cynthia Nixon and presenter Orlando Bloom arrive at the 2017 Tony Awards. (Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images) 56 / 77 Its a selfie moment for actors, from left, Nick Kroll, John Mulaney and Darren Criss on the red carpet at the 2017 Tony Awards. (Jenny Anderson / Getty Images) 57 / 77 Actor Jonathan Groff (Jason Szenes / EPA) 58 / 77 Eva Noblezada, nominated in the lead actress category for the revival of the musical Miss Saigon. (Jenny Anderson / Getty Images) 59 / 77 Tina Fey (Evan Agostini / Invision/AP) 60 / 77 Josh Groban, nominated in the lead actor category for the musical Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812. (Jemal Countess / Getty Images) 61 / 77 Actress Sally Field (Jemal Countess / Getty Images) 62 / 77 Actress Cynthia Erivo (Evan Agostini / Invision/AP) 63 / 77 L.A. native and lead actor nominee for the musical Dear Evan Hansen Ben Platt arrives at the 2017 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall. (Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images) 64 / 77 Laurie Metcalf, lead actress nominee for the play A Dolls House, Part 2" (Evan Agostini / Invision / AP) 65 / 77 John Lithgow. (Evan Agostini / Invision / Associated Press) 66 / 77 Christine Ebersole, left, Baayork Lee and Courtney Reed. (Evan Agostini / Invision/ AP | Jenny Anderson/Getty Images | Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images) 67 / 77 Jenn Colella. (Bryan Bedder / Getty Images) 68 / 77 Mark Hamill. (Evan Agostini / Invision/AP) 69 / 77 Actors John Mulaney, left, and Nick Kroll. (Jemal Countess / Getty Images) 70 / 77 Patina Miller, left, Steven Levenson and Cobie Smulders. (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP | Jenny Anderson/Getty Images | Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images/Getty Images) 71 / 77 Christian Borle. (Evan Agostini / Invision / Associated Press) 72 / 77 Andrew Rannells. (Evan Agostini / Invision / Associated Press) 73 / 77 Andy Karl, a musical-lead-actor Tony nominee for Groundhog Day, arrives at the awards with his actress-singer wife, Orfeh. (Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images) 74 / 77 Jordan Roth, president of the Jujamcyn Theaters on Broadway, attends the 2017 Tony Awards. (Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images) 75 / 77 Denis Arndt, a leading actor nominee for the play Heisenberg, at the Tonys. Hes headed to L.A. this month to perform the play at the Mark Taper Forum. (Evan Agostini / Invision/AP) 76 / 77 Members of the Radio City Rockettes. (Jemal Countess / Getty Images) 77 / 77 The entrance to the 2017 Tony Awards red carpet at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. (Angela Weiss / AFP/Getty Images)

Perhaps the height of the evening came with its penultimate award, won by Bette Midler for her performance in Hello Dolly! Not done having her energetic say, Midler talked down the orchestra that was attempting to play her off (I just want to say -- shut that crap off!), earning her laughs and applause.

She then praised the musicals optimism, its democracy  its love of life  This thing has the ability to lift your spirits in this terrible, terrible times.

Thank you so much, how was that show? Spacey asked in closing, taking the stage with Patti Lupone to sing The Curtain Falls, a song written for Bobby Darin, whom Spacey has played on film. As they say in this biz, thats all there is, there isnt any more, the song goes.

As the tune unfolded, the winners swayed in the background. It was corny and sweet, a fine way to finish.

robert.lloyd@latimes.com

Follow Robert Lloyd on Twitter @LATimesTVLloyd
Rum is not the new whiskey. Rum is rum, and it is delicious  or at least it can be. Made from sugar cane and most often mixed with molasses, rum naturally has some sweetness to it. Some critics may characterize it as too sweet, but what often gives rum its cloying sweetness is actually a chaser, or the insistence of the mass production brands to focus more on the rums mixability and potency rather than flavor. Rum can be refreshing in cocktail form  theres nothing wrong with a mai tai or mojito as simple pleasures. But if you really want to experience rum, consider having it neat, on the rocks or with a splash of water.

Here are seven rums that can and should be enjoyed by themselves, no tropical umbrellas necessary. Prices will vary slightly by location.

Angostura 1919, $34.99

Hailing from Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean, the Angostura company is well known for its bitters, but it also produces aged rums that are worth a try. Angostura 1919 is a good introduction to rum for those who appreciate the spirits sweetness but want to try something more refined. Its a blend of aged rums that has a strong vanilla-caramel smell that, at first sip, melts straight into the flavor of a Werthers Original candy. www.angostura.com.

Advertisement

Appleton Estate Extra 12, $33.99

The Appleton Estate had the rum industrys first female Master Blender, Joy Spence, in 1997. The Estate is located in Cockpit Country, near Maroon country in Jamaica. The distillery has been crafting rums for over 265 years and the soil in this area provides ideal sugar cane growing conditions. The rum is delicate with oak and molasses and finishes bittersweet. www.appletonestate.com.

Clement V.S.O.P. Rhum Agricole Vieux, $32.99

To be able to call itself a Martinique Rhum Agricole Vieux rum, the spirit has to, among other technical requirements, have at least 40% alcohol (the typical level for all rums), be aged for at least three uninterrupted years, and be made purely from fresh sugar cane juice, no syrup or molasses added. This pure base is then fermented, distilled and aged, in the case of Clement V.S.O.P. in virgin Limousin barriques (French oak) and re-charred bourbon casks. This results in a rum that has a meaty fruit taste, with hints of fig, grape and pear, surrounded by more herbal peppery notes. www.rhumclementusa.com.

El Dorado 15, $49.99

Coming in rich and strong, this rum is produced by large producer Demerara Distillers in South America, but no quality is lost in the scale of this operation. Now Guyana, in South America, Demerara was the name of the former Dutch colony and home to the large-grained raw sugar of the same name. And dont be fooled by the green glass bottle  beneath it is a deep mahogany rum, a result of the the fermented molasses. Its color hints at the rums even deeper taste that leaves a bourbon-like spice mix with zero burn. www.theeldoradorum.com.

1998 Faultline 17-Year-Old K&L Exclusive Caribbean Rum, $59.99

K&L Wines creates exclusive spirits through its Faultline brand, whose most recent rum offering is a 17-year-old Caribbean blend. It has the full body taste of a Jamaican rum, with a hint of allspice. This complex taste could be too heavy, but in this 17-year-olds case its not, as it combines with a lighter, Spanish style. Because of its age and open fermentation process, the rum has a fabulous funk to it, especially at the end of a sip. Its nose: bananas followed by an aged cheese flavor. And it packs a punch at 100 proof. www.klwines.com

FourSquare Port Cask, $34.99

K&L spirit buyer David Othenin-Girard lauds FourSquare as one of the best rum distilleries in a general sense, in part because of its commitment to not use additives or flavorings. These standards are maintained by Richard Seale, who has over nine decades of rum blending in his blood. Mr. Seale and his family, who have been trading and distilling rum since 1926, re-opened FourSquare in Barbados in the 90s. Any of the exceptional cask-range rums are worth trying, but the Port Cask Finish is especially distinctive. It is a blend that passes through a double maturation process, aging three years in ex-bourbon barrels, followed by six years in ex-ruby port barrels. The taste of port is discernible but does not overpower the rums bittersweet dark chocolate and black pepper-forward herb bouquet.

Santa Teresa 1796 Ron Antiguo, $39.99

Well-rounded may sound like a euphemism for boring, but in the case of Santa Teresa, this description is not only accurate but also exciting. Not many rums are as balanced as this one, made by a German family in Venezuela. It is hard to pick out distinct scents, but orange and lime rise to the top. Aged in American and French barrels for more than 25 years using the Solera system  a process of aging and mixing different ages of rums (young with old), the balanced taste ends in a light wood flavor. This is a rum to fall in love with. ronsantateresa.com.

Where to buy rum in Los Angeles:

Cap N Cork Junior Market, 1674 Hillhurst Ave. Los Angeles, (323) 665-7880, www.capncork.com.

K&L Wine Merchants, 1400 Vine St. Hollywood, (323) 464-WINE, www.klwines.com.

Vendome Wine & Spirits, multiple locations throughout Los Angeles, www.vendometolucalake.com.

food@latimes.com

@latimesfood

ALSO:

5 cocktail recipes to make all summer long

Why you should be grilling with mayonnaise

Why this bottle of whisky costs more than $60,000, and what it tastes like
The mayors of Los Angeles and Long Beach signed an agreement Monday directing the nations largest port complex to reduce air pollution by moving toward zero-emission trucks and yard equipment.

The two-page declaration signed by L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti and Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia says the ports shall advance clean technologies and other efforts to move toward the goal of zero emissions and establishes targets for zero-emission cargo-handling equipment by 2030 and zero-emission trucks by 2035.

Though the city-owned ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have made great strides reducing emissions under their joint 2006 Clean Air Action Plan, they remain the largest single source of smog-forming pollution in Southern California. Diesel pollution from thousands of trucks, cargo ships, locomotives and other freight-hauling vehicles serving the complex continues to harm the health of people in surrounding communities.

Advertisement

SAN PEDRO, CA, JUNE 12, 2017: A tug boat cruises past one of the Evergreen container ships in The Port Of Los Angeles June 12, 2017. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia signed a joint declaration for clean air goals in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach during a ceremony at Berth 84 in San Pedro with parents of local asthma patients, environmental activists and local politicians present (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times ). (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

The mayors agreement largely reiterates targets proposed in an updated pollution-reduction plan under development by the ports. But it moves ahead a process that had faced delays and uncertainty in recent months as environmentalists pushed for stricter measures and industry voiced concerns about shouldering the cost.

The document signed Monday commits the ports to approving a new plan by November.

Some folks have questioned our commitment, Garcetti said at a news conference at the port complex before signing the agreement. Were here to put it down on paper.

Some folks have questioned our commitment. Were here to put it down on paper.  Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, right, and Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia announce the signing of a joint declaration for clean air goals in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Garcetti acknowledged that achieving zero-emissions targets wont be easy, calling it brave new territory.

There will be setbacks, he conceded, because science and technology advances may not keep pace with the agreements ambitions. But if we dont keep pushing, if we dont have those goals well never get there.

The agreement also directs the ports to:

Develop a pilot program to test 50 to 100 zero-emission trucks to stimulate market demand and production by manufacturers

Further reduce pollution from docked cargo ships through testing and development of emissions control systems

Expand technology advancement programs to support emissions reductions in the goods movement industry

Establish a green ports initiative with other West Coast seaports to advance similar goals.

Environmentalists applauded the mayors action as a meaningful commitment that would help spur the technology advancements needed to clean the air and improve residents health.

Harmful emissions from the ports largely diesel-fueled operations worsen smog across the region and pose unacceptable health risks, according to air quality regulators, afflicting harbor-area communities with higher asthma rates and the regions highest cancer risk from air pollution.

Nidia Erceg, deputy policy director for the Coalition for Clean Air, said the agreement was the first attempt at having enforceable and quantifiable milestones to convert to zero-emissions yard equipment. Thats been missing from this plan.

Goods movement industry groups voiced concerns about the economic consequences that moving to costlier, cleaner vehicles. The ports are a major economic engine, with trade passing through them supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs across Southern California.

Its pretty aggressive and we need to make sure there are commercially available and viable technologies before we set hard deadlines, said Weston LaBar, executive director of the Harbor Trucking Assn.

Sylvia Betancourt, project manager for the Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma, said we get it that there are huge costs. But childrens health is at stake and that should be the bottom line.

Garcetti urged environmentalists and industry to get behind the new clean-air plan, which he said would bring health benefits and boost the economy by fueling demand for clean-energy jobs.

Garcetti also portrayed the move as a response to the Trump administrations rolling back of air quality rules and other environmental protections, including the recent decision to pull out of the Paris climate accord.

Washington may not care about clean air or think that environmental justice for people who live near our ports is anything to be concerned about, but you can be damn sure that we do, Garcetti said.

Giant cranes stand ready in the Port of Los Angeles to load and unload container vessels. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

The announcement comes as state and local air quality regulators move to further clamp down on pollution from ports and other freight-handling operations.

Under a smog-cleanup plan approved in March, the California Air Resources Board must draft regulations to achieve up to 100% zero-emission cargo handling equipment by 2030. State and local air regulators are also studying indirect source rules that would target emissions from freight hubs including ports, railyards, warehouses and distribution centers.

The move also follows a series of revelations that the Port of Los Angeles failed to impose air quality improvement measures the city agreed to years ago, including mandates that massive cargo ships shut down their engines and plug into shore-based electricity while docked to reduce harmful diesel emissions. The problems occurred at the China Shipping and TraPac terminals, which together handled about one-third of the containers moving through the port.

Garcetti said the port has learned from these failings.

The mayors held their waterfront news conference before a cluster of invited guests that included industry leaders, local officials, environmentalists and groups representing people who live near the ports and have experienced health problems.

Garcetti acknowledged that one reason for publicizing the ports latest environmental commitments is to hold himself and other officials accountable for living up to them in front of the people who will suffer if the goals arent achieved.

I think people always wonder whether vague political promises will actually be enshrined in real actions, he said.

tony.barboza@latimes.com

@tonybarboza
By the time Cole Hartman arrived at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, he was in grave condition. The 8-year-old had gone into cardiac arrest after nearly drowning in a washing machine at his Castaic home. Paramedics had gotten his heart beating again, but he remained in a coma and on a ventilator.

Physicians at UCLAs pediatric intensive care unit told Coles family that the child was not brain-dead but would never recover normal neuro function and  could never awaken, according to an entry in his medical chart.



For the record: This article inadvertently omitted the date of Cole Hartmans death. It was Aug. 4, 2013, four days after he was injured.

The Hartmans decided to take Cole off life support and donate his organs. He was removed from the ventilator and, 23 minutes later with his family at his bedside, pronounced dead by an anesthesiologist.

Advertisement

The seemingly peaceful death four years ago is now the subject of an investigation by Los Angeles police and the district attorneys office. Homicide detectives are looking into an allegation by a coroners investigator that the anesthesiologist gave Cole a fatal dose of the opioid fentanyl to hasten his death and increase the likelihood his organs could be harvested. No charges have been brought.

A lawyer for the anesthesiologist, Dr. Judith Brill, said the allegation was factually wrong and patently offensive.

Brills only concern was to assure that this child, who had drowned and was never going to recover, would not suffer any pain following the removal of life support, attorney Mark Werksman wrote in an email to The Times.

A rare criminal investigation

The probe is one of only a handful of known criminal investigations into a doctors role in an organ donation, and it offers a window into the ethical issues that can play out during a donors last moments of life.

As you can imagine, this is very complicated, said LAPD Capt. William Hayes, who oversees the elite Robbery-Homicide Division conducting the investigation. We need to clearly understand what was done and the implications of those actions.

Detectives opened the case earlier this year. Denise Bertone, a veteran coroners investigator who specializes in child deaths, first flagged the use of fentanyl at the time of Coles 2013 autopsy and campaigned for years to persuade supervisors to reexamine the case. Her efforts resulted in the coroners office amending Coles death certificate in December to add fentanyl toxicity as a significant cause of his death.

To me, this was not an academic question, Bertone said in an interview.

Bertone filed a whistle-blower retaliation lawsuit last monthaccusing the coroners office of giving her less-desirable assignments as punishment for raising questions about Coles death.

Coles father, Jeremy Hartman, learned only recently of Bertones allegations and the criminal investigation. (Coles mother died in 2009.) Hartman and his wife, Elizabeth, who helped raise Cole and adopted him in 2012, declined to comment, saying through a relative that they wanted to wait until the outcome of the investigation to speak publicly.

A tragedy at home

Cole was born with fragile X syndrome, a genetic abnormality that causes intellectual and physical disabilities.

On July 31, 2013, his father came in from mowing the lawn and found Cole headfirst in a running washing machine, according to the coroners report and a recording of a 911 call. By his parents estimation, Coles head could have been underwater for as long as 25 minutes.

Cole was taken to a Santa Clarita hospital by ambulance and then flown by medical helicopter to UCLA later that night for more advanced care. In the pediatric intensive care unit, the Hartmans met Brill.

A professor emeritus of clinical anesthesiology and perioperative medicine at UCLA, Brill, 65, is a well-regarded expert in the treatment of seriously injured children. She helped write the state guidelines for pediatric critical care and spent much of her free time on medical missions to treat poor children in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

With other members of the medical team, she informed the Hartmans that a brain scan was markedly abnormal and suggested extensive damage from lack of oxygen, according to notes she made in Coles chart.

The family unanimously stated that they would prefer to withdraw support and subsequently decided to donate his organs, Brill wrote.

Because Cole wasnt brain-dead, the organ retrieval was to occur after the ventilator was removed and his heart stopped beating on its own under a procedure known as donation after cardiac death, or DCD. This type of donation began in the U.S. in the mid-1990s and has become increasingly common in the last decade as the medical community tries to meet the overwhelming need for organ donors. DCD accounted for about 10% of deceased donors last year.

DCD comes with time pressures. Organs can begin deteriorating immediately, and some are not suitable for transplantation after 30 minutes.

Cole was removed from the ventilator at 10:40 a.m. as a transplant team waited outside. He did not stop breathing immediately. What happened next is unclear. The full coroners report is sealed from public view pending the outcome of the police investigation, and UCLA declined to comment.

Easing the boys pain

Bertone, who said she reviewed the full medical charts and autopsy records, alleged in her lawsuit that the boy continued to gasp for air and that Brill then gave him fentanyl with the purpose of inducing his death. Bertones suit and coroners records state that the administered dose was 500 micrograms.

The suit does not identify Cole by name, but Bertone said in an interview that he was the patient referenced, which law enforcement officials confirmed.

Brills lawyer declined to answer questions about the fentanyl allegation. In a portion of the chart reviewed by The Times, Brill does not mention fentanyl but wrote that comfort care was provided throughout. Comfort care is a term commonly used for the use of medications such as opioids or sedatives to ease pain, experts said.

Medical experts said it is difficult to know for sure whether patients such as Cole in vegetative states are experiencing pain, but physicians prefer to err on the side of caution when withdrawing life support.

Its generally thought you give enough medication to reassure everyone that the patient is comfortable, but not so much that it is actually the primary cause of death, said anesthesiologist Nicholas Sadovnikoff, co-director of the surgical intensive care unit and co-chair of the ethics committee at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston.

UCLAs policy for DCD allows the use of opioids in doses that are clinically appropriate to prevent discomfort. Under the policy, interventions intended to preserve organ function, but which may hasten death, are prohibited.

Coles heart stopped at 10:59 a.m. and Brill declared death four minutes later, according to Brills chart entry. Transplant surgeons removed Coles kidneys and liver, according to coroners records. The nonprofit that oversees organ donation in the L.A. region, OneLegacy, said in a statement that its transplant teams have no role in the care of living patients.

At the coroners office, Coles case was assigned to Bertone, the only full-time pediatric death investigator. A registered nurse, Bertone had investigated more than 2,500 cases, including numerous child abuse cases. Law enforcement officers across the county called on her frequently to interpret crime scenes and help interview distraught parents. Reviewing the medical records, Bertone said she had concerns about giving a boy who weighed 47 pounds that quantity of fentanyl.

Dispute inside coroners office

Bertone told Dr. Mark Fajardo, then-chief medical examiner-coroner, she thought Cole died from fentanyl  making his death, in her estimation, a possible murder or manslaughter  and urged him to test a sample of the boys blood, she alleges in the lawsuit.

Fajardo declined and ruled the cause of death was near-drowning. Fragile X syndrome was listed as another significant cause, according to coroners records.

Bertone continued complaining to supervisors in person and in emails. Fajardo eventually ordered a blood test that showed fentanyl in Coles system. Bertone pressed him to change the cause of Coles death, but according to her lawsuit, Fajardo refused.

Fajardo, now Riverside Countys chief forensic pathologist, said in an interview that Bertones allegations left him speechless, but he declined to comment further, citing the ongoing litigation.

After Fajardo left office last year, Bertone approached the then-interim chief medical examiner, Dr. Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran, who agreed to reopen the case. A pediatric toxicologist brought in as an expert by the coroners office found that the fentanyl was responsible for the death of this patient and that the dose was not consistent with a therapeutic dose for the management of pain and discomfort, according to excerpts of his findings quoted in a coroners report.

As a result, Sathyavagiswaran changed Coles death certificate in December to add fentanyl toxicity to the list of causes of death and asked for a law enforcement investigation. The manner of death  whether it was an accident or a homicide  remains listed as undetermined pending the outcome of the investigation.

In what was believed to be the first organ donation prosecution in the United States, the San Luis Obispo County district attorney accused a transplant doctor in 2007 of giving a DCD donor with a devastating neurological disease excessive amounts of morphine and a sedative in a bid to induce death within a half-hour window. The man continued breathing for seven hours, and the transplant was called off. A jury ultimately acquitted the physician, Dr. Hootan Roozrokh, of wrongdoing.

An exemplary career

Bertone is no longer assigned full time to pediatric cases. In her lawsuit, she contends supervisors removed her from the work she loved in retaliation for challenging the handling of Coles case. She is suing the county for damages that include the loss of overtime, on-call pay and a take-home car.

The county has yet to respond to the suit in court. A coroners official said no one at the office would speak about Coles case because of the suit and the ongoing police investigation.

Those who know Brill say she is deeply troubled by the accusations.

This is someone who has really had an exemplary career, said Dr. Jean Lake, a pediatric neurologist at Miller Childrens Hospital in Long Beach. She is just so concerned that her ability, her skills, her intentions would be called into question.

richard.winton@latimes.com

Twitter: @LAcrimes

harriet.ryan@latimes.com

Twitter: @latimesharriet

ALSO

Grand Rapids boasts the large manufacturing sector Trump wants, but is it a model for the nation?

Decision time at the Supreme Court: Rulings expected soon on religion, free speech and immigration

Inside the ICBM launch facility where a turn of two keys sends a Minuteman III missile flaming toward its target
A 20-year-old man was arrested Monday on suspicion of arson after a fire heavily damaged two East Hollywood buildings that were under construction, authorities said.

Benicio Garcia of Los Angeles was booked on a count of arson and was being held on $75,000 bond, according to Amy Bastman, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Garcia was detained earlier in the day for questioning, and LAFD spokesman Erik Scott had described the fire as suspicious.

Advertisement

The fire was reported at 6:04 a.m. at two adjacent three-story apartment buildings in the 400 block of North Heliotrope Drive, Bastman said.

HELIOTROPE DR. The fire appears to be incendiary & suspicious. @LAFD Investigators detained adult male, person of interest, for interview. pic.twitter.com/hTAQRKsF25  Erik Scott (@PIOErikScott) June 12, 2017

The buildings, which were just past the framing stage of construction, were unoccupied; but the fire damaged a one-story home and a nearby apartment building, displacing 10 adults and 10 children, Bastman said.

Television news video showed flames shooting from the apartment buildings roofs and a column of black smoke in the air.

The top two stories of one building were completely charred.

The fire was knocked down by 107 firefighters in 42 minutes, Bastman said.

L.A. City Fire captain Tim Gill pulls hoses at the scene in the 400 block of Helitrope Drive in East Hollywood. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

One firefighter was taken to a hospital after she sustained minor injuries but was in good condition, Bastman said. There were no other reported injuries.

Scott, the LAFD spokesman, told KTLA-TV Channel 5 that the fire burned so hot that it blew out windows in an adjacent apartment building. Firefighters were evaluating damage to nearby buildings, he said.

Arson investigators were on hand Monday morning. Its unclear how the blaze began or what evidence led to Garcias arrest.

The fire remains under investigation, Bastman said.

Police detain a suspect near the 400 block of Heliotrope Drive in East Hollywood on Monday morning. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

hailey.branson@latimes.com

Twitter: @haileybranson

matt.hamilton@latimes.com

Twitter: @MattHjourno

UPDATES:

5:05 p.m.: This article was updated with confirmation that a man was arrested on suspicion of arson.

8:50 a.m. This article was updated with details about a man being detained.

This article was originally published at 8:10 a.m.
Tourism and business stream from Ukraine to EU to rise 20% with visa-free regime

The business stream and flow of tourists from Ukraine to EU member states, including Belgium, will rise about 20% due to the introduction of visa-free status for Ukrainians. That's according to Ukraine's Ambassador to Belgium Mykola Tochytsky who spoke with Kyiv-based Interfax-Ukraine news agency on Sunday

Tochysky said visa-free status is a big deal for Ukraine, as well as for the EU, adding that Kyiv hopes for a solution to the so-called Gibraltar issue involving joint air-space as quickly as possible.

Visa-free status for Ukrainians took force on June 11. All Ukrainians with a biometric passport are able to visit 30 EU countries without a visa and stay there for up to 90 days during a 180-day period. Visa-free status does not apply in the U.K. and Ireland, as well as Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Iceland and Norway.

Ukrainian diplomats are holding talks to rescind visa requirements with Gibraltar. Talks are not underway with Kosovo to introduce visa-free status, because Ukraine does not recognize Kosovo's independence.

According to Ukraine's Border Service, as of 17.00 on Sunday more than 1,300 Ukrainians had entered EU countries without visas.
Following the lead of other California cities, Mayor Eric Garcetti two years ago proposed charging a fee on construction and using those funds to build affordable housing in Los Angeles.

The so-called linkage fee  a financing tool already in use in San Francisco, San Diego and Oakland  would raise $100 million a year, city officials say.

But amid mounting questions, a City Council committee last week put off a vote on Garcettis plan until late July or beyond.

Advertisement

The delay follows criticism from business groups and some academics who say the fee would slow construction in a city grappling with a housing crisis.

Tension over the proposal comes amid a 20% surge in homelessness in Los Angeles over 2016 levels. Lawmakers are under pressure to craft housing policies to curb homelessness, and the battle over the fee reflects the disagreement over the best approach.

Everyone wants more affordable housing, said Michael Manville, a professor of urban planning at UCLA who objects to the fee. On this policy issue, there just isnt a clear consensus on whether this is the way to get there.

In his State of the City speech in April, Garcetti called on the City Council to pass the linkage fee. He again urged members to support it at a media event last month to present the citys homeless numbers.

Every month we wait, more people are falling out onto the streets, Garcetti said.

The mayor had counted on $20 million from the fee in the current fiscal year, which ends June 30. But because the measure hasnt been approved, that revenue has not flowed into city coffers.

Officials say the fee proposal is an attempt to help ease the strain on the rental market for lower-income people brought about by the construction of market-rate housing and other development.

The proposed fee would apply to new homes, office buildings, apartment towers and other construction  charging $5 per square foot for commercial development and $12 for residential. Residential projects with five or fewer units would be charged $1 per square foot.

Several types of development, including some grocery stores, smaller homes and certain affordable housing projects, are exempted.

In cases in which a home or building is torn down and replaced with a larger one, the proposed fee applies to the amount of increased square footage.

Supporters reject arguments that the linkage fee would slow construction. They point to an analysis of building permits by the real estate consulting firm Keyser Marston Associates, which found that similar fees caused no decline in the pace of construction in Pasadena, Santa Monica, West Hollywood or San Diego.

The non-profit California Community Foundation paid for the study and provides financial support to some of the affordable housing groups backing L.A.s proposed linkage fee.

Manville argues that the vast majority of lowincome families in L.A. live in unsubsidized, marketrate units.

A fee that makes construction of those units more costly will hurt production, while only a few lucky residents will benefit from the additional affordable housing made possible by the fee, Manville said.

Mark Louchheim and Douglas Morton, executives with Bobrick Washroom Equipment in North Hollywood, wrote a letter to Garcetti this year warning that the linkage fee could discourage businesses from opening in Los Angeles or drive away existing ones.

If the fee had been in place, Bobrick would have had to spend at least an additional $200,000 on a manufacturing plant it built recently, said Morton, senior vice president of corporate development.

Bobrick is committed to staying in Los Angeles, but for others, it could make more sense to open in a place like Valencia because its cheaper to do business there, Morton said.

City leaders commissioned a study released in 2011 that concluded a linkage fee wouldnt deter new development.

But lawmakers did not take up the fee because the real estate market was still recovering from the Great Recession, principal city planner Ken Bernstein said.

Federal budget cuts threaten the citys affordable housing funds, making the linkage fee more necessary, supporters argue.

President Trump proposed eliminating a program that provides about $20 million of roughly $28 million collected annually by L.A.s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, officials said.

Highlighting the split among academics, Manuel Pastor, who directs the Program for Environmental and Regional Equity at USC, supports the fee, calling it a sign of L.A.s commitment to creating affordable housing.

Its one part of the solution, he said.

At a hearing Tuesday, Councilmen Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Curren Price, who represent some of the poorest districts in the city, questioned how the fee would be received in South L.A., an area struggling to get investment.

Im not convinced that a one size fits all is the best approach, Price said, noting that the fee structure is the same in rich and poor areas alike.

Skeptics also question whether the fee will truly make a dent in the housing shortage. Los Angeles needs about 382,000 units for extremely low-income renters, according to a 2016 study by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies.

Housing officials say its difficult to predict the total affordable housing units that would be created each year with the fee but estimate that it could be up to 1,000, depending on what other funds are also used.

City Councilman Gil Cedillo called the debate over the linkage fee a huge moment and huge political battle for a potentially modest benefit.

If the prize is 400 units, its inadequate, Cedillo said. We need to go beyond that.

Representatives from the mayors office gave a presentation on the linkage fee Thursday night to the 34-member Valley Alliance of Neighborhood Councils.

Cindy Cleghorn, who serves on the groups executive board, said many in the 50-person crowd were unhappy that residential construction costs would rise.

It wasnt received that well, Cleghorn said.

Garcetti spokesman Alex Comisar said Friday that Garcetti respects the councils deliberative process on the linkage fee, noting the mayor wants the fee passed as quickly as possible.

The delay in a vote last week marked a setback for supporters. The fee wouldnt go into effect until six months after its passage, so funds wouldnt come into the city until at least next year.

Eric Ares, a deputy director for the anti-poverty advocacy group Los Angeles Community Action Network, said the proposal should have been passed by now.

We need the mayor and the council to buck up and follow through on the commitment they made, Ares said.

dakota.smith@latimes.com

Twitter: @dakotacdsmith
The family of an autistic teenager who died in 2015 after being left alone for hours on a sweltering bus has reached a $23.5-million settlement with the bus agency, attorneys said.

Hun Joon Paul Lee, 19, was found on the floor of a bus parked in a Whittier bus yard on Sept. 11, 2015  a 96-degree day  and the non-verbal teenager was pronounced dead after life-saving efforts failed. The bus driver, Armando Abel Ramirez of Rialto, did not check the rear of the bus to ensure Lee had left.

In December 2015, Lees parents filed a lawsuit against the bus agency, Pupil Transportation Cooperative, and the Whittier Union High School District. The district was dropped as a defendant when it became clear the evidence was overwhelmingly against the bus company, Brian Panish, the familys lawyer, said.

Advertisement

Ramirez was sentenced to two years in prison in January for felony dependent adult abuse resulting in death.

According to court documents, Lee had boarded a bus bound for the Sierra Vista Adult School about 8 a.m. He was one of three students on the bus. When Lee did not return home at 3:30 p.m. as usual, his parents grew frantic and contacted the school, which in turn contacted the bus company. A driver found Lee slumped in an aisle of the bus.

When police arrived at the scene, several drivers were performing CPR on the young man. He was pronounced dead after having spent seven hours alone in the bus.

On Monday, lawyers for the family and the bus company confirmed the settlement.

It has been our priority to reach a resolution with the family of Paul Lee, read a statement from Steve Bui, the chief executive officer of Pupil Transportation Cooperative. Though nothing will ever ease the pain they have endured, we have worked diligently to refine our policies to ensure that something like this never happens again. PTC remains dedicated to providing safe, high-quality transportation services to the children and families in our communities.

The incident involving Lee was not the first time the companys drivers had left children on their buses.

In a deposition conducted by the familys lawyers, Debbie LaJoie  director of transportation for the company at the time of Lees death  said that to her knowledge, four special-education students besides Lee had been left on a bus between 2006 and 2015. None of the drivers had been terminated after those incidents, LaJoie said.

In 2016, Lees parents lobbied the state to pass regulations aimed at improving child safety on buses. Last fall, Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law requirements that all buses in California be equipped with child safety alarms to be deactivated by a driver before leaving the bus.

The law, which will go into effect in the 2018-2019 school year, will also mandate that drivers receive annual training for child safety to renew their bus driver safety certificate.

Panish said Lees parents are relieved to have some sort of closure now.

They are very happy and hopeful that no other family will not have to go through what they did, Panish said, adding that the family can now privately continue their grieving.

After what Panish described as a long effort, the family will pursue no further litigation.

Really its about a lot more than money, Panish said.

megan.bernhard@latimes.com

@meg_bernhard

UPDATES:

5:20 p.m.: This article has been updated with details on the case.

This article originally was published at 3:15 p.m.
A man was stabbed to death Monday morning near Hollywood Boulevard and an on-ramp to the 101 Freeway, authorities said.

The stabbing was reported about 8 a.m. near the on-ramp. When officers arrived, they found a man with multiple stab wounds, said Officer Irma Mota, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department.

The victim, an approximately 40-year-old man whose identity has not been released, was taken to a hospital, where he died, authorities said.

Advertisement

Witnesses told police they saw two men near the victim; one of them was stabbing the man, Mota said. The men then ran eastbound on Hollywood Boulevard.

The motive was unknown, and police were still searching for the suspects early Monday afternoon, Mota said.

Police are asking anyone with information about the stabbing to contact homicide detectives are 213-382-9470. Anonymous tips can be called in to 1-800-222-8477 or submitted online at www.lacrimestoppers.org.

hailey.branson@latimes.com

Twitter: @haileybranson
Another federal appeals court refused on Monday to lift a hold on President Trumps travel ban, ruling that it lacked justification and violated a federal immigration law that prohibits discrimination based on nationality.

The unanimous, unsigned decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals provided a second legal basis for blocking Trumps travel moratorium and delivered yet another major legal defeat to the Trump administration.

Other courts, including the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, have ruled that Trumps ban violated constitutional protections against religious discrimination. The administration has appealed the 4th Circuit decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Advertisement

The 9th Circuit, following a different rationale, said it wasnt necessary to reach the constitutional question because Trumps order violated the Immigration and Nationality Act passed by Congress.

That reasoning could be more palatable to the Supreme Court than the sweeping constitutional ruling by the 4th Circuit, scholars said.

The panel of three judges appointed by President Clinton faulted the travel order on two grounds. The court said that it failed to justify why a ban was needed and that it restricted entry based on nationality.

In short, the order does not provide a rationale explaining why permitting entry of nationals from the six designated countries ... would be detrimental.  9th Circuit Court of Appeals

By suspending entry of more than 180 million foreigners and the admission of refugees, Trump exceeded the authority granted to him by Congress, the court said.

The administration argued the ban was necessary to study whether security measures were adequate for vetting travelers from Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Syria and Libya.

The 9th Circuit, though, said the order contained no finding that current procedures were inadequate, failed to tie the targeted nationalities to terrorist groups or provide any link between an individuals nationality and their propensity to commit terrorism or their inherent dangerousness.

In short, the order does not provide a rationale explaining why permitting entry of nationals from the six designated countries under current protocols would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, the panel said.

The court agreed with the government that federal law gives presidents broad powers over the entry of people from other countries and over actions to protect the American public.

But immigration, even for the president, is not a one-person show, the court said.

The Supreme Court has not yet decided whether to take up the 4th Circuit decision.

Because the 9th Circuit reached the same result but for different reasons, the Supreme Court also would have to consider Mondays decision if it reviews Trumps action.

The Supreme Court is going to have to take both of these cases, UC Irvine Law School Dean Erwin Chemerinsky said.

The 9th Circuit decision gives the Supreme Court two separate bases for blocking the travel ban, and it could only uphold the travel ban if it rejects both, the constitutional law professor said.

The decision by Judges Michael Daly Hawkins, Ronald M. Gould and Richard Paez largely leaves in place a nationwide injunction issued by a federal judge in Hawaii in response to a lawsuit by the state and a Honolulu-based imam.

The 9th Circuit narrowed the injunction a bit to allow for internal studies of security measures. The 4th Circuit also allowed that portion of the order to take effect.

Some legal scholars said that narrowing of the injunctions would make the cases moot within a matter of months because the Trump administration would have the 90 days it said it needed to review vetting procedures.

So now that that consultation can happen, the 90-day travel ban will be mooted out no later than a few months from now  before October, when the case could be argued in the Supreme Court, said Margo Schlanger, a University of Michigan law professor and former civil rights official in the Obama administrations Department of Homeland Security.

Stephen Yale-Loehr, an immigration attorney and law professor at Cornell University, said the Supreme Court might find it easier to reject the travel ban based on a violation of existing law rather than constitutional grounds.

It is always hard to win an immigration case on constitutional grounds in the Supreme Court because immigration touches on foreign relations and national sovereignty issues, he said.

People outside the United States also generally dont have U.S. constitutional rights, he said.

The combination of the two rulings provides a one-two punch against the executive order that will make it harder for the administration to win at the Supreme Court, he said.

The high court is likely to decide this month whether it will review the travel ban.

The 9th Circuit cited tweets from Trump, including one after a terrorist attack in London this month in which he said that we need a TRAVEL BAN for certain DANGEROUS countries  not nationalities.

The judges also cited White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, who said this month that Trumps tweets are considered official statements by the president of the United States.

Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions said the administration would continue to press for Supreme Court review.

President Trump knows that the country he has been elected to lead is threatened daily by terrorists who believe in a radical ideology, and that there are active plots to infiltrate the U.S. immigration system  just as occurred prior to 9/11, Sessions said.

Mondays decision stemmed from an appeal of a decision by Hawaii-based U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson, who issued a preliminary injunction after concluding that anti-Muslim sentiment motivated the ban.

The state of Hawaii and Ismail Elshikh, the imam of the Muslim Assn. of Hawaii, argued that Trumps order stigmatized Muslims and would hurt tourism and the recruitment of university students and faculty.

Lawyers for the Trump administration countered that presidents have wide authority over matters of immigration and national security and should not be second-guessed by unelected federal judges.

A different 9th Circuit panel rejected an earlier and broader travel ban in February, prompting the administration to revise it.

Most of the groups that weighed in on the case urged the court to retain the injunction.

They included the American Bar Assn., former national security officials, technology companies, religious organizations, 165 members of Congress, refugee assistance groups, law professors and an organization that arranges for ill children in Iran to receive medical care in the U.S.

Attorneys general from 16 states, including California and Illinois, also sided with Hawaii.

A coalition of nonprofit gun groups, advocates of English first, border control foundations and 14 states sided with Trump.

Times staff writer Dolan reported from San Francisco and Kaleem from Los Angeles.

maura.dolan@latimes.com

jaweed.kaleem@latimes.com

Twitter: @mauradolan, @jaweedkaleem

ALSO

President Trump wants a travel ban, and conservative media agree

4th Circuit Court of Appeals rules against Trump travel ban

Trump undercuts his lawyers with tweets about travel ban

UPDATES:

4 p.m.: This article has been updated with quotes from Sessions.

2:25 p.m.: This article has been updated with analysis and background.

11:35 a.m.: This article has been updated with background, more quotes from ruling.

This article was originally posted at 10:20 a.m.
As the second week of the Bill Cosby trial got underway with a bang Monday morning  the defense rested without calling Cosby to testify  here are six takeaways from the chockablock first week of testimony.

The secondary accuser. Kelly Johnson didnt arrive at the stand easily. The woman who leveled accusations at Cosby based on interactions in 1996 was part of an intense pretrial battle. To get her here, the prosecution went through several days of hearings arguing that Johnson  and 12 other accusers it said were relevant  should be allowed to testify under the its-all-germane rule of evidence known as the Prior Bad Acts clause. Johnson was the only one admitted.

Testifying last week, Johnson was a persuasive witness for the prosecution, painting a picture of a young woman who was just trying to get by at her low-level Hollywood agency job when Cosby offered to be her mentor  then used that trust to sexually assault her in a meeting at the Bel-Air hotel. The defense did get some shots in, not least on the grounds that she led a wild lifestyle at the time  the kind of credibility attack that, while risky, can pay dividends with a jury looking for reasons not to believe someone.

Advertisement

The main accuser. From early on, out of the women accusing Cosby of sexual abuse, Andrea Constand was the key. After all, she was the one accuser whose statute of limitations had not run out. And she was one of a handful of accusers who hadnt told her story fully in a written piece or TV segment.

So how did she do at the trial? The 44-year-old radiated a kind of quiet self-assurance during direct examination and was somewhat more halting on cross, with a number of long pauses and I dont recall invocations. She made the case for herself as a woman who had no romantic interest in Cosby and visited his home purely platonically because she wanted his guidance. He would then proceed to act awkwardly and  ultimately, on that night, she said  abusively.

The defense tried to draw a different sketch, one in which Constand was romantically interested and also professionally motivated, looking to get Cosbys endorsement for a household-products company she and a friend were starting. The more complicated role for Constand laid the groundwork, the defense intimated, for potential consent the night she says she was attacked.

The defenses main victory was underscoring a date discrepancy for which Constand had little plausible response  she had initially reported the attack as happening in March, then later corrected herself that it happened two months earlier. Overall, though, they dinged her testimony relatively little, and the crucial witness stepped down from the stand with armor largely intact.

The mom. Maybe the biggest surprise of the first week was Gianna Constand. Initially thought to be a peripheral witness, at the trial mainly to establish her daughters state of mind, the elder Constand, it turns out, confronted Cosby after the alleged attack in significant ways. On the stand, she was forceful and unapologetic in explaining why she went after him, and she provided for the prosecution the more withering voice they did not have in Constand, especially not backing down as the defense sought to discredit her daughter. She also made a case for Andrea Constands fragile state of mind after the incident. The combination of vulnerability and defiance made her the strongest arrow in the prosecutions quiver.

The experts. Toxicologist, psychologist  each played a role in the trials first week. The pair of expert witnesses for the prosecution sought to bolster Constands case against Cosby by noting why it seemed more likely to them that the accuser was telling the truth. Toxicologist Timothy Rohrig said Cosbys claim that he had only provided Constand with Benadryl the night of the incident didnt mitigate Constands claim, he argued, since the drug has a deeply sedating effect and has been used in sexual assaults. Psychologist Veronique Valliere, meanwhile, argued that Constands decision to wait a year before coming forward and keeping in contact with the entertainer during that time was consistent with other assault victims, who were too traumatized or too interested in stability to speak out right away.

So how did they fare? Split decision. Rohrig landed his testimony almost unimpeded. But Valliere was tripped up by a Facebook post in which she appeared to be rooting against Cosby, which the defendants lawyers used to objectivity-eroding effect.

The judge. Steven T. ONeill ran a tight courtroom. He has been highly explanatory with the jury, talking about getting them home to Pittsburgh as quickly as possible, and taking a no-nonsense policy with everyone else. He often repeated admonitions about the news media reaching out to jury members and has made sure his court came down hard on disruptions  outspoken womens rights lawyer Gloria Allred was barred from the main courtroom after her cellphone went off a second time during the trial Friday.

The examiners. One thing thats jumped out about the prosecution is how much theyre spreading around the questions. Some might have expected Dist. Atty. Kevin Steele to handle the lions share of the work. But Steele has deferred on the two accusers, on Gianna Constand and on the two experts, allowing his younger Assistant Dist. Attys. Kristen Feden and M. Stewart Ryan, to take the lead; the former in particular has earned high marks. Steele himself picked up mainly the law enforcement witnesses, with whom he mostly engaged in reading Cosbys deposition and interview testimony, a more straightforward task.

Meanwhile, the defense has split the workload between two lawyers, lead Cosby attorney Brian McMonagle and Southern California-based Angela Agrusa. The latter, in fact, cross-examined both Johnson and Andrea Constand, a decision that left many observers flummoxed. Her tentative, sometimes choppy style left Constands account unchallenged in several key areas and was seen by many experts following the case as a big blunder. The showman McMonagle was deemed to have been the better choice, though the defense might have preferred a woman to cross-examine the accusers.

So wheres it all going? The overall feeling is one of momentum for the prosecution, especially after the defense called just one witness before resting. Closing arguments were expected to begin later Monday.

See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour 

steve.zeitchik@latimes.com

Twitter: @ZeitchikLAT

ALSO

Bill Cosby trial notebook: The tint of celebrity, and a window into another Hollywood

Benadryl or Quaaludes? Lawyers jostle over what drugs Bill Cosby gave Andrea Constand

The legend and the legacy of Bill Cosby come under scrutiny in his trial
Greg Gianforte, the Montana Republican who assaulted a newspaper reporter the day before being elected to Congress, pleaded guilty Monday to a misdemeanor assault charge but avoided jail time.

Gianforte appeared in Gallatin County Justice Court, where Judge Rick West ordered him to serve 40 hours of community service, attend 20 hours of anger management sessions and pay $385 in fines.

Those penalties were in lieu of a 180-day jail sentence, which was deferred. If the wealthy businessman completes the conditions under his sentence, he will be eligible to petition for the conviction to be removed from his records.

Advertisement

West initially had sentenced Gianforte to four days, with a stipulation that the congressman-elect could participate in a work program as an alternative to jail, but quickly changed the sentence when he learned that Gianforte was not eligible for the work program.

You accepted responsibility. You apologized, West told Gianforte in the crowded courtroom packed with journalists and spectators.

During the hearing, reporter Ben Jacobs of the Guardian, a British newspaper with an international web readership, recounted his violent encounter with Gianforte and the subsequent national ramifications.

I take full responsibility for my action. I didnt act in a way that was consistent with my behavior in the past.  Greg Gianforte, congressman-elect from Montana

While I have no doubt that actions like these were an aberration for Congressman-elect Gianforte personally, Jacobs said in his trial statement, I worry that, in context of our political debate, they have become increasingly common. There will always be fundamental political disagreements in our society. However, these need not become personal and certainly should never become violent.

Gianforte apologized to Jacobs. I just want to say Im sorry, he said as he stood behind a lectern at the front of the courtroom. If and when you are ready, I look forward to sitting down with you in D.C.

Gianforte attacked Jacobs on May 24 when the reporter asked him a healthcare policy question at his campaign headquarters in Bozeman. Gianforte began shouting at Jacobs to leave, then body-slammed him to the ground, breaking his glasses.

The following day, Gianforte defeated Democrat Rob Quist, a professional bluegrass musician making his first run for public office. They were running for the seat vacated by Republican Ryan Zinke, who left to accept an appointment as Interior secretary.

Gianfortes campaign initially denied any culpability and blamed Jacobs for the altercation. However, a Fox news crew was in the room at the time, and corroborated Jacobs account of the assault.

After his sentencing, Gianforte avoided questions about why his campaign had falsely accused Jacobs of the assault.

However, he did say: I take full responsibility for my action. I didnt act in a way that was consistent with my behavior in the past. Thats why I was pleased to be here and get this done and move forward.

As part of a civil settlement last week, Jacobs agreed not to sue the 56-year-old politician and Gianforte said he would donate $50,000 to the nonprofit Committee to Protect Journalists. Gianforte also apologized to Jacobs then.

Gianforte is expected to be sworn in later this month, but some Montana Democrats are urging him to resign. The people of Montana need a representative in Congress, Nancy Keenan, executive director of the Montana Democratic Party, said in a statement. They do not need a criminal. Gianforte should not be sworn in as a member of Congress, and if he is, he must resign.

ALSO

Decision time at the Supreme Court: Rulings expected soon on religion, free speech and immigration

Trump nominee denies that he was trying to imply he had an Ivy League degree

A new generation of Democrats isnt waiting for the party to tell it what to do

melissa.etehad@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter @melissaetehad

UPDATES:

1:55 p.m.: This article was updated with additional quotes, background.

This article was originally posted at 10:20 a.m.
Politics took the front seat at this years Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York on Sunday, as the traditional batons, floats and marching bands were overshadowed by the inclusion of a militant pro-independence figure and a vote in favor of statehood taking place on the island.

Controversy swirled around Oscar Lopez Rivera, a thin, severe-looking 74-year-old who rode on one of the first floats up Fifth Avenue waving his fist in solidarity with supporters, ignoring those who booed.

A political prisoner in the tradition of Nelson Mandela to his followers and a terrorist to critics, Lopez Rivera is fresh out of federal prison, where he served 35 years for his leadership role in the Armed Forces of National Liberation, or FALN, blamed for more than 100 bombings in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Advertisement

Many traditional sponsors of New Yorks largest ethnic parade withdrew their support this year because of Lopez Riveras prominent role, and the parade was boycotted by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, among other politicians.

1 / 5 People march up Fifth Avenue in New York in the annual Puerto Rican Day Parade. (Stephanie Keith / Getty Images) 2 / 5 People participate in the Puerto Rican Day Parade. (Stephanie Keith / Getty Images) 3 / 5 New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio marches in the Puerto Rican Day Parade. (Seth Wenig / Associated Press) 4 / 5 Political activist Oscar Lopez Rivera participates in the Puerto Rican Day Parade. The participation of Lopez Rivera, who served more than 35 years in custody for his role in a violent struggle for independence from the U.S., caused controversy before the parade. (Stephanie Keith / Getty Images) 5 / 5 A group called Jibaros en Resistencia practices before the start of the Puerto Rican Day Parade. (Seth Wenig / Associated Press)

Emotions ran high among parade attendees and participants, who signaled their political slant with their clothing and the colors displayed on their floats. Most wore red, white and blue, the colors of the Puerto Rican flag, while Lopez Rivera and many of his supporters wore black.

John Bravo, 36, who marched with a pro-independence delegation in black, holding up placards denouncing colonialism, blamed Puerto Ricos crippling debt crisis and poverty on its ambiguous status as a commonwealth, where people have U.S. citizenship but cannot vote for Congress or the president.

Puerto Rico is poorer than Mississippi by half, and Americans dont care, Bravo said. They look at Puerto Rico as just a place to go to look at sexy bikinis and drink $2 beers. This is what colonialism is all about.

Directly behind him was a marching band from Lorain, Ohio, whose members voiced similar concerns about Puerto Ricos financial condition but disagreed about the solution.

I would like to see Puerto Rico become a state, said Sonia Vargas, 51, a Brooklyn-born bookkeeper who now lives in Ohio. I dont see Puerto Rico being in any way ready to be independent. She is dependent on the U.S. military. She uses U.S. currency.

Marla Quinones examines her ballot with a magnifying glass before voting in Puerto Ricos fifth referendum on statehood in San Juan. (Carlos Giusti / Associated Press)

The parade coincided with a nonbinding vote on the island, the fifth in the last 50 years, in which Puerto Ricans were asked whether they favor statehood, maintaining the status quo, independence or free association, in which the U.S. would continue to provide military protection.

Of those who voted, some 97% chose statehood, according to early results released Sunday night.

From today going forward, the federal government will no longer be able to ignore the voice of the majority of the American citizens in Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello said. It would be highly contradictory for Washington to demand democracy in other parts of the world and not respond to the legitimate right to self-determination that was exercised today in the American territory of Puerto Rico.

Many questioned the validity of the vote, however, because of a boycott by anti-statehood opposition parties that resulted in only about 500,000 voters, fewer than a quarter of those eligible, showing up. Also, Puerto Ricans living on the U.S. mainland, who outnumber those on the island, tend to be more in favor of independence but could not cast ballots in the referendum.

Statehood for the largely Democratic, Spanish-speaking island would have to be approved by a Republican Congress that has shown little inclination to do so.

I dont think there is any incentive for this Congress to accept Puerto Rico as the 51st state, said Hector Feliciano, a 27-year-old retail executive. Puerto Ricans think of themselves as Americans, but most Americans dont recognize them as citizens. They dont realize that people fight in American wars and pay social security.

Thats why Feliciano advocates for independence for Puerto Rico. I think it is the only realistic option, he said.

A man reads campaign posters promoting statehood for Puerto Rico in San Juan. (Ricardo Arduengo / AFP/ Getty Images)

About 5.4 million Puerto Ricans live on the U.S. mainland, a number that is growing because of an exodus of people who cannot find jobs or continue school on the depressed island. More than 1 million are in New York.

Puerto Rico has more than $120 billion in debt, a crushing load that has given rise to a new wave of activism.

Its impossible for Puerto Rico to pay that debt, except if every last dollar that the Puerto Rican worker has in his pocket is taken out of his pocket, said Lopez Rivera in an interview published last week on the Democracy Now website.

Lopez Rivera was convicted in 1981 on charges of seditious conspiracy, use of force to commit robbery, interstate transportation of firearms, and conspiracy to transport explosives with intent to destroy government property. President Obama commuted his 55-year sentence, a decision that was opposed by relatives of the victims of a 1975 lunchtime bombing at New Yorks historic Fraunces Tavern, where four people were killed and 60 injured.

But Lopez Rivera also has powerful champions in intellectual and political circles. When the prison sentence was commuted in January, Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda tweeted that he was sobbing with gratitude.

New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito pushed for Lopez Rivera to be honored with the parades National Freedom Award. Although Lopez River said he would decline the award, he still occupied a place of honor at the front of the parade.

I dont think [the organizers] anticipated the kind of blowback that they would get in the environment post-9/11 by inviting this kind of person, said Angelo Falcon, president of the National Institute for Latino Policy in New York. The parade was supposed to be honoring a lot of other people, musicians, artists, performers, but you wouldnt know because all the focus was on Lopez Rivera.

barbara.demick@latimes.com

Twitter: @BarbaraDemick

UPDATES:

5:57 p.m.: This article was updated with early results from the referendum.

This article was originally published at 4:45 p.m.
As he walked up to the Pulse nightclub, memories of last June clouded Ramses Tinocos head.

He still remembered hearing the gunshots. He remembered running for his life.

But the place that has haunted him for a year was different early Monday. Dozens of angels stood guard outside, their wings made of PVC pipes and flowing white fabric. People lit candles, hugged and talked about their memories at the club in Orlando before it became the place where 49 people were killed and at least another 68 injured.

Advertisement

Tinoco stood shoulder-to-shoulder with hundreds of others as the names of each victim was called at 2:02 a.m.  the exact time the attack began one year ago, when 29-year-old Omar Mateen strode into the packed LGBTQ nightclub and unleashed the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. The American-born son of Afghan immigrants pledged allegiance to Islamic State before he was killed by police.

On Monday, a few family members stepped forward to say the name of the person they lost.

Its totally different now. Its like all the terrifying and awful memories I had have been replaced with tonight, with this unity and all this love, Tinoco said. Were all still grieving, but this gave me some closure. I could smile and remember the 49.

The ceremony, which began at 1:45 a.m., was open only to survivors, family members or loved ones of those killed in the attack. Hundreds more gathered outside the fence surrounding the building.

Some traveled just a few blocks to visit the club and mourn. Others drove or flew; one family traveled from Germany in hopes that seeing the club would bring closure.

Its really hard to be here. I was running from this for such a long time, said U.S. Army Sgt. Marie Cobbs, who lives in Germany.

Cobbs lost her nephew, Anthony Laureano Disla, in the shooting.

I cant help but feel angry, she said. I just keep asking why. Why did this happen? I was trained to protect our country and I couldnt even protect my family. He was so young and had so much life left to live.

Rainbow lights lit a makeshift stage outside the club as a string quartet played before the vigil. Forty-nine purple hearts lit up an outside wall of the club, each with a victims name.

During the ceremony, club owner Barbara Poma spoke softly into a microphone, but her voice soared beyond the mural-covered fence around the Pulse nightclub and out into the street where hundreds gathered.

What you have endured in the past year seems like something only you can understand, Poma said. Except here tonight, you are surrounded by hundreds of others who are like you.

Outside the fence, survivors gathered in front of a colorful mural  36 feet long, 12 feet tall  that depicts those lost and those who survived.

Christopher Hansen, who escaped the club then helped tend to the wounded outside, said he felt overwhelmed.

The emotion is too much for words, he said. Ive come back here several times, but this was different. Seeing this mural with the faces of the 49, seeing all these people here to support and remember and honor their lives, its just so beautiful.

Grief counselors walked throughout the crowd, giving hugs and tissues. People knelt to pet golden retrievers wearing therapy dog vests.

Ceda Diaz and her wife, Kaley Williams, drove down from Deltona, Fla., with 49 candles  blue, purple and white, all with a sweet scent.

Before the ceremony began, they arranged them in a heart outside the club and lit them, one by one.

We just had to do it, Diaz said. It was only right.

Standing outside the club gave Diaz chills, she said. They had been here before, more often immediately after the shooting.

By the time the ceremony ended, the candles had melted into the pavement, still outlining a heart.

Hayes and Lotan write for the Orlando Sentinel.
For years, Republican-controlled state legislatures have claimed to be protecting womens health when they passed laws such as those requiring that abortion clinics be outfitted like surgical centers and that doctors obtain admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. But federal courts havent bought those disingenuous arguments. In fact, the U.S. Supreme Court last summer struck down a Texas law that included both of those requirements, declaring them to be unnecessary to keep women safe and an undue burden on access to legal abortions.

In response, Texas has become the most recent state to shift the focus of its antiabortion efforts from protecting the woman to humanizing the fetus. Texas Senate Bill 8, signed into law Tuesday by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, is an omnibus of abortion restrictions, none of which even pretend to be about protecting womens health. But several of the provisions clearly aim to conflate fetuses with babies in the eyes of the law, a move that is understandably threatening to supporters of abortion rights. The most obnoxious of these requires that fetal remains be given a dignified disposition by cremation, burial in a cemetery or a scattering of ashes. No longer can they be disposed of as medical waste.

The idea of portraying the fetus not as tissue but as an incipient human being has long been embraced by some abortion opponents, who have tried for years, with little success, to get personhood amendments passed. A Colorado ballot measure that would have deemed a fertilized egg to be a person was resoundingly rejected in 2008, for instance. Many states have passed fetal homicide laws. States have tried other stratagems as well to extend rights to fetuses, including prosecuting pregnant women who use drugs under child abuse statutes.

Advertisement

These campaigns are part of a long, slow process to undermine the very idea that an abortion can be morally acceptable.

These campaigns are part of a long, slow process to undermine the very idea that an abortion can be morally acceptable. If a fetus is a person, they reason, then surely an abortion is murder.

But science and the courts simply dont back up what abortion opponents so fervently preach. A fetus in the first and most of the second trimester cannot survive outside the uterus. In fact, under Roe vs. Wade, legal elective abortions are not performed on fetuses that are viable.

Texas has already been rebuked once by the courts for trying to require that fetal remains be buried or cremated. U.S. District Court Judge Sam Sparks enjoined that rule in January, calling it vague, likely to increase costs and logistical problems for healthcare providers, and likely to enhance the stigma surrounding abortion. (The state has filed an appeal.) Although the law that just passed attempts to fix some of those problems  by ordering up a registry of funeral homes and cemeteries that will provide free common burial, for example  its likely that Texas will end up in another court battle over various aspects of this new law, including the disposal of fetal remains.

Texas is one of half a dozen states that introduced legislation this year requiring burial or cremation of fetal remains. In 2016, Louisiana and Indiana passed laws on fetal remains, but the law in Louisiana is not in effect pending litigation and the Indiana law has been enjoined.

Despite all the emotionally loaded language about dignity and burials and unborn children threaded through these laws, fetal remains are not babies. And the Supreme Court has ruled in three key decisions that women have a constitutional right to a legal, safe abortion and a right to obtain it without having to scale burdensome barriers first. As the Texas court found, even having to bury fetal remains can be burdensome.

Its not surprising that abortion foes would change strategies in the wake of the Supreme Court decision last summer. In fact, Sparks, the judge who blocked the Texas health department rule on fetal remains, noted tartly in his decision that Texas officials had proposed the new rule last summer before the ink on the Supreme Court decision was even dry.

These mawkish attempts to dignify aborted fetuses are just attempts to shame women who choose to have abortions and create new obstacles for the clinics that provide them. Once again, courts should stop these bad laws in their tracks.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook
The European Union does not support the idea of issuing old-style passports to residents of the areas of Ukraine occupied by Russia, Head of the European Union Delegation in Ukraine Hugues Mingarelli told European Truth online publication.

During the opening of the cartoon exhibition "Ukraine's Path to Visa-Free Regime with EU" in Kyiv on June 9, Mingarelli emphasized that the visa-free regime should work for all Ukrainians who will receive biometric passports.

In the comments to the publication, the ambassador said he wants to tell the Ukrainian authorities that the visa-free regime applies to all Ukrainians, regardless of where they live.

Some Ukrainian officials suggested that residents of Crimea and certain areas of Luhansk and Donetsk regions could be left without passports necessary for a visa-free regime, which contradicts the approach of the EU, Mingarelli said.

The diplomat stressed that he had already informed the Ukrainian side about this position of the European Union, but did not specify the official Kyiv's reaction.

In May 2017, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said if it is impossible to issue biometric passports to residents of occupied areas of Ukraine, old-style passports should to be issued for them.
In March, U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson, in Hawaii, suspended key portions of President Trumps revised executive order temporarily halting all refugee admissions and immigration from six Muslim-majority countries. A three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit has now unanimously upheld the crucial portions of Watsons preliminary injunction. Like the 4th Circuits ruling last month in a similar challenge to the travel ban, the 9th Circuits decision marks a major defeat for the administration and shows the courts unwillingness to take Trumps national security claims at face value.

Whats notable is that both appeals courts chose paths that enabled them to look beyond the text of the order. Legally, these opinions look different, but in terms of the result, one is really just the photo negative of the other: The 4th Circuit determined that bad reasons motivated Trumps travel ban order; the 9th Circuit decided he didnt have good ones.

The 4th Circuit, in a 10-3 ruling of the entire court, squarely addressed the contentious constitutional claim at the heart of the case: Was Trumps order intended to discriminate against Muslims in violation of the 1st Amendment? The court looked at outside evidence, including campaign statements, to determine that the order was indeed discriminatory.

Advertisement

The 9th Circuit panel stayed away from the constitutional claim and more modestly concluded that Trump exceeded his authority under the relevant federal immigration statute  but this, too, involved looking at more than the words of the order: The panel concluded that Trump had not offered findings sufficient to support the conclusion that the interests of the United States hinge on banning 180 million people from entry based on only their national origin.

Deferring to the president would mean taking his word on a policy that experts across the political spectrum have already agreed is a farce.

Because the courts usually give the executive branch a lot of leeway in immigration and national security cases, if the Supreme Court agrees to review Trumps travel ban, the critical question will be whether the 4th and 9th circuits were right in looking at or requiring evidence outside the order itself. The dissenting judges in the 4th Circuit case argued, for example, that the majority should have stuck to the orders plain, unambiguous, and religiously neutral text.

That dissent made some fair legal points. But it also missed an important aspect of what appears to be driving these decisions: an awareness of how blind deferral to Trumps order could easily damage the publics trust in the judicial process itself.

You might think that legally it shouldnt matter what the public thinks about the courts. But public trust is the invisible foundation of the judiciarys power. As Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter observed in 1962, the courts have neither the purse of the legislative branch nor the sword of the executive branch; their authority . . . ultimately rests on sustained public confidence in [their] moral sanction.

Unsurprisingly, then, the courts so far have been reluctant to lend their moral sanction to an exclusionary order that Trump passed not long after, as a candidate, he had called for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States. The courts are also reluctant to sanction an order that first seared the American consciousness as a policy of stunning cruelty, accompanied with images of refugees handcuffed at U.S. airports and stories of families torn apart. And as the 9th Circuit made clear Monday, the courts are reluctant to sanction a policy that lacks legitimate national security justification.

In the uproar over the ban, the president has offered strangely little to support it. Meanwhile, the public has been informed that no deadly terrorist attacks in the U.S. since 9/11 have been attributed to foreign nationals from any of the target countries. As both the 4th and 9th circuits emphasized, a Department of Homeland Security report concluded that citizenship in any particular nation is an unreliable threat indicator. And in March, 134 former national security and other senior government officials wrote a letter to the president condemning the ban as damaging to the strategic and national security interests of the United States.

All of this put the courts in a terrible bind. The courts generally dont, and dont want to, second-guess a presidents expertise in national security matters. But here deferring to the president would mean taking his word on a policy that experts across the political spectrum have already agreed is a farce. Against such a backdrop, one way for judges to protect the judiciarys legitimacy is to rely on a legal standard that allows them to consider not just what the executive order says but also outside variables that affect how it is perceived. Thats exactly what the 4th and 9th circuits did.

The political scientist Richard Neustadt famously proclaimed that presidential power is the power to persuade. But by flouting ethical and political norms, Trump has cultivated the opposite power  the power to repel. Trumps difficulty in filling key executive branch positions or in finding a law firm willing to represent him in connection to the Russia investigation has been cited as a testament to the widespread desire to avoid contact with the administration and what it professes to stand for. But the severe resistance the courts are exhibiting when it comes to the presidents policies suggests that Trumps lack of credibility has reverberations beyond the executive. The courts, too, fear Trumps taint.

Jane Chong is the deputy managing editor of the website Lawfare. Joseph Pomianowski is a recent graduate of Yale Law School and is researching comparative constitutional law at the Polish Academy of Sciences.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand Facebook
Its the end of the world as we know it  at least thats what some people would have us believe about President Trumps education budget.

Its a devastating blow to the countrys public education system, according to National School Boards Assn. CEO Thomas Gentzel. More like a wrecking ball, says Lily Eskelsen Garcia, president of the National Education Assn. teachers union. No, its a veritable assault on the American Dream, insists John B. King Jr., former Obama administration secretary of education.

Such hyperbole is reminiscent of the early 1980s, when President Reagans opponents battled his administrations education cuts, and its about as inaccurate today as it was back then.

Advertisement

Trump wants to reduce the U.S. Department of Educations discretionary budget by $9.2 billion, from $68.3 billion to $59.1 billion. Close to two-thirds of that reduction (63%) comes from eliminating programs that are duplicative or just dont work.

The administration is proposing a 10% cut in TRIO programs and a cut of almost a third in GEAR UP programs. GEAR UP and TRIO (which despite the name consists of nine programs) are supposed to help at-risk students who hope to go to college, but who might not make it.

The K-12 programs proposed for elimination in the Trump budget are similarly ineffective.

At the behest of the Education Department, the Mathematica Policy Research Group studied a TRIO program and found weaknesses, which it first reported in 2004. The final report found no detectable effects on college-related outcomes, including enrollment and completion of bachelors or associates degrees. In a striking acknowledgement that these programs dont hold up under scrutiny, lobbyists for the programs got Congress to ban the Education Department from setting up control-group evaluations of TRIO and GEAR UP.

Another sign of dysfunction is that  despite a demonstrable lack of success  grants to run TRIO and GEAR UP programs almost always get renewed. For example, in California, 82% of those who had grants in 2006 to manage this no detectable effects TRIO program still had those grants a decade later.

The K-12 programs proposed for elimination in the Trump budget are similarly ineffective.

In 1994, the Clinton administration started the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program, which promised to provide disadvantaged children with after-school enrichment to improve their academic performance. Nearly $18 billion spent over two decades later, theres scant evidence of success. Its a $1.2 billion after-school program that doesnt work, according to Mark Dynarski of the Brookings Institution. He should know.

Dynarski worked at the U.S. Department of Education during the Clinton administration and directed the 21st Century Community Learning Centers national evaluation while he was a researcher at Mathematica Policy Research. The three evaluations published between 2003 and 2005 concluded that the achievement of participating students was virtually the same, but their behavior was worse, compared with their peers who werent in the program.

Another program deservedly put on the chopping block is the School Improvement Grant (SIG) program. Enacted in 2001 as part of President George W. Bushs No Child Left Behind Act, this program gave poorly performing schools fistfuls of cash to turn themselves around and raise student achievement. Turned out the SIG program was more buck than bang  lots more.

Total SIG program funding under the Bush administration was less than $126 million. Regular annual appropriations skyrocketed during Obamas presidency, starting at $526 million. They remained near or north of a half billion dollars throughout his administration, totaling more than $7 billion to date  including a one-time infusion of $3 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding.

The Obama administration publicly revealed the SIG programs colossal failure on Jan. 18, 2017, just hours before President Obamas appointees departed. According to the final evaluation by the American Institutes for Research and Mathematica Policy Research for the Education Department, SIG had no significant impacts on math achievement, reading achievement, high school graduation, or college enrollment across school and student subgroups.

Commenting on the evaluation, Andrew R. Smarick, a former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of education, called SIG the greatest failure in the history of the U.S. Department of Education. Seven billion dollars in taxpayer money was spent, and the results were the same, as Smarick put it, as if this program had never existed.

Cutting costly, ineffective government programs isnt the end of the world. Its part of [our] moral duty to make our government leaner and more accountable, as Trump stated during a budget meeting in February. His budgetary effort to cut waste includes the Education Department for good reason.

Williamson M. Evers is a research fellow at Stanford Universitys Hoover Institution and a former U.S. assistant secretary of education for planning, evaluation and policy development. Vicki E. Alger is a research fellow at the Independent Institute. Evers was the leader of and Alger a member of the Trump transitions agency review for the U.S. Department of Education.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook
Since the U.S. income tax was established in 1913, Americans have been able to avoid paying federal taxes on money they already paid out in state and local tax. But the Trump administration and congressional Republicans are looking to change that.

Among their proposed tax reforms is an end to the federal deduction for state and local income and property taxes. If enacted, this radical change would not only punish California and other productive and high-tax states, but also endanger their vital, job-creating urban economies.

In 2014 alone, the state and local tax deduction allowed Californians to reduce their taxable income by $101 billion, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation. Eliminating this deduction would increase Californias tax burden by tens of billions of dollars each year.

Advertisement

Many mistakenly believe that this deduction favors only the very wealthy. More than 55% of taxpayers earning over $75,000 a year take the deduction. And it is substantial. Consider a hypothetical California couple who have a combined adjusted gross income of $150,000: Without the option to deduct state and local taxes, their federal tax liability would increase by $3,450. If they own their home, they would lose the property tax deduction too, raising their federal tax burden even more.

House Republicans from California need to stand up for our state  and their constituents need to voice their opposition to this dangerous proposal.

Some defend the proposal by promoting the myth that the deduction means Washington is essentially subsidizing high-tax states such as California. In fact, it is the other way around. In 2015, New Yorks state comptroller analyzed this fiscal relationship and found that for every dollar California paid in total federal tax, it received 99 cents in federal spending. That sounds OK, except states on average receive $1.22 per dollar of taxes paid  with the leading beneficiaries being sparsely populated, low-economic-output states such as New Mexico, Alabama and Kentucky. In fact, Mississippi receives the most: $2.57 per dollar of taxes.

A second Republican assertion  that eliminating this deduction will make state and local governments more efficient  is also a myth. It wont cut state tax receipts or remove pension obligations or reduce the expense of union contracts. It will simply raise the cost to California taxpayers of ensuring their state can maintain its higher level of social services and education.

The GOP tax proposal represents an assault on the economies and taxpayers of California and other largely Democratic states such as New York, Illinois, New Jersey and Massachusetts. According to the Tax Policy Center, ending the deduction would put $1.3 trillion more in federal coffers over 10 years  30% of that coming from California and New York taxpayers.

These same blue states, however, generate most of the jobs and economic growth in the United States. Eliminating the deduction would make them less appealing to the kind of residents they need, such as high-income retirees and entrepreneurs. In California, some small businesses, not to mention major corporations such as Toyota, Wells Fargo and Chevron, are already moving or hollowing out their workforce. If the state and local tax deduction is eliminated, that trend will accelerate, creating serious economic problems here.

The billions of dollars that Californians pay in state and local taxes fund important things, including education, public safety, healthcare, water and transportation projects, and economic and workforce development. If Californians lose this federal deduction, the states ability to tax will be undermined over the long term, threatening support for these key priorities.

House Republicans from California need to stand up for our state  and their constituents need to voice their opposition to this dangerous proposal. At minimum, voters should demand there be a comprehensive and objective study of the economic impact of eliminating these deductions before Congress votes on such a change.

The fight to preserve this deduction is a fight for our states economy and the future Californians are building here.

Russell Goldsmith is chairman and CEO of City National Bank and chairman of RBC Wealth Management-U.S. He also heads the Los Angeles Coalition for the Economy and Jobs.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook
Attorneys general for Maryland and the District of Columbia filed an anti-corruption lawsuit against President Trump on Monday, arguing that he is violating the Constitution by using his office to unjustly enrich himself.

It is the latest effort by politicians in blue states to challenge Trump in the courts and put a spotlight on the unusual conflicts of interest that arise when a billionaire business owner occupies the White House.

Their suit recites a now-familiar complaint that Trump, by retaining ownership of his hotels and other properties, is violating the ban on a U.S. official accepting any present [or] Emolument  of any kind whatsoever from .. .any foreign state. They cite reports that the embassies of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are booking expensive rooms and holding events at the Trump International Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue, possibly seeking to win favor with the president.

Advertisement

The constitutional ban on emoluments helps ensure that the president serves with undivided loyalty to the American people, and the American people only, they said in the suit. Never before has a president acted with such disregard for this constitutional prescription.

The suit may be less important for what it says than for who filed it. Maryland and D.C. contend that as a sovereign entities, they have a special standing to sue the president in court.

A similar suit over foreign emoluments was filed in January by an ethics group known as CREW, for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, and it was later joined by a restaurant and some private hotels. They too alleged Trump was violating the Constitution and that their businesses were being hurt by the unfair competition.

CREWs lawyers are part of the suit filed Monday, and they argued that Maryland and D.C. are suffering real injuries because some of their hotels and meeting areas are losing business to Trumps properties. The district and Maryland have the authority and right to vindicate their interest in providing and preserving a level playing field in the hospitality industry, they said.

A spokesman for the Republican National Committee denounced the suit as partisan grandstanding by the state attorneys. This lawsuit brought against our president is absurd, said the RNCs Lindsay Jancek. The American people elected President Trump to lead this country, and it is time Democrats end their efforts to delegitimize his presidency.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said the suit appeared to repeat the earlier complaint from CREW. Its the same lawyers, he said. We will continue to move to dismiss this case in the normal course of business.

The Justice Department has urged a federal judge to throw out CREWs suit on the grounds its plaintiffs do not have standing. Usually federal courts have said that a plaintiff must show that he or she has suffered a specific injury, even when asserting a constitutional principle.

But in recent years, states and their politically minded state attorneys have been getting in the courthouse door.

In 2007, lawyers representing Democratic-controlled states won a major victory on climate change when the Supreme Court agreed, by a 5-4 vote, that they had standing to sue the George W. Bush administration for its failure to regulate greenhouse gases.

And during President Obamas term, red states won standing to sue the administration over the healthcare law and the executive orders on immigration. For example, federal judges in Texas ruled the state had standing to sue the president because it would spend more money if more immigrants sought drivers licenses.

Harvard University law professor Laurence H. Tribe said the trend in favor of state standing bodes well for the lawsuit.

In recent years, there has been a rapid expansion in the notion that the states must play an important role in protecting their rights  and at times, the rights of their citizens, Tribe and attorney Joshua Matz wrote Monday on the Take Care blog, which focuses on executive power. Conservatives, in particular, latched on to more robust views of state standing under the Obama administration, rallying around the state of Texas as it became a full-time anti-Obama litigation shop, they said. More recently, the states of Washington, Oregon and Hawaii led lawsuits to challenge Trumps temporary ban on foreign travel, they said.

If Maryland and D.C. survive a motion to dismiss their suit, they are likely to seek more information on Trumps finances, including his tax returns, which the president has refused to release.

The suit also cites hidden benefits that Trump may be receiving. For example, it says the president, through his family-owned organization, is seeking a $32 million historic preservation tax credit for Trump International Hotel. Approval of this credit is at the discretion of the National Park Service, it said. If approved, the tax credit would offset some of the cost of rehabilitating the building that includes the hotel.

If the states win their suit, Maryland Atty. Gen. Brian Frosh said, they would seek an order requiring the president to divest himself of his business holdings.

david.savage@latimes.com

Twitter: DavidGSavage

UPDATES:

1:20 p.m.: This article was updated with the White House comment.

This story was originally published at 12:40 p.m.
The storied Los Angeles Pride Parade this weekend was replaced with what can best be described as a symbol of the Trump era  a protest march, complete with a hashtag in its name: the #ResistMarch.

Im Christina Bellantoni. Welcome to the Monday edition of Essential Politics.

Among the speakers at the event, which drew tens of thousands waving protest signs along with rainbow flags, were Democratic California Reps. Adam Schiff of Burbank, Maxine Waters of Los Angeles and San Franciscos Nancy Pelosi, the minority leader.

Waters called for Trump to be impeached. Schiff said President Trump lacked basic human decency, and addressed the shift in this years event. This year we are proud as ever, but we are also mad as hell, he said.

Advertisement

Schiff, of course, has been attracting a lot of attention lately as the ranking Democrat on the House Select Committee on Intelligence, one of the panels taking on the complicated investigation into Russias meddling in last falls elections.

Several bits of news emerged over the weekend related to the probe.

The House Intelligence Committee has requested the president provide any tapes, to the extent they exist now, by June 23. Trump, of course, has offered to testify under oath to rebut former FBI Director James B. Comeys account.

Trump called Comey cowardly.

A defense lawyer for Trump said the president will not unconditionally cooperate with special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs investigation. Jay Sekulow, appearing on Sunday talk shows, declined to rule out ordering at some later date the firing of the widely praised Mueller.

Meanwhile, fired U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said that Comeys vivid testimony sounded a lot like Trumps two calls to him earlier this year. Im not the FBI director, but I was the chief federal law enforcement officer in Manhattan with jurisdiction over a lot of things including, you know, business interests and other things in New York.

Weve got a running he said/he said project, detailing important moments that have more than one account of what happened.

And in coming attractions, Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions announced hell appear before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on Tuesday to clear up some of the things Comey said the FBI had learned about his meetings with Russian diplomats.

Some things to keep in mind: Sessions initiated this event, saying he wanted to answer questions raised by Comeys testimony. Given reports about Sessions standing in the White House at the moment, its another intriguing twist.

Join us as we cover it all live on Essential Washington.

THE COMEY SHOW

Thursdays hearing attracted at least 19.5 million viewers. Among the senators making headlines were Californias own Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris.

As Colleen Shalby reports, Harris and Senate Democrats campaign arm are fundraising off of a moment Wednesday when two male senators interrupted the freshman senators questioning.

Feinstein had a noteworthy exchange with Comey, telling the 6-foot-8-inch-tall panel witness: Youre big, youre strong. I know the Oval Office, and I know what happens to people when they walk in. There is a certain amount of intimidation. But why didnt you stop and say, Mr. President, this is wrong  I cannot discuss that with you?

Comeys reply? Maybe if I were stronger, I would have.

DILEMMA FOR DEMOCRATS

Two stories this week underscore the challenges ahead for a party that seemingly would have an advantage, given the Trump White Houses struggles and the presidents tanking popularity figures.

The next class of Democratic Party candidates is made up of young, angry people who reflect a national disaffection with Trump and the Republican agenda that could propel a wave of victories. But, as Evan Halper reports on todays front page, thats only if party leaders can figure out how to channel it.

And California is viewed as the centerpoint of the liberal resistance to Trump, but top Democrats are worrying that an escalating feud in a state party race may fracture their membership and undercut their message, Phil Willon and Seema Mehta reported on Fridays front page.

ON THE ATTACK

In the 2018 governors race, Antonio Villaraigosa is getting more and more aggressive in attacking rival Gavin Newsom. The former L.A. mayor says the lieutenant governor bases decisions not on principle, but on polls or popular whim, Michael Finnegan reports. Villaraigosas latest shots at Newsom came at a Monterey Park campaign stop on Saturday.

CA34: GOMEZ PREPS FOR WASHINGTON

By all accounts, Jimmy Gomezs win over Robert Lee Ahn in last weeks 34th Congressional District runoff was a rout. Gomez was up 60-40 over Ahn by the end of the night, and Ahn called his opponent to concede well before 11 p.m. Tuesday.

Gomez said he woke up the next morning wondering if it was all a dream. Im still the community college kid with immigrant parents, Gomez told Christine Mai-Duc in an interview Wednesday.

On Thursday, Ahns campaign sent out a statement suggesting he could still win if he received a surge in provisional and mail ballots that hadnt been tallied. By Friday, with all but about 1,700 ballots counted, it became clear that wouldnt happen and Ahns campaign aides said they were satisfied with the result.

Meanwhile, Gomez reflected on what his win means for his family and what his plans are as he prepares to head to Washington. One of his first orders of business, Gomez said, was to tour the 34th District, particularly neighborhoods that didnt vote for him, to get an idea of their needs and build relationships.

CALIFORNIA AND CLIMATE CHANGE, BY THE NUMBERS

The state released new data last week showing its progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The numbers show a small reduction in emissions in 2015, and provided more evidence that California will need to pick up the pace to meet an ambitious goal by 2030.

Meantime, state officials say they are forging ahead with emissions-cutting measures despite the Trump administrations move this week to delay implementation of Obama-era limits on ozone, the lung-searing gas in smog.

CALIFORNIAS BUDGET DEADLINE IS THURSDAY

Lawmakers in Sacramento have the ultimate incentive this week to get their work done on time: A late state budget means they dont get paid.

The deadline for a spending plan to be sent to Gov. Jerry Browns desk is Thursday night, and while the main framework of the deal was crafted last week, a few key issues remain, Sacramento Bureau Chief John Myers reports.

Tops on that list: How to spend $1.3 billion in new tobacco tax dollars. Lawmakers and advocates spent the weekend negotiating the final points of a compromise. Brown has insisted the money be spent broadly on the states Medi-Cal program, while backers of the tax (which was approved by voters last year) want it to spent on payments to doctors and dentists who treat Medi-Cal patients.

Among the things we do know: A plan to spend $400 million on low-income housing is not in next years budget. The final plan does, however include money for flood control projects. Its not as much as Brown originally wanted, but his administration said its enough to keep the projects on track.

Keep an eye on our Essential Politics news feed for the very latest from Sacramento all week.

A $5-BILLION POT INDUSTRY IN CALIFORNIA?

A new state-sponsored economic study projects a future legal marijuana market so vast that it will help make California a destination for pot-loving tourists from around the world. Patrick McGreevy has the details.

HELP COULD BE ON THE WAY FOR TAXIS IN THEIR FIGHT AGAINST UBER

For years, Uber and Lyft have been quickly and steadily eroding the taxi industry. Cabs, which have notoriously tough governmental regulations especially compared to ride-hailing, now have been thrown a lifeline from a state lawmaker. Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell) wants to loosen taxi regulations as a way to help cabs compete. But, as Liam Dillon reports, it might be too little, too late for cabs to rebound.

POLITICAL ROAD MAP: PUTTING GAS IN THE GOPS ELECTORAL TANK?

A new poll finds the tax hikes in Californias $52-billion transportation plan signed into law in April are widely unpopular -- the kind of opposition that could provide badly needed fuel to the states ailing Republicans.

In his Sunday column, Myers takes a look at how a relatively small amount of campaign cash could put a repeal of the new gas tax and vehicle fee on the statewide ballot. It might give Republican candidates, who otherwise may be mired in all things Trump, a chance to change the conversation.

In related news, the Legislative Analysts Office has recommended lawmakers create accountability measures for spending the gas tax proceeds.

TODAYS ESSENTIALS

-- On this weeks California Politics Podcast, the wrangling over a new state budget takes center stage. And the panel raises an interesting point about the 2018 race for governor: How long do second-tier candidates really have to make their move?

-- With the Ahn vs. Gomez contest over, the campaign to replace Gomez in the 51st Assembly District can begin in earnest. Former CA34 candidate Wendy Carrillo announced a run for Gomezs seat.

-- L.A. Rep. Brad Sherman joined the formal effort to impeach Trump last week.

-- David Savage has your quick look at the most interesting of the Supreme Courts 21 pending cases, including disputes over religion, free speech and immigration that could have broad significance.

-- Becerra argued Thursday that Trump has no legal authority to revoke or modify national monuments created by previous administrations. He vowed to take any and all legal action necessary to preserve six California monuments, including one in Los Angeles backyard, that the Trump Administration may attempt to revoke or shrink.

LOGISTICS

Essential Politics is published Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

You can keep up with breaking news on our politics page throughout the day for the latest and greatest. And are you following us on Twitter at @latimespolitics?

Miss Fridays newsletter? Here you go.

Please send thoughts, concerns and news tips to politics@latimes.com.

Did someone forward you this? Sign up here to get Essential Politics in your inbox.
Trumps latest tweet in media war is a literal show of mock pugilism By Laura King President Trump on Sunday circulated a doctored video clip on Twitter that showed him physically attacking a crudely rendered stand-in for CNN, a post that drew rebukes from critics as an incitement to violence, but prompted renewed expressions of support from backers. In doing so, Trump also ignored pleas to stop tweeting or at least take a more presidential tone -- from lawmakers in his own party -- after he took his war against news media to new heights last week with a coarse post on the appearance and intellect of cable television host Mika Brzezinski. On Saturday he also posted several anti-media messages as Americans began their Fourth of July celebration. Sundays tweet, which used an edited version of a years-old promotional video for professional wrestling, showed Trump, clad in a business suit and tie, administering a choreographed beat-down to a figure whose face was obscured by CNNs logo. #FraudNewsCNN #FNN pic.twitter.com/WYUnHjjUjg  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 2, 2017 CNN, which has been a particular target of the president since the network was forced to retract a story relating to an element of the sprawling investigation into possible collusion with Russia by the Trump campaign, quickly condemned the tweet. It is a sad day when the President of the United States encourages violence against reporters, the network said in statement. It also tweeted a recent assertion by White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders that Trump had never engaged in such incitement. "The President in no way form or fashion has ever promoted or encouraged violence. If anything, quite the contrary." - @SHSanders45 6/29/17  CNN Communications (@CNNPR) July 2, 2017 As is often the case, the presidents surrogates were left scrambling to explain or justify an inflammatory Twitter outburst. Homeland security advisor Thomas Bossert, who was shown the clip while appearing on ABCs This Week, watched it stone-faced and then declared: No one would perceive that as a threat. I hope they dont. The night before, Trump had used a celebration of veterans at Washingtons Kennedy Center to again denounce the news media. The president, who had briefly broken a weekend golf getaway to appear at the rally, pounded away at the theme that he is being treated unfairly. The fake media tried to stop us from going to the White House, he told the raucous crowd. But Im president, and theyre not. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Increasing number of states reject request for personal information on voters from Trump commission By Colleen Shalby (Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press) A growing number of states have rejected a request for personal information about voters from a presidential commission on vote fraud led by Kansas controversial Secretary of State Kris Kobach. Kobach, the vice chairman of the commission, sent letters to each state and Washington, D.C., asking for voters personal information. The request asked for names, addresses, voting history and the last four digits of voters Social Security numbers. The commission was set up to look into voter fraud after President Trump alleged that he lost the popular vote in 2016 only because millions of people voted illegally -- a claim that numerous states election officials from both parties and outside experts have dismissed as groundless. As of Friday afternoon, at least 13 states had outright rejected the request from the Presidential Advisory Committee on Election Integrity. Officials in several other states either said they would not supply all the information or needed more information before making a decision. Some officials did not mince words in their nos. They can go jump in the Gulf of Mexico, and Mississippi is a great State to launch from, Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann wrote in a statement. California Secretary of State Alex Padilla said in a statement that strongly criticized Kobach that he would continue to defend the rights of all eligible voters to cast their ballots free from discrimination, intimidation or unnecessary roadblocks. Secretary Padilla's response to the Election Commission's request for personal data of CA voters: pic.twitter.com/UdUt55HSim  CA SOS Vote (@CASOSvote) June 29, 2017 As a Kansas official, Kobach has been a leading backer of immigration restrictions and of measures to put new requirements on who is allowed to vote. His opponents note that he was fined last week for misleading a federal court in a voting rights case. Democratic elected officials in several states criticized the commission, itself, not just the information request. The president created his election commission based on the false notion that voter fraud is a widespread issue  it is not, Kentucky Secretary of State Allison Grimes wrote. "I do not intend to release Kentuckians' sensitive personal data to the fed. gov't."  Sec. Grimes



Statement on Pres. Commission request: pic.twitter.com/9Js05x99eF  Alison L. Grimes (@KySecofState) June 30, 2017 In an odd contradiction, Kobach said that Kansas, like some other states, will partially reject at least one aspect of the request. In Kansas, the Social Security number is not publicly available.  Every state receives the same letter, but were not asking for it if its not publicly available, he told the Kansas City Star. The states that have fully rejected the request include California, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, North Dakota, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Mississippi and Minnesota. Others, including Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Connecticut, Missouri, Kansas, Utah and Texas will turn over some of the requested information. Vermont has requested an affidavit from the commission. And Wisconsin has suggested that the commission could purchase the publicly available information, just as political campaigns do. Officials in Washington state said they were reviewing the request. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Look at possible conflicts of interest in Trump teams OneWest Bank probes, 2 Democrats urge By Jim Puzzanghera Protesters gather outside a OneWest Bank in Pasadena in 2014. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times) Two House Democrats want Congress to look into possible conflicts of interest in the Trump administrations handling of investigations into Pasadenas OneWest Bank  a bank formerly headed by now-Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) and Al Green (D-Texas) said Friday that there was room for considerable doubt as to the impartiality and the adequacy of this administrations investigations into OneWest and a subsidiary, Financial Freedom. Mnuchin was the banks chairman from 2009 to 2015. President Trump has nominated Joseph Otting, the former chief executive of OneWest, to be comptroller of the currency, a key bank regulator who is part of the Treasury Department. And Brian Brooks, who was OneWests vice chairman, reportedly will be tapped to be deputy Treasury secretary. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Healthcare issue delivers nothing but pain for Nevadas embattled Sen. Dean Heller By David Montero Dean Heller is Stephanie Diaz-Gonzalezs problem now. Shes never met Nevadas Republican senator and hadnt had much time to familiarize herself. How could she? The 25-year-old is holding down a full-time job and ra+ising a 7-year-old son, who keeps her busy with soccer games, math homework and those too-often terrifying moments when he cant breathe. When President Trump was elected and congressional Republicans moved on their top priority to dismantle Obamacare, Diaz-Gonzalez got to know Heller a whole lot better. Given his back-and-forth on the issue, she came to distrust him. I dont know if I could vote for him or support him, the Democrat said. He seems very contradictory. Which is why Heller is also Karen Steelmons problem. Steelmon, a 48-year-old Republican who grew up in northern Nevada, isnt happy with the lawmaker, who is considered the most vulnerable GOP senator in the country when he comes up for reelection next year. Obamacare has always been an abomination to Steelmon, an ardent supporter of repeal. To her, deeply held principles are at stake. Heller has never acted in favor of what I would consider conservative, constitutional principles as a general rule, said Steelmon, who would like to see the incumbent taken out in a GOP primary. And on the very few times he has, its always come as a surprise. This is Hellers dilemma. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump will meet face-to-face with Putin in Germany next week By Brian Bennett (Alexei Nikolsky / Associated Press) President Trump has governed five months under a cloud of questions about his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, yet the two men will meet next week for the first time, on the sidelines of the G20 summit of world leaders in Hamburg, Germany. White House officials on Thursday confirmed plans for the private meeting but said no decisions had been made about the topics Trump will raise. So its unclear whether the men will discuss Russias election-year cyberattacks that are the focus of criminal and congressional investigations. Our relationship with Russia is not different from any other country in terms of us communicating with them, really, what our concerns are, where we see problems in the relationship but also opportunities, said Trumps national security advisor, H.R. McMaster. McMaster said he expected the two men to have a broad, wide-ranging discussion about problems in the relationship but also about where the U.S. and Russia have common interests. Theres no specific agenda, McMaster said. Its really going to be whatever the president wants to talk about, he added. The White House has refused to say whether Trump would sign legislation with new sanctions on Russia for meddling in the elections by hacking, including into some states voting systems, and by spreading false news stories. But Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin indicated the existing restrictions against Russia were sufficient. Weve got plenty of those as well, Mnuchin said. Trump will also meet with the leaders of China, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Indonesia, Singapore and other countries during the summit of 20 major world economies. Trumps director of the White House National Economic Council, Gary Cohn, said the meeting would fall short of a typical bilateral discussion between the American president and the head of another country, but would be more than whats known in diplomacy-speak as a pull aside  a quick, informal get-together on the edge of a conference. Trumps scheduled meeting with Putin in Hamburg places added significance on his stop in Poland next Wednesday. In Warsaw, McMaster said, Trump intends to bolster U.S. relationships with Poland and other central European and Baltic states that were once in Moscows orbit under the Soviet Union, but now rely on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the U.S. to counter pressure from Russia. Trumps meetings there seem designed to strengthen his hand with Putin. McMaster called Poland a front-line NATO nation with regards to the eastern flank, noting that it sent troops to fight alongside the U.S. in Afghanistan and Iraq and has exceeded its pledge on NATO defense spending. As a candidate and president, Trump has criticized other NATO countries that have not yet met those pledges for military spending equal to at least 2% of the size of their respective economies. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Travel ban seen a win by at least one conservative; Breitbart focuses on upcoming votes in Congress By Kurtis Lee After it stalled for several months in federal courts, a portion of President Trumps travel ban is set to take effect Thursday evening and will bar individuals from six majority-Muslim countries. Some in conservative media are viewing it as a much-needed political victory for Trump. Here are some of Thursdays headlines: Two wins for Trump (Washington Times) Trump has seen setbacks in his fledgling administration  probes into possible collusion with Russia, infighting among his party over a healthcare overhaul, federal courts halting his travel ban. But now, the president gets a W. The Supreme Courts decision to allow portions of President Trumps travel ban to proceed is a much-needed victory for the administration, Cal Thompson writes. In doing so the unanimous court affirmed  at least temporarily, pending a full hearing on the case in the fall  a presidents constitutional authority to determine whether people seeking admittance to the U.S. pose a threat to our safety and security. Thompson also highlights the Supreme Court decision this week that churches have the same right as other charitable groups to seek state money for new playground surfaces and other non-religious needs. Thompson called the ruling in the case, Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia Inc. v. Comer, a victory for religious institutions and Trump, who at times has touched on the issue of religious freedom. Breitbart prods GOP leaders to pass pro-American immigration reforms (Breitbart) For Trump, Breitbart hasnt always delivered the most approving headlines for his administration  particularly on immigration. Some right-wing bloggers and pundits dont think Trump has done enough on immigration, a key pillar of his campaign platform. This piece turns the attention to members of Congress, where two bills  focused primarily on detaining people in the country illegally  could come up for a vote . The GOP-run House is expected to vote for two modest immigration-reform bills as soon as this week, but pro-American reformers are using the two votes to build loud and energetic public pressure for major reform legislation, notes the right-wing website. Trump attacks Psycho Joe Scarborough, Crazy Mika Brzezinski in Twitter tear (Fox News) At first, they were friends; now, perhaps, enemies?

Trump used Twitter early Thursday to jab Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, who the president in past has said he admires. The tweets have drawn the ire of Republicans. Heres what the president wrote: I heard poorly rated @Morning_Joe speaks badly of me (don't watch anymore). Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe, came..  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 29, 2017 ...to Mar-a-Lago 3 nights in a row around New Year's Eve, and insisted on joining me. She was bleeding badly from a face-lift. I said no!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 29, 2017 And the response? pic.twitter.com/8YhzcCUwM1  Mika Brzezinski (@morningmika) June 29, 2017 Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Trump plans to nominate Brendan Carr to fill final FCC seat and provide crucial vote on net neutrality rules By Jim Puzzanghera President Trump intends to nominate Brendan Carr, a former aide to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, to fill the final open seat at the agency and provide a crucial vote on the future of tough net neutrality rules. Carr, the FCCs general counsel, would fill a Republican slot on the commission and would be expected to support Pais push to roll back the regulations for online traffic. Carrs intended nomination was announced by the White House on Wednesday night. It comes after Trump nominated Jessica Rosenworcel, a former FCC commissioner, on June 14 to fill a Democratic seat. If the Senate confirms both nominees, as expected, the FCC would have its full complement of five commissioners and a 3-2 Republican majority. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Gorsuch is already pushing Supreme Court to the right on religion, guns and gays By David Savage Supreme Court Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press) When Judge Neil M. Gorsuch went before the Senate in March as President Trumps first nominee to the Supreme Court, he sought to assure senators he would be independent and above the political fray. There is no such thing as a Republican judge or Democratic judge, he said more than once. We just have judges. But in just his first few weeks on the high court, Justice Gorsuch has shown himself to be a confident conservative activist, urging his colleagues to move the law to the right on religion, gun rights, gay rights and campaign funding. He dissented along with Justice Clarence Thomas when the court rejected a gun-rights challenge to Californias law that strictly regulates who may carry a concealed weapon. The 2nd Amendments core purpose, they said, shows the right to bear arms extends to public carry. He wrote a dissent, joined by Thomas and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., when the court struck down part of an Arkansas law that gave opposite sex-couples, but not same-sex couples, the right to have both spouses listed on a childs birth certificate. The court said it had already decided that same-sex couples deserve fully equal rights under state law. And when Trumps travel ban came before the court this week, Gorsuch dissented from the majoritys middle-ground approach, which allowed the ban to take effect except for foreign travelers who had a relationship with this country, such as a close relative or a student enrolled in a university. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

When he meets South Koreas president, Trump will be asking for trade concessions and help confronting North Korea By Brian Bennett (Nicholas Kamm / AFP Photo) President Trump plans to pressure South Korean President Moon Jae-in to make trade concessions when they meet Friday, while at the same time seeking closer cooperation against North Koreas accelerating nuclear program. Both aims, outlined Wednesday by a senior administration official, could make for some difficult discussions, especially since the newly elected Moon campaigned for a softer approach to the government in Pyongyang. Moon, who arrived Wednesday in Washington, began his four-day visit by laying a wreath at a memorial at Marine Corps Base Quantico in northern Virginia to the U.S. Marines who died during the Korean War in the battle at Chosin Reservoir. Trump will host Moon and his wife, Kim Joon-suk, for dinner at the White House on Thursday before the two leaders meet one-on-one in the Oval Office on Friday morning. Having criticized the two countries trade agreement when he was running for president, Trump will argue for a more balanced trade relationship, the administration official said in a background briefing. In particular, Trump will cite the large amount of Chinese steel that is sometimes processed in South Korea before being sold cheaply in the U.S. market. The two leaders will have a friendly, frank discussion about the trade imbalance between South Korea and the United States, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Seouls trade surplus is shrinking, the official added, but there is still a large gap. The visit will mark the first time the two leaders have met since the liberal Moon took office last month after the ouster of President Park Geun-hye, a scandal-tarred conservative who had taken a hard line against North Korea. Trump and Moon share precisely the same goal, the Trump aide said -- the complete dismantlement of North Koreas nuclear program. But the approach of the two leaders is starkly different. Trump has called for maximum pressure against North Korea, seeking additional economic sanctions and demanding that China, North Koreas main ally and patron, do more to shut off assistance to Pyongyang. Moon has risen through the ranks of his countrys politics advocating for closer ties between the Koreas, which technically are still at war. Already he has taken steps to delay the deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, known as THAAD, an anti-missile system intended to counter any North Korean strikes. The anti-missile system is a divisive issue in South Korea; it prompted protests last weekend at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul. China has objected to installation of the powerful radar defense as well, but the White House believes the U.S. system will ultimately be fully operative. The delay should not be equated as a reversal of the decision to deploy THAAD, the official said, and suggested that the topic would not be central to the two presidents discussions. As important as anything [will be] building a rapport and getting to know each other, the official said. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Senate Republicans aim for new healthcare bill by Friday, but skeptics remain By Lisa Mascaro (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) Senate Republicans reconvened behind closed doors Wednesday trying to break the impasse on their healthcare overhaul but emerged with no apparent strategy for resolving differences by an end-of-week deadline. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky vowed to try again for a vote after the Fourth of July recess, despite having abruptly delayed action this week. Senators were aiming for a revised bill by Friday, the Republican whip, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, told reporters, so it could be assessed by the Congressional Budget Office during the break. But senators remained skeptical after the lengthy lunchtime huddle that appeared to run long on ideas but short on consensus. I think its going to be very difficult, said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). McConnell surprised senators by delaying this weeks expected votes once it became clear he did not have a majority for passage  or possibly to even open the debate. As many as 10 Republican senators now publicly oppose the bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act, and leaders are scrambling to win them over with an estimated $200 billion in savings from the bill that can be applied to their particular states needs. But even with that fund of resources, it is not clear McConnell will be able to satisfactorily improve the legislation, which now threatens to cut 22 million Americans off health insurance. He can only afford to lose two Republican votes in the face of Democratic opposition. Its going to be very difficult to get me to a yes... have to make us an offer we cant refuse, Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) said on a telephone town hall late Tuesday, according to journalist Jon Ralston, who monitored the call. Fresh polling Wednesday showed paltry support for the Republican approach to overhauling the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, which has enjoyed a surge in popularity now that Republicans are closer than ever to repealing it. A USA Today poll put approval of the Senate GOP bill at 12%. Republicans, though, are under enormous pressure from their most conservative supporters  and big dollar donors, including the powerful Koch network  to deliver on their promised to end Obamacare. Senate Democrats, meanwhile, suggested that President Trump convene all 100 senators  much the way then-President Obama did during his first days in office for a session at Blair House  to see how they might be able to work together to improve, rather than repeal, the Affordable Care Act. Id make my friends on the Republican side and President Trump an offer: Lets turn over a new leaf. Lets start over, said Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.). President Trump, I challenge you to invite us  all 100 of us, Republican and Democrat  to Blair House to discuss a new bipartisan way forward on healthcare in front of all the American people. No such invitation, however, seemed forthcoming. Trump dismissed Schumers proposal  he just doesnt seem like a serious person, the president said  and instead promised his own big surprise on healthcare. Healthcare is working along very well, Trump told reporters at the White House. We could have a big surprise, with a great healthcare package. Asked what he meant by a big surprise, Trump simply repeated: A great, great surprise. The Republican bill, like its counterpart passed by House Republicans, does not fully gut Obamacare, but rescinds the new taxes imposed on high-income individuals and healthcare companies to pay for expanding coverage through Medicaid and subsidies for private insurance on the ACA marketplace. Senators said the private talks Wednesday focused mainly on changes to the Obamacare marketplace that could bring down the cost of insurance premiums. One idea from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to allow insurers to offer policies that do not meet the Obamacare benchmarks for what insurance needs to cover met with mixed reaction, senators said. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a physician, warned that such changes would alter the risk pool, keeping insurance costs high. You end up with policies that, for example, dont cover maternity, Cassidy said. Do you want a policy that doesnt have maternity, which would be principally appealing to young men, when obviously typically men have had a role in that pregnancy? Other senators were floating new ideas, but McConnell gave no indication whether those proposals would be included in the final revised product. Michael A. Memoli contributed to this report. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

No new laptop bans, but air travelers to the U.S. will face tighter screening all over the globe By Joseph Tanfani Homeland Security officials said Wednesday they will order stricter passenger screening and other new security measures for all flights entering the United States but will not bar laptop computers in carry-on luggage as airlines and passenger groups had feared. The new order will cover about 2,000 flights a day from 280 airports in 105 countries, a move that could make international flying even more onerous just as the busy summer travel season starts. Security officials would not detail the new measures but said passengers headed to the United States will face more intensive screening at airports, and probably more security dogs. They gave no date for when the new procedures will start. If carriers dont implement the measures effectively, Homeland Security still may ban laptops, e-readers and other electronic devices larger than cell phones from cargo holds as well as passenger cabins. The decision follows intelligence, reportedly gathered from Islamic State in Syria by Israeli spy services, suggesting a lethal new threat from bombs that could be concealed in digital devices and that could evade detection by airport screening devices. In March, U.S. and British authorities banned laptops in cabins on flights from eight Muslim-majority countries in North Africa and the Middle East, saying terrorists were seeking innovative methods to bring down commercial jetliners. Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly told a security conference in Washington on Wednesday that the new security measures will be both seen and unseen and will be phased in over time. He said they will include tougher screening, particularly of electronic devices, plus new technology and procedures to protect planes from so--called insider attacks by airline employees. It is time that we raise the global baseline of aviation security, Kelly said. We cannot play international whack-a-mole with every new threat. He said terrorists still see commercial aircraft as the crown jewel target for attacks, and that intelligence has shown renewed interest by terrorists to attack airlines. Kelly told a House committee several weeks ago that the department was considering extending the laptop ban to 71 more airports overseas. But Kelly ultimately decided to tighten screening across the board, instead of focusing on laptops or chasing after each item that might be used to bring down a jetliner, senior Homeland Security officials said Wednesday in a conference call with reporters. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to brief reporters, said Kelly worked with airlines to find ways to improve screening without unduly inconveniencing passengers. Intensive doesnt always mean slower, said one official. In some cases, airlines have been doing these things at international airports for some time. The officials said more security dogs, which sniff for explosives, may be used. And they said airlines and airports may institute pre-check programs like those approved by the Transportation Security Administration for use in U.S. airports. The officials said restrictions on the first 10 airports will be lifted once airlines in those countries satisfy the new security protocols, officials said. Airport authorities in the eight countries affected by that ban  Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates  have been told about the new security measures and will put them in place so the ban is lifted, the officials said. In recent weeks, Kelly and his aides have huddled with their counterparts overseas, as well as with representatives of major airlines, to discuss whether to expand the ban around the globe. Airlines protested that a laptop ban would inconvenience passengers and not remove the threat. Aviation experts and European security officials warned that putting laptops in cargo holds would pose other dangers because the lithium batteries could start fires. In 1988, a bomb hidden in a radio cassette player exploded aboard a Pan Am jet flying over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 passengers and crew. The plot was blamed on then-Libyan strongman Moammar Kadafi. In 2010, powerful bombs hidden in printer ink cartridges were found aboard two cargo jets headed from Yemen to Chicago. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula later claimed responsibility for the plot. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Its crunch time for McConnell after Senate GOP is forced to delay vote on healthcare bill By Lisa Mascaro ( (Alex Brandon / Associated Press)) The abrupt decision Tuesday by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to temporarily shelve a vote on the Republican Obamacare overhaul gives him a few extra weeks to build support for a revised bill before it risks becoming hopelessly stalled by the opposition. The seasoned GOP leader will be aided by what amounts to a $200-billion piggy bank to push Republican holdouts into line. Thats the bills extra cost savings, compared with the House version, that McConnell can tap to provide perks to individual senators, from more opioid assistance to expanded tax-free health savings accounts. A similar strategy  delay and enticements  worked well in the House, where Republicans last month passed their healthcare bill on the third try. But prolonging the debate also gives Democrats and other critics time to mobilize, and ensures that senators will be exposed to an onslaught of opposition as they head home for the weeklong holiday break to defend a bill that has estimated would leave tens of millions of Americans without insurance. After the delay was announced, President Trump hosted a White House gathering of all GOP senators. But rather than rally them around the bill with the power of the presidential bully pulpit, he struck a surprisingly detached tone. This will be great if we get it done, Trump told senators in the East Room. And if we dont get it done, its just going to be something that were not going to like. And thats OK. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

As vote looms, concerns over Medicaid cuts rise from some in conservative media By Kurtis Lee Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press ) The vote  for now  is delayed. As President Trump has urged Senate Republicans to pass a bill that would overhaul the Affordable Care Act, some, including Sens. Dean Heller of Nevada and Rob Portman of Ohio, have expressed concerns over cuts to Medicaid. Both represent states that, under Obamacare, expanded Medicaid coverage to low-income adults. The current Senate healthcare bill would deliver deep cuts to Medicaid, leaving millions uninsured. While Trump awaits a vote in the coming weeks  originally scheduled for this week, but pushed back until after the July 4 recess  its on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to gather enough support from within his GOP caucus to secure the bills passage. Some in the conservative media are questioning the current bill. Here is an overview of todays headlines on this and other issues: Republicans have a Medicaid problem (Weekly Standard) The Republican healthcare bill would cut Medicaid spending by $772 billion over the next decade. Chris Deaton writes that Republicans aim to offset the consequences of these Medicaid changes by offering tax credits for private insurance to people under the poverty line. In this piece, Deaton raises the question of whether low-income earners would be better off with Medicaid coverage or obtaining insurance through a GOP tax credit? He answers by noting, Its long been a contention of conservative thinkers that healthcare outcomes improve with private insurance rather than Medicaid. Paul Manafort, former Trump campaign chairman, registers as foreign agent (Associated Press) Hes among those facing scrutiny in an FBI investigation into Russian meddling in last years election. Now, Paul Manafort, who at one time served as Trumps campaign chairman, has registered with the Department of Justice as a foreign agent. In a filing with the department, Manafort notes that his consulting firm received nearly $17 million between 2012 and 2014 from a Ukrainian political party with links to Russia, according to the Associated Press. Last spring, former national security advisor Michael T. Flynn, who resigned from his position in February after misleading administration officials about contacts with Russians, also registered as a foreign agent, for consulting work he did for a Turkish businessman. A Democratic road to recovery (American Spectator) The party is attempting a reboot. After Hillary Clintons 2016 loss and defeats in several special elections this year, Democrats are in search of a new face for the party. Even so, liberals are in lock-step in their opposition to Trump. This piece offers Democrats some advice  from the right  on how to recover. Leftists: You have been lied to and taken advantage of. When you eventually come out of this haze you are in, you will realize that it was done not by the president, but by the snake oil salesmen and charlatans, who took advantage of your sickness and weakness, simply for money and power, writes Judah Friedman. Ask yourselves this: What is the Democratic Party, right now, without this rage, and hate, with which it is fueling your addictions? The answer is nothing. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Sarah Palin sues the New York Times for tying her PAC ad to mass shooting By Associated Press Former vice presidential nominee and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is accusing the New York Times of defamation over an editorial that linked one of her political action committee ads to the mass shooting that severely wounded then-Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. In the lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court Tuesday, Palins lawyers say the Times violated the law and its own policies when it accused her of inciting the 2011 attack that killed six people. The lawsuit refers to a June editorial in the Times on the recent shooting of Louisiana Congressman Steve Scalise. The editorial later was corrected. Palin is seeking damages to be determined by a jury. A spokeswoman for the Times, Danielle Rhoades Ha, says the company hasnt seen the lawsuit but will defend against any claim vigorously. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Trump succeeds where Obama failed  spawning a new wave of liberal activism By Mark Z. Barabak Amanda Litman and Ross Morales Rocketto launched the Democratic activist group Run For Something, which encourages people under 35 to seek elected office. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) The night Hillary Clinton lost the White House, Amanda Litman cried so hard she threw up. In Atlanta, as the returns rolled in, Traci Feit Love faced a question from her anguished 8-year-old daughter: Now what do we do? Across the country, in the heart of Silicon Valley, Rita Bosworth wondered the same thing. The three never met, never spoke, never communicated in any fashion. But in the days and weeks that followed, they became common threads in a sprawling patchwork: the angry and politically aggrieved who  with no help from politicians, political parties or any formal campaign structure  have joined to fight President Trump and his policies. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump on healthcare bill: If we dont get it done ... thats OK By Associated Press (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) President Trump said that if the healthcare bill fails to pass in the Senate, he wont like it  but thats OK. Trump spoke Tuesday at a gathering of Senate Republicans after their leaders delayed a vote on their healthcare bill until at least next month. Trump said, This will be great if we get it done and if we dont get it done its going to be something that were not going to like and thats OK and I can understand that. He added, I think we have a chance to do something very, very important for the public, very, very important for the people of our country. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Watch live: Press briefing with Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Sanders and Energy Secretary Rick Perry Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Senate GOP leaders abruptly delay vote on healthcare bill until after July 4th recess By Lisa Mascaro Facing resistance from their own party, Senate Republican leaders said Tuesday they would postpone a vote on their healthcare bill until after the July 4th recess. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wants to provide more time to make changes to the bill to try to convince reluctant GOP senators to vote for the measure. Were going to press on,' McConnell said, adding he remains optimistic. Were continuing to talk. Since the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the bill would leave 22 million more Americans without insurance after 10 years, several Republicans senators had said they would not even support allowing the bill to be brought to the Senate floor for a vote. Meanwhile, President Trump invited all GOP senators to the White House for a meeting Tuesday afternoon. But Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a moderate who has expressed serious doubts about the bill, questioned whether revisions would make a difference. I have so many fundamental problems with the bill, that have been confirmed by the CBO report, that its difficult to see how any tinkering is going to satisfy my fundamental and deep concerns about the bill,' Collins said on CNN. McConnell is struggling to appease two factions in his party. Centrists like Collins want to lessen the impact of proposed cuts to Medicaid, while conservatives want to go further in repealing benefits provided under Obamacare. Senate leaders hope to continue talks this week, with an eye toward moving quickly when Congress returns after the holiday. McConnell plans to wait for the CBO to review any changes and reissue a score. He can only afford to lose two Republicans given the partys 52-seat majority in the Senate. Theres more work that needs to be done, its pretty obvious, said Republican Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho as he was leaving a Senate lunch with Vice President Mike Pence. Pence ignored reporters questions about the decision. If more work needs to be done, you shouldnt try to light the fire. But the delay in a vote will give Democrats and other opponents of the repeal bill more time to mobilize, particularly as Republicans return to their home districts during the holiday. We know the fight is not over,' said Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Trump administration warns of Syrian chemical attack, but with damaged credibility By Noah Bierman The Trump administration Monday night sent the kind of dire warning -- of the Syrian regimes apparent preparation for another chemical weapons attack, and a threat of U.S. retaliation -- that requires credibility to have a receptive national and foreign audience. Yet the initial bafflement about the warning among U.S. defense officials, and the simultaneous distraction of President Trumps unrelated tweets, seemed to undercut the seriousness of the moment. More broadly, the episode is testing the damage Trump has done to his and his administrations trustworthiness by his assaults on the intelligence community as well as other perceived enemies. Trump has spent months attacking the credibility of the intelligence community, at one point comparing their tactics to Nazis and repeatedly calling its findings of Russian meddling in the election a hoax and witch hunt, even as foreign policy experts cautioned that he was diminishing the reputation of a community he would need in times of crisis to rally public support. At a moment of crisis when U.S. decisions and actions rest upon information coming from the intelligence community, [Trump] may have diminished the credibility of that information in the eyes of the public and the eyes of the international community, said Daryl G. Kimball, the executive director of the Arms Control Assn. Kimball called the White House statement unusual and said such messages would normally be sent through private diplomatic channels. He added that the public allegation should be followed by a formal presentation of the evidence to the United Nations Security Council, to build international support against suspected Syrian violations of the chemical weapons ban. The four-line statement on Syria from the White House Press Secretary came just after 9:44 p.m. EDT Monday. The United States has identified potential preparations for another chemical weapons attack by the Assad regime that would likely result in the mass murder of civilians, including innocent children, the statement read. The activities are similar to preparations the regime made before its April 4, 2017 chemical weapons attack. If Syrian President Bashar Assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons, he and his military will pay a heavy price, it concluded, citing a U.S. missile strike after the previous chemical attack to reinforce the new threat. A Pentagon spokesman confirmed Tuesday that preparations for a chemical attack were observed at the same base in Syria from which its military launched a sarin nerve gas attack that killed 86 people, including children, in April. We have observed activities at Shayrat Air Base that suggest possible intent by the Syrian regime to use chemical weapons again, Pentagon spokesman Maj. Adrian J.T. Rankine-Galloway said in a statement. These activities are similar to what we observed prior to the regime chemical weapons attack against Khan Sheikhoun in April. But some senior U.S. defense and intelligence officials reached late Monday and early Tuesday were caught off guard by the White House statement. Some knew, some didnt, said a U.S. official who sought anonymity to discuss the intelligence matter. The official described the release of the nighttime statement as ungraceful, but said the assessment that Syria was preparing for an attack is sound. Such official statements are typically distributed widely across an administration for internal vetting before theyre publicly released. The White House said the relevant agencies were informed before the statement was published. Yet Trump lent further confusion about the urgency of the matter and his own level of concern by sending out a tweet about domestic politics only minutes later. He cited a Fox news report about the FBIs Russia investigation, writing as he often does about the probe, Witch Hunt! From @FoxNews "Bombshell: In 2016, Obama dismissed idea that anyone could rig an American election." Check out his statement - Witch Hunt!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 27, 2017 Indeed, Trump continued through the next morning to demonstrate his frustration with the Russia investigation and what he calls the American medias fake news with posts on his Twitter feed. Many tweets quoted supportive conservative commentators and Fox News reports. Trump was eager to go after CNN, one of his top media targets, after it retracted a Russia-related story and three journalists involved resigned. So they caught Fake News CNN cold, but what about NBC, CBS & ABC? What about the failing @nytimes & @washingtonpost? They are all Fake News!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 27, 2017 Trumps willingness to mix politics and his administrations ominous red line to Syria opened him up to criticism that he was trying to divert attention from other unfavorable news Monday. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office had found that the Republican plan to replace Obamacare would strip 22 million people of health insurance coverage over the next decade. The Syria statement also prompted a sharp backlash from the Kremlin, which is Assads military ally in his nations civil war. Russian officials denied there is evidence of an imminent chemical attack and called the White House threat unacceptable. The tensions have heightened as Trump is expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin next week at the G20 Summit of industrialized nations in Germany. Mondays statement may be seen as a warning not just to Syria but to Russia, which is widely seen as enabling Assads harsh tactics by bolstering his military as he has tried to retain power. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Kremlin calls White House warning to Syria unacceptable, denies any Assad chemical attack in the works By Sabra Ayres The Kremlin is calling unacceptable a White House warning to Syrias government that it would pay a heavy price if it carries out another poison gas attack against its own people. Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, also declared Tuesday that there is no indication that a chemical weapons strike is in the works. The White House said late Monday night that activity had been detected similar to that preceding a nerve gas attack on April 4 that killed dozens of civilians, including children, in rebel-held Idlib province. President Trump responded by launching nearly 60 Tomahawk cruise missiles at a Syrian military airfield that U.S. officials said was used for the chemical attack. It was the first U.S. attack on Syrian forces in the six-year civil war. Russia continues to deny that Assads forces carried out the April 4 gas attack and Peskov criticized the White House for saying there were signs of preparation for another such strike. Peskov said the Kremlin does not think it is possible to lay the blame on the Syrian armed forces for the April strike on the village of Khan Sheikhoun, which the U.S. and its allies said involved sarin, a banned nerve agent. Despite all the demands from the Russian side, an impartial international inquiry into a previous tragedy using chemical agents has not been carried out, the spokesman told Russian news agencies. Peskov criticized the White House warning to Assad, saying such threats to Syrias legitimate leaders are unacceptable. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Senate healthcare overhaul hits trouble as Republicans hesitant to proceed to vote By Lisa Mascaro The Senate Republican healthcare bill ran into serious trouble late Monday when key GOP senators indicated they may block the Obamacare overhaul from proceeding to a vote this week. Political turmoil has been building over the bill for days. But GOP tension burst open after the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported that 22 million more Americans would lose insurance coverage under the plan and that out-of-pocket costs for many of those buying policies on the Affordable Care Act marketplace would rise. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hoped to start procedural votes by Wednesday, and President Trump called key senators over the weekend as support splintered. Its the same political dynamic that stalled the House Republican bill last month, as conservative and centrist factions wrestle for dominance. Conservatives want a more complete repeal of the Affordable Care Act, which they hope will lower premium costs, while centrists are trying to avoid leaving millions of Americans without health coverage. Senate bill doesnt fix ACA problems for rural Maine, tweeted Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). I will vote no on mtp, she said, referring to the motion to proceed to the bill. Conservative Sen. Mike Lee of Utah is also working to change the bill so that he can vote yes on the procedural motion. We are not there yet, Lees spokesman said. Senators have bristled at what they viewed as McConnells secretive and rushed process, and several other senators said they wanted more time before voting. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas was among those Republicans who shared concerns in weekend calls with Trump. We continue to make progress, Cruz told reporters Monday, as Democrats, who oppose the bill, planned an almost-all-night protest session. Cruz is part of the gang of four conservatives -- including Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky -- who have said they cannot vote for the bill as is. Among the changes being pursued is one provision that would allow insurers to offer cheaper policies that do not meet ACAs requirements and another to let consumers sock more money into health savings accounts We can get there and Im hopeful we will get there, Cruz said. However, he declined to say whether he would agree to Wednesdays procedural vote. Also hesitant to proceed was Nevada Sen. Dean Heller, who has strongly criticized undoing Obamacares Medicaid expansion that has enabled about 200,000 people to gain coverage in his state. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, for example, wanted changes to help residents in her geographically far-flung state where healthcare costs are particularly high. Some senators, though, dismissed the budget analysis and said keeping the ACA would be worse. Its clear the CBO cannot predict the purchasing patterns for millions of Americans, said Georgia Sen. David Perdue, a Trump ally, in a statement. This bureaucratic analysis will do nothing to prevent Obamacare from failing. Others are weighing their votes. Republican Sen. Bob Corker, whose office is receiving thousands of daily calls, spent part of Monday on the phone with health officials in Tennessee as he assesses the fallout in his state of 22 million more people in the country without healthcare. I kind of figured it was going to be a pretty big number, said Corker, who remains undecided. Theres a lot of incoming. CBO says 22 million people lose insurance; Medicaid cuts hurt most vulnerable Americans; access to healthcare in rural areas threatened. 2/3  Sen. Susan Collins (@SenatorCollins) June 26, 2017 Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Supreme Court puts off decision in three pending cases about borders and immigration By David Savage ((Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) Amid its flurry of decisions Monday about Trumps travel ban and cases involving religious liberties and guns, the Supreme Court put off final rulings on three pending cases involving immigration and the U.S. border. In Hernandez vs. Mesa, the court in an unsigned opinion told the U.S. appeals court in New Orleans to take a second look at a border shooting case. The parents of a 15-year-old Mexican boy sued a U.S. border patrol agent who shot and killed the teenager when he was standing a few feet from the border on the Mexican side. The 5th Circuit had thrown out the parents suit. The facts alleged in the complaint depict a disturbing incident resulting in a heartbreaking loss of life, the court said in sending the case back for a further hearing. The court said it would rehear in the fall a Los Angeles case involving whether immigrants awaiting deportation can be jailed indefinitely, or instead have a right to a bond hearing after six months. The courts action suggests the eight justices were evenly split in Jennings vs. Rodriguez. The court also said it will rehear the case of Sessions vs. Dimaya to decide whether non-citizens can be deported for an offense like breaking into an empty home because it may be deemed a crime of violence. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Refugee advocates says even partial reinstatement of travel ban will cause hardship By Laura King Immigration and refugee advocates expressed disappointment Monday with the Supreme Courts partial reinstatement of President Trumps travel ban, saying even limited implementation could cause hardship to refugees and others seeking to travel to the United States from six affected Muslim-majority countries. However, organizations taking part in the months-long legal fight against the revised travel ban expressed hopes that the high court ultimately will reject the restrictions after arguments are heard in October. And they welcomed what they described as an implicit rebuke of the White Houses assertion that Trump has unfettered powers to exclude arrivals based on purported national security concerns. The initial rollout of the ban, days after Trump took office in January, caused pandemonium at airports across the United States and overseas as tens of thousands of visa-holders arriving from seven affected countries were turned away without warning or detained. After courts blocked that order, Trump issued a revised travel ban that took Iraq off the list. A replay of Januarys travel chaos was unlikely Monday because the courts action will allow visa-holders with bona fide ties to people or entities in the U.S. to enter, meaning students, employees and family members can still get in. But refugee advocates said the courts limited ruling, which the administration can move to implement on Thursday, could leave many would-be arrivals in limbo pending the finalizing of new vetting procedures. The administration had originally said a three-month travel ban was needed in part to review the checks to which would-be entrants are subjected. David Miliband, president of the International Rescue Committee, said the partial reinstatement of the ban particularly threatens vulnerable people waiting to come to the U.S., including those with urgent medical conditions. We urge the administration to begin its long-delayed review of the vetting process and restart a program which changes lives for the better, said Miliband. The National Immigration Law Center, one of the groups that challenged the ban, said that as of this week, approximately 50,500 refugees from the six affected countries had been approved for travel and resettlement in the United States  all having already undergone intensive checks. The Middle East Studies Assn., one the groups contesting the ban in the lower courts, said many students and academics were ensnared by the original order. Even though Mondays court move should allow entry to those studying or working at American academic institutions, many from the affected countries remained wary of leaving and then attempting to re-enter the United States, the group said. Iran  along with Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Syria and Libya  is one of the affected countries, and Southern California is home to a large Iranian American community that was hit hard by the original ban. Some advocates said even with Mondays limited action, there has already been a chilling effect on movement. Todays Supreme Court decision immediately places the status of many Americans families into question again, said Shayan Modarres, legal counsel for the National Iranian American Council. The group said that visas issued to Iranian passport-holders had fallen by nearly half since the legal battle over the ban began, and that obtaining a U.S. visa was becoming so onerous that many would not even try to get one. The Trump administrations new idea is to make it so hard on Iranians and Muslims to get a visa that visa officers will have the unrestricted discretion to reject visa applications, Modarres said. He added that grounds for rejection could be social media postings critical of Trump or not being able to produce airline boarding passes that could have been issued and used more than a decade ago. Advocacy groups reiterated their position  which was argued in a number of the lower court cases that propelled the issue to the high court  that the travel restrictions run counter to core American traditions and values. Mark Hetfield, president of the refugee resettlement agency HIAS, said the group considered the courts move an affirmation that the president does not have unfettered, unchecked authority to bar refugees from the U.S. without evidence to justify such action. But he added that the executive orders partial resurrection would once again cause irreparable damage to refugees, immigrants, and Americas reputation as a welcoming country. The initial ban prompted large nationwide protests, and advocates suggested they would again seek to marshal popular opposition to the restrictions. When the first order went into effect, tens of thousands of Americans showed the world that this is not who we are and not what we want, said Becca Heller, director of the International Refugee Assistance Project, another of the groups involved in the legal challenge. We will never give up defending the rights of those who are affected by this discriminatory executive order. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump says Supreme Court action on travel ban gives him important tool By Michael A. Memoli .@POTUS statement says SCOTUS action allows him to "use an important tool for protecting our Nation's homeland." Will admin press further? pic.twitter.com/gxBJO5aYYZ  Mike Memoli (@mikememoli) June 26, 2017 President Trump celebrated the Supreme Courts decision Monday to allow a curtailed version of his travel ban to take effect, calling it a clear victory for our national security. In an official White House statement, the president said he was particularly gratified that at least part of the ruling was 9-0; three conservative justices said they would have let the presidents revised executive order take effect completely. My number one responsibility as Commander in Chief is to keep the American people safe. Todays ruling allows me to use an important tool for protecting our Nations homeland, he said. The White House has long maintained that the president was acting within his authority in seeking to temporarily restrict travel to the United States. They most often point to a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act that states a president can suspend or limit entry of individuals whenever the president finds that the entry ... would be detrimental to the interests of the United States. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Rival Senate factions push competing agendas as healthcare bill hangs in balance By Laura King Heading into a week of intense jockeying and arm-twisting over the Senates polarizing healthcare plan, the rift appeared to widen Sunday between moderates who consider the measure too punitive and conservatives who want to see the sweeping bill toughened up before agreeing to back it. President Trump, who made the repeal of his predecessors signature Affordable Care Act a campaign centerpiece, expressed optimism about chances for Senate passage, but declared again that he wanted to see a plan with heart  suggesting he might undercut Republican efforts to bring recalcitrant conservatives on board. With Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) seeking to push ahead with a vote this week, the bills prospects hung in the balance. Five GOP senators have said publicly they oppose the measure as written; the defection of only three Republicans would be enough to sink it. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Analysis: Atop 2017 losses, a sobering challenge for Democrats aiming at Trump next year By Cathleen Decker Republican Karen Handel, winner of last weeks special House election in Georgia. ( (Bob Andres / Atlanta Journal-Constitution)) Democrats have hoped that President Trumps deep unpopularity would propel them to gains in next years midterm election as they fight to take control of the House and improve their position in the Senate. But last years contests and this years special elections suggest a complication: Trump is so distinctive a politician that its hard to persuade voters that other Republican candidates are carbon copies of the president. Trumps outsized persona makes even those Republicans who share his views seem more moderate, an important attribute to swing voters. That presents a problem for the party out of power. Midterm elections traditionally serve as referendums on the president, but voters complicated views of Trump may give Republicans more running room than his popularity figures suggest. The votes cast by individual Republican incumbents may be more important to their survival than any linkage with the president. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Conservatives at Koch summit outline changes to Senate healthcare bill to win their support By Lisa Mascaro Tim Phillips, who heads Americans for Prosperity, the largest of the Koch networks advocacy groups, speaks to the media at the White House in Washington on March 8. (Andrew Harnik / Associated Press) Conservatives floated two amendments for toughening up the Senates Obamacare overhaul this weekend at the influential Koch networks confab of wealthy donors, as Republicans seek ways to win over detractors and tip enough GOP votes for passage. That the Koch network quickly panned the Senate bill is no surprise. The organization of deep-pocketed conservative advocacy groups similarly rejected the House GOP bill this spring until party leaders tacked on tough amendments to appease right-leaning Republicans. Weve been disappointed that movements not been more dramatic toward a full repeal or a broader rollback of this onerous law Obamacare, said Tim Phillips, who heads Americans for Prosperity, the largest of the Koch networks advocacy groups. But we are not walking away, he said. We worked to make the House bill better and it did get better. Were doing the same thing on the Senate front. One key lawmaker attending the weekend summit at the luxurious Broadmoor Hotel, Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus and a chief negotiator on the House bill, outlined two key changes to the bill that he said could likely win enough conservative support for passage. One amendment from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) would allow companies that offer insurance policies on the Obamacare marketplace to also offer plans that do not meet the ACAs strict requirements. Such a change would in essence allow insurers to offer cheaper, though skimpier, policies that may help achieve the GOPs goal of lowering premiums for consumers. Another amendment would broaden the ability of those who buy insurance on the marketplace to sock away more money in tax-free Health Savings Accounts to help them pay for their premiums. Cruz is one of four Senate conservatives who have said they would not support the bill unless changes are made, positioning them for negotiations in the days ahead. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) needs to win back some of their votes to pass the bill with his slim 52-seat Republican majority. One of the conservatives, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), was among those feted Saturday night at a reception with Charles Koch, the billionaire industrialist who funds the conservative network. Koch told those gathered for an outdoor cocktail reception on a breezy Colorado Springs evening about how far his team has come over the years at promoting what is a libertarian-leaning conservative agenda. Now when I look at where we are, at the size and effectiveness of this network, Im blown away, he told donors. Koch met Friday with Vice President Mike Pence. But the politics in the Senate remain difficult as McConnell continues to negotiate behind closed doors and rushes the bill to a vote expected this week. On Sunday, one key centrist, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, doubted a swift resolution. Its hard for me to see the bill passing this week, she said on ABCs This Week. Another crucial vote, Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a physician who had offered his own proposal, also criticized the rush. I frankly would like a few more days to consider this, Cassidy said on CBSs Face the Nation. But Republicans are anxious to resolve the healthcare debate, which has created a logjam in their legislative agenda. Meadows also told reporters if the Senate passes the bill this week, the House could quickly follow with a weekend session -- ahead of a Fourth of July bill signing by the president. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Schiff: Obama should have acted on Russian interference, but Trump shouldnt complain By Laura King A top House Democrat says President Obama should have reacted more forcefully upon learning of Russian election-meddling, but also asserted that it was illogical for President Trump to levy such criticism against his predecessor. I think the [Obama] administration needed to call out Russia earlier, needed to act to deter and punish Russia earlier, Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), said in an interview aired Sunday on CNNs State of the Union. Failure to do so, he said, had been a very serious mistake. But Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said Trumps criticism of Obama made little sense in light of the current presidents own inaction in the face of decisive U.S. intelligence conclusions about Kremlin efforts to tip the 2016 race to Trump. Trump, Schiff said, is in no position to complain here in light of the fact that as a candidate, he openly urged the Russians to hack Clintons emails. To criticize Obama is now a bit like someone knowingly receiving stolen property blaming the police for not stopping the theft, said Schiff, a former prosecutor. On Saturday, Trump issued a statement on Twitter referencing a Washington Post report a day earlier detailing the previous administrations wrestling with how, when and whether to make public the degree of Russian interference. Since the Obama Administration was told way before the 2016 Election that the Russians were meddling, why no action? Focus on them, not T! the president tweeted. The Post report said Obama was worried about the appearance of improperly using mounting intelligence reports about Russian activities to aid Clintons candidacy. The subject was particularly inflammatory because at that point in the race, Trump had complained repeatedly about the rigged political process and even suggested he might not respect the election outcome. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump says hes optimistic about Senate approval of GOP healthcare measure By Laura King President Trump says he believes that backers of a sweeping GOP healthcare measure are going to get there and pass the measure despite the refusal of five Republican senators to endorse the bill as written. Healthcare is a very, very tough thing to get, but I think were going to get it, Trump said on Fox and Friends in an interview aired Sunday that he had touted beforehand on Twitter. We dont have too much of a choice because the alternative is the dead carcass of Obamacare, the president said, referring to the Affordable Care Act, his predecessors signature piece of legislation. Opinion polls have indicated low public support for the version of the healthcare bill passed earlier by the House of Representatives. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), wants to bring the Senate version, unveiled days ago, to a vote this week. In addition to the five Republican senators who have publicly aired their opposition, several others have declined to explicitly endorse the bill, which would overhaul the U.S. healthcare system and set the stage for massive tax breaks that would primarily benefit the wealthiest Americans. With a 52-seat Republican advantage in the 100-member chamber, only three GOP defections would be sufficient to derail the measure, since Vice President Mike Pence could cast a tie-breaking vote. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Pro-Trump group launches new attack ad against special counsel Robert Mueller By Lisa Mascaro A Southern California group backing President Trump is out with a new ad attacking special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, criticizing the investigation into the Trump campaigns possible cooperation with Russian interference in the 2016 election. The ad, called Witch Hunt, features conservative favorite Tomi Lahren reflecting Trumps own language to complain about the probe. The more than $400,000 ad buy is expected to start running Sunday. Only in Washington could a rigged game like this be called independent, Lahren says, using air quotes in the ad to emphasize her point. She is now a senior advisor to Great America Alliance, which backs Trump. The ads chief complaint echoes Trumps criticism that Muellers team has ties to Democrats, because some of the lawyers have given campaign contributions to the party. Trump has also complained of the relationship between fired FBI Director James B. Comey and Mueller, who was once his boss. Mueller is a registered Republican. Among the members of the legal team he is assembling for the Russia probe -- which is also looking into whether the president obstructed the federal investigation by firing Comey -- four have donated to Democrats. One who gave the maximum donation to Trump rival Hillary Clinton also donated to Republicans. Both Republicans and Democrats have praised Muellers credentials and ability to handle the Russia probe as an independent investigation. The group, which ran a similar attack against Comey ahead of his testimony earlier this month on Capitol Hill, has emerged as a key pro-Trump organization. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Koch brothers political network says Senate GOP healthcare bill is insufficiently conservative By Associated Press ( (Andrew Harnik / Associated Press)) Chief lieutenants in the Koch brothers political network lashed out at the Senate Republican healthcare bill on Saturday, becoming a powerful outside critic as GOP leaders try to rally support for their plan among rank-and-file Republicans. This Senate bill needs to get better, said Tim Phillips, who leads Americans For Prosperity, the Koch networks political arm. It has to get better. Phillips called the Senates plans for Medicaid a slight nip and tuck over President Obamas healthcare law, a modest change he described as immoral. The comments came on the first day of a three-day private donor retreat at a luxury resort in the Rocky Mountains. Invitations were extended only to donors who promise to give at least $100,000 each year to the various groups backed by the Koch brothers Freedom Partners  a network of education, policy and political entities that aim to promote small government. No outside group has been move aggressive over the years-long push to repeal Obamas healthcare law than the Kochs, which vowed on Saturday to spend another 10 years fighting to change the healthcare system if necessary. The Koch network has often displayed a willingness to take on Republicans  including President Trump  when their policies arent deemed conservative enough. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions wants to get tough on crime. These people think hes got it all wrong By Jaweed Kaleem Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions has vowed to crack down on crime by sending more criminals to prison for longer periods of time. Every one of our citizens, no matter who they are or where they live, has the right to be safe in their homes and communities from the scourge of criminal gangs, rapists, carjackers and drug dealers, Sessions said in an address to law enforcement officials in Memphis, Tenn., last month. In his view, imprisoning more criminals would make families safer, and fewer people would break the law if there were more severe punishments for crimes such as drug offenses. In a recent memo to federal prosecutors, Sessions instructed them to pursue the harshest punishments legally allowed, a reversal of an Obama-era move giving federal lawyers more leeway to reserve such prosecutions for repeat offenders and people who had committed the worst of crimes. Department of Justice officials hope the changes at the federal level  where a sliver of crimes across the country is prosecuted  will trickle down to a similar approach to crime in states. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Vice President Mike Pence stops in for an unscheduled chat with billionaire Charles Koch By Lisa Mascaro Vice President Mike Pence popped in for a visit this weekend with Charles Koch, the billionaire GOP donor hosting his semi-annual confab of like-minded business leaders assessing their priorities for the White House and Congress. The meeting was not listed on Pences official schedule for the day. President Trump never much enjoyed backing from Koch s sprawling, secretive, political enterprise, which has emerged as a libertarian-leaning power center, sometimes overshadowing the traditional Republican Party apparatus with its high-dollar donors and vast operations. Kochs group did not endorse the GOP presidential nominee. But the network has always had close ties with Pence. The vice president had previously attended the exclusive gathering of donors, held this weekend at the luxurious Broadmoor hotel. And his top staff was plucked from a key Koch organization, Freedom Partners. Pence and Koch and their top aides spoke for nearly an hour late Friday, according to a Koch spokesman. They discussed tax reform, the GOPs healthcare overhaul and other heavy legislative lifts that have run into resistance in the Republican-controlled Congress. The aide described the talks as casual. Pence was in the area making other stops, including at the Air Force Academy and an evening fundraiser for GOP Sen. Cory Gardner. Even without investing in Trump, the Koch network has made impressive strides in advancing its agenda this year. Congress swiftly rolled back more than a dozen regulations, including some intended to protect the environment, that Koch-backed groups complained were too rigorous and invasive in industry operations. The Koch network groups, including Freedom Partners, a free market-oriented, chamber of commerce-type organization, is pushing the Trump administration and Congress to pass tax reform and overhaul healthcare. Both those efforts have stalled in Congress amid Republican infighting, but the Koch groups is able to put their army of resources  money, staff and volunteers in the states  to pressure lawmakers to act. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Kris Kobach fined for misleading court and refusing to produce previously exposed Trump memo By Colleen Shalby (Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press) Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach has been fined $1,000 for misleading a federal court in an effort to keep two documents private. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit last year against Kobach arguing that his states proof of citizenship law violates the National Voter Registration Act. ACLU lawyers asked Kobach to produce two documents they said pertained to the case. One of those documents was a draft of a proposed amendment to the National Voter Registration Act. The second was a document that had been photographed and widely shared in late November after Kobach met with then-President-elect Donald Trump. The power of a zoom lens exposed certain details of his proposal to Trump to deport potential terrorists. In a 24-page ruling made public Friday, U.S. Magistrate Judge James OHara wrote that Kobach did not accurately represent the contents of the documents when he argued against producing them. Defendant refused to produce these documents, asserting that they are beyond the scope of reopened discovery, do not seek relevant information, and are protected by the attorney-client, deliberative-process, and executive privileges, the judge wrote. The court took Kobach at his word, OHara wrote, but upon review of the documents  produced under a court order  found that they did relate to the voting rights case. The judge wrote that while the court could not say that Kobach flat-out lied, the defendants statements can be construed as wordplay meant to present a materially inaccurate picture of the documents. For now, the documents will remain classified, as Kobach designated them. But, OHara wrote, that status could change. Trump tapped Kobach last month to serve as vice chairman of a presidential commission that would oversee a voter fraud investigation. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Number of refugees admitted to U.S. drops by almost half By Tracy Wilkinson (Patrick T. Fallon / For the Los Angeles Times) The number of refugees admitted to the United States was cut by nearly half in the first three months of the Trump administration compared with the final three months of the Obama presidency, reflecting the new presidents skepticism toward immigration. Government statistics released Friday showed that more than 25,000 refugees were permitted to enter and reside in the United States at the end of the Obama administration. In the initial months under President Trump, the number fell to 13,000. The statistics were released by the Department of Homeland Security, based on information supplied by the State Department. Countries of origin were largely unchanged. In both periods, two-thirds of the arrivals came from five countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, Iraq, Somalia and Myanmar. Refugees from two of those countries  Syria and Somalia  would have been banned under Trumps executive order against entries from certain Muslim-majority nations, but federal courts have blocked the order. Trumps original order covered Iraqis as well, but he omitted Iraq from his revised order. The data suggest that the Obama administration, as it was about to turn over power to Trump, significantly stepped up the number of refugees admitted. Arrivals in its final three months reflected an 86% year-over-year increase compared to the same period the previous year. In Trumps first three months, arrivals were 12% lower than for the same period in the previous year. Trump has sought to limit the number of refugees to 50,000 this year. But adverse rulings in the courts could work against him. The United States already has one of the lowest quotas of refugee admissions among major receiving countries. Nations closer to conflict zones such as Syria have taken in millions of refugees. More people have been displaced from their home nations, because of violence and poverty, than at any time since World War II. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump nominates former Dodgers co-owner Jamie McCourt as ambassador to Belgium By Lauren Rosenblatt Trump nominated Jamie McCourt, former co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, as ambassador to Belgium. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) President Trump nominated Jamie McCourt, former co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, to be the ambassador to Belgium on Thursday night. McCourt, who co-owned the Dodgers with her husband, Frank, until their messy 2011 divorce, has donated money to several Republican organizations, including funds for Trumps campaign and his transition to the White House. McCourt was among many business leaders who signed their support for Trump early on in his campaign, praising his plan for economic development and growth. In the months leading up to Trumps victory, McCourt gave more than $400,000 to the Trump victory fund, according to data from the Federal Election Commission. She signed a letter in October 2016 with 100 other business executives and CEOs championing Trumps plan and criticizing opponent Hillary Clinton for having thrown in the towel on strong economic growth. McCourt was listed as a 2016 State Victory Finance Chair for Trumps campaign in July, according to a report from the GOP. Robert Wood Johnson, chairman and CEO of the New York Jets and Trumps nominee for ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, was also on the list as Trump Victory vice chair. After Trump won the election, McCourt continued to financially support his transition to office. In December, she helped host a fundraiser breakfast for the incoming president where tickets sold for $5,000 a piece. Prior to her support for Trump, McCourt also donated to the campaigns of several other Republican presidential candidates, including John Kasich, Marco Rubio and Carly Fiorina, although in much smaller amounts. In the past, she has also supported former President Obama, contributing to his campaign and victory funds in 2011 and donating $50,000 to the inauguration in 2009. She donated about $2,000 to Hillary Clinton for her presidential campaign in 2007, according to the FEC. McCourts ex-husband said his former wife had political aspirations of her own, with an end goal of ending up in the White House, according to a March 2010 Los Angeles Times article. Her high-profile divorce gathered a lot of public attention and ended in dispute over finances and assets. McCourt has founded and directed entrepreneurial enterprises in Los Angeles and Boston throughout her career as a entrepreneur and attorney. Her investment firm, Jamie Enterprises, invests in real estate and technology start-ups. She has degrees from Georgetown University, the University of Maryland School of Law and from MIT/ Sloan School of Management. The Senate must confirm McCourts nomination for ambassador. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Nevada Sen. Heller -- a key swing vote -- says he opposes Senate healthcare bill By David Lauter (Andrew Harnik / AP) Nevada Sen. Dean Heller said Friday that he planned to vote against the Republican healthcare bill, a potentially key defection. Although the White House and Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky have said they plan further negotiations over the bill, its going to be very difficult to get me to a yes, Heller said at a news conference in Nevada with Gov. Brian Sandoval (R). The bill unveiled Thursday by McConnell is simply not the answer, he said. In this form, I will not support it. Given the unified Democratic opposition to the bill, McConnell can afford to lose only two Senate Republicans, so Hellers announcement is significant. A no vote by Heller would not seal the fate of the bill, however. Heller is widely viewed as the most vulnerable Republican senator up for reelection in 2018 -- the only one running in a state that Hillary Clinton carried last year -- and Republican leaders have been hoping to avoid having to count on his vote. Heller cited several reasons for opposing the bill, but the chief one was its deep reductions in federal support for Medicaid. This bill will mean a loss of coverage for millions of Americans and many Nevadans, he said. Nevada, under Sandoval, has used its authority under the Affordable Care Act to expand Medicaid, which has given health coverage to more than 210,000 additional state residents, Sandoval said. These are folks who are worth fighting for, he added. The cutbacks the Senate bill, which would end Medicaid expansion, would cost the state $120 million a year by 2022, with the cost rising sharply after that the governor said. Thats a cost that the state cannot sustain. Heller also cited the bills impact on treatment for opioid addiction and the likelihood that the plan would fail to reduce premiums. There isnt anything in this piece of legislation that will lower your premiums, he said, contradicting one of the main arguments that supporters of the bill have made. Hellers announcement increases the pressure on McConnell to find ways of persuading several other reluctant senators to support the bill. Four conservatives, Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Mike Lee of Utah, Ted Cruz of Texas and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, said Thursday they were opposed to the bill in its current form because it does not go far enough to roll back the Affordable Care Act. Several more centrist senators, including Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rob Portman of Ohio and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, have voiced concerns similar to Hellers about the depth of the bills Medicaid cutbacks and its impact on opioid treatment. Collins and Portman have both said they want to review the analysis of the bill from the Congressional Budget Office before making up their minds. The budget office has said it will release that assessment early next week. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump signs VA reform bill to make it easier to discipline and fire employees By Lauren Rosenblatt President Trump signed into law Friday a bill that will ease restrictions on the discipline and termination of employees from the troubled veterans affairs department. The Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 is designed to speed up the process to discipline an employee for misconduct and put more decision-making power in the hands of Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin. The act is in response to the 2014 VA scandals involving long wait times for medical care and attempts by VA employees to cover up the delays. Trump, who promised to improve healthcare for veterans during his campaign, said the bill was one of the largest reforms to the VA in its history and is essential to making sure our veterans are treated with respect. The bill passed the House with bipartisan support June 13 and the Senate on June 6. Although the bill is widely supported by veterans advocacy groups, civil servant unions condemn the legislation as a way to get around long-standing protections for government employees and whistle-blowers. The reform, Shulkin said, will not be used as a tool for mass firings, but rather a way to raise morale throughout the department and attract new employees. Slow, steady, incremental change isnt what this organization needs, Shulkin said. Right now, I believe this is progress. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Mexico pushes back against Trumps tweet calling it the second deadliest country in the world By Kate Linthicum Mexicos Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray speaks during a news conference in Cancun, Mexico, on June 19. (PEDRO PARDO/AFP/Getty Images) After President Trump incorrectly tweeted that Mexico is the second deadliest country in the world after Syria, the Mexican government responded quickly. No, Mexico isnt the second deadliest place on the globe, said a tersely worded statement issued by Mexicos secretary of foreign relations, pointing to a host of other Latin American countries that have higher per capita murder rates. And while homicides have been rising in Mexico in recent years, rising violence in Mexico is inextricably linked to demand for drugs in the United States, the statement said. Illicit drug trade is indeed the most important cause of violence in Mexico and drug trafficking is costing thousands of lives both in Mexico and the U.S., the foreign ministry said Thursday. However, as has been repeatedly stated by the U.S. government itself, drug trafficking is a shared problem that will end only by addressing its root causes: high demand for drugs in the U.S. and supply from Mexico and other countries. In order to be effective, we must be able to move beyond finger-pointing, the statement said. The Mexican government issued the response after Trump tweeted a reference to a controversial recent study that ranked Mexico as the worlds second most-dangerous conflict zone after Syria. Trump misrepresented the study in his tweet, saying Mexico was just ranked the second deadliest country in the world. He also neglected the considerable debate about the studys accuracy. The annual Armed Conflict Survey, released this year by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, has been called into question by the Mexican government and others who say it wrongly points to the existence of an armed conflict in Mexico. The existence of criminal groups is not sufficient criteria to speak of a non-international armed conflict, said a joint statement issued by Mexicos secretaries of governance and foreign relations in May, adding that drug-war violence is part of a bigger regional problem. Although Mexicos homicide rate has soared  the first two months of 2017 were the most violent since the government started releasing such statistics in 1997  other countries are experiencing higher homicide rates. In January, Mexico had a homicide rate of 20 deaths per 100,000 people, according to a Times analysis of Mexican crime statistics. By comparison, El Salvadors homicide rate was 81 deaths per 100,000 people in 2016, according to InSight Crime, a think tank that studies organized crime in Latin America. Venezuela had a homicide rate of 59 deaths per 100,000 people. Trump ended his tweet with a frequent campaign mantra: We will BUILD THE WALL! Mexico was just ranked the second deadliest country in the world, after only Syria. Drug trade is largely the cause. We will BUILD THE WALL!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 22, 2017 Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Supreme Court says final decisions of term will come on Monday By David Savage The Supreme Court is shown at sunset on Feb. 13, 2016. (Jon Elswick / Associated Press) (Jon Elswick / Associated Press) The Supreme Court announced it will hand down its final rulings for this term on Monday. But that does not mean the justices will actually decide the six cases that remain, which include three significant disputes involving immigration and the U.S. borders. Heres a look at the notable decisions so far. On Nov. 30, with one seat on the court still vacant, the eight justices heard arguments in a Los Angeles case on whether noncitizens who face possible deportation can be held in jail indefinitely or instead have a right to a bond hearing after six months. The case, Jennings vs. Rodriguez, has taken on added importance in the Trump era, but the long delay may signal that the justices are split 4-4. If so, the court may announce Monday that the case will be reheard in the fall, leaving it to new Justice Neil M. Gorsuch to cast the tie-breaking vote. Also still pending, since January, is a California case that will decide whether a crime such as breaking into an empty home qualifies as a crime of violence, triggering automatic deportation, even for an immigrant who is a longtime legal resident. A ruling in Sessions vs. Dimaya could affect thousands of deportations The third case, pending since February, is a closely watched border shooting. At issue in Hernandez vs. Mesa is whether a U.S. agent can be sued for fatally shooting a 15-year-old who was standing on the Mexican side of the border. On Friday, the justices gave a second chance to a Korean restaurant owner from Memphis who faces deportation for selling Ecstasy pills. Based on his lawyers advice, he pleaded guilty to the drug charge, having been assured it would not trigger his deportation. The lawyer was wrong. By a 6-2 vote in Lee vs. United States, the court said the Korean man may withdraw his guilty plea and go to trial. But for his attorneys incompetence, he would not have accepted a plea, said Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.. Dissenting were Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr.. The justices, including Gorsuch, are likely to rule in a significant case on religion and funding for church schools. In Trinity Lutheran vs.Comer, the justices will decide whether states may exclude church schools from receiving public funds. Also still pending, but on a different track, is the Trump administrations appeal over his blocked foreign travel ban. The court may act on that appeal at any time. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Trump backs L.A. Olympic bid in meeting with IOC officials By Michael A. Memoli The opening ceremonies of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times) President Trump pledged his full support for the Los Angeles bid to host a future Summer Olympics, the White House said Friday after an Oval Office meeting with the head of the International Olympic Committee. Trump met Thursday with IOC President Thomas Bach and three U.S. members of the IOC -- Larry Probst, Anita DeFrantz and Angela Ruggiero. A White House official called it a very constructive conversation in which Trump backed a potential third Summer Games in Los Angeles. With only L.A. and Paris bidding to host the 2024 games, the IOC is moving to reward both cities, giving one hosting duties in 2024 and the other in 2028. The United States hasnt hosted a Summer Olympics since the Centennial games in Atlanta in 1996. Salt Lake City hosted the Winter Olympics in 2002. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said he discussed the citys Olympic bid during a post-election conversation with Trump last November and that the then-president elect pledged his backing. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump says he tweeted about tapes to influence Comeys account of their private conversations By Michael A. Memoli .@POTUS on why he wanted former FBI Dir. James Comey to believe there were tapes of their conversations pic.twitter.com/pCuibM5Z6k  FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) June 23, 2017 President Trump called it bothersome that the special counsel now overseeing the Russia probe was good friends with fired FBI Director James B. Comey, and said he hinted at having tapes of his private conversations  apparently falsely  to try to influence Comeys eventual testimony. The president made his remarks during an interview that aired Friday morning on Fox & Friends, but was recorded on Thursday just hours after he tweeted that he did not, in fact, have tapes. Trump said that floating the possibility they did exist might have forced Comey to tell what actually took place at the events. When he found out that, I, you know, that there may be tapes out there, whether its governmental tapes or anything else, and who knows, I think his story may have changed, Trump said. My story didnt change. My story was always a straight story. Foxs Ainsley Earhardt followed up: So it was a smart way to make sure he stayed honest in those hearings? It wasnt very stupid, I can tell you that, Trump answered. Many disagree, including Republicans. Comey testified that Trumps tweet is what prompted him to as
A 25-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol early Saturday after police said he lost control of his vehicle and knocked over a tree in Costa Mesa.

Officers responded to Fairview Road near Wilson Street at 1:58 a.m. where a driver had reportedly crashed, police said.

Authorities said the driver struck a Southern California Edison pole on the west sidewalk of Fairview Road, re-entered the roadway, struck a tree in the center median and then hit a raised planter and fence.

Randy Doan of Westminster was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, police said.

City crews later removed the tree, which had been knocked over and was blocking the street.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN
I am an immigrant to the United States born in South Korea. My parents fled the North to escape communism. I understand the important relationship that exists between the United States and Korea. It is a history that is forged in blood and sacrifice.

During the Korean War, about 140,000 South Koreans and more than 35,000 Americans gave their lives to stop the spread of communism and bring freedom to all Koreans.

After the war, the United States continued to aid Korea with financial and military assistance that helped with Koreas post-war recovery. The U.S. continues to support Korea to this day. Nearly 30,000 Americans are stationed in South Korea, risking their lives every day to defend freedom on the peninsula.

North Koreas unstable communist dictator, Kim Jong-un, continues to test ballistic missiles, increasing the threat to the Republic of Korea and freedom in the Pacific.

Of course the previous American presidential administrations laissez-faire attitude toward North Koreas belligerence are in part to blame for making us more vulnerable to its increasing threats.

The constant threat of North Korea, not only to the U.S. national security but to our allies in the Pacific, is becoming more concerning. North Korea poses a physical threat to our allies, Japan and the Republic of Korea.

Dealing with an unhinged oppressive leader is not something unfamiliar to the United States. However, the previous administrations diminishing of the number of troops and military funding, increasingly aggressive actions and changes in leadership there are cause to be anxious. The scandal and impeachment of President Park Geun-hye and recent election of President Moon Jae-in in the South have created an even greater concern with the instability of the region. The change in leadership in the South and the reckless aggression in the North is a dangerous combination for our regional allies.

Therefore, it is now more important than ever to ensure our alliances in the area continue to be strong. We cant afford to allow either Japan or the Republic of Korea to be threatened by such unpredictable power in the region.

The United States is resolved to remain loyal to its longtime allies. It is even more important for Koreans to understand what is on the table and to trust the United States. We understand the importance and the great mutual advantages of our alliance.

Ranked as the 11th largest economy in the world, the Republic of Korea has continued to grow as a global power. Once a recipient of U.S. aid, in 2010 the Republic of Korea became a member of the Development Assistance Committee and officially moved from an aid recipient to a donor; managing to become an official democracy and global power in only a few short decades.

Now is not the time to create greater turmoil with South Korea, which is still unstable from its latest election. However, it is important the new leaders understand the people of the United States will not be patient and complacent when it comes to matters of security. If forced, the United States could be put in the position to take preemptive action against the North.

Both Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Vice President Mike Pence have shared after their visits to Korea the continual use and testing of ballistic missiles by the North is unacceptable, and the new leadership in the South should understand the United States wants to see immediate change concerning the North.

As Pence stated during his trip to the Demilitarized Zone, the alliance between the Republic of Korea and the United States is ironclad. Our loyalties will always remain with our allies in the Pacific. In return, it is their loyalty we will need in order to ensure our mutual protection, safety and continued freedom.

Surfside resident MICHELLE STEEL serves on the Orange County Board of Supervisors.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has said he favors creating a system of pre-notification for Russian citizens wishing to visit Ukraine.

"Visas are a thing of the past. Firstly, we want to get used to biometric passports and move to a system under which people only travel using biometric passports. Secondly, and this is important to me, if you travel to many countries and then go on the Internet and say: I want to travel in five days to  this is how Russians should travel to Ukraine. It's necessary to create the platform and control entry, so it's not completely uncontrollable," Klimkin said during an interview broadcast on Monday morning by Kyiv-based TV Channel 1+1.

According to the FM, after adopting the political decision to create such a platform, it will take several months before it's ready for testing. He added that border control is the most important issue.

Klimkin said a visa system for travel by Russian to Ukraine could have been introduced long ago, but noted that residents of Crimea could be forced by occupation forces "to get a visa for travel to their own country." In addition, the FM said Ukrainian citizens live in Russia and may be forced to switch to Russian citizenship if a visa system is introduced.

"Our task should be simple  to close the border, but in such as way that it does not impact negatively on Ukrainians," Klimkin said.
Road trips make me antsy. As a hiker and runner, I build in as many stops as my buddies will tolerate on the northward drive from L.A. (destination: Morro Bay).

Here are five leg-stretchers that will break up the boredom.

The summer glow of hills along Wendy Trail in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area off the 101 Freeway. (Mary Forgione/Los Angeles Times)

Wendy Trail in Newbury Park: A 15-minute detour from U.S. 101 takes you into the grasslands and meadows of the Santa Monica Mountains.

Advertisement

Walk a few flat miles on this trail and youll come to the Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center, where kids can play in the outdoor wikiup or view artifacts inside.

How: Take the Wendy Drive exit off the 101 Freeway to its end at Potrero Road and park; no fees.

Info: Santa Monica Mountains, www.nps.gov/samo

The elfin oaks in the Elfin Forest reserve in Los Osos. (Mary Forgione/Los Angeles Times)

El Moro Elfin Forest Natural Area in Los Osos: This is an easy walk of sheer coastal beauty, from the silver lupine and sage that line the trail to the wide-angle views of the estuary and Morro Rock in the distance.

The easy boardwalk loop, less than a mile long, takes you to 200-year-old coast live oaks stunted by this coastal dune habitat, hence the elfin name. Birders should bring their binoculars.

How: Find Santa Ysabel Boulevard in Los Osos and turn on to 11th through 17th streets for access to the reserve.

Info: El Moro Elfin Forest, www.elfin-forest.org/

Native oaks line the Cerro Alto Trail near Paso Robles. (Mary Forgione/Los Angeles Times)

Blackberry flowers in the understory of the Cerro Alto Trail. (Mary Forgione/Los Angeles Times)

Cerro Alto Trail in Paso Robles: Take a break from the road by walking into a shady oak grove in the first quarter-mile of this trail. There are blackberry bushes in the underbrush and a sweet little creek with a wooden footbridge.

Youll feel miles away from the road and, as you climb, the oaks give way to a ridge studded with manzanita. Here the views of San Luis Obispo Countys hill country unfold.

You can continue on for two more miles or so to the top (yes it gets steep).

How: Trail begins off California 41 at the Cerro Alto Campground; $10 day-use fee.

The beach parallels the Embarcadero -- and offers good views of Morro Rock -- in Morro Bay. (Mary Forgione/Los Angeles Times)

Wispy beach primrose in the dunes along the Embarcadero in Morro Bay. (Mary Forgione/Los Angeles Times)

Embarcadero in Morro Bay: Kick off your shoes and head for the dunes at the spot where Atascadero Road turns into the Embarcadero.

A slog through the deep sand will feel like a foot massage, and you can check out the sand verbena and beach primrose that cling to the sandy hills.

Once through the dunes, you can walk the hard-packed beach in either direction where youll catch great vistas of the back side of Morro Rock.

How: California 41 turns into Atascadero Road and then Embarcadero; parking along the road is free.

The trail to Valencia Peak in Montana de Oro State Park is narrow and often shrouded in fog. (Mary Forgione/Los Angeles Times)

Valencia Peak in Montana de Oro State Park, Morro Bay: There are so many places to see the dramatic bluffs and coves of the California coast up close in this state park, but Valencia Peak takes you above it all.

Its a tough trek to the top of the more than 1,300-foot summit along a rocky two-mile trail.

The payoff? 360-degree views of the surf and beaches below  unless its fogged in.

How: Trail starts near the parking area south of Spooners Cove in the park.

Info: Montana de Oro State Park, www.lat.ms/montanadeoro
By the way, they like you to dress fancy (and leave children home, unless youre headed to a weekend brunch). Coat and tie are required for men.

In theory, to attend you must be invited or accompanied by a member of the Academy of Magical Arts. In practice, there are at least two pretty easy ways in. Its not so hard (though the admission charge and dinner and drinks usually add up to a pricey night). If you spend a night at the adjacent Magic Castle Hotel & Suites , youre entitled to go to the club. Or you can email one of the magicians soon to appear and ask for an invite. (More ideas here .)

What: The castle, clubhouse of the Academy of Magical Arts, was built as a private home in 1908. But by the time it opened as a magic haven in 1963, it had undergone a thorough transformation to make it fit for tricks and performances. Since then, it has survived waxing and waning popularity, not to mention a fire in 2011. (The flames flare on the night of Halloween.) Roam room to room and you encounter all manner of deceptions and marvels. Card tricks. Seances. Sleight of hand. Secret passages. And a fancy dinner.

Why: The Magic Castle is the worst kept secret in Hollywood -- a private club in a tricked-out house thats devoted to magic. And if you really want to get in, its not that hard.

See the light at James Turrells Skyspace in Claremont By Elisa Parhad Why: This awe-inspiring public art installation brings new beauty to the light of dawn and dusk. What: Dividing the Light (2007), one of several dozen Skyspaces worldwide by artist James Turrell, is an elevated metal frame perched above an outdoor courtyard. A mesmerizing light show begins at dawn and dusk when the frame is illuminated with colored light, enhancing the skys own changing hues. The Skyspace is a part of the Pomona College Museum of Art. For Turrell, an L.A. native and alumnus of Pomona College (65) and Claremont Graduate University (73), this campus installation is a homecoming of sorts, and the only public Skyspace in Southern California. Turrell is an avid pilot and considers the sky his studio, material and canvas, and his Pomona College training in perceptual psychology informs his play of light, space, and human perception. Skyspace programs begin one hour before sunrise and 10 minutes before sunset. The evening program lasts about 40 minutes. Check a listing of current exhibitions and Art After Hours days that may make a Skyspace and museum twofer possible. Where: The Draper Courtyard (between the Lincoln and Edmunds buildings) at 600 N. College Way on the Pomona College campus in Claremont, 34 miles northeast of downtown L.A. How much: Free Info: James Turrell Skyspace Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Pedal L.A.'s Echo Park Lake, munch a fancy snack and daydream of Sister Aimee and the spiritualists By Christopher Reynolds The swan boats of Echo Park Lake. (Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times) Why: The hotter it gets, the more sense these pedal vessels make. What: The artificial lake in Echo Park goes back to at least 1870. The boathouse and pedal boat operation go back decades. And the place has been dramatically upgraded in the last few years, beginning with a draining and cleaning in 2011-2013. The paddle boats operated by Wheel Fun Rentals are now shaped like swans and the larger ones hold up to five people or 1,400 pounds. (These boats look a lot like the historic swan boats in Boston Common, which also go back to the 1870s.) Head out for an hour of pedaling and drifting, not necessarily in that order, and imagine the early 20th century days when Aimee Semple McPherson was preaching in the Angelus Temple next door and these hills were crawling with communists, socialists and spiritualists. The boat rentals are open daily all year from 9 a.m. until sunset. On the hottest days, try edging right up to the edge of the fountain in the middle of the lake  youll be coated with mist or (if theres a breeze) pelted by diagonal rain. The last rentals go out an hour before sunset. (One night in July, a young man broke in and took a paddle boat for a forbidden ride. It did not end well.) The eatery, Beacon, opened in January 2017 with a menu thats longer, more intriguing and a little pricier than the average public park snack shack. The communists dont live here anymore. Bonus option: Fishing is allowed, with a license. Where: 751 Echo Park Ave., 2 miles northwest of downtown L.A. How much: The swan boats rent for hourly rates of $11 per adult, $6 per minor. Everybody gets a life jacket. A sampling from the Beacon menu: kale and avocado burritos ($7), a crab and gouda sandwich ($13), salmon toast ($10), Beacon Burger ($15), lemonade ($3). Beacon is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Info: Wheel Fun Rentals, Beacon A pedalers view of Echo Park Lake. (Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times) Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

See the Giants, glimpse the bay and duck the gulls at San Franciscos AT&T Park By Christopher Reynolds The Giants have played in AT&T Park since 2000. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times) Why: Whether youre for the Giants or against them, you can root for a home run into the bay here  something you wont see at any other major league baseball stadium. In fact, you can see bits of San Francisco Bay  distant wharves, cargo ships, maybe a few kayaks in McCovey Cove  from many of the 41,915 seats in AT&T Park. And in a city thats not always easy for families, this park is full of kid-friendly features. What: The Giants have been based in San Francisco since 1958, but they only started winning championships here after this ballpark opened in 2000. (Beyond center field youll see banners celebrating the teams World Series victories in 2010, 2012 and 2014, and a few more from the earlier New York years.) Builders worked hard to reduce the winds that made the old Candlestick Park a nightmare for anyone fielding a fly ball  and largely succeeded. In fact, experts often rank this park first or second among the most pleasant in the major leagues. But theres no banishing the gulls. At the end of every game, thousands of the scavenging creatures come swooping in to feast on leavings in the bleachers. Ushers try to fend them off, but the situation is basically Field of Dreams meets Alfred Hitchcock. Hang around for a few minutes to catch the spectacle. Gulls after a day game, AT&T Park, San Francisco. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times) Where: 24 Willie Mays Plaza, San Francisco, 382 miles northwest of downtown L.A. How much: Most tickets $9-$282. Single-game tickets here. Info: San Francisco Giants, San Francisco Travel Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Fly, roll, float and romp in a Disneys ever-evolving California Adventure By Christopher Reynolds Hollywood Land, Disney California Adventure (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times) Why: If somebody asked you to compress the best of California into 72 acres, make it abundantly kid-friendly and persuade thousands of people to spend long hours and big money there, you might crack under the pressure. (Admit it, youre already uncomfortable.) That was Disneys mission with this park. And Disney failed  at first. But since that awkward debut in 2001, when attendance fell far short of expectations, the park people have been steadily changing and fixing this place. Even if youre skeptical about all things Disney (as some people are), youll probably get a kick out of this cartoon version of our state. What: Most of the parks rides, restaurants and photo ops are all about idealizing California, including Hollywood Land (whos ever seen such clean streets and tidy storefronts in the real Hollywood?); Pacific Wharf (a mix of Cannery Row in Monterey and Fishermans Wharf in San Francisco); and Grizzly Peak (a nod to Yosemite and the tall trees of Northern California). But other features these days reach far beyond state lines. When I dropped in a few days ago, the parks marching bands and mariachis were joined by drummers, dancers and musicians from around Asia, gathered to celebrate Lunar New Year. Rides in A Bugs Land and Car Land were full of grinning guests, as was the Soarin Around the World ride  which replaced Soaring (over California) in 2016  and the Guardians of the Galaxy-Mission: Breakout! ride  which replaced the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror in 2017. This summer, Paradise Pier is scheduled to become Pixar Pier. Meanwhile, California Screamin, Mickeys Fun Wheel and Grizzly River Run were closed for refurbishment. Check before visiting to see whats open and whats not. Where: Right next to Disneyland and Downtown Disney, California Adventure, 1313 Disneyland Drive in Anaheim, is 26 miles southeast of downtown L.A. How much: Passes start at $97 (ages 10 and above; before taxes) for a one-day Value Ticket. Standard parking $20. Info: Disney California Adventure Disney California Adventure (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times) Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Drive the narrow, winding, spectacular back-door route to Big Sur: Nacimiento-Fergusson Road By Christopher Reynolds On the western slopes (Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times ) Why: Itll quicken your pulse, drop your jaw and demand your full attention. Theres no more dramatic passage from Central Californias blond hills to the Big Sur coast than this 24-mile route. What: Nacimiento-Fergusson Road, a winding, two-lane highway, begins in the Salinas Valley countryside north of Paso Robles, next to the often-overlooked Mission San Antonio de Padua and the Armys Ft. Hunter-Liggett. From there it creeps through forest and chaparral to the crest of the Santa Lucia Mountains, about 2,800 feet above sea level. Then for 7 miles, via dozens of switchback turns, it wends its way down the western slopes to Big Sur. It meets Highway 1 at Kirk Creek, about 4 miles south of Lucia. Mission San Antonio de Padua (Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times ) (Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times) Motorcyclists have loved Nacimiento-Fergusson Road for years. When a mudslide and reconstruction closed Highway 1 at Mud Creek for more than a year in 2017-2018, many more cars found their way to this alternative, as well. In normal times, with Highway 1 open, you can usually count on thin traffic on Nacimiento-Fergusson. The roads westernmost 7 miles, descending via multiple sharp turns to the coast road, are as spectacular as can be  and might start a three-alarm panic attack if youre afraid of heights. (When a route is featured on www.dangerousroads.org, you know its special.) Given the absence of lights or guard rails or cellphone reception, Id never try it after dark. On my midday drive in December, I took care to ignore the views until Id safely pulled into one of the many turnouts along the way. (For a tamer ride with similar scenery, take Highway 46 west from Paso Robles to Cambria.) Where: To reach the eastern end of Nacimiento-Fergusson Road, exit Highway 101 at Jolon Road, about 23 miles north of Paso Robles. Follow Jolon Road west, then turn left onto Mission Road, continue 4 miles, then turn left onto Nacimiento-Fergusson Road. Because the road passes through the Army base, drivers may need to show license, registration and proof of insurance. Give the drive at least two hours from the 101 to the 1. You dont want to be in a hurry here. How much: Free. Info: www.dangerousroads.org Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Recline, rebel or revel in Grand Park, where downtown L.A. celebrates By Christopher Reynolds Grand Park, Dec. 31, 2015. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) Why: Every real downtown has a park to serve as urban backyard, and Grand Park is more proof that L.A.'s downtown is getting realer by the day. What: The 12-acre park connects the Music Center at the top of Bunker Hill with City Hall at the bottom. (Yes, you can go to City Halls 27th floor observation deck and its free). The park isnt really new -- theres been open space for decades on these blocks between government buildings. But a dramatic redesign in 2012 put a far better spin on the area, and it doesnt hurt that neighboring Cathedral of our Lady of the Angels arrived in 2002, Disney Hall in 2003 and the Broad Museum in 2015. Besides its welcome green expanses and flanking playground and dog-run areas, Grand Park includes a fountain (with splash pad for kids), an adjacent Starbucks, plenty of places to sit and a busy schedule of holiday events and live shows. Picnicking is encouraged. Protesting is permitted. Food trucks come for lunch most Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Theres midday yoga on many Wednesdays and Fridays. In October and November, the park hosts Dia de los Muertos altars and art; in November and December, holiday lights. And on New Years Eve -- well, the 2016-17 party (free and alcohol-free) included three stages, DJs, live music, dancing, inflatable art, and light projections. Expect more of the same this time. Where: between 200 N. Grand Ave. and 227 N. Spring St., at the core of downtown L.A. How much: Free. Its easiest to arrive via Metro. But theres parking nearby in Lot 10 (entrances on Broadway and Hill Street between 1st and Temple streets), priced at $3.50 per 15 minutes up to a $20 maximum per weekday, $10 per day on weekends, evenings and special events. Info: Grand Park Womens March, Grand Park, January 2017. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Gawk as the waters of McWay Falls plunge from Big Sur to the sea By Christopher Reynolds ( Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times ) Why: McWay Falls, the splashiest attraction in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, roars down 80 feet from granite and redwoods to a creamy Big Sur beach and implausibly turquoise cove. Its the cascade that other waterfalls want to be. Its also a perfectly impossible California destination, because you cant stand under these falls. Theres no safe way to the beach. What: The hike is more of a stroll, really. Its about half a mile, mostly flat. (And the rest of the park remains mostly closed because of mudslides and other damage done by the Soberanes Fire of 2016.) Once youve passed through a short tunnel under Highway 1 and made a right turn, youll soon be standing on a rocky perch where a house once stood, looking south to the beach and falls. This is an invitation to chill. For one thing, the trail has ended. Also, like Yosemite Falls  which led off our California Bucket List project on Jan. 1  McWay Falls is a sort of perpetuity made plain. The water keeps coming, even if its in short supply elsewhere. And the cell reception is so rotten that youll probably never get an Instagram photo posted from here. So have a seat. Notice that theres a great view to the north also. Think about all the writers and composers (beginning with James Joyce, Richard Wagner, Al Green and Teeny Hodges) who have chosen to start and end their works with running water. Or think about nothing. Where: Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, mile marker 35.8 in Big Sur, 37 miles south of Carmel, 286 miles northwest of downtown L.A. Highway 1 is expected to remained closed at Mud Creek (27 miles south of McWay Falls) through September 2018. That means travelers from the south have two options. One is to detour from Highway 101 north of Paso Robles via Jolon Road and the 24-mile, narrow, winding Nacimiento-Fergusson Road (a star on dangerousroads.org). The other choice is driving up to Salinas on the 101, cutting over to Carmel, then coming back south on Highway 1. How much: $10. Info: Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park Looking north from the McWay Falls Trail. ( Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times) Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Marvel over this San Francisco church inspired by the ideals of the Scandinavian Da Vinci By Catharine Hamm (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times) Why: Simplicity and complexity meet in the Swedenborgian Church of San Francisco, and the marriage is a harmonious celebration of architecture and intellect. What: The 1895 Swedenborgian Church of San Francisco, a national historic landmark in Pacific Heights, is an Arts and Crafts building designed by several architects, including Bernard Maybeck, who created the Palace of Fine Arts at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1915 in San Francisco. Inside the walls are rustic redwood, found often in Arts and Crafts buildings and consistent with the Swedenborgian appreciation of natural objects, according to the 1969 book Here Today: San Franciscos Architectural Heritage. The chairs are maple, made by hand, without the use of nails, and their seats were woven of tule rushes from the Sacramento River Delta, the book says. In the fireplace in the back, the andirons become small crosses, and the crackling fire (and recently installed radiant heat) make the church a warm and welcoming spot for quiet contemplation, especially on chilly San Francisco days (which is most of them). (Catharine Hamm / Los Angeles Times) Its also a reminder of the man whose desire to understand Scripture caught fire when he was in his 50s. Emanuel Swedenborg was born Jesper Svedborg in 1688 in Stockholm. In Swedenborg: An Introduction to His Life and Ideas, author Gary Lachman describes Swedenborg as the Scandinavian Da Vinci. He was a scientist, poet, writer, mystic, statesman, inventor and biblical scholar. After Swedenborgs death in 1772 in London, societies took root that were devoted to contemplating his thoughts and works; the Bible is the center of these. These organizations made their way across the pond by the late 1780s, and the New Church (sometimes called New Jerusalem) began to spread in the United States. (Catharine Hamm / Los Angeles Times) Notable Swedenborgian churches include the Wayfarers Chapel in Palos Verdes, designed by Lloyd Wright, son of Frank Lloyd Wright. The younger Wright was said to have taken his architectural inspiration for the chapel, dedicated in 1951, from Northern Californias redwoods. Where: The Swedenborgian Church of San Francisco, 2107 Lyon St , is about 385 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Cost: Free. Services are at 11 a.m. Sundays. Office hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mondays-Fridays; knock to gain entry to the church. Info: Swedenborgian Church of San Francisco Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Soak away your stress and join Club Mud at a Corona hot springs that embraces everyone By Catharine Hamm Why: If youre intimidated by the word spa, Glen Ivy is the place for you. It feels accessible, not exclusive, meaning you can sit back and relax. What: Which is what you want to do. There are 19 pools to try, including the mineral pools, the star attraction in the early days of the late 1800s when you could soak in them for 25 cents. Today, you start by getting a locker for your street clothes and putting on your swim suit in a well-appointed area that includes changing rooms, showers and big, lighted mirrors where youll find hairdryers youll want later in the day. Glen Ivys 12 acres include a float pool and a large pool if you want to exercise. But my new favorite features are the hot and cold plunge pools. (Try switching three times between them and stay in each pool for a minimum of 30 seconds. It doesnt sound like long until youre in the cold pool.) The former Cafe Sole has been replaced by the new Ivy Kitchen, offering light but satisfying meals. (No starvation tactics here.) And, of course, you can find the usual spa treatments (extra charge but no pressure; appointments advisable) including the underground Grotto, where skin hydration is the goal ($25 upcharge). Save Club Mud for last. You paint yourself (and your hair) with mud, which is California red clay, then go bake in the sun. Before you turn into tandoori chicken, you brush it off and rinse or wash it off in the outdoor showers if youve used a tad too much. One note: Beware of bees, which are attracted to the mud. Make sure you youre wearing your sandals. The landscaping makes it all very pretty and it feels all very real, which is refreshing if youre weary of L.A. artifice. Where: 25000 Glen Ivy Road, Corona; (888) 453-6489, about 60 miles southeast of downtown L.A. (Set aside at least 90 minutes to get there.) How much: Go on a weekday when its less expensive ($49 for the day Mondays-Fridays, averaging 300 guests). Saturdays, Sundays and holidays its $68 and about 700 people will be there. Through Feb. 28, hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Its open an hour later from March through May. Check on summer hours. Info: Glen Ivy Hot Springs Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

See the small world within this Carlsbad museum of miniature engineering By Irene Lechowitzky Why: The Miniature Engineering Craftsmanship Museum in Carlsbad is novel and quirky  and proof that good things come in small packages. What: The collection includes painstakingly crafted, remarkable miniatures, many with moving parts. There are cars, planes, engines of all sorts, ships, thumb-sized guns and knives, and much more. These are not the plastic model car kits from your childhood; for example, theres an eye-popping version of a 1932 Duesenberg SJ that has more than 6,000 custom-made parts and is said to have taken more than 10 years to finish. The folks who built these tiny wonders spent decades perfecting their craft. There are hundreds of works from around the world on display, and docents to describe the intricacies and makers of each. Try to time your visit to coincide with a tour of the machine shop/engine room for a little extra oomph. Although its not geared for the toddler crowd, the museum, a few miles east of Legoland, can be an inspiring second stop for families with kids who like to build things. And while youre in the neighborhood, you could make it a triple play with a bonus stop at the nearby Museum of Making Music, where visitors have the chance to play musical instruments. Where: Miniature Engineering Craftsmanship Museum, 3190 Lionshead Ave., Carlsbad; 95 miles south of downtown L.A. How much: Free. Open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays. Machine shop/engine room demos are at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. Info: Miniature Engineering Craftsmanship Museum Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Start the New Year right with a visit to Pasadenas Rose Parade By Chris Erskine Why: Like the Grand Canyon or the northern lights, the majestic Rose Parade needs to be seen in person to be really appreciated. On a bright SoCal morning, the colors, detail and craftsmanship come alive. And throughout December, there are some intriguing pre-parade opportunities for volunteers. What: One of L.A.s finest freebies, the Rose Parade steps off at 8 a.m. every New Years morning (unless the holiday falls on a Sunday, in which case it is bumped to Monday). We wont even bother describing it, since like the Wizard of Oz or a Super Bowl, everyone has probably seen it on TV. In person, though, the parades splendor, precision and pageantry make an early wake-up call worth it. Its almost a rite of passage for Southern Californians, some of whom spend the night along the parade route. The parade has more rules than the Vatican. Do not pass the blue Honor Line painted on the street.

No tents, sofas or boxes.

Unoccupied chairs are not allowed.

No roping off public areas. And thats pretty much just the main stuff. Heres a full list. But dont let them ruin your fun. The parade, after all, is one the best family-friendly events in the area, and theyre just protecting that. To be a part of it all, join in on the float building in the days and weeks before the parade, when the flowers are being supplied and volunteer help is needed. On parade day, get there before sunup to be sure of a place along the route. Tickets in the grandstands are another option. Be sure to dress in layers, because the temperatures will range from frosty to blistering as the day progresses. Heres a little insiders trick that you wont believe until you see it. If you wait till the 8 a.m. start time, the crowd will be in place on the route and there is virtually no traffic. Pay the $20 parking fee at a random gas station along Walnut and join the fun. You wont be in the first row, or maybe even the first 10. But the floats are so high, youll be able to see them well. About an hour into the two-hour parade, the crowds will begin to relax and spots open up for even better viewing. Its a wonderful experience, hassle-free, and a great way to kick off a New Year. Where: Pasadena, about 12 miles from downtown Los Angeles. How much: Free Info: Rose Parade Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Meander among 5 million lights at Riversides Mission Inn By Christopher Reynolds ( Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times ) Why: The Mission Inn, which dates to the 1870s, stands in the middle of Riverside the way Bruce Springsteen stands in the middle of the E Street band. It fills a city block. And since the early 1990s, the hotel has been putting together an ever-more-lavish Festival of Lights. At last count, about 5 million lights. What: For six weeks at Christmastime, the landmark hotel switches on all those lights and invites visitors to stroll through the property, including a tunnel where faux snow falls. (This years festival runs Nov. 24 through Jan. 6.) The line to walk the property can get very long  and the traffic and parking situation in the blocks around the hotel can seem downright devilish. But most folks are in a good mood, and the festival includes live music, horse-drawn carriages, funnel cakes, Santa Claus photo ops and more. To see more lights and skip the line, book a dinner reservation at the Mission Inn Restaurant (one of several on the property) and you may land at a courtyard table, surrounded by Spanish Revival architecture thats more ornate (and with more Tuscan influence) than youll see at any of Californias 21 actual missions. ( Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times ) And yes, theres a reason the decorations seem to be in motion: Besides lights, the halls and walls have also been festooned with about 200 angels, gnomes, polar bears, many of which move, in the same halting, semi-spooky way that Honest Abe moves in Disneylands Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. Its a scene. And speaking of presidents, be sure to peek at the hotels Presidential Lounge and its portrait of Richard Nixon, who was a 27-year-old attorney when he married Pat Ryan at the hotel in 1940. (Theres also a tower, a rotunda, spa, all sorts of artworks and artifacts and a museum next door that traces the inns history through expansion, bankruptcy, renovations and resurgence.) Where: 3649 Mission Ave., Riverside, 55 miles east of downtown L.A. How much: Its free to walk the hotel property during the Festival of Lights. Dinner main dishes at the Mission Inn Restaurant run $15-$42. (I can recommend the Italian sausage pasta and the pan-seared salmon.) Rooms for two start as low as $199 in slow months (like January), $329 or more in December. Info: Mission Inn The inns Presidential Lounge. ( Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times ) Theres a gingerbread hotel in the inns lobby. ( Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times ) Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Peer into a writers head and a valleys soul in Salinas By Catharine Hamm Why: John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, Calif., a farming community that lacks the cachet of neighboring Carmel and Monterey. But, then, neither of those towns produced a man who went on to win a Pulitzer, a Nobel and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. To be in in Steinbecks hometown is to be reminded that, as fellow author F. Scott Fitzgerald said, genius is the ability to put into effect what is in your mind. What: Steinbecks birthplace home and the National Steinbeck Center tell the tale of the man whose Grapes of Wrath is often thought to be the Great American Novel. The community of his youth  he was born here in 1902  was this rich, rural farming area in the Salinas Valley, and his labors alongside migrant workers in the sugar beet fields of nearby Spreckels informed many of his works, including Of Mice and Men. He attended Stanford but never graduated, and he struggled to establish himself, but in 1935, his book Tortilla Flat finally put him in the public eye. His subsequent books included Cannery Row, Sea of Cortez and East of Eden and, of course, Grapes of Wrath, about which he wrote, It isnt the great book I hoped it would be. The story of the Joads, fleeing the Dust Bowl of Oklahoma and arriving in not-quite-as-billed California, won the Pulitzer in 1940. You can have lunch at the Steinbeck House, the Queen Anne style home where he grew up, then stroll the two blocks to the National Steinbeck Center, which somehow captures and conveys the challenges of his writing life. One of the central pieces of the center is Rocinante, the 1960 GMC camper pickup he drove on a 10,000-mile road trip as he scoured the country seeking its essence. The resulting book, Travels With Charley (Charley was his poodle), chronicles what Steinbeck saw as a country in sometimes uncomfortable motion. The center, which turns 20 in 2018, also does not shy away from the controversy that arose from the authors portrayal of farm workers lot in life in Grapes of Wrath. His books infuriated growers  some places banned them  and he turned his back on his hometown. But as if to prove you can go home again, Steinbeck, who died in 1968 in New York City at age 66, is buried in Salinas. Where: The Steinbeck House is at 132 Central Ave.; lunch is served 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays; reservations at (831) 757-5806. The National Steinbeck Center is at 1 Main St., about 305 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. The center is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Day. How much: $12.95 for adults; $9.95 for seniors, students, military, teachers and Monterey County residents; $6.95 for children 6-17; children 5 and younger admitted free. Info: National Steinbeck Center Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Treat yourself to Spago in Beverly Hills, and a possible tableside visit from the boss By Chris Erskine Why: Because Wolfgang Puck, who likes to work the dining room, might stop by and personally sprinkle lemon juice on your perfectly grilled fish. There, better? he asks. Of course it is. What: A meal at Spago is as L.A. as the Hollywood sign  and a tad tastier. The landmark restaurant is where Puck made great food fun again. Originally on Sunset and now in Beverly Hills, Spago is synonymous with creative, attentive and amazing dining. (Mariah Tauger / For The Times) (Mariah Tauger / For The Times) At the original Spago on the Sunset Strip, [Puck] created what later became known as casual fine dining, a movement that 35 years later still dominates the restaurant world, wrote Times restaurant reviewer Jonathan Gold. And thus, a nationwide food craze was born. For food lovers, the menu itself is an adventure. Portions are generous, and the service is perfectly timed. And though the dining room is packed and buzzy, you can have a conversation here, unlike so many restaurants these days. At lunch, the go-to standard is the house-cured smoked salmon pizza topped with dollops of caviar. Also pay attention to the veal wienerschnitzel, so tender you could cut it with your thumb. Grilled fish comes off the grill in that 10-second window when it is neither too swimmy nor too dry. Just dont forget the lemon. Where: 176 N. Canon Drive, Beverly Hills, about 13 miles west of downtown Los Angeles. How much: How much you got? For most of us, this is a special occasion restaurant. Lunches for two start at around $100 and quickly reach $200. Dinners for two will run $150 and up, before wine or cocktails. Info: Spago (Chris Erskine / Los Angeles Times) (Chris Erskine / Los Angeles Times) Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Frolic amid mai tais, Spam and tiki culture at the Bali Hai on San Diego Bay By Irene Lechowitzky Why: Because two Bali Hais are better than one. Brush up on your Rodgers and Hammerstein (Bali Hai may call you / Any night, any day), then come away to this San Diego tiki icon, the Bali Hai restaurant. What: Tiki bars have been a Southern California phenomenon for generations, and San Diego  with its sunny days, palm trees, ocean views and strong Navy heritage  is a perfect fit for the kitschy fad, tiny umbrellas and all. Starting in the 1930s, faux-Polynesian themed bars and restaurants sprang up in the cross-border region from Tijuana to San Diego. The tiki scene started to dwindle in the 1960s, and despite a resurgence of sorts, most of the old cheeky palaces have faded away. But not Bali Hai. At age 63, its still proudly shaking its hula skirt, aided by a waterfront location, fun ambiance and, yes, seriously powerful mai tais. Ambiance first: As you approach the restaurant/bar, the first thing youll notice is The Goof on the roof, a playful tiki that stands guard over the domain below. At the front door, Mr. Bali Hai, a large wood sculpture, greets guests. Inside, there are about a hundred Polynesian artifacts on display, including masks, weapons and tools. The large bar and dining room have dark wood columns, a wood-beam ceiling and large windows with great bay and city views. The Pacific Rim-inspired menu features such items as Hawaiian tuna poke, chicken adobo steam buns, Spam carbonara, pork belly katsu and Chinese garlic noodles, and holdovers such as Huli Huli chicken and coconut shrimp. But for my money, the experience isnt complete without a rum-based cocktail. There are plenty to choose from, but my favorite is the World Famous Bali Hai Mai Tai, a potent drink that proudly has No Juice Added and mixes aged light and dark rums, Trader Vics orgeat syrup, a dash of Triple Sec and a splash of sweet and sour. Where: 2230 Shelter Island Dr., on Shelter Island, about 5 miles west of downtown San Diego, 120 miles southeast of downtown L.A. How much: Dinner main dishes from $19 to $30; Sunday brunch, $40. Classic cocktails are under $10. Info: Bali Hai restaurant San Diego Bay, from Shelter Island (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times ) Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Celebrate at Lawrys in Beverly Hills, where thick slabs of prime rib are sliced right at your table By Jenn Harris (Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times) Why: Since 1938, Lawrys the Prime Rib has been the place for indulgence and celebration. Its where people spend their birthdays, anniversaries, congrats-on-your-promotion dinners and holiday parties. And where football players competing in the Rose Bowl go for the Beef Bowl. What: Walking through the heavy gold doors is like walking into a time machine. Through the other side is a magical place where people still dress up, spotless glasses sparkle on crisp white tablecloths and the plush booths make you feel like the most important person in the world. The idea was to create a version of the English restaurant Simpsons in the Strand, where cuts of meat fit for a giant are served from trolleys. But Lawrys founders Lawrence Frank and brother-in-law Walter Van de Kamp (of the Van de Kamp bakery empire and Tam OShanter Inn) had grander plans for their restaurant, starting with the meat carts. (Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times) Lawrence designed the stainless steel carving carts the restaurant is known for  the ones that glide through the dining room carrying Flintstones-sized cuts of meat  to be, well, impressive. And they are. As are the meat carvers, who don medals showing they are part of the Royal Order of Carvers (a title that requires six months of training). Each prime rib dinner comes with its own show of sorts: Servers wear the same style of brown gown uniforms they wore when the restaurant opened, and they pour dressing from up high into spinning metal bowls of salad tableside. When you order your prime rib, you do it directly from one of the shiny carts, and its sliced to order. There are smaller cuts of meat, but treat yourself to the Diamond Jim Brady (16 ounces), named for millionaire Jim Brady, who was known for eating massive amounts of food. All of the prime rib dinners come with the spinning salad, a scoop of mashed potatoes, a ladleful of gravy and a wedge of Yorkshire pudding. If you dont finish it all  you probably wont finish it all  ask for a doggie bag. The restaurant claims to have initiated the idea, along with valet parking. There are Lawrys the Prime Rib locations in Las Vegas, Chicago and Asia. The original in Beverly Hills is home to a comfortable lounge and excellent bar snacks. This is where you can order a martini kissed with prime rib-stuffed olives and find complimentary snacks that could easily replace your dinner appetizers. Arrive a little early for your reservation, grab a seat in one of the cushy lounge chairs, order a martini, then take turns filling your plate with cocktail meatballs and salty potato chips the size of drink coasters. Go for it. Indulging to your hearts content is encouraged. Where: 100 La Cienega Blvd., Beverly Hills, located on Restaurant Row, about half a mile south of the Beverly Center, about 10 miles west of downtown L.A. How much: Prime rib dinners start at $41, and you can add a lobster tail for $15. Dessert and starters are extra. Drinks in the bar/lounge area are $13 to $17. The restaurant is busier on the weekends, and reservations are recommended. Info: Lawrys Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Read forbidden words and savor daring artists in Big Surs Henry Miller Library By Thomas Curwen (Thomas Curwen / Los Angeles Times) Why: If Big Sur is a temple to the beauty of the California coast, then the Henry Miller Memorial Library is one of its most endearing altars, a respite from the rigors of navigating the twists and turns of Highway 1 and rubber-necking the vertiginous coastline. Beneath stately redwoods is a quiet repository of wisdom, irreverence and charm. Its proprietors say that it is the place where nothing happens, and yet it is where everything seems to converge. What: Henry Valentine Miller came to Big Sur in the 1940s after nearly a decade in Paris. He was, by then, author of Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, which were banned as obscene in America until 1961. Naturally they sold well, and Miller soon became a hero of renegade literature, a model for William S. Burroughs, Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. After Millers death in Pacific Palisades in 1980, a friend, Emil White, opened a memorial library that bore Millers name. With the help of the Big Sur Land Trust, the library has become a nonprofit cultural space, art gallery, performance space, bookshop and destination for artists, writers, musicians and students. Bust of Henry Miller. (Thomas Curwen/Los Angeles Times) The Henry Miller Memorial Library is a reminder of the pleasures afforded by a curated bookstore. It is a place to celebrate the macho and feminist, the consensual and the iconoclastic through the pages of its eclectic collection of books. Psychedelic cumbias from Peru or the twanging guitar of the Del Tones might be your accompaniment as you browse the tables set with Edward Abbey, Joseph Heller, William Faulkner, John Fante, David Foster Wallace, Jon Stewart, Robert Pirsig and William Least Heat Moon. Strings of paper money from around the world  offerings from international visitors  dangle from the ceiling. Posters celebrate the notable musical performances that have taken place outdoors, including Philip Glass and Patti Smith, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Arcade Fire. Outside, an upright piano falls to ruin off the path from the highway. A typewriter gathers rust on a tree stump, and an effigy made of extension cords is crucified on a cross of computer monitors. In other words, where nothing is sacred, everything is sacred. (Thomas Curwen / Los Angeles Times) Where: 48603 Highway 1 in Big Sur, which is 10 minutes south of Nepenthe, 10 minutes north of Deetjens Big Sur Inn. Also 290 miles northwest of downtown L.A., 152 miles south of downtown San Francisco. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesdays through Mondays, closed Tuesdays. How much: Its free to browse. Donations eagerly accepted. Books for sale. Tickets prices vary for performances and programs. Info: Henry Miller Memorial Library Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Roam the San Luis Obispo canyon full of architectural daydreams and wandering horses By Christopher Reynolds Poly Canyon, San Luis Obispo. (Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times) Why: Architects usually keep their daydreams to themselves. But among these hills on the back side of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, some students have allowed their boldest notions to romp free. And horses romp with them. What: Cal Poly is routinely ranked among the nations top schools of architecture, and its students and professors started testing ideas in this canyon as early as the 1960s. Lately, theres a spring Design Village event (April 20-22 in 2018) that brings students out to test temporary structures and sometimes sleep in them. Luckily for the rest of us, those nine acres and the rest of the canyon are generally open to the public, including dogs and mountain bikes (on the dirt road). Its a hike of about 2.5 miles from campus to the farthest structure, but your mileage (and elevation gain) will depend on how tempted your are to probe the structures and stalk the horses. (Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times ) ( Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times ) I wandered around on a December day when the hills were the color of straw, and at first I wasnt so happy about all the horse turds. But once the horses themselves showed up, that changed everything. They sidled up to a water tower, then struck heroic poses on the ridge line while I prowled around assorted unconventional houses and bridges, including a geodesic dome. Yes, there was some graffiti and vandalism, but many structures have been reconditioned in more recent years. (The university calls it an experimental construction laboratory.) Id call it a great spot for photo experimentation as well. There are about 20 projects, and plenty of tree shade in the lowlands along Brizzolara Creek. After a rain, Ill bet those grassy slopes light up neon green. Where: The Cal Poly campus is 195 miles northwest of downtown L.A. Enter the campus via Grand Avenue (and beware of dorm construction near the entrance). Follow the campus map to the corner of Village Drive and Poly Canyon Road, then walk northeast on Poly Canyon Road, which is a gate dirt rout that follows Brizzolara Creek. After about 3/4 of a mile, youll see a stone arch. Step through and the canyon will open before you. How much: On weekends, parking is free at lot H4 at Village Drive and Perimeter Road. On weekdays, its $5 for a parking pass at the checkpoint at the campus entrance. (I showed up on a weekday and parked at lot K-1.) Info: Cal Poly College of Architecture & Design, Hikespeaks trail description. (Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times) Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Step into the vast, strange spectacle of Kenny Irwins Robolights in Palm Springs By Christopher Reynolds ( Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times ) Why: Youll never see another holiday display quite like it. And it sits on 4 acres in the middle of an upscale Palm Springs neighborhood. What: The Coachella Valley, with its 80-degree December days, is a quirky place to celebrate winter holidays to begin with. And the quirks multiply once you enter Palm Springs Movie Colony neighborhood and approach the Irwin house, about two blocks from the old Frank Sinatra Estate. Since at least 32 years ago, when he was 12, Kenny Irwin has been driven to create epic displays from cast-off items  dreamscapes that suggest robots, space aliens and more obscure spectacles that defy description. With his fathers support (and a corps of seasonal workers to handle logistics and crowd control), Irwins compulsion has grown into Robolights, a seasonal landmark that combines Santa Clauses, reindeer, sleighs and gingerbread houses with little green men, skulls, dolls, hybrid creatures, reclaimed consumer electronics, half-melted toys and at least one coffin. At Robolights there are no clear lines between Halloween, Christmas and science fiction. ( Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times ) From Nov. 22 through Jan. 8, the scene is lighted by thousands of bulbs and visitors are ushered along a path that leads from the front yard through a forest of fantasy in the back, then out again. A thousand visitors in a night is not uncommon. On my visit in early December, Irwin was out and about, a soft-spoken man with a skullcap, caftan, long beard and gentle smile. (Did I mention that the artist converted to Islam many years ago?) Ill bet the hardware store totally loves him, I heard one visitor say. This is insane, said another. Many families pose for pictures amid the luminous chaos. Where: 1077 E. Granvia Valmonte, Palm Springs, 107 miles east of downtown L.A. But while the Robolights are lighted, the city bans nonresident parking on many streets nearby, so youll need to park a few blocks away. Try Ruth Hardy Park. And be careful as you walk  there isnt a lot of streetlight illumination in the neighborhood. How much: Free. But theres a receptacle for donations at the entrance. From 4 to 9:30 p.m. daily. Info: Robolights The Robolights yard includes a pond. ( Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times ) Worker Alex Sanchez checks bulbs at Robolights. ( Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times) Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Get down, dawg, with a $15 beach yoga class in Santa Monica By Chris Erskine Why: Beach yoga is good for the bod, and the spirit, in ways that no cramped, sweaty studio can match. What: All sorts of beach yoga classes are held up and down the California coast, but few are as affordable and easy as Beach Yoga With Brad and Friends in Santa Monica. No reservations required. Just drop in with $15 and a beach towel (or a yoga mat if you prefer). Instructor/owner Brad Keimach is a Juilliard-trained classical music conductor who moonlights  or sunlights  with these yoga classes every Saturday and Sunday from 10:30 till noon. He also holds Wednesday sunset classes starting at 3:45 p.m. and lasting an hour. When the days are longer and the clocks change, he adds more weekday sunset classes. (Chris Erskine / Los Angeles Times) For almost 10 years, his beach-based classes have appealed to first-timers as well as advanced yoga buffs. They are held on the water side of Guard Tower 29, roughly on the border between Venice and Santa Monica. Paid parking is plentiful at the public lots at the end of Ocean Park or on Main Street. Like many yoga instructors, Keimach emphasizes breathing as well as the moves and poses. He also incorporates the setting, sending students to get their toes wet at one point for a bit of spiritual spritzing. The classes pass quickly, without pain, and without Keimach putting his hands all over the students (a too-common yoga studio experience). Looking out over the sparkly Pacific, his classes combine ocean breezes, a relaxing pace and Keimachs soothing instructions, at a venue where space is never an issue. Where: Lifeguard Tower 29, Santa Monica, 16 miles west of downtown Los Angeles. How much: $15 Info: Beach Yoga With Brad and Friends Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Shop with Victorians on San Franciscos Union Street By Christopher Reynolds Boulangerie de San Francisco, 1909 Union St. ( Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times ) Why: Sometimes you just want to shop in a strange city. Not in the middle of a grand scene like Union Square or the Ferry Building, but along a street that feels like a neighborhood just a bit beyond your means. With Victorian mansions here and there. Hello, Union Street. What: Union Street has had its great-shopping reputation since the 1950s. The eight-block stretch between Van Ness Avenue and Steiner Street, surrounded by the Marina and Cow Hollow residential neighborhoods, is the prime retail portion. Many of the shops (which tilt toward apparel and beauty products) and restaurants are housed in Victorian mansions that survived the quake of 1906. One even older mansion, the pale blue Octagon House at Gough and Union, went up in 1861 and has been preserved in its residential state by the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America (so it would be wrong to knock on the door and ask if this is the weed dispensary youve heard so much about). The society opens the house a few days a month for tours. Among the restaurants, I can vouch for the Belgian food and beer at Belga (on Union near Buchanon Street). But there are more than two dozen. And theres plenty to peruse at Chronicle Books (on Union between Octavia and Laguna streets). Where: The corner of Van Ness and Union is a good place to start. Its 1.5 miles northwest of Union Square, 383 miles northwest of downtown L.A. How much: Free to browse, of course. Oysters at Belga, $3 each. Median home price in Cow Hollow and the Marina: about $1.8 million. Info: Union Street Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Find yourself in a yogis seaside Encinitas gardens By Irene Lechowitzky Why: Where else can you spend an hour and feel like youve been on a soul-replenishing spiritual retreat? At the Self-Realization Fellowship Meditation Gardens in Encinitas, you can be fully present in the moment and get in touch with your inner yogi  and do it surrounded by gorgeous gardens on a bluff overlooking the ocean. What: The goal of the Meditation Gardens, part of a large complex at the southern end of downtown Encinitas dedicated to the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda, is to inspire you to a greater realization of the Divine Presence that lies within. Walking up the stone steps into the lush, eclectic gardens imparts an instant feeling of serenity. There are koi ponds and many quiet nooks with benches where you can sit. At the top of the ocean bluff is a plaque that marks the location of the Golden Lotus Temple. The temple, built in 1937 to take advantage of the incredible views, only stood for five years before the ground gave way and it had to be dismantled. Wander past the old, empty swimming pool up the tree-shrouded path to the dry area featuring native plants and succulents overlooking the famed surf spot Swamis. (The beachs name was a nod to Yogananda.) Some visitors pray, others meditate. I like to watch the surfers below and imagine them praying for good waves. And dont miss the Hermitage at the opposite end of the gardens, where Yogananda spent many years writing and teaching. The Hermitage, preserved as a shrine, draws followers from around the world; it is open on the first and third Sundays of the month. It was moving to see the study where he wrote his most famous work, Autobiography of a Yogi, which has been translated into dozens of languages. Where: 215 W. K St., Encinitas, 100 miles southeast of downtown L.A. (Look for the three large golden lotus towers as you come down South Coast Highway 101.) How much: Free. Info: Self-Realization Fellowship Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Hoot and holler in UCLAs Pauley Pavilion, the hoop heaven that honors John Wooden By Chris Erskine (Chris Erskine / Los Angeles Times) Why: John Wooden was the Elvis of college basketball, a mythic, once-in-three-lifetimes figure. Pauley Pavilion was his Graceland. Along with Lambeau Field and Fenway Park, it belongs on any sports fans must-see list. What: Updated and comfortable, Pauley sits on the sweeping and shady UCLA campus in Westwood. It is one of the easiest L.A. sports venues to park near ($12) and navigate. Reopened in 2012 after a two-year renovation, the stadium now offers modern concessions, more room to roam and 1,000 more seats. Most significantly, it added a concourse, improving comfort and flow. Be ready for a lot of blue. After Dodger Stadium, this is L.A.s second blue heaven. (Photos by Chris Erskine / Los Angeles Times) But youre here for the lore, in a place that has produced 38 All-Americans. Wooden started it all, taking over as head basketball coach at UCLA in 1948 and leading the Bruins to a record 10 national championships. Renowned for his disciplined, values-driven approach, he created a basketball dynasty that won seven straight championships in the late 60s and early 70s, including 98 successive victories at Pauley. Wooden, who died in 2010, is the first person to be inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame both as a player and a coach. Though he resembled a gentleman banker more than a rock star, Woodens legacy lives on in the stadium he made famous. The corridors are lined with photos, timelines and a version of Woodens Pyramid of Success, a set of principles formed to help students and teams reach their potential. Where: Pauley Pavilion, on the UCLA campus, 15 miles west of downtown L.A. How much: Prices vary. Seats generally start at $8 for less-attractive games and $25 for popular ones. Info: UCLA Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Drive through In-N-Out Burgers flagship restaurant in Baldwin Park for a double-double, animal-style By Christopher Reynolds (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times ) Why: For certain carnivorous Californians, a visit to this burger chain is like church, but with more calories. At the flagship In-N-Out location just south of the 10 Freeway in the eastern L.A. County suburb of Baldwin Park, of course you can drive through, as most customers do. But you could eat inside, then browse a company store, then (on the north side of the freeway) admire a non-functioning replica of chains first burger shack. What: Harry and Esther Snyder founded the first In-N-Out burger shack in 1948, which puts them among the first to try a drive-through restaurant. Now their granddaughter runs the company. To taste what the fuss is all about, order a double-double, animal-style  two beef patties cooked with mustard, two slices of cheese and a choice of hand-leafed lettuce and tomato, plus pickles, extra spread and grilled onions. Its the appeal of these burgers and fries (no heat lamps, freezers or microwaves) that has fueled the companys growth to more than 300 outlets. (But unlike its Southern California cousins McDonalds, Jack in the Box, Taco Bell and Wienerschnitzel, In-N-Out has never expanded beyond the American West.) (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times ) Though the companys first home at San Francisquito and Garvey avenues has been leveled, the current restaurant is joined by not only a store (open 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays) but a regional distribution center, the two-story campus of In-N-Out University and the replica shack, which went up in 2014. (The online store does have wider inventory than the brick-and-mortar one, including socks and surfboards.) Where: 13850 Francisquito Ave., Baldwin Park. The company store is at 13800 Francisquito. The replica shack (free and open for selfies Thursdays through Sundays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.) is at 13752 Francisquito. The restaurant is 16 miles east of downtown L.A. How much: Double-double, animal-style, $4.27. Info: In-N-Out (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times ) Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Light up your life at the Museum of Neon Art in Glendale By Catharine Hamm The Museum of Neon Art in Glendale showcases the once wildly popular light form. (Catharine Hamm / Los Angeles Times) Why: Decorative and delightful, the works that light up our lives at Glendales Museum of Neon Art are part art and part science and all fascinating. What: In 2015, the museum moved from downtown Los Angeles, where it had lived since 1981, to Glendale and has been lighting up lives ever since. Pep Boys grace the entry. (Catharine Hamm / Los Angeles Times) For this you can credit the founder of the feast, Georges Claude, a Parisian who invented the neon light in about 1910. L.A. became a hotbed of neon-ness, thanks to its desire to be the capital of the next big thing and its desire to look the part, beginning in the Roaring 20s. The neon at this museum, where exhibits change often enough to encourage repeat visits, is more amusing than unsavory. And as a reminder that nothing lasts forever, Manny, Moe & Jack (the Pep Boys) are not on permanent display, although the museum doesnt have any plans to move the fellows. Eve de Haans pink neon Love Dont Pay the Bills is part of the She Bends exhibit, featuring works by women neon artists. (Catharine Hamm/Los Angeles Times) Through Feb. 11, an exhibit called She Bends: Women in Neon, takes you inside a creative funhouse of the art form, some works based on words (Eve de Haans pink neon Love Dont Pay the Bills), some on objects (Michie Hongos faces on skateboard remnants). Where: 216 S. Brand Ave, Glendale, about eight miles north of downtown L.A. How much: Museum entrance is $10 for adults ($5 if you live in Glendale), $8 for those 65 and older, and free for those 12 and younger if accompanied by an adult. Info: Museum of Neon Art Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Forage with top chefs at the Santa Monica Farmers Market By Christopher Reynolds Wednesday morning, pluots and persimmons. ( Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times ) Why: Some of the states most accomplished farmers rise before dawn on Wednesday mornings and drive as much as 200 miles, just so they can set up and sell at this market. One reason: The Santa Monica Farmers Market draws some of Southern Californias most decorated (and discriminating) chefs. And the market venue happens to be a tomato toss away from the beach, a cucumber roll from the scores of shops and restaurants along the Third Street Promenade. What: About 75 farmers set up stalls along a few blocks of Arizona Avenue, which is closed to vehicles on market mornings. If youre coming by car, youll have to cope with nasty traffic and parking, even at 8:30 a.m., but once youre afoot, life is good. In late fall, youll likely find dates from Mecca, apples from Cuyama, persimmons from Fallbrook, pluots from Kingsbug, oranges from Ojai, mushrooms from La Habra Heights. Consider this a reminder that for all its glitz, California remains an agricultural powerhouse. And even if youre not going to bite into that persimmon, youll feel the sea breeze and hear the banjo player at Arizona and 2nd, or maybe the guitarist a block to the east. ( Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times ) The market was born in 1981, and the stampede of kitchen professionals began soon after. Noting that close relationship between growers and chefs, Saveur magazine in 2016 labeled this L.A.s best farmers market. Still, its good to remember that other markets operate on Santa Monicas Main Street (Sundays) and in the citys Virginia Avenue Park (Saturdays). If youre farther east, or youd like more street musicians and more nonproduce merchants, theres the Hollywood Farmers Market on Sundays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Ivar and Selma avenues. Where: The market happens on Wednesdays along Arizona Avenue, Santa Monica, between Ocean Avenue and 4th Street from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm. On Saturdays, a smaller version occupies Arizona Avenue between between 2nd and 4th streets from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The corner of Arizona Avenue and 4th Street is 17 miles west of downtown L.A. -- which could take an hour to drive, depending on the hour and day. How much: In late November, organic pitted Medjool dates from Mecca were $9.50 per pound. Granny Smith apples from Cuyama were $3 a pound. Fuyu persimmons from Fallbrook were $3.50 per pound. Valencia oranges from Ojai were $1 per pound. Info: Santa Monica Farmers Markets ( Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times ) ( Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times ) Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Drift in a balloon over northern San Diego County By Christopher Reynolds Aloft near Fairbanks Ranch. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times) Why: Heres your chance to climb into a wicker basket and rise 3,000 feet above Fairbanks Ranch, to stand just below a fire-belching burner (which makes your balloon rise), to see sunset from high up, and maybe even to throw shade onto one of Bill Gatess houses. What: A balloon ride is a 19th century sort of thrill, and as Californias open spaces get filled in, ballooning options are decreasing. The Napa and Temecula vineyard areas still feature plenty of balloons (which usually launch in early morning, when winds are calmer and temperatures are lower). The Palm Springs and Santa Barbara wine country areas have some too. But balloons are a rare sight along the California coast, so I grabbed a chance to soar above northern San Diego County. Though balloon pilots strive to keep their aircraft above land, the views from on high include miles of ocean and the red tile roofs of countless Mediterranean-style mansions. Rides typically last 45 to 60 minutes (depending on which way the wind blows), pilots are permitted by the Federal Aviation Administration, and its traditional to celebrate afterward with a glass of Champagne. In northern San Diego, its often a sunset operation flown by a team that started their day with a flight in Temecula. My ride in late November, operated by Compass Balloons, featured seven passengers and a pilot. (Minimum age: 5.) We launched near the Vegetable Shop at Chino Farm, (which sells produce to some of the regions most admired restaurants). We inflated, climbed aboard, drifted over the Morgan Run golf course, and gazed down on Fairbanks Ranch, Rancho Santa Fe, Black Mountain and Carmel Valley. As our round shadow crept across fields, hills and exclusive neighborhoods, pilot Matt Downing pointed out one of Bill Gates houses and another that once belonged to philanthropist Joan Kroc. We touched down smoothly about 3 1/2 miles east of where we took off. Im glad I did it when I did. Compass Balloons owner Evan Munnelly warns that flights in this area may cease within a year because take-off and landing spaces in the area are vanishing so rapidly. Where: Though several companies, including Compass, Skys the Limit and California Dreamin, mention Del Mar in promoting their balloon flights, the vessels usually take off and land farther inland. For my Compass Balloons flight, we met in an Encinitas park-and-ride lot (1969 Villa Cardiff Drive, Encinitas), then the crew drove us to the launch spot. Our meeting spot was 97 miles southeast of downtown L.A., 24 miles north of downtown San Diego. How much: A shared ride (with other passengers in a basket that typically holds eight to 10 people) typically costs $150 to $300 per person. Info: Besides the San Diego companies above, many balloon companies operate in Napa Valley, Temecula and around Palm Springs. . Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Drink dessert over an ocean view at La Jollas La Valencia Hotel By Christopher Reynolds Terrace, the Med, La Valencia. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times ) Why: Life can be seriously sweet at this hotel, which was built in 1926 with a big La Jolla Cove view and anchors a neighborhood of ultra-spendy shops and glitzy galleries. Since the days when Gregory Peck hosted other La Jolla Playhouse luminaries in the hotels Whaling Bar, La V (as many locals know the place) has offered a frothy concoction known as a Whaler. Picture a milkshake, enlivened by Kahlua, brandy, coffee, whipped cream and various mystery ingredients. What: The 114-room hotel has long been known for its pink paint job and Spanish Mediterranean style. In the course of ownership changes, expansions and renovations, the Whaling Bar has slipped away. But its frothy legacy remains. Grab one of the 15 or so tables on the terrace of the hotels signature restaurant, The Med, order a Whaler for dessert, and dont plan on operating any heavy machinery for some hours. (If you think you see a Kardashian, it may not be a hallucination; members of the family have been dropping by for years.) Where: 1132 Prospect St., La Jolla, 112 miles southeast of downtown L.A., 14 miles northwest of downtown San Diego. How much: A Whaler costs $14. Main dishes in The Med are priced at $15 to $24. (I can vouch for the snapper ceviche.) Rooms for two typically rent for $289 and up. Info: La Valencia Hotel The Whaler (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times ) Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Find deep-fried pleasure at a roadside farm stand near Palmdale By Jenn Harris (Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times) Why: Maybe youve finished a hike through the Devils Punchbowl and youre hungry. Or youre looking for unexpected holiday gifts. Or youve been hit by a craving for deep-fried fair food and its not fair season. For all these reasons and more, seekers like you end up at Charlie Brown Farms near Palmdale, where all your snack/drunk food fantasies, and your dreams of owning life-size replicas of the Blues Brothers, collide and come true. What: What started as a fruit stand in 1929 is now a six-acre hodgepodge of stores, a restaurant and a snack shop. The main building is a hokey cabin with advertisements for the various tchotchkes and snacks inside. From the road, its impossible to miss with signs that scream collectibles, funnel cake, smoothies, jerky, Dole whip. And just off the side of the building, an enclosed area with dinosaur statues. You may get whiplash trying to take it all in. (Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times) Once through the front door you experience sensory overload. Directly in front of you is a rack of jerky (the store boasts more than 60 kinds, including elk and ostrich). To the right is a counter where you can order milkshakes, fried candy bars, Texas-style barbecue, funnel cakes, ice cream and a host of other foods any decent doctor would advise you stay away from. To the left, packaged nuts, candy, a room where you can fill your own honey jar, a room devoted to pickles, a room devoted to soda, a fudge counter, and all that food is mixed in with things like raccoon figurines and coffee mugs. This is also where you can find raw frog legs for that stew recipe youve been dying to try. And alligator meat too. But past the fudge counter is where things really start to get weird. There are rooms completely lined with dolls from all over the world. A little creepy, but if youre in need of a doll (seriously, any doll), this is the place to find it. The life-size Blues Brothers statues I mentioned earlier? Theyre on the way to the doll rooms. Out back is a patio with tables and chairs, where you can break open that package of elk jerky or come down from that sugar rush of deep-fried Oreos. You could wander around this place for hours and not see everything. But its sure fun to try. Where: 8317 Pearblossom Highway, Littlerock, a 17-minute drive from downtown Palmdale and about 65 miles northeast of downtown L.A. How much: Depends on what youre in the mood for. Barbecue plates start around $11.50, the deep fried Oreos and Snickers are around $4 for each order, the jerky is around $8 a bag depending on the size, and the knick-knacks will range in price. If youre not a fan of lots of people in tight spaces, plan accordingly. Info: Charlie Brown Farms Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Soak in the view of Californias Grand Canyon in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park By Elisa Parhad Why: Perched at the end of the rising desert floor, Fonts Point gives

onlookers a majestic view of Californias badlands, several hundred

feet below. Though far flung, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is an expansive feast of nature well worth the time it takes to get there. What: Fonts Point is part of a remote and sculptural landscape that was millions of years in the making. The vistas ridge yields to a maze of sinuous channels, razorback ridges and sandy, sun-baked hills. Bring a chair, a picnic and perhaps some friends. The scene is best at sunrise and sunset when the rock formations glow with honey-dipped hues. Even better is a visit during a full moon. The accumulation of photographers at these times is a testament to the spectacle. The brackish waters of the Colorado River and the Gulf of California

converged here long ago, making the area a dumping ground for

sediment. Today, the windswept and eroded rock is flush with the

fossils of animals and marine life that inhabited this once verdant

terrain. Four miles of soft dirt road leads up to Fonts Point, so check the

road conditions before your departure. Depending on the roads status,

a high clearance or 4WD vehicle may be necessary. Closer to the park visitor center, the Borrego Palm Canyon Trail is a popular 3-mile round trip that begins with a trailhead at the end of the main campground road. Where: In the heart of the Borrego Badlands, outside of Borrego

Springs, 168 miles southeast of downtown L.A. How much: Free until recently. On Nov. 3, the state parks system started collecting a day-use fee of $10 per vehicle on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays at the Anza-Borrego visitor center. Info: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Rent a Duffy for a glittery tour of Newport Harbor By Chris Erskine (Chris Erskine / Los Angeles Times) Why: Newport Bay seems made of glitter. Rental boats are plentiful and the harbor is easy to navigate and full of nautical eye candy. Board an electric boat and take a breezy tour. What: Newport Beach is the Beverly Hills of Orange County. The setting for multiple TV shows, it represents much of the California dream  giant homes and sensational yachts. The harbor, home to 9,000 vessels, is a recreational wonderland. The Duffy, a popular brand of rental boats, is an excellent way to see it all. Available at a half dozen rental places around the harbor, the slow-moving vessels are as easy to operate as a golf cart. (Chris Erskine / Los Angeles Times) (Chris Erskine / Los Angeles Times) A popular route is around Lido Island, the thumb-shaped isle on the western side of the harbor, where the bridge leaves plenty of space. Note that many of the bridges surrounding neighboring Balboa Island are too low to accommodate the surrey-topped electric boats. A lap around Lido takes about an hour, a typical rental period. Or, head east past the Fun Zone on Balboa Peninsula, past Balboa Island and toward the mouth of the harbor. Youll be warned not to go near the outlet, since the electric boats arent built to handle bigger waves. Pontoons, kayaks, paddle boards and powerboats are also available at rental locations around the harbor. Boat Rentals of America, on the peninsula near the Fun Zone, offers walk-up rentals, but recommends reservations for weekends, no matter the time of year. Where: Newport Beach is in Orange County, 46 miles, or 90 minutes, from downtown L.A. How much: Duffy electric boats that accommodate up to eight passengers rent for about $85 an hour. Info: Boat Rentals of America or Newport Beach Boat Rentals Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Connect with artisans (and beer) at Crafted, a makers market in a San Pedro port warehouse By Christopher Reynolds (Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times) Why: Its a vintage warehouse down by the port, full of artists, designers and makers, neighbored by a craft brewery. And youre not done with your holiday shopping yet. What: Crafted was born five years ago, as the maker movement began to bloom nationwide. Its open Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and the first Thursday night of every month in the L.A. Ports Warehouse 10, built in the 1940s. When I stopped by in mid-September, there were about 50 vendors in place, hawking iPhone photo prints, snacks, sculptures, succulents, textiles, vintage reconditioned furniture, soap, you name it. Outside, the San Pedro Festival of the Artists was in full swing-- one of many special events that use picnic tables and patio space between the old warehouses. Pop Kustom Shoppe, Crafted. (Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times) Since 2016, the artisans have been joined by Brouwerij West, a craft beer operation and tasting room that fills about half of Warehouse 9. On weekends, theres usually a food truck (or two or three) on hand, and often live music. Coming eventually: a food hall in the other half of Warehouse 9. Where: Warehouse No.10, 112 E. 22nd St., San Pedro, 26 miles south of downtown L.A. How much: Parking and admission are free. Info: Crafted Brouwerij West. (Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times) Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Salute General Grant (the tree) in Kings Canyon National Park By Mary Forgione Why: Any way you look at it, General Grant stands tall. First of all, its a massive sequoia, one of the largest living things in California. Moreover, the White House has named this the nations Christmas tree. What: General Grant is 268 feet high, the base of its trunk is 107 feet around. In 1925, Central Valley resident Charles E. Lee (an officer of the Sanger Chamber of Commerce) asked President Coolidge to have this giant sequoia in the Grant Grove area of Kings Canyon designated the national Christmas tree. In 1926 the president complied. Ever since, the Sanger Chamber has staged an annual Trek to the Tree, drawing hundreds of people each year for a winter program that typically includes songs and prayers. No tinsel, no lights. Just the tree as it has stood for about 2,000 years, and a wreath contributed by park rangers. This years event will be Sunday, Dec. 10, at the base of the tree. and its a free admission day in the park. For reservations or information on shuttle buses to the site, contact the Sanger Chamber of Commerce by phone at (559) 875-4575 or by e-mail at sangerchamber@gmail.com. Whether you reach General Grant in holiday season or not, you can impress the other tree-lovers by pointing out that in 1956, Congress gave General Grant another distinction, naming it the nations only living national shrine in honor of the men and women of the Armed Forces. And if you really love the idea of big trees with high ranks, make a bonus stop at the General Sherman Tree in Sequoia National Park. Its bigger, about 275 feet high. In fact, it might be the worlds largest living thing, depending on how you quantify coral reefs, fungus networks and redwoods. Where: General Grant stands along a 0.8-mile paved loop trail from the General Grant Grove parking lot in Kings Canyon National Park. The grove is 245 miles north of downtown L.A. And its more than 6,000 feet above sea level, so snow is common in winter. Be sure to check weather and road conditions before driving into the area. How much: Admission to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks (which operator jointly, as if they were single unit) is $30 per car for up to seven days. Info: Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Ski in the morning in the San Bernardino Mountains, surf in the evening, using these slopes as your launch point By Chris Erskine Snow Summit (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) Why: SoCal offers the chance to ski and surf on the same day. This would be the snowy part of such a mountains-to-the-beaches day. What: Bear Mountain and Snow Summit are two slices of the same cake. Two miles apart, the sister resorts are the crown jewels of the town of Big Bear, a couple of hours from the bustle of the big city. Big Bear is three hours away from downtown Los Angeles, and a world apart from the strip malls and gas stations that muck up much of Southern California. Spring, summer or fall, this alpine lake resort town offers plenty of activities, including boating, hiking and zip-lining. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) But in winter, its twin ski resorts really come alive. If you think of Southern California as all palm trees and bikinis, visit Big Bear after a winter storm, when the place is buried in several feet of snow and looks like a Christmas card. In what they offer, the two resorts are very similar, though Summit has the better terrain park. Lift tickets are good for both resorts, and buses run between the two resorts all day. Combined, the resorts offer 27 lifts and four high-speed chairs serving almost 60 runs. The resorts are just a few minutes from the village, where restaurants, shops and a movie theater await visitors. The resorts have begun making snow and opened Dec. 8. As with all mountain visits, note that conditions can change quickly, and chains are usually required on the twisty roads during any significant snow fall. Where: Big Bear Lake is in the San Bernardino Mountains, in San Bernardino County. It is 97 miles east of Los Angeles. How much: Advance purchase lift tickets start around $75. Info: Big Bear Mountain Resorts Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

See the Klamath River flow into the Pacific from this dramatic overlook in Redwood National Park By Christopher Reynolds (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times) Why: Rugged coast. Big sand spit. Half-forgotten road. Blufftop perch. Despite all these assets, this dramatic corner of Northern California doesnt get that many visitors. So youll probably have it to yourself. What: Your gateway to the Klamath River Overlook is Requa, a hamlet -- the memory of a town, really -- along the Highway 101 south of Crescent City in Del Norte County. Its main landmark is the Historic Requa Inn, a rustic riverside lodging and restaurant that dates to 1914. If you can work out a way to eat dinner and spend a night there, do it. But dont stop there. Continue west 1.5 miles (no RVs!) on ramshackle Requa Road (which becomes Patrick J. Murphy Memorial Road on some maps) until theres no more road, and no more land. That will put you at the Klamath River Overlook. Drink it in. And if its May or June, scan the ocean for gray whales. Rangers say they often linger to feed in the waters spilling from river to sea This bluff is part of Redwood National and State Parks and it includes a modest picnic area. Theres a steep Lower Overlook Trail that will take you about a quarter-mile down the slope, exposing further views. Theres also a Coastal Trail to the north -- follow it for 2.7 miles and youll reach Hidden Beach. But the wide view from the picnic tables may well be plenty for you. Theres something mesmerizing about it -- maybe its the moving water. Theres also a good chance of a stiff, cold breeze or fog, just about any time. Bring layers. Where: Klamath River Overlook, 61 miles north of Arcata, 339 miles north of San Francisco, 713 miles northwest of downtown L.A. How much: No entry fee. Info: Redwood National and State Parks (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times) Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Pile the kids in the car, head to Riverside and catch a drive-in movie while you still can By Chris Erskine The entrance at the Van Buren Drive-In. (Chris Erskine / Los Angeles Times) Why: What could be more of a California experience than a Hollywood double-feature viewed from the comfort of your car? What: In the 1950s, drive-in movies were a staple of American pop culture. These days, they are a novelty. One of the last remaining hot spots lives on at the Van Buren Drive-In in Riverside. Put the kids in their PJs and pack up the lawn chairs for a fine family getaway at the Van Buren. Opened in 1964 on the site of former orange groves, the three-screen drive-in remains a vibrant local hangout at half the price of your local multiplex. You can even bring your own food. On weekends, arrive 45 minutes before show time to ensure a decent spot, especially if youre going to sit outside in your lawn chairs. By showtime, the three lots serving the three screens resemble tailgate parties, with families wrapped in blankets and settled in for a double feature. (Chris Erskine / Los Angeles Times) SUVs or pickups often pull in with the tail hatch facing the screen, so kids with blankets or sleeping bags can turn the experience into a slumber party. Theres the traditional snack bar, and prices are fair, at least by movie theater standards. But waits can be 20 to 30 minutes on weekends. Check here for express pickup. Keep in mind that youre experiencing a rare phenomenon these days. Once numbering 4,000 across the country, drive-ins are now down to 400 or so. Catch one while you can  not just for the sense of nostalgia, but for a memorable evening at a very fair price. Where: 3035 Van Buren Blvd., Riverside, 55 miles southeast of downtown L.A. Plan on a drive of 90 minutes to two hours in evening traffic. How much: Admission is $9 per person; children ages 5 to 9, $1. Major credit cards and debit cards accepted. Open seven days a week. No pets. Info: Van Buren Drive-In Theatre Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Taste-test the Thomas Keller restaurant empire in Yountville, Napa Valley By Christopher Reynolds Chocolate tart, Ad Hoc, Yountville (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times) Why: Yountville is a sleepy, genteel little town in the heart of Napa Valley, population about 3,000. And Thomas Keller, one of this nations most admired chefs, has three restaurants in Yountville, on the same street. Or four. Or five, depending on how you count. What: Keller, raised and trained in Florida and New York and renowned for his high standards, has also cooked in acclaimed kitchens in France and Los Angeles, and he has operations in New York and Las Vegas as well. (His Bouchon in Beverly Hills is scheduled to close Dec. 31.) But since he opened the French Laundry in 1994, Yountville has been the seat of his California empire. With three Michelin stars and a nine-course chefs menu, The French Laundry may be the most celebrated restaurant in the state, and its surely one of the priciest. Ad Hoc, Yountville (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times) But the chef has give us options. Bouchon opened in 1998, offering French bistro fare. The Bouchon Bakery followed in 2003. In 2006 came Ad Hoc, devoted to American comfort food in a casual setting. (Its humble-brag slogan: for temporary relief from hunger.) Ad Hocs menu changes daily to take advantage of fresh ingredients, but its all built around the chefs choice for a four-course family-style meal, which includes favorites like pot roast and barbecue. I came before 6 p.m. on buttermilk fried chicken night (a Monday), and found myself in a happily clamorous dining room, surrounded by families, confronting more food than I could eat. (I enjoyed the casual feeling, and I liked the chicken well enough. But I actually enjoyed the salad and cheese courses more  livelier flavors.) Bouchon Bakery, Yountville ( Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times ) Either before or after eating in Yountville, stroll Washington Street. At 6640 youll find the French Laundry, fronted by an unassuming, two-story, stone-walled building with minimalist kitchen addition and its gardens across the street. You can even peek through the kitchen window, a long slit that reveals the team laboring fiercely over that evenings dishes. Next, at 6534 Washington, you pause by Bouchon (French bistro fare) and the yellow awning of Bouchon Bakery (6528 Washington), whose snacks are the most affordable way to sample Kellers empire. A few blocks farther south at 6476 Washington, you reach Ad Hoc, which has nine seats at the bar in addition to its many tables (open Thursday through Monday). And behind Ad Hoc, neighbored by picnic tables, is Addendum, an auxiliary space that serves box lunches to go on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Where: Ad Hoc, 6476 Washington St., Yountville, Ca., 55 miles north of San Franciscos Ferry Building, 411 miles northwest of downtown L.A. How much: The nine-course dinner at the French Laundry: $310-$325 each. The four-course dinner at Ad Hoc: $55.A box lunch from Ad Hoc Addendum: $16.50. Info: Thomas Keller Restaurant Group, Yountville Chamber of Commerce The French Laundrys kitchen window ( Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times ) Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Storm a Tuscan castle in Napa Valley By Christopher Reynolds ( Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times) Why: Napa Valley has close to 500 wineries. Castello di Amorosa is the only one housed in a 107-room castle that was built in accordance with 13th century Tuscan aspirations. What: Owner/designer Dario Sattui completed this spectacle, a 15-year project, in 2007. Besides its five towers and the barrel-vaulted retail and tasting area (which never seems to end), its got a great hall and chapel, each with evocative murals. Theres said to be a torture chamber below. Depending on your mood, you might expect a Da Vinci Code villain to round a corner at any moment, or Orson Welles in mid-soliloquy. Or one of the Monty Python guys, clopping coconuts together. Not surprisingly -- given the Tuscan blueprint of the place -- the Castello di Amorosa wines are made in the Italian style. The winery suffered no damage in the wine country fires of October. Where: 4045 St. Helena Hwy., Calistoga, Calif., 70 miles north of San Franciscos Ferry Buidling, 425 miles northwest of L.A. City Hall. How much: Adult admission (which includes wine-tasting) begins at $25. For children the rate is $15-$20 (and theres grape juice to taste). Tours (which include rooms you cant reach just wandering around) cost $40-$95. Info: Castello di Amorosa ( Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times ) ( Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times ) Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Soak in Calistoga spring water By Christopher Reynolds Fountain, Indian Springs, Calistoga (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times) Why: Calistoga is the answer to the question of what to do in the Napa Valley when youve had enough wine. Its a little, old resort town full of hot springs, so between wine-tasting excursions (and maybe the occasional bike ride) you can float listlessly in a steaming pool, untroubled by the faint scent of sulfur because you can feel the stress evaporating from your body. What: Samuel Brannan, a brash, controversial figure who became one of Californias first millionaires in the Gold Rush, founded Calistoga in the 1860s, counting on the areas springs to draw tourists from San Fancisco. (In fact, he built a rail route from Vallejo to Calistoga, and the current Napa Valley Wine Train rolls on the Napa-St. Helena portion of that old route.) It was a clever impulse. The town (population: about 5,300) lives on as a resort escape, with hideaways like Calistoga Ranch, Dr. Wilkinsons and Indian Springs (perhaps the oldest continuously operating pool and spa facility in the state) all relying heavily on their hot springs. Though the Napa/Sonoma wildfires of October drew near, they never reached the town of Calistoga, and it remains handsome as ever. In early November, I spent a night and stepped from the chilly morning air into the Olympic-sized, 102-degree, steam-cloaked pool at the 17-acre Indian Springs resort. It was pleasant. In 2015, the resort added a restaurant (Sams Social Club, which has fascinating, colorful mural over the counter) and grew from about 40 rooms to 115. Many of the interiors still have that just-upgraded, ready-for-the-magazine-photographer look. Where: Indian Springs, 1712 Lincoln Ave., Calistoga, 73 miles north of San Franciscos Ferry Building, 427 miles northwest of downtown L.A. How much: In winter, Indian Springs rooms for two usually start at about $239 per night. Info: Visit Calistoga, Indian Springs The main pool, Indian Springs, Calistoga (Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times) Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Board the Napa Valley Wine Train, recall discord and disaster, then roll in splendor past miles of vineyards By Christopher Reynolds (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times ) Why: If youre going to fully appreciate this valley and its globally admired vineyards, its better that youre not driving. And on the Napa Valley Wine Train, you have the chance to dine in style while the miles and wineries roll past. What: The train covers about 18 miles, running north alongside Highway 29 from the city of Napa through Yountville and Oakville to St. Helena. Along the way, depending on what you sign up for, you may stop to taste at one to three wineries, eat a three-course meal on board, and be back where you started in three to six hours. Its expensive but so very comfortable. And its got complicated history. The rail route, first laid in the 1860s, had fallen idle by the 1980s. To get the new wine train rolling in 1989, its owners had to outmaneuver many Napa locals who feared a tourist invasion would ruin the affluent communitys character. Skip forward now to 2015, when the trains management drew a storm of criticism for ejecting a group of guests, mostly African American, who were accused of being too loud. The view from the train, near Yountville, in early November. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times ) In late 2015, new owners took over the train. Then wildfires flared in October. They missed the train track, Highway 29 and the wineries along the route, but killed at least 41 people and destroyed thousands of homes and scores of businesses in Napa and Sonoma counties. By the time I showed up in early November, almost none of the damage was visible from the train. Napa was still in the early stages of recovery and the train was about half-full  unusual for the time of year. As for my journey, it was a sunny day, the countryside was gorgeous, the meal pleasant. The distant, fire-blackened hills to the east were barely discernible beyond the green and red vineyard rows, the shade trees and the nearby slopes. Where: McKinstry Street Station, 1275 McKinstry St., Napa, 46 miles north of San Francisco, 402 miles northwest of downtown L.A. How much: Most day trips run $206-$329 per person, which includes lunch and wine-tasting. Info: Napa Valley Wine Train (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times ) (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times) Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Taste China (Live) in San Francisco By Christopher Reynolds Dim sum counter, Market Restaurant, China Live. (Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times) Why: Nobody likes to say so, but a lot of San Franciscos Chinatown looks tired these days. And many of the areas best Chinese restaurants are scattered among the outer suburbs where so many affluent Chinese American families live. So its a happy surprise to see China Live bring new energy and higher style to the neighborhood with a combination of design-intensive eating and shopping options. Its mission: to demystify Chinese ingredients and recipes while educating guests on the rich history and influence. What: China Live opened in March 2017, near the frontier between Chinatown and North Beach. The main downstairs space, the Market Restaurant and Bar, is full of long wood tables under a semi-raw concrete ceiling. Picture an Apple Store with steaming, edible merchandise, neighbored by open cooking areas, beckoning counters, a bar and adjacent retail rooms stocked with artisan teas, kitchen tools, condiments, shapely candles, jewelry and such. The restaurants menu is mostly based on sharing small dishes, so you might wind up with a medley dinner of fire-roasted sweet white corn, Dungenes crab spring rolls and Sheng Jian Bao (SJB) pan-fried pork dumplings. Market Restaurant, China Live. (Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times ) Near the entrance is the casual Oolong Cafe. Upstairs waits a more exclusive restaurant offering private, pricey dining in elegant rooms befitting a royal in hiding. Its called Eight Tables by George Chen (dinner only; tasting menu: $225). There are also a pair of bars upstairs, including the Gold Mountain Lounge and one called Cold Drinks -- one of those hip hideaways that seeks to be popular by maintaining quasi-secrecy. Where: 644 Broadway, San Francisco, 380 miles northwest of downtown L.A.. How much: Together, the three dishes above cost about $40. Most cocktails $13-$15. Info: China Live ( Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times ) Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

See, sniff and taste Napa Valleys bounty at the Oxbow Public Market By Christopher Reynolds A 1,033-pound pumpkin on display at Oxbow Public Market in Napa. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times ) Why: This market and food hall, set above a fetching bend in the Napa River, is a short stroll from downtown Napa, a block from the headquarters of the popular Napa Valley Wine Train, a block from the COPIA center for wine and food education. Much smaller than San Franciscos food-centric Ferry Building but placed near the starting point of many popular Napa adventures, this foodie acre (about two-thirds the size of a football field) is a point of convergence for locals and tourists and a one-stop reminder that this wine country does more than make wine. What: The Oxbow Public Market opened in 2007, just in time to suffer from a national recession, the closure of COPIA (since rethought and reopened by the Culinary Institute of America) and construction-related disruptions of local traffic. Now those troubles are in the rear-view mirror, and a stroll around the marketplace introduces you to plenty of wine products but also duck tacos (at C Casa); American comfort food (Gotts Roadside); local seafood (Hog Island Oyster Co.); and assorted local fruits and vegetables (Hudson Greens & Goods). On my early November visit, Hudson was showing off a 1,033-pound pumpkin. There were also plenty of signs thanking the first-responders for their work fighting that regions wildfires in October. (Though many homes and about two dozen wineries were lost or damaged in those fires, the vast majority of the areas 500 wineries had reopened by Nov. 8.) Besides browsing at the market, you can also rent a bike at the automatic Spinway stand just outside and pedal seven miles along the Napa River to Kennedy Park and back; or just toodle down 1st Street in downtown Napa, where the new, 183-room Archer Hotel is expected to open in December. Where: 610-644 1st St., Napa, 46 miles north of the San Francisco Ferry building, 401 miles northwest of downtown L.A. How much: C Casa tacos run $4.75-$9. Spinway bike rentals start at $9 per hour. Info: Oxbow Public Market Oxbow Public Market, Napa. ( Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times ) Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Read the walls on Angel Island, the West Coast Ellis Island where Asian immigrants waited and waited from 1910 to 1940 By Christopher Reynolds State parks interpreter Casey Dexter-Lee in the Immigration Station museum on Angel Island. ( Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times ) Why: Its a handsome, green island in San Francisco Bay, popular with sailors, cyclists and hikers, just south of high-toned Tiburon. And from 1910 through 1940, it was something like a western Ellis Island, processing about half a million immigrants, including most of the 175,000 Chinese immigrants who arrived during those years. But those were not happy years. 
Mohammad Mohaqeq has been doing something unusual in Afghan politics: posting pictures of wife Waheeda on social media.

In one recent image, the senior government official poses beside her and their 7-year-old daughter, Hadiya, in front of a crystal-clear lake in the northern province of Bamian.

In the patriarchal world of Afghanistan, where most women still wear the burqa in public, the prominent placement of females in the photographs caused a stir.

But like other politicians in this young democracy, Mohaqeq, a former leader of the anti-Soviet jihad, or resistance, who is now a deputy to the countrys chief executive, Abdullah Abdullah, has started to realize the importance of appealing to voters who embrace the idea of social liberalization.

The time for women not to appear in society is long gone, Mohaqeq, 62, said in an interview at his home in Kabul, the Afghan capital. Women participate in society, politics and economic affairs. In my view they cannot be prevented from appearing on social media.

The wives of leading politicians generally have not been in the spotlight in Afghanistan. Former President Hamid Karzai s wife, Zinat, a doctor, rarely spoke in public during the 13 years she was first lady.

Not that Mohaqeq is exactly a symbol of modernism. He has four wives and 23 children.

He said raising the profiles of the women in his life was also part of a plan to nominate one of them to run for parliament this year.

He declined to say which wife, but presumably it is Waheeda, the one whose photograph appears most often in his Facebook posts. He has also posted a picture of himself with another wife, whom he accompanied on a medical trip to Uzbekistan.

Waheeda Mohaqeq, a 42-year-old mother of six, acknowledged an interest in politics but said it would be her husbands decision: I have to wait for his OK.

She is his third wife and the most educated, having studied English literature in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif in the 1990s. A university classmate, Dawood Rahjo, recalled her as a vocal presence on campus.

She used to make speeches in almost all official university gatherings, programs or exhibitions, he said.

Waheeda Mohaqeq, 42, is considering running for office in Afghanistan if her husband approves. (Sultan Faizy / For The Times)

She met Mohaqeq in 1994 when he participated in an event at the university. She was known as a very active and courageous student, so it was her choice to marry Mr. Mohaqeq, Rahjo said.

Mohaqeq began using Facebook in 2010 and now has more than 90,000 followers. He said Facebook is 100 times more effective than the real media for communicating with ordinary citizens.

Photos of his wife attract dozens of messages, some of which are critical. One Facebook comment said that Mohaqeq and other ethnic Hazara politicians were part of a cloistered political establishment that has failed to cultivate a younger generation of men and women to replace it  and that the photographs of his daughter were simply a political tactic.

There are thousands of Hadiyas among the Hazara people, but unfortunately theyve all been let down and they have no one to support them, the post said.

Waheeda Mohaqeq, who had not commented publicly on the issue before this article, brushed off the criticism.

People may have both good and bad opinions about us, but the majority of the comments are positive about my presence on social media, she said.

Rula Ghani, wife of the current president, Ashraf Ghani, has been somewhat more outspoken. Before Abdul Rashid Dostum, a vice president, left the country in May amid accusations that he had a man beaten and sodomized, Rula Ghani said he was in effect under house arrest  a rare political statement from a first lady.

Other female relatives have begun appearing in photos with politicians.

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former insurgent leader who recently agreed to make peace with the Afghan government, gave a speech at the presidential palace in May with two women sitting prominently in the row behind him.

An official with Hekmatyars political party, Hezb-i-Islami, identified them as Hekmatyars wife and daughter.

Mr. Hekmatyar loves for his female family members to accompany him on trips, meetings and gatherings, said the official, who declined to be quoted by name because the issue was sensitive.

Maryam Sama, a social activist and TV anchor, offered another reason that some Afghan political leaders are challenging the traditions of this conservative Muslim society when it comes to women: staying in the good graces of the international community upon which the economy still depends.

I doubt that jihadis like Mohaqeq believe in womens rights, but they show off their families on social media for their political purposes, she said.

Regardless of the motive, she added, it raises hope that these politicians would get used to the presence of women in society.

Faizy is a special correspondent. Times staff writer Shashank Bengali in Mumbai, India, contributed to this report.
Here on the fertile edge of the Taklimakan Desert, people have long believed that placing a knife on their bedside keeps away bad dreams. On a babys seventh day of life, its tradition for parents to briefly slip a blade under the sleeping infants head to guarantee a long and healthy life.

By dusty roadsides, farmers with long white beards unsheathe their blades to slice open juicy green melons, selling sweet wedges for 15 cents. In open-air markets, butchers slaughter sheep, cattle and even camels in accordance with Muslim practice, skinning the hides and then swinging cleavers to parcel the carcasses into cuts of meat.

For the ethnic Uighurs who dominate this rural region in far western China, perhaps nothing is more essential  as tool and talisman  than a knife.

Advertisement

Over the centuries, Uighur craftsmen have elevated knife-making to a high art, fashioning small folding qelemturachs and larger pichaqs one by one in scores of small factories and workshops across Xinjiang province.

The most expensive and ornate boast silver blades and handles crisscrossed with intricate inlays of iridescent shell, stone, bone and other materials, often in geometric patterns with diamond, circle or even heart motifs. The craftsmans name and hometown are typically inscribed on the blade, in flowing Uighur script and sometimes Chinese characters as well.

But in the wake of a string of deadly clashes and terrorist attacks, including a mass slashing, that Chinese authorities have blamed on Uighur separatists and religious extremists, the handcrafted knives have taken on a deadly cast.

The violence has set back the once-thriving tourist trade to the south of Xinjiang province, and remaining visitors may think twice about the symbolism of giving anyone a Uighur knife as a gift these days. For the few sightseers who still want them, confusion over restrictions on mailing knives or even taking them in check-in airline baggage has further damped the trade.

On a recent weekday, the regions knife-making capital, Yengisar, resembled nothing so much as a ghost town. Blade-shaped signs 30 feet tall stood forlornly above ample parking lots designed for tour buses, and colorful flags flapped in the wind, beckoning customers.

Not only were there no shoppers, but no shops were open. The local workshops were shuttered as well.

Finally, a policeman happened by and told the neighborhood mini-mart clerk he wanted to buy an animal-bone comb from the knife shop next door. The clerk called the owner, who hustled over to throw up his metal security door and make whatever sale he could.

Business is bad this year; there are no tourists, the salesman said as the officer picked out his comb and a few other shoppers wandered in, browsing the display cases stuffed with knives for every budget, from $5 pocket knives less than 2 inches long to kitchen cleavers and decorative silver blades with deer horn handles.

Exactly why the entire strip of dozens of shops and small factories was shut down was unclear. One local said the craftsmen had simply gone off for 10 days to pick cotton in fields nearby; September is peak harvest season.

But people here are skittish, and no one wants to share their name with a journalist. Another shop owner said proprietors had been ordered to close for a week  by exactly whom he didnt specify  because the provincial capital, Urumqi, a full 700 miles to the northeast, was hosting a high-profile international trade expo that week.

Though the notion that authorities might extend security precautions such a distance may sound far-fetched, China has strict rules on weaponry. Firearms are tightly controlled and hard to obtain; all but the smallest knives are supposed to be registered with police upon purchase.

China has periodically clamped down on knife sales around major national events. Ahead of the November 2012 ceremony at which Xi Jinping was elevated to the Communist Partys top post, for example, supermarkets across Beijing were ordered to stop sales of even small paring knives.

Since then, a series of deadly attacks has set the nation on edge and given Uighur knives an ominous taint, though its unclear in many cases whether the assailants used Uighur knives or mass-produced ones.

In March, black-clad assailants went on a rampage in front of a train station in the Yunnan province town of Kunming, using large knives to hack 29 people to death and injuring more than 140. In July, the imam of the main mosque in southern Xinjiangs largest city, Kashgar, was stabbed to death just outside the holy site in broad daylight.

Authorities said the assailants of the imam, who had strong ties to the Communist Party, were Uighur men in their late teens and early 20s who were influenced by extremist videos and teachings at unauthorized mosques.

The March attack prompted authorities to introduce a host of tighter security measures nationwide. Cops who previously patrolled without guns have been given firearms. Airport security screeners in Xinjiang now wave their wands even under the soles of passengers bare feet. New heavy traffic dividers have been installed in Beijings Tiananmen Square. Checkpoints are common in southern Xinjiang, and in some areas of the province, the Internet and text-messaging services have been disabled.

An expatriate who recently tried to buy a knife at two supermarkets in Beijing was told by clerks that they no longer stocked them. Eventually, the foreigner found a small selection at a specialty kitchen shop, though concealed behind the counter.

The Uighur craft of knife-making is often passed from father to son. Down the road from Yengisar, at a dusty rest stop baking in the sun, one small knife stand was open, and outside, the owners wife watched their toddler run around, naked except for a T-shirt.

A drill, grinding equipment and other tools sat in a heap at the front door of the shop. No customers were browsing the exquisite wares, everything from plain $10 cleavers to a $500 silver blade with a decorative inlaid handle that takes one craftsman 15 days to produce.

Asked whether he planned to pass the trade on to his boy, the young owner just sighed and said, I have no idea.

Near the village of Kezile, a huge blue-and-yellow knife-shaped sign greeted motorists pulling in to refuel their vehicles and stuff themselves with lamb kebabs and noodles at the Brothers Fast Food halal restaurant. The knife shop next to the eatery was tightly locked up.

Blue signs affixed to the front of the building warned: Religious Activity in Public Spaces Is Strictly Prohibited. Another, smaller green sign detailed rewards up to $8,500 for tipsters who inform police about terrorist activities. No one in the area seemed to know when the shop had shut, or when it might reopen. Six policemen sat under a canopy, keeping tabs.

A few days later, back in Yengisar, some knife shops had reopened. One proprietor got lucky when a group of Russian motorcyclists and a busload of tourists who had driven all the way from Shanghai on Chinas eastern coast rolled up. Transporting knives back home would be no problem for them.

I didnt know anything about these knives until our guide told us, said Gennady Kopylov, 37, of Moscow, who bought a large kitchen knife for about $50. I guess some Chinese might be scared now, you know, the Muslim thing, but these knives are great. And its no problem to take them back on the bike.

Follow me on Twitter @JulieMakLAT.
Half a million Puerto Ricans voted this Sunday to become America's 51st state.

Nearly 97% of all the votes were in favor of statehood but just 23 percent of registered voters cast ballots. Opposition parties boycotted the referendum because they considered it rigged.

The result places Puerto Rico in conflict with the Congress, which has the power to grant them their wish but until now has refuse to do so. The referendum is non-binding and Congress would have to approve it which is unlikely since the island is facing serious debt and unemployment crisis.

Until now, Puerto Rico is a non-incorporated territory of the U.S. This means it has its own constitution, laws and representatives, but all of it can be override by the U.S. government. Residents of Puerto Rico are not entitled to electoral votes for President.

Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, but with fewer rights and responsibilities than residents of the other 50 states. They do not pay many federal taxes but receive far less support for social programs like Medicaid.

So, why bother trying to change?

Puerto Rico's debt and migration crisis is in part result of its territorial status. Almost 10 years ago, Congress decided to remove a tax-incentive program to encourage investment in the island causing many companies to leave. Their workers followed and the tax base collapsed.

This placed the island deep in debt but they can't declare bankruptcy because they are not a state. They can't ask for international assistance either.

Last year, former president Barack Obama signed legislation to address Puerto Rico's fiscal crisis allowing it to file for bankruptcy-like proceedings to relieve its debt.
The Starobelsky District Court of Luhansk region, which is considering the case of the head of the Party of Regions faction in the Verkhovna Rada of the 7th convocation, Oleksandr Yefremov, has extended his term of detention until August 6 inclusive.

The court adopted a relevant decision at a meeting on June 8. The previous term of Yefremov's detention expired on June 12.

At the same time, since February 9, Yefremov sits next to his lawyers in the courtroom, and is not held prisoner in a defendant's cell.

As of today, several witnesses have been questioned as part of his case.

The next court sitting will take place on June 26.

As reported, Yefremov on July 30, 2016 was detained on suspicion of threatening Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty in an airport in Kyiv. He is also charged with supporting the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic and the illegal acquisition of property belonging to Luhanskvuhillia.

The Starobelsky District Court of Luhansk region is currently considering the case on charges of Yefremov in complicity with terrorists, encroachment on the territorial integrity of Ukraine and high treason.

Yefremov is suspected of organizing the seizure of the building of Luhansk Regional State Administration (Part 3 of Article 27, Article 341 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), an accessory in the capture of the administration building of the Security Service of Ukraine in Luhansk region (Part 5, Article 27, Article 341 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

Yefremov is also accused of supporting a foreign organization to conduct disruptive activities against Ukraine (Part 1 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

He is accused of supporting and establishing a terrorist organization - the so-called "Luhansk People's Republic" (Part 1 of Article 258-3 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
2018 Honda Fit to launch in July

Jun 12, 2017, 10:30am ET

Fit gets some styling and feature updates for the new model year.

Honda has officially announced the debut of the refreshed 2018 Fit, showing off some stylistic updates and new feature content for the automaker's ultra-practical subcompact hatchback.

The Fit has long been known for its excellent interior packaging and excellent handling dynamics, but Honda is upping the ante by giving the updated model a healthy dose of feature updates.

The biggest news is that Honda Sensing will be available on the updated model for the first time, meaning the new Fit will offer adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, lane keeping assist, lane departure warning, and road departure warning/mitigation.

Honda claims this makes the Fit the most affordable car in America to offer those features. They will be available on EX models and above.

"With sporty new styling and additional feature content, the 2018 Honda Fit ups the ante with new styling and sophistication not typically found in the subcompact segment," said Jeff Conrad, senior vice president of the American Honda Automobile Division. "Fit has always represented a great value for subcompact customers and the addition of available Honda Sensing to its fun-to-drive performance and unmatched versatility will keep the Honda Fit as the industry's benchmark subcompact."

The Fit will also look fresh thanks to a new grille, updated aerodynamic elements in the front and side lower body finishers, and a new rear diffuser. The 2018 Honda Fit will also be offered in two bright new colors--Helios Yellow Pearl and Orange Fury (the former replaces Mystic Yellow), both pictured.

Additional feature update announcements will come shortly, Honda says, along with pricing and dealership availability.
Jun 12, 2017, 9:42am ET

Chevrolet Bolt expands to all 50 states in August

Pre-ordering is already open, but the company has not said if it plans a significant increase in production volume to meet higher demand.

General Motors has reportedly confirmed plans to offer the Chevrolet Bolt in all 50 states ahead of schedule.

The company is already taking pre-orders across the nation for its first long-range EV, with the first deliveries expected in August. The expansion was initially slated for September.

Speaking at a Chevy media event attended by Automotive News, the brand's marketing director, Steve Majoros, suggests the company completed training programs and other necessary preparations earlier than expected.

All participating dealers were required to install DC fast-charging equipment before offering the Bolt.

GM also claims to have built up inventory ahead of the nationwide rollout, though it is still unclear if the company plans to offer the Bolt in high volumes or focus mostly on emissions compliance in states that follow California's tighter emissions standards.

"It's this delicate balancing act, but we think we're at the right level of sufficient inventory," Majoros said. "We can keep feeding where there's a stronghold of sales."
Jun 12, 2017, 11:35am ET

GM leads alternative Made in America Auto Index

American University\'s Frank Dubois focuses on each vehicle\'s estimated contribution to the \"overall well-being of the US economy,\" rather than focusing solely on American-made parts content and final assembly location.

General Motors holds the top ranks in the 2017 Made in America Auto Index, an alternative ranking published by American Unversity researcher Frank Dubois.

The index focuses on each vehicle's estimated contribution to the "overall well-being of the US economy," rather than focusing solely on American-made parts content and final assembly location. Criteria include profit margin, assembly location, research-and-development location, assembly country and origin of the vehicle's engine, transmission and other components.

In Dubois' list, the Chevrolet Traverse, Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia are all tied for first place. The Ford F-150 holds the second spot, while the Chevrolet Corvette with an automatic transmission holds the third position.

Jeep Wrangler variants can be found in the fourth position and tied for fifth alongside the Ford Expedition.

Most automakers get "profit margin" and "R&D" scores of six if their headquarters is located in the US, or zero if abroad, but Dubois gives Fiat Chrysler Automobiles three points due to its apparent mixed ownership.

"The new entity, Fiat Chrysler Automotive (FCA), is headquartered in the Netherlands with a tax domicile in London, and shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange," the report notes. "As such, because of the hybrid nature of its organizational structure and its large production and R&D presence in the U.S., we assigned a value of 3 for profit margin and R&D, rather than a 6 or 0."

A wide range of models tied for the bottom position including vehicles from Toyota brands, Subaru, Porsche, Nissan brands, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda and Mitsubishi, among others.
Jun 12, 2017, 3:04pm ET

Honda Clarity Electric to arrive in August with $269 lease

The introductory lease package will be available in California and Oregon, the first states to get the five-passenger EV.

Honda has announced more launch details and lease pricing for its Clarity Electric sedan, due to arrive in August in California and Oregon.

Positioned as a larger alternative to the Nissan Leaf, the Clarity EV will be offered with an introductory lease price of $269/month. The lease already includes the federal tax credit, requires $1,730 down and includes a 20,000-mile annual allowance and roadside assistance.

The company suggests the Clarity Electric will be the only 'affordable' five-passenger electric sedan at launch, apparently referencing a comparison to the Tesla Model S that starts at $756/month for a 36-month lease. At the smaller end of the spectrum, the Leaf can be obtained for $229/month.

The Clarity arrives as a unique offering in the EV segment, focusing on size and affordability rather than range. Its 25.5-kWh battery pack has an EPA rating of 89 miles on a full charge, slightly below the Leaf's 107-mile estimate and far behind the Chevrolet Bolt's 238-mile benchmark.

Honda has not signaled any intention to offer the Clarity Electric outside of the lease program, suggesting initial production volume will be limited and each unit likely loses money.

The company presumably has higher ambitions for its Clarity Plug-in Hybrid, slated to arrive in showrooms later in 2017.
Belarus has donated to Ukraine 58 tonnes of humanitarian aid for residents of occupied areas of Donbas in eastern Ukraine.

Belarusian Ambassador to Ukraine Igor Sokol said the shipment crossed the border on June 12 and will be delivered to the International Committee of the Red Cross warehouses in Ukraine located outside of Kyiv. The shipment will then be sent to both government-controlled and occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

"It is important for the Belarusian president that assistance will be delivered to areas of Donbas controlled by Ukrainian forces and to occupied areas of Donbas," the ambassador said during a press conference on Monday in the Kyiv-based Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

The shipment contains vegetable oil, pasta, sugar, flour and hygienic items, such as shampoo, soap and toothpaste. All products were manufactured in Belarus.

Deputy Minister for Temporarily Occupied Territories Hryhoriy Tuka thanked Belarus for the gesture.
Porsche previews 911 GT2 RS at E3

Jun 12, 2017, 5:47am ET

Porsche\'s high-performance flagship is here.

Stepping out of the traditional auto show circuit, Porsche has traveled to the E3 conference to give us an early glimpse at the upcoming 911 GT2 RS.

The GT2 RS was shown at E3 because it's one of the stars of the upcoming Forza 7 video game. The high-performance flagship receives a specific front bumper with large air dam, a new hood that incorporates a pair of NACA ducts, a specific rear bumper, and a huge wing on the deck lid.

As we previously reported, the GT2 RS benefits from an evolution of the Turbo S model's turbocharged 3.8-liter flat-six engine. Applying lessons learned on the track, Porsche's GT division added two bigger turbos tweaked to provide more boost, a model-specific exhaust that's much lighter, and stronger internal components.

British magazine Evo has learned the GT2 RS receives a water-injection system that reduces intake temperature. Similar to what's offered on the BMW M4 GTS, the water-injection system bumps the flat-six's power output while improving efficiency and reducing wear on key components.

The GT2 RS is still at the prototype stage so final specifications aren't available yet. However, we know the six will send over 641 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque to the rear wheels via a dual-clutch automatic transmission. Porsche promises a zero-to-62-mph time of under three seconds.

"It's not just a chipped Turbo S, definitely not. It's a completely re-engineered car, said Porsche GT project director Andreas Preuninger in an interview with Evo. "[It's] a lot easier to drive than a 997 GT2 RS, which was a brute, to the point where you couldn't handle it sometimes, he added.

To save weight, Porsche has removed some of the sound-deadening material and replaced the glass with thinner Gorilla Glass. Buyers who want an even lighter car will be able to order the optional Weissach Package, which bundles magnesium wheels, a titanium roll cage, and a carbon fiber roof, among other go-fast goodies.

Porsche will begin pre-production of the 911 GT2 RS in the coming weeks, meaning the series-produced car is likely at least a few months away from hitting showrooms. We could see it this fall at the Frankfurt Auto Show, or at next year's Geneva Auto Show. Either way, it will land as a limited-edition model priced at over $200,000.
An Athgarvan man is to be ordained at his home parish at the end of this month.

25-year-old David Vard will be the first person from Newbridge to be ordained for the diocese of Kildare and Leighlin in over 20 years.

The ceremony will take place on Sunday, June 25 at 3:00pm in the parish church and everyone is invited to attend.

Everybody is also welcome to attend Fr. Davids First Mass of Thanksgiving on Monday, June 26th in Cill Mhuire church at 7pm.

Afterwards, parishioners will be able to receive the First Blessing of the new priest.

The ordination will be a great celebration for the parish. The ordaining bishop will be Dr. Denis Nulty, and most priests of the diocese are expected to be present.

Both churches will be specially decorated and choirs of the parish will sing at both events. Light refreshments will be provided for everybody after both the ordination and First Mass.

The new priest is son of David Vard, Senior, and Liz Yelverton. He has two sisters - Rebecca and Charlotte.

David grew up in Limerick, Dublin and for a while, Kerry but said he is proud and honoured to call Newbridge his home since 2000. He is a past pupil Scoil Mhuire and of the Patrician Brothers Secondary School.

As a teenager, he played with Newbridge Rugby Club but a back injury forced him to stop when he was 17.

David began his priestly studies immediately after his Leaving Cert in 2010, aged 18.

Since then he has obtained a B.A (Philosophy and History) from NUI Maynooth and will soon receive a B.D. (Bachelor of Divinity) from the Pontifical University, St Patricks College, Maynooth.

He was ordained a deacon last year.
Nurses in cardiology from Tallaght Hospital and Naas General Hospital have won a bursary award.

The award recognises advanced practice nursing collaboration across the hospital group, and was given for their service innovation at a recent nursing and midwifery conference.

The conference, which showcased nursing and midwifery values in practice in Ireland, was held at Dublin Castle.

The service innovations, which were developed between the two hospitals by the Registered Advanced Nurse Practitioners (RANPs), provides expert assessment and accelerated access to the most appropriate cardiac investigations in a timely manner.

It has led to more equitable patient care despite geographical considerations and utilises the strengths of the RANPs in the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group.

Speaking about the award, Alice Kinsella, General Manager, Naas General Hospital said: This is a fantastic achievement for Naas General Hospital and for our patients; moreover, it is a wonderful endorsement of the quality and expertise of our staff. We are always striving to innovate and deliver better patient outcomes and are delighted that our work has been recognised nationally. We will continue to collaborate with other hospitals in the DMHG to deliver on same.
There was great excitement in the West Wicklow village of Hollywood recently as a film crew set up shop.

Dalys service station was the location spot for a new film with some familiar names.

End of Sentence, which is written by Beautiful Boys Michael Armbruster, follows a father and son reluctantly embarking on an eventful and emotionally fraught road-trip to Ireland, honouring the request of their late wife and mother.

Starring American actors John Hawkes, Logan Lerman (best known for his role in the Percy Jackson films) and Irish actress Sarah Bolger, this will be the feature film debut of director Elfar Adalsteins.

End of Sentence sees down and out young ex-con Sean (Lerman) and his uptight but well-intentioned father Frank (Hawkes) thrown together on a road trip to scatter the ashes of their late mother and wife, Anna. Careening, from Alabama USA home to Ireland.

The pair are forced to confront the flaws in their relationship and find a common ground.

Between a disconcerting Irish wake, the surfacing of an old flame, the pick-up of the intriguing hitchhiker Jewel (Bolger) and plenty of unresolved issues, the journey becomes a little more than father and son had bargained for!

Hollywood and West Wicklow are no strangers to the stars, having regularly featured in TV productions and films, the most recent being The Vikings, and the shooting of Michael Collins in the iconic film was shot in location in Hollywood village itself.
A Ukrainian soldier was killed and four were injured in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) zone in eastern Ukraine on Monday, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's spokesman, Andriy Lysenko, said.

"I can say that today we again have losses. One serviceman has been killed and four have already been injured in the past 24 hours. We have also lost some weaponry," Lysenko said at a briefing in Kyiv on Monday.
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed TD, today announced that the reimbursement of 13.6m to approximately 96,000 farmers. This money was deducted from their 2015 Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments under the Financial Discipline rule.

Minister Creed said "I am pleased to confirm that the Financial Discipline deduction totalling 13.6m from the 2015 BPS payment will now be reimbursed to eligible 2016 applicants."

The Minister added that these payments will bring the total paid to Irish farmers under the 2016 Basic Payment Scheme to 1.2bn.

The 2017 Basic Payment Scheme saw a further increase in the number of online applications to almost 114,000. 87% of farmers availed of the online option for the 2017 scheme, a number which far exceeds the EU target of 75% for this period and moves Ireland significantly towards its target of 100% online applications in 2018.

In relation to the 2017 BPS, preliminary checks for online applicants will begin to issue shortly. Where a farmer receives a notification of a preliminary check, they should respond to it as soon as possible. Further information will issue in this regard as notifications begin to issue.
In what has been described as "a is a big break from tradition", Sinn Fein councillor, Seadhna Logan, has been elected, unopposed, to the position of Cathaoirleach of Carrick-on-Shannon Municipal District (MD) this afternoon.

Cllr Enda Stenson proposed Cllr Logan pointing out that in the last three years the Chair of the MD has alternated between Fianna Fail and "in the interest of going around (the other parties), I would like to propose Seadhna Logan for the position of Chairperson."

Cllr Stenson pointed out that since his election to the Council, Cllr Seadhna Logan has worked extremely well for his community.

"He is a young man from the town of Mohill and I think he will only do good for the area," he added.

His nomination was seconded by Fianna Fail councillor, Sean McGowan, who agreed that Cllr Logan had "done an excellent job over the last three years. He is very hardworking and it is a pleasure to second this nomination."

No other nominations were proposed and Cllr Logan was deemed to be elected.

Taking the Chair from outgoing Cathaoirleach, Cllr Finola Armstrong-McGuire, Cllr Logan said: "I have big shoes to fill."

He thanked Cllr Stenson and Cllr McGowan for their support adding: "This (my election) is a big break from tradition. I think its a real sign of the time and of how committed we are, how we can work together for betterment of our area."
Verdict on Higher Level Maths Paper 2

With some exacting questions and a change in font from Times New Roman to Calibri this years Leaving Cert Maths Paper two would have challenged many students.

Analysing the paper Margaret Kenny, Studyclix Expert Teacher and teacher at Jesus and Mary Secondary School, Enniscrone said: The monotony of the new font chosen, meant that numbers and other information was undifferentiated and less distinct from the core material of the questions. Meant students would have had to be more careful when reading questions.

"The orientation of the triangle in question 3 was very off-putting for students. Appearing somewhat skewed from what one would expect, students might have been better off without the diagram. The traditional trigonometry proofs were absent with a bigger emphasis on the understanding of geometry.

"The final question, would have proven difficult for weaker students, in particular H6 and h7 students would have struggled with the material.

Teacher Verdict on Ordinary Level Maths Paper 2

Margaret Kenny, Studyclix Expert Teacher and teacher at Jesus and Mary Secondary School, Enniscrone said: In this case the examiners managed to fit huge range of questions and cover a broad range of material in the paper. With a more traditional approach to Paper 2, todays paper was well received. The highlighting and emboldening of key words and presentation should be commended here for bringing clarity to students, that was absent in other papers. It was clear what they were being asked, which would have helped build confidence as students progressed
Michael Gove now oversees environmental policy, food, farming and fisheries. His arrival in the cabinet is part of Theresa Mays struggle to avert a leadership bid. More than ever, we need an independent government-backed assessor for the environment, biodiversity and wildlife.

Politically, we live in curious times with no certainty that the government will be stable or strong enough to survive the Brexit process. Theresa May has reappointed most of her pre-election cabinet, but she moved Andrea Leadsom from Defra to become Leader of the House of Commons. Michael Gove has been brought back to cabinet as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. We have gone from a barely noticed Defra Secretary to one that will crave attention by swinging a wrecking ball through environmental regulation.

Andrea Leadsom was a climate change sceptic and even asked Defra officials whether climate change is real. Apparently convinced by them that it was, she nevertheless supported shale gas extraction through fracking. She also backed foxhunting and selling off forests.

Similar criticism might be made of Michael Gove, who tried to demote climate change in the school curriculum. He backs foxhunting and the badger cull and wants the Habitats Directive rolled back after Brexit.

It is very difficult to point to anything Leadsom achieved during her 12 months in charge of Defra. Gove is likely to make his presence felt in Defra from day one. He is renowned for his slash and burn style of politics, an appropriate analogy given he is now in charge of agriculture.

Farmers are already braced for a major shakeup in their funding after Brexit. They are guaranteed the existing level of subsidy under the Tory manifesto until 2022. Gove remains a ferocious opponent of the Common Agricultural Policy.

He blamed the EUs common fisheries policy for his fathers fish merchant business going to the wall  though his father denied that this was the case. Reduction in quotas and a protectionist stance on keeping foreign vessels out of British waters will give a short-term boost to the fishing industry, at the cost of a long-term decline in fish stocks. The roll out of Marine Protection Zones under Andrea Leadsom and her predecessors has been sluggish. We are unlikely to see an improvement under Michael Gove.

Leadsom failed to publish the much delayed 25-year plan for the environment. Now that is promised as part of the Brexit process. That suggests that it may be used to dress up environmentally destructive polices as a progress towards a green government.

Fortunately, the main responsibility for climate change lies with Greg Clark, who heads the sprawling department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. He has long favoured a low carbon economy.

No one is expecting Michael Gove to be interested in habitat restoration and in enhancing the contribution of peat bogs and moorland make to promoting biodiversity and reducing flooding. George Monbiots rewilding agenda wont even get a look in.

Gove has raged against the Habitats Directive. Referring to the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area, designated to protect the Dartford Warbler and other birds, he complained that the protected status was getting in the way of housebuilding and massively increasing the cost and the regulatory burden for housing development.

Goves attack on the Clinical Trials Directive shows an aggressive attitude towards safety regulation. It means he is unlikely to increase restrictions on neonicotinoids, which many scientists and environmentalists have argued are partly responsible for the decline in bees and other pollinators. He must tackle the toxic air that pollutes so many of our cities. Defra has produced such a weak Air Quality Plan to address the issue, that it is once again facing challenges in the courts.

The environment barely featured in the general election campaign. It is no longer at the forefront of politics. Without the stability and strength of EU protection, our environment is vulnerable to the whims of here today, gone tomorrow governments. The Great Repeal Bill may keep EU environmental protections in place but the directives are principally implemented through regulations. This is where Michael Gove will burn the rulebook.

More than ever after this cabinet reshuffle, there is a need for an independent government-backed assessor for the environment, biodiversity and wildlife. We have the Committee on Climate Change. We have the Office of Budget Responsibility. We have a Food Standards Agency. But for the environment, we only have the Environment Agency and Natural England. Both have been shown to be under the governments thumb in recent years. We need an independent voice, close enough to government so that it is noticed, but distant enough to ensure that it is free from political interference.

* Andy Boddington is a Lib Dem councillor in Shropshire. He blogs at andybodders.co.uk. He is Thursday editor of Lib Dem Voice.
Gut wrenching horrible was how it felt to be pushed into third place in a seat we have held for the last twenty years but by way of catharsis I would like to tell you good folks what I think happened.It would be good to have other tales of success and failure here.

The election took us as by surprise.Weeks before the Constituency Chair and I had decided that I would announce my retirement from Westminster after what we assumed would be good set of local election results. The snap election forced my hand. But we had ready a great alternative in Sue McGuire ,our council group leader with considerable profile in the town and a real record of action.

The campaign was much better and more high powered than any Southport campaign I have been previously associated with. Lots of help from outside (some incredible shifts put in), bigger canvassing teams, good literature, armies of stuffers, IT & Connect sophistication, bags of help from the national party and two leaders visits. The pace was unrelenting; the output impressive. Neither the Labour nor the Tory candidate lived in Southport- a fact we sought to exploit. We lobbied at the school gates on education cuts and throughout the town on the dementia tax. Squeezes and switches galore. Other parties campaigns seemed modest in comparison.

What we were not able to discern was any benefit from our national messaging but we did know that if anything was putting people off voting for us, it was invariably something to do with our national rather than our local stance. Many we canvassed intimated that they would stick to us locally while indicating that they had problems voting for us nationally.

The local Labour Party skilfully pursued their strategy of talking up their chances and campaigned like the Tories against us rather than Theresa May or the Tories (Progressive alliances dont exist in the North West)

We warned that this would lead to a Tory MP and of course it did.Until polling day, however, we maintained a degree of optimism based on our own usually accurate canvassing.

Polling day disabused us. There was just too much unsettling evidence of people switching and the key driver for this was Corbynmania and the Labour manifesto. When it came to the push people wanted to believe the hopeful illusions on offer and were more fearful of growing social inequality than the perils of a Hard Brexit.

The party chose to fight the election on the terms chosen by the Tories- even though Brexit was brought up puzzlingly little on the doorstep.Labour though offered populist solutions to the problems that really pre-occupied people and even if people did not altogether buy the solutions, they rewarded those who registered their concerns.

I dont want us to be a nakedly populist party but evidence shows that you dont defeat populism ever by demonising the populist (Trump and Corbyn both proved that ). To beat populism and stay popular you have to understand and respond to the issues behind it and offer better solutions. Listen more; preach less

General Election 2017 was not a success  more lost deposits , shrinking share of vote, fewer target seats next time- but absolutely the worst thing we can do now is pretend it was.

All the clever campaigning techniques and marketing sophistication in the world is as nothing unless you have a compelling social message and the policies to deliver it. We lost in Southport not because wed forgotten how to campaign or even because of the genius of our opponents but because the party did not have a clear enough national message that connected emotionally and personally with the local electorate and in a quasi- presidential election in 2017 that mattered.

* John Pugh was Liberal Democrat MP for Southport until 2017 and was elected as a Councillor for the Dukes ward of Sefton Borough Council on 2 November 2017.
Going through my final exams during a general election was heart breaking. I wanted to canvass and I wanted to write, but the only thing I seemed to have time to get involved in were political debates with friends and family, and it always came back the same comment: If youre a student, why would you vote for the Lib Dems?

I remember the day that Nick Clegg supposedly betrayed his younger voters well. I was studying for my GCSEs when a BBC news reporter announced that a video of Nick Clegg apologising had gone viral on the internet and, although I was planning on sending off a UCAS application in a couple of years, I wasnt angry at the Lib Dems. Yet it seems that many still are.

Going to university isnt a right granted to us when we are born and it would be unfair to expect those who havent attended to fund a students education, when they themselves could be paying taxes to the government and improve the quality of our public services. Unfortunately, not every career allows people to work their way up and requires a degree, but if that is the type of career we want, then it is fair that we take out a loan to fund ourselves and repay it when we have the funds to do so. The reason for this? Social mobility.

By paying for our own education, it means that the government does not need to worry about funding over two million students through university and focus solely on investing in compulsory education, namely primary, secondary and further. By having more funds for compulsory education, it means that every child has the opportunity to go to a good quality school and potentially get the grades to study at university, then take out a loan to fund their studies, even if their parents werent able to fund that. This means that a child, who is technically living in poverty, can one day study to become a doctor, because they have the means to access this opportunity.

Of course, the course fees are still incredibly high, but its important to remember that it is up to the university how to distribute their resources and, whilst history may be a cheaper course to run, medical students may need more funding so we can get the best quality doctors and health treatment late in life. Not only that, but more funding gives the university more money to build new buildings, buy the latest academic textbooks or open new departments. These fees are not only benefitting students now, but future students, as well as the future surgeons, nurses and leaders of the world.

It seems that there has been a lot of hatred towards Nick Clegg in recent years, but, as a child who got free school lunches, I know that I would never have gone to university if it werent for the option of taking out a loan.

* Anna Pitcher has recently finished her studies in German and Economics at the University of Sheffield. She is a member of the Liberal Democrats.
It is crucial to remain ambitious when it comes to citizens rights; citizens remain at the heart of the EU declared Charles Goerens, Demokratesch Partei and ALDE MEP, in an address to a meeting that formally established a branch of Liberal Democrats in Luxembourg. This is the Liberal conviction that underlies Charles Goerens proposal of associate EU citizenship for those who feel and wish to remain part of the European project, but who are nationals of a former Member State. Putting the interests of citizens first is among the prime concerns of the EU Parliament, which has a decisive say on any outcome.

Theresa May has learned that Brexit is a little more difficult than she expected at the beginning he commented with typically Luxembourgish understatement. He believes that Theresa May thought that an election and strong words could strengthen her negotiating position but said that she cannot continue to hide behind elections and crowd pleasing gestures. Theresa May has to face up to hard and very complicated issues. At the top of the agenda is finding solutions for the borders between Northern Ireland and Ireland and between Gibraltar and Spain. Further urgent priorities are the interests and status of UK nationals living in the 27 EU states and of EU citizens in the UK.

Certainty is needed as soon as possible  both parties must deliver answers to the many open questions without delay. He emphasised that it is paramount that these issues are handled with fairness, with reciprocity and without discrimination. Acceptance of the four freedoms seemed implicit in these requirements.

When asked how associate citizenship could work in practice, he said Unfortunately we must admit that EU citizenship is linked to a states membership, so once your country leaves the EU you are stripped of your citizenship. However, politics is about choices and imagination, and finding answers to problems.

Charles Goerens does not accept that a hard Brexit is an inevitability; describing the situation as absurd, he will not believe that Mays government can accept the damage to UK manufacturing and financial services that would follow from a hard Brexit. He suggests that an outcome of negotiation could be associate membership for the UK, along with which would be associate membership citizenship. However, he envisages that a resolution will require existing treaties to be reopened and modified, which will not be easy.

In his concluding remarks to Liberal Democrats in Luxembourg, Charles Goerens affirmed Citizens remain at the heart of the EU and you should know that you are neither abandoned nor forgotten.

This article is based on an interview with Charles Goerens and his address to Luxembourg Liberal Democrats.

* Martin Bennett first campaigned in Cheltenham in 1974, was the Bermondsey Party press officer from 1981-3 but is presently resident in Luxembourg. He is Deputy Chair of Liberal Democrats Luxembourg.
Russia's blocking the formation of a tribunal to investigate the downing of the Malaysia Airlines MH17 flight indicates its involvement in the crash, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said.

"Russia is blocking the formation of a tribunal, which is de facto a guilty plea," Poroshenko said in Kharkiv on Friday at a joint briefing with Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite.

At the same time, the Ukrainian president recalled the new reports, which contain "a direct evidence of the Russian Federation's involvement in the terrorist attack on the Malaysian aircraft," which have appeared recently.

As reported, the Boeing 777 belonging to Malaysia Airlines flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) was shot out of the sky killing all 298 passengers on board.

The international joint investigatory group (Joint Investigation Team, JIT), which is comprised of prosecutors and law-enforcement officials from Ukraine, the Netherlands, Belgium, Australia, and Malaysia, as well as EU legal officials, on September 28, 2016 presented its findings in the criminal investigation of the tragedy.

"The JIT concluded that MH17 was downed by a rocket, Series 9M38, launched from a self-propelled ground-to-missile launcher BUK-TELAR, in a farming area in the region of Pervomaiske village. The area is currently held by pro-Russian militant groups. Investigators said missile complex was delivered to Ukraine from the Russian Federation and returned there after the downing," the findings said.

In early June 2017, the British investigative journalists group Bellingcat said it found a photo of the Buk 323 missile launcher of the Russian 53rd anti-aircraft missile brigade taken before the launcher was used to down the MH17 passenger flight in Donetsk region in 2014.

In mid-November 2016, Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said that investigators had established the names of a hundred individuals suspected of involvement in the crime and that they will be named in 2017.
The 12 Best Sources of Fiber on the Keto Diet

These foods in your meal plan will help you avoid some of the pitfalls of the diet, like constipation.
THE financial services company Northern Trust is set to announce another 400 new jobs for Limerick today, which will be phased in over the next five years.

The expansion is supported by the Department of Jobs through IDA Ireland and marks the fourth time Northern Trust has significantly expanded its operations in Limerick.

Today @NorthernTrust makes their 4th major expansion in #Limerick announcing 400 new jobs across a range of financial services! #WhyIreland https://t.co/Cz7eOjqp2R  IDA Mid-West Region (@IDA_MidWest) June 12, 2017

Its first Limerick office opened in 2007 with 19 staff and today employs 1,000 people across its two sites in Limerick at Hamilton House and City East Plaza.

Todays announcement will also be one of the last official engagements of Michael Noonan in his role of Minister for Finance, who said that the announcement is a further endorsement of the people of Limerick and its surrounds.

The access to markets, the skilled workforce and the quality of life in this region Im sure are all positive influences in this decision.

In the wake of Brexit its important that we continue to add jobs to the local economy and having met with Northern Trust in London late last year Im grateful that they see Limerick as a key part of their future plans for their operations in Europe, he said.

Clive Bellows, country head of Northern Trust, said that the creation of these jobs underlines the companys commitment to Ireland.

We have seen growth in the scale and operation of our Irish business over the years and the continued expansion of our office in Limerick reflect this.

"We gratefully acknowledge the support of IDA Ireland and our local partners such as the University of Limerick and the Limerick Institute of Technology, where we have strong relationships, and recognise the pro-active engagement we have with Irish government representatives, and the local funds industry in Ireland.

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Mary Mitchell OConnor said this is another great investment for Limerick.

Chief executive of IDA Ireland, Martin Shanahan said the companys ability to attract and retain talent is proof positive that Limerick and Ireland is a location that is highly attractive and suitable for global companies in the financial services sector.
A JUDGE has refused jurisdiction in the case of Limerick peace activist Dr Edward Horgan who is accused of damaging a US Military Aircraft at Shannon Airport earlier this year.

Mr Horgan, aged 71, of Newtown, Castletroy, and another man - Dan Dowling, aged 35, of Grace Dieu, Waterford - were arrested at Shannon following an incident at around 10.30pm April 25, last.

The pair were detained by gardai after they breached the airport perimeter and made their to way to a US military plane that had been parked on a remote taxiway.

Both are charged with causing criminal damage to the plane.

It is alleged a red marker was used to write a number of anti-war slogans on the side of the aircraft which departed Shannon a number of hours after the incident.

Having heard details of the allegations against both men, Judge Patrick Durkan said he was refusing to hear the case.

That means the matter will now come before Ennis Circuit Court later in the year.

The defendants were remanded on continuing bail until July 19, next to facilitate the preparation of a book of evidence.

Dr Horgan  a former member of the Defence Forces  has been ordered to stay away from Shannon as a condition of his bail while Mr Dowling must not enter County Clare.

On indictment, the maximum sentence for criminal damage is one of ten years imprisonment.
FORMER Minister for Education Jan OSullivan has called for the provision of full second-level education for autistic children in Limerick following a Dail question to current minister Richard Bruton.

Labours Deputy OSullivan asked Minister Bruton for his plans in relation to the provision of secondary education at Patrickswells Red Hill school, which currently does not have sufficient resources to offer a full secondary curriculum.

Mr Bruton replied: Special schools are allocated teaching staff based on their actual current pupil profiles and the disability category of each pupil, as opposed to primarily by school designation.

It is a matter for school authorities to decide how to deploy this resource to cater for the curricular needs of their students, he said.

Jan OSullivan pointed out that the need for a dedicated secondary school to cater to autistic children in Limerick will grow.

The problem is that they [Red Hill] just dont have the numbers to have a proper secondary school.

But there will be more and more children, obviously there is a growing number of children diagnosed on the autistic spectrum, so my view would be that there really is a need for a secondary school, and I would strongly support a secondary school being planned now for children with autism or children on the autistic spectrum, she said.

Whether that be attached to Red Hill or whether it be a separate school, or attached to an existing secondary school That was what we had started to explore when I was Minister for Education, it doesnt seem to have progressed much since, she said.

Ms OSullivan said that staff at Red Hill are doing their best to cater to the older children, but would benefit from linking with an existing school if a new one isnt possible.

It had previously been suggested that the school would link with the new secondary in Mungret, a proposal which the TD said she would strongly support.

What the parents of those children really want is that they can, like all other children, progress through second level right up through Junior and Leaving Cert, if appropriate for them, and I would strongly call for that, she said.
A MAN in his 20s is in a serious condition in hospital following a hit and run in County Limerick.

The pedestrian was knocked down while walking on the Ballingarry Road at Dullas, around a mile and a half outside Croom.

The man was discovered by a passing motorist at around 2.30am this Monday morning and it is believed the incident occurred between 1.30am and that time. He was taken to University Hospital Limerick with what is described as serious injuries.

Gardai at Newcastle West are appealing for anyone with information to come forward.

"Gardai are appealing for road users who were on the on the Ballingarry Road out of Croom between the hours of 1am and 3am to contact them at Newcastle West Garda station on 069-20650, or the Garda Confidential Line 1800-666-111, or any Garda Station," said a spokesperson.

The scene of the incident was preserved to facilitate a technical examination but has now been cleared.

- For more breaking news, stay with the Limerick Leader online, on Twitter and Facebook
OVERCROWDING at University Hospital Limericks new emergency department will persist until a 25m 96-bed inpatient facility is in place, a top consultant has said.

The comments  by emergency consultant Dr Fergal Cummins  were made as new figures showed that UHL had the worst level of overcrowding in the country, on the same day Health Minister Simon Harris launched the 24m emergency department.

According to daily figures published by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation on Monday morning, there were 47 patients being treated on trolleys in the Dooradoyle facility.

Describing capacity at UHL as a serious issue, Minister Simon Harris acknowledged that there is a deficit of beds in this hospital.

He added that the opening of the new facility was one of the happiest days as Minister, and that he was genuinely shook after visiting the former department in October of last year.

However, he has made no indication of when the Department of Health and HSE will invest in the construction of the 96-bed facility.

UL Hospitals Groups chief clinical director, Prof Paul Burke said that being treated on a trolley in University Hospital Limericks emergency department can, in some cases, be a better place to be than on a bed in the ward.

When questioned about the continuous high trolley numbers, Prof Burke said that, in the short term, the UL Hospitals Group hopes to turn the previous ED into a transit area which could act as a short stay unit, providing up to 15 extra beds.

You now have patients on a trolley in a very spacious cubicle. Arguably, in some situations, it is a better place to be than in a bed on the ward. But they are, nevertheless, still counted as patients on trolleys. We still do have a problem with the trolleys.

Emergency consultant, Dr Fergal Cummins said: In reality, what we have is a capacity issue. And unfortunately, there are few places in the hospital where patients can actually be housed. We will always have overcrowding until capacity increases. Obviously, it massively inhibits the function of the emergency department.

When asked if there was any indication of when funding will be made available for the delivery of the 96-bed block, Prof Burke replied: Unfortunately not. But, nevertheless, to get the design phase funding is very significant, because it does indicate a commitment on the part of Government to support us. And, obviously, after that, it is up to us to make strong arguments at every level, from a needs point of view.

A working group, established in recent months, confirmed that UHL is very, very significantly down on bed numbers at UHL, Prof Burke said. And in order for the hospital to work at optimal levels, it will require an additional 50 beds. However, the hospital is currently operating at 115% occupancy.

Prof Burke said that this is putting extraordinary pressure on a continual basis to make space to get patients through the system, and to create new beds on an ongoing basis.

CEO Colette Cowan praised Minister for Finance Michael Noonan, who attended the launch, for his support of a number of developments at the hospital.
THE Limerick-based Light Moves festival of Screendance has issued an open call for submissions ahead of its fourth outing later this year.

The Dance Limerick-produced festival - held first as part of City of Culture in 2014 - is Ireland's international festival dedicated to the art of dance on film and video art with movement as a central theme.

It is curated by Jurgen Simpson and Mary Wycherley and takes place from November 2-5.

It has now announced an open call for papers and presentations to be made for its fourth international Screendance Symposium, which takes place during the festival.

The symposium encourages artistic and scholarly exchange, debate and discussion in screendance and related disciplines including performance, dance, film, visualarts, sound and text, said a spokesperson.

It is a wonderful opportunity for screendance practitioners to investigate this exciting artform at a deep level and to share ideas and reflections with international peers. This years theme is Screendance Through the Senses.

Simpson and Wycherley have said the festival - which is supported by the Arts Council and Limerick City and County Council -is a response to the vibrant and expanding field of dance film-screendance in Ireland and internationally

See www.lightmoves.ie.
Something went wrong, please try again later.

Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later.

Our free email updates are the best way to get headlines direct to your inbox

A North Sea Camp prisoner jailed for five years for playing a part in a major drugs operation died of natural causes.

Gary Chapman was one of five Lincolnshire men sentenced to more than 30 years in prison for their part in a major drugs operation that spanned numerous towns and cities across the country.

An inquest into the 55-year-olds death, held at Boston Coroners Court, heard Chapman, of Humberstone Road, Grimsby, was serving five years and eight months after being jailed in May 2015.

Chapman, who was convicted of conspiracy to supply class A drugs, was taken to Bostons Pilgrim Hospital for palliative care treatment after he was diagnosed with lung cancer. He was admitted on February 24 and died three days later on February 27.

In total 21 people received almost 150 years in prison for conspiring to supply class A drugs in the operation.

The police investigation began in December 2013 when Humberside Polices Serious and Organised Crime Unit commenced an operation targeting an organised crime group involved in the trafficking of cocaine into the Grimsby area. Enquiries soon identified the group had links to other parts of the UK including Greater Manchester, London and the West Midlands.

In the following nine months, working closely with officers from other forces, seizures of cocaine, heroin and cannabis worth more than 1 million and more than 175,000 in cash were made in Humberside, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands. The 21 people were all charged and have now been convicted of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs at Birmingham Crown Court.

Coroner Murray Spittal heard evidence that Chapman was detained at North Sea Camp following his part in the drugs operation.

The inquest concluded Chapman had died of natural causes and there was no suspicious evidence surrounding his death.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has signed a bill banning the production and public use of Saint George (Guards) ribbons and introducing administrative responsibility for this.

The Verkhovna Rada passed bill No. 2987 on amendments to the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses on the ban on the production and popularization of Saint George (Guards) on May 16. The law will enter into force on the next day from its publication.

According to the bill, public use, demonstration or wearing of such ribbons or their images entail a fine in the amount of from 50 to 150 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens with confiscation of Saint George (Guards) ribbons or objects with such images.

If these actions are carried out again within a year after being brought to administrative responsibility, they entail the imposition of a fine in the amount of from 150 to 300 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens or administrative arrest for up to 15 days with the confiscation of Saint George (Guards) ribbons or objects with such images.

The non-taxable minimum income is now set at UAH 17.
Something went wrong, please try again later.

Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later.

Sign up to our free email alerts for the top daily stories sent straight to your e-mail

The following cases appeared at Mansfield Magistrates' Court over the past two weeks.

Adam Shane Moore, 26, of Lupton Walk, Sheffield, was found guilty of assault in Bircotes on November 26, and pleaded guilty of two assaults in Worksop on March 3 and to possession of cannabis in Newark on March 3. The offences breached a community order for two assaults on police officers - dealt with for original offences. 18 weeks in prison, 150 compensation in total, cannabis destroyed.

Brett Louis, 35, of Rampton Hospital, Woodbeck pleaded guilty to causing actual bodily harm at Rampton Hospital on November 29. Case adjourned until June 18.

Leon Craig Gregory, 36, of HMP Leeds, pleaded guilty to three assaults at HMP Ranby in Retford on December 16. 16 weeks in prison, 250 compensation in total.

Paul Richard Brown, 49, of Birch Road, Ollerton, pleaded guilty to possession of a machete in public in Ollerton on May 23. 20 weeks in prison, suspended for a year, 115 surcharge, 85 costs, machete destroyed.

Ryan David Slingsby, 21, of London Road, Newark, pleaded guilty to possession of a kitchen knife in public in Retford on May 24. The offence breached a suspended sentence for thefts. Six weeks in prison, suspended for a year, three weeks of detention, suspended for 18 months, 115 surcharge.

Alex John Kinsey, 30, Gomersall Close, Retford, pleaded guilty to stealing three bottles of Cognac worth 69 from Morrison's in Retford on May 12 and admitted breaching his supervision by not attending appointments on May 2, 9 and 16. The offences breached a suspended sentence for theft. 35 days in prison, 115 surcharge.

James Ross Kinsey, 31, of Rufford Avenue, Ordsall, pleaded guilty to stealing two bottles of brandy worth 60.48 from Wine Rack in Retford on March 26. Community order, drug rehab condition, 85 costs, 60.48 compensation.

Anne Christine Topping, 63, of Albert Road, Retford, pleaded guilty to failing to provide a breath sample to police without a reasonable excuse in Retford on May 21. Community order, four-week curfew, four-year driving ban, 85 costs, 85 surcharge.

Douglas Alan Peter Ward, 30, of Melbourne Road, Newham, London, pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis in Elkesley on April 29. 85 costs, 80 fine, 30 surcharge, cannabis destroyed.
Something went wrong, please try again later.

Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later.

Sign up to our free email alerts for the top daily stories sent straight to your e-mail

The following cases have been heard at magistrates courts in Lincolnshire:

Colin Leo Junior Beckford , 24, of 33 Commercial Road, Grantham, pleaded guilty to driving without insurance, outside the authorisation class of a licence and without an MoT certificate. He was fined 200, ordered to pay a surcharge to fund victim services of 30 and costs of 85. His licence was endorsed with six points.

Phillip James Braban , 61, of 94 St Botolphs Crescent, Lincoln, case proven for driving in excess of 30mph on Lincoln Road. He was fined 70, ordered to pay a surcharge to fund victim services of 30 and costs of 85. His licence was endorsed with three points.

Christopher Stephen Nigel Crow , 59, of 4 Templar Mews, Church Street, Gainsborough, case proven for driving in excess of 30mph on Spital Hill. He was fined 440, ordered to pay a surcharge to fund victim services of 44 and costs of 85. His licence was endorsed with five points.

Linda Louise Suter , 53, of 32 Tanners Court, Tanners Lane, Lincoln, pleaded guilty to driving in excess of 50mph on the B1188. She was fined 84, ordered to pay a surcharge to fund victim services of 30 and costs of 85. Her licence was endorsed with three points.

Jake Michael Walker, 21, of 108 Cannon Street, Lincoln, pleaded guilty to driving outside the authorisation class of a licence and without insurance. He was fined 180, ordered to pay a surcharge to fund victim services of 30 and costs of 85. His licence was endorsed with six points.

Jasper James Weldon , 48, of Hill Holt Farm, Hill Road, Norton Disney, Lincoln, pleaded guilty to driving in excess of 70mph. He was fined 350, ordered to pay a surcharge to fund victim services of 35 and costs of 85. His licence was endorsed with three points.

Thomas Genge , 35, of 12 Stanley Street, Gainsborough, case proven for driving in excess of 70mph on the A1. He was fined 220, ordered to pay a surcharge to fund victim services of 30 and costs of 85. His licence was endorsed with three points.

Samuel James Monahan , 24, of 48 Heapham Road, Gainsborough, pleaded guilty to driving without insurance, outside the authorisation class of a licence and without an MoT certificate. He was fined 248, ordered to pay a surcharge to fund victim services of 30 and costs of 85. His licence was endorsed with six points.

Hayley Pawsey , 51, of 4 North Walls, Binbrook, case proven for driving in excess of 30mph on the A46. She was fined 220, ordered to pay a surcharge to fund victim services of 30 and costs of 85. Her licence was endorsed with three points.

Mark Ridier, 59, of 35 Old Lincoln Road, Caythorpe, case proven for failing to give information relating to the identification of the driver of a vehicle. He was fined 660, ordered to pay a surcharge to fund victim services of 66 and costs of 85. His licence was endorsed with six points.

Martin Smith , 36, of 45 Warmington Avenue, Grantham, pleaded guilty to driving outside the authorisation class of a licence. He was fined 93, ordered to pay a surcharge to fund victim services of 30 and costs of 85. His licence was endorsed with four points.

Philip Roy Spendlow , 63, of 24 Cannon Street, Lincoln, pleaded guilty to driving in excess of 30mph on the A46. He was fined 40, ordered to pay a surcharge to fund victim services of 30 and costs of 85. His licence was endorsed with three points.

Lee Meadows , 36, of Flat 10, Leonard Audus House, London Road, Grantham, pleaded guilty to assault by beating and damaging an internal wall at an address to a value unknown. He was given a community order to carry out unpaid work for 80 hours within the next 12 months, ordered to pay a surcharge to fund victim services of 85 and costs of 85.

Robert Andrew Smith , 54, of 45 Hickman Court, Gainsborough, pleaded guilty to driving with 54 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. He was fined 235, ordered to pay a surcharge to fund victim services of 30 and costs of 85. He was disqualified from holding or obtaining a licence for 12 months.

Peter Alan Leeds, 44, of The Bees Hive, 25 High Street, Caythorpe, was found guilty for displaying any writing, sign or other visible representation which was threatening or abusive. He was fined 450, ordered to pay compensation of 200, a surcharge to fund victim services of 45 and costs of 400.

Stuart Antony Drayton, 28, of 4 Jubilee Crescent, Gainsborough, pleaded guilty to two counts of assault. He was given a restraining order for 12 months, fined 250, ordered to pay compensation of 100, a surcharge to fund victim services of 30 and costs of 85.

Calvin Lester Gatford , 46, of 5 Clasket House, Clasketgate, Lincoln, pleaded guilty to being drunk of disorderly behaviour at the Accident and Emergency department at Lincoln County Hospital and assaulting a constable in the execution of his duty. He was given a community order to carry out unpaid work for 100 hours within the next 12 months, ordered to pay compensation of 50, a surcharge to fund victim services of 85 and costs of 85.

Tracey Beck, 41, of 25 Elliott Close, Grantham, case proven for failing to ensure a child of compulsory school age attended on a regular basis. She was fined 660, ordered to pay a surcharge to fund victim services of 66 and costs of 190.

Brett Pettinger , 46, of 19 Fir Tree Avenue, Brant Road, Lincoln, pleaded guilty to fishing without a rod and line licence. He was fined 96, ordered to pay a surcharge to fund victim services of 30 and costs of 85.

Amelda Walker , of 27 Fairfield Street, Lincoln, case proven for dropping smoking litter in the street. They were fined 220, ordered to pay a surcharge to fund victim services of 30 and costs of 150.

Marian Ivascu, 50, of 39A Portland Street, Lincoln, case proven for having a front nearside tyre and a front offside tyre that did not meet the minimum tread requirement and a front nearside tyre which had a lump, bulge or tear. She was fined 550, ordered to pay a surcharge to fund victim services of 55 and costs of 85. Her licence was endorsed with three points.
Something went wrong, please try again later.

Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later.

Sign up to our free email alerts for the top daily stories sent straight to your e-mail

A former Lincolnshire district council worker and his teacher wife have been found dead in their home.

Sean Lawson, 50, and his wife Mary, 63, were found in their home after neighbours raised the alarm on May 28.

An inquest at Warwickshire Justice Centre heard that they died of asphyxiation.

Mr Lawson, a senior council boss, sent an email to police with a time delay, saying "apologies for this" which arrived after the couple died.

Mr Lawson, whose parents still live in Spalding, worked for South Holland District Council as an environmental health officer before moving to Rugby.

Mrs Lawson worked at The John Harrox Primary School in Moulton before becoming director of education for the Diocese of Leicester between 2010 and 2014.



Detective Inspector Paul Thompson, of Warwickshire Police, told the inquest: "Units were sent to the property at 1.35pm on Sunday, May 28.





"The deceased and her husband would be in bed together.



"It looked as if they had supported and assisted one another.



"The deceased had been ill for 18 months with deep vein thrombosis which resulted in a stroke, debilitating systems in her left side.





"She could walk and her mental faculties were intact.



"A post-mortem examination conducted on Friday, June 2 reported death by asphyxiation."

Mary Lawson was the principal of Leicester's first Hindu school.

Adjourning the inquest until September, Warwickshire Coroner Sean McGovern said: "I offer my condolences to the family of Mr and Mrs Lawson."



Mr Lawson, who worked as head of environment and public realm at Rugby Borough Council and chaired the local safety advisory group, was described as a "pillar of the community".





Mrs Lawson suffered a stroke on holiday two years ago and needed a wheelchair.

She had also enjoyed a distinguished career, most recently as principal of Leicester's first Hindu school, Krishna Avanti, in Evington.



A family friend said Mrs Lawson's condition had deteriorated in the weeks before her death, adding: "I don't think they could bear to be without each other but Mary's illness put a strain on them.

"She was really suffering."



Police confirmed they were not looking for anyone in connection with the deaths.
Something went wrong, please try again later.

Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later.

Sign up to our free email alerts for the top daily stories sent straight to your e-mail

A classmate of a teenage Twilight killer from Spalding said the murderer made threats to murder his girlfriends mum.

Double murderer Lucas Markham told his fellow classmates on more than one occasion that he would murder his girlfriend's mum.

Adam Free, 15, an ex-schoolmate of the 15-year-old murderer, revealed how Markham vowed to kill Elizabeth Edwards, 49, because she had tried to split him up from her daughter Kim.

Adam told the Mirror Online how "creepy" it was to watch the killer couple together. He also described Markham as angry and violent.

He claimed Markham became obsessed with the murder of his father Warren Free, who was beaten to death by a teen gang near their homes.

Markham went on to brutally stab school dinner lady Elizabeth, also known as Liz, to death as she lay asleep while Kim watched

He then stabbed Kim's 13-year-old sister Katie in her bed.

The couple's trial last year heard they then had sex before calmly sitting down to watch three of the Twilight vampire movies.

The pair, then both aged 14, became the youngest double murderer couple in UK history when they were found guilty of murder last October.

Markham's former schoolmate Adam spoke out just days after a judge lifted an order banning the identification of Markham and Kim Edwards.

Adam told how he sat next to Markham, who was an aggressive and disruptive pupil at Sir John Glebe High School in Spalding, Lincolnshire.

The pair got to know each other in Year 8 after Markham was segregated for attacking other pupils.

At the time of the murders in April last year Markham had been expelled from the school for disruptive behaviour.

Adam said Markham, who he described as being strongly influenced by Kim, was obsessed with the murder of his father Warren Free.

The 43-year-old was killed by a group of teens in August 2014 - although no one was ever convicted - just streets away from where Markham murdered his victims in Spalding.

He told the Mirror: "Out of everyone I know he is the one I know is capable of murder.

"He would do anything that Kim wanted him to do. I think if she asked him to do it he would have just got on with it.

"He was always complaining about Elizabeth whenever I said 'is there something wrong?' He hated her.

"If I had to put money on it I would say he would kill. He said that he wanted to kill her before but my friends didn't believe him.

"He used to punch me and my friends in lessons. He got into a lot of fights when he was in Year 7 and they put him in isolation.

"At the time of the murders he had left our school but his girlfriend was still there.

"She was in mainstream school and I saw her on the Thursday and Friday before she was arrested."

Adam said Markham's hatred of Elizabeth intensified when she stopped him seeing her daughter in the summer of 2015.

The sweethearts couldn't bear to be apart and took a tent into school and ran away together in October 2015.

They lived in the woods nearby for nearly a week before going home.

When he returned to the school Markham was relentlessly teased and called Ray Mears, according to Adam.

Adam thinks this marked a key turning point in Markham's personality and saw his former friend become quieter and angrier.

Adam said he went from being a bit noisy to being a bit more quiet and said Markham didn't want to talk to people, "he just stayed with her".

He said if teachers told Markham to do something he'd do the opposite.

Adam told the Mirror: "He was a bit of an idiot. He didn't have many friends and was a bit of a loner.

"When he came back from running away he really hated Liz.

"Before he went away he said he wanted to kill her but when he came back he said it all the time.

"Everybody just thought he was joking but he really held a grudge against Liz because she was always trying to split them up.

"Liz saw him as a bad influence and she wanted him out of her daughter's life."

Kim was described as a "goody two shoes" whereas Markham was a violent, angry young man who held a grudge and would plan on exacting revenge meticulously.

Adam revealed the couple's creepy, intense relationship even worried him.

He said: "It was almost creepy to watch them to together.

"I remember a lot of times at school when I sat next to them. I didn't always pay much attention to what they were talking about but it was strange to watch them together.

"They gave out weird vibes. I was always a bit worried about their relationship.

"One time they had an argument and they both ended up smashing their phones."

Adam also revealed Markham has a cold, calculated side and a sharp mind which he used to ruthlessly get what he wanted.

He revealed: "If he did anything, he always planned it out. He was good at maths at school, it was the only lesson he didn't mess around in.

"I think he would have planned the murder because he was really organised and liked everything neat.

"I remember whenever he folded anything he'd have to make sure it was perfect.

"He was a smart guy, whenever we were in maths lessons together he'd always get the answer first.

"He was good at English and science too. He knew what he was doing."

He told how Kim's mum didn't like Markham and wanted them to split up, even forcing them to break up for a while so they could only see each other at school.

"But then they ran away together and after that she agreed to let them carry on seeing each other," Adam added.

"He told one of our friends he was planning the murders but he didn't believe him."

Since his father's murder Adam has lived with his aunt Bernie Medford, 46, a landlady, and her husband, rubbish removal company owner Tim, 51.
We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.
Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom will visit Kyiv and Odesa during her stay in Ukraine, Swedish Ambassador to Ukraine Martin Hagstrom said.

"The Swedish Foreign minister will fly to Ukraine tomorrow (on June 13). This is the fourth visit since she became minister, she will visit Odesa and Kyiv, she will also take part in a business conference," Hagstrom said during a presentation of the study of the Institute of World Politics "Foreign Policy Audit: Ukraine - Sweden" in Kyiv on Monday.

The ambassador added that representatives of large business companies of Ukraine and Sweden will take part in the conference.

According to him, Ukraine and Sweden have a great potential for cooperation, in particular, in economic area. "We agree that at present there is a great potential, we are talking about the development of business relations between our countries," Hagstrom noted.

As reported, Lithuanian and Swedish Foreign Ministers, Linas Linkevicius and Margot Wallstrom, will make a joint working visit to Ukraine on June 13-15.
The European Union does not expect migration risks from Ukrainian citizens because of the introduction of the visa-free regime, Head of the EU Delegation in Ukraine Hugues Mingarelli said.

"On the contrary, we hope that as many Ukrainians as possible will be able to visit the EU countries. Ukrainians do not pose a threat to EU countries, on the contrary they carry opportunities and expectations with them. Of course, citizens of Ukraine on their part should respect obligations and the rights that are provided by the visa-free regime," the ambassador told journalists on Monday, responding to a question about fears over the large influx of Ukrainians to the EU countries after the entry into force of the visa-free regime.

According to him, Ukrainians "show joy and enthusiasm for the introduction of a visa-free regime with the EU." "I'm sure that many will use this opportunity," Mingarelli added.

Thanks to the visa-free regime Ukraine is becoming closer the EU, and the EU has positive expectations from the visa-free regime, the ambassador summed up.
Organizers of the KyivPride2017 march have said law-enforcement officials assured them they would provide participants with security during their planned march in Kyiv on June 18.

"We will wait from 09:00 in the morning on Sunday at the crossroads between Bohdana Khmelnytskoho St. and Volodymystrka St. before starting the march, which will be longer than last year's, about 1 kilometer," Ruslana Panukhnyk said during a press conference in Kyiv on Monday.

She said about 6,000 police would be on hand to provide security.

KyivPride participants are calling for equal rights and opportunities for all. The slogan for this year's march is "Ukraine - a Country for All."
Some 22 militants were killed and 60 wounded in Donbas last week, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's spokesman, Andriy Lysenko, said.

"The confirmed losses of the enemy over the past week are 22 dead, and 60 wounded militants, more than half of the losses fall on the Bakhmutka highway and Avdiyivka," Lysenko said at a briefing in Kyiv on Monday.

According to him, there are cases of inter-ethnic clashes in the Russian units that gathered near the border with Ukraine. In particular, in the 150th mechanized infantry division a military man from Dagestan was injured. In total, several people were injured. Additional forces of military police were transferred to restore order in Novocherkassk, the Rostov region, Russia.
Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovy has asked the city commission to request that Ukraine's Cabinet of Minister declare an 'environmental emergency' in Lviv.

"The city commission has appealed to the government in order to declare an 'environmental emergency' in Lviv. The organizers of the so-called garbage blockade can celebrate. We have no other possibilities left to avert an environmental disaster," Sadovy wrote on his Facebook page on Monday.

The Lviv mayor said French experts together with Ukrainian specialists are actively working to define technological parameters for a waste disposal project. He said it would take two years to build a waste disposal plant. The construction may start as early as this year.

On May 29, 2016, a landslide of over 100,000 cubic meters of garbage happened at the city landfill near the village of Hrybovychi outside Lviv. As a result, four people were trapped under the garbage. The bodies of three firefighters were found and the body of the environment specialist was not found.

Public hearings on construction of a waste disposal plant are scheduled before July 15, and during the autumn of 2017 a land plot will be allocated for the investor.

Inhabitants of Lviv during the night of June 9 blocked motorways in the city demanding the removal of garbage. Several regions of Ukraine have reported garbage from Lviv and Lviv region being dumped in their jurisdictions.
Ukrainian members of the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) of the ceasefire in Donbas has reported new attacks on the Ukrainian-controlled towns of Avdiyivka and Maryinka in Donetsk region by illegal armed groups with the use of proscribed weapons.

"At 21:00 local time on June 12, militant tanks fired on residential quarters of Avdiyivka amid shelling of Ukrainian army positions. 125mm shells exploded near houses on Ostrovskoho and Gagarina Streets," the press center of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters wrote on Facebook on Monday evening, citing the JCCC's Ukrainian team.

What is more, illegal armed formations opened fire on Maryinka's residential quarters at about 22:00 local time on the same day. They used infantry fighting vehicles and grenade launchers. A fire broke out on Zhovtneva Street as a result of the attack.

No civilian casualties have been reported in both cases.

Ukrainian observers from the JCCC are currently working in Avdiyivka and Maryinka. Details of the attacks are being examined.
Some 500 people were detained during an unpermitted opposition action in St. Petersburg on Monday, the Russian Interior Ministry press center told Interfax.

"About 3,500 people attended an unsanctioned action in St. Petersburg, 500 participants were taken to police stations for an inquiry into different breaches," an employee of the press center said.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman says that accusations brought by Russia against the Armed Forces of Ukraine of the failure to abide by the Minks agreements are part of hybrid warfare.

"The cynical accusations brought by Moscow against the Ukrainian armed forces are an information campaign of the hybrid war that is being waged all over the world," he said in an interview with the Croatian edition Jutarnji Vijesti, commenting on Moscow's statements about the alleged violation of the ceasefire by the Ukrainian army.

Groysman noted that the Ukrainian forces cease fire unilaterally, and this is not supported by Russian-backed militants.

"Ukraine unilaterally ceases fire, like it was on June 1, on International Children's Day. But Russian aggressors cannot stop for the sake of children from another country, continuing attacks. The situation was and remains tense," he added.

According to him, the enemy violates the ceasefire 50-60 times a day, "people die every day - both combatants and civilians. The combined human losses have already exceeded ten thousand people."

"Let me emphasize: Donetsk is our, Ukrainian land, and the Russians there are invaders. We do not see forceful liberation of these areas as an option because it may cause the huge death toll among our population. Therefore Kyiv is really interested in this truce and full implementation of the Minsk accords, since they will allow us to restore sovereignty by peaceful means," he said.

The prime minister stressed that Russia wants to fuel the "hot phase" of the conflict as long as possible, since it is an instrument for destabilizing Ukraine.

"They are aware that the liberation of Donbas will immediately raise the question of the return of the illegally occupied Crimea," Groysman said.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Jimmy Galindo, the former West Texas official accused of splitting about $850,000 in bribes with state Sen. Carlos Uresti, pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in San Antonio.

Galindo, who was county judge of Reeves County from January 1995 to December 2006, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery and failure to file a 2013 tax return.

Galindo, 53, struck a deal with federal prosecutors May 18, agreeing to fully cooperate in the investigation and prosecution of any and all criminal transactions known to the defendant, including the case against Uresti.

Uresti, the San Antonio Democrat serving Senate District 19, is accused of using his consulting company, Turning Point Strategies, and his law firms bank accounts to pay Galindo his share of the bribes they received from a Lubbock businessman.

During a 45-minute court appearance, Galindo kept his answers short, replying Yes, your honor, No, your honor, and I plead guilty, to U.S. Magistrate Judge John Primomos questions.

David Botsford, Galindos lawyer, declined to comment after the hearing.

Federal prosecutors accused Galindo of conspiring with the businessman, Vernon Farthing III, and Uresti to ensure that Farthings company  Physicians Network Associates  was awarded a contract to provide medical services for inmates at the Reeves County Correctional Center.

Uresti, 53, and Farthing, 44, were indicted by a federal grand jury May 16 on charges of conspiracy to commit bribery and conspiracy to commit money laundering. They have each entered not-guilty pleas.

Separately, Uresti faces 13 charges carrying more than 200 years in prison over his involvement in FourWinds Logistics, a bankrupt oil field services company for which he provided legal services and received commissions for attracting investors. Uresti also has pleaded not guilty to those charges, which include securities fraud and wire fraud.

FourWinds CEO Stan Bates and consultant Gary L. Cain also were charged in that case and have pleaded not guilty. Three FourWinds officials already have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and are scheduled to be sentenced later this year. They each face up to five years in prison and as much as a $250,000 fine. FourWinds demise and a subsequent FBI investigation were reported by the San Antonio Express-News in August.

Galindo is scheduled for sentencing Aug. 17 before U.S. District Judge David Ezra. The bribery charge is a felony that carries up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of failure to file a tax return is a misdemeanor that carries up to a year in prison and a maximum fine of $100,000.

Galindo was released on $50,000 unsecured bail. He is restricted from traveling outside the state and not allowed to have firearms.

I will physically remove the shotgun that is in his possession, Botsford told Primomo. Botsford most notably represented ex-Gov. Rick Perry in an abuse-of-power case. Perry was indicted by a grand jury over his alleged effort in 2013 to force out the Travis County district attorney, but the case was dismissed last year.

In exchange for Galindos plea, the government agreed that his sentence on each charge should run concurrently, rather than stacked, which caps the maximum time in prison Galindo can receive to five years. Prosecutors also wont object to less severe sentencing because he accepted responsibility for his crimes.

According to his plea document, Galindo helped Farthings company land a multimillion-dollar medical contract at the Reeves County Correctional Center in 2006. In exchange, the document adds, Farthing agreed to hire Uresti as a consultant for marketing at $10,000 a month, though the amount was later reduced.

Uresti, in turn, agreed to pay Galindo about half the money the senator received from Farthings company, the plea document says. Uresti was retained as a consultant from Sept. 15, 2006, until Sept. 30, 2016, the document adds.

In helping Farthings company obtain the contract, Galindo provided the company information that was not known to the general public, the plea document says. Physicians Network Associates then incorporated that information in its bid, which was disadvantageous to Reeves County, the document adds.

Last week, Uresti asked a federal judge to throw out charges that he was involved in the bribery scheme.

In his motion to dismiss the indictment, Uresti argues that the alleged payments to Galindo were made after he stopped serving as county judge.

The payments from Uresti to Galindo started around Jan. 1, 2007, and continued through Sept. 30, 2016, according to the charging documents.

Uresti contends that 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 already have been taken.

Uresti cited a 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.

We dont agree at all that these were bribes or gratuities because they were legal transactions, Mikal Watts, Urestis lawyer, said last week. The motion raised specifically the issue of whether the law even applies to alleged payments made after an official  has already acted.

Meanwhile, Uresti has asked for a continuance in both his cases, which are slated for trial next month, because Gov. Greg Abbott called a special legislative session that is scheduled to start July 18.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry Bemporad has set a hearing for Friday on the request for the continuance in the FourWinds case. Bemporad also is scheduled to take up a few other requests in the FourWinds case. Uresti wants the charge that he acted as an unregistered securities broker dismissed. He also wants an order denying prosecutors request to have Watts removed as his lawyer. Prosecutors allege that Watts has a conflict of interest.
DETROIT  Uber must get rid of leaders who tolerate bad behavior and hire people who dont  including up to the chief executive  experts say, as the ride-hailing company gets ready to announce significant changes to its culture and management.

Ubers board has adopted the recommendations of former Attorney General Eric Holder, who investigated its toxic culture of harassment and bullying. Those will be revealed to employees and made public on Tuesday.

Experts interviewed by The Associated Press say CEO Travis Kalanick should step aside or at minimum change his behavior for the company to make progress. Ubers board is discussing a leave of absence for Kalanick. No decision has yet been made, according to a person briefed on the matter who didnt want to be identified because board discussions arent normally made public.

A CEOs behavior sets the tone for the rest of the company, says Cindy Schipani, a business law professor at the University of Michigan who has taken part in investigations of corporate conduct. She says Kalanick should resign and save the board from having to oust him. Thats where the culture comes from. It has to change at the top and he has to recognize what he does, his actions, speak louder than anything put on paper, she says. It would be tough for the board to remove Kalanick because of Ubers stock ownership structure.

Jennifer Chatman, a business professor at the University of California Berkeley who also does corporate investigations, predicts that Kalanick will be granted a leave  but he wont return in the top spot.

He lacks the ability to set an appropriate tone for this organization, she said. He lacks the kind of presence thats needed for a larger organization.

It is common, Chatman says, for company founders to be ill-equipped to lead an organization as it matures. This may be the moment for Uber where it needs to go to the next stage, she says.

She expects Kalanick to come back as a strategist under a new CEO or possibly a board member who runs the company.

Last week, based on a report from a different law firm that investigated employee harassment, bullying and retaliation complaints, Uber fired 20 people and sent another 31 into counseling. Experts say its an unprecedented number of firings that shows a pervasive problem, but also is a strong step toward rehabilitation. Who the company hires as replacements will make or break the effort, they say.

Uber must hire people who dont have the harassment state of mind, Schipani said.

On Monday, Uber said its chief business officer, Emil Michael, is leaving the company. No reason was given for his departure.

Uber Technologies Inc. has been rocked by accusations that it has fostered a workplace environment that condones harassment, discrimination and bullying. Its also facing a federal investigation into claims that it used a fake version of its app to thwart authorities.

Amid the turmoil at the worlds largest ride-hailing company, competitors such as Lyft are trying to take advantage, growing ridership and inking technology deals and investments. On Monday, Lyft announced a $25 million investment from Jaguar-Land Rover. Earlier it signed a deal with Waymo, Googles former autonomous car operation. Lyft says it gave 70.4 million rides in the first quarter, up 142 percent from the same period a year ago. Fasten, an Uber rival that operates in Boston and Austin, Texas, said it saw a 25 percent ridership increase the week after an Uber boycott started. The company says its still seeing ridership rise 3 to 5 percent per week.

Kalanick has contributed to Ubers recent woes, losing his temper earlier this year in a profanity-laced argument with an Uber driver over pay. The website Recode.net reported that Kalanick put out a memo in 2013 advising employees attending a company party about having sex with each other. Kalanick also has been facing personal difficulties. His mother was killed and his father hurt last month in a boating accident near Los Angeles.

Experts say Ubers renegade culture of fighting regulators and skirting laws may have contributed to its problems. We do see sometimes a startup mentality in the early years of a companys growth where they have difficulty sometimes adjusting to being a huge enterprise, said Lisa Klerman, a USC law professor and employment law mediator.

Micah Alpern, principal at management consulting firm A.T. Kearney who helps companies change cultures suggests that Uber adopt something like the see something, say something slogan, encouraging employees to speak up when someone acts inappropriately.

Cases like Uber and Fox News show that sexual harassment isnt lessening, especially with tech companies, said Tom Spiggle, founder of a law firm that focuses on workplace issues. Tech firms are male dominated and can have a fraternity-like brogrammer culture that values masculinity and intense competition, he says.
Kyiv police have uncovered and arrested members of a criminal group, which reportedly assisted individuals on the wanted list to receive Ukrainian citizenship.

Kyiv city's Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) said on Monday that investigators had established that members of the group hatched plots involving Ukraine's State Migration Service, to which forged documents were proffered to receive Ukrainian citizenship. The scheme involved fictitious marriages with Ukrainian women.

"Their goal was to hasten the process of marriage registration, to submit to territorial branches of the marriage offices fake documents testifying to the pregnancy of these women. During the course of a month, the marriages were dissolved and the suspects retained the surnames of their spouses. In addition, several individuals faked their deaths in Ukraine in order to be taken off Russia's wanted list," the PGO's press service said.

The suspects facilitated the legalization and documentation of five foreign citizens on the wanted list for committing serious and very serious crimes. Among them were the ex-head of the Russian Interior Ministry's logistic support office, aide to the Russian deputy interior ministry, who wanted for embezzlement, his accomplice, as well as the organizer [of the scheme] and participants of these organizations and other persons.

Four suspects have been detained and notified of suspicion of committing crimes.

"In addition, a large number of internal and international passports from several countries along with fake residency permits, work identification cards and more than UAH 230,000, $134,000, more than EUR 14,000 and RUB 140,000 were seized from the suspects. The investigation continues," the press release says.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Albany

The Washington Park Spirit was an alternative universe of passionate muckrakers, cool kids and hippie geniuses. Feminism, black power and the gay rights movement were blossoming when the Spirit was published from April 1971 to February 1975. The Spirit forged inner-city community by hosting forums and funding a free clinic and a historical foundation to protect architectural jewels.

The Spirit offered epics with complexity, thrills and nuance. Reporter Scott Christianson, who produced exposes of Albany Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd and Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, had been a Knickerbocker News staff writer and went on to write for The New Yorker, The New York Times and The Washington Post. His recent death in an accidental fall at his Great Barrington, Mass., home is a reminder of the invaluable complement that alternative journalism can be to mainstream news.

Now, the Spirit's history is newly available to everyone in the hard copies, thanks to retired Assemblyman Jack McEneny's donation of his collection to the Albany Public Library.

"We were an alternative to Hearst and corporate-owned papers," said Spirit editor Leonard Perlmutter, referring to the Times Union's parent. "We believed objective truth can be found by digging deeper than newspapers" that might have worried about offending advertisers and subscribers. "We looked like hippies. But established businesses bought ads to support us. I met my wife at Sears when I was selling ads."

Perlmutter was an Albany Law School student when he realized he never wanted to be a lawyer. Instead, he raised money from area businesses to launch the Spirit.

"The reporting had substance, so the city respected us," said his wife, artist Jenness Cortez Perlmutter, who drew every intricate, beautiful Spirit cover.

Every other week, the staff caravaned from the Washington Avenue newsroom to a Ballston Spa printer to lay out stories on blue graph paper. After the issue was printed, reporters hit the streets to sell copies for 15 cents each.

Perlmutter wanted the Spirit to offer an alternative to mainstream newspaper writing, which he viewed as timid to the point of blandness, and larded with qualifying phrases. The Spirit's parody issue included a "story" in that style describing Albany's reaction to Northern Ireland violence:

"Most in Albany, although it is a heavily Irish Catholic city, are against the recent outbreak of killings, murders and general unrest. ... In a poll conducted around the city, 10 people said they were against murder and unrest, five pretty much against and two weren't exactly sure."

A lifestyle section spoof was headlined, "Food Cans Open New World for Imaginative Housewives."

The Spirit wasn't always snarky. Christianson compassionately profiled a young man who committed suicide rather than fight in Vietnam or go to prison for draft evasion. Christianson described the corpse's clothing to the last heartbreaking detail: a RESIST! button pinned to his hat. Reporter J. Flavin wrote about Albany's first coffee house for gays, saying, "it is a safe place on 332 Hudson Avenue for a community, an alternate to parks, dark alleys and rest areas which homosexuals are subjected to by straight society."

Christianson's wife, anthropologist Tamar Gordon, explained how the Spirit shaped Christianson's life.

"At the Knickerbocker News, Scott wrote solid investigative pieces and stories about prostitutes, pimps, drug dealers and corrupt cops," Gordon said. "He realized people were going to jail because of what he reported. But the system that helped create corruption and crime remained the same. At the Spirit, he could explore what was wrong with the system."

Christianson wrote compelling Spirit stories about inmate abuse and also about how skewed sentencing is by wealth. He wrote the 1998 "With Liberty for Some: 500 Years of Imprisonment in America," a Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Book Award winner.

McEneny remembers working in City Hall in his 20s, the same age as many of the reporters. He admired the Spirit, even when he disagreed with it.

"I thought the reporters and Leonard did a great job," McEneny said. "The Spirit usually had two reporters in City Hall. When they weren't there, I knew they were out in the field, finding something the city may have done wrong."

Albany Public Library reference librarian Jim Davies welcomes donations of local weeklies. Metroland, published from 1977 to 2015, produced watchdog investigations like one of Border Patrol searches aboard Amtrak. The weekly's reporters propped their feet up while they pounded out stories to avoid the resident rodent they nicknamed Metro Mouse as he scurried across the newsroom floor.

Metroland's office was seized by state officials for nonpayment of taxes in 2015. Before it ceased publication, the paper tweeted an offer to donate bound copies.

"I drove my car over and loaded all two dozen volumes," Davies said.

For a fuller view of 1970s Albany, Davies suggests poring over the library's collection of The Liberator. That weekly was published by The Brothers, a group of black activists. The Liberator's approach often varied from the Spirit's. Both effectively covered housing. The Spirit reported on abandoned buildings becoming dangerous lures to children or drug dealers' bases. The Liberator focused on apartments' frozen pipes and broken furnaces, and it reported on an awards ceremony honoring a housing official during which protesters invaded carrying jars full of live cockroaches allegedly captured in apartments.

The Spirit lasted almost four years, the Liberator a bit longer, albeit with increasingly sporadic publication.

Perlmutter blames a recession and plummeting ad sales for the Spirit's demise. He now lives in a big, white frame Averill Park house and is director of the American Meditation Institute that he founded in 1996. Buddha's statue surveys the vast lawn.

Yet Perlmutter believes the spirit of the Spirit still lives in news organizations where passion and storytelling are priorities. As its last editorial declared, "Newspapers die everyday but the energy behind the Spirit of our community will not be lost. There is too much work yet to be done."
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

In May 1957, students from Martin High School celebrated their graduation. Saturday at Embassy Suites, 60 years later, those same students reunited once again to remember that special day.

While the food and festivities were being prepared, the graduates of the Class of 1957 greeted each other and caught up on their lives.

The website, mhsclassof57.org, lists the names of more than 400 students that graduated from Martin High School in 1957. The names of 98 students who have died are in blue.

Irma Perales Mireles and Norma Ramirez Salinas, two members of the organizational committee for the reunion, said they began preparing for the gathering in March.

Our classmates were very excited to attend the reunion, although a few could not assist since some have passed away and others have health problems, said Perales Mireles.

READ MORE: Laredoans enjoy fun night on the town

Ramirez Salinas, who moved to San Antonio two years ago, traveled back to Laredo for the reunion. Nevertheless, she has helped organize the class get-togethers, and she manages their website.

We have organized reunions for the 20th, 25th, 35th, 40th, 45th, 50th, 55th and 57th anniversaries, but this one has taken us the least amount of time, said Ramirez Salinas.

On the website, fellow classmates left comments in response to the reunion.

Dear Classmates: I am looking forward to this special reunion among some of the oldest and bestest of friends! I can't wait to show off my two great-grandsons, but I will have to send a copy of the sonogram of our expected great-granddaughter due in October, said Jennie Leyendecker Reed.   See you June 10th!

Another student of the Class of 1957 commented in April.

Hope to see many of our classmates at the reunion. Never thought I would be attending a 60th high school reunion....Wow! said Gilberto Gamboa on the website.

Perales Mireles said 84 students confirmed their attendance. For some, it was their first time participating in a reunion.

Estella Yanez Kirby, from the Brazosport area, a 45-minute drive from Houston, said she moved from Laredo a year after getting married and never returned.

RELATED: Two Laredo-area high schools receive failing grades from Children at Risk

My sister saw the announcement in the newspaper, and here I am. Its marvelous. Were all here, and it is very exciting, said Yanez Kirby. I am here, and I am alive, and I thought, Who gets to go to a 60th reunion? I think we should also do it next year, even if its just a simple dinner.

Yanez Kirby said all her classmates were wonderful and shared the motto of her generation: Class of 57, made in heaven!

At the reunion, Flora Benavides Augero was also present. Although she lived in Laredo all her life, she had never been to a reunion for her generation.

Its my first time coming. I had never been to a single reunion, and Im having a lot of fun. I am so happy to see all my classmates here, said Benavides Aguero. God has given us the pleasure to meet again one more time, and to be able to greet each other and share our experiences from our youth up until now.
From 2009 to 2014, TAMIU police recorded an average of one rape report per year.

But in 2015, six rapes were reported to Texas A&M International University police. And another six were reported in 2016.

At Texas A&M University in College Station, which has roughly nine times the student population than TAMIU, about 13 rapes have been reported in each of the past several years. A handful of Texas universities similar in size to TAMIU recorded zero to five rape reports in 2015. The University of Texas at Tyler had 3, Prairie View A&M University 5, University of Houston-Clear Lake o, West Texas A&M University 3, and Texas A&M University-Kingsville 0.

Trevor Liddle, TAMIU associate vice president for administration, attributed the rise in rape reports to increased student awareness.

READ MORE: Suspect in Laredo crash that killed woman was driving under influence, without sleep, records show

Some students may not report a case due to fear of reprisal or they dont want the perpetrator to get in trouble. Others may believe its a personal matter or police would not or could not do anything to help, according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, or RAINN, website.

Liddle said it might still be frightening for students to report they were victims of a sexual assault but added they are aware the university has programs in place to cope with the grieving process.

They know they wont be brushed off, he said. They will be taken seriously.

The numbers

Under the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, a federal statute, universities and colleges are required to report crime statistics, including rape.

From 2009 to 2012, TAMIU police recorded one rape report each year. In 2013, they recorded two and in 2014 zero.

Of the six recorded in 2015, five were reported to have occurred on campus. Three of the six cases were exceptionally cleared. Liddle said the clearance could mean there was not enough evidence to move forward with prosecuting a case. The Webb County District Attorney's Office decides whether to prosecute a case.

One case was classified as inactive, meaning there was not enough evidence to proceed, and one was cleared by an arrest. To date, a May 2015 case remains active.

RELATED: Killings continue in Mexico's Baja California Sur

Of those six rapes reported in 2016, one was exceptionally cleared and another was cleared by an arrest/citation. Four cases were classified as inactive.

Two of the six cases reported took place out of the country. Liddle said they are still reported with TAMIU because the students were in a university-sponsored event.

Thus far in 2017, the university has not recorded any rape reports.

Details of the rapes reported to TAMIU police during the past two years are unclear. Laredo Morning Times requested copies of the police reports, but TAMIU has sought an opinion from the Texas Attorney Generals Office on whether they are public record.

Resources

According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, sexual violence on college campuses in the country is pervasive.

The organization reports 11.2 percent of all students experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence or incapacitation.

RAINN states that sexual violence may occur at a higher rate in certain times of the year. More than 50 percent of college sexual assaults occur in August, September, October or November.

Liddle said the university is supervised by TAMIU police at all hours and encouraged bystanders to report a case.

If you see someone in need of help, help them, he said.

For victims, he assured them there will be repercussions for the perpetrator.

Their decisions will come with a consequence, Liddle said. If you have been a victim of sexual violence. Let us know so we can help you.

TAMIUs Police Department also has police officers responsible for specialized assignments, including sexual or domestic assault.

The TAMIU Student Counseling Services, the Community Stress Center, Student Health Services and the Student Affairs Office are some of the resources available on campus.

MORE FROM LMT: Martin High School Class of 1957 celebrates 60th reunion

A student may also be referred to outside counseling. There are 25 counseling facilities off campus available.

In an effort to decrease the number of sexual assaults, Liddle said students receive general safety and sexual assault awareness tips.

HAVEN, a mandatory program in place for all new incoming students, educates students on healthy relationships, effective communication, understanding and reporting sexual assault, the importance of sexual consent and the role of bystanders in creating safe and healthy communities.

The university also has an annual national observance called Take Back the Night. The event aims to raise sexual assault awareness.

Take Back the Night is a volunteer organization that strives to end sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and all other forms of sexual violence and abuse.

Take Back the Night occurs in over 30 countries and over 600 campuses participate in the event to demonstrate their support to put an end to sexual violence.

Sexual assault reports filed with TAMIU police
1 Suspicious fire: A fire that erupted Monday at a Los Angeles construction site and damaged adjacent residences is considered to be of suspicious origin. Fire Capt. Erik Scott said arson investigators examined the scene and a person of interest has been detained for questioning. The fire erupted around 6 a.m. at an east Hollywood site where two apartment buildings were in the wood frame stage of construction. Flames damaged an occupied apartment building on one side of the fire and a single-family home on the other. Twenty people were displaced from their homes and are being assisted by the American Red Cross. Another structure fire occurred about a block away and it is also under investigation.

2 Newtown massacre: The families of some Sandy Hook shooting victims are angered by a TV interview with a conspiracy theorist who has claimed the massacre was a hoax. The family of slain first-grade teacher Vicki Soto posted a letter to NBC and interviewer Megyn Kelly on Facebook, saying they are disgusted and disappointed in the decision to air an interview with Infowars host Alex Jones next Sunday. They say Jones and his supporters have done nothing but make our lives a living hell for the last 4 years. Soto was one of six educators killed along with 20 first-grade students in the December 2012 shooting at the Newtown, Conn., elementary school.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Coldspring City Council members at their June 5 regular meeting discussed a paving plan to follow the completion of the Texas Department of Transportation's project to make sidewalks around the courthouse accessible for handicapped people.

The project, headed by Trevway Inc., began earlier this year in February and involves constructing accessibility ramps leading to the various shops that surround the courthouse square on FM 1514 and SH 150.

Meetings held in 2015 saw many merchants around the courthouse opposing the project due to its potential to permanently alter the square's old town feel as well as its potential to reduce the amount of parking space.

City council's plan is to pave certain areas around the square to create more parking spaces available for pickup trucks and vans.

According to City Secretary Suzann Boudreaux, trucks and vans are not going to be allowed to park next to the businesses lining the square on FM 1514 and SH 150 due to the standards lined out by the Americans with Disabilities Act, also referred to as ADA.

"We're going to have signs that say no pickups or vans," she said. "We just want them to know that we're putting in other areas for them [to park]."

The proposal for increased parking was made a few years back, according to Boudreaux.

"We're just trying to make it safer," she said.

Parking areas for trucks and vans are not yet finalized at this time. More information will be available in the future.
Opposition politician Alexei Navalny has been taken to the Moscow Simonovsky District Court, where an administrative case over the breaching of the rules of holding rallies and disobedience to police by him will be tried.

Navalny "has been brought to the Simonovsky District Court," his lawyer Vadim Kobzev tweeted.

As earlier reported, two protocols dealing with an administrative offense on the basis of Articles 19.3 (disobedience to legitimate orders by a police officer) and part 8 Article 20.2 (violation of the rules of holding rallies, demonstrations and etc) of the Russian Administrative Offense Code have been issued against Navalny. He faces up to 30 days under arrest for the latter misdemeanor.
There are lots of ways for entrepreneurs to make money in China. But Caucasians have a special advantage: the color of their skin.

For example, there's 25-year-old "Katie" (it's not her real name), an American with her own little small business. Her client is a Chinese firm that contracts with her to accompany the firm's director to dinner with clients every week. Why? She's Caucasian.

"There's no harm in it," says "Katie" to the New Straits Times. "I've never felt uncomfortable or nervous or unsafe in attending any of these dinners. It's always worked out for me."

There's nothing sordid involved. It's just that businessmen in China favor bringing foreigners to social events, especially Westerns with white skin. It helps them portray an international image or add something "exotic" to the conversation. According to the New Straits Times report, "many Chinese equate Caucasian faces with business success and a global outlook."

Asian countries have long had an affinity for Westerners in their advertising. Hollywood stars from Taylor Swift to Madonna have been paid handsomely to appear in ads there. Now, there's a growing demand for Caucasian musicians, athletes, architects, lawyers and other professionals to portray an image of international success.

Not all Caucasians living in China are thrilled with their com,atriots who rent themselves out. "It's an industry built on a platform of dishonesty and deceit." said Canadian John Lombard, who has been based in China for more than two decades, told the Malaysian news outlet.

The ongoing debates makes little difference for "Katie," who has a full-time job in Beijing. That's because the side-gig helps pay the bills. She gets 1,000 yuan ($145) for a fun night out. Just for being Caucasian.
A West Coast federal appeals court upheld the freeze on President Donald Trump's travel ban Monday, declaring that Trump had exceeded his lawful authority in suspending the issuance of visas to residents of six Muslim-majority countries and suspending the U.S. refugee program.

A three-judge panel with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled against the administration unanimously. Their ruling is another blow to Trump - though the administration has asked the Supreme Court to step in and save the ban in a different case.

The ruling by the 9th Circuit was both logistically and symbolically important - keeping in place the broadest blockade on Trump's order and creating new legal and practical paths for the directive to die.

Unlike other courts in the past, the three judges did not dwell on Trump's public comments, nor did they declare that the president had run afoul of the Constitution because his intent was to discriminate. Instead, they ruled that Trump's travel ban lacked a sufficient national security or other justification that would make it legal, and that violated immigration law.

They offered no opinion on whether the ban was constitutional.

"There is no finding that present vetting standards are inadequate, and no finding that absent the improved vetting procedures there likely will be harm to our national interests," the judges wrote. "These identified reasons do not support the conclusion that the entry of nationals from the six designated countries would be harmful to our national interests."

A Justice Department spokesman said officials were preparing a response.

Neal Katyal, one of the lawyers representing those challenging the ban, said on Twitter that the decision was a "complete win" and noted it was different than previous victories in other cases.

Although the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit had upheld a separate freeze on Trump's ban on constitutional grounds, that freeze did not apply to the portion of Trump's order dealing with refugees. The 9th Circuit was considering a freeze that did, and concluded that Trump had not provided sufficient justification to either temporarily suspend refugee admission or lower the refugee cap for fiscal 2017 to 50,000.

The opinion also clarified that the administration could conduct an internal review to assess vetting procedures.

That could be construed as a victory for Trump: The appeals court said a federal judge in Hawaii was wrong to restrict his administration from conducting such a review. But Hawaii, which had successfully challenged the ban, earlier in the day had told the Supreme Court it had no objection to such a move.

"The executive is free to engage in any manner of study, review, upgrade or revision of its existing vetting procedures," the state argued, adding, "so long as the order did not use these provisions to justify or expand a veiled Muslim ban, they would survive judicial review."

If the travel ban is to be salvaged, the Supreme Court would have to move quickly.

That is because the measure is supposed to be temporary - barring the issuance of new visas to residents of six Muslim-majority countries for 90 days and suspending the U.S. refugee program for 120 days so officials could review vetting procedures. The Justice Department had argued that it felt blocked from conducting such a review by the Hawaii judge, meaning the clock had essentially stopped.

That clock will presumably now run again, though whether it will start from 90 or something short of that remains unclear. With a Supreme Court recess looming, the ban could expire before the justices reach a decision - unless they grant the Justice Department's request to stay the injunctions on the ban.

Trump seemed to suggest on Twitter recently, though, that he viewed the measure not as a temporary one.

"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. Trump's press secretary had previously disputed calling the measure a ban, and the Justice Department has sought in court to characterize it as a "temporary pause."

Most Supreme Court practitioners and experts said they would be surprised if the court turned down a petition from the government on a matter of national security - though the justices might feel less pressure to come to a decision on the merits of the executive order before the end of June.

In a filing with the court Monday concerning the 4th Circuit decision, ACLU lawyer Omar C. Jadwat said the administration had shown by its actions that there was no immediate danger to the country in not having the travel ban in place. And he argued there is a "looming mootness" question because no court has stayed the executive order in its entirety. Jadwat asserted the order is set to expire June 14.

The ACLU filing said the 4th Circuit, and other courts that have halted the executive order, had little choice. "To allow the ban to go forward, the courts would have had to ignore a mountain of publicly available evidence - even though everyone else in the country, including those of the disfavored faith, could not ignore it. They would have had to set aside this Court's precedents and turn their backs on their traditional and crucial role in disputes where constitutional liberties are at stake."

The 9th Circuit opinion was written by judges Michael Daly Hawkins, Ronald M. Gould and Richard A. Paez, all appointed by President Bill Clinton. The judges heard arguments in the case last month and focused much of their questioning on the president's campaign trail and other public comments, which other judges have cited as evidence the president meant to discriminate against Muslims in imposing a ban.

Trump earlier this month doubled down on some of those comments, deriding the revised travel ban as a "watered down" version of the first and calling the new measure "politically correct." Legal analysts said that might ultimately hurt his case; one tweet was cited in a footnote in the opinion Monday.

In their ruling, though, the 9th Circuit judges criticized the Trump administration not for its public opining, but for its lack of a real justification for the directive.

The latest version of the ban - which Trump signed after revoking an order that banned residents of seven Muslim-majority countries - describes conditions in the countries affected and says that more than 300 people who entered the country as refugees were the subject of active counterterrorism investigations.

The judges noted that a Department of Homeland Security report concluded citizenship was an "unreliable" threat indicator, and most foreign-born extremists are radicalized years after coming to the United States. The judges said the president had broad authority to set immigration policy, but it was "not unlimited."

"In conclusion, the Order does not offer a sufficient justification to suspend the entry of more than 180 million people on the basis of nationality," the judges wrote. "National security is not a 'talismanic incantation' that, once invoked, can support any and all exercise of executive power."

The 9th Circuit was the court that upheld the freeze on Trump's first travel ban, and it has since become a focus of the president's ire.

When U.S. District Judge William Orrick blocked his executive order on stripping federal funding from sanctuary cities, Trump incorrectly attributed the decision to the 9th Circuit as he wrote on Twitter: "First the Ninth Circuit rules against the ban & now it hits again on sanctuary cities - both ridiculous rulings. See you in the Supreme Court!" Orrick is a lower-court judge whose rulings would be reviewed by the 9th Circuit.

Trump then wrote that the circuit had a "terrible record of being overturned" - a claim that is highly debatable - and he said later that he had "absolutely" considered breaking up the court.
KYIV. June 12 (Interfax-Ukraine)  Belarus has donated to Ukraine 58 tonnes of humanitarian aid for residents of occupied areas of Donbas in eastern Ukraine.

Belarusian Ambassador to Ukraine Igor Sokol said the shipment crossed the border on June 12 and will be delivered to the International Committee of the Red Cross warehouses in Ukraine located outside of Kyiv. The shipment will then be sent to both government-controlled and occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

"It is important for the Belarusian president that assistance will be delivered to areas of Donbas controlled by Ukrainian forces and to occupied areas of Donbas," the ambassador said during a press conference on Monday in the Kyiv-based Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

The shipment contains vegetable oil, pasta, sugar, flour and hygienic items, such as shampoo, soap and toothpaste. All products were manufactured in Belarus.

Deputy Minister for Temporarily Occupied Territories Hryhoriy Tuka thanked Belarus for the gesture.
MOSCOW - Shouting "We demand answers," and "Stop lying and stealing," tens of thousands of protesters turned out Monday across Russia in a nationwide anti-corruption rally called by opposition leader Alexei Navalny as part of his long-shot bid to unseat President Vladimir Putin.

Navalny was arrested and sentenced to 15 days in jail for his role in organizing an illegal protest.

Protests in more than 180 cities gave a clear sign of growing support for the anti-graft message of Navalny's campaign. But police detained Navalny at his home after he defied authorities by calling on his followers to gather on Moscow's central thoroughfare instead of an approved protest space north of the center.

"Alexei told me to pass on to us that the plan hasn't changed," Navalny's wife, Yulia Navalnaya, tweeted after her husband's detention. She told protesters to head to central Tverskaya Street despite a warning by Moscow authorities that a demonstration there was illegal.

Police blocked off the thoroughfare, but several thousand demonstrators, many of them in their teens and 20s, tried to hold a rally. By 4 p.m. in Moscow, riot police squads were wading into the crowd, dragging and carrying out protesters by their arms and legs and beating them with batons, as the demonstrators shouted "Shame!" Several protesters fought back, trading punches and kicks with officers before being dragged off.

News agencies reported that police detained more than 1,000 people in Moscow and scores of others at a rally in St. Petersburg that was held despite authorities' refusal to grant approval.

Navalny called Monday's rally after tens of thousands turned out across Russia on March 26 for an "anti-corruption" protest in the wake of his allegations that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has amassed vineyards, luxury yachts and lavish mansions worth more than $1 billion.

The Kremlin was clearly caught off guard by the turnout in March, especially among young people. Authorities made a show of arresting people involved in the protest, and educators forced students to watch documentaries about the evils of protesting. Some Russian parliament members expressed support for a ban against minors attending street rallies.

This time, in Moscow, authorities were ready. As many as 2,000 helmeted police stood guard outside Tverskaya Street, which was closed to traffic for historical reenactments.

The result was a surreal scene in which 17th-century fencers feinted and darted to wild applause from children, while men with prominent bellies and small purses crowded around the reenactment of a 14th-century battle between ancient Russians and the Golden Horde. Tverskaya was crammed with military reenactors in model forts and bivouacs, ending at sandbag fortifications and tank traps by the Kremlin.

"Tverskaya is ready for Navalny," the newspaper Vedemosti tweeted, noting the sandbags and tank traps in place for a reenactment of World War I.

The protest coincided with Russia Day, the commemoration of Russian leader Boris Yeltsin's declaration of Russian sovereignty within the former Soviet Union in 1990.

Russian state television focused on the fairs and commemorative events, which attracted tens of thousands in Moscow alone, rather than on the street protests. It ran a live broadcast of Putin handing out state awards, and periodically showed a countdown to the Kremlin leader's annual televised "direct line" Thursday, in which ordinary citizens can phone in requests.

The protest presented a challenge to Putin, who made a point of pledging that Russian police would avoid the use of force. He made the statement in an interview this month with NBC's Megyn Kelly that was reprinted on the Kremlin website.

Russian authorities, through state media, have cast Navalny as a stooge of Western elites who has no plans for how he would lead the country and who produces slanderous videos to grab attention. When authorities do mention Navalny, it is to remind television viewers that he has been twice convicted of fraud. He has denounced the cases as political. The result has been to officially disqualify him from running for president in 2018.

Monday's rally was a test for Navalny to see if people would turn out despite authorities repeated warnings.

"I'm angry, my family is angry, but they're not going to come to this because they're scared," said Alexander Fomenko, 17-year-old student wearing jean shorts, closely cropped hair and a tattoo with a dragon on his left leg. "I don't have such fear. I will be here on this street until they throw me in jail. And there's a lot of people who think like me; my friends think like me."

Coordinated rallies called by Navalny attracted large crowds in cities across Russia. Between 2,500 and 5,000 rallied in the major Siberian city Novosibirsk, according to the Ekho Moskvy radio station, citing police and unofficial sources. Other major cities saw large turnouts despite official efforts to minimize crowds. (In one city, protesters were ordered 50 miles from the city; in another, a crowd gathered at 7 a.m., the time authorities approved.)

At the venue in Moscow originally approved for Navalny's protest, a smaller group gathered Monday to protest city's plan to relocate as many as 1.6 million residents of Soviet-era low-rise apartment buildings to new high-rise apartment buildings. Some Muscovites believe the plan amounts to a violation of their rights to own property and to choose where to live, and a gift to political insiders who own construction firms.

"I don't want to live in a 30-floor ant-house. Their whole project is total corruption, money laundry, initiated by the construction lobby," said Zamira Medvedeva, a retiree who lives in a communal apartment building. "I don't trust the authorities. They will never improve my house conditions. I live in a very nice and green neighborhood!"

Navalny ordered his supporters to march on Tverskaya Street after he said authorities refused to provide a stage and sound equipment. Medvedeva and others said they were considering joining the rally there.

Russia is undergoing a wave of upheaval not seen since 2012. Long-distance truckers have been protesting daily, and Navalny has built a small but growing national support base for his presidential bid.

This turbulence is not likely to prevent Putin, whose approval rating has not been below 80 percent in three years, from winning reelection next March, Denis Volkov, an analyst with Russia's independent pollster, the Levada Center, said in an interview. But it does point to a fundamental weakness of the system Putin has created.

Beyond the sheer problem of being allowed to campaign and run for office, Navalny faces other challenges.

And it is not because Navalny has dabbled in unsightly nationalism in the past, including an endorsement of Russia's war against Georgia in 2008 in which he used racist epithets (something for which he later apologized) or because of his nationalist campaign against illegal immigrants. These are actually mainstream positions in Moscow.

He was once popular enough to win 27 percent of the vote in a 2013 Moscow mayoral election reportedly slanted in favor of the Kremlin's candidate. But it's hard to find anyone in Moscow today who will actually say they like him, and recent polls suggest he would not win more than 10 percent of the vote.

- - -

The Washington Post's Natalya Abbakumova contributed to this report.

---

Hundreds arrested in Russian anti-corruption rallies

Video embed coding:

<iframe width="480" height="290" scrolling="no" src="//www.washingtonpost.com/video/c/embed/f9bfe65a-4f7c-11e7-b74e-0d2785d3083d" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe>

http://wapo.st/2rneOKE
WASHINGTON - Attorney General Jeff Sessions will testify in open session Tuesday before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

It will be his first public appearance on the Hill since Jan. 10, when he falsely said at his confirmation hearing: "I did not have communications with the Russians."

James Comey's testimony last week raised a host of news questions about the attorney general's Russia contacts, his role in firing the FBI director and whether he's fully abiding by the recusal he agreed to.

Sessions has been criticized in some quarters for being evasive. The ex-Alabama senator had committed to testify before two congressional committees last month and then canceled on short notice. On Saturday night, he did it again. He announced that he'll send a deputy to answer questions before the House and Senate appropriators who control his budget, a highly unusual move.

The attorney general announced that he would appear instead before the Intelligence Committee. His aides initially suggested to reporters that they agreed to do so with the belief that this hearing would be closed to the public, unlike the ones he backed out of. But under pressure from Democrats on the committee, Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Ranking Member Mark Warner , D-Va., announced Monday that the 2:30 p.m. hearing will be open to the public.

It's also widely understood on Capitol Hill that Sessions has more friends and allies who will back him up on the Intelligence committee than the Appropriations subcommittee that has DOJ oversight.

Here are a few of the subjects the nation's chief law enforcement officer is likely to be pressed on during his testimony, which will take place in the same hearing room where Comey appeared last week:

- Did Sessions have a third meeting with Sergey Kislyak? He did not acknowledge meeting twice with the Russian ambassador to the United States during the campaign - in his Senate office and in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention - until The Post reported the news in March. Now there are reports of a possible third meeting at the Mayflower Hotel in April 2016, when both men came to see Donald Trump deliver a Russia-friendly foreign policy address.

- Comey told senators during a classified session last week that investigators believe a third meeting might have happened, based in part on Russian-to-Russian intercepts in which it was discussed, according to CNN. The AG's spokesman strongly denies that there was a meeting, and Comey reportedly acknowledged that Kislyak may have been exaggerating his connections to his superiors.

During the public part of the hearing, Comey testified cryptically that the FBI had information about Sessions - before he recused himself - that would have made it "problematic" for him to be involved in the Russia probe. "He was . . . inevitably going to recuse himself for a variety of reasons," Comey said. "We also were aware of facts that I can't discuss in an open setting that would make [Sessions's] continued engagement in a Russia-related investigation problematic." What was this information?

- Comey said Trump asked Sessions to leave the room at the end of a meeting on February 14 so that the two of them could speak privately. That was the day after former national security adviser Michael Flynn had resigned. It was during this meeting that, according to Comey, Trump said: "I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go."

The fired FBI director said, "My sense was the attorney general knew he shouldn't be leaving, which is why he was lingering." Does Sessions believe he lingered? If so, was it for the reason Comey identified? Does he believe it was appropriate for the president to ask him to leave the room? Did he have any prior knowledge of what Trump planned to discuss with Comey? Did he ask either Comey or Trump what they discussed later?

- Comey said he told Sessions after that February 14 meeting that he did not want to ever be left alone again with Trump. "It can't happen that you get kicked out of the room and the president talks to me," he said he told his boss. The former FBI director was asked how he responded. "I have a recollection of him just kind of looking at me," Comey said of Sessions. "His body language gave me the sense like, 'What am I going to do?' . . . He didn't say anything."

Sessions' spokesman disputed Comey's version of events, insisting that the director had not presented his concerns so directly and that the attorney general was not silent.

What exactly did Comey tells Sessions? How did Sessions respond? Did Sessions discuss Comey's request not to be left alone with anyone else? Did Comey's request, if he made it, worry Sessions that something improper was going on?

- Comey testified that he wrote extensive, real-time notes of his conversations with Trump because of "the nature of the person." "I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting, and so I thought it really important to document," the ex-director said.

Does Sessions believe Trump's version of events over Comey's? Does he take contemporaneous notes about his conversations with the president?

- Sessions was involved in firing Comey. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has told Congress that he learned on May 8 that Trump intended to remove the FBI director during a meeting with the president and Sessions. The AG then wrote a letter to the president, dated May 9, formally recommending that he remove Comey, attaching a similar letter from Rosenstein. Trump told NBC on May 11 that he "was going to fire (Comey) regardless" of these letters.

Did Sessions know that? Did Trump mention or allude to the Russia investigation during this meeting? Did Sessions talk with Trump about getting rid of Comey before May 8? Was he concerned when the White House said the president's decision was entirely because of Rosenstein's recommendation?

Trump said during the NBC interview that the Russia investigation was on his mind when he chose to fire Comey. Did he tell Sessions this? If Comey was fired because of the Russia investigation and Sessions knew about it, was it appropriate for him to be involved in light of his recusal? "That's a question I can't answer," Comey said last week. "I think it's a reasonable question. If, as the president said, I was fired because of the Russia investigation, why was the attorney general involved in that chain? I don't know, and so I don't have an answer for the question."

-- The attorney general offered to resign at one point in recent months after his relationship with Trump grew increasingly tense, according to several people close to the White House. The strain between the two reportedly began because Sessions recused himself and Trump didn't feel like he should have. "The president's anger has lingered for months," Robert Costa and Sari Horwitz reported last week.

Did Trump ever directly express frustration to Sessions about the recusal? Was there a specific incident that prompted Sessions to offer his resignation?

- Sessions's spokesman said last week that the attorney general has "not been briefed on or participated in any investigation within the scope" of his recusal since March 2.

Was Sessions briefed on the Russia investigation before his recusal? What does Sessions see as "the scope" of his recusal? What safeguards now exist to prevent him from violating the terms?

Since the recusal, even if he's not making decisions, has he had discussion about the Russia investigation with anyone at the White House - including Trump?

- Sessions was involved in selecting Christopher Wray as FBI director. Did Sessions discuss either Comey's termination or the Russia investigation during his job interview?

- Trump claims he did not ask Comey for his loyalty. "I didn't say that," the president said Friday. "(But) there would be nothing wrong if I did say it." Does Sessions agree with the president that there would be nothing wrong if he had asked for Comey's loyalty?

- The nation's top intelligence official told associates in March that Trump asked him if he could intervene with Comey to get the bureau to back off its focus on Flynn. "On March 22, less than a week after being confirmed by the Senate, Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats attended a briefing at the White House together with officials from several government agencies," Adam Entous reported last week. "As the briefing was wrapping up, Trump asked everyone to leave the room except for Coats and CIA Director Mike Pompeo. . . . After the encounter, Coats discussed the conversation with other officials and decided that intervening with Comey as Trump had suggested would be inappropriate."

Did the president ever make any kind of request like this to Sessions? Was Sessions aware of what Trump had asked of Coats before The Post revealed the conversation? Does the attorney general think that request was inappropriate?

- Trump declared Friday that he is "100 percent" willing to speak under oath with special counsel Robert Mueller about his Comey conversations. Is Sessions also willing to do so? Has he had contact with Mueller?

- The president has hinted that he surreptitiously recorded his private meetings with Comey, but he's declined to confirm the existence of such recordings. "I'll tell you about that maybe sometime in the very near future," the president told reporters Friday.

Does Sessions know if the tapes exist?If the tapes exist, does he believe the president is obligated to release them?

- Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney who was fired by Trump, said Sunday that he reported to the Justice Department efforts by the president to "cultivate some kind of relationship" with him, describing phone calls from Trump that made him increasingly uncomfortable. "In his first sit-down interview since his March removal, Bharara said he reported one of the phone calls to the chief of staff for Sessions because it made him uneasy," Sandhya Somashekhar and Jenna Johnson report. "He said he was dismissed from the important prosecutor's job in Manhattan only 22 hours after he finally refused to take a call from the president. Bharara told host George Stephanopoulos on ABC's 'This Week' that Comey's account 'felt a little bit like deja vu.' 'And I'm not the FBI director,' he said, 'but I was the chief federal law enforcement officer in Manhattan with jurisdiction over a lot of things including, you know, business interests and other things in New York.' (Bharara's jurisdiction included the headquarters of the Trump Organization.) . . . Trump indicated he would keep him on in November during a meeting at Trump Tower."

Was Sessions briefed about Bharara's concerns by his chief of staff? Did he speak with Trump about them? Was this a factor in Trump firing all the U.S. attorneys?

- Mark Corallo, the spokesman for Trump personal attorney Marc Kasowitz, criticized Bharara on Twitter Sunday:

"All US Attorneys work for and at the pleasure of POTUS. There is nothing abnormal with the executive speaking directly with his employees."

"I'd Preet refused to accept the President's call, he deserved to be fired"

"All executive branch employees derive their authority through the President's Article II powers. They work for the chief executive - POTUS."

Does Sessions agree with Corallo that it's proper for the president to reach out directly to a U.S. attorney? Has the Justice Department changed its policy to allow this?

- - -

The Washington Post's Joanie Greve contributed to this report.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

NGOMA SECTOR, Rwanda - Angel was 11 the last time her mother tried to kill her. She remembers the handful of rat poison pellets, the urging: Take this. She screamed until a neighbor rushed over and pulled her away. That was a decade ago, before the counseling, and now Angel's mother is bending over her shoulder, pouring her a cup of black tea. They share a bed, a concrete house without electricity and a history that horrified the world.

Over a hundred days in 1994, genocide devastated Rwanda, an East African country the size of Maryland. The assailants claimed roughly 800,000 lives and raped an estimated 250,000 women, which, according to one charity's count, produced up to 20,000 babies.

Angel is part of this generation in the shadows. These young people are now stepping into adulthood, coming to terms with an identity no parent would wish on a child. Yet they are defying expectations that tragedy would define their lives.

Historically, such children often met an early death. Thousands of Chinese women endured sexual violence during the Rape of Nanking in 1937, for example, but none publicly acknowledged raising a Japanese soldier's child, as far as historians can tell. Reports from the time suggest that victims who became pregnant widely committed infanticide.

A UNICEF study on the "war babies" of Bosnia's 1992-1995 conflict, meanwhile, concluded that many were probably abandoned or killed by their mothers. The number of survivors remains unknown.

In Rwanda, data from support groups provide a clearer picture. The "children of killers," as they are often disparaged, tend to live in poverty, facing higher rates of HIV and domestic abuse than their peers.

But that's not the whole story.

"We hear everyone's lives are destroyed, that they're the walking dead," said Dara Kay Cohen, a Harvard University professor who studies sexual assault in conflict. "Then you talk to people and hear there's this hopeful underbelly."

Researchers are just starting to explore how children overcome such trauma. The Rwandan government, tasked with rebuilding a shattered nation, laid out no formal policy to help those conceived in the mass rape.

Ingvill Mochmann, founder of the International Network for Interdisciplinary Research on Children Born of War, recently published a report summarizing a decade of studies on the effects of war on children.

"Many have coped fairly well with their lives," Mochmann wrote. "The interesting question is - what makes the difference?"

Interviews with three families, just before the massacre's 23rd anniversary, offer a clue.

- - -

Angel and Jacqueline

Sunlight streams through Angel's window, catching her metallic hoop earrings. She sits at a wooden table next to her mother, Jacqueline. They split a loaf of bread for breakfast and wash it down with tea. Jacqueline sprinkles brown sugar into their cups.

"Murakoze," Angel tells her in Kinyarwanda. Thank you.

They live together under a tin roof in a rural village, where a Catholic church pays their monthly rent, the equivalent of $5. The cracked walls are painted turquoise. A mosquito net dangles above their full-size bed. A rooster outside crows.

Angel is 22 now, with a quick grin and braids down her back. She was born HIV positive, so she takes free pills from the government to stay healthy. She has just finished high school and is waiting for the test score that will shape her future.

High marks would net her a scholarship. The results will appear online in a couple of weeks. Angel and her mother will pray before heading to the Internet cafe.

Tourism is her dream career. Her backup plan is selling tomatoes.

"We don't have money," she explains.

Angel learned early how she came to be. Jacqueline would tell her: You're not my real daughter.

"Whenever she would go somewhere, and if I asked her to let me come with her, she always refused and locked me inside," Angel says softly through an interpreter. "She would also not permit me to play with other kids."

Jacqueline tears up when she thinks of this.

Before the genocide, she was someone else's mom. They were in fourth and sixth grade, her girls. They complained about bullies hounding them for being Tutsis, a minority ethnic group. Jacqueline was on her way to Kigali, the nation's capital, to secure spots for them in a new school when the violence started. Rwandan government leaders had commanded the majority population, the Hutus, to exterminate the Tutsis. Neighbors slaughtered neighbors. Colleagues murdered colleagues. Hutu fighters found Jacqueline hiding in a Catholic school and took turns raping her. She remembers praying to die.

But three months passed, and a Tutsi rebel army overthrew the government, and there she was, following a U.N. soldier out of the rubble. Her husband and children were dead. She now had HIV and a baby on the way.

Jacqueline once poured soap and hair dye into Angel's bottle and decided to drink the toxic mix, too. She wanted everything to go black. But instead they vomited, and Jacqueline reluctantly decided to keep going.

She would hug Angel, then beat her. Affection and rage, affection and rage. This pattern held until they started therapy in 2007, run by an organization called Foundation Rwanda. (The Washington Post agreed to a request from the foundation and the families interviewed for this article to withhold their last names, so they can avoid discrimination and harassment.)

The charity organized weekly support groups, and the other moms inspired Jacqueline to become a Christian. She began to feel that Angel had come from God.

Foundation Rwanda paid Angel's school tuition through graduation. Which has brought her to this point, this limbo.

She mostly hangs around her house, except to buy food or refill her medicine or go to church. She recently broke up with her boyfriend of five years - he wanted to get married, and she didn't want to tell him about her HIV.

Beyond her plank fence, the hills burst with banana trees. Adobe homes dot the horizon - tiny from here, like Monopoly pieces. Men play checkers outside a shuttered dive bar. Someone's cow moos.

Angel is comfortable in her universe, but she is curious about what else is out there. She waits for the test score.

- - -

Albert and Agnes

Albert, 21, stands in his family's field, hacking saplings with a machete. His leather flip-flops sink into the red dirt. His forehead shines with sweat. He graduated last year from a boarding school near Kigali and feels a little out of place here in the rural Mukura sector, with his smooth hands and Puma track pants.

Albert grew up in an orphanage, a four-hour bus ride from home, leafing through French and English dictionaries, dreaming of a future in politics. College pamphlets now litter his concrete room (Michigan State University, St. Leo University in Florida).

For now, he is helping his mom with her 2 1/2 acres of hillside - trying to help, that is. He is gathering sticks to feed her cow. She waits for him in their back yard, knifing pale kernels from corn cobs.

Agnes was a Tutsi teenager when the streets began filling with bodies. A Hutu man from the village offered her shelter. Then, she says, he kept her as his sex slave, threatening to kill her if she tried to leave.

When the war ended and the militants fled Rwanda, the man forced Agnes to join him over the border. She gave birth to two babies in Tanzania, each healthy: Albert and his younger brother.

Agnes finally escaped and returned to her old neighborhood. People asked about the babies: Did they come from the killers?

Agnes put both boys in a government-run orphanage, where she could afford to visit them once a year. She married an old friend, moved into a cottage beside rows of banana trees and started to rebuild.

Still, the separation broke her heart and confused Albert.

"I told her, 'I want to be with you,' " he recalls in English. And she said, "I'm trying to get money for you."

Albert didn't know he came from rape. He found himself among children who had lost both parents in the genocide. He felt lucky to have one.

"There were 2,000 of us," he says, "with different backgrounds and different stories. Other people had struggled more than me."

At age 17, he learned about his father.

The man returned to Rwanda years ago and was sentenced to life in the Mpanga prison, about 30 miles north of the family's land. Albert wonders what it would be like to meet him. He hasn't worked up the nerve.

"It shocked my heart, the way my mother met him," he says.

Still, Albert says: "I don't think he is inhuman. I want to see his face."

The orphanage in the northern city of Gisyeni gave Albert an advantage. Public funds covered his educational expenses. He tested into the country's top-ranked high school. He got a perfect score on the Rwanda equivalent of the SAT.

One warm February afternoon, Albert sat across from a college adviser at a Kigali company called Globe Education Consult, which helps Rwandan students get into international schools. Albert had put on his khakis and taken the bus there.

"With your grade, it's going to be much easier," Godfrey Nkurunziza said, grinning. "It gives us a picture of how you would perform in school."

Albert wanted to apply to colleges in the United States and Canada. He had no strong preference, just a desire to explore.

Nkurunziza told Albert to budget between $10,000 and $20,000 a year for housing, books and tuition. They would hunt for scholarships, of course.

Just one thing first . . .

"To apply with us," Nkurunziza said, "bring in $200, for the application fees."

Albert slumped forward. He didn't even have the bus fare - about $5 - to get back home.

But the world had carried him this far. He would nudge a friend to lend him some cash. Then he would return to the house and his glossy pamphlets.

- - -

Ntare and Assoumpta

When the thoughts start, Ntare writes. He scribbles in a notebook, on stray pieces of paper, whatever he can grab. It's a way to blast gloom from his head and trap it on a page. Lately, it has been turning into more - a song.

He could record it on a computer at his boarding school and send it to a Kigali radio station. A DJ there plays homemade tracks free of charge. The idea excites and scares him.

Right now, Ntare is finishing a construction internship outside the southern city of Gitarama. But inside, he is an artist, a lover of music and film. After work, he ditches his bright orange coveralls, slips into a fuzzy pink robe and watches the American hip-hop series "Empire."

With his creativity, though, comes confession. This song is autobiographical. Many of his friends, including his girlfriend, don't know his story.

On this recent afternoon, Ntare, tall and toned, is practicing in his back yard, next to a rabbit pen he built with chicken wire. He bobs his head and raps in Kinyarwanda:

Some of them on the streets,

others jailed because of their crimes.

But sometimes consequences come over us.

For instance, I am among those called "Interahamwe."

But we don't worry about it.

We look forward.

His biological father belonged to the Interahamwe, the Hutu militants who helped carry out the genocide. Some survivors see him as a child of the killers, including his mother's family. They won't look at him.

He didn't learn why until he turned 12.

Assoumpta remembers the day she told him. Her son was a troublemaker back then, starting fights with other kids.

Would this revelation make things worse?

She willed herself not to sugarcoat it. She told him about the genocide. The militants who found her in a school and raped her. The relatives who kicked her out of their home once her belly started showing.

That was why she would snap easily and hit him.

Ntare kept quiet. He didn't look her in the eye for a week. Then he started doing extra chores. He stopped getting into brawls. He brought her fruit, saying she needed the nutrition.

The way Assoumpta tells it, he started acting like the man of the house. He no longer blamed her for the beatings or for the people who called him a bastard.

Ntare recalls feeling relief. So this was what he was. His mother had had no choice.

He practiced swagger. Am I a bastard? Yes, I'm a bastard.

Ntare met other kids like him at a camp organized by Foundation Rwanda. He wrote a play about a mother telling her son the truth and got some of his new friends to help him perform it.

That stayed between them, but his song, it would be public. He might have to tell his girlfriend, an accountant. They've been dating for nearly two years, and he'd like to marry her someday.

He has revealed his secrets to her slowly - "step by step," he says. All she knows now is that he doesn't have a dad.

But he's got to come out at some point. He wants the children of killers to hear his song and feel less alone.

He's calling it "Son of Rwanda."

- - -

Update: Months after taking her exams, Angel received her score. It was not high enough to win a college scholarship. Albert never found the $200 to apply to schools through Globe Education Consult. He has applied to be "sponsored" by the Rwandan government for international colleges. As for Ntare, he will graduate from high school in November. He is still hoping that his song will be played on the radio.

- - -

This article was supported by a grant from the International Women's Media Foundation.
Two employees died Monday morning when a man crashed through Abel's Auto Detailing in Jasper and struck them.

Oscar Rivera, 26, and Louis Castro, 29, were detailing a car at 2109 South Wheeler when 61-year-old Joe Clifton Dickerson drove off U.S. 69, rammed the front of the building and kept going through the business, according to Jasper police.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions could be at the center of two controversies in the Trump administration: whether Trump's campaign colluded with Russia to help President Donald Trump win and whether the president obstructed justice.

That's why it's a big deal he'll testify Tuesday to the Senate Intelligence Committee, the main committee in Congress investigating Russian meddling in the election and potential Trump meddling in the fallout.

Here's why Sessions is at the center of so much, and here's how he can help us better understand the still-unraveling Trump-Russia-FBI investigation.

1) He met with Russians during the campaign, when the Russians were allegedly trying to help Trump win

Besides Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, Sessions is the highest-profile member of Trump's campaign and administration who we know met with Russians during the 2016 campaign and didn't disclose it. Sessions didn't disclose those meetings when he was asked, under oath, in his confirmation hearing.

A day after The Washington Post reported that, Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation.

Why that's a big deal: It's normal for U.S. political campaigns and foreign officials to talk. But the former CIA director John Brennan recently told Congress that his "radar" went off anytime Russians met with the Trump campaign because he knew the Russians were trying to influence the election, and he knew they often did that by trying to recruit "either wittingly or unwittingly" U.S. officials to help.

What Congress will want to know: A lot. Are there more meetings Sessions had that he didn't disclose? Why isn't he forthcoming about these meetings? What did Russia want to talk about? Did he get the feeling Russians were trying to recruit him or others for anything?

2) He was James Comey's boss when Comey said Trump was trying to interfere in the FBI's Russia investigation

Sessions is a starring character in the fired FBI chief's testimony. Comey testified last week that Trump shooed Sessions out of the Oval Office to be alone with Comey, then asked Comey to back off the FBI's investigations into fired national security adviser Michael Flynn.

"My sense was the attorney general knew he shouldn't be leaving, which is why he was lingering," Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday.

Comey later told Sessions he didn't want to be alone with the president. But Comey said he didn't tell Sessions why he was so concerned.

"We considered whether to tell the attorney general, decided that didn't make sense because we believed, rightly, that he was shortly going to recuse," Comey testified.

Why this is a big deal: A few reasons. Did Sessions suspect that Trump was trying to interfere in the FBI's various investigations into Flynn and Russia meddling? And what did he do about it? Also, why did Comey feel he couldn't trust Sessions?

What questions Congress will want to know: Pretty much everything above.

3) Sessions has technically recused himself from the Russia investigation

But Comey left open the possibility that Sessions had violated his recusal.

"If, as the president said, I was fired because of the Russia investigation," Comey testified, "why was the attorney general involved in that chain?"

The Washington Post reported that Trump called Sessions up to the White House to talk about firing Comey, then asked Sessions (and Sessions' No. 2, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein) to explain in writing the case against Comey.

The Washington Post also recently reported that Sessions offered to Trump to resign, in part over Trump's frustration that Sessions stepped aside from the Russia investigation.

Why this is a big deal: Sessions is a Trump ally, and he appears to be caught between the president and his promise to run the Justice Department in an apolitical way. In his confirmation hearing, Sessions promised:

"You simply have to help the president do things that he might desire in a lawful way and have to be able to say no, both for the country, for the legal system and for the president, to avoid situations that are not acceptable."

What Congress will want to know: Where does Sessions draw the line on recusal? Can he be trusted to not interfere in the department's independent Russia investigation, which is now being led by a special counsel? If it comes down to the Justice Department having to choose who to believe, special counsel Robert Mueller or the president, who will Sessions choose?

---

Sessions offered in recent months to resign as attorney general

Video embed coding:

<iframe width="480" height="290" scrolling="no" src="//www.washingtonpost.com/video/c/embed/6c3d23fa-4b22-11e7-987c-42ab5745db2e" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe>

http://wapo.st/2setPD3
(Nikopol, Ukraine)  June 9, 2017, TIU Canada Ltd. Broke ground on a 10-megawatt solar energy plant in Nikopol, Ukraine. The project represents the first investment by TIU Canada in Ukraine and the first Canadian investment under the Canadian-Ukrainian Free Trade Agreement. TIU Canada is owned and operated by the family office of Refraction Asset Management (RAM), an investment manager based in Calgary, Alberta Canada. Michael Yurkovich, President of Refraction Asset Management, said, "we are pleased to take this first step in the Ukrainian renewable energy market". Hani Tabsh, Chief Operations Officer for RAM read a letter from the Canadian Embassy in Ukraine addressed to the Nikopol City Council (attached) which cited this investment as "the start of a fruitful partnership which benefits all of Ukraine". Nikopol Mayor Andriy Fisak, representatives from the Dnipro Oblast State Administration, and other local officials and media were also present for the event. For general information contact: Refraction Asset Management, Suite 1110 202 6th Avenue, Calgary Alberta T2P 2R9 or by phone at +1-587-352-5071. www.refractionam.com
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Show More Show Less 3 of 3





A Beaumont man accused of gunning down three men as they played dominoes under a carport in June 2013 was found guilty of capital murder Monday and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

James Allen Hancock, 31, was sentenced by Judge John Stevens in District Criminal Court after fatally shooting Macgarrett Jack, 28, Joshua Ceasar, 29, and Preston Wilson, 62, at a home in the 2700 block of Park Street on June 27, 2013. Assistant District Attorney Ashley Chase did not pursue the death penalty.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

REYNOSA, Mexico  Residents in this border city quickly took refuge indoors as the familiar echo of gun battles and odor of burning vehicles hung in the early morning air.

When the dust settled that Saturday, the top drug trafficker of this city across the border from McAllen lay dead. Soon after the gunfight, the routine of daily life returned to what passes for normal here, even if the psychic toll lingers on.

Fear, 19-year-old college student Umberto Mar Huerta said in describing his emotional state during the latest spasm of drug gang violence. Youre not even safe in your home.

In the early hours of April 22, federal forces clashed with Juan Julian Loisa Salinas, best known as Comandante Toro the local Gulf Cartel boss. As the battle got underway, Huerta was headed to the store for milk when he came across a narco blockade.

You wonder what could happen when you leave the house, Huerta said. If something does happen and your family doesnt answer the phone you begin to panic.

RELATED: Mexico says 2 top drug traffickers killed near U.S. border

It is a familiar sentiment in a city that has become efficient at sweeping away the remnants of violence. Yet a burned-out convenience store and black smudges on the pavement left behind by narco blockages stand as reminders of the gun battles that raged fiercely.

Theories of what led to Salinas demise litter the streets like the bullet casings that were still strewn across the pavement days after the battle. The most commonly held opinion suggests that Salinas was responsible for the murder of state police officers, and orders from Mexico City were sent up to bring his reign as plaza boss to an abrupt end.

About the same time that Salinas was killed in Reynosa, federal forces killed Francisco Pancho Carreon, leader of the rival Zetas cartel, in the state capital of Ciudad Victoria. Their deaths capped a bloody weekend across Mexico where drug gang violence has surged this year. Authorities say Salinas and Carreon were to blame for recent violence in Tamaulipas.

In March, the tally of homicides across Mexico reached 2,020, ranking as the deadliest month since the summer of 2011, government data shows.

In Reynosa, balaclava-clad armed state police patrol the city alongside heavily armed marines. When the mechanical thumping of helicopter blades is heard in the distance, locals instinctively sense impending danger.

It seems a grave situation because were seeing scenes like Saturday early morning, said Carlos Alberto Garcia Gonzalez, president of the Tamaulipas state congress and member of the conservative National Action Party. So is it grave? Yes, its grave.

RELATED: Acapulco Easter weekend shootout continues recent history of violence in former tourist mecca

When gunfire breaks out, desperate messages spread across social media, a place of relative safety where most in the community go for information on criminal activity to navigate around situations of risk. For the recent battle, there were images of dozens of vehicles set ablaze and at least one convenience store on fire. The day after the battle messages on social media described the city as burned and devastated.

As with most information offered by government officials regarding organized crime, however, facts are meager. Officially, only two people died amid the hail of bullets on Saturday in Reynosa. The unofficial word on social networks put the death toll at 65 or higher.

This is part of the failed strategy  lack of coordination  disaster in Mexico's leadership at all levels of government, said Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, an associate professor at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley whose work focuses on crime and trafficking in Mexico. You saw this coming. Toro was marked. Its part of the strategy for control of the plaza.

According to an intelligence report leaked to local media, men loyal to Salinas have threatened to seek retribution against marines for the death of their slain leader. An encrypted message intercepted by naval intelligence revealed the deployment of assassins to Reynosa and Ciudad Victoria, prompting calls for reinforced vigilance.

Days after Salinas and Carreon were killed marines shot a 45-year-old man at a time of heightened tensions. His pickup truck had made a loud sound, which the marines mistook for a firearm. Authorities said the mans injury is not life-threatening.

RELATED: Alleged Zetas killer honest in business, neighbor testifies in San Antonio trial

Reynosa Mayor Maki Ortiz Dominguez sought to assuage concerns after the city advised its residents not to go out unless absolutely necessary, especially at night, but she also described a city that has long suffered the hell of drug-fueled violence.

What we want, Ortiz said, is to have no more violence, and to have peace.

The insecurity surely wont die with Salinas. Yet the years of persistent violence has forced residents to cope with the permanence of fear in their lives.

A local doctor, who asked to remain anonymous for her safety, recalled the terror of being taken from her car at gunpoint in 2015. She said her mind went blank, her mouth dry and her body numb. The episode lasted no longer than a few minutes, but the debilitating trauma stretched on for months.

She sought counseling, and eventually learned to carry on whenever the city succumbs to bursts of violence. Still, her eyes well up with tears when she thinks back to that day when she was held up two years ago.

Its a fear that you cant imagine, the doctor said. It could happen again, but I feel I will manage better.

anelsen@express-news.net

Twitter: @amnelsen
16 June 2016 Corporate Governance Professional Association (CGPA) and International Finance Corporation (IFC) will hold the IV International Corporate Secretaries Forum. Worldwide the Corporate Secretary is one of the senior executives, who is responsible for coordinating the work on corporate governance in the company. Legal and administrative support of management and executive bodies, exchange of information among owners, managers, and shareholders depend on the person of Corporate Secretary. Ukrainian banks and companies have been using the Institute of Corporate Secretary widely already. In Ukraine the corporate secretarys activity is poorly regulated by national legislation, and the requirements are formed according to the best corporate governance practices applied in Europe and North America. The presence of the Corporate Secretary in the company significantly improves communications and makes the entire system of corporate governance more effective. The more transparent and clearer corporate governance is, the investor has more confidence in the company, so there are much more chances to attract funding. Therefore, mastering the achievements of both Ukrainian and foreign colleagues is important not only for the Corporate Secretary but also for the entire company. SPEAKERS:  Timur Khromaev, Chairman of the National Commission on Securities and Stock Market of Ukraine (NCSSMU)  Max Nefedov, Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine  Olyana Gordyienko, Associate Director, Governance in Economics, Policy and Governance department of European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)  Dmytro Parfenenko, Acting Head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPFU)  Oleksandr Okuniev, Head of the Management Board of the Professional Association of Corporate Governance (CGPA)  Simon Osborn, Chief Executive, ICSA: The Governance Institute  Ken Rushton, ICSA fellow; member of the Corporate Governance Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales and Private Sector Advisory Group of the Global Corporate Governance Forum  Alison Dillon Kibirige, Member of the UKRIAT Committee, Qualifications Committee and ICSAs International Professional Standards Committee Corporate Secretary of Barclays Bank plc, Head Office London (1998-2002), Unilever (2003-2007)  Oleksiy Povolotskyi, Head of the Department of the Corporate Governance / Corporate Secretary of the DTEK Group  Volodymyr Igonin, Counsel, Vasil Kisil & Partners Forum sessions will be held in the form of live panel discussions, during which participants will discuss innovations in the field of corporate governance in Ukraine, as well as the introduction of the Corporate Secretary, as part of reforms in corporate governance. The forum will traditionally finish with the awarding ceremony "Corporate Secretary of the Year". The event will be interesting for directors, shareholders, corporate secretaries, lawyers practicing in corporate law, specialists of consulting and auditing companies. Date: June 16, 2017 Venue: ArtHall D12, Desyatynna st. 12 Participation cost 3980 UAH. Contacts: +380 44 22-88-759 221 26 35 or e-mail: info@cgpa.com.ua, info@eventenvoy.com.ua, www.eventenvoy.com.ua http://www.eventenvoy.com.ua /calendar/6744/6745.html, www.cgpa.com.ua http://cgpa.com.ua/ru/zaxodi/kalendar-zaxodiv/iv-mezhdunarodnyij-forum-korporativnyix-sekretarej.html . Organized by the Corporate Governance Professional Association (CGPA) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Official Legal Partner Vasil Kisil & Partners Official Energy Partner: DTEK Partners: Company "EMCON" Company "DM", JSC "Kremenchug plant of road machines", "Kredmash" Event-provider: Event Envoy With support: NCSSMU, SPFU, NDU, UAIB, PARD, IBI-Rating General TV partner: channel "First Business". General information partner RBC-Ukraine. General news media patner: Interfax-Ukraine. Legal Media partner: Legal newspaper. Media partner: finpost.com.ua
Reestablishing the age of retirement, increasing the number of admissions at the Faculty of Medicine and recovering the MIR positions lost in the hospitals of Cangas del Narcea, Arriondas and Mieres. These are, in short, the proposals made by the doctors collective of Asturias and the trade union SIMPA that brings together a large number of physicians working in the Sespa, to address the risk of generational change that comes with the retirement of 515 doctors in the next three years and 1,300 to 2025. Professionals in the region also ask for an improvement in the working conditions of many doctors to make the working offer attractive.

Antonio Matador, Secretary General of the Professional Medical Union of Asturias (SIMPA) shortens much more the periods. "We have been warning about this for a while now. In three or four years, some 1,200 doctors will retire", he warns, "that's a major problem now". In his view, one of the priorities is to revise the Sespa human resources plan to prevent the forced retirement of doctors at the age 65. "It is essential to postpone retirement for one or two years, in some communities it has been postponed to the age of 67 and in others, doctors continue to work without specifying a deadline", the secretary of SIMPA says, who adds the need to recover MIR positions in all Hospitals in the region, including Jarrio, Cangas del Narcea, Arriondas and Mieres. "In a few years there will be a generational change, but in addition, this summer, there will be problems in general medicine where doctors are not available. We will have to use all available resources", Antonio Matador claims, and also maintains, "weve been able to ride out the storm" but we now face a real tsunami. "At the level of general medicine and emergency we will have immediate problems" he warns.

The medical union also claims to take advantage of the resources of non-EU professionals who carry out their MIR training in the Principality, and even though they do not fulfill the requirement to be part of the public employment system, they ask for flexibility in the current hiring mechanisms in public administration. Increasing the number of admissions (150) that are fixed per year in the Faculty of Medicine is another claim by the SIMPA. "It's a very low number", Antonio Matador argues about the current numerus clausus in this discipline.

The president of the Professional College of Doctors, Alejandro Brana, shows more prudency when talking about increasing the number of admissions at the University. "Increasing the number of graduates in our Faculty does not solve the problem immediately, from the time you start to train a child until he is a specialist, we need to wait some ten years", he argues. That is why the president of the Professional College of Doctors is in favor of postponing the age of retirement to at least two more years. "Weve been in a precarious situation in primary and general medicine for years", Brana says. And that replacement, the president of the Professional College of Doctors continues, "is not achieved all of a sudden, but it is necessary that there are people who are interested in coming to work in Asturias, to find it a good place for professional performance". According to Branas opinion, one solution would be to provide "underemployed" doctors with a stable job. Expanding the MIR positions to all hospitals, as claimed by the SIMPA, is a decision that depends on the Ministry of Health and the National Commission of Specialties, the president of the Professional College of Doctors said.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.
It seems appropriate to be writing about water as the rain falls yet again. I imagine all the 30-plus streams on Hauturu will be flowing freely at this time of year. Hauturu provides a virtually unmodified example of native forest stream habitats and possibly some of the cleanest stream water in the country.

The numerous streams on the island are largely ephemeral, meaning they only flow during and immediately after local rainfall, transforming, it seems, from raging torrents to isolated pools almost overnight. They mostly flow from the high central peaks over numerous waterfalls, where the hard, volcanic rock erodes much more slowly than the soft overlaying volcanic breccia (broken, fragmented rocks of volcanic origin), then travel on to the sea through picturesque narrow gorges covered in drooping ferns and plants. Most streams consist of various sized boulders and pebbles, and steep stream-sides with overhanging native vegetation. The vegetation helps to keep the stream temperature more even.

Debris from leaf fall, rotten logs and flooding forms an important component of the streams too, providing food for some stream creatures and a haven for others. Several of the streams on the southern, less rugged, side of the island open out to wider boulder streambeds. Their form changes with each heavy rainfall.

The majority of streams find their way into the sea travelling beneath the boulder beach that surrounds much of the island. In dry weather, parts of the streams seem to disappear beneath the boulders and pebbles of the streambeds, though often the trickle of water can be heard. In these conditions the only visible water are pools of varying sizes.

Despite the extreme variation in water flow there are many creatures that are adapted to this existence. There are banded kokopu (a native fish species) and longfin eel in a number of the streams, as well as a large variety of invertebrates (insects). There are known to be some 33 species of invertebrates that spend at least some of their life cycle in the Hauturu streams, mayfly and caddisfly larvae being the most common. The adults of these species briefly become winged creatures for the purpose of mating. Their young hatching in the streams as larvae and the cycle continues.

Many of the other island residents (birds and reptiles and the odd human) use the streams for drinking and bathing, some for feeding such as the kingfisher, and some like the moist stream bed to live near, such as the rare chevron skink that is found only on Hauturu and Aotea (Great Barrier). The vegetation in the river valleys is often more varied and lusher than that on the drier ridges.

The streams on Hauturu are an integral part of the island tapestry and part of what makes it such a special refuge for New Zealands unique plant and animal species.

The Little Barrier Island (Hauturu) Supporters Trust through Natural History New Zealand has produced a short video showcasing the incredible biodiversity of the island. Hauturu: New Zealands Ark. This can be viewed here: youtu.be/_oNir75_l4U

The Trust is grateful to the Becroft Foundation for funding this project.
Members of the public will have the opportunity to raise issues with police over a cup of coffee in Warkworth and Wellsford on June 22.

The Coffee with a Cop initiative is based on an American concept.

Two police officers will take questions at Quince Cafe in Warkworth and Peppers Cafe in Wellsford, from 10am to 12 noon.

Wellsford Sergeant Geoff Medland says the initiative is in response to concerns around police availability for communication with the public.

The station can only be open to the public if a police officer is present, which means some people probably have missed out on discussing important issues at times, Sgt Medland says.

Coffee with a Cop will let people discuss any problems, including domestic violence and drugs, or anything related to police operations or even recruitment.

Constable Mandi Bell started Coffee with a Cop in Helensville in December 2015.

Constable Bell says she was researching crime prevention and found the strategy, which was launched in California in 2011 and now operates in 36 US states.

She says people have come along to the Helensville sessions with a range of questions or concerns, including recruiting, firearms, traffic, roads and policing numbers.

The feedback has been positive so far, and I intend to hold the event a couple of times each year, she says.

The move may also help increase police visibility in the community after a recent petition for a community constable in Warkworth, with more than 2000 signatures, was turned down.

Warkworth Sergeant Bede Haughey says future Coffee with a Cop sessions will be based on the response to the first meetings.

Meanwhile, Constable Bell is looking at the option of coffee vans so the initiative can reach more remote areas of South Kaipara.
School & Education, Local News, Business & Finance, Community, Charity & Cause

By Long Island News & PR Published: June 12 2017

McDonalds is committed to supporting educational programs in the community, especially initiatives that encourage children to read.

West Babylon, NY - June 12, 2017 - Upon completion of their librarys summer reading program, Long Island McDonalds and the Nassau Library System and Suffolk Cooperative Library System will reward children in Upon completion of their librarys summer reading program, Long Island McDonalds and the Nassau Library System and Suffolk Cooperative Library System will reward children in Nassau and Suffolk counties with a certificate for their choice of a free grilled chicken snack wrap, cheeseburger or 6PC Chicken McNuggets, and a low fat chocolate milk, apple juice, or 12oz soft drink with any purchase.

McDonalds is committed to supporting educational programs in the community, especially initiatives that encourage children to read. Through the Summer Reading Program, over 108 of the public libraries on Long Island offer a series of diverse reading programs, as well as fun and educational activities for children of all ages to enjoy during the summer months. We are excited to once again partner with the LI McDonalds Owners and Operators. Their support of the Summer Reading Program for the past 29 years has been a wonderful partnership and something that the children look forward to each year. We thank them for their continued support, says Renee McGrath, Nassau Library System Youth Services Manager. I am extremely proud that this program has been in existence for 29 years, reaching school children from Kindergarten through high school. It is a truly rewarding program that encourages reading literacy and reinforces that we are a grassroots company, says Luciana Montuoro, LI McDonalds Marketing & PR Director.

In celebration of 29 years of supporting summer reading in Nassau and Suffolk public libraries, Ronald McDonald will be appearing at several local libraries where he will perform his Reading and Magic Show.
Local News, Community, Charity & Cause

By Long Island News & PR Published: June 12 2017

For More Information on the Joseph P. Dwyer Program and Veterans Services, Call (631) 853-8500.

Suffolk County, NY - June 12, 2017 - Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone hosted the fourth annual Joseph P. Dwyer Veterans and Family Day of Wellness, which provides a setting for local veterans and their family members dealing with post-service transition issues to participate in wellness related activities.

The free event also serves as a chance to provide critical information and awareness about the Joseph P. Dwyer Peer to Peer Program, which is overseen by the Suffolk County Veterans Service Agency and is designed to serve veterans, active duty, reserve and National Guard troops suffering from PTSD and other adjustment conditions.

The program is named for Private First Class Joseph Dwyer, who was a U.S. Army Combat Medic and Mount Sinai resident that served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. PFC Dwyer received national attention after a photograph surfaced that showed him carrying a wounded Iraqi boy, while his unit was fighting its way to Baghdad. After returning home and struggling with PTSD, PFC Dwyer succumbed to his condition in 2008.

We have no greater obligation than making sure the men and women of our armed forces have the support they need upon returning home and back into civilian life, said Suffolk County Executive Bellone. The Joseph P. Dwyer Program has a proven track record of assisting veterans through direct, one-on-one engagement in a comfortable setting so that they can receive the support necessary to make a successful transition.

Congressman Lee Zeldin said, Delivering the highest quality of care for our veterans must be a highest priority. The PFC Joseph Dwyer Program is an exceptional model for our veterans with the mental wounds of war and should be replicated nationally. I commend Suffolk County for its incredible effort developing this peer support model and I am honored to have been part of this important effort.

New York State Senator Tom Croci said: "The circumstances that many of our men and women in the military endure are sometimes beyond comprehension. Having a program like this to offer the mental and emotional support is a terrific step in reacclimatizing them back into society and their homes. I applaud Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and Camp Pa-qua-tuck for their commitment and dedication to our service men and women in implementing this first rate program."

Since its inception in 2012, over 10,000 veterans have participated in the Joseph P. Dwyer Program countywide  sharing their experiences with fellow veterans and allowing the healing process to begin. As part of the outreach effort, the Suffolk County Veterans Service Agency issued an informational pamphlet on the Joseph P. Dwyer Program to veteran households throughout the County. Those outreach efforts continue as the Program builds awareness and participation.

Suffolk County Veterans Services Agency Director, Thomas Ronayne said: A certainty among veterans is that a bond exists with our fellow veterans. Men and women we have never met are our brothers, sisters and family. Families take care of each other and that is precisely what we try to do through the Suffolk County Veterans Service Agency and the Joseph Dwyer Program. Veterans working with other veterans to serve and protect one another in the ways that we are uniquely equipped to do. Suffolks long tradition of honoring, respecting and serving our veterans was made stronger today through the annual Day of Wellness.

This innovative program provides safe, confidential, supportive, and educational opportunities for veterans who have faced challenges in their post-service transition to meet with other veterans in support of their regaining their personal resilience and direction. The Program seeks to leverage Vet-to-Vet relationships to enhance positive change through planned learning, and personal growth experiences including group and/or individual peer engagement. The unique nature of the Joseph P. Dwyer Program is that veterans are serving as the facilitators, which helps provide a comfortable and familiar setting for veterans seeking assistance.

As a result of the Program's successes locally, the Suffolk County model has now been replicated and administered in 16 counties across New York State. The program offers a confidential, one-on-one peer approach that has captured national attention, and is being considered as a model to expand across the country.

In Congress, Rep. Zeldin recently re-introduced his bill, H.R. 897, to expand nationally the PFC Joseph Dwyer Program. This bipartisan legislation has received support from the entire Long Island Congressional delegation.

For the period of January 2016 through December 2016, there were 323 Dwyer peer group meetings held with a total attendance of 1,211  averaging four veterans per meeting. The total unduplicated number of veterans that served in peer group meetings last year was 334.

On average, there were six weekly meeting sites available for these groups each month, including Amityville, Huntington, Bay Shore, Patchogue, Yaphank, Riverhead, and Sag Harbor. As a result of additional state funding provided and willing community partners, Suffolk County was able to establish several additional bi-weekly and monthly group opportunities.
Murray Shackelford's family pins his bars onto his uniform. Download Image: Web

Lycoming College is pleased to announce the commissioning of three graduates as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army. The cadets were commissioned during the Colleges baccalaureate ceremony in May.

2nd Lt. Jacob Fronko, with a major in ecology from Lewisberry, Pa., will serve with the Army Reserves in their Military Intelligence Corps. 2nd Lt. Jacob Miller, with a major in anatomy and physiology from Cooperstown, N.Y., will serve on active duty in Medical Service. 2nd Lt. Murray Shackelford, with a major in history from Capitol Heights, Md., will also serve on active duty in the Armys Infantry.

Their undergraduate experience has prepared them to lead others and were confident their soldiers and peers will find them capable leaders in the years to come, said Dan Miller, vice president for student life. We are proud of these alumni who have chosen the highest of callings to serve our country.

Over their college careers, the cadets kept pace with their academic studies while participating in ROTC activities including physical training, monthly leadership labs and a semester-long field training exercise.

The U.S. Army Cadet Command partners with universities to recruit, educate, develop and inspire ROTC cadets in order to commission officers of character for the Total Army. The Army ROTC has an enrollment of more than 30,000 and produces more than 70 percent of the second lieutenants who join the active Army, the Army National Guard and the U.S. Army Reserve. More than 40 percent of current active duty Army General Officers were commissioned through the ROTC.

Lycoming College ROTC cadets help comprise the Bison Battalion ROTC program, which is hosted at Bucknell University, and also includes cadets representing Penn College, Susquehanna University and Bloomsburg University.
A Royal Borough councillor has resigned from the Conservative Party due to issues with its local leadership.

Cllr Charles Hollingsworth, a ward councillor for Pinkneys Green, confirmed in an email to the Advertiser over the weekend that he has resigned from the party and as a Conservative Group member on the council.

Cllr Hollingsworth said he will remain on the council as an independent.

In the email, he said: My reasons are quite simple really. Ever since the putsch, I have not only watched with growing horror the actions and pronouncements from our local leadership, but I have become increasingly embarrassed to be associated with the cabal, though I am but a humble backbencher.

He said he decided to resign after the election to make sure he did not affect Theresa Mays campaign to become Prime Minister.

He said: I have stood as a candidate five times to represent the Ward of Pinkneys Green where I have lived since the last century, the first three unsuccessfully, so feel that I can continue to do so as an Independent.

When the Advertiser contacted council leader Simon Dudley (Con, Riverside) for comment, he said: "Charles is a very affable character, I wish him all the best as an independent."

When asked what he thought of the email, he said: I didnt understand the email.

UPDATE 11.23am:

Cllr Dudley has claimed our article is 'factually incorrect' in citing local leadership as a reason for the resignation and has forwarded a follow-up email from Cllr Hollingsworth making an accusation of bullying against 'an association officer'. We believe the email we have received from Cllr Hollingsworth makes his reasons for resigning clear, and have published it in full in the interest of transparency.

The email to the Advertiser:

You will probably be receiving a press release from RBWM in the morning announcing that I have resigned from the Conservative Party and therefore as a member of the Conservative Group on the Council; both true!

My reasons are quite simple really. Ever since the putsch, I have not only watched with growing horror the actions and pronouncements from our local leadership, but I have become increasingly embarrassed to be associated with the cabal, though I am but a humble backbencher. I was reminded of Martin Niemollers poem, First they came for the Socialists and I did nothing,..and then thy came for me and having the constraints removed after the General Election felt emboldened to distance myself. Why have I taken so long? Well I was Theresas campaign manager for two General Elections and like her very much, and wanted to do nothing that might have a detrimental effect on her as PM. I fought hard in my Ward, and our loyal volunteers manned both polling stations from 7.00 am through to 9.00 pm, and thence input all of the data to our central database, so I was loyal right up until the end.

I have stood as a candidate five times to represent the Ward of Pinkneys Green where I have lived since the last century, the first three unsuccessfully, so feel that I can continue to do so as an Independent.

As Marcellus said to Horatio in Hamlet, There is something rotten in the State of Denmark.

Should you wish to put this on your website please feel free to do so, or of course delete it.

Kind regards,

Charles.
NFTs are a digital reflection of a real-world asset but the water is muddied as to whether ownership extends to them, says Emma Kennaugh-Gallacher, a senior professional support lawyer at Mewburn Ellis
When Zhao Jing Yuan left China for Singapore in 2004 to pursue her technology dream  studying statistics at National University of Singapore  she knew it was the right thing to do. Fast forward to today, this mother of a 10-year-old son has never looked back with regret. Im very glad I made that decision; today Singapore is where I live and work and Im totally contented at this stage of my life, enthuses Jing Yuan, who holds a PhD in Statistics from NUS.

When it comes to work-life balance, she aces at it. It was initially very hard when I became a mother; I had work issues to tackle on top of my family responsibilities. But I persevered and believed in myself and everything fell into place. Im so grateful to friends, colleagues and my family who supported me during my formative years in Singapore, says the data scientist, who is the current Vice President of Data Science at Lazada Group. Her modern, open-minded upbringing has also helped her to appreciate the world better. When the self-confessed yoga addict is not pursuing leisurely swims, she finds time to hone her drawing skills. Here is an aspiring female tech worker who strongly feels that women can still shine in the mostly male-dominated data science industry and add value with a feminine perspective. We spent an engaging 20 minutes discovering her insights and opinions.

What is your opinion of a woman in todays context?

Zhao Jing Yuan: Firstly, and very importantly, I think a woman should not be any different from a man. She should be treated with the same respect as a man. Todays working women are as capable as their male counterparts, if not better, in certain areas.

Why did you choose to work in the tech sector?

Z.J.Y.: I like the energy of the tech sector  it is fast-moving and evolving. My data science work for the Lazada Group in the region allows me to use the latest technologies and different types of coding software.

What gives you drive to come to work every day?

Z.J.Y.: The success of my projects is attributed to team effort. I enjoy working with my team as we solve many challenges together. There is a feeling of esprit de corps working as a team, too.

Do you feel that the tech sector is a male-dominated industry?

Z.J.Y.: Yes, definitely there are more men working in the tech sector. While I encourage more women to join the tech sector, I also feel that women and men offer distinct skills. We should have this shared vision to complete the same goal and not bicker about the superiority of each sexs strengths. If men and women can help each other out and solve problems, that would be superb.

Working in this sector, what do you think a woman can do differently that a man cant?

Z.J.Y.: Personally, being a data scientist is the sexiest job in the 21st century, but what raised my interest is the fast-paced environment and the ability to digest numbers to create stories or predict trends. I also like to use R, Python, SPARK because they are what I use for coding in my data science work. Some of my male team members appreciate my feminine point of view when it comes to modelling and programming.

What are some of the challenges you face at work?

Z.J.Y.: In every job, the onus of managing different stakeholders and clients is a given. My job requires managing peoples expectations, too. However, providing solutions for problems in emerging markets is a challenge I enjoy. I also like that my job covers regional markets. The data science sector is growing very fast so theres a lot to learn and thats an educational process which I take as a challenge to hone my skills.

Tell us about your most rewarding experience working in the tech industry as a woman.

Z.J.Y.: Lazada has been the stepping stone to bigger things: Ive worked with some of the greatest talents in the data science industry; particularly, I enjoyed working with many big brands to identify and solve problems! Every day is something new and interesting! Ive also worked with external stakeholders to ensure the project meets its goals.

The team is young and cohesive and we treat each other like buddies. Our work is never a solo effort because we all need each other. It is also great that my boss allows me to work in a manner that I prefer while helping me to move things and meet deadlines. I like it that people dont see me as a woman per se, rather, they see me as someone who adds value to the team. My job engages me on so many levels  intellect, emotional quotient and some soft skills!

Lazada has become a very popular online shopping destination in Southeast Asia but we shouldnt rest on our laurels. Our team works hard to ensure data science remains a valuable asset to Lazadas growth in the region. We always have a can-do spirit; motivating each other to focus hard on our work.

Do you think theres discrimination being a woman working in the tech sector?

Z.J.Y.: Before I started working, there were rumours of women being discriminated in the tech sector. However, since starting my job, I can safely say that the rumour has never been validated. In fact, some of my male colleagues look up to me; the younger ones treat me like their mentor. The Lazada environment feels like a United Nations meeting  there are so many nationalities working together for a common goal and that makes it interesting to come to work every day.

Whats the most empowering advice you can give to a woman wanting to work in this sector?

Z.J.Y.: The tech sector will always remain dynamic and it is good to always be curious and have the eagerness to take on new challenges. The tech sector comes with a hectic schedule so its critical to manage your time well.

What kind of change would you like to see for women working in the tech industry?

Z.J.Y.: I dont think wed want to say that more women should join the tech industry for the sake of balancing it out with the majority of males. The tech sector should do its part to attract new talents, be it male or female. However, I applaud women who excel in the tech sector because they break the misconception that only men can succeed in technology.

Are there popular or famous women you admire? Who and why?

Z.J.Y.: Sheryl Sandberg, the Chief Operating Officer at Facebook, remains a woman I admire. I read her book Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead published in 2013 and it reveals her tenacious spirit and open-mindedness. Shes a strong-willed woman who doesnt take no for an answer. It ideally shows how women can climb the corporate ladder in the tech industry  like the adage says, if theres a will, theres a way.

Interview contributed by Joseph Lim.

* Joseph pursued lifestyle journalism despite having a background in Computer Science. In 1999, he was a technology writer but switched to writing and editing for luxury periodicals under the Singapore Tatler Group in 2007. At home, he is an avid home cook all thanks to his Peranakan lineage. He digs all things vintage and old school like vinyl and cassette tapes.
LONGMEADOW -- Researchers hired by Longmeadow philanthropist Harold Grinspoon scanned 100,000 homes in 10 Pioneer Valley communities with a thermal camera last winter. Starting in September, owners of homes with the worst heat leakage will get letters from him telling where, when and how they can improve insulation and save money.

"I want to give back," said Grinspoon, 87. "The payoff will be when people take advantage of it. We try and give back to the community as a foundation. The payoff will be if people take advantage of it."

The 10 communities are: Agawam, Amherst, Belchertown, Chicopee, Holyoke, Northampton, Longmeadow, Springfield, Deerfield and Greenfield.

Utility customers in Massachusetts pay into a fund, Mass Save, that offers home energy audits, rebates and incentives that homeowners can use to make properties more efficient. But Grinspoon said many don't know that fund exits and don't take advantage of it.

"Once they know how much energy they are wasting there are several funds available in Massachusetts," he said. "You should take advantage of the money that you are paying into that fund."

Cambridge-based Essess used a specially equipped van and a computer algorithm developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to scan 100,000 homes in the winter, when energy loss would be apparent, Grinspoon said.

Essess is going through the data now and selecting the 25,000 homes with the worst energy loss. Those are the homes that will get a letter with an infrared picture of their home.

A similar project launched in 2011 met with resistance from homeowners upset that their homes were scanned without their knowledge.

Grinspoon dismissed privacy concerns, saying all homes were photographed from the public street, just like how Google makes its street view.

"It's not really a private world anymore," he said.

Photos show an outline of the building and the heat loss.

"You cannot even read a license plate," he said. "You cannot see anything inside the home. It's only sent to the homeowner."

Agawam Mayor Richard A. Cohen said the town spent no tax money on the project but provided public information Grinspoon needed. The goal is to help people save money, Cohen said.

"I think what he is doing and the money he is spending is benifical for homeowners," Cohen said.

Grinspoon said the effort is costing his foundation $300,000, including the scanning, producing the letters and mailing them.

Grinspoon, who made his money in real estate, uses his foundation to provide schools with library books and present awards for teaching excellence. The foundation also aids young entrepreneurs with an annual "elevator pitch" contest. In partnership with Big Y, the foundation makes $2,500 grants to area farmers to make physical improvements to their farms.
WEST SPRINGFIELD -- It'll be out with the hot dogs and in with the brew this year at the Rhode Island building on the Big E's Avenue of the States.

And if you prefer hot dogs over craft beer, you can thank millennials and their quirky, artisan-or-be-damned food preference for the switch, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper highlighted the beef over the change -- which saw Ocean State tourism promotion officials oust wiener vendor Sam's New York System of Warwick, Rhode Island from the state's building -- in a trend piece that ran over the weekend.

A craft beer display will replace the hot dog booth.

"Hot wieners, grilled dogs slathered with a slow-cooked spicy beef sauce, are beloved local fare in the Ocean State, along with frozen lemonade, coffee milk and the official state appetizer, fried calamari," wrote the Journal's Jennifer Levitz.

But there is a growing craft beer movement in the nation's smallest state. And the Rhode Island Commerce Corp., which selects vendors for the state building, needed the space used by Sam's New York Style for a craft beer showcase.

"It's really nothing personal," said Matt Sheaff, spokesman for the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation told the Journal. "There is a growing trend of millennials and folks interested in beer tourism and craft breweries."

The story goes on to talk with food managers at other large fairs who are getting away from hot dogs to meet changing tastes of millennials who are -- in case you haven't read a billion trend pieces before this one -- the nation's largest living consumer demographic, having overtaken Baby Boomers.

The man-bun and skinny jean set is apparently not into hot dogs.

State agencies each make decisions about which vendors to showcase in each of the buildings on The Avenue of the States. The Rhode Island building has long offered clam cakes, stuffed clams and clam fritters, as well as Del's Lemonade.

The 2017 edition of the Big E runs Sept. 15 to Oct. 1.
Fifty years ago, President Johnson nominated Solicitor General Thurgood Marshall to the Supreme Court. Marshall was the first African American to be nominated to the court. Confirmation seemed likely as "Non-Southern" senators supported the nomination, and the senators from the south accepted it in "uncharacteristic silence."

Later in the week Mrs. Mary Voight of Hampden gave birth to triplets at the Wesson Maternity Hospital in Springfield. Hospital officials said the babies, two boys and a girl, were about six weeks premature, but they were all doing well.

From the June 16, 1967 edition of The Springfield Union

Ten years later, members of the Kennedy family participated in the ground breaking ceremony for the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library in Boston. The eight-story, $12-million glass and concrete building was built near the Harbor Campus of the University of Massachusetts in Dorchester. Architect I.M. Pei was the designer.

From the June 13, 1977 edition of The Morning Union

These are some of the headlines you'll see from Page 1 of The Republican and its predecessors over the past fifty years for the week of June 11 - June 17. Each week I'll put together a slideshow of Page 1 images from selected years over the course of that week. We're starting with a look back at one, five, thirty, forty and fifty years ago, with Page 1s from each day of the week for those years.

The slideshow for June 11 - June 17 is embedded at the top of this article.

We'll also find some humor printed out on page one over the years. In 1967 'Dennis The Menace' could be found on the bottom of page one six days a week.

From the June 16, 1967 edition of The Springfield Union

A year ago the MassMutual Foundation announced that it would donate $15 million to the University of Massachusetts computer science programs over the next ten years. $3 million would go to support the cybersecurity certificate program taught at the university's location in Tower Square, with the remainder going to the UMass Center for Data Science in Amherst.

And five years ago this week the group protesting the closure of Mater Dolorosa Church in Holyoke wrapped up their ongoing vigil inside the church that began June 30, 2011. The group had appealed the closing to the Vatican. The Vatican's Apostolic Signatura agreed to hear the case, but asked that the protesters leave the church prior to the hearing.

As you'll find with looking through the slideshow, that while many stories come and go, many of the issues and topics that affected lives in the past, continue to have an impact on our lives today.

Copies of these and other stories can be found in the online archives. The Historic Archive includes stories from 1824 to 1989, and the Newsbank Archive covers 1988 through the present day.
General Electric announced Monday morning that CEO and Chairman Jeff Immelt, 61, is stepping down from his role at the company. After serving 16 years as CEO, Immelt will be replaced by 55-year-old John Flannery, the current president and CEO of GE Healthcare.

The formal title changeover will come in 2018, when Immelt officially retires on Dec. 31, 2017. In a statement released on Monday, GE praised Immelt's "long-term strategic vision and willingness to disrupt GE," as well as the $260 billion of asset sales for GE Capital in the last two years.

Under Immelt's leadership, the energy mammoth reportedly returned $143 billion in dividends to investors. But reports say that during Immelt's 16 year-tenure, in a post-9/11 world of turbulent financial markets, General Electric saw stocks plunge.

A report by MarketWatch said that of the existing companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average since 2001, when Immelt took over, GE's stock has been "by far the worst performer" and "one of only two that have declined." The company's stock fell 29.6 percent from when Immelt stepped in on Sept. 7, 2001 until June 9, 2017, according to MarketWatch. Second-worst to GE in the Dow was reportedly AT&T, with a 5 percent decrease in stocks over that time period.

In the past year alone, GE's stock fell about 12 percent. But investors took notice of the announcement Monday morning, with stocks up about 4.2 percent following the news of Immelt leaving.

John Flannery will take Immelt's place as CEO and Chairman next year, bringing with him a wealth of GE experience from his time running GE Healthcare and GE operations in India, according to Jack Brennan, the independent director of the company's Board of Directors.

"John has had a direct influence on the company's direction, its financial health and its position as the world's premier digital industrial company," Brennan said in a statement.

The forward-looking company will continue operations in Boston, where Immelt and other GE leaders chose to move the company last year. With the help of some aggressive courting by Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Governor Charlie Baker, Immelt and his team chose the Innovation District as the right fit for its new headquarters. GE staff currently work out of sleek temporary offices in the city's historic Fort Point neighborhood, not far from where the impressive headquarters will stand on the edge of the Fort Point channel.

The new home in Boston feels in place with Immelt's vision of innovation for the company. GE said the CEO took operations in a bold new direction, with portfolio switches and focuses on a wide share of markets like power, healthcare, transportation and oil and gas.

GE announced Kieran Murphy will immediately replace Flannery as president and CEO of GE Healthcare. Jeff Bornstein, who currently serves as the company's chief financial officer, was also promoted to serve as GE vice chairman.
Joe Arpaio, the former lawman known as "America's Toughest Sheriff," is returning to his native Massachusetts for a Second Amendment rally scheduled for Saturday in Belchertown.

The Springfield native was the elected sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona for 24 years from 1993 through 2016. He is an outspoken advocate of tougher policies to combat illegal immigration.

Arpaio is one of four speakers at the 4th annual Flag Day Second Amendment Rally at the Swift River Sportsman's Club on Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

"This year's annual Flag Day Second Amendment Rally is on track to be the grandest yet," organizers said in a statement posted on their Facebook page. "As big government politicos and a dragnet of beaurocratic [sic] panderers set their sights on nationwide gun control schemes, patriots from across the region will gather on this day to assert their God given rights to keep and bear arms."

Other guests include:

Lawrence Pratt, executive director emeritus of Gun Owners of America.

Jeanette Finicum, described as "widow of slain patriot LaVoy Finicum. " (He was fatally shot during the occupation of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon.)

Stewart Rhodes, founder of Oath Keepers, a pro-militia group who pledge to fulfill the oath to "defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic."

Event organizers noted that Arpaio has drawn the "ire of government progressives and New Age anarchists."

Tickets for the BBQ chicken dinner and event are $25.

Further details may be found at https://www.facebook.com/events/1465976010111430/
As Massachusetts State Police trooper Daniel Herman made his way up the stairs of 115 Maxwell Street with a colleague, Rachelle Bond jumped out the window.

The mother of Baby Bella headed back to the nearby MBTA station, where she would meet up with Bella's biological father, Joseph Amoroso. They would go to the Lynn home of Amoroso's mother, and authorities would catch up with them there, taking them into custody.

Herman took jurors in the murder trial of Bella through his investigation, starting with the June 2015 discovery of her body on Deer Island in Winthrop, and including taking Bond into custody in September 2015. She appeared "high" or showing symptoms of withdrawal from drugs, he testified.

After Michael McCarthy's friend spoke w/detective, went to #BellaBond's home. Zebra rug matched #BabyDoe's blanket, shirt matched pants #wbz pic.twitter.com/R7LW01wbuk  Christina Hager (@HagerWBZ) June 12, 2017

With the jury in Suffolk Superior Court looking on, Herman held up the polka dot pants the toddler was found in, as well as the blankets she was wrapped in. He also held up the trash bags, which were tightly knotted and held her body.

"I observed the little hands and little feet of what appeared to be a three-year-old little girl," Herman said, recalling the scene on the bayside beach.

"I would the describe the state of the body as advanced stages of decomposition," he added.

He would stay on the scene until 2 a.m. the next day, as authorities searched for additional clues that could help lead to the identity of the child, then known as "Baby Doe."

They ordered up a drift analysis, in an attempt to figure out where the body came from, tested the child's hydrogen levels to find out where she could've lived, and reached out to businesses in the area that would pierce the ears of a two-year-old. The leggings she was wearing, they discovered, were from a Target brand sold between October 2014 and February 2015, and Herman's office looked through purchase histories.

They also released a computer composite that spread across the country. On social media, it had been viewed 50 million times.

They investigated "well over 300" leads, Herman said. None led to the identity of "Baby Doe."

The break came when Michael Sprinsky, a longtime friend of Michael McCarthy, walked into Roxbury District Court with a tip in September 2015.

McCarthy has been charged with first-degree murder. He has pleaded not guilty, while Rachelle Bond, charged with being an accessory after the fact, has a plea deal and testified against him.

After speaking with Sprinsky, Herman and a colleague went to 115 Maxwell Street, Rachelle's apartment. Bond would bolt out the window, while outside Herman and his colleague waited for a representative of the company that owned the low-income building to come with a key.

When they finally got inside Apartment No. 2, no one was inside but Herman noticed on the refrigerator - which according to Rachelle Bond at one point housed Bella's body - had a picture of the little girl.

Herman then noticed on the floor a black tunic, with gold trim, the second part of the Target outfit.

They would later locate Bond and Amoroso in Lynn, as well as McCarthy at a hospital, where he was being treated for an abscess.

"She was extremely emotional...she was upset. Crying," Herman said. "She was a mess."
CHICOPEE - Police are trying to identify two males who are suspects in a car break on Plainfield Street.

The two males were caught in on video riding their bicycles just before the car break, that happened around 4:45 a.m., June 6 in a parking lot at 45 Plainfield St., said Michael Wilk, Chicopee Police public information officer.

The two checked car doors in the parking lot. When they found one unlocked they rummaged through the car but did not take anything. While nothing was stolen, breaking and entering is still a felony, Wilk said.

Anyone who can identify either of the two is asked to call the detective bureau at 413-594-1730 or send a private message to the Police Department Facebook page, he said.
SOUTHWICK - The victim of a drowning last week at Congamond Lakes has been identified as 33-year-old Michael Chace of Somers, Connecticut, according to the office of Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni.

Chace disappeared while swimming at Middle Pond on Thursday. Witnesses told police he went under water and then failed to resurface.

Southwick police and emergency services, the state police Dive Team, and the state Environmental Police all took part in the search for Chace.

The body was recovered on Saturday.

Gulluni in a statement expressed his condolences to Chace's family.




Maple syrup producers in Massachusetts say 2017 was a sweet year in the business -- the third consecutive record-breaker, in fact.



Citing newly released data from the United States Department of Agriculture, Massachusetts Maple Producers Association recently took to Facebook to say the state produced 84,000 gallons of maple syrup during the 2017 season.



The total bested 2016's high-water mark by more than 7,000 gallons.



"Stop by your favorite sugarhouse and get some today!" the Facebook post said.



Unusually high temperatures in January and February allowed farmers to get an early start tapping trees. More than 300,000 total taps were hammered each producing roughly a court of syrup.



A bill on the table in the state Legislature proposes to make maple syrup the official state sweetener and declare March to be Massachusetts Maple Month.



Democratic State Rep. Steve Kulik of Williamsburg -- in the heart of a rich maple producing region of the state -- proposed the legislation.
True business success and leadership starts with real personal values, extends to building a team, and finally to inspiring customers and your community. Thats a huge leap from an entrepreneurial idea, to a product, to making money. Is it any wonder that the majority of startups fail? My job as a new business advisor is to help entrepreneurs get over this chasm early.

Marty Zwilling

Full Story: http://blog.startupprofessionals.com/2017/06/8-keys-to-business-success-values-based.html
By embracing trends and new technology while still staying connected to customers and your core foundation, companies can innovate and prepare for the future.

By Jacob Morgan

Author and [email protected]

Full Story: https://www.inc.com/jacob-morgan/5-innovation-keys-for-the-future-of-work.html
The MDT Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program encourages and supports the participation of companies owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals in transportation contracts.
Hackers allied with the Russian government have devised a cyber weapon that has the potential to be the most disruptive yet against electric systems that Americans depend on for daily life, according to U.S. researchers.

The malware, which researchers have dubbed CrashOverride, is known to have disrupted only one energy system  in Ukraine in December. In that incident, the hackers briefly shut down one-fifth of the electric power generated in Kiev.

By Ellen Nakashima

Full Story: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/russia-has-developed-a-cyber-weapon-that-can-disrupt-power-grids-according-to-new-research/2017/06/11/b91b773e-4eed-11e7-91eb-9611861a988f_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_russiascyber-810a%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.b6493ef408ac
Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter says he will lead 11 aviation and aerospace companies on a trade mission to Paris.

Otter announced Friday that he will be traveling to the International Paris Air Show next week. Along with representatives from the states aerospace industry, the Republican governor will be joined by a team from the Department of Commerce.

Full Story: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2017/jun/11/idaho-governor-to-lead-paris-trade-mission/
Idaho lawmakers, business leaders and education experts met June 9 to begin identifying key changes to the states colleges and universities to improve postsecondary access and graduation rates.

The 36-member task force  which includes all eight presidents of Idahos public colleges and universities  focused on workforce challenges, funding woes and the states role in promoting higher education.

Full Story: http://idahobusinessreview.com/2017/06/11/idahos-higher-education-task-force-identifying-changes/
"I grabbed his wrist. A scuffle ensued and he was injured, as I understand it," Gianforte told Judge Rick West on Monday during a hearing packed with more than a dozen of reporters and photographers. "It was not my intention to hurt him."

Gianforte has not addressed the false statement his campaign gave following the assault. He briefly spoke with reporters after his court appearance but only took a few questions, none of which challenged him on his campaigns statement.

By Whitney Bermes Chronicle Staff Writer

Full Story: http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/

***

"Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him. Faith, Keith, and I watched in disbelief as Gianforte then began punching the man, as he moved on top the reporter and began yelling something to the effect of, "Im sick and tired of this!"

Jacobs scrambled to his knees and said something about his glasses being broken. He asked Faith, Keith, and myself for our names. In shock, we did not answer. He then said he wanted the police called and went to leave. Gianforte looked at the three of us and repeatedly apologized. At that point, I told him and [Shane Scanlon], who was now present, that we needed a moment. The men then left."

Fox News crew account of the assault.

***

"Tonight, as Greg was giving a separate interview in a private office, The Guardians Ben Jacobs entered the office without permission, aggressively shoved a recorder in Gregs face, and began asking badgering questions. Jacobs was asked to leave. After asking Jacobs to lower the recorder, Jacobs declined. Greg then attempted to grab the phone that was pushed in his face. Jacobs grabbed Gregs wrist, and spun away from Greg, pushed them both to the ground. Its unfortunate that this aggressive behavior from a liberal journalist created this scene at our campaign volunteer BBQ."

Gianforte campaign account of the assault
SHANGHAI, June 11 (Xinhua) -- A China Eastern Airlines plane, MU736 heading for Shanghai, returned after an engine fault was detected shortly after its take-off from Sydney Sunday night. No one was injured.

The company said a damage on the air inlet of the aircraft's left engine was "timely" noticed by the crew, and the captain "decisively" made the decision to return. The plane landed safely.

An investigation continues while the airline is taking good care of the passengers.
(Xinhua) 08:26, June 12, 2017

LONDON, Jun 11 (Xinhua) -- Geoff Ho, the ethnic Chinese journalist who protected friends and got hurt in the London Bridge attack, gave his first chilling account Sunday of the moment he came face to face with three terrorists on a mission of death.

Writing in the Sunday Express where he is the business editor, Ho started his account of the horror evening just eight days ago: "I close my eyes and I can still see and hear, crystal clear, everything from that night. I can actually still taste it in my mouth. The fear. The adrenaline coursing through my body, propelling my legs forward."

He spent the night in his favorite bar in the Borough Market area, before he headed away and spotted two men seemingly attacking a doorman at another of his other drinking haunts, the Southwark Tavern.

"I jumped straight in. A two on one attack? Not on my watch," wrote Ho.

His intervention worked, police arrived quickly and took the attackers away. He shook hands with the doormen and continued with his journey home.

He then made what he described as a fateful decision, heading away from the nearby tube station, instead intending to celebrate his good deed in a nearby steakhouse with food and a glass of beer.

"Suddenly one of the staff locked the door. Then I saw them. The three terrorists were outside," he said.

"Years of martial arts training means that my mind can focus, so that when trouble really starts, I can remain calm. Calm is good." Ho thought the three men were accomplices of the two he had challenged minutes earlier, seeking revenge for them being arrested.

"They must be here after me. I have to fix this," he said.

As the terrorists were trying to break in, Ho noticed the knives they had. "I had to face them, I had to delay them, no matter what... my skills and training meant that I had the best chance of delaying the attackers until the police arrived." Ho thought, "Keep them focused on you. Then they can't hurt the others. I knew the police were coming. Buy them time, shield everyone. That's your only job now. If they get past you, maybe no one goes home."

"With my hands up, trying to look non-threatening, I stared back at them and said one word: NO. The one in the blue Arsenal shirt walked towards me, barking 'get on the floor!'. Again, I said no."

Ho recalled how the terrorist in the Arsenal shirt snapped and came at him, followed by his clean shaven accomplice. The terrorist struck at his throat, "but I must have blocked enough of the knife to make sure it didn't kill me outright" he recalled. The terrorist attempted to stab him in the stomach but his training kicked in and he instinctively leapt back.

"I fell down, but still on my feet, clutching my throat. Our assailants had run off." Ho then grabbed a friend who had also been stabbed in the frenzied attack, and they went to a staff room.

Moments later Ho was in the street outside, recalling: "the atmosphere was chilling. It was like a war zone."

At the Royal London Hospital doctors grabbed Ho and hauled him into surgery. During his recovery in the hospital, Prince Charles and his wife the Duchess of Cornwall turned up at the bedside, thanking him for his heroic actions.

Ho concluded his article: "People have called me a hero. I don't think of myself that way. All I did was help a man in trouble and then minutes later put myself between the terrorists and my friends and the innocent people in the area. Hopefully I did some good."

London Metropolitan Police Sunday released a photo of the fake suicide belts the three terrorists had worn during their attack which left eight dead, and dozens more, including Geoff Ho, injured.

The Met said all three attackers wore fake bomb vest, possibly trying to protect themselves from being shot by police. "It makes the bravery of those police officers and members of the public who tackled the terrorists even more remarkable."
President Donald Trump has named Norman "Ned" Sharpless, the director of the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, to lead the National Cancer Institute.

The oncologist and geneticist will succeed Doug Lowy, who has been acting director of NCI since early 2015. Lowy is expected to remain at the institute as deputy director and a researcher.

Sharpless, 50, has done extensive work on how cells age and become malignant. He sees patients at North Carolina Cancer Hospital, which is the clinical home for UNC Lineberger.

His selection drew praise from people involved in cancer research and treatment Derek Raghavan, president of the Levine Cancer Institute, which is part of Carolinas HealthCare System in Charlotte, called Sharpless an expert in "translational" medicine, with a deep understanding of both the research and clinical aspects of the rapidly changing cancer field.

Yet he noted that Sharpless is assuming the post "at a very tough time," given the Trump administration's proposed 20 percent budget cut for the National Institutes of Health. As part of that, the NCI is targeted for a $1 billion cut. The new director "has some challenges ahead of him," Raghavan said.

Otis Brawley, chief medical and scientific officer of the American Cancer Society, said Sharpless is "very much qualified" for the position given his experience as director of a major cancer center and his strong track record as a researcher.

Sharpless, a native of Greensboro and 1984 graduate of Greensboro Day School, earned his medical degree from UNC-Chapel Hill and completed his residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and an oncology fellowship at Dana Farber/Partners Cancer Care in Boston. He returned to Chapel Hill as a faculty member at Lineberger in 2002 and became head of the cancer center in 2014. He is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation.

The appointment, which does not require Senate confirmation, came several days after the White House announced that Francis S. Collins will stay on as National Institutes of Health director. Collins also graduated from the UNC School of Medicine and did further training there.
Error 404 Not Found

You may have mis-typed the URL. Or the page has been removed. Actually, there is nothing to see here...

Click on the links below to do something, Thanks!

Take Me our of here
Researchers have long known that diabetes can increase a womans risk of breast cancer. A new study, however, suggests that this risk could be significantly reduced with long-term use of low-dose aspirin.

Share on Pinterest Low-dose aspirin may reduce breast cancer risk for women with diabetes, researchers suggest.

Diabetes is estimated to affect more than 29.1 million people in the United States, or 9.3 percent of the population.

Type 2 diabetes is the most common form, arising when the body can no longer use the hormone insulin effectively, which can lead to high blood sugar levels.

Previous research has uncovered a link between diabetes and increased risk of breast cancer. One study published in 2012, for example, identified a 20 percent increase in breast cancer among women with diabetes.

While the precise mechanisms behind this association are unclear, researchers have suggested that it may be down to changes in the body caused by diabetes, such as increased inflammation and high blood glucose.

Now, a research team from Taiwan  including Dr. Yi-Sun Yang of the Chung Shan Medical University in Taichung  suggests that a daily dose of aspirin could help to lower breast cancer risk for women with diabetes.

The researchers recently published their study in the Journal of Womens Health.
Changes in immune activity appear to signal a growing brain tumor five years before symptoms arise, new research has found.

Interactions among proteins that relay information from one immune cell to another are weakened in the blood of brain cancer patients within five years before the cancer is diagnosed, said lead researcher Judith Schwartzbaum of The Ohio State University.

That information could one day lead to earlier diagnosis of brain cancer, said Schwartzbaum, an associate professor of epidemiology and member of Ohio State's Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, focused on gliomas, which make up about 80 percent of brain cancer diagnoses. Average survival time for the most common type of glioma is 14 months.

Symptoms vary and include headaches, memory loss, personality changes, blurred vision and difficulty speaking. On average, the cancer is diagnosed three months after the onset of symptoms and when tumors are typically advanced.

"It's important to identify the early stages of tumor development if we hope to intervene more effectively," Schwartzbaum said. "If you understand those early steps, maybe you can design treatments to block further tumor growth."

While widespread blood testing of people without symptoms of this rare tumor would be impractical, this research could pave the way for techniques to identify brain cancer earlier and allow for more-effective treatment, Schwartzbaum said.

Schwartzbaum evaluated blood samples from 974 people, half of whom went on to receive a brain-cancer diagnosis in the years after their blood was drawn. The samples came from Norway's Janus Serum Bank.

Because of previous research - including her own on the relationship between allergies and brain cancer - Schwartzbaum was interested in the role of cytokines, proteins that communicate with one another and with immune cells to spark immune responses. Schwartzbaum's previous work found that allergies appeared to offer protection against brain cancer.

In this study, Schwartzbaum evaluated 277 cytokines in the blood samples and found less cytokine interaction in the blood of people who developed cancer.

"There was a clear weakening of those interactions in the group who developed brain cancer and it's possible this plays a role in tumor growth and development," Schwartzbaum said.

Cytokine activity in cancer is especially important to understand because it can play a good-guy role in terms of fighting tumor development, but it also can play a villain and support a tumor by suppressing the immune system, she said.

In addition to discovering the weakening of cytokine interactions in the blood of future cancer patients, the researchers found a handful of cytokines that appear to play an especially important role in glioma development.

The results of this study must be confirmed and further evaluated before it could translate to changes in the earlier diagnosis of brain cancer, but the discovery offers important insights, Schwartzbaum said.

"It's possible this could also happen with other tumors - that this is a general sign of tumor development," she said.

The research was supported by the National Cancer Institute.
New study hints at the role of estrogen in graft success and suggests that patients could benefit from personalized immunosuppression strategies.

The success of kidney transplant is dependent on the age and sex of both the donor and the recipient, according to research published n the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. The study, which was a collaboration between a team from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) and the University of Montreal Hospital Research Center (CRCHUM), revealed that young women had poorer transplant outcomes compared to young men, whereas women of post-menopausal age had similar or slightly better outcomes than men of the same age. This finding opens the door to a new approach for organ transplantation, and could lead to personalized immunosuppression strategies based on age and sex.

"This is the first study to assess differences in graft outcomes between female and male recipients across the entire age spectrum," says the study's corresponding author Dr. Beth Foster, researcher at the RI-MUHC and pediatric nephrologist at the Montreal Children's Hospital of the MUHC. "Previous studies did not find significant differences in graft survival between the sexes, but they focused exclusively on adults, most of whom were older. We considered the possibility that sex differences in graft survival may depend on age."

The researchers evaluated the records of nearly 160,000 kidney transplant recipients recorded in the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients database, which includes all transplant recipients in the United States. The outcomes of graft success were evaluated in relation to the age and sex of both the recipient and the donor.

"We found that among recipients of male donors, females of all ages had significantly worse graft survival than males," explains first author Dr. Fanny Lepeytre, fellow in Nephrology at the CRCHUM for this project. "However, when the donor was female, only female recipients aged 15-24 years had worse outcomes than their male counterparts. In fact, female recipients aged 45 years or older actually had slightly better graft survival than males of the same age when the donor was female."

The role of sex hormones in graft outcomes

These findings open new questions about the possible impact of sex hormones on immune reactivity in transplant recipients. "We know from studies outside the field of transplantation that the female sex hormone estrogen tends to activate the immune system, whereas male sex hormones such as testosterone tend to suppress it," says Dr. Foster who is also an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at McGill University. "The fact that young women 15-24 years old, in whom estrogen levels are at their peak, have higher graft failure risks than males or females in any other age group suggests that estrogen may increase the risk of rejection. Women over the age of 45 have less of this hormone so it makes sense that they may have a lower risk of rejection and graft failure."

Another possible explanation for the sex differences observed in this study is that sex hormones may influence the function of anti-rejection medications, making them less effective in females than males.

This observational study sheds light on how little we know about the influence of sex, gender, and age on the immune system, transplantation, and medical care in general.

"We need to better understand which biological and social factors explain the sex differences in graft outcomes that we observed," says Dr. Foster. "Right now, we treat men, women, boys and girls with transplants in a very similar way. With better understanding we could potentially improve graft outcomes by developing age and sex specific immune-suppression strategies."

Article: Association of Sex with Risk of Kidney Graft Failure Differs by Age, Bethany J. Foster et al., Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, doi: 10.1681/ASN.2016121380, published online 7 June 2017.


Please complete this form and we'll send you a personalised information that is requested

You may use this for your own reference or forward it to your friends.

Please use the information prudently. If you are not a medical doctor please remember to consult your healthcare provider as this information is not a substitute for professional advice.
The Punjabi superstar Diljit Dosanjh has always gotten fan love in galore because even after entering Bollywood, he didnt let his identity as a musician fade away. The basic pind da munda is now the heartbeat of the industry. Fan-girling on him has shot up to the stars. The first ever Punjabi super hero film, Super Singh is the most awaited release for all Diljit fans. Here are a few reasons why we cant wait to watch Diljit as a super hero in Super Singh:

A Punjabi superhero thats one of a kind

Fans are going crazy to see this handsome sardarji fly because ek tan mai singh unto super!

This is the first time Balaji will be giving a Punjabi super hero to the industry. We all just cant wait to see Diljits personal touch and the flavor that he adds to it.

#SuperSingh Paronthey Khane Tan Daso? #16June #DinnerDate ? #Shaktian A post shared by Diljit Dosanjh (@diljitdosanjh) on Jun 1, 2017 at 6:50pm PDT

His jovial chemistry with Sonam Bajwa

We have seen their chemistry earlier as well and we would love to see this couple work together again. Not many people know, but Diljit is also the real life hero for Sonam. During filming of one of the scenes, the set had caught fire and Sonam was stuck. Diljit played the real hero there and saved her. So the chemistry between them in this new release is definitely going to be killer. We are eagerly waiting to see how this cute couple surprises us with their on-screen chemistry in Super Singh.

#SuperSingh Releasing Worldwide #16June A post shared by Diljit Dosanjh (@diljitdosanjh) on May 25, 2017 at 11:07am PDT

Diljits amazing music

His music in the movie has already made his fans all the way more curious. The blockbuster artist is going to rock this one too. We are currently hooked to these songs from the movie:

Diljits fresh entertainment quotient

His august wit and enthusiasm for entertaining his fans is what makes him so special. We are keen to see the genre of humor that he infuses in this super hero character.

#SuperSingh Promotion Zaruri aa Putt aa... ? LOVE MY FANS? A post shared by Diljit Dosanjh (@diljitdosanjh) on May 11, 2017 at 9:46pm PDT

The super duo of Anurag Singh and Diljit

After the Jatt and Juliet series and Yaar Anmulle, our favorite Punjabi duo has teamed up again to make this fantabulous super hero film. As told by Diljit, he always wanted to act as super hero and now hes starring in one thats being helmed by an ace director.

#SuperSingh Promotion Zaruri aa Putt aa... ? LOVE MY FANS? A post shared by Diljit Dosanjh (@diljitdosanjh) on May 11, 2017 at 9:46pm PDT

The movie hits the screens this Friday and we know what our weekend plans are.
Overfishing is, in some sense, a rational reaction to increasing market needs for fish. Most people consume approximately twice as much fish as they did 50 years ago and there are four times as many people on earth as there were at the!-->
Alternate Foreign Minister Giorgos Katrougalos took part today in the European Conference on Defence and Security, in Prague. At the conference, which was held in the context of the wider dialogue on the Future of Europe, the President of the European Commission, Jean Claude Juncker, and the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, presented the European Commission's positions on Defence.



Mr. Katrougalos participated in the event's first panel and discussed the outlook for the EU's defence and foreign policy with France's new Armed Services Minister, Sylvie Goulard, and the Foreign Ministers of the Czech Republic, Lubomir Zaoralek, and Slovakia, Miroslav Lajcak.



The Alternate Foreign Minister stressed the need to strengthen the autonomy of the EU's defence policy, both to enhance its international role as a global player for stability and peace, and to meet European citizens' need for security and protection from the fear of all types of threats.



Mr. Katrougalos highlighted that European policies are interdependent and that the debate on the future of Europe cannot but put the need for the Union to become more democratic and social at centre stage.



Afterwards, Mr. Katrougalos had bilateral meetings with his counterparts, and tomorrow he will meet with entrepreneurs to strengthen bilateral economic relations with the Czech Republic.
Deputy Foreign Minister Ioannis Amanatidis met today, Friday, 9 June 2017, with Norwegian Foreign Affairs State Secretary Marit Berger Rsland.

During the meeting, which was carried out in a friendly and constructive atmosphere, they ascertained not only a shared outlook on a number of issues, but also the will to further deepen bilateral cooperation in the sector of cultural/educational diplomacy, which falls within the Deputy Minister's portfolio.

They agreed that the ongoing refugee crisis is a humanitarian challenge of unprecedented dimensions and, objectively speaking, cannot be managed by the countries on the EU's external borders if they do not receive the necessary European solidarity. The Norwegian State Secretary expressed her appreciation of the efforts Greece is making, and she was briefed by the Deputy Minister on the progress Greece has made on this critical issue over the past two years.

Mr. Amanatidis also underscored the need for the international community to work with resolve to deal with the root causes of the refugee flows as soon as possible, through creating conditions of peace and security in crisis hotspots. In this context, he set out in detail the international initiatives Greece is undertaking to promote a positive agenda in the wider region, bolster intercultural and interfaith dialogue, and protect religious minorities in the Middle East.
Winding up his visit to Tbilisi, Deputy Foreign Minister Terens Quick met with Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister David Jalagania.



The meeting confirmed that the very good political and diplomatic relations between the two countries create a favourable environment for enhancing bilateral cooperation in the business sector, as was agreed during Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias' recent official visit to Georgia, which was followed by the signing of a relevant protocol, ten days ago, at the 3rd meeting of the Greek-Georgian Joint Interministerial Committee, which took place in Athens.



Also assessed during the meeting were the results of the B2B meetings held in Tbilisi during Mr. Quick's visit, in the context of the 1st Greek-Georgian Business Forum, with the participation of the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV) and the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI). Results that the entrepreneurs themselves judged to be encouraging and very positive.



The two Deputy Foreign Ministers also briefed each other on foreign policy issues the two countries are dealing with, and there was an exchange of views on international developments, including the developments in the Gulf and the UK elections.



Also participating in the meeting, for the Greek side, were the charge d'affaires in Tbilisi, Nikos Piperigos, and the Director of the Deputy Foreign Minister's Diplomatic Cabinet, Maya Solomou.
Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias will meet with the Foreign Minister of Montenegro, Srdjan Darmanovic, at 11:30 on Tuesday, 13 June, at the Foreign Ministry.

Following their meeting, at about 13:00, the two Ministers will make joint statements to the press, after which Mr. Kotzias will host a working luncheon for his Montenegrin counterpart.
Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,



I am greatly honoured and pleased to be here on behalf of the Greek government to declare the opening of the 2nd international scientific symposium on the historical, linguistic and cultural tradition of Cappadocia. It is the very least we can do in recognition of the contribution the Greeks of Cappadocia have made through the centuries to Ecumenical Hellenism and culture.



Ladies and Gentlemen,



In the region of Central Anatolia, which has been called Cappadocia for 4,000 years now, the Greek presence was unbroken from ancient times and intrinsically linked to Christianity since the 1st century BC. The geographers Pausanias and Strabo, the pioneering surgeon of antiquity Aretaeus, the epic hero Digenes Akritas, the Emperors Nikephoros Phokas and John Tzimiskes, the Three Hierarchs, the Saints of our time, Arsenios and Paisios, as well as our great poets Cavafy and Seferis, hailed from Cappadocia.



With the Asia Minor catastrophe, the Cappadocians were uprooted from their ancestral homes  centuries-old hearths  and came to Greece, bringing not just memories of their adored homelands, but also customs and folkways, music and dances, flavours and traditions, priceless frames of reference and identity. This wealth makes up a unique mosaic and holds up Cappadocia as a "land of Culture," recognised by UNESCO in 1985 as a World Heritage Site.





Ladies and Gentlemen,



The rich legacy of the Cappadocian Greeks is and will remain vital. This legacy is particularly well known to those of us who come from Thessaloniki, because it was preserved thanks to the tireless efforts of the Cappadocians, a large number of whom found a new home in northern Greece.



The Foreign Ministry's General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad has put this conference under its auspices, not as a symbolic gesture, but as a manifestation of our respect for this centuries-old legacy, and I would like to state here, today, that, in the context of the Foreign Ministry's exercising of educational and cultural diplomacy, we are open to any initiative aimed at further promoting and enhancing our cultural capital, which promotes our country and also contributes to the peaceful coexistence and cooperation of peoples.



Ladies and Gentlemen,



The commitment shown by Cappadocian Greeks to the preservation of Greek and Christian identity was enviable, as strong as that of their forebears who tirelessly guarded the frontier. The Panhellenic Union of Cappadocian Associations is imbued with the same perception and the same values, and I would like to congratulate the Union publicly for this excellent event and declare its opening.



I wish you every success in your proceedings.



Thank you.
(File photo)

Chinas vow that its carbon emissions will peak by 2030 is totally different from building hundreds of additional coal plants, said Zhang Guobao, former vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, at a June 9 round table on energy and climate in Beijing.

U.S. President Donald Trump referenced China in the statement he gave upon withdrawing from the Paris climate accord, claiming that China is allowed to do whatever it wants for 13 years. Zhang responded that this statement illustrates a fundamental misunderstanding of the Paris agreement.

Zhang, also the former director of Chinas National Energy Administration, noted that China would never build hundreds of new coal plants, a point that has already been clearly explained and publicized. In fact, according to the National Energy Administration, the construction of 105 approved coal-fired power plants has already been halted. Zhang suggested that David Sandalow, the host of the round table and also the former acting undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, correct President Trump's misunderstanding.

The average lifespan of coal plants in the U.S. is 33 years, said Zhang, which means that many American plants are indeed outdated. Zhang cited his experience visiting a coal plant in Indiana, built in 1952 with seven units and a capacity of 400 MW, pointing out that such a plant would be considered very outmoded in China.

The coal consumption per kilowatt-hour in the U.S. is 400 grams, while the figure is 100 grams lower in China, Zhang remarked, recommending that the U.S. shut down high-consumption plants and update its technology.

Trump stressed in his statement that the Paris climate accord disadvantaged the U.S. and would have taken away from the countrys wealth, leaving American workers -- who I love -- and taxpayers to absorb the cost in terms of lost jobs, lower wages, shuttered factories and vastly diminished economic production.

However, both Zhang and Sandalow emphasized at the round table that the new-energy industry has become an important field for job creation in the U.S., and it should not be neglected by the president. According to Sandalow, a total of 250,000 people in the country are now working in the photovoltaic generation industry.

A report by the U.S. Department of Energy showed that 1.1 million people in the U.S. were engaged in traditional energy industries in 2016, while 0.8 million were in the low-carbon energy sector. Workers in solar energy and wind power respectively increased by 25 and 32 percent over the past year. In addition, wind turbine generation is now the fastest-growing industry in the U.S.
Students wait to buy dishes cooked by Fudan chefs in a cafeteria in Sichuan University.

Chinas Sichuan University and Fudan University recently organized a "chef exchange," offering the students on both campuses a chance to taste the authentic cuisine of a different region.

Fudan students were soon taken with the delicious dishes cooked by chefs from Sichuan University. The special dishes sold out immediately, and some teachers even queued up to try the "imported" cuisine. A total of 12 dishes were available during the chefs' residency at Fudan.

A dish made by a chef from Fudan University

Fudan University chefs also rolled out 12 local Shanghai dishes for students in Sichuan. One of the dishes was fried beef with cantaloupe. According to one of the chefs, it was an original dish created for Fudan University, and previously took home first place in a cooking competition. The chef said he was glad to cook for the students of Sichuan University, and it blew him away that he earned so many fans there.

An employee of the cafeteria in Sichuan said that she had never seen such a big crowd since she started working there three years ago. Students at both universities later joked that they had reached an agreement to keep each others chefs.
Camp Lejeune Town Halls Aim to Help Those Exposed to Toxic Water. Heres How You Can Go.

Retired Marine Master Sgt. Jerry Ensminger made it his mission to tell the world that if they lived or served on Camp Lejeune...
The U.S. Defense Department on Monday identified the American soldiers killed over the weekend in an apparent insider attack in Afghanistan.

The soldiers were identified as Sgt. Eric M. Houck, 25, of Baltimore, Maryland; Sgt. William M. Bays, 29 of Barstow, California; and Cpl. Dillon C. Baldridge, 22 of Youngsville, North Carolina, according to a press release.

They were assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 3rd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault); and Company D, 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, the release states.

Related content:

"Today, as we grieve, our thoughts and prayers are with the families of Cpl. Baldridge, Sgt. Houck and Sgt. Bays," Maj. Gen. Andrew Poppas, Commanding General of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and Fort Campbell, said in a separate statement.

In the days ahead, the 101st Soldiers and the Rakkasans will continue the fight against terrorism with unbridled determination," he added. "Our Soldiers are battle-hardened and committed to the defense of our nation and the freedoms for which we fight."

The 3rd BCT "Rakkasans" members died Saturday in Peka Valley, located in Nangarhar Province, of gunshot wounds in an incident that remains under investigation, the Pentagon said.

The Associated Press, citing information from Attahullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the provincial governor in Nangarhar, reported an Afghan soldier opened fire on the U.S. troops.

In addition to the three fatalities, a fourth American soldier was wounded and medically evacuated from the scene, the Pentagon said.

So far this year, six U.S. service members have been killed in combat in Afghanistan, all in Nangarhar in the eastern part of the country, according to statistics compiled by the website icasualties.org.

Multiple militant groups including the Taliban and an Islamic State of Iraq and Syria affiliate called Islamic State-Khorasan Province, or ISIS-K, are vying for control of parts of the restive province.

Baldridge and Bays were infantrymen in Company D, 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, according to the Army.

Baldridge was assigned as a squad leader who joined the Army in February 2013 and arrived at Fort Campbell in August 2016, the service said.

His awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal with three oak clusters, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, the NATO Medal and the Expert Infantryman Badge, according to the Army.

He was posthumously promoted to sergeant and earned the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, Combat Infantry Badge and the Army Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster for his end-of-tour awards, the service said.

Bays was assigned as a squad leader who joined the Army in August 2009 and arrived at Fort Campbell in August 2014, according to the Army.

His awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army NCO Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, the NATO Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Air Assault Badge and the Driver and Mechanic Badge, the service said.

Bays posthumously earned the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, Combat Infantry Badge and Army Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster for his end of tour awards, according to the Army.

Houck, meanwhile, was a forward observers in Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 3rd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, the service said. He was assigned as a Fire Support Sergeant who joined the Army in May 2013 and arrived at Fort Campbell in March 2016, it said.

His awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Army Superior Unit Award, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army NCO Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, the NATO Medal and the Air Assault Badge, according to the Army.

Houck posthumously earned the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, Combat Action Badge and Army Commendation Medal with a second oak leaf cluster for his end of tour awards, the service said.

-- Brendan McGarry can be reached at brendan.mcgarry@military.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Brendan_McGarry.
US citizens have so far made up the majority of foreign residents in Guangzhou to receive "talent green cards".

The city government has issued 68 cards to people from the United States since June 1, 2016, accounting for 5.88 percent of the total.

The cards give residents from abroad and other parts of China the same rights and services as locals, meaning they can buy property and cars, while their children can attend public school.

The program is aimed at attracting outside talent to support the southern city's economic development.

Along with the US citizens, residents from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan (37 each), Canada (15), Australia (11) also received talent green cards.

In total, the city has issued 1,560 cards, including 165 to people from 11 countries and regions, and 368 to residents from Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Shenzhen.
Ryan Stanton | ryanstanton@mlive.com

Who can afford to live in Ann Arbor?

As Washtenaw County - and the city of Ann Arbor in particular - continues to experience economic growth, more people are looking to move to the area and property values are nearing pre-recession levels. While that growth is positive, some city and state officials worry Washtenaw County's competitive housing market could leave working class families and millennials priced out of the area.

In case you missed it, The Ann Arbor News and MLive took a look at various factors affecting Washtenaw County's housing market in a couple of articles published Sunday, June 11.

Ann Arbor area's growth sends housing prices soaring

First time homebuyers navigate Ann Arbor's red hot housing market

Scroll down to see five key takeaways from that reporting.

Construction of a new 13-story apartment high-rise underway at 611 E. University Ave. in Ann Arbor's South U district on May 9, 2017.

Don't Edit

Hunter Dyke | The Ann Arbor News

1. Low inventory is driving up prices

In February, March and April, Washtenaw County saw fewer new residential listings than in the same timeframe in 2016. The number of new single-family residential listings posted in April is down 18 percent compared to the same time in 2016, according to the Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors.

Competition for the relatively few houses on the market is driving up prices. Washtenaw County's average residential sale price in April increased by 11.1 percent compared to a year ago.

Don't Edit

Matt Durr | mattdurr@mlive.com

2. Millennials, especially, are having a tough time competing

In April, 40 percent of residential listings sold above list price and 19 percent of listings sold at list price in Washtenaw County, according to the AAABOR.

Matt Miller, an associate broker with Charles Reinhart Realtors and immediate past president of the AABOA, said millennials - who tend to be first-time home buyers at this point - and other prospective buyers with smaller-percentage down payments are finding it hard to compete in multiple-offer situations.

Millennials also are the future of the workforce, said Paul Krutko, president and CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK, the economic development nonprofit that serves Washtenaw and Livingston counties. Krutko said its important for Ann Arbor to be a desirable place for millennials to live in the years ahead.

Author Richard Florida, who spoke about the "new urban crisis" at Ann Arbor SPARK's annual meeting in April, warned cities that grow quickly and achieve high venture capital activity like Ann Arbor can price out their middle class, which tends to be shrinking across the country anyway.

Blue Heron Pond condos on the corner of Liberty and Maple in Ann Arbor.

Don't Edit

Graph courtesy of Ann Arbor SPARK

3. Affordability is relative

While Washtenaw County's housing market is the least affordable in Michigan, it ranks the fifth most affordable when compared with 10 other cities across the country, according to a study commissioned by Ann Arbor SPARK.

People who move from the West Coast have found housing in Ann Arbor to be very reasonable, Krutko said, while people moving from areas with a lower cost of living experience some sticker shock.

Living in the City of Ann Arbor is the most expensive, but other areas of Washtenaw County offer a wider variety of price points. The average sale price of single-family homes sold from January to April 2017 in the City of Ann Arbor is $435,249. County-wide, the average sale price is $292,041.

The graph is from Ann Arbor SPARK's 2017 benchmarking study. Housing affordability is ranked by the city's median income compared to median home value.

Don't Edit

Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

4. State officials suggest ways to prevent socioeconomic segregation

The five state lawmakers who represent Washtenaw County discussed housing affordability at a legislative forum on May 22. To address economic inequality and segregation within Washtenaw County, the lawmakers suggested giving city governments more authority to require developers to include a certain amount of affordable housing or offering more tax breaks for developers who commit to affordable housing.

From left, state Sen. Rebekah Warren and Reps. Adam Zemke, Donna Lasinski, Yousef Rabhi and Ronnie Peterson at a legislative forum at Eastern Michigan University on May 22, 2017.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Hunter Dyke | hdyke@mlive.com

5. Location, type of housing can improve affordability

Often, people exchange commute time for more affordable housing, Krutko noted. Placing dense housing developments - like condos - along public transit routes gives people more convenient options to live outside the city and commute to downtown Ann Arbor for work.

Developers should consider lifestyle and price point preferences when trying to attract residents to new housing, he said.

The living room of a condo at 121 Kingsley West in downtown Ann Arbor is seen on Friday, April 21, 2017.

Don't Edit

The Ann Arbor News file

More on Michigan's real estate market

Ann Arbor has state's highest assessed property value in 2016

Is a state-level solution needed for affordable housing in Ann Arbor?

Study ranks Ann Arbor housing affordability, venture capital spending

35 of the hottest housing markets in Michigan
DEXTER, MI - Dexter High School celebrated commencement for the Class of 2017 on Sunday, June 11 at the high school.

There were 294 graduating seniors who accepted their diplomas, and five students spoke at the ceremony: Caroline Burdick, National Honor Society president, gave the welcome message; Olivia Seta gave a speech titled, "As One Journey Closes"; Alexander Snow gave a speech titled "Wake Up and Dream"; Sydney Korte gave a speech titled "You Can't Google Life"; and Joao Gehrt de Brito, an international student from Brazil, gave a speech titled "Home is Not a Place."

Keith Hafner, a representative from the Dexter Alumni Association, also spoke during the ceremony. The DHS band and chamber choice performed.

Dexter's Class of 2017 chose "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus, and their motto is a Dr. Seuss quote: "Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory."
File photo | MLive

An interview with U.S. Sen. Gary Peters

U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Michigan, sat down with The Ann Arbor News/MLive on Friday, June 9, to talk about a wide range of issues, including everything from federal immigration enforcement to self-driving cars.

He also shared his thoughts on some Ann Arbor-specific topics, including what to do about a toxic chemical plume spreading through the areas groundwater and the citys chances of getting federal funding for a new train station in the Trump era.

He also talked about former FBI Director James Comeys recent testimony and the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.

Continue reading to hear what the senator had to say and why he thinks Michigan should be at the center of the autonomous vehicle revolution.

(Photo: Peters speaks with MLive in October 2014.)

Don't Edit

File photo | The Ann Arbor News

Immigration enforcement in Ann Arbor area

Peters said he's familiar with recent immigration enforcement actions in the Ann Arbor area, including the arrest of employees at Sava's Restaurant by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

I work on these issues quite a bit, Peters said. Im a member of the Homeland Security Committee, so these are issues that are front and center. I do a lot of immigration work within our office, too, and actually let folks know if they have immigration issues I have two members of my staff who thats all they do basically is work on immigration issues. We just help facilitate going through the legal process. Were not immigration attorneys, but we can be helpful.

Peters said his concern is there are limited resources for enforcement and they should be focused on criminals who pose a threat.

Those limited resources should be focused on people who were afraid of and who are engaged in violent criminal activity or serious criminal activity, as opposed to, particularly in this case, where they just went into the kitchen, and my understanding is they were looking for somebody else who wasnt there and then they just started asking for papers, he said of the Savas arrests.

(Photo: Sava's employees work on the line in the kitchen of the Ann Arbor restaurant after ICE agents came through on May 24, 2017.)

Don't Edit

Cracking down on 'sanctuary cities'

Peters said there are some in Washington, including President Donald Trump, who want to see more aggressive immigration enforcement and a crackdown on so-called "sanctuary cities" such as Ann Arbor that aren't interested in cooperating with the feds on immigration enforcement.

He said the push to penalize those cities by proposing taking away Homeland Security grants and taking away resources and equipment for local law enforcement and first responders isnt the way to go.

To me, Homeland Security grants should be based on the level of threat that a particular community may face from a Homeland Security perspective, not whether or not their local officials are enforcing federal immigration, he said.

Don't Edit

Emily Rose Bennett | MLive

Immigration reform and challenges with work visas

Comprehensively we need to look at it, Peters said when asked what federal immigration reforms hed like to see. But I mean, we have have issues in just getting some work visas as well. Its a big problem in the agricultural community here in Michigan that they simply cant get the workers they need.

Whenever Im with an ag group, its usually the first issue they bring up. They just want a process that people can come here and work and go back as they have, and do it in an organized way, and make sure the laws are being followed. But its clamped down so much, they cant get people.

Peters said its a problem particularly throughout parts of Michigan where theres a big need for seasonal workers.

I mean, when Im up in Traverse City in particular, its all I hear, but its also related to other workers, too, he said.

I just had the folks from Mackinac Island in my office a couple weeks ago. They dont have enough people working on Mackinac and they cant find it. They work to get people down in Michigan. They do job fairs. They will bus folks up, theyll put them up in housing, all that. They still dont have enough people to work in the restaurants and the hotels  and its because they havent been able to get the kind of visas that theyve been able to get in the past.

(Photo: Peters speaks with reporters during a tour of Grand Valley State University's School of Engineering on Feb. 17, 2015.)

Don't Edit

'It's becoming pretty difficult for them'

Peters said there are challenges related to H-1B visas that allows U.S. companies to temporarily employ foreign workers in speciality occupations.

He said its creating difficulties for employers in places such as Ann Arbor that are looking for people with certain technical and engineering skills.

Its becoming pretty difficult for them, he said. So I think its important that we look at some of those practical concerns.

Peters said allowing those jobs to be filled by foreign workers doesnt take away jobs from Americans. He said it just helps address shortages and ensures employers have the people they need to get the job done.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Ryan Stanton | ryanstanton@mlive.com

'Pretty outrageous contamination'

"I'd like to see that happen," Peters said of having the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency oversee a federal Superfund cleanup of the Gelman dioxane plume spreading through the Ann Arbor area's groundwater. "We've written letters to that effect, and my staff works regularly with community members, so it's definitely something that we're constantly working on. So hopefully they'll designate that as a Superfund site, which would be helpful."

The EPA indicated in early February it was reviewing the situation and would make a determination by November.

I know theres a parallel track about some litigation as well, and some of the local communities want to pursue that and think that may be a quicker route, and Id certainly encourage that route to continue to go forward because thats true, Peters said. But, you know, this is pretty outrageous contamination that should qualify as a Superfund site and were going to keep pressing that issue.

(Photo: A map of the Gelman dioxane plume on display at the Mayors Green Fair in downtown Ann Arbor on June 9, 2017. The map was produced by Roger Rayle.)

Don't Edit

Ryan Stanton | ryanstanton@mlive.com

Funding a new Amtrak station in Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor is making plans for a new train station, which is expected to cost tens of millions of dollars, and the city is hoping the federal government will fund most of it. Peters said it's hard to say whether that will happen in the Trump era.

Its hard to answer that because we dont know exactly what to expect from the Trump administration, he said. You would think that would be part of a major infrastructure package as an important piece of that. But as youre well aware, Trump talks about infrastructure  just recently he was down in Ohio talking about it, and he talked about it in his campaign  but we havent actually seen any kind of concrete plans in terms of where those are.

I certainly am a big booster for, I say, the Pontiac-to-Chicago line, as it starts up in Pontiac and runs through Ann Arbor. That should be one of our key infrastructure projects here for Michigan, and its transformative. And eventually Id love to have a high-speed rail.

(Photo: Ann Arbor's existing Amtrak station on Depot Street on June 6, 2017.)

Don't Edit

High-speed rail from Chicago to Toronto

Peters said he actually would like to see high-speed rail all the way from Chicago to Toronto, stopping through Ann Arbor. He said it would be one of the most transformative infrastructure projects for the region.

He said hes been working on issues related to customs, as it would have to go across an international border.

Having state-of-the-art stations is important, he added. I was actually instrumental in getting funding for the Troy transit center, which is an Amtrak station, when I was the congressman representing the city of Troy, so I think its important to have that kind of infrastructure along the line.

Well be working (with Ann Arbor). Any way we can be helpful to the city, were going to be helpful to them.

Peters said there arent earmarks anymore, so its a whole different process now to secure funding. Though, he said, hes heard from some in Congress that earmarks could come back.

Don't Edit

File photo | The Ann Arbor News

Climate change and electric, self-driving cars

Peters maintains it was irresponsible for Trump to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate accord.

He said that puts the U.S. in a category with two other countries that did not sign the agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: Nicaragua and Syria.

Basically Syria, which is a dysfunctional country led by a war criminal, thats who we are with on that issue, he said.

As for what Michigan can still do to reduce pollution and do its part to mitigate the effects of climate change, Peters said the state needs to move to more sustainable energy sources. He said theres already good work being done in the area of wind and solar, and a shift away from coal plants to natural gas.

Were doing good work here in Michigan. Weve got to keep doing that, he said. But I think longterm, the thing that Im really excited about, too, is the electrification of the automobile fleet.

"And how that's going to happen  and Michigan is going to be a key player in it  is the advent of autonomous, self-driving vehicles. And I've done a lot of work to get Willow Run, for example, designated as a national test facility for that."

(Photo: From left to right, U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, Gov. Rick Snyder, President and CEO of The American Center for Mobility John Maddox and CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. Steve Arwood break ground for The American Center for Mobility on Nov. 21, 2016, at the Willow Run site in Ypsilanti Township.)

Don't Edit

File photo | The Ann Arbor News

'Michigan needs to be the center of that'

You know, were on the verge of the most transformative technology for autos since the first car came off of the assembly line, Peters said.

Peters said the fact that self-driving cars are ideally electric, as its easier for computers to drive electric vehicles, is an important aspect.

Youre going to see a movement to electric separate from an environmental debate, separate from what the cost of gasoline is, he said. Its just from a technological standpoint.

Were going to see a transformation of the fleet with autonomous vehicles, and I believe Michigan needs to be the center of that. I think thats where Michigan will be a true leader is in transforming transportation and mobility.

Peters said hes working with Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, who is the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, on some legislation in this area, including rewriting federal regulations to accommodate self-driving vehicles without steering wheels and brake pedals.

The human being is out of it. Its a whole new paradigm. So we are thinking that through, he said.

(Photo: Industry sponsors, including Hitachi's Smart ADAS sensor system, displayed their technology at the Mcity Test Facility open house on the University of Michigan's North Campus in Ann Arbor on May 5, 2016.)

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

'This is probably the moon shot for AI'

Peters, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said hes also doing work in the area of defense.

Were also a leader in Michigan when it comes to research in autonomy, which is going to transform the face of warfare in the next 10 years, and Michigan is just at the center of all of this. Its really pretty exciting, he said.

Its kind of like when you think about the auto industry with the assembly line and how that changed the world, he continued. It created the American middle class. It changed how we design cities. Just go through all of the things that the automobile did in the early 1900s to really set the direction of our country.

We are in that same kind of mode now at the beginning of the 21st century and its going to be in the automobile again.

Peters said the key for self-driving automobiles to be able to navigate through a complex environment is artificial intelligence.

In fact, this is probably the moon shot for AI, he said. When AI is able to take a car through a streetlight in downtown Ann Arbor safely, that means AI has developed to the point where it can be in medicine and 3D printing and synthetic biology. I mean, itll transform  every single industry.

And to think its going to happen in Michigan, just like back in the early 1900s, were in an exciting place right now.

Don't Edit

File photo | The Ann Arbor News

Potential closure of EPA lab in Ann Arbor

Peters said hes been very aggressive in pushing back against Trumps proposed cuts to the EPA, cuts that some argue threaten to shutter the national vehicle emissions lab in Ann Arbor.

We have to stay focused on it, Peters said. I think well be able to keep that open, and also the regional office in Chicago.

These are sub-pieces of significant cuts to the EPA that we were able to protect through the end of September, and hopefully well be able to continue to go forward, but Im cautiously optimistic thatll happen.

(Photo: The EPA's National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory on Plymouth Road in Ann Arbor on May 8, 2017.)

Don't Edit

Courtesy of U.S. EPA

Great Lakes funding

Peters said he thinks the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is going to be spared from cuts proposed by Donald Trump.

But we have to be vigilant. We were able to do that this last budget that went through, and basically it was preserved through the end of September, he said.

Its always received strong bipartisan support. Its never been a contentious issue. And thats whats so frustrating about it is that this is something you shouldnt have to keep fighting about.

While it looks like a regional issue, Peters said, protecting the Great Lakes has been supported by people all across the country.

He noted he was able to get legislation passed last year that includes stricter regulations for oil pipelines in the Great Lakes.

Its not easy to get through increased regulation in the current Congress  and I got nearly unanimous support for it, he said. And thats because Im finding my colleagues understand that the Great Lakes is is not a regional resource. Its really a national resource, and we all have to be concerned about it.

So I think that bodes well, but folks have to continue to be active. We can never let our guard down, because its showing up in the Trump budget.

(Photo: A map showing Great Lakes Restoration Initiative projects from 2010 to 2015. The grant program funds pollution cleanup and habitat restoration projects in the eight Great Lakes states.)

Don't Edit

The Associated Press

Former FBI Director James Comey

Peters said what former FBI Director James Comey had to say during testimony before Congress raises serious issues, with Trump allegedly asking Comey to drop the investigation into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.

I think he certainly presented himself as a very credible witness, but continued to raise in a personal way some very troubling issues in terms of how the president acted, Peters said of Comeys testimony. And the fact that youve got an FBI director who believes he cant trust the president whos going to lie  thats why he took very detailed notes as a result of that.

Peters said hes comforted that former FBI Director Robert Mueller has been appointed by the Justice Department as special counsel to oversee the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.

I think Mr. Mueller is a man of integrity, he said. I dont know him personally, but I think he will get to the bottom of it.

And certainly theres a big spotlight on him. Hes had a very long and highly acclaimed career. Hes going to make sure this is done properly.

(Photo: Former FBI director James Comey recounts a series of conversations with President Donald Trump as he testifies before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on June 8, 2017.

Don't Edit

File photo | The Ann Arbor News

'The Russians need to pay a bigger price'

Peters said another important part of Comeys testimony was about the seriousness of Russian involvement in the 2016 election.

And this is not question, he said. All 17 intelligence agencies, the information is out: The Russians were involved in the election in an unprecedented way and have a foreign power engaged in not just the email hacks. This is concerted efforts on social media, huge teams of folks in Russia trying to manipulate social media and the news that was being put out. I mean, this is a significant issue and a big deal that we have to investigate.

"I think the Russians need to pay a bigger price than they've paid so far. I support enhanced Russian sanctions against them. They need to know there's a price you pay for trying to meddle in U.S. elections."



(Photo: Peters with President Barack Obama at Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti Township on April 2, 2014.)

Don't Edit
(Xinhua) 20:58, June 12, 2017

YANGON, June 12 -- The search for victims aboard a crashed Myanmar military plane entered the 5th day on Monday when a total of 81 bodies had been recovered, the Office of the Defense Services said.

The latest five bodies were recovered along the Maungmakan beach area off the southern coast of Tanintharyi.

Search operations for the crashed Myanmar military plane continued on Monday with nine naval vessels, five aircraft and two helicopters of the Air Force as well as local vessels.

With 122 people on board, including 108 military personnel and their family members and 14 crew members, the transport plane of the Myanmar Air Force lost contact with the ground shortly after taking off from Myeik on Wednesday.

The cause of the tragedy was still under investigation.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 12

By Seba Aghayeva  Trend:

The document on the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict remains the same, said Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.

He made the remarks at a joint press conference with his Estonian counterpart Sven Mikser in Baku June 12.

Mammadyarov said that work was carried out on this document at the level of presidents of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia during a joint meeting in St. Petersburg and at the moment, it is the main one on the negotiations table.

The Azerbaijani minister noted that during the meeting with his Russian and Armenian counterparts in Moscow on April 29, he discussed the issues of progress of the negotiation process.

Commenting on the upcoming visit of OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs to the region, Mammadyarov said that he cant say with what proposals the co-chairs will visit Baku.

According to him, currently, the mediators of the negotiation process are in Armenia.

We will wait with what they will come from Armenia to Baku, said the minister.

He emphasized that Azerbaijan supports the beginning of substantive talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Azerbaijans position remains unchanged, noted Mammadyarov.

The status quo should be changed, since everyone knows what the consequences might be while maintaining it, added the Azerbaijani minister.

OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs will arrive in Azerbaijan on June 19.

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 12

By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:

The EU-Azerbaijan cooperation on combating human trafficking is extremely important, said Head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan Malena Mard.



She made the remarks during the kick-off event for the "Enhancement of national capacities to combat human trafficking in Azerbaijan" project in Baku June 12.



"The project targets serious form of organized crime on trafficking in human beings," said Mard. "Trafficking of human beings is expressively prohibited in the EU. Addressing trafficking means upholding fundamental rights."



It is a crime that takes the advantage of vulnerable people, she said, adding that combating trafficking is an overall priority for the EU.



Mard pointed out that trafficking of human beings is an integral part of the European agenda on migration and also of the European agenda on security.



"We have developed a coherent and coordinated legal policy framework to address trafficking in human beings," she said. "Unfortunately, in some parts of the world, we see this type of crime rising up. That's why, cooperation in this field is very important."



Mard noted that the EU is very proud to work together with Azerbaijani government on this issue.



Further, she said that there is an umbrella EU project called "Consolidation of migration and border management capacities in Azerbaijan".



"Within this project, we have taken a number of measures. We have reviewed counter-trafficking mechanism in Azerbaijan," she added.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 12



By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:



Cancellation of the visa regime between Azerbaijan and the European Union (EU) is a matter of future, Azerbaijan's deputy foreign minister Mahmud Mammad-Guliyev told reporters June 12.



"Currently, we are at the stage of visa facilitation. Cancellation of the visa regime is a matter of future. First of all, we should implement the new agreement on strategic partnership and get its positive results. Then an action plan should be worked out between the EU and Azerbaijan with the purpose of establishing a visa-free regime," he added.

He noted that a meeting of the Steering Committee will be held next month on visa facilitation and readmission agreements between the EU and Azerbaijan. It is possible to achieve some progress in this meeting and then to discuss the visa cancellation issue, according to Mammad-Guliyev.

Regarding the new strategic partnership agreement, the deputy foreign minister said he doesn't believe that the talks on this agreement will be completed by November this year.

There can be some difficulties on agreeing on such matters as trade and policy. We will try to overcome these difficulties, he added.

The European Council adopted a mandate for the European Commission and the high representative for foreign affairs and security policy to negotiate, on behalf of the EU and its member states, a comprehensive agreement with Azerbaijan in November 2016.



The new agreement should replace the 1996 partnership and cooperation agreement and should better take account of the shared objectives and challenges the EU and Azerbaijan face today.



The agreement will follow the principles endorsed in the 2015 review of the European Neighborhood Policy and offer a renewed basis for political dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Nagpur: Police detain NCP farmers during a protest as part of their Maharashtra bandh over various demands, in Nagpur on Monday. PTI Photo (PTI6_5_2017_000249B)

Since the beginning of June, both Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh farmers have been protesting to grab their state governments' attention and primarily demanding farm loan waivers.

But the two governments have very different approaches to deal with the respective situation.

MAHARASHTRA

The Maharashtra farmers called off their eleven-day long protest on Sunday as the BJP-led state government announced a farm-loan waiver.

The government will form a high-level committee to decide the criteria of debt relief and implement the scheme. State Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil told PTI that rich farmers were probably going to be excluded from the loan waive.

He claimed that leaders of the farmer agitations had agreed with the proposition since poor farmers need the benefit the most.

The committee will review the criteria to write-off debt of farmers with more than 5 acres of land, Hindustan Times reported.

Reacting to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis decision, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that states keen on farm loan waiver must generate funds from their own resources.

Background:

On June 1, farmers from a village in Ahmednagar district went on strike and many farmers in other parts of the state followed their example and stopped supplying vegetable and dairy produce to Mumbai.

Their demand is for implementation of the Swaminathan Committee, especially its proposition of a higher minimum support priceat which government buys farm produce. They also demanded a blanket loan waiver and pension for senior farmers older than 60 years.

The loan-waiver announcement came following the farmers giving a 48-hour ultimatum to the government for holding talks. Although Fadnavis had earlier held talks, the farmers continued protesting when they got to know that some of their representatives in the meeting were close to BJP.

MADHYA PRADESH

Breaking his day-long fast on Sunday, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that those involved in the shooting of five farmers in Mandsaur would be punished.

On Saturday--the starting day of the fast the last day of the 10-day farmers strike --the CM met delegation teams of farmers on the issue of farm loan waiver and low prices of produce. But he has only given green signal to act on the latter issue.

Though the CM has not granted a loan waiver, he declared buying of farm produce at lower than MSP to be criminal.

Same day, state agricultural minister Gauri Shankar Bisen said that it was not plausible to waive farm loans as the government was already giving farm loans at zero interest.

Chouhan has also announced a series welfare schemes for MP farmers. The list includes mandatory buying of crops at Minimum Support Price, facility to avail systematic way of determining milk price, founding more farmers markets, land acquisition only with farmer's consent, etc.

Background:

Chouhan had started the fast to restore peace among farmers who were agitating since June 1 over low prices of their produce in the state. Things turned violent when five farmers were killed in police firing in the heartland of the protests at Mandsaur district on June 6.

Some protesters allegedly torched four passenger buses along with other vehicles on the highway in Dewas district a day after the Mandsaur firing.

The agitation also ceased train services in western parts of the state and important routes like the Bhopal-Indore and Indore- Ahmedabad highways were also blockaded by protesters.

In the curfew-bound Mandsaur, internet services withdrawn since June 5, was resumed on Monday. Social media was held responsible for spreading of the farmers movement throughout and beyond Mandsaur. The district still remains under CRPC 144 prohibiting assembly of more than four persons.

With inputs from PTI.
live bse live

nse live Volume Todays L/H More 

A meeting of Board of Directors of the company was held at the registered office of the company at L-5, B- ll, Krishna Marg, C-Scheme, Jaipur, on Monday, 12th June, 2017 at 12:30 p.m. Concluded at 3:15 p.m. interalia to receive, consider and take on record the following:1.Allotment of 50,00,000 equity shares to Promoter/ Promoter Group and Non Promoters on Preferential Allotment basis @ Rs. 13.50/- per share.Source : BSE
live bse live

nse live Volume Todays L/H More 

This is to inform you, that the JM Financial Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd. has filed case against the Company under Section 19(4) of the Recovery of debts due to Bank and Financial Institution Act, 1993 for recovery of their debt.The Company is in negotiation with Secured Debtors i.e. JM Financial Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd. and Bank of Baroda for amicable settlement of the debts.Source : BSE
Rahul Shah of Motilal Oswal told CNBC-TV18, "I think NBFCs has been the star of last couple of weeks and particularly in that space it is housing finance. So, in that particular space, I like Can Fin Homes. The stock has done quite well, almost near to its all-time high and stock slowly and steadily is doing quite well. So technically as well as in F&O space, I feel that a lot of longs have added. So, I think in the near term, the stock can do better. So, I would go long on Can Fin Homes with a stop loss of Rs 2,940 and target of Rs 3,150."

"Post this farm loan thing, you have seen PSU banks slowly and steadily on a negative side and we have seen longs unwinding happening in most of the largecap PSU banks. So, short in that space is Bank of Baroda with a stop loss of Rs 175 and target of Rs 158," he said.

"Third is buy on Godrej Industries . This stock again is near to its 52-week high and showing strength. Unless it breaks Rs 605, I think one will see some kind of longs getting unwind, before that I dont think so. So, we would go long on Godrej Industry with a stop loss of Rs 605 and target of Rs 645," he said.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 12

Trend:

Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met with Australias Minister for International Development and the Pacific Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry said in a message June 12.

During the meeting, the parties expressed satisfaction with the development of bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Australia and the recent growth of mutual visits.

Noting that the 25th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries is marked in 2017, the two ministers emphasized the importance of expanding contractual and legal base and developing economic ties for further development of bilateral relations.

Concetta Fierravanti-Wells expressed satisfaction that she is the first Australian minister who visited Azerbaijan, and also noted that a delegation of Australian businessmen will visit Azerbaijan in October 2017.

Giving information about the talks being held on the settlement of Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Mammadyarov said that the conflict must be resolved in line with the UN Security Council resolutions on the basis of sovereignty and territorial integrity within the internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan.

The Australian minister said that her country supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

The two sides also noted the importance of parliamentary diplomacy in bilateral relations, and expressed satisfaction with the activities of the Australia-Azerbaijan inter-parliamentary group.

The two ministers also exchanged views on development of cooperation in the spheres of shipbuilding, agriculture, tourism and on demining territories between Azerbaijan and Australia.
Ashwani Gujral of ashwanigujral.com told CNBC-TV18, "TVS Motor Company is a buy with a stop loss of Rs 550 and target of Rs 575. Indiabulls Housing Finance is a buy with a stop loss of Rs 1,150 and target of Rs 1,200. Apollo Tyres is also a buy with a stop loss of Rs 255 and target of Rs 270."

Natco Pharma had a vertical run and things dont go up like that. I would think that on corrections, this is one of the pharmaceutical stocks should be bought because it is trading at new highs while the rest of the sector is at new lows. Maybe not today, but maybe at lower levels around Rs 950 thereabouts you could look at Natco Pharma," he added.
With debt-ridden Air Indias future hanging in the balance, its employees are trying to cut costs in the smallest ways including taking salad off the menu and fewer in-flight magazines.

In a recent internal mail accessed by The Times of India, a senior Air India official informed top management that a cabin crew member had told him that only 20 percent of the economy passengers eat salad on international flights and so it made sense to do away with the item. The employees also suggested the airline carry fewer magazines.

It may seem trivial but it is part of the resolve to reduce weight and remember the well-known saying that drops make an ocean, the mail reads.

A lighter plane burns lesser fuel, thereby saving on costs.

We have a few months to prove ourselves. Friends, Let us all resolve to increase revenues and decrease costs in a war like manner, the mail goes on to add.

Air India has become a bottomless pit with thousands of crores of taxpayers money going into keeping the highly unionised airline afloat in the competitive sector.

The national carrier has a debt of around Rs 55,000 crore which it has been unsuccessfully trying to restructure.

Voices from the government in the recent weeks indicate that a decision on Air India is imminent.

Even as the government mulls privatising Air India, policy think-tank Niti Aayog terms the process "very, very difficult".

Moreover, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju has said it would be difficult to find a bakra to takeover Air India.

The last time a debt-ridden carrier folded up was in 2012  Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher Airlines shut down after amassing huge debt.
State Bank of India (SBI)

live bse live

nse live Volume Todays L/H More 

Moneycontrol News:

Indias largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has expressed concerns that demonetisation may adversely affect its business and slow down the economy.

On November 9 2016, the government had deemed the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 banknotes null and void, issuing new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 currency notes in its place. SBI told institutional investors, prior to its Rs 15,000 crore share sale through a private placement, that the long-term impact of this move on the Indian economy and the banking sector is uncertain.

"The move would adversely affect the banks business, results of operations and financial condition," the bank said in the Preliminary Placement Document to investors while flagging the risk factors.

Demonetisation has and may continue to result in a slowing down of the Indian economy, which may adversely affect the Banks business, it said.

Post-demonetisation, there has been a surge in the Current Accounts Savings Accounts (CASA) deposits of banks. As per a RBI report, the sharp increase in the share of CASA in aggregate deposits by 4.10 percent to 39.30 percent (as of 17 February 2017) and ensuing reduction in cost of aggregate deposits has caused banks to lower their term deposit rates.

As a result, the bank may face increased competition from commercial banks and other lending institutions which may have an adverse effect on the net interest margin and other income. If the bank is unable to compete successfully, its profitability may decline, it said.

The move could also result in an increase in compliance costs and higher incidents of fraud. Any one or more of these events, if and when they occur, could have a material effect on the banks business, results of operations, financial conditions as well as reputation, the document said.

SBI has got into the heavyweight category as one of the top 50 global banks post its merger with five associate banks and one Bharatiya Mahila Bank. The bank's balance sheet size is Rs 33 lakh crore and it has 24,017 branches and 59,263 ATMs servicing over 42 crore customers.
Have a long-term outlook | Timing investment is logically impossible because the best entry and exit opportunities are known only in hindsight. No one can predict market movements with certainty. Therefore, it is important to allow your investments to compound over a long term.

There is significant potential for cross border investments to India and China as large and medium sized US firms plan to incrementally invest in these Asian economies than in Western Europe, says an UBS report.

According to the UBS Evidence Lab USA C-Suite survey within emerging Asia, China is the preferred economy, as 40 per cent of larger companies surveyed expressed a likelihood of incremental investment over the next year, while over a quarter of larger companies expressed an intention to invest in India.

The survey of 500 corporate leaders in March-April 2017 included questions on where in the globe their corporates might invest incrementally on average, noted that a greater share of larger and medium sized firms plan to incrementally invest in China and India than in Western Europe.

"...the preferences shown by larger US companies in the UBS Evidence Lab USA C Suite survey for India, combined with the relative economic weight of that economy and the low share of the US FDI stock support the case for currency supporting capital inflows," it noted.

The report further said the US FDI is heavily biased towards Western Europe, and China and India host just 2 per cent of total.

"This suggests potential for cross-border flows in support of these Asian currencies. We believe the rupee will be supported on the basis of solid FDI flows," the UBS report said.
Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures as he addresses a gathering during a conference of start-up businesses in New Delhi, India, January 16, 2016. Indian Prime Minister Modi launched a number of initiatives on Saturday to support the country's start-ups, including a 100 billion rupee ($1.5 billion) fund and a string of tax breaks for both the companies and their investors. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi - RTX22ONI

The Narendra Modi led-National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government which was voted to power in 2014 with a set of magnanimous promises, has completed three years in office.

One of the key promises in Modis election manifesto was to create jobs.

However, according to a CRISIL report released last month, India is about to encounter a job crisis as the number of people entering the employment field (demographic dividend) is increasing exponentially.

It estimates that about 100 million people would be added to the working age population by 2025, a number which will be difficult to handle. The report also says that not enough policies have been crafted to tackle the situation.

According to the Economic Survey of 2016-17, the demographic dividend is predicted to peak steadily, but is expected to last longer than most other countries.

If among the 100 million people added, only 50 percent of the population look for jobs, there will still be 50 million people looking for jobs which will be almost equal to the population of Spain.

The unemployment rate for 2015-16 stood at 5 percent in India which is almost the same as the 4.9 percent during 2013-14 when the UPA government was in power.

Data of the last quarter show that 83,000 jobs were added in the manufacturing sector, 7,000 in the trade sector, 1,000 in the transport sector, 12,000 in the IT/BPO sector, 18,000 in the education and health sector but the construction sector received a blow as jobs got crunched by a thousand.

The report predicts that the upcoming job crisis could affect the governments objective of an equitable growth, as depicted in the Economic Survey which mentions lethargic growth in 2016-17.

The government is battling the problem by allocating more funds to high employment generating sectors. Currently, the quarterly report discloses that the manufacturing sector is the highest at 49.3 percent of employment generation, followed by education (24.35 percent), trade (7.04 percent), health (5.87 percent), IT/BPO (5.05 percent), Accomodation/Restaurant (3.77 percent), transport (2.83 percent) and construction (1.79 percent).

Also, the government is trying to generate low-skilled jobs in the rural sector. Budgetary allocation of MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) has seen an average increase of 10 percent while the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana witnessed 40 percent increase.

The reasons for the coming job crisis has been cited as insufficient low-skilled job opportunities outside agriculture, the threat of automation replacing human-skills in sectors such as textiles, food-processing, Information technology and IT enabled services.

The government has backed sectors of affordable housing, tourism, construction with a considerable boost to the Make in India initiative apart from increasing budgetary allocations to these sectors in the Union budget of 2017.

It has also introduced the scheme of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) which aims to provide skill-training to individuals. With a budgetary allocation of Rs 10,000 crore, the PMKVY has set up training centres across states to provide industry jobs, apart from providing certificates to individuals with prior learning.

The scheme funded by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) has not shown great results, according to a Hindustan Times report. It says that the scheme that was implemented on July 2015 has seen a 5 percent placement rate as on June 2016. After filing a RTI, NSDC revealed that only 82,183 individuals got jobs out of the 7.07 lakh students who enrolled in the scheme.

The CRISIL report predicts that a lot of work is needed in the labour-intensive sectors of education and health which would also ensure a higher ranking for India in the UN Human Developmental Index.

Apart from the local factors in India, major international developments have also impacted the employment situation. US President Donald Trump who assumed office on January 2017 clearly took a protectionist stance on trade policies in America.

With the slogan of Buy American. Hire American, Trump has set a precedent for manufacturing goods within the boundary and minimising outsourcing of cheap labour.

The Indian IT sector which is heavily dependent on Americas outsourcing policies has suffered, as Trump has already taken steps for stricter enforcement of H1B visas. The proposed changes in the non-immigrant employment visa include doubling the minimum salary to USD 130,000.

According to a LiveMint report, the number of H1B visas received by seven major India-based outsourcing companies have dropped by 37 percent in 2016.

Further, UKs exit from the European Union will also have a trickle-down effect on the Indian Economy. The IT and ITeS sectors, with a 14 percent dependence on UK business are about to face 3-8 percent cut in profit, as predicted by experts.

Thus, employment generation is a matter of grave concern for the Modi government when it steps into its third year. With unfavourable geopolitical factors and the lack of local skilled labour, a demographic nightmare seems plausible.
live bse live

nse live Volume Todays L/H More 

The mines ministry today said it has no plans to cap the prices of iron ore as there is no shortage of the key steel-making raw material. It also said the country is looking at expanding the iron ore production and that will take care of market dynamics.

"There is no shortage of iron ore and at present there is no thinking in the mines ministry of capping of iron ore prices," Mines Secretary Arun Kumar said at a press conference here. "Mines of ministry does not have a plan of fixation for iron ore prices. They (Mines Ministry) are the administrative ministry," Kumar said.

NMDC is the countrys single-largest iron ore producer. "It's an open market. Our approach in this whole thing is that we want to expand the iron ore production and that itself will take care of market dynamics," said Piyush Goyal, the minister of state for power, coal, new and renewable energy and mines said.

He was addressing the media on the achievements of this ministries in the last three years. Kumar said that the country produced 129 MT of iron ore in 2014-15, 156 MT in 2015-2016 and 192 MT in 2016-17.

"The iron ore production has been going up. We are focusing on that. In the last two-three years we have gone up from 129 million tonnes to 156 MT to 192 MT in the last year (fiscal)," he said.

"Our's (iron ore) is growing by 22 per cent and the steel is growing by 8 per cent. So where is the shortage?," he questioned. The government had earlier formed a panel under the chairmanship of additional secretary steel on iron pricing. The panel also has members from ministries like coal and mines.

An official on the conditions of anonymity said that mines ministry has recently given its view to the steel ministry that there was no necessity at this time to control price of iron ore. The mines ministry, the official said, has also cited reasons for the same.

"We have given our view that there is no necessity at this time (for controlling the prices of iron ore). We have given reasons," the official added. "There is no need to fix the price of iron ore. It is a free market. It is not a regulated market. We cannot go back to the pre 1990- 1991 era," the official added.
American Multinational Automaker General Motors' decision to exit the Indian market by the end of 2017 has led to the anger of its Indian dealers.

The domestic dealers of GM are planning to take legal action against the automobile giant, as talks of compensation by General Motors ended on an unsatisfactory note on June 7.

According to CNBC TV18, nearly 48 out of the 90 dealers in India, are all set to tread the legal path against GM. Sources in both the Federation of Automobile Dealer's Association (FADA) and the General Motors Dealer's Board confirmed that legal notices have been sent out to General Motors.

These notices, prepared by Cyrus Amalchand Mangaldas Law Firm clearly states that there has been a "breach of trust" by the company. The notices, accessed by CNBC TV18 states that the compensation offer made by the company was "unreasonable" and "unfair".

The dealers in India could undertake legal action under criminal, civil or arbitration procedures of the Indian Penal Code.

FADA could possibly file a representative class suit against GM as the Indian dealer's board is scheduled to meet on June 15 in New Delhi. A class action suit against GM in the United States is also plausible.

The Dealer's Association Board in India has reportedly put together a sizeable corpus to generate funds for the litigation procedures and several dealers have already contributed to it.

Sources point out that at least 4 dealers have already appointed lawyers to file criminal proceedings against the country. These companies had invested close to Rs 11-12 crore for opening new showrooms during March with the assurance of GM's continued operations in India. Global CEO of GM, Mary T Barra had made promises of continuation of GM's operations in India in 2015.

Civil proceedings against the company would aim at the recovery of losses incurred by the dealers.

Moreover, GM's compensation approach of "take it or leave it" has not gone down well with the Indian traders. The notices also include a list of the favourable terms for the dealers, along with their intention to take legal recourse.

Arbitration proceeding would demand for a higher compensation multiple. The compensation talks which ended earlier this month has fixed the compensation structure at 10-12 percent of the investments.

On May 18, GM had announced that it would terminate its operations in India by the end of the year. The announcement came as the two-decade old company had accumulated massive losses in the country.
Private general insurer Reliance General today announced its plans of listing on the stock exchanges. The insurer will divest 10 percent by way of an initial public offering (IPO) and plans to complete the process by the end of this financial year. It is 100 percent owned by Reliance Capital.

Rakesh Jain, CEO, Reliance General said that the listing will help investors take part in the wealth creation opportunity. The insurer has seen a 31 percent increase in the profit after tax for FY17 which stood at Rs 130 crore. He added that while they are self sufficient, they will look to get a strategic partner if they are the right fit.

Reliance General is among the several other general insurers including ICICI Lombard General Insurance, New India Assurance and General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re) who are looking to list on the stock exchanges in this fiscal.

After the open architecture in bancassurance was allowed in the insurance space that let banks tie-up with three life, three non-life and three standalone health insurers, Reliance General has tied up with banks including IndusInd Bank, Bank of India, Catholic Syrian Bank and Andhra Bank among others.

The company's board today approved the proposal to list on the exchanges. As per the guidelines, they will divest 25 percent by FY21.

The insurer is an active participant in the government's crop insurance schemes including the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana which constitutes 20 percent of their business. Their combined ratio stood at 120 percent for FY17.

Reliance General's gross written premium stood at Rs 4007 crore, showing a year-on-year growth of 40 percent. Their investment book stood at Rs 6724 crore, showing a jump of 25 percent in FY17 over FY16.
Ravi Shankar Prasad

The IT Ministry will discuss with industry leaders on June 16 ways to expedite formulation of a roadmap to make India a USD 1 trillion digital economy as soon as possible besides planning the next phase of growth.

The ministry has received confirmation from about 20 leaders including Infosys co-founder S Gopalakrishnan, Wipro Chief Strategy Officer Rishad Premji, Nasscom President R Chandrasekhar, NIIT Group chairman Rajendra Powar, Flipkart founder Sachin Bansal, Lava CMD Hari Om Rai, Google India VP Rajan Anandan and Tech Mahindra CEO CP Gurnani.

"We are looking for ideas from thought leaders to make India an USD 1 trillion digital economy as soon as we can by empowering people at the bottom of the pyramid. USD 1 trillion is not the limit but a milestone," Ministry of Electronics and IT Additional Secretary Ajay Kumar told reporters.

He said that at present India is around USD 450 billion digital economy and at existing growth rate it is expected to be USD 1 trillion in next 7 years.

As of now, the Indian electronics market is estimated to be around USD 100 billion, IT sector USD 150 billion, telecom USD 150 billion, e-commerce USD 30-40 billion and rest is estimated to be the size of shared economy like taxi hailing services, start-ups etc.

"We have called representatives from all segments of the digital economy. Based on suggestion and outcome, we are open to creating a working group that will come up with policy prescription for things that are relevant for Indian environment. There will be a special focus on the development of economically weaker section," Kumar said.

The IT ministry will look to bring in improvement in areas like use of technology is agriculture, education, healthcare etc.

The meeting will be chaired by Law and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, he said.
India market which has given over 17 percent return so far in the year 2017 has no dearth of themes which could produce multibaggers in the next 2-5 years, says Ace stocks picker, smallcap Porinju Veliyath, of Equity Intelligence India in an exclusive interview with CNBC-TV18.

Although it is not going to be an easy ride for global economy going forward, the whole country is a theme today. Indian markets are very reasonable going by the valuations, said Veliyath.

There is no place in the world like India for picking stocks. At least there are 100 brands amongst the listed companies which are poised to create wealth in the next 2-3 years, he said.

We are near $2 trillion market cap which has grown by $50 billion in the last one year. Indian economy is changing dramatically and structurally which makes India as a stock pickers paradise.

The man whose biggest multibagger Prime Minister Narendra Modi and expects USD 40-50 billion of money coming into domestic markets said that India cannot afford to continue the culture of waiving loans.

Yes, it is bad for the Indian economy, but it can help revive rural consumption a bit. Things will look better from that perspective, but culturally, we need to keep strict discipline at this point in time, said Porinju.

We are at an inflexion point in terms of economy growth and strict discipline should be maintained so that a culture of financial indiscipline is not encouraged.

In terms of themes to bet on, Porinju said that investors should focus on brands which have created huge wealth for investors in the past and has the potential to deliver in the future.

There are 100 of brands which are struggling for various reasons such as promoters failed to manage the company which led to underperformance. Among the listed space, I see 100-150 companies which are poised to create wealth in the next 2-3-5 years time, he said.

There are a lot of brands which have done really well include names like Titan Company, MOSL, Asian Paints, Bata India, IIFL, Venkys, TTK Prestige etc. among others.

We have accumulated Balaji Telefilms in the past few months because the way they are managing the new business  chances of outperformance is very high, said Porinju.

The struggling brand such as Kaya, Saregama India, Shalimar Paints, Archies, Gati, Kohinoor Foods, Emkay, UFO Movies, BPL etc. among others is worth looking at.

Commenting on the Tata Group stocks, Porinju said that Tata Global Beverages and Tata Coffee did not perform very well in the recent past but have potential to outperform because they have a very important role to play in the Indian economy.

If the consolidate, restructure and if Tatas decide to create wealth in these companies, I am telling you these stocks will be 5-baggers in the next 5 years, he said.

Commenting on media stocks, Porinju said apart from Balaji Telefilms, ZEE Media could be other stocks which could give multibagger returns in the next 3-4 years time.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 12

By Seba Aghayeva  Trend:

EU Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn will visit Baku June 15 to take part in the negotiations on a new strategic partnership agreement between the EU and Azerbaijan, said Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.

He made the remarks at a joint press conference with his Estonian counterpart Sven Mikser in Baku June 12.

Mammadyarov noted that he and Mikser discussed the Azerbaijan-EU cooperation.

The next round of negotiations as part of the strategic partnership agreement will be held on June 13 and 14, he said.

We believe that we are on the right path to accelerate the process of negotiations with the EU, and we hope for success, added the Azerbaijani minister.

Mammadyarov said that meetings with the Estonian minister were held in two formats  one-on-one and with participation of delegations.

We discussed a number of bilateral issues, exchanged views, he said.

Azerbaijan and Estonia have been conducting an intensive dialogue since April, since holding the meeting of the Azerbaijan-Estonia intergovernmental commission, added Mammadyarov.

According to him, currently about 10 Estonian companies are actively operating in Azerbaijan  in the spheres of construction and IT.

The Azerbaijani minister noted that Sven Mikser was also informed about the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the resolutions which were adopted on the conflict and have not been implemented yet by the Armenian side.

Mammadyarov also thanked his Estonian counterpart for the invitation to visit Tallinn.
Prakash Gaba of prakashgaba.com told CNBC-TV18, "I have two stocks, both short. I will go with Canara Bank; that looks a tad weak here. We can see a slide to levels closer to Rs 344. It may take a day or two for that, stop above Rs 360 on Canara Bank should be fine."

"Larsen and Toubro (L&T) is a stock that has cracked this morning. I think it is continuing its down move. Target that I have is Rs 1,710-1,700 zones, keep stop loss above Rs 1,750," he added.
Sudarshan Sukhani of s2analytics.com told CNBC-TV18, "Just Dial is my favourite short, how it rallied from Rs 300 to Rs 600, it has come back to Rs 425. So there is a view that it is going lower. So short Just Dial."

"Second is Castrol India, it is a shorting opportunity for the short-term. The stock is breaking down from support levels. So probably some lower levels are coming," he said.

"Third short is Exide Industries. Again it is breaking down, it is giving bearish pattern, signs of distribution, these are not long-term shorts. They are just there as a trading idea for the next few days."

"Two buying ideas, TVS Motor Company , we all know life time highs and Voltas which is making a very attractive bullish pattern. So, broadly stay with midcaps," he added.
Budget carrier SpiceJet will launch two new daily direct flights to Porbandar and Kandla next month under the Central government's regional connectivity scheme(RCS) - UDAN.

The two new routes, Mumbai-Porbandar-Mumbai and Mumbai-Kandla-Mumbai, will be operational with a 78-seater Bombardier Q400 regional jet from July 10, SpiceJet said.

Under the UDAN scheme, the airline will be operating the new flights on the Mumbai-Porbandar route with RCS seats at Rs 2,250 (all inclusive) whereas the fare on the Mumbai- Kandla and Kandla-Mumbai routes would be Rs 2,500 (all inclusive) for RCS seats.

The government had in March awarded 128 regional routes to five airlines - Alliance Air, SpiceJet, Turbo Megha, Air Odisha and Air Deccan -- for launching flights under UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik) scheme, which aims at boosting air connectivity to the hinterland.

As many as 70 airports, including 31 unserved and 12 under-served ones, would be connected with the UDAN flights. Under the scheme, on each flight, 50 per cent of the seats would have a cap of Rs 2,500 per seat/hour.

An unserved airport is one to which there is no daily service, while an under-served airport is one which has not seen a flight for two consecutive flight schedules.

"I am delighted that SpiceJet is helping realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of ensuring that every Indian can fly," SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh said.

"UDAN is a grand scheme and we are proud to be amongst the pacesetters for the scheme. It has been our constant endeavour to enable the common man to fly since we began operations 12 years back. We will connect many more small towns and cities in times to come," Singh said.

SpiceJet also said it is the only airline which hasn't sought subsidy or viability gap funding under this scheme.

Under UDAN, the operators would be extended viability gap funding.

SpiceJet was awarded six proposals and 11 routes under the first phase of the Regional Connectivity Scheme.

Out of the six proposals, four will cater to unserved markets of Adampur, Kandla, Puducherry and Jaisalmer whereas two will be for under-served markets of Porbandar and Kanpur, the airline said.

SpiceJet is country's largest regional player operating a fleet of 19 Bombardier Q400 planes, which can seat 78 passengers. Besides it had 33 Boeing 737s as well in the fleet.
British car major Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has invested USD 25 million in tax-hailing app Lyft through its mobility services division InMotion Ventures.

Lyft will utilise these funds for expansion and technological advancements. Under the deal, it will also get a supply of JLR vehicles for its drivers.

Founded in 2012 by Logan Green and John Zimmer, Lyft is one of the fastest-growing rideshare company in the US and operates in more than 350 cities. It competes with Uber in the segment.

Commenting on the development, Zimmer said, Were excited to join forces with Jaguar Land Rover and InMotion. Lyft envisions a future where shared mobility will transform cities and improve peoples lives. This partnership will help us achieve that ambitious goal.

JLRs Hanno Kirner said, This is a strategic investment for both parties as we focus on innovating new mobility solutions for our customers. Collaborating with an expanding technology business like Lyft is going to help us both accelerate our ambitions.

Recently, InMotion had made a seed investment in digital carpool business SPLT, which works with Lyft to provide non-emergency medical transport.

The collaboration will also help InMotion to develop and test its mobility services, including autonomous vehicles.

We are excited to collaborate with a leading platform like Lyft not only on developing premium mobility solutions but also devising innovative solutions to the transport problems that Jaguar Land Rovers customers face, InMotions Sebastian Peck.

The company has so far raised USD 2.74 billion from Alibaba, Tencent, Didi Chuxing, General Motors and others.
CNBC-TV18 brings you a brand new week of Bull's Eye. It's the 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, Kunal Saraogi, Sumeet Jain and Jay Thakkar battle it out for top honours.

Below their top stock picks and analysis:

Kunal Saraogi of Equityrush

Buy Indiabulls Real Estate with a stoploss at Rs 174 and target of Rs 182

Buy Piramal Enterprises with a stoploss at Rs 2900 and target of Rs 3050

Buy DLF with a stoploss at Rs 181 and target of Rs 188

Buy Jubilant Foodworks with a stoploss at Rs 955 and target of Rs 975

Sumeet Jain of Destimoney Securities

Buy Gruh Finance with a stoploss at Rs 425 and target of Rs 472

Buy KRBL with a stoploss at Rs 404 and target of Rs 438

Buy Piramal Enterprises with a stoploss at Rs 2920 and target of Rs 3110

Buy SREI Infrastructure Finance with a stoploss at Rs 110 and target of Rs 121

Jay Thakkar, Head-Technical and Derivatives Research, AnandRathi Share & Stock Brokers

Buy Prestige Estates Projects with a stoploss at Rs 248.70 and target of Rs 267.40

Buy Indiabulls Real Estate with a stoploss at Rs 171.40 and target of Rs 188.30

Buy Allahabad Bank with a stoploss at Rs 68.55 and target of Rs 72.85

Buy Reliance Industrial Infrastructure with a stoploss at Rs 426.80 and target of Rs 448.10
crude_300_64552660

Achiievers Equities' commodity report on Crudeoil

Crudeoil trading range for the day is 2884-3012.

Crude oil prices gains after a Nigerian oil pipeline leak offset fears that excess Nigerian crude would add to the uptick in global production.

OPEC's battle against an oil glut is under threat as unsold crude from members Nigeria and Libya, is swamping the Atlantic Basin.

Libya's 270,000-bpd Sharara oilfield has reopened after a workers' protest and should return to normal production within three days.

BUY CRUDEOIL JUN 2017 @ 2940 SL 2900 TGT 2985-3020.MCX.

For all commodities report, click here

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.

Read More
In an interview to CNBC-TV18, SP Tulsian of sptulsian.com shared his views on the market and some stock trading ideas.

Below is the verbatim transcript of the interview.

Anuj: Zee Media is the stock that you like.

A: This is the time to pick the stock when the things are ruling low. If you take a call on Zee Media, practically they have two division as of now, 11 television channels i.e. regional and news channel, and one is the print business i.e. DNA paper which they have been printing. Now company has already hived off the DNA paper into a separate company for which all the formalities are completed. Even the NCLT order from Mumbai branch has already been received couple of days back, on Friday. So, probably company will be in the process to monetise that business and as gathered from the street, that they are looking to monetise for about maybe Rs 300-350 crore, namely the infrastructure, I am not counting anything on the intangible, the goodwill and all that.

Once that happens, the company will be left with 11 regional and news channels, and the regional channels which you see on the northern states whether you take a call on Chhattisgarh, UP, or any other state, they have a majority share with viewership or market share of more than 50 percent amongst all the channels operating in that region or in that state. If you take a call, about Rs 475 crore is the income from the TV business as of today with the EBITDA of about Rs 75 crore. So, it is very much a profitable company. So, one division, print division is going out of the company, they will continue with the TV business.

Apart from that, the company is acquiring 59 radio channels from ADAG Group for about Rs 1,600 crore and even that business has been showing a CAGR of 30 percent on topline as well as on bottomline because of this 59 channels, 43-44 stations are operational only, 15-16 stations will go on operations in the next couple of months or so. So in that business which they are acquiring for Rs 1,600 crore eventually 100 percent, they have a topline of about Rs 300 crore and EBITDA of Rs 120 crore; that means EBITDA margin of about 40 percent and this Rs 1,600 crore management has hinted that they will be funding it with Rs 500 crore as secured loan from promoters which will be treated as quasi equity, part debt and part rights issues.

So, I dont think that the burden on the debt because existing debt on the books of the company is about Rs 350 crore, if that gets paid off by the sale of the print business, the company becomes debt free and it will be easy for the company again to raise debt of closer to about Rs 500 crore which will not be stretching the balance sheet also going forward.

So, taking all this into consideration, and with the TV channel business, and radio business, both seem to be profitable, even radio will be number one amongst all if you compare it with comparable peers like ENIL , or Music Broadcast i.e. Radio City, amongst all, they have the highest number of channels and highest profitability or profit margin. So, taking all this into consideration, share is now ruling at Rs 39, looks a very good buy and I am expecting that it can move to a level of Rs 50 in next six months or so.
Angel Commodities' commodity report on Turmeric

NCDEX Turmeric closes higher last week as the physical demand is rising and market arrivals are diminishing. However, the trend seems to be little sideways on reports of good rains in turmeric growing areas. There was lower demand all season from up country and industrial buyers. Turmeric arrivals in the country are higher in the month of May. As per Agmarknet data, about 6,378 tonnes arrived las t week compared to 11,942 tonnes duri ng previous week. On the export front, country exported about 1.11 lakh tonnes in 2016/17 up by 30 % compared to last year exports of 85,412 tonnes , as per government data.

Turmeric futures may trade sideways to higher on improved demand from upcountry buyers and expectation of lower area this season. However, good showers in turmeric growing states in coming days may pressurize prices.

For all commodities report, click here

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.

Read More
U.S. President Barack Obama's motorcade arrives at the Rashtrapati Bhavan presidential palace, which has been illuminated for Republic Day, before an official state dinner for Obama at the palace in New Delhi January 25, 2015. REUTERS/Jim Bourg (INDIA - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY) - RTR4MUHS

With a month to go for the Presidential elections, Jharkhand Governor Draupadi Murmu could turn out to be a surprise candidate of the National Democratic Alliance government to replace President Pranab Mukherjee.

Murmu's name has been doing the rounds for a few months and speculation is rife that Modi may play the Dalit trump card. With 20 years of political experience, Murmu could become the first tribal to be elected to India's highest office.

Rise through the ranks

Hailing from Uparbheda Village in Odisha's Kusumi Block, the 58-year-old has been the tribal face of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the state's Mayurbhanj district.

She became the first woman leader from Odisha to be appointed Governor of a state when took the reins of Jharkhand two years ago.

Her political career began in 1997 when she was elected Councilor in Rajrangpur district in Odisha. Three years later, she was elected from the same constituency to the state assembly.

Before joining politics, she served as the honorary assistant teacher in Shri Aravindo Integral Education and Research, Rairangpur, and also as junior assistant in Irrigation Department.

She was also the National Executive Member of the ST Morcha of the BJP till 2009.

From 2000 to 2004, Murmu held many ministerial portfolios in the Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal government, having departments like Transport and Commerce along with Fisheries and Animal Husbandry under her supervision.

In 2007, she was awarded the Nilakantha Award for best MLA of the year by the Odisha Assembly.

She also served as BJP district president of Mayurbhanj from 2002 to 2009 and again in 2013, a post that she continued to hold till she took over as the Governor of Jharkhand.

A political pawn?

Political experts are of the opinion that Murmus appointment as the President may help the BJP shed its alleged anti-tribal image in eastern India and also give the party an edge over its rivals during the upcoming Odisha Assembly elections, according to a report in Hindustan Times.

Murmu as President will also give Odisha a higher standing in national politics.

Murmus appointment as Governor of Jharkhand in 2015 was also seen as a regional political masterstroke by the BJP where tribal factions who were opposing the appointment of Raghubar Das, a non-tribal, as Chief Minister of the state, were promised to have voice through the Murmus appointment.

Should Murmu be announced as the NDA's candidate, she will be in pole position to win the elections. The NDA is just short of a majority in the electoral college which votes for the President, and only needs support from a neutral party such as Odisha's BJD or the AIADMK to ensure that its candidate wins.
Shree Pushkar Chemicals & Fertilisers Q1 | Profit at Rs 1.01 crore versus Rs 6.35 crore, revenue at Rs 63.8 crore versus Rs 92.1 crore YoY. (Image: Reuters)

Rich farmers are likely to be excluded from the loan waiver announced by the Maharashtra government, but the scheme would not link to the size of the farmers' land holding, State Minister Chandrakant Patil said.

Not linking the land holding to the loan waiver means maximum number of farmers would benefit from it, the minister said.

Farmers in Maharashtra, who had been on a war path from June 1 to press for their various demands, yesterday called off their stir after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced loan waiver for them.

The government also announced setting up of a high-level committee for the implementation of the scheme. The panel will decide on the criteria for debt relief.

Patil said the committee is going to be formed because, in the previous loan waiver package (2007-08), many rich farmers had benefited.

"We have found that the loan waiver scheme introduced previously had benefited the rich farmers largely in Maharashtra. To avoid it, we will set up a high-level committee to omit such rich farmers from the list of beneficiaries. The mechanism for the same will be worked out with the help of the committee," he said.

"The criteria of eligible farmers are being finalised. When loan waiver scheme was announced in 2008, in one case a loan amount as high as Rs 82 lakh was waived in western Maharashtra. A brother of a minister, who was in the state cabinet then, also benefitted from the loan waiver scheme. We would like to avoid mistakes of the previous government and issue loan waiver to those who are solely dependent on agriculture," the minister added.

Patil said this issue was raised at the meeting with farmers' leaders yesterday.

He said they demanded that the needy farmers should get the benefits first and the government had agreed to this demand. Hence the committee is going to be set up to exclude the rich farmers from the ambit of the scheme, Patil said.

"The Chief Minister on June 2 had stated that farmers having land up to five acres would be covered under the loan waiver. The decision was not appreciated by the farmers' leaders from Marathwada and Vidarbha, where land holding per person is more. Hence, on Sunday, the higher power committee of ministers decided to cover all the eligible farmers under the loan waiver scheme," he said.

The state's high-power group of ministers and the steering committee of farmers held a meeting yesterday in Mumbai where the issue of loan waiver was discussed and accepted by the government.

"It is the victory of farmers' rights that they would get loan waiver at the right time. The state government is also keen on increasing the purchase price of milk by co-operative societies from farmers. It will benefit the milk producing farmers and their income would go up," Patil said.

On Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's statement that the states have to generate their own resources for the loan waiver, Patil said the state was capable of providing monetary assistance to farmers.

"The Centre had already made it clear that it would not provide financial assistance to the state government regarding the loan waiver. I must say that the state government is capable of providing financial assistance to farmers and we can bear it," he said.

He also pointed out the success of LPG subsidy given-up by the people after an appeal made by prime minister Narendra Modi.

"Many people had laughed at Modi's appeal to give up the subsidy. But around two crore people have given it up so far and it helped the Centre to pass on the benefits to others who are in dire need of cooking gas. We are hopeful of some farmers from Maharashtra may reject the loan waiver in the same way," the revenue minister said.

On a query about some political parties rushing for the credit of loan waiver, Patil said, "It does not matter who takes the credit as long as farmers are benefited from the loan waiver scheme. Those who are seeking credit should go to the villages and educate farmers about how to prepare their documents for loan waiver."

Meanwhile, Raju Shetti, Lok Sabha member, and leader of the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghtana which is an ally of the BJP said the steering committee had demanded implementation of the loan waiver scheme before the commencement of the Monsoon Session of the state legislature.

"If the government fails to do so, we will again call for an agitation," Shetti, whose outfit recently hit the streets, said.

Shetti had earlier said if the government failed to fulfill its commitments, his organisation would resume the agitation from July 25.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 12

By Seba Aghayeva  Trend:

Azerbaijan and Estonia have a great potential to deepen relations, especially in education and IT, Estonian Foreign Minister Sven Mikser said June 12.

He was addressing a joint press conference with Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov in Baku.

We believe we should work to expand cooperation in these areas, he said. I hope that Azerbaijan and the EU will sign an agreement on strategic cooperation. The content of the agreement is very important for us. It will also have a positive impact on Baku-Tallinn relations.

All these issues will be vital not only during the Estonian presidency of the EU, but also within the European Union in general, according to him.

We have an ambitious agenda for the time of the EU presidency, in particular on the withdrawal of Britain from the EU [Brexit]. All issues are important from the point of view of ensuring security in Europe, Mikser said.

Touching upon the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, Estonias FM noted that there is no military solution to the conflict.

Peaceful conflict resolution serves the interests of the involved parties. I believe that there is no other format but the OSCE, which will be able to make every effort to resolve 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.
Maharashtra's farmers called off their protests after the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government approved the biggest farm loan waiver in the state's history over the weekend.

The strike by farmers mostly from rural Maharashtra, which lasted more than a week, led to lower supply of vegetables and fruits by Agriculture Produce Marketing Corporation (APMCs) to Mumbai, resulting in a steep rise in the prices of perishable goods.

The farmers went on strike on June 1 demanding a farm loan waiver, interest free-credit, a pension scheme for farmers aged 60 and above, pay higher prices for milk, fully subsidised micro-irrigation equipment and uninterrupted power supply.

By agreeing to a farm loan waiver of Rs 30,000 crore that will be effective from October 31 this year, the government has met one of the farmers' major demands.

The waiver will provide relief to about 31 lakh small and marginal farmers out of 1.34 crore farmers in the state. But it also means that around 77 percent of the farmers in the state are still awaiting relief.

About 400 farmers committed suicide in January this year alone in Maharashtra, according to a government report cited by CNN-News 18.

According to National Crime Report Bureau report in 2015, Maharashtra recorded 4,291 farmer suicides, the highest number of farmers suicide accounting for about 33 percent of total farmer suicide (12,602) in India.

Maharashtra recorded the highest farmer suicides for two consecutive years.

Among the causes listed for farmers suicide, bankruptcy and loan debt accounted for 38.7 percent of total cases.

Maharashtra state has outstanding farm loans of Rs 1.34 lakh crore, which accounts for about 17 percent of the country's total agriculture outstanding crop loans (Rs 7.75 lakh), as per New Delhi's Minister of State for Agriculture Parshottam Rupala.

The total outstanding agriculture loans, including term loans and crop loans, amounts to Rs 12.6 lakh crore, he added.

However, the sustained protest by the farmers has highlighted other long-standing areas of concerns like minimum support price (MSP), irrigation, pension and electrification.

Even though the state witnessed a normal monsoon in 2016, it was preceded by two years of severe drought that resulted in reduced productivity and increased debt.

According to a Livemint report, the government's decision to demonetise two major denominations in November 2016 added to the continued struggle of the farmers as the prices of goods went down.

In some cases, the prices went below the minimum support price (MSP) as the wholesale vegetable prices collapsed due to a severe cash crunch forcing many to dump their harvest at a cheaper rate.

Farmers were also forced to sell their bumper arhar (Tur) crop at wholesale rates substantially lower than government-announced minimum support prices (MSP)about Rs 4,000 per quintal or lower, compared to an MSP of Rs 5,050 per quintal, the report said.

The farmers are concerned about MSP as prices of pulses, especially tur dal, have fallen sharply in wholesale mandis below the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 5,050 per quintal due to a record crop this year, according to PTI.

As per the Agricutlure Ministry, pulses output is estimated to be a record 22.40 million tonnes in the 2016-17 crop year ending June, as against 16.35 MT previous year, on account of good monsoon, higher MSP and procurement arrangement, according to PTI.

In its second bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement of 2017-18, the RBI said, "...the prices of pulses are clearly reeling under the impact of a supply glut caused by record output and imports. Policy interventions, including access to open trade, may be envisaged to arrest the slump in prices."

Until 2010, only about 17.9 percent of cropped area in the state was irrigated.

Following the severe drought conditions across the state, the government launched several irrigation projects including live storage outlets. However, the actual area irrigated is lower than the potential area that was slated to be irrigated under such projects.

The percentage of actual irrigated area to irrigation potential created had been low for the years with normal monsoon.

Farmers have also been demanding for uninterrupted electricity to facilitate the use of electric pumps.

According to Economic Survey of Maharashtra 2016, under Mahavitran project to provide electricity connection to backlog areas, 78,000 agricultural pumps had been energised till December 2016 against the target of 1.30 lakh pumps.

The state has about 39.67 lakh agricultural pumps. However, the lack of electricity is a major hindrance for farmers to irrigate their crops.

The farmers had been demanding increased rates for milk as dairy products are the second important source of income for rural households. It has also played a major role in providing employment and income generating opportunities.

According to Economic Survey of Maharashtra 2016, the state ranks seventh in milk production in India.

Over the past few years, the production of milk has increased from 39.19 lakh litre per day to 51.13 lakh litre per day in 2016.

Farmers feel increasing the price of milk will help them balance the loss incurred to them due to low productivity, low prices of goods or poor harvest due to bad monsoon.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar said the Maharashtra government's decision to grant a loan waiver to farmers should be implemented without delay so that peasants could apply for fresh loan ahead of Kharif season.

Against the backdrop of strident protests by cultivators in various parts of the state, the Devendra Fadnavis government decided in principle to waive farmers' loans with certain stipulations.

The former Union agriculture minister told reporters the loan waiver decision should be implemented soon so that farmers can apply for new loan for the Kharif season and concentrate on sowing.

"Farmers are demanding a loan waiver on the lines of Uttar Pradesh. The Maharashtra government took the decision today, days after farmers took to streets and protested for their demands," he said.

Meanwhile, senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar said the government should not place any criterion for eligibility to avail loan and all farmers should get fresh credit.

Seeking to take credit for the loan waiver, the former deputy chief minister said, "The government was forced to announce the loan waiver as we took to street and fought for the loan waiver. This decision should have been taken during the Budget session, which would have saved lives of many farmers who have committed suicide due to indebtedness". PTI CORR .
Nagpur: Congress Party Vice President Rahul Gandhi addressing at a public meeting to mark culmination of 125th birth anniversary celebrations of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, at Kasturchand Park in Nagpur on Monday. PTI Photo (PTI4_11_2016_000433B)

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi will attend the party's Karnataka state committee meeting in Bengaluru today to frame strategy for the Assembly polls.

He will release the National Herald's commemorative publication -- 'India at a Crossroads: 70 years of Independence'.

Later in the day, he will meet senior Congress leaders and attend the extended general body meeting of the Pradesh Congress Committee.

The state will go to polls early next year.
Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, whose three-year tenure will end on June 19, has asked the government not to consider him for reappointment to the post.

Rohatgi told PTI that he had written to the government last month conveying his wish to discontinue as Attorney General and return to private practice.

He said the extension given to him by the government earlier this month was "adhoc", till further orders, as it was done when the Prime Minister was on a visit to Russia.

"So, the government has to take a call on my decision," he said.

Rohatgi said that he maintained a "good relationship" with the government and would come to its aid as and when required.

He said he was appointed by the Narendra Modi government after it came to power in May 2014 and he has served his term to his full satisfaction.

He said he considers this duration as the top law officer enough and does not want to be considered for reappointment.

"I have conveyed to the government last month that I don't wish to seek re-appointment. I consider the three-year term as enough and I had also served the previous BJP government for five years. I would like to return to private practice," Rohatgi told PTI.

He clarified that his letter conveying his decision not to seek reappointment should not be considered as resignation as his term is due to end.

"I will come to the aid of the government as long as I live," he said.

Asked about his response if Prime Minister Narendra Modi insists that he continue, Rohatgi said, "I will cross the bridge when it comes."

Besides Rohatgi, two additional solicitor generals P S Patwalia and Neeraj Kishan Kaul have also preferred not to seek reappointment as law officers.

Rohatgi was appointed as the AG on June 19, 2014 immediately after the BJP government came to power in May that year.

During his three-year stint, he argued many contentious matters like the challenge to NJAC Act on appointment of judges for the higher judiciary.

He also defended the government which was in tussle with the Supreme Court Collegium of judges on the appointment of judges for higher judiciary.

Recently, he assisted the apex court in 'triple talaq' matter in which the judgement is reserved.

He has also advanced the government's stand of defending the policy of Aadhaar in which the issue of Right to Privacy has been raised and is pending before apex court.

As a top law officer, Rohatgi defended the government's policy of demonetisation in which the high denomination currency of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 were declared as not a legal tender.

Rohatgi had led a team of lawyers which had participated in the pre-dawn hearing in the apex court to oppose any relief to Yakub Memon, the lone death row convict in 1993 Mumbai blasts case.

He also appeared for the NDA government when its decision to impose President's rule in Uttarakhand was challenged.

The top law officer also assisted the apex court which scrapped the controversial section 66A of the Information Technology Act.
Boys run through a water logged street after heavy monsoon rains in New Delhi August 2, 2014. India's monsoon rains were nine percent below average in the week that ended July 30, the weather office said on Thursday, reflecting a patchy phase after the previous week's surplus downpours. REUTERS/Anindito Mukherjee (INDIA - Tags: SOCIETY ENVIRONMENT) - RTR40ZY1

The southwest monsoon is making a steady advance into Maharashtra and West Bengal and the weatherman has predicted a "good week" ahead.

India Meteorological Department Director General K J Ramesh said monsoon is in an "active phase" and has reached Mumbai, Mahabaleshwar (in Maharashtra) and several parts of the Konkan region, apart from Bijapur district in north Karnataka.

"There is also a low pressure area in the Bay of Bengal and this will take the monsoon to several parts of West Bengal.

"The coming week will be very good for the advance of monsoon on the western side and east India, Ramesh said.

However, there will be no significant change in maximum temperatures over most part of the country during the next 24 hours and mercury is likely rise by 2-3 degrees Celcius over plains of northwest India thereafter.

The IMD last week upgraded its initial monsoon forecast from 96 per cent of the Long Period Average (LPA) to 98 per cent, which comes in the range of "normal" rainfall.

The monsoon reached Kerala on May 30, two days ahead of its normal schedule.

"Favourable conditions are developing for further advance of southwest monsoon into some more parts of central Arabian Sea, Konkan, Madhya Maharashtra.

"It is expected to advance to interior Karnataka and remaining parts of Rayalaseema, some parts of Telangana and some more parts of Coastal Andhra Pradesh, central and north Bay of Bengal, Tripura, Assam and Meghalaya and some more parts of West Bengal and Sikkim during next 2-3 days, the IMD said.

It also predicted "heavy to very heavy rainfall" at isolated places over Assam and Meghalaya, Konkan and Goa and Coastal Karnataka tomorrow and "heavy" rains over West Bengal and Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram & Tripura, central Maharashtra, Marathwada and Kerala.
Railways minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu today said his ministry has already started investing to connect India with its neighbouring countries, mainly Bangladesh.

"The Railways has already invested enough to connect to our neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmmar. We had talks with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during her visit to India (in April) and we had a met with a couple of her ministers in Delhi two days ago," he said after dedicating a number of projects at the Howrah Railway Station.

He said given the geographical and cultural similarity between Bangladesh and West Bengal, the Center is hopeful that the rail connectivity would strengthen the relation more.

Incidentally, Maitree Express is an international passenger train that connects Bangladesh to India through West Bengal.

The Minister said West Bengal has lost its past importance as a centre of commerce and there is need for investing in infrastructure and referred to the Centre hiking the Railway budget for the state by around 300 per cent in 2017-18 as compared to 2014-15.

"West Bengal is an important state. Kolkata had been a very important commerce centre in Asia and contributed to the country. I am hopeful that the city will be able to restore its lost importance and for that there is need to develop the infrastructure through investments," Prabhu said.

The Minister today dedicated a number of projects of Eastern Railways, including commissioning of double line between Beldanga and Cossimbazar in Sealdah division, third line between Gadadharpur and Tarapith Road stations in Howrah division among others.

He also dedicated a number of projects of South Eastern Railways including extending and upgrading of stations in Santragachi-Amta suburban section. He also inaugurated the commencement of work for the underground station at Esplanade under Kolkata East-West metro and a new escalator at Rabindra Sarobar station of Kolkata Metro railway.
Qatar Airways has made Doha a global hub in just a few years, but barring it from Gulf states' airspace threatens its position as a major transcontinental carrier, experts say.

Along with its Gulf peers -- Dubai's Emirates Airlines and Abu Dhabi's Etihad -- Qatar's national carrier has captured a sizable portion of transit travel, capitalising on the Gulf's central geographic location.

But political differences between Qatar and neighbouring Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, as well as Egypt, exploded last week into a full-blown regional crisis, including severing air links.

The measures meant cancelling dozens of daily flights by Qatar Airways and carriers from those countries, and also mean Qatari aircraft have to make long diversions, mainly around Bahrain and the vast airspace of Saudi Arabia.

"The impact is already bad because it has driven up flight times and therefore costs. As the airspace tightens, the problem grows much worse," said aviation analyst Addison Schonland from the US-based AirInsight.

"Operationally, this is a constraint for the airline that is almost certainly now seeing its profits cut deeply," he added.

Qatar is almost completely encircled by Bahraini airspace that covers a large part of Gulf waters, and its planes usually cross Saudi airspace on their way to the rest of the Middle East, Africa and South America.

Instead, Qatari planes are now using Iran's airspace to get to Europe and skirting the southeastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula to avoid Saudi territory.

The flight time for a Qatar Airways trip to Sao Paulo in Brazil, for example, has increased by around two hours, according to flight detecting websites.

Flights to North Africa are now travelling over Iran and Turkey towards the Mediterranean, instead of flying more directly over Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

However, flights to Europe appear largely unaffected as they continue to use the Iran route, with a just small diversion to avoid Bahraini airspace.

The Islamic republic has opened its airspace to around 100 more Qatari flights daily, increasing Iranian air traffic by 17 per cent.

"For the future, Qatar flights' routes and fuel burn will be increased as a result of this," said aviation analyst Kyle Bailey.

Longer routes will bring passenger numbers down, argued Schonland.

"Future long-haul reservations will come down, because even with the high service and excellent amenities, who wants to sit for longer on an airplane?" he said.

About 90 per cent of Qatar Airways traffic through Doha is transit, according to a report by CAPA Centre for Aviation.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE represent the two largest markets for Qatar Airways, said Bailey.

Losing these "will no doubt be devastating to the carrier's financial bottom line, wiping out about 30 percent of revenue," he said.

Qatar Airways is also the largest foreign carrier operating in the UAE, and the fifth overall after the country's own airlines, according to the CAPA report.

Part of this transit traffic is likely to be scooped up by Qatar Airways' regional competitors Emirates and Etihad, experts say.

"No question about it. Especially Emirates because they have the A380 (superjumbo) capacity to catch the traffic without even a hiccup," said Schonland.
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during an election campaign event in Bradford, Britain, June 5, 2017. REUTERS/Phil Noble - RTX39625

After Theresa May's failed gamble to hold early elections delivered a hung assembly, UK's Prime Minister has managed to form a minority government.

The shocking result has triggered chaos in British politics and several disgruntled members of May's Conservative Party now want her gone. At the other end of the spectrum, a rejuvenated Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn is determined to arrest any move by May to cling on to power and pounce on any sign of weakness.

Several challenges await May's new government in the days to come.

Deal or no deal?

Theresa May formed a minority government the same day the results were declared after meeting the Queen to stake claim.

However, May's government will remain in a minority unless propped up by another party. Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which won 10 seats, had hinted at a deal with the Conservatives but it now appears that negotiations are still underway.

The Conservatives won 318 seats and help from the DUP will take it past the majority mark of 326.

Meanwhile, May has announced her new cabinet which retains most of the old faces and replacements for nine ministers who suffered defeat on Friday. The prime minister has hinted at running the government in less controlling fashion to help garner support.

Queen's Speech

The debates following the Queen's Speech in the House of Commons will be the first major test for May.

The Queen's Speech  scheduled for June 19  is read by the Queen at the opening of the Parliament and lists major policies and programmes that the elected government plans to undertake in the coming year. Usually, the list reflects programmes from the winning party's manifesto. MPs will debate these plans for six days before voting on them on June 27.

May's minority government will require the DUP's support to pass the plans. In addition, many Conservative leaders have called their manifesto "a disaster", which means support from its own ranks cannot be taken for granted.

What is Jeremy Corbyn up to?

Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party, had said that his party will call on others to stop May from forming the government. Reports suggest that Corbyn is now preparing for his own Queen's Speech if in case Theresa May is unable to get adequate support to pass key legislations.

Corbyn may be in a position to form a minority government in such a scenario. However, the Labour Party will not have enough numbers to form a majority coalition government even if supported by the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP), Liberal Democrats, Green Party and Plaid Cymru.

Could there be another election?

Theresa May could continue to lead a minority government or she can get a small majority with the help of the DUP.

In both cases, it will be very difficult for the government to pass key legislations and negotiate Brexit deals successfully.

Some experts suggest that fresh elections will be called after a short-lived coalition government collapses during the Brexit negotiations which are set to begin next week.

In any event, the May's 'strong and stable' pitch during the election campaign appears far from becoming a reality.
Qatar Airways says its net profits rose to USD 540 million in its latest financial disclosure before the airline took a hit and was blocked from flying to major Arab states.

The 20-year-old carrier, one of the Middle East's biggest, announced today its revenue rose by USD 1 billion from USD 9.6 billion last year to USD 10.6 billion in the fiscal year ending March 31. Its profits stood at around USD 445 million in 2016.

Analysts estimate that a political standoff between Qatar and other Arab states will cost the airline heavily.

Last week, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut ties with Qatar and blocked direct flights with the country.

All except Bahrain barred Qatari flights from their airspace, compelling Qatar Airways to use longer routes over Iran.
Representative Image

The membership of India and Pakistan in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) could bring them closer to address their differences and help facilitate New Delhi's attendance at the SAARC summit in Islamabad, a senior Pakistani diplomat said on Monday.

"The SCO is an important organisation for Pakistan and India. This not an organisation to settle disputes but work for the region and common challenges and for common development," Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, Deputy Ambassador of Pakistan to China, said.

At the same time, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) could help bring India and Pakistan closer to addressing their differences.

"Of course, when you are together and work for the same organisation, you have opportunities to resolve many of the issues and come close," she told Indian journalists at an SCO briefing specially arranged to highlight the entry of India and Pakistan into the grouping at the just concluded summit at Astana.

Baloch along with India's Ambassador to China, Vijay Gokhale, attended the briefing along with other diplomats at SCO headquarters here.

At the same time, Baloch also hoped that the entry of India and Pakistan into the SCO would pave the way for the 19th summit of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in Islamabad which could not be held last year after India along with other members of the grouping decided to stay away following the Uri terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir.

"We really hope that SAARC which is our regional organisation would find a way to move beyond the differences," she said.

"We really hope that India would able to come to Pakistan for the SAARC summit. In the end, we are neighbours and it is important for us to strengthen SAARC as an organisation," she said.

While Baloch dismissed apprehensions over India and Pakistan's entry into China-dominated SCO, official Chinese media said with their entry, the SCO is now facing both an opportunity and challenges.

"If the two countries, which have had long-term disputes over issues such as anti-terrorism efforts and Kashmir can bring their disagreements to the SCO, the clubs internal cohesion is likely to be challenged," Chen Xiaochen, director of the International Studies, Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, told state-run Global Times.

"However, on the positive side, the SCO is set to become an international organisation with its members accounting for the majority of the worlds territory and population, and this offers a huge amount of potential for development", and expand the influence of the organisation in international and regional affairs in various fields, especially in security, geopolitics and the economy.

"Russia has shown a positive attitude toward joining the CPEC, and SCO membership will offer opportunities for Pakistan to launch direct talks with Russia and other countries if it wants to. The organisation will perhaps provide a fresh platform for China, India, and Pakistan to talk about the CPEC and help reduce Indias misunderstanding of the project. The SCO's expansion is likely to be good news for the development of the CPEC," he said.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 12

Trend:

Azerbaijani Defense Minister, Colonel-General Zakir Hasanov today met with Turkeys Commander of Land Forces, General of the Army Salih Zeki Colak, who is currently on a visit in Azerbaijan, said the press service of Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.

After greeting the guests, Hasanov noted that Azerbaijan and Turkey cooperate in the military sphere both on a bilateral basis and within NATO. He pointed out the expansion of ties in the military and technical spheres and in military education.

Speaking of his visit to Azerbaijan, Salih Zeki Colak noted the importance of the joint tactical drills conducted in Nakhchivan. He said the ties between the two countries have historical roots and are based on traditions of friendship, adding that Azerbaijan is an important partner of Turkey.

Then the sides exchanged views on the military and political situation in the region, prospects for the development of ties between the armed forces of Azerbaijan and Turkey, as well as on a number of other issues of mutual interest.

At the end of the meeting, Salih Zeki Colak was awarded with the medal For Merits in Military Cooperation for his contribution to strengthening of the Azerbaijan-Turkey military cooperation.
Carmaker Volkswagen is looking at rehiring the chief executive of General Motors' Opel, possibly to lead its Audi brand, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday, following a media report the executive will quit Opel.

Opel boss Karl-Thomas Neumann plans to resign as General Motors (GM) prepares to sell the business to France's PSA Group, German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (FAS) reported over the weekend.

Without citing its sources, the newspaper said Neumann saw the sale as the right strategic step, but was concerned PSA under-estimated the growing importance of electric cars.

The source said Volkswagen (VW) bosses were informally discussing giving Neumann, who quit VW in 2013 for the Opel top job, a prominent position, potentially as head of premium brand Audi.

VW and Opel declined to comment.

Audi CEO Rupert Stadler has come under fire for how he has handled the fallout from VW's diesel emissions scandal.

He only received a five-year contract extension last month because of an agreement among supervisory board members that he would not serve out his full term, two sources have told Reuters.

Pressure has built on Stadler after Munich prosecutors widened an investigation into the premium carmaker, and after Germany's transport ministry accused Audi of cheating on emissions tests.

In an interview with trade publication Automobilwoche, Stadler over the weekend defended his record: "The diesel crisis has consumed and is still consuming resources. I'm still convinced that we have initiated the right strategic steps."

Neumann, 56, planned to inform Opel's supervisory board about his decision at its next meeting on June 22, FAS said, adding he wanted to stay on only until GM completed the sale of Opel to PSA, owner of the Peugeot, Citroen and DS brands.

Opel this week said the 2.2 billion euros ($2.5 billion) deal could be completed as early as July 31, pending regulatory approval from antitrust authorities.

Neumann joined GM in 2013 to lead the U.S. carmaker's European operations, which include the Vauxhall brand, after losing out in a management reshuffle at VW. In his former roles at VW, he was in charge of electro-mobility and head of China.
The chronicle of a life split between urban Manhattan and rural Montana.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 12

Trend:

Students distinguished within the admission exams to the Graduate Programs of the higher education institutions of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan for 2017/2018 academic year held by the State Exam Center visited UNEC's International Graduate and Doctorate Center (IGDC).

Director of the International Graduate and Doctorate Center Fariz Ahmadov delivered expanded information about the center to the Republic's first distinguished student Yashar Nasibov, second distinguished student - Javid Aliyev and third distinguished student - Turgay Shirinbeyli. He introduced them curricula of the majors developed on the basis of the new international standards. Dual Diploma Programs provided by the Center, Internship Programs in the foreign and local companies and the opportunities to attend Summer and Winter Schools abroad caused the students' interests.

At the end of the meeting, students expressed satisfaction of the conditions created here and noted that they would choose UNEC's International Graduate and Doctorate Center to study.

Note: To provide graduate education services efficiently and in accordance with the international standards the International Graduate and Doctorate Center has been established on June 29 2015 by UNEC Academic Board's decision. Trainings are conducted in 4 languages on 11majors and 39 specialization in the Center.

About UNEC:

UNEC is the brand of Azerbaijan State University of Economics. The brand of UNEC has been registered and patented by the State Committee on Standardization, Metrology and Patent on January 21 2016.
The Dusty Miller that I grew in planters on this years patio garden was the clear champion of the season. Not only did the plants survive a huge deer incursion without suffering a nibble, but theyve also now held up...
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 12

Trend:

The Heydar Aliyev Foundation has donated medical equipment to the Health Ministry of the Republic of Djibouti. In this connection, a ceremony of presenting the medical equipment took place at the Central Hospital of the Republic of Djibouti.

Information was given at the ceremony about the humanitarian projects implemented by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation in Azerbaijan and foreign countries. As part of these projects, the paediatric department of the hospital has been provided with medical equipment in ten names, and this action will contribute to the development of the countrys health system and widening of relations between the two countries.

Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Ethiopia Elman Abdullayev said in his speech that the friendly ties between Djibouti and Azerbaijan serve the national interests, and that further actions will be taken towards strengthening these ties.

A delegation from the Heydar Aliyev Foundation met Health Minister of the Republic of Djibouti Djama Elmi Okieh. At the meeting, the minister said the equipment donated will contribute to strengthening of the paediatric service in the country, and thanked the people of Azerbaijan and the Heydar Aliyev Foundation for this support.
Washington Post front page

The Washington Post first-edition Page 1 for Monday, June 12, 2017:

Top of the page:

Col. 1: Georgia vote is test of President Trump's popularity. Developing, by Karen Tumulty (Post). Moving as GEORGIA

Cols. 2-5: NGOMA SECTOR, Rwanda -- Twenty-three years after the Rwandan genocide, the children born of rape are grappling with young adulthood. 2,520 words, by Danielle Paquette (Post). 4 photos, one video. Moved as RWANDA-RAPE

With RWANDA-RAPE-SIDEBAR includes graphic and six photos.

Col. 6: Partisan districts are on the line in Wisconsin. 1,850 words, by Robert Barnes. Moved as SCOTUS

Below the fold:

Cols. 1-2: When a liberal power lawyer represents the Trump family, things get ugly. Developing, by Marc Fisher (Post). One photo. Moving as GORELICK

Cols. 3-5: Standalone photo of March for Equality

Col. 6:

Book excerpt: When terror strikes the family of a terrorism reporter. 3,120 words, by Souad Mekhennet. Three photos. One video. Moved as TERROR-EXCERPT. Please note that the story originally moved June 9.

Bottom of page: Keys to inside stories.

Sent: 7:30 p.m. ET

Washington Post News Service with Bloomberg News

post-front

Washington Post News Service (DC)

6/11/2017 6:25:19 PM Central Daylight Time
Did you miss out on the Pop Quiz this week? It's time to catch up and get ready for next week!
A students petition calling for change in the Sobrato High School mathematics department caught the attention of the local board of education, and one trustee requested having an open discussion on the matter at a future board meeting.

Trustee Gino Borgioli brought up the issue near the end of the June 6 school board meetinga point where board members can suggest new business items theyd like to be put on a future agenda.

I trust emphatically these students and what they say, and they gave that missing information that I was hoping would come out from our staff, said Borgioli in trying to make his case to the board. It was just stunning information.

Board President Donna Ruebusch said the board needs to tread lightly on any board discussion spurred from the petition.

I caution you personalizing or identifying one subject area particularly, said Ruebusch in her response. Ill work with the superintendent to bring this forward as an education issue and get it to that level which I think is appropriate for the board.

Sobrato student Lauren Buckley, who titled her petition, Create Change in the Math Department of Ann Sobrato High School, continues to gain supporters from current and former Sobrato students along with some of their parents and students outside the north Morgan Hill high school. The petition on change.org is up to 439 supporters since she posted it last month.

The math department at our school is leaving people behind, states Buckley in the petition she created May 4. In my experience as a student in the Common Core program at Ann Sobrato High School, I discovered that the math department does not tailor its teaching needs to every learning style of its students.

Many of the petition supporters left their reasons for signing along with electronic signatures. The petition was then submitted to the Sobrato administration, according to change.org.

If we want to improve student achievement, were going to have to look at these things, Borgioli persisted.

Trustee Ron Woolf, a retired teacher and administrator, came to the defense of the Sobrato faculty and instead pointed the blame at the states new curriculum.

I dont think its teachers. I think its curriculumI agree with some of the students and what they said, Woolf said. We, as board members, need tonot talk about the curriculum at Sobrato HS, (but) talk about the curriculum that the state requires the teachers in California to teach.

The Common Core State Standards were adopted by California legislatures in 2010. Currently, 42 states, the District of Columbia, four territories and the Department of Defense Education Activity have adopted the CCSS. These standards are designed to supply students with a deeper understanding of course material as well as better equip them for college and career readiness. A key component of the CCSS is peer learning, where students are put into groups and required to figure out problems amongst themselves. Students are reliant on being placed in a strong group with others who care about their grades or they all suffer, according to students students who commented on the petition.

Buckleys goal in posting the petition is to create dialogue with the administration to generate change at Sobrato, specifically with the weighted grading system, the pace of moving from one lesson to the next and differentiating the instruction to student needs.

We hope that by doing this, we can help students in the future to learn this subject and be able to take higher-level math classes in high school and college, Buckley concluded.

Trustee David Gerard did not want any board discussion on the subject to single out Sobrato, but agreed that some sort of discussion needed to happen in the future.

Its a broader question, not just Sobrato. Its not a question of blaming teachers. Its something that requires a lot of thought because it is complex, Gerard said. Obviously theres some concern and we want to show that we are addressing that as a board.

Trustee Mary Patterson was more impressed with Buckley and the hundreds of student supporters taking the initiative to bring the issue to the attention of school administrators.

What I found stunning about the petition is that 350 high school students wrote, were empowered, exhibited leadership.(and) felt safe enough at their school to talk about this, Patterson said. Theres huge positives out of the change.org petition.

The next scheduled board meeting is June 20. The board president and a designated board member, along with the superintendent, decide what goes on the agenda for each meeting. That agenda is made public the Friday before the meeting.
According to a new study, drug dealers are either reverse ageists, treating young people more harshly than their older counterparts, or they respect their buzz-seeking elders.

So, if you stereotypically drive slowly in the left lane with your blinker on for five consecutive miles, you may get a better deal on weed than the punk on the scooter who passed you on and flipped you the bird.

According to a new study published on the website addictions.com and reported by Rolling Stone, new code words are all the rage for buying illicit drugs, and older people often get cut some slack for not keeping up with the latest trendy monikers.

To understand the kinds of verbiage people use to describe drugs today, and how prevalent they really are in the drug community, we surveyed over 2,000 people for their insight into these underground trends, wrote the authors of the study, which I swear is a real study.

They list a number of drugs and what they are currently known as on the street. The celebrity names for drugs are Nixon (marijuana), Lady Gaga (cocaine), Kim Jong-Il (crack), Chuck Norris (heroin), Chris Farley (opiates), Nancy Pelosi (LSD), Mario (mushrooms), Donald Trump (meth) and Ben Franklin (benzodiazepines.

According to the survey, more than a third of participants between the ages of 18 and 29 told us theyd been denied drugs because they didnt use the proper code words to describe them.

The study indicated drug dealers seemed to go a little easier on those more likely to injure a hip than be hip.

Older participants were less likely to be required to utilize slang terminology in order to purchase narcotics. Slightly more than one in four respondents between the age of 30 and 39 said theyd been denied drugs for not using the proper colloquialisms, while 14 percent or less of respondents between the ages of 40 to 49 or 50 to 59 said the same, the authors noted.

If the study reflects reality, the following scenarios are commonplace:

Young Johnny pays a visit to his friendly neighborhood drug dealer.

Hello sir, I would like to purchase a small amount of your finest marijuana, he says.

Oh gosh, Im sorry, replies the drug dealer, but you did not use the current code word for marijuana so, according to the strict dealers ethical rules to which I adhere, I must say no. I suggest you dont do drugs and stay in school.

Johnnys grandpa visits the friendly neighborhood drug dealer.

Whats up, dawg? Ill take some Doans Pills, a bottle of horse liniment and some reefer, Grandpa says.

Welluhon the marijuana, you didnt exactly use the right code word.

What? Why, you little snot-nose punk. My ancestors smoked hemp with George Washington at Valley Forge, hit the peace pipe with Cochise and were extras in the movie Reefer Madness. If I cant get my buzz on for the Blue Oyster Cult reunion show I will beat you down to the ground with my cane and curb stomp you.

Sorry, sir. My bad. Here you go.

Scott Hollifield is editor/GM of The McDowell News in Marion, N.C. Contact him at rhollifield@mcdowellnews.com.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 12

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Negotiations on updating the Customs Union agreement between Turkey and the EU will start June 13 in Brussels, Turkeys Ministry of Customs and Trade told Trend June 12.

Turkey is the only country linked by the Customs Union agreement with the EU, while not being its member.

The Customs Union agreement between Turkey and the EU came into force December 31, 1995.

Renewal of the Customs Union agreement can promote the growth of trade turnover between Turkey and the EU, the ministry said.

Ankara seeks revision of the terms of the Customs Union agreement with the EU, according to which Turkey should open its markets to third countries that will sign a free trade agreement with the EU. At the same time, no tax exemptions will be applied to Turkish goods entering the markets of third countries, since Turkey is not a member of the EU.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, June 12

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

Turkmenistan plans to establish regular air service with Tajikistan in the near future, the Turkmen Dovlet Habarlary state news service reported.

The flights will be carried out under the bilateral agreements, according to the report.

A Turkmen delegation took off to Dushanbe where it will hold talks in the framework of the agreements on expanding bilateral cooperation.

Officials of Turkmenistan Airlines [national carrier] and Turkmenistan Airline OJSC will discuss with Tajik colleagues the readiness of aviation units to jointly work on establishing regular air service between the two capitals, Turkmen Dovlet Habarlary reported.
Mount Pleasant, SC (29464)

Today

Thunderstorms - a few could contain very heavy rain, especially overnight. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low 71F. Winds SSE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms - a few could contain very heavy rain, especially overnight. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low 71F. Winds SSE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
The U.S House of Representatives passed Thursday the Financial CHOICE Act  a bill that, according to the House Financial Services Committee, would roll back the Dodd-Frank Act of the Obama era and end taxpayer bailouts of financial institutions.The act would also reform the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by eliminating the immunity of its sole director by allowing the president to remove the director at will.The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) is not happy.Yana Miles, CRL senior legislative counsel, said the bill puts power back in the hands of big banks and predatory lenders.Dodd-Frank and the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has created a fairer financial marketplace for consumers and has kept financial institutions accountable to the public, Miles said. This basic accountability is especially important for low-wealth families and communities of color who were hit hardest by the financial crisis.The CRL describes the bill  to which is derisively refers as the Wrong Choice Act  as an evisceration of the CFPB, as it will also eliminate the agencys independent funding and will prohibit information from being posted on the consumer complaint database. The advocacy group says moves like that would make the public susceptible to critical problems such as redlining.The Trump administrations recent support of this bill contradicts the presidents promise to drain the swamp and protect people from bad financial practices on Wall Street. Instead of giving free passes to loan sharks like payday lenders, Congress and the president should make consumer protection a top priority, Miles said. CRL and communities across the country  including veterans, faith leaders, consumers and others  will fight the Wrong Choice Act at every turn and continue to stand up for economic justice and inclusivity.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 12

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

MNG Kargo, one of Turkeys big shipping companies, will be completely sold to Mirage Cargo B.V. of the United Arab Emirates, said the Turkish Competition Authority in a message June 12.

The two sides are expected to sign an agreement in the coming days.

MNG Kargo was created in 2003, and currently the company has more than 800 branches throughout Turkey.

The company transports cargo to more than 220 countries and has more than 8,000 employees.

MNG Kargo has 2,200 trucks and six planes.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 12

By Huseyn Valiyev  Trend:

Azerbaijan will discuss with IAEA the delivery of isotopes to commission a sterilizer installation in the country, the Azerbaijani National Nuclear Research Center told Trend.

The talks with an IAEA representative are expected to be held in Baku in the upcoming week, according to the Center.

"All the necessary documents related to the delivery of isotopes to the country were prepared and submitted to the relevant authorities by the Nuclear Research Center. We believe the issue of transportation of isotopes to the country will be solved within the next 10 days," said the center.

Under the approved Road Map, a part of isotopes will be delivered to Azerbaijan from Hungary, while another part will be delivered from Russia.
We are collating signatures to petition ...
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, June 12

By Huseyn Hasanov Trend:

The program of the visit of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to Turkmenistan has been agreed upon, the Turkmen government said in a message.

High-level meetings are planned to be held in accordance with the program, the message said.

Following the upcoming high-level talks, it is planned to sign a set of documents aimed at further boosting mutually beneficial partnership between the UN and Turkmenistan, said the message.

The UN News Center reported earlier that Guterres will visit Turkmenistan June 13 and take part in a high-level dialogue in Ashgabat city, dedicated to the implementation of the strategy for combating terrorism in Central Asia.

Over the past ten years, Turkmenistan, together with UN specialized agencies, has implemented more than 260 projects in various spheres in accordance with the previously adopted framework programs.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, June 12

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

Turkmenistans President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov by his decree has approved a list of types of contracts subject for registration at the State Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange.

The list includes both foreign trade contracts and those signed among the local Turkmen companies.

Contracts related to the sale of the Turkmenistan-made goods and products to foreign trading houses, established with participation of state institutions, can be signed without participation in an exchange bidding.

Participation in an exchange bidding isnt necessary also for signing of the contracts related to the export of goods and products manufactured by legal entities of the non-state sector and private entrepreneurs, as well as goods (raw materials) not worth over $200,000 (or equivalent in national or other foreign currencies) purchased from legal entities of the non-state sector, private entrepreneurs and the population.

The document also instructed the Turkmen State Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange, together with the countrys Ministry of Justice, to prepare proposals on the introduction of amendments and additions to the national legislation and submit them to the Cabinet of Ministers within a month.

The Turkmen State Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange, established in 1994, is the body regulating export and import operations in the country.
GET OUR APP Our Spectrum News app is the most convenient way to get the stories that matter to you. Download it here.
With tears in her eyes, Daphne Josaphat describes missing a phone call from her nephew at 2 a.m. June 12, 2016.

It's the night my living nightmare began, Josaphat said.

Jason Josaphat was dancing at Pulse nightclub when his life abruptly came to an end.

He wasn't out of the closet to his entire family, but his aunt was one of the few who knew his sexual orientation.

I promised that I would be there (for him), she said.

She's grateful for people such as Charlotte Davis, who held her that night a year ago in front of Pulse. Davis was a longtime promoter for Pulse; she is also an advocate in the community.

Davis said that because Jason was an LGBTQ member and also black, he was a double minority  a group of people Davis said is underrepresented in Pulse conversations.

I think there is so much focus put on the nationality of the group of people that you know lost their lives here, and not so much that this was a group of people, a group individuals who all came from different nationalities, Davis said.

The majority of those killed during the Pulse shooting were of Hispanic descent. However, Davis thinks Pulse-related events dont often enough highlight black victims or survivors. She said Latin nights, such as those Pulse was hosting the night of the tragedy, have been held by different clubs, but she cant say the same for hip-hop nights.

(We) want to send a message out that hip-hop is not a color. I think thats where we went wrong with this tragedy. Because it was Latin night, it got grouped as being only Latin, Davis said.

She said that the gaps can be bridged by making sure everyone is included and just bringing everybody together. That's really what its about, bringing everybody together," Davis said. "The Latin community, the black community, the white community, the Haitian community... You have to have genuine representation in order to have genuine inclusion for certain things.

Josaphat said the most important thing for her is to make sure Jason is always remembered no matter what.

I cannot say if they have forgotten or not forgotten, but I will know for a fact that I'm making sure Jason is not going to be forgotten, she said.

Davis is hosting a dinner show, a tribute to Pulse angels, victims, family and friends, from 3 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. June 12 at the Woodstock Orlando. She said the free event is meant to bring everybody together.



Jason Josaphat and his aunt, Daphne, were close -- she was one of the few members of his family who knew he was gay. (Courtesy of Daphne Josaphat)
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 12



By Fatih Karimov  Trend:



Japans Mitsubishi has stopped negotiations with Iran for passenger plane deal, Seyyed Amirreza Mostafavi, a spokesman for Irans Aseman airline company, said.



Mitsubishi's representatives halted talks with Iran's Aseman company on aircraft construction and purchase order without any explanation, Mostafavi said, Mehr news agency reported.



Iran was keen to purchase passenger planes from the Japan aircraft manufacturer, he said, adding it was the Japan side that suspended all interactions with Aseman.



Irans Aseman airline company was negotiating with the Japan firm to buy 20 MRJ (Mitsubishi Regional Jet) aircrafts last year.



The MRJ is a twin-engine regional jet aircraft capable of carrying 7090 passengers. It was earlier announced that Iran is willing to buy 25 short-haul airplane at a value up to $500,000 from Japans Mitsubishi Aircraft Organization and use them for domestic routes.



Mitsubishi Aircraft  the aviation arm of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries - began market surveys into Iran in September 2015, four months before sanctions were lifted on the Islamic Republic.
FirstCapital Bank of Texas is looking to expand its presence in the Hill Country through its acquisition of a bank branch in Marble Falls.

FCB announced Monday that it is acquiring Independent Banks branch at 507 Ranch Road 2147, about 50 miles northwest of Austin and about 10 miles from its branch in Horseshoe Bay.
Its been a whirlwind of change at San Antonio wound-care company Acelity LP Inc. over the last six months.

Formerly known as Kinetic Concepts Inc., Acelity shelved plans for an initial public offering in December. Two weeks later, it announced it was selling LifeCell, its regenerative medicine business, to pharmaceutical giant Allergan for $2.9 billion.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 12



By Khalid Kazimov  Trend:



Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has left the country for Norway to attend the Oslo Forum 2017, IRNA news agency reported.



During the two-day visit, Zarif is expected to address the forum and discuss bilateral and international issues with the participants.



Officials from about 100 countries are expected to attend Oslo Forum to exchange views on ongoing global conflicts and ways to reach international peace.



The Oslo Forum convenes senior conflict mediators, high level decision makers and key peace process actors in a series of informal and discreet retreats to share their experiences, identify challenges and reflect on mediation practice.



The Oslo Forum is widely regarded as the leading international network of armed conflict mediation practitioners.
TROY -- As recently as two weeks ago, organizers were sure Troy's 50th annual Flag Day Parade would never happen. They needed $30,000 to roll the parade from South Troy through Fourth Street.

Fifty-nine groups or "units" stepped off at 1 p.m. Sunday in what seemed destined to be the Collar City's final Flag Day promenade. Michael Fusco, president of Franklin Hospitality which operates Troy's historic Franklin Plaza known for its pink marble ballroom and Brazilian mahogany boardroom, raised the money to support the parade for its 50th year.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Liberty County superintendents are taking a dim view of a Houston nonprofit's recently released ranking of school districts.

Children At Risk (CAR), a self-proclaimed "think-tank of innovators focused solely on the well-being of the whole child," released their ranking of area schools for the 12th year in a row, but the so-called research and methodology is being called into question.

Basically, the scores are assembled by assessing:

n Student achievement index  a student's performance on STAAR Reading and Math tests;

n Campus performance index  a school's overall campus performance compared to campuses statewide with similar levels of poverty;

n Growth index  the student-level improvement over time on standardized test scores in Reading, English, and Math;

n College readiness index  or high school graduation, SAT/ACT participation rate and scores, and AP/IB participation rate and scores.

On the surface, it sounds reasonable to a layman, but to those who are knowledgeable of the complex testing and scoring patterns, the numbers from CAR appear to leave out critical information that skews the grades and the ranking of schools.

"These rankings are from a nonprofit organization that takes some of a district's data and tries to compare school districts," said Dr. Jessica Johnson, superintendent at Dayton ISD.

"Every school district in the state of Texas has their own unique make-up with many factors including community demographics, industry, mobility rates, and economic dynamics of the community. In my opinion, this is not apples-to-apples comparison, but apples-to-oranges comparison," she said.

More Information BY THE NUMBERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS Devers Elementary -- A& Tarkington Intermediate -- B- Northside Elementary -- C& Eastside Elementary -- C Liberty Elementary -- C Hardin Intermediate -- D- Hardin Elementary -- D- Hull-Daisetta Elementary -- D- Kimmie M. Brown Elementary -- F MIDDLE SCHOOLS Liberty Middle School -- B- Hardin Junior High -- C- Cleveland Middle School -- D& Tarkington Middle School -- D Wilson Junior High -- D- HIGH SCHOOLS Dayton High School -- C- Hull-Daisetta High School -- C- Tarkington High School -- D Liberty High School -- D Hardin High School -- F Cleveland High School -- F See More Collapse

A scant look at the Top Ten area high schools shows eight of them are private, magnet or early college high schools with a focus on career-oriented professions.

Those schools are able to select their student body makeup and, in most cases, taking only top-tier students.

Public schools are tasked with educating every student regardless of their demographic, disability, or learning acumen so the playing field seems skewed.

Johnson pointed out that all Dayton ISD campuses 'Met Standards', according to the TEA accountability system last year.

"We continue to see academic growth for our students. Our staff, parents, and our community are committed to our children and to their academic success," she said.

Cleveland ISD superintendent Dr. Darrell Myers identified yet another glaring issue - that of student population growth.

Last year, the district grew by a whopping 850 students, an unheard of 20 percent growth rate in a single academic year. The growth forced many of the district's students into portable buildings, creating yet another dilemma for educators.

"As I understand them, these grades are based on high stakes testing. If such is indeed the case, these rankings do not take into consideration student economic factors, student population growth, student mobility rates, numbers of English Language Learners, beginning student academic level or the amount of academic growth per student during the course of the year," Myers said.

The district also had a high 30 percent English Language Learners.

"I could continue with numbers of items critical to assessing a school or school district's value that go unrepresented by this particular ranking scenario. In short, my opinion is this ranking is myopic and poorly conceived. It tells us little about the true quality and value of the school district, schools, educators and students who attend or work there," the Cleveland ISD superintendent said.

Tarkington superintendent Kevin Weldon broke it down even further, lamenting the scoring issues on the state's required tests.

"Tarkington ISD disagrees with the methodology used in these rankings," the Tarkington ISD superintendent said. "The rankings are based solely on high-stakes testing from the 2015-2016 school year."

Weldon goes on to thrash the scores with a litany of issues left out by the think tank.

"A majority of each campus's ranking is based solely on the Level 3 STAAR scores for grades 3-8 reading and math and grades 9-12 English 1, English 2, and algebra 1 EOC exams. The ranking does not take into account STAAR passing scores," he explained.

Weldon also said the Tarkington Middle School algebra 1 EOC scores are not included in these rankings.

"According to their methodology, Children At Risk will only use EOC scores from grades 9-12. In 2016, TMS boasted algebra 1 EOC scores of 100 percent passing and 100 percent at Level 3," Weldon said.

He also pointed out the issues with scoring STAAR tests that affected many schools across the state bringing into question their validity and reliability.

"To date and through no fault of Tarkington ISD or our students, 43 percent of the English 1, English 2, and grade 7 writing exams that we have requested for rescore this school year have been in error and found that the students had actually passed the STAAR test in question. Sixty-seven percent of those submitted for rescore were returned to TISD with an improved score. These scores are not included in these rankings or our state accountability," Weldon pointed out.

Twenty percent of the rankings are based on score growth for reading and math STAAR exams. "Tarkington ISD's STAAR reading, math, English 1, English 2, and algebra 1 scores have remained at a considerably higher level than those of other districts and above the state average over the last three years," Weldon said. "Because these same districts have made some progress their growth score is higher than that of Tarkington ISD. Tarkington High School has received a distinction designation for the last three years in Top 25 Percent Closing Performance Gaps."

Weldon discounted the rankings as "not relevant to the academic success of all students at Tarkington ISD."

Dr. Cody Abshier at Liberty ISD said his staff doesn't look only at scores and attendance rates, but looks elsewhere to find their answers.

"We also put great stock in feedback from teachers, parents, community members, industry leaders, and even students as we seek to improve," he said.

Each of the superintendents said they were looking for ways to improve, but none of them seemed to be distracted by the non-profit.

"Effectively educating children in this ever-changing world is challenging, but it is what public school educators love to do," Abshier said.

"We are all passionate about what we do and it is why we get up in the morning."
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Two artists from the Coldspring Area Art League showcased their work in the 2017 Lone Star Art Guild Convention in Sugarland on June 3-4.

The Lone Star Art Guild consists of 16 different art leagues in a 200-mile radius of Houston, Texas, and includes the Coldspring Area Art League (CAAL).

"For the first time, it was a two-day convention," said CAAL President Sandi Osiecki.

The convention was held this year at the Fluor Corporation in Sugarland.

"I think there were nine leagues that attended," said Osiecki.

While there may have only been nine leagues in attendance, the number is far outweighed by the pieces of art entered into the convention with some artists entering more than one selection.

"There were over 500 entries for convention," said Osiecki.

Contestants who enter the Lone Star Art Guild's convention must first enter their artwork into a judged art show held by one of the art leagues within the guild. CAAL held its art show on April 1.

Two artists associated with CAAL, John Davis and Mark Papcun, entered a total of three works of art into the Lone Star Art Guild's convention.

"John got second place in the photography division," said Osiecki.

Davis's second place work of art is called "Mating Dance," which depicts a bird perched on branches. He also entered another photograph called "The Sun Rises Yet the Farm Lies Still," which received an Honorable Mention ribbon.

Papcun entered a lone work of art into the studio art division.

"Anything that's not drawn or painted goes into studio art," said Osiecki.

This places Papcun's artwork up against ceramics, wood carvings and jewelry. Papcun is known for creating art with stained glass. His artwork received an Honorable Mention ribbon as well.

"I think they did very well," said Osiecki. "We're extremely proud of them."
Russ Chappell, 75, remembers Field Elementary School as a diverse place even in the 1940s.

The Cypress resident attended Field from kindergarten to sixth grade, except for first grade when he attended a Lutheran school.

The majority of his classmates weren't Hispanic, though, as the school is comprised of half Hispanic students today.

Chappell hails from Irish-English ancestors, and, "In those tender years of growing up my best friends were of mostly Polish and German extraction," said Chappell of the second- and third-generation children he knew.

Field, named after poet Eugene Field, opened on 17th Street in 1929 and was originally known as the "Pink School on Studewood."

Currently, the small Heights-area school is a high-performing one, meeting or exceeding all standards set by the Texas Education Association. For more information on the school, go to www.houstonisd.org/fieldes.
Raise Your Hand Texas is sponsoring 110 school leaders for summer leadership programs at The Principals' Center at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Principal Letty Roman and Assistant Principal Dion Rivera from Smith Elementary and Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum Dr. Anita Hebert are among those headed to Harvard this summer.

Raise Your Hand Texas, a nonprofit working to strengthen and improve public education, is sponsoring our administrators to attend training at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The program provides the campus leadership team the opportunity to learn how to design family engagement practices that are directly connected to student learning, and increase your capacity to engage staff, families and your community to improve student outcomes.

"It is an honor to be selected for this program and to be a part of this elite network of 1,000 Texas school leaders," Roman said. "We are excited to learn about new quality, sustainable strategies we can implement for the success of our students and families at Smith Elementary."

With this year's group, Raise Your Hand Texas will have sponsored more than 1,000 school leaders to attend Harvard in the nine years of the program. This is the first year the organization opened sponsorship to teams.

"We know the Harvard program is transformational for many school leaders and we saw an opportunity to scale that impact by also sponsoring teams to attend," said Cody Huie, director of leadership development for Raise Your Hand Texas. "This weeklong program serves as the launch pad for ongoing professional development, leadership and innovation events, and support through the Raise Your Hand alumni network."

Raise Your Hand covers all expenses for those selected, including program tuition fees, travel, hotel and other discretionary funding  an average of about $9,200 per attendee, for a total of more than $1 million in sponsorships for 2017, and more than $8 million since the program's inception.

Attendees will join education leaders from around the globe and engage in training and workshops led by international education and leadership experts.
Every year is election year in Virginia, the state that tucks statewide and legislative races between federal contests. On Tuesday, voters will choose the Democratic and Republican nominees for governor and lieutenant governor, in addition to candidates for some House of Delegates seats.

The governor's race is the marquee event. Virginia is one of just two states holding gubernatorial contests in 2017 (the other is New Jersey), and the Virginia race is drawing intense national interest as a harbinger of the 2018 midterms and a test of politics in the era of President Trump.

With so much happening in Washington, it is understandable if Virginians have been distracted from state races. As The Washington Post tagged along with canvassers recently, many voters said they were undecided and still needed to do their homework.

We want to help.

Here's a primer on the race, plus resources to learn more about the candidates and choices:

Overview

Who are the candidates?

On the Democratic side, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam is competing against former congressman and onetime State Department envoy Tom Perriello.

On the Republican side are former GOP political operative Ed Gillespie; chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors Corey A. Stewart; and state Sen. Frank W. Wagner (Virginia Beach).

The Post sat down with all five candidates for wide-ranging on-camera interviews, and videos and transcripts are available.

What do the polls say?

The most recent public polling in the race was conducted in early May by The Post and George Mason University. It found that Gillespie had a comfortable lead over his two rivals and that the Democratic nominating contest was a neck-and-neck race.

Those results may be different now after both Democrats aired a barrage of ads across the state, with Northam outspending Perriello.

How do I vote?

Virginia is an open primary state, meaning anyone can choose either a Democratic or Republican ballot - but not both.

Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., and you must present photo identification. The registration deadline has passed.

The Democratic race

Endorsements

 Northam is endorsed by every other statewide Democratic officer holder: Gov. Terry McAuliffe (who cannot serve consecutive terms under the state's constitution), Attorney General Mark R. Herring, and U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine. Northam is also backed by every Democrat in the state legislature and three of the state's four Democratic members of Congress (Rep. Gerald E. Connolly has stayed neutral).

He has also picked up support from a variety of progressive groups: NARAL and its Virginia affiliate, the National Education Association teachers' union and its Virginia affiliate, a variety of gun control groups and Equality Virginia (an LGBT rights group).

 Perriello has attracted support from progressive leaders Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and their affiliated political organizations. He also has the support of top staffers from Hillary Clinton's campaign, and 30 campaign and administration aides to former president Barack Obama.

In Virginia, Perriello has support from a few lower-profile elected officials including Ryan Sawyers, chairman of the Prince William County school board, several labor unions that praised Perriello's opposition to the state's "right-to-work" laws and Gold Star parents Khizr and Ghazala Khan. His opposition to two planned gas pipelines has also won him support from national environmental groups.

Differences on issues

Barring an upset Democratic takeover of the House of Delegates in November, the next governor will be dealing with a Republican legislature. In that environment, Democratic governors such as McAuliffe exert their influence through executive orders, appointments to state boards and commissions, vetoes of legislation and economic development deals.

Perriello and Northam largely agree on policy priorities. Here are few areas where they disagree:

Gas pipelines: Perriello has opposed two natural gas pipelines planned to cross south and southwestern Virginia. Northam has declined to take a firm position on the pipelines beyond saying they should be subject to strict environmental review, and he supports an approach taken by state water-quality regulators that some environmentalists say does not go far enough.

Taxes: Perriello has proposed a tax increase on the wealthy and smaller spending cuts that his campaign estimates would bring in $1.1 billion of additional annual revenue to fund a host of social programs. Northam has instead called for a commission to review the state's tax policies but says he wants to cut grocery taxes paid by the poor.

 Higher education: Both candidates support some form of free higher education. Perriello's proposal is more expansive and expensive: It would fund two-year community college, apprenticeships or trade school. Northam's plan is more targeted: It would chip in money, after other forms of aid are exhausted, for community college and workforce training in high-need fields such as clean energy and computer programming, and would require recipients of student aid to do a year of public service.

 Campaign finance: Perriello has refused to accept contributions from energy giant Dominion, which is Virginia's largest political donor, and has called for public financing of elections. Northam has instead called for a ban on campaign contributions from corporations and a cap on donations.

Differences in track record

Because Perriello and Northam have similar policy views, much of their sniping in the primary has focused on the past.

 Perriello has renounced several conservative stances he took while in Congress including: supporting an unsuccessful amendment to the Affordable Care Act that would have limited coverage of abortion in private health plans, supporting the National Rifle Association and accepting its endorsement, and backing oil drilling off the Virginia coast.

 Northam has fended off criticism for past flirtations with the Republican Party. He acknowledged voting twice for President George W. Bush, which he chalks up to his being tuned out of politics. As a state senator, he was courted by Republicans to switch parties in 2009, although he says he never seriously considered leaving the Democratic Party. And as recently as 2013, he described himself as a fiscal conservative and moderate.

The Republican race

Endorsements

 Gillespie has racked up the most endorsements from Republican lawmakers, including GOP leaders in the House and the Senate, as well as former Republican governors Robert F. McDonnell and George Allen. He is also backed by scores of local Republican elected officials and a few national Republican figures, including Sens. Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Tom Cotton (Ark.), and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

 Stewart has the support of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, a gun rights group, and Tea Party Nation. Some alumni of President Trump's campaign operation in Virginia back him, but he burned bridges with others after attacking the Republican National Committee as being insufficiently supportive of Trump during the campaign. He lost a few endorsements in his own Prince William County after making the defense of the state's Confederate heritage a central campaign theme.

 Wagner has support from John Watkins, a former state senator who led the powerful Finance Committee; The Washington Post's editorial board; as well as community leaders and shipyard executives in his native Hampton Roads.

Differences on issues

If Virginia elects a Republican governor, he will be in a position to deliver sweeping policy change if the legislature stays under GOP control. Here are some ways the Republican candidates differ on issues:

 Taxes: Gillespie has called for a 10 percent across-the-board cut to income tax rates, if future economic growth hits certain targets. Wagner says such a move is foolish and would threaten the state's finances, and he's proposing additional changes to gas and other taxes that would increase revenue for transportation projects. Stewart has said Gillespie's plan wouldn't go far enough; he wants to phase out the income tax completely and drastically slash state spending to compensate for the revenue that would be lost.

 Abortion: Gillespie has said he would like to see abortion banned, while preserving exceptions for rape, incest and when the mother's life is at risk, a position shared by Wagner. Stewart supports an absolute ban, including when the mother's life is at risk.

 Criminal justice: Wagner has called for an expansion of the state's drug-court model to steer offenders to treatment instead of incarceration, while punishing violent offenders harshly. Gillespie says he wants to see fewer people incarcerated and supports a state commission's review of penalties for marijuana crimes. Stewart has called for the decriminalization of simple possession of marijuana.

 All three say the state must address illegal immigration, but Stewart has taken the toughest stance, calling for "sanctuary city" mayors to be jailed for not turning over criminal illegal immigrants to federal officials for deportation.

 Confederate monuments: They all say statues of Confederate leaders should not come down but give the matter different weight. Stewart thrust the issue into the primary by holding rallies in support of a statue of General Robert E. Lee set for removal in Charlottesville. When white nationalist Richard Spencer led an explicitly racist, torch-lit rally at the site in May, Stewart was the only one of the three who did not condemn it. Gillespie has said decisions about statues should be made locally. Wagner describes calls to remove Confederate memorabilia "political correctness run amok," but he prefers to focus on issues such as traffic congestion and workforce development.

Embracing Trump

In a state where President Trump is deeply unpopular, the Republican nominee will enter an electoral playing field where he will have to turn out the base and attract moderates. All three take different approaches to the president:

 Gillespie has carefully straddled a line in his responses to decisions by the president and keeps his focus on Virginia, but said he would welcome Trump's support on the campaign trail. He was noncommital on Trump's decision to fire James B. Comey as director of the FBI and on the health-care overhaul bill passed by the House. He supported the president's decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate pact and backed the proposed ban on entry to the United States by citizens of certain majority-Muslim countries, although he said the Trump administration had erred by initially including green card holders.

 Stewart is campaigning as a loyal foot soldier of the president's who has never wavered in his support. He likes to say he was "Trump before Trump was Trump." But he was perhaps a little too eager in his support and was fired as chairman of Trump's Virginia campaign after staging an unauthorized protest against the RNC for what he considered to be its tepid support for candidate Trump.

 Wagner has frequently sided with Trump and his policies but his support isn't quite as fervent as Stewart's.

---

Laura Vozzella contributed to this report
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

The second federal appeals court to consider President Trumps travel ban against selected mostly Muslim nations reached the same result as the first  that the ban cannot take effect  but for reasons that struck at the heart of Trumps national-security argument and could lessen his chances of prevailing in the U.S. Supreme Court.

In a 3-0 ruling Monday, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said the president had offered no evidence that temporarily barring immigrants and visitors from the targeted nations, as well as all would-be refugees, would protect the United States from terrorism.

Another federal appeals court, in Richmond, Va., had already forbidden implementation of the travel ban by ruling May 24 that his executive order was intended to exclude Muslims, in violation of the Constitution.

That decision, which the Trump administration has appealed to the Supreme Court, was based on assorted evidence of the presidents motives  the nations he targeted, his call as a presidential candidate to prohibit Muslim immigration, and post-inauguration statements by Trump and his aides indicating he was carrying out his previous goals.

Mondays ruling, by contrast, relies on laws passed by Congress and what the court concluded was the presidents failure to abide by them.

Its a smart approach, and one more likely to attract support from Republican-appointed Supreme Court justices such as Anthony Kennedy, Chief Justice John Roberts and Trump appointee Neil Gorsuch, said David Levine, a law professor at UC Hastings in San Francisco.

Trumps March 6 executive order, a revision of an earlier version, would impose a 90-day ban on U.S. admission of immigrants or visitors who were citizens of any of six nations  Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen  whose Muslim populations range from 90 to 99 percent.

The second order, like the first  issued by Trump Jan. 27 and blocked by federal courts a week later  would also impose a 120-day ban on all U.S. admission of refugees fleeing violence and hardship in their homelands, and would reduce total U.S. refugee admissions from 110,000 to 50,000 for the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30.

The revised version would exempt anyone holding a U.S. visa and would allow consular officers to issue individual exemptions in hardship cases. U.S. consulates revoked between 60,000 and 100,000 visas of would-be entrants under Trumps first order.

The Justice Department contends the ban is based on terrorism concerns, not religion, and would give the administration time to devise tougher screening standards for entrants from zones of conflict. They noted that federal law gives the president broad authority over immigration and national security.

But the Ninth Circuit said Trumps executive order described the six nations as sources of terrorism, yet offered no evidence that any citizens of those nations, let alone all of them, pose a threat to national security.

The order would thus violate two federal immigration laws, the court said: a 1952 law allowing the president to exclude any class of aliens by showing that they were detrimental to the United States, and a 1965 statute that prohibited discrimination in immigration based on national origin. Because Trumps actions appear to be illegal, the court said, there is no need to decide whether they would also be unconstitutional.

That could also undercut the Trump administrations leading argument against previous rulings, including the May 24 ruling by the Richmond court: that judges were wrongly using the presidents campaign statements about barring Muslim immigration to psychoanalyze the motives of his executive order, rather than properly relying on the language of the order itself.

Were starting to get a partisan split, Republican-appointed judges saying you cant pay any attention to campaign rhetoric and tweets, and Democrats going the other way, said Levine, of UC Hastings. The Ninth Circuit avoids that by saying were deferring to Congress, that Congress requires findings and the executive order does not make the requisite findings.

Bill Ong Hing, a University of San Francisco law professor and director of the schools Immigration Law and Deportation Defense Clinic, said the Ninth Circuits reliance on federal laws is more likely to persuade Supreme Court justices than citing campaign comments as evidence of a discriminatory intent.

Ive always thought that statutory grounds was stronger from the plaintiffs perspective ... (that) hes going beyond the statute by saying everyone from those countries presents a danger, Hing said. He doesnt have a factual basis for that conclusion.

The ruling is very pragmatic and, because it is based on statutes, would allow Congress and the president to address the courts concerns by changing the law, said Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor.

Stanford Law Professor Michael McConnell had a different view.

The most shocking thing about the panel opinion is that it presumes the authority of courts to second-guess the president on a foreign affairs issue vested in him alone, said McConnell, director of Stanfords Constitutional Law Center. He predicted a Supreme Court reversal.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions also took issue with the ruling.

President Trump knows that the country he has been elected to lead is threatened daily by terrorists who believe in a radical ideology, and that there are active plots to infiltrate the U.S. immigration system  just as occurred prior to 9/11, Sessions said in a statement.

The ruling was jointly issued by Judges Michael Hawkins, Ronald Gould and Richard Paez, all appointees of Democratic presidents.

They said presidential authority over immigration, though broad, is not unlimited.

Trumps order makes no finding that nationality alone renders entry of this broad class of individuals a heightened security risk to the United States, the court said. It does not provide any link between an individuals nationality and their propensity to commit terrorism.

The court said Trump, while asserting that a handful of residents of the six targeted countries had committed acts of terrorism, provided no justification for banning entry, even temporarily, by anyone from those nations.

The panel also cited a report by Trumps Department of Homeland Security that found no connection between immigrants national origins and any likelihood of terrorism after U.S. entry.

And in another instance of Trumps tweets seemingly backfiring, the court cited his June 5 Twitter posting  we need a TRAVEL BAN for certain DANGEROUS countries, not some politically correct term that wont help us protect our people!  as evidence that it was the nations, and not their 180 million-plus residents, that the president considered inherently dangerous.

The White House confirmed on June 6 that Trumps tweets were official statements, the court said.

The Ninth Circuit panel also rejected the Justice Departments argument that the 1965 federal immigration law, which barred discrimination based on national origin, applied only to issuance of visas and did not prohibit the government from selectively barring entrants from certain nations. The law, properly understood, requires equal treatment, regardless of national origin, for those seeking U.S. entry, the court said.

Trumps order thus would enable the president to restore discrimination on the basis of nationality that Congress sought to eliminate, the court said.

The court also said Trump had provided no justification, based on national security or any other grounds, for a 120-day ban on all refugee admissions or a reduction from 110,000 to 50,000 in overall U.S. refugee admissions for the year.

And the state of Hawaii, lead plaintiff in the case before the court, provided evidence of hardships the state and its residents would suffer  prolonged separation from family members, constraints to recruiting and attracting student and faculty members to the University of Hawaii, decreased tuition revenue, and the states inability to assist in refugee resettlement  if Trumps order were enforced, the court said.

On another issue, the court said U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson of Hawaii had gone too far by prohibiting Trumps administration from working on a plan for extreme vetting of immigrants and refugees while the travel ban continued. Ironically, said Levine, that part of the ruling could effectively end the case by giving officials the time they said they needed to devise stricter screening methods.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com

Twitter: @egelko

Read the ruling: Find it at http://bit.ly/2sl8V5U
WASHINGTON - Justice Neil Gorsuch got a cushy assignment for his first Supreme Court opinion -- a unanimous ruling affirming a lower court - and used it to showcase both his writing style and much-touted devotion to a textual interpretation of the laws Congress passes.

"Disruptive dinnertime calls, downright deceit, and more besides drew Congress's eye to the debt collection industry," Gorsuch began in an 11-page opinion that said federal law targeting annoying and abusive debt collectors does not cover companies that buy debt and try to collect it.

"Everyone agrees that the term embraces the repo man - someone hired by a creditor to collect an outstanding debt. But what if you purchase a debt and then try to collect it for yourself - does that make you a 'debt collector' too?" Gorsuch wrote in his folksy opening paragraph.

"That's the nub of the dispute now before us."

The answer, Gorsuch said, is in the plain language of the statute, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Gorsuch wrote that the relevant part is the definition of "debt collector" as anyone who "regularly collects or attempts to collect . . . debts owed or due . . . another."

When Congress passed the debt collection law in 1977, its strict regulations covered firms that collected debt for "another." But now banks, credit card companies and other businesses collect on their own debt.

And in a case brought by Marylanders complaining about debt collection tactics, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit said the company at issue was not covered by the act.

It is Santander Consumer USA, which serviced car loans made by CitiFinancial. Santander later bought defaulted loans at a heavy discount and began to collect for itself. The complaint said Santander did not comply with restrictions in the law such as not dealing directly with customers represented by a lawyer.

But Santander said it was not covered by the law because it was now collecting debt for itself, not for another company.

Consumer groups and a number of states asked the Supreme Court to apply the law to companies such as Santander, because it was the techniques employed to collect debt that Congress was targeting.

But Gorsuch said if that was so, Congress could deal with it.

"The evolution of the debt collection business might invite reasonable disagreements on whether Congress should reenter the field and alter the judgments it made in the past," he said.

But he added:

"Constant competition between constable and quarry, regulator and regulated, can come as no surprise in our changing world. But neither should the proper role of the judiciary in that process - to apply, not amend, the work of the people's representatives."

The case is Henson v. Santander Consumer USA Inc.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 12



By Khalid Kazimov  Trend:



Four armed individuals have been shot dead by police in southern Iranian province of Hormozgan, authorities said.



Provincial Police Chief Azizollah Maleki has said that following the tip-offs from the intelligence, the forces confronted the unruly individuals in a mountainous area near Roudan County, Tasnim news agency reported.



He added that the police officers seized 4 guns and 112 bullets as well as explosives and ISIS flag following the operation.



Two out of the four have been identified as foreign citizens but the officials are still investigating the identities of the other two slain suspects, he added.



Iranian security forces have arrested dozens of suspect terrorists over the past few days following a recent terror attacks on capital Tehran.



Two separate attacks shook Tehran on June 7. As reports said, several armed people attempted to break their way into the Parliament building.



The attackers managed to get inside the building and engaged in a shootout with the security forces. One terrorist committed suicide by blowing himself up. The latest reports indicate that all terrorists who took part in the siege of the Parliament building have been killed.



Meanwhile, another attack took place at the Imam Khomeini Shrine. The reports said Irans security forces neutralized one terrorist, another one committed suicide there.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has recommended President Donald Trump "revise the existing boundaries" of the Bears Ears National Historic Monument and call on Congress to dictate the terms of how parts of the area should be managed.

Native American and environmental groups immediately threatened to sue should Trump follow the recommendation.

In an interim report Zinke gave to the White House on Saturday, he proposed Trump ask Congress to give tribal officials authority to co-manage "designated cultural resources" in the area and "make more appropriate conservation designations" within an area that President Barack Obama formally protected in southeastern Utah late last year.

But Zinke suggested holding off on any final decision until a full review of 27 national monuments designated by Trump's predecessors is completed. Trump signed an executive order in April ordering Zinke to conduct the 120-day review, and he instructed the secretary to first report back on Bears Ears, a 1.35-million-acre site Obama designated in December under the 1906 Antiquities Act.

A coalition of tribes, environmentalists, outdoor recreation businesses and academics had pressed for the designation because some of the area's more than 100,000 archaeological sites have been damaged in recent years by vandalism, off-road vehicle use and looting. Gov. Gary Herbert and Utah's congressional delegation, all Republicans, argued that lawmakers should determine the boundaries of any monument rather than the White House.

In speaking with reporters on Monday, Zinke emphasized that "the recommendations were not made in a bubble in Washington, D.C." but determined after "we traveled by air, by car, by foot and by horseback." He said the current boundaries do not accord with the 1906 law's provision that any designation be confined to "the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected."

"If you look at the Bears Ears as a whole, there's a lot more drop-dead gorgeous land than there are historic, prehistoric objects," the secretary said, adding that he could not provide a specific acreage estimate because it would depend on how Congress would draw the new lines. Referring to the area's key historic sites and structures, he maintained that "these items and objects can be identified, segregated and reasonably separated."

During the afternoon news conference, Zinke said he and a deputy assistant spoke with Native leaders, a majority of whom support the Bears Ears designation and fought the monument's review at every step. "Overall, in talking to tribal leadership. . . they're pretty happy and willing to work with us," he said.

The statement brought a quick rebuke from representatives of the Navajo Nation. "I haven't been happy with him since day one," said Davis Filfred. "I don't know what that word happy is."

Filfred said he told Zinke, and later his assistant, whom the secretary did not name, that the coalition of Ute, Navajo, Hopi and Zuni tribe leaders who fought 10 years for a monument designation wanted no change. He said Zinke is apparently speaking with the leader of a small Navajo faction that opposed the monument but isn't part of the nation's leadership.

"We don't want it to be rescinded," Filfred said. "We wanted it left alone. Right now, what I'm hearing is this is only a recommendation. But when they do make that move, we're ready as a Navajo nation for a lawsuit, and all the other tribal leaders are ready. We have others who are ready for litigation. This is uncalled for."

The proposal also drew sharp criticism from environmental and outdoors' groups but praise from Utah Republicans.

National Wildlife Federation president and CEO Collin O'Mara, who participated in a signing ceremony at Zinke's office during his first day on the job, said in a statement that the administration solicited public input on the matter and heard "more than a million hunters, anglers, and outdoor enthusiasts from Utah and the entire country loudly proclaiming Bears Ears deserves protection. For the Administration to then ignore that broad showing of support and recommend reducing the boundaries of Bears Ears is both disappointing and baffling."

Heidi McIntosh, managing attorney for the Rocky Mountains office of Earthjustice, said the environmental law firm's attorneys were readying a lawsuit to challenge the recommendations. "Make no mistake: Unilaterally shrinking the boundaries of Bears Ears National Monument would not only be a slap in the face to the five sovereign tribes who share sacred ties to this land, it would violate both the Antiquities Act and the separation of powers doctrine."

The secretary traveled last month to the Bears Ears site, which lies within Utah's San Juan County, to listen to the state's politicians and nearby residents who opposed the designation. He also met for a shorter time with supporters of the site.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, called the plan "an unquestionable victory for Utah."

"This recommendation reflects a balance of our shared priorities of protecting this land and the antiquities that are found on it while still preserving local involvement, and taking into consideration the needs of the local communities," Hatch said.

It remains unclear how soon Congress might act to pass legislation to give the tribes authority to co-manage the area and whether such a bill would be paired with one changing the site's management plan. Zinke has proposed designating some of the existing monument as "national recreation areas" or "national conservation areas," but a measure that provided this sort of guidance stalled last year in the House. Moreover, officials from both the George W. Bush and Obama administrations have testified previously that any national conservation area designations "should not diminish the protections that currently apply to the lands."

Zinke expressed optimism that the tribes would embrace a proposal that "is about sovereignty respect and self-determination" and that legislation could make it though Congress without much difficulty.

"I would give it one word: President Trump," he said when asked about the bill's prospects.
For Puerto Rico, it's been expensive to go broke.

Even before the U.S. territory filed for a tailor-made form of bankruptcy, the government spent as much as $154 million on financial consultants and lawyers as it negotiated with bondholders to cut its $74 billion debt, according to the terms in contracts provided by the island's Office of the Comptroller. With creditors and Puerto Rico now squaring off in court, the fees will only grow.

"This can become very expensive in relationship to the benefits you receive if you don't get to a recovery and bring people along quickly," said James Spiotto, managing director at Chicago-based Chapman Strategic Advisors LLC, whose firm advises on municipal restructurings. "Dealing with financial distress is expensive."

Puerto Rico's May 3 bankruptcy, allowed under a unique process created by a federal rescue law enacted last year, is the largest ever for a U.S. government, promising significant paydays for lawyers and advisers clashing over who has a higher claim on the island's diminished cash. The amount the government spent during its slow-motion collapse approached the $180 million shelled out in Detroit's record bankruptcy -- roughly equivalent to what it costs to cover the annual pensions of 11,000 Puerto Rico retirees.

Some of the spending on consultants has borne fruit: the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, known as Prepa, and the Government Development Bank have both reached out-of-court settlements with bondholders to reduce what's owed. The power company's deal struck this year, which amended an earlier one, promises to cut its debt-service costs by about $2.2 billion from 2018 to 2022 if it's executed. Puerto Rico was less successful with owners of other bonds, ultimately wagering on a better outcome from bankruptcy.

The amount Puerto Rico has spent on outside consultants is based on the maximums specified in the contracts. The actual amounts may differ, depending on the work performed. Following are the sums included in the agreements and the firms involved:

- $52.7 million: Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, which advised the commonwealth and the electric company on restructuring from February 2014 until January 2017 and negotiated with creditors

- $45.6 million: AlixPartners LLP, whose managing director, Lisa Donahue, served as chief restructuring officer of the power company from September 2014 until February 2017

--$26.5 million: Millco Advisors LP, an affiliate of Washington-based Millstein & Co., had advised former Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla since 2014 on Prepa's restructuring and the ultimately unsuccessful efforts to reduce the government's general debt

- $7.5 million: Kirkland & Ellis LLP, which represented the commonwealth in legal disputes including challenges to the island's debt-moratorium law

- $6.6 million: Proskauer Rose LLP, adviser to the Government Development Bank

- $6.4 million: Rothschild & Co., which Governor Ricardo Rossello hired to replace Millco, based on the contract running through this month. Puerto Rico's Fiscal Agency and Financing Advisory Authority has paid Rothschild $3.6 million, as of June 10, according to the agency.

- $6 million: Dentons LLP, which Rossello hired to replace Cleary Gottlieb, with a contract that runs through June 2017. Dentons has subcontracted legal work from O'Melveny & Myers LLP, according to Puerto Rico's fiscal agency.

- $2.2 million: O'Neill & Borges LLC, adviser to the development bank

The conflict over Puerto Rico's series of defaults is now playing out in U.S. court in San Juan, where the island is seeking to have billions of dollars of debt written off. Its fiscal turnaround plan, approved by federal overseers in March, would cover less than a quarter of the $33.4 billion the commonwealth and its agencies owe in debt payments through fiscal 2026. Creditors have questioned the magnitude of the cuts they're facing.

It's unclear how long the workout will linger in court. Detroit, with $8 billion of bond debt, took 17 months to emerge from bankruptcy. Jefferson County, Alabama's, the second-biggest bankruptcy case, took about two years.

While the process will ultimately steady the government's finances and likely save it billions of dollars, it won't be cheap. Puerto Rico will also need to cover the legal fees for some creditors, which will add to the commonwealth's bankruptcy costs.

McKinsey & Co. was hired as a strategic consultant to the federal oversight board, whose bills are covered by Puerto Rico, under a $3.75 million contract. Proskauer, the lead legal counsel in the island's bankruptcy, was also hired by the board, as was O'Neill & Borges. Edward Zayas, spokesman for the panel, said it would disclose "soon" how much the board is paying the firms.

Spokespeople for Cleary Gottlieb, AlixPartners, McKinsey and Kirkland & Ellis declined to comment. Representatives of Rothschild, Dentons, O'Neill & Borges, Millstein, Proskauer, O'Melveny. Puerto Rico's fiscal agency said in a statement that it isn't responsible for contracts entered into before April 2016, when it was created.

--With assistance from Steven Church
NBC's Megyn Kelly is under fire for her one-on-one interview with Infowars's Alex Jones.

One of the immediate critics is a mother whose daughter was killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, a massacre that Jones has dismissed as a government hoax.

Nelba Marquez-Greene saw the interview, scheduled to air Sunday - Father's Day - as an "egregious offense" to fathers whose children were murdered on Dec. 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut.

"To give Alex Jones a platform on Father's Day is especially cruel to me," she told The Washington Post.

Jones' interview reignites a debate over whether interviewing polarizing figures on national television gives them a platform or places their controversial views under scrutiny.

A call to Kelly's publicist was not returned, but in a tweet responding to criticisms Sunday night, the host said the media needed to "shine a light" on who Jones is, particularly because of the layer of legitimacy he's receiving from the White House. Infowars was given a temporary press credential last month. President Donald Trump, who has appeared on Infowars, once called Jones a "nice guy" and hinted that their mind-set align.

Marquez-Greene said Kelly's reasoning is misguided and would, instead, encourage Jones' army of followers to "double down" on their effort to label the massacre of 20 elementary schoolchildren a hoax.

"Shining a light works on cockroaches," she said. "It doesn't work on Alex Jones."

She added: "It's just a reminder that we really haven't found a way as a nation to really honor the loss. We really want to honor the loss, but we really don't know how to do that. Because this is not the way."

Efforts to reach Jones on Monday were unsuccessful. A message left to Infowars' media hotline was not returned.

Marquez-Greene took to Twitter after she found out about the upcoming interview. She posted a picture of her daughter Saturday night and tagged Kelly in a tweet:

"Here you go @megynkelly - her name is Ana Grace Marquez-Greene. Say her name - stare at this & tell me it's worth it. @nbc #SandyHook," she wrote.

Marquez-Greene said her concerns weren't necessarily over Jones, but on "the people he inspires."

Just last week, a Florida woman who claimed the mass shooting was a hoax and sent death threats to a parent whose 6-year-old son was killed, was sentenced to five months in prison.

Marquez-Greene said her family frequently receives mails from hoaxers implying that the shooting is a government conspiracy, suggesting that actors had been involved and accusing them of making millions off an Obama hoax. Others tell her she should teach her son how to shoot. Marquez-Green said she found that most disturbing.

Marquez-Greene's son was 8 when his sister, 6-year-old Ana Grace, was killed. She said she's tried to keep the now-12-year-old boy away from social media, where he might learn of the conspiracy theories swirling around his sister's death.

"It's hard enough to deal with losing a sister in mass shooting. We are trying to protect him as much as we can," she said. "He lives in a world where people don't think his sister's death is real. I'm not ready for him to know that yet."

In a preview of the interview, Kelly asked about the Sandy Hook massacre and his conspiracy theory that the shooting was a government hoax to push for tougher gun laws. In answering the question, Jones seems to offer differing views.

"Well, Sandy Hook's complex because I've had debates where we devil's advocates say the whole story's true," he said. "And then I've had debates where I've said none of it's true."

Kelly then went on to confront Jones, who seemed to move the conversation to other topics that he said the media failed to cover.

Kelly: When you say parents faked their children's death, people get angry.

Jones: Oh, I know. But they don't get angry about the half a million dead Iraqis from the sanctions. They don't get angry about all the -

Kelly: That's a dodge.

Jones: No, no, it's not a dodge. The media never covers all the evil wars that's promoted -

Kelly: That doesn't excuse what you did and said about Newtown. You know it.

Jones: Here's the difference. I looked at all the angles of Newtown, and I made statements long before the media even picked up on it. We didn't really get into the really important stuff.

Kelly: What do you mean? We talked about all the important stuff.

Jones: Here's the big one they always make fun of me. You probably want to throw this in there. Thirty years ago, they began creating animal-human hybrids. Isn't that the big story that Megyn Kelly should be doing?

For Marquez-Greene, if Jones deserves a platform on national media, so do parents like her.

"If they're going to do the interview, fine," she said. "But then give us equal airtime to express how dismaying this is."

She also said she wants to talk to Kelly, off or on the air, "mother to mother, woman to woman."

"And just talk about the personal impact this has had on our family and many others," she said.

The Jones interview is Kelly's second since NBC launched her "Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly" last week. Her first interview was with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The very idea of Ronald Reagan standing before the most powerful symbol of the Cold War and demanding that the leader of the Soviet empire "tear down this wall" threw two governments into conniptions. At home, the State Department fretted that Reagan's harsh rhetoric would bollix efforts to negotiate with Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev. The West German government worried such a challenge to the status quo could spark a nuclear confrontation.

But in Moscow, the target of Reagan's fiery rhetoric, Gorbachev was unperturbed and his top aides made clear to their American counterparts that they were fine with Reagan's demand. Standard Cold War stuff, they said. Bring it on.

Thirty years after the Reagan speech, video of that zinger - "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" - has become shorthand for a version of history in which the U.S. vanquishes what Reagan called the "evil empire," with the Great Communicator himself setting the collapse of Soviet communism into motion. As time edits the end of Cold War into the two-sentence version that shows up in high school textbooks and pop history videos, the juxtaposition is just too enticing: Reagan issues his demand in Berlin on June 12, 1987, and two years later, the Wall opens and half a century of East-West animus dissolves.

But at the time, the speech was hardly seen as the beginning of any end. To the contrary, what is today often referred to as perhaps Reagan's most powerful one-liner was almost completely ignored.The speech didn't make many front pages back home (but the New York Times that day did highlight a story about new clashes between Polish police and workers, the real beginning of the end of the Soviet East bloc). The network newscasts barely noted it. Germany's main news magazine, Der Spiegel, reported nothing about the speech until six months later, when it called Reagan's address "the work of amateurs."

The primary "amateur" in question was John Kornblum, who came up with the idea of having the president throw down the challenge. "It's gone down in history as this great important speech, which is sort of funny because it was totally ignored at the time," said Kornblum, then the top U.S. official in Berlin and later the U.S. ambassador to Germany. "If the Wall had not come down, nobody would have thought of the speech again."

But, of course, the Wall did fall and the speech retroactively became a soaring achievement. When ex-president Reagan made a triumphant return to Berlin in 1990, he took a hammer to one of the still-standing remnants of the Wall and said that he had set in motion "a process in the Soviet Union that has not ended." In the 1987 speech, Reagan had envisioned a reunited Berlin with free air traffic, a jointly sponsored Olympics and a bustling conference center. Except for the Olympics, most of what he dreamed of came to pass.

Still, Reagan remained deeply unpopular in Germany, viewed more as a warmongering cowboy than as a world-changing peacemaker. "The Germans had gotten it in their heads that Gorbachev was the only thing that was going to save Europe from nuclear war," Kornblum said.

In West Germany in the late 1980s, as historian Timothy Garton Ash has written, many people believed that nothing was more important than maintaining peace, not even freedom. "Better red than dead," Ash's friends in the West German peace movement would tell him.

Historians continue to argue about whether Reagan's speech paved the path to taking down the Wall or was "empty rhetoric," irrelevant to the fate of both the Wall and Soviet communism. "This is a debate that will go on forever," Kornblum said.

"It wasn't an earthshaking event," said Romesh Ratnesar, author of a book on Reagan's speech in Berlin, "Tear Down This Wall." "A groundswell of dissent was already building in East Germany and Eastern Europe. Would the collapse have happened without Reagan and the speech? Probably. The speech obtained more influence after the fact, years later. Nevertheless, it established the goal and the vision that was then hard for the U.S. to back away from."

Gorbachev himself has repeatedly noted that far from being angered or chastened by Reagan's speech, he considered the American president a friend and realized from the start that Reagan's harsh rhetoric was aimed at the West Germans, not at him.

"You can't overstate the importance of the personal chemistry between Reagan and Gorbachev from the moment they first met in Geneva in '85," Ratnesar said. "We don't really see those kinds of relationships between leaders anymore because they were built on three or four days of sustained conversation between two leaders at long, serious summits."

The Reagan-Gorbachev bond clearly created a level of trust that allowed the Soviet leader to focus on internal reforms without putting the confrontation with the West at the top of his agenda, but in all of their summit meetings, the Wall came up for discussion only a couple of times and only briefly.

The speech was born in Kornblum's mind as a way to try to reposition the United States in German public opinion and in the West German political parties as a moral voice for human rights. "We could see that the Germans were breaking away," believing that Reagan's military buildup was likely to turn the Cold War hot, Kornblum said. By going to the Brandenburg Gate - the iconic arch that had been cordoned off in the no man's land that the Wall created at the center of the divided city - and staking out moral high ground, the president could symbolically reach out to Germans who had been yearning for four decades for a return to normalcy.

But officials at the White House and State thought such a dramatic gesture would antagonize Gorbachev just as Reagan was developing a good relationship with him, and West German leaders - more inclined toward accommodation with the Soviets than with a lunge for change - tried to block the American planners from staging the president's address within view of the Wall.

Reagan had made powerful statements about the Soviet Union throughout his presidency. In 1982, in another visit to Berlin, he asked, "Do Soviet leaders want to be remembered for a prison wall, ringed with barbed wire and with armed guards, whose weapons are aimed at their own civilians?"

In his early drafts of the speech, Kornblum included a direct call to Gorbachev to open the Wall. Back in Washington, White House speechwriter Peter Robinson was similarly inclined and weeks of heated debate ensued.

Robinson has said that when he showed the draft to Reagan, the president immediately embraced the tough language. But White House chief of staff Howard Baker said the challenge to Gorbachev was "unpresidential," Secretary of State George Shultz said the times called for caution rather than brassy naivete, and other officials thought the call to tear down the wall would raise false expectations.It was only when Air Force One landed in Berlin that a White House official approached Kornblum and said Reagan had decided. "Congratulations, your sentence made it in," the official said.

Reagan nailed the delivery, coming across as tough and morally clear. "It was a defining moment of the Reagan presidency," Ratnesar said, "because it embodied what Americans most admired about Reagan as an orator and great communicator."

Over the next two years, the dissident movements in East Germany, Poland and other countries behind the Iron Curtain grew larger and bolder. In the fall of 1989, when East Germans took to the streets of Leipzig in silent, peaceful marches and thousands of their countrymen fled the Soviet bloc through new holes in the borders with Hungary and Czechoslovakia, the collapse began in earnest.

The Wall finally did open up in November 1989. Within weeks, Reagan's 1987 speech was resurrected as a harbinger of the change to come.

- - -

Part of a continuing series about facets of the past that remain relevant.
Now that the Trump administration has withdrawn from the Paris climate deal, we're starting to see concretely what that means on the world stage.

In particular, it seems to suggest the United States is increasingly isolated as other nations reiterate their commitment to climate action in group statements and the United States, via footnote, says it isn't part of all that.

In a meeting of G-7 environment ministers in Bologna, Italy, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt, declined to "join" large sections of the communique.

That includes a full 18 paragraphs on climate change, and another eight on multilateral development banks (which fund climate initiatives around the world).

"The United States will continue to engage with key international partners in a manner that is consistent with our domestic priorities, preserving both a strong economy and a healthy environment," says a footnote in the document. "Accordingly, we the United States do not join those sections of the communique on climate and [multilateral development banks], reflecting our recent announcement to withdraw and immediately cease implementation of the Paris agreement and associated financial commitments."

The paragraphs were endorsed by environmental ministers of the host nation Italy, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the European Commissioners.

The text affirms the importance of the Paris deal, the urgency of holding the planet's warming below 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, the vulnerability of small island nations and least developed countries, and more.

But the United States pointedly did not sign on.

"They're now taking a position that for any kind of multilateral statement relative to climate, they're taking the approach that they took at the G-7 meeting, which is to just stay out of it," says Andrew Light, a senior fellow at the World Resources Institute, of the statement.

It's understandable, perhaps, that having just pulled out of the Paris agreement, the United States would not endorse statements that sing its praises and call for its implementation.

But by withdrawing its assent from the entire section on climate change, the United States also did not endorse the relatively uncontroversial Kigali amendment to the Montreal Protocol, which aims to reduce the use of hydrofluorocarbons or HFCS, which are used in air conditioners and other industrial products and also drive climate change. Nor did it endorse efforts by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to cut emissions from the global aircraft fleet.

The EPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether the document means the United States is pulling back its support for the Kigali amendment or ICAO.

And it's important to underscore that a non-endorsement of a Paris-infused G-7 statement may not represent an out-and-out new policy on any of these areas.

But it does reflect an overall tone, with the United States distanced from other nations on an entire menu of items.

"I think it indicates that they're pulling back pretty broadly on the climate front," said Alden Meyer, who directs policy and strategy at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

The 18 paragraphs also suggest that it is important to listen to the best evidence on climate change. "We support an interactive evidence-based dialogue drawing on the best available science, including reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the sharing of experience and best practice as well as expertise from United Nations institutions and intergovernmental organizations," states the communique.

Under Pruitt, the EPA has taken down an extensive informational website dedicated to climate change which cited the IPCC to support the conclusion that global warming is predominantly caused by humans.

Up next is the G-20 meeting in Germany in July. And that's where things get interesting - will the United States abstain on climate change again, but this time not with Pruitt on stage but rather with Trump there?

"The next big one is the G-20," said Light. "At this point, if you know the U.S. is going to abstain from everything, then you want as big a possible a group of leaders or countries to sort of isolate the United States on this." Light pointed out that with a German election coming, Angela Merkel "needs some sort of win on climate change at the G-20."

So perhaps the United States will be a footnote again. The number of paragraphs remains to be seen.
Tehran, Iran, June 12

By Mehdi Sepahvand  Trend:

Iran and Turkey are putting the finishing touches to their policies toward the creation of de-escalation zones in Syria in expectation of a trilateral meeting with Russia to pursue their unified front in the war-torn Arab country.

Irans Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi told a press conference that in a last week trip to Turkey, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had thoroughly discussed the matter with the Turkish side, Trend correspondent reported from the event June 12.

We are now on a better ground and I think we will have more chances of cooperation in the next Astana meeting, Qassemi said.

Tehran, Moscow, and Ankara are going to discuss their approach to the de-escalation zones in an upcoming meeting in Moscow at the expert level, the spokesman noted.

The Russian Foreign Ministry on the same day announced the next round of Astana talks will be held on June 20.

Iran, Russia, and Turkey support the position of Syrian President Bashar Assad against dissidents, confronting a rival front, comprised notably of the United States and Saudi Arabia, which tries to topple Assad.
Mother Nature just won't leave the Sierra Nevada alone.

After a winter and early spring marked by record snowfall, the Lake Tahoe area saw unseasonably cold and stormy weather over the weekend.

"Temperatures in the 70s are typical at this time of year, and we're seeing temperatures in the 40s and 50s," said Evan LaGuardia, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Reno."That's 25 degrees below normal in some cases."

A low pressure system accompanied by a cold front that swooped into Northern California brought the chilly conditions, and LaGuardia expects that by Monday morning elevations above 7,000 feet will receive up to a foot of snow.

"This type of snow accumulation happens about every 5 to 10 years," he said. "It's not extremely rare, but it is rare. The last time we saw anything like this was June 6, 2011, when four inches of snow was recorded at Daggett Pass (Nevada)."

The stormy conditions are churning up Lake Tahoe, and waves five feet to six feet broke along the eastern shore from Incline Village to Emerald Bay over the weekend and last week as southwest winds whipped across the water.

"It's not uncommon to have four to five footers on the lake," said Luke Berghuis, a petty officer first class with the Coast Guard in Tahoe City. "But wow, a whole week of waves this big is unusual. And because the lake is so full, the waves look especially big."

Tahoe resident and professional photographer Christi Virdee was at the lake in Incline Village late Saturday afternoon.

"The lake was unreal last night. The waves were just huge," said Virdee. "I wanted to get a great shot. I was out there in my Hunter boots standing on a rock. And then I suddenly got soaked by a huge wave. It got me right in the face."

The Bay Area was seeing its share of unseasonal wet June weather Sunday afternoon, as storm clouds took over the morning's blue skies.

The storms materialized along a line that stretched from roughly Santa Rosa to Calistoga and began moving southwards towards Solano County from there, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Will Pi said.

The most heavily impacted areas can expect sustained winds of up to 25 mph and gusts up to 40 mph, in addition to more thunder, lightening, rain and maybe hail.

Rain totals of up to a quarter of an inch are also expected in the hardest hit areas.

A few funnel clouds also made appearances in Northern California, as locals reported seeing the weather phenomenon in Lincoln and Plumas Lake. The storms are expected to continue into Sunday night.

Bay City News contributed to this report.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 12



By Khalid Kazimov  Trend:



Iranian security forces have arrested five other members of the Islamic State (aka IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) terrorist group in the southern province of Hormozgan, authorities said.



The provincial head of judiciary, Mohammad Sadeq Akbari has said that the judiciary is probing into the case and it will issue the required verdicts the in near future, IRIB news agency reported.



The official however did not provide further details about the suspects and the operation which led to capturing the alleged ISIS members in Jask County.



Iranian security forces have arrested dozens of suspect terrorists over the past few days following a recent terror attacks on capital Tehran.



Two separate attacks shook Tehran on June 7. As reports said, several armed people attempted to break their way into the Parliament building.



The attackers managed to get inside the building and engaged in a shootout with the security forces. One terrorist committed suicide by blowing himself up. The latest reports indicate that all terrorists who took part in the siege of the Parliament building have been killed.



Meanwhile, another attack took place at the Imam Khomeini Shrine. The reports said Irans security forces neutralized one terrorist, another one committed suicide there.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

A path outside Bradley Middle School connects its 197-year-old Kentucky log cabin to a 128-year-old chuck wagon that carried food for cattle-driving cowboys in the late-19th century.

Scattered across almost two acres, its an outdoor museum with authentic materials and replicas modeling Texas history, including a mock up of an old-fashioned general store, a Texas Theatre of Dinosaurs and a collection of carved rocks and painted stones  in archaeological terms, petroglyphs and pictographs.

It also has Michael Baileys seventh-graders as its docents.

If they can remember a tenth of what they learned today, its a success, Bailey said, watching his students during one of the last weeks of school describe the chuck wagon. He wasnt referring to them  he was talking about the dozens of Cibolo Green Elementary School fourth graders who were listening with rapt attention.

RELATED: The best San Antonio middle schools, according to Children at Risk

Since 2000, Bailey has been teaching his students to be teachers. During the fall, they learn history through the campus artifacts and are trained in the art of being tour guides. By spring, he said, theyre no longer his students.

I tell them, If were out here, we have a different relationship. I am not your teacher, youre not my students. Im your employer and youre my employee. Because if we dont do a good job, we dont get these, Bailey said, waving a fresh check, a donation from Cibolo Green. This is a business, it really is.

From the end of February to the end of May, about 4,000 elementary school kids learn from the older ones. Bailey estimates more than 70,000 students have been taught since his North East Independent School District campus first became a local field trip destination for other schools 17 years ago.

I thought, Who wants to touch 400 lives a year, when you can touch over 4,000? he said.

This year, Bailey won the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award in a statewide competition by H-E-B that granted him and his school each $25,000. He also was named the Outstanding Seventh Grade History Teacher this year by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.

Many other awards adorn the walls of his portable classroom near the chuck wagon  not immediately noticeable, crammed as they are between dozens of artifacts that didnt fit into the exhibits outside.

Bailey bought the cabin in 1998 in Fredericksburg for $7,000 from an entrepreneur who had acquired it near Mill Springs, Kentucky. Bradley Middle School wasnt using all its land, so Bailey convinced the school to loan him the money, disassembled the cabin and rebuilt it there.

RELATED: These San Antonio high schools are among the best in the nation for 2017

He took on fundraisers to pay back the loan, and then continued fundraising to recreate a general store in an old portable, complete with a post office nook and saloon inside.

I had dances for every occasion you can think of. Back to school dances, Halloween dances, a 50s dance, a you-dont-like-your-ex-boyfriend dance  I was coming up with any kind of dance you could think of to make money, Bailey said.

The museum is still called Mill Springs Cabin, after its first acquisition. It opened with seven stations along the trails. It now has 11. As it grew, some of his former middle schoolers became Eagle Scouts and donated tables and benches.

Bailey keeps an eye on the visitors and, every 18 minutes, climbs up into a fort and rings a large bell, rotating them to the next station.

As he patrolled the paths last month, one of his students, Lysette Lopez, 13, was moving a group of fourth graders inside the 16-by-18-foot cabin to begin her spiel.

A fireplace mantle was decorated with an unloaded shotgun. A loft held a bed. Antiques in a glass case included dolls, pendants, eyeglasses and an 1889 copy of the Encyclopedia of Practical Information and Universal Formulary.

Its kind of crazy to think about all the different types of people that used to live here, Lopez remarked.

She and her peers discussed the cabins history before allowing the elementary students to explore the objects inside. One inquired about a contraption inside a large mason jar.

Its kind of like a blender. Back then they didnt have fancy kitchen aids and the fancy wonders we do now, so they had these and thats how they made the bread and tortillas and stuff like that, Lopez said matter-of-factly.

The courting candle was her favorite thing to explain. When it had burned down its spiral holder, a young womans father would tell a suitor that his date time was up.

Lopez said she never liked history until now, when she could see real, tangible elements of the past.

You learn where things came from  the original things, she said. You look at a blender and you dont think youd ever see something like that in history, but then you come here and see, Oh, that was the original blender.

And the younger students, too, said they prefer this kind of learning.

Even though adults have more experience, its interesting to learn from students. And theyre funnier, said Riley Spencer, 10, shortly after winning the scavenger hunt game in the general store.

Bailey lets his students take the reins. The reason he left advertising for teaching, he said, is the fulfillment of seeing his kids grow in their year with him.

Im a parent, so I look at them like, Aww, growth! Im so proud of them, Bailey said.

Sometimes, he said, they complain to him about a poorly-behaved elementary student, to which he replies: Welcome to my world. Do you like it?

Bailey said hes putting the $25,000 H-E-B award straight into his retirement fund, which might or might not be in use in a couple years. Hes been teaching at Bradley since 1993.

I put continuous emphasis on the (students) part in making this wheel roll. Because without them, its nothing, its a bunch of old wood. I say, When you all leave in the afternoon, and I close things up, its a bunch of old buildings, Bailey said. The next morning, I open it up, and the moment you walk into the gate, this place comes alive. And the teaching begins.

sfosterfrau@express-news.net
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

GALVESTON  A proud Gabrielle Giffords stood in front of the hulking warship, inviting thousands of onlookers to consider what it takes to survive a staredown with death.

The former Arizona congresswoman beamed from a podium at Galveston's Pier 21 Saturday during the commissioning of a state-of-the-art naval vessel named to commemorate her resilience in surviving a 2011 assassination attempt. She called the namesake an "incredible honor" and thanked the U.S. armed forces for their continued sacrifices.

"I thought of you in my darkest days," she said.

The commissioning ceremony drew an estimated 2,200 spectators and a long roster of high-profile politicians and military leaders. Hillary Clinton, Jill Biden and Nancy Pelosi shared remarks alongside many others, each drawing parallels between Giffords' determination and the power of the ship and its crew.

"Standing here, six years later, nothing gives me greater joy and honor than seeing this great ship named for someone whose strength and resilience is a great lesson to us all," Clinton said.

At the start of her third congressional term, Giffords survived a deliberate, near-point-blank shot to the head in Tucson during a rampage that killed six people and wounded 12 others. When she resigned from Congress in 2012, former Navy Secretary Ray Mabus decided to name a warship for her.

It's somewhat uncommon for naval vessels to be named for living people: Only 13 such ships have been commissioned since 1850, according to the Navy. This one, sponsored by Jill Biden, was the 16th to be named after a woman.

The 422-foot littoral combat ship, flanked with guns and missiles, is part of a new class of high-speed vessels designed to target mines, submarines and other warships in coastal areas. It's the fifth of its kind to enter the country's naval fleet and one of 11 planned for delivery by shipbuilder Austal USA as part of a $3.5 billion contract.

Craig Perciavalle, the company's U.S. president, said the vessels can travel into shallower water than other combat ships, allowing the Navy access more ports around the world. Their sleeker bodies allow them to travel faster than 45 miles per hour.

"You don't see too many of these types of ships being built anywhere in the world," Perciavalle said.

The ship arrived in Galveston earlier this month after launching from Mobile, Ala., where it was built. It will depart in the coming days to San Diego for regular duty.

Adm. William Moran, vice chief of naval operations, said the new ship and others like it will bolster the country's ability to deter war.

"If we have to go to war, we're going to kick somebody's you-know-what and win," he said.

A core crew of 50 officers and enlisted men and women will serve aboard the vessel.

Patty Kelso, a Navy mom, traveled from Michigan to watch her son, a lieutenant commander, report for duty. It was her first commissioning, a ceremony made more special by the high-profile attendees, she said.

"We're very proud," she said.

Giffords and her husband, astronaut and retired U.S. Navy Capt. Mark Kelly, have ties to the Houston area. She spent several months at TIRR Memorial Hermann recovering from the shooting, and Kelly was stationed near Galveston for 15 years during his time with NASA.

Kelly accompanied Giffords on the stage and took the podium to applaud her "courage and grit." Those characteristics, he said, are the same ones sought in a warship.

"Like Gabby, this ship will face down some lethal threats," he said. "But it will persevere through that adversity, and it will leave our lesser adversaries in her great wake."
Long before jumping into the mayoral race, Ron Nirenberg was quietly putting into place all of the pieces he needed to succeed in a gamble that most people saw as a losing bet.

On Saturday, he did what no candidate has done in two decades: defeat a mayor running for re-election. It was the first time since Howard Peak defeated Mayor Bill Thornton in 1997 that a challenger would oust an incumbent.

Nirenberg said he began plotting a path to the mayors seat when he concluded that Mayor Ivy Taylor was derailing the progress San Antonio had been making.

There had been hints that he was interested in the job. The first came in the summer of 2014, when then-Mayor Julian Castro left to join President Barack Obamas cabinet. His replacement, per the city charter, had to come from within the ranks of the council. Nirenberg raised his hand, but just a year into his freshman term, couldnt convince his colleagues to support him.

RELATED: Nirenberg defeats Taylor by large margin

He supported Taylors appointment, along with other council members, in part because she said she wouldnt seek a full mayoral term in 2015. But when she ultimately ran and won election, Nirenberg saw San Antonio tack toward a different course  one that he didnt think was the right trajectory.

Months before he officially declared his candidacy, Nirenberg posted mid-year fundraising totals in July 2016 that showed he was clearly gearing up to challenge Taylor. He said many warned him that taking on an incumbent was foolish. But Nirenberg saw a path to victory where few others did. He passed on a near-certain re-election to the District 8 seat and rejected the conventional wisdom of not challenging sitting mayors.

Nirenberg said his election was a win for democracy.

Anybody can do this if they work hard enough, he said. Being truly independent isnt about a party label. Its who you answer to. And for me, thats the public.

On the campaign trail, Nirenberg said he constantly met people who said they were voting for the first time, contributing financially for the first time, or volunteering for the first time. A stalwart supporter of civic engagement, he plans to push for more interaction with the public, including inviting dissenting voices to the table. Hes a proponent of moving the municipal elections to November in order to increase voter participation.

Nirenberg said he worked hard to run a campaign that focused on issues and drawing distinctions between himself and Taylor, doubling down on the idea that a majority of San Antonio wanted change in the mayors office. He defeated Taylor 54.6 percent to 45.4 percent.

On Sunday, before a morning church service, he worked on weekly household chores, folding laundry, among other things.

RELATED: Ron Nirenberg's a weight-lifting daddy who loves to rock out

Nirenbergs wife  Erika Prosper, who was a migrant farmworker until she graduated from high school  said that her husband starts every Sunday by sorting laundry and prepping his protein shakes for the week.

She always thinks Im stressed out doing the chores, Nirenberg said. But Im only stressed out if the chores dont get done.

Then, they headed to Colonial Hills United Methodist Church, where the mayor-elect received a heros welcome. Folks patted him on the back, shook his hand and hugged him as he made his way into the sanctuary. During the service, the Rev. Diana Phillips requested that Nirenberg and his family come to the front. She described her pride to the congregation that their member had been elected mayor, and the Nirenbergs received a standing ovation.

Afterward, the family, including Nirenbergs father and stepmother, feasted on a sushi lunch  a post-Election Day tradition theyve kept up ever since 2013 when he first ran for the District 8 seat. The day wasnt all respite, however. Nirenberg met with a transition team at his home Sunday afternoon to begin sketching out the formation of his administration.

Hes working on putting together a team that will be significantly larger than his council office staff. Hes also formalizing his agenda. Among the priorities for his first 100 days in office are plans to create a strategy for a long-term, comprehensive modern transportation system, and to build a framework for a housing policy that addresses gentrification and reinvestment in communities that doesnt threaten those who have lived there for generations.

RELATED: Four more new faces complete City Council

And Nirenberg has begun drafting the initial steps for ethics reform. He has called for an independent ethics czar and Ethics Review Board that arent controlled by the City Council or the city manager. Still, Nirenberg has a strong relationship with City Manager Sheryl Sculley, whose future appears solid in his administration.

On Sunday evening, the mayor-elect met with Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, who had endorsed Taylor in her re-election bid. Wolff had backed former state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte in her 2015 mayoral bid against Taylor, and afterward Wolff pledged his support to Taylor. Still, he said he and Nirenberg align on a lot of issues, including their opposition to Senate Bill 4, the divisive anti-immigration law, and their displeasure of the Trump administrations decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Accord.

Nirenberg said he plans to sign on to a U.S.-cities commitment to uphold the accords ideals even if the federal government wont.

Wolff said hes looking forward to working with him.

Hes a very intellectual, very smart guy, Wolff said. I think hes going to be a very good mayor.

Sandwiched between those meetings, Nirenberg got in a workout. A former bodybuilder, Nirenberg is certainly the physically strongest mayor San Antonio has ever had. On Sunday, he knocked out multiple sets of back squats at 315 pounds. At his victory party the day before, campaign officials told the crowd about the feats of strength Nirenberg has accomplished. With a physique not unlike the cartoon character Popeye, Nirenberg has a small can of spinach tattooed on his inner-forearm.

While hes physically strong, hes aware he is taking over a position that is weak, at least on paper.

RELATED: Warrick loses; incumbent Trevino keeps his seat

But Nirenbergs predecessors, former mayors Castro and Phil Hardberger, both found power in the seat. Part of that comes through building coalitions with council colleagues said Christian Archer, a political consultant who worked for Castro and Hardberger. He said both men built alliances early in their tenures. Nirenberg needs to set his agenda and meet with the 10 council members to discuss their district agendas, Archer said. If he helps them be successful, theyll support his agenda, the consultant said.

Citing a tremendous victory, Archer said Nirenberg has a mandate and is positioned to build strong coalitions with a majority of the council members, six of whom are new to the dais. Archer praised the council as a whole, noting there are some young, aggressive, sharp new members in William Cruz Shaw, Greg Brockhouse and Ana Sandoval. Nirenberg also will likely find natural allies in Roberto Trevino, Manny Pelaez, John Courage and, perhaps, Shirley Gonzales.

Rey Saldana, who often has sided with Nirenberg over the past two years, could end up being one of the new mayors top lieutenants. This sounds like a shot at Ivy Taylor, and I dont mean it to be, but you want the leadership from the mayors office, steadfast leadership, Archer said. And people get that from Ron. They see Ron as a leader.

jbaugh@express-news.net
New Braunfels Police Department

A third suspect from the San Antonio area has been arrested in connection with the armed robbery of a Central Texas drug store last month, police said in a news release Monday.

Movante Neshaud Johnson, 21, was taken into custody without incident at his residence in Live Oak and transported to the Comal County Jail. A warrant for his arrest was issued June 8.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 12

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Syria and Iran have discussed bilateral relations during the meeting of Syrian Prime Minister Imad Khamis with Iranian Ambassador to the country Javad Torkabadi in Damascus, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported June 12.

The sides also discussed the development of economic relations between Damascus and Tehran, according to the agency.

Khamis highly appreciated the role of Iran in the fight against terrorism.

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
Has anyone out there written the book "The Art of the Presidency"?

If so, please send Donald Trump a copy. Overnight.

Our billionaire president knows what to say or do when he's making a business deal or running a big business.

But it's very obvious he still needs to learn that what is OK to say and do when you're the CEO of the United States is entirely different.

On Thursday it was painfully clear from the testimony of fired FBI Director James Comey that Mr. Trump needs a lot of help from someone who knows how a president should behave.

Comey's appearance before the Senate Intelligence Committee was no day at Palm Beach for Trump. But it was nothing close to the death blow to his presidency that his enemies in the drooling liberal media had hoped for.

What ex-FBI Director Comey said Trump said and did to him didn't reflect well on Trump's judgment or his ability to tell the truth, to say the least.

But at least "The Comey Show" made it clear to the whole country that Trump himself was never the target of an FBI investigation and that, according to Comey, some of the worst news stories about the Trump administration's Russian troubles in the New York Times and Washington Post based were mostly fake.

Trump's reign will continue for now and MSNBC and CNN's ratings will stay high.

But before the president gets himself into another unnecessary self-inflicted fiasco, he needs to quickly find a competent chief of staff.

It has to be someone he respects as an equal, who will stand up to him and who he'll listen to. Then Trump has to have him ---- or her -- surgically attached to his hip.

If from Day One Trump had hired a savvy and competent chief of staff like James Baker III, who served my father, the Oval Office drama between Trump and Comey never would have happened.

If a pro like Baker had been on the job instead of an amateur like Reince Priebus, when Trump asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Priebus to leave him alone in the Oval Office with Comey, chief of staff of Baker would have stepped in immediately.

He would have told Trump it was totally improper to meet alone with Comey. Trump and Comey would never have had their awkward and inappropriate chat and "The Comey Show" would never have been aired.

The lack of a strong chief of staff who will stand up to Trump and make him behave like a proper president is the major source of the problems in the Trump White House.

Until the president finds someone to trust, to respect, and to listen to ---- like James Baker III ----things are not going to get any better for him.

Meanwhile, it's becoming harder and harder to support President Trump, who continues to be his administration's worst enemy and main saboteur.

Earlier this week I watched him make news by launching twitter attacks on his own Justice Department and the Mayor of London when he should have been talking about his plans to reform the VA health system and modernize the country's clogged-up air-traffic control system.

It's clear that after six months on the job he doesn't realize why he came to Washington.

He needs a chief of staff that will remind him every second that it was not to make news with his morning tweets, fight with the liberal media every day or make his White House staff clean up after his mistakes with their Pooper Scoopers.

Michael Reagan is the son of President Ronald Reagan, a political consultant, and the author of "The New Reagan Revolution" (St. Martin's Press). He is the founder of the email service reagan.com and president of The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Visit his websites at www.reagan.com and www.michaelereagan.com. Send comments to Reagan@caglecartoons.com. Follow @reaganworld on Twitter.
A rose is a rose is a rose, says Gertrude Stein in the 1913 poem Sacred Emily, evoking the concept that naming usually describes the imagery and emotions associated with it. Of course, branding and labels are markers we use to identify tribes or groups that share ideologies and traditions.

In a country that has popularized the concept of the melting pot, questions still abound among ethnic millennials about their identity as Americans.

For many, the simple act of classifying a vast regional group into a monolithic entity is convoluted at best and foolhardy at worst.

One label gaining traction and controversy is the term Latinx (pronounced La-tin-x). In an attempt to create a more welcoming environment for Hispanics who do not identify as male or female, Latino millennials have coined the moniker Latinx. They argue that the Spanish suffix o or a, in Latino/a, alienates transgender people. Certain Latinos have scoffed at legitimizing such a term, much less giving it currency.

What must be addressed, however, by both Latino traditionalists and millennials, is that ones ethnic identity is neither static nor can it be compartmentalized. From Mexican-American to Chicano to Latino, to the emergent Latinx, the evolution of ethnic identity revolves around the struggle for equality and acceptance within the U.S., along with the need to discover ones culture and origins.

The history of race and identity among Mexican-Americans has been transitional since the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. After the bloody Mexican War, Mexican residents living in newly acquired U.S. soil were left with the challenge of being accepted into Anglo-American society.

Unfortunately, they werent.

In late 19th and early 20th century America, people of Mexican descent were labeled Mexican, despite being born and raised in the U.S. This led to much racial discrimination.

Eager to pursue equality, many U.S.-born Mexicans sought distinction between Mexican immigrants and themselves, giving rise to the hyphenated term Mexican-American.

During the 1960s civil rights era, the label Chicano gave rise to defiance and radicalism. The term was derived from the Mexica (pronounced Mesheeca) tribes of Mexico. Adopting the militant style of the Black Panthers, Chicanos challenged the concept of assimilation into Anglo-American society and embraced their indigenous Aztec roots.

Then came Latino, a broader ethnic label used to incorporate various Spanish-speaking groups. Adoption of this term is regional. Although Californians embrace the term, Texans still negotiate between Hispanic or Tejano. Not even Latino has been fully adopted (Some quipping, I dont speak Latin).

Latinos are on the cusp of undergoing another identity shift  Latinx. Many Latino millennials believe the term challenges the gender-biased, oppressive state of an inherited language associated with Spanish colonialism.

I am reminded of 60s civil rights activist Malcolm Little (you may remember him as Malcolm X), who refused to acknowledge a surname given to him by his slave masters. Instead he claimed, I am Malcolm X, liberating him from his oppressive roots. Latinx may be a new trope to an old narrative.

Only time will tell if Latinos across the nation will be uttering, I am Latinx. Until then, I implore Latino traditionalists and progressive millennials to reflect carefully and deliberately because ethnic identity does not exist inside a vacuum. Rather, it is a fluid representation of ongoing negotiations between history and culture, examining who they are, what they believe, and where they have been.

Alfredo Torres Jr. is an independent research historian working at Palo Alto College.
Eight guards were killed when a group of armed men attacked the central prison of Kangbayi in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a security officer told Anadolu Agency on Sunday.

Also, over 900 prisoners escaped in the attack staged on the prison located in Beni territory in North Kivu province in eastern DRC, said Lt. Dany Kisung, a security officer in North Kivu.

''A large group of armed men attacked the prison and killed 8 people who were guarding the prison before setting the prisoners free. At least 935 prisoners have escaped,'' said Kisung.

He said the army and police have started hunting for those who attacked the prison as well as escaped prisoners.

Investigations are under way to identify the perpetrators of the attack, said UN radio in DRC quoting Gen. Fall Sikabwe, commander of the 34th Military Region and Sokola1 South Operations.

Most of the prisoners in the central prison of Kangbayi in Beni were prosecuted for participation in the insurgent movements of the ADF rebels and Mayi-Mayi groups, armed robbery and rape, said Gen. Sikabwe.

Julien Plauku, Governor of North Kivu, announced a curfew throughout the city and the territory of Beni as well as the neighboring town of Butembo, the radio added.

In the past few years ADF rebels who originated from Uganda have attacked villages and killed many innocent people until when the army in DRC mounted operations to eliminate them.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 12

Trend:

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake off the western coast of Turkey and between the Greek islands of Lesbos and Chios shook buildings from the Aegean Turkish province of Izmir to Greece's capital of Athens on Monday, Reuters reported.

The epicentre of the quake was about 84 km (52 miles) northwest of the Turkish coastal city of Izmir, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said on its website.

There were no immediate reports of injuries in either Turkey or Greece, according to preliminary information from local authorities, although the quake was felt as far away as the Greek capital of Athens.

Greek television stations reported some structural damage in the town of Plomari on Lesbos.
Border security officials have arrested three men who were masquerading as Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) officials and tried to open an illegal office within the port of entry.

Bernard Mateyo (36) of Kadoma, Langton Madzore (29) and Taurai Zindoga (29), both of Chitungwiza were arrested on Christmas Day, while attempting to search a cross-border bus near the arrivals exit gate.

They have since been dragged to court charged with impersonating a public official and denied bail twice by Beitbridge Magistrate Ms Varaidzo Gabi.

She remanded them in custody to January 11 in the interim.

Prosecuting, Ms Elizabeth Vengedza told the court that on December 24, the trio hatched a plan to impersonate Zacc members and drove to Beitbridge in an SE Vintage Sprinter.

On Christmas Day, at around 2pm, they then set up their own check point near the arrivals exit gate, where they started recording details of all vehicles that were exiting the border.

They were then spotted by border security officials who approached them after they had stopped a bus that was travelling to Harare.

Upon enquiries, the trio identified themselves as anti-corruption officials and produced some identification cards purportedly from Zacc.

Verifications were done and it was discovered that the documents were fake, resulting in their arrest.

There has been an increase in bogus characters at the Beitbridge Border Post pretending to offer a number of services on behalf of Government agencies.

Last week, a 37-year-old man believed to be part of a syndicate using fake date stamps to clear goods and travellers at Beitbridge Border Post, was arrested and fined $30 000.

Brian Zaranyika was busted by border security after opening his office near the Port Health section.

Zaranyika was found with a fake Port health, Zimra manifest control, Zimra Private Import counters and Motor insurance pool date stamps, Laptop and a printer.

 Chronicle

Breaking News via Email
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settings ACCEPT
THE National Aids Council (Nac) has procured 30 condom dispensers for Midlands State University (MSU) as it moves to reduce new HIV infections among adolescents and tertiary education students amid revelations that sugar daddies were the main source of the pandemic among students.

The move is meant to reduce the spread of HIV through the promotion of condom use.

Nac recently announced that 45 percent of tertiary female students were contracting HIV during the course of their degree programmes.

Speaking to parliamentarians at a workshop in Kadoma, Nac Monitoring and Evaluation Director, Mr Amon Mpofu said the major source of HIV among adolescents and female students in tertiary institutions were men above the age of 50.

He said although new infections were going down, it was disturbing to note that most female students in most tertiary institutions contract HIV during the course of their academic studies.

Mr Mpofu said it was disheartening that most adolescent girls were indulging in reckless sexual behaviour which in turn was putting them at risk of contracting HIV.

Nac Midlands Provincial Aids Co-ordinator, Mr Mambewu Shumba said the organisation has procured condom dispensers which have been placed at MSU so as to promote the use of condoms particularly among the youth.

We have put 21 condom dispensers at MSU and nine more are coming. We are doing this to promote condom use among youths. It has been discovered that there are more new HIV infections among people between 15 and 24 years. Most of these students, particularly females, interact with men who are above 50, he said.

Mr Shumba said the province had made tremendous success in implementing HIV interventions through various partners.

There are various intervention strategies that we have deployed as a province to ensure that we close the tap of HIV. We have reached out to various key populations in the province, he said.

Nac has distributed about 1,2 million condoms this year and is targeting distributing more than 2,5 million condoms in 2019.

 SundayNews

Breaking News via Email
Trump, Putin, and the New Cold War The New Yorker. John Helmer comments:

1. What is new in this account seems of little consequence  a new FBI source complaining he wasnt listened to; numbers research on tweet-sharing of falsehoods, etc. Pop guns, not smoking guns.

2. Even if true, they dont go to the heart, or even the surface of the truth  Clinton was a thoroughly corrupt character, the extent of which was more suppressed than exposed by the media, but still, there were enough voters distributed by state to distrust Clinton so much that Trump, being the only alternative, won the election by a whisker.

3. The evidence is that Trump is a thoroughly corrupt character, and also a mental defective. There is nothing in the excerpt which adds or subtracts from this. And weve learned this without Russian help or hindrance.

4. If the Russian side was employing 1,000 cyber specialists according to a retired KGB colonel that means (a) they arent employing anywhere near enough to match the US, British, Israeli, Chinese sides; (b) the source is lying; and (c) to retire from the KGB the individual speaking in an open source medium is now at least 16 years gone from active Russian intelligence, so he cant be relied on for anything, except for empty boasting.

5. Even if the Russian side employed 10,000 or 100,000 cyber agents, and they came up with evidence of the truth, the truth would still be the truth, and thats what was convincing in Clintons defeat. It still is the truth, and it still is convincing.

6. Now, because Putin has also made a public statement of something similar, does that mean that the statement, the truth is the truth and should be believed because it is so is a Russian fabrication? We have reached this point with the likes of Applebaum, Weiss, Lucas, Pomerantz, and others, all of whose livelihoods depend on state money for such guff. However, this point is the point of insanity. So as disappointing as it is to be alive in a world of insane people, we must accustom ourselves to it.

7. Consider the result of the UK election. So far as I can tell, not a single of the usual suspects, and not a single mainstream media outlet has yet reported a Russian role in Mays defeat, or Corbyns gain. May is hanging on only because the Tory alternatives are weaker and worse. Her staff is beginning to resign, and the moronic Australian who knighted himself before running the disastrous campaign, ought to follow. So should all the mainstream media, starting with the Murdoch press, the Guardian, and the Financial Times. So far as I can tell, the BBC has been attacked for rigging the audience at the TV debate at which I was convinced that May had lost it. However, the nurse who asked the question which killed May on the spot has yet to be exposed as a Russian cyber puppet. What she revealed was that May and the entire Tory government cannot explain or justify the destruction of economic opportunity which they are inflicting on the population, old and young alike. The 14%+ swing among university students and the massive Corbyn vote in the university towns proved decisive. There they worked out that May blights their current lives and dooms their future. How many of them read RT or Dostoevsky to find this out? The only positive thing to be said about May, unlike the sleazy hypocrite across the Channel, or the one north of the US border, is that exposing the truth in an election campaign is the purpose of the election, and when it happens that isnt a Russian plot.
By Lambert Strether of Corrente.

When last we checked in, the House Republicans had managed to pass a TrumpCare bill, aided by the machinations of NJ Representative Tom MacArthur, for whom Trump just raised a $800K. Being driven by the Freedom Caucus, the bill was universally panned by all other factions of both parties, and the Senate said it would write its own bill. Thats what theyre doing now, and (naturally) its a bad bill, too. Ive urged that ObamaCare is already the worst possible Republican bill, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) seems determined to expand the range of possiblities.

Being both more feral and more concerned with results than Democrats, the Republicans, led by the wily and effective Mitch McConnell  whose wife, Elaine Chao, is head of the DOT, and therefore in the happy position of being able to dispense the goodies  may try to jam their bill through before the July recess. The American College of Physicians explains:

On behalf of the American College of Physicians (ACP), I am writing to express our great concern about reports that legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and radically change how Medicaid is financed is being hastily drafted and rushed forward outside of regular order for a vote on the floor of the U.S. Senate, potentially before the July 4th recess. Specifically, we are troubled that the Senate is developing major healthcare legislation without hearings and markups by the committees of jurisdiction; without a process that allows for direct engagement and outreach to organizations representing physicians, patients and others affected by the proposed policies; and without a commitment that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) score will be made available, with sufficient opportunity for stakeholders and the public and independent and non-partisan experts to review the CBOs assessment and the overall bills impact on patients and the healthcare system, before a vote is taken. ACP therefore urges that any proposals to modify or improve on current law be released in detail beforehandincluding complete legislative language and CBO scoring and analysiswell before any committee mark or Senate vote, to allow enough time for hearings on the proposals. Following regular order would provide a valuable opportunity for analysis, review and input by organizations and other stakeholders, by members of the Senate, and by independent and nonpartisan analysts.

(These process violations are, of course, in great contrast to the many careful months Obama took to sell out to the pharmaceutical companies, and for career progressives to suppress single payer advocacy, only, in the end, to pass a bad bill, through reconciliation, without one Republican vote anyhow.) Theres conflict on the process detail, naturally, but the ACP demands (really requests, right?) for following the regular order look quite sane to me.

Theres a lot not to like in the Senate bill  of course, we might know more if the Democrats hadnt filled the airwaves with Putin Derangement Syndrome  but it looks to me like the key policy issue is Medicaid expansion and the key political issue is the role of those moderate Republicans. And here there are multiple, competing narratives. Sarah Kliff in Vox this morning:

Obamacare is in real danger Behind closed doors, Senate Republicans have worked out a path toward Obamacare repeal. The plans under discussion would end Medicaid expansion, causing millions of low-income Americans to lose health coverage. They may allow health insurance plans to charge higher premiums to people with preexisting conditions, too. In other words: The emerging bill looks a whole lot like the unpopular bill the House passed last month. It creates [sic] the same group of winners (high-income, healthier people) and the same group of losers (low-income, sicker people). The Republican plan is coming together because moderate senators are beginning to drop some of their initial repeal objections. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), for example, now back a plan to end the Medicaid expansion. Both were ardent critics of the House bills deep Medicaid cuts, which would cause 14 million Americans who rely on the public program to lose coverage. Portman put out a harsh statement the day the House passed its health care bill. Ive already made clear that I dont support the House bill as currently constructed because I continue to have concerns that this bill does not do enough to protect Ohios Medicaid expansion population, Portman said plainly. But now Portman has endorsed a plan to phase out the Medicaid expansion entirely, just to do so on a longer timeline than the House bill. Portman and Moore Capito want a seven-year phase out, rather than the House bills three-year off-ramp. At the end of the day, though, phasing out Medicaid expansion over seven years has the same effect as three years: You end coverage for millions of low-income Americans. There are still major issues that divide Senate Republicans on repeal. There is disagreement, for example, over how much to cut the Medicaid program and what kind of subsidies to give people in the private market. But the fact that Republicans are coalescing around ending Medicaid expansion  once thought to be a major sticking point  suggests the path to repeal may be easier to find than initial expectations.

(The advantage of a seven-year phase-out is that it wont affect 2020, so Trumps marginal voters in the working class wont know how badly Trump screwed those near the poverty line.) Unfortunately, given the any stick to beat a dog givens in 2017, I dont feel I can simply quote Vox as a source, and the workings of the Republican caucus are opaque to me. Heres an alternative narrative, employing 11-dimensional chess (and here let us recall that McConnell can play chess; his strategy of massive resistance to Obama put the Repubicans on the Hill where they are today). CNN:

Why Republicans might let their health care bill fail With the Republican Partys most pressing undertaking stuck in limbo, GOP senators and aides are beginning to wonder about one undesirable outcome: that the Senate takes a vote on a health care bill in the coming weeks knowing full well it could fail. Republicans are attempting to use the so-called budget reconciliation process, which would allow them to avoid a Democratic filibuster. With only 52 Republicans in the Senate, however, there is no room for error as leaders struggle with the daunting task of finding consensus between their caucus moderate and conservative flanks on such a deeply divisive issue. Last week, it became clear that GOP leaders were seriously considering several moderate concessions on their health care bill, including keeping some of the Obamacare taxes and not allowing states to repeal what is known as community rating  a key protection for people with pre-existing conditions. It might be that McConnell knows he cant get to 50 so hes going as far left as possible to give moderates cover when they do vote for this bill, one conservative Senate aide said. So why vote on a bill that may not pass? Theres some skepticism as to whether they can get (health care) done. And they dont want to waste the rest of the legislative year, said Leavitt, who served as Health and Human Services secretary under President George W. Bush. There has to be a moment when you say, Weve got to do something and this is the moment.  Either put up or stop, he added. If Senate Republicans bring up a bill designed to appease the more moderate members in its ranks, that strategy would mark a sharp departure from the path that House Republicans chose to take last month. But in the Senate, GOP leaders appear more willing to craft a bill that soothes their more moderate colleagues  at least for now. One of the key departures Senate leaders are eying is giving federal money to Medicaid expansion states for longer. Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican from Ohio, has proposed a seven-year glide path [controlled flight into terrain] that would more gradually phase out the federal match funds. Another option on the table would make the [hilariously feeble] tax credits offered to help people buy insurance more generous for lower-income Americans. Those tax credits already attracted the ire of some Senate Republicans, who dismissed them as little more than Obamacare lite. There has been some concern, however, that conservatives could also face another loss when it comes to those tax credits. In the House bill, Republicans were able to include language that barred the federal tax credits from being used to purchase insurance that included abortion coverage in most cases. However, under Senate rules  which only allow budgetary changes to be accepted under the reconciliation process  its not clear that Republicans could pass that same language. While conservatives may not be pleased with the changes on the table, moving the bill to the left could help McConnell protect his most vulnerable members. There arent many endangered Republican members up in 2018, but those who are hail from more purple states, like Dean Heller in Nevada and Jeff Flake in Arizona. Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota said last week that it is important for the Senate to try to pass a bill in the next few weeks, even if the vote fails.

So either McConnell is trying to jam the bill through, or, more subtly, he wants to be seen as wanting the bill, and probably does want the bill (Kentucky), unless the bill jeopardizes Senate seats in 2018. At this point, lets remember the famous words of Karl Rove (then an anonymous source):

[W]hile youre studying that reality  judiciously, as you will  well act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and thats how things will sort out. Were historys actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.

In other words, given the time frame, it may be more important to affect reality than to game it out; by giving your Congress Critter  or, better, one of their staffers  a call. Bringing me to Indivisible, one of the Resistance organizations that sprang up (spontaneously, or not) after Trump was elected. Indivisible is said to be composed of Congressional staffers; it got good press immediately; and they have in fact prepared many useful materials to bring pressure to bear on Congress. In the great divide over what victory looks like to the Resistance  a Clintonite Restoration, or a Sanders Revolution  Indivisible comes down firmly on the side of Restoration, as this tweet from today shows:

I mean, come on. What on earth does propose a piece of legislation that provides equal or better access to affordable, comprehensive heath care mean? Why not health care as such, and not access to health care? And why not just come out and support #MedicareForAll, instead of peddling this mealy-mouthed drivel? Oh, and heres the call script: As you can see, it doesnt even mention proposing legislation, so the message of the tweets graphic, and the message of the actual script contradict each other (hopefully due to carelessness rather than bad faith. Some process).

That said, Indivisible does do good work aggregating establishment pressure points; here is their list of Congressional staffers who work on health care. They write:

the person answering the phone when you call your member of Congress office will be a staff assistant or intern. You should always ask for the Senators legislative assistant who handles that particular issue for the Senator. In this case: health care. Often times, youll be put through to that persons voicemail. Leave one. And then use the information below to send a follow-up email.

I agree with the tactic, and plan to call my two Senators  Moderate Republican Susan Collins, and Independent Angus King  this afternoon. You should consider doing the same. I write my own scripts, but theres no reason you cant use or adapt theirs. However, I plan to add verbiage like this:

Of course, the real solution isnt this Republican plan, or ObamaCare (which originated at the Heritage Foundation). The real solution is Medicare for All. We know from the Canadian experience that single payer saves tens of thousands of lives and will save the country billions of dollars. Medicare for All is something even limited government should so, and I hope one day you will support it.

Can readers improve on this?
Yves here. We first wrote about the dangers of global-warming-induced ocean acidification in 2007, with the key parts from a post by Stormy at Angry Bear:

Global warming skeptics often praise the benefits of global warming. After all, the opening of the Northwest Passage means better trade routes. CO2 in the atmosphere means healthier plants. And who in northern latitudes would not wish for balmier days? But there are side effects to our love affair with CO2 that are not often mentioned. In fact, whether the earth cools or warms is absolutely irrelevant to these effects. I repeat: Absolutely irrelevant. One of the most startling effects is the acidification of the oceans. Since 1750, the oceans have become increasingly acidic. In the oceans, CO2 forms carbonic acid, a serious threat to the base of the food chain, especially on shellfish of all sizes. Carbonic acid dissolves calcium carbonate, an essential component of any life form with an exoskeleton. In short, all life forms with an exoskeleton are threatened: shell fish, an important part of the food chain for many fish; coral reefs, the habitat of many species of fish. The formation of carbonic acid does not depend upon temperature. Whether the oceans warm or cool is irrelevant. Of concern only is the amount of CO2 that enters the oceans. And, as readers of my last thread might remember, we are accelerating our creation of CO2 at an alarming rate According to one estimate, between 1750 and 1994, oceans absorbed 118 billion tons of CO2and we were just starting serious CO2 production. As anyone with a fish tank knows, as the Ph falls, the water becomes more acidic. Fish life becomes more and more problematical. This absorption has made the worlds oceans significantly more acidic since the beginning of the industrial revolution. Research published last year by Mark Jacobson, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University, indicated that between 1751 and 2004 surface ocean pH dropped from approximately 8.25 to 8.14. James Orr of the Climate and Environmental Sciences Laboratory further estimated that ocean pH levels could fall another 0.3  0.4 units by 2100. In fact, by 2050, there may be too little carbonate for [in the Pacific] organisms to form shells as soon as 2050. Since 1990 alone, Ph levels in the Pacific have dropped .0025. Such a drop may not seem significant until one understands Ph levels.

By Andrea Thompson, a senior science writer at Climate Central. Originally published at Climate Central

Hot spots of ocean acidification have been found in the waters that wash onto the shores of the West Coast, a major concern for the regions billion-dollar fishing industry as well as the regions potentially fragile coastal ecosystems.

A new study of a 600-mile span of coastline found some of the lowest pH levels ever measured on the ocean surface, showing that significant acidification can be found in waters right along the shore.



One of the sensors used to monitor levels of ocean acidification along the Oregon coast. Oregon State University

Ocean acidification has made landfall across the entire area, coauthor Francis Chan, an Oregon State University marine ecologist, said.

But the news from the study, detailed May 31 in the journal Scientific Reports, isnt all bad: Some areas had more moderate pH levels, and both these and the hot spots persisted in the same areas from year to year. This could give researchers and officials looking to protect marine life a map of where to concentrate efforts to mitigate against rising ocean carbon dioxide levels.

Ocean acidification is the often-overlooked partner to global warming and is driven by the same human-caused emission of carbon dioxide that is driving the rapid rise of global temperatures. The ocean absorbs much of that excess carbon dioxide, and as it does so, the pH of the ocean water declines, meaning it becomes more acidic (just as CO2-laden soda is more acidic than regular water).

As the ocean acidifies, it becomes difficult for shelled organisms such as oysters and clams to build their shells, as well as for fish to breathe. Some of the species that could be most impacted, particularly phytoplankton, sit at the base of the ocean food chain, potentially taking away a key food source for many other species, including some that are most economically valuable, such as salmon and black cod.

The waters off the West Coast of the U.S. are particularly vulnerable to acidification because they feature cold water upwelling from deeper in the ocean. Cold water is better at absorbing CO2 (which also makes acidification in the frigid waters of the Arctic a major concern for marine life there). The cold, upwelling waters also provide abundant nutrients and make the area a rich spot for marine life.

Offshore acidification had been studied before, but with the new study, we literally took that picture and we moved it all the way to the surf zone, Chan said.

Multiple institutions joined to install sensors in the coastal waters from Monterey Bay to just north of Newport, Oregon. The sensors monitored conditions for the three years, from 2011 to 2013, and found clear evidence of intense acidification.

Waters fell well below the global average ocean pH of 8.1, with the worst-hit areas measuring 7.4, among the lowest values ever recorded in surface waters.

The bad news is that we have acidified, compromised water, Chan said.

But, crucially, its not the same everywhere, he said. The sensors showed distinct spatial patterns of hot spots and areas where levels were more moderate, and, particularly striking, those areas stayed as hot spots, or relative refuges, year after year after year.

Why certain areas have been hit hard and others havent wasnt a focus of the study, but Chan said it likely has to do with the interactions of winds and ocean currents. Some of the sensors from the study are still in place, and Chan is working with citizen scientists in marine reserves in Oregon to better understand local conditions.

He thinks that this same persistent pattern of hot spots and refuges probably isnt confined to the West Coast. I think that thats something thats going to hold for everywhere in the world, he said.

Such detailed information is useful for local officials trying to mitigate the impacts of ocean acidification. They can use the maps generated to see where local stressors, such as pollution, might be making conditions worse. They can target the worst-hit areas, while working to ensure that the relative refuges stay that way. Strategies could include limiting local pollution and maintaining healthy kelp beds and sea grasses, which are thought to help mitigate the impacts of acidification.



As atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have risen (in red), the ocean has absorbed some of that CO2 (in green), lowering its pH (in blue). NOAA

Chan was part of a panel of scientists convened by California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia to look at the issue of ocean acidification along the West Coast and whether any mitigation could be done on the local and regional level.

Since the April 2016 release of the panels report, two bills have already passed in California to reduce the impacts of ocean acidification and promote its research. A bill to establish an ocean policy council is currently moving its way through Oregons government.

The Pacific Northwest has been one of the most proactive regions of the U.S. in dealing with ocean acidification, in part because of an oyster hatchery crisis a decade ago. One hatchery saw an 80 percent decline in oysters because of acidic waters. In response, the industry and regional governments implemented an early warning system so that hatcheries can take measures like treating water to prevent damage to their oysters.

Chan has spoken with oyster farmers in Washington about how they might use the coastal acidification maps his work has generated and what they would do if the area they grow oysters in turned out to be a hot spot. Oysters, like wine, have a specific terroir, or flavor, based on where theyre grown, which would seem to make oyster growers reluctant to relinquish their favored spots.

But their response surprised Chan. They said theyd move.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 12

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Turkey is under pressure for supporting Qatar and opposing the forces aimed at changing the political map of the [Middle East] region, Mahir Unal, press secretary of Turkeys ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), said June 12.

Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE announced about breaking their diplomatic relations with Qatar June 5, accusing Doha of supporting terrorist organizations and destabilizing the situation in the Middle East.

Later, the authorities of Libya, Yemen, as well as the Maldives and Mauritius also announced about severing diplomatic relations with Qatar.

Unal noted that the countries of the region are experiencing crises, and if Turkey hadnt been strong, the crises in Iraq and Syria could have spread to Turkey as well.

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
At a recent St Patricks Night Dinner Dance in Cape Town, those gathered were delighted and impressed by the Irish dancers who entertained them.

One of the dancing groups in particular caught the eye - they were African children from one of the townships and all dancing barefoot.

For those who are unaware, some of the Townships have in excess of half a million people and the vast majority live in shacks measuring an average of 10ft x 8ft (3m x 2.4m) with earthen floors. They are built of old corrugated galvanised sheets and/or scraps of plywood. The occupants are, on average, 2 adults and 5 children per shack. No running water and obviously no bathrooms. Only a small minority have electricity.

Despite the condition in which the children find themselves, an increasing number are interested in learning Irish step-dancing.

A Tipperary couple recently visited the one of the schools where these children learn Irish dancing to find out why they were dancing barefoot. Wendy, their teacher confided in the visitors the family budget could never extend to a pair of dancing shoes, hence this appeal.

John and Marie Harnett are appealing their county-men and women for second hand shoes from size 4 upwards in both hard and soft. Any costumes, male or female, would be a bonus.

The group would especially welcome a sponsorship to cover the twice weekly cost of the transport to and from the dance school which costs R60 per week per child or 4.20. The tuition fees which are currently set at R1,020 per term or 70 per child and there are four terms per year. Perhaps you would like to adopt a pupil and in return you will receive regular updates directly from your pupil on their progress.

In the Thurles area the collection point will be John and Marie Harnett of Parkstown  086 829 5235 - Horse & Jockey near Thurles. Any shoes or clothes you wish to donate can be dropped in or sent by post to this location. Anyone wishing to make a cash contribution/sponsorship, please contact us at castletreve@gmail.com for bank details.

John and Marie are from Templederry and currently domiciled in Cape Town. They have been involved in a number of fundraising concerts in Tipperary including the Christopher Cooke Appeal in 2007, the Samaritans, ChildLine and more recently we organised a concert in Borrisoleigh for the LauraLynn Childrens Hospice. You can contact them directly at castletreve@gmail.com or phone Valerie on 0027 72 846 3724.
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Prime Minister Zoran Zaev to NATO headquarters on Monday (12 June 2017) for talks on the partnership between the Alliance and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The Secretary General congratulated Prime Minister Zaev on his appointment and welcomed the formation of a new government.

Mr. Stoltenberg encouraged all political parties to focus on necessary reforms, including on good governance and the rule of law. He noted that these reforms will benefit all citizens of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and will further advance the countrys Euro-Atlantic aspirations. We want to see your country as part of a stable, democratic and prosperous region, he added.

Calling Skopje an important partner for NATO, the Secretary General also thanked Prime Minister Zaev for his countrys contribution to NATOs Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan. He noted that the Alliance will continue to support Skopjes path towards Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership.
Cuiavian University in Wloclawek, Poland agreed on 7 June 2017 to support NATOs work with partners on defence education through advanced distance learning (ADL).

Defence education is a key agent of transformation and NATO is using it to support institutional reform in partner countries. Through its Defence Education Enhancement Programme (DEEP), the Alliance advises partners on how to build, develop and reform educational institutions in the defence and military domain in the form of peer-to-peer conversations. E-learning is becoming a global trend in defence and military domains and DEEP is using it to improve efficient military education in some partner countries.

Cuiavian University is supporting Ukraines DEEP programme in building e-learning capacity for the National Defence University in Kyiv. It is also an active institution within the European Higher Education Area under the Bologna Process  which sets the basic framework for the three cycles of higher-education qualifications, bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees  and in the European Union student exchange programme Erasmus.

Cuiavian University is proud that NATO has acknowledged our strong e-learning capacity and we are keen to expand our mutual cooperation from the DEEP Ukraine to other NATO partners, said Prof. Stanislaw Kunikowski, Rector of Cuiavian University.

Being active in both the European Union (EU) and NATO, the university is keen to bolster joint NATO-EU future cooperation in the ADL area by developing common e-learning modules together with the DEEP Programme and the European Security and Defence College.

Your university has proven to be a reliable provider of knowledge and expertise and the Defence Education Enhancement Programme will work with you for the benefits of NATO partners military education institutions that want to reform their educational system and introduce new teaching techniques, said Mariusz Solis, DEEP coordinator at NATO.
(Natural News) A $43.8 million (about $33 million U.S. Dollar) state-run initiative called Doctors in Secondary Schools has been rolled out in the state of Victoria, Australia. This program promises to fund general practitioners (GPs) to attend up to 100 Victorian government secondary schools up to one day a week to provide medical advice and health care to those students most in need. While the concept of providing free medical care for in-need teens sounds great on the surface, it has been met with a storm of controversy, for multiple reasons.

For one thing, many see this as a way for the state to line the pockets of Big Pharma and government officials with ties to drug companies. These connections run all the way to the top, with The Mind Unleashed reporting that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his wife are connected to some of the biggest of all Big Pharma corporations. For example, while the prime minister has pushed for government-mandated vaccinations, his wife serves as chair of the pharmaceutical corporation Prima Biomed.

Many parents are also gravely concerned about their daughters being issued with contraceptive pills at school without their knowledge or consent. Of course, the mainstream media mocks their fears, with Matt Young of News.com.au saying, Im here to slap some reality into that overly-cautious parental mind of yours. We dont live in a perfect world. And sadly, parents, your teenagers are going to have sex and probably not tell you about it. Just like my generation, and yours, did all those years back. How refreshing though that this generation will have an expert to talk to about it confidentially.

The wording of the program is also of great concern to many parents, since it mandates that even if a parent expressly states that they do not want their child to receive medical treatment from these doctors, the GP can go ahead and do so as long as he or she deems the child to be mature enough.

The program also promises to provide primary health care to these kids, but never clarifies what this health care will consist of. Will it include vaccinations? Will children whose parents have carefully prevented them from receiving dangerous vaccines be given these shots anyway, without permission? Most likely, these teens will have the HPV vaccine pressed on them, especially if theyve been handed contraceptives and effectively given the green light to start having sex. Children worldwide have suffered horrific side effects and life-altering disabilities after receiving this vaccine, and it has actually been banned in several countries, but this is not likely to prevent doctors from administering it at these weekly health care visits.

And what about psych evaluations? Hormonal swings mean that teenagers are notoriously all over the place when it comes to their moods. Most parents are aware of this and monitor their kids carefully. That doesnt mean that kids need to be given antidepressants and other psychotropic drugs to cope. Nonetheless, the number of children being handed prescriptions for these drugs has risen dramatically in the past few years, and the doctors in the Australian program are likely to follow the trend. This means that children could be given mind-altering drugs which are known to cause suicidal behavior in teenagers without the knowledge or consent of their parents.

While Victoria, Australia, may seem very far away, similar government policies have been instituted in the U.S. with many states refusing unvaccinated children entrance to schools and day care facilities. A Texas lawmaker recently made the statement that the second a child is removed from their home they become a child of the state, and that such children should receive whatever medical treatment the state deems fit as soon as possible. Governments worldwide are exerting more and more control over children, doing their best to sever the ties that bind kids to their parents.

Sources:

TheMindUnleashed.com

News.com.au

Education.Vic.gov.au
(Natural News) While weve all been distracted by other issues, the mass Zika hysteria of last summer has quietly been replaced by deafening silence. For months, the mainstream media inundated the American public with terror-inducing articles about how Zika was going to give their unborn children microcephaly, a condition in which the brain does not develop properly, resulting in an unusually small head, poor motor function, severe brain damage, seizures and other horrific conditions. Many pregnant mothers lived in fear, while others decided to delay falling pregnant or even chose to have abortions. The whole world was on high alert, convinced that in 2015, Zika had caused over 2,000 babies to be born with microcephaly in Brazil. Even Congress got on board, allocating $1.1 billion in taxpayer dollars to programs aimed at controlling this terrible virus.

One of these programs involved the aerial spraying of the pesticide naled over large parts of Miami-Dade County and other parts of Florida. Even before the Zika outbreak the state had been spraying naled routinely for years to control mosquitoes. This, despite the fact that naled is officially banned in Europe, and several other countries, including Puerto Rico, refused to use it in the fight against Zika. Hundreds of residents protested against the spraying, but to no avail.

And they were right to be concerned. A recent study by the University of Michigan, published in the journal Environment International, has determined that the use of naled is directly linked to motor function deficits in children.

For their study, researchers took cord blood samples from 237 healthy babies in southeast China between 2008 and 2011, and tested these for the presence of 30 different organophosphate insecticides, including naled. The babies had been exposed to varying amounts of pesticides while in the womb. The researchers then tracked the development of these children over a nine-month period. The study focused on China, since it is the worlds largest user of pesticides, and uses naled extensively.

The researchers discovered that five of these pesticides  one of which was naled  were present in at least 10 percent of the samples.

The babies gross, fine and total motor abilities were tested using the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales at both 6 weeks and 9 months. While all the babies were fine at 6 weeks, by 9 months, those with the highest prenatal exposure to naled were beginning to exhibit motor skills issues.

Though for the most part the issues were small, the studys authors warn that these children had been exposed to relatively low levels of naled.

Just because changes are small, that doesnt mean they should be discounted, said Monica Silver, lead author of the study. We really need to know more about it.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) insists that aerial spraying of naled is not dangerous, because the droplets are very fine, stay airborne for extended periods, and break down quickly once exposed to sunlight and water.

However, Cornell University warns:

Naled is moderately to highly toxic by ingestion, inhalation and dermal adsorption.  As with all organophosphates, naled is readily absorbed through the skin. Skin which has come in contact with this material should be washed immediately with soap and water and all contaminated clothing should be removed.  High environmental temperatures [like in Florida] or exposure of naled to visible or UV light may enhance its toxicity. [Emphasis added]

Health officials in Brazil have now admitted that the Zika virus is not the likely cause of the microcephaly cases in that country. Worldwide, Zika has once again been acknowledged as the essentially benign virus it always has been. Nonetheless, Miami-Dade County officials have indicated that they will be spraying naled again this year if the virus starts to resurface.

Sources for this article include:

Fox17Online.com

MiamiHerald.com

NaturalNews.com

PMEP.CCE.Cornell.edu
(Natural News) With an extensive history of traditional uses as an industrial material and natural medicine, marijuana-based remedies have been used for centuries. Nonetheless, this incredible plant has been the topic of many heated debates between cannabis advocates and people who rather not see this medicinal plant showing up in their neighborhood.

Even though medical marijuana is legal in Michigan, due to a regulatory shift in 2016, nearly 300 of the Motor Citys pot shops were found to be operating illegally. Non-compliant marijuana dispensaries in Detroit all received a letter shortly after the implementation of the strict government regulations, noting that if they were not fully licensed they would face the risk of being shut down.

From that moment on, 167 medical marijuana dispensaries have been shut down in Detroit. This number is expected to grow with 51 more shops facing closure, Off The Grid News reported. This will bring the city officials closer to their promise to clean house. Their aim is to limit Detroits number of medical marijuana dispensaries to 50.

According to the new set of rules, marijuana dispensaries should be located at least 1,000 feet away from schools, parks, libraries, daycare centers, churches, liquor stores, and other dispensaries. To get a license, retailers must get a zoning permission prior to opening a business. At present, there are only five businesses licensed and operating legally within the city, noted Detroit Corporation Counsel Melvin Butch Hollowell.

Detroit cracking down hard on medical marijuana use

Recovering from recent bankruptcy, Detroit currently has a team of seven attorneys working on nothing but marijuana cases, noted Hollowell. One of their main goals is shutting down as many dispensaries as possible.

We started out focusing in on the facilities that are in drug-free zones and then to the areas where there are these clusters, Hollowell said. Weve been successful in the closure rate, but theres more to do.

With a population of 680,250 citizens, of which a quarter of a million are registered to use cannabis medicinally, Michigan is currently one of the states that might make its way to full cannabis legalization in 2018. Nonetheless, the city will continue to focus on its current goals of enforcing the ordinance and closing more pot shops which fail to get a license.

The voters of the state made medical marijuana legal, so we have to manage that in a way that is consistent with keeping our neighborhoods respected and at the same time, allowing for those dispensaries to operate in their specific areas that weve identified as being lawful, Hollowell told The Free Press.

There are currently around 70 dispensaries operating with provisional approval in the city, which means another 20 of them will be denied a license to meet Detroits goal to limit the number of pot shops to 50 locations. Though this is good news for community groups in Detroit that have been trying to keep cannabis out of their neighborhoods, others arent too pleased by the decision.

According to the chairman of the Metropolitan Detroit Community Action Coalition, Winfred Blackmon, the issue is not medical marijuana itself but the fact that so many businesses keep popping up in neighborhoods where they are not allowed to operate.

Members of the community have expressed their concerns and frustration, which has prompted Blackmon to address these issues and keep enforcing the law. Therefore, many medical marijuana businesses have been visited by inspectors from the Building Safety Engineering and Environmental Department and the police to inform them of their illegal practices.

Though many medical marijuana businesses continue to operate at their own risk, officials are confident that they will have successful models to follow the day cannabis becomes legal in Michigan.

Should Michigan loosen its rules and embrace full legalization? What are your thoughts on this rather controversial topic?

Learn more about the healing powers of marijuana at CannabisCures.news.

Sources include:

OffTheGridNews.com

MassRoots.com
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 12

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

As many as 38 terrorists were killed in operations against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) terrorist group in Turkey last week, the countrys Interior Ministry said in a message June 12.

Turkey also detained 200 terrorists in the operations, according to the message.

Turkey will continue its successful fight against the PKK, said the message.

The conflict between Turkey and the PKK, which demands the creation of an independent Kurdish state, has continued for more than 30 years and has claimed more than 40,000 lives.

The UN and the European Union list the PKK as a terrorist organization.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Tyson Foods Inc. is recalling more than 2.4 million pounds of ready-to-eat breaded chicken products because the bread crumbs may contain milk, a potential allergen not included on the label.

The Arkansas-based company said there have been no confirmed cases of illnesses related to the recall.

Affected frozen chicken products were packaged between Aug. 17, 2016, through Jan. 14, 2017, and sold nationwide.

Below is a list of affected products:

 31.86-lb. bulk cases of Tyson FULLY COOKED, WHOLE GRAIN STRIP-SHAPED CHICKEN PATTIE FRITTERS-CN with case code 003859-0928 and production dates of 09/09/2016, 10/05/2016, 10/14/2016, 10/15/2016, 11/09/2016, 12/10/2016, 12/30/2016 and 01/14/2017.

 31.05-lb. bulk cases of Tyson FULLY COOKED, WHOLE GRAIN CHICKEN PATTIE FRITTERS-CN with case code 003857-0928 and production dates of 11/12/2016.

 30.6-lb. bulk cases of Tyson FULLY COOKED, WHOLE GRAIN BREADED CHICKEN PATTIES-CN with case code 016477-0928 and production dates of 09/10/2016, 09/16/2016, 09/23/2016, 09/30/2016 and 10/06/2016.

 30.6-lb. bulk cases of Tyson FULLY COOKED, WHOLE GRAIN CHUNK-SHAPED BREADED CHICKEN PATTIES-CN with case code 016478-0928 and production dates of 09/16/2016, 09/28/2016 and 10/06/2016.

 20.0-lb. bulk cases of Tyson FULLY COOKED, BREADED CHICKEN PATTIES-CN with case code 005778-0928 and production dates of 09/14/2016, 09/19/2016 and 10/03/2016.32.81-lb. bulk cases of Tyson FULLY COOKED, WHOLE GRAIN GOLDEN CRISPY CHICKEN CHUNK FRITTERS-CN CHUNK-SHAPED CHICKEN PATTIE FRITTERS with case code 070364-0928, packaging and production date of 08/17/2016.

 20-lb bulk cases of SPARE TIME, Fully Cooked Breaded Chicken Patties with case code 005778-0861 and production date of 10/03/2016.

 20-lb bulk cases of SPARE TIME, Fully Cooked Chicken Pattie Fritters with case code 016477-0861 and production date of 09/16/2016 and 10/06/2016.

Schools have purchased the products through Tyson's commercial partners, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

Affected products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.

The recall was limited to foodservice customers, and affected products are not available for purchase in retail stores, according to the news release.


Uber Chief Business Officer Emil Michael has left the company, according to an email obtained by the New York Times and confirmed by NBC News.

Michael will be replaced by David Richter.

Ubers Board of Directors has adopted a series of recommendations about the companys corporate culture from former Attorney General Eric Holder, but it was silent late Sunday on whether it would approve a leave of absence for the ride services embattled CEO.

A spokesman confirmed that the board met with Holder and Tammy Albarran, both partners with Covington & Burling LLP, a law firm hired to investigate complaints of widespread sexual harassment and other deep-seeded cultural problems at Uber.

Board members voted unanimously to adopt all of the firms recommendations, which were to be released to employees on Tuesday, the spokesman said.

He would not comment on any further actions taken by the board, including whether it discussed the future of CEO Travis Kalanick. Multiple media outlets reported Sunday that the board was considering a leave of absence for Kalanick.

Uber Technologies Inc. has been rocked by accusations that its management has fostered a workplace environment where harassment, discrimination and bullying are left unchecked.

Uber announced last week that it fired 20 employees for harassment problems after a separate investigation by a different law firm.

Under Kalanick, Uber has shaken up the taxi industry in hundreds of cities and turned the San Francisco-based company into the worlds most valuable startup. Ubers valuation has climbed to nearly $70 billion.

But Kalanick has acknowledged his management style needs improvement. The 40-year-old CEO said earlier this year that he needed to fundamentally change and grow up.

In February, former Uber engineer Susan Fowler wrote on a blog that she had been propositioned by her boss in a series of messages on her first day of work and that superiors ignored her complaints. Uber set up a hotline for complaints after that and hired the law firm of Perkins Coie to investigate.

That firm checked into 215 complaints, with 57 still under investigation.

Uber has been plagued by more than sexual harassment complaints in recent months. It has been threatened by boycotts, sued and subject to a federal investigation that it used a fake version of its app to thwart authorities looking into whether it is breaking local laws.

Kalanick lost his temper earlier this year in an argument with an Uber driver who was complaining about pay, and Kalanicks profanity-laced comments were caught on video.

In a March conference call with reporters after that incident, board member Arianna Huffington expressed confidence that Kalanick would evolve into a better leader. But Huffington, a founder of Huffington Post, suggested time might be running out.

Hes a scrappy entrepreneur, she said during the call, but one who needed to bring changes in himself and in the way he leads.

The board meeting comes fresh on personal tragedy in Kalanicks life. His mother was killed in late May after the boat she and her husband were riding in hit a rock. Kalanicks father suffered moderate injuries.

The company has faced high turnover in its top ranks. In March, Ubers president, Jeff Jones, resigned after less than a year on the job. He said his beliefs and approach to leadership were inconsistent with those of the company.

In addition to firing 20 employees, Uber said Tuesday that it was hiring an Apple marketing executive, Bozoma Saint John, to help improve its tarnished brand. Saint John most recently was head of global consumer marketing for Apple Music and iTunes.

Uber was not immediately available to comment on the report.

The full email, obtained by the New York Times:



Team 

Yesterday was my last day with Uber. Starting today, David Richter, our current VP of Strategic Initiatives, will be the new SVP of Business. David is an extremely talented leader and I have high confidence in his ability to help drive the company forward. I signed on with the company almost four years ago and it has truly been the experience of a lifetime helping Uber become the fastest growing company of all-time -- spanning 75 countries with over 14,000 employees. I am proud of our business team's part in contributing to the company's overall success. We have fueled our growth by raising more money than any other tech company in history; we completed one of the most valuable mergers in American/Chinese tech history with the Didi deal; and we have secured ground-breaking partnerships with automobile companies all over the world to support our autonomous vehicle efforts. But I am most proud of the quality of the team we have built. Beginning with my first day at Uber, I have been committed to building a diverse Business Team that would be widely recognized as the best in the technology world: one that is welcoming to people of all genders, sexual orientations, national origins and educational backgrounds. I am proud that our group has made so much progress toward these goals and is a leader in the company in many of these categories. As an Egyptian immigrant who was taken under the wing of a great business leader like Bill Campbell, I have an abiding belief that we all should pay it forward by ensuring that our workplace represents all types of people. Uber has a long way to go to achieve all that it can and I am looking forward to seeing what you accomplish in the years ahead.

--Emil Michael
Public research on climate change that was deleted by President Trump's administration was saved and is available on the City of San Francisco's website, Mayor Ed Lee's office announced Sunday.

Lee joined mayors from 12 other U.S. cities who had the saved information published to their city's website.

"Deleting federal web pages does not reset the scientific consensus that climate change is real," Lee said in a statement.

"The American people are entitled to publicly funded EPA research on climate change."

City of Chicago officials created a website called "Climate Change is Real," and following that, Lee and 12 other mayors had their employees post climate change information to their city's website.

San Francisco officials said the research available was conducted over decades.

Some of the cities that have the information on their website are Atlanta, Boston, St. Louis, Seattle and Portland.

The research includes the basic science behind climate change, the various ways the weather is impacted by greenhouse gas emissions and the work the federal government has done to mitigate the impact.

Officials from other cities, universities and organizations can go to the Chicago site to get the information and post it to their website.

Last week, Lee and mayors from 270 cities around the country committed themselves to the Paris Accord, which President Trump pulled the U.S. out of on June 1.
Police activity in San Francisco Monday morning concluded after authorities investigated a suspicious package, according to police. The area was deemed safe.



Market Street between 3rd and 4th Streets was blocked off while a member of the bomb squad appeared to investigate a backpack.



Police encouraged people to avoid the area, and they also warned about traffic delays.



Further information was not available.


A passenger jet heading toward England was diverted to Germany on Saturday after three men on board were heard talking about terrorism, NBC News reported.

Authorities conducted the controlled detonation of a backpack as a precaution, police said.

Three men were detained after the easyJet flight from Slovenias capital Ljubljana to London Stansted Airport made an unscheduled stop in Cologne, a spokesman for the German Nordrhein-Westfalen police said.

Passengers told staff they heard men were talking about terrorism, which lead to the stop in Germany. The exact wording of what was said was not immediately available.

Authorities are awaiting more analysis about what was inside the backpack they exploded. It has not been determined that it contained explosives, police said.


Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner signed legislation Friday to reduce county jail crowding by granting bail relief to non-violent offenders.

The Republican governor signed the measure at Chicago Baptist Institute. He said it is "an important step in improving our state's criminal justice system."

The law, which takes effect immediately, allows people accused of low-level crimes to have bail reviewed quickly and perhaps lowered if they're indigent. The same types of defendants also will earn credit, while incarcerated, toward paying any fines if ultimately convicted.

"Our system must work equally for all our residents, in every community, regardless of their income," Rauner said. "We should be focused on putting people in jobs not jail."

The law's legislative sponsors joined him. They were Assistant Senate Democratic Leader Donne Trotter of Chicago, House Republican Leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs and Chicago Democratic state Rep. Elgie Sims.

Inability to pay bail and secure release while awaiting trial is one reason Illinois jails are overcrowded.

"Pretrial release must not focus on the defendants' ability to pay," Trotter said. "This new law allows the courts to look at the threat to the public safety or their risk of failure to appear."

Durkin praised the law's extension of the RICO statute until 2022. The state's Street Gang and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law aids prosecution of organized crime.

The law adds job titles for employees considered public officials for the purpose of prosecuting threats of harm. They now include social workers, case workers, lawyers and investigators who work for the Departments of Healthcare and Family Services, Human Services, Children and Family Services and the Guardianship and Advocacy Commission.

___

The bill was SB2034.
U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley introduced legislation called the 'COVFEFE' Act on Monday, aimed at expanding the scope of what is preserved as presidential record to encompass social media.

Officially titled the "Communications Over Various Feeds Electronically for Engagement" Act, the bill would amend the Presidential Records Act to include social media messages in preservation of presidential communications, Quigley said in a release.

The term "covfefe" emerged when President Donald Trump included it in a late-night tweet on May 31, writing "Despite the constant negative press covfefe."

The ambiguous tweet quickly lit up the social network and stayed online for more than five hours before being removed. Trump then addressed the message with another tweet reading "Who can figure out the true meaning of 'covfefe' ??? Enjoy!" [[427603433, C]]

While the word sparked countless jokes and memes, it also raised questions yet again about the presidents Twitter use  an issue that Quigley, a Democrat from Illinois, looks to address with the 'COVFEFE' Act.

"In order to maintain public trust in government, elected officials must answer for what they do and say; this includes 140-character tweets," Quigleys statement reads.

"President Trumps frequent, unfiltered use of his personal Twitter account as a means of official communication is unprecedented," he continued. "If the President is going to take to social media to make sudden public policy proclamations, we must ensure that these statements are documented and preserved for future reference."

While the official @WhiteHouse and @POTUS Twitter accounts are archived under the PRA, its not clear if the presidents personal account @RealDonaldTrump is archived as part of official record. The 'COVFEFE' Act would ensure that it is, and would also make deleting tweets a violation of the act subject to disciplinary action, according to Quigley.



As he did throughout his candidacy, Trump has frequently taken to Twitter as president to share his views  sometimes contradicting the messaging of his administration.

The morning after the deadly attack at London Bridge on June 3, Trump used the platform to attack the citys mayor for saying there was "no reason to be alarmed," a statement Mayor Sadiq Khan made in the context of reassuring residents about a heightened police presence.

The presidents mischaracterization of Khans words drew a sharp rebuke from the mayor, as well as questions on the relevance of Trumps tweets. [[426691081, C]]

"They matter in the sense that they give him a communications tool," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said at a press briefing the next day, adding that Twitter is important so he can "communicate directly to the people without the bias of the media" that she said "obsesses over every period, dot."

She was then contradicted by press secretary Sean Spicer, who said Tuesday that Trumps tweets should, in fact, be taken as official statements.

"The president is president of the United States," Spicer explained, "so they are considered official statements by the president of the United States."

Amid the confusion surrounding the legitimacy of his statements made on Twitter, Trumps tweets have raised ethical concerns as well. After Nordstrom decided to stop selling his daughter Ivankas clothing line in February, Trump tweeted that the department store has treated her "so unfairly."



Experts argued that the tweet  which was posted just 21 minutes after the scheduled start of his daily briefing and was retweeted by the official @POTUS account  was problematic for its implicit threat to retailers and the use of his office to benefit his familys personal interests.

While Trump has not received any official warnings himself, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel issued White House social media director Dan Scavino a letter of admonishment Friday after determining that he violated the law by using an official-looking Twitter account for campaign purposes.

Trump has often used his personal account to make major announcements, like unveiling his recent Air Traffic Control Initiative or his intention to nominate Christopher Wray as FBI director.

He also uses the platform to advocate for his agenda, including calls for his stalled travel ban.

On Tuesday, the president wrote that its necessary "for certain DANGEROUS countries, not some politically correct term that won't help us protect our people!"

Trumps tweets on his controversial executive order have not only drawn sharp criticism, but have also been used in court rulings blocking the ban from taking effect.

"Tweets are powerful, and the President must be held accountable for every post," Quigley said Monday.

Quigley also introduced the "Making Access Records Available to Lead American Government Openness (MAR-A-LAGO)" Act in March to require the publication of visitor logs to locations where the commander in chief conducts official business, including Trump Organization properties, in addition to the White House.
A rabid kitten was found in Waterbury at the end of May and anyone who may have come in contact with the animal is asked to seek medical advice, the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) said on Monday.

The kitten was found in the area of the Wal-Mart off of Route 68 in Waterbury in May. Anyone who may have handled the kitten between May 15 and May 29 is asked to seek medical advice.

DPH is also asking anyone who may have handled the 5-week-old, black and white kitten with a damaged nose, at the Southbury town-wide tag sale on June 3 to seek medical advice.

The tag sale was at the Southbury Green at ShopRite located on 775 Main Street South in Southbury.

DPH said it is believed that the kitten was located near the Whiskers Pet Rescue Booth.

The kitten died on June 8 and tested positive for rabies on June 9.

"While rabies is a fatal disease once clinical signs appear, it can be prevented by thorough wound cleaning and timely medical treatment that includes administration of one dose of immune globulin (antibodies) and four doses of vaccine over two weeks," DPH said.

For questions regarding human rabies exposures contact the DPH Epidemiology and Emerging Infections Program at (860) 509-7994.
A Connecticut state trooper who helped rescued victims of the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 had to turn in his badge and gun after being accused of getting into a bar fight at a Mystic bar over the weekend and sending someone to the hospital.

Trooper Jeffrey A. Meninno, 52, of Waterford, was arrested at 4:16 a.m. Saturday after an investigation into an assaulted reported at Chapter One Restaurant, Bar and Grill at 1 a.m., according to Groton police.

They said Meninno is accused of hitting another patron in the face several times. They said an ambulance had to transport the victim to Lawrence & Memorial Hospital.

Meninno is also accused of pushing another person who tried to intervene.

Witnesses identified Meninno, who police said left the establishment after the incident. Officers located him at his Waterford home and took him into custody.

A state police source said the trooper Meninno who was arrested in Groton is the same trooper who rushed in to help victims injured in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings.

Meninno has been charged with second-degree assault, breach of peace and third-degree assault.

He was released on a $2,500 non-surety bond and is due in court on June 26.

Police said Meninnos police powers have been suspended pending the outcome of an investigation and his badge and gun have been confiscated.

State police said the matter has been referred to the Connecticut State Police Bureau of Professional Standards.

The state police union issued a statement Monday morning.

"While we are disappointed to learn that one of our members to learn that one or our members was arrested, all the facts and circumstances involving the alleged incident have yet to be reported and the public should not rush to judgment based on headlines alone, a statement from the police union says.

Meninno was a union vice president, but was removed from his position earlier this year, according to the union.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 12

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Turkey has sent 15 planes of food to Qatar in the last five days, Turkish media outlets report.

Over 1,000 tons of products have been sent to Qatar, according to the reports.

Earlier, Arab media reported that the foodstuff available in Qatar will suffice for four weeks and that Qatar started talks with Turkey and Iran for the supply of drinking water and agricultural products.

Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE announced about breaking their diplomatic relations with Qatar June 5, accusing Doha of supporting terrorist organizations and destabilizing the situation in the Middle East.

Later, the authorities of Libya, Yemen, as well as the Maldives and Mauritius also announced about severing diplomatic relations with Qatar.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
A 15-year-old has been arrested on arson charges after a discarded sparkler caused a fire at an abandoned home in Harwinton Sunday, according to Connecticut State Police.

State police said crews responded to an active fire at 8 Ridgewood Drive in Harwinton around 2 p.m. Sunday. Multiple departments, including Harwinton Volunteer Fire, New Hartford fire, Terryville fire and Thomaston fire all responded to fight the blaze.

Harwinton fire officials said the house, which is abandoned, suffered extensive damage, but no injuries were reported.

Through speaking with neighbors, officials determined a 15-year-old boy had been on the property just before the fire. Police said the teen told them he lit a sparkler and watched it go out, then ran off.

Police said the sparkler lit the grass on fire, which spread to the building.

The suspect, who was not identified due to his age, was charged with third-degree arson, possession of fireworks, simple trespass, and third-degree criminal mischief. He was referred to Torrington Juvenile Court.
Berlin police say a 20-year-old tourist from Texas drowned after trying to swim across a river in the heart of the German capital.

Police spokeswoman Valeska Jakubowski said the man had jumped into the Spree river early Sunday with a 21-year-old friend.

The older man managed to swim the short distance across the river but the Texan failed to reach the shore.

Two passers-by, including a Danish lifeguard, tried unsuccessfully to save the man. He was recovered by firefighters but later died in hospital.

Jakubowski said Monday the deceased man is believed to have consumed alcohol and drugs before jumping into the river.

She declined to identify the man, citing German privacy rules.


Sunday night people marched down Cedar Springs Road in Dallas for equality and to remember those lost in the Pulse nightclub shooting one year ago.

Dozens in the LGBTQ Community and its allies marched to remember the 49 people killed in Orlando a year ago Monday. They also marched to remember the 13 trans women killed so far this year.

"Right now what's important is equality for everyone," Melissa Baize said. She is marching for her son who is transgender. "He is wonderful, artistic, kind, beautiful, everything positive, I love him."

Baize said it is tough for her child. She said there's bullying, rejection making it hard for the family.

"Get to know us," Baize said to those who do not agree with their values. "Get to know other transgender kids, other people in the LGBT community we're all just like you."

The long walk down Cedar Springs Road included a call to action -- to keep shining --for those lost and light the way for those whose journey has just begun.

Dallas police were also on hand for the day's march and rally. There were no reported incidents at the events.


Every Monday is a new opportunity to test the plans in place to help limit traffic congestion at Planos new Legacy West development.

Each week this summer, about 250 new Toyota employees will begin work at the automaker's new North American headquarters near the northwest corner of the Dallas North Tollway and the Sam Rayburn Tollway.

Between Toyota, FedEx Office, Liberty Mutual and JP Morgan Chase  all of which are relocating headquarters to the 250-acre Legacy West development  there will be between 12,000 to 15,000 new employees showing up for work within the next 12 to 18 months.

In an effort to prevent a crippling backlog of traffic along the highways and the local roads, the City of Plano has partnered with Legacy Wests large corporate tenants as well as Dallas Area Rapid Transit.

Mostly this happens in real urban centers: Downtown Dallas, Downtown Fort Worth, Downtown Austin, even. But in Plano we are getting to that point where we are kind of competing with the number of jobs that these traditional urban centers have, said Peter Braster, Director of Special Projects for the City of Plano. Were becoming a new urban center, so in that regard it is kind of unique.

Braster will present an update on the mobility solutions plan he has been overseeing to Plano city council members Monday evening. His ongoing study focuses on existing and projected traffic flows.

"What happens is we just start to get more and more traffic, more and more backed up. It's not going to come to a grinding halt, but it will become a lot more congested," Braster said. "Our real goal here is to get 20 percent of the people to use or do some alternative way of getting here."

Among the many solutions to limit the effect of the increased traffic into and out of Legacy West is an effort to stagger the start and end times of workers shifts at the four major corporate employers.

"If we can just shift work by a little bit, like 15 minutes say, we can really alleviate any bottlenecks there are at certain intersections," Braster said.



In addition, Plano has worked with DART to add specific bus routes that will run to Legacy West.

A survey of Legacy West employees showed that 40 percent of drivers are open to change in its mode of travel, which has made Braster optimistic that ridesharing programs could reduce the number of vehicles headed into and out of the development.

Today, I think more than ever, we have a lot of employees  especially the younger ones  who really want options to get to work, Braster said. They are not really convinced that driving along in the car is the best thing.

Braster said employees will be encouraged to try the North Central Texas Council of Governments tryparkingit.com website, which helps people find acceptable partners for carpooling.

DART will also roll out a beta version of its GoPass app which will only be available in the City of Plano. The app will allow users to purchase bus or light rail tickets, check on the estimated arrival time of their service and also hail a ride with services like Uber, Lyft and Zipcar.

As a part of the overall mobility improvement plan, Braster said that he is optimistic that a Transportation Management Association formed between the city, DART and the employers will help the employees play a substantive role in the process to mitigate traffic congestion. The TMA is a nonprofit association led by a Board of Directors that acts as an organized group applying carefully selected measures to facilitate the movement of people and goods within an area.
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings and Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price are using Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport as the centerpiece of their trade mission to Canada this week.

Rawlings and Price are traveling to Toronto and Montreal to promote economic development, business opportunities and tourism while meeting with various officials, pitching ways to bring businesses to North Texas.



Canada is Texas' third largest trade partner, with D/FW Airport accounting for a large portion of the import-export activity.

"We are looking to strengthen our business ties with regions that have become critical partners to the DFW economy," Rawlings said. "This trip is another key step in understanding those needs and cultivating those long-term relationships."

"As ambassadors for our region, I look forward to discussing mutual benefits of doing business, visiting and partnering in Fort Worth," said Price. "As we learn and collaborate with our neighbors in Toronto and Montreal, we anticipate seeing firsthand how their efforts to create stronger cities mirror some of our local efforts to improve the quality of life of our citizens."

More than 125 Canadian companies operate in DFW, and more than 260,000 Canadians visit North Texas annually, a spokesman said.

"Customers have asked for more international destinations, and D/FW Airport wants to deliver the passenger and cargo service that will continue to elevate the Dallas Fort Worth region as a hub for global business activity," said Sean Donohue, CEO for DFW Airport.

"Strengthening our partnerships with international airlines, like Air Canada and American Airlines, is a key component of our overall strategy to expand our service offerings," she said.

The trade mission runs June 11-16.


The family of an autistic student whose body was found in his own vomit on a locked school bus in Whittier during one of the hottest days of 2015 reached a $23.5 million settlement with the bus company, the family's attorney said on Monday.

Hun Joon "Paul" Lee, 19, was found on a bus on a sweltering, triple-digit day in September. It appeared he was trying to get off the bus but all the doors were locked, the family's attorney said.

In January, Armando Abel Ramirez, 37, was sentenced to two years in state prison after he pleaded guilty to one count of dependent adult abuse resulting in Lee's death, prosecutors said. Ramirez was texting a coworker to arrange a sexual rendezvous on the day of the 19-year-old's death, the lawsuit from the family said.

Lee had a severe form of autism and did not have verbal skills. He relied on the bus driver to direct him to the door. Lee's family believes Ramirez was a substitute for Lee's usual bus driver who was not working that day.

"Paul Lee was the center of the Lee family's universe and his horrific death is an immeasurable loss," said the family's attorney, Rahul Ravipudi. "Not only was it the direct product of criminal actions by the bus driver, but the systematic failures of Pupil Transportation Cooperative and others."

An attorney for the bus company did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Lee's death led to the "Paul Lee School Bus Safety Law," which requires all California school buses to be outfitted with a child safety alarm and requires drivers to receive child safety training.

"We are proud that Mr. and Mrs. Lee have taken steps to make sure the tragedy that has befallen them will not strike another family," Ravipudi said.
A man accused of killing an 8-year-old boy in a drive-by attack on a Pomona home pleaded not guilty Monday to murder and other felony charges.

Sengchan Houl, 35, also faces one count of shooting from a motor vehicle and four counts of shooting at an inhabited dwelling and a special circumstance allegation of murder committed while firing from a motor vehicle.

Prosecutors have yet to decide whether to pursue the death penalty. On Feb. 20, Jonah Hwang was with his family, visiting friends for dinner at a home in the 1100 block of West 11th Street, when shots were fired on the residence and he was struck by a bullet.

Prosecutors allege that Houl also fired shots at the same Pomona home on Jan. 27, March 7 and March 25.

Investigators identified the vehicle believed to have been used in all four shootings and, with the assistance of several agencies, arrested Houl the day after the fourth shooting. Police said he was picked up leaving his home with the firearm they believe was used in the attack.

A motive for the shootings was unclear. Police said the family hosting the dinner were the original owners of the residence and have since moved out. Police said the owners of the home were married school teachers with two children and had no gang ties.

"As a longtime police officer in this community, this is right up there with some of the more senseless acts of violence that we see as police officers," Pomona police Lt. Eddie Hernandez said the day after the shooting.

"This definitely can't go unpunished."

Hwang's family brought him home from a Taiwanese orphanage less than three years ago.

"He had an infectious smile and loved everyone and everything: sports, wrestling with his dad, running, laughing, superheroes,'' the family said in a statement posted on a GoFundMe page. "With his playful demeanor, he adapted almost immediately to life in the United States and became a full-blooded American in no time at all. Jonah was a light and joy in our household and we cannot imagine our family without him."

Houl is being held without bail and is due back in court on July 25, when a date is expected to be set for a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to proceed to trial.
A 29-year-old soldier from Southern California was among three service members killed Saturday in Afghanistan.

Sgt. William M. Bays, 29 of Barstow was killed during a joint U.S.-Afghan military operation in the Achin district of Nangarhar province. The service members were killed when an Afghan soldier opened fire in an apparent insider attack, U.S. officials told NBC News.

Bays was an infantryman in Company D, 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He joined the Army in August 2009.

His awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army NCO Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, the NATO Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Air Assault Badge and the Driver and Mechanic Badge.

Bays posthumously earned the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, Combat Infantry Badge and Army Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster for his end of tour awards, according to the Department of Defense.

The Department of Defense identified the slain soldiers Monday as Bays, Sgt. Eric M. Houck, 25, of Baltimore, Maryland and Corporal Dillon C. Baldridge, 22 of Youngsville, North Carolina.

A fourth U.S. soldier was wounded.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of our Soldiers who were killed and wounded said General John W. Nicholson, Commander, U.S. Forces Afghanistan. "We will always remember our fallen comrades and remain committed to the mission they carried out and for which they ultimately gave their lives."

In March, an Afghan soldier was killed after he opened fire on foreign forces at a base in Helmand province, wounding three U.S. soldiers.
Before Maria Wright's son Jerry was killed in the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, one year ago, she had done little to try to change the country's gun laws.

Horrified by the bloodbath at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, and other mass shootings, she had donated money and had signed petitions but that was it.

This time when she got an email from Everytown for Gun Safety, she wrote back immediately: "They killed my son. What can I do?"

"Because I felt like I should have done more before," she said. "And I didn't and now I've lost my son. I'm going to do what I can so this doesn't happen to anybody else."

Omar Mateen, 29, opened fire during the gay club's Latin night in the early morning a year ago, killing 49 people with an assault rifle and a handgun before being killed himself. Jerry Wright, who was in the Pulse nightclub celebrating a friend's birthday, died in the carnage.

A licensed, American-born security guard, Mateen was able to buy his weapons legally, though the FBI had investigated him twice, inconclusively. On the day of the attack, Mateen, whose wife, Noor Salman, was later charged with obstruction and aiding and abetting her husband, pledged allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State on Facebook.

Today Maria Wright and her husband, Fred, are trying to convince lawmakers that they must do more to keep the country safe. The Wrights, who live in Miami, want laws to prohibit people like Mateen, who had been on the FBI's terrorist watch list from 2013 to 2014, from being able to purchase weapons. And they want everyone to have to undergo a background check.

"Our laws did not stop him at all," she said. "He was able to go in and kill and maim so many so quickly."

Jerry Wright, 31, worked at Walt Disney World, in merchandising on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom and in Tomorrowland. His mother said he was sweet, kind, thoughtful and helpful.

[NATL] Country Remembers Victims Year After Orlando Nightclub Shooting

"I want him to be remembered as someone who actually modeled that behavior, of being a part of his community, of being a good neighbor, being a good friend, a good son, a good family person," she said. "That's how I want my child to be remembered."

His behavior is motivating theirs now, she said.

The Chicago Bulls are going through a tumultuous time at the moment, with players speaking out in print and on social media, and Friday saw more fireworks as the team addressed the media at the Advocate Center ahead of their game against the Miami Heat.

Immediately after the Orlando shootings, one of the deadliest mass shootings in the country's history, the U.S. Senate rejected four measures that would have restricted gun sales.

"What am I going to tell the community of Orlando?" Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida said after the votes, according to Reuters. "Sadly, what I'm going to tell them is the NRA won again."

Maria Wright remains convinced that most Americans would change the country's laws so that terrorists could not buy weapons. And she believes that many lawmakers would take action if they knew how many of their constituents wanted them to.

President Trump has hinted at additional U.S. airstrikes if the use of chemical weapons continue.

"Which means that we have to also look at ourselves and what we can do," she said. "But I'm not going to sit here and say that they're all terrible human beings and not a single one them gives a damn that my son was killed, because that's not the case."

She said she has had lawmakers, both Republican and Democratic, tell to her to be persistent.

Fred Wright said that he and his wife would continue to do what they could to make the changes happen. They are not going to stop, he said.

"We just want to honor our son in the best way possible," he said.
The TSA is testing new screening procedures at ten airports  including one in South Florida  that will take a closer look at carry-on bags.

The changes will require passengers to remove more items from bags while at the checkpoint  at a time where summer air traffic is expected to rise by four percent.

One of the airports take part in the new procedures is Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, the site of a mass shooting in January where five people were killed.

This comes in addition to electronics larger than a cell phone already being required to be placed in separate bins.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 12

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Turkey and Russia have not yet reached a final decision regarding the agreement on supplies of the Russian S-400 Triumph air defense system to Turkey, said Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus after the June 12 Cabinet meeting.

The sides are now working on this issue, according to him.

Kurtulmus noted that the two countries positively regard signing the agreement on supplies of the S-400 Triumph system to Turkey.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was ready to sell Ankara the S-400 Triumph system, but the issue of localization of the production in Turkey would depend on the readiness of the countrys industry.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Two South Florida men are behind bars after allegedly trying to purchase almost $100,000 worth of cocaine from an undercover detective in Hialeah  while using fake money to do so.

Officers arrested 42-year-old Yampier Pardo of Miami and 34-year-old Francisco Morales of Miramar on Saturday, charging each with multiple counts that included cocaine trafficking, grand theft and possession of counterfeit money.

Morales is being held on $261,000 bond, while Pardo is being held on no bond.

According to the arrest report, both men met with a Hialeah Police undercover detective on last Thursday, where they agreed to by four kilograms of cocaine for $25,000 each. Pardo later called the detective to say they would buy two at a time, notifying him on Friday that he had the money.

Both men met with the detective on Saturday, providing a bag they said had $50,000 in it. As the detective went to inspect the money, both men fled the area and police discovered the money was fake.

Police later spotted the men in the area and they were arrested.
As people of all ages, races, religions and sexual orientations remember the tragic day one year ago inside the Pulse nightclub, Florida Gov. Rick Scott has proclaimed Monday as "Pulse Remembrance Day" across the state.

Scott has ordered all flags to be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset, in addition to a moment of silence at 9 a.m.

Several of those who came out to honor the 49 victims dressed as angels to remember those who lost their life one year ago.

"The horrific terror attack at Pulse attempted to rip at the seams of our society, strike fear in our hearts and divide us. Yet, in the face of extreme adversity and loss, Floridians showed resiliency, bravery and love," Scott said in a statement.

"This was an attack on Orlando, our state, the Hispanic community and on the LGBTQ community. It left a solemn impact on our state that we will carry with us for the rest of our lives.

Monday marks a year to the date when gunman Omar Mateen killed 49 people and injured dozens more before he was shot and killed by police at the Orlando club.

Events are planned across the area Monday for the one year anniversary of the mass shooting.

In South Florida, hundreds of people rallying for equality in downtown Fort Lauderdale on Sunday took a moment to reflect on the 49 patrons killed during the massacre at the gay nightclub in the worst mass shooting in recent U.S. history.

"This is just a minute portion of the South Florida clergy that is here today to represent all faith bases," said Rev. Jole Slotick, with the Church of Christ Fort Lauderdale.

"That is a signal to rest of the world to know that we have hatred within our country and we just got to work so hard to push it back," Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner Dean Trantalis said.

Prideline, the City of Miami and the Miami Heat will host a "Pulse Day of Remembrance" on Monday at the American Airlines Arena, paying tribute to the victims, their families, friends and the survivors. The massive free event will begin at 6 p.m. Monday.

"As a police department, this is something we would like everyone to know: that we stand by and strongly support our LGBTQ residents, allies and visitors," said Miami Police Department spokesperson Christopher Bess.

South Florida's prominent gay community, Wilton Manors, will also honor the Pulse shooting victims from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday at the Pride Center with a remembrance flag-hanging ceremony.

"We are taking gay pride month and asking those who believe in equality and against discrimination and bigotry that seem so pervasive in our country today to come together and know they have comrades-in-arms," Trantalis said.

The emotions are just as hard one year later for the Latino community, said Stephen Fallon, executive director of Latino Salud.

"For my staff and members of Latino Salud, one year later the emotions are still raw, and I think it's important for people to remember the killer targeted the Latino Night at the club. Ninety percent of the victims were Latino," Fallon said.



In Orlando, the names of the 49 victims were read out loud outside the club at 2:02 a.m., the moment Mateen began opening fire.

"I realize that gathering here in this place, at this hour, is beyond difficult," Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer told survivors, victims' families, club employees and local officials during the private service. "But I also know that the strength you've shown over the past year will carry you through today and in the future."

Later Monday morning, hundreds of people dropped off flowers, drawings and cards at a memorial near Pulse. Another midday service was held, followed by an evening gathering in the heart of downtown Orlando and a final, music-filled late-night service at the nightclub.

"It still hurts, it's still very raw," said Erin Anderson, a friend and former co-worker of Pulse victim Xavier Serrano Rosado.

Jeannine Williams used to live within walking distance of Pulse and was a frequent visitor. She had made plans to be there the night of the shooting but decided to go another night club.

"A year later I think the thing that is most important is this community and why I live here and why I'm so happy to live here," Williams said through tears. "The support we not only have from our city government, it's not fleeting support, it's not support on certain days. It's the way the community is. This is Orlando. This is why I just love living here."

At noon, church bells throughout the Orlando area rang 49 times.

Local leaders said Mateen's act of hate caused an outpouring of love from Orlando and the wider world.

"What a terrorist tries to do is divide us," said U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson. "Isn't it interesting it had the opposite effect? It brought us together in unity and love."

Monday's services culminated several days of events aimed at turning the grim anniversary into something positive. A foot race was held over the weekend, and eight gay and lesbian students were awarded $4,900 toward their college studies by a local businessman. Local officials have declared the one-year mark as a day of "love and kindness," and they are encouraging residents to volunteer or perform acts of compassion.

An exhibit of artwork collected from memorial sites set up around Orlando after the massacre will be shown at the Orange County History Center. The club's owner, Barbara Poma, is developing plans to build a memorial at the Pulse site.

Mateen's wife, Noor Salman, is facing charges of aiding and abetting and obstruction in federal court. She has pleaded not guilty to helping her husband.
Britain's general election has ended with no party winning an outright majority, bringing the second so-called hung Parliament in the last three elections.

Here are a few questions over what it means and its implications for the country.

What is a hung Parliament?

It's an unusual situation in which no political party wins more than half of the 650 seats in the House of Commons. Without such a majority, the government cannot be assured of passing legislation and often has to rely on the support of other parties.

What happens next? Who forms the government?

Prime Minister Theresa May has gone to Queen Elizabeth II to get permission to form a government with the help of the smaller Democratic Unionist Party. She didn't specify how her Conservative Party would "work together" with the Northern-Ireland-based party. As the leader of the largest single party in the House of Commons, May got the first chance to put together a government and present a formal program, known as the Queen's Speech. Instead of a formal coalition, May could seek to govern through a so-called "confidence and supply" arrangement with the DUP, in which the Northern Irish party agrees to support the minority Conservative government on vital matters, such as the budget, in return for concessions.



[NATL] Top News Photos: Pope Visits Japan, and More

What does the DUP potentially provide?

Votes. With all but one seat counted, the DUP won 10 seats in the House of Commons and the Conservatives 318  enough to form a working majority, albeit a very small one. While the parties are closely aligned on some issues, they differ on matters as pensions and the details of Britain's exit from the European Union. May will likely have to make compromises to win the DUP's backing..

What happens if the Prime Minister cant form a government?

If May fails to get a deal with the DUP that will allow her to govern, then the queen, following advice, could ask the main opposition Labour Party to try to form a government. Given the election arithmetic, Labour would struggle to get the numbers to form a coalition government. Based on current seat projections, Labour and its potential allies fall short of the 326 required to form a majority. However, Labour could govern as a minority government, too, even though it came second in the election in terms of seats, should other parties give it the leeway in key votes.



What happens if no party is able to form a government?

New elections will be called.



How common are hung Parliaments?

There have been six hung Parliaments since 1900. No party won a majority in elections in 1909, 1929, 1974 and 2010.

In 2010, the Conservatives formed a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats, the first formal coalition since Winston Churchill's government during World War II. In 1974, a minority Labour government was in charge for eight months because the Conservatives were willing to abstain on key votes. In the other four instances minority governments were able to survive as a result of agreements with other parties.
The attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia filed a federal lawsuit Monday against President Donald Trump, alleging he violated the Constitution by retaining ties to his sprawling global business empire and by accepting foreign payments while in office.

Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh joined District counterpart Karl Racine at a news conference in announcing the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in neighboring Maryland. Much of the case is focused on allegations that Trump's real estate and business holdings violate a little-known emoluments clause of the Constitution. The provision bars the president and other government employees from accepting foreign gifts and payments without congressional approval.

"The president's conflicts of interest threaten our democracy," Frosh said. "We cannot treat the president's ongoing violations of the Constitution and his disregard of the rights of the American people as the new acceptable status quo."

"Never in the history of this country have we had a president with these kinds of extensive business entanglements," Racine said, adding that the violation was flagrant.

Trump's unique status as both president and the financial beneficiary of his global business empire raised questions about the emoluments clause of the Constitution even before he took office. Trump and his attorneys argue the clause does not cover fair-value transactions, such as hotel room payments and real estate sales.

The attorneys general aren't the first to sue Trump over emoluments. Just days after Trump's inauguration in January, the government watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a federal lawsuit in the Southern District of New York. Since then, a restaurant group and two individuals in the hotel industry have joined as plaintiffs.

The Justice Department said Friday that those plaintiffs did not suffer in any way and had no standing to sue, and that it is unconstitutional to sue the president in his official capacity.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer noted that response at a White House press briefing Monday.

"This lawsuit today is just another iteration of the case that was filed by that group CREW, filed actually by the same lawyers," Spicer said. "So it's not hard to conclude that partisan politics may be one of the motivations behind the suit."

The Trump Hotel in the nation's capital affects business in the Washington area and is part of the reason the lawsuit was filed, the two Democratic officials explained. They also said their action was non-partisan, and other state attorneys general, including Republicans, were welcome to join the suit. It seeks an injunction to stop what the two alleged are the president's constitutional violations.

Racine said he hopes the lawsuit will prompt Republicans in Congress and Trump to take steps that the suit is asking the court to take.

"Again, the reason why we're here is because the president of the United States, in a wholly unprecedented fashion, has decided to maintain a sprawling international business empire that accepts money without account from foreign governments," Racine said.

Frosh said Trump regularly welcomes foreign diplomats to his hotel and appears frequently at Trump establishments, "using his role as president to raise their public profile."

"We have economic interests that are impacted, but the most salient factor is that when the president is subject to foreign influence, we have to be concerned about whether the actions he's taking  both at home and abroad  are the result of payments that he is receiving at the Trump Hotel, payments that he is receiving at Mar-a-Lago, payments that he is receiving at Trump Tower, payments that he is receiving in all of his other far-flung enterprises, and he brags about it," Frosh told The Associated Press in an earlier interview.

The lawsuit also focuses on the fact that Trump chose to retain ownership of his company when he became president. Trump said he was shifting assets into a trust managed by his sons to eliminate potential conflicts of interests.

If a federal judge allows the case to proceed, Racine and Frosh say they will demand copies of Trump's personal tax returns in court to gauge the extent of his foreign business dealings.

"Mr. Trump is unique in American history in violating the emoluments clause," Frosh said. "There is no other president whose domestic and foreign investments, the entanglements, have been so bound up with our policy and our interests, and he is the only president who has refused to disclose the extent of his holdings and interests, so yes it will be a subject of our lawsuit. We will be seeking that information."

The new lawsuit follows a private lawsuit filed in March by D.C. business owners Diane Gross and Khalid Pitts. Their pending suit contends Trump's hotel business unfairly infringes on their business -- Cork Wine Bar -- and other private businesses in the city.

"What the president is doing is unethical and unfair," Gross said Monday.
A man dubbed the Dollar Tree grandpa bandit, who is wanted for robberies across the U.S., held up a Dollar Tree store in Connecticut over the weekend, police said.

Authorities believe the man, with his short white hair and mustache, is responsible for robberies from Upstate New York to Idaho.

The man walked into a Dollar Tree on Universal Drive in North Haven on Saturday night, sparked a stun gun and forced two employees into an office, police said. As the two women were in the office, the man emptied the registers and store safe before taking off.

No injuries were reported.

Police said the Dollar Tree grandpa bandit should be considered armed and dangerous.
Two transgender women were attacked by a group of people screaming insults in Brooklyn on Saturday, police say.

Around 1 a.m., London Jade and another transgender woman left the Happyfun Hidaway bar in Bushwick and attempted to buy alcohol at a liquor store nearby, police said.

Once they left the store, a group of three men and one woman approached the women and harassed them, screaming slurs and telling them to get off their block, police said.

The woman in the group slapped her in the face, police said.

A fight broke out, resulting in Jade getting slashed on the leg and another woman suffering from a fractured jaw, police said.

The two injured women were taken to Bellevue Hospital, police said. Jade has since been released.

One of the women said that her jaw has been wired shut from the attack and that she needs to have surgery on Thursday.

If you dont understand a transgender persons life then maybe you should listen to what they have to say instead of attacking them, London Jade told NBC 4 New York.



The attack is being investigated as a possible hate crime.

No arrests have been made.
Loved ones are mourning a woman who died protecting her children from a DUI driver who jumped a curb and struck a pole in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia Saturday night, according to police.

A makeshift memorial was placed on the sidewalk along Aramingo Avenue and East Tioga Street. Rosa Lydia Rojas, also known as "Linda," was walking in the area Saturday night at 8:47 p.m. with her 11-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son after getting food. As the family continued walking, a Dodge Durango jumped the curb.

Family members say Rojas pushed her daughter out of the way but was struck by the Durango along with her son.



"She was a hero because at least she pushed her daughter," Annie Lopez, Rojas' aunt, told NBC10. "She tried to protect them."

Family Photo/NBC10

After striking the woman and her son, the driver of the Durango struck a light pole as he drove back off the sidewalk onto the street, police said. Rojas' son fell to the right of the vehicle. Rojas however was trapped underneath the Durango. She was then run over and ejected from under the vehicle's left side.

"The mom was unconscious on the floor," Pablo Rivera, who witnessed the aftermath of the crash, told NBC10. "Her son was a couple feet away."

Rojas was taken to Hahnemann University Hospital where doctors pronounced her dead at 9:19 p.m. Her son was taken to St. Christopher's Hospital and treated for a head injury, broken leg and abrasions. Doctors listed him in stable condition. Rojas' daughter was not injured.

Police said the driver of the Durango -- identified by police as 39-year-old Ryan McHugh of St. Denis Drive in Philadelphia -- got out of the vehicle and tried to blend in with witnesses following the crash. Rivera told NBC10 he and another man went after him.

Philadelphia Police Department

"We just ran towards the car to stop him from going anywhere," Rivera said. "And then he got out the car. We knew he was looking for someone so that's why he stopped."

Rivera told NBC10 McHugh walked toward an area of bushes and was taken into custody by responding police officers.

"So the cops were coming at the same time so we told the cops, 'That's the guy right there. That's the guy who did the hitting,'" Rivera said. "And the cops grabbed him and put him in the car."

Investigators believe the driver was trying to discard drug paraphernalia in the bushes and they also say they found syringes in his vehicle. McHugh was charged with homicide by vehicles, aggravated assault while DUI, involuntary manslaughter, DUI and other counts and sent to prison on $650,000 bail.

Court records don't list an attorney who could comment on McHugh's behalf.

Rojas' family and friends spent Sunday gathering at the sidewalk where she died.

"I feel like I'm close to her," Eugenio Rojas, her father, told NBC10.

Rojas thanked the witnesses and police who helped capture the suspect.

"If it wasn't for them and the cops the guy probably would've gotten away," he said. "I'm happy they stepped up to the plate. I thank them all."
ADS ADS

Girard-Perregaux teamed up with high-end Portuguese jeweller Torres Joalheiros in presenting the new Laureato collection in two legendary locations, respectively located on one of Lisbons best-known avenues, Avenida de la Liberdade, near the famous Marques de Pombral Square, and on Alameda dos Combatentes da Grande Guerra, in the picturesque town of Cascais.

On the upper floor of the splendid Torres Joalheiros premises in Lisbon, the press flocked to welcome the new collection dedicated to the legendary Laureato, an integral part of the brand identity, as well as the current collection from the Swiss Manufacture. Guests noted the significant investment made in the new collection this year.

Girard-Perregaux CEO, Antonio Calce, retraced the key milestones in the history of the brand, including the story of the Laureato watch from 1975 to its more recent renewal, as well as evoking the new strategic lines of action undertaken since almost three years in the Manufacture.

Antonio Calce

2017 sees the birth of a complete Laureato family, integrated within the current Girard-Perregaux collection. Four sizes, four calibres, four materials: The Laureato range is now richer than ever. Since the start of the year and the success it has encountered, the Laureato is continuing to evolve towards new horological complications.

The event also featured the presentation of the new Laureato Skeleton model that has just emerged from the Manufacture workshops in la Chaux-de-Fonds. Representing the latest evolution of the Laureato family, this watch with its metal bracelet is a fascinating exercise in horological architecture. Girard-Perregaux has drawn upon the origins of the Laureato, in terms of noble aesthetic inspiration as well as watchmaking expertise, in unveiling this exceptional model.

Laureato Skeleton

The day ended with an exclusive dinner to which a select circle of clients and collectors were invited.

Antonio Calce, CEO of Girard-Perregaux: "Im honoured to be here with Torres Joalheiros for the official launch of the Laureato collection and to share with the press and our guests this new Laureato Skeleton model, which is truly exceptional. I am delighted by this new partnership with the Torres family. Portugal is an extremely promising country for our brand.



Joao Carlos Torres, President of Torres Group: "Torres Joalheiros and Girard-Perregaux are two historical brands with a deep connection to the world of high watchmaking, as well as sharing the same values of luxury, exclusivity and tradition. And so we are very happy to start this partnership and we are sure that it will be one with a lasting and successful horizon."




Police need the public's help to track down one of two men on BMX bikes who investigators said opened fire on a 26-year-old father and his 2-year-old son last month.

On Monday, the Philadelphia Police Department issued an arrest warrant for Revoire Harris for the May 19th shooting.

Two-year-old Pryce Johnson was shot four times in the back and his father was shot in the knee after the suspects said, "This is our block."

The incident took place on the 3300 block of Malta Street in the city's Kensington neighborhood, police said.

A two year-old boy who survived after being shot along with his father Friday is recovering. NBC10s Denise Nakano spoke to the boys family after the violent act.

The child was taken to St. Christopher's Hospital and his father to Temple Hospital. In the days after the shooting, family members said the boy was doing better.

"He fought for his life," Ileana McDaniels said. "He's a fighter, thank God ... This baby is so tiny and he was shot four times. How can he still be OK? I just couldn't fathom it at all."

The child's current condition is unknown.

Both gunmen fled on their bikes after the shooting and were last seen on Westmoreland Street. Police later released surveillance video of the suspects.

Philadelphia Lodge 5 Fraternal Order of Police announced a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person or people responsible for the shooting. It was unclear if that reward led to Harris being named a suspect.

Police asked anyone who knows Harris' whereabouts to call 911 or the East Detective Division at 215-686-3243.
Virginia voters have begun casting their votes in the state's closely watched primary contests for governor that could be an early referendum on President Donald Trump.

Polls in Tuesday's primary races are open until 7 p.m.

Primary candidates for lieutenant governor will also be on the ballot, as will candidates for several seats in the Virginia House of Delegates. Some ballots also will include candidates for local office.

Here's a quick guide on how to learn more about candidates and get all your polling place questions answered.

Who is running for governor?

By far, the most closely watched races will be between the five candidates running to be Virginia's next governor.

Want to know more about where the gubernatorial candidates stand on major issues? Check out our breakdown of their positions.

If you pick up a Republican ballot:

Republicans will have three choices for the gubernatorial race.

Ed Gillespie  Favored in pre-polling as the likely primary winner. You can learn more about Gillespie here.

 Favored in pre-polling as the likely primary winner. You can learn more about Gillespie here. Corey Stewart  Currently the at-large chairman of Prince William County. You can learn more about Stewart here.

 Currently the at-large chairman of Prince William County. You can learn more about Stewart here. Frank Wagner  Currently serving as a state senator. You can learn more about Wagner here.

[[424644644, C]]



If you pick up a Democratic ballot:

Two Democratic candidates are seeking the governor's office.

Ralph Northam  Currently serving as lieutenant governor, Northam was an early Democratic primary favorite. But early polls indicate the race will be too close to call. You can learn more about Northam here.

 Currently serving as lieutenant governor, Northam was an early Democratic primary favorite. But early polls indicate the race will be too close to call. You can learn more about Northam here. Tom Perriello  After gaining particular favor among young voters, Perriello is expected to make a competitive run at Northam. You can learn more about Perriello here.

Who is running for lieutenant governor?

Both parties have a three-way primary for lieutenant governor, a largely ceremonial position that's often a steppingstone to higher office.



If you pick up a Republican ballot:

Three Republican candidates are making a run for lieutenant governor, none of whom are strangers to the state house.

Glenn Davis  Currently serving as a representative in the House of Delegates. You can learn more about Davis here.

 Currently serving as a representative in the House of Delegates. You can learn more about Davis here. Jill Holtzman Vogel  Currently serving as a state senator. You can learn more about Vogel here.

 Currently serving as a state senator. You can learn more about Vogel here. Bryce Reeves  Currently serving as a state senator. You can learn more about Reeves here.

If you pick up a Democratic ballot:

Justin Fairfax  Currently serving as assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. You can learn more about Fairfax here.

 Currently serving as assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. You can learn more about Fairfax here. Gene Rossi  Former federal prosecutor. You can learn more about Rossi here.

 Former federal prosecutor. You can learn more about Rossi here. Susan Platt  Former political consultant. You can learn more about Platt here.

[[424652953, L]]



What about the House of Delegates?

Democrats have seen a surge in candidates for the House of Delegates this year, where they have a long shot at taking back control of the chamber from Republicans in November.

All 100 House seats are up for election this year. On Tuesday, there will be 27 primary races, though candidates in two districts have dropped out since the ballots were printed.

Be sure to check your sample ballot to see whether your voting district includes a House of Delegates primary race.

Are there any other races?

There's no primary for Virginia's other statewide elected office, attorney general. Voters in November will choose between incumbent Mark Herring or Republican John Adams, a partner at the Richmond law firm McGuireWoods.

Voters in some areas will be narrowing the pool of candidates in local contests, including city council and commonwealth's attorney races.

The Department of Elections has an online tool that allows voters to see which races will be on their ballot.

How do I register?

The deadline to vote in the state primary has passed. You can register to vote in the general election scheduled for November here.

What party can I vote for?

You will only be permitted to select a ballot for one party, but you can choose whichever ballot you would like.

What time can I vote?

You can vote between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. If you're in line by 7 p.m., you will be allowed to vote.

Where's my polling place?

You can find your polling place here.

Do I need an ID to vote?

Virginia requires a valid photo ID to cast a vote in state elections. A driver's license, federal ID or a school or employer issued ID is acceptable. If you do not have a photo ID, you can apply for a Virginia Voter Photo ID Card anytime online or at your local voter registration office.

What does my ballot look like?

You can see a sample ballot based on your voting district here.

Can I still vote as an absentee?

No. The deadline to register as an absentee has passed.
Fifty years after Mildred and Richard Loving's landmark legal challenge shattered the laws against interracial marriage in the U.S., some couples of different races still talk of facing discrimination, disapproval and sometimes outright hostility from their fellow Americans.

Although the racist laws against mixed marriages are gone, several interracial couples said in interviews they still get nasty looks, insults and sometimes even violence when people find out about their relationships.

"I have not yet counseled an interracial wedding where someone didn't have a problem on the bride's or the groom's side," said the Rev. Kimberly D. Lucas of St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C.

She often counsels engaged interracial couples through the prism of her own 20-year marriage  Lucas is black and her husband, Mark Retherford, is white.

"I think for a lot of people it's OK if it's 'out there' and it's other people but when it comes home and it's something that forces them to confront their own internal demons and their own prejudices and assumptions, it's still really hard for people," she said.

Interracial marriages became legal nationwide on June 12, 1967, after the Supreme Court threw out a Virginia law that sent police into the Lovings' bedroom to arrest them just for being who they were: a married black woman and white man.

The Lovings were locked up and given a year in a Virginia prison, with the sentence suspended on the condition that they leave Virginia. Their sentence is memorialized on a marker to go up on Monday in Richmond, Virginia, in their honor.

The Supreme Court's unanimous decision struck down the Virginia law and similar statutes in roughly one-third of the states. Some of those laws went beyond black and white, prohibiting marriages between whites and Native Americans, Filipinos, Indians, Asians and in some states "all non-whites."

The Lovings, a working-class couple from a deeply rural community, weren't trying to change the world and were media-shy, said one of their lawyers, Philip Hirschkop, now 81 and living in Lorton, Virginia. They simply wanted to be married and raise their children in Virginia.

But when police raided their Central Point home in 1958 and found a pregnant Mildred in bed with her husband and a District of Columbia marriage certificate on the wall, they arrested them, leading the Lovings to plead guilty to cohabitating as man and wife in Virginia.

"Neither of them wanted to be involved in the lawsuit, or litigation or taking on a cause. They wanted to raise their children near their family where they were raised themselves," Hirschkop said.

But they knew what was at stake in their case.

"It's the principle. It's the law. I don't think it's right," Mildred Loving said in archival video footage shown in an HBO documentary. "And if, if we do win, we will be helping a lot of people."

Richard Loving died in 1975, Mildred Loving in 2008.

Since the Loving decision, Americans have increasingly dated and married across racial and ethnic lines. Currently, 11 million people  or 1 out of 10 married people  in the United States have a spouse of a different race or ethnicity, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.

In 2015, 17 percent of newlyweds  or at least 1 in 6 of newly married people  were intermarried, which means they had a spouse of a different race or ethnicity. When the Supreme Court decided the Lovings' case, only 3 percent of newlyweds were intermarried.

But interracial couples can still face hostility from strangers and sometimes violence.

In the 1980s, Michele Farrell, who is white, was dating an African American man and they decided to look around Port Huron, Michigan, for an apartment together. "I had the woman who was showing the apartment tell us, 'I don't rent to coloreds. I definitely don't rent to mixed couples,'" Farrell said.

In March, a white man fatally stabbed a 66-year-old black man in New York City, telling the Daily News that he'd intended it as "a practice run" in a mission to deter interracial relationships. In August 2016 in Olympia, Washington, Daniel Rowe, who is white, walked up to an interracial couple without speaking, stabbed the 47-year-old black man in the abdomen and knifed his 35-year-old white girlfriend. Rowe's victims survived and he was arrested.

And even after the Loving decision, some states tried their best to keep interracial couples from marrying.

In 1974, Joseph and Martha Rossignol got married at night in Natchez, Mississippi, on a Mississippi River bluff after local officials tried to stop them. But they found a willing priest and went ahead anyway.

"We were rejected everyplace we went, because no one wanted to sell us a marriage license," said Martha Rossignol, who has written a book about her experiences then and since as part of a biracial couple. She's black, he's white.

"We just ran into a lot of racism, a lot of issues, a lot of problems. You'd go into a restaurant, people wouldn't want to serve you. When you're walking down the street together, it was like you've got a contagious disease."

But their love survived, Rossignol said, and they returned to Natchez to renew their vows 40 years later.

Interracial couples can now be seen in books, television shows, movies and commercials. Former President Barack Obama is the product of a mixed marriage, with a white American mother and an African father. Public acceptance is growing, said Kara and William Bundy, who have been married since 1994 and live in Bethesda, Maryland.

"To America's credit, from the time that we first got married to now, I've seen much less head-turns when we walk by, even in rural settings," said William, who is black. "We do go out for hikes every once in a while, and we don't see that as much any longer. It really is dependent on where you are in the country and also the locale."

Even in the South, interracial couples are common enough that oftentimes no one notices them, even in a state like Virginia, Hirschkop said.

"I was sitting in a restaurant and there was a mixed couple sitting at the next table and they were kissing and they were holding hands," he said. "They'd have gotten hung for something like 50 years ago and no one cared - just two people could pursue their lives. That's the best part of it, those quiet moments."
While President Donald Trump's beliefs about global warming remain something of a mystery, his actions make one thing clear: He doesn't consider it a problem for the federal government to solve.

Trump's recent decision to pull out of the Paris climate deal was just his latest rapid-fire move to weaken or dismantle federal initiatives to reduce carbon emissions, which scientists say are heating the planet to levels that could have disastrous consequences.

Trump is waging war against efforts to curb U.S. dependence on fossil fuels. He's done that through executive orders targeting climate change programs and regulations, massive proposed spending cuts and key appointments such as Scott Pruitt as chief of the Environmental Protection Agency.

To what degree Trump will succeed remains to be seen. Despite the fanfare of his Paris announcement, including a pledge that his administration will halt all work on it, formally removing the U.S. from the accord could take more than three years. Rescinding the Clean Power Plan, President Barack Obama's signature measure to curb emissions from coal-fired power plants, likely would require three years. Trump's budget, which would slash funding for climate research and assistance to cities preparing for weather-related calamities, needs approval from Congress, where resistance is strong.

Still, the sharp change in course is being felt in ways large and small, down to the scrubbing of climate change information from federal agency websites. Environmentalists are predictably outraged. Even some Republicans are taken aback.

"This is a repudiation of 45 years of steady improvement in the enforcement and rigor of laws to protect the environment in the U.S.," said William K. Reilly, who led the EPA under President George H.W. Bush and is chairman emeritus of the World Wildlife Fund.

Trump's administration reversed Obama's moratorium on leasing federal lands for coal mining, joined with Congress to kill protections of streams from coal mining waste, stopped tracking the federal government's carbon emissions and withdrew a requirement for more emissions data from oil and gas facilities. A rollback of automobile fuel-economy standards is under consideration. His proposed 2018 budget would cut climate and energy research spending in numerous agencies, including a two-thirds reduction at EPA.

Trump is hardly the first president accused of favoring businesses over the environment. His belief in easing the regulatory burden on them is firmly in the Republican mainstream.

What sets him apart is his zealousness and public dismissiveness of the scientific evidence showing the Earth is warming and man-made carbon emissions are largely to blame.

"This is more extreme than any previous Republican president  this is their old set of sentiments on steroids," said David Doniger, a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council. "There's no orderly, reasonable inquiry into whether something makes sense and should be left in place."

At one point, Trump labeled global warming a "hoax" concocted by the Chinese to gain an economic edge over the U.S. Aides recently have sidestepped questions about whether he accepts the widely held scientific view about climate change.

A White House statement issued this past week in response to questions from The Associated Press did not specify whether Trump believes the planet has been steadily warming, or say to what extent human activity such as burning of fossil fuels is responsible.

"The president believes that the climate is always changing  sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. Pollutants are part of that equation," the statement said.

"The Trump administration is laser focused on clean water and clean air but also on better jobs for more and more Americans ...," it added. "America cannot stand by and have the rest of the world take our wealth and tax dollars to clean up their own environment while American businesses and American families suffer the consequences in the form of lost jobs and a diminished quality of life."

Myron Ebell of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, who led the administration's EPA transition team, said Trump and key advisers don't necessarily reject climate science but don't believe the threat "should be placed in the list of the top 50 things we should be worried about."

Frustrated climate researchers say the opposite is true. They point to record-setting high temperatures, melting glaciers, rising sea levels and increasingly violent storms  trends that models suggest will only worsen.

But attacks on such findings from climate change doubters have taken their toll. Public trust in mainstream science and other institutions has eroded, and lines between fact and ideology have blurred, said David Victor, a Brookings Institution specialist on energy security and climate.

Trump could encounter trouble if his retreat from the climate fight doesn't restore lost jobs in coal mining and energy production, Victor said.

The president has made reversing the decades-long decline in coal mining the central tenet of his environmental policy, blaming federal regulations for job losses. Federal statistics show coal mining accounted for only 51,000 jobs nationally at the end of May, up just 400 jobs from the prior month.

Many economists say technology and cheap natural gas are the biggest causes of the coal industry's slump. But Trump's focus on regulations remains popular in coal country.

"We support the direction the administration is going," said Betsy Monseau, CEO of the American Coal Council. "It's very important to us over the longer term to preserve a path for coal and coal utilization in this country."
A seven-alarm fire raged in Lawrence, Massachusetts on Sunday afternoon, according to local authorities.

The blaze occurred on Bennington Street and spread to Saratoga, destroying three buildings and badly damaging five more after starting in a vacant structure.

Firefighters were forced to battle both heavy flames and the extreme heat in order to diminish the fire.

The Saratoga street homes effected are single-family and the occupied homes on Bennington are multi-family.

Three firefighters and one civilian were treated at a local hospital for minor injuries. Two people were rescued from the blaze - one by a neighbor and one by firefighters.

Damages are thought to be over $1 million at this time. The fire is currently under investigation.

Power to the neighborhood will be gradually restored as it becomes safe.

If you have been displaced by this incident, please go to the Arlington School at 151 Arlington Street in Lawrence for assistance from the Red Cross.
Federal prosecutors have announced the arrest of a suspect in the 2015 execution-style killing of a Burlington, Vermont man.

Kevin DeOliveira, 23, was found dead in his Greene Street apartment in January 2015. He had been shot in the head, police said.

DeOliveira was originally from New Jersey, and was living in Burlington after attending the University of Vermont.

Federal prosecutors for Vermont announced Monday that federal agents in Texas arrested 24-year-old Richard Monroe in the killing.

Investigators said Monroe was enrolled at Champlain College in Burlington at the time of the shooting death, and that he was dealing cocaine.

Federal prosecutors for Vermont allege the shooting was revenge for a drug debt. They said agents have recovered the gun used in the murder.

A federal judge in El Paso, Texas will decide if Monroe should be brought to Vermont to formally face charges. It was not immediately apparent if Monroe has secured legal representation.

The suspect faces 35 years to life in prison if he is found guilty.
A 62-year-old off-duty Massachusetts police detective died after making a hard landing while parachuting at Ellington Airport just before 11:30 a.m. Sunday.



James Hansmann, of Springfield, Mass., was flown by LifeStar to Hartford Hospital, where he later died, according to state police.

Hansmann was a detective lieutenant with the Leyden Police Department in Franklin County, Massachusetts, according to the Associated Press.

Leyden Police Chief Daniel Galvis said Hansmann was with the department since 2003 and the department is devastated.

The parachute was functioning properly and there is no criminal aspect to the incident, police said.

The death comes just one day after an incident in which a parachutist had to "cut away" a main parachute after some type of issue while skydiving. That person was not hurt.
A Vermont man was arrested after a home invasion in St. Albans, Vt. early Sunday morning, according to local police.

Jason Ames, 35, of St. Albans allegedly broke into a home on Lower Gilman Street, held the residents - one woman, one man, and a child - at gunpoint, and demanded drugs and money.

St. Albans police said that, after learning there were no drugs in the home, Ames ordered the man to round up all electronic devices and cigarettes and load them into the victim's own truck.

Ames then reportedly forced the man to drive to an ATM and withdraw money. At this point, police said he left the man by the side of the road and warned him not to contact authorities.

Police spotted Ames in the stolen truck soon after the incident and arrested him after a car chase from St. Albans into Swanton, Vt. Ames then took off on foot and was aprehended inside of a closet in a residence on North River Street.

In addition to St. Albans police, Vermont State Police, the Franklin County Sheriff's Department, and the U.S. Border Patrol assisted in the search for Ames.

Ames was charged with eight different counts, including assault and robbery and kidnapping and is being held at the Northwest State Correction Facility on $50,000 bail. It is unclear if he has legal representation at this time.
A property for sale in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont has the rare distinction of actually being in two countries.

A granite house near Canusa Road  a mash-up of Canada and the United States  sits partially in Beebe Plain, a small village within Derby, Vermont, and partially in the Canadian community of Stanstead, Quebec.

The majority of the property is within Vermont, according to the real estate agent handling inquiries.

The home, described in the real estate listing as being 3,010 square feet, is now for sale, giving someone out there the rare chance to say they own one home in two countries.

The house is very structurally sound, said Rosemary Lalime, the listing agent with Re/Max All Seasons Realty.

Lalime said the house dates to the 1780s, from before Vermont was a state. It was once a post office and store, and has been added onto several times over the years.

The home has been unoccupied for a while, so does need some work done. Lalime described the needed work as primarily cosmetic.

Listed at $109,000, Lalime acknowledged it's for someone who's ready to take on a fixer-upper to earn the bragging rights that come with a unique property.

It's a first having a house sit on the border, Lalime said of her personal 40-year career in real estate in the area. I've had land pieces that were attached to homes in Derby Line where we went to lawyers offices to close the American side, and we went over to Canada to close a little piece of land in Canada.

Neighbor Fernand Beuden lives next to the house that has been for sale since September of 2016. His place is also split between the countries.

The quirky location means whoever buys the home would have to go through two closing transactions and pay two tax bills.

I pay tax in Derby and I pay tax in Canada, Beuden explained. No pain at all. It's all right by me.

Just a couple of miles from the home is the landmark Haskell Opera House, which also has the distinction of being in two countries.

The Haskell is a library and a theater that straddles the border of Derby Line and Stanstead. People from Canada and the U.S. come to the well-known building to both peruse books and to experience arts events.

More proof of the old real estate phrase "location, location, location," Lalime said, is the added sense of security someone may gain by living in the home or running a bed & breakfast or other business from it. Lalime pointed out that watchful eyes of border agents from both countries are just steps away from the property.

You have full-time security on your property, Lalime joked.
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,...
A woman was seriously injured after she fell from the back of a boat Sunday on Lake Monomonac in Rindge, New Hampshire.

According to state police, the boat, which had three occupants, was pulling an inflatable device from the back.

Police say the woman fell from the boat around 4:30 p.m.

She was taken to a local hospital for evaluation and was later airlifted to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Hospital in Lebanon.

Her current condition is not known.
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
Nayana, a web hosting company in South Korea, suffered a ransomware attack over the weekend which resulted in more than a hundred Linux servers and thousands of websites being infected with Erebus ransomware. The initial ransom amount was astronomically high.

Yesterday, I came across the news that a South Korean web hosting company had been infected by ransomware, but it was extremely short on details. The ransomware was Erebus; the attack occurred on Saturday and thousands of sites were reportedly infected.

Today, Aju Business Daily provided more details. Nayana reportedly said 153 of its Linux servers were infected with Erebus. In turn, about 3,400 sites on the web hosting companys servers were also infected.

Back in February, Bleeping Computers Lawrence Abrams wrote about Erebus. The ransomware uses a User Account Control (UAC) bypass method to run at higher privileges without alerting the user.

The malware abuses Event Viewer, which runs at elevated privileges, so it will launch Erebus with the same privileges. This technique allows the UAC bypass; users will not be prompted to allow the program to run at higher privileges. Erebus copies itself to a random named file and modifies Window registry to hijack the association for the .msc file extension so that Eerbus will execute instead.

Once the 60 types of targeted file extensions are encrypted by Erebus, a ransom note appears on the desktop. If victims click to recover their files, they end up on the Erebus Tor payment site. One of the other notable features about Erebus, Abrams explained, was that Erebus demanded a relatively small ransom of about $90 (.085 bitcoins).

That is no longer the case, at least not in the South Korean Erebus ransomware attack. Aju Business Daily reported that the ransom amount for this round of Erebus was 10 bitcoins, which was roughly $29,075 at the time of the attack; thats about 32.7 million won.

The article doesnt explain why, but apparently the hackers had a change of heart and lowered the ransom to 5.4 bitcoins. Thats still not a tiny ransom as at the time of publishing 5.4 bitcoins was equal to $15,165.

Aju Business Daily added, The Korea Internet and Security Agency, a state security body, and police have launched an investigation, the company said, vowing to regain control of infected servers with the help of state experts.

A notice is still posted on the homepage of the web hosting company, but with a little help from the Wayback Machine, we can see Nayanas original message to customers. Using Google translate, Erebus locked up databases, images and video. Nayana is sorry for the inconvenience. The Korea National Internet Development Agency (KISA) and other authorities are investigating.

Nayana via Wayback Machine Wayback capture of Nayana ransomware attack notification

If we jump back to the current timeline, there is now a different message posted on the homepage of Nayana. It is the fourth notice of system failure due to Erebus encrypting data. All Nayana employees are responding to affected customers and trying to restore backup files provided by customers. The homepage affected by the ransomware was moved to a parked page. It also says the company is negotiating with the hackers.

Nayana Nayana notice to customers about Erebus ransomware attack

As for the current note on the homepage, surely something was lost in translation as the bottom portion of the note is in English. Perhaps it was written like this just to throw investigators off track. It appears to be part of the negotiation with the attackers, what the attackers had to say about the ransom. If that is true, then the ransom amount seems to have changed numerous times.

The portion in English states:

My boss tell me, your buy many machine, give you a good price 550 BTC

If you do not have enough money, you need to make a loan You company have 40+ employees,

every employeess annual salary $30,000

all employees 30,000 * 40 = $ 1,200,000

all server 550BTC = $ 1,620,000 If you cant pay that, you should go bankrupt.

But you need to face your childs, wife, customers and employees.

Also, you will lose your reputation, business.

You will get many more lawsuits.

Nayana Notice on Nayana homepage about Erebus attack

Back in February, Abrams said there was no way to decrypt Erebus encrypted files for free.

Nayana promised to keep customers alerted to current state of the situation.

Related video: Ransomware marketplaces and the future of malware
Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE) has partnered with a software-defined storage startup to create a hybrid cloud storage platform customized for HPE servers.

HPE and Hedvig, started by a former Amazon and Facebook engineer credited with creating the Cassandra database, announced that HPE will offer Hedvigs software-defined storage with HPEs Apollo 4200 servers to create a distributed storage platform.

The platform is available in 48- and 96-terabyte configurations. They are aimed at enterprises deploying private, hybrid and multi-data center clouds. Hedvig also said the combination supports private cloud storage for VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V and other hypervisors. The storage platform also supports hybrid cloud storage services running on Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform.

The Hedvig software-defined storage technology merges disparate tiers of storage and unifies block, file and object interfaces in a single API-driven platform. The company said its software-defined approach is geared toward data-intensive cloud workloads.

An AWS-like environment on-premises

Hedvig cited the example of one large retailer that is looking to pair Hedvig software with HPE Moonshot servers to create a self-service developer cloud. Their goal is to create an AWS-like environment on-premises, where developers can go in and request storage when and as needed.

So, HPE and Hedvig allow the firm to build a solution thats the equivalent of AWS EBS, EFS and S3. Running it on-premises solves performance and security issues of the cloud, while giving the developers the benefits of the AWS elastic cloud.

Because Hedvig offers persistent storage services, its also seen as key to support container infrastructure by offering stateful container storage for Docker, as well as microservices and DevOps.

Hedvig is not unknown to HP. Hewlett Packards Pathfinder investment arm contributed to Hedvigs most recent funding round in March. All told, the company has raised $52 million in venture funding.

The software-defined storage platform is initially available beginning now on Apollo 4200 servers, with availability on HPE Apollo 4500, ProLiant and Project Moonshot servers to follow. Pricing starts at $115 per terabyte of storage per year, plus associated HPE hardware costs.
30-year-old with a binge drinking problem also assaulted policewoman

A NEWBURY woman with a drink problem flew into a rage and sunk her teeth into a police officers arm when he refused her demand for a kiss and a cuddle.

Former facilities administrator Madeleine Elizabeth Duce, bit one officer and kicked another after they offered her a lift home.

It was not the first time the 30-year-old has turned on those trying to help her.

She previously persuaded a kind-hearted cabbie to get her a soft drink from a shop before driving off in his vehicle, leaving him stranded.

On Thursday last week she was back in the dock at Reading Magistrates Court where Andy Callender, prosecuting, said of her latest offending: Officers were called to a disturbance at St Nicolas Church in Newbury.

The defendant was offered a lift home by the officers who wanted to see her get home safely.

She got in the back of the police car, but then leaned forward, asking a male officer for a kiss and a cuddle.

Unsurprisingly, her request was ignored.

She then bit the officer on the arm, causing injury.

Ms Duce, of Martingale Chase, Newbury, also racially abused a female officer before telling her: I hope you die a painful death.

Mr Callender said: She then kicked the officers upper thigh, causing injury.

We say this was a racist offence.

Ms Duce admitted two charges of assaulting an officer in the execution of his or her duty in Newbury on May 15.

She also has previous convictions, the court heard, including the incident in which she made off with the taxi drivers vehicle, despite having lost her licence for drink-driving offences.

In addition, her latest offending placed her in breach of a suspended prison sentence order, magistrates were told.

Jaimini Renuka, defending, said her client did not lack social skills and had until recently been employed locally as a facilities administrator.

But she had a problem with binge drinking, the court heard.

Ms Renuka added: She becomes out of control when she drinks.

She is ashamed of her behaviour.

She urged the court not to activate the prison sentence of 12 weeks, which had been suspended for 18 months.

However, the court clerk and legal advisor to the magistrates pointed out that the prison sentence had been imposed by a judge sitting at Reading Crown Court and, as such, could not be considered by them.

Magistrates therefore declined further jurisdiction and released Ms Duce on unconditional bail while a sentencing hearing at the Crown court was arranged.

However, they warned her that the law states such suspended sentence orders, when breached, must be activated unless it was considered to be against the interests of justice.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: British superbike maker Triumph Motorcycles is accelerating assembly operations in India, with 90 per cent of its products sold here to be locally produced by 2018.

The company, which today rolled out all-new Street Triple S in the country priced at Rs 8.5 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), sells 16 models across five different categories in India with only 20 per cent of them assembled at its Manesar plant.

"We are looking at local assembly of 90 per cent of our product portfolio by next year," Triumph Motorcycles India Managing Director Vimal Sumbly told reporters here.

The company, which follows June-May fiscal, expects nearly 200 units to be locally produced in the ongoing year. "We are emphasising on Made in India, and next year, we will have around 1,200 units locally produced," he added. Most of the company's products are imported from Thailand and the UK.

The new bike, Street Triple S, will be assembled at the company's Manesar plant.

Sumbly said the company expects to sell close to 250-300 units of the bike in the current year. "We expect to sell in the range of 1,200-1300 units during the year and out of that, Street Triple S is likely to account for 250-300 units," he added.

The company has already started taking booking for the model and deliveries from its 14 dealerships are expected to begin from the next week. The model is powered by a 765-cc engine and comes with switchable traction control and DRL headlights. It is also equipped with ABS, various riding modes and LCD instrument pack.

NEW DELHI: British superbike maker Triumph Motorcycles is accelerating assembly operations in India, with 90 per cent of its products sold here to be locally produced by 2018. The company, which today rolled out all-new Street Triple S in the country priced at Rs 8.5 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), sells 16 models across five different categories in India with only 20 per cent of them assembled at its Manesar plant. "We are looking at local assembly of 90 per cent of our product portfolio by next year," Triumph Motorcycles India Managing Director Vimal Sumbly told reporters here. The company, which follows June-May fiscal, expects nearly 200 units to be locally produced in the ongoing year. "We are emphasising on Made in India, and next year, we will have around 1,200 units locally produced," he added. Most of the company's products are imported from Thailand and the UK. The new bike, Street Triple S, will be assembled at the company's Manesar plant. Sumbly said the company expects to sell close to 250-300 units of the bike in the current year. "We expect to sell in the range of 1,200-1300 units during the year and out of that, Street Triple S is likely to account for 250-300 units," he added. The company has already started taking booking for the model and deliveries from its 14 dealerships are expected to begin from the next week. The model is powered by a 765-cc engine and comes with switchable traction control and DRL headlights. It is also equipped with ABS, various riding modes and LCD instrument pack.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: State Bank of India on Sunday expressed concern that demonetisation, announced in November 2016, may continue to result in slowing down of the economy, and adversely affect its business. The long-term impact of this move on the Indian economy and the banking sector is uncertain, SBI told institutional investors prior to its H15,000 crore share sale through private placement.

SBI said the preliminary placement document to investors contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Further, the financial performance may differ from such forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors.

SBI said increased competition may have an adverse effect on the net interest margin and other income and if the bank is unable to compete successfully, its profitability may decline. The note ban move could also result in an increase in compliance costs and higher incidents of fraud.

Demonetisation led to a rise in the share of CASA deposits in aggregate deposits by 4.10 per cent to 39.30 per cent (as of Feb 17, 2017) resuling in a reduction in the cost of aggregate deposits, and banks have lowered their term deposit rates, said an RBI report.

NEW DELHI: State Bank of India on Sunday expressed concern that demonetisation, announced in November 2016, may continue to result in slowing down of the economy, and adversely affect its business. The long-term impact of this move on the Indian economy and the banking sector is uncertain, SBI told institutional investors prior to its H15,000 crore share sale through private placement. SBI said the preliminary placement document to investors contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Further, the financial performance may differ from such forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors. SBI said increased competition may have an adverse effect on the net interest margin and other income and if the bank is unable to compete successfully, its profitability may decline. The note ban move could also result in an increase in compliance costs and higher incidents of fraud. Demonetisation led to a rise in the share of CASA deposits in aggregate deposits by 4.10 per cent to 39.30 per cent (as of Feb 17, 2017) resuling in a reduction in the cost of aggregate deposits, and banks have lowered their term deposit rates, said an RBI report.
By Associated Press

DETROIT: Uber must get rid of leaders who tolerate bad behavior and hire people who don't  including up to the chief executive  experts say, as the ride-hailing company gets ready to announce significant changes to its culture and management.

Uber's board has adopted the recommendations of former Attorney General Eric Holder, who investigated its toxic culture of harassment and bullying. Those will be revealed to employees and made public on Tuesday.

Experts interviewed by The Associated Press say CEO Travis Kalanick should step aside or at minimum change his behavior for the company to make progress. Uber's board is discussing a leave of absence for Kalanick. No decision has yet been made, according to a person briefed on the matter who didn't want to be identified because board discussions aren't normally made public.

A CEO's behavior sets the tone for the rest of the company, says Cindy Schipani, a business law professor at the University of Michigan who has taken part in investigations of corporate conduct. She says Kalanick should resign and save the board from having to oust him. "That's where the culture comes from. It has to change at the top and he has to recognize what he does, his actions, speak louder than anything put on paper," she says. It would be tough for the board to remove Kalanick because of Uber's stock ownership structure.

Jennifer Chatman, a business professor at the University of California Berkeley who also does corporate investigations, predicts that Kalanick will be granted a leave  but he won't return in the top spot.

"He lacks the ability to set an appropriate tone for this organization," she said. "He lacks the kind of presence that's needed for a larger organization."

It is common, Chatman says, for company founders to be ill-equipped to lead an organization as it matures. "This may be the moment for Uber where it needs to go to the next stage," she says.

She expects Kalanick to come back as a strategist under a new CEO or possibly a board member who runs the company.

Last week, based on a report from a different law firm that investigated employee harassment, bullying and retaliation complaints, Uber fired 20 people and sent another 31 into counseling. Experts say it's an unprecedented number of firings that shows a pervasive problem, but also is a strong step toward rehabilitation. Who the company hires as replacements will make or break the effort, they say.

Uber must hire people who "don't have the harassment state of mind," Schipani said.

On Monday, Uber said its chief business officer, Emil Michael, is leaving the company. No reason was given for his departure.

Uber Technologies Inc. has been rocked by accusations that it has fostered a workplace environment that condones harassment, discrimination and bullying. It's also facing a federal investigation into claims that it used a fake version of its app to thwart authorities.

Amid the turmoil at the world's largest ride-hailing company, competitors such as Lyft are trying to take advantage, growing ridership and inking technology deals and investments. On Monday, Lyft announced a $25 million investment from Jaguar-Land Rover. Earlier it signed a deal with Waymo, Google's former autonomous car operation. Lyft says it gave 70.4 million rides in the first quarter, up 142 percent from the same period a year ago. Fasten, an Uber rival that operates in Boston and Austin, Texas, said it saw a 25 percent ridership increase the week after an Uber boycott started. The company says it's still seeing ridership rise 3 to 5 percent per week.

Kalanick has contributed to Uber's recent woes, losing his temper earlier this year in a profanity-laced argument with an Uber driver over pay. The website Recode.net reported that Kalanick put out a memo in 2013 advising employees attending a company party about having sex with each other. Kalanick also has been facing personal difficulties. His mother was killed and his father hurt last month in a boating accident near Los Angeles.

Experts say Uber's renegade culture of fighting regulators and skirting laws may have contributed to its problems. "We do see sometimes a startup mentality in the early years of a company's growth where they have difficulty sometimes adjusting to being a huge enterprise," said Lisa Klerman, a USC law professor and employment law mediator.

Micah Alpern, principal at management consulting firm A.T. Kearney who helps companies change cultures suggests that Uber adopt something like the "see something, say something" slogan, encouraging employees to speak up when someone acts inappropriately.

Cases like Uber and Fox News show that sexual harassment isn't lessening, especially with tech companies, said Tom Spiggle, founder of a law firm that focuses on workplace issues. Tech firms are male dominated and can have a fraternity-like "brogrammer" culture that values masculinity and intense competition, he says.

DETROIT: Uber must get rid of leaders who tolerate bad behavior and hire people who don't  including up to the chief executive  experts say, as the ride-hailing company gets ready to announce significant changes to its culture and management. Uber's board has adopted the recommendations of former Attorney General Eric Holder, who investigated its toxic culture of harassment and bullying. Those will be revealed to employees and made public on Tuesday. Experts interviewed by The Associated Press say CEO Travis Kalanick should step aside or at minimum change his behavior for the company to make progress. Uber's board is discussing a leave of absence for Kalanick. No decision has yet been made, according to a person briefed on the matter who didn't want to be identified because board discussions aren't normally made public. A CEO's behavior sets the tone for the rest of the company, says Cindy Schipani, a business law professor at the University of Michigan who has taken part in investigations of corporate conduct. She says Kalanick should resign and save the board from having to oust him. "That's where the culture comes from. It has to change at the top and he has to recognize what he does, his actions, speak louder than anything put on paper," she says. It would be tough for the board to remove Kalanick because of Uber's stock ownership structure. Jennifer Chatman, a business professor at the University of California Berkeley who also does corporate investigations, predicts that Kalanick will be granted a leave  but he won't return in the top spot. "He lacks the ability to set an appropriate tone for this organization," she said. "He lacks the kind of presence that's needed for a larger organization." It is common, Chatman says, for company founders to be ill-equipped to lead an organization as it matures. "This may be the moment for Uber where it needs to go to the next stage," she says. She expects Kalanick to come back as a strategist under a new CEO or possibly a board member who runs the company. Last week, based on a report from a different law firm that investigated employee harassment, bullying and retaliation complaints, Uber fired 20 people and sent another 31 into counseling. Experts say it's an unprecedented number of firings that shows a pervasive problem, but also is a strong step toward rehabilitation. Who the company hires as replacements will make or break the effort, they say. Uber must hire people who "don't have the harassment state of mind," Schipani said. On Monday, Uber said its chief business officer, Emil Michael, is leaving the company. No reason was given for his departure. Uber Technologies Inc. has been rocked by accusations that it has fostered a workplace environment that condones harassment, discrimination and bullying. It's also facing a federal investigation into claims that it used a fake version of its app to thwart authorities. Amid the turmoil at the world's largest ride-hailing company, competitors such as Lyft are trying to take advantage, growing ridership and inking technology deals and investments. On Monday, Lyft announced a $25 million investment from Jaguar-Land Rover. Earlier it signed a deal with Waymo, Google's former autonomous car operation. Lyft says it gave 70.4 million rides in the first quarter, up 142 percent from the same period a year ago. Fasten, an Uber rival that operates in Boston and Austin, Texas, said it saw a 25 percent ridership increase the week after an Uber boycott started. The company says it's still seeing ridership rise 3 to 5 percent per week. Kalanick has contributed to Uber's recent woes, losing his temper earlier this year in a profanity-laced argument with an Uber driver over pay. The website Recode.net reported that Kalanick put out a memo in 2013 advising employees attending a company party about having sex with each other. Kalanick also has been facing personal difficulties. His mother was killed and his father hurt last month in a boating accident near Los Angeles. Experts say Uber's renegade culture of fighting regulators and skirting laws may have contributed to its problems. "We do see sometimes a startup mentality in the early years of a company's growth where they have difficulty sometimes adjusting to being a huge enterprise," said Lisa Klerman, a USC law professor and employment law mediator. Micah Alpern, principal at management consulting firm A.T. Kearney who helps companies change cultures suggests that Uber adopt something like the "see something, say something" slogan, encouraging employees to speak up when someone acts inappropriately. Cases like Uber and Fox News show that sexual harassment isn't lessening, especially with tech companies, said Tom Spiggle, founder of a law firm that focuses on workplace issues. Tech firms are male dominated and can have a fraternity-like "brogrammer" culture that values masculinity and intense competition, he says.
Rajesh Abraham By

Express News Service

KOCHI: Some three years back Tony Aidney, a 63-year-old native from Auckland, New Zealand, went on a spiritual retreat to Peru, South America, along with his son. The retreat offered three free yoga classes as part of the package. My son and I were the only two who opted for the yoga classes from among the group of 15 people who attended the spiritual retreat, says Aidney. It was an enjoyable experience, he says. The three free classes in Peru was the beginning of Aidneys passion for yoga, which is growing by the day.

It started as an experiment for a year when I drifted very often, he says. Aidney, who is a construction diver, sub-sea work for oil companies, as he explains, got an offer in Qatar from ONGC for a work in the offshore high last year. At Qatar, Aidney enquired where he could learn more about yoga, and make it a daily routine. A colleague - another diver - from Kerala suggested the name of Kochi-based yoga guru S Rajendran, he says.

Rajendran is well-known in international yoga circuits and was selected by the production team for BBCs The Real Marigold series-II to train its cast. But, he had to wait for one more year before he could meet Rajendran. Aidney had to rush home from Qatar due to a family crisis, leaving little time to visit Kochi.

But, this year, Aidney was called for another offshore work by ONGC, this time off Mumbai.

The work was for one-week, but I was asked to stay back for another two weeks, he says. The two weeks gave enough time for the New Zealander to come down to Kochi and practise yoga under Rajendran.

"Though hes 63, hes doing even the toughest of asanas with the energy and passion of a 23-year-old, says Rajendran. Im fascinated by the asanas, and I wanted to go to the next level into spirituality, driven by yoga, adds Aidney.

Yoga has also brought about a sea change in Aidneys lifestyle. Ive completely stopped eating meat. Alcohol consumption has also come to an end, except for occasional red wine, he says. He says theres also a significant improvement in his health.

Earlier I used to get sick regularly. Now, this doesnt happen, he says. Life is more balanced, my personality is completely changed.

Aidney says he finds more people tuned into yoga in New Zealand than in India. Im close to retirement, and I wanted to start a yoga centre in New Zealand next. Its my dream, he signs off.

KOCHI: Some three years back Tony Aidney, a 63-year-old native from Auckland, New Zealand, went on a spiritual retreat to Peru, South America, along with his son. The retreat offered three free yoga classes as part of the package. My son and I were the only two who opted for the yoga classes from among the group of 15 people who attended the spiritual retreat, says Aidney. It was an enjoyable experience, he says. The three free classes in Peru was the beginning of Aidneys passion for yoga, which is growing by the day. It started as an experiment for a year when I drifted very often, he says. Aidney, who is a construction diver, sub-sea work for oil companies, as he explains, got an offer in Qatar from ONGC for a work in the offshore high last year. At Qatar, Aidney enquired where he could learn more about yoga, and make it a daily routine. A colleague - another diver - from Kerala suggested the name of Kochi-based yoga guru S Rajendran, he says. Rajendran is well-known in international yoga circuits and was selected by the production team for BBCs The Real Marigold series-II to train its cast. But, he had to wait for one more year before he could meet Rajendran. Aidney had to rush home from Qatar due to a family crisis, leaving little time to visit Kochi. But, this year, Aidney was called for another offshore work by ONGC, this time off Mumbai. The work was for one-week, but I was asked to stay back for another two weeks, he says. The two weeks gave enough time for the New Zealander to come down to Kochi and practise yoga under Rajendran. "Though hes 63, hes doing even the toughest of asanas with the energy and passion of a 23-year-old, says Rajendran. Im fascinated by the asanas, and I wanted to go to the next level into spirituality, driven by yoga, adds Aidney. Yoga has also brought about a sea change in Aidneys lifestyle. Ive completely stopped eating meat. Alcohol consumption has also come to an end, except for occasional red wine, he says. He says theres also a significant improvement in his health. Earlier I used to get sick regularly. Now, this doesnt happen, he says. Life is more balanced, my personality is completely changed. Aidney says he finds more people tuned into yoga in New Zealand than in India. Im close to retirement, and I wanted to start a yoga centre in New Zealand next. Its my dream, he signs off.
By Express News Service

KOCHI: Investigators from multiple agencies on Monday began inspecting the navigation records of the Panama-registered bulk carrier Amber L which collided with a fishing boat off the Kochi coast on Sunday, claiming the lives of two, perhaps three, fishermen.

Twelve personnel from the Mercantile Marine Department (MMD), Coast Guard, Immigration, Customs and the Kerala Coastal Police boarded the ship for evidence collection Monday morning, piloted to the ship which now lies anchored seven nautical miles by Cochin Port Trust boats.

The captain and crew of Amber L were interrogated.

The investigating team included Capt Shagi Abraham, Capt Suresh Nair, surveyor of MMD, Capt C K Kiran, engine and shipping surveyor of MMD, Dinik C K, immigration officer, and Jobin, deputy commandant of Coast Guard aided by personnel of the Coastal Police.

IN PICTURES: The Panama cargo vessel Amber L involved in Kochi shipping collision

Amber L rammed the fishing boat Carmel Matha off Puthuvype near Kochi early on Sunday, killing two fishermen and destroying the boat. One fisherman was still missing while 11 others are receiving treatment in hospital.

The two people killed have been identified as Antony John, 55, alias Thambidurai from Colachel, Kanyakumari; and Rahul Das, 27, from Assam. The missing person is Moti Das, 26, also from Assam. The Indian Navy and the Coast Guard are searching for him.

Carmel Matha had sailed out of the Thoppumpady harbour on Friday, and was fishing when the cargo vessel rammed into it in the early hours of Sunday. The 14 fishermen on board, who were sleeping at the time, were thrown overboard. They struggled for more than two hours in the deep sea. All but three of them were rescued by another boat St Antony.

The captain of Amber L is a Greek national. The Coast Guard have seized the voice data recorder (VDR), voyage chart and the log book of the ship.

The cargo ship was passing through the Cochin Minicoy channel at the time of the accident. The

ship had begun its voyage from the Eilat port in Israel. The ship, active since 2000, has a tonnage of 25955, according to reports.

According to the rescued fishermen, Amber L switched off all lights on board to flee from the site but the Coast Guard and Indian Navy identified it and took it into custody.

An official press release from Navy said the NC3I system at the Joint Operations Centre (Kochi) and Remote Operating Station (ROS) of the Coast Guard having AIS and Radar capability were used to identify the merchant ship.

The merchant ship has been directed not to leave the Kochi waters till the investigation is complete. Its position is being monitored by the Coast Guard's Remote Operating Station (ROS).

KOCHI: Investigators from multiple agencies on Monday began inspecting the navigation records of the Panama-registered bulk carrier Amber L which collided with a fishing boat off the Kochi coast on Sunday, claiming the lives of two, perhaps three, fishermen. Twelve personnel from the Mercantile Marine Department (MMD), Coast Guard, Immigration, Customs and the Kerala Coastal Police boarded the ship for evidence collection Monday morning, piloted to the ship which now lies anchored seven nautical miles by Cochin Port Trust boats. The captain and crew of Amber L were interrogated. The investigating team included Capt Shagi Abraham, Capt Suresh Nair, surveyor of MMD, Capt C K Kiran, engine and shipping surveyor of MMD, Dinik C K, immigration officer, and Jobin, deputy commandant of Coast Guard aided by personnel of the Coastal Police. IN PICTURES: The Panama cargo vessel Amber L involved in Kochi shipping collision Amber L rammed the fishing boat Carmel Matha off Puthuvype near Kochi early on Sunday, killing two fishermen and destroying the boat. One fisherman was still missing while 11 others are receiving treatment in hospital. The two people killed have been identified as Antony John, 55, alias Thambidurai from Colachel, Kanyakumari; and Rahul Das, 27, from Assam. The missing person is Moti Das, 26, also from Assam. The Indian Navy and the Coast Guard are searching for him. Carmel Matha had sailed out of the Thoppumpady harbour on Friday, and was fishing when the cargo vessel rammed into it in the early hours of Sunday. The 14 fishermen on board, who were sleeping at the time, were thrown overboard. They struggled for more than two hours in the deep sea. All but three of them were rescued by another boat St Antony. The captain of Amber L is a Greek national. The Coast Guard have seized the voice data recorder (VDR), voyage chart and the log book of the ship. The cargo ship was passing through the Cochin Minicoy channel at the time of the accident. The ship had begun its voyage from the Eilat port in Israel. The ship, active since 2000, has a tonnage of 25955, according to reports. According to the rescued fishermen, Amber L switched off all lights on board to flee from the site but the Coast Guard and Indian Navy identified it and took it into custody. An official press release from Navy said the NC3I system at the Joint Operations Centre (Kochi) and Remote Operating Station (ROS) of the Coast Guard having AIS and Radar capability were used to identify the merchant ship. The merchant ship has been directed not to leave the Kochi waters till the investigation is complete. Its position is being monitored by the Coast Guard's Remote Operating Station (ROS).
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Admission to various AYUSH courses will be conducted through the National Eligibility-cumEntrance Test (NEET) from the next academic (2018-19) session.

The decision was taken to standardise the admission procedure and attract meritorious students to the AYUSH (ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, unani, siddha and homoeopathy) stream.

The Ministry of AYUSH has sent advisories to all state governments in this regard.

"The demand for ayurveda, homoeopathy, naturopathy and unani medicines and yoga have increased worldwide and the number of students pursuing such courses have also risen. So there is a need to maintain standard of education in this stream," Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Yesso Naik said.

He said that with the introduction of NEET, private examinations would not be conducted to fill seats in any of the AYUSH colleges.

Ahead of International Day of Yoga (IDY) celebrations on June 21, Naik said data showed that there had been a 30 per cent increase in the number of people practicing yoga in the last two years.

He said that the government would dedicate 100 parks for yoga activities across the country to promote this traditional practice.

These parks will be managed by yoga or other organisations voluntarily.

A group of secretaries in a recent meeting had also suggested to the prime minister that the Medical Council of India re-frame curricula in order to incorporate elements of AYUSH into allopathy and vice versa.

"No decision has been taken in this regards and talks are still on," said a senior Ministry official.

Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, will host the main event of International Day of Yoga this year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in it.

Apart from the prime minister, senior ministers, Uttar Pradesh chief minister and yoga gurus, along with nearly 51,000 people, are expected to take part in the event.

Around 150 countries are expected to participate in the mega event, with Indian missions in those nations coordinating the activities. IDY will be observed at some of the major landmarks like the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Trafalgar Square in London and the Central Park in New York among others.

In Delhi, seven main events are being planned in different places in association with NDMC, DDA and yoga organisations.

Apart from this, yoga events will be held in different parts of the country as well as main cities like Paris, London and New York across the globe.

The ministry on its official website has requested the people visiting the web page related to IDY to take a pledge to make yoga an integral part of their daily life.

The first IDY celebration was organised at Rajpath in New Delhi on June 21, 2015 in which representatives of 191 countries had participated. Last year, the main function was held in Chandigarh.

The United Nations General Assembly, heeding to a call by Prime Minister Modi, had made a declaration in December 2014 to observe June 21 every year as International Day of Yoga.

NEW DELHI: Admission to various AYUSH courses will be conducted through the National Eligibility-cumEntrance Test (NEET) from the next academic (2018-19) session. The decision was taken to standardise the admission procedure and attract meritorious students to the AYUSH (ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, unani, siddha and homoeopathy) stream. The Ministry of AYUSH has sent advisories to all state governments in this regard. "The demand for ayurveda, homoeopathy, naturopathy and unani medicines and yoga have increased worldwide and the number of students pursuing such courses have also risen. So there is a need to maintain standard of education in this stream," Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Yesso Naik said. He said that with the introduction of NEET, private examinations would not be conducted to fill seats in any of the AYUSH colleges. Ahead of International Day of Yoga (IDY) celebrations on June 21, Naik said data showed that there had been a 30 per cent increase in the number of people practicing yoga in the last two years. He said that the government would dedicate 100 parks for yoga activities across the country to promote this traditional practice. These parks will be managed by yoga or other organisations voluntarily. A group of secretaries in a recent meeting had also suggested to the prime minister that the Medical Council of India re-frame curricula in order to incorporate elements of AYUSH into allopathy and vice versa. "No decision has been taken in this regards and talks are still on," said a senior Ministry official. Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, will host the main event of International Day of Yoga this year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in it. Apart from the prime minister, senior ministers, Uttar Pradesh chief minister and yoga gurus, along with nearly 51,000 people, are expected to take part in the event. Around 150 countries are expected to participate in the mega event, with Indian missions in those nations coordinating the activities. IDY will be observed at some of the major landmarks like the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Trafalgar Square in London and the Central Park in New York among others. In Delhi, seven main events are being planned in different places in association with NDMC, DDA and yoga organisations. Apart from this, yoga events will be held in different parts of the country as well as main cities like Paris, London and New York across the globe. The ministry on its official website has requested the people visiting the web page related to IDY to take a pledge to make yoga an integral part of their daily life. The first IDY celebration was organised at Rajpath in New Delhi on June 21, 2015 in which representatives of 191 countries had participated. Last year, the main function was held in Chandigarh. The United Nations General Assembly, heeding to a call by Prime Minister Modi, had made a declaration in December 2014 to observe June 21 every year as International Day of Yoga.
Harpreet Bajwa By

Express News Service

CHANDIGARH: In a Bollywood style escape from police custody, an undertrial in a murder case escaped after five car-borne people tossed chilli powder in the eyes of the policemen accompanying him in Batala.

Sources said that Harvinder Singh was brought from Hoshiarpur in a Punjab roadways bus and then boarded an auto-rickshaw to go to the local court along with two cops.

As the auto rickshaw reached the railway crossing on Gurdaspur-Batala road, an

I-20 car forced it to a stop.

Two people got out of the car and after throwing chilli powder in the cops eyes, fled after pushing Singh into the car.

The involvement of Vicky Gounders gang cannot be ruled out, and we are now trying to locate the whereabouts of the accused undertrial, said a police officer.

Senior superintendent of police of Batala, Deepak Hilori said, We are closely working with officers of the neighbouring districts. Check posts have been laid at strategic points and we hope to arrest the accused. We had increased police presence substantially after the April 20 Kahnuwan by-pass shooting in adjoining Gurdaspur district in which Vicky Gounder was involved. On May 19 a doctor was kidnapped for ransom from Amritsar by his gang.

Two days ago, Gurdaspur police had arrested Gian Kharal, a key aide of Gangster Vicky Gounder.

CHANDIGARH: In a Bollywood style escape from police custody, an undertrial in a murder case escaped after five car-borne people tossed chilli powder in the eyes of the policemen accompanying him in Batala. Sources said that Harvinder Singh was brought from Hoshiarpur in a Punjab roadways bus and then boarded an auto-rickshaw to go to the local court along with two cops. As the auto rickshaw reached the railway crossing on Gurdaspur-Batala road, an I-20 car forced it to a stop. Two people got out of the car and after throwing chilli powder in the cops eyes, fled after pushing Singh into the car. The involvement of Vicky Gounders gang cannot be ruled out, and we are now trying to locate the whereabouts of the accused undertrial, said a police officer. Senior superintendent of police of Batala, Deepak Hilori said, We are closely working with officers of the neighbouring districts. Check posts have been laid at strategic points and we hope to arrest the accused. We had increased police presence substantially after the April 20 Kahnuwan by-pass shooting in adjoining Gurdaspur district in which Vicky Gounder was involved. On May 19 a doctor was kidnapped for ransom from Amritsar by his gang. Two days ago, Gurdaspur police had arrested Gian Kharal, a key aide of Gangster Vicky Gounder.
By PTI

JAIPUR: RSS-affiliated farmers' outfit Bhartiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) today announced that it would stage sit-in protests across Rajasthan on June 15 demanding minimum support prices for farm produce and a special assembly session to discuss farmer issues.

"We had convened a meeting of farmers here and handed over a representation to the government last month demanding that a special session of the legislative assembly be called for one day to discuss farmers issue but the government has shown no interest," BKS general secretary Kailash Kangolia told reporters here.

He said the the outfit has now decided to start Mahapadav (sit-in) of farmers at all the divisions for resolution of their issues.

JAIPUR: RSS-affiliated farmers' outfit Bhartiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) today announced that it would stage sit-in protests across Rajasthan on June 15 demanding minimum support prices for farm produce and a special assembly session to discuss farmer issues. "We had convened a meeting of farmers here and handed over a representation to the government last month demanding that a special session of the legislative assembly be called for one day to discuss farmers issue but the government has shown no interest," BKS general secretary Kailash Kangolia told reporters here. He said the the outfit has now decided to start Mahapadav (sit-in) of farmers at all the divisions for resolution of their issues.
Anuraag Singh By

Express News Service

BHOPAL: A week after five farmers were killed in police firing in Mandsaur district of western Madhya Pradesh, Hardik Patel, the face of the Patidar movement, will visit the district on Tuesday. Four of the five farmers killed in the June 6 firing in Mandsaur were Patidars.

While Hardik Patel along with his supporters is likely to be restricted from entering Mandsaur district by local administration and police, close aides told the New Indian Express that no one can stop them from meeting their farmer brothers in MP.

Hardik Patel plans to hold a meeting of farmers first in Udaipur, after which he will travel to MP to meet Patidar farmers and kin of the deceased.

Ill certainly be in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday via Rajasthan to meet my farmer brothers on whom unimaginable atrocities have been unleashed at the behest of the government recently. Ill talk to them and I am ready to support and lead their movement for genuine rights in whatever way they want, said Patel.

Hardik Patel told the New Indian Express over the phone on Monday that, The Patidar community from MP wholeheartedly supported the movement of their brothers in Gujarat. In the same way, I am also duty bound to support their movement in whatever way they want me to, said Patel.

He added that he was ready to lead and support their movement in a peaceful manner, depending on whether the administration allows him to meet the farmers.

I want to meet my community and the farmers, who are like my family. Why shall I be stopped from holding peaceful deliberations with my brethren in MP, Hardik Patel said.

Hardik Patel, who is believed to have been in touch with Patidars in Madhya Pradesh in recent days, blamed the local administration for the violence and curfew. He called it the handiwork of the local administration to ensure that a climate of fear persists in the district.

Still not sure whether Hardik Patel will be allowed entry into Mandsaur, the president of the Patidar Samaj Sangathan, the communitys umbrella outfit in Mandsaur, Anokhilal Patidar said, First, were not sure whether Hardik Patel will actually come down to MP on Tuesday. Secondly, in all likelihood, the administration will not allow him to enter to prevent possible breach of peace in the district, where normalcy is slowly returning.

While Anokhilal Patidar remained tight-lipped over Patels prospects of motivating a movement by Patidar farmers, sources associated with Sardar Patel Yuva Sangathan- an umbrella outfit of young Patidars here - said they are keenly waiting for developments on Hardik Patel.

Patidars and political influence in MP:

The Patidars, a powerful farmer community mostly confined to Malwa region and Nimar districts in west MP, have traditionally been RSS and BJP loyalists, just like in Gujarat.

Along with the Dhakad community- a powerful farmer community mainly residing in Mandsaur, Ratlam and Neemuch- the Patidars have had major political sway in ten districts of west Madhya Pradesh and some pockets on the outskirts of Bhopal and Raisen.

Of the 44 seats in the ten districts, the BJP had won 40 seats in the 2013 polls, and swept all seven Lok Sabha seats in the 2014 general elections, particularly with Patidar support.

It also earned them Assembly seats in Indore, Dhar, Dewas, Neemuch and Mandsaur were largely won by the BJP.

Over 10 lakh Patidars reside in three districts of Mandsaur, Neemuch and Ratlam, with a significant five lakh-plus population in Mandsaur district alone, said Anokhilal Patidar.

BHOPAL: A week after five farmers were killed in police firing in Mandsaur district of western Madhya Pradesh, Hardik Patel, the face of the Patidar movement, will visit the district on Tuesday. Four of the five farmers killed in the June 6 firing in Mandsaur were Patidars. While Hardik Patel along with his supporters is likely to be restricted from entering Mandsaur district by local administration and police, close aides told the New Indian Express that no one can stop them from meeting their farmer brothers in MP. Hardik Patel plans to hold a meeting of farmers first in Udaipur, after which he will travel to MP to meet Patidar farmers and kin of the deceased. Ill certainly be in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday via Rajasthan to meet my farmer brothers on whom unimaginable atrocities have been unleashed at the behest of the government recently. Ill talk to them and I am ready to support and lead their movement for genuine rights in whatever way they want, said Patel. Hardik Patel told the New Indian Express over the phone on Monday that, The Patidar community from MP wholeheartedly supported the movement of their brothers in Gujarat. In the same way, I am also duty bound to support their movement in whatever way they want me to, said Patel. He added that he was ready to lead and support their movement in a peaceful manner, depending on whether the administration allows him to meet the farmers. I want to meet my community and the farmers, who are like my family. Why shall I be stopped from holding peaceful deliberations with my brethren in MP, Hardik Patel said. Hardik Patel, who is believed to have been in touch with Patidars in Madhya Pradesh in recent days, blamed the local administration for the violence and curfew. He called it the handiwork of the local administration to ensure that a climate of fear persists in the district. Still not sure whether Hardik Patel will be allowed entry into Mandsaur, the president of the Patidar Samaj Sangathan, the communitys umbrella outfit in Mandsaur, Anokhilal Patidar said, First, were not sure whether Hardik Patel will actually come down to MP on Tuesday. Secondly, in all likelihood, the administration will not allow him to enter to prevent possible breach of peace in the district, where normalcy is slowly returning. While Anokhilal Patidar remained tight-lipped over Patels prospects of motivating a movement by Patidar farmers, sources associated with Sardar Patel Yuva Sangathan- an umbrella outfit of young Patidars here - said they are keenly waiting for developments on Hardik Patel. Patidars and political influence in MP: The Patidars, a powerful farmer community mostly confined to Malwa region and Nimar districts in west MP, have traditionally been RSS and BJP loyalists, just like in Gujarat. Along with the Dhakad community- a powerful farmer community mainly residing in Mandsaur, Ratlam and Neemuch- the Patidars have had major political sway in ten districts of west Madhya Pradesh and some pockets on the outskirts of Bhopal and Raisen. Of the 44 seats in the ten districts, the BJP had won 40 seats in the 2013 polls, and swept all seven Lok Sabha seats in the 2014 general elections, particularly with Patidar support. It also earned them Assembly seats in Indore, Dhar, Dewas, Neemuch and Mandsaur were largely won by the BJP. Over 10 lakh Patidars reside in three districts of Mandsaur, Neemuch and Ratlam, with a significant five lakh-plus population in Mandsaur district alone, said Anokhilal Patidar.
By PTI

BHOPAL: Onions procured at Rs eight per kilogram by the Madhya Pradesh government would be soon sold at Rs two per kilogram to the poor at fair prices shops under the public distribution system (PDS), as per directions issued by the Chief Minister.

"Onions will be sold to the poor at a rate of Rs two per kg through PDS shops. These directives were issued today by Chief Minister while interacting with the district collectors through video-conferencing," a public relations department officer said.

CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan also told the district collectors to increase the purchase centres according to requirement and based on the arrival of onion.

Chouhan also made it clear that there is no limit to the purchase of onions or other produce.

"Chouhan told collectors to procure the entire onion stock being brought by farmers," the official said. Earlier, in a bid to mollify agitating farmers, the state government had started procuring the onion at Rs eight per kilogram last week.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had made announcements about onion procurement on June 4 following his meeting with representatives of agitating farmers at Ujjain.

The Chief Minister, who went on an indefinite fast to calm frayed tempers of the farmers demanding a loan waiver and remunerative prices for their produce, had also announced a slew of schemes for their benefit.

Before ending his 28-hour-long fast yesterday, Chouhan announced a series of measures for farmers including that purchase of farm produce below the minimum support price (MSP) was a criminal act.

Chouhan had also announced to seek prior consent of farmers before acquisition of agricultural land, establishing 'Kisan Bazaar' (farmers' market) in all municipal bodies, adopting system of Amul Dairy Cooperatives to purchase milk, setting up a Rs 1,000-crore price stabilisation fund to purchase the farm produce at the MSP besides establishing a Agricultural Costs Marketing Commission to ensure better prices of the farm produce compared to the cost of crops.

The farmers' protest, which began on June 1, took a violent turn on June 6, when five persons were killed in police firing at Mandsaur.

The farmers' protest witnessed bandh and arson as the agitation spread in other districts of Madhya Pradesh.

BHOPAL: Onions procured at Rs eight per kilogram by the Madhya Pradesh government would be soon sold at Rs two per kilogram to the poor at fair prices shops under the public distribution system (PDS), as per directions issued by the Chief Minister. "Onions will be sold to the poor at a rate of Rs two per kg through PDS shops. These directives were issued today by Chief Minister while interacting with the district collectors through video-conferencing," a public relations department officer said. CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan also told the district collectors to increase the purchase centres according to requirement and based on the arrival of onion. Chouhan also made it clear that there is no limit to the purchase of onions or other produce. "Chouhan told collectors to procure the entire onion stock being brought by farmers," the official said. Earlier, in a bid to mollify agitating farmers, the state government had started procuring the onion at Rs eight per kilogram last week. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had made announcements about onion procurement on June 4 following his meeting with representatives of agitating farmers at Ujjain. The Chief Minister, who went on an indefinite fast to calm frayed tempers of the farmers demanding a loan waiver and remunerative prices for their produce, had also announced a slew of schemes for their benefit. Before ending his 28-hour-long fast yesterday, Chouhan announced a series of measures for farmers including that purchase of farm produce below the minimum support price (MSP) was a criminal act. Chouhan had also announced to seek prior consent of farmers before acquisition of agricultural land, establishing 'Kisan Bazaar' (farmers' market) in all municipal bodies, adopting system of Amul Dairy Cooperatives to purchase milk, setting up a Rs 1,000-crore price stabilisation fund to purchase the farm produce at the MSP besides establishing a Agricultural Costs Marketing Commission to ensure better prices of the farm produce compared to the cost of crops. The farmers' protest, which began on June 1, took a violent turn on June 6, when five persons were killed in police firing at Mandsaur. The farmers' protest witnessed bandh and arson as the agitation spread in other districts of Madhya Pradesh.
Fayaz Wani By

Express News Service

SRINAGAR: Despite exchange of pleasantries by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif at SCO summit in Astana last week, there has been no let up in tension along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir with Pakistani troops breaching border ceasefire in two sectors on Monday and targeting civilian areas and army positions with gunfire and mortar shells.

It was for the 6th time in last 72 hours that Pakistani troops breached border ceasefire and fired on army posts and civilians areas from automatic weapons, RPGs, Recoilless Rifles and mortars.

Defence spokesman in Jammu, Lt Colonel Manish Mehta, said Pakistan Army resorted to indiscriminate firing from small arms and automatic weapons in Krishna Ghati sector along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir from 6.20 am.

He said the Pakistani troops also resorted to mortar shelling on army positions and civilian areas.

Mehta said Army men retaliated strongly and effectively.

He said while the firing and mortar shelling was going on in Krishna Ghati (KG) sector, Pakistani troops breached border ceasefire in Laam sector at Naushera in Rajouri district at around 8.45 am by targeting the army posts and civilian areas with heavy gunfire, RPGs, Recoilless Rifles and mortars.

The Indian army effective returned the fire with the similar-calbre weapons, Mehta said.

The Pakistani firing and shelling in both the sectors lasted for nearly two hours during which the civilian population remained confined indoors.

Mehta said the Pakistani troops firing and shelling in KG sector stopped at 8.15 am and in Lam sector of Naushera at 10.10 am.

The Pakistani troops had on Sunday also breached border ceasefire thrice. The troops had fired on Indian posts and civilians areas in Bimbergali sector and Naushera sector along LoC and on BSF positions along International Border (IB) in Ramgarh sector of Jammu district.

Defence spokesman said Pakistan army has breached border ceasefire along LoC six times in last 72 hours. From June 1, Pakistani troops have violated border ceasefire 9 times along LoC in J&K.

He said army men are giving befitting reply to the ceasefire violations. Our troops are hitting them hard where it will hit them the hardest.

The situation at the LoC is under control, he said.

The LoC has become more volatile and vulnerable to ceasefire violations after two Indian security personnel were killed and their bodies mutilated by Pakistan armys notorious Border Action Team (BAT) in Krishna Ghati sector in Poonch district on May 1.

Since the incident, there has been tension along the LoC with troops of two countries exchanging frequent gunfire and mortar shelling.

According to defence sources, Pakistani troops had breached border ceasefire along LoC in J&K 228 times last year while the figure was 152 in 2015.

Hizb module busted in Kashmir

Police and army have busted Hizbul Mujahideen module after arresting two militants and two Over Ground Workers (OGWs) of the militant outfit.

On specific information about movement of militants, police and 21-RR arrested two persons Mehrajudin and Obaid Shafi while moving in suspicious circumstances at Chogal, Handwara in border district of Kupwara, a police spokesman said.

He said a huge cache of arms and ammunition was recovered from their possession.

During questioning, they revealed that they had come to Handwara for receiving ammunition for their militant outfit in south Kashmir, the spokesman said adding further investigation revealed that the duo were members of HM module, who would not only recruit youth into militancy by radicalizing them on social media but also coordinated their training and arranged arms/ammunition.

On their disclosure, two more members of the module working as OGWs were arrested from Awantipora, he said and identified the arrested OGWs as Shahid Ahmad Thoker and Irfan Ahmad, both resident of Awantipora.

The spokesman said further investigation is on.

SRINAGAR: Despite exchange of pleasantries by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif at SCO summit in Astana last week, there has been no let up in tension along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir with Pakistani troops breaching border ceasefire in two sectors on Monday and targeting civilian areas and army positions with gunfire and mortar shells. It was for the 6th time in last 72 hours that Pakistani troops breached border ceasefire and fired on army posts and civilians areas from automatic weapons, RPGs, Recoilless Rifles and mortars. Defence spokesman in Jammu, Lt Colonel Manish Mehta, said Pakistan Army resorted to indiscriminate firing from small arms and automatic weapons in Krishna Ghati sector along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir from 6.20 am. He said the Pakistani troops also resorted to mortar shelling on army positions and civilian areas. Mehta said Army men retaliated strongly and effectively. He said while the firing and mortar shelling was going on in Krishna Ghati (KG) sector, Pakistani troops breached border ceasefire in Laam sector at Naushera in Rajouri district at around 8.45 am by targeting the army posts and civilian areas with heavy gunfire, RPGs, Recoilless Rifles and mortars. The Indian army effective returned the fire with the similar-calbre weapons, Mehta said. The Pakistani firing and shelling in both the sectors lasted for nearly two hours during which the civilian population remained confined indoors. Mehta said the Pakistani troops firing and shelling in KG sector stopped at 8.15 am and in Lam sector of Naushera at 10.10 am. The Pakistani troops had on Sunday also breached border ceasefire thrice. The troops had fired on Indian posts and civilians areas in Bimbergali sector and Naushera sector along LoC and on BSF positions along International Border (IB) in Ramgarh sector of Jammu district. Defence spokesman said Pakistan army has breached border ceasefire along LoC six times in last 72 hours. From June 1, Pakistani troops have violated border ceasefire 9 times along LoC in J&K. He said army men are giving befitting reply to the ceasefire violations. Our troops are hitting them hard where it will hit them the hardest. The situation at the LoC is under control, he said. The LoC has become more volatile and vulnerable to ceasefire violations after two Indian security personnel were killed and their bodies mutilated by Pakistan armys notorious Border Action Team (BAT) in Krishna Ghati sector in Poonch district on May 1. Since the incident, there has been tension along the LoC with troops of two countries exchanging frequent gunfire and mortar shelling. According to defence sources, Pakistani troops had breached border ceasefire along LoC in J&K 228 times last year while the figure was 152 in 2015. Hizb module busted in Kashmir Police and army have busted Hizbul Mujahideen module after arresting two militants and two Over Ground Workers (OGWs) of the militant outfit. On specific information about movement of militants, police and 21-RR arrested two persons Mehrajudin and Obaid Shafi while moving in suspicious circumstances at Chogal, Handwara in border district of Kupwara, a police spokesman said. He said a huge cache of arms and ammunition was recovered from their possession. During questioning, they revealed that they had come to Handwara for receiving ammunition for their militant outfit in south Kashmir, the spokesman said adding further investigation revealed that the duo were members of HM module, who would not only recruit youth into militancy by radicalizing them on social media but also coordinated their training and arranged arms/ammunition. On their disclosure, two more members of the module working as OGWs were arrested from Awantipora, he said and identified the arrested OGWs as Shahid Ahmad Thoker and Irfan Ahmad, both resident of Awantipora. The spokesman said further investigation is on.
By Express News Service

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the United States and will meet the US President Donald Trump on June 25-26. This will be the PM Modi's first bilateral visit to the US after Trump assumed the president's office on January 20 this year.

According to an official statement by the ministry of external affairs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Washington DC on June 25-26, 2017, at the invitation of the President of the United States of America, The Honorable Donald J Trump.

Announcing the visit from June 25, the external affairs ministry said the Modi-Trump discussions will provide a new direction for deeper bilateral engagement.

The visit is considered strategically significant in view of Trump 's push for stricter norms for issuance of H1-B visas and the US pulling out of the Paris Agreement on climate change. Trump has accused India and other countries of trying to extract billions and billions and billions of dollars in foreign aid from the developed world to sign up for the climate accord.

Apart from this, issues related to securities including Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and other international issues are expected to be discussed prominently during the meeting between the two leaders.

Prime Minister will hold official talks with President Trump on June 26. Their discussions will provide a new direction for deeper bilateral engagement on issues of mutual interest and consolidation of multi-dimensional strategic partnership between India and the US," the ministry said.

US Defence Secretary James Mattis has already made it clear that his country recognises India "as a major defence partner partly out of respect for New Delhi's indispensable role in maintaining stability in the Indian Ocean region". The US is exploring new ways to address new challenges as well from maritime security to the growing threat posed by the spread of terrorism in Southeast Asia, Mattis had said.

PM Modi last visited the US in June last year at the invitation of then US President Barack Obama. Ties between the two nations flourished under the Obama administration which saw India as a partner to balance China's growing weight in Asia. Modi traveled to Washington three times and Obama made a historic trip to India as chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations in 2015.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the United States and will meet the US President Donald Trump on June 25-26. This will be the PM Modi's first bilateral visit to the US after Trump assumed the president's office on January 20 this year. According to an official statement by the ministry of external affairs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Washington DC on June 25-26, 2017, at the invitation of the President of the United States of America, The Honorable Donald J Trump. Announcing the visit from June 25, the external affairs ministry said the Modi-Trump discussions will provide a new direction for deeper bilateral engagement. The visit is considered strategically significant in view of Trump 's push for stricter norms for issuance of H1-B visas and the US pulling out of the Paris Agreement on climate change. Trump has accused India and other countries of trying to extract billions and billions and billions of dollars in foreign aid from the developed world to sign up for the climate accord. Apart from this, issues related to securities including Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and other international issues are expected to be discussed prominently during the meeting between the two leaders. Prime Minister will hold official talks with President Trump on June 26. Their discussions will provide a new direction for deeper bilateral engagement on issues of mutual interest and consolidation of multi-dimensional strategic partnership between India and the US," the ministry said. US Defence Secretary James Mattis has already made it clear that his country recognises India "as a major defence partner partly out of respect for New Delhi's indispensable role in maintaining stability in the Indian Ocean region". The US is exploring new ways to address new challenges as well from maritime security to the growing threat posed by the spread of terrorism in Southeast Asia, Mattis had said. PM Modi last visited the US in June last year at the invitation of then US President Barack Obama. Ties between the two nations flourished under the Obama administration which saw India as a partner to balance China's growing weight in Asia. Modi traveled to Washington three times and Obama made a historic trip to India as chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations in 2015.
By ANI

MUMBAI: The hearing in the Sheena Bora murder case has been adjourned till June 22 by a Mumbais Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Monday.



In March this year, the CBI court deferred the trial after the defense protested over the non-appearance of approver and first witness Shyamvar Rai, who was Indrani Mukerjeas former driver.



In January, the special CBI court had charged Indrani, her husband Peter Mukerjea and her ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna with murder and criminal conspiracy in connection with this case.



The murder, which took place on April 24, 2012, came to light in 2015 with the arrest of Rai, who later turned approver for the CBI.



Indrani, Khanna and Rai have been accused of strangling 24-year-old Sheena  Indranis daughter from a previous relationship-on April 24, 2012. Her burnt body was dumped in a bag in the forests in Raigad district near Mumbai.



The trio was arrested in August 2015, while Peter was arrested later in November 19 that year.

MUMBAI: The hearing in the Sheena Bora murder case has been adjourned till June 22 by a Mumbais Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Monday. In March this year, the CBI court deferred the trial after the defense protested over the non-appearance of approver and first witness Shyamvar Rai, who was Indrani Mukerjeas former driver. In January, the special CBI court had charged Indrani, her husband Peter Mukerjea and her ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna with murder and criminal conspiracy in connection with this case. The murder, which took place on April 24, 2012, came to light in 2015 with the arrest of Rai, who later turned approver for the CBI. Indrani, Khanna and Rai have been accused of strangling 24-year-old Sheena  Indranis daughter from a previous relationship-on April 24, 2012. Her burnt body was dumped in a bag in the forests in Raigad district near Mumbai. The trio was arrested in August 2015, while Peter was arrested later in November 19 that year.
Prasanta Mazumdar By

Express News Service

The hardline leader of the biggest Naga insurgent group has been succeeded by his deputy Khango Konyak, an Indian Naga unlike Khaplang, who was Myanmarese. Will this unsettle the umbrella body of militant outfits fighting the Indian forces in the Northeast?

The death of S S Khaplang, the grand patriarch of Naga insurgency, has put a question mark on the course of armed struggles in the Northeast. Khaplang, a Hemi (tribe) Naga of Myanmar who founded the banned National Socialist Council of Nagaland or NSCN-K and was its chief, died of old-age ailments on Saturday at the age of 77. He had led a violent movement for over five decades to achieve the sovereignty of the Nagas  a goal which the Nagas had set even before India attained independence.

Fondly called Baba by his armed colleagues, Khaplang was instrumental in bringing some insurgent groups of the Northeast under the banner of United Liberation Front of Western South East Asia

(UNLFW) in 2015. In the aftermath of his death, the immediate challenge for his successor Khango Konyak, who is an Indian Naga, will be to maintain the unity of the outfits which include United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) of Manipur, Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) besides NSCN-K.

ULFA military chief Paresh Baruah, who was the virtual second-in-command in UNLFW when Khaplang was alive, has emerged as a frontrunner for the post of chairman of the umbrella organisation. But considering that it was Khaplang who had provided shelter to the myriad outfits in Myanmar, NSCN-K and its sympathisers are unlikely to give way. They will want a Naga to head UNLFW. There is a perception that possible differences on the leadership issue could breach the ties of the outfits.

The immediate consequence of Khaplangs death is the introduction of a new uncertainty into the complex of Indian rebel groups operating out of Myanmar. Khaplang was the unquestioned leader and a man who had influence over Naga areas in Myanmar. Conflicting interests among different actors, earlier in control due to the sheer presence of Khaplang, may now come to the fore. The focus now will be on Paresh Baruah who has influence in the neighbouring countries and is powerful, says Nishit Dholabhai, a writer, who has been closely following insurgency in the Northeast for years.

He says Baruah who is already suspected to be calling the shots in UNLFW on many decisions, may now emerge even more powerful. Over the next six months, it will be interesting to watch how the Government of India deals with the emerging situation in Myanmar and the Northeast, he sums up. A Naga insurgent leader, who has been associated with the movement for over three decades, says the first but biggest challenge for the new NSCN-K chief will be to understand the mindset of the groups.

Since they (insurgent outfits) have been working together for many years, it will be difficult for Khango Konyak to decide anything. He will surely face a problem because he has to first understand their mindset, the rebel leader said on the strict condition of anonymity.

He also says that unless the NSCN-K realises the ground realities, it will continue to create a situation believing that sovereignty is achievable.

The question is how we make them understand the ground realities. It is up to them to understand. Most groups believe that negotiations are the only way out. They have realised that dialogue alone can help resolve the problem. But NSCN-K believes only in sovereignty. I am sure they will continue to create a situation here and there. When the leadership changes, there is a change of policy. Khango is from India and so, I feel that if the leaders of groups and organisations, besides government, go and meet him, something good may happen... Naga society has to put in its best effort. The NSCN-K has to be convinced that its aspirations about achieving sovereignty will not materialise, the insurgent leader adds.

Union minister of state for home, Kiren Rijiju, too feels that the NSCN-K leadership will face a lot of difficulties following Khaplangs demise. Stating that it is a Myanmar-based illegal organisation, he said the Centre would appeal to the Indian NSCN-K rebels to surrender and get rehabilitated. Rijiju refused to talk about the Myanmar side of the NSCN-K rebels. The Nagas have a sizeable population in Myanmar.

The Centre had in 1975 signed the historic Shillong Accord with a section of the rebels of Naga National Council (NNC). However, the pact miffed another section of the insurgents, which included Khaplang, Thuingaleng Muivah and the late Isak Chishi Swu. They parted ways and formed the NSCN in 1980. Eight years later, the NSCN suffered a split with Khaplang leading one faction which later came to be known as NSCN-K. Swu and Muivah led the other faction called NSCN-IM. Swu died in a New Delhi hospital last year.

The NSCN-K entered into a ceasefire with the Centre in 2001 until abrogating it unilaterally in 2015. That year, the outfit had killed 18 Army personnel in an ambush in Manipur. A series of subsequent attacks on security forces made the government to ban the outfit.

Khango Konyak, trusted lieutenant and a hardliner

Long suffering from old-age ailment NSCN (K) hardline leader S S Khaplang made the line of succession clear by appointing Khango Konyak as the vice-president of the faction. Now that the

patriarch has passed, the leadership has gone to his trusted lieutenant, who hails from the Konyak Naga tribe from Mon district, a bastion of the Khaplang group.

As with the other leaders of the NSCN (K) faction, Indian forces do not have much information on the second-line leaders of the hardline faction. Khango Konyak is known to have looked after the

administration of the outfit while the military affairs were handled by Niki Sumi.

Khango Konyak is said to have joined the Naga army in 1963 and was sent to Pakistan and China on various missions. He held various command positions in the army and served as the home minister of the rebel government.

Like Khaplang, Konyak is known to be a hardliner on the ceasefire process with the government of India. Apart from leading the NSCN, Khango Konyak also has the task of coordinating with the umbrella organisation of militant groups, United Liberation Front of Western South East Asia (UNLFW). The organisation is now likely to be led by Paresh Baruah, in place of the departed Khaplang.

Militant outfits active in the Northeast

Assam

United Liberation Front of Asom

Established in 1979, the United Liberation Front of Asom seeks through armed struggle, a sovereign state of Assam. The outfit, headed by Paresh Baruah, reportedly has several camps in Bangladesh where its cadre are trained. The Indian Army began its military ops against the outfit in 1990. According to unconfirmed reports, nearly 18,000 people have died in clashes between the ultras and Indian security forces over the past 20 years. The group believes that after Independence, power changed hands from one group of colonists (the British) to another (the supposed Hindi group). The outfit targets Hindi-speakers settled in Assam from other parts of the country, with its main target group being Bhojpuri speakers from Bihar. The outfit killed over 100 Bihari people in 2000.

National Democratic Front of Bodoland

With the demand for an autonomous region for Bodos, the National Democratic Front of Bodoland is another key separatist group in Assam. It was established in 1989 as the Bodo Security Force.

The Bodos are ethnically a plains tribe. It is headed by Songbijit, a Karbi, known for his violent ways.

Kamtapur Liberation Organisation

This Assam outfit seeks a separate Kamtapur state comprising six districts in West Bengal and four contiguous districts in Assam. Initially, the group sought to address problems of the Koch

Rajbongshi people including unemployment, land alienation, perceived neglect of Kamtapuri language, identity, and economic deprivation

Karbi Longri NC Hills Liberation Front

This outfit is active in the Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao districts of Assam and was established in 2004 to fight for the rights of Karbi tribes. It is closely associated with ULFA.

Arunachal Pradesh

National Liberation Council of Taniland

Demanding a Tani Land for Tani tribes in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, the National Liberation Council of Taniland operates on the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border. The tribes include Missing in Assam and Adi, Nyishi, Galo, Bangni, Apa, Tagin, Hill Miri in Arunachal Pradesh in India, as well as Luoba in China who live along the frontier.

Nagaland

National Socialist Council of Nagaland-IM

The NSCN-IM is the most powerful insurgent group of the Northeast. It has been in peace mode since 1997 following a ceasefire agreement with the Centre. One of its most contentious demands is the creation of a unified Naga homeland Greater Nagaland by slicing off Naga-inhabited areas of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh

National Socialist Council of Nagaland-KK

The NSCN-KK is a group of former NSCN-K and NSCN-IM insurgents, founded about a decade ago. Currently, it is headed by Khole Konyak and Kitovi Zhimomi, who were big guns in NSCN-K. The outfit, which is mostly active in eastern Nagaland, has been in a virtual ceasefire with the government without signing any agreement.

National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Reformation)

Formed in 2015, the NSCN (Reformation) is a breakaway faction of NSCN-K. It is led by Y Wangtin Konyak and P Tikhak, who were kilonsers (ministers) in NSCN-K. The duo formed the outfit in the aftermath of their expulsion from NSCN-K by Khaplang. The group has been in a virtual ceasefire with the government ever since its formation

Manipur

United National Liberation Front

Many ethnic groups in Manipur resented its incorporation in the Indian Union in 1949. Several insurgent groups were born over the years in Manipur seeking an independent state. The United National Liberation Front (UNLF) was founded in Manipur in 1964. Later, between 1977 and 1980, the Peoples Liberation Army of Manipur (PLA), the Peoples Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) and the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), were established. As insurgency continued, the Central government imposed the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in the region, giving sweeping powers to the Armed forces to search and detain those suspected of

militancy. The Act is still in force in the State. The National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) is also active in the region. The Isak-Muivah and Khaplang factions of the NSCN clashed here frequently.

Mizoram

Hmar Peoples Convention-Democracy

The Hmar Peoples Convention-Democracy (HPC-D) was formed in 1986. It is primarily active in Mizoram. The group seeks an independent Hmar State (Hmar ram) comprising the Hmar-inhabited areas of Mizoram, Manipur and Assam.

Meghalaya

Garo National Liberation Army

Meghalayas most active militant group Garo National Liberation Army was formed in 2009. It aims to create a separate Garoland in the Western region of Meghalaya. The group operates from the Garo Hills of Meghalaya and Garo-inhabited areas of Goalpara/Kamrup (R) district in Assam. It was founded by cop-turned-rebel Pakchara R Sangma alias Champion R Sangma.

Tripura

National Liberation Front

The National Liberation Front of Tripura, established in 1989, demands the protection of tribal rights in the State, known for its frequent ethnic tension between Bangladeshi immigrants and native tribals. The objective of the All Tripura Tiger Force, another group in the State, is expulsion of all Bengali-speaking immigrants who came to Tripura after 1956. It also seeks restoration of land to tribals under Tripura Land Revenue and Land Reforms Act, 1960

The hardline leader of the biggest Naga insurgent group has been succeeded by his deputy Khango Konyak, an Indian Naga unlike Khaplang, who was Myanmarese. Will this unsettle the umbrella body of militant outfits fighting the Indian forces in the Northeast? The death of S S Khaplang, the grand patriarch of Naga insurgency, has put a question mark on the course of armed struggles in the Northeast. Khaplang, a Hemi (tribe) Naga of Myanmar who founded the banned National Socialist Council of Nagaland or NSCN-K and was its chief, died of old-age ailments on Saturday at the age of 77. He had led a violent movement for over five decades to achieve the sovereignty of the Nagas  a goal which the Nagas had set even before India attained independence. Fondly called Baba by his armed colleagues, Khaplang was instrumental in bringing some insurgent groups of the Northeast under the banner of United Liberation Front of Western South East Asia (UNLFW) in 2015. In the aftermath of his death, the immediate challenge for his successor Khango Konyak, who is an Indian Naga, will be to maintain the unity of the outfits which include United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) of Manipur, Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) besides NSCN-K. ULFA military chief Paresh Baruah, who was the virtual second-in-command in UNLFW when Khaplang was alive, has emerged as a frontrunner for the post of chairman of the umbrella organisation. But considering that it was Khaplang who had provided shelter to the myriad outfits in Myanmar, NSCN-K and its sympathisers are unlikely to give way. They will want a Naga to head UNLFW. There is a perception that possible differences on the leadership issue could breach the ties of the outfits. The immediate consequence of Khaplangs death is the introduction of a new uncertainty into the complex of Indian rebel groups operating out of Myanmar. Khaplang was the unquestioned leader and a man who had influence over Naga areas in Myanmar. Conflicting interests among different actors, earlier in control due to the sheer presence of Khaplang, may now come to the fore. The focus now will be on Paresh Baruah who has influence in the neighbouring countries and is powerful, says Nishit Dholabhai, a writer, who has been closely following insurgency in the Northeast for years. He says Baruah who is already suspected to be calling the shots in UNLFW on many decisions, may now emerge even more powerful. Over the next six months, it will be interesting to watch how the Government of India deals with the emerging situation in Myanmar and the Northeast, he sums up. A Naga insurgent leader, who has been associated with the movement for over three decades, says the first but biggest challenge for the new NSCN-K chief will be to understand the mindset of the groups. Since they (insurgent outfits) have been working together for many years, it will be difficult for Khango Konyak to decide anything. He will surely face a problem because he has to first understand their mindset, the rebel leader said on the strict condition of anonymity. He also says that unless the NSCN-K realises the ground realities, it will continue to create a situation believing that sovereignty is achievable. The question is how we make them understand the ground realities. It is up to them to understand. Most groups believe that negotiations are the only way out. They have realised that dialogue alone can help resolve the problem. But NSCN-K believes only in sovereignty. I am sure they will continue to create a situation here and there. When the leadership changes, there is a change of policy. Khango is from India and so, I feel that if the leaders of groups and organisations, besides government, go and meet him, something good may happen... Naga society has to put in its best effort. The NSCN-K has to be convinced that its aspirations about achieving sovereignty will not materialise, the insurgent leader adds. Union minister of state for home, Kiren Rijiju, too feels that the NSCN-K leadership will face a lot of difficulties following Khaplangs demise. Stating that it is a Myanmar-based illegal organisation, he said the Centre would appeal to the Indian NSCN-K rebels to surrender and get rehabilitated. Rijiju refused to talk about the Myanmar side of the NSCN-K rebels. The Nagas have a sizeable population in Myanmar. The Centre had in 1975 signed the historic Shillong Accord with a section of the rebels of Naga National Council (NNC). However, the pact miffed another section of the insurgents, which included Khaplang, Thuingaleng Muivah and the late Isak Chishi Swu. They parted ways and formed the NSCN in 1980. Eight years later, the NSCN suffered a split with Khaplang leading one faction which later came to be known as NSCN-K. Swu and Muivah led the other faction called NSCN-IM. Swu died in a New Delhi hospital last year. The NSCN-K entered into a ceasefire with the Centre in 2001 until abrogating it unilaterally in 2015. That year, the outfit had killed 18 Army personnel in an ambush in Manipur. A series of subsequent attacks on security forces made the government to ban the outfit. Khango Konyak, trusted lieutenant and a hardliner Long suffering from old-age ailment NSCN (K) hardline leader S S Khaplang made the line of succession clear by appointing Khango Konyak as the vice-president of the faction. Now that the patriarch has passed, the leadership has gone to his trusted lieutenant, who hails from the Konyak Naga tribe from Mon district, a bastion of the Khaplang group. As with the other leaders of the NSCN (K) faction, Indian forces do not have much information on the second-line leaders of the hardline faction. Khango Konyak is known to have looked after the administration of the outfit while the military affairs were handled by Niki Sumi. Khango Konyak is said to have joined the Naga army in 1963 and was sent to Pakistan and China on various missions. He held various command positions in the army and served as the home minister of the rebel government. Like Khaplang, Konyak is known to be a hardliner on the ceasefire process with the government of India. Apart from leading the NSCN, Khango Konyak also has the task of coordinating with the umbrella organisation of militant groups, United Liberation Front of Western South East Asia (UNLFW). The organisation is now likely to be led by Paresh Baruah, in place of the departed Khaplang. Militant outfits active in the Northeast Assam United Liberation Front of Asom Established in 1979, the United Liberation Front of Asom seeks through armed struggle, a sovereign state of Assam. The outfit, headed by Paresh Baruah, reportedly has several camps in Bangladesh where its cadre are trained. The Indian Army began its military ops against the outfit in 1990. According to unconfirmed reports, nearly 18,000 people have died in clashes between the ultras and Indian security forces over the past 20 years. The group believes that after Independence, power changed hands from one group of colonists (the British) to another (the supposed Hindi group). The outfit targets Hindi-speakers settled in Assam from other parts of the country, with its main target group being Bhojpuri speakers from Bihar. The outfit killed over 100 Bihari people in 2000. National Democratic Front of Bodoland With the demand for an autonomous region for Bodos, the National Democratic Front of Bodoland is another key separatist group in Assam. It was established in 1989 as the Bodo Security Force. The Bodos are ethnically a plains tribe. It is headed by Songbijit, a Karbi, known for his violent ways. Kamtapur Liberation Organisation This Assam outfit seeks a separate Kamtapur state comprising six districts in West Bengal and four contiguous districts in Assam. Initially, the group sought to address problems of the Koch Rajbongshi people including unemployment, land alienation, perceived neglect of Kamtapuri language, identity, and economic deprivation Karbi Longri NC Hills Liberation Front This outfit is active in the Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao districts of Assam and was established in 2004 to fight for the rights of Karbi tribes. It is closely associated with ULFA. Arunachal Pradesh National Liberation Council of Taniland Demanding a Tani Land for Tani tribes in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, the National Liberation Council of Taniland operates on the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border. The tribes include Missing in Assam and Adi, Nyishi, Galo, Bangni, Apa, Tagin, Hill Miri in Arunachal Pradesh in India, as well as Luoba in China who live along the frontier. Nagaland National Socialist Council of Nagaland-IM The NSCN-IM is the most powerful insurgent group of the Northeast. It has been in peace mode since 1997 following a ceasefire agreement with the Centre. One of its most contentious demands is the creation of a unified Naga homeland Greater Nagaland by slicing off Naga-inhabited areas of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh National Socialist Council of Nagaland-KK The NSCN-KK is a group of former NSCN-K and NSCN-IM insurgents, founded about a decade ago. Currently, it is headed by Khole Konyak and Kitovi Zhimomi, who were big guns in NSCN-K. The outfit, which is mostly active in eastern Nagaland, has been in a virtual ceasefire with the government without signing any agreement. National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Reformation) Formed in 2015, the NSCN (Reformation) is a breakaway faction of NSCN-K. It is led by Y Wangtin Konyak and P Tikhak, who were kilonsers (ministers) in NSCN-K. The duo formed the outfit in the aftermath of their expulsion from NSCN-K by Khaplang. The group has been in a virtual ceasefire with the government ever since its formation Manipur United National Liberation Front Many ethnic groups in Manipur resented its incorporation in the Indian Union in 1949. Several insurgent groups were born over the years in Manipur seeking an independent state. The United National Liberation Front (UNLF) was founded in Manipur in 1964. Later, between 1977 and 1980, the Peoples Liberation Army of Manipur (PLA), the Peoples Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) and the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), were established. As insurgency continued, the Central government imposed the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in the region, giving sweeping powers to the Armed forces to search and detain those suspected of militancy. The Act is still in force in the State. The National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) is also active in the region. The Isak-Muivah and Khaplang factions of the NSCN clashed here frequently. Mizoram Hmar Peoples Convention-Democracy The Hmar Peoples Convention-Democracy (HPC-D) was formed in 1986. It is primarily active in Mizoram. The group seeks an independent Hmar State (Hmar ram) comprising the Hmar-inhabited areas of Mizoram, Manipur and Assam. Meghalaya Garo National Liberation Army Meghalayas most active militant group Garo National Liberation Army was formed in 2009. It aims to create a separate Garoland in the Western region of Meghalaya. The group operates from the Garo Hills of Meghalaya and Garo-inhabited areas of Goalpara/Kamrup (R) district in Assam. It was founded by cop-turned-rebel Pakchara R Sangma alias Champion R Sangma. Tripura National Liberation Front The National Liberation Front of Tripura, established in 1989, demands the protection of tribal rights in the State, known for its frequent ethnic tension between Bangladeshi immigrants and native tribals. The objective of the All Tripura Tiger Force, another group in the State, is expulsion of all Bengali-speaking immigrants who came to Tripura after 1956. It also seeks restoration of land to tribals under Tripura Land Revenue and Land Reforms Act, 1960
Abhijit Mulye By

Express News Service

MUMBAI: A mad rush is on in Maharashtra to grab the political credit for the farm loan waiver announced by the Devendra Fadnavis government. But a day after making the announcement, the state government signalled that well-heeled farmers would be left out of the 'conditional' but 'blanket' waiver.

That would whittle down the quantum of the benefit from the speculated Rs 31000 crore.

'Fadnavis' ally, the Shiv Sena rushed to hog the credit by displaying posters and banners bang outside the BJP HQ in Mumbai, thanking its party president Uddhav Thackeray for making it happen.

Congress leaders Ashok Chavan and Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil released press statements saying the decision was an outcome of their 'Sangharsh Yatra' in March and April.

'Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, however, chose to nitpick the language used in Fadnavis' announcement. "The chief minister needs to explain what the terms 'blanket' and 'conditional' mean," he said in Aurangabad. "If the waiver is blanket it cannot be conditional."

Contrary to the initial hype that the waiver would be Rs 31,000 crore, comparable to the Rs 36,000 humdinger served out by UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Maharashtra revenue minister Chandrakant Patil said Monday that the benefit might be limited only to farmers with less than 10 acres.

But that's a matter to be decided by a committee of farmer leaders, government officials and ministers who will set the terms for the waiver.

Patil wouldn't hazard a guess how much the final amount would be. "Genuine farmers would benefit," is all he said. Finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar too was coy, but admitted that the sum could be less than Rs. 31,000 crore.

"As the Assembly was informed during the budget session, the total outstanding loans in Maharashtra amount to around Rs. 30,000 crore. But, the actual figure would be clear only after the criteria for loan waiver are finalised," he said.

And where will the money come from, especially in the light of Union finance minister Arun Jaitley's remark on Monday that states would have to bankroll their own waivers Mungantiwar was vague: "With the GST regime kicking in, Maharashtra expects to be richer by Rs 15,000 crore. There are other sources like non-tax revenues and personal ledger account (PLA) funds..."

But non-tax revenues are currently at just Rs 16,000 crore, which the state hopes to take up to Rs 26,000 crore this fiscal year. The PLA funds are funds held by state-owned corporations invested in fixed deposits. That amount is believed to be around Rs 48,000 crore.

At the State Secretariate all of Monday, officials in various government departments were huddled up, doing the math for the waiver.

It was clear from Chandrakant Patil and Mungantiwar's remarks that the government was doing all this data-crunching out of previous expericence.

As Patil pointed out, when a loan waiver was last given, in 2007-08, many rich farmers ad benefited along with the poor.

"We want to avoid that by setting up a high-level committee to omit rich farmers from the list of beneficiaries." he said.

But then all this prudence could be partly political. That last loan waiver was given by the central government, which was the UPA I regime. This time it's a BJP regime in power in New Delhi, and the advice from the Reserve Bank and the Minstry of Finance are not too indulgent.

MUMBAI: A mad rush is on in Maharashtra to grab the political credit for the farm loan waiver announced by the Devendra Fadnavis government. But a day after making the announcement, the state government signalled that well-heeled farmers would be left out of the 'conditional' but 'blanket' waiver. That would whittle down the quantum of the benefit from the speculated Rs 31000 crore. 'Fadnavis' ally, the Shiv Sena rushed to hog the credit by displaying posters and banners bang outside the BJP HQ in Mumbai, thanking its party president Uddhav Thackeray for making it happen. Congress leaders Ashok Chavan and Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil released press statements saying the decision was an outcome of their 'Sangharsh Yatra' in March and April. 'Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, however, chose to nitpick the language used in Fadnavis' announcement. "The chief minister needs to explain what the terms 'blanket' and 'conditional' mean," he said in Aurangabad. "If the waiver is blanket it cannot be conditional." Contrary to the initial hype that the waiver would be Rs 31,000 crore, comparable to the Rs 36,000 humdinger served out by UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Maharashtra revenue minister Chandrakant Patil said Monday that the benefit might be limited only to farmers with less than 10 acres. But that's a matter to be decided by a committee of farmer leaders, government officials and ministers who will set the terms for the waiver. Patil wouldn't hazard a guess how much the final amount would be. "Genuine farmers would benefit," is all he said. Finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar too was coy, but admitted that the sum could be less than Rs. 31,000 crore. "As the Assembly was informed during the budget session, the total outstanding loans in Maharashtra amount to around Rs. 30,000 crore. But, the actual figure would be clear only after the criteria for loan waiver are finalised," he said. And where will the money come from, especially in the light of Union finance minister Arun Jaitley's remark on Monday that states would have to bankroll their own waivers Mungantiwar was vague: "With the GST regime kicking in, Maharashtra expects to be richer by Rs 15,000 crore. There are other sources like non-tax revenues and personal ledger account (PLA) funds..." But non-tax revenues are currently at just Rs 16,000 crore, which the state hopes to take up to Rs 26,000 crore this fiscal year. The PLA funds are funds held by state-owned corporations invested in fixed deposits. That amount is believed to be around Rs 48,000 crore. At the State Secretariate all of Monday, officials in various government departments were huddled up, doing the math for the waiver. It was clear from Chandrakant Patil and Mungantiwar's remarks that the government was doing all this data-crunching out of previous expericence. As Patil pointed out, when a loan waiver was last given, in 2007-08, many rich farmers ad benefited along with the poor. "We want to avoid that by setting up a high-level committee to omit rich farmers from the list of beneficiaries." he said. But then all this prudence could be partly political. That last loan waiver was given by the central government, which was the UPA I regime. This time it's a BJP regime in power in New Delhi, and the advice from the Reserve Bank and the Minstry of Finance are not too indulgent.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: The state-wide bandh called by pro-Kannada organisations, demanding the implementation of Mahadayi project and permanent solution for water problems in North Karnataka, is unlikely to have any major impact on Bengaluru.

Transport services will not be affected as BMTC and KSRTC buses will run as scheduled in the city on Monday. According to senior officials of BMTC, a call on whether to suspend bus services will be taken based on the developments on Monday. Kannada organisations led by activist Vatal Nagaraj have threatened to pelt stones at buses, if they do not extend support. Auto and cab services will also be available.

Exams postponed

Owing to the protest, some exams of Bangalore University for post-graduate students were postponed. VTU has also done the same due to the proposed bandh. The new dates for the exams are yet to be announced. Exams conducted by Karnataka State Secondary Education Examinations Board for D Ed/D.EI and others have been postponed to June 13.

Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru Urban district, V Shankar said that no holidays have been declared for schools and colleges.

Normal life may be affected in Hubballi-Dharwad

The bandh call is expected to affect normal life in North Karnataka on Monday, as various organisations have expressed support. Hubballi-Dharwad region is likely to remain shut. The North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation has said that they would take a decision on running service on Monday depending on the situation. Even private bus operators decision will be influenced by the prevailing situation. Various farmers organisations and labour unions have extended their support to the bandh.

Bandh call unlikely to hit DK district

Mangaluru: Despite Karnataka Rakshana Vedikes (KRV) Karnataka Bandh call on Monday is unlikely to have any impact in Dakshina Kannada district. Tulunadu Rakshana Vedike had informed that it would not extend support to the bandh call as its first priority is towards Tulu language. Meanwhile, Dakshina Kannada District Deputy Commissioner K G Jagadeesha informed that schools and colleges will remain open on Monday. Bus and autorickshaw unions have not announced support to the bandh call. Karnataka Karmikara Vedikes Udupi district unit will also not extend its support for the call for Karnataka Bandh.

Elaborate security arrangements in place across Bengaluru

In view of Karnataka Bandh, the Bengaluru City police have made elaborate security arrangements across the city. Since vice president Hamid Ansari and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi will also be in the city today, security across the city has been tightened. Around 16,00 policemen, including city police personnel, have been deployed. Special security has been arranged at the Airport and railway stations, and other sensitive areas. City Police Commissioner Praveen Sood said that a foolproof security arrangement has been made to ensure that no untoward incidents take place. More than 200 Hoysala vehicle staff will be patrolling. Apart from this, one water jet, one Quick Response Team platoons are deployed, a senior police officer said. Activists of some groups have been taken into preventive custody, a senior police officer said.

BENGALURU: The state-wide bandh called by pro-Kannada organisations, demanding the implementation of Mahadayi project and permanent solution for water problems in North Karnataka, is unlikely to have any major impact on Bengaluru. Transport services will not be affected as BMTC and KSRTC buses will run as scheduled in the city on Monday. According to senior officials of BMTC, a call on whether to suspend bus services will be taken based on the developments on Monday. Kannada organisations led by activist Vatal Nagaraj have threatened to pelt stones at buses, if they do not extend support. Auto and cab services will also be available. Exams postponed Owing to the protest, some exams of Bangalore University for post-graduate students were postponed. VTU has also done the same due to the proposed bandh. The new dates for the exams are yet to be announced. Exams conducted by Karnataka State Secondary Education Examinations Board for D Ed/D.EI and others have been postponed to June 13. Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru Urban district, V Shankar said that no holidays have been declared for schools and colleges. Normal life may be affected in Hubballi-Dharwad The bandh call is expected to affect normal life in North Karnataka on Monday, as various organisations have expressed support. Hubballi-Dharwad region is likely to remain shut. The North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation has said that they would take a decision on running service on Monday depending on the situation. Even private bus operators decision will be influenced by the prevailing situation. Various farmers organisations and labour unions have extended their support to the bandh. Bandh call unlikely to hit DK district Mangaluru: Despite Karnataka Rakshana Vedikes (KRV) Karnataka Bandh call on Monday is unlikely to have any impact in Dakshina Kannada district. Tulunadu Rakshana Vedike had informed that it would not extend support to the bandh call as its first priority is towards Tulu language. Meanwhile, Dakshina Kannada District Deputy Commissioner K G Jagadeesha informed that schools and colleges will remain open on Monday. Bus and autorickshaw unions have not announced support to the bandh call. Karnataka Karmikara Vedikes Udupi district unit will also not extend its support for the call for Karnataka Bandh. Elaborate security arrangements in place across Bengaluru In view of Karnataka Bandh, the Bengaluru City police have made elaborate security arrangements across the city. Since vice president Hamid Ansari and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi will also be in the city today, security across the city has been tightened. Around 16,00 policemen, including city police personnel, have been deployed. Special security has been arranged at the Airport and railway stations, and other sensitive areas. City Police Commissioner Praveen Sood said that a foolproof security arrangement has been made to ensure that no untoward incidents take place. More than 200 Hoysala vehicle staff will be patrolling. Apart from this, one water jet, one Quick Response Team platoons are deployed, a senior police officer said. Activists of some groups have been taken into preventive custody, a senior police officer said.
By Express News Service

KOZHIKODE: DCC president T Siddique on Sunday came down heavily on the RSS, BJP and the CPM for unleashing political violence in the district for the past one week.

In a presser held here at the DCC office, he alleged the RSS and the CPM were trying to execute the Kannur model political violence in Kozhikode. He also criticised them for calling continuing hartals in the district. He said the business sector in the district has incurred an estimated loss of `10 crore.

Over 100 incidents of violence were reported in the district in the past one week. The police have registered at least 40 FIRs based on these cases, he said. He termed the violence as the clash of prides. The BJP and the CPM are in power at the Centre and state, respectively. The pride of power has resulted in these violent confrontations. The leaders of both the parties should restrain their workers from perpetrating violence, Siddique said.

He also said the CPM was targeting the BJP to woo minorities into their fold. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan should call peace talks immediately. On Saturday, conciliatory talks were held at Vadakara. However, within minutes after the meeting, violence erupted again, Siddique said.

Alleging the police was inactive in the district, he said the CPM has castrated the police.

Three days have already passed since the attack on the CPM district office, but no one has been arrested or taken into custody yet. It is the failure of the Home Department in the state, he alleged.

The Congress will conduct peace rallies in the district. On June 17, the DCC will hold a sit- in protest near Puthiya Stand, here and on June 19, a peace rally will be taken out from Thiruvallur to Vadagara.

Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala, Mullappally Ramachandran MP and other Congress leaders will take part in the rallies. On June 13, another rally will be taken out at Balussery.

KOZHIKODE: DCC president T Siddique on Sunday came down heavily on the RSS, BJP and the CPM for unleashing political violence in the district for the past one week. In a presser held here at the DCC office, he alleged the RSS and the CPM were trying to execute the Kannur model political violence in Kozhikode. He also criticised them for calling continuing hartals in the district. He said the business sector in the district has incurred an estimated loss of `10 crore. Over 100 incidents of violence were reported in the district in the past one week. The police have registered at least 40 FIRs based on these cases, he said. He termed the violence as the clash of prides. The BJP and the CPM are in power at the Centre and state, respectively. The pride of power has resulted in these violent confrontations. The leaders of both the parties should restrain their workers from perpetrating violence, Siddique said. He also said the CPM was targeting the BJP to woo minorities into their fold. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan should call peace talks immediately. On Saturday, conciliatory talks were held at Vadakara. However, within minutes after the meeting, violence erupted again, Siddique said. Alleging the police was inactive in the district, he said the CPM has castrated the police. Three days have already passed since the attack on the CPM district office, but no one has been arrested or taken into custody yet. It is the failure of the Home Department in the state, he alleged. The Congress will conduct peace rallies in the district. On June 17, the DCC will hold a sit- in protest near Puthiya Stand, here and on June 19, a peace rally will be taken out from Thiruvallur to Vadagara. Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala, Mullappally Ramachandran MP and other Congress leaders will take part in the rallies. On June 13, another rally will be taken out at Balussery.
By Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR: Amid the ongoing protest against alleged discrepancies in CBSE Class XII evaluations, the Odisha Abhibhabaka Mahasangha (OAM) has decided to file a mass petition in Orissa High Court on Monday.

Till Sunday, more than 2,000 students who were affected by the marking have joined the protest under the banner of OAM.

The CBSE did not honour the HCs order by not publishing the results of the students who had submitted writ petitions last week, OAM president Sudarsan Das said. We will apprise the court that CBSE had furnished the scanned copies of answer sheets at around 10 pm on Friday and asked us to verify and reciprocate. The Board did not give us ample time to check the copies, he added.

The CBSE has agreed to the discrepancies which led to failure of thousands of students across the State. The Board is likely to submit the results of 18 students who had moved the HC in the first phase of the protest. The Board will be sympathetic towards students and not move Supreme Court challenging the decision of the HC, said sources.

Besides, the protesting students also submitted a written application with the Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSPCR) on Saturday. The protests will intensify if CBSE does not publish the results by 11 am on Monday, OAM sources said.

On the other hand, the State Government is likely to extend the admission date of degree colleges so that students of CBSE whose results will be published after re-evaluation can apply for admission into BA, BSc and BCom courses.

A formal announcement will be made on this matter by the Higher Education Department on Monday, the sources added.

BHUBANESWAR: Amid the ongoing protest against alleged discrepancies in CBSE Class XII evaluations, the Odisha Abhibhabaka Mahasangha (OAM) has decided to file a mass petition in Orissa High Court on Monday. Till Sunday, more than 2,000 students who were affected by the marking have joined the protest under the banner of OAM. The CBSE did not honour the HCs order by not publishing the results of the students who had submitted writ petitions last week, OAM president Sudarsan Das said. We will apprise the court that CBSE had furnished the scanned copies of answer sheets at around 10 pm on Friday and asked us to verify and reciprocate. The Board did not give us ample time to check the copies, he added. The CBSE has agreed to the discrepancies which led to failure of thousands of students across the State. The Board is likely to submit the results of 18 students who had moved the HC in the first phase of the protest. The Board will be sympathetic towards students and not move Supreme Court challenging the decision of the HC, said sources. Besides, the protesting students also submitted a written application with the Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSPCR) on Saturday. The protests will intensify if CBSE does not publish the results by 11 am on Monday, OAM sources said. On the other hand, the State Government is likely to extend the admission date of degree colleges so that students of CBSE whose results will be published after re-evaluation can apply for admission into BA, BSc and BCom courses. A formal announcement will be made on this matter by the Higher Education Department on Monday, the sources added.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: A Dutch-era cemetery in Nagapattinam will get a facelift, courtesy the Government of the Netherlands. The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) will be the knowledge partner in the conservation efforts of Karikop cemetery, now in ruins.

Located adjacent to St Peters Church, under which it comes now, the cemetery derives its name from Dutch word Kerkhof. Over the years, the name acquired a Tamil slang and was pronounced as Karikop, heritage experts said.

In 17th century, several villages near Nagapattinam came under the control of Dutch East India Company, with the town of Nagapattinam also serving as the headquarters of the Dutch colony, having been shifted from Pulicat.

Speaking to Express, S Suresh, State convenor, INTACH, said, Though the town was subsequently taken over by the British, the cemetery primarily contains the graves of Dutch people.

Centuries later, the cemetery now is in a dilapidated condition, partly owing to the apathy of local officials. There are several tombs in the cemetery, both big and small. It is the bigger ones, of which one belongs to the wife of a local Dutch administrator, that need urgent repair, Suresh said.

The tombs have developed cracks and many of them have broken down. The entrance archway is also in a dilapidated condition. Besides, there is thick vegetation in the place, he said.

The Karikop cemetery does not figure in the list of monuments protected by the Archaeological Survey of India or other government authorities.

But all that is set to change soon. The INTACH, which has done an architectural listing of Nagapattinam, was recently contacted by the Dutch.

Following this, steps were taken to draw up a conservation and management plan for the cemetery. We brought a team of Dutch experts to Nagapattinam. They interacted with all local stakeholders, including the administration, Suresh said.

The conservation plans, for which no date has been set so far, will be spearheaded by the Netherlands with the co-operation of local officials. A blueprint has been prepared for the project, with the finance coming from the Dutch side. We will be assisting them through knowledge-sharing, Suresh said.

When asked about the keen interest shown by the Dutch, Suresh said the cemeteries were not only a subject of interest for historians, but also have an emotional value. There are many foreigners who come down to see the graves of their ancestors. They have great attachment to these cemeteries. While some cemeteries are in good shape, others are not, Suresh said.

CHENNAI: A Dutch-era cemetery in Nagapattinam will get a facelift, courtesy the Government of the Netherlands. The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) will be the knowledge partner in the conservation efforts of Karikop cemetery, now in ruins. Located adjacent to St Peters Church, under which it comes now, the cemetery derives its name from Dutch word Kerkhof. Over the years, the name acquired a Tamil slang and was pronounced as Karikop, heritage experts said. In 17th century, several villages near Nagapattinam came under the control of Dutch East India Company, with the town of Nagapattinam also serving as the headquarters of the Dutch colony, having been shifted from Pulicat. Speaking to Express, S Suresh, State convenor, INTACH, said, Though the town was subsequently taken over by the British, the cemetery primarily contains the graves of Dutch people. Centuries later, the cemetery now is in a dilapidated condition, partly owing to the apathy of local officials. There are several tombs in the cemetery, both big and small. It is the bigger ones, of which one belongs to the wife of a local Dutch administrator, that need urgent repair, Suresh said. The tombs have developed cracks and many of them have broken down. The entrance archway is also in a dilapidated condition. Besides, there is thick vegetation in the place, he said. The Karikop cemetery does not figure in the list of monuments protected by the Archaeological Survey of India or other government authorities. But all that is set to change soon. The INTACH, which has done an architectural listing of Nagapattinam, was recently contacted by the Dutch. Following this, steps were taken to draw up a conservation and management plan for the cemetery. We brought a team of Dutch experts to Nagapattinam. They interacted with all local stakeholders, including the administration, Suresh said. The conservation plans, for which no date has been set so far, will be spearheaded by the Netherlands with the co-operation of local officials. A blueprint has been prepared for the project, with the finance coming from the Dutch side. We will be assisting them through knowledge-sharing, Suresh said. When asked about the keen interest shown by the Dutch, Suresh said the cemeteries were not only a subject of interest for historians, but also have an emotional value. There are many foreigners who come down to see the graves of their ancestors. They have great attachment to these cemeteries. While some cemeteries are in good shape, others are not, Suresh said.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Legendary Telugu poet, writer, lyricist and Jnanpith Awardee Dr Cingireddy Narayana Reddy, popularly known as Cinare, a towering personality in Modern Telugu Literature passed away on Monday morning.



The 85-year-old doyen of Telugu Literature, who had been ill for the past few months, breathed his last while undergoing treatment at a corporate hospital here.



Reddy, who pursued most of his education in Urdu medium, later went on to become a prominent authority on Telugu literature. Narayana Reddy was also a lyricist and playwright.



Reddy won the Jnanpith Award in 1988 for Viswambara, a magnum opus in Telugu literature. He was awarded the Kala Prapoorna; an honorary doctorate, by Andhra University in 1978.



He has to his name a Padma Shree, awarded in 1977, a Padma Bhushan in 1992 and was bestowed with a Sahitya Akademi Award. He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in August 1997.



His works were translated into Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, Urdu, and French.



Reddy was born in Hanumajipet of erstwhile united Karimnagar district (now, Rajanna Sircilla district) in Telangana on 1931, July 29 to Malla Reddy, a farmer and Buchamma, a house wife.



He completed his elementary education in a government school and pursued his BA in an Urdu medium.



He studied Telugu at a school in Sircilla under the auspices of Guru Sathavadhani Seshadri Ramana Kavi of Machilipatnam.



Later, he was groomed by Telugu legendary writer Kavisamrat Viswanatha Satyanarayana, first principal of Karimnagar Government College, 1959-61, a native of Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh.



After his primary and secondary education, Narayana Reddy later moved to Hyderabad and read books written by famous Telugu poets such as Gurram Jashua, Sri Sri and Devulapalli Krishna Sastry.



He had worked as a lecturer in the Arts and Science College in Secunderabad, the Nizam College and later in the Arts College of Osmania University.



Narayana Reddy's first poetic work was Navvani Puvvu, published in the year 1953. He had sung folk songs since childhood and was fond of Harikathalu and Burrakathalu; traditional forms of storytelling in the Telugu language.



Reddy made his debut in the Telugu film industry in 1962 as a lyricist by writing all the songs for Gulebakavali Katha, a Telugu fantasy film directed by legendary actor and TDP founder N T Rama Rao.



The movies song Nannu dochu kunduvate...Vannela dorasani, penned by Reddy was an instant hit. Later, Reddy went on to attain a prominent position in Telugu tinsel town as a lyricist and writer, and has written more than 3,000 songs for several movies.



Naryana Reddy married Suseela and had four daughters whom he named after the four famous rivers in India- Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati and Krishnaveni.



After a request by the then chief minister of erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh, NTR, Reddy scripted two sentences on stone planks on all the old statues on Tank Bund, which were later destroyed by Telangana Statehood agitators.



Chief minister of Telanagana K Chandrasekhar Rao and chief minister of Andhra Pradesh N Chandrababu Naidu, along with ministers and politicos from both states expressed their condolences.





HYDERABAD: Legendary Telugu poet, writer, lyricist and Jnanpith Awardee Dr Cingireddy Narayana Reddy, popularly known as Cinare, a towering personality in Modern Telugu Literature passed away on Monday morning. The 85-year-old doyen of Telugu Literature, who had been ill for the past few months, breathed his last while undergoing treatment at a corporate hospital here. Reddy, who pursued most of his education in Urdu medium, later went on to become a prominent authority on Telugu literature. Narayana Reddy was also a lyricist and playwright. Reddy won the Jnanpith Award in 1988 for Viswambara, a magnum opus in Telugu literature. He was awarded the Kala Prapoorna; an honorary doctorate, by Andhra University in 1978. He has to his name a Padma Shree, awarded in 1977, a Padma Bhushan in 1992 and was bestowed with a Sahitya Akademi Award. He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in August 1997. His works were translated into Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, Urdu, and French. Reddy was born in Hanumajipet of erstwhile united Karimnagar district (now, Rajanna Sircilla district) in Telangana on 1931, July 29 to Malla Reddy, a farmer and Buchamma, a house wife. He completed his elementary education in a government school and pursued his BA in an Urdu medium. He studied Telugu at a school in Sircilla under the auspices of Guru Sathavadhani Seshadri Ramana Kavi of Machilipatnam. Later, he was groomed by Telugu legendary writer Kavisamrat Viswanatha Satyanarayana, first principal of Karimnagar Government College, 1959-61, a native of Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh. After his primary and secondary education, Narayana Reddy later moved to Hyderabad and read books written by famous Telugu poets such as Gurram Jashua, Sri Sri and Devulapalli Krishna Sastry. He had worked as a lecturer in the Arts and Science College in Secunderabad, the Nizam College and later in the Arts College of Osmania University. Narayana Reddy's first poetic work was Navvani Puvvu, published in the year 1953. He had sung folk songs since childhood and was fond of Harikathalu and Burrakathalu; traditional forms of storytelling in the Telugu language. Reddy made his debut in the Telugu film industry in 1962 as a lyricist by writing all the songs for Gulebakavali Katha, a Telugu fantasy film directed by legendary actor and TDP founder N T Rama Rao. The movies song Nannu dochu kunduvate...Vannela dorasani, penned by Reddy was an instant hit. Later, Reddy went on to attain a prominent position in Telugu tinsel town as a lyricist and writer, and has written more than 3,000 songs for several movies. Naryana Reddy married Suseela and had four daughters whom he named after the four famous rivers in India- Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati and Krishnaveni. After a request by the then chief minister of erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh, NTR, Reddy scripted two sentences on stone planks on all the old statues on Tank Bund, which were later destroyed by Telangana Statehood agitators. Chief minister of Telanagana K Chandrasekhar Rao and chief minister of Andhra Pradesh N Chandrababu Naidu, along with ministers and politicos from both states expressed their condolences.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Telangana Joint Action Committee chairman M Kodandaram has come to the rescue of TRS secretary-general and Rajya Sabha member K Keshav Rao who is facing allegations of involvement in the Miyapur land scam.

A day after opposition parties alleged that Raos family had purchased precious government and private lands at Dandu Mylaram in the city by joining hands with Goldstone Prasad, who is the key accused in the scam, the TJAC chairman on Sunday accused the state government of making a selective leak to the media against Keshav Rao.

Its an official leak given by the top brass of the government. In fact, several influential persons and governments heads are behind the scam relating to lands worth `10,000 crore. Small officers are being made scapegoats while bigwigs behind it are allowed to go scot-free, Kodandaram alleged.

While addressing mediapesons here, the TJAC chairman demanded that a comprehensive probe by a sitting judge be ordered into the scam to ascertain facts.

The TJAC would hold a round-table meet in Hyderabad with advocates over this issue soon, he added.

HYDERABAD: Telangana Joint Action Committee chairman M Kodandaram has come to the rescue of TRS secretary-general and Rajya Sabha member K Keshav Rao who is facing allegations of involvement in the Miyapur land scam. A day after opposition parties alleged that Raos family had purchased precious government and private lands at Dandu Mylaram in the city by joining hands with Goldstone Prasad, who is the key accused in the scam, the TJAC chairman on Sunday accused the state government of making a selective leak to the media against Keshav Rao. Its an official leak given by the top brass of the government. In fact, several influential persons and governments heads are behind the scam relating to lands worth `10,000 crore. Small officers are being made scapegoats while bigwigs behind it are allowed to go scot-free, Kodandaram alleged. While addressing mediapesons here, the TJAC chairman demanded that a comprehensive probe by a sitting judge be ordered into the scam to ascertain facts. The TJAC would hold a round-table meet in Hyderabad with advocates over this issue soon, he added.
By AFP

LONDON: British Prime Minister Theresa May's future was hanging in the balance Monday as she prepared for a showdown with angry MPs from her Conservative party following its disastrous performance in last week's general election.

May's Conservatives unexpectedly lost their majority in parliament in Thursday's snap election, causing political chaos ahead of Brexit talks with the European Union, which are scheduled to start next week.

The prime minister is due to face MPs later Monday, where she could face demands to quit over her lacklustre campaign and decision to call the election in the first place.

May on Sunday unveiled her full cabinet, which will meet for the first time on Monday, making few changes as she vowed to cling on despite pressure to quit.

The visibly weakened premier denied she was feeling "shell-shocked" when quizzed in an interview with Sky News.

"What I'm feeling is that actually there is a job to be done and I think what the public want is to ensure that the government is getting on with that job," May said.

May's party fell eight seats short of retaining their parliamentary majority, and is currently in talks with Northern Ireland's ultra-conservative Democratic Union Party (DUP) -- which won 10 seats -- to forge an informal alliance.

Take control of borders

Brexit minister David Davis on Monday insisted that the government still aimed to take Britain out of the EU single market.

"The reason for leaving the single market is because we want to take back control of our borders, they're not compatible," he told BBC Radio.

He also said the government would still "walk away" with no deal if talks broke down on ending Britain's four-decade membership of the bloc.

But Ruth Davidson, the pro-EU leader of the Conservatives in Scotland, called on May to "reopen" the government's Brexit plans.

Davidson bucked the trend by helping the Tories win 13 seats in Scotland, but warned her MPs "will vote entirely as they believe they should" in parliament, raising doubts that the government could secure enough votes to pass a deal taking Britain out of the single market.

Criticised for relying on slogans during the election campaign, the prime minister's Downing Street appearance saw her drop the "strong and stable" leadership mantra.

After the opposition Labour party made hefty election gains by focusing heavily on national issues, May listed areas such as education and housing as top priorities.

Dead woman walking

Former finance minister George Osborne, who May sacked after taking office following the Brexit vote last June, on Sunday said May was now a "dead woman walking".

But the prime minister said she had a busy schedule ahead, with a cabinet meeting on Monday and talks with French President Emmanuel Macron the following day.

Brexit will likely be on the agenda at the Paris meeting, after May confirmed she will stick to the timetable of negotiations.

May tried to reassert her shattered authority at the weekend by announcing her new cabinet -- with no changes among her top team.

In a surprise move, Michael Gove was appointed environment and agriculture minister less than a year after the prime minister sacked him as justice minister.

May has shown little public contrition for the electoral gamble that backfired spectactularly, but was forced to accept the resignations of her two top aides -- reportedly a requirement by cabinet colleagues for allowing her to stay in office.

On Monday, she faces members of the Conservatives' 1922 Committee, which can trigger a vote of confidence in a party leader if it receives letters from 15 percent of the party's MPs.

They are expected to make demands on Brexit negotiations and any deal with the DUP.

DUP deal slammed

With the new government set to present its legislative programme to parliament on June 19, the clock is ticking on efforts to bolster the Conservatives' position.

DUP leader Arlene Foster said there had been "very good discussions" so far and she would travel to London to meet May on Tuesday.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said the government was not looking at a formal coalition but would seek assurances that the DUP would vote with May "on the big things" such as the budget, defence issues and Brexit.

He stressed he did not share their ultra-conservative views on issues such as abortion and homosexuality, which have caused disquiet among many Conservatives.

More than 720,000 people have signed a petition condemning the proposed alliance, saying it is a "disgusting, desperate attempt to stay in power".

The deal has also caused consternation in Dublin, with Irish premier Enda Kenny warning such an alliance could upset Northern Ireland's fragile peace.

London's neutrality is key to the delicate balance of power in Northern Ireland, which was once plagued by violence over Britain's control of the province.

May responded that the DUP deal "would provide stability and certainty for the UK going forward", her office said.

LONDON: British Prime Minister Theresa May's future was hanging in the balance Monday as she prepared for a showdown with angry MPs from her Conservative party following its disastrous performance in last week's general election. May's Conservatives unexpectedly lost their majority in parliament in Thursday's snap election, causing political chaos ahead of Brexit talks with the European Union, which are scheduled to start next week. The prime minister is due to face MPs later Monday, where she could face demands to quit over her lacklustre campaign and decision to call the election in the first place. May on Sunday unveiled her full cabinet, which will meet for the first time on Monday, making few changes as she vowed to cling on despite pressure to quit. The visibly weakened premier denied she was feeling "shell-shocked" when quizzed in an interview with Sky News. "What I'm feeling is that actually there is a job to be done and I think what the public want is to ensure that the government is getting on with that job," May said. May's party fell eight seats short of retaining their parliamentary majority, and is currently in talks with Northern Ireland's ultra-conservative Democratic Union Party (DUP) -- which won 10 seats -- to forge an informal alliance. Take control of borders Brexit minister David Davis on Monday insisted that the government still aimed to take Britain out of the EU single market. "The reason for leaving the single market is because we want to take back control of our borders, they're not compatible," he told BBC Radio. He also said the government would still "walk away" with no deal if talks broke down on ending Britain's four-decade membership of the bloc. But Ruth Davidson, the pro-EU leader of the Conservatives in Scotland, called on May to "reopen" the government's Brexit plans. Davidson bucked the trend by helping the Tories win 13 seats in Scotland, but warned her MPs "will vote entirely as they believe they should" in parliament, raising doubts that the government could secure enough votes to pass a deal taking Britain out of the single market. Criticised for relying on slogans during the election campaign, the prime minister's Downing Street appearance saw her drop the "strong and stable" leadership mantra. After the opposition Labour party made hefty election gains by focusing heavily on national issues, May listed areas such as education and housing as top priorities. Dead woman walking Former finance minister George Osborne, who May sacked after taking office following the Brexit vote last June, on Sunday said May was now a "dead woman walking". But the prime minister said she had a busy schedule ahead, with a cabinet meeting on Monday and talks with French President Emmanuel Macron the following day. Brexit will likely be on the agenda at the Paris meeting, after May confirmed she will stick to the timetable of negotiations. May tried to reassert her shattered authority at the weekend by announcing her new cabinet -- with no changes among her top team. In a surprise move, Michael Gove was appointed environment and agriculture minister less than a year after the prime minister sacked him as justice minister. May has shown little public contrition for the electoral gamble that backfired spectactularly, but was forced to accept the resignations of her two top aides -- reportedly a requirement by cabinet colleagues for allowing her to stay in office. On Monday, she faces members of the Conservatives' 1922 Committee, which can trigger a vote of confidence in a party leader if it receives letters from 15 percent of the party's MPs. They are expected to make demands on Brexit negotiations and any deal with the DUP. DUP deal slammed With the new government set to present its legislative programme to parliament on June 19, the clock is ticking on efforts to bolster the Conservatives' position. DUP leader Arlene Foster said there had been "very good discussions" so far and she would travel to London to meet May on Tuesday. Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said the government was not looking at a formal coalition but would seek assurances that the DUP would vote with May "on the big things" such as the budget, defence issues and Brexit. He stressed he did not share their ultra-conservative views on issues such as abortion and homosexuality, which have caused disquiet among many Conservatives. More than 720,000 people have signed a petition condemning the proposed alliance, saying it is a "disgusting, desperate attempt to stay in power". The deal has also caused consternation in Dublin, with Irish premier Enda Kenny warning such an alliance could upset Northern Ireland's fragile peace. London's neutrality is key to the delicate balance of power in Northern Ireland, which was once plagued by violence over Britain's control of the province. May responded that the DUP deal "would provide stability and certainty for the UK going forward", her office said.
By AFP

KATHMANDU: A French serial killer nicknamed the "bikini killer" for a string of murders throughout Asia in the 1970s was recovering after having open heart surgery in Nepal on Monday, his wife and a doctor said.

Charles Sobhraj, 73, who is currently serving a life sentence for two murders in Kathmandu in 1975, underwent a five-hour surgery to repair the valves in his heart.

"The good news is that the operation was a success," Sobhraj's wife Nihita Biswas told AFP.

"It was a four-hour surgery but they had to extend it for another hour because they found that the other valve was also damaged. Right now they say that he's stable."

Raamesh Koirala -- one of three surgeons involved in the complicated procedure -- said Sobhraj would remain sedated for 24 hours.

"We cannot say he is out of danger for 24 hours and maybe longer. But the operation was normal," said the surgeon, who is a distant relative of Biswas.

The ageing conman -- who has been implicated in more than 20 killings -- is under tight security in hospital because of threats made against his life, his wife said.

"We did not want the surgery to happen in Nepal because we do not trust Nepal. That is why we got a doctor who is related to the family to do the surgery," she said of Koirala.

Sobhraj is expected to remain in intensive care for at least four days.

The Frenchman earned worldwide notoriety for a series of poisonings and robberies of backpackers across Asia in the 60s and 70s.

Two of his victims were found wearing only bikinis, earning him the sobriquet the "bikini killer".

Sobhraj -- a French citizen of Vietnamese and Indian parentage -- was also known as "The Serpent" for his repeated identity thefts and escapes from justice.

He spent 21 years in jail in India where he was jailed for culpable homicide for poisoning a French tourist and killing an Israeli man. He was released in 1997.

The law caught up with him again in Nepal in 2004 when he was jailed for the killing of US tourist Connie Joe Bronzich in 1975.

In 2014, he was handed a second life sentence for the killing of Canadian backpacker Laurent Carriere, whose passport he had used to escape Nepal after killing the pair.

While in jail in Kathmandu, Sobhraj married Biswas, who is 44 years his junior and the daughter of his lawyer.

Biswas and Sobhraj's legal team are currently pushing for septuagenarian to be released from jail so he can return to France.

"He and I have been planning a lot of things for a long of time. I'm not focusing on anything apart from his release. The important thing is to send him back home," Biswas said, adding that she hoped to go to France with Sobhraj.

KATHMANDU: A French serial killer nicknamed the "bikini killer" for a string of murders throughout Asia in the 1970s was recovering after having open heart surgery in Nepal on Monday, his wife and a doctor said. Charles Sobhraj, 73, who is currently serving a life sentence for two murders in Kathmandu in 1975, underwent a five-hour surgery to repair the valves in his heart. "The good news is that the operation was a success," Sobhraj's wife Nihita Biswas told AFP. "It was a four-hour surgery but they had to extend it for another hour because they found that the other valve was also damaged. Right now they say that he's stable." Raamesh Koirala -- one of three surgeons involved in the complicated procedure -- said Sobhraj would remain sedated for 24 hours. "We cannot say he is out of danger for 24 hours and maybe longer. But the operation was normal," said the surgeon, who is a distant relative of Biswas. The ageing conman -- who has been implicated in more than 20 killings -- is under tight security in hospital because of threats made against his life, his wife said. "We did not want the surgery to happen in Nepal because we do not trust Nepal. That is why we got a doctor who is related to the family to do the surgery," she said of Koirala. Sobhraj is expected to remain in intensive care for at least four days. The Frenchman earned worldwide notoriety for a series of poisonings and robberies of backpackers across Asia in the 60s and 70s. Two of his victims were found wearing only bikinis, earning him the sobriquet the "bikini killer". Sobhraj -- a French citizen of Vietnamese and Indian parentage -- was also known as "The Serpent" for his repeated identity thefts and escapes from justice. He spent 21 years in jail in India where he was jailed for culpable homicide for poisoning a French tourist and killing an Israeli man. He was released in 1997. The law caught up with him again in Nepal in 2004 when he was jailed for the killing of US tourist Connie Joe Bronzich in 1975. In 2014, he was handed a second life sentence for the killing of Canadian backpacker Laurent Carriere, whose passport he had used to escape Nepal after killing the pair. While in jail in Kathmandu, Sobhraj married Biswas, who is 44 years his junior and the daughter of his lawyer. Biswas and Sobhraj's legal team are currently pushing for septuagenarian to be released from jail so he can return to France. "He and I have been planning a lot of things for a long of time. I'm not focusing on anything apart from his release. The important thing is to send him back home," Biswas said, adding that she hoped to go to France with Sobhraj.
By AFP

PARIS: French voters have put President Emmanuel Macron's party on course for a crushing parliamentary majority, though a record low turnout in the first round of voting raised concerns Monday over the strength of his future mandate.

Projections showed Macron continuing his centrist revolution, with his Republique en Marche (Republic on the Move, REM) party and its ally MoDem tipped to win between 400 and 445 seats in the 577-member National Assembly in next Sunday's second round.

Such a share would give Macron -- who founded his party just a year ago -- one of the biggest parliamentary majorities the modern French state has seen.

"France is back," Prime Minister Edouard Philippe declared triumphantly, calling the result a vote for the president's "confidence, will and daring".

But government spokesman Christophe Castaner admitted the 49 percent turnout -- the lowest for six decades in such a vote -- was "a failure of this election" and that Macron's team would need to reach out to those who stayed away.

Monochrome parliament

Former prime minister Alain Juppe of the rightwing Republicans said the mass stayaway by voters was a sign of "deep malaise" in the electorate and that a clean sweep by Macron would be bad for democracy.

"The stakes of the second round are clear," said the Bordeaux mayor, calling for Republicans voters to turn out in force on Sunday. "Having a monochrome parliament is never good for democratic debate."

Ifop pollster Frederic Dabi said a virtual monopoly on power would up the ante for Macron. "The French will expect results", he warned.

Only four MPs -- two of them from Macron's slate -- topped the 50 percent mark needed for election at the first round.

Official final results showed his year-old REM and allies MoDem winning 32.32 percent, ahead of the right-wing Republicans and its allies on 21.56 percent and the far-right National Front (FN) of Marine Le Pen on 13.20 percent.

The Socialists and their allies secured just 9.51 percent while the radical left and communists were on 13.74 percent.

Macron's camp is expected to significantly boost its score in Sunday's second round with voters fed up with mainstream politics keen to try out his team, half of which is composed of rookie politicians.

They include Marie Sara, a retired bullfighter, who is running neck-and-neck with FN stalwart Gilbert Collard in southern France, and star mathematician Cedric Villani running for office in the southern Paris suburb of Essonne.

The Republicans -- who had hoped to rebound from their humiliation in the presidential vote -- are shown trailing in second with a predicted 70-130 seats.

The FN, which has long complained that France's winner-takes-all system discriminates against small parties, is meanwhile forecast to garner only between one and 10 seats.

The party's result showed it struggling to rebound from Le Pen's bruising defeat by Macron in May's presidential run-off.

The FN's deputy leader Florian Philippot admitted to "disappointment" and called on FN voters to turn out in force for the second round.

The radical France Insoumise (France Unbowed) of leftist firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon and on-off Communist allies fell short of expectations.

The worst losses, however, were for the Socialists of Macron's deeply unpopular predecessor Francois Hollande, who are predicted to lose around 200 seats -- a historic rout that has thrown the party's future into question.

Party leader Jean-Christophe Cambadelis and failed presidential candidate Benoit Hamon both crashed out of the running on Sunday.

Conquering neophytes

France's youngest-ever president at 39 coasted to victory in Sunday's first round on the back of a strong debut.

He has been praised for appointing a balanced cabinet that straddles the left-right divide and taking a leading role in Europe's fight-back against US President Donald Trump on climate change.

Sunday's results show he will have relatively free rein to push through the ambitious labour, economic and social reforms he promised on the campaign trail.

The former investment banker who had never held elected office before becoming president will also have succeeded in ushering in a younger and more diverse parliament with more women and ethnic minorities.

His party fielded newcomers in around 200 constituencies, some of whom felled long-sitting former ministers at the first round.

"Emmanuel Macron is set to pull off the most spectacular grand slam of the Fifth Republic," wrote Laurent Joffrin of the left-leaning Liberation daily. "His one-year-old movement is ready to flood the parliament with conquering neophytes."

Faced with a submissive parliament, opponents to Macron's plans to loosen labour laws are set to take to the streets.

A group of trade unions and NGOs have already thrown the gauntlet, calling for demonstrations in several cities on June 19.

PARIS: French voters have put President Emmanuel Macron's party on course for a crushing parliamentary majority, though a record low turnout in the first round of voting raised concerns Monday over the strength of his future mandate. Projections showed Macron continuing his centrist revolution, with his Republique en Marche (Republic on the Move, REM) party and its ally MoDem tipped to win between 400 and 445 seats in the 577-member National Assembly in next Sunday's second round. Such a share would give Macron -- who founded his party just a year ago -- one of the biggest parliamentary majorities the modern French state has seen. "France is back," Prime Minister Edouard Philippe declared triumphantly, calling the result a vote for the president's "confidence, will and daring". But government spokesman Christophe Castaner admitted the 49 percent turnout -- the lowest for six decades in such a vote -- was "a failure of this election" and that Macron's team would need to reach out to those who stayed away. Monochrome parliament Former prime minister Alain Juppe of the rightwing Republicans said the mass stayaway by voters was a sign of "deep malaise" in the electorate and that a clean sweep by Macron would be bad for democracy. "The stakes of the second round are clear," said the Bordeaux mayor, calling for Republicans voters to turn out in force on Sunday. "Having a monochrome parliament is never good for democratic debate." Ifop pollster Frederic Dabi said a virtual monopoly on power would up the ante for Macron. "The French will expect results", he warned. Only four MPs -- two of them from Macron's slate -- topped the 50 percent mark needed for election at the first round. Official final results showed his year-old REM and allies MoDem winning 32.32 percent, ahead of the right-wing Republicans and its allies on 21.56 percent and the far-right National Front (FN) of Marine Le Pen on 13.20 percent. The Socialists and their allies secured just 9.51 percent while the radical left and communists were on 13.74 percent. Macron's camp is expected to significantly boost its score in Sunday's second round with voters fed up with mainstream politics keen to try out his team, half of which is composed of rookie politicians. They include Marie Sara, a retired bullfighter, who is running neck-and-neck with FN stalwart Gilbert Collard in southern France, and star mathematician Cedric Villani running for office in the southern Paris suburb of Essonne. The Republicans -- who had hoped to rebound from their humiliation in the presidential vote -- are shown trailing in second with a predicted 70-130 seats. The FN, which has long complained that France's winner-takes-all system discriminates against small parties, is meanwhile forecast to garner only between one and 10 seats. The party's result showed it struggling to rebound from Le Pen's bruising defeat by Macron in May's presidential run-off. The FN's deputy leader Florian Philippot admitted to "disappointment" and called on FN voters to turn out in force for the second round. The radical France Insoumise (France Unbowed) of leftist firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon and on-off Communist allies fell short of expectations. The worst losses, however, were for the Socialists of Macron's deeply unpopular predecessor Francois Hollande, who are predicted to lose around 200 seats -- a historic rout that has thrown the party's future into question. Party leader Jean-Christophe Cambadelis and failed presidential candidate Benoit Hamon both crashed out of the running on Sunday. Conquering neophytes France's youngest-ever president at 39 coasted to victory in Sunday's first round on the back of a strong debut. He has been praised for appointing a balanced cabinet that straddles the left-right divide and taking a leading role in Europe's fight-back against US President Donald Trump on climate change. Sunday's results show he will have relatively free rein to push through the ambitious labour, economic and social reforms he promised on the campaign trail. The former investment banker who had never held elected office before becoming president will also have succeeded in ushering in a younger and more diverse parliament with more women and ethnic minorities. His party fielded newcomers in around 200 constituencies, some of whom felled long-sitting former ministers at the first round. "Emmanuel Macron is set to pull off the most spectacular grand slam of the Fifth Republic," wrote Laurent Joffrin of the left-leaning Liberation daily. "His one-year-old movement is ready to flood the parliament with conquering neophytes." Faced with a submissive parliament, opponents to Macron's plans to loosen labour laws are set to take to the streets. A group of trade unions and NGOs have already thrown the gauntlet, calling for demonstrations in several cities on June 19.
By PTI

DHAKA: At least 10 militants of a banned outfit and some of their family members have been arrested after Bangladeshi police carried out raids at suspected terrorist hideouts.

A spokesman of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police said six neo-Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (Neo-JMB) operatives were arrested from the capital's New Market area in a raid carried out by the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crimes Unit.

Three suspected operatives of the neo-JMB were arrested in a raid in Rajshahi's Tanore sub-district where they were living with their family members. Eight of their family members were also taken into custody.

The Rapid Action Battalion yesterday also arrested a garment factory owner who it said was a financier of the extremist outfit. "They (those in custody) are being quizzed initially in our custody...," the spokesperson said.

An official familiar with the developments said detectives and armed policemen laid a siege at the terrorist hideout in Rajshahi last night. The hideout was being checked for explosives, including suicide vests, the official said.

DHAKA: At least 10 militants of a banned outfit and some of their family members have been arrested after Bangladeshi police carried out raids at suspected terrorist hideouts. A spokesman of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police said six neo-Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (Neo-JMB) operatives were arrested from the capital's New Market area in a raid carried out by the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crimes Unit. Three suspected operatives of the neo-JMB were arrested in a raid in Rajshahi's Tanore sub-district where they were living with their family members. Eight of their family members were also taken into custody. The Rapid Action Battalion yesterday also arrested a garment factory owner who it said was a financier of the extremist outfit. "They (those in custody) are being quizzed initially in our custody...," the spokesperson said. An official familiar with the developments said detectives and armed policemen laid a siege at the terrorist hideout in Rajshahi last night. The hideout was being checked for explosives, including suicide vests, the official said.
By AFP

SINGAPORE: A 22-year-old Singaporean woman who was planning to go to Syria with her child and marry an Islamic State fighter has been detained without trial, the city-state's interior ministry said Monday.

Syaikhah Izzah Zahrah Al Ansari, who worked at a community nursery, was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA), the Ministry of Home Affairs said.

"Izzah was intent on joining ISIS and was actively planning to make her way to Syria, with her young child," the ministry said in a statement, using another name for the Islamic State group.

"She supported ISIS's use of violence to establish and defend its self-declared 'caliphate', and aspired to live in it."

Izzah became radicalised from 18 after watching propaganda videos from the extremist group, and had formed an extensive network of foreign contacts, including IS militants and supporters, the MHA said, some of whom had been killed in Syria or arrested for terror-related activities.

The daughter of Quranic teachers, she believed that having a husband who died in battle would give her "elevated status" and she could easily remarry in Syria, the MHA added. Her family tried to talk her out of it but to no avail.

The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore said the incident demonstrated the threat of self-radicalisation is "very real".

"An individual may fall prey to false narratives and teachings on the internet and social media, such that even a real life support structure may not be able to counter them," the council said in a statement.

Singapore considers itself a prime target for terrorists because of the anti-terror role it plays and the interior ministry has warned that the terrorism threat was at its highest in recent years.

Since 2015, 14 Singaporeans have been detained under the ISA for radicalisation, which allows for detention without trial for up to two years.

The region has been on high alert in recent weeks following a takeover of Marawi in the southern Philippines by Islamist militants flying the black flags of IS.

During a recent regional security dialogue, Malaysian and Indonesian defence ministers said that as IS loses ground in the Middle East, returning fighters from Iraq and Syria will pose a problem in the years ahead.

SINGAPORE: A 22-year-old Singaporean woman who was planning to go to Syria with her child and marry an Islamic State fighter has been detained without trial, the city-state's interior ministry said Monday. Syaikhah Izzah Zahrah Al Ansari, who worked at a community nursery, was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA), the Ministry of Home Affairs said. "Izzah was intent on joining ISIS and was actively planning to make her way to Syria, with her young child," the ministry said in a statement, using another name for the Islamic State group. "She supported ISIS's use of violence to establish and defend its self-declared 'caliphate', and aspired to live in it." Izzah became radicalised from 18 after watching propaganda videos from the extremist group, and had formed an extensive network of foreign contacts, including IS militants and supporters, the MHA said, some of whom had been killed in Syria or arrested for terror-related activities. The daughter of Quranic teachers, she believed that having a husband who died in battle would give her "elevated status" and she could easily remarry in Syria, the MHA added. Her family tried to talk her out of it but to no avail. The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore said the incident demonstrated the threat of self-radicalisation is "very real". "An individual may fall prey to false narratives and teachings on the internet and social media, such that even a real life support structure may not be able to counter them," the council said in a statement. Singapore considers itself a prime target for terrorists because of the anti-terror role it plays and the interior ministry has warned that the terrorism threat was at its highest in recent years. Since 2015, 14 Singaporeans have been detained under the ISA for radicalisation, which allows for detention without trial for up to two years. The region has been on high alert in recent weeks following a takeover of Marawi in the southern Philippines by Islamist militants flying the black flags of IS. During a recent regional security dialogue, Malaysian and Indonesian defence ministers said that as IS loses ground in the Middle East, returning fighters from Iraq and Syria will pose a problem in the years ahead.
By Associated Press

MOSCOW: Tens of thousands of protesters held anti-corruption rallies across Russia on Monday in a new show of defiance by an opposition that the Kremlin had once dismissed as ineffectual and marginalized.

More than a thousand were arrested  including opposition leader and protest organizer Alexei Navalny, who was seized outside his Moscow residence while heading to the rally in the city center and sentenced to 30 days in jail several hours later.

The Moscow protest was the most prominent in a string of more than 100 rallies in cities and towns stretching through all 11 of Russia's time zones  from the Pacific to the European enclave of Kaliningrad  with many denouncing President Vladimir Putin.

Thousands of angry demonstrators thronged to Tverskaya Street, a main avenue in the capital, chanting "Down with the czar" and singing the Russian national anthem.

The protests coincided with Russia Day, a national holiday that this year brought out historical re-enactors, some of them dressed in medieval costumes. At one point, the Moscow demonstration featured an unlikely scene of about 5,000 protesters rallying next to an enclosure with geese, a medieval catapult and bearded men in homemade tunics and carrying wooden shields.

The re-enactors watched the rally before riot police broke up the crowd and randomly seized the protesters.

Over 800 people were arrested in Moscow, while in St. Petersburg, about 500 were forced into police buses at an unsanctioned rally that drew up to 10,000 people. Navalny was taken to court Monday evening and sentenced to 30 days in jail shortly after midnight for repeated violations of the law on public gatherings.

"The scope of the rallies was amazing, and so many people came out," Navalny told reporters shortly before he was sentenced, point to protest rallies held in towns which have not seen any public show of discontent for decades.

In his trademark humor, Navalny lamented on Twitter shortly before he was led out of the courtroom that he would have to skip a Depeche Mode concert while he is in jail.

The demonstrators appeared to skew predominantly younger  those who were born or grew up during Putin's 17 years in power. Similar crowds turned out on March 26, rattling officials who had perceived the younger generation as largely apolitical.

Three 16-year-old girls brought sheets of paper to the Moscow protest and sat on the pavement to write the articles of the Russian Constitution on them; a nearby group of teenagers climbed atop of a tent with posters saying, "Corruption kills the future." Other protesters scaled a scaffold and hung a sign saying, "Only revolution will defeat corruption."

School and university staff who reportedly reprimanded their students for attending the March protests warned them against going to Monday's rally.

Ivan Sukhoruchenkov, 19, attended anyway with four university classmates to protest what he described as "stagnation of the political system."

"Change is always good," Sukhoruchenkov said, adding that he and his friends were concerned about corruption  Navalny's rallying cry  that "manifests itself in all areas: from traffic police to university professors."

Navalny had called the anti-corruption demonstrations, and they drew crowds of several dozen to the 10,000 in St. Petersburg. Some of the rallies were sanctioned by authorities and peaceful, but police cracked down brutally on others.

Although it was not immediately clear if Monday's protests were larger than those in March, they underlined the deep dismay with the government. Putin is expected to seek another term in 2018, and Navalny has already announced his intentions to run.

Moscow officials had agreed to allow Navalny's rally, but late Sunday, he said official interference had prevented contractors from erecting a stage at the agreed-upon venue and instead urged demonstrators to gather on Tverskaya Street, which was closed to traffic for the Russia Day festivities.

Most of the Moscow protesters appeared to be under 30, although there was a sizeable number of middle-aged people and couples with children.

With opposition sentiment strong or even growing, authorities appear to be seeking a strategy to undermine the opposition without provoking more animosity.

Authorities allowed the unsanctioned rally to proceed, although riot police cut the crowd in half and began pushing the lines while grabbing some people from the crowd. Some of the arrests were violent with police using batons and dragging people along the street.

In Washington, White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters the United States "strongly condemns the detention of hundreds of peaceful protesters" which he described as an "affront to core democratic values." Spicer called on the Russian government to immediately release all peaceful protesters.

Navalny rose to prominence for detailed open-source investigations of government corruption. That was a key issue Monday for protesters, particularly his report on vast wealth allegedly acquired by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

"We are against the corruption that is costing the future of our young people," said Moscow protester Maria Badyrova, a 33-year-old finance specialists who came to the rally with a Russian flag.

Alexei Borsenko, a Vladivostok demonstrator who eluded a police attempt to detain him, cited Iceland's prime minister stepping down in the fallout from the "Panama Papers" scandal, while "our prime minister is caught on such big corruption cases and he doesn't go anywhere."

"This is very strange," Borsenko added. "It's a dead end for the country's development."

The popular anger has spread beyond Medvedev, with many demonstrators chanting "Putin is a thief" within earshot of the City Hall that later dismissed the protests as an "overt provocation."

MOSCOW: Tens of thousands of protesters held anti-corruption rallies across Russia on Monday in a new show of defiance by an opposition that the Kremlin had once dismissed as ineffectual and marginalized. More than a thousand were arrested  including opposition leader and protest organizer Alexei Navalny, who was seized outside his Moscow residence while heading to the rally in the city center and sentenced to 30 days in jail several hours later. The Moscow protest was the most prominent in a string of more than 100 rallies in cities and towns stretching through all 11 of Russia's time zones  from the Pacific to the European enclave of Kaliningrad  with many denouncing President Vladimir Putin. Thousands of angry demonstrators thronged to Tverskaya Street, a main avenue in the capital, chanting "Down with the czar" and singing the Russian national anthem. The protests coincided with Russia Day, a national holiday that this year brought out historical re-enactors, some of them dressed in medieval costumes. At one point, the Moscow demonstration featured an unlikely scene of about 5,000 protesters rallying next to an enclosure with geese, a medieval catapult and bearded men in homemade tunics and carrying wooden shields. The re-enactors watched the rally before riot police broke up the crowd and randomly seized the protesters. Over 800 people were arrested in Moscow, while in St. Petersburg, about 500 were forced into police buses at an unsanctioned rally that drew up to 10,000 people. Navalny was taken to court Monday evening and sentenced to 30 days in jail shortly after midnight for repeated violations of the law on public gatherings. "The scope of the rallies was amazing, and so many people came out," Navalny told reporters shortly before he was sentenced, point to protest rallies held in towns which have not seen any public show of discontent for decades. In his trademark humor, Navalny lamented on Twitter shortly before he was led out of the courtroom that he would have to skip a Depeche Mode concert while he is in jail. The demonstrators appeared to skew predominantly younger  those who were born or grew up during Putin's 17 years in power. Similar crowds turned out on March 26, rattling officials who had perceived the younger generation as largely apolitical. Three 16-year-old girls brought sheets of paper to the Moscow protest and sat on the pavement to write the articles of the Russian Constitution on them; a nearby group of teenagers climbed atop of a tent with posters saying, "Corruption kills the future." Other protesters scaled a scaffold and hung a sign saying, "Only revolution will defeat corruption." School and university staff who reportedly reprimanded their students for attending the March protests warned them against going to Monday's rally. Ivan Sukhoruchenkov, 19, attended anyway with four university classmates to protest what he described as "stagnation of the political system." "Change is always good," Sukhoruchenkov said, adding that he and his friends were concerned about corruption  Navalny's rallying cry  that "manifests itself in all areas: from traffic police to university professors." Navalny had called the anti-corruption demonstrations, and they drew crowds of several dozen to the 10,000 in St. Petersburg. Some of the rallies were sanctioned by authorities and peaceful, but police cracked down brutally on others. Although it was not immediately clear if Monday's protests were larger than those in March, they underlined the deep dismay with the government. Putin is expected to seek another term in 2018, and Navalny has already announced his intentions to run. Moscow officials had agreed to allow Navalny's rally, but late Sunday, he said official interference had prevented contractors from erecting a stage at the agreed-upon venue and instead urged demonstrators to gather on Tverskaya Street, which was closed to traffic for the Russia Day festivities. Most of the Moscow protesters appeared to be under 30, although there was a sizeable number of middle-aged people and couples with children. With opposition sentiment strong or even growing, authorities appear to be seeking a strategy to undermine the opposition without provoking more animosity. Authorities allowed the unsanctioned rally to proceed, although riot police cut the crowd in half and began pushing the lines while grabbing some people from the crowd. Some of the arrests were violent with police using batons and dragging people along the street. In Washington, White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters the United States "strongly condemns the detention of hundreds of peaceful protesters" which he described as an "affront to core democratic values." Spicer called on the Russian government to immediately release all peaceful protesters. Navalny rose to prominence for detailed open-source investigations of government corruption. That was a key issue Monday for protesters, particularly his report on vast wealth allegedly acquired by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. "We are against the corruption that is costing the future of our young people," said Moscow protester Maria Badyrova, a 33-year-old finance specialists who came to the rally with a Russian flag. Alexei Borsenko, a Vladivostok demonstrator who eluded a police attempt to detain him, cited Iceland's prime minister stepping down in the fallout from the "Panama Papers" scandal, while "our prime minister is caught on such big corruption cases and he doesn't go anywhere." "This is very strange," Borsenko added. "It's a dead end for the country's development." The popular anger has spread beyond Medvedev, with many demonstrators chanting "Putin is a thief" within earshot of the City Hall that later dismissed the protests as an "overt provocation."
Championship game berths on the line for Island football teams

The stakes dont get much higher for the Portsmouth, Middletown and Rogers high school football teams this weekend.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Mainly clear skies. Low near 45F. SSE winds shifting to WNW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Mainly clear skies. Low near 45F. SSE winds shifting to WNW at 10 to 20 mph.
A New York Police Department officer has contracted Legionnaires disease leading to a spate of investigations by the health officials as to its source and potential capacity for spread. The officer however is at present on their way to recovery at a hospital located outside the city said health officials. Legionnaires disease is a form of pneumonia that can become life threatening.

The bacteria causing this disease Legionella pneumophila, was detected in an early investigation at 23rd Precinct station house on East 102nd Street in East Harlem. The water supply and other systems of the precinct are being thoroughly investigated for contamination. The case came under scanner last Saturday (10th June 2017). Nearly 200 to 400 cases of Legionnaires' disease are detected in New York City every year says the health department.

Legionnaires disease can be treated with the use of antibiotics but left untreated can quickly turn fatal. Legionella pneumophila, lives and multiplies in water systems, air conditioners, indoor plumbing, cooling towers, mist sprayers and hot tubs. The spread becomes easier as the water works traverse the whole of the buildings. And these systems allow the bacteria to grow and spread.

According to the health officials yesterday, they are taking samples of water in the indoor plumbing trying to detect the source of the infection. Use of water at the showers or using hot water supply has been temporarily stopped at the building until the investigation is complete. Otherwise, it is safe to work there said the health Department officials.

Last Friday, two guests at a Las Vegas resort developed Legionnaires disease. They were staying at Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. One stayed there in March and the other in April, said officials. Health officials found Legionella bacteria in the hot-water system in one of the towers at the hotel.

Legionnaires disease was first detected in 1976 at a American Legion convention held in at a hotel in Philadelphia. Over 200 people developed a typical pneumonia and some succumbed to it. The water droplets containing the bacteria are typically inhaled and they lead to the infection. The typical symptoms include fever, headache, chills, muscle pain, body ache, and shortness of breath, chest pain, cough, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Older adults over the age of 50 years, smokers, those with other long term lung ailments, cancer patients, those with a weak immune system etc. are more at risk of getting this infection.

After an outbreak of Legionnaires disease in 2015 in South Bronx killing a dozen persons, the health department has issued tougher regulations regarding cooling towers and water systems. This outbreak affecting 128 individuals between July and August of 2015 is one of the largest of its kind in the city according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The cases in United States seem to have increased four times in the last fifteen years said officials. The new regulations regarding cooling towers asks building owners to register their cooling towers and puts the onus on them to clean as well as test their waters in every quarter. This includes over 3,500 buildings in the city.
A large-scale, international whole-genome analysis has now revealed for the first time that anorexia nervosa is associated with genetic anomalies on chromosome 12. This finding might lead to new, interdisciplinary approaches to its treatment. The study was led by the University of North Carolina and has been published in the prestigious "American Journal of Psychiatry". Child and adolescent psychiatrist Andreas Karwautz from MedUni Vienna's Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry was responsible for the Austrian contribution.

There are currently around 7,500 adolescents in Austria suffering from anorexia nervosa. Girls make up around 95% of those suffering from this serious and protracted disease, which leads to serious health problems due to excessive weight loss. The disease is currently curable in 80% of cases but is still associated with an annual mortality rate of 0.5%. At the present time, the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at MedUni Vienna is treating around 70 seriously ill adolescents, both as in-patients and out-patients.

Genetics & Genomics eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today

Although we already knew from genetic tests on monozygotic twins that genes are approximately 60% responsible for the development of anorexia nervosa, we did not know with any certainty which gene loci were involved. A study initiated by the US University of North Carolina has now been conducted worldwide, involving 220 researchers in international medical centers analyzing the genetic material of 3,500 anorexics. It was found that, compared with the control group of 11,000 people, anorexics had a significant locus on chromosome 12 that contributes towards an elevated risk of developing anorexia nervosa.

The researchers also explored whether there was any correlation with other disorders. This revealed that the significant locus lies on chromosome 12, in a region associated with Type I diabetes and autoimmune disorders, as well as insulin metabolism. Moreover, genetic correlations were found between anorexia nervosa, neuroticism, and schizophrenia, supporting the idea that anorexia is a psychiatric illness.

Child and adolescent psychiatrist Karwautz regards the findings of this study as significant proof that, in addition to the psychosocial component, biological factors also play an extremely important role in the onset of anorexia nervosa. This has huge implications in terms of improving treatment. Says Karwautz: "Such studies form a basis for providing patients and their relatives with a logical and realistic explanation for this persistent disorder, which is the third commonest disorder in this adolescent age group. Prevention programs will also benefit from these new findings."

The team headed up by Prof. C. Bulik from the University of North Carolina and the Karolinska Institute, who led the project, are world leaders in the field of psychiatric genetics. The new finding is the result of a huge international effort - to which MedUni Vienna also contributed.
Women with an abnormal mammogram result need follow-up tests to check whether the finding indicates breast cancer, which should be treated at the earliest possible stage. In a recent study, Asian women were less likely to receive appropriate follow-up treatment after an abnormal mammogram compared with White women. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the findings point to the need to investigate and address barriers to effective cancer prevention in Asian women.

Many population-based breast cancer studies do not include Asians, and those that do often report them as a single group. To study the relationship between breast cancer screening and outcomes in multiple Asian populations, a team led by Kim Hanh Nguyen, MPH, ScD, and Leah Karliner, MD, MAS, of the University of California, San Francisco examined information from the San Francisco Mammography Registry. Radiology facilities participating in the registry prospectively collect demographic and clinical data from women at the time of breast imaging and at each subsequent imaging visit.

The investigators examined data on 50,970 San Francisco-area women with mammogram results from 2000-2010 that indicated the need for further diagnostic imaging. Among Asian women, Vietnamese and Filipina women had the longest--and Japanese the shortest--median time to follow-up imaging tests (32, 28, and 19 days, respectively) compared with non-Hispanic White women (15 days). The proportion of women receiving follow-up tests at 30 days was lower for Asians than for non-Hispanic Whites (57 percent versus 77 percent), and these disparities persisted at 60 and 90 days for all Asian ethnic groups except Japanese women. Asian women also had a higher rate of no follow-up at one year than non-Hispanic Whites (15 percent versus 10 percent), with Filipinas having the highest percentage of no follow-up among Asian ethnic groups (18 percent).

"The reasons for these long delays may be due to linguistic, cultural and other barriers that affect patient-provider communication for disadvantaged Asian groups," said Dr. Nguyen. "More research attention is needed to understand the specific reasons for these differences."

By 2060 the projected number of US residents who will identify as Asian or Asian with another race will reach 48.6 million, or 11.7 percent of the total population. "Rather than being a monolithic group, Asians are, in fact, very diverse in nationalities, language, immigration history, education, and economic background. Recognizing differences among Asians may help clinicians develop better rapport and communication with their Asian patients, which can improve adherence to screening recommendations," said Dr. Nguyen. "The misconception of the model minority suggesting Asians are doing better than other minorities is insensitive to disparities that exist for Asians and undermines the need to address such disparities."
To understand why teen pregnancy rates are so high in Texas, meet Jessica Chester. When Chester was in high school in Garland, Texas, she decided to attend the University of Texas-Dallas. She wanted to become a doctor.

I was top of the class, she said. I had a GPA of 4.5, a full-tuition scholarship to UTD. I was not the stereotypical girl someone would look at and say, Oh shes going to get pregnant and drop out of school.'

But right before her senior year of high school, Chester, then 17, missed her period. She bought a pregnancy test and told her mom to wait outside the bathroom door.

I saw both lines came up, Chester said. I had tears and I remember just opening the door and she was standing there with her arms out and she just wrapped me up and hugged me. I just cried and she told me its going to be OK.

This story is part of a partnership that includes KERA, NPR and Kaiser Health News. It can be republished for free. (details)

Chesters mother had also been a teen mom, and so had her grandmother.

In Texas each year, about 35,000 young women get pregnant before they turn 20. Traditionally, the two variables most commonly associated with high teen birth rates are education and poverty, but a new study, co-authored by Dr. Julie DeCesare, shows that theres more at play.

We controlled for poverty as a variable, and we found these 10 centers where their teen birth rates were much higher than would be predicted, she said.

DeCesare, whose research appears in the June issue of the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, said several of those clusters were in Texas. The Dallas and San Antonio areas, for example, had teen pregnancy rates 50 percent and 40 percent above the national average.

Research shows teens everywhere are having sex. Gwen Daverth, CEO of the Texas Campaign To Prevent Teen Pregnancy, said the high numbers in Texas reflect policy, not promiscuity.

What we see is there are not supports in place, Daverth said. Were not connecting high-risk youth with contraception services. And were not supporting youth in making decisions to be abstinent. Were just saying that is an approach we want to take as a state  whereas other states have put in more progressive policies.

Daverth said California invested in comprehensive sex education and access to contraception. There, the teenage birth rate dropped by 74 percent from 1991 to 2015. The teen birth rate in Texas also fell, but only by 56 percent.

In South Carolina, young women on Medicaid who have babies are offered the opportunity to get a long-acting form of birth control right after they give birth. Theyre also trying that approach in parts of North Carolina. And Colorado subsidizes the cost of long-acting birth control. There, both abortions and teen birth rates are dropping faster than the national average.

Texas makes it hard for teenagers to get reproductive health care, Daverth says.

In Texas, if a 17-year-old mom wants prescription birth control, in most cases she needs her parents permission. Only [Texas] and Utah have a law that if youre already a parent, you are the legal medical guardian of your baby, but you cannot make your own medical decisions without the now-grandma involved, Daverth said.

Thats part of the reason, she notes, Texas has the highest rate of repeat teen pregnancies in the country.

After Skylar was born, Chester wasnt given contraception counseling and still wasnt sure where to go for help. Three months later, she was pregnant again. She and her then-boyfriend, now-husband, Marcus Chester, hadnt realized she could get pregnant so soon after having a baby. She was a full-time student at UT-Dallas at that point, double-majoring in molecular biology and business administration. But the education Chester never got, she said, was sex ed.

In hindsight, she said, its like, Dude, what were you all thinking? I came in 17, pregnant, why werent you all lining up the chart and showing me [my] options?'

Chesters high school, like the majority of schools in Texas, teaches abstinence-only or doesnt offer any sex education at all, though more districts do seem to be adopting abstinence plus  which still encourages abstinence but also includes information on other pregnancy prevention methods and sexually transmitted diseases.

Jessica Chester, then 23, poses with sons Ivory (right) and Skylar (left) on the morning of her graduation from the University of Texas-Dallas. (Courtesy of Jessica Chester)

Still, abstinence-only education is king and, of course, some parents arent comfortable discussing sex with teens, much like Chesters mother wasnt.

Nicole Hudgens, with the socially conservative Texas Values public policy group, supports abstinence-only education and said there are plenty of options for young moms who become pregnant.

There are so many places like crisis pregnancy centers that are able to help these girls that are in need, Hudgens said.

Crisis pregnancy centers provide counseling and support for pregnant teens but dont offer abortions or contraception.

Studies show access to contraception is key to reducing the teen pregnancy rate. And according to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, teen pregnancies in Texas cost the state $1.1 billion each year. Gwen Daverth said the costs are due to lost wages and an increased reliance on social services.

One of the things we know is that 60 percent of teen parents will not graduate from high school, and only 2 percent will go on to graduate from college, Daverth said.

Jessica Chester did graduate from college. Her mom helped her through it and she did end up taking out loans for day care, but she got a degree and now has a job doing community outreach and family planning for a Dallas hospital.

I have a lot of support with my mother alone, Chester said. I had the example in front of me of [getting pregnant young] doesnt have to derail your plans, it doesnt have to stop you from getting an education and a career.

Jessica and Marcus Chester married in 2010 and have a third son  Kameron, now 21 months old. That pregnancy was planned, she said.

Sitting on the couch at her home in Garland, Chester admitted it can be tough watching friends graduate with medical degrees who are further along in their careers. She has a good job, but it's not what she was imagining when she graduated at the top of her high school class. Sometimes, she admits, it feels as if she failed.

Like I gave up on my goals and dreams or messed them up. But when I look at my children, I dont regret a thing. Im not sad, she said, even though her tears were flowing. Its just the reality of knowing my life is completely altered because of decisions I made as a teenager.

Then Chester heard her older boys laughing upstairs, wiped her tears and went to cheer them on.
The risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D) by age 20 was 12 times as high in severely obese American Indian children 5 to 9 years of age as in normal-weight youth in that age range, according to a study titled "Long-term Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in Youth with Increasing Severity of Obesity," presented today at the American Diabetes Association's 77th Scientific Sessions at the San Diego Convention Center.

Obesity is a serious health problem among youth, especially in populations at high risk of developing T2D. Previous studies of obesity in youth have reported a strong relationship between body mass index (BMI) and subsequent incidence of T2D in adults and adolescents. However, prior studies have not assessed the long-term risk in youths with extremely high BMIs, i.e., the severe degrees of obesity often seen today.

This longitudinal study examined the risk of diabetes and other metabolic abnormalities in obese and severely obese American Indian youths from the southwestern U.S., a population with a high risk of developing T2D. The incidence of T2D was computed in 2,728 children without diabetes aged 5-9 years, and a partially overlapping group of 4,317 youths aged 10-17 years. They were followed up to age 45 or until the onset of T2D. Age-sex specific BMI percentiles were defined by the 2000 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) growth charts. The CDC defines obesity as being at or above a cut-point specified as the 95th BMI percentile.

T2D incidence rates increased in direct proportion with severity of obesity. Compared with 5-9-year old nonobese children with BMIs in the middle of the BMI distribution, children of the same age with BMIs at least 40 percent above the cut-point defining obesity had 12 times the incidence rates of T2D by age 20 years and 3 times the incidence rates of T2D by age 45 years. BMI had similar effects on T2D incidence in those 10-17 years old at baseline.

Genetics & Genomics eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today

"We had previously found BMI in youth to be a strong predictor of type 2 diabetes, but we had not examined diabetes incidence rates in those with the severe degree of obesity that is prevalent today. We did not know if diabetes incidence rates among the obese plateaued among those with extremely high BMI," said study author Madhumita Sinha, MD, MHSM, staff clinician at the Diabetes Epidemiology and Clinical Research Section of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Phoenix, Ariz. "This study clearly shows that the risk of developing type 2 diabetes is associated with BMI, especially at very high extremes."

"Parents and health care providers should be aware of the future diabetes risk associated with obesity in youth, especially as more severe degrees of obesity become more prevalent," explained Sinha. "Results of our analysis emphasize the importance of developing effective means of preventing or treating obesity in youth, and additional risk factors for type 2 diabetes in youth should be explored for their interactions with severe obesity."
Boston: General Electric Co said on Monday that CEO Jeff Immelt would step down, capping a 16-year term that included steering the conglomerate through the financial crisis and divesting its struggling lending business.



The company said John Flannery, the head of GE Healthcare, would replace Immelt as CEO, effective August 1. Immelt, 61, will remain chairman through his retirement on December 31, following which Flannery will take over as chairman.



The company's shares rose 3.6 percent in premarket trading as Flannery's appointment to the top job ends a six-year long succession planning program.



Immelt, who took over from Jack Welch in 2001, has been credited with guiding the company through the financial crisis, which nearly toppled the maker of jet engines, wind turbines and locomotives.



Immelt also oversaw $260 billion of asset sales for GE Capital since 2015, and shifted the conglomerate's focus from finance to manufacturing.



During his tenure, GE bought French peer Alstom's power business and announced a deal to acquire oil and gas company Baker Hughes, while jettisoning assets in media, plastics and even its famed appliances division.



Immelt had also been betting on developing digital technologies to create products such as sensors and software that would transform the company's factories, generate new revenue and boost profits.



However, since Immelt became CEO in 2001, GE's shares have fallen 29 percent, while the S&P 500 index more than doubled. That underperformance had some pressing for more urgency from Immelt.



Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund Management, which has a less than 1 percent stake in the company, criticized GE's performance and pressed for asset sales and cost cutting.



Flannery, 55, who is currently president and CEO of GE Healthcare, joined GE Capital about three decades ago. He has led GE's equity business in Latin America and the overall GE Capital business for Argentina and Chile.



Flannery led the turnaround of the healthcare business, increasing organic revenue by 5 percent and margins by 100 basis points in 2016, GE said in a statement.



The company said Kieran Murphy, president and CEO of GE Healthcare Life Sciences, will replace Flannery.
Tax rates for as many as 66 items including kitchen staples like pickles and mustard sauce under the ensuing GST regime were cut on Sunday to meet demands from various quarters as the country prepares for rollout of one-nation-one-tax regime in less than three weeks.Within weeks of the all-powerful GST Council fitting over 1,200 items into one of the 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent tax slabs, there were complaints from various quarters about high tax incidence on various goods and services.The GST Council, which met for the 16th time today (Sunday), took up demands for revision in tax rates of 133 items but reduced it only for 66, including agarbatti, computer printers, cashews, children drawing books and school bags.In a relief to SMEs, the Council also increased the threshold of turnover for businesses which can opt for composition scheme to Rs 75 lakh, from Rs 50 lakh proposed earlier.Now traders, manufacturers and restaurant owners with turnover below Rs 75 lakh can opt for the composition scheme and pay taxes at 1, 2, and 5 per cent rates respectively.Jaitley said there were two objectives behind lowering the threshold."We tried to maintain revenue neutrality to the extent possible because this can also mean some loss of revenue but it eases the burden on SMEs and small traders, restaurants. And it also reduces the burden on these three categories because these are mass job creators," he said.As per the revised tax rates decided by the Council, movie tickets costing up to Rs 100 will attract 18 per cent tax, as against 28 per cent proposed earlier. Those above Rs 100 will continue to attract 28 per cent GST.Packaged food items like fruits and vegetable products, pickles, murabba, ketchup, mustard sauce, topping spread, instant food mixes and chutney, will attract 12 per cent GST, as against 18 per cent proposed earlier. Also, tax rates on cashew nuts have been cut to 5 per cent from 12 per cent.The GST on insulin and agarbatti has also been lowered to 5 per cent, from 12 per cent; while computer printers and school bags will attract 18 per cent rate, as against 28 per cent proposed earlier.Besides, children's picture, colouring drawing books have been exempt from GST, as against the 12 per cent proposed earlier, while the levy on kajal has been cut to 18 per cent from 28 per cent.While GST on cutlery has been reduced to 12 per cent from 18 per cent, the rate on tractor components, plastic beads and plastic tarpaulins have been cut to 18 per cent, from 28 per cent.Besides, the tax rate on job workers in textile, diamond processing, leather, jewellery and printing, has been decided at 5 per cent, as against the normal 18 per cent GST rate for services."These are items where job workers typically take the work home. Now, the normal GST rate for these services is 18 per cent but because in these sectors the rate itself has been reduced, for job work the rate has been fixed at 5 per cent so that the outsourcing through job work in these sectors could be encouraged," he said.Giving reasons for lowering the tax rates, Jaitley said the objective was to maintain equivalence to the existing taxation level."...In some cases, the fitment committee's recommendation went beyond the equivalence principle because some items, which have been historically charged at a higher rate, today in the changed economic concept the burden requires to be reduced. So, after considering the recommendations, the GST Council has reduced the tax levels in 66 out of 133 cases," he said.West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra hailed today's Council decisions saying common people gained from this and termed increasing the turnover limit for availing composition scheme and reduction in tax rates for cinema tickets as "people-centric measures".Mitra, however, cautioned against rolling out the world's largest fiscal reform in haste, and with "jugaad" as he pressed for deferring it by a month.The government aims to roll out GST from July 1 and Jaitley said the GST Council has completed discussion on most of the issues."Irrespective of the date in which it starts, some people will say they are not ready, so they have no option but to get ready... You require an honest intent for that," he said responding to a query that small traders and artisans were not technologically ready for meeting GST compliance.On the issue of review of GST rate on hybrid cars, Jaitley hinted that the tax rate will not be reviewed, saying the industry demands were not in sync with a study conducted by tax officers."We have done a detailed study on auto industry demand and a paper has been made which will be circulated among members. And, if necessary, it would come up for discussion. The fact that is being presented (by the industry), according to the paper, is not correct," Jaitley said.Asked if there would be any further revision of rates, the minister said the fitment committee and the GST Council have gone deep into all the cases and whatever rates have been decided are based on "informed reasons" and "detailed discussions"."These broadly are the final rates... Just because somebody raises an issue does not mean you have to grant it," he said.The Council also approved the accounts and record rules for the GST regime and in the next meeting on June 18, it will take up taxes on lottery and e-way bill for discussion.As regards composition scheme, Jaitley said the small and medium enterprises act as mass job creators and hence the industry demand was important.The composition scheme provides for a easier method of calculating tax liability and allows GST registration for dealers with turnover below the compounding cut-off.The scheme has been introduced to reduce the administrative cost associated with collection of tax from small traders.BMR & Associates Partner, Indirect Tax, Mahesh Jaising said that revision in tax rates demonstrates "the welcome approach of the GST Council in hearing industry's issues and addressing concerns".
Tokyo/Singapore/Dubai: Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, will supply full contracted volumes of crude to some Asian buyers in July, while cutting allocations to the United States, industry sources with knowledge of the matter said on Monday.



State-run oil company Saudi Aramco will supply full crude volumes to at least five Asian buyers mainly in North Asia, while lowering volumes for some customers in India, China and South Korea, the sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity.



Elsewhere, crude allocations to the United States have been lowered but Aramco kept volumes steady to Europe compared to June, two sources said, without providing details.



One of Aramco's main buyers in China opted for lower nominations in July due to planned refinery maintenance and the more expensive Dubai benchmark, one of the sources said.



Another North Asian customer said Aramco would supply full volumes of heavy crude for a third straight month.



According to the July plans, Aramco will cut supplies to South Korea by almost 5 percent, India by around 20 percent and China by some 10 percent, while supplying full volumes to buyers in Japan and Taiwan, said one source who had knowledge of the nominations but did not wish to be identified.



Saudi Arabia, de facto leader of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, has cut oil output as part of a global supply pact and trimmed exports to meet rising domestic demand for power during the hot summer months.



An OPEC-led agreement to curb global oil supplies was extended last month until March 2018.



Aramco last month notified Asian refiners that it will reduce oil supplies to Asia by about 7 million barrels in June, its first cuts for that region since the OPEC-led output reductions took effect in January.



When OPEC announced the curbs last year, Saudi Arabia told its customers in Europe and the United States that they would receive lower volumes but shielded most of Asia from the cuts.



However, power demand peaks during summer in the desert kingdom, with residents turning up air conditioners as temperatures reach as high as 50 degrees Celsius.



This year is likely to see an earlier spike in demand as the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan started in late May.



Under the supply pact, OPEC states, Russia and other major producers agreed to cut output by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd).



Saudi Arabia accounts for about 40 percent of the cuts pledged by OPEC. It has reduced output by more than 500,000 bpd so its total production now runs slightly below 10 million bpd.



Industry sources told Reuters in April that higher domestic demand for oil in the summer would weigh on exports especially if Saudi Arabia kept output at about 10 million bpd.



Saudi Arabia usually burns about 700,000 bpd of oil for power generation in the hottest months from May to August. This summer, the country may reduce domestic oil consumption as it plans to use more natural gas in power stations.
Washington: The US Supreme Court on Monday cut the time it will take for copycat versions of biologic drugs to get to the market in a pivotal ruling about an expensive class of medicines that can yield billions of dollars in sales for drug companies.



The justices, in a 9-0 ruling, overturned a lower court's decision that had prevented Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG from selling its copycat version of California-based Amgen Inc's Neupogen until six months after the US Food and Drug Administration approved it.



The decision has major implications for the pharmaceutical industry because it will dictate how long brand-name makers of biologic drugs can keep near-copies, called biosimilars, off the market. Even the six months at issue in the case can mean hundreds of millions of dollars in sales.



Health insurers expect biosimilars to be cheaper than original brands, like generics, saving consumers billions of dollars each year.



Novartis said in a statement that the ruling "will help expedite patient access to life-enhancing treatments."



Amgen spokeswoman Kelley Davenport said the company was disappointed but "will continue to seek to enforce our intellectual property against those parties that infringe upon our rights."



The dispute involved a section of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, dubbed Obamacare, that created an expedited path for regulatory approval of biosimilars while trying to respect the patent rights of brand-name manufacturers.



Novartis complained that the 2015 ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington handed Amgen an extra six months of exclusivity on top of the 12 years already provided under the law.



Rising drug prices are a matter of concern for patients and policymakers. President Donald Trump has criticized the pharmaceutical industry over pricing practices, promising to encourage competition and bring down drug costs.



LIVING CELLS



Unlike traditional drugs, biologics are made from living cells and cannot be copied exactly to make generic versions. They are used to treat a range of conditions, including Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, plaque psoriasis, breast cancer and diabetes.



Novartis unit Sandoz in September 2015 began selling Zarxio, the first biosimilar drug to win US regulatory approval. Amgen's Neupogen and Zarxio boost white blood cell counts in cancer patients to help fight infections.



After launch, Zarxio cost 15 percent less than Neupogen at list prices, according to Novartis. Sales of Neupogen, meanwhile, dropped from more than $1 billion in 2015 to $765 million last year, primarily due to competition in the United States, the company said in regulatory filings.



Biologics account for an ever-increasing share of US prescription drug costs, according to an insurer trade group. It cited as an example AbbVie Inc's Humira, which costs more than $50,000 per year.



Amgen sued Sandoz in 2014 in San Francisco federal court alleging patent infringement and violations of the Affordable Care Act provision governing biosimilars.



The companies disagreed on how to apply that law's requirement that a biosimilar drug maker give the brand-name manufacturer 180 days notice before launching its copycat version.



In July 2015, the appeals court ruled that the 180-day notice must be given after FDA approval, a ruling the Supreme Court reversed on Monday.



Writing for the court, Justice Clarence Thomas said that the decision was not based on policy arguments, but rather, the "plain language" of the biosimilar law itself.



The Trump administration had backed Novartis' arguments in the case.
Kolkata: A Bharatiya Janata Party backed outfit has come up with a unique idea to fight alcoholism in West Bengal and spread its message of cow protection.



The Cow Development Cell, which is affiliated to the party, has started distributing free milk outside liquor shops in the state to dissuade people from drinking.



Along with the milk, members of the cell give a free lesson on how to use products made from cow urine and cow dung, and urge people to quit eating beef. Head of the cell in the state, Subrata Gupta, said that this white revolution started across the state around a month ago.



Speaking to News18, Gupta said, Alcohol has become a menace in todays society and it is one of the main reasons behind destruction of a family. A large number of youth are becoming addicted to it and, therefore, we have started distributing milk to these people.



However, the question that how many people would be willing to switch to milk and learn about cow urine while on their way to get their favourite brand of tipple is still up for debate.



Gupta says the cell plans to distribute nearly 600-700 litres of milk in each district of Bengal daily. In this month, our target is to distribute nearly 21,000 litres of free milk to people. In future, we are also planning to distribute free milk to government run schools for the poor students.



Besides distributing milk in front of liquor shops, the cow development cell is also urging people to avoid consumption of beef as cow is mother to us all and one should not sell it to the slaughter houses.



Dilip Bhutra, the general secretary of the cell, said, Our target is to educate people about cow-based economy. Earlier, villagers never used to sleep on an empty stomach because they used to know how to utilize their cow and its products  apart from farming.



He said that they will give demonstration to people on how to make several products based on cow urine and cow dung and not just use a cow for its milk.



Bhutra accepted that it would be a very difficult task to convince people to quit liquor and beef. But we are confident that one day people will praise us for this unique idea to make them healthy, he said.



Recently, the Centre had banned sale of cows for slaughter at animal markets which state chief minister Mamata Benerjee had opposed vehemently. Days after Mamatas order to ignore Centres notification, Bengals Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) wing stressed that cow should be the national animal.



While claiming that cow is a rich source of energy and divinity, RSS state wing has already started organizing events across Bengal to make people aware about the benefits of keeping a cow at home.



India is an agricultural economy where cow plays an important role. I dont see any reason why cow should not be declared as our national animal, Bidyut Mukherjee, the organizational secretary of RSS, West Bengal and Andaman and Nicobar Islands said.
The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) result 2017 was announced on Friday, June 23 by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on the official website - www.cbseneet.nic.in The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had earlier released the answer key for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) 2017 on Thursday, June 15.* The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has not revealed the date on which the results would be announced, but the NEET 2017 result is expected on Tuesday according to an update on results.gov.in The CBSE, earlier this month, displayed the images of OMR answer sheets and aspirants' responses to the questions on its website, www.cbseneet.nic.in , for challenge by students only for two days, instead of three as mentioned in the information bulletin. The answer keys were displayed on June 15.The CBSE had said that it would announce the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) result for admission to medical and dental courses within a week of the completion of these two processes.In a relief for thousands of students, the Supreme Court earlier this month, allowed the CBSE to declare the NEET results. The SC ordered a stay on the Madras High Courts order, which had halted results, and said that the HC shouldnt tinker with medical admission schedule.The NEET examination for admission to MBBS and BDS (dental) courses was held on May 7. Around 10.5 lakh students appeared for the exam in either Hindi or English, while around 1.25 lakh to 1.50 lakh students appeared in eight vernacular languages.On May 24, the Madras High Court granted interim stay on the publication of NEET results on a batch of pleas alleging that a uniform question paper was not given in the examination and there was a vast difference between the ones in English and in Tamil.The petitioners before the HC demanded that the NEET 2017 be cancelled and a fresh exam with a uniform question paper be conducted.The HC had also directed the Medical Council of India, the director of CBSE and the Union Health Ministry to file counter affidavits on these pleas pending before it.The CBSE on June 9 approached the Supreme Court against the HC ruling, saying that because of the HC order, the entire schedule of counselling and subsequent admission for medical courses through NEET has gone "haywire".Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Maninder Singh, appearing for the CBSE, had told the Supreme Court that challenge to the different sets of questions in vernacular languages were on wrong assumptions that they were difficult as the experts had examined that they were different from those in English or Hindi medium but the level of difficulty cannot be said to be different.Singh said that questions were different to keep the larger interest protected on the ground that if there was a leakage of a set of paper in a vernacular language, the majority of students would be protected as candidates appearing in any particular language were less than those opting for English or Hindi.Singh also contended that a number of pleas had been filed in various high courts in NEET-related matters and the high courts had entertained these petitions despite the apex court's order that no other court shall hear such matters.
: Despite the arrest of its leader Chandrashekhar Azad , Bhim Army is set to step up its protest against alleged atrocities on Dalits in Saharanpur. The radical Dalit outfit has announced a rally at New Delhi's Jantar Mantar on June 18, Sunday. Kamlesh Devi (55), Chandrashekhar's mother, will address the rally. His brothers, Bhagat Singh (38) and Kamal Kishor (26), will also be present at the rally.Vinay Ratan Singh, who is heading the outfit in Chandrashekhar's absence, said, "The iron lady who gave birth to a lion like Chandrashekhar will address a massive public gathering at Jantar Mantar on June 18. I thank all supporters for making our last Jantar Mantar rally a success and appeal you to come to the protest in large numbers on June 18 as well. We are against the framing of innocent people in cases related to the riots."On Thursday morning, Chandrashekhar was arrested by a UP Police team in Himachal Pradesh's Dalhousie. The team, comprising members of UP Police's Special Task Force (STF) and the Special Investigative Team (SIT) probing Saharanpur riots nabbed the elusive Bhim Army chief.Bhim Army, in protest against alleged atrocities on Dalits, had called for a Mahapanchayat in Saharanpur on May 9. While the police denied permission for the public meeting, invitations had already gone out on social media. Hundreds had started making their way to the venue of the meeting when things turned sour. Supporters of the Bhim Army clashed with the police, following which; Chandrashekhar was booked by the police.On May 21, while police was searching for him all over the state, Chandrashekhar emerged on the stage at a Jantar Mantar rally in New Delhi, thumping his chest in defiance. He offered to surrender to the court but ultimately, did not do so. The police was under considerable pressure to arrest him after he announced another Jantar Mantar rally on June 18.
Justice C S Karnan retired on Sunday, after successfully frustrating for more than a month the Supreme Court order to arrest him and make him serve six months in jail for contempt.With his retirement, an extraordinary chapter in the Indian legal history also ends. The Calcutta High Court judge, on May 9, had earned the dubious distinction of being the first and the only serving judge who was sentenced to a jail term.On June 11, Karnan became the first judge who averted the execution of an order passed by a seven-judge bench of the apex court. And the second part is more worrying.When Karnan was being held guilty under the Contempt of Courts Act, Chief Justice of India J S Khehar, who was heading the seven-judge bench, said that he wanted to send out a message loud and clear that judiciary will not hesitate to act against even one of its own.Senior lawyer K K Venugopal, who was assisting the court as amicus curiae, had suggested that the bench should let the HC judge complete his tenure but the CJI said there will be no separate treatment for a judge."We will create a blemish if we do not punish him just because he is a judge. Contempt has no different colours  for a common man or a judge. We cannot differentiate that he is a judge in acontempt case," Justice Khehar had emphasised.The bench then directed West Bengal police chief to constitute a team to arrest Karnan immediately so that he serves his time behind bars.But everything that happened after this order defies the very sanctity of judicial proceedings and makes all institutional virtue a suspect.May 9 and still counting but the Supreme Court has still not passed its detailed order, specifying reasons why it held Karnan guilty of bringing disrepute to judiciary, judges and the judicial process. Even though the bench on May 9 said that the detailed order will follow, it is still in waiting.To make the situation more intriguing, one of the seven judges on the bench, Justice P C Ghose, has retired on May 27. Therefore, if the detailed order was not prepared and signed by all the seven judges before Justice Ghose demitted his office, the sanctitude and legal correctness of the conviction would definitely not be unimpeachable and beyond questions.All attempts by Karnan to seek a review of the order have also been snubbed by different benches of the top court on several occasions. But none of these benches ever bothered to ask the West Bengal police chief about compliance of May 9 order regarding Karnan's arrest.Further, nobody has heard from the West Bengal police why Karnan could not be arrested till date although almost every alternate day, his signed letters, petitions and affidavits are being filed and distributed by his lawyers at various fora.At the end of all this, we have 30 days:* When the SC could not deliver a detailed judgment even though one of the judge on the bench retired* When a sitting HC judge could not be tracked down by a special police team that has been camping in Tamil Nadu on the instructions of WB DGP* When the Supreme Court didn't question the DGP about the whereabouts of Karnan even once although his lawyers kept seeking review of the order* When Karnan retired, warding off his arrest as a HC judge, which could mean his removal from office not by the Parliament but under the contempt powers of the Supreme CourtOne would wonder whether Justice Karnan's retirement without arrest is a good news or bad news for the Supreme Court bench, which created history by its order but fell short of sending a constitutional court judge behind bars. The bigger question still looms: Are law and judicial orders really equal for all?
Kolkata: Till a few days back, a small locality in Howrahs Ramrajatalla Kedarnath Bhattacharya Lane used to treat Dr Subhendu Bhattacharya with God-like admiration.



Known for his immense social work and free treatment to poor, the 38-year-old, popularly known as Doctor Babu, was a troubleshooter in his locality. But little were they aware that he was playing with the lives of thousands of people in the name of providing affordable health care.



On June 2, Subhendu was arrested from his house in Ramrajatalla, for carrying out his practice based on fake medical degrees. He was on the run for almost two weeks but CID sleuths finally arrested him and a probe is underway.



Subhendus rise to where he was has been so stupendous that his fall from it has come as quite a shocker to those who know him. He claimed to be the youngest member of the Royal Colleges of Physicians (MRCP, UK), for which he also held the Guinness World Record, at least that is what he claimed.



He was awarded the lifetime achievement award by President Pranab Mukherjee during the 6th Dr Malati Allen Nobel Award in Kolkata.



He was always ambitious and wanted fame. He always wanted to become a doctor and feared failure. But, we never expected him to land up in this mess, one of his friends told News18.







A quick look at his Facebook profile is enough to impress anyone. In his profile he claimed to be member, Sub-Committee for Medicine/ Physiology at Nobel Foundation, Freelance Researcher cum Advisor at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Research Report Reviewer at American College of Physicians (ACP). He also claimed to be a joint secretary, Howrah Medical Club.



His list of degrees is even longer and he claimed to have studied at Royal College of Physicians, London, American Public Health Association at University of Wisconsin-Madison, Stanford University School of Medicine: Center of Excellence, University of Oxford, Harvard Medical School, School of Clinical Medicine at University of Cambridge, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and at last the Calcutta National Medical College & Hospital, Kolkata.



Subhendu was exposed after a city-based doctor Ayan Bhattacharya (a post-graduate medicine student at the All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health in Kolkata) lodged a complaint with the Bantra police station in Howrah that Subhendu was using his registration number to run a private nursing home - Kalpana Women and Child Care in Ramrajatalla. The cops immediately swung into action.







This is an alarming situation and the CID has already seized his nursing home in Howrah. He played with the lives of so many people. He will be punished as per law, Nirmal Maji, chairman of the West Bengal Medical Council, said.
Its around 3 am, and I am riding pillion with Kareem, a meat shop owner in New Delhi. As the wind on an early, humid morning slams against my face, I turn around to see Mehmood and Dilawar, also meat shop owners, following our lead.After almost an hours drive from Nizamuddin Basti, we are in the vicinity of the slaughterhouse in Gazipur. The air stinks with the smell of meat, blood and sweat. The smell remains, but theres almost no business now, Kareem tells me.I walk in, after getting my IDs checked and the three meat shop owners backing me up saying I was their friend, into a packed house. This is the bhains mandi (buffalo market), where the animals are first brought in by their owners for sale.Animals were being pushed outside tens of trucks for the farmers, middlemen and buyers present at the mandi. And there was a discordant cacophony of voices. Pregnant buffalo for Rs 70,000 and the older one for Rs 25,000, shouts one man. Give me the one for dairy, but bring the price to Rs 50,000, shouts back another.There is utter chaos, but all eyes and ears are on the cattle up for grabs and their prices. The mandi houses buffaloes, sheep, goats and other cattle. They are brought in by farmers from Punjab, Haryana and sometimes Gujarat and Chhattisgarh too. Some sold for dairy, and the others, which the doctors deem old, are sold for slaughter, says Kareem, with a hint of dejection. The business, however, has dwindled off late.Mohammed Dilawar at work in his buffalo meat shop at Nizamuddin Basti. (Debayan Roy/News18.com)A couple of weeks ago, the central government rolled out a ban on sale of cattle for the purpose of slaughter at marketplaces. The rule has hit every stakeholder in the meat sector: dairy farmers, meat shop owners and traders.The fear of being targeted, for one reason or the other, is visible on the face of nearly everyone in the mandi. Earlier, we had the option to choose a buffalo which was healthy for slaughter. Now, we dont. The doctors checking the animals are in a rush to wrap things up as fast as possible, said Mustafa, a meat wholesaler from Kalkaji.As the business at the mandi was underway, I followed some people who were done with their sale and purchase. They were slowly making their way to the only legal slaughterhouse, catering to farmers in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana.Its around 5:30 am, and I see a swarm of people waiting in line to get their animal slaughtered. The farmers usually arrive around 5-5:30 am, and leave by noon with the meat. The rush was such. But now, with negligible business, the waiting time has reduced drastically, says a dejected old man in the late sixties.Delhis lone slaughterhouse is doing one-fifth of cattle business than a few weeks ago, with farmers either too scared to bring their buffaloes to the market or moving to trading sheep and goats, which, many think, is now safer.This new rule has made life hell for us. Even when I have to sell my animals for slaughter, I declare that they are for dairy, Shankar Dhyanchand, a 60-year-old farmer from Sirsa, Haryana, tells me.Each meat shop owner pay a tax of Rs 450 to MCD for transporting one buffalo for slaughter. (Debayan Roy/News18.com)Widespread reports of cow vigilantes resorting to violence and harassment, at times leading to deaths of those at the receiving end, has only added to the fear.As I stand at the slaughterhouse among farmers waiting for the meat, I am a party to their discussions. One of them is how the government has put the livelihoods of thousands of people at stake.Save the cow if you wish, but the buffalo has nothing to do with it right? Including buffaloes in the ambit of cattle will spell doom for many like me, Muhammad Qamar, a cattle farmer from Kapurthala, tells me.The violence associated with cattle slaughter has only cemented farmers resolve: stay away from cattle as much as possible. But the resolve has come at a cost. The income many earned from selling buffaloes was not huge, but was better than what they were making from sheep and goats. Farmers income has fallen, leading to a trickle-down effect on their daily life.This is a misplaced notion, Im told. There is no popular concept of animal farms in India to carry out farm-to-fork policy.Pramod Kumar, housekeeper at the bhains mandi in Gazipur, says the farm-to-fork principle was totally impractical in India.There are animals which are brought here for both dairy purposes and slaughter. Even when they are on their way to a legal slaughterhouse, the farmers are scared of being rounded up and the traders are afraid what will happen if they are caught with meat. In such a scenario, how is it possible for anyone to go to a farm? More importantly, where are these farms? asks Kumar.My community, a farmer says, does not rear cattle for slaughter. They always do it for dairy purposes. There are no such farms where farmers are rearing cattle only for slaughter. Its never existed in India. How can the government expect such farms to crop up just like that, the farmer says.Mohammed Abbas, a meat wholesaler at the Gazipur mandi, joins us and calls farm-to-fork principle a mere joke. Its not just the farmers who are suffering. We are at the receiving end too. Earlier, around 1000 buffaloes used to be brought in here, now its down to just 200. The government, along with the notification, must also tell us where these farms are so that we can survive, Abbas says.The Bhais Mandi at Gazipur which used to buzz with animals a month ago now runs empty. (Debayan Roy/News18.com)To start with, many believe that the notification has nothing to do with prevention to animal cruelty. How can you discriminate against animals when you talk about saving them, rue the farmers and traders.Its a deliberate attempt to make lives of Muslims and Dalits, who are directly involved in buffalo trade, more difficult. We support the ban on cow slaughter, but why buffalo? The government thinks its only us who are dependent on buffalo. Buffaloes eat meal worth Rs 500 a day. With the farmers struggling to earn that much for their entire family, how are they expected to take care for buffaloes? says a meat trader from Nizammudin Basti.I walked out of the slaughterhouse to get on the phone with Fauzan Alaivi, spokesperson of Meat and Livestock Exports Association.There is a lot of demand for buffalo meat, but theres no supply. It all started with demonetization and then came this notification. Government records show that buffalo meat exports have fallen by 11% from January to June. Markets have become dysfunctional. Most farmers are scared of vigilante groups. This is not Switzerland that farm-to-fork can be implemented with ease, says Alaivi.Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) also expressed concern. We are only a tertiary branch of the government and only execute orders, but I cant deny that there is fear among farmers, Dr Prahlad Kumar, additional director at the MCDs veterinary sciences department says.Indias slowly becoming a nation of misplaced notions, says Alaivi. We did a survey after demonetization. Around 95% people who buy buffalo meat, out of the 10,000 we surveyed, are Hindus. So does this notification have religious roots? No. There are meat processing units in only five states. Now, what do the farmers, who stay in interior villages, do with their buffaloes? The government has no response to any of that, he adds.
: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold talks with US President Donald Trump in Washington on June 26, the foreign ministry said on Monday, the first meeting between the leaders.Ties between the two big democracies grew rapidly under the Obama administration which saw India as a partner to balance China's growing weight in Asia.But Trump has focused on building ties with China, seeing it as key to tackling regional problems such as North Korea's nuclear programme.The Indian ministry said Modi's talks with Trump would lay the ground for a further expansion in ties, allaying some of the anxiety that had crept in about a drift in relations."Their discussions will provide a new direction for deeper bilateral engagement on issues of mutual interest and consolidation of multi-dimensional strategic partnership between India and the US," the ministry said in a statement.The United States has emerged as a top arms supplier to India and the two sides will be looking to move forward with deals such as unarmed drones that India wants for its navy, sources said.One issue that the two leaders face is resolving conflict arising out of the push they are both making at home to boost industry and create jobs.Modi has been driving a Make-in-India campaign to press foreign arms suppliers to set up factories in India and transfer technology instead of selling off-the-shelf, which has made India one of the world's biggest arms importers without any domestic production base.Trump, on the other hand, has railed against firms moving factories outside the United States and has demanded US companies invest at home as part of his "America First" campaign.Trump's review of a visa programme under which thousands of skilled Indian workers go to the United States is also a top concern for India.
"On one ground we are inclined to stay the high court's order. What indirectly this order is doing is that it is diluting the schedule fixed by the Supreme Court," the bench said while posting the matter for hearings after the summer vacation.

"There was uniformity in the degree of difficulty of the questions," he said, adding that this had also been certified by experts.

: The Supreme Court on Monday paved the way for the declaration of results of a national examination which would decide the fate of around 12 lakh students seeking to join medical and dental colleges across the country.The apex court stayed a May 24 interim order of the Madras High Court which had restrained the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) from publishing the results of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) of 2017.The top court said it was inclined to grant a stay on the high court's order which was indirectly "diluting" the schedule for NEET 2017 earlier fixed by the apex court.A vacation bench comprising Justices P C Pant and Deepak Gupta directed the authorities concerned to proceed with the process of announcing the results, subsequent counselling and admission as per the schedule fixed by the apex court.However, the bench said the result declaration as well as the subsequent counselling and admission through NEET 2017 would be subject to the decision of the apex court in the matter pending before it.It also asked the high courts not to entertain pleas in the matters relating to NEET 2017.The court noted the contentions of Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Maninder Singh, appearing for CBSE, and other petitioners who challenged the May 24 order on the ground that it was against the spirit of the order passed by the apex court in which the NEET 2017 schedule was fixed."In view of the above, the interim order is stayed and it is directed that the authorities concerned will proceed further with the declaration of result for NEET 2017 examination held on May 7 subject to the decision of this court," the bench said.When Singh told the court that various high courts were entertaining pleas in matters related to NEET, the bench "requested" the high courts not to entertain writ petitions in matters relating to the NEET examination held on May 7, 2017.The high court had on May 24 granted an interim stay on the publication of NEET results on a batch of pleas alleging that a uniform question paper was not given to the candidates, and that there was a vast difference between the ones in English and Tamil.The apex court also issued notices to the respondents, who had filed the petition in the Madras High Court, on the pleas filed by the CBSE and others.During the arguments, Singh said NEET examination 2017 was conducted by the CBSE and this year, besides English and Hindi, the test was conducted in eight regional languages under the orders of the apex court.He said around 10.5 lakh aspirants had given the test in either English or Hindi while 1.30 lakh-1.50 lakh candidates had opted for regional languages.The test papers for English and Hindi were the same, but questions were different in the papers for other languages, he said, but held that the "difficulty" level was the same in all papers.While referring to the NEET question paper leak in 2015, Singh said if the papers in regional languages were leaked this year, around 12 lakh aspirants would have had to appear in a fresh examination.He said the CBSE was scheduled to declare the results on June 8 but because of the high court's order, the admission process was stalled.The CBSE had on June 9 moved the Supreme Court seeking an immediate stay on the Madras High Court order.The board had also sought the transfer of petitions on NEET 2017 from various high courts to the apex court.The petitioners before the high court had demanded that NEET 2017 be cancelled and a fresh exam with a uniform question paper be conducted.They had claimed that different sets of question papers had been used at various places, though a common syllabus had been announced.
When you hear a song you love and have to get up and dance#shapeofyou

If you like this..watch my song #DamnDamn toohttps://t.co/RMBDZOYFKj pic.twitter.com/fHwAmwaSR0  Sayyeshaa (@sayyeshaa) June 11, 2017

Ed Sheeran's classic 'Shape Of You' has now become more or less a party anthem, with more people trying to come up with their dance videos on the song. There have been many versions of Ed Sheeran's hugely popular 'Shape of You,' and now, there's another addition from Bollywood.The latest to join the bandwagon of people who cant stop grooving to the peppy number, is Sayyeshaa, grand niece of veteran actor Dilip Kumar, who made her Bollywood debut in Ajay Devgn-starrer Shivaay.She posted a video on Twitter in which she can be seen dancing her heart out on the popular track.The video is now going viral, well because of their amazing moves and of course, Sheerans peppy song is a reason in itself!Sayyeshaa is the daughter of actors Sumeet Saigal and Shaheen Banu, and the grandniece of actors Saira Banu and Kumar.
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday asked the Maharashtra government to explain the norms of 'good behaviour' due to which Dutt was granted an early release in February 2017. The actor was convicted under the Arms Act and was in jail for 42 months of his five-year sentence.



The Bollywood star was arrested on April 19, 1993, for possession and destruction of an AK-56 rifle, which was a part of cache of arms and explosives which landed in India prior to the serial blasts of March 1993. He spent 18 months in jail as the trial proceeded and was sentenced to five years of jail term in May 2013.



Dutt was let out in February 2016, eight months early, on account of his good conduct while in Pune's Yerwada prison.



A division bench of justices R M Sawant and Sadhana Jadhav was on Monday hearing a public interest litigation by Pune resident Pradeep Bhalekar challenging the regular paroles and furloughs granted to Dutt when he was serving his sentence.



The court then directed the state government to file an affidavit stating what parameters were considered and the procedures followed while deciding that Dutt deserved leniency.



Was the DIG, Prisons, consulted or did the jail superintendent directly send his recommendation to the governor?" Justice Sawant asked.



Also, how did the authorities assess that Dutt's conduct was good? When did they get the time to make such assessment when he was out on parole half the time?" he asked.







Dutt was granted an early release because of his good conduct inside the jail, where he learned and earned money like all the other inmates. However, when the news of his early release arrived, various NGOs filed PILs against it seeking probe into the 'special treatment' and relaxation given to Dutt on the virtue of being a star.



A special TADA court had convicted 100 people in the serial blasts case in which 250 people died and more than 700 were injured. Dutt was convicted in November 2006 for illegal possession of arms but was acquitted in more serious charges of criminal conspiracy under the now defunct anti-terror TADA.
Kolkata: Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) chief Bimal Gurung thumped his chest as he stood amidst his supporters and said Darjeeling was on the boil because of their fight for a homeland, a separate Gorkhaland. There is no going back now, he roared.



Gurungs statement, however, has taken the Hills back in time. The fight for Gorkhaland is one of the longest standing demands for a separate state that India has seen. Gorkhas living in West Bengal demand a state of their own on the basis of language, social and cultural ethnicity. Gurungs call for an indefinite bandh, starting Monday, has roots in chief minister Mamata Banerjee making Bangla compulsory in schools across the state.



Gurungs fight has put the spotlight on the crisis in Gorkhaland, which is almost 100 years old. News18 takes a look at the history of the fight:



Gorkhaland consists of Nepali-speaking people from Kalimpong, Darjeeling, Kurseong and many other hill districts. Around 1780, the Gorkhas captured the entire region from Teesta to Sutlej, including Darjeeling, Siliguri, Shimla, Nainital, Garhwal Hills and Kumaon. After 35 years of rule, Gorkhas lost the Anglo-Nepal War in 1816 and surrendered the territory to the British.



1907-1934: The issue of a separate state was first raised in 1907, when Hillmens Association of Darjeeling wrote to the Morley-Minto Reforms Committee, demanding a separate administrative setup. Right until 1934, several requests were made, but in vain.



1947-1952: The undivided Communist Party of India (CPI) too demanded a separate Gorkhasthan, comprising of Sikkim, Nepal and Darjeeling. The Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League (ABGL) too joined the movement, demanding the Hills be separated from Bengal.



1986-88: In 1986, the movement by ABGL turned violent after Subhash Ghising, under the banner of Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), took to the streets. The Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) was formed in 1988, under which limited powers were given to Ghisinghs GNLF, only in Darjeeling district.



2007-10: Bimal Gurung, once considered close to Ghisingh, launched his own party GJM. Touted as the Next Robinhood, he slowly gathered support for a separate Gorkhaland. In 2010, ABGLs Madan Tamang, who had openly criticized Gurung for playing politics, was hacked to death in public. Nicole Tamang, a member of GJM, was arrested for the murder.



2011-13: Mamata came to power, and replaced DGHC with Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and made Gurung its chief. Both parties preferred to not attack each other. But soon after Telangana was formed in 2013, the demand for Gorkhaland intensified. Gurung resigned from GTA.



June 2017: GJM, an ally of the BJP, has called an indefinite shutdown of state government and Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) offices, but kept educational institutions, transport services and hotels out of its purview. The GJM, which heads the GTA, has also issued a diktat to banks to open only twice a week. The Trinamool Congress government has ordered all its employees and those of the institutions receiving grants-in-aid from it to attend office on all days, warning that absence from duty will be considered a break in service.


Armed with four truckloads of affidavits, Tamil Nadu Law Minister CV Shanmugham reached the Election Commission office on Monday morning to stake claim to the AIADMKs two-leaf symbol as merger talks broke down between the rival party factions.The 3,10,000 affidavits reportedly contain signatures of party cadre declaring support for Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palaniswami, also known as EPS.The Election Commission asked us to submit these documents. As many as 123 MLAs are with EPS. These are affidavits of the office bearers, Shanmugham told CNN-News18.Shanmugham also termed the statements by Deepa Jayakumar, niece of the late chief minister J Jayalalithaa, as irresponsible. Deepa, who has floated a political outfit of her own, had alleged on Sunday that her estranged brother Deepak plotted Jayalalithaas death with VK Sasikala.Shanmughams visit to the EC headquarters came a day after former chief minister O Panneerselvam, who leads the rival faction, dissolved a seven-member panel set up to hold merger talks Palaniswami.We dissolved the committee because the merger failed. We didnt want to be part of the drama that the EPS camp created. We have the support of the party cadre. We are sure we will get the two-leaves symbol, Panneerselvam, fondly called OPS, said on Monday.Last few weeks saw no visible progress in the proposed talks between the panels set up by the respective factions. The OPS panel, called the Puratchi Thalaivi Amma camp, was led by KP Munusamy, while EPSs AIADMK (Amma) panel was headed by R Vaithilingam.Though both sides publicly announced their willingness to hold talks, the Panneerselvam faction remained firm on its demand for a CBI probe into the death of Jayalalithaa and the removal of AIADMK chief VK Sasikala and her family members, including Deputy General Secretary TTV Dinakaran, from the party as a precondition for talks.None of the demands had been met, though a section of ministers revolted against Dinakaran in April, asking him to stay away from party affairs. He had also announced then that he was stepping aside.However, he had recently, upon release on bail in the Election Commission bribery case, said he would continue with party work.On Sunday, Panneerselvam took a dig at the Palaniswami camp, saying MLAs were gifted "gold, diamond and cash" during their stay at a resort at Koovathur near here, prior to the February 18 trust vote faced and won by Palaniswami.Panneerselvam had revolted against Sasikala in February, alleging he was forced to make way for her elevation as chief minister. He later led the breakaway faction of some MPs and MLAs besides senior functionaries.The faction has since challenged the election of Sasikala as AIADMK general secretary before the Election Commission, while also staking claim for the party's two leaves symbol.Sasikala is currently lodged in a Bengaluru jail in a disproportionate assets case.(With PTI inputs)
After a couple of days of calm, Madhya Pradesh could witness a new wave of protests. This time from the influential Patidar community.People close to Hardik Patel say that hes preparing to visit Mandsaur  the place where six farmers were killed in police firing on June 6, and the epicenter of state-wide violence, anytime this week.Patel is scheduled to participate in an event on Monday evening in Udaipur, and from there he is likely to leave for Mandsaur, though he is unlikely to get police permission for it.Hardik Patel has grown into an influential Patidar leader after he led a mass agitation seeking reservation for Patidars in Gujarat in 2015. And since then hes constantly built upon the anti-BJP sentiment among Patels or Patidars as theyre known in central and north-west part of the country.Of the seven farmers who died in the recent violent agitations in Madhya Pradesh, five were Patidars.Soon after the farmer crisis hit the state last week, it was clear that of the elements, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was most concerned about the sentiments of the Patidar community.From the manner in which he immediately announced compensation to the kin of the deceased even as ministers in his cabinet were calling protesters anti-social elements. Or revising the compensation amount to each family from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh to Rs 1 crore in a matter of hours, without waiting for results of the inquiry he had ordered only earlier during the day, showed how worried the CM was about the Patidar vote.Patidars have been, till now, among the oldest supporters of the BJP and before it of the Jana Sangh. As far back as the third Lok Sabha polls, in 1962, when Jana Sangh for the first time secured double digit figures, among the constituencies it had won was Mandsaur and Dewas places which have witnessed violence recently.In fact the Malwa region, where most of the recent protests have happened, has been quite accommodating to the RSS since its birth in 1925. The BJP has won seats in this region continuously since its formation in 1980. Which is why unprecedented protests in this region has rattled the confidence of the party that was otherwise looking to form a government in the state for the fourth consecutive time.Patidars had begun showing signs of estrangement with the ruling BJP government since last year when the Chouhan dispensation tweaked land acquisition rules to make it easier for the private sector to acquire land from farmers.Demonetisation only widened this rift. Having just recovered from two back to back droughts, Patidar farmers took another financial hit when banks coffers ran dry. While private sector banks resumed normal operations after a few weeks, the state cooperative banks struggled and still have not been able to resume normal operations.And BJP made matters worse for itself by refusing to acknowledge issues that Patidar farmers raised over the last one yearminimum support price, power, water and mounting debts. The killing of the seven farmers was the final straw.There are 60 lakh Patidars in Madhya Pradesh and the BJP is now feeling heat from almost each one of them.The BJP insulted us not only by refusing to talk to us over the last one year, but by calling us anti-social elements. Then they call us Congress agents. We have never felt as insulted and threatened before and the BJP will have to pay the price of this, said Tulsiram Patidar, district head of a Patidar outfit  Sardar Patel Yuva Sangathan.Retaliating to the large scale violence, the police have booked thousands of people on various charges  from rioting to arson  and of these many are Patidars. More than 3,000 as per estimate of one Patidar leader.While a sense of quiet seems to have prevailed in Madhya Pradesh after nearly 10 days of chaos (farmers had called for protests from June 1 to June 10), Patidars on the ground say the peace is only temporary.The media may be telling everyone that peace and normalcy have returned to the state but let me tell you, on the ground, among farmers and Patidars in particular, there is only unease and anger against the current government, said Nandkishor Patidar, a member of Madhya Pradesh Patidar Samaj Sangathan.So unrelenting was the anger against Chouhan, in particular, that the Patidar families whose members were killed in the police firing had refused to cremate their bodies till the CM himself came and offered an apology.Members of these Patidar families were reported to have not only refused state compensation but instead offered double the compensation to the state if it could help launch proceedings against Chouhan.Relatives of a slain protestor Satyanarayan Patidar had asked Rahul Gandhi, who had recently visited the state, to help them book Shivraj Chouhan for the deaths.The MP CM had, in order to assuage, called some Patidars to his residence on the June 9. He had promised strict action against the police officers involved in the incidents and had assured them of launching fresh FIRs in these cases soon. However these meetings also seem to have proved futile, as one of the Patidar leaders who met the CM told News18.I met the CM on the 9th with some other community members. He had promised instant action, but three days have passed and we havent heard from anyone. Just in order to give the state some time to act, we have paused the movement on the ground. But we will not accept status quo. The state has actually back-stabbed us by booking 3,000 Patidars for the recent protests, said Mahendra Patidar, the state head of Madhya Pradesh Patidar Samaj Sangathan.He added that Patidar outfits from three states  Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan  were working closely to launch a movement against the government in all three states.For the first time in several years the BJP seems to have suffered political capital in the recent farmer protests.The party will not only be concerned about losing their core voter base  the Patidars. It also has reasons to be anxious as the Congress and Hardik Patel are looking to join forces against the BJP in the upcoming Assembly elections.It is too early to predict the implications of the current agitation on the Assembly polls, but the influential Patidar community seems to be swinging away from the BJP at the moment.
: Senior BJP leader and Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday said that the party might consult BJD president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in order to reach a consensus about a candidate for the upcoming Presidential poll.Naidu, who was here to attend a Sabka Saath Sabka Bikas programme, said, "It will be a good tradition to elect a person as the president of India on consensus."Asked whether they will consult BJD president Naveen Patnaik, Naidu said that they would like to discuss the matter with all the opposition parties including BJD.Naidu's statement came barely hours after BJP president Amit Shah formed a three-member committee to consult political parties in a bid to elect the new President on consensus. Besides Naidu, the committee comprises Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Arun Jaitley.JD(U) president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, party leader Sharad Yadav, TMC president and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee have met Patnaik on the issue of Presidential election.However, Patnaik has not given any assurance to any leader and maintained that he will would take a decision at the appropriate time, sources said.Nomination papers for the Presidential election can be filed between 14 and June 28. The poll is scheduled to be held on July 17.BJD's decision regarding the Presidential polls is considered significant as the party has 20 members in the Lok Sabha, nine members in the Rajya Sabha and 117 MLAs in the 147-member Odisha Assembly.
The Darjeeling Hills braced for a fresh confrontation between the Mamata Banerjee government and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) which has called an indefinite shutdown for a separate Gorkhaland and against the alleged imposition of Bengali language in schools.On Sunday, GJM president Bimal Gurung asked tourists to leave the Hills because of the possibility of "untoward" incidents.The GJM, an ally of the BJP, has called an indefinite shutdown of state government and Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) offices, but kept educational institutions, transport services and hotels out of its purview. The GJM, which heads the GTA, has also issued a diktat to banks to open only twice a week.The Trinamool Congress government has ordered all its employees and those of the institutions receiving grants-in-aid from it to attend office on all days till the agitation continues, warning that absence from duty will be considered a break in service."All state government offices in Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts will remain open and all employees should report for duty on each day till such bandh is not withdrawn," a government notification said. "Any absence will be considered as a break in service and no salary will be admissible unless covered by reasonable grounds," it said.The indefinite shutdown comes three days after the GJM called a 12-hour bandh in the hills.The picturesque north Bengal town, known the world over for its tea industry, witnessed large-scale violence last week.GJM supporters and workers had clashed with the police and set ablaze several government vehicles during widespread protests over introduction of Bengali language in schools in the hills.The Army had to be called out to stage flag marches in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong to restore peace.The sensitive language issue provided the spark which reignited the demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland."The government has encroached on our identity, our language Nepali. We will never tolerate it," Gurung said, adding "We are ready to court arrest, we will have to go to jail for the sake of the agitation."Blaming Banerjee for the renewal of the Gorkhaland demand by his party, Gurung said, "We will stick to our demand for a separate state and continue with the agitation for achieving it. Mamata Banerjee has forced us to renew the statehood demand, we will achieve it."Darjeeling Hills had seen a violent movement for a separate Gorkhaland in the mid-1980s under Subhash Ghisingh. The movement ended with the establishment of a semi-autonomous administrative body in 1988 called Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council headed by Ghisingh.As Ghisingh's influence waned over time, the GJM launched another movement for a separate state of Gorkhaland. In 2011, the GJM signed an agreement with the state and central governments, and another semi-autonomous administrative unit GTA was born replacing the DGHC.
Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday has challenged Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) chief Bimal Gurung to stop to her from entering the hill districts.



Addressing a public meet at Bhangor in South 24-Parganas district, she said, Some people said theyll not let me enter Darjeeling. But I did and will do it several times in future. No one can stop me from entering Darjeeling. Let them try to stop me.



I cannot be intimidated with threats and lets see who has the guts to stop me from entering the Hills. We want peace and Bengal is our motherland. We love the hills. At any cost, we will not allow few people to disturb peace, she said, while sending a message to the people of Hills, You have nothing to worry. Your Didi is here".



Rath Yatra is approaching. Eid is around the corner. I extend my greetings to the people and request people to maintain peace and harmony across the state, she said.



Banerjees reaction came after the partial indefinite strike called by GJM turned violent on Monday afternoon when an agitated mob set a PWD office on fire in Singamari.



They also tried to set BDO office at Phulbazar in Bijanbari block and another government office in Sukna on fire in Darjeeling district. Alert policemen deployed in the area chased the mob away.



On June 9, she had stayed back in Darjeeling to ensure safety of stranded tourists (due to bandh called by GJM). She also warned Gurung not to cross the Lakshman Rekha as protests intensify in the Hills against the state governments decision to make Bangla compulsory in government schools.



He is cutting the branch he was sitting on. We will not tolerate this and stern action will be taken against all who are responsible for the current situation in the Hills, she said.
Lucknow: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Salempur Ravindra Kushwaha, who had allegedly pressurised Zila Panchayat Officer for a transfer of class IV employee, has been served notice by the Allahabad High Court, seeking a response. The Allahabad High Court has also sought a reply from Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government in this regard.



The court has asked the state government and MP to respond to the petition filed by Sanjay Kumar, who was posted as a class IV employee at Gram Panchayat Chak Prema. This order has been given by Justice Pankaj Naqvi.



Kumar, posted as a sweeper in Gram Panchayat Chak Prema, was transferred last week on May 22, 2017, to Gram Panchayat Ahrauli. In his report, District Panchayat Officer, Balia, has given a unique reason for the transfer of Sanjay Kumar.



He has written that the transfer was done on the complaint of MP Salempur Ravindra Kushwaha over the telephone.



The petitioner has said that he was transferred because of political pressure which was against the new transfer policy implemented by CM Yogi Adityanath in the state.



The new transfer policy was approved by Yogi Adityanaths cabinet making it clear that those who have been in a district for more than three years and in commissionary for 7 years will be shunted out. Ministers and heads of departments will be allowed only 30 percent transfers.



Also, it was made clear that the Chief Ministers approval will be required for effecting above 30 percent transfers. Similarly, the department head will be allowed only 20 per cent transfers of Class III and IV employees, and approval will be required from the chief minister if the limit is crossed.


New Delhi: Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi on Monday took strong exception to his party man Sandeep Dikshit's remarks in which he accused Army chief Bipin Rawat of making statements like a "sadak ka gunda" (a street thug).



However, Dikshit later recanted his remark, apologising for the comparison he drew on Sunday evening.



Rahul, while speaking at a party event in Bengaluru, said: "It's absolutely wrong. No politician is required to comment on the Army Chief."



Congress Vice-President rebuked Dikshit after his bizarre analogy created ripples across the political divide and invited sharp criticism to the leader and the party. Immediately after Rahul expressed dismay over Dikshit's remarks, the leader was apologetic for having used "uncivilised words"



Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tore into the Congress party, accusing it of "not taking notice of such remarks over the years".



"The Congress party seems to be constantly following a pattern through which it questions the integrity of the Indian Army, shames it, and demoralises it."







In a recent interview the Army chief, while speaking about the Kashmir unrest, had suggested that 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)."
Kolkata: Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee came to power through her movement for farmers right in Singur and in Nandigram. The same agrarian issue has put the state Chief Minister in a fix over the acquisition of land for a power project at Bhangar in South 24 Parganas district.



For the last few months Bhangar, 33 KM from Kolkata, has witnessed a large-scale violence and clashes between the police and farmers. BJP and CPI (M) have accused Mamata of forcibly grabbing the land of farmers and alleged that the Bhangar agitation showed the actual face of Ma, Mati, Manush (Mother, soil and people) government.



On Monday, from the same controversial land in Bhangar, Mamata addressed a public meet to defend her stand that the government was always with the farmers, hinting that BJP, CPI (M)-Congress were instigating farmers.



Our government is always with the farmers. Dont pay heed to rumours and if you have any grievances please come to me directly. We are always there to solve your issues. Please do not fall into their trap, Mamata said.



Electricity is essential for daily life, industry. A power grid will generate employment and it will bring light in your lives, she said, adding that Bengal is the only state to waive off any tax on agricultural land.



Power transmission lines do not affect the womb of women, it does not destroy crops. Do not believe in rumours. A few promoting companies want to convert farmland into housing projects. If power grid comes up they cannot do that. These promoting companies have brought outsiders to mislead people. They want to deprive you of electricity.



We have brought a law to forbid conversion of agricultural land for promoting business. These promoting companies are trying to cheat farmers and grab their land. We will recover all arms that have been brought to Bhangar by outsiders. If you have grievances against any political leaders in Bhangar, let us know, she added.



Trouble started in 2013 when TMC strongman from Bhangar, Arabul Islam reportedly acquired 13 acres of land from farmers for a power project of Power Grid Corporation of India Limited - a central government enterprise - to set up a substation of 440/220KV to transmit power between West Bengal and Purnia in Bihar.



Violent clashes have been a regular in this village ever since. The villagers often engage in fierce battle with the police. Gunshots and explosions are a common thing in this village, and Mamata has now asked the district administration to launch a massive drive against the trouble makers.



Speaking to News18, Bengal Congress President Adhir Chowdhury blamed Mamata for the present situation in Bhangar. Once peaceful and fertile land of Bhangar is now boiling after Mamata ordered to grab lands of farmers. This is the same Mamata who fought for the farmers in Singur and Nandigram. This shows her dual character, he said.



The government is now fearing the presence of outsiders who are linked with the Maoists and fanning the movement against the state government. With the current situation, it is likely that Bhangar could be another Nandigram and Singur in the making.


OnePlus 5 is one of the most awaited Android smartphone, not only in India but the world. The company has been teasing the phone quite often on their social media platforms. Recently Carl Pei also visited Bangalore office of the company to discuss future plans of the OnePlus 5 in India. OnePlus 5 will be unveiled globally on June 20th and in India the official launch will happen on June 22.But, the biggest question is what will the OnePlus 5 be priced at? According to our sources, the OnePlus 5 will be slightly expensive than the current flagship phone OnePlus 3T. The OnePlus 5 will be an Amazon exclusive in India and the 6GB RAM and 64 GB storage variant of the device will be priced atin India. That's approximate $512.There is also a confirmation that the company will also be launching an 8GB RAM phone with 128GB storage on Amazon and it will be priced below Rs 35,000. Our best guess is that the OnePlus will price the 8GB RAM version at Rs 34,999. Some websites also suggest that the higher version of the OnePlus 5 will cost Rs 37,999.Recently OnePlus had already teased the look of the OnePlus 5 on Twitter and showed that it will be sporting a dual-camera setup. The pricing seems very competitive still for OnePlus 5. As the option of good phones in the price bracket of Rs 30-40K is very less, OnePlus always had a competitive advantage over many phones in India.OnePlus 5 at Rs 32,999 will also face a tough competition from Honor's new phone that's also expected to launch a week after the OnePlus 5. Honor 8 Pro will also be sporting a dual-camera setup and the price on the Honor 8 Pro is expected to be less than OnePlus 5.Unlike what rumour mills suggested, there is a horizontal dual camera setup on the OnePlus 5 and not a vertical one. The Chinese smartphone maker has been focussing on the camera, which is evident from the official image. Other rumoured specifications of the upcoming OnePlus 5 include a 5.5-inch display, a 23MP primary camera and a 16MP front snapper. It is expected to pack in a 4,000mAh battery.Watch this space for more on the OnePlus 5.
An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan has sentenced a man to death for allegedly committing blasphemy on Facebook, the media reported.According to a report in the Guardian on Sunday, a court in Bahawalpur in Punjab province of Pakistan handed out the verdict, the harshest yet for such a crime, after finding Taimoor Raza, 30, guilty of insulting the prophet Muhammad.Raza had indulged in a debate about Islam last year with a man who later turned out to be a counter-terrorism agent. Soon after the sectarian debate, Raza was arrested.According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Raza, who belongs to Pakistan's minority Shia Muslim community, was one among 15 people arrested by the counter-terrorism department last year, accused of blasphemy."My brother indulged in a sectarian debate on Facebook with a person, who we later come to know, was a (counter-terrorism department) official with the name of Muhammad Usman," the report quoted Waseem Abbas, Raza's brother, as saying.According to Raza's defence attorney, he has been charged with two unrelated sections of the law to ensure the maximum penalty."Initially, it was a case of insulting remarks on sectarian grounds and the offence was 298A, which punishes for derogatory remarks about other religious personalities for up to two years," said Fida Hussain Rana, the defence counsel."Raza was later charged under section 295C of the penal code, related to "derogatory acts against Prophet Muhammad", Rana added.To battle the blasphemy, Pakistani authorities have asked Twitter and Facebook to help identify users sharing blasphemous content. The government has also circulated text messages encouraging citizens to report fellow citizens sharing blasphemous content.However, human rights defenders have expressed concern and opine that the stringent blasphemy laws are used as a tool to carry out personal vendettas."The casual manner in which death sentences are handed in blasphemy cases coupled with the lack of orientation of Pakistani courts with technology makes this a very dangerous situation," said Saroop Ijaz, a lawyer with Human Rights Watch in Pakistan.Also, the sentence was handed down by an anti-terrorism court and not a regular court, sowing the confusion between national security and religion.
"Tele-law", a scheme under which 1,000 trained volunteers will assist residents of rural areas in reaching legal experts via video conferencing, was launched here on Sunday.The assistance will be given from 500 Common Service Centres in the first phase, where a Para Legal Volunteer (PLV) -- the first point of contact for the villagers -- will connect the villagers to lawyers located elsewhere in the state after understanding their cases, an official statement from the Law and Justice Ministry said.The scheme, a joint effort of the Law and Justice and Electronics and Information Technology Ministries, will also impart training to 1,000 women to act as PLVs."The aim is to promote women entrepreneurship and empowerment and ensure women participation. The selected PLVs will also be provided with relevant training to fulfil their responsibilities effectively," said the statement.Ravi Shankar Prasad, who heads both ministries, said "Tele-Law" will fulfil their commitment to ensure access to justice and empowerment of the poor."The Common Services Centres and Para Legal Volunteers will offer easy legal advice to litigants in rural India making them digitally and financially inclusive," he said.The scheme will be launched across 500 centres in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar on a pilot basis at the panchayat-level in the first phase and will be rolled out on national-level soon.PLVs, at the village centre, will not only help the applicant but also track the progress of the applicants' cases and grievances and maintain a record. CSCs can also be connected to law school clinics, District Legal Service Authorities, voluntary service providers and NGOs working on legal aid.This scheme comes as a continuation to the Access to Justice Project for Marginalised Persons which is being implemented by the Department of Law and Justice, and the United Nation Development Programme.
Berlin: German Chancellor Angela Merkel will on Monday meet African leaders in Berlin on initiatives aiming to reduce the poverty and conflict driving a mass migrant influx to Europe.



The idea is to team up African nations willing to reform with private investors who would bring business and jobs to a continent where instability or graft often scare off foreign companies.



Merkel is hosting the initiative as part of Germany's presidency of the Group of 20 powerful economies, whose leaders meet in the northern port of Hamburg a month later.



Invited to Berlin are Egyptian President Abdel Fattahal-Sisi and the leaders of Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal and Tunisia.



"In Africa, economic development needs to keep pace with the high and accelerating population growth and promise a future for young people, which would also help to ease migratory pressures," said Merkel's spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer.



Germany, Europe's largest economy, has taken in more than one million asylum seekers since 2015 -- more than half from war-torn Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, but also many thousands from Ethiopia, Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa.



Hundreds of thousands more have trekked through the Sahara into lawless Libya, hoping that traffickers there will take them in rickety boats across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.



Those who can't pay the thousands of dollars demanded bythe people smugglers are often held in squalid militia- controlled facilities, which German diplomats have likened to "concentration camps".



Merkel last year visited major transit countries Mali and Niger as well as Ethiopia, the seat of the African Union, and pledged 27 million euros (USD 30 million) in aid aiming to stop migrants heading for Europe in the first place.



"The well-being of Africa is in Germany's interest" Merkel said at the time. Critics have dismissed the latest multilateral Africa initiative as a half-hearted effort without any aid commitment, but organisers say it could help boost prosperity and reduce the mass flight and brain drain, especially of young people.



Under the G20 "compacts" plan, an initial seven African nations will pledge reforms to attract more private sector investment.



Those countries will then receive technical support from the IMF, World Bank, other development institutions and their G20 partner country, which will also support the effort with its own companies.



Germany will team up with Ghana, Ivory Coast and Tunisia, while other G20 members will support efforts by Ethiopia,

Morocco, Rwanda and Senegal.



More than 100 banks, companies and other potential investors are expected at the conference. "This is not about hand-outs or just money or cheap money, but about the opportunity to attract investment, profits and jobs," said a German finance ministry official.



Non-government groups have criticised that the G20 club-- whose only member on the continent is South Africa  is offering no financial commitments of its own, and that international trade often hurts African farmers and producers.



About 1,000 anti-globalisation protesters marched through Berlin on Saturday, waving signs that said "Africa is not for sale" and decrying the conference as a neocolonial grab for African resources at a time Europe wants to slam the door on its migrants.



The NGO One argued that it does little more than" reiterate existing plans" and remains "insufficient, short-sighted and one-dimensional". With Africa's population expected to double by mid- century, it said that "the G20 is not yet ready to face the demographic explosion that Africa will experience in the years to come."
Doha: Qatar Airways on Monday called on the UN's aviation body to declare a Gulf boycott against the carrier "illegal" and a violation of a 1944 convention on international air transport.



Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt this month announced they had suspended ties with Qatar over the emirate's alleged support for extremists, banning all flights to and from the capital Doha and shutting down the offices of the country's national carrier.



The four countries have also granted Qatari nationals two weeks to repatriate and barred Qataris from transiting through their airports.



In televised interviews on Monday, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker called the move an "illegal blockade" and urged the United Nations' civil aviation branch to intervene.



The International Civil Aviation Organization "should heavily get involved, put their weight behind this to declare this an illegal act", he told CNN Money.



Baker said the move was in violation of the 1944 Convention on International Civil Aviation, charged with overseeing and regulating international aviation.



Saudi Arabia is not a signatory to the convention.



In an interview with Al-Jazeera English, Baker also came down hard on US President Donald Trump, whose country has been a longtime ally of Qatar.



"We expect our friends to stand up with us in this unfair, illegal blockade conducted by four countries," the CEO told Al-Jazeera.



"I want the American people to realize that they are trying to intimidate a small country which has the closest relation with the United States," Baker said.



"I think that President Trump's comment about my country is ill-placed, ill-informed, and I can again repeat that I'm very disappointed in him."



Trump on Sunday accused Qatar of bankrolling extremists, throwing his weight behind Saudi Arabia and its allies in the worst crisis to grip the Gulf in years.



As part of the measures against Qatar, Al-Jazeera has also been blocked in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain.




San Francisco: Uber Technologies Inc Chief Executive Travis Kalanick is likely to take a leave of absence from the troubled ride-hailing company, but no final decision has yet been made, according to a source familiar with the outcome of a Sunday board meeting.



Emil Michael, senior vice president and a close Kalanick ally, has left the company, the source said.



At the Sunday meeting, the company's board adopted a series of recommendations from the law firm of former US Attorney General Eric Holder following a sprawling, multi-month investigation into Uber's culture and practices, according to a board representative.



Uber will tell employees about the recommendations on Tuesday, said the representative, who declined to be identified.



Holder and his law firm were retained by Uber in February to investigate company practices after former Uber engineer Susan Fowler published a blog post detailing what she described as sexual harassment and the lack of a suitable response by senior managers.



The recommendations in Holder's firm's report force greater controls on spending, human resources and other areas where executives led by Kalanick have had a surprising amount of autonomy for a company with more than 12,000 employees, a source familiar with the matter said.



The world's most valuable venture-backed private company has found itself at a crossroads as its rough-and-tumble approach to local regulations and handling employees and drivers has led to a series of problems.



It is facing a criminal probe by the US Department of Justice over its use of a software tool that helped its drivers evade local transportation regulators, sources have told Reuters.



Last week, Uber said it fired 20 staff after another law firm looked into 215 cases encompassing sexual harassment, discrimination, unprofessional behavior, bullying and other employee complaints.



SILICON VALLEY SHOCK



Even a temporary departure by Kalanick would be a shock for the Silicon Valley startup world, where company founders in recent years have enjoyed more autonomy and often become synonymous with their firms.



Uber's image, culture and practices have been largely defined by Kalanick's brash approach, company insiders and investors previously told Reuters.



Uber board member Arianna Huffington said in March that Kalanick needed to change his leadership style from that of a "scrappy entrepreneur" to be more like a "leader of a major global company." The board has been looking for a chief operating officer to help Kalanick run the company since March.



The debate over Kalanick's future comes at a moment when he is also facing a personal trauma: His mother died last month in a boating accident, in which his father was also badly injured.



Michael, described by employees as Kalanick's closest deputy, has been a recurring flashpoint for controversy at the company.



He once discussed hiring private investigators to probe the personal lives of reporters writing stories faulting the company. Kalanick disavowed and publicly criticized the comments.



Alongside Uber's management crisis, its self-driving car program is in jeopardy after a lawsuit from Alphabet Inc alleging trade secrets theft, and the company has suffered an exodus of top executives.



One Uber investor called the board's decisions on Sunday a step in the right direction, giving Uber an "opportunity to reboot."
WAYNESBORO  In a wide-ranging, 90-minute interview with The News Virginian last week, Congressman Bob Goodlatte touched on a number of issues, including immigration reform and the so-called travel ban.

Goodlatte, a Republican who has represented Virginias 6th congressional district since 1993, said he wants to handle immigration piecemeal, explaining that sweeping reform doctrines like those that have been proposed in the past cant properly address the intricacies of the immigration issue, particularly when it comes to illegal aliens.

I have believed for a long time now that we need a step-by-step approach to immigration reform, he said. If we do that, it will lead to better [solutions] and will put us in a better position moving forward.

He and Idaho Republican Rep. Raul Labrador have introduced a bill that would strengthen federal law-enforcements ability to both detain and deport illegal aliens who commit serious crimes.

One facet of the legislation deals with so-called sanctuary cities  those whose leaders say they will refuse to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, a division of the Department of Homeland Security.

President Trump has said he plans to withhold federal law-enforcement funds from communities that take steps to become sanctuary cities. Goodlatte said his bill would make it easier for presidents to withhold such aid.

It increases the executive authority to cut off certain funds to communities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities and enforce immigration laws, Goodlatte said, But it gives those cities that want to work with immigration enforcement the [resources] to do that.

Goodlatte said proponents of sanctuary cities such as Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer, who said he wants his community to become a capital of the resistance to the Trump administration, are headed down a slippery slope.

Thats a very serious concern, the congressman said. If you receive taxpayer support for law enforcement, and yet you advertise yourself as a community in which people who have violated the law wont be turned over, thats a serious impediment to enforcing our immigration law.

When it comes to President Trumps approach to immigration reform, Goodlatte said he supports Trumps controversial travel ban  an executive order that temporarily bars entry into the U.S. by citizens of six, largely Muslim nations in the Middle East and North Africa.

The order has been challenged by several civil liberties groups and individual states that say the ban amounts to a Muslim ban targeting Islam and its adherents. They point to Trumps comments during the 2016 campaign that he would enforce a Muslim ban as proof that religion, not nationality, is really behind the order. So far, the courts have generally found the ban unconstitutional. The Trump administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the issue later this year, though its not clear if the court will hear the case.

Goodlatte said he was, in fact, disturbed by Trumps campaign comments, and he acknowledges that courts may look at what a president has said in the past when determining whether or not an order is constitutional.

I have more concern with what he said during the campaign than I do with the executive order, which to me is a wise use of his executive authority, Goodlatte said. Yes, its legitimate in a court proceeding to look at what someone has said previously, but you have to start with the four corners of the [executive order]. And if you dont find a so-called Muslim ban within the four corners of the document, and I would argue very strongly that you do not, then the order, is constitutional and a legitimate use of the presidents authority.

Goodlatte adds that everyone in the six countries included has a 90-day stay, whether theyre Muslim, Christian, Jews, Hindu and so on.

He also pointed out that 40 Muslim-majority nations are not part of the ban.

The nations that are included  Iran, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan and Libya  were selected, Goodlatte argued, because of the difficulty customs officials have had with vetting citizens from those countries who are seeking entry into the U.S.

The director [of the FBI] said they cant do background checks on them, Goodlatte said.

He said in many cases, records and other information from these nations are either inaccessible or have been destroyed due to war, revolution or changes in government.

You cant get these records, he said. You cant interview neighbors or talk to businesses.

That, Goodlatte said, makes the vetting process extremely difficult, if not impossible.

As for Trumps overall immigration policy, Goodlatte said he has met with the president on a number of immigration-related issues, and says the American people may be underestimating the presidents ability to get things done.

I think some interesting things could happen with Donald Trump as president, Goodlatte said. Things that people might not expect. I know he says a lot of things that arent consistent with each other, but hes indicated that he is open to how we handle this issue, and he certainly supports the process that were taking.
newsandtech.com expired on 10/18/2022 and is pending renewal or deletion.

Backorder Domain
Law Association prez mum on Marcia

Asked for his views on the letter dated May 19, Mendes said, I have no comment on that because that appears to be a letter in anticipation of litigation.

There is a chance that this letter might end up in court. In the letter, Ayers-Caesar said, her removal as a Puisne Judge of the High Court two weeks after she was sworn into office by the President, that it was her belief that her purported removal was unlawful and unconstitutional, and my resignation letter was of no effect. According to the constitution, she said, a judge can be removed from office only for inability to perform the functions of office, or for misbehaviour, and further she cannot be removed except in in certain circumstances.

She said, she was not guilty of anything that could sensibly be said to amount to misbehaviour (there is no question of inability to perform the functions of office), and so for this reason alone my effective removal from office was unlawful. The President is also empowered to remove a judge from office only where the question of removal for inability to perform, or misbehaviour has been referred to the Judicial Committee, and the committee has advised the President. This was not done, she said.

According to the constitution, Ayers-Caesar said, the President cannot even refer the question of removal to the Judicial Committee unless (a) the JLSC (Judicial and Legal Services Commission) represent to him that the matter should be investigated, (b) he then sets up a tribunal to look into it, and ( c ) the tribunal recommends that he should refer the question of removal to the Judicial Committee. None of this was done, she said.

Ayers-Caesar said that due process was not followed for her removal. She said that she was forced to resign having had the letter of resignation prepared for her to sign, and a press release to be made public, also prepared for her by the JLSC.

She said that the JLSC acted in breach of the rules of natural justice in making a decision to seek my resignation, or putting me under pressure to resign, without putting the case against me or even warning me of it, and without given me and proper opportunity to resign. She said that she signed the letter of resignation under pressure without legal advice.

The Presidents acceptance of her resignation, she said, was unconstitutional for all the reasons she outlined.

She asked that he consider the matters and respond to her as matter of urgency and to acknowledge that my removal from office was unlawful and unconstitutional and can have no legal effect.
Three more dead in separate shootings

Terrence Ramdin, Christopher Walker, and Nigel Fraser were all killed in separate incidents over the weekend.

Ramdin was shot dead in Malick on Saturday morning; Walker was killed in Cunupia on Saturday night, and on Sunday morning police found the bullet riddled body of Nigel Fraser in Barataria.

According to reports, on Sunday morning at about 9 am, police received a report of gunshots being heard on Sawmill Avenue.

When they checked, they found the body of a man slumped on the ground in a yard in the area. The man was later identified 33-year-old Nigel Fraser.

He is originally from Picton Road, Trou Macaque, Laventille, but had relocated to Sawmill Avenue over the past year. Newsday understands that he was arrested on robbery charges two years ago, and was released on bail last year.

A close female relative told Newsday yesterday that his death was expected because he had always lived a life of crime.

He wasnt no bad fellah but when the system get a hold of a man it does be hard to let go (sic). That is what happened with him, said the close female relative.

Me and him could not agree because he joined up in this Muslim thing and only want to be on this pow-pow thing. But when he make he jail the other day he came out and they said that he could not come back down by us so he came down here to live. Many times I wanted to come up here to see him because his son is only saying he wants to see his father, but I tell him no. Now I have to go back home and tell my son your father is really gone The female relative noted that despite his criminal background, Fraser was an ambitious and caring person.

Hours before Frasers body was found, Christopher Walker, was killed.

Newsday understands that Walker was on Chin Chin Road, in Cunupia, when he was shot by an unknown gunman, at about 8.20 pm. He was rushed to hospital, but died while undergoing treatment.

On Saturday morning, 19-year-old Terrance Ramdin, also known as Dj Pop Skull was killed.

According to reports, Ramdin was in his car along with two other occupants, on Seventh Avenue in Barataria when he was killed. Newsday understands that the 19-year-old was doing a job in Morvant when his laptop broke down. He went to Malick to borrow another laptop from a friend, when his car was intercepted and shot up.

Ramdin died as a result of his wounds, but the two other occupants survived. They are said to be nursing gunshot wounds at hospital.

Autopsies are expected to be done on all three bodies at the Forensic Science Centre in St James today
Rowley discusses OAS and security with US

Rowley, last week, slammed OAS secretary general Luis Almagro for the very derogatory manner in which he engaged Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and called for the OAS official to be changed so that the institution can return to having the potential of being an honest broker to intervene and to provide a pathway for peace and progress in situations as they exist in Venezuela now. Accompanying Prime Minister Rowley at the meeting on Friday were Foreign Minister Dennis Moses, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi and Minister in the Office of the Prime Min ister, Stuart Young.

Accompanying Palmieri, who is assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, were his chief of staff Stephanie Powers, and Charge dAffaires, John McIntyre. The talks also addressed ongoing collaboration on security initiatives and the importance of T&T as a partner of the United States.
Medical Centre to respond this week

Newsdays Sunday story reported that Murray was attending to patients at the medical centre in Freeport up to Saturday.

Sunday Newsday also reported that, according to an administrative official at the Medical Board of Trinidad and Tobago, Murray was not in possession of a medical license to practice locally as he had not renewed his since 2004.

Attempts to speak with Murray and owners of the medical centre were unsuccessful.

Contacted for a response again yesterday morning, a doctor from the medical centre said they were drafting a response to be issued this week.

According to the administrative official at the Medical Board of Trinidad and Tobago, Murray, who was convicted and sentenced to four years in a California county jail after the court found him guilty of involuntary manslaughter for Jacksons death, attempted to have his licence renewed around two years ago.

He was unable to do so, however, as he could not furnish the board with valid licences and letters of good standing from medical boards where he last worked.

After Murray was convicted in 2011, the medical boards of Nevada and California suspended his medical licences. His Texas license was revoked in 2013. Prior to his conviction for Jacksons death, Murray had a spotless medical record. Chief Medical Officer Dr Roshan Parasram said the recently appointed Council of the Medical Board which is expected to have its first sitting this week would be looking into the report of Murrays practice this week.
Get the news faster.

Tap to install our app. Access Newser even faster.

Click here to install our app on your desktop.

X
A Texas woman serving a life sentence for a relatively minor drug offense and given a second chance by President Obama is headed back to prison. Carol Denise Richardson, 49, was among hundreds of non-violent drug offenders granted clemency by Obama, who was persuaded by arguments from activists that drug laws were unfair, the Washington Post reports. They argued that defendants like Richardson found in possession of solid crack cocainein her case 50 gramssuffered unduly harsh sentences compared with those possessing powder cocaine, which weighs less and carries a lighter penalty. Richardson had served 10 years in prison when she was released in July 2016 as part of the largest prisoner release in US history.

But she lost her freedom when she was arrested for theft on April 13. Defense lawyer Mark Diaz tells the Houston Chronicle that Richardson couldn't kick her crack habit and had stolen $60 worth of laundry detergent that she planned to sell to buy drugs. The same federal judge who sent Richardson to prison in 2006 rejected her lawyer's plea for rehab last week, ordering Richardson back to the slammer for 14 months, followed by five years of supervised release. "This defendant was literally given a second chance to become a productive member of society and has wasted it," Assistant US Attorney Ted Imperato said, per the Chronicle. A drug offenders advocacy group counters that Richardson was never treated for her drug problem, saying, "the system has failed Carol, yet again." (One inmate turned down Obama's clemency offer.)
Speculation surrounding Trumps anticipated visit to England has piqued amid two reports that he's having second thoughts because of a potentially bad reception. The Guardian reports that plans are "on hold" after Trump relayed as much on a phone call made in recent weeks to Prime Minister Theresa May, who had extended the invitation on behalf of Queen Elizabeth just a week into Trump's presidency. A Downing Street adviser claims to have been present during the call, saying Trump would withhold visiting until the public supports him coming. The claim comes days after London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who has been feuding with Trump, said the president should cancel his trip. No firm date was ever announced, though it was expected sometime in the fall.

The New York Times also reports that Trump is reconsidering the visit, quoting administration officials who say he has told aides and May herself that he is hesitant. But spokespeople for both Trump and May reject the allegation. The White House released a statement saying that Trump has tremendous respect for May and denies the trip was mentioned in their recent phone calls, and a Washington Post reporter tweeted that press secretary Sean Spicer called the Guardian report false." Mays office denies that anything has changed and says it won't "comment on speculation" about private phone calls, per Reuters. "The queen extended an invitation to President Trump to visit the UK and there is no change to those plans. (Read more Sadiq Khan stories.)
Going by votes cast, statehood was the overwhelming winner in a referendum Puerto Rico held Sunday. But going by the actions of most Puerto Ricans, staying home or going to the beach was the runaway winner. The island, a US territory since 1898, held a non-binding referendum on statehood Sunday, and becoming the 51st state won with 97% of the votes, NBC reports, with 1.3% opting for the status quo and 1.5% choosing independence. But with opposition parties boycotting the vote, turnout was extremely low: Only 23% of voters cast a ballot in a territory where turnout is usually closer to 80%. In a similar referendum in 2012, before the island's financial troubles deepened, 61% voted for statehood.

The White House declined to comment on the vote. Statehood supporters including Gov. Ricardo Rossello say it is absurd for the US to encourage democracy abroad and reject it for the American citizens of Puerto Rico, though some Puerto Ricans doubt the administration will welcome a new state that would be the poorest in the US by far, the New York Times reports. Puerto Ricans can't vote in presidential elections and their only representative in Congress has limited powers, but the Hill reports that the island will now implement the statehood plan that worked for Tennessee in 1796. The governor will appoint two senators and five representatives who will go to Washington, DC, and demand to be seated. (Read more Puerto Rico stories.)
Preet Bharara says two phone calls from President Trump made him uncomfortableand he was fired less than 24 hours after refusing to return a third one. On ABC's This Week on Sunday, the former US attorney for Manhattan said President Obama never called him directly and he found it strange when Trump, as president-elect, called saying he wanted to "shoot the breeze," reports Reuters. He said he reported the phone calls to the attorney general because he felt it was "inappropriate" that Trump seemed be trying to "cultivate some kind of relationship" with him. Bharara said when he got a message after Trump became president, he decided that returning it would not be appropriate, and was out of a job 22 hours later.

"It's a very weird and peculiar thing for a one-on-one conversation without the attorney general, without warning, between the president and me or any United States attorney who ... is in a position hypothetically to investigate business interests and associates of the president," Bharara said, adding that as a federal prosecutor, the number of calls he would expect to receive from the president is zero. "To this day, I have no idea why I was fired," said Bharara, who sat behind James Comey during the former FBI director's Senate testimony last week, the Washington Post reports. During the interview, Bharara said Comey's firing "felt a little bit like deja vu." (Read more Preet Bharara stories.)
"Everybody has a doppelganger. Luckily we found his," says a lawyer for a man who has been freed after serving 17 years for a crime he always insisted he didn't commit. Richard Jones was released by a Kansas judge after lawyers presented evidence that there is another man who bears an uncanny resemblance to him and that witnesses could not tell the two of them apart, the Kansas City Star reports. There was never any physical evidence linking Jones to the 1999 robbery he was sent to prison for. Jones' girlfriend and family members backed up his alibi, but he was convicted after witnesses, including the robbery victim, identified him. The victim testified last week that she can no longer be certain Jones was the robber.

Jones says people in prison told him there was another inmate who looked just like him and had the same first name. No criminal case has been filed yet against the other man, who, unlike Jones, lived near the scene of the crime, the BBC reports. Jones was arrested months after the robbery after a witness picked his photo out of around 200 people named Richard. Other witnesses were shown a photo line-up in which Jones was the only light-skinned person. Jones, who became a grandfather while in prison, was released with the help of the Midwest Innocence Project. Kansas has no law compensating victims of wrongful conviction, but a GoFundMe page has been set up to support Jones' return to society. (Read more Innocence Project stories.)
A 15-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder in the death of a 10-year-old Colorado girl. Kiaya Campbell was reported missing in the city of Thornton on Wednesday, and her body was found the next day about 1.5 miles from her father's house, the AP reports. Investigators said her body had signs of severe trauma.

Kiaya was last seen with the 15-year-old son of her father's girlfriend. Police wouldn't confirm if he was the boy arrested Saturday night. The girlfriend's son had told investigators that he and the girl had gotten separated during a thunderstorm, though some neighbors disputed that there was a storm that night, reports the Denver Post. (Read more Colorado stories.)
Beware the ides of March ... or the withdrawal of six-figure sponsorships. Delta Air Lines and Bank of America on Sunday night pulled their sponsorship of New Yorks Public Theater over its production of Julius Caesar. The issue: In this reimagining, it's a President Trump lookalike (Gregg Henry) who plays the title characterand is ultimately stabbed to death by a group of women and minorities. Similarly, Tina Benko plays Caesar's wife with what the New York Daily News calls a "thick Slavic accent." More on the timeline and the fallout:

NBC New York sums up the play thusly: "In a production that may as well have been renamed Donald Trump, the conquering hero ... puts a hand on the crotch of his Slavic wife, picks on a 'reporter' planted in the audience, posts to social media and bathes in a golden tub."

The play is set to open Monday in Central Park, having been in previews since May 23. The New York Times reports that criticism has been building over the last week, and reached a "fever pitch" Sunday thanks to coverage by Fox News.

Donald Trump Jr. retweeted that Fox link Sunday morning, appending this: "I wonder how much of this 'art' is funded by taxpayers? Serious question, when does 'art' become political speech & does that change things?"

Four-year sponsor Delta backed out first, saying the "artistic and creative direction crossed the line on the standards of good taste." Deadline reports its support was worth $100,000 to $499,000 a year. Eleven-year backer Bank of America exited next, saying in part, "Had this intention [to provoke and offend] been made known to us, we would have decided not to sponsor it."

The Times cites this online note from director Oskar Eustis, which it says "makes clear" the play is a cautionary tale, not an endorsement of taking out political leaders.

Deadline's take in its review: "It may not be as crude as the assassination of Kim Jong-un in The Interview, but the timing is not so good in the wake of laffair Kathy Griffin."

(Read more theater stories.)
Pakistan just put a man on death row because of his Facebook posts. In what is believed to be the first death penalty sentence anywhere over social media content, a court convicted the 30-year-old of insulting the prophet Mohammed and his wives, reports Reuters. The details about Taimoor Raza's posts aren't known, but the Guardian reports that he got into an online debate about Islam last year with a man who was actually an undercover counter-terrorism agent. "An anti-terrorism court of Bahawalpur has awarded him the death sentence," says a public prosecutor. Raza, who belongs to the nation's Shia minority, will be able to appeal his verdict to the nation's Supreme Court.

Blasphemy is a volatile issue in Pakistan, with Dawn noting that a mob killed a college student earlier this year who was accused of making blasphemous statements on social media. Other men are on death row for blasphemy, but Raza is the first there because of online statements. Human rights defenders say it's a risky precedent, one that opens up the possibility of people being framed. "The casual manner in which death sentences are handed in blasphemy cases coupled with the lack of orientation of Pakistani courts with technology makes this a very dangerous situation," says an attorney with Human Rights Watch. (Read more blasphemy stories.)
You definitely know Walmart, and you likely know Kroger. If you don't know Aldi, that will probably change by 2022. The low-cost grocery chain was already planning on expanding its 1,650 stores to 2,000 by the end of 2018. The company now says it will be at 2,500 locations by the end of 2022 thanks to a $3.4 billion investment. Reuters reports that count will make it the third largest grocery chain in America. Krogerwhich also owns Fry's, Ralphs, and Harris Teeterhas about 2,800 supermarkets; Walmart is at about 4,700.

The German company focuses on private-label goods, as Trader Joe's doesso no Kraft macaroni and cheeseand says it aims to give customers organic produce and meat raised without antibiotics. How the AP paints the move: more competition for traditional grocers, Walmart, and organics-focused chains like Whole Foods. CEO Jason Hart in May told Reuters its prices were in some cases half of what supermarkets charge. "We're growing at a time when other retailers are struggling." (Aldi is currently No. 5 on another list.)
"Liar" was perhaps the word of the week last week, and Sean Spicer used it on Sunday in a fresh context: To slap down a report that President Trump has set a July 4 deadline by which Chief of Staff Reince Priebus needs to shake up the White House staffor risk being ousted. "Whoever is saying that is either a liar or out of the loop," Spicer said in a statement. Politico counters that with its report, by way of two Trump officials and three outsiders who are close to the situation, which puts Trump in the Oval Office with Priebus, former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, and deputy campaign manager David Bossie shortly after his international travels.

The president has been toying with the idea of bringing Lewandowski and Bossie into the fold and reportedly said, "I don't want them to come into this mess. If I'm going to clean house, they will come in as fresh blood. ... I'm giving you until July 4." CBS News reports its own source backed up the July 4 deadline. But Politico also casts plenty of doubt on the idea that the shakeup will come to pass, citing two former rumored shakeups involving Priebusat the 100-day mark and Memorial Daythat never materialized. On the much more speculative side, a source tells Politico Trump has floated ambassador of Greece as a possible landing spot for Priebus. (Read more President Trump stories.)
Fungal diseases have hit species including frogs and bats, and now one is taking a toll on North American snake populations, National Geographic reports. Some 30 snake species in 15 US states and Canada have been hit hard by snake fungal disease, though rattlesnakes appear to be at particularly high risk, notably the endangered eastern massasauga. The disease causes lesions and blisters that when spread to a reptile's head can result in starvation. Since snakes hunt rodents, which spread ticks and parasites, their absence could lead to other problems. "This is especially important now, with talk of this being one of the worst Lyme disease years that weve had in a long time," biologist Jonathan Kolby tells National Geographic.

Fungal diseases that have also afflicted other animal populations remain mysterious. The disease is caused by O. ophiodiicola, a fungus identified in snakes as far back as 1880, though the fatal lesions began to appear only in 2000, per the BBC. How the pathogen spreads is unclear. "We dont know where exactly they came from or why they suddenly appear to be more virulent," Kolby says. Another expert points to habitat destruction or cooler, wetter spring climates that drive snakes underground for longer periods where they are more vulnerable to infection. Kolby is concerned the US could be the source of the disease, which has also been spotted in captive snakes in England, Australia, and Germany. The pet trade may be spreading the pathogen unknowingly via clothing and boots, per Healthy Pets. (It turns out snakes are not "solitary and stupid.")
As tens of thousands protest corruption throughout Russia on Monday, prominent opposition figure Alexei Navalny is not among them. Navalny was reportedly arrested 30 minutes before things were set to kick off in Moscow, with wife Yulia tweeting, "Alexei has been arrested in the entrance to our block of flats," but "our plans haven't changed," per the BBC. That will make for one fewer protester on a day when NBC News suggests numbers count: The "scale and geographical reach" will indicate whether Navalny was able to successfully grow protests held in March that saw more than 1,000 people arrested. Those protestsspurred by Navalny's charges that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev had enriched himself with $1 billion worth of mansions, yachts, and vineyards, reports the Washington Postwere the largest in roughly five years.

NBC News notes one favorable condition as far as turnout goes: Monday is Russia Day, a public holiday. The Post sees the protests as a sort of bellwether for Navalny, who wants to take the presidency from Vladimir Putin in 2018 (though Navalny has technically been disqualified as a candidate). As for why Navalny was arrested, Moscow's general prosecutor indicated it was over his "illegal" last-minute call to change the protest location in that city from the approved spot, where plans to erect a stage were apparently scuttled, to Tverskaya Street near the Kremlin. After the venue-change announcement, the AP reports Moscow police warned "any provocative actions from the protesters' side will be considered a threat to public order and will be immediately suppressed." (Navalny was partially blinded by toxic green dye in April.)
Bill Cosby arrived at court Monday morning for Day 6 of his sexual assault trial and the start of the defense side of the case, accompanied by his wife of 53 years, Camille. Camille Cosby's arrival marked the first time during the trial of the comedian once known as America's Dad that a family member was at his side, reports the AP. The couple have four daughters. The prosecution rested its case Friday after five swift days of testimony in the case that could send the 79-year-old Cosby to prison for the rest of his life, and the question now hanging over the case is whether the TV star will testify. Cosby's spokesman said last week that the comic might take the stand, but his lawyers were mum.

Cosby could charm jurors by testifying. But experts said the legal risks would be considerable. "He could be a fantastic witness. ... He's an actor and he's a very good actor," says Duquesne University School of Law professor Wes Oliver. But "he is potentially opening the door to a whole lot of cross-examination that they fought really hard to keep out." And that's not all: Prosecutors wanted 13 other accusers to testify at the trial, but the judge allowed just one. If Cosby testifies, and denies drugging and molesting accuser Andrea Constand or anyone else, the judge might allow more accusers to testify as rebuttal witnesses. The trial would move to closing arguments on Monday if the defense decided not to put anyone on the stand. (The judge rejected the Cosby team's strategy on Constand.)
Another day of White House drama before a Senate panel: Attorney General Jeff Sessions' testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday will be open to the public, reports Politico. Sessions made the request for the open hearing himself. The attorney general is expected to be questioned over his meetings with a top Russian official prior to assuming his current post. Former FBI chief James Comey raised the stakes for Sessions during his own testimony when he said that he knew of information that would have made it "problematic" for Sessions to oversee the FBI's investigation into Russian meddling in the election.

Comey didn't elaborate on what he meant by that, at least in the public portion of his hearing. Sessions recused himself from the Russian investigation when it emerged that he had met at least twice with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak but had failed to mention those talks in his confirmation hearing to become attorney general. In his closed-door testimony, Comey said Sessions may have met with Kislyak a third time, reports the Los Angeles Times. Sessions' hearing was set to begin at 2:30pm Eastern. (Read more Jeff Sessions stories.)
The man who will soon be the nation's newest member of Congress learned his penalty on Monday for roughing up a reporter: 40 hours of community service, a $385 fine, and 20 hours of anger-management counseling. Montana Congressman-elect Greg Gianforte pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault for his infamous body-slam of Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs the day before polls opened in his House race last month, reports the Missoulian. The bright side for Gianforte: The judge thought about jailing him for four days, but ultimately decided against it, reports the Guardian.

"I just want to say Im sorry," Gianforte told Jacobs, who was present in court. When the judge asked Gianforte what happened, he said he went after Jacobs' phone when the reporter was asking him a question but ended up grabbing his wrists instead and taking him to the floor. Last week, in a civil settlement, Gianforte agreed to apologize in writing and donate $50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists. (Read more Greg Gianforte stories.)
Police are looking into potential foul play at a hospital where an 8-year-old boys organs were donated after he was taken off life support four years ago. The LA Times reports that Cole Hartman went into cardiac arrest after almost drowning in his homes washing machine. After being rushed by helicopter to Californias Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center the boy remained in a coma and on life support, but was not brain dead. His parents decided to remove him from his ventilator and donate his organs after learning that he would never return to normal neuro function and might never awaken. He was pronounced dead 23 minutes after being removed from life support, but the LAPD and district attorney are now investigating allegations that the boys death may have been accelerated so his organs could be harvested.

At the time of his autopsy, pediatric coroners investigator Denise Bertone noted that Cole was administered an amount of an opioid called fentanyl by his anesthesiologist that she found suspect for a boy his weight. Since Cole was not brain dead, his organ donation came after cardiac death, a process in which organs deteriorate much more rapidly, which can result in "time pressures," per the Times. Though opioids are allowed under UCLAs policy for cases like Coles in doses that are clinically appropriate to prevent discomfort, Bertone worked to amend the boys death certificate despite protests from her superiors. The certificate was changed to include fentanyl toxicity as a significant cause of death in December, and thus began a highly sensitive criminal investigation that one detective calls very complicated. A lawyer for the anesthesiologist says the allegations are factually wrong and patently offensive, and that her client was only ensuring that Cole would not suffer any pain. Read the full story at the Times. (Read more hospital stories.)
Another US appeals court upheld a decision blocking President Donald Trump's revised travel ban Monday, dealing the administration another legal defeat as the Supreme Court considers a separate case on the issue, the AP reports. The ruling from a unanimous three-judge panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals said the president violated US immigration law by discriminating against people based on their nationality and by failing to demonstrate that their entry into the country would hurt American interests. "Immigration, even for the president, is not a one-person show," the judges said. "The president's authority is subject to certain statutory and constitutional restraints." It keeps in place a decision by US District Judge Derrick Watson in Hawaii that he based largely on Trump's campaign statements calling for a "complete and total shutdown" of Muslims entering the US.

Watson ruled that the true purpose of the temporary ban on travel from six mostly Muslim nations was to discriminate against Islamnot to protect national security. That violated the Constitution's prohibition on the government officially favoring or disfavoring any religion, he said. The 9th Circuit judges said they didn't need to reach the constitutional question because the travel ban violated immigration law, and thus wasn't allowed. The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Virginia also ruled against the travel ban May 25, citing the president's campaign statements as evidence that the 90-day ban is "steeped in animus and directed at a single religious group." The administration has appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court. The high court is considering a request to reinstate the policy and could act before the justices wind up their work at the end of June. (Read more Trump travel ban stories.)
A detective testifying at a hearing for 18 Penn State fraternity brothers accused in the death of a 19-year-old pledge said Monday the student looked like a corpse in surveillance video from the frat house. "He looked dead, he looked like a corpse," said State College Police Detective David Scicchitano, describing sophomore Tim Piazza's appearance in footage showing frat brothers carrying him upstairs the morning after a pledge event that involved heavy drinking, reports the AP. Scicchitano spoke at preliminary hearing at a courthouse near campus that will determine if there's enough evidence to send the case to court for trial. Video shot inside the Beta Theta Pi house was being shown from the night the pledge was ordered to drink and then fatally injured in a series of falls. The Post-Gazette notes that this is the first time prosecutors showed the video.

Piazza consumed what prosecutors said was a life-threatening amount of alcohol during a hazing ritual on Feb. 2 and he died two days later. Fraternity members didn't call 911 until nearly 12 hours after his first fall. Piazza's father, Jim, rocked back and forth quietly in the front row of the courtroom as he heard his son's final hours described. When the video started, he and his wife Evelyn left the courtroom. "The grand jury presentment released last month had described what was on the video in detail, but still it was no match for the actual footage," the Post-Gazette notes. The defendants face a variety of charges, with some accused of involuntary manslaughter and felony aggravated assault. Piazza died at a hospital Feb. 4 from traumatic brain injury and had suffered severe abdominal bleeding. His blood-alcohol measured at a dangerous level. Penn State has permanently banned the fraternity, saying the school found "a persistent pattern" of excess drinking, drug use, and hazing. (Read more fraternity stories.)
Sorry!

This content is not available in your region
Fairbanks, AK (99707)

Today

Snow showers this evening. Becoming partly cloudy later. Low near 10F. Winds light and variable. Chance of snow 70%..

Tonight

Snow showers this evening. Becoming partly cloudy later. Low near 10F. Winds light and variable. Chance of snow 70%.
Mumbai:

Budget carrier SpiceJet will launch two new daily direct flights to Porbandar and Kandla from Mumbai under the Central governments regional connectivity scheme-UDAN in July.

The Gurgaon-based carrier would be the first major airline to launch flights on the RCS route.

The two new routesMumbai-Porbandar-Mumbai and Mumbai-Kandla-Mumbaiwill be operational with a 78-seater Bombardier Q400 regional jet from July 10, SpiceJet said.

Under the UDAN scheme, the airline will be operating the new flights on the Mumbai-Porbandar route with RCS seats at Rs 2,250 (all inclusive) whereas the fare on the Mumbai-Kandla and Kandla-Mumbai routes would be Rs 2,500 (all inclusive) for RCS seats.

The government had in March awarded 128 regional routes to five airlines -? Alliance Air, SpiceJet, Turbo Megha, Air Odisha and Air Deccanfor launching flights under UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik) scheme, which aims at boosting air connectivity to the hinterland.

As many as 70 airports, including 31 unserved and 12 under-served ones, would be connected with the UDAN flights. Under the scheme, on each flight, 50 per cent of the seats would have a cap of Rs 2,500 per seat/hour.

An unserved airport is one to which there is no daily service, while an under-served airport is one which has not seen a flight for two consecutive flight schedules.

I am delighted that SpiceJet is helping realise Prime Minister Narendra Modis vision of ensuring that every Indian can fly, SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh said.

UDAN is a grand scheme and we are proud to be amongst the pacesetters for the scheme. It has been our constant endeavour to enable the common man to fly since we began operations 12 years back. We will connect many more small towns and cities in times to come, Singh said.

SpiceJet also said it is the only airline which hasnt sought subsidy or viability gap funding under this scheme.

Under UDAN, the operators would be extended viability gap funding.

SpiceJet was awarded six proposals and 11 routes under the first phase of the Regional Connectivity Scheme.

Out of the six proposals, four will cater to unserved markets of Adampur, Kandla, Puducherry and Jaisalmer whereas two will be for under-served markets of Porbandar and Kanpur, the airline said.

SpiceJet is countrys largest regional player operating a fleet of 19 Bombardier Q400 planes, which can seat 78 passengers. Besides it had 33 Boeing 737s as well in the fleet.

For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday asked Education Minister Manish Sisodia to explore the possibility of giving 80 per cent reservation to students of the national capital in the Delhi government-aided colleges.

Kejriwal also asked him to see if 80-85 per cent of guest teachers could be inducted from the national capital through a drive being conducted to appoint 9,000 teachers. This move would help generate jobs for the people of Delhi.

Interacting with volunteers through Google Hangout, Kejriwal listed measures taken by his government, especially in the health and education sectors and urged them to popularise the AAP dispensation's schemes.

He said the AAP government want to achieve 100 per cent literacy in the national capital.

The chief minister said he had been receiving complaints from students belonging to Delhi about not getting admission in the city-based colleges.

"Delhi is the capital of the nation. It belongs to everyone and all are welcome here. But the colleges being run with the money of Delhi's taxpayers should have some reservation and students of Delhi should be given priority.

"I request Manish ji (Sisodia) to explore the possibility of giving reservation in 28 colleges which get aid from the Delhi government," he said.

The AAP had proposed a similar move in the past. With high cut-offs for admission to several colleges in Delhi, many students in the national capital complain of not getting seats.

Also, the Delhi students have to compete with those who complete their Class XII from outside the national capital.

At present, Delhi Technological University and the Indraprastha University give reservation to students domiciled in Delhi.

Kejriwal said the ambit of the Delhi government's education scheme to stand as a guarantor for students seeking education loan up to Rs 10 lakh has been expanded.

"This scheme was applicable to students pursuing courses in colleges in Delhi. Now, they can take benefit of the scheme to study anywhere in the world," he said.

He, however, rued that the government's flagship scheme for providing free treatment in private hospitals was not being implemented properly.

"When I visited the hospitals, I realised that not all know about the scheme. I have told the medical superintendents to popularise this scheme," he said.

Kejriwal also demanded that the Centre waive farm loans and implement the Swaminathan Commission report. If the Centre can waive loans of industrialists, then it can also write off the debt of farmers.

Earlier in the day, Kejriwal visited his constituency of New Delhi and interacted with people.
New Delhi:

The Central Board of Secondary Education on Tuesday has opposed in the Madras High Court saying that NEET 2017 Question papers for admission to MBBS and BDS courses were easier than the papers in English. NEET Results 2017 had been delayed and should be declared soon, the Board said.

CBSE has rejected the contention that question papers in vernacular languages such as Gujarati were easier compared to English after

Justice M V Muralidharan had on May 24 stayed declaration 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.

Union health and family welfare secretary, director-general health services, New Delhi, Medical Council of India (MCI), Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Tamil Nadu health and family welfare secretary were asked by the judge to file their replies by June 7.

The court had on Tuesday sought the English translation of Gujarati, Hindi and Marathi question papers of the NEET.

On May 7, over 11.35 lakh students appeared for the CBSE NEET exams 2017 across the country. 88,000 candidates had registered for NEET in

Tamil Nadu, while more than 84,000 took the test. CBSE was forced to stop evaluation of answer sheers following the courts order. Also, the answer keys were not declared as per schedule on May 30.

There are 24 government-run colleges and equal number of private colleges in Tamil Nadu. The counselling sessions will start only by the month-end even if the CBSE NEET Results 2017 are announced in mid-June.

"The first concern for many of us is whether students will first secure the required mark to make it to the colleges. Without knowing that, we have had to apply for other colleges to keep options open. But even colleges have a deadline and will not reserve seats. Only when we get clarity on results can we move ahead," R Geeta, a parent was quoted as saying by TOI.

The Supreme Court had in April 2016 made NEET mandatory for admissions to all medical and dental colleges. CBSE had conducted the examination across the country on behalf of the medical and dental councils of India on May 7.








New Delhi:

Maharashtra SSC result 2017 has been announced on Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) official website. The pass percentage has been recorded as 88.74%. The girls have again left boys behind as per the reports pass percentage of girls are 91.46% and Boys 86.51%.

On Monday however, The Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) will inform about the dates to students and parents via print and electronic media once its decided, said the Board official.

There were rumours that the Board is likely to release the results for the Maharashtra MSBSHSE class 10 board exams by the first half of next week. The Maharashtra Board will announce SSC result 2017 date by Monday. Once the result is declared students can check their marks on the official website mahahsscboard.maharashtra.gov.in.

This year about 17,66,098 candidates appeared for the class 10 state boards which were conducted in the month of March. Among them, there were 9,89,908 boys and 7,76,190 girls.

The Maharashtra SSC exam was held at 4,728 centres across the state and students will need to score at least 35 per cent in each subject to clear the class 10 Maharashtra Board exams. Last year, a total of 1727496 students appeared for the exam.

Also Read: Maharashtra SSC Class 10th Result ANNOUNCED; check here

Steps to download SSC result 2017:

 Visit the official website of the Board (mahahsscboard.maharashtra.gov.in)

 On the homepage, click on SSC results 2017

Enter the roll number and other details

 Download and take a print out for further reference.

About Maharashtra Board:

The Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education is a statutory and autonomous body established under the "Maharashtra Secondary Boards Act" 1965 (amended in 1977). Most important task of the board, among few others, is to conduct the SSC and HSC examinations.
Chennai:

Giving a clear indication that merger of the two rival AIADMK groups is not possible, Puratchi Thalaivi Amma camp leader O Panneerselvam on Sunday announced dissolving a seven-member panel set up to hold merger talks with the Amma faction led by Chief Minister K Palaniswami.

The former Tamil Nadu chief minister made the announcement at a meeting of party functionaries. It was received by cheers from supporters, with his senior colleagues rushing to congratulate him.

He said he was being forced to come up with such an announcement as he had been tolerating all kinds of irresponsible statements from the opposition camp.

People from all walks of life, especially women, students and the youth, were now opposing the idea of the merger, he said.

In this situation, the panel that was formed on behalf of our team (to hold merger talks) is being dissolved, he said amid loud cheers from supporters.

Panneerselvams announcement came as no visible progress was made in the proposed talks. Former ministers K P Munusamy (PT) and R Vaithilingam (Amma) led the respective panels, which were formed in April.

Though both sides publicly announced their willingness to hold talks, the Panneerselvam faction remained firm on its demand for a CBI probe into the death of Jayalalithaa and the removal of AIADMK chief VK Sasikala and her family members, including Deputy General Secretary TTV Dhinakaran, from the party as a precondition for talks.

None of the demands had been met, though a section of ministers revolted against Dhinakaran in April, asking him to stay away from party affairs. He had also announced then that he was stepping aside.

However, he had recently, upon release on bail in the Election Commission bribery case, said he would continue with party work.

Also Read: Talks on AIADMK merger between both camps are in progress, says Tamil Nadu minister

At the meeting, Panneerselvam took a dig at the Palaniswami camp, saying MLAs were gifted gold, diamond and cash during their stay at a resort at Koovathur near here, prior to the February 18 trust vote faced and won by Palaniswami.

Amma asked for votes for us and people voted. All should remember that, he said.

Panneerselvam had revolted against Sasikala in February, alleging he was forced to make way for her elevation as chief minister.

He later led the breakaway faction of some MPs and MLAs besides senior functionaries.

Also Read: AIADMK factions heading towards merger, Panneerselvam says good ambience evolving for positive talks

The faction has since challenged the election of Sasikala as AIADMK general secretary before the Election Commission, while also staking claim for the partys two leaves symbol.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

A three-member committee to consult political parties, including the opposition, in a bid to reach a consensus about a presidential candidate for the upcoming poll was constituted by BJP President Amit Shah on Monday.

The committee, comprising senior union ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and M Venkaiah Naidu, will hold talks with BJP allies and opposition parties for the election, the BJP said.

This committee will consult leaders of different political parties over the presidential poll and try to evolve a consensus, a BJP statement said.

The filing of nomination for the election begins on June 14 and continues till June 28. The poll is scheduled for July 17.

Opposition parties have been holding consultations among themselves over the election to the top constitutional post and are likely to field a candidate if the BJP-led NDA choose somebody with strong Hindutva leanings.

The BJP on its part has so far given little indication of its choice.

A strong section within the party is of the view that it should pick a nominee with strong ideological moorings as it now has the numbers to ensure a victory in the poll if the opposition parties put up a candidate.

Also read: We have not taken any decision regarding presidential election: Amit Shah

Though the BJPs committee of three veterans will consult political parties across the ideological spectrum, the final decision on the nominee will be taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah.

Only after the BJP announces its candidate will the opposition parties, including the Congress and the Left, take a final call on a candidate.

The electorate, comprising elected Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members and members of state assemblies, is tilted in favour of the ruling NDA, but the opposition is trying to woo some regional parties to support their candidate.

Also read: Congress demands apology from Shah for his remarks on Mahatma Gandhi; says it is insult to father of the nation

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Monday slammed Centre for not providing adequate procurement price to farmers that coerced the latter to hit the streets in various states. He said the farmers are not getting adequate minimum support price and it is the reason for the current agrarian crisis.

While addressing a press conference, the Bihar chief minister alleged that soil health cards are not meant for farmers as it indirectly gives benefit to crop insurance companies.

The farmers had staged the protest in BJP-ruled states Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra in past few days. Five people were killed in police firing in Mandsaur during farmers protest.

Inadequate & low procurement prices for farmers' produce is basis of current agrarian crisis: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar in Patna pic.twitter.com/1Wxq53TNlj  ANI (@ANI_news) June 12, 2017

Reacting to Keshav Prasad Maurya statement, Nitish said he is ready to go for mid-term polls in Bihar but the BJP should also hold simultaneously for Uttar Pradesh too.

Ready for elections in Bihar tomorrow, but if you have courage do it simultaneously for Uttar Pradesh too:Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on KP Maurya pic.twitter.com/Ry000JgYdy  ANI (@ANI_news) June 12, 2017

He said all NDA and BJP Lok Sabha members of UP and Bihar should resign and go for a fresh poll.

NDA,BJP people from Bihar and UP who have won, should resign from Lok Sabha membership, and conduct fresh elections then: Nitish Kumar  ANI (@ANI_news) June 12, 2017

Also Read | I asked officials to destroy seized alcohol publicly: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

A pornographic clip was reportedly played by a BSF officer during a presentation on training at Ferozepur. The force immediately ordered a probe into the matter.



The accused officer was supposed to give a presentation on his official laptop during a Sainik Sammelan. The presentation was being held at the headquarters of the 77th Battalion on Saturday.



According to reports, a porn clip stated playing instead of the presentation for about 90 seconds. A probe has been ordered and details will emerge once it is completed, BSF DIG RS Kataria said.



Any such action which affects BSFs discipline and efficiency would not be tolerated, DIG Kataria added.

ALSO READ: J-K: Pakistan violates ceasefire along LoC in Bimber Gali, Indian Army retaliates

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

India Meteorological Department has claimed that the southwest monsoon is advancing into Maharashtra and West Bengal and a "good week" is ahead.

The Met department's Director General K J Ramesh said monsoon is in an "active phase" and has reached Mumbai, Mahabaleshwar (in Maharashtra) and several parts of the Konkan region, apart from Bijapur district in north Karnataka.

"There is also a low-pressure area in the Bay of Bengal and this will take the monsoon to several parts of West Bengal. "The coming week will be very good for the advance of monsoon on the western side and east India, Ramesh said. However, there will be no significant change in maximum temperatures over most part of the country during the next 24 hours and mercury is likely rise by 2-3 degrees Celcius over plains of northwest India thereafter.

The IMD last week upgraded its initial monsoon forecast from 96 per cent of the Long Period Average (LPA) to 98 per cent, which comes in the range of "normal" rainfall. The monsoon reached Kerala on May 30, two days ahead of its normal schedule."

Favourable conditions are developing for further advance of southwest monsoon into some more parts of central Arabian Sea, Konkan, Madhya Maharashtra.

"It is expected to advance to interior Karnataka and remaining parts of Rayalaseema, some parts of Telangana and some more parts of Coastal Andhra Pradesh, central and north Bay of Bengal, Tripura, Assam and Meghalaya and some more parts of West Bengal and Sikkim during next 2-3 days, the IMD said.

It also predicted "heavy to very heavy rainfall" at isolated places over Assam and Meghalaya, Konkan and Goa and Coastal Karnataka tomorrow and "heavy" rains over West Bengal and Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram & Tripura, central Maharashtra, Marathwada and Kerala.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Pakistani Army violated another ceasefire on Monday along LoC in Krishna Ghati at 6:20 am in Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian Army has retaliated to the unprovoked firing.

The Pakistani troops initiated indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics and mortars in Krishna Ghati sector.

Defence spokesperson Lt. Col. Manish Mehta said that the situation is under control and no casualty has been reported so far.

We have situation under control. Presently we don't have report of any casualty:Lt Col M Mehta, Defence spox on ceasefire violations by Pak pic.twitter.com/zt1ZEq0ZEd  ANI (@ANI_news) June 12, 2017

Since June 1, Pakistan has violated nine ceasefires in the Valley.

#WATCH J&K : Nine ceasefire violations by Pakistan since June 1: Visuals from Poonch's KG sector, which is the 6th CFV in the last 72 hours. pic.twitter.com/8UP0zkmpJh  ANI (@ANI_news) June 12, 2017

On Sunday, Pakistani troops had violated ceasefire along LoC in Bimber Gali sector at 9:45 am. The Indian Army had retaliated and firing was continued in the area.

The Pakistan Rangers had targeted BSF troops in Ramgarh (Samba). The firing was continued for 45 minutes. No casualty has been reported so far.

J&K: Pakistan Army initiated indiscriminate firing of Small arms, automatics and mortars from 0620h hours in Krishna Ghati sector along LoC.  ANI (@ANI_news) June 12, 2017

On June 3, two persons, including a woman, were injured when the Pakistan Army had violated ceasefire twice in two sectors of Poonch district firing mortar shells on forward posts and civilian areas along the LoC, prompting retaliation from the Indian troops.

Also Read | J&K: Militants attack army convoy in Kulgam; 2 jawans martyred, 4 others injured

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Life may not be disrupted on Monday despite pro-Kannada outfits calling for a statewide bandh over various issues. 'Kannada Okoota, an umbrella organisation of Kannada bodies has called for a dawn to dusk bandh across the state.

Various pro-Kannada organisations have supported the bandh which is based on demands which include farm loan waiver, PM Modis intervention in the Mahadayi river water dispute and a permanent solution to the problem regarding water scarcity in arid areas.

Moreover, the outfits have been demanding for the exile of Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti activists from the state for their alleged anti Kannada activities in Belagavi.

Visuals from Bengaluru: Pro-Kannada organisations call for statewide shutdown over Mahadayi river dispute & drinking water crisis #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/SH25hfHi5x  ANI (@ANI_news) June 12, 2017

According to Vatal Nagaraj, who heads Kannada Okoota, the bandh has been called in order to protest against Tamil Nadus opposition to the Mekedatu project across the river Cauvery apart from the proposal to privatise BEML. However, state intelligence bureau believes the bandh to be a low-key affair.

ALSO READ: Southern states shut hotels, chemist shops to protest GST rates

Schools will remain open

Government schools and colleges are set to remain open on Monday, whereas some private ones have decided to declare a holiday keeping in mind students safety. Some private schools have also appealed to the government to enhance security or aid schools in districts where violence is expected. The fourth-semester postgraduate exams of Bengaluru University have been postponed.

Moreover, Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) has also postponed its first year B.Ed examinations and seventh-semester examinations.

Transport services will be normal

Union leaders and officials have said that the transport services will be normal. Autorickshaws, metro and buses will ply on Monday. The officials of BMRCL have said that the Namma metro will be operational. Moreover, the BMTC and KSRTC will also operate buses. The radio cab services will also be operational, say officials of Bangalore Tourist Taxi Operators Association.

Karnataka: Pro-Kannada activists call for bandh over Mahadayi water dispute



Read @ANI_news story | https://t.co/xp7IgddLjq pic.twitter.com/VzfhBmR5b4  ANI Digital (@ani_digital) June 12, 2017

Precautionary measures undertaken

Karnataka police have however said that precautionary measures have been undertaken and no permission has been provided to hold protests. Sensitive areas in central Bengaluru will be continuously monitored. Police inspectors have been asked to be on patrol duty on Monday. Reserve police battalion from the City Armed Reserve (CAR), District Armed Reserve (DAR) and Karnataka State Reserve Police personnel will be deployed in the city.

READ: Darjeeling: Army deployed after violence by GJM supporters

Visuals from Hubli: Pro-Kannada organisations call for statewide shutdown over Mahadayi river dispute & drinking water crisis #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/oNds3evM4N  ANI (@ANI_news) June 12, 2017

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Leaders of top opposition parties will meet in New Delhi on June 14 in a bid to reach a consensus on a joint candidate for the upcoming presidential election.

The 10-member group set up by the opposition will meet for the first time after its constitution, sources said.

The opposition move on Wednesdays meeting came soon after BJP president Amit Shah announced that a panel of three senior ministersRajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and M Venkaiah Naiduwould talk to allies and other parties on presidential candidates.

Several rounds of talks have already been held among senior opposition leaders on the issue. Congress president Sonia Gandhi has been trying to reach a consensus in the opposition on candidates for the presidential and vice presidential election.

The opposition is waiting for the ruling dispensation to come up with its candidate and will discuss if the name proposed by the NDA is acceptable to them.

A senior leader said if there was no consensus in the talks with the NDA, the opposition would put up a joint candidate against the NDA nominee.

Also read: Amit Shah constitutes committee to build consensus about President candidate for upcoming poll

The sources said Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mallikarjun Kharge represent the Congress in the 10-member group, which also includes other senior opposition leaders such as JD-Us Sharad Yadav, RJDs Lalu Prasad and CPI-Ms Sitaram Yechury.

DMKs Rajya Sabha member R S Bharathi, Samajwadi Partys Ram Gopal Yadav, Bahujan Samaj Partys Satish Chandra Misra, TMCs Derek OBrien and NCPs Praful Patel are also on the panel.

While the ruling party is holding its cards close to its chest, the opposition has already discussed the names of possible candidates and has held talks with one, former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

Among the other names doing the rounds are those of former Speaker Meira Kumar and former Defence Minister Sharad Pawar, though the NCP strongman has said he is not in the race.

The poll to elect the next president will be held on July 17 and counting will take place on July 20.

The term of incumbent Pranab Mukherjee ends on July 24 and that of Vice President M Hamid Ansari on August 10.

A united opposition had met at a lunch hosted by Sonia Gandhi in Parliament, where it was decided that if the ruling dispensation failed to come up with a candidate with secular credentials for the presidential poll, the opposition would field someone who would steadfastly defend the countrys constitutional values.

After the meeting last month, Azad and Sharad Yadav read out a joint statement stating that in a presidential election, the ruling party traditionally took the initiative to build a consensus on candidates.

This has not happened so far. If acceptable consensual candidates do not emerge, then we (opposition parties) shall field such persons who shall steadfastly defend the Constitutional values of our republic, the statement said.

Yadav said while the opposition appealed to the BJP to take the lead and come up with a consensus candidate for the president and vice presidents posts, consensus between the ruling and opposition appeared remote.

Also read: President polls: Opposition will make every possible attempt to find best person for India, says Congress

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Robbery, cheating, causing grievous hurt and attempt to commit culpable homicide are all punishable by up to seven years in prison. Now add one more crime to that list that may soon attract such a stringent punishment: messing with Ganga.

A Centre-appointed panel has drafted a bill, the National River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Bill 2017, which if passed into a law will also prescribe seven years in jail and a fine of up to Rs. 100 crore for anyone who commits a range of offences on the river, including blocking its flow, quarrying its banks or constructing jetties without permission.

The Uttarakhand High Court recently declared the river a "living entity," and the panel's bill makes it emphatically clear that troubling it can be a costly affair, if converted into the country's first ever act on a river.

Among others, the panel led by retired Justice GiridharMalaviya, has also suggested declaring an area abutting within 1 kilometre from Ganga and its major tributaries as a "watersaving zone".

The panel though has suggested that such zones may be defined after conducting scientific studies within six months after the bill is enacted.

The government has forwarded the draft, submitted to the Water Resources Ministry in April, to another experts 'committee to seek their suggestions on the bill, which will be further discussed with the basin states of Uttarakhand, UttarPradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar before the final draft is out.

"Since the issue relates to the basin states of Ganga and its tributaries, the Centre wants to discuss the draft with the state governments first. Such a meeting shall be convened in the near future," sources in the ministry said. Advocate Arun Kumar Gupta, one of the four members of the experts' committee currently studying the draft bill, pitched for making stringent provisions to ensure people did not violate the law which aims to make the river pollution-free.

"Crores of rupees were spent on cleaning the river in the past, but all went down the drain. Hence, responsibility should be fixed now or else the currents efforts too will not bear fruit," Gupta, an amicus curiae of the Allahabad High Court, told PTI over the phone from the Uttar Pradesh city.

Some of the major punishments for various offences recommended by the panel are: * Stone quarrying, crushing, cutting, finishing orprocessing sand mining illegally in bed/on banks of Ganga/its tributaries: Simple imprisonment up to five years or with fine which may extend up to Rs 50,000 or both.

In case the contravention continues, an additional fine extending up to Rs 20,000 per day. Offender concerned shall be punishable with imprisonment for the term which may extend upto seven years in case the failure continues for a year after a conviction.

* Causing discontinuity in flow of water in Ganga/tributaries without permission from competent authority:Offender shall be liable to imprisonment up to two years andmonetary fine which may extend to Rs 100 crore.

* Constructing jetties/port/permanent hydraulic structurefor storage/diversion/control/channelisation of waterinto/from Ganga/tributaries sans permission: one yearimprisonment and monetary fine which may extend up to Rs 50crore.

* Contaminating water of Ganga/tributary by disposal ofpesticide, non-degradable plastic, waste batteries, hazardous chemicals: imprisonment for a term extending up to one year or with fine which may extend up to Rs 50,000 or with both and incase contravention continues, with additional fine which may extend up to Rs 5000.

* Withdrawing water by electric/diesel-operated tube wells from the land fronting Ganga/tributaries: simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or with fine which may extend to Rs 2000, or with both. Additional fine which may extend up to Rs 2000 per day incase of contravention.

The imprisonment may be extended to five years in case the failure continues beyond a period of ayear after conviction.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Bengaluru:

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Monday attended launch event of commemorative edition of National Herald in Bengaluru. On the occasion, Rahul accused the Narendra Modi-led central government of forcing everyone into silence with Dalits being beaten up, minorities frightened and journalists and bureaucrats threatened.

Speaking at a function of the National Herald newspaper here, he said, The power of truth is being completely replaced with the truth of power and anybody who attempts to speak the truth and stand for it is being pushed aside.

Gandhi also alleged that thousands of journalists were not being allowed to write what they wanted to. They (journalists) tell me that they are not being allowed to write what they want to, he said.

Recalling that he was not allowed to visit Madhya Pradesh during the recent farmers protest and Uttar Pradesh and was stopped at the border of both the states, he said, This is the India we are living in...an India where power will simply manufacture the truth.

Recollecting a Soviet poet (Yevgeny Yevtushenko), who said, When truth is replaced by silence, the silence is a lie, Gandhi said, This is what the government is trying to do.

Also read: After facing detention, Rahul Gandhi allowed to meet families of farmers killed in Mandsaur

...Everybody knows what the truth is. But they are scared to say it, he said at the function where Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari released the National Heralds commemorative publication to celebrate 70 years of Indias independence.

The Congress vice-president recalled that when the editor of National Herald approached him recently, he told him that there might be times when the paper would want to write things against him or his party or its policies, but you (editor) should be absolutely comfortable. That is the spirit we expect from National Herald.

National Herald has a strong spirit. It is not going to be silenced, he added.

Congress leader Oscar Fernandes, who is on the Board of Directors of the newspaper, said the paper, which was founded by former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1938 and the publication of which was suspended a few years ago, was in the process of reviving its Hindi and Urdu editions as a multi-media outlet.

He said the National Herald website, launched eight months ago, was being upgraded and would be fully operational later this month.

The function is being seen as a prelude to the launch of the daily National Herald English edition.

Efforts to revive the newspaper started amid a legal battle launched by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, who has filed a criminal complaint against Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others.

In his private criminal complaint, Swamy has accused the Gandhis and others of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds by paying only Rs 50 lakh, through which Young Indian Pvt. Ltd (YI) obtained the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore, which its publisher, Associate Journals Ltd (AJL), owed to the Congress party.

The Gandhis and the other accusedMotilal Vora, Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey and Sam Pitrodahave denied the allegations levelled against them.

The Delhi High Court had recently declined to stay the Income Tax proceedings against Young India Ltd in the National Herald case.

Also read: People's strong emotions about Hindu nation forced Rahul Gandhi to read Gita, says right wing organisation

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Altaf Ahmed Shah, son-in-law of hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, was on Monday questioned by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with its probe into the funding of terror and subversive activities in Kashmir.

Shah, popularly known as Altaf Fantoosh, was earlier questioned by the NIA on June 9 about his movable and other properties, including houses in the Valley as well as in Jammu, and the source for their funding, official sources said.

Shah, who arrived again at the NIA headquarters today, was questioned by a team of agency officials about the alleged funding of the Geelani-led Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, the sources said.

There was no immediate reaction from Shahs camp but his father-in-law had yesterday questioned the role of the NIA and said the probe agency was being used as a war weapon against separatist leadership in Kashmir.

Geelani, while chairing a meeting a day after his son-in-law was questioned by the NIA, alleged that the agency had crossed all limits and there was no legal justification for such arbitrary measures.

Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, its leadership and cadre is the main target for authorities. It is a pre-planned psychological crackdown..., he had said in Srinagar on Saturday.

Shahs Srinagar house was raided by NIA sleuths, who also searched the premises of others, such as Shahid-ul-Islam, a close aide of Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, who heads the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference, and businessman Zahoor Watali.

Apart from being the son-in-law of Geelani, Shah is perceived to be influential in the policies of the Tehrek-e-Hurriyat.

Hafeez Saeed, Pakistan-based chief of Jamaat-ul Dawah, the front of the banned Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT), has been named in the FIR as an accused besides organisations such as the Hurriyat Conference (factions led by Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq), Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and Dukhtaran-e-Milat.

The raids were part of NIAs efforts to clamp down on separatist groups allegedly receiving funds for subversive activities in the valley.

The NIA had recovered unaccounted account books, Rs 2 crore in cash and letterheads of banned terror groups, including LeT and HM.

The NIA investigation also seeks to identify the chain of players behind the financing of terrorist activities, including those who threw stones at security forces, burned down schools and damaged government establishments.

This is for the first time since the rise of militancy in Kashmir in the early 1990s that a central probe agency has carried out raids in connection with funding of separatists.

In 2002, the Income Tax department had executed searches against some separatist leaders, including Geelani, and seized cash and documents.

However, no criminal case was registered then.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

In a bizarre incident a man allegedly beheaded his 50-year-old wife on Monday in a fit of rage following an argument over a family matter, said police.

The accused then walked to a nearby police outpost, carrying the severed head of his wife in his hands, and surrendered, said officials.

According to the police, the victim Usha Devi and her husband Ram Sewak had an argument over a family matter.

Sewak brutally killed his wife with a khurpa (shovel like tool) and beheaded her. He then went to the Behjam police outpost with his wifes severed head and surrendered. A case of murder has been lodged and Ram Sewak has been sent to jail, Neemgaon, station officer, DK Singh said.

SThe couple, residents of Behjam in this district, had gone to their fields on Monday morning, added Singh.

They had an argument following which Ram Sewak lost his cool and killed his wife. The villagers claimed that Ram Sewak was mentally unstable, and had once earlier even chased his brother in a fit of anger. However, this is yet to be proved, Singh said.

(With PTI Inputs)

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
London:

Days after an attack at the iconic British site by Islamists which claimed eight lives, a group of British Muslims handed out 3,000 roses to passersby and tourists at the London Bridge as a gesture of love.



One of the organisers of the event Zakia Bassou said, After the events of last weekend we are making a symbolic gesture of love for the communities affected by the attack.



The whole concept is we are not going to let London Bridge, or any bridge, fall down, she was quoted as saying by the Press Association. Londoner Elida Ercolano was visibly emotional after receiving her rose.



I think its lovely, its what London is actually about as a city, she said. Its what people should remember despite whats gone on. Its a great symbol and if nothing else its bringing people together, Ercolano said.

ALSO READ: London Bridge attackers tried to hire 7.5-tonne truck to inflict more damage: Police



Its very easy to believe the fear but boil it down and we are actually, in the main, good people and we should remember that, she added. June Collis, from Gillingham, Dorset, said it was beautiful and lovely to see the Muslim group come out and share their love against all the horrible things that have happened.



Muslims need to speak up and go against the extremists, she was quoted as saying. The gesture came just days after a suicide bombing at a concert in Manchester claimed 22 lives and an attack at the London Bridge by three terrorists, who drove a van into pedestrians and then went on a stabbing spree, killed eight persons.



Muslim groups across the country have condemned the horrific terror attacks. Over 130 imams and Muslim religious leaders in the UK last week 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.



The gesture of distributing flowers evoked a warm response from Londoners with David Hackett, visiting the capital from Durham, saying he found the event very touching. Its great to see people giving such a beautiful thing to demonstrate the love people have for each other, he said.



Nancy Cannata, from Massachusetts in the US, said, Its very nice to see. And I think its nice that theyre Muslims, its not everybody in the Muslim community carrying out these attacks. There are good and bad people in every religion, and I wish people could realise that.

ALSO READ: Internet radicalised my son, says London attackers mother

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Beijing:

China on Monday rejected as nonsense reports about President Xi Jinping not meeting Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Astana following the murder of two Chinese in Balochistan and said the two leaders met several times during the summit.



I can tell you that during the seventeenth SCO heads of state meeting, President Xi met with Pakistan Prime Minister Sharif several times, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said but did not say whether they had a bilateral meeting.



Some reports are just nonsense and unwanted. China and Pakistan enjoy an all-weather strategic partnership, he said. State-run Pakistan news agency reported on June 10 that Sharif returned from Astana last week after attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on the sidelines of which he met Presidents of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Russia.

ALSO READ: Xi Jinping ignores Nawaz Sharif, skipped customary meeting with Pak President at SCO summit



Conspicuously absent was a meeting with Xi. Chinese-state run media too highlighted Xis meetings with Kazakhstan counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Chinese Foreign Ministry website has photographs of Xis bilateral meetings with other SCO leaders, including Modi but not with Sharif.



The summit has realised the first ever membership enlargement of the SCO. As you know India and Pakistan have got full membership, Lu said, adding that all the member countries have agreed to build on the shanghai spirit to step up the cooperation between the old and new members.



He also said the summit spoke highly of the Belt Road Forum (BRF) held at Beijing in May this year which was boycotted by India over sovereignty concerns relating to USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).



Lu said the SCO has become an important platform and reliable support for the members to enhance mutual trust, deepen good neighbourly ties and friendship and expand political cooperation and uphold regional security and stability for the members.



This summit has helped to strengthen the cohesion of SCO members, charted the course for future development and also made new proposals for SCO cooperation, he said.

ALSO READ: India joins Shanghai Cooperation Organisation: PM Modis message to China, Pakistan; key points

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Melania Trump, The first lady of the United States and wife of President Donald Trump has finally shifted to White House after spending five months in Trump Tower penthouse in New York.

The family of Donald Trump, wife Melania along with the 11-year-old son, Barron joined him in the White House. She had stayed in Trump Tower after Donald Trumpas inauguration in January so that their son Barron could complete his school.

Trump and Melaniaas son Barron become the first boy to live in the White House after three-year-old John F. Kennedy Jr. in 1963. He will attend a private school in Maryland in the autumn.

aLooking forward to the memories weall make in our new home!a The first lady of AmericaA tweeted on Sunday night.

Looking forward to the memories we'll make in our new home! #Movingday pic.twitter.com/R5DtdV1Hnv a Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) June 12, 2017

Melania moving in with President Trump will also ease the burden on the secret service and New York Police, who was posted in her security to ensure the safety of Trumpas family. It is estimated that the Police protection to Presidentas family was costing the city up to $1 million a day.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Paris:

He's the man with the Midas touch -- so far at least. Since taking office four weeks ago French President Emmanuel Macron's star has shone bright, restoring a sense of national pride.



From Germany's normally inscrutable Angela Merkel to India's nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Macron's youth, daring and optimism have bowled over world leaders who are lining up for photo-ops with "le Kid" as L'Express news weekly nicknamed the 39-year-old.



Resistance is futile, as US President Donald Trump found out when he tried -- but failed -- to dominate Macron in a by now memorable white-knuckle handshake.



A few days later Trump dropped a bombshell when he confirmed plans to pull the US out of the Paris climate accord.



But he was arguably again upstaged by Macron, who replied with an English-language appeal to the world to "make our planet great again" -- a slogan that has became a rallying cry for Trump critics.



"France is in vogue again, France is cool," Spain's El Pais newspaper wrote, comparing the Macronmania to the Obamamania that swept the US after Barack Obama was elected president in 2008.



At home, Macron's rivals have been trying to hold on as scores of lawmakers from across the left-right divide jump ship and join his centrist camp.



Given no chance two months ago of winning a majority, polls now show his year-old Republique en Marche (Republic on the Move, REM) party romping home in the June 11-June 18 parliamentary vote with between 385 and 415 seats in the 577-member National Assembly.

Also Read: French President Emmanuel Macron heads for huge parliamentary majority



"At the moment you could take a goat wearing a Macron badge and it would have a good chance of being elected," joked BFMTV political commentator Christophe Barbier.



The son of two doctors from the northeastern city of Amiens had made a career out of breaking the mould.



The former investment banker is married to his 64-year-old former teacher Brigitte Macron, a glamorous divorced mother of three whom he fell for as a teen.



Their relationship was the subject of deep fascination during the presidential campaign, which the media-savvy Macron worked to his advantage.



His path to France's highest office is as unusual as their inter-generational love story.



Macron had never held elected office before throwing his hat into the ring to replace Francois Hollande, two years after Hollande promoted him from political unknown to become economy minister.



In a country where political careers have traditionally been built over decades, he took the risk of founding his own centrist party from scratch rather than seek the nomination of the right or left.



It was a gamble that paid off among voters disillusioned with the existing political class.



But it was initially met with cynicism, with rivals writing off the ambitious upstart as too inexperienced.

Also Read: France: Macron's party set to win 1st round of parliamentary elections



Macron pressed on, using his image as a moderniser to draw in thousands of volunteers to his party, originally called En Marche, which was modelled partly on Obama's 2008 grassroots campaign.



The downfall of the Socialists and a scandal engulfing the conservative Republicans fuelled his rise, allowing Macron to lead the battle against the far-right's Marine Le Pen whom he beat soundly in the election run-off.



En Marche was renamed Republique En Marche immediately after his victory.



While fans compare him to US president John F. Kennedy he appears to be more inspired by Francois Mitterrand and Charles de Gaulle, two French presidents remembered for their monarchical approach.



Since his inauguration Macron has sought to restore lost grandeur to the presidency, delivering his victory speech in front of the Louvre museum -- a former royal palace -- and hosting Russian President Vladimir Putin at Versailles palace.



He also kept a tight rein on communications, to avoid the excessive media exposure that soured voters on Hollande and his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy and to minimise the risk of slip-ups.



He failed to prevent one early blunder from being caught on camera, however.

Also Read: Xi ignores Sharif, skipped meeting with Pak President at SCO summit

During a visit to Brittany last week he was caught joking with officials about the flimsy "kwassa-kwassa" boats that transport migrants to the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte in the Comoros archipelago.

"The kwassa-kwassa doesn't do much fishing, it carries Comorians," he said laughing.

The remark caused outrage given the thousands of migrants who have died in such crossings.

Macron's office later admitted to an "unfortunate quip that may have been hurtful".

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.


MORE than 80 villagers gathered at a ceremony to unveil the new village sign in Speen.

The sign, standing at more than 6ft in height, was revealed last Saturday outside the village shop, Chapel Hill.

Buried under the sign a shield bearing icons of past and present village life is a time capsule containing a full village electoral roll and other articles and objects.

Speen parish councillor Peter Symonds, who designed the shield, explained: "There is quite a strong community spirit in Speen and the sign has gone down well."

The project was organised by the Speen Millennium Committee and Speen Parish Council.

A new book, The Leaves of Time, recording the history of the village, has also been produced by village historians.

Villager John Radford, of Abbotswood Road, Speen, said: "This sign will be a lasting memory of the heritage of this small village on top of the Chilterns."
A year after moving the headquarters of General Electric out of Connecticut, Jeff Immelt is retiring as CEO and chairman, with his tenure dating back to the days just prior to the 2001 terrorist attacks.

GE appointed as Immelts replacement John Flannery, head of GE Healthcare, with Immelt to step down as CEO on Aug. 1 and as chairman at the close of 2017. Jeff Bornstein continues as chief financial officer and adds the title of vice chairman.

In a Monday conference call, Immelt said the process began in 2013 of finding his successor. The company considered multiple internal and external candidates, he said, seeking an individual who understood both GEs existing businesses and how to target avenues for growth.

I think the company we have today has a vastly simplified portfolio, Immelt said. I think we have as strong product lines as weve had in a generation.

Flannery, 55, has led GE Healthcare since 2014. He began his career at GE Capital in 1987 evaluating leveraged buyouts, going on to a succession of roles with GE units in South America and Asia. Flannery led the companys acquisition of Alstoms power businesses  the largest industrial deal in GE history  and had key roles in GEs sell-off the past few years of much of Norwalk-based GE Capital, along with the spinoff of Stamford-based Synchrony Financial and the sale of GE Appliances.

Flannery called Immelt, 61, one of the greatest business leaders of our time while promising to listen to investors, customers and employees before setting his own course for the company. Flannery, a 1983 graduate of Fairfield University, inherits a conglomerate that as of December 2016 had 104,000 U.S. employees, 64,000 fewer than on the eve of Immelts own promotion to CEO; GE has increased its workforce abroad by 46,000 jobs to 191,000 total.

I come to the role cognizant of the fact GE is a special company, Flannery said Monday. There are clearly areas where we need to be better, and we need to address those areas with urgency and with purpose.

Immelt took over in September 2001 for Jack Welch, with GE shares trading at about $40 at the time on an adjusted basis but falling to $23 after economic confidence was rattled by the attacks and the bursting of the Internet bubble.

Investors fled GE stock anew in the run-up to the 2008 financial panic and its aftermath, with shares bottoming out at $7 in March 2009. With the U.S. government designating GE Capital as too big to fail  subjecting it to greater federal scrutiny and requirements for financial capital reserves  Immelt decided to sell off much of the subsidiarys financial portfolios extending across consumer credit and commercial lending.

In 2016, Immelt cemented his legacy in Connecticut where he lived in New Canaan. After the state promised to tax profits regardless of the jurisdiction in which corporations report earnings, Immelt went public with an alert to employees in June 2015 that GE had been examining other locales for its headquarters (including in Connecticut as he told a Stamford audience that November).

In January 2016, GE chose Boston, with Immelt emphasizing the impact of the citys emerging digital industries and proximity to university think tanks. In August 2016, GE would relocate 200 senior executives there, while moving more than 500 employees from its Fairfield headquarters  dubbed a morgue recently by Bornstein  to GE Capitals main office in Norwalk. Sacred Heart University  whose business school is named for Welch  bought the former GE headquarters in January for $31.5 million.

Immelt joined GE in 1982 after graduating from Dartmouth College and Harvard Business School, rising through the ranks and demonstrating as CEO a willingness to consider moving major pieces like GE Capital, GE Appliances or NBCUniversal (sold in 2011 to Comcast)  if not swiftly enough for some investors.

In mid-May, Immelt took a moment to reflect on his own career while speaking to graduates of Clarkson University in Potsdam, N.Y.

Actions speak louder than words  you will always be judged by what you do, not where youre from, Immelt said. Sometimes ordinary people like you and me can do extraordinary things.

 Includes prior reporting by Hugh Bailey, Keila Torres Ocasio and Neil Vigdor.

Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-354-1047; www.twitter.com/casoulman
Countless businesses and entrepreneurs assume that building an app is a great idea. There is good reason for that: Research by Dot Com Infoway shows that mobile apps are expected to generate $77 billion in revenue for businesses this year.

Related: From Chipotle to Starbucks: 5 Chains That Do Mobile Apps Right

However, not all that wealth is being spread around: Forrester Research reveals that only a fraction of the 2.8 million available apps out there are ever actually used. What most businesses and entrepreneurs fail to realize is that just because you build an app -- even if there's a "cool idea" behind it -- doesn't mean people want it.

That's not to say that you should never build an app; it's just that your app has to add real value to users and be consistent with the value that the rest of your business provides.

A slice of the app pie

If you want an example of a company that has built such an app, grab your phone and order a pizza from Domino's. For nearly a decade, the company's stock has outperformed that of tech giants like Apple and Amazon. Now, the team has built an app that allows you to order a pizza at the click of a button; and if that's too much effort, there's even a voice-activated command to make the process easier. Once you've placed your order, you can use the Domino's app to track your pie all the way to your front door.

It's an app completely designed around making the customer experience as frictionless as possible, and its functionality is entirely aligned with the company's core business function, which is connecting hungry customers with hot pizzas. Judging by the number of downloads the app has received, customers are eating it up.

A company's brand is its most valuable asset. Customers learn to rely on and seek out the brands that have earned their trust. When you build and release an app, it becomes an extension of your brand.

Augmenting the customer experience

What Domino's understands is that a brand must be consistent across all platforms -- mobile included. And Domino's isn't the only company that knows this.

Another global brand, L'Oreal, is focusing less on facilitating the sale of products and more on fulfilling its mission of helping customers feel beautiful. With its Makeup Genius app, L'Oreal uses face-mapping technology to let users try out different looks and makeup styles, to determine what's best for them. Users don't need to scan any product codes or agree to purchase anything from the app itself.

L'Oreal's team understands that by simply adding value, the app instills trust in potential customers and makes them more likely to choose L'Oreal next time they purchase a beauty product.

Answering the call

The siren call of having a mobile presence is strong. Unfortunately, far too many businesses rush into building some kind of app -- any kind will do -- with little thought about whether it's the right move. This leads to low adoption rates or terrible reviews, which can lead in turn to regret and frustration for business owners.

Regardless of the industry you're in or the type of business you operate, it's critical to consider what specifically you hope to accomplish by releasing a mobile app. Once you establish your goals, you can begin to put together a business plan -- which should include strategies for building, launching and marketing the app.

Related: Getting Started With Small Business App Development

If your business offers an app or if you're in the process of building one, here are three steps you can take to ensure that your offering adds value and aligns with your business objectives.

1. Link up with your values. Define the core values you offer as a company, then make sure your app is in line with them. A mobile app doesn't have to be a mobile catalog or a smaller version of the corporate website. In fact, mobile is best when it offers something you can't get on another platform -- as long as that offering is an extension of your brand rather than a random set of bells and whistles.

Starbucks is a prime example of a company that has built an app that is entirely "on brand" and adds value to its customers. From its fonts and colors to its layout and seamless user experience, the app feels like a Starbucks in your pocket rather than a separate entity. It makes ordering and paying for a beverage easy, and it's paying dividends for the coffee giant.

No one should be implementing random features just for the sake of novelty. But by focusing in on your core offerings, you can ensure that people will get some new value from your app that still aligns with your brand.

2. Exploit the tools in front of you. Look toward catering to an underserved segment of your audience with quality visuals and UX to amplify the experience. The limitations of the mobile experience aren't limitations at all if you use them to your advantage: For example, smaller screens necessitate less complicated features.

Tinder, the popular dating app, relied on the simplicity of its mobile interface to completely revolutionize dating (for better or for worse), while Bumble flipped the script by incorporating familiar tools in a female-focused context.

Tap into the features and functionality that mobile delivers. Phones offer cameras, dedicated processing power, geolocation, gesture controls and more. Use those features to help push your core value out into the world.

3. Use mobile to supplement your brand's value. In many cases, if your customers want to buy something from you, they can do it via your website or brick-and-mortar store. Rather than attempting to drive sales with a mobile app, consider using that app to augment your product and provide an ecosystem for its adoption.

Audi has made it a point to showcase its commitment to cutting-edge technology in order to shape the way the public views its brand and products. The Audi Connect app lets users lock their cars, find their cars, set timers and more -- all from their mobile devices.

Few people would think of purchasing a vehicle with the swipe of a finger. Instead, the app reinforces the company's commitment to technology and adds to the brand's overall clout. So, design your app around addressing a specific customer pain point that the speed and ease of mobile can help alleviate.

Related: Why Your Small Business Needs a Mobile App

Your app can add value to current and future customers in a multitude of ways. If you prioritize users over the app itself and align its functionality with your core business, you may just rise above the multitudes and hit that "top downloads" nirvana you've always dreamed of.

Related:



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
These days, building a strong personal brand online is just as important (if not more) than building your companys brand. In a sea of digital information, you need to stand out as an expert in your industry.

When you build a strong personal brand online, you can then leverage that platform to attract customers to your company simply by being yourself and highlighting your expertise and knowledge.

It doesnt just happen overnight, though. Its something that you build over time, and it requires a lot of work. Ive leveraged my personal brand to build my businesses, but it hasnt been a walk in the park. For example, I have been contributing here on Entrepreneur.com for more than four years and have written over 250 articles.

Personal brand building requires a lot of work, but when done right, it can have an extremely positive affect on your company. Here are four tips to help you become an online personal branding rockstar.

Related: 8 Reasons a Powerful Personal Brand Will Make You Successful

1. Start blogging and fine-tune your voice.

I love to write. Its my escape from my regular day-to-day responsibilities, and over the years I have fine-tuned my voice. I get a lot of emails from entrepreneurs who want to start writing and they all ask the same question: Who do you use to ghost write for you? I never have and never will use a ghost writer. I write every article I publish across several media outlets and never miss a deadline, no matter how busy I am.

You have to go all in and commit to creating content multiple times a week for a period of several years. To get your feet wet, start a personal blog or begin blogging on your companys website. You can also use a self-hosted option like Medium to fine-tune your voice and build a following.

2. Create value-packed content for your target audience to engage with.

While a blog is a great way to get your voice and name out there, not all consumers want to sit there and read paragraphs of information. So, create content in other formats, allowing you to convey your expertise by giving something of value. Some examples include:

Infographic . Visual content works well for many reasons, namely for its easily-digestible format. You can take a complex topic and present it in a way that both captures attention and delivers the message.

. Visual content works well for many reasons, namely for its easily-digestible format. You can take a complex topic and present it in a way that both captures attention and delivers the message. Podcast . This is an increasingly popular content format because its portable. This allows your audience to listen to what you have to say when they have downtime -- morning commutes and the gym are popular times to listen to podcasts.

. This is an increasingly popular content format because its portable. This allows your audience to listen to what you have to say when they have downtime -- morning commutes and the gym are popular times to listen to podcasts. Vlog . Video content is popular because it can be consumed on any device, and it allows the consumer to put a face with your brand. Consistency is key, whether you are vlogging weekly or daily. If you want two vloggers to draw inspiration from, check out Casey Neistat and Gary Vaynerchuk -- they crush it.

. Video content is popular because it can be consumed on any device, and it allows the consumer to put a face with your brand. Consistency is key, whether you are vlogging weekly or daily. If you want two vloggers to draw inspiration from, check out Casey Neistat and Gary Vaynerchuk -- they crush it. eBook. An eBook is something that you can offer as a bribe on your website. Publish a valuable guide or case study and allow it to be downloaded by simply handing over an email address. Its a win-win -- the consumer gets something of value that helps validate you as an expert, and you get an email address that you can market to in the future.

Related: Habits of the World's Wealthiest People (Infographic)

3. Build a loyal following on social media.

Social media is a channel that allows you to connect with a very targeted audience. Time warp back twenty years and think about how difficult it would have been to contact the CEO of a company. Now, a simple tweet can open a line of communication.

You can leverage it to grow your brand -- both company and personal. It gives you a huge stage to display your expertise and knowledge, while also networking with industry thought leaders. Facebook ads and promoted tweets are a great way to really increase your following if you have a personal branding budget available.

Related: 11 Habits of Truly Happy People

4. Use SEO to help position yourself as an expert.

Determine what it is that you want to be known for in your industry, and focus your content around that. We can circle back to our top tip, as this is another reason a personal blog is such a must-have for those that want to improve his or her personal brand.

You need to take the same keyword research and strategy approach as you would for personal branding that you would for an e-commerce website. Fundamentally, its all the same. Rather than optimizing your content for products, you would optimize for what it is that you want to be branded as. For example, Facebook advertising consultant in Chicago would be an ideal keyword to optimize for if you want to brand yourself as the Facebook advertising authority in Chicago, explains Jordan DeLozier, founder of SEOClerks.

For a complete guide on optimizing content for SEO, check out this resource.

Related:



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Fast application processing, enhanced customer service now available for companies

TORONTO, June 12, 2017 /CNW/ - When companies in Canada can thrive and grow, they create more jobs. The Government of Canada's new Global Skills Strategy will give employers a faster and more predictable process for attracting top talent and new skills to Canada, creating economic growth and more middle-class jobs for Canadians.

Today, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Ahmed Hussen, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains and Rodger Cuzner, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, announced that employers and highly-skilled workers can now benefit from the Global Skills Strategy.

As part of the Strategy, which includes four pillars, high-skilled workers coming to Canada on a temporary basis are now able to benefit from two-week processing of applications for work permits and, when necessary, temporary resident visas. Open work permits for spouses and study permits for dependants will also be processed in two weeks when applicable.

Employers can now benefit from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's new dedicated service channel and the new Global Talent Stream. This will help them access temporary, high-skilled, global talent, scale up or expand their knowledge of specialized skills so that they can be more innovative and build their expertise.

Two new work permit exemptions have also taken effect today. Highly-skilled workers who need to come to Canada for a very short-term assignment and researchers taking part in short-duration research projects being conducted in Canada will not require a work permit.

First announced in November 2016, the Global Skills Strategy helps promote global investment in Canada and supports the Government of Canada's Innovation and Skills Plan. It recognizes that by facilitating the faster entry of top talent with specialized skill sets and global experience to Canada, we can help innovative companies grow, flourish and create jobs for Canadians.

Quotes

"Employers that are making plans for job-creating investments in Canada will often need an experienced leader, dynamic researcher or an innovator with unique skills not readily available in Canada to make that investment happen. The Global Skills Strategy aims to give those employers confidence that when they need to hire from abroad, they'll have faster, more reliable access to top talent."

 The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

"When companies are able to grow and thrive here in Canada, they create good, middle-class jobs for Canadians; our new Global Talent Stream will give companies a faster and more efficient process to bring in global talent, so they can grow and expand their Canadian workforces. We're keeping Canada competitive in the global marketplace and helping our industries grow and succeed."

 The Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour

"The Global Skills Strategy will allow Canadian employers, who are investing in people and skills here in Canada, to continue to grow by attracting top talent from around the world. Whether it's developing a new product line or leading a new sales team, bringing in the best and the brightest from around the world will result in more good-quality, middle-class jobs for Canadians."

 The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development

"Through the Global Talent Stream, innovative companies can fill highly skilled and in-demand jobs, scale-up and grow, and create even more jobs for Canadians here at home. Paired with Budget 2017's investments in innovation, skills and education, Canadians can feel confident we're building the foundation for a bright future for our economy."

 MP Roger Cuzner, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour

Quick facts

Companies applying for workers through the Global Talent Stream now have access to a new streamlined process that provides eligible employers with:

priority processing of applications and a client-focused service for the development of the Labour Market Benefits Plan, with a service standard of 10 business days; and



flexible recruitment requirements.

Two-week work permit processing will be available to workers applying from overseas whose employers have been approved to hire a foreign worker through Global Talent Stream, as well as foreign nationals with jobs at skill type 0 (executive, managerial) or skill level A (professional) of the National Occupational Classification (NOC) applying through the International Mobility Program. The two-week service standard would also apply to immediate family members accompanying high-skilled workers to Canada.

The new work permit exemption for highly-skilled workers applies to all NOC 0 and NOC A workers. Eligible workers will be allowed one 15-day work permit-exempt stay in Canada every six months, or one 30-day work permit-exempt stay every 12 months.

every six months, or one 30-day work permit-exempt stay every 12 months. Researchers coming to Canada will be permitted one 120-day stay every 12 months without requiring a work permit when they are working on a research project at a publicly-funded degree-granting institution or affiliated research institution.

will be permitted one 120-day stay every 12 months without requiring a work permit when they are working on a research project at a publicly-funded degree-granting institution or affiliated research institution. Agreements have been reached with a range of partners who will be able to refer companies to IRCC's new dedicated service channel and to ESDC's Global Talent Stream; discussions are continuing with many other potential partners. The goal is to have referral partners in all parts of the country with the significant knowledge and insight needed to refer companies to the dedicated service channel.

Related products

Associated links

Follow us:

SOURCE Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

For further information: Contacts for media only: Bernie Derible, Minister's Office, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, 613-954-1064; Media Relations, Communications Branch, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, 613-952-1650, [email protected]; Matt Pascuzzo, Press Secretary, Office of the Honourable Patty Hajdu, P.C., M.P., Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, [email protected], 819-654-4183; Media Relations Office, Employment and Social Development Canada, 819-994-5559, [email protected], Follow us on Twitter : https://twitter.com/MinWorkDev; Karl W. Sasseville, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, 343-291-2500; Media Relations, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, 343-291-1777, [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.cic.gc.ca


QUEBEC, June 11, 2017 /CNW/ - The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and Member of Parliament for Quebec, Francois Blais, Minister of Employment and Social Solidarity and Minister Responsible for the Capitale-Nationale Region, and Regis Labeaume, Mayor of Quebec City, today inaugurated the all new Place des Canotiers located between Rue Dalhousie and the St. Lawrence River in Old Quebec.

Beautiful by day and magnificent at night, this new marine gateway to the provincial capital highlights Quebec's maritime history while being both modern and welcoming. The public square includes green spaces and street furniture designed to be reminiscent of the historic landscape and 19th-century wooden wharves, and paved areas inspired by rippling water. Water jets and a veil of mist appear intermittently. The work of art, Elle est retrouvee. Quoi?L'Eternite. C'est la mer allee Avec le soleil, by artist Marc-Antoine Cote, was the winning selection of a competition resulting from the Government of Quebec's policy to integrate art and architecture into public spaces. The wooden terrace and feature wall recall the site's former wharves. A large stairway leads to a lookout offering a breathtaking view of the public square, the river and Old Quebec.

Designed to restore distinction to an area previously used as an open-air parking lot, the Place des Canotiers is now the largest public space in Old Quebec with nearly 20,000 square metres accessible to residents and visitors. The Place also offers a 389-space, multi-storey parking lot on the north side of the site.

The total cost for this project was $39 million. The Government of Quebec invested nearly $26.9 million and the City of Quebec provided nearly $8 million. The Government of Canada contributed $4.1 million under the Major Infrastructure Component of the Building Canada Fund. This redevelopment project demonstrates the recognition of the governments of Canada, Quebec, and the City of Quebec of the essential role cultural infrastructure plays in developing dynamic communities and protecting Canada's diverse heritage.

The name of the public square was chosen by residents through the competition, Une place a nommer held in the spring of 2015. "Place des Canotiers" harkens back to a key feature of Quebec's culture--river crossings by canoe, particularly in winter and into Quebec. The Societe quebecoise des infrastructures managed the redevelopment project. The Commission de la capitale nationale du Quebec is responsible for managing events and the use of Place des Canotiers, which will play host to diverse activities, including the celebration of the arrival of the Tall Ships in the provincial capital from July 18 to 23, 2017, for the 150th anniversary of Confederation.

Quotes

"Investing in cultural infrastructures helps Canada preserve the experiences of its people and places. In addition to providing Quebec residents with the opportunity to rediscover the river, Place des Canotiers will welcome visitors from all walks of life. The Government of Canada recognizes that strategic investments in public infrastructure support community development and create good jobs that promote the growth of the middle class."

The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and Member of Parliament for Quebec, on behalf of the Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities

"Today, we can say that the Place des Canotiers is one of Quebec's most beautiful sites and that it will become a moving and lively centre of attraction. This project, long-awaited by residents, is another example of our government's commitment to giving the river back to the Quebecois, while providing a welcoming site for international cruise passengers visiting our capital."

Francois Blais, Minister of Employment and Social Solidarity and Minister Responsible for the region de la Capitale-Nationale

"The City of Quebec is proud to inaugurate the very beautiful Place des Canotiers, one of our city's primary gathering places, peaceful respites and spots to relax. This is one of those essential projects for our city's quality of life, restoring user-friendly access to the river for Quebec residents while offering our maritime guests an exceptional port of entry."

Regis Labeaume, Mayor of Quebec City

Associated Links

To see and download photos of the new Place des Canotiers, visit https://www.flickr.com/photos/capitalenationale/sets/72157681832327514/

To get more information on the Place des Canotiers, visit www.capitale.gouv.qc.ca/canotiers

Federal investments in infrastructure projects in Quebec: http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/map-carte/index-fra.html

For more information on the infrastructure plan investing more than $180 billion by the Government of Canada in Budget 2017: http://www.budget.gc.ca/2017/docs/plan/chap-02-fr.html

Twitter: @INFC_eng

Website: Infrastructure Canada

www.infrastructure.gc.ca

SOURCE Infrastructure Canada

For further information: Contacts: Brook Simpson, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, 613-219-0149; Simon Laboissonniere, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Employment and Social Solidarity, Minister responsible for the National Capital, 418-643-4810; Paul-Christian Nolin, Press Secretary, Office of the Mayor, 418-641-6434; Martin Roy, Communications Advisor, Societe quebecoise des infrastructures, 418-646-1766, ext. 3163; Anne-Marie Gauthier, Communications and Public Relations Coordinator, Commission de la capitale nationale du Quebec, [email protected], 418-644-0826; For information: Infrastructure Canada, 613-960-9251, Toll free: 1-877-250-7154, E-mail: [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/


BOLOGNA, Italy, June 12, 2017 /CNW/ - The Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna, joined other G7 environment ministers in Bologna, Italy for the G7 Environment Ministers' Meeting.

Minister McKenna was in Bologna to affirm Canada's commitment to taking action on climate change and engage in dialogue promoting clean economic growth.

The Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna, stands with other G7 environment ministers in Bologna, Italy for the G7 Environment Ministers Meeting. (CNW Group/Environment and Climate Change Canada)

Attendees included:

Miguel Arias Canete, Climate Action and Energy Commissioner, European Commission

Barbara Hendricks, Minister of the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety, Germany

Scott Pruitt , Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, US

, Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, US Catherine McKenna , Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Canada

, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Gian Luca Galletti , Minister of Environment, Land and Sea, Italy

, Minister of Environment, Land and Sea, Virginie Dumoulin-Wieczorkiewicz , Administratrice civile, France

, Administratrice civile, Therese Coffey, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Environment and Rural Life Opportunities, UK

Koichi Yamamoto , Minister of Environment, Japan

, Minister of Environment, Karmenu Vella, European Commissioner for the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, European Commission

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: Contacts: 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


The Government of Canada supports the Cite de l'energie

SHAWINIGAN, QC, June 12, 2017 /CNW/ - The Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of International Trade and Member of Parliament for Saint-Maurice-Champlain, announced today that $500,000 will be made available to the Cite de l'energie to acquire and install specialized equipment to renew the multimedia show and the permanent exhibition of the Cite de l'energie Science Centre.

Granted by the Government of Canada through the Canadian Cultural Spaces Fund, this money will be used to improve the presentation conditions for the centre's exhibits, ensure better accessibility to the collections for audiences of all ages and increase the comfort and safety of visitors to its multimedia room.

Quotes

"We know that investing in cultural infrastructure builds stronger communities. That is why I am delighted that important regional institutions such as the Cite de l'energie are benefiting from new technologies and state-of-the-art equipment to better enable the Canadian public to discover our rich heritage. This is a dynamic cultural organization that has adapted well to the public's high standards in this digital age."

 The Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage

"The Cite de l'energie enjoys an excellent reputation, as much among the inhabitants of our wonderful region as with its numerous visitors. With this promising project, which will allow for a renewed experience and an even more impressive multimedia show, there is no doubt that the public will be here once again."

 The Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of International Trade and Member of Parliament for Saint-Maurice-Champlain

"We thank the Government of Canada for the $500,000 in financial assistance, which will ensure the sustainability of the Cite de l'energie, create economic spin-offs of around $20 million per year for the City of Shawinigan and consolidate 135 jobs."

 Mr. Roland Desaulniers, Chair of the Board of Directors, Cite de l'energie

Quick Facts

Open to the public since 1997, the Cite de l'energie has the task of protecting and enhancing the region's history and industrial heritage.

The museum complex, which welcomes about 125,000 visitors a year, includes several sites and presents numerous activities to the public, including a Science Centre, an observation tower, visits to the former Shawinigan Aluminum Smelting Complex National Historic Site of Canada , the Synergetic Gardens, an 892-seat outdoor amphitheatre, and the "Prime Minister Jean Chretien Museum: Canada and the World" exhibition.

, the Synergetic Gardens, an 892-seat outdoor amphitheatre, and the "Prime Minister Jean Chretien Museum: and the World" exhibition. The project consists of acquiring and installing specialized equipment to renew the multimedia show and the permanent exhibition of the Cite de l'energie Science Centre.

The work notably involves: building and installing exhibition furnishings; acquiring and installing lighting and projection equipment as well as computer equipment for the permanent exhibition's interactive modules; rebuilding the motorized platform; modernizing the computerized control system and the opening system for the screen wall in the multimedia show room; and acquiring and setting up projection, sound, lighting and special effects equipment for the multimedia show.

Associated Links

Cite de l'energie: http://www.citedelenergie.com

Canadian Cultural Spaces Fund: http://canada.pch.gc.ca/eng/1455203896312/1455204007503

SOURCE Canadian Heritage

For further information: (media only), please contact: Pierre-Olivier Herbert, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage, 819-997-7788; Media Relations, Canadian Heritage, 819-994-9101, 1-866-569-6155, [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.pch.gc.ca


WINDSOR, ON, June 12, 2017 /CNW/ - How often does following your true passion lead to the highest benchmark of success? One Canadian experienced the ultimate professional validation by way of an impressive win at the 2017 World Whiskies Awards.

Dr. Don Livermore - J.P. Wiser's Master Blender and one of few in the world with a PhD in Brewing and Distilling - developed his rye thesis in 2005 at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, which examined how the flavour profile of a whisky can be drawn out through the quality of a barrel. The resulting liquid, aptly named J.P. Wiser's Dissertation, was just crowned World's Best Blended Limited Release & Best Canadian Blended Limited Release at the awards.

J.P. Wiser's Dissertation is the result of Livermore's study in how the wood character from a barrel can extract the richest notes of vanilla, toffee and spice. Traditionally, the practice of whisky blending involves a great deal of nosing, or smelling, to determine the char level of a barrel and how it could impact the liquid. But, by introducing infrared sensor technology, an innovation pioneered by Livermore, he was able to determine exactly how much wood would be extracted into the whisky after just 30 seconds, and thus removing much of the guess work.

"Barrels play an incredibly important role in shaping the flavour profile of a whisky, but they have always been the biggest frustration of even the most expert blenders," says Don Livermore. "Using cutting edge technology and incorporating science into the art of blending changed the practice altogether."

The World Whiskies Awards, presented by Whisky Magazine, selects, rewards and promotes the very best whiskies in various categories from around the world. This year marks the first time J.P. Wiser's has won in the World's Best Blended Limited Release & Best Canadian Blended Limited Release categories.

Available exclusively at the LCBO ($64.95) as part of the J.P. Wiser's Rare Cask Series, whisky lovers can now get their hands on a bottle of J.P. Wiser's Dissertation, just in time for Father's Day. With only 12,000 bottles ever produced, the whisky will be available only for a limited time.

Note to editors:

Corby Spirit and Wine Limited is a leading Canadian marketer and distributor of spirits and imported wines. Corby's portfolio of owned-brands includes some of the most renowned brands in Canada, including J.P. Wiser's, Lot No. 40, Pike Creek, and Gooderham & Worts Canadian whiskies as well as Lamb's rum, Polar Ice vodka, McGuinness liqueurs, and the recently acquired Ungava gin. Through its affiliation with Pernod Ricard S.A., a global leader in the spirits and wine industry, Corby also represents leading international brands such as ABSOLUT vodka, Chivas Regal and The Glenlivet Scotch whiskies, Jameson Irish whiskey, Beefeater gin, Malibu rum, Kahlua liqueur, Mumm champagne, and Jacob's Creek, Stoneleigh, Campo Viejo, and Kenwood wines. In 2017, Corby was named one of the 50 Best Workplaces in Canada by The Great Place to Work Institute Canada for the sixth consecutive year, and was also listed among Greater Toronto's Top 100 Employers for the third time. Corby is a publicly traded company based in Toronto, Ontario, and listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbols CSW.A and CSW.B. For further information, please visit our website or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter (@CorbySW), and Instagram (@CorbySW).

SOURCE J.P. Wiser's

For further information: contact Kristy Dilbey // [email protected]
EDMONTON, June 9, 2017 /CNW/ - Today, the Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities and Member of Parliament for Edmonton Mill Woods, Randy Boissonnault, Member of Parliament for Edmonton Centre, and Marcela Diaz, Director of Public Affairs and Communications at the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC), officially unveiled a Canada 150 3D public art installation in Sir Winston Churchill Square in Edmonton, Alberta. This is one of 19 signs that will be on display across Canada as part of the Sesquicentennial celebrations.

This iconic national project is being led by TIAC, the voice of Canada's tourism industry, as a way to enhance the tourism experience across the country as part of the Canada 150 celebrations. The project is being funded by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage.

These gathering places will be marked by large illuminated 3D public art installations spelling out C-A-N-A-D-A-1-5-0. This is a unique national project that will span markets from coast to coast to coast and bring Canadians and visitors together across the country to celebrate this historic national milestone, creating memorable experiences and sharing unique mementos through photos and social media. Leading up to Canada Day celebrations, these public art sculptures will enhance the Canada 150 experience by creating a series of gathering places in major urban centres and iconic tourism destinations across the country to anchor Canada 150 activities and festivities by generating social media engagement and storytelling.

"During this memorable year, Canadians will have the opportunity to experience these bold Canada 150 art installations in cities across our countrya bright and beautiful way to celebrate and show our pride. I encourage Canadians of all ages to create once-in-a-generation memories by taking photos, sharing stories and coming together to celebrate what makes our country a great place to live," said the Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage.

"I am proud to officially inaugurate this exciting new landmark in Edmonton, which reminds us of exactly where we are: home," said the Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities and Member of Parliament (Edmonton Mill Woods). "These signs are an integral part of the Canada 150 experienceand the perfect background to create lasting memories of this defining moment for our country."

"Our government is proud to have supported the construction of this sign and the 18 others like it across the country," said Randy Boissonnault, Member of Parliament (Edmonton Centre). "It will create an exciting gathering place here in Edmonton that will draw people of all ages and backgrounds together in celebration of all that Canada has to offer."

"TIAC is proud to partner with the Government of Canada and the Department of Canadian Heritage to provide destinations across Canada with appealing art installations celebrating Canada's 150th anniversary" said Charlotte Bell, President and CEO of TIAC. "Through this initiative, we look forward to creating memories and unique keepsakes of this momentous event in Canadian history that will no doubt be widely shared on social media as positive and powerful images of Canada's natural beauty, tourist appeal and the diversity of our great nation." added Bell.

The tourism and travel sector is a key contributor to Canada's economy:

Travel is a $91.6 Billion sector in Canada

sector in 1 out of every 11 jobs in Canada is directly involved with travellers

is directly involved with travellers Tourism is Canada's largest service export in Canada with $17.2 billion

"The City of Edmonton is honoured to host the Canada 150 art installation to mark Canada's milestone anniversary," said Mayor Don Iveson. "A community gathering place, Sir Winston Churchill Square is a vibrant and welcoming venue in the heart of Edmonton's Downtown core. The 3D Canada 150 sculpture will be a great opportunity to create memorable experiences and share our stories as we proudly celebrate our common values, history and achievements."

TIAC believes that the opportunity to bring Canadians and visitors together in celebration of our history will underscore both our sense of pride as Canadians as well as our inclusiveness as a nation as we welcome visitors from all corners of Canada and the globe to join in our celebrations.

"TIAC wishes to thank the Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage for her leadership and support in creating this unique initiative in celebration of Canada's sesquicentennial. We also wish to recognize the ongoing support for the tourism industry given by the Honourable Bardish Chagger, Minister of Small Business and Tourism, who tirelessly champions our industry" concluded Bell.

The Canada 150 3D sign installation measures 36 feet long and stands 6 feet high and will remain on display until the end of 2017.

For more information about the Canada 150 sign search the #3DCanada150 hashtag or follow TIAC on Facebook or Twitter.

About the Tourism Industry Association of Canada

The Tourism Industry Association of Canada is the only national organization representing the full cross-section of Canada's $91.6 billion tourism industry. TIAC's members include air and passenger rail services, airport authorities, local and provincial destination authorities, hotels, attractions and tour operators.

SOURCE TOURISM INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF CANADA

For further information: Marcela Diaz, Director, Public Affairs and Communications, Tourism Industry Association of Canada, [email protected], t: 613-238-6378

Related Links

http://www.tiac.travel


OTTAWA, June 12, 2017 /CNW/ - The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement on Philippine Independence Day:

"Today, we join the Filipino community in Canada, in the Philippines, and around the world in celebrating the 119th anniversary of Philippine Independence.

"More than 700,000 Canadians trace their heritage to the Philippines. Canada looks forward to continue working with the Philippines on bilateral and global issues, including peace and security, good governance and development cooperation.

"Canada's cultural diversity is one of our greatest strengths and sources of pride. This year, as we mark the 150th anniversary of Confederation, let us recognize the important contributions of the Filipino-Canadian community to our national fabric.

"On behalf of the Government of Canada, I wish all those celebrating today a happy Independence Day.

"Maligayang araw ng kalayaan!

"Mabuhay!"

This document is also available at http://pm.gc.ca

SOURCE Prime Minister's Office

For further information: PMO Media Relations: 613-957-5555

Related Links

http://pm.gc.ca/


By GMM 12 June 2017 - 10:55





Toto Wolff has counted himself out of speculation regarding the dubious future of the McLaren-Honda collaboration.

Rumours were rife throughout the Montreal weekend, with many now expecting McLaren to dump Honda and simply buy a customer engine for 2018, perhaps from Mercedes.

"At the moment I do not want to participate in these rumours and discussions," Wolff, the Mercedes chief, told Bild newspaper.

"It could be detrimental to Honda," he added.

But the rumours persist that McLaren could actually dump Honda imminently  perhaps in the next few months.

"You could install a new power unit in any F1 car in a minimum of three months," an unnamed F1 engine source said.

What is at least clear for now is that frustrations are reaching boiling point.

After his latest engine failure, Fernando Alonso said after the Canadian grand prix: "The speed difference on the straights with the other cars is dangerous here.

"The others pass as though youre standing on a motorway."

And his misery will now continue in two weeks in Baku.

"Its not just that we lost a point here," he said. "We lost another engine, which means I will be last in Azerbaijan."

Worst still, the Honda upgrade that McLaren was expecting in Canada may not even be ready by Baku.

So another rumour is that even the board of the Honda Motor Company is running out of patience for the hapless F1 project.

"Obviously they (the board) are not happy right now, but they are committed to the long term project," boss Yusuke Hasegawa said.

When asked if it is him who may have to fall on his sword, the Japanese answered: "We are trying to improve, and maybe there is someone who can do better than me.

"For the moment I am doing the best I can."
(Reuters/NAN) President Alpha Conde of Guinea has written Saudi Arabia, offering to mediate in the crisis between Riyadh, its allies and the tiny nation of Qatar, with which they have cut ties, according to a copy of the letter seen by Reuters.Conde has had some success in helping to resolve regional crises, especially in persuading Gambias long-time ruler Yayha Jammeh to go into exile in January after losing an election.I would like to affirm my readiness, as current president of the African Union and of a Muslim country and as a founding member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, to mediate and to work tirelessly with goodwill to find a peaceful and rapid solution to this ill-timed crisis between friendly brothers, Conde wrote to King Salman.An official in the presidency confirmed the authenticity of the letter.Conde was part of an official delegation of Muslim leaders who travelled to Saudi Arabia during a visit by U.S. President Donald Trump in May.Other African countries such as Chad, Niger and Senegal have recalled their ambassadors to Qatar while Mauritania has severed ties.Kuwait, which has retained ties with Qatar and has often acted as a mediator in regional disputes, said it wanted to resolve the dispute within the unified Gulf house.A previous mediation effort by Kuwait in which the Emir Sabah Al-Jaber shuttled between Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Doha, failed to achieve an immediate breakthrough.
Following alleged quit notice to Igbo living in the North, Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State has vowed that Northern governors including Acting President Yemi Osinbanjo, would defend unity of Nigeria with all their energy.

Governor Bagudu said this, on Monday, while addressing Batch A Stream 1 of corps members at NYSC permanent camp during their official closing ceremony of their three weeks orientation courses described the quite notice as  unpatriotic and unguarded .

Apparently assuring youth corps members from other states, Bagudu said We have been hearing irresponsible statement across the country. I would like to assure you that we would rise to defend the Constitution of federal republic of Nigeria.

We believe in unity of Nigeria and Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbanjo, all of us would rather die than see Nigeria divided

Governor Bagudu assured corps members adequate security,welfare and accommodation stressed that whoever has problem among them should come to government house for redress.

He promised Corps members that all their unpaid allowances would be pay to them even after their service year.

Earlier, the state coordinator of NYSC, Alhaji Lawal Turawa, had disclosed that 2,183 corps members registered in the camp for three weeks orientation camp while 816 sought for redeployment to other states .

He pleaded to the state government to upgrade fence of the camp for security of the corps members and construction of toilet in the camp clinic.
His Royal Highness, Alhaji Aliru H. Momoh, the Otaru of Auchi Kingdom, in Edo, on Monday announced the arrest of 24 suspected Boko Haram members in the community by the Nigerian Army.The monarch, while speaking in his palace at Auchi, headquarters of the Estako-West local government area of the state, said the commandant of the Nigeria Army School of Engineering, NICOHO, near Auchi, informed him of the arrest of the suspected insurgents in his palace.Shortly before you came, I had audience with the commandant.He informed me about what they are doing and the arrest of some 24 suspected members of Boko Haram operating under the guise of Fulani herdsmen in the community, he said.The Otaru said: the commandant also informed me that the suspects would be transferred to Benin.He commended the commandant for taking proactive steps to have taken the fight to the suspected insurgents in the forest, saying that the issue of security needs careful planning and execution.The Otaru, who described the activities of the herdsmen in the area as worrisome, said we have asked farmers, especially the women, to stop going to the farms for now.We gave them some grants to enable them to engage in petty trading in the meantime, to avoid the incessant attacks on them.The traditional council is collaborating with the army, security agencies, and some vigilance groups, and we have recently incorporated the hunters to help to evolve lasting solutions to the problem, he added.
Nigerias Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo on Monday signed the 2017 budget of N7.441 trillion into law. This puts to rest speculat...

Nigerias Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo on Monday signed the 2017 budget of N7.441 trillion into law. This puts to rest speculations that Osinbajo might have been delaying the signing of the budget to wait for Buharis return.

Osinbajo signed the budget in his conference room in the presence of the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Abba Kyari; Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, Ministers and other top government officials.





Osinbajo said his signing of the budget was a milestone in the implementation of the economic and growth plan programme put in place by Buhari in April.





He said the processes of putting the budget in place had been smoother than that of 2016 with no allegations of errors.

There were far few cases of acrimony unlike in the past. There is no doubt at all that our democracy is maturing very well, he said.

The National Assembly passed the 2017 Appropriations Bill on May 10 after raising from the N7.28 trillion earlier proposed by President Muhammadu Buhari in December last year, to N7.44 trillion.

The Personal Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on New Media, Engagement Unit, Bashir Ahmad, on Monday took to his twitter handle, wrote: Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has signed the #Budget2017 into law at exactly 4:42 PM in his office at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
US President Donald Trump on Sunday characterized the leak of former FBI director James Comeys memo of their conversations cowardly and suggested the act could have legal consequences.Comey admitted Thursday in testimony before the Senate intelligence committee that after Trump fired him on May 9 he asked a friend to leak his own personal notes of a meeting with the president to the press.Comey said he felt it was necessary to take notes on his meetings and conversations with Trump because he feared the president would lie about what took place.He said he shared the notes with a friend expecting them to be leaked in hopes of prompting the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate Russian election interference.On Sunday Trump attacked the former FBI directors actions in a tweet.I believe the James Comey leaks will be far more prevalent than anyone ever thought possible. Totally illegal? Very cowardly! Trump said on Twitter.Trump had already questioned the legality of Comeys action through his lawyer Marc Kasowitz on Thursday.Kasowitz blasted Comey for leaking information about his private conversations with the president and said it would be left to authorities to determine whether the leaks should be investigated.The leaks created a political firestorm over whether Trump pressured Comey to drop an investigation into contacts between Russian officials and Michael Flynn, who briefly served as Trumps national security advisor.Comey said he believed Trump fired him because of the Russia investigation, and Trump himself cited this Russia thing as a motivating factor for his decision to sack Comey during an interview with broadcaster NBC that aired last month.Opposition Democrats have said that the leaks occurred after Comey was fired and no longer serving as a government official.Trump said he felt vindicated by Comeys testimony, adding Friday that it showed no collusion, no obstruction.He also said he was willing to testify under oath with special counsel Robert Mueller about his conversations with Comey.But Chuck Schumer, the Senates top Democrat, on Sunday said he would like that testimony to be before the Senate to help clear the cloud hanging over the administration in connection with the Russia probe.He said he would testify. So Im inviting him to come testify, and we could work that out, Schumer said on CBS.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Mueller would have to agree to such an invitation, and its unclear they would.Such a hearing would be unprecedented and an even bigger spectacle than Comeys testimony, but the senator said it could be done in a dignified way.Schumer also joined a chorus of calls for the president to release any recordings of his conversations with Comey. Trump alluded to the existence of tapes again on Friday, but wouldnt say definitively whether recordings of his conversations with Comey exist.He hinted that reporters would be disappointed when he issues the answer, which he said would come soon.If there arent tapes, he should let that be known. No more game playing,
No fewer than five persons were hit with bullet at the gate of Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja where senator Dino Melaye was holding a protest against the state government.The protest which started around 11am turned bloody when gunmen yet to be identified invaded the venue of protest.The gunmen who stormed the venue from the Nataco junction brandishing guns of different guns and cutlasses started shooting into different direction sending people scampering for safety including journalists who were at hands to cover the event.Before the Army and the state Commissioner of Police could reach there almost an hour into the shooting, five persons have fell victims of gunshots with a vehicle caught in flame as well.
Suspected kidnap kingpin, Chukwudi Dumeme Onuamadike , also known as Evans, who was arrested by police in Lagos said on Sunday that he...

Among them are:



* James Uduji, who was kidnapped close to his house at 7th Avenue Festac late last year. The Evans gang held him for six weeks. He paid $1million to regain his freedom.



* Chief Raymond Okoye  Odu- Na Ichida,, who was kidnapped in 2015. He also paid $1million as ransom. He was released after two months in captivity.



* Uche Okoroafor, a trader at Alaba who was also kidnapped in 2015 for three months, also paid $1million.



* Elias Ukachukwu kidnapped November 2015 similarly paid $1million. The police said the Evans gang demanded an additional $1million, claiming family members were rude to them during negotiation.

The Force PPRO, Jimoh Moshood said that the suspect had collected billions of naira from his victims and had property in and outside the country.

He said that Evans was declared wanted in 2013, following a kidnap attempt that was foiled by the police.

Moshood said further investigation into his activities were ongoing.

The suspect, while being paraded at the Lagos Police Command in Ikeja, told newsmen that he started kidnapping in 2015, after he left his spare parts business, a claim that contradicted the police statement that he was declared wanted in 2013.He claimed that he lost N20 million to Customs officers, which made him to leave his trade.The suspect was arrested in his mansion in Magodo area of the state on Saturday.Evans, who wasnt sure of how many people he had kidnapped, said the highest he had collected as ransom was one million dollars.I cant figure out how much I have collected so far or how many people I have kidnapped, but I have kidnapped up to 10 since 2015.I chose to collect ransom in dollars to be different, and the maximum I have collected as ransom so far is I million dollars.I work in two groups. A team moves with me to kidnap victims while we hand over to the other team that takes the victim to the hide out.Kingsley introduced me to kidnapping, but I usually get my ammunition from one Chinedu and Ehis whom I met at Ago-Iwoye.I also do drug business that enabled me to buy my property, the suspect said.According to the police, Evans collected $1million from no fewer than four of his victims.
Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State has guaranteed the peace and safety of all non-indigenes, especially the Hausa and Fulanis living in the state.Speaking through his special adviser on non-indigenes affairs, Musa Maigoro, Ayade said his government has met with all the stakeholders of the northern community to assure them of their safety and that they should go about their legitimate business as they are very free to live in any parts of the state.Ayade described the quit notice to Igbo to leave northern Nigeria as one from a faceless group, saying it is unwarranted and very condemnable."The Cross River State government condemns in unequivocal terms the threat against non-indigenes in northern Nigeria, especially the Igbos, by a faceless northern youths group. This development is unwarranted especially in this critical period of our dire need for unity and national integration 4 sustainable development." We are fully committed to provide maximum security to protect the lives and properties of the non-indigenes resident in Cross River state.Earlier, the commissioner for information, Rosemary Archibong, in a statement, dispelled rumours that Nigerians of Northern extraction living in Calabar have abandoned the streets of the State Capital.She said, "This is totally false and not in tandem with the reality here in Calabar and indeed other parts of the State. Calabar remains one of the most peaceful cities in the country and therefore poses no security threats to its residents.""The State Government is fully alive to its responsibility of providing security to all her citizens and residents while sustaining our nationally acclaimed status as the most peaceful State in Nigeria."
Kogi Sociocultural group, Uja-Ache Igala Association has faulted governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state for saying that Rivers was safer th...

Kogi Sociocultural group, Uja-Ache Igala Association has faulted governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state for saying that Rivers was safer than Kogi and other states which he mentioned in terms of terrorism.





Speaking in Lokoja after an emergency meeting, the group's National Chairman, Chief Goodman Akwu maintained that available statistics in the rate of crimes showed that not only Rivers ranked the highest, but there were career kidnappers and terrorists in the state.

He added that it was common knowledge to Nigerians and expatriates working in oil firms in Rivers and parts of South South that criminals run training camps in full glare.

The group challenged Nyesom Wike to give Nigerians reasons oil firms operating in Rivers relocated their offices to safer places like Lagos and Abuja.

In Rivers state, they are career kidnappers, terrorists who conduct trainings on how to operate and these exercises happen in creeks, he said.

On the other hand, there is occultism challenge and those ones enjoy support of government and other influential persons and this makes Rivers state one of the evil territories one can think of, he added.

One of the most notorious criminals who was last nabbed in Kogi state on his way from Lokoja to Akure was trained in Rivers and he had his own squad there.

Admitting that Kogi had its own share of kidnapping and terrorism menace, Goodman explained that insecurity in Kogi state was occasioned by the defeat of Boko Haram in north east Nigeria.

He advised Rivers state governor to tackle insecurity in the state in order to woo investors rather than mere propaganda, saying the state was notorious in crimes.





It would be recalled that governor Nyesom Wike had at the 20th anniversary of Air France in Port Harcourt said that Rivers was safer than Lagos, Kaduna, Kogi and Benue where kidnappers terrorize.




A former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, and a former Lagos State governor and All Progressives Congress national leader, Bola Tinubu, have described the June 12, 1993 elections as a part of Nigerias history that could not be forgotten.This is just as the Lagos and Ekiti state governments on Sunday joined Oyo, Ondo, Ogun and Osun states to declare June 12 a public holiday.In a statement issued by his Media Office in Abuja, on Sunday, Atiku said June 12 and the events that brought it are part of our countrys history and cannot be forgotten, especially because of the unity and comradeship displayed by Nigerians on that Election Day in 1993.Atiku, who described the late Abiola as a businessman, philanthropist, and patriot, noted that the events of June 12, 1993 remained a watershed in the history of the nation.It partly read, The Waziri commended Nigerians for moving beyond the challenges thrown up by June 12 and putting in place a democratic system of government that has lasted for 18 years.He said that it is a testimony to the innate democratic nature of Nigerians that today, democracy is flourishing in the country, adding that the restructuring of the country as being demanded by some well-meaning Nigerians would further consolidate democracy and give greater impetus to the unity and development of the country.According to him, restructuring of the country would lay a solid foundation for prosperity and self-reliant development across the country by introducing healthy competition among the constituent parts of the federation based on the principle of comparative advantage.The former Vice President described the late MKO Abiola as the leading personality of the June 12 struggle as a national Hero and Patriot deserving of accolades and honour by Nigerians.He called on the Federal Government to pay the necessary tribute to the late chief Abiola of blessed memory by naming a befitting national institution after him.Tinubu, in statement on Sunday to celebrate the 24th anniversary of June 12, said that without the uncompromising resistance to military rule engendered by the annulment of the June 12 election, there would most probably be no 4th Republic today and we would still be groaning under military dictatorship.Tinubu described the late Abiola, the winner of the election, as an embodiment of the eternal Yoruba adage, which says that death is better with honour than life without dignity.In the statement titled, What June 12 Taught Us, Tinubu said, The blood of those who gave their yesterday and sacrificed even their lives for the democracy and freedom we enjoy today was not shed in vain. The truth is June 12 is the mother of May 29.The annulment was a bitter pill to swallow, especially for the millions of people who expended so much time, energy and material resources to help ensure victory for Chief MKO Abiola. The late MKO selflessly committed so much of his substantial fortune towards ensuring his victory at the polls. In doing this, he was not motivated by personal, selfish or pecuniary considerations.Twenty-four years after its annulment, the spirit of June 12 lives on in the hearts and minds of millions of Nigerians.This years commemoration of the anniversary of June 12 coincides roughly with two years in office of the All Progressives Congress at the federal level. Some critics are already writing off the government as a failure. However, the vast majority of Nigerians are aware of the immense mess inherited by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.Tinubu added that the APC Federal Government had successfully contained the challenges, and was turning the corner with light discernible at the end of the tunnel.Also, in a statement by the Secretary to the Lagos State Government, Mr. Tunji Bello, on behalf of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, the state government said it had perfected arrangement for the annual public symposium in Ikeja to celebrate June 12.In a statement issued on Sunday in Ado Ekiti, Fayose  a member of the Peoples Democratic Party  said he took the decision to join his other colleagues in the South-West to celebrate the late Abiola in the spirit of the unity of the regionIn a related development, the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, said on Sunday that June 12 was the harbinger of peaceful, free and fair electoral process in Nigeria, adding, It is thus worthy of celebration.Also, the Osun State House of Assembly has said the current Nigeria democracy must be protected with all diligence so as not to encourage the incursion of military rule in the country again.A statement by the Chairman, House Committee on Information and Strategy, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, on Sunday, to commemorate the June 12 struggle, said the change in the Nigeria political landscape was not a coincidence but a consequence of sacrifice made by courageous gladiators who led from the front to entrench democracy in Nigeria.Meanwhile, a socio-cultural Yoruba group, Afenifere, on Sunday advocated the implementation of the last national conference as a way out of the challenges facing the country.The group, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Yinka Odumakin, pointed out that all southerners were at the risk of attacks by northern youths following the quit order issued to Ndigbo.
The Lagos State Government on Sunday declared Monday public holiday to mark June 12 celebration in the State, saying that the State rema...

The Lagos State Government on Sunday declared Monday public holiday to mark June 12 celebration in the State, saying that the State remains committed to the ideals of the annulled 1993 Presidential election.In a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Tunji Bello on behalf of the State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, the government said the holiday was in honour of the ideals which June 12, 1993 Presidential election represents being a day that the country experienced an election that was adjudged as the freest and fairest in Nigerias history.The Governor said 24 years after, the ideals of June 12 commemoration were worth celebrating, describing the day as one of the most defining moments of the countrys political history which has positively shaped its democratic rule.Governor Ambode said the time has come for Nigerians to go beyond the commemoration and entrench a viable democracy as a way to immortalise the late presumed winner of June 12, 1993 Presidential election, Chief M.K.O Abiola through the practice of true federalism and conduct of credible and fair elections.He said: June 12, 1993 is a day we must not forget in the annals of our democratic history. Our present democratic experience may still be far from the ideal but we must all make concerted efforts to entrench fiscal federalism which is the only way to achieve true nationhood.Continuing, Governor Ambode said part of the enduring lessons of June 12 election is that it imbued the patriotic and nationalistic zeal in all Nigerians to speak with one voice to make a political choice devoid of ethnic, racial or social sentiments.On June 12, 1993, majority of Nigerians across all divides demonstrated through the ballot box that irrespective of class or ethnic sympathies, the Nigerian people are united and would always join hands to promote our unifying values, he said.Governor Ambode said though the peoples hope was dashed with the annulment of the elections by the military junta, the lessons of the elections cannot be wished away despite subterranean efforts by many to do, describing June 12 as the real Democracy Day in Nigeria.We owe it a duty to genuinely immortalize the fallen heroes of the June 12 struggle nationally and deepen our democratic values to ensure that never again will such anti-people action be allowed to take place.He also assured that his administration remains committed to the ideals of June 12 by carrying out people-oriented programmes across the State and making life more comfortable for the people.Meanwhile, the State Government, through the office of Civic Engagement, has perfected arrangement for the annual public symposium which will hold at the De Roof, LTV 8 in Ikeja, to celebrate June 12.
The President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, has described as alarming and a ticking time bomb the no fewer than 10.5 million children ...

He was reacting to the statistics on out-of-school children released by the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Sanni Onogu, on Sunday in Abuja.Mr. Saraki, who spoke when he received a UNICEF delegation, led by its Country Representative, Mohammed Fall, said that the situation called for urgent attention by relevant stakeholders.He lamented that Nigeria had the highest number of out-of-school children in the world, adding that the statistics represented approximately 20 per cent of the worlds population of such children.He said an uneducated population will be locked in a cycle of poverty for their entire lives.Additionally, these children could constitute the next generation of suicide bombers and militants. In this regard, education is a national security priority.The president of the senate expressed National Assemblys commitment to partnering stakeholders like UNICEF, to drastically reduce the number.He said that the 8th National Assembly was determined to make laws needed to drastically address the menace.The legislature is committed to doing all it can to address the issue of out-of-school children through funding and material resources.The senate is already working with a few state governments which are yet to domesticate the Childs Rights Act.We are determined to also improve on this and to work together to see how best to reduce drastically the level of illiteracy among our people, especially from the preliminary stage.The quality of our education must be in line with global best practices. We will continue to work closely with you to support your programmes.We plan to have an inclusive roundtable where the impediments in our education system will be identified and a plan of action designed to eliminate them.I am confident that your contributions at that stage will be very useful, he said.Mr. Saraki endorsed the school enrolment campaign of UNICEF in the country and thanked its Country Representative for their years of exemplary work in education and other areas.Earlier, Mr. Fall had urged Saraki to endorse Nigerias 2017 school enrolment programme by UNICEF.He said that the funds school enrolment campaign sought to partner the education stakeholders at the state level to ensure that the impact reached the grassroots.Mr. Fall said that the campaign also sought to underscore the countrys commitment to free and compulsory education and to encourage states to prioritise education.He commended the president of the senate for the outstanding partnership offered to UNICEF over the years in the areas of child health and education.He, however, decried the statistics of 10.5 million children out-of-school in Nigeria, saying such number poses a lot of danger to the growth and development of the country.We need additional resources, and this support requires stronger partnership with legislation.(NAN)
Troops of the 3rd Battalion, Nigerian Army, alongside members of Civilian JTF at the weekend, killed some Boko Haram insurgents operatin...

Troops of the 3rd Battalion, Nigerian Army, alongside members of Civilian JTF at the weekend, killed some Boko Haram insurgents operating at Jarawa Village, Kala Balge local government area of Borno State.The Director of Public Relations, Nigerian Army, Brig- Gen. Sani Usman, said in a statement issued in Abuja that the operations were carried out by the 22 Brigade Nigerian Army of Operation Lafiya Dole.He said: Following credible and confirmed information about the convergence of some elements of suspected Boko Haram terrorists at Jarawa village, Kala Balge local government area of Borno State, troops of 3 Battalion, 22 Brigade Nigerian Army of Operation LAFIYA DOLE, in conjunction with some Civilian JTF, on Sunday June 11, 2017, carried out a successful clearance operation along that axis.At about a Kilometre to Jarawa village, the troops entered heavy Boko Haram terrorists ambush, which they successfully cleared after some minutes of fire fight. They followed that up with hot pursuit of the fleeing insurgents into the nearby forest.The troops were able to neutralize a large number of Boko Haram terrorists including the notorious Abu Nazir, the terrorists Amir in Jarawa during the operation.They also captured several weapons including an AK-47 rifle, one Double barrel gun, one primed heavy Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and three motorcycles.Additionally, they rescued nine abducted children undergoing training at the terrorists training camp in the village.The minors have been evacuated and are being given preliminary humanitarian assistance in preparation to handing them over to Kala Balge Internally Displaced Persons Camp Management Committee.
Nasarawa State Police Command said on Sunday that a policeman, Sgt. Thomas Agada, had in the early hours of the day, shot and killed h...

Nasarawa State Police Command said on Sunday that a policeman, Sgt. Thomas Agada, had in the early hours of the day, shot and killed himself at Masaka in Karu Local Government Area of the state.The commands spokesman, DSP Kennedy Idirisu, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lafia that late Agada served at the Police command in the FCT, but resided at Masaka, where the incident occurred.Idirisu explained that before killing himself, the deceased had shot and injured his wife and maid at their shop around De Memories Hotel in Masaka.He said the wife and maid were currently receiving treatment at the Asokoro General Hospital in the FCT, adding that investigation had begun to ascertain the motive behind the shooting.We cannot say for sure now what could have led to the dastardly act but we believe that the wife, currently being treated would, be of great help to our investigation, once she stabilises, Idirisu said. (NAN)
Pope Francis has laid down an ultimatum to defiant Nigerian priests: lose your job if you dont obey me and your bishop.According to a report by Associated Press, Pope Francis met June 8 at the Vatican with a delegation from the Ahiara diocese, southeast Nigeria where priests have been refusing to accept the 2012 appointment by the then pontiff, Benedict XVI, of the local bishop.The Vatican newspaper, LOsservatore Romano, reporting the popes unusually harsh order, said on Sunday that Francis was acting for the good of the people of God by threatening to suspend the priests from the ministry if they didnt pledge in a letter, by July 9, total obedience to Francis and accept Bishop Peter Okpalekes appointment.Mr. Francis told the visiting delegation he was very sad about the priests refusal to obey and ruled out tribal loyalties as explaining the refusal.Africa has been one of the continents where the Catholic church is growing. The faithful and clergy there often imbue their practices with local culture in dynamic contrast to more traditional routines in Europe or North America.Francis move to end disobedience to the Vatican aims at ensuring the growing church there will be loyal to the pontiff.His remarks to the visiting delegation indicated how dangerous he viewed any rebellion against papal authority.Those priests opposing Mr. Okpalekes taking up of his office want to destroy the church, which is not permitted, the pope said in his address to the delegation.He added: the pope cant be indifferent to the rebellion.He has often taken a conciliatory tone in resolving disputes, but in this one he was entertaining no diplomacy. He demanded that each priest in the diocese write to him asking forgiveness and clearly manifest total obedience to the pope.They must also accept the bishop chosen by Rome. If, within a month, each priest doesnt do so, he will be ipso facto suspended, such as from the celebration of the sacraments, and will lose his current office, Francis warned.Francis acknowledged that his move seems very harsh. He added that he had even considered the extraordinary remedy of suppressing the entire diocese but didnt, so as not to hurt rank-and-file faithful.He said he thought the rebellious priests might have been manipulated from outside the diocese or even abroad, but named no culprits.In 2015, the diocese served around 520,000 Catholics, out of a local population of about 675,000, and had 128 diocesan priests and seven other priests. It wasnt immediately clear how many of the priests were involved in the rebellion against the bishops appointment.
Suspended former Senate Leader, Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, has ruled out tendering unreserved apology in order for him to be recalle...

Suspended former Senate Leader, Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, has ruled out tendering unreserved apology in order for him to be recalled.He told reporters after an interactive session with of his constituents in Abuja on Sunday that there was no basis to ask him to apologise since he did not do any thing to warrant his suspension in the first place.He was handed six months suspension on March 29, 2017 over allegation that he breached Senate rules by drawing attention of the upper chamber to allegation of purchase of exotic car for the Senate President with forged customs papers and the certificate scandal against Senator Dino Melaye.The Senate specifically blamed him for not conducting due diligence before bringing the matter to the floor.The Borno South senator however said that though he is not averse to tendering apology where there is need to do so, there was nothing for him to apologise for.'He insisted that he did not offend the standing rules of the Senate.The leadership of the upper chamber was reported last week to have asked Ndume to apologise to pave the way for his recall.Ndume said, The move for apology was made but I did not do any thing to warrant an apology. I have no problem with apology but you have to apologise for something you did.The issues I raised were put to rest after I raised them. The issue of importation of car was put to rest. The certificate issue was also put to rest. It was because I raised the issues. Perhaps if I did not raise them, the issues may have lingered.I did not do any thing so there is no basis for me to tender any apology.Ndume also said that the resolution to investigate the issues was not his but a Senate resolution.He added, The whole thing will come and go. It will pass away. It is part of the challenge a politician go through. My challenge in the Senate now is temporary. It should not stop me from do what have been doing for my constituents. It is very temporary.I take my suspension in good faith. It will pass away. I am lucky to be in the Senate. Right now I am going through industrial attachment because one day I will leave the Senate. I dont expect to die in the Senate.Ndume also appealed to the Federal Government not to yield to the pressure to evict Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from their Area One Camp in Abuja.He said that he would take up the planned eviction of IDPs from their Area One Camp with the Minister of Internal Affairs to stop the plan.He said that IDPs are not sent packing without providing them a place of abode.Ndume who said that they have 12 IDP camps scattered in Abuja, asked the government to take up the issue of security at the camps especially at the Area One Camp.
A chieftain of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, has asked a national leader of the All Progressi...

A chieftain of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, has asked a national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, to speak out on alleged below-par performance of the President Muhammadu Buharis administration.









The elder statesmen, who said Nigerians are suffering under the current change government, also insisted that South West leaders of the APC are to blame for not leading the agitation for restructuring.

I warned some leaders from the South-West that Buharis second coming is the greatest mistake you will make if you vote for him. This is a one-man rule.

Members of the APC, who are democrats, are conniving and colluding with this autocratic regime. People like Tinubu and other South West leaders, who are in the APC, should talk now.

This is not what we bargained for. Is that the change we want? Is this what you led the South-West to do? They have sold out and I am sure the electorates in the South West and South-south, who were led into the APC, are not dunces, Adebanjo said.

Asked what he and other leaders in the South-West are doing to ensure the Nigerias situation gets better, Pa Adebanjo repled: What can we do? The solution to the country is to go back to federalism.

Not only that. There should also be a return to the constitution which all the leaders in London agreed to before independence. The constitution we are talking about was canceled by the army, dominated by the north. There can be no peace.

He further declared that Nigeria is still not practicing democracy in the proper way.

There is no democracy in the country, my friend. Do not deceive yourself. We have only had civilian administration, we have been paying lip service to democracy because the actions of the government have been anti-democracy but they like to make us believe that they are practicing democracy.

I do not believe that there is a democracy in Nigeria. We have not learned anything. Once you dont practice democracy, the rule of law and true federalism, you will not have stability because we are not following the footsteps of our founding fathers.

That is why you will not have political stability and we can never have political stability until you practice true federalism.
The Trump administration is expected to reveal to lawmakers its five-year plan to address the Boko Haram rebellion in north east Nigeria ...

The Trump administration is expected to reveal to lawmakers its five-year plan to address the Boko Haram rebellion in north east Nigeria and Lake Chad region.This is pursuant to a law signed by former President Barack Obama last December.The law arose from a bill proposed by congresswoman Fredericka Wilson.Indication that the Trump administration will unveil its Boko Haram plan was contained in notification letter addressed to the congresswoman by the US Department of State Last month, U.S. Senator Susan Collins and U.S. Congresswoman Frederica Wilson led a bipartisan group of 50 Members of Congress in writing to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense James Mattis, and Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats, requesting an update on their efforts to counter Boko Haram.In December 2016, legislation introduced by Senator Collins and Congresswoman Wilson was signed into law requiring the Administration to develop a comprehensive plan to help the Nigerian government and its partners combat Boko Haram and address the legitimate concerns of affected, vulnerable populations. Senator Collins and Congresswoman Wilsons legislation, which responded to the terrorist organisations kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls in Nigeria in 2014, directs the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the Director of National Intelligence to submit to Congress a five-year anti-Boko Haram strategy by June 12, 2017.While we were encouraged by the release of 82 of the Chibok schoolgirls, it is imperative that we remember that many of the girls remain in captivity along with untold hundreds of other women, men, and children who have been kidnapped by Boko Haram, Senator Collins and Congresswoman Wilson wrote. [W]e look forward to receiving an update on your efforts to develop an anti-Boko Haram strategy and beginning the process of dismantling Boko Haram and reuniting all of the Chibok schoolgirls with their families.
The Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has warned the Federal Government that the ultimatum given to the Igbo living in the North cou...

The Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has warned the Federal Government that the ultimatum given to the Igbo living in the North could lead to anarchy if not checked.According to him, the trend of statements credited to some elements in the North has shown clearly that Nigeria is no longer one.He said this while reacting to a quit notice to the Igbo in the North by the Coalition of Northern Groups, which was recently backed by some northern elders, including a former Vice-Chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Prof. Ango Abdullahi.Fayose said the unity of the nation was threatened like never before.He blamed this on what he described as the nonchalant attitude of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress Federal Government.Also, the President of the Ohanaeze in the South-West, Chief Nathaniel Uzomah, has said that the North stand to lose more if the Igbo obey the quit notice.He said, In this our Nigeria, every tribe is important and we exist for one another. Truth is that the northerners would lose more if our Igbo brothers vacate the North. This is why I want to even believe that they must be joking about that quit notice.We are very much important to them there. You all know that we have invested trillions of naira there. Do you think that if the Igbo are leaving the North, they would leave those property and investment behind?Fayose lamented that the gap among ethnic groups in Nigeria had widened beyond measure because of the body language of the Buhari administration.We are more divided than ever. The elements are emboldened because they believe their person is in office and nothing would happen.This is not surprising to some of us as the herdsmen set the tone and became notorious under the watch of Buhari.Also, the Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, has described as ill-conceived, the order handed down to the Igbo to quit the 19 northern states before October 1 by some Arewa groups.He called on the South-East governors to resist any attempt by groups in their domains to cause trouble as a reaction to the quit notice.Lalong, in a statement issued by his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Dr. Emmanuel Nanle, on Sunday, regretted that such a threat could be given by northern youth groups.He said, The order is not only ill-conceived and low in public morality but also a total departure from the virtues and values of communality, accommodation and peaceful coexistence that characterises the true northern spirit.He called on the governors in the South-East to resist any attempt, however, remotely motivated to create value for the position of the northern youths.Lalong said the quit order by the youths did not represent the position of the leadership of northern Nigeria.Meanwhile, a conglomeration of 15 churches in the 19 northern states of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory, on Sunday, condemned the ultimatum issued by Arewa youths for the Igbo to quit.The organisation, under the aegis of Tarayar Ekklisiyoyin Kristi a Nigeria, called on security agencies to arrest those behind the provocative order.A statement by the General Secretary, TEKAN, Moses Ebuga, described the ultimatum as a threat to national security.It can be recalled that the Arewa groups had, in a communique issued in Kaduna after their meeting, given a three-month ultimatum to people of Igbo extraction resident in the 19 states in the North, to leave the North or be forced out after October 1, 2017.Those who endorsed the resolution are Nastura Sharif (Arewa Citizens Action for Change); Ambassador Shettima Yerima (Arewa Youth Consultative Forum); Aminu Adam (Arewa Youth Development Foundation); Alfred Solomon (Arewa Students Forum); Abdul-Azeez Suleiman (Northern Emancipation Network), and Joshua Viashman (Northern Youth Vanguard).Their position was backed by a leader of Arewa Elders Forum and former Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Prof. Ango Abdullahi.Meanwhile, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State has called on Nigerians beating the drums of war to learn from the experiences of the countrys civil war.He stressed that Nigeria could not afford to be plunged into another form of war from those preaching hate in the country.Speaking at a thanksgiving service organised by the Delta State House of Assembly, on Sunday, to mark the second anniversary of the 6th assembly, Okowa advised Nigerians to continue to pray for the unity of the country.Okowa noted that it was only through a sober reflection on the past that those spoiling for war would better appreciate the need for a united nation, urging everyone to desist from anything capable of causing war.He said, In this time, we dont need another war. It is time for us to think and reflect on the past and build a greater and more united country. Nigeria needs God to survive. By the grace of God, Nigeria is one and will remain as one.Christians should continue to pray for the country, we dont want to see war. It is time to re-examine ourselves, examine our homes and to think of our existence. We need to reflect on things we do as parents and what we are inculcating into our children because as parents, we must build in our children the knowledge of God for us to have a better society.The governor, while commending the lawmakers for their support for his administration, urged them to continue to discharge their duties diligently with the fear of God and in the interest of their constituents.On his part, the Speaker of the Assembly, Mr. Sheriff Oborevwori, implored Nigerians to always seek the face of God so as to move Nigeria and the state forward.
Former military Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida, has revealed reasons he annulled the June 12, 1993 Presidential election which Ba...

Former military Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida, has revealed reasons he annulled the June 12, 1993 Presidential election which Bashorun MKO Abiola, was adjudged the winner.

Babangida said he was compelled to nullify the election because of security threats to the enthronement of a democratic government at that time.





Babangida gave the reason yesterday on a TV programme, Moments with Mo, anchored by Mo Abudu and broadcast on MNet channel of DSTV.

Babangida, who described the annulment as unfortunate revealed that he would launch a book on the saga next year.

He also said that having been in government at the time, he and the Armed Forces Ruling Council, AFRC, knew that the new democratic government to be installed would sooner than later be toppled through another military coup detat, which he said his government wanted to avoid.





He said his regime had decided that it would be the last administration that would ascend the seat of power through coup, adding that it would make no sense to install a democratic government that would be truncated within another six months.

He, however, admitted that the June 12 presidential election was free and fair and also the best of all elections ever conducted in Nigerias history.





He said, June 12 was accepted by Nigerians as the best of elections in Nigeria. It was free and fair. But unfortunately, we cancelled that election. I used the word unfortunately, for the first time.

We were in government at the time and we knew the possible consequences of handing over to a democratic government.

We did well that we wanted ours to be the last military coup detat. To be honest with you, the situation was not ripe to hand over at the time. Forget about the wrong things that happened in politics.

The issue of security of the nation was a threat and we would have considered ourselves to have failed, if six months after handover, there was another coup. I went through coup detat and I survived it. We knew that there would be another coup detat.

But not many people believed what we said. They could have allowed me to go away and then they (coup plotters) would regroup and stage another coup. This is how coups are staged  one man will always come to complain.

And he will try to convince you about his complaints.

When there are two things, you have an option  this or that or nothing. We tried to regulate the number of political parties. We knew what to do.

Babangida, who expressed fears that his revelation might put him in trouble, was not categorical about his presidential ambition come 2011.
The suspected kidnap kingpin, Evans, arrested yesterday in Lagos has revealed why he demanded ransom in dollars.

The suspected kidnap kingpin, Evans, arrested yesterday in Lagos has revealed why he demanded ransom in dollars.





Evans, who was paraded at the state police Headquarters in Ikeja on Sunday, spoke with newsmen.

Recall that he had earlier told police investigators he has two houses in highbrow Magodo Estate in Lagos, which he bought for N130 million and N70 million.

Evans, who disclosed that he had been in the kidnapping business for 10 years, also confessed to have two four bedroom houses in Ghana.

He claimed to have a wristwatch he bought for $170,000 and nine phones, three of which cost $6,000 each.

Evans, however, said he chose to collect ransom in dollars to be different from other kidnappers.

He claimed that he lost N20 million to customs officers, which made him to leave his trade.

Evans, who wasnt sure of how many people he had kidnapped, said the highest he had collected as ransom was one million dollars.

The suspect said, I cant figure out how much I have collected so far or how many people I have kidnapped, but I have kidnapped up to 10 since 2015.

I choose to collect ransom in dollars to be different, and the maximum I have collected as ransom so far is 1 million dollars.

I work in two groups, a team moves with me to kidnap victims while we hand over to the other team that takes the victim to the hide out.

Kinsley introduced me to kidnap, but I usually get my ammunition from one Chinedu and Ehis whom I met at Ago-Iwoye.

I also do drug business that enabled me to buy my property, the suspect said.

Meanwhile, the Force Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood said that the suspect had collected billions of naira from his victims and had property in and outside the country.

According to Moshood, Evans was declared wanted in 2013, following a kidnap attempt that was foiled by the police.

He said, He is said to have masterminded several kidnap cases in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun and South-South states.
Man drives himself to hospital after getting shot late Sunday in Little Woods: NOPD
It depends on what Trump's definition of 'hope' is: Opinion
The fledgling party of France's new centrist president Emmanuel Macron is set for a landslide victory in parliamentary elections, as early results from Sundays first round of voting showed it taking more than 32 percent of the vote.

That would put La Republique en Marche (LREM) within reach of an overwhelming majority in the National Assembly, with between 400 and 440 seats in the 577-seat lower house.

Voter turnout, however, hit a record low, as an estimated 52 percent of the population stayed away. That's being blamed on voter fatigue, after a long and divisive presidential campaign that saw Macron elected last month.

The result is seen as a strong endorsement of President Macron. Many of those who voted for him in the presidential election, particularly left-wing voters, said they were doing so only to keep Marine Le Pen out. At the time, many of them, and those who abstained, promised to vote against the new president in the parliamentary elections. However, it is clear that a large percentage of them changed their minds.

 Making His Mark

In the 28 days since his inauguration, Macron has made his mark on the international stage: playing President Donald Trump at his own handshake game and winning; criticizing Russia's Vladimir Putin while standing beside him; and jumping in with new proposals after the U.S. announced a U-turn on climate change.

That has had an effect at home. After five years of Socialist Party rule, in which former president Francois Hollande failed to meet his objectives of reducing unemployment and giving a boost to the flagging economy, the French were depressed and downbeat.

Seeing the new president widely acclaimed and admired on the international stage has made voters at home sit up and take note  and decide to give him a chance.

The president needs a strong majority in order to push through his promised reforms of France's strict labor laws, and its ailing social security system.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said the result is a clear signal that the French support Macron's plans. "France is back," he said, noting that the president, in his first month in office, "has embodied trust, willingness and audacity."

He continued: "Next Sunday, the National Assembly will embody the new face of our republic: a strong republic, a unified republic, a republic that listens to everyone, the French Republic."


Prime Minister Theresa May's office said on Sunday there had been no change to plans for U.S. President Donald Trump's to come to Britain on a state visit, after the Guardian newspaper reported the trip had been postponed.

The paper, citing an unnamed adviser at May's Downing Street office who was in the room at the time, reported Trump had told May by telephone in recent weeks that he did not want to come if there were likely to be large-scale protests.

"We aren't going to comment on speculation about the contents of private phone conversations," a spokeswoman for May's office said. "The queen extended an invitation to President Trump to visit the UK and there is no change to those plans."

The White House had no immediate comment on the report.

No date has been set for the visit, which was agreed during May's visit to Washington in January, but British media had reported it was planned for October.

Trump has come under fire in Britain this month for his public criticism of London Mayor Sadiq Khan's response to an attack by Islamist militants in London, in which eight people were killed. May found herself forced to defend Khan, who is from the opposition Labour party.

At that time, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said there was no reason to cancel the visit, while White House spokesman Sean Spicer said that Trump intended to go and that "he appreciates Her Majesty's gracious invitation".


A small drone presumed to be North Korean was found on a mountain in Inje, Gangwon Province last Friday.

"Investigators rushed to the scene after receiving a report from a citizen about a small aerial vehicle," the Joint Chiefs of Staff here said. "We found that it was similar in size and shape to a North Korean drone discovered on Baeknyeong Island in March 2014."

The drone is sky-blue and has a 1.8 m fuselage with a 2.4 m wingspan, according to the JCS. It was probably filming South Korean military facilities with the built-in camera when it crashed.
The daughter of ex-President Park Geun-hye's confidante Choi Soon-sil was refused access to her mother on Friday.

Chung Yoo-ra, who was extradited from Denmark earlier this month, went to the remand prison where Choi is being held but was told to go home. Chung has been living in a swish home in Gangnam owned by her mother.

She arrived at the remand prison on Friday and told reporters, "I only want to find out how my mother is doing and tell her about my baby. I have no intention of discussing the case with her."

But prison officials did not allow them to meet for fear that they will try to coordinate their stories.

The two women are charged as accomplices in wrangling illegal favors from Ewha Womans University and other offenses trading on Choi's connection to the president.

"As a daughter, I thought I should come visit my mother who is in jail," Chung said. Asked about her cousin, Jang Si-ho, who was indicted in December on charges of meddling in various government-funded projects for personal gain in collusion with Choi and released recently while awaiting sentence, Chung said, "I don't intend to meet her as we were not that close."

Chung added she also does not keep in touch with her father, who divorced her mother years ago.


One of the four points of the Miss America crown is service, but its not just contestants who dedicate their time to others.

Sam Haskell, the CEO of the Miss America organization, said Friday that the titleholders wouldnt be titleholders without the support of thousands of volunteers across the country.

There would not be a Miss America without the infrastructure of the local and state volunteers, Haskell said.

Haskell arrived in North Platte early Friday morning to attend the 80th Anniversary Gala celebrating the Miss Nebraska Organization and to see the next Miss Nebraska get crowned.

When Haskell took his position 12 years ago, he vowed to visit all 52 state pageants that sent representatives to Miss America.

This weekend is number 41, Haskell said.

After Nebraska, hell head for Washington D.C., Oregon, Mississippi and Ohio. The remaining eight states will be spread out over the next two years leading up to the 100th anniversary of the Miss America Organization.

Haskell said the visits help him stay connected to whats happening with the organization on a local level. The trips also give him the opportunity to thank the volunteers who carry the organization forward.

Its important for me to let people ... know I know what theyre doing and I care about what theyre doing, Haskell said.

Volunteers are a vital part of the program at every level, from the directors of local pageants to the hosts of state pageants to the judges on the Miss America stage  without them, there would be no contestants, no scholarships, no Miss America.

Without them, the women who compete would be missing opportunities to grow and improve themselves and their communities.

Ultimately, Haskell said, Miss America is about empowering women.

I think the empowerment of women is something that has been on everyones lips since the suffragist movement, Haskell said.

First and foremost, he said, contestants are empowered by education. In April, thebestcolleges.org named the organization the No. 1 scholarship provider in the world. Every year, millions of dollars in scholarships are given to contestants at every level.

Theyre also empowered by experiences. Whether its attending New York Fashion Week as Miss America or visiting terminally ill children in a Childrens Miracle Network Hospital as a state titleholder, contestants are exposed to a variety of things they might not be exposed to otherwise. These moments teach the women humility, grace and understanding, which allows them to become a whole person, Haskell said. I want Miss America to be a whole person.

Even swimwear, a portion of the competition that is sometimes controversial, helps the women who compete. Haskell pointed out that it takes a lot of confidence to walk across the stage in a swimsuit.

We dont dictate what they have to wear, Haskell said. If they dont want to wear a bikini, they can wear a full-piece.

Despite the common belief that the swimsuit competition is a way to objectify and sexualize competitors, thats just not the case, Haskell said. The competition is actually about showing that the women take pride in their bodies and aim to lead a healthy lifestyle.

Thats not the only misconception surrounding pageants. Most people also believe theres only one winner, but Haskell doesnt think so.

I believe that any woman who entered the competition with the desire to better herself, learn and grow will always be a winner, Haskell said. Thats what its about.

Another falsehood is viewing the women who are involved as shallow, arrogant, stupid or snotty.

While he admits that no program is perfect and that some contestants may be involved purely to boost their ego, thats not the case with 90 percent of them, he said. Haskell doesnt want a Miss America who is anything but kind.

I told the judges, yes, we want her to be beautiful and talented and community-service minded, He said. Yes, we want her to be a good representative on the red carpet ... but she has to be kind.

She has to have a servants heart, he said, not unlike the volunteers who have helped her be successful on her quest to the Miss America crown.
Melbourne Storm can confirm prop Jordan McLean suffered a broken cheekbone in the Clubs win over Cronulla Sharks last Thursday night.

McLean had surgery on Friday and be sidelined for approximately four weeks.

In other injury news, centre Cheyse Blair underwent minor ankle surgery across the weekend and will be sidelined for 3-4 weeks.

This article first appeared on melbournestorm.com.au
Gold Coast Titans forward and Queensland Origin hopeful Jarrod Wallace will plead not guilty to a shoulder charge after being cited in Saturday's clash with the Warriors.

Wallace had been expected to be called up to the Maroons squad as Queensland looks to level the State of Origin series in next week's Game Two.

Meanwhile Manly's Addin-Fonua Blake and Penrith's Reagan Campbell-Gillard have both received fines after pleading guilty to tripping and high tackle charges respectively.

There were no charges from Sunday's match between the Wests Tigers and Sydney Roosters.
You are clearly a super-user of NUVO.net. Thats a good thing. It means you depend on independent and local news sources to keep you informed. You are a smart person.



Coincidentally, independent and local news sources depend on you too. Youve read 25 articles this month and now, wed like you to be join our mission and become a NUVO Supporter. For as little as $4 a month, you can keep us alive and fighting -- and can have unlimited access to the independent news that cant be found anywhere else.
The search for the remains of missing passengers inside the wreck of the ferry Sewol will be wrapped up by the end of August.

Search workers on Sunday said they hope to complete the initial search of the passenger decks by this week and then conduct a second detailed probe by the end of this month.

They will start combing through the cargo bay in July.
What happened

Shares of workforce accommodation leader Civeo Corp. (NYSE: CVEO) rose as much as 14% Monday before moderating to close up 9.5%, as investors added to the momentum from Friday, when Horizon Kinetics revealed an 11.1% passive stake in the company. The investment firm prides itself on a "long-term, contrarian, fundamental value investment philosophy."

That certainly applies here. Civeo stock has struggled in its brief public life, as a slowdown in oil, natural gas, and coal mining projects in North America and Australia has weighed heavily on the company's top and bottom lines.

So what

Civeo provides lodging and amenities, ranging from laundry services to food catering, to resource extraction companies working in remote areas. Its customers include major coal miners in Australia and tar sands developers in Northern Canada. Those companies don't have to worry about the logistics of housing their employees, who get to enjoy some of the comforts of home.

Unfortunately, this niche accommodation industry has not fared well amid the downturn in commodities prices that began in late 2014. Civeo saw its top line drop 58% from 2014 to 2016, while occupancy rates across its holdings stood at a abysmally low 54% last year. Investors may think that the business will rebound along with rising activity in the oil and gas industry, but improved technology (it takes less time to drill and complete shale wells than ever before) and market forces (China's appetite for Australian coal is decreasing) hint that this service company may find itself on the outside of an upturn looking in.

Now what

While it's encouraging to see Horizon Kinetics bet on the long-term future of Civeo stock, there is no shortage of obstacles that need to be overcome before the company can regain its footing. There are growth opportunities to be sure, such as LNG export facilities on Canada's West Coast, but the future doesn't look particularly bright for this niche industry.

10 stocks we like better than Civeo

When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*

David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Civeo wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.

Click here to learn about these picks!

*Stock Advisor returns as of June 5, 2017

Maxx Chatsko has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
VALPARAISO  A young South Haven man charged with shooting an acquaintance over allegations of infidelity plans to argue self-defense, his attorney told the court Monday morning.

The disclosure was made as 20-year-old Daniel Moro was making an unsuccessful bid for bond while his case proceeds.

Porter Superior Court Judge Roger Bradford used the self-defense claim against Moro, by saying that it indicates he had possession of a gun during the incident in question, which violated the terms of his probation from an earlier case.

"If that's not a danger to this community, I don't know what is," the judge said.

Defense attorney Russell Brown argued that Moro is not a flight risk and had made all court appearances in his earlier case, which involved fleeing police.

Moro's mother testified that her son has lived with her in South Haven for the past 14 years and was studying mortuary science.

She told the court she would be able to pay up to $5,000 cash if bond was granted for her son.

Porter County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Matt Frost dismissed the self-defense claim as untrue.

"Mr. Moro is a danger to this community," Frost said.

Moro is charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery and possession of a handgun without a permit.

His girlfriend, Nya Zhane Celeste Lewis, 19, of South Haven, is accused of providing the illegal gun used in the shooting. She is charged with a felony count of assisting a criminal and misdemeanor possession of a handgun without a permit.

Police said Moro shot the other man in the side of the head around 1 a.m. May 15 along Creekview Court, west of Ash Street in Portage. The victim survived the shooting.

Moro is accused of shooting the other man over accusations both men had sex with each other's girlfriends, police said.

Lewis reportedly told police the pink-handled .380-caliber semi-automatic handgun was hers and that it was on the floorboard of her vehicle when she and Moro arrived at the shooting scene.

Rounds of ammunition collected from the gun are the same caliber and brand name as the spent casings found at the shooting scene, police said.
Cathi Eagan and a group of dedicated volunteers spent more than a decade regularly loading five vans with dogs from south-central Indiana and delivering them to various shelters more than 1,000 miles away in New England.

Then a couple of years ago, the number of available dogs had dried up enough that the CanINE Express Transport Project crew was down to just one van per trip. Today they are making much shorter trips to Cleveland, Rock Falls, Illinois, and local stops in Valparaiso.

What changed is that while the group was busy driving all those years, efforts were underway back home to replicate the same level of spaying and neutering that relieved pet overpopulation on the East Coast, said Eagan, of Nashville, Indiana.

Indiana now hopes to add to that success with a requirement that by 2021, all shelters and rescues in Indiana spay and neuter cats and dogs before adopting them out to, according to Vicki Deisner, Midwest legislative director with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

"This is a huge victory," she said.

The 40 counties around the state that responded to a survey reported that pet overpopulation at their shelters was costing them $16.2 million annually, Deisner said. The impact statewide is estimated at $37 million.

State Rep. Linda Lawson, D-Hammond, who co-authored the legislation, said the change came after a seven-year struggle that was drawn out as a result of struggles with the state's powerful animal agriculture interests.

The new legislation will save the lives of dogs and cats by reducing their numbers, which will mean fewer strays being euthanized, or otherwise injured or killed while out on their own, Lawson said.

Local units of government also will save money as the number of homeless animals and associated costs shrink, she said.

The LaPorte County Animal Shelter already is spaying and neutering its animals on site, according to Executive Director Jane Bernard.

One of the shelter's veterinarians, Dr. Patrick Dorroh, said while the changes were approved with good intentions, he hopes they can be modified to allow a delay in spaying and neutering of young dogs.

There is evidence that neutering a dog too young can increase their chances later for certain types of cancers, arthritis and leg injuries, he said.

The Porter County Animal Shelter has been spaying and neutering all animals before they leave for the past two years, according to Director Toni Bianchi.

"I believe the new law is a very progressive step in the right direction to control the overpopulation of dogs and cats," she said.

But Bianchi said the requirement could be a hardship for shelters with fewer resources.

Officials with the Lake County Sheriff's Animal Adoption & Control Center could not be reached for this story.

The state already is offering shelters and rescues limited help with spay and neuter costs using proceeds from its Pet Friendly license plates, which are the second most popular plates, said Cheri Storms, executive director of the nonprofit Spay-Neuter Services of Indiana.

The group, which manages the license plate money, has watched the proceeds from the plates grow to $465,000 last year, she said. The groups receive $25 for each plate.

Shelters receive up to 10 vouchers each year for spay and neuter services provided by 130 participating veterinarians and low-cost clinics, Storms said. The group also funds cat trap-neuter-return programs, and spay and neuter assistance to low-income individuals.

The efforts resulted in 13,914 surgeries statewide on dogs and cats last year.

The demand for all these services is already more than the available resources. That can change with increased plate sales, donations and concerned individuals helping address the problem locally by volunteering at shelters, she said.

"Ultimately," Storms said, "we would love to receive state funding."
KINGSFORD HEIGHTS  A LaPorte County bridge undermined by a washout should reopen Monday.

The 26-foot long bridge on Range Road near County Road 800 South was closed June 1.

LaPorte County Highway Department engineer Jay Sullivan said water from Porter Ditch washed out the soil underneath the bridge where it meets the pavement. The lack of support created a risk of the pavement on that side of the bridge collapsing. Sullivan said a 2-foot wide sinkhole had already formed in the road about 5 feet in back of the approach.

"After investigating a little further, we decided we better just close the bridge down," said Sullivan, adding the hollow abutment probably could have supported passenger vehicles but not the weight of heavy trucks or farm machinery.

The cause of the washout is still being investigated.

Stone and concrete were brought in to fill the gap between the edge of the bridge and the ground beneath it. The repair will not exceed $45,000, Sullivan said.
GRIFFITH  If it succeeds in leaving Calumet Township, the Town Council says it wants the parting of ways to be on friendly terms.

As the township tries to force its lawsuit from the Indiana Tax Court back to Lake County Superior Court, lawyers for both sides will present their cases to Superior Court Judge John R. Pera on June 22.

Griffith is quite willing to talk with the township, said Town Council President Rick Ryfa, R-3rd.

"We welcome a conversation with the township looking at options for Griffith to leave very amicably and will be reaching out to Calumet Township officials after the June hearing."

Griffith's secession effort has been on hold after township Trustee Kimberly Robinson filed the lawsuit last year, which challenged the budget averaging method used by the Department of Local Government Finance.

This caused Griffith to postpone a referendum last December for Griffith residents to decide whether to leave.

Robinson's suit, which was filed in Lake County Superior Court, recently was transferred to the Indiana Tax Court.

"Because the Indiana Tax Court has exclusive subject matter jurisdiction over this matter, this court declines to rule on anything other than jurisdictional issues," Pera wrote earlier this year.

The case was accepted by Indiana Tax Court Judge Martha Blood Wentworth.

However, the township now wants to appear before the appeals court and have the suit returned to Superior Court.

A phone call to Robinson for comment was not returned.

It will be Pera's option whether to allow the township to seek an appeal, Ryfa said.

If Pera rules in favor of the township, Griffith town attorney Ben Fryman said the appeals court would then decide whether to accept the case.

"We are awaiting the decision for the appeal," Ryfa said, adding that the tax court will go with whatever decision is made.

Robinson's lawsuit centers around the township's 2016 assistance budget, which the Department of Local Government Finance shows was more than 12 times the state township assistance average.

In prior years, the DLGF used weighted numbers to calculate the average, which showed the township to be under the limit.

But the DLGF switched to the actual numbers last year after the Indiana Attorney General's office said using the true numbers was the state legislature's intention.

As a result, the 2016 numbers showed the township to be over the limit, which triggered a state law giving Griffith residents a vote on leaving the township and joining another.

"We are confident that the most recent township assistance tax rates  for 2017  far exceeds the 12 times threshold of the statewide average as determined by the DLGF," Ryfa said. "This would allow us to refile a petition that would be undoubtedly valid."
HOBART Police say Eric Scott Hummel was recklessly playing with a handgun when he fatally shot his 9-year-old daughter in the presence of her brothers Saturday.

Police said the brothers told officers who were called to their home that they believe their father forgot he had put bullets back in the 9 mm Glock when he pointed it at Olivia Hummel and shot her in the head.

But Hobart Police Chief Richard W. Zormier refuses to call it just another accident.

"I believe this was a series of heinous and depraved acts committed by the suspect on June 10. His actions that day endangered the lives of all three children and ultimately stole the life of Olivia, an innocent 9-year-old girl. His actions caused the death of Olivia and likely scarred the boys emotionally for life."

The Lake County prosecutor's office is charging 33-year-old Eric Hummel with felony neglect, battery and reckless homicide charges.

Lt. James Gonzales said officers were called about 5 p.m. to the family's home Saturday in the 100 block of East 10th Avenue. They found the father kneeling by Olivia who was unresponsive. Hobart fire paramedics rushed her to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead minutes later.

Gonzales said the two surviving brothers were "in good hands" and the Indiana Child Protective Services are actively involved. Police said their mother wasn't at home at the time. Police declined to name the two brothers.

A probable cause affidavit filed in Lake Criminal Court alleges the two brothers were cleaning the house and preparing to go to a summer festival when their father walked in and began telling the boys not to play with his gun.

The boys told police Hummel had aimed the weapon at one of the boys and pulled the trigger more than once. They said they heard a popping noise when their father pulled the trigger, so they believed the gun was unloaded.

The affidavit states one of the boys told police, "dad forgot he put bullets back in and shot our sister." An officer asked one of the boys whether their father pulled the top of the gun back, which would chamber a round, and one of the boys advised, "Oh yes, He did that once."

Police said evidence indicates Hummel fired the gun within three feet of the girl, who had just entered the room.

Gonzalez said Hummel legally possessed the weapon and there were no signs of intoxication.

Police said Hummel told an officer, "I thought it was empty." Police said he later told another person, "I shot her. I'm so sorry."

Police said Hummel declined to give police a formal statement, asked to speak with a lawyer and was transferred to the Lake County Jail, where he was being held Monday.
EAST CHICAGO  Government officials and attorneys monitoring the safety of the citys drinking water dont agree on the significance of sampling results released this month by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.

IDEM said the data showed treatment changes are helping prevent leaching of lead from pipes and plumbing equipment into residents drinking water and indicated there are no systemwide lead issues.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said the results showed increased levels of orthophosphate  the chemical used to coat lead lines to prevent leaching  found by IDEM this spring indicate a higher degree of corrosion-control, which should result in reduced levels of lead in the citys water system.

The Natural Resources Defense Council, however, said IDEMs conclusion that there are no systemwide issues is overconfident and countered that the results show there are high levels of lead in East Chicagos drinking water.

East Chicago Mayor Anthony Copeland issued the following statement: The results confirm what we have been saying from the start: Our water is of exceptional quality. It is our fervent hope that these tests end once and for all the unfair speculation that our city has been subjected to by those who are not fully informed as to what is going on. The results serve as concrete proof of the resolve of the city, the governor and the state to work together in addressing this issue.

A nationally recognized expert called the testing results promising, but said East Chicago residents should continue to follow guidance on how to avoid unnecessary lead exposure from drinking water.

Elevated lead level found at 1 site

During sampling in April and May, IDEM found 26 out of 27 properties had lead concentrations below the EPAs action level of 15 parts per billion. The lead level was 19.1 ppb at the property that exceeded the threshold.

Fifteen of the 27 properties tested had a lead level that was greater than 1 ppb but below the action level of 15 ppb.

All but four of the 27 homes previously were tested by East Chicago in 2016 under the Lead and Copper Rule, IDEM said. Samples at the four homes not previously tested were taken at the request of homeowners, the department said.

As a result of these tests, I am confident that corrosion-control is working and can say with certainty that no systemwide lead issues are present in East Chicagos drinking water system, IDEM Commissioner Bruno Pigott said in a news release.

The 19.1 ppb result revealed the presence of lead pipes or fixtures at the sample location, but show the water coming from the main line meets standards, IDEM said.

IDEM said it conducted the testing to verify East Chicago's compliance with the Lead and Copper Rule, following an EPA pilot study last fall that found elevated lead levels at 18 of 43 homes tested in the USS Lead Superfund site.

Just one of the homes recently tested by IDEM was in the Superfund site, IDEM said. Lead in water comes from lead and galvanized steel pipes and plumbing fixtures, and is unrelated to lead in soil at the Superfund site.

EPA said it was aware of IDEM's recent testing but not involved.

EPA found low or no orthophosphate levels during its sampling last fall, and said its results likely indicated a systemwide problem. When asked during a winter open house in East Chicago if EPA planned further testing, EPA water division Regulations Manager Miguel Del Toral said if it's correct that up to 90 percent of the city's water lines are lead, residents should assume they have lead lines and use a properly certified water filter.

"This is my recommendation for any home in any city with a lead line, regardless of water quality or any other factor," he later told The Times.

A service line information sheet for East Chicago on file with IDEM shows an estimated 9,000 out of 11,000 lines contain at least some lead.

IDEM said East Chicago will continue testing this summer for compliance with the Lead and Copper Rule, and it will test drinking water on request citywide.

East Chicago conducted its own water sampling at 31 properties from January to April and found two with elevated lead levels. The two, which had lead levels of 17 ppb and 22 ppb, were not located in the Superfund site, according to data provided by the city.

However, IDEM did not indicate it plans to distribute filters to residents outside the Superfund site or provide more than three months' worth of filter refill cartridges to those who received them. IDEM did provide 654 faucet filters and 60 pitcher filters to Superfund residents this year.

Chemical change may be helping

High lead levels in East Chicago's water could stem, in part, from its former use of a chemical called sodium hexametaphosphate to prevent corrosion from lead pipes, said Marc Edwards, a civil engineering professor at Virginia Tech.

Though IDEM approved using that chemical in 2009 when it granted a permit for construction of East Chicagos new water plant, experts don't recommend sodium hexametaphosphate to control lead, because studies have shown it actually can increase lead releases.

Emails obtained through a public records request show East Chicago switched from sodium hexametaphosphate to a chemical with a higher orthophosphate content in September 2016, after EPA officials urged IDEM to recommend the change. IDEM said it has been working with East Chicago since the chemical change to optimize levels of orthophosphate.

It can take up to a year for the corrosion-control chemical to be fully effective, according to a petition asking EPA to use its emergency powers to respond to elevated lead levels in East Chicagos drinking water. The petition, submitted by the Natural Resources Defense Council and other groups, remains under review by EPA.

Edwards, the Virginia Tech professor, said IDEM's sampling results show recent increases in orthophosphate may be helping.

While the city may indeed be meeting requirements of the existing (Lead and Copper Rule), residents should continue to follow public education instructions to avoid unnecessary lead exposure, Edwards said. It is widely accepted that the existing LCR is not adequately protective of public health.

EPA plans to propose revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule this year. IDEM officials seemed to agree the rule is inadequate when they met with residents last month in Indianapolis, according to attorneys for the Natural Resources Defense Council and Northwestern University Pritzker Law Schools Environmental Law Clinic.

IDEM staff have been working with U.S. EPA and other stakeholders to evaluate the current LCR. However, at this time, it is the only standard IDEM can use to verify compliance," IDEM said.

East Chicago has been in compliance with the rule since 1993 and remains in compliance despite EPAs findings last year.

Attorney: Public health is the issue

Anjali Waikar, an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, said IDEM seems to be saying complying with the Lead and Copper Rule equals general public health.

Fifteen parts per billion is not a health-based standard. No amount of lead is safe, Waikar said.

IDEM should address the fact that other samples came back with detectable lead levels. IDEMs public-facing messaging should address how residents should consume drinking water in a manner that reduces lead levels; the agency should not simply conclude that the water is safe to drink because the agency is complying with the law.

"We need to change the conversation in this country when were talking about lead to one that takes a zero-tolerance approach.

The Lead and Copper Rule requires a single 1-liter sample to be taken, which is the method used by the city. During its recent sampling, IDEM collected three 1-liter bottles of water.

EPA, by contrast, used a sequential sampling method, which involves numerous samples and is designed to detect the presence of lead in water lines from fixture to water main. EPAs testing method was more robust than testing required under the Lead and Copper Rule, as was IDEMs recent testing method.

IDEM could not repeat EPA's sequential sampling method to verify compliance with the rule, because the first-draw sample taken during sequential sampling is not 1 liter, a department spokesman said.

Edwards told The Times last spring that first-draw sampling is inadequate to assess the extent of lead in East Chicagos water.

We use a two- or three-bottle protocol that can get at the problem if you test enough homes, he said. Sequential testing, the method EPA used, is the gold standard, he said.

The Natural Resources Defense Council released a study last year showing 5,363 community water systems in the U.S. violated the Lead and Copper Rule, and high lead levels in many more systems likely go undetected because of questionable monitoring techniques. Some 15 million to 22 million Americans receive water that flows through lead service lines, the report said.
Sunwoo Ye-kwon on Saturday won the 15th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas, the first Korean to win the prestigious prize. He won the prize money of US$50,000 and three years of professional management, which includes an opportunity to make a studio recording and tour the U.S. Sunwoo is the second Korean to win one of the world's most prestigious piano competitions after prodigy Cho Seong-jin won the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in 2015.



Sunwoo Ye-kwon competes in the 15th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas on Saturday.

Sunwoo won over the judges and audience with Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, op. 30 and his part in Dvorak's Piano Quintet in A Major, op. 81. His energetic performance of the concerto earned a standing ovation. Sunwoo studies under Bernd Goetzke at Hanover University of Music and Drama in Germany.

Sunwoo Ye-kwon (center) poses with the trophy after winning the 15th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas on Saturday.

The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition honors American pianist Van Cliburn (1934-2013), who enjoyed pop-star status after winning the inaugural Tchaikovsky Competition in the Soviet Union in 1958. It has been held since 1962 in his hometown of Fort Worth, Texas, every four years. This year's competition saw a new collaboration with British management company Keynote Artist Management to help winners launch their career in Europe. Tickets to Sunwoo's recital in Seoul on Dec. 20 sold out at the news of his victory. One other Korean has previously distinguished herself in the contest, with Son Yeol-eum winning second place in 2009. Past winners include legendary pianist Radu Lupu, who triumphed in 1966.
The benefit began in 1962 when some St. Mary School mothers held the first supper. The idea was to combine motherly love for their children with a homemade dinner to help the school.
LAPORTE  Longtime fire chief Dave Kaufman has been sentenced to four years in prison for trying to lure a 15-year-old into performing sex acts.

In calling him a "devil in disguise," LaPorte County Deputy Prosecutor Catherine Breitweiser-Hurst said there were at least 18 to 20 other victims of the same scheme dating back to 1993, with most having ties to the Lincoln Township Volunteer Fire Department.

Kaufman, 60, was sentenced Friday for three felonies  attempted sexual misconduct with a minor, attempted possession of child pornography and child solicitation.

At the sentencing hearing, Breitweiser-Hurst said Kaufman used his position of authority over children in the cadet program and young adults already on the department to get them to take part in an anatomy study he claimed to be conducting for a university.

Some people refused to take part despite being harassed, while others, fearing some type of disciplinary action and offers of money, went along with his requests, Breitweiser-Hurst said.

Breitweiser-Hurst said none of the other cases were prosecuted because victims preferred not to come forward and, perhaps, Kaufman's standing in the community being of influence, she said.

Defense attorney Greg Hofer argued for probation because of his client's lack of criminal record and years of service to the community.
Two people were killed in unrelated accidents Sunday afternoon.

A construction worker setting up barricades in the 6200 block of Broadway was killed in an accident, and the driver fled the scene though police caught up with the driver a few blocks away.

The Lake County coroner's office identified the victim as Kevin Folleth, 48, of Mason, Michigan. He suffered blunt force trauma from the accident. He was pronounced dead at 7:48 p.m. Sunday at Methodist Hospital Northlake in Gary.

The accident occurred at 6200 Broadway in Merrillville.

On Monday, Merrillville police Cmdr. Jeff Rice said Folleth was a construction worker who was putting up barricades for upcoming construction work in the area.

"The driver fled the scene and a patrol officer was able to stop the vehicle in the 5300 block of Broadway," Rice said. "The driver of the vehicle is under investigation and is being held. We are working on the investigation."

Rice said officials would not release the driver's name until formal charges have been filed.

"We are still piecing together the information, the evidence from the crash and talking to witnesses. Once that's complete, we'll present the information to the prosecutor," he said.

The Lake County coroner's office and the Merrillville Police Department are investigating.

In another fatal accident in Gary, the Lake County coroner's office said a woman identified as Geraldine Gunn, 64, of Gary, was killed by blunt force trauma in a motor vehicle accident. She was pronounced dead at 5:35 p.m. Sunday at Methodist Hospital Northlake in Gary.

The accident occurred at Fourth Avenue and Grant Street in Gary. The Lake County coroner's office and the Gary Police Department are investigating.
Build it Back has been plagued by soaring costs and delays. In an exclusive report, NY1's Amanda Farinacci reveals allegations that tens of millions of dollars have been wasted on unnecessary work elevating homes to protect them from future storms.

At a contentious City Council hearing last fall, Councilman Eric Ulrich dressed down officials with Build it Back, the city agency overseeing the rebuilding of thousands of homes damaged by Superstorm Sandy.

"I honestly don't know how you can sit here with a straight face after blowing billions of dollars and ask the City Council for more money when you can't even meet your own deadlines," Ulrich said.

Mayor de Blasio had just made an unexpected announcement. The program, funded by $1.7 billion in federal aid, was half a billion dollars over budget. City taxpayers would have to bail it out.

"It is very clear that Build it Back has been a tough program since Day 1," said Amy Peterson, director of Build it Back.

Build it Back blames the $500 million shortfall on the complexities of the rebuilding and not any wasteful spending.

But in a complaint to state officials obtained by NY1, an architect who did work for one of the three construction management companies hired by Build it Back, LiRo, complained that LiRo was requiring costly and unnecessary work on some homes.

NY1 spoke to a consultant to the architect, who asked that we not identify her.

"In the end, what you're talking about is a waste of money," the consultant said.

The complaint was sent to the state Office of the Professions, an agency that handles professional licensing.

The architect, Lou DeGeronimo, of Paramus, New Jersey, had designed home elevation projects to protect houses from future flooding.

DeGeronimos complaint charges that LiRo insisted on the most expensive option to elevate homes in Brooklyn, the drilling of screw-like supports known as helical piles deep into the Earth.

"As it became evident, and even upon visual inspection, were very, very capable of standard construction methods, without helical piles."

The complaint alleges that an alternative known as "spread footings" would have provided the same degree of support and safety for elevated homes while "saving some $150,000 to $200,000 in construction costs per house." And not listening to that architect, choosing the more expensive option, the complaint says, "has cost the program tens of millions of dollars in unnecessary work."

A LiRo representative said the company was unaware of the complaint and told NY1 to speak to the city.

Build it Back defended the spending, saying helical piles are the safest, most effective means of anchoring homes, given the soil conditions in Brooklyn.

Watch our special report, "Build it Broke," followed by a live, hour-long town hall meeting from Staten Island, beginning at 8 p.m. Wednesday.

If you'd like to attend that Town Hall, or just weigh in on your own struggles with the program, send an email to NY1TownHall@charter.com.
A man shot by police in Brooklyn Sunday night has been arrested and charged with stabbing his roommate in front of officers at the scene.

Police responded to a call of a fight at 110 Shepherd Avenue in Cypress Hills around 9 p.m.

They came upon a group of men in an apartment that police believe were roommates.

That's when polcie say 31-year-old Francis DeJesus grabbed a knife and began to attack his fellow roommate.

"He stabbed his roommate at least two times in both forearms, and began to chase his roommate as he tried to run away from him. Our officers gave commands to the male to drop the knife, and fired one time to protect the roommate who was being stabbed," said NYPD Assistant Chief Jeffrey Maddrey.

One round hit DeJesus in the torso.

Both he and the victim were taken to the hospital for treatment.

Police recovered a knife at the scene.

No officers were injured during the incident.

DeJesus now faces attempted murder and weapons possession charges.
Broadway's biggest stars were honored Sunday night at the 71st annual Tony Awards.

Actor Kevin Spacey hosted this year's show at Radio City Music Hall.

"Dear Evan Hansen" won the prize for Best Musical, and "Oslo" took home the Tony for Best Play.

Native New Yorker Cynthia Nixon took home the Tony for Featured Actress for her role in "The Little Foxes."

In her acceptance speech, she drew parallels between the play's script and the present.

"Eighty years ago, she wrote, 'There are people who eat he Earth and eat all the people on it, and other people who just stand around and watch them do it.' My love, my gratitude and my undying respect go out to all the people in 2017 who are refusing to just stand and watch them do it," Nixon said.

Among the play categories, Laurie Metcalf won Best Leading Actress for "A Doll's House: Part 2," while Kevin Kline grabbed the Tony for Leading Actor for his role in "Present Laughter."

In the musical categories, Ben Platt took home the award for Best Leading Actor for "Dear Evan Hansen" and Bette Midler won Best Leading Actress for her role in "Hello, Dolly!"
After weeks of controversy surrounding the Puerto Rican Day Parade, Oscar Lopez Rivera was still its star. The city's two top elected officials continued to be divided over his participation as they marched down Fifth Avenue on Sunday. NY1 Political Reporter Courtney Gross has more.

Oscar Lopez Rivera was just catapulted from federal prison to the center of the Puerto Rican Day Parade.

"I am very, very happy," Lopez Rivera said through an interpreter. "I am with my people. This is the Puerto Rican people."

He rode a large float, front and center.

He was supposed to officially be called the parade's "Freedom Hero," but controversy ensued, forcing the 74-year-old Puerto Rican revolutionary to say he was bestowing that honor on the people.

But Sunday, he was surrounded by supporters, including the City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito.

"There are a lot of contingents that have signed up," Mark-Viverito said. "There are a lot of people that are proud that are not allowing corporate interests or others to dictate what they do on this day.



"This is a day of unity and celebration," the council speaker continued. "Anyone that tries to take that away from me, or from us as a Puerto Rican community, should be ashamed."

Nonetheless, Lopez Rivera's participation is unsettling to some.

Lopez Rivera served 35 years in federal prison for seditious conspiracy. He was a leader of a Puerto Rican nationalist group, the FALN.

That group was responsible for dozens of bombings in the 1970s and 1980s, including a fatal one in New York.

The speaker dismissed the tumult, blaming the media.

"This is a day of unity, not of controversy that is being made up by the press," Mark-Viverito said.

But because of Lopez Rivera, corporate sponsors withdrew from the parade this year and some elected officials boycotted the event.

Mayor Bill de Blasio marched, but that was after he said he worked behind-the-scenes to take the formal recognition away from Rivera. He joined the parade route at least a half-hour behind the speaker and Lopez Rivera.

Usually, the mayor marches at the front of every parade, so some interpret his decision to stay behind as clearly political  an attempt to stay away from Oscar Lopez Rivera.

From our vantage point, they never saw each other.
The proposal was welcomed by Finance Minister Steven Joyce, who had asked for a full cost-analysis from the central bank, which has suggested the new tool late last year."The use of Debt to Income ratio restrictions would be a significant intervention in the housing market, so it's important that all interested parties have their say during this consultation period," Joyce said in a statement released last week.Meanwhile, Labours Grant Robertson slammed National for its nine years of denial about the housing market and warned that DTI caps would block thousands of young New Zealanders from homeownership.The introduction of across-the-board debt to income ratios for home lending would punish first home buyers struggling to get into the housing market, Robertson warned.He added that limits on speculators may be appropriate but said broad DTI limits would not be supported by Labour and that the Finance Minister needs to tell New Zealanders if National is on the side of first home buyers or not.The Property Institutes chief executive Ashley Church is also against DTI limits.He warned that it would worsen the Auckland housing crisis with a knock-on effect for the New Zealand economy. He said that it would lead to a decline of home building in the city and would likely mean an increase in rent too.Mr Church called on the RBNZ to consider how the DTI cap may seem like a good idea at the time in order to protect the financial system but would lead to an even bigger problem later on.
New model of entrance exam makes debut in Shanghai

From:Shanghai Daily | 2017-06-08 10:11

The 50,000 high school students sitting the three-day gaokao in Shanghai this week are taking part in a new model of the college entrance exam.



This year, Shanghai students have already been tested on three subjects they chose from politics, history, geography, physics, biology and chemistry. This week, they will take exams in three mandatory subjects  Chinese, math and English.

Previously, students chose just one subject from the list of six but all four exams were taken in the gaokao period.

Also this year, there are two English exams, one in January and another this week. This weeks is optional, and those with good scores in January can elect not to take it.

One mother outside Xuhui High School welcomed the reform. The new model which arranges the three tests before the gaokao allows my son to have more time focusing on the three majors.

However, some parents believe the reform to be more of a challenge. In the past, the students need only select one from the six but now they need three separate tests, said another mother.
Auburn Ward 1 Councilman Clemon Byrd soon will be swapping his place behind a dais in council chambers for a military uniform as he travels across the pond with the Alabama Army National Guard later this month.

Byrd announced his deployment at the Auburn City Council meeting Tuesday, assuring those present that he intends to run again once he returns in about a year to help continue progress in Ward 1, which includes much of northwest Auburn within Shug Jordan Parkway and along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

The council will vote on a replacement for Byrd at its June 20 meeting. Byrd recommended the council select Verlinda White, former Ward 1 council member, as his replacement. White was elected in 2002 and served one term until 2006.

Alabama Code states that an elected city official called to military service does not automatically lose his position in office, according to Auburns city attorneys office. The governing body can appoint a temporary acting official who will have the same powers, privileges and duties while the official is in active service, and the official may make a recommendation of the temporary replacement.

Once Byrd returns, White would relinquish Byrds title back to him in time for him to serve the remainder of his term and begin campaigning for the 2018 election.

Byrd gained inspiration from White

Byrd said his relationship with White and her mother, Jessie Muriel Williams, began long before he or White took office.

Byrd joined the city council three years ago, committing to serve the community where he grew up. Byrd views several of his constituents, including Williams, as part of the reason he has made it to where he is today.

Byrd remembered Williams making him speak in church throughout his childhood.

 Not only was she teaching us respect, but she was also teaching us how to public speak, Byrd said. We didnt know it, but she knew exactly what she was doing.

So after 15 years serving the city as an Auburn police officer and 20 years in the Alabama Army National Guard, Byrd decided to run for council. When the thought first entered his mind, he called White.

 Her leadership then was what I wanted to mimic, Byrd said.

Since his election, Byrd has worked to spark different advancements in his ward, including renovations to the Boykin Community Center and upcoming renovations to Westview Cemetery.

Another focus has been developing the Northwest Auburn Neighborhood Plan, an initiative to encourage redevelopment and improve the vitality of the area, while maintaining the character of the neighborhood. The plan came to a halt in late January when residents asked for clearer communication of proposed zoning and land-use changes after several public meetings and workshops.

But Byrd said his main focus has been mentoring and helping young people.

When it came time to recommend a replacement, White was Byrds first thought. Her experience made the decision a no-brainer.

 A lot of people dont know what goes on behind the scenes, Byrd said. Its a part-time job, but its a full-time commitment, really. A lot of people dont understand, but she has experience, and I am confident that she will keep the progress rolling.

Whites second go-around

When White first ran for council, it wasnt her own idea. She had become involved in the school system as the mother of a student, and someone asked her if she would consider running for office. She wasnt sure at first, but she also knew that there was more (she) could do and should do.

White ran and won with the help of her mother and aunt in 2002, and her favorite part of the job was realizing she could follow through on the concerns she heard from her community.

When Byrd first asked her about filling in, White said it was not on (her) radar again. But she knew she could do more.

 When Im asked to do something that I know can be of benefit, I try to do that. It was not just for the city of Auburn. Had it been someone else, I probably wouldve had a long time to think about things. But it was really a no brainer  it was more of a heart thing, White said.

White will begin her 36th year working at East Alabama Mental Health Center, where she is the staff training director and the court-referral education program director. White said mediating situations and helping others take responsibility comes naturally to her through her job.

White hopes to further the efforts Byrd began, including the Northwest Auburn Neighborhood Plan, and said she believes the process needs to continue with communication. She added that part of the divide in the process stems from the different interests in that area of Auburn.

 When it comes to considering the culture diversity and sensitivity issues, I dont think that everybody understands that whatever happens, it affects everybody, White said. So whatever needs to happen needs to include everybody.

Byrd to run again

Byrd plans to run for a second term in 2018, and he has a simple reason: to continue progress.

 In some cases, Ward 1 hasnt been looked at for a while, Byrd said. Were just trying to continue that progress, get some things done that citizens have come to me with their concerns.

 Its a slow process, but to me, sometimes slow processes are good progress because it takes some critical thinking to get things done in the right way. Its going to take time, but its going to happen.
Most times of the year, Hallerbos is a beautiful but unremarkable forest in central Belgium, near Brussels. However, in mid-April and all through May, it turns into the Blue Forest, a fairytale-like natural attraction unlike any other.

The Blue Forest of Belgium gets its intriguing name from the vibrant carpet of bluebells that replaces the usual brown floor of the forest. Imagine millions of flowers covering the ground as far as the eye can see and you can get a pretty good idea of what this place is like in full-bloom. Bluebell forests are not unusual in Europe, but what makes Hallerbos unique is the density of the flowers that make its floor look like a living carpet.

Photo: David Edgar

Located in Belgiums Halle municipality, between Flanders and Wallonia, Hallerbos Forest is a 569 hectare natural park owned by the Belgian State. The first recorded mention of its existence dates back to the year 686, but it was almost erased off the face of the Earth, during WW1, when the Germans removed most of the trees. Thanks to the reforestation operations that took place between 1930 and 1950, the magic of this place was preserved, and we can still witness it today.

As a rule of thumb, the best time to visit the Blue Forest is mid-April, but the precise time of flowering is heavily influenced by weather. For example, if late March is unusually warm, then the bluebells could be appearing in early April. Luckily, the official Hallerbos Forest website posts frequent updates on the blooming of the bluebells, especially as the flowering stage approaches. Keeping an eye on these is probably the best way to make sure you visit this beautiful place at just the right time.

Photo: Christophe Couckuyt

One thing you have to remember when visiting the Blue Forest is staying on the clearly marked walking paths. The soil and bluebell carpet are extremely fragile, so trampling on them can cause severe damage. In order to keep the Blue Forest looking in pristine condition, straying off the paths is strictly forbidden, even when taking professional photos.

Unfortunately, not everyone abides by these simple and reasonable rules. This year, officials in charge of Hallerbos Forest announced that tourists had caused irreparable damage to the bluebell carpet. There are now innumerable bare patches and empty spaces where flowers have been trampled. So much beauty that has been destroyed forever. Incomprehensible. There is clearly something lacking in the manual for smartphones and other digital cameras, a line about taking pictures in nature: Do not destroy nature, they wrote.

Words dont do the beauty of the Blue Forest justice, and even photos struggle to capture the vastness of this living sea of bluebells. The best way to experience this natural wonder is in person, but of you do get the chance to travel to Hallerbos, dont ruin its beauty out of selfishness.
Cyber security expenses could soar to as high as $6 trillion annually by 2021, according to Cybersecurity Ventures.

Piers Schreiber, managing director, Estragon, U.K., described the numerous types of cyber crimes that afflict the Internet to an audience of 150 at the Global PR Summit in New York June 9-10, saying the damage is huge and growing.

Choosing a spokesperson who understands the technical issues is key when handling a hacking crisis, he said. Loss of customer data can cause a sharp decline in brand value that can take 12 months to recover, he added.

Piers Schreiber

Attendees were aware of hacking charges involving the 2016 U.S. Presidential election including reports that Russian interference may have affected its outcome. Whether such charges are true is still being hotly disputed.

Schreiber, one of 16 speakers at the two-day event, headed the European corporate practice of Ogilvy PR in Brussels before serving as VP-CC, Jumeirah Group, Dubai, from 2009-2016. He was co-founder of The Communication Matrix, a consulting firm.

Summit Was a U.N. of the PR Industry

The Summit, which took place on the 34th floor Conde Nast Empire Suite at One World Trade Center, had eight PR groups as partners:

--International Assn. of Business Communicators

--International PR Assn., London

--International Communications Consulting Organization, London

--Hispanic PR Assn.

--PR Communications Assn., London

--Organization of American Women in PR, New York

--Publicity Club of New York

--New York chapter, PR Society of America

Sponsoring lunch breaks, coffee breaks and other events were D S Simon Media, Newsmeter, ICICI Lombard, Muck Rack and the ODwyer Co.

Petrov Founded P World

Kosta Petrov, a native of Macedonia, is the founder of P World, which he describes as the worlds leading events agency with operations in 30 countries in Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa and North America. It organized an international business meeting in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Petrov contributes to the U.S. edition of The Huffington Post and speaks at events in numerous countries on PR, leadership and entrepreneurship.

He authored The Fear, on how he conquered anxiety, and was editor and contributor to The Little Black Book of PR, written by practitioners for practitioners.

PR Pros Must Predict NewsDay

Lauren Day, head of global communications strategy and operations, Prudential Financial, who gave the keynote address at the PR Summit, said the job of PR people is not just to cover the news, but to try to predict it.

Mary Jo Jacobi, former Presidential advisor and former VP-communications, BP America, said PR pros must think before they write because what goes on the internet is forever. The two most important things you need to have in a crisis are empathy and sorrow, she said.

Colleen Harris, who was press secretary to Princes Charles, William and Harry, said content is the key to effective communications. The public demands more meaningful content, transparency and visionary communications, she said.

Donald Steel, U.K., conducted a workshop on reputation and crisis management in a social media era. More than 5,000 PR and communications pros in 30 countries have attended his workshops.

Doug Simon, D S Simon Media, said companies and institutions should rely on their own spokespeople instead of seeking the traditional third party endorsement. There are problems with using celebs as spokespeople, he said.

National PRSA Is Absent

Not participating was national PR Society of America.

Members recalled that the last national conference of the Society in New York was in 2004 and that the headline speaker was Donald Trump,

Trump shocked the audience by sprinkling his talk with profanities and saying, "If somebody goes after you, go after the SOB and get them ... the next time they won't go after you so much." He advised not trusting anyone, including employees and even "the people sitting next to you right now ... they'll take your job, they'll take your money ... being a little paranoid is not so bad."

Saying that PR is much more important than advertising, he also warned that "The press can kill you ... the press can just eat you alive." Especially vulnerable, he said, are those who avoid the press but get one "defining story" that may be bad.

PRSA members at the summit were mystified at why there has only been one national conference in New York since 1992 and the fact that none are planned. The 2004 meeting, they noted, pulled a record 4,000 in attendance.

They trace the divide to Society board members. Only one of the 17 is non-APR although only 18% of members are APR. PRSA/New York has fewer than 50 APRs among 600+ members. The Society in late 2016 signed a 15-year lease at 120 Wall st. although most PR/ad/media firms are in midtown. About 80% of members are women, but the 2017 board is nine men and eight women. The 2016 board had 12 women and five men.

Future Events of P World Include:

Marketing Kingdom Cairo 3: 15th -16th October 2017 in Cairo, Egypt

Marketing Kingdom KSA: 8th-9th November 2017 in Riyadh, KSA

Global PR Summit Canada 2: 20th-21st November in Toronto, Canada
Brian Burlingame

Globalization critics argue that a countrys economic woes and job losses are the result of uneven trade conditions and the decisions of multinationals to create production operations and supply chains that favor foreign markets at the expense of jobs and growth at home. The criticism is also often linked to immigration policies, creating a compelling political argument that fuels trade protectionist sentiment.

These tensions have risen across the globe in recent years despite research measuring the actual scale of globalization which suggests that protectionist fears may be overstated. But as we know in the communications world, perception is reality.

Multinationals will continue to seek growth in international markets and should be prepared to manage the host of issues they may face abroad and at home. To do so, it is important that their communications activities be organized around four fundamental principles, namely: relevancy, consistency, flexibility and efficiency.

To succeed globally, think locally

An international organization must tap into local market expertise to ensure that its communications activities are relevant. The old adage think globally, act locally must be modified to include thinking locally as well. The success of the global program conceived at some far-off headquarters or the response to an issue or crisis requires local market context and relevancy in order to resonate with target audiences and yield the desired result.

In early 2017, we saw U.S. brands go on the defensive when Mexican consumers reacted to the rhetoric out of Washington D.C. about ending NAFTA and building a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico. Mexican consumers struck back with online actions such as #AdiosStarbucks and #AdiosProductosGringos, which generated anti-American brand sentiment and encouraged boycotting of U.S. brands such as McDonalds, Coca-Cola and Walmart.

Starbucks was adept in its local response, taking the opportunity to communicate to Mexican consumers that its stores in Mexico are actually run by a Mexican company, and pointing out that they provide approximately 7,000 Mexican jobs and also feature Mexican-grown coffee in their stores.

Keep communications consistent

It is also critical for multinational companies to be consistent in their brand and corporate communications, ensuring that actions in each market stay on-strategy while making the proper adjustments for local market relevancy. This is a major challenge since multinationals must manage a complex matrix of stakeholders, including customers, investors, employees, communities, governments, regulators, special interest groups, and media and key opinion leaders, to name a few.

Success depends on a model that includes thorough issues mapping and intelligence gathering, with different levels of activity and customized responses for each stakeholder group developed around a coherent strategy and messaging. This kind of stakeholder engagement model and communications consistency will support and protect corporate reputation.

An example of just how tricky this can be in the current anti-globalization environment is automaker BMWs response to criticism and threats of tariffs coming from then U.S. president-elect Donald Trump. Prior to Trumps inauguration, BMW executives were adamant about the companys intention to invest $1.6 billion in building a plant in Mexico. A few months later, BMW softened its position to wait and see with its CEO saying we are flexible.

The companys reaction to U.S. protectionist policies will not only affect its business in the U.S. and Mexico, but could have significant ramifications in other markets, at home and with its shareholders. If BMW had started with the latter position it might have won time within an uncertain environment to gather intelligence and further develop its individual stakeholder strategies.

Finally, multinational communications must be flexible and efficient. Companies and brands must be able to respond quickly to shifting circumstances and the immediacy of todays communications environment. This capability has as much to do with the structure of a companys communications efforts as its level of dedicated resources.

In our experience working across the markets of Latin America, this is achieved using a coordinated approach that consolidates many of the activities that companies usually duplicate in each market of operation. Activities such as planning and content development, project management, evaluation and reporting are centralized, thereby avoiding redundancies, reducing costs, and eliminating inconsistencies across geographies. Coupled with teams of local market experts, this coordinated approach yields operational and cost efficiencies that help multinationals manage complex issues on a broad geographic scale.

By setting up a core communications structure, companies are also able to start small and scale-up their activities across geographies as needed, taking advantage of key learnings and best practices as they expand.

The changing face of globalization

Thirty years ago, globalization was hailed by many as an engine of economic development that would benefit consumers and improve conditions for people in the worlds developing economies. Today, anti-globalization and nationalist protectionist tendencies are just one set of challenges faced by multinationals.

Attitudes and trends will continue to shift, which is why international companies and brands must focus on maintaining a well-structured communications effort that provides relevancy, consistency, flexibility and efficiency in order to adapt to the continually-changing environment.

***

Brian Burlingame is CEO of JeffreyGroup, the leading independent strategic communications agency for Latin America.
Mitch Gelman, Chief Technology Officer, Newseum Jeffrey Hollender, Founder & CEO, Sustain Natural

The sweeping political, technological and social changes rocking the US have a trickle-down effect on news audiences, transforming the ways in which they receive messages as well as affecting how much they trust what those messages are telling them, said Luke Lambert, CEO of G&S Business Communications, at todays Global Street Fight conference in Manhattan.

Lambert furthered that theme during his interview with Mitch Gelman, Chief Technology Officer at Washington, DCs Newseum. When Gelman asked the conference attendees how many of them had recently argued with someone about the level of bias in the news media, about half of them raised their hands.

According to research provided by G&S, that trend runs across the public, with about one-third of respondents having had a similar argument.

As to where that lack of trust comes from, Gelman cited the emphasis on ratings and numbers, which he said has led to a lack of focus on curating and providing context. He said that totally getting rid of bias in the media is not possible, and that the main responsibility of media outlets is to be mindful of that bias and make sure they disclose it to their audiences.

Sponsored by G&S, the event was held at Convene Conference Center and drew about 100 senior PR people.

Jeffrey Hollender, co-founder & former CEO of Seventh Generation natural and sustainable products company, focused on how companies can fashion messages that both show the benefits of their products and represent the larger social issues that the company stands for.

He said that taking a public stand on issues could build loyalty and customer commitment to a brand. Hollender said that while half of detergent products are sold at promotional prices, Seventh Generations line is sold at promotion only about 20 percent of the time. We have to change the mindset that doing right costs money, said Hollender.

Jenna Goudreau, Managing Editor, CNBC Digital and Denise Burrell-Stinson. Head of Storytelling, WP Brand Studio, Washingon Post

Jenna Goudreau, managing editor at CNBC Digital, and Denise Burrell-Stinson, head of storytelling at Washington Posts WP Brand Studio, provided insights on how to incorporate the latest developments in digital media into the messaging process. Speed and agility were stressed.

Both agreed that the basic rules of storytelling remain essentially unchanged. What has changed is the ever-expanding range of platforms and media on which those stories can be told and distributed.

There is a glut of opportunity and choice and platforms, Burrell-Stinson said, and the secret of success in coming years lies in learning how to take advantage of that.
Beth Crisafi

G&S Business Communications has promoted longtime staffer Beth Crisafi to the role of vice president.

Crisafi joined the independent business communications firm in 2005 as managing supervisor. Two years ago, she was appointed to the role of account director.

As VP, Crisafi assumes additional client management and communications strategy development responsibilities, and will lead an agency-wide team spanning content development, earned media, digital/social media and creative services targeting clients in sectors ranging from water purification, coatings and energy to personal care and sports. Shell be based in the firms New York headquarters.

G&S  formerly known as Gibbs & Soell  maintains additional offices in Chicago, Raleigh, N.C. and Basel, Switzerland. The agency, which is one of the top PR firms in the U.S. with more than $24.2 million in net fees last year, counts Dow Chemical, Martin Marietta and Panasonic as clients.
Agricultural News

Trich Cases Reportedly on the Rise in Southern Plains Cattle Herds, Keep Vigilant or Incur the Costs







After having declined dramatically over the past few years, cases of trichomoniasis disease in southern plains cattle herds have increased in number so far this year. In an effort to curb this rise in "trich" cases, Kansas State Extension Veterinary Specialist Gregg Hanzlicek, is advising cow-calf producers to stay vigilant in their efforts to avoid this disease, that can be very costly to producers if it infects their herd. Hanzlicek spoke to Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays recently to reminds us of the nature of the problem. He says adhering to the test monitoring guidelines, really pays off.





"It's a venereal disease, so it can only be spread during a reproductive act," Hanzlicek said. "It affects not fertility, but it actually kills the early fetus."





Several States implemented tighter breeding stock regulations several years ago to rein this disease in. However, efforts to keep "trich" in check at the farm and ranch level still need to remain a high priority, according to Hanzlicek.





"Any bull, 18 months of age or older, is required to have a negative "trich" test within 60 days of when it's barrowed, sold, or leased," he said, acknowledging the fact that there is likely some producers not adhering to this rule and speculates this cheating could be contributing to the recent uptick in reported cases. "The other great risk factor is for people that buy used cows from other operations that they don't know the background on."





Listen to Hanzlicek and Hays discuss the threat of trichomoniasis to producers and their herds, and the importance of staying on top of this disease by following standard testing practices, on today's Beef Buzz.





The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR below for today's show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.



















Listen to Hanzlicek and Hays discuss the threat of trichomoniasis to producers and their herds below

WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady NSI

Top Agricultural News
WASHINGTON  Iowa officials unveiled a proposal Monday they hope can preserve an individual health insurance market in the state next year in the face of fleeing insurers.

In Iowa we are in a collapsing market because of the fact that the healthy and young individuals are not participating, Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen told reporters.

Ommen described his proposal as a stopgap, emergency measure that will be required to deal with the looming crisis even if Congress acts on health care later this year.

Hanging in the balance is coverage for the 72,000 Iowans who obtain health insurance through the individual market exchange.

At the heart of the new plan is a shift in federal subsidies to give more relief to those younger, healthier people and a reinsurance mechanism that would shield participating insurers from a concentration of individuals with persistent and expensive health conditions.

There would be one standard plan offered, equivalent to the silver plans on the Affordable Care Act exchanges, and that plan would conform to the ACAs essential health benefit requirements.

A central challenge facing the ACA exchanges has been that as premiums rise, many younger, healthier individuals opt out of obtaining coverage. That leaves a relatively more expensive pool of older, sicker people, which causes premiums to rise and the cycle continues.

Ommens proposal would require the approval of the federal government  the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services  and its unclear whether the Trump administration would be inclined to back the proposal. Ommen said hes encouraged by Iowa officials initial discussions with federal officials.

Nebraska is not expected to follow a similar path, State Insurance Director Bruce Ramge said in a statement, because he anticipates having a statewide insurer for the individual market in 2018.

We are aware of the Iowa proposal, and are monitoring that development, but have no plans for a similar filing at this time, Ramge said.

The Iowa proposal is intended to be budget-neutral for the federal government and is based on estimates that federal ACA subsidies in Iowa for 2018 would be $304 million, plus $48 million in payments that help cover out-of-pocket expenses for low-income individuals.

The proposal is to divide that $352 million pool of money between the individual premium credits and a reinsurance program. Payments of some expenses for low-income individuals are not part of the plan.

Wellmark has indicated that it will participate, and the state plans to work on luring other insurers into participating.

Wellmark is supportive of the plan submitted to CMS, Wellmark Public Relations Manager Teresa Roof said in a statement. If it is approved in a reasonable time frame, Wellmark will re-enter the individual health insurance market in all 99 Iowa counties in 2018.

Iowas crisis has been building for a while as major insurers such as Aetna and Wellmark pulled out of the states exchanges, citing financial losses. While Medica has not finalized its plans, the company has indicated that it is unlikely to participate, Ommen said.

There could be some filings, but I think with all of the uncertainty in Iowa, we dont expect to re-establish a market under current law, Ommen said.

He said state officials have looked at every possibility for dealing with the crisis and nothing else seems like it would work.

I view this as the single option that will restore insurance availability in all 99 counties, Ommen said of his proposal.

Reporters pressed him on what the plan will mean for low-income individuals or for those who could see higher premiums as a result of the shift in subsidies.

Ommen said doing nothing would result in no options for anyone on the individual market.

This is not a perfect plan, he said. We are attempting to essentially thread the needle between the current structure of the ACA and making insurance available for 2018.

Iowas U.S. senators, both Republicans, offered positive statements about the proposal.

This is a proposal to help the Iowans facing Obamacares unaffordability and collapse in Iowa, Sen. Chuck Grassley said. There are 72,000 Iowans who will have Obamacare subsidies and nowhere to buy insurance this fall. They need CMS to help with a stopgap measure while Congress works on a long-term solution.

Sen. Joni Ernst said shes heard many stories from Iowans facing rising premiums, deductibles and co-pays and noted the withdrawal of insurers and the potential for Medica to also withdraw.

If they leave as well, there will be no options for these Iowans, leaving folks without insurance coverage because of Obamacare, Ernst said. This proposal by Iowas Insurance Division is a necessary, short-term move.

Rep. David Young, R-Iowa, provided a statement that did not offer a specific endorsement or rejection of the stopgap proposal.

Rather, he noted the possibility of most Iowa counties having no health insurance options and said, It is critically important that all parties take action to fix the issues facing Iowans.
Both of my children are in dire need of haircuts, especially my son, Declan, who may be in jeopardy of getting whiplash from all the Bieber-esque hair flipping he has to do to get his bangs out of his eyes.

But I cant bring myself to schedule hair cuts.

Its my own fault their hair has grown so unruly, but theres a reason Im so possessive about their overgrown locks. You see, for the better part of their first two years on this planet, they were bald. I'm talking no hair; not a strand on their little Kewpie doll heads.

I come from a family of people born with hair on their heads. When I was pregnant with Declan, I wondered things like, "Am I having a boy or a girl? How much will the baby weigh? And what color hair will they have?" It never occurred to me to wonder if they would simply have hair.

And then he arrived, weighing 6 pounds, 9 ounces. As for hair color, there was none to speak of since he was bald. It was at that moment I remembered details of a photo of my husband as a baby. He was wearing shoes and a smile exposing several baby teeth all beaming out from his big barren head. Suddenly, I realized Coffey babies are born bald and stay bald for a long, long time.

We invested in a lot of hats, and I would silently muse about when my babies would finally get hair. I'd daydream of braids and pigtails for my daughter, Mara, and floppy prep school hair for Declan.

Each of my children received their first hair cuts on their second birthdays. Not because they had finally grown masses of Samson-like hair, but because I felt like it was abusive parenting to continue to allow the few thin strands they managed to produce to turn into a baby mullet.

My husband had always foretold that one day each of our children would have hair; that once a Coffey child grows hair, they have it for life. And so it came to pass that both Declan and Mara grew hair; thick, full heads of the stuff. What he forgot to mention were the cowlicks  so many cowlicks. The combination of all of these attributes has made getting a decent haircut, particularly for my son, the makings of a lifelong journey.

The problem is, now that hes got hair, I havent quite figured out how exactly to groom it.

I like it long  even though my husband protests that I have our sons hair styled like hes headed off to British boarding school. I respond that, thanks to him and his Coffey genes, I waited a good long time for that hair and Im not in any rush to cut it off. Same goes for my daughter.

Every kiddie cut or great clips Ive dragged Declan to almost always ends in me wincing to the poor sainted stylist and putting on a brave face for my son, who I will have you know has absolutely zero opinion or interest in how his hair looks.

But now its summer. School's out and we dont have any big engagements on the calendar, so lets see how wild this boys locks can get. Maybe its the cry of my inner hipster, or maybe its the fact that I waited so long to be faced with a haircut dilemma for this kid, but I say let it grow! Let's embrace the summer of the 7-year-old man bun.

***

Molly Cavanaugh of Omahas Channel 94.1 FMs Big Party Show is a mom to two children who lives in Chicago. She writes weekly for momaha.com.
While unavailable for this months College World Series and U.S. Olympic Swim Trials, the Marriott Capitol District Hotel is among eight hotel projects on track to add a total of 1,000 or so guest rooms to the Omaha metro area by the end of next year, according to the Omaha Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Funeral services for Zachary Bearheels, who died last week after an encounter with Omaha police, will be 11 a.m. Wednesday in Oklahoma.

The service will be held at Cache Creek Cemetery, five miles west of Apache, Oklahoma, in the southwest part of the state. Relatives still are trying to raise money to cover funeral costs through a Go Fund Me page.

Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer has recommended that two officers who confronted Bearheels early on June 5 be fired.

Police went to the Bucky's convenience store at 60th and Center Streets to respond to a disturbance with a person who was refusing to leave. Bearheels, 29, was asked for his identification and why he was at Bucky's, but his speech was garbled and he displayed signs of impairment, Schmaderer said last week.

Officers had put Bearheels in handcuffs, Schmaderer said, but used a Taser on him after he struggled with them and refused to return to the back of a police cruiser. One officer shocked Bearheels with the Taser 12 times, and another officer repeatedly struck Bearheels with his fists, Schmaderer said.

Bearheels was not breathing and had no pulse when he was taken to the Nebraska Medical Center, where he died.
The Kansas legislature finally put a stop to the predictably failed trickle-down tax-cut experiment it began in 2012.

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, a Republican, had vetoed a bill that partially reset income-tax rates to where they were before the cuts and closed a huge loophole  importantly, one mimicked in President Donald Trumps tax plan.

But on Tuesday, lawmakers overrode the governors veto.

They didnt have much of a choice. Based on their fiscal outlook  the state faces a $900 million shortfall  Kansas bond rating has been downgraded twice by two rating agencies. The state has burned through its reserves.

Ive long argued theres just no evidence to support the claims made by the trickle-downers, so Ive closely watched the unfolding of the Kansas budget crisis. One thing that struck me was the reaction of conservative lawmakers there to the growing challenge of maintaining support for their education system.

What I saw was a welcome, and all-too-rare, recognition that the tax cuts were simply inconsistent with maintaining a public good that they actually value in the state.

Of course, they never should have bought the trickle-down fairy dust in the first place. The historical record shows no correlation between tax cuts and economic growth, either for the nation or for Kansas. Instead, it shows an undeniably clear record of tax cuts and lost revenue.

Which brings me to an interesting and important question around the legislatures override: Will it have any impact on the proposed Trump tax cut, which purveys the same snake oil, down to opening a big, new loophole?

That is, the states tax cuts exempted pass-through income from state taxation, meaning business owners could pass through profits from their business to their personal income tax liability and pay no tax on that income.

You will not be surprised to learn that many businesses took advantage of that loophole. In 2014 alone, that cost the state $470 million in lost revenue.

In Trumps proposed tax plan, pass-through income gets a special rate of 15 percent, which is higher than zero, but a huge cut from the top income rate of about 40 percent. In addition to losing lots of revenue from existing pass-through filers, enacting this change at the federal level opens up a huge new tax-avoidance opportunity for high-income people.

Will D.C. Republicans learn from Kansas Republicans?

I fear not. If facts could kill the myth of trickle-down tax cuts, Id have given the eulogy at its graveside lo these many years ago.

I was elated upon hearing the news out of Kansas and I dont mean to rain on the parade. Maybe my bar is low, but Im truly impressed by the actions of the legislature, which is dominated by Republicans.

But we must keep it real. All that nonsense about growth effects offsetting the revenue losses from these cuts is no more substantive than dangling the keys to distract the baby.

The play here is to cut taxes for the wealthy and then, when the growth effects fail to materialize, claim that the only way to balance the budget is to cut spending. The trickle-downers have but two goals: cut taxes on the rich and spending on the poor and middle class.

This is the undeniable thrust of the Trump budget and the House health care plan. It is not immaterial that the same folks who pushed the Kansas cuts are behind the Trump cuts.

In Kansas, to better serve the vast majority of their constituents, policymakers said no to that cynical play. I hope Im wrong, but in D.C., I fear the will of the majority to represent those outside the top 1 percent is not nearly so strong.
BJP government is silencing everybody but National Herald won't be silent: Rahul Gandhi

India

oi-Anusha

"The power of truth is being replaced by the truth of power. Anybody who stands for the truth is being pushed aside in different forms. This is the India we are living in. An India where power is manufacturing the truth," said Rahul Gandhi. The vice president of the Congress released the of commemorative publication of his great grand father's newspaper, National Herald. The event was an all out attack on the BJP, the RSS and its ideologies.

Accusing the government of silencing all those refusing to fall in line, Rahul Gandhi said that National Herald, that is all set to make a comeback on multimedia platforms, will not be silenced. "Everybody knows the truth but they are afraid. A poet once said that when the truth is replaced by silence then the silence is a lie. This is what the current government is doing but National Herald won't be silent," he reiterated.

The event began with a video that criticised the current government of harassing the weak and the poor. The video highlighted incidents of Dalit atrocities and lynching in the recent past, JNU protests, CBI raids against NDTV as well as farmer protests in Madhya Pradesh.

The event saw guest of honor, Vice President of India Hamid Ansari, speak about the importance of freedom of press. National Herald resumes publications in print and digital form. I am sure that it will uphold the journalistic standards that Nehru envisioned to it," he said. The event saw Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala, Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah, Oscar Fernandes and G Parameshwar in attendance.

OneIndia News
Caught on camera: Contract worker kicks, assaults Raichur corporation woman staffer

India

oi-Anusha

By Anusha Ravi

A woman government employee was kicked and assaulted by a contract worker in Raichur's Sindhanur city corporation. The act caught on CCTV camera shows Sharanappa assault Nasreen for allegedly turning up late for work.

Following a complaint by the woman, the contract worker who operated computers in the office has been dismissed and arrested by the local police.

The incident is said to have taken on Saturday when the corporation had a holiday. Minimal staff had been asked to be present to clear workload. Nasreen who is the SDA in the corporation was observing fast during Ramzan and is said to have turned up late to work. Sharanappa, who is a computer operated hired on a contract basis is seen questioning her. Within minutes he is seen kicking Nasreen.

The terrified woman leaves the office immediately but Sharanappa is captured on another camera following her and assaulting her a second time.

Despite the entire act being captured on camera, the civic body leaders claimed ignorance.

"He is actually a decent man. The woman had not told us about any such incident taking place. We have learnt of it only now. We have dismissed him. He was on contract and the woman was an SDA, a permanent employee. What he did is wrong. He is currently in police custody. The woman is not telling us anything. It was a second Saturday and was a holiday and hence most of us were not in the office," said Manjula Patil the President of the corporation.

Police claim that this was not the first time that Sharanappa had assaulted staff of the corporation. Said to be close to a few members of the corporation, he is accused of harassing many employees. He is currently in police custody after Nasreen registered a complaint against him.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Monday, June 12, 2017, 23:19 [IST]
Cow vigilantes stop trucks on government duty in Rajasthan, thrash TN officials

India

oi-Anusha

Cow vigilantes spare none, not even government officials and vehicles on government duty. Officials of Tamil Nadu Animal Husbandry Department, drivers and assistants of the trucks transporting cattle legally were attacked in Rajasthan by thugs under the garb of gaurakshaks.

Tamil Nadu government purchased 50 cows and calves from Jaisalmer and were transporting them in five trucks. All legal documents including No Objection Certificates and permission from the authorities had been obtained but cow vigilantes assaulted officials, drivers and also damaged the trucks. Timely intervention of the police foiled their attempt to set a truck on fire. Around 50 vigilantes blocked the trucks on National Highway 15 on suspicion of cattle smuggling.

Despite officials showing a sticker on the trucks explaining that it was on government duty, the mob assaulted them. The incident is said to have taken place on Sunday night. A case against 50 persons has been registered for voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from duty and for assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty and also under the National Highway Act.

Four people have been arrested so far while action has also been initiated against policemen for dereliction of duty. Seven policemen including an inspector face action for ignoring the seriousness of the matter.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Monday, June 12, 2017, 18:10 [IST]
ECI seeks contempt powers, wants to punish those sullying its image

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The Election Commission of India is likely to get contempt powers. A letter has been written to the Union Law Ministry seeking contempt powers. An amendment to the Contempt of Courts Act 1971 has been sought so that the powers are given to the ECI as well.

The move comes in the wake of several political parties questioning the credibility of the ECI. Parties such as the Aam Admi Party have been accusing the ECI of tampering with the EVMs to favour the ruling party.

Currently the ECI has no power to act against anyone for contempt. The power to slap contempt charges against a person or party lies with the Supreme Court and the High Courts.

The ECI in its letter cited examples of other commissions which have contempt powers. It says that even the Election Commission of Pakistan has been granted contempt powers. The ECI cited the case in Pakistan where contempt charges were slapped by the Pakistan commission against Imran Khan.

The letter by the ECI was written a month back to the Law Ministry. The ministry is currently examining the letter. After holding consultations with legal experts, the Law Ministry will take a final call on the matter.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Monday, June 12, 2017, 8:06 [IST]
Why Punjab farmers burn stubble at this scale when others do not

30 per cent down: How Haryana aced the decrease in stubble burning

Farmers protest: '5-star' fast of MP CM Chouhan was neither indefinite nor effective

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Was it a fast or a farce? It looks like the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Madhya Pradesh has totally lost the plot as the farmers' agitation in the state continues to haunt the government of Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

The Chief Minister sat on a two-day-long fast to have a dialogue with the protesting farmers to solve the crisis and bring "peace" in the violence-hit state. However, hardly any farmer leaders, except for those associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the saffron party met the CM while he was on fast.

Chouhan, who ended his fast on Sunday, initially stated that it was going to be an indefinite hunger strike till the issues related to the farmers are not resolved. However, it looks like the CM was in a hurry to end the fast in just two days. While ending the fast he said that since there was no violence in the state he decided to break his hunger strike.

The CM's fast was called by many a "five-star" one as the venue of the hunger strike-- Bhopal's Dussehra Maidan-was turned into a mini "five-star" hotel with all the amenities including brand new expensive coolers, a living room and a bedroom, to name a few.

Moreover, the entire facilities were arranged in a day. The opposition Congress had called the hunger strike of the CM a farce and a joke.

The farmers in the state are likely to intensify their protest in the coming days. The farmers have been protesting since June 1 to demand crop loan waiver and better prices for their produce, to name a few.

The agitation saw bloodbath when six farmers were killed in a police firing last week.

Here we bring you a few images from the CM's fast in Bhopal...

A sweet end to fast BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijaywargiya offers sweet to Chouhan to break his indefinite fast on second day to placate angry farmers at Dussehra Ground in Bhopal on Sunday. Picture credit: PTI Addressing the grievances CM Chouhan interacts with people after breaking his indefinite fast.Picture credit: PTI For the sake of peace CM Chouhan mobbed by supporters after breaking his indefinite fast for peace in the state.Picture credit: PTI A juicy' treat Chouhan offered juice by former CM Kailash Joshi to break his indefinite fast.Picture credit: PTI A busy CM CM Chouhan spoke on phone during his indefinite fast. Picture credit: PTI OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Monday, June 12, 2017, 9:56 [IST]
Mamata Banerjee on 3-day visit to Darjeeling to attend swearing-in ceremony of GTA members

GJM protest in Darjeeling: One arrested for torching Govt office

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

The Police arrested Gorkhaland Territorial Administration's Satish Pokhrel on Tuesday for his alleged involvement in burning Bijanbari BDO office.

The office was torched by unknown miscreants on Monday amid call for indefinite bandh by Gorkha Janmukti Morch.

Eight suspected GJM activists were detained for indulging in arson as a GJM-sponsored shutdown of government offices began Monday morning. The hill station of Darjeeling wore a deserted look as the shutdown began amid tight security.

Schools and colleges were also exempted from the purview of the shutdown, called by the GJM for reviving its demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland.

Earlier, GJM chief Bimal Gurung asked the tourists to leave the hills or stay back at their own risk as "anything might happen". "The situation is turning worse, and anything can happen," he said, according to The Times of India.

(With agency inputs)
Imran Khan discharged from hospital, to resume long march from same point where he was shot

Goodwill gesture: India releases 11 Pakistani prisoners

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

New Delhi, June 12: In a significant sign, India on Monday released 11 civil prisoners as they had all completed their sentence. The decision comes a day after PM Narendra Modi's casual meeting with his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif in Astana at SCO summit.

According to the reports, Pakistan had sought the release of these prisoners as they had all completed their sentence. The move comes at a time when the two nations are fighting a legal battle at the International Court of Justice over the death sentence of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav.

Officials describe it as a good will gesture. It was a humanitarian issue and should not be linked with further downturn in ties over Jadhav. The officers hoped that Islamabad too will facilitate the release of Indian prisoners lodged in Pakistani jails.

India repatriate 11 Pakistani prisoners via Wagah Border, today pic.twitter.com/D2eiq1TiHK  ANI (@ANI_news) June 12, 2017

According to official sources, since the meet at Asatana was the first occasion when the 2 leaders came across each other after Sharif's operation, PM enquired about his health. He also enquired about Sharif's mother and family.

Last week, India had released 2 kids, Ali Reza and Babar, who had crossed the international border in Punjab ccompanied by their uncle Mohammed Shahzad who continues to be in India's custody. The kids were to be released in April but Indian authorities had put it on hold after Pakistan announced the death sentence to Jadhav, reports Times of India.

There are 132 Indian prisoners in Pakistani jails, out of which 57 have already served their jail term. Pakistan says that India has to confirm their nationality before it releases them.

The move by India, comes at a time when the two nations are fighting a legal battle at the International Court of Justice over the death sentence of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav ordered by a Pakistani military court. India got a stay on Jadhav's death sentence.

OneIndia News
FM Nirmala Sitharaman hints at possibility of Centre considering restoration of state status to J&K

In J&K, 14,000 dropouts find their way back to schools

J&K: Terrorists hurl grenade at CRPF camp, 2 injured

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

Two CRPF personnel were injured on Monday after the terrorists hurled a grenade at their camp in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district.

Meanwhile in Poonch, J & K, eight rucksacks (one combat jacket each), one UBGL grenade, one set of binoculars, 1 radio set with antenna, 7 shawls, medicines and eateries were recovered by the security forces.

On Sunday, militants fired on a policeman outside his camp in south Kashmir's Shopian district. One policeman was injured in the incident. The shooting happened in Imam Sahib area of the district near the the camp of the special operations group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir Police.

On June 3, militants ambushed a military convoy on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway in south Kashmir's Kulgam district.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Monday, June 12, 2017, 22:18 [IST]
Telugu actor Ram Charan tests positive for COVID-19, fans trend 'get well soon' on Twitter

Why is Telugu Language Day celebrated? Know history and significance

The Ghost has 'Boring Story & Screenplay': The 'first review' on net about Nagarjuna-starrer

Jnanpith Award winner C Narayana Reddy passes away

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

Hyderabad, June 12: Jnanpith awardee and a prominent writer in Telugu, Cingireddi Narayana Reddy, passed away on Monday, news agency ANI reported. He was 85. Reddy, considered an authority on Telugu literature also wrote several songs for Telugu movies.

The litterateur was rushed to the hospital this morning when he developed health complications but was declared dead.

The 85-year-old doyen of Telugu language had to his credit more than 80 publications, which include poems, songs, lyrical dramas, ballets, essays, travelogues, ghazals original and in translation and literary criticism.

Dr. Cingireddy Narayana Reddy was born on 29 July 1931 in a remote village of Karimnagar district in Andhra Pradesh. He had a MA and PhD in Telugu literature from Osmania University where he also worked as a professor.

In 1992, he was felicitated with country's third-highest civilian honour, Padma Vibhushan, and was nominated to the Upper House of Parliament in 1997. He is a winner of the Jnanpith Award in 1988 for his contribution to Telugu literature and considered a foremost authority on Telugu Literature.

He also served as vice-chancellor of Telugu University and held important academic and administrative positions in the state.

The Telugu film industry has condoled his death.

OneIndia News
Justice Karnan retires as an absconder, yet another first for Indian Judiciary

India

oi-Anusha

Calcutta High Court judge C S Karnan creates yet another dubious record becoming the first judge to retire while absconding. Sentenced to imprisonment in a contempt of court case by a special bench of the Supreme Court Justice C S Karnan is set to retire today while he is still in hiding to avoid an imminent arrest.

Justice C S Karnan has many firsts to his credit and the sentence against him was one such. On May 9, a seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court passed an unprecedented order against a sitting judge. Karnan was held guilty of contempt and sentenced to six months in jail. Justice Karnan who arrived in Chennai on the same day hours before the judgement, vanished as authorities tried to catch up with him. Multiple petitions by his counsels in the apex court appealing against the order, he has not been given any respite.

Monday is the last day in service for this judge who has been evading arrest. A team of West Bengal Police has been camping in Chennai to execute the order against Justice Karnan. Help has been sought from the Tamil Nadu as well as Andhra Pradesh police. Teams have visited various places including Kalahasti in search of Justice Karnan but to no avail.

Justice Karnan became a judge in 2009 and has held the record for many first that have come as an embarrassment to the judiciary.

Justice Karnan became the first judge of a high court to move the National Commission for SCs and STs against his colleagues accusing them of harassment. He was the first judge to barge into the court hall of another division bench while it was hearing a case. He barged into the bench of Madras High Court to declare that he too wanted to be a litigant opposing choice of certain names of advocates for elevation as judges of the court. He was also the first judge to earn Supreme Court's wrath with the special bench asking doctors to test his mental state.

Justice Karnan became infamous for his antics reversing orders of higher courts against him, passing orders against judges including the Chief Justice of India barring them from flying. His antics have cost Justice Karnan a memorable and honourable last day of service.

OneIndia
Schools to remain open

Schools and colleges will remain open on Monday. While government schools and colleges will remain open, the private players will take a call depending on the situation. Many private schools, who will not be able to support the cause of the bandh have appealed the government to increase security or aid schools in districts where we expect violence. The fourth-semester postgraduate exams of Bengaluru University has been postponed. Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) has also postponed its first year B.Ed examinations and seventh semester examinations.

Transport services to be normal

Vatal Nagraj who gave the bandh call says that the protest would be a peaceful one. Officials and union leaders say that the transport services will be normal. Autorickshaws, metro and buses will ply on Monday. The officials of BMRCL has said that Namma metro will be operational. The BMTC and KSRTC will also operate buses. The radio cab services will also be operational, say officials of Bangalore Tourist Taxi Operators' Association.

Ola, Uber to ply

M S Meenakshi Sundaram, president, Auto Rickshaw Drivers' Union (ARDU) says that they have not announced their support to the bandh. For now the autorickshaws will ply. The BMTC and KSRTC will also operate buses subject to ground situation. The Bangalore Tourist Taxi Operators' Association spokesperson said that radio cab services would run. "We have to provide facilities to the public so we are not stopping the operaion of vehicles on Monday," said a spokesperson. Cabs under taxi aggregators like Ola and Uber are also expected to ply.

Charter of demands

Pro-Kannada organisations have called for a Karnataka bandh press for their charter of demands, which include farm loan waiver, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention in the Mahadayi river water dispute and a permanent solution to the problem of water scarcity in arid areas.

The outfits have also been demanding for the exile of Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti activists from the state for their alleged anti Kannada' activities in Belagavi. According to Vatal Nagaraj, who heads Kannada Okoota, the bandh has been called to protest against Tamil Nadu's opposition to the Mekedatu project across the river Cauvery and proposal to privatise BEML.
Karnataka bandh today: Bengaluru witnesses heavy security bandobast with 15,000-plus policemen

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Bengaluru, June 12: The Karnataka state police department is in no mood to take any risks as pro-Kannada groups have called for a state-wide bandh on Monday. According to reports, the capital city, Bengaluru, has been provided heavy security bandobast to avoid any untoward incidents.

Apart from 15,000-plus police personnel, 78 platoons of Karnataka State Reserve Police and City Armed Reserve will be deployed on the streets of Bengaluru, informed police commissioner Praveen Sood.

"We are not taking chances. All policemen in the city will be on duty. Senior police officers will monitor the situation. Additional security will be provided at bus terminals, Metro and railway stations," Sood was quoted as saying by The Times of India.

Although reports say the protest is likely to be low key, police deployment will be exhaustive. Special security has been arranged at the Airport and railway stations and other important places. Sood said that a fool-proof security arrangement has been made to ensure that no untoward incidents take place.

"More than 200 Hoysala vehicle staff will be patrolling. Apart from this, one water jet, one Quick Response Team platoons are deployed," a senior police officer said. "Activists of some groups have been taken into preventive custody," he added.

Moreover, Vice President Hamid Ansari and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi will be in the city today and thus security across the city has been tightened.

The dawn-to-dusk bandh has been called by pro-Kannada organisations under the group called Kannada Okoota, demanding the implementation of Mahadayi project and permanent solution for water problems in North Karnataka.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Monday, June 12, 2017, 6:54 [IST]
Maharashtra SSC Class 10th Exam results 2017 over extra arts, sports and culture marks

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The Maharashtra SSC Class 10th Exam results 2017 will be declared on June 13 at 1 pm. This brings a lot of relief to the students who have been waiting anxiously for the results. Prior to the date being announced there were several dates that did the rounds. There are several reasons behind the delay in the announcement of the results.

Maharashtra SSC Class 10th Exam results 2017 will declared at 1 pm, how to check

One of the main reasons for the delay was because the board was in the process of awarding extra marks for sports, arts and culture. It may be recalled that the state education department had announced extra marks for students who excelled in the field of arts, culture or folk art. While initially it was decided that the extra marks would be given from 2018 onwards, a resolution was passed allowing students to apply from this year itself.

The students were told that they could apply by April 30. This had led to excessive work load and many teachers had expressed unhappiness.

The reason for the delay is because the board did not want any errors while uploading the results. We wanted to do a thorough job, board officials said.

Students have waited for so long and we did not want any confusion on the date the results are announced, the board official also added.

The board was yet to finish the correction of the SSC papers and this too had contributed to the delay. Moreover the municipal elections too had delayed the announcement of the results.

As per the official website, the Maharashtra Board conducts the examination twice a year and the number of students appearing for the SSC exam is 17 Lakh. There are about 21,000 schools (SSC) and 7000 (HSC) Higher Sec. Schools / Jr. colleges in the entire state.

How to check Maharashtra SSC Class 10th Exam results 2017

Click on SSC results 2017

Enter roll number, other details

Submit

View results

Take a printout

OneIndia News
Modi's visit to US scheduled for June 25-26

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first visit to the United States under Donald Trump's administration will be on June 25-26, said reports.

Modi will travel to Washington at the invitation of US President Donald Trump for a meeting at the White House.

State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert had on June 8 said the US is looking forward to host Prime Minister Modi in Washington later this month. Nauert, however, had not revealed the exact dates then.

"We look forward to having the Prime Minister here in Washington. I believe it's later this month," Nauert had said.

Modi and Trump have spoken over phone for at least three times.

Under the previous Obama Administration, Modi had a record number of eight meetings with Barack Obama. Modi traveled to Washington three times and Obama made a historic trip to India to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations in 2015.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Monday, June 12, 2017, 17:58 [IST]
At monsoon's fag end, why is there so much rain in Delhi-NCR now?

Monsoon 2017: The weatherman has some 'very' pleasant news

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Monsoon 2017: The weatherman has some pleasant news. The southwest monsoon is making a steady advance into Maharashtra and West Bengal.

India Meteorological Department director general K J Ramesh said monsoon is in an "active phase" and has reached Mumbai, and several parts of the Konkan region, apart from the Bijapur district in north Karnataka. There is also a low pressure area in the Bay of Bengal and this will take the monsoon to several parts of West Bengal.

The coming week will be very good for the advance of monsoon on the western side and east India," Ramesh said.

However, there will be no significant change in maximum temperatures over most part of the country during the next 24 hours and mercury is likely to rise by 2-3 degrees celcius over plains of northwest India thereafter.

The IMD last week upgraded its initial monsoon forecast from 96 per cent of the Long Period Average (LPA) to 98 per cent, which comes in the range of "normal" rainfall.

The monsoon reached Kerala on May 30, two days ahead of its normal schedule. "It is expected to advance to interior Karnataka and remaining parts of Rayalaseema, some parts of Telangana and some more parts of Coastal Andhra Pradesh, central and north Bay of Bengal, Tripura, Assam and Meghalaya and some more parts of West Bengal and Sikkim during next 2-3 days," the IMD said.

It also predicted "heavy to very heavy rainfall" at isolated places over Assam and Meghalaya, Konkan and Goa and Coastal Karnataka tomorrow and "heavy" rains over West Bengal and Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram & Tripura, central Maharashtra, Marathwada and Kerala. Overall it would be a good Monsoon 2017, the IMD says.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Monday, June 12, 2017, 7:23 [IST]
Two of 8 cheetahs released in acclimatisation enclosure at MP's Kuno National Park: Official

Two cheetahs make their first kill at Kuno National Park

MP govt forms committee to probe farmers' death in Mandsaur

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

The Madhya Pradesh Government has constituted a committee to probe the death of five farmers in Mandsaur during farmer protests.

The committee, which has been formed under retired High Court judge JK Jain, will submit its report within three-months, said reports.

While the situation has improved in Mandsaur, it continues to be tense with farmer families still agitated with the brute force that was used against them by security forces.

Last week, farmers' protest turned tragic in Mandsaur when police opened fire on protesting farmers. Five farmers died within minutes of each other.

All five farmers who were killed on June 6 were poor landless farmers and farm labourers who paid the price for an agrarian crisis.

[Mandsaur: Among the five killed farmers was a 19-year-old, a newly-wed]

After days of denial, the Madhya Pradesh government finally admitted that five farmers who lost their lives during agitation in Mandsaur died due to police firing. MP home Minister Bhupendra Singh, who had denied that police opened fire at farmers, on Thursday acknowledged that farmers were indeed killed in police firing.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Monday, June 12, 2017, 20:46 [IST]
Udaipur killers had tried infiltrating BJP to kill its leaders

Ninth ceasefire violation by Pakistan since June 1st; Pak summons Indian envoy

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

Pakistan on Monday summoned Deputy High Commissioner of India JP Singh over alleged cross border firing along the LoC.Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria tweeted: "Indian DHC summoned to FO to condemn LoC violations".

"The deliberate targetting of civilians is indeed condemnable and contrary to human dignity and international human rights and humanitarian laws," he posted.

However, earlier today, Lt Col Manish Mehta, Defence spokesperson, told ANI that Pakistan has been violating ceasefire across the border.

Pakistani forces started firing along the Line of Control in Krishna Ghati sector in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday. Since 1st June, this is 9th ceasefire violation by Pakistan army and the sixth violation in last 72 hours.

Defence spokesperson, told ANI, 'Pakistan violated ceasefire at two places today [Monday] KG sector and Nowshera. The befitting reply being given by Indian army.'

#WATCH J&K : Nine ceasefire violations by Pakistan since June 1: Visuals from Poonch's KG sector, which is the 6th CFV in the last 72 hours. pic.twitter.com/8UP0zkmpJh  ANI (@ANI_news) June 12, 2017

It may be recalled that in a cross-border terror attack on an army base at Uri 18 Indian soldiers were martyred. Four terrorists attacked the camp close to the headquarter of the 12th Brigade at Uri in Baramulla District.

(With agency inputs)

OneIndia News
Pakistan makes desperate attempts to scale up infiltrations

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

With the Indian Army assuring that it would wipe out terrorists from Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan has upped the ante and is attempting infiltration bids. The Pakistan army has been providing cover fire for terrorists attempting to infiltrate into the Valley.

The Indian Army foiled 13 infiltration bids since Thursday. The Army said multiple infiltration attempts have been foiled near the Line of Control in Machil, Nougam, Uri and Gurez sectors in Jammu and Kashmir. Infiltration attempts typically increase as the snow melts in the high passes of Himalayas. This year, Pakistan has also pushed up firing from across the border, which provides cover fire to terrorists attempting to infiltrate into India.

One terrorist was killed in Gurez sector yesterday, five heavily armed terrorists were killed in Uri sector on Friday. On Thursday, three terrorists were killed in Nougam sector, where a soldier was also killed in the gunbattle. The army said the infiltration was backed by heavy firing from the Pakistani army.

22 infiltration attempts have been foiled this year and 40 terrorists were killed near the Line of Control. The relentless operations, the Army said, have defeated desperate attempts from Pakistan to spread terror in the state during the holy month Ramzan.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Monday, June 12, 2017, 6:00 [IST]
Rahul Gandhi to release commemorative publication of National Herald, mark its comeback

India

oi-Anusha

Eight years after it went into cold storage, Rahul Gandhi will release the commemorative publication of National Herald in Bengaluru on Monday. With this Jawaharlal Nehru's newspaper gets a new lease of life from none other than his great-grandson. Vice President Hamid Ansari will release the publication to mark the 70th year of Independence alongside Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi.

India at a Crossroads: 70 years of Independence will mark the comeback of Nehru's National Herald newspaper. While only a commemorative publication ill be released on Monday, the official launch of the edition and formal print re-launch will be held in New Delhi on June 20. President Pranab Mukherjee is expected to grace the occasion as the Chief Guest. National Herald will be published on a weekly basis from New Delhi a year after it emerged in the Digital form. Seven years after it went out of publication, the web edition 'Nationalherald.com' became functional in 2016. It is being headed by Neelabh Misra as editor.

On Monday Rahul Gandhi will release the commemorative publication of National Herald that was first printed in 1938. It was launched as a daily in the vanguard of the Freedom Movement. The newspaper's comeback comes at a time when Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi are fighting a legal battle over it. While the BJP especially Subramanian Swamy has made allegations of financial mismanagement against the Gandhi family in the National Herald case, the Congress has deemed it vindictive politics and misinformation and distortion of facts.

Oneindia News
Rahul Gandhis last chance: A re-birth or a false dawn

India

oi-Prabhpreet

By Prabhpreet

The cameras tracked every movement that Rahul Gandhi made as he travelled in a car, then on foot, and finally jumped on a bike to reach the spot of protests and meet the farmers that were agitating against the Madhya Pradesh government.

To anyone unfamiliar with the political career of the Congress scion, it would feel that it was a leader who was in touch with the masses and would do anything to hear them out.

But sadly, for those who have followed his work ever since he became an active part of his party's running and came into active public life, know that this is just his latest attempt at grabbing the spotlight and trying to emerge as a serious political contender.

This latest foray into the news though is different than previous such tries. As it comes connected with other political developments and can be clearly marked out as his last chance at being considered a credible leader of not only the grand old party of India but also the country.

The latest attempt

The point of his presence in the BJP ruled state of MP is not an isolated outing, but part of a larger move which can be seen in connection with other moves opposition political parties are trying to make against the Narendra Modi government.

These include efforts of conjuring up some unity among opposition parties, including regional players, for the election of the President set to be held in July this year and Gandhi to be the face of this group. Such an attempt can clearly be seen as an experiment being conducted with the 2019 general elections being kept in mind.

Since the results of state elections held post-2014 have made it certain that a divided opposition will have no chance of even making a dent in chances of the prime minister coming back to power, let alone beating him.

Along with this, the movements in the Congress are also pointing to the eventual and long-awaited move of Gandhi assuming the leadership of the party, both practically and officially, by taking over as its President.

These include the younger generation of leaders close to him like Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia, Sachin Pilot, party's Karnataka in-charge K C Venugopal, Randeep Singh Surjewala among others playing a more prominent role in order to make sure that the old guard of the party is not able to resist the leader's eventual rise in position.

The reasons behind it

The news regarding him taking over the party in an official capacity has been doing the rounds for what seems to be an eternity but have never been materialised.

And this can be seen as an indication of the party high command realising the political reality of the country. After the BJP romped to power three years ago, it was clear that it enjoyed the support and backing of the voters of the country, and the defeats that the Congress would be dealt in different states were an almost obvious eventuality.

Taking over in such a scenario would have meant that all such defeats would have been jotted down under his leadership and would reflect poorly on his political acumen. So the delay is nothing but an attempt to keep his CV clean of such defeats.

In addition to this, the drubbing that was inflicted on his party in the general election, where from being the ruling party it was brought down to a count of merely 44 seats, seems to have influenced the delay.

Along with these, the unwillingness of smaller regional parties to be associated with a weakened Congress, let alone accepting its leadership, till they realised the enormity of the challenge to take on a leader such as Modi alone dawned on them, seems to have made the wait longer.

While these can be seen as the cause of the delay, the timing for the current push can be seen in line with the thinking that the party expects the anti-incumbency factor, that the BJP will most probably suffer from after five years in power, in the next Lok Sabha elections to raise the tally of the Congress. And this would be able to be projected as an improvement under his leadership and shown as his achievement.

Though this may seem odd as even though he may not be official head at the time, it was under his leadership, for all intents and purposes, that defeats till now have occurred. But such is the culture of, and convention in, the Congress where those around him seem to have made him believe that such a plan would not be able to be seen through by the voters.

The chinks in his already weak armour

This type of thinking and such advice from the coterie surrounding him, of those who won't say no to him and so can never be honest, are exactly the reasons that he still has not been able to be seen as a serious leader and an opposition to prime minister Modi.

Advisers, who are not grassroots leaders, with plans such as these and his own mistakes in taking questionable political decisions which make the debate on his political acumen one sided.

But this is not the first time that he can be held guilty of making blunders on the political front which have not only hurt him but also his party.

An example of this can be seen by the first such visible decision which highlighted his political immaturity, when in the last years of the Congress-led UPA's rule when he held a press conference and criticised his party's own government for bringing in a bill and tore a piece of paper symbolising his decision to veto the proposed new law, thus undermining the then administration and its Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, while he was on a plane to attend a meeting with world leaders.

Acts such as these and other similar decisions like his choice to disappear from the public view after previous attempts to make him the face of the opposition, or when his party goes through tough times following electoral defeats, bring to the fore his political naivety.

What makes matters worse for him is not only the dismal state that the Congress finds itself in following a string of defeats in elections, but also the strength of his opponents, the BJP under the leadership of Modi, which unlike the Congress seems to be consolidating its power and support with every election.

And even though the current government for the first time in its tenure is facing open and public criticism, the idea of the Congress under Gandhi's leadership being able to take advantage of such a situation seem slim at best.

Will it work?

And so except for Congress loyalists, all serious political analysts and leaders have little hope of him being able to follow up on his latest actions and really make a dent in the political arena. No matter what the case, this really is Gandhi's last chance to win enough credibility as a genuine political leader and an alternative at the national level.

Especially since the leader seems to have more opponents in his own party than it's rivals, which considers him as their strength. With the leader of the Trinamool Congress and the chief minister of Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, going as far as calling him an asset for Modi.

Given his track record till now, even though he has inherited the oldest and most popular party since independence without having to fight and work for its leadership, the only chance that seems probable for him remain in the 2024 elections, as after that, if not sooner, others in the party and outside would start to ask to replace him, or for his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is considered to be more popular, to step in.

It is said that in politics, perception is reality and the truth is negotiable, but presently Gandhi seems to be losing the battle of both perception and truth. And to be fair to him it's not as if it is that he has not been trying, as can be seen by the latest attempts, but he has not been able to follow up on them, either due to his own lack of perseverance, or the difficulty to continue with the wrong decisions taken, or simply due to being defeated by the ever-growing dominance of his opponents.

And though a sudden change in circumstances and surprises might lead to his popularity shooting up, and he may still be able to make it in his political life. But as things stand now even though the cameras keep on following him where ever he goes, the chance of him being able to attain the levels of success achieved by his great grandfather, grandmother, father and mother would remain impossible if he fails to change the way of his functioning, in what is almost certain to be his last chance.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Monday, June 12, 2017, 14:00 [IST]
"Sadak ka goonda" remark on Army chief wrong, says Rahul Gandhi

India

oi-Anusha

"No politician should pass comments on the Army chief. There is no need to speak or pass remarks on the man who heads the Indian Army," said Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi. Condemning his party man Sandeep Dikshit for his remarks on General Bipin Rawat, Rahul Gandhi said it was wrong on his part to do so.

"I was told by someone that a Congress leader has said something against the Army chief and I believe that the leader was wrong in doing so," Rahul Gandhi said. Former Congress MP Sandeep Dikshit had, on Sunday likened Army Chief Bipin Rawat to a "goon on the street". His remarks had stirred a controversy with him as well as the party receiving backlash.

Despite the BJP seeking an apology from the Congress and its president Sonia Gandhi, the AICC had distanced itself from Dixit's statements. Under severe fire, Dikshit retracted his remarks and apologised through a tweet. "Ours is not a mafia Army like Pakistani army which makes statements like goons on the street. It looks bad when our Army chief gives a statement like a 'sadak ka goonda', Dikshit had said.

Speaking to the extended core committee members of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress in Bengaluru, Rahul Gandhi condemned Dikshit's remarks.

OneIndia News
Three down in three days: Congress loses yet another MLA to BJP in Gujarat

Sonia Gandhi should apologise over Dixit's goonda comments: BJP

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, June 12: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday demanded an apology from Congress President Sonia Gandhi over the remarks of party leader Sandeep Dikshit, who described Army chief Bipin Rawat as a sadak ka gunda.

"The Congress party consistently questions the integrity of the Indian Army to shame and demoralise the Indian Army," Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said at a press conference in Delhi.

"'Sadak ka gunda'? Is that the language a senior politician uses against our Army chief?" she asked.

The BJP leader also said that she wondered if there was a strategy of the Congress to "undermine the Indian Army".

"Sonia Gandhi should come out and apologise for the remarks made against the Indian Army by Congress leaders," Sitharaman said.

The Commerce Minister's remarks came a day after Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit stoked a controversy with his description of Army chief General Rawat as a 'sadak ka gunda', leading to outrage.

However, Dikshit soon offered apology. But he came under attack from the BJP, which asked the Congress to take action against the former MP.

Taking a dig at Dikshit, Sitharaman said the Congress allows its well known faces to just "go haywire" and does not bother coming out clean on whether its approach is to respect the Indian Army.

Saying that the BJP was shocked over Dikshit's remark, Sitharaman added: "Even when he withdrew the comments that he had made, there is no sense of apology. He sticks to his position, there is no correction about the attitude with which he has spoken."

IANS
Two leaves row: Minister reaches EC office with four truckloads of affidavits

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

There were a whopping 3,10,000 affidavits taken in four trucks to the office of the Election Commission. Tamil Nadu Law Minister CV Shanmugham reached the Election Commission office on Monday morning to stake claim to the AIADMK's 'two-leaf' symbol as merger talks broke down between the rival party factions.

The affidavits reportedly contain signatures of party cadre declaring support for Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palanisami. He said that the EC had told them to submit these documents. He also said that around 123 MLAs are with the EPS camp.

The visit to the EC comes a day after former chief minister O Panneerselvam, dissolved a seven-member panel set up to hold merger talks with EPS. We dissolved the committee because the merger failed. We didn't want to be part of the drama that the EPS camp created. We have the support of the party cadre. We will bag the two leaves symbol he also said.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Monday, June 12, 2017, 14:28 [IST]
Uri attack: NIA sends Letter Rogatory to Pakistan

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The National Investigation Agency has sent a Letter Rogatory (LR) to Pakistan, seeking its response on seizures made following the Uri attack. On September 18 2016, terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba had attacked an Army camp and killed 19 soldiers. The NIA which has made little progress in the case has sent a formal request to Pakistan to cooperate with the probe.

The NIA team has made several visits to Uri, but has failed to make any major advance in the probe. The NIA has sent out details of the probe to Pakistan and asked it to cooperate with the probe.

The NIA has shared details of medicines, clothes, shoes, accessories and DNA of one of the terrorists, identified as Abu Anas. Though the Army initially suspected the attack to be handiwork of Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists, there was a turn around after Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JUD) chief Hafiz Sayeed organised funeral prayers in absentia for one of the Uri attackers. The event was postponed after massive pressure from India raising the matter in international platform. The event was organised by LeT's parent organisation JUD in Gujranwala of Punjab, Pakistan, according to posters widely circulated on social media.

The LR was sent because India does not have a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty with Pakistan. The Ministry of Home Affairs approved the LR to seek assistance from Pakistan in the probe. NIA officials however say that they do not expect any cooperation from Pakistan in this regard.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Monday, June 12, 2017, 6:20 [IST]
6.3-magnitude quake rocks Turkey, Greek islands, 10 injured

International

pti-PTI

Athens, Jun 12: At least 10 people were hurt when a strong 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck the Aegean coast of western Turkey and the Greek islands of Lesbos and Chios on Monday, Greece's ERT state TV reported.

The broadcaster said ten people were injured in the village of Vrisa on the island of Lesbos, where a number of old homes collapsed.

"Dozens of homes have collapsed and village roads are blocked," regional fire service supervisor Marios Apostolides told ERT.

"We are trying to disengage a woman trapped in debris" in Vrisa, he said, adding that this area was hit hardest by the quake. The US Geological Survey said the epicentre of the quake was in the Aegean sea 11 kilometres south of Plomari, a village on the southern coast of Lesbos, and there were several aftershocks.

Plomari Mayor Manolis Armenakas told ERT that, "We have damage to several buildings, old and new. We are now evaluating the damage."

Reports said the quake was also strongly felt in the Karaburun district of Turkey's Izmir Province, as well as in Athens, Greece. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties in Turkey. AFP reporters in Izmir, Turkey's third-largest city, said the earthquake was felt in the city centre and caused alarm among residents.

Turkey and Greece sit on significant fault lines and have regularly been hit by earthquakes in recent years. This year alone, Turkey's western Aegean coast was hit by several earthquakes of up to 5.5 magnitude, which brought back memories of past deadly earthquakes.

On August 17, 1999, a huge earthquake measuring more than 7.0 magnitude near the city of Izmit devastated vast zones in the country's densely populated northwestern zone, notably around Istanbul, killing over 17,000 people.

PTI
Iran sends five planes with vegetables to Qatar

International

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

In a bid to reach out, Iran has sent five planes of vegetables to Qatar which has been boycotted by several Gulf countries. So far five planes carrying... vegetables have been sent to Qatar, each carrying around 90 tonnes of cargo, while another plane will be sent on Sunday," Iran Air spokesman Shahrokh Noushabadi said.

We will continue deliveries as long as there is demand" from Qatar, Noushabadi added, without mentioning if these deliveries were exports or aid, AFP reported.

Three ships loaded with 350 tonnes of fruit and vegetables were also set to leave an Iranian port for Qatar, the Tasnim news agency quoted a local official as saying.

The port of Dayyer is Iran's closest port to Qatar.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, plus Egypt and Yemen, had announced last week that they were cutting all ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting extremism. Iran has urged Qatar and neighbouring Gulf countries to engage in dialogue to resolve their dispute.

The Islamic republic has also opened its airspace to about 100 more Qatari flights a day, after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates banned Qatari planes from their airspace.

OneIndia News
Puerto Rico votes for US statehood, but to little avail

International

oi-Prabhpreet

By Prabhpreet

To be or not be seemed to be the question that Puerto Ricans were trying to answer. But instead of being a matter of life and death, it seems to be one of what kind of existence that they see for themselves.

The residents of smaller islands that along with the main island of Puerto Rico form an archipelago in the Carribean, are trying to make clear whether they want to maintain the status-quo when it comes to their relationship with the US or to become a part of it like any other of its state.

Puerto Rico is not an independent country and has been a US territory since 1898 after the country acquired the island from Spain following the Spanish-American War.

On Sunday, they voted on their choice, for the fifth time in 50 years as a part of a plebiscite, on whether to become the 51st state of the United States or not.

The vote and the conditions surrounding it though seem to be less than ideal when it comes to making a vote of this kind. As on top of the vote is non-binding, it has witnessed a mass boycott from major political parties, which lead to the voter turnout to be extremely low.

As according to the latest reports, the turnout was at 23 per cent, with 97 per cent of those who voted, doing so in favour of full statehood as a part of the US. These numbers though mean little as it is not binding on the US Congress, which is the decision-making body on the issue.

Following the four previous votes on the issue, the latest one saw Puerto Ricans choose from the three options of statehood, independence and remaining a territory. In the last such vote held in 2012, the island had voted in favour for statehood but the results were not taken into account and no action based on it was initiated. And so it continues to be a colonial territory of the US.

The current vote though comes in very different circumstances as compared to the previous such attempts as Puerto Rico is currently in the midst of a recession and finds itself in a debt of more than 120 billion dollars which include those accumulated by public sector companies and money owed to pension funds.

The US through laws enacted allows a governor for the territory to be elected and the current Governor, Ricardo Rossello while campaigning for his election had promised a referendum in the event of his win. He has argued that the if statehood is achieved, it would help the attempts of Puerto Rico to handle its debt crisis.

But other parties such as the Popular Democratic Party and the Puerto Rican Independence Party have supported the choice of continuing with the current territory status or of complete independence respectively. But no matter how the vote would have turned out the chance of the Congress acting on it, remain slim at best.

According to BBC, such a decision may be due to two factors. The first being that the US Congress, which has a majority of Republicans would not want to admit a voter constituency which favours its opponent, the Democratic Party. And secondly, the US would also have to, in all probability, spend considerable resources in order to start the debt-ridden economy of the island.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Monday, June 12, 2017, 16:46 [IST]
US prosecutor Bharara fired after refusing unusual calls from Trump

International

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

Washington, June 12: Preet Bharara, a former leading federal prosecutor in New York has revealed that he was sacked by Donald Trump after receiving several unusual phone calls from him.

Bahara, in an interview to ABC News said that "he felt the calls from Trump had crossed the usual boundary separating the executive branch and independent criminal investigators. And, hence he refused to take a third call and thus he was fired off from the post."

The officer said that it appeared Trump had been trying to cultivate some kind of relationship after they met in late 2016. However, the White House did not immediately respond to Bharara's comments.

Bharara, who served as the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan was appointed by former US president Obama.

"The number of times I would have been expected to be called by the president of the United States would be zero because there has to be some kind of arm's-length relationship given the jurisdiction that various people had." BBC reports.

The interview came days after testimony before the US Senate from James Comey, the former head of the FBI fired by Trump in May, who said that Trump had asked for assurances that he would be loyal at a dinner just after his inauguration.

Trump took his harshest shot yet against his former F.B.I. director, calling him cowardly and vowing to find out if he had leaked any more sensitive information.

"I believe the James Comey leaks will be far more prevalent than anyone ever thought possible," Trump tweeted.

Comey said during his testimony that he asked a friend to release contents of the memos he'd written about his conversations with the president to a reporter.

OneIndia News
OK! Magazine 10 Nov 2022

Tiffany Trump and longtime boyfriend Michael Boulos are set to tie the knot at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on Saturday.
 2008-2022 One News Page Ltd.

All rights reserved.

One News is a registered trademark

of One News Page Ltd.
The meet will take place on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Indonesia.
Spread the love

Nigeria has deepened its search for a new coach for the Super Eagles. The President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick, revealed in Lagos that he held consultation with Jose Mourinho of Portugal, former Chelsea Coach, and Arsene Wenger of France, former Arsenal coach for Nigerian Super Eagles.

Pinnick promised that the NFF will hire a coach that is hungry and ready for the challenge of handling the Super Eagles. The NFF relieved Gernot Rohr of his appointment after a series of poor performances.

According to Pinnick: I also spoke with Arsene. Arsene is our technical director at FIFA. I had an interface with him about some of these coaches. And of course [we spoke to] Mourinho. I am not going to tell you that we did not speak to Mourinho.

These are some of the best coaches in the world. And there is nothing wrong with it because he [Wenger] is equally concerned just the way we are.

Pinnick added that the NFF also contacted a former Real Madrid Assistant Coach and FC Porto Head Coach, Jose Peseiro; Serbian Mladen Krstajic. He maintained that the Federation will adhere to the stipulated process of hiring a new manager for the Super Eagles.

Pinnick stated: The emphasis on the new coach is discipline. We will look at his antecedents on discipline.

Secondly, we will also look at how hungry he is to win trophies because if they are hungry, it supersedes so many things and if he wants to win, he will instill discipline.

We will look at all these things but I cannot make a pronouncement emphatically because I will be undermining my executive committee.

So, until my executive committee comes out within the next week or so to say this is the name because the technical committee has to bring their presentation to the executive committee. It is going to be a seamless movement to the current team headed by Eguavoen.
 JFIF ` ` Exif MM * ; Ji X  >  Cyclofoss 48    66  66    2021:12:27 13:59:13 2021:12:27 13:59:13 C y c l o f o s s 4 8 http://ns.adobe.com/xap/1.0/ 2021-12-27T13:59:13.655 Cyclofoss 48  C '!%"."%()+,+ /3/*2'*+* C *************************************************** *"    } !1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz   w !1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ? |1M0
Benedicte Gravrand, Opalesque Geneva:

Joe Rotter's market neutral event driven hedge fund, run under Neuberger Berman's umbrella, will close its initial founder's share class to new investors on 1st August, after having garnered about $570m in AuM since its November 2016 launch. The fund already managed $209m in December, said Fortune, which would make it one of the biggest launches that year.

According to a note to investors seen by Opalesque, the Neuberger Berman Principal Strategies Fund's Founders Class has generated a net return of 9.85% YTD (till the end of May) and 11.53% since inception.

Before this, Rotter, a portfolio manager with a legal background, had two stints at Chicago-based mega manager Citadel: he spent more than four years as head of event driven Americas until December 2008, and then nearly three years as head of event driven investments until August 2015, when the firm's founder Ken Griffin decided to close the event driven division. Between the two stints, Rotter co-founded RoundKeep Capital Advisors. The event driven fund peaked at more than $1bn in ear......................

To view our full article Click here
Automated Optical Metrology Market Worth US$ 1.6 Billion by 2022

https://www.marketresearchengine.com/automated-optical-metrology-market

https://www.marketresearchengine.com/

The Global Automated Optical Metrology Market is segmented on the lines of its product type, application and regional. Based on product type segmentation it covers video measuring machines, coordinate measuring machines and laser scanners. Application segment is classified into automotive, industrial, consumer electronics, medical and aerospace & defense.Browse Full Report @:How Big is the Global Automated Optical Metrology Market?The Global Automated Optical Metrology Market is expected to exceed more than US$ 1.6 billion by 2022 and will grow at a CAGR of more than 7.5% 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 KLA Tencor Corporation (U.S.), ASML Holding NV (Netherlands), Hexagon Metrology, Inc. (Sweden), Nikon Metrology NV (Belgium) and Steinbichler Optotechnik GmbH (Germany) among others. Company profile includes assign such as company summary, financial summary, business strategy and planning, SWOT analysis and current developments.Global Automated Optical Metrology 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 Executive Summary3 Automated Optical Metrology Market Overview4 Global Automated Optical Metrology Market: By Product5 Global Automated Optical Metrology Market: By Application6 Global Automated Optical Metrology Market by Geography7 Company Profiles7.1 KLA Tencor Corporation7.2 ASML Holding NV7.3 Hexagon Metrology, Inc.7.4 Nikon Metrology NV7.5 Steinbichler Optotechnik GmbHAbout 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: +1-855-984-1862Country: United StatesWebsite:Address: 3422 SW 15 Street, Suite #8942, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442, United States
Global Dry Ice Blasting Equipment Market 2017 - Karcher, Aquila Triventek, IceTech, Phoenix, CryoSnow

http://www.fiormarkets.com/report-detail/32730/request-sample

https://goo.gl/koiA2i

www.fiormarkets.com

www.9dimenreports.com

www.universalmarketresearch.com

Global Dry Ice Blasting Equipment Market 2017, presents a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Dry Ice Blasting Equipment market globally, providing basic overview of Dry Ice Blasting Equipment market including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure, Dry Ice Blasting Equipment Market report provides development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures. Dry Ice Blasting Equipment market size, share and end users are analyzed as well as segment markets by types, applications and companies.Get Free Report Sample @Supported by comprehensive primary as well as secondary research, the report Global Dry Ice Blasting Equipment Industry 2017 presents profitable market insights. This market research report has deployed suggestions from numerous industry experts and also presents valuable recommendations from expert and experienced market analysts.The report incorporates restraints, market drivers, opportunities, challenges, investment potential, future roadmap, new innovations, vendor profiles, market trends, and strategies. The report also details market size forecasts for the global Dry Ice Blasting Equipment market. Additionally, further forecasts have been presented pertaining to the dominant segments of the Dry Ice Blasting Equipment market. The report is deployed along with numerous graphs, charts, and graphics for a better and vivid understanding of the market data.To add on, the report answers some key questions, which are as follows:What are the drivers impacting the market growth of the Dry Ice Blasting Equipment market?What will be the estimated Dry Ice Blasting Equipment market size and the CAGR at which the market will expand, by the end of the forecast horizon?Which geographical segments (regions) as well as sub-areas will expand at the most elevated rate during the forecast horizon?What are the primary strategies adopted by the emerging organizations in the Dry Ice Blasting Equipment market?How will the market dynamics be shaped by the end of the forecasting horizon?Access Full Report With TOC @A detailed evaluation of the leading vendors in the Dry Ice Blasting Equipment market is delivered and a description of how these top companies are focusing at the emerging markets around the world is conferred through this report. In addition to this, recent strategic mergers, partnerships, collaborations, and acquisitions taking place in the global Dry Ice Blasting Equipment market have been incorporated in this report.A section demonstrating the key recommendations for established players and new entrants is also exhibited in this study. Strategic recommendations from senior analysts provide a clear perspective with regard to the key strategies to be adopted to get the most benefit from entering the Dry Ice Blasting Equipment market.ABOUT USFior 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:Blog:
Global High Speed Tablet Press Market 2017 - Fette, Korch, IMA Pharma, Bosch-Manesty, GEA-Country

http://www.fiormarkets.com/report-detail/32654/request-sample

https://goo.gl/6MlLhY

www.fiormarkets.com

www.9dimenreports.com

www.universalmarketresearch.com

Global High Speed Tablet Press Market 2017, presents a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the High Speed Tablet Press market globally, providing basic overview of High Speed Tablet Press market including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure, High Speed Tablet Press Market report provides development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures. High Speed Tablet Press market size, share and end users are analyzed as well as segment markets by types, applications and companies.Get Free Report Sample @The report published on the High Speed Tablet Press market titled High Speed Tablet Press provides an analytical view of the High Speed Tablet Press industrys performance in the global scenario. In a detailed chapter-wise format, the study evaluates the numerous aspects corresponding to the global High Speed Tablet Press market. To begin with, the market definition, applications, classification, and industry value chain structure is included in the report, to update stakeholders on incumbent market dynamics. Development trends exhibited by the High Speed Tablet Press market globally are analyzed in conjunction with studying in detail the competitive landscape of the market and the development status as demonstrated by key geographic regions.As the report progresses, it discusses the development plans and policies pertaining to the manufacturing process and cost structures followed by the High Speed Tablet Press market as well as the leading players. Figures relating to export and import consumption, cost margins, demand and supply, and gross revenue margin are also mentioned in the report.Presenting a detailed industry chain analysis, the report encompasses information pertaining to equipment, upstream raw material value chain, supply chain network, downstream client survey, and development trends specific to the global High Speed Tablet Press market. Based on the key findings sourced from primary and secondary research, the report segments the High Speed Tablet Press market in terms of products, applications, and key geographic regions.Access Full Report With TOC @Using time-trusted analytical tools such as SWOT analysis and Porters five forces analysis, the report evaluates the information sourced to gauge market penetration, get a clear picture of the consumer demographics, study the incumbent trends in the High Speed Tablet Press market, and analyze how the same would impact the industrys future course of action. Drawing reference to the historical database, the report evaluates the growth demonstrated by the High Speed Tablet Press market in the last couple of years and estimates the growth trajectory of the market during the forecast period. A detailed segmentation evaluation of the High Speed Tablet Press market has been provided in the report. Detailed information about the key segments of the market and their growth prospects are available in the report. The detailed analysis of their sub-segments is also available in the report. The revenue forecasts and volume shares along with market estimates are available in the report.ABOUT USFior 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:Blog:
Elderly and Disabled Assistive Devices Market to surpass US$ 26.0 Billion by 2024

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/82

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-discount/82

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com

Elderly and Disabled Assistive Devices  Evolving from Luxury to NecessityAssistive devices and technologies minimize individuals dependence on others and helps improve quality of life. Devices such as wheelchairs, visual aids, hearings aids, and specialized computer software and hardware system aids in enhancing hearing, vision, mobility, or communication of the elderly and disabled people. According to an article published in the Assistive Technology Blog (ATB) in September 2016, there are approximately 7.7 million new cases of dementia reported each year. The number of people suffering from dementia is expected to increase to 135.5 million by 2050. Devices such as clocks and reminders, fall detectors, activity monitors, intercom, and computer aids assist patients suffering from dementia.The global elderly and disabled assistive devices market was valued at US$ 14,109.1 million in 2015 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 7.4% during the forecast period (2016  2024).Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Increasing aging population supporting growth of the elderly and disabled assistive devices marketGeriatric population people aged 65 years and above, is expected to increase from 8.5% of the global population in 2015 to 12% in 2030, as per the report An Aging World: 2015 by the U.S. Census Bureau. Asia and Latin America are the primary regions which are expected to experience rapidly aging population. The elderly and disabled assistive devices market is analyzed to have large market potential especially in Asia and Latin America.Initiatives of government and independent agencies favorably shaping the elderly and disabled assistive devices market scenarioOnly 5%15% of the population in low and middle-income countries, who are in need of elderly and disabled assistive devices, have access to them, as per stats released by the World Health Organization (WHO). Therefore, WHO along with its collaborating centers is working towards improving accessibility of elderly and disabled assistive devices to better cater to the patient population. Few of this initiatives include:Organizing regional and country workshops, meetings, and seminarsCreating a database on availability of appropriate assistive devices and technologiesDeveloping normative guidelinesProviding assistance for development of national policies and programs on assistive devices and technologies with a focus on human resource developmentFurthermore, on the basis of discussion in the 66th World Health Assembly, held in 2013, WHO prepared a comprehensive global disability action plan for 2014  2021. Under this plan, WHO intends to improve access to health services and programs, extend rehabilitation, habilitation, assistive technology, assistance and support services, and support research on disability and related services. Such global initiatives are indirectly promoting adoption of assistive devices and are encouraging manufacturers to develop innovative elderly and disabled assistive devices.Get Discount For First Time Buyers@Regional players are intensifying the competition in the global elderly and disabled assistive devices marketThe global elderly and disabled assistive devices market is extensively competitive attributed mainly to the entry of regional players offering low-cost products. This is influencing leading players such as Sonova Holding AG to increase their global presence through organic and inorganic strategies. Sonova Holding AG acquired AudioNova in September 2016, a Netherlands-based hearing aid manufacturer. This acquisition helped Sonova to strengthen its presence in Europe, by doubling the existing number of retails stores. Sonova Holding AG is implementing a vertically integrated business model by offering customized solutions to individual customers by expanding the number of retail stores. Similarly, other market leaders are anticipated to cement their distribution channels to capitalize on the global elderly and disabled assistive devices market potential.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email:sales@coherentmarketinsights.comWebsite:
Global Custom LASIK Surgery Market, By Procedure (Wavefront Guided, Wavefront Optimized, Topography), Therapeutic Applications (Myopia, Hyperopia, Astigmatism, Others), and Geography - Trends, Analysis and Forecast till 2024

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/86

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-discount/86

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com

Custom LASIK Surgery  Alternative to EyewearLASIK surgery is a highly effective method to correct vision and is especially useful in treatment of various refractive disorders such as myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. In the U.S. alone, over 34 million patients are suffering from myopia according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology 2016 estimates. Moreover, around 150 million people in the U.S. wear corrective eyeglasses. Custom LASIK surgery market revenue is expected to witness upward trajectory growth, owing to increase in demand for effective therapeutic treatment for disorders related to the eyes.Introduction of technologically advanced products and long-term partnership of leading players with regional hospitals are key trends observed in the custom LASIK surgery market. There are over 1,050 LASIK centers catering to around 650,000 patients annually in the U.S. Companies such as Abbott Medical Optics and Alcon offer wavefront guided LASIK products. Government institutes in developed regions are supporting custom LASIK surgery procedure. As a result of this, several programs such as BlueCross Blue Shield QualSight program have been launched to offer support to product development and subsidies on the LASIK surgery.The global custom LASIK surgery market size was valued at US$ 1,537.6 million in 2016 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 9.7% during 2016  2024.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Wavefront guided has emerged as the highest revenue contributor among procedure segmentsWavefront guided procedure segment is expected to dominate the custom LASIK surgery market procedure throughout the forecast period. The segment has been estimated to account for 45.8% share of the global custom LASIK surgery market revenue in 2016. This procedure involves detailed wavefront generated measurements of light traversing through the eyes. The procedure helps in offering personalized treatment to patients based on the unique anatomy of the patients eye. It is highly precise and more specific compared to conventional LASIK surgery.WaveScan System CustomVue LASIK (Abbott Medical Optics), Technolas 217z Zyoptix System for Personalized Vision Correction (Bausch + Lomb) and iDesign Advanced CustomVue LASIK System (Abbott Medical Optics) are some of the FDA-approved wavefront guided custom LASIK systems.WaveLight Allegretto Wave Eye-Q Excimer Laser System (Alcon) is a FDA approved wavefront-optimized LASIK systems.Topography-guided LASIK systems have gained significant traction in the last few years. Contoura Vision with the WaveLight Allegretto Wave Eye-Q Excimer Laser System is one such example of FDA approved topography-guided LASIK system.Rapid increase in demand for custom LASIK surgery procedure in the emerging economies to boost market growthNorth America, followed by Europe accounted for major share of global custom LASIK surgery market revenue in 2016. These two regions are together estimated to account for 65.1% of overall market revenue. However, the market for LASIK surgery procedure in Asia Pacific is projected to surpass that in in Europe by 2019. The primary factor for market growth in Asia Pacific is increased installations of LASIK systems in eye-care facilities in Japan. Japan is projected to account for 51% share of the custom Asia Pacific LASIK surgery market in 2017. Increasing patient awareness, high disposable income and improvement in the healthcare infrastructure has resulted in rise in number of LASIK surgeries and in turn, is resulting in growth of the custom LASIK surgery market in the country.Get Discount For First Time Buyers@Multinational players need to tap into potential addressable market in emerging economiesProduct portfolio expansion and partnerships with local players are key custom LASIK surgery market trends, which are expected to shape the industry in the near future. Moreover, companies are focusing on receiving regulatory approval for their products to differentiate their product offerings. For instance, Abbott received FDA approval for iDesign Advanced WaveScan Studio in 2015. Major players in the global custom LASIK surgery market include Alcon Laboratories, Inc., Bausch & Lomb, Carl Zeiss, Inc., Abbott Medical Optics, Nidek, Inc., and Technolas Perfect Vision GmbH.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email:sales@coherentmarketinsights.comWebsite:
Turmeric Oleoresin Market - Global Industry Insights, Trends, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 2016-2024

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-discount/338

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/338

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/turmeric-oleoresin-market-338

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/

http://globalresearchtrends.blogspot.in/

Turmeric oleoresin is obtained by the extraction of roots of Curcuma longa Linn, processed with volatile solvents such as methanol, ethanol, and isopropanol, etc. It is typically a spice oleoresin that mainly constitutes of 15% to 20% of curcumin, obtained from the ground rhizomes of turmeric. Turmeric oleoresin is available in yellow to dark red-brown paste, lumps, powder or liquid form. It finds significant application in the food industry as a flavoring agent. Owing to its soluble characteristics, turmeric oleoresin finds high usage as a food additive in various cuisines across the globe. Countries such as India, China and Brazil are the major manufacturing hubs for turmeric oleoresin and thus, are the market leaders. CMI predicts the global turmeric oleoresin market to grow at a healthy growth rate owing to shifting consumer preference towards use of natural oleoresins.To Get Discount On This Report:A key driver propelling growth of the global turmeric oleoresin market is the usage of oleoresin in margarine and dry mixes. Turmeric oleoresin available in dry powder form allows for easy mixing as compared to conventional oleoresins and thus, finds increasing application in instant mix food products such as soups, beverages, and ready meal. Owing to the ability of turmeric oleoresin to enhance the stability and facilitate the application in food products is also expected to drive growth of the global market. Furthermore, turmeric oleoresin is expected to witness an escalating demand in the future due to its longer shelf-life and acts as an economical substitute for ground spices. With advancements in easy storage and transportation facilities the market of turmeric oleoresin is set to grow significantly in the future. Furthermore, global market is expected to witness a healthy growth rate during the forecast period owing to improving government taxation schemes and incentives across the world. For instance, countries such as Indonesia, Myanmar and Vietnam are offering Export Processing Zones (EPZ) space to manufacturers and a 5 -10 year tax holiday to attract the companies operating in the global turmeric oleoresin market.Turmeric Oleoresin Market TaxonomyBy FormOn the basis of form, the global market is classified as:PowderPasteOilLumpsBy End-use IndustryOn the basis of application, the global market is classified as:PharmaceuticalsPersonal Care & CosmeticsFood & BeveragesTurmeric oleoresin finds wide application as a natural colorant in a variety of food and beverage products such as salad dressings, pickles, beverages, cereals, bakery products, and dairy products. Among all the end-use industries, the food & beverages segment is expected to occupy the major share of the global turmeric oleoresin market both in terms of value and volume in the near future. Consumption of turmeric oleoresin in the pharmaceuticals industry is forecast to witness highest growth rate over the forecast period, owing to its increasing use in preparation of drugs that are used in treatment of cancer, back pain, and other health problems. Turmeric oleoresin is also highly preferred in the personal care & cosmetics industry in applications such as lotions, creams, and dyes.Request Sample of Turmeric Oleoresin Market:Turmeric Oleoresin Market Outlook - Asia Pacific to continue to be the key growth engine for global marketRegion-wise, the global turmeric oleoresin market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa. Asia Pacific is expected to retain its dominance in the global market throughout the forecast period, owing to the growing markets for turmeric oleoresin in countries such as India, China, and Brazil. India currently accounts for over 65% share of the total oleoresin and spice oils production globally. However, recent trends show a shifting focus towards other major oleoresin and spice producing countries such as China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. This is mainly due to availability of raw material at lower price tags, low manufacturing costs and favourable taxation scenario in these regions.Some of the key players identified in the global turmeric oleoresin industry are Ungerer & Company, Vidya Herbs Pvt. Ltd., Nikita Extracts, Kancor Ingredients Ltd., Universal Oleoresins, Ozone Naturals, Naturite Agro Products Ltd., Synthite Industries, Ltd. Asian Oleoresin Company and Indo-World etc. These players are expected to focus on enhancing their product portfolio with a view to expanding their business and gain a competitive advantage in the global turmeric oleoresin market.Check The Trending Report of:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comWebsite:Visit Blog :
Global Anion Exchange Resin Market 2017 - Purolite, Thermax, The DOW Chemical, Lanxess, Purolite

http://www.fiormarkets.com/report-detail/48611/request-sample

https://goo.gl/d4OkI8

www.fiormarkets.com

www.albaniantimes.com

Anion exchange resin is a positively charged synthetic particle that can freely exchange associated anions based on differences in the selectivities of the anions. Also referred to as anion resin.Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Anion Exchange Resin 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.Request For Sample Report @Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversThe DOW ChemicalLanxessMitsubishi ChemicalPuroliteThermaxIon Exchange (India)ResintechNovasepSamyangJiangsu Suqing Water Treatment EngineeringMarket 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, coversStrong Base Anion ResinWeak Base Anion ResinAccess Full Report With TOC @Market Segment by Applications, can be divided intoWater TreatmentPharmaceuticalFood IndustryOtherThere are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Anion Exchange Resin market.Chapter 1, to describe Anion Exchange Resin Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Anion Exchange Resin, with sales, revenue, and price of Anion Exchange Resin, 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 Anion Exchange Resin, 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, Anion Exchange Resin market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Anion Exchange Resin 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 ManagerOffice-108, Sanskriti AspirationsBaner Road, Pune,MH 411045IndiaPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog:
Liquid Silicone Rubber Market - Global Industry Insights, Trends, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 20162024

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-discount/346

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/346

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/

http://globalresearchtrends.blogspot.in/

Silicone rubber is defined as an elastomer of silicone that also contains hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen. Silicone rubber is available as one or two-part polymers and comprises fillers to improve properties and reduce costs. Silicone rubber is stable, non-reactive, and resistant to extreme environments and temperatures. It can be used in a wide range of products, including food storage products, textiles, footwear, electronics, and medical devices, among others. This is mainly attributed to its advantageous properties and ease of manufacturing. One of the major factors driving growth of liquid silicone rubber market is increasing demand for electronics. Silicon rubber finds wide application in the healthcare industry and thus, rampant growth of this sector across the globe is further fueling demand for liquid silicone rubber. However, stringent regulations pertaining to use of liquid silicone rubber in medical devices is expected to hamper growth of liquid silicone rubber industry over the forecast period (20162024). Therefore, the liquid silicone rubber market is expected to witness moderate growth in terms of revenue over the forecast period.To Get Discount On This Report:Rising aging population to drive growth of liquid silicone rubber marketThe growing healthcare industry and increasing aging population are expected to be major factors driving demand for liquid silicone rubber in the near future. Demand for liquid silicone rubber is also expected to augment due to burgeoning growth of the electronics sector. Furthermore, automotive sector is also projected to contribute to increase in demand for liquid silicone rubber over the forecast period. Stringent regulations pertaining to specifications of using liquid silicone rubber in medical devices is expected to be one of the major restraining factors for growth of liquid silicone rubber market. Demand for transparent liquid silicone rubber in optical applications is expected to increase, thus creating lucrative opportunity for manufacturers in terms of revenue.Healthcare sector to contribute major share in the liquid silicone rubber marketThe global market can be segmented on the basis of application into the following:Automotive components and partsMedical devicesHome appliancesConsumer goodsCosmeticsOthersThe global market can be segmented on the basis of end use industry into the following:Automotive and aerospaceHealthcareElectrical and electronicsPersonal careBuilding and constructionOthersThe global market can be categorized on the basis of region into the following:North AmericaLatin AmericaEuropeAsia PacificAfricaMiddle EastRegional OutlookNorth America was the largest market for liquid silicone rubber in 2015. This is mainly attributed to growing population and rampant growth of the healthcare industry in the region. Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing region in the global liquid silicone rubber market over the forecast period. Growth of the market in the region is mainly attributed to increasing demand from economies such as India, China, and Indonesia. Markets in Latin America and Europe are also expected to gain traction in the near future due to growth of associated industries in these regions.Competitive AnalysisSome of the major players identified in the value chain of global liquid silicone rubber market are Wacker Chemie AG, Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd, DOW Corning, KCC Corporation, Momentive Performance Materials Inc., Bluestar Silicones (Elkem Group), Simtec Silicone Parts, LLC, Zhejiang Xinan Chemical Industrial Group Co., Ltd., and Reiss Manufacturing Inc., among others.Request Sample of Liquid Silicone Rubber Market:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comWebsite:Visit Blog :
Non-invasive Pain Management Devices Market - Global Industry Insights, Trends, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 20162024

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/106

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com

Non-invasive pain management is a procedure used to control pain caused by illness or injury. Increasing incidence of cancer and rising number of trauma cases worldwide leads to increasing demand to manage pain associated with it. As per statistics released by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2014, trauma accounts for 41 million visits to the emergency ward each year in the U.S. Pain management is broadly classified as non-invasive non-drug pain management, non-invasive pharmacologic pain management, and invasive pain management. Noninvasive non drug pain management process includes specific exercise, manual techniques involving force techniques to the affected area, behavioral modification including cognitive therapy, superficial heating and cooling of skin, and use of electrotherapy devices..Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Global Non-invasive pain management devices Market TaxonomyThe global non-invasive pain management devices market is classified on the basis of following segments.Product Type:Electrical Stimulation DevicesTranscutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) DevicesNeuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES/EMS) DevicesTrigeminal Nerve Stimulation (TNS)Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)Combination DevicesOthersApplication Type:Neuropathic PainCancer PainFacial & Migraine PainMusculoskeletal PainTraumaEnd Users:HospitalsSpecialized ClinicsAmbulatory Surgical CentersLong-term care centersOthersThe advantage of non-invasive pain management is that it considers the body holistically, focuses on long-term solutions to cure the root causes and tries to foster the self-healing process of body.Major Noninvasive pain management devices in the market: Orbasone Pain Relief System (Orthometrix, Inc), Medio UniSono eco (Iskra Medical), Medio MULTI eco (Iskra Medical), ActivBody, Apostherapy (Sportsmed), VitalStim Plus (DJO Global) etc.Supportive Government Initiatives: A much needed impetus for Non-invasive pain management devices market growthDeveloped economies such as the U.S., U.K. and Germany experience high rate of adoption due to better healthcare facilities and easy availability in these countries. As per the report of the American academy of pain medicine, every year over 100 million people suffer from chronic pain, 25.8 million from diabetes, 16.3 million from coronary heart disease, and 11.9 million from cancer in the U.S. This number is expected to further increase in the near future. The increasing geriatric population, rising prevalence of spinal cord injuries and multiple sclerosis, and growing number of trauma cases is expected to boost growth of global noninvasive pain management device. Increasing funding initiatives by various government and non-governmental organizations such as National Institutes of Health (NIH) such as Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) aimed to better understand the human brain and harness the same for various therapeutic applications, including effective pain management, is expected to create a conducive environment for market growth. This initiative encourages collaboration of neurologists and scientists to accelerate development and application of various technologies. In March 2016, the national pain strategy was released by the office of the assistant secretary for health at the U.S. department of health and human services, which includes benefits for people suffering from chronic pain, which in turn is expected to be responsible for decline in prevalence of pain in pediatric and geriatric population, this is further projected to provide impetus to the non-invasive pain management devices market.Growing focus on development of drug-free treatment optionsCompanies are focusing on launching new devices to the market with advanced features and technology to differentiate their products from those of competitors. In July 2016, Bayer launched Aleve Direct Therapy TENS Devicea safe, drug free and pain relief device meant for professional use. The device is used to provide temporary relief from pain associated with sore and aching muscles. The non-invasive pain management devices market is projected to witness robust growth due to increasing chronic pain cases as projected by the WHO in 2015, that around 20% of the adult population in Europe suffered from chronic pain and around 16% population of the U.S. suffered from chronic and severe pain. Furthermore, increasing government initiatives such as that by Australian government in 2005, after approval of the multidisciplinary faculty of pain medicine to achieve better pain management facilities in the country for patients suffering from cancer is expected to fuel growth of the global non-invasive pain management market.Highly fragmented market with significant growth opportunities still on offerThe global non-invasive pain management devices market is highly fragmented, owing to the participation of many established and emerging players. Companies are inclined towards introducing new user-friendly applications to diagnose various symptoms of chronic pain. For example, Pfizer Inc. is focusing on efforts to build a mobile application to detect chronic pain and is expected to launch the version in 2017. Furthermore, major players involved in the non-invasive pain management devices market are Iskra Medical d.o.o, ActivLife Technologies Pty Ltd, Chattanooga International, Zynex Medical, I-Tech Medical Division, and MediHighTec.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email:sales@coherentmarketinsights.comWebsite:
Global Brake Fluid Market 2017 - Fuchs, CCI, Bendix, DATEX, Repsol, Morris, Bosch, Gulf, ATE

http://www.fiormarkets.com/report-detail/48614/request-sample

https://goo.gl/RMPLBA

www.fiormarkets.com

www.albaniantimes.com

"Brake fluid is a type of hydraulic fluid used in hydraulic brake and hydraulic clutch applications in automotive, motorcycles, light trucks, Agriculture Vehicles, off highway, motorsport, etc. It is used to transfer force into pressure, and to amplify braking force.The function of brake fluid is to provide an incompressible medium to transmit the drivers foot pressure on the brake pedal through the master cylinders to the calipers in order to clamp the friction material against the discs. The foot pressure is multiplied by the mechanical pedal ratio and the hydraulic ratio of the master cylinders, booster and caliper pistons."Request For Sample Report @Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Brake Fluid 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 coversDowBASFBPExxon MobilTotalValvolineShellChevronFuchsCCIBendixDATEXRepsolMorrisBoschGulfATEMotulMarket 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, coversDOT 3DOT 4DOT 5DOT 5.1Access Full Report With TOC @Market Segment by Applications, can be divided intoPassenger VehicleCommercial VehicleOthersThere are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Brake Fluid market.Chapter 1, to describe Brake Fluid Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Brake Fluid, with sales, revenue, and price of Brake Fluid, 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 Brake Fluid, 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, Brake Fluid market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Brake Fluid 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 ManagerOffice-108, Sanskriti AspirationsBaner Road, Pune,MH 411045IndiaPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog:
Radial Head Resection Implants Market - Global Industry Insights, Trends, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 20162024

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/110

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com

Elbow is a complex joint and a crucial part for forearm function. It has a unique anatomy comprising limited ball-and-socket joint and a hinge type of synovial joint, which allows for hand movement and control. Though radial head fractures are usually not too complicated in nature, various devices and radial head resection implants are available in the market that help address any issues related to the same. Products used in radial head resection are approved and are widely used by orthopedic surgeon and few of the techniques are under section of limited study. However, there are couple of medical procedures that are executed in case of radial head fractures such as closed reduction with casting or early motion and open reduction with internal fixation or resection in which radial head resection implants are mainly used. According to National Center for Biotechnology Information, radial head fractures are common worldwide with around 2.5 to 2.8 per 10,000 of incidence per year. Also, due to the patient benefits in terms of no deformity and regaining normal functionality after a relatively short period following the surgery, the radial head resection therapy is gaining wide acceptance across the globe. The use of radial head resection implants are strictly recommended by the orthopedic surgeon by looking at the severity of type III and type IV fractures.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Global Radial Head Resection Implants Market TaxonomyThe global radial head resection market is classified on the basis of following segments:Product Type:StandardReconLateralFracture Type:Type IIIType IVMaterialTitaniumSiliconeEnd User:Orthopedic and Trauma CentersHospitalsOrthopedic ClinicsSignificantly accepted radial head implants: CO5 Series (IMECO), Solar (Striker), RHS (Tornier), Evolve (Wright), Explor (Biomet), etc.Limited data available regarding the upper extremity limb discrepancy under radial head resection implants market:Although the location of the fracture is very crucial in the upper extremity, data regarding the same is limited, which shortens the horizon for market growth in the radial head resection implants segment. However, rise in awareness among the population about consequences of limb deformity if not treated using appropriate implant is projected to support growth of the radial implants market. Furthermore, the concern is more on the altering length of the limb. However, lower extremity is more susceptible in terms of limb-length discrepancies, including abnormal body posture and various other problems. Deformity is a common phenomenon in upper limb fractures as compared to the limb length discrepancies. Furthermore, studies related to radial head fractures further highlight the importance of the radial head resection by the help of prosthesis and implants. Some such studies are short- to medium-term outcomes of radial head replacement Arthroplasty in posttraumatic unstable elbows mentioned in Chang Gung Med Journal in 2010 and resection of the radial head after mason type-III fractures of the elbow mentioned in The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery published in 1998.Rising incidence of radial head fractures in geriatric population supporting radial head resection implants market growthWeakening of bones is a continuous process with the progression of age, which is further catalyzed by inappropriate healthcare infrastructure and unhealthy lifestyle, especially in emerging economies. Most economies are not balanced with either of the above mentioned criteria. For instance, most economies with a sound healthcare infrastructure have an unhealthy lifestyle and vice versa. In 2015, according to the Department of Orthopedic and Trauma Surgery, University of Freiburg Medical Centre, Freiburg, Germany, the radial head fractures contributes to around 4% of all types of fractures, and within all elbow fractures the radial fractures constitutes to around 30%. It is also diagnosed in around 75% of all proximal lower-arm fractures, securing an incidence of around 25 to 30 cases per 100,000 patients among the adult population. Rapidly aging population in the U.S., Japan, and China are projected position these as major markets for radial head resection in the near future. Incidence rate of radial head resection is especially high among people aged above 44 years.Highly consolidated radial head resection implants market with high growth potentialThe global radial head resection implants market is less fragmented as major players account for major share of the market. High entry barriers and stringent regulations such as Medical Device Amendments of 1976 requires mandatory FDA approval to obtain reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness before marketing may hamper the entry of new players as only the well-established players can focus and invest on improving their existing radial head resection implants products, which further brings accuracy in the device. Furthermore, in 2013, there was a product recall for DePuy Synthes Companies, a Johnson & Johnson Company. The reason for recall as cited by the manufacturer was loosening trial head from the implant stem during manipulation of the arm during surgery. However, this incidence has not adversely impacted demand for radial head resection implants. However, it highlights the important checkpoints during production that need to be considered by market players in order to ensure sustainable growth. Major players involved in the radial head resection implants market include Biomet, Inc., Wright Medical Technology, Inc., Smith & Nephew Plc, and Stryker.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email:sales@coherentmarketinsights.comWebsite:
Gynecological Examination Chairs Market - Global Industry Insights, Trends, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 2016-2024

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/114

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com

Gynecological examination chair is a chair used to seat the patient so as to aid unobstructed detection of gynecological related issues. These chairs have various features such as adjustable backrest, foamy, seamless, and adjustable seat. Advancements in technology and increasing spending on healthcare is favoring the adoption rate of novel products that can provide better assistance for the examiner. The designing efforts such as modifications in the previous products from manually adjustable rests and seats to automatically adjusting heights and inclination through wireless foot-controlled pedals are providing ease for gynecological examination. This new concept and modifications ensures the patients convenience and work-effectiveness. The rise in vaginal infections such as vaginitis, vaginal cancer, and vulvar cancer is expected to favor the growth in gynecological examination chairs market.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Gynecological Examination Chairs Market Segmentation:The Global market has been segmented on the basis of product type and end user:Type of gynecological examination chair:Electric gynecological examination chairNon-electric gynecological examination chairHydraulic gynecological examination chairEnd user of gynecological examination chair:HospitalsMaternity hospitalsDiagnostic centersMaternity clinicsAcute care centersElectric gynecological examination chairs offer various beneficial properties such as wide electromotive adjustment range, adjustment up to shock position, memory control, where examination positions may be stored and called up if requested and thus, are preferred over non-electric gynecological examination chairs. This is expected to be in favor for the growth of gynecological examination chairs industry in the near future.Increasing incidence of gynecological diseases supporting market growth:Increasing incidence of gynecological diseases in women is one of the largest factor fueling global market growth. For instance, in 2015, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the prevalence of bacterial vaginosis in the U.S. was around 20cmillion in women between the age of 14 and 49. Also, rise in number of pregnancy cases worldwide, in turn increases need for gynecological examination chair, which ultimately is expected to positively affect the gynecological examination chairs market in the near future. According to CDC/National Center for Health Statistics, data published in 2015, number of births in the U.S.is around 4 million. Also, increase in awareness among women regarding the gynecological problems such as ovarian cancer, vaginal cancer, pregnancy related complications and issues is projected to fuel the market for gynecological examination chairs industry. Though vaginal and vulvar cancers are rare, due to large population pool it accounts for high volume. While all women are at risk of these cancers, its incidence rate is relatively low. In 2015, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), vaginal and vulvar types of cancers collectively accounted for 6 to 7% of all the gynecologic cancers diagnosed in the U.S. Obesity is another cause for gynecological cancers, such as endometrial cancer, ovarian cancer, and breast cancer. Obesity modifies the hormonal system in female body, which can result in unwanted growth of cells and formation of tumor. According to WHO, in 2014, around 40% of women were overweight. This statistic is expected to favor the market in the near future. However, pitfalls such as less awareness of the various gynecological disease and poor healthcare infrastructure in less developed countries such as India and KSA is expected to impede market growth for gynecological examination chairs in the near future.New and advanced gynecological examination chair:ATMOS Chair 41 Gyne (ATMOS MedizinTechnik GmbH & Co. KG), MUS4000 V GYN (medifa-hesse GmbH & Co. KG), DH-S104A gynecological examination chair, among others are some of the advanced gynecological chairs in the market. These chairs offer various advanced features such as fully flexible in height with any inclination in any position, these chairs can be quickly and gently moved into an anatomically optimum examination position at the touch of a button. Also, he advancement in technology and design is projected to support the gynecological examination chairs market.Key Market PlayersMajor players involved in the market of gynecological examination chairs include Moelis & Company, Wanrooe Medical, ATMOS MedizinTechnik GmbH & Co. KG, Medifa-hesse GmbH & Co. KG, Inmoclinc S A, Oakworks Medicals, Malvestio Spa, Harbin Howell Medical Apparatus and Instrument Co Ltd, Favero Heath Projects, and Combed, Mediwatch, TECNODENT S.R.L. Majorly players in this segment are doing their bit in every section such as increase in product portfolio, shortening of delivery time, offering services in a reasonable time and value, finances are given to the buyer to promote the product. According to Niall Dyer, Managing Director Plinth 2000, around 80% of their product sales are coming from personal recommendation and repeat business. This effective strategy will favor the adoption rate of the product, which in turn is expected to favor the gynecological examination chairs market over the forecast period.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email:sales@coherentmarketinsights.comWebsite:
High Performance Polyamides Market - Global Industry Insights, Trends, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 2016-2024

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-discount/350

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/350

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/high-performance-polyamides-market-350

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/

http://globalresearchtrends.blogspot.in/

High performance polyamides (HPPA) have the ability to withstand extreme conditions such as heavy moisture, continuous exposure to heat and chemicals. Also, HPPAs offer improved dimensional stability as compared to conventional polyamides such as PA 6 and PA66, owing to the low moisture absorption property. Gradually bridging the performance and cost gap between the engineering polyamides and other high performance polymers, HPPAs find extensive use in electronics, automobiles, medical and various other demanding applications. Coherent Market Insights projected the market for high performance polyamides to grow at a healthy rate over the forecast period (2016-2024).To Get Discount On This Report:The global high performance polyamides market is driven by the escalating demand for high performance polyamides in the pharmaceuticals industry, due to its exceptional properties such as high chemical resistance, rigidity, impact resistance, high temperature resistance, impermeability, light weight and high tensile strength. The automotive industry is witnessing increasing demand for HPPA as a result of increasing lightweighting of vehicles characterized by rapid shift towards lighter non-metal components. Furthermore, demand for specialty polyamides is spurred by development of unconventional oil & gas technologies. However, difficulty in processing of HPPAs along with factors such as high cost of HPPAs as compared to other conventional polymers and high threat of substitution from composites and hybrid polymers are expected to hamper market growth in the near future.High Performance Polyamides: Market TaxonomyBy Product TypeOn the basis of product type, the global market is segmented into:Polyamide 11 (PA 11)Polyamide (PA 12)Polyamide 9T (PA 9T)Polyacrylamide (PARA)Polyphthalamide (PPA )Polyamide 46 (PA 46)By End-user IndustryOn the basis of end-user industry, the global ]market is segregated into:AutomotivePharmaceuticalsElectrical & ElectronicsIndustrialOthers (Textile, Oil & Gas, etc.)Among all the available types of high performance polyamides, the PA 11 type accounted for the largest share of the market in 2015 and the trend is expected to continue over the forecast period, owing to its cost-effectiveness and easy availability. Moreover, PA 11 finds a variety of applications in automotive, sports, oil & gas, and textile industry. Among end-user industries, the automotive segment accounted for the major share of the global high performance polyamides market in 2015, owing to the rising adoption of these polyamides in coolant systems, engine components, induction systems, and manufacturing of fuel systems. However, the pharmaceuticals industry is projected to witness fastest growth in the global market over the forecast period due to the rising adoption of HPPAs in various applications.Request Sample of High Performance Polyamides Market:High Performance Polyamides Market Outlook- Asia-Pacific is expected to be the top investment destination for key market playersRegion-wise, the global high performance polyamides market is classified into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa. Asia Pacific region currently dominates the global high performance polyamides industry, both in terms of value and volume, owing to the growing demand from various end-user industries such as pharmaceuticals, automotive, and electrical & electronics from countries such as China and India. Also, the large presence of major manufacturers in the region drives growth of the market for high performance polyamides in the Asia-Pacific region.The key players identified in the global high performance polyamides market are BASF SE, Kuraray Co., Ltd., Royal DSM N.V., Evonik Industries AG, E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company, Solvay S.A., SABIC, Arkema SA, Lanxess AG, EMS Grivory and Mitsui Chemicals. Others players present in the market are EMS-Chemie Holding AG, Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc., Toyobo Co., Ltd., Zhejiang NHU Co., Ltd., and Ube Industries, Ltd.Key players in the global high performance polyamides market are currently focused on strategic investments and expansion strategies to enhance their production capabilities. For instance, in September 2016, Arkema SA expanded its existing specialty polyamides production capacity in China and U.S., through an investment of US$ 10.6 million. Furthermore, in February 2016, Evonik Industries AG announced plans to build a new plant in Germany for production of polyamide 12 powder under the brand name Vestosint.Check The Trending Report of High Performance Polyamides Market:About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comWebsite:Visit Blog :
Dermal Regeneration Template Market - Global Industry Insights, Trends, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 20162024

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/118

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com

Dermal Regeneration Template Market Overview:Dermal regeneration template is a two-layered skin regeneration system. The outer layer of dermal regeneration template is made of thin silicone film act as the epidermis of skin. The outer layer of dermal regeneration template helps in protecting wound from infection and controls in loss of both heat and moisture. The outer collagen Glycosaminoglycan (GAG) thermal layer functions as a biodegradable template that helps in regeneration of dermal tissue neodermis by the body. The inner layer of dermal regeneration template is made of complex matrix of cross-linked fibers. The porous material of the template helps in regeneration of skin. The cross-linked fiber material of dermal regeneration template acts a scaffold for the re-growth of skin layer. Once the dermal skin layer is regenerated the outer layer of template is removed and is replaced with a thin epidermal skin graft. This procedure leaves the wound to a flexible, growing and allows permanent regeneration of skin. It allows faster healing of wound with minimum scarring. Using dermal regeneration template allows immediate wound closure without risking any loss of donor material. In 2005, Integra LifeSciences received FDA approval for its INTEGRA Dermal Regeneration Template as a treatment for life-threatening burn injuries and reconstructive surgery for the repair of scars when other therapies fail. Recently, In January 2016, Integra LifeSciences received FDA approval for treatment of Chronic Diabetic Foot Ulcers (DFU) with dermal regeneration template. The application of this template is typically completed in two operative sessions involving the product applied to the excision sites and the second procedure performed 3 to 6 weeks after the placement of product to remove silicone layer and for an epidermal autograft applied to the neodermis.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Global Dermal Regeneration Template Market TaxonomyThe global market is classified on the basis of following segments:Indication Type:Burn InjuriesChronic Diabetic Foot UlcersTrauma InjuriesOthersEnd Users:HospitalAmbulatory Surgical CentersEmergency Care UnitsOthersFuture Market Outlook for Dermal Regeneration Template MarketThe global dermal regeneration template market is expected to witness significant growth due to increase in incidence of burn injuries and prevalence of diabetes globally. As per the report of WHO in 2016, burns result in around 265,000 deaths every year. Low income and middle income countries contribute majority to the total number of burns every year. In India alone, over 1,000,000 people suffer from moderate to severe burns each year. In Bangladesh, Egypt, Columbia and Pakistan, around 17% of children with burn have temporary disability where as 18% have permanent disability. The increasing cases of burns and awareness among the population of low and middle income countries provides opportunity for dermal regeneration template industry. The growing concern with burning cases and governments initiatives to grow awareness among patients related to burn treatment through campaigns and national burn Awareness week to act as a fuel to the growth of dermal regeneration template market. In 2010, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services initiated medical countermeasures (MCMs) program, aimed to improve burn treatment for mass causality. The increasing research fund and grants associated for burn research is creating opportunity for dermal regeneration template manufacturers to come up with products with more innovations. American burn association (ABA) is one of such organization of the U.S. that offers awards, grants and fellowship opportunities to practitioners for education, prevention and rehabilitation of burn. The growing usage of skin grafts and skin replacement substitutes are expected to act as a restrain to the global dermal regeneration market. Dermal regeneration template usage in chemical, radiation or electrical burns are limited and can only be used after thorough evaluation by surgeon. The product can be only used in excision therapy and are contraindicated for infectional wounds. Their limitation for incision use and usage in chemical and radiation is expected to hamper the overall growth. North America, Europe and Asia Pacific contribute major revenue to the overall market. Asia Pacific is expected to grow with high CAGR as compared to other region.Market PlayerThe global dermal regeneration template market has only one FDA approved product from Integra LifeScience. The growing research related to innovation in material and design is expected to penetrate many companies in the market. In 2016, a research funded by Welcome Trust described a novel approach to increase the thickness of elastic- layered fiber for geriatric patients and created a hybrid of Integra dermal regeneration template.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email:sales@coherentmarketinsights.comWebsite:
Thin Insulation Market - Global Industry Insights, Trends, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 20162024

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-discount/363

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/363

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/thin-insulation-market-363

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/

http://globalresearchtrends.blogspot.in/

Market OverviewInsulation materials are generally thick in size to provide better insulation. However, in some cases the available space for application of insulation material is limited. In such cases, thin insulation materials are utilized. Insulation materials can be made in different sizes and forms. Materials such as plastic, metals, fiberglass, aerogels, silica, and others are exclusively utilized to manufacture thin insulation materials. The thickness of these thin insulation materials is not greater than 20 mm. Thin insulation is applied in various industries including automobile, construction, and others. Thin insulation materials provide insulation from heat, noise, current, and other factors as well as takes up very little place as compared to other thick insulation materials.To Get Discount On This Report:Global Thin Insulation Market TaxonomyThe global Thin Insulation market is classified on the basis of the following segments:Product TypeCoatingsFoamsVacuum insulation panelsFoilsSheets & filmsOthersApplicationThermal packagingWires & cablesBuilding thermal insulationPipe coatingsAutomotiveOthersMaterial TypeAutomobile industryHealthcare industryFirearm industryElectronics industryPower tools industryOther industriesPrevalent Scenario in Thin Insulation MarketIncreasing industrial activities and industrial applications are driving the demand for thin insulation across the globe. Increasing demand for durable and compact products is also expected to boost the demand for these thin insulation materials. End user industries such as automobile and buildings and construction utilize thin insulation materials in a large scale. Buildings use thin insulation materials for thermal insulation from outside forces. In automotive industry, thin insulation assists in heat and noise insulation. Thin insulation also contributes in improving braking performance of the vehicle. These factors are driving the demand for thin insulation materials in these industries. Oil & gas industry also utilized tin insulation material in various machinery and equipment. Currently, Asia Pacific is the leading market for thin insulation. Countries such as China, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, and Taiwan among others drive thin insulation market in this region. China is the dominant player in this market not only in Asia pacific but also globally. The demand for thin insulation in China is growing due to increasing industrial production and specialized equipment and machinery production. In Europe, thin insulation market is dominated by Germany and France among others. Germany is one of the leading markets for thin insulation owing to presence of major automobile manufacturers in the country. Other high-end industries in the country also contribute to drive the demand for thin insulation in Germany.Request Sample of Thin Insulation Market:Future Outlook of Thin Insulation MarketNorth America has limited share of the global thin insulation market. However, North America is expected to generate huge demand for thin insulation during the forecast period owing to growing demand in shale gas equipment, hydraulic fracturing equipment, and other high-end industries. In Asia Pacific, India is expected to create bog opportunities for market owing to increasing demand from automotive and construction industry. China is expected to remain the leading market for thin insulation during the forecast period. Other countries in Asia Pacific such as Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, and Taiwan with large scale industrial output are also expected to drive the demand for thin insulation in the region during the forecast period. Middle East & Africa has witnessed steady rise in industrial activities. Increasing activities in the oil & gas industry in the region are expected to drive the demand for thin insulation during the forecast period. Latin America is also expected to witness increase in demand for thin insulation owing to increasing production in automobile and construction industries.Market Driven By R&DThe global thin insulation market is driven by research and development and new product development by leading companies. Companies are implementing various strategies to introduce new products with better insulation and less thickness. Companies are striving to bring in new materials for thin insulation. Some of the major companies operating in the global thin insulation industry include Cabot Corporation, Armacell International S.A., Owens Corning, Dow Chemical Company, Johns Manville, 3M Company, Kingspan Insulation, Actis Insulation Ltd., ContiTech AG, Xtratherm, BASF Polyurethanes GmbH., Celotax Saint Gobain, Rockwool Group, BNZ Materials, Inc., and Huntsman Corporation among others.Check The Trending Report ofAbout Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comWebsite:Visit Blog :
Polymer Coated Fabrics Market - Global Industry Insights, Trends, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 20172025

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-discount/390

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/390

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/polymer-coated-fabrics-market-390

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/

http://globalresearchtrends.blogspot.in/

Polymer coated fabrics are textile materials treated and glazed various types of polymers such as acrylics, polyvinyl chloride, aramids, latex and others to improve and enhance the mechanical properties such as elasticity, elongation, fiber strength, and wear resistance to the textile. The demand for polymer coatings is always high due to its ability to contribute towards abrasion resistance, and prevention of dust, gas or liquid penetration. The polymer coatings depend on the application needed for a particular fabric. For instance, the fabric required for military tents needs to be of high tear strength, high ductility, and flame resistant. In such cases the fabric is coated with a neoprene to enhance and improve the fabric abrasion. Depending on the application type, the fabrics are coated with one or more layers of polymer.To Get Discount On This Report:Polymer coated fabrics are commonly known as technical textiles and has vast applications across industries including automobile, aerospace, military and others. The polymer coated fabric finds a significant application such as industrial, protective coatings, transportation, seating, and others. The continuous increase in demand for high performance quality materials is the major factor driving the growth for global polymer coated fabrics market.The physical properties required for air bag fabric installed in cars need an appropriate blend of tear strength and abrasion attributes which stimulates the growth of polymer coatings.Owing to its attributes such as its ability to provide water resistance, longevity, ductility, abrasion resistance, polymer coatings market witness a high demand and is expected to grow even during the forecast period. Other factors, contributing to the growth of global polymers coating market include easy processing methods, easy availability of various polymers, low-cost of polymers especially polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride and polyamide.However, polymer coatings, in spite of its versatile benefits, also pose few restraints to its market growth. One of the major restraints concern toxicity. Polymers are non-recyclable and hence when polymer coating residues are burnt, or disposed of, it results into toxic emissions which can cause serious harm such as air-pollution, and choking to the environment as well as human beings.Request Sample of Polymer Coated Fabrics Market:Polymer Coated Fabrics Market TaxonomyBy Polymer TypeOn the basis of polymer type, global market is segmented into:-ThermoplasticPVCPVDCAcrylicsPVAPUAramidsOthersLatexRubberNaturalSyntheticBy Material TypeOn the basis of textile material type, global market is segmented into:-KnittedWovenNon-WovenBy ApplicationOn the basis of application, global market is segmented into:-Protective ClothingTransportationIndustrialFurniture & SeatingOthersBy End Use IndustriesOn the basis of end use industry, global market is segmented into:-AutomobileAerospaceMarineChemical ProcessingMilitaryOthersAmong the application areas, transportation holds a dominant share in the global polymer coated fabrics market owing to the significant increase in the usage of polymer coated fabrics in industries such as the automobile, railways, aircraft, and marine. Polymer coated fabrics are mainly used in the transportation application areas to provide high quality physical properties such as dirt & oil-repellent, rot-proof, water resistant, mildew resistant, and UV resistant.Among the type of polymer coatings, Vinyl coated fabrics have the maximum usage in the textile industry, thereby boosting up the growth of global polymer coated fabrics market. Owing to the low-cost, easy availability, availability of wide range of colors, and easy weldability, PVC coatings are the mostly used polymer coatings.Market Outlook- Asia Pacific is expected to be the most lucrative region for the key players operating in the global Polymer Coated Fabrics marketBased on the regional segmentation, the global polymers coated fabrics market is distributed into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. Asia Pacific accounts for a leading share in the global polymer coated fabrics market. Factors promoting its growth in Asia Pacific region include increasing population, increased rate of industrialization and urbanization along with booming automobile industry. Countries such as India and China accounted for a significant increase in the automobile production in 2016 as compared to 2015, wherein Indian accounted for 4.5 million in 2016 against 4.2 million in 2015 and China accounted for 28.1 million as compared to 24.5 million in 2015. The increase in the automobile production in India and China resulted in the demand for polymer coated fabrics for automobile interiors, thereby pushing up the growth of polymer coated fabrics industry.Major players operating in the global polymer coatings market include Continental AG, Saint Gobain SA, Sioen Industries, Spradling International Inc., Takata Corporation, Colmant Coated Fabrics, Serge Ferrari Group, Trelleborg AB, SRF Limited, Seaman Corporation and others.Check The Trending Report of Polymer Coated Fabrics Market:About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comWebsite:Visit Blog :
Telerain, Horizon Gateway sign direct Connectivity agreement to benefit Philippines Call Centers

TELERAIN INC

Telerain Inc and Horizon Gateway have established direct connect in Telerain Inc United States Data center to provide their customers a better Voice services.Connecting Horizon with the same platform that hosts software application and voice provides more reliable and better voice to our Philippines-based customers that are connected to Horizons internet commented Rajeev Agarwal, CEO of Telerain, Inc. Establishing direct connectivity with Internet service providers in Philippines gives us edge to achieve better Qos, lowest network latency, low jitters, and best voice quality.Varun Bansal, VP Sales for Horizon Gateway said, With an effective partnership in place, Horizon customers will gain direct access to services hosted by Telerain data centers and vice-versa. We are confident that this agreement will redound to a better experience on VoIP services benefitting customers of both parties and the country as a whole.Horizon Gateway provides wide array of services in Philippines from high speed internet services, Domestic/International Private Leased Line and state of the art data centers in Tokyo, Japan and the Philippines to meet the ever-increasing complexity of the demands of its customers.Premier cloud call center software solutions provider in the Philippines. Designs unified cloud-based communications technology for contact centers14th Floor, IBM Plaza, Street: Eastwood City, Libis, City: Quezon City Country: Philippines Zip/Postal Code: 1110
Global Climatic Test Chambers Market Outlook 2017 : Thermo Scientific, Panasonic, NuAire, Memmert, Caron

Climatic Test Chambers

http://bit.ly/2rfVVcO

http://www.spiremarketresearch.com/global-climatic-test-chambers-sales-market-report-2017/

www.spiremarketresearch.com

Global Climatic Test Chambers Market 2017-2022A market study  Global Climatic Test Chambers Market  examines the performance of the Climatic Test Chambers market 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Climatic Test Chambers market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Climatic Test Chambers market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Climatic Test Chambers Market 2017 report includes Climatic Test Chambers market Revenue, market Share, Climatic Test Chambers industry volume, market Trends, Climatic Test Chambers Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Climatic Test Chambers Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Climatic Test Chambers Market 2017:1. Thermo Scientific2. Eppendorf3. Panasonic4. Binder5. NuAire6. LEEC7. ESCO8. Memmert9. Caron10. Sheldon Manufacturing11. Boxun12. NokiClimatic Test Chambers Market : By TypeType 1Type 2Climatic Test Chambers Market : By ApplicationApplication IApplication IIFirstly, the report covers the top Climatic Test Chambers manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Climatic Test Chambers report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Climatic Test Chambers industry, Climatic Test Chambers industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Climatic Test Chambers Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Climatic Test Chambers 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 Climatic Test Chambers market revenue worldwide.Finally, Climatic Test Chambers 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:"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, USAWebsite:
Global High Temperature Test Equipment Market Outlook 2017 : Solartron Analytical, ASLi Test, Equipment, MTS

High Temperature Test Equipment

http://bit.ly/2rbYAsA

http://www.spiremarketresearch.com/global-high-temperature-test-equipment-sales-market-report-2017/

www.spiremarketresearch.com

Global High Temperature Test Equipment Market 2017-2022A market study  Global High Temperature Test Equipment Market  examines the performance of the High Temperature Test Equipment market 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the High Temperature Test Equipment market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of High Temperature Test Equipment market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global High Temperature Test Equipment Market 2017 report includes High Temperature Test Equipment market Revenue, market Share, High Temperature Test Equipment industry volume, market Trends, High Temperature Test Equipment Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, High Temperature Test Equipment Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global High Temperature Test Equipment Market 2017:1. Solartron Analytical2. IEC Test Equipment3. ASLi Test Equipment4. MTSHigh Temperature Test Equipment Market : By TypeType 1Type 2High Temperature Test Equipment Market : By ApplicationApplication IApplication IIFirstly, the report covers the top High Temperature Test Equipment manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the High Temperature Test Equipment report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of High Temperature Test Equipment industry, High Temperature Test Equipment industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. High Temperature Test Equipment Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The High Temperature Test Equipment 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 High Temperature Test Equipment market revenue worldwide.Finally, High Temperature Test Equipment 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:"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, USAWebsite:
Global Axle & Propeller Shaft Market 2017 - GKN, AAL, NTN, Dana, Nexteer, GNA Enterprises

Axle & Propeller Shaft

http://bit.ly/2siT1c4

http://bit.ly/2siBG33

Global Axle & Propeller Shaft Market Research Report by Type, Manufacturers, Application, Type, and Regions, Forecast till 2022Scope of Axle & Propeller Shaft Market:A market study based on the "Axle & Propeller Shaft Market" across the globe, recently added to the repository of Market Research, is titled Global Axle & Propeller Shaft Market 2017. The research report analyses the historical as well as present performance of the worldwide Axle & Propeller Shaft industry, and makes predictions on the future status of Axle & Propeller Shaft market on the basis of this analysis.Do Request For Sample Report :Top Manufacturers Companies Covered In This Research Report -American Axle & Manufacturing HoldingsGKNAALNTNDanaNexteerGNA EnterprisesSona GroupHyundai-WiaTalbros EngineeringAAM (American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings)Highlights of Global Axle & Propeller Shaft Market reports:The global Axle & Propeller Shaft market 2017 is also analysed on the basis of product pricing, Axle & Propeller Shaft production volume, data regarding demand and Axle & Propeller Shaft supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. Various methodical tool of Axle & Propeller Shaft such as investment returns, feasibility, and market attractiveness analysis has been used in Axle & Propeller Shaft market research to present a comprehensive study of the industry for Axle & Propeller Shaft across the globe.Do Enquiry Before Purchasing Report, Here :Global Axle & Propeller Shaft Market report usually covers 15 Division. They are as follows:Division 1 explore about Axle & Propeller Shaft, product scope, market opportunities, Axle & Propeller Shaft market overview, market risk, Axle & Propeller Shaft market driving force;Division 2 analyzes the top Manufacturers Profiles of Axle & Propeller Shaft , with price, revenue, and sales of Axle & Propeller Shaft, in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, displays the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with shares, revenue and market sales in 2016 and 2017;Division 4, Shows the global Axle & Propeller Shaft market by regions, with revenue, sales and market share of Axle & Propeller Shaft market from 2012 to 2017;Division 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, analyzes the Axle & Propeller Shaft market by region, by manufacturers, by application and by type, with shares, revenue and market sales by key countries in these regions;Division 10 and 11, shows Axle & Propeller Shaft market by type and application, with sales market growth and shares rate by application, type, from 2012 to 2017;Division 10 and 11, shows Axle & Propeller Shaft market by type and application, with sales market share and development rate by type, application, from 2012 to 2017;Division 12, Axle & Propeller Shaft market forecast, by application, type and region, with revenue and sales, from 2017 to 2022;Division 13, 14 and 15, describes Axle & Propeller Shaft sales channel, dealers, traders, distributers, Research Findings and appendix, conclusion and data sourceAbout 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 Security Solutions Market is expected to Reach USD 380 Billion in the Year 2022

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/2481

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/security-solutions-market-2481

Market Highlights:In information technology security can be defined as defense of digital information and IT assets against internal and external and accidental threats. Defense includes detection, prevention and response to threats using policies, software tools and IT services. Security solutions are important for all the enterprises and organizations of all sizes and also in various industries. Weak security can result in to leakage of data or internal threats.The key drivers for the growth of the security solutions market are the increasing need to protect individuals property from the growing threats, growing consumer awareness regarding security concerns, willingness to invest for security systems, increasing demand of wireless technology in security systems and adoption of new advanced security systems. However, low adoption of security solutions by manufacturers is hampering the overall growth of the market.Geographically, North-America accounted for the largest market share for the global security solutions market.Access the market data and market information presented through more than 25 market data tables and 25 figures spread over 100 numbers of pages of the project report Security Solutions Market - Forecast 2022Major Key Players: Honeywell International, Inc. (U.S.) Tyco International Ltd (U.S.) Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Company Limited (India) Bosch Security Systems (Germany) ASSA ABLOY AB (Sweden) Hikvision Digital Technology Co.Lt (China) ADT Corp(U.S.) Nortek Security & Control LLC (U.S.) UTC Fire & Security (U.S.)Sample Copy of Report @Security Solutions MarketAccording to Market Research Future, market has been segmented into product, services, end-users and region.By Product: Entrance control Intruder alarms Wireless systems Thermal cameras Video surveillance Access control Fire ControlBy Services: Remote monitoring services Fire protection services Video surveillance services Access control service Security systems integrationBy End-users: Commercial Industrial Energy & Utility Transportation Retail Banking & finance Education Residential Government Transportation OthersCommercial segment accounted for the largest market share majorly due to increasing adoption of security solution by various organizations.Market Research Future Analysis:The Global Security Solutions Market is expected to grow significantly. The market is highly application basis. Commercial segment of security solutions 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 technological advancements and usage of fire protection systems by all the commercial and residential building structures.Access Report Details @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.ContactAkash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Power Banks Market - Emerging Regions Such As China And India Are Expected To Have Significant Revenue Opportunity During The Forecast Period.

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/power-banks-market.html

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=4105

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

Power banks i.e. external batteries have become popular as the battery life of smartphones, MP3 players, tablets and laptops is beaten by the amount of time people spend using them each day. Batteries of such electronic devices drains in a short period of time thus justifying purpose of power banks.Obtain Report Details @The research report provides a detailed analysis of trends in power banks market. The report also includes extensive analysis of the industry drivers, restraints, opportunities and challenges. The market study provides comprehensive assessment of vendors strategies for succeeding in the business. The report segregates the market based on type of battery, power rating and type of power banks across different geographies, such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle-East and Africa and Latin America. For each of these geographies drivers, restraints and opportunities have been analyzed and have been provided in the report. Different regions analyzed in this report include India, China, Japan, U.S., Oceania (New Zealand and Australia), Scandinavia, EU5 (Italy, Spain, Germany, France, UK), CIS (Russia), Saudi Arabia, Israel, South Africa, UAE, and Brazil among others. The market research study analyzes the power banks market on global level, regional level and country level.The research report estimates power banks market in terms of revenue (US$ billion) and volume (Mn units) for years 2012 and 2013, along with market forecast for the period 2014 to 2022. The detailed value chain analysis helps market players to formulate their business strategies at every stage of their business. Moreover, the market estimates have been analyzed keeping in mind different factors including technological, environmental, economical, legal and social. The detailed distribution channel analysis for global power banks market is provided in the report. The market attractiveness of different types of power banks such as portable power banks, solar power banks and battery cases (phone charging case) elucidates the most attractive segment. This will help players in the ecosystem of power banks to invest in the right opportunity segment for obtaining competitive advantage.Key players have also been profiled on the basis of financial overview, company overview, segmentation, business strategies, and recent developments in the power banks market. Market participants profiled in this report are Hitachi Maxell, Ltd., Limefuel LLC, Xtorm BV, Mophie, Inc., Mipow Limited, EassyAcc.com, Inc., Panasonic Corporation, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Sony Corporation, Apacer Technologies, Inc., GP Batteries International Ltd, and Anker. The research report also explains the leading players in the ecosystem of the global power banks market and china power banks market.Fill The Form For An Exclusive Sample Of This Report @The segments considered within the scope of the report are  based on type of power banks: portable power banks (excluding solar power banks), battery cases (phone charging cases), and solar power banks; based on power ratings: up to 3,000 mAh, 3,001 mAh  8,000 mAh, 8,001 mAh  20,000 mAh and above 20,000 mAh; based on type of battery: lithium-ion and lithium-polymer. Out of these segments, portable power banks with capacity 3,001 mAh  8,000mAh power rating is the most attractive segment. Power banks market growth is mainly driven by growing adoption of smartphone, tablet and laptop users globally. Increasing use of smartphones for various applications is driving the need of external battery and therefore power banks to keep these device operating.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Transparency Market Research90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Digital Forensics Market - Rapid Innovation In Digital Forensic Research In The Future, Digital Forensic Tools Would Find Wide Range of Applications

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/digital-forensics-market.html

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=5588

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

Digital Forensics Market: OverviewAt present, digital forensics technology is employed in civil court and criminal cases and is also utilized in the private sector for carrying on internal investigations. Industrial espionage, cyber-attacks, identity fraud, information security breaches, financial fraud, and a number of other types of illegal activities can be detected by using the technology of digital forensics. The utilization of this technology is on the rise in courts owing to the immense increase in the employment of electronic devices. It is also being highly adopted in private and government company networks due to the increasing count of attacks in different regions globally.This report presents the competitive evaluation along with region-specific evaluation on the global digital forensics market. It identifies the key restraints and drivers in the market along with presenting the definition of the market. The prime factors responsible for altering the market scenarios, the identification of prominent companies impacting the market, and the primary opportunities present in the market have also been review in detail under this study.Obtain Report Details @The study also encapsulates an evaluation and identification of the micro and macro factors impacting the market for digital forensics on both regional and global levels. The competitive landscape section of this study presents the leading market players and presents an evaluation of their top financial information and their strategic interests. A detailed insight on the regions in which the digital forensics market is on the boom also forms a fundamental part of this research report.Digital Forensics Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe growing threats from terrorist and crime attacks and the rising security concerns in numerous industries globally are the top factors providing impetus to the development of the global digital forensics market. In addition, the swift economic development in emerging nations will also bode well for the growth of the overall market. Furthermore, owing to the immense development in technology, the count of mobiles, computers, and other types of electronic devices is predicted to rise, which will further augment the development of the global digital forensics market.The wide application areas such as defense and aerospace, transport, education, and healthcare, among others, of digital forensics technology will also bolster the growth of this market. Furthermore, developments in digital forensic tools have emerged as key opportunities in the market. On the other hand, the rising employment of cloud-based applications and the consistent threat of security may impede the development of the global digital forensics market. The increasing complexity of mobile devices may also work against the development of the global digital forensics market.Digital Forensics Market: Region-wise OutlookOn the basis of geography, the global digital forensics market is segmented into Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, and Rest of the World (RoW). Of these, the North America digital forensics market represented the most significant share of around 53% in the market in terms of revenue. The reason for the superiority of this region is owing to the rising expending on forensic tools in different industries of this region. In addition, this technology is being employed by the FBI and the state police departments in order to prevent illegal activities in various parts of Canada and the U.S.For more information on this report, fill the form @Key players Mentioned in the Report are:The leading players in the global digital forensics market are LogRythm, Inc. (U.S.), Guidance Software, Inc. (U.S.), AccessData Group, Inc. (U.S.), Binary Intelligence (U.S), Paraben Corporation (U.S.), Fireeye Inc. (U.S.), ASR Data (U.S.), Lancope, Inc. (U.S.), Digital Detectives (U.S.), and Global Digital Forensics (U.S.), among others.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Transparency Market Research90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Circuit Breakers and Fuses Market - Installation of New Energy Infrastructure In Emerging Economies Is Expected To Boost The Market

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/circuit-breakers-fuses-market.html

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=2287

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

This market research study analyzes the Circuit breakers and fuses market on a global level and provides estimates in terms of revenue (USD billion) from 2015 to 2021. It gives a comprehensive overview of the circuit breakers and fuses market from all the important strategic perspectives. Region wise the circuit breakers and fuses market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the world (RoW). The current market size and forecast till 2021 is provided in the report.Obtain Report Details @Circuit breakers are electrical switches which operate automatically to protect the electrical circuit from damaging by turning it on/off when faced with overload or short circuit. The basic function of the circuit breaker is to identify any malfunctioning and breakup in the current flow. Whereas fuses are a kind of low resistance resistor which acts as a sacrificial appliance designed to protect the circuit from either load or short circuit. Circuit breakers and fuses are used during construction activities, in automotives, consumer electronics and power industry among others. The growth of industries and construction sector is a key driver for the circuit breakers and fuses market. Construction sectors in developing nations such as India, Brazil, Indonesia and others are witnessing strong growth in demand driven by large spending on housing, water supply, rail transport, roads, airport development and ports. Circuit breakers and fuses are used in residential as well as commercial construction projects. Increased demand in the construction sector has also triggered the demand for circuit breakers and fuses in countries like India, China, Indonesia, and Philippines among others. Part of the increased spending in infrastructure and construction sectors are used to install different circuit breakers and fuse components in commercial and residential projects such as molded case circuit breakers (MCCB), miniature circuit breakers (MCB), gas circuit breakers, air circuit breakers, and protective relays among others. In developing countries like India and China, governments are making long term investment plans (For example, the twelfth five-year plan in India) for industrial infrastructure and construction sectors. Considering these factors, circuit breakers and fuses market is expected to grow during the forecast period.North America followed by Asia Pacific leads the global circuit breaker and fuses market in 2014. The market for circuit breakers and fuses in North America is likely to grow significantly in the future due to rising demand for electricity. Significant investment in transmission grid has suppressed the need of replacing worn out energy infrastructure. Moreover, new power generation sources such as solar and wind would require greater transmission and distribution investment. This would enhance growth opportunities for providers of circuit breakers and fuses in North America. Asia Pacific has witnessed tremendous growth in key end user sectors such as cement, steel, petrochemicals and oil and gas. Growth in these sectors has made the region a key investment area for the circuit breakers and fuses market. Asia Pacific is. In Europe, government has undertaken several initiatives to develop futuristic electricity networks like for example the European Electricity Grid Initiative (EEGI) to accelerate development and innovation of electricity networks across the region. This initiative is estimated to boost the circuit breakers and fuses market in Europe.This report provides strategic analysis of the circuit breakers and fuses market and the growth forecast for the period 2015 to 2021. The report covers competitive analysis of various market segments based on the type of circuit breakers and fuses and by industry applications and in-depth cross sectional analysis of the circuit breakers and fuses market across different geographic segments.Fill The Form For An Exclusive Sample Of This Report @The market share of various key industry players operating in the circuit breakers and fuses market along with their company overview, market presence (by segment and geography), financial overview, business strategies and recent developments are also included in the report. Key players in the circuit breakers and fuses market are ABB Ltd. (Switzerland), Alstom SA. (France), Eaton Corporation (Ireland), G&W Electrics Company (U.S), General Electric Corp. (U.S), Siemens AG (Germany), Schneider Electrics SE (France), Pennsylvania Breaker LLC (U.S.), Toshiba Corporation (Japan), Maxwell Technologies Ltd (U.S.) and Mitsubishi Electric (Japan) among others.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Transparency Market Research90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Embedded System Market - Implementation of Modern Low-Energy Consumption Embedded Systems And Low Performance Controller Applications.

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/embedded-system.html

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=995

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

Embedded systems is a field derived through a combined study of software and hardware. Both aspects come together to create a functional targeting device that possesses the advantages of adaptability, speed, accuracy, reliability, power, and smaller size. Embedded systems possess a wide array of utility in the fields of mobile communication, electronic payment solutions, railways, aeronautics, and automobiles. They can be designed for specific applications in each field and can thus fulfil specialized purposes. The key to utilizing embedded systems comes from mitigating real time calculation constraints, which they can perform exceedingly well. Key application segments of the global embedded systems market can be concisely formulated as applications, microcontroller type, and functionality.Obtain Report Details @The report is a comprehensive analysis of all trends and dynamics that define the global embedded systems market. This includes all key drivers, restraints, and opportunities that players can share in the market over the coming years. These dynamics are correlated to each key trend that is affecting the market today, and has affected it in the recent past. Using these factors, the report gathers a conclusive analysis of the global embedded systems market for the forecast period from 2015 to 2021.Global Embedded Systems Market: Trends and Opportunities:The global embedded systems market is expected to be valued at US$233.19 bn by the end of 2021. This revenue is projected at a CAGR of 6.4% from 2015 to 2021. The primary factor responsible for the current growth pattern in this market is the fast-increasing number of applications for embedded systems in the automotive industry. Cars and other vehicles manufactured currently are being equipped with technologies that are used to perform a large number of real-time functions. In addition to this, the global embedded systems market is also benefitting from the growing use of multi-core technologies across various industry verticals. The consumer electronics industry is also witnessing an influx of embedded systems, especially in the devices that use embedded graphics systems.A large number of highly influential trends for embedded systems players are visible in the fields of telecommunications, aerospace, defense, and healthcare. Each of these fields is making greater usage of embedded systems to perform complex functions with high accuracy. The scope of embedded systems grows even further with the inception of the Internet of things concept. The growing need for smart electronics and connected devices across various industries in the world is giving rise to a heavy demand for efficient embedded systems.The future of the global embedded systems market lies in the low performance controller applications, as well as the creation of low power consumption systems.Fill The Form For An Exclusive Sample Of This Report @Global Embedded Systems Market: Region-wise Outlook:A large chunk of the total revenue obtained by players in the global embedded systems market is expected to come from North America. This region has consistently remained at the top of the consumption charts for embedded systems and is likely to continue showing a high demand for them. Additionally, North America has had a significant head start in the use of embedded systems and holds the presence of a large number of the globally prominent players.Asia Pacific is expected to show a meteoric rise in demand for embedded systems in the coming years. This region contains a large number of industries that are rapidly evolving and showing the need for advanced technologies and systems.Companies Mentioned in the Research Report:The key players in the global embedded systems market include Intel Corporation (U.S.), Microsoft Corporation (U.S.), NXP Semiconductors (Netherlands), Atmel Corporation (U.S.), Renesas Electronics Corporation (Japan), HCL Technologies, Ltd. (India), Infosys, Ltd. (India), Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. (U.S.), Infineon Technologies AG (Germany), and Texas Instruments, Inc. (U.S.)Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Transparency Market Research90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Rice Vinegar Market Research and Projections For 2017-2024

https://www.gminsights.com/request-toc/upcoming/1535

https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/1535

https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/wood-vinegar-market

https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/soy-milk-market

https://www.gminsights.com

https://gminsights.wordpress.com

The research report Rice Vinegar Market Size, Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (U.S., Canada, Germany, UK, France, Italy, Russia, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, UAE, South Africa), Application Development Potential, Price Trends, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2017  2024 by Global Market Insights, Inc. says, Global Rice Vinegar Market size is anticipated to achieve significant gains between 2017 and 2024.Growth of the market is attributed to the health benefits and desired food taste offered by the vinegar with its different types. Its major consumption is in food & beverage industry, and is consumed in small proportion in pharmaceutical industry.Request for an in-depth table of contents for this report @Rice vinegar is extensively used as a cooking ingredient mainly in Asian cuisine. It is added to cold and hot recipes to enhance the flavour of vegetable dishes and meat. It also contains considerable proportion of acetic acid, that helps in boosting digestive system. Acetic acid also helps the body to soak maximum nutrients from the food. This results in increased absorption of vitamins, potassium and calcium from foods, that are beneficial to human health. These advantages offered by the product as a food ingredient is projected to boost rice vinegar market during the forecast period.Rice vinegar is utilized as a food preservative in processed meat and poultry products. It is mild in nature as compared to western vinegar and can therefore be used to maintain food freshness and originality. It is also witnessing an increasing adoption as a preservative for culinary items such as sandwich spreads, salads, sauces, dips and dressing. Escalating demand of packaged food owing to fast paced lifestyle is propelling rice vinegar market for its preservative application.Make an inquiry for buying this report @Brown rice vinegar is consumed substantially in manufacturing antiseptic medicines. It is used in certain native medications as it eliminates detrimental bacteria with its contact and thus can be helpful in treating myriad health conditions. Another Japanese variant of rice vinegar prepared by brown rice fermentation provides protection to human liver from vital diseases such as liver tumours. It also possesses phenolic compounds that protects the body from diseases such as diabetes, osteoporosis, hear diseases and cancer. Mounting rate of these fatal diseases and growing consumer awareness regarding the health benefits of the product is likely to positively influence rice vinegar market in the forecast timeframe.Rice vinegar, with its amino acid content curbs the formation of lactic acid in human blood. Development of lactic acid in human body results in fatigue, irritability and stiffness. Further, amino acid fights with the damaging effect of free radicals which boosts immunity. Thus, rice vinegar intake keeps a person energetic and fresh throughout the day. It is also used as a non-chemical and natural substitute of facial toner. But there are cases registered of some people being allergic to these type of vinegars, this can hinder global rice vinegar market.Based on product type, the market is segmented as red rice vinegar, black rice vinegar, brown rice vinegar, and white rice vinegar. As per the distribution channel, the market is classified as online retailing, grocery stores, specialty stores, convenience stores and hypermarket/ supermarkets. On the basis of end-user industry, the market is divided into food & beverages, pharmaceutical, and healthcare. Various applications of the product include food preservative, facial toner, antiseptic medicines, and food ingredient.North America had witnessed significant growth in global rice vinegar market during last decade owing to increasing food consumption at nearly 5% annually. Canadas specialty food retail sales in 2009 was USD 4.5 million, a 35% increase from 2004 sales. U.S. launched 1500 new specialty food products in 2010 and the market size was estimated at around USD 63 billion. This in turn has given a positive outlook to the market due to consumption of the product as a food ingredient. Europe has a healthy market of frozen meat products such as pork, lamb and beef. Germany is contributing substantially in packed food market and ready to eat food products that uses rice vinegar as a preservative. These factors ensure considerable market share of the region between 2017 and 2024. Middle East & Africa are at a nascent stage in rice vinegar market but flourishing tourism in Dubai is expected to fuel packed food consumption in the country, leading to recognized contribution of the region in global rice vinegar market.Prominent manufacturers in the market include Eden Foods, Inc., PANOS brands, KIKKOMAN SALES USA, INC., Sid Wainer & Sons, Mizkan America, Inc., Lim Siang Huat Pte Ltd, Marukan Vinegar (U.S.A) Inc., Yokoi Vinegar Brewing Co Ltd, Yantai Shinho Enterprise Food Co Ltd, Ningbo Zuo Can Wang Seasoning Co., Ltd.Browse Related Reports:Wood Vinegar Market Size, Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (U.S., Canada, Germany, UK, France, Italy, Russia, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, UAE, South Africa), Application Development Potential, Price Trend, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2017  2024Soy Milk Market Size, Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (U.S., Canada, UK, Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, China, India, Korea, Australia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, South Africa, Brazil, Chile), Application Development Potential, Price Trends, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2017  2024About Global Market InsightsGlobal Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.Contact Us:Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone: 1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email: sales@gminsights.comWeb:Blog:
Japan - Telecoms, Mobile, Innovation In Technology, Broadband And Digital Media - Statistics And Analyses

http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/705099

Japans telecommunications sector is one of the most developed markets in the world. Japans telecoms market is characterised by customers possessing a willingness to adopt new technologies combined with an increasingly sophisticated interest in the wider application of telephone lines.Moving towards 2017 Japans market is served by three multi-service operators offering fixed-line telephony, fixed broadband access, mobile voice telephony, mobile broadband access and pay TV services.Japans fixed line market is dominated by incumbent operator NTT. However with a saturated fixed-line telephone subscriber market (on a per household basis), mobile has emerged as the major force in Japans telecoms market. The emphasis on mobile has allowed new market entrants to enter and grow in the market despite NTTs dominance of the fixed market.The number of broadband lines in Japan has shown stagnant growth in recent years due to the increasing availability and affordability of mobile broadband platforms. This has taken away much of the traffic due to the convenience associated with mobility and the ability to support delivery of popular internet content and applications. Moving into 2017, DSL subscribers continued to decline as customers continue to shift to FttH.Get The Sample Copy Of This Report @Moving into 2018 there were approximately 160 million mobile subscribers in Japan with the majority expected to be accessing services through LTE networks. Japans mobile market place remains an aggressive arena given the mature nature of the market. With few new subscriber acquisition opportunities operators are focused on acquiring subscribers from each other as well as satisfying and retaining existing ones.Japans mobile market is dominated by three major operators  NTT DoCoMo, KDDI and Softbank Mobile, with the established order unlikely to be challenged anytime soon by another infrastructure operator. Compared with the past when voice was the main source of revenue, significant amounts of spectrum are required to offer competitive mobile broadband services at significant scale.Data makes up the majority of ARPU although voice remains an important application. Overall ARPU is declining due to competition as well as Over-The-Top (OTT) product substitution for messaging and voice.Operators are also increasing focus on higher value mobile content and applications to diversify revenue sources away from commoditised access services and also to improve customer retention.There is severe price competition in the Japanese MVNO market, but the growth rate is still high. As such new MVNOs could enter the sector within the next five years.Moving towards 2018 Japan possesses one of the most advanced and largest broadband markets in the world. Much of the success of broadband in Japan is owed to the stunning growth surge that occurred on the back of DSL broadband technology. Since then Japan has focused investment on FttH and on cable to a lesser extent. The faster speeds afforded by these technology platforms has seen both increase in popularity at the expense of DSL, with FttH representing almost two thirds of total fixed broadband subscriptions. Japan has also been an early adopter of triple-play models which provide TV, broadband internet and voice telephony as packaged services from a single provider.Recognising the potential of applying ICT to improve both social and economic development, Japan has taken steps to develop a digital economy. Businesses, governments and private citizens have been instrumental in creating the online content and services that make up the digital economy.Japan possesses a vibrant multichannel pay TV industry with services readily accessible across Japan via cable TV (CATV), satellite, IPTV and Over-the-top (OTT) Video-on-Demand (VoD). Total pay TV subscriptions are steadily growing with penetration household penetration levels lower than that of the UK or USA, indicating room for potential growth.What is interesting to note is that although Japan has the necessary physical infrastructure to support OTT VoD, pure OTT players have not found much success as Japanese broadcasters, as the largest Japanese content producers, have traditionally been reluctant to release content to the OTT players believing it will cannibalize advertising revenue.Key developments:KDDI acquired Japanese fixed broadband provider BIGLOBE.Softbank Telecom partnered with Alibaba Group to co-develop public cloud computing services.NTT Corp announced plans to collaborate on the development of next generation 5G wireless technologiesOperators are focusing CAPEX on LTE, with operators expected to eventually cease investing in 3G;WiFi investments are being made to alleviate 3G/4G network congestion by offloading traffic;NTT DOCOMOs LTE-A networks is being developed to support speeds of up to 1Gbps.Softbank Mobile selected Ericsson to deploy its Radio Dot System in Japan over the next two years to 2019,Continued decline in DSL subscriptions, down to under 10% of the total fixed broadband market;FttX subscriptions comprise the majority of the fixed broadband market;Implementation of strong government policies over a decade see over 90% of households with access to FttX;Strong growth in WiMAXJapans is well positioned to showcase the benefits of e-health given its demography and market characteristics.Companies mentioned in this report:NTT; KDDI; Softbank Mobile, Internet Initiative Japan, eAccess, eMobile; Willcom.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
Analysis And Forecast Of Global Automotive Refinish Coatings Market By Product Type & By Technology During The Period 2016 - 2024

Market Research Report

http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=852898

http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=852898

http://www.researchmoz.us/

http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG

Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Analysis And Forecast Of Global Automotive Refinish Coatings Market By Product Type & By Technology During The Period 2016 - 2024" to its huge collection of research reports.Coatings which are generally used for pre-owned cars for timely repair and maintenance of appearance are called automotive refinish coatings. Automotive refinish coatings are applied to prevent deterioration of vehicle body parts and components from stone chips, rust, and debris. Automotive refinish coatings are used to maintain the durability and appearance of the vehicle. By product type, automotive refinish coatings are segmented into primer, base coat, clear coat, activator, and filler. On the basis of technology, they are segmented into solvent borne coatings and waterborne coatings.The report provides in-depth analysis and forecast of the automotive refinish coatings market on the global as well as regional level. The report includes forecast for the period from 2016 to 2024 in terms of volume (kilo tons) and revenue (US$ Mn). Quantitative data has been derived through extensive secondary research of the global automotive refinish coatings market. Secondary sources typically include company websites, relevant magazines, government documents, and press releases. The top-down approach has been adopted to derive the regional numbers from global revenue and volume figures. Furthermore, the bottom-up approach has been employed to derive data for various source segments based on demand for automotive refinish coatings in each geographic segment. A combination of top-down and bottom-up approaches helps in validation of the quantitative data of the market. The data was further validated with the help of primary research with industry experts to ensure accuracy of derived numbers.Detailed analysis of various factors driving the global automotive refinish coatings market has been included for astute decision making. Impact of these drivers during the forecast period has been included with data to substantiate research findings. Furthermore, factors restraining market growth have been included for better understanding of the market. Impact of these restraints has been analyzed over the forecast period. The report also comprises various opportunities available for market growth over the next eight years. Opportunities entail untapped or recently explored factors that are anticipated to drive the automotive refinish coatings market during the forecast period.The report includes value chain analysis to help understand the industry thoroughly. Value chain analysis comprises detailed evaluation of the roles of various entities involved in the automotive refinish coatings industry, from raw material suppliers to end-users. Various processes employed in the manufacture of automotive refinish coatings have been included in the value chain analysis. Porters Five Forces model has been included to determine the degree of competition in the market during the forecast period. Company market share analysis offers a better understanding of the competitive landscape. Company market share analysis includes the market share of dominant players in 2015, based on their production capacities and other factors. Furthermore, market attractiveness analysis has been conducted to analyze source segments that are expected to be lucrative during the forecast period. This is based on various factors such as market size, growth rate, profitability, raw material procurement, and competition in each source segment.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Based on product type, the automotive refinish coatings market has been segmented into primer, base coat, clear coat, activator, and filler. Based on technology type, the market has been segmented into solvent borne coatings and water borne coatings. The report comprises detailed analysis of all the segments in the regional and global markets and forecast based on current and future trends in the industry in terms of volume (kilo tons) and revenue (US$ Mn). In terms of region, the market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. Demand for automotive refinish coatings in each product segment and technology type has been analyzed and forecast for a period of eight years.The report also comprises profiles of leading companies in the automotive refinish coatings market. These include BASF SE, Axalta Coating Systems, PPG Industries, and The Sherwin-Williams Company. Various attributes of these companies such as company overview, business strategies, and recent developments form the core of the company profiles section.This report segments the global automotive refinish coatings market as follows:Automotive Refinish Coatings Market  Product AnalysisPrimerBase coatClear coatActivatorFillerOthersAutomotive Refinish Coatings Market  Technology AnalysisSolvent BorneWater BorneOthersAutomotive Refinish Coatings Market  Regional AnalysisNorth AmericaU.S.CanadaEuropeU.K.SpainFranceGermanyMake 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 @
Solvent-based Inks In Global Market - Demand-Supply, Price Trend Analysis and Forecasts, 2016 - 2024

Market Research Report

http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=842315

http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=842315

http://www.researchmoz.us/

http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG

Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Solvent-based Inks In Global Market - Demand-Supply, Price Trend Analysis and Forecasts, 2016 - 2024" to its huge collection of research reports.This research study analyzes the market for solvent-based inks in terms of revenue (US$ Mn) and volume (kilo tons). The solvent-based inks market has been segmented on the basis of product, printing type, end use applications, and geography. The report features a detailed regional segmentation with market growth forecasts for the 2016?2024 period. For the research, 2015 has been considered as the base year and 2016 the estimated year, while all forecasts have been given for the period from 2016 to 2024. Market data for all the segments has been provided at the regional and country-specific levels from 2016 to 2024. The report provides a broad competitive analysis of companies engaged in the development of solvent-based inks technologies for the solvent-based inks business. The report also includes key market dynamics such as the drivers, restraints, and opportunities affecting the global solvent-based inks market. These market dynamics are 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 market with the help of the Porters Five Forces Analysis model, which helps in understanding the five major forces that affect the structure and profitability of the global solvent-based inks market. The forces analyzed are the bargaining power of buyers, the bargaining power of suppliers, the threat of new entrants, the threat of substitutes, and the degree of competition.The high-level analysis in the report provides detailed insights into the solvent-based inks business globally. There are currently several drivers for the market. The most prominent drivers include rapid growth in the packaging industry along with growth in the digital printing industry. Market attractiveness analysis was carried out for the solvent-based inks market on the basis of product type, printing type, application, region, and country. Market attractiveness was estimated on the basis of common parameters that directly impact the market.On the basis of printing type, the market has been segmented into lithographic, gravure, flexographic, screen-printing, letterpress, and digital. On the basis of product type, the market has been segmented into vinyl inks, vinyl-acrylic inks, epoxy inks, polyurethanic inks, and cellulose inks. By application, the solvent-based inks market has been segmented by various end-use applications, including packaging, advertising, tags & labels, books & catalog, office stationery, magazines, newspaper, and other applications.In terms of geography, the market has been segmented into five regions: North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America. China is expected to remain the dominant market for solvent-based inks, with demand reaching 275.7 kilo tons by 2024. A zero tax agreement between ASEAN and China has created a stable position for ASEAN, which is expected to expand at a CAGR of 3.2% between 2016 and 2024.India is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. Favorable government regulations and emergence of medium and small enterprises in India have contributed significantly to the solvent-based inks market.Make an Enquiry of this report @Key players in the solvent-based inks market are Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg. Co. Ltd., Dainichiseika Color & Chemicals Mfg. Co., Ltd., Sun Chemical Corporation, Flint Group, Toyo Ink SC Holdings Co., Ltd., Lawter Inc. , Yansefu Inks and Coatings Pvt. Ltd., Siegwerk Druckfarben AG & Co. KGaA, Sakata INX Corporation, Huber Group, Zeller+Gmelin GmbH & Co. KG, ALTANA AG, Wikoff Color Corporation, SICPA Holding SA, Fujifilm Sericol India Private Limited, Royal Dutch Printing Ink Factories Van Son and T&K Toka Co., Ltd. The report provides an overview of these companies, followed by their financial details, business strategies, and recent developments.Solvent-based Inks Market: By Printing TypeLithographicGravureFlexographicScreen-printingLetterpressDigitalSolvent-based Inks Market: By Product TypeVinyl InksVinyl-Acrylic InksEpoxy InksPolyurethanic InksCellulose InksSolvent-based Inks Market: By ApplicationPackagingBooks & CatalogueAdvertisingTags & LabelsOffice StationeryMagazinesNewspaperOthersSolvent-based Inks Market: By RegionNorth AmericaThe U.S.CanadaEuropeThe U.K.FranceGermanySpainItalyTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @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 @
Global Photo-electric Sensor Market For 2017: Competition By Top Manufacturers - Rockwell Automation, Keyence, Avago, Panasonic, Omron & Balluff

Market Research Report

http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1100905

http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=1100905

http://www.researchmoz.us/

http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG

Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Photo-electric Sensor Market For 2017: Competition By Top Manufacturers - Rockwell Automation, Keyence, Avago, Panasonic, Omron & Balluff" to its huge collection of research reports.In this report, the global Photo-electric Sensor 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 is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Photo-electric Sensor in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringUnited StatesEUChinaJapanSouth KoreaTaiwanGlobal Photo-electric Sensor market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingRockwell AutomationKeyenceAvagoPanasonicOmronBalluffSchneider ElectricBaumerSickEatonAutonicsIFM ElectronicOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoProximity Photoelectric SensorFiber Optic Photoelectric SensorOthersOn the basis of Technology, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoRetro-reflectiveDiffuseThrough BeamTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @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 Photo-electric Sensor for each application, includingParking FacilitiesElevatorsBuilding AutomationSemiconductor DevicePackaging MachinesOthersTable of ContentsGlobal Photo-electric Sensor Market Research Report 20171 Photo-electric Sensor Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Photo-electric Sensor1.2 Photo-electric Sensor Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Photo-electric Sensor Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category) (2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Photo-electric Sensor Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Proximity Photoelectric Sensor1.2.4 Fiber Optic Photoelectric Sensor1.2.5 Others2 Global Photo-electric Sensor Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Photo-electric Sensor Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.1 Global Photo-electric Sensor Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Photo-electric Sensor Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Photo-electric Sensor Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.3 Global Photo-electric Sensor Average Price by Manufacturers (2012-2017)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 @
Global and China Passenger Car Security Systems Market - Tokai Rika, Fortin, Viper, Avital, Cheetah

China Passenger Car Security Systems market

http://bit.ly/2rmuJsI

http://www.mrsresearchgroup.com/market-analysis/global-and-china-passenger-car-security-systems-market.html

http://bit.ly/2rS0Tjf

The Global and China Passenger Car Security Systems Market, 2017 - 2022 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 and China Passenger Car Security Systems Market report explains the in-depth summary of current innovations, parameter, specifications, and creation. The Global and China Passenger Car Security Systems Market also delivers a full abstract of the economic ups and downs in terms of demand rate and fulfillment ratios.Request For Download Sample Report:Technology is an output of implementing scientific knowledge in terms of practical applications. Technology can be developed in multiple forms, as the face of the respective technology can be seen only when it is transformed, adopted or introduced in the practical form.The Global and China Passenger Car Security Systems Market, 2017 - 2022 industry 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.Browse Full Report With Toc:Global major leading industry players providing information:BoschContinentalDelphi AutomotiveTRW AutomotiveLearHellaValeoTokai RikaFortinViperAvitalCheetahRequest Inquiry for Buying:MRS Research Group [http://www.mrsresearchgroup.com/] is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics released by reputed private publishers and public organizations. 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,
Global HD Map Market  Evolving Countries, Type, Application and Major Manufacturers Here, TomTom, Google

https://www.htfmarketreport.com/sample-report/437415-global-hd-map-market-2

https://www.htfmarketreport.com/buy-now?format=1&report=437415

https://www.htfmarketreport.com/enquiry-before-buy/437415-global-hd-map-market-2

https://www.htfmarketreport.com/reports/437415-global-hd-map-market-2

HTF Market Intelligence released a new research report of 121 pages on title 'Global HD Map Market by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022' with detailed analysis, forecast and strategies.SummaryHD Map (High Definition Map) is one of the essential members of the safe driving core chain. High Definition means that the absolute coordinates are more accurate. Absolute coordinate accuracy refers to the accuracy of a target on a map and a real thing in the real world. The absolute accuracy of a HD Map is generally fine at the sub-meter level, and the relative accuracy of the landscape (eg, the relative position accuracy of the lane and lane, lane and lane) is often higher. On the other hand, HD Map contain more informative and detailed information on road traffic information. HD Map not only have high-precision coordinates, but also accurate road shape, and each lane slope, curvature, heading, elevation, roll data are also included.Request a sample report @Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the HD Map 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 coversHereTomTomGoogleAlibaba (AutoNavi)NavinfoMapmyindiaSandbornMarket 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, coversType 1Type 2Market Segment by Applications, can be divided intoADASAutonomous VehiclesOthersBuy this report @There are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global HD Map market.Chapter 1, to describe HD Map Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of HD Map, with sales, revenue, and price of HD Map, 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 HD Map, 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, HD Map market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe HD Map 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 HD Map Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Type 11.2.2 Type 21.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 ADAS1.3.2 Autonomous Vehicles1.3.3 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 Force....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:HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJNew Jersey USA  08837sales@htfmarketreport.com+1 (206) 317 1218 (US)
Asia-Pacific Retinal Imaging Devices Market Analysis by Region, Types, Revenue and Forecasts to 2022

http://bit.ly/2td1UjO

http://bit.ly/2rj9EEl

www.researchnreports.com

Asia-Pacific Retinal Imaging Devices Market Professional Survey Report 2017-2022 Purchase This Report by calling ResearchnReports.com at +1-888-631-6977.The report on the Asia-Pacific Retinal Imaging Devices Market is a comprehensive overview of the market, covering various aspects such as product definition, segmentation based on various parameters, distribution channel, supply chain analysis, and the prevailing vendor landscape. It compiles exhaustive information sourced via proven research methodologies. The information of the Retinal Imaging Devices Market is accessible in a logical chapter-wise format. It is also interspersed with relevant graphs and tables to enable readers to get a better perspective of the Asia-Pacific market.Various factors are responsible for the markets growth trajectory, which are studied at length in the report. In addition, the report lists down the restraints that are posing threat to the Asia-Pacific Retinal Imaging Devices Market. It also gauges the bargaining power of suppliers and buyers, threat from new entrants and product substitute, and the degree of competition prevailing in the market. The influence of the latest government guidelines is also analyzed in detail in the report. It studies the markets trajectory between forecast periods.Download Sample @Moreover, with the help of analytical tools, the research study gives insights into the main growth barriers, drivers, promising opportunities, and limitations in the Asia-Pacific Retinal Imaging Devices Market. The research report additionally addresses some of the very important questions regarding the development and latest trends in the Asia-Pacific market. Some of these questions are mentioned below: What are the main factors likely to encourage the growth of Asia-Pacific Retinal Imaging Devices Market? Which factors are expected to limit the development of the market? Which application and product segments are anticipated to top in the forecast period? Which geographical segment is expected to lead and hold main share of the Asia-Pacific Retinal Imaging Devices Market in the next few years? What are the projected values and growth rate of the Asia-Pacific market? Which are the key players operating in the Asia-Pacific Retinal Imaging Devices Market?Key Vendor:OptosTopconZeissOlympusNidekMicro Medical DevicesARDES S.P.AMolecular DevicesMarsdenCharderSECAInquiry before Buying This Report@About Research N Reports:Research N Reports is a new age market research firm where we focus on providing information that can be effectively applied. Today being a consumer driven market, companies require information to deal with the complex and dynamic world of choices. Where relying on a sound board firm for your decisions becomes crucial. Research N Reports specializes in industry analysis, market forecasts and as a result getting quality reports covering all verticals, whether be it gaining perspective on current market conditions or being ahead in the cut throat Asia-Pacific competition. Since we excel at business research to help businesses grow, we also offer consulting as an extended arm to our services which only helps us gain more insight into current trends and problems. Consequently we keep evolving as an all-rounder provider of viable information under one roof.(Research N Reports)10916, Gold Point Dr, Houston, TX, Pin - 77064,Sunny Denis(Sales Manager),+1-8886316977,sales@researchnreports.com ,
Asia-Pacific Wearable EEG Headset Market 2017-2022 Know the Industry Growth, Present Scenario and Forecasts

http://bit.ly/2raJHTx

http://bit.ly/2rnwIwT

www.researchnreports.com

Asia-Pacific Wearable EEG Headset Market: In this report, the Asia-Pacific Sulbactam 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.Asia-Pacific Wearable EEG Headset Market Professional Survey Report 2017-2022 Purchase This Report by calling ResearchnReports.com at +1-888-631-6977.The report on the Asia-Pacific Wearable EEG Headset Market is a comprehensive overview of the market, covering various aspects such as product definition, segmentation based on various parameters, distribution channel, supply chain analysis, and the prevailing vendor landscape. It compiles exhaustive information sourced via proven research methodologies. The information of the Wearable EEG Headset Market is accessible in a logical chapter-wise format. It is also interspersed with relevant graphs and tables to enable readers to get a better perspective of the Asia-Pacific market.Various factors are responsible for the markets growth trajectory, which are studied at length in the report. In addition, the report lists down the restraints that are posing threat to the Asia-Pacific Wearable EEG Headset Market. It also gauges the bargaining power of suppliers and buyers, threat from new entrants and product substitute, and the degree of competition prevailing in the market. The influence of the latest government guidelines is also analyzed in detail in the report. It studies the markets trajectory between forecast periods.Download Sample Copy @Moreover, with the help of analytical tools, the research study gives insights into the main growth barriers, drivers, promising opportunities, and limitations in the Asia-Pacific Wearable EEG Headset Market. The research report additionally addresses some of the very important questions regarding the development and latest trends in the Asia-Pacific market. Some of these questions are mentioned below: What are the main factors likely to encourage the growth of Asia-Pacific Wearable EEG Headset Market? Which factors are expected to limit the development of the market? Which application and product segments are anticipated to top in the forecast period? Which geographical segment is expected to lead and hold main share of the Asia-Pacific Wearable EEG Headset Market in the next few years? What are the projected values and growth rate of the Asia-Pacific market? Which are the key players operating in the Asia-Pacific Wearable EEG Headset Market?Key Vendor:Gentag, Inc. (US)Google Inc. (US)Intel Corporation (US)Intelesens Ltd. (UK)LifeWatch AG (Switzerland)Medtronic Plc (US)Nuubo (Spain)Omron Corporation (Japan)Philips Healthcare (Netherlands)Polar Electro (Finland)Sotera Wireless, Inc. (US)Winmedical Srl (Italy)Withings SA (France)Inquiry before Buying This Report@About Research N Reports:Research N Reports is a new age market research firm where we focus on providing information that can be effectively applied. Today being a consumer driven market, companies require information to deal with the complex and dynamic world of choices. Where relying on a sound board firm for your decisions becomes crucial. Research N Reports specializes in industry analysis, market forecasts and as a result getting quality reports covering all verticals, whether be it gaining perspective on current market conditions or being ahead in the cut throat Asia-Pacific competition. Since we excel at business research to help businesses grow, we also offer consulting as an extended arm to our services which only helps us gain more insight into current trends and problems. Consequently we keep evolving as an all-rounder provider of viable information under one roof.(Research N Reports)10916, Gold Point Dr, Houston, TX, Pin - 77064,Sunny Denis(Sales Manager),+1-8886316977,sales@researchnreports.com ,
Agrochemicals Market in Malaysia

https://www.reportsworldwide.com/report/malaysia-agrochemicals-market-intelligence-2016-2021

https://www.reportsworldwide.com/enquiry?report_id=36285

ReportsWorldwide has announced the addition of a new report title Malaysia: Agrochemicals: Market Intelligence (2016-2021) to its growing collection of premium market research reports.The report Malaysia: Agrochemicals: Market Intelligence (2016-2021) provides market intelligence on the different market segments, based on type, active ingredient, formulation, crop, and pest. Market size and forecast (2016-2021) has been provided in terms of both, value (000 USD) and volume (000 KG) in the report. A detailed qualitative analysis of the factors responsible for driving and restraining the growth of the agrochemical and future market opportunities have also been discussed.This report is a part of series of more than 900 agrochemicals market intelligence reports from Sprout Intelligence. This agrochemicals market intelligence report series, in total, covers more than 1,500 pests, 60 formulations, 150 crops, and 60 countries.Detailed description and table of contents of this report is available here:Key Findings from the Report:- Difenoconazole, Mancozeb, Azoxystrobin, Propineb, and Metalaxyl are leading fungicide active ingredients in the Malaysia agrochemicals market.- Glyphosate, Glufosinate-ammonium, Paraquat, Metsulfuron-m, and Fluroxypyr are leading herbicide active ingredients in the Malaysia agrochemicals market.- Imidacloprid, Cypermethrin, Abamectin, Chlorantraniliprole, and Chlorpyrifos-e are leading insecticide active ingredients in the Malaysia agrochemicals market.- Soluble Liquid Concentrate, Emulsifiable Concentrate, Wettable Powder, Suspension Concentrate, and Water Dispersible Granules are leading crops for agrochemicals in Malaysia.- Bananas, Cocoa, Coconuts, Corn, and Flowers are leading pests for agrochemicals in Malaysia.- Sprout Intelligence expert team estimated that the Malaysia agrochemicals market in 2016 was worth more than 150 million.To Get Sample Copy of Report please visit @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
Global Aesthetic Medicine And Cosmetic Surgery Sales Market 2017-2022 Know the Industry Growth, Present Scenario and Forecasts

http://bit.ly/2ro7tdX

http://bit.ly/2s3LV8c

www.researchnreports.com

Global Aesthetic Medicine And Cosmetic Surgery Sales Market: In this report, the Global Sulbactam 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.Global Aesthetic Medicine And Cosmetic Surgery Sales Market Professional Survey Report 2017-2022 Purchase This Report by calling ResearchnReports.com at +1-888-631-6977.The report on the Global Aesthetic Medicine and Cosmetic Surgery Sales Market is a comprehensive overview of the market, covering various aspects such as product definition, segmentation based on various parameters, distribution channel, supply chain analysis, and the prevailing vendor landscape. It compiles exhaustive information sourced via proven research methodologies. The information of the Aesthetic Medicine And Cosmetic Surgery Sales Market is accessible in a logical chapter-wise format. It is also interspersed with relevant graphs and tables to enable readers to get a better perspective of the Global market.Various factors are responsible for the markets growth trajectory, which are studied at length in the report. In addition, the report lists down the restraints that are posing threat to the Global Aesthetic Medicine And Cosmetic Surgery Sales Market. It also gauges the bargaining power of suppliers and buyers, threat from new entrants and product substitute, and the degree of competition prevailing in the market. The influence of the latest government guidelines is also analyzed in detail in the report. It studies the markets trajectory between forecast periods.Download Sample Copy @Moreover, with the help of analytical tools, the research study gives insights into the main growth barriers, drivers, promising opportunities, and limitations in the Global Aesthetic Medicine And Cosmetic Surgery Sales Market. The research report additionally addresses some of the very important questions regarding the development and latest trends in the Global market. Some of these questions are mentioned below: What are the main factors likely to encourage the growth of Global Aesthetic Medicine And Cosmetic Surgery Sales Market? Which factors are expected to limit the development of the market? Which application and product segments are anticipated to top in the forecast period? Which geographical segment is expected to lead and hold main share of the Global Aesthetic Medicine And Cosmetic Surgery Sales Market in the next few years? What are the projected values and growth rate of the Global market? Which are the key players operating in the Global Aesthetic Medicine And Cosmetic Surgery Sales Market?Key Vendor:Allergan, Inc.Alma LaserCynosureGalderma S.A.LumenisJohnson and JohnsonSolta MedicalSyneron Medical Ltd.Inquiry before Buying This Report@About Research N Reports:Research N Reports is a new age market research firm where we focus on providing information that can be effectively applied. Today being a consumer driven market, companies require information to deal with the complex and dynamic world of choices. Where relying on a sound board firm for your decisions becomes crucial. Research N Reports specializes in industry analysis, market forecasts and as a result getting quality reports covering all verticals, whether be it gaining perspective on current market conditions or being ahead in the cut throat Global competition. Since we excel at business research to help businesses grow, we also offer consulting as an extended arm to our services which only helps us gain more insight into current trends and problems. Consequently we keep evolving as an all-rounder provider of viable information under one roof.(Research N Reports)10916, Gold Point Dr, Houston, TX, Pin - 77064,Sunny Denis(Sales Manager),+1-8886316977,sales@researchnreports.com ,
Global Blood Sugar Lancets Market Outlook: Region, Types, and Industry Overview 2017-2022

http://bit.ly/2rjJWzC

http://bit.ly/2tewWYx

www.researchnreports.com

Blood Sugar Lancets Market Report: In this report, the EMEA Blood Sugar Lancets 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..Global Blood Sugar Lancets Market Professional Survey Report 2017-2022 Purchase This Report by calling ResearchnReports.com at +1-888-631-6977.The report on the Global Blood Sugar Lancets Market is a comprehensive overview of the market, covering various aspects such as product definition, segmentation based on various parameters, distribution channel, supply chain analysis, and the prevailing vendor landscape. It compiles exhaustive information sourced via proven research methodologies. The information of the Blood Sugar Lancets Market is accessible in a logical chapter-wise format. It is also interspersed with relevant graphs and tables to enable readers to get a better perspective of the Global market.Download Sample Copy @Various factors are responsible for the markets growth trajectory, which are studied at length in the report. In addition, the report lists down the restraints that are posing threat to the Global Blood Sugar Lancets Market. It also gauges the bargaining power of suppliers and buyers, threat from new entrants and product substitute, and the degree of competition prevailing in the market. The influence of the latest government guidelines is also analyzed in detail in the report. It studies the markets trajectory between forecast periods.Moreover, with the help of analytical tools, the research study gives insights into the main growth barriers, drivers, promising opportunities, and limitations in the Global Blood Sugar Lancets Market. The research report additionally addresses some of the very important questions regarding the development and latest trends in the Global market. Some of these questions are mentioned below: What are the main factors likely to encourage the growth of Global Blood Sugar Lancets Market? Which factors are expected to limit the development of the market? Which application and product segments are anticipated to top in the forecast period? Which geographical segment is expected to lead and hold main share of the Global Blood Sugar Lancets Market in the next few years? What are the projected values and growth rate of the Global market? Which are the key players operating in the Global Blood Sugar Lancets Market?Key Vendor:AbbottBayeLifeScanRocheAgaMatrixDexcomDarioHealth International BiomedicalMedisanaInquiry before Buying This Report@About Research N Reports:Research N Reports is a new age market research firm where we focus on providing information that can be effectively applied. Today being a consumer driven market, companies require information to deal with the complex and dynamic world of choices. Where relying on a sound board firm for your decisions becomes crucial. Research N Reports specializes in industry analysis, market forecasts and as a result getting quality reports covering all verticals, whether be it gaining perspective on current market conditions or being ahead in the cut throat Global competition. Since we excel at business research to help businesses grow, we also offer consulting as an extended arm to our services which only helps us gain more insight into current trends and problems. Consequently we keep evolving as an all-rounder provider of viable information under one roof.(Research N Reports)10916, Gold Point Dr, Houston, TX, Pin - 77064,Sunny Denis(Sales Manager),+1-8886316977,sales@researchnreports.com ,
Global Captopril API Market Outlook: Region, Types, and Industry Overview 2017-2022

http://bit.ly/2rocMKc

http://bit.ly/2rjO5nk

www.researchnreports.com

Global Captopril API Market Report: In this report, the EMEA Captopril API 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..Global Captopril API Market Professional Survey Report 2017-2022 Purchase This Report by calling ResearchnReports.com at +1-888-631-6977.The report on the Global Captopril API Market is a comprehensive overview of the market, covering various aspects such as product definition, segmentation based on various parameters, distribution channel, supply chain analysis, and the prevailing vendor landscape. It compiles exhaustive information sourced via proven research methodologies. The information of the Captopril API Market is accessible in a logical chapter-wise format. It is also interspersed with relevant graphs and tables to enable readers to get a better perspective of the Global market.Various factors are responsible for the markets growth trajectory, which are studied at length in the report. In addition, the report lists down the restraints that are posing threat to the Global Captopril API Market. It also gauges the bargaining power of suppliers and buyers, threat from new entrants and product substitute, and the degree of competition prevailing in the market. The influence of the latest government guidelines is also analyzed in detail in the report. It studies the markets trajectory between forecast periods.Download Sample Copy @Moreover, with the help of analytical tools, the research study gives insights into the main growth barriers, drivers, promising opportunities, and limitations in the Global Captopril API Market. The research report additionally addresses some of the very important questions regarding the development and latest trends in the Global market. Some of these questions are mentioned below: What are the main factors likely to encourage the growth of Global Captopril API Market? Which factors are expected to limit the development of the market? Which application and product segments are anticipated to top in the forecast period? Which geographical segment is expected to lead and hold main share of the Global Captopril API Market in the next few years? What are the projected values and growth rate of the Global market? Which are the key players operating in the Global Captopril API Market?Key Vendor:FarmhispaniaEgis PharmaceuticalsWockhardtAzelis Deutschland PharmaMedichemTecolandQuimica SinteticaHuahai PharmaceuticalWeifang PharmaceuticalYichuang PharmaceuticalPoly PharmaceuticalChangming PharmaceuticalTaicang PharmaceuticalInquiry before Buying This Report@About Research N Reports:Research N Reports is a new age market research firm where we focus on providing information that can be effectively applied. Today being a consumer driven market, companies require information to deal with the complex and dynamic world of choices. Where relying on a sound board firm for your decisions becomes crucial. Research N Reports specializes in industry analysis, market forecasts and as a result getting quality reports covering all verticals, whether be it gaining perspective on current market conditions or being ahead in the cut throat Global competition. Since we excel at business research to help businesses grow, we also offer consulting as an extended arm to our services which only helps us gain more insight into current trends and problems. Consequently we keep evolving as an all-rounder provider of viable information under one roof.(Research N Reports)10916, Gold Point Dr, Houston, TX, Pin - 77064,Sunny Denis(Sales Manager),+1-8886316977,sales@researchnreports.com ,
Online Advertising Market: Industry Insights, Outlook and Forecast upto 2024

Online Advertising Market

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/online-advertising-market.html

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=14186

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

Also known as web advertising and Internet advertising, online advertising refers to the use of the Internet for marketing and advertising of products and services. Finding new customers, promoting new products, and diversification of revenue streams becomes easy with the use of online advertising. Paid search or pay-per-click advertising (PPC) is perhaps the most widely used type of online advertising. Paid search enables a person to find relevant terms and phrases (keywords), which form the basis of this type of advertising. Paid social advertising is another way of advertising via the Internet. It is also possible to combine the two types of advertising, in order to reap maximum benefits of these platforms.Based on type, the global market for online advertising can be segmented into email marketing, banner marketing, social media optimization (SMO), online video advertising, search engine optimization (SEO), and local online advertising.Obtain Report Details @The switch from traditional print media to online advertising is influenced by recent technological advancements in communication technologies. The increasing number of smartphone users worldwide, growing number of broadband service providers, and extensive usage of the internet by innumerable users are triggering the growth of the global market for online advertising.As the creation of appealing banners and advertisements via online sources promises more attention from the customers, this platform is increasingly preferred by innumerable businesses over the globe. Also, online advertising can be more convenient and cost-efficient, at the same time offering a broader platform, when compared to traditional advertising using the television and the print media. Alarming degree of addiction to smart devices such as tablets, laptops, and smartphones has also been aiding market growth.On the contrary, the presence of ad blockers aimed at eliminating advertisements form users webpages might limit the growth of the global market for online advertising. Moreover, several companies are grappling with the problem of transitioning from desktop to smartphone ads. This might also impede market expansion. However, the increasing dependence of people on Internet will ensure that the market for online advertising progresses rapidly, counteracting the negative impact of this restraint.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Based on geography, the global market for online advertising can be segmented into Asia Pacific, Latin America, Western Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Eastern Europe, and North America. North America is likely to emerge as a prominent market for online advertising, with the U.S. contributing a significant share. High proliferation of online content, increasing consultation of online sources by purchasers, and significant amount of time spent online are driving the growth of the market in this region.Asia Pacific is slated to exhibit substantial growth over the forecast period, promising a major chunk of share in the global market. India and China are the major markets in this region, on account of their increasing adoption of technology, extensive urbanization and industrialization, and encouraging government initiatives. As a number of market players are entering terrains such as food and beverage industry, the growth of the market in this region is further strengthened.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:
Low Power Wide Area Technology Market: Trends & Opportunities with Forecast 2024

Low Power Wide Area Technology Market

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/low-power-wide-area-technology-market.html

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=14216

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) technology is a network that enables connecting of devices requiring low bandwidth. LPWA can be used for connecting machine to machine (M2M) devices and serve as a low cost and power efficient solution in nature. Furthermore, the network has wide coverage area/range thereby supporting all kind of devices that can be connected through Internet of things (IOT). Wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee can only be used for consumer oriented devices having short range. However, industrial IoT and M2M devices demands uninterrupted and continuous flow of data which can be fulfilled by use of LPWA technology. LPWA technology strengthens the position of IoT market participants through helping suppliers to get closer to their customers.Use of wire line and cellular network for M2M and IoT devices led to increase in cost and power consumption. However with the advent of LPWA technology, the problem of high cost and huge power consumption can be decreased effectively. Presently, LPWA technology is widely used in European region for controlling IoT devices such as smart-meter, parking management and traffic light controlling.Obtain Report Details @LPWA market is expected to grow in coming years due to increasing number of IoT based devices and the need for better connectivity. LPWA technology is expected to be widely applicable in the area of public administration, healthcare, energy and education sector. LPWA has strong propagation which implies that the technology has the ability to reach deep underground hence facilitating strong connectivity of devices in basement area or in sewer. The low cost characteristic of LPWA makes it a flexible solution that can be implemented in wide range of businesses and can be used adjacently with cellular or satellite connectivity. Therefore, the LPWA market is expected to witness strong growth in utility sector in order to monitor residential gas and water meter in coming years. Since gas and water meter are not connected to any electrical circuit and usually deployed underground, usage of cellular connectivity coupled with LPWA technology can fulfill the future monitoring demand effectively.The LPWA technology presents great opportunity for MNO (mobile network operator) providers. The provision of LPWA connectivity for the MNOs shall be seen as a secured route for maintaining strong customer relationship. Such direct relationship with the customer will help MNO (mobile network operators) to create a repository of royal customer base which are more profitable. Furthermore, LPWA technologies can present good opportunity even for non-MNOs network providers. Organizations that operate radio tower network can very well position themselves by effectively deploying LPWA technology. Such technology can be leveraged to help non- MNOs to gain traction in the market as it will then become relatively easy to provide cellular mobile connectivity to those same end-users and even to the third parties. The LPWA market is expected to grow with the growth of smart cities and development of sensory devices that need long lasting connectivity for its operation.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Some of the key players in LPWA market are Vodafone Group PLC, U-blox AG, Telstera Corporation, Cisco Systems Inc., Semtech Corporation, SK Telecom Co. Ltd., Flashnet Communications Inc., Samsara Networks Inc., Proximus SADP, and Microchip TechnolThe report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth insights, understanding market evolution by tracking historical developments, and analyzing the present scenario and future projections based on optimistic and likely scenarios. Each research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology developments, types, applications, and the competitive landscape.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:
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) Market: Industry Insights, Outlook and Forecast upto 2024

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) Market

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/endpoint-detection-response-market.html

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=14222

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

Endpoint detection and response (EDR) refers to the category of solutions and tools that emphasize the detection, investigation, and mitigation of suspicious activities and problems on endpoints and hosts. As it is an emerging technology, a vast scope for expansion awaits the market.The global market for endpoint detection and response devices has been segmented in terms of industry vertical, type of deployment, size of the organization, and geography. Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and large-sized enterprises are the major segments of the market on the basis of organization size. The healthcare, government, BFSI, media and telecommunication, legal, energy, healthcare, and manufacturing are some of the key industry vertical segments. Managed, premise, and hybrid deployment are the key segments by type of deployment.The report discusses the key trends, growth opportunities, market restraints and drivers of the global market for endpoint detection and response systems. The competitive scenario of the market has been discussed, wherein the numerous market players have been evaluated in terms of market shares, product portfolios, and business strategies. The report also incorporates a recommendation section that primarily aims at assisting the companies who look forward to fortify their presence in the market.Obtain Report Details @As the customized targeted malware attack toolkits and advanced persistent threats (APTs) are increasingly creating threats, the use of endpoint detection and response solutions will prove to be a boon to several organizations. These solutions supplement conventional signature-based technologies to attain enhanced visibility and behavior-based anomaly detection throughout endpoints. Thus, they can be easily incorporated into the existing security systems. They are capable of malware discovery, limiting the loss of sensitive data, together with bringing down the risk of data breaches on endpoints. Therefore, the demand for these tools and solutions will rise substantially.The emergence of IoT and failure of signature based antivirus systems will also generate significant demand for these solutions. With the excessive usage of mobile devices, the number of threats witnessed on mobile endpoints has been augmenting. The rise in Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend across organizations is another prominent growth driver of the market.On the flip side, lack of awareness about these solutions can nip the growth of the market in the bud. However, with the proliferation of technology across banking and financial processes, the espousal of endpoint detection and response solutions will gain momentum, negating the effect of this restraint. Consequently, the banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) sector might outshine other segments.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @By geography, the global market for endpoint detection and response has been segmented into the Middle East and Africa (MEA), Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, and Latin America. Owing to the large scale adoption of data security measures, North America and Europe are about to witness phenomenal growth. North America might lead the regional market, as the presence of several key vendors in the region spurs demand. In countries such as Germany, France, Italy, the U.K., Canada, the U.S., and Spain, it is mandatory to protect the information associated with the customers and employees. This will result in the expansion of the market.Asia Pacific is teeming with growth opportunities, driven by the flourishing IT sector in countries such as India. The innumerable SMEs present in countries such as India, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, and China are likely to embrace endpoint detection and response technology, augmenting growth.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:
Forecast upto 2024 for Data Loss Prevention Market and new research report

Data Loss Prevention Market

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/data-loss-prevention-market.html

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=14237

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

Data loss prevention (DLP) is a software designed to prevent and detect data breaches by monitoring and blocking critical data at rest, in motion or in use. DLP prevents unintended and accidental loss or transfer of organizations critical data. It also protects data from decisive data theft and cyber-attacks ensuring data security.The DLP market provides network and cloud based solutions for e-mail, mobile devices, USB drivers and laptops among others For instance, Skyhigh Networks provides DLP cloud based solutions to protect employees uploaded data such as personal health information (PHI), customer information and personally identifiable information (PII). It supports management of internal policies, prevents disclosure of sensitive data and achieves compliance and regulation policies such as Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH). The rising number of breaches in various industry verticals such as oil and gas industries, retail industries and business financial services and insurance (BFSI) has expanded the adoption of DLP. For instance in march 2015, data breaches in Primera Blue Cross, a health insurer company based in Washington and Anthem, a health insurer company was hacked and suffered data breach in February 2015.Obtain Report Details @The data loss prevention market has been experiencing sustainable growth in recent years due to increasing security breaches, high demand for protection of intellectual property against theft and rising adoption of cloud computing such shift in storage of data from on-premises to public and private cloud platform. The other additional factor contributing to the growth of data loss prevention market is emerging commercialization. For instance, rising adoption of social media leading to advanced information sharing. However, lack of awareness is hindering the DLP market growth. The acceptance of cloud based business models and persistent cyber-attacks is expected to provide opportunities for growth of data loss prevention market during the forecast period.The data loss prevention market is segmented on the basis of deployment type, end-user adoption, solution tools, application, service and geography. On the basis of deployment type, the data loss prevention market is segmented into on-premise DLP and cloud DLP. In terms of end-user adoption, the data loss prevention market is segmented into encryption, web and e-mail protection, policy, standards and procedures, cloud storage, centralized management and incident response and workflow management. In terms of solution tools, the data loss prevention market is segmented as storage or data center DLP, network DLP and endpoint DLP. Based on the application, the data loss prevention market is segmented into manufacturing, telecommunication and IT, healthcare, aerospace and defense, retail and logistics, government and public utilities and banking, financial services and insurance.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Further on the basis of services provided, the data loss prevention market is segmented into managed security services, risk & threat assessment services, consulting services, education & training and system integration & installation services. Moreover, on the basis of geography the data loss prevention market is segmented into North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America. North America is expected to lead the market due to increased adoption of cloud and big data technologies. Moreover, Asia Pacific and Middle East and Africa are expected to sustainable growth in data loss prevention market during the forecast period due to high demand for data loss prevention software and increasing security attacks.Some of the key players in data loss prevention market are GTB Technologies, Inc., Code Green Networks, Symantec Corporation, Check Point Software Technologies Ltd., Trustwave Holdings, Inc., CA Technologies, Trend Micro Incorporated, Blue Coat systems, Inc., Cisco Systems and Websense, Inc.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:
Healthcare Information Systems Market Research Report: Trends, outlook and Opportunity Analysis 2024

Healthcare Information Systems Market

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/healthcare-information-system.html

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1457

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

Global Healthcare Information Systems Market: OverviewThe purpose of health care information systems is to manage the information that health care professionals need to perform their job effectively and efficiently. health care information systems automates administrative, financial, and patient care activities of hospitals, produces extensive management reports, operational statistics, and provides a powerful query module. health care information systems provides benefits such as easy access to patient data, reduces scope of error, increases security, provides better cost control, and improved efficiency. The market for health care information systems is expected to grow at a double-digit figure during the forecast period from 2016 to 2024 and shall be driven by factors such as reduction in overall healthcare cost of personal, easy access of data to healthcare professionals, reduction in errors and riddance of time and efforts spent on overall procedures.Global Healthcare Information Systems Market: Scope of the StudyThis report on the global health care information systems market analyzes the current and future prospects of the market. The report comprises an elaborate executive summary, including a market snapshot that provides overall information of various segments and sub-segments. The research is a combination of primary and secondary research. Detailed qualitative analysis of factors responsible for driving and restraining market growth and opportunities has been provided in the market overview section. Market revenue in terms of US$ Mn for the period between 2014 and 2024 along with the compound annual growth rate (CAGR %) from 2016 to 2024 are provided for all the segments, considering 2015 as the base year.Market related factors such as technological developments, product innovation, expansion of infrastructural facilities by major and small health care IT players, and historical year-on-year growth have been taken into consideration while estimating the market size. Growth rates for each segment within the global health care information systems market have been determined after a thorough analysis of past trends, demographics, future trends, technological developments, drug development life cycle, and regulatory requirements. These factors would help the market players to take strategic decisions in order to strengthen their positions and expand their share in the global market.This exhaustive report includes 48 data tables and 69 figures to give readers a 360 view of the Healthcare Information Systems Market. Browse through this 225-page report to know what factors will shape the market during the period 2016-2024Global Healthcare Information Systems Market: Segmentation AnalysisBased on application type, the global health care information systems market has been segmented into hospital information systems, pharmacy information systems, laboratory information systems, medical imaging information system and revenue cycle management. The hospital information systems market is further segmented into electronic health record, electronic medical record, real-time healthcare, patient engagement solutions, population health management and others.Pharmacy information systems market is further categorized into prescription management, automated dispensing systems, inventory management and others. Medical imaging information systems market is further segmented into radiology information systems (RIS), monitoring analysis software, picture archiving & communication systems (PACS) and others. Hospital information system is the most promising segment of health care information systems market.In terms of deployment the healthcare information systems market is segmented into web based, on premise and cloud based. The web based segment is expected to gather significant revenue during the forecast period from 2016 to 2024. On the basis of component the market is segmented into software, hardware and services. The software segment is projected to gather highest market revenue during the forecast period increasing demand for data analysis and management. Major end-users of health care information systems include hospitals, diagnostics centres, academic and research institution and others.Global Healthcare Information Systems Market: Regional OutlookGeographically, the global health care information systems market has been segmented into five regions: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. The regions have been further segmented by major countries. A global overview has been provided, and the North America region has been analyzed in depth at country as well as application, component, deployment and end-user segment level. The countries in North America section include the U.S. and Canada. The regions of Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa have been briefly profiled at country level.The countries include the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, China, Japan, India, Brazil, Mexico, the UAE, and South Africa. The competition matrix section included in the report is likely to assist the existing players to increase their market shares and new companies to establish their presence in the health care information systems market. The report also profiles major players in the health care information systems market based on various attributes such as company overview, financial overview, SWOT analysis, key business strategies, product portfolio, and recent developments.Key Players Mentioned in this Report are:Key companies profiled in the report include Cerner Corporation, McKesson Corporation, Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc., athenahealth, Inc., and Medidata Solutions, Inc. GE Healthcare, Agfa- Gevaert, Epic Systems Corporation, Siemens Healthineers and NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, LLC.Request a sample of this report to know what opportunities will emerge in the rapidly evolving Healthcare Information Systems 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.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Oregonians can claim a few bragging points from Sunday night's Tony Awards.

The Tony Awards for Best Direction of a Play (Rebecca Taichman) and Best Lighting Design for a Play (Christopher Akerlind) went to a play commissioned by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel's "Indecent." The play, which focuses on a 1923 Broadway production whose cast was arrested on accusations of obscenity, was also nominated for Best Play. The Yale Repertory Theatre co-commissioned the play.

Another play commissioned by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage's "Sweat," also was nominated for Best Play. Actresses Johanna Day and Michelle Wilson were nominated for Best Featured Actress in a Play. "Sweat," about working-class residents of a Rust Belt town, won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Arena Stage of Washington, D.C., co-commissioned the play.

"Indecent" and "Sweat" are products of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's "American Revolutions" initiative, which is developing 37 new plays about "moments of change in United States history." Another play created through "American Revolutions," Robert Schenkkan's "All the Way," about the first years of the Lyndon Johnson presidency, won the Tony Award for Best Play in 2014.

One of two 2017 Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre went to Alan Wasser, a graduate of Portland's Cleveland High School who went on to found and lead Alan Wasser Associates, specializing in theatrical general management, tour booking, and tour marketing across the U.S., according to Playbill. Wasser began writing and producing shows as a student: "From Rags to Revenue" while he was at Cleveland, and "Do What You Will'' and ''Checkers," produced at Lake Oswego Community Theatre, now Lakewood Theatre Company, while he was home on summer breaks from Columbia University.

The 2017 Tony Award for Excellence in Theatre Education went to Hood River Valley High School's theater director, Rachel Harry, who was recognized from the stage by actor Josh Gad and received a round of applause from the audience. The award, which recognizes a K-12 theatre educator who has made a significant impact on students' lives and embodies the profession's highest standards, was presented in collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University. Harry, who also teaches at Columbia Gorge Community College, was a finalist for the award in 2016.

At the 2004 Tony Awards, Coos Bay native Jeff Whitty won for "Best Book of a Musical" for the hit musical "Avenue Q." (Portland's Triangle Productions is presenting "Avenue Q" through July 1.) And in 1983, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival won the Regional Theatre Tony Award.
Uber's board of directors shook up the company's leadership Sunday in an effort to revive the fortunes of the ride-hailing service, which had been struggling to recover from a series of scandals, including allegations of sexual harassment.

A board representative said the board had "unanimously voted to adopt all recommendations" from former U.S attorney general Eric Holder, who had been hired to probe into the company's workplace culture, Reuters reported.

Holder's advice included ordering the company's embattled chief executive, Travis Kalanick, to step down temporarily and forcing out Emil Michael, Uber's senior vice president of business and a key Kalanick ally within the company, according to multiple news reports. The board consists of seven voting members, including Kalanick himself.

Stepping down as CEO, even temporarily, would be a major setback for Kalanick, who founded the company in 2009 and has been running it ever since -- despite mounting criticism over the hard-charging office environment he helped create.

By taking on entrenched taxi companies and regulators around the world, Uber has developed a win-at-any-cost reputation that opponents say has contributed to a toxic workplace. Leaked company memos and allegations of sexual harassment have helped paint the portrait of a company that at times operates less like the Fortune 500 than a college fraternity.

Uber declined to comment.

Last week, Uber fired 20 employees amid an investigation by outside lawyers into hundreds of claims of alleged misconduct. Some employees have received written warnings, and others will receive workplace training. Separately, Uber also fired an executive last week after the company official, Eric Alexander, acquired the medical records of a customer who had allegedly been raped during a trip on Uber. Alexander had reportedly shared the woman's records with Kalanick and Michael. Michael has not resigned, but the Wall Street Journal reported that he is expected to do so as early as Monday.

Some Uber investors said they expected Michael to take the fall for Kalanick, after Kalanick's failure to address issues of morale and workplace culture.

The sweeping personnel changes came days before Holder and his firm, Covington & Burling, were expected to release the results of their investigation. The board meeting Sunday took place at Covington & Burling's Los Angeles office, according to the Times, and it is expected to vote on the recommendations contained in the report. The report, which is not yet public, will mark a crucial turning point for Uber, one of the world's fastest-growing technology companies.

"When a board asks for this kind of outside expertise and companies have some legal and other problems, then I think it can be critical," said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond. "It can be a juncture where there's a turnaround, or it could be that the company continues to have these difficulties. But continuing difficulties are going to make it hard for the company to prosper."

The hotly anticipated report may also have ramifications for Silicon Valley as a whole. Tech companies of all sizes have grappled with gender and minority representation for years, showing little progress in their efforts to hire more women, blacks and Latinos. Those they have hired have increasingly spoken out about discriminatory corporate cultures.

One such employee, Susan Fowler, wrote an incendiary blog post in February on workplace conditions at Uber. The former engineer alleged that Uber repeatedly declined to investigate and punish her boss's unwanted sexual advances. Already under fire for the way it handled a taxi strike in New York linked to the Trump administration's travel ban, Uber began seeing more of its users jump to rival platforms as a rising call to "#deleteUber" circulated on social media.

--The Washington Post
Nancy Zingheim barely knew Rita Poe when Poe approached her office at a Washington state RV park. Poe, a shy registered nurse, had a request for the RV park business manager: Could Zingheim help her with her will?

Weeks later, the 66-year-old Poe died of colorectal cancer. In her will, she left nearly $800,000 to a dozen national wildlife refuges and parks, mostly in the American West. She named Zingheim the executor.

Zingheim knew little about Poe, who had moved to the Evergreen Coho SKP RV Park in the small town of Chimacum just five months earlier. She knew even less about national wildlife refuges.

That was in 2015. This year, Zingheim embarked on a 4,000-mile (6,400-kilometer) road trip to learn more about the woman who lived in an Airstream trailer with her dog and cat  and the wild places that captivated her.

"I wanted to see what they were," said Zingheim, 62. "I decided that I wasn't going to suddenly write checks to places at face value. I wanted to do my due diligence and find out what they needed."

Over nine days, she drove Poe's Ford pickup truck in a loop of the American West. She visited six national wildlife refuges in California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington  part of a vast network of reserves across the United States where wild lands are protected for wildlife.

President Theodore Roosevelt established the first refuge in 1903 at Florida's Pelican Island. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages more than 560 such refuges. From wetlands in Florida to tropical forests in Hawaii, the lands are set aside for migratory birds, alligators, bears and countless other creatures. There's at least one in each state, and a majority are open to the public for free.

At each stop, Zingheim asked around: Do you know Rita? No one did. One person recalled Poe's 27-foot (8-meter) Airstream trailer but little else.

"To this day, I don't think any of us knew a lot about her," Zingheim said.

Zingheim also took a tour of each refuge. She asked refuge managers what they needed and wanted. And she tried to imagine how Poe connected to these places.

"The reserves, they're quiet places. I could see Rita there," she said.

In time, bits of Poe emerged. Poe grew up in Southern California, worked as a nurse at a suburban Los Angeles hospital and spent time in Texas.

Terry Poe said he last saw his sister in 2007. After their parents died, leaving them money, he said, she bought a trailer and traveled around the Western U.S. to various refuges and national parks.

"She enjoyed nature and being out in nature," he said in a telephone interview from Southern California.

Rita Poe owned several high-end cameras. She was a birder. On her computer, Zingheim found stunning photographs of birds, bears, ocelots and bobcats. There were trips to New Mexico, Arizona and Canada.

Zingheim said that in the process of carrying out Poe's wishes, she felt she'd been granted her own bequest. And she's grateful for it.

"I saw things that I would never have seen," Zingheim said. "I didn't know a national wildlife reserve even existed. I don't think a lot of people out there know about them. They should. They're wonderful places."

Brian Wehausen gave Zingheim a tour of the Camas National Wildlife Refuge's high desert landscape and wetlands when she showed up last spring. Poe had taken photographs of bald eagles and moose on a visit to the southeast Idaho refuge.

"Our refuge is fairly small. It would seem to fit a personality like Rita's," said Wehausen, refuge manager. "She could come out here, bird, photograph, and she doesn't have to see a lot of other people."

Back on Washington's Olympic Peninsula after her trip, Zingheim sat down last month and wrote checks. They included money to support Camas, the Merced National Wildlife Refuge in California, Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge in Washington, Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon and Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in Utah.

She also sent money to Yellowstone National Park, two state parks and a Texas birding center.

"There's a spiritual connection that people feel about these places. They have a lot of meaning to a lot of people," Tracy Casselman, project leader for the wildlife refuge complex that includes Camas.

Casselman said Poe's gift will ensure more people enjoy such places.

With each check, Zingheim wrote a letter directing how some money should be used. "I think she would have agreed with me, I really do," said Zingheim, who has since adopted Poe's dog, Iggy.

Steve Gillard, the Washington attorney who handled Poe's will, said it's unusual for people to name someone they barely know to distribute their estate.

"But it's very unusual for a person like Nancy to take on that responsibility. She's a very good human being."

Zingheim also fulfilled one of Poe's wishes: She scattered the nature lover's ashes in a wooded area surrounded by Washington's snow-capped Olympic Mountains.

She added: "Every time I drive by, I say 'Hi, Rita.'"

-- The Associated Press
By Jared Cetz

America is widely known as the melting pot. Each brick that builds up our history has a different color. The many people who were involved in the history of our country and state all came from different ethnic and social backgrounds, yet the history we are taught in school only talks about one view of our diverse past: the white male perspective. This view unintentionally spreads the message that everyone else is not important.

Oregon Student Voice is part of a coalition supporting House Bill 2845, which would create a working group to add ethnic studies standards into Oregon's K-12 social studies standards. Oregon is home to a wide array of cultures, backgrounds, ideologies, genders, races, ethnicities, religions, socioeconomic status and sexual orientation. While the makeup of Oregon's population is diverse, current social studies standards don't reflect that. We believe that students in Oregon public schools are deprived of an education that represents the many histories and perspectives of individuals within the state.

These new standards would mean that the histories and contributions of ethnic and social minorities are taught in schools. I believe that HB 2845 will help build understanding between people, diminish stereotypes and combat hatred caused by people's differences.

This bill may help us prevent discrimination and deadly hate-filled attacks, like the Portland MAX attack on May 26. Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche and Ricky Best were killed and a third man was injured at the Hollywood MAX station because they were protecting two brave girls being verbally abused out of one man's bigotry. There have been similar saddening events happening across our country, and all of these victims may be alive if their killers understood and cherished the differences between us. Through HB 2845, I hope that Oregon can continue the process of understanding one another and help us resist continued violence that is rooted in sexism, racism, homophobia, xenophobia and religious intolerance. I believe that lives will literally be saved.

If potentially saving lives is not enough for you to support HB 2845, consider that the bill could positively impact Oregon students' attendance, engagement and grades. A recent Stanford University study reported that high schoolers taking an ethnic studies class increased their attendance by 21 percent, their earned credits by 23 percent, and their grade-point average by 1.4 points. All of those factors may reduce dropout rates and increase graduation rates. Further, ethnic studies classes better prepare students to participate in the global economy and to engage with diverse communities. Passing this bill will do great things for our future and for future generations.

-- Jared Cetz is a freshman at David Douglas High School and public relations director of Oregon Student Voice, a non-partisan student-run organization that empowers students to find their voice and improve the quality of education for every student in Oregon.
Collage by Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive

By Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive

This weekend, the 43rd annual Pride celebration, presented by the nonprofit Pride Northwest, will include a two-day Waterfront Festival, and a Sunday parade that will wind its way from Old Town to Tom McCall Waterfront Park, drawing thousands of spectators and marchers celebrating that progress that the LGBTQ community has made in recent years.

Don't Edit

Stephanie Yao Long, The Oregonian/OregonLive

Among them, no doubt, will be familiar faces: U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer has marched in the citys pride parades since they started in the mid-1970s. Former Oregon Gov. Barbara Roberts and current Gov. Kate Brown are usually on hand to show their support. And there are plenty of less-famous folks in the crowd: next-door neighbors, families, friends, pastors, teachers, soldiers, and even a few pets.

Don't Edit

Xiaojie Ouyang, The Oregonian/OregonLive

The U.S. Supreme Courts landmark decision two years ago making same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states has fueled the festivities during the last few parades, but last years deadly nightclub shooting in Orlando and growing racial intolerance in the wake of last years presidential election underscore the ongoing need for the extended gay and lesbian community to march and make itself heard.

Don't Edit

Xiaojie Ouyang, The Oregonian/OregonLive

Heres a look back at Portlands Pride Parade, from its early years, when taking to the streets took bravery, to recent years, when the parade has featured a wide range of the community and has become a family-friendly event.

Don't Edit

The early years

Portlands very first Pride celebration didnt feature a parade at all. In 1975, a group of about 200 people gathered in the South Park Blocks near Portland State University for Gay Pride Fair, which featured arts and crafts, food and dancing.

The following year, the fair moved to Waterfront Park, and featured 15 booths. That fair was sponsored by the Portland Town Council, a forerunner of the Right to Privacy PAC.

In 1977, Portland got its first Pride Parade, and controversy erupted when Portland Mayor Neil Goldschmidt proclaimed a Gay Pride Day, prompting a number of churches to publish an open letter in The Oregonian offering to help gays and lesbians repent. The proclamation also launched a move to have Goldschmidt recalled, claiming he had defamed Portland by turning it into a haven for homosexuals.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

1982: Unity Through Diversity

Don't Edit

Greg Lawler, The Oregonian

By the early 1980s, Portlands Pride celebration had become an annual tradition, and this year it was renamed Lesbian and Gay Pride Week to be more inclusive and to deemphasize the role of gay bars in the events organization. Marching to a theme of Unity Through Diversity, more than 2,000 men and women took to the streets of downtown Portland, followed by a gathering at Waterfront Park. According to The Oregonian, the messages on the signs carried in that march echoed the theme: Put the right wing back in the closet; End gay bashing; and Stop the raids on undocumented workers.

Don't Edit

1983: The new shadow of AIDS

Don't Edit

Marv Bondarowicz, The Oregonian

About 2,000 people marched through downtown Portland to kick off this years Lesbian and Gay Pride Week, to a theme of Come Out, Come Out, Whoever You Are, a riff on a song from The Wizard of Oz. But the specter of AIDS cast a shadow over the celebration. The first cases of the disease had been diagnosed only two years earlier, and there was a lot of misinformation about how it was contracted. Make war on AIDS not El Salvador, one sign proclaimed.

The parade also caused controversy when a marcher in black-face impersonated Aunt Jemima.

Don't Edit

1984: Larger crowds, and a conduct code

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Randy Wood, The Oregonian

Portland's 10th annual Lesbian and Gay Pride Week was celebrated by an estimated 3,000 marchers -- including chapter of gay Catholic organization, Dignity -- which held a rally at Waterfront Park that featured music, speakers and information booths for community groups like the newly formed Cascade AIDS Project and Just Out newspaper.

That year, the parades organizing committee adopted a dress and conduct code, in the wake of the black-face controversy from the year before. If marchers stepped over the line of good taste, organizers warned, they could be asked to leave the parade. But exactly how do you define good taste for a parade that features drag queens, shirtless men and people wearing acres of leather?

Don't Edit

1985: "We Are Everywhere!"

Don't Edit

Oregonian/OregonLive file photo

This year, a smaller crowd of about 500 people participated in the Lesbian and Gay Pride March, according to Oregonian reports. The grand marshal of the parade, which had the theme "We Are Everywhere!," was San Francisco author Armistead Maupin, who wrote the acclaimed "Tales of the City" novels. As he rode through the parade route, he noticed the look of horror on some bystanders' faces. "It brought something home to me," he told The Oregonian. "Some people are not ready to accept all-encompassing gay love."

Don't Edit

1989: Remembering Stonewall

Don't Edit

Oregonian file photo

To mark the 20th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York City, which launched the gay rights movement, nearly 670,000 people turned out for pride parades across the country, including massive gatherings in San Francisco and New York. In Portland, the theme of the parade was "Stonewall 20 -- A Generation of Pride," and featured the Portland Gay Men's Chorus among the marchers.

The 1989 march also came at a time of political urgency, coming after the passage the previous fall of Measure 8, a ballot initiative that repealed then-Gov. Neil Goldschmidts executive order banning discrimination based on sexual orientation in state government, and prohibited job protection for gay and lesbian state workers. The political group Oregon Citizens Alliance, which backed the measure, would go on to promote other discriminatory ballot measures in the 1990s, but Measure 8 was its only statewide win.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

1990: "Look to the Future"

Don't Edit

Marc Kawanishi, The Oregonian

As a new decade dawned, Portlands gay and lesbian community looked ahead when they marched down Southwest Broadway. The march included several thousand people.

Don't Edit

1991: A father's love

Don't Edit

Bob Ellis, The Oregonian

While Portland's Lesbian and Gay Pride parade had featured local and state politicians over the years, 1991 brought something new. Police Chief Tom Potter rode in the parade to show solidarity with his daughter Katie, a Portland police officer who had recently come out. Potter also wanted to show that the gay community that they could count on fair treatment from police, after a long history of being targeted. "The role of police is to see people are treated equally and fairly and that their rights are provided them," he told The Oregonian.

The Oregon Citizens Alliance called on Potter to resign, claiming that by wearing his uniform in the parade he had made his own political agenda that of the Portland Police Bureau.

Don't Edit

Bob Ellis, The Oregonian

The 1991 parade was the largest in history at that point, with more than 6,000 marchers, including supporters from small Oregon towns, as well as a contingent from the timber community of Roseburg.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Bob Ellis, The Oregonian

Not everyone in the parade was gay or lesbian, The Oregonian wrote: Heterosexuals also joined the parade. Spectators warmly applauded a contingent of parents of gays and lesbians. Will Weigler and his wife, Eva Sargent, sported Another Straight Person for Gay Rights shirts. They held a balloon-bedecked sign for their pot-bellied pig that read, naturally, Another Pig for Gay Rights. 

Don't Edit

Bob Ellis, The Oregonian

The route of the Pride parade has changed numerous times over the years. In 1991, it stretched along Broadway downtown in a straight line from Northwest Davis Street all the way down to Portland State University. That gave parade watchers plenty of space to watch as groups like the Rose City Gay Freedom Band and the Portland Lesbian Choir marched by.

Don't Edit

1992: A call to action

Don't Edit

Dana E. Olsen, The Oregonian

The city officially upgraded the march to parade status, increasing the amount of police and city support for the event. The number of participants continued to grow, with more than 8,000 joining in the march. Part of the reason for the spike in attendance was growing concern over a new proposed ballot measure from the Oregon Citizens Alliance, which would amend the Oregon Constitution to call homosexuality a perversion.

State Rep. Gail Shibley, the first openly lesbian politician to get elected to state office, urged supporters to get active: We must show the people who would despise us, the respect and love for diversity that we demand of them. We must not give up and we must not give in. But we should give of ourselves and we should speak from the heart and those who have a heart will listen and respond.

Don't Edit

1993: 'Don't assume your freedoms are assured'

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Bob Ellis, The Oregonian

The Pride Parade now stretched out over a two-mile route through downtown, and featured a theme of "A Family of Pride." "We're here. We're queer. So sue us!" chanted members of the Oregon Gay and Lesbian Law Association, according to Oregonian reports. Police estimated that more than 10,000 people participated in or watched the parade, including newly elected Portland Mayor Vera Katz, who canceled an appearance at a national mayors' conference to be at Pride.

Don't Edit

Bob Ellis, The Oregonian

Even though a statewide ballot measure by the Oregon Citizens Alliance had been voted down the previous fall, many parade participants said they were still concerned about the groups ongoing efforts to restrict the rights of gays and lesbians. Many marchers carried anti-OCA signs. One sign seemed to sum up the sentiment: Dont assume your freedoms are assured.

Don't Edit

Oregonian file photo

One on the most-inspiring stories from the 1993 parade was the participation of Lynn Tessier (left) and Carol Boehm, who had been a couple for years, but kept quiet about their relationship because they were both teachers and feared they could lose their jobs. The year before, they had marched in the parade with paper bags over their heads to hide their identities. But this year, they marched with their faces showing, carrying signs proclaiming their pride at being both lesbians and teachers.

Don't Edit

1994: Focusing on veterans

Don't Edit

Ross William Hamilton, The Oregonian

In the early years of Bill Clinton's presidency, the nation debated whether or not gays could serve in the military, and the controversial "Don't ask, don't tell" policy was born. That put the focus of the 1994 Pride Parade on gay and lesbian veterans, who led the procession to applause from spectators. The parade was held in early July this year, instead of the traditional late-June date to correspond with the Stonewall anniversary. Among the marchers was new Police Chief Charles Moose, who marched in uniform with a dozen officers. Police estimated that 10,000 marched in or watched the parade.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

1996: Chastity Bono fires up the crowd

Don't Edit

Bob Ellis, The Oregonian

Chastity Bono (now known as Chaz Bono) was the Pride parade's grand marshal, and later spoke at the rally in Waterfront Park: "It's important to make these fun events. Lesbians and gays have to work together, especially this year, to make themselves heard and felt politically." At the time, her father, Sonny Bono, was a Republican Congressman who opposed gay rights. Chastity Bono would later become one of the first high-profile faces of the trans-gender movement and the focus of the acclaimed documentary "Becoming Chaz."

Don't Edit

Bob Ellis, The Oregonian

Members of the Portland Gay Mens Chorus, many carrying balloons emblazoned with the phrase Love Makes a Family, sang their way through the parade route, a tradition that continues to this day.

Don't Edit

1997: Becoming more inclusive

Don't Edit

Melvin G. Jackson, The Oregonian

After years of being known as the Lesbian and Gay Pride Parade, the name changed in 1997 to the Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Trans Pride Parade, a nod to the expanded range of community represented by the march.

North Portlands Deborah Samuels told The Oregonian she appreciated the name change: As a bisexual woman, I'm really happy for the feeling of being included. We get judged sometimes just as harshly by people for being bisexual as a gay or lesbian person might. We take the heat  So it's nice this year for it to be explicit.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

1998: A crowd of 20,000 strong

Don't Edit

Stephanie Yao Long, The Oregonian/OregonLive

An estimated 20,000 people turned out for the 1998 Pride parade, and the mood was upbeat, The Oregonian reported, with Realtors and drag queens flinging candy and other treats at the crowd, and a lesbian reading group from Salem celebrating 12 years together by doing a fancy drill routine with their books.

Don't Edit

Stephanie Yao Long, The Oregonian/OregonLive

The parade included large contingents of Roman Catholic, Protestant and Jewish congregations, along with businesses that supported their gay and lesbian employees, including the tech giant Intel.

Don't Edit

1999: Revolution-Evolution

Don't Edit

Stephanie Yao Long, The Oregonian/OregonLive

June weather in Oregon can be unpredictable, and there have been plenty of cloudy Pride parades featuring drizzle. But in 1999, the weather cooperated. In honor of the 30th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, the theme was "Stonewall 30: Revolution-Evolution," and Portland's most-famous female impersonator Darcelle was the parade's grand marshal. "When I started in the business, we couldn't have been in the street like this. It just wouldn't have worked," Darcelle told The Oregonian. "Now they say parade. And we say, 'What color dress?' "

The 1999 parade was also about raising awareness of violence against the gay community, in the wake of the killing of Wyoming college student Matthew Shepard the previous year.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

2001: A royal celebration

Don't Edit

Rob Finch, The Oregonian/OregonLive

It's not a Pride parade without royalty. At the beginning of the annual march, Rose Emperor 27, Andrew T. Fox, and the Rose Empress 43, The Lovely Suzanne from the Imperial Sovereign Rose Court, got into their convertible car, then zoomed through the parade route. A total of 116 groups participated in the parade, celebrating the defeat of yet another anti-gay ballot measure promoted by the Oregon Citizens Alliance. To mark the victory, The Oregonian reported, the Portland Gay Men's Chorus launched into a reworked rendition of "High Hopes" with the line: "Oops, the OCA's initiative bombed again."

Don't Edit

2002: Splashes of diversity

Don't Edit

Marv Bondarowicz, The Oregonian/OregonLive

The 2002 Portland Pride Parade featured more than 100 groups, including Poder Latino De Oregon, a group representing Oregon Latino gays, lesbians and heterosexuals. The grand marshal was Portland Police officer Katie Potter, and the theme was On A Queer Day.

Don't Edit

2003: Spelling out P-R-I-D-E

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Nina Greipel, The Oregonian/OregonLive

The Pride Parade has always been about being proud of who you are, and in 2003, Emily Hyde wore her pride written with her own hair. Hyde marched with the Radical Cheerleaders, a group that mixes animal rights activism with performance art. An estimated 1,000 people marched in the parade, and more than 50,000 people dropped in on the two-day festival at Waterfront Park.

Don't Edit

2004: Marriage in Multnomah County

Don't Edit

Joel Davis, The Oregonian/OregonLive

For a brief while in 2004, same-sex marriage was legal in Multnomah County, after

County Commissioners Serena Cruz (left), Lisa Naito, and Maria Rojo de Steffey (along with with chairwoman Diane Linn) changed county policy earlier in the year, allowing gays and lesbians to marry. More than 3,000 couples got marriage licenses, though they were revoked after The Defense of Marriage Coalitions Measure 36 passed that fall, which amended the Oregon Constitution to define marriage as only between a man and a woman.

Don't Edit

Joel Davis, The Oregonian/OregonLive

Among the marchers in the 2004 parade was the newly formed MarchFourth marching band, a group that takes the military precision out of regular marching bands, and injects it with the surreal zaniness of stilt-walkers and hoop dancers. The band has been a big supporter of the Pride parade ever since.

Don't Edit

Joel Davis, The Oregonian/OregonLive

Resplendent in a feather boa and framed by paper palm trees, drag queen performer Starla Knight, Miss Gay Oregon 32, of the Imperial Sovereign Rose Court, greeted the crowds lining Broadway during the 2004 parade.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

2005: Protesting for marriage

Don't Edit

Ivan Kashinsky, The Oregonian/OregonLive

In the wake of the passage of Measure 36 banning gay marriage, the 2005 Pride parade was more protest than party. Jodie Hurley (left), Niqi Cavanaugh and Wid Prajugo rode on a float with two dogs, Jester and Suqi. The theme of the parade that year was Everyday People, and the grand marshal was former mayor Vera Katz, who had just completed her third term in office.

Don't Edit

2006: A parade of dignitaries

Don't Edit

Randy Cox, The Oregonian/OregonLive

The 2006 Pride parade featured 110 entries, and featured a whos-who of Oregon dignitaries:

Portland Mayor Tom Potter and his wife; Gov. Ted Kulongoski; city Commissioners Sam Adams and Dan Saltzman; Diane Linn and her successor as chairman of the Multnomah County Commission, Ted Wheeler.

Don't Edit

Faith Cathcart, The Oregonian/OregonLive

As always, the Pride celebration attracts a few religious protesters, like a man wearing a shirt that said God hates sodomy who tried to shout down speakers at Pioneer Courthouse Square.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

2008: A year for politics

Don't Edit

Olivia Bucks, The Oregonian/OregonLive

2008s Pride had a distinctly political feel, given that it was a year for elections for President and Portland mayor, and the theme captured the urgency: Pride Bring It. But there was a party atmosphere, too. Rob McElroy led the Portland Gay Men's Chorus down Broadway with a song in his heart.

Don't Edit

2009: A place for families

Don't Edit

Abby Metty, The Oregonian/OregonLive

Over the years, as societal acceptance of gays and lesbians has grown, the Pride parade has attracted more families, both marching in the parade and watching on the sidelines. In 2009,

Ava Houser, 6, watched the parade with her family on Southwest Taylor Street.

Don't Edit

2011: Make It Happen!

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Faith Cathcart, The Oregonian/OregonLive

Marching under the theme Make It Happen, Lauren Phillips walked her dog Shea Shea in a matching tutu for the annual Portland Pride Parade. This year, there were 110 entries, and the police estimated the crowd size at more than 25,000.

Don't Edit

Faith Cathcart, The Oregonian/OregonLive

One of the largest groups marching in the 2011 parade was Nike employees, including Brooke Williams, who glammed up with feather false eyelashes.

Don't Edit

Faith Cathcart, The Oregonian/OregonLive

One of the more colorful entries that year was Rose City Mortgage, which wore costumes made out of long sculpting balloons. Here, Jason Staats (left) asks Jen Bell, from left, Mathew Ladd, Derek Chittenden, Zack Woodbury, and Maggie Greener for a photo. "It's not our first year marching," Bell told The Oregonian. "It's just the funnest."

Don't Edit

2012: Beautiful People

Don't Edit

Randy L. Rasmussen, The Oregonian/OregonLive

With a theme of "Beautiful People," the 2012 Pride parade featured another large contingent from Nike, marching behind a banner reading "#BETRUE" in a rainbow of colors. It was a particularly fitting message from Nike, which had just hosted a three-day summit of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender sports leaders at the Nike World Headquarters.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Randy L. Rasmussen, The Oregonian/OregonLive

Among the marchers was the Portland chapter of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a non-profit group devoted to outreach to people on the fringes of society.

Don't Edit

Randy L. Rasmussen, The Oregonian/OregonLive

Another group marching in 2012 was Asian Pacific Islander Pride, whose members made a dragon puppet dance through the streets.

Don't Edit

2013: Sweet anticipation

Don't Edit

Molly J. Smith, The Oregonian/OregonLive

The 2013 Pride parade was kicked off with the Multnomah County Sheriffs Office Color Guard. The parade came just days before the United States Supreme Court was set to announce a ruling on Californias controversial Proposition 8, a critical incremental step to making same-sex marriage legal nationwide. Because of the anticipation for the ruling, members of the Portland Gay Men's Chorus sang the showtune "Get Me to the Church on Time" as they marched.

Don't Edit

Molly J. Smith, The Oregonian/OregonLive

Another group in the 2013 parade, which had the theme "Ain't No Stopping Us Now," was Dykes on Bikes, which traditionally has a spot towards the front of the parade.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

2014: A reason to celebrate

Don't Edit

Xiaojie Ouyang, The Oregonian/OregonLive

There was plenty to celebrate at 2014's Pride parade. Just a month before, same-sex marriage became legal in Oregon when a federal judge ruled that the constitutional amendment that voters passed in 2004 banning gay marriage violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Adding to the revelry was the Rose City Gay Freedom Band, which marched in rainbow-colored outfits.

Don't Edit

Xiaojie Ouyang, The Oregonian/OregonLive

A large contingent of marchers from the Portland Timbers Army gave the Pride parade some volume, as they chanted, sang and cheered throughout the route.

Don't Edit

2015: The eve of marriage equality - everywhere

Don't Edit

Stephanie Yao Long, The Oregonian/OregonLive

The 2015 Pride parade didnt just mark the 40th anniversary of Portlands first Pride festival (that little one in the South Park Blocks that attracted just 200 people). It also came less than two weeks before the United States Supreme Courts landmark ruling that guaranteed the right to same-sex marriage in every state.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Stephanie Yao Long, The Oregonian/OregonLive

Every age group was represented in the 2015 Pride parade, from the very young to seniors.

Don't Edit

2016: Remembering Orlando with tears, determination

Don't Edit

Stephanie Yao Long, The Oregonian/OregonLive

The 2016 Portland Pride Parade came just one week after a gunman entered the gay Pulse nightclub in Orlando and opened fire, killing 49 people and injuring 53 more before he was fatally shot by police. It was an act of violence that served as a stark reminder that while significant gains have been made towards equality for gays and lesbians, intolerance remains.

Because of those worries, Portland Police increased security for the parade. But the crowds of supporters lining the parade route were among the biggest in history. It was also the longest parade to date, with 150 entries featuring about 8,000 marchers.

Don't Edit

Stephanie Yao Long, The Oregonian/OregonLive

Among those in the parade was former Oregon Gov. Barbara Roberts, who rode in a convertible with longtime friend and gay activist Terry Bean.

Don't Edit

Stephanie Yao Long, The Oregonian/OregonLive

Another participant in 2016 Pride was Mayor-elect Ted Wheeler, who was warmly greeted by the crowd.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

This year's festival and parade

Don't Edit

Stephanie Yao Long, The Oregonian/OregonLive

The 2017 Portland Pride Waterfront Festival runs from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday, June 17, and from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, June 18 at Tom McCall Waterfront Park between Southwest Pine Street and the Morrison Bridge.

The 2017 Portland Pride Parade kicks off at 11 a.m. on Sunday, June 18, at the corner of West Burnside and Northwest Park Avenue, and winds through Old Town before disbanding at Tom McCall Waterfront Park.

Don't Edit

-- Grant Butler

gbutler@oregonian.com

503-221-8566; @grantbutler
A subcommittee of the Delta College Board of Trustees met in special session last week to discuss various aspects of President Jean Goodnows annual performance evaluation and compensation package.

The meeting of the presidents evaluation and compensation committee helped finalize the process ahead of a formal evaluation of Goodnow last Friday by the colleges nine-member board. It was a closed session, but Dr. Robert Emrich, Delta Board Chair, said, I assure you shell be rated very highly. Jean is a stellar person. Shes shaken the place up a bit, but it was needed.

Trustees are expected to finalize Goodnows compensation package at its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday. She currently earns a base salary of $199,381. Goodnow has expressed her desire to keep any pay raise in line with other college employees. Last year she received a 1.5 percent base salary increase and an additional $8,000 annual contribution to her 403 (b) retirement fund. Any increase beyond a salary bump on par, percentage-wise, with Delta faculty and staff, would likely again come in the form of a boost in deferred compensation to reward Goodnow for the fine job shes doing, Emrich said.

Goodnow has provided salaries of her peers to help the board arrive at an equitable figure.

Im very blessed to be here. I love my job and am reasonably compensated, said Goodnow, who has led Delta since 2005, making her one of the longest tenured community college presidents in the state.

The average tenureof a community college president is about four years, officials said.

A presidential sabbatical, suggested earlier by trustees as a way to re-energize Goodnow and perhaps help attract future Delta presidents if it was included in their contracts, was also a topic of conversation. As was vacation time and the practice of accruing it over a period of many years and then having an employee be paid for any unused days on their way out the door.

The reason for suggesting the sabbatical is concerns about your ability to continue to function at a high level if youre not using your vacation days, Emrich said. I have a problem banking a lot of days. I dont like the idea that a person has accrued 90 days and then says pay me the money. Im leaving. Im retiring.

Bay County Trustee Mary Lou Benecke suggested limiting the number of days the president can carry over. Currently Goodnow has 25 vacation days a year and can accrue up to 37.5 days.

Vacation is part of her compensation, she said. Its none of our business how she uses it or whether she cashes out. We still should limit carryovers.

Goodnow receives free housing as part of her compensation package. She resides at the Carlyon Farmhouse, located on college property. The Delta president said this perk has been valued at about $40,000 by a local realtor, a figure she says is too high.

Ive disputed this for awhile, she said. Its taxable income too. Its time for this to be re-evaluated.

Goodnow told board members she does not want a sabbatical option as part of her new contract, saying it would be detrimental to her financially.

Its not in my best interests to take a sabbatical, she said. The 15 weeks (one semester at Delta) would not go toward my retirement. Per our finance people, that would result in a substantial loss of money.

Goodnow had previously proposed to trustees the idea of splitting up the sabbatical in five week increments a year over the next three years during the summer.

Community outreach, the colleges fiscal condition, relationship with other academic institutions, donor support, curriculum and legislative work are among the areas upon which Goodnows evaluation is based, Emrich said.

Goodnow also provides trustees with a self-evaluation focusing on how she thinks she fared on top administrative goals such as student recruitment and retention and progress on the colleges planned $12.7 million Saginaw Center, to name a few key initiatives.

Were fortunate to have her, Emrich said. Jean is outstanding and is recognized as such nationally. Shes very active with the League for Innovation, the American Association of Community Colleges and the American Association of Community College Trustees.

Goodnows 2016-2017 evaluation Friday took place at the Delta College Planetarium and Learning Center.

Were stewards of the process, Emrich said of the committees work.Its helpful to the president on the basis that she can see that shes on the right track. We summarize the survey of the evaluation from board members of our president in various categories.
Michigan, like most states, has done an abysmal job running a pension system. But the Legislature is taking a real look at solving the states long-term liabilities for good. New legislation would discontinue offering new school employees pensions and instead give them 401(k)-type retirement plans. Thats a smart move.

Bills have been introduced to close the school pension system, prevent the accumulation of new debt (currently at $29 billion) and pay down what is owed. The new retirement plan for school employees, a defined-contribution system, cannot be underfunded.

Teacher unions and groups that profit from the status quo are putting heavy pressure on lawmakers to reject this plan. But its the best chance the state has for getting a handle on its long-term debt. Heres why pension reform is so important:

 The state has $29 billion in debt, largely because it makes bad assumptions, putting in fewer dollars than are needed year after year.

 Michigans school pension system has been fully funded only once in the past 43 years  regardless of which political party is in control. History shows that government pensions dont ever get properly funded as there are just too many incentives for politicians to spend more now rather than saving for later.

 The teacher pension system is funded at only 60 percent, meaning only 60 cents of every dollar the state has promised future school employees has been saved.

 The system now costs 37 percent of schools payroll costs  meaning about a third of the money schools spend on teacher compensation goes instead to pay down past debt.

 Only half of school employees ever receive a pension  the rest leave before becoming eligible. A 401(k)-type plan guarantees them benefits no matter how long they work.

 Michigan now spends more than $2 billion on the teacher pension system annually, up $1 billion just five years ago, and it still isnt enough. Liabilities have been increasing.

Opponents argue that reform will trigger prohibitive costs. But these are not new costs and they are not required by the legislation.

The costs of these bills being claimed include the cost of things the legislation doesnt require or trigger. Most of the higher cost in the fiscal analysis comes from two things.

First, it drops the assumed rate of return on current pension investments from 7.5 percent down to 5 percent in the future. That might be a good idea  it is more fiscally prudent  but it is not mandated by this legislation and is entirely optional. If the state is going to change the assumed rate of return, it should be doing so right now  meaning this is not a new cost, it is just being more honest about what the costs of the current system are.

Second, the fiscal analysis assumes school payrolls will grow in the future. It assumes schools will have 60 percent more school employees in 15 years than they do today. This is, frankly, an absurd and unjustifiable projection. At least three important factors all point to schools hiring fewer people in the future: declining birth rates, increased charter school enrollments and increased costs per employee. Despite this, the states pension managers have been assuming 3.5 percent payroll growth for years now and the auditor general has suggested they revise that.

Currently, the House, Senate and governor are negotiating how to handle the pension issue. So far, the House and Senate have stood strong on the most important issue  that legislators today not be able to rack up debt for tomorrows taxpayers. Reports indicate that the bills would do just that, either by mandating most workers get a defined contribution plan or else establishing a system which cannot be underfunded.

This is profoundly important for our state. Pension liabilities are the largest debt for state and local governments. The ongoing underfunding has driven higher taxes and stretched government services thin. It has brought several cities to the brink of insolvency and will continue to do so until the problem is fixed.

Michigan has a chance to become the first state to shift the vast majority of its employees off of unstable pension systems and onto a safe and secure defined-contribution plan. Putting the retirement back in the hands of school employees protects taxpayers as well as the pensions of current workers and retirees.

Jarrett Skorup is the marketing and strategic outreach manager at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a research and educational institute located in Midland.
The fire department posted on social media that it was fortunate the fire was reported quickly so crews could make a good stop on it.
HEYWORTH  A Heyworth woman is hoping Central Illinois residents will help provide comfort items for Illinois veterans now that a local club no longer is able to make the collections.

In the past, the GFWC (General Federation of Womens Clubs) of Heyworth collected comfort items for Illinois veterans, primarily for those in the Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy. The club lost members, said former member Nancy Beveridge of Heyworth, and dissolved.

But a lady from the American Legion Auxiliary started collecting and donating items a few years ago, she said. She puts an assortment of comfort items in a cart and pushes it around the veterans' home through the hallways, rooms and dining area.

If she misses anyone, Beveridge said, a nurse will let her know and try to help.

In past years, GFWC of Heyworth collected items at the Bloomington-Normal Jewel-Osco stores and the Heyworth IGA on Memorial Day and Veterans Day, she added.

I want to thank all of the people who donated on all of those weekends throughout the years, she said. Im sure many veterans were more comfortable because of your generosity.

But now that the club no longer takes collections, Beveridge is hoping Pantagraph-area residents will send their donations directly to Sue Reichert in Camp Point. Those items include body wash, body lotion, hand lotion, toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, shaving cream, razors, deodorant, shampoo, aftershave lotion, individually wrapped candies and bar soap.

Some of those veterans are over 100 years old, and some dont have much, if any, contact with family, Beveridge said. I know we went to visit a few times and so I know how much these veterans need and appreciate any help. Some of the veterans there served in World War II, and others served in the present-day battles. But they all need help.

The GFWC is a federation of more than 3,000 local womens clubs which promote civic improvements through volunteer service. It is known as one of the worlds largest and oldest nonpartisan, nondenominational, womens service organizations.

Anyone wishing to donate items or make a monetary donation can send it to Sue Reichert, P.O. Box 133, Camp Point, IL 62320. All donations are tax deductible.
Visy Board New Zealand to Build $100 Million Corrugated Packaging Plant

June 12, 2017 - Visy recently announced that Visy Board New Zealand will build a second corrugated packaging plant to be established in the Waipa District, south of Hamilton in the Waikato Province, New Zealand.

Visy Board New Zealand will expand its capacity with a $100 million investment on an 8.5 hectare site at Hamilton Airport, with construction having commenced in April 2017.

A growing focus on export supply chains associated with food processing, fruit and produce, meat and dairy products has provided the impetus to Visy Board New Zealand's expansion in the New Zealand market, said Andrew Gleason, General Manager of Visy Board New Zealand. This advanced, new plant is designed with our customer base in mind and enables us to be local and focused, providing the best quality and cost effective corrugated packaging for our customers.

Waipa Mayor Jim Mylchreest welcomed Visy Board to the district. The Visy development will fit in perfectly with the existing technology hub at the Airport and joins a variety of other international organizations that are making the most of this location.

Visy Board New Zealand noted that it operates a corrugating facility in Wiri, Auckland, which is running at full capacity, and the new packaging plant in the Waipa District is needed to fulfill the demand created by New Zealand's growing economy.

SOURCE: Visy
In a May report Patently Apple noted that TSMC had stated that they had already signed up 30 customers for their advanced 7nm chips with clients such as Apple, Nvidia, Huawei, MediaTek and Qualcomm. Today it became official that Qualcomm ended their consignment production with Samsung Electronics and has signed on with TSMC.

A Korean report this morning once again confirms that "Qualcomm has entrusted Taiwan's TSMC instead of Samsung Electronics to produce its next-generation 7-nano semiconductor chips and has ended consignment production (foundry) partnership between them. Previously Apple ended its business with Samsung Electronics and entrusted TSMC to produce its application processors (AP) of its Smartphones.

According to industry insiders yesterday, it is confirmed that Qualcomm has been designing and developing its next-generation 7-nano Snapdragon AP by using a chip development tool distributed by TSMC since second half of last year. Qualcomm is planning to mass-produce 7-nano Snapdragon APs between end of this year and early next year after first test wafer is manufactured from TSMC in this September and after it is done with designing of package and verification process."

In May Patently Apple posted a report titled "TSMC Executive Says they're testing 7nm Chips for 12 Top Customers & will Ramp up Production in H2 2018."

The Korean report further noted that "Sales from producing Qualcomm's APs and modem chips are around $1.78 billion (2 trillion KRW) and they take up about 40% of entire sales from foundry business. When these sales are gone, it is inevitable that Samsung Electronics' performance will drop sharply."

Last week Patently Apple posted a report titled "Future iPhone's will use 5nm Chips to Support AR, AI, Deep Learning and Provide Power for Days." In that report we covered Samsung's involvement with the IBM Alliance that was going full tilt to promote their 5nm processors under development. If Samsung lost Qualcomm for 7nm, they wanted to get the news out that their 5nm chips would provide great breakthrough advancements in an attempt to win new customers their way or old customers back.

Yet our report covered TSMC's work with extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography technology as well and that TSMC's chips were likely to match the advances being made by the IBM Alliance.

Last December Patently Apple posted a report titled "Samsung may Spin-Off its Foundry Division in the Hopes of Winning Back Apple's Chip Business." In that report we noted that a Korean report published back in May 2016 confirmed that "Samsung Electronics Co. backed by cutting-edge nanometer chip-making technology had confirmed that it would be creating a separate foundry division to expand their dominance in pure-play foundry business amid a boom in demand for semiconductors.

The report further noted that "It would be easier for Samsung Electronics to draw contracts as a separate division. Apple for instance has been reluctant in ordering application processing chips from Samsung as it competes directly with the company in smartphone market."

And lastly, Patently Apple posted a report last week titled "Samsung's Vice Chairman has a Scheduled Meeting with Apple Executives this Week." We noted in the report that Samsung's Vice Chairman Kwon oh-hyun leads their company's chip and parts business unit.

The report further noted that "Earlier this month Samsung Electronics turned its foundry business arm into an independent business unit. At present, its semiconductor business consists of three business units  memory, fabless and foundry.

Global clients can entrust production to Samsung with greater ease when foundry and fabless are separated from each other as mentioned above; So Samsung's Kwon could be making a new pitch for Apple's processor business."

In context with today's news that Qualcomm is now onboard with TSMC, I'm more convinced that Samsung's meeting included a pitch for Apple's chip business to ease the pain of losing Qualcomm.

While I'd like to think that Apple has no intention of assisting Samsung when they have a viable alternative in TSMC, business is business and desperate Samsung may have made Apple a deal that they can't refuse.

While we won't know if such a deal was reached for some time down the road, for now, Samsung's chip business is destined to take a historic nose dive later next year.

About Making Comments on our Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit any comments. Those using abusive language or negative behavior will result in being blacklisted on Disqus.


The plot of Radio Dreams is simple enough. A Farsi language radio station in San Francisco has made a booking coup, well beyond its normal range. Theyre bringing the heavy metal band Metallica to jam with Kabul Dreams, an Afghani rock band.

The story turns on that single day as the hours extend on and Metallica does not show up.

It captures perfectly an immigrant community filled with hopes and constraints, and perhaps living more into the constraints.

But, Radio Dreams is also a comedy, if of the human comedy variety. It is a gentle film played out against the back drop of a pretty harsh world.

It portrays a wonderful cast of characters, giving most of them just enough time for us to feel genuine affection. It took me a little while to realize that Hamid Royani, the stations director of programming is the protagonist, not the villain.

Royani is portrayed by Mohsen Namjoo, who has been called the Iranian Bob Dylan, and according to the New York Times, is the most controversial, and certainly the most daring, figure in Persian music today. Hes also a commanding film presence, not just because of his astonishing mane of grizzing grey hair. In a movie where everyone has a face, and I mean a face Namjoos Royanis is as perfect and haunting as can be imagined.

The broadcast day begins with a reading of a dark poem by the Salvadoran poet Roque Dalton. As director of programming, Royani, who had been a renowned novelist in Iran, but now struggles on his much, much smaller stage, is determined that high culture drive the station and its programming.

Against this is the station owners daughter Maral, played to a delicious turn by Boshra Dastounezhad, who is determined the station will turn a profit, and that means advertising. All the adds are, of course, terribly cheesy. And so Royani and Moral are at war with each other.

The film also features Sullyman Qardash, Raby Adib, and Siddique Ahmed, as the real-life Afghani hard rock trio Kabul Dreams, as well as a wonderful last reel visit from Metallicas Lars Ulrich.

Radio Dreams is writer director Babak Jalalis second film. (The script here is co-written with Aida Ahadiany) His first film Frontier Blues, which takes place on the Iran-Turkmenistan border was a critical success. This second film was shot during production delays, apparently, of another film, Land, about a Lakota Sioux family. I think those constraints bleed into the film, in very successful ways.

Radio Dreams is the winner of numerous awards and is a New York Times Critics Pick.

Filmed in Farsi, with English subtitles, on location in San Francisco and the East Bay.

It runs one hour and thirty-three minutes.

Radio Dreams is going to be a little hard to find. But, it is worth going out of your way to see it. A lovely, lovely film.
Patna: Fed with the administration's failure to rid Patna from water-logging, angry residents of Postal Park under Jakkanpur Police Station on Sunday blocked the road by burning tires saying the road had been under six to eight inches of water for the past nine months but the government had not even sent one person to survey the area to find a remedy for the existing problem.

The road block resulted in long lines of cars and other vehicles on both sides of the Mithapur-Karbigahia Road causing much inconvenience to the passers-by.

The government should take today's protest as a warning. If the situation is still not taken care of in the next few days, we will be forced to block the main road for an indefinite period, said the protestors most of whom were women from the nearby areas.

Protestors accused Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of neglecting those who did not live in the VVIP areas.

"Not one time the Chief Minister has cared to visit our area that has been under water for the past nine months. The dirty water is causing all sorts of sickness to people of all ages but neither the Chief Minister nor the Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) has cared to rid the area from water-logging," said one protestor.
ISIS Mastermind behind Tehran twin attacks killed: Iran's Intelligence Ministry

06/11/17

Source: RFE/RL

The Iranian Intelligence Ministry has announced that the mastermind behind the Tehran terrorist attacks has been killed.



by Sasan Khadem, Iranian daily Ghanoon



During a televised interview on Saturday, Iranian Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said that the terrorist commander was killed earlier in the day by intelligence forces.



He noted that the terrorist had fled the country following the ensuing security operations after the attack, but was killed with the cooperation of friendly foreign intelligence services.



At least 17 people were killed and 52 others injured in Tehran on Wednesday when gunmen mounted almost simultaneous assaults on Iran's Parliament and the Mausoleum of the late founder of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini. The Daesh terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attacks.



Iranian security forces fighting ISIS during attack on Iran's Parliament in Tehran

(source: cover of Iranian magazine Mosalas)



After offering condolences to the families of the attacks victims, Alavi stressed that over the past few months the country's intelligence forces had neutralized over 25 terrorist cells.



He added that the large number of terrorist operations thwarted by Iran had pushed the terrorists into engaging in the Wednesday attacks.



Alavi also noted that in a recent intelligence raid a large amount of automatic weapons and grenade launchers were obtained from a terrorist group.



Meanwhile, Iran's Police chief Hossein Ashtari has announced that a group of some 60 suspects has also been detained near Tehran in relation to the terrorist attacks.



Earlier, authorities reported the arrest of eight suspects in the country's Alborz province, all of whom with ties to the recent attacks.
Iran sending planeloads of food to Qatar daily

06/11/17

Source: Press TV

Further indications have emerged that a blockade declared by several Persian Gulf states against Qatar has already opened a food corridor between Tehran and Doha since last week. Iranian officials say the country is already sending at least 100 tonnes of food supplies to Qatar by plane every day.



Source: Iranian daily Haft Sobh





Shahrokh Noushabadi, Iran Air's spokesman, was quoted by the domestic media as saying that at least five planeloads of fruits and vegetables had already been sent to Qatar.



Noushabadi added that the cargoes had been sent to the embattled Persian Gulf state by an Iran Air Boeing 747 plane from Tehran and Shiraz airports, Iran's Fars News Agency reported.



The official further emphasized that Iran was ready to increase the number of food shipments to Qatar, stressing that plans were already at hand to the same effect.



On a related front, an official at the Chamber of Commerce of Iran's Alborz Province was quoted by IRNA news agency as saying that a cargo of 100 tonnes of fruits and vegetables from the province had been packed and delivered to Qatar by air in less than 12 hours.



Kazem Mirjalili, the head of the Agriculture Department of Alborz Chamber of Commerce, emphasized that the province was ready to supply Qatar's required food items as well as pharmaceuticals "within the shortest time possible."



An equal amount of fruits and vegetables are being sent to Qatar by plane from Iran's southern city of Shiraz, Fars Province.



Ali Hemmati, the president of Fars Province Agriculture, Mine and Trade Organization, was quoted by local media as saying that 100 tonnes of fruits and vegetables were already being sent to Qatar.







Another provincial official also told media that Fars Province was ready to export 45 tonnes of dairy products to Qatar every day.



The diplomatic crisis between Qatar and its Persian Gulf neighbors has also led to Doha using Iran's airspace.



Ali Abedzadeh, the CEO of the Civil Aviation Organization of Iran, told media that there has been an increase of 17 percent in the number of flights that pass through Iran's airspace.
A few weeks ago when Corsair unveiled its Concept Zeus mousepad at Computexa prototype that charges a wireless mouse sans wiresI said I wouldnt be surprised to see other companies follow suit in the near future. It happened sooner than expected, as it turns out: Today, Logitech announced its own wireless charging mousepad, the Powerplay, along with two mice to take advantage of the technology.

Theyre familiar mouses, too. Unlike Corsairs new Concept Zeus mouse, Logitechs taken its already-popular and powerful G900 and G402, modified them to allow for the new charging kit, and rebranded them the G903 and G703.

The secret is a chamber on the bottom of both the G903 and G703. Without the wireless mousepad, that chamber can be used for optional weights same aswell, most Logitech gaming mice.

But that chamber also fits Logitechs new charging contact, a circular disk that snaps in magnetically and can be removed and placed in any other compatible mouse. This should presumably help keep the mouse cost down, bundling the charging kit with the Powerplay mousepad itself, while allowing for a range of wireless mouse options.

Logitech

Otherwise the Logitech G903 and G703 are basically the same as their predecessors. Logitech still boasts about the speed and reliability of its wireless devices, citing tests that show the delay is less with its proprietary wireless Lightspeed tech than on some wired competitors (like the Razer DeathAdder).

A mousepad that charges the mouse while youre using it, so you never need to plug it in again, should remove the last real barrier preventing wireless mouse adoption. The one question remaining in my mind is whether Logitech uses the open Qi wireless charging standard, as Corsair does. That sort of brand-neutral foundation would be huge, allowing people to choose their wireless mousepad independently from their mouse, but Qi isnt mentioned in Logitechs press release whatsoever. Ive reached out to Logitech to see whether Powerplay is proprietary or not.

And its important to know, because this is all getting started quite a bit faster than anticipated. Unlike Corsairs Concept Zeus, which is still listed as a prototype and wont be out until late this year or early next, Logitechs Powerplay mousepad releases in August for $99and you know its only a matter of time before Razer and SteelSeries announce theirs too. The Logitech G903 and G703 mice will be out sooner, releasing in late June for $150 and $100 respectively. Well have reviews of the whole ecosystem as soon as were able.
President Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo has announced a new import tax aimed at supporting the activities of the African Union (AU).



"Indeed, Cabinet just approved a 0.02 per cent deductions in all imports outside AU as a fund to support the activities of AU, so that AU will not go begging other countries for its citizens," President Nana Akufo-Addo stated in a speech read on his behalf at the closing ceremony of a five day orientation workshop for newly appointed envoys in Accra.



He reminded the envoys, who would be heading towards African countries that Africa remained a focal point of Ghana's Foreign Policy objectives. "As our first President proclaimed during the eve of Ghana's Independence: 'the Independence of Ghana will be meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of the African Continent'," he said.



President Akufo-Addo explained that this theme dominated Ghana's foreign policy during Dr Nkrumah's years in office and through successive governments.



He said Ghana and it's first President therefore, played a leading role in the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) on 25th May, 1963.



The President said Ghana as a founding member of the OAU now AU and in line with the commitment of the realisation of the ideals and objectives of Union accelerated economic integration and development.

Ghana had continued to co-operate with other members of the AU and had actively participated in the activities of the AU since its formation.



"It is significant to note that Ghana hosted the 2007 AU Summit, in the year of our nation's golden Jubilee.

"It is in the light of this commitment that I led Ghana's delegation to attend the 28th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the AU in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 25th to 31st January, 2017," he stated.



President Akufo-Addo said the Assembly of Heads of among other commitments signed up to the Continental Free Trade Agreement, whose purpose was to ensure significant growth in intra-Africa trade and to assist countries to use trade more effectively for growth and sustainable development.



It was also during the Summit that in further recognition of Ghana's immense contribution to the AU and the determination of Ghana to retake her pride of place on the Continent that, Mr Kwesi Quartey was elected as Deputy Chairman of the AU Commission, while Kathleen Quartey Ayensu and Daniel Batidam were elected onto two legal organs of the Union.



President Akufo-Addo said the Ambassadors, who would be posted to African countries and those who would be dealing with AU matters, particularly Ghana's Permanent Mission at the AU in Addis Ababa, would be evaluated against the backdrop of their role in the support for the pursuit of the AU Agenda 2063.



To the Ambassadors, who would be going to Ghana's Missions in the West Africa sub-region, the President said they had the arduous but achievable task in working assiduously towards the speedy realisation of the sub-regional integration projects.



He said Ghana's policy had been to ensure that the region attained peace, security and stability for sustainable development in order to ensure the speedy actualisation of ECOWAS projects.



"While consolidating our transitional exiting bilateral economic relations in Europe and the Americas the dynamic of the world economy has changed over the past decades, with the rise of the Asian Tigers like South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan and more recently the BRICS countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

"These countries are projected to join the league of newly industrialised countries including Mexico, Indonesia and Turkey," he noted.



"While not forgetting our traditional trading and donor partners, these countries have become alternative sources of development assistance.



"They have become a hub for economic and financial activity and present opportunities for trade, market, and financial resources and have attracted interest even among the most developed countries many of whom have taken steps to recalibrate their economic, trade, and foreign policies to engage meaningfully in the region.



Particularly the Asia Pacific region, which has become an area for competition and it is a place to look out for economic partnership," President Akufo-Addo said.



"Ghana cannot be left out of the equation and those of you who will be posted to the region will have to redouble your efforts in exploring opportunities for appropriate technology, financial and technical support in our efforts at industrialisation and creation of jobs for our teeming mass of unemployed."



He noted that another crucial aspects of Ghana's foreign policy objectives was the pursuit of economic diplomacy; stating that "Ghana's international relations over the years in terms of bilateral engagement as they relate to our economic diplomacy agenda had been varied across political dispensations.



President Akufo-Addo urged Ghana's missions abroad to attend the consular and welfare needs of Ghanaians residing outside the country.



Mr Yaw Osafo Marfo, the Senior Minister commended President Akufo-Addo for appointing a hybrid of both old and young as Ghana's new envoys.



Mr Ayikoi Otoo, Ghana's High Commissioner designate to Canada, on behalf of his colleagues expressed gratitude to the President for the honour done them.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Ghana's desire of increasing cocoa production has suffered a major setback as it has been revealed that 40% of all cocoa trees in Ghana are not productive.



Out of the 40%, 17% have been affected by swollen shoot disease while 23% are over 30 years and had become unproductive.



Ghana, the second largest producing country in the world, targets to raise production to 1 million tonnes by 2020, from the current annual output of 800,000 tonnes.



The above challenges coupled with galamsey destroying additional cocoa farms and falling prices threaten the one million tonnes target.



Chief Executive of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Joseph Boahen Aidoo, who made the disclosure, said the only solution is to cut down all the trees and replant.



"What it means is that at least 40 percent of Ghana's cocoa stock is not producing and it's a challenge we must resolve to sustain production in future," he said.



To achieve the target, he said COCOBOD was seeking funding from African Development Bank to undertake an extensive rehabilitation of moribund farms, to be complemented by a hand pollination programme to be launched on Thursday in the Ashanti Region.



He stated that the cocoa sector contributes 4.22% of Gross Domestic Products (GDP), 30% of export earnings.



He added that while farmers in other countries make 32 bags from one hectare, some Ghanaian farmers do not even make one bag from a hectare.



No annual bonuses to cocoa farmers this year



Aidoo further disclosed that Ghana might not pay annual bonuses to cocoa farmers this year due to a drop in global prices from $3,000 in June 2016 to about $1,975.



Farmers paid $400 more than world market price



"Considering the current level of (world) prices, we believe we are paying $400 more per tonne to our farmers than the price we sell the cocoa at the world market. It is a tight situation and we may not be able to pay bonuses this year," he added.



He explained that farmers are being paid more than the world market price because of government maintained the producer price paid to farmers despite the price fall.



The COCOBOD Chief Executive defended the government's decision to subsidise fertiliser for farmers, saying that the free fertiliser is fueling smuggling to neighbouring countries.







Source: The Finder









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Seventeen of the current 73 students of the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI), University of Ghana (UG) will receive their doctor of philosophy (PhD) degrees in Plant Breeding at the University's Congregation in July.



WACCI, one of the World Bank Africa Centres of Excellence, has since its inception in 2007 grown to become the leading centres producing the record highest number of PhD graduates in a single programme in Africa.



Professor Eric Yirenkyi Danquah, the Founding Director, WACCI, said in 10 years, the school had demonstrated that working with strategic partners and taking giant strides, had produced quality PhD graduates, who were game changers and who were making history on the African Continent.



He noted that all of the 35 graduates had returned to their home countries and were leading breeding programmes in West and Central Africa.



Speaking at the 10th Anniversary Launch and Symposium of WACCI, Prof Danquah said: "As the Founding Director, I am more than elated that from our early beginnings, WACCI has today become a globally significant institution."



The event on the theme "The March Towards Food and Nutrition Security in Sub-Saharan Africa," was attended by renowned academics, agriculturists and industrialists from across the globe.



Among the high profile personalities, who graced the function were former Vice President Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur and his wife Matilda; Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Minister of Education; Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, Minister of Finance; Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto Minister of Food and Agriculture; Prof Ebenezer Oduro Owusu, Vice Chancellor, UG and Mrs Mercy Haizel-Ashia, Registrar, UG.



WACCI is a partnership between the UG and Cornell University, US that was established in June 2007 with funding from the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) at the UG to train Plant Breeders in Africa working on the improvement of African crops in local environments for farmers in Africa.



Its vision is to become the foremost Centre for post-graduate training and research in crop improvement in Africa.



Prof Danquah said as one of the World Bank-funded Africa Centres of Excellence, WACCI had been assessed as well positioned to join the top-tier institutes educating the next generation of plant breeding professionals globally.



"With this strategic plans we have made for further expansion, and the record of our success to date, WACCI is poised to have a tremendous impact on food security for Africa in the decade ahead and beyond," he stated.



"Clearly, we could not have come this far without the support of several organisations and individuals.



"AGRA provided the initial funds for the establishment of the Centre and provided full scholarships for 53 PhD students, in addition to administrative support," he added.



"At the UG, Prof Clifford Nii-Boi Tagoe, former Vice Chancellor (2006-2010), and his management team were instrumental in the establishment of WACCI.



"Our current Vice-Chancellor, Prof Owusu and his predecessor, Prof Ernest Aryeetey, have all continued to support WACCI's growth and development, and we are grateful to them for supporting us."



He said the 10th anniversary provides WACCI with a platform to look back at where they had come; stating that "it also gives us the opportunity to engage our partners and potential partners in conversations aimed at sustaining WACCI well beyond the AGRA-funded phase".



"We are desirous to develop WACCI into a top-tier global plant breeding institution.



"Africa needs world class institutions to attract and develop gifted students into game changers and history makers for inclusive transformation of agriculture, not only for food and nutrition security but also to create jobs to address have the youth bulged."



Prof Owusu hailed WACCI for spearheading Africa's agriculture transformation.



"We have to transform agriculture in Africa, we need a step change in our agriculture and it is Africans who will lead the way today and tomorrow.



"Clearly we have in WACCI, a dynamic Centre that is leading the way and it's pre-eminence in the delivery of quality plant breeding education in Africa cannot be overemphasised," Prof Owusu stated.



Dr Agnes Kalibata, the President, AGRA Kenya, said AGRA was 100 per cent committed to work with WACCI.



"We are going to be feeding 2.5 billion people with the next five years, so we need institutions like WACCI," she said.



Prof Ronnie Coffman, Director, International Programmes, CALS, Cornel University, said WACCI was a laudable project to invest in.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has recruited 7,000 people across the country to work as pollinators in various cocoa farms because of inadequate pollinating species in the ecosystem.



Joseph Boahen Aidoo, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of COCOBOD, who announced this, said management intends to increase the number of pollinators to 30,000 by the end of this year in order to address the acute shortage of the pollinating insects.



He disclosed this while speaking at a demonstration exercise on pollination of cocoa flowers by some trained personnel of the COCOBOD at a cocoa farm at Awadua, near Mankranso in the Ahafo-Ano South District of the Ashanti Region.



Mr Aidoo stated that the move was in line with the vision of the government led by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to boost the cocoa sector by increasing cocoa production and improving the quality of cocoa produced.



He disclosed that the number of pollinating species had declined in recent years because of the use of pesticides in mass cocoa spraying exercise and diseases.



Pollination is the transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigma of a plant, and this is done unwittingly by active species such as fruit bats, hummingbird, hoverflies and lemurs without cost to the nation.



Cocoa is not just a cash crop; it is the food of the gods. It increases life expectancy and provides good health to the consumer. And we want to encourage local consumption of cocoa because of the health benefit that comes with it, aside being one of the wealth of the nation, the COCOBOD CEO argued.



Government does not want cocoa to be a seasonal crop, as it is a living gold that cannot be depleted if proper care and management are put in place, subsidized fertilizers are on the way coming beside the pollination exercise and mass spraying, Mr Aidoo said.



Black Pod Disease



At the Marbang Cocoa Research Institute in the Ahafo-Ano North District, the COCOBOD boss said since the supply of improved seedlings to farmers is crucial in sustaining cocoa production, COCOBOD was in the process of developing new seedlings that could withstand the Black Pod disease, popularly called Phytophthora Megakarya.



There is a breeder that takes 18 months for harvest and I am encouraging the youth in particular to go into cocoa farming since it is lucrative business venture, Mr Aidoo said.



He disclosed that government was considering rehabilitating 40 percent of the cocoa farms within the C class category and had secured a loan facility from 0Agricultural Development Bank (adb) to undertake the exercise.

Source: Daily Guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The Minister in charge of Inner-city and Zongo Development, Alhaji Boniface Saddique Abu-bakar, has said the creation of the ministry is 'historic', adding it speaks volumes of how the New Patriotic Party-led government is committed to addressing the socio-economic plight of Zongo dwellers.



The Minister is also optimistic the establishment of the 'Zongo Development Fund' will support tackle infrastructure and the health concerns of people living in Zongo communities in the country.



The minister and his entourage have been embarking on a nationwide tour to seek divergent views from stakeholders on the Zongo Development Fund Bill.



At Bawku in the Upper East Region, Alhaji Abu-bakar, thanked the Ghanaian electorate for exercising their franchise in favour of the NPP, then opposition party in the December 2016 presidential and parliamentary race.



According to Alhaji Abu-bakar, the NPP is resolved to giving the Zongo communities a new face in its development crisis.



He reckons the contribution of the people residing in the Zongo Communities during the struggle for independence, and bemoans previous governments over neglecting the community.



"Since independence, the Zongo community has been neglected by governments. The contribution of people from the Zongo in the struggle for independence has not been recognised. The current state of Zongo reflect in social and economic challenges.



"Poverty, illiteracy and disease are affecting the Zongo people so much. The NPP government has, therefore, done the historic thing by establishing a Zongo Ministry and allocating a seed capital of 219 million Ghana Cedis to undertake many projects for the development of the people in Zongo", Alhaji Abu-bakar said.



He assures there will be equity in the disbursement of the Zongo Development Fund, saying the fund will take care of everybody in the Zongo community, regardless of one's political affiliation, ethnic background, whatsoever.



The legislator emphasised that the NPP-led administration had made a mark in its efforts of transforming the Zongo community by creating the Zongo ministry, warning that any future government who scrapped the ministry was simply an 'enemy to Zongo people'.



He added he never expected any government to change the status quo since that would amount to doing a disservice to the Zongo folks.



"The NPP government has initiated policies to empower the Zongo communities economically. We want to empower the 'Zangos' in the areas of infrastructure, health, education, among others. Some programmes and projects have already been outlined in the ministry's action plan.



"There will be economical enhancement for the people to enable them secure a sustainable human settlement", the minister stressed.



Abdulai Mumuni Dauda, a resident of the Zongo Community in Bawku, applauded the government for the creation of the ministry, noting the ministry would properly revamp Arabic education in the country.



The Minister, together with his entourage, wrapped up the stakeholder consultation tour in the region at Bolgatanga, where he met with some key people in the political and religious divide.

Source: Francis Dabre Dabang/ email: [email protected]









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The 2017 Basic Education Certificate Examinations which commenced on Monday June 5, across the country has come to an end without any complaint of malpractices.



The Ghana Education Service (GES) and West African Examinations Council (WAEC) deployed security agencies to ensure that the candidates wrote the examinations in a secured environment free from all forms of intimidation and malpractices.



A total of 468,053 candidates sat for this years BECE which ended on June 9, 2017.

Out of the total number of candidates, 241,148 were males, while 226,905 were females.



Ghana News Agency visited Kinbu Centre in the Accra Metropolis and observed that students were celebrating after the last paper, indicating some forms of serene environment.



Attempts by GNA to interview some invigilators and students proved futile.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Ghana will join the rest of the world to mark this years World Day Against Child Labour (WDACL) on Monday, June 12.



The day, which was launched by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in 2002, is a global advocacy initiative to highlight the plight of children who engage in hard labour.



It is also a platform to garner support from child right organisations and to demand strategic policy actions to address the global menace.



The global theme for this years celebration is In Conflict and Disasters, Protect Children from Child Labour.



Locally, the day will be marked on the theme: In Conflict and Disasters, Protect Children from Child Labour: Mobilising resources for the effective implementation of the National Plan of Action (NPA2) (2016-2020).



Recent figures released by the ILO showed that many of the worlds 168 million children who suffer from one form of hazardous labour or the other live in conflict and disaster prone areas.



It is also estimated that 70 million children are affected by natural disasters while more than half of the 65 million people who are displaced by wars are children.



In Ghana, 1.9 million children, are caught in the web of child labour, with such child labourers standing the risk of being killed, maimed, injured or suffer severe impairments.



To ensure that the day is marked across the country, the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations is collaborating with ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), local assemblies and civil society organisations (CSOs) to garner support and create awareness.



A release issued by the ministry indicated that a national policy durbar on the mobilisation of resources for the effective implementation of strategic frameworks on child labour would be held on Monday, June 12.



National campaign



In a related development, a national campaign to call duty bearers to action to address the menace will be launched in Accra on July 4, this year.



The initiative, being carried out by Mayce Foundation, Ghana, a child right advocacy organisation, is also meant to create public awareness of the negative impact of child labour and the need to take pragmatic steps to curb it.



It is dubbed Stop Child Labour in Ghana: School is the Best Place to Work.



March



As part of the initiative, a torch-bearing march will be held in Accra on Monday, June 12 by the foundation through the principal streets of the city.



To garner public support for the event, the Founder of the foundation, Mr Harry Ahorlu, paid a courtesy call on Ms Marigold Akufo-Addo, a child rights advocate and sister of President Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to ask her to lead the march.



He was accompanied by Torgbui Gobah Tengey, the President of the Ewe Ashanti Union (EWASH).



The march will begin from Abeka Junction through to the ministerial enclave, after which plaques bearing child rights messages will be presented to stakeholder ministers.



The ministers who will be presented with the plaques include those of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Employment and Labour Relations, as well as the country offices of the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO).



Commitment



Speaking to the Daily Graphic later, Mr Ahorlu explained that the move was against the backdrop of the increasing rate of child labour in the country.



I have been a victim of child labour. At a young age of seven, I was fishing along the Volta Lake with other child labourers to the detriment of my education. Currently, my foundation has rescued at least 45 children from the jaws of excessive labour on the Volta Lake, quarrying sites, and other areas. We need to take decisive action to save more of these children and put them in school, he said.



Support



Mr Ahorlu called for support from government agencies and other civil society organisations to stamp out child labour, especially in fishing communities.





We do not need to sit down and expect external funding or support to be able to rescue our children from child labour. The government, private entities and all well-meaning Ghanaians must get involved in saving our little ones future, he added.

Source: Daily Graphic









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
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.
It really was only a matter of time after Chelsea Mannings (well overdue) release from prison that somebody would nab her for a big cover shoot and story. That somebody is The New York Times Magazine, and its very much worth a squiz.

The story, called The Long, Lonely Road Of Chelsea Manning, acts as a bit of a tell-all about her upbringing, her experience with gender dysphoria as a child, and what led her down the path to becoming one of the most famous whistleblowers of all time.

Her journey to understanding that she was a woman is detailed via her thoughts on gender dysphoria and her struggles growing up in the substantially less tolerant 90s.

As far back as Chelsea Manning can remember, to her earliest days in Crescent, on the far edge of the Oklahoma City metro area, she suffered from a feeling of intense dislocation, something constant and psychic that she struggled to define to herself, much less to her older sister, Casey, or her parents, Brian and Susan. During one of our interviews, I mentioned that I heard a clinical psychologist compare gender dysphoria to a giant, cosmic toothache. Manning flushed. That was it exactly, she agreed: Morning, evening, breakfast, lunch, dinner, wherever you are. Its everywhere you go.

As well as providing an insight into her home life, its a pretty great portrait of what she actually did in Iraq as an intelligence officer, and how her experience being exposed to the brutality of that conflict led her to believe that leaking classified documents and video to WikiLeaks was the way forward.

Manning told me her decision to provide the information to WikiLeaks was a practical one: She originally planned to deliver the data to The New York Times or The Washington Post, and for the last week of her leave, she dodged from public phone to public phone, calling the main office lines for both papers, leaving a message for the public editor at The Times and engaging in a frustrating conversation with a Post writer, who said she would have to know more about the files before her editor would sign off on an article. A hastily arranged meeting with Politico, where she hoped to introduce herself to the sites security bloggers, was scrapped because of bad weather. I wanted to try to establish a contact in a way that it couldnt be traced to me, Manning told me. But she was running out of time. She describes a clearheaded sense of purpose coming over her: I needed to do something, she told me. And I didnt want anything to stop that.

And, of course, its accompanied by a number of great shots of Manning.

Its a fascinating long read  get stuck into it on your commute.

Source: The New York Times Magazine.

Photo: NYT.
Spare a prayer for Melania and Barron Trump, who regardless of being the Cheeto in Charges closest family are apparently about as keen to move in with him as I am to take Daisy Cousens on a girls trip to libertarian theme park Ayn Rand-land.

Mel and Baz have famously been hanging out in Trump Palace Tower in New York at a cost of approximately one bajillion taxpayer dollars, so that wee Barry Boy could finish out the school year at his exclusive Manhattan Academy for Little Lords [Ed.s note: not a real establishment].

But woe is him, and his mum, because the American school year has ended, and now theyve been spirited back to the White House to hang out with Pater Dearest. Are they chuffed?

No. Not even a ride in the Presidential chopper could put a smile on their faces, so you know somethings really wrong.

First Family walks from Marine One to South Portico on return from NJ weekend. pic.twitter.com/flHVAPgE1d  Mark Knoller (@markknoller) June 12, 2017

(A moment to appreciate the extreme truth of the following statement:

According to this picture theyd been staying in 1976 https://t.co/5uFUMPuyMp  Scout Tafoya (@Honors_Zombie) June 12, 2017

Ha.)

Melania is clearly trying to put on a brave face, tweeting this singularly gloomy pic from the interior of the Official Residence, which has apparently transformed into a Gothic castle that I assume curses anyone who sets foot in its darkened halls:

Looking forward to the memories well make in our new home! #Movingday pic.twitter.com/R5DtdV1Hnv  Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) June 12, 2017

Sure you are, Melania  those wistful memories of feeling the sun on your skin, hearing the wind in the trees, and not having monstrous bat wings sprouting from your back.

Image: Getty.
Over the weekend, latter-day health and wellness guru Gwyneth Paltrow put her chakra where her mouth is with the very first Goop health summit. Somewhere halfway between a retreat and an expo, the Los Angeles event showcased the latest and greatest in spiritualism, alternative therapies, and basically everything else her Goop brand markets to dissatisfied punters worldwide.

Now, the reviews are in. And they involve leeches.

A post shared by Mel(anie) Ramer (@melramer) on Jun 11, 2017 at 6:17pm PDT

In Goop Health fielded a series of feature talks, wafting over topics like gut health and yes, conscious uncoupling. Yoga-filled halls also dotted the scene. There was even flavoured oxygen, because if youre not sniffing premium gases in 2017, youre falling behind.

But its been reported the events highlight was a panel talk between Paltrow, Cameron Diaz, Nicole Richie, Tory Burch, and Australias own Miranda Kerr.

While they discussed issues that legitimately impact all of us  you know, being busy as hell trying to progress a career, while also seeking personal fulfilment  they also touched on facials. Leech facials.

Kerr said shed used the lil blood suckers for cosmetic purposes and to detoxify, and that she actually kept them afterwards. She told the audience theyre in my koi pond.

Youre not allowed to reuse them and if you dont take them home then she kills them and I didnt like that idea.

Thank you so much for having me @gwynethpaltrow & @goop ????. It was an honor to be on a panel with such amazing women ?? #ingoophealth A post shared by Miranda (@mirandakerr) on Jun 10, 2017 at 7:19pm PDT

Elsewhere, visitors were able to have their aura photographed, or they could partake in crystal therapy readings. Those looking to nourish their physical forms could partake in all manner of bone broths (from animals which were presumably killed  sorry, Miranda), or they could straight-up absorb a vitamin-packed IV drip.

This has been a closer look at IV drips at #goophealth pic.twitter.com/uK78GoX2qA  Andrea Mandell (@AndreaMandell) June 11, 2017

Tickets to the event started at US $500, all the way up to a $1,500 (!!!) package which included an exclusive lunch with Paltrow herself. Anyone who pledged that much cash to the event could also experience a sound bath of singing bowls, which supposedly produce a calming effect at a cellular level.

Alternatively: pack a regular bowl and crank some Enya.

By all accounts, In Goop Health was a success  if youre into that sort of thing. Expect more leech-laden tips when the New York City venture rolls around in January 2018.



Source: The Sydney Morning Herald / The Washington Post / USA Today.

Photo: Miranda Kerr / Instagram.
This is ah kind of wholly terrifying.

An international flight bound for Shanghai was forced to make an emergency landing in Sydney a mere 60 minutes after take-off after a giant gaping hole in one of the planes engine casings appeared.

China Eastern Airlines flight MU736 departed Sydney initially at 8:30pm last night, bound for China. But shortly after take-off crew reported seeing the hole in the engine casing, leaving the engine partially exposed, forcing pilots to radio back to Sydney and turn the plane around.

SYDNEY PLANE EMERGENCY | A China Eastern plane has safely returned to Sydney after a major engine malfunction. #sun7 pic.twitter.com/rMWE1pLPaz  Sunrise (@sunriseon7) June 11, 2017

The plane travelled as far south as Bulli before turning around and successfully landing at Sydney Airport. No passengers or crew members suffered injuries as a result of the incident.

Sunrise reports that residents in Macarthur reportedly heard the low-flying plane make a banging noise as it flew overhead. Aviation website Flight.org posted audio reportedly captured from the plane radio where pilots told air traffic controllers in Sydney that engine number one [was] fucked.

China Eastern Airlines this morning confirmed the incident and damage to the Airbus A330 aircraft, asserting that crew acted swiftly after observing the abnormal situation.

Last night on 11th June, MU 736 from Sydney to Shanghai encountered an engine problem after takeoff. The crew observed the abnormal situation of the left engine and decided to return to Sydney airport immediately. All passengers and crew members were landed safely. They were then arranged accommodation by China Eastern Airlines. Today the passengers will be arranged to fly to their destinations on either China Eastern flights or other airlines. The returned aircraft is currently under investigation at Sydney airport.

Passengers on-board reported hearing a loud noise coming from the engine prior to the incident.

Theyre expected to be put onto alternative flights from this morning.

The Australian Travel Safety Bureau has sent investigators to inspect the damaged plane.

Source: Herald Sun.

Photo: AirCrashMayday/Twitter.
Two U.S. attorneys general are literally suing Donald Trump over accepting millions in payments from foreign governments, which is the first challenge of its kind against the president.

The attorneys general for the District of Columbia and the state of Maryland announced the lawsuit to the Washington Post on Sunday night, claiming that he has violated anti-corruption clauses by retaining ownership of his company when he became prez.

Theres quite a bit on Trumps plate right now, considering that hes also battling an investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller into possible collusion between his presidential campaign and the Russian government. You could say hes got a fair bit on his plate right now.

DC Attorney-General Karl Racine and Maryland Attorney-General Brian Frosh say that Trump hasnt kept his political and business life entirely seperate, and has broken numerous promises in this regard.

The foreign governments bit basically relies on this alleged lack of division between Trumps private and public interests, suggesting that events staged by foreign governments  such as the Embassy of Kuwait  at Trumps hotels constitute a clash of interests.

This case is, at its core, about the right of Marylanders, residents of the District of Columbia and all Americans to have honest government, Frosh said.

The pair say theyve moved onto a lawsuit as the Republicans in Congress havent taken other avenues seriously. Thisll be interesting.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland delivers a speech in the House of Commons on Canada's Foreign Policy in Ottawa on Tuesday, June 6, 2017. Freeland says Canada and the United States remain "very far apart" on negotiating a softwood lumber settlement. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Hawaii Attorney General Douglas Chin talks about a U.S. appeals court decision on President Donald Trump's revised travel ban Monday, June 12, 2017, in Honolulu. The decision by a unanimous three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals helps keep the travel ban blocked and deals Trump a second big legal defeat on the policy in less than three weeks. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)
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.
Mexico take first move in annual oil hedging plan



Mexico said to ask banks for options quotes to fix 2018 prices. Mexico annual sovereign hedge is Wall Street largest oil deal

MEXICO CITY/LONDON

Petroleumworld 06 12 2017

Mexico has taken the first step in its annual oil hedging program, asking Wall Street banks for price quotes on the put options it buys to lock in prices for the following year, according to people familiar with the matter.

Mexico usually buys put options from a small group of investment banks, starting as early as May but sometimes as late as July, in what's considered Wall Street's largest -- and most secretive -- annual oil dea l .

The country started asking for quotes from banks as recently as late last week, the people said, asking not to be named because the information is confidential. The people didn't say whether Mexico executed a trade after receiving the quotes. The Ministry of Finance declined to comment.

The Mexican oil hedge, which typically covers between 200 million and 300 million barrels, has the potential to roil the market as the banks writing the put options for the country's ministry of finance hedge themselves in the market by selling oil and refined products futures and swaps.

The put options give Mexico the right, but not the obligation, to sell oil at a predetermined price and time. The hedge runs from December to November.

Oil options traders and brokers detected trading activity last Thursday and Friday that in the past has been associated with the banks behind the Mexican oil hedge laying down some of their own risk.

The put options give Mexico the right, but not the obligation, to sell oil at a predetermined price and time. The hedge runs from December to November.

Oil options traders and brokers detected trading activity last Thursday and Friday that in the past has been associated with the banks behind the Mexican oil hedge laying down some of their own risk.

The most important market news of the day. Get our markets daily newsletter. Sign Up

Last year, the Mexican government spent $1 billion buying put options to lock in an average price for its export basket of $38 a barrel for 2017. Year-to-date, the Mexican export basket has averaged $44 a barrel. In addition, Petroleos Mexicanos, the state-owned oil company better known as Pemex, also hedged some of its production for 2017 , spending nearly $134 million buying a put option spread that gives it protection if prices drop below $42 a barrel.

Handsome Payouts

The Latin American country has received handsome payouts from its oil hedging program, earning a record $6.4 billion in 2015 after OPEC embarked on a war for market share that sent prices tumbling. Mexico made $5 billion in 2009, after the global financial crisis, and another $2.7 billion in 2016.

Since the modern oil hedge program started in 2001, Mexico has made a profit of $2.4 billion -- its hedges raked in $14.1 billion in gains and paid out $11.7 billion in fees to banks and brokers. The country also made money in the 1990s, when the hedge wasn't done on an annual basis.

Despite Mexico's hedging success, few other commodity-rich countries have followed suit. Ecuador hedged oil sales in 1993, but losses triggered a political storm and the nation never tried again. More recently, oil importers Morocco, Jamaica and Uruguay have bought protection against rising energy prices, but their deals had been relatively small.

Mexico last year started hedging in late May as oil prices peaked after a soft start to the year. This time, however, oil prices are declining after a relatively strong start to 2017. Brent crude, the global benchmark, peaked at $57.10 a barrel in early January and approached those highs in April. But since then it has weakened to trade below $48 on Friday.

Mexico has traditionally used banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley, Barclays Plc, Citigroup Inc. and BNP Paribas SA for its annual hedge, according to government documents. Last year, the trading unit of Royal Dutch Shell Plc became the first known non-bank to join the hedge, according to people familiar with the matter.






I wanted to tell you about something I had seen back in about 2002. It was shortly after the 9/11 attacks so, you know, I got off work one night, I went home, took a shower and I was about to go over to a friend of mine's house to hang out for a while. I was driving...I was in Moberly, Missouri at the time. I was driving past the cemetery and I look over at the cemetery and I see these three bright white lights coming in like, they seem to be coming in quickly, like I almost thought to myself, since it was shortly after the attacks, that I was about to witness a plane crash because the bright white lights were coming in quickly and low to the ground. But as they came in closer to me, they slowed down and stopped.



I was going down a street called Rollins Street. It's like a four-lane street and there was nobody around and they came in closer and as they came in closer, they stopped right above that street. It was probably above the ground as high as one of those telephone poles are. I'd say the whole craft was probably at least a block in size. It was a solid pyramid. I wont say it was black triangle because it wasn't a triangle. It was a pyramid like it had depth to it from the bottom of the craft up. It stopped right there and I think it was just like watching me or something because it noticed I was the only thing moving around below it and as it stopped above me, it was floating there not making a sound in the sky. It was a solid, like I said, black pyramid, and each tip below the craft, each bottom tip was glowing a pure bright white light and underneath it was like an inverted tornado of what looked like liquid light being sucked up into the bottom of the craft and it just sat there and I was saying to myself, 'Oh my God, I am not seeing this. This is not real!' And shortly after that thought, I was like, 'I need to get a witness,' you know, so I got out of my car and I went to the nearest house and banged on the door.



The person answered the door and came outside. It zipped off. Basically, at that point, I told them, you know, I was like, when I looked off into the sky, it was gone, so I was like I just made up a name and I was like, I'm looking for, you know, so and so or something, you know, like maybe I got the wrong house, you know what I mean? Because by the time they came outside, it was gone and if I were to explain to them what I just saw, it would be, you know, they wouldn't believe, you know.

Your contribution to Phantoms & Monsters allows me to devote more time and effort into gathering and presenting the most up-to-date information. You can use the donation button below or go directly to Paypal.com using my email as the recipient lonstrickler@phantomsandmonsters.com Thanks again...Lon











This newsletter is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Hotlinking of PM Media images and copyrighted material is strictly forbidden unless permission is obtained.

'Phantoms and Monsters' and 'phantomsandmonsters.com' is protected under the Lanham (Trademark) Act (Title 15, Chapter 22 of the United States Code)

'Phantoms and Monsters' was establish in September 2005 as part of PM Media

Copyright 2005-2017 Phantoms and Monsters / PM Media - All Rights Reserved

**********A small town in North Carolina has turned to an unlikely icon in an effort to 'rebrand' their community: Bigfoot.Nestled in the heart of the Uwharrie National Forest, the town of Troy, North Carolina boasts a population of just under 3,500 residents.Hoping to give their community an identity that helps it stand out among other small towns, Troy has adopted Bigfoot as their unofficial mascot.The famed cryptid is featured in the town's tourism brochures and has been prominently added into the logo for their annual TroyFest weekend of community events which will be held later this summer.**********In prison for a crime he adamantly denied committing, Richard Anthony Jones repeatedly heard from others that there was another prisoner who looked just like him.Not only were they doppelgangers, but Jones was told that he and the other man shared the same first name.Jones never ran across the man, but the lawyers he passed the information on to began digging into his case and came to the conclusion that Jones was indeed an innocent man.On Wednesday, they made their case to a Johnson County judge, and on Thursday Jones walked free after serving nearly 17 years in prison for a 1999 robbery in Roeland Park.Not only did he bear an uncanny resemblance to the other man with the same first name, but his lawyers uncovered the fact that the other man lived near the area of where the crime occurred, while Jones lived across the state line in Kansas City.At Wednesdays hearing in Johnson County District Court, witnesses, including the robbery victim, testified that looking at pictures of the two men together, they could no longer say if Jones was the perpetrator.Based on their testimony and the new evidence, Johnson County District Judge Kevin Moriarty ordered Jones release.**********My partner and I where driving home from work when we saw a bright light descend quickly to where we were driving. As it descended from above us the the bright light turned into a purple light then landed. We both were so overwhelmed and scared at the same time. We watched from a distance of 20m and the light disappeared, then everything went really dark. We stayed still. All of sudden the human-like creature was in front of us and spoke to us in English "have this stone and I will return when the time is right." I lost memory of the creature leaving -**********The space agency has been working tirelessly to identify dangers that Earth face from space, and has said that it has found 10 new asteroids of meteors which it believes could harm life on Earth.The discovery was made by NASAs asteroid detecting mission  Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer or NEOWISE.Amy Mainzer, NEOWISE principal investigator from NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said: NEOWISE is not only discovering previously uncharted asteroids and comets, but it is providing excellent data on many of those already in our catalog.It is also proving to be an invaluable tool in in the refining and perfecting of techniques for near-Earth object discovery and characterisation by a space-based infrared observatory.**********Butch Cassidy waited along the trail, hidden in the bushes. He knew the banker, with a thousand dollars in his pocket, would be coming his way shortly. He didnt have to wait long. The banker approached in a buggy, and, as luck would have it, stopped right in front of Cassidys hiding place to count his money. Cassidy stepped out of the bushes, six-shooter in hand, and said, Ill take those.Theres nothing unusual about Butch Cassidy robbing a banker. What makes this story unusual is that it allegedly happened several years after he and the Sundance Kid were supposed to have died in a famous gunfight in Bolivia.According to Lula Betenson, Cassidys youngest sister, Cassidy and the Sundance Kid didnt die in Bolivia. Betenson is the author of Butch Cassidy, My Brother She wrote the book in 1975. The information in her book came from a meeting she said she had with her brother in 1925, when Betenson was 41 and Cassidy was 59. Betenson died in 1980.********************
Taiwanese street food  including potstickers, gwa baos ("cut" buns), and the steamed spring rolls known as ruen bings  make up the core menu at baology, a cafe now in soft-opening mode at 1829 JFK Blvd., on the ground floor of the Sterling. (Say it "BOW-logy," pronouncing "bow" as in "take a bow.")

It's the long-in-development project by two fine-dining vets, chef Andy Tessier and Judy Ni.

They met at the Montville Inn in North Jersey and relocated to Philadelphia to help run the Farm & Fisherman when it was in Washington Square West.

With baology, they are trading in fine dining for the food that Ni grew up on.

"It's true to the spirit," said Ni, a cheerful bundle of energy who about a decade ago left the corporate world and, with little experience, talked her way into a job at the vaunted Blue Hill at Stone Barns, moving up to captain.

"This food is approachable and enjoyable."

It's also priced by the piece, so you can mix and match and eat very well for less than $10 a person, washing it down with cold-brewed oolong tea or the Taiwanese drink Apple Sidra.

Dining room is simple and built for speed.

For now, they're easing into full operation, limiting hours to 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily as the menu expands. Grand opening is June 19.
These days, Terrence R. Curtin, 49, travels around the world, leading a global, $12.2 billion highly technical company, TE Connectivity Ltd. That's a lot of globe-trotting for a guy who grew up in Reading, didn't even leave town to go to college, and still, with an address in Lancaster, doesn't live too far from his elementary school.

"I grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania," Curtin said, during our Executive Q&A interview published in Sunday's Philadelphia Inquirer. TE Connectivity, formerly Tyco Electronics, makes connectors and sensors, often used in harsh environments, such as oil rigs or space travel.

Curtin said he began to travel for business in his 20s. Before that, he stayed pretty close to home.

TE Connectivity has "always been global, and we just get more global," he said. "I don't mean to be disrespectful to other global companies, but we're truly global. We are truly a third, a third, a third [in the Americas, Asia and Europe]. Most companies will say they're global, and they'll say, `I'm 60 percent United States, 10 percent Asia, and I got a bunch of stuff in the UK.' That's not global.

"There's nothing wrong with that, but when you really think of us, it is we have a $1 billion business in Japan; close to a $1 billion business in Korea, a $2 billion business in China. Then every country in Europe we're in. I've had the pleasure to experience the tension between when a German talks to a Frenchman, an Eastern Bloc person is talking to an Italian. It's actually an asset for us. I've got to experience over the past 25 years all of that.

Would you tell me a specific story that illustrates some of the cultural lessons youve learned?

Early on, I was in a bunch of meetings with Germans, and I was the only American there. We walked out and it seemed like the meeting went fine. Then all of a sudden they say, `We're not doing business with them.' I ask why. `They never made eye contact. I don't trust them.'

So, if you are dealing with Germans, you better make eye contact?

You better make eye contact. You go over to Latin cultures in Europe, so whether that be France, Italy, Spain, you can't be definitive, like "No." It has to be much more of a winding discussion where you got to be respectful. You're not going to sit there and go, "No we're not doing that." That's insulting.

Did you ever make a mistake?

I think I have made mistakes, especially when I was younger. Not as much in the Latin area, but in [showing] respectfulness in Asia, So, I'm a fast speaker. I did get feedback that `Everybody loves when you come here, but you need to slow down. You have to pause.' You have to have some natural leeways, because they're going to be respectful. They're not going to say, 'Can I interrupt you?' They're not going to do that.

Who delivered that lesson?

Our Japanese leader, he grew up in Japan, went to Stanford. He was a nice mix of understanding Japan, but also understanding the US. He and I were very close. He still works for us. He said, "Hey Terrence, can I talk to you a little bit?" He goes, "Just pause. Give them space to make that respectful comment.'"

You were lucky to have such an honest mentor. Do you think young people should pursue a global component to their careers?

You can say, 'I'm going to bunker in and say I'm going to live around the culture I'm in,' or you can really have the opportunity to work with teams that will challenge your mind to learn those cultural differences. It will be harder because many times it's time zone difference. You will understand the practical limitations of where somebody thinks in one language, but you might want to speak to them in English.

I always say, 'Don't shy away from those [experiences].' I know that it may feel harder, but when you think about our world, which is a more global world. I also look at the benefit I've had. You should push yourself into those opportunities. What I like about our company is, we, at times, move people, so if want to live somewhere else in the world, we have people that go for a year or two. It will make you a better person.
Kevin Spacey and the cast of Dear Evan Hansen perform at the 71st annual Tony Awards on Sunday, June 11, 2017, in New York. Read more

They seized the microphone like victorious sportscasters with rapid-fire thank-yous  and had much to be grateful for when their show Dear Evan Hansen won best musical of 2017.

Earlier, songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul won their first joint Tony Award for best score in Dear Evan Hansen  a show that Philadelphians have a special investment in: Lyricist Pasek grew up in Ardmore, and the show's basic plot was suggested by the death of a high school student Pasek knew from his alma mater, Friends' Central School.

"We give you the weirdest idea for a musical and you followed us on an eight-year journey," Pasek said, lauding the show's producers in a development process that began at Washington's Arena Stage. When their names were announced, the songwriters ran a gauntlet of hugs and kisses before even getting to the Radio City Music Hall stage, where the awards presentation was held (and televised on CBS).

The win was only the latest in a banner season for the songwriters, who met at the University of Michigan, have written several scores both on and off Broadway, and won an Oscar for their contributions to the score of the hit film La La Land. They're now working on the high-profile film musical The Greatest Showman, starring Hugh Jackman. And with Dear Evan Hansen doing good business at the Music Box Theater, the show was destined to be a dominant presence at the 71st annual Tony Awards  despite considerable competition from Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, which got 12 nominations, and the popular Come From Away and Groundhog Day.

The first image on the show was 57-year-old host Kevin Spacey dressed as the show's title character, played by 23-year-old Ben Platt. Platt himself had a huge response for his performance of the Dear Evan Hansen song, "Waving Through a Window," a study in teenage alienation, and won best actor in a musical. At the end of his speech, Platt proclaimed, "The things that make you strange are the things that make you powerful."

Among its nine nominations, the show also won for best book for Steven Levenson and best orchestration for Alex Lacamoire. Most poignant of all was Rachel Bay Jones, who won best featured actress in a musical as the often-absent mother in Dear Evan Hansen. Among others, she thanked "my nana, who sold her engagement ring so I could move to New York and become an actor."

The other Philadelphia-connected play, J.T. Rogers' Oslo (developed in Philadelphia at PlayPenn in 2015), won best play. And author Rogers, in his many thank yous, didn't forget PlayPenn as he ran through "everyone in the Oslo family."

Earlier in the show, Rogers summed up the dramatization of the 1993 Israel/Palestinian Oslo Accords as follows: "Oslo was a real life thriller born out of my desire to ask this question: What would it be to have the courage to sit across from you enemy and see them as a fellow human being?"

With such theatrical ambitions, it was no surprise when Andre Bishop, artistic director of Lincoln Center Theater, cited Rogers as evidence that "we're in a golden age of American play writing."

PlayPenn's artistic director, Paul Meshejian, said, "At PlayPenn, we have embraced J.T's last three plays, the latest being Oslo, each one surpassing its predecessor toward his mastery of entertaining us, moving us and making us laugh while making us think. I could not be more thrilled to have played a small role in supporting the work of one of this country's finest dramatists."

"It's impossible to imagine my writing life without PlayPenn's support," Rogers added after his win. "Over the last 11 years, my collaborators at PlayPenn have become part of my theatrical family. As a playwright, I've never experienced any place like it. Here is an organization that gives you space, time, and resources to hone your voice. All that's asked in return is that you write the greatest possible work you can. My God. What a gift."

Oslo also had a major win early on for Michael Aronov as a flamboyant negotiator.

Many of the Tony nominees were up for awards for the first time  evidence of the young talent now working on Broadway. And some of them were names and faces familiar to Philadelphia theatergoers. Mimi Lien from Pig Iron won best scenic design for a musical for Natasha, Pierre. Rebecca Taichman, who won the best play director Tony for Paula Vogel's Indecent, also directed the Opera Philadelphia production of the Nico Muhly opera Dark Sisters in 2012.

In general, the telecast was lively, with Spacey doing impressions of people from Johnny Carson to ex-President Bill Clinton. Bette Midler simply refused to curtail her speech despite intervention from the pit orchestra. "This is the cherry on the cake," she said. And much else that was blipped out from the live telecast.

Stephen Colbert had any number of barbs aimed at President Trump, talking about how the show hasn't received good reviews and may not last four years. "Could close early," he said. "We don't know."
Gov. Tom Wolf speaks with members of the media during a news conference at the Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa., Tuesday, May 23, 2017. Read more

The resolution of a new state budget, expected within a few weeks, will lay out a sort of political runway for Gov. Wolf's reelection bid.

The question is: Will it be smooth, or potholed and too short?

There are varying views, even among Republican strategists. Some privately predict Wolf's reelection. Others say the incumbent Democrat, while well-positioned now, faces a fiscal no-fly zone that could ground him in 2018.

There's no question that Wolf is in a better place in his third year in office than he was in his first. Lessons learned.

He shifted from a grandiose progressive agenda, requiring large tax increases, to a more pragmatic approach including less spending, one largely acceptable to the GOP-controlled legislature.

As one Republican insider put it, "That first Tom Wolf would be crushed in reelection." Another said, "The new Tom Wolf is better than the old Tom Wolf."

The old Tom Wolf in 2015 was dubbed America's "most liberal governor"  a label he's clearly shedding.

Take climate change, a liberal hold-fast.

Wolf was a big supporter of President Barack Obama's 2015 Clean Power Plan to reduce carbon emissions, and stuck with it even after the Supreme Court, in a victory for the coal industry, put it on hold. And Wolf opposed President Trump's pulling the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord, part of Trump's promise to "end the war on coal" and create more jobs.

But Wolf this month was not among the liberal governors  California's Jerry Brown, New York's Andrew Cuomo, Washington's Jay Inslee  who publicly pledged to push the Paris goals despite the withdrawal.

And last week, Wolf cut the ribbon to open a new coal mine in Somerset County (which Trump carried by a 3-1 margin), an event that included praise from Trump in a video appearance.

Hey, things change.

Meanwhile, some hard-core Republicans complain that the legislature is helping Wolf.

As lawmakers last week passed a pension reform bill that begins to address, after years of inaction, the state's huge pension problems, a GOP campaign consultant told me the legislature was handing Wolf a second term.

Wolf can run on, and run ads about, dealing with long-unresolved issues such as liquor and pension reform, and making medical marijuana legal, all while delivering on his priority of increased funding for schools.

No matter that it was the GOP pushing pension and liquor legislation, Wolf can and will take credit, even if the boast is limited to stressing his ability to work with the legislature in rare bipartisan fashion.

The big unknown, however, is where the state goes from here.

Finances are bleak. There's a $1 billion-plus hole in the current budget. There's a looming deficit in the $3 billion range. And Auditor General Gene DePasquale and Treasurer Joe Torsella just warned lawmakers that without significant new revenue, the state could be forced to borrow billions just to stay in business.

So the way in which a new budget, due July 1, addresses fiscal needs, and (more important) how much of it is pasted together to push problems into next year, could prove problematic for Wolf.

The plan seems to be to get a budget done soon, without big new taxes, but relying on lots of new gambling revenue, and more steps toward booze privatization, some government cost cuts, and the usual razzle-dazzle of political math to give the appearance of a solution.

But continued slides into further debt in a state ranked worst for jobs in the Northeast, and among the 10 worst in the nation, could give any Wolf opponent some decent talking points.

Lots can happen to affect the 2018 election between now and then. Who knows, for example, what (if anything) Trump or Washington will do to help or harm the economy?

For the moment, the ways of Harrisburg favor Wolf's reelection. It's just that the ways of Harrisburg, let's just say, aren't always reliable.
Last week, the Philadelphia School District's charter office called for revoking the charter of Khepera Charter School because of concerns about its management and finances.

Now, the North Philadelphia K-8 school has declared that the academic year is over for its 450 students.

Khepera families were told over the weekend that the school would be closed Monday. And staffers were informed late Monday afternoon that students would not be returning. Wednesday was scheduled as the final day.

"It has been decided that students will not return for the remainder of the school year," Lisa M. Bellamy, Khepera's chief academic officer, said in an email to staff. "However, the staff is expected to return in order to close out the school year."

Bellamy said in the email that employees were expected to work Tuesday and Wednesday. She said Khepera was seeking volunteers to assist at the eighth-grade graduation Thursday.

Khepera officials did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Khepera went to court Friday in a bid to obtain more money, saying it would not be able to complete the academic year without it.

The school asked Common Pleas Court to issue a preliminary injunction to prevent the district and the state from withholding $370,578 that the charter had expected to receive June 5. The court scheduled a hearing for next Tuesday.

Lee Whack, a spokesman for the School District, declined to comment on the court filing. But Whack said the district was contacting Khepera families to tell them how to enroll their children in district schools and how to reach the office if they had questions.

Khepera recently laid off about 10 staffers and others quit, but the remaining teachers and staff were at the school Monday.

The Alliance for Charter School Employees, a union that represents 16 employees at Khepera, said those employees had been told that Khepera "may have trouble making payroll Friday."

Dan Dueholm, a staff representative with the alliance, disputed a statement in Khepera's court filing that staff had staged a walkout after learning that the charter school had no money. "They are there for these kids," he said.

The money dispute stems largely from required payments that Khepera had not made to the state teachers' pension system, as well as allegations that the charter school had not paid the pension system amounts it had deducted from employees' paychecks for pensions and had underreported some salaries.

The district withheld Khepera's entire charter payment for June, saying the charter owed more than that to the district for pension payments.

When a charter school fails to make pension payments, the money is deducted from funds the district receives from the state. The district then recovers the money by withholding the amount from charter payments.

According to the court filings, the pension system contends that Khepera owes $519,105 and alleges that the charter had not submitted the deductions from employees' paychecks or the charter's contributions since February 2016.

Khepera contends that the total does not reflect $724,409 that the district had deducted from seven charter payments between February 2016 and May 2017.

The court filing said that if records show Khepera owes pension debt, that money could be deducted from its monthly charter payments in July or August.

In her email to employees, Bellamy said that although it was likely they wouldn't be paid Friday, "the expectation is that we will be paid for the time we have worked this month. We are working through the courts to retrieve the funds that were held for our June payment. We are currently unsure of how long this process will take but hopeful that it will be resolved in our favor."

The School Reform Commission is scheduled to vote Thursday on whether to accept the district charter office's recommendation to begin the process of revoking Khepera's operating charter.
With temperatures expected to soar into the mid-90s on Tuesday, Philadelphia public schools will dismiss at noon. After-school activities are also cancelled. Read more

With temperatures expected to soar into the mid-90s on Tuesday, Philadelphia public schools will dismiss at noon.

After-school activities are also cancelled.

Updated heat-related information will be available through the district's hotline, 215-400-INFO (4636).

Many of the district's buildings are old, and most have no air conditioning.

Philadelphia School District classes are scheduled to end for students on June 20, and for teachers on June 21.
Bruce Springsteen has been hanging around Wildwood, where his son, Sam, works at the North Wildwood Fire Department. Read more

The Boss returned to his home state of New Jersey over the weekend, making a stop down the Shore in Wildwood, N.J., for a car race on Sunday.

As the North Wildwood Recreation and Tourism Facebook page posted over the weekend, Bruce Springsteen was back in New Jersey on Sunday for the Race of Gentlemen on Wildwood's Schellenger Avenue. A gearhead-oriented event, Race of Gentlemen features car and motorcycle races beside the water in town.

Springsteen stopped for a couple photos with fans during the races:

This Wildwood visit is Springsteen's second in just a few weeks. The New Jersey-born rocker also visited Wildwood in late May, where he was spotted hanging out on the boardwalk. As the Asbury Park Press reported at the time, that trip was among Springsteen's first to Wildwood, where his son, Sam, works at the North Wildwood Fire Department.

During that trip, the Boss reportedly hung at the boardwalk for a couple hours, and had a meal at the Olympic Flame Restaurant. No word on what Springsteen chowed down on this time around.

In addition to the Wildwood spotting over this past weekend, Springsteen was also sighted in Asbury Park last week. As Page Six reports, Springsteen was in Asbury Park last week to attend photographer Danny Clinch's Transparent photo exhibit as the Asbury Hotel.

During that visit, a source tells Page Six, Springsteen "hung out for hours listening to local musicians perform." He also declined to perform at the exhibit, telling fans "next time."
Jeffrey Schuffman, an art publisher in Seattle, has a second job title plucked from a 5-year-old's dream: He's a "Seussologist," or an expert on all things Dr. Seuss, the pen name of author Ted Geisel. For more than 10 years, Schuffman, 59, has worked with the Seuss estate, studying and publishing the author's unknown writings, paintings, drawings, and sculptures.

Schuffman's latest project is a touring exhibit of Seuss' "Collection of Unorthodox Taxidermy," a series of stuffed busts of imaginary animals forged from actual animal parts. Geisel crafted the sculptures in the mid-1930s, before he became famous for grinches and green eggs.

Even that early in his career, Geisel already had established a signature style; each sculpture takes a familiar animal form and injects it with typical Seussian whimsy.

The Semi-Normal Green Lidded Fawn, for example, is a riff on a standard deer head  but with neon-green eyelids and a decidedly Seussian face.

From Friday through Monday, the exhibition "If I Ran the Zoo" will be at Ocean Galleries in Stone Harbor, N.J., where Schuffman will give a series of lectures on these lesser-known artworks. We talked with him about the exhibit and what it is like to be an expert on one of the nation's most beloved authors.

You're a "Seussologist" and all-around expert on Dr. Seuss. How do people usually react when you tell them what you do?

We've all grown up reading The Cat in the Hat, or Horton Hatches the Egg, or The Lorax, or Green Eggs and Ham, and without really knowing it, we've been exposed to his artwork in those books. So, when people hear about a project in an art gallery where there are actual pieces available for sale, people react very strongly. These pieces bring up so much emotion, so many memories.

Most people know Dr. Seuss as a children's book writer. But your exhibit features 17 sculptures from Seuss' "Collection of Unorthodox Taxidermy." How did Dr. Seuss get into taxidermy?

In the 1930s, Geisel created 17 major sculptures  that we know of  which he created to help sell some of his early books. He made them from real antlers or beaks or horns or other parts of animals. His father had been in charge of the Springfield Zoo back in the day. After Ted moved to New York City, his father would send him these pieces to have three-dimensional models to draw from. Seuss took those beaks and antlers and horns and fashioned them into how he believed the animals would be reincarnated. That's the "Collection of Unorthodox Taxidermy."

A bunch of these sculptures  the Marine Muggs  were commissioned for the New York Boat Show. Why was Dr. Seuss at a boat show?

He was working with a company called Esso Marine to sell their brand of oil for motorboat engines. Seuss had created an ad campaign for Esso Marine that appeared in Yachting Magazine and others. One character that he created was called the Carbonic Walrus, the idea being that if your engine is picking up extra carbon, you've got the Carbonic Walrus. He did another piece called the Powerless Puffer  if your engine is losing power, you've got the Powerless Puffer. He would have these Seussian sea creatures attacking the boat or the captain in a very humorous way. So, he took the characters that he had created for their ads and made them three-dimensional. He called them the Marine Muggs  mugs as in faces.

So, if those were seven of the sculptures, why did he make the other ones?

He made them for other products. One piece that he made appeared in a beer campaign. Three early pieces that he created hung in bookstores in New York City. They helped sell his first book in 1939, which was called And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street. And the other pieces he made because he was always creating. He was always working on something, always had ideas.

The sculptures and many of Dr. Seuss' paintings have been called Seuss' "secret art," because they were never sold publicly, like his books. Why do you think he was so keen on keeping them secret?

I have my own theory. There was so much of him that was made public; there was so much of him that he put into his books and his literature that was exposed to the public. I think that his artwork and his paintings were things that he kept privately for that particular reason.

Do you have a favorite sculpture? A favorite Seuss book?

My favorite Seuss book was The Cat in the Hat Comes Back. My mother read that book to me when I was 5 or 6 years old. That was my first foray into Seuss' literary works. And I just adore the Semi-Normal Green Lidded Fawn. That sculpture is part of the exhibition.

Ted said his books had a logical insanity: "If I start with a two-headed animal, I must never waver from that concept. There must be two hats in the closet, two toothbrushes in the bathroom, and two sets of spectacles on the night table." Do you see any of that logical insanity in the sculptures?

Totally. Seuss was the king of exaggeration. If you look at an animal's tail, for example, it's not just a tail  it goes on for 20 feet. If you look at an expression  it's an over-expression. If you look at the fur on an animal's hand  it's over the top. He loved the exaggeration of the comical.

"If I Ran the Zoo"

10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday to Monday

Ocean Galleries, 9618 Third Avenue, Stone Harbor, N.J.

609-368-7777

Curatorial lectures by Dr. Seuss expert Jeff Schuffman, will take place during receptions from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday.
One of the biggest names in British politics, Michael Gove, has been appointed as Secretary of State at Defra in a surprise return to frontline politics.

Mr Gove, who failed to make Theresa Mays first Cabinet after he fell well short in the leadership battle following David Camerons resignation, is a former Education and Justice Secretary and falls squarely into the political heavyweight category.

He replaces Andrea Leadsom, who was sacked by Mrs May after a largely uninspiring stint at Defra. She was in the post for less than a year.

Mr Gove, a prominent Brexit campaigner ahead of last years EU Referendum, arrives in the role at a critical time for Defra, a Department whose budget has come under pressure at a time it is being asked to formulate and implement a new policy for UK agriculture outside of the EU.

The MP for Surrey Heath has been a strong advocate for free trade in the past. During the Brexit campaign, he said a vote to leave would be a galvanising, liberating, empowering moment of patriotic renewal.

It would enable the UK to take back control  of its sovereignty, economy, borders and spending priorities, he said.

He said the UK would be part of the European free trade zone with access to the European single market but free from EU regulation which costs us billions of pounds a year and would be able to arrange trade deals with countries including the US, China and India.

Mr Gove was heavily criticised by teachers unions for his efforts to reform education policy during his time as Education Secretary.

Biography

Shadow Minister for Housing from 2005 to 2007

Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families from 2007 to 2010.

Appointed Secretary of State for Education in May 2010, a post he held until July 2014

From July 2014 to May 2015, served as Government Chief Whip and Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury.

Served as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice from May 2015 until July 2016.

See Defra website for more detailed biography

Reaction

Commenting on Twitter, the NFU said: We look forward to working with Michael Gove at @DefraGovUK Secretary of State. A critical time for the government to #BackBritishFarming

Ian Wright, director general of the Food and Drink Federation said: It is a big boost that the Prime Minister has appointed one of the Cabinets heaviest hitters to a ministry so significantly at the heart of Brexit.

We very much look forward to working with Mr Gove and his new team. With them and with friends from NFU and across UK food and drink we will champion the growth of the industry in the exciting months to come.

Conservative MP George Freeman on Twitter: A huge boost to Cabinet firepower. A heavyweight Conservative thinker, Michael Gove, is back.

Get Our E-Newsletter - Pig World's best stories in your in-box twice a week See e-newsletter example Will be used in accordance with our Privacy Policy
The discovery

The story of the Falklands crater begins in 1991, shortly after evidence was piling up showing Chicxulub was probably the notorious dinosaur-killing impact site. Maps of Earth's gravity field there showed a circular distortion, indicating less-bulky sediment had settled in the crater since its formation.

Michael Rampino, a geologist at New York University who now also works for NASA's Goddard Space Institute in New York, started looking for similar gravity anomalies elsewhere on Earth. He reasoned that a crater associated with the Great Dying would be even larger than that of Chicxulub, and he soon found one.

"I was struck by this gravity anomaly on the Falkland plateau just to the west of the Falkland Islands," Rampino told me during a recent phone call. "It was a very nice circular well of gravity about 250 kilometers in diameter."

Rampino published his discovery in a brief abstract for the American Geophysical Union in 1992. It received modest press attention, but was soon forgottenmainly because there was no additional evidence available to back up the finding.

"That's all the information I had," Rampino said. "I suggested that this should be looked at, with respect that it might be a buried impact crater."

It would be more than two decades before anyone was able to follow his suggestion.

The crater hunter

Maximiliano Rocca, who goes by Max, is not your typical crater hunter. Though he studied geology at the University of Buenos Aires, he never became a geologist, and instead works as a systems analyst in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

When he's not working at his day job, Rocca hunts for hidden Earth impact craters. He pores through scientific data, including gravity maps, and alerts the scientific community when he finds something interesting. Over the years, Rocca has published and co-published dozens of abstracts and papers, and presented at academic conferences.

Since 2002, The Planetary Society has funded Rocca's research through our Planetary Defense program. Rocca's unique research has paid off; most notably, in 2004, when he discovered a 50-kilometer-wide feature in Colombia now confirmed to be the largest impact crater in South America.

Rocca, who prefers to communicate via email because of spotty Internet service making Skype calls difficult, often sends multiple, exclamation point-laden emails to convey his excitement. In one such email, he told me the Colombia crater was "one of the best things I have ever done in my life."

The Falklands impact crater, if confirmed, could dwarf his Colombia find.
Two Knox County (KY) Sheriff's deputies were shot while attempting to serve a warrant at a home in Knox County Monday morning.

According to Kentucky State Police, an individual in a trailer fired shots at Deputies Claude Hudson and Keith Liford, striking both of them. The deputies returned fire, killing the suspect.

A KSP spokesperson told WKYT that a medical helicopter flew Deputy Liford to the University of Tennessee Knoxville for treatment. He was shot four times, but is expected to recover.

Deputy Hudson was treated and released at a local hospital. His body armor saved his life, officials say.
An off-duty Border Patrol agent was reportedly attacked, abducted, and severely injured Friday night in Dona Ana County, NM.

"The agent suffered multiple, serious injuries to his head, chest and hands," according to a CBP news release. "Emergency Medical Services transported the agent to a nearby hospital where he is being treated for his wounds. The agent is in stable condition."

Details about the injuries suffered by the agent weren't immediately clear.

However, Robin Zielinski, a photographer for the Las Cruces Sun-News newspaper, tweeted that a "credible source told me that fingers of off-duty Border Patrol agents were cut off during last night (sic) attack," CNYCentral reports.

Breitbart Texas reports that a leaked CBP document says the agent was kidnapped.

The FBIs El Paso office is investigating the incident, KVIA TV reports.

CBP has reminded its law enforcement personnel to "be alert and aware of their surroundings and potential threats related to their service."
Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Email

Print

Donald Trump is seeing his level of intense support drop as white voters without college degrees are cooling on his presidency all of this has left the White House freaked out and worried that they will not be able to fight an energized left in 2018.

Axios reported, Sources both inside and close to the White House are worrying about a loss of energy among the Presidents base  or as one advisor colorfully put it, the folks whod walk over glass for Trump..Some White House advisors are worried that if these most intense supporters lose their passion for him, therell be no way to regain the energy in time to fight off a fired-up left in 2018.

There are two statistical trends that have the White House freaking out. Trumps base of strong approval has dropped from 30% in February to 21%-22% today, and his approval with white voters who dont have college degrees has dropped from 60% at the end of March to 46% currently. The reason why Republicans are trying to rush through a healthcare bill is that they think that if they get Trump some wins, his approval numbers with his base will go up.

The problem is that the health care bill has an approval rating of 17%, which means that it is even less popular than the President, so passing the American Health Care Act might actually hurt the president instead of helping him.

The White House sees the momentum on the left combined with the apathy of their own supporters, and they are legitimately worried. A Democratically-controlled House would not only kill the Trump agenda but also take the Russia investigation to a whole different level.

Trumps base is beginning to leave him, and if Republicans dont do something quickly, 2018 could be a great year for Democrats.
Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Email

Print

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and his staff had the perfect response after Donald Trump forced his cabinet to stroke his fragile ego during his first full cabinet meeting.

Video of the ridiculous butt kissing that Trumps cabinet gave him:

Trumps cabinet went around the table and acted like his cheering section. The compliments included VP Pence saying, It is the greatest privilege of my life to serve as vice president. The president is keeping his word to the American people, and Reince Priebus licking Trumps feet and thanking him for the blessing and opportunity to serve his agenda.

It was a scene out of some bad Hollywood B movie about a third world dictatorship.

The moment was also ripe for parody, which was what Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and his staff delivered:

GREAT meeting today with the best staff in the history of the world!!! pic.twitter.com/ocE1xhEAac  Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) June 12, 2017

Donald Trump isnt a president. He is a dangerous walking parody which is damaging America.
Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Email

Print

The attorney generals for the District of Columbia and Maryland stood before the media and made a devastating point by point case for why Donald Trump is violating the Constitution and why it is up to them to do something about it.

Maryland and the District of Columbia are working together as we speak to perform a major lawsuit against Trump, arguing that his potential business dealings with foreign entities and lack of reporting them undermined public trust and violated constitutional bans against self-dealing, due to the fact that he is still involved with his business, the Trump Organization. High attorneys general from both areas say that this is a major violation of the Constitution.

Video:

This lawsuit is unprecedented. No other state or district has ever tried to sue a president for violating the constitution. Both attorneys have specific evidence that shows that Trump had violated emoluments of the constitution, by both accepting foreign and federal benefits and gifts. The president is not allowed to accept any other gifts from the government besides his salary. Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh had this (via PBS) to say when he detailed the concerns he has for American foreign relations due to Trumps potentially nefarious acts:

We have economic interests that are impacted, but the most salient factor is that when the president is subject to foreign influence, we have to be concerned about whether the actions hes taking  both at home and abroad  are the result of payments that he is receiving at the Trump Hotel, payments that he is receiving at Mar-a-Lago, payments that he is receiving at Trump Tower, payments that he is receiving in all of his other far-flung enterprises, and he brags about it,

The lawsuit also focuses on the fact that Trump continues to have ownership of his business during his Presidency, which is a major conflict of interest.

Finally, the lawsuit is also being filed because both attorneys fear that there may be self-interested motivations grounded in the international and domestic business dealings in which President Trumps personal fortune is at stake, which makes Trump appear to be more focused on running his shady business with other countries than running the country that he got elected to serve. Furthermore, it alleges that Trump misused his presidential office to profit from his hotels, increasing the price of rooms tremendously since the election

Trump is using his presidency and our country as a tool to make his billion dollar business even richer. His foreign and domestic conflicts of interest are one of the many reasons why he is unfit to serve, and this lawsuit brings those facts to light.
EU to launch new probe against Hungary on Tuesday

The European Commission will open legal cases against the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland on Tuesday for failing to take in asylum-seekers to relieve states on the front lines of the bloc's migration crisis, Reuters cited diplomats as saying.

The EU executive would agree at a regular meeting on Tuesday to send so-called letters of formal notice to Poland and Hungary, three diplomats and EU officials told Reuters . Two others said the Czech Republic was also on the list.A Commission spokeswoman did not confirm or deny the executive would go ahead with the legal cases, but referred to an interview that Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker gave to the German weekly Der Spiegel last week.

Those that do not take part have to assume that they will be faced with infringement procedures

, he was quoted as saying.Reuters noted that this would mark a sharp escalation of a dispute between Brussels and these states, reminding that such letters are the first step in the so-called infringement procedures the EC can open against EU states for failing to meet their legal obligations.Poland and Hungary have refused to take in a single person under a plan agreed in 2015 to relocate 160,000 asylum-seekers from Italy and Greece, which had been overwhelmed by mass influx of people from the Middle East and Africa. By September 2017, Hungary would have to accept 1,291 asylum-seekers from Greece and Italy.Budapest, just like Bratislava, has appealed at the European Court of Justice, contesting the legality of the EU decision. Legal procedures are still ongoing.The scheme has been a failure and fewer than 21,000 people have been moved so far. But only Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic have not pledged to accept migrants.That allows the Commission to single them out on that formal basis, rather than open legal cases against just about every EU state for failing to take in the whole of their assigned quota, Reuters added.In his interview, Juncker said:

The decision hasn't been made yet, but I will say this: I am for it - not to make a threat, but to make clear that decisions that have been made are applicable law ... At issue here is European solidarity, which cannot be a one-way street.
Charleston, SC (29403)

Today

Scattered thunderstorms this evening becoming more widespread overnight. Heavy downpours are possible. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low 71F. Winds SSE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms this evening becoming more widespread overnight. Heavy downpours are possible. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low 71F. Winds SSE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
WABASHA  A DNA match from a sexual encounter last summer resulted in criminal charges against a Zumbrota man.

Cole Alexander Muenkel, 21, will make his initial appearance June 21 in Wabasha County District Court, where he faces one count each of first-, second- and third-degree criminal sexual conduct. All are felonies.

He remains free in lieu of $25,000 conditional bail.

The charges stem from an alleged incident Aug. 7 at an underage drinking party.

A girl at the party passed out on the tailgate of a truck, the complaint says, and someone took a photo of her with several males around her, including Muenkel. He can be seen holding a canned beverage in his hand; the victim said Muenkel gave her alcohol to drink, the document says.

ADVERTISEMENT

The girl woke up in the back seat of the truck some time later to find Muenkel on top of her, sexually assaulting her, court documents say.

He eventually left the back seat; after a few minutes, he came back, picked the girl up and moved her to her car, the report says.

The teenager went with her mother to the hospital, where a sex assault kit and exam were completed. The victim had been physically injured, the complaint says, including bruising on her leg, a blood clot, redness and a genital injury.

Muenkel denied the assault, and told authorities the girl was making it up. He also initially denied bringing alcohol, then allegedly admitted he'd brought some  but not for the girl.

Muenkel told investigators he'd put the girl in the back seat because he was cold outside, but said he sat in the front seat. He also denied drinking, acknowledging that he was on probation for driving while impaired.

The samples collected from the victim by the hospital staff were sent to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, along with a sample from Muenkel.

According to the court document, an analysis of the samples shows that DNA from a sample from the victim's vagina matches the known DNA sample of Muenkel with a 99.99 percent certainty.
CANTON  When the 137-year-old Henrytown Lutheran Church in rural Canton was destroyed by fire two years ago, there were some important decisions to be made.

"First, we had to decide if we wanted to rebuild at all," said Fay Garness, the parish treasurer. "We had people who thought it was silly, because of the cost, but there were a lot who wanted to rebuild, obviously."

"Obviously," because Sunday was the dedication of the new Henrytown Lutheran Church, completed in January. Members, former members and six former pastors who served the church gathered for the blessing of the new building, performed by the Rev. Dean Safe.

"Everybody pretty much, now that it's done, now that they see how things look, I think they're happy with it," Garness said. "I think they're glad we did it."

Count Helen Davis as one of the members who was against rebuilding.

ADVERTISEMENT

"I wasn't in favor," she said. "I thought we should go to one of the other churches in the area, help them out."

But also count Davis as one of the members who's happy now.

"I'm just really pleased with how it turned out," she said  so much so that she was one of many people who donated money to the project.

At 92, Davis has been attending church there for 60 years.

"I came from a little country church in Wisconsin that my grandfather built," she said, "and when we moved here, I said, 'I want a little country church like we had,' and we found this one."

Her own history is one of the reasons she eventually got on board with the rebuild.

"I think this is really important, especially for the people whose ancestors went here," Davis said. "I know it would mean a lot to me" to preserve her grandfather's church.

Rev. Paul Thompson, who was pastor at Henrytown Lutheran when it burned April 16, 2015, said for him, "there was really never any doubt. These are people that are never going to be stopped."

ADVERTISEMENT

When he learned of the fire that morning, "I thought, 'this is it,'" Thompson said Sunday. "But when I got down here, I could see the resolution, even through their tears. Everybody who didn't have to be at work that day was here.

"They lost literally everything," he said, "but I knew this congregation was going to continue in some fashion. It wasn't a matter of if, but when."

The congregation was able to meet and worship at Assumption Catholic Church in Canton while its new home was built.

Safe, a native of Cannon Falls, gave his first sermon as the new pastor at Henrytown Lutheran on Jan. 29  which was also the congregation's first day in the new church.

"The day of the fire, I followed the story on Facebook, not having any connection to it at all," Safe said, "then to end up here 

"What a testament to these people," he said. "They went from having lost everything, then to welcome a new pastor at the same time  the trust they gave me is incredible."

In less than six months, the congregation has welcomed five new families  18 more members  and built its Sunday school numbers to about 40.

Safe said the new building's accessibility has won over many who grieved the old church's character.

ADVERTISEMENT

The 6,260-square-foot structure is a pre-engineered steel building with a 2,100-square-foot sanctuary and a 2,400-square-foot fellowship hall. The sanctuary has permanent seating for about 150 people; another 150 can be accommodated in the adjoining fellowship hall. There's a satellite-based sound system and a large screen that projects hymns and scripture.

The total cost was about $168,000, Garness said; insurance covered a great deal of that.

Contributions also came from people in nearby communities, former members now out of the area, people with "older connections with the church," she said.

"There's so many people out there that are giving and caring, no matter who they are or where they're at," Garness said. "I can't tell you how nice it is that they felt this was a good place to show some love or to show the faith they have."

That includes the members themselves.

"We thought we'd just have clear glass windows at first, and the stained glass windows would go in as we could afford them," she said. "But as soon as we finalized doing (the rebuild), people just  they wanted them. All of the stained glass windows were paid for.

"It was really God's blessing, along with so many other things."

The last three of the 14 windows will be installed soon.

During Sunday's sermon, Safe called Henrytown Lutheran "a congregation that, the day after the fire, began to pick up the pieces of their community and began a church without walls, but also a congregation that so clearly values the church that comes next."

Garness agreed.

"A lot of people said, 'it's never going to be the same,'" she said. "Well, it's not the same, but we have a new beginning.

"God has given us this new beginning and we're going forward, and it's all going to work out."

Henrytown Lutheran Church 'excited to be home again'

After fire, congregation ready 'to exercise strength'

Church members vow to rise from ashes

Fire destroys country church near Canton
WEST CONCORD  A Dodge Center woman was injured early Sunday after a tire blew on the vehicle she was riding in, sending it into a ditch and ejecting her.

Jamie Marie Tierce-Trent, 22, was the passenger in an SUV driven by Kelly Jo Weikert, also 22 and of Dodge Center, when the crash occurred about 12:30 a.m.

The vehicle was southbound on U.S. Highway 57 near Dodge County Road 22, north of Mantorville, when the rear left tire blew. The SUV ran off the road to the right and rolled into the southbound ditch, according to a report from the Minnesota State Patrol.

Tierce-Trent, who wasn't wearing a seat belt, was thrown from the vehicle, the report says. She's listed in good condition this morning at Mayo Clinic Hospital-Saint Marys Campus, a hospital spokesman said.

Weikert was wearing her seat belt; she wasn't listed as a patient this morning.

ADVERTISEMENT

Also responding to the scene were personnel from the Dodge County Sheriff's Office, the West Concord Police Department, West Concord Ambulance and the Dodge Center Ambulance.
A group calling itself Friends of the Rochester Civic Theatre will demonstrate on the sidewalk of the theater at 5 p.m. today.

The organization is protesting the sudden removal last week of Greg Miller as artistic director of the theater. Miller will reportedly be allowed into the building this afternoon to clear out his office. The organization has labeled the event a "Moving out party."

Friends of the Rochester Civic Theatre also wants to re-establish voting rights for members, and is calling for the removal of executive committee members Heather Holmes, who is board president; Kay Hocker, who is president-elect, and Ari Kolas, who is board treasurer. The group is also seeking a city investigation into RCT operations. The theater receives city funding.

"We have lost all confidence in the current leadership and its ability to carry out the mission of the organization," said Jerry Casper, a former member of the board.

The Friends group has gathered 500 signatures on a petition critical of the board's recent decisions to remove membership voting rights and eliminate the artistic director position. In the past, volunteers and contributors had the right to vote on matters regarding the theater.

ADVERTISEMENT

Dozens of local actors, directors and musicians have said they will boycott upcoming RCT productions. The new season opens in September with the musical "Urinetown," which was to have been directed by Miller.
For the first time since the governor's surprise move to defund the Minnesota Legislature, he and legislative leaders are slated to start talking.

A meeting between Dayton, House Speaker Kurt Daudt and Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka is planned for Tuesday morning, according to Matt Swenson, the governor's assistant chief of staff for communications. The big question is whether the stand-off can be resolved around the negotiating table or if it will be settled in the courts.

It's been nearly two weeks since the DFL governor announced his decision to sign off on the $46 billion budget passed by lawmakers but added one big catch  he line-item vetoed funding for the Legislature. Dayton was dismayed by a provision in the state government budget bill that would have defunded the Minnesota Department of Revenue if he didn't sign a $650 million tax cut package. Rather than risk a partial government shutdown, Dayton opted to sign the tax bill and defund the Legislature instead. He said the move was aimed at getting Republican legislative leaders back to the negotiating table to discuss several items he dislikes in the bills he signed. That includes several tax cut provisions, changes to the state's teacher licensure standards and a provision prohibiting undocumented immigrants from getting driver's licenses. To make his case, Dayton has held press conferences across the state  including in Rochester.

Republicans argue the governor is violating the state Constitution by defunding a separate branch of government. (Dayton disputes that, saying the Constitution gives him the right to line-item veto any funding he chooses). GOP leaders say the governor also agreed in budget negotiations to all the items he is now seeking to renegotiate. Both Daudt and Gazelka say they are willing to talk with the governor, but they are not interested in rehashing items that had already been settled. The challenge for the public  and journalists  is that all of these negotiations happen behind closed doors, so there is no way to confirm exactly what happened.

If the issue isn't resolved by July 1  whether via negotiations or the courts  then money will stop flowing to the Minnesota House and Senate. Leaders have said they have enough money in reserves to operate for a short time after that. But when the money runs out, legislative staffers would be temporarily laid off. Paychecks would no longer be sent out to these employees  or to lawmakers.

ADVERTISEMENT

A lack of trust

Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller said those wondering why Republicans would add language to a bill defunding the revenue department if the governor failed to sign the tax bill need only look to last year. In 2016, the House and Senate overwhelmingly passed a $260 million tax cut package that Dayton had said he would sign. But the governor ended up vetoing the bill instead, citing a $100 million error thanks to an "and" being put where an "or" should have been. The move angered Republicans and damaged their trust that the governor would negotiate in good faith.

"We felt from a legislative perspective it could have been fixed a number of different ways rather than vetoing the bill," the Winona Republican said.

As a result, Miller said Republicans worried that even if the governor said he would sign the tax bill, he would go back on his word and veto it. Miller said he knew the revenue defunding language was in the state government budget bill before he voted on it. However, he said he was not part of the final decision to be put in the bill. He added that he the thought the governor's office was aware it was in the measure. Dayton has said he did not know about it, and called it a "poison pill."

Walz hosts roundtables

1st District DFL Rep. Tim Walz is hosting a series of roundtables in Southeast Minnesota.

The roundtables are part of the Mankato Democrat's "Southern Minnesota Way of Life Tour." The listening events kick off at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in Grand Meadow at the Grand Meadow Community Center. At 4 p.m. later that day, Walz will host another roundtable at the Houston Nature Center. On Wednesday, Walz has planned a 9:30 a.m. roundtable at Winona City Hall. The last roundtable begins at 1 p.m. at the Stewartville Civic Center. Walz's office asks that residents interested in attending one of the roundtables RSVP by sending an email to WalzRSVP@mail.house.gov.

Meet Republican gubernatorial candidate

ADVERTISEMENT

GOP gubernatorial candidate Blake Huffman is paying a visit to Rochester this week. Voters can meet Huffman at a "coffee talk" from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Wednesday at Cafe Steam, 315 S. Broadway. Huffman is a Ramsey County Commissioner. He is one of a number of Republicans who have announced they are running for governor in 2018 including Dellwood Rep. Matt Dean and 2016 gubernatorial candidate Jeff Johnson. Other GOPers mulling a bid include House Speaker Kurt Daudt, former Republican Party Chairman Keith Downey and Mound Sen. David Osmek. Several Democrats have already announced they are running such as St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, Rochester Rep. Tina Liebling, St. Paul Rep. Erin Murphy, State Auditor Rebecca Otto and Walz.
In Trumplaw tolls for me I wrote about the letter and draft subpoena served on me by Tana Lin of the Keller Rohrback firms Seattle office in the travel ban case pending before Judge James Robart in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle. I responded to Ms. Lins letter this morning. This is the text of my message:

Dear Ms. Lin: Over the weekend I received your letter dated June 7 and the draft subpoena you enclosed in the above referenced matter. Referring to the draft subpoena, your letter advises me to preserve all documents in my custody potentially relevant to the litigation. Your draft subpoena refers to my notes and other documents pertaining to comments made by President Trump at the White House reception for conservative media that I attended on April 24, 2017. You footnote two posts I published on Power Line in connection with the reception.

I find your letter deeply offensive. You seem to think I might have left some Trump bombshell buried in my notes. As you know, the purpose of my posts was reportorial. [I should have added: Do you think I left the juicy parts out of my posts?] The premise of your subpoena seems to me like glorified harassment.

You advise me that the litigation is stayed but that Judge Robart has authorized you to notify me to seek my confirmation by June 15 that I will comply with your preservation instruction. You may have been authorized to send out your letter by Judge Robart  you dont provide me a copy of his authorization to let me take a look for myself  but as far as I can tell I have no obligation to respond. As Bartleby put it in Melvilles story, I would prefer not to. If you are aware of any rule, law or order imposing a duty on me to respond, please let me know.

The final sentence of your letter in bold type cites Rule 34(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 34(a) applies to a party to litigation. I am not a party. I am a nonparty. As such, Rule 34(c) would apply to me. Unless I am missing something, I find your instruction to me that I am required to do anything under Rule 34(a) highly misleading.

Rule 34(c) cross references Rule 45. As a distant nonparty to the litigation, Rule 45 gives me certain rights once you serve me with a valid subpoena. Yet the draft subpoena you have served on me is a nullity.

This is to notify you that if and when you serve me with a valid subpoena, I intend to object to it under Rule 45. If obligated to comply, I intend to seek the protection of the other provisions of Rule 45 applicable to distant nonparties.

Once I have objected to the subpoena under Rule 45, the rule would require you to seek an order enforcing compliance in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. I understand that Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson has joined you in the litigation. Perhaps you can assign enforcement of the subpoena to Ms. Swanson. Im sure Minnesota taxpayers would enjoy the opportunity to see up close and personal how she is expending the resources of her office to hound a journalist for his utterly superfluous notes in the service of your litigation.

I intend to retain counsel to represent me in the event that the stay in your case is lifted and you serve me with a valid subpoena. I will advise you of the name and address of counsel as soon as I have made the arrangements. In the meantime, you may respond to this message directly via email.
En Marche, the fledgling political party created by French President Emanuel Macron, rolled up impressive margins in the first round of parliamentary elections this weekend. With 90 percent of voters accounted for, Macrons party had 32 percent support; the Conservative Republican party 18 percent; Marine Le Pens National Front slightly less than 14 percent; and the Socialists a mere 7.5 percent.

Most importantly, pollsters estimate that this weekends vote presages a rout in the run-off election. Indeed, some believe that Macrons alliance could capture three-quarters of the seats in the lower house after next weeks second round. Not since the days of Charles DeGaulle almost 50 years ago has a party dominated the French parliament to that extent.

This weekends voting was light by French standards. At 48.6 percent, it reached a record low for parliamentary elections in the Fifth Republic (established in 1958). Most observers attribute this showing to election fatigue, although there havent been more elections than normal this year, to my knowledge.

Its possible that turnout will increase significantly in the second round and conceivable that higher turnout will significantly favor non-En Marche candidates. I wouldnt count on it, though.

How will Macron use his parliamentary majority? He says he will use it to enact major economic and social reforms, including an easing of stringent labor laws and reform of an unwieldy pension system. His stated agenda is pro-business and probably not that different in some key respects than what the conservative party favors. Indeed, if Macron proceeds as he advertises, one would expect him to pick up votes from Republican members of parliament in addition, of course, to members of En Marche.

In the past, however, pension and labor law reform have encountered fierce resistance, including in the street. If youre planning on visiting France, consider going before Macron pushes for his reforms. Otherwise, your visit may be marred by strikes and large demonstrations.

Speaking of which, the parliamentary elections reconfirmed the parlous state of Frances Socialist party. Its candidates fail to reach 8 percent of the vote. Its chief, Jean-Christophe Cambadelis, failed to make it to the run-off in his long-held Paris seat. Its presidential candidate, the hapless Benoit Hamon, was also eliminated from his race.

As a new party, En Marche fielded a larger than usual contingent of political novices, many of whom are likely to be elected next week. This prompted one supporter to call the election a renewal of the political class.

I love the realism of that statement. In the U.S., when novices win office in large numbers, we pretend that the political class has been replaced, at least partially. In France, they understand that the political class has merely been refreshed.
In an otherwise mildly interesting article by the Washington Posts Marc Fisher about the flak Washington power lawyer (and hyper-Democrat) Jamie Gorelick is taking from D.C. liberals for representing Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, we find this nugget:

In a quintessentially D.C. move, some longtime friends of Gorelick contacted for this article offered complimentary comments about her on the record, and then, after asking if they could make other remarks without attribution, bashed their colleague to smithereens. Those people will not be quoted in this article, by name or anonymously, as one tiny bulwark against outright awfulness.

Gorelick has a reputation as a nasty piece of work (my only interaction with her, one phone call on a business-related matter, went okay). The longtime friends who bashed her to smithereens may have been animated by more than just the betrayal she committed in working for Ivanka and Kushner. And, regardless of motivation, they probably had plenty of non-Trump-related ammunition.

Even so, the Posts Fisher is right to be appalled by the anonymity-seeking friends of Gorelick. It bolsters the claim that political Washington, D.C. is inhabited by swamp creatures. However, out of control high school is probably a better metaphor than swamp for this bit of awfulness.
What, at this point, is the rationale for having a special counsel investigate matters relating to Russian involvement in the 2016 election and matters stemming from the investigation of these matters? We dont need a special counsel to investigate Russian interference in itself. The FBI and various congressional committees can handle that.

We dont need a special counsel to investigate allegations of collusion by President Trump. After about a year of digging, no one has uncovered evidence of such collusion. Indeed, James Comey admitted that Trump wasnt under investigation for collusion (or anything else).

We dont need a special counsel to investigate people like Paul Manafort and Roger Stone. Comey said that President Trump was fine with letting the chips fall where they may as to these satellite associates.

Do we need a special counsel to investigate Michael Flynn? I dont think so. Trump apparently said he hoped Comey would go easy on Flynn, but that ship has sailed. If Trump wants to intervene again on Flynns behalf, it will surely be at the pardon or commutation stage.

But lets assume we need a special counsel to investigate Flynn. In that case, absent other potential crimes that require a special counsel, the scope of the special counsels investigation should be limited to what Flynn did.

What about obstruction of justice? In my view, allegations of this crime dont warrant investigation by a special counsel (or anyone else). The allegations are founded on Comeys testimony and his memos. But even if everything Comey says is true, it doesnt state a case of obstruction.

Comey himself realized this. Thats why he didnt report Trump, as would have been legally obligated to if he believed the president had obstructed justice.

But lets assume we do need a special counsel to investigate obstruction of justice. Should Robert Mueller be the one doing the investigating?

The answer, it now seems to me, is: no. Why? Because he is a friend of James Comey, the key witness against Trump in any obstruction investigation.

If there is a case for obstruction, it begins (and probably ends) with Comeys claims that (1) Trump demanded loyalty and (2) asked him to go easy on Flynn, coupled with (3) the firing of Comey. Trump disputes point (1), so it apparently will require an assessment of whom to believe  Comey or Trump.

Point (2) apparently will turn on assessment of Comeys view that the presidents request was really a direction to go easy on Flynn. Was Comey reading Trump correctly or incorrectly? Did he really view Trumps statement as direction at the time the two talked or is this an after-the-fact interpretation motivated, perhaps, by revenge?

Point (3) may require an assessment of the precise reason for Comeys discharge  e.g., was it the directors unwillingness to say Trump wasnt being investigated; was it the directors persistence in investigating Flynn; was it general dissatisfaction with the pace or course of the investigation? That assessment may be influenced by how one views Comey. A special counsel who likes Comey is likely to take a dim view of his firing and thus adopt the least charitable of Trumps motive.

Because any obstruction investigation, and decision whether to prosecute, is so Comey-centric, it seems to me that the investigation, and decision whether to prosecute, shouldnt be in hands of a friend of Comey. If such an investigation is to proceed, it should be headed by someone who has no personal relationship with either the president or Comey.

Keep in mind, too, that Comey and Mueller arent just friends. They are comrades-in-arms. They served together in the Bush Justice Department. During that time, they were partners in resisting the White Houses efforts to obtain reauthorization of the Bush administrations warrantless surveillance program.

Comey and Mueller famously rushed to a hospital to prevent Attorney General Ashcroft from signing the reauthorization. And, as John reminded us here, when Comey tendered his resignation to President Bush as a protest to the way the White House was behaving on reauthorization, he leveraged it by saying Mueller was also going to resign.

In short, Comey and Mueller worked in tandem in the defining moment of Comeys stint in the Bush Justice Department.

Also keep in mind how personal the dispute between President Trump and Muellers friend and former comrade has become. Among other things, the two have accused each other of being a liar.

For all of these reasons, I believe there is a serious question as to whether Mueller can be impartial in investigating and deciding whether to prosecute an obstruction of justice claim against Trump. The question is substantial enough that, now that its clear how central Comeys role in such a claim is, Trump would be justified in firing Mueller.

This doesnt mean it would be wise to fire him. The political blow back would be considerable, especially if Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein felt compelled to resign. Then, wed be in Saturday Night Massacre territory.

Firing Mueller might tilt the race for control of the House to the Democrats. Democrat control of the House would likely mean impeachment proceedings against the president (with the firing of Mueller as part of the pretext for impeachment). Although impeachment proceedings might hurt the Dems in 2020  a much more significant election year than 2018  a Democrat controlled House is not in Trumps interest.

So prudence may militate strongly against firing Mueller. But how prudent is it for Trump to allow the fate of his presidency to rest in the hands of a friend and former comrade of Jim Comey?

UPDATE: I see that Byron York has written a piece called Is Robert Mueller conflicted in Trump probe? Byron interviewed five Washington lawyers Sunday  lawyers in private practice, on Capitol Hill, in think tanks, some of them veterans of the Justice Department. He reports that the verdict came back mixed.

In this post, I take no position on whether Mueller has a legal obligation to resign. Thats because Im not an expert in legal ethics; nor did the research I performed yield a definitive answer.

My position is that, whether technically a conflict of interest that would require Mueller to withdraw or be removed, his friendship and association with Comey provides Trump with sufficient grounds to remove Mueller.
Major Kannywood producers have concluded plans to release some long-awaited films during the Sallah festivities.

Expelled actress-turned-producer, Rahama Sadau, will release her long-awaited big budget film Rariya.

Directed by Yasin Auwal, Rariya is expected to hit the Cinemas on June 26.

Ahead of the release of the film, Sadau has set up a dancing competition for her fans.

Fans are to listen to the featured song of Rariya, dance their styles and share on Sadaus Instagram Page.

The best dance will receive a gift. Sadau is likely to announce the winner during the premier of the film on June 26.

Other films that will hit the screen are the long-awaited Mansoor, a film by Ali Nuhu.

Another Ali Nuhu film, Kanwar Dubarudu, is also anxiously being awaited. It features Nuhu and Rahama Sadau as his sister.

In the trailer of the movie, Dubarudu, Ali Nuhu can go to any length to protect his sister Kanwar Dubarudu.

Also on the queue is the film Abu Hassan.

The film, a first of its kind in Nigeria, explores the intricacies behind the activities of a dreaded terror group which unleashes so much havoc in a state before being confronted and defeated by the military.

According to Hassana Dalhat, a Kannywood film promoter, who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES, it has been long since Kannywood released big budget movies as those planned.

It is normal that release of films are suspended during the month of Ramadan because many people will be busy with fasting. This time around it is very clear that even the producers are anxious to release some of their films. We are going to see for the first time in years where classy movies will be release at the same time in Cinemas, she said.

People will surely have something to enjoy the Sallah break coming two weeks from now.

Others that are likely to be released include Bintoto, Sultana and Munaqisa.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook


A Nigerian lady who as a secondary school student in 2005 survived the Sosoliso Plane crash in Port Harcourt with severe burns, on Saturday stole the show in far away America at a major public event.

Nkechi Okwuchi impressed the judges and audience at the Americas Got Talent show watched across the vast country and around the world, with her emotional rendition of Ed Sheeran Thinking Out Loud song.

Earlier in May 2015, 10 years after surviving the horrific accident, she had graduated First Class from St. Thomas University, Texas, and was inducted into six academic honor societies.

The most outstanding student in Economics, she was accepted into graduate school for her MBA and chosen to give commencement address to the Class of 2015 at her school.

Miss Okwuchi was a student of Loyola Jesuit College, a boarding high school in Abuja, and was on her way home for holiday when the crash occurred.

She was one of the only two surviving victims of the plane crash.

I remember just saying I dont know but I think we should pray or something, I dont know. We actually never got a chance. Thats the last memory I have before I blacked out, she said recalling the crash in which most of her school mates died.

She explained that the next thing she knew was that she woke up in Milpark Hospital, South Africa.

Miss Okwuchi has since had more than 100 surgeries, including skin grafts in the U.S. as a result of burns all over her body. She revealed that doctors implanted pins to support her hands.

Despite these challenges, she has not stopped reaching for greatness, a determination that was accorded special recognition with her invitation to give the performance at the popular American show on Saturday.

Watch Video below:

https://youtu.be/iUP9lehOji0

Share this: Twitter

Facebook


Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has signed the 2017 appropriation bill into law.

Mr. Osinbajo signed the budget at about 4:40 p.m. on Monday inside his conference room in the presence of the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Abba Kyari; Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, Ministers and other top government officials.

The total budget figure signed is put at N 7.44 trillion.

Mr. Osinbajo said his signing of the budget was a milestone in the implementation of the economic and growth plan programme put in place by Mr. Buhari in April.

He said the processes of putting the budget in place had been smoother than that of 2016 with no allegations of errors.

There were far few cases of acrimony unlike in the past. There is no doubt at all that our democracy is maturing very well, he said.

The National Assembly passed the 2017 Appropriations Bill on May 10 after raising from the N7.28 trillion earlier proposed by President Muhammadu Buhari in December last year, to N7.44 trillion.

President Buhari is away in the United Kingdom for medical treatment.

It is the first time in recent years that an acting president would sign the budget into law.

More to come

BACKGROUND

Mr. Osinbajo had on May 19 received the N7.441 trillion budget passed by the National Assembly.

Initially, there were controversies over whether he or President Muhammadu Buhari, who is away in London for medical treatment, would assent to the document.

But the acting Presidents spokesperson, Laolu Akande, cleared that doubt on May 18 when he said Mr. Osinbajo would sign the bill once satisfied with its content.

Just so we are clear: when the time comes, everything is set, and he is satisfied, Ag. President Yemi Osinbajo will assent to the 2017 Budget, Mr. Akande tweeted at the time.

The National Assembly had last passed the budget, increasing the total sum by N143 billion compared to what was sent by President Muhammadu Buhari. The National Assembly had last passed the budget, increasing the total sum by N143 billion compared to what was sent by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook


An ambush by the Boko Haram was successfully cleared by soldiers and local vigilante leading to the death of a state Amir (leader) and many other members of the terror group, the Nigerian Army has said.

The army spokesperson, Sani Usman, said the shootout lasted some minutes near Jarawa village in Kala Balge Local Government Area before the Boko Haram members fled.

The troops were able to neutralize a large number of Boko Haram terrorists including the notorious Abu Nazir, the terrorists Amir in Jarawa during the operation, Mr. Usman, a brigadier general, said in a statement.

Read Mr. Usmans full statement below.

Following credible and confirmed information about the convergence of some elements of suspected Boko Haram terrorists at Jarawa village, Kala Balge Local Government Area, Borno State, troops of 3 Battalion, 22 Brigade Nigerian Army of Operation LAFIYA DOLE, in conjunction with some Civilian JTF today, Sunday 11th June 2017, carried out a successful clearance operation along that axis.

At about a Kilometre to Jarawa village, the troops entered heavy Boko Haram terrorists ambush, which they successfully cleared after about some minutes of fire fight. They followed it up in hot pursuit of the fleeing insurgents into the nearby forest.

The troops were able to neutralize a large number of Boko Haram terrorists including the notorious Abu Nazir, the terrorists Amir in Jarawa during the operation.

They also captured several weapons including an AK-47 rifle, 1 Double barrel gun, 1 primed heavy Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and 3 Motorcycles.

Additionally, they rescued 9 abducted children undergoing training at the terrorists training camp in the village.

The minors have been evacuated and are being given preliminary humanitarian assistance in preparation to handing them over to Kala Balge Internally Displaced Persons Camp Management Committee.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook


Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Monday explained while he delayed in signing the 2017 appropriation bill into law.

The National Assembly passed the N7.44 trillion budget on May 11, but Mr. Osinbajo only assented to it Monday, over a month after.

But speaking shortly before assenting to the law on Monday, the acting President said the delay was due to disagreements between the executive and the National Assembly on the changes made in the proposal.

According to him, the executive believed the changes fundamentally affected some of its priority programmes and would make implementation extremely difficult and in some cases impossible.

He said the leadership of the National Assembly however adopted a commendably patriotic and statesmanlike approach on engagement in resolving these critical issues.

Mr. Osinbajo said the executive only agreed to sign the law after the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, made commitments to re-instate budgetary allocations for all important executive projects.

He listed the projects to include the railway standard gauge project, Mambilla power project, the second Niger Bridge and the Lagos-Ibadan expressway among others.

Mr. Osinbajo said it was agreed by the parties that the reinstatement would be through an application for virement by the executive which NASS would expeditiously consider.

It is as a result of that understanding and the outcome of our detailed engagements that we are able to sign the 2017 appropriation bill into law, the acting President said.

Mr. Osinbajo described the budget-signing event as an important milestone in President Muhammadu Buharis administration.

The budget christened; Budget of Economic Recovery and Growth has projected revenue of N5.08 trillion with deficit of N2.36 trillion.

A total of N2.98 trillion was earmarked for recurrent non-debt expenditure, while N2.17 trillion was earmarked for contribution to the development fund for capital expenditure exclusive of capital expenditure in statutory transfers.

A total of N434.41 billion was earmarked for statutory transfers; N1.84 trillion for debt service and N177.46 billion for sinking fund for maturing bonds.

The acting president said the appropriation act was an important milestone in the administrations economic recovery and growth plan.

He thanked the Senate President and Speaker, House of Representatives and the entire leadership of the National Assembly for completing the work on record time.

He said that the process of passing the 2017 appropriation bill in the National Assembly was smoother than that of 2016, as there were no allegations of errors or mistakes.

He added that there was improvement in the quality of interpretation and presentation.

Mr. Osinbajo also commended the Ministry of Budget and Planning on the remarkable improvement over a single budget cycle.

He lauded the collaborative spirit between Ministries, Departments and Agencies and the various committees of the National Assembly and their leadership during the budget defence process.

He noted that there were few reported cases of acrimony or wrangling during the budget defence process.

He said reports indicated the sessions were done in a friendly atmosphere, an indication that the nations democracy was maturing well.

I am also pleased to mention that in our discussion with the NASS we have jointly resolved to return to a predictable January to December fiscal year, Mr. Osinbajo said.

It is a particularly important development because this accords with the financial year of most private sector companies, underscoring the crucial relationship between government and the private sector, he said.

Accordingly, the acting President said the 2018 budget will be submitted in October 2017 while the leadership of NASS has committed to work towards passing it before the end of the year.

The appropriation bill was submitted to the acting president on May 17, after it was passed by the National Assembly on May 11.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook


Ralph Uwazurike, leader of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) has appealed for peace as he holds consultation with Northern groups in Kaduna.

Mr. Uwazurike, who led a delegation of Igbo leaders from the South East, told some youth groups in Kaduna on Monday that MASSOB had pursued the path of peace since its creation in 1999.

MASSOB had existed for 18 years without violence, but in 2009, I went to London and opened Radio Biafra and handed it over to Nnamdi Kanu as the director.

Soon afterwards, politicians hijacked him, and he started working for them.

The radio that was meant to educate our people and advise our people was turned into the source of hate messages, blackmail, intimidation and others.

The resultant effect was that the northern youths came up to challenge us, to say that they are not happy with the hate messages and the insults they receive from the same radio.

 I am here today to say that the main purpose of floating the organisation called MASSOB was not to cause crisis in Nigeria.

I assured the late Odumegu Ojukwu when he was alive that there would be no other civil war in Nigeria.

Because he, Ojukwu was so concerned and wanted some measure of assurance from me that MASSOB would not cause problems in Nigeria and I gave him that assurance.

And I am today disappointed, that the assurances I gave, may not see the light of the day, if certain measures were not taken, and that is why I am here in Arewa House today.

He assured of the safety of the northerners resident in the South East and urged them to continue with their businesses in the area.

I am here to assure you northerners that all your people in the South East are safe and nobody will harass them.

And, I am happy to hear my friend, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, who assured of the safety of lives and property of NdIgbo in Northern region.

Mr. Uwazurike averred that the crisis in the country was being manipulated by politicians and urged the youth not to allow themselves to be used.

He, however, stressed the need to address perceived marginalization, adding that although it was right for any part of the country to seek self determination, it was wrong to pursue same through violent means.

Self determination without violence is a fundamental right, we must strive against sowing the seed of discord but do all that will promote peace and justice.

There is a gap of communication from our leaders which needs to be bridged, hence we are meeting with notable leaders in the north to persuade them that there is no cause for alarm, he said.

Meanwhile, Al-Mustapha, former Chief Security Officer to late Head of State, Sani Abacha, who convened the meeting, said it was in response to recent quit notice issued by some northern groups to Igbos.

He said the meeting was to intervene in the impasse threatening the unity and oneness of the country.

According to Mr. Al-Mustapha, the youths need to wear their thinking caps, use their brains and refuse to be used in fomenting any form of crisis in the country.

He said current events may not be unconnected with external forces wanting to see Nigeria disintegrate.

Mr. Al-Mustapha also cautioned the youth against making statements that would further cause tension in the country, in spite of the unpleasant comments from IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu.

He appealed to the Kaduna State Government and the Inspector General of Police to withdraw the arrest threat on the youth leaders who issued the Kaduna Declaration.

(NAN)

Share this: Twitter

Facebook


Former Vice President and newly appointed Waziri of Adamawa, Atiku Abubakar, has described ex-military Head of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar, as a fine soldier, a greying sage, a man of honour, and a staunch believer in peace and lover of democracy.

Atiku, a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), paid tribute to the retired military General, who made history by handing over power from a military junta to a joint ticket civilian administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo/Atiku Abubakar on May 29, 1999.

In a special congratulatory message released by his Media Office in Abuja to mark the former military Head of States 75th birthday, the former Vice President said, General Abubakar is one of the finest soldiers of his era and an archetypal gentleman whose word was is bond adding he understood the use of power to create long lasting legacy that are not erasable by time or age.

Unlike most military peers of his, who craved power with passion, the distinguished General ruled for just a year; delivered a constitution, midwifed an election and peacefully handed over power from military to civil rule.

By so doing, Atiku noted, Mr. Abubakar knowingly assuaged the hurt nerves of the country and promoted Nigeria into the comity of democratic nations adding that he has also been pursuing the cause of peaceful conflict resolution nationally and internationally.

The former vice president prayed for many more years in good health in the service of humanity for the former leader.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook


A nongovernmental organisation, Africa Centre for Media and Information Literacy, has expressed concern over recent news of the sack of another whistle blower by yet another agency of the federal government, the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, FMBN.

The sack of Murtala Ibrahim, an auditor in the bank, for blowing the whistle and refusing to cover up a contract scam and manufactured financial report of the bank, is yet another slap on the governments whistle blower policy, AFRICMIL said in a statement.

The co-ordinator of the group, Chido Onumah, said the sack of Mr. Ibrahim is one case too many, coming at a time when another whistle blower, Ntia Thompson, is still battling for reinstatement several months after his sack and over two months since his recommended reinstatement by the Head of Service of the Federation.

The statement frowned at what it called obvious witch-hunt of the whistle blower by transferring him from the headquarters to a branch in one of the States and then following up with a query which cautioned him for doing his official work, and when they couldnt fault his explanation the bank went on to dismiss Mr. Ibrahim for the ridiculous reason that his service was no longer needed.

AFRICMIL demanded the immediate reinstatement of the whistle blower while urging Babatunde Fashola, Minister of Works, Power and Housing, whose Ministry oversees the bank, to order a thorough investigation of the scandal.

On the case of Mr. Thompson, AFRICMIL noted that two separate letters from the Office of the Head of Civil of the Federation (OHCSF) signed by Nuratu Batagarawa, Permanent Secretary, Service Policies and Strategies Office, were addressed to Sola Enikanolaye, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asking him to take urgent action on the whistleblowers case.

The organisation expressed regret over failure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to comply with the directive of the OHCSF, requesting that Mr. Thompson be recalled and all disciplinary procedures suspended pending the outcome of the ongoing investigation of the case of fraud at the Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa (DTCA) by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC).

The last letter, dated April 5, 2017, Mr. Onumah observed, made it clear to Ambassador Enikanolaye that by the provisions of the Public Service Rules (PSR), the offences alleged to have been committed by Mr. Thompson were not punishable by retirement from service. AFRICMIL unreservedly extends gratitude to the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation for promptly wading into the matter by calling for the immediate reinstatement of Mr. Thompson and reiterating its commitment to safeguarding the policy of government on the protection of whistleblowers by directing its full implementation by all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government.

We hereby call on the federal government to take decisive action on safety of whistle blowers. If government cannot protect internal whistle blowers what more can be expected for outsiders and other Nigerians? Instead of persecution or victimization, whistle blowers like Mr. Thompson and Ibrahim ought to be rewarded for their acts of patriotism, Mr. Onumah stated.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook


The Federal Government has said that it will switch over from analogue to digital broadcasting (DSO) in six states across the six geo-political zones within the next one month.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said this on Monday in Abuja when he received Nigers Minister of Communication, Koubra Abdoulaye.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Abdoulaye was in Abuja to understudy Nigerias progress in DSO and solicit the assistance of the country in her countrys process of digitisation.

Mr. Mohammed, who recalled that Nigeria had so far successfully rolled out DSO in Jos and Abuja, reiterated the governments commitment to making the project a success.

By the end of June and first week of July, we will be rolling out DSO in six different states in the six geo-political zones of Nigeria.

We will continue the roll out until the whole country is digitised.

Rest assured that this government has the political will to make the DSO a success story to the benefit of all Nigerians and to the ECOWAS Community in the areas of the application of the Digital Dividends.

However, we will take our time to do it right, he said.

The minister identified Set-Top Boxes (STBs), and Contents as challenges facing the DSO.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) had given all West African States the deadline of July 17 for total switch over from analogue to digital broadcasting.

Mr. Mohammed explained: a major challenge to the DSO is the availability and cost of STBs.

Even when you achieve a Nationwide Signal Coverage, you cannot shut down the Analogue Transmitters until all the TV Homes have access to STBs.

So far, the government has had to subsidise STB acquisition in the Roll-Out but this is not sustainable for the larger population of the country.

So, we are currently exploring avenues to make the retail cost of STBs affordable to the general public without compromising the ECOWAS Minimum Standard.

Subsidy in one form or the other will then be extended to those below the poverty line, he said.

On the challenge of content of broadcast, the minister said digitisation would open window for many more channels of programming but there would not be enough local contents to feed the public.

The easiest way to colonise the minds of our people is via the Mass Media.

If we do not seriously address the issue of Compelling Indigenous Content, we will be exposing our population to further colonisation, he said.

Mr. Mohammed noted that the visit of his counterpart from Niger was important because it showed the need for ECOWAS Member Countries to work together and share experiences to ensure a successful DSO.

He assured the Niger minister of Federal Governments assistance to the digitisation process in her country.

The minister also on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari thanked the government and people of Niger for their cooperation in fighting the Boko Haram insurgency.

Earlier, Abdoulaye said her country was impressed with the successes recorded so far by Nigeria in the digitisation process.

She said Nigeria was leading in the DSO process among other West African countries and Niger would like to tap from the experiences.

NAN reports that Mohammed led the visiting minister and her entourage on tour of major DSO facilities in the FCT.

(NAN)

Share this: Twitter

Facebook


The Peoples Republic of China on Monday donated N60 million to support the Future Assured Initiative of President Muhammadu Buharis wife, Aisha Buhari.

The official presentation of the cheque was performed by the Chinese Deputy Chief of Mission, Lin Jing, who represented the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Zhou Pinjian, at the State House in Abuja.

Mr Pinjian said the gesture was part of the Chinese commitment to assist Mrs Buharis efforts in addressing the challenges faced by the victims of insurgency in the North East.

He also said the Chinese government appreciated the effort of Future Assured programme in tackling malnutrition, maternal and child mortality as well as social problems facing vulnerable group in Nigeria.

The Chinese Ambassador assured the wife of the president of their continued support toward improving health and well-being of women and children in Nigeria.

Mr. Pinjian, who expressed Chineses appreciation to the long standing relationship between Nigeria and China, promised their continued support to Mrs. Buharis pet project as it affects the vulnerable in the society.

He, therefore, used the occasion to convey the goodwill message of Chinese President Mr Xi Jinping, to President Buhari and prayed that almighty God grant him good health and return to Nigeria safely.

While receiving the cheque, Mrs. Buhari expressed appreciation to the Peoples Republic of China for identifying with the less privileged group in Nigeria.

Mrs. Buhari, who was represented by the Senior Special Assistant to the President, Hajo Sani, said since the inception of this current administration, the Future Assured Programme had made several interventions in the provision of relief materials to the IDPs in the North East.

Mrs. Buhari said the Chinese donation would go a long way in assisting the victims of insurgency in the North East and the Lake Chad region.

The wife of the President thanked the Chinese government for making such a huge humanitarian effort.

According to her, the N60 million donation made by the Chinese government was the highest ever made to the pet project by any international body.

She said that the gesture was aim at strengthening the activities of Mrs. Buharis Future Assured Programme.

All the activities of Future Assured is based on humanitarian services and it is on this respect that the Peoples Republic of China decided to come on their own to make this donation, she said.

She, therefore, encouraged well-meaning Nigerians to support the less privileged, especially those affected by the Boko Haram crisis.

(NAN)

Share this: Twitter

Facebook


Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, on Monday described the chief security officer to the late military head of state, Sani Abacha, Hamza Mustapha,, as a pathological liar for claiming that he had tapes of how Moshood Abiola, the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, was murdered.

Mr. Falana, who was the lead speaker at the June 12 anniversary organised by the Ondo State Government in Akure, said the former security adviser was only trying to rewrite history and deceive the people to appear to be a friend of the late Mr. Abiola.

He said for the four years Mr. Abiola was in detention under a horrendous prison condition, Al-mustapha made it impossible for Abiola to enjoy his life.

When the Pope..Pope Paul, visited Nigeria, he had almost persuaded Abacha to free Abiola and other prisoners, Al-Mustapha who was watching the meeting through a CCTV, entered the room and said oga yakari, enough, and that was the end of the meeting, Mr. Falana said.

Secondly, Dr. Falomo, Abiolas personal physician, was allowed by the government to visit Abiola. When Al-Mustapha learned that he was waiting to see Abiola, he got him arrested. He was already taken to Kaduna prison, it took the intervention of Abacha to free Dr. Falomo.

Three, Chief Abiola fell down in the bathroom in one occasion, his legs were swollen and Arch Bishop Tutu confirmed this when he visited, Al-Mustapha did not allow him to have any medical treatment.

If the fellow now comes around saying he was the best friend of the late Chief MKO Abiola, he is a liar, he is now talking because the witness is no longer alive.

On the claims by Al-Mustapha that he had the tape on how Abiola was killed, Mr. Falana said the former security advisers claims were untrue.

Please that guy is a pathological liar. I was at the Oputa Panel. He claimed that all his tapes had been stolen by Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar. Those tapes have not been released, how then has he now got the new tape he is talking about, queried Mr. Falana.

At the time Chief Abiola was killed, (not that Abiola just died, he was given poisonous tea. That is the first time in Nigeria that a foreigner was allowed to give tea to a Nigerian prisoner), Al-Mustapha was in Enugu at that time, so he was not in the Villa. So whatever he is saying, is at best, hearsay. It has no value in law.

He also said that the retired Major carries the guilty conscience in relation to the death of the wife of MKO, Kudirat Abiola following the confessions of Sergeant Jabila Rogers at the Oputa Panel that he was ordered by Mr. Al-Mustapha to kill her.

He further argued that the discharge of Al-Mustapha by the Appeal Court did not expressly say he did not kill MKO Abiolas wife, adding that, what the court of appeal said was that Rogers has changed his story, so let us give him the benefit of the doubt.

So, for Al-Mustapha, conscience is tormenting him for the death of an unarmed lady on the streets of Lagos, Falana said.

But Al-Mustapha had told journalists in Ibadan recently where he delivered a lecture, that although he had forgiven all those who had hands in his travails, he owed Nigerians a duty to expose the mystery surrounding the tape on how Mr. Abiola was murdered.

He said Sergeant Rogers was induced with money, houses in choice towns in Nigeria to frame him and get him hanged.

On October 21, 1998, I was arrested because of a video cassette, not because of the late Kudirat Abiola. The family of the late Abiola was, as it is, a very close family to me. But something happened which a particular camera in the villa captured, he had said.

So, they wanted to take the video tape and burn it so that Nigerians will not know what happened. That was the beginning and cause of my travails.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook


A Kaduna lawmaker who was kidnapped on Friday has been freed.

Salisu Isah, representing Magajin Gari constituency, Birnin Gwari Local Government Area, in the Kaduna State House of Assembly, was kidnapped along Birnin Gwari-Kaduna road.

He was abducted on Friday, between Kaduna International Airport/ NDA roundabout and Buruku while on his way to Birnin Gwari after closing from the State Assembly.

His abductors left the car he was driving along the road. The car was recovered and taken back to Kaduna.

The chairman of the Assemblys committee on information, Goro Shadalafiya, on Sunday said Mr. Isa was released unharmed by his abductors on Saturday morning.

He did not mention whether any ransom was paid to secure the lawmakers release.

While calling on security agencies to improve on their surveillance , he appealed to Nigerians to be vigilant, saying security is the business of all.

The state assembly has amended the kidnapping law so as to make it stiffer so that when a kidnapper is arrested and punished according to the law, it will serve as a deterrent to others.

According to the amended law, if the abducted person is found alive, the abductor is entitled to life imprisonment while the abductor will die by hanging if the abducted person dies in his/her custody, he said.

Mr. Shadalafiya condemned kidnapping in the state and advised the perpetrators of such act to change for good and embrace God in their dealings.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook


A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Tinubu, has described the late acclaimed winner of the June 12 election, Moshood Abiola, as a selfless patriot who fought for Nigerias democracy.

In a statement titled, What June 12 Taught Us, released on Sunday to celebrate the 24th anniversary of June 12, the APC chieftain said June 12 is the mother of May 29.

Mr. Tinubu noted that without the uncompromising resistance to military rule engendered by the annulment of the June 12 election, there would most probably be no 4th Republic today and we would still be groaning under military dictatorship.

The APC chieftain described the late Mr. Abiola as an embodiment of the eternal Yoruba adage, which says that death is better with honour than life without dignity.

According to him, The blood of those who gave their yesterday and sacrificed even their lives for the democracy and freedom we enjoy today was not shed in vain.

The annulment was a bitter pill to swallow, especially for the millions of people who expended so much time, energy and material resources to help ensure victory for Chief MKO Abiola.

The late MKO selflessly committed so much of his substantial fortune towards ensuring his victory at the polls. In doing this , he was not motivated by personal , selfish or pecuniary considerations, he said.

Commenting further, he noted that,Twenty- four years after its annulment, the spirit of June 12 lives on in the hearts and minds of millions of Nigerians .

This year s commemoration of the anniversary of June 12 coincides roughly with two years in office of the All Progressives Congress at the federal level, he said.

Mr. Tinubu lamented that some critics were already writing off the government as a failure, adding that the vast majority of Nigerians were aware of the immense mess inherited by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

He said the APC government had successfully contained the challenges, and was turning the corner with light discernible at the end of the tunnel.

On the issue of the nations democracy day, Mr. Tinubu added that, The truth is June 12 is the mother of May 29.

On his part, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State said it had perfected arrangement for the annual public symposium in Ikeja to celebrate June 12.

In the same vein, the speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly , Mudashiru Obasa, said that June 12 was the harbinger of peaceful, free and fair electoral process in Nigeria.

It is thus worthy of celebration, Mr. Obasa added.

The Ekiti State governor, Ayo Fayose, also described the late Mr. Abiola as a worthy figure, noting that he joined his colleagues in the South  West to celebrate him to engeander unity in the region.

Also, a pro-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, called for the implementation of the last national conference as a way of combating the challenges facing the country.

A statement by the groups National Publicity Secretary, Yinka Odumakin , explained that Nigerians from the south were at the risk of attacks by northern youths due to the quit order issued to Ndigbo by an Arewa group recently.

Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi, also described the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election as a turning point in the annals of the country, saying that the supreme price paid by the acclaimed winner of the election can never be forgotten.



He stated this in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Communication and Strategy, Yomi Layinka, in Ibadan, on Monday.



The governor regretted that 24 years after the election adjudged to be the freest and fairest in the history of the country, the ideals for which Mr. Abiola stood had yet to be realized.

This ideal of good governance that is centred on development remains the driving force of our administration. We fervently believe that this is what MKO would have wished for. That is why we would continue to follow in that path in order to keep his memory alive, Mr. Ajimobi said.

The late Mr. Abiola was the acclaimed winner of the June 12 1993 elections, generally considered as the freest election in the history of the nation.

He contested on the platform of the Social Democratic Party, SDP.

The elections was later annulled by the then military administration of Ibrahim Babangida, who later stepped down for an interim government headed by Ernest Shonekan.

Mr. Abiola died in 1998.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook


The Lagos State Police Command on Sunday paraded one of the most wanted kidnap suspects in Nigeria, Chukwudi Onuamadike, who was named the most wanted kidnap kingpin in February.

Mr. Onuamadike, 36, popularly known as Evans, was overpowered by the police at his home in Magodo, Lagos, after a gun battle that lasted several hours.

The police said the suspect, who hails from Nnewi in Anambra State, was the leader of a highly organised kidnap-for-ransom syndicate who terrorised prominent Nigerians in Lagos and other parts of western, eastern, south-south, as well as northern Nigeria.

Mr. Onuamadike was first declared wanted in August 2013, when he allegedly masterminded the attempted kidnap of Vincent Obianodo, the owner of Young Shall Grow Motors, in Festac Town.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook


Aliru Momoh, the Otaru of Auchi Kingdom, in Edo, on Monday announced the arrest of 24 suspected Boko Haram members in the community by the Nigerian Army.

The monarch disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) in his palace at Auchi, headquarters of the Estako-West local government area of the state.

He said the commandant of the Nigeria Army School of Engineering, near Auchi, informed him of the arrest of the suspected insurgents in his palace.

Shortly before you came, I had audience with the commandant.

He informed me about what they are doing and the arrest of some 24 suspected members of Boko Haram operating under the guise of Fulani herdsmen in the community, he said.

The Otaru said: the commandant also informed me that the suspects would be transferred to Benin.

He commended the commandant for taking proactive steps to have taken the fight to the suspected insurgents in the forest, saying that the issue of security needs careful planning and execution.

The monarch, who described the activities of the herdsmen in the area as worrisome, said we have asked farmers, especially the women, to stop going to the farms for now.

We gave them some grants to enable them to engage in petty trading in the mean time, to avoid the incessant attacks on them.

The traditional council is collaborating with the army, security agencies, and some vigilance groups, and we have recently incorporated the hunters to help to evolve lasting solutions to the problem, he added. (NAN)

Share this: Twitter

Facebook


The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) will take legal action against any act of misinformation calculated to obstruct it activities at the seaports, the agency has said.



Muhammad Abdallah, the chief executive of the NDLEA, said in a statement Monday that the agency would remain vigilant in preventing the use of the seaports for drug trafficking.



The operations of the NDLEA at the seaports is statutory and it is pertinent to set the records straight, said Mr. Abdallah, a retired colonel.



This clarification is imperative in the light of conflicting reports intended to mislead members of the public on the official position.



The anti-drug trafficking agency had claimed last week that its activities at the ports had been endorsed by the federal government in an executive order issued by acting president Yemi Osinbajo.



Mitchel Ofoyeju, the NDLEAs spokesperson, quoted Hadiza Bala Usman, the managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) as stating that eight agencies, including the NDLEA, had been cleared to operate within the ports.



But the NPA denied that Ms. Usman made such claims, and insisted the executive order listed only seven agencies  the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Department of State Services (DSS), Nigerian Police, Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) and the Port Health Authority (PHA).



I want to first recognize the seven approved agencies of government that operate in the port, the Daily Nigerian had quoted Ms. Usman as saying while meeting with ports stakeholders at the Western Ports in Apapa, Lagos, last week.



I will like to reiterate those agencies of government that are operating at the port. We have NPA as the landlord, Customs, NIMASA, DSS, Police, Nigerian Immigration Service and the Port Health.



These are the seven agencies that are mandated and have approval to operate in the port. Any agency that is operating in the port outside of these seven agencies is not required to be in the port and should be aware that they need to vacate whatever location they are currently having within the port, because the current approval and position provides that they are not to operate in the port.



We have the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, which is required to come in and provide their function as at when is required. This is the current position on agencies of government that operate in the port.



Confusion over list of approved agencies



But in his statement on Monday, Mr. Abdallah warned that serious government business, such as the number of agencies approved to operate at the seaports, must not be treated with frivolity, adding that any person or group of persons trying to misinterpret the Presidential Executive Orders for selfish reasons would be dealt with in accordance with extant laws.



There are official documents to this effect and members of the public are advised to discountenance statements that lack credence.



I wish to state unequivocally that NDLEA has the mandate of the Federal Government to carry out full counter-narcotic activities at the seaports. As a responsible Agency of government, we consider the misrepresentation of facts as a slight on the Presidential Executive Orders on the ease of doing business, he said.



According to a letter by the NPA dated 2nd June 2017 inviting the NDLEA to a meeting obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, Ms. Usman mentioned the agency as amongst the seven approved to operate within the ports via the Presidential approval of October 2011.



I wish to hereby invite you for a meeting to discuss the implementation of the Executive Order issued by the Acting President to promote ease of doing business in the Ports, read the letter signed by the NPA boss.



The NDLEA statement went ahead to reproduce Section 8 (1b) of the NDLEA Act which states that: the Agency shall work in collaboration with the Nigerian Customs Services in monitoring the movement of goods and persons in any customs area, customs stations, customs ports or customs airports and searching cargoes and incoming and outgoing vessels, including pleasure craft and fishing vessels as well as aircraft and vehicles and, when appropriate, searching crew members, passengers and their baggage.



Mr. Abdallah said the NDLEA was operating at the seaport in compliance with the law and Federal Government directive and any attempt to violate the directive would be considered as a conspiracy to advance the nefarious activities of drug cartels to the detriment of national security.



The interest of Nigeria must remain paramount above every other consideration, he said.



No one agency can succeed in isolation, we must learn to collaborate, share intelligence and embrace latest technology in promoting governments policy of facilitating trade and encouraging Foreign Direct Investment, the statement said.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook


A suspected kidnap kingpin, Chukwudi Dumeme Onuamadike, also known as Evans, who was arrested by the police in Lagos said on Sunday that he chose to collect ransom in American dollars to be different from other kidnappers.

The suspect, while being paraded at the Lagos Police Command in Ikeja, told journalists that he started kidnapping in 2015, after he left his spare parts business, a claim that contradicted the police statement that he was declared wanted in 2013.

He claimed that he lost N20 million to Customs officers, which made him to leave his trade.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the suspect was arrested in his mansion in Magodo area of the state on Saturday.

Evans, who wasnt sure of how many people he had kidnapped, said the highest he had collected as ransom was one million dollars.

I cant figure out how much I have collected so far or how many people I have kidnapped, but I have kidnapped up to 10 since 2015.

I chose to collect ransom in dollars to be different, and the maximum I have collected as ransom so far is 1 million dollars.

I work in two groups. A team moves with me to kidnap victims while we hand over to the other team that takes the victim to the hide out.

Kingsley introduced me to kidnapping, but I usually get my ammunition from one Chinedu and Ehis whom I met at Ago-Iwoye.

I also do drug business that enabled me to buy my property, the suspect said.

According to the police, Evans collected $1million from no fewer than four of his victims.

Among them are:

* James Uduji, who was kidnapped close to his house at 7th Avenue Festac late last year. The Evans gang held for six weeks. He paid $1million to regain his freedom.

* Chief Raymond Okoye  Odu- Na Ichida,, who was kidnapped in 2015. He also paid $1million as ransom. He was released after two months in captivity.

* Uche Okoroafor, a trader at Alaba who was also kidnapped in 2015 for three months, also paid $1million.

* Elias Ukachukwu kidnapped November 2015 similarly paid $1million. The police said the Evans gang demanded an additional $1million, claiming family members were rude to them during negotiation.

The Force PPRO, Jimoh Moshood said the suspect had collected billions of naira from his victims and had property in and outside the country.

He said Evans was declared wanted in 2013, following a kidnap attempt that was foiled by the police.

He is said to have masterminded several kidnap cases in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun and South-South states, the police said.

Mr. Moshood said further investigation into his activities were ongoing.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook


Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has attributed the agitation and social tension in the country primarily to hunger and poverty.

Mr. Osinbajo said this while declaring open the Nigerian Association of Law Teachers (NALT) conference at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UniZik), Awka, on Monday.

He said political leaders across the country had failed to distribute equitably the resources accruing to their areas from the centre for the good of the people.

Most of the security problems of the nation are self-inflicted through corrupt practices.

The Boko Haram in the North-East, militants in the Niger Delta, herdsmen and farmers clashes are as a result of poverty.

A lot of this agitations are centred around the failure of the state to create an inclusive society.

Constant agitation for national resources is a product of individual deprivation and this was taken up by ethnic nationalities as group agitation.

Political elites who failed the people by embezzling their funds, are at the forefront of these agitations because they make it look as if the problem is because of ethnic nationality, he said.

Mr. Osinbajo, who said he had been a teacher of law since 1981, charged the law teachers to brainstorm on the principles of the law and proffer ways to make it strong.

He said they should find solutions to the problem of protracted litigation involving corruption cases.

Mr. Osinbajo said the delay in concluding such cases was the handiwork of Nigerian lawyers, adding that the tactics was robbing the legal profession some measure of credibility.

I found no reason why it is easier to prove the case of a man who stole small amount of money than the case of a civil servant who earns, say, N200,000 a month in whose account is found billions of Naira.

Why does it take so long to convict a man in whose account as a civil servant, is found billions of Naira? We must re-define the offence of corruption because it is worse than homicide.

The Acting President described the conference theme `Law, Security and National Development as apt, saying it reflects the challenges of the country at the moment.

You should pay more attention to what goes on in the judiciary and engage the government because that is why they are thinkers, he said.

In his remark, Chief Justice of the Federation, Walter Onnoghen, said laws had a big role to play in achieving the highest level of security for individuals in any society.

Justice Onnoghen, who was the Chairman of the occasion, was represented by Justice Amina Augie, a Justice of the Supreme Court.

He said it was necessary for existing laws to be efficient with the right attitude to their implementation.

Earlier, Joseph Ahaneku, UniZik Vice Chancellor, said NALT should maintain the unity that had bound its members for over 50 years.

(NAN)

Share this: Twitter

Facebook


Civil rights activists among others on Monday gathered at the Ikeja family home of the late multibillionaire businessman cum politician, MKO Abiola, to commemorate the 24th anniversary of the annulled June 12, 1993 election.

They gathered for a National Breakfast Prayer and Tribute Session for the Late Abiola, the acclaimed winner of the annulled presidential election, with some also laying wreaths at his graveside.

The event was one of several organised to commemorate the anniversary of the election, acclaimed to be the freest and fairest in Nigerias history, but which was annulled by the military regime of the then Head of State, Ibrahim Babangida.

Mr. Abiola, who had insisted on his mandate, was later arrested and detained after declaring himself president.

He died on July 7, 1998 on the verge of being released.

The event at the late politicians home was organised by June 12 Democracy Movement in Conjunction with Change Agent of Nigeria Network, with the theme June 12 Movement and the Hope of Equitable Restructuring for Nigeria.

Speaking with newsmen at the event, Shehu Sani, a senator, canvassed a new master plan that would do justice to all parts of Nigeria, to fulfil what June 12 stands for.

The senator said: The only way to address the problem of June 12 is to immediately implement fundamental political social and economic change.

There is need for a new master plan for Nigeria that will do justice to all the parts of the country, which will also make all people from the different parts to contribute to national enterprise.

We need a new master plan that will ensure that those who are marginalised or left behind are carried along and given a sense of belonging. That is what we need and that is the message of June 12.

Mr. Sani lauded Mr. Abiola for his sacrificial service to humanity and the democracy which many are enjoying today.

June 12 was the very day when the seed of Nigerian democracy was planted. It was a rallying point for progressive democrats and champions of peace and unity.

We would always remember this very day to keep alive that memory, that stewardship, that sacrifice made by late MKO Abiola and all others who laid down their lives for freedom and for democracy, he said.

According to him, June 12 is the genuine democracy day while May 29 may be referred to as the day the military pulled out of politics.

Those states that declared June 12 as public holiday have done what other states should do, he said.

On the quit notice given to Igbos to vacate the 19 northern states before Oct. 1 by Arewa Youths group, the senator called on President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently constitute a National Committee for Peace, Unity and Reconciliation.

According to him, the committee, made of eminent Nigerians from diverse fields of human endeavour, should listen to agitations and grudges and give out necessary remedy that will calm nerves in the country.

Mr. Sani, Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign and Local Debt, said: As far as I am concerned, that Arewa Group does not represent the city where I come from and they dont represent the views of the people in the North.

What they did was a reaction to something and that is not the best way to react. You dont add wrong to wrong.

What we need to do as a country today is, the forces of unity, peace and stability must rise against the forces of division, he said.

Also speaking at the event, renowned poet, Odia Ofeimun, said some national issues that led to the annulment of June 12 elections were still unsolved, resulting in secession threats.

We need restructuring, we need constitutionally reconstruction; every local government in Nigeria must have resource control.

We are going in the wrong direction and running the risk of repeating the errors of yesterday, he said.

A former Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, bemoaned the loss of value system in the nation.

If MKO had been given the opportunity to serve, perhaps, there would not have been Niger-Delta militancy. If MKO had been allowed to use his mandate, perhaps, there would be no Biafra agitation again.

If MKO had been allowed to lead, perhaps, the Arewa youths would not have issued a vacation order to Igbos, he said.

Mr. Ikuforiji said that such agitation would have been avoided because the late Abiola was not a man who lived for himself.

The convener of the event, Mr Olawale Okunniyi, described the late Abiola as a martyr of democracy and called on the Nigerian government to shift from the present type of democracy to a popular democracy. (NAN)

Share this: Twitter

Facebook


The Sun Publishing Limited said on Monday that anti-graft officials from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, invaded its head office in Lagos, disrupting operation.

The company, which publishes The Sun, Saturday Sun, Sunday Sun and other titles, said the development had more to do with suffocating free press in Nigeria than law enforcement, calling on citizens to take a strong stand in support of its freedom to operate as an independent publication.

We call on well-meaning citizens and relevant authorities to restrain Magu and his Commission from taking the laws into their hands, the paper said in a statement published on its website Monday afternoon.

The paper said the EFCC operatives were heavily armed upon arrival, which made its staff, who were barely settling down at work after the weekend, become panicky to the point of trauma.

For one gruelling hour, EFCC operatives subjected our staff to crude intimidation, psychological and emotional trauma, it said.

A spokesperson for the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, did not immediately have words for PREMIUM TIMES about the development Monday evening, telling this newspaper he would call back after taking a few seconds to understand the nature of our inquiry.

Although The Sun acknowledged a grounded history between its management and the anti-graft agency citing an ongoing court case and potential defamation charges  it, nonetheless, remained bewildered about the raid.

We recall that in 2007, (10 years ago) the EFCC had obtained an interim forfeiture order in respect of some assets of The Sun, attached to a suit against our Publisher, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, for which we have filed an appeal, which is still pending in court.

We also recall that the Acting Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu had written a letter personally signed by him dated 23rd of May and received on the 7th of June, asking The Sun management to report to the Commission on 5th of June, detailing our operations in the last 10 years, on account of an interim order of forfeiture under appeal.

As a law-abiding corporate citizen, our lawyer, Chief Chris Uche SAN, wrote the Commission to intimate the Agency that the issue was pending before the Court of Appeal, the paper said, adding that the EFCC confirmed receipt of the correspondence from its lawyers.

We were therefore shocked that our premises would be invaded by the Commission under whatever guise, the paper said. This is condemnable and reprehensible.

No one, Agency or authority should be above the laws of our country.

Mr. Kalu had faced fraud charges since he stood down from office as Abia State governor after a two-term tenure in 2007.

He was initially arraigned and granted bail at the time. But the case went cold for the ensued years.

This year, the EFCC resumed active prosecution of the alleged fraud case, which involved about N3.2 billion.

In another instance, The Sun highlight a legal threat issued by Mr. Magu in a defamation dispute earlier this year.

PREMIUM TIMES reported the libel claimslate March.

In a notice letter to The Sun on March 31, Mr. Magu threatened to sue The Sun for N5 billion after pointedly accusing the paper of libellous imputations and statements against his person.

The EFCC chief was pushing back against the allegations contained in a story the paper published a few days earlier on March 25.

The story linked Mr. Magus wife to two houses in the exquisite Abuja neighbourhood of Maitama, citing unnamed sources who purportedly said the properties were secured shortly after Mr. Magu assumed office as acting chairman.

The Sun editors declined to acknowledge receipt of any correspondence from Mr. Magus legal representatives when PREMIUM TIMES reached out to them for comments in March.

They said they would forward any notice from Mr. Magu to their lawyers.

Theres nothing I want to say about that other than that if theres any letter from Mr. Magu the company will invite its lawyers who will look at the issue, Femi Babafemi, editor of Saturday Sun whose title was responsible for the story, told PREMIUM TIMES by telephone March 31.

The Sun also declined to categorically say if it will stand by its story whose facts were unequivocally disputed by Mr. Magu.

Ive just told you what I need to tell you, Mr. Babafemi said.

In its statement Monday, The Sun said of Mr. Magus defamation threat: Up till now, we are yet to receive any court process.

In the light of the above, we strongly view this onslaught against The Sun as a personal vendetta by the leadership of the Commission, and by extension a declaration of war against the media, it added.

The paper said it was also accused by EFCC of publishing Biafra, Boko Haram and Niger Delta militant stories, a charge it dismissed as very ridiculous, baseless and anti-Press freedom.

We challenge Magu and his Commission to show where The Suns stories have been different from other papers in the country, it said.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook


The governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, and humans rights lawyer, Femi Falana, on Monday brought to the fore the need for Nigeria to be restructured in the interest of ensuring the unity and prosperity of the country.

They were also joined in the call by another constitutional lawyer and public interest litigation activist, Jiti Ogunye, who said the time to review the fiscal and political structure of Nigeria was now.

They made the call as they took their turns to deliver addresses at the June 12 anniversary held in Akure, Ondo State.

Mr. Ogunye, who delivered the first paper, titled, 24 Years of Annulment of June 12 Election, Will Nigeria Survive, Will Democracy Endure, stressed the point that the issues which bedeviled Nigeria before June 13, 1999 were still haunting the country.

He noted that shortly after the annulment of the election, widely-acclaimed to be free and fair and won by the late Moshood Abiola, there had been voices calling for the restructure of Nigeria.

He said with Anthony Enahoro then leading the train, it was the focus of the June 12 struggle that the country be restructured on the platform of a sovereign national conference, which would guarantee a return to true federalism.

According to Mr. Ogunye, the call for restructuring is louder now than when it was first made 24 years ago.

We must return to true federalism. That is where we started from and that is where we must return if we must resolve the difficult problems facing us, he said.

Also, speaking, Mr. Falana, said it was erroneous of the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, to say that restructuring was not part of the focus of the federal government of the All Progressives Government.

He said restructuring was well documented in the manifesto of the APC, and the party must ensure it fulfilled that promise.

Let me refer Alhaji Lai Mohammed and President Buhari to the manifesto of the APC, the first paragraph of your manifesto says, the government will initiate action to amend our constitution with a view to devolving powers to duties and responsibilities to the states and local governments I order to entrench true federalism and the federal spirit, Mr. Falana said.

That is page one, paragraph one of the APC manifesto. Therefore, Mr. Governor, your party, the government in Abuja cannot go back on the commitment to restructure Nigeria.

He however said political restructuring without economic restructuring would not solve the problems either.

Mr. Governor tell your party, Nigeria will restructure, whether they like it or not, Mr. Falana stressed. This business of going to Abuja every month to collect money from Niger Delta must stop.

He urged south west governors to read Obafemi Awolowo on how he allocated over 50 per cent to social services.

Governor Akeredolu, in shedding light on the call, said restructuring did not translate into breaking the country.

He said breaking the country would nullify and bring to nought the essence of June 12 and all those who sacrificed their lives for democracy in Nigeria.

He then called for a blue print on the process of restructuring so that every Nigerian would know what the call for restructuring was about.

Mr. Akeredolu added that June 12 was not about Abiola or the Yoruba people, but about Nigeria and democratic values.

He then renamed the Democracy Park, Akure as MKO Abiola Park, Akure.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook


The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Monday said its invasion of the headquarters of The Sun Newspaper in Lagos was part of routine efforts to ascertain the state of the assets of the publishing company which is subject of subsisting interim forfeiture order.

Wilson Uwujaren, the commissions spokesperson, said prior to the visit, the Commission had written to the management of the newspaper to account for its management of the assets for the period of the subsisting court order.

The EFCC had obtained an interim forfeiture order in 2007 in respect of some assets belonging to The Sun over a suit filed against Orji Uzor Kalu, the publisher.

The newspaper had filed an appeal against the courts decision, which is still pending before an appellate court.

But in the early hours of Monday, armed operatives of the anti-graft agency arrived at the newspapers head office saying they had orders from above to seal up the premises, the newspaper said in a statement.

At gunpoint, they ordered our security personnel to take them round the company premises, after which they proceeded to prevent staff from either entering or leaving the premises, and disrupted our circulation process, read the statement issued by The Sun management.

For one gruelling hour, EFCC operatives subjected our staff to crude intimidation, psychological and emotional trauma, even as some of the men accused our organization of publishing pro-Biafra, Boko Haram and Niger Delta militant stories, as they surveyed our premises.

The newspaper said Ibrahim Magu, the EFCC acting chairman, had written to the company a letter dated May 23 but received on June 7, asking it to report to the Commission on June 5 detailing its operations in the last 10 years, based on the interim order of forfeiture under appeal.

As law abiding corporate citizen, our lawyer, Chief Chris Uche SAN, wrote the Commission to intimate the agency that the issue was pending before the Court of Appeal. The receipt of our correspondence is duly acknowledged, The Sun stated.

We were therefore shocked that our premises would be invaded by the Commission under whatever guise. This is condemnable and reprehensible. No one, agency or authority should be above the laws of our country.

Magu had in an earlier letter threatened to sue The Sun over a report published by one of our titles, pertaining to a report on investigation of a property allegedly traced to his wife. But up till now, we are yet to receive any court process.

In the light of the above, we strongly view this onslaught against The Sun as a personal vendetta by the leadership of the Commission, and by extension a declaration of war against the media.

In its response, the EFCC said its action was without prejudice to any appeal and only meant to verify the integrity of the assets.

The Commission still awaits the response of the Sun and will not be distracted by any attempt to whip up sentiments by alluding to an appeal which has been pending for ten years, Mr. Uwujaren said.

Contrary to claims in a statement released to the media by the management of the Sun, no staff of the media outfit was molested or intimidated for the few minutes that operatives of the Commission spent in the premises of the company.

The claim that EFCC operatives subjected our staff to crude intimidation, psychological and emotional trauma, even as some of the men accused our organization of publishing pro-Biafra, Boko Haram , and Niger Delta Militant stories, is strange and clearly the figment of the imagination of the Sun.

There was no reason to molest anybody as the commission has always related professionally with the publishing outfit.

Mr. Uwujaren said the attempt to link their visit to Mr. Magus threat to sue the organisation over a libelous publication was diversionary.

Magu is pursuing that option in his private capacity and his lawyer, Wahab Shittu, did write the Sun and his letter was widely published in the media on March 31, 2017.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Union of Journalists has condemned in the strongest terms the EFCCs invasion of The Sun Newspapers headquarters.

Abdulwaheed Odusile, the NUJ National President, said there could be no valid explanation to the Commissions act of intimidation.

The Union regrets this violation of press freedom and freedom of journalists to work without being molested, Mr. Odusile said in a statement.

The EFCC will do well to unconditionally apologize for this untoward act in the interest of our democracy because the media remain the only voice of the masses.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook


Former students of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso , on Monday unveiled a plan to raise N1 billion within 90 days to be deployed in solving the problems of the institution.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the agenda was unveiled on Monday in Ibadan at a news conference organised by the alumni of the school under the tag, #Fundlautech team.

The institution has remained shut for almost eight months as a result of the inability of the owner states, Oyo and Osun, to fund the university.

Addressing journalists, Adebayo Adeyinka, one of the leaders of the initiative, said a planned crowd funding initiative was being proposed in which alumni members and members of the public would be expected to contribute.

Other co-initiators are Tunde Ajayi-Ope, Dr Saheed Adetunbi, Ropo Egbeleke and Sola Kolawole.

Mr. Adeyinka stated that the funds realised from the crowd funding model would be used to pay the salaries and obligations of the workers.

Our aim is to raise N1billion within 90 days. The current wage bill of LAUTECH is N350 million monthly.

If we succeed in raising this sum from the general public, we would have a foot in the door which will enable the university open while negotiations and auditing as recommended continues, he said.

He said the team had evolved short and long term strategies in achieving this, adding that the short term strategy was to get the university opened very quickly.

Our long term strategy involves visits to high profile citizens in a bid to resolve this impasse once and for all, he said.

Mr. Adeyinka recalled how the late MKO Abiola, a former Chancellor of LAUTECH, in 1989 contributed to sustaining the institution then known as Oyo State University of Technology (OSUTECH).

It is ironic in 1989, a Higher Education Appeal Fund realised the sum of N19 million in cash and pledges from launching of the new university then called Oyo State University of Technology (OSUTECH).

Tragically, 28 years after, we have to raise money again from the general public to fund the salaries of the institution,

On that day in 1989, Chief MKO Abiola, who was the chief launcher, donated the sum of N2,050,000 in Ibadan, he added.

He also said the June 12 date chosen for the launching of the project was carefully considered to honour the memory of Mr. Abiola.

Mr. Adeyinka appealed to alumni members and well meaning Nigerians to contribute generously to the project.

Your gifts will enable the students go back to school. Your gifts will save some jobs. Your gifts will help some people to move on in life.

No amount is too small or too big to come to the aid of a once reputable university. LAUTECH must not die.

We are also engaging ASUU and SSANU to join us in managing the fund. We have made plans for a board comprising reputable citizens to also superintend the fund as a second level check.

Daily updates will be given on the website www.fundlautech.com on amounts received, he added.

(NAN)

Share this: Twitter

Facebook


The National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has cleared Mudasiru Hussein to contest the partys Tuesdays primaries for the Osun West senatorial district.

Mr. Hussein, a former senator, was earlier disqualified by the screening committee on the grounds that he did not resign within the period stipulated in the law.

He had gone to appeal the decision of the screening panel, but had his appeal thrown out.

A statement by the partys Director, Media and Strategy in Osun, Kunle Ayatomi, said a meeting of the NWC in Abuja on Monday reviewed the decision of the Appeal Panel and upturned it.

He said the decision of the NWC of the party was final in line with the regulations of the party.

Therefore, delegates for the APC West senatorial district primaries are to proceed to the designated centre for the exercise on Tuesday, he added.

By the development, Mr. Hussein will be slugging it out with Ademola Adeleke, the younger brother of Isiaka Adeleke, who until his death in April, occupied the senatorial seat.

Mr. Hussein had claimed that he resigned from the Aregbesolas cabinet as commissioner on June 6, fulfilling the 30 days requirement for an election fixed for July 8, 2017.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook


The management of the Federal University, Oye Ekiti has assured the students it is working hard to ensure they resume studies in a peaceful environment as soon as possible.

The universitys management gave the assurance on Monday following recent acts of violence allegedly committed by some members of the non-teaching staff over payment of their allowances.

Some workers had invaded the mini-campus of the University some weeks ago and forced the others out of their offices, just as members of the University Council, the highest governing board, were about to hold one of their statutory meetings.

During the protest, they reportedly deflated the tyres of the official car of the Bursar.

On hearing news of the mayhem, the council members, most of whom are senior citizens, relocated their meeting to Ado-Ekiti at which they directed the Management to investigate the disturbances with a view to bringing those involved to justice.

In response to the directive, the management set up a panel, but the protesting workers refused to appear before it when summoned.

The management thereafter decided to suspend the workers pending the report of the disciplinary panel, a decision that was in turn upheld by Council.

The Vice Chancellor of the university, Kayode Soremekun, said despite the patience and maturity displayed by law-abiding members of the university community, including the students, the protesting staff had allegedly resolved to make life unbearable for everyone on the campus.

As soon as the suspension orders were served on the workers, they dug up all kinds of age old grievances; and on the basis of these manufactured grievances, they decided to embark on industrial action, he said in a statement made available to Premium Times on Monday.

Since then, life has been made a living hell for law abiding members of the University community.

Meanwhile all these dastardly acts have been reported to the appropriate authorities and very soon, the situation will be brought under control, Mr. Soremekun said.

The crisis at the university started over protests over non-payment of allowances occasioned by the non-release of funds to the institution by the federal government.

But a source noted that the funding challenge is also being faced by other federal institutions.

Last Wednesday, the protesting workers were alleged to have attacked some members of the University community.

Later last week, members of the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), joined the violent protest to complain against the extension of hazard allowance, initially exclusive to them, to other workers.

When the Management issued queries to the NAAT members over their action, they also refused to answer the queries.

They instead wrote to the Council about their grouse, but the Council directed that they too should be suspended over their act of defiance.

Speaking on Monday, the vice-chancellor said the institutions management was determined to exercise civility in resolution of the crisis.

Despite all these, we are determined to continue our work to turn this institution into a world class centre of learning, he said.

We are focused and unshaken by the present challenges because we are certain that we have been fair to all members of the university community.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook


The Ogun State governor, Ibikunle Amosun, has disowned an audio conversation circulating on social media purporting to be a phone call between him and his Borno State counterpart, Kashim Shettima.

The 20-minute audio is alleged to contain the voices of the two governors, as they spoke on the current agitation for Biafra.

Both governors allegedly said that different sections of the country, including the South East and South West, and north, should be free to go their separate ways.

But in his reaction Monday, Mr. Amosun denied the conversation happened.

A statement by the Ogun State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Dayo Adeneye, said the conversation was meant to create confusion.

The voice in the forgery which they paraded as that of Governor Amosun is not that of His Excellency and a simple search on the internet for any speech by him, would convince those who are not familiar with his voice that the producers of the audio recording did a poor and unintelligent imitation, the statement said.

The peddlers of such falsehood appear to have a wild scheme which appears to be part of what may be turning out to be the wider script, by some unpatriotic elements, aimed at further causing divisions in Nigeria.

It is meant to feed into, as well as further exacerbate the already highly combustible wave of agitation in the land. This evil plot will not work. Indeed this is not the first time some unpatriotic and vile individuals would spread falsehood about the person of Governor Amosun, the statement reads.

The release emphasised that Mr. Amosun was committed to the peaceful co-existence of all groups in Nigeria and will not engage in conversations that would threaten the peace and unity of Nigeria.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook


Halina Szymanska was appointed new head of the President's Office during a ceremony at the Presidential Palace on Monday. Earlier the current head of the President's Office was recalled.

Halina Szymanska, the current vice -president of the Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture (ARiMR), has replaced Magorzata Sadurska.

Moreover, deputy head of the President's Office Pawe Mucha was appointed Monday the president's proxy for the referendum on a new constitution, and Wojciech Kolarski was named the president's proxy for the National Celebrations of Poland's Independence 100th anniv.

In a televised address in May, President Andrzej Duda said he would ask the Senate (upper house) for approval of his idea to call a referendum on the future shape of Poland's constitution. In the referendum, the president would like to ask the nation about potential changes to Poland's constitution rather than put a ready constitution draft to a popular vote.

Under the Polish constitution, the president needs the Senate's approval to go ahead with his referendum initiative.

At a meeting with lower and upper house speakers on Thursday the president maintained his initial suggestion that Poland's 100th independence anniversary was the best date for the constitutional referendum. (PAP)
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP  Jeff Hyman cares enough about children in need having food to eat this summer that he rallied his employees and customers to help the Community FoodBank of New Jersey.

Hyman stopped by the organizations Southern Branch on Thursday with 415 pounds of perishable food items packed into 57 bags and stuffed into his Ford Escape SUV.

Community FoodBank warehouse assistant Kris Heim helped unload the bags from Hymans car.

I think its important. We take from the community. Its important when we can to give back to the community ... to help those not as fortunate, Hyman said. I know what it is like for people to struggle.

Hyman is the owner of a Cleaning Authority franchise. His Hammonton-based business cleans both homes and offices in Atlantic and Cape May counties and as far west as Mullica Hill, Gloucester County.

The franchise is participating in the Clean Authority CARES program this summer.

Hyman received the bags for the food donations from the main Cleaning Authority headquarters based in the Baltimore-Washington D.C. metro area.

The 25 people on his staff ask the businesses and homeowners they service whether they can leave a bag for food donations.

Everybody on my staff is supportive to do it, Hyman said.

Since Hymans business covers a wide area, he makes his donations to the Southern Branch of the Community FoodBank, so the food will be spread over a large region.

Hyman also collected donations for the FoodBank last summer and this past winter. After stopping by Thursday, he plans to return with more food donations next month and in August.

Hyman made the commitment to help others even though he could use some assistance himself. Hyman is working 60 hours per week, but is suffering end-stage renal disease and is looking for a live kidney donor.

Richard J. Uniacke, vice president of the FoodBanks Southern Branch, said his organization has been excited every time Hyman drives up with a donation from the Cleaning Authority.

It is just a shining example of businesses in our area who have taken up the cause of hunger, particularly at this time of year with the recognition that summertime is a particularly challenging time for food insecure households where they need the help, Uniacke said.

What often happens is businesses take the initiative.

The FoodBank doesnt necessarily coordinate it with them, Uniacke said.

They give us a call and say, Hey, we did a food drive. Its outstanding. Its 500 pounds, and we would like to come and drop it off and meet somebody over there, Uniacke said.
A Monmouth County high school has come under fire after alleged censorship of images and quotes supporting President Donald Trump in the schools yearbook.

A teacher at Wall High School was suspended after three reported instances of censorship in the yearbook, all of which supported Trump

Grant Berardo, a junior at the school, took his school pictures wearing a navy blue "Make America Great Again" shirt from the campaign. In the yearbook, however, his photo had been changed to a plain black t-shirt, according to a report by the Asbury Park Press.

It was Photoshopped," Grant told the Asbury Park Press. "I sent it to my mom and dad, just like You wont believe this.

A report from CNN said that two more students at the school were censored in the yearbook.

Wyatt Debrovich-Fago wore a sweater vest with a Trump campaign logo, but it was cropped out.

His sister, Montana, selected a Donald Trump quote to go under her picture in the yearbook, but that was also taken out. Her picture was the only one in the yearbook without a quote, according to CNN.
PLEASE BE ADVISED: Soon we will no longer integrate with Facebook for story comments. The commenting option is not going away, however, readers will need to register for a FREE site account to continue sharing their thoughts and feedback on stories. If you already have an account (i.e. current subscribers, posting in obituary guestbooks, for submitting community events), you may use that login, otherwise, you will be prompted to create a new account.
Aaron Carter, the singer-rapper who began performing as a child and had hit albums starting in his teen years, was found dead at his home in Southern California. He was 34. Representatives for Carters family confirmed the singers death Saturday. They did not provide any immediate further comment. A sheriff's official says deputies responding to reports of a medical emergency found a person deceased at the home in Lancaster. Aaron Carter, the younger brother of Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys, performed as an opening act for Britney Spears as well as his brothers boy band, and appeared on the familys reality series, House of Carters.
Dan Skeldon will be live streaming from the Ocean City beach, where tonight's launch can be seen.

Will the sixth time be the charm to light up the sky with luminescent clouds?

If the weather cooperates, the NASA facility on Wallops Island, Virginia, on the Delmarva peninsula will try again to launch a research rocket after 9 p.m. Sunday.

Launches scheduled for May 31 through June 4 were scrubbed four consecutive mornings due to uncooperative weather and boats in the launch hazard area.

NASA now plans to launch between 9:04 and 9:19 p.m., and if Monday skies are clear, which is the forecast, South Jersey will have a prime seat for viewing multicolored, glow-in-the-dark clouds.

Press of Atlantic City meteorologist will be streaming live during the event beginning at 8:45 p.m.

A launch after sunset is more convenient for people to view compared to the predawn 4:30 a.m. launch attempts earlier this month.

To view the launch, look to the south-southeast sky, which should be clear given the current forecast. The beach is a great spot or any dark area with a view of the southeast horizon.

According to NASA, 10 canisters about the size of a soda can will be deployed from the rocket 4 to 5 minutes after launch. They will produce blue-green and red vapors that will form artificial clouds. These clouds, or vapor tracers, allow scientists on the ground to visually track particle motions in space.

The vapor tracers may be visible as far north as New York and as far south as North Carolina, depending on the weather.

The vapor tracers are formed through the interaction of barium, strontium and black copper oxide, according to NASA. The tracers will be released at altitudes 96 to 124 miles high and pose no hazard to residents along the mid-Atlantic coast.

NASA expects the total flight time for the mission to be about eight minutes.

The payload will land in the ocean about 90 miles from Wallops Island. It will not be recovered, NASA said.
With maintaining their majorities in the Legislature assured, Democrats have turned their attention, political maneuvering and deal-making skills to the selection of leadership for the 2018 session.

Senate President Steve Sweeney guaranteed another term for himself when, after rumors of an impending challenge began to circulate, he released a statement from a nearly unanimous Democratic caucus pledging support.

Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto, D-Hudson, hasnt been so lucky.

He faces an insurgency allegedly masterminded by Sweeney and South Jersey political power George Norcross, who convinced little known Assemblyman Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, that with their support and political clout, hed make an outstanding speaker.

Coughlin quickly announced he enjoyed the support of as many as 30 colleagues, more than enough to oust Prieto and elevate himself. The base of his support is the 13 members who represent South Jersey districts and are allied to one degree or another with Norcross.

Prieto, though, has made clear that if there is a coup in the works, it wont be bloodless.

He announced his own intentions to seek another term, expressing confidence he enjoyed the support of a majority of his caucus, including the large delegation counties of Bergen, Passaic, Hudson and Essex.

He forced the resignation of the longtime director of the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee and took control of the committee and its fundraising program.

Coughlin hasnt backed down, continuing to insist he has secured more than enough commitments to replace Prieto.

Middlesex County Democrats have complained theyve been largely overlooked, despite the countys history as a strong and reliable party enclave, and are overdue for recognition.

There hasnt been this much muscle-flexing since the final round of the Mr. Universe competition.

The movement to depose Prieto has its origins in the frosty relationship between the speaker and Sweeney. The two have differed on several major issues, most prominently development of a new formula of state aid to local education.

They have clashed also on the state assumption of Atlantic City government, North Jersey casinos and an increase in the gasoline tax.

Prieto has chafed at what he feels is the disrespect shown him and the Assembly by Sweeney and Senate Democrats who, he has complained, reach accommodations with Gov. Chris Christie, approve them and expect the Assembly to follow suit.

Prieto feels that Sweeney has ignored the Assembly as a co-equal legislative body, refusing to consult or seek input from it.

The slights  deliberate in Prietos view  diminish his leadership and relegate the Assembly to rubber stamp status.

The public involvement of Norcross in the anti-Prieto movement is significant as well, representing in the minds of observers a serious move to extend his and South Jerseys influence north of Interstate 195.

Despite occasional forays into North Jersey, Norcross political clout has largely been regional.

He has enjoyed a close relationship with the governor, an association that has paid off handsomely in the form of tax breaks and economic incentives for the city of Camden in particular.

If Coughlin succeeds in his challenge to Prieto, it will greatly strengthen Norcross hand, giving him close allies in the presiding officers of both houses of the Legislature.

Should Democratic gubernatorial nominee Phil Murphy succeed in November, his legislative and policy agenda will rest in the hands of Sweeney and Coughlin and  by extension  Norcross.

As presiding officers, Sweeney and Coughlin (if elected) would control the flow of legislation to the floors of their respective chambers and it would be necessary for Murphy, as governor, to deal with Norcross on issues of major import to assure a favorable reaction.

Such an outcome would enhance Norcross position as a statewide powerbroker and expand his sphere of influence.

The move on Prieto is not without risk, however. Should he turn aside the challenge from Coughlin, hell emerge a far more formidable figure.

He would be able to consolidate his power and make it clear that neither he nor the chamber he leads will automatically fall in line with the wishes of Sweeney or the Senate.

Historically, the jockeying for leadership positions doesnt begin in earnest until the outcome of the general election.

The unprecedented early and highly public challenge to the speaker is an indication of the stakes involved in what Democrats believe will be a unified government come January  control of both the executive and legislative branches.

The levers of governmental and policy power await. A decision on whose hands will grasp them will set the tone and agenda for the next four years.

Carl Golden is a senior contributing analyst with the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton University.
Wouldnt hire protesters

I really hope that the interviewers for the job-seeking Notre Dame graduates, who were ignorant enough to walk out on their commencement ceremony, will be walking out on their candidates interviews in protest to their disrespectful behavior to the countrys leaders.

If I were an employer, I would not want any of those graduates, so lacking in class, working for me.

Thomas Barrett

Brigantine

Talk without vitriol benefits everyone

It seems to me that the polarization between the conservatives and the progressives has reached an unhealthy level for the society at large.

I consider myself to be a conservative, slightly right of center. I think that conservatives or progressives owe themselves the favor of reaching out and finding a friend, neighbor or family member that they love or at least respect and having a dialog with that person to hear their opinions on matters political, cultural and fiscal. If talking to that person can be accomplished without vitriol invading the conversation, the participants and the society in general will benefit.

The media by and large is endeavoring to polarize and pander to create a more dramatic battle between the different ideologies of the country. People should find someone that they love that is politically different and try it. They might find that both are the better for it.

John Regina

Northfield

Cant trust Trump

I have friends and family I love who voted for Donald Trump. None of them are morons. But some people are just unwilling to follow the evidence wherever it leads. Thats not as easy to do as it sounds because people prefer to select the facts that feel true. Even scientists, medical doctors and police detectives who are trained to follow the facts have biases. Thats why peer review and juries matter.

I understand why Trump supporters did not trust Hillary Clinton. What I dont understand is how anyone trusts Trump. He makes things up, such as his inaugural audience.

Trump goes for his feelings over facts every time. People cant trust him. Yet, people do. I cant hate them for it. Theyre not deplorable.

Jim Tweed

Ocean City

Christie advice on hiring

On May 22, Chris Christie said: If I were president-elect of the United States, I wouldnt let Gen. Flynn into the White House, let alone give him a job. This gem of vetting hindsight comes from the man who had the executive acumen to hire Bill Baroni, Bridget Kelly and David Wildstein who, if the governor is to be believed, enacted the Bridgegate closures without his knowledge.

Steve Leadley

Cape May Court House
VALLEY COTTAGE, New York, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Increasing investment in the furniture industry is cited as a key factor driving the sales of wood preservative coatings. Moreover, rise in construction activities across the globe has also been influencing the demand for wood preservative coatings of late. Future Market Insights (FMI) delivers such vital information in its latest report on the global wood preservative coatings market. Over the years, application of wood preservative coatings has significantly increased in general industries, decorative, aerospace, coil packaging, auto refinish and special wood coating. The coatings industry is experiencing a shift towards adoption of new technologies such as UV and water-borne, thermosetting emulsion, powder coatings, high-solids, two component systems and colloidal dispersion. The arrival of eco-wood coating products is expected to further boost the global coatings market that was valued at US$ 125 Bn in 2016.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161020/430874LOGO )

As per the FMI report titled "Wood Preservative Coatings: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 2017-2027" the global wood preservative coatings market is predominantly contingent upon the performance of the construction and furniture industry. Currently, the market is at a stable position and is set to witness a healthy CAGR of 6.2% between 2017 and 2027 to reach a valuation of US$ 6,433,194 Mn. The report also cites that in future, preference for water-borne coatings will be higher due to their environmental advantages and adherence to VOC emission regulations.

Request a Sample Report with Table of Contents and Figures: http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-4103

During this ten years of the forecast, the market for wood preservative coatings in Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) is expected to present lucrative opportunities for players. In addition, the region's market is expected to witness an impressive CAGR over 2027. This growth is primarily attributed to the ongoing urbanisation in the APEJ region. Countries such as China and India are the major contributors to the region's market both in terms of production and consumption. Availability of low-cost resource coupled with increasing investments in furniture industry propels the wood preservative coatings market in the region. In terms of market size, North America will continue to hold the top position through 2027.

Companies are looking to capitalise on opportunities in APEJ by offering cost effective and high solids type of wood coatings. Also, players who have recently entered or planning to initiate operations in the Asia region is likely to receive better consumer response if they offer wood preservative coatings with higher flexibility in application. FMI in its report has profiled some of leading companies operating in the global wood preservative market, which include Akzo Nobel N.V., BASF SE, The Dow Chemical Company, The Sherwin-Williams Company, PPG Industries, Inc, Valspar Corporation,

Industrias Quimicas Kupsa S.L., RPM International Inc., Lonza Group Ltd, KMG Chemicals, Inc.

Preview Analysis on Global Wood Preservative Coatings Market Segmentation By System Type - Solvent-borne, Water-borne; By Coating Type - Preservative (Water Repellent, Fire Retardant, Insect/Fungi Repellent), Stains, Varnishes, Shellacs, Others (Oil, Wax, etc.): http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/wood-preservative-coatings-market

Additional Highlights of the Report Include:

Based on system type, around 5,759,652 tons of solvent-borne wood preservative coatings is expected to be produced towards the end of the forecast period.

By 2017-end, nearly US$ 2,873.8 Mn worth wood preservative coatings will be used only for preservative purposes.

worth wood preservative coatings will be used only for preservative purposes. On the basis of end-use, coatings for furniture account for more than one-third share of the market and is expected to remain dominant throughout the forecast period

More from FMI's Cutting-edge Intelligence:

Metalworking Fluids Market Segmentation By Category - Straight Oil, Emulsified Oil, Semi Synthetic, Synthetic; By Product Type - Removal Fluids, Protection Fluids, Forming Fluids, Treating Fluids; By End Use - Fabricated Metal Products, Machinery, Metal Use, Transportation Equipment and Others: http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/metal-working-fluids-market

Segmentation By Category - Straight Oil, Emulsified Oil, Semi Synthetic, Synthetic; By Product Type - Removal Fluids, Protection Fluids, Forming Fluids, Treating Fluids; By End Use - Fabricated Metal Products, Machinery, Metal Use, Transportation Equipment and Others: http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/metal-working-fluids-market Construction Aggregates Market Segmentation By Product - Crushed Stone, Sand, Gravel and Others; By Application - Residential, Commercial, Industrial and Infrastructure: http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/construction-aggregates-market

Segmentation By Product - Crushed Stone, Sand, Gravel and Others; By Application - Residential, Commercial, Industrial and Infrastructure: http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/construction-aggregates-market Ion Exchange Resins Market Segmentation Product Type - Cation Exchange Resins, Anion Exchange Resins and Others; Application - Power Generation, Chemical & Fertilizers, Food & Beverages, Electrical & Electronics, Pharmaceuticals, Paper & Pulp, Domestic & Wastewater Treatment and Others: http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/ion-exchange-resins-market

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 and an aerial view of the competitive framework and future market trends.

Browse More Chemicals & Materials Market Insights

Contact Us

616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,

Valley Cottage, NY 10989,

United States

T: +1-347-918-3531

F: +1-845-579-5705

T (UK): +44-(0)-20-7692-8790

Sales: sales@futuremarketinsights.com

Press Office: Press@futuremrketinsights.com



FMI Blog: http://www.fmiblog.com/

Website: http://www.futuremarketinsights.com

SOURCE Future Market Insights
GUANGZHOU, China, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Early 2017 data shows increased levels of trade collaboration between Germany and Guangzhou, China's most integral business center and key international trade hub. In the first quarter of 2017, the goods trading volume between Guangzhou and Germany soared to nearly $1.38 billion - up 62.5%. By the first quarter of 2017, 144 German companies had invested in Guangzhou, with an accumulative direct investment worth up to $330 million in contractual foreign capital and $220 million in actual capital.

These results come following strong momentum seen in 2016. Last year, the trade volume of registered goods between Guangzhou and Germany reached $4.11 billion - up 7.5% year-on-year and representing more than 3% of Guangzhou's total foreign trade volume. This figure included exports of $1.79 billion and imports of $2.33 billion, which grew 10% and 5.6% respectively. That same year, Guangzhou attracted seven new direct investment projects from Germany with a total contractual foreign investment of $4.25 million, and actual utilized value of $2.81 million.

The relationship between the two regions is a reciprocal bond, creating growth and development opportunities within each of their borders. Last year, six Guangzhou enterprises were established in Germany, with China's agreed-upon investment level reaching $43.92 million.

"Germany is already Guangzhou's fifth largest goods trading partner, and our relationship is only continuing to grow," said Guangzhou Vice Mayor Cai Chaolin. "I believe it is our advantages as a key international commercial and trade hub, our pro-business environment and our many opportunities across diverse industry sectors, that are attracting German corporations and enabling them to grow their businesses here. It is a new era of economic and trade cooperation for us both, and Guangzhou is proud to be at the forefront of this movement. I know there are many great things are still to come for us both."

This week Vice Mayor Cai Chaolin is making a visit to Munich to keynote a private forum on innovative approaches and open perspectives between Germany and Guangzhou. The event strives to create collaborative dialogue on prospects and models of advanced cooperation between Chinese and German enterprises. This week's gathering comes ahead of a major international forum taking place later this year in Guangzhou - The Global Fortune Forum in December - which will convene world leaders and the heads of global businesses to discuss the dynamic world of international commerce. The forum will also serve as an opportunity for CEOs of the Fortune Global 500 to meet and engage with China leaders from the public and private sectors.

A number of special guests will join the local forum in Munich, including a delegation from the People's Government of Guangzhou Municipality, the Guangzhou Municipal Commission of Commerce, the Guangzhou Development District and Guangzhou Shixing Investment, the Chinese Consular General to Munich, government officials from Munich, Alan Murray - the Chief Content Officer of Time Inc. and Fortune President, a special guest from the German Chamber of Commerce, senior representatives from Guangzhou corporations and senior representatives from various German Fortune Global 500 firms.

Many of the world's top 500 enterprises have set up stations in Guangzhou, with a broad investment portfolio ranging from electronics to automobiles, fine chemicals, manufacturing, intelligent equipment and beyond. Guangzhou's expansions in strategic new industries, such as information technology, artificial intelligence and biomedicine, also offer unique complements to Germany's era of Industry 4.0 and the pursuit of smart technology, automation and intelligent manufacturing initiatives. Guangzhou's technology research and development efforts have been even further bolstered by the establishment of the new Guangzhou National Innovation Demonstration Zone. This zone has been seamlessly integrated with existing regional science and technology parks to create a novel sci-tech corridor that positively impacts technological innovation in the region.

On a broader scale, Guangzhou is also continually enhancing its investment ecosystem, creating a business friendly environment that fosters growth and opportunity, raising the level of investment and trade facilitation, and streamlining administrative examinations and approval permissions. Guangzhou also continues to reduce the burden on enterprises, lowering operating costs and helping enterprises by reducing fees, setting up government funds and implementing policies to reduce insurance rates. In recent years, the city's talent introduction scheme has further enabled the region to attract more international talent.

Guangzhou's policy and service benefits, geographical advantages, focus on localization, flexibility, recruitment and stable, large-scale development have helped put Guangzhou at the top of Forbes' list of Best Cities for Business in China. Foreign-funded enterprises in Guangzhou enjoy high level of localization in terms of management and technical personnel, and many foreign enterprises have established research and development centers in the city's industrial parks, which help them to understand and effectively cater to regional markets.

As the capital city of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou is a comprehensive transportation hub with has a long history as a key point on the Maritime Silk Road. The city is not only home to a vast port, but also a rapidly expanding international airport, an immense railway infrastructure and a strong highway system. With this, Guangzhou is uniquely poised to support global openness and interconnectivity between China, Germany and the rest of the world.

Despite its successful growth and development, Guangzhou has maintained its beauty, culture and welcoming spirit, as peoples and enterprises from around the globe gather there to live and work. The city's temperate climate, lush environment, and top-class food and beverage offerings have made this an ideal place for corporations and talent to settle, succeed and grow their future. "It is our pleasure to have welcomed so many German partners into our great region and make Guangzhou their home, and we look forward to welcoming even more with open arms as we move forward," Vice Mayor Cai said.

SOURCE Guangzhou News Center
BOULDER, Colorado, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Leading Aviation Technology Provider Opens American Head Office

Rusada, the leading technology provider for aircraft MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) and airline engineering departments, has opened their first office in the USA specifically to service the needs of their American customer base and prospects.

Based in Boulder, Colorado, Rusada Inc. is staffed by a team of aviation specialists focused on developing new relationships for the company's leading "Envision nGen" product while working with existing customers to ensure that the development roadmap is aligned with the requirements of the Americas' client and prospect base.

Leading Rusada Inc. is Bob Aidun, a veteran of the aviation technology sector and, collectively with his team, brings more than a century of experience to the Rusada group. He said, "Rusada has a great reputation within the Airline, Rotor and MRO engineering community and our name is synonymous with technical innovation and aviation experience. Our latest release of Envision nGen maintains this legacy and my team and I are excited to present it to the American aviation sector."

"The Americas are by far the most mature and arguably the most complex aviation region in the world," Julian Stourton, CEO Rusada Group SA., said. "Although Rusada has customers in the Americas, we have never had a permanent presence. I am pleased to demonstrate our commitment to the American market through the opening of our office in Boulder and particularly delighted to have such an experienced team in place from the outset. We will offer full service with sales, implementation consultants and product development from this office."

The US office adds to Rusada's global footprint which includes facilities in the UK, Switzerland, UAE, Singapore, India and Australia. For more information on how Rusada is helping their aviation customers in the Americas, get in touch with the team at +1-720-598-3032 or visit www.rusada.com

About Rusada

Rusada is a global aviation software solutions company established in 1987 and headquartered in Switzerland. With operations in the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the Americas, Rusada serves 70 major customers worldwide with software that manages more than 1,500 aircraft in 30 countries.

The company's Envision software provides key management information and operational process control for operators, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), maintenance and repair organizations (MROs) and service organizations.

More information

Michael Flannigan

Head of Marketing

michael.flannigan@rusada.com

+44-(0)-7585-328047



SOURCE Rusada
DUBLIN, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Wage and Hour Law Under the FLSA: 2-Day In-person Seminar" conference to their offering.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) applies to virtually all public and private employers, and is chock- full of rules about everything from the minimum wage to overtime pay. Along with these rules come exceptions and exemptions, and myriad expectations as to what wages must be paid and how. In short, the FLSA has and continues to be a source of great confusion to many employers. But ignoring it does not make it go away.

The United States Department of Labor (USDOL) is taking an increasingly active role in ensuring compliance with all aspects of the FLSA, including proper classification of workers as either independent contractors or employees, proper classification of employees as either exempt or non-exempt from minimum wage and overtime requirements and what constitutes compensable work time, to name just a few.

What's more, the United States Department of Labor over the last several years has begun to collaborate with some of their state counterparts. Why is that? The reason is because failure to properly classify and pay workers means less payroll withholding, which in turn means less revenue going to the federal (and state) government coffers.



The USDOL therefore has every incentive to crack down on FLSA violations, real and perceived. That is why you as an employer/manager/H.R. practitioner cannot afford to ignore or minimize their FLSA obligations.



Periodically, the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the Department of Labor (DOL) issues updates and new regulations that employers must comply with or face stiff penalties. It is every organization's responsibility to stay abreast of all pertinent information regarding FLSA laws and federally mandated compliance requirements.



During the last decade or two, employers have found it increasingly difficult to decide which employees are entitled to overtime. Those classifications are commonly referred to as exempt employees (those who meet the FLSA's requirements to be exempt from overtime pay) and non-exempt employees (employees the law requires to be paid overtime).



The FLSA contains dozens of exemptions, which basically provide that specific categories of employers and employees aren't subject to the Act's overtime requirements. Most common are the white-collar exemptions for executive, administrative, and professional employees, computer professionals, and outside sales employees.



For more information about this conference visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/3ssxgl/wage_and_hour_law

Media Contact:

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

Related Links

http://www.researchandmarkets.com



SOURCE Research and Markets
2M Holdings is delighted to announce it has acquired CE-O2 Trockeneis GmbH, (CO2 Dry-Ice Germany), long standing producer and supplier of dry-ice.

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/522072/2M_Holdings_UK_Group_of_Companies_Logo.jpg )

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/522073/CE_O2_Trockeneis_CO2_Dry_Ice_Germany_Logo.jpg )



CE-O2 Trockeneis supply dry-ice mainly in 3 forms: slices, nuggets and pellets into Food, Catering and Life Science industries.

"When we acquire a business our objective is to buy a good business and help it to grow and become excellent. An added benefit is when we can use it as a stepping stone to add product lines which support our suppliers and new customers," said Mottie Kessler, 2M group Chairman & CEO.

With its prime location in Dusseldorf airport and its excellent reputation, CE-O2 Trockeneis is a perfect fit to support 2M Holdings growth strategy.

CO2 Trockeneis is used in a variety of dry-ice industries and applications, including:

Biological R esearch keeps samples fresh

keeps samples fresh Medical Procedures enables the transportation of organs for transplant

enables the transportation of organs for transplant Food Processing freeze drying, cold grinding and keeping food fresh for many hours

freeze drying, cold grinding and keeping food fresh for many hours Cleaning dry ice blasting

dry ice blasting Rubber P rocessing

Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

About CE-O2 Trockeneis GmbH

Established in Dusseldorf Germany in 1999, CE-O2 produces and distributes dry ice slices, nuggets and pellets, matching its customers' requirements. It owns and operates dry ice production units as well as a dedicated fleet of special insulated boxes and transportation, to deliver to its customers in the Food, Catering and Life Science industries. Being located next to Dusseldorf International Airport enables CE-02 to provide quick response and highest service level to support customers' requirements.

About 2M Holdings Limited

2M Holdings Ltd (http://www.2m-holdings.com) is a portfolio of strong brand chemical distribution and related chemical services companies of samples management, storage and blending. The group is privately owned and was founded in 2004 by Mottie Kessler MBE, the present Chairman and CEO.

Headquartered in the UK with local presence in China, Benelux, Ireland, Poland, Scandinavia, Brazil, 2M exports to over 90 countries.

2M Holdings Limited includes: Banner Chemicals, Surfachem, MP Storage & Blending, Packed Chlorine, SampleRite UK, SampleRite China, Stowlin Croftshaw and CE-O2 Trockeneis Germany

2M businesses specialise in solvents, specialty chemicals and surfactants to automotive, precision cleaning, coating, emission reduction, oilfield & refineries, flavours & fragrances, personal care, household & industrial hygiene cleaning and pharmaceuticals industries.

2M also produces: CleanAirBlue, Pigmentan, MEC-Prime, Perklone EXT, Perklone D, Perklone MD and Triklone LE, SamSol, and Packed Chlorine.

More info:

CE-O2 Trockeneis GmbH / CO2 Dry-Ice Germany / T: +49-02 11 5 28 75 14, E: [email protected]

Dr Maggie Kessler / Director / +44 1928 597 000 / [email protected]

SOURCE 2M Holdings Group of Companies
The term "opioid-related diagnoses" referred to four diagnoses: opioid abuse, opioid dependence, heroin overdose and opioid overdose (i.e., overdose of opioids excluding heroin). Opioid dependence is more severe than opioid abuse. By compiling and analyzing the claim lines for healthcare treatment for individuals with these diagnoses, FAIR Health reveals in this white paper the scale and variety of approaches employed to deal with this crisis. Claims provide a strong measure for healthcare statistics because they reflect healthcare usage and their information reflects the assessments of providers, whose training and experience qualify them as judges of health conditions.

Among the findings in California, some of which deviate from findings in other states:

In 2016, the number one procedure code by distribution and by expenditure (on an aggregate basis) associated with opioid-related diagnoses was HCPCS code H0015, "alcohol and/or drug services; intensive outpatient." It made up 32 percent of the distribution of top five codes and 34 percent of the top five expenditures.

In 2016, codes for drug tests and partial hospitalization lasting less than 24 hours made up the rest of the distribution of top five codes and the top five expenditures.

Claim lines associated with the four opioid-related diagnoses all grew in California from 2007 to 2016, but at different rates:

Opioid dependence24,515 percent



Heroin overdose1,950 percent



Opioid abuse1,582 percent



Opioid overdose462 percent

Claim lines with opioid-related diagnoses increased from 2007 to 2016 in all six California regions (Bay Area, Central Coast, Inland Empire, northern California , San Joaquin Valley and southern California ). But the greatest increase was in southern California (including Los Angeles ), where the increase was 31,897 percentmore than five times as great as the next largest increase. The increase in the other five regions was:

Inland Empire5,773 percent



San Joaquin Valley4,098 percent



Bay Area1,309 percent



Northern California887 percent



Central Coast353 percent

Claim lines with opioid dependence outnumbered opioid abuse lines by 97 percent to 3 percent in the period 2007-2016.

Claim lines with opioid overdose outnumbered heroin overdose lines by 55 percent to 45 percent in the period 2007-2016.

For the full white paper, click here. See also the infographic below.

Follow us on Twitter @FAIRHealth

About FAIR Health

FAIR Health is a national, independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing transparency to healthcare costs and health insurance information through data products, consumer resources and health systems research support. FAIR Health oversees the nation's largest collection of healthcare claims data, which includes a repository of over 23 billion billed medical and dental procedures that reflect the claims experience of over 150 million privately insured individuals, and separate data representing the experience of more than 55 million individuals enrolled in Medicare. Certified by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as a Qualified Entity, FAIR Health receives all of Medicare Parts A, B and D claims data for use in nationwide transparency efforts. FAIR Health licenses its privately billed data and data productsincluding benchmark modules, data visualizations, custom analytics, episodes of care analytics and market indicesto commercial insurers and self-insurers, employers, hospitals and healthcare systems, government agencies, researchers and others. FAIR Health has earned HITRUST CSF and Service Organization Controls (SOC 2) certifications by meeting the rigorous data security standards of those organizations. As a testament to FAIR Health's data security and validation protocols, its data have been incorporated in statutes and regulations around the country and designated as the official, neutral data source for a variety of state health programs, including workers' compensation and personal injury protection (PIP) programs. FAIR Health data serve as an official reference point in support of certain state balance billing laws that protect consumers against bills for surprise out-of-network and emergency services. FAIR Health also uses its database to power a free consumer website available in English and Spanish and as an English/Spanish mobile app, which enable consumers to estimate and plan their healthcare expenditures and offer a rich educational platform on health insurance. The website has been honored by the White House Summit on Smart Disclosure, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), URAC, the eHealthcare Leadership Awards, appPicker, Employee Benefit News and Kiplinger's Personal Finance. FAIR Health also is named a top resource for patients in Elisabeth Rosenthal's new book, An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back. For more information on FAIR Health, visit fairhealth.org.

Contact:

Dean Sicoli

Executive Director of Communications and Public Relations

FAIR Health

646-664-1645

[email protected]

SOURCE FAIR Health

Related Links

http://www.fairhealth.org/


AUSTIN, Texas, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Prominent healthcare leaders and innovators met over the weekend at the 2017 AAMI Conference and Expo in Austin, Texas. The event explored opportunities and advances in healthcare technology, including continuous monitoring of patients being treated with opioid pain therapy, who may be at an increased risk of developing respiratory depression.

"Since 2014, the AAMI Foundation's National Coalition to Promote Continuous Monitoring of Patients on Opioids has worked tirelessly to advance continuous monitoring as part of the clinical plan to prevent unnecessary deaths that result from opioid induced respiratory depression," said Marilyn Neder Flak, Executive Director of AAMI. "We've hosted numerous educational events, published data and supported partnerships to make healthcare providers aware of this issue and the various technologies available to help reduce preventable deaths."

Every year, an estimated 3,000-5,000 patients die in U.S. hospitals from opioid induced respiratory depression, which often strikes patients in low-risk areas of the hospital where patient monitoring is typically limited to nursing rounds. This is defined as a nursing professional visiting the patient once every 4-8 hours to perform vital signs checks, and overall wellness checks on patients. The ECRI Institute recently cited opioid administration and monitoring in acute care as one of the top safety concerns in its 2017 Patient Safety Guidelines.

"Clinical evidence from early adopters and published literature shows that continuous monitoring can reduce in-hospital unplanned morbidity, including opioid induced respiratory depression, and is well on track to become the standard of care on general care floors," said Dr. Frank Overdyk, Chairman of the National Coalition and AAMI board member. "Rather than improve our response to critical events after they have occurred, continuous monitoring allows clinicians to detect patient deterioration early, and institute treatments that improve outcomes and reduce preventable harm

"As one of the founding partners of the Coalition, EarlySense is proud to support healthcare facilities in improving patient care and outcomes by providing the market's most advanced continuous monitoring solutions," said Tim O'Malley, EarlySense President. "Over the past several years, adoption of our technology has grown considerably, helping to save lives and reduce overall healthcare costs. We are pleased to continue working with our coalition partners, customers, industry partners and advocates to help realize the vision of making continuous monitoring the new standard of patient care. Continuous monitoring allows thousands of data points to be collected and analyzed, providing valuable insight into a patient's status long before an acute event can develop."

About AAMI

The AAMI Foundation is a 501(c)3 charitable organization whose primary mission is to serve the public welfare and to promote the safe adoption and safe use of healthcare technology. It does this through the work of safety initiatives, the distribution of scholarships to students, global outreach initiatives, and awards for excellence. http://www.aami.org

About EarlySense

EarlySense provides contact-free, continuous monitoring solutions for the medical and consumer digital health markets. EarlySense's patented sensor and advanced algorithms monitor and analyze cardiac, respiratory and motion parameters. Used in hospitals and healthcare facilities worldwide, EarlySense assists clinicians in early detection of patient deterioration, helping to prevent adverse events, including code blues, preventable ICU transfers, patient falls and pressure ulcers.



LIVE by EarlySense is the first home health and sleep monitor powered by medically-proven, contact-free, continuous monitoring technology. The company's OEM technology is also at the core of wellness and sleep products marketed by international partners including Samsung, Beurer and iFit. EarlySense was founded in 2004 and has offices in Waltham, MA, and Ramat Gan, Israel.

For more information, please visit http://www.earlysense.com and http://www.livebyearlysense.com.

Follow EarlySense on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

Follow LIVE by EarlySense on Facebook and Twitter.

Media Contact:

Ellie Hanson

Finn Partners

+1-929-222-8006

[email protected]

Twitter: @elliesheva



Company Contact:

Maayan Wenderow

+1-617-971-6464

[email protected]

SOURCE EarlySense and AAMI
WASHINGTON, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AARP today announced new television ads against the Age Tax and other provisions in the health care bill, urging 11 U.S. Senators in eight states to "vote No" on the House-passed legislation. The seven-figure ad buy expands the successful ad campaign that began in May.

The new and continued ads will stay on the air as long as the Senate debates health care. The ads provide a phone number and ask constituents to contact US Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Joni Ernst (R-A), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Dean Heller (R-NV), Rob Portman (R-OH), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Bob Corker (R-TN), and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV).

"As the Senate continues debating health care reform, AARP is stepping up our advocacy on behalf of our 38 million members and all older Americans. Last week, AARP volunteers and staff from all 50 states fanned out on Capitol Hill to talk to members of Congress about the harmful impact that provisions in the House-passed bill would have on older Americans," said AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond. "Our members and other Americans over age 50 are very worried about legislation that would raise their premiums through what is, in effect, an age tax, weaken Medicare, undermine protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and make changes to Medicaid that would put some of our most vulnerable citizens at risk. We urge Senators to scrap the House bill and start over to craft something without these harmful policies."

In addition to the latest ad buy, AARP continues to mobilize members across the country to contact their Senators via phone calls, email, social media, and in-person meetings. Last week, AARP volunteers and staff visited 330 Congressional offices during the organization's annual Lobby Day.

AARP's television ads may be seen here.

About AARP

AARP is the nation's largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering Americans 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With nearly 38 million members and offices in every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, AARP works to strengthen communities and advocate for what matters most to families with a focus on health security, financial stability and personal fulfillment. AARP also works for individuals in the marketplace by sparking new solutions and allowing carefully chosen, high-quality products and services to carry the AARP name. As a trusted source for news and information, AARP produces the world's largest circulation publications, AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. To learn more, visit www.aarp.org or follow @AARP and @AARPadvocates on social media.

SOURCE AARP
ORLANDO, Fla., June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ComplianceEase, the nation's leading provider of automated compliance solutions to the financial services industry, announced today at the 2017 American Bankers Association (ABA) Regulatory Compliance Conference that ABA  through its subsidiary the Corporation for American Banking, LLC  has endorsed ComplianceAnalyzer with TRID Monitor, the residential mortgage industry's leading compliance risk management platform. ComplianceAnalyzer with TRID Monitor is the first automated mortgage compliance solution to be included as an ABA Endorsed Mortgage Lending Solution.

The selection of ComplianceEase for this exclusive endorsement in the mortgage compliance software space followed a comprehensive, multi-year due diligence process that included extensive review and analysis of the company's product, client-service standards, product development roadmap and ethos, strength of company leadership, and financial soundness. ABA members receive significant advantages in mortgage origination compliance technology and support, as well as discounted pricing.

ComplianceAnalyzer with TRID Monitor was selected based on its position as the mortgage banking industry's most comprehensive, real-time TRID auditing and monitoring solution. The solution enables bankers of all sizes to improve asset quality and value, reduce compliance risk, negotiate better execution with secondary market investors, and capture data needed to prepare lenders for regulatory exams. ComplianceAnalyzer with TRID Monitor allows lenders to insert flexible TRID compliance controls into their workflows. It can be used at any point in the lending process and across multiple origination channels. The product can also be used for pre- and post-close quality control and securitization due diligence. NMLS Check can confirm licenses and registrations for bankers.

"Providing access and securing special member discounts to comprehensive mortgage solutions allows us to better support our members," said Bryan Luke, chairman of ABA's Endorsed Solutions Banker Advisory Council and president and COO of Hawaii National Bank in Honolulu. "The endorsement allows us to provide our members with a best-of-breed solution that ensures they originate loans that meet investors' and regulators' compliance expectations."

"We're honored to receive this endorsement and partner with ABA members to help make the mortgage origination process less challenging, more streamlined and always compliant," said John Vong, president of ComplianceEase.

ComplianceEase has provided automated mortgage compliance technology to financial institutions of all sizes, including three of the top five financial institutions in the nation, for more than 15 years. For more information on this and more ABA endorsed solutions, visit www.aba.com/endorsed or call 1-800-BANKERS.

About American Bankers Association

The American Bankers Association is the voice of the nation's $17 trillion banking industry, which is composed of small, regional and large banks that together employ more than 2 million people, safeguard $13 trillion in deposits and extend more than $9 trillion in loans. Learn more at www.aba.com.

About ComplianceEase

Headquartered in the Silicon Valley, ComplianceEase, a division of LogicEase Solutions Inc., is a leading provider of risk management solutions to the financial services industry. ComplianceEase's patented platform includes ComplianceAnalyzer, the mortgage industry's most adopted automated compliance solution with the most comprehensive TRID auditing. ComplianceEase combines regulatory expertise with innovative technology to power end-to-end risk management solutions that help financial institutions improve compliance controls and increase profitability. The company's growing client base includes financial institutions, service providers, law firms, GSEs, and three of the top five mortgage lenders in the U.S. ComplianceEase's automated compliance solutions have also been adopted as e-Exam tools by federal and state banking and mortgage regulators. For more information, visit ComplianceEase.com or call 1.866.212.3273.

SOURCE ComplianceEase
NEW YORK, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Whites make up the great majority of the 5.5 million people in the United States with Alzheimer's disease. However, combining evidence from available studies shows that African-Americans are about two times more likely than white Americans to have Alzheimer's and other dementias, and their numbers are growing every year.

Although the rate of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias in African-Americans is significantly higher than in whites, they are less likely than whites to have a diagnosis of the condition. Medicare data from 2013 show they were only 36 percent more likely to have a diagnosis. And, according to the 2006 Health and Retirement Study (HRS), African-Americans with cognitive impairment are less likely than whites to say that a doctor has told them they have a "memory-related disease."

"When they are diagnosed, African-Americans are typically in the later stages of the disease, when they are more cognitively and physically impaired and need more expensive hospital, physician, and home health care services," stated Dr. Anafidelia Tavares, Director of Programs for the Alzheimer's Association  NYC Chapter.

Early diagnosis is critically important, so all those affected by the diseaseincluding family caregivershave time to develop a care plan for the future and can take advantage of free care and support programs, clinical trials, and information about healthy aging.

While genetic factors do not appear to account for the greater prevalence of  or the greater risk for developing  Alzheimer's, high blood pressure and diabetes are suspected risk factors for Alzheimer's and other dementias among all population groups. High blood pressure and diabetes are more prevalent in the African- American community, making these conditions, among others, contributing factors to the greater prevalence of Alzheimer's and dementia in this population. Better management of these conditions  especially if treatment were begun in people who have these conditions in midlife  may help reduce Alzheimer's and dementia risk among African-Americans.

To meet the urgent need for Alzheimer's education and support programs in the communities of color in New York City, the Alzheimer's Association offers neighborhood programs throughout NYC, as well as online courses on the Training and Education Center at www.alz.org/nyc. These courses share information about healthy aging, how to "Know the 10 Signs - Early Detection Matters", and opportunities to participate in clinical trials through a free program called TrialMatch.

The Alzheimer's Association-NYC Chapter also offers free care consultations, both in person and confidentially online, with trained, bilingual social workers who can be reached 24/7 at the Helpline 800.272.3900.

SOURCE Alzheimers Association - NYC Chapter
DALLAS, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Airport Lounge Development Inc. (ALD), the leader in independent shared-use airport lounges within the U.S., announced today the opening of The Club, located at Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT), ALD's 17th lounge location. The new opening marks ALD's fourth this year, further validating the increased demand for shared use lounges in the U.S. and ALD's commitment to growing its lounge portfolio.

ALD's shared use lounge concept provides all guests  regardless of class of ticket purchased, choice of airline or affinity membership  with a premium lounge experience at an affordable price point. ALD's leadership team brings more than 30 years of knowledge in airline guest experience, hospitality and lounge management. Airports continue to turn to ALD to deliver their award winning shared use lounge product that enhances the travel experience for guests, while also giving airports additional non-aeronautical revenue by retaining current and attracting new airline carriers. ALD continues to provide spaces for the growing number of travelers looking for a lounge alternative.

"Recognized as one of the top ten airports in the U.S., Pittsburgh International Airport is the perfect location to continue Airport Lounge Development's expansion. In 2016 alone, Pittsburgh International Airport served 8,309,754 passengers," said Nancy Knipp, senior vice president of ALD. "As the demand for a lounge alternative continues to increase Airport Lounge Development is the solution for airports across the U.S. looking to improve the traveler experience and grow non-aeronautical revenues."

The Club is located in Concourse C, between gates C54 and C56, and is accessible from Concourses A, B and D. Hours of operation are 4:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Mondays and 4:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. The Club location will remain open to travelers until the completion of the 1800 sq. ft. permanent lounge, separately located across from gate C52, this fall. In the temporary lounge, guests can enjoy the full array of amenities ALD is known for including complimentary premium alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, snacks, Wi-Fi, and a variety of reading materials.

The temporary lounge provides seating for 35 guests, and is divided into zones to accommodate and anticipate the needs of every traveler. The Club's Replenish Zone extends an array of food and drink options, while the productivity Zone provides easy access to electrical outlets and a work station with computer and a printer. The Relaxation Zone allows guests to take a break and rest before a long flight. Private restrooms are also available in the lounge.

Guests looking for a respite from the airport crowds can visit The Club by purchasing a day pass online or at the lounge for $40. The Club welcomes members of Priority Pass, Lounge Key, Lounge Club and Diners Club International, along with AAA Discount Rewards members. Passengers of Condor Airlines are also welcome beginning June 23.

ALD's lounge network includes:

The Club at CVG, located at Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky International Airport

/ International Airport The Club at DFW, located at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport

International Airport The Club at LAS (Terminal 1) and The Club at LAS (Terminal 3), both located at McCarran International Airport

The Club at SJC, located at Mineta San Jose International Airport

The Club at ATL, located at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport

The Club at PHX, located at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

The Club at SEA (Concourse A) and The Club at SEA (South Satellite), both located at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

The Club MCO (Airside 4) and The Club MCO (Airside 1), both located at Orlando International Airport

International Airport The Lounge (Concourse C) and The Club (Terminal E), both located at Boston Logan International Airport

The Club BWI, located at Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport

The Club, located at Pittsburgh International Airport

International Airport Aspire, the Lounge and Spa at LHR T5 and Club Aspire at T3, both located at London Heathrow Airport

For more information, visit: http://www.theclubairportlounges.com.

About Airport Lounge Development Inc.

Operating since 2006, ALD is the U.S. leader in independent shared-use lounges offering an affordable hospitality experience for travelers on any airline and traveling any class of service. ALD specializes in the design, construction, operation, management and marketing of independent shared-use airport lounges. ALD's experienced leadership team is known for delivering a turnkey lounge solution tailored to the airport's needs and supported by an established customer foundation.

ALD is part of the Collinson Group, a global leader in shaping and influencing customer behavior to drive revenue and value for its clients. It offers a unique blend of industry and sector specialists who together provide market-leading experience in delivering products and services across four core capabilities: Loyalty, Lifestyle Benefits, Insurance, and Assistance. The Collinson Group has 25 years' experience, with 28 global locations, servicing over 800 clients in 170 countries, employing 1,500 staff, and managing over 20 million customers.

SOURCE Airport Lounge Development Inc.

Related Links

http://www.airportloungedev.com


"I'm thrilled to present Jim with this award which recognizes a true Alaskan hero for his work harnessing the power of many voices to make great strides in our policy efforts there. On a trip I made to Alaska this past March , I was able to see first-hand the true difference Jim's work has made in such a short time. He is a true lifesaver and grassroots leader in AFSP's mission to save lives and bring hope to those affected by suicide," said John Madigan, vice president of public policy for AFSP .

Jim Biela has dedicated his talents to counseling children and teens. He founded the Alaska Chapter of Suicide Prevention and continues to promote suicide prevention both personally and professionally throughout the state. One of his major focus areas has been working with a number of villages in the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta. This award also recognizes Biela for his work in forming a grassroots team to provide outreach and education to the Alaska House of Representatives, Alaska Senate, and to the Governor.

Over 200 advocates from AFSP, from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, were present to acknowledge the work of this life saving champion. The advocates were in Washington, D.C. for four days to meet with their members of Congress to encourage them to invest in mental health and suicide prevention. The awards program included volunteers who have lost loved ones to suicide or who have their own lived experience with a suicide attempt, along with mental health professionals, suicide prevention allies, members of Congress and their staff, advocacy groups, and other leaders in the field. In January 2017, AFSP awarded the Alaska Chapter the prestigious "Chapter of the Year" award.

Suicide in Alaska

Suicide is the fifth leading cause of death overall in Alaska. For people aged 10-24 in Alaska, it is the leading cause of death. For those aged 25-44, it is the second leading cause of death. On average one person dies by suicide every two days in the state. More than three times as many people die by suicide in Alaskans annually than by homicide.

** Photos of the award being presented available upon request. **

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is dedicated to saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide. AFSP creates a culture that's smart about mental health through education and community programs, develops suicide prevention through research and advocacy, and provides support for those affected by suicide. Led by CEO Robert Gebbia and headquartered in New York, AFSP has local chapters in all 50 states with programs and events nationwide. AFSP celebrates 30 years of service to the suicide prevention movement. Learn more about AFSP in its latest Annual Report, and join the conversation on suicide prevention by following AFSP on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

SOURCE American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Related Links

http://www.afsp.org


The EMpower report, published by the Financial Times, named Mark to its 2017 global executive list. He was recognized for being a strong advocate, role model and supporter of diversity and inclusion through training, employee enrichment, community outreach and supplier development. Financial Times (FT) is one of the world's leading business news organizations, recognized internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. The FT has a combined paid print and digital circulation of almost 860,000.

"I am humbled to be named among such a distinct group of global business professionals and honored to represent Ameren Illinois co-workers who share my passion for diversity," Mark said. "A more inclusive workplace creates more opportunities for our employees, suppliers and customers. The culture we have built at Ameren Illinois encourages diversity in thought and action and it's a major reason why we're a successful, growing company."

Mark, who celebrates five years as Chairman and President of Ameren Illinois in June, was one of the initial Executive Sponsors of Ameren's Network of Minority Employees, a group which develops networking and training opportunities for Ameren's minorities. This year, Mark is offering employees an additional opportunity to experience the benefits of diversity and inclusion through formation of the "Courage Tour," a series of presentations and panel discussions focused on encouraging diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

Another example of Mark's leadership includes the May 2015 formation of Illinois Utilities Business Diversity Council. Mark is vice chairman of the council whose mission is to grow business opportunities for diverse suppliers through closer collaboration, technical development and sharing of best practices.

Mark was named President of Ameren Illinois in June of 2012. During his tenure, the company has made significant progress in executing a massive overhaul of its 43,700-square-mile energy delivery infrastructure. Improvements to the energy grid that have resulted in increased reliability, a reduction in power outages, and the creation of hundreds of new jobs.

Mark serves on a variety of boards and organizations including American Gas Association Board, Saint Louis Zoo, Enterprise Bank and Trust Clayton Board, Madison Mutual Insurance Board, Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis, and the St. Louis Police Foundation.

About the 2017 EMpower 100 Ethnic Minority Leaders List

Peers and colleagues nominated executives for the EMpower 100 list. Nominations were then reviewed by EMpower's judging panel consisting of: Ashok Vaswani, CEO, Barclays UK; Vivian Hunt, managing partner, McKinsey & Co; Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever; Linda Yeuh, Global economist, broadcaster and author, Oxford University; Nina Vaca, chairman & CEO, Pinnacle Group; Carola Hoyos, editor of the Executive Appointments section of the Financial Times and Suki Sandhu, founder & CEO of EMpower.

About EMpower

EMpower (formerly known as UPstanding) is a professional membership organization helping corporate members drive greater black, Asian and minority ethnic inclusion at all levels of their companies. The organization is backed by 10 founding members: BP, Barclays, LinkedIn, Jupiter, Coca-Cola, Virgin Money, Slaughter and May, PwC, Sainsbury's and Dentsu Aegis. EMpower's sister organization is OUTstanding, a professional membership organization for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) leaders and future leaders.

About Ameren Illinois

Ameren Illinois delivers energy to 1.2 million electric and 816,000 natural gas customers throughout central and southern Illinois. Our service territory covers more than 1,200 communities and 43,700 square miles and our mission is to power the quality of life. For more information, visit AmerenIllinois.com. Follow us on Twitter @AmerenIllinois and Facebook.

SOURCE Ameren Illinois

Related Links

http://www.AmerenIllinois.com


WASHINGTON, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- June is National Candy Month, and the National Confectioners Association will be helping Americans celebrate by highlighting sweet innovation in chocolate, candy, gum and mints, and spotlighting the men and women who make the special treats that have played a unique role in cultural traditions and seasonal celebrations for thousands of years. The summer holiday arrives on the cusp of America's leading confectionery companies' recent announcement that they are redoubling their efforts to educate consumers on the unique role that chocolate and candy can play in a happy, balanced lifestyle.

"National Candy Month is a time to celebrate the sweeter side of life and reflect on a classic American manufacturing success story that includes strong leadership from America's leading chocolate and candy companies when it comes to helping people manage their sugar intake," John Downs, president and CEO of the National Confectioners Association, said.

Many of America's candy companies have been family-owned for generations. Chocolate and candy companies provide 55,000 American manufacturing jobs, creating a direct economic impact of $35 billion. And for every one job that the industry creates in manufacturing, another seven are supported in related fields, including retail, agriculture, and shipping  totaling 465,000 jobs that rely in part on the sale of confections for their livelihood.

Just last month, five global chocolate and candy companies announced that they are coming together with the Partnership for a Healthier America to provide consumers with information, options, and support as they enjoy their favorite treats. The companies include Mars Chocolate, Wrigley, Nestle USA, Ferrero, Lindt, Ghirardelli, Russell Stover, and Ferrara Candy Company. PHA will report independent, third-party verification of the commitment, and progress will be monitored by PHA in conjunction with a well-respected policy research organization called Hudson Institute.

"Chocolate and candy have always been a treat, and this is a big commitment by the participating companies to satisfy consumers changing tastes and desires," Downs said. "This is the first step on our journey to recruit other companies to join us as we work to help consumers manage their sugar intake and ensure that they feel empowered to make informed choices during National Candy Month and all year long."

The commitment details include:

By 2022, half of the individually wrapped products made by the participating companies will be available in sizes that contain 200 calories or less per pack. Chocolate and candy are currently available in a wide variety of options  packages ranging from fun size to share size  that can bring a little enjoyment to any occasion. Right now, more than 60 percent of the companies' individually wrapped products contain less than 250 calories per pack. In the next few years, consumers will see more options in smaller sizes  and innovative new products.

Within the next five years, 90 percent of the best-selling treats made by these companies will have calorie information printed on the front of the pack, which puts calories for the entire package at consumers' fingertips.

Over the next five years, the newly established AlwaysATreat.com will begin to evolve into a digital resource full of easy-to-use information for consumers to better understand the unique role that confections can play in a happy, balanced lifestyle.

"Most people in the U.S. enjoy chocolate and candy two to three times per week, averaging about 40 calories and about one teaspoon of added sugar per day," Downs said. "Our groundbreaking commitment with the Partnership for a Healthier America will help reaffirm that chocolate and candy are treats, and empower consumers with the tools they need to make informed decisions."

How to Engage During National Candy Month:

NCA will be celebrating all things chocolate and candy this month with a number of engagements planned, from social media fun to random acts of sweetness.

Social Media : Join the conversation with #NationalCandyMonth, and follow NCA on Twitter (@CandyUSA), Instagram (@CandyUSA), Snapchat (CandyNCA), and Facebook (NationalConfectionersAssociation) for the latest news on National Candy Month as well as some fun candy humor.

: Join the conversation with #NationalCandyMonth, and follow NCA on Twitter (@CandyUSA), Instagram (@CandyUSA), Snapchat (CandyNCA), and Facebook (NationalConfectionersAssociation) for the latest news on National Candy Month as well as some fun candy humor. Random Acts of Sweetness: We'll be handing out chocolate, candy, gum, and mints at locations throughout Washington, D.C. during the month of June. Keep an eye out for our teams, and be sure to stop by for a treat!

The National Confectioners Association is the trade organization that advances, protects and promotes chocolate, candy, gum and mints, and the companies that make these special treats. As the leading association for the $35 billion U.S. confectionery industry, NCA educates the public to help ensure that it understands and appreciates the unique role that chocolate and candy can play in a happy, balanced lifestyle. Confections are produced in all 50 states, creating jobs for approximately 55,000 workers in more than 1,000 manufacturing facilities across the country. More than 400,000 jobs in agriculture, retail, transportation and other industries rely in part on the sale of confections for their livelihood. For every one job that is created by confectionery companies, another seven are supported in related industries. Learn more about the "Power of Sweet" at CandyUSA.com, or follow NCA on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Contact: Chris Gindlesperger | 202-534-1440 | [email protected]

SOURCE National Confectioners Association

Related Links

http://www.candyusa.org


TEWKSBURY, Mass., June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- At home, Fido is often the first one to greet you at the door, tail wagging and smiles abound. What if you could bring that same enthusiasm to the workplace? A new survey from Wellness Natural Pet Food found that 41 percent of pet parents say a pet-friendly workplace is important to them. Pet-friendly offices are even more important for millennials (52 percent), compared with Generation X (31 percent) and baby boomers (33 percent). This new research makes a strong case for pets in the workplace in advance of the forthcoming holiday Take Your Dog to Work Day on June 23.

WellPet will host their annual Take Your Dog To Work Day celebration at their headquarters on June 23. (PRNewsfoto/WellPet, LLC)

While June 23 is a major celebration for Wellness, complete with dog grooming and massage, a doggie ice cream truck, presentations, vendors and more, the company has a year-round policy allowing dogs at its headquarters. And the benefits are clearpet parents are less stressed not having to leave their furry friends at home, and pets in the office boost overall workplace morale and even performance. As like-minded companies across the U.S. gear up to celebrate Take Your Dog to Work Day, Wellness released today a "petiquette" guide from its on-staff veterinarian Dr. Danielle Bernal to help pet parents and employers alike navigate the upcoming holiday. The company has also unveiled America's Most Pet Friendly Companies of 2017 so other employers can learn from leaders of the pack.

"We know pets are a part of the family and having them in the office is not only a fun way to spend more time together, but it can have a tremendous impact on office culture," said Dr. Danielle Bernal, Staff Veterinarian for Wellness Natural Pet Food. "There are many factors for pet parents and employers to consider when inviting dogs into a shared work environment, and our 'petiquette' guide helps ensure everyone co-exists in a healthy, safe way."

America's Most Pet Friendly Companies include:

Kimpton Hotels ( San Francisco, CA )  At every Kimpton boutique hotel, the pet policy is a simple one: if the pet can fit through the hotel doors, they're welcome to stay. At a minimum, all 60 hotels provide water bowls, treats, pet beds, toys and pooper-scooper bags. Some have Directors of Pet Relations (pets!) who greet guests and test the pet amenities.



Tradesy ( Santa Monica, CA )  The peer-to-peer marketplace has over 30 dogs that come to work on a regular basis. Dog owners choose a dog "buddy" who promises to help watch or walk their pup on busy days or during meetings. They also feature a Pup of the Month and have quarterly Dog Owner Town Hall Meetings where all of the dog owners get together to plan fun events. It also offers pet insurance as part of its benefits program.



Life is Good ( Boston, MA ; Hudson, NH )  Dogs are an integral part of the day to day team at Life is Good. The company says that dogs are not only humans' best friends, but best co-workersthey encourage employees to get up from their desk for quick breaks and connect people who otherwise might not get to know each other.



HubSpot ( Cambridge, MA )  Its headquarters is dog-friendly, and you'll often see pups wandering the halls with their owners, including the company's CEO and his dog Romeo. This year, the software company put out a "PupSpot" calendar featuring dogs from the office, and donated a portion of the proceeds to local animal shelters.



Kurgo ( Salisbury, MA )  Kurgo, which makes apparel, gear and accessories for dogs, not only allows pups in their offices, but features them on the company website, too! They include Garp, "The Escape Artist," and Baxter , "The Office Lap Dog," among many other pup-loyees.



Clif Bar & Company ( Emeryville, CA )  The company is in its 25th year as a business, and they've had a dog-friendly headquarters since its start. The reason? The company says it helps employees live full, complete lives at work, creates community, and helps people save time and money.



Etsy ( Brooklyn, NY )  Its dog-friendly office policy has been in place since Etsy began in 2005, and it's one of the ways the company strives to maintain a casual, creative, and inspiring work environment. The online marketplace says it keeps spirits high and fosters a sense of community and connection.



The Nerdery ( Minneapolis, MN )  In addition to allowing dogs in the company's headquarters in Minneapolis and across offices in Phoenix , Chicago and Kansas City , the software company is also committed to pets in need. The Nerdery Foundation has had the opportunity to create pro-bono websites for 207 nonprofit organizations, including 10 pet-focused nonprofits.



Bitly ( New York City )  All of Bitly's offices, in New York , San Francisco and Denver , are dog friendly on Take Your Dog to Work Day  and every day of the year.

While these companies rise to the top in providing a pet friendly office, Wellness' annual Take Your Dog to Work Day Survey revealed that more than half of pet parents (56 percent) can bring their pet to work. For those who cannot, 65 percent of pet parents surveyed said they resort to some other form of pet caretaking, like leaving work to check on pups at lunch (20 percent), hiring a dog walker or sending them to doggy daycare (16 percent). 53 percent of pet parents whose office celebrates Take Your Dog to Work Day said they do not have official "petiquette rules" in place.

To learn more about best "petiquette" practices for Take Your Dog to Work Day, visit www.wellnesspetfood.com. Take Your Dog To Work Day was created by Pet Sitters International in 1999.

About WellPet, LLC:

WellPet, the number-one, independent, family-owned natural pet food company is home to premium pet food brands Wellness, Old Mother Hubbard, Eagle Pack, Holistic Select, Sojos and WHIMZEES. For more than 100 years, WellPet has delivered on the promise of doing whatever it takes to make the healthiest natural products for the pets that depend on us.

Today, our team of animal lovers, nutritionists and vets at WellPet are committed to carrying forth our strong heritage, continuing to find new ways to bring innovation, nutritional excellence and product quality to our family of natural brands, always putting pet health first. For more information, visit www.wellpet.com.

SOURCE WellPet, LLC

Related Links

http://www.wellpet.com


BROOKLYN, N.Y., June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As prolonged military conflict destabilizes the region, and incidence of injection drug use (IDU) rises, Ukraine is one of few countries experiencing an increasing HIV epidemic. The combination of a poorly developed health care sector, plus the lack of HIV research training programs throughout former Soviet nations, has created an urgent need for public health resources to curtail the spread of further infections.



In response to the crisis, the plan to develop and implement a "Ukraine HIV Research Training Program" has earned a $1.5 million 5-year grant for The New York State International Training and Research Program of SUNY Downstate Medical Center (NYS-ITRP). The program supports research that addresses gaps in HIV care in Ukraine, and aims to decrease the burden of HIV disease through direct training of investigators as well as development of in-country training resources.



The NYS-ITRP is a research training program focused on building HIV research capacity in the former Soviet Union, combining resources from SUNY Downstate, SUNY Albany, and multiple training units throughout New York State. The organization began their work in 1994, addressing similar HIV epidemic conditions in the newly independent nations of Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland.



"While HIV incidence is declining globally, Eastern Europe and Central Asia are regions where HIV infections continue to rise," says Distinguished Service Professor Jack DeHovitz, MD, MPH, MHCDS, FACP, the director of the program. "This new grant, combined with a similar grant awarded to the NYS-ITRP for Kazakhstan in 2016, places SUNY Downstate and its affiliates as a leader in HIV research training in the region," DeHovitz says.



The program is the only HIV research training in Eastern Europe and Central Asia supported by the National Institutes of Health Fogarty International Center.



Despite notable improvements in responding to the epidemic, access to antiretroviral therapy remains low and institutional barriers impede access to care by substance users. Ukraine, the largest country in Europe, is home to the continent's most volatile HIV epidemic with an adult prevalence of 1.1%. It has experienced multiple crises since it emerged from the Soviet Union in 1991 including two revolutions, the 2014 Crimean invasion, and the ongoing war in east and southern Ukraine. Independence from the Soviet Union also coincided with the emergence of an IDU epidemic. It has been estimated that this country of 45.5 million now has over 300,000 injection drug users, contributing to large increases in both HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections.



The program will work in collaboration with the School of Public Health of National Ukraine Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (SPH NaUKMA) and a research-focused nongovernmental organization, the Ukrainian Institute on Public Health Policy (UIPHP).



Training opportunities developed through this funding include the recruitment and training of HIV Research Scholars, and graduates will receive enhanced training in implementation science, biostatistics, epidemiology, and behavioral health.



SUNY Downstate Medical Center, founded in 1860, was the first medical school in the United States to bring teaching out of the lecture hall and to the patient's bedside. A center of innovation and excellence in research and clinical service delivery, SUNY Downstate Medical Center comprises a College of Medicine, College of Nursing, College of Health Related Professions, a School of Graduate Studies, a School of Public Health, University Hospital of Brooklyn, and a multifaceted biotechnology initiative including the Downstate Biotechnology Incubator and BioBAT for early-stage and more mature companies, respectively.

SUNY Downstate ranks twelfth nationally in the number of alumni who are on the faculty of American medical schools. More physicians practicing in New York City have graduated from SUNY Downstate than from any other medical school. For more information, visit www.downstate.edu.

Media Contact:

Ronald Najman

Director of Communications and Special Projects

[email protected]

This news release was issued on behalf of Newswise(TM). For more information, visit http://www.newswise.com.

SOURCE SUNY Downstate Medical Center

Related Links

http://www.downstate.edu


SYDNEY, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Lingmo International, an Australian technology start-up, has today launched Translate One2One, an earpiece powered by IBM Watson that can efficiently translate spoken conversations within seconds, being the first of its kind to hit global markets next month.

With estimates indicating that businesses lose upwards of $2 billion in the United States1 and 48 billion in the United Kingdom2 each year due to language barriers, this technology will meet a growing gap for businesses and consumers alike.

Lingmo International, an Australian technology start-up, has today launched Translate One2One, an earpiece powered by IBM Watson that can efficiently translate spoken conversations within seconds.

Unveiled at last week's United Nations Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Good Summit in Geneva, Switzerland, the Translate One2One earpiece supports translations across English, Japanese, French, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, German and Chinese. Available to purchase today for delivery in July, the earpiece carries a price tag of $179 USD, and is the first independent translation device that doesn't rely on Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connectivity.

With IBM Watson's Natural Language Understanding and Language Translator APIs, the intuitive technology overcomes many of the contextual challenges associated with common languages, as well as understanding the nuances of local slang and dialects. For example, in Spanish 'LL' could be pronounced "y", "j" or "sh", depending on the dialect.

"By eliminating the friction of the traditional translation process, devices like Translate One2One will not only remove one of the biggest challenges for professionals when meeting and collaborating between cultures, but also offers enormous potential for communities around the world," said Danny May, Lingmo's Founder and Director. "As the first device on the market for language translation using AI that does not rely on connectivity to operate, it offers significant potential for its unique application across airlines, foreign government relations and even not-for-profits working in remote areas."

In addition to the translation earpiece, which works when each user is wearing the earpiece, customers can download an app version, which also includes a currency converter.

"It's an absolute game-changer for the global translation market, offering significant potential for both commercial and social benefit, which we've only just begun to explore," said Neil Sahota, IBM Watson Master Inventor and keynote speaker at the Summit. "Lingmo's latest breakthrough demonstrates the transformative potential that cognitive computing platforms like Watson can offer in solving some of the world's largest and most persistent challenges."

Media Contact:

Andrea Acton

IBM External Relations, Australia

[email protected]

P. 0429 460 327

About the AI for Good Global Summit:

THE AITU and the XPRIZE Foundation have organised the first AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, 7-9 June, 2017, in partnership with a number of UN sister agencies. The Summit aims to accelerate and advance the development and democratisation of AI solutions that can address specific global challenges related to poverty, hunger, health, education, the environment, and others.

The Summit provides a neutral platform for government officials, UN agencies, NGO's, industry leaders, and AI experts to discuss the ethical, technical, and societal and policy issues related to AI, offer recommendations and guidance and promote international dialogue and cooperation in support of AI innovation.

About Lingmo International:

Lingmo International is a leading edge Australian technology company making its mark on the global language translation industry, through the development and implementation of revolutionary custom built software capable of translating across voice and text platforms. The technology is available in retail and commercial versions.

Translate One2One was developed in conjunction with IBM Watson and features a fully independent earpiece, which does not rely on Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.

For more information on Lingmo go to www.lingmo.global

About IBM Watson - Pioneering a New Era of Computing:

Watson represents a new era in computing called cognitive computing, where systems understand the world in a way more similar to humans: through senses, learning, and experience. Watson continuously learns from previous interactions, gaining in value and knowledge over time. With the help of Watson, organizations are harnessing the power of cognitive computing to transform industries, help professionals do their jobs better, and solve important challenges.

As part of IBM's strategy to accelerate the growth of cognitive computing, Watson is open to the world, allowing a growing community of developers, students, entrepreneurs and tech enthusiasts to easily tap into the most advanced and diverse cognitive computing platform available today. Watson solutions are being built, used and deployed in more than 45 countries and across 20 different industries.

For more information on IBM Watson, visit: ibm.com/Watson. Join the conversation at #ibmwatson.

1 U.S. Committee on Economic Development

2 UK Department of Business Innovation and Skills

SOURCE IBM

Related Links

http://www.ibm.com


Year-to-date load factor is 81.1%, up 2.6 percentage points over last year.

About Azul

Azul (B3: AZUL4, NYSE: AZUL), the largest airline in Brazil by number of cities served, offers 792 daily flights to 104 destinations. With a fleet of 122 aircraft and more than 10,000 crewmembers, the company has a network of 201 non-stop routes as of March 31, 2017. Among other awards, Azul was named third best airline in the world by TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice in 2017, best low cost carrier in South America for the sixth consecutive time by Skytrax in 2016, and the world's most on-time low-cost airline in 2015 by the Official Airline Guide (OAG). For more information visit www.voeazul.com.br/ir.

Contact

Investor Relations

Tel: +55 11 4831 2880

[email protected]

Media Relations

Tel: +55 11 4831 1245

[email protected]



This traffic release includes estimates and forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws. These estimates and forward-looking statements are based mainly on our current expectations and estimates of future events and trends that affect or may affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, liquidity, prospects and the trading price of our preferred shares, including in the form of ADSs. Although we believe that these estimates and forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, they are subject to many significant risks, uncertainties and assumptions and are made in light of information currently available to us. In addition, in this release, the words "may," "will," "estimate," "anticipate," "intend," "expect," "should" and similar words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on such statements, which speak only as of the date they were made. Azul is not under the obligation to update publicly or to revise any forward-looking statements after we distribute this press release because of new information, future events or other factors. Our independent public auditors have neither examined nor compiled the forward-looking statements and, accordingly, do not provide any assurance with respect to such statements. In light of the risks and uncertainties described above, the future events and circumstances discussed in this release might not occur and are not guarantees of future performance. Because of these uncertainties, you should not make any investment decision based upon these estimates and forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Azul S.A.

Related Links

http://www.voeazul.com.br/ir


FELTON, California, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The global bioplastic packaging market to reach USD 34.24 billion by 2024, driven by the rising consumer demand for resource efficient and eco-friendly products. Europe was the largest market accounting for 32.7% of the volume share in 2016 due to supporting regulations coupled with consumer awareness regarding the conservation of the environment. North America and Asia Pacific followed suit, where the regions together are expected to contribute USD 3.26 billion by 2024.

Keeping these driving factors in mind, companies are ramping up their production capacity as well as foraying into R&D of application of new biopolymers into mainstream applications. For instance, in October 2016, BASF and Avantium entered into a joint venture to form Synvina JV, which will manufacture and market FDCA and PEF. Synvina JV has a production capacity of 50,000 metric tons per year for FDCA and PEF.

Moreover, companies are focusing on R&D to expand the utilization of different raw materials such as PBS, PLA, and PBAT in various mainstream packaging applications. For instance, in April 2017, UK-based Biome Bioplastics developed a fully compostable and recyclable coffee cup made entirely from bioplastic materials. These factors together are expected to provide an impetus to the growth of the bioplastic packaging market over the next seven years.

PET dominated the global market contributing to USD 1.84 billion in 2016. The polymer was extensively used in rigid packaging on account of its high durability, transparency, and ease of moldability. Initiatives undertaken by companies such as Coca-Cola, P&G, and Heinz to use bio-based materials for packing beverages, sauces & spreads and cosmetics is expected to bolster the growth of the rigid packaging market.

Browse full research report with TOC on "Bioplastic Packaging Market Size and Forecast, By Raw Material (PET, PE, PBAT, PLA, PBS, PHA, Starch Blends), By Product (Rigid, Flexible), By Application (Plastic Bottles, Food Packaging) And Trend Analysis, 2014 - 2024" at: https://www.hexaresearch.com/research-report/bioplastic-packaging-market

Increasing demand for flexible packaging solutions on account of several benefits including size and weight particularly in food applications coupled with rising demand for biodegradable films is anticipated to boost the growth of the market. The segment is expected to grow at a volume CAGR of 20.6% from 2017 to 2024.

Food packaging accounted for 9% of the overall market share in 2016 and is likely to witness above average growth as a result of rising consumer requirement for eco-friendly packaging. Aesthetic attributes such as transparency, size, weight and presentation are expected to drive the growth of the segment over the projected period.

The growth of the global bioplastic packaging industry driven primarily by consumer demand is also likely to be favored by the implementation of stringent regulations for its synthetic counterparts. Despite the fall in crude oil prices, companies such as BASF, Arkema Dow, Solvay, and Braskem are continuing production at their facilities and focusing on R&D. These factors are likely to result in a tremendous growth of the global bioplastic packaging market growing at a revenue CAGR of 28.3% over the next seven years.

Browse related reports by Hexa Research:

Bio based PET Market - https://www.hexaresearch.com/research-report/bio-based-polyethylene-terephthalate-industry

Bioadhesives Market - https://www.hexaresearch.com/research-report/bioadhesives-market

BDO-PTMEG-Spandex Market - https://www.hexaresearch.com/research-report/butanediol-polytetramethylene-ether-glycol-spandex-market

Bioceramics Market - https://www.hexaresearch.com/research-report/bioceramics-market

Hexa Research has segmented the global bioplastic packaging market on the basis of raw material, product, application and region:

Segmentation by raw material, 2014 - 2024 (Kilo Tons) (USD Million)

 Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)

 Polyethylene (PE)

 Other non-biodegradable polymers

 Polybutyrate (PBAT)

 Polybutylene succinate (PBS)

 Polylactic acid (PLA)

 Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA)

 Starch blends

Segmentation by product, 2014 - 2024 (Kilo Tons) (USD Million)

 Rigid

 Flexible

Segmentation by application, 2014 - 2024 (Kilo Tons) (USD Million)

 Plastic bottles

 Food packaging

 Others

Segmentation by region, 2014 - 2024 (Kilo Tons) (USD Million)

 North America

 U.S.

 Europe

 Germany

 UK

 Asia Pacific

 China

 Central & South America

 Brazil

 MEA

Key players analyzed:

 Arkema Inc.

 BASF SE

 The Dow Chemical Company

 Novamont

 Corbion

 Solvay

 Toray

 Braskem

 NatureWorks, LLC

 Royal DSM N.V.

About Hexa Research

Hexa Research is a market research and consulting organization, offering industry reports, custom research and consulting services to a host of key industries across the globe. We offer comprehensive business intelligence in the form of industry reports which help our clients obtain clarity about their business environment and enable them to undertake strategic growth initiatives.

Contact:

Michelle T.

Corporate Sales Specialist

Hexa Research

Phone: +1-415-349-0058

Toll Free: +1-800-489-3075

Email: [email protected]





Web: https://www.hexaresearch.com/

SOURCE Hexa Research
CHICAGO, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - BMO Harris Bank has announced the appointment of Emilio Cooper as Head, Sales and Distribution, U.S. Retail Banking for BMO Harris Bank.

In this newly-created role, Cooper will lead the national Retail Banking sales and service teams, which are accountable for customer experience and the financial results of the U.S. branch distribution network  including specialized sales. Cooper will cultivate an environment that encourages both strong community presence and the success of BMO Harris Bank customers across the U.S. Retail Banking footprint. He will continue to report directly to Alex Dousmanis-Curtis, Group Head for U.S. Retail and Business Banking.

"Emilio is an outstanding leader and decision maker with a strong history of successful business development," said Alex Dousmanis-Curtis, Group Head, U.S. Retail and Business Banking, BMO Harris Bank. "I am confident in his ability to lead our continued efforts around strategy development to enrich customer experiences and maximize synergies."

Most recently, Cooper served as Senior Vice President, Head of Central Region Retail and U.S. Mortgage Sales, providing leadership to a team of over 1,000 retail bankers in 120 branches and holding accountability for mortgage growth through customer experience excellence.

With more than 22 years of banking experience and a credible track record, Emilio also has a strong track record of creating high performing teams that derive success through employee engagement and customer experience. Cooper joined BMO Harris Bank in 2013 when he was appointed as Senior Vice President and Head, Retail, Central Region; U.S. Mortgage Sales was added to his mandate in 2016. Before joining BMO Harris Bank in 2013, Cooper served as Retail Director and Executive Vice President at Citizens Bank; he also held multiple roles during his 13-year tenure at Wachovia and Wells Fargo such as Community Bank President, Retail Bank Director and Private Advisory Leader.

Cooper received his bachelor's degree in economics from Rutgers University in New Jersey and has been involved in the community throughout his professional career. He served as Board Chair for the Delaware Financial Literacy Institute and sat on the Board of Directors for the Westchester Area Education Foundation. Emilio is currently serving as Board Chair for the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County in Madison, Wisconsin.

About BMO Harris Bank

BMO Harris Bank provides a broad range of personal banking products and solutions through nearly 600 branches and fee-free access to over 40,000 ATMs across the United States. BMO Harris Bank's commercial banking team provides a combination of sector expertise, local knowledge and mid-market focus throughout the U.S. For more information about BMO Harris Bank, go to the company fact sheet. Banking products and services are subject to bank and credit approval. BMO Harris Bank N.A. Member FDIC. BMO Harris Bank is part of BMO Financial Group, a highly diversified financial services provider with total assets of CDN$719 billion (as of April 30, 2017), and more than 45,000 employees.

SOURCE BMO Harris Bank
LONDON, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: BR) announced an agreement with Spence Johnson, a leading provider of global institutional data and intelligence, to bring together retail and institutional data, benchmarking and analytics. The combined capabilities will generate a unique global view of the global asset management market.

This strategic alliance leverages Broadridge's Global Market Intelligence, the leading platform for retail cross-border fund data and analytics that delivers detailed information on 80,000 retail mutual funds and ETFs globally, and Spence Johnson's market leading institutional Money in Motion dataset that provides detailed analytics on institutional assets, flows and sales, tracking over $7 trillion in institutional flow.

"This alliance with Spence Johnson furthers Broadridge's commitment to helping asset managers identify growth opportunities - providing them with broad data and analytics for both retail and institutional channels globally," said Dan Cwenar, president of Broadridge's data and analytics business.

"We are very excited to form this alliance with Broadridge and continue our mission to put data and intelligence at the heart of successful asset management businesses," said Nigel Birch, managing director, Spence Johnson.

About Broadridge

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: BR) a global fintech leader, provides investor communications and technology-driven solutions for broker-dealers, banks, mutual funds and corporate issuers globally. Broadridge's investor communications, securities processing and managed services solutions help clients reduce their capital investments in operations infrastructure, allowing them to increase their focus on core business activities. With over 50 years of experience, Broadridge's infrastructure underpins proxy voting services for over 90 percent of public companies and mutual funds in North America, and processes more than $5 trillion in fixed income and equity trades per day. Broadridge employs approximately 10,000 full-time associates in 16 countries. For more information about Broadridge, please visit www.broadridge.com.

About Spence Johnson

Spence Johnson is a Data and Intelligence consultancy focused on institutional asset management with offices in London, Singapore and Boston. Spence Johnson's Money in Motion consortium has over 100 institutional asset manager members and tracks over $7 trillion in addressable institutional flows. For more information please visit www.spencejohnson.com

Media Contacts:

EMEA

Paul Bowhay

+44 207-426-9417

[email protected]

U.S.

Joe LoBello

+1 516-902-2694

[email protected]

SOURCE Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.broadridge.com


SAN FRANCISCO, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The global burn care market is expected to reach USD 2.98 billion by 2025, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Increasing incidence of burn injuries is anticipated to fuel the demand for cost-effective treatment over the forecast period. The introduction of advanced treatment options such as reconstructive surgery and skin graft or bio membrane are expected to upsurge the demand for these products over the coming years.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160524/371361LOGO )



Favorable government initiatives such as reimbursement policies that cover almost 70% to 100% of the treatment cost, upsurge the adoption of advanced wound care products during the forecast period. In addition, government organizations including the World Health Organization (WHO) and nonprofit organizations like the American Burn Association (ABA) are contributing toward raising awareness amongst consumers, which is anticipated to contribute to the growth of the market.

For instance, the WHO entered into a collaborative agreement with the International Society for Burn Injuries to develop the strategies for improving care & prevention of incidence at a global level. Furthermore, various nonprofit organizations undertake initiatives such as the British Burn Association offers knowledge on best cure and rehabilitation available and the Canadian Association of Burn Nurses provides assistance for the remedy of patients.

Browse full research report with TOC on "Burn Care Market Analysis By Product (Advanced Dressing, Biologics), By Depth of Burn (Minor, Partial Thickness, Full Thickness), By End Use (Hospitals, Clinics, Home Healthcare, Long Term Care Units), And Segment Forecasts, 2014 - 2025" at: http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/burn-care-market

Further key findings from the report suggest:

The advanced dressing segment dominates the overall product segment as of 2016 due to higher adoption by consumers

Biologics treatment option is expected to exhibit higher growth during the forecast period due to the benefits offered with its usage such as accelerated wound healing

Partial-thickness wound segment is anticipated to showcase the highest growth owing to the rising number of injury cases because of fire, which damage more than 15% of their body

The outpatient care unit segment is anticipated to grow at the fastest CAGR in coming years as the minor and partial-thickness wounds do not require any hospital admissions

The Asia Pacific market is projected to witness fastest growth due to rising incidence of burn cases coupled with growing awareness pertaining to the available cure

market is projected to witness fastest growth due to rising incidence of burn cases coupled with growing awareness pertaining to the available cure The industry is facing strong competition as the major players are focusing on the development of technologically efficient treatment options

Companies are focusing toward strategies such as the distribution channel enhancement and product portfolio expansion to gain competitive advantage over the forecast period

Browse related reports by Grand View Research:

Minimally Invasive Surgery Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/minimally-invasive-surgery-market

Hospital Stretchers Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/hospital-stretchers-market

Cardiac Monitoring and Cardiac Rhythm Management (CRM) Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/cardiac-monitoring-and-cardiac-rhythm-management-crm-market

Virtual 3D Nanorobots Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/virtual-3d-nanorobots-market

Grand View Research has segmented the burn care market on the basis of the product, depth of the wound, end-use, and region:

Burn Care Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025) Advanced dressing Alginate dressing Collagen dressing Hydrogel dressing Hydrocolloid dressing Wound contact layers Film dressing Foam dressing Biologics Traditional burn care products Others

Burn Care Depth of Wound Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025) Minor burns Partial thickness burns Full thickness burns

Burn Care End-use Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025) Hospitals Inpatient Outpatient Clinics Others

Burn Care Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025) North America U.S. Canada Europe UK Germany France Italy Spain Asia Pacific Japan China India Latin America Brazil Mexico The Middle East and Africa South Africa



Read Our Blog: http://www.grandviewresearch.com/blogs/healthcare

About Grand View Research

Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare.



Contact:

Sherry James

Corporate Sales Specialist, USA

Grand View Research, Inc

Phone: +1-415-349-0058

Toll Free: +1-888-202-9519

Email: [email protected]



Web: http://www.grandviewresearch.com

SOURCE Grand View Research, Inc.
(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/521858/Bushmills_Lowden_Guitar.jpg )



The two Northern Irish icons known for their unwavering character and quality craftsmanship have collaborated on the 'Bushmills x Lowden' guitar to celebrate those who pass their craft and legacy to the next generation.

At the Old Bushmills Distillery, the Kane family has been coopering barrels for four generations passing their specialist skills down through the years to ensure Bushmills delivers the same premium quality whiskey it began making 400 years ago. Similarly, George Lowden, the founder of Lowden Guitars, has pioneered acoustic guitar building techniques since 1974 selecting only the very best quality woods to make his famous guitars and is passing his guitar making skills onto his sons, to ensure the Lowden legacy will live on for generations to come.

The limited edition 'Bushmills x Lowden' F-50 guitar, of which only eight are available to buy, combines hundreds of years of cooper and luthier craftmanship with three types of wood that are steeped in heritage and character. George Lowden personally selected Bushmills Irish Whiskey barrel wood for the 12th fret and back inlays, the bindings, rosette and head facings; ancient bog oak for the back and sides of the guitar; and sinker redwood for the soundboard.

It took George and his sons more than 40 hours to design and build the first guitar in this limited range. Other features of this unique guitar include a cross symbol formed of a cooper's hammer and luthier's chisel, representing the coming together of these two crafts. On the back, two lines echo the staves found in a Bushmills Irish Whiskey barrel and represent the passing of skills from one generation to the next.

George Lowden, whose acoustic guitars have been used by some of the world's most famous artists, including Gary Lightbody, Ed Sheeran and Eric Clapton, said: "We scour the world for the best tonewoods which are the real 'stars' of our guitars, determining how they sound, feel, and play, so my sons and I relished the opportunity to work with the Coopers to select the best Bushmills Irish Whiskey barrel wood for the guitar. It was a great opportunity to see up close how the barrels are formed and how they give the whiskey its colour and flavour.

"The three woods used to create the guitar play an integral part in making the Bushmills x Lowden so unique. Bushmills Irish Whiskey barrel wood is steeped in over 400 years of whiskey making heritage and used throughout to perfectly compliment the other tone woods. The back and sides are made up of Ancient Bog Oak to offer a mellow, warm sound and when paired with Sinker Redwood on the soundboard, it helps extract a clarity and sparkle from each and every note the guitar produces."

Colum Egan, Master Distiller at Bushmills Irish Whiskey, adds: "Lowden Guitars are famous for their workmanship and quality, and we are proud to join forces with George and his sons on this exciting collaboration which celebrates how specialist hand-crafted skills are not bought, but perfected over time and passed from generation to generation.

"At Bushmills, our coopers' craft and skill are as fundamental to Irish whiskey making as the oak barrels they work with, ensuring we produce the same premium quality whiskey we began making over 400 years ago. It has been an honour to work with Lowden Guitars, who like us understand the important role wood has to play in making their guitars so unique."

To watch how Bushmills Irish Whiskey and Lowden Guitars worked together to make the guitars, visit http://bit.ly/2r8JsY6

Eight 'Bushmills x Lowden' guitars are available to buy each retailing at 8,500. To register your interest or to find out more visit http://www.lowdenguitars.com/bushmillsxlowden

SOURCE Bushmills
Questions about how to handle nuclear waste have long eluded consensus answers. Rather they have generated social objections, political problems, and economic concerns, especially in countries that have not been able to identify viable solutions to their highly radioactive used fuel.

In what ways should countries be incentivized to articulate and identify timely solutions to their nuclear waste? Is it possible to change the narrative about nuclear waste from a burden to a possibly profitable commercial enterprise?

The American Academy has been addressing this issue with a long-term project on the Global Nuclear Future. This initiative is a comprehensive, interdisciplinary, multi-institutional, and multinational effort to engage key experts and constituencies to identify regulatory and governance strategies for the peaceful use of nuclear power. The project articulates, distills, and promotes best practices to minimize security, safety, and proliferation concerns associated with the spread of nuclear energy.

The initiative's most recent publication, Multinational Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel and Other High-Level Nuclear Waste: A Roadmap for Moving Forward, offers some important findings for nuclear fuel legacy countries and nuclear newcomers. The roadmap, authored by Robert D. Sloan, former Executive Vice President and General Counsel at Entergy, identifies the legal and governance pathway to establish multilateral commercial interim storage.

This publication is the third in the Global Nuclear Future Initiative's series on the back-end of the nuclear fuel cycle.

The first paper in the series, The Back-End of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle: An Innovative Storage Concept, by Stephen M. Goldberg, Robert Rosner, and James P. Malone, outlines the idea for the establishment of a multilateral interim storage facility that may be run as a commercial entity, allowing the host country to reap significant economic benefits from hosting such a facility.

The second paper, The Back-End of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle: Establishing a Viable Roadmap for a Multilateral Interim Storage Facility, includes an essay by James P. Malone on the business strategy that a country would need to develop in order to host a multilateral interim storage facility and an essay by Lenka Kollar on spent fuel governance, including a series of recommendations on managing spent fuel.

The FY2018 budget proposal by the Trump administration includes $120 million to restart the Yucca Mountain repository, and there is bipartisan support for legislation such as the Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act (NEICA). The problem of storing nuclear fuel is receiving renewed attention. This publication from the American Academy offers important guidelines to address the challenges of managing the back-end of the nuclear fuel cycle and, together with the two preceding publications in the series, seeks to change the narrative about nuclear waste and its disposal.

To download a copy of Multinational Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel and Other High-Level Nuclear Waste: A Roadmap for Moving Forward, please visit https://www.amacad.org/multimedia/pdfs/publications/researchpapersmonographs/GNF-Spent-Nuclear-Fuel/GNF_Spent-Nuclear-Fuel-Storage.pdf



The Global Nuclear Future Initiative is supported by grants from Carnegie Corporation of New York and The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

About the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Founded in 1780, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences is one of the country's oldest learned societies and independent policy research centers, convening leaders from the academic, business, and government sectors to respond to the challenges facing the nation and the world. Current Academy research focuses on higher education, the humanities, and the arts; science and technology policy; global security and international affairs; and American institutions and the public good. The Academy's work is advanced by its elected members, who are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs from around the world.

SOURCE American Academy of Arts & Sciences

Related Links

http://www.amacad.org


WASHINGTON, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the canned food industry asked President Donald Trump and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to exclude tinplate steel from tariffs or other restrictions based on the potential increases in manufacturing cost and American manufacturing jobs losses.

In a letter, signed by nearly 20 groups representing various segments of the canned food industry, the Trump administration was asked to exempt tinplate steel because it is not used in any defense or national security applications. In fact, tinplate steel, which is about two percent of all steel used for can making, is already recognized by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission as a separate category.

The canned food industry makes nearly 20 billion cans of nutritious and healthy foods annually, using tinplate steel and employing tens of thousands of American workers. American food can producers and supplier partners generate more than $20 billion in total economic activity in the United States and pay more than $3 billion in federal and state taxes.

The industry letter stated that tariff or trade restrictions against tinplate steel would adversely affect the food can industry and U.S.-based manufacturing employees. The dominant issue is that U.S. tinplate steel production does not meet domestic demand; only 58 percent of domestic demand can be met by U.S. tinplate makers. In 2016. U.S. demand was 2.1 million tons, while domestic tinplate production was only 1.2 million tons.

Any tariff or restriction on tinplate steel would competitively disadvantage cans compared to other forms of packaging, which are not subject to tariffs. The industry letter stated that even a small increase in the price of raw materials would create further price pressures on both can makers and food manufacturers in an already challenging economic environment.

Canned food provide access to affordable nutrition for the 42 million Americans that live in food insecure households, including 13 million children. Those on government food assistance, including the USDA Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as food stamps), consume canned fruits and vegetables at an even higher rate than the average American, in part because canned food costs 20 percent less than fresh food. The letter noted that tariffs or any trade barriers would have harsh consequences on SNAP recipients and would diminish the value of taxpayer-funded federal food assistance programs.

The following groups signed the industry letter to exclude tinplate steel from any tariffs or trade restrictions: Ardagh, Ball Corporation, Bush's, California Cling Peach Association, California League of Food Processors, Can Manufacturers Institute, Crown Holdings, Del Monte Foods, Lakeside Foods, Mid-America Food Processors, Midwest Food Processors Association, Morgan Foods, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, Northwest Food Processors Association, Pacific Coast Producers, Red Gold, Seneca Foods, Silgan Containers, Stanislaus Food Products, and Texas Food Processors Association.

Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI) is the national trade association of the metal can manufacturing industry and its suppliers in the United States. The can industry accounts for the annual domestic production of approximately 124 billion food, beverage and other metal cans; which employs more than 28,000 people with plants in 33 states, Puerto Rico and American Samoa; and generates about $17.8 billion in direct economic activity. CMI members are committed to providing safe, nutritious and refreshing canned food and beverages to consumers.

Contact: Sherrie Rosenblatt, CMI Vice President, Marketing and Communications

Phone: 202-232-4677; Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Can Manufacturers Institute
LOS ANGELES, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- For folks who saw their life savings cut in half during the crash of 2008 today's overvalued market is sounding alarm bells. As the instinct to diversify into gold grows, many first-time gold buyers have a common question: which is better to hold  gold stock or physical gold?

First of all, if you're asking this question: you're already in the right place at the right time. Gold is protection against risk, and a store of value in times of economic uncertainty. With that said  gold STOCK carries a higher level of risk than physical coins and bars do.

When purchasing gold stock, or GLD, what you are really investing in is not a commodity, but a company. Gold mining stock could suffer a loss even when the value of gold itself is climbing  due to external factors such as poor management or poor mining returns.

Last week, for example, the Tanzanian government accused gold mining company Acacia Mining (64 percent owned by gold major Barrick) of understating the value of their gold exports by up to 10 times, and understating their royalties.

Acacia's share price fell 30 percent on the day the accusations were released.

Tanzania is one of Africa's top gold mining nations, and has been known to halt the exportation of gold-bearing concentrate during legal conflicts  much to the dismay of the investors who sunk their hard-earning assets into this stock.

At the time, it appeared the export blockade was a tactic to encourage Acacia to develop in-country upgrading of concentrates  a theme that's been spreading globally. But this week's official charge of under-reporting represents a significant escalation of the government's campaign.

The government refuses to compromise on this issue. With reports suggesting that Acacia management hasn't even been provided a full copy of the report, or details on the methodology the government used to calculate concentrate grades  the issue remains unresolved and the investment plummets.

Statements from Acacia and Barrick indicate that the Tanzanian mines may need to be shut down altogether. This would be a significant blow to production for both companies  and to the global gold supply.

This is one real-time example of how risk-sensitive mining stock can be. If something happens to the mining company, your GLD investment could become worth zero overnight. Physical gold has unique safe-haven status  it cannot be manipulated, and has never been worth zero. The only real way to guarantee your nest egg is holding it in your own hands, or even placing it in a gold-backed IRA. To avoid the many variables associated with investing in paper gold, choose physical gold and eliminate any uncertainty.

SOURCE Capital Gold Group

Related Links

https://www.capitalgoldgroup.com/precious-metals-ira/


TAMPA, Fla., June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Cast and Reel, Film Tampa Bay's Inaugural Saltwater Premiere on Friday October 6, 2017, is designed to raise funds

Thursday October 5, 2017

Friday, October 6, 2017

Tampa

The necessity for this effort is due to the lack of financial support from the state of Florida. The goal of the tournament is to generate a pool of discretionary funds outside of the local funding provided by Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa. These funds will be used at the discretion of Film Commissioner Dale Gordon for projects and initiatives including but not limited to: Student scholarships and grants, creation of a grant program for local film makers and lower budget productions that might not meet the $100,000 threshold required for incentives tied to taxpayer dollars, and the creation of a fund to be used for organizing workshops for workforce development.

Visit Tampa Bay, Tampa/Hillsborough EDC, Vigo Alessi, Rock Brothers Brewery, Pepin Distributing, Diamond View Studios and Blind Tiger Cafe are among the sponsors so far. Sponsorships are still available and details for the event can be found on www.castandreel.org.

About Film Tampa Bay:

The Tampa Hillsborough Film & Digital Media Commission markets the Tampa Bay region as a premier filming destination with one of the most culturally-rich and diverse landscapes in the state of Florida. Film Tampa Bay exists within Visit Tampa Bay, the region's tourism bureau, to help boost the overall marketing and economic development impact for Tampa Bay, which is rapidly becoming one of the most attractive destinations in the United States. Visit www.filmtampabay.com for more information.

For any additional questions on this event, please contact Gina Morales at [email protected]

Media Contact: Gina Morales, APR 813-530-6521

SOURCE Film Tampa Bay

Related Links

http://www.filmtampabay.com


THE WOODLANDS, Texas, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CB&I (NYSE:CBI) today announced it has been awarded a contract by TOO Hill Resources (HILL) for the license and engineering design of a grassroots Lube Base Oil plant in Shymkent, Kazakhstan. The plant will use Chevron Lummus Global's (CLG) proprietary ISOCRACKING, ISODEWAXING, ISOFINISHING and Solvent Deasphalting technologies for the production of high-quality base oils and clean fuels. CLG is a joint venture between Chevron U.S.A. Inc. and CB&I.

"This multi-technology contract is another example of CB&I's breadth of technology portfolio at work," said Daniel M. McCarthy, CB&I's Executive Vice President of Technology. "This award is CLG's first award in Kazakhstan and symbolizes additional growth for the Central Asia region."

About CB&I

CB&I (NYSE:CBI) is a leading provider of technology and infrastructure for the energy industry. With over 125 years of experience and the expertise of more than 40,000 employees, CB&I provides reliable solutions to our customers around the world while maintaining a relentless focus on safety and an uncompromising standard of quality. For more information, visit www.CBI.com.

Important Information For Investors And Shareholders

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding CB&I and represents our expectations and beliefs concerning future events. These forward-looking statements are intended to be covered by the safe harbor for forward-looking statements provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. When considering any statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or use or contain words, terms, phrases or expressions such as "achieve," "forecast," "plan," "propose," "strategy," "envision," "hope," "will," "continue," "potential," "expect," "believe," "anticipate," "project," "estimate," "predict," "intend," "should," "could," "may," "might" or similar forward-looking statements, we refer you to the cautionary statements concerning risk factors and "Forward-Looking Statements" described under "Risk Factors" in Item 1A of our Annual Report filed on Form 10-K filed with the SEC for the year ended December 31, 2016, and any updates to those risk factors or "Forward-Looking Statements" included in our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC, which cautionary statements are incorporated herein by reference.

Investors: Scott Lamb, +1 832 513 1068, [email protected]

Media: Gentry Brann, +1 832 513 1031, [email protected]

SOURCE CB&I

Related Links

http://www.cbi.com


PARSIPPANY, N.J., June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Century 21 Real Estate LLC, franchisor of the iconic CENTURY 21 brand, today announced its expansion in South America with the addition of CENTURY 21 Argentina.

"Industry entrepreneurs from around the world are seeking out and choosing the CENTURY 21 platform as the best for their affiliated agents, their market, and their growth and long-term success," said Greg Sexton, chief operating officer, Century 21 Real Estate LLC. "Our team is committed to doing everything we can to assist CENTURY 21 Argentina to a leadership position throughout the Argentine Republic."

With the agreement to open CENTURY 21 franchises in Argentina with CENTURY 21 South America, Roberto S. Vivaldo of Master National Argentina S.A., will serve as President of CENTURY 21 Argentina. Vivaldo plans a grand opening in September 2017 in La Plata, a planned city that is the capital of Argentina's Buenos Aires province, and located near the city of Buenos Aires.

"We are honored to affiliate with the CENTURY 21 System and look forward to leveraging their platform to provide superior quality services to home buyers and sellers in local markets throughout the country's 23 provinces," said Vivaldo. "We aim to become a market leader in Argentina, with plans to further expand into Uruguay later this year to help all our customers achieve the dream of home ownership."

Master franchisees of CENTURY 21 South America currently operate approximately 200 franchised CENTURY 21 offices throughout South America, with locations in Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.

About Century 21 Real Estate LLC

The CENTURY 21 System is comprised of approximately 7,400 independently owned and operated franchise real estate offices in 78 countries and territories worldwide, with more than 111,000 independent sales professionals. Century 21 Real Estate has numerous websites to help answer specific consumer needs. They are century21.com , century21Global.com , commercial.century21.com , century21.com/finehomes, and century21espanol.com.

Century 21 Real Estate LLC is a subsidiary of Realogy Holdings Corp. (NYSE: RLGY), a global leader in real estate franchising and provider of real estate brokerage, relocation and settlement services.

 2017 Century 21 Real Estate LLC. All Rights Reserved. CENTURY 21and the CENTURY 21 Logo are registered service marks owned by Century 21 Real Estate LLC. Century 21 Real Estate LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each office is independently owned and operated.



Contact:

Peter Mosca

Century 21 Real Estate LLC

Phone: 973.407.5180

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Century 21 Real Estate LLC

Related Links

http://www.century21.com


PITTSBURGH, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Rachel Harry, a teacher at Hood River Valley High School in Hood River, Oregon, was presented with the 2017 Excellence in Theatre Education Award during the 71st annual Tony Awards broadcast on CBS.

The award, which is presented by Carnegie Mellon University and the Tony Awards, was announced during the show by CMU alumnus Josh Gad, who introduced Harry to the audience.

The national award is the first to honor kindergarten through high-school (K-12) theatre educators who demonstrate a monumental impact on the lives of students and who embody the highest standards of the profession.

"I feel strongly that my teaching should be student-driven. I want my students to explore and to reach and to fail, because all of those things  especially failure  will lead to new avenues of learning. And that makes for better people, more well-rounded people, whether you go into the theater business or not," said Harry, who was an honorable mention choice for the award in 2016.

Harry has been teaching students theater at Hood River Valley High School for 30 years. She built the program and created performances that frequently sell out at the high school and a larger middle school theater with 1,100 seats. Among students and colleagues, she is known by her nickname, "Krum."

"One of the best experiences we have as the exclusive higher education partner of the Tony Awards is recognizing teachers, who inspire students every day to go out and make a difference. We think Rachel is an exemplary role model," said Dan J. Martin, dean of Carnegie Mellon's College of Fine Arts.

For more about Harry, CMU alumni appearances at the Tony Awards and resources for news media: http://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2017/june/2017-tony-awards.html

SOURCE Carnegie Mellon University

Related Links

http://www.cmu.edu


U.S. supports helping N. Korean people, but Pyongyang ultimately responsible: State Dept. The United States supports and is taking steps to help the people of North Korea despite differences with the North Korean regime, a state department spokesperson said Thursday. ...

#MLB Rays trade S. Korean 1B Choi Ji-man to Pirates South Korean first baseman Choi Ji-man has been traded for the second time in his major league career, with the Tampa Bay Rays shipping him to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Rays a...
PHILADELPHIA, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- American Law Institute Continuing Legal Education (ALI CLE) announced its annual conference, Modern Real Estate Transactions, will be held on August 9 11, 2017, in Boston, Massachusetts. For nearly five decades, this course has been the premier resource for attorneys of all experience levels practicing in the commercial real estate space.

The Modern Real Estate Transactions program will address the broad scope of current commercial real estate practice; and cutting-edge analysis and real-world advice on handling the issues real estate attorneys face today. This year's faculty will feature experienced practitioners and industry leaders from across the country, including members of ACREL, leaders of local and state bar associations, and frequent speakers and authors on real estate law topics.

Just some of the comprehensive topics include:

The current lending market and pitfalls

Purchase contracts from letters of intent to closing

Negotiating entity transactions

Understanding ground leases

Asset management and property management agreements

Recent trends in real estate bankruptcy cases

Tax planning

Segment topics will be addressed from multiple perspectives, providing attendees ample engagement and a greater understanding of the subject matter. Substantial written materials, including forms and checklists utilized in the practices of the course's faculty, bring additional value and benefit.

"One of the unique aspects of the course is the interactive approach of the panel," said planning co-chair, Mark Senn. "As panelists, we enjoy sharing our latest experiences and continue to learn from each other. As a result, the program includes lively discussions on matters of current interest. We think you will find the course rewarding and hope that your schedule permits you to join us."

American Law Institute CLE is offering a limited time discount for the in-person or webcast-streaming program. Attendees can register by 6/30/17 and save $200; click here and use coupon code CZ004PR at checkout. This discount is available for new registrations only. Discounts may not be combined.

About American Law Institute Continuing Legal Education

American Law Institute CLE is the continuing legal education division of the American Law Institute. American Law Institute CLE, a non-profit organization, is committed to the work of promoting continuing professional education for lawyers throughout the United States and to creating standards to ensure quality and relevance in CLE programs. American Law Institute CLE is constantly evolving to meet the needs of the legal profession, furthering a tradition of unparalleled service to lawyers. Follow the latest announcements and news at https://www.ali-cle.org/Press-Releases and on Twitter @ALI_CLE.

For press and media related inquiries please send us an email at [email protected].

CONTACT: Ian Shumard

ALI CLE (215) 243-1662

SOURCE American Law Institute Continuing Legal Education

Related Links

http://www.ali-cle.org


SAN FRANCISCO, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CrowdFlower, an essential human-in-the-loop AI platform for data science and machine learning teams, today announced its recent $20M venture funding. The investment round was led by Industry Ventures, with new investor Salesforce Ventures participating alongside existing investors Canvas Ventures, Microsoft Ventures and Trinity Ventures.

"We're at the beginning of a Cambrian explosion of AI applications within the enterprise," said Robin Bordoli, CEO at CrowdFlower. "The bottleneck for the large-scale adoption of machine learning still remains the availability of high quality training data and human-in-the-loop workflows to handle the failure states of the algorithm. A machine learning model without training data and human-in-the-loop workflows is like a rocket ship with a large engine but no fuel and no navigation system. It won't reach escape velocity nor will it achieve the trajectory to land on its intended target. With this funding, we can accelerate our reach and help data science and machine learning teams everywhere produce the training data they need within the scale, cost and quality parameters that matter to them."

CrowdFlower will use the new funding to extend its platform functionality and develop integrations into other machine learning technologies. The company will also grow its operations by hiring new data scientists, machine learning experts, engineers, customer success managers, and sales and marketing professionals.

"AI is enabling companies to be more productive and deliver smarter, more personalized customer experiences," said John Somorjai, EVP of Corporate Development and Salesforce Ventures, Salesforce. "CrowdFlower is a great example of the amazing innovation and commitment to customer success that we're seeing in the Salesforce ecosystem as customers embrace AI."

"We've been systematically surveying the AI industry landscape looking for the companies who deliver mission critical components in making AI work," said Jonathan Roosevelt, Venture Partner at Industry Ventures. "We believe CrowdFlower is the leading player in the new emerging category they call human-in-the-loop for machine learning. With their software platform, they are solving a big horizontal problem across a range of verticals, so their addressable market opportunity today is 100,000 data scientists inside 15,000 companies in North America, and growing very rapidly. We're excited to partner with them in the next stage of their development as they create and lead this new category."

To learn more about CrowdFlower visit www.crowdflower.com

About CrowdFlower

CrowdFlower is the essential human-in-the-loop AI platform for data science teams. CrowdFlower helps customers generate high-quality customized training data for their machine learning initiatives, or automate a business process with easy-to-deploy models and integrated human-in-the-loop workflows. The CrowdFlower software platform supports a wide range of use cases including self-driving cars, intelligent personal assistants, medical image labeling, content categorization, customer support ticket classification, social data insight, CRM data enrichment, product categorization, and search relevance.

Headquartered in San Francisco and backed by Canvas Venture Fund, Trinity Ventures, Industry Ventures, Microsoft Ventures and Salesforce Ventures, CrowdFlower serves data science teams at Fortune 500 and fast-growing data-driven organizations across a wide variety of industries. For more information, visit www.crowdflower.com.

About Industry Ventures LLC

Industry Ventures is a leading venture capital firm that invests into companies and venture capital partnerships directly and via secondary transactions. Founded in 2000, the firm manages over $3 billion and is headquartered in San Francisco with an office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.industryventures.com.

About Salesforce Ventures

Salesforce is the fastest growing top five enterprise software company and the #1 CRM provider globally. Salesforce Venturesthe company's corporate investment groupinvests in the next generation of enterprise technology that extends the power of the Salesforce Intelligent Customer Success Platform, helping companies connect with their customers in entirely new ways. Portfolio companies receive funding as well as access to the world's largest cloud ecosystem and the guidance of Salesforce's innovators and executives. With Salesforce Ventures, portfolio companies can also leverage Salesforce's expertise in corporate philanthropy by joining Pledge 1% to make giving back part of their business model. Salesforce Ventures has invested in more than 200 enterprise cloud startups in 14 different countries since 2009. For more information, please visit www.salesforce.com/ventures.

SOURCE CrowdFlower

Related Links

http://www.crowdflower.com


SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- DealerSocket, a leading technology provider now in its fourth year of serving independent auto dealerships, is hitting the trade show circuit with its comprehensive independent dealer platform.

The company has been hard at work rebuilding its technology solutions to ultimately produce a fully integrated, seamless platform through which independent dealers can run their entire operation. DealerSocket's latest integrations reduce data entry, increase efficiencies and maximize profitability for dealers.

Attendees at the NIADA Convention & Expo this week, June 12-15, in Las Vegas can drop by Booth #300 to see demos of the following deep integrations within DealerSocket's platform:

Crossfire  The Crossfire integration identifies and links website visitors to customers in the CRM. Dealers can learn what customers are really looking for based on web activity, then enhance their marketing efforts with personalized, custom communication.

 The Crossfire integration identifies and links website visitors to customers in the CRM. Dealers can learn what customers are really looking for based on web activity, then enhance their marketing efforts with personalized, custom communication. Inventory Sync  When dealers make updates in their inventory management system, changes are seamlessly applied to their website  ensuring reliable inventory information at all times to increase solid leads.

 When dealers make updates in their inventory management system, changes are seamlessly applied to their website  ensuring reliable inventory information at all times to increase solid leads. Precise Price  Dealers can now invite consumers to start an accurate deal in real time from anywhere. Once the customer arrives in store, he or she has already completed some or most of the deal online, including reviewing F&I products at their leisure and locking in an exact price for the vehicle.

 Dealers can now invite consumers to start an accurate deal in real time from anywhere. Once the customer arrives in store, he or she has already completed some or most of the deal online, including reviewing F&I products at their leisure and locking in an exact price for the vehicle. iDMS  The hub of the independent dealership is fully integrated with CRM, so data only needs to be entered once. In addition, iDMS' real-time integration with QuickBooks greatly simplifies accounting tasks.

 The hub of the independent dealership is fully integrated with CRM, so data only needs to be entered once. In addition, iDMS' real-time integration with QuickBooks greatly simplifies accounting tasks. Service  DealerSocket's integrated service solution keeps dealers connected with customers through intelligent resource scheduling, mobile check-in, recommended service reminders and more.

 DealerSocket's integrated service solution keeps dealers connected with customers through intelligent resource scheduling, mobile check-in, recommended service reminders and more. Revenue Radar  By mining DMS data for customers who are ready to buy again, dealers can eliminate the competition before they even enter the picture. Real-time equity information, bank programs, incentives and vehicle evaluations are all analyzed, with results pushed to the CRM for tailored marketing.

DealerSocket is actively integrating outside partners into its platform for even bigger efficiencies. From CBC Credit Services to Sigma Payment Solutions, dealers can now easily access more than 70 trusted providers through the platform.

Attendees at NIADA's Convention & Expo can catch DealerSocket's Blaine Morgan, who will participate in "The Future of DMS" panel discussion Thursday, June 15, from 2:15 p.m. to 3 p.m. Learn more at DealerSocket.com/NIADA.

Next month at the Texas IADA Conference & Expo, DealerSocket's sales director for the independent market, Neale O'Bannion, will lead a breakout session titled "Modern Day Business Processes" on Tuesday, July 25, from 1:30 p.m. to 2:20 p.m. Learn more at TIADAannualconference.com.

The company will also exhibit at the following shows this summer:

Georgia IADA Convention & Expo  July 13-15 in Atlanta

in MARIADA (Mid-Atlantic Regional Independent Automobile Dealers Association) Conference  Aug. 6-8 in Bethlehem, Pa.

in Florida IADA Convention & Expo  Oct. 5-7 in ChampionsGate

For more details and to demo DealerSocket's integrated platform for independent dealers, visit NIADA Booth #300, call (866) 813-1429 or visit DealerSocket.com/ThePlatform.

About DealerSocket

DealerSocket is a leading automotive technology platform that helps dealerships in the United States, Canada and Australia improve profitability through a fully integrated suite of marketing, sales, service, customer experience, DMS, data mining, and inventory management solutions. Headquartered in San Clemente, California, DealerSocket employs more than 1,000 people and serves 11,000 dealerships and 300,000 active users in the United States, Canada and Australia. DealerSocket's advanced technology provides benchmarking data that paces the industry, and its insightful experts identify trends and develop strategic roadmaps that help dealers optimize processes and operate more profitably. Visit DealerSocket.com for more information.

SOURCE DealerSocket

Related Links

http://www.dealersocket.com


During the presentation, Mr. Chan reviewed Ping An's history of how the firm established and developed its FinTech business as well as showcased the highlights of the technologies used for its proprietary products and platform architecture. Ping An's success in and Ping An Technology's contributions to the development of the financial industry were highly acclaimed by the two delegations. The group also engaged in a spirited discussion on several hot topics, including how traditional finance could be transformed via FinTech. Subsequently, Mr. Chan led the guests on a tour of the firm's technology showroom, which showcases Ping An's technological research and leading practices in FinTech. The guests said they were impressed with what they saw and expressed their interest in Ping An Technology's R&D outcomes.

With the visit, HKMA and SZFSO plan to strengthen the cooperation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, in an effort to create a better environment for banks and financial institutions to leverage FinTech. Ping An Technology will provide full support for the following cooperation projects:

 SZFSO was invited by HKMA to hold the FinTech Summit in the second half of this year in Hong Kong with the aim of boosting the exchange and cooperation between FinTech stakeholders in the two cities. Ping An Technology will be named as a member of the summit.

 HKMA and SZFSO will sign a memorandum of understanding with major FinTech companies in Shenzhen. According to the memorandum, Ping An Technology will provide trainees from Hong Kong with an internship opportunity.

HKMA's Mr. Chan said, "Hong Kong and Shenzhen each have their own advantages in the development and application of FinTech. As an international financial hub, Hong Kong is home to leading multinational financial institutions and has a sound and effective financial infrastructure, laying a solid foundation for the development of FinTech. Similarly, many well-known domestic and international technology firms with leading talents have been brought together in Shenzhen. Strengthening the cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong will help achieve a win-win by complementing each other's advantages."

Mr. Chan noted, "As the global FinTech sector continues to grow rapidly, it behooves the Chinese government to provide support in terms of the regulatory environment, talent training and financing to boost the development of the sector. Ping An Technology, an iconic company focusing on technological innovation and development in Shenzhen, will support and align itself with the government's policies, with the aim of capitalizing on innovative FinTech solutions in response to the growing needs of the financial market. To do so we plan to expand on our new business model, further the application of new technologies as well as roll out new products and services. We will continue to assist in building a sound FinTech ecosystem that can be expected to transform Shenzhen and Hong Kong into powerhouses of the modern financial industry."

About Ping An Technology

Founded in 2008, Ping An Technology is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ping An and is headquartered in Shenzhen, China, with divisions in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Nanjing and Xi'an. The company has more than 4,000 IT technologists and IT management professionals. The establishment of Ping An Technology was a milestone in the IT sector for Ping An, serving as the announcement of Ping An's foray into the professional IT market and initiating a period of exploration that it refers to as "Technology Leads Finance".

Over the next few years, Ping An Technology, as the high-tech core business and key growth driver of Ping An, will implement the "Technology Leads Finance" roadmap, developing mobile web, cloud and big data applications. Ping An Technology plans on taking the lead in exploring new internet-based business models, by building a leading IT organization, creating a foundation to support the core business, and innovating in collaboration with all business units across the parent company.

SOURCE Ping An Tech
NEW ORLEANS, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Former Attorney General of Louisiana Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq. and the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") are investigating the proposed sale of DuPont Fabros Technology, Inc. ("DuPont Fabros" or the "Company") (NYSE: DFT) to Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: DLR). Under the terms of the proposed transaction, shareholders of DuPont Fabros will receive only 0.545 shares of Digital Realty for each share of DuPont Fabros that they own. KSF is seeking to determine whether this consideration and the process that led to it are adequate, or whether the consideration undervalues the Company.

If you believe that this transaction undervalues the Company and/or if you would like to discuss your legal rights regarding the proposed sale, you may, without obligation or cost to you, e-mail or call KSF Managing Partner Lewis S. Kahn ([email protected]) toll free at any time at 855-768-1857.

To learn more about KSF, whose partners include the Former Louisiana Attorney General, visit www.ksfcounsel.com.

Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC

206 Covington St.

Madisonville, LA 70447

SOURCE Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC

Related Links

http://www.ksfcounsel.com


BOSTON, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) Board of Directors today presented retiring EEI Executive Vice President David K. Owens with the Thomas A. Edison Legacy Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the electric power industry throughout his distinguished career.

"David Owens has been an invaluable leader for EEI for nearly four decades," said EEI Chairman Tom Fanning, chairman, president and CEO of Southern Company. "Throughout his career, David has helped to shape critical public policies and has worked to achieve results that benefit EEI's member companies and our customers. David also played a pivotal role in the industry's response to Superstorm Sandy, serving as the embedded liaison to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and helping to facilitate greater cooperation between the federal government and our industry. On behalf of EEI's Board of Directors, I commend David on his tremendous career and dedication to our industry, and wish him all the best in his retirement."

Owens began his career at EEI as director of rates and regulation in 1980, and he is widely recognized as one of the foremost authorities on electric power industry issues. As he gained responsibility throughout his career, Owens played a pivotal role in forging EEI strategy in every single major public policy debate, including wholesale and retail market restructuring, federal and state regulation, environmental regulation, grid modernization, and much more.

Throughout his career, Owens has led efforts to achieve favorable public policy results on a range of issues in Washington and in the states. He has frequently appeared before U.S. congressional committees and has testified in more than 50 proceedings on energy issues before state bodies. He also has lectured at universities across the nation and has made hundreds of presentations in business forums.

"In so many ways, David Owens has been the heart and soul of this organization, and his legacy to EEI will be profound and enduring," said EEI President Tom Kuhn. "David is a consensus builder and a terrific leader. He knows how to bring people together to tackle problems and coalesce around solutions. As Thomas Edison once said, 'What you are will show in what you do.' David embodies the spirit of those words and is truly deserving of this award. I am proud to have worked with him and to call him a friend."

As the first African-American to hold an officer title at EEI, Owens always has been unfailingly generous with his time and knowledge, mentoring generations of young men and women in their own energy careers. He also was a driving force behind the founding of the American Association of Blacks in Energy, and he almost singlehandedly helped resurrect a failing charter school in the District of Columbia. "No one I know more strongly personifies the importance of giving back to the community than David Owens," Kuhn said.

Before joining EEI, Owens served as chief engineer of the Division of Corporate Regulation at the Securities and Exchange Commission, and later as an engineer in the Division of Rates and Corporate Regulation at the former Federal Power Commission, which preceded the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Owens began his career as a design and test engineer for General Electric and Philadelphia Electric Companies.

Owens received both his Bachelors and Masters of Engineering degrees from Howard University. He also has a Masters in Engineering Administration from George Washington University, and attended executive courses at Howard University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Michigan State University.

In January, Owens announced his plans to retire from EEI on June 30.

EEI is the association that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies. Our members provide electricity for 220 million Americans, and operate in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. As a whole, the electric power industry supports more than 7 million jobs in communities across the United States. In addition to our U.S. members, EEI has more than 60 international electric companies as International Members, and hundreds of industry suppliers and related organizations as Associate Members.

SOURCE Edison Electric Institute

Related Links

http://www.eei.org


AUSTIN, Texas and DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Epicor Software Corporation, a global provider of industry-specific enterprise software to promote business growth, today announced that its international partner RheinBrucke has signed a partnership agreement with SmartWorld, the region's leading smart services provider to deliver Epicor solutions and services to businesses in Dubai South. Dubai Souththe rebranded Dubai World Centralis an emerging 145 sq. km. city situated within the emirate of Dubai. Launched as a government of Dubai project in 2006, it will ultimately sustain a population of one million and create 500,000 new jobs.

I am delighted that RheinBrucke and Epicor are partnering with SmartWorld and look forward to a long-lasting collaboration that benefits all parties, said His Excellency KHALIFA AL ZAFFIN, Executive Chairman, Dubai Aviation City Corporation & Dubai South. Todays enterprises increasingly view cloud computing software as an important and meaningful sourcing option and smart investment because it offers a myriad of business benefits. I look forward to RheinBrucke and Epicor to deliver that to our customers, said Abdulqader Obaid Ali, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai SmartWorld.

The collaboration between Epicor, RheinBrucke and SmartWorld will provide businesses in Dubai South with access to enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions to help them better manage their business, automate processes, improve operational efficiency, and set their business on course for growth. As one of the largest Epicor partners in the region, RheinBrucke is partnering with SmartWorld to offer a full range of Epicor solutions and services, including Epicor ERP, Epicor iScala, Epicor HCM, and Epicor Mattec, a choice of deployment on-premises or via the cloud, and industry process models for best practice implementations.

"Our foresight, hard work and dedication have played a key role in delivering the vision of our leaders. Over the decades, Dubai's leadership and its people have worked together to transform the emirate into one of the world's most business oriented destinations. Dubai South is the emirate's flagship project that symbolizes Dubai's vision to become a city of happiness. By bringing the individuals, companies and putting their needs as our main focus Dubai South is re-inventing the ecosystem and we are delighted that RheinBrucke along with Epicor is partnering with SmartWorld to drive value to Dubai South's customers and beyond and we look forward to a successful collaboration that benefits all parties," said His Excellency Khalifa Al Zaffin, Executive Chairman, Dubai Aviation City Corporation & Dubai South.

The collaboration is designed to help Dubai South offer an elevated customer experience. "We want businesses that move into Dubai South to be enabled not just with a digital backbone but also with business applications that are available in the cloud from the moment they move in so that they can focus from the beginning on their core business," said Abdulqader Obaid Ali, chief executive officer of SmartWorld, a joint venture between Etisalat and Dubai South. "RheinBrucke and Epicor are the right partners to enable businesses to realize tremendous business benefits from both on-premises and cloud-based solutions and services. RheinBrucke, with its strong presence in UAE, will be able to provide the right support for our clients in empowering their employees and customers with the latest technology solutions and attract more local and global businesses to invest in the area." He continued, "We want to ensure that the businesses that are located in Dubai South can operate within the smartest global value chains, and providing them with access to flexible ERP solutions is central to driving regional and global growth."

"We are excited about partnering with SmartWorld to help us deliver outstanding services to businesses in Dubai South and be part of the Dubai Vision 2021," said Vetri Selvan, chief executive officer and managing partner for RheinBrucke. "In the build up to the 2020 Expo in Dubai there are more and more manufacturing and logistics businesses moving into the area that are well suited for the type of flexible ERP solutions that Epicor offers. Many of these businesses are still managed by spreadsheet and manual processes so the implementation of an integrated end-to-end solution can help them become more efficient in order to support their growth plans."

"Working together with RheinBrucke and SmartWorld to help businesses in Dubai South modernize their operations and grow their businesses will be a truly exciting experience," said Sabby Gill, executive vice president, international, Epicor Software. "Dubai South is set to become the key global business hub. It is integral to maintaining Dubai's position among the top international centres for trade and logistics and as a new destination for investment. We are delighted to be able to support companies in the city on their path to successful growth."

About Dubai South

Dubai Souththe rebranded Dubai World Centralis an emerging 145 sq. km. city situated within the emirate of Dubai that will ultimately sustain a population of one million. Launched as a Government of Dubai project in 2006, the city is mandated to embody the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashed Al Maktoum by manifesting the urban and societal themes as outlined in the Dubai Plan 2021. These themes relate to becoming a city of happy, creative and empowered people, an inclusive and cohesive society; the preferred place to live, work and invest, a smart and sustainable city, and a pivotal hub in the Dubai South's economic platform supports every conceivable kind of business and industry. The city is also home to the now-operational Al Maktoum International Airportthe largest airport in the world when completeand the Dubai Expo 2020.

About SmartWorld

SmartWorld (a joint venture between Etisalat and Dubai South) is a leading master system integrator and next generation ICT services provider capable of delivering innovative, fully integrated and comprehensive managed services and other value added technology solutions, systems, products and services to various government agencies, telecommunication operators and other enterprises within the GCC.

About RheinBrucke

RheinBrucke is a European company focused on the Mid Market Enterprise landscape, and aims to be the "Go-To-Company" for ERP and Surround IT solutions in continental Europe. RheinBrucke is an Epicor Platinum partner across EMEAI (Europe, Middle East, Africa and India), a Microsoft Gold Partner for Application integration as well as competency Partner for Software Development & Collaboration and Content. The company had its operational HQ in Germany, and has offices/ development center in The Netherlands, India and two offices in UAE and has already delivered projects across 18 countries, including consulting and advisory services, Epicor and SAP ERP Implementations and Surround IT / IOT / Analytics related services. Please visit www.rheincs.com for more information.

About Epicor Software Corporation

Epicor Software Corporation drives business growth. We provide flexible, industry-specific software designed around the needs of our manufacturing, distribution, retail, and service industry customers. More than 40 years of experience with our customers' unique business processes and operational requirements are built into every solutionin the cloud, hosted, or on premises. With this deep understanding of your industry, Epicor solutions manage complexity, increase efficiency, and free up resources so you can focus on growth. For more information, connect with Epicor or visit www.epicor.com.

Epicor and the Epicor logo are trademarks of Epicor Software Corporation, registered in the United States and other countries. Other trademarks referenced are the property of their respective owners. The product and service offerings depicted in this document are produced by Epicor Software Corporation.

Contact: Tabita Seagrave Lisa Preuss

Director, Communications VP, Corporate Communications

Epicor Software Corporation Epicor Software Corporation

+44 (0)1344 468287 +1 949 585 4235

[email protected] [email protected]

SOURCE Epicor Software Corporation

Related Links

http://www.epicor.com


SOMERVILLE, Mass., June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Evergage, the real-time personalization platform company, today announced it is hosting a webinar featuring Forrester Research on how to deliver meaningful, personalized digital experiences. With nine out of 10 marketers noting that their customers expect individualized experiences across digital channels, it's incumbent on companies to deliver personalization successfully, cohesively and unobtrusively.

Webinar details include:

Title: "Digital Intelligence: The Key to Delivering Personalized Customer Experiences"

When: Thursday, June 22, at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT

Speakers:

James McCormick , principal analyst, Forrester Research

, principal analyst, Forrester Research Karl Wirth , CEO and co-founder, Evergage

Register: http://bit.ly/Evergage-Forrester-webinar

Additional Details:

"Businesses are in a race to digitally transform," McCormick wrote1. "The way customers engage is rapidly and digitally changing along with their increasing expectations that they get what they want in their moment of need. To meet and exceed these expectations, CI [customer insights] pros need digital intelligence."

McCormick and Wirth will discuss the importance of digital intelligence  defined by Forrester as "the practice of continuously optimizing customer engagement with data, analytics and insights"2  to support data-driven marketing. They will also review real-world examples of "digitally intelligent" personalization. Additional areas of focus include:

Digital intelligence: linking customer insights to personalization

Why personalization matters and who is doing it well

Strategies for achieving digitally intelligent personalization

"Personalization is no longer a nice-to-have; it's a competitive necessity," Evergage's Wirth said. "And thanks to advances in machine learning, marketers can automatically deploy smart, personalized experiences that are maximally relevant to each individual visitor. We look forward to sharing with Forrester how digital intelligence can drive successful personalization and help companies increase customer engagement, conversions and revenue."

1 "The Forrester Wave: Digital Intelligence Platforms, Q2 2017," Forrester Research, Inc., April 4, 2017.

2 "Your Digital Intelligence Strategy Must Match The Speed Of Your Customers," Forrester Research, Inc., November 30, 2016.

About Evergage

Only Evergage's real-time personalization platform delivers The Power of 1, enabling digital marketers to transform the dream of 1:1 customer engagement into reality. Combining in-depth behavioral analytics and customer data with advanced machine learning, Evergage provides the one platform you need to systematically understand and interact with each person that visits your site or uses your app  one at a time, "in the moment" and at scale  to deliver a maximally relevant, individualized experience. Evergage's powerful and flexible cloud-based platform delivers real-time personalization to more than 2 billion web visitors, improving revenue growth, demand generation and customer success for leading organizations across industries, including Academy Sports+Outdoors, Endurance International Group, Intuit, Publishers Clearing House, Rue La La and Zumiez. Evergage is a two-time winner in the Best in Biz Awards, Golden Bridge Awards, Stevie American Business Awards and MITX Awards. For more information, visit http://evergage.com or contact the company at [email protected] or 1-888-310-0589.

Media Contact:

Sara Card

LEWIS

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +1 703-327-4866

SOURCE Evergage

Related Links

http://www.evergage.com


ST. LOUIS, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- With the help of local farmers, 35 Illinois students have been awarded scholarships from the America's Farmers Grow Ag Leaders program, sponsored by the Monsanto Fund. The program, established in 2014, seeks to raise awareness of the job prospects in agriculture and provides scholarships to students pursuing studies in ag-related fields.

While agriculture has become one of the most promising sectors for job growth  57,900 high-skilled jobs are created annually in food, agriculture, renewable natural resources and environmental fields in the United States, according to the USDA  a recent survey, sponsored by America's Farmers Grow Ag Leaders, found that fewer than one in five students surveyed feel they understand the diverse array of career opportunities in the agriculture field. The Grow Ag Leaders program aims to change that by awarding deserving students with scholarships to pursue an education in any ag-related field of study, including agronomy, education, engineering and many others.

"Agriculture has become a hot sector for job growth in the United States, but few high school and college students understand what incredible job opportunities exist in the agriculture field," said Al Mitchell, Monsanto Fund president. "With the America's Farmers Grow Ag Leaders program, we're helping future agriculture leaders understand those opportunities, and we're providing them the means to help secure those opportunities through education."

In Illinois, the 2017 Grow Ag Leaders scholarship recipients were:

Elizabeth Bland  Eldred

 Kara Brockamp  Morrisonville

 Mary Carr  Hampshire

 Jeffrey Claire  Watseka

 David Close  Reynolds

 Alexei Cogdill  Marissa

 Marissa Jenna Cowan  Earlville

 Laura Curless  Pittsfield

 Brandon Edelman  Fairbury

 Claire Eggerman  Carlyle

 Kamryn Endress  Stronghurst

 John Erickson  Valmeyer

 Kendra Flood  Montrose

 Chase Gripp  Sheffield

 Laurie Gronewold  Ursa

 Caleb Huelsmann  Raleigh

 Brock Irwin  Belvidere

 Belvidere Kaitlyn Kane  Smithshire

 Sarah Kozuszek  Scheller

 Nicole Laskowski  Coulterville

 Nyla Maere  Bloomington

 Ashley Manning  Sorento

 Drew McLane  Jonesboro

 Sarah Mead  McLeansboro

 Jordon Oellerich  Lena

 Lena Austin Parkinson  Wataga

 Sydney Riden  Good Hope

 Rosie Roberts  Trivoli

 Calli Robinson  Philo

 Krista Russell  Jerseyville

 Austin Schleich  Fairview

 Jake Stahl  Illiopolis

 Clayten Tubbs  Wayne City

 Madalyn Wilkerson  Mulberry Grove

 Garrett Williams  Noble

Grow Ag Leaders scholarships, administered by the National FFA Organization, are open to students 23 and younger, who live in eligible counties and are planning to enroll or are currently enrolled in trade schools, community colleges and four-year universities. The scholarships are awarded in $1,500 increments to students pursuing an education in an ag-related field of study, including farming, agronomy, education, science, technology, business, communications and more. In order to be eligible to receive a Grow Ag Leaders scholarship, students had to be nominated by a farmer in their state.

Since the program began in 2014, the America's Farmers Ag Leaders program has awarded nearly $1.7 million in scholarships to promising students pursuing their education in agriculture.

For more information about the America's Farmers Grow Ag Leaders program or to view a complete list of winners, visit www.GrowAgLeaders.com. Additional information can be found at facebook.com/AmericasFarmers.

About the Monsanto Fund

The Monsanto Fund, the philanthropic arm of Monsanto Company, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening the communities where farmers and Monsanto Company employees live and work. Visit the Monsanto Fund at www.monsantofund.org.

CONTACTS Brian Leake, America's Farmers, (314) 694-5107

Lindsey Herzog, Weber Shandwick, (469) 917-6288

SOURCE Monsanto Fund

Related Links

http://www.monsantofund.org


ST. LOUIS, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- With the help of local farmers, 22 Indiana students have been awarded scholarships from the America's Farmers Grow Ag Leaders program, sponsored by the Monsanto Fund. The program, established in 2014, seeks to raise awareness of the job prospects in agriculture and provides scholarships to students pursuing studies in ag-related fields.

While agriculture has become one of the most promising sectors for job growth  57,900 high-skilled jobs are created annually in food, agriculture, renewable natural resources and environmental fields in the United States, according to the USDA  a recent survey, sponsored by America's Farmers Grow Ag Leaders, found that fewer than one in five students surveyed feel they understand the diverse array of career opportunities in the agriculture field. The Grow Ag Leaders program aims to change that by awarding deserving students with scholarships to pursue an education in any ag-related field of study, including agronomy, education, engineering and many others.

"Agriculture has become a hot sector for job growth in the United States, but few high school and college students understand what incredible job opportunities exist in the agriculture field," said Al Mitchell, Monsanto Fund president. "With the America's Farmers Grow Ag Leaders program, we're helping future agriculture leaders understand those opportunities, and we're providing them the means to help secure those opportunities through education."

In Indiana, the 2017 Grow Ag Leaders scholarship recipients were:

Shelby Adams  Elizabeth

 Elizabeth Bradley Berlet  Walton

 Walton Alyson Braden  Peru

 Brayden Burbrink  Columbus

 Columbus Regan Culp  Francesville

 Dillon Embry  Upland

 Mason Gordon  Rushville

 Emily Kilmer  Brookston

 Janelle Mitzner  Wanatah

 Peyton Mohler  Frankfort

 Kelsey Nees  Cloverdale

 Joshua Randall  Danville

 Jessica Ripberger  Windfall

 Windfall Zoe Robinson  Richmond

 Kyle Schmidt  Noblesville

 Kizer Sheldon  Remington

 Remington Jessie Stouder  Nappanee

 Kaela Tormoehlen  Brownstown

 Kollin Warren  Union City

 Grace Wernert  Brook

 Brook Sara Weyer  Ferdinand

 Ferdinand Austin Ziliak  Haubstadt

Grow Ag Leaders scholarships, administered by the National FFA Organization, are open to students 23 and younger, who live in eligible counties and are planning to enroll or are currently enrolled in trade schools, community colleges and four-year universities. The scholarships are awarded in $1,500 increments to students pursuing an education in an ag-related field of study, including farming, agronomy, education, science, technology, business, communications and more. In order to be eligible to receive a Grow Ag Leaders scholarship, students had to be nominated by a farmer in their state.

Since the program began in 2014, the America's Farmers Ag Leaders program has awarded nearly $1.7 million in scholarships to promising students pursuing their education in agriculture.

For more information about the America's Farmers Grow Ag Leaders program or to view a complete list of winners, visit www.GrowAgLeaders.com. Additional information can be found at facebook.com/AmericasFarmers.

About the Monsanto Fund

The Monsanto Fund, the philanthropic arm of Monsanto Company, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening the communities where farmers and Monsanto Company employees live and work. Visit the Monsanto Fund at www.monsantofund.org.

Contacts Brian Leake, America's Farmers, (314) 694-5107

Lindsey Herzog, Weber Shandwick, (469) 917-6288

SOURCE Monsanto Fund

Related Links

http://www.monsantofund.org


ST. LOUIS, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- With the help of local farmers, 35 Iowa students have been awarded scholarships from the America's Farmers Grow Ag Leaders program, sponsored by the Monsanto Fund. The program, established in 2014, seeks to raise awareness of the job prospects in agriculture and provides scholarships to students pursuing studies in ag-related fields.

While agriculture has become one of the most promising sectors for job growth  57,900 high-skilled jobs are created annually in food, agriculture, renewable natural resources and environmental fields in the United States, according to the USDA  a recent survey, sponsored by America's Farmers Grow Ag Leaders, found that fewer than one in five students surveyed feel they understand the diverse array of career opportunities in the agriculture field. The Grow Ag Leaders program aims to change that by awarding deserving students with scholarships to pursue an education in any ag-related field of study, including agronomy, education, engineering and many others.

"Agriculture has become a hot sector for job growth in the United States, but few high school and college students understand what incredible job opportunities exist in the agriculture field," said Al Mitchell, Monsanto Fund president. "With the America's Farmers Grow Ag Leaders program, we're helping future agriculture leaders understand those opportunities, and we're providing them the means to help secure those opportunities through education."

In Iowa, the 2017 Grow Ag Leaders scholarship recipients were:

Caleb Bartling  Ackley

 Blair Bennis  Delmar

 Delmar Trey Boyle  Manning

 Manning Larame Boysen  Columbus Junction

 Alison Bueltel  Estherville

 Katelyn Collins  Adel

 Gracie Danner  West Liberty

 Kendall Davis  Moulton

 Daniel DeBoer  Sibley

 Katelyn Goldsmith  Earlville

 Emma Graves  Dayton

 Dayton Allison Hadley  Afton

 Afton Jordan Handy  Ottumwa

 Jake Hlas  Traer

 Alyssa Jackson  Van Wert

 Dylan Kohn  Cherokee

 Cherokee Benjamin Kolbe  Sac City

 Blaine Lees  Walnut

 Walnut Alyssa McMichael  Atalissa

 Erica Mehlhaus  Boone

 Elizabeth Moore  What Cheer

 Megan Nemec  Fairfax

 Mason Ohnemus  Milo

 Milo Amanda Osland  Grinnell

 Sawyer Phillips  Knoxville

 Samantha Reicks  New Hampton

 Payton Sash  La Porte City

Rachel Schmitt  Hawkeye

 Denver Schultz  Fairfield

 Elizabeth Smith  Decorah

 Emmi Taets  Saint Ansgar

 Aaron Vittetoe  Washington

 Megan Warin  Maloy

 Matilyn Wheeler  Lorimor

 Kelli Wicks  Rockford



Grow Ag Leaders scholarships, administered by the National FFA Organization, are open to students 23 and younger, who live in eligible counties and are planning to enroll or are currently enrolled in trade schools, community colleges and four-year universities. The scholarships are awarded in $1,500 increments to students pursuing an education in an ag-related field of study, including farming, agronomy, education, science, technology, business, communications and more. In order to be eligible to receive a Grow Ag Leaders scholarship, students had to be nominated by a farmer in their state.

Since the program began in 2014, the America's Farmers Ag Leaders program has awarded nearly $1.7 million in scholarships to promising students pursuing their education in agriculture.

For more information about the America's Farmers Grow Ag Leaders program or to view a complete list of winners, visit www.GrowAgLeaders.com. Additional information can be found at facebook.com/AmericasFarmers.

About the Monsanto Fund

The Monsanto Fund, the philanthropic arm of Monsanto Company, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening the communities where farmers and Monsanto Company employees live and work. Visit the Monsanto Fund at www.monsantofund.org.

CONTACTS: Brian Leake, America's Farmers, (314) 694-5107

Lindsey Herzog, Weber Shandwick, (469) 917-6288

SOURCE Monsanto Fund

Related Links

http://www.monsantofund.org


ST. LOUIS, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- With the help of local farmers, 22 Kansas students have been awarded scholarships from the America's Farmers Grow Ag Leaders program, sponsored by the Monsanto Fund. The program, established in 2014, seeks to raise awareness of the job prospects in agriculture and provides scholarships to students pursuing studies in ag-related fields.

While agriculture has become one of the most promising sectors for job growth  57,900 high-skilled jobs are created annually in food, agriculture, renewable natural resources and environmental fields in the United States, according to the USDA  a recent survey, sponsored by America's Farmers Grow Ag Leaders, found that fewer than one in five students surveyed feel they understand the diverse array of career opportunities in the agriculture field. The Grow Ag Leaders program aims to change that by awarding deserving students with scholarships to pursue an education in any ag-related field of study, including agronomy, education, engineering and many others.

"Agriculture has become a hot sector for job growth in the United States, but few high school and college students understand what incredible job opportunities exist in the agriculture field," said Al Mitchell, Monsanto Fund president. "With the America's Farmers Grow Ag Leaders program, we're helping future agriculture leaders understand those opportunities, and we're providing them the means to help secure those opportunities through education."

In Kansas, the 2017 Grow Ag Leaders scholarship recipients were:

Jenae Anderson  Wathena

 Audrie Bailey  Winfield

 Haylee Boulanger  Eureka

 Eureka Megan Davis  Princeton

 Taryn Faulkender  Oakley

 Bailey Hittle  Harveyville

 Kaleb Keehn  Wetmore

 Drew Krehbiel  Kingman

 Abagail Lanier  Bardwell

 Bardwell Karl Larson  Friend

 Friend Reece Leonard  McDonald

 Taylor Lexow  Wakefield

 Riley Mabe  Henderson

 Henderson Julia Maddock  Paola

 Paola Madelaine Mink  Elizabethtown

 Elizabethtown Ty Montgomery  Coats

 Coats Alek Royer  Haven

 Haven Oliver Schmitz  Axtell

 Riley Sleichter  Abilene

 Karsyn Smith  Linn

William Taylor  Lewisburg

 Lewisburg Christian Tipton  Munden

 Clara Wicoff  Iola

 Iola Tracy Wilk  Osage City

 Reagan Wilson  Johnson

 Johnson Tel Wittmer  Holton

Grow Ag Leaders scholarships, administered by the National FFA Organization, are open to students 23 and younger, who live in eligible counties and are planning to enroll or are currently enrolled in trade schools, community colleges and four-year universities. The scholarships are awarded in $1,500 increments to students pursuing an education in an ag-related field of study, including farming, agronomy, education, science, technology, business, communications and more. In order to be eligible to receive a Grow Ag Leaders scholarship, students had to be nominated by a farmer in their state.

Since the program began in 2014, the America's Farmers Ag Leaders program has awarded nearly $1.7 million in scholarships to promising students pursuing their education in agriculture.

For more information about the America's Farmers Grow Ag Leaders program or to view a complete list of winners, visit www.GrowAgLeaders.com. Additional information can be found at facebook.com/AmericasFarmers.

About the Monsanto Fund

The Monsanto Fund, the philanthropic arm of Monsanto Company, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening the communities where farmers and Monsanto Company employees live and work. Visit the Monsanto Fund at www.monsantofund.org.

Contacts Brian Leake, America's Farmers, (314) 694-5107

Lindsey Herzog, Weber Shandwick, (469) 917-6288

SOURCE Monsanto Fund

Related Links

http://www.monsantofund.org


ST. LOUIS, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- With the help of local farmers, 22 Minnesota students have been awarded scholarships from the America's Farmers Grow Ag Leaders program, sponsored by the Monsanto Fund. The program, established in 2014, seeks to raise awareness of the job prospects in agriculture and provides scholarships to students pursuing studies in ag-related fields.

While agriculture has become one of the most promising sectors for job growth  57,900 high-skilled jobs are created annually in food, agriculture, renewable natural resources and environmental fields in the United States, according to the USDA  a recent survey, sponsored by America's Farmers Grow Ag Leaders, found that fewer than one in five students surveyed feel they understand the diverse array of career opportunities in the agriculture field. The Grow Ag Leaders program aims to change that by awarding deserving students with scholarships to pursue an education in any ag-related field of study, including agronomy, education, engineering and many others.

"Agriculture has become a hot sector for job growth in the United States, but few high school and college students understand what incredible job opportunities exist in the agriculture field," said Al Mitchell, Monsanto Fund president. "With the America's Farmers Grow Ag Leaders program, we're helping future agriculture leaders understand those opportunities, and we're providing them the means to help secure those opportunities through education."

In Minnesota, the 2017 Grow Ag Leaders scholarship recipients were:

Harley Braun  Sleepy Eye

 Adam Buseman  Blue Earth

 Matthew Collins  De Graff

 Thomas Cymbaluuk  Crookston

Alecia Hansen  Hutchinson

 Haley Hinrichs  Goodhue

 Morgan Krause - Buffalo

- Buffalo Chase Olson  Dawson

 Dawson Elizabeth Oys  Lonsdale

 Juliana Pederson  Westbrook

 Nicholas Pieper  Clara City

 Aricka Roberson  Mazeppa

 Leah Ruen  Lanesboro

 Audrey Schleper  Holdingford

 Taylor Schmidt  Garvin

 Austin Schmitt  Rice

 Rice Brady Schmoll  Lake Lillian

 Trevor Schroeder  Gibbon

 Gibbon Allegra TeBrake  Glenwood

 Rachel Turck  Litchfield

 Daniel Ukkelberg  Clitheral

 Clitheral Gavin Viland  Pipestone

Grow Ag Leaders scholarships, administered by the National FFA Organization, are open to students 23 and younger, who live in eligible counties and are planning to enroll or are currently enrolled in trade schools, community colleges and four-year universities. The scholarships are awarded in $1,500 increments to students pursuing an education in an ag-related field of study, including farming, agronomy, education, science, technology, business, communications and more. In order to be eligible to receive a Grow Ag Leaders scholarship, students had to be nominated by a farmer in their state.

Since the program began in 2014, the America's Farmers Ag Leaders program has awarded nearly $1.7 million in scholarships to promising students pursuing their education in agriculture.

For more information about the America's Farmers Grow Ag Leaders program or to view a complete list of winners, visit www.GrowAgLeaders.com. Additional information can be found at facebook.com/AmericasFarmers.

About the Monsanto Fund

The Monsanto Fund, the philanthropic arm of Monsanto Company, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening the communities where farmers and Monsanto Company employees live and work. Visit the Monsanto Fund at www.monsantofund.org.

Contacts Brian Leake, America's Farmers, (314) 694-5107

Lindsey Herzog, Weber Shandwick, (469) 917-6288

SOURCE Monsanto Fund

Related Links

http://www.monsantofund.org


ST. LOUIS, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- With the help of local farmers, 22 Ohio students have been awarded scholarships from the America's Farmers Grow Ag Leaders program, sponsored by the Monsanto Fund. The program, established in 2014, seeks to raise awareness of the job prospects in agriculture and provides scholarships to students pursuing studies in ag-related fields.

While agriculture has become one of the most promising sectors for job growth  57,900 high-skilled jobs are created annually in food, agriculture, renewable natural resources and environmental fields in the United States, according to the USDA  a recent survey, sponsored by America's Farmers Grow Ag Leaders, found that fewer than one in five students surveyed feel they understand the diverse array of career opportunities in the agriculture field. The Grow Ag Leaders program aims to change that by awarding deserving students with scholarships to pursue an education in any ag-related field of study, including agronomy, education, engineering and many others.

"Agriculture has become a hot sector for job growth in the United States, but few high school and college students understand what incredible job opportunities exist in the agriculture field," said Al Mitchell, Monsanto Fund president. "With the America's Farmers Grow Ag Leaders program, we're helping future agriculture leaders understand those opportunities, and we're providing them the means to help secure those opportunities through education."

In Ohio, the 2017 Grow Ag Leaders scholarship recipients were:

Christopher Baird  Springfield

 Isaiah Beaver  Houston

 Jordan Boyer  Deshler

 Evan Conrad  Metamora

 Carley Coppler  Carey

 Carey McKenzie Davis  Van Wert

 Cade Field  Green Camp

 Katie Frost  Bloomingburg

 Kevin Fruth  Fostoria

 Derek Goodman  Cardington

 Braden Heizer  Leesburg

 Amber Herman  Ottawa

 Sydney Hoffa  Massillon

 Jared Minor  Circleville

 Jacob Schlichter  Oxford

 Oxford Joseph Schmidt  Payne

 Trenton Schwartz  Wapakonata

 Wapakonata Luke Scott  Bucyrus

 Zachary Steiner  Creston

 Rex Tietje  Deshler

 Taylor Tyo  Greenville

 David Wise  Howard

Grow Ag Leaders scholarships, administered by the National FFA Organization, are open to students 23 and younger, who live in eligible counties and are planning to enroll or are currently enrolled in trade schools, community colleges and four-year universities. The scholarships are awarded in $1,500 increments to students pursuing an education in an ag-related field of study, including farming, agronomy, education, science, technology, business, communications and more. In order to be eligible to receive a Grow Ag Leaders scholarship, students had to be nominated by a farmer in their state.

Since the program began in 2014, the America's Farmers Ag Leaders program has awarded nearly $1.7 million in scholarships to promising students pursuing their education in agriculture.

For more information about the America's Farmers Grow Ag Leaders program or to view a complete list of winners, visit www.GrowAgLeaders.com. Additional information can be found at facebook.com/AmericasFarmers.

About the Monsanto Fund

The Monsanto Fund, the philanthropic arm of Monsanto Company, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening the communities where farmers and Monsanto Company employees live and work. Visit the Monsanto Fund at www.monsantofund.org.

Contacts Brian Leake, America's Farmers, (314) 694-5107

Lindsey Herzog, Weber Shandwick, (469) 917-6288

SOURCE Monsanto Fund

Related Links

http://www.monsantofund.org


PITTSBURGH, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- First National Bank, the largest subsidiary of F.N.B. Corporation (NYSE:FNB), today announced that it will be one of the first banks nationwide to offer customers Zelle, a fast, safe person-to-person (P2P) payments solution.

Customers of banks on the Zelle Network can easily send and receive money using just a recipient's email address or mobile phone number. Zelle enables funds to move directly from one U.S. bank account to another, with funds typically available within minutes. FNB customers benefit from FNB's security and fraud protection because transfers are conducted within the Bank's secure online and mobile banking channels.

"FNB has one of the most comprehensive digital product sets in the industry, and we are proud to enhance it even further with the latest in payments technology," said Vincent J. Delie, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of F.N.B. Corporation and First National Bank. "By offering Zelle through our online and mobile banking channels, we will deliver the speed and seamless experience customers expect, along with the security and convenience of working with their bank."

Lou Anne Alexander, Group President Payments at Early Warning added, "FNB is a proven innovator, and we are pleased to have a bank with their experience deploying leading-edge technology on board for the first wave of the Zelle launch."

FNB customers will have access to Zelle via FNB Online Banking as well as the FNB Direct Mobile Banking App by early 2018. The feature-rich FNB Direct app gives customers the ability to review account activity, check balances instantly, make mobile deposits, turn their FNB Debit Card on and off with CardGuardSM, transfer funds, pay bills, find FNB locations and more. FNB Direct can be used by any FNB Online Banking customer and is free to install. It is available for download with Touch ID in the Apple App Store. FNB Direct is also available in the Google Play store. Message and data rates from mobile carriers may apply. System availability and response time are subject to market conditions.

The Zelle Network connects the nation's leading financial institutions,enabling more than 86 million mobile banking consumers to send fast person-to-person payments to nearly anyone with a U.S. bank account.

About First National Bank of Pennsylvania

First National Bank of Pennsylvania, the largest subsidiary of F.N.B. Corporation (NYSE: FNB), has more than 400 full-service locations in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. In addition to a comprehensive suite of traditional banking products and services, the Bank also provides a full range of online and mobile banking solutions for consumer and business clients. First National Bank has been recognized repeatedly as a best place to work in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, its headquarters city.

About F.N.B. Corporation

F.N.B. Corporation (NYSE:FNB), headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a diversified financial services company operating in eight states. FNB holds a significant retail deposit market share in attractive markets including: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Baltimore, Maryland; Cleveland, Ohio; and Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham and the Piedmont Triad (Winston-Salem, Greensboro and High Point) in North Carolina. The Company has total assets of $30 billion, and more than 400 banking offices throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

FNB provides a full range of commercial banking, consumer banking and wealth management solutions through its subsidiary network which is led by its largest affiliate, First National Bank of Pennsylvania, founded in 1864. Commercial banking solutions include corporate banking, small business banking, investment real estate financing, international banking, business credit, capital markets and lease financing. The consumer banking segment provides a full line of consumer banking products and services, including deposit products, mortgage lending, consumer lending and a complete suite of mobile and online banking services. FNB's wealth management services include asset management, private banking and insurance. The Company also operates Regency Finance Company, which has more than 75 consumer finance offices in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. The common stock of F.N.B. Corporation trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "FNB" and is included in Standard & Poor's MidCap 400 Index with the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) Regional Banks Sub-Industry Index. Customers, shareholders and investors can learn more about this regional financial institution by visiting the F.N.B. Corporation website at www.fnbcorporation.com.

SOURCE F.N.B. Corporation

Related Links

http://www.fnbcorporation.com


Nile Rodgers, an outspoken recovering addict and former Silver Hill Hospital patient, is a 2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and has sold over 300 million albums worldwide. As the co-founder of the legendary band CHIC, Rodgers amplifies his legacy as a multi-Grammy-winning composer, producer, arranger and guitarist by constantly traversing new musical terrain and successfully expanding the boundaries of popular music. Additionally, he has collaborated with countless musical icons including David Bowie, Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan, Daft Punk, and Madonna, among many others. Rodgers unites the global community through his music and humanitarian work. He is the Founder of the We Are Family Foundation, an organization dedicated to the vision of a global family by creating and supporting programs that promote cultural diversity while nurturing the vision, talents, and ideas of young people who are changing the world. Rodgers wrote about his struggles with drugs, his treatment at Silver Hill and his more than 23 years of sobriety in his bestselling 2011 memoir, "Le Freak: An Upside Down Story of Family, Disco and Destiny."

The Giving Hope Gala raises support for the Patient Financial Aid Fund, serving individuals who would benefit from Silver Hill's long-term residential treatment programs but are without adequate resources to cover the costs.

This year, Sadri Garakani is the gala's Honorary Chair. Todd Hollander and Robert Minicucci are the Co-Chairs. Matthew Griepp, MD is the Young Ambassador Chair. Auction co-chairs are Elizabeth Altman and Amir Garakani, MD. Silver Hill Hospital's first Gala took place in 2010 to highlight the excellent treatment the hospital provides.

For more information or to make a reservation, please contact the Development Office at (203) 801-2307 or [email protected].

About Silver Hill Hospital

In 1931 renowned psychiatrist Dr. John Millett was searching for a setting close to New York to open a small residential mental health clinic. A picturesque farmhouse on a pastoral site in New Canaan, Connecticut proved irresistible for what he envisioned. In just a few short years, Silver Hill achieved national recognition as a top-tier psychiatric hospital, revered for expert and compassionate treatment for patients struggling with mental illness or addiction. A steadfast adherence to mission - "to provide the best treatment for mental illness and addiction; and to offer continuing support, counseling and education to patients and families in every phase of illness and recovery" - has shaped the hospital's growth over time. Today, Silver Hill, a not-for-profit hospital, provides comprehensive inpatient, residential and outpatient programs for adolescents and adults covering the full spectrum of psychiatric diagnoses. Our intensive treatment regimens are solely focused on getting patients better, inspiring hope, and helping them transition home to family and community. We pride ourselves on a very experienced, talented and dedicated clinical staff including fourteen full-time psychiatrists with advanced sub-specialty training working with an expansive team of psychiatric nurses, social workers and counselors.

Media Contact Information:

Susan Kriskey, [email protected]

Marni Lane, [email protected]

SOURCE Silver Hill Hospital
NEW YORK, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Havas Group, which recently announced plans to unite its wholly owned health and communications networks Havas Life, Health4Brands (H4B), Havas Lynx and Havas Life PR with the consumer health businesses and practices of Havas to form Havas Health & You, kicked off its expanded rollout on Global Wellness Day, June 10, 2017. By unifying its professional and consumer health foundation, existing capabilities and 4,000-plus employees across the world, Havas Health & You has built a strong platform for both client service and social responsibility.

The company is extending the day into a full week and will be engaging its agencies around the world to fundraise to support one child each through Save the Children, which invests in childhood by giving children a healthy start, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm, among other activities. All Save the Children donations will be made by the end of June, and each sponsorship will help provide children with a year of necessities for a healthy and positive start to lifefrom early childhood care and development to health and nutrition, education, and a successful transition into adulthood.

"Health and wellness are the cornerstones of a happy, fulfilled life, and we're looking forward to partnering with Save the Children to provide access to wellness for more than 100 children around the globe this year," said Donna Murphy, Havas Health & You CEO. "We hope many of our overachieving agencies go above and beyond to help pave the way for a healthy future for many others."

"Save the Children is incredibly grateful to Havas Health & You and its staff around the world coming together to support kids," said Carolyn Miles, president and CEO of Save the Children. "Their impressive sponsorship effort will help Save the Children as we work to ensure that every last child gets the start in life they deserve."

"Giving back has long defined the culture of our Havas Group companies, and it was incredibly important to us to launch Havas Health & You in that spirit of benevolence," said Shazzia Khan, global chief of staff and chief talent officer for Havas Health & You. "By asking our employees to fundraise for Save the Children, we want to be able to help more than 100 children around the world have access to brighter, safer, healthier futures. We also hope to be establishing a culture of service for our employees in a way that enriches their personal and professional lives."

Havas Health & You's broadened entity and new name reflect an amplified expression of the group's future-forward positioning and expanded offering, building out best-in-class disciplines and integrating the many products and services the Havas agencies offer across the health and healthy lifestyle continuum. The convergence allows the company to execute end-to-end marketing programs with paid, earned and owned media solutions to create even more opportunities for its clients in pharmaceuticals and life sciences, as well as those in the business of nurturing and healing. Havas Health & You will be the trusted partner that health-forward brands turn to to create experiences across the wellness journey that drive enduring, positive health changes and sustainable business growth.

For more information about Havas Health & You, visit HavasHealthandYou.com.

About Havas Group

Havas is one of the world's largest global communications groups. Founded in 1835 in Paris, the group now employs 20,000 people in more than 100 countries. Havas Group is committed to being the world's best company at creating meaningful connections between people and brands through creativity, media and innovation. Havas is also the most integrated group in its sector: The Together strategy is implemented through Havas Villages, where most creative and media teams share the same premises, increasing synergies for clients and better serving their needs.

About Havas Health & You

Havas Health & You unites Havas Life, Health4Brands (H4B), Havas Lynx and Havas Life PR, all wholly owned health and communications networks, with the consumer health businesses and practices of Havas. Its customer-centric approach has the talent, tenacity and technology that health and wellness companies, brands and people need to thrive in today's world. For more information, go to HavasHealthandYou.com.

About Save the Children

Save the Children gives children in the United States and around the world a healthy start, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. It invests in childhoodevery day, in times of crisis and for our future. Follow Save the Children on Twitter and Facebook.

Contact:

Samantha Wolf

[email protected]

646-515-3574

SOURCE Havas Health & You
In his keynote, Chairman Feng discussed how a continued dialogue and commitment to cooperation can deliver mutually beneficial, win-win results for China and the European Union. He discussed HNA Group's commitment to maintaining this momentum and noted that expedited investments will promote economic development in both regions.

China and the EU are currently engaged in a number of initiatives to encourage a cooperative dialogue and promote China's strategic alignment with European economic development. This includes annual high-level economic and strategic dialogues -- aimed at further enhancing mutual trust, promoting cooperation, and maintaining a stable relationship between the two regions -- and the creation of the China-EU Joint Investment Fund and other platforms that foster connectivity. This framework is consistent with China's "One Belt, One Road" initiative and the European Investment Planning A "16 + 1" platform, both of which are designed to open up broader cooperation.

HNA Group is committed to maintaining its investment in Europe, increasing cultural exchanges between the East and West, and helping expedite Chinese-EU trade relationships, in keeping with China's "going global" and "One Belt, One Road" initiatives. HNA Group actively implements the "One Belt, One Road" strategy and promotes economic and cultural exchanges through its international tourism business and global CSR initiatives. To date, HNA Group has investments in 19 airlines in Europe, connecting 14 cities and nine countries, operates 30 cargo planes in the region, and supports many more airlines bound for Europe through various airport operations and services. HNA Group is involved in nearly 20 projects in Europe, across tourism, logistics, and financial services, with regional investment totaling more than $12 billion dollars.

In recognition for his leadership in building bridges between the East and West and promoting social and economic exchanges between China and Europe, Chairman Feng was awarded the Chevalier des Arts Orientaux (the Chevalier Medal for Oriental Art) on June 2 by a panel of judges from the Chevalier des Arts Orientaux.

Addressing the ceremony, Philip Dewinter, a member of the Belgium Congress, said, "Mr. Chen embodies the qualities of a Chevalier. To honor Mr. Chen's distinguished accomplishment, I, on behalf of Chevalier des Arts Orientaux Panel of Judges, declare to award the medal to Mr. Chen Feng. It is our sincere hope that Mr. Chen will make an even greater contribution to cooperation between China and Belgium."

Established in 1953 by the Belgian Senate and now managed by the Europe-China Cultural and Educational Foundation, the Chevalier des Arts Orientaux recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the cooperation between East and West, in multiple fields including science and art. In 2016, the Chevalier des Arts Orientaux was awarded to Ding Zuohong, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Yuexing Group.

About HNA Group

HNA Group is a global Fortune 500 company focused on tourism, logistics, and financial services. Since its founding in 1993, HNA Group has evolved from a regional airline based on Hainan Island in southern China into a global company with approximately $145 billion of assets, more than $90 billion in annual revenues, and an international workforce of 410,000 employees, primarily across the Americas, Europe and Asia. HNA's tourism business is a fast-growing, vertically-integrated global player with market-leading positions in aviation, hotels and travel services. HNA operates and invests in nearly 3,200 hotels with over 380,000 rooms across major markets, and has 1,250 aircraft carrying nearly 100 million passengers to 270 cities worldwide. HNA's logistics business is a leader in logistics and supply chain management with capabilities in shipping and equipment manufacturing, maritime transportation, third-party payment platforms and project finance. In financial services, HNA is China's largest non-bank leasing company, and a leading provider of a diverse set of businesses in equipment leasing, insurance, asset management, investment banking and credit services. For more information, visit http://www.hnagroup.com.

SOURCE HNA Group
WASHINGTON, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is a statement by Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa on three Department of Labor announcements last week that reverse rules put in place during the Obama administration which required companies to report outside union busting activities, as well as two agency interpretations dealing with independent contractors and joint employment.

"The 'persuader rule' called for outside consultants and attorneys hired by companies to crack down on union activities to be put on equal footing as employers who must disclose such activities under the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959. And it also increased parity with unions, which are already required to file detailed financial disclosure forms each and every year that includes receipts and expenditures. The decision to rescind this rulemaking is greatly disappointing.

"Similarly, the DOL's administrative interpretations on independent contractors and joint employers sought to help protect workers from wage theft and protect their right to collectively bargain. These interpretations gave workers and employers alike clear guidance about their rights and responsibilities under the law.

"At a time when income inequality is increasingly pervasive in this country, workers need the DOL to expand its worker protection policies and employer compliance policies. The Teamsters call on the DOL to reverse its recent decision to rescind the persuader rule and agency interpretations."

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:

Ted Gotsch, (202) 624-6911

[email protected]

SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Related Links

http://www.teamster.org


SAN DIEGO, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- For people with type 1 diabetes, continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices provide around-the-clock information on blood glucose levels. Insulin pumps allow insulin to be administered subcutaneously throughout the day. Over the recent past, researchers combined the technology of CGM and insulin pumps to form closed-loop systems, which allow people with diabetes to receive insulin through a pump continuously throughout the day and night based on the glucose measurements provided every five minutes by the CGM. The performance of closed-loop systems and their ability to prevent hypoglycemia is highlighted in two studies presented at the American Diabetes Association's 77th Scientific Sessions at the San Diego Convention Center.

Safety and Feasibility of Omnipod Hybrid Closed-Loop in Children Aged 6-12 Years with Type 1 Diabetes Using a Personalized Model Predictive Control Algorithm

Children with type 1 diabetes have increased insulin sensitivity compared to adolescents and adults, and are at increased risk of severe hypoglycemia (low blood glucose levels) overnight. This inpatient, research center study investigated the safety and feasibility of a new hybrid closed-loop system. Researchers combined an Omnipod patch pump, Dexcom, G4 CGM sensor with Bluetooth technology built into the receiver, and a personalized model, predictive control algorithm. "Hybrid closed-loop," indicates that the system is continuously adjusting insulin delivery. However, at mealtime, the patient enters the amount of carbohydrates they are eating in order for the insulin pump to determine the meal dose of insulin.

The study included 12 children, aged 6-12 years with type 1 diabetes, with an average age of nine years, and an average diabetes duration of four years. The trial consisted of a 36-hour, inpatient, closed-loop assessment with meals ranging from 30-90 grams of carbohydrates and limited physical activity to examine glycemic outcomes.

The continuous monitoring data indicated that 69.2 percent of the overall glucose values were between the desired range of 70-180 mg/dl; and overnight, 82 percent of values were within range. The participants' average glucose level was 157 mg/dl, and two percent of readings were <70 mg/dl with use of the system compared to four percent of readings < 70 mg/dl when at home and not using the hybrid-closed loop system. The mean fasting glucose level following overnight use of the closed-loop system was 13624 mg/dL. These findings indicate that the Omnipod automated glucose control algorithm performed well and was safe during day and night use in children with type 1 diabetes.

"Hybrid closed-loop systems do a great job improving glucose control overnight, significantly lowering the risk of hypoglycemia, thus allowing patients and their families to get a good night's sleep," said chief investigator Bruce A. Buckingham, MD, professor of pediatrics (endocrinology) at the Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford University. "These systems also assist patients during the day in decreasing the magnitude of both high- and low-glucose fluctuations. And, many patients prefer wearing an 'untethered' patch pump, which provides more flexibility to enjoy physical activities without worrying about infusion set detachments, and a hybrid system provides some additional protection to prevent low blood glucose levels, resulting in improved quality of life for children with diabetes."

"Longer outpatient studies are needed with subjects using the system under their home living conditions. The device is being tested in many age groups and under many different conditions," Dr. Buckingham concluded.

Single and Dual-Hormone Closed-Loop Glucose Control with Automated Exercise Detection to Prevent Hypoglycemia in Type 1 Diabetes

People with type 1 diabetes have difficulty controlling their blood glucose levels while exercising. Aerobic exercise can cause sharp drops in blood sugar leading to hypoglycemia. Single- and dual-hormone closed-loop systems automate the dosing of insulin, or insulin plus glucagon, to a person with type 1 diabetes to help them better manage their blood sugar levels. Automated delivery of insulin and glucagon during exercise can help people avoid exercise-induced hypoglycemia by reducing insulin delivery and increasing glucagon in response to exercise.

In order to test if exercise-related hypoglycemia can be reduced through a closed-loop system that responds automatically to physical activity, researchers in this trial developed and evaluated single-hormone and dual-hormone closed-loop systems. The study included 20 adults with type 1 diabetes who used wearable, wireless sensors, including heart rate and accelerometer sensors, to automatically detect the onset of aerobic exercise and to communicate, calculate and deliver the appropriate insulin and/or glucagon dose needed to avoid hypoglycemia.

In random order, the study participants used various systems, including: a single-hormone closed-loop system that doses insulin only; a dual-hormone closed-loop system that doses both insulin and glucagon; a predictive, low-glucose suspend system that shuts off insulin if glucose is predicted to go too low; and the patients' usual current standard of care whereby they controlled their glucose levels using their own methods.

Participants underwent four, 4-day outpatient visits, exercising for 45 minutes at 60 percent VO 2 max on day one and day four in a human performance lab, and completing at least one at-home exercise session to determine the amount of time in hypoglycemia. Subjects entered estimated carbohydrate intake into the insulin pump, which automatically delivered a portion of the estimated pre-meal insulin dose. Blood glucose levels were measured four times daily.

The study found that incorporation of glucagon, along with insulin, into automated dosing during and after exercise reduced exercise-induced hypoglycemia from 6.3 percent to 1.0 percent when compared to insulin-only usage. The dual-hormone closed-loop system was also more effective than both the predictive low-glucose suspend dosing system and current care therapy. Results across all four days from a subset of the 20 adult subjects from 17 visits show that time spent in hypoglycemia (<70 mg/dl) was 1.0 percent for the dual-hormone system; 3.4 percent for single-hormone; 1.2 percent for the predictive low glucose suspend system; and 2.1 percent for current care. However, participants undergoing current care prevented exercise-induced hypoglycemia by keeping their blood sugar levels significantly higher leading up to the start of exercise. The mean glucose level after exercise was significantly lower for single-hormone compared with dual-hormone, 676 mg/dL and 1009 mg/dL, respectively.

"Our findings show that fully automated insulin and glucagon delivery, combined with wearable physical activity sensors that detect exercise, effectively controlled glucose levels, reduced exercise-induced hypoglycemia and can safely be used in a home environment," said investigator Peter G. Jacobs, PhD, assistant professor in the department of biomedical engineering at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland. "These results suggest that a dual-hormone closed-loop system with automated detection of aerobic exercise can be used as a tool to adjust dosing of insulin and glucagon during and after exercise."

"We plan to explore migrating our system from a smart-phone platform to a smart watch, where exercise can be more easily detected," Jacobs explained. "These exercise-enabled automated dosing systems may soon be able to help people with type 1 diabetes exercise safely without fear of hypoglycemia."

To speak with Dr. Buckingham or Dr. Jacobs, please contact the Association's media relations team on-site at the San Diego Convention Center on June 9 - 13, by phone at 619-525-6250 or by email at [email protected].

The American Diabetes Association's 77th Scientific Sessions, to be held June 9-13, 2017, at the San Diego Convention Center, is the world's largest scientific meeting focused on diabetes research, prevention and care. During the five-day meeting, health care professionals have exclusive access to more than 2,500 original research presentations, participate in provocative and engaging exchanges with leading diabetes experts, and can earn Continuing Medical Education (CME) or Continuing Education (CE) credits for educational sessions. The program is grouped into eight interest areas: Acute and Chronic Complications; Behavioral Medicine, Clinical Nutrition, Education and Exercise; Clinical Diabetes/Therapeutics; Epidemiology/Genetics; Immunology/Transplantation; Insulin Action/Molecular Metabolism; Integrated Physiology/Obesity; and Islet Biology/Insulin Secretion. Brenda Montgomery, RN, MSHS, CDE, President of Health Care and Education[1], will deliver her address on Saturday, June 10, and Alvin C. Powers, MD, President of Medicine and Science, will present his address on Sunday, June 11. Eight abstracts were selected by the Scientific Sessions Meeting Planning Committee to be presented on Tuesday, June 13, in the President's Oral Session. These abstracts represent important research being conducted in the field of diabetes today. In total, the 2017 Scientific Sessions includes 378 abstracts in 49 oral sessions; 2,152 poster presentations including 50 moderated poster discussions; and 360 published-only abstracts. Join the Scientific Sessions conversation on Twitter, #2017ADA.

About the American Diabetes Association

More than 29 million Americans have diabetes, and every 23 seconds another person is diagnosed with diabetes. The American Diabetes Association (Association) is the global authority on diabetes and since 1940 has been committed to its mission to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. To tackle this global public health crisis, the Association drives discovery in research to treat, manage and prevent all types of diabetes, as well as to search for cures; raises voice to the urgency of the diabetes epidemic; and provides support and advocacy for people living with diabetes, those at risk of developing diabetes and the health care professionals who serve them. For more information, please call the American Diabetes Association at 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383) or visit diabetes.org. Information from both of these sources is available in English and Spanish. Find us on Facebook (American Diabetes Association), Twitter (@AmDiabetesAssn) and Instagram (@AmDiabetesAssn).

132-LB



Safety and Feasibility of Omnipod Hybrid Closed-Loop in Children Aged 6-12 Years with Type 1 Diabetes Using a Personalized Model Predictive Control Algorithm

77th Scientific Sessions

News Briefing: Novel Therapies, Monday, June 12, 1:15 p.m. PT

Presentation: Late Breaking Poster Session

Location: Hall B

Session Time: Sunday, June 11, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.

Authors: BRUCE A. BUCKINGHAM , GREGORY P. FORLENZA, JENNIFER SCHNEIDER, THOMAS A. PEYSER, EYAL DASSAU, JOON BOK LEE, JASON O'CONNOR, JENNIFER E. LAYNE, TRANG LY, Stanford, CA, Denver, CO, Palo Alto, CA, Cambridge, MA, Billerica, MA

Children have enhanced insulin sensitivity compared to adolescents and adults with type 1 diabetes. We investigated the performance of an automated glucose control algorithm using the Omnipod Insulin Management System in children with type 1 diabetes. The system included a modified version of Omnipod, Dexcom G4 sensor and a personalized model predictive control algorithm. The study consisted of a 36-hour inpatient closed-loop assessment with announced meals ranging from 30-90 g of carbohydrates and limited physical activity. Subjects aged 6-12 y and A1C between 6.0-10.0% were eligible. Endpoints included sensor glucose percentage of time <70, 70-180, >180, >250 mg/dL and mean glucose. Clinical demographics for 12 subjects included (meanSD): age 8.91.6 y, diabetes duration 4.32.3 y, A1C 7.80.8% and TDD 0.80.1 U/kg. Glycemic outcomes are reported in the Table. The mean percentage of time in range, 70-180 mg/dL, was 69.2% overall and 82.0% overnight. The mean fasting glucose following overnight closed-loop was 13624 mg/dL. The Omnipod automated glucose control algorithm performed well and was safe during day and night use in children with type 1 diabetes.

Table. Glycemic Outcomes During Hybrid Closed-Loop





Glycemic outcomes Overall Night (23:00 - 07:00) Mean glucose (mg/dL) 15720 14924 Percentage time between 70-180 mg/dL (%) 69.212.6 82.019.9 Percentage time between 70-140 mg/dL (%) 38.216.1 32.830.6 Percent time <70 mg/dL (%) 2.02.6 0.10.3 Percent time >180 mg/dL (%) 28.813.5 22.030.0 Percent time >250 mg/dL (%) 6.75.5 2.15.8

Author Disclosures: B.A. Buckingham: Consultant; Author; Dexcom, Inc., Medtronic, Sanofi, Tandem Diabetes Care, Inc., Novo Nordisk Inc. Research Support; Author; Dexcom, Inc., Medtronic, Insulet Corporation. Other Relationship; Author; Abbott Diabetes Care Inc., Dexcom, Inc., Roche Diabetes Care. G.P. Forlenza: Consultant; Author; Abbott Diabetes Care Inc.. Research Support; Author; Insulet Corporation, Medtronic, Dexcom, Inc., Bigfoot Biomedical, Tandem Diabetes Care, Inc., TypeZero Technologies, LLC, Animas Corporation, Novo Nordisk Inc. J. Schneider: Consultant; Author; Insulet Corporation. T.A. Peyser: Consultant; Author; Insulet Corporation. E. Dassau: Consultant; Author; Insulet Corporation. J. Lee: Employee; Author; Insulet Corporation. J. O'Connor: Employee; Author; Insulet Corporation. J.E. Layne: Employee; Author; Insulet Corporation. T. Ly: Employee; Author; Insulet Corporation.

297-OR

Single and Dual-Hormone Closed-Loop Glucose Control with Automated Exercise Detection to Prevent Hypoglycemia in Type 1 Diabetes

77th Scientific Sessions

News Briefing: Novel Therapies, Monday, June 12, 1:15 p.m. PT

Session: Pumps and Loops

Location: Ballroom 20D

Session Time: Monday, June 12, 8:00 - 10:00 a.m.

Authors: JESSICA R. CASTLE, JOSEPH EL YOUSSEF, RAVI REDDY, NAVID RESALAT, DEBORAH BRANIGAN, UMA RAJHBEHARRYSINGH, BRIAN SENF, SAMUEL SUGERMAN, NICHOLAS PREISER, PETER G. JACOBS , Portland, OR

We developed and tested single-hormone and dual-hormone closed-loop (CL) systems that automatically detect exercise and adjust dosing in response to exercise using accelerometry and heart rate inputs to help reduce exercise-related hypoglycemia in people with type 1 diabetes (T1D). We compared single hormone (SH) and dual-hormone (DH) algorithms with a predictive low glucose suspend (PLGS) system, and the person's usual current care (CC). In random order, adult subjects with T1D underwent four 4-day outpatient visits: DH, SH, PLGS, and CC. Exercise detection in both CL systems stopped insulin for 30 m, then 50% reduction for 60 m and in DH, increased glucagon by 2 fold for 1.5 h. Glucose values from a Dexcom G5 sensor were pushed every 5 m to a Google Nexus phone running the CL algorithm. Delivery commands were sent every 5 m to t:slim pumps for SC infusion of insulin and/or glucagon. Capillary blood glucose levels were measured four times daily. Subjects exercised for 45 m at 60% VO2max on day 1 and 4 in the human performance lab and completed at least one at home exercise session. Subjects estimated carbohydrate and entered estimates into the controller, which automatically delivered a portion of the estimated pre-meal insulin dose. Results from a subset of the 20 adult subjects from 17 visits show that overall sensed glucose during DH use was 15224 mg/dL (meanSEM) with 1.1% time in hypoglycemia (CGM<70 mg/dL). During SH, mean glucose was 1342 mg/dL, with 4.3% time in hypoglycemia, during PLGS, mean glucose was 14812 mg/dL, 1.4% hypoglycemia, and with CC glucose was 15211 mg/dL, 2.9% hypoglycemia. Mean sensed glucose after exercise was significantly lower for SH compared with DH, 676 mg/dL and 1009 mg/dL, respectively (p=0.002). Preliminary results show that fully automated insulin and glucagon delivery combined with automated exercise detection effectively controlled glucose levels and reduced time in hypoglycemia and can safely be used in a home environment.

Author Disclosures: J.R. Castle: Consultant; Author; Novo Nordisk Inc.. Stock/Shareholder; Author; Pacific Diabetes Technologies. J. El Youssef: None. R. Reddy: None. N. Resalat: None. D. Branigan: None. U. Rajhbeharrysingh: None. B. Senf: None. S. Sugerman: None. N. Preiser: None. P.G. Jacobs: Stock/Shareholder; Author; Pacific Diabetes Technologies.

[1] Disclosures for Brenda Montgomery. Employer: AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals. Montgomery's role as President, Health Care & Education of the American Diabetes Association (Association) is a voluntary position to which she was elected by the members of the Association in 2015. She continues to recuse herself from any and all discussions, decisions or votes that have or could be perceived as having a conflict of interest with her employer.

SOURCE American Diabetes Association

Related Links

http://www.diabetes.org


WASHINGTON, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai Hope On Wheels will present Children's National Medical Center of Washington, D.C. with a $50,000 Hyundai Impact Award. Children's National Medical Center is one of 25 recipients of this year's award, which is given to pediatric oncology departments at select children's hospitals nationwide. Children's National Medical Center will use the funds to support the work of pediatric cancer research and programs. The $50,000 Hyundai Impact Award will be officially presented to the Children's National Medical Center, Tuesday June 27th at 10:00 a.m.

In 2017, Hope On Wheels will award $15 million toward pediatric cancer research and programs. This brings the organization's donation total to $130 million since Hyundai joined fight against pediatric cancer in 1998. With this latest grant, Children's National Medical Center has received more than $1,400,000.00 from Hope On Wheels.

"Throughout the country, talented doctors are working tirelessly to help kids fight cancer by conducting research or providing bedside care," said Scott Fink, chairman, Hyundai Hope On Wheels Board of Directors. "Our goal at Hope On Wheels is to provide these doctors with the grant funds they need to perform their lifesaving work. Superheroes come in all forms, but for children and families battling cancer  superheroes wear lab coats."

The $50,000 Hyundai Impact Award will be officially presented to the Children's National Medical Center, Tuesday June 27th at 10:00 a.m. During the event, Washington, D.C. area children battling cancer will participate in the program's signature Handprint Ceremony, in which they'll dip their hands in paint and place their handprints on a white 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe. Their colorful handprints on the official Hope Vehicle represent their individual and collective journeys, hopes and dreams.

Doctors and researchers that receive a grant from Hope On Wheels are named Hyundai Scholars and are presented with a special lab coat. This year, Hope On Wheels will further recognize its Hyundai Scholars for their incredible efforts on behalf of children battling cancer through a campaign called "Superheroes Wear Lab Coats." The video series will showcase their lifesaving work.

For more information about Hyundai Hope On Wheels and to view a complete list of this year's grant winners, please visit HyundaiHopeOnWheels.org/research. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram at facebook.com/HyundaiHopeOnWheels, twitter.com/HopeOnWheels or instagram.com/HyundaiHopeOnWheels.

HYUNDAI HOPE ON WHEELS

Hyundai Hope On Wheels is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is committed to finding a cure for childhood cancer. Launched in 1998, Hyundai Hope On Wheels provides grants to eligible institutions nationwide that are pursuing life-saving research and innovative treatments for the disease. HHOW is one of the largest non-profit funders of pediatric cancer research in the country, and primary funding for Hyundai Hope On Wheels comes from Hyundai Motor America and its more than 835 U.S. dealers. Since its inception, Hyundai Hope On Wheels has awarded more than $130 million towards childhood cancer research in pursuit of a cure.

HYUNDAI MOTOR AMERICA

Hyundai Motor America, headquartered in Fountain Valley, Calif., is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company of Korea. Hyundai vehicles are distributed throughout the United States by Hyundai Motor America and are sold and serviced through 835 dealerships nationwide. All new Hyundai vehicles sold in the U.S. are covered by the Hyundai Assurance program, which includes a 5-year/60,000-mile fully-transferable new vehicle limited warranty, Hyundai's 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain limited warranty and five years of complimentary Roadside Assistance.

For more details on Hyundai Assurance, please visit www.HyundaiAssurance.com

Please visit our media website at www.hyundainews.com

Hyundai Motor America on Twitter | YouTube | Facebook

SOURCE Hyundai Hope On Wheels
WILMINGTON, Del. and ASHDOD, Israel, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Integrity Applications, Inc. (OTCQB: IGAP), maker of GlucoTrack, a non-invasive device for measuring glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes and prediabetes, announced new data demonstrating the clinical performance of GlucoTrack, further supporting its suitability for people with type 2 diabetes across various medication regimes. The data were recently presented at the American Diabetes Association's (ADA) 77th Scientific Sessions in San Diego, CA.

The study evaluated GlucoTrack's accuracy in 172 adults with type 2 diabetes who were prescribed one or more medications for major medical conditions associated with diabetes. The experiment stratified participants into five medication groups, focusing on anti-cholesterolemia, anti-hypertension, anti-thrombotic, and anti-diabetic (prolonged duration and short and mixed duration) medications.

Amit Rozner, Senior Research Engineer at Integrity Applications and presenting author of the study, commented, "Adults with diabetes are significantly more likely to develop high blood pressure and high cholesterol, as well as have a higher risk for developing blood clots. The medications used to address these medical conditions, alongside with common diabetes medications, can have an impact on rapid glucose excursion and tissue hydration levels, which can lead to inaccuracies in both invasive and non-invasive glucose monitoring technologies. The results of this study gives us confidence that GlucoTrack provides accurate non-invasive glucose measurements independent of different medication regimes, making it an ideal tool for glucose monitoring in type 2 diabetes."

Following the collection of 7,700 total measurements, GlucoTrack demonstrated comparable clinical and numerical accuracies among all participants, regardless of medication regime. Across medication groups, the clinical accuracy of GlucoTrack ranged from 97.5% to 99.2% in the clinically acceptable A and B zones of the Consensus Error Grid, with all medication groups showing clinical accuracy above 72.5% in the A zone. Furthermore, no statistical difference was observed in mean and median absolute relative difference within each medication group (p>0.05).

John Graham, CEO and Chairman of Integrity Applications, remarked, "Integrity Applications is committed to ensuring the development of an accurate and non-invasive glucose monitoring device suitable for people with type 2 diabetes, as well as those with prediabetes. A recent review of 27 approved meters demonstrated that more than 40% of them failed to meet the ISO 15197:2003 standards, in which they had received approval. These subpar performances might result from medications, test strips, sensors, and less than ideal measurement techniques. We are proud to have designed GlucoTrack to counteract these everyday challenges that can severely impact accuracy, while at the same time offer a revolutionary approach to diabetes management that goes beyond a better blood test."

About GlucoTrack

GlucoTrack is a truly non-invasive monitoring device that rapidly measures and displays an individual's glucose level in about a minute without finger pricking or any pain.

GlucoTrack features a small sensor that clips to the earlobe and measures the user's glucose level using innovative and patented sensor technology. The measured signals are analyzed using a proprietary algorithm and then a calculated glucose level is displayed on a small handheld device the size of a small mobile phone. The glucose results are stored in the device and used for an estimated HbA1c level using a proprietary algorithm. The device can also display glucose values graphically, enabling the user to monitor glucose levels over a period of time.

GlucoTrack has received CE Mark and KFDA approvals for type 2 diabetes and prediabetics, and is currently in the early stages of commercialization in Europe, South Korea and other geographies.

GlucoTrack is expected to begin clinical trials for United States FDA approval in late 2017. The product is currently experimental in the United States and is limited to investigational use only.

About Integrity Applications, Inc.

Integrity Applications was founded in 2001 and is focused on the design, development and commercialization of non-invasive glucose monitoring technologies for people with type 2 diabetes and prediabetes. The company has developed GlucoTrack, a proprietary non-invasive glucose monitoring device designed to obtain glucose level measurements in about a minute without the pain, incremental cost, difficulty or discomfort of conventional invasive finger stick devices. Integrity Applications Inc. is a Delaware corporation, with headquarters in the United States and an R&D site in Ashdod, Israel. For more information, please visit www.integrity-app.com and www.glucotrack.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements contained in this news release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, words such as "expect", "plan" and "will" are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that certain important factors may affect Integrity Applications' actual results and could cause such results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements that may be made in this news release. Factors that may affect Integrity Applications' results include, but are not limited to, the ability of Integrity Applications to raise additional capital to finance its operations (whether through public or private equity offerings, debt financings, strategic collaborations or otherwise); risks relating to the receipt (and timing) of regulatory approvals (including FDA approval); risks relating to enrollment of patients in, and the conduct of, clinical trials; risks relating to its current and future distribution agreements; risks relating to its ability to hire and retain qualified personnel, including sales and distribution personnel; and the additional risk factors described in Integrity Applications' filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 as filed with the SEC on March 30, 2017.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Erich Sandoval / Amy Wheeler

Lazar Partners Ltd.

[email protected] / [email protected]

+1 (917) 497-2867 / +1 (646) 871-8486

INVESTOR CONTACTS

Matthew Ventimiglia

Lazar Partners Ltd.

[email protected]

+1 (212) 599-1265

Sami Sassoun, CFO Integrity Applications

[email protected]

+972 (8) 675-7878 Ext. 400

SOURCE Integrity Applications, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.integrity-app.com


BOSTON, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- John Hancock Investments said today that it has named Neil Kay as Managing Director, ETFs, for the West Coast, as part of the firm's expansion of its ETF team. Mr. Kay, who joins from Lattice Strategies/Hartford Funds in San Francisco, reports to Michelle Fuller, senior managing director, institutional sales, ETF distribution for John Hancock Investments. He is based in San Francisco.

"With the addition of Neil, our ETF specialist team is now fully staffed," said Ms. Fuller. "We are pleased to welcome Neil to the firm and look forward to his contributions as we continue building our momentum in the ETF marketplace."

Prior to Lattice Strategies, Mr. Kay worked as an iShares ETF specialist at BlackRock and at Fisher Investments. He is a finance graduate of the University of Texas at Austin.

In other moves, the firm named Nino Balduzzi as senior managing director to lead the RIA team, and also promoted Jackson Fallon to managing director RIA, West Coast. Mr. Fallon reports to Mr. Balduzzi.

"These key team appointments will be very important for us as we provide sales support across our product line and distribution channels," said Todd Cassler, president, institutional distribution at John Hancock Investments.

About John Hancock Investments

John Hancock has helped individuals and institutions build and protect wealth since 1862. Today, we are one of the strongest and most-recognized financial brands. We serve investors globally through a unique multimanager approach: We search the world to find proven portfolio teams with specialized expertise for every strategy we offer, then we apply robust investment oversight to ensure they continue to meet our uncompromising standards and serve the best interests of our shareholders. Our approach to asset management has led to a diverse set of investments deeply rooted in investor needs, along with strong, risk-adjusted returns across asset classes.

About John Hancock and Manulife

John Hancock is a division of Manulife, a leading Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States. Operating as Manulife in Canada and Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, our group of companies offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents, and distribution partners. Assets under management and administration by Manulife and its subsidiaries were $1 trillion (US$754 billion) as of March 31, 2017. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as MFC on the TSX, NYSE, and PSE, and under 945 on the SEHK. Manulife can be found on the Internet at manulife.com.

The John Hancock unit, through its insurance companies, comprises one of the largest life insurers in the United States. John Hancock offers and administers a broad range of financial products, including life insurance, annuities, investments, 401(k) plans, long-term care insurance, college savings, and other forms of business insurance. Additional information about John Hancock may be found at johnhancock.com.

MF 376712

SOURCE John Hancock Investments
OTTAWA, Ontario, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- INCEPTRUM Technologies Inc., a solutions provider to the capital markets, today announced the deployment of its automated verification tool, called "FEEDCMP", at a leading Canadian Exchange, enhancing quality assurance testing of Market Data and Regulatory (IIROC) Feeds.

FEEDCMP is the latest addition to a suite of automated test tools from INCEPTRUM and employs a new concept called "Adaptive Testing" for the verification of Market Feeds under variable load conditions.

"Adaptive Testing" for the verification of Market Feeds under variable load conditions, uses information such as, Drop-Copy and Execution Reports, sourced in real-time from the trading system, to create a dynamic data reference with which to verify the Market Data and Regulatory feeds under test.

This new verification approach uses information such as, Drop-Copy and Execution Reports, sourced in real-time from the trading system, to create a dynamic data reference with which to verify the feed under test.

FEEDCMP automatically adapts to different trade flows, removing the need for a test engineer to support multiple feed test setups for different trading scenarios. A single test setup in FEEDCMP is all you require to support any test flow presented to the trading system and verify that multiple back-end feeds are running as expected.

Dmitry Kursov, President & CTO, Inceptrum said, "We are very pleased to have deployed FEEDCMP at a leading Canadian Exchange, less than a month after its official launch. Our 'Adaptive Testing' concept provides a much-needed solution for verifying Market Feed output under high load conditions  which is not feasible using traditional functional test setups, due to the effect of asynchronous trading actions from multiple client sessions, producing a non-predictive order of trade matching between counter-parties. Comparing feed output against a static data reference is therefore not an appropriate test approach under high load conditions, due to changes in trade message sequence and content (i.e. price, volume, etc.) for each test run."

FEEDCMP can be deployed for non-intrusive, real-time monitoring in both development and production trading environments  guarding against message drop-outs, malformed messages and inconsistent data content on your Market Feeds.

Please visit www.inceptrum.com/en/feedcmp for more information on this product.

About INCEPTRUM

INCEPTRUM Technologies Inc. is a Canadian privately held company, located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Providing creative, leading-edge, low data latency solutions for the financial industry.

For more information, visit www.inceptrum.com.

Media Contact:

Ian Hughes,

Dir. Business Development,

Inceptrum Technologies Inc.

[email protected]

1-613.699.2016 (direct)

1-877.763.6996 x103 (toll-free)

SOURCE Inceptrum Technologies Inc.

Related Links

http://www.inceptrum.com/en/


RESTON, Va. and BENGALURU, India, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ScientiaMobile announced today, an agreement with global online fashion marketplace, Voonik, India's fastest growing fashion company. Voonik will deploy ImageEngine, ScientiaMobile's smart, image-optimization solution on the nuu:bit global content delivery network (CDN) and edge platform. Image Engine combines its instant mobile device detection, image resizing, with intelligent caching and edge processing on the nuu:bit platform. The result is faster page loading on mobile devices, more sales and conversions, and lower overall operating cost.

Navaneetha Krishnan, CTO and Co-founder of Voonik, states, "90% of our users browse through mobile devices. They want to see high quality product images that load fast and easy, before they make a purchase decision. We needed an enterprise-grade image-resizing CDN to improve customer experience. After evaluating leading CDNs, we found ImageEngine on the nuu:bit edge platform to be the best choice. It has already improved customer browsing experience, reduced our image payload by more than 60%, and has created other efficiencies."

Mobile online shopping is projected to reach 45% of all e-commerce by 2020. However, 75% of shoppers will abandon a site if it does not load within 5 seconds. ImageEngine CDN addresses this problem by providing:

Faster Page Loading, Higher Conversions: Accelerate website and decrease payload by more than 60%.

Accelerate website and decrease payload by more than 60%. CDN Savings: Pay only for optimized, resized image bandwidth.

Pay only for optimized, resized image bandwidth. Proactive Device Detection: Accurately identify mobile devices without using slow, inaccurate javascript.

Accurately identify mobile devices without using slow, inaccurate javascript. Automatic Image Resizing: Automatically resize and cache your images at the edge, reducing traffic to origin for faster delivery and additional cost savings.

Automatically resize and cache your images at the edge, reducing traffic to origin for faster delivery and additional cost savings. Simple Deployment: Easy integration with leading e-commerce platforms.

Easy integration with leading e-commerce platforms. Workflow Streamlining: Use a single master image that is automatically right-sized for multiple devices, web pages, and apps.

"We are thrilled to have Voonik as a customer. E-commerce companies are rapidly adopting smart image CDNs because of the value they deliver. Image optimization delivers the biggest improvement in customer experience while saving bandwidth costs," says ScientiaMobile CEO Krishna Guda.

"We're excited about our partnership with ScientiaMobile as the consumer's mobile online shopping experience is more critical than ever," said Sam Farraj, CEO of nuu:bit, Inc. "Retailers like Voonik can use our global network's edge platform, security services, and real-time analytics to improve operations and increase mobile conversions."

ImageEngine is now available for a 30-day trial to e-commerce and other websites. For more information about the nuu:bit smart CDN custom edge solutions, go to www.nuubit.com.

About Voonik

Voonik is India's largest and fastest growing fashion marketplace. Voonik is the leader in the unbranded fashion category with an annual GMV rate of over 120 Million USD. It has over 27 Million registered users, with 20 Million app downloads. Voonik has built best-in-class personalization technology that made it the most engaging ecommerce app in India. On the supply side, it has over 20 Lakh products from more than 25,000 sellers. Voonik has a highly scalable 'lean' marketplace business model where it operates without inventory and fulfilment centres.

About ScientiaMobile:

ScientiaMobile provides ImageEngine, the world's most advanced device-aware image-resizing CDN. It resizes images for mobile devices and delivers them fast. It improves customer experiences and performance by reducing payload. ScientiaMobile also sells WURFL, a constantly-updated repository that catalogues thousands of devices and their capabilities with 99% accuracy and is available in several API languages. Its customers include Google and Facebook.

Contact Information:

Bethany Libus

[email protected]

Direct: 703-310-6650 Ext. 118

ScientiaMobile HQ

11180 Sunrise Valley Drive

Suite 220

Reston, VA 20191

SOURCE ScientiaMobile

Related Links

http://www.scientiamobile.com


Rabbi David Niederman, Intergovernmental Liaison for the Central Rabbinical Congress, stated: "Israel's policy violates our right as conscientious objectors in regard to military service. Religious Jews oppose to the creation of the State of Israel before the coming of Messiah, and they can't serve in its army. Additionally military is incompatible with the observance of Torah and Mitzvos (religious service)," said Rabbi Niederman. "International law under Section 18 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights demands for exemption of military service based on ones' sincerely held conscience. Unfortunately, it is a right that the Israeli government has withheld from our community."

Since the state's founding in 1948, yeshiva (religious seminary) students were exempted from military service. That exemption expired in 2014 and since then, the Israel Defense Forces has started to forcibly draft the Orthodox community. The Let Our People Go campaign was created in order to pressure the Israeli government to rescind the new draft law. "It is nearly impossible to remain an observant Jew in the Israeli military," said Samuel Stern, of Let Our People Go. "The early Zionist leaders created the IDF not only as a means of self-defense but also as a means to indoctrinate new citizens with a nationalistic way of thinking that's not what Judaism is about."

The past several months has seen a drastic increase in violence as the Israeli government has stepped up efforts to draft the religious community. Peaceful protests have been broken up with tear gas and batons; men, women, and children have been arrested on false charges; and in May, 28 employees of an Orthodox newspaper were arrested for publishing content that was critical of the IDF's drafting policy.

"We want the international community to recognize our right to refuse military service and to exert pressure on the Israeli government to grant our brothers and sisters in Israel the most basic freedoms," said Niederman. "Israel claims that it is the only democracy in the Middle East, but terrorizing innocent citizens because they don't want to fight in the army is not behavior that one would expect from a democracy."

Various speakers and Rabbinic leaders called upon the international community to hold Israel accountable for its actions and to pressure them to restore freedom of expression and peaceful assembly for its religious citizens, something that the international Jewish community has long been advocating for.

One of the rally's speakers, Rabbi Yakov Shapiro of Bayswater, NY, explained the event's purpose: "Ben Gurion called the Israeli army a 'melting pot.' He said it was designed to  quote  'clean, refine and purify' the Jews of their 'foreign garbage'; to 'educate' them and provide them 'cultural elevation.' Sounds more like a rehab than an army. Indeed it is!" Shapiro concluded with a defiant message: "What the IDF wants to rehabilitate us from, we would give our lives to retain."

SOURCE Let Our People Go
WINNEMUCCA, Nev., June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Have you ever dreamt of owning a substantial piece of America? Now is your best chance, with what experts are calling, "The Nevada Land Rush", a unique opportunity to buy one square mile of land along Interstate 80, most of which has never been offered for sale before. Heath Rushing, CEO of New Nevada Lands says "The prospect of owning one square mile of land in America is very appealing to many folks. The thing about land is that it isn't being made anymore."

View of Star Peak from Imlay, Nevada. Just southwest of Winnemucca.

The properties for sale encompass a wide array of land types and features including, but not limited to, industrial / commercial land in close proximity to transportation corridors and utilities; as well as residential / recreational land (forested, desert, waterfront, riverfront, mountain top, hunting, fishing, etc.) Some of the land being made available has particular interest to developers, mining, ranching and renewable energy operations, but the attraction of the vast majority of the land is its pure natural beauty and remoteness.

"I am not aware of any location in the country where you can own one square mile of land and still be close to an Interstate highway" says Alan Reyes, Director of Sales for the LFC Marketing Services Inc which is internationally marketing the property. "In fact, all of the available land is within easy driving distance of the main I-80 cities of Reno, Fernley, Lovelock, Winnemucca, Elko and Wells."

The ownership of the land dates to the 1860's and the transcontinental railroad that linked the east and west coasts of the country. A little-known aspect of this story is that the railroad companies received two types of compensation by the United States government for their efforts; money for each mile of track that they laid along with ownership of the land on each side of the track in one square mile (640 acre) sections. The acreage encompasses some of the most beautiful mountain, desert, lake, and river land in America. About five years ago, New Nevada Lands, LLC acquired a substantial portion of the Nevada railroad land and has elected to make some of it available for public purchase.

The land is being offered from $99 per acre along with attractive financing for qualified buyers. For further information please visit: www.NLRbid.com/248R1.

About LFC Marketing Services, Inc.

LFC, a licensed Nevada brokerage (#B.0076222.CORP) with offices in Reno, Nevada, Madrid, Spain, Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Newport Beach, California, has been in the real estate marketing business for over 35 years. All of LFC's property sales are conducted on its FRE (Future of Real Estate) website www.FRE.com and other related websites including NLRbid (Nevada Land Rush) www.NLRbid.com/248R1.

Matthew Collaco

LFC Marketing Services Inc.

(949)706-6116

[email protected]

www.nlrbid.com/248R1

SOURCE LFC Marketing Services, Inc.
NEW YORK, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Synopsis

Timetric's 'Life Insurance in South Africa, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2020' report provides a detailed outlook by product category for the South African life insurance segment, and a comparison of the South African insurance industry with its regional counterparts.





Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p01599999/Life-Insurance-in-South-Africa-Key-Trends-and-Opportunities-to.html







It provides key performance indicators such as written premium, incurred loss, loss ratio, commissions and expenses, total assets, total investment income and retentions during the review period (20112015) and forecast period (20152020).



The report also analyzes distribution channels operating in the segment, gives a comprehensive overview of the South African economy and demographics, and provides detailed information on the competitive landscape in the country.



The report brings together Timetric's research, modeling and analysis expertise, giving insurers access to information on segment dynamics and competitive advantages, and profiles of insurers operating in the country. The report also includes details of insurance regulations, and recent changes in the regulatory structure.



Summary

Timetric's 'Life Insurance in South Africa Key Trends and Opportunities to 2020' report provides in-depth market analysis, information and insights into the South African life insurance segment, including:



- An overview of the South African life insurance segment



- The South African life insurance segment's growth prospects by category



- A comprehensive overview of the South African economy and demographics



- A comparison of the South African life insurance segment with its regional counterparts



- The various distribution channels in the South African life insurance segment



- Details of the competitive landscape in the life insurance segment in South Africa



- Details of regulatory policy applicable to the South African insurance industry



Scope

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the life insurance segment in South Africa:



- It provides historical values for South Africa life insurance segment for the report's 20112015 review period, and projected figures for the 20152020 forecast period.



- It offers a detailed analysis of the key categories in the South African life insurance segment, and market forecasts to 2020.



- It provides a comparison of the South African life insurance segment with its regional counterparts



- It analyzes the various distribution channels for life insurance products in South Africa.



- It profiles the top life insurance companies in South Africa and outlines the key regulations affecting them.



Reasons To Buy

- Make strategic business decisions using in-depth historic and forecast market data related to the South African life insurance segment, and each category within it.



- Understand the demand-side dynamics, key market trends and growth opportunities in the South African life insurance segment.



- Assess the competitive dynamics in the life insurance segment.



- Identify growth opportunities and market dynamics in key product categories.



- Gain insights into key regulations governing the South African insurance industry, and their impact on companies and the industry's future.



Key Highlights

- Life insurance accounted for 78.2% of the South African insurance gross written premium in 2015.



-Life insurance penetration was 11.4% in 2015 and was the highest in southern Africa.



- The South African life segment is highly concentrated, with the 10 leading insurers collectively accounting for 80.7% of the segment's direct written premium in 2015.



- Brokers, agencies and bancassurance are the preferred distribution channels for the life segment in South Africa.



Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p01599999/Life-Insurance-in-South-Africa-Key-Trends-and-Opportunities-to.html



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



http://www.reportlinker.com





__________________________

Contact Clare: [email protected]

US: (339)-368-6001

Intl: +1 339-368-6001

SOURCE Reportlinker

Related Links

http://www.reportlinker.com


"Tyler West is a passionate AFSP hero working to make the lives of Arkansas citizens better every day. We are proud to present him with this prestigious award which he earned through his hard work and dedication. He is a true lifesaver and grassroots leader in AFSP's mission to save lives and bring hope to those affected by suicide," said John Madigan, vice president of public policy for AFSP .

West was nominated for his exemplary advocacy work in the state of Arkansas in support of AFSP's public policy priorities. He led the Arkansas Chapter in an advocacy campaign in support of HB1775, which mandates the establishment and maintenance of an accredited suicide prevention lifeline to operate 24/7 statewide. Tyler worked tirelessly to meet with state legislators to make sure they understood the importance of having hotline calls answered within the state. He spent many days at the Capitol to stay on top of the bill as it moved and to catch up with legislators as they left committee meetings. He gave testimony advocating for the lifeline and answered questions from legislators about the importance of this bill. The bill ultimately was passed and signed into law as Act 811; Tyler's work contributed greatly to the passage of this law.

In addition to his work within the legislature, West utilized social media to increase grassroots support for the bill. He also worked closely with local print and television media to get the story covered, including the Arkansas Democrat Gazette which covered HB1775 on its front page.

Over 200 advocates from AFSP, from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, were present to acknowledge the work of this life saving champion. The advocates were in Washington, D.C. for four days to meet with their members of Congress to encourage them to invest in mental health and suicide prevention. The awards program included volunteers who have lost loved ones to suicide or who have their own lived experience with a suicide attempt, along with mental health professionals, suicide prevention allies, members of Congress and their staff, advocacy groups, and other leaders in the field.

Suicide in Arkansas

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death overall in Arkansas. For people aged 25-35 in Arkansas, it is the second leading cause of death. For those aged 15-24, it is the third leading cause of death. More than twice as many people die by suicide in Arkansas annually than from homicide.

** Photos of the award being presented available upon request. **

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is dedicated to saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide. AFSP creates a culture that's smart about mental health through education and community programs, develops suicide prevention through research and advocacy, and provides support for those affected by suicide. Led by CEO Robert Gebbia and headquartered in New York, AFSP has local chapters in all 50 states with programs and events nationwide. AFSP celebrates 30 years of service to the suicide prevention movement. Learn more about AFSP in its latest Annual Report, and join the conversation on suicide prevention by following AFSP on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

SOURCE American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Related Links

http://www.afsp.org


OCALA, Fla., June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- MARS Company, global leader in water meter testing and technology solutions, announced today that the MARS Certification, Maintenance and Support Program ("MARS Certified"), the industry's first Independent Equipment Accuracy and Dependability Certification solution, is fully compliant with California Senate Bill 555.

California Validated Water Loss Audit Reporting

MARS Certification

Water loss audits in California are now becoming a permanent requirement. California Senate Bill 555 requires all urban retail water suppliers in the state to submit a completed and validated water loss audit annually to the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) beginning October 2017. Previously, Senate Bill 1420 established that urban water suppliers submit a report that quantifies water system losses with their urban water management plans. As a result of the previous legislation, the California Department of Water Resources will be establishing validated water loss audit requirements for the submittal of annual validated water loss audits.

MARS Certified

In a dynamic, competitive business climate, customer quality of experience is critical to success. Quality of experience depends on high standards of test bench accuracy, reliability and performance, which require exceptional maintenance and support of your water meter testing resources. The MARS Certification Maintenance and Support Program (MARS Certified) offers three pre-defined program tiers and numerous optional service offerings, enabling you to choose the support options you need. Overall, MARS Certified helps manage costs while maximizing service quality. With MARS Certified, you can protect both MARS and selected third-party equipment with technical assistance, software upgrades, preventative maintenance, spares management and on-site maintenance. Not only is the equipment upkeep essential, but ensuring all operators are fully trained on meter testing practices and procedures is critical. In addition, the MARS Test Bench System, coupled with key operator training and M3 Report Generation, will provide a meter testing facility with the ability to provide independent, third-party accuracy certification reports directly to the Courts or questioning customers.

The program includes assistance in generating a valid audit report as specified in the American Water Works Association (AWWA) M36 Manual  Water Audits and Loss Control Programs and e in the AWWA's Water Audit Software, Version 5.0, all in compliance with Senate Bill 555. The MARS M3 Meter Management Software (M3 2017) provides both existing and new MARS clients with the ability to capture valuable meter testing data. Custom reporting, data export features and browser-based access allow multiple departments the power of data analytics to improve customer service, implement operational improvements and make informed purchasing decisions.

MARS Company will be exhibiting at AWWA 2017 Conference, June 12-14 in Philadelphia, PA at Booth #2225. For more information about MARS Company and its M3 2017 Enterprise Software, please visit www.MARSwater.com.

About MARS Company

MARS Company is a global leader in water meter testing and technology solutions. With more than 30 years of experience assisting municipal and private utilities throughout the world, MARS has a long track record of success. MARS core business and expertise include: Patented Water Meter Testing Systems & Software Technology, Innovative AMR/AMI Technology Products and Software Solutions and Water System Specialty Products. Innovative thinking allows MARS to leverage its unique, proprietary technology, patent positioning, manufacturing infrastructure and world-class management strength, to further position itself as the leader in the water industry.

CONTACT: Mike Mastic, Director of Test Bench and Software Systems; Tel: (352) 414-7690; [email protected]

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements containing the words "planned," "expects," "believes," "strategy," "opportunity," "anticipates" and similar words. Such forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties or other factors that may cause MARS Company's actual results to be materially different from historical results or any results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. MARS Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances arising after the date hereof. The potential risks and uncertainties which could cause actual growth and results to differ materially include but are not limited to, customer acceptance of the company's services, products and fee structures, the success of the company's brand development efforts, the volatile and competitive nature of the water industry, and changes in domestic and international market conditions, and foreign exchange rates.

SOURCE MARS Company
WASHINGTON, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Rapidly shifting global trade winds are drastically impacting global brands, small businesses, and entrepreneurs alike. On Friday, June 16, in Washington D.C., the Global Entrepreneurship Export Exchange (E3) will convene top U.S. policy, trade, and corporate communications experts to discuss

the global expansion of small businesses, reorienting the trade debate and increasing opportunities for entrepreneurs in the U.S. and across the globe. Currently, small and medium-sized businesses represent 98% of American companies exporting, yet make up only 5% of the total exports.

Acting U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce, Israel Hernandez, will join the Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship, Nina Vaca; former U.S. Department of Homeland Assistant Secretary and EVP of Porter Novelli, Sean Smith; and more than 40 embassies.

What countries have gained and lost influence under President Trump? Porter Novelli's new national survey will reveal what most Americans think. As NAFTA negotiations start to take shape, new data shows 53% of American's believe a final deal will be approved by Congress before 2018 midterms. The polls also look at which other free trade deals may be vulnerable to renegotiation. These surveys were conducted nationally, as well as a before a panel of DC influencers known as PN View Policy. Finally, Porter Novelli's Radar study analyzed the reaction on social media to the decision to pull the United States out of the Paris Accord and how it may impact America's clean tech sector.

When: Friday, June 16, 2017 9:00am to 4:30pm

What: Global Entrepreneurship Export Exchange (E3)

Who: Global Situation Room, Reagan International Trade Center, George Mason University, District Export Council, and Porter Novelli

Where: Ronald Reagan Building, Pavilion Room

More info: e3conferences.com/washington-dc/

Facebook Live Stream: facebook.com/PorterNovelliPR/

2:45pm on Friday, June 6, 2017

Fmr. DHS Assistant Secretary and corporate reputation expert at Porter Novelli, Sean Smith, will interview a series of Embassy leaders in a Facebook Live session. Includes these embassies, among others:

Embassy of Chile  Rodrigo Contreras, Head of the Economic Department, Trade Commissioner for ProChile

Embassy of Spain  Quelia Delgado, Director, Canary Islands Office, Washington, DC

Embassy of Georgia  Giorgi Tsikolia, Deputy Chief of Mission

Follow the event: Via #E3DC on Facebook (facebook.com/PorterNovelliPR/) and Twitter (@porternovelli and @conference_E3).

SOURCE Global Entrepreneurship Export Exchange (E3)

Related Links

http://e3conferences.com


FORT WORTH, Texas, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- RET or Real Estate Token, a digital token with an underlying real estate asset, is just the first piece of an exciting digital ecosystem that intends to fully utilize the commercial applications potential of Blockchain technology. Meiyingju Group (International) Company Limited (MGI), the Hong Kong-based company issuing the digital asset tokens, is currently working with ACCHAIN and Pencil Blockchain to expand the uses and applications of RET.

More Uses and Applications Envisioned for the Newly Launched Real Estate Token More Uses and Applications Envisioned for the Newly Launched Real Estate Token

The team envisions an ecosystem centered around RET that would allow the circulation of the tokens in a variety of ways: from investment to retail purchases to travel and leisure. This adds another layer of versatility to the secure and less volatile nature of the digital asset. Per MGI, the plan is already in motion as they are already in talks with several international businesses to participate in the first phase of the ecosystem. It was recently announced that the team engaged the services of Collins Barrow Toronto to structure a hybrid digital asset fund for qualified investors looking to benefit from the potential of blockchain commercial applications. Negotiations are also underway for a luxury resort in Maldives which will allow token holders to use their RETs to pay for accommodations. Further expansions to the ecosystem will see token holders using RETs as a mode of payment for goods and services from participating merchants.

The Real Estate Token, now available through ACCHAIN.ORG, is backed by a $655 million residential development project in one of the hottest housing markets in the US, Dallas-Fort Worth. The project called Serene Sendera Ranch is a 2,385-home residential community to be developed by Serene Country Homes, an up-and-coming developer based in Fort Worth, Texas.

MGI's token offering is exclusively available to all non-US citizens or residents. RET, currently valued at USD1 per token, is now available through an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) on ACCHAIN.ORG. The ICO will run from June 9  24. After the ICO, RET can be purchased through ACCHAIN's supernodes or through digital asset trading platforms.

CONTACT MGI:

Name: Royce Ng

Meiyingju Group (International) Company

T: +1 (562) 986-8215

E: Hoyin.ng(at)meiyingju(dot)com

www.acchain.org

www.pencilblockchain.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5e-PYTHz820&feature=youtu.be

SOURCE MGI
CHARLOTTE, N.C., June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- UTC Aerospace Systems, a unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX), today announced that Alaska Airlines has completed installation of the company's advanced Aircraft Data Management (ADM) solution on three of its 737NG aircraft. The ADM system is designed to help aircraft save time and fuel through its family of software and hardware products, including the Tablet Interface Module (TIM) and Aircraft Interface Device (AID), both of which have been installed on the Alaska planes.

The ADM Alaska Airlines installation hosts NASA's Traffic Aware Strategic Aircrew Requests (TASAR) software which will enable flight crews to make trajectory change request decisions en route using near real-time weather information, special use airspace status and traffic conditions. A NASA analysis of 1,600 Alaska Airlines flights found that alternative trajectories suggested by TASAR could save the airline more than 1 million gallons of fuel, more than 110,000 minutes of flight time and $5.15 million annually.

"The ADM system provides a low-cost, lightweight, flexible and scalable solution for deploying a wide range of aircraft information and performance optimization applications," said Melissa Jacob, Business Leader, Aircraft Data Management Solutions for UTC Aerospace Systems. "At UTC Aerospace Systems, we're committed to making aircraft more intelligent to help our customers save time and money, while improving performance. We're proud to work with NASA to enable testing of this game-changing software and look forward to continuing to working with both NASA and Alaska Airlines moving forward."

The ADM system is certified on nearly all major commercial transport category aircraft to support a common aircraft data management solution across mixed fleets. The ADM is an open architecture system that supports all leading aviation mobile apps for both iOS and Windows tablets. In addition to the UTC Aerospace Systems OpsInsight Electronic Flight Folder (EFF) applications suite, a Software Development Kit is available to support development and deployment of third-party applications. For more information, please visit http://utcaerospacesystemsefb.com/.

About UTC Aerospace Systems

UTC Aerospace Systems is one of the world's largest suppliers of technologically advanced aerospace and defense products. UTC Aerospace Systems designs, manufactures and services integrated systems and components for the aerospace and defense industries, supporting a global customer base with significant worldwide manufacturing and customer service facilities. For more information about the company, visit our website at www.utcaerospacesystems.com or follow us on Twitter: @utcaerosystems

About United Technologies Corporation

United Technologies Corp., based in Farmington, Connecticut, provides high-technology systems and services to the building and aerospace industries. By combining a passion for science with precision engineering, the company is creating smart, sustainable solutions the world needs. For more information about the company, visit our website at www.utc.com or follow us on Twitter: @UTC

This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning future business opportunities. Actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to changes in levels of demand in the aerospace industry, in levels of air travel, and in the number of aircraft to be built; challenges in the design, development, production, support, performance and realization of the anticipated benefits of advanced technologies; as well as other risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those detailed from time to time in United Technologies Corp.'s Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

SOURCE UTC Aerospace Systems

Related Links

http://www.utcaerospacesystems.com


VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., June 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Students pursuing higher studies in the academic year 2017-2018 will receive financial aid from nation21loans.com. The financial boost comes in appreciation of the economic hardships students face in pursuit of advanced education.

In a move to give back to society, Nation 21 offers the $2,500 scholarship award to five candidates who get $500 each to cover educational costs through the year 2017. Nation 21 aims at boosting talent support and inculcating of entrepreneurial skills for future generations and personal development through this corporate social responsibility project.

The successful scholarship candidate will get the award amount twice through the appointed academic year, an amount sufficient to support culmination of the lucky scholar's aspirations.

Eligibility for Students

Nation 21 grew the scholarship idea in line with the objective to contribute to the achievement of a 100% literate society in the United States. Out of the realization that such literacy levels can only come through rendering additional financial support to gifted and enterprising students, the organization established the scholarship program.

Students wishing to apply for the award should have a GPA score of 3.5 or more, with preference shown for those with a GPA of 4. The award is available to U.S. citizens only, enrolled in full-time academic programs in accredited U.S. educational institutions.

The organization welcomes applications from seniors, high school juniors, and graduates of good academic standing. The company aspires to create a generation of educated entrepreneurs who will transform the U.S. economy. As such, every candidate must identify a business goal and ways of achieving it. The candidate should submit that in an 800-word essay along with the application for the scholarship.

Application Procedure

Nation 21 remains keen on talent development, which shines through in the set application procedures guiding the idea behind the founding of the program.

The conditions described on the organization's website require the prospective candidate to create an infographic, essay or video on the topic "Why Financial Literacy is Important for Students about Student Loans & Current Economy" Or "Machine Learning in Finance  Machine Learning Vs. Quants" (For Engineering Students Only).

More details on application instructions advise the students to submit an essay of not more than 1000 words on the appointed topic. Whether the student chooses to write an essay or to create a video or infographic, the ideas presented should be original and never previously submitted anywhere else.

Additionally, applications should have an accompanying cover letter bearing the applicant's personal and academic details, contacts and intended field of further study.

Successful candidates for this competitive grant should expect to receive communication by phone or email, or both before January 5, 2018. Regardless, Nation 21 Loans promises to send a formal acknowledgment to every applicant for the sponsorship. Submission of applications will close on October 31, 2017, with the announcement of winners set for December 31, 2017. For more information, applicants can visit https://nation21loans.com/scholarship.

About the Company

Nation 21 draws from a wealth of experience in the corporate world to spot a deserving candidate for the award with ease. The organization, though not a lender, works in the credit industry to link private lenders with clients in need of fast and affordable loans.

The onboard experts and 24/7 support offer valuable advice and technical assistance to anyone seeking to navigate the treacherous strategy of engaging private lenders where the involvement of banks proves futile. Through such services, borrowers achieve financial objectives while avoiding the frustrations characteristic of the banking lending systems.

Contact for scholarships and Support

Email: [email protected]

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 1-804-631-3267

Related Links

Contact Nation 21

SOURCE Nation 21

Related Links

https://nation21loans.com


RESTON, Va. , June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Leidos (NYSE: LDOS), a global science and technology company, was awarded a prime contract by the Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) Fleet Logistics Center to provide professional and technical support to the Joint Staff J6 (JS J6) Joint Deployable Analysis Team (JDAT). The cost-plus fixed-fee task order has a one-year base period of performance, two one-year options, and a total contract value of approximately $18 million if all options are exercised. Work will be performed at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.



The JDAT analyzes current and future warfighter systems and procedures in field conditions to address integration and interoperability issues to improve combat effectiveness, protect warfighters and reduce collateral damage. Under the contract, Leidos will provide the JDAT with professional and technical support including capability assessments, improvement activities, project management, administration and documentation. The company will provide infrastructure and operations support, and analytical, technical and functional services. Evaluation results will contribute to improved force integration and system-to-system interoperability.



"Our group of talented, experienced and well-integrated analysts and engineers understand the customer and their requirements," said Leidos Defense & Intelligence President, Tim Reardon. "We look forward to continuing our support of NAVSUP by anticipating their needs and helping them achieve their mission to provide supplies, services and quality-of-life support to the Navy and Joint warfighter."

About Leidos

Leidos is a global science and technology solutions and services leader working to solve the world's toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, homeland security, civil, and health markets. The company's 32,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $7.04 billion for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2016. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com.



Statements in this announcement, other than historical data and information, constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause our actual results, performance, achievements, or industry results to be very different from the results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of these factors include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 30, 2016, and other such filings that Leidos makes with the SEC from time to time. Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.

SOURCE Leidos

Related Links

http://www.leidos.com


Navistar is a world leader in commercial vehicles such as heavy trucks and buses. As the complexity of onboard electrical and electronic systems increases, so does the task of rapidly identifying and diagnosing system faults. Navistar now uses Capital Publisher, part of the Capital tool suite, to not only automate creation of technical documentation but also provide a highly interactive environment for service technicians.

Dominic Venice, service information manager at Navistar, explained, "We are always looking for ways to provide a better service experience to our customers. Commercial vehicles are valuable, hard-working assets, so everything that maximizes their uptime is important. By deploying Mentor's technology to our dealership network, we have taken a major step forward in customer service capabilities." Dominic added that their dealership network is already starting to realize the benefits of these enhanced schematics.

Fully integrated with diagnostics systems, Capital Publisher is able to display and seamlessly link assets such as wiring schematics, connector location views, component locations, and truck harness views. Technicians can explore intelligent electrical schematics, generated dynamically for the specific vehicle configuration in question. These interactive data packages can be hosted from a website or delivered offline to portable devices such as tablet computers, making them suitable for both commercial and military applications.

Scott Sine, project manager for Smart Client at Navistar remarked, "Navistar builds highly configurable trucks to meet our customers' needs. Mentor's fully integrated schematics allow our dealerships to quickly find and understand the complex electrical system required for custom trucks. With this first release of integrated schematics to support our new LT platform, we have just started to utilize the potential of this new technology."

Nick Smith, business development director at Mentor commented, "Navistar has used Capital tools for electrical system and wire harness design for several years. I am delighted Navistar has now expanded its Capital deployment into after-sales applications. I very much appreciate the vision this company exhibits, especially in terms of maximizing end-customer satisfaction and extending the duty cycle of their vehicles. The technology we provide clearly helps keep Navistar at the forefront of its industry."

Contact for journalists

James Price

Phone: 503-310-1652; E-mail: [email protected]

Mentor Graphics Corporation, a Siemens business, is a world leader in electronic hardware and software design solutions, providing products, consulting services, and award-winning support for the world's most successful electronic, semiconductor, and systems companies. Corporate headquarters are located at 8005 S.W. Boeckman Road, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777. Web site: http://www.mentor.com.

Mentor Graphics, Mentor, and Capital are registered trademarks of Mentor Graphics Corporation. All other company or product names are the registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective owner.

SOURCE Mentor

Related Links

http://www.mentor.com


SAN FRANCISCO, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Neighbors Emergency Center, a nationwide leader in 24-hour emergency care, has selected Presidiohealth to streamline their operations and further improve their patients' experience. Presidiohealth will roll out their innovative technology suite called FSEC FOUNDATION, a collaboration between T-System and Presidiohealth designed to meet the needs of patients and providers in freestanding emergency centers (FEC). FSEC FOUNDATION combines T-System's full electronic Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) solution with Presidiohealth's suite of practice management tools.

"We look forward to helping Neighbors Emergency Center provide exceptional care to their patients," says Presidiohealth founder Douglas Evans, M.D. "We make sure caregivers have the right tools to focus their full attention on caring for patients  not paperwork  and making sure patients can focus on getting well instead of filling out forms and dealing with billing confusion and worrying about payments."

Neighbors Emergency Center is the largest independent provider of freestanding emergency centers in the country with locations in Texas, Colorado, and Rhode Island. This new partnership will allow clinicians and staff to digitally access a single patient record, no matter where that patient is in the system, and will streamline operational systems across Neighbors' 33 facilities.

"Our core mission is to be a patient-centered organization that focuses on personalized care offering the highest quality emergency medicine to the thousands of patients that depend on us each day. This partnership will give us the infrastructure we need to do just that," says Neighbors Emergency Center CEO Setul Patel, M.D., MBA.

Presidiohealth's practice management and business intelligence tools include: PerformPOS for patient registration, eligibility, propensity to pay, paperless forms, bedside mobile payments, patient financial services; PerformMD for enhanced coding and automated charge capture; and PerformCycle with integrated business information from point of service, coding, billing, and the EMR for enterprise-wide business analytics. T-System's best-of-breed EDIS solution set includes nurse documentation, physician documentation, tracking, computerized provider order entry (CPOE), as well as fully integrated labs and diagnostics.

T-System and Presidiohealth will also integrate their applications with ImagineSoftware, the vendor recently chosen by Neighbors Emergency Center to assist with billing and accounts receivable.

Neighbors Emergency Center and its patients will begin to experience the benefits of FSEC Foundation in the fall of 2017.

About Presidiohealth

Presidiohealth, Inc. was started by a practicing ER physician in 2004 to provide next generation performance management services to emergency departments, free standing ERs and physician groups across the United States. Presidiohealth is a privately held corporation based in San Francisco, California. Presidiohealth manages the patient experience through the combination of technology and services that allow its customers to focus on providing a frictionless patient visit while reducing costs and maximizing revenue capture. Presidio technologies range from bed-side, paperless registration to seamless discharge, patient financial services including credit card, eCheck and Presidio-branded revolving care credit. Presidio's advanced computer assisted coding platform uses advanced "Triple Check" quality analysis to ensure accurate billing and optimal denial management. For additional information about Presidiohealth, please visit www.presidiohealth.com.

About T-System

T-System is a healthcare IT company that advances care delivery and financial outcomes for episodic care. Specializing in emergency department documentation since 1996, T-System has since expanded its focus to include the development of innovative solutions for the rapidly expanding episode-based care market, including hospital-based emergency departments (EDs), freestanding emergency centers and urgent care centers. Through clinically-driven services and documentation solutions as well as charge capture and coding solutions, T-System solves clinical, financial and operational challenges for our clients. About 40 percent of the nation's hospital-based EDs, freestanding emergency centers and urgent care centers use T-System to improve the clinical encounter, including the documentation of the patient visit as well as the downstream outcomes related to that event. For additional information about T-System, please visit www.tsystem.com.





About Neighbors Health System

At Neighbors Emergency Center we provide the highest quality of personalized ER care. We're a passionate team that focuses on the needs of our patients first and foremost. Simply putwe care. This care is not only for the patients, but for our dedicated and hard-working physicians and medical staff. They are the ones who continue to transform medicine and carry out our mission to make lives better and to be The Best Neighbors Ever in each community we are privileged to serve.

SOURCE Presidiohealth
NEW YORK, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Summary

Global Markets Direct's latest Pharmaceutical and Healthcare disease pipeline guide Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma - Pipeline Review, H1 2017, provides an overview of the Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (Oncology) pipeline landscape.





Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p0788097/Non-Hodgkin-Lymphoma-Pipeline-Review-H1.html







Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (also known as non-Hodgkin lymphoma, NHL, or sometimes just lymphoma) is a cancer that starts in cells called lymphocytes, which are part of the body's immune system. Symptoms depend on what area of the body is affected by the cancer and how fast the cancer is growing. Symptoms may include night sweats (soaking the bed sheets and pajamas even though the room temperature is not too hot),fever and chills that come and go, itching, swollen lymph nodes in the neck, underarms, groin, or other areas, weight loss, coughing or shortness of breath if the cancer affects the thymus gland or lymph nodes in the chest, putting pressure on the windpipe (trachea) or other airway, abdominal pain or swelling, leading to loss of appetite, constipation, nausea, and vomiting and headache, concentration problems, personality changes, or seizures if the cancer affects the brain. Treatment includes surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy.



Report Highlights

Global Markets Direct's Pharmaceutical and Healthcare latest pipeline guide Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma - Pipeline Review, H1 2017, provides comprehensive information on the therapeutics under development for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (Oncology), complete with analysis by stage of development, drug target, mechanism of action (MoA), route of administration (RoA) and molecule type. The guide covers the descriptive pharmacological action of the therapeutics, its complete research and development history and latest news and press releases.



The Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (Oncology) pipeline guide also reviews of key players involved in therapeutic development for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and features dormant and discontinued projects. The guide covers therapeutics under Development by Companies /Universities /Institutes, the molecules developed by Companies in Pre-Registration, Filing rejected/Withdrawn, Phase III, Phase II, Phase I, IND/CTA Filed, Preclinical, Discovery and Unknown stages are 6, 2, 28, 137, 124, 5, 123, 18 and 3 respectively. Similarly, the Universities portfolio in Phase II, Phase I, Preclinical and Discovery stages comprises 15, 17, 16 and 4 molecules, respectively.



Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (Oncology) pipeline guide helps in identifying and tracking emerging players in the market and their portfolios, enhances decision making capabilities and helps to create effective counter strategies to gain competitive advantage. The guide is built using data and information sourced from Global Markets Direct's proprietary databases, company/university websites, clinical trial registries, conferences, SEC filings, investor presentations and featured press releases from company/university sites and industry-specific third party sources. Additionally, various dynamic tracking processes ensure that the most recent developments are captured on a real time basis.



Note: Certain content / sections in the pipeline guide may be removed or altered based on the availability and relevance of data.



Scope

- The pipeline guide provides a snapshot of the global therapeutic landscape of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (Oncology).

- The pipeline guide reviews pipeline therapeutics for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (Oncology) by companies and universities/research institutes based on information derived from company and industry-specific sources.

- The pipeline guide covers pipeline products based on several stages of development ranging from pre-registration till discovery and undisclosed stages.

- The pipeline guide features descriptive drug profiles for the pipeline products which comprise, product description, descriptive licensing and collaboration details, R&D brief, MoA & other developmental activities.

- The pipeline guide reviews key companies involved in Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (Oncology) therapeutics and enlists all their major and minor projects.

- The pipeline guide evaluates Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (Oncology) therapeutics based on mechanism of action (MoA), drug target, route of administration (RoA) and molecule type.

- The pipeline guide encapsulates all the dormant and discontinued pipeline projects.

- The pipeline guide reviews latest news related to pipeline therapeutics for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (Oncology)



Reasons to buy

- Procure strategically important competitor information, analysis, and insights to formulate effective R&D strategies.

- Recognize emerging players with potentially strong product portfolio and create effective counter-strategies to gain competitive advantage.

- Find and recognize significant and varied types of therapeutics under development for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (Oncology).

- Classify potential new clients or partners in the target demographic.

- Develop tactical initiatives by understanding the focus areas of leading companies.

- Plan mergers and acquisitions meritoriously by identifying key players and it's most promising pipeline therapeutics.

- Formulate corrective measures for pipeline projects by understanding Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (Oncology) pipeline depth and focus of Indication therapeutics.

- Develop and design in-licensing and out-licensing strategies by identifying prospective partners with the most attractive projects to enhance and expand business potential and scope.

Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p0788097/Non-Hodgkin-Lymphoma-Pipeline-Review-H1.html



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



http://www.reportlinker.com





__________________________

Contact Clare: [email protected]

US: (339)-368-6001

Intl: +1 339-368-6001

SOURCE Reportlinker

Related Links

http://www.reportlinker.com


Southside Hospital in Bay Shore and Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn (a Northwell affiliate) also achieved significantly better outcomes for PCI, further demonstrating the cardiovascular expertise available throughout Northwell Health.

Based on the DOH's statistical analysis of risk-adjusted outcomes for adult cardiac surgery from 2012-2014, LIJ's cardiothoracic team had the state's best survival rate for patients undergoing surgeries for isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), the repair or replacement of heart valves, and for those in need of surgeries for both valve and CABG surgery for six consecutive reports. LIJ and Maimonides Medical Center were two of only five hospitals in the state with significantly better outcomes than the statewide average, earning the DOH's prestigious double asterisk for their performance for valve and valve/CABG surgery.

In a separate report on PCI procedures performed in 2014, Southside Hospital and Maimonides Medical Center were two of only five hospitals in the state with significantly better success rates for all types of coronary interventions, with Maimonides also distinguishing itself for its low readmission rates. In an analysis of PCI cases performed from 2012-2014, North Shore University Hospital and Maimonides were two of only four hospitals in the state with superior outcomes for all types of coronary interventions, with Maimonides also earning a double asterisk rating for emergency and non-emergency cases  the only hospital in the state to achieve that distinction.

The DOH report analyzed 58,010 total adult cardiac surgeries, including isolated CABG, valve, and valve/CABG,TAVR, and other cardiac surgeries performed at 41 hospitals from 2012-2014, and 143,535 PCI procedures  also known as angioplasty  at 62 hospitals. Over the three years covered in the report, seven Northwell Health hospitals  NSUH, LIJ, Lenox Hill, Maimonides, Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH), Southside Hospital in Bay Shore and Huntington Hospital  collectively performed 23,515 PCI procedures. During that same period, six Northwell hospitals  Lenox Hill, LIJ, NSUH, Maimonides, Southside and SIUH performed 8,315 total cardiac surgeries.

From an individual standpoint, L. Michael Graver, MD, formerly at LIJ Medical Center and now part of the Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital at NSUH, was one of six cardiothoracic surgeons statewide who had one of the lowest, statistically significant, risk-adjusted mortality rates among the more than 140 cardiac surgeons evaluated for isolated CABG, valve or valve/CABG surgery from 2012-2014. James Taylor, MD, co-director of the Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital who joined Northwell Health in 2015, also distinguished himself during the three-year reporting period, performing 282 isolated CABG surgeries with zero mortality that was statistically significant.

"This is the eighth consecutive reporting period that the combined Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at North Shore University Hospital and LIJ Medical Center was recognized by the Department of Health for significantly better outcomes for isolated CABG, valve and valve/CABG surgeries and the sixth straight reporting period in which LIJ had significantly better outcomes in the state," said Alan Hartman, MD, senior vice president and executive director of cardiothoracic services at Northwell Health. "That kind of superior performance is a testament to the extraordinary team of cardiac specialists who are saving lives every day. I also commend the leadership of Dr. S. Jacob Scheinerman, former associate chair of cardiothoracic surgery at LIJ who now leads Lenox Hill Hospital's open-heart surgery program."

Among the more than 450 cardiologists throughout New York State who performed angioplasty procedures during the three years covered in the report, Carl Reimers, MD, of Lenox Hill Hospital, and Sergey Ayzenberg, MD, and Michael Friedman, MD, of Maimonides Medical Center, were among 12 cardiologists who received the DOH's double asterisk for superior outcomes for all angioplasty cases.

Since 2000, the state DOH has released 12 PCI reports. North Shore University Hospital's outcomes have been significantly better than the statewide average eight times for all cases  and 11 times for emergency angioplasty. During that time, the hospital has earned more double-star rankings than any hospital in the state.

"These outstanding results are due to an unparalleled team effort that continues at the Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital at North Shore University Hospital, its comprehensive approach to all interventional cardiology procedures and an unwavering commitment to the best patient care at every stage in the process," said Barry Kaplan, MD, the heart hospital's co-director, chair of cardiology at NSUH and LIJ, and senior vice president and executive director of Northwell's cardiology service line.

To see copies of the DOH reports, go to:

Adult Cardiac Surgery

https://www.health.ny.gov/statistics/diseases/cardiovascular/heart_disease/docs/2012-2014_adult_cardiac_surgery.pdf

Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

https://www.health.ny.gov/statistics/diseases/cardiovascular/docs/pci_2012-2014.pdf

About Northwell Health

Northwell Health is New York State's largest health care provider and private employer, with 22 hospitals and over 550 outpatient facilities. We care for more than two million people annually in the metro New York area and beyond, thanks to philanthropic support from our communities. Our 62,000 employees  15,000+ nurses and about 3,900 physicians, including more than 2,800 members of Northwell Health Physician Partners  are working to change health care for the better. We're making breakthroughs in medicine at the Feinstein Institute. We're training the next generation of medical professionals at the visionary Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine and the School of Graduate Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. And we offer health insurance through CareConnect. For information on our more than 100 medical specialties, visit Northwell.edu.

Contacts: Terry Lynam/Betty Olt

516-321-6701

[email protected]

[email protected]

SOURCE Northwell Health

Related Links

https://www.northwell.edu


TULSA, Okla., June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE: OGS) today announced it will participate in the Jefferies Utilities Summit on Thur., June 15, 2017, in Boston, Mass.

Pierce H. Norton II, president and chief executive officer, and Curtis Dinan, senior vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer, will be conducting a series of meetings with members of the investment community.

The materials utilized at the conference will be accessible on the ONE Gas website, www.onegas.com, on June 15, 2017, beginning at 8 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (7 a.m. Central Daylight Time).

ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE: OGS) is a 100-percent regulated natural gas utility, and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "OGS." ONE Gas is included in the S&P MidCap 400 Index, and is one of the largest natural gas utilities in the United States.

ONE Gas provides natural gas distribution services to more than 2 million customers in Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas.

ONE Gas is headquartered in Tulsa, Okla., and its divisions include Oklahoma Natural Gas, the largest natural gas distributor in Oklahoma; Kansas Gas Service, the largest in Kansas, and Texas Gas Service, the third largest in Texas, in terms of customers.

Its largest natural gas distribution markets by customer count are Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Okla.; Kansas City, Wichita and Topeka, Kan.; and Austin and El Paso, Texas. ONE Gas serves residential, commercial, industrial, transportation and wholesale customers in all three states.

For more information, visit the website at http://www.ONEGas.com.

Analyst Contact: Meredith Bartlett

918-947-7472 Media Contact: Jennifer Rector

918-947-7571

SOURCE ONE Gas, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.onegas.com


ATLANTA, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Emory University School of Law is now making its Juris Master degree for non-lawyers available in an online format designed specifically for business professionals. The Juris Master (JM) program includes a concentration in Business Law & Regulation that offers students legal knowledge to help reinforce and advance their business careers. The deadline to apply for fall semester 2017 enrollment is June 30.

Whether helming a start-up or steering a multi-national company to the next level of growth, business leaders need knowledge of the law when facing issues relating to contracts, corporate finance, negotiations, privacy law, and more. Those who complete the Business Law & Regulation JM program walk away with a breadth of insight into these and other essential topics. Students come from varied disciplines, backgrounds, and professions, from C-Level executives and commercial lending officers to real estate developers and business consultants.

"Business is becoming highly complex," said Raymond Tsao, President and CEO of Covendis and JM student. "The JM program and the Emory Law faculty provide a solid understanding of the law that has a lot of practical application, whether negotiating deals or making important decisions for the business or organization."

The program begins by equipping students with a strong understanding of the American legal system. Business professionals will acquire the ability to analyze, research, and communicate legal issues, while gaining a keen eye for the interpreting of contracts. Core courses cover alternate dispute resolution, administrative law, and a review of law and the legal profession.

Advanced coursework includes the study of the formation, financing, and management of business corporations; banking, securities, and financial regulation; risk management and internal regulation of business activity; fundamentals of deal-making; data management and protection; cybersecurity; and privacy regulations for public and private organizations.

The Juris Master program is a 30-credit-hour master's degree that provides professionals with the legal knowledge and skills to navigate increasingly complex regulatory environments and contribute in more significant ways to their organizations. The new online format, which offers concentrations in health law and business law, can be completed in 18 months, and includes three 3-day sessions on-campus in a classroom setting. An on-campus program of study, which offers a wide range of concentrations, is also offered; it can be completed full-time in nine months or part-time in as long as four years. Scholarships and financial aid are available.

About Emory University School of Law

Founded in 1916, Emory University School of Law is an American Bar Association (ABA) nationally accredited law school. Consistently ranked as one of the premier law schools in the United States, Emory Law offers exceptional doctrinal and practical legal education with signature programs in advocacy, transactional law, technology and IP law, law and religion, and vulnerability studies.

Interviews available upon request.

Contact: Jon Waterhouse | Lenz, Inc.

404-373-2021

[email protected]

SOURCE Emory University School of Law

Related Links

http://www.law.emory.edu


NEWARK, N.J., June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Panasonic Foundation, Inc. today announced the appointment of Alejandra O. Ceja as Executive Director. Ms. Ceja will assume the role beginning June 12th, succeeding Dr. Larry Leverett, who retired after a decade of extraordinary leadership.

Most recently, Ms. Ceja has served as the Executive Director of White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics at the U. S. Department of Education. She has also served as a Chief of Staff to the Under Secretary of Education and as Senior Budget and Appropriations Advisor for the House Committee on Education and Labor. In 2015, she was awarded the Marshall Memorial Fellowship from the German Marshall Fund to prepare leaders from the U. S. and Europe for transatlantic relations. In her new role, Ms. Ceja will report to the Board of Directors of the foundation, whose Chair is Dr. Milton Chen, Senior Fellow and Executive Director, Emeritus at The George Lucas Educational Foundation.

Ms. Ceja received her B. A. in political science from Mount St. Mary's University in Los Angeles and her M.P.A. in public administration from Baruch College, CUNY. She grew up in the Los Angeles area.

"On behalf of our board of directors, we are excited to welcome Alejandra to the Panasonic Foundation," said Dr. Chen. "She brings keen national leadership experience and a passion for educational equity to further advance the vision, mission and strategic direction of the Foundation."

Damien Atkins, Panasonic Corporation of North America's General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, said: "We're delighted to have Alejandra serve the Foundation as Executive Director. Her experience in advocating for educational opportunities aligns well with the goals of the Panasonic Foundation." Mr. Atkins also represents the Corporation as a member of the Foundation's Board of Directors.

"I am thrilled to be joining the Panasonic Foundation," said Ms. Ceja, who comes to the organization with over 15 years of experience in government and education advocacy. "I can think of no better place to continue the effort to advocate for the academic and social success of students in underserved communities."

About the Panasonic Foundation

Panasonic Foundation is an operating, not grant-making, non-profit foundation whose mission is to break the links between race, poverty, and educational outcomes by improving the academic and social success of all students.

It is currently working in long-term partnership with 11 school districts around the United States and with 17 superintendents participating in the New Jersey Network of Superintendents.

The Panasonic Foundation was created in 1984 by a $10 million endowment from Matsushita Electric Corporation of America, which has since been renamed Panasonic Corporation of North America. The Foundation's resource base was later strengthened with an additional endowment of $10 million from the company's parent corporation, Matsushita Electric Industrial (now Panasonic Corporation). http://www.panasonicfoundation.net/

About Panasonic Corporation of North America

Newark, NJ-based Panasonic Corporation of North America is a leading technology partner and integrator to businesses, government agencies and consumers across the region. The company is the principal North American subsidiary of Osaka, Japan-based Panasonic Corporation and the hub of Panasonic's U.S. branding, marketing, sales, service and R&D operations. Panasonic was featured in Fortune Magazine's 2016 ranking of 50 companies that are changing the world and doing well by doing good. Specifically cited were its smart and sustainable technologies, including its contributions to smart cities and the electric vehicle revolution. Learn more about Panasonic at www.panasonicmovesus.com.

SOURCE Panasonic Corporation of North America

Related Links

http://www.panasonic.com


HOUSTON, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Parker Drilling Company (NYSE:PKD) announced today that Christopher Weber, Parker Drilling's Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, is leaving the Company effective June 21, 2017 to become Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL). Jon-Al Duplantier, Parker Drilling's Senior Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel, has been appointed to serve as interim CFO and will manage the CFO responsibilities in addition to his current responsibilities until a replacement is named. The Company has initiated a comprehensive search to identify its next CFO.

Mr. Duplantier has been with Parker Drilling since September 2009, when he joined the Company as Vice President and General Counsel. In 2012 he was promoted to Senior Vice President, and in 2013 he took on the additional role of Chief Administrative Officer, which currently oversees the Company's legal and compliance; internal audit; human resources; supply chain; quality, health, safety, security and environment; aviation; and risk management organizations. Prior to joining Parker Drilling, Mr. Duplantier served in several U.S. and international legal and management roles of expanding scope and responsibility over a 17-year career at ConocoPhillips.

"We thank Chris for his many contributions to Parker Drilling and wish him and his family well as he continues his career," said Gary Rich, the Company's Chairman, President and CEO. "We appreciate Jon-Al stepping in on an interim basis, and we are confident his 22 years of energy industry experience as a respected and trusted leader, when combined with Parker's strong financial team, will ensure continued execution of our financial objectives and a smooth transition to a permanent CFO."

Company Description

Parker Drilling provides drilling services and rental tools to the energy industry. The Company's Drilling Services business serves operators in the inland waters of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico utilizing Parker Drilling's barge rig fleet and in select U.S. and international markets and harsh-environment regions utilizing Parker-owned and customer-owned equipment. The Company's Rental Tools Services business supplies premium equipment and well services to operators on land and offshore in the U.S. and international markets. More information about Parker Drilling can be found on the Company's website at www.parkerdrilling.com.

Contact: Jason Geach, Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Development, (+1) (281) 406-2310, [email protected].

SOURCE Parker Drilling Company

Related Links

http://www.parkerdrilling.com


HOUSTON, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Parkway, Inc. (NYSE: PKY) announced today that it has signed a 26-month lease extension with Apache Corporation ("Apache") at Post Oak Central. The renewal extends all 524,000 square feet currently occupied by Apache through February 28, 2022. Additionally, the renewal preserves Apache's existing five-year and ten-year renewal options, which would supersede the terms of this amendment if exercised prior to December 31, 2017.

"We are pleased that we were able to reach an agreement with Apache with a renewal that is mutually beneficial to both parties," stated James R. Heistand, President and Chief Executive Officer of Parkway. "This extension gives Apache at least two more years of term while creating value for Parkway's stockholders and adding stability to Post Oak Central for nearly five years."

Apache was represented by Tim Relyea and Scott Wegmann of Cushman & Wakefield.

About Parkway

Parkway, Inc. is an independent, publicly traded, self-managed real estate investment trust ("REIT") that owns and operates high-quality office properties located in attractive submarkets in Houston, Texas. As of March 31, 2017, our portfolio consists of five Class A assets comprising 19 buildings and totaling approximately 8.7 million rentable square feet in the Greenway, Galleria and Westchase submarkets of Houston.

Contact:

Thomas Blalock

Vice President, Finance & Capital Markets

(407) 581-2915

SOURCE Parkway, Inc.
NEW YORK, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Below are experts from the ProfNet network who are available to discuss timely issues in your coverage area.

You can also submit a query to the hundreds of thousands of experts in our network  it's easy and free! Just fill out the query form to get started: http://prn.to/queryform

EXPERT ALERTS

Facebook's Anti-Terrorism Pledge Invites a Slippery Slope

Not All Robots Are out for Your Job

MEDIA JOBS

Reporter  Debtwire Middle Market

Technology Reporter  Dow Jones

Reporter - Private Equity / Restructuring  The Wall Street Journal

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES

How to Create the Ultimate Style Guide for Your Blog

Everyone's talking about the Paris climate agreement. Here are 11 environmental news sites to watch now.

climate agreement. Here are 11 environmental news sites to watch now. Are Your Messages Safe? The Basics of Encryption and How Your Favorite Apps Measure Up

-------------------------------------------------------------------

EXPERT ALERTS:

Facebook's Anti-Terrorism Pledge Invites a Slippery Slope

Wendy Moe

Professor of Marketing

University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business

[In response to a Facebook executive saying, "We want Facebook to be a hostile environment for terrorists," following the June 3, 2017 London terrorist attacks] "Self-regulation puts social media platforms in a tricky ethical position. On the one hand, they are aiding in the fight against terrorism. On the other hand, they are censoring. When they censor content that promotes terrorism or other criminal activity, this contributes to public welfare. But where do they draw the line? This could easily lead to a slippery slope where these organizations start censoring content that tries to influence the political climate  if they believe it is in the best interest of public welfare. The decision of what to censor and what not to is important and has far-reaching implications. It should not be made by a small number of executives at a given company."

Moe is director of the Smith School's Master of Science in Marketing Analytics program, co-director of the Smith Analytics Consortium, and author of "Social Media Intelligence."

Bio: https://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/directory/wendy-w-moe

PR Contact: Greg Muraski, [email protected]

Not All Robots Are out for Your Job

Ron Selewach

CEO and Founder

HRMC (Human Resource Management Center)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) summons dystopian visions of a labor force crowded out by machines that work 24/7, don't take breaks, or demand a competitive benefits package. But intelligent automation is an essential new co-worker for the digital age. However, HR (human resources) may be among the last holdouts, which is understandable -- no one knows better than HR the threat machines pose, to the jobs of the people they manage and to the core of what they do, which is use their judgment and expertise to engage, evaluate and hire the best talent. Says Selewach: "The challenge is not overcoming/mastering the technology, but in overcoming HR's concerns and perceptions, and coming to understand the ways in which this technology can augment and elevate their role in the organization. It brings more objectivity, science and rigor to the selection process, significantly shortens time-to-fill, and allows HR to select the great from the good in making the final hiring decision."

Selewach is a widely acknowledged pioneer in applying AI to candidate selection. He has been published and quoted in and a wide range of HR and business publications on topics related to candidate assessment and screening.

Website: http://www.hrmc.com

Contact: Charles Epstein, [email protected]

****************

MEDIA JOBS:

Following are links to job listings for staff and freelance writers, editors and producers. You can view these and more job listings on our Job Board:https://prnmedia.prnewswire.com/community/jobs/

Reporter  Debtwire Middle Market

Technology Reporter  Dow Jones

Reporter - Private Equity / Restructuring  The Wall Street Journal

*****************

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES:

Following are links to other news and resources we think you might find useful. If you have an item you think other reporters would be interested in and would like us to include in a future alert, please drop us a line at [email protected]

How to Create the Ultimate Style Guide for Your Blog. If you want to take your blog to the next level, it's time to make decisions about your style  and stick with them. Here's a handy guide to create your blog's style guidelines once and for all. http://prn.to/2sXgfkj

Everyone's talking about the Paris climate agreement. Here are 11 environmental news sites to watch now. In this golden age of climate change denial, here are 11 more environmental news sites we're watching. http://bit.ly/2rst5r3

climate agreement. Here are 11 environmental news sites to watch now. In this golden age of climate change denial, here are 11 more environmental news sites we're watching. http://bit.ly/2rst5r3 Are Your Messages Safe? The Basics of Encryption and How Your Favorite Apps Measure Up. With data breaches and other scams on the rise, you've probably asked yourself this question  whether you're protecting sensitive information from a confidential source, or just keeping a close eye on your personal account. And, with so many new messaging apps and platforms available, it's easy to fall into the assumption of privacy. Here are some things to keep in mind. http://bit.ly/2rlzLdB

****************

PROFNET is an exclusive service of PR Newswire.

SOURCE ProfNet

Related Links

http://www.profnet.com


MADISON, N.J., June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) today announced that it has signed definitive agreements to acquire two laboratory businesses in Lewisville, Texas, with the aim to establish a center of excellence providing diagnostic services to aid the detection and management of cancer for oncologists and patients nationwide.

The two businesses, Med Fusion and Clear Point, together provide a full range of diagnostic services to physicians and provider networks. Baylor Scott & White Health (BSWH), the largest not-for-profit health care system in the state of Texas; The US Oncology Network (The Network), supported by McKesson Specialty Health, a division of McKesson Corporation; Texas Oncology; and Pathologists Bio-Medical Laboratories (PBM) are co-owners of one or both businesses.

Upon the completion of the transaction, Quest will become a preferred provider of advanced oncology diagnostics for The Network, including Texas Oncology. The Network is the largest of its kind, consisting of more than 400 locations across the United States and over 1,400 independent, community-based physicians. The advanced diagnostics Quest will provide include genomic and pathology testing, such as tumor sequencing, typically used by oncologists to select and monitor treatment and predict disease progression. Inherited genetic testing, such as for BRCA breast cancer screening, typically offered by non-oncologists, will not be part of a preferred provider relationship.

In addition, Quest will be a preferred provider of a full range of inpatient and outpatient diagnostic services for 12 hospitals of Baylor Scott & White Health in North Texas. Quest will provide these services from the center of excellence site in Lewisville upon close of the transaction. Quest and PBM will also have a preferred provider relationship for several services assuming the completion of the transaction.

"Precision medicine is changing the way we treat cancer and giving new hope to people living with the disease, but too often advanced diagnostics that facilitate the best possible care are out of reach of community oncologists and their patients," said Steve Rusckowski, chairman, president and CEO, Quest Diagnostics. "By partnering with McKesson Specialty Health and The Network, we will make Quest's state-of-the-art genomic analysis readily available to community oncologists everywhere. We also look forward to working with BSWH, a leading health system, to deliver broad access to high quality, high value services. This transaction will not only accelerate Quest's growth in cancer diagnostics, but also holds the promise of improving care for patients with cancer in Texas and the entire United States."

The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of calendar year 2017, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including obtaining required regulatory approvals. Additional terms were not disclosed.

Precision medicine diagnostics are intended to help guide personalized treatment, based on genomic, proteomic or other characteristics unique to the patient. Following the closing of the transaction, Quest Diagnostics and McKesson Specialty Health, with The Network and Texas Oncology, will collaborate on the development of standardized, evidence-based services for guiding treatment decisions within the electronic patient record and care plan workflow, building off a model spearheaded by Med Fusion. Quest expects to be able to offer versions of these services, once developed, to other providers in the United States with the goal to advance better cancer outcomes.

The center will complement Quest's existing centers of excellence in San Juan Capistrano and Valencia, California; Chantilly, Virginia; and Marlborough, Massachusetts. These laboratories generally specialize in advanced diagnostic services for marquee health systems and specialty physicians. In Texas, Quest Diagnostics also operates full-service laboratories in Irving and Houston.

Nearly 1.7 million people are expected to be diagnosed with cancer in the United States in 2017, according to the American Cancer Society.

Ziegler, a specialty investment bank, acted as the financial advisor to Med Fusion on the transaction.

Additional Executive Quotes

"The US Oncology Network will benefit from our collaboration with Quest Diagnostics, a leader in innovative oncology and genomic testing," said Kirk Kaminsky, president, The US Oncology Network and Practice Management, McKesson Specialty Health. "We're excited about the opportunity for enhanced access to advanced diagnostic tools for the community-based oncology practices that we support."

"Quest is well positioned to expand med fusion's vision, helping deliver precision medicine in an unrelenting environment of value improvement for patients, physicians and other stakeholders," said John McWhorter, chief operating officer at Baylor Scott & White Health.

"By joining forces with Quest Diagnostics, Med Fusion will speed the development and adoption of its novel framework for precision medicine diagnostics developed in recent years by our team," said Jon L. Hart, chief executive officer, Med Fusion. "This relationship has tremendous potential to generate value and better outcomes and care for cancer patients."

About Baylor Scott & White Health

Formed from the 2013 merger between Baylor Health Care System and Scott & White Healthcare, the system referred to as Baylor Scott & White Health is the largest not-for-profit health care system in the state of Texas. With total assets of $10.8 billion* and serving a population larger than the state of Georgia, Baylor Scott & White Health has the vision and resources to provide its patients continued quality care while creating a model system for a dramatically changing health care environment. The system now includes 48 hospitals, more than 1,000 access points, 5,500 active physicians, and 44,000 employees, plus the Scott & White Health Plan, Baylor Scott & White Research Institute and Baylor Scott & White Quality Alliance  a network of clinical providers and facilities focused on improving quality, managing the health of patient populations, and reducing the overall cost of care. For more information visit: bswhealth.com

* based on audited 2016 fiscal year statements

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics empowers people to take action to improve health outcomes. Derived from the world's largest database of clinical lab results, our diagnostic insights reveal new avenues to identify and treat disease, inspire healthy behaviors and improve health care management. Quest annually serves one in three adult Americans and half the physicians and hospitals in the United States, and our 43,000 employees understand that, in the right hands and with the right context, our diagnostic insights can inspire actions that transform lives. For more information, please visit www.QuestDiagnostics.com.

About Med Fusion

Headquartered in Lewisville, Texas, Med Fusion is an integrated, advanced diagnostics laboratory and clinical trials service organization providing support to a wide range of healthcare providers through a patient-centric support model. The company is positioned to introduce more targeted diagnostics, reduce episode of care costs and enhance healthcare delivery system efficiencies. Based in a 200,000 square foot facility, the company's full service clinical laboratory includes a dedicated staff of over 450 well-trained healthcare professionals, For more information, please visit www.medfusionservices.com.

About Clear Point

Clear Point serves healthcare providers with core and STAT laboratory testing and services, as well as certain advanced esoteric testing along with anatomic and reference tests through collaboration with Pathologists Bio-Medical Laboratories and Med Fusion. Clear Point optimizes patient care delivery through its focus on efficient turnaround of test results, specimen preservation and tracking protocols, and integrated information systems with highly accurate and detailed reports. For more information, please visit www.ClearPointlabs.com

About Texas Oncology

Texas Oncology delivers high-quality cancer care with leading-edge technology and advanced treatment and therapy options available to help patients achieve "More breakthroughs. More victories." in their fights against cancer. Texas Oncology, a pioneer in community-based cancer care, is an independent oncology practice with sites of service throughout Texas and southeastern Oklahoma. Texas Breast Specialists and Texas Urology Specialists, which focus on all areas of breast and urologic care, as well as Texas Center for Proton Therapy, are a part of Texas Oncology.



Texas Oncology patients have the opportunity to take part in some of the most promising clinical trials in the nation for a broad range of cancers. Texas Oncology is affiliated with US Oncology Research, which has played a role in nearly 60 FDA-approved cancer-fighting drugs, about one-third of all cancer therapies approved by the FDA to date.

Texas Oncology is a member of The US Oncology Network, one of the nation's largest community-based cancer treatment and research networks in America. For more information, visit www.TexasOncology.com.

Quest Contacts

Wendy Bost (Media): 973-520-2800

Shawn Bevec (Investors): 973-520-2900

SOURCE Quest Diagnostics

Related Links

http://www.questdiagnostics.com


MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Tender Offer

The Republic of Uruguay ("Uruguay") announced today the commencement of an offer to purchase for cash (the "Tender Offer") the bonds listed in the table below (the "Old Bonds") such that the aggregate Purchase Price to be paid for the Old Bonds tendered and accepted for purchase pursuant to the Tender Offer is equal to a maximum purchase amount to be determined by Uruguay in its sole discretion (the "Maximum Purchase Amount"). The terms and conditions of the Tender Offer are set forth in the offer to purchase, dated June 12, 2017 (the "Offer to Purchase"). Capitalized terms used but not defined herein have the meanings assigned to them in the Offer to Purchase (as defined below).

The Tender Offer is not conditioned upon any minimum participation of Old Bonds but is conditioned, among other things, on the pricing and closing of a new Peso-denominated bond of Uruguay due 2022 (the "New Bonds") in an amount, with pricing and on terms and conditions acceptable to Uruguay in its sole discretion to be priced on the date hereof (the "New Bonds Offering").

The tender period (the "Tender Period") will commence at 8:00 a.m., New York time, on Monday, June 12, 2017 and expire at 4:00 p.m., New York time, on the same day unless extended or earlier terminated. The settlement of the Tender Offer is scheduled to occur on Tuesday, June 20, 2017 (the "Tender Offer Settlement Date"). Following the settlement of the New Bonds Offering, the Billing and Delivering Bank (as defined herein) will purchase the Old Bonds accepted by Uruguay pursuant to the Tender Offer and pay a price per Ps. 1,000 nominal principal amount of such Old Bonds, as adjusted by the Adjustment UI factor (as defined below), equal to the fixed price indicated in the table below (the "Purchase Price"). Holders whose Old Bonds are accepted in the Tender Offer will also receive any accrued and unpaid interest on the Old Bonds as adjusted by the Adjustment UI Factor of 2.29657963 and an exchange rate of Ps. 28.217 to U.S.$1.00 (the "Accrued Interest") on these Old Bonds up to (but excluding) the Tender Offer Settlement Date. Accrued Interest will be payable in cash.



Old Bonds Outstanding Nominal Principal Amount as of Monday, June 12, 2017

ISIN

CUSIP Common Code Nominal Purchase Price (per Ps. 1,000 Nominal Principal Amount) 1 Purchase Price (%)













5.00% Global UI Bonds due 2018 Ps. 7,795,848,8062 US760942AT98 760942AT9 026799236 Ps. 1,018.00 101.8%

(1) The nominal principal amount of Old Bonds validly tendered and accepted will be adjusted by a factor (the "Adjustment UI Factor") to reflect the increase of the UI Index from the issuance date of the Old Bonds to the Settlement Date, which is expected to be June 20, 2017. As of the expected Settlement Date, the Adjustment UI Factor would be 2.29657963, which is the ratio of 3.6325, the value of the UI index at Settlement Date, over 1.5817, the value of the UI index at the time of the issuance of the Old Bonds. The Purchase Price shall be converted into U.S. dollars at an exchange rate of Ps. 28.217 to US$ 1.00. (2) The principal amount of the Old Bonds outstanding, as adjusted by the Adjustment UI Factor is Ps. 17,897,380,151 as of the date hereof.

During the Tender Period, a holder of Old Bonds may place orders to tender Old Bonds ("Tender Orders") only through one of the Dealer Managers (as defined below). Holders will NOT be able to submit tenders through Euroclear Bank S.A./N.V. ("Euroclear"), Clearstream Banking, societe anonyme ("Clearstream") or the Depository Trust Company ("DTC") systems. If a holder does not have an account with a Dealer Manager, such holder may place a tender offer through any broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company, other financial institution or other custodian that it customarily uses that has an account with a Dealer Manager. Your broker must contact one of the Dealer Managers to submit a Tender Order on your behalf.

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, as the billing and delivering bank for the Tender Offer (in such capacity, the "Billing and Delivering Bank"), will consolidate all Tender Orders and, upon instruction of Uruguay, accept Old Bonds for purchase pursuant to the Tender Offer, subject to proration as described in the Offer to Purchase, prior to 8:00 a.m., New York time, on Tuesday, June 13, 2017 or as soon as possible thereafter. Each of Uruguay and the Billing and Delivering Bank reserves the right, in the sole discretion of each of them, not to accept any Tender Orders for any reason. Tender Orders by a holder of Old Bonds must be (a) in the case of Preferred Tenders (as defined herein), in principal amounts of at least Ps. 1,000 and integral multiples of Ps. 1,000 in excess thereof or (b) in the case of Non-Preferred Tenders (as defined herein), in principal amounts of at least Ps. 1.00 and integral multiples of Ps. 1.00 in excess thereof ("Permitted Tender Amounts").

There is no letter of transmittal for the Tender Offer. If you hold Old Bonds through DTC, they must be delivered to the relevant Dealer Manager for settlement no later than 3:00 p.m., New York time, on the Tender Offer Settlement Date. If you hold Old Bonds through Euroclear or Clearstream, the latest process you can use to deliver your Old Bonds to the Billing and Delivering Bank is the overnight process, one day prior to the Tender Offer Settlement Date; you may not use the optional daylight process. Failure to deliver Old Bonds on time may result in any of the following (i) in the cancellation of your tender and in you becoming liable for any damages resulting from that failure, and/or (ii) in the delivery of a buy-in notice for the purchase of such Old Bonds, executed in accordance with customary brokerage practices for corporate fixed income securities, and/or (iii) in the case of Preferred Tender (as defined below), in the cancellation of your tender and in your remaining obligation to purchase your allocation of New Bonds in respect of your related order for New Bonds. Any holder whose tender is cancelled will not receive the Purchase Price or Accrued Interest. Holders will not have withdrawal rights with respect to any tenders of Old Bonds in the Tender Offer. Old Bonds accepted for purchase will be settled on a delivery versus payment basis with the Billing and Delivering Bank on the Tender Offer Settlement Date in accordance with customary brokerage practices for corporate fixed income securities.

To the extent the aggregate Purchase Price would exceed the Maximum Purchase Amount and proration occurs, preference will be given to Tender Orders ("Preferred Tenders") submitted by holders of Old Bonds who (i) place a firm bid for a principal amount of New Bonds equal to the aggregate Purchase Price of Old Bonds tendered in a preferred tender plus Accrued Interest divided by the issue price of the New Bonds (the "Tender Preference Amount") and (ii) specify at the time of submission of the Tender Order that such Tender Order is a preferred tender.

All Old Bonds that are tendered pursuant to Tender Orders placed through a Dealer Manager and are accepted by Uruguay will be purchased by the Billing and Delivering Bank in such amounts as Uruguay shall determine and subject to the terms and conditions of the Offer to Purchase. Only the Billing and Delivering Bank will be liable for the payment of the Purchase Price and Accrued Interest for Old Bonds validly tendered and accepted by Uruguay. Uruguay will not be liable under any circumstances for the payment of the Purchase Price and Accrued Interest for any Old Bonds tendered in the Tender Offer by any holder. The Billing and Delivery Bank shall only have the obligation to sell to Uruguay the Old Bonds validly tendered and accepted for purchase that the Billing and Delivery Bank has actually purchased pursuant to the Tender Offer on the Tender Offer Settlement Date. Tender Orders that are not for Permitted Tender Amounts will not be accepted.

The Tender Offer is subject to Uruguay's right, at its sole discretion and subject to applicable law, to instruct the Billing and Delivering Bank to extend, terminate, withdraw, or amend the Tender Offer at any time. Each of Uruguay and the Billing and Delivering Bank reserves the right, in the sole discretion of each of them, not to accept tenders for any reason.

The Offer to Purchase may be downloaded from the Information Agent's website at http://www.gbsc-usa.com/uruguay or obtained from the Information Agent, Global Bondholder Services Corporation, 65 Broadway  Suite 404, New York, New York 10006 (Tel. +1 (212) 430 3774, or toll free +1 (866) 807-2200) Attention: Corporate Actions, or from any of the Dealer Managers.

The Dealer Managers for the Tender Offer are:

BBVA SECURITIES INC. MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER &

SMITH INCORPORATED MORGAN STANLEY & CO. LLC. 1345 Avenue of the Americas, 44th Floor One Bryant Park 1585 Broadway New York, New York 10105 New York, New York 10036 New York, New York 10036 United States of America United States of America United States of America Attention: Liability Management Attention: Liability Management Attention: Liability Management Phone: +1 212 728-2446 In the United States, call toll free: +1 800-292-0070 In the United States, call toll free: +1 800-624-1808 [email protected] Outside the United States, call collect: +1 646-855-8988 Outside the United States, call collect: +1 212-761-1057

Questions regarding the Tender Offer may be directed to the Dealer Managers at the above contact.





Contact information: Global Bondholder Services Corporation

Attention: Corporate Actions

65 Broadway  Suite 404

New York, NY 10006

Banks and Brokers call: +1 (212) 430-3774 Toll free: +1 (866) 807-2200 website: http://www.gbsc-usa.com/uruguay/

Important Notice

The New Bonds Offering will be made solely by means of an offering memorandum relating to that offering, and this announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an order to buy any New Bonds. You may not participate in the New Bonds Offering unless you have received and reviewed the offering memorandum related to that offering, and not in reliance on, or on the basis of, this announce or the Offer to Purchase. The New Bonds will be offered only to qualified institutional buyers in accordance with Rule 144A and to non-U.S. persons outside the United States in reliance on Regulation S under the Securities Act, and will not be registered under the Securities Act or the securities laws of any other jurisdiction.

This announcement is not an offer to purchase or a solicitation of an offer to sell the Old Bonds. The Tender Offer will be made only by and pursuant to the terms of the Offer to Purchase, as may be amended or supplemented from time to time.

The distribution of materials relating to the New Bonds Offering and the Tender Offer, and the transactions contemplated by the New Bonds Offering and Tender Offer, may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions. Each of the New Bonds Offering and the Tender Offer is made only in those jurisdictions where it is legal to do so. The New Bonds Offering and the Tender are void in all jurisdictions where they are prohibited. If materials relating to the New Bonds Offering or the Tender Offer come into your possession, you are required to inform yourself of and to observe all of these restrictions. The materials relating to the New Bonds Offering and the Tender Offer do not constitute, and may not be used in connection with, an offer or solicitation in any place where offers or solicitations are not permitted by law. If a jurisdiction requires that the New Bonds Offering or the Tender Offer be made by a licensed broker or dealer and a Dealer Manager or any affiliate of a Dealer Manager is a licensed broker or dealer in that jurisdiction, the New Bonds Offering or the Tender Offer, as the case may be, shall be deemed to be made by the Dealer Manager or such affiliate in that jurisdiction. Owners who may lawfully participate in the Tender Offer in accordance with the terms thereof are referred to as "holders."

In any EEA Member State this communication is only addressed to and is only directed at qualified investors within the meaning of the Prospectus Directive.

The New Bonds are not authorized for public offering under the Austrian Capital Markets Act (Kapitalmarktgesetz) and no public offers or public sales or invitation to make such an offer may be made. No advertisements may be published and no marketing materials may be made available or distributed in Austria in respect of the New Bonds. A public offering of the securities in Austria without the prior publication of a prospectus in accordance with the Austrian Capital Market Act would constitute a criminal offense under Austrian law.

In the Bahamas, the New Bonds are being offered and sold only to Accredited Investors (as defined in the Securities Industry Regulations, 2012) and will be subject to the resale restrictions contained in Regulation 117. As a condition of the purchase of the New Bonds, each purchaser will be required to attest to the purchaser's status as an Accredited Investor acknowledging that the securities purchased are subject to restrictions on resale.

The New Bonds Offering does not constitute a public offering within the meaning of Article 3, 1 of the Belgian Law of June 16, 2006 on public offering of securities and admission of securities to trading on a regulated market (the " Prospectus Law "). The Tender Offer will not constitute a public offering within the meaning of Articles 3, 1, 1 and 6 of the Belgian Law of April 1, 2007 on takeover bids (the " Takeover Law "). The New Bonds Offering and the Tender Offer will be exclusively conducted under applicable private placement exemptions and have therefore not been, and will not be, notified to, and any offer material relating to the New Bonds Offering or the Tender Offer has not been, and will not be, approved by, the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (Autorite des services et marches financiers/Autoriteit voor Financiele Diensten en Markten). The New Bonds Offering as well as the New Bonds Offering materials may only be advertised, offered or distributed in any way, directly or indirectly, to any persons located and/or resident in Belgium who qualify as " Qualified Investors " as defined in Article 10, 1 of the Prospectus Law and who are acting for their own account, or in other circumstances which do not constitute a public offering in Belgium pursuant to the Prospectus Law. The Tender Offer as well as the Tender Offer materials may only be advertised, offered or distributed in any way, directly or indirectly, to any persons located and/or resident in Belgium who qualify as "Qualified Investors" as defined in Article 10, 1 of the Prospectus Law and as referred to in Article 6, 3, 1 of the Takeover Law, and who are acting for their own account, or in other circumstances which do not constitute a public offering in Belgium pursuant to the Takeover Law.

The New Bonds Offering and the Tender Offer have not been and will not be approved by the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority, as neither constitute a public offer in accordance with the Danish Securities Trading Act nor the Danish executive order on takeover bids.

No prospectus (including any amendment, supplement or replacement thereto) has been prepared in connection with the offering of the New Bonds that has been approved by the French Autorite des marches financiers or by the competent authority of another State that is a contracting party to the Agreement on the EEA and notified to the French Autorite des marches financiers and to Uruguay; neither the Tender Offer nor the New Notes have been offered or sold nor will be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, to the public in France; the materials relating to the New Notes have not been distributed or caused to be distributed and will not be distributed or caused to be distributed to the public in France; such offers, sales and distributions have been and shall only be made in France to qualified investors (investisseurs qualifies), as defined in Articles L. 4112 and D. 4111, of the French Code monetaire et financier who are investing for their own account and are not individuals. The direct or indirect distribution to the public in France of any so acquired New Notes may be made only as provided by Articles L. 4111, L. 4112, L. 4121 and L. 6218 to L. 62183 of the French Code monetaire et financier and applicable regulations thereunder. The other legal entities referred to in Articles L. 3412 1 and D. 3411 of the French Code monetaire et financier are eligible to participate in the Tender Offer. The Tender Offer has not been and will not be submitted to the clearance procedures (visa) of nor approved by the Autorite des marches financier.

No action has been or will be taken in the Federal Republic of Germany that would permit a public offering of the securities, or distribution of a prospectus or any other offer materials and that, in particular, no securities prospectus (Wertpapierprospekt) within the meaning of the German Securities Prospectus Act (Wertpapierprospektgesetz) of June 22, 2005, as amended (the " German Securities Prospectus Act "), has been or will be published within the Federal Republic of Germany. In Germany, the New Bonds may not be offered or sold other than to qualified investors within the meaning of  2(6) of the German Securities Prospectus Act.

With respect to persons in Hong Kong, the New Bonds Offering and the Tender Offer are only made to, and are only capable of acceptance by, professional investors within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) of Hong Kong (the "SFO") and any rules made thereunder ("professional investors"). No person or entity may issue or have in its possession for the purposes of issue, whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere, any advertisement, invitation or document relating to the New Bonds, Old Bonds or the Tender Offer, which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public in Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the securities laws of Hong Kong, including in circumstances which do not result in the document being a "prospectus" as defined in the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap. 32) of Hong Kong) other than with respect to Old Bonds which are or are intended to be tendered, or New Bonds which are intended to be purchased, only by persons outside Hong Kong or only by "professional investors" as defined in the SFO and any rules made under thereunder.

In Ireland, the New Bonds Offering and the Tender Offer are not being made, directly or indirectly, to the public in Ireland and no offers or sales of any securities under or in connection with the New Bonds Offering or the Tender Offer may be effected except in conformity with the provisions of Irish law including, but not limited to, (i) the Irish Companies Act 2014, (ii) the Prospectus (Directive 2003/71/EC) Regulations 2012 of Ireland, (iii) the European Communities (Markets & Financial Instruments) Regulations 2007 (as amended) of Ireland; and (iv) the Market Abuse (Directive 2003/6/EC) Regulations of Ireland (as amended).

In Italy, this announcement is only being distributed to and is only directed at, and the Tender Offer documents may only be distributed, directly or indirectly, to qualified investors.

In Luxembourg, this announcement has been prepared on the basis that the New Bond Offering and the Tender Offer will be made pursuant to an exemption under Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive from the requirement to produce a prospectus for offers of securities.

In the Netherlands, the New Bonds may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, other than to qualified investors (gekwalificeerde beleggers) within the meaning of Article 1:1 of the Dutch Financial Supervision Act (Wet op het financieel toezicht).

Neither the communication of this announcement nor any other offer material relating to the New Bonds Offering and the Tender Offer has been approved, by an authorized person for the purposes of section 21 of the UK Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. This announcement is only being distributed to and is only directed at (i) persons who are outside the United Kingdom or (ii) to investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (as so amended, the " Order ") or (iii) high net worth entities, and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling within Articles 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such other persons together being referred to as "relevant persons"). Any investment or investment activity to which this announcement relates is available only to relevant persons and will be engaged in only with relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this announcement or any of its contents.

* * *

ANY DISCLAIMERS OR OTHER NOTICES THAT MAY APPEAR AFTER THIS MESSAGE ARE NOT APPLICABLE TO THIS COMMUNICATION AND SHOULD BE DISREGARDED. SUCH DISCLAIMERS OR OTHER NOTICES WERE AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED AS A RESULT OF THIS COMMUNICATION BEING SENT VIA BLOOMBERG OR ANOTHER EMAIL SYSTEM.

SOURCE Republic of Uruguay
DAYTON, Ohio, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Reynolds and Reynolds Company today announced the release of the Reynolds LAW Alaska F&I Library, which is a comprehensive catalog of standardized, legally reviewed finance and insurance (F&I) documents for new car and truck dealers throughout the state of Alaska.

Jerry Kirwan, senior vice president and general manager of Reynolds Document Services, said: "The documents in the LAW Alaska F&I Library are designed to help streamline the car-buying process and enhance the consumer experience with the dealership."

"Using standard documents written in consumer-friendly language can help to create a clearer, more consistent, and more efficient F&I process for the F&I manager and for the consumer," he added. "Because of those improvements to the overall F&I process, the overall consumer experience with the dealership can be improved."

Kirwan also noted that because regulatory scrutiny is an ongoing concern for automotive retailers, the LAW Alaska F&I Library is a tool to help dealers meet compliance obligations and manage risk. The documents in the library are regularly reviewed for legal sufficiency with the latest automotive regulations by Reynolds' industry-leading forms specialists alongside Reynolds' outside legal partners.

The printed documents in the LAW Alaska F&I Library also are available in a digital format, which can help facilitate the conversion to laser-printed forms and e-contracting transactions. Reynolds Document Services maintains licensing agreements with all major providers of electronic F&I (e-F&I) solutions.

About Reynolds LAW Brand Documents

The Reynolds LAW brand is well established as one of the most trusted brands in the automotive industry. LAW documents have been endorsed by a number of state automobile dealers associations and leading automotive finance institutions. LAW documents are available in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

The flagship product of the LAW brand is the Reynolds LAW 553 Universal Retail Installment Sale Contract, which is the most widely accepted document in auto finance. The Reynolds LAW 553 is regularly reviewed by industry experts to help keep pace with new legislative and regulatory developments. Dealers who use the LAW 553 find they can use one contract to finance dealers through multiple lending institutions.

About Reynolds Document Services

In 1866, Reynolds and Reynolds was founded as a business forms printer. Since the 1920s, Reynolds has been known as the leader in serving automobile dealerships nationwide with standard and custom business forms. Today, Reynolds Document Services carries on the company's 150-year forms legacy by delivering a wide range of printed and electronic business documents, branding services, and dealership supplies that help dealers brand their retail enterprise, manage compliance risk, and improve operational efficiencies.

About Reynolds

Reynolds and Reynolds is a leading provider of automobile dealership software, services, and forms to help dealerships deliver better business results and transform the customer experience. (www.reyrey.com)

SOURCE The Reynolds and Reynolds Company

Related Links

http://www.reyrey.com


NEW YORK and SYDNEY, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ROKT today announced the conclusion of a US$26 million Series "B" funding round, led by Moelis Australia Ltd. (ASX: MOE). John Ho, Lachlan Murdoch, Greg Roebuck, Square Peg Capital and Time Inc. (NYSE: TIME) also participated in this investment.

ROKT's "B" round consisted of US$15 million, announced in February 2017, and a further US$11 million investment just made by existing investors. The investment process was structured this way to facilitate ROKT's acquisition of strategic assets to broaden its offering as well as accelerate the company's global growth. Reflective of that was ROKT's acquisition of CalReply, completed shortly as part of the February 2017 Installment of the "B" round.

"All of us at ROKT are appreciative of this latest vote of confidence from our investors," said Bruce Buchanan, ROKT's Chairman and CEO. "It serves to further step up our efforts, sharpen our focus and continue to execute flawlessly at the intersection of digital marketing and e-commerce."

Along with acquiring CalReply, the largest and fastest growing provider of calendar marketing solutions, ROKT has added depth to its management ranks, notably managing directors to spearhead expansion in the EMEA and APAC regions, increased headcount in all parts of the company, and advanced its technology platform to deliver more and better results for advertisers and e-commerce partners in the company's global network.

"Working with the ROKT team continues to be an immensely positive experience," said Ben Wong, a Managing Director at Moelis Australia. "We are pleased to have added further support to ROKT as it brings more benefits to more advertisers and e-commerce businesses across the globe."

ROKT helps to achieve better e-commerce results by improving customer engagements and delivering meaningful native monetization for such brands as eBay, Ticketmaster, Live Nation, Gumtree, AXS, Dominos and Kogan, among others. It also works with thousands of performance marketers focused on acquiring large numbers of new customers at the point of transaction.

"This US$26 million funding round is one of the biggest this year for an Australian company," said Tushar Roy, a Square Peg Partner. "It represents more than investor confidence in the company. It serves as a reaffirmation of our belief that ROKT will persist to gather speed along its path to becoming a company that profoundly changes the way brands acquire and convert customers worldwide."

About ROKT

ROKT sits at the intersection of digital media and commerce. The company brings significant benefits to e-commerce operators by applying its algorithmic engine to optimize customers' journeys as well as monetize underutilized portions of their websites. ROKT uses its unique position in the customer journey and set of capabilities to help performance marketers engage with and acquire customers at scale when they're most receptive, just as they've made an online transaction from a trusted brand.

ROKT has offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland and Singapore. For more information, please email [email protected] or visit ROKT.com.

About Moelis Australia

Moelis Australia is a fully integrated financial services group that operates through its' two business segments: Corporate Advisory, Equities and Asset Management. Moelis Australia was established with a philosophy to offer unbiased advice of the highest quality to its clients. This philosophy is fostered through an exclusive global alliance with New York Stock Exchange listed global investment bank, Moelis & Company (NYSE: MC).

Since its establishment in 2009, Moelis Australia has advised on corporate transactions with a value in excess of $72 billion, raised over $5.7 billion in capital for clients and now manages in excess of $1.9 billion in assets under management. For further information, please visit: https://moelisaustralia.com.au.

About Square Peg

Square Peg Capital is a venture capital firm that invests in outstanding teams building tomorrow's technology leaders. Its investing activities focus on Australia and New Zealand, South East Asia and Israel. For more information please visit. www.squarepegcap.com.

SOURCE ROKT

Related Links

http://www.rokt.com


BETHESDA, Md., June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- SANS Institute, the global leader in information security training, today announced cyber security expert and San Antonio, Texas resident Keith Palmgren will teach his popular SEC301: Intro to Information Security course at SANS San Antonio 2017 taking place August 6 - 11. The SANS' SEC301 course is a unique five day, hands-on immersive deep-dive designed to help those interested in cyber security to get up to speed very quickly.

According to Palmgren, author of the SEC301 course, "Everyone is born with the same knowledge of computers, networks, and security - which is absolutely nothing. Therefore, we must all begin with the basics. The SANS SEC301 course is unique among introductory cyber security courses in that it makes very few assumptions about prior knowledge; we explain every term, acronym and concept completely and thoroughly. After five intense days of in-depth explanations and hands-on labs, students leave the classroom with a very solid understanding of essential security concepts, networking, cryptography, and the myriad of cyber security technologies used to secure a network. Students also have the opportunity to take the highly coveted GISF certification exam to prove to the world that they know the material covered in SEC301."

To learn more about SANS SEC301: Intro to Information Security, please visit: www.sans.org/u/sEM

SANS San Antonio 2017 will feature courses for all skill levels as well as bonus evening discussions addressing today's biggest cyber threats. For more seasoned security professionals, SANS will offer its SEC504: Hacker Tools, Techniques, Exploits, and Incident Handling, SEC560: Network Penetration Testing and Ethical Hacking, FOR578: Cyber Threat Intelligence and MGT512: SANS Security Leadership Essentials for Managers with Knowledge Compression courses.

For a complete list of courses, instructors, details on the bonus evening discussions, or to register for SANS San Antonio 2017, please visit: www.sans.org/u/sER

About SANS Institute

The SANS Institute was established in 1989 as a cooperative research and education organization. SANS is the most trusted and, by far, the largest provider of cybersecurity training and certification to professionals at governments and commercial institutions world-wide. Renowned SANS instructors teach over 50 different courses at more than 200 live cybersecurity training events as well as online. GIAC, an affiliate of the SANS Institute, validates employee qualifications via 30 hands-on, technical certifications in information security. The SANS Technology Institute, a regionally accredited independent subsidiary, offers master's degrees in cyber security. SANS offers a myriad of free resources to the InfoSec community including consensus projects, research reports, and newsletters; it also operates the Internet's early warning system--the Internet Storm Center. At the heart of SANS are the many security practitioners, representing varied global organizations from corporations to universities, working together to help the entire information security community. (www.SANS.org)

SOURCE SANS Institute

Related Links

http://www.sans.org


NEW YORK CITY, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The time may finally be at hand for technology to disrupt the long-standing real estate brokerage model. With the launch of REALICITY  a new, breakthrough realty company built specifically for the needs of property sellers  the days of lofty Realtor commissions could soon be a thing of the past. REALICITY combines professional, local Realtor experience with cutting-edge technology to enable home sellers to save tens of thousands of dollars by paying a low flat fee instead of the traditional 6 percent commission.

Unlike previous efforts to disrupt the real estate industry, timing appears to be on REALICITY's side. As consumers have grown comfortable using mainstream technology platforms and apps like Uber, Airbnb and Etsy to make their lives simpler and better, homeowners  particularly GenXers and Millennials  almost expect there to be a more transparent, efficient and cost-effective way to sell their homes.

Once sellers connect via the website or phone, REALICITY starts with an expert, in-person consultation and home walk-through to determine pricing, devise a sales strategy, plan staging and recommend any prudent improvements. Then, REALICITY's marketing engine kicks into high gear. Its team produces an immersive, 3D virtual tour of the property  providing 24/7 visibility to prospective buyers and eliminating voyeuristic tire-kickers. It adds high-resolution photos to go along with floor plans and a professional property description. Next, the home is listed on over 2,000 real estate websites, including the local MLS and listing portal powerhouses such as Realtor.com, Zillow, Trulia, StreetEasy and even major international and relevant hyper-local sites to generate maximum exposure among potential buyers.

To capitalize on the elevated consumer expectations of our digital age, REALICITY has taken the customer experience to a whole new level. Underpinned by its powerful and elegant technology platform, REALICITY's online dashboard not only provides a simple way for sellers to schedule home showings at their convenience, it also solves a real pain-point by providing full, real-time transparency to offers from all prospective buyers. Sellers are able to communicate directly and anonymously with prospective buyers right from their desktop or mobile device.

First, prospective buyers can use the intuitive online platform to pick from the available showing times set by the seller. Then, the seller shows the property and shares deep knowledge of its key benefits with prospective buyers. Should a seller prefer not to personally show the property, a REALICITY agent will handle the showings. And serious prospective buyers can make offers remotely without ever physically visiting the property. Offers are submitted in real-time directly to the seller through the online dashboard. The seller can immediately compare and counter offers or accept with a click of a button. The real-time capability means no more waiting for important news to (hopefully) go through third-party intermediaries. Finally, the closing is initiated electronically immediately upon offer acceptance. From the initial pricing and staging consultation all the way through negotiations and closing, REALICITY agents are available to provide support whenever the seller needs it  they can be as "hands-on" or "hands-off" as the seller wants.

As part of its planned nationwide rollout, REALICITY is starting in the fast-paced, high-stakes New York City market, where the average home value according to the Real Estate Board of New York is $1.02 million across all five boroughs and $2.15 million in Manhattan. That means the avoidance of a 6 percent commission on the average million dollar property can result in an extra $50,000+ in the seller's pocket  and nearly $120,000 for the typical Manhattanite  once the $9,900 fee is paid to REALICITY. And, because the fee is only paid after a successful closing, there's no risk to sellers.

In addition to empowering consumers to save, REALICITY is a benefit corporation. Co-founders Philip Askeroth and Jacques-Philippe Piverger started the company with a mission to "do well by doing good." As both share a passion for the environment, the company is committed to making a positive ecological impact in the communities in which it operates. To that end, the company will plant a tree for every transaction and will also support urban farming in inner cities to provide fresh, organic vegetables and fruits to residents who don't have easy access to them.

On the business side, both founders bring deep industry expertise to REALICITY. Askeroth, a former broker turned innovator, has over a decade of experience in the commercial and residential real estate markets of New York City and beyond. Having overseen more than a thousand transactions, he has an intimate understanding of the industry and deep consumer insights around the historical pain-points of the traditional real estate model. A Georgetown and Dartmouth alum, Piverger brings a dynamic entrepreneurial sensibility with boundless empathy. During his former tenure as director at Pine Bridge Investments, he participated in over $10 billion of real estate and private equity transactions. As a founder of MPOWERED, Inc., The Soleil Group and The Council for Urban Professionals, Piverger has blurred the line between philanthropist and entrepreneur, and is well known for his history of generating positive social responsibility impact.

As Askeroth looks for ways to improve the business operating model, he observed that, "Traditional Realtors provide a full range of services to help people sell their home, but often the more expensive listings under an agent's purview command the greatest share of a Realtor's attention, given that's precisely what the 6 percent commission model rewards."

Piverger added that, "Sellers don't have full transparency to all potential buyers and they don't always hear about offers right away. Furthermore, they often feel overcharged having to hand over a huge five- or six-figure commission check, regardless of how much work the Realtor actually put into the sale."

REALICITY solves these issues by offering a differentiated, world-class marketing approach combined with a tech platform enabling full transparency and real-time communications with potential buyers. Askeroth continued, "We built REALICITY specifically for homeowners to finally provide them with a more cost-effective way to sell their homes. For just a low fixed fee of $9,900, our expert agents help from sales consultation to closing and our powerful yet simple technology platform solves the transparency issues inherent in the traditional brokerage model. Sellers can now see offers from all prospective buyers in real-time and take action as relevant. REALICITY's role is to serve as a trusted partner, and we put the power of the broker where it belongs  right into the hands of the seller."

Piverger added, "REALICITY's entire process is designed to make it easier for buyers and sellers to find each other and do business." In fact, both sellers and buyers can benefit since a seller may be willing to sell for a lower price knowing there won't be a huge 6 percent commission skimmed off the final selling price. In effect, by selling with REALICITY, the homeowner keeps significantly more of the profits from the sale versus the traditional Realtor model and the buyer can secure the home for less money  making both winners in the transaction.

Piverger continued, "In much the same way that Etsy lets makers connect with customers and Airbnb lets travelers find places to stay, REALICITY liberates the home-selling process, and lets sellers keep a lot more from the sale of their own home. To us, it just makes sense."

Apart from the Founders' unabashed enthusiasm, the proof is really with the customers who've already sold their home through REALICITY. Geovanni Rey, a recent seller, had this to say: "The REALICITY team was highly professional. They came by and did everything I'd expect a top-of-the-line real estate agent to do. They were easy to work with, did a great job marketing my home and it sold in less than three weeks for over my asking price. I saved tens of thousands of dollars versus working with a traditional realty brokerage and would definitely recommend REALICITY to my friends and family!"

The time for real estate digital disruption is finally here. And, for New Yorkers looking to sell their homes, now may be a good time to start thinking about how best to spend their newly found $50,000+!

For more information, visit http://realicity.com/.

ABOUT REALICITY

REALICITY is a benefit corporation that provides a breakthrough new realty service focused only on sellers. We combine professional Realtor expertise with state-of-the-art technology to help you sell your home fast and leave those expensive 6 percent commissions behind. We partner with you to provide a personalized home consultation, world-class marketing support and a simple yet powerful online dashboard that allows for easy scheduling of showings and fully transparent, real-time updates from all potential buyersright from your desktop or mobile device. As offers come in, we're always there as a trusted advisor to help with negotiations and closing. Best of all, you get it all for a low, flat fee while you and REALICITY help support tree planting and urban farming in your community. Learn more at Realicity.com, email [email protected], or call (212) 634-4556.

MEDIA CONTACT

Martin Stein

[email protected]

Orca Communications

SOURCE REALICITY

Related Links

http://www.realicity.com


WASHINGTON, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Convention of States proudly announces that former U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (SC) has officially come on board as a Senior Advisor. His extensive experience in Washington gives him first-hand knowledge of the near-impossible task of making significant changes from within the federal government.

"I tried to rein in Washington from inside the House and Senate, then by starting the Senate Conservatives Fund to elect good conservatives, and finally as President of the Heritage Foundation, creating and promoting good, conservative policy. But once I realized that Washington will never willingly return decision-making power back to the American people and the states, I began to search for another way to restrain the federal government," said DeMint. "I am excited to get outside the beltway and work with the grassroots of the Convention of States Project to continue the fight I started almost two decades ago."

"The time is now for bold action to save America, and Jim DeMint knows how to fight the opposition to do what is best for Nation and the People," said Mark Meckler, Co-founder of the Convention of States Project. "He is a principled legislative leader and a friend of the grassroots, which makes his addition to the Convention of States Project a natural fit."

For nearly two decades, DeMint made a name for himself in Washington fighting for freedom, limited government and fiscal responsibility. Like former Senator Tom Coburn, also a Senior Advisor with the Convention of States Project, DeMint was known throughout our nation's capital for his refusal to become another Washington insider.

"The Founders' vision was never to surrender sovereignty, yet the people have been willing for more than half a century to hand over their liberty for the carrots of big government," said Meckler. "The slow-creep of waste, fraud, abuse and selfish interests, along with unfathomable debt, has made citizens frustrated with all branches and departments of the federal government. The Convention of States is the constitutional, viable solution the Founders gave us for exactly this moment."

Twelve states have passed the Convention of States resolution calling for fiscal restraint, limiting the size, scope and jurisdiction of the federal government, and term limits on federal officials, such as judges.

Momentum continues to build as constitutional thought leaders, statesmen and experts urge citizens and state legislators to use this constitutional tool before it is too late. Endorsers of the Convention of States include Mark Levin, Sean Hannity, American economist Thomas Sowell, Sheriff David Clarke, Lt. Bill Cowan, historian David Barton, Ben Carson, M.D., Ken Cuccinelli, Senator Marco Rubio, Senator Ron Johnson, retired U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, retired U.S. Senator Jim DeMint, South Carolina Congressman Jeff Duncan, former Gov. Jeb Bush, former Gov. Mike Huckabee, former Gov. Sarah Palin, Gov. John Kasich, former Gov. Bobby Jindal, Gov. Greg Abbot, and Col. Allen West.

About the Convention of States Project

The Convention of States Project is currently organized in all 50 states, including over two million volunteers, supporters and advocates committed to stopping the federal government's abuse of power. Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Indiana, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arizona, North Dakota, Missouri and Texas have passed the Convention of States resolution since the Project's founding in 2013. Virginia hosted the first-ever Simulated Article V Convention of States in the fall of 2016. The 2017 legislative session has included 32 states considering the Convention of States resolution. For more information visit www.ConventionofStates.com.

SOURCE Convention of States Project

Related Links

http://www.ConventionofStates.com


"Our new partnership with Instacart is yet another example of how Stop & Shop is continuously searching for ways to serve our shoppers, helping them to save money, save time and eat well," said Mark McGowan, President of Stop & Shop. "With Instacart, we are adding to our pick-up, self-checkout and other options to bring convenience to a new level."

"Instacart has always been about bringing customers' favorite stores directly to their doors," said Nilam Ganenthiran, Instacart's Chief Business Officer. "Stop & Shop is loved by its customers and we are excited to bring added convenience to them."

About Stop & Shop

The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company LLC employs over 61,000 associates and operates 419 stores throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey. The company helps support local communities fight hunger, combat childhood cancer and promote general health and wellness - with emphasis on children's educational and support programs. In its commitment to be a sustainable company, Stop & Shop is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council and EPA's Smart Way program and has been recognized by the EPA for the superior energy management of its stores. Stop & Shop is an Ahold Delhaize company. To learn more about Stop & Shop, visit www.stopandshop.com.

About Instacart

Instacart helps people cross grocery shopping off their to-do lists with just a few clicks. Customers use the Instacart website or app to fill their virtual shopping cart with items from their favorite, local stores and Instacart connects them with shoppers who hand pick the items and deliver them straight to their door. Founded in San Francisco in 2012, Instacart has quickly scaled to over 60 markets nationwide and partnered with retailers across the United States, including popular national chains as well as local, regional grocers. By combining a personal touch with cutting-edge technology, Instacart offers customers a simple solution to save time and eat fresh food from the most trusted grocery brands. Instacart is the only grocery service that can meet today's on-demand lifestyle by delivering in as little as one hour. First delivery is free at www.instacart.com.

SOURCE Instacart

Related Links

http://www.instacart.com


NEW YORK, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Missouri's sixth trial involving Johnson & Johnson's talcum powder products and their alleged association with ovarian cancer is now underway in the 22nd Circuit Court in St. Louis. During opening statements last Friday, attorneys for three women who died of the disease asserted that the healthcare products giant continued to market its talc-based powders, even as it was aware of mounting scientific evidence linking genital talc use to ovarian cancer. They also accused Johnson & Johnson of specifically marketing its Baby Powder and Shower-to-Shower franchises to African-American women, though some research suggested that they were more susceptible to the disease. (Case No. 1422-CC09326-01)

"Our Firm is representing numerous women and their families who have put forth similar allegations in their talcum powder lawsuits. We will be monitoring this trial closely, as it could provide insight into how other juries might rule in similar claims," says Sandy A. Liebhard, a partner at Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationwide law firm representing victims of defective medical devices, drugs and consumer products. The Firm is offering free legal reviews to women who were diagnosed with ovarian cancer that may be associated with Johnson & Johnson's talc-based powders.

Talcum Powder Verdicts

The talcum powder lawsuits currently at trial in Missouri were all filed on behalf of women who had allegedly incorporated Johnson & Johnson's Baby Powder and Shower-to-Shower products into their daily feminine hygiene routine for more than 25 years. All were allegedly found to have talc in their ovaries.

Johnson & Johnson is named a defendant in more than 3,000 talcum powder lawsuits nationwide, all of which were filed on behalf of women who allegedly developed ovarian cancer following the regular and repeated use of the company's talc-based powders for feminine hygiene purposes. More than 1,000 claims have been centralized in Missouri's 22nd Circuit Court, where four other talcum powder plaintiffs have already been awarded compensatory and punitive damages ranging from $55 million to $110 million. Johnson & Johnson has prevailed in just one trial.

Women who were diagnosed with ovarian cancer following the long-term use of talc-based powder for feminine hygiene purposes may be eligible to file their own talcum powder lawsuit. To learn more, please visit Bernstein Liebhard LLP's website, or call 800-511-5092 to arrange for a free, no obligation case review.

About Bernstein Liebhard LLP

Bernstein Liebhard LLP is a New York-based law firm exclusively representing injured persons in complex individual and class action lawsuits nationwide since 1993. As a national law firm, Bernstein Liebhard LLP possesses all of the legal and financial resources required to successfully challenge billion dollar pharmaceutical and medical device companies. As a result, our attorneys and legal staff have been able to recover more than $3.5 billion on behalf of our clients. Bernstein Liebhard LLP is honored to once again be named to The National Law Journal's "Plaintiffs' Hot List," recognizing the top plaintiffs firms in the country. This year's nomination marks the thirteenth year the firm has been named to this prestigious annual list.

Bernstein Liebhard LLP

10 East 40th Street

New York, New York 10016

800-511-5092

ATTORNEY ADVERTISING.  2017 Bernstein Liebhard LLP. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Bernstein Liebhard LLP, 10 East 40th Street, New York, New York 10016, 800-511-5092. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter.

Contact Information:

Sandy A. Liebhard, Esq.

Bernstein Liebhard LLP

info (at)consumerinjurylawyers(dot)com

http://www.rxinjuryhelp.com/

https://plus.google.com/115936073311125306742?rel=author

SOURCE Bernstein Liebhard LLP

Related Links

http://www.bernlieb.com


NEW YORK and MUMBAI, India, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS), a leading global IT services, consulting and business solutions organization, today announced a new collaboration with Intel Corporation to build a "future ready reference architecture" for the Internet of Things (IoT), Cloud, network, 5G, AI, and data center infrastructure management, helping to meet the rapidly evolving digital transformation requirements of global markets.

The collaboration will enable the development of solutions based on Intel's technologies such as Intel Xeon Processors, 7th-Gen Intel Core processors, Intel Optane SSDs, Intel Xeon Phi processors, and Intel Omni-Path Technology, as well as Intel solutions including Intel Rack Scale Design, network function virtualization (NFV), and artificial intelligence. Coupled with TCS' full services digital expertise, the collaboration will deliver business value by advancing customers' data centers and end-to-end IoT solutions such as edge devices, operating systems, storage, analytics, end-point devices, and networking infrastructure investments.

TCS and Intel are also investing in Centers of Excellence (CoE) in the US and India, which will be hubs for next generation datacenter technologies, IoT and cloud-ready network architectures to support customers. The COEs will address industry-specific challenges in IoT to optimize costs, improve productivity and increase customers' revenue. In addition, TCS and Intel will design cloud-ready network architectures to help businesses build agile and cost effective infrastructure through software-defined networking, software-defined infrastructure and NFV.

"The collaboration with TCS marks a milestone for our continued efforts to enable customers and the industry with services and technologies for digital transformation," said Shannon Poulin, Vice President, Intel Sales and Marketing Group. "Using the combination of TCS capabilities and Intel technologies, the collaboration allows us to offer advanced ready-to-use solutions and reference architectures across the network, cloud and client. The Centers of Excellence will also provide on-the-ground solution testing, verification and development support for customers in the US and India."

"TCS is committed to delivering innovative solutions that provide customers an edge over competition and steer their businesses toward a more efficient digital future," said Raman Venkatraman, Global Head of Alliances and Technology Unit, TCS. "The collaboration with Intel will enable us to create market-ready solutions for digital transformations, while reducing time and cost."

The combined abilities and deep expertise of TCS and Intel are expected to provide high-value offerings and data center solutions that improve performance, speed, reliability, and flexibility that meet the demands of data-intense applications and support next-generation business models.

About Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS):

Tata Consultancy Services is an IT services, consulting and business solutions organization that delivers real results to global business, ensuring a level of certainty no other firm can match. TCS offers a consulting-led, integrated portfolio of IT, BPS, infrastructure, engineering and assurance services. This is delivered through its unique Global Network Delivery Model, recognized as the benchmark of excellence in software development. A part of the Tata group, India's largest industrial conglomerate, TCS has over 387,000 of the world's best-trained consultants in 45 countries. The company generated consolidated revenues of US $17.6 billion for year ended March 31, 2017 and is listed on the BSE (formerly Bombay Stock Exchange) and the NSE (National Stock Exchange) in India. For more information, visit us at www.tcs.com

To stay up-to-date on TCS news in North America, follow @TCS_NA. For TCS global news, follow @TCS_News.

*Intel, Xeon, Core, Intel Optane and Intel Xeon Phi are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.

SOURCE Tata Consultancy Services

Related Links

http://www.tcs.com


NAPA, Calif., June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Doctors Company, the nation's largest physician-owned medical malpractice insurer, announced today that it has paid over $50 million in Tribute Plan awards over the past decade to its members. Tribute was the first national plan to reward retiring doctors for their loyalty and commitment to superior patient care and has grown to be the largest plan in the industry.

Over the last 10 years, more than 5,800 Tribute awards have been paid. To date, the highest award is $139,599 and the largest balance is $239,414.

"No other medical malpractice insurer provides rewards of this magnitude," said Richard E. Anderson, MD, FACP, chairman and CEO of The Doctors Company. "The Tribute Plan demonstrates our commitment to recognizing careers spent practicing good medicine and is one of the many ways we take the mal out of malpractice insurance."

Among those who have benefitted is Richard F. Timmons, MD, FACP, formerly with Diagnostic Clinic Medical Group in Largo, Florida.

"Imagine my delight upon receiving the Tribute Plan award from The Doctors Company at my retirement from active practice," Dr. Timmons said. "It certainly attests to the organization's mission to protect, defend, recognize, and reward its members for loyalty and commitment to professional excellence. I salute The Doctors Company for its dedication to its mission and for its professionalism, which I experienced over many years as the former medical director of a multispecialty group."

The Doctors Company's financial strength, with over $4 billion in assets, allows the company to offer the plan as a long-term benefit.

"The Tribute Plan has been invaluable to our growth in membership with The Doctors Company," said Mike Grady, president and founder of Grady Professional Services, an independent insurance agency in West Palm Beach, Florida. "Since Tribute's inception in 2007, our agency membership with The Doctors Company has increased more than 100 percent. We look forward to another 10 years of growth in our clientele through the physician market leader in professional liabilityThe Doctors Companyas they continue to relentlessly defend, protect, and reward the practice of good medicine to our joint client members."

About The Doctors Company

Founded and led by physicians, The Doctors Company ( www.thedoctors.com ) is relentlessly committed to advancing, protecting, and rewarding the practice of good medicine. The Doctors Company takes the mal out of malpractice insurance by helping practices of all sizes manage the complexities of today's healthcare environmentwith expert guidance, resources, and coverage. The Doctors Company is the nation's largest physician-owned medical malpractice insurer, with 79,000 members and over $4 billion in assets, and is rated A by A.M. Best Company and Fitch Ratings. To learn more about data-driven insights and to stay up to date on industry trends, follow and subscribe to The Doctors Company on Twitter ( @doctorscompany ), YouTube , LinkedIn , Facebook , and Google+ .

SOURCE The Doctors Company

Related Links

http://www.thedoctors.com


NEW YORK, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF) today launched the Clinician Input Study in Parkinson's Disease (CIS-PD), a new initiative to gather and assess data through the Fox Wearable Companion mobile application to inform Parkinson's disease (PD) treatment and care.

The Fox Wearable Companion application, developed by Intel, will collect movement data and patient-reported information every day for six months from people with Parkinson's. As part of the CIS-PD study, participating clinicians will compare data from the application with their own in-person assessments during patients' visits.

"Mobile technology has the potential to provide unprecedented insights into the lived experience of Parkinson's disease," says Sohini Chowdhury, deputy CEO at MJFF. "CIS-PD aims to speed development of tools to easily and objectively track Parkinson's, and mobile data can give a deeper understanding of therapeutic impact in both clinical and research settings."

Advancing the Use of Technology in Patient Care

CIS-PD is led by clinicians from four clinical trial centers: Northwestern University, IL; The University of Rochester, NY; The University of Alabama at Birmingham; and The University of Cincinnati, OH.

Participating clinicians will enroll a total of 50 people with Parkinson's who have iPhones, and pair an Apple watch to their devices. For six months, the Fox Wearable Companion application will collect movement data from the watch and direct patients to manually enter information on their symptoms and experience with the disease outside of the clinic.

A dashboard tool will chart each individual's medication adherence, symptom severity, daily activity level and nighttime movement. During study visits, clinicians will compare their observations to the data collected in the application and patients' reported experiences. In doing so, clinicians can assess the accuracy and utility of mobile data in clinical practice.

"People with Parkinson's see their clinicians for a snapshot of time, on a few occasions each year," says Tanya Simuni, MD, director of the Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Program at Northwestern University and CIS-PD lead investigator. "The Clinician Input Study can help substantiate the supplemental use of digital platforms to provide critical disease insights, individualize care and improve treatment plans."

Technology Empowers Patients and Drives Research

Over the course of the study, the Intel team will work with participating clinicians to make iterative improvements to the dashboard tool, ensuring the most useful information is captured.

"Technology makes it easier to collect valuable information from people as they live their daily lives," says Chen Admati, advanced analytics manager at Intel. "Data collected through the Fox Wearable Companion application holds the power to improve patient care, and help create and refine analytical tools to speed scientific discovery."

As part of MJFF's commitment to advancing field-wide developments, all CIS-PD data will be de-identified and made available to qualified Parkinson's researchers at the conclusion of the study.

About The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research

As the world's largest nonprofit funder of Parkinson's research, The Michael J. Fox Foundation is dedicated to accelerating a cure for Parkinson's disease and improved therapies for those living with the condition today. The Foundation pursues its goals through an aggressively funded, highly targeted research program coupled with active global engagement of scientists, Parkinson's patients, business leaders, clinical trial participants, donors and volunteers. In addition to funding more than $700 million in research to date, the Foundation has fundamentally altered the trajectory of progress toward a cure. Operating at the hub of worldwide Parkinson's research, the Foundation forges groundbreaking collaborations with industry leaders, academic scientists and government research funders; increases the flow of participants into Parkinson's disease clinical trials with its online tool, Fox Trial Finder; promotes Parkinson's awareness through high-profile advocacy, events and outreach; and coordinates the grassroots involvement of thousands of Team Fox members around the world.

For more information, visit us on the Web , Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest.

SOURCE The Michael J. Fox Foundation

Related Links

http://www.michaeljfox.org/


NEW YORK, June 11, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Sunday afternoon, June 11, 2017, thousands of anti-Zionist Orthodox Jews from the tri-state area held a mass rally in Brooklyn's Barclays Center to protest the Israeli draft law and recent police attacks on Jerusalem's community of objectors.



"The Israeli government claims that their country is free and democratic, they pretend to be a safe haven for the Jewish people and to represent them all, but actually they are trampling on the religious rights of a large community of hundreds of thousands of Orthodox Jews, rights that would be recognized in any other country in the world," said Yirmiyahu Cohen, a participant in the rally. "They are attempting to destroy traditional Judaism and silence the religious struggle against Zionism. The UN has resolved that all countries should not force conscientious objectors to serve in their armies.

"The anti-Zionist religious communities in the State of Israel have long been opposed to the Israeli state, its army and the actions carried out by the army.They believe, as we do, that the Jewish people is currently in exile and are forbidden to have their own state or to wage wars against any other nation. This is in addition to their objection to the ongoing immoral behavior of the Israeli army.Yet the Israeli government has always officially required religious boys to serve, only allowing them an exemption while they are full-time students in a yeshiva. In 2014, they passed new legislation removing even that exemption.

"For the first few years, until 2020, they say they will not actually enforce the law. They call this the period of adjustment. The Israeli government has taken a clever approach. They know they cannot upend decades of staunch opposition to the army with a stroke of the pen. Since the passing of the draft law, they have been working quietly to recruit as many Orthodox yeshiva students into the army as possible, using various bureaucratic tactics. They hope that by the time the quotas are enforced, we will be used to the idea of young men with yarmulkas, tzitzis, beards and sidelocks wearing army uniforms with rifles. Therefore our communities in the Holy Land have decided that they must fight tooth and nail for every single recruit. We will not let the principles of Judaism be slowly eroded before our eyes.

"That is why recently, the anti-Zionist community has begun a policy of publicly denouncing any young man who dares to walk through the streets of their neighborhoods wearing Orthodox trappings together with an army uniform. The Israeli police have responded to this legitimate exercise of free speech with violence and brutality. Every week, they march into the heart of Orthodox neighborhoods and beat and arrest people left and right, including children."

"It is commonly believed that the State of Israel commits violations of human rights only against its non-Jewish neighbors, under the pretense of bringing greater security for Jews," said Rabbi Aron Jacobowitz, a spokesman for the rally. The truth, however, is that they oppose authentic religious Jews who refuse to follow their ideology just as much as they oppose others. To achieve their goal of make us into Zionists, they are oppressing us, expecting us to break down, give up and join them.

"These operations are yet another proof that the state, its spokesmen and actions do not represent the Jewish people. The State of Israel is not a Jewish state, it is a Zionist state.

"We American Jews cannot stand silently by while our brethren in the State of Israel suffer persecution. That's why we are here today. We need to make our voices heard and say to the world: enough is enough! The Israeli government must be held accountable by the world community for its attacks on our brethren, and they must grant Orthodox Jews their legitimate right to follow their principles and not serve in the army."

For more information please visit www.israelversusjudaism.org

Following are article related to the subject:

Photos of the event: https://www.facebook.com/IsraelVsJudaism/posts/269827643423059

Interviews at the event: https://youtu.be/4Ng4IomOVek

Speech from Rabbi Yakov Shapiro: https://youtu.be/GDuITpiT3W0

Story of recent police brutality: https://www.facebook.com/notes/israel-versus-judaism/police-brutally-attack-religious-jews-in-planned-operation-to-target-anti-draft-/269146086824548/

Video of recent police brutality: https://www.facebook.com/IsraelVsJudaism/posts/269845283421295

SOURCE Israel Versus Judaism

Related Links

http://www.israelversusjudaism.org


Bornite Exploration Hole RC13-224: 236 Meters of 1.9% Copper

During the 2013 exploration program at the Bornite project, the Company completed 8,142 meters of drilling with 4,684 meters drilled at the Ruby Creek zone (a potential open pit resource) and 3,458 meters drilled at the South Reef zone (a potential underground resource). A series of press releases highlighted results of the drilling at Bornite starting with the Company's press release dated October 7, 2013 (https://Trilogy PR October 7 2013) where we highlighted drill hole RC13-224 which intersected two mineralized intervals, starting at 513.3 meters and ending at 754.6 meters (241.3 meter interval), for a combined 236.0 meter composite interval with a weighted average grade of 1.90% copper, and comprised of 229.4 meters at a grade of 1.73% copper and 6.6 meters at a grade of 7.70% copper.

Project Drilling History

This year's exploration program at Bornite is one of the larger programs in the history of drilling at the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects. The original owner of the claims - Kennecott Copper Company - drilled the property in the 1960s, 70s and a little in the 80s and 90s. Exploration drilling ceased by the mid-80s when land ownership and access were put into question as a result of the passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act ("ANILCA"). The land ownership and access issues were resolved by the late 90s and we started work in the region in 2004, and have continued to fund exploration at Arctic and Bornite since then - see Figure 1 below.

Bornite Resource

Based on the Company's three field seasons of exploration drilling and re-assaying of previously drilled core from Kennecott, the Company announced an updated resource estimate for the Bornite project of 5.5 Billion pounds of copper inferred resource and 913 Million pounds of copper indicated resource and filed a National Instrument 43-101 technical report in 2016. See the Company's press releases dated April 19, 2016 (http://Trilogy PR April 19 2016) and the Company's press release on the filing of the updated NI43-101 Technical Report for Bornite on May 16, 2016 (https://Trilogy PR May 16 2016).

"This is an exciting year for Trilogy Metals," says Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We have waited three long years to be able to come back and drill at Bornite. With the support of South32, we will be drilling 12,000 meters at Bornite this field season to test the extent of our impressive drill holes from our 2013 drill campaign. The Bornite resource is already 6 billion pounds of copper and the deposit remains open with 100 metre to +200 metre thick zones of 1% to 2% copper mineralization drilled along a 1 Km wide front. We look forward to releasing drill results as they are made available and updating the resource once we have completed the drill program."

Qualified Persons

Andrew W. West, P.Geo., Exploration Manager for Trilogy Metals Inc., is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. West has reviewed the technical information in this news release and approves the disclosure contained herein.

About Trilogy Metals

Trilogy Metals Inc. is a metals exploration company focused on exploring and developing the Ambler mining district located in northwestern Alaska. It is one of the richest and most-prospective known copper-dominant districts located in one of the safest geopolitical jurisdictions in the world. It hosts world-class polymetallic VMS deposits that contain copper, zinc, lead, gold and silver, and carbonate replacement deposits which have been found to host high grade copper mineralization. Exploration efforts have been focused on two deposits in the Ambler mining district - the Arctic VMS deposit and the Bornite carbonate replacement deposit. Both deposits are located within the Company's land package that spans approximately 143,000 hectares. The Company has an agreement with NANA Regional Corporation, Inc., a Regional Alaska Native Corporation that provides a framework for the exploration and potential development of the Ambler mining district in cooperation with local communities. Our vision is to develop the Ambler mining district into a premier North American copper producer.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, including, without limitation, the future operating or financial performance of the Company, planned expenditures and the anticipated activity at the UKMP Projects, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "potential", "possible", and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or results "will", "may", "could", or "should" occur or be achieved. These forward-looking statements may include statements regarding perceived merit of properties; exploration plans and budgets; mineral reserves and resource estimates; work programs; capital expenditures; timelines; strategic plans; market prices for precious and base metals; or other statements that are not statements of fact. Forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include the uncertainties involving the need for additional financing to explore and develop properties and availability of financing in the debt and capital markets; uncertainties involved in the interpretation of drilling results and geological tests and the estimation of reserves and resources; the need for cooperation of government agencies and native groups in the development and operation of properties as well as the construction of the access road; the need to obtain permits and governmental approvals; risks of construction and mining projects such as accidents, equipment breakdowns, bad weather, non-compliance with environmental and permit requirements, unanticipated variation in geological structures, metal grades or recovery rates; unexpected cost increases, which could include significant increases in estimated capital and operating costs; fluctuations in metal prices and currency exchange rates; and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended November 30, 2016 filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and in other Company reports and documents filed with applicable securities regulatory authorities from time to time. The Company's forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements or beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law.

Cautionary Note to United States Investors

The Bornite Technical Report have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the securities laws in effect in Canada, which differ from the requirements of U.S. securities laws. Unless otherwise indicated, all resource and reserve estimates included in this press release have been prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral 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. Canadian standards, including NI 43-101, differ significantly from the requirements of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), and resource and reserve information contained therein may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by U.S. companies. In particular, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the term "resource" does not equate to the term "reserves". Under U.S. standards, mineralization may not be classified as a "reserve" unless the determination has been made that the mineralization could be economically and legally produced or extracted at the time the reserve determination is made. The SEC's disclosure standards normally do not permit the inclusion of information concerning "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources" or "inferred mineral resources" or other descriptions of the amount of mineralization in mineral deposits that do not constitute "reserves" by U.S. standards in documents filed with the SEC. Investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of mineral deposits in these categories will ever be converted into reserves. U.S. investors should also understand that "inferred mineral resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and great uncertainty 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, estimated "inferred mineral resources" may not form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility studies except in rare cases. Investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an "inferred mineral resource" exists or is economically or legally mineable. Disclosure of "contained ounces" in a resource is permitted disclosure under Canadian regulations; however, the SEC normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not constitute "reserves" by SEC standards as in-place tonnage and grade without reference to unit measures. The requirements of NI 43-101 for identification of "reserves" are also not the same as those of the SEC, and reserves reported by the Company in compliance with NI 43-101 may not qualify as "reserves" under SEC standards. Accordingly, information concerning mineral deposits set forth in this press release or the Bornite Technical Report may not be comparable with information made public by companies that report in accordance with U.S. standards.

SOURCE Trilogy Metals Inc.

Related Links

www.trilogymetals.com


TUCSON, Ariz., June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Army awarded Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) a $116.4 million contract to enter the technological maturation and risk reduction phase of the Long-Range Precision Fires program.

LRPF is a new, longer-range surface-to-surface weapon that can defeat fixed land targets out to 499 kilometers which replaces the existing Army Tactical Missile System. Raytheon's LRPF solution, named DeepStrike:

fires two missiles from a single weapons pod

lowers costs and increases capacity

boosts range over current systems by more than 40 percent

"Raytheon can develop, test, and field this new capability and deliver it to the Army ahead of current expectations to replace aging weapons," said Dr. Thomas Bussing, vice president of Raytheon's advanced missile systems product line. "LRPF gives soldiers on the battlefield overmatch capability against adversaries."

The technological maturation and risk-reduction phase includes testing missile components to be sure the design is ready for engineering and manufacturing development and live-fire demonstrations by the end of 2019.

DeepStrike will offer the U.S. Army the capability to implement future upgrades that will increase its versatility for future battlefield requirements.

About Raytheon

Raytheon Company, with 2016 sales of $24 billion and 63,000 employees, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions. With a history of innovation spanning 95 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, C5ITM products and services, sensing, effects, and mission support for customers in more than 80 countries. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. Follow us on Twitter @Raytheon.

www.raytheon.com

Media Contact

Lorenzo R. Cortes

+1.520.746.2156

[email protected]

SOURCE Raytheon Company

Related Links

http://www.raytheon.com


#Jin Air-new route Jin Air to open Busan-Kota Kinabalu route next month Jin Air Co., the budget carrier unit of Korean Air Lines Co., said Friday it will open the Busan-Kota Kinabalu route next month as travel demand recovers amid eased COVID-19 virus ...

#MLB Rays trade S. Korean 1B Choi Ji-man to Pirates South Korean first baseman Choi Ji-man has been traded for the second time in his major league career, with the Tampa Bay Rays shipping him to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Rays a...
ALISO VIEJO, Calif., June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Vertos Medical Inc., a leader in the minimally invasive treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS), announced today it has completed a $28 million financing round. New investor, MVM Life Science Partners LLP, led the round with participation from existing investors Leerink Revelation Partners, Pitango Venture Capital, ONSET Ventures, and Aweida Venture Partners. Proceeds of the financing will be used to expand commercialization of the company's proprietary mild procedure, a clinically proven outpatient procedure that removes the cause of the stenosis through a portal the size of a baby aspirin and requires no implants, no general anesthesia, no stitches, and no overnight hospital stay.

In December 2016, Vertos Medical received broad coverage from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for mild. Vertos Medical will use the latest round of funding to help meet the strong demand for the procedure from providers and patients. Funding will also be used to support physician training and education designed to expand access to the novel treatment for appropriate patients.

"There are millions of patients currently suffering from the debilitating effects of lumbar spinal stenosis who are looking for new treatment options that are safe, effective, and treat the underlying cause of stenosis," said Eric Wichems, President and CEO of Vertos Medical. "We are pleased that we are able to expand access to the mild procedure with the help of MVM and our current investors."

In addition to leading this latest round, MVM partner Hugo Harrod will join the board of directors of Vertos Medical. Harrod, who has been with MVM since 2005, has extensive board-level experience at pharmaceutical and device companies.

"The proven, low-cost, and safe mild solution stands to benefit the more than 2.4 million Americans who are expected to suffer from LSS by 2021," Harrod said. "MVM is excited to join with Vertos Medical in extending access to this unique clinical solution for patients living with the debilitating symptoms associated with LSS."

The mild procedure has been studied in more than 20 peer-reviewed publications and 12 clinical trials and has been performed on more than 20,000 patients. Peer-reviewed clinical data has proven the procedure's strong safety profile and demonstrated that mild helps patients suffering from LSS stand longer and walk farther with less pain. 1

Vertos Medical Inc. is a medical device company committed to developing innovative, minimally invasive treatments for lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). Its proprietary technologies include mild, which offers a safe, outpatient, minimally invasive, fluoroscopically guided therapeutic LSS treatment that requires no general anesthesia, no implants, and no stitches. LSS is primarily a degenerative, age-related narrowing of the lower spinal canal that causes symptoms of pain and numbness in the lower back, legs, or buttocks. The mild procedure treats this condition by restoring space in the spinal canal using specialized mild devices to remove hypertrophic ligamentum flavum through a 5.1-mm treatment portal. Clinical studies show that mild can help LSS patients stand longer and walk farther with less pain1, and no major device-related complications have been reported in any clinical trial.2 Vertos Medical headquarters is located in Aliso Viejo, CA. To learn more about how mild treats LSS click here.

MVM Life Science Partners LLP, founded in 1997, is a healthcare investment firm with offices in London and Boston. MVM is currently investing from its fourth fund, which has $233M in commitments and broad interests across drugs, devices, and diagnostics.

SOURCE Vertos Medical
WASHINGTON, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Russian-owned EVRAZ North America has taken a massive line pipe sale away from the U.S. industry and is aggressively seeking to capture other large sales, even as the Administration prepares to issue Section 232 recommendations on whether steel and steel product imports are a threat to national security.

Cheniere Energy informed U.S. producers that it has awarded its "Midship Pipeline" sale to EVRAZ, a Russian-owned company with pipe production in Canada. The job will require 221 miles, or 105,000 net tons, of 36-inch and 30-inch diameter line pipe. The total line pipe order is expected to be over $100 million dollars.

If the sale had stayed in the United States, domestic pipe mills would have added hundreds of manufacturing jobs. Moreover, domestic mills would have purchased all of their steel in the United Statesmore than 115,000 tons of hot-rolled coil and plateresulting in a double loss for the U.S. steel industry.

"This is a serious loss, which directly affects hundreds of American manufacturing jobs," said Tim Brightbill, trade counsel to the American Line Pipe Producers Association. "We urge the Administration to address the loss of this and other major line pipe sales to Russian-owned EVRAZ in Canada."

EVRAZ, the only producer of large diameter line pipe in Canada, is aggressively bidding these U.S. pipeline projects even as the Commerce Department prepares to complete its Section 232 report on imports of steel and steel products. Cheniere had previously said it would purchase the line pipe domestically. However, EVRAZ has reportedly assured Cheniere and other customers that it will not face tariffs or quotas under Section 232, because Canadian producers will be excluded from any remedy.

Due to this lost sale, U.S. line pipe producers are being forced to investigate potential antidumping and countervailing duty cases against large diameter line pipe imports from Canada. Records indicate that large diameter pipe imported into the United States by EVRAZ in the first quarter of 2017 arrived at prices below domestic steel costs.

The Trump Administration has stated that the Section 232 report will be issued soon, likely within a matter of days. On Friday evening, President Trump tweeted: "Time to start building in our country, with American workers & with American iron, aluminum & steel. It is time to put #AmericaFirst."

Contact: Tim Brightbill

202.719.3138 | [email protected]

SOURCE Wiley Rein LLP
"China and the surrounding Asian markets represent a significant market opportunity for Windtree and our KL4 surfactant technology. Through our collaboration with Lee's, we will be able to access and grow the KL4 surfactant opportunity outside of the U.S. and pursue development of AEROSURF and our other KL4 surfactant products with a proven partner," commented Craig Fraser, President and Chief Executive Officer of Windtree Therapeutics. "I am excited about the potential of AEROSURF to both transform and expand the management of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) worldwide and this collaboration with Lee's will significantly enhance our development and realization of this goal."

"We are delighted to announce this collaboration with Windtree. Given the size of the RDS population and as a high growth, current top surfactant market, we are enthusiastic about our prospects to develop and market AEROSURF and the other KL4 surfactant products for our premature infants with RDS," commented Dr. Benjamin Li, Chief Executive Officer of Lee's Pharm. "We also see real potential to address other acute pulmonary diseases and conditions and plan to explore these opportunities with Windtree. Together with the Group's other assets, this partnership will strengthen the Group's position in neonatal critical care."

In anticipation of finalizing the agreement, Lee's Pharm invested $2 million in Windtree's February 2017 private placement offering. Under terms of the license agreement, Windtree will receive an upfront license fee of $1.0 million and will also be eligible for up to $37.5 million in contingent clinical, regulatory and commercialization milestone payments and escalating high single digit to mid-teens percentage royalties across all products. In addition, Lee's will be responsible for all development costs in the licensed territory.

Conference Call and Webcast Details

The Company will host a conference call and webcast (including a slide presentation) at 8:00 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, June 13, 2017 to discuss this important collaboration with Lee's Pharm.

The live webcast, including a slide presentation, can be accessed at http://windtreetx.investorroom.com/events. To participate in the live call and take part in the question and answer session, dial (844) 802-2436 (domestic) or (412) 317-5129 (international).

A replay of the conference call will be accessible one hour after completion through June 20, 2017 by dialing (877) 344-7529 (domestic) or (412) 317-0088 (international) and referencing conference number 10108999. An archive of the webcast can be accessed on the Company's website at http://windtreetx.investorroom.com/events.

About Windtree Therapeutics

Windtree Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing novel surfactant therapies for respiratory diseases and other potential applications. Windtree's proprietary technology platform includes a synthetic, peptide-containing surfactant (KL4 surfactant) that is structurally similar to endogenous pulmonary surfactant and novel drug-delivery technologies being developed to enable noninvasive administration of aerosolized KL4 surfactant. Windtree is focused initially on improving the management of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in premature infants and believes that its proprietary technology may make it possible, over time, to develop a pipeline of KL4 surfactant product candidates to address a variety of respiratory diseases for which there are few or no approved therapies.

For more information, please visit the Company's website at www.windtreetx.com.

About Lee's Pharmaceutical Holdings Limited ("Lee's Pharm")

Lee's Pharm is a research-based Hong Kong biopharmaceutical company listed in Hong Kong with more than 20 years of operation in China's pharmaceutical industry. It is fully integrated with strong infrastructures in drug development, manufacturing, sales and marketing. It has established extensive partnership with more than 20 international companies and currently has 15 products in the market place. Lee's Pharm focuses on several key disease areas such as cardiovascular, oncology, gynecology, dermatology and ophthalmology. The company's development program is lauded with over 40 products stemming from both internal R&D efforts and collaborations with US, European and Japanese companies, including promising compounds to treat diseases such as liver cancer and pulmonary hypertension. The mission of Lee's Pharm is to become a successful biopharmaceutical group in Asia providing innovative products to fight diseases and improve health and quality of life.

Additional information about Lee's Pharm is available at www.leespharm.com.

Forward-Looking Statement for Windtree Therapeutics

To the extent that statements in this press release are not strictly historical, all such statements are forward-looking, and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. Examples of such risks and uncertainties are described in Windtree's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including the most recent reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K, and any amendments thereto.

Forward-Looking Statement for Lees Pharm

The performance and the results of operation of Lee's Pharm during the past years are historical in nature and past performance can be no guarantee of future results of the Lee's Pharm. This news release may contain forward-looking statements and opinions that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from expectations discussed in such forward-looking statements and opinions. Neither Lee's Pharm nor the Directors, employees or agents of Lee's Pharm assume (a) any obligation to correct or update the forward-looking statements or opinions contained in this news release; and (b) any liability in the event that any of the forward-looking statements or opinions does not materialize or turns out to be incorrect.

SOURCE Windtree Therapeutics, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.windtreetx.com


MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Women in Localization (W.L.) and LocWorld announced today a joint partnership that brings together the depth of expertise in the Women in Localization membership base with the important insights LocWorld delivers to the localization industry.

As part of this collaboration, the LocWorld conference management team encourages attendees of the upcoming LocWorld34 conference to visit the Women in Localization booth in Barcelona to learn more about the organization and upcoming networking events taking place in their 11 chapters around the world. This represents tremendous value for Women in Localization members, including the ability to enhance their career networks. With access to the depth of industry expertise that can be found in Women in Localization's membership, LocWorld will be able to identify thought leaders in the industry to enhance the information exchange that can be found at its conferences.

Ulrich Henes, LocWorld Principal states, "LocWorld has supported Women in Localization from the beginning, and are delighted to see its global expansion."

"Women in Localization has the unique opportunity of using their vast membership base to support the globalization industry by bringing industry veterans together, providing a base of members to glean information from and supporting women in the globalization industry through ongoing mentorship. Women in Localization provides a strong platform for integrating our member base through our industry channels. We are thrilled to closely collaborate with LocWorld in these strategic areas and look forward to exploring additional partnership possibilities within the globalization industry," adds Lynda Roslund, W.L. Strategic Partnership Director.

To learn more, visit www.womeninlocalization.com or www.linkedin.com/groups/WL-Women-in-Localization. You can also follow WL on Facebook and Twitter.

About Women in Localization

Women in Localization (WL) is the leading professional organization for women in the localization industry with thousands of members globally. Its mission is to foster a global community that inspires professional equality in the localization industry and supports women through all phases of their careers. Started in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2008, WL has expanded its membership to include women across the globe, encouraging members to meet in other local geographies. To learn more, visit Women in Localization.com and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

About LocWorld

LocWorld is the leading conference for international business, translation, localization and global website management. Attendees are the people responsible for communicating across the boundaries of language and culture in the global marketplace. With a specific emphasis on global business, the conference provides an opportunity for the exchange of high-value information in the language and translation services and technologies market.

Media Contact:

Liesl Leary

SDL plc

[email protected]

+1 415 203 7179

SOURCE Women in Localization

Related Links

http://womeninlocalization.com


SAN FRANCISCO, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Zimperium, a global leader in enterprise mobile threat defense (MTD) and the only provider of real-time on-device protection against known and unknown threats, today announced an integration with Microsoft Enterprise Mobility + Security (EMS). Integrated directly with Microsoft Intune, Zimperium enables mobility and security teams to assess the risk of, and protect devices against, the broadest range of mobile threats.

Zimperium's on-device detection protects users in real-time, without the potential delays and limitations of cloud-based detection, and then provides threat intelligence directly to Microsoft Intune. The integration adds the capability to control access to corporate resources and data based on Zimperium's comprehensive analysis.

"Zimperium is excited to integrate with Microsoft to help organizations of all sizes proactively protect employees and data from mobile threats," said John Michelsen, Chief Product Officer at Zimperium. "The combination of EMS conditional access technology and Zimperium's MTD platform provides significant business, security and compliance value."

Andrew Conway, General Manager of Product Marketing for Microsoft Enterprise Mobility + Security at Microsoft Corp. added, "As attacks increase in sophistication and frequency, securing mobile endpoints is becoming a priority for organizations. The integration between Zimperium and Microsoft Intune will deliver an additional level of security on mobile devices."

Zimperium delivers real-time, on-device threat detection and remediation for Android and iOS devices, with proven enterprise implementations covering hundreds of thousands of devices. The platform's management console, zConsole, integrates with leading enterprise mobility management (EMM), security incident and event monitoring (SIEM) and single-sign-on (SSO) solutions. The platform's deployment options include Shared SaaS, Dedicated SaaS and On-Premise (via an organization's private cloud).

Zimperium's integration with Microsoft Intune provides the following benefits:

Ease of Deployment: Seamless deployment and management of Zimperium's threat defense solution via Microsoft Intune, with activation through Microsoft Azure Active Directory. The solution is deployed to employees' devices via Intune's app delivery capabilities.

Seamless deployment and management of Zimperium's threat defense solution via Microsoft Intune, with activation through Microsoft Azure Active Directory. The solution is deployed to employees' devices via Intune's app delivery capabilities. Real-time Threat Protection: Zimperium's machine-learning models have been developed and refined through years of threat intelligence research. The solution provides comprehensive, on-device mobile threat protection along with configurable end-user notifications and alerts, defined by Intune's customized threat threshold for assessing device risk posture.

Zimperium's machine-learning models have been developed and refined through years of threat intelligence research. The solution provides comprehensive, on-device mobile threat protection along with configurable end-user notifications and alerts, defined by Intune's customized threat threshold for assessing device risk posture. Comprehensive Mobile Risk Management: The combination of Zimperium and Microsoft EMS allows IT security administrators to set rules based on risk level or compliance regulations that automatically regulate users' and devices' access to services. When Zimperium reports a dangerous threat, Intune marks it as "non-compliant" and is able to restrict access to applications and resources, for example email or company documents. Once the threat is mitigated, zConsole updates the device's threat level and allows the Intune to grant access.

Zimperium's integration with Microsoft EMS is currently in private preview with select customers. Go to https://blog.zimperium.com/mobile-threat-defense-for-intune for more information. For details and to learn more about how Zimperium Mobile Threat Defense protects organizations and prevents cyber attacks in real-time and without relying on easily compromised cloud-only detections, visit www.zimperium.com.

Important Detail on Zimperium's Momentum

More than 10 million mobile devices are licensed with Zimperium Mobile Threat Defense

In February, Zimperium released Danger Zone and Activity Monitor, two key product features providing valuable risk information related to the Wi-Fi networks around a device, as well as comprehensive threat data on the devices, networks and applications.

The company partners with leading mobile operators to power critical security initiatives that secure millions of endpoints, including: SoftBank, Deutsche Telekom, and Blackberry.

Zimperium's research unit, zLabs uncovered some of the biggest vulnerabilities to date in mobile operating systems including the AirDroid vulnerabilities and Stagefright.

Social Media

Twitter: [email protected]'s #MobileThreatDefense is now integrated with @MSFTMobility's @MSIntune. Read more here: http://bit.ly/2s8ad4a

LinkedIn: Today, Zimperium announced integration with Microsoft Enterprise Mobility and Security to provide enterprise-wide mobile threat defense. Read more here: http://bit.ly/2s8ad4a

Tags/Keywords

Mobile threat defense, Mobile cybersecurity, Machine learning, Microsoft, Intune, Microsoft EMS

About Zimperium

Zimperium, the global leader in Mobile Threat Defense, offers real-time, on-device protection against both known and previously unknown threats, enabling detection and remediation of attacks on all three mobile threat vectors - Device, Network and Applications. Zimperium's patented z9 detection engine uses machine learning to power zIPS, mobile on-device Intrusion Prevention System app, and zIAP, an embedded, In-App Protection SDK that delivers self-protecting iOS and Android apps.

Leaders across the mobile ecosystem partner with Zimperium, including mobile operators (Airtel, Deutsche Telekom, SmarTone, SoftBank and Telstra), device manufacturers (Samsung, SIRIN, TriGem), and leading enterprise mobility management (EMM) providers (AirWatch, MobileIron, BlackBerry, Citrix and SAP). Headquartered in San Francisco, Zimperium is backed by Sierra Ventures, Samsung, Telstra, Warburg Pincus and SoftBank. Learn more at www.zimperium.com or our official blog at https://blog.zimperium.com.

Zimperium, the Zimperium name and logo, Powered by Zimperium, zIPS, zIAP and z9 are registered trademarks or trademarks of Zimperium, Inc. in the US and other countries.

Media Contact:

Darah Patton (InkHouse PR for Zimperium)

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Zimperium

Related Links

http://www.zimperium.com


CULVER CITY, Calif., June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- For the 2017 UK General Election, Zoic Labs activated a futuristic LIVE data visualization entitled UK LIVE . The fascinating, real time new way to track the UK's controversial 2017 election can be viewed HERE.

Zoic's UK LIVE Data Visualization Captures Real-Time Voter Temperature Throughout UK General Election

"UK LIVE by Zoic" follows the studio's similar live data visualization of the US presidential election 2016 entitled "LIVE by Zoic." The app places real-time, powerful, big-data and sentiment analysis in the hands of everyday citizens of the UK. UK L.I.V.E. (Live and Interactive Voter Emotion), is intuitive, easy to use, and provides infinite personal customization.

Biz Stone, Twitter Co-founder and Zoic Advisory Board Member said of the original data vis tool LIVE by Zoic, "This data visualization enables citizens to put their finger on the pulse of what people are really thinking and consequently, Tweeting. This isn't polling data, it's real people, expressing their real thoughts and it's the closest we'll get to having a crystal ball."

UK LIVE by Zoic is available free, and allows users to interactively customize aggregations of Tweets about UK Prime Minister candidates Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn, by sentiment, emotions, location, age and gender. Notes Zoic Labs President Tim McBride, "We encourage all UK voters to move beyond static and often critiqued polling data and follow the UK General Election using UK LIVE by Zoic's customizable visualizations of the election sentiment and opinions of United Kingdom citizens."

Zoic Labs is the advanced visualization R&D division of Emmy Award-winning visual effects studio, Zoic Studios. Zoic Labs chiefly operates on large data visualization and VR, AR and machine learning operations for its clients. For this experiment, Maryland-based analytics company ICG and their LUX2016 big-data analytics platform is providing the analytics for this election, which monitors and filters news and social media, then using advanced analytics determines demographics, sentiment, emotion and other pertinent results.

About Zoic Labs

Zoic Labs is an advanced visualization company focused on the intersection of big data, narrative, design, and emerging technologies.

Since 2002, we have developed software and virtual production tools for Zoic Studios, a multi-platform storytelling company with emphasis on high-end computer graphics for film, television, and gaming.

Zoic Labs creates cross-disciplinary visualization models for data analysis and collaborative insight discovery.

We provide R&D, agile software development, UI/UX design, and consulting services for a diverse range of clients, both public and private.

For more information contact: Virginia Scripps @ Press Kitchen 310.394.3900

SOURCE Zoic Labs
SALT LAKE CITY, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Zurixx, the nation's leader in financial education programs, is proud to announce it will serve as the presenting sponsor for the upcoming Huntsman 5K on Saturday, June 17. The Huntsman 5K is an annual, family-friendly fun run and fundraiser in Salt Lake City that benefits cancer research.

All funds raised from the event will go directly toward cancer research at the Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) in Salt Lake City. To help reach the overall goal of $200,000, each participant is encouraged to fundraise and then decide the type of cancer research their donation will benefit. Since 2014, the Huntsman 5K and Kids Fun K have raised more than $500,000 for cancer research.

"I know I speak for all of Zurixx when I say there is no greater feeling than being able to give back to our community and contribute to such a meaningful cause," said Jim Carlson, CEO of Zurixx. "We could not be happier to partner with the Huntsman Cancer Institute and sponsor the Huntsman 5K."

The sponsorship further cements Zurixx's strong partnership with HCI. Last month, Zurixx teamed up with HCI to create the "I Am a Hero" campaign to further fund cancer research. The campaign was launched as a social initiative to showcase the importance of contributing to cancer research. Photos of Zurixx employees and their personal reason for supporting the partnership were shared across social media to illustrate that people from all walks of life can come together to support a common cause.

"We have found such a wonderful partner in Zurixx," said Jen Murano, Events Director at Huntsman Cancer Foundation. "The 'I Am a Hero' campaign was extremely effective, so we are looking forward to working together again at the race. We could not think of a more perfect sponsor."

The campaign and sponsorship continue Zurixx's steadfast tradition of giving back to the community. Zurixx has donated to the Susan G. Komen organization, the Utah Food Bank, and the Muscular Dystrophy Association, along with its extensive work with Habitat for Humanity.

"Sponsoring the Huntsman 5K is just one way we can promote company-wide health and wellness," said Carlson. "It also gives us an opportunity to donate to cancer research and continue the search for a cure. That's what is most important."

The run will begin and end at 200 Fort Douglas Blvd at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Individual runners, companies, and groups are all invited to participate. The registration deadline is Thursday, June 15. For more details and registration, please visit the race's website.

About Zurixx

Zurixx, LLC develops financial education programs based out of Salt Lake City, Utah, and Dorado, Puerto Rico. Founded in 2012 by James Carlson, the company has received several accolades and awards from Inc Magazine, Fortune, Salt Lake Tribune, and more. By crafting messaging, developing materials, and launching sales programs, Zurixx team members are thoroughly involved in constantly improving educational programs to fit their clients' needs. Through extensive research and planning, the Zurixx sales model provides financial education across the United States and Canada to students interested in growing their real estate investment businesses. Find out more at http://zurixx.com/.

SOURCE Zurixx

Related Links

http://zurixx.com


Islamabad, June 9 : The Islamic State (IS) terror group has claimed it killed two Chinese nationals who were abducted from Pakistan's Balochistan region in May, the media reported on Friday.

The IS-linked Amaq news agency made the claim on Thursday night in an Arabic statement on the Telegram messaging app, reports the BBC.

A senior Pakistani government official, on condition of anonymity, told Dawn news that an investigation is underway into the IS claim that the Chinese couple has been killed.

The claim came hours after the military's press wing Inter-Services Public Relations released details of a three-day operation in the Mastung area of Balochistan earlier this month targeting "IS facilitators", in which security forces had killed 12 "hardcore terrorists, including two suicide bombers".

The official said that the vehicle used in the kidnapping of the couple was found during the Mastung operation.

"We cannot confirm the claims made by the IS right now," the official told Dawn news.

The two Chinese nationals, a man and a woman, were teachers at a private language school in Quetta city.

They were kidnapped from the Jinnah town neighbourhood on May 24 by gunmen dressed as police who stopped their car.

A bystander who attempted to intervene was shot and injured while rescuing a third person.

Following the abduction, 11 Chinese nationals also living in Quetta were shifted to Karachi for their evacuation to Beijing.
New York, June 9 : A group of lawyers in the US has threatened legal action against Donald Trump for blocking users on his Twitter account, alleging that the action of the President violates the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

The lawyers from Columbia University's Knight First Amendment Institute wrote a letter to Trump on behalf of two Twitter users who have been blocked in recent weeks after mocking the President on the platform, Vox.com reported on Thursday.

They argued that Trump's Twitter account was a public forum, and banning users from viewing or engaging with his tweets based on their viewpoints suppresses free speech guaranteed by the First Amendment.

"The President must not be allowed to banish views from public discourse simply because he finds them objectionable," explained Jameel Jaffer, Executive Director, Knight First Amendment Institute.

The group points to a March ruling in which a federal court ruled that the First Amendment applied after the the Loudon county, Virginia, attorney's office created a Facebook page for discussing legal issues.

Once the page was opened up for public discussion, the court said, it could not arbitrarily exclude some citizens from participating in the conversation.

But experts are not in consensus on the outcome as this issue tests new legal waters with regard to the First Amendment's application to online forums.

Trump has an array of possible defences against this possible lawsuit centering on the argument that the Twitter account used to block users is used in his personal capacity, some legal experts have argued.

"My sense is that the @RealDonaldTrump account though run by Trump on government time and from government property is the work of 'Trump-the-man', just as it was before (his election), and not Trump-the-president. His decisions about that account are therefore not constrained by the First Amendment," Eugene Volokh, Professor of Law at University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law was quoted as saying.

Another defence proposed by experts is that the Block feature on Twitter does not practically affect a user's ability to access Trump's Twitter feed because all they have to do is log off from their blocked account to access it.
New Delhi/Mandsaur : New Delhi/Mandsaur June 9 (IANS) An Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) team on Friday left for Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur to meet the families of the farmers who were killed in police firing, but authorities said nobody would be allowed to visit the violence-hit district.

AAP leaders Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh, Bhagwant Mann, Sadhu Singh and Somnath Bharti reached Indore in the afternoon on their way to the tense Mandsaur.

But Mandsaur Superintendent of Police Manoj Singh said the AAP leaders would not be allowed to visit Mandsaur town, where curfew was partially lifted on Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

"We will not allow anybody to visit Mandsaur. It will create law and order situation for us," Manoj Singh told IANS.

Five farmers, according to the government, were killed in police firing on Tuesday when hundreds of farmers staged protests, demanding debt relief and price hike of their produce.

However, farmers' association said that at least eight protesters were killed when the police opened fire at them.

The AAP said its leaders would meet the families of the victims to express their solidarity with them.
Bangkok, June 9 : A Thai military court on Friday sentenced a man to 30 years in prison after convicting him of 10 counts of lese-majeste, a law that protects the country's royal household.

The man, identified as Wichai, was detained in the city of Chiang Mai in December 2015 for a series of posts on Facebook that were considered insulting to the Thai monarchy.

The court, which had earlier sentenced him to 60 years in prison, reduced his term to 30, after the accused confessed, Yingcheep Atchanont, a representative of iLaw, a human rights defence group that tracks royal defamation cases, told Efe news.

According to the lese-majeste law it is a criminal offence to "defame, insult or threaten" members of the royal family that is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

After the military coup in May 2014, the number of prosecutions under the draconian law has multiplied.

On many occasions, the army has sent suspects to military courts whose sentences are twice as severe as those of civil courts, according to iLaw.

The UN Human Rights Committee has expressed concern over the law and urged Thailand to respect freedom of expression.
New Delhi, June 9 : Aiming to reduce emissions and promote sustainability to help India's smart city programme, France and the European Union on Friday extended a grant of 3.5 million euros under the 'Moblise Your City' (MYC) initiative.

Three Indian cities -- Nagpur, Kochi and Ahmedabad -- will get the grant as part of the EU's commitment under the Paris Climate agreement, French Development Agency (AFD) officials said.

More funds would be provided to India as loan to take forward the smart city and sustainable transport initiatives in the three cities on pilot basis.

"Recently Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met French President Emmanuel Macron. Both the leaders shared warmth... India is the very first country to benefit from the MYC initiative," said Claire Thuaudet, Deputy Chief of Mission, at the French Embassy here.

The MYC, supported by the French and German government, also has financial support from the European Union (EU).

MYC aims to extend help to 100 cities globally to reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emissions by promoting sustainable urban transport and to promote sustainability in urban spaces.

"Smart city programme and urban transport is surely one of the most important programmes here. And if it's successful in India then extension of this idea will promote such initiatives in other countries," Pascal Pacaut, Director Asia, AFD told IANS.

AFD has been associated with several projects in India and conservation of biodiversity, and is currently also funding the Vijayawada, Lucknow, Bengaluru, Kochi and Nagpur metro rail projects.

"France is the ninth largest foreign investor in India and our FDI policies had been simplified for ease of doing business with the French companies. We appreciate this financial assistance. Both the governments have a common mission and we look forward to strengthen our relationship further," Selvakumar, Joint Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) said at a signing ceremony here.

Reiterating the EU's commitment to the climate change and Paris Agreement "no matter what", Ambassador of the EU to India, Tomasz Kozlowski said the MYC initiative among many others were emphasised by the Indian and European leaders during Modi's visit to Europe earlier this month.

"Investment in energy, water, waste, climate and smart cities are investment in sustainability and address priorities under the flagship programmes of the Indian government. They are also part of our strategic partnership," the Ambassador told IANS.
New Delhi, June 10 : The Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) met all the GST Suvidha Providers (GSP) and explained the method and manner in which the GSPs would be able to integrate with the GST System to be able to submit all the return forms on behalf of their clients and tax payers.

"GSPs were told that they must have their systems audited as per the prevailing ISO standard on security from one of the auditors on the panel of CERT-IN before they connect with and start pushing data into the GST System," an official statement said here on Saturday.

The meeting was held here on Friday.

There are 34 GSPs that have been selected by GSTN to provide additional channel of filing returns and other compliances related to GST. GSPs are expected to help large businesses with complex and varied internal processes to comply with the GST regime that will be effective from July 1.

Of the 34 GSPs, representatives of 30 of the GSPs were present physically and two attended through conference call.

The GSTN presented the timelines of the release of updated specifications of application programming interface (API) for the new GSTR forms that are to be applicable from July 1. The API specifications will be released in staggered manner for all the GSPs, the statement said.

"Subsequent to publishing of the specifications, GSTN will also make available live APIs on the sandbox for testing of the codes that the GSPs will modify/develop. The dates for the release of the specifications and the Live APIs for various returns for testing/integration were communicated to all the GSPs.

"The specifications of GSR-1 return (for uploading the supply data) was released yesterday and the live API will be made available on June 29," it added.
London, June 11 : Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has reached an agreement in principle with UK Prime Minister Theresa May to support a Conservative minority government, the media reported on Sunday.

Conservative Party chief whip Gavin Williamson met DUP leaders in Belfast on Saturday to negotiate a deal, details of which are to be discussed Monday at a Cabinet meeting, reports Efe news.

The draft "confidence and supply" agreement specifies that the socially conservative, pro-British Protestant party will support the Conservatives in key parliamentary votes but the two parties will not form a coalition government like the one the former British Prime Minister, David Cameron established with the Liberal Democrats between 2010 and 2015.

"We welcome this commitment, which can provide the stability and certainty the whole country requires as we embark on Brexit and beyond," a spokesman for the Prime Minister's office said Saturday.

The Conservatives lost an absolute majority they had enjoyed prior to the snap election on June 8, which May had called to strengthen her hand in the upcoming Brexit negotiations slated for June 19.

May's Conservatives won 318 seats in the election, falling short of the 326 required for an absolute majority.

The opposition Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn took 262 seats, gaining 30.

The new Parliament will be sworn in on Tuesday, although May has until June 19 to work out the full terms of the Conservatives' agreement with the DUP. That day, Queen Elizabeth II will appear before Parliament and give a speech setting out the new government's agenda.

According to media accounts, internal pressure on May led to the resignation on Saturday of the Prime Minister's two co-chiefs of staff, Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, who have been blamed for their role in designing the Conservatives' campaign and the parliamentary setback.

A few hours after the two stepped down, May named former Housing Minister Gavin Barwell, who lost his seat in Thursday's election, as her new chief of staff.

The DUP is a socially conservative party that opposes abortion and gay marriage, and many of its members also are sceptical about man-made climate change and reject the theory of evolution.

May succeeded Cameron last June in the wake of the surprise outcome of the Brexit referendum on leaving the European Union.

In calling for early elections, May said she wanted a strong mandate as her government confronts what are likely to be difficult negotiations with the EU on the terms of Brexit.
Jammu, June 11 : Indian and Pakistani troops traded heavy fire on Sunday along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, a defence official said.

"Pakistan army initiated indiscriminate firing and shelling on our positions on the LoC in Rajouri district's Bhimber Gali sector at 9.45 a.m.," Defence Ministry spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Manish Mehta told IANS.

"The firing is going on and our forces are effectively retaliating."

Sunday's incident comes after Pakistani troops resorted to heavy shelling and firing on Saturday evening in three areas of Poonch district's Krishna Ghati sector.

"They first initiated small arms and automatic gunfire, but later used 82 mm mortars," the spokesman added.
Paris, June 11 : French voters on Sunday headed to polling stations for the first round of the nation's legislative elections, a month after electing political outsider Emmanuel Macron as the President.

Some 67,000 voting centres opened across the country at 8 a.m. (local time) and will close at 8 p.m., in larger cities. Voting will end two hours later in other areas, reports Efe news.

Overseas French territories voted on Saturday while French citizens living abroad cast their ballots last week.

Some 47.5 million eligible voters are eligible to cast their ballots to elect 577 lawmakers to the lower house of Parliament or the National Assembly.

Polls pointed to President Macron's Republic on the Move party securing a majority of between 397-427 seats, and the Republicans were expected to come second with seats between 95-115.

Meanwhile, the Socialist Party, according to projections, was expected to take less than 40 seats, while the far-right National Front led by Marine Le Pen and left-wing France Unbowed looked toward an uncertain outcome.

The government has deployed some 50,000 police and security personnel.

The second and final round will be held on June 18.
London, June 12 : British Prime Minister Theresa May on Sunday appointed an effective "Deputy Prime Minister" after her election disaster.

Long-time friend Damian Green was made First Secretary of State and Minister for the Cabinet Office, as the delayed Cabinet reshuffle got underway, Independent reported.

Green was shifted from work and pensions to the new role at the Prime Minister's side.

Former MP Gavin Barwell was appointed as new chief of staff and Liam Fox will remain as Secretary of State for International Trade.

David Gauke was promoted from Treasury Chief Secretary to be the new Work and Pensions Secretary and David Lidington from Commons Leader to Justice Secretary.

Elizabeth Truss was moved from Justice Secretary to be Chief Secretary to the Treasury.
New Delhi, June 12 : Over a dozen firms engaged in cross-LoC trade since October 2008 are under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) scanner as part of its probe against separatist leaders allegedly receiving terror-funding by Pakistan-based organisations to stoke unrest in the Kashmir Valley.

Top NIA sources told IANS that "dubious transactions" of several traders, whose names have been withheld considering the gravity of the case, raised suspicions about their close connections with banned Pakistan-based Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist organisations.

NIA investigators also found inputs regarding channelling of money to Kashmiri separatist leaders through these "suspected" traders. The firms run by these traders are engaged in barter trade with some Pakistan-based individuals or companies and were found to be under-invoicing the import of goods, like leather articles, dry fruits -- especially dates and California almonds (badam giri) -- surgical instruments, zinc and oil seeds.

The NIA suspects that "crores of rupees" had been handed over to separatist leaders by the LeT, Hizb and Pakistan's spy agency Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) through these traders and other sources for fuelling the prolonged unrest in the Valley last year after the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani on July 8.

The agency has seized several bank accounts and ledgers of these traders who are active in the cross-border trade with Pakistan-administered Kashmir that was allowed in October 2008 as a major confidence-building measure between India and Pakistan.

The NIA has alleged that since the cross-LoC trade began, some businessmen "under- or over-invoiced" their bills, and the difference in payment was later used for promoting subversive activities in the Valley.

The counter-terror agency is also investigating the inflow of money routed during the cross-border trade -- which is against the trade rules of the barter system under which only goods can be exchanged, an official told IANS.

The trade is conducted at two points across the Line of Control -- the de facto boundary in Kashmir between India and Pakistan: Chakan-da-bagh-Rawalakote route in Jammu and Salamabad-Chokoti in Kashmir.

The NIA's move comes after the agency converted a May 19 preliminary enquiry against Hurriyat Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani and his close aide and Hurriyat provincial President Nayeem Khan, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front leader Farooq Ahmed Dar alias "Bitta Karate" and Tehreek-e-Hurriyat leader Ghazi Javed Baba into a regular case.

The preliminary enquiry was converted into an FIR against Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed and other Pakistan-based terror agencies last week.

The FIR, which does not name any of the separatist leaders, was registered under legal provisions dealing with waging war or attempting to wage war against India, criminal conspiracy, and under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Hafeez Saeed, Pakistan-based chief of Jamaat-ul Dawah, the front of the banned LeT, has been named in the NIA's FIR.

The NIA has so far questioned over half a dozen people, including Geelani's son-in-law Altaf Ahmed Shah, in connection with the case.

Last week, the NIA carried out raids at 26 places and the following day at seven places across Srinagar, Delhi and Haryana in connection with the terror-funding probe.

This is the first time since the rise of militancy in Kashmir in the early 1990s that a central probe agency has carried out raids in connection with funding of separatists.

The NIA investigation seeks to identify the chain of players behind the financing of terrorist activities, including those who throw stones at security forces, burn down schools and damage government establishments.

(Rajnish Singh can be contacted at rajnish.s@ians.in)
Islamabad, June 12 : Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is headed for Saudi Arabia on Monday on a day-long visit in the backdrop of a deepening diplomatic rift in the Middle East, the media reported.

Sharif is expected to hold talks with Saudi leadership centered on deteriorating relations between Gulf nations after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism, Dawn News reported.

In its earlier response to the Middle East crisis, Pakistan had stressed the need for unity in the Muslim world and urged the countries involved to engage in dialogue.

Ahead of his visit, Sharif called a meeting of the country's top envoys from Gulf countries to discuss the Saudi-Qatar rift.

Pakistani ambassadors in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz will attend the conference on Monday.

After the meeting, Prime Minister Sharif will leave for Saudi Arabia, accompanied by Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa and advisor Aziz, Dunya News reported.

"Since Pakistan enjoys good relations with Saudi Arabia, Iran and Qatar, we will try our best to resolve the differences between the Arab countries," Nawaz Sharif had told journalists during a recent visit to Kazakhstan.

Pakistan shares "good" ties with all Gulf countries and has been asked by the country's parliament to stay neutral in the crisis, while trying to resolve it.

On Sunday, Pakistan rejected as "fabricated and baseless" reports that it plans to deploy its troops in Qatar amid diplomatic tensions in the Middle East.
New Delhi, June 12 : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and some Union Ministers regarding various development projects in his state.

The ministers he met were Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Minister of State for Power Piyush Goyal.

After the meetings, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister wrote on Twitter that these were courtesy meetings during which he also discussed some development projects of his state.

During the meeting (with Power Minister), "we discussed important issues like power generation and transmission and improvements in the supply of adequate power to the state", Adityanath tweeted.
New Delhi, June 12 : Plagued by huge bad loans problem, the government on Monday said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is in an advanced stage of preparing a list of debtors whose cases will be taken up through the insolvency route for a speedy resolution.

"RBI is at a fairly advanced stage of preparing a list of those debtors where resolution is required through Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) process, and you will be shortly hearing about it," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters after the morning session of a meeting here with heads of public sector banks called to review the situation on Non-Performing Assets (NPAs).

RBI has constituted a committee which is working on resolution of NPAs.

"There are 81 cases that have been filed under IBC. Of these, 18 cases have been initiated by financial creditors. These are already before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and since the bulk of NPAs, about 70 per cent, are either in consortium or multiple banking arrangement, a speedy resolution is required," he said.

RBI Deputy Governor S.S. Mundra, who was also present at the meeting, said RBI has already collected information of bad loan accounts from banks.

"Right now, the RBI is discussing on it. Information has already been collected on such accounts from banks," Mundra said.

Jaitley said that at the review meeting, various challenges to credit growth and their resolution were considered as the public sector banks' state finances continued to be the major concern.

"Challenge with regard to credit growth was discussed and resolution also came up for consideration. In the morning session, the most important item was with the state of finances of public sector banks (PSBs) and NPA resolution," he said.

In the detailed presentations made at the meeting, it emerged that in 2016-17, PSBs have made a stable operating profit of Rs 1.5 lakh crore. Subject to various provisioning requirements, their net profit stood at Rs 574 crore.

Further, a review of financial inclusion schemes like Mudra Yojana, Stand Up India and cyber security was also done at the meeting here.

Detailed discussions on movement towards digitalisation were also held and a presentation was made in this regard.

Since the banking industry will also be liable to pay the Goods and Services Tax (GST), in the afternoon session the bankers will meet Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia and other officials of certain departments of governments, Jaitley said.

When asked if the government was considering further consolidation of public sector banks, Jaitley said efforts were on in that direction.

"Consolidation was not on agenda in today's meeting. But we are actively working in that direction. I can't give further details."
New Delhi, June 12 : Indian Naval Ship Sahyadri on Monday visited Papua New Guinea on its four-day overseas deployment to the Southeast Asia and Southern Indian Ocean aimed to strengthen existing bonds between the two countries.

INS Sahyadri, a multi-role stealth frigate commanded by Captain Anil Jaggi, would be on a port visit to Papua New Guinea's capital Moresby from June 12 to June 15, a navy statement said.

The move comes in pursuance of India's Act East policy, it said. "The current deployment will contribute towards the Indian Navy's efforts to consolidate interoperability and forge strong bonds of friendship across the seas."

During the stay in harbour, various activities such as official calls, formal reception on board the ships, ships being open to visitors, guided tours for Indian naval personnel, professional interaction between naval personnel of both the nations and Community Welfare activities have been planned.

"The visit of the Indian Naval Ships seeks to underscore India's peaceful presence and solidarity with friendly and harmonious countries towards ensuring good order in the maritime domain and to strengthen existing bonds between Papua New Guinea and India," the statement said.

Indian Naval assets have been increasingly deployed in recent times to address the main maritime concerns of the region. Also, as part of the Indian government's vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR), the Navy has also been involved in assisting countries in the Indian Ocean Region with EEZ surveillance, search and rescue, and other capacity-building and capability-enhancement activities.

During the state visit of President Pranab Mukherjee in April 2016, the statement said, a number of constructive discussions were held on the shared desire to enhance the ties of friendship and cooperation that defined the relationship between the two countries.

Over the past few decades, India has made substantial advances in terms of designing and building warships indigenously and the visiting ships bear testimony to these capabilities.

In May, Indian Naval Ships Sahyadri, Shivalik, Jyoti and Kamorta visited Singapore.
Kathmandu, June 12 : Germany's Ambassador to Nepal Matthias Meyer, who has completed his three-year tenure in the Himalayan nation, is travelling the around 11,000 km home by road, a media report said.

The German envoy said he liked to travel to places with peaceful environment and to make new acquaintances, Himalayan Times reported.

"Why should we always travel on a plane?", said Meyer, who entered the Indian side of the border through the western border point of Gadda Chowki in Nepal on Monday morning.

On his decision to travel to Germany on a four-wheeler, Meyer said he desired to see the villages on the way.

The German envoy, who stayed at the Shuklaphanta Cottage in Shuklaphanta National Park after his arrival in Kanchanpur district on Sunday evening, pledged Berlin's continued support in the development of Nepal's tourist destinations.

He said Nepal has plenty of locations with tourism possibilities.

Meyer added that he would return to visit the national park again and also visit Jumla and the famous Rara Lake.

During a brief talk with the Rastriya Samachar Samiti, Meyer was reminiscent of his visit to Manang and Mustang, and confided that he was enticed by the cultural diversity, the daily said.

Meyer would be travelling through Pakistan, Iran and Turkey before entering Europe.
Bengaluru, June 12 : Amid raging debate over the role of the press and its freedom in the country, Vice President Hamid Ansari on Monday said only a "free and responsible" media could hold power to account in this age of "post-truths" and "alternative facts".

Addressing the re-launch event of the Congress-run National Herald newspaper, Ansari said here the country's constitutional framework allows state intervention to ensure smooth working of the press and the society, but "such intervention should only be in the interest of the public at large".

"In an open society like ours, we need a responsible press to hold power to account," he said, launching the print and online edition of the newspaper, founded and edited by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1938.

The newspaper is presently in a legal trouble with Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul accused of setting up a company, Young Indian, to buy the newspaper's debts using Congress funds, and illegally acquiring property worth Rs 5,000 crore belonging to the newspaper.

Ansari's remarks came amid a campaign by journalists to safeguard the freedom of the press which they allege has come under severe threat from the government after the CBI raided the homes of veteran journalist and NDTV founder Prannoy Roy last week.

The Vice President said the duty of the state was to protect a free media, which "is not only beneficial but necessary in a free society".

"If press freedom is attacked, it will result in the jeopardising of citizen's rights. When faced with unjust restrictions and the threat of attack, self-censorship in the media can have the opposite effect, aiding the covering up of abuses and fostering frustration in marginalized communities."

Ansari said the freedom of press guaranteed by the Constitution was subject "only to reasonable restrictions in the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the state, public order, decency, contempt of court, defamation and incitement to an offence".

He cited a Supreme Court view that "freedom of speech and of the press is the Ark of the Covenant of Democracy' because public criticism is essential to the working of its institutions".

Ansari said the system of government like in other democracies demanded "constant vigilance over exercise of governmental power by the press", which he asserted, "is essential for a good government".

"By the same token, the state shall not impede the free flow of information that will go a long way in protecting and promoting citizen's rights. The media, if it is to remain true to its calling, has to do likewise."

The Vice President said in this age of "post-truths, and alternative facts, where advertorials and response features edge-out editorials", the media could do well if it recalled India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's vision of the press "playing its role of a watchdog in democracy".
Bengaluru, June 12 : Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Monday voiced disapproval of party leader Sandeep Dikshit's remark likening Army Chief Bipin Rawat to a 'sadak ka gunda' (a street goon).

While speaking at a party event here, Gandhi said no politician should make any comment on the Army Chief.

"I was told by someone from press (media) that one Congress leader has made a comment on the Army Chief. It is wrong. I want to make it clear that the Indian Army works for us, protects the country. There is no need to say anything against the Army Chief," he said.

Dikshit had on Sunday triggered a row after he called the Army Chief 'sadak ka gunda' over the latter's public statement.

While Dikshit offered an apology for his remarks, the BJP on Monday demanded an apology from Congress President Sonia Gandhi as well.
Aizwal, June 12 : Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Monday stressed the need to comprehensively develop Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts bordering Myanmar to increase entrepreneurship so that people don't deviate from the mainstream.

Such efforts will go a long way in addressing acute poverty and lack of employment in these districts, the Chief Minister told a review meeting here to discuss India-Myanmar border issues chaired by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

Khandu said a significant portion of the population was engaged in illegal opium production and trade which had to be tackled aggressively with a two-pronged strategy of de-addiction centres and skill development centres.

Since the terrain of Tirap, Changlang and Longding region was good for cash crops, the Spice Board of India and Krishi Vigyan Kendra should be advised to open their offices in the three districts, he said.

Khandu said the Arunachal Pradesh government had prepared a proposal of around Rs 985 crore as a fresh special package for Tirap, Changlang and Longding and requested the Home Ministry to consider the proposal favourably.

He also called for steps to prevent migration from the border areas and sought central assistances for rapid economic development of the border areas.
Bhubaneswar, June 12 : Union Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Monday said the the National Democratic Alliance will reach out to various political parties to ensure unanimity on the next President of India.

"We want the next President to be elected unanimously. We will reach out to various parties for a consensus candidate," the Urban Development and Information and Broadcasting Minister said here.

He said the NDA is not averse to talk with the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) of Odisha on this count.

Naidu was in the Odisha capital to attend a 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas' event, held in connection with completion of the Narendra Modi government's three years in office at the Centre.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, the leading party in the ruling NDA, has set u a three-member panel comprising Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Naidu for the presidential election scheduled for July 17.

Naidu attacked the Congress, saying it is focusing on 3Ds of "disrupt, disinform, and defame".

"The prime work of the Congress is to defame Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is always working for the nation's development, disrupt Parliament over petty issues, and disturb people by spreading false information on central government schemes," the Minister said.

He said the central government was focusing on 3Ds -- decisiveness, dynamism, and development.
New Delhi, June 12 : The Centre on Monday approved road projects worth Rs 10,000 crore for the construction and upgradation of various roads in Uttar Pradesh.

The projects, cleared during Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's meeting with Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, include upgradation of 73 state highways into national highways with a total length of 6,260 km.

Adityanath told the media here that Gadkari also assured him of upgrading another 15 proposed state highways into national highways.

"It is the first time that such a large number of schemes amounting to Rs 10,000 crore have been cleared for Uttar Pradesh at one go," he said.

The approved projects include a six-lane expressway to provide better connectivity with Bundelkhand.

"The six-lane expressway would connect Tirwa with Jhansi via Agra-Lucknow expressway," Adityanath said.

He added that a four-lane expressway to connect Jhansi with Allahabad via Chitrakoot would also be constructed.

Economically backward Western Uttar Pradesh and Bundelkhand would be brought on the path of development for the first time through these projects, the Chief Minister said.

For Allahabad where "Kumbh mela" takes place every 12 years -- the next scheduled for 2019 -- 76 km of ring road would be developed to augment road infrastructure, he said.

"We also reached consensus to build ring roads in main cities of Uttar Pradesh including Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Bareilly, Kanpur, Moradabad and Meerut."

"For Lucknow, seven elevated roads have been approved," the Chief Minister said.

During his visit to Delhi, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Minister of State for Power Piyush Goyal.

He described the meetings as courtesy meetings during which he also discussed some development projects for his state.

During the meeting (with the Power Minister), "we discussed important issues like power generation and transmission and improvements in the supply of adequate power to the state", Adityanath wrote on Twitter.
New Delhi, June 12 : Blaming the BJP-led central government for pushing the agriculture sector into "ICU", the Congress on Monday demanded that the government fulfil its primary promise of "providing minimum support price (MSP), along with 50 per cent of the cost of production" to the farmers.

The party also questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence on the firing on farmers and the massive farmers' strike taking place in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states.

The Congress said farmers had been "backstabbed by the callous and insensitive attitude of the BJP government".

The party also asked the government why should the issue of farm loan waiver be left to the state governments. "Why shouldn't the central government announce the loan waiver?" said senior Congress spokesperson C.P. Joshi.

He said the same government, which had promised the farmers the MSP and 50 per cent of cost of production on their crops, was now shying away from it.

"During 2014 elections, the BJP had promised the farmers MSP and 50 per cent of the cost of production. Now, the same government has given an affidavit in the Supreme Court stating that they can't do this," added Joshi.

Joshi said demonetisation had hurt the agrarian society like no other policy.

"It has completely destroyed farm incomes and resulted in deep agricultural distress. Despite good monsoons and good harvest, the farmer continues to be in distress," he said.

"Agricultural growth has come down to just 1.3 per cent this year, compared with an average growth of 4.2 per cent in the UPA years," said Joshi.

The party spokesperson, asking a few questions to the government, said: "Why has the BJP government reduced import duty to zero per cent? Is it to benefit the middlemen?"

"On one hand, the government does not procure wheat from India's farmers. On the other hand, it imports wheat by reducing import duty from 25 per cent to zero per cent. Nexus with food grain mafia is evident," he added.

Joshi said that in 2015-16, the BJP government had permitted import of pulses at Rs 44 per kg. "Pulses sold at Rs 230 per kg. In 2016-17, despite bumper production of 221 lakh tonnes, the BJP has again permitted import of 54 lakh tonnes pulses at Rs 44 per kg."

He asked why the agricultural export was plunging. "During the Congress government, agri-exports surged from US $753.30 million in 2003-04 to US $3,295 million."

"Under the BJP, exports have miserably plunged to US $1,957 million. That is a fall by US $1,338 million," Joshi added.
Islamabad, June 12 : Pakistan Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar on Monday announced that the process of issuing visas to Chinese nationals will be reviewed and streamlined following the abduction of two Chinese from Quetta.

Expressing his deep concern over the kidnapping, the minister said there was a need to review the visa process and to maintain a data bank of Chinese nationals staying in Pakistan, Xinhua news agency reported.

Nisar ordered that the data bank, which will be prepared by the National Registration Authority, should be shared with all security agencies. His statement came after the minister presided over a high-level meeting in Islamabad The minister said ensuring the security of foreign nationals was a shared responsibility.

"Where the government makes every effort to provide security to foreigners, the foreign nationals are equally bound to abide by the terms and conditions of their visas and inform local authorities about their movements and activities keeping in view the security requirements," Nisar said.

He said a misuse of the terms of business visa contributed to the abduction of the two Chinese.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Friday that China would continue to use various channels to gain and verify information about the reported killing of the two Chinese nationals kidnapped in Quetta last month.
New Delhi, June 12 : The race for the presidential election gathered momentum on Monday with the BJP pitching for consensus and constituting a three-member committee of senior ministers to talk to political parties, including the opposition.

The BJP also set up committees for "internal coordination" among the voters -- MPs and MLAs -- in the party and among NDA allies to ensure no vote goes waste.

Two former BJP Presidents, Rajnath Singh (Home Minister) and M. Venkaiah Naidu (Urban Development Minister), as well as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley are members of the committee, the Bharatiya Janata Party said in a statement.

"The committee will hold talks with leaders of various political parties over the Presidential election and try to evolve a consensus," the BJP said.

The Presidential election will be held on July 17. President Pranab Mukherjee's term ends on July 24.

Sources in the BJP said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi may speak with senior party leaders over the choice of candidates for the post of President on June 15.

BJP President Amit Shah has also formed three internal committees for coordination among voters.

One committee comprises Union Ministers - Dharmendra Pradhan, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Nirmala Sitharaman - and party General Secretary Bhupender Yadav who would coordinate with Members of Parliament and state legislators.

To ensure that not a single vote goes waste, the committee would also be in touch with party Chief Ministers and leader of the party in state assemblies. The committee, through its chief ministers and leaders in state assemblies, would also try to get extra votes of smaller regional parties and independents.

Another panel is a two-member committee under Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar, which would coordinate with the voters of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies. Party's Chief Whip in Lok Sabha, Rakesh Singh will associate with Kumar.

Another committee comprises three party General Secretaries and five young leaders for the publicity exercise.

The BJP has so far not given any indication about its likely nominee, but opposition parties, including the Congress, have held parleys to find a consensus candidate.

The opposition has made it clear that they will await the choice of the ruling side before announcing its strategy.

Janata Dal-United president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that opposition parties were waiting for the BJP to come out with a consensus candidate, and if there was none then it was the opposition's duty to put up its own candidate.

"The opposition will not take much time to decide the candidate, but the Centre should take initiative in this regard," Kumar told reporters in Patna.

The opposition parties want that the candidate should be one who should be able to protect the Constitution, implying the choice should be a secular person.

The opposition has also said that if a consensus candidate does not emerge, they will field a candidate "who will steadfastly defend constitutional values".

Opposition parties will meet on June 14 to formally begin discussions on the Presidential and Vice Presidential elections.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi has initiated moves to bring the opposition parties on a common platform for the election.

Gandhi earlier this month constituted a 10-member sub-group of representatives from opposition parties to take forward the deliberations and discussions on the election.

"Members of the sub-group will meet on Wednesday to formally begin their discussion on Presidential and Vice Presidential elections," a senior opposition leader said.

The sub-group consists of Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mallikarjun Kharge (Congress), Sharad Yadav (JD-U), Lalu Prasad (RJD), Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M), Derek O'Brien (TMC), Ram Gopal Yadav (SP), Satish Chandra Mishra (BSP), R.S. Bharathi (DMK) and Praful Patel (NCP).

Speaking on the issue, Venkaiah Naidu said the National Democratic Alliance will reach out to various political parties to ensure unanimity on the next President of India.

"We want the next President to be elected unanimously. We will reach out to various parties for a consensus candidate," the Urban Development and Information and Broadcasting Minister said in Bhubaneswar.

He said the NDA is not averse to talk with the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) of Odisha on this count.
Bhopal, June 12 : The Madhya Pradesh government on Monday appointed Justice J.K. Jain (retd) to head the one-member judicial commission to probe the June 6 police firing in Mandsaur in which five protesting farmers were killed.

The commission will probe the polce firing and farmer deaths and submit its report within three months of the issuance of a gazette notification on its constitution, official sources said.

The probe panel, to be based in Indore, will probe under what circumstances the police firing and subsequent deaths occurred; was the police action appropriate to the given situation; if not, who all are guilty; and whether civil and police officials in the district had taken adequate necessary steps in the run-up to the incidents or not.

The farmers were on protest since June 1 to demand a loan waiver and remunerative prices for their farm produce.

After the farmers' killing, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had ordered for a judicial probe.
Hyderabad, June 12 : Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL), the largest animal vaccine manufacturer in Asia, has signed a MoU with INTA and Littoral Biologics of Argentina for transfer of technology to produce bovine parasitic vaccines in India.

Introduction of vaccines against haemoprotozoan infections transmitted by ticks such as Babesiosis and Anaplasmosis will prevent loss in productivity in cattle and immensely benefit dairy farmers, said a statement by IIL.

IIL is a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).

Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria (INTA), Argentina is Argentinian federal agency in charge of the generation, adaptation and diffusion of technologies.

Manual G. Garcia, Director General of Littoral, Nicora Amadeo, President INTA, Cerioni Adolfo Luis, National Coordinator, INTA, Argentina signed the agreement with Indian Immunologicals to transfer technology to produce vaccine against Babesiosis and Anaplasmosis.

"Economic losses due to Babesisosis alone in India are estimated to be about $57.2 million", said K. Anand Kumar, Managing Director, IIL.

"IIL is only vaccine manufacturer in India which is capable of producing effective parasitic vaccines for animals with vast experience in producing vaccine against haemoprotozoan Theileria annulata, since three decades. IIL recently introduced vaccine against Porcine Cysticercosis, a parasitic vaccine for Pigs. This agreement with the Argentinean collaborators will go a long way in uplifting productivity among dairy farmers in India," he added.

IIL's Rakshavac-T (Vaccine against Theileria annulata) is the only vaccine against haemoprotozoan infections in India.
Bengaluru, June 12 : Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi on Monday expressed disapproval over party leader Sandeep Dikshit comparing Army Chief General Bipin Rawat with a goon on the street.

"Dikshit's remark was absolutely wrong," Rahul Gandhi said while addressing a Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) meeting.

Dikshit is a former lawmaker from East Delhi and the son of former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.

"The Indian Army works for the country and there is no need for any political leader to make comments against the Army chief," he said.

He said that someone from the media told him that a Congress leader has made comments against the Army chief.

"I want to make it clear that Indian Army works for us, it protects India. There is no need for anyone to make comments against the Army chief," he said.

Dikshit had on Sunday triggered a row after he called the Army Chief 'sadak ka gunda' over the latter's public statement.

While Dikshit offered an apology for his remarks, the BJP on Monday demanded an apology from Congress President Sonia Gandhi as well.
New Delhi, June 12 : Congress on Monday termed Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's fast to restore peace in his state rocked by violence during a farmers' agitation, as "farcical token fast and hypocrisy".

"Not only did the BJP government of Madhya Pradesh shoot dead innocent farmers who were agitating for their promised rights, but the Chief Minister indulged in a farcical token fast, wasting crores of tax payer's money," said senior party spokesperson C. P. Joshi.

"This is nothing but hypocrisy," he added saying: "The farmers of the country has been mercilessly backstabbed by the callous and insensitive attitude of the BJP government."

Chouhan on Sunday ended his day-old indefinite fast and announced a series of decisions aimed at the welfare of the state's farmers, including buying of all crops on Minimum Support Prices, purchase of milk as per Amul Dairy's formula, and setting up of farmers markets in Madhya Pradesh to save them from the clutches of middlemen.
Islamabad, June 12 : The two Chinese nationals abducted from Quetta last month and later killed were involved in "preaching" instead of business activities A the declared purpose for their visit to Pakistan, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan was informed in a high level meeting, a media report said.

Lee Zing Yang, 24, and Meng Li Si, 26, were abducted from Jinnah Town Quetta on May 24 and later murdered by the militant Islamic State.

It was not immediately clear what the interior ministry suspected them of 'preaching', Dawn reported.

The interior ministry confirmed the two Chinese had been killed but it was not clear if their bodies have been found.

The Interior Minister has also ordered an initial review, followed by regulation and the streamlining of the visa process to avoid the misuse of business visas by foreign nationals.

The Interior Minister was told that the two Chinese had gone to Quetta and were engaged in preaching under the garb of learning Urdu from a Korean national, Juan Won Seo, who is the owner of ARK Info Tech.

The Minister was informed that the two were part of a group of Chinese citizens who obtained business visas from the Pakistani Embassy in Beijing and entered Pakistan.

Nisar expressed his displeasure at the laxity often shown in granting visas by Pakistani missions abroad. He directed all Pakistani missions to undertake proper scrutiny of visa application forms and acquire all necessary details before exercising their powers, Dawn reported.

At present, Chinese citizens are able to obtain visas faster than other nationals, and for longer periods when their work relates to CPEC projects.

He also called for a data bank of Chinese nationals present in the country to be maintained.

This data bank, to be prepared by National Database Registration Authority (Nadra), should be shared with all security agencies, ordered the minister in the meeting, which was attended by the secretary interior, advocate general, director general of immigration and passports, the deputy chairman Nadra and others.

The minister also said that ensuring the security of foreign nationals is a shared responsibility and that the Pakistani government was doing its bit to secure foreigners.

However, he was quick to point out that the visitors held some responsibility as well, and should inform local authorities about their movements and activities.

The Minister observed that it is "highly unfortunate that a misuse of the terms of business visa contributed to the unfortunate abduction and subsequent murder of two innocent Chinese".

Last Thursday, the Islamic State militant group said it was responsible for the killing of the two Chinese language teachers. The killings come at a time when Beijing is focusing its massive One Belt, One Road (OBOR) project, especially the CPEC, which has drawn many Chinese to the country.
New Delhi, June 12 : An infant's body was found dumped near a canal in south Delhi on Monday evening, the city police said.

The body of the male child, who appeared to be about nine months old, was found around 7 p.m. in Badarpur area and has been shifted to a local hospital, Deputy Commissioner of Police Romil Baaniya told IANS.

Baaniya said the police were trying to identify the child. "As of now, we have no leads in the case," the officer said.
Bhopal, June 12 : Gujarat's youth Patidar leader Hardik Patel and Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha General Secretary Hannan Mollah will on Tuesday meet the families of the six farmers killed in police firing in Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur district.

"The farmers gave their lives for their rights. It will not go waste. Hardik will meet famers and will ask them to continue their protest," Patidar Navnirman Sena General Secretary Akhilesh Katiyar told IANS.

Patel will leave from Udaipur in Rajasthan to reach Mandsaur where he will meet the families of the six killed farmers. It is expected that Mollah -- who is also reaching the district on Tuesday -- will meet the farmers with Patel.

Farmers' protests that started in the state on June 1, for better prices for their produce and debt relief, turned violent on June 6 when six farmers were killed in police firing in Mandsaur.

The violence spilled over to several other districts, including the Malwa-Nimad area and even reached the state capital. Angry farmers blocked roads, vandalised property and set fire to vehicles.

After the farmers' killing, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has ordered a judicial probe.
Kolkata, June 12 : Nine Bangladeshi nationals were arrested in West Bengal's North 24-Parganas district by the police and BSF personnel for trespassing in Indian territory without any proper documents, the police said on Monday.

While the police of North 24-Parganas district's Swarupnagar apprehended seven persons, including five women, on the charge of encroachment, the Border Security Force troopers arrested two more women and later handed them over to the police.

"We arrested six persons on Sunday night and one more on Monday morning near the border area of Swarupnagar. Two more women were apprehended by the BSF and were handed over to us on Monday morning," an officer from the Swarupnagar police station said.

"The arrested persons are labourers who claimed to have illegally crossed the border in search of jobs," he said.

The police said that there was no major seizure from the people, apart from some cash and clothes.

"None of the 10 accused could produce documents permitting them to stay on Indian soil. They are charged under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act for trespassing," the officer said.

"The accused were presented in Basirhat court where they were remanded in 14 days of judicial custody," he added.
Berlin, June 12 : Rome and Berlin strongly support investment in the sustainable development of African migrants' home countries, Italian Premier Paolo Gentiloni told a meeting of African leaders here on Monday, ahead of the G20 summit.

"We believe that to combat migration we must support sustainable development and invest in migrants' countries of origin as well as in transit countries through specific partnerships.

"Germany and Italy are strongly backing this in the European Union," he said.

"The G20 provides an important forum to promote best practice and forge common strategies as well as to establish principles of shared responsibility and burden sharing," Gentiloni added.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is hosting the conference titled "G20 Africa Partnership - Investing in a Common Future". Guests include the Presidents of Egypt and Guinea, which currently holds the African Union's rotating presidency, as well as Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal and Tunisia.

Germany is offering some 300 million euros in aid for countries who commit to fighting corruption, improving transparency and upholding human rights, Development Minister Gerd Mueller said ahead of Monday's conference.

Germany, Europe's largest economy, has taken in more than one million asylum seekers since 2015, most of them from war-wracked Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, but also many thousands from Ethiopia, Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa.

Many hundreds of thousands of migrants have arrived in Italy in recent years aboard boats that set sail from North Africa.

Merkel is hosting the initiative as part of Germany's presidency of the Group of 20 powerful economies, whose leaders meet in the northern port of Hamburg in July.
New Delhi, June 12 : Sacked Delhi minister Kapil Mishra on Monday said he, along with the members of India Against Corruption (IAC), will launch a campaign against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal from Karol Bagh on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters here, Mishra said that under the banner of IAC, they would send proof of Kejriwal's "scams" to every assembly constituency, and that the teams were being formed in each constituency.

He would be working with old friends from the IAC and Anna Hazare's team, Mishra said.

The sacked Delhi Minister also said that they had formed a team to reach out to people and the media.

He said the date for a referendum on "Right to Recall" would be announced soon.

"Going to ACB tmrw (tomorrow) to give more evidences on Medicine Scam and to fike (file) complaint on CNG scam," Mishra tweeted on Monday evening.

On May 6, Mishra was sacked by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as a minister in the Delhi government, citing poor performance. A day later, Mishra made allegations of corruption against Kejriwal and Delhi Minister Satyendar Kumar Jain. On May 8, he was suspended from the party.

Mishra has been protesting and levelling allegations of corruption against Kejriwal and Jain for the past one month.
Helsinki, June 13 : Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila said on Monday that his government will submit a formal resignation soon.

Sipila told a press conference in Helsinki that the Centre Party and National Coalition Party could not be assured of cooperation with the Finns Party on future issues, Xinhua news agency reported.

The prime minister made the announcement following talks with other coalition party leaders on Monday morning. Sipila said the value difference with Jussi Halla-aho, new leader of the Finns Party, was too large.

National Coalition party leader Petteri Orpo underlined that no hatred speech or discrimination was acceptable.

"We believe in international cooperation and want to develop an open and permissive society," he said.

Sipila and Orpo said Halla-aho's views on Finland's relationship with the European Union are not compatible with the government programme.

They said Halla-aho would have liked to keep the Finns Party inside the government. Halla-aho said on Monday afternoon that Sipila could not accept making the Finnish immigration policies tougher.
SKLD staff member Betty Granata, Executive Director Jane Ross, and gala MC Robert Tudisco As a child with an undiagnosed learning disability, a lot more was going on behind my eyes than I was getting credit for

On Friday, April 21, Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities (SKLD) hosted its 17th anniversary benefit gala at the Indian Harbor Yacht Club in Greenwich, CT. The evening celebrated the winners of the annual Fred J. Epstein Youth Achievement Awards, as well as honoring Dr. Christopher Bogart, founder and executive director of the Southfield Center for Development, with the organizations Community Service Award.

Attorney and ADHD-activist Robert Tudisco, a partner at Barger & Gaines, served as master of ceremonies. He described SKLD Executive Director Jane Ross as his hero for founding an organization focused on the enormous intelligence and talents of children with learning disabilities (LD). As a child with an undiagnosed learning disability, Tudisco said, "there was a lot more going on behind my eyes than I was getting credit for.

As part of the evening's awards ceremony, SKLD board member Danielle DeGrazia recounted her experience as a parent of a child with learning disabilities. When her son Justin was 13, DeGrazia was told by his school that he was not college material and would not be put in college-track courses in high school. DeGrazia and her husband were devastated. Then she attended the first program sponsored by SKLD, a talk by noted pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Fred J. Epstein. DeGrazia called it divine intervention and credited SKLD with giving her the tools, courage and community of parents to empower her to fight for her son. She said Justin graduated college with a degree in diagnostic genetics and a minor in molecular biology and is now the manager of assay development at Celmatix, a biotech firm.

Dr. Christopher Bogart was honored with the 2017 Community Service Award. Christopher M. Bogart, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist who has worked in both the private and public sectors for the past twenty years. In 2010, Dr. Bogart founded The Southfield Center for Development in Darien, CT, a family-centered, interdisciplinary practice providing an integrated approach to learning, emotional, and behavior issues. The Southfield Center has helped countless children, adolescents, and families, with a wide spectrum of needs. As shown by the standing ovation Dr. Bogart received as he accepted his award, he is beloved by staff and clients alike.

In his acceptance speech, Dr. Bogart called his colleagues at the Southfield Center his "family" and expressed gratitude for the support he received as a child with ADHD from a special teacher. Dr. Bogart said, For every smart kid with a learning disability that has succeeded, there has been at least one teacher that has truly believed in that child.

Seven high school students, six of whom attended the event, were presented with the Fred J. Epstein Youth Achievement Awards. The awards recognize young people with learning disabilities and ADHD for remarkable accomplishments. The awards are named for the late Dr. Epstein who credited his learning disabilities for fueling his professional success and became to inspiration for children with LD and their families. The honorees, who came from five states, demonstrate what young people with learning disabilities can achieve through dedication, talent, initiative and the support of their families and teachers.

Following a spirited cocktail hour and silent auction, over 165 guests enjoyed a live auction. Simon Teakle, of Simon Teakle Fine Jewelry in Greenwich, rallied those in attendance to bid on items including tickets to the Broadway hit Dear Evan Hansen, a Walt Disney World vacation, and a behind-the-scenes visit to the Showtime drama Billions. The event raised more than $70,000, which will be used to continue the non-profit organizations efforts to educate and support parents of children with learning disabilities and ADHD.

The Pinnacle Sponsor for the gala was the Southfield Center for Development in Darien, CT. The Summit Sponsor, Lindamood-Bell Learning Center in Darien, CT, provides research-based instruction in reading, comprehension, and literacy processing. Additional sponsors included GenRe, Affinion Group, Eagle Hill School Greenwich, the Tarrytown, NY-based law firm Barger & Gaines, Fusion Academy of Greenwich and Fairfield, and Winston Prep School in Norwalk, CT.

About Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities, Inc.

Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities, Inc. is a Westport-based nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering the parents of children with learning disabilities (LD) and attention deficit disorders (ADHD) via its educational programs, award-winning website and blog, and free e-newsletter at http://www.SmartKidswithLD.org. The organization also educates the public about these childrens gifts and talents. Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy and Anne Ford are Honorary Board members and Henry Winkler, Golden Globe award-winning actor, director and author, serves as the organizations Honorary Chairman.
Bonafide integrates inbound into every aspect of their business, marketing and mission, and are a true testament to their success.

Bonafide, an inbound marketing agency based in Houston, Texas, was recently honored with a 2017 Agency Partner Client Impact Award for Graphic Design from marketing technology pioneer, HubSpot. The annual award recognizes the industrys top representations of inbound marketing across five key marketing channels, including a Graphic Design category. Of the 100 total entries submitted in 2017, Bonafide was one of only 10 Impact Award winners, and one of only two winners in the Graphic Design category, for their work for CourthouseDirect.com.

CourthouseDirect.com, an online repository of courthouse documents, had already developed a robust user base among abstractors, appraisers, real estate agents and title agents, but they wanted to promote their technological capabilities to the lucrative landman segment of the oil and gas industry. As the intermediaries between oil and gas companies and landowners, landmen play a vital role in securing mineral rights, a role that requires extensive research of local courthouse records. However, few landmen were aware that CourthouseDirect.com offered the same documents online  making education a top priority for CourthouseDirect.com and Bonafide.

Following in-depth interviews with key members of the landman community, Bonafide developed a detailed customer persona for the landman that spanned the history, demographics, business pain points and opportunities for growth through CourthouseDirect.coms technology. Coupled with rigorous keyword analysis, this research informed the development of a series of highly targeted content vehicles geared toward members of the oil and gas industry, including online articles and blog posts.

Bonafide also created a highly shared infographic, entitled The Evolution of the Landman, to provide a visual representation of historical advances in oil and gas technology while directing audience attention to CourthouseDirect.coms innovative Saas solution. This infographic was accompanied by a 35-page eBook, The Landman Survival Guide, featuring the same stylized design and imagery used across the other campaign components.

The campaign, which was promoted via several inbound channels, including email, landing pages and social media, produced considerable traffic for CourthouseDirect.com. The infographic generated 3245 views, while the eBook and corresponding landing page have produced 1045 never-before-seen new contacts and 22 new customers to date. In total, the campaigns innovative design drew 65,136 unique visits to CourthouseDirect.coms website, producing over 1000 leads that were converted into 25 customers and counting.

David McNeil, Vice President of the Global Partner Program and Strategy at HubSpot, Inc., cited Bonafides implementation of a comprehensive inbound methodology when evaluating Impact Award candidates: "Bonafide integrates inbound into every aspect of their business, marketing and mission, and are a true testament to their success. Since day one as a HubSpot Partner, their agency has been creating valuable, seamless interactions for their leads, prospects and customers. Agencies everywhere can learn from their innovative tactics and impressive growth."

Bonafide President Shareef Defrawi said: As a longtime HubSpot Agency Partner, we know how competitive the marketing landscape can be. We work hard to help companies like CourthouseDirect.com stand out from the competition through compelling design and an inbound marketing framework, and this award reflects that commitment to our clients success. Its a tremendous honor, and we thank HubSpot for the continued support.

About Bonafide

Bonafide is a digital marketing agency and HubSpot Gold Agency Partner committed to helping growth-minded businesses find new customers online using inbound and content marketing, SEO, PPC advertising, social media, PR, technology and more.
I believe in this organization because they are the leading domestic hunger relief organization in South Florida,

Neptune Society's Human Resources department has recently donated their time to ensuring families in South Florida have enough food. By working with Feeding South Florida, the Human Resources department was able to continue Neptune Societys mission to help members of its surrounding community throughout all stages of life.

The Human Resources Department of Neptune Society came together on April 11th to assist Feeding South Florida in sorting food and preparing meals to feed families within the South Florida community. At the same time, the Human Resources team got a chance to bond and hone their team building skills in a new environment where they are able to directly assist families within their community.

"Spending time with my group of coworkers while helping our community was definitely lots of fun," Neptune Society Human Resources Coordinator Joella Doobrow said.

The food items had been donated to the food bank at Feeding South Florida so it could be provided to families in need. Feeding South Florida is able to provide food to 25% of Florida's food insecure population by partnering with over 410 nonprofit partners. With over 700,000 food insecure individuals in Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe counties, Feeding South Florida has changed the lives of many families within Neptune Society's community. The organization also provides employment opportunities for individuals and families they help, giving them the ability to escape food insecurity and help others.

"I believe in this organization because they are the leading domestic hunger relief organization in South Florida," Vice President of Human Resources at Neptune Society Dania Schoolfield said.

This isn't the first time Neptune Society has supported Feeding South Florida. In fact, the Operations department recently volunteered to sort food and package meals in March. They managed to sort over 15,000 pounds of food and package over 13,000 meals for South Florida families. Neptune Society has also hosted a company-wide food drive over last Thanksgiving and the winter holidays, organized by Schoolfield to benefit Feeding South Florida. Employees generously donated over one hundred pounds of groceries to ensure South Florida families had access to food during the holiday season.

Besides volunteer work, Neptune Society helps families through the loss of a loved one by offering affordable cremation services in packages that make it simple to plan at the time of need or decades in advance.

In the future, Neptune Society plans on continuing their community service initiative by providing volunteering opportunities to employees once every quarter in 2017. Neptune Society hopes to inspire good corporate citizenship through this endeavor over the course of this year. Neptune Society will continue to help families in need whether through their business or through their volunteer work.
This now means the Signatures for Office 365 service uses the largest amount of Azure datacenters in the world when compared to other email signature management providers on the market.

Exclaimer Limited, the global leader in email signature management solutions, today announced that it has added more regional Microsoft Azure datacenters, based in India and Canada, to its award-winning service, Exclaimer Cloud - Signatures for Office 365. This now makes it the Office 365 signature solution utilizing the largest amount of regional Azure servers in the world.

Many companies in India and Canada want to ensure their data safely resides within their own country in line with stricter regulations for data residency and handling. In Canada, for example, the healthcare and financial sectors must keep all client data within the country due to compliance regulations that limits the cloud services companies within these industries can use. After extending its leading Office 365 signature service to datacenters in the UK and Germany earlier this year, Exclaimers expansion to more regional Azure datacenters allows many more organizations in India and Canada access to its service.

It is no surprise that many companies want to ensure their data does not leave their country of origin, said Andrew Millington, Chief Executive Officer at Exclaimer. Exclaimer continues to be committed to the highest standards of cloud security. By expanding the Exclaimer Cloud - Signatures for Office 365 service to more regional Azure datacenters, we are adhering to data residency and handling laws by guaranteeing customers data never leaves their country. This now means the Signatures for Office 365 service uses the largest amount of Azure datacenters in the world when compared to other email signature management providers on the market.

About Exclaimer

Founded in 2001, Exclaimer is the recognized global market leader in on-premises and cloud-based email signature software and solutions for Office 365, Microsoft Exchange and Outlook. It has over 50 million users worldwide in 150+ countries with some companies holding licenses for over 100,000 users. Its diverse customer base includes renowned international organizations such as Sony, Mattel, 10 Downing Street, NBC, the Government of Canada, the BBC and many more of all sectors and sizes.

Exclaimer solutions are regularly recommended by Microsoft MVPs (Most Valuable Professionals) and have a strong reputation within the Microsoft community. The company has been the recipient of multiple awards within the IT sphere, has been awarded the Queens Award for Enterprise in International Trade and has successfully achieved the ISO 27001:2013 Certification for its cloud-based Office 365 signature management service.

For more information on Exclaimer, please visit http://www.exclaimer.com.
NFP, a leading insurance broker and consultant that provides employee benefits, property & casualty (P&C), retirement and individual private client solutions, announced today it has acquired Brennan & Associates Risk Management & Insurance Services, Inc. (B&A). The transaction closed as of May 1, 2017.

With locations across California and Nevada, B&A is a full-service P&C insurance brokerage that provides both personal and commercial services. Tom Brennan and Mike Brennan, principals of the firm, will join as vice presidents of NFP P&C and Cathy Hood, also a principal of the firm, will join as a senior account manager in NFP P&C. They will report to Paul Saich, regional president of NFP P&C in California.

Were thrilled to welcome Tom, Mike and Cathy to the NFP family, said Terry Scali, CEO of NFP P&C. Their firms niche expertise and experience enables NFP to expand its breadth of services across the P&C business. We look forward to providing additional resources to valued clients and growing our producer base on the West Coast.

Tom Brennan commented, We are eager to merge our specialized expertise with NFPs national P&C platform, tapping into more robust offerings that will strengthen relationships throughout the western U.S.

About NFP

At NFP Corp., our solutions and expertise are matched only by our personal commitment to each client's goals. Were a leading insurance broker and consultant that provides employee benefits, property & casualty, retirement and individual private client solutions through our licensed subsidiaries and affiliates.

NFP has more than 3,400 employees and global capabilities. Our expansive reach gives us access to highly rated insurers, vendors and financial institutions in the industry, while our locally based employees tailor each solution to meet our clients' needs. Weve become one of the largest insurance brokerage, consulting and wealth management firms by building enduring relationships with our clients and helping them realize their goals.

Recently NFP was ranked the 2nd fastest-growing US large-group employee benefits broker by Employee Benefit Adviser. In addition, Business Insurance ranked us as the 5th largest global benefits broker by revenue, the 4th largest US-based privately owned broker and the 11th largest broker of US business. PlanSponsor ranked us the 5th largest executive benefits provider of nonqualified deferred compensation by number of plans, and we were ranked 11th in personal lines P&C revenue by Insurance Journal.
We would not be able to achieve such significant growth without our great people.

Every year companies throughout Chicago compete to be named one of Chicagos Best and Brightest Companies to Work For. Only companies that distinguish themselves as having the most innovative and thoughtful human resources approach can be bestowed this honor. Maven Wave is honored to be recognized by the National Association for Business Resources (NABR) for the 4th consecutive year as one of Chicagos Best and Brightest Companies to Work For.

The 2017 winning companies were assessed by the NABR, an independent research firm who evaluated each companys entry based on key measures in various categories. They include: Compensation, Benefits and Employee Solutions; Employee Enrichment, Engagement and Retention; Employee Education and Development; Recruitment, Selection and Orientation; Employee Achievement and Recognition; Communication and Shared Vision; Diversity and Inclusion; Work-Life Balance; Community Initiatives; and Strategic Company Performance.

We are honored to be recognized as one of Chicagos Best and Brightest companies for the fourth year in a row. At Maven Wave, we continually strive to keep our employees learning, engaged, and challenged. We would not be able to achieve such significant growth without our great people, says Jeff Lee, Partner and co-founder of Maven Wave.

For Maven Wave, employees are truly the most valuable asset. The success of Maven Wave has been driven by the strength of their employees, who make the workplace a rewarding environment. The leadership team continually focuses on making employee development, engagement, and work-life balance a top priority.

Profitability and stability is essential for businesses in todays economic climate. Companies that recognize that their employees are the key to their success achieve staying power. Our 2017 winners create their human resource standards to ensure employee satisfaction and they set standards for every business to aspire toward, said Jennifer Kluge, President and CEO of MBPA. We are proud to honor this years winners.

View all of the 2017 winners here.

About Maven Wave

Maven Wave helps leading companies make the shift to digital and shorten the fuse to innovation. Maven Wave combines the expertise and discipline of top-tier consulting with the agility youd expect from a cutting-edge technology firm. This multidisciplinary blend of skills allows us to create unique digital advantages for our clients. Maven Waves digital solutions are agile, mobile, rooted in analytics, and built in the cloud.

About the Best and Brightest Companies to Work For

The Best and Brightest Companies to Work For is a program of the National Association For Business Resources that provides the business community with the opportunity to gain recognition, showcase their best practices and demonstrate why they are an ideal place for employees to work. This national program celebrates those companies that are making better business, creating richer lives and building a stronger community as a whole. It is presented annually in several markets including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Houston, Milwaukee, San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area, and Nationally. Nominations are now being accepted. Visit http://www.101bestandbrightest.com to obtain an application.
TransNexus is proud to celebrate 20 years of providing quality VoIP network management solutions. Since 1997 TransNexus has been a pioneer in fraud and operations support software for VoIP networks.

TransNexus led the development of the Open Settlement Protocol (OSP) for inter-network call authorization and routing. OSP, which became a standard defined by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) in 1999, was deployed globally in Cisco H.323 VoIP gateways and many open source VoIP platforms. In 1999, TransNexus became the first company to offer secure peer-to-peer VoIP clearinghouse services. Its ClearIP service operated as a trusted certificate authority for secure routing authorization and accounting of peer-to-peer VoIP calls among internet telephony service providers.

In 2001, in response to encouragement from major customers, TransNexus changed its business model from a service provider to a developer of software products for wholesale VoIP carriers. TransNexus was one of the first companies to offer advanced intelligent routing solutions using Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) redirect servers in 2003. TransNexus has continued its innovation with SIP Analytics fraud control, with the first real-time fraud control for SIP networks using a SIP redirect server.

For twenty years TransNexus has been dedicated to excellence and quality in software development for VoIP networks. TransNexus has been committed to customer excellence, and this focus has been the main reason for the longstanding success of TransNexus.

According to Jim Dalton, CEO of TransNexus, customers have found us because they needed solutions for their VoIP network that did not exist. Customer service is our first business goal. We start every business relationship with a free evaluation trial that includes solution design, implementation and training. We want our customers fully satisfied with the TransNexus solution in production before they have to commit to purchase.

TransNexus, which holds 27 patents related to VoIP, is accelerating its development of new solutions for customers as it enters its third decade. VoIP is a mature technology, but it offers a very fertile environment for innovative new product development. For example, we see tremendous opportunity in VoIP security. Criminal imposters who spoof the calling line ID of telephone calls to perpetrate their fraud schemes are a growing problem. These crimes have caused billions of dollars in losses. Restoring trust in the public telephone network is a major opportunity. Our routing engine product is well positioned to use emerging technology standards, such as STIR (Secure Telephony Identity Revisited), to enable telephone service providers to stop these crimes stated Jim Dalton, founder of TransNexus.

Moving forward, TransNexus will continue to focus on bringing new VoIP solutions to the market. Jim Dalton notes that we are always eager to provide the software that will continue to enable the success of our customers and their networks.

About TransNexus

Based in Atlanta, TransNexus is a software development company specializing in applications for managing VoIP networks. Important features offered by TransNexus are fraud prevention and detection, dynamic least cost and quality of service routing, number portability, profitability analysis, quality of service controls, and wholesale billing. TransNexus solutions are interoperable with any SIP-based VoIP system. For more information, visit https://transnexus.com

Contact: Melissa Metcalf

1.404.526.6060

Melissa.Metcalf(at)transnexus.com
Melbourne is famously the world's most livable city. But is it an Intelligent Community? They answered that question this year.

The Intelligent Community Forum has named Melbourne, Victoria, Australia the 2017 Intelligent Community of the Year. The announcement took place at a dinner ceremony in the prestigious Landmark on the Park venue in Manhattan as the conclusion of the Intelligent Community Forums annual Summit.

Melbourne is famously the worlds most livable city, but the question was Are they an Intelligent Community? said ICF co-founder Lou Zacharilla. They answered that question this year. They are redefining the concept of technology, work, and the workspace. They have created a city that functions like an artists canvas. They have built an entire system where creativity flourishes, education is harnessed to the workforce, and quality of life has become the citys greatest competitive advantage. It is a dynamic combination and one the Intelligent Community Form honors.

Melbourne was selected as the 2017 Intelligent Community of the Year after a year-long evaluation that included a quantitative analysis of extensive data, site inspections by the Intelligent Community Forum, and votes from an international jury made up of experts from around the world. Communities in the Awards program are evaluated based on six Intelligent Community Indicators, along with a seventh criteria, ICFs annual theme, The Internet of Cities.

During the Summit, which began on June 6 and concluded with tonights Awards Dinner, there was networking, business exchanges, master classes and onstage conversations with each of the seven finalists for the ICF Award.

At the dinner, the ICF announced that its 2018 Summit would be held in London. Derek Wyatt, technology entrepreneur and former member of the British Parliament, welcomed all delegates to join him in London in June 2018. The Summit will be produced in collaboration with UK-based NextGen Events.

Melbourne succeeds Montreal, Quebec, Canada as the think-tanks annual Intelligent Community of the Year. During the Dinner, Montreal Councilor Harout Chitilian addressed the crowd on Montreals year as the reigning Intelligent Community and was on hand to pass the torch to Melbourne.

MORE ABOUT MELBOURNE

Melbourne is Australias second largest municipality and the capital of the state of Victoria. A leading financial center, this city of 130,000 is at the center of a metropolitan area of 4.5 million people and is hub for the Australian film and television industries. In 2016, The Economist named Melbourne as the worlds most livable city for the sixth year in a row.

Filling the Gaps

Australia, however, ranks 48th in the world for the speed and services available over broadband, due to a long history of monopoly and duopoly markets. That has put Melbournes people, institutions and businesses at a disadvantage in reaping the economic and social benefits of the digital revolution. As a midsize city, Melbourne has many competing service providers but also significant gaps in coverage outside its central business district. A group of frustrated Internet users teamed with a community-led pilot project in Melbourne to create Lightning Broadband, which uses a mix of optical fiber and wireless to connect high-rise apartments and business customers at 100 Mbps. Rolling out in Melbourne suburbs now, it is targeting a national build-out in areas underserved by private carriers and bypassed by Australias National Broadband Network.

Extending Education

The Melbourne metro region is home to hundreds of two-year colleges and more than a dozen universities. Nearly 47% of its population has a graduate or undergraduate degree. City government and nonprofits have therefore targeted programs at segments of the population that are not participating fully in the knowledge economy. Code Like a Girl runs a series of tech-focused events around the city. Targeting females from 13 to 45, events like Creative Coding and The Internet of (Girl) Things teach basic programming skills while awakening girls and women to new career opportunities.

A small-scale program called Life Experience Skills Sharing pairs young people of post-secondary age with socially isolated older people in sessions where the youngsters teach digital skills. While older citizens learn to navigate the digital world, their younger companions gain in self-esteem, empathy and communication skills. The annual Melbourne Knowledge Week Festival, launched in 2010, consists of conferences, workshops and demos that showcase a smart and innovative city and brings the future city to life today.

Collaborative Innovation

Two projects, one in production and the other in development, are equipping Melbourne with new innovation districts. The Advanced Manufacturing Precinct at RMIT, a public research university, creates collaborative projects between researchers and industry, and equips them with technology and equipment to speed up prototyping and design of the manufacturing process. Early results include a 3D printed spine implant and an improved car seat for the Tesla Model S.

The Carlton Connect Initiative (CCI) aims to bring together people from diverse disciplines to one precinct, where CCI will create and curate partnerships between research and industry locally, nationally and globally. It has established the Melbourne Accelerator Project, whose 24 startup teams have already created 150 jobs and generated A$10 million in revenue. LAB-14 is CCIs first small-scale demonstration site, where 270 people are at work on projects from computing through artistic creation. When CCI is complete, it will be Australias largest innovation district and home to the Melbourne School of Engineering.

Helping the Homeless Online

Like many successful cities, Melbourne faces sharp increases in its cost of living and a shortage of affordable housing, both of which contribute to the problem of homelessness. Though the city offers a wide range of support services finding is difficult for the homeless because information can be outdated, waiting lists long and the rules complex. Melbournes answer is Ask Izzy, a new mobile website that connects the homeless, or those at risk of homelessness, with essential services. Research showed that 80% of people experiencing homelessness in Melbourne own a smartphone. Ask Izzy is a free location-based directory that helps them find food, shelter, health and other critical services. It was developed by a partnership among a Melbourne nonprofit, Google, RealEstate.com.au and News Corp Australia.

Sustaining the Community

Melbourne makes sustainability strategy a community affair. Its Smart Blocks Solar Rebate program helps apartment owners and building managers install solar panels to reduce energy costs. The installation of a solar system on common property requires the owner or executive committee to work together to develop the concept, build a business case, and engage tenants, apartment managers and suppliers. The Smart Blocks program provides advice throughout the process. It had installed 144 KW of solar through the end of 2015 and is saving apartment owners an average of A$25,000 in energy costs per year.

Melbournes top score for livability is partly the product of a community plan called Future Melbourne. In 2016, the city began to refresh the plan, renaming it Future Melbourne 2026, through meetings of a Citizens Jury made up of residents, workers and business executives. To broaden participation, it created a digital forum called Participate Melbourne, which lets members of the community contribute to decisions shaping the citys future. The result has been 970 ideas for projects and a program of events that engaged participation from 2,000 people. Meanwhile, the 250,000 registered users of Participate Melbourne logged more than 50,000 sessions in a single year. Working together, the people, businesses and institutions of Melbourne are building a future that leverages the citys strengths while working to close the gaps left by the past decade of development.

ABOUT THE INTELLIGENT COMMUNITY FORUM

The Intelligent Community Forum (http://www.intelligentcommunity.org), headquartered in New York, is a global movement of nearly 150 cities, metro regions and counties with a think tank at its heart. ICF studies and promotes the best practices of the world's Intelligent Communities as they adapt to the new demands and seize the opportunities presented by information and communications technology (ICT). To help cities and regions build prosperous economies, solve social problems and enrich local cultures, the Intelligent Community Forum conducts research, hosts global events, publishes books, and produces its high-profile annual international awards program. The Forum has two Institutes in North America dedicated to the study of the movement, with more institutes planned. Global leaders, thinkers, and media observers follow and participate in the ongoing global dialogue initiated by the Intelligent Community Forum. In 2012 ICF was invited to participate at the Nobel Peace Prize conference in Oslo and in 2014, its model and work was recognized by the U.S. Department of Commerce under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, which, according to the American government, was "aimed at creating a more flexible and responsive system of workforce development to meet the needs of employers looking to fill 21st century jobs. The Forums membership is made up of 145 designated Intelligent Communities worldwide, which is represented by mayors and key civic leaders. For more information, go to http://www.intelligentcommunity.org/icf_membership. For more details on the Intelligent Community Forums recent publications and programs, http://www.intelligentcommunity.org.
Henry Ford Academy, a four-year public charter high school located on the campus of The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan, celebrates its 20th anniversary as a successful example of public schools in public spaces. Inspired by Henry Fords Learning by Doing philosophy, the Academy has been at the forefront of innovative teaching and active learning since its launch in 1997. HFA was founded as a partnership between Ford Motor Company, The Henry Ford and Wayne County Regional Educational Service Agency.

By virtue of its location on the campus of The Henry Ford, the Academy integrates the unique assets of Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and Greenfield Village into its curriculum on an ongoing basis. Each day students experience and learn from the unparalleled collections of The Henry Ford, its exhibitions and programs and they are inspired by some of the greatest innovators in history.

We are so proud of Henry Ford Academy and the fact that we have a successful high school fully integrated on our campus, said Patricia Mooradian, president and CEO of The Henry Ford. Whether in our classrooms, on the museum floor or in Greenfield Village, our students are fully engaged with a curriculum that is supported by our institutions mission of providing unique educational experiences based on Americas traditions of ingenuity, resourcefulness and innovation.

The Academy delivers a full college preparatory curriculum to approximately 500 students in 9th through 12th grade, with a focus on developing the 21st-century skills which graduates need to succeed in the world today. Extensive use of project-based learning provides hands-on, real-life problem-solving experience, and creates an environment where innovation is emphasized. The school model has been replicated by Henry Ford Learning Institute in Detroit and San Antonio.

Per Michigan School Data reports, Henry Ford Academys average graduation rate is greater than 95 percent. Each graduate in the Class of 2017 has completed 28 credits of college prep coursework, received an acceptance letter from a college or university, participated in a 75-hour internship in a career pathway of his or her choice and has completed a minimum of 40 hours of community service. Collectively, Henry Ford Academy graduating seniors have been accepted into more than 60 colleges and universities nationwide, and have been awarded college scholarships and grants of approximately $2 million.

We are extremely proud of the achievement of our students and alumni through our 20 years, said Cora Christmas, principal. Our students succeed not only in the academic arena but also in their career accomplishments and their enthusiasm for giving back to their community once they graduate.

About Henry Ford Academy

Henry Ford Academy is the nations first charter school developed jointly by a global corporation, public education, and a nonprofit cultural institution. Designed to prepare students for life in the 21st century, the Academy began in the fall of 1997. Henry Ford Academy was conceived, developed, and implemented by Ford Motor Company and The Henry Ford, and chartered by Wayne County Regional Educational Service Agency. HFAs mission is to develop critical thinkers, life-long learners, and responsible citizens prepared for college, career, and the global community.

About The Henry Ford

The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan is an internationally-recognized history destination that explores the American experience of innovation, resourcefulness and ingenuity that helped shape America. A national historic landmark with an unparalleled Archive of American Innovation, The Henry Ford is a force for sparking curiosity and inspiring tomorrows innovators. Nearly 1.8 million visitors annually experience its five attractions: Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, Greenfield Village, Ford Rouge Factory Tour, Benson Ford Research Center and The Henry Ford Giant Screen Experience. A continually expanding array of content available online provides anytime, anywhere access. The Henry Ford is also home to Henry Ford Academy, a public charter high school which educates over 500 students a year on the institutions campus. In 2014, The Henry Ford premiered its first-ever national television series, The Henry Fords Innovation Nation, showcasing present-day change-makers and The Henry Fords artifacts and unique visitor experiences. Hosted by news correspondent and humorist, Mo Rocca, this Emmy-winning weekly half-hour show airs Saturday mornings on CBS. For more information please visit our website thehenryford.org.
San Franciscos Design District is a world-class epicenter for interior design, and we are looking forward to our spaces official opening this fall.

Purcell Murray Company, the leading distributor of premium kitchen appliances, decorative plumbing, fine hardware and cabinetry, announced today it will open a flagship showroom at 235 Kansas Street in the heart of San Franciscos bustling Design District  the citys design hub for the home, fashion and jewelry industries. Opening this fall, the interactive showroomwith functional kitchen and bath displayswill serve as a resource center for consumers, architects and designers to specify and learn about new products, in addition to serving as a training facility for sales teams and a meeting space for industry professionals. While Purcell Murray does not sell direct, customers are assisted throughout their projects and referred to any number of authorized resellers.

Situated in Showplace Square South, the 4,200-square-foot showroom is within walking distance to all the major design buildings in the district, including San Francisco Design Center, Galleria and Design Pavilion. The new Purcell Murray space boasts a bright, open floorplan with Tiffany Windows opening onto the vibrant Kansas Street, which enables the brand to showcase a curated selection of products from the finest European and North American appliance and bath manufacturers like Bosch, Thermador, Gaggenau, Bertazzoni, U-Line, La Cornue, Irinox, Hestan and Coyote, Franke, KWC, MGS and Falper. Purcell Murray will host live demonstrations and visitors can interact with each display at the showroom, offering a full immersion into the Purcell Murray experience.

San Franciscos Design District is a world-class epicenter for interior design, and we are looking forward to our spaces official opening this fall, said Matthew Murray, managing director at Purcell Murray Company. Were excited about this next chapter in our companys history by offering a new, curated experience center for our clients. We welcome the Bay Areas architect and design community to stop by and take advantage of our showroom to specify projects, interact with our brands and learn about new technologies and products offered by Purcell Murray.

The Purcell Murray showroom will be open Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or by appointment to both consumers and trade professionals. Complimentary parking is available on site. Products and appliances on display at the showroom are available to purchase through authorized dealers. To learn more about showroom programming, please visit http://www.purcellmurray.com

About Purcell Murray Company

Purcell Murray is a leading distributor, sales, marketing, brand representation and service organization in North America for mid-to-high-end kitchen appliances, decorative plumbing and fine hardware. Established in 1981, Purcell Murray has evolved into a multifaceted operation with a hybrid business platform offering a full range of supply chain and logistical services for manufacturers and importers  providing both regional market support and nationwide coverage options. The family owned and operated company boasts a fully integrated sales, marketing and customer support service center. Dedicated sales teams focus on the retail, builder, hospitality/contract, architectural and designer channels. The company has two stocking/distribution hubs that include a 193,000-square-foot facility in Oakland, California, and a 123,000-square-foot warehouse facility in Southern California. Recognized appliance brands include: Bosch, Thermador, Gaggenau, MGS, Bertazzoni, Best, Broan, Coyote, Hestan, La Cornue and Irinox. For more information visit: http://www.purcellmurray.com
Santa Fe Sentry Monitoring System The Sentry monitoring system provides proof of the importance of encapsulation and waterproofing, and is an important element of Santa Fes comprehensive program that helps contractors create revenue and provides complete services for their customers."

Santa Fe, a leading manufacturer of free-standing dehumidifiers, is introducing a new contractor monitoring system called the Santa Fe Sentry. The new system connects a series of remote sensors located in the customers crawl space or basement to a smart phone app that allows contractors to monitor for conditions such as humidity, water leaks and temperature that can create an ideal environment for pests, mold and poor indoor air quality.

This easy-to-use system will allow contractors to provide reports that show customers how conditions in their crawl space can create an environment that is harmful to both their homes structure and their health, and help the contractor differentiate their services from the competition, while building a case for crawl space encapsulation and waterproofing services.

The system utilizes the customers WiFi signals for continuous monitoring of hundreds of locations from any Apple or Android smart phone. Unlike home-based monitors, Santa Fe Sentry eliminates unnecessary customer calls that result from humid weather conditions, and allow the contractor to respond to issues as part of their normal service schedule, unless conditions require immediate attention.

Andy Johnson, product manager for Santa Fe, says The new Sentry monitoring system will provide proof of the importance of crawl space encapsulation and waterproofing, and is an important element of Santa Fes comprehensive program that helps contractors create new revenue by providing complete services for their customers.

For more information on the new Santa Fe Sentry, contractor training programs, and systems for crawl space encapsulation, visit http://www.Santa-Fe-Products.com.

###
Balluff Leadership Team: (L to R) Theresa Studer, Steve Badinhaus, Dennis Lewis, Tony Cananaco, Jenny Arbino, Mark Pollard, Tom Rosenberg Habitat for Humanity Greater Cincinnati is a great organization that offers Balluff an opportunity to get involved and give back to our local community.

On Friday, May 26, 2017, members of the Leadership Team at Balluff, Inc. rolled up their sleeves and joined forces with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Cincinnati to assist with the construction of a home for a local family.

Seven members from the leadership team worked with other Habitat for Humanity volunteers to assist with the building of a home in Latonia Lakes by preparing the interior of the home for painting and assembling a backyard storage shed.

"Habitat for Humanity Greater Cincinnati is a great organization that offers Balluff an opportunity to get involved and give back to our local community. We have been looking to partner with a non-profit organization that affords our employees the opportunity to volunteer as a team. The leadership team worked together on a build site just recently and it was an awesome experience " says Jenny Arbino, Director of Human Resources for Balluff, Inc. "We have invited Habitat for Humanity Greater Cincinnati to be onsite in June so employees can learn more about them as an organization and how they assist members of our community. Our employees will also be able to sign up to volunteer on a Kentucky Habitat home site, using paid volunteer hours. We look forward to expanding our support to our local Habitat for Humanity organization."

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Cincinnati has been in operation since 1986 and has afforded over 500 families the opportunity to own their own homes. Homeowners have to meet strict guidelines, such as 500 hours of "sweat equity" and maximum income limits, before they can be approved for the zero-interest and zero-down payment mortgage to purchase these homes.

About Balluff Inc.:

Balluff Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Balluff GmbH, Neuhausen, Germany, is a leading manufacturer of a wide range of inductive, photoelectric, vision, capacitive and magnetic sensors as well as linear position transducers, RFID systems, and networking products. Balluff products for OEM and factory floor solutions are used to control, regulate, automate, assemble, position, and monitor manufacturing, assembly, and packaging sequences for industries including: metalworking, automotive, plastics, material handling, wood processing, aerospace, alternative energy, medical, electrical, and electronics.

###
The Arizona Association for the Education of Young Children (AzAEYC) and CCA For Social Good, a powerful online services organization, have entered into a partnership to develop an Early Childhood Education (ECE) Shared Resources online platform for Arizona child care professionals.

The platform will be known as AZ Toolkit.

AZ Toolkit will allow child care providers to access pre-negotiated discounts that can reduce costs. Child care providers in other states have decreased operating expenses by an average of $9,000 per year, simply by utilizing as few as four out of the twenty-five programs available within the platform.

AZ Toolkit will give early childhood education providers access to over 1,600 useful tools including the following:

 Administrative business resources

 Forms, policies, and procedures

 Quality materials for the classroom

 Professional development training services

 Human resources management

 Health and safety practices

 Quality initiatives in the state

Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust (Phoenix, Arizona) awarded AzAEYC with funding to launch this ECE Shared Services platform. AZ Toolkit will support child care providers throughout Maricopa County, and ultimately statewide.

The ECE Shared Resources platform is unlike anything available in the early childhood education market, said Denise Sayer, Vice President of CCA For Social Good, the innovator of the resource platform. As demands increase in the ECE community, the platform provides a virtual support system that allows child care program directors and family child care providers to be more efficient and effective, giving them the freedom to turn their attention to what matters most: the children in their care.

Melissa Busby, President of AzAEYCs Board of Directors, said that AzAEYC was pleased to offer AZ Toolkit. The development of this platform aligns with our mission to ensure all young children have access to high quality early care and education. Offering tools to support the financial stability of child care businesses in Arizona is a giant step forward. We are delighted to work with CCA For Social Good and we are truly grateful for the generous support from Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust.

Arizona joins twenty-five other states that have adopted CCA For Social Goods online platform to strengthen the work of child care directors, teachers, home care providers, and technical assistance staff. AZ Toolkit is set to launch in June, 2017.

In concert with the launch of AZ Toolkit, AzAEYC is proud to announce a brand new website for the organization. AzAEYC.org was created to provide an excellent user experience for the early childhood professionals of Arizona.

AzAEYC.org includes a one-stop calendar, easy access to NAEYC membership, early childhood advocacy and resource material listings, as well as regularly updated stories about Arizona educators working in the field. The site incorporates dropdown menus for both mobile and desktop versions with custom images spotlighting NAEYC accredited centers by Arizona photographer Daniel Friedman. Site design was developed by Jeff Irish Design in compliance with NAEYC affiliate branding guidelines.

With the launch of both AzAEYC.org and AZ Toolkit, a robust social media presence on Facebook, Twitter and Linked In, as well as regular e-letter messaging, AzAEYC is positioned to share meaningful information with Arizonas early childhood stakeholders.

For more information on AZ Toolkit or AzAEYC.org, please contact Vicki Balint at vbalint(at)azaeyc.org. For more information on ECE Shared Resources, please contact Erin Holt at eholt(at)ccaglobal.com.

About AzAEYC

The Arizona Association for the Education of Young Children (AzAEYC) is a state affiliate of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). AzAEYC promotes high-quality early learning for all children, birth through age 8, by connecting practice, policy, and research. We advance a diverse, dynamic early childhood profession and support all who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children.

About CCA For Social Good

CCA For Social Good is an operating division of CCA Global Partners, a privately held cooperative helping small businesses thrive for 30 years. CCA For Social Good provides web-based platforms that help thousands of nonprofit organizations and early childhood education (ECE) centers manage the administrative aspect of their organizations. The platforms (integrated password-protected websites) deliver a set of powerful tools and shared resources resulting in more efficient and successful operations. CCA For Social Good puts time and money back in the hands of directors and managers of ECE programs, allowing them to focus where it matters most: on the children in their care. To view a sample platform, please visit http://www.ecesharedresources.com.
Philip Karter, of the Philadelphia office of the national law firm Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Aughtry, once again has been ranked among the top federal tax controversy attorneys nationwide in Chambers USAs 2017 Guide to the Worlds Best Legal Professionals and Law Firms.

Karter is the only federal tax controversy attorney based in Pennsylvania to receive national recognition from the prestigious ranking publication. Chambers & Partners also has ranked Chamberlain Hrdlicka as one of the top tax controversy law firms in the United States for the 10th consecutive year, which coincides with Karters joining the firm.

A shareholder in Chamberlain Hrdlickas Philadelphia office, Karter consistently has been ranked by Chambers among the best tax controversy attorneys nationwide. He regularly litigates federal tax controversies before the U.S. Tax Court, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and federal district courts.

Clients interviewed by Chambers during this years research process said Karter "is a great tax litigator. Other recent comments made to Chambers are that Karter knows how to handle a controversy without staking the fire and deals with things in a professional, straightforward manner, and that he is detail-oriented, even-keeled and a creative thinker.

Published by worldwide legal ranking guide Chambers & Partners, Chambers USA is an annual list of the top attorneys in the United States according to practice area. Designed as a comprehensive guide for clients, the publication identifies and ranks leading law firms and attorneys based on thousands of interviews conducted by researchers with clients and lawyers worldwide.

About Chamberlain Hrdlicka  Chamberlain Hrdlicka is a diversified business law firm with offices in Houston, Atlanta, Philadelphia and San Antonio. The firm represents both public and private companies as well as individuals and family-owned businesses across the nation in a wide variety of practice areas, including commercial and business litigation, tax, tax controversy and litigation, federal white-collar criminal defense, corporate, securities and finance, employment law and employee benefits, energy law, estate planning and administration, intellectual property, international and immigration law, and real estate and construction law.

# # #
ZPower ZPower is uniquely positioned to meet the demands of developers and innovators across the spectrum of business, manufacturing and engineering.

ZPower, the worlds only developer of rechargeable, silver-zinc microbatteries, has been invited to participate in the NASA Technology Day on Capitol Hill on June 15. NASA Technology Day is an annual event that educates members of Congress on NASAs role in the development of new products, services and technologies that stimulate the economy and contribute to Americas global competitiveness. ZPower will highlight its silver-zinc rechargeable battery technology, which has a history with NASA.

Silver-zinc batteries were used in several early NASA spacecraft, including the Apollo command module. These early batteries took advantage of silver-zincs high-energy density, but they werent commercially viable because of their limited rechargeability. NASA worked for years to improve this and made some major advances, but, ultimately, rechargeable silver-zinc batteries did not make it into space.

ZPower was founded in 1996 for the purpose of developing and commercializing the rechargeable silver-zinc battery. The results of NASAs research and development was publicly available, and the companys engineers used them as part of their starting point. Dr. Ross Dueber, the companys president and CEO, also had personal knowledge of some of that work. Early in his Air Force career, he was assigned to the Battery Branch at Wright Aeronautical Laboratories, which frequently collaborated with NASA on rechargeable battery systems, including some based on silver-zinc technology.

Today, after nearly two decades of research, ZPower has developed a proprietary silver-zinc microbattery that can be recharged hundreds of times, while offering the highest energy density, safety and environmental benefits of any rechargeable microbattery. The impact of this breakthrough has put ZPower at the forefront of microbattery innovation and design.

ZPowers first major commercial success was with hearing aids. ZPower has collaborated with hearing aid manufacturers to bring rechargeable hearing aids to the market, and, beginning this year, nearly every major manufacturer will offer select products with ZPower batteries. ZPower batteries are also the source of power for a hearing-related medical device being launched later this year by Medtronic, the worlds largest medical technology company.

Today, our research and development in microbattery technology is taking ZPower into areas and industries that were unimaginable when we first began, said Dueber. As devices get smaller, more sophisticated and hungrier for energy, ZPower is uniquely positioned to meet the demands of developers and innovators across the spectrum of business, manufacturing and engineering.

To learn more about the history of silver-zinc batteries, visit https://spinoff.nasa.gov/Spinoff2017/cg_4.html. To learn more about ZPower batteries, visit http://www.zpowerbattery.com.

About ZPower, LLC: ZPower is a leader in the development of rechargeable silver-zinc batteries for microbattery applications, and its headquarters and manufacturing facility are in Camarillo, California. ZPower batteries deliver unmatched performance, improved user experience and are better for the environment. ZPower is ISO13485:2016 and ISO 9001:2008 certified, and its facility and devices are registered with the Food and Drug Administration. For more information, visit http://www.zpowerbattery.com.
Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Aughtry is proud to announce that attorney Barry L. Klein has been ranked among the best attorneys in Pennsylvania for employment benefits and compensation in Chambers USAs 2017 Guide to the Worlds Best Legal Professionals and Law Firms.

We are very proud to see our attorneys honored for their professional accomplishments and the outstanding service they provide to our clients, said Wayne Risoli, managing shareholder of Chamberlain Hrdlicka. Chambers & Partners is a respected benchmark in the legal community, and our continued ranking demonstrates the deep expertise our firm has in a wide range of legal matters.

Described as an excellent attorney by clients interviewed during Chambers research process, Klein has advised employers on the potential opportunities and the limitations of their employee benefits and compensation arrangements for more than 30 years. Chambers adds that he is noted for his expertise in a wide range of employee matters, including benefits planning and issues arising from transactions.

Published by worldwide legal ranking guide Chambers & Partners, Chambers USA is an annual list of the top attorneys in the United States according to practice area. Designed as a comprehensive guide for clients, the publication identifies and ranks leading law firms and attorneys based on thousands of interviews conducted by researchers with clients and lawyers worldwide.

About Chamberlain Hrdlicka  Chamberlain Hrdlicka is a diversified business law firm with offices in Houston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and San Antonio. The firm represents both public and private companies as well as individuals and family-owned businesses across the nation. In addition to tax planning and tax controversy, the firm offers corporate, securities and finance, employment law and employee benefits, energy law, estate planning and administration, intellectual property, international and immigration law, commercial and business litigation, real estate and construction law.

# # #
Denville, NJ  June 12, 2017  Denville law firm Einhorn Harris has announced an exciting new program for area businesses. On-Call for Business provides cost-effective, full-service legal counsel on an as-needed basis for small- to medium-sized businesses. Designed to function as a virtual in-house legal department, On-Call provides concierge-level guidance at a fraction of the cost of in-house counsel.

Todays successful business must always be ready to adapt to the ever-changing regulatory and legal landscape. We created On-Call to address the need for more proactive, personalized legal counsel for our business clients, says Gary Botwinick, partner at Einhorn Harris.

The On-Call team is comprised of a diverse group of experienced, business-focused attorneys who are extremely knowledgeable in all aspects of business law. Our attorneys work collaboratively to evaluate your business, identify risks and opportunities, and offer advice and recommendations designed to position you for success.

When a client enrolls in the On-Call program, our team conducts a comprehensive business audit, creating a 360 legal assessment of all aspects of the business, adds Tim Ford, partner at Einhorn Harris. We then deliver a summary of findings that identifies areas of risk or potential liability and areas where improvement or refinement is appropriate. We also revisit the audit on an annual basis with a business check-up to monitor any changes to your business and recommend any necessary adjustments.

For a reasonable annual fee, the program features the comprehensive business audit, a guaranteed client response time of 4 hours or less, 3 hours of prepaid legal services, a 10% discount on hourly rates for continuing services and many more benefits. The initial reaction to the program has been overwhelmingly positive, with participants finding great value in the services and remarkable responsiveness when they need guidance in real time.

On-Call gives clients the ability to engage with an attorney who has a unique understanding of their business, for matters large and small, adds Botwinick. Often, the advice given for a seemingly minor challenge can prevent major issues, which can have much broader ramifications, from erupting.

From employment practices and contract negotiations, to collections and risk management, a closely-held business requires proactive planning and ongoing legal guidance in order to avoid unnecessary risks and ensure prosperity. On-Call provides affordable peace of mind, allowing clients to focus on running their business.

For information about Einhorn Harris On-Call, please call 973-627-0088 or visit http://www.einhornharris.com/practices/on-call-for-business/

###

ABOUT EINHORN HARRIS

Established in 1961, Einhorn Harris, based in Denville, New Jersey, is a comprehensive, full-service law firm devoted to serving a broad range of legal needs. In its more than 50 years in business, Einhorn Harris and its attorneys have earned a reputation for dedication to the community. The firm focuses in many areas of practice including family law, trusts & estates law, tax law, accidents/personal injury, criminal law, real estate law, business law, employment and commercial litigation. http://www.einhornharris.com.
QuadraNet's Newest New Jersey Datacenter Location We have set a precedent of offering our global clientele service without sacrifice and this new facility delivers these expectations flawlessly. - Dustin B. Cisneros, Global Sales Manager, QuadraNet, Inc.

QuadraNet Inc. has expanded their strategic list of data center locations and is now providing services to their clients out of their new 48,000 square foot facility located at 110 Meadowlands Parkway Suite 100, Secaucus, New Jersey, 07094.

This newest facility of theirs is conveniently located in the heart of Secaucus, New Jersey, less than an hour from New York, and is easily accessible from Newark Liberty International Airport, New York City, and Philadelphia. The data center offers conditioned raised-floor space that is capable of providing a 100% power uptime service level guarantee to businesses with atypically high-density critical loads and even the most stringent redundancy requirements. With an extensive host of carrier options on-net, utilizing this facility will provide low-latency routes across the United States, as well as optimised routes to mid-Atlantic regions, Canada, and Europe.

QuadraNets Global Sales Manager, Dustin B. Cisneros shares, While our New Jersey facility fulfills the missing puzzle piece for a significant percentage of our existing clientele, it is an amazing and value-centric option for those who maintain or operate infrastructure along the East Coast or New York area that require unwavering service and support levels.

The state-of-the-art 2.5 megawatt facility touts SSAE 16 Type II, SOC 2 Type II, and ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certifications; it also meets both HIPAA and PCI compliancy standards. Security, an instrumental consideration for selecting a data center is enhanced by the extensive inclusion of biometrics and surveillance throughout the facility. Both physical security and infrastructure redundancy provisions were priority considerations in the design and expansion into this facility, Cisneros elaborates, The attention to detail and engineering of the power, cooling, and network delivery systems leave nothing to desire; the on-site staffing and security personnel ensure smooth day-to-day operations. We have set a precedent of offering our global clientele service without sacrifice and this new facility delivers these expectations flawlessly.

With the opening of this new data center, QuadraNet will be able to offer increased flexibility to clients requiring unique space and power requirements at unparalleled values in the New York and East Coast marketplace.

For more information, please visit http://www.quadranet.com

About QuadraNet:

QuadraNet Inc., since 2001, has been a leader in hosting and data center solutions as a telecommunications provider in Los Angeles and the surrounding areas. QuadraNet has grown to become one of the largest providers of dedicated servers, colocation, cloud hosting, and bandwidth services. In additional to Los Angeles, QuadraNet has expanded to offer services in Dallas, TX, Miami, FL, Atlanta, GA, and Secaucus, New Jersey. With a team of highly-skilled professionals that are passionate and excel at designing and implementing the perfect solution for clients and their businesses, QuadraNet has a chief focus on providing consistent and exceptional service and support. Facilities and services are staff and monitored 247 to assist with everything from routine memory upgrades to advanced systems troubleshooting.
The Virginia kitchen is prepped for opening. The menu has an east-meets-west flavor with staples from Ballast Points California kitchens plus southern standards

Ballast Point Brewing Company took the next step toward establishing its major East Coast presence by opening a Tasting Room & Kitchen today at its soon-to-be-completed production facility in Botetourt Center at Greenfield in Daleville, Va.

The Tasting Room & Kitchen will accommodate around 200 for lunch and dinner, seven days a week in both fast casual and table service formats. There also is a 100-person banquet room and a 14-tap growler filling station.

The menu has an east-meets-west flavor with staples from Ballast Points California kitchens plus southern standards, said General Manager Mike Alvarado. The interior has a clean contemporary look and includes a bar area, retail store, merchandise shop, outdoor fire pit patio overlooking Greenfield Lake, with accent pieces from Roanokes Black Dog Salvage.

This is an attractive asset for people who live here and a major draw for tourists, said Jack Leffel, chairman of the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors.

Started in 1996 by a small group of home brewers in San Diego, Ballast Point Brewing Company explores new tastes and techniques to create the perfect balance of taste and aroma. From developing a proprietary yeast for the amber ale to creating a breakthrough gold medal-winning Sculpin IPA, Ballast Point is dedicated to the craft of brewing beers for all to enjoy.

Todays announcement is leading up to the completion of Ballast Points East Coast brewing operation, which was announced in April 2016. Completion is expected later in 2017 and will include 100- and 300-barrel systems that will enable the company to produce more than 50 styles of beer. The company employs 47 in the Tasting Room & Kitchen and will employ about 145 in manufacturing and associated functions.

To learn more about Ballast Point, please visit https://www.ballastpoint.com and check us out on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ballastpointvirginia.
Today, AllMed Healthcare Management, a Portland-based independent review organization has announced the appointment of David Spiro MD, MPH as the companys Vice President and Medical Director.

The company partners with leading enterprise health plans, managed care organizations, and hospitals across the U.S. It is a recognized national leader in independent medical review solutions, insuring the highest quality medical care possible, while controlling overutilization.

Dr. Spiros addition to the team allows AllMed to further these goals. With over 25 years' experience as both a clinician and Medical Director, Dr. Spiro is well-versed in using system-oriented processes to achieve optimal performance and evidence-based outcomes. In his new role, Dr. Spiro will oversee all physician peer review activities and clinical quality management, working with other members of the team to drive continuous improvement efforts.

Dr. Spiro received his MD from the University of California, San Francisco, and holds a BA from the University of Virginia. He has served in a variety of physician leadership roles, including Chief of Staff at a rural hospital in Oregon, Assistant Professor of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Yale University, and Chief of the Pediatric ER at Doernbecher Children's Hospital, where he raised funding, built and ran the new department. Doernbecher is recognized as one of Americas leading childrens hospitals.

A passionate supporter of quality medical education, Dr. Spiro is also the co-founder of ReelDX, a producer of physician training videos. Dr. Spiro and ReelDX believe that the patient narrative is the most powerful voice in medical education and have harnessed that belief to improve student attention, retention and performance using real patient stories.

With his passion for innovative learning processes, Dr. Spiro makes the perfect addition to AllMeds team to oversee the companys panel of over 400 Peer Review Specialists who are licensed, board-certified, and in active practice.

Dr. Spiros history of excellence is also a perfect fit for AllMeds philosophy of partnering with its clients. Whether the client is a hospital, ASC, or payer, AllMed becomes an extension of its team, providing clinical decision-making resources that enable them to improve healthcare quality and patient care. This AllMed Difference has helped the company grow into one of the nations leading independent review organizations.

We are proud to welcome Dr. Spiro to our team and anticipate a bright future. Dr. Spiros leadership skills and passion for medicine are valuable resources to improving the quality of peer review and with it -- healthcare for everyone, says AllMed CEO Andrew Rowe.

About AllMed

Founded in 1995, AllMed Healthcare Management is an independent review organization that provides comprehensive physician review solutions to payer and provider organizations across the nation. AllMeds team integrates with its clients, providing medical, copy editing and customer resources that enable them to improve both their services and business goals. AllMeds clients include leading health plans, medical management organizations, TPAs, disability carriers, hospital groups and ambulatory surgery centers.
Attorney Christopher J. Maurer was elected treasurer of the DuPage Bar Foundation.

The DuPage County family law firm, Anderson & Associates, P.C., is pleased to announce that Associate Attorney Christopher J. Maurer was elected treasurer of the DuPage Bar Foundation. The foundation's board of directors elected Attorney Maurer at its most recent bimonthly meeting on May 23, 2017.

The DuPage Bar Foundation is the charitable division of the DuPage County Bar Association. It awards scholarships to law students, and it also awards grants to organizations, such as the Family Shelter Service and National Alliance on Mental Illness, which serves disadvantaged communities.

Earlier in May, Attorney Maurer also received the DuPage Legal Assistance Foundations Pro Bono Service Award at the DuPage Bar Association's Annual Law Day Luncheon. He is one of two attorneys to have received the award for volunteering over 100 hours of pro bono time representing low-income clients in the community.

Attorney Christopher J. Maurer has been a licensed and practicing attorney since 1997. He joined Anderson & Associates, P.C. in 2002, and he has extensive experience in family law, including divorce, custody/parenting disputes, grandparent rights, and complex financial litigation. Attorney Maurer also has experience handling contested probate matters and preparing estate plans for his clients. Attorney Maurer is also a licensed and practicing mediator in family law cases, and he has been appointed by the courts to represent the rights of children as a Guardian ad Litem in contested cases involving minor children.

Anderson & Associates, P.C. congratulates Attorney Christopher J. Maurer on his accomplishment.

About Anderson & Associates, P.C.

The family law attorneys at Anderson & Associates, P.C. have provided legal representation since 1983 in the areas of family law, divorce, bankruptcy and estate planning. They serve clients from four convenient Chicagoland locations: Wheaton, Schaumburg, Orland Park, and Chicago.

To schedule a free consultation with Anderson & Associates, P.C., call their Wheaton office at 630-653-9400, or call their Schaumburg location at 847-995-9999. The firm can also be contacted via its website: http://www.andersonandassociatespc.com/contact .
JX Enterprises is recognized as a 2017 Plan Sponsor of the Year for the achievements in their retirement offerings. This award means more to us than any of the various industry awards we have received to date because it represents the positive impact we can have on the thousands of people who rely on us each and every day, says Rich Yezzi, JX Vice President of HR.

Earlier this year, JX Enterprises was named a 2017 Plan Sponsor of the Year Award winner for the achievements in their retirement program and plan offerings.

This is a great moment for JX and all the families who rely on the stability, opportunities, and profitability of our organization, says Eric Jorgensen, President and CEO of JX Enterprises.

The Plan Sponsor of the Year annual award program recognizes retirement plan sponsors that show a commitment to their participants' financial health and retirement success. In order to recognize various plan types and sizes, the award was given in nine different categories. JX Enterprises won the $10MM to $50 MM category.

Rich Yezzi, Vice President of Human Resources, accepted the award in New York City on behalf of JX Enterprises, and he credits JX employees, as well as internal educational programs, for the programs success.

Our participation rates, and the amount being contributed, are nearly unheard ofnot only in our industry, but anywhere, says Yezzi. That alone has lead to the incredible results that we've seen.

In terms of plan participation, here is how JX stands up:



In one year, the participation rate jumped from 85% to 92%

The percentage of people contributing 6% or more doubled, from 48% to 90%

More than 10% of employees contribute 12.5% to 15%

90% of employees are considered to be well diversified"

This national award recognizes the commitment JX employees and their families have made in securing their financial future, and also the commitment JX Enterprises has made to ensure their employees are given the tools necessary to plan for a healthy retirement.

We are proud to be able to offer an award-winning plan and to be recognized among the finest organizations in the country, says Yezzi. The plans success, however, did not occur overnight. JX set out, more than two years ago, to improve the present and future lives of employees and their families.

Beginning in 2016, the benefits team ramped up these changes by helping employees better prepare for retirement, while taking full advantage of the assistance offered by JX.

Our retirement program is one of the most important benefits our organization provides to our associates, and one that I hold close to my heart, says Jorgensen.

The first big change to the program was increasing company 401(k) match from 3% to 3.5%. This .5% change allows for employees plans to grow at a faster rate.

Second, was in the area of their vesting schedule. In the past, employees were not fully vested until their employment with JX hit the 5-year mark. After the schedule change, vesting now occurs at the employees 2-year anniversary, substantially adding to the value of the JX employee benefit package.

This award means more to us than any of the various industry awards we have received to date because it represents the positive impact we can have on the thousands of people who rely on us each and every day, says Yezzi.

About JX

JX Enterprises is a family-owned, locally-operated group of more than 20 full-service truck dealerships and support services throughout the Midwest. JX Peterbilt, JX Truck Center, JX Financial, JX Leasing, JX Hino - Chicago, and Alltrux Capital are all subsidiaries. The company takes pride in its ability to support customers by providing transportation solutions to fit their long- and short-term goals. Founded in 1970, JX Enterprises is headquartered in Hartland, Wisconsin. Visit http://www.jxe.com to learn more.
HelloSign, the company powering the future of intelligent business, today announced that is has raised $16 million in Series B financing led by Foundry Group and Zach Coelius. Other participants include existing investors US Venture Partners, Greylock Partners, Keith Rabois, Joshua Reeves, Paul Buchheit, and Webb Investment Networks. HelloSign will use the funding to fuel its enterprise expansion, accelerate growth, and fund product innovation. Ryan McIntyre, Co-founder of Foundry Group, will join HelloSigns board of directors.

To learn more about HelloSign, visit http://www.hellosign.com.

The company has seen rapid growth consistently since its launch in 2010, and has set itself apart from legacy and disjointed providers by introducing an intelligent business platform that features the most modern, user-friendly eSignatures, digital workflow and electronic fax solutions for business with its product portfolio: HelloSign, HelloWorks and HelloFax. HelloSign is reimagining outdated, paper-based workflows for the digital world and turning old processes into new revenue for over 50,000 businesses in more than 150 countries.

Weve succeeded in building a fast-growing and cash flow positive business built with only a modest amount of funding. Now were ready to pour fuel on the fire, said Joseph Walla, CEO and Co-founder of HelloSign. This is an inflection point  weve already been growing rapidly, and now were going to accelerate that growth by aggressively investing in the talent and technology necessary to define the next generation of digital workflow for the enterprise.

Over the last year, HelloSign has seen rapid growth, made key management hires including Whitney Bouck as COO (former head of the enterprise business and global marketing at Box), landed major enterprise customers, as well as launched integrations with Oracle Document Cloud and Salesforce. Already in 2017 HelloSign has achieved both HIPAA and SOC 2 compliance as well as launched HelloWorks  an entirely new product designed to modernize form filling and digital workflow. The companys loyal customer base is evident with three best in class awards from G2 Crowd, the worlds leading business software review platform.

"Forrester Research reports that business lose as much as 25% of their potential revenue due to outdated and inefficient analog transaction processes  a problem that HelloSign's platform is purpose-built to address," said Ryan McIntyre, Managing Director and Co-founder at Foundry Group. Because of the consistent product innovation, revenue growth and customer loyalty that HelloSign illustrates, we believe that theyre fit to capitalize on the demand for a modern approach to digital workflow from enterprise companies. Our investment will help accelerate HelloSigns pace of product innovation and growth.

About HelloSign

HelloSign is powering the future of intelligent business. The companys software platform  which includes eSignature, digital workflow and electronic fax solutions  converts process to revenue for over 50,000 companies around the world with HelloSign, HelloWorks and HelloFax. For more information visit http://www.hellosign.com.
Art Room in the Dillon Arledge Student Center NECC is delighted to open the Dillon Arledge Student Center, which will offer the best technology, educational and vocational resources to teach children with autism, said Vincent Strully, Jr., CEO and Founder of The New England Center for Children.

The New England Center for Children (NECC), a global leader in education and research for children with autism, announced today the opening of its newly renovated Dillon Arledge Student Center. The 7,500 square foot space includes a new student store, library, and classrooms for art, music, and vocational studies.

NECC is delighted to open the Dillon Arledge Student Center, which will offer the best technology, educational and vocational resources to teach children with autism, said Vincent Strully, Jr., CEO and Founder of The New England Center for Children. Hand-in-hand with superior facilities and tools is the outstanding teaching staff who work day in, day out to teach and empower our students with autism.

The Dillon Arledge Student Center is named after NECC student Dillon Arledge, whose family was instrumental in funding the renovation of the space. The Arledge Student Center features innovative, interactive technology to teach and empower children with autism, including iPads, Microsoft tablets, and Promethean ActivPanels  interactive tablet boards that project curriculum and content. The music program offers the Ablenet Skoog, an accessible musical option for students who cannot play instruments.

At the Arledge Student Center, we will provide an accessible and meaningful arts education to students with autism, said Cara Lechleiter, MS, BCBA, LABA, the Chorus Director and a Curriculum Specialist at NECC. We hope to develop an enriched, fulfilling curriculum for our own students, as well as serve as a model for arts programs around the world.

The student store contains iPad Pro cash registers, providing students with autism the opportunity to learn vocational skills including cash register operation, payment processing, stocking merchandise, bagging, customer communications and etiquette, practical math, and organizational skills. The Arledge Student Center also houses NECCs Career Development Center, a classroom for exploring vocational strengths and interests, and for developing a variety of vocational skills.

Student response to the Dillon Arledge Student Center has been enthusiastic. I think the new student center is pretty cool. I like how theres video games there, and I actually really like how theres a TV you can touch! I am excited to be 14 so I can get a job and make some money at the career room! said Owen, a 13-year-old day student from Massachusetts with autism spectrum disorder who has attended NECC for the past year.

About The New England Center for Children

The New England Center for Children (NECC) is a world leader in education, research, and technology for children with autism. For more than 40 years, our community of teachers, researchers and clinicians have been transforming lives and offering hope to children with autism and their families. NECCs award-winning services include home-based, day, and residential programs; public school partnerships and consulting; the John and Diane Kim Autism Institute; and the ACE ABA Software System used by more than 4,620 students in 24 states and nine countries. NECC received the 2017 Award for International Dissemination of Behavior Analysis from the Society for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis (SABA). A 501c3 non-profit, The New England Center for Children is based in Southborough, MA, and also operates a center in Abu Dhabi, UAE. More information is available at http://www.necc.org.
Hobsons, the provider of education technology including Naviance, Intersect, and Starfish, built and is distributing 60 computers to local public schools in Washington, DC, and Cincinnati, Ohio, this summer as part of a staff community service project.

The company, headquartered in Cincinnati with an office in Arlington, has a long history of corporate social responsibility, with employees routinely creating and contributing to programs that help students in the United States and around the world. In staff events in the two cities this spring, hundreds of Hobsons employees turned out to assemble and test kid-friendly personalized coding computers, donating them to the District of Columbia Public Schools in Washington and to the John P. Parker School in suburban Cincinnati.

Hobsons partnered with Impact 4 Good, a company that focuses on team-building events centered around philanthropic causes. Hobsons employees took part in the Computers 4 Kids activity, in which they built coding computers, complete with hard drives, screens, keyboards, trackpads, and coding tutorials, which students will use to learn and practice coding. Using their own coding skills, the Hobsons teams also prepared a welcoming home screen message on each computer, and included in each box a Polaroid photo of the team that built the computer.

Hobsons is committed to improving student success in K12 and in higher education, and our team is very purpose-driven -- in our work and in our community, said Hobsons CEO Kate Cassino. Building the computers was a fun team-building activity, and we are thrilled that the computers are being put to immediate use by students in our local schools.

Kim Cherry, deputy chief of STEM at DC Public Schools, and Jamie Blessing, a teacher at John P. Parker School, were present at the events and thanked the group for its generous donations, citing the effect it had on students.

It was such an experience to see students use their curiosity and perseverance to try the new programs and use their ideas to create something new, Blessing said.

Hobsons educational mission and its commitment to corporate philanthropy consistently rank at the top of employee surveys when staffers are asked to explain why they choose to work at the company. In addition to the recent events, the company hosts an employee-run charity, HUGS (Hobsons United Giving to Students), which partners with PLAN International to improve education opportunities for children across the globe. Employees also support local schools and educational organizations in Arlington, Cincinnati, and other cities.

About Hobsons

Hobsons helps students identify their strengths, explore careers, create academic plans, match to best-fit educational opportunities, and reach their education and life goals. Through our solutions, we enable thousands of educational institutions to improve college and career planning, admissions and enrollment management, and student success and advising for millions of students around the globe. Hobsons works with more than 12,000 schools, colleges, and universities and serves more than 13 million students. http://www.hobsons.com

About Impact 4 Good

For more than 10 years, Impact 4 Good has been an innovator in the team-building industry, focusing on national and international delivery of community-service activities. Dedicated to providing programs that create significant bonding experiences across corporate teams while providing beneficial services and goods to those in need, they provide a unique value add to everyone involved. The company has offices in New Jersey and Washington, DC. http://www.Impact4Good.com
Moana Hybrid Power Pack brings peace and security to Kili Island community Engineers from around the world are choosing Moana Marines solar and wind powered R.O. water production plants to guarantee that life will go on as the seas rise, providing clean, safe water to properly maintain the health of communities at risk.

Amid unprecedented rising sea levels from Climate Change, forward thinking governments are discovering the worlds most technologically advanced, expandable, plug and play, solar and wind powered mini-grids and pairing them with high efficiency, R.O. water production units to ensure affordable, sustainable, water security for their communities during these changing times.

Thousands of lives are being saved, and with them, the cultures that have sustained these noble people over the millennia.

Engineers from around the world are choosing Moana Marines solar and wind powered R.O. water production plants to guarantee that life will go on as the seas rise, providing clean, safe water to properly maintain the health of communities at risk. The units have drawn so much acclaim that executives from the biggest solar companies in the world have recently met with company president, Tom Vance, to express their interest in applying this innovative technology around the world.

Vances Moana Solar Power Packs are pre-assembled, plug and play, solar power grids that can be installed incrementally, and expanded upon as needed, allowing communities to slowly shift to 100% carbon neutral, renewable energy. His Moana Hybrid Power Pack utilizes both wind and solar energy to power the grid.

Moana Marine has been using these expandable solar and wind power grids to run energy-efficient, reverse osmosis watermaking units since 2009, creating affordable solutions for reliable, continuous, fresh water production in some of the worlds most remote areas. Concurrently, Vance designed the Moana Solar Power Pack used in disaster relief to power Spectras portable, plug and play, reverse osmosis watermaking unit, the Aquifer 360. Used successfully by IOM, USAID and AUSAID during the 2013, 2016 and 2017 droughts, its track record speaks for itself.

Moana Marine has established a worldwide reputation for excellence, garnering grants from USAID, IOM, UNDP (United Nations Develop Program), Australia, Taiwan and South Korea. Vances success in the Pacific leaves no doubt that his designs work. He has proven that Spectra Watermakers extraordinarily reliable R.O. equipment can be run entirely on the sun and wind, filtering sea water into pure, drinkable water and that local technicians can be trained to run the units, eliminating higher cost labor.

With the political changes in the western world, some donor nations are cutting back on humanitarian aid and disaster relief programs. Vulnerable communities are being called to implement practical, inexpensive solutions that will result in more self-reliance and energy independence, even as the threat of super droughts and cataclysmic storms looms on the horizon.

Marshall Islands Utrik, Kili, Ebon, Ailuk and Enewetak island governments are leading the way, utilizing Moana Marines cutting edge solar and wind technology, perfectly designed by Vance to increase climate change resilience in extreme, marine environments.

Currently, remote Enewetak, Marshall Islands northernmost atoll and site of Americas nuclear testing in the 1950s, has had no measurable rainfall since November 2016. Using a Climate Change Resilience grant from the U.S. Department of Interior, forward thinking Senator Jack Ading and Mayor Jackson Ading have contracted Moana Marine to install an energy efficient, reverse osmosis watermaking plant powered by the Moana Hybrid, Solar and Wind Power Pack: The drought is very sobering. We have to start now building a safe future for our children and our grandchildren.



Moana Marine, with offices in Majuro, Marshall Islands and Port Townsend, Washington, is a leader in designing, engineering and installing expandable, plug and play mini-grids and energy-efficient, wind and solar-powered water desalination and water treatment plants in remote locations. Moana Marine stands for reliability, sustainability and durability, serving the generations to come.



Contact: Tom Vance

425-440-0724 USA

692-455-8916, 692-455-2199 Majuro

Email: tom(at)moanamarine.com

http://www.moanamarine.com
California Sikh community commemorates the martyrdom of Guru Arjan the fifth Guru of the Sikh faith and the 33rd anniversary of the Indian governments attack on the Sikhs holiest shrine, the Golden Temple in Amritsar in 1984.

More than 10,000 Sikhs from the Bay Area, Sacramento and Central Valley attended the event. The parade highlighted the fact that even after 33 years the religious and economic demands of the Sikh minority remain unaddressed and thousands of Sikhs are still sitting in jails to this day without being charged for any crime or wrong doing.Minorities in India continue to be persecuted and the victims of Sikh genocide that occurred in Delhi and other cities after the death of Indira Gandhi are still waiting for justice.

The event organizer Mr Jasdev Singh says," we come here every year to commemorate our brothers and sisters who sacrificed their lives for the defense of Golden Temple. We should not forget them and we will not forget them". "A separate Sikh state is the only solution to the safeguard of Sikhs", he said.

On 16 June 1606, the then ruler of India, Mughal Emperor Jahangir, ordered that Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Sikh Guru to be tortured and sentenced to death after the Guru had refused to stop preaching his message of God as started by Guru Nanak. That there is one God and all creation is equal and must be treated as such. With Dignity, Justice.

The Guru was made to sit on a burning hot sheet while (technically you cant say boiling sand I would just say hot sand) boiling hot sand was poured over his body. After enduring five days of unrelenting torture, Guru Arjan Dev was taken for a bath in the river. As thousands watched, he entered the river, never to be seen again.

In his lifetime, Guru Arjan accomplished two towering achievements: He successfully completed the stupendous task of compiling the Guru Granth, which is treated as the universal scripture of humanity. It not only includes the hymns of the six Sikh Gurus but also the hymns of more than twenty Hindu and Muslim saints. The Guru Granth was formally installed at the Golden Temple Amritsar during the annual gathering of the Sikhs. The Guru was responsible for initiating and the construction of Darbar Sahib, or the Golden Temple.

Sikh genocide code named Operation Blue Star has been listed in India's Top 10 Political Disgraces by the country's leading news journal, India Today. According to Joyce J. M. Pettigrew,( Please reference the book here) "The army went into Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) not to eliminate a political figure or a political movement but to suppress the culture of a people, to attack their heart, to strike a blow to their spirit and self-confidence". Newspaper article of the time stated that, the operation involved six army infantry battalions and a detachment of commandos. The operation was carried out by the Indian army troops equipped with tanks, armored vehicles and helicopter gunships.

The massacre occurred from June 3-6, 1984 when the Indian army attacked the Golden temple complex in Amritsar. In addition to Darbar Sahib the main sanctum, the army simultaneously attacked 43 other Gurdwaras across the Punjab. The Sikhs fought under the command of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale for full three days against Indian Army and this fight knows as 'The Battle of Amritsar' too.

The operation aroused immense controversy, and the government's justification for the rationale, timing and style of the attack continue to be debated today. No enquiry was ever ordered and no one was held accountable. The political ramifications of Operation Blue Star become readily apparent when one realizes that the action was planned by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi far in advanced for the occurrence.
Pink Thriller, Hot New Summer Suspense Thriller Novel Like an Agatha Christie novel, the novel makes efficient use of misdirection while adding several suspicious suspects to the mix. The Characters are vividly drawn and believable. The story features an appealing and creative narrative voice. ~BlueInk Rev

The gripping and emotional novel, Pink Slips, is inspired by every womans hope, to protect their identity and stay safe in an information-sharing world. The story, already receiving rave reviews, such as a 5-Star #IndieReaderReview, takes place in a fictitious north shore suburb of Chicago, and is based on what could happen when someone has access to your personal informationand uses it to stalk or threaten you.

According to author, Beth Aldrich, The book idea stemmed from an actual anonymous threatening phone call that I received years ago, after my son was born. While working on a prompt for a writing class, the experience came back to me, and I knew instantly that the concept of a stalker or someone following a pregnant mom would be an interesting and timely theme for a novelgiven the information-sharing world we currently live in.

The modern-day story is about chef Betsy Ryan, whos pregnant with her third child, and receiving threatening notes from an anonymous person. During what should be a joyful time in her life, shes forced to relive a decade old memory of a violent mugging, and fear that someone is after her again. To uncover the mystery behind the threats, she enlists the help of an unlikely, but oddly reliable source, her dog Barney. As the menacing notes continue to arrive, she struggles to keep her composure while shielding her two young sons from danger. She trusts no one except her parents, best friend Misty, and her extraordinary dogwho has proven to literally understand everything she says. Is this person out to harm her? And how do they have so much personal information about Betsy? To save herself and her unborn childBetsy must face her fears and find her strength, to reveal who is after her and most importantlywhy.

Like an Agatha Christie novel, the novel makes efficient use of misdirection while adding several suspicious suspects to the mix. The characters are vividly drawn and believable. The story features an appealing and creative narrative voice.

~BlueInk Review

Beth Aldrichs Pink Slips is a psychological thriller that sustains a sense of mystery throughout, told from the point of view of pregnant suburban chef Betsy Ryan. The first-person perspective helps build suspense and heightens the action through the storys many twists and turns. ~4-Star Foreword Clarion Reviews

About the Author

Beth Aldrichs first book non-fiction, Real Moms Love to Eat (Penguin/NAL, 2012), was an Amazon bestseller and won a Nautilus Book Award, and four Beverly Hills Book Awards. Aldrich also was a contributor to The Chicken Soup for the Soul: Power Moms book by Jack Canfield and Victor Hansen. She was the publisher of, For Her Information, the Chicago magazine for women; and produced/hosted the PBS-TV series, of the same name, which aired in Chicago, as well as in sixty other marketsincluding Israel and Turkey. Shes a proud member of #ChicagoWritersAssociation, #WomensFictionWritersAssociation, and #ChicagoOffCampusWritesWorkshop. Like her protagonist in Pink Slips, she studied culinary arts at Le Cordon Bleu in Chicago and her dogs are always at her side. She lives in a north suburb of Chicago with her husband and three sons. Twitter: @BethAld16; Facebook: Beth Aldrich; Instagram: BethAldrichWrites

Pink Slips, awarded Runner-Up in the San Francisco Book Festival Awards, is available where ever books are sold, including, local bookstores, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, online with Amazons Kindle Direct, NOOK, KOBO, and iBooks. For more information about purchasing author signed copies, author appearances, or book clubs please visit the author website: BethAldrich.com and book page: PinkSlipsNovel.com.

**The author will donate 10% of the profits from her book sales in the month of June to the Heartland Animal Shelter in Northbrook, Illinois, in honor of Barney, the dog character in the book.

BethAldrich.com
eCreations Gives eCreations is honored to partner with both Pappas Kids Schoolhouse Foundation and Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center. We believe both entities are integral to the betterment of our shared community.

eCreations, a Phoenix-based web services company, announced today that it has awarded two web services grants to local non-profit organizations to help increase awareness of their cause and boost funding sources through a comprehensive digital strategy and/or web development services. eCreations in-kind grants were awarded to the Pappas Kids Schoolhouse Foundation and the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center (SARRC).

Selecting award recipients, while fulfilling, was certainly challenging. Ultimately, we assessed the needs of each non-profit applicant, and we weighed requested services against project impact, explains Steve Tamulewicz, eCreations owner. It was important to verify that our grant recipients also met our rigorous financial requirements. We wanted people to know that funds donated to these causes directly benefit their chosen cause.

While many incredibly worthwhile charities applied for the grant, the two organizations selected by eCreations are dedicated to the service of one of our most vulnerable populations  children.

eCreations is honored to partner with both Pappas Kids Schoolhouse Foundation and Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center. We believe both entities are integral to the betterment of our shared community, said Tamulewicz. With their efforts, and through execution of our grant program, we hope to raise awareness and contribute to making Phoenix a more compassionate place to call home.

With over 29,000 homeless students attending schools in Arizona, Pappas Kids believes it is necessary to provide educational assistance that would increase their overall graduation rate. Homeless students are 40% more likely to not finish their secondary education and on average high school dropouts barely make enough to adequately support themselves, let alone a family. With the overall poverty rates increasing yearly, decreasing rates of school dropouts would help contribute to the solution of this problem.

Pappas Kids also assists struggling high school seniors with funding for tutoring helping them overcome an obstacle, which may be preventing them from graduation. In 2016, we provided more than 950 backpacks with school supplies to students throughout Arizona; these supplies give the children confidence to start the year prepared and ready to learn.

We truly cannot express our gratitude for this opportunity. The generosity from eCreations will give Pappas Kids an opportunity to actively engage, educate and expand our services to a forgotten population of Arizona youth who have been hidden in plain sight, said Dayna Sandoval, Pappas Kids Executive Director.

This donation will assist Pappas Kids with spreading awareness about childhood homelessness and poverty in Arizona and with establishing a strong network of new volunteers and supporters through active Web engagement.

Additionally, having an accessible, informative Web presence and an easy-to-update website, will help Pappas Kids keep the children the organization supports informed, as well as the community and supporters of its ongoing projects.

Pappas Kids is extremely grateful for all that eCreations is providing us and know that the time committed to establishing this new website will help us grow and expand the educational support that we provide to homeless, underprivileged and at-risk youth attending Arizona schools, said Sandoval. On behalf of the Pappas Kids Schoolhouse Foundation board and myself, we thank eCreations for this incredible donation.

Southwest Autism Research & Resource Cente r is Arizonas leading and largest nonprofit serving the autism community holding a mission to advance research and provide a lifetime of support for individuals with autism and their families.

For consideration of this grant, focus on increasing our social media presence is dearly needed to grow awareness and funds for our programs, explains Greg Boone, SARRC Corporate & Foundation Relations Manager.

In 2016 SARRC provided more than 60,000 treatment hours through our clinical programs; served nearly 1,000 children, teens and adults with ASD through our clinical and research programs; educated over 5,200 parents, family members, typical peers and community members; and provided training to 600 educational and medical professionals.

For a $10 million dollar organization, our social media followers are lower than similar sized nonprofits and likes/shares need to improve. With support from eCreations and this grant, we look forward to learning more and consulting on our needs, said Boone.

About eCreations:

eCreations is Arizonas premier web services firm offering clients results-driven Internet marketing strategies. The Internet industry, which includes website design, search engine optimization, hosting and other related services isnt just a job for us  its a passion. This passion will always be anchored by ethics, experience, and education. We promise what we can deliver and always strive to deliver more than what is expected. Since 1997, weve cultivated our core-competence, providing premium web services to companies of all sizes. Our Certified Web Professionals continue learning about the latest technologies. This ensures our clients receive quality, results-driven strategies. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.ecreations.net or call us at toll free 1-877-664-6306.
This day gives us a chance to show our appreciation.

Caregiverlist and Midwestern Career College have partnered to host a CNA and Caregiver Day of Celebration on Friday, June 16, 2017, during this years National Nursing Assistants week. All Chicagoland CNAs and senior caregivers are invited to this event in recognition of the invaluable service they provide to area seniors and to highlight the need for these caring professionals as healthcare occupations are projected to grow by 19% in the next decade.

Chicago area caregiver and nursing assistant job seekers are invited to the Chicago CNA and Caregiver Appreciation Day, too, along with currently employed caregiving professionals. This day of celebration will feature training workshops and an all-day career fair to give attendees the opportunity to network with hiring senior home care agencies and nursing homes. Caregivers may speak with Midwestern Career College's class instructors, visit classrooms and learn about ways to qualify for funding to pay for CNA class tuition.

Caregiver Training Workshops (No Cost) include:

*How to become a caregiver or CNA

*How to get WIOA funding for CNA and other healthcare training programs

*What's your career ladder? Going from caregiver to CNA to diagnostics or direct patient care

*Improve your skills: transferring patients safely and other hands-on techniques

*Caring for patients with memory loss in today's aging population

*Music as an impactful emotional connector for seniors with memory loss

*Massages by Lavish Life Massage

Caregivers, the "specialists in the art of caring, will receive complimentary chair massages, goody bags, raffle prizes, along with pizza and snacks. Memory loss training documentary movies will be highlighted as a new caregiver training resource, including Too Soon to Forget:The Journey of Younger Onset Alzheimers Disease produced by Rush Alzheimers Disease Center located in Chicago.

We realize professional caregivers do the hard work of providing for the daily caregiving for seniors, many times without adequate appreciation, said Julie Northcutt, Caregiverlist.com. At Caregiverlist, we have learned that to deliver quality care, we must Care for the Caregiver and this includes providing emotional support and highlighting the need for more professional caregivers.

This day of celebration, Ms. Northcutt continued, gives us a chance to show our appreciation to those who are the most important person in the lives of many seniors and to introduce others to this fulfilling career opportunity.

The large aging population of baby boomers, coupled with their desire to age-in-place, at home, means an increase in the need for senior care workers. Healthcare occupations will add more jobs than any other group of occupations. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, almost 1.3 million new professional paid caregivers including personal care aides, home health aides, and certified nursing assistants will be needed to meet the demand over the next few years.

For those considering a career in professional caregiving, in-home senior care is rewarding, pays above minimum wage, and requires no formal educational credentials, however, Illinois caregivers are required to receive an 8-hour caregiver training annually. Many times, family caregivers who had previously cared for senior family members train to become paid caregivers. Starting as a companion caregiver and subsequently becoming a certified nursing aide are the first steps in an enriching career path and secure long-term employment. Nursing assistant courses can usually be completed within 6 weeks and cost around $1,000 but tuition grants and reimbursement by employers are available.

Please come join us on Friday, June 16th and bring a friend.

RSVP here for the event.

When:

Friday, June 16, 2017

9 a.m. to 12 noon

1 p.m to 4 p.m.

Morning Session Repeated in Afternoon

Where:

100 South Wacker Drive

Lower Level (right on the river)

Chicago IL, 60606

About Caregiverlist

Caregiverlist is a provider of digital tools created by experienced senior home care experts. Caregiverlist first offered caregiver certification training in 2012, applying digital tools to caregiver training customized to meet new state training guidelines for the senior caregiver caring for seniors in their own homes. Caregiver Training University powers the caregiver training, customized for individual state requirements. Caregiverlist also provides CNA school costs directory, daily costs and ratings of nursing homes and by-state senior care information. For more information, please visit http://www.caregiverlist.com.

About Midwestern Career College

At Midwestern Career College, we transform lives by preparing students for career success. Our mission is to provide premier career-focused education that empowers students with academic training, technical expertise, and professional support to launch or advance their successful careers. Founded in 2004, Midwestern Career College specializes in healthcare education training programs including Certified Nursing Assistant courses.
Construct-A-Lead is an online construction lead service that helps contractors, service providers, manufacturers and suppliers gain information on all large scale construction projects. The service features apartment construction, hotel construction, retail construction, medical construction, school renovations & more, including those hard-to-find private project leads, to help bid on construction, from planning stage- completion.

Construct-A-Lead, the industrys most comprehensive construction lead service, announces the following California projects will go forward. Construct-A-Leads newly implemented advanced search feature allows the user to find their leads or key contacts by project type, location, bid stage, dollar value, company, or keyword.

Users are able to track projects status, save searches, put personalized notes on projects, email a project to a colleague or customer, reach out directly to the decision maker and download construction leads with a one-touch feature.

Interested parties are invited to visit Construct-A-Lead.com and sign up for a no obligation test drive, where they will be able to experience these newly integrated features. Users will be able to receive regular alerts on new and updated construction projects, in accordance with the individuals preference.

An example of the California projects available within the database is listed below. Reference the Project ID to utilize the new site features and to obtain direct contact information for each construction lead:

Cupertino, CA  The Hamptons - Plans call for the demolition of 342 apartments and the construction of a new 942-unit apartment complex. Construction start: Q3, Q4, 2017, $200,000,000. Project ID: 1392871

Los Angeles, CA  California State University  Plans call for the new construction of a 440,000 SF student housing development to include 1,500 beds for freshmen and sophomore students, as well as an associated dining facility. Construction start: Q1, Q2, 2018, $150,000,000 Project ID: 1393190

San Fernando, CA  CVS  Plans call for a new CVS pharmacy. 14,000 square feet. Construction start: July, 2017. $1,000,000 Project ID: 1393044

San Francisco, CA  CitizenM Hotel - Plans call for the new construction of an 11 story, 192 room hotel with 8,390 square feet of retail across the first floor and mezzanine levels. Construction start: Q2, Q3, 2018. $40,000,000 Project ID: 1393132

Los Angeles, CA  Figueroa Street Housing  Plans call for building a new 57-unit affordable housing complex. Construction start: Q4, 2017, Q1, 2018 $10,000,000. Project ID: 1392749

Folsom, CA  Fire Station 39  Plans call for building a new fire station totaling 9,933 square feet. Construction start: Q3, 2017. $3,500,000. Project ID: 1392799

Construct-A-Lead is an online database that connects users to large-scale commercial construction projects, including those hidden, private project leads.

The service features hotel construction, office buildings, retail construction, medical facilities, school renovations and much more, to help bid on construction including those hard-to-find private project leads, from planning stage through completion. Construct-A-Leads daily updates of commercial construction project leads are an ideal solution for those who want to put their product or service into commercial, government and religious structures.

For more information, visit Construct-A-Lead.com online or call 855-874-1491.
Online school students celebrate in-person commencement These students have forged new ground, leveraged the power of technology and taken education to another level  developing their own path to success

MTS Minnesota Connections Academy, a tuition-free, K-12 online public school serving students statewide, celebrated its 2017 graduating class of more than 270 seniors during a traditional in-person commencement ceremony on Saturday, June 10 at the Minneapolis Convention Center, in Minneapolis, Minn. Peers, family, friends, and school faculty gathered together to honor the students successes.

This is a moment that represents years of hard work put in by students, teachers, parents and administrators," said Melissa Gould, principal at MTS Minnesota Connections Academy. "We are proud and honored to have been a part of each and every individual journey. These students have forged new ground, leveraged the power of technology and taken education to another level  developing their own path to success.

The Class of 2017 includes two legacy students who charted new ground for the online school. These graduates have completed their entire education in the online environment, starting with Minnesota Connections Academy in kindergarten or first grade and continuing with the online school through their senior year.

Graduate Maya Snesrud, of Webster, started at Minnesota Connections Academy as a first grader. A talented musician, Snesrud plays multiple instruments, sings in three different choirs and has played piano for 14 years. She plans to attend college and pursue music education after a gap year. Snesrud addressed her peers at the graduation event.

"Today we celebrate one of the biggest accomplishments of our lives...we have poured hours of effort, hard work and time into our education, and have finally received the fruits of our labor," Snesrud declared. "From here, we not only push forward to further our academic careers, our characters, and our knowledge, we enter the world as adults...smart, courageous and passionate young adults, prepared to take on the world..."

Prior Lake's Grant Rubietta, who enrolled in the online school in Kindergarten, graduated Saturday at age 15. Rubietta's story is uniquehe was able to progress through his K-12 education at an accelerated pace due to the flexibility of online school. Rubietta also spoke on behalf of his fellow seniors, sharing thoughts on conducting good research and the importance of life-long learning. Rubietta took PSEO college-level courses at the University of Northwestern during his time at Minnesota Connections Academy and plans on attending the University of Minnesota in the fall.

The Minnesota Connections Academy Class of 2017 has been awarded more than $2.2 million in scholarships. Fifty-nine percent of graduates plan to attend two- or four-year colleges or vocational schools. Universities and colleges welcoming Minnesota Connections Academy grads this fall include: University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Saint Cloud State University, University of Minnesota Duluth, Savannah College of Art and Design, Saint Paul College, St. Catherine University, Normandale Community College and Central Lakes College. Thirty-four percent of students plan to enter the workforce upon graduating.

This weekend's in-person commencement ceremony is an example of the many social events and field trips that Minnesota Connections Academy hosts throughout the year to provide in-person socialization opportunities for students. The school also offers various activities including prom, and clubs for robotics, gaming and technology, debate and art, among others, and National Honor Society.

Minnesota Connections Academy serves more than 2,000 students and provides high-quality, personalized online education. The school combines Minnesota-certified teachers with a high-quality curriculum that meets rigorous state education standards. College-bound students can tailor their schedules to accommodate exam preparation and college applications, as well as take advantage of the schools diverse course catalog, including core classes in math, science, language arts and social studies, as well as expanded AP and Career Technical Education (CTE) classes that help prepare them for a 21st century workforce. From music and art courses to computer coding courses through Java Programming, students are not only fostering creative expression, they are mastering digital literacy.

Enrollment for the 2017-18 school year is underway and Minnesota Connections Academy is currently offering free in-person information sessions, as well as real-time, virtual information sessions and parent panels for interested families. For more information, call 800-382-6010 or visit http://www.MinnesotaConnectionsAcademy.com/Events.

About MTS Minnesota Connections Academy

MTS Minnesota Connections Academy is a K-12 online public school program that students across the state attend from home. The program combines state-certified teachers, high-quality curriculum, unique technology tools, an extensive selection of electives and clubs, and community experiences to create a supportive and successful environment for children looking for an individualized approach to education. The program is designed to meet the needs of students and their families who are looking for a unique public school optionthose who need a flexible schedule, learn at a different pace from their peers, need more individualized attention or live in isolated rural settings. Connections Academy operates its full-time Internet school program in Minnesota through a partnership with Minnesota Transitions Charter School. Families interested in free online school with some similarities to home schooling, but with the support of state-certified teachers and the accountability of public education, are encouraged to learn more by calling 800-382-6010 or by visiting http://www.MinnesotaConnectionsAcademy.com.
Onboarding an experienced individual like Mr. Griffiths will help NDIRA continue to meet rising demand in our field

New Direction IRA, Inc. (NDIRA) is pleased to announce the hiring of Ryan Griffiths as its Director of Investor Services, a newly-created position with the company. As a Certified IRA Services Professional (CISP), he will bring essential industry expertise to NDIRA. With increased global tensions, stock market volatility, and concerns over asset bubbles, more investors are turning to self-directed IRAs to invest their retirement funds in assets they know and trust. Our client base continues to grow, so onboarding an experienced individual like Mr. Griffiths will help NDIRA continue to meet rising demand in our field, stated Bill Humphrey, New Direction IRA co-founder and CEO.

Mr. Griffiths will be responsible for planning, coordinating, and implementing new investor and sponsor tools and systems. He will also oversee the testing of existing systems and provide recommendations for improvements as needed. Such endeavors include the mydirection and mydirectionPro portals as well as a new white label accounting system. Mr. Griffiths will also work through his industry connections to promote NDIRA nationwide.

He will report directly to our principals, Bill Humphrey and Catherine Wynne, and will also provide valuable insights throughout the company by addressing complex initiatives or investment structures. Mr. Griffiths has known Mr. Humphrey and Ms. Wynne for the better part of 14 years.

Beginning in 2004, Mr. Griffiths was a co-founder and principal owner of Entrust Gulf Coast in Panama City, FL. In 2006, he became the Director of Business Development for The Entrust Group (TEG). TEG is one of the oldest self-directed administrators in the country. From 2009 until 2012 he served as the Director of Operations for International Bank and Trust, which was also affiliated with The Entrust Group. Mr. Griffiths became the Director of the precious metals division for TEG in 2012, and held the position until 2016.

I recently joined the team at New Direction IRA with a common goal of providing investors with the education, support, and technology to diversify their retirement plans into alternative assets, says Mr. Griffiths. After meeting with almost every self-directed IRA provider in our industry, I chose to join the team at New Direction IRA because of the philosophy and culture of their organization, as well as their leadership.

As of June 12, 2017, NDIRA employs 77 individuals on a full-time basis and one individual on a part-time basis. We have 15,785 clients and over $1.725 billion in total administered assets. At NDIRA, we continue to invest in top talent and technology with a goal of providing the tools and resources that will empower investors to add real estate, precious metals, and other alternative assets to their retirement plans with the same ease of an online brokerage IRA.
Tropic Ocean Airways CEO Rob Ceravolo During this time of expansion for our company, we hope to learn from the Caribbean Aviation Meetup as well as share our experiences with other industry leaders to improve the overall travel safety and experience in the Caribbean - Rob Ceravolo, CEO

June 12, 2017 (PRWEB) June 12, 2017 -- Rob Ceravolo, CEO of Tropic Ocean Airways, the largest commercial operator of Cessna Caravan EX seaplanes in the world, confirms he will present at the 2nd Annual Caribbean Aviation Meetup in St. Maarten, being held June 13-15. During the event, a factory-new seaplane will be flown in from Tropic Oceans base of operations in Fort Lauderdale, FL for demonstrations and splash landings in St. Maarten, Anguilla and Nevis. Mr. Ceravolo will be joined by U.S. aircraft manufacturer Cessna/Textron Aviation, a leader in general aviation and partner of Tropic Ocean, and U.S. float manufacturer Wipaire. The focus of the 2nd Annual Caribbean Aviation Meetup will be on the exchange of experience and lessons learned between leaders in Caribbean aviation. The result being an overall improvement in Caribbean airlift.

Rob Ceravolo will share his experience of growing the airline company into an industry leader since its inception in 2009. Mr. Ceravolo will highlight how his business practices have been shaped by his experience as a veteran Navy fighter pilot and TOP GUN instructor alongside Tropic Ocean Airways Director of New Business, Mike Ritzi, who has many years of aviation experience in the Caribbean. Mr. Ritzi looks forward to the event and the opportunity it creates in bringing aligned businesses together. Mr. Ritzi believes, The meetup will be a platform for improving travel and tourism in the islands of the Caribbean. Reliable airlift is the key to connecting islanders and tourists and serves as a strong contributor to economic growth in the region that we are happy to be a part of.

The leading seaplane operator got its start in Florida in 2009 with one Cessna 206 seaplane and has grown to a fleet of 11 aircraft, with plans to add an additional five aircraft in the next 12 months. With operations and safety procedures based on best practices of U.S. Navy fighter squadrons, the airline was awarded the Argus Gold Rating for Safety. Additionally, in 2016 Tropic Ocean serviced ~15,000 guests, while achieving a 5-star rating on Trip Advisor, and grew to over 70 employees, expanding their reach to the out islands of The Bahamas the New York region and Cuba. During this time of expansion for our company, we hope to learn from the Caribbean Aviation Meetup as well as share our experiences with other industry leaders to improve the overall travel safety and experience in the Caribbean, said Tropic Ocean Airways CEO Rob Ceravolo about the event.

About Tropic Ocean Airways:

Tropic Ocean Airways is the Eastern United States leading seaplane travel company that offers private charter, scheduled service and cargo services throughout South Florida, the Florida Keys, Bahamas and beyond. The FAA certified air-carrier was founded by Navy TOP GUN fighter pilot Rob Ceravolo in 2009. Since inception, the safety measures have awarded Tropic, the ARGUS gold rating for safety, a perfect record of zero FAA violations and a 5-star rating on TripAdvisor. The premier company has its own in-house maintenance team and facility, along with pilots who bring over 100+ years of combined flying experience in harsh and tropical weather conditions, who work together to deliver the highest level of first-class customer service during each flight. The factory-new seaplane and wheeled caravan aircraft can perform water-based, or runway landings and departures, making Tropic the ideal choice for travel.

For more information, contact Alina Gavrushenko, Director of Marketing at 800.767.0897, extension 122, or via email at media@flytropic.com visit us: http://www.flytropic.com

###
On June 21st and 22nd the curtain will fall on the Drone Hero Europe contest. Ten nominees from six European countries will battle it out to win one of the coveted Drone Hero Awards. And the stakes are high! Not only do the winners get to pride themselves on being the best Europe has to offer in drones, but they also get to go to Las Vegas!

Last week, a jury of international drone professionals, selected ten finalists out of more than thirty submissions. A difficult task, said jury president Peter Van Blyenburgh. But we managed and are very happy with the high level of contestants that are now in the final stage of the competition.

On June 21st and 22nd these ten finalists will battle it out at the Commercial UAV Expo Europe in Brussels. They will each deliver a short pitch to convince the jury that they are the best Europe has to offer in five categories: innovation, creativity, international potential, best start-up and highest potential overall. A Public Drone Award is a sixth category: votes for this are open until June 22nd, 12 a.m. on http://www.dronecommunity.eu.

The 2017 Drone Hero Europe finalists are:



High potential: Unifly (BEL) & DroneRadar (POL)

Creative: Drones4right2life (POR) & UCL (BEL)

Innovative: Voliro (SWI) & Mine Kafon (NED)

Start-up: Vectrino (CRO) & Cargocopter (BEL)

International: Ampyx Power (NED) & DroneGrid (BEL)

Special guests at the award ceremony!

On June 22nd, the winners of all the categories will be known. Special guests, Jan Jambon, Belgian Minister of Security, and Steven Vandeput, Belgian Minister of Defence will make an appearance and hand over the awards to the winners.

To attend, just head over to the website of Commercial UAV Expo Europe to register. In addition to the Drone Hero Contest, Commercial UAV Expo features over 60 booths of UAV/UAS solutions, 22 vendor presentations, 3 keynote speakers, 40 expert presenters and many networking opportunities open to full conference pass holders. You dont want to miss this unique event! Registration is available here: https://www.xpressreg.net/register/uave0617/start.asp?sc+205338

Useful links:

Drone Hero Europe: https://www.dronecommunity.biz/drone-hero-europe/

Vote for the Public Hero: https://www.dronecommunity.biz/drone-hero-europe/candidates-vote/

Jury: https://www.dronecommunity.biz/drone-hero-europe/jury/

Nominees: https://www.dronecommunity.biz/drone-hero-europe/nominees-2017/

Award Ceremony: https://www.dronecommunity.biz/award-ceremony/

Commercial UAV Expo Europe: http://www.expouav.com/europe

About Commercial UAV Expo Europe

Commercial UAV Expo Europe, presented by Commercial UAV News, is a conference and exhibition exclusively focused on the commercial drone market in Europe covering industries including Surveying & Mapping; Civil Infrastructure; Aggregates & Mining; Construction; Process, Power & Utilities; Precision Agriculture; Law Enforcement, Emergency Response and Search & Rescue (SAR). It will take place at the SQUARE in Brussels 20-22 June 2017. Learn more at http://www.expouav.com/europe. Commercial UAV Expo Europe is organized by Diversified Communications, which also organizes Commercial UAV Expo Americas, International LiDAR Mapping Forum and SPAR3D Expo and Conference among many other events.

For comments or more information, contact:

Mark Vanlook  EUKA  0495 58 71 65  mark.vanlook(at)euka.org

Kevin Logist  EUKA  0472 42 05 79  kevin.logist(at)euka.org

Lee Corkhill  Diversified Communications  207.842-5520 lcorkhill(at)divcom.com
Bringing Adrienne aboard shows our commitment to growth and servicing our retail partners.

National professional liability and management liability wholesale brokerage, Founders Professional, is pleased to announce the addition of Adrienne Porter to their Miscellaneous Professional Liability team. Adrienne will be joining the team in St. Petersburg, Florida as a broker and will assist Founders retail partners in securing coverage for their miscellaneous professional liability risks.

Im excited to start a new challenge with Founders Professional, and look forward to working with the entire team, to further the organizations growth and commitment to best-in-class service, commented Adrienne.

In this new role, Adrienne will join a team focused exclusively on miscellaneous professional liability insurance coverage for accountants, insurance agents, realtors and other miscellaneous professions.

Prior to joining Founders Professional, Adrienne was a Professional Liability Broker with another wholesale firm, where she focused on securing professional liability insurance for lawyers and accountants. Adrienne has extensive experience in these product lines and will continue to provide retail agents with solutions to their complex risk problems.

Chris Monfort, Miscellaneous Professional Liability Practice Leader of Founders Professional, commented: We are ecstatic to add Adrienne to our team. Bringing Adrienne aboard shows our commitment to growth and servicing our retail partners. Adriennes background and leadership skills, especially her proven track record of handling complex miscellaneous professional liability accounts, will be an invaluable asset to our retail agents and the Founders team as we continue to focus on providing high quality service and solutions to our partners.

Founders Professional is currently working on numerous other exciting initiatives.

Adrienne can be reached at 727.873.7917 or via email at adrienne(at)founderspro(dot)com.

About Founders Professional

Founders Professional is a national wholesale insurance brokerage focused exclusively on the placement of management liability & professional liability insurance risks. The Founders Professional practice leaders and their respective teams have deep expertise and market access in the areas of Architects & Engineers, Law Firms, Healthcare/Life Sciences/Social Services, Management Liability, and Miscellaneous Professional Liability Insurance. Founders Professional represents a majority of the admitted and surplus lines insurance carriers that focus on professional liability insurance in the United States, additionally representing many exclusive or semi-exclusive programs.

If you would like more information about this topic or Founders Professional, please contact Aaron Lipson at 312.848.6970 or email at aaron(at)founderspro(dot)com.

# # #
We are focusing on providing Artificial Intelligence to abstract information from the medical record, so when new mandates like MACRA come up we can adjust our technologies to address the required data elements.

Artificial Medical Intelligence (AMI) today announced the release of its full version of HCC Coding as part of the EMscribe suite of tools in support of medical records processing and abstraction.

The new completed HCC Coding Solution is built on the automatic generation of ICD10 codes and supporting demographic data for reimbursement which includes V22 HCC, the latest version from CMS.

HCC is a payment model mandated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in 1997. Implemented in 2003, this model identifies individuals with serious or chronic illness and assigns a risk factor score to the person. At present, there are more than 9000 ICD-10 codes that map to 79 HCC codes in the Risk Adjustment model.

AMIs unique HCC module is offered as an integrated and automated component of its EMscribe coding and clinical abstraction suite which is able to support the requirement of HCC code submission. EMscribe automatically generates the individuals health conditions using ICD10 diagnoses and demographic data directly extracted from the medical record and assigns the risk adjustment attributes to the case based upon a combination of the individuals health conditions and demographic details. An HCC score is then generated by the EMscribe system and is either displayed in AMIs Graphical User Interface or provided through an AMIs Application Protocol Interface.

AMI continues to lead with its innovative technology designed to mitigate the constant stream of new and more difficult administrative pressures and requirements on the healthcare system, stated Stuart Covit, Chief Operating Officer. We are focusing on providing Artificial Intelligence to abstract information from the medical record, so when new mandates like MACRA come up we can adjust our technologies to address the required data elements.

AMI will showcase this at Booth # 1940 at the upcoming HFMA (Healthcare Finance management Association) ANI conference, taking place from June 25th June 28th at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando Florida.

About AMI

Artificial Medical Intelligence, Inc. (AMI) is a software developer of health information technology solutions since its incorporation in 2002. AMI initially targeted the labor intensive medical coding process, with its premier offering, EMscribe, a proprietary Artificial Intelligence- Natural Language Processing (NLP), Computer Assisted Coding (CAC) solution. EMscribe was the first commercialized hospital-based CAC in 2005, providing a software platform for the medical coding of free text electronic documents for the inpatient and outpatient hospital environment. Through continued software evolution, the EMscribe software became comprehensive for all medical record processing by provisioning for all medical record systems including ICD-10 CM/PCS, DSM, LOINC, PQRS and E & M. AMI has also diversified its solution to accommodate auditing and payer reimbursements. Additionally, the solution was augmented to provide a platform for numerous other medical language capabilities touching on revenue cycle, clinical documentation improvement and clinical decision making enhancements vital for the efficient information gathering and support of the medical record for the healthcare industry.

For more information, please contact:

Kerry Fagan, Administrative Director

Artificial Medical Intelligence

Tel: (908) 902-1825

Email: kfagan(at)artificialmed(dot)com
American College of Heatlh Care Administrators It is very humbling to receive this award from my peers. It recognizes the countless hours my team and I have put into Lincoln Crawford to provide our residents with a wonderful place to call home. Gretchen Aichele

The American College of Health Care Administrators (ACHCA) honored Gretchen Aichele, Administrator of Lincoln Crawford Care Center in Cincinnati, Ohio with the 2017 Eli Pick Facility Leadership Award. The leadership award was celebrated during the awards luncheon at ACHCAs 51st Annual Convocation and Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri on Tuesday, April 4, 2017. Fewer than 9% of facilities nationwide qualify. This year, 1,288 facilities met the selection criteria. Two hundred and six administrators were awarded the facility leadership award nationally.

Based on the premise that facility excellence reflects leadership excellence, this award recognizes the administrator of record who provided that leadership throughout the award year. Eligibility for this award is based on three years of skilled nursing facility (SNF) survey data, including the Health, Fire (Life Safety), and Complaint Surveys, as well as top quartile performance on designated Quality Measures. The criteria also includes an 80% or greater facility occupancy and a three year avoidance of a Special Focus Facility status. This prestigious award is made possible with the support of ABILITY Network.

This award is in memory of Eli Pick who was a consummate member of ACHCA, dedicated to advancing professionalism and leadership in long term care. "It is very humbling to receive this award from my peers. It recognizes the countless hours my team and I have put into Lincoln Crawford to provide our residents with a wonderful place to call home," said Gretchen Aichele when she received the award.

Founded in 1962, the American College of Health Care Administrators (ACHCA) is the only professional association devoted solely to meeting the professional needs of today's post-acute and aging services leaders. Focused on advancing leadership excellence, ACHCA provides professional education and certification to administrators from across the spectrum of long term care. For more information about ACHCA, contact the ACHCA Staff at (202) 536-5120 or visit http://www.achca.org.
EONY is setting a new trend in office space rentals in midtown Manhattan by offering three affordable NYC virtual office plans Virtual office space is an affordable alternative to renting traditional office space in Midtown Manhattan, for companies looking to establish themselves within one of the fastest growing cities in America

Office space in midtown New York City is increasingly in high demand. Recently the construction boom in Manhattan has seen many more condominium new constructions than office space. Furthermore, office accommodations for small businesses and startups have disproportionately been affected.

Nowadays small business owners and startups are looking for more affordable solutions to renting small offices in New York. Co-working space providers in midtown like Executive Offices of New York (EONY) https://eony.com have created several affordable, virtual office solutions that are priced to help startups and small businesses get established in Manhattan.

Renting virtual office space is an affordable alternative to renting traditional office space, especially in midtown Manhattan. For companies looking to establish themselves within one of the fastest growing cities in America, Executive Offices of NY offers several affordable plans to fit your startup budget. A virtual office allows you to work remotely yet still maintain an accessible setting for in person meetings with clients. The main advantage is the greatly limited overhead of not having to rent a physical office space in midtown Manhattan.

EONY introduces three virtual office space plans to help new companies get a foothold in NYC



Silver plan ($125/mo) - company listed in lobby, mailbox facilities and 24hr key card access

Gold plan for $199/Mo. -- includes 2 free hours of conference room time in addition to all of the features in the silver plan.

Diamond plan for $349/Mo. -- includes 2 free day office rentals in addition to all of the features in the gold plan.

Virtual Offices for Rent with a Prestigious Midtown Manhattan Address

A virtual office service among many, EONY distinguishes itself by its proximity to the amenities of midtown Manhattan. Located at 469 7th Ave between 35th and 36th street, Executive Offices of New York (EONY) provides long-term, temporary, short-term day offices, and midtown Manhattan offices for rent, as well as virtual offices to companies that want to be registered at an address that commands attention. EONY helps small businesses put their best face forward while also helping them save on the costs of getting an actual office rental in NYC. And as a company grows, EONY can help them with affordable office space when they need it.

Small companies can benefit from renting a virtual business address at a NYC zip code that is fully verifiable. By letting virtual tenants taking full advantage of EONYs office and mailbox amenities, EONY virtual office addresses will make it seem as though your company has a prestigious office located right in the heart of New York City. Renting a virtual office also helps tenants avoid signing up for long term rental commitments and the financial risks associated with renting office space in midtown Manhattan, which offsets the added costs of renting valuable commercial real estate

About Executive Offices of New York

Started in 2009 with a combined real estate experience of over 25 years. We developed Executive Offices of New York with a focus on providing superior office solutions to entrepreneurs and fortune 500 companies alike seeking executive office space in Midtown Manhattan. We achieve this through a range of exceptional service, elegantly designed office space, and a dedication to supporting our clients with affordable rent for office space in midtown.

Why Us

Executive offices of New York is A Business center owned and operated by Foremost real estate . Founded in 2004 Foremost Real Estate has developed, owned, and managed over a million square feet of commercial office space in Midtown Manhattan and the surrounding areas. We have leveraged our expertise to provide flexible and dynamic executive office solutions for companies of all sizes. Whether you are looking for turn key office space, a virtual office, coworking space, or a meeting room Executive offices of New York will provide a fully serviced office experience that inspires great productivity.
Our partnership with RELEX will give us access to outstanding forecast data which will allow companies to manage their peoples time better. Employers will save money and customers will find there are people free to help them." Mika Halme, CEO, Zenopt

RELEX Solutions, provider of integrated retail and supply chain planning solutions, invested in Zenopts advanced workforce optimization system to help retailers plan their staffing needs better allowing them to reduce costs while improving customer service, a vital differentiator in todays retail landscape.

Research finds that labor is one of the most significant overhead costs in retail averaging 10-20% of turnover.* Given the critical importance of managing labor costs efficiently, Zenopt is a perfect partner for RELEXs continued focus on helping retailers reduce costs while increase sales and service levels.

Current workforce planning systems are based on sales and customer flows. Retailers generally have to plan weeks or months in advance and it can be difficult to make last minute changes. In many cases, they also base planning on budgets rather than actual sales forecasts.

Together with Zenopt, RELEX is adding a new dimension to retail workforce planning with forecasts calculated from the product/store level up resulting in exceptionally accurate forecasts not only for sales, but also for inventory flows into DCs and stores. Shelf-stacking is often a largely ignored part of workforce planning, yet it is a major factor in stores overall workload, one that is significantly affected by delivery schedules, promotions, new product launches etc. The availability of medium-term shelf-stacking forecasts fundamentally changes retailers ability to plan accurately.

Zenopts technology adds additional key capabilities. It optimizes workload by timing different tasks efficiently around customer flows and other fixed workloads. It also takes into account staff skills (and even contractual restrictions) when matching people to tasks, such as running a fish, deli or pharmacy counter.

Most currently available workforce planning systems struggle to produce optimized plans as they fail to take into account the nature of the work that needs to be done. Zenopts smart optimization makes it easy to plan shifts around staffing requirements, staff members competencies and their availability.

This combination of exceptionally accurate forecasting and detailed staff-resource analysis means the two companies are taking workforce optimization to unprecedented levels of effectiveness.

That means real savings through reducing, and even eliminating overstaffing, and fewer instances of understaffing or in-proper staffing that result in delays getting products on-shelf, increased spoilage, long queues at the cashier and loss of sales. This is about more than cutting waste, says RELEXs co-founder and CEO Mikko Karkkainen. Its about efficient management of stores. We expect ever better service when we go shopping and we hope this will be yet another way in which RELEX helps retailers re-focus their efforts on their customers.

Zenopt, a startup founded by Mika Halme and Antti Alakiikonen in 2016, is based in Helsinki, Finland and has taken an innovative approach to workforce management and planning by modelling the employee pool for calculating availability to match staffing requirements. The software was founded on several years of experience in workforce management as well as latest programming and optimization techniques, which contribute to a user-friendly and efficient approach to workforce planning.

Our partnership with RELEX will give us access to outstanding forecast data which in turn will allow scores of companies to manage their peoples time better, says Zenopts CEO, Mika Halme. Employees will find their workload is more evenly distributed, so fewer instances of working flat out or barely at all. Employers will save money and customers will find there are people free to help them. Everybody wins.

*PwC and Retail Council of Canada comparing North American markets
Eugene Katz, M.D., of Shady Grove Fertility's Towson, MD office While PCOS has visible signs and symptoms, there is no one size fits all, which is why women with irregular or absent menstrual cycles should seek help from a fertility specialist sooner.

Shady Grove Fertility, the largest fertility center in the United States, with more babies born than any other fertility center in the nation, continues their mission to educate the community about infertility by providing access to resources and information to help individuals and couples overcome infertility. In addition to the 13 events already on the practices June educational events calendar, SGF has added two additional webinars on common topics of concern for those who are trying to conceive: PCOS, the most common ovulatory disorder that affects the ability to conceive, and getting started.

When first considering or starting fertility treatment, many questions abound. What type of treatment is best, will it work, how will I afford it, how can I fit treatment info my life? Our Getting Started webinar is intended to address some of these common patient questions and concerns and help to set minds at ease about taking that first step in seeking help from a fertility specialist, says Eugene Katz, M.D., of Shady Grove Fertilitys Towson, MD office. Dr. Katz will be hosting the Getting Started webinar on Thursday, June 22 at 12:00 p.m.

Accounting for nearly one-third of all infertility diagnoses in women, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common ovulatory disorder in women of reproductive age. While PCOS has visible signs and symptoms, there is no one size fits all, which is why women with irregular or absent menstrual cycles should seek help from a fertility specialist sooner if they are having trouble conceiving than what is typically recommended for an initial evaluation, says Naveed Khan, M.D., of Shady Grove Fertilitys Leesburg, VA and Dulles-Aldie, VA offices. Dr. Khan will be hosting the PCOS webinar on Wednesday, June 28 at 12:00 p.m.

Among the benefits of attending an SGF educational event is direct access to the practices physician experts. Attendees have the opportunity, in person or virtually, to ask the physician questions at the conclusion of each event.

While all SGF events are complementary, interested parties must register to attend by visiting the Shady Grove Fertility calendar of events.

Remaining June Webinars:

June 14 | Webinar | Out-of-State Donor Egg Treatment | Dr. Jason Bromer

June 15 | Webinar | Become an Egg Donor | Egg Donor Team

June 20 | Webinar | What Your Menstrual Cycle Says about Your Fertility | Dr. Andrea Reh

June 21 | Webinar | Financial Options | Patient Financial Team

June 22 | Webinar | Getting Started | Dr. Eugene Katz

June 27 | Webinar | I need to see a fertility specialist. Now what? | Dr. Ricardo Yazigi

June 28 | Webinar | PCOS | Dr. Naveed Khan

June 29 | Webinar | Egg Freezing | Dr. Kate Devine

About Shady Grove Fertility

Shady Grove Fertility is a leading fertility and IVF center of excellence offering patients individualized care, innovative financial options, and pregnancy rates among the highest of all national centers. 2016 commemorated 25 years of Shady Grove Fertility providing medical and service excellence to patients from all 50 states and 35 countries around the world, and over 40,000 babies bornmore than any other center in the nation. Today, 35+ physicians, supported by a highly specialized team of more than 700 Ph.D. scientists, geneticists, and staff care for patients in 19 full-service offices and six satellite sites throughout Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Shady Grove Fertility physicians actively train residents and reproductive endocrinology fellows and invest in continuous clinical research and education to advance the field of reproductive medicine through numerous academic appointments and partnerships such as Georgetown Medical School, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, the University of Maryland, and the National Institutes of Health. More than 1,700 physicians refer their patients to Shady Grove Fertility each year. For more information, call 1-888-761-1967 or visit ShadyGroveFertility.com.
Hardent - Xilinx Outstanding Instructor Award This award is an important achievement and it demonstrates that leveraging the specialized knowledge of our trainers delivers an outstanding student experience.

Hardent, a leading Xilinx Authorized Training Provider (ATP) and a certified member of the Xilinx Alliance program, has announced that FPGA specialist and trainer Reg Zatrepalek has received an Outstanding Instructor Award for Xilinx training in North America for fiscal year 2017. The award was presented at the annual Xilinx ATP Summit held in San Jose, California.

Xilinx offers an extensive curriculum of training courses covering all aspects of FPGA and embedded design. Developed by Xilinx engineers, these instructor-led training courses help Xilinx customers accelerate their productivity and get products to market faster. Xilinx Authorized Training Providers (ATPs) form a global network of expert instructors that have been certified by Xilinx and are authorized exclusively to teach these training courses in their respective region.

Hardent has been the Xilinx ATP for New England, the Southeastern United States and Canada (excluding BC) since 2009. Xilinx training, offered by Hardent, covers FPGA design techniques and methodology, embedded systems design, functional verification, and programming languages. In addition, Hardent offers product-specific training on the Vivado Design Suite, the SDSoC development environment, and devices such as the Xilinx 7 Series, UltraScale+ FPGAs, and Zynq All Programmable SoCs and MPSoCs.

Hardents trainers are experts who bring real-world engineering experience to the classroom. This award is an important achievement and it demonstrates that leveraging the specialized knowledge of our trainers delivers an outstanding student experience, explains Ellen Kavmark, Training Manager at Hardent. Courses are taught using a variety of learning methods and training materials can be customized to help teams get access to the most relevant and up-to-date information for their current design projects.

Learn more about Xilinx training courses by visiting Hardents website.

About Hardent:

Hardent is a professional services firm providing engineering services, training solutions, and IP products to leading electronics equipment and component manufacturers throughout the world. Hardent works across a wide variety of industries to develop high-complexity electronic products, improve engineering processes, accelerate products' time-to-market and provide expert training solutions.
But for travel bloggers and tour guides it's part and parcel of the job, and something that they have mastered over the years.

With the summer holidays almost upon us, Business Insider spoke to several travel experts to find out their top tips for getting the most out of your baggage allowance  which these days is notoriously stingy.

So whether you're off for to Barcelona for a mini-break, backpacking around Europe for the summer, or just spending a week by a pool in Tuscany, we've got you covered.

According to trip leaders at group travel company Topdeck, the first thing to do is lay out all of the clothes you are planning to pack.

"Now put back half of everything. This includes everything from week-long to year-long trips," they said. "Chances are, youre never going to wear three t-shirts a day and youll be glued to your flip flops."

Gilbert Ott, the man behind travel and air mile blog God Save the Points recommends The Carry-On by new luggage brand Away ().

Ott, who most weeks finds himself flying in business or first-class across the globe, says it is a very good version of other designer luggage pieces for a fraction of the price.

The hard-shell suitcase is set on four wheels and features a built-in battery that can be used to charge iPhones or USB devices up to five times, and lots of interior compartments for organising your things  including a hidden laundry bag.

Instagram influencers Karolina Valeikaite (@outsideboxx), 23, and Italian Marco Coppola (@gypseetravel), 25, who recently turned a two-month backpacking stint into an eight month trip staying in luxury hotels for free in South-East Asia, swear by vacuum bags.

Coppola, who confesses took far too many pairs of shoes when they set off on their travels says: "You can get them from eBay for about 3. You just stuff all of your clothes in them, seal it up and and roll. We've been travelling for a long time and these are great for organising."

We found these medium roll-up PackMate travel vacuum bags on Ebay here (4.95 for two).

The Topdeck team advise you to save space by swapping bulky toiletries for smaller alternatives.

"Hair products can weigh a ton and you get through them pretty quickly. Make a pit-stop at Lush and get a shampoo bar (with a tin)  the tiny bars will save you loads of space and weight and the smells are out of this world. Oh, and they last for a couple of months too!"

This could be a particularly useful option if you are not putting luggage in the hold, as travel size shampoos and conditioner often run out quickly.

.

James Asquith (@jamesasquithtravel), the youngest person to visit all 196 countries, says that when he's packing for a trip, ziplock bags are his go-to.

"Try to pack similar items in the same areas as each other, and use ziplock bags, to split up toiletries, wires and plugs. That way, when you need something quickly, youll know roughly where it is without having to unpack your whole bag."

All of the bloggers agree that when it comes to packing a bag, rolling is far superior to folding.

The Topdeck crew say "You can stuff four pairs of socks per shoe (dependent on your size) if youre really nifty! That space is otherwise going to go wasted, so make the most of it.

Asquith adds: "Try and cover up your shoes to avoid staining light colored clothes, and pack white and light tops inside out. Your bag is likely to accumulate dirt, and its not great turning up on holiday with already dirty clothes."

"Theres no denying the effectiveness of the all-powerful bumbag," according to the Topdeck team. "Youd be surprised by how much you can squeeze in these, and it's unlikely to be counted as hand-luggage. Pop all of your essentials and travel documents in here for easy access and save yourself from having to carry an extra bag."
What exactly the board agreed to  and the fate of the company's CEO, Travis Kalanick  remains a secret until the recommendations are shared with employees on Tuesday.

Last week, the company announced it had fired more than 20 employees after receiving more than 215 complaints about its workplace. The recommendations presented to Uber's board are based in part on those claims.

"The Uber board met today with Eric Holder and Tammy Albarran," an Uber board representative said. "The board unanimously voted to adopt all the recommendations of the Holder report. The recommendations will be released to the employees on Tuesday."

The Holder report is the culmination of a several-month investigation into Uber's workplace. The company hired Holder, the former US attorney general, in February after a former engineer at the company wrote a blog post describing a "strange" year she experienced at Uber. Her blog post included accusations of sexual harassment and gender discrimination throughout the company.

An additional investigation, led by a separate law firm, resulted in the firing of more than 20 Uber employees after the firm received 215 claims of sexual harassment and other bad behaviors at the company.

Holder's report is based in part on those 215 claims, which largely detailed discrimination and sexual harassment at the company. The recommendations he made as a result, which will not be made public until Tuesday, are expected by people close to the company to contain not only wide-ranging cultural reforms but also possibly personnel recommendations.

The board debated for seven hours on Sunday at the Los Angeles offices of Covington & Burling, Holder's law firm. Before the board meeting, The Wall Street Journal reported that Emil Michael, Uber's long-standing chief business officer who has been linked to several of the scandals, may resign as early as Monday as a result of the report.
The project is expected to require an investment of approximately $120 million and to start operations early 2019. ENGIE will enter as a 40% partner in the project.

The Ada Wind power project is located in the eastern part of the Greater Accra region.

The combination of strong wind resources, availability of open land and good access to transmission infrastructure make this an excellent location.

The project was initiated by eleQtra Limited. Initial studies have already been completed and demonstrate the projects viability.

The Ada Wind project will contribute to the Ghanaian Governments objective of generating 10% of its electricity from renewable resources.

It is also in line with Ghanas ambition to become a power generation hub in West Africa with the benefit of exporting power to its neighbours in the West African Power Pool.

eleQtra Partner Ebbe Hamilton said,eleQtra is delighted to have ENGIE joining the development of what we believe will be the first wind energy project in Ghana. We will now start the next phase of the development in order to bring the project as soon as possible into operation.
Ghana is part of the three countries in Africa to benefit from Germanys Compact with Africa Programme.

The programme is to help benefitting countries to improve conditions for sustainable private sector investment, investment in infrastructure, economic participation, and employment in the country.

The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta made this revelation at a meeting with the Ghanaian community living in Germany, held in honour of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in Berlin.

Ken Ofori-Atta said that Ghana has been signed onto the compact because of what President Akufo-Addo has done. It is essentially because there is a new confidence that Ghana is coming back, and Ghana is back. We were nowhere near it (Compact with Africa Programme). But the work President Akufo-Addo has been doing resulted in the Germans saying, why dont we get Ghana involved in this? And, that is why we are here.

Ken Ofori-Atta noted that this development was a real sign of confidence for us. We thought that it was over. Then they (Germans) came back a couple of weeks later, in March 2017, and said that we should put our money where our mouth is. So let us select 3 countries in Africa where we can have a bilateral relationship with, and they selected two of the countries who were already in the Compact  Tunisia and Cote dIvoire  and they said Ghana be part of it, i.e. the third country

READ ALSO: COCOBOD rules out price hike and bonus for cocoa farmers

He explained that the Compact with Africa Programme, initially, had Senegal, Cote dIvoire, Tunisia, Morocco and Rwanda, as the countries that had been signed onto the Compact.

He said this shows the world is responding positively to a government led by President Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo.
The $7 billion projection for the revamp of the railways would cater for the construction of the Eastern Line from Accra to Kumasi, the Western LIne from Takoradi to Kumasi and the Central Spine from Kumasi to Paga with two branch lines from Kumasi to Nyinahin where there are bauxite reserves and Tamale to Yendi, areas where significant iron ore reserves could be found.

READ ALSO: Railway development will attract investors and create jobs - CEO He appealed to workers of the GRCL to rally behind the government to salvage the sector.He said an Israeli company would soon arrive in the country to conduct an assessment of railway facilities in the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis.Mr Ghartey said he had a huge responsibility to build on the existing 947-kilometre railway line which the colonial government bequeathed to the state.Mr Ghartey also disclosed that the ministry had acquired about 2,000 acres at Ejisu in the Ashanti Region as part of plans to control the Boankra Inland Port to earn revenue for the company.The minister noted that the revenue of the industry has continued to fluctuate and therefore suggested that like the GRCL they commercialize their lands to earn income.
This is despite reports that the previous Hajj Board under the erstwhile Mahama-led administration handed over a debt of GH23 million.

The Vice President said even though the government is struggling to pay off the debt, the move will help ease the plight of Ghanaian pilgrims while in Mecca.

READ ALSO: Parliament to vet Justice Sophia Akuffo on June 19

It is very stressful when you embark on Hajj. The government is now planning to feed you three-times-a-day when to Mecca. It is one surest way of making the Hajj smooth.

READ ALSO: Adonko boss donate to wife and family

Another plan by the government is to provide pilgrims with means of transport when you reach Mecca. We have realised that transportation is a major challenge. So we will provide buses to wherever you wish to go when you are in Mecca, he added.
Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected!
More rational policies in our future? By Paul Driessen

In the wake of President Trumps exit from the Paris climate treaty, reactions from other quarters were predictably swift, nasty, sanctimonious and hypocritical. Al Gore paused near one of the private jets he takes to hector lesser mortals to say the action will bring a global weather apocalypse. Billionaire Tom Steyer got rich selling coal but called the Presidents action a traitorous act of war. Actor-activist Mark Ruffalo railed that Trump has the death of whole nations on his hands. Michael Moore said the action was a crime against humanity. Former President Obama said it threatened the one planet weve got (to say nothing of whats left of his executive orders legacy). In truth, President Trumps bold decision underscores the ill-informed science, economics, ethics and energy politics that have driven climate cataclysm caterwauling for decades. His exit decision, his insistence that NATO members pay their agreed dues for defending Europe, the impacts of widespread green energy poverty, and the hard economic and environmental realities of wind, solar and biofuel alternatives to fossil fuels will likely awaken other leaders  and persuade other nations to Exit Paris. Of the 28 NATO members, only the US, UK, Poland, Estonia and Greece have met their defense spending commitments, leaving a shortfall of $134 billion a year and compelling the United States to shoulder over 65% of the alliances total defense spending. Germany and some other members have now grudgingly agreed to increase their payments, in response to President Trumps request, Russias actions in Crimea, Georgia and elsewhere  and growing threats of Islamist terrorism. In the wake of London, Manchester, Brussels, Paris, Orlando, San Bernardino, Fort Hood, Twin Towers and countless other attacks, it is ludicrous to claim supposedly manmade, allegedly dangerous climate change is the worlds biggest worry. Its totally unrealistic to imagine that NATO members can pay their fair share for defending Europe and then pay what the Paris Treaty expects for the Green Climate Fund, while shackling their economies with job-killing renewable energy policies, and spending billions on welfare for unemployed workers and migrant families from the Middle East. The Paris climate formula provides that GCF payments are to start at $100 billion per year, of which the US share would have been $23.5 billion. Former UN Framework Convention on Climate Change executive secretary Christiana Figueres has suggested that $450 billion a year by 2030 would be appropriate, Competitive Enterprise Institute energy and climate director Myron Ebell points out. Ms. Figueres has also said the UN has given itself the task of replacing the free enterprise capitalism economic model with a global governance system. Her colleague Ottmar Edenhofer bluntly stated that the real goal of UN climate policies is redistributing the worlds wealth  in $450-billion-a-year increments. Developing Countries and kleptocratic leaders demanded this windfall to join Paris. Their enthusiasm over staying in Paris is likely to reflect now-rich nation declining excitement about paying into the Fund, even though the treaty does not obligate DCs to reduce fossil fuel use or emissions until at least 2030. German Chancellor Angela Merkel gamely said she will now work more than ever to save our planet. A number of US cities and states pledged to remain committed to treaty obligations. How exactly will they do that? Will they pay billions into the Fund  and blanket their lands with enough wind, solar and biofuel installations to be completely renewable in three decades? Build more of the only CO2-free electricity sources that are reliable and affordable: nuclear and hydroelectric facilities? Most of these national, state and local leaders oppose nuclear and hydroelectric as strongly as they detest fossil fuels  and the states and cities are already burdened by soaring electricity prices and government debt. Virtually none have considered the gargantuan costs of this energy transition  or the fact that total global adherence to the Paris Treaty would prevent an undetectable 0.2 degrees C (0.3 F) of warming by 2100. Their own self-aggrandizing efforts would prevent perhaps 0.01 degrees. (And that assumes carbon dioxide is the primary factor in climate change, instead of changes in solar energy output, cosmic rays, ocean circulation and numerous other natural forces that actually control Earths climate.) The United States and world still depend on oil, natural gas and coal for 80% of their total energy needs. More than 53,000 US wind turbines still supply only 2% of the nations total energy; thousands of acres of photovoltaic solar panels supply barely 0.3% of US energy; corn ethanol from 40 million acres (equal to Iowa or to Austria and the Czech Republic combined) supplies just 5% of its transportation fuels. Land and raw material requirements for wind turbines underscore the true impacts of renewable energy. Between 2010 and 2015, global electricity consumption grew by more than 2 billion megawatt-hours (2,000 terawatt-hours). Meeting just this demand growth of 400 million mWh per year (not total global electricity demand) solely with wind energy would require installing some 100,000 new turbines every year (generating electricity 25% of the time), as nations continue to electrify their far-flung communities. Thankfully, African and Asian countries are actually doing so by building mere hundreds of new coal- and natural gas-fueled power plants, to generate abundant, reliable, affordable electricity for their people. Converting the entire planet to constantly fluctuating, unreliable, expensive, subsidized wind power would require trillions of dollars, hundreds of millions of acres, and incalculable raw materials. Industry and other data suggest that generating just 20% of US electricity with wind power would require some 185,000 1.5-MW turbines, 19,000 miles of new transmission lines, up to 18 million acres, and 245 million tons of concrete, steel, copper, fiberglass and rare earths  plus fossil-fuel back-up generators for the 75% of the year that the wind is barely blowing and the turbines are not producing electricity. Now consider where all these raw materials must come from, how they must be extracted from the Earth and turned into finished products, and how much (mostly fossil fuel) energy that requires. Concrete is made from limestone, silica, alumina, iron, clay, fly ash, gypsum and gravel. Steel requires iron, nickel, chromium, manganese, carbon and molybdenum. Fiberglass is composed of silica, other minerals and petroleum. These materials and copper are mined in countries all across the planet. Nearly all rare earth metals come from Mongolia, and lithium for batteries (to store the turbines electrical output) from the Democratic Republic of Congo, under horrid to nonexistent environmental, health and child labor standards. Their toxic and radioactive wastes are turning vast areas into desolate wastelands. Those are enormous impacts  and wind turbines require some 100-200 times more raw materials per megawatt of electricity actually generated than modern hypercritical coal or combined cycle gas turbine generators. Total energy inputs to manufacture, transport and install wind turbine components are also lopsided. Just imagine the land and resource needs if all electricity were wind-generated and all cars were electric. To call this clean energy, sustainable power or environmental justice is simply perverse. Think back on the incredible energy technology advances since 1917  from wood and coal in primitive stoves, furnaces and factories a century ago  to the coal and gas turbine generators, hydroelectric and nuclear power plants, high-tech transmission grids of today. Ponder the amazing advancements in medical, computer, communication and other technologies during the past century. Imagine what wonders our Ultimate Resource  our creative intellects  could invent over next century, if we have the freedom and capital to do so. If misguided climate change, wealth redistribution, renewable energy and global governance demands do not shackle those opportunities. If wed stop giving decision-making authority to people who have never been in factories or on farms (much less worked there), and think food comes from grocery stores, electricity from wall sockets, clean energy from magic. President Trump has been vilified for challenging accepted wisdom on NATO, terrorism, climate change, and the ability of wind and solar to power job creation and economic rejuvenation in the USA and other industrialized nations  and to enable poor families worldwide to take their rightful places among Earths healthy and prosperous people. History will prove him right. Paul Driessen is senior policy analyst for the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow (www.CFACT.org) and author of Eco-Imperialism: Green power - Black death. Home
Reports say the renowned preacher made his way into her home to encourage and urge her on in life after her late husband was laid to rest on Friday, June 9 2017 at the forecourt of the State house in Accra.

This is the first-time people are seeing Barbara in an elated mood after receiving the very tragic news over 2 weeks ago.

Just like she said in her tribute to her husband last Friday as he was laid to her rest, she will cope.
Akosua Takyiwaa, aka Maame Bono is said to be the one who called the Assemblyman, William Baah, to report that she has seen an armed robber.

The said food seller who allegedly raised the false alarm, that the late Major Maxwell Mahama, was a suspected armed robber was selling snails.

Major Mahama had reportedly stopped to buy snails, and when he took money from his pocket to pay for the snails, the trader saw the pistol and reportedly informed the assemblyman of Denkyira Obuasi that the young military officer was an armed robber.

According to the police, without verifying the identity of Major Mahama, the assemblyman and armed townsfolk accosted the military officers, gave him a chase, shot at him, and eventually pounced on him using cement blocks, clubs, among others, until he died around 10am, two hours after he had started the jogging.

The police said, they met the deceased at Denkyira-Obuasi cemetery, which was about one-and-half kilometres from where he bought the snails and accosted him without giving the deceased the opportunity to identify himself.
The minister made the statement at a meeting with the Ghana Railway Workers Union in Sekondi-Takoradi in the Western Region.

The city is home to the headquarters of the struggling Ghana Railway Company Limited which manages the railway sector in the country.

According to Joe Ghartey, the money will be pumped into constructing 1,400 kilometre long railway lines across the country. This would include a line between Accra and Kumasi, a western line from Takoradi to Kumasi and a line from Kumasi to Paga, which has been dubbed as the Single Spine.
In a letter obtained by CNBC, Warren said she's been monitoring reports that the company uses its opaque pricing structure to charge exorbitant prices for its parts. In many cases, TDG is the sole manufacturer of these parts.

Warren is the second Washington lawmaker to call for a probe into TDG. The first was Rep.

"During 2016, TransDigm incurred a substantial amount of indebtedness  well beyond the bounds of internally generated cash flow  to fund a large-sized special dividend to shareholders and to finance the company's aggressive acquisition strategy.
RECORDER REPORT



LAHORE: The Board of Revenue (BoR) and NADRA on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), under which direct verification of revenue related issues with NADRA before registration of mutation of land will be possible.



In this connection a ceremony was held here in which Senior Member Board of Revenue Babar Hayat Tarar, members of Board of Revenue, BOR Secretary and NADRA Deputy Director were present.



On the occasion, the ceremony was told that this is another revolutionary step in line with the directions of the Punjab Chief Minister, which will bring transparency in revenue related issues and improve service delivery. All 761 Dehi Markaz Maal will also be integrated with NADRA.



Meanwhile, during its crackdown against illegal occupants of state land, the Board of Revenue retrieved 3,115 acres state land worth Rs 500 million in DG Khan District.




"We lost eight comrades in an ambush by Boko Haram gunmen at about 5:30 am (0430 GMT)," said CJTF member Ibrahim Liman in the state capital Maiduguri, which is 10 kilometres (six miles) away.

"The vigilantes had gone to Kaymala as an advance party that was to be joined later by troops to launch an attack on Boko Haram enclave.

"Unknown to them, Boko Haram terrorists, who by all indications had prior knowledge of the offensive, ambushed them by climbing into the trees.

"They opened fire on the team as soon as they pulled over."

Liman's account was supported by another militia member, Musa Ari, who helped to bury his fallen comrades.

"We buried the last of the eight victims this evening. The bodies were recovered from Kayamla by soldiers," he added.

Konduga district is a known hotbed of Boko Haram activity, despite government and military claims that the jihadists are a spent force, having been forced out of their Sambisa Forest enclave in Borno state.

ALSO READ: Boko Haram slaughters Borno villagers in reprisal attack

In May, four CJTF members hunting in the bush near a camp for those displaced by the Islamist insurgency had their throats slit on the outskirts of Maiduguri.

Two of their colleagues were also killed when two female suicide bombers detonated explosives in Konduga town, some 35 km from Maiduguri by road.

The attacks came just days after Boko Haram gunmen on motorbikes killed six farmers working on their land in Amrawa village, also on the outskirts of the state capital.

In April, eight loggers were killed and their bodies burnt near Kayamla village.

In a new video published on Saturday, Boko Haram claimed responsibility for its first raid inside Maiduguri in about 18 months, which left 11 people dead on Wednesday.
The minister, who criticised the action on Monday in Enugu at the 16th power sector monthly meeting, appealed to the state government to settle the N2.6 billion it owed EEDC.

He said that the debt contributed to the challenges faced by the distribution company in meeting the electricity needs of its consumers.

He expressed dismay that the company had been under assault in Enugu State.

EEDC appealed to me to intervene and impress on the state government to settle the huge debts it owed the company, he said.

He said that the distribution company might not have impressed its customers due to obvious challenges.

The power sector is in transition and the type of result we expect may not come immediately.

The interest of the EEDC and the customers will be better served if the state assembly collaborates with the company instead of the no confidence vote, Fashola said.

The minister said it was ridiculous that the state assembly passed no confidence vote on the EEDC when the government owed it N2.6 billion.

The more attention we pay to the power sector by paying for the power we consume, the more result we get.

If attention is not paid to the sector, there will be poor performance and no amount of vote of no confidence will improve their performance, he added.

Fashola said it was obvious that most of the power distribution companies had performed below expectation and urged them to improve on their performance.

He stressed the need for EEDC to improve on its communication with the public in order to build mutual trust.

He reiterated the commitment of the federal government to improve the power sector, which was evident in the institution of the power sector recovery plan that would soon be launched.

ALSO READ: Fashola orders suspension of work on national housing

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalled that in the first quarter of 2017, Enugu state Assembly passed vote of no confidence on the EEDC, citing poor service delivery.

Meanwhile, the state government through the Commissioner for Information, Dr Godwin Udeuhele, has said that the government is making efforts to settle the debts accumulated by successive administrations.

He said that the incumbent government had paid some amount of money to show its commitment.
MUHAMMAD SALEEM



LAHORE: All-rounder Mohammad Hafeez will become the second Pakistani player and sixth overall to feature in 100 T20Is when he takes the field against South Africa in first of the four mens Twenty 20 Internationals at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Saturday (today).



Hafeez (40) is one shy of reaching the three-figure mark and all set to join the exclusive club of Shoaib Malik (116), Rohit Sharma (111), Martin Guptill, Eoin Morgan and Ross Taylor (102) who have appeared in 100 or more T20Is since the inception of the shortest format of the game in February 2005.



Hafeez featured in Pakistans first-ever T20I in August 2006 in Bristol and scored 46 in Pakistans five wickets victory over England. Interestingly, Hafeezs 50th appearance was also at the Wanderers Stadium against South Africa in November 2013 when he as captain took two for 25 and scored 13 not out as the hosts beat Pakistan by four runs in a rain-shortened match.



Hafeez has represented Pakistan in five of the six ICC T20 World Cups since 2007, but missed the 2009 campaign in England, which Pakistan won under Younis Khan at Lords. While Hafeez will be looking for double celebrations on Saturday, Pakistan will be targeting to carry the momentum of the ODI series and make a winning start in the four-match series.



In the ICC T20I Player Rankings, Pakistan captain Babar Azam is the highest-ranked player on either side. The champion batsman is ranked third behind Dawid Malan (England) and Aaron Finch (Australia) but has a chance to narrow the gap with Australia opener whom he trails by 29 points.



Babar Azam will be captaining Pakistan in his sixth series since taking over as T20I captain from Sarfaraz Ahmed in October 2019. His side lost 2-0 to Australia, beat Bangladesh 2-0, drew 1-1 with England, won 3-0 with Zimbabwe, and won 2-1 against South Africa.



On a head to head, South Africa lead Pakistan by 9-8, including 4-3 on their turf. Barring a 10-wicket victory in the first-ever T20I between the two sides at the Wanderers in February 2007, South Africas other three wins have been narrow ones  four runs at Wanderers in 2013, six runs at Newlands in 2019 and seven runs at Wanderers in 2019. In contrast, Pakistans three wins in South Africa have been by 95 runs at Centurion in 2013, six runs at Newlands in 2013 and 27 runs at Centurion in 2019.




According to him, Mr Mustapha Maihaja, Director-General of NEMA, said that the door- to-door relief materials distribution would be done quarterly.

Datti said that the Director-General made the commitment during a meeting with officials of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in Maiduguri.

Maihaja was quoted to have said that the agency under his watch was determined to bring sanity to humanitarian intervention by adopting the door-to-door distribution in order to serve the affected persons in dignity.

He said that this is to avoid subjecting the IDPs to stress and standing in long queues under the sun or rain.

He said that the emergency relief items which includes: Millet, Sorghum, Bean, Rice, Soya beans, and Maize would be distributed to IDPs in the camps and host communities.

Maihaja said that the relief items would be distributed across the insurgency affected states of the North East which are Borno, Yobe Adamawa, Taraba, Gombe and Bauchi states.

The NEMA DG called for the assistance and collaboration of UN humanitarian organisations to ensure the success of the programme.

We will like to share with you what we have in this project and where we want humanitarian actors here in the North east to collaborate with us.

 This is to ensure that this programme remains a success, Maihaja said.

ALSO READ: Refugees Commission to provide ambulance at IDPs camp

Datti said that some of the beneficiaries at Bakassi IDPs camp expressed their happiness and appreciated the Federal Government for bringing sufficient foods to their doorsteps.

They, however, appealed for continuation of the programme.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that on June 9, Acting President Yemi Osibanjo inaugurated the distribution of the Special relief intervention of 30,000 metric tonnes of cereals to IDPs in the North East.
Okowa made the call at a thanksgiving service to mark the second anniversary of the states sixth House of Assembly at the Living Faith Church in Asaba.

According to the governor, Nigeria today depends on God to continue to survive because in the last few days a lot of things have happened.

There is threat by the words of men but I know that by Gods grace, Nigeria is one and God will continue to keep us together.

In this very trying time, Christians must be on their kneels to continue to pray for this nation; we do not want to see any more wars neither do we want to see things that will put us apart from one another.

Okowa, therefore, advised Nigerians to reflect on the past in order to forge ahead.

The governor urged the lawmakers to put God first in all their activities.

This is the only way you can impact on the lives of the people of the state even in this present time, he said.

He congratulated them for the successful completion of the second session of the sixth assembly.

Okowa also called on parents to influence their children positively as they were leaders of tomorrow.

We must realise that it is time for us to think and reflect on the past, examine our homes and examine ourselves.

Also, the Speaker, Chief Sheriff Oborevwori, who read Psalm 100:1-5, thanked God for a successful session.

It is good to give thanks to God in all things and we hope and pray for the best as we move into the third session.

I want to assure the people of the state that we are ever ready to deliver on the mandate of Deltans because that is what we are elected to do, he added.
He said the directive was to support the governments policy on investment in critical infrastructure.

Osinbajo said: beyond the huge provisions for investments in critical infrastructure, we have mandated government agencies to spend more of their budgets on locally produced goods.

This will open more opportunities for job creation with benefits for government in form of tax revenues.

We are also working hard to improve our revenue collection efficiency so that we can achieve our revenue projections.

While we are deploying technological tools to enhance collections, the implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) will continue to contribute significantly to improving transparency and accountability over government revenues.

The acting president said the fight against corruption was yielding positive results and added some of the recoveries are included in the 2017 budget which will be expended on identifiable capital projects.

He said that already, the administration was beginning to see some improvement in the quality of public expenditure.

This is great motivation for us to remain resolute in our fight against corruption so that economic prosperity is enjoyed by all Nigerians.

Osinbajo reiterated that the implementation of the budget would bring added impetus to governments on-going economic recovery programme.

He promised the intensification of the economic diversification efforts in a bid to expand opportunities for wealth creation and employment, thereby creating inclusive and sustainable growth.

Our path to progress and abundance is clear.

The tools are in place and the resilient, resourceful and hardworking Nigerian people are set to go.

I have no doubt that by the grace of God, the bleakness of recession is about to witness the uplifting dawn of abundance, he declared.

The acting president observed that the signing of the budget would trigger activities in the domestic economy and lead to job creation and more opportunities for employment, especially for the youth.

He acknowledged that government alone could not achieve the overarching goal of delivering inclusive growth and stressed that the 2017 budget provided a lot of opportunities for partnerships with the private sector.

Osinbajo said that to help the private sector thrive, the administration was determined to create an enabling business environment.

We are already recording verifiable progress across several areas ranging from a new Visa-on-Arrival scheme to reforms at our ports and regulatory agencies.

The online business registration process has reduced time required for business registration from 10 days to two days.

It is expected that the Executive Order on transparency and efficiency in the business environment will make it even easier for investors to get the permits and licenses they require for their businesses, he said.

Osinbajo also said that pursuant to the commitments to the Open Government Partnership, the administration recently issued an Executive Order that would promote budget transparency, accountability and efficiency.

We want to make the federal budget work more efficiently for the people, he said.

ALSO READ: What Acting President Osinbajo said after signing 2017 budget

Meanwhile, the President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, while addressing the State House Correspondents hailed the budget and said implementation would start immediately.

He said that he saw it as a recovery budget and described the two trillion naira allocated to capital projects as worthwhile and the largest done by the Federal Government so far.

If we can maintain the success of 2016 in the percentage of capital implementation, that is good for Nigeria.

The second most important part which I think is key is the drive for Made-in-Nigeria to ensure that government agencies give first option to Nigerian companies.

That will mean more jobs for our people and maybe save on foreign exchange; and then continue to drive on agriculture and diversification.

Saraki said the budget is good and I think it is a good message out, adding that Nigerians would begin to experience its dividends.

He said the National Assembly would ensure that the government began implementation.

Saraki said that by the record in 2016 it was expected that implementation of the budget would be holistic.

He observed that there would be more challenges on the revenue and urged all to work together to block the leakages to ensure more revenue for the government.
According to Daily Post, the Ekiti APC spokesman, Taiwo Olatunbosun said Fayose hinted during the programme that what Ekiti got as refund from the Paris Club could barely pay a month salary because of deductions.

We challenge Governor Fayose over this false claim as the Paris refund is not subject to any deduction. It is the states monthly allocation that is subject to deduction while the local government allocation is also not subject to deduction.

It was Ekiti State Government that borrowed money from the Paris Club and not the local governments and so refunds cannot be made to local government.

The N9.6bn refund is exclusively for the state government to pay salary and so any other claims by Fayose to brainwash the workers to deny them their entitlements once again is not only wicked and selfish, but also a fraudulent practice that Fayose has elevated to an official policy to short-change the state and her people at all times.

Another cash of monthly N1.3bn budget support fund, including Internally Generated Revenue of about N300m is there and this is separate from the local government allocation, thus bringing total cash this month alone to N13.1bn.
Chidoka, a former Minister of Aviation, made this known in a statement in Abuja on Monday and said that he would dump PDP for United Progressive Party (UPP) on Wednesday.

The statement by the Director-General of his campaign organisation, Mr Bright Nebedum, said Chidokawould declare for the UPPin his hometown, Obosi.

It explained that Chidokas decision to move to another political party was in furtherance of his political aspiration.

It said that the declaration, the former minister would unveil his plans and vision towards redirecting the fortunes of Anambra and restoring its lost political and economic glory.

The statement added that Chidoka stood out with his reputation as a forthright administrator and manager of resources and had never failed in any assignment.

ALSO READ:Former aviation minister Chidoka joins Anambra guber race

It noted that before becoming minister in 2014, he showed his mettle as the Corps Marshal and Chief Executive of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC).It said that the Chidoka already commanded overwhelming support from various segments of Anambra citizenry.

Chidoka already commands overwhelming support from various segments of Anambra citizenry on which we will leverage to run a robust, all-inclusive and broad-based governorship election campaign, the statement said.
Two men have been arrested near Sao Paulo on charges of torturing the 17-year-old. They confessed to the attack, saying they had caught him about to steal a bike from a disabled man, Brazilian media reported Monday.

The victim's family became concerned when he went missing on May 31 and then were horrified to find a video of him posted online undergoing the tattooing.

In the footage, which was widely shared on social media, the victim is seen sitting while a man uses a tattoo machine to mark his forehead in large, crudely dawn capital letters.

"They committed a cowardly and cruel act of extreme brutality torturing this adolescent," said Ariel de Castro Alves, with the state human rights commission Condepe on Globo news site. "Before tattooing, they tied his hands and feet. He was begging for mercy."

The victim, who spoke to Globo with his back to the camera, denied he had been stealing. "I was drunk and I bumped into the bicycle and it fell over," he said.

When the tattooing started "I wanted to die," he said.

His torturers photographed him immediately after but when he tried to cover up the tattoo with his fringe, "they cut off my hair," he added in the report, where he appears with his head shaved.

"My son is not an animal," his mother, Vania Rocha, told Globo. "He is sick. He needs help from a clinic to get off drugs, but we can't pay because it's too expensive."

Brazil is one of the world's most violent countries, with nearly 60,000 murders a year, according to the latest available statistics for 2015. That's about 161 homicides a day, with a per capita homicide rate three times above the UN threshold for "endemic violence."

Confronted by rampant crime and an often inefficient police force, vigilante violence against criminal suspects is widespread. This commonly includes beatings of suspected muggers by bystanders and even public executions by mobs -- frequently captured on cellphone footage.

Family lawyer Leonardo Rodrigues urged Brazilians not to jump to conclusions about the teen after seeing him accused of being a thief.

"Many people shared the image of him and made judgments without knowing the facts. He did not do anything that was said and spread on the internet," Rodrigues said.
White, in a statement, said the U.S. conducted the strike operation in conjunction with its regional partners as a direct response to al-Shabaab actions in the country.

The United States conducted this operation in coordination with its regional partners as a direct response to al-Shabaab actions, including recent attacks on Somali forces, the Pentagon spokesperson said.

The Presidents approval allows the Defence Department to conduct legal action against al-Shabaab within a geographically-defined area of active hostilities in support of partner forces in Somalia," White said.

We remain committed to working with our Somali partners and allies to systematically dismantle al-Shabaab, and help achieve stability and security throughout the region, the Pentagon spokesperson said.
CAMBRIDGE -- State police arrested a California man for cannabis-related felonies Monday.

Sami H. Pauls, 59, of El Cajon, Calif., was arraigned Monday in Henry County Circuit Court by Judge Terry Patton on charges of Class X felony cannabis trafficking, Class X felony possession with intent to deliver, and Class 1 possession.

According to the charges, the offenses took place June 12.

Mr. Pauls said in court he would hire private counsel. A preliminary hearing was set for June 26.
CLINTON (AP)  A nuclear reactor in central Illinois has begun operating again just over a year after the plant owner warned it would shut down this month if financial losses continued.

In between, Gov. Bruce Rauner signed legislation providing $235 million in ratepayer subsidies annually to Exelon Corp. to keep running the Quad Cities Generating Station near Cordova and the Clinton Power Station for at least another 10 years.

"Our employees, families and neighbors are very thankful to Illinois legislative leaders for enacting legislation that recognizes the significant environmental and economic benefits of nuclear power in our state," Ted Stoner, vice president of the Clinton site, said in an announcement of the return to full power.

Last summer, Exelon threatened to close the Clinton power station this month and the Quad Cities station in June 2018, claiming losses of $800 million on the plants in seven years.

Company executives said the plants deserved energy subsidies similar to solar, wind and other carbon-free sources of power, but opponents argued the subsidies amounted to a ratepayer bailout of the aging reactors.

The Clinton plant had been offline since May 8 for refueling. Company officials said work included inspections, maintenance, modifications and replacing nearly one-third of the reactor fuel.

The company added about 1,500 employees to the regular workforce of 700 for the upgrades.

"The vast majority of work is complete, and can only be performed when the unit is not online producing electricity," said Brett Nauman, a spokesman for Exelon.

Company officials said the Clinton Power Station produces enough electricity to power 1 million homes.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP)  Some say Illinois can't afford to cut its media service that transmits state news, even though it costs $3 million a year as the state is in financial turmoil.

Illinois Department of Central Management Services spokesman Richard Bossert told The State Journal-Register the necessity of the Illinois Office of Communication and Information to communicate with the public doesn't stop due to the lack of a state budget.

"As the sole graphic, video and audio production team for more than 70 state agencies and constitutional officers, our media services have been used to keep the public informed, like during disaster scenarios, for nearly 100 years," Bossert said. "They remain an integral part of delivering state services as well as communicating with the public and media, including providing material for The State Journal-Register."

Originally called Illinois Information Services, the office has been around for nearly a century and employs about 20 people. It assists state agencies and government entities in delivering information to the public and the media.

Rep. Sara Wojcicki Jimenez, a Republican from Leland Grove, said the office's role should be reviewed in light of the state's financial woes, but noted its importance.

"They fall under CMS, and their department submits their budget, and it's time to for the Legislature to act on a budget," Jimenez said. "We haven't had an opportunity to do that in the House this year, and all of those things would have to be reviewed."

Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, said state government should be doing everything it can to be more cost-effective.

"I think everything should be put under the microscope, even this," Manar said. "We're in a fiscal crisis and everything should be (looked at) and be evaluated for its effectiveness."
DAVENPORT  Beth Vanthournout, of Rock Island, has a pretty unconventional family.

The president of the local chapter of AT&T's LGBT group, League, she considers herself "pansexual" (attracted to male, female, transgender and intersex). She and her bisexual husband have a 2-year-old boy, and they live with her female best friend (who she calls her wife) and her 6-year-old son.

Their family was among dozens of people who came out Sunday for the QC Equality March for Unity and Pride, starting at Centennial Park and then walking across the Centennial Bridge.

"We want to make a better world for these two," Ms. Vanthournout said of the boys. "Hopefully people will see we're here; we're not going anywhere, we're not gonna do it quietly." She wants to fight states discriminating against trans people. "They're part of us; they're important," she said.

In AT&T, there are LGBT group chapters nationwide, and the Davenport-based one has been going five years, Ms. Vanthournout said. "They're very supportive. They're one of the best employers when it comes to diversity."

Andrew Glasscock, organizer of the Q-C Fall Pride festival, said workplace equality is a key issue. "I think it's wrong I can get married legally, federally on Saturday night, and then I go to work Monday and get fired because I'm gay," he said. "It's not right and that's why we're here today."

"We're not done fighting for this. We're here and we're not going anywhere," he said.

Mr. Glasscock noted the case of Kimberly Hively, an instructor at a community college in South Bend, Ind., who was fired because she's lesbian. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit (which includes Illinois) ruled in April that LGBT people are covered under the 1964 Civil Rights Act's prohibition against sex discrimination.

Michelle Royal, the transgender owner of Rock Island's Hickey Brothers and host of Lip Sync Royale, said the nation is at "a crucial point in the transgender community."

Trans children "just want to blend in and be part of the school community. They want to use restrooms and locker rooms that match their identity," she said. "It's something so simple, and it's going to be taken away. We will keep fighting for it."

In February, the Trump administration repealed guidelines from former President Obamas administration that had directed schools to allow students to use a bathroom that corresponds to their gender identity. Vice President Mike Pence has supported conversion therapy to change peoples gender identity or sexual orientation and has said marriage should be limited to heterosexual couples.

These issues helped prompt Sunday's National Equality March in Washington and similar marches (like the Q-C one) across the country.

Local organizer Lucia Dryanski quoted from the national event website (equalitymarch2017.org), which said the marches were not just for LGBT rights.

They were meant to "support, uplift and bring attention to those in our communities who are targeted due to immigration status, ethnicity, religion, skin color, gender and disability," she said. "We affirm and celebrate that we are a mix of diverse communities. Lack of unity has caused many of our needs to be neglected or ignored. But now, for 2017 and beyond, we are working to learn from our prior mistakes and come together through common belief in inalienable human rights and dignity for all."

"Things we as Americans should freely receive have to be fought for, but why?" asked Tee LeShoure, of the Q-C group African-American Lesbian Professionals Having a Say.

"I encourage you to continue to vote on every level  locally, statewide, nationally. I encourage you to remain inspired as never before," she said. "Fight for everything you deserve and roar loudly  as if we're shouting from the mountaintops, for our families, friends, our communities and our legal rights."

Another event organizer, the Rev. Rich Hendricks, of the Metropolitan Community Church of the Quad-Cities, yelled: "It makes me angry when people who have not been oppressed claim to be oppressed. For example, Christians as a group are not oppressed in this country. They are not, and it's time they stopped saying it. And religious freedom does not mean the freedom to discriminate."

This past Thursday, President Trump told a religious gathering at the Faith & Freedom Coalition that "we're under siege," and he'd fight for religious liberty.

"They don't think we're human enough to marry the ones we love. They don't think we're human enough to adopt children," Rev. Hendricks said of those who oppose LGBT rights. "They don't think we're human enough to have equal rights to employment and housing, and that's wrong."

"We reject Trump's actions designed to make America hate again," he said. "Let us march today and chant today, but don't let it stop there. Help us organize and, for God's sake, vote. Today, we vote with our voices and feet for a better, more inclusive world."

"Everyone should have the freedom to be themselves," said the Rev. Jay Wolin, of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Quad-Cities. "Let love be our theology."

He recognizes the privilege he has because he's a straight white male. "I recognize it is my responsibility of living in this world, to use that privilege to allow others to lift themselves up, to have the opportunities and freedoms that I have," Rev. Wolin said.

"I am not whole if my fellow human being is not whole," he said. "We are all in this together. We must together answer the call against the forces of oppression."

Ms. Royal praised an Illinois law passed this year to allow transgender people to change their birth certificate to match other their forms of identification, "so I can go use restrooms that fit my birth certificate," she said.

"We are not done. We as a community must not be apathetic, and cannot afford to stay in our own identified lane," Ms. Royal said. She also opposes the announced removal of sexual orientation and gender identity from the 2020 U.S. census (as had been previously proposed).

"If we are not counted, we won't get funding and support that this community needs," she said.

Sunday's marches occurred the day before the one-year anniversary of the shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., that killed 49 people, the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.
The transaction, which is worth 64.5m, has been approved by the Italian Authority for Markets and Competition.

The deal reduces Astaldis stake in Metro 5 to 2%. The other shareholdings remain unchanged - Ansaldo STS holds 24%, ATM 20%, Alstom 9.4% and Hitachi Rail Italy 7.6%.

The acquisition is part of the FSs industrial plan for 2017-2026, which seeks to develop integrated mobility in major urban centres. In this context, the planned extension of Line M5 to Monza and Settimo Milanese could now benefit from early funding and implementation.

The 12.8km line from Bignami to San Siro Stadium opened in phases between 2013 and 2015 and serves 19 stations, including interchanges with three metro lines and main line services.

Mr Roberto Passalacqua remains president of the Metro 5 steering committee and Mr Amerigo Del Buono will continue as CEO. Mr Stefano Pierini, Mr Guglielmo Casciaro, Mr Luca Silveri Gentiloni and Mrs Paola Barbaglia have joined the board as advisors.
Under the plan, which was presented by IR deputy general manager for development Mr Reuben Kogan, the network is projected to grow from 1232km to 2572km between 2020 and 2040, with the number of stations increasing from 68 to 120. IRs passenger train fleet will almost triple from 139 in 2020 to 511 in 2040.

The plan allocates Shekels 94.78bn for infrastructure, and Shekels 19.26bn for rolling stock, Shekels 9.6bn for depots and stabling facilities, with an overall benefit:cost ratio of 1.0.

Passenger numbers are forecast to grow from 59.5 million in 2017 to 81.2 million in 2020 and 306 million in 2040, with rails share of the public transport market rising from 3% to 8% between 2020 and 2040. Rails share of journeys of more than 50km would grow from 10% to 40% and the percentage of passengers able to reach Tel Aviv in less than 1h 30min would rise from 16% to 64%.

Peak passenger services will increase from 50 trains in 2020 to 128 in 2040, with 96 services running at up to 160km/h and 32 at a maximum of 250km/h.

As the number of stations increases, IR envisages separate categories of inter-city and regional services to maintain rapid links between major towns and cities. IR general manager Mr Shahar Ayalon says double-track lines will be four-tracked and the Eastern Line between Kfar-Sava and Hadera East will be revived to enable direct links bypassing congested lines in the Tel-Aviv area.

On the core inter-city network lines will be widened from two to four tracks to enable 250km/h operation. Lines earmarked for four-tracking comprise Tel Aviv - Haifa, Tel Aviv - Ayalon, Lod - Beer Sheva, and Ashkelon - Pleshet Junction. A 20km double-track tunnel between Tel Aviv Hahagana and Rishpon (north of Hertzliya) will provide six tracks on this section.

The plan, which was drawn up by IR and the ministries of transport and finance, has been sent to transport minister Mr Israel Katz for feedback before submission to the cabinet for approval.

Israel is undergoing a transportation revolution particularly on railways, but also on roads and at its ports, Katz said at the conference. The government is interested in rail links with neighboring countries, as was the situation prior to 1948 [the foundation of Israel] and such links can only contribute to the peace and stability of the area.

IR is proposing a number of cross-border links including a line to Lebanon; Jenin - West Bank; Hebron - West Bank; Eilat - Aqaba (Jordan); Ashkelon - Gaza; and a connection across the Sinai desert to Egypt, following the alignment of the former Ottoman railway.

Other major projects in the strategic plan include:

- Afula (Valley Line) - Hadera East

- Lod station bypass, and

- expansion of Ben Gurion Airport station.
The project involves the construction of two temporary tracks on the Hjarup - Arlov section, to be used while the new infrastructure is built.

Four new tracks will then be constructed on the Flackarp - Arlov section. The line is being expanded to increase capacity.

Three stations at Hjarup, Akarp and Arlov will also be rebuilt under the contract.

Work will begin later this year, and is expected to be completed by 2024.
Xiaomi unveiled the handset Mi 5C in February, its first Surge S1-powered device. [Photo/China Daily]

In 2014, Xiaomi Corp founder Lei Jun called the chip segment the "crown of the smartphone sector". Three years on, he has his own jewel in that crown - the Surge S1, Xiaomi's first in-house chip.

The technology tycoon has fond and vivid memories of a momentous instant that signifies Xiaomi's evolution from a smartphone major into a tech giant.

He recalls a night of September 2015 when, at 1:40 am, in a trial, the Surge S1 enabled the first call between a group of engineers and Lei. "My heart was surging with excitement at that moment. That's how the chipset got its name."

James Yan, research director at Counterpoint Technology Market Research, said though the Surge S1 is still at the entry level, Xiaomi's attempts to make inroads into the competitive industry highlight its determination to differentiate its products from a crowd of rivals and seek growth via innovation.

The pursuit of innovation was what drove the Beijing-based tech major back in 2014. It coasted on the stupendous success of its online-only sales model to establish a chip unit, Beijing Songguo Electronics.

It had figured out that reliable access to chips was going to be the key to success in the fiercely competitive smartphone market.

Today, Xiaomi is only the second Chinese smartphone major after Huawei Technologies Co Ltd to master chip-design technology.

Xiaomi unveiled its first in-house chip Surge S1 in February in Beijing. [Photo/Xinhua]

While Huawei spent 10 years to win market recognition for its chipset, Xiaomi took only 28 months to turn the idea of making an in-house chip into reality.

"Rapid technological advances in the past years shortened the research and development process and gave us a late-mover advantage,"Lei said in a recent interview.

When Xiaomi was mulling the chip unit, several experts had told Lei that it is a high-tech, cash-intensive business. R&D of chips alone would require 1 billion yuan ($147 million), and making a success of it would require at least $1 billion.

"If we want to challenge the world's top three players, we must devote long-time efforts to it," Lei had said then.

Xiaomi did just that.

After setting up Songguo in 2014, Xiaomi inked a technology transfer contract with Leadcore Technologies, a 100 percent subsidiary of Datang Telecom, a State-owned telecom company.

That partnership helped accelerate the R&D process."We have the smartphone shipment scale that can afford a bet on the chip business.We also have lured a number of experienced experts.That's our biggest advantage," Lei said.

Xiaomi's efforts paid off. It was able to launch its first Surge S1-powered smartphone Mi 5C in February. The 1,499 yuan ($218) handset put Xiaomi among global majors such as Samsung Electronics Corp, Apple Inc and Huawei that use in-house chips in their handsets.

At the March product launch, Lei said Xiaomi's nail-size chipset's sophisticated design allows more than one billion transistors to amplify and switch electronic signals.

So far, the company has poured more than 1 billion yuan into its chip business, partly supported by the Beijing municipal government.

The Surge S1 started as a middle-end chip and is positioned to compete with similar products of MediaTek Inc and Spreadtrum Communications Inc, all of which seek to balance devices' power and performance.

Yan of Counterpoint said Xiaomi needs to be on its toes. "It must delicately handle the relationships with third-party chip suppliers and be wary of any problems that may arise during the mass production stage, for Huawei's 10-year experience told us that the path to self-developed chips is by no means a smooth one."

The intensified push into the chip sector also coincides with Xiaomi's efforts to grow its technology patents. The company said it has so far obtained more than 3,600 patents.

Last year alone, it filed over 7,000 more patent applications, most of which will likely be approved in two to three years.
Welcome to Railway Gazette. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. By continuing to browse this site you are agreeing to our use of these cookies. You can learn more about the cookies we use here.

OK
Businesses and investors hate uncertainty. We hear that old saw all of the time, and for the most part, its true. At the same time, its worth reflecting on the fact that all uncertainty is not created equal.

To be clear, uncertainty is not the same as risk, though the terms often are used interchangeably. The late economist Frank Knight tackled the difference in his 1921 book Risk, Uncertainty, and Profit. Knight basically explained that a risk is a situation whereby the odds of an outcome are measurable, as opposed to uncertainty, which is not measurable.

As Knight wrote, The fact is that while a single situation involving a known risk may be regarded as uncertain, this uncertainty is easily converted into effective certainty; for in a considerable number of such cases the results become predictable in accordance with the laws of chance, and the error in such prediction approaches zero as the number of cases is increased. Meanwhile, a true uncertainty is a form of uncertainty not susceptible to measurement.

So, for our purposes here, lets go with effective uncertainty as being measurable, and true uncertainty being unmeasurable.

Knight notes that true uncertainty certainly exists in the marketplace, and that it helps to explain the peculiar income of the entrepreneur. So, in Knightian terms, many entrepreneurs are more than simply bearers of effective uncertainty, but also of true uncertainty. That makes sense, particularly when thinking about the entrepreneur who is the innovator bringing an entirely new product or service to the market. What lies ahead goes beyond the measurable, and ranks as a true uncertainty. It lines up with what Steve Jobs once said, A lot of times, people dont know what they want until you show it to them. When an entrepreneur offers something new, true uncertainty is being embraced.

But there can be much more to uncertainty than the particulars of an entrepreneur, business or even industry. Entrepreneurs, businesses, investors, workers and consumers often face uncertainty when it comes to government. Again, in the political realm, there is effective uncertainty, where odds can be figured out based on the track record of and understanding the incentives at work in government. And then there are true uncertainties, where the odds cannot really be measured.

For nearly a decade now, weve been sorting through noteworthy uncertainties. Consider a few examples.

First, when the economic/credit mess hit hard in late 2008, it became anyones guess as to how government would react. At least, for a short period of time, true uncertainty reigned.

Second, the election of President Barack Obama brought an activist view of government, and for eight years we heard a great deal about Obama administration policies creating uncertainty. But, in fact, much of that was effective uncertainty. For example, many people seemed to talk themselves into the idea that Obama actually would not do what he clearly had pledged to do during his 2008 campaign, and then they were surprised as the Obama administration carried through on assorted big government promises. Theres a difference between true uncertainty, and simply being dead wrong about ones expectations, that is, miscalculating effective uncertainty.

Even in terms of the outcomes of policy specifics, the ills of ObamaCare, increased regulation, and higher taxes were certainly foreseeable. And individuals, businesses and investors, for the most part, made those calculations, and reined in entrepreneurship and investment as a result, with the economy then badly under-performing (and continuing to do so).

Finally, we have the move to the Trump administration, and along with it, assorted tweets, investigations, inexperience and contradictions. This brings a degree of true uncertainty into the mix, along with the more typical effective uncertainty.

But there also is a directional shift in overall uncertainty. With the Obama administration, the calculations were about negative uncertainty. That is, we were left figuring out how bad the outcomes would be for businesses, workers and the economy with Obamas policy agenda.

In contrast, there are major parts of the Trump agenda  namely, tax and regulatory relief and reform  that rank as positive uncertainties. That is, were left trying to figure out when such policies will be implemented and what the final details might look like, but the direction is positive. That is, implementation of such policies will enhance pro-growth incentives.

One area, though, where negative true uncertainty exists with the Trump administration is on trade. Were left guessing if the harsh anti-trade rhetoric of Donald Trump on the campaign trail will win the day, or will a more traditional U.S. trade position hold sway? Once that question is answered, eliminating true uncertainty, then businesses and investors can make decisions dealing with effective uncertainty  whether it be positive or negative.

In the end, the ideal scenario is one where government serves up positive effective uncertainty, establishing a sound policy environment whereby entrepreneurs and investors are incentivized to embrace true uncertainty in the marketplace.
China ascendant, America declining and endangered -- that was the narrative, reflected in the East Asia security situation, that President Donald Trump inherited.

The Obama administrations much-touted pivot or rebalance to Asia did nothing to reverse the negative trend in the Asia-Pacific balance of power -- indeed, the conscious reduction of resources for Americas military reinforced that trend.

Candidate Trumps campaign vision of placing America First promised a different direction.

As president-elect, he resolved to brake China by breaking some china: withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, label China a currency manipulator at the risk of igniting a trade war, and withdraw support from Japan and South Korea unless they paid more for their own defense or even arm themselves with nuclear weapons, a fearsome prospect for Beijing.

The foreign policy establishment saw these as steps backward that would only worsen Americas predicament.

As president, Trump did take the United States out of TPP, but with the clear possibility of reopening negotiations on more favorable terms. And he accepted fresh assurances of resolve from Japan and South Korea -- even under the new Moon Jae-in administration in Seoul -- while re-committing Washington to the collective defense of those Asian allies in the East China Sea and on the Korean Peninsula.

At the same time, the president demonstrated that other givens in the deteriorating East Asia security situation could no longer be taken for granted. He accepted a congratulatory, and unprecedented, phone call from Taiwans President, Tsai Ing-wen, angering Beijing, then cast doubt on the one-China formulation that Beijing favors in its relations with Taipei.

Even after appearing to modulate his stances on those issues that are highly sensitive for Beijing, he made clear that they remained in play. He would give Beijing a pass on currency if it cooperated on North Korea. And he would consider having further conversations with President Tsai, depending on how overall U.S.-China relations were proceeding, again with North Korea as the most urgent issue. Meanwhile, preparations for a major new arms sale to Taiwan seem to be proceeding apace despite Beijings objections.

On East Asias third major flash point -- Chinas aggressive moves in the South China Sea -- the president unleashed the U.S. Navy from the shackles imposed on it by the previous administration in the conduct of Freedom of Navigation Operations. The USS Dewey steamed within 12 nautical miles of Mischief Reef, one of the artificial islands China has illegally constructed to support its unfounded claims of territorial seas throughout the South China Sea.

Unlike the three Obama administration FONOPS, which passed meekly in innocent passage, thereby inadvertently conceding Chinese maritime sovereignty, the Dewey conducted normal Navy operations in those international waters.

The Defense Department promised further robust FONOPS, though they would not all necessarily be carried out as full-out challenges to China. The frequency and degree of publicity given to future exercises may well depend on any additional moves China may make in the South China Sea; progress on the North Korea nuclear problem; and Chinese restraint on Taiwan as U.S. relations deepen with that democratic friend.

Meanwhile, other Seventh Fleet movements -- the gathering of two carrier groups near Korean waters -- reinforced the administrations repeated warnings that if Beijing doesnt use its unique leverage over Pyongyang to eliminate the threat it helped create and has duplicitously sustained, this administration will.

On balance, for all the perceived oscillation in presidential rhetoric, the U.S. position on North Korea, Taiwan, and the South China Sea, and security relations with our Asian allies, are stronger today than they were just four months ago. The negative legacy dynamic has been slowed if not yet entirely halted and promises to be reversed if the overall policy of firmness is maintained.

The moderate success of the Trump Asia policy to date is primarily the result of the presidents own out-of-the box strategic thinking and unorthodox negotiating style. (Striking Syria for violating Obamas chemical weapons red line while lunching with Xi Jinping at Mar a Lago undoubtedly made a salutary impression on Chinas strongman).

But a major part of the credit also goes to the superb national security team the president has assembled at the Cabinet level (and to him, by definition, for having chosen them): Defense Secretary James Mattis, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, and, unexpectedly because of his exclusively business background, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

All have proved to be solid, mature, judicious advisers who have helped keep the ship of state, and Asia policy in particular, on an even keel while loyally and competently advancing the presidents ambitious national security agenda.

In the Asia component of U.S. foreign policy at least, there is much reason for confidence and hope. Steady as she goes.
Property details:

For Sale - 1.14 acres of vacant land in Golden Valley, Arizona. The property is located in Mohave County close to Kingman, AZ / Highway 40. The full cash value of the property according to the County Assessor's office is $6,461. Included in the winning bid price is a warranty deed and all document costs including the recording of the deed with the Mohave County Recorder's Office. Site Address: W Morocco DrLegal Description: Paradise Acres Unit 3 W2 Lot 513 Sec 29 20N 18WParcel Number: 215-12-226...

Price: $ 750 Seller State of Residence: Arizona Property Address: W Morocco Dr State/Province: Arizona City: Golden Valley Type: Rural Zoning: Rural Undetermined Location: , Golden Valley, Arizona

You will be redirected to eBay



Nearby Rural Undetermined
Property details:

San Mateo County Belmont, California Offered is this AS-IS residential parcel of land. No City of Belmont or County of San Mateo restrictions! This community is acclaimed with schools and services. Fresh appraisal in 2017(see photo). Seller pays all closing costs. Local buyers may meet in person to complete the transaction with a cashier's check or cash. Foreign buyers may pay by wire transfer and your newly recorded deed will be mailed to you. APN: 043-165-130 LEGAL DESCRIPTION: Lot 47, Block 1...

Price: $ 58,000 Zoning: Residential Type: Homesite, Lot State/Province: California Zip/Postal Code: 94002 City: Belmont Property Address: Situs Pending Monte Cresta Dr Belmont, CA 94002 Seller State of Residence: California Location: 940**, Belmont, California

You will be redirected to eBay



Nearby California
Singaporean Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan [Photo/China Daily]

Singapore welcomes Chinese companies to submit bids on the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur High Speed Rail, Singaporean Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan has said.

In a written interview with China Daily, he said Singapore "recognizes China's experience and expertise". The international request for bids, to be conducted in a fair and transparent manner, will be jointly put out by Singapore and Malaysia later this year, he said.

The minister, in an official visit to China from Sunday to Monday, noted that the project aims to improve connectivity among the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Regarding the Belt and Road Initiative, Balakrishnan called Singapore an "early and strong supporter" and said China and Singapore can work together to add value to the initiative.

The two countries can further consider the joint provision of training for officials from the "Belt and Road" countries, and encourage think tanks to conduct joint research on topics related to the "Belt and Road", he said.

Singapore has been China's largest foreign investor as well as China's top trading partner within ASEAN.

"Singapore will continue to support Chinese companies as more venture abroad," he said.

Speaking of bilateral ties, he said Singapore and China share a "close and longstanding friendship", and this partnership "also reflects the long term strength of our bilateral ties and the bright prospects for the future".

While the two countries have their respective national interests, there are no fundamental strategic disagreements, he said.

"We both need regional peace and stability. We both depend on free and open trade," he added.

On China-ASEAN ties, Balakrishnan said ASEAN's strategic partnership with China is "strong, substantive and multifaceted", and both sides need to boost two-way tourist visits and promote people-to-people exchanges.

"We will continue to actively advance ASEAN-China relations in the remaining year of our ASEAN-China coordinatorship, part of which will coincide with Singapore's Chairmanship of ASEAN in 2018," he said.

"We look forward to working closely with our ASEAN colleagues and with China to bring the ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership to greater heights," he added.

On the South China Sea issue, the minister said the South China Sea situation "has been calm and there have been no major disruptions in the past year", and the complicated issue "must be resolved by the claimant states themselves".

Singapore is glad to be able to contribute effectively to the good progress made on the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, signed by China and ASEAN members in 2002, and the consultations on the Code of Conduct thus far, he said.

"I welcome the progress made by our officials in finalizing the framework for the COC in Guiyang last month," he said.
Property details:

Please ask all questions and reading closing and payment instructions BEFORE BIDDING!!!!! WORLDMARK BY WYNDHAM TIMESHARE FOR SALE ANNUAL 13,000 CREDITS OWN this PREMIER Timeshare membership NOW at a fraction of the original price: This is for 13,000 Annual WorldMark by Wyndham credits--this allows you to make reservations at any of the WorldMark by Wyndham resort properties. The anniversary month for this membership is OCT. Buyer will receive 13,000 credits IN OCT 2017 for this use year; The mai...

Price: $ 2,999 Seller State of Residence: Texas State/Province: Florida Location: 347**, Kissimmee, Florida

You will be redirected to eBay



Nearby Florida
British Prime Minister Theresa May rebuilt her government despite concerns that Thursday' general election result left her too weak to continue as prime minister.

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May leaves after a church service in Sonning, Britain June 11, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

Her appointments of Damian Green as first secretary of state and Gavin Barwell as chief of staff were seen as indications that May will be much more pro-European as she prepares to enter negotiations on the UK's departure from the European Union.

David Davies, the minister for exiting the EU said that the start of talks with the EU, which were scheduled for June 19, may be postponed until later that week.

May also appointed Michael Gove, who she fired when she became prime minister, as minister for the environment.

May called the election when opinion polls suggested that that the Conservative Party was almost 20 percent ahead of the opposition Labour Party but the lead was whittled down as the prime minister failed to convince voters that she was the right person to lead the country.

The Conservatives gained 318 seats to Labour's 262, which left them short of an overall majority. The Conservatives will try to gain the support of the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party and its ten MPS.

The election result left May with few options in appointing her cabinet. It was widely expected that May would not allow Philip Hammond to continue as chancellor of the exchequer but it appeared she had no choice but to keep him in the post. Other senior figures such as Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, and Amber Rudd, the home secretary, also kept their jobs.

The former chancellor the exchequer, George Osborne, who is now an editor of a London newspaper said that May was too weak to continue as prime minister. He described her as a "dead woman walking" on Sunday.

The Conservative-supporting website Conservative Home found that 60 percent of Conservative Party members believed that May should resign as prime minister and trigger a leadership election. The winner of a Conservative Party election would then become prime minister as May did following the resignation of David Cameron after the UK voted to leave the European Union in a referendum last year.

Much of the criticism of May's general election campaign was focused on her two unelected chiefs of staff Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy. Both resigned amid harsh criticism of their behavior despite observations that they were both appointed by May and managed by her.

Many commentators were concerned by May's intention to govern with the help of the DUP, which is seen as going too far in its view on gay marriage, abortion and other social issues. Some believed that the DUP's participation in the central government would damage its ability to participate in the devolved government in Northern Ireland.

Former Tory leader Lord Hague has said "very serious lessons" had to be learned by the Conservative party but warned against a leadership contest.
Sanand plant exported 78,930 cars. The one at Chennai exported 79,539 units of EcoSport model

After a slow start, export of cars from Ford Indias factory at Sanand, close to this city, expanded during 2016-17. The facility produced 78,930 cars for export, at par with the shipment abroad from its Chennai factory.

Sanand makes Fords hatchback, the Figo, and the Figo Aspire sedan. Sale of the Figo had fallen by almost 60 per cent in the latter half of 2015-16 (October to March). Those of the Aspire fell 74 per cent between August 2015, when it was launched, and March 2016.

Sources indicate the company had to then revise its internal production targets. It also decided to focus more on the export market.

This seems to have worked. Data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers shows export of the Figo swelled 214 per cent or more than threefold, to 49,901 units in 2016-17 from 15,877 in 2015-16. Similarly, export of the Aspire went up from 11,152 units in FY16 to 29,029 in FY17, up 160 per cent.

Cumulatively, the Sanand plant exported 78,930 cars. The one at Chennai, much older, also exported 79,539 units of its popular EcoSport model. The three brands go to Latin America, West Asia and Africa.

A questionnaire sent to Ford India on export markets and future plans was not answered.

An analyst said several automobile multinational corporations (MNCs) were now using their Indian manufacturing base as an export hub.

Cost of production in India is quite competitive, with low manpower cost. Quality assurance has improved significantly. Exporting to Latin American and other emerging markets from India is a competitive option, he said.

More, many of the MNCs have not been able to make a mark in the domestic car market. So, utilising the manufacturing base for export makes the Indian operation viable.

Ford India is utilising around 60 per cent of its current installed capacity. Hence, it has room for growth on both the domestic and export fronts. Figo sales at home continued to slip, from 17,755 units in 2015-16 to 14,198 in 2016-17.

The Aspire, however, had grown marginally, from 19,716 units in FY16 to 21,943 in FY17. Hence, the emphasis on export is likely to continue.

Photograph: Kham/Reuters
Hyundai, has a share of about 16% and grew sales by less than 4% in April- May 2017-18

The countrys top car maker, Maruti Suzuki, is now bigger than the rest of the industry put together for the first time in over a decade. In the first two months (April & May) of the current financial year (FY17-18), the company sold 274,329 passenger vehicles (cars, vans and utility vehicles) in the domestic market, about 19,300 more than the 254,930 units sold by the rest of the industry players put together.

Maruti clocked a volume growth of over 19 per cent in these two months, much higher than the industrys growth of 12 per cent.

The sales of April-May gives the Suzuki-owned company an unusually high share of 52 per cent in the worlds fifth largest car market. Its closest competitor and second largest player, Hyundai, has a share of about 16 per cent and grew sales by less than four per cent in the two months.

Marutis corresponding market share in April-May of FY17 was 48.6 per cent. However, the full year share in FY17 stood at 47.3 per cent as the company lost some production in June owing to disruption in supply of air conditioning units.

Maruti Suzuki, which faced a capacity constraint last year, has been able to sell more vehicles to dealers after the inauguration of parent Suzukis plant in Gujarat in February this year. Chairman R C Bhargava is cautiously optimistic.

The market share fluctuates on a monthly basis. We have to wait for the entire year to see a trend. The demand looks alright as of now. Our capacity has increased due to Gujarat plant, he said.

The Gujarat plant, which has an annual capacity of 250,000 units (in two shifts) is currently operating with only one shift. Bhargava said the second shift was expected to start around September-October this year, leading to a further increase in supply of vehicles.

Three of the companys products in the Rs 5,00,000 plus segment - Baleno, Brezza and Dzire - command a waiting period of at least two months. Forecast of a normal monsoon could also be a positive trigger for Maruti, which gets about thirty per cent of the domestic sales from the rural markets.

Going by the current indications, the company could close FY18 with a market share of close to 50 per cent or higher. In FY17, the company sold a record 1.44 million vehicles in the domestic market and shipped 122,039 vehicles to export markets, making for a total of 1.56 million units. It generated a record profit of Rs 7,337 crore on sales of Rs 66,909 crore.

Photograph: Reuters
'Should the two armies clash in a conventional battlefield, the advantage will pass more and more to the Indians as the battle progresses,' says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).

The Pakistani budget for the next financial year was presented on May 26. The Rs 4.75 trillion budget (all figures are in Pakistani rupees, except where specified), allocates Rs 920.2 billion for defence.

India has allotted $52 bn for its defence budget as compared to Pakistans $8.8 billion.

Pakistan ranks 23rd in terms of defence expenditure globally, and spends 2.3% of its GDP on defence.

India ranks 5th and spends 1.62% of its GDP on defence.

Home to the 6th largest population in the world, Pakistan's economy is ranks 25th globally.

India has the second largest population and is the 7th largest economic power.

If a closer look at the Pakistan armed forces is taken, the strength of its regulars is the 6th largest in the world with over 620,000 personnel.

The strength of its army is approximately 550,000. The Pakistan air force has 45,000 personnel while its navy has 22,000 officers and sailors.

In terms of threat perception, the major threat that Pakistan appreciates is from India.

Unlike India, where a two front threat has to be simultaneously catered for, Pakistan definitely has an advantage. It has only to cater for a single front.

However, that does not imply that it has no other threats to its stability.

Pakistan view its neighbour across the Durand Line -- Afghanistan -- most sceptically.

Posts along this border flare up occasionally, necessitating deployment of border guarding forces, and tasking a fair number of formations for that front.

Afghanistan, in its present state, is not a major threat and Pakistan understands that the Afghans will not be able to raise threat levels as long as they are unstable.

Pakistan ensures that stability eludes Afghanistan by backing anti-Kabul forces consistently.

The Pakistan-Iran border also hots up occasionally, though the periodicity of such outbreaks are few and far in between.

In addition to these threats, Pakistan has insurgencies and terrorist groups operating almost all across the country. These have often called for major deployment of military resources.

The China Pakistan Economic Corridor also requires protection. Pakistan has raised a special security division and a maritime security force of 15,000 men from the armed forces.

The former will safeguard the 34 CPEC projects scheduled to take off while the latter will provide security to the coastal areas.

The continued build-up of nuclear forces and weapon systems also calls for money.

Pakistan is looking for a triad capability -- the ability to launch its nuclear arsenal from land, sea and air.

The Pakistani armed forces have also been given a 10% increase in their pay and allowances, over and above their normal raises.

While a lot of its expenditure on defence may have been underwritten by the Chinese, the Americans and the Saudis in the past, it's time for a reality check in Pakistan.

The American contribution is drying up. Saudi Arabia may not be able to fund Pakistan as it did in the days when crude was selling at $100 a barrel.

The Chinese could also be more focussed on the China Pakistan Economic Corridor rather than defence!

The CPEC will bring in billions of dollars, but the Pakistanis will have to bear the costs of providing security to the corridor that runs, for its larger length, through areas prone to violence.

It might also lead to a debt trap, deterioration of social cohesion in Pakistan and consequently the security situation, leading to poorer business climate affecting projected GDP growth.

The Pakistani defence budget 2017 marks a 7% increase in allotment as compared to the previous year.

The average annual hike of the defence budget in the last six years has been around 11%, except for an increase of 15% in 2013-2014.

The allocations for the three services are not available, but going by trends the army should get around 50%, while the share of the air Force and navy could be around 30 and 20%, respectively.

The operating expenses (akin to the revenue budget) amounts to Rs 225.5 billion.

Pensions and salaries will consume Rs 322 billion.

An additional amount of Rs 180 billion has been set aside, beyond the defence budget, for the pensions of veterans.

An amount of Rs 244 billion has been allocated for physical assets and another Rs 128 billion earmarked for civil works.

The nuclear programme and operations in FATA are not included in the defence budget.

The state of equipment of the Pakistani armed forces is mixed with older vintage equipment being the case mostly.

The main battle tank is the Al Khalid, an early 1990s design with Chinese cooperation. The 48 ton tank uses an Ukraine manufactured 1200 horse power engine. It is not quite in the same class as the Indian main battle tank, the T-90.

Pakistan's artillery is composed of a variety of calibres and requires standardisation. Though Indian artillery has not undergone major upgrades in the last two decades, the acquisition of multi barrel rocket launchers to include Pinaka and Smerch, upgunning of 130 mm guns give India a definite edge.

In terms of numbers, the Indians lead by a huge margin in most systems.

The Pakistan air force definitely lags behind the Indians. In the case of its navy, they have no aircraft carriers. Nor are their surface vessels and submarine assets comparable to the Indian Navy.

The areas where Pakistan has an edge are in attack helicopters, air defence systems and electronic warfare systems.

Overall, it may be said that should the two armies clash in a conventional battlefield -- quite unlikely as such -- the advantage will pass more and more to the Indians as the battle progresses, with the Pakistanis losing ground gradually.

The Pakistani forces' strategic partners, the terrorist groups nurtured for decades, proved an abject failure during the Kargil war and have hardly any potential to make a dent in the Indian capabilities.

Pakistan will also not be able to keep in step with the Indian pace of modernisation with an economy that is far smaller than that of India.

The growth rates of the two countries are also set apart substantially. While the Pakistani economy is likely to grow at over 5%, the Indian growth rate should cross 7%.

Of course, the scenario of a two front attack on India by a collusion between the Chinese and the Pakistanis is a far graver situation for the Indians.

IMAGE: A tank on the move during the Shatrujeet exercise in the deserts of Rajasthan, April 2016. Photograph: @SpokespersonMoD
Security forces on Monday unearthed a module of Hizbul Mujahideen by arresting four operatives including two terrorists in Kashmir.

Acting on specific information, a joint cordon of police and 21-RR of Army was laid at Chogal, Handwara during which two persons identified as Mehrajudin and Obaid Shafi Malla were caught while moving in suspicious circumstances.

"Police and army busted a module of Hizb and arrested two militants from Handwara in North Kashmir and two over ground workers from south Kashmir Awantipora town," a police spokesman said.

"The duo was asked to stop but they started running away. The naka party immediately swung into action and caught hold of them. A huge cache of arms and ammunition were recovered," the spokesman said.

During the investigation, they revealed that they had come to Handwara for receiving ammunition and other war-like stores for their militant outfit in South Kashmir, he said.

"Cyber surveillance unit of JK Police also tracked their social media network accounts and found some incriminating material. They were misusing web-chats to hatch and execute terrorist conspiracies," he added.

Preliminary investigation found that these terrorists were members of a module which would not only recruit youth into militancy by radicalising them over social media but also coordinated their training and arranged arms and ammunition, the spokesman said.

On the disclosure of these two terrorists, two more members of the module working as OGWs were arrested from Awantipora, he said, adding they were identified as Shahid Ahmad Thoker and Irfan Ahmad, both residents of Awantipora.

Representative image
Virtually bringing down the curtain on the merger of the two rival All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam groups, Puratchi Thalaivi Amma camp leader O Panneerselvam on Sunday announced dissolving a seven-member panel set up to hold merger talks with the Amma faction led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami.

The former Tamil Nadu chief minister made the announcement at a meeting of party functionaries in Chennai. It was received by cheers from supporters, with his senior colleagues rushing to congratulate him.

He said he was being "forced" to come up with such an announcement as he had been "tolerating" all kinds of "irresponsible statements" from the opposition camp.

People from all walks of life, especially women, students and the youth, were now opposing the idea of the merger, he said.

"In this situation, the panel that was formed on behalf of our team (to hold merger talks) is being dissolved," he said amid loud cheers from supporters.

Panneerselvam's announcement came as no visible progress was made in the proposed talks. Former ministers K P Munusamy and R Vaithilingam led the respective panels, which were formed in April.

Though both sides publicly announced their willingness to hold talks, the Panneerselvam faction remained firm on its demand for a Central Burau of Investigation probe into the death of Jayalalithaa and the removal of AIADMK chief VK Sasikala and her family members, including Deputy General Secretary TTV Dinakaran, from the party as a precondition for talks.

None of the demands had been met, though a section of ministers revolted against Dinakaran in April, asking him to stay away from party affairs. He had also announced then that he was stepping aside.

However, he had recently, upon release on bail in the Election Commission bribery case, said he would continue with party work.

At the meeting, Panneerselvam took a dig at the Palaniswami camp, saying MLAs were gifted "gold, diamond and cash" during their stay at a resort at Koovathur near Chennai, prior to the February 18 trust vote faced and won by Palaniswami.

"Amma asked for votes for us and people voted. All should remember that," he said.

Panneerselvam had revolted against Sasikala in February, alleging he was forced to make way for her elevation as chief minister.

He later led the breakaway faction of some MPs and MLAs besides senior functionaries.

The faction has since challenged the election of Sasikala as AIADMK general secretary before the Election Commission, while also staking claim for the party's two leaves symbol.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi attacked the Modi government of forcing everyone into silence at a function to re-launch the National Herald newspaper.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused the Narendra Modi-led central government of forcing everyone into silence with Dalits being beaten up, minorities frightened and journalists and bureaucrats threatened.

Speaking at a function of the National Herald newspaper, he said, The power of truth is being completely replaced with the truth of power and anybody who attempts to speak the truth and stand for it is being pushed aside.

Gandhi also alleged that thousands of journalists were not being allowed to write what they wanted to. They (journalists) tell me that they are not being allowed to write what they want to, he said.

Recalling that he was not allowed to visit Madhya Pradesh during the recent farmers protest and Uttar Pradesh and was stopped at the border of both the states, he said, This is the India we are living in... An India where power will simply manufacture the truth.

Recollecting Soviet poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko, who said, When truth is replaced by silence, the silence is a lie, Gandhi said, This is what the government is trying to do.

Everybody knows what the truth is. But they are scared to say it, he said at the function where Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari released the National Heralds commemorative publication to celebrate 70 years of Indias independence.

The Congress vice-president recalled that when the editor of National Herald approached him recently, he told him that there might be times when the paper would want to write things against him or his party or its policies, but you (editor) should be absolutely comfortable. That is the spirit we expect from National Herald.

National Herald has a strong spirit. It is not going to be silenced, he added.

Congress leader Oscar Fernandes, who is on the Board of Directors of the newspaper, said the paper, which was founded by former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1938 and the publication of which was suspended a few years ago, was in the process of reviving its Hindi and Urdu editions as a multi-media outlet.

He said the National Herald website, launched eight months ago, was being upgraded and would be fully operational later this month.

The function is being seen as a prelude to the launch of the daily National Herald English edition.

Efforts to revive the newspaper started amid a legal battle launched by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy, who has filed a criminal complaint against Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others.

In his private criminal complaint, Swamy has accused the Gandhis and others of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds by paying only Rs 50 lakh, through which Young Indian Pvt Ltd obtained the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore, which its publisher, Associate Journals Ltd , owed to the Congress party.

The Gandhis and the other accused -- Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda -- have denied the allegations levelled against them.

The Delhi high court had recently declined to stay the Income Tax proceedings against Young India Ltd in the National Herald case.

All photographs: @OfficeofRG/Twitter
British Prime Minister Theresa May appears to be on the verge of delaying the opening of Parliament as she continues to struggle to create a loose coalition with the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party and redesign a government program that will be likely to receive enough votes from members of Parliament.

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May sits next to Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson as she holds the first Cabinet meeting following the general election at 10 Downing Street, in London June 12, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

Government spokespeople briefed reporters about the possible delay to the Queen's Speech  the moment Parliament is resumed and the government sets out its intentions  by pointing out that it is written on paper made from goats' skin, and therefore takes several days to dry.

A more likely reason for the anticipated delay is that the government will need to rethink its program from scratch and persuade the DUP MPs to agree to it before May's government can allow Parliament to vote on it.

Questions were also raised about the wisdom of including the DUP in any government of the United Kingdom because such a move would damage Downing Street's ability to be a neutral referee in Northern Ireland, something that was stipulated in the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 that led to power-sharing in the province.

Gerry Adams, the leader of Sinn Fein, which shares power with the DUP in Northern Ireland, said the party would oppose the DUP having a role in the central government.

"Any deal which undercuts the process here, or the Good Friday and other agreements is one that has to be opposed by progressives," he said.

The state opening of Parliament was scheduled for June 19. The Queen, who opens Parliament, had already cancelled engagements to accommodate the date and faces the prospect of having to miss one of her great passions, horse racing at Ascot. There was no official confirmation of the postponement by Monday evening.

Negotiations with the European Union were also scheduled to begin on June 19 but the minister for the UK's departure from the EU, David Davies, said they too may be postponed.

May called a general election when opinion polls suggested the Conservative Party was almost 20 percent ahead of the opposition Labour Party. That lead was whittled down as the prime minister failed to convince voters she was the right person to lead the country.

The Conservatives won 318 seats to Labour's 262, which left them short of an overall majority and weaker than they were before May called the snap election.

It was widely expected that May would not allow Philip Hammond to continue as chancellor of the exchequerin the new government but she seems to have had no choice but keep him in the post. Other senior figures, such as Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, and Amber Rudd, the home secretary, also kept their jobs.

May also appointed Michael Gove, who she fired last year when she became prime minister. He will be the new minister for the environment.
Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah on Monday constituted a three-member committee to consult political parties, including the opposition, in a bid to reach a consensus about a presidential candidate for the upcoming poll.

The committee, comprising senior union ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and M Venkaiah Naidu, will hold talks with BJP allies and opposition parties for the election, the BJP said.

"This committee will consult leaders of different political parties over the presidential poll and try to evolve a consensus," a BJP statement said.

The filing of nomination for the election begins on June 14 and continues till June 28. The poll is scheduled for July 17.

Opposition parties have been holding consultations among themselves over the election to the top constitutional post and are likely to field a candidate if the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance choose somebody with strong Hindutva leanings.

The BJP on its part has so far given little indication of its choice.

A strong section within the party is of the view that it should pick a nominee with strong ideological moorings as it now has the numbers to ensure a victory in the poll if the opposition parties put up a candidate.

Though the BJP's committee of three veterans will consult political parties across the ideological spectrum, the final decision on the nominee will be taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah.

Only after the BJP announces its candidate will the opposition parties, including the Congress and the Left, take a final call on a candidate.

The electorate, comprising elected Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members and members of state assemblies, is tilted in favour of the ruling NDA, but the opposition is trying to woo some regional parties to support their candidate.
Families ripped apart, freedom of expression under attack amid political dispute in Gulf

Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 9 June 2017 Cite as Amnesty International, Families ripped apart, freedom of expression under attack amid political dispute in Gulf, 9 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593e4d714.html [accessed 11 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.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are toying with the lives of thousands of Gulf residents as part of their dispute with Qatar, splitting up families and destroying peoples' livelihoods and education, Amnesty International said today.

The organization's researchers have interviewed dozens of people whose human rights have been affected by a series of sweeping measures imposed in an arbitrary manner by the three Gulf countries in their dispute with Qatar.

"For potentially thousands of people across the Gulf, the effect of the steps imposed in the wake of this political dispute is suffering, heartbreak and fear," said James Lynch, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Global Issues Programme, who was in Doha last week.

"These drastic measures are already having a brutal effect, splitting children from parents and husbands from wives. People from across the region - not only from Qatar, but also from the states implementing these measures - risk losing jobs and having their education disrupted. All the states involved in this dispute must ensure their actions do not lead to human rights violations. "

While Amnesty International takes no view on the political dispute itself, which also involves other countries including Egypt, Jordan and Yemen, the organization is seriously concerned about the impact of some of these steps on the rights to family life and education.

In a fresh blow to freedom of expression in the Gulf, people in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and UAE have also been threatened with harsh punishment if they dare to criticize these measures.

On 5 June all three states ordered Qatari nationals to leave their territories within 14 days, and announced that all of their nationals had to return from Qatar, threatening penalties for anyone who did not return within this timeframe. According to Qatar's National Human Rights Committee, more than 11,000 nationals of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and UAE live in Qatar. Many Qataris also live in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and UAE. All are potentially affected by these measures.

People with relations from other Gulf states are particularly at risk. Amnesty International has documented several cases of people cut off from parents, children and spouses as a result.

One Qatari man, who has lived in the UAE with his family for more than 10 years, was refused entry and sent back to Qatar as he tried to return home to Dubai from Doha, just after the measures were announced on 5 June. His wife is an Emirati national and is therefore forbidden from travelling to Qatar, while his children are Qatari nationals and so are required to leave UAE. He is now separated from his family and does not know when he will next see them.

He described to Amnesty International how his wife had pleaded with the duty officer to see her husband one last time. "The officer said, 'no way - just go back'," he said.

He told Amnesty International that he fears his employers in the UAE will dismiss him from his job since he cannot return and because of his nationality.

A Saudi Arabian man, who lives in Doha with his Qatari wife, told Amnesty International that he is unable to visit his mother, who is seriously ill in hospital in Saudi Arabia, because if he did he would not be able to return to Qatar to be with his wife and children:

"I go home, I can't see my wife. I stay here, I can't see my mum."

A newly-wed Qatari woman told researchers she had been in the process of moving to Bahrain to live with her husband, a Bahraini national, when the measures took force.

"I was so happy to marry last year Before the ban, while I was looking for a job in Bahrain I would go there every weekend, to see my husband, my family, my house. When they did this, how could they not think of the people?"



Amnesty International also interviewed several Qatari students concerned they could not continue their education in the UAE and Bahrain. One student said all her classes in the UAE for the rest of the year had been cancelled with immediate effect.

A state's power to regulate and restrict immigration is constrained by international human rights law, and differences in treatment between different categories of non-citizens can only be justified if they are necessary to achieve a legitimate objective. Arbitrarily splitting up families as part of immigration policies violates the right to family life.

Ban on expressing "sympathy"

Residents in Saudi Arabia, UAE or Bahrain have been warned they could face harsh penalties if they make comments in support of Qatar.

Citing existing, flawed legal provisions, the UAE's general prosecutor has announced that people who express "sympathy" for Qatar could face up to 15 years in jail; while state-controlled Saudi Arabian media stated that such expression could be considered a cybercrime offence. The Bahraini Ministry of Interior has also threatened anyone who shows "sympathy or favouritism" to the Qatari authorities either on or off line, with up to five years in prison and a fine under the Penal Code.

"These statements from governments with a record of repressing peaceful expression are a flagrant attempt to silence criticism of these arbitrary policies. Prosecuting anyone on this basis would be a clear violation of the right to freedom of expression. No one should be punished for peacefully expressing their views or criticizing a government decision," said James Lynch.

Concerns over migrant workers in Saudi Arabia

There are also concerns that migrant workers employed by Qatari nationals to look after their properties in Saudi Arabia may find themselves stranded, unable to return to Qatar where they have residence permits - and becoming undocumented in the process, at risk of exploitation or arrest and deportation. Amnesty International has spoken to workers in this situation, who have little information about what might happen to them.

Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states must protect any workers employed by Qatari nationals, including by facilitating the safe return of those who wish to return to their home countries or assisting those who wish to return to Qatar.

"Political disputes between states must be handled in a manner that respects human rights. There can be no justification for tearing families apart, suppressing peaceful expression, and leaving migrant workers abandoned and at risk. Arbitrary measures should be suspended immediately," said James Lynch.

Background

Under the nationality laws in the countries involved, women are not able to pass on nationality to their children and as such children inherit their father's nationality. This in itself is a violation of the rights to non-discrimination and equality. Holding dual nationalities is generally not permitted.

Amnesty International interviewed 35 people - nationals of Bahrain, Bangladesh, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE - affected by these measures. Researchers met the majority of these people in Qatar. Others, based in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, were interviewed remotely.

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
Russia: Handover of Chechen torture survivor would put him at further risk of torture or death

Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 9 June 2017 Cite as Amnesty International, Russia: Handover of Chechen torture survivor would put him at further risk of torture or death, 9 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593e4df74.html [accessed 11 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.

The Russian authorities must immediately release Chechen torture survivor Murad Amriev, and under no circumstances place his life at further risk by handing him over to the Chechen authorities, Amnesty International said today.

Having tried to flee to Belarus earlier this week, Murad Amriev was arrested and unlawfully handed back to Russian police officers early this morning. He is currently in custody in an unknown location in Russia, stoking fears about his fate.

"The story of Murad Amriev reads like a thriller, but it is real and his life is at stake. He was 'handed over' to the Russian authorities early this morning in what amounts to an unlawful rendition after he attempted to seek asylum in Belarus. Under no circumstances should the federal authorities of Russia deliver him into the hands of Chechen law enforcement officers, which could put him at risk of torture or death," said Heather McGill, Russia Researcher at Amnesty International.

Murad Amriev, an amateur Mixed Martial Arts champion, was detained by Belarusian police officers as he tried to cross the Russian-Belarusian border on the night of 7 - 8 June. He was handcuffed to a radiator in Dobrush police station in Belarus and told he would be returned to Chechnya for prosecution. While in detention, he tried to claim asylum in Belarus and see his lawyer, but both requests were denied.

Early this morning the Belarusian police reportedly handed him back over to Russian law enforcement agents. His current fate and whereabouts are unknown.

Torture and escape from Chechnya

Murad Amriev fled Chechnya in 2013 after complaining that he was tortured by Chechen police officers in Grozny. He has since been living in exile in Ukraine.

Earlier this month he travelled to Russia to apply for a Schengen visa but was arrested in the west of the country on spurious charges relating to a mistaken birthdate in his passport.

Police in Bryansk, western Russia, released him on 6 June. But, while he was signing the release papers at the Prosecutor's office, the building was surrounded by Chechen police officers who threatened to arrest Murad Amriev. Bryansk is some 1,800 km from Chechnya.

In a dramatic escape, he ran out of the building into a waiting relative's car and sped towards the Belarusian border.

"There are no legal grounds to detain Amriev for the minor crime of a mistake in his passport - a fact that he has never concealed. He is being arbitrarily detained and must be released immediately. His life could depend on it," said Heather McGill.

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
Turkey: Imprisonment of Amnesty Chair is a devastating injustice

Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 9 June 2017 Cite as Amnesty International, Turkey: Imprisonment of Amnesty Chair is a devastating injustice, 9 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593e4eea4.html [accessed 11 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.

The Turkish prosecution's decision to charge Taner Kilic, the Chair of Amnesty International Turkey, with "membership of a terrorist organisation" is a mockery of justice, and highlights the devastating impact of the Turkish authorities' crackdown following the failed coup attempt in July last year, Amnesty International said today. Taner Kilic became the latest victim of the government's sweeping purge after he was detained in the early hours of Tuesday on suspicion of involvement with the Fethullah Gulen movement, together with 22 other lawyers based in Izmir. At his court hearing in the western Turkish city today, he was charged with membership of the "Fethullah Gulen Terrorist Organisation" and remanded in pre-trial detention. Amnesty International is demanding his immediate and unconditional release. "Taner Kilic is a principled and passionate human rights defender. The charges brought against him today are completely without merit. They show just how arbitrary, just how sweeping, the Turkish government's frenzied pursuit of its perceived enemies and critics has become. He must be released immediately and the charges against him dropped," said Salil Shetty, Amnesty International's Secretary General. "Taner's arrest highlights not just a disregard for human rights, but a desire to target those who defend them. We are calling on all those in Turkey and around the world who care about human rights to speak up for a courageous campaigner who has dedicated his life and now sacrificed his liberty in their cause." Yesterday, eight lawyers in the case were remanded in pre-trial detention. One was released on bail. Seven other lawyers were taken to the courthouse at the same time as Taner Kilic, but were still awaiting a decision on their cases. A further six remain in police custody. The only claim presented by the authorities purportedly linking Taner Kilic to the Gulen movement is that Bylock, a secure mobile messaging application that the authorities say was used by members of the "Fethullahist Terrorist Organization" was discovered to have been on his phone in August 2014.

No evidence has been presented to substantiate this claim, and Taner Kilic denies ever having downloaded or used Bylock, or even having heard of it, until its alleged use was widely publicized in connection with recent detentions and prosecutions. "Taner Kilic is neither a supporter nor a follower of the Fethullah Gulen movement and has in fact been critical of its role in Turkey. The only evidence brought against him is the alleged presence on his phone of a secure communications platform that would not, even it were true, be evidence of a criminal act. He must not face trial on the basis of such flimsy and inadequate accusations," said Salil Shetty. "Amnesty International will campaign tirelessly for Taner's release, and continue its work in and on Turkey undeterred." Police arrived at the Izmir home of Taner Kilic, who has served on the board of Amnesty International Turkey for various periods since 2002, on Tuesday morning, searching his home and later his office. A detention order was issued against him along with 22 other lawyers, referring to an investigation into suspected members of the "Fethullah Gulen Terrorist Organization". Taner Kilic's arrest has drawn widespread international condemnation, including from the US State Department, the EU, Germany's Human Rights Commissioner and Denmark's Minister of Foreign Affairs, and international and domestic human rights organisations. Background Taner Kilic's detention takes place in the context of an escalating crackdown on human rights by the Turkish authorities, following a failed coup attempt on 15 July 2016. Tens of thousands of public sector employees have been dismissed and hundreds of journalists and media workers detained. Hundreds of media outlets and NGOs have been shut down. The Turkish government blames the coup attempt on Fethullah Gulen, a US-based cleric, and has since designated his movement a terrorist organization. This has paved the way for thousands of people with no involvement in the coup attempt to be arbitrarily detained.

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
Thailand: Continuing Crackdown on Free Online Expression

Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 10 June 2017 Reference ASA 39/6480/2017 Cite as Amnesty International, Thailand: Continuing Crackdown on Free Online Expression, 10 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593e4f414.html [accessed 11 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.

Amnesty International is seriously concerned by continuing unrelenting measures by authorities in Thailand to suppress and penalise the peaceful exercise of the right to freedom of expression, including in online fora. On 9 June 2017, Thai courts passed verdicts in two criminal cases concerning the posting and sharing of materials that allegedly disparaged the monarchy. Earlier in the week, Thai authorities reportedly outlined imminent plans to require internet platforms to suppress content upon official request without prior judicial authorisation.

On 9 June 2017, the Bangkok Military Court handed down a record sentence of 35 years' imprisonment under Penal Code Article 112, Thailand's lese majeste provision, which criminalizes insults to Thailand's monarchy. Wichai, the defendant in the case had been accused of creating a false Facebook profile in the name of another individual and posting content concerning the monarchy in order to implicate the individual in a lese majeste offense. The accused was convicted on ten separate counts of violating Article 112. His original sentence of 70 years was halved because he pled guilty.

On the same day the Supreme Court upheld an Appeal Court ruling concerning the sentencing of Chaleaw, a tailor convicted of a lese majeste offense. The Appeals Court had previously increased the individual's sentence from three to five years. His sentence was also reduced by half - to twoand-a-half years - because he entered a guilty plea. He had been charged under Article 112 after authorities concluded that he had downloaded political commentary critical of the monarchy. These materials were found on the individual's computer after he was detained with other political activists and perceived opposition sympathisers for "attitude adjustment" in the wake of Thailand's 2014 military coup.

Article 112 of the Penal Code allows for between three and 15 years' imprisonment of individuals who are deemed to have defamed, insulted or threatened the King, Queen, Regent or Heir Apparent. Article 112 criminalises and provides harsh penalties for the peaceful expression of views, as well as providing that anyone may file criminal complaints against another for alleged violations, making the law particularly draconian. Article 112 has been used to by individuals to settle personal scores and by the authorities as a tool to silence political opponents. Scores of individuals peacefully expressing personal opinions or disseminating information deemed critical of the monarchy have been targeted with prosecution under the law, and often sentenced to long years of imprisonment.

While international human rights law recognizes that restrictions may be impose on exercising the right to freedom of expression as provided for in Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Thailand is a state party, these restrictions must be demonstrably necessary for and proportionate to certain permissible purposes, namely protecting specified public interests (national security, public order, or public health or morals) or the rights or reputations of others.(1) The Human Rights Committee has explained that when public figures and institutions are concerned, protecting freedom of expression free from restrictions is particularly important,(2)Further, the Committee has stated that "the limits for acceptable criticism for public figures are wider than for private individuals".(3)

Amnesty International calls on Thai authorities to halt all criminal proceedings against individuals under Article 112 of the Penal Code and release all individuals detained or imprisoned solely for offences under this Article. The Thai government should also take the long overdue step of amending or repealing Article 112 and other laws that violate Thailand's obligations under international human rights law to protect freedom of expression and opinion.

The recent rulings come at a time when Thai authorities continue to crack down on political opponents, including by targeting individuals for their peaceful exercise of freedom of expression on Facebook and other online platforms. Authorities have sought to control online expression by investigating and prosecuting individuals who have shared, uploaded or even "liked" online materials shared by others. They have also increasingly sought the maximum criminal penalties allowed by law for these acts.

On 7 June, the Vice-Chairman of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission outlined further official plans to require online video-sharing platforms, including Facebook, to remove and censor online content without prior judicial authorisation and to impose financial penalties on them should they not comply.

Amnesty International calls on officials not to require internet platforms to take steps that unnecessarily or disproportionately restrict freedom of expression. In particular, authorities should not be permitted to censor content without prior judicial authorisation nor be allowed to penalize those who refuse to censor material in the absence of a court order. Amnesty International further urges Thailand's courts not issue orders that conflict with Thailand's obligations to respect and protect the rights to privacy and freedom of expression and opinion under international human rights law.

(1) - See Human Rights Committee, General comment No. 34, Article 19: Freedoms of opinion and expression, UN Doc. CCPR/C/GC/34, 12 September 2011, paras. 21-5

(2) - Ibid, para. 38.

(3) - Concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee: Serbia and Montenegro, UN Doc. CCPR/CO/81/SEMO, 12 August 2005, para 22.

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
Russia: Children, Students Targeted after Protests

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 11 June 2017 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Russia: Children, Students Targeted after Protests, 11 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593e52124.html [accessed 11 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.

The authorities in numerous cities across Russia have harassed and intimidated schoolchildren and university students who participated in anti-corruption demonstrations on March 26, 2017, Human Rights Watch said today. Officials also harassed and intimidated parents for allowing children to take part in protests.

"Rather than responding to legitimate public demands for accountable government, the Russian authorities are trying to quash the voices of the next generation of voters," said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "The opinions of children and young adults matter, and the government should listen to their concerns, not silence them."

People in more than 90 Russian cities gathered peacefully on March 26 to protest government corruption. An unexpectedly large number of children and young adults participated.

In many cities, local officials did not authorize the rallies. Police across Russia arrested hundreds of demonstrators, including many young adults and children under 18. In Moscow alone, authorities arrested 70 children, the majority of whom police questioned, with some facing administrative charges. All were released after several hours. Human Rights Watch documented at least two cases in which the charges were patently groundless. In cases Human Rights Watch documented, authorities tried to contact children directly to call them in for questioning, although the law requires delivering an official summons to a child's parents or guardian if the police want to question the child.

The protest movement was led by Alexei Navalny, the anti-corruption activist and who plans to run for president in Russia's 2018 elections. Navalny has announced another set of rallies for June 12.

Two Moscow lawyers who represented some of the children detained at the March 26 demonstrations told Human Rights Watch in two cases, police authorities compelled juvenile affairs police inspectors to charge children with administrative violations, although the inspectors had determined that they had not committed any offense. The lawyers believed that this was part of broader pressure to charge as many people as possible in relation to the March 26 gathering.

In several cases, authorities either charged parents with "failure to execute child-rearing responsibilities," an administrative violation, or sought to intimidate parents by threatening them with such charges. Human Rights Watch documented one case in which police and child protection authorities visited the home of a child who had participated in the rally, allegedly to check the living conditions.

University students in several cities told Human Rights Watch about threats, including of expulsion from school, and other retaliation for participation in anti-corruption rallies. In one case, senior university officials in a Russian far eastern city called a student three hours after he applied for a permit to hold a rally on March 26. After the deputy dean told him that he could face problems in his future studies and that "the FSB [Federal Security Bureau] would straighten [him] out," the student withdrew the application.

Education officials in several towns required high school students to watch films criticizing Navalny during classes, or lectured them against participating in public demonstrations critical of the government. Several university students described similar sessions they were encouraged, but not required, to attend. Russian law prohibits using educational activities in schools to advance political agendas.

On May 24, the speaker of Russia's upper house of parliament, Valentina Matvienko, suggested in a media interview that relevant parliamentary committees should discuss whether children should be banned altogether from unsanctioned gatherings. Citing the alleged ease with which online calls for such gatherings can lead to the endangerment of children, Matvienko said it was "unfair, cynical, and flouting moral and civic norms" to encourage children to participate in unsanctioned gatherings.

Russia, as a party to the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, is obliged to respect freedom of assembly and expression for everyone, including those under age 18. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Russia is a party, specifically protects children's rights to freedom of expression and freedom of association.

"Russian officials are trying to dampen activism among youth who are critical of the government," Williamson said. "The authorities' lesson to Russia's young people seems to be, 'Speak your mind, and you'll be punished.'"

Groundless Administrative Charges, Intimidation of Children

Under Russian law, when police detain a child on allegations of administrative violations, a juvenile affairs police inspector questions the child, and can decide whether to charge them. If officers charge a child, the officer forwards the charge sheet to the office of the Minors' Rights Commission (MRC, Russia's child protection service) in the district where the child lives. The MRC holds a hearing on the charges and decides on penalties.

A lawyer representing "Danil," not his real name, a tenth grade student, told Human Rights Watch that the boy joined a peaceful walk during the March 26 rally in Moscow's city center. He neither shouted any slogans nor held a sign. The police detained Danil and took him to a police station, where a juvenile affairs police inspector questioned him. The officer found nothing illegal in his actions, but following orders from senior police officials not to release protesters without charges he charged Danil with creating a disturbance during a public gathering.

The lawyer said that the juvenile affairs police inspector apologized to the family, and claimed she had no other choice but to draw up a charge sheet under Administrative Code Article 20.2 - regulations related to breaches of public assembly. In mid-May, the MRC found Danil had not violated the law, and closed the case.

A juvenile affairs police inspector questioned another high school student, "Alexei," for more than the legally permissible two hours, after the police detained Alexei at the anti-corruption rally gathering in central Moscow. Alexei and Danil were held in different police stations.

Alexei's family's lawyer said that the juvenile affairs police inspector found no evidence that Alexei had done anything illegal at the rally and let him leave. But a senior policeman stopped Alexei and his parents on their way home and made them return to the police station. They phoned their lawyer, who immediately came to the police station. The lawyer said:

The police officer was furious, yelling in front of everyone that the . . . juvenile affairs police inspector officer committed a crime by letting Alexei leave the police station without a charge sheet. [The police officer said,] "Are you saying my policemen detained a boy for nothing?" Only after I argued with the police officers and reminded them [what the law says], did they let Alexei go home without any charges.

The lawyer believed the Investigative Committee (Russia's criminal investigation service) had ordered police not to release anyone without charges. The lawyer had "heard about such orders from the Investigative Committee from my encounters with police officers in courtrooms." Another lawyer described a document from the Investigative Committee she saw at a police station, dated two weeks after the March 26 demonstration, ordering police to question 63 of the 70 detained children regardless of whether they were charged.

In early May, another juvenile affairs police inspector officer drew up an administrative charge sheet against Alexei for participating in the March 26 gathering, in the absence of Alexei, his parents, or his lawyer. When the lawyer eventually saw the charge sheet and questioned its validity, the juvenile officer claimed, falsely, that Alexei had seen it but refused to sign it.

The MRC hearing is pending.

Moscow defense lawyers representing detained children said that police asked at least five schools to send character references and personal records for children who participated in the anti-corruption rallies, including Danil and Alexei. School staff complied. Police and Investigative Committee officials also questioned the schools' teachers, principals, and psychologists about these children.

Administrative Charges, Intimidation of Parents

In some cases, authorities brought administrative charges against parents whose children participated in demonstrations. Representatives working with the Nizhnii Novgorod regional office for Navalny's presidential bid told Human Rights Watch that authorities charged the parents of five children with "failure to execute child-rearing responsibilities," an administrative violation, for putting their children at risk by allowing them to attend an unsanctioned gathering, even though the gathering was peaceful.

Their children were detained along with about four dozen other demonstrators at the unsanctioned anti-corruption rally organized by Navalny's regional office in Nizhnii Novgorod. An office representative who had been in contact with the families and helped arrange legal counsel for them said that police fined at least two parents 100 to 500 rubles (US$1.70 to US$8.80). The representative had no information about whether the parents of the other three children were charged. The fines for failing to execute child-rearing responsibilities are quite low. However, being charged, or threatened with, this offense can be intimidating, as in certain severe circumstances failure to execute child-rearing responsibilities can, under Russian law, be considered grounds for termination of parental rights.

The defense lawyers representing detained children in Moscow reported that police and other officials in some cases questioned their clients and their clients' families about their home and family life, apparently seeking information that could lead to administrative or other charges against parents, or seeking to intimidate parents by making them fear such charges.

"Michael," 15, was detained briefly at the Moscow rally and charged with an administrative offense. Michael's lawyer, said that an officer from the Minors' Rights Commission (MRC) contacted Michael's father nearly a month later, on April 19. The officer alleged that Michael had failed to respond to a summons, and that following an order from the Investigative Committee, police planned to send a police team to his school to forcibly bring Michael to the police station for questioning. Michael's family, who had not received the summons, immediately called the lawyer, who called the police station. Police then called off the police team. Michael, his family, and the lawyer went to the police station for questioning the following day.

Michael's lawyer told Human Rights Watch that the police officer asked questions that had no relation to Michael's detention during the protest, but appeared to insinuate that the family was not fulfilling its responsibilities toward Michael:

I found it quite inappropriate when the police officer asked Michael if he is afraid of his parents, if he has enough food to eat, clearly hinting that Michael participated in the rallies to make some money.

In addition, police and MRC officers visited families of some children who participated in rallies, allegedly to check the living conditions in the children's homes.

In one case, an officer phoned "Slava," a high school student, on his mobile phone during school, told him to come to the station for questioning about his participation in the rally, and threatened to send a police squad to the school to bring him. Slava's family lawyer said that when police called Slava's father by way of notification of the intended questioning, the father insisted on a summons.

The family did not receive a summons. But a few days after the phone calls, investigative officials and MRC officers went to Slava's house unannounced to have an "unofficial conversation" with the child and his parents and check the child's living conditions, which they found satisfactory.

Media reports said that in the city of Vladimir, a deputy principal of a middle school warned students that political activists among them risked having authorities remove them from their families because their parents or guardians were not fulfilling their parental responsibilities. On April 26, the deputy principal went to the students' regularly scheduled Russian language class and lectured them about consequences of participation in protests. One of the students recorded the deputy principal's remarks. The deputy principle can be heard threatening a student who, with his grandmother, had participated in the March 26 rally in Vladimir:

You'll be removed from your family [inaudible] and they can be denied their rights to bring you up! Your grandmother had better be in my office tonight at 5:30. If not, I will come to her with rapid task police force and explain the situation to her I will provide them [the rapid task police force] with facts and information, and they will take you away from your family on legal grounds.

Human Rights Watch has no information about whether the boy's grandmother went to the school or whether the deputy principal acted on any of her threats to the boy.

Intimidation of University Students

Authorities in several Russian cities harassed, intimidated, or threatened to expel university students who participated in the rallies or planned to participate.

On the afternoon of March 16, "Sergei," a 27-year-old university student in a city in Russia's far east, and his two friends filed an application with local authorities to hold an anti-corruption rally on March 26. Three hours later, Sergei received a call from the university's deputy dean with questions about the application. Sergei clarified that he wanted to demonstrate peacefully against government corruption. A few minutes later, a higher university official, the provost, called Sergei:

I was told my application for a rally will cost the university good relations with the regional authorities. She [the provost] also indicated that I might face troubles with my studies and repeatedly asked whether as a matter of principle I would refuse to withdraw my rally application. Very soon, the deputy dean contacted me again to warn me that the Federal Security Service [FSB] would straighten me out.

After the deputy dean's second phone call, Sergei and his friends immediately went to city hall to withdraw the rally application. Sergei said that his friends, who study at a different university, asked him not to tell anyone that they had supported his permit application.

On March 26, "George," 20, and a fellow university student went to a demonstration in St. Petersburg, where police detained about 130 protesters. During the rally, police special forces detained George and his acquaintance and put them in a police car with six other people. The two men spent approximately 40 minutes in the severely overcrowded car before they were taken to the police station, where they were held for another seven hours before being released without charge. George said: "We all received identical charge sheets that described how one and the same policeman detained all of us for shouting the same slogans and disturbing public order."

The next day, one of the university's deans told George that the dean did not need a "headache" with his students going to rallies. The university's provost for academic work and discipline ordered George to meet with a police official from the Interior Ministry's Center for Countering Extremism (commonly known as Center E) to discuss the situation. George said:

The officer asked what I know about [Alexei] Navalny, whether I watched his documentary about [corruption implicating Prime Minister Dmitry] Medvedev and whether I engage in politics. He also asked me to write in detail about what happened during the rally, but I referred to Article 51 of the [Russian] Constitution [freedom from self-incrimination] and refused. He asked to take my photo, but I refused this too.

George had no further communication with the authorities regarding his participation in the rally.

Political Propaganda at Schools, Universities

A media report said that on April 18, several dozen university students in Vladimir were required to attend an anti-extremism lecture that state university officials organized instead of regularly scheduled classes. A publicly available video made by one of the students showed the head of the regional government agency for fighting extremism among youth lecturing the students, after showing a film that compared Navalny to Hitler and described Navalny's alleged "criminal past." Officials refused the students' request to show a documentary on alleged corruption among Russian authorities or to present an alternative view to the film criticizing Navalny, by saying: "What other view do you still need?"

In an interview with TV Rain, a local journalist said that he contacted the university official to make sure that the students who argued with the lecturer would not face retaliation. The official responded by saying that "if this guy is such an anti-government fighter, then shouldn't he be ready to face the consequences?"

On March 30, about 1,500 university students were told classes were cancelled so that they could attend a public anti-extremism forum in the city of Samara. A student who attended the forum, "Andrei," said that students were not obligated to attend, but that some did, along with university personnel. Forum participants watched the movie "No to Extremism," which the Samara regional Education Ministry described as being aimed to "prevent mass disorder and unlawful, extremist actions among youth, and prevent involvement of the students in extremist-terrorist organizations, radical civil and political unions of destructive orientation."

Students also listened to speeches by regional authorities, who accused Navalny and his organization of lying and inciting people to commit crimes. When Andrei started to sing a satirical song about the regional governor in the midst of his speech, the police removed him from the auditorium. Andrei said:

I [have a disability]. I wanted to complain to the authorities about our destroyed roads, where I slip into puddles all the time. When I started to sing my song, the [governor] said that I "was sent" to prevent him saying what he had to say. The next day, my faculty dean called me to his office for the first time in four years.

When the dean saw that Andrei had a disability, he merely asked Andrei how he was getting along.

On the first week of April, a teacher in Samara showed her class the same film, "No to Extremism," rated for viewing by people only 16 and over, even though her class included 15-year-olds. In an audio recording made by one of the students, the teacher is heard shouting at a student who had participated in the local anti-corruption rally, "Aggressive rallies spread aggression! You want aggression? You've got aggression!" and threw him out of the class, at one point pushing him. Samara Education Ministry documents say that the teacher later apologized to the student and his parents. The prosecutor's office found the showing of the film unlawful because it was shown to children under 16.

The principal of a high school in Tolyatti also showed his students "No to Extremism" and warned them about participating in the June 12 rally. One of the students recorded the principal speaking about "ideological war" against Russia and "paid" organizers who want to destabilize the country from inside.

Media reported that on March 30, in the city of Tomsk, a high school teacher dedicated an entire class to lecturing students about the protest movement and called those who support Navalny "betrayers, traitors, and liberal-fascists." A university lecturer in the same town started talking about anti-corruption rallies during a regular class, called those who spoke at the anti-corruption rally in Tomsk "freaks," and suggested that the demonstrators were paid. In a video made by one of the students and posted to YouTube, a teacher can be seen telling students that if they want to make money, they should choose methods that would not discredit them in the future.

In mid-April, a principal and a teacher in one middle school in the city of Bryansk lectured students about "true patriotism" during school hours and suggested teenagers should clean up city streets instead of joining a demonstration. Some of the students in the class had participated in the March 26 rally in Bryansk. To discourage students from attending future protests, the teacher and principal warned that anti-corruption rallies might bring Russia "back to the wild nineties," when "everyonehad a gun[and] it was scary to go outside after 8 p.m."

Under international human rights law, the right to education is to be enjoyed without discrimination on any grounds such as political or other opinion. While parents may be allowed to choose an education model for their children that takes into account the child's and parent's religious or philosophical convictions, it is not compatible with the right to non-discrimination in education for the state to use the classroom for partisan political coercion.

This principle is reflected in Article 48 of Russia's Federal Law on Education, which forbids teaching staff "to use educational activities for political agitation, the coercion of students to accept political, religious or other beliefs or to reject them."

Methodology

In April and May, Human Rights Watch interviewed three university students and three defense lawyers representing children detained during the protests. Human Rights Watch also interviewed a student rights ombudsman regarding treatment of university students who participated in the March 26 demonstrations. The interviews included people from six cities in Russia. All university students interviewed requested anonymity fearing possible retaliation from the university administration.

Copyright notice:  Copyright, Human Rights Watch
Explaining the Bangladeshi migrant surge into Italy

Publisher IRIN Author Diego Cupolo Publication Date 12 June 2017 Cite as IRIN, Explaining the Bangladeshi migrant surge into Italy, 12 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593e53f24.html [accessed 11 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.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Bangladeshi nationals have become the second-largest group arriving in Italy behind Nigerians, on a route more commonly used by migrants from sub-Saharan Africa. This IRIN investigation from Bangladesh and Italy gets behind the rising numbers and looks at the motivations and pressures underlying this unexpected new trend.

Several abandoned lots west of the Catania bus station in Sicily, Naheen stands on a street corner selling packets of tissues while his brother cleans car windscreens for spare change.

Taking a break, Naheen holds out his palm. It bears a long scar, a reminder of being robbed at knifepoint as he was leaving Libya just over a week ago.

The 24-year-old Bangladeshi paid 1,000 euros for a spot on a wooden boat, but there were other costs too. Before departing, his smugglers stripped him and his 300 fellow passengers of all their remaining valuables.

"There were many Somalis and people from other African countries," he recalled. "It was so dangerous. I can't swim, but I did it because I couldn't stay in Libya."

Naheen had worked as a medical assistant in a Tripoli hospital for three years. Like most of the 20,000 Bangladeshi workers still in Libya, he got the job through a recruitment agency back home. The agency arranged his visa and travel for a fee of 3,000 euros. The overseas employment of Bangladeshi contract labourers has become synonymous with exploitation and low wages, but the poor working conditions and deteriorating security situation in Libya proved more difficult than Naheen was willing to bear.

Now in Catania, Naheen works the streets to earn money with his brother, who arrived seven months earlier. The two represent the latest shift in Europe-bound migration: a steep increase in the number of Bangladeshis arriving by boat from Libya.

Fleeing Libya or dreaming of Europe?

From the beginning of the year until 22 May, 5,650 Bangladeshis arrived in Italy, accounting for 11 percent of all arrivals of undocumented migrants to the country, according to the Italian Ministry of the Interior. During roughly the same period last year, just 10 Bangladeshi nationals had arrived by boat, although by the end of 2016, 7,578 had disembarked in Italy, according to Ahmad Al Rousan, who tracks migration numbers for Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) Italy.

According to Al Rousan and other experts IRIN interviewed, the new arrivals from Bangladesh can be divided into two main groups.

The first are those, like Naheen, who after working in Libya for several years, have begun to flee the country as security conditions have worsened in the past year.

Experts estimate that between 50,000 and 80,000 Bangladeshis were working in Libya at the beginning of the civil war that ousted former dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, and that only a fraction were able to flee the country in the immediate aftermath, as they struggled to secure resources or state assistance for transportation.

The second and faster-growing group of new arrivals are Bangladeshis who travel to Tripoli via Istanbul or Dubai with the explicit goal of reaching Europe.

Al Rousan said agencies in Bangladesh are charging migrants between $7,000 and $10,000 to facilitate the journey to Europe, the majority of which they keep for themselves. While there are no direct commercial flights from Bangladesh to Libya, non-stop flights from Istanbul to Tripoli start at about 200 euros. From Dubai, the price is roughly 500 euros.

Once in Libya, migrants must still pay smugglers for the perilous journey across the Mediterranean, where 1,569 people have lost their lives so far this year.

Detained en route

Mehedi, a teenager who arrived in Sicily a few months ago, flew from Dhaka to Tripoli via Istanbul on a fake work visa issued by a Bangladeshi agency.

When he arrived in Libya, he was met at the airport by an intermediary and taken to a safe house. From there he called his parents who, having confirmed his arrival, paid the agency 6,000 euros. But shortly afterwards, he was picked up by police in Tripoli and jailed for six months. Asked about conditions in detention, Mehedi only frowned.

Numerous organisations, including MSF, have highlighted the appalling conditions and levels of abuse inside Libya's migrant detention centres.

Eventually, Mehedi was released and his family wired him over 800 euros to pay a smuggler for an Italy-bound boat. After being rescued at sea and brought to Sicily, he was sent to a state-run reception centre where he applied for asylum.

Applications are decided on a case-by-case basis that could take years, given the volume of claims Italy is dealing with. In the meantime, those migrants who make efforts to learn Italian and integrate themselves into the local economy, are more likely to be allowed to stay.

For now, Mehedi is staying at a privately-run shelter for young, unaccompanied migrants near Catania's bus station. He shares his dorm room with five other Bangladeshis. Like most of his peers in Catania, he spends his days looking for work or cleaning car windscreens for an income of between five and 15 euros per day.

"This is the only work we can find. It's better than nothing," said 19-year-old Jahid, squeegee in hand. Jahid also flew to Tripoli from Bangladesh via Istanbul for 7,000 euros, arriving in Sicily four months ago.

Diego Cupolo/IRIN A Bangladeshi migrant cleans car windscreens near Catania Bus Station

False promises in Dhaka

A low-income nation with high levels of unemployment, Bangladesh has a long history of labour migration to the Gulf states, Malaysia, and Singapore. In 2015, 7.2 million of Bangladesh's 165 million citizens were living abroad, according to the UN. Migrant workers play an important role in the Bangladesh economy, sending home more than $15 billion in remittances last year alone.

"Bangladeshis have been working abroad since the 1970s," explained Benjamin Etzold, a senior researcher at the Bonn International Centre for Conversion and an expert on Bangladeshi migration.

"It's a normal part of life, and families in Bangladesh depend on [remittances]. If you are young man who wants a wife and wants to raise a family it's almost expected that you, at some point in your career, go to another country to earn the money to do that."

Bangladesh's state-run Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) licenses and regulates recruitment agencies that link prospective employees with overseas employers. In the past, such agencies have been accused of charging exorbitant fees and using tactics that often trap workers in exploitative situations.

Mohammad Azharul Huq, additional secretary at the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment in which BMET is located, told IRIN the government has taken numerous steps to prevent illegal migration to Libya.

"The government is not sending people to Libya at the moment. People who are going, are going illegally," he said. "Law enforcement agencies are working to stop human trafficking. Our ministry is also conducting some awareness programmes to make people aware about the danger of going to Libya illegally."

But several migrants recently returned to Dhaka told IRIN that agencies were misinforming prospective clients about conditions in Libya and the ease of reaching Italy from there.

"Many of them do not know the condition of Libya and trust the false promises of the agency," said Arpon Mahmud, who returned home earlier this year after nine years working in Libya. He added that the agencies avoid sending people via large airports with tight security. "Sometimes the route is Bangladesh's Chittagong airport to India to Dubai, Turkey, and then Libya," he said.

Legal routes closed off

Another trigger for the relatively sudden appearance of Bangladeshis on boats to Italy may be the end of an important legal route. In 2007, 11,000 Bangladeshi contract workers came to Italy through legal avenues, and similar numbers arrived each year until 2013, according to BMET data on overseas employment. But following a change in Italian policy, a sharp drop occurred in 2014, bringing legal arrivals down to just three by 2016.

In recent years, Italy has attempted to limit migration flows by reducing the number of visas it issues to citizens of many countries, said Federico Fossi, a spokesman for UNHCR, which is advising the National Commission for Asylum Rights.

"Bangladesh is no longer included among the countries for which there is a specific reservation of [visas]," Fossi wrote in an email to IRIN.

Etzold suggested another possible pull factor: the established and growing Bangladeshi community in Italy.

"Migration usually takes place because of networks," he told IRIN. "[There are] probably Italians of Bangladeshi origin who help facilitate these journeys."

The Bangladeshi community in Italy has grown since the 1990 passage of the Martelli Law, which offered a path to citizenship for irregular migrants in the country. An estimated 100,000 Bangladeshi nationals now live in Italy and a multitude of Bangladeshi-run grocery stores and businesses can be found in Catania as well as in the capital, Rome. Between 2000 and 2010, Bangladeshis in Italy remitted nearly $1 billion, according to Bangladesh's central bank.

Although Britain still hosts a larger Bangladeshi community, Etzold said more migrants might now be arriving in Italy because the country still offers them "a chance to make it".

"It's getting more and more difficult to get asylum in Germany," he said. "It's almost impossible to enter Britain so where else to go?"

"Another place to work"

Standing among a crowd of tourists in front of the Colosseum in Rome, Khan, a 44-year-old from Bangladesh, watched as police on motor scooters chased Bangladeshi vendors out of the plaza. Khan himself worked as a street hawker when he came to Italy 18 years ago, but after working more jobs than he can count, he now owns a grocery store.

He said vendors selling iced water bottles and selfie sticks at the city's many landmarks make between 20 and 40 euros a day. It may not seem like much, but he said many of the migrants share apartments with up to 10 roommates so they can still afford to send money back home to their families.

While IRIN was speaking to him, an officer approached Khan and asked him what he was doing.

"Nothing, just standing here," Khan replied, before being asked for his residence documents, which he provided.

The officer told him to leave the area. Walking away, Khan explained that he has been a foreign labourer his entire adult life, having worked in Dubai, Qatar, and Russia, before arriving in Italy.

On the outer edge of the Colosseum plaza, Khan passed a pair of officers who had stopped a young Bangladeshi with a plastic bag full of water bottles. The teenager claimed the bottles were all his, so the officers told him to drink them on the spot. He opened a bottle and began to chug it down until one of the officers knocked it into his face, causing him to choke and spit.

Khan looked away from the scene without saying a word. Asked what he thought of life in Italy, he responded: "It's another place to work."

[TOP PHOTO: A Bangladeshi migrant selling selfie sticks in central Rome, where police often try to deter street vendors from working in major tourist sites. Diego Cupolo/IRIN]

*Names of migrants have been changed to protect their identities
In Kyrgyzstan, UN chief Guterres highlights importance of governance for sustainable development

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 11 June 2017 Cite as UN News Service, In Kyrgyzstan, UN chief Guterres highlights importance of governance for sustainable development, 11 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593e54ba4.html [accessed 11 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.

Underscoring the importance of accountable and inclusive governance and institutions for the successful implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres today called for public services to be more responsive, efficient and collaborative.

Public service is a critical component for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) [] we need to pioneer new approaches, work differently, take risks and innovate, Secretary-General Guterres said at the Taza Koom Conference on Public Service in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

We need governance that is capable of delivering results and earning public trust; governance that is coherent and accountable; governance that is inclusive and that listens to all the country's citizens; governance that upholds human rights and leaves no one behind.

The Taza Koom is a project that seeks to transform digital technologies and e-governance to improve not only the way the State and the administration function, but also the way the people can benefit from new technologies and the impact on their lives.

Further in his remarks, the UN chief also spoke of the need to fight corruption to ensure effective and accountable public services, and highlighted the need for mechanisms that not only support people but also includes the poorest and the most vulnerable, so that they are able to not only define their needs but also to be a part of the efforts in ways to address those challenges.

As the President said, it [is] clear that 'Taza Koom' can be a way to empower the poorest and the most vulnerable, said Mr. Guterres, noting that the UN would continue to assist the country in these efforts.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres shakes hands with Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev during their meeting at the Ala-Archa state residence in Bishkek. UN Photo/Vyacheslav Oseledko

Earlier today, Secretary-General Guterres held a meeting with Almazbek Atambaev, the President of Kyrgyzstan.

Speaking to the media at a press conference, alongside the President, Mr. Guterres hailed the country's efforts for democracy, rule of law and protection of human rights, as well as a vibrant and active civil society.

I am also sure that Kyrgyzstan will play a very important role in what I hope will be future developments in Central Asia for better cooperation, better integration among the different countries and peoples of [the region] to guarantee its prosperity and its development, he said.

Also today, Mr. Guterres took part in the commemoration of the June 2010 events in Osh, where he laid a wreath at the Mother's Tears monument and expressed his condolences to the families of the victims as well as solidarity with the people of Osh, of Jalal-abad and all other places where the violence broke out.

The Mother's Tears [monument] should remind all of us that societies in the world are becoming multiethnic, multireligious, multicultural and that must be seen as a positive thing. It is a richness, not a threat, he said, underscoring: Diversity needs to be cherished, not condemned.
Mali: Three UN peacekeepers killed in attack in Kidal

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 9 June 2017 Cite as UN News Service, Mali: Three UN peacekeepers killed in attack in Kidal, 9 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593e55814.html [accessed 11 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.

Condemning yesterday's attacks against the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) in the city of Kidal, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated the Organization's support to help implement the peace agreement in the West African country.

In a statement issued by his spokesman, the UN chief reiterated that attacks targeting UN peacekeepers may constitute war crimes and called for the perpetrators to be swiftly brought to justice.

Mr. Guterres also expressed his condolences to the families of those the peacekeepers killed and a speedy recovery those injured.

According (news release, in French) to MINUSMA, yesterday, its camp in Kidal was hit by intensive rocket and mortar fire. Initial information indicated that about a dozen shells of different calibres targeted the camp.

Shortly thereafter, peacekeepers situated outside the camp also came under attack.

The attacks follow a strengthening of patrols (news release, in French) initiated by the Mission in Kidal in response to increased violence in the region as well as reported incidents of human rights abuses targeting specific communities.
Syria: UNICEF warns 40,000 children in the line of fire in Raqqa

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 9 June 2017 Cite as UN News Service, Syria: UNICEF warns 40,000 children in the line of fire in Raqqa, 9 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593e55e74.html [accessed 11 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.

An estimated 40,000 children are trapped in extremely dangerous conditions in Raqqa as fighting intensifies in and around the Syrian city, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported today, warning that many are caught in the crossfire.

Heavy violence in the city of Raqqa is threatening the lives of children, said Geert Cappelaere, UNICEF Regional Director in the Middle East and North Africa Region, in a statement, which noted that at least 25 children were reportedly killed and scores injured in the city.

He explained that hospitals and schools have reportedly come under attack and that those attempting to flee are at danger of getting killed or injured. He emphasized that children are being deprived of the most basic and life-saving necessities and that little aid have reached Raqqa since 2013 due to violence and access restrictions.

He added that the conflict has resulted in massive displacements in and around the city, with some 80,000 children from Raqqa city now internally displaced and living in temporary shelters and camps.

UNICEF called on all parties to protect children inside Raqqa, provide safe passage to those wishing to leave the city and grant a protected environment to civilians who fled the city.

Vaccine-derived polio virus detected in children

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that a vaccine-derived polio virus has been detected recently in two children in Syria, who have been paralyzed as a result.

Speaking at the regular briefing in Geneva, WHO spokesperson Oliver Rosenbauer said a third child was also detected with the virus, but has not been paralyzed.

He said these strains of polio detected in these children are rare but can arrive. The area affected is Deir-Ez-Zor Governorate in eastern Syria, which in 2013-2014 had been affected by a wild polio outbreak.

WHO is preparing an outbreak response to stop the virus' spread.

In New York, Stephane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, told reporters that UN humanitarian workers are alarmed that no UN convoys have moved to besieged and hard-to-reach locations in Syria in over two weeks, with the last such convoy on 22 May.

He said that the UN continues its concern for the safety and well-being of some 4,000 people who have reportedly fled from the Tel Safuk area and surrounding villages along the Iraqi border to Markada town in Al-Hasakeh Governorate, due to ongoing fighting in the area.

Also, as fighting advances into Raqqa City, we have reports that over 95,000 people have already fled the city. We remind all parties to the fighting of their obligations to protect civilians under international humanitarian law, he said.
International community must ensure 'endemic' impunity in DR Congo brought to an end  UN rights chief

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 9 June 2017 Cite as UN News Service, International community must ensure 'endemic' impunity in DR Congo brought to an end  UN rights chief, 9 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593e57574.html [accessed 11 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.

Voicing concern over lack of progress on the part of Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to undertake credible investigations into widespread allegations of rights violations and abuses in the Kasai Central and Kasai Oriental provinces, the top United Nations human rights official today called for setting up of an international investigation mechanism to look into the situation.

The crimes committed in the Kasais appear to be of such gravity that they must be of concern to the international community as a whole, and in particular the Human Rights Council, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, urged the Council today.

We have an obligation to the victims and a duty to send a message to the perpetrators of these crimes that we are watching and that the international community is throwing its weight behind ensuring that the endemic impunity in the DRC is brought to an end.

According to a news release issued by the High Commissioner's Office (OHCHR), since August last year, some 1.3 million people from the two provinces have been displaced within the country and about 30,000 forced to flee to neighbouring Angola.

The release raised particular alarm over the presence of at least 42 mass graves  documented by OHCHR  and reports that many of these were dug by Forces armees de la Republique democratique du Congo (FARDC) after clashes with presumed elements of the Kamuina Nsapu militia over the past several months.

The actual number of the graves are feared to be higher.

In early May this year, High Commissioner Zeid urged the Government of the DRC to take a series of steps to ensure that a credible, transparent investigation, respecting international standards and with the involvement of OHCHR, be established by 8 June.

However, while the Government sought technical support and advice from OHCHR and the UN mission in the country (known by its French acronym, MONUSCO) the response of national authorities till date falls short, in view of the gravity and widespread nature of the violations and the need to ensure justice for victims, noted the news release.

The scale and nature of these human rights violations and abuses, and the consistently inadequate responses of the domestic authorities, oblige us to call for an international investigation to complement national efforts High Commissioner Zeid

It is the sovereign duty of the Government of the DRC to carry out judicial investigations into human rights violations committed on its territory and we will continue to support the Government by providing advice and support towards its fulfilment of these obligations, noted the High Commissioner, adding: [However,] the scale and nature of these human rights violations and abuses, and the consistently inadequate responses of the domestic authorities, oblige us to call for an international investigation to complement national efforts.

Continued allegations of rights violations but investigations hindered by security constraints

The news release also noted that the UN Joint Human Rights Office  comprising the Human Rights Division at MONUSCO and the former OHCHR presence in the country  continues to receive allegations of serious rights violations, but security constraints have hindered further investigations.

The flare-up of violence in the Kasais occurred in August 2016 when a customary chief was killed by the FARDC. The Kamuina Nsapu militia, named after the chief, sought to avenge the killing by targeting police and army personnel, state symbols and institutions, such as Government buildings, police stations and churches, it also recruited children to join its ranks.

The FARDC reportedly reacted to the attacks by launching a intense counter-attacks, including by firing indiscriminately with machine guns in towns where the militia were suspected to be as well as conducting door to door searches, shooting dead suspected militia members or sympathizers.

While a number of national investigations have been launched into the alleged crimes committed by the Kamuina Nsapu, the Government has failed to conduct meaningful investigations into the conduct of the FARDC and the Police nationale congolaise, noted the news release.
RSF welcomes detained French photographer's release from Turkey

Publisher Reporters Without Borders Publication Date 9 June 2017 Cite as Reporters Without Borders, RSF welcomes detained French photographer's release from Turkey, 9 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593e58294.html [accessed 11 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.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) welcomes detained French press photographer Mathias Depardon's release in Turkey. His deportation is currently under way.

It follows the visit he received yesterday at a detention centre in the southeastern city of Gaziantep from his mother, Daniele Van de Lanotte, RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire and French deputy consul Christophe Hemmings.

"We are deeply relieved for Mathias Depardon and his family," Deloire said. "His detention was completely unjustified. A month was taken from his life for no reason, not to speak of the anxiety and uncertainty to which he was subjected. We thank all those who campaigned on his behalf, especially the support committee's members. We also thank the French authorities, the Elysee Palace and the foreign ministry."

Based in Turkey for the past five years, Depardon was arrested on 8 May while doing a report in the southeast of the country for National Geographic magazine.

RSF had put all of its energy and commitment into campaigning for his release for the past month.

Dozens of foreign journalists have been expelled in the past two years from Turkey, which is ranked 155th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2017 World Press Freedom Index. Turkey is currently undergoing an unprecedented crackdown on its media in which more than 100 Turkish journalists are now detained.
South Sudan closes its borders to foreign reporters

Publisher Reporters Without Borders Publication Date 12 June 2017 Cite as Reporters Without Borders, South Sudan closes its borders to foreign reporters, 12 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593e59d44.html [accessed 11 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.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the South Sudanese government's announcement that it is refusing to issue or renew visas for 20 foreign journalists because their coverage is regarded as overly critical.

The decision to ban the 20 journalists from working or continuing to work in South Sudan was revealed during an interview by Elijah Alier, the head of the country's Media Authority, for Juba-based Eye Radio on 7 June.





Alier accused the journalists of writing "unsubstantiated and unrealistic" stories that "insulted or degraded South Sudan and its people." The Media Authority thinks they would contribute to a cycle of violence that has fuelled a civil war in South Sudan since December 2013.





"We will restore the country's image by regulating what comes out of the media because it is the same media being used to portray the country's image negatively," Alier said during the interview for Eye Radio, in which he did not name the journalists or media outlets concerned by the ban.





"This vague and alarming statement is clearly aimed at deterring both foreign and South Sudanese journalists from criticizing South Sudan in their reporting, said Clea Kahn-Sriber, the head of RSF's Africa desk. Given what we know about the pressure on South Sudanese journalists, it is clear that this ban on foreign journalists is aimed at creating a blackout on what is happening within the country. We call on the South Sudanese authorities to lift this ban. A bad situation doesn't go away just because you refuse to look at it head-on."





The Nairobi-based Foreign Correspondents Association of East Africa (FCAEA) said the banned journalists come from around ten countries, that they work for both print and broadcast media, and that the South Sudanese authorities refused to issue or renew their accreditation in the past six months.





Foreign media and journalists continue to operate in Juba but with great difficulty. As RSF reported at the time, the Media Authority suspended the activities of the Al-Jazeera bureau in Juba on 1 May until further notice after a series of reports about the ongoing clashes between government forces and rebel troops. US journalist Justin Lynch, one of the last foreign reporters based in the country, was arrested and expelled last December.





Reporting is even harder for South Sudanese journalists, who have been singled out by the authorities since the start of the civil war. Several have been arrested, tortured appallingly and left for dead. The media censor themselves and the few that try to provide independent reporting are exposed to reprisals. Many journalists have had to shut down media outlets or flee the country.





Eight journalists have been killed in connection with their work since 2013 without a full investigation by the authorities and without those responsible for their deaths being identified.





South Sudan is ranked 145th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2017 World Press Freedom Index after falling 20 places since 2015.
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.
Moscow's War in Ukraine Deepens Divides Among Russia's Cossacks

Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Paul Goble Publication Date 6 June 2017 Citation / Document Symbol Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 14 Issue: 74 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, Moscow's War in Ukraine Deepens Divides Among Russia's Cossacks, 6 June 2017, Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 14 Issue: 74, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593e84894.html [accessed 11 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.

Link to original story on Jamestown website

With the encouragement of the Moscow media, many in Russia and the West assume that Russian Cossacks are entirely behind Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine, that they are the group the Kremlin can count on as its janissaries against any opponent, and that there is no possibility that Cossacks could ever line up with Ukraine against Russia. But such assumptions are entirely wrong: Putin's Ukraine adventure has split Russia's Cossacks perhaps more deeply than any other indigenous people in Russia. Some, indeed, are prepared to fight for Russia in Ukraine, but many others are equally prepared to fight for Ukraine and against Moscow.

From the very beginning of Putin's efforts, Moscow sought to involve the Cossacks in its seizure and annexation of Crimea and in its fighting in Donbas. Russia has given prominent media coverage to Cossacks who, in fact, took part in those campaigns and who have declared that they are quite prepared to carry the fight to Kyiv and beyond. Moreover, the Russian media has expanded its coverage of this issue following statements by some Ukrainian government officials that the Kuban and Terek regionstraditional Cossack landsshould belong to Ukraine (Svobodnaya Pressa, May 11; Kolokolrussia.ru, May 29; see EDM, May 16).

What the Russian media and the Western mediawhich has largely followed the former's leadhave not covered is the other side of the story: Many Cossacks rejected Moscow's call to take part in its operations from the beginning (Rufabula.com, June 4, 2014) and continue to do so to this day (Nr2.lt, March 17, 2017). Indeed, a growing number of Cossacks have fled Russia to Ukraine in order to take part in Ukraine's fight against Russian imperialism (Nr2.lt, May 30).

The exact numbers of Cossacks on each side remain a matter of dispute, with each group claiming hundreds are involved. And it is likely that those backing Moscow outnumber those supporting Kyiv, given where most Cossacks live and the administrative resources available to Russian officials. But the predominance of the Russian side almost certainly is far smaller than Moscow media have suggested (Rufabula.com, June 4, 2014).

That some Cossacks are fighting for Ukraine against Moscow should not have surprised anyone familiar with the history of the Cossack nation. On the one hand, Ukraine is the original homeland of many Cossacks, who typically spoke Ukrainian rather than Russian and who often identified with Ukrainians more than with Russians. And on the other, the Cossacks are an extremely diverse group. Not only have 13 different Cossack "hosts" historically existed in tsarist times, but some of them were anything but the foot-soldiers of the Russian empire that many assume. Indeed, one host was Buryat and Buddhist, for example. Moreover, the neo-Cossack movement over the last generation has attracted not only those who see themselves as defenders of the Russian state and empire but many others who are drawn to the freedom-loving traditions that many Cossack hosts and individual stanitsas (villages inside Cossack hosts) have long represented.

The fact that Cossacks are now to be found on both sides of the battle lines in Ukraine has deepened this division as well as led some in Moscow to reconsider just how much they may be able to count on the Cossacks to defend the Russian state against all enemies foreign and domestic. It is one thing to give Cossacks weapons to guard things the Russian state wants guarded; it is quite another to give weapons to those who might eventually turn on the state itself. Indeed, according to Aleksandr Dzikovitsky, a leading emigre commentator on Cossack affairs, some in the Russian capital have updated the infamous slogan of late imperial times"Beat the Jews and Save Russia"to now read "Beat the Cossacks and Save Russia" (Nr2.lt, June 5).

Such Muscovite attitudes will do nothing to win Cossacks to Russia's side: rather, they are likely to have exactly the opposite effect. And that has some potentially serious consequences not only for the war in Ukraine, to which more Cossacks may go to help the Ukrainian side, but also for the future of the Russian Federation. The reason for what may seem to some a hyperbolic conclusion is this: The Cossack communities in many parts of Russia are located in and intermixed with Ukrainian areas, places Ukrainians traditionally refer to as "klins" or "wedges." The most famous of these is in the Russian Far East, where people with ethnic-Ukrainian and Cossack roots form nearly half of the population, but there are others spread across the country as well (Windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com, June 9, 2016).

Consequently, and seemingly unexpectedly, Putin's war in Ukraine may come home to haunt him and his regime via the Cossacks, a group the Kremlin leader does not acknowledge as a nation and assumes will be invariably loyal to him.

Copyright notice:  2010 The Jamestown Foundation
Azerbaijan-Turkey-Georgia: A Geopolitical Axis or an Accidental Alliance?

Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Fuad Shahbazov Publication Date 7 June 2017 Citation / Document Symbol Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 14 Issue: 75 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, Azerbaijan-Turkey-Georgia: A Geopolitical Axis or an Accidental Alliance?, 7 June 2017, Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 14 Issue: 75, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593e85774.html [accessed 11 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.

Link to original story on Jamestown website

The Georgian coastal city of Batumi hosted, on May 23, a trilateral meeting of the defense ministers of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia (Azertac, May 23). This trilateral cooperation format was inaugurated in 2012, during a ministerial meeting in Trabzon, Turkey. As expected, a new military memorandum was signed during the Batumi meeting: the three sides pledged to boost military ties as well as increase cooperation in the fields of military education and military medicine, counterterrorism (including the protection of pipelines and railways), and joint large-scale military exercises (APA, May 23). "Our cooperation in the field of defense contributes to strengthening security, peace and economic development," Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov told reporters in Batumi (Azertac, May 23).

In addition to the signed memorandum entailing defense ministry-level cooperation, the three countries agreed to extend cooperation between the general staffs of their armed forces. Thus, in autumn 2017, the chiefs of the general staffs of the armed forces of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia will gather together in Tbilisi under this framework. Moreover, new joint military drills, dubbed "Caucasian Eagle," started on June 5 in Tbilisi. And according to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense, its military will take part in the exercise until June 14 (APA, June 5).

Armenia has frequently expressed concern for the expanding Azerbaijani-Georgian-Turkish trilateralism in the South Caucasus, since its official unveiling five years ago. More recently, Yerevan's negative rhetoric toward the trilateral alliance has subsided somewhat due to Armenia's close diplomatic ties with Georgia. The latter country facilitates Armenia's connectivity with its ally Russia as well as global markets, mainly via the Tbilisi-Gyumri railway. Nevertheless, last month, Armenian officials again argued that the deepening military cooperation between Baku, Ankara and Tbilisi poses a serious national security challenge to Yerevan. "The new trilateral format in the region is seeking to isolate Armenia even more," local expert Ruben Safrastian declared (EADaily, May 23). The government of Azerbaijan, however, has been quick to reply that the trilateral partnership is strictly aimed at strengthening economic cooperation between the three countries and it is does not pose a threat to regional stability. "This trilateral cooperation contributes to regional security, stability and sustainable development and is not directed against other countries," declared Novruz Mammadov, the assistant to the president of Azerbaijan for foreign policy issues (APA, June 5).

Turkey's continued involvement in the triangle with Georgia and Azerbaijan is arguably connected to Ankara's desire to strengthen its geopolitical influence in the South Caucasus. In the aftermath of the unsuccessful 2016 military coup in Turkey and subsequent deteriorating relations with the European Union, Ankara's foreign policy has been rapidly shifting toward the East, including the Caucasus. To some degree, the trilateral alliance is seen as a suitable politico-military, cultural and economic platform for Turkey to strengthen its influence in the South Caucasus. Indeed, Turkey is interested in becoming a regional oil and natural gas hub; however, without Azerbaijani natural gas passing through Georgian territory, these ambitions would remain a dream for Ankara.

Various separatist movements across the South Caucasus and Anatolia provide further impetus toward closer regional security cooperation among these three countries. Turkey's long-time efforts to counter Kurdish militants (notably, the Kurdistan Workers' Party-PKK) in the eastern provinces, the insecurity stemming from the military confrontation over Azerbaijan's occupied Karabakh region, as well as Russian occupation of Georgian separatist territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia together have encouraged the three countries to seek closer relations.

To date, one of the most tangible results of the cooperative triangle has been the 826-kilometer-long Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project (the third such trilateral link after the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline) that directly links the three countries. The strategically important railway is supposed to be operational by the end of June 2017 and raises expectations in certain corners that the trilateral platform can be turned into a more robust alliance (Daily Sabah, May 22). All the aforementioned factors notwithstanding, Baku, Ankara and Tbilisi's trilateral military cooperation at this stage is arguably focused mainly on the security of regional energy pipelines that run from Azerbaijan through Georgia, near South Ossetia, and continue into eastern Turkey. As Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov noted during an inaugural meeting of the three countries' defense ministers in August 2014, the major reason for holding trilateral military drills is the need to protect pipeline and railroad infrastructure that crosses those states (News.az, August 20, 2014).

While clearly based on the mutual interests of its three participating countries, the Ankara-Baku-Tbilisi trilateral alliance is also a gateway for Turkey to access the Caspian basin and Central Asia via Azerbaijani and Georgian territory. Meanwhile, Baku and Tbilisi promote this regional triangle in order to cultivate regional political support for the peaceful settlement of their ongoing conflicts. And while, so far, no significant step has been taken toward the reconciliation of these territorial conflicts, the positive rhetoric coming out of the annual ministerial meetings suggests that the new trilateral platform will likely remain an influential force in the South Caucasus for the long term.

Copyright notice:  2010 The Jamestown Foundation
The Russian Army to Be Subordinated to the National Guard in a Crisis

Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Aleksandr Golts Publication Date 8 June 2017 Citation / Document Symbol Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 14 Issue: 76 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, The Russian Army to Be Subordinated to the National Guard in a Crisis, 8 June 2017, Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 14 Issue: 76, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593e85d84.html [accessed 11 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.

Link to original story on Jamestown website

President Vladimir Putin signed a decree late last month (May 24) that lays out drastic changes in the military organization of the Russian state. The bureaucratic document approves "The Statute on the Operational-Territorial Grouping of National Guard Troops of the Russian Federation." However, it is likely that the decree was signed specifically to enshrine in law one crucial paragraph: "By decision of the President of the Russian Federation, tactical formations and military units of the Armed forces of the Russian Federation, other military formations and organs can be transferred to the operational control of the commander of the district to perform the tasks assigned to the troops of the National Guard" (Pravo.gov.ru, May 25). The Russian National Guard (Rosgvardia) was established in April 2016, largely based on the then-existing Interior Troops, to combat "terrorism and extremism" within the country (see EDM, April 7, 2016).

The possibility that the Interior Troops could, in certain situations, be subordinated to the Ministry of Defense existed both in Soviet and post-Soviet times. After all, the "external enemy" could have superiority over the regular Soviet/Russian Armed Forces; to fight against it, the Kremlin needed the ability to focus all of the country's military or paramilitary units. All major military exercises in recent years had involved units of the Interior Troops subordinated to the Army's command, and that tradition continued after the Russian National Guard was established. In 2016, joint exercises of the Rosgvardia and the Airborne Troops were conducted in Volgograd region. Four thousand Armed Forces troops, two National Guard brigades, the Special Forces Center and the 56th Separate Airborne Assault Brigade participated. The deputy commander of the airborne forces, Lieutenant General Andrei Kholzakov, oversaw the drills. He explained that the maneuvers took place for the first time "after the reform," adding, "we are working on issues of interoperability to understand how we have to operate" (Nezavisimaya Gazeta, August 1, 2016). The reasons why an army general was appointed to command the exercise is clear: his colleagues from the Rosgvardia lacked the experience of planning large-scale operations.

Until now, regular Armed Forces units were never intended to be commanded by the Interior Troops. The only exceptions happened during the two Chechen wars, when operational command was transferred several times to the Interior Ministry to demonstrate that the "military phase" of hostilities was over. However, even then, actual control was provided by the Russian General Staff. Last year's law that established the National Guard gave no indication of the possibility that Armed Forces units might at some point be subordinated to the Rosgvardia.

Indeed, such subordination implies that the Kremlin must believe the internal threat to the state is far more dangerous than external threats. Presumably then, Russian authorities must believe the internal threat is so serious that Rosgvardia forces may not be enough to repel it. And this is despite the fact that, according to the National Guard's commander-in-chief, Viktor Zolotov, this force's personnel strength has doubled in comparison with the Interior Troops, and now reaches close to 400,000 troops (TASS, May 20). If true, that means the Rosgvardia is larger than the size of the regular Russian ground troops. Putin's May 24 decree suggests the government fears that large-scale public unrest could cover the entire territory of the country. In such a situation, all National Guard forces would be involved, and the Army would need to perform "interior functions." A May 26 article by Yuri Baluyevsky, a former chief of the General Staff and a current advisor to the Rosgvardia commander-in-chief, rather candidly notes, "The creation of the National Guard is an answer to the threat posed by techniques of so-called non-violent resistance" (Nezavisimoye Voennoye Obozrenie, May 26).

In 2014, at the Russian defense ministry collegium, generals wishing to please the Kremlin announced that "color revolutions" are a new form of military warfare. In fact, the current version of the Russian Military doctrine (Scrf.gov.ru, December 25, 2014) insists that modern military conflicts are characterized by "the integrated use of military force, [as well as] political, economic, informational and other non-military measures, implemented with the extensive use of the protest potential of the population, and special operations forces." The "protest potential of the population" was equated with the actions of enemy saboteurs. However, after the Russian generals made such a bold conclusion, they did not go any further. In 2015, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered the General Staff Academy to conduct some "research" into how the Armed Forces should respond to the threat of color revolution. But the results of that "research" are still unknown. It is possible the Russian officers did not want to plan the use of force against Russia's own people. However, by agreeing to subordinate the Army to the command of the Rosgvardia, it shifts the commanders' responsibility for the use of force on the streets of Russian cities.

The Russian authorities have been quite bold in emphasizing the importance of the Rosgvardia. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin even went so far as calling it Russia's "the most aggressive military unit, which solves the main problems in the country." Moreover, he added that the "Rosgvardia should be armed to the teeth [] with the most high-quality weapons" (TASS, May 25). The National Guard has consistently been moving toward becoming a secret service with hundreds of thousands of troops for military support. In addition, as the force's deputy commander, Colonel General Sergey Melikov, noted that the Rosgvardia will take on training IT specialists and experts in social media monitoring. According to him, the Perm Military Institute is already training such a cadre (Vedomosti, May 19). The general argued that the task of the new unit will be exclusively to track terrorist activity and prevent attacks. But presumably, the goal could also be to identify participants in Russian street protests.

It is certainly no coincidence that a National Guard division deployed near Moscow was recently named after Felix Dzerzhinsky, the bloody founder of the Soviet secret police. Soon, the name Dzerzhinsky will also be applied to the Rosgvardia's Saratov Institute military school. Units of the Rosgvardia will be awarded orders and honorary titles of the NKVD (Soviet secret police, 1934-1946, and a forerunner of the KGB). Official historians in uniform have even received an order to find something heroic about the troops of the NKVD (Izvestia, May 30). Will they write about the participation of "brave warriors" in Stalinist-era mass deportations? And will the Rosgvardia leadership indoctrinate current service members on these "heroic examples?"

Copyright notice:  2010 The Jamestown Foundation
Belarus's Quest for Self-Identity Aided by Outside Actors

Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Grigory Ioffe Publication Date 8 June 2017 Citation / Document Symbol Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 14 Issue: 76 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, Belarus's Quest for Self-Identity Aided by Outside Actors, 8 June 2017, Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 14 Issue: 76, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593e87354.html [accessed 11 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.

Link to original story on Jamestown website

Belarus has been formally independent since December 1991; but as Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei averred two years ago, in an interview with The Washington Post, "We have not yet arrived at the realization of what we are as a nation As a nation, we are still in search of identity, [but] our desire to retain [] independence and sovereignty is unquestionable" (Mfa.gov.by, May 24, 2015). Three seemingly unrelated sets of events suggest that the desire for a clear identity is now well on its way to realization. First, the Tell the Truth civic campaign (TTCC) was finally officially registered, after having filed its seventh application (Tut.by, May 16). Second, a debate over the Belarusian language has resumed. And third, Belarus came under renewed attacks by voices in both Russia and the West; but the more condescension and detachment they evince, the easier it is for Belarusians to feel a discrete personality.

Tell the Truth was once headed by Vladimir Neklyaev, a poet and a 2010 presidential hopeful who left the group in April 2015 and accused Andrei Dmitriev, his successor, of ties to the Belarusian KGB (Telescope, December 22, 2016). TTCC's second leader, Tatyana Korotkevich, was a 2015 presidential hopeful. Accusing comrades-in-arms of association with the KGB has been a frequent tactic of members of the Belarusian opposition going back to early opposition leader Zianon Pazniak, who leveled this accusation at a great number of his former allies. Dmitriev is disliked by other opposition leaders because, under his guidance, TTCC has been successful in terms of actual membership and media attention. Moreover, TTCC is the only entity in the opposition that does not resort to wholesale denunciations of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka as a traitor to the national cause and is not averse to collaboration with his government. Speaking to the Belarusian Service of Radio Liberty (BSRL), Dmitriev, for the umpteenth time, dispelled the accusation of a KGB connection and added that after a recent avalanche of confessions by members of the organization Malady Front, this whole issue ought to be put to rest (Svaboda.org, May 23). Indeed, in April, several members of this intransigent (unlike TTCC) group, registered in the Czech Republic, confessed they had signed agreements with the KGB (Telegraf, May 5). Regardless of these revelations and the PR furor accompanying them, the recent registration of TTCC is a major breakthrough in Belarus's political life because TTCC is an active, workable group.

Meanwhile, the new-old debate about the Belarusian language was triggered by the Gomel-based opposition activist Oleg Sluchak. He took the initiative to sue the adolescent Ilya Klishevich for his online pronouncement about the language. In a comment section of some media website, Klishevich wrote that "the Belarusian language is dead." It subsequently turned out that the "offender" is a cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy. A public outcry followed (Belsat, May 19). But the subsequent discussion the incident sparked about Belarusian concluded that although the language is not exactly dead, it requires resuscitation. One of the opinions shared in this discussion was that speaking Belarusians should be enforced via penalties for failing to do soin the same way as dodging taxes is legally punished (Svaboda.org, May 27). The head of state also weighed in, declaring that while he is categorically against imposing a certain language of learning and communication, he thinks "Belarusian is deficient in our everyday life" (Tut.by, May 26).

In the meantime, external actors have also been contributing to boosting Belarusian identity. Thus, beginning on May 15, all passenger aircraft from Belarus have to land at international terminals of Russian airports (Tut.by, May 15). Although this switch from domestic terminals serves the purpose of passport control of citizens of third countries, not Belarusians, it is a suggestive change. Finally, at least as far as air transportation is concerned, Belarus has become a foreign country for Russia. Moreover, mocking of Belarus on Russian TV channels continues, and Belarusians take notice. Thus, President Lukashenka's youngest son, who accompanied his father on their trip to China last month, was labeled by Russia's NTV as a "crown prince" (NTV, May 20). Even greater umbrage stemmed from NTV's characterization of Belarusian humanitarian aid to Ukrainian war-torn regions as being motivated by "Belarusians eventually discovering somebody even poorer than they are" (Naviny.by, May 15).

And in recent weeks, such Russian condescension was accompanied by similarly alienating attitudes expressed by Westerners. Thus, for Yale historian Timothy Snyder, who has just published a treatise on tyranny, Donald Trump is an embodiment of a tyrant and so is Lukashenka. Snyder told the BSRL that "although Trump has not yet expressed his fascination with Lukashenka, this is only a matter of time" (Svaboda.org, May 24). More than six years ago, he observed that Minsk is so suspiciously clean it "makes Vienna look dingy." Moreover, "to travel to or from Belarus," according to Snyder, "is to become acquainted with the KGB. At the European airport from which you depart for Minsk, a functionary, likely female and seemingly harmless, patrols the gate area. At a certain point, she asks each passenger for his or her passport At the Minsk airport, as you depart Belarus, an obvious KGB functionary checks your documents [] before you board the plane. Then he boards the plane with you. The KGB officer is probably accompanying a Belarusian official on a journey abroad, since Belarusians of any significance cannot travel without a political chaperone" (Nybooks.com, October 28, 2010). Reflecting an indelible influence of spy novels as well as of some prominent members of the Belarusian opposition, this narrative was composed in 2010, not, say, the 1970s. And yet, it is still not unusual when it comes to modern-day stereotypes about Belarus.

It appears, however, that such skewed narratives may actually have a surprising consequence for Belarusian identity. By discouraging Belarusians from even bothering to address such persistent falsehoods, it erects a barriernot a physical but a psychological one. And behind this barrier, Belarusians are able to shed their complexes and perceive themselves as a unique and self-confident nation.

Copyright notice:  2010 The Jamestown Foundation
Waiting in the Wings: PLAAF General Yi Xiaoguang

Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Kenneth Allen & Jana Allen Publication Date 9 June 2017 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, Waiting in the Wings: PLAAF General Yi Xiaoguang , 9 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593e88a24.html [accessed 11 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.

Link to original story on Jamestown website

Central Military Commission (CMC) Member and People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force (PLAAF) Commander, General Ma Xiaotian (), will reach his mandatory retirement age later this year and will likely retire in conjunction with the 19th Party Congress. While much of the PLA's promotion process remains opaque, transition of the top PLAAF leadership may be becoming more predictable. Ma's most likely successor is General Yi Xiaoguang (), who currently serves as a Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff (formerly General Staff) Department. If appointed, Yi would become the 12th Commander of the PLAAF since it was created in November 1949. If recent precedent is followed, he would likely also receive a grade promotion from Theater Command Leader to CMC Member and serve concurrently as the Deputy Secretary of the PLAAF's Party Standing Committee. [1]

A review of his background and career progression in comparison with previous PLAAF commanders strongly suggests that Yi is the most logical successor to Ma. Yi has extensive operational and leadership experience and professional military education. He has rapidly risen in grade and rank since 2001 and since 2014 has held key positions that qualify him to serve at the next higher grade. Since 2012, he has also been an alternate member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) 18th Party Congress. Additionally, it has already been established that top PLAAF leadership are expected to represent the service to foreign counterparts. [2] Yi is well prepared to fill this role. He is a strategic thinker who has published on a range of technology-related issues, and in contrast with most of his peers, he has broad experience representing the PLAAF overseas as well as hosting foreign military delegations in China. While his career has followed a similar trajectory to other top PLAAF leaders, Yi is representative of the generational and educational change that is occurring within the PLAAF and being pushed to help build a "strategic air force".

A Rising Star

Born in June 1958 in Jiangsu Province, Yi joined the PLAAF at age 15. He began his career as a pilot and has been stationed in four different Military Region Air Forces (MRAFs)-Shenyang, Chengdu, Guangzhou, and Nanjing-as well as PLAAF Headquarters. [3] Yi is a highly experienced fighter pilot and is qualified in multiple aircraft. Over the years, Yi has flown the PLAAF's Mig-15, J-5, J-6, J-7, Su-27, and Su-30. He is a special-grade pilot (), an all-weather qualified flight instructor (), and is qualified as a flight controller in the tower (). [4] It is clear that Yi was identified as a promising officer early in his career, although the reasons are less apparent. He has extensive leadership experience, having commanded a flight squadron, flight group, air regiment, air division, and command post. Additionally, Yi participated in Peace Mission 2005 (-2005) with Russia on the Shandong Peninsula, which afforded him the opportunity to help manage and oversee a combined exercise with a foreign military. [5] In September 2015, Yi was the senior officer in charge of the first Sino-Malaysian combined military exercise in Malaysia, identified as Friendship 2015 (-2015), which lasted six days and involved a PLA Navy destroyer, a frigate, a hospital ship, four transport aircraft and three helicopters and 1,160 PLA personnel (Straits Times, September 19, 2015).

In addition to wide-ranging command experience, Yi has held important positions as a staff officer throughout his career, likely to prepare him for leadership at the next level. He served as a Deputy Chief of Staff in Chengdu MRAF prior to becoming the commander of Wuhan Base/Command Post. Yi then served as a Deputy Chief of Staff in Guangzhou MRAF before becoming the Commandant of the Air Force Command College. He has also served as Deputy Chief of Staff for the PLAAF, one of the assistants to the Chief of the General Staff, and is currently one of the Deputy Chiefs of the Joint Staff (formerly General Staff). Based on his travel abroad as well as his participation in meetings held in Beijing, it appears that Yi's portfolio includes United Nations peacekeeping and certain relations with NATO (Baidu Baike [accessed May 30]; MOD, November 16, 2015; ECNS, April 23, 2015). As with Ma, Yi's experience on the Joint Staff likely gives him important insight into the military's overall situation, foreign relations, joint military training, and inter-service coordination. [6]

Yi was twice selected for professional military education (PME). He was chosen for a two-year program at the PLAAF Command College in 1984, and he later obtained a master's degree from the PLA NDU. [7] Typically senior PLAAF officers have only a senior technical degree (equivalent to an American associate's degree) or possibly a bachelor's degree and receive only a certificate while attending PME institutions for less than one year. Yi's military education distinguishes him from most other senior PLAAF officers, as do his publications. Yi has been a frequent writer during his career. For example, between 1992 and 1995, he wrote a 100,000-word Air Force Pilot's Common-use Chinese to English Small Dictionary (). He also authored Stealth Aircraft and Their Nemesis () and Armed Helicopters and Their Nemesis (), and co-authored a series of publications called 21st Century High-technology Main Weapons Nemesis Series (21). [8] Yi's academic credentials likely contributed to his selection as the Commandant of the PLAAF Command College during 2004-2008. Indeed, it appears that his long-term portfolio has involved military education and training issues. Earlier in his career, in 1989, Yi was the Director of the newly created Chengdu MRAF's Flight Transition Training Base, and from 1996-2001 he served as the Director of the Military Training Department in the PLAAF HQ's Headquarters Department.

Yi has been on the fast track for several years, as evidenced by the timing of his grade and rank promotions since the early 2000s. [9] Regarding promotions in grade, Yi became a Corps Deputy Leader-grade officer in January 2002, which made him the second youngest officer in that grade in PLAAF Headquarters. He then progressed to Corps Leader-grade in March 2004, to Military Region Deputy Leader-grade in December 2010, and Theater Command Leader-grade (renamed from Military Region Leader in Sep 2016) in August 2014. At the same time, Yi was also advancing in rank. He received his first star in July 2001, when he was promoted to Major General as a Division Leader-grade officer. In July 2012 Yi was promoted to Lieutenant General (2 star), at which time he was a Military Region Deputy Leader-grade officer and was the youngest 2-star general on active duty. Finally, in July 2016, when he was a Theater Command Leader-grade officer, Yi was promoted to General (3 star), at which time he was the youngest 3-star general on active duty.

Interactions with Foreign Counterparts

The PLAAF commander plays an important role in military diplomacy, promoting the service's relations with foreign counterparts, typically through traveling abroad and hosting foreign delegations in China. Historically, the PLAAF commander has traveled abroad once per year to one to three countries. [10] From 1979-2012, PLAAF commanders visited over 35 different countries, including several countries more than once. Ma Xiaotian diverged from this precedent while serving as PLAAF Commander. Upon assuming the commander's position, he publicly announced that he was not going to travel abroad because he had traveled frequently when he was the Deputy Chief of the General Staff and was responsible for foreign relations, and, as such, he wanted to spend his time focusing on key PLAAF issues. Although Ma has not traveled abroad, he has hosted an average of eight foreign air force leaders per year in Beijing. [11]

Senior PLAAF leaders benefit from international exposure earlier in their careers, and participation in multiple official PLAAF delegations, particularly if they accompany senior leaders, can be an indicator that an officer is being considered for a more senior leadership role. In contrast to most PLAAF officers, who rarely travel abroad in an official capacity, Yi has traveled overseas at least seven times, and in some instances was the lead officer for the delegation. In 1997, Yi was part of a delegation led by then-Chief of the General Staff, General Fu Quanyou, who visited the Pentagon, West Point in New York, Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Norfolk Naval Base and Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, and Pacific Command in Hawaii (RAF, November 16, 2010). [12] While in Hawaii, he flew in an F-15. In 2000, he was part of a delegation that visited Greece and Turkey, where he flew in a Mirage 2000, a Mirage F1 simulator, and an F-16 simulator. In November 2010, Yi led a PLAAF delegation to England, where they visited Royal Air Force (RAF) Cosford. The delegation specifically asked for permission to visit RAF training establishments and gain a broad overview of the academic organization of the RAF air training system. In October 2011, Yi accompanied then-CMC Vice Chairman Guo Boxiong, then-Deputy Chief of the General Staff Wei Fenghe and others on a visit to Cuba, Columbia, and Peru (ChinaNews, October 23, 2011).

More recently, in May 2014, Yi was part of a five-member delegation led by CMC Member and Chief of the General Staff, General Fang Fenghui, which visited the United States as guests of then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey (ChinaMil, May 14, 2014). The delegation visited San Diego, Washington DC, Fort Bragg, and New York. In November 2015, he was part of a five-member delegation to Russia that was led by CMC Vice Chairman Xu Qiliang, where a contract was signed for the purchase of 24 Su-35 fighters (Chinamil, November 16, 2015; Global Times, November 15, 2015; MOD, November 16, 2015; DefenseWorld, November 19, 2015). Finally, in September 2016, he led a delegation to Belarus to observe personnel training (Belta, September 22, 2016).

During 2015-2016, Yi also hosted at least two foreign delegations in China. In June 2016, he hosted a meeting in Beijing with the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations (Chinamil, June 7, 2016). In April 2015, he hosted a meeting with visiting Director General of the NATO International Military Staff Air Marshal Sir Christopher Harper (ECNS, April 23, 2015). Additionally, in late 2016, he attended meetings in Beijing for Russia's and Brunei's Defense Ministers, which were respectively hosted by Defense Minister General Chang Wanquan and CMC Vice Chairman General Xu Qiliang (MOD, November 24, 2016; October 13, 2016). Given his experience interacting with foreign counterparts at home and abroad, Yi is well prepared to fill the role of promoting the PLAAF's relations with foreign militaries.

The Road to the Top

In order to understand why Yi is the most likely candidate to serve as the next PLAAF commander, it is useful to examine the career progression and general qualifications needed for the position, as established by a review of the current and past PLAAF Commanders' career paths. While there is no one size fits all formula for promotion to PLAAF commander, a review reveals commonalities and milestones along the road to the top. All PLA officers work their way up the 15-grade career path until they reach their mandatory retirement age based on their grade (China Brief, February 4 and 23, 2016). Promising officers are typically identified early in their careers and then given opportunities to prove themselves, further hone their leadership abilities, and obtain the breadth of operational and staff experience needed to be successful at the highest level. Additionally, loyalty to the Party and to the leader of the CMC are considered core criteria when selecting top military leaders (SCMP, December 30, 2015).

All previous PLAAF commanders joined the PLA relatively young, between the ages of 15 and 19 years old. [13] Of the first 11 commanders, the third commander (Ma Ning - 1973-1977) was the first aviator, while the fourth commander (Zhang Tingfa - 1977-1985) was a career political officer. All of the commanders either initially served a few years as enlisted members until receiving a direct promotion to become officers, or those who became aviators began their careers as aviation cadets. The latter group attended flight training for one to three years, then became officers and were assigned to operational units as pilots (PLAAF 2010, NASIC; Chinese Communist Party Previous Central Committee Member Dictionary 1921-2003). Once they became pilots, they moved up the career ladder as flight squadron (company), flight group (battalion), air regiment / independent flight group, and air division deputy commanders and commanders. After that, they served in various corps deputy leader- or leader-grade billets, and then Military Region deputy leader-grade billets, including deputy chief or chief of staff (e.g., leaders of the Headquarters Department), deputy commander, or commander billets in bases, MRAFs, PLAAF Headquarters, or academic institutions. Starting with Wang Hai, all commanders served as an MRAF commander and/or a PLAAF deputy commander, which are both MR deputy leader-grade billets. Holding two different billets in the same grade helped broaden their experience. [14]

As shown in the following bullets and Table 1, there is no single path to becoming the PLAAF commander. [15] There are, however, patterns in terms of grade and rank promotions to reach the commander's position. For example, of the 11 commanders:

Three served as political officers and as the PLAAF political commissar (PC)

Five served as a concurrent CMC member

Two served as a Deputy Chief of the General Staff (Joint Staff) Department

One served as the commandant of the National Defense University (NDU)

Six served as a PLAAF deputy commander

Six served as an MRAF commander

Three served as a base commander

Table 1: Commanders' Career Path For Corps and Above Billets

Although Liu Yalou and Zhang Tingfa were CMC members, the PLA did not regularize the appointment of PLAAF, PLAN, and Second Artillery (now Rocket Force) commanders as CMC members until 2004. Since that time, as the PLAAF Commander, both Xu Qiliang and Ma Xiaotian received grade promotions from Military Region (now Theater Command) Leader to CMC Member. If this precedent is to continue, then the next PLAAF commander needs to be qualified to serve in this higher grade. In Xu and Ma's case, they both served in Theater Command leader-grade billets for at least two years before becoming the commander. Specifically, both Xu and Ma served as a Deputy Chief of the General Staff (now Joint Staff). Ma also served as the Commandant of the NDU. In addition, they both received promotions in rank to general prior to assuming the commander's billet.

Importantly, Yi meets the requirements for promotion to the next higher grade. He has served as a Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff, which is a Theater Command leader-grade billet, since August 2014. He was promoted to the rank of general in July 2016, at which time he became the youngest 3-star general on active duty. Finally, he has been an alternate member of the CCP 18th Party Congress () since October 2012. Although Yi has not served as a PLAAF deputy commander, he appears fully qualified to assume the commander's billet, receive a grade promotion from Theater Command Leader to CMC Member, and replace Ma on the CMC.

Conclusion

General Ma Xiaotian will reach his mandatory retirement age and likely retire later this year in conjunction with the 19th Party Congress. Although his successor cannot be predicted with complete certainty-as evidenced by the PLA Navy leadership transition earlier this year-General Yi Xiaoguang appears to be the most likely candidate. His career path has followed a similar trajectory to that of past commanders, and he has held key positions that would prepare him to serve in a top leadership billet. Yi is already a 3-star general, an alternate member of the CCP 18th Party Congress, and is qualified to be promoted in grade to CMC Member. He stands out from other senior officers because of his operational expertise and leadership experience, rapid advancement, professional military education, and his multiple opportunities to represent the PLAAF with foreign counterparts at home and abroad.

While Yi's elevation to PLAAF commander is widely anticipated (SCMP, December 30, 2015), the timing of the transition remains unclear. Ma will reach his mandatory retirement age in August, likely before the 19th Party Congress has convened. Yi may become the PLAAF Commander before Ma officially retires, as was the case in January when Vice Admiral Shen Jinlong became the PLAN commander but outgoing commander Admiral Wu Shengli remained on the CMC (China Brief, March 2 and 16, 2017). It is difficult to predict the composition of the CMC after the Party Congress, but if Yi is the sitting PLAAF commander and recent precedent is followed, he will likely be among its new members (China Brief, February 4 and 23, 2016). This would require a grade promotion from Theater Command Leader to CMC Member and he would serve as the deputy secretary of the PLAAF standing committee.

Yi would assume command at a very interesting time, when the PLA at large is undergoing historic organizational reforms aimed at improving the military's warfighting capability. Chinese President and CMC Chairman Xi Jinping has communicated his expectations for the PLAAF to accelerate its modernization, strengthen exercises, and be prepared for combat-while maintaining absolute loyalty to Party leadership. Xi has described the PLAAF as a strategic military service that plays a vital role in safeguarding national security, and has urged the service to speed up air-space integration and sharpen its offensive and defensive capabilities (Xinhua, April 14, 2014; April 15, 2014). To date the reforms have primarily focused on headquarters above the corps level, including reorganizing the former seven Military Regions into five Theater Commands and establishing 15 organs directly subordinate to the CMC. Yi would lead the PLAAF through the next phase of reforms and would likely also be called upon to further institutionalize the new PLA organizational construct, which calls for service chiefs to focus primarily on training and equipping the force, empowering theater commanders to focus on wartime missions. Importantly, Yi would have the opportunity to shape the PLAAF's organizational culture and further solidify the PLAAF's vision of itself as an independent warfighting service, capable of playing a decisive role in protecting China's national interests as a "Strategic Air Force".

Kenneth W. Allen is the Research Director for the USAF's China Aerospace Studies Institute (CASI). He is a retired U.S. Air Force officer, whose extensive service abroad includes a tour in China as the Assistant Air Attache. He has written numerous articles on Chinese military affairs.

Jana Allen is an Independent Research Analyst and a Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. A Chinese linguist, she has a B.S. from the U.S. Air Force Academy and an M.A. in National Security Affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School.

Notes:

The PLA has 10 ranks and 15 grades; grades are more important than ranks; rank and grade promotions are separate; each grade has 2 ranks-a primary and secondary rank. Kenneth Allen, "China's Air Force Foreign Relations Program and Implications for Interaction with the U.S. Air Force," Foreign Area Officer Association Journal of International Affairs, Mar 2015. Yi's family has a history of military service; his paternal grandfather and uncle fought in the "War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression" () and the "War of Liberation" () http://china.caixin.com/2016-07-29/100972472.html An all-weather qualified pilot is one who can fly during day and night under IFR and VFR conditions. It does not relate to actual weather conditions. Concerning Peace Mission 2005, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_Mission_2005. Peace Mission 2005 was the first ever joint military exercise between China and Russia. The exercise started on August 19, 2005, and consisted of combined land, sea, and air elements simulating an intervention in a state besieged by terrorists or political turmoil. It concluded on August 25, 2005. The force practiced air and naval blockades, an amphibious assault, and occupying a region. Approximately 8,000 Chinese troops took part along with 2,000 Russians troops. China initially wanted to hold the exercise near the Taiwan Strait, Russia wanted to hold the exercise in Northwestern China near central Asia, but instead settlement was made on the Shandong Peninsula. You Ji, "Meeting the Challenge of the Upcoming PLAAF Leadership Reshuffle" in The Chinese Air Force - Evolving Concepts, Roles, and Capabilities, 2012. Although Yi Xiaoguang was selected for a two-year program of study at the PLAAF Command College in 1984, the PLA did not offer master's degrees programs until 1986, so Yi likely received a master's equivalent certificate for this period. Kenneth Allen, Phillip C. Saunders, and John Chen, Chinese Military Diplomacy, 2003-2016: Trends and Implications, National Defense University, Institute for National Strategic Studies, China Strategic Perspectives 11, June 2017. For example, after Liu Shunyao accompanied Minister of Defense and CMC Vice Chairman Chi Haotian to the United States in November 1996, he was promoted from deputy commander of the PLAAF to commander the following month. In September 1998, PLAAF Deputy Political Commissar Qiao Qingchen accompanied CMC Vice Chairman Zhang Wannian to the United States and then became the political commissar three months later. He later became the PLAAF commander. See Kenneth W. Allen and John F. Corbett, "Predicting PLA Leader Promotions," in Andrew Scobell and Larry Wortzel, eds., Civil-Military Change in China: Elites, Institutes, and Ideas After the 16th Party Congress, (Carlisle, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, September 2004). These are not official English titles but are translated titles. Kenneth Allen, "China's Air Force Foreign Relations Program and Implications for Interaction with the U.S. Air Force," Foreign Area Officer Association Journal of International Affairs, Mar 2015. PLA Foreign Relations under Xi Jinping: Continuity and/or Change?, with Phillip C. Saunders and John Chen, Washington, DC: National Defense University Strategic Perspectives Series, to be published in early 2017. Shirley A. Kan, U.S.-China Military Contacts: Issues for Congress, January 5, 2015. Dictionary of China's Communist Party Central Committee Members for 1921-2003, (), Beijing: Chinese Communist Party History Press, 2004. In the PLA chief of staff and deputy commander billets are equal in grade. PLAAF 2010, NASIC; Chinese Communist Party Previous Central Committee Member Dictionary 1921-2003 ( 1921-2003).

Copyright notice:  2010 The Jamestown Foundation
The Southern Theater Command and China's Maritime Strategy

Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Nan Li Publication Date 9 June 2017 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, The Southern Theater Command and China's Maritime Strategy, 9 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593e89374.html [accessed 11 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.

Link to original story on Jamestown website

In January 2017, a long-anticipated reshuffle of the leadership of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) took place. The PLAN and its three fleets each received new commanders. Less noticed, but more significant, was the replacement of General Wang Jiaocheng with Vice Admiral Yuan Yubai (), former commander of the PLAN's North Sea Fleet, as commander of the Southern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) (Global Times, January 22; Global Times, January 22). This is the first time in PLA history that a naval officer has been appointed to command the multi-service forces of one of its regional combatant headquarters (China Brief, March 31). Most importantly, his appointment is indicative of the shift in China's military posture from continental defense to maritime security, and the importance of the Southern Theater as a predominantly maritime arena for PLA operations (China Brief, July 22, 2016).

Evolving Maritime Strategy

A major rationale for appointing a naval officer to command the PLA's Southern Theater has to do with the evolution of China's maritime strategy. From the late 1960s to mid-1980s, the PLA was required to prepare for an "early, total, and nuclear war" against a possible Soviet invasion from the North (China Brief, May 15). In this continental defense-centered military strategy, the role of the PLAN, with its limited capabilities, was relegated to supporting a land-based war through coastal defense operations to slow down a Soviet invasion.

In 1985, as China's relations with the Soviet Union began to improve, Deng Xiaoping tasked the PLA with making the "strategic transition" from preparing for a major war against Soviet invasion to preparing for a "local war" over contingencies on the China's borders. As a result, the notion of "near-coast defense" ("") was replaced by a "near-seas active defense" ("") strategy. Rather than primarily supporting land operations, the PLAN is required by the new strategy to build itself into a "strategic service" that can operate independently and effectively in its own maritime space, the three seas near China, namely, the South China Sea, East China Sea and the Yellow Sea. [1]

Since the early 2000s, China's maritime strategy has integrated the concept of "far seas protection" ("") that requires the PLAN to develop capabilities that can safeguard the security of expanding Chinese interests overseas, including "security of overseas energy and resources, strategic sea lanes, overseas Chinese investment, and overseas Chinese citizens and legal entities." While "near-seas active defense" and "far-seas protection" underlie the expansion of China's naval capabilities, near-seas security is considered the priority in the near term largely because of their proximity and centrality to the physical security of China. [2]

The reorganization of the PLA that began in late 2015 is largely an attempt to change the army-centric nature of the PLA, the result of the dominance of a military strategy centered on continental defense. The changes accommodate the expanding PLA naval and air capabilities to provide security to China's newly defined maritime domain and interests, particularly in the near seas. A PLA Army (PLAA) headquarters, for instance, was established to take over the responsibility of running army units from the PLA's regional combatant headquarters, so that the latter can become genuinely joint by integrating more officers from the non-army services. [3]

Unlike the abolished military region (MR) system which was dominated by army officers, the commanding officers of the three newly established PLA theaters with a maritime strategic orientation (the Southern, Eastern and Northern Theaters), are more balanced in service backgrounds, with PLAA, PLAN and PLA Air Force (PLAAF) each occupying one third of these positions. As the pool for selecting future PLA senior officers becomes more mixed in service backgrounds, so will the senior officer corps of the PLA, to the extent that positions for theater chiefs may be held by non-army service officers. [4] The appointment of Yuan to command the Southern Theater has cemented this trend.

Why the Southern Theater Command?

A major objective of reorganizing the PLA regional combatant headquarters from seven MRs to five theater commands is to reduce the overlap of missions among these headquarters. With this reorganization, "safeguarding sovereignty and interests in the South China Sea has become the most important mission that the Southern Theater shoulders" ("") (People's Daily , February 28, 2016).

There are several major reasons why the Southern Theater became the first PLA regional combatant headquarters with a naval officer appointed to be its commander. Frist, the South China Sea straddles the vital sea lanes that connect East Asia with the Indian Ocean, on which major East Asian economies, including China's, depend heavily on shipping energy, raw materials, and traded products. The security and control of these sea lanes are not only indispensable for the normal functioning of these economies in times of peace, but also of great importance to "gaining initiative" in times of crisis and war. [5] Although the Yellow and East China Seas constitute the maritime operational space of the PLA's Northern and Eastern Theaters respectively and have important sea lanes, they are not comparable to those of the South China Sea in strategic vitality.

Second, Chinese analysts also regard the South China Sea as the ideal site to deploy China's strategic ballistic missile submarines (SSBN). In comparison with the land-based nuclear deterrent, its sea-based counterpart is believed to be more credible because it is more concealed and more likely to survive the first nuclear strike. The deeper these "boomers" dive in the ocean within their safe limit, the more concealed they are against the opponent's anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities.

The average depth of the Yellow Sea is only 40 meters-too shallow to conceal China's SSBNs. The average depth of the East China Sea is 350 meters, and it can be as deep as 2,000 meters near the Okinawa Trough. Such a depth is quite appropriate for SSBN deployment. The numerous shore-based air and naval bases of the PLA's Eastern Theater can also offer protection for SSBNs. However, the Yellow Sea's proximity to Japanese and U.S. bases and their effective ASW capabilities make the area unsuitable for SSBN patrols. These capabilities, for instance, can diminish the credibility of China's SSBNs by keeping them exposed and vulnerable. In comparison, the average depth of the South China Sea is 1,200 meters. The countries that form the first island chain are relatively weak and do not possess highly capable ASW platforms against Chinese submarines. In comparison with the Yellow and East China Seas, South China Sea is clearly a more secure site to deploy China's sea-based, retaliatory nuclear capabilities (The Paper, July 21, 2016).

Chinese analysts also believe that South China Sea is deep, wide and open enough to accommodate PLAN's heavy surface warships. Besides its relative depth, South China Sea encompasses an area of around 3.56 million square kilometers. The sea is also quite open to transit into and out of the Western Pacific because the countries that constitute the first island chain lack effective intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and naval blockade capabilities over the transit straits. [6] In comparison, the Yellow and East China Seas are much smaller in scope, covering 380,000 square kilometers and 770,000 square kilometers respectively. These seas are generally narrow and partially enclosed. The transit straits to the Western Pacific, for instance, are closely monitored by the robust ISR capabilities of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) in peace time and can be effectively blocked by JMSDF in times of crisis and war.

New thinking in the PLA about how to conduct operations may also shed light on why the PLAN regards South China Sea as an ideal site for its operations. PLA operations, for instance, are now guided by the new concept of "information system-based system of systems operations" (""), which highlights the integration of various service forces into a PLA "system of systems" capable of multi-spatial and variable distance deployment and presence. [7] Latterly networked and enhanced by a common information system or C4ISR architecture, this operations system should achieve battlefield transparency-based "information superiority," which allows for synchronized, parallel operations by multi-service forces, thus enabling "battlefield initiative" against the opponent. [8]

Reflected in the maritime domain, this concept may explain the PLA's ambitious effort to develop its maritime operations system of systems () by constructing and deploying a large number of major surface ships, including aircraft carriers. PLA analysts believe that a carrier-based battle group is an ideal maritime operations system of systems. With escorts such as guided missile destroyers, frigates, and nuclear attack submarines, this system of systems is capable of air operations, surface strikes, submarine and ASW warfare, air and missile defense, and electronic and cyber warfare. If well integrated by a common information system, all individual weapons platforms together can not only constitute operational synergy against the opponent but also offer support and protection to reduce each other's vulnerabilities. [9]

An isolated surface ship or submarine, for instance, may be vulnerable to air, missile and submarine attacks. However, if integrated into a carrier-based system of systems, this vulnerability may be reduced. An aircraft carrier, for instance, provides air capabilities that can compete for air superiority and provide air cover for surface operations. These air capabilities can also be deployed against the opponent's air ASW capabilities, thus protecting one's own submarine operations. Moreover, a carrier's air ASW capabilities can be deployed against the opponent's submarines, thus providing protection for one's own surface ships and submarines. In the meantime, the surface and subsurface escorts of the battle group can work to reduce the vulnerability of the carrier itself. The deep, wide and open South China Sea, with its vast strategic depth, is a desirable location for conducting such "maritime system of systems operations."

Finally, for the past few years, China has undertaken extensive dredging and building of artificial islands on the reefs that China controls in the Spratlys, and construction and upgrading of airfields, helipads, ports, radar and communications facilities in the Spratlys and Paracels. At the same time, China's claims in the South China Sea remain opaque. The seeming change of status quo due to these activities has already triggered countermeasures from the U.S. Navy such as freedom of navigation and overflight operations near China-controlled islands and reefs in the South China Sea. The Spratlys are about 1,000 km away from the southern tip of Hainan Island, and Paracels are about 340 km. To provide security for these so far-flung maritime frontier outposts and facilities that face major challenges from the U.S. Navy clearly requires substantial naval and air power projection and sustainability capabilities. The long distance, U.S. challenges and lack of clarity of Chinese claims have made the South China Sea situation unpredictable and volatile. In comparison, the Yellow and East China Seas are relatively close to China's mainland. When there are tensions over Taiwan and Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, the "red lines" against major escalations also remain relatively clear, making these tensions more predictable and manageable.

These reasons may explain why when meeting U.S. Chief of Naval Operations John Richardson in July 2016, then PLAN commander ADM Wu Shengli stated that "we will never sacrifice our sovereignty and interests in the South China Sea. It is China's 'core interest' and concerns the foundation of the party's governance, the country's security and stability, and the Chinese nation's basic interests  We will never stop our construction on the Nansha Islands halfway" (Xinhuanet, July 18, 2016).

Similar reasons may explain why ADM Yuan Yubai, a nuclear submariner who also has extensive experience in commanding PLAN's surface combatant flotillas, replaced an army officer to command the PLA's Southern Theater, a strategic and operational arena that is predominantly maritime in nature and has become more contentious with maritime issues. [10]

Major Challenges

Appointing a naval officer to command the Southern Theater has also presented major challenges. The appointment is clearly based on the institutional lens of the PLA, which regards South China Sea as a maritime arena of strategic and military competition for "gaining control and initiative," particularly in the worst case scenarios of crisis and war. Such a narrow institutional lens may be a major driver for activities such as the building of artificial islands in Spratlys and construction and upgrading of facilities in Spratlys and Paracels. These activities have already caused alarm among China's maritime neighbors in Southeast Asia and triggered U.S. countermeasures such as freedom of navigation operations. The increased tension clearly contradicts China's foreign policy goal of creating a benign external environment for the continued development of China's economy. Mitigating the narrow institutional perspective of the military by strengthening civilian control of foreign policy has apparently become a major challenge for China's leadership.

Finally, the dominance of a theater command by naval officers is unprecedented in PLA history (The Paper, March 27). In addition to ADM Yuan, other senior theater commands from the navy include South Sea Fleet Commander Wang Hai who also serves as deputy commander of the Theater, and Rear Admiral Dong Jun, deputy commander who possibly acts as chief of staff of the Southern Theater Command. This may cause discontent among PLAAF and PLAA officers, and heighten inter-service rivalry. There is, therefore, a need to integrate these services into the primary missions of the Theater Command to alleviate the prospect of such a rivalry.

PLAAF has already been conducting long-range patrols of Spratlys and Scarborough Shoal with H-6K bombers, Su-30 fighter-bombers, air-refueling tankers and early-warning and reconnaissance aircraft (Xinhuanet, August 6, 2016). However, integrating PLAA into primary missions of the Southern Theater may be more difficult. Southern Theater Army headquarters is located in Nanning, the capital of Guangxi province, indicating that the theater's army forces are primarily deployed to handle contingencies on the land borders with Vietnam and Burma. [11] At the strategic level, this deployment can generate pressure or diversion from the land flank if China's dispute with Vietnam over reefs in the South China Sea escalates. Integrating the theater army forces at the operational level may prove to be a major challenge for the Theater Command's commanding officers.

Conclusion

Appointing a naval officer to command a theater in unprecedented in PLA history, further confirming the shift of China's military posture from continental defense to maritime security. Moreover, ADM Yuan's position as commander of the Southern Theater Command indicates the relative importance of South China Sea in the eyes of the PLA, particularly as a suitable bastion for its growing SSBN force and as an ideal operational space for its expanding surface fleet.

Nan Li is Visiting Senior Research Fellow at East Asian Institute, National University of Singapore.

Notes

See Nan Li "The Evolution of China's Naval Strategy and Capabilities: From "Near Coast" and "Near Seas" to "Far Seas," Asian Security, Vol. 5, No. 2 (May 2009). See Nan Li, "China's Evolving Naval Strategy and Capabilities in the Hu Jintao Era," in Roy Kamphausen, et al., eds., Assessing the People's Liberation Army in the Hu Jintao Era (Carlisle, PA: U.S. Army War College Press, 2014). See Nan Li, "Xi Jinping and PLA Restructuring," East Asian Policy, 8, No. 4 (October & December 2016). Ibid Conversations with Chinese naval analysts in Beijing in August 2016 Ibid For an in-depth study of "System of Systems," see Kevin N. McCauley, "PLA System of Systems Operations: Enabling Joint Operations," The Jamestown Foundation, January 2017, available here: https://jamestown.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/System-of-Systems-Enabling-Joint-Operations.pdf See Li, "China's Evolving Naval Strategy and Capabilities in the Hu Jintao Era." Chinese analysts cited in Li, "China's Evolving Naval Strategy and Capabilities in the Hu Jintao Era." For Yuan's nuclear submarine background, see citation of Yuan in "Chinese Nuclear Submarines Sets Sail from Here" (""), Xinhuanet, October 27, 2013. For an exercise by Southern Theater's army forces on Sino-Burmese border, see "PLA Conducts Live Fire Exercise on Sino-Burmese Border" (""), Global Times, March 29, 2017.

Copyright notice:  2010 The Jamestown Foundation
Recent Developments in the Chinese Army's Helicopter Force

Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Dennis J. Blasko Publication Date 9 June 2017 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, Recent Developments in the Chinese Army's Helicopter Force , 9 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593e89f14.html [accessed 11 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.

Link to original story on Jamestown website

In November 2016, Chinese internet sources showed photos of a ceremony in the (former) 13th Group Army of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Army accepting the 1,000th helicopter into the force (NetEase, May 23). This nice round number demonstrates the growth of the Army Aviation Corps over the past decade. Along with Special Operations Forces (SOF), Army Aviation is one of the "new-type combat forces" given priority for development. The increase in the number of Army helicopters accompanies the expansion of the force in the latest round of reforms. [1] In roughly a month's time, half of all Army Aviation units have experienced some sort of organizational change. However, even as the numbers of helicopters rise, the size of the Army Aviation force is still small for a ground force that will probably number around a million personnel by 2020. [2] The recent changes are an attempt to improve and expand a force that underpins a number of important capabilities from tactical mobility and special operations to logistics support.

Background

The PLA's Army Aviation Corps was established in 1986 by inheriting helicopters from the Air Force (ChinaMil, September 8, 2016). It began with a single regiment and by the middle of the following decade had expanded to seven operational regiments (and a few training units), composed of about 135 helicopters and some Y-5 biplanes. [3] By early 2017 (prior to changes in the structure of PLA operational units), operational helicopter units had grown to 12 operational units, including five regiments and seven brigades, and a few training units.

The first Army Aviation brigade was formed in the former Lanzhou Military Region in 2009 by expanding an existing regiment (Sina, May 19, 2009). This trend continues into the current round of reform with one exception. Over the past eight years, along with expanding regiments into brigades, a new regiment was formed in the former 41st Group Army in mid-2016 (ChinaMil, July 26, 2016).

According to an unofficial source, an Army Aviation regiment has four to six flight groups (), with 12 helicopters in each group; a brigade has six to eight groups (Sina, August 12, 2016). The variation in size among both regiments and brigades allows for the units to expand as new aircraft and pilots become available. Each unit is composed of a variety of helicopters types.

According to The Military Balance 2017, the entire force is composed of nine varieties of light, medium, heavy, and attack helicopters, with some produced in China and others imported from, or jointly developed with, foreign sources. Approximately 300 Russian-produced Mi17-series and Mi-8s comprise the largest proportion of the force, followed by some 255 Chinese-produced Z-9s (armed and transport versions), 85 locally manufactured Z-8s, plus 53 AS350 Ecureuil and 8 SA342L Gazelles from France, 15 Eurocopter H120 Colibri (jointly developed with China), and less than 20 S-70C Blackhawks purchased from the U.S. in the early 1980s. Two types of dedicated attack helicopters are new to the force, with the first WZ-10 being introduced in 2011, followed by the WZ-19; currently, there are approximately 120 of each type.

Prior to current structural changes when the PLA had 18 group armies and 12 Army Aviation units, only nine group armies had an Army Aviation unit assigned. One Army Aviation brigade was subordinate to the former General Staff Department (GSD) and a brigade was assigned to the Xinjiang Military District and a regiment to the Tibet Military District. However, only six group armies and the two Military Districts mentioned had both an Army Aviation unit and a SOF unit.

Army Aviation units support both conventional and SOF units, probably spending more time training with the SOF than with conventional units, with one exception: the 3rd Motorized Infantry Brigade in the former 1st Group Army appears to receive more training with helicopters than other infantry units and eventually may be designated the Army's first airmobile brigade. It is noteworthy that the 1st Group Army did not have an organic SOF unit, which may explain the 3rd Motorized Infantry Brigade's experimentation in helicopter operations. An operational airmobile unit, operating from forward bases near the coast, would be extremely useful in any operation against Taiwan (China Brief, March 6, 2015). However, the Army Aviation Corps has only begun experimenting with using forward operating bases for arming and refueling.

Despite the growth in the number and size of units and in the total number of helicopters, the lack sufficient aircraft to perform all the tasks necessary to conduct modern campaigns is a known shortcoming. As a result, continued growth in the Army Aviation Corps is necessary and expected.

Recent Developments

In the month since the April 2017 announcement of changes to the PLA's "84 corps-level units," Army Aviation units have undergone some of the most visible observed changes. Of the 18 former group armies that were reduced to 13, significantly none of the five disbanded group armies were assigned either an Army Aviation or SOF unit (China Brief, May 11). In the few weeks since the reduction of group armies was announced, multiple changes in Army Aviation units have been publicized.

Prior to April, there were seven Army Aviation brigades and five regiments. In late May, the count of Army Aviation units is 11 brigades and one regiment. The before and after numbers of Army Aviation and SOF units (so far unchanged) is summarized in the table below.

All four of the former Army Aviation regiments in group armies have been reported as expanded to brigades and it appears that the former GSD Army Aviation brigade and the brigade assigned to the Xinjiang Military District have been transferred to group armies.

Specifically, in mid-May 2017, the former regiment in the 26th Group Army has been described as an "army aviation brigade under the PLA 80th Group Army" and a week later the former regiment in the 54th Group Army was described as an "army aviation brigade under the PLA 83rd Group Army" (ChinaMil, May 18; CCTV, May 26).

The former GSD Army Aviation brigade now appears to be "an army aviation brigade of the PLA 81st Group Army in Beijing" (ChinaMil, May 19). At the same time, the Army Aviation regiment in the former 31st Group Army/current 73rd Group Army was reported to be an "army aviation brigade under the PLA Eastern Theater Command" (ChinaMil, May 19).

Additionally, Chinese television reported the former regiment in the old 41st Group Army (the regiment most recently created) is now a brigade in the 74th Group Army (CCTV, May 27). The same news broadcast reported on an Army Aviation brigade of the 76th Group Army in the Western Theater Command. The 76th is the former 21st Group Army, which previously did not have an Army Aviation unit. This change could be the result of either the transfer of the complete Army Aviation brigade in the Xinjiang Military District to 76th Group Army command or elements of that brigade have been transferred to the 76th to become a seed organization eventually to grow into a full brigade.

The Near Future by 2020

It seems likely that the new reforms will seek to assign both an Army Aviation brigade and a SOF brigade to each of the 13 group armies at the very least. With the exception of two group armies, this has already been accomplished by expanding four regiments to brigades and the reassignment of units (such as appears to have occurred with the former GSD Army Aviation brigade and the Xinjiang Military District Army Aviation brigade).

New units will need to be established for the 71st and 78th Group Armies. This process might entail transferring elements from existing units to establish "starter" brigades in the group armies (or other organizations) that currently do not have helicopter assets, unless the civilian defense industries and foreign helicopter purchases can come up with relatively large numbers of airframes to outfit a complete unit at one time.

But developing mature, experienced pilots and crews, especially in complex night and low-level operations, takes longer than building a helicopter. If existing Army Aviation brigades do not have the full complement of the reported eight subordinate groups, it is likely the smaller brigades will add additional aircraft as they (and pilots and aircrew) become available. For SOF units, existing regiments likely will be expanded to brigades and the two group armies without SOF units likely will convert conventional infantry units to SOF brigades (some of which might come from existing infantry units in disbanded group armies). Like helicopter pilots, developing proficient SOF personnel and units also takes years. Both Army Aviation and Special Operations Forces Academies (or Colleges) have been established to meet increasing demands for properly trained and educated officers and NCOs in these specialties.

Thus, in the near future we are likely to see reports of Army Aviation brigades in the 71st and 78th Group Armies. The Army Aviation regiment in Tibet could also be expanded, though geographic conditions make air operations at that altitude more difficult than in lower regions (so it may remain a regiment). If the Army Aviation brigade in Xinjiang has not been transferred in full to the 76th Group Army, it will likely be restored to full strength, or a new unit created, since the size of the Western Theater Command is so large additional helicopter assets would be logical. Likewise, new SOF brigades are likely to be found in the 72nd, 74th, 79th (an expansion from the current regiment), 81st, and 83rd Group Armies and smaller SOF battalions or companies added to divisions and brigades. [4] These new SOF units are likely to be converted from former infantry units and personnel.

Since Army Aviation assets are increasingly important to modern joint and combined arms operations, the PLA could augment additional organizations with helicopters of all types. For example, the five joint Theater Commands and the five Theater Command Army headquarters each could probably use organic helicopter units, perhaps smaller in size than a full brigade (such as a regiment or group) for a variety of purposes, including command and control, attack, transport, electronic warfare, medical evacuation, logistics, and reconnaissance tasks. The three major garrison cities of Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai and other important cities also could probably use smaller helicopter units for similar purposes, as well as during disaster relief missions. Border and coastal defense units would likely find helicopter units very useful in monitoring their border regions as well as for logistics. The newly formed Joint Logistics Support Force would benefit from having helicopters available to directly support the Wuhan Joint Logistics Support Base and five Joint Logistics Support Centers.

Though it has been suggested for years, the current round of reform could also establish one or more airmobile units that integrate infantry and helicopter units, with the necessary support, into one (or more) organic unit, perhaps at the group army or corps-organizational level.

Conclusions

The more the PLA Army trains and operates using helicopter and SOF units, the more it will understand how vital they are to modern operations. They will constantly be reminded of the lesson from the 2008 Sichuan earthquake relief effort of the need for even more helicopters for effective and efficient operations. The Army, however, is constrained by the ability of the civilian Chinese aviation industry to produce enough aircraft and develop new models to rectify shortcomings in medium- and heavy-lift helicopters. The addition of attack helicopters in recent years greatly increases the lethality of the force but also complicates tactics and logistics. The distances and speed at which Army Aviation and SOF units can move adds new capabilities to the PLA.

On the other hand, more and larger Army Aviation and SOF units will be much more expensive to man, organize, equip, and maintain than former infantry units. Realistic training for these units will also demand a larger slice of the defense budget at the same time the other services are training more and further from China's borders. So as the PLA draws down to 2 million people and its responsibilities extend to distances farther from China, we should not expect to see decreases in future defense budgets.

Properly organized, trained, and equipped Army Aviation and SOF units will be able to contribute to joint maritime or land campaigns beyond China's borders. While doctrine allows for such operations, additional modifications based on new capabilities and technologies likely will be required. However, exercises over the past few years have determined that many tactical and operational commanders are not yet properly trained and ready to employ the helicopter and SOF assets assigned to them. For example, the PLA media routinely reports that some commanders do not know how to employ "new-type combat forces" or do not dare or are unwilling to do so (81.cn, July 31, 2016). Part of the reason for this problem likely is, that in the past there were so few Army Aviation and SOF units available, commanders up to battalion level, who were trained almost exclusively in their own branch functions, had little opportunity to interact with Army Aviation and SOF personnel or units. As the PLA Army grows smaller, "new-type combat forces" will become a larger percentage of the force and more commonly seen in training. Nonetheless, changing commanders' mindsets on the integration of Army Aviation and SOF into traditional operations will not magically occur overnight.

It has taken roughly 20 years for the Army Aviation Corps to expand from seven units with 135 mostly transport helicopters to 12 operational units with over 1,000 helicopters of all types including dedicated attack helicopters. It seems likely that the force will grow faster in the coming years than over the first two decades of the Army Aviation Corps' existence. Because they are among the "new-type combat forces," Army Aviation and Special Operations Forces units will be in the news frequently as they train and operate together. However, by the time this article is published, there will probably be new developments announced, which will require constant attention by foreign analysts.

Dennis J. Blasko, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired), is a former U.S. army attache to Beijing and Hong Kong and author of The Chinese Army Today (Routledge, 2006).

Notes

The PLA Navy and Air Force also have helicopter units; The Military Balance 2017, London: International Institute for Strategic Studies, pp. 283-285, estimates the total Navy helicopter force to be about 94, with about 79 in total Air Force. PLA Navy Marine units reportedly will also receive helicopters in the current batch of reforms. An aviation transport brigade has been added to the Air Force's 15th Airborne Corps, probably increasing the number of helicopters in the force. See "Paratroopers jump out of Y-8 transport aircraft," http://english.chinamil.com.cn/view/2017-05/25/content_7617895.htm. For comparison, the approximately 475,000-strong U.S. Army, according to The Military Balance 2017, p. 48, has approximately 4,000 helicopters. The Military Balance 1996/97, p. 179. Some infantry and armored divisions and brigades already have small SOF units.

Copyright notice:  2010 The Jamestown Foundation
Xi Jinping Promotes Proteges to Top Positions in run-up to 19th Party Congress

Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Willy Wo-Lap Lam Publication Date 9 June 2017 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, Xi Jinping Promotes Proteges to Top Positions in run-up to 19th Party Congress, 9 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593e8a654.html [accessed 11 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.

Link to original story on Jamestown website

Much attention has been paid to how, in the wake of the seemingly isolationist tendencies of President Donald Trump, President Xi Jinping is highlighting Beijing's readiness to provide global leadership in areas ranging from boosting international trade to fighting climate change. Yet, for China's supreme leader, the top priority for the rest of the year is domestic politics: ensuring that enough members of his inchoate Xi Jinping Faction (XJPF) will be inducted into the Central Committee and the Politburo at the upcoming 19th Party Congress, which will endorse a wholesale reshuffle of top-level positions. Since late 2016 "core leader" Xi, who is also General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), has been able to promote a large number of his proteges to strategic slots in the Party and government testifies to his tight grip on power (See China Brief, November 11, 2016). However, his acolytes rise-despite an apparent lack of laudable track records-has opened Xi to criticism for violating Party rules about thwarting factionalism and upholding meritocratic norms for cadre selection.

Two recent appointments demonstrate Xi's use of personnel appointments to "stack the deck" with those loyal to him. The CCP Organization Department announced in May that Cai Qi (; born 1953), who served under Xi in both Fujian and Zhejiang provinces, appointed to be the Party Secretary (PS) of the Beijing municipality. Cai's rise has few precedents in Party history. From 2013, when Cai was Head of the Organization Department of Zhejiang Province, he has been promoted every year: firstly, Cai was made Executive Vice-Governor of Zhejiang, then Vice Director of the General Office of the Central National Security Commission (CNSC); then Executive Vice-Director of the General Office of the CNSC; then Acting Mayor of Beijing, Mayor of Beijing, and PS of Beijing. It took him just eight months to be elevated from acting mayor of Beijing to PS of the capital city. At the 19th Party Congress scheduled for this autumn, he is due to be inducted to the Politburo as an ordinary member. (The PSs of all four directly administered cities are usually Politburo members as well.) Cai, who is not even an alternate member of the Central Committee, will also be a rare example of a cadre getting into the Politburo without first becoming a member of the Central Committee (Radio Free Asia, May 29; Ming Pao [Hong Kong], May 28).

The other example of Xi's proclivity for yongrenweiqin (; "hiring officials based on favoritism") is Beijing police chief Wang Xiaohong (1957), who has also leapfrogged up the bureaucratic ladder. Just four years ago, Wang was a Vice-Mayor of Xiamen in Fujian Province, the same post held by Xi from 1985 to 1987. Wang has been promoted five times since 2013. He went from Assistant Governor of Henan to Vice-Governor of Henan, to Vice-Mayor of Beijing and head of the Beijing Public Security Bureau (PSB) until his appointment last month as concurrently Vice-Minister at the Ministry of Public Affairs, Vice-Mayor of Beijing, and Head of the Beijing PSB. It is possible that Wang may become Minister of Public Security soon after the 19th Party Congress. Like Cai Qi, his party rank has failed to reflect his fast-growing role in the government. Wang is expected to become a Central Committee member of the Congress (MPS website, March 2; People's Daily, March 30, 2015)

As Xi has reiterated, there are "careerists and conspirators" within the party who might form cliques that are prejudicial to the interest of the supreme leader. Xi has apparently attempted to insulate himself from these cliques by installing loyal cadres as Party Secretary of Beijing, as well as its police chief. At the same time and with extraordinary speed and efficiency has Xi has placed 20 members of his own faction in positions to join the Politburo at the 19th Party Congress or at least gaining significant advancement in Party and governmental ranks.

Within the upper echelons of the Party, the political fortunes of a number of Xi followers are set to rise considerably. All of them served under Xi when he was a regional administrator in Fujian, Zhejiang, and Shanghai between 1985-2007, or when he was Head of the Central Committee Secretariat and President of the Central Party School from 2007-2012 (Yazhou Zhoukan [Hong Kong], May 7; Radio Free Asia, April 30; Ming Pao, January 9; RFI Chinese Service, October 23, 2016; Apple Daily [Hong Kong], October 23, 2016).

Huang Kunming (, b. 1956), Executive Deputy Director of the Propaganda Department. Huang worked for Xi in Fujian and Zhejiang and is tipped to become Director of the Propaganda Department at the 19th Party Congress.

(, b. 1956), Executive Deputy Director of the Propaganda Department. Huang worked for Xi in Fujian and Zhejiang and is tipped to become Director of the Propaganda Department at the 19th Party Congress. Chen Xi (, b. 1953), Executive Deputy Director of the Organization Department who will likely be promoted Director of the same department at the congress. Chen was Xi's classmate at Tsinghua University from 1975 to 1979.

(, b. 1953), Executive Deputy Director of the Organization Department who will likely be promoted Director of the same department at the congress. Chen was Xi's classmate at Tsinghua University from 1975 to 1979. Ding Xuexiang (; b. 1962), Executive Deputy Director of the General Office of the CCP Central Committee and Director of the Xi Jinping Office. Ding got to know Xi in 2012 when the former was Director of the General Office of the Shanghai Party Committee. Ding will likely succeed Xi protege Li Zhanshu as Director of the Central Committee General Office.

(; b. 1962), Executive Deputy Director of the General Office of the CCP Central Committee and Director of the Xi Jinping Office. Ding got to know Xi in 2012 when the former was Director of the General Office of the Shanghai Party Committee. Ding will likely succeed Xi protege Li Zhanshu as Director of the Central Committee General Office. Li Shulei (; b. 1964), who was named a Deputy Secretary of the Central Commission for Disciplinary Inspection (CCDI) earlier this year. Li worked closely with Xi when the latter was President of the Central Party School from 2007 to 2012.

While Xi has channeled economic and social policy-making to a number of central leading groups and central commissions at the apex of the CCP since 2013, the powers of the State Council or central government have correspondingly been truncated. Xi, not Premier Li Keqiang, runs the economy. While this goes against late patriarch Deng Xiaoping's dictums about "separation of party and government," Xi has taken steps to ensure that his close followers will occupy key positions within the government cabinet (United Daily News [Taipei], May 9; HK01.com, February 23; RFI Chinese Service, February 24; Ta Kung Pao [Hong Kong] December 31, 2014). The following four cadres are tipped for promotion in the State Council:

Liu He (; b. 1952) a principal economic adviser to Xi in his capacity as Director of the General Office of the Central Leading Group for Finance and Economics (CLGFE), Liu may become a Vice-Premier in charge of Finance (as well as an ordinary Politburo member). The U.S.-educated Liu went to the same high school in Beijing as Xi. His power over economic policy-making is said to be even bigger than that of Premier Li.

(; b. 1952) a principal economic adviser to Xi in his capacity as Director of the General Office of the Central Leading Group for Finance and Economics (CLGFE), Liu may become a Vice-Premier in charge of Finance (as well as an ordinary Politburo member). The U.S.-educated Liu went to the same high school in Beijing as Xi. His power over economic policy-making is said to be even bigger than that of Premier Li. He Lifeng (; b. 1955) was a close associate of Xi's when the latter served in Fujian. He was named Deputy Minister at the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) in 2014 - and then Minister in 2017. Given that the NDRC is one of the most powerful units of the State Council, He Lifeng may at the Party Congress also become a Vice-Premier with the party rank of Politburo member.

(; b. 1955) was a close associate of Xi's when the latter served in Fujian. He was named Deputy Minister at the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) in 2014 - and then Minister in 2017. Given that the NDRC is one of the most powerful units of the State Council, He Lifeng may at the Party Congress also become a Vice-Premier with the party rank of Politburo member. Zhong Shan (; b. 1955), Minister of Commerce. A former Vice-Governor of Zhejiang, Zhong also has experience as a state entrepreneur and trade negotiator.

(; b. 1955), Minister of Commerce. A former Vice-Governor of Zhejiang, Zhong also has experience as a state entrepreneur and trade negotiator. Shu Guozeng (1956), a former Deputy Secretary-General of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee, is now Deputy Director of the General Office of LGFE. If Liu He earns a promotion at the Party Congress, Shu may take his place as Director of the General Office of the CLGFE, which is China's highest-level decision-making body on financial and economic issues.

One of the key measures taken by ex-President Hu Jintao to bolster and consolidate the power of his Communist Youth League Faction (CYLF) was through appointing trusted CYLF affiliates to senior positions in the country's 31 major administrative districts. Apparently taking a leaf from Hu's playbook, Xi has named a considerable number of his proteges to positions of party secretaries or governors and mayors in the regions (Ming Pao, March 7; Reuters, March 2; China Times [Taipei], February 28; Radio Free Asia, February 27; HK01.com, September 28, 2016). Those with the most potential for elevation at the 19th Party Congress include:

Chen Min'er (; b. 1960), Party Secretary of Guizhou (former vice-governor of Zhejiang). A trusted protege of Xi's, Chen has been speculated upon as a "shoo-in" for a position at the Politburo - and even a possible inductee to the Politburo Standing Committee.

(; b. 1960), Party Secretary of Guizhou (former vice-governor of Zhejiang). A trusted protege of Xi's, Chen has been speculated upon as a "shoo-in" for a position at the Politburo - and even a possible inductee to the Politburo Standing Committee. Ying Yong (; b. 1957), is Mayor of Shanghai and likely the next PS of the metropolis. Ying spent the bulk of his career in Zhejiang, where he gained the trust of Xi.

(; b. 1957), is Mayor of Shanghai and likely the next PS of the metropolis. Ying spent the bulk of his career in Zhejiang, where he gained the trust of Xi. Li Hongzhong (; b. 1956), Party Secretary of Tianjin . The former PS of Hubei has never worked with Xi. However, Li has become a trusted aide because he has gone out of his way to promote Maoist-era veneration for core leader Xi.

(; b. 1956), Party Secretary of Tianjin . The former PS of Hubei has never worked with Xi. However, Li has become a trusted aide because he has gone out of his way to promote Maoist-era veneration for core leader Xi. Li Qiang (; b. 1959), Jiangsu Party Secretary (and former governor of Zhejiang). Throughout much of Xi's tenure as Party Secretary of Zhejiang Province, Li served as Xi's right-hand man in his capacity as Secretary-General of the Zhejiang Party Committee.

(; b. 1959), Jiangsu Party Secretary (and former governor of Zhejiang). Throughout much of Xi's tenure as Party Secretary of Zhejiang Province, Li served as Xi's right-hand man in his capacity as Secretary-General of the Zhejiang Party Committee. Gong Zheng (; b. 1960), Governor of Shandong (former vice-governor of Zhejiang and party boss of Hangzhou).

(; b. 1960), Governor of Shandong (former vice-governor of Zhejiang and party boss of Hangzhou). Lou Yangsheng (; b. 1959), Governor of Shanxi (former head of the United Front Department of the Zhejiang Party Committee)

(; b. 1959), Governor of Shanxi (former head of the United Front Department of the Zhejiang Party Committee) Hu Heping (; b. 1962), Governor of Shaanxi (former Head of the Organization Department of the Zhejiang Party committee).

(; b. 1962), Governor of Shaanxi (former Head of the Organization Department of the Zhejiang Party committee). Chen Yixin (; b. 1959), a former member of the Standing Committee of the Zhejiang Party Committee and PS of Wenzhou, Chen was promoted Deputy Party Secretary of Hubei Province in 2016.

(; b. 1959), a former member of the Standing Committee of the Zhejiang Party Committee and PS of Wenzhou, Chen was promoted Deputy Party Secretary of Hubei Province in 2016. Liu Qi (; b. 1957), a former mayor of the Zhejiang city of Wenzhou and PS of Ningbo, Liu became Governor of Jiangxi Province in 2016.

"Core leader" Xi and his colleagues seem to have bent long-standing rules and conventions of the party so as to come up with cadre-promotion norms that favor members of the XJPF. Since 1949, the best-known criterion for promotion is that the candidate under consideration must be "both red and expert" (). After the Cultural Revolution, this has been changed to "having moral rectitude as well as ability and professional competence" (). Moreover, the Hu Jintao administration (2002-2012) experimented with "public recommendation and public election" regarding the appointment of grassroots administrators. Candidates vying for a post must secure enough support-often in the forms of the casting of "votes"-from community leaders such as local members of the People's Congress or Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). [1]

Particularly since Xi gained the status of "core leader" in late 2016, the most important criterion for promotion has become subservience to the will of the supreme leader. Thus, it was emphasized that cadres must "maintain a high level of unison in thoughts, politics, and action with the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as its core." In addition, officials must have a "four-fold consciousness": "political consciousness, consciousness about the overall national condition; consciousness about [obeying] the core [leader]; and consciousness about being in unison [with the core leader]" (People's Daily, November 29, 2016; People's Daily, April 5, 2016). Indeed, as early as 2014, the CCP Organization Department pointed out in a circular that seemed to put top priority on loyalty rather than solid achievements. "In deepening the reform of the system of selecting and promoting cadres as well as the system of assessment, we must solve the problem of picking officials 'based solely on the number of votes [the candidates get in public appraisals], the number of [assessment] marks, the GDP [of jurisdictions under the control of the candidates] and the age [of candidates]'" (People's Daily, September 2, 2014).

It is indicative of President Xi's formidable sway that members of other factions who want to stay in power-or who look forward to promotions at the 19th Party Congress have gone to inordinate lengths in extolling the virtues and wisdom of the core leader. Take the case of two senior members of the Communist Youth League Faction, Premier Li and Guangdong PS and Politburo member Hu Chunhua. In his Government Work Report to the NPC last March, Li paid homage to "the party central leadership with Comrade Xi Jinping as its core" nine times. Hu (b. 1963) went even further in his address to the Guangdong Party Congress held last month. The rising star cited Xi's name 26 times and praised Xi's exemplary role as "core leader" seven times (South China Morning Post, June 3; Southcn.com, May 23).

If, as a senior cadre running the party organs of units directly under the party-state apparatus said, "the foremost political task is upholding the core status of General Secretary Xi Jinping," the personality cult being built around Xi has dealt a big blow to not only the Party's ingrained organizational principles but also the future of the country. Cadres who take the helicopter ride to the top merely due to the fealty they have professed the supreme leader do not have a track record of conceiving and implementing innovative and reformist policies.

Dr. Willy Wo-Lap Lam is a Senior Fellow at The Jamestown Foundation. He is an Adjunct Professor at the Center for China Studies, the History Department and the Program of Master's in Global Political Economy at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is the author of five books on China, including "Chinese Politics in the Hu Jintao Era: New Leaders, New Challenges."

Notes

For a discussion of the implications of the "public recommendation, public election" of local-level officials, see, for example, Kevin J. O'Brien and Suizheng Zhao, Grassroots Elections in China, Routledge, New York, 2011, pp. 196-197. Also see Kenneth G. Lieberthal, Cheng Li, and Yu Keping, China's Political Development, New York, Brookings Institution Press, 2014, pp. 297-299.

Copyright notice:  2010 The Jamestown Foundation
Xi Jinping and the 'Other' China

Publisher Jamestown Foundation Publication Date 9 June 2017 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, Xi Jinping and the 'Other' China, 9 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593e8b464.html [accessed 11 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.

Link to original story on Jamestown website

At the end of May, China held its annual Chinese Poverty Alleviation International Forum (), which serves to draw attention to Chinese achievements in this area (Xinhua, May 26). Poverty alleviation is likely to remain a key theme in state media as China prepares for the 19th Party Congress later this year. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has set for itself the ambitious goal of largely eradicating poverty by 2020. Its previous success in moving large numbers of Chinese out of poverty-largely due to Deng Xiaoping's Reform and Opening policies-constitutes an important pillar of its domestic legitimacy. Not surprisingly, the CCP has launched a propaganda push in state media to highlight its progress.At the center of much of the attention is the "core" of the Party, Xi Jinping, whose experiences in the countryside as a young man, and major policies have been offered up as proof of the Party's continuing ties to regular people and its commitment to China's urban and rural poor. Xi Jinping, in particular, is being lauded as a major driver of these efforts. Xi has made sweeping economic reform and the expansion of the "moderately prosperous" class () core planks of his policies, particularly as embodied in the "Four Comprehensives" (China Brief, February 23). Though he is well-known as a princeling-Xi's father, Xi Zhongxun, held a number of high positions-state media has played up his connection to China's rural areas and farmers (Xinhua, May 22). His early experiences as a "sent-down youth" in rural Shaanxi province during the Cultural Revolution, then later as a village cadre, in particular, have been a focus of the reporting. [1]In March, People's Daily published a short video called "People's Representative Xi Jinping" () about these experiences. The documentary emphasizes that "As a youth, Xi Jinping experienced life and endured hardships as a member of a country-side production teamspent several years undergoing challenging experiences with the masses [and] never put on any official airs.." (CPCNews.cn, March 2).Xi's focus on land reform is grounded in security and economic objectives. He has tied food security-bolstered by more efficient, larger farms-directly to his larger view of national security, which he terms the "Comprehensive Security Outlook" () (People's Forum, June 4, 2014). Land reforms can be credited with helping shift millions out of poverty. [2] Particularly as China shifts from export-based economy to a service economy that relies more on domestic consumption to drive growth, increasing the number of educated workers and raising productivity all become more important. According to Xinhua, the size of China's economy is expected to exceed $13 trillion by 2020. And its middle class is expected to expand to include 400 million of its citizens (Xinhua, March 13).In Beijing, the view is that China has successfully modernized, and that policies are working. But despite major progress in improving the lives of ordinary Chinese, inequality is rising, and the disparity between urban areas and the "other" China-rural areas-is increasing.An annual survey from Peking University and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences reports that China has a high level of economic inequality at the national level. The Gini coefficient-a statistical measure of inequality-for 2015 was .5. This has risen over the past 30 years from .3 in the early 1980s to .45 and above (BBC Chinese, January 16, 2016). More troubling, however, is that the level of inequality is rising faster in the countryside. The report "China Family Panel Studies (, 2016), found that while incomes increased faster in rural households than in urban areas, inequality between incomes in the countryside and urban areas increased (Sohu, March 21).China's demographic distribution exacerbates this problem. Its population, and wealth, are disproportionately concentrated on its east coast, mostly clustered around a few cities, a fact made clear by the accompanying cartogram. More granular data further reveals that even within China's interior the population is densely clustered in just a few cities and prefectures. [3]

Moreover, the countryside is emptying, aging, and falling behind. Although in 2015 44 percent of Chinese still lived in rural areas that number is expected to fall to 30 percent by 2030 (World Bank, 2015; World Bank, March 25, 2014).

The impacts of negative medium-and long-term trends fall disproportionally on the country-side. China's government debt-to-GDP recently reached 277 percent at the end of 2016, meaning that many county-level governments are deeply in debt just as economic opportunities in those regions are drying up (SCMP, January 26).

Longer term, population aging will sap resources from the state and leave many farms without workers, since the average age of Chinese farmers is over 60. As exports decline as a source of growth and the price of living in urban areas increase, jobs that once waited in the cities are now harder to find and remittances back to families in rural areas decline. Rural governments are left with less revenue to provide services, such as pensions and law enforcement. This latter effect has resulted in a rise in criminality and drug-related gang activity (China Brief, September 4, 2015; China Brief, March 24, 2016).

The most important driver of China's political behavior will continue to be its ongoing economic transition. With the pressure on to deliver clear progress ahead of the 19th Party Congress, the focus will likely continue to be the CCP's success in moving people out of poverty and generally improving living conditions. The economic transition is likely to hit China's rural areas the hardest, posing new challenges to the governments' legitimacy.

Peter Wood is a Program Associate for China at The Jamestown Foundation and also serves as the Editor of China Brief. You can follow him on Twitter @PeterWood_PDW

Notes

Urban youth who were forced or volunteered to work in the countryside, and experience life as a peasant. Kroeber, Arthur R. China's Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know?, Oxford University Press, 2016. Kindle edition. Locations 655-657. Population data drawn from the 6th Population Census (2010). The author used this data, despite its age because it is more consistently available across provincial and prefectural lines. GADM GIS Data used for boundaries. In one instance-Chaohu Prefecture, Anhui-no longer exists and has been broken up among the surrounding Prefectures. This is not represented in the GIS data but an attempt to approximate the correct density by identifying the relevant county-level populations and recalculating.

Copyright notice:  2010 The Jamestown Foundation
One Belt, One Road: Russian Dreams Exceed Reality

Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Vladislav Inozemtsev Publication Date 6 June 2017 Citation / Document Symbol Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 14 Issue: 74 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, One Belt, One Road: Russian Dreams Exceed Reality, 6 June 2017, Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 14 Issue: 74, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593e8d374.html [accessed 11 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.

Link to original story on Jamestown website

Russian President Vladimir Putin made another trip to China last month (May 14-15) to address the Belt and Road Forum. But his speech at the summit's opening highlighted that Russia and China ascribe completely different meaning to Beijing's ambitious One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative.

The Russian president perceives the OBOR (a collection of trans-continental transit mega-projects designed to connect the markets of East Asia with Europe) first and foremost as an "integrationist" enterprise. He praises the concept of "Eurasia" over precise economic proposals, calling simply for producing a "foundation for a larger Eurasian partnership" (Kremlin.ru, May 14). Thus, what Putin actually hopes to achieve by supporting the development of the OBOR is, arguably, to bring both the Russian Far East and Central Asian states closer to Moscow: politically in the latter case and economically in the first. Chinese leaders, on the other hand, envision another project: they wish to facilitate the development of China's Western provinces through growing exports (Cbbc.org, accessed June 6; World Financial Review, January 25, 2015). The Russians want an "ever closer union" with Eurasian post-Soviet states, i.e. are process-focused; the Chinese are looking for new markets, i.e. are results-driven. This makes the two visions incompatible.

When the Russians first began discussing their country's role as a Eurasian transit state, they bet on the Trans-Siberian Railway. This railroad's capacity is around 85 million metric tons (Mt) per year, of which around 15 percent may be reserved for transit flows. The price of shipping a 20-foot container to Europe by rail is around $6,300-$8,000, while by sea-$2,500-$4,000. The difference is considered "the price of urgency": a presumptive 20-day delivery by land versus a 45-day delivery by sea (Svobodnaya Pressa, December 2, 2014). But the problem lies not only in the price or even the timing-the most crucial factor is the limited capacity.

Beijing expects the OBOR predominantly to serve the developmental needs of China's westernmost provinces, especially the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, which, in ten years, might become bigger in economic terms than all five post-Soviet Central Asian countries combined. As a consequence, the Chinese will be unable to use the Trans-Siberian Railway-which lies 1,600 kilometers to the north of Urumqi-because of this railroad's insufficient extra capacity. Southwestern China will be connected to the world by a highway from Yunnan province to the newly constructed port of Kyauk Phyu, on Myanmar's Bay of Bengal, which will allow Chinese ships to navigate to Europe without having to pass through the crowded Malacca Straits (Mizzima, December 17, 2016). Therefore the transcontinental part of the OBOR will almost certainly begin on the China-Kazakhstan border, near Dostyk, and should ultimately be capable of transporting at least 60 Mt of goods annually. The Kazakhstani authorities promised to increase the capacity to 45 Mt per year by 2020 and to additionally secure an annual 22 Mt turnover at their main Caspian port of Aktau by 2022 (RBC, May 25, 2015).

Russian has long wanted a major trans-Eurasian OBOR highway originating in China to pass through Kazakhstan, lead northward to Orenburg, Kazan and Nizhny Novgorod, bypass Moscow via the newly constructed Central Ring Road and proceed either across Belarus to Poland or via St. Petersburg to Finland (Transportrussia.ru, accessed June 6). Moscow's strategy behind this proposal was clear: to strengthen the unity of the biggest members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and to showcase the benefits of this bloc to the outside world (goods shipped across the Eurasian landmass would need to cross only two borders-between China and the EEU and between the EEU and the European Union) (Vz.ru, April 4, 2015). But herein lies a problem: in the last decade, Russia built only 1,900 km of quality highways throughout the country. Even the 521 km Moscow bypass, projected to be completed in 2018, in actuality is only expected to become fully operational in 2025 (Journal-gorproekt.ru, May 12). Moreover, the construction costs are astronomically high; the Moscow bypass alone will cost around $25 billion or $50 million per kilometer (Mosaica.ru, May 16), which may exceed any reasonable expectations for affordable overland transit costs across Russia.

Therefore the option to ship goods from Xinjiang to Kazakhstani or Turkmenistani ports on the Caspian Sea and then, via Azerbaijan and Georgia, to Turkey looks more promising. The first train from China to Europe via Kazakhstan and Georgia made the journey in 16 days in 2015 (Svoboda.org, December 2, 2015). Moreover, the Italian company InfraEngineering recently proposed to build a trans-Caspian bridge for just $14 billion, which would carry a multi-lane road and railway as well as an oil and a natural gas pipeline (Totoholding.it, "Caspian Sea Viaduct," accessed June 6). If this plan becomes a reality, the OBOR will become a real venture that binds together Central Asian countries with the South Caucasus and Turkey. In this case, China may be able to pull the Turkish government fully onboard as the project's main backer since Ankara tends to consider both Azerbaijan and the Central Asian republics as naturally falling within Turkey's sphere of influence.

A third option also exists to build a modern highway from China to Pakistan, to take Chinese goods either to the port of Gwadar, on the Arabian Sea, or once again to Turkey and Europe via Iran. This route, in fact, became partially operational last November (Asia Times, November 16, 2016). Nevertheless, fully pursuing this option will be challenging because of the contested sovereignty over Kashmir and the unpredictability of Iran's future stance vis-a-vis the Western powers. Therefore, more competition can be expected between Moscow's and Ankara's visions for the future development of regional transit routes.

For now the Russian proposals look weak. The Kremlin lacks the resources to build the necessary infrastructure, even over the next ten years. Still, Moscow will certainly insist that Russian companies have a prominent role in building the roads and bridges that fall under the OBOR umbrella. Of course, no one actually knows how enduring the Moscow-led EEU may be: although both its principal non-Russian members, Kazakhstan and Belarus, have significant Russian minorities, their authoritarian leaders are aging, and these countries' pro-Russian policies might change. Furthermore, while the Chinese government seems to have limited lobbying capacity over Moscow, Beijing has been able to obtain major concessions from the Central Asian capitals when it comes to their involvement in the OBOR projects (see EDM, May 24). As a result, Russian dreams of joining the Chinese OBOR initiative exceed Russia's real capacities to meet its challenges.

Copyright notice:  2010 The Jamestown Foundation
CIS Anti-Terrorism Center Holds First Military Exercises in Tajikistan

Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Edward Lemon Publication Date 7 June 2017 Citation / Document Symbol Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 14 Issue: 75 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, CIS Anti-Terrorism Center Holds First Military Exercises in Tajikistan, 7 June 2017, Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 14 Issue: 75, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593e8db24.html [accessed 11 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.

Link to original story on Jamestown website

On May 30, troops from Russia and Tajikistan launched Dushanbe-Anti-Terror-2017the final stage of a six-part exercise held in six different countries, including Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Belarus, which began on May 23 (Avesta, May 24). Involving 2,000 personnel, the exercises concluded on June 1.

Military exercises in Tajikistan are held regularly. But unlike previous exercises organized through the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) or Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Dushanbe-Anti-Terror-2017 was held under the auspices of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Counter-Terrorism Center. These were the first military exercises organized by the Center, which was established in 2000. To date, the Center had focused on coordinating responses to terrorism through meetings and information sharing (Cisatc.org, accessed June 5).

A possible reason for the CIS's involvement was the inclusion of military personnel from Uzbekistan, which is a member of the CIS but not of the CSTO. Although Uzbekistani forces did not take part in Dushanbe-Anti-Terror-2017, they did participate in the preparatory staff exercises in April. Since the death of long-serving President Islam Karimov in September 2016, the new head of state, Shavkat Mirziyaev, has sought to rebuild ties with Russia and his Central Asian neighbors (see EDM, April 24, May 3). During his first official visit to Moscow, in April 2017, President Mirziyaev signed agreements worth $12 billion (EA Daily, April 6). On April 5, the Duma ratified a bilateral agreement to make it easier for Russia to supply Uzbekistan with military equipment and repair existing hardware (Regnum, April 5). Uzbekistan's limited involvement could indicate a gradual move away from its 2012 foreign policy concept, which opposed the country's involvement in any military alliance (Gazeta.uz, July 30, 2012).

The Dushanbe-Anti-Terror-2017 maneuvers held in Tajikistan simulated an attack on "a camp of simulated terrorists based in the mountains" (ITASS [Moscow], May 31; Asia Plus, June 5). In coordination with air support and artillery, special forces neutralized the armed group. Overall, the exercise involved 300 units of military equipment (Sputnik, May 31). Earlier, Russia redeployed four Sukhoi Su-24M bombers from Shagol airbase, in the southern Urals, to Tajikistan to take part in maneuvers on May 16. During those exercises, the pilots delivered "strikes on convoys, camouflaged warehouses, training camps and other facilities of the maneuver enemy," according to Colonel Yaroslav Roshchupkin, an aide to the commander of the Russian Central Military District (TASS, May 17). More significantly, Russia also airlifted its Iskander-M ballistic missile system in for the drills. This is the first time they have been used in exercises outside of Russia. The deployment constituted a show of force and demonstrated Russia's capacity to send the system to Central Asia in an emergency situation.

The drills also signaled Russia's continuing support for Tajikistan's security. During the Tajik Civil War (19921997), Russian troops proved vital in backing the government and reinstating order. Russian soldiers guarded the border with Afghanistan until 2004. Tajikistan still hosts one of Russia's largest military bases outside of its borders. Based in the country since 1941, 7,000 personnel from the 201st Motorized Rifle Brigade are stationed in Dushanbe and Qurgonteppa. Russia has leased the base until at least 2042 (see EDM, October 10, 2012). Despite some mixed signals, Russia continues to be Tajikistan's primary security guarantor. In May 2015, Russia announced that it would strengthen the garrison based in Tajikistan from 7,000 to 9,000 troops by 2020, investing $1.2 billion over the next five years (Asia Plus, April 3, 2015). But in January 2016, the Russian government appeared to step back from this position, saying it would actually cut troop numbers slightly, converting the 201st Motorized Rifle Division to a brigade (TASS, January 30, 2016). Although the move cut troops on paper, it is part of a broader trend in the Russian military as it adapts to modern terrorist and insurgent threats.

Like the latest drills, other recent exercises in Tajikistan have focused on combating armed incursions by terrorist groups. Russia regularly organizes bilateral and multilateral military exercises in Tajikistan. Since 2015, it has held at least four exercises in Tajikistan. Whereas exercises in 2015 and 2016 were organized through the CSTO, the two drills held so far in 2017 have not involved the Russian-led military bloc. In March 2017, for example, 50,000 Tajikistani troops and 2,000 Russian personnel conducted bilateral counter-terrorism exercises in the south of the country (Radio Ozodi, March 28).

As Russia has stepped up its security assistance to Tajikistan, others have followed suit. China held its first bilateral military exercises with Tajikistan in October 2016 (Ozodagon, October 20, 2016). It has also funded the construction of 11 border posts on Tajikistan's frontier with Afghanistan, as well as a border guard training center (The Diplomat, September 26, 2016). The United States promised $50 million in military aid to Central Asia in 2015, with most of the money going to "key partner nation in the region" Tajikistan (EurasiaNet, February 16, 2016). In March 2017, 150 US personnel and 100 Tajikistani staff conducted a crisis response exercise (Tj.usembassy.gov, March 20). But, although Russia is not Tajikistan's only security partner, these latest exercises demonstrate that Moscow continues to be its primary guarantor.

Copyright notice:  2010 The Jamestown Foundation
Libya's Military Wild Card: The Benghazi Defense Brigades and the Massacre at Brak al-Shatti

Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Andrew McGregor Publication Date 2 June 2017 Citation / Document Symbol Terrorism Monitor Volume: 15 Issue: 11 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, Libya's Military Wild Card: The Benghazi Defense Brigades and the Massacre at Brak al-Shatti, 2 June 2017, Terrorism Monitor Volume: 15 Issue: 11, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593e8e924.html [accessed 11 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.

Link to original story on Jamestown website

In shocking events on May 18, fighters in southern Libya carried out a massacre, slaughtering more than 140 soldiers and civilians, most of whom had already surrendered. The attack was carried out by a militia from the Libyan city of Misrata and their allies, the Benghazi Defense Brigades (BDB, Saraya Difaa al-Bengazhi), a politically enigmatic military coalition that claims it is anti-terrorist in nature while consistently being described as terrorist by its enemies. [1]

Founded on June 1, 2016, the BDB alliance combines professional soldiers, ex-policemen and a significant number of Islamist mujahideen expelled from Benghazi by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA). The BDB describes itself not as an Islamist coalition, but as a group of thuwar (revolutionary fighters) and soldiers who oppose Haftar's "oppressive" militias in their fight "for liberty, freedom and the safe return to our city [Benghazi] with our displaced families," while combatting terrorism "in all its shapes and forms" (Libya Herald, April 19). [2]

Political Background

Understanding the BDB's activities first requires some familiarity with Libya's fractious administration. Libya's unity government, as determined by the UN-brokered Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) of December 17, 2015, has devolved into a number of rival parts, including:

The Government of National Accord (GNA), the Tripoli-based executive authority, which includes the internally divided but largely Islamist nine-member Presidency Council, the chairman of which is Fayez al-Serraj. It oversees the functions of the head-of-state and is intended to have authority over a yet-to-be formed national military. In the meantime, the GNA is supported by powerful militias from the city of Misrata.

The Bayda/Tobruk-based House of Representatives (HoR), the legislative authority controlled by Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni. The HoR resists the authority of the Presidency Council and has refused to transfer responsibility for the armed forces to Tripoli, endorsing instead a collection of mainly Cyrenaican militias referred to as the Libyan National Army (LNA). This force is led by Khalifa Haftar, who is broadly anti-Islamist but nonetheless includes Saudi-backed Salafist "Madkhali" fighters in his coalition.

The High Council of State, a Tripoli-based consultative body led by Abd al-Rahman Swehli, which functions independently of the GNA.

The GNA is also challenged by the so-called "Government of National Salvation" (GNS), the Tripoli-based remains of the pre-LPA General National Council (GNC), a parliament formerly led by Misratan Khalifa al-Ghwell. The ex-PM has attempted to overturn the authority of the UN-recognized GNA, but the GNS does not control any institutions of importance.

The BDB are the avowed enemy of "Field Marshal" Haftar, regularly described in BDB statements as a "war criminal." Given Haftar is the commander of a regional militia, his absurd rank (which he was awarded by HoR parliamentarians in 2016) reflects his posturing as a new Libyan strongman who believes he alone is capable of uniting the shattered nation. Haftar is opposed by many Misratans due to his past as a Gaddafi-era general, his long association with the CIA while living as an exile in Alexandria, Virginia, and his battle to subdue Misratan influence in Benghazi and elsewhere.

Affiliation to Dar al-Ifta and the Grand Mufti

The BDB's Statement no.19 declared the group had "no party, political or ideological affiliations" (Libya Herald, March 12; al-Jazeera TV via BBC Monitoring, March 12). Despite this, the movement has pledged loyalty to controversial Tripoli-based Libyan Grand Mufti Sadiq al-Ghariani and claims to operate under his authority and that of the Dar al-Ifta, Libya's fatwa-issuing authority.

Despite his status as Libya's leading cleric and recognition by the GNA and the Presidency Council, al-Ghariani is in practice a divisive influence whose leadership has already been rejected by the HoR. Al-Ghariani is opposed to any political settlement involving Haftar and condemned a recent reconciliation meeting in Cairo between the field marshal and al-Serraj, the Presidency Council chairman.

In May 2016, the Mufti surprised many by urging all "revolutionaries" to abandon the fight against Islamic State (IS) forces in Sirte to instead concentrate their forces against the LNA in eastern Libya, claiming IS in Libya would collapse once Haftar was defeated (Al-Tanasuh TV, May 11, 2016, via BBC Monitoring).

BDB leader Brigadier General Mustafa al-Sharkasi declared last year that his fighters were "not ashamed to say we use the Dar al-Ifta as our reference  When we are victorious in the city of Benghazi, we will revert to Islamic reference in our dealing with the people " (al-Nabaa TV/Twitter, via BBC Monitoring, June 21, 2016).

LNA spokesman Colonel Ahmad Mismari has repeatedly claimed that the BDB are supplied with weapons and vehicles by Qatar and Turkey (viewed as sympathetic to Islamist forces) in violation of the international arms embargo on Libya (Libya Herald, March 3).

The BDB's allegiance to al-Ghariani and the Dar al-Ifta has created friction with other groups in the capital. A BDB camp in the Suq al-Jama district of Tripoli was attacked on November 30, 2016 by RADA ("Deterrence") forces led by Abd al-Raouf Kara, a pro-GNA militia strongly opposed to the Grand Mufti (Libya Herald, December 1, 2016). The BDB are also believed to have contacts with GNS leader Khalifa Ghwell (Libya Herald, March 3).

BDB Leadership

The BDB leadership includes the following individuals:

Brigadier General Mustafa al-Sharkasi, a professional soldier, has emerged as the dominant commander in the BDB. Al-Sharkasi served as an Air Force colonel at Benina airbase, 19 kilometers (km) east of Benghazi, under the regime of Muammar Gaddafi. Turning against the regime, he acted as a militia commander in Misrata during the revolution. Once part of Haftar's LNA, he is now bitterly opposed to him (Libya Herald, November 13, 2016).

Ziyad Belam, sometimes cited as the BDB leader, is the former commander of Benghazi's Omar al-Mukhtar Brigade and leader of the Benghazi Revolutionaries Shurah Council (BRSC), an alliance of Benghazi-based Islamist militias that once included local IS fighters. He was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt in October 2014.

Al-Saadi al-Nawfali is the leader of the Operations Room for the Liberation of the Cities of Ajdabiya and Support for the Revolutionaries of Benghazi (known by its Arabic acronym GATMJB). This group cooperates with the BDB, allowing al-Nawfali to hold leadership positions in both organizations. Al-Nawfali appeared in a 2014 video with al-Mourabitoun commander Mokhtar Belmokhtar (AgenziaNova.com, June 20, 2016). He has been variously described as a former Ansar al-Sharia commander in Ajdabiya and a supporter of Islamic State forces in Nawfaliyah.

Ismail Muhammad al-Salabi was a commander in the Rafallah Sahati militia and is the brother of prominent Libyan Muslim Brotherhood member Ali Muhammad al-Salabi. Ismail is an associate of GNA Defense Minister Colonel Mahdi al-Barghathi, formerly chief of military police in Benghazi and a former LNA armored unit commander.

Osama al-Jadhran is the Ajdabiya-based brother of former Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) commander Ibrahim al-Jadhran. An Islamist who was tortured during imprisonment in the Gaddafi era at the notorious Abu Salim prison, Osama took a prominent part in the BDB's March 2017 capture of Ras Lanuf airport.

Ahmad al-Tajuri is an artillery commander from the Tajuri district of Benghazi and former leader of the BRSC.

Faraj Shaku is a commander of the February 17 Martyrs' Brigade and a former BSRC commander.

Mahmoud al-Fitouri is a senior commander in the BDB.

The main force of the BDB is based in Jufra (south-central Libya). Its communications are handled by its official media establishment, Bushra Media.

Operation 'Volcano of Wrath'

The BDB launched its first offensive on Ajdabiya, 15 km southwest of Benghazi, on June 18, 2016, together with local forces in the city opposed to the LNA. Describing the BDB as part of IS, a Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) spokesman said that the PFG was fighting the BDB in Ajdabiya under the guidance of the GNA's ministry of defense (Libya Herald, June 25, 2016). Shortly after the attack on Ajdabiya, Brigadier al-Sharkasi declared that the BDB was on its way to Benghazi to "liberate it from these criminals, these people that have broken out of prison, these militias, the gangs of Haftar" (al-Nabaa TV/Twitter, via BBC Monitoring, June 21, 2016).

On July 11, 2016, the BDB announced the commencement of Operation "Volcano of Wrath," intended to break the LNA's siege of Benghazi and allow displaced residents to return (Bushra News/Twitter, via BBC Monitoring, July 17, 2016).

The BDB's offensive ultimately stalled outside of Benghazi, but not before it claimed to have shot down a helicopter containing three members of the French Direction generale de la securite exterieure (DGSE, Directorate General for External Security) operating in support of the LNA defenders (Bushra News/Twitter via BBC Monitoring, July 17, 2016; ChannelsTV.com, February 3). Three days later, the BDB claimed a French "retaliatory" airstrike on BDB positions in western Benghazi had killed 13 of their fighters (Libyan Express, July 20, 2016). Al-Sharkasi later blamed the BDB's failure to enter Benghazi on the intervention of "foreign" warplanes (al-Jazeera TV via BBC Monitoring, March 12).

Failed Attack on Sidra and Ras Lanuf

In December 2016, the BDB joined former members of the BRSC and some members of Ibrahim Jadhran's PFG in a disastrous attempt to take the important oil terminals at Sidra and Ras Lanuf. The facilities had been wrested from the PFG by the LNA in September 2016. Operating under the unified command of the "Oil Ports and Fields Liberation Room," an armed group of 600 to 800 men left Jufra in a convoy for the ports in Libya's vital "oil crescent" west of Benghazi, where they were repulsed by stronger LNA forces (ICG, December 14, 2016).

The LNA responded with airstrikes on BDB positions on the Jufra airbase, killing BDB spokesman Mansur al-Faydi, PFG commander Moussa Bouain al-Moghrabi and BDB commander Ahmad al-Shaltami, a former member of Benghazi's Ansar al-Sharia (Libya Herald, December 12, 2016). Brigadier Idris Musa Bughuetin and Colonel Osama al-Ubaydi, two officers close to Mahdi al-Barghathi, the GNA defense minister, were captured by the LNA (Eyeonisisinlibya.com, December 13, 2016).

This led to questions regarding the alleged role of the GNA's defense ministry in preparing and even ordering the failed offensive. Some verification of these allegations appeared to come through a tweet showing captured vehicles that clearly bore the markings of the ministry's 12th Brigade (Twitter, December 7, 2016).

On February 9, 2017, aircraft believed to belong to either the LNA or to the UAE, which backs Haftar, struck BDB positions at the Jufra airbase, killing two people and wounding 13 others (Libya Herald, February 9). The UAE uses al-Khadim airbase in Marj province for operations by AT-802 light attack aircraft and surveillance drones (Jane's 360, October 28, 2016). The AT-802's are reportedly flown by American private contractors working for former Blackwater CEO Erik Prince on behalf of the UAE (Intelligence Online, January 11).

Three days later, a BDB statement called for "a general mobilization by all of Libya's honorable revolutionaries, officers and soldiers" against Haftar's LNA and mercenary fighters of Darfur's Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), who they claimed were fighting alongside the LNA (al-Jazeera TV via BBC Monitoring, February 12).

Operation 'Return to Benghazi'

The mobilization led to the BDB's seizure of the oil terminals at Sidra and Ras Lanuf from the LNA with a surprise attack on March 3. The BDB was able to catch the LNA off guard by moving its forces forward in small groups of two or three vehicles before concentrating its forces just outside the ports (Libya Herald, March 3). An LNA spokesman said the BDB's success was due in part to its use of sophisticated jamming equipment that interfered with LNA communications (Libya Herald, March 6). There were reports that Defense Minister al-Barghathi had again ordered the defense ministry's 12th Brigade to support the BDB offensive (Libya Herald, March 7). There were also unconfirmed reports that the BDB had beheaded two NCOs of the LNA's 131st Infantry Battalion taken prisoner during the attack (Libya Herald, March 12).

The offensive was supported by demonstrations in Tripoli and Misrata, while the Grand Mufti used a television address to urge residents of eastern Libya to join the BDB's march on Benghazi (Libya Observer, March 3). After taking Ras Lanuf Airport, a BDB statement insisted that control of the oil ports was not the aim of the operation, but was only a step in assisting internally displaced persons (IDPs) forced from Benghazi by the LNA (Libya Observer, March 3).

The LNA succeeded in holding the line east of the terminals at al-Uqaylah with the help of Tubu reinforcements from southern Libya, leaving some 170 km of Libya's coastline in the hands of the BDB (Libya Herald, March 6).

In the days following, the Brigades repelled successive attempts by the LNA's 152 Battalion to expel them. Airstrikes, believed to be carried out by Egyptian warplanes, targeted BDB positions in the oil crescent, but the failure of Haftar's LNA created a small crisis in relations with Cairo, with urgent pleas for greater support against the BDB "terrorists" (Libya Herald, March 13). Haftar advisor Abd al-Basset al-Badri was also dispatched to Moscow to ask for greater Russian support in the fight against the BDB (Libya Herald, March 14).

The oil terminals were handed over to Brigadier Idris Bukhamada, an ally of Defense Minister al-Barghathi. Bukhamada was appointed head of the PFG in February 2017 by the Presidency Council to replace Ibrahim Jadhran, who was seized by a militia in Nalut in March. The LNA was incensed that their own candidate for PFG chief, Brigadier Muftah al-Magarief, was left out in the cold (Libya Herald, March 8).

During the orderly BDB withdrawal, the LNA's Colonel al-Mismari announced, "the terrorist gangs of al-Qaeda [i.e. the BDB] are fleeing Ras Lanuf" (Facebook via BBC Monitoring, March 7). Al-Mismari also accused the Presidency Council of hosting secret meetings with al-Qaeda leaders to fund and support the BDB's operations in the oil crescent (Libya Observer, March 7; Middle East Observer, March 7).

The LNA spokesman's accusations appear to be part of a larger campaign intended to portray Haftar's political enemies as radical Islamists with close connections to al-Qaeda and/or IS in order to rally international support for his own militia.

A Presidency Council statement condemning the seizure of the oil crescent by the BDB was in turn rejected by two Islamist members of the council  Abd al-Salam Kajman (of the Muslim Brotherhood) and Muhammad al-Amari  who instead offered their support to the "revolutionaries" (Twitter, March 3; Libya Herald, March 6).

The BDB, meanwhile, considered its turnover of Sidra and Ras Lanuf should be seen as proof it was part of a broad-based solution to the Libyan conflict exclusive of al-Qaeda or other extremist groups. Unlike the jihadists, the BDB has attempted to interact with the traditional enemies of the extremists, urging Egypt to play a "positive role" and stating its approval of Italy's stance on Libya. According to BDB commander Mahmoud al-Fitouri: "We are partners to the international community in fighting terrorism; we will never allow terrorist groups to deploy in the region" (Libya Observer, March 9).

Massacre at Brak al-Shatti

In December 2016, the LNA's 12th Brigade took Brak al-Shatti airbase, 900 km south of Tripoli and 60 km north of the city of Sabha in Libya's southwest. The move came after the pro-GNA Misratan Third Force militia was forced to withdraw, providing the LNA with a useful base for operations in the Fezzan, a region where it had had little influence up to that point.

A priority target was the Third Force-held Tamenhint airbase outside of Sabha. Attacks on Tamenhint began in January, when the LNA's 12th Brigade (largely Magarha, Qaddadfa and Tubu, not to be confused with the GNA's 12th Brigade) under General Muhammad Ben Nayel arrived at Brak al-Shatti.

To put an end to these attacks, the BDB and the defense ministry's 13th Brigade (the re-named Misratan "Third Force") commanded by Colonel Jamal al-Treiki launched a surprise assault on Brak al-Shatti at 9:30am on May 18, driving most of the garrison into the desert. The assault was apparently timed to coincide with the ill-advised withdrawal of much of the LNA's 12th Brigade to the town of Tukrah (northeast of Benghazi) for a celebration of the third anniversary of Khalifa Haftar's "Operation Dignity."

As many as 141 men were executed  their throats slit, or by a single bullet to the head  after the airbase was captured, including fighters of the LNA's 10th and 12th Brigades and seven civilian truck drivers delivering rations to the base (Libya Herald, May 18; Libya Herald, May 19).

Local hospital officials told Human Rights Watch that nearly all military personnel delivered to the hospital had received a bullet wound to the front of the head. Others arrived still bound and some had injuries consistent with having their heads run over by a vehicle. No LNA wounded arrived at the hospital and there were no casualties from the attackers, suggesting the airbase had been quickly overrun with little resistance. Survivors and videos indicated the LNA prisoners were verbally abused before being killed as "apostates, enemies of God, mercenaries of Haftar and dogs of Haftar" (Human Rights Watch, May 21). General Ben Nayel's nephew, Ali Ibrahim Ben Nayel, was among those reported killed in the attack (Libya Herald, May 18). After the massacre, the assailants withdrew to their base in Jufra, allowing escaped elements of the 12th Brigade to return along with LNA reinforcements.

Even though the Misratan 13th Brigade falls under the ultimate authority of the UN-backed Presidency Council, that body insisted it had no role in the attack (Libya Herald, May 19). The Council suspended Mahdi al-Barghathi as defense minister on May 19 pending an investigation. The Council also suspended the Third Force/13th Brigade commander, Colonel al-Treiki, though the Council has little effective authority over the Misratan militia (Libya Observer, May 20). No measures were taken against the BDB, which operates outside of GNA control.

On May 19, the 13th Brigade warned the Presidency Council to "reconsider" its statements rejecting responsibility for "the cleansing of the Brak airbase of Islamic State members," claiming they had documentary proof they had operated on the direct orders of the defense minister and the Presidency Council (Facebook, via BBC Monitoring, May 19). The reference to IS was unexplainable; there was no possibility the garrison at Brak al-Shatti could have been mistaken for IS terrorists.

The LNA's Colonel al-Mismari claimed the attack was planned and led by Islamist Libyan Shield Southern District commander Ahmad Abd al-Jalil al-Hasnawi (Libya Herald, May 19; Channel TV [Amman], May 22, via BBC Monitoring). Al-Hasnawi, a GNA loyalist, led members of his Hasawna tribe into Tamenhint airbase on April 15 to support the Misratan Third Force (Jihadology.net, April 19).

According to the LNA's 12th Brigade, a number of foreign prisoners were taken following the action, including a Palestinian, a Chadian and two Malians. A unit spokesman said 70 percent of the fighters they had killed or taken prisoner were foreign nationals, adding: "We are convinced we are fighting al-Qaeda" (Libya Herald, May 20).

LNA retaliation for the massacre came on May 21 in the form of multiple airstrikes by LNA MiG-23 "Floggers" on BDB facilities at Jufra airbase, civilian targets in the city of Hun (the capital of Jufra district) and bases of Misratan militias that had previously fought IS in Sirte (Libyan Express, May 21; Libya Observer, May 21; Libya Observer, May 23; Libya Observer, May 24).

The LNA spokesman claimed the targets in Jufra belonged to al-Qaeda. He also announced the expulsion from Sabha of Humat Libya, a local militia that he claimed, on the basis of interrogations of "foreign fighters," had participated in the slaughter at Brak al-Shatti (Libya Herald, May 23).

Though securing Tamenhint was given as the reason for the assault on Brak al-Shatti, the LNA announced on May 25 that the Misratan militia had withdrawn from the airbase, leaving it to be taken by the LNA's 12th Brigade with support from the 116th Brigade (Libya Herald, May 25).

Dangerous and Unpredictable

IS-style atrocities are hard to reconcile with the BDB's occasional efforts to engage responsibly with internal and international partners in Libya's ongoing political process.

The BDB is more of a military coalition than a cohesive political movement under a single command and is thus subject to internal differences and dissolution or expansion at any time, particularly in Libya's current over-heated political climate in which personal differences can lead to command ruptures overnight. The complex mix of leaders and fighters comprising the BDB almost ensures the improbability of defining a specific ideology guiding the coalition, other than a shared hatred of Haftar's authoritarianism and a determination that the field marshal will never play a role in Libya's political or military future.

Acting outside the control of any of Libya's rival political institutions, the BDB has become a dangerous and unpredictable wild-card in the political process. The brutal attack on Brak al-Shatti effectively derailed some of the most promising steps taken towards political reconciliation in Libya.

Rather than being reined in by more responsible armed elements supporting the GNA, the BDB appears to have entered a military alliance with the powerful Misratan Third Force/13th Brigade with the unauthorized support and approval of elements in the GNA's defense ministry.

The BDB has strayed far from its initial mission of "liberating" Benghazi from Haftar's control, and the LNA's penetration of the Fezzan has provided the BDB with new battlefields, possibly as a proxy for external anti-Haftar actors such as Turkey and Qatar.

Until the BDB is either eliminated or brought under effective control by one of the recognized political factions in Libya, it will retain the capacity to disrupt diplomatic efforts to arrive at a much-needed political solution to Libya's internal chaos.

NOTES

[1] The terms "brigade" and "battalion" are often used interchangeably when referring to Libyan militias, which rarely if ever equal the approximately 4,000 men in three battalions that form a typical US army brigade. The actual size of any unit may fluctuate on a continual basis according to military and political fortunes.

[2] Thuwar, or "revolutionaries," as used by the BDB and their allies, usually refers to Islamist militias opposed to Khalifa Haftar and the LNA. Radical Islamist jihadists rejecting the political process in its entirety tend to refer to themselves and their allies as "mujahideen." The distinction is important in defining how the BDB see themselves in the context of the Libyan conflict.

Copyright notice:  2010 The Jamestown Foundation
Indonesia: Eyes on the Islamists

Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Alexander Sehmer Publication Date 2 June 2017 Citation / Document Symbol Terrorism Monitor Volume: 15 Issue: 11 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, Indonesia: Eyes on the Islamists, 2 June 2017, Terrorism Monitor Volume: 15 Issue: 11, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593e8f8b4.html [accessed 11 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.

Link to original story on Jamestown website

The Indonesian military has said it is beefing up defenses in parts of the country in anticipation of an expansion of Islamic State (IS) activities. That has included stepping up security in Ambon, Maluku and North Sulawesi, which lie south of the Philippines, in anticipation of terror attacks (Jakarta Post, May 31). The move has been prompted by events in the Philippines, were President Rodrigo Duterte has declared martial law in the southern island of Mindanao in order to tackle a relatively small number of IS-linked militants.

It also comes after five people were killed and 10 others injured in two suicide blasts at a bus station in Kampung Melayu, in East Jakarta on May 24 (Jakarta Globe, May 25). The blasts hit a parade welcoming the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, but three of the five killed were police officers. It was the most deadly attack to hit the capital since January last year when four people were killed and 25 wounded in an attack by gunmen and a suicide bomber (see Hot Issue, January 27, 2016). That attack was attributed to Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), a collection of Indonesian militant groups that have sworn allegiance to IS. Police believe the bus station attack could be linked to the same network (Jakarta Post, May 25).

In the wake of the bus station attack, Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, Indonesia's president, has hinted that the long-promised revision of the country's 2003 terrorism law could give the military a greater role in tackling terrorism (Jakarta Post, May 30). Military officials have received this suggestion relatively enthusiastically (Kompass, May 30). But it is hotly debated by liberals skeptical of giving the army greater powers and fearful of the potential fallout from a heavy-handed response to the problem.

Meanwhile, there are political concerns over the growing influence of Islamists. On May 8, the government moved to ban the Indonesian chapter of Hizbut Tahrir, accusing it of acting against state values, or rather Indonesia's foundational ideology of "Pancasila" (Jakarta Post, May 8). President Jokowi has since threatened to close down more organizations, and while he declined to name those that would be affected, they are likely to be Islamist (Tempo, May 31).

Hizbut Tahrir leaders were some of the loudest voices among a coalition of Islamists calling for the prosecution of Jakarta's Christian former governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, known as Ahok, on blasphemy charges.

Last month, Ahok, an ally of President Jokowi, was jailed for two years (Jakarta Post, May 9). The sentence was condemned by international rights groups, but it highlights a trend over the last few years of growing religious intolerance in Indonesia. That is an area where greater military deployment cannot be effective, but one that needs to be addressed with similar drive if Islamist militancy is to be tackled.

Copyright notice:  2010 The Jamestown Foundation
Maldives: Saudi Influence and Rising Intolerance

Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Alexander Sehmer Publication Date 2 June 2017 Citation / Document Symbol Terrorism Monitor Volume: 15 Issue: 11 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, Maldives: Saudi Influence and Rising Intolerance, 2 June 2017, Terrorism Monitor Volume: 15 Issue: 11, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593e8fd94.html [accessed 11 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.

Link to original story on Jamestown website

The Maldivian blogger Yameen Rasheed was brutally stabbed and killed on April 23, the third prominent media figure to be targeted in the Maldives in recent years. While the murder comes against the backdrop of political turmoil, it may also highlight a growing strain of Islamist extremism in the country.

Rasheed was attacked as he was walking home from work. Police found him in the stairwell of his apartment building in the Maldivian capital of Male with multiple wounds to his chest and neck (Maldives Independent, April 23). He later died in hospital.

The 29-year-old was well known for his blog "The Daily Panic," in which he was both amusing and frequently critical of the Maldivian government and Islamist extremism. As a result of his writing, he received multiple death threats, which his family says he reported to the authorities on at least three separate occasions (Raajje TV, May 3). They believe the police failed to protect him and want some form of international inquiry into his death, a call echoed by the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party.

What form such an investigation would take is unclear, but there is outside pressure on the Maldives to investigate Rasheed's murder. Zeid Raad al-Hussein, the UN high commissioner for human rights, framed the killing in the context of a clampdown by Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen on political opponents and government critics (al-Jazeera, April 25). Islamist extremists are also in the picture.

The Maldives has witnessed an increase in extremism in recent years, both in terms of the number of Maldivian Islamists leaving to fight for jihadist causes abroad, as well as an increasing intolerance toward liberals at home. Local commentators blame this on the spread of Wahhabism  they stress it is a new phenomenon that runs contrary to the Sufi-inspired variety of Sunni Islam, which is more traditional to the Maldives (Maldives Independent, April 24).

The growth of Wahhabism is attributed to the increasing influence of Saudi Arabia. The two countries have grown closer under President Yameen. The Gulf Kingdom is a major investor in the Maldives, spending millions on infrastructure projects, but it also funds religious scholarships and a mosque-building program. During a visit to the Maldives last year, the speaker of Saudi Arabia's shura council, Abdulla bin Mohamed bin Ibrahim al-Sheikh, donated $100,000 to the Islamic University of the Maldives (Maldives Independent, January 5, 2016). Earlier this year, a rumored government plan to sell a Maldivian island to a member of the Saudi royal family provoked political uproar (Maldives Independent, March 4).

For Saudi Arabia, the benefits of the relationship are diplomatic  the Maldives is counted among the members of the Kingdom's anti-terrorism coalition, and in May last year Male cut ties with Iran, essentially at Riyadh's behest (Maldives Independent, May 17, 2016). The impact on the Maldives is more mixed. While economically beneficial, on a social level the relationship may still prove to be problematic.

Copyright notice:  2010 The Jamestown Foundation
Ukraine Blocks Russian Social Networks: Anti-Democratic Move or Antidote to Disinformation?

Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Sergey Sukhankin Publication Date 7 June 2017 Citation / Document Symbol Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 14 Issue: 75 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, Ukraine Blocks Russian Social Networks: Anti-Democratic Move or Antidote to Disinformation?, 7 June 2017, Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 14 Issue: 75, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593e904b4.html [accessed 11 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.

Link to original story on Jamestown website

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree, on May 15, introducing a new package of sanctions against Russian companies and individuals (President.gov.ua, May 15). However, it was the decision to block two extremely popular Russian online social networksVkontakte (VK) and Odnoklassniki, embraced by more than 15 million Ukrainiansthat produced the most heated debates. To justify their decision, Ukrainian officials argued that these resources are regularly employed by Russia for intelligence-gathering and propaganda purposes (Epravda.com.ua, May 16).

In the immediate aftermath, the Russian Internet space (Runet) lost approximately half of its normal Ukrainian traffic and the number of Ukrainian-based Facebook users increased by 35 percent, whereas the popularity of the Opera browser "went through the roof" (Tns-ua.com, accessed June 5). Notably, Opera features free, built-in virtual private network (VPN) support, allowing the user to mask his or her physical location and thus circumvent geolocation-based restrictions.

The announced ban of Russian social networks does not automatically mean that the Ukrainian government will be actually succeed in blocking this venue for espionage and propaganda operations coming from Moscow. Two main factors must be considered: First, a full eradication of Russian social networks will require both time and money and will not ensue immediately. According to Oleksandr Fedienko, the head of the Ukrainian Internet Association, this process might take up to two years and $1 billion. The first deputy director of the presidential administration, Dmytro Shymkhiv, as well as the head of the association Telecommunication Chamber of Ukraine, Tetiana Popova, both provided a similar assessment (Pravda.com.ua, May 16). Another limitation is based on the fact that, currently, Ukraine lacks "proper mechanisms" for this purpose. This was one of the most immediate challenges emphasized by Ukrianian Lieutenant General Vasyl Grytsak (112.ua, May 22).

Russia's harshly negative reaction to the Ukrainian government's move was rather predictable (Kommersant, May 16). Incidentally, the Russian side has clearly shown it is unwilling to watch its influence in Ukraine be uprooted. The Russian Internet search giant Yandex has already declared it was working on ways for Ukrainian users to evade the ban. Reportedly, the Android version of Yandex can now elude the blocking, and the necessary instructions for how to do this have been dispatched to users (Vc.ru, May 22).

A sizable part of the domestic audience in Ukraine also sharply rebuked the ban. For instance, Oleksandr Olshanky, the president of the Internet Invest Group holding, contended that Ukraine is moving toward "joining the club of North Korea, China and Russia"countries which do not allow the free flow of information and which control their domestic Internet space (Pravda.com.ua, May 16). Similar opinions abound, and in many cases were immediately picked up and highlighted by the Russian mass media.

The reaction of the international community was mixedparticularly when considering the differing postures taken by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and a number of European international organizations. NATO pointed out that blocking the Kremlin-backed social networks should not be seen as an infringement on democracy. Whereas, the secretary general of the Council of Europe, Thorbjrn Johansen, stated that this decision contradicts European norms of freedom of mass media and speech (Odnako.su, May 17). Christian Mihr, from Reporters Without Borders (RWB), classified the decision of the Ukrainian government as "an attack against freedom of speech and free flow of information" (Dw.com, May 16, 2017). Such characterizations arguably betray a lack of understanding of the role of mass media and Internet resources in Russian strategies related to information and cyber warfare (see EDM, July 8, 2014; May 11, 2017).

Indeed, while Kyiv's Russian social network ban has come into conflict with European perceptions of freedom of mass media and the Internet, Ukraine is not unique in its decision to block VK, which was also done earlier by Italy and Georgia (Torrentfreak.com, November 19, 2013). And indeed, the Ukrainian government's decision must be evaluated within the context of the country being a target of Russian armed aggression, surreptitious destabilization operations, and information warfare.

Moscow has weaponized information against its enemies and adversaries: as has been well documented, the Kremlin has turned major information outlets and social networks into platforms for spreading lies, disinformation and hatred (see Hot Issue, August 13, 2014). It is worth remembering that the first stage of the so-called "Russian Spring," which led to the annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of military conflict in Donbas, is directly linked to the banned Russian social networks, in which anti-Ukrainian and anti-Western sentiments were being cultivated online. In this regard, one should not forget that the original creator of VK, Pavel Durov, has had to flee Russia after being pressed by the Federal Security Service (FSB) to give it access to the database of users who had participated in the EuroMaidan in Kyiv (Facebook.com/butusov.yuriy, May 17).

The ability of citizens to receive information is a vital bedrock of a democratic society. But the Ukrainian government has chosen to weigh this against the need to uproot malignant lies and anti-Ukrainian sentiment delivered digitally to its population. The threat is not illusory: the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has indicated it has identified 800 active anti-Ukrainian groups operating on VK and Odnoklassniki (Espreso.tv, May 25).

This being said, a number of corollaries should be outlined:

Ukraine is in a state of information and cyber warfare with Russia (see EDM, May 24), which requires the government in Kyiv to act accordingly. The example of secessionist groups and organizations in southeastern Ukraine and semi-autonomous Crimea, which Kyiv had ignored since 1991 until the outbreak of the "Russian Spring" in early 2014, should not be forgotten; Russian social networks are an essential element of the Kremlin's "Russian World" (Russkiy Mir) project (see EDM, July 2, 2014) and are deeply controlled by the Russian security services, which use them as platforms for spreading lies and disinformation; Russian IT software companies and search engines (such as Yandex) facilitate Moscow's cyber operations;

In the final analysis, Ukraine's security situation differs significantly from much of the rest of the European continent. Not only is Ukraine one of the main targets of Russian cyber and information operations, its population is dangerously prone to Russian propaganda. Until this existential threat coming from Moscow can be eliminated, Kyiv's approach to information and Internet freedoms is likely to continue to diverge somewhat from Western liberal norms.

Copyright notice:  2010 The Jamestown Foundation
Russia a Fair-Weather Friend for Syria's Kurds

Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author James Pothecary Publication Date 2 June 2017 Citation / Document Symbol Terrorism Monitor Volume: 15 Issue: 11 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, Russia a Fair-Weather Friend for Syria's Kurds, 2 June 2017, Terrorism Monitor Volume: 15 Issue: 11, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593e90a24.html [accessed 11 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.

Link to original story on Jamestown website

In the kaleidoscopic, ever-shifting array of factions that characterize the Syrian civil war, allegiances can shift in surprising ways. Nowhere is this more evident than in the relationship between Russia and the Kurds.

In theory, the two sides should be diametrically opposed. Moscow is heavily invested in supporting the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Assad's forces oppose the self-proclaimed Kurdish territory of Rojava, located in the northern governorates of al-Hasakh, Aleppo and Raqqa (now renamed by the Kurds as the cantons of Afrin, Jazira and Kobani).

Yet in March 2017, reports surfaced that Russia was constructing a military facility in Rojava-controlled Afrin, technically part of the Aleppo governorate (The New Arab, March 20). Russian military advisors are to provide training to Kurdish armed units, particularly in counter-terrorism. Russia played down the move, saying it had no plans for additional bases in Syria (al-Jazeera, March 20). But Turkey remained unconvinced, its officials are concerned that they had not at least been consulted (Hurriyet Daily News, March 22).

Many analysts see the unlikely Kurdish alliance with Moscow as a result of the limited political objectives of the Kurds, who aim for self-governance and autonomy rather than regime-change in Damascus. However, this explanation is insufficient in itself. Kurdish forces have intermittently fought against government forces, and while Kurdish ambitions for Rojava are limited, they are still antithetical to the unitary state over which Assad believes he can still regain control.

It is more the case that combatting Rojava is not yet a high priority for the Syrian government. This permits Russia some room for maneuver when it comes to cooperating with the Kurds. For Russia, such cooperation fulfills two purposes: it maintains political pressure on Turkey, and therefore NATO, and it supports a co-belligerent against Islamic State (IS) and other Islamist non-state armed groups (NSAGs).

Kurdish Political Objectives

The modest political ambitions of the Kurds' self-proclaimed territory are crucial in "unlocking" Russian support for Rojava. While the initial July 2012 campaign by the Peoples Protection Units (YPG), effectively Rojava's armed forces, focused on expelling Syrian military and security units from the cities of Afrin and Kobani, fighting was restricted to minor skirmishes, with government forces choosing to withdraw rather than defend their positions (Irin News, August 2, 2012). Further territorial gains by the YPG were concentrated in northern areas of the country with large Kurdish populations.

Notably, Rojava has not sought a military campaign striking deeper into Syrian government territory, choosing instead to solidify and defend its hard-won autonomous zone. A March 2016 declaration by the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the Kurdish governing party of Rojava, described the territory as autonomous, rather than independent of Damascus. In fact, the document specifically rejected the full-scale division of Syria and made no call for Assad's removal. There has even been some limited tactical cooperation between the regime and the Kurds, for instance a joint operation against IS to defend the government-controlled city of Hasakah ( a l Arabiya, July 20, 2015).

However, Syrian hostility toward Rojava should not be underestimated. Regime officials have rejected Kurdish proposals even for limited autonomy within a federal Syria (Rudaw, February 24). Examples of on-the-ground tactical cooperation do not change the fact that the two factions are strategically opposed. Russia's security concerns, however, mean Moscow's viewpoint differs somewhat from that of Damascus on the issue.

Russian Concerns

It is difficult to overemphasize the threat Russian officials perceive IS as posing to Russia's own national security. Northern Syria is about 1,250 kilometers (km) from Russia's restive southern Chechnya region, which has its own Islamist insurgency. In March 2017, for example, IS claimed it was behind an attack on Russian military units in the area (DW, March 25). There are at least 2,500 Russians fighting for IS and other Islamist groups in Syria, and an outmigration of these fighters back into Russian territory is a serious concern for the Russian security apparatus. Several terrorist attacks not only in the southern regions of Russia, but also in the major western city of Saint Petersburg, have been attributed by the Russian security services to Islamist terror groups.

From Moscow's perspective, therefore, IS is a (if not the) primary security threat. Given the effectiveness of Kurdish armed units in tackling IS in Syria, it should be no surprise that Russia is willing to cooperate with Rojava in order to bolster the YPG's kinetic capability and personnel training levels.

Russian support also reflects Moscow's calculations as regards Turkey. On November 24, 2015, Turkish air-defense systems shot down a Russian fighter aircraft conducting operations in Syria. This dramatically worsened Russo-Turkish relations to the point where open conflict seemed a genuine possibility. Relations have since improved, predicated around shared counter-terrorism concerns, and are now almost fully normalized ( a l-Monitor, March 13). Nonetheless, Turkey remains staunchly opposed to the Assad regime, and its seven-month-long Euphrates Shield operation, which officially came to an end in March, demonstrated that Ankara is willing and able to intervene directly in Syria to advance its own geopolitical interests (see Terrorism Monitor, September 16, 2016).

To that end, it seems likely that Russian support for Rojava serves a secondary purpose  that of hampering Turkish military operations in northern Syria. Turkey sees no difference between the YPG and the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK, Partiya Karkeren Kurdistane), a Kurdish separatist insurgency that has been intermittently fighting Ankara since the 1980s. It is in Russia's interest to amplify the threat Turkey perceives Rojava to pose as much as possible, as it will divert the attention of the Turkish armed forces toward the Kurds and away from Assad's troops, or from participation in any potential upswing in anti-Russian NATO activities. Furthermore, the door remains open for a rapid escalation in Russian support for the YPG, should relations between Ankara and Moscow deteriorate or if Russia perceives Turkey to be encroaching on its strategic ambitions within Syria.

Moreover, Turkey remains a NATO member, and Russia's own 2016 national security strategy identifies the alliance as one of the primary threats to Russian national security (Russian National Security Strategy, December 2015). Supporting a hostile actor on Turkey's southern flank, therefore, allows Moscow room to rapidly escalate its aid for Rojava, dependent on the perceived threat from NATO.

The Road Ahead

Ultimately, Kurdish-Russian cooperation comes down to target prioritization by Moscow. In a conflict as complicated as that in Syria, strategic calculations are made not on the basis of ideological coherence or deep-rooted alliances, but by the threat-level each particular group poses to the other at any given moment.

Russia at present prioritizes combating IS and tying up the Turkish armed forces by promoting a semi-rogue Kurdish territory that poses little immediate threat to Assad's Syrian state and none whatsoever to Russia.

However, with the eventual military defeat of IS in Syria, or in the event of a de-escalation with NATO, Moscow's own priorities will shift and Rojava will likely find itself in the scope of the Russian military machine. Should IS' de facto capital of Raqqa fall to government forces, for instance, Russia is highly likely to withdraw its backing for Rojava, just as the Kurdish territory becomes a greater priority for Syrian forces.

Copyright notice:  2010 The Jamestown Foundation
From 2-7 to sectional champs, Monrovia has one question: 'Why not us?'
Chinese workers check pipelines that will transport 22 million metric tons of oil and 12 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year from the port of Kyaukpyu in Myanmar to China in Ruili, southwestern China's Yunnan province, May 19, 2017.

China's reform plan for its oil and gas industry has drawn mixed reviews as the government seeks private funds for state companies without surrendering control.

On May 21, the cabinet-level State Council and the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee issued new guidelines for the petroleum industry under the heading "Several Opinions on Deepening Oil and Gas Sector Reform."

The vague blueprint outlined a series of measures "to give the market a decisive role in the industry," said the official Xinhua news agency.

A key feature of the plan is to attract private investment in the country's beleaguered state-owned oil monopoliesChina National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec), and China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC).

All have been pressured by the slump in world oil prices since mid-2014, although first-quarter earnings staged a partial recovery at both CNPC PetroChina and Sinopec after recent price increases. CNOOC does not report quarterly earnings, but revenues rose 55.8 percent due to higher prices.

The new guideline for the sector highlights the mixed-ownership model, which the government has promoted for state-owned enterprises (SOEs) with limited success since 2013.

Last month, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the top planning agency, said that nearly 20 SOEs had opened their doors to mixed-ownership investments.

But aside from Sinopec's decision to sell up to a 30-percent share in its marketing operations for oil products to "social and private investors," examples of such partial privatization in the petroleum sector have been few and far between.

CNPC has said it is ready for private interests to take minority shares of up to 49 percent in its exploration activities.

The latest reform announcement may push the door slightly more open for private investment in China's national oil companies (NOCs), but it falls far short of the "big bang" of reforms that the industry probably needs.

After a long period of stagnation, China's domestic oil output has dropped by 6 percent to 3.9 million barrels per day so far this year due to high production costs, while imports have soared to meet demand growth.

"Reform can't come soon enough for China's oil giants," read a headline from The Wall Street Journal's "Heard on the Street" column.

The state-owned companies "spend too much employing too many people while being expected to sell fuel at a discount when prices rise sharply," the paper said. PetroChina employed seven times more workers than U.S.-based Exxon Mobil Corp. to produce only slightly more oil last year, it said.

Xinhua's report on the reform guidelines acknowledged the problems of state ownership in the oil industry.

"This 'elite club' has given rise to inefficiency in resource allocation, which the government is trying hard to correct," said Xinhua.

Chinese workers of China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. (Sinopec) install pipes at a natural gas gathering station in Puyang, central China's Henan province, July 31, 2016. Credit: ImagineChina A move in the right direction

Analysts say the guidelines move the industry in the direction of reforms, but how far and how fast remain to be seen.

The reforms could lead to "some erosion of the NOCs' current dominant market positions," said a review by London-based Fitch Ratings. But the companies are expected to maintain strategic importance, citing their roles in providing energy security and affordable fuels.

"The opinions continue the government's drive to reform the oil and gas industry," Fitch said. "However, the government has not set any timelines or taken any substantial regulatory measures, which imply the execution of the reforms will take time."

The repeated encouragement for private investment in the sector may offer the most promise among the eight categories of regulatory changes. But the government has made clear that the NOCs will keep their dominant roles.

Xinhua said that "private companies will be permitted to take part in oil-gas exploitation and gradually build a system that is led by state firms and jointly participated by various organs."

The plan would foster competition by letting non-SOEs apply for licenses to develop petroleum projects, and allowing more oil and gas blocks to be offered for bidding through tenders, Platts energy news service said.

Private capital would also be welcomed to invest in and operate oil and gas storage facilities, Xinhua reported.

Funding from sources including asset-management groups and insurers could take stakes in the NOCs or their spinoffs, but these would continue to be minority shares.

Some of the guidelines mirror European competition reforms by seeking to separate transmission networks from energy suppliers and requiring third-party access to pipelines.

Perhaps the biggest reform in recent years has been the opening for independent refiners to import limited amounts of crude with assigned quotas since 2015.

But these will be subject to "tighter scrutiny and supervision," according to Platts. The reforms call for changes in export rules after the independents were barred from exporting fuels last year.

China's state-controlled system for domestic fuel pricing also "should be more market-oriented, and government should step in only when abnormal price fluctuations occur," the opinions said.

Signs of internal divisions

The exceptions and reservations are seen as signs of internal divisions in the government and resistance to change in the oil sector.

"It's a constant struggle to try to get their oil companies to act like private, disciplined investors ... but just simply not being willing to give up direct control," said Mikkal Herberg, energy security research director at the Seattle-based National Bureau of Asian Research.

"And so, you're constantly struggling to find some magic formula that draws in foreign capital or private capital and forces these companies to be more efficient," Herberg said. "You can't have it both ways."

The presentation of the guidelines as a series of "opinions" sends the message that political forces in China are still debating the reforms behind the scenes, Herberg said.

Analysts appear divided on whether the blueprint has cleared the way for foreign as well as private investment in China's petroleum industry.

A report by oilprice.com said that foreign companies "will soon be able to invest in China's upstream (exploration and production) sector through joint ventures with the country's three major fossil fuel companies," citing the guidelines.

But Fitch, Platts and Xinhua made no mention of roles for foreign firms.

Whether the government allows access or not, the appeal for foreign oil companies may be limited by the country's difficult geology, high production costs, and state controls.

Herberg said that foreign companies might be interested if they were offered some special opportunity to invest upstream in China or in some joint venture abroad. But in a world market flooded with oil, China's attractions may not be a top choice.

One primary consideration for any investors will be not only what the reforms are but when they will be implemented.

"We can only evaluate this 10 years from now," Nomura Securities analyst Gordon Kwan told The Wall Street Journal. "It's not going to be an overnight success."
Sixty years after China's Anti-Rightist political movement of 1957 saw hundreds of thousands of Chinese intellectuals killed, jailed, or persecuted, a prominent dissident has called for compensation for the families of those persecuted.



Sichuan-based writer Tan Zuoren, who has previously been jailed for researching official corruption linked to child deaths in the devastating 2008 earthquake, called on the ruling Chinese Communist Party to make amends to the survivors of the campaign by revoking the political verdicts on its victims.



"My first point was to call on the government to face up to the problems left over by history, and to address the question of compensation from the government, the income of 'rightists,' and their pensions," Tan said.



"The second was that we should be pushing for some kind of reconciliation in their last years, and calling on the government to tell us the truth," he said.



The 1957 crackdown came after then supreme leader Mao Zedong launched the "Hundred Flowers" movement inviting intellectuals to set forth a profusion of dissident views.



The ruling party has concluded that the Anti-Rightist movement led to "unfortunate consequences," but has never rehabilitated individuals labeled as "rightists," instead accusing them of attacking the party and trying to overthrow the government.



But the anniversary has led to calls for the government to make a public announcement accepting that the movement, in which 550,000 people were struggledoften dying from beatings or summary executions or serving lengthy terms in labor campwas a mistake.



"It was therefore entirely correct and necessary to launch a resolute counter-attack," the official account says. "But the scope of this struggle was made far too broad and a number of intellectuals, patriotic people and party cadres were unjustifiably labelled Rightists", with unfortunate consequences."



100 signatures for restitution

Tan's letter, which garnered more than 100 signatures, called for personal restitution to be made to the families of "rightists" in the form of official recognition and compensation.



"I don't think this issue has received nearly enough public attention," Tan told RFA in a recent interview after the letter was published. "Through several decades of the gulag system, 'rightists' have been marginalized by society in large numbers."



"Their health has suffered, and a lot of them died young; we still don't have a clear-cut resolution for the rightists," he said.



Tan said the persecution of "rightists" contravened China's constitution.



But activists said an ongoing crackdown on all forms of public dissent by the current administration of President Xi Jinping is likely to suppress public debate on the topic.



Fellow signatory and former "rightist" author Zhang Xianzhi said he had received a visit from police and neighborhood committee officials after the letter was published.



"The current political trend [of cracking down on dissent] isn't really conducive to what we are trying to do," said Zhang, who spent 23 years on a "reform through labor" penal farm after being denounced as a "rightist."



"Particularly in the past couple of days, when some people from the neighborhood committee came to my house to bend my ear about all manner of things," he said. "But there is no way we are going to let this go."



'Tales from the Gulag'

His "Tales from the Gulag," a memoir of that experience, was published in the United States in 2007.



Memoirs or books dealing with the period of history around the Anti-Rightist Campaign have been banned inside China.



Historical accounts suggest that among the first professionals to be sidelined in the campaign were lawyers and judicial professionals, a pattern which has been repeated under President Xi with a nationwide operation targeting human rights lawyers and activists since July 2015.



The official party line on the Anti-Rightist period can be found in a document titled On a number of historical problems concerning the partys leadership."



Outspoken political journalist Gao Yu said she was asked to leave town over the weekend by state security police, apparently for fear that a planned party would commemorate the movement in some way.



Gao refused, and two state security police were posted outside her Beijing home instead, sources told RFA.



Last month, Chinese authorities prevented dozens of mainland residents from visiting Hong Kong to attend a discussion forum on the Anti-Rightist movement.



"The Communist Party was too afraid to have them attend this forum, because they said it was an anti-China event," organizer Chen Yulin told RFA at the time. "But the aim of our forum was to get to the truth, and to refuse to forget; to remind people that there was such a thing as the Anti-Rightist movement."



"I believe that mainland China will [eventually] movement towards democracy."



Reported by Xin Lin and Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Wong Lok-to for the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
China on hit out at plans for a pro-democratic alliance between lawmakers in Taiwan and Hong Kong, warning that the move shows "collusion" between independence activists in the two regions, and will further heighten tensions across the Taiwan Strait.



Set up by a former leading figure in Taiwan's 2014 "Sunflower" student movement and a political science professor, the Taiwan Congressional Hong Kong Caucus was launched on under by lawmakers in Taipei.



New Power Party (NPP) leader and alliance founder Huang Kuo-chang led protests against a secretive trade deal between the then-ruling Kuomintang nationalist party and Beijing, during which students occupied the island's parliament, the Legislative Yuan.



"The Beijing government has continuously suppressed Hong Kongs fight for democracy, undermining human rights and freedom in Hong Kong," Huang said on , launching the alliance.



The group will aim to "show Taiwan's concern for the democratic process in Hong Kong and to promote democratic exchanges between the two regions," local media reported.



But a spokesman for Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office said the alliance represents "an attempt made by Taiwans independence forces to collude with Hong Kongs independence advocates," Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported.



He said the attempt would end badly for participants.



The alliance's founders are leading members of Taiwan's pro-independence NPP, and have attracted 18 lawmakers to join them in total.



The alliance's launch party was attended by former student leaders of Hong Kong's 2014 Occupy Central movement, lawmaker Nathan Law and activist Joshua Wong.



The Global Times newspaper, which has close ties to ruling Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece the People's Daily, quoted government diplomatic analysts as saying that the move would damage relations with Taiwan, over which Beijing claims sovereignty.



"Taiwan independence groups like the NPP like to use a referendum and democracy as excuses to incite social movements," the paper quoted Taiwan affairs analyst Zhu Songling as saying. "The organization is their latest move to promote independence and create instability in Hong Kong."

Mutual support network

Meanwhile, Beijing University professor Yin Hongbiao said "vigilance" would be needed.



"The new organization probably indicates a collusion of Taiwan and Hong Kong pro-independence activists," Yin was quoted as saying.



But Hong Kong and Taiwan lawmakers denied colluding over political independence, saying they are merely forming a mutual support network.



"Only Hong Kong people can change Hong Kong  but we can support by sharing Taiwans experiences and history," ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker Wang Ting-Yu told reporters at a news conference that was also attended by Hong Kong lawmakers Raymond Chan, Nathan Law and Eddie Chu, as well as former student leaders of the 2014 Occupy Central movement, Joshua Wong and Alex Chow.



"We face the suppression of democracy and freedom from the same regime," Law, who formed the post-Occupy political party Demosisto with Wong, said. "Taiwan and Hong Kong should support each other."



Wong also denied that he was advocating independence for Hong Kong, which has seen the erosion of its traditional freedoms since the 1997 handover to China.



"We just hope to work with different parties who share the same values of democracy and freedom with us," he said.



Taiwan began its transition to democracy in , starting with direct elections to the legislature in the early 1990s and culminating in the first direct election of the island's president in 1996.



Recent opinion polls indicate that there is broad political support for de facto self-rule in Taiwan, where the majority of voters identify as Taiwanese rather than Chinese.



But while the Chinese Communist Party has never ruled the island, Beijing regards it as part of Chinese territory and has threatened to invade if Taiwan seeks formal independence.



Reported by Chung Kwang-cheng for RFA's Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Myanmar police and hired hands topple a hut occupied by 'illegal squatters' in Hlegu township, about 30 miles northeast of the commercial capital Yangon, June 12, 2017.

UPDATED at 12:40 P.M. on 2017-06-13

About 200 Myanmar police officers and 1,000 hired hands on Monday dismantled 4,000 squatters homes and arrested five residents in a township in the commercial capital Yangon under orders from the regional government to clear the area for a high-rise residential project, local officials said.

Authorities forcefully tore down the shanty town in Hlegu township along an expressway 48 kilometers (30 miles) northeast of Yangon in the first forced evictions under the civilian-led government of de facto national leader Aung San Suu Kyi, which has been in power since April 2016.

Forced evictions were common in the five decades Myanmar was under military rule.

Police arrested four men and one woman who tried to block the road and attacked them with slingshots, sources said. They are being held at Hlegu police station.

Nobody had given them official permits to live here, said Yu Khine, director of Yangons Planning and Housing Department. Well try our best to carry out the removal of the houses in accordance with our laws and minimize their losses.

We have given them time to get their belongings and also formed a board to hear their complaints, he said. Well explain the actions and help them move their belongings, too, if they have difficulties.

Yu Khaing, the director general of the Housing Department, told the online journal The Irrawaddy that the area is owned by the government and scheduled for development by his department and the Ministry of Construction.

The owners of the houses said they paid 300,000 to 1,300,000 kyats (U.S. $218-$947) for each of their 40-by-60 square-foot plots and want the police to take action against the sellers.

We want effective action against these people who sold us the plots," homeowner San San Htay told RFAs Myanmar Service, adding that he has documents showing that village officials Pyone Cho and Kyi Lwin sold him his plot of land for 1.8 million kyats (U.S. $1,311).

Effective action is needed so they cannot commit this kind of fraud with others, he said.

These people will keep on cheating poor people if they can, he said.

Homeowner Thida Oo, who said she paid a nice sum for a plot of land she bought in May, criticized authorities for accusing her and others who paid for their land of being squatters.

We are rural people, and we dont cheat others or commit unjust deeds, she said.

Hla Hla Htay, a homeowner who moved to Hlegu from the town of Pakokku in central Myanmars Magway region, said she paid 2.7 million kyats (U.S. $1,966) for her house.

I bought this plot with all my savings and havent even have settled the moving expenses yet, she said. They [authorities] said they would get the land grants soon, which they are still in the process of doing.

I told them Id dismantle my house myself so I could retrieve some parts, but they wouldnt let me do that, she said.

The Yangon government intends to clear the illegal houses within two months without using bulldozers in order to build a world-class residential project.

Authorities gave the residents official notice in August 2016 that they were living in the area illegally and issued them reminders almost every month thereafter.

During the past two months, about 1,000 more houses have been set up, according to local media.

The demolition operation marked the second time that squatters have been cleared out of Hlegu township following the leveling of the area in 2015.

A Myanmar woman is given a document declaring her an illegal squatter of a ward in Yangon's Bahan township, June 12, 2017. Credit: RFA Bahan residents deemed squatters

In a related development, authorities issued documents to more than 400 families from three wards in central Yagons Bahan township declaring them illegal squatters.

Most people refused to accept the papers, arguing that they had lived in the area for more than a century and are permanent residents.

Homeowner Ohn Myint said her family had lived on the land since her grandparents time.

My mother had been here since she was seven years old, and I was born when she was 20, she said. I am now 84 years old. That means weve been here for over a century.

Khin Sein, a 64-year-old lifelong resident of the area, said people who have lived in there since their grandparents time cannot accept the term squatters.

We are not illegals, she said. Even though we dont have documents, we have lived herealtogether 14 households in the beginningwith the permission of the landlord.

Homeowners pointed out that some of the houses in the area are solidly built with brick and mortar rather than flimsy structures in which squatters usually live.

The current owner of the land, Chan Kyaw Paing, is the great-grandson of Po Tha, a wealthy rice merchant during Myanmars colonial era.

Mu Mu Mar, a government official said Chan Kyaw Kyaw Paing had not charged the residents any rent or fees.

He has just let them live on his land from the get-go, so we can say they are living here illegally, he said.

Ohn Kyaing, chairman of Nga Htat Gyi ward, said local authorities are conducting a survey of the residents under orders of the regional government.

The landlord himself came to see us and to see the homeowners and told them not to worry, he told RFA. He said he would take full responsibility.

Chan Kyaw Kyaw Paing did not elaborate on the situation.

All these people are like family to me, he told RFA. I will try to solve the problem.

Reported by Kaung Htet Kway, Htet Arkar, Aung Thein Kha, Thant Zin Aung for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of the story erroneously stated that six peoplefive men and one womanhad been arrested instead of five people, including four men and one woman.
Several members of an unsanctioned sect of Hoa Hao Buddhism are being kept under de facto house arrest by unidentified men in Vietnam and denied access to social media as they mark the 78th anniversary of their religions founding, one of the people targeted in the crackdown said Monday.



According to a follower of the unofficial Hoa Hao group in southern Vietnams An Giang province, he and several others around the country have been held at their homes for days by men they believe were hired by local authorities in the lead up to the anniversary, which falls on June 12 this year.



Since June 9, those of us opposed to the wrongdoings of the state-recognized Hoa Hao sect and the [ruling Communist Party of Vietnam] have been put under house arrest by the authorities, said the source, who spoke to RFAs Vietnamese Service on condition of anonymity.



Many people have come to guard us, so we cant get out of our houses.



The source was unable to specify how many unofficial Hoa Hao Buddhists are being kept confined to their homes during the anniversary period.



Other members of the sect told RFA that they had been locked out of their Facebook accounts as part of a bid by authorities to prevent them from posting any unsanctioned religious content.



The reports of harassment against unofficial Hoa Hao Buddhists came as the Central Administrative Committee of the government-endorsed Hoa Hao Buddhist Association held a large celebration Monday to mark the 78th anniversary of the religion in An Hoa Tu township, in An Giangs Phu Tan district, according to state media.



During the ceremony, Tran Thi Thanh Huong, chairman of An Giangs Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee, praised the Hoa Hao Buddhist Association for its work in upholding traditional doctrine and promoting patriotism in recent years, as well as its strong affiliation with the government.



Huong also applauded the Central Administrative Committee of the Hoa Hao Buddhist Association for its achievements in building national defense.



Vietnams government officially recognizes the Hoa Hao religion, which has some two million followers across the country, but imposes harsh controls on dissenting Hoa Hao groups that do not follow the state-sanctioned branch.



Rights groups say that authorities routinely harass followers of the unapproved groups, prohibiting public readings of the Hoa Hao founders writings and discouraging worshipers from visiting Hoa Hao pagodas in An Giang and other provinces.



In March, secretary general of the Interfaith Council of Vietnam Le Quang Hien, who is a follower of Hoa Hao Buddhism, told RFA that authorities in An Giang blocked his sects preparations to mark the anniversary of founder Huynh Phu Sos death that month.



And in June 2016, the follower of a Hoa Hao sect operating outside of government control said local authorities blocked approaches to his familys home in An Giang and sent men on motorbikes to intimidate and attack his wife and daughter in the run-up to the sects 77th anniversary.



Reported by RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by Emily Peyman. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
At a vigil for her slain son on Sunday, Danielle Singleton said she wants to raise awareness of violent crime in Richmond and to prevent more children from dying on the streets of the city.

I dont want another mother to have to bury their child, she said.

Christian K. Singleton, 15, and Ketron R. Wells, 16, were shot to death Wednesday night in the citys South Side. Police responded to the 3600 block of Decatur Street for reports of random gunfire and found the bodies of the two teenagers on the ground next to each other.

The vigil Sunday was held on the same block where the teenagers died. It was organized through United Citizens Against Crime, a community group that aims to reduce violent incidents in the city.

About 75 people attended the afternoon gathering as community leaders joined friends and family members of the two boys to celebrate their lives and to call others to action.

Danielle Singleton said her son aspired to one day become a chef. She described him as a fun-loving boy with a huge personality and as a caring older brother to her three younger children.

He was liked by everybody, his mother said.

Jermaine Carson, Wells father, said his son was not a bad child, but he fell in with the wrong crowd and ran away from home to live the street life.

I was trying to save him from it, but I couldnt, Carson said.

Wells had been missing for about two months when Carson received a call from detectives. He thought perhaps they had found his son or that he had gotten into some minor trouble with the law.

I was never expecting for them to tell me that they needed me to identify (Wells) body, Carson said.

The Richmond Police Department has yet to release information about a suspect or suspects in the killings. Officers passed out fliers Sunday asking the community for assistance.

Fighting tears in front of the crowd, Samantha Singleton gave an impassioned plea to those in attendance to intervene when they see children with guns, saying her nephew was like her own child and he lost his life for something stupid.

If you see any of these kids with guns, tell them put them down  its not right, Samantha Singleton said.

Deputy Chief Steve Drew said there is way too much violence and way too much pain and suffering in the city, and called on members of the community to come forward and help detectives with the investigation.

We have to bring resolve to this family, he said. We also have to come together  not only for the family  for our neighborhood and our city.

There have been 28 homicides so far in 2017  an increase of three compared to the same period last year. Six more city killings  two justified homicides, two accidental fatal shootings, a police-involved shooting and a death that is still under investigation  are not part of the official figure for homicides because police are not required to count them.

Anne Culbreth-Washington, a teacher with Richmond Public Schools, said Christian Singleton was the second student she has lost to violence this year, adding that he was one of our prized pupils and like a grandson to her.

I just want everyone to know that he was not just a hood rat or a hoodlum running around here, Culbreth-Washington said. (He was) a very smart man.
Expect to feel typical summertime heat and more humidity when you head out to vote Tuesday. The afternoon storm chance will be minimal in the Richmond area, but not zero.

Morning:

Tuesday will start out dry and mainly clear, but will be even warmer than the past few mornings.

Daybreak temperatures will be in the lower-to-mid 70s for Richmond, Tidewater and Northern Virginia, and mid-to-upper 60s for the western Piedmont and mountains.

Midday:

During lunchtime, temperatures will be edging into the lower 90s for Richmond and the eastern half of the state, and a range of 80s in the west.

Spotty showers will start to develop across the mountains, but Richmond and the eastern tier of the state should still be dry.

Otherwise, expect plenty of sun mixed with some puffy cumulus clouds.

Afternoon:

Highs will once again top out a bit warmer than usual, with a peak in the lower-to-mid 90s for Richmond, Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia.

With slightly more humidity than Monday, the heat index will make it feel like mid-to-upper 90s.

There will be some isolated showers and storms, particularly in Southwest Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley.

A few storms could develop between the Blue Ridge and Interstate 95, but rain wont be widespread.

A brief storm cant even be ruled out for Richmond, but dry weather is the most likely outcome.

Tidewater is the region of the state least likely to see any thundershowers.

Any storms that pop up on Tuesday wont be well organized, and wont be very likely to turn severe.

Evening:

Mainly clear and dry weather will be the theme as temperatures slide back into the 80s.

Isolated storms should weaken and disappear between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Higher storm chance on Wednesday:

Many areas could see a storm in the afternoon and evening as a cold front moves in from the north.

Some storms could have severe wind gusts. Itll be nearly as hot as Tuesday and noticeably more humid.
States-rights conservatives argue that the federal government does not always know best. Superior wisdom and confidence rest at the state and local levels, they say. Even when they share the goals of federal policy, purists prefer state and local action.

Candidate Donald Trump opposed the Paris climate accord and ridiculed climate change. As president, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris accord.

Critics cried foul. States and cities vowed to abide by the accord. The Times-Dispatch reported that Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney are among Virginia leaders defying Trump on climate. The two, joined by Attorney General Mark Herring, are pledging to carry on the principles of Paris. Virginia has joined a coalition of states committed to meeting or exceeding the carbon reduction targets in President Obamas Clean Power Plan.
A years-old Franklin County felony conviction for marijuana possession  which started with a mishap in a Bojangles parking lot and rose this spring to the Virginia Supreme Court  will remain in place despite the original intent of the defense attorney, the prosecutor and the judge in the case.

In an opinion issued June 1 by the state Supreme Court, Chief Justice Donald Lemons affirmed a circuit court judges refusal to set aside the conviction of Matthew Fitzgerald Hackett, who through a 2009 oral agreement voluntarily served jail time in order to see a felony drug conviction reduced to a misdemeanor.

The cases roots date back to February 2008, when Hackett was a 24-year-old college student driving from North Carolina back to school in New York.

While passing through Franklin County, Hackett stopped to eat at a fast-food restaurant in Rocky Mount and locked his keys in his vehicle. He called police for help, but when a sheriffs unit arrived, the deputy spotted a smoking device inside, according to courtroom arguments.

Deputies searched the vehicle and found about four ounces of pot, and the student was soon charged with possession of drugs with intent to distribute, a Class 5 felony.

At a hearing the following year, Hackett was given a choice by Franklin County Judge William Alexander: Walk out of the courtroom with a felony conviction or go the extra mile and submit to a series of requirements, including jail time, that would see the charge amended to a misdemeanor.

Although the arrangement was not formally written into the plea agreement, all the principal figures involved agreed at the time that it was the resolution they wanted.

According to defense attorney Bill Stanley, Hackett pleaded guilty to felony drug possession and served a nine-month jail sentence, carrying a little more than two years in suspended time. After his release, he was on intensive supervised probation for a year and completed a 30-day residential drug program.

The case remained under advisement for several years until August 2013, when Hackett filed a motion to modify the conviction. But in a hearing that month, Alexander announced that due to recent case law, he no longer had jurisdiction over the case.

He cited Starrs v. Commonwealth, which involved similar legal circumstances and was pending before the courts at that time.

When a conviction has been imposed, you cant change the conviction unless you do it within 21 days, Alexander told Hackett, Stanley and then-assistant prosecutor Robert Deatherage, according to a court recording of the hearing.

The problem is, through the legislature, I cant do this. Its black-and-white, Alexander said.

Stanley, a state senator who represents Franklin County, argued otherwise.

I come from the side of the legislature that believes you have the inherent power in this court to adjudicate as you see fit, he told the judge. My understanding is, as long as I had the commonwealths blessing, I could move to modify this sentence.

Thats the way I did it for a long time, but Ive got to follow the law, Alexander said. I would like to do it, but after hes been found guilty and sentenced, there is no case law that says you can change it.

If this had been in writing, I would do it. He deserves it. There is no question about that, the judge said, but added that he could not change a final order: Its absolutely prohibited.

Alexander retired as a Franklin County judge in early 2015. Later that year, Deatherage left the prosecutors office.

Stanley continued to pursue the case, but both the court of appeals and, last week, the Virginia Supreme Court echoed Alexanders earlier position.

In this case, the conviction order and the sentencing order were entered in 2009 and neither was modified, vacated or suspended within 21 days, a summary of the Supreme Courts opinion said. Accordingly, they became final and the trial court lost jurisdiction. ...

An oral understanding of the trial court, prosecutor, and defense counsel not embodied in a plea agreement  did not afford jurisdiction to the trial court to enter the relief sought.

On Friday, Stanley said he may yet take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, or possibly seek a gubernatorial pardon. Regardless, he said, It continues to keep me up at night.

Of the use of an oral agreement over a written one, Stanley said, At the time, that was the procedure that the commonwealth and defense attorneys would employ.

If theres one regret, its that we wouldnt be able to see into the future at the time, and the fact that the intended result could not be achieved.

Reached Monday, Alexander said he was not able to comment on the matter. Deatherage did not respond to emails about the case and Hackett could not be reached by phone.

Stanley said Hackett ultimately graduated from college, got a job and was married, but his status as a felon continued to cause problems, including complicating his ability to adopt.

Its a true miscarriage of justice, Stanley continued. Some of our laws and some of our rules in Virginia have been crafted so theres no ability by the courts at the local level to carry out their intended orders, even if they make an error.

I am more determined than ever to make sure that we right this wrong.
WISE The University of Virginias College at Wise will receive $3.5 million from the University of Virginia to increase enrollment in programs at the college and to create a robust culture of entrepreneurship and innovation in the region, the college said Friday.

The Wise Innovation Ecosystem received the funding from the UVas Strategic Investment Fund, according to a news release from the college.

The Strategic Investment Fund is an extraordinary opportunity for the University of Virginia community to dream big and exercise creative license to design and implement high-impact, high-value initiatives, UVa-Wise Chancellor Donna Henry said.

She added that college officials are grateful for the award.

This is truly a transformative opportunity which will strengthen innovation and entrepreneurship in our curriculum while reinforcing student outcomes and economic development, Henry added.

Approval of the award was announced Friday by the board of visitors.

One of the Wise Innovation Ecosystems goals is to diversify the regions economy by boosting enrollment in the software engineering, computer science and management of information systems programs, said Shannon Blevins, assistant vice chancellor for economic development and engagement.

Another goal is to give students the skills needed to be relevant and competitive in the emerging economy by creating a center for innovation for students to collaborate and develop entrepreneurial skills through hands-on learning experiences, Blevins said.

The college will receive the funding over a five-year period. The majority of the funds will support a Center for Innovation, including the hiring of a professor of entrepreneurship, a professor of cyber-MIS, a center manager and operation costs, including start-up scholarships, student internships, an entrepreneurship boot camp, a cyber-security symposium, an entrepreneurial certificate program and the Student Innovation Center.

Jacob Somervell, chairman of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, said the award will bring more students to the computer science and software engineering programs.

Increasing enrollment and the number of graduates can have the ripple effect of attracting more technology companies to the region, Somervell added.

The funds will also support a retention program for students in various programs, including a mandatory summer program for entering students, highly monitored turbo classes in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, early intervention for at-risk students and shared courses with the University of Virginia, the college said.
As a long-time Democrat and rural Rockbridge County resident, I have been disappointed by the willingness of too many politicians to ignore our part of Virginia. One politician paying a lot of attention to us is Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor Susan Platt.

Platt has been all over rural Virginia at Democratic meetings, rallies, and town halls. However, her most meaningful visits were not open to media, so I want to share them now. In early January Susan asked to meet with families Ive advocated for throughout the Shenandoah Valley. Susan spent the day driving across rural Virginia to meet the people behind the stories Ive been sharing for almost 10 years. We sat around tables and we talked, we laughed, and we cried about special education, social services, adoption, foster care, addiction, autism, grandparents raising grandchildren, and (of course!) pets. Families talked about financial burdens they still face years after the recession supposedly ended and Susan has stayed in touch with them, using their experiences to guide her campaign.

Platt is a strong candidate with the political expertise needed to be our next lieutenant governor. Shes a businesswoman who knows how important jobs are in our communities. In this race, only Susan has spoken out forcefully against the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley pipelines, which would tear up our lands and hurt our environment. Her Pipeline Resistance Tour included stops across rural Virginia, and she committed to stand up for us and fight the pipeline at every meeting.

This is why Platt has my vote in next weeks June 13 Democratic primary. Platt is not afraid to stand up to big energy companies who own our government in Richmond. Shes going to fight for a better future for our children, for better access to healthcare, and for an economy that works for all of Virginia. We may not have as many voters as other parts of the commonwealth, but Platt recognizes the struggles rural Virginians are facing, and is supporting us 100 percent. Please vote for Susan Platt on June 13 as the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor.

SUSAN LAWRENCE

LEXINGTON
MEADOWS OF DAN  By the time Elder Tim McGrady delivered opening announcements, congregants filled nearly every pew at Concord Primitive Baptist Church.

They arrived in twos and threes, silently accepting hymnals from McGrady and longtime church member Evan Cassell. The rustling of pages echoed off the high ceiling as worshippers flipped to the current hymn, waiting until someone established the melody before joining the churchs a capella renditions of gospel classics.

For Concord, a near-full house was still a recent phenomenon.

When 74-year-old Barbara Knowles first started coming in the 1960s, monthly meetings drew 50 to 70 people. Over the years, membership dwindled, until Knowles and Cassell were the only souls left on the churchs roster.

A lot of the older people, they just passed away and the younger ones, a lot of them just didnt come anymore, Knowles said.

That ended in November, when a community fundraiser to preserve the nearly 104-year-old building sparked an unexpected revival.

Felecia Shelor, a Meadows of Dan native who helped organize the fundraiser, said Primitive Baptists from around the region have started adding Concords monthly meetings to the rotation of churches they attend. Descendants of Concords former congregants, drawn by their ties to the churchs history, have started attending services as well.

The denomination, which traces its history back to the early 1800s, is made up of non-evangelical Christians who generally adhere to Calvinist beliefs. Members believe in predestination and shun outreach strategies, trusting that those who are meant to attend the church will be drawn to it. Churches hold services without frills, eschewing extra programs such as Sunday school that the church interprets as contrary to biblical teachings.

For Shelor and other Concord supporters, the revitalized attendance at Concord was a sign that some might be coming back to the faith.

Theres a sense that Primitive Baptists are coming awake, wanting to know what their grandparents and their grandparents ... religion was, Shelor said.

Life and purpose

Where two or three gather in my name, there I am with them, Jesus promises his disciples in Matthew.

For years, Cassell and Knowles were those two.

Cassell, 54, has greeted visitors at Concord since he was about 10 years old. Knowles, who grew up attending a Primitive Baptist church in Bedford County with her mother, found Concord when she moved to Meadows of Dan. Both were baptized and accepted into Concord on the same day in September 1971 by Cassells grandfather, Edgar Cassell, who was an elder. The small church, located on a gravel road just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, became home.

When membership declined, Cassell mowed Concords small lawn with the help of friends and Knowles cleaned the church. The longtime elder  the Primitive Baptist title for a pastor  made the two-hour drive from Jefferson, North Carolina, when bad weather or health didnt prevent the trip.

Knowles quote "A lot of the older people, they just passed away and the younger ones, a lot of them just didn't come anymore."  Barbara Knowles

But a leaky roof that had plagued the building for years was steadily worsening.

In the back of the church, water flooded the pews whenever it rained, Cassell said. In the front, near the pulpit, water trickled down the walls, carving rivulets into the unpainted chestnut walls that serve as the churchs main adornment. The interior dates to when the church was built in 1913, before a fungus wiped out 3.5 billion American chestnuts nationwide.

Just like everything else, it [the leak] started out small and then got a little bigger and a little bigger, Cassell said.

It was clear Concord was in desperate need of repairs. But with only two dedicated members and the occasional visitor, finding the money seemed impossible.

Cassell and Knowles reached out to the Meadows of Dan Community Association, hoping it might fix the roof if the building was transferred to the association for community use. Instead, they found a champion in Shelor.

Shelor, 54, owns the Poor Farmers Market, a deli and country store just up the road from Concord. Shelor doesnt consider herself Primitive Baptist. She didnt attend Concord growing up. But the building evokes strong memories of her grandmother, whose funeral was held there. The idea of resurrecting Concord, of creating a place where people could learn about the Primitive Baptist denomination, captivated her.

I started to realize that without a congregation, its just a building, Shelor said. It doesnt have life and purpose.

Shelor set out to bring Concords history to life. She compiled a five-page overview, using a book written by the daughter of a former member that covers Concords history starting with the congregations founding in 1833. She posted rallying cries online and dialed up nearby Primitive Baptist churches, hoping to drum up enough attention to save the building.

The fundraiser  hosted by the community association  drew about 250 people, Shelor said. Organizers collected $17,500 in donations  exactly enough to fix the roof, repaint the building and replace a storm door. Cassell and Knowles recruited McGrady, who lives in Hillsville, as an interim pastor.

But the fundraiser also seemed to ignite peoples interest in Primitive Baptists, Shelor said. When more people came to the churchs next service, Shelor said some commented that attending Concord was like stepping back in time. She said the church taps into a sense that mountain people are fading away in the modern era.

Its like we are becoming extinct, she said. Were becoming extinct in this world of the new age. Were trying to hold on.

McGrady said hes happy to see people who are interested in the buildings history but hopes that visitors are likewise interested in the churchs message.

A lot of people came because of the historical significance of the meeting house there, he said. I hope they come because theyre interested in the truth.

That has been the case for 58-year-old Rob Church. When he first made the one-hour drive from his home in Walnut Cove, North Carolina, at Shelors invitation, a grainy photo hanging behind the pulpit caught his eye. The photo shows elders from Primitive Baptist churches across the region in the early 20th century. Among them, Church found his grandfather, Samuel Thompson.

I came here and was just poking around and I found this picture, Church said. I didnt know it was there.

The photo makes him feel more connected to the church, he said. But the sermons have kept him coming back. I havent heard one word here that isnt true, he said.

Wandering back

Salvation isnt fair, McGrady told Concords attendants during that afternoon service in mid-March. Nor, he said, should it be.

Under Primitive Baptist doctrine, true Christians were chosen before the beginning of the earth. A person cannot choose to follow Christ, because humans cant choose to be good, McGrady said.

If a person hasnt been born again, all thats in their heart is sin and corruption and wickedness, McGrady said. Can the Ethiopian change his skin? Can the leopard change his spots?

For Primitive Baptists, the concept of predestination  sometimes called election  is a source of joy. Wickedness is the default nature of humans; the fact that God chooses to instill goodness in humanity at all is the miracle.

The reason that so many people reject this truth is because it offends their sense of fairness, McGrady said. But I really dont think they want salvation based on fairness. If it was based on fairness, then no one would be saved. Because what was fair about Christ suffering for what you did?

Election is one of the doctrines that set Concords services apart, Shelor said. Visitors might also notice that the church doesnt use musical instruments. Primitive Baptist leaders have not found authorization in the scripture for instrumental music, McGrady said.

The churchs tradition of meeting once a month dates back to when people lived farther apart, Shelor said. Worshippers would travel to a different church every Sunday to visit family and friends, usually choosing a nearby congregation as their home church.

Its really important to me that we never try to change anything about Concord Primitive Baptist Church, said Shelor, who has attended the churchs monthly meetings since the fundraiser. If we go there, we accept that [predestination] is part of their faith.

Some of the churchs practices, like its monthly meetings, were once common across other denominations, said Joshua Guthman, an associate professor of history at Berea College in Kentucky. But the denominations belief in predestination makes revivals like the one Concord has experienced highly unusual, he said.

Guthman, who focused on the denomination in his book Strangers Below: Primitive Baptists and American Culture, said surges in attendance typically dont happen. Traditionally, Primitive Baptists believe the elected will find a suitable congregation once God makes them aware of their sinful condition, he said.

Since Primitive Baptists became Primitive Baptists, theyve generally been against all the techniques of revivalists that other churches use to attract members, Guthman said. Theres this idea that God will do his own work in his own time, and who are we as men and women to usurp that?

Concords attendance in recent months has been similar to other Primitive Baptist churches where McGrady serves as pastor. Though numbers can vary, McGrady said about 40 people usually come to services at Bell Spur Primitive Baptist Church in Meadows of Dan. Dan River Primitive Baptist Church usually sees about 20 people at its meetings.

Concord Primitive Baptist Church Where: 453 Concord Road in Meadows of Dan When: Third Sunday of every month at 1:30 p.m.

The denomination has never had a huge number of devotees, Guthman said. At their peak in 1906, Primitive Baptists numbered 138,000 members and 3,700 churches, Guthman writes in his book. By 2001, the number of members nationwide had been cut nearly in half. Its difficult to estimate the exact number left in the U.S., Guthman said, but the trend over the last century has been for Primitive Baptist churches to shrink. Congregants generally are related to each other, and new members are usually born into the church. A few families might dominate a congregation, another trait Primitive Baptists have historically shared with other rural churches.

You go the church graveyard and you see three or four family names on all the headstones, he said. This was just common, well into the 20th century.

Its normal for some descendants to wander away from the faith. But Concord is the first hes heard of a Primitive Baptist church where people are wandering back.

Loyal Jones served as the director of Berea Colleges Appalachian Center for 23 years until his retirement in 1993. The center has focused on Appalachian culture and history since it opened in 1970. Jones said theologically similar denominations, like Old Regular Baptists, have had greater success in retaining members because they have been more willing to create programs like Sunday schools and vacation Bible schools. Old Regular Baptists also tend to differ from Primitive Baptists on the question of whether people are elected or are free moral agents.

In eastern Kentucky, Jones said Old Regular Baptists congregations appear to be flourishing. The two Primitive Baptist churches near his home, however, shuttered after the congregations died out.

[Primitive Baptists] dont believe in Sunday schools. They didnt believe in theological seminaries. They thought those were man-made, Jones said. They saw the church setting up all sorts of things like Sunday schools and theological schools to get people more involved, when they believed that the church was a place where they came to worship God. Jones agreed that Concords revival is unusual but said it likely does not signal a resurrection for the denomination overall.

Whether or not they bring younger people in, I believe many of these churches are diminishing, Jones said. I think they just died out because of that Calvinist notion of waiting for Gods call.

Members of Blue Ridge Heritage also have sponsored efforts to register the building as a historic landmark through the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Ralph Lutts, a retired historian who has taken charge of the process, said he recently submitted a preliminary application, which the department uses to determine whether a full application would meet its specifications. If all goes well, Concord could be placed on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places, designations that could allow the buildings owners to qualify for state and federal historic rehabilitation tax credits.

For Cassell, the increased attendance and the possibility that the church could become a recognized landmark have been a source of hope.

Its just been a total transformation, he said. Its like the heydays in the 60s and 70s where it was standing-room only, where people were standing outside. Most of them are coming back because theyre liking the messages theyre hearing, too. Thats showing me that there may be a future where we had none before.
George Fessey

A NIGHTCLUBBER who had to have his skull rebuilt after a 17-stone bouncer slammed his head into the pavement is suing for more than 1million in compensation.

Rory Davis (25) of Nidderdale Place, Sunnyside, suffered a brain haemorrhage and had to have his head and face rebuilt with titanium plates when doorman George Fessey, performed a wrestling-style piledriver on him outside a club in Mansfield four-and-a-half years ago.

Lawyers for Mr Davis said he now suffered from headaches, hearing and memory problems, had to take anti-epileptic medicine and had persisting significant disability due to the punishment his brain took.

Mr Davis had been refused entry to the After Dark nightclub on a night out in December 2012 and was involved in a dispute when Fessey waded in and slammed Mr Davis into the ground head first.



Rory Davis

Fessey, who was jailed for two years in 2014 after admitting inflicting grievous bodily harm, is now being sued along with three businesses Mr Davis said should be found indirectly liable for the bouncers criminal violence that night.

In a writ lodged with Londons High Court, Mr Davis barrister, Mr Robert Smith, said that the then 20-year-old had been seeking to gain access to the premises and was rowing with another bouncer when suddenly and without warning, Fessey intervened in the dispute.

Fessey, of Swadlincote in Derbyshire, picked Mr Davis up from behind, wrapping his arms around his waist and lifting him off the ground to the maximum height which he was able to do.

The writ continues: Thereafter Fessey rotated him around such that his head was to the ground.

He then deliberately and forcefully drove and slammed Mr Davis into the ground head first, causing him to be rendered unconscious, suffering catastrophic injury.

Mr Davis injuries caused his brain to swell dramatically and surgeons were obliged to partially deconstruct his skull in order to save his life.

The now 25-year-old, who worked for a minicab business before the attack, is now at a very significant disadvantage on the labour market because of the attack, Mr Smiths writ says.

As well as Fessey, Mr Davis is suing the company that ran After Dark, Wakefield-based Leisure Ninety Nine Limited, plus door security staff providers West Yorkshire Security UK Limited and Loughborough-based Cox Security Services.

The writ states Mr Davis is seeking damages in excess of 1 million.

Mr Smith claims there was a failure to carry out any or any adequate background checks on Fessey before allowing him to work as a bouncer at the club and that he was inadequately trained.

Fessey, the writ alleges, was permitted to act in an entirely unreasonable manner, thereby resulting in catastrophic injury to Mr Davis.

The case was originally brought before the High Court in London but has now been transferred to Manchester High Court for a hearing at a later date.

The defence of Fessey and the three other defendants to the claim were not available from the court and the allegations made in the writ have yet to be tested in evidence before a judge.
Superintendent Minister Rev Alistair Sharp

A SPECIAL service of thanksgiving will be held as a long-serving Methodist minister bows out.

Superintendent Minister Rev Alistair Sharp is leaving his post this summer and a service will be held in his honour at Wath Trinity Methodist Church at 6pm on July 16.

Rev Joanne Archer-Siddall from Rotherham Faith Leaders Council said: We have so much to be thankful for, and as a Circuit we are thankful for all Alistair and his family have meant to us.

We really want to celebrate all Alistair has meant to us and we urge everyone to be with us to celebrate this event as we wish the family well as they leave us to venture into Cornwall.

We will also be thanking those who have served amongst us as circuit stewards, welcoming new stewards and commissioning our new chaplains who work in the local community.
The fact occurred during an argument on social media with a counter-terrorism official. Raza was one of the 15 people arrested by the counter-terrorism department last year in Pakistan on accusation of blasphemy. His family belonged to Pakistans minority Shia Muslim community. He was charged in multiple articles of the low but initially was eligible for only two years in prison. He would appeal the conviction sustaining he is innocent.

Using Facebook

Authorities have asked Twitter and Facebook to help identify worldwide Pakistani users sharing blasphemous material, and have distributed text messages encouraging Pakistanis to report fellow citizens.The government sent messages to millions people with warning about posting blasphemous content online. Even a provincial governor was shot and killed by his police guard who accused him of blasphemy after he criticized the law and defended a Christian woman, in 2011. The Human Rights Watch organization in Pakistan is concerned about his case. Such sentences will embolden those who want to wrongly frame people, Saroop Ijaz, a lawyer, said. Four people were sentenced to death for blasphemy last year in this country.
Bangladesh's 'Ba3 stable' sovereign credit profile is supported by the robust economic growth that underpinned by garment exports, Moody's Investors Service said in a report on Sunday.

Nonetheless, the weakening inflows of remittances from overseas-based workers could hurt consumption, the report cautioned.

The ready-made garment industry makes up about 70 percent of country's total visible exports and also accounts for significant foreign investment inflows, the report said.

Meanwhile, the farm sector is the biggest employer, with over three million workers.

"Bangladesh will continue to invest in its garment manufacturing sector to capitalize on its strong comparative advantage of abundant low-cost labor," William Foster, a Vice President and Senior Credit Officer at Moody's, said.

"It will remain a leading global supplier of basic garments and the industry will continue to drive the nation's growth, exports and job creation."

Foster also observed that the country's focus on low-value garment exports helps to insulate it from the impact of higher trade tariffs that could result from greater protectionism globally.

The garment industry also benefits from the one of the lowest wage levels in the world.

That said, Bangladesh lags behind its peers such as Vietnam, Cambodia and Sri Lanka, in terms of overall economic competitiveness. This could hamper the ability of the to absorb shocks, the report warned.

Overseas remittances accounted for about 6.7 percent of the country's GDP in the fiscal year 2016.

"However, inflows have dropped by 14.6 percent in the first eight months of this fiscal year, driven by muted economic activity in Gulf Cooperation Countries," Moody's said.

"Moving forward, muted remittances growth could weigh on consumption."

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Economic News

What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.
Crude oil futures remained steady Monday morning, trimming some of last weeks losses despite further signs of robust U.S. production.

Oil production from the biggest U.S. shale fields will rise by 127,000 barrels a day to 5.475 million barrels a day in July from June, according to a monthly report from the Energy Information Administration released Monday.

An industry report from Baker Hughes on Friday showed U.S. energy companies added oil rigs for a record 21st week in a row.

Surging U.S. production has offset production quotas from OPEC and Russia this year.

U.S. companies, meanwhile, told the EIA their Canada oilsands reserves dropped by a total of about 7.7 billion barrels amid a significant drop in prices last year.

July WTI oil gained 25 cents, or 0.6%, to settle at $46.08/bbl.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Market Analysis
This dynamic helped Gov. Laura Kelly win reelection in Kansas

Gov. Laura Kelly won a second term in a historic win in the Kansas governor's race. Her performance in Johnson County helped deliver a narrow victory.
As a nation, there is no doubt that Samoa has come a long way.

We need to remind ourselves now and then.

You see, sometimes when we are frustrated about the way things are and how some things have turned out, we forget that where we are today is not as merely as tough as it was.

In hindsight, we have it easy thanks to the vision, wisdom and foresight of our forebears who paved the way for us.

It was only two weeks ago this nation paused to honour their memories during the 55th Independence Celebration. How can we forget the tears, sweat and the blood shed for the glorious freedom we enjoy today? We should never forget.

In this writers case, I received an email from a niece in New Zealand who is studying the topic of the Mau Movement for an assignment. She wanted to know my take on the topic and what I think the Mau Movement represents for Samoa.

Everyone has an opinion and everyone will have different views.

But in very simple language, this is what I told my niece. I thought Id share it with you and all the young generations of Samoa today:

Dear Miracle,

The Mau Movement, started by Lauaki in Savaii, was a non-violent political movement born out of the Samoan peoples desire to be free of foreign rule, discrimination brutality imposed on them by the foreign administrators of Samoa the time.

The pinnacle of the Movement came when one of its most prominent leaders, Tupua Tamasese Lealofi III was fatally shot by the New Zealand administration during a peaceful demonstration by hundreds of Samoans in the heart of Apia, in what is now known as Black Saturday.

Black Saturday may have been one of the darkest periods in the history of Samoa, but it gave birth to a new era for our country.

Our darkest day, actually in the end proved to be our most glorious one, in that it became the catalyst for self-rule or independence

Tupua Tamasese Lealofis final words are worth remembering.

My blood has been spilt for Samoa, he said. I am proud to give it. Do not dream of avenging it, as it was spilt in peace. If I die, peace must be maintained at any price.

This is not just important today. These words helped set the scene for a peaceful transition to independence prior to 1962.

The Mau Movement was significant in that it reinforced some of the values that many generations after continue to enjoy.

One of the key things the colonial rulers at the time tried to do was to undermine the authority or pule of the matai. They did not like the fact Samoa was chosen by God to be ruled by matai. They did not appreciate the wisdom, the foreknowledge and how matai could organise their aiga and nuu. Thankfully, our forebears did not give us easily.

Today as we can still see, the authority of matai still hasnt diminished one bit.

Samoa is still being ruled by matai and our Parliamentary system allows for this system to continue to be fostered for many more years to come.

The Mau Movement was also a testament to the resilience of the Samoan people who never gave up even in the face of extreme hardship.

This no doubt shaped how Samoans have continued to fight on despite all the natural disasters and other kinds of adversity that have been thrown in their path over the years.

The Mau Movement worked because it was initiated by Samoans for Samoans, giving rise to the Maus catch-cry of Samoa mo Samoa or Samoa for Samoans.

And its a cry that has continued to echo over the years, even up till now.

Our people have become highly sensitive, even suspicious, of any form of foreign influence that comes into our country.

The Mau Movement was a fight by Samoans to take back what was rightfully theirs in the first place  the power to rule their own country peacefully, the way that they wanted.

The foreign administration at the time tried to remove anything that was Mau-related, including stripping away the insignia of the movement  a white strip that encircled lavalavas worn by members of the Mau.

But they could not take away the peoples spirit, determination and courage to persevere. And no one and nothing has succeeded in ever doing that.

So all in all, the Mau Movement did more than just carve out the way for our independence. It also shaped the way Samoans think and act, even up till now.

It gave us our sense of identity; our sense of pride; and our sense of nationhood. It also gave us our sense of security that nothing like the struggles and hardship that the Mau freed us from will ever happen again.

By the way, by the time I was done writing to my dear niece, Id shed a few tears. They were tears of gratefulness, thanksgiving and rejoicing knowing that I am the product of ancestors who stood up and fought for what they believe is right for Samoa. Let not their struggles, tears and blood be in vain, Samoa!

Have a wonderful week, God bless!
Re: The U.S.A needs followers

Stop listening to fake news and propaganda vomited by the mainstream media. Just yesterday, the same CNN fake news staged a demonstration by the Muslims in London after the London bridge attack to show that they were against the attack.

And a true patriot was around the corner to take footage of what happened and posted on the social media for those that were interested in the truth.

This is the same media that you are getting your information from. The misinformation that you are getting shows how much youve been misled by the establishment news media thats been feeding the frenzy of lies and deception about everything about Trump colluding with the Russians.

You probably deny the existence of the globalist group called the Bilderbergs thats pushing the Climate Change agenda as well.

And I sense you support the open boarders for the influx of terrorist that is migrating to Europe that is causing havoc and destruction from a war started by the Bushes and the Obamas. I dont have any party affiliation, only the truth I want and Ill call a spade a spade.

Leituala Roger B
A serious side to a seriously funny Samoan from Safotulafai, Saleaula, Papa Sataua, Falealupo, Sagone and Fasitoo-uta

Samoas funniest man, Tofiga Fepuleai, is not all about laughs and jokes.

There is a serious side to him which Samoa will get to see when he visits Apia at the end of the month for his solo show I Gant Belive It.

The one thing I will be emphasising during this visit to Samoa is the importance of surrounding yourself with good people, Tofiga told the Samoa Observer.

It doesn't matter the number of people you surround yourself with but the quality of people who have around you.

Everyone goes through tough times and most of the time its the people you have around that can make the difference of whether you get back up or stay down.

He certainly knows about the tough times.

Professionally speaking, Tofiga has had to deal with being declared bankrupt.

Then hes had to deal with having to part ways with his long time Laughing Samoans partner, Eteuati Ete, whom he says he misses performing with.

If anything though, Tofiga knows how to get back up.

His strong resolve to rise again has given birth to I Gant beliv it.

Dubbed a show for the whole family, it promises to bring tears of laughter. He is also looking forward to imparting knowledge and experiences when he visits visits schools in Samoa as part of his trip.

Performing solo is different and a lot more work, he said.

Its been funny writing my show because I just laugh at my own jokes. When writing with other people you can get feed back and bounce ides of each other. But because Im writing and talking to myself I sometimes test my jokes on my wife and most of the time she doesn't laugh at my jokes. Hahaha.

But after almost 14 years of performing comedy with the Laughing Samoans around the world, Tofiga is in a good space.

Im sure many of our Laughing Samoans fans miss my uso Ete and myself performing as a duo. I also miss performing as a Laughing Samoan but even before I became a Laughing Samoan Ive always wanted to perform my own show, he said.

Theres not much of a difference in terms of the humour with my solo show. The main difference is that on stage now its just me and myself. I use my Samoan/Pacific Island/Kiwi humour in my material.

In my solo show I talk a lot about my life and growing up as a NZ born Samoan.

And so far it has been hugely successful.

Ive had a couple of Shows in NZ so far with my Wellington Show just a couple of weeks ago. I premiered my "I Gan't belive it" show to a sellout crowd in Auckland in April.

The support and feedback from people who have seen the show has been overwhelming and humbling. And now Im going to be performing my solo show in Samoa and for me its a big thing.

Incorporating music into the Show is one of the new elements provided by a back up band.

The music element of my show is something I really want to grow more for future shows. Ive been blessed to have some of my good friends and family from Wellington and Auckland help me with the music set for my shows.

Im really thankful to have my uso and the very talented TJ Taotua who's been really supportive of my new journey and solo shows. Its been great having my uso Lapi Mariner join the team.

In my Auckland show, I had the an amazing line up of talent. On Backup Vocals i had my Tongan uso Moses Atiola, Sam Sinipata, J-Miah Tauti. On percussion we had our Funky Fijian Joseph Seniloli with lead guitars and vocals Tj Taotua.

In the wellington show we had my Porirua family Henry and Tepora Samia adding smooth vocals with Henry on the keyboards. The icing on the cake was having my uso Lapi Mariner join us in Wellington.

As for his show in Samoa, which will be held at the Taumeasina Island Resort, Tofiga can hardly wait.

I look forward to visiting Samoa to perform my show but most of all to be able to be more involved with projects focusing on young people in Samoa, he said.

Its been awesome to connect again with my good friend Etu Life to plan this trip to Samoa. Im looking forward to sharing some of my experiences and life lessons with the students at some of the local schools in Samoa.

I really appreciate the hard work Etu has done to make this trip possible and especially with the support of my Indian brother Muliagatele Shiu Sing of Henderson Cars and major sponsor of the Manu Samoa and Samoa rugby teams. Also a massive thank you to Taumeasina for their amazing support for the purpose of this trip to Samoa.

Tofiga is the son of Tu'ua Semurana Fepulea'i from Fusi Safotulafai and Sale'aula, Savaii. His mother is Fuamago Malae Malagamaali'i Fepulea'i from Papa Sataua, Falealupo, Sagone and Fasito'outa.

WHAT: Tofiga Fepuleai

WHEN: 21st June 2017

WHERE: Taumeasina Island Resort

ABOUT I GANT BELIV IT

Originally part of the acclaimed duo, The Laughing Samoans, Tofiga Fepuleai is now solo and on the rise. A show for the whole family. I Gant Belive It will bring tears of laughter.

Let Tofiga take you on a whirlwind ride of life changing experiences about his childhood and having to grow up around his extended family and the Pacific community.

Tofiga brings a whole new look and feel into Pacific humour.

With backup band and sharing about his own experiences as a New Zealand born Samoan and it will certainly flex certain muscles in your body that you totally forgot you had when youre laughing from the beginning to the end! I Gant Belive It will definitely bring the house down.
A former Police Inspector Luatimu Samau has queried the motives behind the allegations, which have now landed him in a Commission of Inquiry ordered by Cabinet.

In strongly rejecting the allegations, he believes they were personally motivated. Luatimu raised the concerns before a Cabinet appointed Commission of Inquiry, which sat last week.

Headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Lesatele Rapi Vaai, the members are Tavui Annie Laumea, Namulauulu Sami Leota and Apostle Viliamu Mafoe.

Samau who is accused of tampering with evidence in the Police case against former N.P.O Director, Mauga Precious Chang. His conduct in the performance of his duties has also come under the microscope.

Luatimu and another suspended Assistant Commissioner, Samoa Mulinuu, are the focus of the Inquiry.

The lawyers assisting the Commission are Sefo Ainuu and Alesana Tumua of the Office of the Attorney General, while Luatimu stood in pro-se.

One of the main witnesses called to testify was Senior Sergeant, Vaalele Tofa, who was the lead Investigator with the Internal Affairs Unit.

Luatimu read out the internal complaint against him by the Professional Standards Unit (P.S.U), which implicates him for conducting an investigation without authority from the O.I.C [Officer In Command].

He then queried the Senior Sergeant if there is a law within the Ministry, which requires authority from the O.I.C of Traffic, for another Police Officer to investigate a traffic offense.

Theres no law, said Senior Sergeant Vaalele.

She said the Commissioner gave the authority to the Traffic O.I.C to monitor the investigation conducted by the Traffic Officer.

The charge against you [Samau] is that youre not part of Traffic, yet youve conducted the investigation.

Samau also queried the second allegation against him claiming he acted dishonestly in the execution of his duty.

What dishonesty are you referring to? Luatimu asked.

You acted dishonesty as an official when you interfered with investigations that was not part of your duties, responded the Senior Sergeant.

You were in Afega and the investigation was handled by traffic in town.

Luatimu proceeded by questioning the third charge of knowingly making false reports to Professional Standard Unit.

Is it fair to say the three charges, the wordings are incorrect, even the dates? Luatimu pointed out to the Senior Sergeant.

Senior Sergeant Vaalele noted the charges are supported by the Summary of Facts report from the investigation she conducted.

But Luatimu put it to Vaalele that anyone under investigation is also entitled to Constitutional rights.

Senior Sergeant Vaalele disagreed. She told Luatimu the case against him is for disciplinary and it falls under administrative issues under the Commissioners authority.

You were informed of the investigation, Senior Sergeant Vaalele responded.

Luatimu asked how long the Senior Sergeant had worked for the P.S.U. He also asked if she was doing her work with all honesty.

I cannot answer that, said Senior Sergeant Vaalele.

Luatimu though went further.

He questioned Senior Sergeant Vaalele if she was married to another Police officer.

I have a partner, he has nothing to do with this matter and yes hes a cop, she responded.

But Luatimu claimed the Senior Sergeants motives are personal.

Referring to the the working relationship between me and your bosswhen I appealed his promotion; is that why your team was passionate about coming after me?

Chairman of the Commission Lesatele intervened. He said the witness cannot answer the line of questioning.

The hearing as been adjourned until 23 June 2017.
Being a Samoan sometimes means you have to sacrifice your dreams for your family. Ruta Masinalupe had to put her studies on hold to care for her grandmother and mother who were both sick.

But she never let her dream of becoming a lawyer go.

Last week, the daughter of Masinalupe Tusipa Masinalupe and the late Apaula Solomona-Masinalupe, took the oath of admission before Chief Justice, His Honour Patu Tiavaasue Falefatu Sapolu.

She and another lawyer, Nina Tala, who works for the Electric Power Corporation, were admitted together.

Ruta, the daughter of Masinalupe, former C.E.O of M.J.C.A, is from Alafua and Safa'ato'a Lefaga. She was one of the first female students at Avele College when they finally allowed girls to attend the all-male school back in the 90s.

A member of the E.F.K.S Church at Safa'atoa-tai, Lefaga, Ruta is currently working for Apia Finance Company in the Loans and Policies Division.

A proud Masinalupe told the Samoa Observer his daughter was born to be a lawyer.

Due to family obligations, she had to put her law degree courses on hold twice, he said.

First when her grandmother was ill, Ruta put her schooling on hold. I know it was very difficult decision to make, but as a Samoan girl, Ruta knew she had to make that sacrifice.

Then she turned to teaching for a while after her grandmother passed away. But all along she wanted to be a lawyer and she returned to school.

Then Rutas mother got sick. Again she put her school on hold and returned home to care for her mother.

My heart went out to my daughter, but she knew it was the right thing to do. Her morals and what we instilled in her as a person, that she had to return home for her mom.... then her mother passed away.

I thought she had given up her dream but that never crossed her mind and she returned to school to complete her law degree. She set her goals and she achieved it.

For Ruta, her admission into Samoas Law Society and her law degree is dedicated to her parents.

My parents wanted me to study Law, she said.

I was mostly encouraged by my father who dedicated over 40 years of his life serving at the Ministry of Justice, Courts and Administration.

Hearing about his daily work and what he tries to offer to help the people of Samoa gave me confidence and that extra drive to pursue this degree.

Ruta is not the first lawyer in the family. Her brother Ryan Masinalupe is also a lawyer and is currently Principal State Solicitor at the Office of the Attorney General.

There were challenges but for Ruta, she is an overcomer.

There were some very challenging times along the way but I had my parents and brother pushing me to keep going, she said.

Studying law is very challenging but it has taught me a great deal of discipline which is incredibly valuable to myself and wherever life may take me.

Ruta added she chose this pathway to be of service to people.

I wanted to become a lawyer so I could help people, she said. I chose law as I thought it would be a great way to use my skills in languages and communication to help people.

I like to interact with others and help in any way I can. I am an organised person and I like structure and order as well.

Ruta studied at the National University of Samoa prior to pursuing her education in New Zealand.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts majoring in History and Pacific Studies from University of Auckland. She pursued her law degree at the University of Waikato in Hamilton, in 2012 and completed her Law degree in 2015.

She completed her course of Professional Legal Studies at the College of Law in Auckland.
Sheraton Samoa Aggie Greys has formally welcomed the opening of a new premium cultural outlet by Janets.

The opening of the new cultural outlet and creative space in Sheratons Apia property marks another new chapter for Samoan Tourism since the multi-million dollar redevelopment of the Aggie Greys Hotel unveiled last year to the public in Samoas capital township.

Janets, a celebrated retailer and member of Samoas cultural industry will enhance the Sheraton Samoa experience by showcasing to Sheraton Samoa guests a wide collection of cultural and artistic productions from both Samoan and Pacific artists.

Janets is honored to partner with Sheraton Samoa Aggie Greys on this new cultural space. Aggie Grey and her family have been at the center of Samoan hospitality since the 1930s.

The redevelopment of Aggie Greys Hotel last year under the Sheraton flag was a milestone for all Samoa. Janets is proud to contribute to the legacy of this great name and property and to continue to delight visitors with the best in Samoan fashion, art and culture, said Janet Sablan, Director of Janets.

Mark Francis the General Manager for Sheraton Samoa said everyone at Sheraton Samoa is delighted with this new partnership with Janet, due to its focus on and contribution to the local community.

Janets focus on creating souvenirs based on the local Samoa culture and art not only makes the artefacts authentic, they are also giving back to the community by providing employment and promoting the traditional arts and craft.

We are proud to be able to share this with Janets.

For Sheraton Aggies, Janets adds an option for guests to shop for gifts right at the Hotel, in instances where guests have to find a missing gift they do not have to go far. The design and location of the shop also allows guests to shop at leisure away from all the hustle and crowd in Apia.

Samoan Design

The new Janets outlet is located adjacent to the Sheraton Samoa signature pool and restaurant and is housed in a magnificent traditional Samoan building.

The interior of Janets Sheraton Samoa Store is decorated with traditional pacific carvings and weavings. In designing the new Janets Sheraton Samoa space we took inspiration from the cultural heritage and history of Aggie Greys; in particular we wanted to visually present the storied history and importance of this property.

Aggie Greys is a place where generations of travelers to Samoa have had their first true experience of pacific culture and hospitality and have come to know of the uniqueness of the Samoan tradition.

This is a place where so many have fallen in love with Samoa, said Lisha Sablan, Creative Director of Janets.

Janets exclusive range of products will now be available at the Sheraton Samoa property and, according to Lisha Sablan, Janets will also be introducing new products at the Sheraton outlet, we needed to do something special for our guests at Sheraton Samoa and we are excited to showcase new products and creations in our local jewelry, fashion accessory, clothing, crafts and beauty/health care lines.

Visitors to Sheraton can be assured that Janets will provide the best in pacific cultural products for the entire family as well as everyday necessities and convenience items 

Sheraton GM Mr. Francis noted, at Sheraton we are all about being connected and giving back to the community. Its opportune that Janets share this with us.

Our guests will be able to learn about local arts and craft. Guests can ask questions about and learn the significance of the different items and have knowledge on how the different items are made. We expect the shop to provide the guests with an opportunity to not only purchase gifts.

The convenience shop will also stock snacks and drinks, offering guests the option to get the small necessities that they might have forgotten to pack.

At Janets, Guests of Sheraton Samoa Aggie Greys will experience one of the largest collections of cultural productions and gifts by some of Samoas most well known artist and crafters. The retail store includes exclusive Cultural Works for the entire family including:

 Master Carved and Woven Cultural Items ,Souvenirs and Keepsakes made from local and indigenous fish bone, woods and shells.

 Janets exclusive lines of Samoan and Pacific Made clothing for the whole family.

 Island Designed Modern Homeware

 Pacific Sarongs/Lava Lavas and Beachwear

 Exquisite Fine Island Jewelry from the Pacific and cultural ornamentation for the entire family

 Janets Exclusive Organic Virgin Coconut Oil Beauty/Health Products

 Painted Canvas Art featuring the beauty of Samoan landscapes and Samoan Tattoo / Tatau Motifs

 Snacks and beverages and everyday convenience items

Janets Sheraton Samoa will be opened 7 days a week, email at [email protected] or online at www.janetssamoa.com
The Samoan branch of the Samoa Business Network (SBN) held a networking function at Te Namo Bar, Matautu, earlier this week to host New Zealand Samoa Trade and Investment Commission (NZSTIC) Business Mission delegates and SBN New Zealand members, visiting Samoa.

In country to look at opportunities for developing trade and business between New Zealand and Samoa, the NZSTIC Business Mission was led by Tofaeono Fonoti Dr Lafitai Fuatai, Samoa Trade Commissioner in New Zealand, and Frank Po Ching, Chair of NZSTIC and Managing Director of 3 Seven Group, with support from the Samoa Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Samoa Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), and SBN.

This is the second NZSTIC Business Mission to Samoa and delegates included potential and current business investors, and New Zealand-based training providers. SBN New Zealand members who were part of this delegation were Navigator Consulting Ltd. and Sewtech Training Institution.

Both members had a series of fruitful meetings during the week with government departments, NGOs and private sector businesses. Potential business opportunities include offering business consultancy services in Samoa and delivering sewing and design training in Samoa.

We are delighted to have members of the NZSTIC Business Mission delegation here with us tonight, particularly as we have just formalised the partnership between SBN and NZSTIC, said Afamasaga Jackie Curry, Chair of SBN Samoa, at the function on Tuesday night.

It is also great to see representatives from the New Zealand High Commission and the Samoa Chamber of Commerce & Industry this evening, and Id like to thank them  along with Samoa MFAT  for their instrumental role in making this Business Mission such a success.

SBN is passionate about Samoan businesses reaching their full potential and by reaffirming our alignment with NZSTIC, we are better positioned to continue connecting, sharing and promoting Samoan businesses and entrepreneurs here in Samoa, New Zealand and around the world, Afamasaga said.

Guest speaker at the event, Associate Minister of Communication and Information Technology, Lealailepule Rimoni Aiafi, couldnt have agreed more.

During his presentation, Lealailepule encouraged both NZSTIC delegates and SBN members alike to work together and focus on developing Samoan businesses at all levels, and in particular, by supporting small to medium-scale, Samoan-owned operations with potential for growth.

In his closing remarks, Frank Po Ching reiterated this, saying working collaboratively to build business opportunities is key in a market like Samoa.

The opening prayer and blessing was delivered by Tofaeono Fonoti Dr Lafitai Fuatai, and the event was emceed by local businessman and SBN Samoa Executive Committee member, Etu Tuistala of E-Life Company.

The SBN Samoa Executive Committee would like to thank event sponsors Te Namo Bar, Krush and The Wine Portfolio (one of the NZSTIC delegation companies), as well as ongoing SBN sponsors Tanoa Tusitala Hotel, Liquor Planet, Taula Beverages and Eveni Carruthers.

For more information about SBN in Samoa, and how you could grow your business connections, contact [email protected], visit the Facebook page or website at www.samoabusinessnetwork.org, or call Afamasaga Jackie Curry at +685 751 1773, direct.
MARAWI, Philippines (AP)  From the third-story window of a barren government office building where he now squats as a refugee, Nasir Abdul is watching his city being destroyed.

Nearly every day for the past three weeks, the Philippine military has pounded the lakeside town of Marawi with rockets and bombs as it tries to wipe out militants linked to the Islamic State group in some of the fiercest urban combat this volatile region has seen in decades.

And on nearly every one of those days, Abdul has stood at the window and watched, unable to turn away from the deadly spectacle unfolding just a mile (a kilometer and a half) away.

As plumes of thick, black smoke wafted above the city's minarets again Friday  a day of intense skirmishes in which the army lost 13 marines  Abdul stood transfixed with dozens of other displaced residents. Two helicopter gunships had just finished strafing the city, and now people were pointing toward a Vietnam-era attack aircraft circling overhead.

The plane, an OV-10 Bronco, turned and dove straight down on the city center, firing off two bombs before suddenly pulling up its nose and spiraling away. Moments later, blasts shook the city and more smoke billowed skyward.

"It feels impossible that this is happening," the 45-year-old Abdul said, as the sound of gunfire crackled in the distance. When "I see the bombings, I can't help but cry. I can't help but think what's happening to my relatives, my family, my business, my house."

Three weeks after a new alliance of Islamic militants tried to seize this town in their boldest attack yet, large chunks of downtown have been reduced to ruins. Militants remain holed up in several pockets scattered around the city center, along with at least 100 civilians, including hostages the army says are being used as human shields. There is no electricity, and most of the town's 200,000 inhabitants have fled.

The military says the death toll includes at least 138 militants, 58 government troops and 29 civilians  among them a teenager shot Friday as he sheltered inside a Marawi mosque.

But the fighting is so intense, it's impossible to fully recover bodies to get an accurate casualty toll.

"It hurts to watch because we know people are dying with every bomb," Abdul said. "We know a lot of people are buried under that rubble."

The conflict in Marawi has raised fears that the Islamic State group's violent ideology is gaining a foothold in this country's restive southern islands, where Muslim separatists have fought for greater autonomy for decades.

The military says militants are trying to establish a caliphate here, similar to one IS has attempted to create in the Middle East that stretches from the Syrian city of Raqqa to embattled Mosul, in Iraq. They believe 40 foreign fighters have participated in the fighting in Marawi, including Malaysians and Indonesians.

The government has asked the U.S. to provide intelligence and other technical support, and at least one American surveillance plane has flown in support of Philippine forces.

Abdul said that while people in Marawi support autonomy, few back the extremist militant groups who have carried out kidnappings and beheadings.

However, Lt. Col. Jo-ar Herrera, spokesman for the army's 1st Infantry Division, said the insurgents likely have "a lot of sympathizers, a lot of supporters in this area."

The main group leading the siege, the Maute, has deep roots in the city  "in terms of relatives, in terms of connections, in terms of culture, heritage," he said.

The Maute, named after three militant brothers, staged a similar attack in November on nearby Butig, on the opposite side of Lake Lanao, which lasted six days. But the intensity of the latest assault, and the ability of the militants to hold out for so long, appears to have caught the government off guard. Herrera said insurgents had prepared for as much as a year, stocking basement caches with food, weapons and ammunition.

Rexson Tamano, who is sleeping on the floor of an outdoor hallway in the same provincial government building as Abdul, said he saw no suspicious activity and no sign an attack was imminent.

When gunfire heralded the start of the siege on May 23, he called his pregnant wife on the other side of town to check in on her and their four children.

"She said, 'Stay where you are, please don't come for us, it's too dangerous,'" Tamano recalled. He ran home anyway, but was stopped at a checkpoint manned by militants. They wore black ski masks, and each held a machine-gun.

"I tried to walk away but they called me over and asked whether I was Muslim or Christian," Tamano said. He told them the truth  he was Muslim, and they waved him through.

The city's minority Christians have been singled out for execution.

Mikee Rakim, a humanitarian volunteer, said one group of 10 Christians told him they had been taken hostage when the fighting started. Militants beheaded two of them and were preparing to kill the rest when an airstrike hit a neighboring house, enabling them to escape.

While most of the displaced have sheltered inland, Abdul and Tamano are among about 200 people who have chosen to remain close to the city, anxious to return when the fighting ends to homes they fear were either looted or destroyed.

The government has distributed food, water and sleeping mats to the families camped out here, who gather in small groups at the windows every time the fighting intensifies.

While explosions shook Marawi on Friday and fighter jets buzzed overhead, one boy pushed a baby on a stroller through a hallway. In a corner, several other children sat making toy tanks out of paper.

"ISIS! ISIS!" cried one boy, laughing as he pointed to a tiny black flag on one of the tanks.

Fahadda Camim, who was conducting an assessment for Community Family Services International, a Filipino humanitarian organization, said the children were "copying what they see outside" and were in need of counseling.

The adults, too, are traumatized, she said, and "some are still very afraid." The clashes are a constant reminder that their lives have been upended, and their fates remain uncertain.

Abdul said he did not want to watch the fighting. But he could not resist, either. "It's our city," he said. "It's so painful. It's impossible to turn away."
Emil Michael, Ubers senior vice president of business and Chief Executive Travis Kalanicks right-hand man, has left the embattled ride-hailing company, according to an email he sent Monday to employees.

It is unclear whether Michael was fired or resigned. An Uber spokeswoman confirmed that he is no longer with the company but declined to comment further.

In the email, initially obtained by the New York Times and independently verified by a person familiar with the matter, Michael said that Sunday was his last day, and that David Richter, Ubers current vice president of strategic initiatives, would replace him.

Advertisement

His email did not give a reason for his departure.

Michaels departure was foreshadowed on Sunday when Ubers board of directors convened in Los Angeles to vote on a series of recommendations about Ubers corporate culture. The suggestions  which were drafted by former U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric. H. Holder Jr. as part of a company investigation into complaints of widespread harassment  reportedly included forcing out Michael and ordering Kalanick to take a leave of absence.

A spokesman for the board of directors confirmed that the board met with Holder and Tammy Albarran, both partners with Covington & Burling, the law firm hired to conduct the investigation.

Board members voted unanimously to adopt all of the firms recommendations, which will be released to employees Tuesday, the spokesman said.

He would not comment on any further actions taken by the board, including whether it discussed the future of Kalanick.

Michael has been at the center of a number of Ubers scandals, such as in 2014 when he told BuzzFeed that the company should spend millions of dollars to investigate journalists critical of the firm. He reportedly played a role in an incident in which Uber executives  including Eric Alexander, who was recently fired  obtained the medical records of a passenger who was raped by a driver in India.

Throughout the crises, Michael had Kalanicks unwavering support. At one point both executives were seen as untouchable because many had credited their brash and hyper-competitive leadership style with Ubers early success.

Ubers recent string of scandals left both executives vulnerable, though.

According to multiple news reports, Holders advice included ordering Kalanick to step down temporarily and forcing out Michael. The board consists of seven voting members, including Kalanick.

But the decision on whether to step aside could ultimately fall to Kalanick because of his outsized voting power. According to various reports, Ubers governance and share structure follows a founder-friendly model in which some board seats carry more voting power than others. Kalanick and two of his board allies, co-founder Garrett Camp and longtime Uber employee Ryan Graves reportedly hold super-voting seats.

This structure is not unusual in the tech world, where the success of founder-led companies such as Google and Facebook has given investors confidence in founders, and the hot startup market has led investors to offer founders friendly terms in exchange for allowing them to fund the company.

Snap, Inc. implemented such a structure when it went public in March, consolidating power in its co-founders Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy, and giving them ultimate control of Snap  even if they no longer work at the company.

If Kalanick decided to go on leave, though, it is unclear who would fill in for him, especially now that Michael is out of the picture. Uber is without a chief operating officer, a chief financial officer, a chief marketing officer or a head of engineering.

Uber also faced high turnover on its top ranks earlier this year, including the departure of Rachel Whetstone, Ubers head of communications, in April, and the resignation of company president Jeff Jones in March after less than a year on the job. He said his beliefs and approach to leadership were inconsistent with those of the company.

Under Kalanick, Uber has shaken up the taxi industry in hundreds of cities and become the worlds most valuable start-up. Ubers valuation has climbed to nearly $70 billion.

But Kalanick has acknowledged his management style needs improvement. The 40-year-old CEO said earlier this year that he needed to fundamentally change and grow up.

In February, former Uber engineer Susan Fowler wrote on a blog that she had been propositioned by her boss in a series of messages on her first day of work and that superiors ignored her complaints. Uber set up a hotline for complaints after that and hired the law firm Perkins Coie to investigate.

That firm checked into 215 complaints, with 57 still under investigation.

Uber has been plagued by more than sexual harassment complaints in recent months. It has been threatened by boycotts, sued and subject to a federal investigation that it used a fake version of its app to thwart authorities looking into whether it was breaking local laws.

Stepping down as CEO, even temporarily, would be a major setback for Kalanick, who founded the company in 2009 and has been running it ever since  despite mounting criticism over the hard-charging office environment he helped create.

Uber announced last week that it fired 20 employees for harassment problems after a separate investigation by a different law firm.

Kalanick lost his temper earlier this year in an argument with an Uber driver who was complaining about pay, and the CEOs profanity-laced comments were caught on video.

In a March conference call with reporters after that incident, board member Arianna Huffington expressed confidence that Kalanick would evolve into a better leader. But Huffington, a founder of Huffington Post, suggested time might be running out.

Hes a scrappy entrepreneur, she said during the call, but one who needed to bring changes in himself and in the way he leads.

Sundays board meeting comes shortly after personal tragedy in Kalanicks life. His mother was killed and father was injured in late May after a boat they were riding in hit a rock.

In addition to firing 20 employees, Uber said last week that it was hiring an Apple marketing executive, Bozoma Saint John, to help improve its tarnished brand. Saint John most recently was head of global consumer marketing for Apple Music and iTunes.

It also announced Monday that it brought on Wan Ling Martello to join its board as an independent director. Martello is a senior executive at Nestle and sits on the audit committee of the board of Alibaba.

Below is a copy of the email Emil Michael sent on Monday to Ubers employees:

Team 

Yesterday was my last day with Uber. Starting today, David Richter, our current VP of Strategic Initiatives, will be the new SVP of Business.

David is an extremely talented leader and I have high confidence in his ability to help drive the company forward. I signed on with the company almost four years ago and it has truly been the experience of a lifetime helping Uber become the fastest growing company of all-time -- spanning 75 countries with over 14,000 employees.

I am proud of our business teams part in contributing to the companys overall success. We have fueled our growth by raising more money than any other tech company in history; we completed one of the most valuable mergers in American/Chinese tech history with the Didi deal; and we have secured ground-breaking partnerships with automobile companies all over the world to support our autonomous vehicle efforts.

But I am most proud of the quality of the team we have built. Beginning with my first day at Uber, I have been committed to building a diverse Business Team that would be widely recognized as the best in the technology world: one that is welcoming to people of all genders, sexual orientations, national origins and educational backgrounds. I am proud that our group has made so much progress toward these goals and is a leader in the company in many of these categories. As an Egyptian immigrant who was taken under the wing of a great business leader like Bill Campbell, I have an abiding belief that we all should pay it forward by ensuring that our workplace represents all types of people.

Uber has a long way to go to achieve all that it can and I am looking forward to seeing what you accomplish in the years ahead.

-Emil Michael

The Associated Press was used in compiling this report.

ALSO

Kids clothing chain Gymboree files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

Delta, Bank of America pull sponsorships of Trump-like Julius Caesar play over killing scene

Grand Rapids boasts the large manufacturing sector Trump wants, but is it a model for the nation?

UPDATES:

2:40 p.m.: This article was updated to include more information about Ubers board structure.

11:05 a.m.: This article was updated to include context about other executive vacancies at Uber.

10:15 a.m.: This article was updated to include news of Emil Michaels departure from Uber.

This article was originally published at 7:10 a.m.
The Casa de Oro Community Alliance is moving along in its effort to beautify the Spring Valley community called the Gateway to Mount Helix.

The coalition of more than 100 advocates has been actively taking charge in cleaning up the area since 2015, trying to make Casa de Oro a safer, more attractive place to live, shop and do business.

The group held another two-hour community clean up, this one on Saturday on along Campo Road in the heart of the community.

Advertisement

But it can only do so much, its members say, and now the group is looking for some outside help from the county.

The alliance sent some of its members to meet with county Supervisor Dianne Jacob last week. She give her blessing to some of the plans the group has, including hiring an urban planner/designer to help bring some of the alliances ideas to fruition.

Jacob indicated she will ask for the countys OK to make the hire.

Casa de Oro is East Countys best kept secret, Jacob said. That commercial area definitely has gone downhill over the years, but there is a tremendous opportunity for some deep thinking, for some creative thinking.

Casa de Oro could be an incredible gem.

On June 6, the alliance shared a Power Point presentation to the Valle de Oro Planning Group similar to the presentation they gave to Jacob. The Valle de Oro planners unanimously voted to endorse the plan, joining in solidarity to push along the alliances agenda.

We are passionate about doing something about the deterioration of Casa de Oro, alliance member Bob Yarris said. Were trying to bring our issues to the community, business owners, landlords, property owners to join us in trying to change whats been going on in Casa de Oro.

Its almost been demolition by neglect and I dont know why this has happen, he said. I dont want to start pointing fingers at any organizations. We want to make some progress, we want to make some improvement.

Casa de Oro has about 7,000 residents with three elementary schools and a middle school. It includes Monte Vista High School as its own, although the campus sits just outside the boundaries.

Casa de Oros community limits are roughly Grandview Street to the north, Campo Road to the south, Bancroft Street to the west and Avocado Boulevard to the east.

The area lacks a recreation center or a community gathering spot, and has no pocket parks that are prevalent in other areas of the county  all of which the group would like to see for Casa de Oro.

Alliance member Roy Davies cites the high risk businesses, such as hookah lounges, medical marijuana dispensaries and liquor stores; a large number of homeless individuals; many storefront vacancies; excessive amounts of billboards; businesses with signs that violate county codes; open Dumpsters and more.

Davies told the group that a road map for revitalizing Casa de Oro might already exist in the form of design guidelines from another community such as Little Italy or University Heights that can be customized for Casa de Oro, or a fresh, unfiltered look at the area.

One of the Casa de Oro groups longer-range plans is to make Campo Road a business destination, for both business owners and consumers.

Holding businesses accountable for the way they present themselves to the community would be a good start, the alliance said. A fresh, clean look would go a long way in bringing back some of the residents who go outside of the area to do their shopping.

The group is also looking for pedestrian-friendly streetscape, landscaped medians, enhanced crosswalks and bike lanes for safety.

We did something very similar to this in Ramona, Jacob said. Im very excited. This will take some time. An effort like this will take 18 months to two years. I want to do it right. The vision and concept are already done, but its time to get to the nitty gritty details.

Jacob said some of the details involve zoning changes and design guidelines.

She said she thought that once those were in place, developers would have a renewed interest in investing in Casa de Oro.

This area is ripe for an infusion of money and investment, Jacob said. Well need to do our work in order to attract those developers, and will take working with the property owners and the community.
A Poway couple accused of hoarding roughly 170 dogs in fetid conditions, hiding some of them from investigators, pleaded guilty Monday to two felony counts of animal neglect.

Christine Calvert, 62, and Mark Vattimo, 72, will probably receive three years probation when they are sentenced in a San Diego courtroom next month, Deputy District Attorney Karra Reedy said.

They will not be allowed to have pets for a decade, and could be ordered to undergo counseling. Reedy said the resolution, which came in the early stages of the case, is a good outcome.

Advertisement

The most important thing is that they get the help they need for something like this not to happen again, the prosecutor said.

Attorneys for Vattimo, a retired San Diego police officer, and Calvert declined comment Monday.

In January, investigators found several dozen Yorkie mixes in a dark room in the couples home. The dogs coats were severely matted and tangled in feces, and many were suffering from ear infections, fleas and hair loss.

Feces and urine covered the floors and walls of the four-bedroom house; the smell was so strong that officers were forced to wear masks. Debris and mice were found on the floor.

Days later, investigators found out the couple had 31 more dogs, which were seized.

Several weeks later, authorities learned that Calvert had fled the state with more dogs. She was arrested in Primm, Nev., just across the California line, with 46 dogs in a motor home.

Authorities at the time said the dogs found with Calvert were in substantially the same condition as those found in the home, including severe matting and feces in their coats, and poor teeth.

In all, Humane Society of San Diego rescued about 170 dogs from the couple, but the number rose to 185 after some of the pregnant Yorkies had puppies.

Of that number, three of the dogs were so unhealthy they were euthanized, and five of the puppies died of natural causes. Nine of the dogs remain at the humane society and 168 were adopted out.

Stephen MacKinnon, the local humane societys chief law enforcement officer, issued a statement Monday that the organization is grateful for the support of the District Attorneys Office and to be in a community that doesnt tolerate animal cruelty or neglect.

In discussing the case earlier this year, MacKinnon said that hoarding is a mental illness, and when people reach out for help, the priority is to get the animals the care they need and help for the dog owners.

But this case, he said, was a little different. The owners were withholding animals and interfering with an active investigation, so authorities pursued a criminal case

When the first few dozens dogs were put up for adoption in January, more than 1,800 people applied in less than 24 hours.

Because the interest was so great, the humane society stopped accepting applications for the rescued dogs, and used a lottery system to select candidates to adopt the animals.

teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT

UPDATES:

2:35 p.m. This story was updated with additional details. It was originally published at 1:40 p.m.
Frank Subaru, on the Mile of Cars in National City, has opened a new superstore that includes a barking lot.

The 25-feet by 15-feet gated pet area with artificial turf will be a safe place for dogs to hang out for a bit while their owners look around the lot or take their car in for servicing.

We thought it would be a great idea since so many people bring their dogs with them into the service department, said Ron Fornaca, president of the Subaru dealership. We thought, why not have a great place for the dogs to go while theyre here? We are a dog-friendly dealership.

Advertisement

The grand opening of the dog park is set for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday with an official ribbon cutting ceremony at noon. The dealership will be partnering with the Chula Vista Animal Care Facility to host a pet adoption on the day of the event.

There will be a machine to make pet tags on site, pet swag giveaways, a hosted lunch for people and treats for the four-legged bunch.

The National City-based dealership is not the first to open a dog park on its premises. Phil Meador Subaru in Pocatello, Idaho opened a 20-feet by 20-feet dog park with artificial grass last November when it built a new facility. Kirby Subaru in Ventura also has a dog park which is currently under renovation

Subaru is not the only automaker catering to dog owners. Honda of Fort Worth in Texas has a dog park, and it even has a creek for canines to splash in.

Friendship Cars, a group of six car dealerships owned by Mitch Walters in Tennessee, encourages both customers and employees to bring their dogs to its showrooms. It even has a Pet of the Week adoption promotion on Facebook.

The Frank Subaru dealership in National City, which opened May 22, joins other Frank Motors Group members Frank Toyota and Frank Hyundai on the Mile of Cars.

Toyotas already talking about opening up their own dog park, Fornaca said. So many people like to bring their dog places, so why not?
The Tony Awards took a surprise direction for two La Jolla Playhouse-bred shows last night  with direction being the operative word.

While the musical Come From Away and the play Indecent didnt rack up scads of awards at the annual Broadway theater honors, both of the shows directors did take home individual Tonys  in both cases scoring at least mild upsets in very competitive categories.

It was an especially sweet turn of events for Christopher Ashley, the Playhouse artistic chief whose nomination for Come From Away was his third for directing but his first win.

Advertisement

Come From Away, the 9/11-connected musical that had its world premiere at the Playhouse in 2015, was also nominated for best musical and five other awards, but Ashleys win was its sole Tony.

First-time nominee Rebecca Taichman won for directing Indecent, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogels decades-spanning saga of the story behind the controversial Sholem Asch play The God of Vengeance.

Indecent, which likewise was staged in La Jolla two years ago (in association with Yale Rep), won a Tony for Christopher Akerlinds lighting as well.

Reached by the Union-Tribune shortly after the ceremony concluded at Radio City Music Hall, Ashley said his win was an extraordinary, amazing surprise. And Im honored and so moved.

He added that the directing field was so strong this year that I didnt write a speech. So I wrote my speech as I was walking up to the dais.

Its such a family and community that put this show together. It was also incredible to win right next to Rebecca Taichman for Indecent. Im just so glad for her  shes such a major director and artist. We were both kind of floored and kind of floating above the ground.

Onstage, Ashley thanked Come From Away writers Irene Sankoff and David Hein for creating the fact-based story of how the tiny town of Gander, Newfoundland, took in thousands of stranded travelers after the 2001 terror attacks.

He also thanked (among others) choreographer Kelly Devine, who was also nominated; the shows amazing cast; and the people of Gander, who were so kind and generous to strangers.

As many expected, the biggest winner of the night was Dear Evan Hansen, the musical about the fallout from a high-school tragedy.

That show won six Tonys, including the marquee best-musical prize plus awards for score (by the Oscar-winning La La Land duo of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul) and lead actor (Ben Platt).

The most-nominated 2017 production, Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, won only two Tonys out of its 12 nods, for set design and lighting.

The show itself was an entertaining one, hosted by first-timer Kevin Spacey with old-fashioned panache.

He opened the telecast with a live montage of riffs from nominated musicals, unleashing pleasing vocals (if getting a little out of breath) as he had satirical fun with sequences based on Come From Away, Evan Hansen, the movie-based Groundhog Day and more.

Politics seeped into the show here and there, with Cynthia Nixon (a winner as featured actress for Lillian Hellmans Little Foxes) quoting from the play on the subject of taking a stand  or failing to  when injustice is witnessed.

Perhaps the least surprising award of the night went to Bette Midler for her lead turn as Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly!, which also was named best play revival.

She continued her acceptance speech right through the orchestras attempts to play her offstage  essentially filibustering the musicians into submission.

Hello, Dolly! won four Tonys altogether. Two shows besides Natasha and Indecent won two awards apiece in a remarkably spread-out field: J.T. Rogers best-play winner Oslo, and Little Foxes.

Taichman seemed particularly bowled-over when her name was announced for the directing honor.

Am I dreaming  is this some kind of crazy dream?, she said when she took the stage. Im in a state of total shock.

She thanked the Playhouse and Vogel (among others), and said, This is a story of love in perilous times, and in making art when one is at great danger.

Come From Away, which had its world premiere at the Playhouse exactly two years to the day before the Tonys, was the first show to hit the Radio City Music Hall stage for a musical number.

The ensemble members  nearly all of whom have been with the musical since its Playhouse inception  performed Welcome to the Rock, an ode to the shows Newfoundland setting.

Twitter: @jimhebert

jim.hebert@sduniontribune.com
The Coronado-based aircraft carrier Carl Vinson and its accompanying ships are coming home after a symbolic showdown with North Korea.

Navy officials announced Monday that the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group was scheduled to reach Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii on Wednesday. They havent specified when the flattop will arrive in California.

The flotillas deployment had been extended for a month following rising tensions between the United States and the communist dictatorship in Pyongyang over a series of ballistic missile tests by North Korea.

Advertisement

Commanded by Capt. Douglas Verissimo, the Vinson and its crew of more than 5,000 sailors departed Naval Air Station North Island on Jan. 5. They were joined by about 2,500 sailors aboard the San Diego-based cruiser Lake Champlain and destroyer Wayne E. Meyer.

In addition, the Hawaii-based guided-missile destroyer Michael Murphy joined the group during its journey west.

Our missions spanned from Oceania, through the South China Sea and ended in the Sea of Japan as we strengthened our partnerships within the Indo-Asia-Pacific region, Cmdr. Robert Heely Jr., skipper of the Michael Murphy, said in a statement. Team Murphy performed exceptionally well and led the fight each step of the way.

The strike groups return follows both a successful test of the Third Fleet Forward concept  with the Third Fleets Point Loma headquarters exerting operational control of the Vinson strike group while it traveled across the Pacific Ocean  and a public relations debacle.

During an April 26 grilling by Congress, Pacific Commands Adm. Harry Harris told lawmakers that he would take the hit for his team suggesting that the Vinson was rushing out of Singapore toward North Korea to confront Pyongyang after the succession of missile tests.

Instead, the aircraft carrier sailed nearly 4,900 miles away from the Yellow Sea, ending up off the coast of Australia for bilateral exercises there. Then it eventually made its way to the waters off of the Korean peninsula after finger-pointing between President Donald Trump, officials in his administration and the Navy.

Harris Pacific Command in Hawaii oversees both the Third Fleet and the Japan-based Seventh Fleet.

During its five-and-a half-month tour, vessels in the Vinson strike group also conducted maneuvers with Japanese and South Korean warships, plus held an 18-day joint mission with the U.S. Coast Guard to combat transnational crime and fishing scofflaws in the Central and South Pacific regions.

The strike groups visits included stops in Guam, Fiji, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Malaysia.

I participated in the Tuvalu community service event at a local intermediate school, Ensign Kasey Landry said. It was humbling to experience the culture of Tuvalu. I was amazed to see how passionate the teachers were, and although we were there to help their community, it was the people of Tuvalu who gave the most, humbling and embracing Michael Murphy sailors in their homes.

Another Third Fleet Forward detachment will remain at sea.

Comprised of the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers Dewey and Sterett, the surface action group departed San Diego for the Western Pacific on March 31.

Military Videos  On Now D-Day paratrooper from Coronado jumps again in France  at age 96 On Now Remembering war's fallen, one name at a time On Now In Ramona, an airplane and an aviator provide living lessons on World War II 1:43 On Now Video: Navy's newest vessel sails into San Diego and a new future in surface warfare On Now Video: U.S. Navy files homicide charges over warship collisions On Now Stopping Marine hazing On Now Video: U.S. Navy Air Crew Grounded After Creating Vulgar Sky Drawing On Now Navy says Asia Pacific ship collisions were avoidable On Now Hundreds of recruits get sick at Marine boot camp On Now Cutler Dawson Talks Navy Federal

cprine@sduniontribune.com
A Poway couple accused of hoarding roughly 170 dogs in fetid conditions, hiding some of them from investigators, pleaded guilty Monday to two felony counts of animal neglect.

Christine Calvert, 62, and Mark Vattimo, 72, likely will receive three years probation when they are sentenced in a San Diego courtroom next month, Deputy Dist. Atty. Karra Reedy said.

They will not be allowed to have pets for a decade, and also likely will be ordered to undergo counseling. Reedy said the resolution, which came in the early stages of the case, is a good outcome.

Advertisement

The most important thing is that they get the help they need for something like this not to happen again, the prosecutor said.

In January, investigators found several dozen Yorkie mixes in a dark room in the couples home. The dogs coats were severely matted and tangled in feces, and many were suffering from ear infections, fleas and hair loss.

Feces and urine covered the floors and walls of the four-bedroom house; the smell was so strong that officers were forced to wear masks. Debris and mice were found on the floor.

Days later, investigators found out the couple had 31 more dogs, which were seized.

Several weeks later, authorities learned that Calvert had fled the state with more dogs. She was arrested in Primm, Nev., with 46 dogs in a motor home.

Authorities at the time said the dogs found with Calvert were in substantially the same condition as those found in the home, including severe matting and feces in their coats, and poor teeth.

In all, the San Diego Humane Society rescued about 170 dogs from the couple  but the number rose to about 185 after some of the pregnant Yorkies had puppies.

In discussing the case earlier this year, Stephen Mackinnon, the local Humane Societys chief law enforcement officer, said hoarding is a mental illness, and when people reach out for help, the priority is to get the animals the care they need.

But this case, he said, was a little different. The owners were withholding animals and interfering with an active investigation, so authorities pursued a criminal case.

teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com

Figueroa writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune
In San Diego, thousands took to the streets on Sunday for the Equality March for Unity and Pride, a national event centered in Washington, D.C. that inspired dozens of similar events around the country.

The local rally celebrated the hard-fought gains of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities over recent decades, while also serving as a call to action on a wide variety of issues. Concerns included everything from workplace and housing discrimination to acts of violence against the LGBT community, most notably the 2016 shooting at a nightclub in Orlando that left 49 people dead and dozens more wounded.

The march started in Balboa Park around 11 a.m. and proceeded down Sixth Avenue into downtown where people chanted through bullhorns, played instruments and carried large rainbow flags. Culminating at Waterfront Park, a number of speakers, including several elected officials from the gay community, addressed the crowd. Organizers said about 5,000 attended the event.

Advertisement

1 / 14 More than 5000 supporters came out to march from Balboa Park to the San Diego County Administration building to support the Equality March hosted by the San Diego LGBT Community Center and San Diego Pride. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 2 / 14 Standing at the Waterfront Park at the County Administration building, more than 5000 supporters came out to march from Balboa Park to support the Equality March hosted by the San Diego LGBT Community Center and San Diego Pride. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 3 / 14 More than 5000 supporters marched from Balboa Park to the County Administration building for the Equality March. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 4 / 14 Standing at the Waterfront Park at the County Administration building, more than 5000 supporters came out to march from Balboa Park to support the Equality March hosted by the San Diego LGBT Community Center and San Diego Pride. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 5 / 14 More than 5000 supporters marched from Balboa Park to the County Administration building for the Equality March. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 6 / 14 More than 5000 supporters, some carrying the photos and names of the 49 victims from the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting came out to march from Balboa Park to the San Diego County Administration building to support the Equality March. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 7 / 14 Standing at the Waterfront Park at the County Administration building, more than 5000 supporters came out to march from Balboa Park to support the Equality March hosted by the San Diego LGBT Community Center and San Diego Pride. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 8 / 14 Standing at the Waterfront Park at the County Administration building, more than 5000 supporters came out to march from Balboa Park to support the Equality March hosted by the San Diego LGBT Community Center and San Diego Pride. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 9 / 14 More than 5000 supporters came out to march from Balboa Park to the San Diego County Administration building to support the Equality March hosted by the San Diego LGBT Community Center and San Diego Pride. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 10 / 14 More than 5000 supporters, some carrying the photos and names of the 49 victims from the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting came out to march from Balboa Park to the San Diego County Administration building to support the Equality March. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 11 / 14 Standing at the Waterfront Park at the County Administration building, more than 5000 supporters came out to march from Balboa Park to support the Equality March hosted by the San Diego LGBT Community Center and San Diego Pride. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 12 / 14 More than 5000 supporters came out to march from Balboa Park to the County Administration building to support the Equality March. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 13 / 14 Allex Nellias and Ann Patterson were among the 5000 supporters who gathered at Balboa Park before the start of the Equality March to the County Administration building. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 14 / 14 More than 5000 supporters marched from Balboa Park to the County Administration building for the Equality March. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune)

We will not go back. We will not slow down. We will not stop our march for equality  not in this city, not in this state, not in this country, said state Senator Toni Atkins, D-San Diego.

We have achieved so much through hard work, through organizing, through marching and some of us with our very lives, she added. Resist, we must. Persist, we will. And victorious, we will continue to be.

Those at the event repeatedly criticized President Donald Trump on issues such as rolling back Obama-era guidelines that sought to allow students to use bathrooms consistent with their gender identity, as well as immigration policies that made it harder for members of the LGBT community to seek asylum for being persecuted.

Trump campaigned as a potential ally of gays and lesbians, and released a statement in January saying that he is determined to protect the rights of all Americans, including the LGBTQ community. However, he has since stocked his administration with what many view as foes of gay and transgender rights, including Vice President Mike Pence, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price.

Mr. Trumps election motivates me more than I have been in the past, said Chonny Hokama, a 66-year-old San Diegan who attended the event with her wife. I just want to let the world know that we havent all lost our minds.

Chaise Ann Henderling, 19, who also attended the rally, said: This administration has had some pretty anti-gay people involved, some already anti-gay policies and were not going to put up with that.

The San Diego LGBT Community Center and San Diego Pride organized the local event, with support from more than 20 other groups, such as St. Pauls Episcopal Cathedral, the UC San Diego LGBT Resource Center and PFLAG San Diego County.

This was the first year the march was held.

There was a misconception that marriage equality was the big victory for us. Thats not the reality, said Fernando Lopez, director of operations for the San Diego Pride and a lead organizer with Sundays march. The reality is that you can get married in 50 states, but you can get fired for being LGBT in 31, so youre married on Saturday and youre fired on Monday.

Speakers and organizers repeatedly called for those in attendance to turn out for elections.

I believe you will be here time and again, but the most important question I have for you is will you be there in 2018 to elect the kinds of candidates that will stand up for us? Assemblyman Todd Gloria, D-San Diego, said to roaring cheers. Im going to ask that question again because theres an orange guy like 3,000 miles away that Im pretty sure cant hear us. Will you show up and vote on Election Day?

Twitter: @jemersmith

Phone: (619) 293-2234

Email: joshua.smith@sduniontribune.com
Grassroots animal-rights activists appear to be winning a war against commercial pet-breeding facilities, which are often derided as puppy or kitten mills.

Now California could give their cause a huge boost if it becomes the first state in the nation to ban sales of such animals at pet stores.

In the past decade, more than 230 municipalities around the nation have passed bans of varying degrees on sales of dogs and cats raised at for-profit facilities. More than two-thirds of those regulations have come in the past two and half years.

Advertisement

California has more than 33 cities with these ordinances, from South Lake Tahoe in 2009 to Oceanside in 2015, to Los Angeles in 2016, to San Francisco and Sacramento this year.

Most of these rules allow storefronts to sell animals acquired from shelters, rescue groups and nonprofits. In practice, many of the targeted pet-store merchants have gone out of business or been forced to move locations.

Supporters said the bans are a local reaction to breeders, mostly located in the Midwest, who warehouse dogs and cats like livestock. They said too often, animals, especially breeding mothers, are locked in unsanitary and inhumane conditions without proper access to medicine, exercise and contact with people.

This really started as a local movement, said Amy Jesse, public policy coordinator for the Humane Society of the United States puppy mills campaign. It was people that didnt want in their own hometown a pet store supporting puppy mills. They didnt want semi-trucks driving into their town filled with sick puppies anymore. So they went to their local elected officials and asked them to do something about it.

Opponents said criticism of breeders is overblown and that if the trend of outlawing commercial breeders continues, consumers wont have access to popular breeds, which for many have become a staple of American home life.

Pet stores represent a well-regulated and reliable source for responsibly raised animals, often breeds which are not readily available nearby, said Mike Bober, president and CEO of the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, based in Washington, D.C. We do think that consumer choice is an important part of this.

There are roughly 10,000 commercial breeders of dogs and cats in the country, according to a California legislative analysis. Fewer than 2,000 breeding facilities are licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

If the current bill in Sacramento becomes law, these operations would no longer be allowed to sell to pet stores in California. Instead, storefronts would need to get their dogs, cats and rabbits only from shelters, adoption centers or animal-control agencies.

The proposal is aimed at not only discouraging abusive breeding practices, but also promoting the adoption of shelter animals. In California, it costs taxpayers an estimated $250 million each year to pick up, house and often euthanize unwanted animals, including more than 800,000 dogs, cats and rabbits, according to the same legislative analysis.

While animals are being bred in the Midwest, often in unsanitary conditions, weve got dogs and cats in animal shelters that need a good home, said Assemblyman Patrick ODonnell, D-Long Beach, the main author of the legislation  Assembly Bill 485.

The legislation recently sailed through the Assembly and is now in the Senate. Gov. Jerry Brown hasnt taken a public stand on the bill, and he declined to comment for this story.

In the bills current wording, individuals could still purchase animals through local breeders, the internet and other private sales.

Animal-rights activists routinely distinguish between large commercial breeders and smaller operations. Hobby breeders, who often also show dogs professionally, have garnered a reputation as an acceptable, albeit pricey, source of purebred dogs.

Critics of the legislation in California have argued that its hard for many consumers to distinguish between such boutique operations and so-called backyard breeders willing to compromise standards of care to maximize profits.

Restrictions on pet stores, they said, only boost black-market sales of desirable breeds, especially through questionable transactions on websites such as Craigslist.

We think it will lead to abuse of the process and lead people to online sources, and that would be a bad thing, said Bill Dombrowski, president and CEO of the Sacramento-based California Retailers Association.

Rather than outlawing the use of commercially bred dogs and cats, he said he would like to improve regulations for licensed breeding facilities.

While the trade group doesnt represent pet stores that sell commercially bred puppies or kittens, it does have members that sell pet food and various accessories, such as Petco and PetSmart.

We dont think its good public policy, Dombrowski said. Theres work being done, and were hopeful we can get some better standards adopted.

Similar to the debate about livestock-farming conditions, foes of commercial pet breeding have said the minimum standards set by the federal government arent strict enough and are poorly enforced.

The USDA denies such allegations, maintaining that licenses are inspected about once a year  and more often for facilities that have repeatedly been out of compliance.

While it is impossible for our inspectors to be at every facility every day, inspectors are highly trained and educated in the welfare of animals and ensure that the facilities that they inspect are in compliance, said Tanya Espinosa, spokeswoman for the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Over 95 percent of the breeders and dealers that are inspected are in substantial compliance with the Animal Welfare Act.

There about 120 USDA inspectors who monitor licensed breeders, research facilities, distributors and other industry-related businesses. Those agency officials also handle a variety of other duties, from enforcing regulations for genetically modified crops to overseeing the welfare of livestock.

The federal standards require breeders to keep dogs in cages with at least 6 inches of headroom and a minimum floor space thats based on the dogs size.

For example, an average-sized dog of 37 inches would require a 1,849-square-inch cage. Female dogs get an additional 5 percent of allotted space for each of their nursing puppies. A veterinarian-approved exercise plan is mandatory unless the dog is kept in a cage thats twice the minimum size.

Some in the industry have touted that breeders often go beyond the government standards.

Both the American Kennel Club and the USDA have said they dont specifically track such figures, but they do actively promote going above and beyond the requirements.

Inspectors help new and existing breeders develop effective practices and procedures based on best accepted husbandry practices and the latest scientific and technological advances, said Phil Guidry, government relations senior policy analyst for the American Kennel Club.

Commercial breeding practices in the United States have already undergone care, operational and regulatory reforms that better ensure that dogs are maintained in humane conditions and puppies produced have substantiated source and health backgrounds, he added.

Concerns about so-called puppy mills stretch back decades. However, its only been in the past 10 to 20 years that the issue has penetrated the wider public consciousness.

The first ban against pet stores selling commercially bred dogs and cats was in enacted in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2006. It wasnt until several years later that more cities adopted similar ordinances.

The movement against commercial-breeding practices began picking up significant momentum by late 2014, after celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey repeatedly spoke out on the issue and groups like the Humane Society shared on social media photos of animals allegedly abused by breeders.

A lot of it is access to information, said Jesse of the Humane Society. The internet is a huge part of that. It was no longer their word against ours. It was actually documentation of where the cute puppy in the window came from.

Today, California has 100 or so pet stores that sell dogs and cats acquired from commercial breeders, according to various sources. If AB 485 passes, those businesses could face a tough decision.

When California passes the ban, as all indications point to the law passing, pet stores that sell puppies will essentially be put out of business, said Jasmin Ramirez, manager of Escondido Pets. Mom-and-pop shops that use incomes from their businesses to support their families will be forced to close.

Activists said traditional pet store owners have the option of shifting their business model by renting storefront space to shelters and adoption agencies while offering pet-related merchandise.

Its a humane model, said Judie Mancuso, founder and president of the Southern California nonprofit group Social Compassion in Legislation, which is sponsoring the bill currently in Sacramento.

Some merchants have embraced such an approach successfully, but its far from clear whether that strategy would work financially on a large scale.

Theres one point that all parties to the pet-breeding debate agree on: Californias legislative experiment is being watched by other states nationwide.

Twitter: @jemersmith

Phone: (619) 293-2234

Email: joshua.smith@sduniontribune.com
The belly button is a new entry point for one of the most common surgeries among women.

A Scripps Health surgeon recently performed the regions first two robot-assisted hysterectomy surgeries that use a single incision in a patients belly button for access.

The procedure is gaining traction nationwide because it creates fewer scars than other techniques, though debate continues about whether it yields meaningful health gains over other minimally invasive surgical techniques. Health providers also note that not every patient is a good fit for the belly-button surgery.

Advertisement

Heather Wilson of San Diego, one of the first two women to undergo the procedure locally, said her recovery has been quick.

I stopped taking painkillers and I have zero pain, she said two days after her surgery. The only discomfort I have is from the incision itself, and Id say that feels like it would if you cut your finger.

Dr. Bobby Garg, an obstetrician and gynecologist, performed both procedures at Scripps Mercy Hospital in Hillcrest. He said a small incision in the belly button  off to one side or right down the middle  can provide enough room for a newly designed set of robotic tools, including a high-definition video camera, that allows him to perform a hysterectomy with no other external incisions.

A robot-assisted hysterectomy generally requires four incisions, one each for the robots long thin arms tipped with a range of miniature surgical instruments from scalpels to grippers.

Garg said in addition to being small enough to fit through the belly button, the newest tools offer excellent dexterity, allowing him to make more accurate approaches to the multiple blood vessels linked to the uterus.

You really end up doing a much more precise surgery and, when its healed, the scar is often not visible, he said.

A hysterectomy, the surgical removal of a womans uterus, is the second-most-common surgery among women after the Caesarean section. The operation is necessary in cases ranging from cancer to chronic pelvic pain.

Scripps is not the only health system in San Diego County to use the new technique. Doctors with Sharp HealthCare are scheduled to use belly button access for a hysterectomy this week. Sharp already uses the navel for access in some gallbladder surgeries.

But not everyone favors the belly-button method for hysterectomies.

Jacqueline Carr, a spokeswoman for the UC San Diego Health System, said the organization has performed other surgeries through the belly button  such as for kidney and obesity-related conditions  but has decided against that approach for the hysterectomy.

She cited a statement by the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists that recommends a different technique, one that enables a surgeon to remove the uterus through a small internal incision at the top of the vagina because it is the least invasive and least expensive option. The universitys health system uses this trans-vaginal method, Carr said.

Dr. Barbara Levy, vice president of health policy for the OB-GYN congress, said there is not much evidence that robot-assisted surgery for hysterectomy yields significantly better results than other types of minimally invasive surgery.

The reality is, we have little or no data on the outcomes, Levy said. Its doable with the equipment that they have, but whether it has any advantage for patients, I dont think we have adequate data to tell us yet.

Garg, the doctor who performed the two operations at Scripps Mercy, said he agrees that the vaginal technique can be a better option for some women.

The vaginal method is fantastic, but it cant be done on everybody. Its the lowest-cost option, so when someone is a good candidate, we go for it, Garg said.

He added that robot-assisted techniques, whether or not they use the belly button for access, can be preferable to traditional surgery depending on a patients weight, previous surgeries, past pregnancies or ongoing medical conditions.

As far as the notion that robotic hysterectomies do not have a lot of data backing them up, Garg said using a robot gives him clear advantages with some patients.

The high-definition camera and the instrumentation do provide more control and precision, he said.

But that extra precision comes with a price.

Levy said performing a hysterectomy with a robot costs about $2,000 more per case than using a laparoscope, and about $3,500 more than the vaginal variant.

Wilson, the recent patient at Scripps Mercy, said after doing her homework on the types of hysterectomies available, she believes there was a significant benefit to her belly-button procedure  and the extra cost versus other methods was covered by her health insurance.

She had suffered for years with painful menstrual cramps, and now she is happy with the results and the added benefit of less scaring.

What I have told people is that I used to have to plan my life around my period, Wilson said. Now I just get to plan my life, period.

paul.sisson@utsandiego.com (619) 293-1850 Twitter: @paulsisson
A man accused of trying to break into a home and then barricading himself in a nearby homes attic was arrested by Carlsbad police Saturday.

A citizen on Cove Drive near Agua Hedionda flagged down a police officer around 4:50 p.m. and said he had interrupted a man trying to get into his home through a window, said Carlsbad police Lt. Jeffery Smith.

The resident told police he had a brief altercation with the man, who then ran to a nearby home.

Advertisement

Officers surrounded the area and began to search for the man, who was found hiding in the attic. The sheriffs helicopter also helped locate the suspect, Smith said,

The 38-year-old Carlsbad man was booked into Vista jail on suspicion of attempted burglary, burglary, vandalism and battery.

karen.kucher@sduniontribune.com
A 32-year-old man spotted trying to fix his damaged car was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and hit-and-run early Monday shortly after a motorist plowed into a home in Normal Heights and drove away.

A vehicle crashed into the side of the house on Meade Avenue near 40th Street around 12:21 a.m. and then drove off, said San Diego police Officer Billy Hernandez. A resident was inside a bedroom at the time, but was not injured.

A few minutes later, police spotted a motorist pulled to the side of Mission Center Road and Murray Ridge Road in the Serra Mesa area  about three miles from the home.

Advertisement

The driver was trying to fix his car, a black Audi missing its front bumper, when officers arrived. Hernandez said police were able to match the Audi to a partial license plate number of the vehicle that hit the home and arrested the driver.

About 10 minutes later, back in Normal Heights, a man who had found the missing bumper dragged it back to the damaged home and gave it to police.

karen.kucher@sduniontribune.com
San Diego police on Monday released the descriptions of a gunman and companion who shot a Navy man dead and wounded his cousin at Horton Plaza over the weekend.

James Celani, 43, and his cousin had just left a show at the Mad House Comedy Club when they were approached by two men about 11:45 p.m. Saturday, San Diego police Lt. Mike Holden said.

Moments later and seemingly without provocation, one of the men opened fire, Holden said.

Advertisement

Celani, who was a career Navy pilot currently assigned to the Naval Special Warfare headquarters staff, was shot several times in the chest. The San Diego resident later died at a hospital.

His 29-year-old cousin, a Riverside man, was shot in the leg and is expected to recover. He was not identified.

Both assailants were described as black, in their mid- to late-20s and between 5 feet 6 inches and 6 feet 3 inches tall.

The shooter had a thin build and was last seen wearing a red T-shirt and jeans. His companion had a medium build and was wearing dark clothing, witnesses said.

There was no surveillance footage of the shooting, Holden said.

Investigators said the suspects also attended the 9:45 p.m. comedy show, but they do not believe they interacted with the victims, Holden said.

None of the men appeared to frequent the spot, police said. The suspects were with a third person who regularly attended shows but who was unconnected to the crime.

There is also no evidence to suggest the victims and the suspects knew each other, Holden said.

Anyone with information about the incident was asked to call police at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at (888) 580-8477.

Twitter: @LAWinkley

(619) 293-1546

lyndsay.winkley@sduniontribune.com
Parents of some New Jersey high school students were angered and a teacher has been suspended after the teens pro-Donald Trump messages were edited out of the school yearbook.

Grant Berardo, 17, wore a Make America Great Again T-shirt for his Wall Township High School portrait, another had on a vest with Trumps name on it and a third student used a Trump quote underneath her picture, yet all of those messages were deleted.

CNN New Jersey high school under fire for erasing Trump slogans from yearbook CNN (CNN) When Grant Berardo, a https://t.co/yi0qjuO5CM pic.twitter.com/dgnAX2YWBz  US Live News (@USLiveNews) June 12, 2017

Advertisement

Berardo said he was shocked when he saw his photo.

I sent it to my mom and dad, just like You wont believe this. I was just overall disappointed, he said. I like Trump but its history, too. Wearing that shirt memorializes the time.

Student Wyatt Dobrovich-Fago said he was not concerned at first when he saw that Trumps name was not on the sweater vest he wore. He said he thought it had been cropped out of the photo.

But then his sister Montana, who is freshman class president and who submitted a Trump quote to run under her photo, noticed that those words were not there either.

The quote read, I like thinking big. If youre going to be thinking anything, you might as well think big.

According to the Associated Press, the words of Franklin Delano Roosevelt were used on another class presidents picture and that message was not deleted.

Mom Janet Dobrovich-Fago told NewJersey.com that she was outraged by the edits.

Were very angry, she said. When we saw that Montanas quote dropped out, we thought it was a mistake because all the other class presidents quotes were still there.

But when we saw that Wyatts shirt was photoshopped and we heard about Grant, I knew this was not a coincidence. This was purposeful, and its wrong.

School officials agreed. On Monday they announced that the teacher who is the advisor for the yearbook had been suspended.

School board president Allison Connolly said in a statement that the school board found the allegations of wrongdoing disturbing and take the charge that students have had their free speech rights infringed upon very seriously, according to the Asbury Free Press.

Dad Joseph Berardo told the paper that he just did not understand why the photos were censored. I think it was probably politically motivated, he said. It was inherently offensive to somebody and they made a decision to Photoshop it  and without discussion, which is the worst part.

He said it would have been just as bad if Hillary Clinton messages had been eliminated. He also said this was the first election that his son had taken interest in and that the censorship sent the wrong message.

School rules do not prohibit students from wearing clothes with political messages. School Superintendent Cheryl Dyer said in a statement that, in fact, the administration applauds students for becoming involved in politics, making their voices known, and taking an active part in our democracy.

Dyer went on to say that school officials strongly value the principles of free speech and inquiry in our schools and society, viewing them as the bedrock upon which our community and educational system is built, and that any inappropriate challenge to these principles will be rectified as swiftly and thoroughly as possible.

Officials have not yet said if the teacher who was suspended was also the person who ordered the changes or if they were made by the company hired to take the photos.

The investigation is continuing.

619-293-1710

debbi.baker@sduniontribune.com

twitter.com/Debbi_Baker
The attorneys general for Maryland and the District of Columbia announced plans to sue President Donald Trump on Monday, saying he is violating the Constitution by accepting payments from foreign governments while serving as president.

The lawsuit, which has been shared on The Washington Post, describes unprecedented violations of the Constitution.

Never, in the history of this country, have we had a president with these kinds of extensive business entanglements, or a president who refused to adequately distance themselves from their holdings, said Karl Racine, attorney general for the District of Columbia in a press conference on Monday.

In Trumps defense, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said on Monday that its not hard to conclude that partisan politics may be one of the motivations.

Heres what to know about the lawsuit.

What does the lawsuit allege?

It focuses on two constitutional provisions:

1) The Foreign Emoluments Clause, which forbids public officials from accepting any present, emolument, office or title, from any king, prince, or foreign state

2) The Domestic Emoluments Clause, which allows the president to earn a salary while in office but keeps him from earning any income in addition

Never before has a president acted with such a disregard for this constitutional prescription, the lawsuit says.

Why is it being filed now?

The attorneys general take issue with Trumps real estate holdings. The new Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., which is just a few blocks from the White House, is highlighted.

The hotel opened in October last year with Trump in attendance and questions have swirled around it ever since, particularly in light of patronage by foreign officials, including 100 foreign diplomats who were there for an event in November.

When the president is subject to foreign influence, we have to be concerned about whether the actions hes taking  both at home and abroad  are the result of payments that he is receiving at the Trump Hotel, payments that he is receiving at Mar-a-Lago, payments that he is receiving at Trump Tower, payments that he is receiving in all of his other far-flung enterprises, and he brags about it, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh told The Associated Press.

The attorneys also argue that Maryland and the District of Columbia are struggling to compete economically.

Didnt Trump step away from his businesses?

In January, Trump announced his investments and business assets would be conveyed to a trust ahead of his inauguration on Jan. 20. He also said he was giving up leadership of the Trump Organization to his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump and his longtime associate Allen Weisselberg.

The attorneys dont think that goes far enough.

Whatever the sincerity of the persons involved, foreign and domestic officials are put in the position of considering whether offering benefits to businesses associated with the president is important to maintaining goodwill, the lawsuit says.

The president has called references to his alleged violation to the Emoluments Clause without merit, totally without merit.

Has President Trump been sued before this?

Yes. A government watchdog group sued him in New York in January for the exact same reasons. A nonprofit restaurant group and others have joined the suit since.

The Justice Department asked a federal judge to dismiss the case on Friday.

This is the first time a lawsuit like this has been brought by state governments against a president.

So what happens now?

A federal judge will decide if the case proceeds, and the two attorneys say they will demand copies of Trumps tax returns if it does. The suit asks the court to block Trump from accepting foreign money.

Responses to the announcement by the attorneys general were mixed. Some supported the intent of the suit.

Others reacting to the news saw it as another attempt to unfairly discredit the president.

What do you think of Trumps business connections? Let us know in the comment section below.

Email: abby.hamblin@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @abbyhamblin
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions says he wants to set the record straight about his contacts with a Russian ambassador and other matters in light of new questions raised by testimony that fired FBI Director James Comey gave to a U.S. Senate committee last week.

Sessions will get his chance in front of the same committee in fewer than 24 hours.

On Monday, a justice department spokeswoman said Sessions believes it is important for the American people to hear the truth directly from him. He is set to testify before the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. (Pacific Time).

On Thursday, Comey told senators in the committee in open session that Sessions involvement in an investigation on Russia was problematic, and he reportedly said in a closed session with the group immediately afterward that Sessions may have met with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak a third time, contrary to statements the former Alabama senator has made since since January.

What questions will Sessions face Tuesday? Heres a peek at five questions he may be asked to answer.

1. Should Sessions have recused himself earlier from the FBI's Russia investigation?

On Thursday, Comey told senators that FBI leadership was convinced Sessions would inevitably remove himself given his previously undisclosed contacts with a Russian ambassador and given that career people were recommending that he recuse himself.

Sessions eventually did recuse himself from the investigation, but he had not recused himself on Feb. 13 when Trump dismissed national security adviser Michael Flynn or the next day, on Feb. 14, when Comey says the president told Comey to let  go of his investigation into Flynn.

Sessions did not recuse himself until March 2  almost one month after he became attorney general  when it was revealed that he had met with Kislyak at least twice in 2016.

2. How many times did Session meet with Russian ambassador Kislyak?

The Washington Post on March 1 cited justice department officials saying Sessions had met with Kislyak at least twice in 2016 while serving as a Trump surrogate in the presidential campaign. One meeting reportedly happened in the summer and another in September.

The next day, facing questions about why he did not disclose those two meetings with Kislyak, Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation because of his role in the Trump campaign. He said he and Kislyak never discussed the campaign.

A third potential meeting with Russian officials that Sessions may have failed to disclose came to light on Thursday during Comeys closed-door session with senators. MSNBC political editor Dafna Linzer was among those who reported the revelation.

Comey hinted that there might be as-yet undisclosed information when asked about the timing of Sessions recusal from the Russia investigation in his open Senate hearing. We were also aware of facts that I cant discuss in an open setting that would make his continued engagement in a Russia-related investigation problematic, Comey said during his open hearing.

How Sessions will explain this other undisclosed meeting with the Russians remains to be seen.

3. Was Sessions' testimony to senators during his confirmation hearings truthful?

After The Washington Post reported on Sessions meetings with Kislyak in the summer of 2016, some Senators accused him of lying under oath during his confirmation hearing and called for his resignation.

At that time in January, suspected links between Russians and the Trump campaign were not fully fleshed out, but in at least two instances during his confirmation period Sessions was asked about such links and what he would do as attorney general if evidence of those links ever emerged.

One notable exchange happened between him and Sen. Al Franken, D-Minnesota.

Franken: "If there was any evidence that anyone affiliated with the Trump campaign communicated with the Russian government in the course of this (2016) campaign, what would you do?

Sessions: "I'm not aware of any of those activities. I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I did not have communications with the Russians."

In a questionnaire, Sessions was also asked: Several of the President-Elects nominees or senior advisers have Russian ties. Have you been in contact with anyone connected to any part of the Russian government about the 2016 election, either before or after election day?

Sessions answered, No.

4. Did Sessions handle Comey's request to not be left alone with Trump appropriately?

In his opening remarks publicized one day ahead of his testimony on Thursday, Comey revealed that the president met with him alone to discuss an FBI investigation into Flynn on Feb. 14.

Comey said he then told Sessions, who as attorney general reports to Trump and oversees the FBI director, that it was inappropriate for the president to be left alone with Comey and that it should never happen.

Comey said that Sessions did not reply. At his hearing Thursday, Comey reiterated that exchange with Sessions but did not elaborate on whether Sessions made any efforts to intervene.

5. Did Sessions play a role in Comey's firing?

When Comey was fired on May 9, the White House cited a letter from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to explain the reasoning behind the firing. By then, Sessions had recused himself from any decisions on the FBIs investigation on Russia.

But at least one senator is second-guessing whether Sessions had any role in such a decision. In an interview with CBS This Morning, Sen. Angus King , I-Maine, said that question is likely to be raised at Sessions hearing on Tuesday.

Comeys testimony raised a number of questions about Trump and his administration. For his part, Trump said the former FBI director was not telling the truth about their interactions and even said that he is 100 percent willing to testify under oath to that effect.

Will Sessions testimony raise more questions than it answers, or will it go a long way toward providing eliminating any confusion for senators or the American public? Well seen find out.

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

Read The Conversation on Flipboard.
LOS ANGELES  The Los Angeles Zoo may have the nations only monkey lair approved by a feng shui expert. Theres only one problem: no monkeys.

Advertisement

The city spent $7.4 million building the China-themed primate enclosure  complete with Canary Island palm trees, artificial trees with extra-springy limbs, and a viewing structure with Chinese-style tilework  after China promised to lend the zoo a trio of rare golden snub-nosed monkeys.

Now the Chinese government has taken the monkeys off the table, leaving zoo officials searching for suitable stand-in simians to take the place of the golden monkeys, known for their blue faces and blond hair.

Within 60 days, some lucky monkey will have a home there, Councilman Tom LaBonge, whose district includes the zoo, said yesterday.

Zoo spokesman Jason Jacobs said negotiations with Chinese officials broke down several weeks ago, but he did not know why.

The Chinese official who had signed the agreement granting Los Angeles the monkeys has since left his position, Jacobs said.

The Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles did not answer a call seeking comment, and an e-mail to the consulate was returned as undeliverable. The China Wildlife Conservation Association, which was to oversee the animal loan, did not answer a call before business hours in Beijing.

Chinese officials had offered a 10-year lease for the monkeys to former Mayor James Hahn during a visit to China in 2002.

Hahn had originally sought to lease pandas for the zoo, but Chinese officials refused, saying four zoos in the United States already have pandas, said David Towne, president of the Giant Panda Conservation Foundation, which helped broker the failed monkey loan.

They use the pandas as somewhat of a diplomatic and political tool as a reward for supporting Chinese policies, Towne said.

The city agreed to pay the Chinese government $100,000 a year for the monkeys that were offered instead of pandas. Officials voted in 2006 to build the enclosure designed to look like a rural Chinese village. The enclosure was finished in 2008.

A feng shui expert hired for $4,500 tweaked the final design with a water fountain and other features meant to promote the monkeys health and happiness.

Zoo officials are now consulting with their colleagues at other zoos to obtain native Chinese monkey species that will fit in with the surroundings.

Of course were disappointed we didnt get the golden monkeys, but the end result is we have a gorgeous new habitat, which is fully capable of housing any other variety of Asian primate, Jacobs said.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, pictured in a July 28, 2011, file photo, is among a number of wealthy Americans on Forbes annual list with ties to San Diego. ( / AP)

You might see them placing bets at the Del Mar Racetrack, taking in a Broadway show at the La Jolla Playhouse or landing a yacht at the Kona Kai Marina.

They are the richest of the rich, and they live here, too. At least 20 people on Forbes annual list of the 400 wealthiest Americans have ties to San Diego County, according to U-T reporting and a review of newspaper archives and property records.

Advertisement

That includes Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, whose $59 billion net worth ranks him ahead of all the other billionaires who make up this years list. Hes a member of the exclusive Del Mar Country Club, owned by the wife of another person who made the list: T. Boone Pickens.

Some of those listed on what Forbes calls the ultimate scorecard are self-made entrepreneurs, while others are heirs to fortune.

The list includes the owners of San Diego institutions such as Qualcomm, the San Diego Chargers and The San Diego Union-Tribune. There are members of the Hyatt Hotels and Walmart families here, too.

For the most part, these residents shy away from publicity. They spend time in the enclaves of Rancho Santa Fe and La Jolla as well as working-class National City and Del Mar, home to the renowned summer race meet. They do come out for charity functions, with many of them known for their philanthropy.

We pulled together information on some of the countys wealthiest residents. Heres who made the Forbes list:

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, $59 billion. Gates, 55, has a home in the Del Mar Country Club in Rancho Santa Fe, although he lists his primary residence as Medina, Wash. The worlds richest woman, Walmart family member Christy Walton, $24.5 billion. Walton, 56, lives in Jackson, Wyo., and used to own a house in National City that she donated to a charity in 2006; she has been spotted in recent years at La Jolla and Balboa Park events. Construction/mining entrepreneur Dennis Washington, $5 billion. Washington, 77, lives in Missoula, Mont., and often visits San Diego; his yacht is sometimes moored here and he has been spotted at the Del Mar Racetrack. Supermarket investor Ron Burkle, $3.2 billion. Burkle, 58, lives in London and La Jolla. Private-equity investor Tom Gores, $2.5 billion. Gores, 47, lives in Beverly Hills and recently bought the NBAs Detroit Pistons. Gores is chairman and CEO of Platinum Equity, the company that owns The San Diego Union-Tribune. (His brother, Alec Gores, 58, of private-equity firm The Gores Group, is listed at No. 227 with $1.9 billion net worth.) Oil and gas entrepreneur T. Boone Pickens, $1.45 billion. Pickens, 83, lives in Dallas and part-time in Del Mar at the home owned by his wife, Madeleine Pickens, owner of the Del Mar Country Club. Money-management entrepreneur Charles Brandes, $1.3 billion. Brandes, 68, lives in Rancho Santa Fe. Qualcomm co-founder Irwin Jacobs, $1.15 billion. Jacobs, 77, lives in La Jolla. San Diego Chargers owner and apartment-developer Alexander Spanos, $1.1 billion. Spanos, 87, lives in Stockton and La Jolla. Computer-outsourcing entrepreneur Darwin Deason, $1.05 billion. Deason, 75, lives in Dallas and La Jolla. He debuted on last years Forbes 400 after selling his company to Xerox in 2009.

The list includes 11 members of the Pritzker family, founder of the Hyatt Hotels chain. A trust in the name of matriarch Cindy Pritzker owns a house in Rancho Santa Fe:

Anthony Pritzker, 50, $2.5 billion (Los Angeles) Jay Robert (J.B.) Pritzker, 46, $2.5 billion (Chicago) John Pritzker, 58, $1.9 billion (San Francisco) Thomas Pritzker, 61, $1.8 billion (Chicago) Penny Pritzker, 52, $1.7 billion (Chicago) Daniel Pritzker, 52, $1.6 billion (Marin County) James Pritzker, 60, $1.6 billion (Chicago) Jean (Gigi) Pritzker, 49, $1.6 billion (Chicago) Karen Pritzker, 53, $1.6 billion (Branford, Connecticut) Linda Pritzker, 57, $1.6 billion (St. Ignatius, Montana) Nicholas Pritzker, 67, $1.2 billion (Chicago)

U-T columnist Diane Bell contributed to this report.


Two very different portraits of JFK by Post artists are an expression of the great social change of the 1960s.

Weekly Newsletter The best of The Saturday Evening Post in your inbox! Join

John F. Kennedy was elected president in 1960, at the dawn of a decade of great social change. The 60s became known for its civil rights, womens rights and anti-war protests; it was the decade of the Beatles and of Woodstock, of bold new styles and artistic innovation. As Kennedy proclaimed in his inaugural speech, The torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans.

There are many different ways to view that great cultural transformation, but perhaps one of the best ways to visualize it is to compare two portraits of JFK himselfbefore and after his electionby Saturday Evening Post illustrators. What a difference a couple of years makes!

This first portrait was painted in the traditional style by Norman Rockwell for the cover of the Post in 1960, before JFK became president.

The Post had asked Rockwell to create portraits of both Nixon and Kennedy that year. Rockwell was nearing his retirement but went to the Kennedy family compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, before the Democratic National Convention and began work on the cover portrait. Rockwell came to like Kennedy and ultimately voted for him, but kept his vote secret because the Post endorsed Nixon that year. Rockwell worked hard to make sure that his paintings of the two candidates were exactly equal, and no Post reader ever accused him of favoritism.

Even as Rockwells cover appeared on the newsstands, a bold new generation of illustrators was arriving on the scene. One of the most promising was the young Bernie Fuchs, whose fresh new style looked very different from Rockwells. Like Rockwell, Fuchs would go on to become an illustrator for the Post. In 1962 Fuchs was summoned to the White House to paint a new portrait of JFK.

I interviewed Fuchs about his experiences with JFK for my new art book, The Life and Art of Bernie Fuchs. Fuchs recalled that as the president began to pose, he looked the artist over and said doubtfully, You seem awfully young to be such an important artist. Fuchs, who had been sizing up the president from an artists perspective, was just thinking that Kennedy seemed awfully young to be president, but kept silent. What Fuchs did not find out until later was that the young president had just been informed that the Soviet Union had placed missiles in Cuba. In a few days, the world would be embroiled in the Cuban Missile Crisis. The torch had indeed been passed to a new generation.

When the portrait was completed, it had a vigorous, dynamic style that the president loved. He handed the portrait to his aides and said, Go show this to Jackie.

Fuchs went on to do several well-known portraits of JFK. When Jackie Kennedy died in 1994, it was discovered that she had kept two of Fuchs pictures in her personal collection. His art seemed to embody the youthful, robust mood of Camelot.

Note the dramatic contrast between Rockwells portrait of JFK in 1960 and Fuchs portraits just a few years later. These pictures trace the changes in American taste and culture during those years.

Rockwell looked over his shoulder and recognized that he wasnt able to do what the new generation of illustrators did. Their materials and working methods were very different, and they worked much more spontaneously. Rockwell worked carefully and used many preliminary studies, while Fuchs seemed to have boundless energy and enthusiasm for experimentation. Not only that, but Fuchs worked in an era when clients encouraged experimentation, while Rockwells clients preferred a more classical look and had discouraged him from becoming too adventuresome.

When Fuchs first came to the big city as a young artist, his work attracted a lot of attention. Albert Dorne, the president of the Famous Artists School, identified Fuchs as the most promising illustrator of the new generation, so he arranged a lunch meeting in Manhattan to introduce him to Rockwell. In art as in politics, the torch was being passed to a new generation. Fuchs recalled that the two liked each other and respected each others work very much, but felt that they didnt have much in common. The world was changing rapidly, and they were painting for two different audiences.

Fuchs went on to paint illustrations using wild angle shots and new materials.

We have unexpected photographic proof that Rockwell admired and appreciated the bold work of the next generation. A photographer snapped a picture of Rockwell in his studio standing by his wall of inspirational art by great classical artists. He has displayed the work of giants such as Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Durer, and other great artists. But down in the corner we see that he has also displayed a picture by the new kid on the block, Bernie Fuchs.

Despite his age, Rockwell had the vision to appreciate timeless quality from any generation.
Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/12/2017 -- Dandelion is an herb obtained from yellow flowers of Asteraceae family. Dandelion leaves and buds are part of traditional cuisines in Kashmir, China, Korea, Slovenia etc. Dandelion have application in food industry for preparation of wine, coffee, soft drinks, root beer. Dandelion is also used in salads and sandwiches. Dandelion is a source of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, minerals, calcium, potassium, iron and manganese. Dandelion have applications in various industries such as medical, food, and others. Dandelion have health benefits which include loss of appetite, intestinal gas, joint pain, upset stomach, eczema etc. Dandelion is also used to increase urine production as laxative. Dandelion also has application in cosmetic industry which increases its demand in global market.



Browse Market Research Report @ http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/dandelion-market.html



Market Segmentation: Dandelion



The dandelion market is segmented on the basis of its application in food and beverage industry, cosmetic industry, medical industry etc. In food and beverage industry, dandelion is obtained in the form of tea, coffee, salads etc. Roots of dandelion is also used as a coffee substitute, in wine making, beer, and other liqueurs. In cosmetics industry, dandelion is used in lip-gloss, powder, face highlighter etc. In medical industry, dandelion is used in treatment of infection such as viral infection and cancer. Dandelion is used in treatment of upset stomach, intestinal gas, joint pain, muscle ache, bruises, loss of appetite etc. dandelion also helps increasing urine production.



The dandelion market is segmented on the basis of types as dandelion powder, dandelion extracts, liquid dandelion etc. Dandelion root powder is used as a substitute for coffee powder which is popular in health conscious consumers. Dandelion extracts are used mainly in cosmetic and medical industries as these extracts can be obtained in both powder and liquid forms. Dandelion in liquid form is mainly used in cosmetics in lip-gloss, and face highlighters etc.



Fill the form to gain deeper insights on this market @ http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=25379



The dandelion market is segmented on the basis of regions as North America, Latin America, Europe, APAC and ME.



Global Dandelion Market: Regional Outlook



Depending on geographic regions global Dandelion market is segmented into five key regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, APAC and ME. Dandelion is produced across the globe. The dandelion roots and leaves are used in Europe by pharmacists as a fresh juice, which is considered to be best tonic for digestive and urinary system. In the U.S. the dandelion is mainly used as gastrointestinal aid, a cleansing alterative, it is also used for purification of blood in the Southern U.S. Dandelion is used in China market to be used in its traditional Chinese medicine.



Global Dandelion Market: Drivers and Trends



Dandelion market is in demand due to its various application in cosmetic, food and beverage and medical industry. Dandelion source is available globally due to which it gains popularity in every country in above mentioned industries. Health conscious consumers are leaning towards herbal products in daily food as well as cosmetics which is one of the key driver for dandelion market to grow globally. Use of dandelion in blood purification makes it popular in pharmaceutical industry and increases demand in global market. Dandelion is used in food products such as soups, wine, tea, coffee etc. for which market has seen growing in turn increasing demand for dandelion in global market.



Global Dandelion: Key Players



Some of the key players identified across the value chain of the global dandelion market include Natural Herbs And Herbal Products, Koranic Biotech & Medicare, KSV Export, MakingCosmetics Inc., Nature's Way, NutraMarks, Inc. etc. are amongst.
Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/12/2017 -- Indonesia today is a dynamic nation marked by great opportunity. The country has had one of the most consistent growth rates among global economies over the past ten years, with annual GDP growth averaging almost 6 percent. A new study, titled "Indonesia Consumer Market Study - 2017" has been recently added to the broad online portfolio of Market Research Hub (MRH), which analyzes the overall Indonesian consumer market in the various fields. Specifically, five key aspects of metro Indonesian lifestyles are examined which includes spending patterns, goals & aspirations, health & wellness, convenience & technology and the environment.



Request Free Sample Report : http://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1105092



This report offers a quick, clear and comprehensive understanding of consumer trends, attitudes and behavior in Indonesia with relevant data. As per the findings, Indonesia's population is young, growing and rapidly urbanizing, making it one of the fastest-growing consumer markets in the world. The country is rapidly urbanizing, powering a rise in incomes and the ability for consumers to gradually spend on discretionary items, safe and natural have prime appeal. Indonesian consumers maintain better work-life balance and time with family and friends, but on a budget.



A consumer segmentation section in the report breaks down the metropolitan Indonesia's consumers by specific age groups, ranging from ages 18 to older who reside in the five largest cities in Java, Indonesia. It also highlights the factors that influence purchasing decisions and the products in greatest demand for each segment. It has been analyzed that the growing desire in the customers to look and feel good have led to their spending pattern in more demanding and better products. The modern retail landscape remains highly fragmented as consumers rely on numerous channels including convenience stores, supermarkets, department stores, hypermarkets and others.



The report further finds the goal and aspirations of the consumers in Indonesia. Getting fit and eating healthier is a major trend in Indonesia that is why they prefer less stress, more rest and boost energy method. From health and wellness perspective, saturated fat and refined sugar are top ingredients to be avoided amid growing diabetes concerns. With a prime focus on natural products, consumers are seeking natural protein from both meat and plant based ingredients. There is also widespread concern about gluten side effects in spite of low allergy levels.



Browse Full Report with TOC - http://www.marketresearchhub.com/report/indonesia-consumer-market-study-2017-report.html



Moreover, it has been analyzed that many consumers, particularly younger consumers, are turning to internet retailing due to its convenience and to secure products not available to local retailers. Thus, on-demand shopping culture is raising convenience of shopping and M-commerce opens world of choices to shoppers. In the next segment, the report consumer behaviors towards environment, and analyzes that growing waste worries spur appeal for eco-friendly products and packaging.



Check OTher Related Reports -



Australia Consumer Market Study 2017 - http://www.marketresearchhub.com/report/australia-consumer-market-study-2017-report.html



Brazil Consumer Market Analysis towards Ready Meals- May 2017 - http://www.marketresearchhub.com/report/ready-meals-brazil-may-2017-report.html



About Market Research Hub

Market Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRH's 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 Us

90 State Street,

Albany, NY 12207,

United States

Toll Free : 866-997-4948 (US-Canada)

Tel : 518-621-2074

Email : press@marketresearchhub.com

Website : http://www.marketresearchhub.com/

Read Industry News at - https://www.industrynewsanalysis.com/
Lewes, DE -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/12/2017 -- As per International Monetary Fund (IMF) Taiwan's real gross domestic product is expected to grow at a CAGR of 2.04% from its 2015 level of TWD 15641.35 billionand reach 18022.15billion by 2022.



Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, is an island of approximately 36,000 square kilometres, about the size of the Netherlands. It is situated southwest of Japan, north of the Philippines, and about 180 kilometres off the South-Eastern coast of mainland China. The ROC's territory consists of Taiwan proper, as well as Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu and other minor islands. China has claimed sovereignty over Taiwan since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, when the defeated Nationalist government fled to the island as the Communists, under Mao Zedong, swept to power.



Taiwan had estimated population of 23.54 million in the year 2016 and expected to reach 23.828 million by 2022. Taiwan's around 11.267 million population was employed in 2016 and the unemployment rate was 3.92% of total labor force.



Taiwan's real gross domestic product (GDP) was around TWD 15860.58 billions in 2016 whereas the nominal GDP was TWD 17085.54 billions. This resulted in GDP deflator 107.723. Per capita GDP was estimated at USD 22453.43 whereas purchasing power parity (PPP) based per capita GDP was estimated to be at USD 48094.787.



In 2016, Taiwan government's revenue was TWD 2722.74 billions whereas the expenditure was TWD 3003.998 billions. This resulted Taiwan government's net lending / borrowing negative at TWD 281.257 billion in 2016 indicating that enough financial resources were not made available by the government to boost economic growth.



The current account balance for Taiwan was estimated to be at USD 75.291 billions for the year 2016 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.46% and reach USD 103.348 by 2022. This positive current account balance indicates the Taiwan is net lender to the whole world. The newly launched market research reports featuring Taiwan's PESTEL analysis, SWOT analysis and Risk analysis are aimed at providing insights about Taiwanese economy and market.



Scope of the Taiwan PESTEL Analysis, SWOT Analysis and Risk Analysis Market Research Reports



- These reports provide information about key macroeconomic indicators for Taiwan.



- These reports provide PESTELE (political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal) analysis for Taiwan.



- These reports provide SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis for Taiwan.



- These reports provide risk analysis for Taiwan.



For more information and to purchase Taiwan PESTEL Analysis Market Research Report please visit:



http://www.marketresearchreports.com/market-research-reports-inc/taiwan-pestel-analysis-market-research-report



For more information and to purchase TaiwanSWOT Analysis Market Research Report please visit:



http://www.marketresearchreports.com/market-research-reports-inc/taiwan-swot-analysis-market-research-report



For more information and to purchase TaiwanRisk Analysis Market Research Report please visit:



http://www.marketresearchreports.com/market-research-reports-inc/taiwan-risk-analysis-market-research-report



About Market Research Reports, Inc.

Market Research Reports Inc. is world's largest store offering quality market research, SWOT analysis, competitive intelligence and industry reports. We help Fortune 500 to Start-Ups with the latest market research reports on global ional markets which comprise key industries, leading market players, new products and latest industry analysis & trends.



Contact us for your market research requirements: http://www.marketresearchreports.com/contact
Lewes, DE -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/12/2017 -- As per International Monetary Fund (IMF) Thailand's real gross domestic product is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.13% from its 2015 level of THB 9501.23 billionand reach THB 11789.20billion by 2022.



Thailand is a country located at the centre of the Indo-china peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Burma. Thailand is a constitutional monarchy, which is headed by King Rama IX, the ninth king of the House of Chakri, after being reigned since 1946, is the world's longest-serving current head of state and the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history. Thai's maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India in the Andaman Sea to the southwest.



Thailand had estimated population of 68.981 million in the year 2016 and expected to reach 0.10 million by 2022. Thailand's unemployment rate was 0.75% of total labor force for the same period.



Thailand's real gross domestic product (GDP) was around THB 9808.12 billions in 2016 whereas the nominal GDP was THB 14360.63 billions. This resulted in GDP deflator 146.416. Per capita GDP was estimated at USD 5899.42 whereas purchasing power parity (PPP) based per capita GDP was estimated to be at USD 16887.65.



In 2016, Thailand government's revenue was THB 3112 billions whereas the expenditure was THB 3043 billions. This resulted Thailand government's net lending / borrowing at THB 66 billion in 2016 indicating that enough financial resources were made available by the government to boost economic growth.



The current account balance for Thailand was estimated to be at USD 46.412 billions for the year 2016 and is expected to decrease at a CAGR of 10.05% and reach USD 15.32 by 2022.



Scope of the Thailand PESTEL Analysis, SWOT Analysis and Risk Analysis Market Research Reports



- These reports provide information about key macroeconomic indicators for Thailand.



- These reports provide PESTELE (political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal) analysis for Thailand.



- These reports provide SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis for Thailand.



- These reports provide risk analysis for Thailand.



For more information and to purchase Thailand PESTEL Analysis Market Research Report please visit:

http://www.marketresearchreports.com/market-research-reports-inc/thailand-pestel-analysis-market-research-report



For more information and to purchase ThailandSWOT Analysis Market Research Report please visit:

http://www.marketresearchreports.com/market-research-reports-inc/thailand-swot-analysis-market-research-report



For more information and to purchase ThailandRisk Analysis Market Research Report please visit:

http://www.marketresearchreports.com/market-research-reports-inc/thailand-risk-analysis-market-research-report



About Market Research Reports, Inc.

Market Research Reports Inc. is world's largest store offering quality market research, SWOT analysis, competitive intelligence and industry reports. We help Fortune 500 to Start-Ups with the latest market research reports on global ional markets which comprise key industries, leading market players, new products and latest industry analysis & trends.



Contact us for your market research requirements: http://www.marketresearchreports.com/contact
[BANGKOK] An emerging viral disease observed in both wild and farmed tilapia could impact global food security and nutrition if biosafety measures are not introduced, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and other organisations warn.



The warning on the tilapia lake virus (TiLV) was contained in a special alert issued by FAO (May 26) which was first detected in Israel in 2009 but was only confirmed as a new disease in 2014. Cases have since been reported in other parts of the world.



All countries culturing tilapia and especially those translocating live tilapia should be vigilant about the disease and take appropriate risk management measures to reduce the likelihood of imported stocks being infected with TiLV, Melba Reantaso, aquaculture officer at the FAO, tells SciDev.Net.

All countries culturing tilapia and especially those translocating live tilapia should be vigilant about the disease. Melba Reantaso, UN Food and Agriculture Organization

Tilapia is a common name for hundreds of species of the tilapiine cichlid fish and is derived from the cichlid genus Tilapia. According to scientific publications, TiLV has been reported in five countries so far: Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Israel and Thailand.



Outbreaks in Thailand have wiped out 90 per cent of tilapia stocks. TiLV is part of the Orthomyxoviridae family of viruses, which is related to the infectious salmon anaemia virus that has heavily damaged the salmon farming industry. The virus is not known to infect humans.



Fish infected with TiLV often display sluggishness, dermal lesions, ocular abnormalities and lens opacity. However, there are still knowledge gaps around TiLV such as whether other passive carriers transmit the disease and whether infections through frozen tilapia products are possible.



Vishnumurthy Mohan Chadag, senior scientist at WorldFish, an international non-profit research organisation, tells SciDev.Net, that countries vulnerable to the TiLV virus need to put in place monitoring and surveillance strategies.



Awareness building of TiLV in all sectors of the value chain is also important with special attention given to small-scale farmers with limited access to knowledge and information, says Chadag.

At the international level, mobilisation is already underway between various stakeholders to assist affected countries and get them to adopt biosecurity measures that include requirements to report unusual fish mortality and restrictions on the movement of live fish. Efforts are on to develop a vaccine.

China, India and Indonesia are actively monitoring for TiLV. In Israel, an epidemiological survey is expected to determine factors influencing low survival rates and overall mortalities, including relative importance of TiLV.According to FAO, tilapia is among the topmost aquaculture species in volume terms providing food, jobs and domestic and export earnings for millions of people, including many smallholders. It is the most popular farmed fish in the world after carp and salmon.

China, Indonesia and Egypt are the three leading aquaculture producers of tilapia, a fish deemed to have great potential for expansion in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2015, world tilapia production, from both aquaculture and capture, amounted to 6.4 million tonnes valued at US$9.8 billion.

This piece was produced by SciDev.Nets Asia & Pacific desk.
Little by little, NASA is making some progress on its ambitious exploration to planet Mars. Reports are spreading that they have introduced a Batmobile concept that they will use for the future Mars Rover vehicle. What does the new concept look like and what new exciting aspects does it bring?

NASA or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the United States of America that is in charge to the space program of the US government that includes aerospace and aeronautics research. For the past years, it has made many significant discovery and findings here on Earth and the outer space.

From unearthing of Earth's bizarre archaeological sites up to the terrestrial detection of other planets in outer space, NASA has been part of those exploration and investigation. Now that the US space agency is looking for its grand voyage towards planet Mars, it is also gradually putting up the pieces to make it happen.

According to Digital Trends, it seems that NASA plan of Mars exploration is building up as they have unveiled the concept for the Mars Rover they'll be using. The concept was actually taken from a fictional/superhero vehicle, Bruce Wayne's design of Batmobile. Though it is surprising, the US space agency appears to be serious about it and now getting the people's attention.

The Batmobile idea for the Mars Rover was created by the Parker Brothers Concepts, the same company who built the 'Tumbler' Batmobile during the Gumball 3000 rally. NASA also announced that Batmobile inspired Mars Rover will be displayed at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex to endorse and inform the public about their serious plan of a Mars exploration.

Daily Mail further revealed that the radical concept of the Mars Rover was already under development since late of 2016. NASA also detailed the design of the alleged Batmobile vehicle as a six-wheeled Mars Rover totally made of carbon fiber and aluminum that is solar-powered. The six wheels are measured 50 inches tall and 30 inches wide that will come with air ducts for it to easily navigate at Mars surface.

The Batmobile Mars Rovers dimensions are 28 feet long, 13 feet wide and 11 feet tall with an approximate weight of 5,000 pounds (around 2,250 kgs). Just said earlier, it will run under solar power through an electric motor with a 700-volt backup battery. NASA also designed the vehicle to accommodate four astronauts and will be having a detachable laboratory at the back section for independent research.
The complexities of the electrical grid show that the power of supply and demand must be equal at all times. Human and industrial activity is in a constant monitor for any energy fluctuation or surges. Storage technology exploration for a more suitable method of collecting and storing energy especially from renewable sources is a continuos process.

Researchers are still in a quandary as to how to assemble a device that could accommodate the second to second energy fluctuation of renewable energy from its sources. There is one that can immediately react to the energy fluctuation feature but it is not large enough to store the volume of power produced from wind and solar. Scientists are now in the development of such storage technology to address the problem of collecting energy.

The variables of energy supplies from renewable sources is the problem being addressed in a study for new storage technologies that will balance the supply and demand for the system. Energy storage technologies are also important so as not to disrupt power supply in areas far from the generation of energy, reports Union of Concerned Scientists.

The teams from the University of Arkansas, Bin Xu and Laurent Bellaiche and Jorge Iniguez from the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology published a paper on their study of antiferroelectrics for storage technology in the journal Nature Communications. The researchers show the results of their simulations using antiferroelectric materials based on Bismuth exhibiting very high energy storage densities at the capacity of 150 J/m indicating a very good source for electrostatic capacitors. The record shows that the storage technology will adapt power collection in a high performance, efficient, and environment-friendly method of energy storage, reports Physics.Org.

According to the teams, the future of the new storage technology will be effective due to its performance during trials of high power energy storage, high-density materials, better efficiencies, and tuning flexibility. Xu adds that the utilization of such materials may pave the way to explore other elements that could further enhance storing capabilities of renewable energy storage.
NASA will launch a Terrier-Improved Malemute sounding rocket that will create colorful artificial clouds in the night sky on June 12 from 9:04 p.m. to 9:19 p.m. EDT. It was supposed to be on the night of June 11, 20017, yet it was rescheduled because of the windy conditions, haze and too many boats in the area.

Were set to launch a research rocket at 9:04pm ET to test aurora studying tech & you may be able to see it! Info: https://t.co/LiPl14ldAk pic.twitter.com/omWiPbGRH5  NASA (@NASA) June 12, 2017

The launch is part of NASA's studies of the ionosphere, in which the clouds are part of a sounding rocket launch from the Wallops Flight Facility near Chincoteague. The clouds could be perceived along the Mid-Atlantic from New York to North Carolina provided that the skies are clear. NASA has two ground stations namely the Wallops and Duck, North Carolina, according to Fauquier Times.

NASA stated that the canisters will deploy between 4 and 5.5 minutes after launch, releasing blue-green and red vapor to form artificial clouds. It further stated that these clouds or vapor tracers allow scientists on the ground to visually track particle motions in space.

This project also aims to test the new multicanister ejection system that could help the scientists gather data over a wider area than has been possible. The flight time of the rocket will be about 8 minutes. Its main payload will hit the Atlantic about 90 miles (145 kilometers) off the Virginia coast and will not be recovered, according to NASA.

Those who are living near the Wallops Island area in Virginia could watch the sounding rocket at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility Visitors Center that will open at 8 p.m. EDT. Those who want to watch it online, you could visit the NASA via the Wallops Center Facebook and Twitter sites. You can also watch it on Space.com live at 8:30 p.m. EDT. Do not miss it!
FLORENCE, S.C.  Leya Elijah-Eller of Florence is representing South Carolina and the Pee Dee area in the Miss Plus America National Pageant 2017. She holds the Mrs. S.C. Plus America 2017 title and will compete for the national title next month.

According to the Miss Plus America website, the Christian organization is devoted to celebrating the essence of full-figured women. Women who live in several participating states can compete for titles, including Miss Plus America Teen Ambassador, Miss Plus America, Ms. Plus America and Mrs. Plus America.

Elijah-Eller said she won the state pageant in April. When recruited to compete by a former pageant winner, Elijah-Eller said, she initially declined because she never liked pageants.

But I have several things I initially wanted to do when I was younger and things that are on my bucket list due to my battle with cancer, she said. So I thought, I need to go ahead and just do this.

She will compete in the national pageant with two platforms.

My platform I launched since Ive gotten to the pageant is, This is what a fighter looks like, which is encouraging all cancer fighters or those dealing with chronic or terminal illness, but really women, to be as fierce and as fabulously beautiful as they can during their fight, because its an ugly, ugly cruel disease, she said.

Her other platform is one focused on autism awareness. Elijah-Eller said she has friends with children who are autistic, and she realized the disorder did not have the voice that others did. She wanted to be that voice.

To prepare for next months pageant in Texas, Elijah-Eller said, she is doing a lot of praying, studying and working on her platform. She said she is also getting to know other women who previously competed and getting their advice.

Im a person that just enjoys the process of everything Im doing, Elijah Eller said. So, Im not allowing myself to be stressed out about it, just embracing every single day and just excited to be able to go there and do that.

She is planning a community meet-and-greet event to introduce herself to people in the Pee Dee area.

More information about the Miss Plus America organization can be found at missplusamerica.com.
WASHINGTON

As it turns out, Donald Trump is the hope-and-change president.

According to James Comey, Trump hoped that the then-FBI director would find a way to drop his investigation of ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn and help blow away "the cloud" concerning the Trump campaign's possible ties to Russia. When Comey didn't, Trump changed Comey  right out of a job.

"You're fired," the apprentice-president bravely conveyed to Comey via the very news media he so abhors, except when he doesn't. Was Trump's "hope" a "direction," as Comey testified Thursday that he took it to mean? As in, The Don hopes ol' Jimmy does the "right" thing. Or was it simply hope? As in, good golly, I hope it doesn't rain this weekend?

If one were a young child, one might go for the weather-forecast interpretation  because what child wants it to rain on his or her parade? If one were an adult with full knowledge of the president's pre-political history and the common sense of an investigator, one might reasonably conclude that the hoper-in-chief was making a strong suggestion, the ignoring of which could have dead-horse-in-your-bed consequences.

Comey, obviously, smelled a dead horse.

In his exchanges with the president, he carefully selected his words and took mental notes, after which he wrote down his recollections.

But Comey's concentration on the president's hope might have doomed him. Not only did he lose his job, but his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee seemed weak tea in the broader context of the president's potential criminality. Expressing hope  a word that's open to interpretation and nowhere near evidence of obstruction of justice  is clearly not a crime.

In his testimony, Comey further revealed that he personally had leaked his memos, again to the benighted media via a Columbia University law professor and friend. Comey said he was concerned that Trump might lie about their discussions and other details leading up to his firing.

Regarding the two men and whose word to trust, there's no contest. But often what is obviously wrong isn't necessarily illegal. I don't doubt that Trump essentially threatened Comey because that's what Trump does. (Count his lawsuits if you have a few free months.) Even as Comey testified, the president was regaling the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference with scripture and tough talk: "We know how to fight better than anybody, and we never, ever give up  we are winners and we are going to fight." (Please, please, please read "Elmer Gantry.")

During the hearing, several senators pressed Comey about why he didn't ask obvious follow-up questions, as when Trump allegedly said to the director, "We had that thing." What thing? Comey also might have queried, "Mr. President, what do you mean when you say you 'hope'?" Or, as various commentators have suggested, why didn't Comey say, "I'm sorry, Mr. President, but this is highly inappropriate and I'm going to have to excuse myself"?

Ask any reporter, whose skills are essentially investigative, and the answer is: You don't ever interrupt when the subject is spilling beans. Remember that Flynn was under investigation at the time, as was Trump's campaign, though apparently not Trump himself. All of this was surely in Comey's mind when Trump allegedly expressed his hope.

In real life, we rely upon our instincts, experience, interpretation of facial expressions and body language, and historical knowledge to make judgments and instruct our words and actions. We do this usually without conscious effort  unless we're driven by a purpose.

For Comey, what was the higher moral position? To stop the president of the United States from talking  or keep the conversation going while you gather your wits and see what else might be forthcoming but could aid in an ongoing investigation? Most likely, Comey's mind was frantically trying to assess the situation and wondering Lordy, why didn't I wear a wire?

He hinted as much Thursday, albeit with weirdly undermining self-deprecations. Comey said he felt he needed to pay attention and was too stunned to react to the "hope" comment. "Maybe if I was stronger," he said, explaining why he didn't ask "what thing?" Please. What's with the 6-foot-8-inch weakling act from a man routinely praised for his brilliance and integrity? Why telegraph feebleness to Trump, his lawyers and a skeptical public if he's secure in his rectitude?

Presumably, Comey was trying to convey his humility juxtaposed with the steamrolling Trump. What Comey might be constitutionally unable to fully grasp, however, is that integrity is no weapon in a knife fight.

Kathleen Parker's email address is kathleenparker@washpost.com.
Something went wrong, please try again later.

Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later.

Plans have been submitted to restore a building in Goxhill which was used by air crews from Britain and the USA in the Second World War as a dining mess and offices.

Planners at North Lincolnshire Council have been told the building on College Road, called Dollymax, is currently an eyesore. In recent years the roof has been removed to stop vandalism.

A recreation to reflect the Second World War structure, which served RAF Goxhill and USAAF Station 345, would improve the first impressions of Goxhill and reflect its proud history.

The proposals would also preserve the site for the next 100 years.

Local resident Oliver Hart wants to convert around half of the building into an industrial unit for vehicle repairs and maintenance and a plant hire business.

The other half would provide accommodation for the owners of the business

During the second world war Goxhill was originally used as a barrage balloon site to protect the port of Hull and the River Humber.

In 1940 the site was transferred to RAF Bomber Command and rebuilt as a Class A airfield.

The base was equipped with three intersecting runways, three hangars and accommodation for more than 1,700 personnel.

In August 1942 Goxhill became the first base in Britain to be taken over by the USA Air Force for the Eighth and Ninth Forces

Future American president General Dwight Eisenhower was reported to have attended the transfer ceremony.

Local legend has it that the late Hollywood actor Clark Gable served at the base which was known by the visitors as Goathill.
Something went wrong, please try again later.

Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later.

For the first time in more than 30 years, residents on a Scunthorpe housing estate have been told to buy their own bags to dispose of rubbish.

The setback for the residents on the Earls Walk estate comes after the council refuse collectors stopped doorstep collections of rubbish.

Now they have to take their rubbish in their own bags to industrial bins placed in specially-built compounds on the estate.

Retired bus inspector Brian Mitchell, 77, who has lived on the estate since 1983, complained: "This is discrimination against the elderly and disabled.

"Some of the residents find it difficult to walk to the compounds carrying sacks of rubbish. Now we have been told we have to buy our own sacks."

A spokeswoman for the estate owner at Ongo Homes said: "The tenants have now changed to a bin system where residents have to use their own bin bags - like the rest of North Lincolnshire residents.

"In New Westcliff, the council still provide bin bags as they have a black bag service rather than council bins.

"Consultation has been done with residents about this some time ago."
Sarawak Chief Minister Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg was quoted as saying the plan was discussed with Malaysian national oil corporation Petronas, which was very receptive to the idea of the state-owned company getting involved in upstream and downstream oil and gas exploration activities.

I had discussions with Petronas, we are adopting a new approach. Sarawak will participate in both upstream and downstream oil and gas activities.

In the upstream sector, this will be Sarawaks maiden venture, as such, we need to set up a state-owned company in order to join Petronas in oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea.

We will establish our company first. We will join Petronas to work out a deal with petroleum arrangement contractors, Abang Johari said.

The Chief Minister said Sarawak companies had previously only been involved in downstream oil and gas activities in Bintulu. The increased involvement at state level could bode well for the beleaguered oil and gas services players in Sarawak.
Press Release

June 11, 2017 Legarda: Ending Child Labor Is A Must In observance of the World Day Against Child Labor (June 12), Senator Loren Legarda said that ending child labor is a must, stressing the right of children to a life free from violence, exploitation and abuse. According to the United Nations, around 168 million children remain trapped in child labor and many of them live in areas affected by conflict and disaster. "Millions of children are exposed to multiple forms of abuses such as sexual exploitation and sex trafficking, forced labor, internal displacement, among others. Disasters and armed conflicts make them even more vulnerable to abuses as poor women and children are preyed upon by human trafficking syndicates," said Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committees on Finance, Foreign Relations, and Climate Change. The Senator said the situation requires a multi-disciplinary protection system, which involves stricter implementation of anti-trafficking and anti-child labor laws, providing livelihood opportunities to parents so they can send their children to school, coordinated response among different concerned agencies and strengthened international cooperation. Legarda said that in the Philippines, child labor should be addressed with the help of legal measures already in place such as the Anti-Child Labor Law, the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, and the Domestic Workers Act. The Anti-Child Labor Law, which Legarda co-authored, protects children from being engaged into work outside the protection of their parents or guardian, and that which might endanger their life, safety and development. The Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, which the Senator principally sponsored, protects children from being trafficked through its strengthened provisions which also covers attempted trafficking and accessory or accomplice liability. The Domestic Workers Act, which Legarda co-authored and co-sponsored, deems it unlawful to employ children below 15 years of age as domestic worker, while those who are 15 years old but below 18 years of age, are considered as working children and are protected under the Anti-Child Labor Act. Meanwhile, since children in disaster and conflict areas become more vulnerable to trafficking, proactive measures to prevent disasters should be intensified through the implementation of the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act and the Climate Change Law. Legarda also said that there is now a law, the Children's Emergency Relief and Protection Act, which mandates government to establish and implement a strategic program of action to provide children affected by disasters, calamities and other emergency situations with utmost support and assistance necessary for their immediate recovery and to protect them against all forms of abuse and exploitation. "We must strictly implement these laws to end child labor and protect our children from circumstances that will affect their survival and normal development. The time will come when they must work, but for as long as they are children, they must be protected, cared for, and assured their rights as children," Legarda concluded. The International Labour Organization (ILO) launched the World Day Against Child Labor in 2002 to focus attention on the global extent of child labor and the action and efforts needed to eliminate it. The theme for this year's observance is "In conflicts and disasters, protect children from child labor."
Press Release

June 12, 2017 Senate Minority Bloc urges gov't institutions to preserve independence The Senate Minority Bloc on Independence Day called on various institutions of democracy such as the Congress and Supreme Court to assert their independence. "Now, more than ever, it is important for our democratic institutions to show their independence amidst the complicated and divisive political environment that we have today," they said in a statement. The Senate Minority Bloc is composed of Senators Franklin M. Drilon as the minority leader, Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan, Benigno Paulo "Bam" Aquino IV, and Leila De Lima, all belonging to the Liberal Party; Sen. Antonio "Sonny" Trillanes IV; and Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros. "We will not be able to protect and serve our people if we do not preserve our independence and integrity as institutions of democracy," they said. "Let us not allow others to dishonor and disrespect our institutions, because doing so is an insult to the memory of the brave and selfless Filipinos who fought for our freedom as a nation," said Drilon. Trillanes stressed that "it is in everyone's interest that we guard the independence of our institutions." "As we celebrate our Independence today, let us breathe life to the liberties that were fought for us by our forerunners by defending the independence of our institutions and by keeping dissent alive in the face of tyranny," Trillanes said. Pangilinan and Aquino, for their part, said that the people should continue to guard the democracy in light of the proliferation of "fake news" and misinformation. "Sa pagyabong ng social media, lumaganap din ang fake news na nagbabanta sa katotohanan at nagdudulot ng kalituhan. Nais nating mga Pilipino na maging malaya mula sa fake news at kasinungalingan," said Pangilinan. "We fought for independence from foreign rule. We fought for freedom from a ruthless dictator. Now, we fight terrorism, encroachment on our territory and our freedom to dissent. In an era of fake news, rabid online persecution and weak political institutions, we need to fight for our democracy now more than ever," Aquino said. Hontiveros, for her part, said that "independence and freedom will have no sense without democracy." "Our freedom can only be guaranteed by strong democratic institutions. I call on the public to honor the sacrifices of our heroes by opposing a Martial law declaration that is not compliant with the constitution. Let us always remember, the promised order of tyranny will never bring us to full democracy," she added.
Press Release

June 12, 2017 Legarda on 119th Independence Day: Diversity Breeds Unity, Culture and Heritage Key to Inclusive Growth Senator Loren Legarda today said that a shared understanding of the diverse Filipino culture is key to promoting inclusive growth. Legarda made the statement as the nation celebrates the 119thAnniversary of Philippine Independence with the theme "Kalayaan 2017: Pagbabagong Sama-Samang Balikatin." "Our culture and our values define our being Filipino. We can never work together wholeheartedly towards the inclusive growth and development of our nation if we do not have national pride as a people, if we do not appreciate the richness of our diverse culture," she said. The Senator said that the current administration's development blueprint, the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022, is anchored on three pillars--Pagbabago, Patuloy na Pag-unlad, and Malasakit. The third pillar, Malasakit, is about enhancing the social fabric by ensuring people-centered, clean, and efficient governance; pursuing swift and fair administration of justice; and promoting Philippine culture and values. "Our culture is our identity. Our different ethno-linguistic groups--each with a distinct heritage of traditions, dance, art, music, folklore, beliefs, value systems--make up the identity of the Filipino people. Ensuring inclusivity in a nation that has rich and diverse culture is a difficult challenge, but not impossible," Legarda explained. She added that diversity should not be used as an instrument to divide. "Diversity breeds richness in our culture and heritage. Diversity brings everyone together for as long as there is understanding and respect." Legarda said that cultural considerations cannot anymore remain on the sidelines of policy making. These need to be integrated in education, economic planning, urban and rural development, technological innovations, among others. "We need to increase the level of cultural awareness, inculcate values for the common good, cultivate creativity, and strengthen culture-sensitive governance and development," she stressed. "Achieving inclusive growth is only possible if we have a shared understanding of who we are as a people. We may have come from different provinces with varied cultures, practices and traditions, but we are united by our history and the triumph of our national heroes, who came from different cultures but were united by the goal of achieving our nation's independence," Legarda concluded.
Political events in the Bay Area

Refugees: Oxfam America and Microsoft will host an interactive event exploring the Syrian refugee crisis. The free event is from 5-7 p.m. at Microsoft Conference Center 1065 La Avenida St., Building 1, Mountain View. For information: www.refugeeroad.info.

Saturday

Nuclear weapons march: 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. In San Francisco, marchers are planning to meet at noon at UN Plaza. For information: bln.sf.ca@gmail.com.

Anti-Trump discussion: Hosted by the Freedom Socialist Party, a conversation on countering racism and fascism. The event begins at 2 p.m. A $3 to $5 donation is requested at the door. The event is at New Valencia Hall, 747 Polk St., San Francisco. For information: (415) 864-1278 or www.socsialism.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 21

Electoral system presentation: Californians for Electoral Reform and FairVote California will present an overview of local election systems and discuss possible reforms. The free event is from 7-9 p.m. at the Richmond Progressive Alliance, 2540 Macdonald Ave., Richmond. For information: (510) 412-2260.

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.

June 22

Coal film: 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: www.nocoalinoakland.info.
For 37 years, athletes from around the world have jumped into the frigid, precarious waters off Alcatraz Island for one of San Franciscos most popular triathlons: Escape from Alcatraz.

But strong winds and uncommonly choppy waters on Sunday made bay conditions so dangerous that race officials canceled the swim portion  the first time thats happened in recent history, organizers said. While athletes still biked and ran, many were disappointed by the cancellation.

Its like being told youre going to play a game of chess, and then you get there and theyre like, OK, now were going to play checkers, said Eric Lagerstrom, who came in seventh place overall. Lagerstrom, 27, said swimming is his strongest leg in a triathlon and he thinks he may have placed higher if it hadnt been scrubbed.

The annual triathlon usually features a mile-and-a-half swim from Alcatraz Island to Marina Green. Its followed by an 18-mile bike ride through the Presidio and an 8-mile run to Baker Beach.

Many of the athletes were already loaded onto boats and about to depart for Alcatraz when officials pulled the plug on the swim portion. The San Francisco Police Departments Marine Unit deemed the water too dangerous for the small safety boats that accompany the swimmers during the event in the case of an emergency.

Every year we have a plan A, B, C and D, said James Leitz, senior vice president at IMG Worldwide, which produces the triathlon. Our plan D is to just have them do a 400-yard swim  but this year we couldnt even do that.

In the last 13 years Leitz has produced the event, they have always gone with Plan A, he said.

The swim cancellation caused some other fundamental changes to the race. The first cohort of professional athletes was let off in increments, which led to some of the athletes running the course without anyone else in sight. Triathletes often rely on others around them to keep their pace.

And when Ben Kanute crossed the finish line first, it wasnt an immediate celebration: He had to wait about 10 minutes to confirm that hed actually won. Timekeepers had to wait for others in his cohort to finish to determine official results.

Canceling the swim was not an easy call, Leitz said, noting that athletes came from 50 different countries to compete Sunday.

It was a difficult decision to make, but easy when you consider the safety issues, he said.

For Lauren Goss, the top female racer, the lack of swimming may not have been such a bad thing. Sunday was her fourth attempt at the race  and her first win.

Im sad about the swimming, but in the end, I guess everything happens for a reason, she said, still catching her breath after crossing the finish line.

Trisha Thadani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tthadani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TrishaThadani
Ubers board of directors held an emergency meeting Sunday to wrestle with major decisions on the future of the ride-hailing company.

On the agenda was a potential leave of absence for CEO Travis Kalanick. Board members also discussed the results of a months-long investigation into Ubers company culture by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, a partner at the law firm Covington & Burling.

A representative for the board said the directors unanimously voted to adopt the Holder reports recommendations, which will be shared with employees Tuesday.

Holder recommended the departure of a controversial top executive, Emil Michael, the New York Times reported, citing three people familiar with the matter.

The meeting comes at a precarious time for the company. Uber has been embroiled in controversy since the first app-hailed town cars hit the streets in San Francisco seven years ago. But the past few months have seen a level of scandal and criticism that threatens to overwhelm the company. Experts say the boards attempt to rein in Kalanick is a long-overdue move to fix Ubers reputation as a cultishly aggressive workplace that often thumbs its nose at the law.

Uber is a legit company with a legit business plan that has the potential of being very profitable, and its also providing a very important service in the gig economy, said Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies, a Silicon Valley market research firm. If youre a general consumer who uses it, you want the company to survive on good business terms and using good business principles. And at this point, that is somewhat questionable.

Following a February blog post by former Uber engineer Susan Fowler Rigetti describing sexual harassment, the company said Holder would conduct the review.

When a board asks for this kind of outside expertise and companies have some legal and other problems, then I think it can be critical, said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, told the Washington Post. It can be a juncture where theres a turnaround, or it could be that the company continues to have these difficulties. But continuing difficulties are going to make it hard for the company to prosper.

The meeting  held in Covington & Burlings Los Angeles office because Kalanick needed to be close to his family after his mothers death in a boating accident  lasted several hours Sunday.

Michael, a close confidant to Kalanick since he joined Uber in 2013, has been a controversial figure at the company for several years. At a dinner in 2014 attended by BuzzFeed editor Ben Smith, Michael proposed hiring investigative reporters to dig up dirt on journalists critical of the company. And one of Michaels lieutenants, Eric Alexander, was fired last week after reports emerged that he mishandled documents related to the rape of an Uber passenger in India. (The 2014 incident led to protests in that country, a key market for Uber.)

Michael did not return calls and texts seeking comment.

The departure of Ubers chief business officer will add to the list of executive roles unfilled at the company, which includes a chief operating officer, chief financial officer and head of engineering. Last week, 20 employees were fired after Holders probe.

Uber has seen a number of public relations disasters over the past few months. After Rigettis blog post about sexual harassment in the company, the New York Times reported that the company used software called Greyball to show law enforcement personnel a deceptive version of the app in cities where the service was banned.

There was also a campaign on Twitter calling for people to delete their Uber accounts after the company was perceived as breaking a New York taxi strike held in protest of President Trumps ban on travel from seven majority-Muslim countries.

For the average consumer who views Uber as a reliable form of transportation, internal company politics will likely not have a noticeable impact on the service, said Veena Dubal, an associate professor of law at UC Hastings College of the Law.

But, she added, the culture starts at the top and can trickle down to the drivers and consumers  eventually impacting the business, pricing and overall experience.

I am disappointed that it had to get to this point for there to need to be a change, and for there to be enough consumer pressure for them to need to make a change, she said. But what about the fact that drivers are sleeping in their cars, and getting subprime auto loans  why wasnt that a reason to change their leadership?

Chronicle News Services contributed

to this report.

Trisha Thadani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tthadani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TrishaThadani

Schooled by scandal

2017 has been particularly trying for the ride-hailing company. But Uber has rarely seen moments when its not caught in some contentious fight with regulators, competitors, or its own employees and drivers.

March 2009: Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp found UberCab in San Francisco.

October 2010: The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency issues a cease-and-desist order; UberCab shortens its name to Uber.

December 2010: Kalanick becomes CEO.

August 2014: The Verge reveals Ubers playbook for sabotaging Lyft: a system of burner phones and other deceptions to disguise its attempts to recruit drivers away from competitors. Uber unveils a carpooling service one day before Lyft does.

October 2014: Uber hires former Lyft Chief Operating Officer Travis VanderZanden. A month later, Lyft sues him, alleging that he took company documents along with him.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

November 2014: Emil Michael, Ubers chief business officer, suggests that the company might assemble a team to dig up dirt on journalists critical of the company. He later apologizes for the comments.

December 2014: A woman in New Delhi accuses an Uber driver of raping her. While the company apologizes and vows to improve its background checks, Eric Alexander, a top Uber executive in Asia, obtains the womans medical records in the course of investigating the incident.

October 2015: Uber seeks records from Lyft Chief Technology Officer Chris Lambert in connection with a May 2014 hacking incident.

June 2016: Lyft and Uber settle the VanderZanden and Lambert disputes. VanderZanden leaves Uber a few months later.

January 2017: Activists launch #DeleteUber campaign on social media.

February 2017: Susan Fowler Rigetti posts about her experiences at the company, including being propositioned for sex by her manager on her first day on the job. Uber vows to investigate.

Waymo, the former self-driving car project of Google, sues Uber, alleging that Anthony Levandowski took secret documents with him when he left to found an autonomous-vehicle startup Uber later bought.

A video shows Kalanick berating a driver who criticizes Uber. Kalanick says he will seek leadership help.

March 2017: Uber is revealed to have used a software program called Greyball to prevent regulators and law enforcement personnel from taking action against the company.

Uber says it is searching for a chief operating officer to help Kalanick. Uber President Jeff Jones quits, one of several top-level departures.

May 2017: Uber fires Levandowski, saying he refused to cooperate with the companys investigation into Waymos claims.

Uber hires Frances Frei, a Harvard Business School professor, as senior vice president of leadership, charging her with transforming the companys culture.

June 2017: After reporters ask about Uber executive Alexanders possession of the medical records in the India case, Uber fires Alexander.

Ubers board meets to discuss the Holder report.
We value your privacy.

Focus Taiwan (CNA) uses tracking technologies to provide better reading experiences, but it also respects readers' privacy. Click here to find out more about Focus Taiwan's privacy policy. When you close this window, it means you agree with this policy.
SACRAMENTO  The day after Democrats in the state Senate passed a proposal for a universal health care system, RoseAnn DeMoro took to Twitter to call out those who voted against it.

Her tweet read: 23 CA senators stood up for guaranteed healthcare, 17 did not  some of whom are Dem. Check if your senator is here. A list was included showing how each lawmaker voted on the bill.

Its passage marked an incremental victory for DeMoro, a liberal Democratic firebrand who, as head of the California Nurses Association, has spent decades pushing to overhaul the health care system. Most advocates dont celebrate a win by publicly shaming the politicians who took the losing position. But DeMoro is hardly the typical advocate.

A union boss with a take-no-prisoners approach, DeMoro has a long history of rabble-rousing through civil disobedience and theatrical stunts. She has no use for the practical politics of compromise and consensus-building, preferring to strive for progressive ideals rather than find common ground.

Santiago Mejia/Special to the Chronicle

Now, as Democrats across the nation struggle to rebuild following last years electoral losses, DeMoro is leading the effort to push Californias party further to the left.

People are seeking an alternative vision for this country, said DeMoro, whose union campaigned heavily last year for her longtime friend Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

With Republicans in Washington vowing to repeal the Affordable Care Act and California Democrats in vocal opposition to President Trump, DeMoro has seized the moment to push for a single-payer system  health care as a government-run service like public education, paid for with tax dollars and available to all. Shes made her unions single-payer plan, which is moving through the Legislature as SB562, a wedge issue for Democrats, threatening to campaign against those who dont support it.

This is my unification speech, which is a warning, DeMoro told the crowd at last months California Democratic Party convention. If you dismiss progressive values and reinforce the dynamic status quo, dont assume the activists in California or around this country are going to stay with the Democratic Party.

As she invigorates liberal Berniecrats, DeMoro is infuriating the party faithful. Eric Bauman, the new chairman of the state party, has excluded the video of her speech from the partys YouTube channel and declined to be interviewed for this article. Even some Democrats within organized labor have grown weary of her combative style.

When youre the minority party nationally now, trying to divide your own party doesnt make sense to me, said Gale Kaufman, a Democratic political consultant who works for the state teachers union. Bringing people closer together seems to be smarter.

DeMoro, 69, grew up in St. Louis, married her high school sweetheart, then moved to Santa Barbara to study sociology. Working at a supermarket while raising two children, she became an organizer for the grocery workers union before going to work for the Teamsters.

She joined the California Nurses Association 32 years ago, attracted to a position that would allow her to empower working-class women. She helped nurses get retirement benefits, pushed for laws to limit their patient load and more than quadrupled the size of the union, which now has nearly 95,000 members.

Her relationship with Sanders dates to at least the early 1980s, when she supported his campaign for mayor of Burlington, Vt., with a $20 donation. At the time, DeMoro said, that was a lot of money for me.

Today, DeMoro earns more than $350,000 a year as executive director of the California Nurses Association and its umbrella, the National Nurses United. Her husband, Don DeMoro, recently retired after working for many years as the unions director of research. The couple live in Napa, and together drew nearly $700,000 in salary and benefits in 2014, according to the unions most recent tax filings.

DeMoro has drawn inspiration from the civil-rights era song It Isnt Nice as shes made her union a hotbed of in-your-face activism. It isn't nice to block the doorway/It isnt nice to go to jail, the song goes. There are nicer ways to do it/But the nice ways always fail.

In 2005, DeMoro led protests against Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as he tried to increase the ratio of patients to nurses in California hospitals, an effort that failed. Five years later, her union followed GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman around the state with an actress dressed in a velvet cape who staged satirical portrayals of Queen Meg. Whitman lost.

DeMoros protests havent focused only on Republicans. In 2011, after nurses were arrested at Occupy protests in Chicago, DeMoro led her union to picket Democratic Mayor Rahm Emanuel. In 2006, DeMoro heckled then-Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, who was pushing a bill to expand health care, but not through a single-payer system. Nunez, a Democrat, remembers hosting a screening in Sacramento with filmmaker Michael Moore, a fan of the single-payer concept.

RoseAnn and everybody was outside the premiere protesting me because they didnt like my bill, Nunez said. Even Michael Moore was like, I think its a good thing  youre trying to change things. But RoseAnn was to the left of Michael Moore.

Nunez praised DeMoros staunch defense of her values but said the approach is not effective: Its one thing to fight for what you believe in; its another thing to get something done.

Last year, the nurses union spent $260,000 to support a ballot measure to keep a lid on drug prices, but it lost. The unions national arm spent $4.8 million on Sanders losing presidential campaign. And despite the nurses advocacy, single-payer bills in California have stalled or been vetoed half a dozen times since 2003, due in large part to their enormous cost.

This year, DeMoro insists, will be different. Trumps election has changed the national narrative on health care, she says, making more Democrats open to the nurses vision for universal coverage.

They have provided the momentum and the movement, which helps on something this large, said Democratic state Sen. Toni Atkins of San Diego, an author of the single-payer bill.

For her part, DeMoro is hoping to retire soon. But shes not making those plans just yet.

I will go away if we get a single-payer system, DeMoro said. I promise.

Laurel Rosenhall is a reporter for CALmatters, a nonprofit journalism venture dedicated to exploring state policies and politics. For more stories by Laurel Rosenhall, go to www.calmatters.org/newsanalysis.
Political pressure kept shelters open, June 11, A12

In an article that began on the Front Page, a pair of captions under photographs of Joe Montana and Andre Agassi misstated their involvement in Californias foster care shelters and efforts to keep them operating in 2015. Montana has provided support to a Santa Clara County shelter in the past. Agassi has provided support to a shelter in Nevada and was not involved in the effort to fight legislation designed to close the California shelters.
This year's Haight Ashbury Street Fair had an extra dose of hippie.

The 40th anniversary of the street fair was also celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love in San Francisco.

Among the usual street-fair staples of barbecue, t-shirt vendors and drumming, there was plenty of tie-dye and one man giving out free hugs.

Check out our photos and video to see some of the scenes from the fair.

How much has the Haight changed in 50 years? We explored that in a recent article on SFGATE:

Beyond the cheesy smoke shops and tour buses, the essence of the Haight still throbs.

As in the 60s, grandiose Victorian mansions line the streets as the scent of marijuana wafts through the fog-choked air. Youngsters still abound, too, ranging from traveling vagrants who carry their possessions on their backs to hipsters hoping to score a Smiths record at Rasputin Music.

Many of the buildings don't look quite the same  or aren't around at all anymore  but if you gaze intently enough upon your surroundings, hints of the old Haight materialize.

Sunshine Powers heard the call of Haight-Ashbury as a kid growing up in San Francisco.

"It's where I first heard the Grateful Dead, met my first boyfriend, and did other things," she told SFGATE inside her Haight storefront, Love on Haight.

Though she acknowledges that the neighborhood has changed since its hippie days, Powers says the spirit of color, creativity, and consciousness remain.

"The sex, drugs, and rock and roll are like the frosting," she said, "but the real meat and potatoes is the social, conscious revolution that happened here."

To properly honor the "historical magicalness" of the Haight, Powers advocates for continuing the social justice mission of the Summer of Love that gave the city still-standing organizations, like the Haight-Ashbury Free Clinic (now called HealthRight 360) and Haight Ashbury Music Center.

"That's what the Summer of Love is all about," she said. "It's about honoring what happened 50 years ago and shaping the next 50 years."
A plot to smuggle methamphetamine into a North Bay jail was foiled when a Windsor woman and two accomplices working with her on the inside were caught, officials said Monday.

Narcotics investigators with the Sonoma County Sheriffs Office had learned a repeat visitor to the North County Detention Facility in Santa Rosa was bringing drugs with her on her visits, according to the Sheriffs Office.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Ubers board of directors held an emergency meeting Sunday to wrestle with major decisions on the future of the ride-hailing company.

On the agenda was a potential leave of absence for CEO Travis Kalanick. Board members also discussed the results of a months-long investigation into Ubers company culture by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, a partner at the law firm Covington & Burling.

A representative for the board said the directors unanimously voted to adopt the Holder reports recommendations, which will be shared with employees Tuesday.

Holder recommended the departure of a controversial top executive, Emil Michael, the New York Times reported, citing three people familiar with the matter.

The meeting comes at a precarious time for the company. Uber has been embroiled in controversy since the first app-hailed town cars hit the streets in San Francisco seven years ago. But the past few months have seen a level of scandal and criticism that threatens to overwhelm the company. Experts say the boards attempt to rein in Kalanick is a long-overdue move to fix Ubers reputation as a cultishly aggressive workplace that often thumbs its nose at the law.

Uber is a legit company with a legit business plan that has the potential of being very profitable, and its also providing a very important service in the gig economy, said Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies, a Silicon Valley market research firm. If youre a general consumer who uses it, you want the company to survive on good business terms and using good business principles. And at this point, that is somewhat questionable.

Following a February blog post by former Uber engineer Susan Fowler Rigetti describing sexual harassment, the company said Holder would conduct the review.

When a board asks for this kind of outside expertise and companies have some legal and other problems, then I think it can be critical, said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, told the Washington Post. It can be a juncture where theres a turnaround, or it could be that the company continues to have these difficulties. But continuing difficulties are going to make it hard for the company to prosper.

The meeting  held in Covington & Burlings Los Angeles office because Kalanick needed to be close to his family after his mothers death in a boating accident  lasted several hours Sunday.

Michael, a close confidant to Kalanick since he joined Uber in 2013, has been a controversial figure at the company for several years. At a dinner in 2014 attended by BuzzFeed editor Ben Smith, Michael proposed hiring investigative reporters to dig up dirt on journalists critical of the company. And one of Michaels lieutenants, Eric Alexander, was fired last week after reports emerged that he mishandled documents related to the rape of an Uber passenger in India. (The 2014 incident led to protests in that country, a key market for Uber.)

Michael did not return calls and texts seeking comment.

The departure of Ubers chief business officer will add to the list of executive roles unfilled at the company, which includes a chief operating officer, chief financial officer and head of engineering. Last week, 20 employees were fired after Holders probe.

Uber has seen a number of public relations disasters over the past few months. After Rigettis blog post about sexual harassment in the company, the New York Times reported that the company used software called Greyball to show law enforcement personnel a deceptive version of the app in cities where the service was banned.

There was also a campaign on Twitter calling for people to delete their Uber accounts after the company was perceived as breaking a New York taxi strike held in protest of President Trumps ban on travel from seven majority-Muslim countries.

For the average consumer who views Uber as a reliable form of transportation, internal company politics will likely not have a noticeable impact on the service, said Veena Dubal, an associate professor of law at UC Hastings College of the Law.

But, she added, the culture starts at the top and can trickle down to the drivers and consumers  eventually impacting the business, pricing and overall experience.

I am disappointed that it had to get to this point for there to need to be a change, and for there to be enough consumer pressure for them to need to make a change, she said. But what about the fact that drivers are sleeping in their cars, and getting subprime auto loans  why wasnt that a reason to change their leadership?

Chronicle News Services contributed

to this report.

Trisha Thadani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tthadani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TrishaThadani

Schooled by scandal

2017 has been particularly trying for the ride-hailing company. But Uber has rarely seen moments when its not caught in some contentious fight with regulators, competitors, or its own employees and drivers.

March 2009: Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp found UberCab in San Francisco.

October 2010: The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency issues a cease-and-desist order; UberCab shortens its name to Uber.

December 2010: Kalanick becomes CEO.

August 2014: The Verge reveals Ubers playbook for sabotaging Lyft: a system of burner phones and other deceptions to disguise its attempts to recruit drivers away from competitors. Uber unveils a carpooling service one day before Lyft does.

October 2014: Uber hires former Lyft Chief Operating Officer Travis VanderZanden. A month later, Lyft sues him, alleging that he took company documents along with him.

November 2014: Emil Michael, Ubers chief business officer, suggests that the company might assemble a team to dig up dirt on journalists critical of the company. He later apologizes for the comments.

December 2014: A woman in New Delhi accuses an Uber driver of raping her. While the company apologizes and vows to improve its background checks, Eric Alexander, a top Uber executive in Asia, obtains the womans medical records in the course of investigating the incident.

October 2015: Uber seeks records from Lyft Chief Technology Officer Chris Lambert in connection with a May 2014 hacking incident.

June 2016: Lyft and Uber settle the VanderZanden and Lambert disputes. VanderZanden leaves Uber a few months later.

January 2017: Activists launch #DeleteUber campaign on social media.

February 2017: Susan Fowler Rigetti posts about her experiences at the company, including being propositioned for sex by her manager on her first day on the job. Uber vows to investigate.

Waymo, the former self-driving car project of Google, sues Uber, alleging that Anthony Levandowski took secret documents with him when he left to found an autonomous-vehicle startup Uber later bought.

A video shows Kalanick berating a driver who criticizes Uber. Kalanick says he will seek leadership help.

March 2017: Uber is revealed to have used a software program called Greyball to prevent regulators and law enforcement personnel from taking action against the company.

Uber says it is searching for a chief operating officer to help Kalanick. Uber President Jeff Jones quits, one of several top-level departures.

May 2017: Uber fires Levandowski, saying he refused to cooperate with the companys investigation into Waymos claims.

Uber hires Frances Frei, a Harvard Business School professor, as senior vice president of leadership, charging her with transforming the companys culture.

June 2017: After reporters ask about Uber executive Alexanders possession of the medical records in the India case, Uber fires Alexander.

Ubers board meets to discuss the Holder report.
Between 250 and 650 retail stores, including Ann Taylor, Dress Barn, Loft, Lane Bryant, Justice, Dress Barn and Catherines stores are closing over the next two years, according to parent company Ascena Retail Group.

On Thursday, Chief Executive David Jaffe said 250 locations will definitely close down, and another 400 will close their doors unless the company can negotiate lower rents at those locations, according to WLS-TV.
A woman was sentenced Monday to nine years in prison for pulling a knife, threatening and chasing down five patrons outside a San Francisco gay club, in a case that saw lawyers argue over whether the use of gay slurs proved a hate crime.

Pearly Martin, 30, was convicted of making criminal threats, burglary and vandalism in connection with the April 25, 2016, incident, which began after Drag Night at Club OMG on Sixth Street in the South of Market neighborhood.

The five victims had left the club at about 2 a.m. when they were confronted by Martin and several of her friends, who falsely believed the victims had been taking cell phone photos of her and humiliating her.

According to court documents, Martin swore at the the victims  one of whom was dressed in drag  shouting gay slurs and crude insults about their appearance, before pulling out a knife and threatening to kill them. The victims scattered, with two running to a car and locking the doors.

Martin kicked at the doors and banged on the windows before trying to slash the tires with her knife. She then ran after the other three, who fled to one of their apartments a block away. She and her friends cornered the victims in the buildings lobby as they tried to call the police, but they were able to escape.

When police arrived and placed Martin in a patrol car, she kicked the windows hard enough to cause damage to the glass and window frame, court documents state.

Martins sentence could have been longer. Prosecutors originally charged her with committing a hate crime, but jurors found her not guilty on that charge.

Defense attorney John Kaman argued that Martin was herself bisexual and that what were construed as homophobic threats that included a well-known slur were just part of her vernacular as an admitted drug dealer in the Tenderloin neighborhood.

That is the way she talks, Kaman said in his closing argument. It doesnt mean she hates members of the LGBT community. It doesnt mean anything at all.

Kaman told jurors that there is a different language that is spoken in parts of the city on the streets, and I dont want you to be confused by that.

Assistant District Attorney Benjamin Mains challenged this defense, writing in a sentencing brief that Martin engaged in a pattern of victim blaming, and shaming, and tried to excuse and minimize her extremely aggressive and scary behavior by claiming that her aggression and homophobic epithets are cultural.

The victims, Mains said, were celebrating in what they rightfully presumed was a safe and welcoming place. The sense of community that we foster in San Francisco is one of inclusion and acceptance. It is a fundamental tenet of this city that you can be open and proud regardless of who you are, or who you love.

Vivian Ho is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: vho@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @VivianHo
A private plane transporting actress Jennifer Lawrence was forced to make an emergency landing in Buffalo, New York over the weekend when it experienced double-engine failure, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Lawrence's plane was leaving Louisville, Kentucky  where the actress' family lives  and was cruising at 31,000 feet when one of the plane's engines stopped functioning properly. Then, when the pilot was in the process of executing an emergency landing, the second engine went out too.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Thousands of Roger Waters fans poured into Oakland's Oracle Arena Saturday night expecting a night filled with Pink Floyd hits. In addition to back-to-back hard rock hits, Waters also served fans a heavy dose of political commentary.

References to President Donald Trump dominated the second half of the show, according to concertgoers.

Photoshopped images of Trump as a pig and a baby (at one point being held by Russian President Vladimir Putin), as well as some of the president's most infamous quotes, were projected onto the massive screens at the arena during Waters' set.

WATCH: Roger Waters concert in Mexico City (story continues below)

During his performance of "Another Brick in the Wall," a group of local children joined Waters on stage. They wore orange jumpsuits and chanted along with the song, repeating, "Teachers leave those kids alone." During the third verse, they ripped off their jumpsuits to reveal they were wearing t-shirts that read "RESIST."

Los Gatos resident Amy Gregory, 22, was at the concert and described the experience as "cathartic."

"There was a level of anger that I know I have about the current political situation," Gregory said. "It brought back music written in 1985 and tied it to what's going on right now."

Gregory said most of the audience seemed to react positively to Waters' sharp criticism and bold depictions of the president. "You know when you go to a Roger Waters concert, you're going to get a certain amount of liberal anti-establishment politics," she added. "But this was very direct."

Others who shared pictures and video from the concert didn't seem to mind the overt political commentary either. Bill Graham, a data systems engineer from San Francisco, tweeted, "Amazing Roger Waters show at Oracle arena last night, with no shortage of political undertones."

Nancy Roberts wrote, "Fantastic Roger Waters concert in Oakland last night. Newly inspired to resist."

Roger Waters continues his US + Them tour Monday night in Sacramento.
You never know when the urge to head to the beach and rip off your clothes will strike. But if it does, it's good to have some idea of where to go.

Thankfully, in California you have options. There are dozens of clothing-optional beaches along our coast, many of which have been frequented by nudists for decades.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

It was at 7:15 a.m., on June 12, 1962 that the Alcatraz guards realized something was horribly wrong.

Their morning inmate count revealed three missing men: Frank Morris and brothers Clarence and John Anglin. They raced to their cells and found an astonishing sight. Whoever did the evening check had failed to notice that the three sleeping men were not men at all; they'd been replaced by papier-mache heads topped with hair swept up from the prison barbershop.

In their three cells, guards found the escape routes. The men had burrowed out the back wall, digging holes for six months with spoons and an ersatz drill made from vacuum parts. They masked the sound with accordion music  Morris played.

The holes led to a utility corridor with a drainage pipe leading up to the top of the cellblock. The men had shimmied up the pipe and onto the roof. There, they assembled their life raft, constructed of over 50 raincoats they'd pilfered, and took it with them to the shore. Into the cold night they went, aiming for Angel Island.

It's been exactly 55 years since Morris and the Anglin brothers were reported missing. And we're no closer to knowing their fate than investigators were on that June morning.

"One of three things is possible," the San Francisco Chronicle wrote on June 12. "They made it to San Francisco or Marin by swimming or on a driftwood raft; they are hiding in a water-line cave on The Rock, or they drowned."

Don't miss this 1962 newsreel from shortly after the men went missing:

Authorities quickly deemed Morris the brains behind the break-out. The D.C. native's IQ of 133 was in the top 2-percent of inmates. Morris grew up in foster care and was arrested for the first time at age 13, accruing a rap sheet that ranged from narcotics possession to armed robbery by the time he'd been transferred to Alcatraz in 1960.

The Anglin brothers were also well-known thieves. They'd hit a number of banks before being apprehended and sent to prison in Georgia. After multiple failed escape attempts, they were shipped to Alcatraz.

Their upbringing was unremarkable save for one detail  family friends remember the pair were stellar swimmers who loved to jump in Lake Michigan even when it was icy.

Frantic prison officials alerted CHP, San Francisco police, the FBI and the Coast Guard. CHP set up roadblocks, and the Coast Guard sent its helicopter up to scan the area. All Alcatraz guards on their days off were recalled back to the island prison.

Weeks went by. No raft, no bodies washed up on the shore. In 1979, the FBI officially closed the case; the U.S. Marshals Service keeps an open file on their disappearance.

Although the official FBI finding was that the men died in the bay's cold waters, speculation abounds that the trio made their way to freedom. Various members of both the Morris and Anglin families claim to have had contact with them after their escape. Some said they were living out their days in Brazil. Others said they headed to Mexico. And even the MythBusters weighed in, determining in 2003 that with the tools they had on-hand, the men could have plausibly made it to shore.

In the nearly three decades that Alcatraz served as a federal prison, 36 inmates attempted an escape. Two drowned. Six were shot. Twenty-three were caught. And five, including Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin, were never found.

"All the searching on and off the island uncovered nothing  not one solid clue," the Chronicle wrote the morning of their disappearance. "The three had vanished without a trace."
HELENA, Mont.  Congressman-elect Greg Gianforte avoided jail time after pleading guilty Monday to an election-eve assault on a reporter that turned the race for Montanas lone U.S. House seat into a political spectacle.

The Republican tech entrepreneur instead will serve 40 hours of community service and attend 20 hours of anger management classes for throwing Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs to the ground at Gianfortes campaign headquarters in Bozeman on May 24.

For all the national attention the audiotaped assault brought to the race in its waning hours, the judge, prosecutors and the new congressmans attorneys maintained Monday he was treated like any other first-time misdemeanor offender.

There was one notable exception, however: Gallatin County Justice of the Peace Rick West said he would allow prosecutors and the defense several weeks to argue over his order that the rookie politician be fingerprinted, photographed and booked like other defendants.

West ordered Gianforte to pay $385 in fines and court costs in addition to his 180-day suspended jail sentence, meaning he will be under court supervision until late November and will be able to petition to have the conviction removed from his record.

Gianforte is expected to travel to Washington within the next few weeks to be sworn in.

This was not a proud moment, but Im ready to move on, Gianforte said outside the courtroom.

Audio posted by Jacobs shortly after the attack recorded sounds of a scuffle, followed by Gianforte yelling for the reporter to get the hell out of here. Jacobs tweeted that Gianforte had body slammed him and broke his glasses while he tried to question him.

A Fox News reporter who witnessed the attack said Gianforte pushed Jacobs to the ground and punched him.
SEATTLE  Nancy Zingheim barely knew Rita Poe when Poe approached her office at the Washington state RV park. Poe, a shy registered nurse, had a request for the RV park business manager: Could Zingheim help her with her will?

Weeks later, the 66-year-old Poe died of colorectal cancer. In her will, she left nearly $800,000 to a dozen national wildlife refuges and parks, mostly in the American West. She named Zingheim the executor.

Zingheim knew little about Poe, who had moved to the Evergreen Coho SKP RV Park in the small town of Chimacum just five months earlier. She knew even less about national wildlife refuges.

That was in 2015. This year, Zingheim embarked on a 4,000-mile road trip to learn more about the woman who lived in an Airstream trailer with her dog and cat  and the wild places that captivated her.

I wanted to see what they were, said Zingheim, 62. I decided that I wasnt going to suddenly write checks to places at face value. I wanted to do my due diligence and find out what they needed.

Over nine days, she drove Poes Ford pickup truck in a loop of the American West. She visited six national wildlife refuges in California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington  part of a vast network of reserves across the United States where wild lands are protected for wildlife.

President Theodore Roosevelt established the first refuge in 1903 at Floridas Pelican Island. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages more than 560 such refuges. From wetlands in Florida to tropical forests in Hawaii, the lands are set aside for migratory birds, alligators, bears and countless other creatures. Theres at least one in each state, and a majority are open to the public for free.

At each stop, Zingheim asked around: Do you know Rita? No one did. One person recalled Poes 27-foot Airstream trailer but little else.

To this day, I dont think any of us knew a lot about her, Zingheim said.

Zingheim also took a tour of each refuge. She asked refuge managers what they needed and wanted. And she tried to imagine how Poe connected to these places.

The reserves, theyre quiet places. I could see Rita there, she said.

In time, bits of Poe emerged. Poe grew up in Southern California, worked as a nurse at a suburban Los Angeles hospital and spent time in Texas.

Terry Poe said he last saw his sister in 2007. After their parents died, leaving them money, he said, she bought a trailer and traveled around the western U.S. to various refuges and national parks.

She enjoyed nature and being out in nature, he said in a telephone interview from southern California.

Rita Poe owned several high-end cameras. She was a birder. On her computer, Zingheim found stunning photographs of birds, bears, ocelots and bobcats. There were trips to New Mexico, Arizona and Canada.

Zingheim said that in the process of carrying out Poes wishes, she felt shed been granted her own bequest. And shes grateful for it.

I saw things that I would never have seen, Zingheim said. I didnt know a national wildlife reserve even existed. I dont think a lot of people out there know about them. They should. Theyre wonderful places.

Phuong Le is an Associated Press writer.
AUSTIN, Texas  Ernesto Cardoza has gone to jail three times because he couldnt afford to pay his traffic tickets, and it cost him dearly.

I lost everything  my girlfriend left with my kids, and when I came out I had to start over, the 34-year-old Dallas crane operator said of his first stint  30 days in 2005 for failing to pay speeding tickets.

Texas locks up more people who cant afford to pay tickets and fines than any other state, but that could change if Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signs bipartisan bills that would require judges to offer alternatives such as community service, payment plans or waivers.

Ninety-five percent of warrants issued in Texas last year were for fine-related offenses, and more than 640,000 people spent at least one night in jail, according to the Texas Judicial Council, which sets policy for the states judicial branch. At an average of $60 per night per inmate, it cost counties significant money to jail offenders rather than find cheaper  or even profitable  alternatives.

This is easily the most significant reform to Texas municipal courts in a decade, said Trisha Trigilio, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas. Under the bills, people who cant afford to make a payment would be guaranteed the opportunity to be heard before theyre put in handcuffs.

The U.S. Supreme Court in the 1970s outlawed what were called debtors prisons, finding it unconstitutional to jail people for not being able to pay fines. Several states, including Colorado, Washington, Georgia and New Hampshire, recently have passed legislation meant to reinforce that ban, but more than a dozen states, including Texas, still effectively detain people for not paying what they owe.

Texas judges can already opt for an alternative to jail for people who cant pay their tickets and fines, but they rarely do so, allowing community service in just 8 percent of cases last year and waiving the fines in half that amount, according to the judicial council. Under the current legislation  the state Senate and state House passed similar measures  judges would be required to ask in court about a persons ability to pay a ticket and to present alternatives to those who cant.

State Sen. Judith Zaffirini, a Democrat from Laredo who authored her chambers version of the bill, said it was of extreme importance for low-income people that the changes become law.

If a person cant pay, it spirals from a low-level to high-level problem, said Zaffirini, noting that people often lose their jobs during such jail stints.

The judicial councils executive director, David Slayton, also supports the proposed changes, which he said would encourage people to pay their tickets in installments or perform community service. Most people who dont pay their tickets also dont appear for their court dates, but the legislation would require judges to send notices that offer alternatives to paying in full and that serve as warnings before an arrest warrant is issued.

Our belief is that people dont go to court because they think theyll automatically get jail time if they cant pay, said Slayton.

Marc Levin, who heads the Center for Effective Justice and Right on Crime for the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Austin, said the changes would save taxpayers the expense of jailing so many people.

This is consistent with our views of personal responsibility and limited government, said Levin.

But Republican state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, who voted against the measure, said that it did not adequately consider personal responsibility and that it provided too much leeway for judges to waive fines.

Current law already allows a court to work with indigent defendants who are truly unable to pay court imposed fines, said Bettencourt, a Houston Republican.

Meredith Hoffman is an Associated Press writer.
NEW YORK  New York, New York is a wonderful town, but people riding in a hole in the ground are at their wits end over the power outages, signal problems and other breakdowns that have turned the citys aging subway system into a horror show.

The stress of a crumbling system with more passengers than ever  5.6 million weekly in 2016  has caused the number of train delays to triple during the past five years, to 70,000 per month.

Numbers, though, dont tell the story as well as videos circulating on the Internet of passengers desperately clawing at the doors of a subway car, trying to wedge it open after it crawled into a station last week.

They had been trapped for 45 minutes inside the stalled train with no lights, no ventilation, heat rising to the point that the windows fogged up, and sweltering passengers taking off most of their clothes.

One wrote, I will survive on a steamy window.

It started getting really, really hot. Oh my god, really hot! People started fanning themselves; the air was really thick. Any more time and people would have really freaked out. People were dripping wet, said Samantha Mushnick, one of the trapped passengers.

This issue has to be brought to the attention it deserves, said another, Michael Sciaraffo. We are a first-class city living with a third-class infrastructure.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who oversees the agency that operates railroads in New York City and its suburbs, concedes the subway system is at its breaking point. He said decades of underfunding and inattention to maintenance created the current situation.

Much of the signal system is more than 80 years old, and 30 percent was installed before 1965.

This is 50 years of lack of maintenance and repair coming home to roost, and I believe it is just the tip of the iceberg, Cuomo said in a recent speech.

All agree theres no easy fix. The subway system, which dates to 1904, operates 8,000 trains daily over 655 miles of track; there are more than 1,600 mainline switches and 13,000 signals that control train movements.

Over time, the system has waffled between being the shame of the city and a gleaming symbol of municipal pride. It was a wreck of graffiti, crime and dysfunction in the 1970s and 1980s but experienced a remarkable turnaround, like the city itself, and is now safe and popular.

But the system took a big hit in 2012, when Superstorm Sandy washed out tracks and flooded tunnels. Equipment, from the trains themselves to the ancient signaling system, hasnt been replaced because of the enormous cost and pressure to keep fares from rising. A single ride now costs $2.75.

The deterioration of the New York City subway is one of the greatest threats to the continued prosperity of the city and region, said John Raskin, executive director of the Riders Alliance, a passenger advocacy group. Historically when the subway system has broken down, the city has as well.

In April, a power outage backed up trains around the city and closed a key Manhattan station for 12 hours. Riders were stranded on packed platforms, some stuck in dark trains.

Coupled with expected repair work that will cause widespread delays at Penn Station, where suburban commuter lines, subways and Amtrak trains converge, Cuomo warned rail riders are looking at a summer of hell.

Frank Eltman and Verena Dobnik are Associated Press writers.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

A New Jersey high school said it was looking into the reasons behind the disappearance of three separate Donald Trump references within its yearbook, school officials told media outlets.

Grant Berardo of Wall Township High School and his parents are decrying what they call school censorship, after Berardo's "Trump: Make America Great Again" t-shirt logo appeared to be removed from his junior year picture, NJ.com reported.

A before and after photo posted by Berardo's father, Joseph Berardo, purports to show the shirt Grant wore for his junior year photos, alongside what he says is the finalized photo in the yearbook.

The omission from Berardo's shirt led to other students saying their support for Trump also seemed to be scrubbed from the same school's yearbook. Wyatt Dobrovich-Fago said that he wore a sweater vest with a Trump logo to his junior year photos. In his resulting yearbook photo, the logo was missing.

Dobrovich-Fago told WABC7 that he assumed that "they just cropped it out" and that it wasn't worth worrying about.

Dobrovich-Fago's sister, Montana, said her selected Trump quote was missing from the same yearbook. (The quote: "I like thinking big. If you're going to be thinking anything, you might as well think big.")

"I want to know who thought it was okay to do this," said their mother, Janet Dobrovich-Fago, reported CNN. "I want the school to seek disciplinary action and to be held accountable."

School officials told parents that the school does not censor students' political views and said in a released statement that accusations of censorship are "disturbing," according to CNN.

Wall Township Public Schools Superintendent Cheryl Dyer said in a statement that the staff "strongly value the principles of free speech and inquiry in our schools and society, viewing them as the bedrock upon which our community and educational system is built.

"The allegations referenced above are disturbing, and any inappropriate challenge to these principles will be rectified as swiftly and thoroughly as possible. The actions of the staff involved will be addressed as soon as the investigation is concluded."

Berardo told NJ.com he's looking for an apology and for the yearbooks to be reprinted at the expense of the school.

"This is a free speech issue," Berardo said. "And if we come to find out they blacked-out Clinton or Sanders shirts, that's just as egregious.

"There should also be consequences for the teacher who made the decision, if that's, in fact, what happened," he later said. "And the school district should hold a public meeting to own up to it and discuss it."
Northern Colorado was warned Monday to expect "giant hail" the size of slow-pitch softballs, but the hail that has fallen is so far more of the ping-pong ball variety.

The National Weather Service had also said several supercell tornadoes could develop over a five-county area, but that alert was downgraded to severe thunderstorms.
NORRISTOWN, Pa.  The jury at Bill Cosbys trial began deliberating Monday over whether he drugged and molested a woman more than a decade ago in a case that already has helped demolish the 79-year-old comedians good-guy image.

A conviction could send Cosby to prison for the rest of his life, completing the stunning late-life downfall of one of the most beloved stars in all of show business.

The fast-moving case went to the jury on the sixth day of the trial after closing arguments painted different pictures of what happened between Cosby and Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia estate.

Defense attorney Brian McMonagle told the jury that Cosby and Constand were lovers who had enjoyed secret romantic interludes and that the 2004 encounter was consensual. McMonagle said that while the comedian had been unfaithful to his wife, he didnt commit a crime.

Prosecutors countered by saying fancy lawyering cant save Cosby from his own words  namely, his admission about groping Constand after giving her pills he knew could put her to sleep.

Drugging somebody and putting them in a position where you can do what you want with them is not romantic. Its criminal, District Attorney Kevin Steele said.

After the prosecution took five days to outline its side, the defense case consisted of just one witness  a detective  and six minutes of testimony Monday. Cosby did not take the stand.

Legal experts said testifying would have been a risky move that could have opened the TV star to withering cross-examination about some of the 60 or so other women who have accused him of drugging or molesting them.

He is charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault, each one punishable by up to 10 years behind bars.

Cosbys wife of 53 years, Camille was in the courtroom for the first time in the trial.

Maryclaire Dale and Michael R. Sisak are Associated Press writers.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

A 39-year-old counselor at a boys group home in Sonoma County was arrested over the weekend on suspicion of sexually assaulting a teenager years ago, authorities said Monday.

Kevin Scott Thorpe, a 39-year-old Rohnert Park resident, was booked in Sonoma County Jail on Saturday on suspicion of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor and sexual assault of a minor. He is being held on $250,000 bail.

Investigators started investigating Thorpe on June 1 when a 23-year-old man came forward and reported he had been sexually abused when he lived at the Hanna Boys Center in Sonoma between 2006 and 2011, officials said.

The victim told investigators that the sexual abuse started when he was 13 years old and that he was assaulted numerous times at Thorpes home and at the boys center over the five years, said Sgt. Spencer Crum with the Sonoma County Sheriffs Office.

ALSO Homicide probe under way after man found dead on SF street

The victim, who was not identified, told detectives he didnt report the abuse earlier because he was afraid of getting kicked out of the group home, Crum said.

Thorpe has worked at Hanna Boys Center since 2003, and as the clinical director he handled treatment plans for students, and supervised staff therapists and interns.

He has since been placed on administrative leave, said Brian Farragher, executive director of Hanna Boys Center.

Were shocked and saddened this happened, Farragher said Monday. Our job here is to take care of these kids and keep them safe. Thats what were doing and will continue to do.

He added that he didnt know any details of the case, and staff were talking to the kids at the center and helping them process whats going on.

Detectives suspect there may be additional victims, either from the youth center or in the community where Thorpe works as a volunteer in a youth ministry program for teens, officials said.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Sonoma County sheriffs detectives at (707) 565-4300.

Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke proposed scaling back the borders of a national monument in southeastern Utah on Monday, a move that could prompt the first major rollback of public land protections under the Trump administration.

Bears Ears National Monument is a 1.3-million-acre conservation area that was designated by President Barack Obama in the final days of his presidency. President Trump had called for a review of that decision, and Zinkes recommendation is being watched closely as an indicator of how the Trump administration will treat public acres.

Zinke made his recommendation in a report that also requests Congress give local tribes the authority to co-manage designated cultural resources within the monuments new boundaries. But he suggests holding off on a final decision on the region until a review of 26 other monuments is complete in late August.

The Bears Ears designation was supported by environmentalists and the leaders of many native tribes in the region, including the Navajo Nation, but was opposed by Utahs governor, the states congressional delegation and some local residents.

In a statement, Zinke said monument designation is not the best use of the land. Zinke recommended that Trump roll back the boundaries, to protect only areas that include historic and prehistoric structures, such as archaeological sites and remains of dwellings.

The monument, as it stands, is a vast canyon region of red rocks named for two towering buttes called the Bears Ears. It is home to some 100,000 archaeological sites.

In terms of protection, national monuments are generally considered one step below national parks.

The Antiquities Act, signed by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, gives presidents the authority to protect designated areas as public monuments. In the century since its passage, presidents have used the law to protect millions of acres of public lands, from the Grand Canyon to the Muir Woods in Marin County.

No president has ever used his authority to eliminate a monument, or to reduce one at the scale proposed by Zinke.

Zinke declined to quantify the area of the proposed smaller monument but said that the new boundaries should be limited to the smallest area compatible with the management of those sites.

Farmers, ranchers and the oil and gas industry have urged the Utah congressional delegation to push for a rollback of the protected areas so they could have access to the land.

Julie Turkewitz and Coral Davenport are New York Times writers.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

The second of two defendants charged with 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter in Oaklands Ghost Ship fire faced a judge Monday for the first time since his arrest.

Max Harris briefly appeared before Alameda County Superior Court Judge Thomas Nixon as former residents of the warehouse sat in the gallery, apparently in support of the 27-year-old.

Harris said nothing as he stood behind glass, wearing red, jail-issued clothing with his hands cuffed at his sides  his long hair, dyed blue, mussed along the side of his face.

Harris and his co-defendant, Ghost Ship master tenant Derick Almena, are scheduled to enter formal pleas when they are back in court Thursday.

I am very concerned about the decision to charge Max Harris, his court-appointed attorney, Jody Nunez, said Monday, adding that she could not discuss the case any further.

Six people with close ties to Harris did not want to comment outside court.

Go away, former Ghost Ship resident Nikki Kelber told a Chronicle reporter. Please dont bother us.

Another unidentified woman was more direct: F off, she said.

Harris and Almena, 47, were arrested on June 5 and charged in the death of each of the victims of the Dec. 2 blaze that broke out during an unpermitted music event.

Almena was picked up in Lake County, where he had moved with his family in the months after the fire. He made his first appearance in Alameda County court on Thursday.

Harris was arrested in Los Angeles and transported back to Alameda County last week. Both men are housed at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin on $1,080,000 bond each.

The men were charged for their roles in the illegally converted warehouse, where fire trapped 36 people inside. All of the victims died from smoke inhalation.

Almena was the patriarch of the artist collective on 31st Avenue in Oaklands Fruitvale neighborhood, managing the financial responsibilities as well as the artistic vision for the irreverent art space.

His sidekick, Harris, who also lived there and acted as the artist collectives creative director, was working the door the night of the fire and helped promote the unsanctioned electronic music show.

Investigators have not identified the cause of the fire, but said the warehouse was full of highly flammable materials, including tapestries on the walls.

The buildings lone power source came from a neighboring auto-repair shop and was shared through a tangle of electrical wires that snaked through the building.

The district attorneys office called Almenas and Harris actions before the fire reckless and said they created a high risk of death.

But Almenas attorney, J. Tony Serra, said his client is being made a scapegoat, while speaking at a news conference at his San Francisco office on Friday.

Just because theres a death doesnt mean there has to be a head on the stake, Serra said.

Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky
WATCH LIVE ABOVE: Testimony begins Tuesday, June 13 at 2:30 PM EDT

Attorney General Jeff Sessions could be at the center of two controversies in the Trump administration: whether Trump's campaign colluded with Russia to help President Donald Trump win and whether the president obstructed justice.

That's why it's a big deal he'll testify Tuesday to the Senate Intelligence Committee, the main committee in Congress investigating Russian meddling in the election and potential Trump meddling in the fallout.

Here's why Sessions is at the center of so much, and here's how he can help us better understand the still-unraveling Trump-Russia-FBI investigation.

1) He met with Russians during the campaign, when the Russians were allegedly trying to help Trump win

Besides Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, Sessions is the highest-profile member of Trump's campaign and administration who we know met with Russians during the 2016 campaign and didn't disclose it. Sessions didn't disclose those meetings when he was asked, under oath, in his confirmation hearing.

A day after The Washington Post reported that, Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation.

Why that's a big deal: It's normal for U.S. political campaigns and foreign officials to talk. But the former CIA director John Brennan recently told Congress that his "radar" went off anytime Russians met with the Trump campaign because he knew the Russians were trying to influence the election, and he knew they often did that by trying to recruit "either wittingly or unwittingly" U.S. officials to help.

What Congress will want to know: A lot. Are there more meetings Sessions had that he didn't disclose? Why isn't he forthcoming about these meetings? What did Russia want to talk about? Did he get the feeling Russians were trying to recruit him or others for anything?

Story continues below photos

2) He was James Comey's boss when Comey said Trump was trying to interfere in the FBI's Russia investigation

Sessions is a starring character in the fired FBI chief's testimony. Comey testified last week that Trump shooed Sessions out of the Oval Office to be alone with Comey, then asked Comey to back off the FBI's investigations into fired national security adviser Michael Flynn.

"My sense was the attorney general knew he shouldn't be leaving, which is why he was lingering," Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday.

Comey later told Sessions he didn't want to be alone with the president. But Comey said he didn't tell Sessions why he was so concerned.

"We considered whether to tell the attorney general, decided that didn't make sense because we believed, rightly, that he was shortly going to recuse," Comey testified.

Why this is a big deal: A few reasons. Did Sessions suspect that Trump was trying to interfere in the FBI's various investigations into Flynn and Russia meddling? And what did he do about it? Also, why did Comey feel he couldn't trust Sessions?

What questions Congress will want to know: Pretty much everything above.

3) Sessions has technically recused himself from the Russia investigation

But Comey left open the possibility that Sessions had violated his recusal.

"If, as the president said, I was fired because of the Russia investigation," Comey testified, "why was the attorney general involved in that chain?"

The Washington Post reported that Trump called Sessions up to the White House to talk about firing Comey, then asked Sessions (and Sessions' No. 2, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein) to explain in writing the case against Comey.

The Washington Post also recently reported that Sessions offered to Trump to resign, in part over Trump's frustration that Sessions stepped aside from the Russia investigation.

Why this is a big deal: Sessions is a Trump ally, and he appears to be caught between the president and his promise to run the Justice Department in an apolitical way. In his confirmation hearing, Sessions promised:

"You simply have to help the president do things that he might desire in a lawful way and have to be able to say no, both for the country, for the legal system and for the president, to avoid situations that are not acceptable."

What Congress will want to know: Where does Sessions draw the line on recusal? Can he be trusted to not interfere in the department's independent Russia investigation, which is now being led by a special counsel? If it comes down to the Justice Department having to choose who to believe, special counsel Robert Mueller or the president, who will Sessions choose?

---

Sessions offered in recent months to resign as attorney general
Download & Share iBantu with friends and Earn RM100 Cash!

* Share and earn promo only available on Android devices.

For a limited time only, when you install iBantu on your mobile phone and share it with your friends, you can earn up to RM100 cash! More details below. Terms and conditions apply.

How to download and install:

Click on Google Playstore below to download and install iBantu.

Once in iBantu, click on Earn Points at the top right corner and share it with your friends and on your social media pages.

For every successful share (when friends log on to iBantu the first time), you will collect 10 iBantu Points.

Earn up to 1000pts to redeem RM100 or a minimum 100pts for RM10.

~Click here for more information~

iBanding

Established in 2015, iBanding comprises a team of members with over 15 years of experience in the insurance industry. We have realized that there is a lack in awareness and knowledge of having proper insurance for the individual and their loved ones. We have decided to come together with the intention to create a platform for Malaysian to get independent information and get educated about insurance. Since October 2016, iBanding is registered as iBanding Services Sdn Bhd (1203953-T).

Aside from this, we intend to create a transparent overview of the insurance industry, by allowing customers to provide feedback about their insurance agents and companies. This will help Malaysians to make informed decisions in choosing the right product and company for themselves. For this purpose, we have introduced Malaysias first motor insurance award. Malaysian motor vehicle owners can now rate their insurance agent and company and express their opinion.

iBanding is an independent and knowledge-based website which acts without favour. We are not influenced by external parties, accepting no sponsorship or monetary support, which could alter ratings of insurance agents or companies. We put consumers at the centre of our work to empower Malaysians to get the best insurance deals.
Former San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom, who currently serves as California's lieutenant governor, is in the lead in the 2018 state gubernatorial race, according to a recent UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll.

The poll was conducted between May 4-29 and sampled 885 voters statewide.
DOHA, Qatar  Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates signaled Sunday they may allow some Qataris to stay in their countries amid a diplomatic rift with the gulf nation.

Qatar meanwhile pledged those nations citizens will have complete freedom to stay in the energy-rich country.

The three gulf nations cut ties to Qatar on June 5 over its alleged support of militants and ties to Iran, and ordered all Qataris out within 14 days, while calling their own citizens back. Thats created chaos across the Sunni gulf nations, whose citizens regularly intermarry and conduct business across countries sharing long historic and cultural bonds.

On Sunday, the three countries each issued statements urging mixed nationality families to call their respective interior ministries, which would take into consideration the humanitarian circumstances of their situation.

For its part, Qatar issued an overnight statement saying residents living in the country from nations that severed ties would have complete freedom to stay despite the hostile and tendentious campaigns now targeting it.

Kuwaits ruling emir has shuttled between countries trying to mediate an end to the crisis. On Sunday, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al Khaled Al Sabah said Qatar is willing to hold a dialogue to end the crisis. So far, the nations involved have yet to hold face-to-face negotiations.

Qatar has paid $2.5 million to hire the law firm of former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft to audit its efforts at stopping terrorism funding. Ashcroft personally will lead his Washington firms efforts to evaluate, verify and as necessary, strengthen the clients anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing compliance, according to documents filed to the U.S. Justice Department.

Malak Harb and Jon Gambrell are Associated Press writers.
1 Britain bombing: All the suspects arrested in connection with last months Manchester concert bombing have been released without charge, police said Sunday, acknowledging that detectives are still not sure whether the attacker had accomplices. Salman Abedi, a Briton of Libyan heritage, detonated a bomb as crowds were leaving an Ariana Grande concert on May 22, killing 22 people and himself. Shortly after the attack, police said they had rounded up members of Abedis network. But Greater Manchester Police said Sunday that all 22 people arrested on suspicion of terrorism offenses have now been released without charge. Suspects arrested under terrorism laws can be held for up to 14 days before they must be charged or released.

2 Morocco protest: Thousands of demonstrators rallied Sunday in the capital of Rabat to protest corruption and abuse of power. The rally was one of the largest of its kind for several years. The march was also to support recent demonstrations in Moroccos impoverished northern Rif region. It has been shaken by protests since the death in October of a fish vendor who was crushed by a garbage compactor while trying to save fish that officials had confiscated.
Hackers allied with the Russian government have devised a cyberweapon that has the potential to be the most disruptive yet against electric systems that Americans depend on for daily life, according to U.S. researchers.

The malware, which researchers have dubbed CrashOverride, is known to have disrupted only one energy system  in Ukraine. In that incident, the hackers briefly shut down one-fifth of the electric power generated in Kiev.
Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved.
Starting October 29th, 2017, Air France will offer a new winter service from Montpellier (France) to Algiers (Algeria). The flights will be operated by Airbus A319 and Airbus A320. In this way, customers will benefit from two winter frequencies on Mondays and Saturdays.

Flight schedules (in local time) during the 2017-18 winter season:

AF1156: leaves Montpellier at 11:05, arrives in Algiers at 12:40 on Mondays;

AF1156: leaves Montpellier at 10:45, arrives in Algiers at 12:20 on Saturdays.

AF1157: leaves Algiers at 13:55, arrives in Montpellier at 15:30 on Mondays;

AF1157: leaves Algiers at 13h50, arrives in Montpellier at 15:25 on Saturdays.

Air France in Algeria

This winter, Air France will offer up to 37 weekly flights to 3 destinations in Algeria:

- 2 weekly flights from Montpellier to Algiers;

- 28 weekly flights from Paris-Charles de Gaulle to Algiers;

- Up to 7 weekly flights from Paris-Charles de Gaulle to Oran.

Algiers is a myth, a dream city in the Mediterranean. Its sometimes delicate, sometimes brilliant colours, always a blend of white and blue, reflect both the mildness of its winters and the generous warmth of its summers. Algiers stretches along the seafront with an apparent nonchalance, characteristic of the cities of the South. Seen from the waterfront, the Place des Martyrs is lined with Haussmann style buildings. In the old town, the Kasbah stretches along a hill facing the sea. Its in this maze of narrow winding streets that the Algerian identity was forged.

For more details or to make a booking go to www.airfrance.fr, call 3654 (0.35 including tax from a landline), contact an Air France ticket office or your local travel agent.
Lufthansa has announced plans to expand flights between Glasgow and Munich with four flights a week during the winter following the success of the airlines seasonal service.

In addition to providing Lufthansas Scottish passengers with year round access to southern Germany through the Bavarian capital, the additional flights will also enhance options for those wanting to travel on to many of the airlines worldwide destinations through their Munich hub which has a minimum onward connecting time of just 30 minutes.

The service will operate on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday from 30th October reducing to twice weekly (Wednesday and Friday) over the Christmas holiday period using aircraft from the Airbus 320 family.

Announcing the extension of the service Andreas Koester, Senior Director Sales UK, Ireland & Iceland, Lufthansa Group said: We have seen a continual increase in demand on our Glasgow to Munich summer service since it was introduced as a seasonal service in May 2015. Developing the route into a year round service is the obvious next step. It reinforces our commitment to meet the expectations of our Scottish passengers and also confirms the continuing importance of Glasgow Airport within the Lufthansa worldwide network.

Francois Bourienne, commercial director at Glasgow Airport, said: Lufthansa is one of the worlds largest airlines with an enviable route network spanning 73 countries. In addition to making it easier for tourists from one of our biggest international markets to visit Glasgow, the expansion of this route will play an important role in strengthening Scotlands connectivity by providing passengers with access to major markets worldwide through Lufthansas Munich hub.

Councillor Susan Aitken, Leader of Glasgow City Council, said: This announcement by Lufthansa to operate a year-round service from Munich to Glasgow is fantastic news. Germany is a hugely important international tourist market for Glasgow contributing around 16 million to the citys economy each year.

This increased connectivity with Lufthansa through the key hub of Munich will allow us to further grow leisure and business tourism to Glasgow while also strengthening the citys credentials as gateway to Scotland.

The new flights are available for booking through lufthansa.com with return fares starting from 87 for Lufthansas high quality product that provides all passengers with their seat, hold & cabin baggage allowances, in flight food & drink, the ability to check-in on line, from their mobile phone or at the airport and all taxes and charges for one all inclusive fare.
Over 30 countries and Affiliate Members of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) gathered last week in Chisinau, the capital city of the Republic of Moldova, for the 61st Meeting of the UNWTO Commission for Europe.

The meeting dedicated special attention to the need to continue enhancing UNWTOs work on the promotion of safe, secure and seamless travel. UNWTO has recently launched a High Level Tourism and Security Task Force to advance this issue. The Member States expressed their condemnation of the recent terrorist attacks in Europe, and a minute of silence was held in memory of the victims.

An authentic and unexplored gem in European tourism, whose wines are appreciated and renowned worldwide, the Republic of Moldova has demonstrated a strong commitment with sustainable tourism. The Republic of Moldova is still an emerging tourist destination, but has all the potential to become a must-see destination; the demonstrated commitment to sustainable development of tourism will ensure that the country reaps all the rewards that tourism has to offer. said UNWTO Secretary General, Taleb Rifai.

UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai met the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Pavel Filip, to discuss the role of tourism in the socio-economic development of the country. The meeting underlined the importance that Moldova is giving to the tourism sector in the country's economy.

We are convinced that tourism is a key tool for Moldova to achieve sustainable growth and job creation, and indeed to help us achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This meeting will undoubtedly help us to support our tourism sector in achieving its potential said Stanislav Rusu, Director General of the Tourism Agency of the Republic of Moldova.

UNWTOs Commission Meeting also reviewed the work of the Organizations technical committees on Competitiveness, Sustainability and Statistics and Tourism Satellite Account (TSA), and the activities of Member States to celebrate the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development 2017. Further items on the agenda included the transformation of the UNWTO Global Code of Ethics into an international convention, the creation of national committees on tourism ethics and the priorities of UNWTOs Programme of Work for 2018-2019.

The Meeting was completed with an Official Event of the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development 2017 showcasing initiatives developed in Italy and France - Ecobnb (http://ecobnb.com) and Betterfly Tourism (http://www.betterfly-tourism.com) and a tree planting ceremony with the presence of UNWTO Secretary-General, the Director General of the Tourism Agency of the Republic of Moldova, the Head of the EU Delegation to Moldova, Pirkka Tapiola, and the diplomatic community of Moldova.

Hungary was nominated to host the official celebrations of World Tourism Day 2018 and the Member States welcomed the Czech Republics candidacy to hold the 2019 UNWTO Regional Commission meeting. Both decisions will be taken to the UNWTO General Assembly and the Regional Commission for Europe, respectively, in September in Chengdu, China.
NEW DELHI: Chinese smartphone-maker Huawei, under its Honor brand, will soon launch "Honor 8 Pro" in India which will come with 4th generation dual camera.

"Our focus is to bridge innovation and technology, create an elite ecosystem of industry visionaries and offer products that significantly enhance the way people connect with one another," said Allen Wang Director, Product Center, Huawei India Consumer Business Group, in a statement on Monday.

In the upcoming Honor 8 Pro, Huawei aims to bring together best-in-class hardware and software, from optical lenses to sensors, to image processing algorithms, empowering users to capture the highest-quality images, the company said.

Earlier, Huawei launched 'Honor 8 Lite' smartphone at 17,999.

Featuring Kirin 655 octa-core chipset backed by a 4GB RAM+64GB ROM, the 5.2-inch full-HD display device runs on EMUI 5.0 on top of Android Nougat.

Read Also:

Yerha Launches Amazon Alexa-Enabled Smartwatch In India

Moto Z2 Play Now In India With Four New Moto Mods
PORT LOUIS: India and Mauritius today signed a pact to institutionalize cooperation between Parliaments of the two countries.



The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Speaker of National Assembly of Mauritius Santi Bai Hanoomanjee after their meeting here.



Mahajan, who is leading an Indian parliamentary delegation to Mauritius, said there is a lot to be learnt by sharing the best practices and experiences as parliamentary democracies.



In this regard, she said the MoU on joint framework for parliamentary support and capacity building is a "visionary step forward", according to a statement issued by the Lok Sabha secretariat.



She said the Parliament of India accords great importance to the steady development of parliamentary relations between the two countries.



Mahajan said the relations between the two countries are based on centuries of cultural, linguistic, social and spiritual links that transcend extraneous considerations.



More than political and other considerations, it is the commonality between the two societies and depth and nature of their people-to-people contacts which provide a platform for the sustained growth of friendship and partnership, she said.

Read Also:

India Likely To Be Power Surplus Nation In FY18

Internet Users In India To Double By 2021: Cisco
BENGALURU: Siemens Industry Software India Pvt Ltd, a fully-owned subsidiary of Siemens PLM Software, on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state government here to establish four Centres of Excellence across the state.

Signed with the Government Tool Room and Training Centre (GTTC), the MoU aims to build a world-class integrated skill development infrastructure and benchmarked technical education curriculum with core focus on industry 4.0, automation, mechatronics and internet of things (IoT) infrastructure.

The four centres will address diverse industry segments like automotive, industrial machinery, industrial automation, renewable energy and aerospace and defence.

"With Indian industry adopting automation and digitalisation, it also requires a highly skilled workforce trained in future-ready technologies and processes. Siemens is committed to supporting the Indian economy (in this regard)," said Sunil Mathur, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Siemens Limited.

The centres will be equipped with the latest 'Product Lifecycle Management' software solutions from Siemens, such as 'NX' software for digital product design and engineering, 'Teamcenter' software for digital lifecycle management and the 'Tecnomatix' portfolio for digital manufacturing.

"The collaboration will train students on relevant industry processes and create industry-ready personnel," added Suman Bose, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Siemens Industry Software India.

Read Also:

Internet Users In India To Double By 2021: Cisco

Samsung To Help India Become $1 Trillion Digital Economy: Prasad
Turkeys Cruise tourism industry experiences a drop in tourist arrivals in the first 5 months of 2017. Compare to same period in 2016, the total arrivals dropped from 175 thousand to 90 thousand travelers.

According to the statistics, the number of cruise passengers visiting Turkish ports dropped 48.4%.

No cruise ship visited Turkish ports between January and February 2017, the first cruise ship arrived on March.

According to the statistics received from 25 ports, during March  May, cruises passengers entered the country from only 9 Turkish ports. Around 47 thousand cruise travelers arrived ports in Kusadas, Antalya, Marmaris, Alanya, and other ports.
Page Content

The Home Repair project designed to assist the most vulnerable in our community to live in decent homes was launched Monday June 12th. The Department of Community Development, Family & Humanitarian Affairs (CDFHA), Youth Affairs, contractors and students have all come together in a win, win, win project to benefit the community. The students will gain valuable work experience that will equip them with valuable experience to enter the labor market as a skilled worker. In anticipation of the launch, the contractors and participating students met last week Thursday for an introductory meeting before repairs on the first 12 homes commenced.





Minister Lees opening remarks began with a short story that helped paint a picture of the objective of the project. When I came in as a Minister, there was a gentleman that used to come to our office on a regular basis seeking assistance, and one day he came to request some help to have his house repaired. To get an idea of what kind of repairs the gentleman was referring to, we took a trip to see his living conditions. He lived in a small room, you could see the zinc sheets from his roof pealed back, and the bathroom was deplorable. When it rained he had to put a plastic sheet over his bed so his bed wouldnt get wet. It was heart wrenching to see elderly that contributed to building this island, living in socially substandard conditions. Certainly, thereafter I came back to the Ministry, and said look, here is clearly a person who has a social problem. We need to find a way to help him immediately. But when you looked into it, our system didnt allow us to help him. So in the end, according to our governmental rules there was nothing we could do to improve his living environment. But sure enough, come election time somebody fixed his roof and the guy had on a t-shirt from a particular party. So what happened? He had to sell his vote, his dignity, for a roof over his head.





The point Minister Lee echoed was something is fundamentally wrong, if that is what our people need to do to live with pride and dignity. With that in mind he tasked Aida Holaman, Head of CDFHA with figuring out how to solve this problem. Minister Lee stated that he couldnt be more proud of how has developed and whoe heartedly thanked everyone for their contribution to our nation.





Aida has brought her charm, her charisma, her commitment to the community, and her dedicated team to do this project. And in a sense, the fact that I had so little involvement, is really just a testament to everyones commitment to the project. I had nothing to do with choosing the contractors or nothing to do with selecting the people who are going to receive the help that they so desperately need. These are simply the people in our community who based on an assessment by the the Ministry of VSA has been identified as eligible for the assistance, and it doesnt matter where youre from or what your political allegiance is, but simply these are the people that need the most help in our community.





In addition, guest speaker, Mr. Mason gave a motivational speech directed to the students and emphasized the need to always be persistent no matter what obstacles or challenges they encounter while working in the field. Also addressing the gathering was member of MPC management team Mr. Richard Garrin who expressed enthusiasm in collaborating with this program that was a direct link to the vision MPC vocational section has outlined and shared this with Aida Holaman during her many visits at the school. Vocational students can now be connected to relevant internship programs such as this one:





For this MPC is extremely grateful.





After all the formal speeches, Department Heads Aida Holaman and Shermina Powell, as they phrased it got real with the students. Aida Holaman emphasized that the students present are setting the trend for the next generations to follow  what you do and how you embrace this opportunity will pave the way for your younger brother, sister, or cousin. Another important message to the students was to remember that the people they will meet in our community are opening their homes to them, and they must remember to treat them as if they were their mother, grandmother, uncle, or neighbor. The students were reminded that this is an opportunity for their future, and the team at CDFHA and Youth Affairs will be there to support them through it.





She also gave special recognition to the three (3) young ladies who are part of the project regarding women in the technical field. In closing Aida was also the voice of the seniors and physically challenged and thanked all collaborators, on behalf of these two target groups for this great initiative, as they were extremely grateful to benefit from such an initiative as they so often expressed feelings of being forgotten by members of the St. Maarten community.





In an invited comment Minister Silveria Jacobs stated, Opportunities for education to meet the labor needs are always promoted and appreciated. This is truly a great example of Education on the Move initiated by the Ministry VSA. I encourage the students to make great use of this opportunity, as it connects the youth to community involvement. The students will gain the experience of giving back to a greater cause to those who are in much need of the help. Much thanks and gratitude to the business community and contractors for giving back to the community and promoting education through work experience! Inter-ministerial collaboration creates tangible results. Id also like to thank the management, faculty and staff of the various schools and staff of the Department of Youth for assisting in this years BOPP program and safeguarding opportunities for all students.





After this pilot, the Ministry of VSA hopes to be able to showcase what can be done with limited resources and a lot of good will. Minister Lee stated that he had one regret, which was he wished there was more money so we could help more people, however he re-emphasized his commitment to continue to seek support from within Government and from the business community in terms of construction material, discounts, etc. to make sure this project may continue and more people can be helped.




Page Content

On Wednesday June 6, 2017, the Chief Executive Officer of the port Mr. Mark T. Mingo was detained by the local authorities in connection with the ongoing Emerald investigations. The investigation team has placed Mr. Mingo under restrictive custody due to which no further details can be shared at this stage.





On Friday, June 9, 2017, the Council of Minister of St. Maarten, as shareholder of the Port St. Maarten Group of Companies, authorized Shareholder Representative Minister Mellissa Arrindell-Doncher to appoint port management officials Tonny Wouter van Kooten and Richard van der Mark as persons temporarily entrusted with the management of the port.





Minister responsible for port affairs Mellissa Arrindell Doncher explained that Van Kooten and Van der Mark will form a managing board for the company for as long as CEO Mark Mingo is not able to fulfill his function as CEO of the company. The appointments were made in accordance with the company's articles of incorporation.





The Minister stressed that the everyone deserves a fair trial under the law and that Mr. Mingo is innocent until proven otherwise. Mr. Mingos attorney has issued a press release that Mr. Mingo denies any wrongdoing and faces the future with complete confidence. According to port officials, the justice authorities explicitly stated that the Port is not a suspect in any ongoing investigation.





The Minister met with the Supervisory Board of the port on Friday morning to discuss the immediate future as business at the port continues. In this regard, the Minister spent the day reaching out to stakeholders, in particular the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) and its President Michele Paige, to assure the association and its cruise lines that Port St. Maarten is open for business and ready to provide its usual quality service and operational excellence.




Ryanair announced the appointment of Chiara Ravara as its new Senior Sales & Marketing Manager, promoting her from her previous role as Sales and Marketing Manager for Greece and the East Mediterranean market.

Chiara has worked in Ryanair since 2014, joining from Aviareps in Italy, and will oversee Ryanairs Sales & Marketing team and activities across 34 countries in Europe and North Africa.

Ryanairs Marketing Operations Director, Matthias Wenk said, We are pleased to appoint Chiara Ravara as our new Senior Sales & Marketing Manager, and she will bring considerable experience and industry knowledge to this key role. Chiara will spearhead the efforts of the Sales and Marketing team as we continue to roll out Year 4 of our Always Getting Better customer experience improvement programme, and grow traffic, routes and tourism across Europe, with more than 130m people set to fly Ryanair this year.

Chiara Ravara said, I am delighted to be appointed Senior Sales and Marketing Manager for Ryanair, Europes No.1 airline. These are exciting times for Ryanair with new digital innovations being rolled out, alongside extensive passenger growth, the ongoing expansion of the Ryanair fleet and continued customer service experience improvements. I have really enjoyed my time in Ryanair to date and Im looking forward to this new challenge.
Airbnb announced the launch of Airbnb Trips in Mexico City, adding the capital to a growing list of international destinations with bookable local experiences that allow users to discover new communities and passions.

For visitors, Trips is a way to experience a different side of the city, immersing themselves in people and passions that makes each place so unique. For cities, Trips help to diversify tourism away from busy city centers and allow locals to participate and benefit from tourism by earning additional income from their interests and hobbies. Trips is also a great way for local residents to discover new things to do and meet new people in their own city.

People visiting Mexico City will be able to book from more than 30 Experiences available on the Trips platform, with more expected to populate in the next few weeks. Experience Hosts, including local residents, are signing up regularly with all of them adhering to Airbnbs quality standards.

Within the Trips platform, Experiences offer unprecedented access to local passions and interests, from activities that may be considered more traditional to those that are born from individual critique and personal inspiration.
By clicking Agree, you consent to Slates Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and the use of technologies such as cookies by Slate and our partners to deliver relevant advertising on our iOS app to personalize content and perform site analytics. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information about our use of data, your rights, and how to withdraw consent.

Agree
In an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC's "This Week," Bharara said Trump called him twice as president-elect, "ostensibly just to shoot the breeze." The calls took place after a meeting at Trump Tower in November at which Bharara, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, said Trump asked him to stay on in the new administration.
System error

error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.

context: ... 21: </%method> 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25

/usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:948

/var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17

/usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149



Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 125 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 157 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612f0293b98)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 948 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f02409f8)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612f0293b98)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1302 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 955 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f02409f8)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612f0293970)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1300 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 433 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f02409f8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f02409f8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612ee69fa90)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612f0126e28)') called at (eval 592) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612f0126e28)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
Two men allegedly used a wheelchair to haul a safe from the Zouki Cafe at Canberra Hospital earlier this month.

The burglars scaled a partition wall at the hospital about 1.40am on Sunday, June 4, before removing the safe from a cafe and taking it to a waiting car.

Police are seeking to identify these two men in connection to an aggravated burglary at Canberra Hospital.

The car was described as a small or medium-sized SUV with large chrome rims and low profile tyres.

Police urged anyone with information to contact Crimes Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via the ACT Crime Stoppers website.
A Lanyon Vikings Club staff member was shot in the leg with a nail gun during a robbery on Sunday, June 11.

Police said two men in balaclavas entered the Conder-based club about 11.10pm, armed with a nail gun and a knife, before demanding cash.

Two men in balaclavas entered the Conder-based club armed with a nail gun and a knife.

The staff complied but as the men left the club on foot, one of the men fired the nail gun at staff and patrons.
According to the Tax Office, high-risk industries include building and construction, restaurants and cafes, and hair and beauty salons. Credit:iStock The taskforce report, released on budget night, suggested businesses such as these restaurants offered an incentive to adopt non-cash business models, a policy we may see in the mid-year budget review. That's the carrot. The stick is that the taskforce also recommended a ban on deducting wages and other costs paid in cash where those costs have not been properly reported to the tax authorities. There could also be ban on cash transactions over $10,000. There may even be amnesties for cash-only businesses to 'fess up to authorities. The court records of the six syndicates that AUSTRAC says laundered $44 million through CBA show that criminals rarely use a single bank. Credit:Sarah Keayes But you may ask: shouldn't the government have higher priorities than trying to squeeze a bit more revenue from tradies doing jobs for cash, or small restaurants?

Well, no doubt revenue raising is part of the goal here. But there are also deeper economic reasons why the decline in cash use is only likely to continue  and that is generally a good news story. Our move away from cash towards cards and more recently, smart phones, has already been pretty fast, when you think about it. In the past nine years, the share of consumer payments by number paid for in cash has dropped from near 70 per cent to less than 40 per cent. . Growth in online commerce, and the greater security and convenience of paying electronically, are only likely to accelerate this trend.

But despite this, there are some areas where cash use is stubbornly high. According to the Tax Office, high-risk industries include building and construction, restaurants and cafes, and hair and beauty salons. An obvious concern is that some of these cash-only businesses deprive the government of revenue. It's been estimated 1.5 per cent of gross domestic product or $25 billion is in the black economy  and the fact this is untaxed puts a bigger burden on other taxpayers to fill in the gap. Other worries are that these businesses create an "unlevel" playing field, and that cash-in-hand payments undermine workers' wages and superannuation. But as electronic payments get cheaper, there are also potential economy-wide benefits from moving away from cash. A big one is efficiency in the payment system.

A key reason electronic payments have taken off is that they are becoming cheaper, helped by a wave of competition from "fintech" businesses, and pressure from regulators. For many small businesses, installing a tap-and-go terminal can still be too expensive, but regulators are keen to further drive down the cost of digital payments. Later this year, a new $1 billion piece of infrastructure known as the New Payments Platform will make it possible to make real-time, low-cost digital payments  such as paying a tradie via phone, rather than in cash. The more that people shift towards these electronic payments, the cheaper they should get. The "unit costs" of holding cash, on the other hand, will get more expensive as it is used less. Think of all the costs of transporting it, keeping it safe, and guarding against counterfeiters. Already, some banks are removing cash from branches because it's not worth their while to manage the wads of notes.

At the moment, the taskforce says these costs aren't always being made transparent to businesses  but they should be. And that means dealing in cash will no longer appear to be "free". Being cash-only will probably become a more expensive way to do business, with these costs also passed onto customers. Let's be clear  none of this means we are anywhere near a cashless world. Even though its use is declining, some parts of the community are still cash-dependent. The Reserve Bank said in March that people aged over 65 used cash for more than half their payments, and those on the lowest incomes also used cash most. Cash is also still the most common way to pay for something that costs less than $10.
Fines imposed under existing laws would be "miniscule" in comparison to the $110 million compensation payout, says Professor Allan Fels. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen The Federal Government's proposed Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Vulnerable Workers Bill) 2017, if passed, will increase maximum civil penalties and hold companies responsible where they knew or ought reasonably to have known of the contraventions of their franchisees. Professor Fels said the proposed law which Employment Minister Michaelia Cash says is "priority legislation" was welcomed as a "big step forward". It is expected to go to the Senate as early as next week. Employment Minister Michaelia Cash. Credit:Andrew Meares "But no law  that law or the Fair Work law  permits recovery of mass underpayments," he said.

Federal Labor spokesman for Employment and Workplace Relations Brendan O'Connor said the legislation would not go far enough to redress the underpayment of vulnerable workers. He said the Turnbull government had been dragged "kicking and screaming to do something to address worker exploitation". "And what they have done is manifestly inadequate," Mr O'Connor said. "The bill currently before the parliament has been too long in coming and doesn't go far enough to prevent and punish worker exploitation." "Labor will move amendments to the bill to make it easier to prosecute franchisors and companies for exploitation by labor hire [companies] and along the supply chain, and will continue to lead the way to stamp out underpayment and exploitation of all workers in Australia." Senator Cash said the former Labor Government slashed funding to the Fair Work Ombudsman and produced no policy to protect vulnerable workers after six years in government.

"The Coalition took a comprehensive policy to strengthen worker exploitation laws to the last election," Senator Cash said "Labor's belated announcement of a worker exploitation policy at the end of the 2016 election campaign failed to deal with the key instance of exploitation. It exempted small business from higher penalties  meaning most 7-Eleven franchises would not be affected." Senator Cash said rampant exploitation seen in businesses such as 7-Eleven was "deplorable". "The Turnbull Government is providing the necessary resourcing and policies to ensure that is not repeated. "The Coalition does not tolerate the exploitation of workers of any kind, whether it be workers being ripped off by dodgy employers or honest union members being dudded by crooked union bosses. "We have implemented a number of strong, targeted measures to ensure that workers  particularly vulnerable workers  are offered strong protections against exploitation and underpayment."

A spokesman for 7-Eleven said it had delivered on its promise to reform its business after underpayments in its franchised network were uncovered. "While some doubted our resolve at the time, we said judge us on our actions  $110 million in repaid wages through our voluntary Wage Repayment Program clearly demonstrates our commitment to remediating the past and reforming our business," the spokesman said. "We will continue these efforts, and our ongoing collaboration with the Fair Work Ombudsman and others, to ensure our franchised store network operates at the highest standard we and the community expect. We'll also continue to report transparently on our progress as we seek to be the exemplar of a solution to a problem that is regrettably broader than our network." Giri Sivaraman, employment law principal at Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, said underpayment scandals were not limited to any one type of industry or employer and would keep happening until the system was changed. "The system is broken and needs to be replaced," he said.
The NSW government has unveiled a new $47 million initiative to fight violent extremism by setting up a new "mini max" jail within the Goulburn's Supermax facility. The idea is to separate radical inmates from rest in order to avoid prisons becoming breeding grounds for radicalisation.

The move comes against a backdrop of incidents of violent extremism in major Western cities around the world. It raises several questions regarding the government's efforts to counter violent extremism. The first being, whether its programs deliver and at what price?

A special unit for up to 75 radicalised inmates will be built in Goulburn's existing Supermax.

This isn't the first $47 million program that NSW government has launched. In 2015, it came up with a $47 million initiative to run de-radicalisation program at the school level to identify young kids (basically Muslim youth) who may be showing signs of radicalisation. This is a highly discriminatory approach that risks stigmatising students and cutting them off from the positive socialising effects of the school system.

The multimillion dollar program has been in place for two years but every single government official or program manager I have talked to is unsure if it has delivered any results at all  and for a good reason. There is yet no effective way to gauge the results of de-radicalisation programs anywhere in the world.















"If there's a word 'disgruntled', then how come there isn't a word 'gruntled'?" asks Dave Horsfall, of North Gosford. There is Dave. C8 is gruntled to tell you it means "pleased" or "satisfied" or "contented", according to the Oxford Dictionary. It's simply gone out of fashion  but you may have changed that.

Further along the disgruntled spectrum, Rob Wallace of Collaroy Plateau, is asking for ideas. "If deranged acts of violence, currently referred to as terrorism, were to be labelled using a different word that carried connotations of lunacy and delusion, impressionable young men might be less likely to undertake them. Can your readers suggest a suitable word? Radlunacy?" Extroperverts?

"Am I getting old?" wonders Don Hartley, of Balmain. "So I wouldn't forget to pay my monthly Telstra account I wrote 'PHONE BILL' on my wall calendar. A couple of days later I found myself staring at the calendar, wondering 'who's Bill?' "

Back to drama (C8). Michael Fischer, of Coogee, recalls taking year 11 boys from Lurnea High School to Othello in the '70s. "The deceased Desdemona couldn't do anything about a breast that had popped out of her top. Even Othello couldn't do much about it. But the boys thanked me for their front row seats."

Joy Cooksey, of Harrington, remembers going to North Sydney's Independent Theatre in 1957, to see Macbeth, featuring Leonard Teale, who was the radio voice of Superman. "In a dramatic moment, as he leapt into action, he tripped over. One smart alec yelled, 'Up, up and away'. The audience didn't quieten until Mr Teale threatened to stop the show."
The recent raids on puppy farms in NSW, which resulted in about 100 dogs rescued last week and one puppy farmer pleading guilty to charges of animal cruelty the week prior, have been welcomed by many. They give the impression that something substantial is happening to address the problem, which is good news for the NSW government. The sad reality is these latest raids mean very little and have proven what a waste of time the parliamentary inquiry into puppy farms was.

The fact is puppy farming is a flourishing business in NSW and ongoing cruelty is slipping through the cracks of the weakest legislation in Australia, with a state government that seems more interested in symbolism than solutions.

In NSW puppy farmers do not have to worry about annual council inspection, annual renewal of their permit and annual dog registrations, nor do they have to worry about being inspected against the code of practice on a regular basis. All they are legally required to do is apply for a permit, but in many cases they don't even do that. NSW puppy farmers don't fear being exposed when they know the state laws allow them to continue regardless. This was evident in the case last week of the puppy farmer near Goulburn who was found guilty of cruelty. This farmer was operating without a council permit and had recently lodged an application to acquire a permit from Goulburn Mulwaree Council so she could carry on business as usual.

The NSW government refuses to give the RSPCA powers that were given to the Victorian RSPCA some years ago.
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton would be given stronger powers to override independent Administrative Appeals Tribunal decisions on citizenship applications under new laws to be introduced to Parliament in the next fortnight.

Mr Dutton said the AAT currently has the ability to make decisions against Australia's national interest by ignoring his department's advice and overturning government deportation orders.

The Greens have labelled the move a power grab by Mr Dutton and said the "draconian measure" aimed to undermine multicultural Australia.

But the Immigration Minister argued the changes would merely address an "anomaly" and allow him to deny citizenship to people with a criminal record.
As befitted a man who spent his life in the shadows, General Ji Shengde chose to wait in the kitchen of an abalone restaurant in the Chinese coastal resort town of Zhuhai until his dining companions arrived.

The ultra-secretive chief of Chinese military intelligence was on the lookout for his protege, a well-dressed, 37-year-old businesswoman called Liu Chaoying. She was bringing her new friend, a California-based entrepreneur called Johnny Chung who had a penchant for over-the-top jewellery and a knack for getting inside Bill Clintons White House.

Once the pair arrived and the group was seated, they talked American politics. It was 1996 and Clinton was running for a second term.

We really like your president. We hope he will be re-elected, General Ji told Chung.

I will give you $300,000. You can give it to your president and Democrat party.

A few days after this August 11 meeting, Liu Chaoying wired $300,000 into Taiwan-born Chungs account. Some of this money ended up in the coffers of the Democrats Clinton re-election campaign in breach of US laws banning foreign political donations.

This transaction later became the focus of US criminal and congressional investigations into a major political scandal dubbed Chinagate by the US media. It was part of a broad Chinese plan to influence American politics to favour Beijings acquisition of sensitive, advanced technology.

Today, Fairfax Media can reveal a direct Australian connection to the Chinagate scandal that raises serious questions about a series of Chinese donations to the Australian Labor Party.

A summary of banking records contained in NSW Supreme Court files show that, just 10 days after the meeting in the abalone restaurant, a Sydney-based company owned by Chinese-Australian businesswoman, Helen Liu, wired $250,025.00 from her Australian company into the account of one of Liu Chaoyings Hong Kong companies called Marswell Investments.

Just why Helen Lius company Wincopy Pty Ltd sent this money to Liu Chaoying is not known. Whatever the case, the transfer effectively topped up the bank account of a company US prosecutors later claimed as a front for Chinas military intelligence. A copy of Wincopys financial statements and reports prepared by the company's accountant - and obtained from a Federal Court file - recorded the $250,025.00 transfer as overseas marketing expenses.

Like the others, Helen Liu was interested in politics. But her focus was Australia. At the time of the quarter-of-a-million-dollar transfer into Liu Chaoyings Marswell company, she had just made her first donation to the ALP and had forged links to the federal Labor front bench and the NSW Labor government.

Australias freewheeling donations laws meant that Lius donations never created a scandal like that seen in the United States, and the links have never been adequately examined by Australian authorities. But evidence uncovered by Fairfax Media and the ABC means that might be about to change.

Helen Liu with John Howard and Joel Fitzgibbon.

The networker

Helen Liu arrived in Sydney from Shandong province in northern China in the late 1980s as a seemingly modest student and worked at a firm exporting wool to China. But it did not take too long for her life to undergo a massive transformation.

It was like the tap had been turned on and all this money suddenly started pouring out, said a close associate at the time. Top-line European cars were being bought with cash.

The money came from Chinese Government-controlled entities such as the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Beijing Hengtong Trust, the Jinan Iron and Steel Group and the Shandong Fisheries Corporation. All had entered into joint ventures with companies associated with Helen Liu and her then boyfriend, Humphrey Xu.

The pair set about amassing a Sydney property portfolio worth tens of millions of dollars. Among their tenants was a NSW government department. They exported Australian iron ore and wool to China. In their homeland, the couple embarked on huge real estate developments across several provinces in close co-operation with local officials.

They achieved Australian citizenship through sham marriages to a far younger Sydney couple then began building a network of politically powerful friends in their adopted country. Their target: Australias most ruthless political faction, the NSW Labor Right.

The foundation stone of this relationship was laid in 1993 when one of Helen Lius companies, Diamond Hill International, took a knockabout federal Labor MP, the late Eric Fitzgibbon, on a first-class trip to Lius home province of Shandong. Fitzgibbons job was to shake hands with an array of Communist Party officials and tell them just what a big deal Helen Liu and her boyfriend were back in Australia.
A lack of medical training in wound care has left about half a million Australians with festering chronic sores, a research body claims.

The way wounds are treated is so poor, many patients are left with festering sores that don't heal for up to a decade, researchers from the government-and-industry-funded Wound Management Innovation Cooperative Research Centre say.

A lack of medical training in wound care has left about half a million Australians with festering chronic sores, a research body claims. Credit:Louise Kennerley

But the research has already drawn a rebuke from doctors, who deny they are the problem. They point instead to the high cost of best-practice wound management  a cost that is not subsidised by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

Chronic wounds and ulcers are skin injuries that refuse to heal. Without proper treatment they can remain festering for decades.
Fairfax Media can also now reveal that two companies associated with Helen Liu and her siblings have been ensnared in a 2014 bribery case in China's Hainan province. Helen Liu with Bill Clinton. A judgement from the Hainan Peoples' Court contains an admission from the chairwoman of Australia Diamond Hill Holdings of having bribed the boss of a local government department with $34,000 and a bottle of wine. The judgement refers to a Ms Liu but does not distinguish whether this is Helen Liu or her sister Chun Mei Liu, who is also involved in the family businesses. In a statement issued through her lawyer, Helen Liu denied any involvement in the case or having any recent association with the companies' identified in the judgement despite numerous Chinese media articles dating back to the 2000s naming her as the chairwoman of Australia Diamond Hill Holdings. Helen Liu, John Howard and Joel Fitzgibbon. Credit:Jessica Tandberg

Chinagate In 1996, Lieutenant Colonel Liu Chaoying became embroiled in an American political donations scandal dubbed "Chinagate". It involved Chinese-linked business figures illegally funding the Democratic campaign to have Bill Clinton re-elected president. Liu Chaoying became a key figure in the scandal when she transferred $300,000 to her California-based business partner Johnny Chung, who then gave some of the money to the Democrats. US laws ban foreign contributions to political campaigns. Mr Chung later testified that the that he had been promised the $300,000 at a meeting in China in August 1996 with the then chief of Chinese military intelligence, General Ji Shengde, and Liu Chaoying. What has not been known until now is that, almost at the same time, $250,025 was transferred from Australia-based Helen Liu's company, Wincopy, to Liu Chaoying's Hong Kong company, Marswell Investments.

American prosecutors and a bi-partisan Congressional committee later identified Liu Chaoying and her company, Marswell Investments, as being part of a clandestine Chinese intelligence operation to influence US policies towards China. "I believe Marswell was really a front company for Chinese intelligence activities," said Mike McCaul, chairman of the US House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee and lead Justice Department prosecutor on the Chinagate scandal during the 1990s. "It was basically a shell company, a front company set up by Chinese intelligence to advance their interests, one of which was to influence elections." Mr McCaul said the revelation of an Australian political donor's financial link to Liu Choaying and Marswell was concerning and should fuel debate about the acceptance of foreign political donations in Australia. "I think at a minimum, closing off foreign contributions from a foreign government to influence elections, and in this case, China is the biggest offender."

In the wake of recent revelations, banning foreign donations now appears to be bipartisan Australian policy, though the legislation has not yet been enacted. After Chinagate, Chung pleaded guilty to violating US electoral laws and received a suspended jail sentence. He has since claimed he feared being assassinated by the Chinese while he was co-operating with US authorities and was under 24-hour protection by the FBI. In a statement to Fairfax Media, Helen Liu admitted to a business and personal relationship with Liu Chaoying. But she claims to have had no knowledge of Liu Chaoying's senior role in China's military or her involvement in illegal American political fundraising activities. Business partners A summary of banking records obtained by Fairfax Media from NSW Supreme Court files reveal that on August 21, 1996, Helen Liu's company, Wincopy, transferred $250,025 to Liu Chaoying's Marswell. Separate financial statements prepared by Wincopy's accountants 18 months later record the payment as "overseas marketing expenses".

Helen Liu in her statement did not expressly deny the Wincopy transfer. But she sought to cast doubt on the documents recording it, saying they were part of unsuccessful litigation efforts by a former business partner in the late 1990s. Hong Kong High Court records show Helen Liu and Liu Choaying were business partners until at least 2001, with a joint company set up in the British Virgin Islands. Liu Chaoying also set up several Australian companies in the late 1990s, including one which shared a common address with a Helen Liu company, and had its paperwork filed by Helen Liu's Sydney lawyer, Donald Junn. During the 1990s and 2000s, Helen Liu grew close to several senior NSW Labor figures. She and Mr Fitzgibbon have been friends ever since he and his father, the late federal Labor MP Eric Fitzgibbon, travelled to China with her in 1993. She went on to help fund his first two federal campaigns in 1996 and 1998 with donations of $40,000 in total. Helen Liu and her sister contributed at least another $120,000 to the NSW ALP up until 2007 in donations and fundraising support. Helen Liu held Australian citizenship at the time of her donations, having become a citizen in 1989 by entering a sham marriage with an Australian man. However, Fairfax Media makes no suggestion her donations were illegal or improper.

Her association with Mr Fitzgibbon and his family continued after he became Australia's defence minister in 2007 and rented a Canberra apartment from her family. It has previously been reported that Ms Liu also paid for Mr Fitzgibbon to travel to China in 2002 and 2005 on brief trips which he did not declare at the time, as required by parliament. Fairfax Media is not suggesting Mr Fitzgibbon has received anything else from Ms Liu which he is required to declare. He has declined to answer questions about whether members of his immediate family had received gifts, cash or company shares from Helen Liu. In response to questions, Mr Fitzgibbon recently said he was not aware of any connection between Liu Chaoying and Helen Liu.

"The Chinese names you ask about mean nothing to me whatsoever so I know nothing about any relationship between them and Helen," he said. Helen Liu in her statement said she did not introduce Liu Chaoying to any Australian politicians. Fairfax Media has obtained itineraries for Chinese officials who visited Australia paid for by Helen Liu which included a meeting or meal with Mr Fitzgibbon. Having such meetings with visiting officials is part of the job for most federal MPs. Mr Fitzgibbon said he did recall twice dining with associates of Helen Liu's about 10 years ago when they visited the Hunter Valley. He said he understood the associates to be Chinese government officials. ASIO's advice

In March, 2009, the Rudd Labor government took the unusual step of releasing advice from the acting ASIO Director-General that cleared Helen Liu's "activities and associations" of any security concerns. The advice was released just hours after the first media reports emerged revealing donations from Helen Liu had gone to Mr Fitzgibbon, the then defence minister, and the NSW branch of the ALP. The decision to release the ASIO advice went against the agency's normal policy  and that of previous Labor and Coalition governments  of not commenting on investigations or security matters. Asked if he was involved in the decision, a spokeswoman for Mr Rudd said last week: "Mr Rudd does not recall the events surrounding Mr McClelland's decision at the time". Mr McClelland, now a judge at the Family Court in Sydney, declined to answer questions and said it was a matter for ASIO. Mr Fitzgibbon said he had no prior knowledge that an ASIO statement would be released and had not spoken to Mr McClelland about it. The former head of the China desk at Australia's Defence Intelligence Organisation, Paul Monk, said the circumstances behind the release of ASIO's statement warranted investigation.
A former Sydney rugby league player is behind bars after an alleged violent spree, accused of trying to kidnap a woman, and attacking a man with a bar stool, knocking out his tooth.

Dean McGlinchey, 26, approached the woman while she was walking near Burwood railway station about 10.15am last Sunday and began talking to her, police said.

When she tried to step around him, he allegedly grabbed her and dragged her across the road.

Mr McGlinchey is then accused of punching her in the face - breaking her glasses - before shoving her in the back of a car.
Federal Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg has given the private sector the green light to take its proposal to enlarge Cleveland's Toondah Harbour to the environmental impact stage.

The decision has been welcomed by Redland City Council, but rejected by conservation groups angered at the impact on critically-endangered wading birds.

The proposed Toondah Harbour project has been given the go-ahead to proceed to the EIS stage.

In a statement on Tuesday, the minister said the proposed development needed to undergo "a comprehensive environmental assessment under national environment law".

"This decision has been made because the proposal is likely to have a significant impact on the Moreton Bay wetland, and nationally listed threatened and migratory species," Mr Frydenberg said.
Apprentices are losing jobs because builders are employing experienced qualified subcontractors instead of third- and fourth-year apprentices whose cost to the builder is now almost the same.

Apprenticeships Queensland, one of the largest apprenticeship training organisations in the state, has backed calls by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland for urgent changes in Tuesday's state budget to help Queensland's sinking apprenticeship rates.

It says builders are employing subcontractors rather than apprentices because they cost about the same, between $28 and $35 an hour.

However subcontractors, as experienced and qualified builders, can work on their own without instruction, according to one of Queensland's leading apprenticeship training bodies.
More than $9 million will be spent to transform a Brisbane science exhibition space popular with children and schools.

The Queensland budget, due to be handed down on Tuesday, will include $9.4 million in new funding to transform the Sciencentre on level one of the Queensland Museum at South Bank.

The Sciencentre has not been upgraded since 2004.

It is understood the investment reflects the need to ensure young Queenslanders are confident with STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths), and ready to participate in the emerging industries of the future.
A woman has accused the state of Victoria of subjecting her to a costly and humiliating ordeal by recognising her husband's change of sex while they were still married despite this being against the law.

Jane* has blasted Births, Deaths & Marriages Victoria for causing her "unnecessary stress, needless wasted hours" and "excessive legal costs" in a complaint lodged with the Victorian Ombudsman.

Jane, who was married in Victoria in 2002 but now lives in Perth, says the "bureaucratic bungle" left her in the position of being legally married to a woman without her consent, and cost her additional time and legal fees during her divorce when it came to splitting assets held in her ex-spouse's old name.

"The constant explaining to different parties that [Liz was Craig], and yes the assets are in [Craig's] name who is now [Liz], was totally humiliating, extremely time consuming and very expensive as it was necessary to seek ongoing legal advice," Jane said.
A Perth grandmother has described her looming deportation back to South Africa as a "death sentence" after immigration knocked back her remaining relative visa application, claiming her sister living in Perth was not considered a relative.

Linda Oppel, 58, has been living in Australia since 2011, after moving to Perth to be with her sister following her husband's death.

Linda Oppel has lived in Perth with her family since 2011. Credit:Radio 6PR

Originally arriving on a 457 Visa, the 58-year-old lives in Perth along with her two adult children, grandchild and sister.

She told Radio 6PR on Monday her remaining relative visa application was recently denied as authorities did not consider her sister a biological relative.
A Perth doctor has been charged with indecently assaulting a woman who was being treated at his medical practice.

The general practice doctor from Tuart Hill allegedly assaulted the woman in her 20s in his Banksia Grove practice in March 2017.

Medical laws face overhaul to help doctors' health.

Sex assault detectives have charged the man with unlawful and indecent assault and he is due to face Joondalup Magistrates Court on Monday.
The former operators of Quest serviced apartments in South Perth have been fined almost $59,000 for a sham contracting arrangement designed to bypass industrial relations laws.

Quest South Perth Holdings Pty Ltd sacked two housekeepers and immediately re- hired them as purported independent contractors to perform the same duties in 2009.

The former operators of Quest in South Perth have been fined over sham contracting. Credit:Quest South Perth

They also sacked a receptionist at Quest on Arlington but she was not re-hired.

The Fair Work Ombudsman initiated legal action in 2011, alleging the arrangement contravened sham contracting laws, and while part of its case was dismissed twice in the Federal Court, the watchdog then succeeded with its first High Court appeal.
London: British Prime Minister Theresa May was warned about the dangers of calling an early election and told more than two weeks before polling day that she risked losing her parliamentary majority, Fairfax Media has learned.

As recriminations over Mrs May's disastrous campaign threaten to consume the Conservative Party, highly placed sources told Fairfax Media she was told of her dire polling situation 16 days before last Friday's poll and less than six days after she unveiled her disastrous "dementia tax" in the Conservative Party's manifesto.

Mrs May was also told about the surge in Labour's vote, contrary to claims that her pollsters missed the swell in support for Jeremy Corbyn and his high-spending promises which included free university tuition, childcare and adult learning courses.

The revelation comes amid a bitter blame game, with attempts to cast the Australian strategist Sir Lynton Crosby as the architect of the Tories' spectacular early election miscalculation, even though he and his counterpart Mark Textor had no role in writing policies.
Those worried about the United States being sucked into a new military confrontation under the Trump administration are looking in the wrong direction, Jake Sullivan believes.

"While all eyes have been on North Korea as a place where we could end up in a shooting match of sorts, I actually think Iran is a more likely scenario," the US foreign policy guru tells Fairfax Media.

"Do I have a real concern about whether this president with his temperament could through a combination of decisions end up getting us into a conflict with Iran? I do. And that is not in the US national interest, it's not in the interests of regional stability and it's something that I think bears close watching."

Sullivan, at just 40, was tipped to have been either National Security Adviser or White House chief of staff to Hillary Clinton had she succeeded in becoming president. He was a key aide to her as Secretary of State, and also served as national security adviser to Vice-President Joe Biden.
Washington: Ivanka Trump said Monday her father felt "very vindicated" by the testimony last week of James Comey, the ousted FBI director, who, under oath, accused President Donald Trump of firing him for his handling of the investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to sway the election.

"My father felt very vindicated in all the statements that he's been making, and feels incredibly optimistic," Ms Trump, a senior adviser to the president, said in an interview on Fox and Friends.

Her comments were the latest effort by a White House in crisis to discredit and play down the significance of the account that Mr Comey gave on Capitol Hill, in which he strongly suggested the president had tried to obstruct justice in imploring him to drop an investigation into his former national security adviser's contacts with Moscow and requesting the FBI director's personal loyalty.

Ms Trump also the appearance on the show - which was promoted by her father on Twitter - to denounce the "viciousness" of Washington DC.
Islamic extremists who laid siege to a southern Philippine city launched a separate war on social media that took the country's armed forces by surprise.

As fighting has raged in Marawi, 830 kilometres south of Manila, the extremists and their supporters flooded Facebook and other social media with propaganda video, photographs and posts.

The military has asked Facebook to take down dozens of accounts it said were being operated by Maute Group militants allied with Islamic State or their supporters in the southern Philippines and across the world.

"We are requesting Facebook Philippines to take down these accounts  they are spreading lies and misinformation," said Lieutenant-Colonel J-Ar Herrera, the military spokesman in Marawi City.
San Juan: With schools shuttered, pensions at risk and the island under the authority of an oversight board in New York City, half a million Puerto Ricans voted overwhelmingly on Sunday to become the United States' 51st state, in a flawed election most voters sat out.

With nearly all of the precincts reporting, 97 per cent of the ballots cast were in favour of statehood, a landslide critics said indicated that only statehood supporters had turned out to the polls. Opposition parties who prefer independence or remaining a territory boycotted the special election, which they considered rigged in favour of statehood.

Ricardo Rossello, governor of Puerto Rico, centre, and his wife Beatriz Isabel Areizaga, right, greet voters at a polling station on Sunday. Credit:Bloomberg

However, on an island where voter participation often hovers around 80 per cent, just 23 per cent of registered voters cast ballots. Voting stations accustomed to long lines were virtually empty.

Puerto Rico's governor, Ricardo Rossello of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party, said he planned to take the victory to Washington and press Congress to admit Puerto Rico to the union.
Then president Bill Clinton, making a short statement after being impeached on two counts by the House of Representatives in 1998. Credit:AP There was Preet Bharara, the hard-hitting US attorney for the Southern District of New York whom Trump sacked in March, telling the Sunday talk shows that, like Comey's nine encounters with Trump, he felt that the President was attempting to "cultivate some kind of relationship" - a process the New York attorney brought to a halt by the simple expedient of refusing to take Trump's calls. Bharara told ABC's This Week that, as president-elect, Trump had called twice, "ostensibly just to shoot the breeze". Former FBI director James Comey. Credit:AP It was Trump's third call, in March that Bharara refused to take, explaining: "It's a very weird and peculiar thing for a one-on-one conversation, without the Attorney General, without warning, between the President and me or any United States attorney who has been asked to investigate various things."

Quizzed on Comey's claim that Trump pressured him to abandon the FBI investigation of disgraced former national security adviser Michael Flynn, Bharara said: "No one knows right now whether there is a provable case of obstruction [of justice by Trump. But] I think there's absolutely evidence to begin a case." Fired: US Attorney Preet Bharara. Credit:AP There were Republican senators Susan Collins and James Lankford warning on Sunday that, if Trump doesn't clarify his reference to the possible existence of tape-recordings of his encounters with Comey, he could face a subpoena to produce them to the Senate Intelligence Committee. "I don't understand why the President just doesn't clear this matter up once and for all," Collins told CNN. "[Trump] should voluntarily turn them over." Richard Nixon says goodbye as he boards a helicopter after resigning as president on August 9, 1974. Credit:AP

Lankford, meanwhile, was telling CBS: "We've obviously pressed the White House." But Trump still plays a guessing game on the tapes - on Friday he teased reporters: "I'll tell you about that maybe sometime in the very near future." And there was Jeff Sessions, Trump's Attorney General, putting up his hand to give evidence to the same Senate committee. This came after Comey alluded to the possible existence of a previously unknown reason or reasons that would have required Sessions to recuse himself from any Justice Department consideration of the "Russia thing". This reason was different from his two known meetings with Russian officials, one of which he failed to disclose. Sessions is scheduled to appear on Tuesday - possibly in open session; maybe behind closed doors. This was the Comey drop on Comey: "We also were aware of facts that I can't discuss in an open setting that would make his continued engagement in a Russia-related investigation problematic." And there's speculation that Trump's lawyers might have gone too far in their claims that Trump has been exonerated. Their insistence that Comey lied under oath most likely guarantees that special counsel Robert Mueller will want sworn testimony from Trump - which, the President declared on Friday, he is happy to provide.

Prominent Republican senators - including John McCain, Marco Rubio and Lindsey Graham - who have previously questioned aspects of Trump's conduct, joined the circling Republican wagons. "I don't believe the President is under investigation for colluding with Russia, I don't believe there's anything to investigate when it comes to obstruction of justice," Graham said. "What he did was wrong, it was inappropriate, rude and crude, but not a crime." And holding to an emerging Republican defence that Trump is merely inexperienced in the ways of Washington, Texas Senator John Cornyn told reporters: "It's no secret to anybody that this President is a novice in public office." The trouble for Trump is that the myriad congressional investigations and the Mueller probe will go on for months - maybe years.

If history is a guide, there's a risk that what emerges at the end of these inquiries will bear little resemblance to the initial reason for their existence. When the Clintons' Whitewater investigation began, Monica Lewinski was unknown to the world and when it came to a House vote on impeachment, the Clinton wrongdoing was the lies he told. Ditto Richard Nixon - he went down for the cover-up, not for the Watergate break-in. The "Russia thing" inquiries have yet to get up a head of steam. But already rafts of evidence are piquing investigative and prosecutorial interest and a parade of Trump's current and past associates are in the gun.

His son-in-law and White House adviser, Jared Kushner; his sacked campaign manager Paul Manafort; former adviser Carter Page; the scandal-prone Flynn; White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, White House Counsel Don McGahn, Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein; and probably Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats and National Security Agency Director Michael Rogers. Despite assembling a single-purpose Russia legal defence team, Trump wants to move ahead, tossing off tweets on how well the US economy is performing and retweeting the opinion of Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz, who seems to argue that all Justice Department investigations are subject to presidential whims. Here's Dershowitz's Friday tweet: "We should stop talking about obstruction of justice. No plausible case. We must distinguish crimes from pol sins." Trump's voter approval ratings continue to languish at historic lows for a new president - in the mid- to high-30s. And while Republican and Democratic voters have locked-in views of the President, his standing with independent voters is likely to suffer as Comey's damning critique of "the nature of the man" percolates in political discourse. Trump's poor ratings overseas have become a problem, too, seemingly impacting on his decisions on where to go in the world.
Moscow: A wave of anti-government demonstrations rolled across Russia on Monday as thousands of people gathered in scores of cities to protest corruption and political stagnation despite vigorous attempts by authorities to thwart or ban the rallies.

The police detained the architect of the national protests, Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, as he emerged from his apartment building to attend a rally that he had forced into the centre of Moscow in the face of efforts by the city to limit it to a secondary boulevard.

Mr Navalny's wife posted a picture of the detention on his Twitter account with the caption "Happy Russia Day!", referring to the national holiday Monday. In addition, workers at his headquarters reported that their electricity and internet connection, used to transmit updates from around the country, had been severed.

The protests were the biggest anti-government outpouring in Russia in years, with more people in more cities heeding Mr Navalny's call than his last series of demonstrations in March.
Megyn Kelly, of US network NBC, is under fire for her one-on-one interview with Infowars's Alex Jones.

One of the immediate critics is a mother whose daughter was killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, a massacre that Jones has dismissed as a government hoax.

Nelba Marquez-Greene saw the interview, scheduled to air on Sunday - Father's Day in the US - as an "egregious offence" to fathers whose children were murdered on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut.

"To give Alex Jones a platform on Father's Day is especially cruel to me," she told The Washington Post. (Father's day is celebrated on the third Sunday in June in the US.)
WP Engine Expands Global Footprint With New Amazon Web Services Data Centers In Canada

Posted by Publisher Software

AWS Data Center Increases Availability, Performance, & Privacy Compliance for Growing Global Customer Base

London, UK  June 12, 2017  WP Engine, the worlds leading WordPress digital experience platform, today announced it is expanding its global footprint with new Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centre availability across North America for its 60,000+ customers.

Recently named an Amazon Advanced Technology Partner, WP Engine offers a range of enterprise-grade, high resiliency, high availability solutions on the WordPress-optimised AWS architecture. With global data centres and multi-zone redundancy across all traffic-serving layers, customers benefit from the best uptime protection and risk mitigation with elimination of single points of failure.

Todays digital business initiatives are hyper reliant on network connectivity creating heightened sensitivity toward any network downtime, said Jason Cohen, Founder and CTO of WP Engine. By leveraging the scale and the power of AWS cloud services, WP Engine is enhancing our platform innovations and bringing enterprise-grade performance and resilience to companies of all sizes.

Building on availability in the U.S, Australia, U.K. and Ireland, WP Engine customers on Enterprise Cluster plans can now select the local Canadian data centre. Selecting a domestic data centre can reduce latency for local site visitors, improve SEO and increase conversions with faster page load times. The domestic data centres also help support compliance for regulations including the Canadian Digital Privacy Act and regulations from other jurisdictions including PIPEDA and EU Data Protection Directive.

As an Amazon Advanced Technology Partner, WP Engine has the tools, training, and support that can enable enterprises to more efficiently build solutions on AWS.

The new data centre is available today based on plan type, with additional AWS data centre availability expected to follow.

We work with clients across all industries with unique audiences and landscapes but the thing they all have in common is the need to deliver digital experiences that move their business forward, said Sean OBrien, VP, Director of Technology & Innovation at Padilla. With WP Engine, we are able to improve performance which helps us deliver on our promise to build, grow and protect the customers online brand.

As companies look to minimise their carbon footprint they are increasingly leveraging the energy and resource efficiency of the cloud while also using data centres powered by renewable energy sources. WP Engine is committed to furthering sustainability efforts by working with providers that invest in renewable resources. In 2016, AWS exceeded their goal of using 40% of renewable resources to power its data centres and plans to reach 50% in 2017.

WP Engine was also named a Amazon Advanced Technology Partner, following a stringent, Well-Architected review of the digital experience platforms security, reliability, performance and cost efficiency and the companys long-term vision for innovation.

The Advanced Tech Partner announcement and launch of the new data centre availability follow the opening of WP Engines new innovation and technical support office in Limerick, Ireland. The office serves as the companys first customer service hub outside the U.S. and expands what is already the industrys largest R&D organisation with a dedicated team based in Limerick to accelerate the development of WP Engines leading WordPress digital experience platform.
Opus One Solutions Announces Collaboration with Booz Allen Hamilton to Deploy Software and Services for Utility Distributed Energy Resource Integration

TORONTO, ONTARIO  (Marketwired)  06/12/17  Opus One Solutions (Opus One) today announced an intent to work together with Booz Allen Hamilton (Booz Allen) to jointly offer leading software services for the distribution grid. The effort combines Booz Allens global expertise in consulting, analytics, cybersecurity and project management within the utility sector with Opus Ones industry leading real-time intelligent energy networking platform, GridOS, to offer utility clients unparalleled visibility and control of the increasingly distributed electricity grid.

Opus One Solutions will be responsible for providing integrated grid planning and operational management solutions. GridOS, Opus Ones software platform, uses sophisticated data analytics to operate, manage, and optimize electricity grids  increasing the potential to connect high penetration levels of distributed energy resources (DERs), including wind, solar, battery storage and EV chargers. Opus One can further unlock new services and business models for utilities and DERs.

Booz Allen will be responsible for project and program management including technology integration efforts to effectively and efficiently incorporate Opus Ones GridOS in utility enterprise planning and operational systems, ensuring a stable and cyber secure environment. In addition, Booz Allens economic and finance experts will work hand in hand with its technology experts to canvas the distributed energy market landscape to identify specific technology needs and develop the best business models for a given utility.

Collaborating with Booz Allen will expand market availability of Opus Ones utility offerings, says Joshua Wong, President and CEO of Opus One Solutions. Booz Allen is known internationally for their strength in software integration and this offers strong support for our respective businesses.

We are excited to work with Opus One to meet the needs of an increasingly distributed electricity grid, said Gary Rahl, a Booz Allen executive vice president and leader of the firms energy business. Our unique combination of technological expertise and consulting heritage will help utilities build tomorrows energy grid, transforming into a system that is more distributed, networked and customer-focused.

About Opus One Solutions

Opus One Solutions is a software engineering and solutions company with the vision of a Connected Distributed Energy Network. Through GridOS, its intelligent energy networking platform, Opus One optimizes complex power flows so that it can deliver real-time energy management to distribution utilities and other managers of distributed energy assets. GridOS is modular, scalable, and integrates seamlessly with existing data systems to unlock greater potential for distributed energy resources, including renewable generation, energy storage, and responsive demand. GridOS also facilitates the management of microgrids  from homes to businesses to communities  for unparalleled grid resiliency and value to the electricity customer. twitter: @OpusOneSolns

About Booz Allen Hamilton

Booz Allen Hamilton has been at the forefront of strategy and technology for more than one hundred years. Today, the firm provides management and technology consulting and engineering services to leading Fortune 500 corporations, governments, and not-for-profits across the globe. Booz Allen partners with public and private sector clients to solve their most difficult challenges through a combination of consulting, analytics, mission operations, technology, systems delivery, cybersecurity, engineering, and innovation expertise.

With international headquarters in McLean, Virginia, the firm employs 23,300 people globally, and had revenue of $5.80 billion for the 12 months ended March 31, 2017. To learn more, visit BoozAllen.com.

Contacts:

Opus One Solutions

Media Contact:

Surbhi Jain

(647) 972-7872
CloudGenix Attends WAN Summit; Demonstrates Industrys Only Application-Defined SD-WAN Solution

SAN JOSE, CA  (Marketwired)  06/12/17  CloudGenix, Inc., , today announced it will attend WAN Summit on June 14-15 in San Jose. CloudGenix will showcase the CloudGenix Instant-On Networks (ION) product family, which empowers enterprises with the industrys first and only application-defined fabric, and builds a simplified, cloud-first network built on business intent and application reachability.

CloudGenix will host a session titled Adopting SD-WAN to Adopt the Cloud, Improve Service Quality and Reduce WAN Costs on Wednesday, June 14. Led by CloudGenix customer Autodesk, a multinational software corporation that makes 3D design and engineering software, Prakash Kota, VP of IT at Autodesk, will describe why the company selected an SD-WAN over traditional WAN optimization. The session will show how Autodesk transformed its networking model by avoiding vendor lock-in, allowing for greater flexibility of deployment and access to application and network insights through a centralized database that stores 100 percent of network and app flows.

CloudGenix CEO, Kumar Ramachandran will also be participating in a panel titled The Future of your WAN  Growing your WAN to Meet the Demands of the Modern Workplace on Thursday, June 15. Attendees will learn how network managers can set up business rules and app-SLAs through an application-defined fabric to address current networking concerns, such as meeting regulatory requirements, increasing bandwidth, and evaluating the impact of Internet-of-Things (IoT) and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications.

WAN Summit brings together enterprise and service provider members to examine WAN market drivers and technologies. With the summits focus on key IT trends impacting the evolution of WAN, including cloud applications and performance, CloudGenix will have an ideal setting to demonstrate the first and only application-defined SD-WAN solution designed for the needs of modern applications, including SaaS- and cloud-based apps such as Office365, AWS, Azure, Unified Communications and VoIP.

Enterprises must be equipped with a networking model that meets the demands of the modern business, said CloudGenix CEO, Kumar Ramachandran. CloudGenix SD-WAN is the only solution with a revolutionary app-defined fabric that provides a simple, cost-effective and high-performance networking to customers, resulting in the demise of legacy networking models.

CloudGenix at WAN Summit San Jose 2017

Wednesday, June 14 through Thursday, June 15

Table 13

Hilton DoubleTree, San Jose

2050 Gateway Pl

San Jose, CA 95110

To register for the 2017 WAN Summit in San Jose, please click . For more information on CloudGenix, please visit .

CloudGenix () is the software-defined wide-area network (SD-WAN) leader, revolutionizing networking by transforming legacy WANs into a radically simplified, secure, application-defined fabric and virtualizing heterogeneous underlying transports into a unified hybrid WAN. Enabling application-specific, service-level agreements (SLAs), CloudGenix controls network application performance based upon application-performance SLAs and business priority. CloudGenix ION (Instant-On Network) radically simplifies how WANs are designed and managed, enabling customers to build networks without networking, and achieve more than twice the performance at less than half the cost  leading to a much faster time-to-value once deployed  and extending data center-class security to the network edge. Founded in 2013 by a team that has previously delivered industry-leading products in networking, SDN, cloud, security and web-scale applications, CloudGenix serves world-class financial services, legal, retail and technology organizations. The company is backed by Bain Capital Ventures, Charles River Ventures and the Mayfield Fund and has headquarters in San Jose, California.

CloudGenix
Four Eastpointe citizens filed a federal lawsuit against Mayor Monique Owens Wednesday alleging their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated when they were not allowed to speak during audience participation at a recent city council meeting.
Cause of historic downtown LaPorte building collapse determined

Former Lows store was more than 150 years old. City looking to ensure several other buildings more than 100 years old are secure.
Georgetown, SC (29440)

Today

Thunderstorms. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low around 70F. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall possibly over one inch..

Tonight

Thunderstorms. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low around 70F. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall possibly over one inch.
Optimization

Are you frustrated with a slow pc or a hard disk not performing as it should?

Try SLOW-PCfighter to speed up boot time on a slow PC, or try a free scan of FULL-DISKfighter to recover space on a full disk. The latest offering is DRIVERfighter to update your driver updater. Get complete PC optimization and extend the life of your PC with these must-have software tools.
New Case IH dealers for Scotland and the Borders will be on the companys stand at the Royal Highland Show, including J. Low Agri-Services from Fife, Balgownie Ltd of Aberdeenshire, Mark Garrick Ltd of Moray and Everitt & Marshall covering West Northumberland and the Tyne Valley, all welcoming new and current customers.

Amongst the new technology at the show for the first time is the revolutionary new Xtra-Chopping option on Case IHs Axial-Flow 240 combine. Ideal for minimum or low tillage systems, it creates a finer chop and more even spread of straw, leading to faster decomposition and incorporation into the soil.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

STAMFORDCommunity leaders including Mayor David Martin will raise the LGBT Pride flag at a ceremony at 1 p.m. Wednesday, June 14 at the Stamford Government Center, 888 Washington Boulevard, Stamford.

Taking part along with Martin will be city public safety, health and welfare director Ted Jankowski, the citys LGBT liaisons; Rev. Mark Lingle, head of the Interfaith Council of Southwestern Connecticut, Anthony Crisci and Conor Pfeifer from the Triangle Community Center in Norwalk.

Monday, June 12, also marks the first anniversary of a Orlando night club massacre which killed 49 and injured 58 others.

The month of June is celebrated as LGBT Pride Month to honor the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

GREENWICH  Audubon Greenwichs bird count this past weekend included 130 species including a few surprises.

Two people saw the common merganser, said Tom Burke, a longtime birder who coordinated this years count. Its a neat one. We have had almost every duck you could expect, and that was the one that was missing, so it was good to see .. and its the first time we ever recorded the boat-tailed grackle ... Its a southern marsh bird thats been colonizing the coast in Connecticut and New York recently.

Audubon sent out about 50 people to 17 different territories within Greenwich, Stamford and Westchester County, N.Y., for the 44th annual Summer Bird Count.

Within 24 hours, bird-watchers logged everything they saw.

Burke is a retired accountant who set up the Audubon Greenwich biannual Bird Count in 1974 with fellow birder Gary Palmer.

The results of Saturdays count is being collated and will be compared with observations from previous years.

We are noticing the arrival of some species like the red-bellied woodpecker from the south, Ted Gilman, the Audubons education specialist and senior naturalist said. Its a striking bird, and when I first got here in the 70s, it was not around at all or just starting to show up, and now its pretty much filled in all across the state beyond.

Gilman said that the information gathered is submitted to the Connecticut Ornithological Association for statewide and regional data collection. Once the data is complete, the Ornithological Association will release it in a publication.

But although birders have been spotting new species and Burke said the total number found, about 130, is exactly on par with the average number recorded in past years  there are also some species in decline.

The field habitat has kind of disappeared over the years, Burke said, so we have lost some of the field-breeding species. Every bird has its own trend, so its hard to say. Its been more discouraging recently because of the general overall decline of birds.

Cynthia Ehlinger, who works for the Bruce Museum, was counting birds at Greenwich Point Saturday and noted a few surprises.

I was not seeing the high numbers of newly-fledged common species such as grackles, starlings and robins that I often see at this time, Ehlinger said. The purple martins at Greenwich Point also seemed to be late in rearing their families.

But the ospreys and American oystercatchers continue to be doing well, she said, and that is a very encouraging sign to the health of the bird population.

E: jturiano@greenwichtime.com; T: @jturianoGT; IG: @greenwichgreen
STAMFORD  In the spring of 1945, President Harry S. Truman did not need to think long about to whom to assign the high stakes task of prosecuting Nazi war criminals before reaching out to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson. A former member of President Franklin D. Roosevelts cabinet and a former U.S. Attorney General and U.S. Solicitor General, Jackson had been a mainstay of Roosevelts legal braintrust, Professor John Q. Barrett said Sunday.

At that time Jackson was considered the man for the biggest legal projects, said Barrett, a former U.S. Department of Justice prosecutor and a professor of constitutional law and criminal procedure at St. Johns University School of Law in Queens, N.Y.

On Sunday, Barrett spoke at Temple Beth El on Nuremberg Lessons: What Happened Then and Why It Matters Now, the first Norma and Milton Mann history lecture hosted by the Jewish Historical Society of Fairfield County. The lecture at the synagogue was held to coincide with National History Day on June 11.

Illustrating his talk with a series of projected period photographs  including those of Roosevelt, images Nazi Germany and Jackson  Barrett, a legal historian and author of several books about Jackson, said the enduring legacy of the trial and Jacksons participation was establishing much of the jurisprudence observed by the United Nations and other bodies on war crimes and helped assure the atrocities of the Holocaust would be documented.

After joining the Roosevelt administration in 1934, Jacksons star ascended quickly as he argued the constitutionality of New Deal programs, such as the U.S. Social Security Administration and the National Labor Relations Act as Solicitor General, Barrett said. Among other landmark events, Jackson crafted much of the legal justification behind the United States provision of needed destroyers and other war aid to England during the 1930s while skirting outright war.

In a boiled-down way it was Are you going to prosecute Adolf Hitler this summer? When youre a lawyer, and especially when youre told that is a turnkey operation, that is a very appealing notion, Barrett told an audience of nearly 200 people.

The topic of the talk was chosen in recognition of the late Milton Mann, a former president of Temple Beth El who attended sessions of the Nuremberg trials while stationed with the U.S. Army in occupied Germany. Mann passed away in 2015, and his wife Norma in 2012.

Our connection to the Nuremberg trial really comes from closing up our parents house and going through their drawers, said Pamela Mann, Manns adult daughter. We found letters he wrote to people from the trial that we wish wed seen while he was alive.

Among the concepts the trials helped establish was that the international community can hold national political, military and industrial leaders personally accountable for starting aggressive wars, Barrett said.

We often think of Nuremberg as something from the back end, but Id like to reorient you to think of it as something that happened from the front end, Barrett told the audience. They got it done; not perfectly by any means but they upheld the importance of due process and that justice was not a show of force.

As prosecutor, Jacksons participation was limited to the first and only of the international war crime trials of 21 individuals and six Nazi organizations who were tried before the International Military Tribunal the Palace of Justice beginning in the fall of 1945, Barrett said.

Before the trials began, Jackson represented the U.S. in what became a power struggle with the American, British and French Allies on one side and the U.S.S.R. on the other about how the trials would be conducted, Barrett said.

Jackson could see that both the public and the momentousness of the crimes demanded that the Nazi criminals receive a fair trial before the law as opposed to show trials or summary execution of foremost Nazi leaders to satisfy the sense of vengeance Russia felt.

To the Russians, the idea of a trial was to display them before they were hung, Barrett said. Jackson said pointedly thats not what he wanted to be a part of. The military can use power and line people and up and shoot them, but the tribunal was going to be about the law.

Barrett said, while some feel the trials punished too few of the Nazis responsible, the testimony of Nazi criminals at Nuremberg became the historical foundation for records of the Holocaust.

The punishment was very partial before it became difficult to continue the international trials because of the Cold War tensions, Barrett said. But the trials accomplished important goals.

Barrett cited the testimony of Rudolph Hoss, the commandant of Auschwitz who helped design the camp as an extermination center for more than a million Jews as providing important historic information about the breadth of the Holocausts mass murder.

He gave a bureaucratic report of how well he did his job, Barrett said. The evidence became part of the Nuremberg record of what happened.

mcassidy@stamfordadvocate.com
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

The sight of a humpback whale fluke set against the New York City skyline is an anomaly no longer.

For the first time in 100 years, sizable numbers of humpback whales are being spotted in the waters off NYC, and it's thanks to years of environmental clean-up efforts, Popular Science reports.

"Because of the improvement of the water quality, algae and zooplankton have multiplied, giving good food for the menhaden [a small fish eaten by whales], which have returned in numbers that the fishermen say they have not seen in their lifetimes," Gotham Whales founder Paul L. Sieswerda told Pop Sci.

Until the enactment of the Clean Water Act in 1977, New York City's waters were a dumping ground for everything from medical waste to factory run-off. Some of those chemicals were cancer-causing, the EPA said.

New Yorkers have seen a significant rise in whale sightings over the past few years, and the trend is only accelerating in 2017. The whales are thought to be ducking into New York for a bit of sightseeing and feeding on their migration routes up and down the coast. Back in November, a whale was seen near the Statue of Liberty, prompting the Coast Guard to send out warnings to nearby boaters.

The whale sightings are so frequent, there are multiple ferry companies offering whale-watching tours.

On a recent American Princess Cruises excursion, lucky whale-watchers saw four humpbacks in a single trip. In 2016, the Telegraph reported that 20 whales were seen all year.

A similar trend, also credited to conservation efforts, has been seen with the shark population in California. The Clean Water Act and the Marine Life Protection Act have boosted the numbers of great white sharks  and marine mammals in general  according to scientists.
S erviced offices billionaire Mark Dixon is hoping to open a new frontier in English wine after buying his first vineyard in the country.

The veteran entrepreneur has bought the 150-acre Kingscote Estate in East Grinstead, West Sussex, which produces still and sparkling wines and cider.

Dixon, who originally got into the wine business by accident, is also looking at buying more sites in the wake of this deal, which he clinched earlier this year for an undisclosed amount.

He told the Standard the south of England could be a new frontier for wine.

Dixon first set up the temporary-offices business Regus  now known as IWG  nearly 30 years ago and still owns a 28% stake in the 3.3 billion firm.

He moved into wine nine years ago, buying the Chateau De Berne estate  which includes a five-star hotel and a Michelin-starred restaurant  in Provence.

The French business, produces about five million bottles a year and has sales of more than 40 million (35 million), making it the regions second-biggest producer of rose.

Dixon is not the only wealthy businessman with an interest in English wine.

Tory peer Lord Ashcroft is a majority shareholder in wine-maker Gusbourne, which has 231 acres of vineyards in Kent and West Sussex.
A dam Gillett is talking about nipple pads. Or rather, hes talking about how comfortable he is discussing nipple pads.

When we started, I was like er, how do I deal with this but it becomes second nature very quickly. If youre sitting with a company that makes nipple pads and youre a bloke whos never been a father it makes for interesting conversations, he says.

Gillett, bulky, cheery and geezer-ish, is one of the owners of Fanfinders which runs Your Baby Club. Theyre an unlikely quartet of blokes running an online marketing firm for infant products which boasts a contacts book of 1.6 million bargain-hunting mums.

His partners include Alec Dobbie, who came up with the business idea, burly creative director Raphael March (both are based in Yorkshire) and Neil Stephenson, a quiet Scot and former pro poker player. A fifth founder and investor, Nick Hadfield, remains a director.

The shadowy world of marketing is littered with jargon as the industry becomes ever-more complex in the digital age. Terms like value exchange and affiliate marketing litter our conversation as Gillett and Stephenson explain their business in the sweltering confines of their cramped Shoreditch office.

Fanfinders Founded: 2013 Staff: 10 Turnover: 2m last year, 7m forecast this year Business idol: Alex Dobbie  Dame Stephanie Shirley: A pioneering woman in tech and IT. She changed her named to Steve to win IT contracts in a male-dominated world

Essentially, its a swap: parents (usually mums) sign up to receive freebies  samples, discounts, competitions  from big brands, the brands in return get the data of potentially committed customers. YBC gets a cut of purchases made after clicking through, and also makes money selling research conducted with its network of mums.

It operates as a series of clubs tied to each brand with Mothercare, Tesco and Johnsons among its clients. A shelf heaving with baby brands, Tommee Tippee bottles, Pampers nappies, and Ellas Kitchen pouches, sits above the duo. If brands want to talk to someone they need to offer something, says Gillett.

Father-of-two Dobbie started the firm when his wife signed up to Bounty, only to be spammed by a slew of irrelevant marketing about much older kids. The tech developer floated his concept  matching brands and parents more effectively  in a LinkedIn group, and his co-founders came on board.

Gillett, a natural salesman who was born in the Middle East and grew up in Surrey, brought commercial nous and a lifelong career in advertising. Stephenson had given up youthful aspirations of being a drummer to pursue poker, entering the marketing trade through online gambling firms.

They started with just 1500 of capital, throwing their savings at the project and not paying themselves a wage for 18 months as trade slowly picked up. One mistake we made was thinking when things were good they would necessarily stay good and not anticipating the bumps in the road, says Gillett. It was like yay, sh*t, yay, sh*t, he laughs, drawing an imaginary sales graph in the air.

But, by a stroke of luck, that imaginary line is heading upwards. New EU data laws, unaffected by Brexit, will become enforceable next year. YBC already ensures customers data is not sold to brands they didnt sign up for so the law plays into their hands.

Stephenson explains the new rules will put many of the cowboys who sell databases to third parties as their main source of income out of business. With this kind of business theres a trust element so if you sell data on parents quickly tell each other on other forums, he says.

Theres also new ventures  a burgeoning US business in partnership with an American sales agency and the embryonic Your Beauty Club, which has Body Shop and Debenhams on board.

Behaviourally beauty fans act differently to mums so were having fun working that out. New, first-time mums say we must do research before baby comes but with beauty its a much longer, life-time journey so you ask users things like their skin and hair type and tailor it to that, Gillett says.

But what about that parental cash cow: advice? In the last year since my son was born, Google has become my 3am friend regularly leading me to some helpful tips to calm the crying. Would a parental forum appeal given the success of Mumsnet and Netmums? Weve considered a forum several times over but, we thought, does the market really need another one when theres two massive ones in that category? says Gillett.

Instead, their Facebook group boasts 300,000 deal-hungry parents scouring the latest offers.

Let the bargain hunting commence.
E urotunnel today blamed a drop in shuttle traffic on holidaymakers and businesses choosing to stay at home around the time of the French election.

The Channel Tunnel operator witnessed a decrease in passenger traffic last month to 212,930 vehicles, compared with 221,618 in May 2016.

It said the fall came after being penalised by an unfavourable electoral calendar in France after Emmanuel Macron won the battle for the presidency with Marine Le Pen.

A Eurotunnel spokesman said: This has been a very complicated year in politics on both sides of the Channel.

That has had some influence on peoples travel decisions, and a number of people decided to stay at home and vote.

But the firm had better news from its freight division, which saw truck traffic rise to 141,646 vehicles in May, up 3% on a year ago and a record for the month.

It added that Le Shuttle Freight established a daily record on June 8 with 3822 trucks transported in 24 hours in the Calais-Folkestone direction.

This beat the previous record of 3633 trucks, which was set in December 2015.

Eurotunnel said since the start of the year, truck traffic had fallen slightly by 1%. This was due to extreme weather conditions, including snow, in Spain at the beginning of the year.
A bidding war for Rio Tintos Coal & Allied Industries was in the offing on Monday, as the mining giant said it was considering a $2.55 billion (2 billion) bid from Glencore.

Rio Tinto agreed to sell Coal & Allied to Chinas Yancoal for $2.45 billion in January, but on Friday Ivan Glasenbergs Glencore tabled a counterbid.

Glencore said the combination of Coal & Allieds assets with its own mines in the Hunter Valley would unlock large-scale mining and operating synergies.

Rio Tinto today said it would give the Glencore proposal, a cash offer plus royalty payment, appropriate consideration and respond in due course.

Under the terms of the Yancoal deal, Rio Tinto can engage with another suitor should it receive a better bid. However, it must allow Yancoal a chance to submit a counter-offer.

Yancoal, which has received regulatory approval in China for a sale, said yesterday it will make a further announcement should it hear from Rio Tinto that it believes Glencores offer to be superior to its own.
B etter Capitals Jon Moulton will soon face questions from creditors to Jaeger over the private-equity firms handling of the fashion brands sale and subsequent collapse.

A group of creditors, who claim to be owed millions after the demise of Jaeger, said today that they are taking legal advice and have bought shares in Better Capital so they can quiz management at the companys next shareholders meeting.

In March, Better Capital sold Jaegers debt to a mystery buyer believed to be Peacocks owner Edinburgh Woollen Mill, for 7 million. Jaeger called in AlixPartners as administrators in April.

The creditors, led by Cesar Araujo of Portuguese textiles manufacturer Calvelex, want an independent review into the timing of the sale and the price paid for the various assets. They also question the involvement of AlixPartners because of previous work with Better Capital, Jaeger and Edinburgh Woollen Mill.

They added that the review would be likely to look at the relationships between the various parties and their conduct relating to the transactions.

Jaeger Fashion - In pictures 1 /33 Jaeger Fashion - In pictures English actress Leonora Corbett modelling a coat designed by Jaeger in 1934 Getty Images The cricket team of the Jaeger clothing company in 1934 Getty Images The men's department in the Jaeger store, Regent Street, London in 1935 Getty Images A model wearing a summer outfit by Jaeger, during the opening launch of their Regent Street store, London in 1935 Getty Images This is the uniform designed and made by Jaeger for the Womens British Olympic team to wear in the grand parade at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin A winter sports ensemble by Jaeger, one of the items at a fashion show at Claridge's in London presented by the International Wool Secretariat, 6th September 1938. A white woolen three-quarter length coat with a hood is worn over grey slacks Getty Images Jaeger makes this trim tennis "all-in-one" which combines the advantages of a dress and shorts in 1939 Fashion model Melissa Condon shows a tie, satin shirt, camel pullover and camel trousers all by Jaeger in 1967 Getty Images Models, Lynn Kohlman wearing a long shaggy coat with purple jersey two piece and Graham Rodgers wearing a green quilted cotton velvet jacket and green needlecord jeans all from Jaeger in 1971 Arthur Jones/Evening Standard Summer shopping at Jaeger on Regent Street Nigel Howard A model walks the catwalk at the Jaeger Spring/Summer 2009 collection catwalk during London Fashion week on September 15, 2008 in London Getty Images A model walks down the runway at the Jaeger London Spring/Summer 2010 fashion show at the BFC Tent, Somerset House, during London Fashion Week on September 21, 2009 Getty Images A model walks down the runway at the Jaeger London Spring/Summer 2010 fashion show at the BFC Tent, Somerset House, during London Fashion Week on September 21, 2009 in London Getty Images A model walks down the runway at the Jaeger London Spring/Summer 2010 fashion show at the BFC Tent, Somerset House, during London Fashion Week on September 21, 2009 in London Getty Images A model walks down the catwalk during Jaeger London's Spring/Summer 2010 collection presentation on the fourth day of London Fashion Week in central London, on September 21, 2009 AFP/Getty Images A model walks the catwalk at the Jaeger Spring/Summer 2009 collection catwalk during London Fashion week on September 15, 2008 in London Getty Images Jaeger wet look mac and print dress Jaeger Jaeger London Autumn/Winter 2010 at The London Eye Jaeger Models walk the runway during the Jaeger Spring/Summer 2011 fashion show at Somerset House during London Fashion Week on September 21, 2010 Getty Images Models walk the runway during the Jaeger Spring/Summer 2011 fashion show at Somerset House during London Fashion Week on September 21, 2010 Getty Images A model walks down the catwalk at the Jaeger show during London Fashion Week on February 22, 2010 Getty Images A model walks the runway at the Jaeger London Show during London Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2011 at Somerset House on February 19, 2011 Getty Images A model walks the runway during the Jaeger London show at London Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2012 at the BFC Space at Somerset House on September 17, 2011 in London Getty Images A model displays a creation by Jaeger London during the Spring/Summer 2012 collection show, on the second day of the London Fashion Week in London, on September 17, 2011 AFP/Getty Images Harold Tillman arriving for the Burberry Catwalk show, during London Fashion Week, at Kensington Gardens in 2011 PA

A spokesman for AlixPartners said: AlixPartners corporate finance ran an extensive and very well publicised sale process in respect of Jaeger. Regrettably through course of this process there were no appropriate going concern offers received.

All relevant creditors were invited to make a bid for the business on several occasions. None was ever forthcoming.

Better Capital today declined to comment.
Q atar Airways says it is on the way to becoming an aviation powerhouse as it sought to shrug off a diplomatic row with its Gulf neighbours.

That row, over alleged terrorism funding, has forced the airline to cancel flights, hitting sales.

For the year to March, before the row began, sales rose 10% to 39 billion Qatari riyal (8 billion). Profit jumped 21% to 2 billion riyal, largely thanks to asset sales.

Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker said the results reflect the success of our expansion and growth strategy that has seen it grow from a small regional airline into an aviation powerhouse over two decades.

Qatar has ambitious expansion plans for its airline. It has taken stakes in other national carriers, including a 20% stake in IAG, owner of British Airways.

Last week Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt suspended ties with Qatar, claiming it supports terror.

Those countries have closed road, sea and air access to and from Qatar. The airline said it continues to operate to the rest of its network as per its published schedules with day-to-day adjustments for operational and commercial efficiencies.
T ech investors are flocking to find non-UK companies to pump their cash into after Brexit, according to Lastminute.com founder Brent Hoberman, who has raised $60 million (47 million) in seed capital to spend all over Europe.

While Hoberman and business partner Spencer Crawleys fund will look for young businesses in Britain, it would also look further afield to Europe.

Announcing the first close of his fundraising under the new business name Firstminute Capital, he said: While we will do what whatever we can to promote Londons role as the European leader in tech, we need to work to fund the best deals in Europe too.

But he added that being pan-European has been a major focus for our investors after the Brexit vote.

Londons tech industry has been concerned since the Brexit vote that leaving the EU will starve UK firms of top international talent, driving businesses to the continent instead.

Firstminute Capitals cornerstone investor is Atomico, which recently closed a huge $770 million fund, but backers also include 23 founders of companies now worth $1 billion and a further seven who have been either chief executives or chairmen of $1 billion businesses.

The former group includes Autonomy founder Mike Lynch and Net-a-Porter co-founder Arnaud Massenet.

Among the more establishment tycoons is Lord Davies, the former chief executive and chairman of Standard Chartered bank. Continental investors include Frederic Mazzella, who built up the car-sharing site BlaBlaCar.
T heresa May is still the Prime Minister today but she is no longer first among equals. Power has passed to her Cabinet, many of whose members she wanted to sack or never bring back. For constitutional romantics this will be a welcome return of collegiate government but communes cant run countries and Cabinets need to be led. The tragedy is that Britain is saddled with weak leadership at the very moment it is about to embark on the most important negotiations in its recent history.

Look across the Channel at who is going to be on the other side of the negotiating table as we seek to leave the EU and you see Angela Merkel ever more confident while President Macron is on course to win a stunning majority in Frances Assemblee Nationale. One of the central premises of the Brexiteers was that the eurozone was fragmenting. Now its we who look weak and divided while the Europeans appear  how can one put it?  strong and stable.

After the excitement of the election, its time for the political equivalent of the cold shower. We need a realistic assessment of Britains approach to the Brexit talks. We should acknowledge that the two central cards in Mrs Mays negotiating hand have been taken away from her by the British people and the balance of power in the new House of Commons.

First, she said she wanted to prioritise ending both the free movement of people and the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice rather than the economy and our access to our largest export markets. Thats why she was insistent on taking Britain out of the single market and the customs union. That remains the line today from Brexit Secretary David Davis. But the fact is that there is now no parliamentary majority for leaving the customs union. The majority that may appear to exist today for leaving the single market will probably evaporate once the idea that we will have a comprehensive trade deal with the EU in just 20 months time is exposed as nonsense. Ruth Davidson, the charismatic Scottish Tory leader (without whose victories north of the border we might now be facing the prospect of Prime Minister Corbyn), has explicitly called for an open Brexit that instead prioritises the economy over immigration.

European Economic Area

The Chancellor who Mrs May wanted to sack agrees. In todays Conservative Party, Philip Hammond and Ruth Davidson have more power than the Prime Minister. Indeed, growing numbers in the Cabinet now privately think Britain should seek to retain membership of the European Economic Area (EEA) and the customs union as an interim step while a permanent arrangement is sorted out. On this page, former Cabinet minister Andrew Adonis makes a strong argument for this approach from a Labour perspective. Expect to hear more about the EEA as the interim solution in the coming weeks and months.

The second card that Mrs May wanted to play was that no deal is better than a bad deal. Northern Irelands DUP, which now holds her hostage, has now removed that joker from her pack too. It could never allow the return of a hard border with the Irish Republic, given the economic damage that would do to its constituents. The Council of Ministers has made it clear that the arrangements with the Republic of Ireland cannot be concluded bilaterally between the two neighbours but must be part of an overall deal with the EU. So no deal is not an option now for the British Government, if it ever was.

Mrs Mays dreams for her premiership evaporated on election night; so too did her uncompromising approach to our exit from the EU. That is good news for those who were alarmed to see Britains economy being driven straight into a brick wall by the hard Brexiteers. We may now be in for a smoother ride.
F or Theresa May, 10 Downing Street has become a death cell. Although no date has been set for her execution, there can be no appeal. What other verdict could there be?

She has already entered the record books. The worst election campaign ever, the worst-ever Conservative Party leader, the worst-ever Tory Prime Minister: a tie, perhaps with Rosebery, for the worst PM from any party since 1832 (excluding Bonar Law, who was dying by the time he took office). This was the Tory leader who brought a Bennite Marxist fossil from the margins of politics to the gates of Downing Street. No one has crammed so much incompetence into a mere 12 months as May.

There may be more to come. Yesterday, May gave an interview. At first, one assumed she was trying to put a brave face on defeat but as the interview went on a terrible possibility revealed itself  she might genuinely intend to carry on. If so, she has lost any grip on reality.

Then came a Cabinet reshuffle: the most meaningless such manoeuvre since May 1945, when German admiral Karl Donitz and his colleagues pretended to be Cabinet ministers at Flensburg, while waiting to be arrested. At Mays next Cabinet meeting she will be facing a group of ministers whom she used to spurn and snub  and she has become their ward. A year ago she took pleasure in sacking Michael Gove. When they were colleagues in the Cameron government, they often clashed. Gove is fluent in argument. May is not. Her resentment festered and she enjoyed revenge. That has had to be curtailed.

She is bound to have close dealings with Philip Hammond. Four days before the election her people were boasting that he was going to be sacked. So what does she say now: Sorry, Philip, I did want to get rid of you but I cant because I screwed up the election campaign. So could we carry on as normal?

There never was much normal on Planet May, and there will be still less now. It will help that advisers Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill have gone. They might be relieved to hear that a large number of Tory MPs are trying to find them another Government post: a job-sharing arrangement as Consul-General in Mosul. But the question remains: as she appeared to be so dependent on their advice before she took the simplest decision, what will she do without them?

It should be a brief interim. No sensible Tory wants to rush in to a leadership contest but sooner rather than later the party must have a new leader, and one with authority.

May has a final duty. As a pitiful atonement for the harm she has inflicted on her party, she should put herself at its service and be guided as to the date of her departure.
I can see that things are a wee a bit sticky for the Prime Minister at the moment. And I can see that  much though Id giggle to see the complete implosion of the Government  straws need to be clutched. Even the staunchest opponent of Theresa Mays mob, even the fiercest Remainer, even the most fanatical Corbynite  all these people might agree that its probably a decent idea to actually have a Prime Minister when we start negotiating with Europe in seven days time.

And if youre a Tory, as the PM is, youll naturally tend to the view that a Tory Prime Minister would be preferable in the circumstances to a Labour one. But to achieve those things is it, even so, worth inviting the Democratic Unionist Party to put its foot on your neck? Or worse, to seem to announce a deal only to learn from your negotiating partners via the papers that no deal has yet been done?

Lets start with the good news. Some of the fears that people are mooting abroad seem a bit far-fetched. Theres no real chance that the DUP tail will wag the Conservative Party dog to the extent that it will think of demanding, still less have a hope of getting, changes to mainland laws on equal marriage, abortion or any of the other subjects of its general wingnuttery. Theyre nuts, but theyre not that nuts. More likely, we can expect to see barrel-loads of pork heading from Westminster to Ulster in the relatively near future. And the unionists desire for a soft border with the Republic might, if anything, nudge us towards a softer Brexit: so much the better if so.

That said, here are a very eccentric collection of people by the standards of most mainstream Conservative voters. Their historic closeness to loyalist terror groups provides an attack line on them, though, to be fair, a historic association with terrorists is kinda normal for Northern Irish politicians  and the whole point of the peace process was to make sure those associations became, and stayed, history.

But the presence among them of young-earth creationists, anti-homosexual bigots, pro-life hardliners and hardcore Sabbatarians adds, you could say, a lively splash of colour to their role as kingmakers to the new Government. The Tories have spent years trying to get some distance from people with views like that. (And who was it, after all, who started that process with the bold step of publicly stating the hard truth that the Conservatives looked like the nasty party?) They shunned them like someone trying to avoid an embarrassing old schoolfriend at a drinks party  strategic toilet visits, avoiding eye-contact, the works. Now theyre leaping into bed with them. Its not a good look.

Protest outside Downing Street against DUP alliance 1 /16 Protest outside Downing Street against DUP alliance Downing-street-DUP-protest-1 Protesters gather at parliament Square AP Downing-street-DUP-protest-2 A woman holds a sign protesting Theresa may's minority government AP Downing-street-DUP-protest-3 Protesters march towards Downing Street AP Downing-street-DUP-protest-4 People protested the DUP's hardline stance on social issues AP Downing-street-DUP-protest-5 The group Stand Up To Racism joined the demonstration Getty Images Downing-street-DUP-protest-6 Protesters chanting outside Street Getty Images Downing-street-DUP-protest-7 People hold placards in Parliament Square EPA Downing-street-DUP-protest-8 Police line up alongside protesters outside Downing Street Getty Images Downing-street-DUP-protest-9 A man protesting Theresa May's new government Getty Images Downing-street-DUP-protest-10 People held signs reading "Corbyn In, Tories Out" AP Downing-street-DUP-protest-11 People held signs in support of Labour leader jeremy Corbyn AP Downing-street-DUP-protest-12 Protesters chant outside Downing Street AP

But that bin-bag full of stinky kippers  that colossal mouthful of crow  is not, by a long chalk, the worst aspect of the decision to pal up with the DUP. The worst aspect of it is that it breaks the Good Friday Agreement. Its not as if things are tickety-boo in Northern Ireland at the moment as it stands. They still dont have a working administration.

And the role of the UK Government, under the Good Friday Agreement, is to be (along with the Republic) the honest broker between the Unionists and the Republicans. Its right there in black and white in Article 1: rigorous impartiality on behalf of all the people in the diversity of their identities and traditions. There is no way you can credibly claim to act with rigorous impartiality if your very administration is being held together by the party founded by the late Ian Paisley and his Pope-bashing battalions.

Is it worth lighting a match in that particular fireworks factory just to buy a few months more of a Tory premiership? To let the lame duck waddle a few quacks further? Theres putting party before country  and theres taking the Mick.

Who are the DUP?

West was the ultimate caped crusader

Oh, Adam West. You left us too soon. Just as we all have our favourite Bond, we all have a favourite Batman. Mine is Frank Millers in the comic Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, but Adam West, with his tubby tum and his fanatical campery, has a special place in my heart. Christian Bale  trying to wring dark psychodrama out of a guy who goes out in a rubber batsuit to punch baddies  cant touch him.

I still recall the scene in the 1966 movie where Wests Batman is dangling from a rope-ladder under the Bat-copter with a perfectly unconvincing rubber shark attached to his leg. He struggles then shouts up to Robin: Hand me down  the Shark Repellent Bat-Spray. Robin duly selects it from the Oceanic Repellent Bat-Spray case, gives it to Batman and the shark is dispatched. That may have been my introduction to postmodernism. If Adam West is in heaven, I hope his halo has Bat-Halo written on it, and that the harp he strums throws up garish captions that say: Harp noise.
N ormally, hung parliaments make the nations problems worse. But with Brexit looming we face the abnormal. If the mainstream majority among Tory and Labour MPs assert themselves across the party divide, they can save us from the deep damage which a majority Theresa May Government would have inflicted on the UK by forcing Britain out of the European single market and customs union.

And if President Macron takes a constructive lead, we could do better still and reach a deal that meets British concerns over immigration without losing British engagement in the EUs economic and security institutions.

Arguments over membership of this or that European institution can seem arcane. But the issue at stake is simple. If we stay in the single market and the customs union, we preserve our trade in goods and services and avoid a negotiation of overwhelming complexity for a new  and almost certainly worse  regime of tariffs and regulations. This is an issue of extreme urgency because virtually no one in Whitehall or Brussels believes that a bespoke Brexit deal can be negotiated in the two years allowed under the EU Article 50 timetable.

It is not only tariff and trade regulations which are at stake but also the regime for dozens of vital national activities, from air travel to nuclear safety and research.

The only way of meeting this challenge sensibly is to agree an interim deal with the EU which does not involve a bespoke arrangement but maintains membership of the single market and customs union. Then, for this interim stage, there would be no complex negotiations, no arguments over money, and no uncertainty about trade, jobs and rights of residence.

Why was this not Theresa Mays policy at the election? Because she was seeking to appease Ukip voters and doctrinaire anti-Europeans who have a grip over her party membership and key posts in her Cabinet. It explains why Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, was so isolated in arguing against a hard Brexit.

However, there is a large cross-party parliamentary majority behind continued membership of the single market and the customs union, embracing most Labour and Tory MPs, the SNP, the Lib-Dems and even the DUP. Within the Cabinet the newly promoted Damian Green, as well as the reappointed Hammond and Amber Rudd, strongly support this course, and will be able to prevail against Boris Johnson, David Davis, Michael Gove and Liam Fox if a parliamentary majority is firmly behind them.

The position of the DUP is critical. Because of the Remain majority in Northern Ireland and their desire to avoid a hard border, they support membership of the single market and the customs union.

If an interim deal is agreed, the Government and our European partners can focus constructively on a long-term settlement, where three things must be made clear. First, the key concern for most of those who voted for Brexit is uncontrolled immigration. This is where they want to take back control.

Second, free movement of people to work is not  whatever Jean-Claude Juncker says  an indispensable condition for an effective single European market.

Third, there appears to be a realisation of this fact where it matters most: in the new French government of President Macron, now strengthened by his strong showing in yesterdays parliamentary election. As Jean Pisani-Ferry, a senior Macron adviser, said recently: There can be no doubt that the Leave campaign tapped into seams of genuine concern about the scale and speed of immigration. Free movement of workers is not indispensable for the smooth functioning of economic integration in goods, services and capital. He added, pointedly: We therefore contradict the current view of the EU president.

If Britain were allowed to restrict free movement of workers while remaining in the single market and customs union, parliament, not the EU, would decide our immigration policy. But there would continue be an unrestricted right to travel and study freely across the EU, and the rights of existing residents would be guaranteed.

Crucially, our trade and economic security would not be affected. And there would be no need for complex negotiations over trade and much else, which are virtually certain to result in acrimony and damage both to Britain and the rest of Europe.

Angela Merkel says the Brexit negotiations must begin in the next few days

What should Britains immigration policy then be? It depends on your view of the relationship between immigration and opportunities for British workers, particularly low-skilled young people. Some controls may be justified if they go hand-in-hand with reform of technical education, to equip the half of young people who do not go on to higher education with the necessary skills.

In respect of a sane Brexit, two initiatives are imperative. Parliament should indicate immediately, by means of a resolution of the House of Commons, our desire to stay in the single market and customs union until a Brexit treaty is agreed. And President Macron and Chancellor Angela Merkel  after the German election  should indicate a willingness for British immigration policy to become the responsibility of parliament while maintaining membership of the single market in other respects.

In this way, our Government would be responding to the instruction of the British people to leave the EU without undermining our trade and security in a way never intended by most Brexiteers. And our European allies would be reconstituting the European Economic Area to make it viable for the future, with an outer ring in which national sovereignty plays a greater role.

We are at a moment of national crisis, with echoes of the Thirties. Wise statesmanship is the only way to make Britain truly strong and stable.

Lord Adonis is a former Labour Cabinet minister
L ondons celebrity chippie  where diners have included Ed Sheeran, Lady Gaga and Denzel Washington  is to celebrate its 60th anniversary tomorrow with a fish, chips and fizz supper.

The Sea Shell in Lisson Grove, Marylebone, which opened in 1957, starts its day of celebration with a private cake-cutting ceremony followed by a community lunch for 100 for nearby Greenside Community Centre.

The main public event takes place in the afternoon and evening with a special menu to mark London Food Month and a complimentary glass of fizz with every reservation. The fish and chips will be served in grease proof paper printed with pages of the Evening Standard of June 13, 1957.

The restaurant was once praised as his favourite in London by revered Japanese chef Yoshihiro Murata, who described fish and chips as a kind of British tempura.

It was also the scene of a mushy pea fight between David Gest and Michael Jackson in the Eighties.
R ichard Bean had already written nearly twenty plays when he had one of the biggest mega-hits in theatre's recent history with One Man Two Guv'nors in 2011. (It starred James Corden, and transferred to the West End and Broadway before going on a national tour).

Big projects followed, including phone-hacking comedy Great Britain starring Billie Piper and a musical version of Made in Dagenham with Gemma Arterton.

More recently, his plays have premiered in Sheffield and Hull, and later this year his play Young Marx will be the first to open Nicholas Hytner's new Bridge Theatre. Before that, his acclaimed drama Kiss Me transfers to Trafalgar Studios after a successful run at Hampstead Theatre.

What was the first play to make you want to write plays?

The Changing Room by David Storey.

What was your background to becoming a playwright?

I was a stand-up comedian for six years, and also wrote gags for Radio 4 and a sketch show  Control Group Six with Clive Coleman and Andy Clifford.

Whats the hardest play youve ever written?

Made In Dagenham  The Musical.

Which brought you the most joy?

Harvest.

Which playwrights have influenced you the most?

David Storey, Eugene ONeill, David Mamet, Moliere and Will Eno.

What is your favourite line or scene from any play?

What a dump - from Whos Afraid Of Virginia Woolf.

Whats been the biggest surprise to you since youve had your writing performed by actors?

How much better it can get from first preview to opening night.

Whats been your biggest setback as a writer?

Having my stage version of The Count Of Monte Cristo dumped by the National after theyd starting selling tickets  quite right, it wasnt good enough.

And the hardest lesson youve had to learn?

That Im always wrong, and Richard Wilson is always right.

What do you think is the best thing about theatre? And the worst?

Best: you can hear the laughter, and you can feel the pin drop silence. I go to the cinema a lot but I rarely hear laughter, and you never hear pin drop silence.

Worst: pretentious, unintelligible, European style staged metaphors.

Whats your best piece of advice for writers who are starting out?

Write the play you want to see.

Are there any themes and stories you find yourself re-visiting with your plays?

How the hell do we live together.

Are you on Twitter? Do you find it a help or a hindrance as a writer?

I dont tweet, and never look at it, no. I dont do any social media, or Skype. I dont like phone calls so why would I Skype.

Kiss Me - in pictures 1 /8 Kiss Me - in pictures Kiss Me - in pictures Robert Day Kiss Me - in pictures Robert Day Kiss Me - in pictures Robert Day Kiss Me - in pictures Robert Day Kiss Me - in pictures Robert Day Kiss Me - in pictures Robert Day Kiss Me - in pictures Robert Day Kiss Me - in pictures Robert Day

Why did you write Kiss Me?

Kiss Me was inspired by a piece of journalism about a sperm donor service after the First World War. There was this guy, allegedly, who slept with thousands of women but the doctor who brokered the meetings told him he could only visit once. I developed that idea and added other parameters  he couldnt kiss on the lips, and he must not fall in love.

How do you spend opening night?

I go and support the actors, give them cards, presents, its their night.

Whats the best play youve seen this year?

Consent by Nina Raine.

Whats your favourite place to watch theatre in London?

The Dorfman at the National, though they shouldnt put IPA in the fridge.

What other art forms do you love when youre not in a theatre?

Art.

If the Prime Minister said they were abolishing the theatre tomorrow, what would you do?

Start a violent revolution.

Kiss Me is at Trafalgar Studios until July 8; atgtickets.com
T he boss of the Young Vic Theatre is stepping down after nearly two decades of producing hits such as Yerma and A View from the Bridge.

David Lan, who has run the Waterloo venue since 2000, said he wanted to slip away while it was enjoying its greatest success and strength.

His time as artistic director has seen stars such as Romola Garai, Billie Piper, Gillian Anderson and Mark Strong appear on its stage.

The recent revival of Yerma, about a young woman whose life is torn apart by her inability to have children, was a critical and commercial success and saw Piper named best actress at the Evening Standards Theatre Awards for her performance in the title role.

Mr Lan, who will step down later this year when a new artisic director is appointed, said: There is never an easy time to slip away but I wanted to leave at a time of our greatest strength and success. The Young Vic is now admired and emulated internationally as well as loved by our audience in Waterloo, in London and across the UK. Its the right moment for it to set off on a new journey and a new adventure.

South-African-born Mr Lan has helped transform the venue during his time in charge - he even drew up the architectural brief for the building during its two-year redevelopment and has brought new directing and writing talent such as Ivo van Hove and Katie Mitchell through its doors.

Notable successes include van Hoves award-winning revival of A View from the Bridge with Strong playing a brutal New York docker and Garai in a radical reworking of Shakespeares Measure for Measure.

Patrick McKenna, who chairs the Young Vic board, said it was hard to do justice to his transformative leadership.

He said: The fact that the Young Vic is currently one of the most successful independent producing theatres in the world is significantly down to Davids ability to attract the very best talent in world theatre to work here.

Thankfully, David will leave behind not only a legacy of outstanding artistic achievement, but also a great team of colleagues to take us forward under new leadership.

The Young Vics critical reputation has never been higher, and we fill the main house almost every night. We are one of the hottest venues in London. Im confident that this will help us to attract an exciting range of applications for the job of Artistic Director as we move on to the next phase in the life of the Young Vic.

Among the names expected to be in the frame for the role is Emma Rice - artistic director at the Young Vics near neighbour in south London Shakespeares Globe.

Ms Rice is leaving the Globe early next year after a very public row sparked by her less traditional approach to the playwrights works.
T here are several signs to spot when youre becoming a proper grown-up. You may, for example, start consuming cocktails outside the tight restrictions of happy hour. Or stop thinking that a bowl of Frosties and a can of Red Bull passes for a nutritious dinner.

My pre-emptive middle-aged moment came when I decided it was high time I invested in a proper pillow. Sleep  once the enemy of looming university deadlines and 5am drinking sessions  is now something I look forward to more than my wonky veg- box delivery.

And so, inevitably, the lumpy polyester sack of unknown age and origin had to go. In its place now sits Casper  a pillow so knockout it has its own name and which, in the interim of ordering a second one, has been the centre of a custodial battle between my partner and I.

It seems were not alone. According to a Google survey conducted by the brand, best known for its hybrid mattress, 41 per cent of Brits said they believe a perfect pillow is the key to a goodnights sleep. Thats compared to just 18 per cent, who put a good nights kip down to watching Netflix, and six per cent who preferred drifting off after a spot of bedtime yoga.

But finding the perfect place to rest your head isnt just about Hungarian goose down feather content and Egyptian cotton thread count  theres a plethora of products on the market focused on making your headspace a more restful place. Heres a formula to fortify your 40 winks.

The cool gang

The purpose of a pillow is simple  support your head while you sleep. If only shopping for one were as straightforward. From memory foam to duck down, soft to firm, pillow-nomics is a complicated business. Which is why Casper decided to take the one-fits-all approach when it made its pillow debut. The reasons why its the perfect option are numerous.

For one, it boasts a unique pillow-in-pillow design  one supportive inner and a soft and fluffy outer  which is created to suit and support all sleepers, regardless of whether they usually snooze on their back, their side or their stomach, or are used to bedding down on one pillow or a stack. For another, it contains nearly a billion shorter fibres which adapt to your movement and account for its satisfyingly springy support.

But the USP which is likely to turn most heads is its temperature-controlled technology and breathable percale weave, so lovers of the cool side of the pillow need never flip again. (60, casper.com)

Spray n snooze

Pillow sprays are nothing new. But UK-based beauty brand This Works has turned lavender-laced sleep spritzes into a specialist subject. Its new Super Sleep boasts two sprays  Deep Sleep, which is designed to deliver an intense burst of calming fragrance to help you nod off, and its Sleep Plus formula, developed to release bursts of scents as you toss and turn to help restless sleepers get a better nights kip. (15, thisworks.com)

This Works Sleep Spray

Get your beauty sleep

If youve never given much thought to your pillowcase beyond its ability to complement your Farrow & Ball bedroom walls, its time to wake up. Clean-sleep guru Gwyneth Paltrow recommends boosting your eight-hours-a-night with a metal-infused pillowcase. Not as uncomfortable as it sounds, her sleeping partner of choice  Iluminages Skin Rejuvenating pillowcase (50, iluminagebeauty.com)  is infused with fine strands of copper oxide and is clinically proven to help reduce the appearance of fine lines.

Illuminage's Skin Rejuvenating Pillowcase

The technology, which is also available in an eye mask, is even proven to keep working after 100 washes. LA A-list beauty brand Nurse Jamie has also launched a line of Age Delay Pillows (56, net-a-porter.com), shaped to support the face and neck and promises to maintain a more youthful-looking complexion thanks to its satin cover, which helps your skin retain its natural oils.

Follow Emma McCarthy on Twitter: @miss_mccarthy
A t breakfast, we can eat bagels from Poland and gulp down glasses of orange juice from Spain. Our feta and olive salads at lunch come from Greece, and the accompanying pots of pasta pesto from Italy. At tea time, we indulge in squares of the finest Swiss chocolate before we wind down after work with a German beer or a glass of French wine, and eat moules frites from Belgium for dinner.

Our taste buds regularly travel the length and breadth of Europe. Why cant we?

The answer is, we can!

Contrary to what recent events might suggest, we are not falling out of love with our friends across the Channel. Recent research from Kayak.co.uk shows that nine out of 10 Brits still want to visit other European countries, while 76 per cent of us feel that travel helps to break down barriers.

Europe is far more than our neighbour. It is our family, our friend, and its only right we get to know it. All of it. After all, theres no better way than travel to really experience the culture and wonders of other countries.

How you can get involved

If youve visited a European country and fallen head over heels in love with it, then its time to spread that feeling. Kayak.co.uk is inviting people from all over Europe to reveal their passion for their favourite country in a love letter video message  take a look at the below clip to see others from across the continent.

Kayak Loveletters

Why not declare your love for the city of love itself  Paris - or explain to Austria you were in a fashion abyss until you tried on that lederhosen? You could reveal to Romania you didnt know what true beauty was till you visited Transylvania or thank Croatia for demonstrating the true meaning of hospitality. Or maybe you want to praise Norway for showing you the Northern Lights or congratulate Amsterdam for hosting so many bicycles. Its up to you  simply set your imagination free...

KAYAK.co.uk is asking Brits to get involved by recording their own love letter and uploading it to their favourite social media channel using #loveurope

Find out more kayak.co.uk/loveletters
T he not-in-Kansas-anymore moment happens as soon as we land. It has taken a little over an hour to fly from Mexico City to Los Mochis in Mexicos northern Sinaloa state but its location, between the Gulf of California and the foothills of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range, leaves a dramatic first impression as we hug the spectacular blue of the coastline to arrive in a desert landscape scattered with sky-high cacti that wouldnt look out of place in a Tex Avery cartoon.

The jumping-off point for people heading to the beaches and surf resorts of Baja California, Los Mochis is also the first (or last, depending on your direction of travel) stop on the Copper Canyon Railway. One of the worlds great rail journeys, every morning one of two first-class trains leaves from Mexicos Pacific coast in the west, the other from Chihuahua in the east. Covering 665km over 14 hours, El Chepe passes over 36 bridges and through 87 tunnels as it climbs from sea level to more than 2,400m. The ticket can be booked in hop-on, hop-off segments, giving you days  or weeks  to explore the stops along the way.

Were here for nine days, starting in El Fuerte, one stop further along the route. Its desert climate means that in December, when we visit, its 30 degrees by day and fleece-jacket cold at night, making our stay a blend of poolside cervezas and warming open fires. We spend a happy two days navigating its Spanish-influenced avenues and plazas before we get our first glimpse of El Chepe as it steams into the station on day three.

Ensconced in the trains restaurant car, we see that against a backdrop of lush tropical forest, waterfalls and canyon walls so close we could almost reach out and touch them. The nomadic Ruramuri live scattered across the canyons and came to international attention when their feats of barefoot running  up to 100 miles in a single journey is not uncommon  became the subject of a bestselling book, Born to Run. Their presence punctuates our journey, the women in their colourful wraps and hand-embroidered skirts and shawls offering snacks, jewellery and handicrafts to passengers through the trains window every time we stop.

The Copper Canyon

The next few days pass in a breathtaking blur. Bahuichivo, our second stop, takes less than four hours to reach but rises so steeply in elevation that the 24 hours we spend there, hiking and horseriding amid the pine-filled valleys, riverways and waterfalls, feels not just a world but seasons away from the arid scrub and desert landscape that surrounds Los Mochis. But its when we stop at Divisadero to take in the view that a true sense of the canyons scale really registers. Deeper and wider than the Grand Canyon, the Copper Canyon is in fact a series of six major canyons and spans a total length of more than 59,500km. Shimmering red in the afternoon light, the view across Urique canyon is so vast it boggles the mind that this is just a hint of whats on offer.

From here, its on to Creel, one of the most popular jumping-off points for exploring the region, with waterfalls, hot springs, ancient churches and beautiful natural beauty within easy reach. Weve opted for a three-day visit to Batopilas, a former silver mining town deep at the bottom of the canyon floor. Once the worlds richest silver mines, it fell into disuse after the Mexican Revolution to be forgotten for the best part of 100 years.

Zubereitung von Tacos, Creel Mexiko / Alamy Stock Photo

To this day, Batopilas has a reputation as a place that time forgot. Even with new roads in place and vehicles up to the challenge, it takes around four hours to reach from Creel, with the final descent into Batopilas canyon itself a hair-raising run of switchback bends that offer spectacular views at every turn.

We spend two days exploring the town, marvelling at the deserted beauty of the Lost Cathedral, a leisurely 8km hike out of town, and the neo-Victorian kitsch of the Riverside Lodge  a delightfully eccentric boutique hotel that was once home to the towns wealthiest family in the days when bi-weekly mule trains weighed down with silver made the long, arduous journey from the mine to Chihuahua.

The town of Creel / Alamy Stock Photo

We start the journey back to Chihuahua ourselves the next morning, albeit a slightly less arduous version than that of the mining days. Several hours later we will pull into Chihuahua station and back to real life but all this  the magic of the canyons  will stay with us long after we board our flight back to Kansas the next day.

Details

For El Chepe schedules and ticket information, visit chepe.com.mx. Three-day private tours of Batopilas cost US$928 (720) for one to four people (amigos3.com).
A n Italian wine firm boss behind a 45 million tax scam is the target of an international manhunt.

Livio Mazzarello, 56, avoided paying tax by selling thousands of cases of fine wines under the counter for cash.

He was the sole shareholder at the Italian Wine Company in Neasden.

The five-year scam was rumbled when the firms importation records were found on a computer server in Italy in 2013.

Mazzarello, of Cricklewood, went on trial with company accountant Louisa Mbadugha, 59. He disappeared midway through, leaving a letter saying he had gone back to Italy to see his mother.

After an Old Bailey jury found both defendants guilty, Judge Philip Katz said a European Arrest Warrant would be issued.

There is no record of him leaving under the name Mazzarello, revealed prosecutor David Hughes.

Mazzarello was found guilty of fraudulent evasion of duty, fraudulent evasion of VAT and money laundering. Mbadugha, of Neasden, was convicted of fraudulent evasion of duty and fraudulent evasion of VAT.

Mr Hughes said the total loss to HM Revenue and Customs was as much as 45 million, between June 2008 and March 2013.

The tax returns did not reflect the vast quantities of wine that were being brought into this country undeclared and then sold under the counter, with no VAT, for cash, he added.

The firm said 9,997 six-bottle cases were delivered to its warehouse in 2008 but the true number was 287,000. This pattern was repeated in later years.

The firm provided its drivers with two sets of paperwork relating to different amounts. If stopped by Customs, the drivers would produce papers showing the lower amounts of wine, which was destined for UK stores and off-licences.

Sentencing will take place on June 30. Mbadugha was remanded in custody.

Judge Katz indicated that Mazzarello could be sentenced in his absence.
P olice investigating the London Bridge terror attack have arrested a 19-year-old man in east London.

The teen was held on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts after officers stormed an address in Barking on just before 10pm Sunday, Scotland Yard said.

Detectives from the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command were searching the address and another in Barking where a 28-year-old man was arrested on Saturday.

A total of seven men are being held in custody under terror laws after the June 3 atrocity that left eight dead and dozens wounded.

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

The arrests came as an Australian cafe worker described being stabbed in the throat in the attack as she cowered in the corner of her Borough Market workplace.

Australian Candice Hedge was working at Elliot's Cafe when terrorists Khuram Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba launched their van and knife rampage.

The 34-year-old told Australian TV reporters: "They were behind me so I couldn't see, one was standing basically beside me as I was huddled down in the corner. I did see one of our customers get stabbed by one of the guys and the one who was standing beside me was shouting."

Aftermath of London Bridge and Borough Market terrorist attack 1 /73 Aftermath of London Bridge and Borough Market terrorist attack New Security barriers along Westminster Bridge Alex Lentati Onlookers react near the scene of an attack close to London Bridge Reuters Floral tributes are laid near Borough Market in London following Saturday's terrorist attack PA Security barriers along Waterloo Bridge Alex Lentati Police on patrol London Bridge and Southwark Street Jeremy Selwyn The scene where the terrorists van stopped at the southern end of London Bridge and Southwark Street Jeremy Selwyn A woman places flowers on a floral tribute in the London Bridge area AP Police activity on Ripple Road in east London, where officers have conducted raids after Saturday's deadly terror attack PA New security barriers have been put up along Westminster Bridge Alex Lentati People look at flowers at a pedestrian crossing on the south side of London Bridge AFP/Getty Images Police at London Bridge and Southwark Street Jeremy Selwyn Police on patrol London Bridge and Southwark Street Jeremy Selwyn Flowers at London Bridge and Southwark Street Jeremy Selwyn Flowers at London Bridge and Southwark Street Jeremy Selwyn Police on patrol London Bridge Jeremy Selwyn Police on patrol London Bridge and Southwark Street Jeremy Selwyn Police activity on Ripple Road in east London PA New security barriers have been put up along Westminster Bridge Evening Standard Jeremy Selwyn View of London Bridge following the terror attack Jeremy Selwyn Armed police Jeremy Selwyn A person (right) is detained by police at Elizabeth Fry flats in Barking, east London, which officer raided following the terror attack on London Bridge Furqan Nabi/PA A female police officer carries flowers from a member of the public to the scene of last night's terrorist attack at London Bridge Getty Images The van used by three attackers which was driven onto London Bridge, striking pedestrian, before they went on a stabbing rampage in nearby Borough Market PA A person is detained by police in Barking, east London following the terror attack on London Bridge Splash News Forensic officers work on London Bridge after last night's a terrorist attack Getty Images Police officers outside a property in East Ham which has been raided by police Getty Images Police activity on Barking Road in East Ham, east London @JrKamrulJr/PA A crowd gathers behind a police cordon on Barking Road in East Ham, east London, where there was a heavy police presence following last night's terrorist incident at London Bridge PA Armed police descend an escalator at the foot of the Shard outside London Bridge station PA Police officers and emergency response vehicles are seen on the street outside Borough Market on the morning after a terror attack on London Bridge and the Borough area AFP/Getty Images A forensic officer walks over London Bridge after last night's terrorist attack Getty Images View of London Bridge following the terror attack Jeremy Selwyn A police officer escorts members of the public, wrapped in foil blankets, towards The Shard in London AFP/Getty Images A bouquet of flowers stands by the police cordon next to London Bridge in London AFP/Getty Images A police officer creates a cordon on Kings Road in Barking, as police continue their investigations following the June 3 terror attacks AFP/Getty Images Police raid flats in Barking Armed officers: Police raid flats in Barking 'over London Bridge terror attack' @ofrenium/Twitter Members of the public watch as police work on Kings Road in Barking AFP/Getty Images Police raid flats in Barking The Union flag is flown at half mast in Downing Street, London PA Prime Minister Theresa May makes a statement in Downing Street after chairing a meeting of the Government's emergency Cobra committee following last night's terrorist incident in London PA A sign at Walthamstow tube station in east London following last night's terrorist incident at London Bridge PA Police outside a raided property in East Ham Getty Images Police officers stand outside a property which was raided by officers in Barking Road, east London Reuters Armed police Jeremy Selwyn Armed police Jeremy Selwyn Police officers patrol the River Thames by boat, close to London Bridge AFP/Getty Images Counter terrorism officers march near the scene of last night's London Bridge terrorist attack Getty Images Armed police Jeremy Selwyn Armed police and emergency services outside Borough Market, London, following last night's terrorist incidents PA Police forensic officers work on London Bridge in London, as police continue their investigations following the terror attack AFP/Getty Images Police on Southwark Bridge Road, London, near the scene of last night's terrorist incidents in London Bridge and Borough Market PA Police forensic officers on London Bridge following last night's terrorist incident PA The Union flag flies at half mast in Whitehall PA

Ms Hedge said it was "one quick go and that was it. I was vomiting blood".

Describing her horror as blood gushed from the wound, she told the Sunday Night progamme: "I was thinking, I don't want to die."

On Sunday police released images of the terrorists' blood-spattered fake suicide belts.

Terror: A fake suicide belt worn by the attackers / Met Police

The phoney bombs were simply disposable water bottles wrapped in silver and black tape and attached to leather belts, although they were designed to create "maximum fear", police said.

Metropolitan Police Commander Dean Haydon praised the bravery of the police officers and members of public who tackled the three - despite the possibility they could have been killed in an explosion.

Horror attack: Furniture and gravel was used to disguise the plot / PA

One week on from the atrocity, revellers returned to the Borough Market area in a show of defiance, although the market is expected to remain closed into this week.

On Sunday Southwark Cathedral, which had remained shut since it was reportedly stormed by armed police during the attack, reopened.

Detectives have made 21 arrests as part of the probe.

Twelve people arrested in the initial stages were released without charge.

A 27-year-old arrested under the Terrorism Act on Tuesday was also released without charge on Saturday.

A man arrested on suspicion of drugs and firearms offences in connection with the investigation was bailed until a date in late June.
T his is the moment thieves were caught on CCTV stealing a safe containing 150,000 worth of jewellery from an affluent home in London's West End.

In the footage, two of the suspects can be seen struggling to haul the safe out through the building's front door before making off with it in the back of a Renault Scenic.

They ransacked the Marylebone property, stealing the heavy safe from a cupboard in the master bedroom as part of the raid on December 30.

CCTV images capture the three men in the communal entrance to the Welbeck Street property before dragging the stolen goods to a car and speeding off.

Two of the men were seen struggling to remove the safe from the home / Metropolitan Police

At about 6.45pm, Scotland Yard said the three men parked a Renault Scenic on the nearby Bentinck Street before two of them made their way to the house

The third man got out of the vehicle soon after, appearing to inspect the front passenger wheel before driving in the direction of Welbeck Street at about 8pm  just before the theft.

Detectives are appealing for witnesses or anyone who may know the men to contact police.

Suspect: Police are trying to trace this man in connection to the theft / Metropolitan Police

The first suspect is described as 35-40, of slim build, with a black moustache. He was wearing a grey hat, dark jacket and blue gloves.

Suspect two is described as the same age, of larger build. He was wearing a blue hat with a distinctive white bobble and a dark jacket.

This man is one of three officers are hunting after the incident

The third man is approximately 30-35, of slim build. He was wearing a grey cap, with a blue scarf and grey or khaki hoody.

Detective Constable Stephen Bourne, of Westminsters Serious Crime Team, said: Burglary is a crime that can have a huge impact on a persons life. We are asking the public to help us identify these three men so we can bring them to justice.

Anyone with information should contact police via 101 or tweet @MetCC - alternatively they can pass information anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
C harlie Gards mother has shared a powerful photo of her terminally ill baby son with his eyes open amid an ongoing legal battle to take him to the US for treatment.

Parents Connie Yates and Chris Gard want their 10-month-old son, who suffers from a rare genetic condition and has brain damage, to undergo a therapy trial in America.

Strasbourg judges have told doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital to continue providing life-support treatment to Charlie until midnight on Tuesday to give them time to examine papers filed by his parents' lawyers.

The High Court, which ruled against the trip in April, had heard from doctors that his brain is failing to learn to see and this helped show he should be removed from life support and allowed to die with dignity.

Treatment: Charlie and his parents / PA

But Ms Yates, from Bedfont, posted the emotional photo on Facebook, writing: A picture speaks a thousand words.

She said this was proof he should be allowed to make the trip.

Three Court of Appeal judges upheld the High Courts ruling in May and three Supreme Court justices on Thursday dismissed a further challenge by the couple after a hearing in London.

Ms Yates screamed as Supreme Court justices announced their decision.

Charlie, who was born on August 4 last year, has a form of mitochondrial disease, a condition which causes progressive muscle weakness and brain damage.

Specialists in the US have offered an experimental therapy called nucleoside.

Charlie's parents, who are in their 30s, have appealed for money on a GoFundMe page to cover doctors' bills in America. They reached a 1.2 million target before the High Court trial and well-wishers have continued to donate.
B orough Market is to reopen on Wednesday with the ringing of a bell and a minutes silence to remember the victims killed in the London Bridge terror attack.

Market traders, whose stalls have been shut since the atrocity on June 3, will pause for a minute of remembrance to pay tribute to the victims shortly before the market officially reopens.

A sea of flowers and messages of solidarity have been left at the south end of London Bridge in tribute to victims of the terror attack.

Notes stuck to the wall at Borough Market, above, bear messages such as Not afraid, love you London.

Closed off: Borough Market where the attackers targeted on June 3. / AFP/Getty Images

Eight people were killed and dozens more injured after three attackers ploughed a van into pedestrians on London Bridge before stabbing people in and around bars outside popular Borough Market nightspots.

Borough Market has since been shut and described as a ghost town but shoppers are set to return on Wednesday at 10am.

Borough Market & London Bridge terror attack tributes - In pictures 1 /25 Borough Market & London Bridge terror attack tributes - In pictures Flowers and post it notes on the wall by London Bridge Jeremy Selwyn Floral tributes and messages to those killed and injured after the London Bridge terror attack left at London Bridge Nigel Howard A message of "love not hate" posted among the tributes Jeremy Selwyn Thousands of people wrote messages to the victims Jeremy Selwyn Red roses laid out on London Bridge after the terror attack Jeremy Selwyn More flowers at Monument in remembrance of victims Jeremy Selwyn Floral tributes and messages to those killed and injured after the London Bridge terror attack left at London Bridge Nigel Howard A woman sticks a post-it note to the wall of messages Nigel Howard People from all over the world left messages of strength and support after the attack Jeremy Selwyn Onlookers take photos of the floral tributes Nigel Howard It comes as the market gears up to reopen Nigel Howard The Borough Market community left this message of strength Nigel Howard A woman takes a photo of the messages left at the scene Nigel Howard One person Rob wrote: They did not dent our democracy Nigel Howard The sea of flowers by London Bridge Jeremy Selwyn Flowers and post it notes on the wall by London Bridge Jeremy Selwyn Flowers and post it notes on the wall by London Bridge Jeremy Selwyn Floral tributes and messages to those killed and injured after the London Bridge terror attack left at London Bridge Nigel Howard A giant blue screen closes an entrance to Borough Market Jeremy Selwyn

Mr Hyslop said: "While the victims of last week's terror attack will never be forgotten, and while the trauma experienced by this community will weigh heavily for a long time to come, it is essential for the well-being of everyone associated with Borough Market that we return to at least a semblance of normality as soon as we can.

Well-wishers: Pedestrians stop to look at floral tributes. / AFP/Getty Images

"On Wednesday the bell will ring, the stalls will open, customers will start to arrive and the healing process will begin."

Opening hours are to be extended over the next two weeks, with the market welcoming shoppers on Sunday, June 18 and Sunday, June 25 to help businesses affected by the attack.

Tributes: Hundreds of messages have been left at the site of the terror attack. / AFP/Getty Images

A trader support fund has also been set up to help those who have suffered financially due to the market's closure.

Mr Hyslop said that "every person" visiting the market would "be making a difference" and helping to put "a buzz back into the atmosphere".

He said: "The past days have been difficult for the market community, but we have been overwhelmed by the love, support and goodwill that have been shown by customers and the general public alike.

"If people would like to offer support and help for our traders, we ask that they visit the market to buy food and drink not just on Wednesday, but in the weeks and months to come.

"We want everyone to celebrate the market's return to its long-established place as a vibrant hub for the people of London and beyond."

A minute's silence for the eight people killed and dozens injured will be held at 9.30am on Wednesday before the market's official reopening at 10am.

Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, today made a surprise visit to King's College Hospital to meet some of those injured.

Additional reporting by Press Association.
A north London carer who was paid 750 a week to care for an elderly man has been jailed after leaving him emaciated, dehydrated and delirious.

The victim, a vulnerable 90-year-old man, was found in a state of extreme neglect by police who visited his Enfield home in September 2015.

His carer, Mairead Tansley, 49, was being paid 3,000 a month through standing orders from the victims bank account to care for him  but police said she instead took advantage of his fragile state.

Tansley, who was from Enfield, also hoarded her belongings in the victim's house, cluttering several rooms with possessions which would not fit in her own home.

Hoarder: Mairead Tansley stored her belongings in the victim's house. / Met Police

Officers were first alerted to what was happening after the victims bank noticed Tansley had been withdrawing cash from the victims bank account.

When police searched the victims home they found Tansley  who was a non-registered carer  had filled rooms of the victims house with her personal belongings.

Among the belongings hoarded at the victims house were womens clothes and handbags and 50,000 in cash.

In an interview with police, Tansley claimed she suffered with obsessive compulsive disorder and said her home was full of hoarded items.

She added that she had been storing her possessions at the victim's house because she had run out of space.

Tansley, of Tynemouth Drive in Enfield, was jailed for nine months at Wood Green Crown Court after pleading guilty to neglect.

She was also charged with theft and fraud but those charges will lie on file.

Met DC Leigh Moss, who investigated the case, said: The victim in this case was vulnerable in every sense.

Tansley was employed to meet the victim's care needs, but instead took advantage of his fragile state and neglected even his most basic needs completely."

"I hope that the sentence handed down today will bring a measure of comfort to the victim's family."

The victim died in February last year, just four months after being discovered in a neglected state.
A chicken shop in north London was slapped with hefty fines for its horrific hygiene failings after inspectors found live cockroaches in its kitchen.

The owner of Poppin Chicken, in Enfield, ignored warnings about the shops cleanliness dating back to 2012, with council workers finding a cockroach infestation, flies, and cheese being stored at dangerous temperatures.

Inspectors also spotted a live cockroach funning across the food preparation area when they visited in August last year.

Director Sajikanth Thananayagam agreed to close the shop due to the imminent risk to the publics health.

Cockroaches found in the Poppin Chicken kitchen (Enfield Council) / Enfiled Council

Poppin Chicken and Mr Thananayagam were also ordered to pay a total of 5,239.11 at a hearing at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court on Thursday, May 26.

Cllr Daniel Anderson said: It is extremely worrying when workers in a takeaway restaurant cant see what is wrong with a live cockroach crawling across a food preparation area and it was only right that this establishment was closed and prosecuted for some quite horrific hygiene failings.

We have a duty to build strong communities and protect the public from harm and will therefore not hesitate in taking firm action against any business that cant be bothered to adhere to the most basic hygiene standards.

It is not acceptable by any standards to expose diners to the risk of food poisoning and this sentence sends out a clear message that such behaviour will not be tolerated.

Poppin Chicken was fined 1,500, ordered to pay costs of 1,354 and a victim surcharge of 150 while Mr Thananayagam was fined 800, ordered to pay costs of 1,354 and an 80 victim surcharge.

The takeaway was ordered to close and reopened three days later when a food safety officer re-inspected the premises and declared himself happy with the improvements made.
T he Duchess of Cambridge paid a surprise visit to meet the victims of the London Bridge terror attack as they are recovering in hospital.

Kate, 35, arrived at Kings College Hospital in Denmark Hill, south-east London, shortly before 2pm on Monday.

During the visit which was not publicised in advance, she also met with doctors and medical staff who helped to treat victims injured in the atrocity.

The Duchess was met by Nick Moberly, the hospitals Chief Executive and Medical Director Professor Julia Wendon, who showed her around the hospital's emergency department and trauma wards.

Kate greets staff at King's College Hospital who helped treated victims injured in the terror attack / @KingsCollegeNHS

Kate spoke to six patients who are still being treated and praised the efforts of doctors and nurses who were working on the night of the attack, saying: "Well done."

The Duchess of Cambridge visit King's College Hospital, Denmark Hilll / @KingsCollegeNHS

Kings College Hospital was one of two hospitals to receive the bulk of the casualties following the terror attack on Saturday, June 3 which left eight people dead and 48 injured.

In total, 14 people were admitted to the hospital, predominantly suffering from stab wounds.

The Duchess of Cambridge meets staff from the Emergency Department who were on duty on the night of the terror attack / @KingsCollegeNHS

The Duchess of Cambridge was overheard asking a female staff member if she had received enough emotional support to help her deal with the aftermath of the atrocity.

She replied: "We look after each other."

Speaking about the night of the attack, head of nursing Lynne Watkins-Hulme told the Duchess of Cambridge: "What was really noticeable on Saturday night was the amount of female patients that were involved.

Kate discusses psychological support for those affected by the attack with medical experts at the hospital / @KingsCollegeNHS

"That was quite traumatic for the staff. We are not used to so many females being injured."

She added: "We are used to seeing people who are stabbed.

"But to have six women who were stabbed, multiple times - it was just the amount of people - that was upsetting."

The Duchess of Cambridge arrives at King's College Hospital (Dominic Lipinski/PA ) / Dominic Lipinski/PA

Many of the staff who tended to patients after the London Bridge atrocity were also working on March 22 when Khalid Masood killed five people in an attack on Westminster Bridge.

Kate said: "To go through this sort of event twice, it is quite unprecedented.

"What sort of training do you go through?"

She also spoke to emergency consultant Malcolm Tunnicliff, who had been on his way home from playing cricket when he heard news of the incident and made his way to the hospital.

He said: "We are very, very used to dealing with stabbings in this area.

"We are one of the busiest hospitals in western Europe for dealing with penetrating injuries, but it was the volume and it is usually young men that stab each other, and there were quite a lot of ladies who were stabbed.

"We got through a lot of kit in an hour and a half. Probably what we go through in a week."

The Duchess says goodbye to the Kings College NHS team

Asked what he took from the Duchess visiting, Dr Tunnicliff said: "The dedication of all the staff, and actually how resilient they are and they are very proud to work for King's, and the NHS for that matter.

"It is nice when you have got someone like the Duchess of Cambridge who comes along. It was only four or five weeks ago Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall came along, and it gives the patients a lift, it gives the staff a lift that they're being recognised.

"And actually, all staff in the NHS want these days is just to be recognised for what they do, because they get knocked for so much.

"Someone like that coming along and recognising that, it is a massive lift."

A series of tweets posted on the hospitals official account said: Following last week's London Bridge attack, we're pleased to welcome HRH The Duchess of Cambridge to King's today.

HRH is meeting staff from our Emergency Department who were on shift during the London Bridge attacks.

HRH is meeting staff on one of our trauma wards, as well as patients who are being treated at King's after being injured at London Bridge.

It was revealed on Friday by the Standard that every victim of the attack who made it to hospital has survived their injuries.

Terrorists Khuram Butt, 27, Rachid Redouane, 30 and Youssef Zaghba, 22, carried out the attack by ploughing into pedestrians with a rented van on London Bridge before stabbing dozens of people in Borough Market.
T his is the first picture of a motorcyclist who was killed in a crash with a traffic island in south-east London.

Ivan Ivanov, 38, died in hospital after the collision on Blackheath Hill during the morning rush hour.

Police, paramedics and firefighters were called to the scene of the crash at about 7.20am on June 1.

Mr Ivanov was rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead hours later at 1.25pm.

Scotland Yard released a photo of Mr Ivanov on Monday afternoon as officers appealed for witnesses to the crash to come forward.

Police at the scene of the crash on June 1 / Lewisham MPS

His next of kin have been informed and a post-mortem and formal identification will take place in due course.

No arrests have been made.

Officers from the Met's Serious Collision Investigation Unit (SCIU) are investigating.

Anyone with information is asked to call the SCIU at Catford on 020 8285 1574 or tweet @MetCC or to remain anonymous, call Crimestoppers via 0800 555 111 or visit www.crimestoppers-uk.org.
T here is always more than one version of a Boris Johnson column. The Foreign Secretary and former Mayors words are splashed all over the front page of todays Sun, telling those plotting against Theresa May to get a grip.

But just as his Telegraph column backing Brexit last year had a Remain-loving counterpart, so Boriss effort for Sun came in multiple forms.

The first version, hastily edited online and changed in time for the print edition, played down Labours success, saying: Yes, he [Corbyn] picked up Kensington  but then he also lost Mansfield.

He continued: I am delighted to see that we Tories have just won Clwyd South  the seat where I was first defeated in the great Blair landslide of 1997.

But you wont read this in the print version  because its not true, Kadhim Shubber, blogger for FT Aplhaville, spotted it first.

Labour MP Susan Elan Jones upped her majority to 4,356  not quite the 14,000-vote margin by which Boris lost 20 years ago but certainly no Conservative gain. Jones herself was unimpressed. Memo to Boris Johnson: you may be delighted to see the Tories have won Clwyd South  slight factual problem, you didnt, she tweeted. Im not letting Boris Johnson get away with the tripe about Tories winning Clwyd South!

But Theresa May may be glad that a correction is the only other version of the column doing the rounds. The published version has that flash of duplicity Boris showed in his two EU referendum pieces. Yes, it was a very disappointing night for the Conservatives, he wrote, and yes, it is easy now to see the campaign did not go well, to put it mildly.

Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.

--

Abandon the coup, Labourites. Over the weekend, many of the Labour MPs who had been snivelling about Jeremy Corbyns leadership had a change of heart. Especially Yvette Cooper. The Londoner hears that the MP for Normanton had approached various colleagues and employees before the results, enlisting them for a post-election leadership bid. She has now had to inform them politely that their services will not be required.

Watch Tarzan swing back into action

Moderate ministers are said to be talking to Brussels. Is Michael Heseltine is about to swing into action? Speaking on The Andrew Marr Show, he proposed that the right leader could negotiate with Merkel and Macron to keep us within the European family but deal with the issue of immigration. On Sky, he told Sophy Ridge his plan for excluding student numbers, looking at non-EU migration, and accepting free movement with conditions.

Heseltine would certainly be a good man for the job: as a Europhile, the Europeans will take him seriously. As someone sacked from five jobs simultaneously by May, hes got nothing to lose. And if Treeza can forgive one Michael, surely she can forgive another?

Quote of the Day

The people are the enemy of the people

Lawyer David Allen Greens new slogan, in case you were wondering who is to blame

Politics and art mix at the Golborne Gallery

Dave Benett/Getty Images

The Londoner was at the Golborne Gallery on Saturday for The Cedar House, a new exhibition from Christabel MacGreevy. Curator Antonia Marsh and model Edie Campbell were there, with Campbell thrilled at the election results. Wearing a Che Guevara-esque beret from the Itchy Patchy Scratchy brand she started with MacGreevy, Edie told us that shed converted her father, Old Etonian Roddy. I even persuaded my dad to vote Labour for the first time in about 30 years, she said. So smug! As another guest pointed out, riding a horse doesnt necessarily make you a toff. Viva la revolucion!

--

GC Images

Congrats to Ed Balls, former MP and Strictly star, for his new paper for Harvard University. More than 80 pages long and titled Making Brexit Work For British Businesses, its quite the group effort: there are three co-authors. Balls also credits MPs who made introductions to businesses in their constituencies  Rachel Reeves, Michael Gove and Iain Duncan Smith (spelled Ian by Ed  oops!) and, of course, Ballss wife Yvette Cooper.

Join the breakfast club

Is Victoria Borwick hiding under her duvet? This morning, when The Londoner knocked on her door at 8.30am to see how she was after the shock loss of her Kensington seat, we were surprised to see her copy of the Daily Mail jammed in her letterbox and fresh milk still in its holder on the doorstep.

It didnt look like anyone was home but as we were walking away her husband, Lord Borwick, answered the door in his pyjamas. You need to go through the proper channels for an interview, you cant just show up at the door at this hour of the morning, he thundered when The Londoner asked after her. The writing was on the wall for Borwick after she was heckled for her performance at the Kensington hustings before the vote. Her supporters were apoplectic that their own MP didnt show up for a second hustings or during the election night count  Labours Emma Dent Coad won by 20 votes after the third recount.

In her speech, Borwick wished Dent Coad well but added: Tomorrow I start the fight back for Kensington and the Conservatives. Early bird?

Tweet of the day

So, contrary to manifesto, Theresa May makes no change to Fox or Hunt.

BBC Parliament reporter Esther Webber, observing yesterdays Cabinet reshuffle.

Walk this way for Stella

Dave Benett/Getty Images for Ste

Aerosmiths Steve Tyler was in good spirits on Saturday, swinging from a hat stand at Ye Old Mitre in Holborn. But this was no average night down the pub: the boozer was taken over by Stella McCartney for the launch of her AW17 collection. We hope well be seeing Tylers boilersuit on the catwalk soon.

Appointment of the day: Tom Wilson, a staffer for MP Chuka Umunna, points out that Michael Goves new role means that he is, technically in charge of fields of wheat. Naughty.
B usiness leaders today queued up to demand a soft Brexit that does not risk inflicting huge damage on the British economy following last weeks election disaster for Theresa May.

Captains of industry and City chiefs said unfettered trade access to the huge markets of the European Union, as well as only minimal restrictions on immigration, must be essential aims of the negotiations.

James Bardrick, UK head of the Citigroup banking empire, said: The UK is one of the worlds key global trading hubs with leadership in finance and related services. We must be open to the world and have the best access to it. That must include that big bit called Europe.

Catherine McGuinness, who chairs the City of London Corporations powerful policy committee, told BBCs Breakfast show any Brexit deal would need to include full two-way access to the markets of Europe as well two -way movement in people.

Business leaders said Londons hospitality, construction and technology industries were particularly vulnerable to a pulling up the draw bridge conclusion to the Brexit talks because of their overwhelming dependence on European labour and skills.

General Election Night 2017 - In pictures 1 /41 General Election Night 2017 - In pictures Theresa May waiting in Maidenhead for the result to be announced Alastair Grant/AP Labour leaders Jeremy Corbyn at the Election count in Islington Jeremy Selwyn Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey, Independent candidate Mr Fishfinger and Labour candidate Eli Aldridge following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Dave Thompson/Getty Images Armed police outside the home of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in north London Yui Mok/PA Vince Cable pictured with his wife Rachel, is elected once again in Twickenham after losing his seat in 2015 Alex Lentati Nick Clegg loses his Sheffield Hallam seat and is no longer an MP Sky News Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon reacts as her party loses their seat at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, Robert Parry/EPA Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn, right, tries to high-five with Labour's Emily Thornberry after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London Frank Augstein/AP Ballot boxes are run in during the count at the Silksworth Community Pool, Tennis and Wellness Centre as the general election count begins Ian Forsyth/Getty Images Boris Johnson at the Brunel Indoor Athletic Centre for the declaration of his Uxbridge and South Ruislip Constituency which he retained Rex Features Zac Goldsmith with his mother Lady Annabel Goldsmith Alex Lentati Close call for Zac Goldsmith as a recount is called for Richmond Park Alex Lentati Labour supporters react as Paul Sweeney (not pictured) is announced as the new MP for Glasgow North East for the British Parliamentary Elections at the Emirates Arena EPA UKIP leader Paul Nuttall at the Peter Paine Performance Centre in Boston during the counting Joe Giddens/PA Labour's Rupa Huq celebrates with her sister, TV presenter Konnie Huq, after increasing her majority from 274 to 13,807 in Ealing Central and Acton Matt Writtle Displays show the current rate of the British pound against the Japanese yen and a news program reporting on the British general election at a foreign money brokerage in Tokyo Roru Yamanaka/AFP/Getty Images Theresa May leaving CCHQ this morning Jeremy Selwyn Police watch as counting staff sort through ballots at a counting centre in Islington, London Niklas Halle'n/AFP/Getty Images Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd's speaks after retaining her seat in Hastings Kevin Coombs/Reuters Prime Minister Theresa May's chief of staff Nick Timothy and Joint-chief of staff Fiona Hill leave Conservative Party HQ in Westminster Rick Findler/PA Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London. Alex Salmond loses his seat Peter Nicholls/Reuters Chuka Umunna kisses with his wife, Alice Sullivan at the London Borough of Lambeth UK Parliamentary Elections Lucy Young Prime Minister Theresa May waits with other candidates for the results to be declared at the count centre in Maidenhead Geoff Cadick/AFP/Getty Images Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson at Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh Jane Barlow/PA Vote counters wait for Ballot boxes to arrive at the Peter Paine Performance Centre where the vote count for the constituency of Boston and Skegness Getty Images Kate Hoey who retained her Vauxhall seat at the London Borough of Lambeth Lucy Young Conservative's Gavin Barwell loses his seat to Labour at Croydon Central Chris Gorman Labour's Sarah Jones takes the Conservative seat of Croydon Chris Gorman DUP leader Arlene Foster and deputy leader Nigel Dodds cheer as Emma Little Pengelly is elected to the South Belfast constituency at the Titanic exhibition centre in Belfast Niall Carson/PA Exit poll results from Britain's general election are projected on to the BBC's Broadcasting House, London Jeff Overs/BBC The front door of 10 Downing Street in Westminster, London, as votes are being counted in the 2017 General Election Rick Findler/PA

Ufi Ibrahim, chief executive of the British Hospitality Association, which represents thousands of restaurants bars and hotels in London, said: The softer the Brexit on immigration the better. We want a Brexit that is not going to create a labour squeeze on our industry, particularly in London.

I think the reality is that some form of controlled movement of people is inevitable, we understand that. But a Government that understands the impact of those restrictions on business is also very important. For example if current permit conditions are applied to EU workers and enforced, 96 per cent of our EU workforce would be ineligible.

Businesses would be required to advertise posts for 90 days for applicants from within the UK. The nature of our jobs does not allow us time to go through the process. If you need a chef in your kitchen you cant go through a three-month process. A restaurant without a chef has to close.

It was reported that Mrs May is to scrap key manifesto pledges in a bid to avoid civil war within her party / Rex

The level of political uncertainty underlines the need for independent objective recommendations based on evidence from bodies such as the Migration Advisory Committee to inform policy.

A recent report by the BHA found that more than 75 per cent of London waiters and waitresses, almost a quarter of chefs and 37 per cent of housekeeping staff were EU nationals.

The construction and property sector also called for a soft deal that did not worsen the squeeze on labour and cripple the drive to build more homes.

Brexit Secretary David Davis today signalled that discussions on Brexit may not start next Monday as expected / PA

One of Londons most respected developers, Sir Stuart Lipton, said: If the UK is to avoid an economic downturn, London needs to continue to attract the most skilled workforce and be seen by the rest of the world as the dynamic leader. We have the most skilled people from digirati to the arts, from algorithm writers to a world-wide leadership in law, finance and advice and even electronic game makers  we do it all.

London must be allowed to continue its role as the top-ranking world financial centre... We produce more than 20 per cent of GDP which can grow further  given a continuing European relationship. Without this growth we wont be able to tackle our problems of poor and inadequate housing, health environment and quality of life.

David Sleath, chief executive of warehouse developer Segro and boss of the British Property Federation, said: Keeping Britain open for business, maintaining the confidence of businesses/capital to invest and ensuring we have access to the talent we need must be key priorities in the Brexit negotiations.

A hard-hitting report by Tech London Advocates, an independent network of about 5,000 experts, warned that pushing net migration below 100,000 would restrict access to much-needed talent.
B usiness chiefs have urged politicians to calm markets and protect the economy in the wake of a shock general election result.

Experts have called on MPs to "get their house in order" and form a functioning government after Theresa May was forced to call on the DUP to remain in power following a hugely disappointing night for her party.

Dr Adam Marshall, director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said the result came as business was already feeling pressure.

"The electorate's split decision generates further uncertainty for business communities, who are already grappling with currency fluctuations, rising costs, and the potential impacts of Brexit, he warned.

Firms had done their best to screen out political noise, he said, but the formation of a "workable administration ... must be the immediate priority.

Stephen Martin, director-general of the Institute of Directors, said businesses had been thrown into "political limbo", with crucial Brexit negotiations due to begin in days and firms already facing "significant domestic challenges".

"The pound has predictably fallen on the news of a hung parliament, but the majority of British business will be waiting to see whether a stable government can be formed in short order, he said.

He warned that the Tories no longer had a pass on its election pledges, such as the hard Brexit Mrs May had planned.

"If the Conservatives govern as a minority, they must recognise that they have not earned a mandate to implement their manifesto in full," he said.

Carolyn Fairbairn of the Confederation of British Industry / PA

Meanwhile Carolyn Fairbairn, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry, called on politicians to act responsibly.

Concerns have mounted about the business impact of political uncertainty as the pound plummeted following Thursday's vote.

The IoD said a snap poll of its 700 members showed confidence had plunged in the wake of the election, with 65 per cent believing that uncertainty over the make-up of the Government is "a significant concern" for the UK economy.
S inn Fein leader Gerry Adams has blasted any deal between the DUP and Conservative Party, saying an alliance would lead to a coalition of chaos.

Mr Adams expressed worry that a deal could undercut the process of restoring the government in Northern Ireland and would put the Good Friday Agreement at risk.

The DUP is set to prop up the Conservative Party in a new British Government, with Theresa May having failed to win a majority in last weeks General Election.

Political parties in Northern Ireland are currently working to restore the executive government after it broke down in January, with Mr Adams saying he would oppose any coalition that endangered the process.

Gerry Adams was joined by Sinn Fein party members as he addressed the media / REUTERS

Speaking at a press conference in Belfast, he said: I would hardly call that sort of arrangement between the DUP and the English Tories stable.

Thats the very least it is  its a coalition of chaos for the times ahead.

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny has sought assurances from Mrs May that nothing should happen to endanger the Good Friday Agreement.

The DUP is the only major political party in the Northern Ireland to oppose the agreement, which led to the creation of the Northern Irish government.

Partnership: the DUP's leader Arlene Foster with Theresa May / PA

The party won 10 MPs in the General Election, who could prove pivotal in major political decisions, having already agreed a deal in principle with the Tories.

The Queens Speech was today delayed while talks between the two parties take place.

Mr Adams said: The issues are very very clear cut, they are all rights issues. Theyre all the subject of previous agreements that all the partys signed up to.

He added: Were looking forward especially to the meeting with the DUP and the DUP leader. They too have had a good election and we congratulate them on that.

I know their focus is on whats happening in London and its very important to say that we dont believe that any deal between the DUP here and the English Tories will be good for the people here.

Any deal which undercuts in any way the process here or the Good Friday and other agreements is one that has to be opposed by progressives.

The Conservative Party has come under criticism for aligning with the socially hardline DUP, which has a right-wing stance on issues such gay rights and abortion.

On Saturday, hundreds of anti-DUP protesters marched on Downing Street against the "hateful" alliance between Mrs May and the DUP.

Mr Adams added: Its an interesting time in both British politics and in Irish politics. Remember the train coming down the track is Brexit and we all of us need to be match fit to face up to the responsibilities there.
J eremy Corbyn is expected to delay any possible reshuffling of the shadow cabinet to keep the focus of British politics fixed firmly on the Conservatives for now.

After the snap General Election that saw her Commons majority wiped out, the spotlight remained firmly on Theresa May as she made changes to her team.

And it appears the Labour party is in no rush to reshuffle the pack, with sources suggesting they want keep pressure on the Mrs May - whose leadership has come in to question.

Asked about when the party would make amendments, a Labour source told the Guardian: "Its not the priority to be thinking about these things now."

They added: Her [Mrs May's] lack of authority, her lack of credibility, how she doesnt have a mandate, thats the priority.

The second focus is preparing to serve in government and step up if thats possible. The third focus is our plans around opposing the policies they want to push through. All those things take precedence.

Jeremy Corbyn appearing on the The Andrew Marr Show / PA

Mr Corbyn said yesterday he was prepared to reach out to MPs who had been critical of his leadership, hinting that he could broaden his shadow cabinet.

A senior party source reportedly hinted that those who stayed loyal to the Labour leader would not be removed in favour of more high-profile names.

Yvette Cooper, Chuka Umunna and Angela Eagle all said they would serve in the shadow cabinet under Corbyn  despite previously being open critics of his leadership.

Mr Corbyn told the Andrew Marr show: Theres been one or two difficulties at times with the parliamentary party but lets put that behind us.

The party came together around a brilliant manifesto and came together for a result that you and many others never expected.

Michael Gove in Downing Street after the announcement of his shock return to the Cabinet as Environment Secretary / PA

He added: Im not going to appoint the shadow cabinet here on the programme. Yes, of course we are going to reach out, ever since I became leader I had reached out.

Mrs May was clinging on to power this weekend as she sought a deal with Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party to form a minority government.

After the snap election left her leading a minority government, her subsequent loss of authority and apparent weakness within the party meant many people were left in their existing roles.

Mrs May has given her close alley Damian Green one of the top roles in her new Cabinet. The former Work and Pensions Secretary was appointed Secretary of State in the reshuffle.

And in a surprise move, Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom was appointed leader of the House of Commons and was replaced in her role by Michael Gove who was sacked last year by Mrs May.

Mr Gove, the former Justice Secretary, was ousted in one of Mrs May first acts as Prime Minister after he effectively scuppered the Tory leadership hopes of Boris Johnson by withdrawing his support and announcing his own candidacy.
C abinet ministers opposing a hard Brexit sidelined Theresa May today by reaching out to Labour MPs and European leaders who share their fears over jobs and stability.

This is no longer a question just for Government, a senior minister told the Standard. It is clear to me that Parliament will want to assert its role in a way it did not before.

The Prime Ministers grip on Brexit was vanishing as the two sides manoeuvred for power in the Cabinet and the Conservative Party.

In a flare-up of the Tory civil war over Europe, ministers who want a deal to protect the economy have derided as Creationists those ministers such as Liam Fox, Priti Patel and Chris Grayling who would be willing to quit the EU without an arrangement.

They say the sensibles are Damian Green, effectively deputy prime minister after yesterdays Cabinet changes, Chancellor Philip Hammond and Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Tory leader.

Brexit Secretary David Davis today signalled that discussions on Brexit may not start next Monday as expected / PA

Today, it emerged that the Queens Speech may have to be delayed after last weeks election result. Downing Street refused to rule out the possibility this morning.

The State Opening of Parliament, which includes a list of planned laws, is scheduled to take place on June 19, the same day as Brexit talks were due to open.

No 10 said there would be an update from new Commons leader Andrea Leadsom later.

The statement led to speculation that Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party was haggling over the contents of the speech in return for supporting the Tories.

Liam Fox is among ministers derided as 'Creationists' / PA

Earlier, Brexit Secretary David Davis had signalled that discussions about the UKs exit from the EU might not start on June 19 due to the clash with the Queens Speech.

He hinted that there could be compromises over the Great Repeal Bill and human rights, but said leaving the single market and customs union were fundamentals.

If people can think of elements that are better and negotiable, I am listening, he added. He also admitted that parts of the Tory manifesto would be pruned following the loss of the partys Commons majority.

Mr Hammond is making the annual Mansion House speech on Thursday, which some soft-Brexiteers hope will clarify the approach.

It will be interesting to see what he has to say about this, said a senior Tory. Ministers are also appealing to EU leaders and Brussels officials to seize the botched election as a chance to change the terms of Brexit.

If the Commission could be persuaded not to gloat and instead see this as an opportunity to reset relations with the UK, that would be helpful, said a senior source. If they jeer and say Britain is weakened it hardens attitudes here.

Tory Right-wingers intend to assert themselves this evening when Mrs May addresses a private meeting of the 1922 Committee of backbenchers.

Several made clear in advance that their support depends on delivering the manifesto commitment to quit the European single market, which business leaders say would be disastrous for trade.

Today, Labour Centrists said they would be willing to put the crisis above divisions by co-operating for a softer Brexit, which could include membership of the single market or the customs union.

In the Standard, ex-Labour transport secretary Lord Adonis called for an early vote for staying in the customs union, the zone free of trade barriers.

Chuka Umunna, the former shadow business secretary, said Mrs May would have to compromise to get a Northern Ireland border deal to keep the DUP onside and avoid an early election. She is going to need cross-party support beyond the DUP, he said.

The shadow foreign secretary, Emily Thornberry, told supporters another election could be forced. But shadow international trade secretary Barry Gardiner appeared to soften Labours manifesto commitment to leave the single market, telling Radio 4: Its an open question as to what we can get.

A Tory minister said Labour MPs needed to decide whether they wanted to topple the government or get a Brexit deal in the national interest. Before the election there were several who said a good Brexit deal was the most important thing, they added.

Mr Davis denied that Mrs May had been sobbing before she saw the Queen on Friday. Not when I saw her, he said. He attacked talk of a leadership challenge being mounted by Boris Johnson against Mrs May as unbelievably self-indulgent.

The Foreign Secretary rejected reports that he considered standing  but a minister told the Standard that he had hosted gatherings over the weekend attended by supporters.

MPs suspect Mrs Mays plans for new grammar schools, to strip winter fuel payments from all but the poorest pensioners, and the so-called dementia tax will have to be scrapped.

Mr Davis told Radio 4 today: Some elements of the manifesto will be pruned away.

The chairman of the 1922 Committee, Graham Brady, predicted MPs would rally around Mrs May. He said: The job is try to provide the most steady government we can.

Mrs Mays hopes of survival hinge on a deal with the DUP, which opposes gay rights. Its leader Arlene Foster has said she will use her influence to secure outcomes that are beneficial for all.

Ministers fear that EU leaders have lost interest in Britains predicament because of the drama in France. President Macron is on course to win a huge victory after the first round of parliamentary elections.
T heresa May today addressed Conservative MPs for the first time since her disastrous election gamble backfired and said: I got us into this mess and Im going to get us out of it.

The Prime Minister was facing the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee at the Palace of Westminster on Monday afternoon.

Tory MPs banged tables for around 25 seconds and briefly cheered as Mrs May arrived for the crunch meeting.

It came amid suggestions from some of Mrs May's own MPs that she would have to stand down as PM after a disastrous General Election campaign in which the Tories lost their majority and were forced to turn to Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party for support.

Two sources present at the meeting confirmed that she told MPs: Im the person who got us into this mess and Im the one who will get us out of it.

The PM meets with her Cabinet for the first time since her election result / Leon Neal/Pool/Reuters

One Tory MP who left the meeting midway through said there was no mood among colleagues for another leadership contest and that Mrs May spoke very well, adding "none of the Maybot".

The MP said one of the biggest cheers at the meeting came for the "greatly respected" Gavin Barwell, the PM's new chief of staff, who will have a "great deal of influence" alongside Chief Whip Gavin Williamson in the new government.

Mr Barwell has replaced Mrs May's key aides Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, whose resignations were reportedly demanded by Tory MPs as the price of their supporting the PM.

Mrs May also assured MPs that the DUP would not have any sway over policy on LGBT rights and any "confidence and supply" deal with them would not have any effect on talks aiming to restore the powersharing Northern Ireland government, the MP said.

New role: Theresa May's chief of staff Gavin Barwell / AFP/Getty Images

Another Tory MP said there was no discussion at the meeting of how long Mrs May would remain in post, adding: "she's won, she's got to be PM".

The meeting of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers was brought forward so Mrs May could explain her plans for working with the DUP before any deal is actually finalised.

Committee chair Graham Brady said Mrs May would have to take "some responsibility" for the election campaign, which he said was "one of the worst I can recall". And he said he hoped she would make clear she was ready to lead in a "more collegiate" way.

Earlier, Mrs May had met with her reshuffled Cabinet in Downing Street for the first time since the election.

At the meeting, Mrs May was flanked by Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson  who has rejected reports that he is considering a leadership challenge - and Education Secretary Justine Greening.

Theresa May's cabinet reshuffle: The key positions

The high-profile meetings followed reports that the Queens Speech would have to be delayed after last weeks election result and as the PM scrambles to secure a deal with the DUP.

The State Opening of Parliament, which includes a list of planned laws, is scheduled to take place on June 19, the same day as Brexit talks were due to open. No 10 said there would be an update from new Commons leader Andrea Leadsom later.

The statement led to speculation that the DUP was haggling over the contents of the speech in return for supporting the Tories.

Mrs May's most senior minister, First Secretary of State Damian Green, said that agreement with the DUP would have to be sealed before finalising the details of the Queen's Speech setting out the Government's legislative programme for the year ahead.

Brexit Secretary David Davis signalled on Monday morning that discussions about the UKs exit from the EU might not start on June 19 due to the clash with the Queens Speech.

Any delay would risk affecting the Queen's attendance at Royal Ascot next week.

The unexpected snap election has already forced the Queen to cancel an Order of the Garter service and to accept a stripped-down State Opening without a procession, robes or the state crown. Any further delay could mean her missing some of the races at Royal Ascot next week.

Additional delay may be caused by the fact the speech read by the sovereign is written on goatskin parchment paper, a long-lasting archival paper which contains no actual goatskin, but requires several days for the ink to dry.

Mr Green said talks with the DUP were "going well", adding: "At this very important time, we want to produce a substantial Queen's Speech."

There was a "huge amount of work to get on with", said Mr Green, adding: "Not just the Brexit negotiations that start next week, but many other challenges that face us and we are determined to produce a Queen's Speech to ensure we can fulfil the Prime Minister's ambition to have a country that works for everyone."

A Labour spokesman said that uncertainty over the date of the State Opening showed the Government was "in chaos", while Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said it was "an utter humiliation" for the PM.

"It is time to stop trying to cling to power and time to admit enough is enough," said Mr Farron, who branded the possible Tory/DUP deal as a "MayDUP government".

"Theresa May can squat in Number 10 as long as she wants but the message is stark - she has no power, no influence and her game is up," said Mr Farron.
L abour would win a General Election if it was held today, one of Jeremy Corbyns closest allies claimed today.

Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry seized on a poll showing Labour ahead by six points since millions of people went to the polls last week.

Labour has defied all expectations, she said, despite the party getting 56 less seats than the Conservatives.

Whats also really interesting is if you continue to look at the polling, we continue to get even more popular after the General Election and if an election was called today we would win.

Appearing on the BBCs Victoria Derbyshire Show, she told Labour supporters: Dont put your posters away, just put them in the top drawer, because there will be another election, looks like Im afraid, people may not want to have it, but it looks like that is where we are going to have to go.

Labour has defied all expectations, Emily Thornberry said today

However, one of her shadow Cabinet colleagues struck a more cautious note, warning that premature triumphalism would be foolish.

Labours surge across London, though, has created a string of new marginal seats which the Tories risk losing if there is another snap election.

Even the Conservative stronghold of the Cities of London and Westminster could be seized by Labour if Jeremy Corbyn can build on his support.

Since its creation at the 1950 general election, the constituency - which includes the Square Mile - has always returned a Tory MP.

But Mark Fields majority has now been cut to 3,148 from 11,076 in 2010, with Labour having 4,270 Liberal Democrat votes to target at the next election.

Mr Field, whose vote share was this time higher than 2001 when he was first elected, said: In Central and West London there were huge swings to Labour in large part as punishment for the Tories after the Leave vote.

Jeremy Corbyn appears to slap Emily Thornberry's boob

Labour won four seats in London from the Conservatives last week - Kensington, where Tory Lady Victoria Borwick was defeated by just a few dozen votes, as well as Enfield Southgate, Croydon Central and Battersea.

But the Labour advance was far more widespread as the party gained an extra 540,000 votes in the capital compared to 2015, out-doing its performance across the country, clinching 18 seats with majorities of more than 10,000 and eroding many other Tory majorities.

This turned a number of relatively safe Conservative seats into marginals, which is likely to make the sitting MPs reluctant for another election to be held.

Former Cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith and Theresa Villiers, both prominent Leave campaigners, could face battles to hold onto their seats.

Ms Villiers now has a majority of just 353 in Chipping Barnet, compared to 11,927 in 2010, while Mr Duncan Smiths majority in Chingford and Woodford Green is down to 2,438 from 8,386 two years ago.

Shadow international trade secretary Barry Gardiner said: The results in London have brought into play Conservative seats that previously would have been classed as unwinnable.

Theresa May pictured with her husband after attending a church service / Rex

Premature triumphalism would be foolish, but what is clear is that at the next election  whenever it comes  the Tories will have to expend a lot of energy and resource defending seats like Ian Duncan Smiths in Chingford and even The City of London & Westminster held by Mark Field.

They are going to be on the back foot whereas we have everything to play for.

The Corbyn surge could have hit a high water mark, with Labour inevitably coming under greater scrutiny now if their Leftwing leader is seen as having a realistic chance of becoming Prime Minister.

But this is unlikely to quell the concerns about re-election of MPs including Education Secretary Justine Greening who now has a majority of just 1,554 in Putney, compared to over 10,000 just two years ago.

Finchley and Golders Green, an area once represented by Margaret Thatcher, is now held by Tory Mike Freer with a majority of 1,657. He won it in 2010 from Labour and had a majority of 5,662 in 2015.

Conservative Stephen Hammond appears safer in Wimbledon but his majority has still be cut to 5,622 from 12,619 at the 2015 General Election.

Outside of London, Home Secretary Amber Rudd clung on in Hastings and Rye by just 346 votes, a seat she won two years by 4,796.

Further afield, in the Vale of Glamorgan, Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns emerged with a 2,190 majority, down from 6,880 in 2015.
T heresa May is facing a showdown with her MPs as she fights for political survival after the Conservatives had their majority wiped out in the General Election.

The Prime Minister is to appear before the backbench 1922 Committee later today where she will be faced with the task of staving off a Tory civil war.

Ahead of the meeting, it was reported that Mrs May is poised to scrap a series of key pledges in the Conservative manifesto in order to gain the support of the Cabinet and because of her reliance on the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

Plans to scrap the triple lock on pensions, means test the winter fuel allowance and repeal the ban on foxhunting were all set to go, according to the Daily Mail.

Proposals to overhaul the funding of social care - dubbed the "dementia tax" by opposition parties - and expand the number of grammar schools were also said to be being heavily watered down.

Theresa May: I've brought 'talent' to the cabinet from across the Conservative Party

It comes as Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson described reports that he was plotting a leadership coup as 'tripe'.

However according to the Telegraph, Mr Johnson's leadership challenge is a matter of "when, not if."

Mrs May brought former justice secretary Michael Gove in from the cold as environment secretary less than a year after she sacked him, a move which will be seen as an attempt to head off any challenge from the Brexiteer wing of the party.

It was reported that Mrs May is to scrap key manifesto pledges in a bid to avoid civil war within her party / Rex

His appointment came after Evening Standard editor George Osborne branded her a "dead woman walking", warning that she could be ousted from No 10 in a matter of days.

Other senior Tories - including Graham Brady, the influential chairman of the '22 - predicted MPs would rally round, insisting there was no mood in the party for a damaging leadership contest which could see them plunged into a fresh general election.

Tory manifesto pledges that May might have to scrap Plans to overturn triple-lock on pensions Pledge to means test winter fuel allowance Proposals to repeal the foxhunting ban Planned changes to funding of social care  dubbed dementia tax Plans to expand the number of grammar schools

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson brushed off claims he was plotting a fresh leadership bid, insisting that he fully supported the Prime Minister.

"To those that say the PM should step down, or that we need another election or even - God help us - a second referendum, I say come off it. Get a grip, everyone," he wrote in an article for The Sun.

"The people of Britain have had a bellyful of promises and politicking. Now is the time for delivery - and Theresa May is the right person to continue that vital work."

Mrs May signalled that she still intended to serve a full term.

"I said during the election campaign that if re-elected I would intend to serve a full term," she told reporters in No 10.

However many Tories are adamant that she cannot lead them into another general election after her disastrous showing last week at the ballot box.

Mr Brady indicated that she would have to ditch much of her controversial election manifesto in a "slimmed down" Queen's Speech on June 19 setting out the new Government's programme.

The return to the Cabinet of Mr Gove - who clashed bitterly with Mrs May over tackling extremism when they were in Government together under David Cameron -

What do the DUP want from a deal with the Tories? More investment in Northern Ireland to make the country an economic powerhouse Capital investment into NIs schools and hospitals Softer Brexit to minimise impact on Northern Ireland and its effect on relationships with the Republic of Ireland Calls to abandon pledges to scrap triple-lock rise in state pensions and means test winter fuel payments Protect and enhance NIs British identity  calls to protect laws surrounding display of Union Flag and plans for events celebrating Northern Irish history.

At the same time she has brought in the more emollient figure of Damian Green as First Secretary of State - a title often associated with the role of deputy prime minister - based in the Cabinet Office, in a limited reshuffle of her top team.

It follows the resignations of her co-chiefs of staff Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill whose abrasive style upset ministers and who were blamed by many in the party for the abysmal election campaign.

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon disclosed that senior ministers had confronted Mrs May and told her she had to change the way she operates.

The Prime Minister was doing her utmost to signal that it was business as usual, announcing that she would be heading off to Paris on Tuesday for talks with French president Emmanuel Macron.

However she still faces a potentially tricky meeting the same day with Arlene Foster, the leader of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionists (DUP), to finalise a deal on propping up her minority government.

There were warnings she would have to soften her stance on Brexit, as the DUP have been adamant that they cannot afford to leave the EU without a deal as it would mean a return to a "hard border" with the Republic.

Additional reporting by PA
T heresa May was secretly discussing the election up to two weeks before she supposedly decided to call it during a walking holiday in Wales, senior Tories have told the Evening Standard.

The account sits uneasily with No 10s insistence that the election decision came as a bolt from the blue to Downing Street staffers when Mrs May and husband Philip returned from hiking in Snowdonia for the Easter weekend.

According to a source in the campaign team, it became clear once the snap election was announced that planning sessions had already taken place at No 10.

The PM and her advisers had held meetings and were starting to plan about 10 days or two weeks before Easter, said the source.

A No 10 source declined to comment, saying: We are not going to rake over old ground.

The Prime Minister reportedly started to plan the election before Easter / Rex

It also emerged that Brexit Secretary David Davis, who strongly pushed for a snap election, had backing from Chancellor Philip Hammond - who felt an early polling day would be insurance against the economy taking a downturn during Brexit talks.

Ironically, Mr Hammond found himself among ministers sidelined in a campaign that centred on the Prime Minister.

The banishing of Cabinet members from the airwaves was a source of resentment.

Cabinet: Prime Minister Theresa May alongside Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson / REUTERS

A minister said: I wanted to be out there explaining my programme and stopping my Labour shadow getting a free ride on the Today programme, but I was not allowed.

A campaign source said the decision about who went on TV and radio was taken by Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy, Mrs Mays co-chiefs of staff who resigned on Saturday following demands for their heads from MPs and ministers.

It was impossible to get the economy up as an issue when they had ruled that the Chancellor could not be allowed on the radio, said the source.

Insiders say the closed doors style of decision-making by Mrs May and her two aides led to poor strategy. David Cameron always had his brightest and best in the room with him - sometimes too many of them, and it became like an Oxford common room, recalled a veteran. But that was better than decisions made behind closed doors.

Theresa May: I've brought 'talent' to the cabinet from across the Conservative Party

The reduced influence of Sir Lynton Crosby, the Australian campaign expert who masterminded the 2015 victory, was evident in confused messaging, according to a former 2015 aide.

On one hand we were asking who do you trust to negotiate Brexit, which was exactly the sort of question that Crosby would say should be in the voters mind as he or she puts their cross on the ballot paper, said the former No 10 staffer. But along came this social reform agenda from Nick Timothy that raised a whole series of new questions, including ones that scared our supporters.

The disastrous manifesto, with its combination of fox-hunting, winter fuel allowance cuts and the so-called dementia tax, scared the living daylights out of traditional Labour supporters who had been on the verge of giving Mrs May a chance. Moreover, the lack of a ceiling on care fees horrified natural Tories including elderly people and homeowners who felt they had a right to leave their houses to their children.

People who had been willing to take a look at voting Tory just turned away, said a campaign insider.

From then on, Labours vote share surged. The Manchester bombing left no opportunity to regain the agenda. The London attacks were brilliantly turned into a row over police cuts by Labour.

And although Mrs May was brilliant at delivering set-piece scripts, such as calling out Brussels leakers and leading the nation after the terrorist attacks, she was wooden on TV and her cliche-ridden stump speech began getting jeers from workers ordered to become tame audiences during factory visits.

Finally, the massive youth vote that turned out for Labour came as a surprise to both sides. Some Labour MPs fearing defeat were astonished when their majorities tripled, with people voting who had never appeared on their canvass returns.

Mr Davis today laughed off the idea that he was to blame for the snap election. I will take my responsibility for that - along with the 20 or so Cabinet ministers who agreed with the decision, he said.
N icola Sturgeon has called for Brexit to be paused, claiming it was "no longer viable" for a weakened UK Government to "blunder into negotiations".

The Scottish First Minister suggested a UK-wide consensus should be adopted for talks to allow the devolved governments a greater say on the terms of the country's departure from the EU.

Brexit negotiations are scheduled to begin on Monday, June 19, the day Parliament had been due to reopen following the General Election.

But the Queen's Speech to mark the state opening of Parliament has reportedly been delayed "for a number of days" as Prime Minister Theresa May scrambles to secure the support of the Democratic Unionist Party to prop up her minority government.

Ms Sturgeon said a hard Brexit was "no longer viable" after the Conservatives' majority was wiped out in Thursday's vote.

Speaking to reporters as the SNP's new parliamentary group met at Westminster on Monday, the First Minister urged ministers to change their approach.

She said: "The idea that the UK led by this Prime Minister and this Government can just blunder into negotiations starting one week today, I just don't think it's a credible proposition."

"Now that the Queen's Speech has been postponed, questions have been raised about what has been cooked up behind closed doors and is it possible for this Prime Minister - notwithstanding what she said on Friday - to put together a Government that is functional and sustainable.

"It is an opportunity, perhaps - I know the arithmetic, I am not blind to the hurdles - but it perhaps means an opportunity for a progressive alternative to a Tory/DUP government."

The Scottish First Minister was speaking at a meeting of the SNP's new Parliamentary group / Getty Images

Membership of the European single market and the customs union must be at the heart of a new approach, with an immediate guarantee for the rights of EU nationals living in the UK, she said.

The SNP won 35 seats in last week's General Election, down 21 from 2015.

Calls to keep Scotland in the single market have previously been rejected by the UK Government, prompting Mrs Sturgeon to demand a second Scottish independence referendum when the Brexit process was triggered in March.

She has admitted the issue of another independence ballot was a factor in last Thursday's vote, and said the party will reflect on its plans amid calls for it to be taken off the table.

She has turned her focus to the UK's Brexit approach as political leaders including Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson call for more consensus.

The SNP's proposals include the involvement of the devolved governments in the negotiations, and a cross-party advisory group to be set up with representatives from the devolved administrations, to agree a new position for the UK and oversee the talks.

Speaking on Saturday, Ms Davidson said: "I want to ensure that we can look again at issues like Brexit which we know we are now going to have to get cross-party support for. And move to a consensus within the country about what it means and what we seek to achieve as we leave."

Angela Merkel says the Brexit negotiations must begin in the next few days

Mrs May's official spokesman said: "We gave a commitment right at the very outset of this process to consult with the devolved administrations and that remains the case."

European leaders last week warned the clock was ticking on Brexit negotiations after the snap election plunged the UK into political turmoil.

Donald Tusk president of the European Council, said there was a risk Britain could be left with "no deal" if talks in Brussels were delayed.
T heresa May hated the Conservative Partys strong and stable campaign slogan and complained to advisers about using it in interviews, reports claim.

The slogan was repeated by senior Tories during the early days of the General Election campaign, with the Prime Minister frequently using the phrase to describe her leadership.

But political rivals and commentators, including Jeremy Corbyn, mocked the slogan and hailed to the crumbling Tory campaign "weak and wobbly.

Mrs May has been widely criticised for her role in the party's failure to up its majority in the Commons in last weeks election, and now faces a revolt among furious backbench MPs.

Under fire: Chief aides Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill have both resigned / Getty Images

According to the Times, the use of strong and stable was one of a number of points of tension between Mrs Mays circle and her campaign advisers.

Key aides and chiefs of staff Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill both resigned at the weekend, blaming themselves for the partys disastrous campaign.

Mr Timothy took responsibility for the widely-criticised U-turn on the so-called dementia tax, acknowledging numerous oversights in the manifesto.

A snap survey of 1,500 party members by the website Conservative Home found that 60 per cent wanted Mrs May to step down as leader.

Theresa May's Cabinet reshuffle 1 /29 Theresa May's Cabinet reshuffle Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Sajid Javid REUTERS Jeremy Hunt Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt PA Newly-appointed Leader of the House of Commons Andrea Leadsom REUTERS Northern Ireland Secretary of State James Brokenshire REUTERS Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport Karen Bradley REUTERS Michael Gove, who has been appointed Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs REUTERS Britain's Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox REUTERS Philip-Hammond Chancellor Philip Hammond PA Energy Secretary Greg Clark PA Brexit Secretary David Davis PA International Development Secretary Priti Patel Getty Images Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson PA Chris Grayling Transport Secretary Getty Images Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns Getty Images Former leader of the House of Commons David Lidington has been made Justice Secretary PA David Gauke is the new Work and Pensions Secretary Getty Images Liz Truss has been appointed Chief Secretary to the Treasury PA Secretary of State for Education Justine Greening Getty Images Damian Green was appointed First Secretary of State PA Home Secretary Amber Rudd PA Defence Secretary Michael Fallon EPA

Editor Paul Goodman told the Times: Obviously, party members and our readers are angry in the elections aftermath, and it may be that if the question is asked again in a weeks time, it gets a different answer.

Nonetheless, that two in three of her own members, according to this survey, believe that a Conservative leader should resign is astonishing. It is the most damning finding in one of our polls that I can remember.

Numerous members and supporters have blasted the Prime Ministers campaigning in key marginal seats.

Theresa May: I've brought 'talent' to the cabinet from across the Conservative Party

During the campaign one aide allegedly told Mrs May she risked becoming like Sarah Palin, the 2008 running-mate for the Republican US presidential candidate John McCain.

The American politician also had high approval ratings before they plummeted as voters took to the polls.

The Prime Minister is to appear before the backbench 1922 Committee later today where she will be faced with the task of staving off a Tory civil war.

Ahead of the meeting, it has been reported that Mrs May is poised to scrap a series of key pledges in the Conservative manifesto in order to gain the support of the Cabinet and because of her reliance on the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) for support in forming a minority government.
T heresa May today met with her reshuffled Cabinet for the first time since her catastrophic election gamble backfired.

The Prime Minister was chairing the first meeting of her new Cabinet in Downing Street on Monday afternoon.

At the meeting, Mrs May was flanked by Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson  who has rejected reports that he was considering a leadership challenge - and Education Secretary Justine Greening.

Mrs May was then due to face the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee at 5pm for a Westminster showdown with MPs angry over the conduct of a campaign which resulted in the party losing its overall majority in the Commons.

Mrs May was flanked by Boris Johnson and Education Secretary Justine Greening / Leon Neal/Pool/Reuters

The meeting of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers was brought forward so Mrs May could explain her plans for working with Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party before any deal is actually finalised.

Committee chair Graham Brady said Mrs May would have to take "some responsibility" for the election campaign, which he said was "one of the worst I can recall". And he said he hoped she would make clear she was ready to lead in a "more collegiate" way.

The high-profile meetings followed reports that the Queens Speech would have to be delayed after last weeks election result and as the PM scrambles to secure a deal with the DUP.

The State Opening of Parliament, which includes a list of planned laws, is scheduled to take place on June 19, the same day as Brexit talks were due to open. No 10 said there would be an update from new Commons leader Andrea Leadsom later.

It was Mrs May's first Cabinet meeting since her election gamble backfired / Leon Neal/Pool/Reuters

The statement led to speculation that the DUP was haggling over the contents of the speech in return for supporting the Tories.

Any delay would risk affecting the Queen's attendance at Royal Ascot next week.

Earlier, Brexit Secretary David Davis had signalled that discussions about the UKs exit from the EU might not start on June 19 due to the clash with the Queens Speech.

He said that leaving the customs union and single market were fundamentals of the Brexit deal but hinted that there could be compromises over the Great Repeal Bill.

Theresa May's cabinet reshuffle: The key positions

Mr Davis sought to move the conversation back to Brexit as he dismissed questions over Mrs Mays leadership and rumours of a challenge by the Foreign Secretary as unbelievably self-indulgent.

He also admitted that parts of the Tory manifesto would be pruned following the loss of the partys Commons majority.
T heresa May has sacked Robert Halfon, the apprenticeships minister, from her Cabinet as she continues to carry out a post-General Election reshuffle.

The MP for Harlow said he was asked to leave by the PM and revealed that she did not give a reason for her decision.

Mr Halfon said: "The Prime Minister has to make these decisions; I wasn't really given a reason".

Justice minister Sir Oliver Heald, Brexit minister David Jones and Defence minister Mike Penning were also sacked on Monday night.

MP for Harlow Robert Halfon has been sacked as apprenticeships minister / PA

Mrs May also appointed the following MPs as ministers of state:

Nick Hurd as a Home Office minister

Dominic Raab as justice minister

Anne Milton as education minister

Robert Goodwill as education minister

Baroness Anelay as Brexit minister

Claire Perry as business minister

Boris Johnson's brother Jo Johnson was re-appointed as Universities and Science minister.

Mr Halfon formerly served as parliamentary private secretary to Evening Standard editor George Osborne when he was in Government.

He was thought of as a widely respected figure in the Conservative Party and said he "loved the job" and had an "absolute passion" for apprenticeships and skills.

Mr Halfon said he visited "outstanding" apprentices up and down the country, that he was proud to help deliver a record 900,000 apprenticeships and to have passed the Technical and Further Education Act.

The PM meets with her Cabinet for the first time since the shock election result / Leon Neal/Pool/Reuters

Mr Halfon said apprenticeships should be the Tories' "major number one offering" to young people to counter Labour's pledge to scrap university tuition fees.

He added: "One thing I'm not going to do is I'm not the kind of person to start criticising the Prime Minister but I do believe that we need to start offering things to young people and one of those things is apprenticeships, technical skills, and to give them that ladder.

"We are the party of the ladder."

On Monday afternoon, Mrs May met with her reshuffled Cabinet in Downing Street for the first time since her catastrophic election gamble backfired.

Theresa May's cabinet reshuffle: The key positions

It was followed by a meeting of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers in the Palace of Westminster where she told MPs: I got us into this mess and Im going to get us out of it.

Mrs Mays Cabinet reshuffle has seen Damian Green, the former Work and Pensions Secretary, appointed First Secretary of State - a title generally associated with the role of deputy prime minister.

Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom was appointed leader of the House of Commons and was replaced in her role by Michael Gove who was sacked last year by Mrs May.

Her five most senior ministers - including Chancellor Philip Hammond, Home Secretary Amber Rudd and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson  are carrying on in their current positions.
A ndy Burnham has slammed EDL-types over a chaotic far-right protest through Manchester which saw one man brandishing a pigs head to taunt Muslims.

There were clashes with police as the UK Against Hate rally took place in the wake of the Manchester terrorist attack and was met by anti-fascists.

Organiser and ex-EDL leader Tommy Robinson joined hundreds of protesters carrying England flags, one of whom seemed to bite into a pigs head during the chaotic scenes.

The citys mayor Andy Burnham tweeted afterwards: @gmpolice are stretched to limit & in middle of on-going investigation.

These EDL-types who came today need to have a look at themselves.

He added: To those saying they weren't EDL - I honestly don't care. They still need to take a long, hard look at themselves. @gmpolice deserve better.
A children's charity run by a hedge fund boss will hand over 282 million to his ex-wifes own philanthropic cause, after a court ruling.

Sir Christopher Hohn was told to give 337 million  about a third of his fortune  to his former partner Jamie Cooper in a 2014 divorce settlement.

The pair have continued to haggle over another payout, from the Childrens Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) charity they built together, to Ms Coopers new cause, Big Win Philanthropy.

Sir Geoffrey Vos, chancellor of the High Court, has now approved the payment of 282 million by CIFF to Ms Coopers charity. Sir Christopher had opposed the payment, arguing that charity money should not be involved in a divorce deal.

Sir Geoffrey, in his ruling delivered on Friday, said the charitable benefits of making the grant outweigh arguments against, especially as Ms Cooper has promised to donate 32 million of her own money if the sum goes through.

Sir Christopher Hohn's ex-wife Jamie Cooper / Jeremy Selwyn

The making of the grant will ... bring a conclusion to this incredibly hostile dispute, he said.

The ex-couple, who have four children, set up CIFF in 2002 to help young people. Sir Christopher ran the associated hedge fund. It donated much of its profits to the charity, which was managed by Ms Cooper.

Their divorce settlement, reached in December 2014, was at the time believed to be the biggest in UK legal history and involved a dispute over some 700 million of assets.

The settlement was changed in April and July 2015 to include an agreement that Ms Cooper would resign as a charity trustee and that Sir Christopher, who was knighted in 2014 for services to philanthropy and development, would support the grant to her new endeavour. But in their latest battle, Jonathan Crow QC, for Sir Christopher, said it would be wrong for CIFF to have to pay the sum.

He said the payment should not be made to secure Ms Coopers resignation. The sum had not been set according to the new charitys needs but according to haggling bound up in the financial dispute originating from [the] divorce proceedings, he said.

The grant would set a poor precedent in that it would allow charitable funds to be used to resolve personal disputes between trustees.

However, Simon Taube QC, for Ms Cooper, said the money would avoid losing [her] talented services to charity  the grant would unleash her creativity and her capacity to contribute to the public benefit.

Matthew Dontzin, the leading lawyer from Dontzin Nagy & Fleissig who acted for Ms Cooper, said: This is a well-deserved victory for Ms Cooper, whose lifes work has become helping underprivileged children in the developing world.

"Ms Cooper appreciates the chancellors thoughtful resolution of a complex and challenging dispute.
J eremy Clarkson today told of his horror at seeing long-time co presenter and close friend Richard Hammond caught in a life threatening crash for the second time.

Mr Clarkson told how his legs turned to "jelly" when he saw the wreckage of the 2m white Rimac Concept_One electric supercar that Hammond had been driving for a segment on their Amazon motoring show.

The veteran TV presenter also told how marshals described seeing "a body" behind a screen at the crash site in Switzerland on Saturday.

In a heartfelt blog on motoring website Drivetribe, Mr Clarkson wrote: "I saw a plume of smoke. Fearful that the off may be quite serious, I urged the driver to get to the top of the hill as quickly as possible.

"I arrived maybe 30 seconds later and leaped out to see an inferno raging, maybe a quarter of a mile away, at the bottom of a hill.

"And as I stood there, waiting for news, it dawned on me that the burning car was not yellow, as the Aventador was. It was white. Hammonds Rimac had been white. And I can feel it now; the coldness. My knees turning to jelly. It was Hammond whod crashed.

"I was joined at this point by James. He was in a right old state, his arms waving frantically, his eyes wide. Hammonds in there, he was screaming.

"Then came news from a nearby marshal that he wasnt. That hed got out before the fire started. And that his body  that what they said  was behind a screen at the bottom of the hill.

"I could see the screen. I could see the paramedics behind it. I couldnt see Hammond. I didnt want to see him. Not after a crash that big. He wasnt going to be a pretty sight, thats for sure.

"Our security man is made of sterner stuff and set off down the hill like a racing goat. I watched him arrive at the scene. I watched him intently. I saw him lift his walky talky and I heard him say Its all right fellas. He winked at me.'

Mr Clarkson said it would be for Richard Hammond to reveal the rest of the details of the crash. He is currently recuperating in hospital with a fractured knee, which had to be held together with pins.

Crash: Richard Hammond had a miraculous escape / AP

Hammond shared a photgraph of himself holding an x-ray of his damaged knee with surgically implanted pins embedded in it.

Shortly after the crash Hammond apologised to his wife and children.

He posted a video from his hospital bed on Sunday, during which he thanked staff and Grand Tour co-host James May.

He said in the video: Yes, it's true - I binned it. Again. The net result being I'm here, in a hospital in Switzerland.

Richard Hammond escaped serious injury in the crash / PA

This is my knee, that they're going to turn from this into this  giving me a Swiss Army knee hopefully later today.

I'd like to say thank you as well to James May, who smuggled a bottle of gin in for me last night. I shouldn't have said that out loud.

And most importantly sorry to my wife Mindy and my daughters, Izzy and Willow. I'm sorry for being such a colossal idiot. More news later.

Richard Hammond's car in flames after the horror crash on Saturday / Nature Pictures

A spokesman for The Grand Tour said: "Richard Hammond was involved in a serious crash after completing the Hemburg Hill Climb in Switzerland in a Rimac Concept One, an electric super car built in Croatia, during filming for The Grand Tour Season 2 on Amazon Prime, but very fortunately suffered no serious injury.

"Richard was conscious and talking, and climbed out of the car himself before the vehicle burst into flames.

"He was flown by Air Ambulance to hospital in St Gallen to be checked over, revealing a fracture to his knee.

It is the second time the 47-year-old has suffered a serious crash while filming after he was left with life-threatening head injuries following a high-speed crash in 2006. He was filming for Top Gear at the time.
O xford University is embroiled in a sexism row after its history department said allowing students to sit exams at home would help close the gender gap.

History students will be able to sit one of their five final-year exams at home from the start of next semester, the faculty has announced.

It was claimed the policy would help female students improve their results.

But historian Amanda Foreman blasted the change as insulting and said it implied women were the weaker sex.

She told The Telegraph: I think it is extremely well intentioned and I applaud them for taking the matter seriously. But it is so insulting.

"You are saying that the girls cant take the stress of sitting in the exam room, which does raise ones anxiety levels.

I dont think girls are inherently weaker than boys and cant take it. Women are not the weaker sex.

Ms Foreman said the main reason why men outperformed women in the subject was that males were encouraged to be risk-takers.

According to a document seen by the Sunday Times, the history course had one of the largest gender gaps for results.

The document stated: As women and men perform more equally in submitted work, it was proposed that a take-out exam with questions similar to that in a timed exam should be implemented.

An Oxford University spokesman defended the policy, saying: Timed exams remain an important part of the course, testing skills to complement the other assessed elements.

This change is part of a broader goal of diversifying the history course in response to a number of factors, including the need to test a greater range of academic skills.

The gender gap was also a consideration in this change, although research shows that the causes of the gap are broad do not lie solely in methods of assessment.
D onald Trump is being urged to come clean over claims he has tapes of private conversations with sacked FBI director James Comey.

Republican politicians have called on the US President to release any of the alleged recordings of the conversations, after Mr Comey made an explosive testimony to the senate last week revealing details of his sacking.

The former FBI director accused the President of telling lies, plain and simple after he was fired from the intelligence service last month.

The Republican request is the latest in a series of scandals following Mr Comey's three-hour intelligence committee grilling.

Testimony: Former-FBI Director James Comey testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington / AP

"I don't understand why the president just doesn't clear this matter up once and for all," said Senator Susan Collins, a member of that committee, referring to the existence of any recordings.

She described Mr Comey's testimony as "candid" and "thorough" and said she would support a subpoena if needed. Mr Trump "should voluntarily turn them over," Ms Collins said.

Senator James Lankford, a member of the same committee, agreed the panel needed to hear any tapes that exist. "We've obviously pressed the White House," he said.

Meanwhile, the Senate investigation into collusion with Russia or obstruction of justice is extending to a Trump Cabinet member.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is in for sharp questioning by senator on Tuesday when he stands in from of the Intelligence Committee, however, it is not yet known whether his hearing will be public or closed.

Mr Trump's aides have dodged questions about whether conversations relevant to the Russia investigation have been recorded, and so has the president.

Pressed on the issue Friday, Mr Trump said: "I'll tell you about that maybe sometime in the very near future."

Mr Lankford said Mr Sessions's testimony will help flesh out the truth of Mr Comey's allegations, including Mr Sessions's presence at the White House in February when Mr Trump asked to speak to Mr Comey alone.

Mr Comey alleges that Mr Trump then privately asked him to drop a probe into former national security adviser Michael Flynn's contacts with Russia.

Ousted FBI director James Comey is sworn in during a hearing before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence / AFP

The former security director also has said Mr Sessions did not respond when he complained he did not "want to get time alone with the president again".

The Justice Department has denied that, saying Mr Sessions stressed to Mr Comey the need to be careful about following appropriate policies.

Mr Trump on Sunday accused Mr Comey of "cowardly" leaks in a tweet and predicted many more from him.

Several Republican politicians also criticised Mr Comey for disclosing memos he had written in the aftermath of his private conversations with Mr Trump and branded the leaks "inappropriate". But, added Mr Lankford "releasing his memos is not damaging to national security".
T he party of Frances new president Emmanuel Macron is likely to win a landslide victory in the countrys parliamentary elections after storming through the first round.

En Marche  which translates as On the Move  was only founded 14 months ago, but in that time the party has seen its popularity grow massively.

After the first round of voting, Macrons movement now has a huge majority in the French Parliament which could see it with as many as 430 seats in a 577-seat Parliament.

Pundits believe the new party could shatter the French political landscape, as candidates in the run-off hit the campaign trail today.

Here is everything you need to know about La Republique En Marche.

What is En Marche?

En Marche was set up in April 2016 by Frances former economy minister Emmanuel Macron, 39.

The party has been described as centrist, with left-wing social policies and economically liberal.

Supporters of En Marche react after polls closed on Sunday night. / EPA

Among the pro-EU partys ideology is the desire to boost social mobility, cut public spending but boost investment, hire 10,000 more police and establish a Eurozone government.

Who is Emmanuel Macron?

Macron is now Frances youngest ever president after being voted into power in May 2017 - just over a year after launching En Marche.

Prior to this the newcomer had never held political office.

He used to work as a civil servant before becoming an investment banker and served President Francois Hollande as a senior adviser in 2012.

President Macron greets the President of Senegal, Macky Sall, after meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris. / AP

He worked as a French economy minister in 2014 before quitting in 2016 to set up En Marche.

Also well-known in President Macrons personal life is that he married his former teacher, Brigitte Trogneux, who he met when he was 15-years-old and she was 39  24 years his senior.

Why is En Marche now called La Republique en Marche?

On May 8  the day after Macron was elected President  the partys General Secretary announced the partys new name would be La Republique en Marche and transformed into a formal political party.

The party put forward its candidates for this years French Parliamentary running under the name La Republique en Marche.

Marie Sara, standing for La Republique En Marche celebrates with her supporters after polls closed for the first round of the French legislative elections in the town hall of Le Grau Du Roi, southern France. / EPA

More than half of its candidates are ordinary members of the public and havent held political office before - including one woman who is a former bullfighter.

What is happening in the French parliamentary elections?

The French legislative elections are being held to elect 577 members to the National Assembly. This always takes place around a month after the presidential election in France.

There are two rounds in the election. The first was held on Sunday and the second and final round will take place on Sunday, June 18.

La Republique en Marche  often shortened to REM  have allied themselves with the Mouvement Democrate (MoDem) party to put forward candidates.

Who won the first round?

President Macrons La Republique en Marche and ally MoDem won more than 32 per cent of the vote in the first round.

If the sweep holds as expected in next Sunday's final round, lawmakers for Macron's party, many of them new to politics, could take more than 400 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly, the lower house - unprecedented in the Fifth Republic.

Emmanuel Macron sworn in as French president

There was a record number of voters abstaining in the first round of the parliamentary elections at the weekend.

What will a massive majority for La Republique en Marche mean for President Macron?

A huge number of REM politicians in the French parliament will make it easier for the new president to get his policies through.

Frances new leader wants, within weeks, to start reforming French labour laws to make hiring and firing easier, and legislate a code of ethics in politics to end the scandals that have eroded voter trust in the political class.

A large REM majority would also mark a new era in French politics after the traditional opposing left and right parties which were nowhere to be seen in the French presidential election run-off.
F ormer US President Jimmy Carter delighted airline passengers as he greeted them on board a flight to Washington.

Dressed in a grey shirt, the 92-year-old ex-president grinned as he walked down the aisle and warmly greeted fellow fliers while delighted passengers raised their cameraphones to capture the heartwarming gesture.

He looked relaxed, chatting as he ambled to his seat.

James Parker Sheffield tweeted footage of the event from the Delta flight from Georgia, Atlanta to Washington, DC.

He wrote: Jimmy Carter is on my plane to DC from ATL and just shook every hand of every passenger. #swoon #atl #delta.

He later tweeted to recommend that fans donate to the former president's Carter Center, a pro-democracy NGO that works to promote human rights and treat diseases.

Social media users responded with delight, sharing the video more than 13,000 times on Twitter.

Jimmy has always been a shining example of how a President should behave in public, wrote one user.

One of the most proactively nice people on the planet, agreed added.

Some suggested that Mr Carters show of good manners compared favourably with those of current president Donald Trump.

If there's one thing today has made me certain of, it's that Americans are really missing warmth and humility in the Oval Office, one Carter fan tweeted.
M acedonia is pondering a name change to join Nato and stave off growing fears of Russian interference, according to an interview given by the country's foreign minister.

Nikola Dimitrov, who took office two weeks ago after a long period of political turmoil in the country, told the Financial Times the country was considering fresh proposals on its provisional name but that any change would be subject to approval by referendum.

He will also meet Greek ministers this week to calm tensions that have rumbled between the two neighbours over naming disputes for more than 25 years.

I will ask Greece to reconsider what kind of neighbour they want  do they want a stable, friendly country that offers hope for democracy and justice? he was quoted by the FT as saying.

If we are a good neighbour, then hopefully political forces in Greece will realise this is a historic opportunity."

Macedonia has been embroiled in a bitter row with Athens over its title ever since the small Balkan state declared independence in the early 1990s, with the Greeks furious over the clash with their northern province of the same name.

It joined the United Nations under the provisional title Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia but the country is officially known by the preferred Republic of Macedonia and in 2008, the dispute saw Greece veto Nato membership for the country.

Former prime minister Nikola Gruevski, ousted last year after a wiretapping scandal that saw the EU broker tense crisis talks, stoked claims of cultural appropriation during his decade in power by naming motorways and airports after ancient-Greek hero Alexander the Great.

Concerns of Russian influence have mounted in the Balkan region after fingers pointed at the Kremlin for an alleged coup attempt in nearby Montenegro in October 2016. Moscow denies responsibility.

Nearby Montenegro, Croatia and Slovenia have acceded to Nato in recent years, but prospective membership of the Balkan states still to join the alliance - including the formerly war-torn Bosnia - is fiercely opposed by Russia.

The Standard has contacted the Macedonian foreign ministry for comment.
A n US man who spent 17 years locked up for a crime he did not commit has been released from prison after researchers tracked down his lookalike.

Richard Anthony Jones was sentenced for a robbery in 1999 in Roeland Park, Kansas despite there being no DNA evidence or fingerprints linking him to the crime scene.

At trial, he said he was with his girlfriend and other family members in Kansas City on the day of the robbery but he was convicted after eyewitnesses claimed he was the culprit.

He was sentenced to 19 years in prison and unsuccessfully appealed his case several times.

In 2015, he told researchers from the Midwest Innocence Project  a group that helps wrong convicted prisoners  that fellow inmates had told him he looked identical to a man called Ricky, who also lived in Kansas.

Miscarriage of justice: Richard Anthony Jones is released from prison / Midwest Innocence Project / GoFundMe

The group tracked him down and discovered that he lived within 10 miles of the crime scene.

Mr Joness lawyers later showed eyewitnesses and the prosecutor in the original case photographs of the two men but no-one could tell them apart.

A judge ordered that Mr Jones be released and he walked free last Thursday telling the Kansas City Star: I dont believe in luck, I believe I was blessed.

He said he is now getting used to life outside of prison and said he is happy to be back with his children.

A criminal case has not been brought against his double who has denied committing the crime.
H undreds of people were detained as anti-corruption rallies across Russia descended into violence.

Riot police arrested activists at protests in cities including Moscow and St Petersburg on Monday.

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny was detained at his home before the rallies began, according to his wife.

He wife Yulia confirmed in a tweet posted on his account that the Putin critic was arrested on his doorstep just before demonstrations he had called for began.

Police detain a protestor at Moscow's Tverskaya Street / EPA

The BBC reported that police were picking protesters out of the crowds at random and video footage showed officers pushing activists to the ground and dragging them by their necks.

Police were also seen using metal fences to drive back the protesters, who reportedly chanted slogans such as "Russia without Putin" and "Putin is a thief".

The post by Mr Navalny's wife said: "Alexei has been arrested in the entrance to our block of flats."

According to NGO OVD-Info, which monitored the protests, 600 people were detained at the Moscow protests and 300 at the rally in St Petersburg.

A veteran anti-corruption activist, Mr Navalny - who had hoped for the protests to be non-violent - has experienced numerous encounters with the law after he continued to publish blogs critical of the Russian president.

Described by the Wall Street Journal as "the man Vladimir Putin fears most", Mr Navalny has been arrested numerous times and twice prosecuted on embezzlement charges, which he denied.

A young protestor holds up a pro-Navalny message during a demonstration in Moscow / AP

In April this year, Mr Navalny was set upon outside the offices of his Anticorruption Foundation by an attacker who sprayed his face with a green antiseptic called zelyonka.

According to comments published in Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, he claims to have lost 80 per cent of sight in his right eye as a result of the attack.
P resident Donald Trumps controversial travel ban has been dealt another blow after an appeals court upheld a decision to block it.

Three judges on the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals  which covers states including California, Arizona and Hawaii  ruled that the US president had violated immigration law.

It said the ban discriminated against people based on their nationality and President Trump had not shown how their entry into the USA would harm the countrys interest.

The judges said: Immigration, even for the president, is not a one-person show.

"The president's authority is subject to certain statutory and constitutional restraints."

US District Judge Derrick Watson previously ruled the main purpose of President Trumps travel ban was to discriminate against the religion Islam.

The US leader first brought in his travel ban in January, bringing chaos to airports around the country.

He then revised the executive order with the new version naming six predominantly Muslim countries  rather than seven.

Travellers to the US from these six countries - Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen - are limited under the order.


I n ITVs new legal thriller Fearless, Emma Banville, a human rights lawyer with a reputation for defending lost causes, takes on the case of Kevin Russell, whos spent nearly 15 years in jail for the murder of schoolgirl Linda Sims. The series sees Banville, whos convinced of Russells innocence battle against powerful forces to discover the truth.

1. Helen McCrory stars as Emma Banville

McCrory is known for portraying uncompromising characters. Her turn as Peaky Blinders matriarch Aunt Polly, the foil to Cillian Murphys Tommy Shelby, has won her a legion of fans, and her appearance as the haughty Narcissa Malfoy in the Harry Potter films made her a recognisable face on both sides of the pond.

ITVs new drama will be no different as McCrory tackles a roll which will see her not only stand up for a convicted killer, but also come to blows with powerful figures in the police and intelligence services, risking her career and reputation in the process.

2. Dumbledore is in it too

McCrorys Harry Potter co-star Michael Gambon, who played Dumbledore in all but the first two films, will also be appearing in Fearless. Gambon will play Alistair McKinninon, a Cambridge master, but those tuning in just for the mini Hogwarts reunion should know that Gambon only appears in one episode.

Another recognisable name is comedian John Bishop, who will be playing Banvilles boyfriend Steve Livesey. It will mark Bishops next foray into serious acting after his successful role in Jimmy McGoverns Accused, back in 2012.

3. Its written by Homelands Patrick Harbison

The producer and writer is something of an expert when it comes to police dramas and crime thrillers, as well as Homeland (which incidentally starred McCrorys husband Damian Lewis) hes worked on Law & Order: SVU, 24, Person of Interest and Wire in the Blood.

TV highlights of 2017 1 /13 TV highlights of 2017 Taboo FX Networks / Robert Viglasky Girls Girls HBO The Cuckoo's Calling Steffan Hill/McAinsh/PA Guerilla BBC Top of the Lake BBC Godless Getty Images Z: The Beginning of Everything Amazon Prime Twin Peaks Motherland BBC Back Channel 4

Hes known for his dark and twisting storylines and has been nominated for several Primetime Emmy

awards.

4. Banville gets to grips with police corruption

On the surface, this appears to be another lost cause case for lawyer Banville, but the deeper she gets into the case, the muddier the waters become as high-profile members of the establishment try and obstruct her progress and prevent the truth from being brought to light.

5. Its from the producers behind Poldark and Victoria

While this is a little different from cosy Sunday period dramas Poldark and Victoria, Mammoth Screens, who are creating the six-part series, will no doubt be bringing the same high production values that make those two shows such a delight to watch.

Fearless airs tonight at 9pm on ITV.
H e swapped his role as a gruff detective in The Bill for life as an artist  but Chris Ellison says he still misses the hit show.

The actor, who played DI Frank Burnside in the police drama series for 16 years, said he thought it should be revived, although he ruled out making an appearance himself.

Ellison, who is about to put on the first exhibition of his paintings in a London gallery, last played the character in a spin-off, Burnside, in 2000. The Bill ended in 2010 after almost three decades on ITV. At its peak the show  filmed in Colliers Wood  had more than 11 million viewers an episode.

He said: To be honest Im not sure why they got rid of it. Its one of those things that could have gone on forever. I think people miss it, I know I do.

In action: Christopher Ellison as DCI Burnside with Mark Wingett as PC Carver

I suppose its because there is so much choice on TV now, but I still think people would watch it.

But he added: I dont think they would have me to be honest. There might now be a shortage of detectives at the Met but Im 70 and definitely would have been retired off by then.

He also confirmed as true the rumour that DI Burnsides first name was changed from Tommy because no character could have the same name as a real Met officer.

Ellison, who lives in Brighton, originally studied at Camberwell College of Arts before accidentally becoming an actor. He is still acting but is looking at venues in South Kensington and Chelsea for his gallery show. He said: Sometimes people do look at you because you are well known and raise their eyebrows and think its just a pastime and a bit of fun for you. But I see myself as an artist, work very hard at it. I dont expect people to think Im going to become the next Damien Hirst, and I dont expect Charles Saatchi to come calling, but I am proud of my work and it helps me earn my living.
SCOTTSBLUFF  During a conference call Monday, meteorologists with the National Weather Service in Cheyenne discussed the severe weather heading through the Panhandle and Eastern Wyoming.

Around 2 p.m., thunderstorms should begin to develop in Albany County in Wyoming and then move northeast.

The NWS is predicting the storms will approach the Nebraska state line around 6 p.m. and begin to encompass the Panhandle around 7 p.m. The storm will then move north towards the South Dakota state line.

Hail in excess of two inches is a possibility, along with at least 70 mph winds and tornadoes.

As the storms move towards the Panhandle, they may begin to merge, which will lessen the possibilities of tornadoes. However, NWS said the environment will still be very favorable to tornadoes and the storms should not lose their intensity.

While the locations and times of the storms are estimates, the NWS has confidence in its report.

At 1:15 p.m., a tornado watch was issued for Banner, Kimball, Scotts Bluff and Sioux counties.
The Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) decided on Monday to notify the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis in view of sending back in Parliament the wage law, so that several amendments be re-analysed, sources from the Council stated for Agerpres.

The CSM is of the opinion that the amendments concerning the pay gap between the judges from district courts and the judges in Tribunals should be analysed, the same differences between the prosecutors in the prosecutor's offices attached to these courts, as well as the pay scheme of some of the auxiliary employees in the courts and Prosecutors' offices, added the quoted sources.

According to the same sources, the CSM also calls for an analysis of the amendments regarding the salary differences between judges and prosecutors on the same level. On Friday, the High Court of Cassation and Justice (ICCJ) unified units found that the conditions for notifying the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) for possible elements of unconstitutionality of the framework law on the wage system of staff paid from public funds are not met. The unitary pay draft law of the budget personnel was adopted on Wednesday in the plenary sitting of the Chamber of Deputies, with amendments.
Updated at 11:30 a.m.

Jeffrey Immelt is stepping down as chairman and chief executive of General Electric, bringing to an end a tumultuous 16-year tenure in which he dramatically reshaped the manufacturing powerhouse but failed to win over Wall Street.

Amid mounting pressure from activist investor Trian Fund Management, GE said Monday that Immelt will be replaced by John Flannery, a 30-year company veteran who oversaw a jump in profits at the health-care unit. In a sign of just how great opposition to Immelt had become in the investing community, the stock soared the most in more than a year and a half after the announcement was made.

There had been great expectations when Immelt, 61, replaced the legendary Jack Welch as CEO back in 2001. The new boss was seen as a big thinker who could guide GE into the digital age and do so with a lighter touch than his cutthroat predecessor. Immelt hasn't shied away from major acquisitions to sharpen the focus on making jet engines, medical scanners and gas turbines, including the $10 billion purchase of Alstom SA's energy business. He also withdrew GE almost entirely from financial services, which once accounted for about half of sales.

Yet investors were unimpressed. As the stock languished  shares are lagging behind the broader market this year after underperforming in 2016  Nelson Peltz's Trian began stepping up pressure on Immelt. In March, GE agreed to deepen cost cuts after discussions with the activist investor.

"GE may not necessarily need a drastically new message, but it needs a new messenger," said Barclays Plc analyst Scott Davis. It will take several years to determine the payoff of some of Immelt's initiatives, including a digital division, he said. "The market didn't want to give Immelt any credit for those investments because so many of the things in the past haven't worked out."

Flannery has an "excellent" reputation inside GE despite not being known well by shareholders, Davis said. The new CEO may be more willing to pursue a much-needed breakup of the company, Davis said.

Flannery, 55, will become CEO on Aug. 1 and assume chairman duties following Immelt's retirement on Dec. 31.

GE jumped 3.6 percent to $28.95 at 10:23 a.m. in New York after climbing as much as 5.5 percent for the biggest intraday gain since October 2015. The shares dropped 12 percent this year through Friday, compared with an 8.6 percent gain for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.

Flannery, who was named the head of GE Healthcare in 2014 after handling M&A for the whole company, has boosted sales and profit margins in the division. The appointment is the result of succession planning that's been under way since 2011, the company said. Flannery joined GE in 1987.

"John Flannery has a great background in global business, deal making and most recently in leading a turnaround in GE's $18 billion medical business," Welch said by email. "He will bring a great internal operational focus to the table going forward."

Immelt "brought his best every day," Welch said.

Immelt has become one of the world's best-known CEOs, yet never won the accolades that Wall Street bestowed on his predecessor. The shares have fallen about 30 percent since Immelt took over as he faced criticism for cutting the dividend in 2009 and paying too much for some acquisitions. He also built up the oil and gas division just before crude prices plummeted.

Immelt won widespread praise in 2015 for a plan to sell the bulk of the volatile GE Capital business and closing the Alstom deal amid heavy political pressure in France. Trian took a $2.5 billion stake that year while saying it supported the portfolio shift.

The relationship with Trian began to sour in recent months as investors questioned GE's performance. GE on Monday reaffirmed its 2017 outlook while omitting mention of next year's profit target of $2 a share. Trian didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

"Although the succession topic has been swirling for much of the past year, today's announcement comes as a surprise, especially regarding the short timeframe for the handoff," Deane Dray, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said in a note. Trian may have been a factor, Dray said.

Flannery's "star had clearly risen in the past six months," Dray said. The new CEO beat out likely contenders such as Chief Financial Officer Jeff Bornstein and Steve Bolze, the head of GE Power.

Kieran Murphy, who has been CEO of GE Healthcare's life-sciences unit, was named to replace Flannery as president and CEO of the entire health division. Bornstein was promoted to vice chair of the company.

Immelt will retire with at least $112 million, mostly from supplemental pension plans at the industrial giant, according to a Bloomberg analysis. He had amassed $81.7 million in overall pension benefits as of Dec. 31, according to the company's proxy filing dated March 8.

He also will receive at least $20.7 million from early vesting of restricted stock and pro-rated portions of his target performance shares, based on GE's closing price Friday, as well as $9.86 million from deferred compensation plans. Two company-paid life insurance plans for Immelt also provide a combined death benefit of $24.2 million.

With assistance from Phil Serafino Alicia Ritcey and Anders Melin.
The steers that shot to fame after escaping a St. Louis slaughterhouse in March are getting closer to having a home.

The Gentle Barn met its goal of raising $400,000 after starting a GoFundMe campaign and setting a June 5 deadline. The animal sanctuary co-founders Ellie Laks and Jay Weiner are now moving into escrow on a property in St. Louis to start a new Gentle Barn.

They said in a statement that donors from all 50 states and 30 countries contributed in just over three weeks to start a Gentle Barn for animals and children to learn compassion and hope.

They said celebrities and athletes such as David Backes, Richard Marx, Daisy Fuentes, Tori Spelling, Rick Springfield, and Los Angeles Dodgers stars Clayton Kershaw, Brandon McCarthy, Chris Hatcher and Rich Hill gave special gifts and memorabilia for auction and raffles.

Six steers fled the Star Packing Co. slaughterhouse on March 30 and roamed the city streets before they were corralled. One steer dubbed Chico particularly gave police and animal control officers a hard time in a five-hour chase.

Another one, nicknamed Spirit, was euthanized as a result of injuries sustained after the breakout.

Laks had earlier said once the animal shelter is in place, they would invite special needs children, host school visits, work with rehab centers and probation camps, and allow for public visits. The steers are destined to be therapy animals.

Gentle Barn has sanctuaries in Tennessee and Southern California.

Ashley Bahati Lime is a journalist and a 2017 Alfred Friendly fellow at the Post-Dispatch. She is from Kenya.
Living in a complex world means complex outcomes. This applies to all areas  from ecosystems to governments. For instance, if a government is trying to implement a new policy, how will it play out? How will it affect other collaborating government agencies?

While this seems nearly impossible to predict, research has tried to understand mechanisms behind these decisions.



A new study in the International Journal of the Commons; lead by Jean-Denis Mathias of Frances National Research Institute of Science and Technology for Environment and Agriculture, and co-authored by centre researchers Steven Lade and Victor Galaz examines how policy choices made by a government influence other governing bodies connected to the government in a network.

Request publication



More specifically, the study looks at polycentric governance, which is when there are multiple authorities that operate at different levels, such as local and central, and often tend to have overlapping roles regarding policies.



While polycentric governance receives quite a bit of research attention, the methods tend to focus on qualitative methods. However, the authors in this study use quantitative measures to understand polycentric governments.

More specifically, they use social network modelling as a tool to examine how government policy decisions influence a connected network of local government agencies. Lade adds that, the strength of the formal modelling approach used here is that it can provide more complementary and more precise theoretical insights.

Optimizing polycentricity in social networks

To frame the study, the authors look at polycentricitys influence. In other words, how a central agents policy decisions affect the features of the social network, which is made up of local users and local organizations.

To put this in context, say Swedens government is deciding a new policy on agricultural water usage: How would this affect the relationships between the farmers and local water management agencies?



To get at understanding this question, the researchers use viability theory, which helps to forecast which policy options are more likely to yield desirable outcomes. In this specific study, two policy alternatives were examined: adaptive one-level, a more centralized approach; and adaptive co-management, which is a more collaborative policy.



Looking at the level of cooperation in the social network then helps to define which policy is most effective in that particular polycentric government system.

Adaptive co-management - always necessary?

In government networks where central and local agencies are cooperating, there are considerable benefits to maintaining adaptive policies, in this case the adaptive co-management policy.

However, in government networks with little capacity to cooperate, adaptive policies are less influential. In other words, for Swedens policy on agricultural water use to succeed as part of polycentric governance, a high level of cooperation would be necessary with the farmers and local water management agencies.



However, what is difficult, is identifying when the dynamics of a government network would benefit from adaptive policies. The current study uses dynamic modeling and viability theory to show the conditions under which adaptive policies may provide added benefit.

The study also highlights the importance of using monitoring and learning to understand when to implement adaptive policies in government networks. It explains how risks and surprises may occur which could then alter the government network.

However, Galaz points out, The viability approach used in this paper may tackle this issue by offering not only the viable states (for adaptive policies), but also all the viable policies associated to these viable states.



Ultimately, it comes down to understand the context of the network in question. As Lade concludes, understanding the right social links, at the right time, around the right issues, is what maintains polycentric governance systems.
Birmingham Road in Stratford-upon-Avon. Photo: Mark Williamson.

A VITAL improvement scheme to end the traffic chaos on Birmingham Road in Stratford-upon-Avon is back on the cards after Warwickshire County Council agreed to stump up 2.7million to fund the project.

The brakes appeared to have been slammed on the improvement scheme earlier this year when a bid for funding from the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) failed.

The district council in particular came in for much criticism at the time, with some claiming its failure to show that the scheme was shovel ready and immediate progress could be made, ultimately led to the bid being doomed from the start.

In the end the scheme lost out to other projects such as improving Nuneaton town centre and the A46 corridor, sparking anger among councillors and the public that Stratford had been overlooked by the CWLEP.

At the time the bids failure was announced, a spokesperson from Warwickshire County Council said the authority would pursue other funding sources including developer funding and its own capital funds.

The county councils decision to opt for the second of those two options effectively brings the Birmingham Road Improvement Scheme, the cornerstone of Stratfords Transport Strategy, back to life.

Improvements proposed include a new slip road into Tesco, converting the existing two-lane outbound section to inbound from St Peters Way to Joseph Way, and widening two lanes between the Regal Road roundabout and Hamlet Way.

District council leader, Cllr Chris Saint (Cons, Shipston North), said: I was always confident that the county council would provide the funds.

Im relieved more than anything that the whole issue is going to be dealt with.

I was never worried about the improvement scheme, I know that the county council have certain funds set aside for road improvements, and those are topped up independently of any money provided by the CWLEP.

I believe that the scheme will make a huge difference on Birmingham Road, extensive traffic surveys were undertaken looking at things like improving junctions and reducing the number of traffic lights.

Cllr Jason Fojtik (Lab, Clopton), who lives off Birmingham Road, told the Herald: Its really good news that the pressure that has been brought on the county council to fund this project has worked, people have been waiting a long time for action on Birmingham Road and I hope that progress can be made as soon as possible.

I think leadership is about having a long-term vision and shaping events rather than simply reacting to them, I believe progress could have been made on Birmingham Road a long time ago had this type of leadership been shown by the district council.

Newly-reelected Stratford MP, Nadhim Zahawi, a leading organiser of the towns transport summits, which have worked to identify traffic issues in Stratford for the past four years, said: Im very pleased that the county council has committed the funding. We have been working very hard on this scheme, the transport summits have been the widest and most in-depth consultation that have ever been held into transport in this town.

People were clear that they wanted action on Birmingham Road and I commend the leadership at the county council for providing the funding.

Cllr Izzi Seccombe, leader of Warwickshire County Council, added: We have got to address the traffic problems in Stratford and from the Stratford Transport Summits it has become clear that the priority is Birmingham Road.

One of the issues is that Birmingham Road is a destination in itself. Most towns would have dual carriageways or filter lanes coming down an approach like this.

Cllr Peter Richards, portfolio holder for housing and infrastructure at Stratford District Council, said: The commitment from the leader of Warwickshire County Council to fund the online elements of the Birmingham Road improvements is welcomed news and demonstrates that the alleviation of traffic in Stratford is a top priority.

Let us know what YOU think: news@stratford-herald.com or find us on Facebook or Twitter
OSAGE | The 16th Annual Distinguished Alumni Reception will be held with a champagne brunch at 10 a.m. this Saturday, June 17, in the Funk Family Atrium at the Cedar River Complex, 809 Sawyer Drive, Osage.

The awards ceremony will take place in the Krapek Family Fine Arts Center Auditorium.

Being inducted into the Osage Hall of Fame includes Larry Decklever (Class of 1958), Robert Frein (Class of 1959), Paul Borchardt (Class of 1961) and Marcia Shoger Rosendahl (Class of 1980).

Larry Decklever was the owner and president of Benchmark QA, Inc. for 27 years in Bloomington, Minnesota, with a satellite office in Phoenix, Arizona.

His company delivered projects and services to improve the quality of software for most Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies in Minnesota, including Wells Fargo, Medtronic, 3M, Medica and HealthPartners.

Robert (Bob) Frein retired in 2002 after working for the City of Osage for 42 years. He started as a maintenance employee, was promoted to foreman and eventually became the Superintendent of Public Works.

Frein was and continues to be a significant volunteer in many different organizations in his community including Osage Fire Department, Relay For Life and Sacred Heart Catholic Church.

Paul Borchardt has been the owner and CEO of Wonderland Amusement Park in Amarillo, Texas, since 1969. In 1970, he founded Borchardt Coin Machines, Inc. It is now one of the largest coin-operated businesses in the Texas Panhandle.

Over the years, Borchardt has served on many different Chamber, Business and Civic Boards in Texas.

For almost 40 years, Marcia Shoger Rosendahl has had a career in the field of nursing. She currently works as a nurse practitioner in the Emergency Department and Cardiology at Mayo Clinic Health Systems in Austin, Minnesota, as well as in the emergency room at Mitchell County Regional Health Center.

She has also spent many, many hours volunteering as a mentor for nurse practitioner students from nine different educational institutions.

Tickets for the alumni reception are being sold at all three local banks in Osage and at Larson's Hardware Hank for $15.

Tickets are also available online at https://sites.google.com/view/oefalumni.
A day before former interior minister Rehman Malik was scheduled to appear before the joint investigation team (JIT) investigating the Panama Papers, his spokesperson has said the senator is not in Pakistan.

Riaz Ali Turi, in a statement, said the JIT issued a letter on June 10, summoning Malik to appear before the bench on June 13. Rehman Malik, however, is travelling for work related to the PPPs overseas affairs and meetings with foreign leaders, he added.

Turi added that Malik has been informed about JITs letter and is cutting his visit short, however has requested for a short adjournment and a new date for his appearance.

Meanwhile, the JIT has also summoned Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday, June 15. According to an official letter dated June 8, the PM has been asked to appear before the investigation panel at 11am Thursday with all documents relevant to the case.

The PMs sons Hassan and Hussain Nawaz have already been summoned and questioned by the JIT in recent days.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif returned to Pakistan after concluding his one-day visit to Saudi Arabia in the early hours of Tuesday.

Accompanied by Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, and Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, the premier held meeting with Saudi King Shah Salman bin Abdul Aziz at the Jeddah Royal Palace to discuss the crisis engulfing the Middle East.

The Saudi king expressed his gratitude to the prime minister for paying visiting to the kingdom and reiterated his support in the fight against terrorism, saying, War on terror was in the best interest of the Ummah.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif assured the Saudi monarch that the public and government of Pakistan were committed to protect Harmain Shareefain. He hoped that the Gulf crisis would soon be resolved in the best interest of the Ummah.

The tensions between Saudi Arabia and Qatar continue to escalate following the former and its allies severing ties with the Gulf state.

While commenting on the Gulf crisis, PM Nawaz Sharif had earlier said, Pakistan will do all it can do to help resolve the crisis.

The Foreign Office of Pakistan while expressing deep concern over severing of ties with Qatar by Saudi Arabia and its allies had reiterated that Pakistan will play its role to unite the Muslim states. Pakistan believes in unity among Muslim states and has made serious efforts for its promotion, said foreign office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt had earlier severed diplomatic ties and transport links with Qatar, accusing it of supporting extremism. Qatar has vehemently denied the charges.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has welcomed summoning of Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif before the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) for Panama Leaks probe in a statement given on Sunday.

President of PPP Punjab chapter and former information minister Qamar Zaman Kaira hoped that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) would not resort to agitation over the summoning.

He said that PPP hopes that the federally ruling party would not repeat what it had done with the top court in the past. Kaira also welcomed the purported fact that JIT would quiz the premier with key questions concerning his businesses.

Also Read: Premier Nawaz to appear before Panama Leaks JIT on June 15: Sources

The PPP leader called for PML-N to fight the battle with arguments instead of launching adventures .

Kaira claimed that the PML-N leadership is terrified at the time as leaders have always enjoyed leniency before this. He further denounced alleged humiliating of institutions by certain lawmakers of the ruling party.

Reaction of PPP has come in after Nawaz Sharif was summoned by JIT on June 15 in a notification that was issued on June 8 but came to light on June 11.
Federal crop insurance payments have long been a target for budget cutters, but the proposed reductions in the Trump administration's 2018 budget exceed what came previously.

Midwest lawmakers say they don't think the cuts have much, if any, chance of becoming law. But some groups say this will be a place to watch when a new farm bill is written next year.

The Trump administration's blueprint calls for $29 billion in cuts to crop insurance over the next 10 years.

Currently, the government subsidizes, on average, 62 percent of premium payments.

The bulk of the cuts, $16 billion, would come from limiting the size of premium subsidies to $40,000. That would affect relatively few farmers, the administration says.

However, another $11 billion in cuts comes from jettisoning the subsidy for a widely used insurance option that helps farmers hedge their risk. The Harvest Price Option lets farmers insure their crops based on the higher of the price at harvest or at planting. Farmers say this type of insurance allows them to make better decisions and takes some of the risk off the table.

The administration says farmers can find other ways to hedge risk, or they can do it without a subsidy.

The proposed cuts come at a time when things are more difficult in rural America. The Agriculture Department projected in February that net income would fall 8.7 percent this year, to about half what it was at record highs in 2013.

Cuts in crop insurance would exacerbate those pressures.

"This would continue to tighten the situation in agriculture-driven rural communities," said Chad Hart, an Iowa State University extension economist.

Hart notes that the Obama administration also proposed cutting subsidies. But these would be steeper, such as for the Harvest Price Option.

"These would be some larger cuts," he said.

Critics of the program applauded the Trump administration's proposal. They say the subsidies are too generous and the government shoulders too much of the risk for farmers.

In 2016, payments to Iowa farmers from crop insurance amounted to $54 million, according to federal data. Farmers paid $280 million in premiums, which doesn't include the government's share. But for the drought year of 2012, government payments to farmers exceeded $2 billion in Iowa. Producers paid $382 million in premiums that year.

In Illinois, payments amounted to $91 million in 2016 on producer premiums of $272 million. In 2012, the government paid $3.5 billion to farmers on premiums of $333 million.

Midwest lawmakers don't give the proposed cuts much chance in Congress. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said most presidential budgets are dead on arrival.

Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., a member of the House Agriculture Committee, also gave the cuts little chance. Still, she said that with lower prices and income projections, "this is not a fight we should have to be taking on."

She said the proposal sends a "terrible message" to rural America.

Hart said Trump's budget is only the first step.

"I describe this as the first volley in what will be several rounds of negotiations," he said. "This is the beginning of the policy process."

Even if crop insurance subsidies aren't at risk of substantial cuts for this budget year, the Trump administration proposal comes just a year before expiration of the current farm bill. Next year, a multi-year farm bill will reauthorize programs, and targets will be set for spending.

Crop insurance subsidies are a large target in a fiscal environment in which the White House is pushing for increases in defense spending and countering it with non-defense cuts. That could present some risk to programs such as crop insurance, some analysts say.

"There will be a number of budgetary pressures as we go into the 2018 farm bill that are of concern," said Dave Miller, director of research and commodities services at the Iowa Farm Bureau.
Emperor Asokas role in making Buddhism a world religion By Rajitha Weerakoon View(s): View(s):

Poson Poya in Sri Lanka is the celebration of the arrival of Arahant Mahinda and the introduction of Buddhist Teachings. The event was the outcome of the dissemination programme of the Buddhist Doctrine of the Indian Emperor Asoka. According to a resolution adopted at the Third Buddhist Council or the DharmaSangayanaya convened by the Emperor with Moggalliputtatissa Maha Thera presiding, it was decided to send out nine missions to spread the word of the Buddha to the frontiers and beyond the Asokan empire. Arahant Mahindas mission to Sri Lanka was one of them which was the last to leave Jambudvipa, nine years after the rest.

The Buddhist Doctrine thus brought in 246 BCE, remained a vibrant force for over 2600 years, drastically transforming the religious, cultural, political and social landscape of the island. And it reached a milestone last month when the UN Day of Vesak was observed in Sri Lanka.

The despatch of Buddhist missionaries, which was one of the greatest feats of Emperor Asoka, signalled the initiation of his foreign relations with the neighbouring countries through the propagation of Buddhism. And the Buddhist Teachings thus, which confined to the Asokan Empire and which may have disappeared with time as it did happen later in India, were taken away from India and sent out through missionaries which eventually made it a world religion.

Records reveal some of the names of these pioneering missionaries who could be termed as Indias first set of diplomats who took the Buddhas Message to the outside world. Majjhantika Thera was sent to Kashmir and Gandhara, Mahadhammarakkita Thera to Maharatta, Mahadeva Thera to Mahisamadala, Rakkita Thera to Vanavasa, Dhammarakkita the Yona Thera to Aparantaka, Mahadhammarakkita Thera to Maharatta, Maharakkita Thera to the country of Yona, Majjhima Thera to Himalaya country, Sona and Uttara Theras to Suvannabhumi (Myanmar) and Mahinda Thera to Sri Lanka.

According to Dipavamsa, nine Buddhist missions were thus sent to a distance of 600 yojanas while Pali texts corroborate that the Doctrine reached frontiers and neighbouring territories. However, Professor Merlin Peris, former Professor of Classics, University of Peradeniya says that Asokas relations with the Syrian king and the king of Egypt had been cordial. Syria had been under Antiochus 11 and Egypt had been ruled by Ptolemy 11 Phialdphos. He had sent delegations also to neighbouring Macedonia and Epirus as well as to Cyrene which was ruled by Megasthene, as claimed by Asoka in his Rock Edict X111.

The language spoken in all these countries in the West was Greek. Missionaries had to communicate in the language the people in the respective country spoke. Arahant Mahinda learnt the Sinhala language before arriving in Sri Lanka and delivered his first discourse in the Sinhala language. Missionaries sent to the West were those who could speak the Greek language and Asoka had the advantage of having Greek monks as well as Greek-speaking Indian monks to undertake the mission.

Who were these Indian bhikkhus who spoke Greek? At the time of Emperor Asokas reign, there were large numbers of Greeks living in India. They had arrived with Alexander in 334 BCE as invaders to India. But following his death, many of them instead of returning to Greece, had settled down in the North West of India extending as far as the Indus. And these Greeks had been assimilated into the Indian populace.

Some, fascinated by the noble Teachings of the Buddha and the gentle austere life it propagated, had even joined the Bhikkhu Order. The Greek language therefore, may have been a common language spoken even by the Prakrit- speaking people at the time and Greek was perhaps the first foreign language used by missionaries to propagate the Dhamma. Therefore, Professor Peris says that Greeks were among the earliest people other than the Indians, to convert to Buddhism, even before Sri Lankans. Yona monks (Greeks were known as Yona) had headed missions and Greek was used for the spread of the Dhamma in the West and Indias neighbouring regions in the west.

It is surmised that these missionaries may have travelled along trade routes that spanned from the Far East to the West. There had been brisk trade taking place between India, China and the Roman Empire which had led to the formation of mercantile guilds in ancient India. In fact it had been during a stop-over of Asoka in the house of Sethi, the Chief of a Mercantile Guild at Vedisa- Nagara that he had met Vedisa Devi  the daughter of the chief of the guild whom he married and had 2 children  Mahinda and Sanghamitta. Buddhism had been promoted by the trading and urban people and it is reported that Vedisa Devi, the daughter of a rich trader, had been a Buddhist devotee who may also have influenced Asoka to take to Buddhism.

Asoka sent missionaries to Suvannabhumi or Myanmar which may have included Siam and beyond. However, these missions sent to the East, although they do not figure prominently in edicts or texts, seemed to have made a bigger impact than the missionaries sent to the West as the Doctrine lasts in many of these countries to date.

Missionaries to the East had gone overland and later had travelled further East riding in traders caravans along the silk route spreading the Teachings in countries in and beyond Myanmar. And Buddhism did take firmly root in countries such as present Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam as well as Mongolia, Tibet, China, Korea and Japan. It had even spread further afield as the massive Vihara complex of Borobudur in Indonesia gives evidence. It was the Mahayana Buddhism that spread to some of these countries but at a certain point of time in history, Buddhism had been the only principal faith followed by almost all these Asian countries in the East.

Emperor Asoka, who was the force behind spreading Buddhism outside India, is considered as having made the greatest contribution to the spread of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. He sent his only son to Sri Lanka to impart the noble Teachings of the Buddha. A few months later, he sent his only daughter Sanghamitta Theri with the southern branch of the Sacred Bodhi Tree under which the Buddha attained Enlightenment.

Emperor Asokas magnanimity to Sri Lanka also included the gift of some of Buddhas body relics and Begging Bowl. According to historical records, these were enshrined in Thuparama Sthupa in Anuradhapura which commenced the worship of Sthupa in Sri Lanka. Craftsmen of 18 crafts sent along with Sangamitta Theri, contributed to the evolution of Buddhist architecture and the construction of Buddhist monuments with Buddhas relics enshrined in them which has contributed to the continuity of Buddhism in Sri Lanka.
Pizzas the winner at this hub of good food By Kaveesha Fernando One- time finance professional turned pizza-chef Nishan Punzi and well known restaurateur Dharshan Munidasa have combined to bring you foodies, Alexandra and Ward fashion cafe and cafe Nihonbashi at Odel View(s): View(s):

When asked what he wants people to know about Alexandra and Ward fashion cafe and cafe Nihonbashi (at the Odel promenade), restaurateur Chef Dharshan Munidasa replies, Try the pizza. You cannot get anything this good within 2600km (Singapore is 2600km away). I have friends from New York who tell me that even in New York, pizza this good is hard to find. The only thing on the menu which is not from Dharshan is the pizza and its also one of the items he promotes the most. The pizzais made by Chef NishanPunzi, who is known for his restaurant ORO 1889 which has relocated from Liberty Plaza to Alexandra and Ward fashioncafe, and is one of the only places in Colombo where one can find authentic Neapolitan pizza.

The Nihonbashi cafe offers sushi and a selection of other Japanese dishes from the Nihonbashi menu, alongside a few dishes from Dharshans three other restaurants Kaema Sutra, Ministry of Crab and the Tuna and the Crab. There are also dishes which he feels had no home in his four other restaurants  ones Dharshan made for his daughter for breakfast, to serve at a wine tasting and even simple bites he made for his friends at a barbeque in Hatton. In short, they are everyday dishes which he wanted to offer up for anyone who wanted food which did not fit into a particular haute cuisine. Together, these different dishes make Alexandra and Ward fashion cafe a veritable hub of good food.

Alexandra andWard cafe gets its name from the location of Odel at the intersection of Alexandra place and Ward place. Dharshan calls his section an upgrade of the previous Nihonbashi which was located inside Odel. This new cafe seats 75 people inside and can accommodate a further 16 people outside. The sushi and pizzais made in open spaces wherecustomers can watch the progress of their meals from raw ingredients to a sumptuous feast. In keepingto the trendy, fashionable theme of Odel, the interior of the cafe also has glass topped tables and generally elegant, minimalistic furnishings.

There is something about biting into a soft pizza with juicy toppings and gooey cheese that appeals to many. However, what many people do not know is that the year 1889 is significant to the history of pizza. Different legends vary on the specific details, but it is an accepted fact that in 1889 Queen Margherita of Italy fell in love with Neapolitan pizza. If her name makes you think pizza, that is probably because the Margherita pizza is believed to have been named after her. While some feel that it is no coincidence that the red of the tomatoes, the green of the basil and the white of the mozzarella which unite to make this dish represent the colours of the Italian flag was in fact invented and offered as a tribute to Queen Margherita others feel that it was after Queen Margherita fell in love with this dish that it was named after her.

ORO 1889 draws on this history  Oro means gold in Italian and 1889 signifying this very significant year in the history of Neapolitan pizza. It means the gold of Naples, explains Nishan. Nishan, whose mother is Sri Lankan and father Italian, has a degree in Economics and a Masters in Business Administration. He worked in several jobs in Finance before deciding to move to Sri Lanka. When a friend from Naples suggested that he should start making pizza here, he decided to do so and opened ORO 1889 in 2014. Although sourcing ingredients is rather difficult, Nishan feels that the pizza he serves at ORO 1889 is as close to the pizza served in Naples as is humanly possible halfway around the world. I think people should try this pizza- its a different experience, he says.

Neapolitan pizza is known for its simple ingredients and specific process. The pizzas offered here are cooked at 485 degrees centigrade for just 90 seconds before they are ready to be served. Nishan feels that he has honed his recipes over the years. You can find recipes for Neapolitan pizza on the internet, but it wont work, he says, explaining that the key to good Neapolitan pizza is the laborious process of making the dough and sauce with the correct ingredients and the correct process.

The pizza is cooked in a 2000 kg oven which is capable of reaching the required temperature. Lovingly named The Don, it was brought down from Naples and its arrival at the Odel premises required three walls to be broken just so it could sit at the bright red corner of Alexandra and Ward cafe and spit out pizzas every 90 seconds. Seasoned only with chilli oil made in-house with fresh Sri Lankan chillies and olive oil, Nishan aims to have the flavour of his high quality ingredients shine. His pizza sauce, uses only fresh San Marzano tomatoes and salt. Its only when the ingredients arent good that the sauce must have other ingredients in it, he states firmly.

Chef Dharshan feels that chefs need not pander to the whims of the people when serving up good food. Restaurants shouldnt make food for a market. When you make good quality food, you will automatically get the right market, he explains. He prides himself in using fresh ingredients with no additives or artificial flavours. When people make tuna salad, they use canned tuna. Why should you use canned tuna when you have fresh tuna here? We use fresh tuna in our food, he tells us. He has even made his own drink, named Centella, made of centella asiatica (more commonly known as gotu kola) and king coconut, lime and a secret ingredient which he tells us is a Sri Lankan vegetable. The key was to mask the taste of gotu kola and you do not get that taste in the drink, he says, adding that although he is certain of the drinks appeal, he is still sometimes surprised that people order it.

Two interesting dishes he makes are the Kade Paan French Toast and the Rustic Burger  both use store bought, wood oven baked bread (kade paan)  sourced from a reputed Colombo bakery of course! I think kade paan is an undervalued food explains Dharshan. The French toast is a soft, decadent delight which has been elegantly topped with strawberries, whipped cream and palm sugar syrup. Its unlikely that anyone would consider it to be unappetizing, although Dharshan feels that most people dismiss it before they have even tried it. Everyone has an opinion, even though sometimes they do not know what they are talking about, he sighs.

He feels that the same issue is present when people consider the pricing of his food. Its not going to be Rs. 500 per head but all people have to do is look at the menu that is there outside the restaurant. I think people can eat a good meal for Rs. 2000 per head, he says, agreeing that they even have the option of eating a few items which are more affordable such as the French toast, which is Rs. 500.

The Alexandra and Ward fashion cafe and cafe Nihonbashi is located at 5, Alexandra Place, Colombo 7 and is open from 12 noon to 10.30 p.m. daily.

Reservations can be made by calling 011-4718758. The menu can be viewed on their instagram pages https://www.instagram.com/alexandraandward/ and https://www.instagram.com/explore/locations/560774490774772/cafe-nihonbashi/ and facebook pages https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1569008886698656 and http://www.sundaytimes.lk/170611/
FOREST CITY | Tim Petersen doesn't understand what all the fuss is about concerning the sale and use of fireworks in Iowa communities.

Petersen, known as "Pyro Pete," owns a Flashing Thunder fireworks outlet that was the first licensed fireworks sales venue in the state.

It opened Monday, June 5 -- and business is ka-booming.

A steady flow of customers was in the store Monday afternoon including Steven Ryherd of Forest City, who recently moved to North Iowa from Sioux City.

"This is great," he said. "When I lived in Sioux City, I had to go to South Dakota to buy my fireworks." He was looking at an array of possibilities for some Fourth of July fun, he said.

Petersen said his biggest sales are in fireworks, bottle rockets and Roman candles. Another hot item is something called a helicopter that fits in the palm of the hand, goes just a few feet in the air and gives off a tremendous noise, he said.

A new state law allows the sale of fireworks for the first time since 1940. The law permits sales for several weeks around the Fourth of July holiday and around New Year's Day.

But it allows individual municipalities to govern when the fireworks can be discharged. Many cities in Iowa, including Clear Lake and Forest City, have banned discharging them anytime within the city limits.

Other cities, such as Mason City, are considering ordinances limiting when they can be discharged. Cerro Gordo County will consider an ordinance at its meeting Tuesday morning.

"Why don't they give the new law a chance?" said Petersen. "Take some time and see where the complaints come from, if there are any. Another thing -- there should be tremendous tax revenue."

He said he knows people are already shooting them off because he can hear them at night. Also, he said, "some people have come in, bought fireworks, and then come back the next day to buy more."

Petersen operates the store with his daughter, Merissa.

He was an insurance agent for 27 years and has been with Flashing Thunder for the past 13 years. He said the new state law is like a gift handed to him.

Spreading his arms toward the many shelves of fireworks merchandise, Petersen flashed a smile and said, "I'm like a kid in a candy store."
Tourism Bay of Plenty is unveiling a new look.

The new orange logo is a bi-product of extensive stakeholder engagement and consultation the organisation undertook in order to develop a new regional story.

The proposition its in our nature underpins the imagery and partnering natural hues of the branding.

Tourism Bay of Plenty CEO Kristin Dunne says a series of workshops were carried out, facilitated by Principals with in excess of 200 regional stakeholders to determine the personality and key traits of the region, in order to draft our regional story.

New Zealand has a story (www.nzstory.govt.nz) and many regions have their own stories. Our regional story has been developed to share who we are and what makes us unique  particularly in a global sense. It ensures that all agencies and organisations who are taking the coastal Bay of Plenty to the world are consistent when talking about our unique attributes.

The old logo and the new logo.

In order to be clear about who we are, the agency (Principals) held workshops in Katikati, Tauranga and Whakatane with stakeholders from a cross section of businesses.

From these workshops, they were able to draft the story which then required a lot more consultation.

We worked closely with iwi, Rebecca Smith (Director of The NZ Story), Priority One and council. We also consulted with TNZ and Air NZ, says Kristin.

Once this process was concluded, the agency had a very clear understanding and appreciation of our region and was able to recommend several proposition options and styles for our logo.

A total of $60,000 was spent on the process. The money was spent on:

Coordinating and facilitating a series of workshops in Katikati, Tauranga and Whakatane.

*Copywriting many versions of a draft regional story prior to confirming the final version

*Significant liaison between the agency, Tourism Bay of Plenty and stakeholders in order to achieve the final version

*Design of complete brand concepts and proposition

*Design of logo

*Design of collateral to roll out new branding

*Design of a new trade stand for TRENZ and Meetings

Kristin says this body of work is not just required for TBOP but for the councils, Priority One and the many other organisations across the region who take Tauranga and the Coastal Bay of Plenty to the world (export).

TRENZ was the platform from which we first presented the new branding. Feedback from our industry partners and international buyers has been fabulous. Our stunning heritage, beautiful and fertile landscapes, and warm welcoming ways are all wrapped into its in our nature and this proposition is easy for our strategic partners to take to market  particularly TNZ and Air NZ says Kristin. The regional story has given us a base in order to sing from the same songbook with all the other regional organisations who are taking Tauranga and the coastal Bay of Plenty to the world.

As a result of the extensive stakeholder engagement and the development of the regional story came TBOPs new branding and consequential logo.
MASON CITY | A Mason City man was arrested on felony charges following a chase Sunday evening reaching speeds of 100 mph, authorities say.

Jesse L. Halfpop, 26, led officers on a chase around 8:30 p.m. from the south side of Mason City that continued to the Avenue of the Saints and ended at Cameo Avenue near Nora Springs, according to the Iowa State Patrol.

Two juveniles charged after North Iowa 120 mph chase CHARLES CITY | Two male juveniles from Cedar Rapids in an allegedly stolen vehicle face mult

Halfpop lost control and went into a ditch when he tried to avoid stop sticks placed by the Nora Springs Police Department, said State Patrol Sgt. Dana Knutson.

A trooper then struck Halfpop's vehicle to stop him, according to Knutson. He said the patrol car was damaged.

Knutson said a Taser was used on Halfpop during his arrest because "he was uncooperative."

Halfpop was taken to Mercy Medical Center--North Iowa to be evaluated, but he wasn't injured, according to Knutson.

Halfpop was booked into the Cerro Gordo County Jail on felony charges of eluding and third-offense operating while under the influence, as well as misdemeanor charges of driving while license denied or revoked, open container, speeding and failure to obey a stop or yield sign.

Deputies arrest two North Iowans after chase involving stolen truck tops 110 mph ROCKWELL | Men from Klemme and Mason City were arrested Tuesday morning near Rockwell after 

Halfpop also was wanted on a warrant for allegedly violating his probation on a misdemeanor domestic assault conviction.
A hundred years to the day of making a difference in the world brought members of the Papamoa Lions Club together for a special dinner this week.

They further marked the occasion by inducting two new members into the club.

The dinner was held at the club meeting room in Dickson Road, celebrating 100 years of Lions Club International.

Guest speaker was Jill Best, who recently retired from her librarian role at Tauranga Library, which also has a history dating back 100 years.

Membership in the Lions Club is a privilege. You join the worlds largest and most active service club organisation, says Papamoa Lions Club secretary Kelvin Bennett, welcoming new members Terry Connolly and Lorraine Kinn. They were both sponsored by fellow member Murray Green who is now responsible for orientating them to the clubs meetings, code of ethics and projects.

The new members received special Lions name badges marking the 100 year occasion. Anyone else joining the club over the next few months will also receive a similar centennial badge.

A hundred years, 1.4 million members worldwide, 46,000 clubs in 200 countries, says Lion member Barry Bean. And were all united with one cause - that we serve. Its a great organisation to belong to. Lions are certainly doing a worthy job, helping a lot of people. The Bethlehem Te Puna Lions Club has run a Rise Up Tauranga project during May, collecting over $500,000 of furniture at The Cargo Shed from Tauranga residents to get to Edgecumbe flood victims. A small group of dedicated people can achieve stunning outcomes.

Being a part of a distinguished service history dates back to 1917 when Lions Club International began as a dream of a Chicago insurance man Melvin Jones. In response to social problems created by World War I and rapid industrialization, Melvin invited business clubs from around the USA to a meeting on June 7, 1917, where the Association of Lions Clubs was formed. He believed that local business clubs should expand their horizons from purely business concerns to the betterment of their communities and the world at large.

Jack English.

The new group took the name of one of the groups invited  the Association of Lions Clubs, and a national convention was held in Dallas, Texas in October of that year. There were 36 delegates representing 22 clubs from nine states, a far cry from the number of people who attend Lions conventions these days. This first convention established what the association was to become with a constitution, bylaws and codes of ethics approved.

Since that humble beginning in 1917, Lions members have volunteered their time and talents to meet needs wherever they exist. Lions are especially dedicated to serving the blind and the visually impaired, a commitment made when Helen Keller challenged Lions to become "knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness during the 1925 International Convention in Ohio. Lions enthusiastically dedicated themselves to what would become a signature cause for their first 100 years of service.

In 1930, Lion George Bonham created a white cane with a wide red band to aid the visually impaired after witnessing a blind man having trouble crossing the street. Since then, the white cane has become a symbol of independence to those who use it to guide their way.

The Detroit Uptown Lions Club established a guide dog training school. Known today as Leader Dogs for the Blind, the school has graduated more than 14,500 guide dogs since 1939 and helped popularize the idea of service dogs. In 1945, Lions assisted in drafting the United Nations Charter, starting a lasting bond with the U.N.

After an international contest among Lions in 1954, an official motto was chosen: "We Serve." The motto, submitted by Lion D. A. Stevenson of Canada is still the foremost goal of each Lions club, and resonates through every project.

Another interesting milestone happened in 1956 when the Detroit Lions Club gave 6-year-old Stevie Wonder a Christmas gift  a drum set.

In 1968, theLions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) was established. Since its founding, LCIF has given more than US$826 million in grants to support the humanitarian work of Lions.

Papamoa Lions Club President Wayne Keereweer and Club Secretary Kelvin Bennett.

The Lions motto we serve perfectly exemplifies the dedication to helping those in need.

Your membership in the Papamoa Lions Club will carry on this tradition of service for many years to come, says Kelvin to the new members.

The Papamoa Lions Club, in comparison to the international organisation, is still young. Chartered in the 1970s by the Mount Maunganui Lions Club, like their founding fathers, members have been tirelessly serving those in need in Papamoa and further abroad since those early days. One of their current projects is collecting spectacles for Pacific Island communities.

The Papamoa Lions club which has about 40 members, raises funds for the community mostly by running a market. Held on the second and fourth Sundays of each month at the Gordon Spratt Reserve, this market brings in about $40,000 per year which the club redistributes to needs within Papamoa and beyond. The Lions have been running this market for 23 years, charging $5 for a site, and operating a food caravan selling hot dogs, sandwiches and drinks. Five members run the caravan, and another three set the market up with the first Lion arriving on site at 4.30am.

At the centenary dinner, the club approved funds to go to the Tauranga Western Bay of Plenty Annual Special Needs Children Bowling Party.

Our biggest funds go to youth, we try to do that locally, says Adam McLaughlin. And to local charities. Some national and some international needs. We send kids to Outward Bound and experiences like that. 

The market held directly after the Edgecumbe flood saw all the funds raised on that Sunday go directly to Edgecumbe.

Theres a lot of laughter, warmth and humour at Lions Club meetings and the acknowledgement of milestones made by members. This night was no exception, with two members, Adam McLaughlin and Don Whitworth presented with OBE certificates - Over Bloody Eighty.

It takes a long time to get one of these, quipped Adam.

After a fascinating talk by Jill Best who has an active retirement seeing thousands of books go into Pacific Island communities, Club president Wayne Keereweer invited past district governors Kelvin Bennett and Alan Kilby to cut the centennial cake.

The night ended with the traditional Tail Twisting. Lorraine Putze is the appointed Tail Twister for the year, and with help from fellow Lion Graeme Mortlock  Morty, she is tasked with fining members for various misdemeanours such as getting their name in a local newspaper, becoming a Gold card member, having a birthday, and having a date with a nurse in the public hospital. Morty roams the room with a ceramic lion jar receiving fines in the form of loose change from members pockets.

Dave Sullivans parting thought for the evening brought laughter and applause.

Weve been put here to serve others. But I dont know what the others have been put here for, says Dave.

Don Whitworth and Adam McLaughlin receiving their OBE certificates.

Members of the Papamoa Lions Club on the 100th Anniversary of Lions Club International forming in 1917.
A Bay of Plenty teenager accidently set himself on fire whilst starting a fire with petrol.

The Trustpower TECT Rescue Helicopter was dispatched to Opotiki around 2.30pm after the 17-year-old suffered serious burns to his body.

Pilot Todd Dunham says the teenager was using petrol to start a fire at an Opotiki address.

The accident resulted in very serious burns to his arms, legs and abdomen.

St John paramedics stabilised the patient before being flown to Waikato Hospital.

The helicopter was called due to the seriousness of the injuries and distance to the required hospital.
Police have today commenced a new phase of Operation Viaduct, the investigation into the disappearance of a woman who went missing from her home July 2016.

Kim Richmond disappeared from her Arohena home address on the morning of July 31, 2016.

The silver Ford Ranger ute (registration HKD553), that she is believed to have been in, also remains outstanding.

Today, the Police National Dive Squad are at Lake Arapuni searching areas that require further investigation, says Detective Senior Sergeant Ross Patterson of the Waikato CIB.

"Waikato Search and Rescue Team and investigators are also on site, working together during this phase.

Kim has been missing since last July and the case has remained open.

Despite our extensive inquiry we still hope to find her, though we now believe she is dead.

Though time has quickly slipped away, we are still keen to hear from anyone who has information relating to Kims disappearance, as we are committed to bringing her family some closure, says Ross.

If anyone has information regarding this case they should contact Acting Detective Sergeant Ian Foster or Detective Senior Sergeant Ross Patterson at the Te Awamutu Police Station on 07 8720 100.

Alternatively, information can be reported anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Councillors in Marbella are concerned that the resorts image and reputation are being damaged by antisocial behaviour, especially because in recent weeks there has been an increase in the presence of drunken tourists in the Puerto Banus area.

Javier Porcuna, councillor for Security, told a press conference this week that new regulations are now being drawn up to control behaviour which is considered antisocial, which includes going shirtless in certain places, and that fines will be imposed on those who do not comply.

He said this initiative was already being planned when, on Sunday 28 May, ten people were injured and two British tourists arrested, in a hit-and-run incident described at the time as an isolated incident.

He stressed that the local authority had already decided to reinforce the police presence in Puerto Banus, with six more Local Police officers being assigned to the area. The original plan was for these measures to be implemented from 13 June to 30 September, but the council decided to put them into effect earlier because the Marbella Luxury Weekend was scheduled to take place beforehand.

Porcuna didnt give details of the instructions which have been given to the police, but he stressed that situations such as those which have occurred recently will not be tolerated.

Keeping checks on bars

Without referring explicitly to drunken foreign tourists, the councillor explained that the local authority will be keeping a careful eye on establishments which take advantage of their customers antisocial behaviour. We are not talking about using powers which are beyond our means, but there are licences which are granted at our total discretion, and when looking at those we will analyse in detail whether we are contributing to the improvement of the Puerto Banus product or whether we are taking a step backwards, he said.

However, he stressed that this initiative not only needs to be adopted from the policing point of view but also needs cooperation from business owners. Some already take into account the type of clientele they want and the type they dont, but others do not feel the same way. We have to decide where we need to focus our attention, he said.

Porcuna admitted that tourists and customers cannot be selected at the airport or in the street, but he said that there is a wish to try to encourage some people to come to Marbella and discourage others from doing so.

The councillor explained that the local authority wants to modify the regulation, although this takes longer, rather than issue a decree, because that is normally only done on a temporary basis. The reports which have to be prepared beforehand have already been approved, he said.

He stressed, however, that the council will not be able to reinforce the numbers of National Police officers, because the interior ministry in Madrid is already only providing partial cover for the summer holidays, and although there is very good cooperation between the council and National Police headquarters in Marbella, the resources available are limited.

Enforce the existing rules

Meanwhile, the Partido Popular has called on the council not only to increase the fines for contravening the regulations but also to provide more specific details of what constitutes antisocial behaviour.

The PP suggests that a cross-party working group should be set up to review the existing regulations and impose harsher penalties in response to new problems which are arising. They also want existing regulations to be applied more effectively. At present, fines of between 750 and 3,000 euros can be imposed, depending on the seriousness of the offence. Walking shirtless in the street, holding outdoor drinking parties or having sex in certain places are already considered offences.

The party is worried that the media are starting to portray Marbella unfavourably.
You must be reading this post Election UK 2017. I write as the polls suggest a hung parliament after a campaign that, as always, tends to focus on the economy. How does any country support the elderly, ensure security, find sufficient funds to run the health service, maintain pensions, build new houses and pay for education etc? Will Brexit make the UK/the EU/Spain richer or poorer?

Money was a great invention as important as the wheel. It enables us to buy what we need without having to barter. Bronze-age men like Abraham had to barter to live. Shall we swap some of your cloth for my goat? With the in-between of money you can sell your goat to one person and buy cloth from another.

But money is a servant, not a god, and as Saint Paul said, Love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.

When money becomes the reason why the elderly cannot be looked after, why some expat pensioners are on the breadline, why countries are crippled by debt, why politicians become corrupt, then money has taken charge.

Our psyche automatically asks how much everything is going to cost or earn. We blithely accept that capitalism, by definition, must be driven by the profit motive, but that motive encourages people to want more wealth, usually for themselves. It relies on people being selfish, and, for a Christian, that is the opposite of what Jesus called us to be. To my shame, some churches even preach that God will bring you great financial wealth if only you put money in the plate now. That is not how God works!

I want to live in a world where, irrespective of cost, the elderly and infirm are looked after, the hospitals have sufficient staff, people are safe and educated to their potential and everyone has enough to eat and a roof over their head - irrespective of money. I want money to be the servant, not the tyrant that cuts love out of society.

It takes a major mind shift to think like that, but governments must learn that running a country is not simply like the bookkeeping of a corner shop, because it deals with humanity, not commodity.

One day the banks lending to Greece, for example, will have to do a massive mind shift. Greece, and a dozen other countries, will never be able to grow themselves out of their horrendous debt, instead they need their debts to be forgiven - like in the year of Jubilee in the Bible - when debts were cancelled. If it doesnt happen the prospect is dire. Macroeconomics fails when it drives Trump to dump the Paris agreement on climate change. It failed when, in 2008, the US banks foolishly speculated on unpayable mortgage debts. The media reported that recession caused 10,000 more suicides, 20 million lost jobs and, amazingly, half a million more cancer deaths. All in the name of money.

The economics of the school tuck shop should never be applied to the macro-needs of dementia care, drug provision, reciprocal health, refugee care, feeding the hungry or housing the homeless. Such economics forces the weak to be poor and the poor to be hungry.

Meanwhile, I have a friend, with severe dementia and no family to look after her. Her apartment was sold a year ago, and now that money is running out. What will happen to her when it is gone and the care home has to turf her out? Im reminded of the Scottish version of the Lords Prayer: Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
Three Norwegian nationals, all aged 20, have been detained on suspicion of vandalising a charitys outdoor exhibition in central Malaga. The display currently running in the citys main Calle Larios consists of 60 large panels with a mixture of photographs of local personalities and testimonies of cancer. At 5am on Wednesday a street cleaner spotted four youths damaging six of the panels. Police were able to detain three at the scene and one managed to evade capture. The exhibition was organised with AECC, the cancer charity.
Three US soldiers were killed and another wounded during a joint US-Afghan military operation Saturday in Nangarhar province, US officials told CNN.

An American official said the soldiers were shot in an apparent insider attack, also known as a "green-on-blue" incident because of the color-coding system used by NATO. During such assaults, members of the Afghan security forces are known to target US and other NATO soldiers.

The shooter in Saturday's incident was an Afghan army commando, Nangarhar provincial spokesman Attaullah Khogyani said. He said the assailant was killed by Afghan forces.

The shootings occurred in the Achin District, where US and Afghan troops have been carrying out a monthslong offensive against a local affiliate of ISIS, officials said.

Taliban claim responsibility

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the militants claimed responsibility for the attack.

"A Mujahid (freedom fighter) infiltrator of the Islamic Emirate who had enrolled himself in the Kabul government's army attacked American soldiers in Lata Band area of Achin district in Nangarhar province today in the afternoon," said a written statement in Pashto obtained by CNN. "The American invaders were there to support their Afghan slaves."

US President Donald Trump was briefed on the shootings, a White House spokesman said, but as of Saturday evening there had been no comment from the President.

US Vice President Mike Pence addressed the attack while in Milwaukee on Saturday.

"The President and I have been briefed. Details of this attack will be forthcoming," Pence said. "When heroes fall, Americans grieve. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of American heroes."

A US military spokesman in Afghanistan said the military "will release more information when appropriate."

Afghan police killed in another incident

In Kabul, meanwhile, the US military command said an unspecified number of Afghan police were killed and wounded in a "friendly fire" incident during a joint Afghan-US operation overnight Saturday.

US Forces Afghanistan said members of the Afghan Border Police in Helmand province were killed and wounded during an operation involving US and Afghan defense and security forces.

The deaths occurred when a US aircraft fired on Afghan police, said Omar Zawak, spokesman for the governor of Helmand.

US Forces Afghanistan is investigating the incident.

Two US service member killed in April

US and coalition casualties in Afghanistan have become rarer in recent years, falling dramatically since the Afghan government assumed responsibility for combat operations in 2014.

But in late April, two US service members were killed and another wounded while conducting a joint raid in the Achin District, a Pentagon spokesman said. The operation was targeting ISIS-K, the terror group's Afghanistan affiliate.

Achin District is the primary base of operations for ISIS in Afghanistan and has been the site of multiple joint US-Afghan counterterrorism missions. A US Army Special Forces soldier was killed fighting the terror group there in early April.

The district is also where the US dropped one of its most powerful bombs, killing close to 100 ISIS fighters, according to Afghan officials.

Beginning in 2016, Afghan security forces backed by US military advisers launched a major offensive against ISIS. Gen. John W. Nicholson, commander of US Forces Afghanistan, has said the terror group has lost about half of its fighters and been ejected from two-thirds of its territory.

The latest counter-ISIS push began in March of this year.

US officials estimate ISIS has 600 to 800 fighters in the country -- mostly former members of other regional terror groups, such as the Pakistani Taliban and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. ISIS is believed to be behind a series of terror attacks, including the recent deadly attack on a hospital in Kabul.

There are about 8,400 US troops in Afghanistan. The US counterterrorism mission is separate from the NATO-led effort to train, advise and assist the Afghan army and police force in the fight against the Taliban.

CNN's Athena Jones and Spencer Feingold and journalist Sune Engel Rasmussen in Kabul contributed to this story.
BOCA RATON, Fla., June 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Recently, ADT LLC, a leading provider of security and automation solutions for homes and businesses, celebrated one of its LifeSaver events in Fresno, Calif. where ADT customer Katie Anderson shared a powerful story of survival.



Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a2fb4a5c-f399-43ae-ac90-12205eb68bac

http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/586938d2-d680-4c23-8cc6-b7edbea4151f

Anderson believes her life was saved when she activated her homes two-way voice security system as her estranged boyfriend was attacking her. An ADT operator came on the line and asked if everything was okay. Anderson said no and requested the operator call 911. In the background, the operator could hear a man trying to control the conversation by claiming Anderson was okay. The ADT operator disconnected from the home and called police.

Within minutes, officers were at Andersons door but the attacker had fled. Anderson believes the ADT security system scared him off and saved her life.

I felt the sheer panic that he would kill me, Anderson said. He had been abusing me for about 90 minutessmothering me, holding me down and not allowing any chance of escaping my home while repeatedly threatening to kill me. He had taken my cell phone and keys so I couldnt call the cops or drive away. The security system was my lifeline.

The ADT LifeSaver event was held June 8 at Fresnos Marjaree Mason Center, one of Californias largest domestic violence shelters. Anderson met ADT team members and police officers who played a part in her rescue.

I am sharing this horrific event in my life to illuminate the issue of domestic violence and to bring other victims forward, Anderson said. I am grateful my life was spared.

As part the event, ADT contributed $5,000 to the Fresno Police Chiefs Foundation and an additional $5,000 to the Marjaree Mason Center.

According to the CDC, 33% of California women and 27% of California men, experience intimate partner physical violence in their lifetimes.

About ADT

ADT is a leading provider of security and automation solutions for homes and businesses in the United States and Canada. ADT's broad and pioneering set of products and services, including ADT Pulse interactive home and business solutions, and health services, meet a range of customer needs for todays active and increasingly mobile lifestyles. Headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida.
English Lithuanian

Notice is hereby given that on the initiative and by the resolution of the Board of AB Klaipedos Nafta, legal entity code 110648893, with the registered office at Buriu g. 19, Klaipeda (hereinafter, the Company), from 12 June 2017, an extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders of the Company will be held on 4 July 2017 at 1:00 p.m. The meeting will be held in the Companys office at Buriu st. 19, Klaipeda, in the administrative premises of the Company (in the hall of the meeting on the 2nd Floor).

Agenda of the meeting:

1. Regarding the approval of AB Klaipedos Nafta board decision to conclude the agreement on engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of 2x10.000 m3 and 4x5.000 m3 light oil products tanks with the winner of public procurement tender performed by AB Klaipedos Nafta Construction of 2x10.000 m3 and 4x5.000 m3 light oil product tanks.

2. Regarding the approval of AB Klaipedos Nafta board decision to conclude the agreement on engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of 6x20,000 m3 light oil products tanks with the winner of public procurement tender performed by AB Klaipedos Nafta Construction of 6x20,000 m3 light oil product tanks.

The shareholders will be registered from 12:00 p.m. to 12:55 p.m. The persons intending to participate in the meeting shall have a personal ID document (an authorised representative shall have additionally a proxy approved under the established procedure. The natural persons proxy shall be notarised. A proxy issued in a foreign state shall be translated into the Lithuanian language and legalised under the procedure prescribed by laws).

A shareholder or his proxy shall have the right to vote in writing in advance by filling in a general ballot paper. At the request of the shareholder, the Company shall send a general ballot paper to the shareholder by registered mail free of charge at least 10 days before the meeting. The filled-in general ballot paper and the document attesting the voting right shall be submitted to the Company no later than until the meeting, sending by registered mail or providing them at the address of the registered office of the Company indicated in the notice.

The shareholders who hold shares carrying at least 1/20 of all the votes may propose additions to the agenda of the general meeting of shareholders by submitting with every proposed additional item of the agenda a draft resolution of the general meeting of shareholders or, when no resolution is required, an explanation. Proposals on addition to the agenda shall be submitted in writing or sent by e-mail. Written proposals shall be submitted to the Company on business days or sent by registered mail at the address of the registered office of the Company indicated in the notice. Proposals submitted by e-mail shall be sent to the following e-mails: info@kn.lt and a.kasparas@kn.lt. The agenda shall be supplemented if the proposal is received no later than 14 days before the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders. If the agenda of the general meeting of shareholders is supplemented, the Company shall notify on the additions no later than 10 days before the meeting in the same ways as in the case of convocation of the meeting.

The shareholders, who hold shares carrying at least 1/20 of all the votes, at any time before the general meeting of shareholders or during the meeting, may propose new draft resolutions on items which are or will be included in the agenda of the meeting. The proposals may be submitted in writing or sent by e-mail. Written proposals shall be submitted to the Company on business days or sent by registered mail at the address of the registered office of the Company indicated in the notice. Proposals submitted by e-mail shall be sent to the following e-mails: info@kn.lt and a.kasparas@kn.lt.

The shareholders shall have the right to submit to the Company in advance questions relating to the items on the agenda of the meeting. The shareholders may submit their written questions to the Company on business days or send by registered mail at the address of the registered office of the Company indicated in the notice no later than 3 business days before the meeting. The Company will reply to the questions by e-mail or in writing before the meeting, except the questions which are related to the Companys commercial (industrial) secret, confidential information or which have been submitted later than 3 business days before the meeting.

The Company does not provide the possibility of participating and voting at the meeting by means of electronic communications means.

The Shareholder shall have the right to authorize through electronic communications means another person (natural or legal) to participate and vote in the meeting on behalf of the shareholder. No notarisation of such authorization is required. The shareholder must confirm the proxy issued through electronic communications means by an electronic signature developed by a secure signature-creation device and approved by a qualified certificate effective in the Republic of Lithuania. The shareholder shall inform the Company on the proxy issued through electronic communications means to the following e-mails: info@kn.lt and a.kasparas@kn.lt no later than until the last business day before the meeting at 1:00 p.m. The proxy and the notice must be issued in writing. The proxy and the notice to the Company shall be signed with the electronic signature but not the letter sent by e-mail. By submitting the notice to the Company, the shareholder shall include the internet address from which it would be possible to download software free of charge to verify the shareholders electronic signature.

The record date of the meeting shall be 27 June 2017 (only those persons who will be shareholders of the Company at the close of the record date of the general meeting of shareholders or their authorised persons, or persons with whom an agreement on assignment of the voting right has been executed, may participate and vote at the general meeting of shareholders).

The shareholders of the Company may familiarise with the draft resolution of the meeting and the form of the general ballot paper under the procedure prescribed by laws in the registered office of the Company at Buriu st. 19, Klaipeda (tel.: 8 46 391772), or on the Companys website at http://www.kn.lt/. The following information and documents shall be provided on the abovementioned internet website of the Company:

- the notification on convocation of the meeting;

- total number of the Companys shares and the number of shares with voting rights on the convening day of the meeting.

Enclosed:

1. Draft decision of the General Meeting of Shareholders.

2. General voting ballot paper of the General Meeting of Shareholders.
CALGARY, Alberta, June 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Members of the media are invited to attend memorandums of understanding (MOU) signing ceremonies involving the International Centre of Regulatory Excellence (ICORE).



ICORE is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization launched earlier this year to provide a global platform for world-class regulatory innovation, training and collaboration, for regulators around the world. ICORE President Jim Ellis will be available for comment after each event.

MOU signing ceremony between ICORE and SAIT



Date: Monday, June 12, 2017

Time: 3:30 p.m.  4:30 p.m.

Location: SAIT (MacDonald Hall, Heritage Hall Building), 1301  16 Ave NW





MOU signing ceremony between ICORE and the University of Alberta



Date: Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Time: 4:30 p.m.  6:00 p.m.

Location: BMO Centre (2nd floor, Mustang Room), 20 Roundup Way SE

The International Centre of Regulatory Excellence is a Canadian not-for-profit organization with a vision to become the global centre of regulatory excellence for innovation, training and collaboration in extractive industries.
A British data watchdog has raised questions about whether it was appropriate for a healthcare trust to share data on 1.6 million patients with DeepMind Health, an artificial intelligence company owned by Google.

The trust shared the data in connection with the test phase of Streams, an app designed to diagnose acute kidney injuries. However, the sharing was performed without an appropriate legal basis, Sky News reported earlier this week, based on a letter it obtained.

The National Data Guardian at the Department of Health earlier this year sent the letter to Stephen Powis, the medical director of the Royal Free Hospital in London, which provided the patients records to DeepMind. The National Data Guardian safeguards the use of healthcare information in the UK.

The UKs Information Commissioners Office also has been probing the matter, and is expected to complete its investigation soon.

One of the concerns since the launch of the Streams project has been whether the data shared with Google would be used appropriately.

The data used to provide the app has always been strictly controlled by the Royal Free and has never been used for commercial purposes or combined with Google products, services or ads  and never will be, DeepMind said in a statement provided to TechNewsWorld by spokesperson Ruth Barnett.

DeepMind also said that it recognizes that there needs to be much more public engagement and discussion about new technology in the National Health System, and that it wants to be one of the most transparent companies working in NHS IT.

Safety-First Approach

Royal Free takes seriously the conclusions of the NDG, the hospital said in a statement provided to TechNewsWorld by spokesperson Ian Lloyd. It is pleased that the NDG asked the Department of Health to look closely at the regulatory framework and guidance provided to organizations engaging in innovation.

Streams is a new technology, and there are always lessons that can be learned from pioneering work, Royal Free noted.

However, the hospital took a safety-first approach in testing Streams with real data, in order to check that the app was presenting patient information accurately and safely before being deployed in a live patient setting, it maintained.

Real patient data is routinely used in the NHS to check new systems are working properly before turning them fully live, Royal Free explained, adding that no responsible hospital would deploy a system that hadnt been thoroughly tested.

Googles Reputation

The controversy over Streams may have less to do with patient privacy and more to do with Google.

If this hadnt involved a GoFA (Google Facebook Amazon), I wonder if this would have evoked such an outcry, observed Jessica Groopman, a principal analyst at Tractica.

In this case, DeepMinds affiliation with Google may have hurt it, she told TechNewsWorld.

Although theres no evidence of data abuse by DeepMind, the future fate of personal healthcare information is an issue that has raised concerns, Groopman noted.

Theres a concern that once these sorts of applications  and use of these sets of big, personal data  become more commonplace, it will lead to commercial use of the data, she said. Im sure that Google and DeepMind understand that anything they do is going to be hyperscrutinized through this lens of advertising revenue.

Too Much Privacy

Health apps can have real benefits for individuals, as Streams illustrates, but they need data to do it, which can raise privacy questions.

When youre looking at deep learning applications, the amount of data that is required to train these models is huge, Groopman explained. Thats why these kinds of tensions will continue to occur.

Patient information must be given the highest level of protection within an organization, argued Lee Kim, privacy and security director at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society.

But there must be a balance between restrictions and availability of the data, she told TechNewsWorld.

An immense amount of progress can be made in healthcare and self-care through the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence to deliver more accessible, affordable and effective care solutions to the market, noted Jeff Dachis, CEO of One Drop, a platform for the personal management of diabetes.

We must always respect data privacy and the individuals right to that privacy, he told TechNewsWorld, but not halt all the much needed progress in this area under the guise of data privacy.
According to Google, their 2017 Philippine Independence Day Doodle combines the beauty of the Philippine flag and the countrys unique island landscapes.

The Philippine flag was first raised on June 12, 1898 in Kawit, Cavite as a symbol of the countrys independence from Spanish colonial rule. Now, on a daily basis, flag raising ceremonies are held in all schools and government offices while singing the Philippine National Anthem.

2009

2010

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Today,is joining our nation in celebrating its 119th Independence Day with a special one-day only doodle designed by Filipino illustratorThe artwork - which represents thethat GooglePH is being one with us in this celebration - also features Filipinos gathered around the Philippine flag for a flag raising ceremony while sunrise can be seen over the water, symbolizing the Filipinos optimism in the face of adversity."Doodle" is the name used by Google for decorative changes made to its Search logo to celebrate holidays, anniversaries, and the lives of famous artists and scientists, among other things.So far, here are all Doodles released by Google to commemorate the Philippine Independence Day:Google Doodles make searches more fun and informative as we learn new things with each new design. For instance, clicking on the 119th Philippine Independence Day Doodle will lead visitors to a search page where they can get more details about the history of Philippine independence.
Danish English

San Diego, US, 12 June 2017 - Novo Nordisk today announced the primary results from DEVOTE - the first randomised, double-blind, treat-to-target, event-driven trial comparing two basal insulins, Tresiba (insulin degludec injection 100 U/mL) and insulin glargine U100, in adults with type 2 diabetes at high risk of cardiovascular (CV) disease. The trial demonstrated that Tresiba met the primary endpoint of non-inferiority compared with insulin glargine U100 for major adverse CV events (MACE) with a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.91 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.78; 1.06, p=0.209). Additionally, the findings for each component of MACE were consistent with the primary endpoint, including first occurrence of CV death (HR=0.96, 95% CI: 0.76; 1.21, p=0.714), non-fatal myocardial infarction (HR=0.85, 95% CI: 0.68; 1.06, p=0.150) or non-fatal stroke (HR=0.90, 95% CI: 0.65; 1.23, p=0.502).1

Results from the trial, involving 7,637 people with type 2 diabetes followed for approximately two years, were presented at the American Diabetes Association's 77th Scientific Sessions (ADA 2017) and also published simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine.1

Results from the secondary endpoints of the trial showed a significant reduction in the rate of severe (40%) and nocturnal severe (53%) hypoglycaemia with Tresiba vs. insulin glargine U100 (both p<0.001).* Additionally, post hoc analyses showed: similar levels of glycaemic control with an end of trial HbA 1c estimated treatment difference of 0.01% (p=0.779) between the two treatment groups and significantly lower fasting plasma glucose levels with Tresiba after 2 years vs. insulin glargine U100 (estimated treatment difference -7.2 mg/dL, p<0.001).1

"In the DEVOTE trial degludec demonstrated no increase in the risk of major cardiovascular events and significant reductions in the rates of severe and nocturnal severe hypoglycaemia compared to insulin glargine U100," said Dr Bernard Zinman of the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada and member of the DEVOTE Steering Committee. "Risk of cardiovascular disease and hypoglycaemia are important concerns for those with type 2 diabetes and the results from DEVOTE add to the mounting evidence that will play an important role in treatment decisions."

The safety profile of Tresiba in DEVOTE was generally consistent with previous Tresiba clinical trials.1 In DEVOTE, systematic collection of adverse events was limited to serious adverse events, adverse events leading to permanent discontinuation of investigational product (5.2% of patients in the Tresiba arm and 5.8% of patients in the insulin glargine U100 arm), medication errors leading to serious adverse events and adverse events related to technical complaints.

*Severe hypoglycaemia was defined as an episode requiring assistance of another person, and nocturnal severe defined as between the hours of 00:01-05:59, inclusive.1

About DEVOTE

DEVOTE is a long-term, multi-national, randomised, double-blind and event-driven trial conducted to confirm the CV safety of Tresiba (insulin degludec) compared to insulin glargine U100. In the trial, 7,637 people (Tresiba: n=3,818, insulin glargine U100: n=3,819) with type 2 diabetes at high risk of CV disease were randomised to treatment with either Tresiba or insulin glargine U100 in vial in addition to standard of care.1

The primary endpoint in DEVOTE was time from randomisation to the first occurrence of a three-component composite CV outcome comprising CV death, non-fatal myocardial infarction or non-fatal stroke. Secondary endpoints included severe hypoglycaemia, nocturnal severe hypoglycaemia, HbA 1c and fasting plasma glucose.1

About Tresiba

Tresiba (insulin degludec) is a once-daily basal insulin that provides a duration of action beyond 42 hours with a flat and stable glucose-lowering effect.2,3 It provides low within-day and day-to-day variability and a lower risk of overall, nocturnal and severe hypoglycaemia vs. insulin glargine U100.1,2 On occasions when administration at the same time of day is not possible, Tresiba allows for flexibility in day-to-day dosing time with a minimum of eight hours between injections.2 Tresiba received its first regulatory approval in September 2012 and has since been approved in more than 80 countries globally. It is now commercially available in more than 50 countries.
The discovery of graphene in 2004 led to an explosion of two-dimensional insulators, semiconductors and superconductors. Since that time, however, one specific single-atom-thick material has remained elusive... until now.

Pablo Jarillo-Herrero, a condensed-matter physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Xiaodong Xu, an optoelectronics researcher with the University of Washington, joined forces in 2016 in the hunt for a 2D magnet - a quest each had been on separately up to that point. It didn't take long for the duo to attain their goal.

A paper detailing their breakthrough, published in a recent issue of Nature, notes the use of chromium triiodide to create the 2D magnet. This material was selected due to the fact that it is a crystal comprised of stacked sheets that can be separated using the "Scotch tape" technique that was instrumental in the early days of graphene.

As suspected, the scientists found that the material maintained its magnetic characteristics even when stripped down to a single-atom-thick layer. Oddly enough, a two-layer-thick sheet isn't magnetic yet when a third layer is added, it once again becomes a ferromagnet.

While a significant breakthrough in the world of physics, these 2D magnets still need plenty of refinement before they show up in consumer-facing devices. That's because, in their current state, they must be kept at a temperature of -228 degrees C (roughly -378 degrees F).

Lead photo via Getty Images
Uber's board of directors met on Sunday, June 11, to talk about many things, including a leave absence for the company's CEO, Travis Kalanick, according to reports.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick To Take Some Time Off?

Should he take time off from the company, Kalanick might return in a role with less authority, a source said. Possibilities include Kalanick assuming a role other than CEO or maintaining the CEO position with narrower responsibilities.

Sources familiar with the situation stated that Uber also addressed several recommendations during the meeting  including the dismissal of some top managers. Those recommendations came from a company-wide investigation by former attorney general Eric Holder, who probed the company's purportedly toxic culture for months. In the case of Kalanick's reported leave of absence, Uber's board might arrive at a decision depending on the findings of that report.

Recode first broke news of the meeting on Saturday, June 10, calling Holder's report "ugly" and stating that the meeting will result in possible management changes. Moreover, sources who have seen parts of the report said it described Uber as having a "hostile work environment." Worse, it also said Uber doesn't have systems set in place to deal with violation should they occur.

Uber Senior VP Asked To Leave

The New York Times now reports that one of the recommendations culled from Holder's report calls Emil Michael, the company's senior VP of business, to leave Uber. The report notes that Michael appears to be a close confidant of Kalanick.

Presently, Michael hasn't resigned nor has he been asked to, a source familiar with the situation said. Michael, however, appears to be evaluating other options for the future, according to the report.

Uber's Many Challenges

Several allegations, such as sexual harassment claims, have burdened Uber in the last few months  with the allegations coming from both current and former employees. Susan Fowler, a former Uber engineer, detailed such claims in a lengthy and scathing blog post, illustrating a harrowing portrait of Uber's workplace culture, in which instances of sexual harassment go largely ignored, downplayed, and mishandled.

In the midst of Uber's series of controversies, the company asked Eric Holder to conduct an independent investigation earlier this year. Holder delivered the result of that probe last week to a special subcommittee, which includes Arianna Huffington, Bill Gurley, and David Bonderman. The report has also made it to the hands of Uber's entire board, including Kalanick himself.

All board members agree that changes must be made, significant ones at that. The question is, however: What exactly should those changes be?

Certainly, Kalanick's reported leave of absence could be one of those changes, especially if he returns, indeed, in a role with less authority. At present, however, it's uncertain if the board will introduce a decision to change his role.

All told, the company appears to be exerting mountainous efforts to try and repair its workplace culture and brand. The company recently hired two top female executives to do the heavy jobs: Frances Frei, who'll assume Uber's senior VP for leadership and strategy position, and Bozoma Saint John, who'll assume Uber's first chief brand officer. The setup clearly makes it seem Frei will handle Uber's internal culture, while Saint John will fix what Uber looks like from the outside.

In fact, it appears Uber is beginning to clean itself up. Just recently, the company sacked 20 people following a parallel independent investigation by law firm Perkins Coie, which looked into sexual harassment claims inside the company.

But no one can ascertain if Uber's series of cleanups will work. Some think the company might need deep and extensive restructuring entirely.

"To me, they don't just need a culture change," said Micah Alpern, principal at management and consulting firm A. T. Kearney. "They need to start from scratch to create a new culture entirely."

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Washington, D.C, June 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Washington, D.C.  More than 250 of the nations mayors will meet in Miami Beach for the U.S. Conference of Mayors Annual Meeting, which runs from from June 23 to 26, 2017 at the Fountainbleu Hotel. Under the leadership of USCM President Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett and host Miami Beach Mayor Phil Levine, mayors will discuss a wide variety of priorities that contribute to the overall health of Americas cities, as well as consider and adopt the policy resolutions that guide the advocacy agenda of the organization.

"The U.S. Conference of Mayors is pleased to bring our Annual Meeting to Miami Beach, a city that certainly knows the challenges of climate change," said USCM CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran. "As we gather to work on the many issues before our nation's cities such as comprehensive immigration reform, ensuring affordable healthcare access to our residents, making sure the federal budget addresses the needs of working families and tackling issues of public safety, we will continue, as we have for more than a decade, to harness the collective strength of mayors to reduce carbon emissions in U.S. cities across the country."

Highlights of the four-day event include remarks from Department of Labor Secretary Acosta, Veterans Affairs Secretary Shulkin, political strategist and pollster Frank Luntz and National Urban League President & CEO Marc Morial, Former Homeland Security Advisor Fran Townsend and author Richard Florida The New Urban Crisis, along with sessions on climate protection and resilience, the economy and employment forecast for 2017 and beyond, Community Development Block Grants and public safety. With more than 85% of people in the United States living in our nations cities and metro areas, mayors are convinced that despite their geographic location, cities large and small are plagued by many of the same challenges. As a result, and unlike other elected officials, mayors are often able to find common ground and work in a true spirit of bipartisanship.

USCM will give cash awards totaling more than $1 million to cities showcasing stellar best-practices in the areas of climate protection, community development, and college & career-readiness training.

PRESS GUIDANCE:

The Conference is proud to announce that Airbnb is the title sponsor for this years Annual Meeting. Founded in 2008, Airbnb is a people-to-people platform that connects hosts and guests around the world. To date, more than 150 million guests have arrived at over 3 million Airbnb listings in 65,000 cities around the world. Airbnb's mission is to enable anyone to belong anywhere, democratizing travel by helping more people benefit from tourism, democratizing revenue by providing city governments with more funds for critical services and new programs, and democratizing capitalism by enabling anyone to leverage their greatest expense, their home, into a means to earn extra income. Most US Airbnb hosts are middle-class families typically earning the equivalent of a 14-percent annual raise by sharing the home in which they live.

WHO: The U.S. Conference of Mayors 85th Annual Meeting

WHEN: Friday, June 23, 2016 to Monday, June 26, 2016

WHERE: Fontainebleau Miami Beach | 4441 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33140 | (305) 538-2000

###

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/07469d5d-7070-4596-bbf4-c42fd3456afd
President-elect Lula da Silva and Sonia Gujajara are expected to meet at the 2022 UN Climate Change next week. | Read More
Advocate staff photo by MATTHEW HINTON-- Claire Ineich stacks clothes for the Gymboree Outlet at the The Outlet Collection at Riverwalk in New Orleans, La. Tuesday, May 20, 2014.
Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne remains optimistic that the state budget impasse in the Louisiana Legislature will be resolved soon.

I am hoping and I believe that legislators dont want to be here next week, Dardenne told the Press Club of Baton Rouge on Monday. They dont want to face the unprecedented reality of July 1 rolling around and not having a budget, so I think there is going to be room to try to get things done.

The Legislature is in special session through June 19, trying to pass a state spending plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Lawmakers were unable to approve a state budget during the two months they were in regular session and were required to return to Baton Rouge to do so.

Failure to pass a budget would mean that state government would shut down.

Negotiations broke down in the final minutes of the regular session on Thursday when the House didnt vote on the Senate-passed version of House Bill 1.

A key disagreement was how much money would be held back  and just what procedure would be used to do so  in case revenues fell short of covering the promises state government had made. Revenue shortfalls have repeatedly, over the past nine years, required drastic service cuts midway through the fiscal year in order to balance the annual budgets.

The House initially wanted to reduce spending on services by about $200 million less than what money was projected to be available through the fiscal year. During negotiations with the Senate, the House cut that amount in half to $100 million.

The Senate proposed appropriating all the projected funds, but also including language that urged the executive branch agencies to hold back spending about $50 million until lawmakers had a better idea of how much money would be available. Gov. John Bel Edwards agreed with the Senate plan, which also included pay raises for state workers and full funding for higher education.

The Houses insistence on cutting spending now, rather than holding back already budgeted dollars, as the Senate proposes, is the biggest misunderstanding of the session, Dardenne said.

The law precludes the use of the unused dollars unless the Legislature reconvenes or waits until next year, he said.

Its very frustrating, Dardenne said, adding that the administration it talking to as many members as possible about the procedures.

Dardenne, a Republican, is known for writing witty poems and he recited one he called Ode to the 2017 Session.

It started with lots of hot air and ended with a bust;

No one around the Capitol could determine who to trust.

On the day the Fighting Tigers won their biggest game,

the strategy in government was to figure out who to blame.

There was nary a walk off homer,

Nor a sacrificial bunt.

The Legislature met for 45 days,

And all they did was punt.

So we gather again in Baton Rouge,

to wail and moan and jaw;

Lets just get this over

And head to Omaha.
The death of the push to raise Louisiana's gasoline tax not only ended the issue for 2017.

It likely killed any chance for such an increase in 2018, 2019 and 2020 as well.

A combination of legislative rules and politics means 2021 is probably the earliest the issue will reappear, barring a major surprise.

The topic sparked debate during the just-ended regular session because it was a fiscal session, which means lawmakers can debate tax hikes.

But 2018 will be a non-fiscal session, and while 2019 will be a fiscal session, it is also the year for gubernatorial elections, which means major tax increases are unlikely.

"If we don't have the courage to do it now, we won't have the courage to do it in an election year," House Transportation Committee Chairman Kenny Havard, R-St. Francisville said Monday.

Another non-fiscal session is set for 2020.

A bill to raise the gas tax by up to 17 cents per gallon  $510 million per year  died in the House because backers were unable to round up the needed two-thirds majority for approval.

The state has a $13.1 billion backlog of road and bridge projects, and a task force named by Gov. John Bel Edwards in December recommended that the state spend another $700 million per year for roads, bridges and other transportation services.

Opponents said the time was wrong for a gas tax hike, especially with lawmakers grappling for answers to Louisiana's latest budget crisis.

Motorists pay 38.4 cents per gallon now, including 20 cents per gallon in state charges.

Shawn Wilson, secretary for the state Department of Transportation and Development, co-chaired the task force and helped lead the effort for a gas tax boost. "Conventional wisdom says we are out of the window of opportunity," Wilson said Monday.

However, Wilson said there may be a chance to address the issue when lawmakers return for another special session later this year or early next year on longstanding revenue shortages.

He said President Donald Trump's plan to improve infrastructure nationwide could be an impetus to revisit the issue. "If we want to be competitive we will need a new revenue source," Wilson said of any federal road and bridge building effort.

Officials of the groups behind the push this time often mentioned that 2017 was the last, realistic chance to address the issue for the foreseeable future.

A 35-member organization, including the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, took the unusual step of endorsing a $500 million increase in state transportation spending.

In a statement, BRAC called last month's demise of the gas tax bill a "massive missed opportunity."

"By not securing additional funding to begin addressing crumbling infrastructure, it is unlikely to expect any assistance from the state until 2021 at the earliest," Adam Knapp, president and CEO of the group, said in a statement.

Building a new bridge across the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge is the key priority of BRAC and other local leaders.

"And as we told the Capital Region legislators, it is a decade to plan and build a bridge," Knapp said in an interview Monday. That means a new bridge is likely at least 15 years away compared to 8-10 years if new aid had been approved this year, he said.

Havard has repeatedly urged colleagues to tackle transportation problems in a package that addresses higher education and other state needs. But he said the lack of legislative action on the issue of roads and bridges this year will carry consequences for motorists.

"Our traffic is only going to get worse," Havard said. "It is a quality of life issue we have to address."

Wilson said his immediate concern is being able to come up with enough state dollars to draw down the state's maximum federal aid.

He said in February that the lack of dollars could cost the state up to $450 million in federal dollars starting next year.

Louisiana typically gets between $650 million and $700 million per year in federal transportation aid.

Knapp said the push to boost the gas tax died in part because of a lack of legislative support in areas with high-profile transportation issues, like a new bridge on Interstate 10 in Lake Charles and the development of I-49 South in Acadiana.

He said the lack of new state aid for roads and bridges will make it "much, much harder" to convince manufacturers to expand.

"I can definitely say it has cost the Baton Rouge area projects," Knapp said.
Protesters gather outside the White House in Washington, Thursday, June 1, 2017, to protest President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the Unites States from the Paris climate change accord. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) ORG XMIT: DCSW120
As the hours ticked down toward the Legislature's mandated 6 p.m. adjournment last Thursday, House Speaker Taylor Barras, R-New Iberia, approached Senate leaders with a potential deal.

Barras told Senate President John Alario, R-Westwego, and Finance Committee chairman Eric LaFleur, D-Ville Platte, that the House would agree to a budget that had passed the Senate with just one dissenting (Democratic) vote. The plan called for the state to spend all of the money anticipated to be available next year  something conservatives in the House had fought  but to direct all branches of government to hold back $50 million to cover any midyear revenue shortfall, according to an after-the-fact account by Advocate reporter Tyler Bridges.

Both Senate leaders and Gov. John Bel Edwards' staff gave the idea a thumbs-up, Bridges' account said. But when Barras took it to his own caucus (and presented it more as an idea than his plan), conservatives in the House said no. So 6 p.m. came and went with no budget in place, forcing lawmakers to immediately reconvene for a special session in which the options are going to the same as they were last week.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you your independent Louisiana House of Representatives.

Barras' election as speaker, as a compromise candidate between New Orleans Democrat Walt Leger III, the governor's choice, and Metairie Republican Cameron Henry, deemed by some of his fellow Republicans as too rigidly right-wing, was a watershed in legislative history. Never before had lawmakers bucked a new governor and chosen a leader who didn't have the blessing of the Fourth Floor. Meanwhile, the Senate stuck with Alario, who had the governor's ear as well as universal backing from his troops.

The talk from the Republicans in the House at the time wasn't of politics, but of a pair of principles: That the majority should choose its own leader and that the Legislature should act as a co-equal branch of government. Fair enough.

Same goes for this year's budget impasse, which House conservatives chalked up to fiscal responsibility rather than obstructionism. And yes, in a vacuum, the idea of holding some funds in reserve merits a serious debate.

If only principle were the only thing at stake.

Instead, for all the high-minded talk, partisan politics permeated the proceedings.

Bridges' account relied on about four sources in that Thursday meeting who said denying the Democratic governor a win was as much as motivation as reducing spending. Some of the handful of Republicans who voted for Leger's last-ditch effort to bring the Senate budget to a House vote clearly agreed. One test vote suggested the budget  which included plenty for conservatives to like  could have passed had Barras, with now-Appropriations committee chair Henry's backing, not ruled the question out of order.

And just about everything leading up to the final day backed that up.

The House refused to pass any number of ideas to stabilize the budget and increase revenue, even measures that were authored by Republicans. It ignored the proposals presented by a bipartisan task force to reform the tax code, took a pass on a gas tax to pay for infrastructure that many business groups deemed vital, and didn't even try to address the looming fiscal cliff, the loss of about $1.3 billion in temporary sales taxes that they adopted last year to give themselves time to come up with a better plan.

Conservative lawmakers claimed they were acting responsibly by planning for future revenue shortfalls. But then, some also justified putting off the fiscal cliff debate in the hope that oil prices would rise and more money, not less, would materialize. Talk about trying to have it both ways.

The overall takeaway from the session is that the newly independent House either couldn't figure out how to be a productive partner in the process or simply chose not to. It's almost enough to give independence a bad name.
'I want to see kids get muddy': Katrina-battered La. Nature Center to reopen this fall
Kenner Mayor Ben Zahn says he is determined to make sure the city's workforce stays out of politics, insisting he can work around a recent fed
A look at wins and losses for Mayor Landrieu's administration during legislative session

Mayor Landrieu's administration staved off losses during legislative session
A Queanbeyan family has been shattered by the brutal stabbing death of their dog, Marley, in their backyard overnight on Friday.

Shell Wright took to Facebook on Sunday to say someone had stabbed the family's dog, believing Marley may have been approaching an intruder.

Shell Wright's dog, Marley, was stabbed at her home on Friday night in Queanbeyan.

"He wasn't a barker, he wouldn't hurt anyone," Ms Wright wrote.

"This person has taken away our best mate. We don't know why and how someone could do something like this."
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr has told the Commonwealth it must pay for a Barton Highway flyover and duplication of William Slim Drive upfront or it will be billed.

Mr Barr met federal Territories Minister Fiona Nash at the end of May, where the pair discussed the CSIRO's sale of its land on the Barton Highway for residential development.

CSIRO general manager Mark Wallis, right, at the CSIRO Ginninderra Field Station with ACT Shelter boss Travis Gilbert early in 2016. Credit:Jay Cronan

He told her that the Barton Highway flyover and the William Slim Drive duplication would have to be funded by the project one way or another. If the Commonwealth did not fund it upfront a part of the subdivision, the ACT would charge an infrastructure levy on the properties.

"They are going to have to build a flyover," he said. "They recognise that they can't just dump all this housing and think that it won't have implications. But we also have the backstop here of charging an infrastructure levy on the land as it comes into ACT title ...
David Jones has struck again in the ongoing store wars, snatching contemporary international label Self Portrait from rival Myer.

The houndstoothed department store announced the acquisition on Monday morning, saying it would be stocking the London-based label in 11 stores from June.

A favourite of celebrities including the Duchess of Cambridge and Beyonce, Self Portrait is known for its modern, edgier take on lace dresses.

The acquisition takes to at least four the number of labels David Jones has snatched from Myer this year alone.
Five years ago, after much serious argy-bargy, federal and state governments finally agreed on a comprehensive, $13 billion plan to manage the rivers of the Murray Darling Basin system. It took more than a century to reach a basic consensus on managing a complex water system that had been grossly abused.

Achieving this historically significant reform in the current political climate, I think, would be simply impossible. One must recognise that this was arguably one of John Howard's most positive and tangible achievements (the final plan was signed under Prime Minister Julia Gillard).

Illustration: Andrew Dyson

Before you yawn and stop reading any further, allow me to remind you, in case you don't know, that the Murray Darling Basin is not some ill defined, marginal little space out there populated by redneck irrigators. True, many state water ministers in the past used to like this portfolio because it meant getting out of the city and going on a country rampage of steak and beer, all the while ignoring how this delicate natural construct was being irreparably damaged by rogue, ignorant irrigation practices.

If you live in such disparate places as Daylesford, Charleville, Bendigo, Toowoomba, Canberra or Albury, what you have in common, probably above all else, is the same precious resource  water. The use of this water accounts for an inestimable quantity of diverse foods that feed eastern Australia and generate huge export dollars. In my own town of Mildura alone, an estimated 250 million bottles of wine are produced each year for you, the United States, Britain and, increasingly, China.
Antony Green had just arrived in London last week when word came that he would be made an Officer in the Order of Australia in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.

Yet the man who arrived in Australia with his "ten-pound Pom" parents as a four-year-old in 1964 seemed altogether unfazed by the honour.

Antony Green and Kerry O'Brien cover the 2007 election.

He had work to do. Green was puzzling over commentary suggesting Theresa May's Conservatives had fallen so far in the polls they could actually lose to Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party.

It didn't seem possible, he said. He'd have to plunge deep into the data.
Lawyers, including the country's peak law body, have condemned Immigration Minister Peter Dutton's latest citizenship crackdown as a power grab that threatens the independence of the judiciary.

Under changes to be put to Parliament this week, the minister will be empowered to overrule citizenship decisions of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, in a bid to put a stop to its "silly" rulings.

Mr Dutton said the reform would bring citizenship matters into line with visa cancellations, over which he has effectively the final say - although in all cases applicants can still appeal to the Federal Court.

The move follows weeks of criticism of the AAT by senior government ministers, led by Mr Dutton, who have pointed to questionable decisions allowing "fake" Iranian refugees to stay in Australia despite holidaying in Iran.
Washington DC: The president and first lady's commuter marriage appear to be over, as the family has united under one roof again.

First lady Melania Trump and son, Barron, 11, moved into the White House Sunday after spending the first several months of President Donald Trump's presidency residing in their Trump Tower penthouse in New York City,

"Looking forward to the memories we'll make in our new home!" Melania Trump tweeted Sunday from her official @FLOTUS account. An accompanying photograph featured a view of the Washington Monument from a window in the White House.

Her communications director Stephanie Grisham confirmed the move, tweeting, "It's official! @FLOTUS & Barron have made the move to DC! #WelcomeHome."
Domestic violence is not specific to a particular religious group; Australian statistics indicate that one in six women experience physical or sexual violence from a current or former partner in their lifetime.

Despite this, several recent media reports have sensationalised domestic violence within the Muslim community, and often falsely linked it to Verse 4:34 in the Quran.

This misunderstanding has not only been perpetuated within the Australian community, it is also widely misunderstood in the Muslim community.

Several Muslim individuals and organisations have recently commented about Verse 4:34 without a proper substantiated understanding of its context. This has only added to misunderstandings of what the Islamic view on domestic violence is.
It was September, 2014 and Detective Superintendent Kirsty Schofield had been clocking up long hours in the office.

Her family noticed her absence but had no idea this Australian Federal Police (AFP) officer and mother-of-three was about to blow open Australia's biggest counter-terrorism investigation.

Operation Appleby involved 800 officers rolling out more than 30 counter-terrorism raids in September, 2014. Credit:Peter Rae

After watching news images of 800 police officers rolling out 25 raids across Sydney in the early hours of September 18, Detective Schofield received a call from her husband.

"He watched the news and said 'this is what you've been doing?" Detective Schofield said.
A man has been stabbed multiple times in Sydney's north west on Monday night.

Emergency services were called to a unit on Joubert Street, Hunters Hill just before 7pm.

Upon arrival paramedics treated a 27-year-old man for stab wound and lacerations to his upper torso, arms and legs.

He was taken to Royal North Shore Hospital where it is expected he will undergo surgery.

A crime scene was established, and police are urging anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
The Queensland government will commit another $2 billion to Brisbane's Cross River Rail, after failing to secure federal funding for the project ahead of the budget.

The money, understood to be allocated in the state budget on Tuesday, takes the Palaszczuk government's spending to roughly $2.85 billion, leaving a significant gap to get the project off the ground.

The state describes the project as "critical" for keeping the south-east corner's train network flowing ahead of an expected bottleneck on the city's only north-south rail bridge across the Brisbane River.

The Commonwealth government has chipped in $10 million towards planning, tied to integration with the Brisbane City Council's proposed Brisbane Metro project, but refused to commit to more.
The Kino arthouse cinema is turning 30, and it seems those dire predictions of the death of cinema didn't come true.

Here we are in 2017, and people still enjoy going out, sitting in a dark room with others and watching flicks on a big screen.

Kino, tucked under skyscrapers at the "Paris end" of Collins Street, survived not just the 1990 recession but the onset of videos, DVDs, SBS TV, shopping centre multiplexes, pay TV and online streaming.

Frank Cox, Kino's co-owner since its founding, says there is still a romance and sense of occasion about cinema. "Everybody has a kitchen at home, but they still go to restaurants," he said.
A Perth left-wing group has described fake anti-Semitic posters that have appeared across the metropolitan area with their logo as "vile".

The flyers, which started popping up around Fremantle, Leederville and Lake Monger on the weekend, claim to be have been authorised by the political group Socialist Alternative.

Fake anti-Semitic posters claiming to be authorised from the left-wing group Socialist Alternative have been appearing around Perth. Credit:Facebook

The posters read: "Jews make up 44 per cent of the richest one per cent. While only making one per cent of the population. #SmashJewishPrivilege."

Lewis Todman from Socialist Alternative slammed the posters.
90 Years of MG Showcased at Silverstone for MGLIVE!

LONDON - June 12, 2017: Over 90 years of the MG marque will be showcased at the MG Car Clubs annual celebration MGLive! at Silverstone Circuit on Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th June, with models ranging from the 1920s to the latest launch from MG Motor UK.

Around 3,000 MG models will be on display from the Club's various registers, paying tribute to the manufacturers motoring heritage. There will be MGs from all eras in action on Silverstones Grand Prix Circuit as well as on static display on the showground, providing enthusiasts with a fantastic timeline.

MG Motor UK will be previewing the new MG XS compact SUV at MGLive! 2017. Previously unveiled at the London Motor Show in May, MGLive! will offer MG fans the first real opportunity to get up close and personal with the latest car from MG. Due to launch in the UK in late 2017, MG Motors stand will feature a trio of XS, alongside the current MG range, the MG3 and MG GS.

Joining a display of the BTCC MG cars, returning MG BTCC star Josh Cook will be heading to Silverstone on Saturday to meet fans at MGLive! Hell be joined by former Triple 8 racers Sam Tordoff (2013) and Jack Goff (2015). The trio will be at Silverstone to sign autographs and meet fans while MG Motor UK will be hosting a Q&A session with the drivers on Saturday afternoon. Theyll be on the Clubs 635 Register stand for a signing session.

Sticking with the BTCC, the events nominated charity Headway Oxfordshire will be holding an auction of BTCC team clothing. With many items no longer available and some not previously available for sale to the public.

Thanks to the MG Car Clubs partners at SAIC Motor Techincal Centre UK, the Club has an allocation of tickets available to anyone studying motorsport, motor engineering, design or any other course connected to the automotive industry. To claim a free ticket, simply email chrisk@mgcc.co.uk with a copy of your current student ID (such as an NUS card) along with your name and address before 5:30pm on Monday 12th June to claim your free ticket.

Theres also plenty of family fun to be had at MGLive as the new Wheeler Dealers pairing of Mike Brewer and Ant Anstead return to the UK to host the Smartclubdriver Live Arena with plenty of motoring madness and mayhem for the audience to get involved with. The arena also boasts stunt driving legend Russ Swift's only UK performance this year, marking 30 years since his first appearance at Silverstone.

MGLive! will also feature a free kids play area with free rides and activities giving little MG enthusiasts the chance to burn off some energy without costing you a penny, while the adults enjoy a brilliant line-up of live music on the new ?Village Green. As well as the free rides, there is also a selection of games that are playable at a small cost.

Those wishing to make a weekend of it can stay overnight with camping facilities on offer from as little as 35 for a tent pitch and 40 for a caravan/motorhome, with a choice of general or family camping areas for those wanting a quieter part of the venue. Those staying onsite can also dance the night away to music from part band TFI Live as well as a DJ into the night.

Sponsored by Peter Best Insurance, MGLive! ticket prices start from just 18 in advance for MG Car Club members, 25 for non-members for a one-day pass, or 30 on the gate for all comers. Weekend tickets start at 28 for members, 40 for non-members, and 45 on the gate for both members and non-members. Children aged 15 years and under are admitted free when accompanied by an adult. For more info, visit www.mglive.com
if the people of Biafra want Republic of Biafra, it will be a reality during my administration. ----Donald Trump Donald Trump I wi...
investing 09 Oct 2022

For pretty much all of my working life, we have been able to hold onto a handful of truisms about investment. Expressions like time in the market not timing the market become investment adages because their truth endures through the ups and downs of the cycle. But sometimes, as Jim Callaghan noted about politics in
For many economies, especially those of developing countries, agriculture can be an important engine of economic growth. But with polluting diesel engines powering more and more farm equipment, the need to find clean energy solutions in the sector is pressing. In Asia and the Pacific for example, where more than 2 billion people rely on agriculture for their livelihoods, the region accounts for more than one third of the world's total emissions from agricultural production.

Low cost solar irrigation pumps for smallholder farmers are one way of helping to futureproof against unpredictable rainfall patterns and drought, and are much better for the environment.

Irrigating crops leads to more reliable harvests and provides the opportunity to grow and sell produce out of season. This can bring huge financial benefits to the farmers, their families and the wider community.

Access to affordable irrigation is a major limit to farm productivity. In Africa only around 5% of cultivated land is irrigated, compared to just over 40% in Asia. In Kenya alone there are 7.5 million smallholder farmers and less than 2% of farmland is irrigated. As rainfall patterns become more erratic, farmers are turning to manual or fossil-fuelled irrigation to save their crops. However, manual irrigation is very labour intensive and fossil fuel pumps lock farmers into costly recurring fuel and maintenance payments.

Helping smallholder farmers to diversify

The winner of the 2017 Ashden Award for Sustainable Energy and Water, Futurepump, manufactures an affordable, highly efficient and portable solar irrigation pump aimed at the millions of smallholder farmers in Kenya and around the world. It's a cleaner and more sustainable alternative to costly and polluting petrol or diesel pumps, and instead of spending hours carrying water, farmers can increase their income, growing more crops, all year round. To date the company has sold around 1300 pumps in 29 countries.

Futurepump's customers farm rural, semi-commercial farms of less than one hectare - cultivating seasonal vegetables and crops like onions, cabbages and passionfruit - and often combine farming with other income-generating activities. The farmers have access to water sources at or near the surface. Installation of the solar pumps is carried out with trained technicians who also provide end-user training.

Their own brand SF1 pump comes with 24 months labour and spare parts warranty, which ensures that the product is a good investment for smallholder farmers. The SF1 is sold for 65,000 KES (about 485). To date, just under half of Kenyan customers have paid upfront with the rest paying on credit. An initial payment plan requires a down payment of $200 and then monthly payments of $25, meaning that the pump is owned outright in less than two years.
UNESCO is expecting the Australian governments to meet both the intermediate and long-term targets of the 2050 Reef Plan which are essentially targets relating to overall resilience, particularly with regard to water quality. In fact both Australian and Queensland governments are now being strongly encouraged to "accelerate efforts" to meet these targets.

In 2013 and 2014 the Federal and Queensland Governments were put on notice to make sure development projects will not impact the Barrier Reef but over the last four years, the mega mine has seen port expansion at nearby Abbot Point Port and there are plans to expand ports further up the coast.

UNESCO's warning over the Barrier Reef coincided this month with the United Nations' recent celebrations of World Environment Day (June 5th) and World Oceans Day (June 8th). World Ocean Day which first started nearly 10 years ago (2008), declares the necessity for international organizations and relevant institutions to increase national, regional and international efforts to address levels of ocean acidity and the projected negative impact of such acidity on vulnerable marine ecosystems, particularly coral reefs.

Back to Back Bleaching Causing Concern.

UNESCO's latest draft report notes the impact of coral bleaching and high mortality rates for some of the 3000 reefs making up the worlds' largest living structure.

Marine and climate scientists believe higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increases ocean temperatures. Warmer oceans lead to oceanacidification - a key factor in the recent back-to-back bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef.

Increasing carbon dioxide emissions from coal are not the only destructive force putting pressure on our oceans. Over fishing and other illegal fishing practices, unsustainable aquaculture practices for food, pollution, and climate change are all taking their toll on our oceans ability to bounce back. Without healthy oceans we have a collapsing ecosystem, and the biggest ecosystem on the planet is the Great Barrier Reef.

Favouritisms and Financial Questions Remain over Mine Viability.

The Australian Government's support for the Adani mine has come under fire with objections to offers of royalty deals and billion dollar loans. The Queensland Government, for example, was recently accused of allowing Adani a royalties holiday' which would have meant Adani paid $2 million a year in royalties instead of the $320 billion dollars Queensland government should have received.
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
WACO gets a crack at the first state championship game in school history
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

NORWALK  Scorching temperatures soared into the 90s on Monday, closing 11 of the citys public schools early and prompting the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to issue an Air Quality Action Day. Tuesday is expected to be just as hot, and another day with poor air quality.

Brenda Wilcox Williams, spokeswoman for Norwalk Public Schools, sent out an alert Sunday evening informing the community that the citys four middle schools and seven of its elementary schools lacking centralized air conditioning would be dismissed two hours early in anticipation of the sweltering conditions.

The National Weather Service expects Tuesday to be just as hot, with severe thunderstorms moving through the area.

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protections issuance of an Air Quality Action Day for the region signified that ground-level ozone was expected to approach or exceed unhealthy standards.

Monday was not the first day heat closed schools in Norwalk this school year. At the beginning of this school year schools were dismissed early to due sweltering temperatures and a lack of air conditioning. Earlier this spring, Brien McMahon High School was closed due to the heat and a problem with the schools air conditioning.

Mike Lyons, Norwalks Board of Education chairman, said the school district has flexibility built into its calendar to cover such events, though that usually includes snow days.

... This hasnt ever had a significant impact on successful completion of the school year, Lyons said.

Lyons added that with the upcoming school construction plans, three of the four schools to be newly constructed or rebuilt will include centralized air conditioning, with the fourth already having air conditioning.

The district currently has air conditioning in all high schools and five elementary schools, Lyons said. The upcoming construction will add an air-conditioned elementary school and two air-conditioned K-8 schools to the list.

But retroactive addition of AC to all schools would be prohibitively expensive, he said.  The heat is an issue typically a few days each year. Spending multi-millions to AC all the buildings just for a few days a year isnt as high a priority as expanding our capacity and making other, higher-priority improvements. Itd be great if we could do it, but the city just doesnt have the capacity to absorb that expense except project by project.

KSchultz@thehour.com; 203-842-2567; @kevinedschultz
We rely on your support to make local news available to all

Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2022. Donate today
Ive been to two Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in the past two years, and through all the glitz and the history and the performances, one thing has haunted me: every inductee, in any genre, takes an awkward moment in her or his (mostly his) acceptance speech to publicly apologize to his kids for not being around, for not being the role model he wanted to be, for the divorces and scandals and rehabs.

Theres no mistaking the guilt in the inductees voices as they look back on the choices they made, and the fans at Barclays Center -- some of whom have paid upwards of $500 for a ticket -- react with a mix of haha  thats rock and roll! and haha  Im glad thats not me. Its a stark moment of complicity in the ecosystem of bad parenting, and it seems baked into the world of success in music.

Related: How to Find Your Passion in 5 Creativity Exercises

This past year, I went with my wife. It was a last-minute invite from a friend, and a rare opportunity to get out of the house without our two kids, the older of whom is 4 and the other six months old. We begged my parents to chuck their dinners in the fridge and run over to help out.

For me, the Hall of Fame inductions have more than just passing significance. I am a recording artist who just finished my eighth album and the lengthy and oftentimes draining process of making it directly overlapped the birth of our youngest child. Had I only recorded an EP, as was the plan, we might have squeaked the whole thing in before his birthday, but it was going so well, I decided we had to keep going.

So, it was strangely fitting when I returned from Barclays Center to find a question in my inbox from a fan whod just purchased a few stickers in my online store:

Mike: What's it like to welcome a new son and release a new album, nearly simultaneously?

- John Brown

I responded:

John,

Maybe youre asking about time management.

(During overdubs. Maybe a little of both)

(Blow-up mattress in my project studio, so I could rest and be prepared for vocals.)

Or maybe its something more professionally related, like the health and maintenance of my voice during a stressful and sleepless time?

(The blow-up mattress did not work well, prompting a terrified visit to a vocal doctor and a scope of my vocal cords. Turns out, they were not the problem.)

But, then, maybe youre into deeper, softer humor. Im there a lot lately, myself, and in that spirit, I asked your question to my wife, who deadpanned, It was insane. Wow. I did not expect that! Such cold, unblinking eyes I got. Snowman eyes.

Related: How Music Affects Your Productivity

I mean, this is the guy she married, and this is the guy I am, today. This is why she likes me. This is my eighth album, after all. Its not like Im blowing a bunch of money on a two-seater Corvette. People do that. I dont get it. Whenever some muscle car revs its engine on a city street, I point and tell her, See? That could have been me. But its not. And records dont halve in value the minute you drive them off the lot. My records make money

She gives the snowman eyes again, and I am forced to admit, eventually, anyway.

Shes been through a lot, and Ive made it tougher by forging on. But heres the thing: time.

Time is the thing.

First, we wont remember this time. In fact, the rougher the time, the more we look back with admiration, even laughter. Example: During the final stages of recording, both kids got scarlet fever. Hoo boy. They turned purple and bumpy, and I looked like a jerk thinking of anything else. Now? Its one of those head-shakers, told with the smile of someone whos survived a rollercoaster ride. Theyre fine, and the record is done. Win/win.

Related: 5 Secrets to Achieving and Maintaining Work-Life Balance

Second, the present moment is so full and luxurious, I cant even believe we thought about another way of doing things. Having both kids on my lap, I realize that Ive been able to enjoy one creative act without sacrificing another.

Pop psychology alert! Carl Jung comes into play here, and I will leave you this quote:

"Nothing has a stronger influence psychologically on their environment and especially on their children than the unlived life of the parent."

Makes you wonder. How did I grow up? What are my parents unlived lives? I have a couple theories, but thats all they are. More important, who do I want to be for my children? I dont want to be unlived. I want to be lived in.

I was on tour once, in  Maryland? Virginia? Somewhere. And I was invited back to a guys house for drinks and a hang. I bet he thought he was older than I am, but he probably wasnt. He had a sprawling home surrounded by trees and deer and grass, etc. He poured some serious whisky and walked me into his study, where, hanging above a teak desk with lots of overstuffed folders was an Ovation acoustic guitar displayed in a glass case. He spoke lovingly about how he used to play, and that that was his main axe (his words) and that no, he doesnt really take it out much anymore, but its lovely to look at, a great reminder.

He was a sweet guy, a gracious host and maybe a great player, but that guitar. It still scares me. I can see it perfectly, one of those black-bodied, countrified Ovations with the soundhole broken into smaller soundhole bubbles that seem to have drifted up to the top of the instrument. Theyre festooned with applique wooden leaves or something. Im sure the ad said this was for superior sound and playability or whatever. It looked lovely, and as the years progress, maybe it will even accrue in value. Anything will become vintage if you wait long enough.

Maybe its still hanging there, right now. I wonder what would happen if you returned every year and played a single E chord. Would you notice the guitar gradually falling out of tune over time, simply by laws of physics whereby all things unwind and slouch toward a resting state?

On the other hand, maybe something about our meeting inspired him to open the case and start playing again. Its possible.

Then again, maybe the house burned down a couple months ago. Also possible.

Who knows, John?

So, whats it like? My wife is right: its insane. My hairs gone gray. Im overweight. Im always tired. I mean, always. But Ill be able to communicate with my children when Im gone. Theyll be able to listen to my voice and glean something from the process of having made this record during this time period and maybe that will inform their own choices. Not recording, like not having them, was not an option.

Both have already benefited: one song, Going My Way, draws directly from the Arabian Coffee scene in Tchaikovskys The Nutcracker, because I dance it with my daughter multiple times a night. In tiaras.

Both creations feed each other in a continual loop now. I just want to be here long enough to enjoy it a little longer.

So, thats a little bit of what it feels like. Please forgive the delay in response, though, given what Ive written, Im sure you can imagine why its taken a little longer than it should have.

Thank you, as always, for supporting what I do. I hope to see the next thing you do, too.

Best, M

Mike Errico is releasing his eighth album, Minor Fits, via a Pledge Music campaign.

Related:

A Look at the Demanding Schedule of Elon Musk, Who Works in 5-Minute Slots, Skips Breakfast and Avoids Emails

Want to Be Happy? Embrace Insanity.

Latch Onto These 10 Business Trends to Boost Your Growth Rate



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Several hundred people gathered over the noon hour today to take a look at Union Pacifics historic No. 844 steam locomotive, which is traveling from Cheyenne, Wyo., to Omaha.

The trip is part of U.P.s "Great Race" celebration, which commemorates the transcontinental railroads completion nearly 150 years ago.

In honor of the occasion, U.P. officials presented a Golden Spike to Grand Island Mayor Jeremy Jensen, who gave children on hand a chance to pose for a picture with the spike.

Ed Dickens Jr. of the U.P. said it was a great honor to travel "with this fine machine." All along the route, people could be seen waving at No. 844, he said.

Kelli OBrien, U.P. public affairs director, said Grand Island holds a "very special and unique place" in Union Pacifics history and operations.

Donna Kush, vice president for public affairs, said the driving of the Golden Spike at Promontory Point, Utah, was just the beginning. Since then, U.P. has maintained good relationships with towns all along the track.

U.P., she said, operates in 23 states and 7,300 communities.

The company doesnt take places like Grand Island for granted, she said.

U.P. has 8,000 employees in Nebraska and considers Nebraska its home state, she said.

Kush said it was an honor to present Jensen with the Golden Spike. Jensen accepted it "on behalf of a very grateful" community.

No. 844 was the last steam locomotive purchased by U.P. When it was obtained in 1944, it was technologically advanced for a steam locomotive. It can still easily exceed 100 mph, Dickens said.

The locomotive has never been retired. Dickens doesnt know how many miles its trailed.

"But we take really good care of it," said Dickens, one of the men in overalls.

Dickens, who is senior manager for U.P.s Heritage Operations, said hes proud of the crew that travels with the train.

"They do tremendous work to keep this locomotive up and running," he said.

Workers greased the wheels during the stop.

Dickens said the two U.P. tracks that pass through Grand Island are among the most strategic and pivotal links in the U.S.

During his talk, Jensen told the kids present it was their first opportunity "to see a real-life Thomas the Train."

On its trip to Omaha, the steam locomotive is pulling eight cars.

The train stopped at the Oak Street crossing near West Front Street. Its arrival helped the citys core live up to its Railside nickname.

Union Pacific arrived in Grand Island in July 1866. The railroad laid out an entirely new town slightly inland from the island where immigrants first settled. The railroad eventually built a depot, machine shops and a roundhouse.

"Union Pacific and the new transcontinental route contributed significantly to the growth of Grand Island," says a U.P. document.
HASTINGS (AP)  The work put into laying concrete sidewalks, driveways, parking lots and even front steps is something many take for granted but its a job thats in high demand.

The labor force for this is pretty short, said Keith Dubas. Its a lot of work. Its outside.

Thats part of the reason Dubas and Caleb Kuhfahl, two construction instructors at Central Community College-Hastings, approached the colleges administration about doing a weeklong program to help build interest in this field.

The industry has been clamoring for years that we need to do more of this at the college, Dubas said.

So with the help of funds through the Community College Gap Assistance Program, CCC was able to provide nearly $15,000 in grant money for eight students to take a weeklong course, the Hastings Tribune reported.

The grant focuses on educating community college students in non-credit courses to fill high-demand jobs with a shortage of workers. Concrete finishing fit that description perfectly.

This week, the eight students learned the basics of what concrete is made of, how to work with it, the tools, proper clothing and the techniques.

Its a lot more complex than people think and people take it for granted, Dubas said.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the students spent time in the classroom becoming familiar with concrete and the necessary tools.

Students recently put what they learned to good use by pouring sidewalks and steps at the new Habitat for Humanity houses now under construction in Hastings.

They seem to be very eager to get to work, Dubas said, as the students began shoveling concrete into the forms for the steps up to the home. We told them were going to let them do their thing and well step in when needed.

Class participant Kyle Martin said he had done some construction work in the past but said he learned a lot more during the few days he attended the CCC program.

Ive learned the proper way of doing stuff, instead of the small-town way, he said. Ive learned a lot that I can use later on.

Martin and the others in the class are all looking for jobs. With that said, Martin said he believes what he learned will definitely help him in the future.

Theyve always got a need for construction. Wherever you go, there are construction jobs no matter what, he said.

Fellow classmate Lauren Kolasa said he was excited to learn a new trade while helping some people get into a new home.

Ive done some concrete work and some remodeling and I enjoyed it but this here by far Ive really enjoyed more, he said. Ive got more hands-on experience with it and more learning.

And I figured being a convict and being out of prison, it would be something to do right and give back to the community.

Of the eight students, some came from the Bristol Station Residential Reentry Center, a program for those transitioning out of the prison system. Other students are now on parole or are simply unemployed and looking for a new trade.

Marni Danhauer, associate dean of Extended Learning Services and training at CCC, said the concrete finishing program is one example of how CCC works to help people get the skills they need to fill job in need in the community and across the state.

It gives them that employability skill and a morale booster that someone is willing to invest in them to give them the chance to start out on the right foot, Danhauer said of the eight students.

CCC recently hosted a job fair in hopes of helping to connect some of the students with area employers to help fill those vacant positions.

Were hoping they can go right into an employment situation, Danhauer said. The employers are excited cause this is their busy time of year.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin EDITORIAL (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, June 12, 2017 08:05 1978 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a4cc301 4 Editorial #Editorial,corruption-eradication-commission,DPR,house-of-representatives,corruption-case,amendment,e-ID,#eIDgraftcase Free

We have seen this move before. The Corruption Eradication Commissions (KPK) persistence in going after politicians in major corruption cases has many times resulted in a pushback, especially from politicians at the House of Representatives who then made moves to ultimately weaken the anti-graft body. Over the years, politicians at the House have used a plan to amend the 2002 anti-graft law as a specter that they can raise whenever they have the opportunity.

Every year since 2015, House leadership included an anti-graft law amendment to the national priority legislation program (Prolegnas). In its attempt to weaken the KPK in the 2015 amendment proposal, the House wanted to strip the anti-graft body of its authority to conduct wiretappings, which is crucial to the agencys success in prosecuting graft cases. In 2016, the House looked into setting up an oversight body that would monitor the KPK as well as allow investigators to issue an investigation termination warrant (SP3) to allow graft suspects to escape punishment.

Earlier this year, the House found renewed urgency to amend the KPK law. In February, the House announced it started a campaign to familiarize the public with its draft proposal for the amendment plan. That was before the KPK announced that it had uncovered massive corruption centering on the procurement of an electronic ID (e-ID) system, which implicated a number of House lawmakers, including House Speaker Setya Novanto. The announcement prompted the House to take the nuclear option. Sensing that an amendment to the anti-graft law would require a lengthy debate at the House and lacking support from the administration of President Joko Jokowi Widodo, lawmakers launched an inquiry into the KPK, a move they claimed only intended to evaluate and improve the work of the anti-graft body.

In launching this inquiry, the House stood on weak legal ground, given that the legislative body only has authority to launch a probe into government institutions. The KPK meanwhile is an independent institution and not part of the government. The fact that one of the individuals implicated the e-ID graft case, Golkar politician Agun Gunanjar Sudarsa, was appointed chairman of the inquiry committee further puts the House on weaker ethical ground. Agun is alleged to have received US$1 million in kickbacks from the e-ID project.

It is not clear what the endgame is of the Houses move with the inquiry plot and we could be forgiven for thinking the House is trying to protect individuals implicated in the e-ID case. If that was what motivated the lawmakers, then it would fit the definition of an abuse of power, in which lawmakers were willing to put the future of the countrys fight against graft at risk for the preservation of their careers. The public should resist any efforts to compromise the work of the KPK and if necessary should relaunch the Cicak lawan Buaya (Gecko versus Crocodile) movement once the anti-graft body is in dire straits.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Tomasz Burdzik (The Jakarta Post) Katowice, Poland  Mon, June 12, 2017 15:04 1977 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a4e78f9 3 Opinion Pancasila,Blasphemy-Law,minority-rights,minority-groups,ahok,basuki-tjahaja-purnama,discrimination,democracy Free

Indonesia is a multicultural country characterized by the coexistence of several different religions, which poses a potential for conflict. Indonesia claims to be a democratic secular state that does not support a particular religion because of the multicultural and multireligious character of the country.

The adoption of Pancasila in 1945 as the state ideology and ideological basis of law aimed to balance the newly independent country by making Indonesia neither a theocratic Islamic state nor a secular state. The first principle, stating Belief in one God, was intended to be a crucial factor in stabilizing the newly independent Indonesia, as it clearly recognized major monotheistic religions while excluding communism.

Pancasilas own theistic-secular character is expressed by this belief in One Supreme God (God meaning, and thus accommodating, all belief systems), but the law and legal institutions interpret Pancasila principles too narrowly because of the Islam-oriented politicization of discourse. Examples are the lack of consequences in the case of riots caused by Muslims against non-Muslims (the rallies in Jakarta against the Christian former Jakarta governor) or the lack of will shown by authorities in pursuing offenders of non-Islam blasphemy. The Indonesian police does not take necessary preventive measures to stop attacks against minority religious communities. Such a situation, particularly visible nowadays, could lead to religious conflict in which the victims will be religious minorities, hence further diminishing Indonesias global reputation regarding the protection of its minorities.

Founding father and first president Sukarno proposed the new ideology as a compromise between an Islamic and a secular state, which was embodied in the 1945 Constitution. On June 1, 1945 Sukarno explained in a speech the five principles of Pancasila: Belief in one God, humanitarianism, unity of Indonesia, democracy and social justice.

The first principle presents the relationship between state and religion as a theistic secular principle, based upon the belief in a single God who is not a representative for a particular religion, but rather represents all religions and belief systems in Indonesia. The theistic secular principle here defines religion, a traditional element of the Indonesian identity.

This principle states that every religious denomination can be represented within the context that the state allows religious freedom, but according to Article 29 of the Constitution (UUD), Pancasila excludes any religion (including dominant Islam) from becoming the national religion.

Indonesias blasphemy provision of the Criminal Code is based on the 1965 blasphemy law, and specifies that the six recognized religions in Indonesia are Islam, Buddhism, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, and Confucianism. Indonesian citizens are required to identify themselves as members of one of these six faiths, and they may not declare atheism.

The problem with the law is that it lacks clarity as to what acts constitute blasphemy or religious defamation, leaving their interpretation open to abuse by political opponents. The core problem of this law lies in the fact that blasphemy has never been clearly defined.

The blasphemy law may violate the right to freedom of expression and impede the religious expression of minority groups. In the opinion of the Western world as presented in international media, the blasphemy law is considered to discriminate against non-Muslims  especially after the trial of outgoing Jakarta governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama, who was convicted for blasphemy. Ahok is a Chinese Christian, and blasphemy is often defined by mainstream Muslims.

Thus, although Pancasila seems to give equal state recognition to all major religions, the dominance of Islam as the mainstream religion is strongly visible. The authorities set boundaries overprotecting Islam not for religious reasons, but for the political benefits of the support of Islam-oriented political leaders, such as those allied with the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) leader Rizieq Shihab. The state has become the guardian of social order, not as defined in the context of the ideal social order articulated in Pancasila, but as defined by radical politicians.

Another reason for this situation is a permissive government which is afraid of taking any action against a violation of law because of its fear of the power of radical groups, allowing religious intolerance to grow. Undoubtedly, the politicization of both religion and the Pancasila by opportunistic politicians and the lack of dialogue have significantly contributed to increasing intra-religious conflict and fear among religious minorities. The government fails to prevent and appropriately address violence based on religious beliefs.

The current interpretation and use of the blasphemy law do not protect the primary intent of Pancasila to stabilize a multicultural society; instead, they foster a climate of intolerance and allow the law to be used to justify an extralegal discrimination of minorities. The government does not consistently use its authority in cases of violations of Pancasila.

The solution is a government which is not afraid of facing these issues.

The existence of the Pancasila state ideology is obligatory in stabilizing the multicultural society of Indonesai. Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, or Unity in Diversity, is not merely a motto; it is a duty.

***

The writer is a doctoral candidate at the University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland. His research focuses on sociology of law and Indonesian culture. Email: tomasz.burdzik@gmail.com.

---------------

We are looking for information, opinions, and in-depth analysis from experts or scholars in a variety of fields. We choose articles based on facts or opinions about general news, as well as quality analysis and commentary about Indonesia or international events. Send your piece to academia@jakpost.com. For more information click here.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Berlin  Mon, June 12, 2017 15:37 1977 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a4e9611 2 Science & Tech Berlin,train-station,Germany,face-recognition,software,terrorism,attack Free

Germany will start testing facial recognition software at a Berlin train station this summer which could help police identify and locate terror suspects more quickly, a minister said Saturday.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said the software would be tested with volunteers at Berlin's Suedkreuz station, and if successful would be expanded to other locations and also used for a range of criminal investigations.

"We already have video surveillance in train stations, of course. But we aren't able, for example, to put a picture of a terrorist on the run into software that would alert us when he appears in a station," Maiziere said in an interview on the website of the Tagesspiegel newspaper.

"If this software proves reliable, it should be able to be used for serious crimes in other places equipped with surveillance cameras," he said.

Read also: Beijing park utilizes facial recognition to regulate toilet paper use

The Tagesspiegel report said the new system was unlikely to run into legal obstacles since its use would be limited to targeting suspects, and so would not infringe upon civil liberties of people not sought in an investigation.

Germany has suffered several terror attacks since last summer, including the deadly assault on a Berlin Christmas market in 2016 by a Tunisian who hijacked a truck and rammed into a crowd, killing 12 people.

The suspect managed to flee by bus then by train, crossing several borders before being shot and killed by police at a train station in Milan.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Sebastian Partogi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, June 12, 2017 14:00 1977 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a4e24b7 4 People award,William-Wongso,Petty-Elliott,cookbook,culinary,food-and-beverage,street-food Free

Two Indonesian chefs have taken home prizes from the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. They believe, however, further steps need to be taken to propel local culinary arts to the global scene.

Two Indonesian chefs and food writers  William Wongso and Petty Elliott  attained the highest accolades at the prestigious 2017 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards held in Yantai, China, recently.

Williams book, Flavors of Indonesia: William Wongsos Culinary Wonders, won the ultimate prize, as it was named Best Cookbook of the Year, while Pettys book, Jakarta Bites: Exploring Vibrant Street Food from the Heart of Indonesia, was the winner in the street food category.

The Gourmand World Cookbook Awards was founded in 1995 by Edouard Cointreau. Annually, it honors the best food and wine books in both print and digital as well as food television. Books from 205 countries are nominated at this prestigious awards, the only international competition in the sector. It is free and open to all languages. The annual ceremony has always been an occasion where hundreds of publishers, authors, chefs and journalists gather.

Read also: William Wongsos book wins at 2017 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards

William is a prominent Indonesian chef and food writer. He served as president of the International Gastronomic Society Chaine des Rotisseurs as well as the International Wine and Food Society. Petty, meanwhile, has been a food writer for various publications over the last 10 years. She also provides cooking consultancy and demonstrations for various five-star establishments in Jakarta and Bali.

In his book, William explores the Indonesian culinary scene from the countrys westernmost part to its farthest east. He presents not just the recipes for these dishes but also the history behind them. Pettys book, meanwhile, introduces readers to some of the recipes and history behind famous Jakarta street foods, desserts and drinks from different parts of the country.

According to Petty, she was quite surprised and proud to win the award, considering that her rivals for the street food category came from France, the Netherlands, Singapore and other countries.

The world is starting to recognize our culinary traditions, she told The Jakarta Post during a recent interview.

Petty added that she hoped young Indonesian chefs would be more motivated to write books to promote Indonesian food, which is also part of our culture, and strive to attain such awards.

Read also: Halal soy sauce being developed with help of Muslim students

In order to win international awards, the books whole package is important. Not just the content but also the cover and design. They have to showcase Indonesias regional culinary uniqueness to make it attractive for the international market, William told the Post during an exclusive interview.

Williams book is now available globally as it is being distributed by the Periplus Publishing Group.

Petty, however, is still looking for an international distributor to have her books available in the international market.

Pushing forward

Both authors agree that international awards for Indonesian cookbooks are great tools to promote Indonesian food on the international stage. They, however, believe that Indonesian food still has a long way to go to gain global popularity.

Indonesian foods are quite few and far between in other countries, despite the growing interest of foreigners, through exposure in the tourist sector, according to Petty.

The only word Indonesian I ever saw in the US was in a restaurant in a Trump Hotel in New York, and it was attached to coconut water. What a shame if the only thing Indonesia could contribute was merely coconut water, considering the richness of our culinary tradition, William lamented.

Petty added that when Indonesian chefs worked for foreign restaurants or hotels, they usually had to cook European food, having no chance to introduce Indonesian foods.

Read also: Jakpost guide to iftar: Menteng

Therefore, for international foodies, Indonesian food still remains pretty much a mystery, William said.

We have to create the international demand first. If relevant stakeholders do not devise concrete, long-term and sustainable food diplomacy programs for Indonesia, such international awards will not have much of a global impact, Petty said.

She said an ecosystem needed to be created to help Indonesian food gain the same popularity enjoyed by Korean and Thai foods overseas.

Nowadays, Thai food has taken over the European market. Thailand, however, has started to develop their agriculture sector parallel with the culinary industry because both of them are tied together. So by the time the Thai culinary industry was about to enter the international market, they had already been ready with the ingredients, Petty said.

According to her, aside from a lack of sufficient local produce to be used as ingredients for Indonesian food overseas, there is a lack of Indonesian restaurants overseas due to a number of shortcomings.

They have to sell food that is able to tell stories. Local produce capable of storytelling our Indonesian heritage, she said, adding that she was hoping local restaurateurs would be motivated to seek investors that would help them expand overseas.

According to William, considering that the ecosystem to propel Indonesian food overseas does not exist, the goal to establish many Indonesian restaurants overseas seem to be too far-fetched, at least for now.

Therefore, the most efficient way to promote our food globally right now is by joining bigger, well-established international food festivals and programs, he said.

For instance, we can join Anthony Bourdains street food market  known as the Bourdain Market  to penetrate New York and we have to request that they feature authentic Indonesian foods, no fusion, he said.

He added that we could also seize opportunities at various halal food programs in Japan to prepare for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

We can train them to cook halal food by using Indonesian food as an example, he said.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, June 12, 2017 11:16 1977 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a4d67b8 4 Environment global-warming,Jayawijaya,#GlobalWarming,glacier,mountain,#mountain,Papua Free

Glaciers in the Jayawijaya mountaintops in Wamena, Papua are in danger of disappearing by 2020, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has warned, urging indigenous peoples as well as businesses in the region to take preventative measures.

BMKG Wamena head Benny Marlissa underlined that deforestation served as one of the causes behind the retreating glaciers, saying that lack of government involvement in logging by indigenous groups had prompted an increase in glaciers' decline.

"We see logging everywhere around Wamena, without control, because the public feels that they have hak ulayat [indigenous land rights]," Benny said on Friday in Wamena, as quoted by Antara news agency.

Additionally, Benny also criticized economic interests as a driving force behind logging, with profit-orientated businesses choosing to ignore environmental concerns. "If there is logging, there should also be replanting," he said.

Read also: Baliem Valley Cultural Festival to feature tribal warfare simulation

Highlighting that the mountainous areas in Papua are rocky with a thin layer of soil, Benny said tree growth would also take longer than normal.

Separately, BMKG head Andi Eka Sakya previously said glaciers in Jayawijaya Peak risk disappearing by 2020, adding that the latest observations recorded a decrease of 1.42 meters between May and November 2016.

"The remaining ice layer at Jawawijaya peak measures 20.54 meters. The layer of ice by May 2016 had reduced by 4.26 meters since November 2015 due to the strong El Nino effects in 2015 and 2016," Andi said.

The government and the global community must take strategic measures to suppress melting ice at the Jayawijaya Peak, Andi said, noting that it is one of three ice peaks on the equator, with the others in Africa and Peru.

Necessary steps must combat actions that could trigger further global warming, such as illegal logging and high carbon emissions, he added. (liz/kes)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) San Francisco, United States  Mon, June 12, 2017 15:09 1977 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a4e88d8 2 Science & Tech marissa-mayer,Yahoo,CEO,#Yahoo Free

Marissa Mayer was hailed as Yahoo's savior when she took charge of the pioneering internet firm five years ago.

But Mayer was unable to stem the decline of the iconic Silicon Valley company, which is set to close a deal on Tuesday selling its core internet operations to telecom giant Verizon.

She is likely headed for the exit as Yahoo ends two-decade run as an independent company, getting a departure package worth an estimated US$186 million (S$257.2 million).

Mayer inherited a company in protracted decline, having lost its leadership as an internet search company to Google and falling behind others like Facebook in serving money-making ads to users.

She is the latest in a line of chief executives who tried to reinvent Yahoo, and her experience at rival Google inspired hope.

"Marissa inherited a mess, in a company that had already lost its leadership role in search," said Creative Strategies president and analyst Tim Bajarin, who has known Yahoo since its early days.

Mayer, 42, joined Google in 1999 as its 20th employee and led efforts for hit products, including its flagship search product and homepage.

At Yahoo, where she became CEO in 2012, she went on a buying spree that included a US$1 billion acquisition of blogging platform Tumblr to reach a younger audience. She also cut more than a thousand jobs.

"Buying your way out of a problem like this is rarely going to solve your trouble," analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group said of acquisitions racked up at Yahoo.

Read also: Yahoo bows out as public company with revenue shrinking

Yahoo's finances have been skewed by its stake in China's Alibaba. It bought a 40 per cent stake in Alibaba in 2005 for US$1 billion and its current holding is now worth many times that amount, dwarfing the value of its internet operations.

It also has a multibillion-dollar stake in Yahoo Japan. These holdings will not be transferred to Verizon but remain in a separate entity named "Altaba." .

A survey released last month by business insights specialty website Owler ranked Mayer as the second most disliked chief executive, behind the head of United Airlines.

"Career-wise, Marissa is done," Enderle said.

"She's rich, so she could certainly fund herself as a venture capitalist but if she doesn't work on her skill set she is going to lose a lot of money as a VC."

Enderle put fault on the Yahoo board, saying Mayer was put in a "very bad spot" and failed to provide a mentor for a job she had never done before.

"Like our president, it shows that when you take someone with no idea what they are doing and put them in a job they shouldn't do, it will end badly," Enderle said.

Born in a small Wisconsin city, Mayer worked at a grocery store before attending Stanford University, where she studied computer science. While her intellectual skills qualify her as a nerd, her blond good looks and star quality have put her on the cover of magazines including Fortune, Vanity Fair and Vogue, where pictures of her featured in a fashion spread.

Read also: Yahoo's Mayer: A trailblazer, but no game-changer for women

Glamour magazine named her "woman of the year" in 2009 and she has been on several lists of influential tech personalities.

Yahoo was one of the first companies that enabled users to find their way online, but lost its role as a leader.

It is selling its core internet operations to telecom giant Verizon for US$4.48 billion, capping a long decline from when it had a peak market value of some US$125 billion in 2000.

Founded in 1994 by Stanford University students David Filo and Jerry Yang, Yahoo was created as a type of directory for the internet. It was originally called "Jerry and Dave's Guide to the World Wide Web." Its initial public offering in 1996 was the largest for a tech startup at the time.

Based in Sunnyvale, California, Yahoo became the leading "portal" for the internet, with a home page that allowed users to click on categories such as sports, finance and movies, or search for information. "In a way, Yahoo introduced the concept of search," Bajarin said. "They started diversifying with all these content layers and in the process didn't put enough engineering resources in the search engine." Google launched in 1998 and usurped Yahoo's search throne.

While Yahoo will continue to exist under Verizon, it remained to be seen what the telecommunications firm will do with it. "You're losing an iconic figure of Silicon Valley," Bajarin said.

More than 1,000 jobs could be shed as redundant positions get eliminated at combined AOL and Yahoo operations, according to US media reports. Verizon is expected to merge those two operations into a new unit called Oath.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Liza Yosephine (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, June 12, 2017 17:37 1977 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a4ec93d 1 Art & Culture dance,jakarta,community,#dance,tango,#community Free

Argentina may be on the other side of the globe from Indonesia, but the sensual tango has traveled some 15,000 kilometers to get the feet of Jakartans moving to its sultry rhythm, as more and more are dancing to its beat.

Grouped under Paciencia, a tango community in Jakarta, at one point almost 200 people spun around with their partners during a 17-hour milonga, or dance party, to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the community from June 9-10.

Fuchong "El Tanguero", a Spanish nickname he took on which means "the tango dancer", established Paciencia in 2012 soon after returning from Buenos Aires, where he had traveled to learn the Argentine dance in its birthplace.

It was there, he said, that he learned the true philosophy behind the tango, after being immersed in the culture for three months.

Read also: Purwakanthi seeks to preserve classic Surakartan Javanese dances in Jakarta

"The philosophy is how we find a connection. Connection is very important. ...Connection means we can appreciate and we can give, and that's what tango means," Fuchong said during the anniversary event in Central Jakarta.

These are the values he brought back with him and have applied in the pursuit of spreading the passion for tango in Jakarta. Five years later, and the community had grown, Fuchong added, albeit at a slow pace.

"Tango is not easy," said Fuchong, who is also a DJ and dance teacher.

Originally from Bali, Fuchong leads the community of tango enthusiasts in Jakarta by teaching a class that is followed by a milonga every Monday. The class and the milonga each cost Rp 100,000 (US$7.5), with classes beginning at 7 p.m.

Read also: Camaraderie through Saman Dance

Faraidi Rivai Malik, who helped organize the anniversary celebration, says tango is also gaining ground around Indonesia, as communities are also popping up in Yogyakarta, Bandung in West Java, Surabaya in East Java and in Bali.

"Dancing tango is all about being part of a community. It's not just "hi and bye", we also build friendships," she said.

In addition to dancers around Indonesia, Faraidi said connections were also established with international communities through attending events and networking abroad.

The connection, Faraidi said, was what helps spread the word and supported the growing interest of tango in Indonesia. (kes)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Winny Tang (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, June 12, 2017 10:05 1977 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a4d190c 1 Business quran,paper,Asia-Pulp-and-Paper,Sinar-Mas Free

Giant paper producer Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) is forecasting the sales volume of Quran paper to increase by 7 percent to 23,625 metric tons (MT) this year, thanks to strong demand from countries in the Middle East, such as Iran, Egypt and Lebanon.

APP, the subsidiary of diversified conglomerate Sinar Mas Group, currently covers 60 percent of Quran paper needs worldwide. About 70 percent of its Quran paper is exported to the Middle East, while 8 percent is sold to the Indonesian market and the rest to other countries.

Each market has a specific demand for Al-Quran paper. For example, Egypt prefers to use 55 gsm [grams per square meter] paper, while Beirut prefers 50 gsm, Citra Yulia, APPs product manager of color paper, said recently.

To boost export, the company consistently develops new products to satisfy customers preference. On top of that, as the paper is used for holy books, the firm also ensures that the manufacturing process is free from non-halal substances.

In the future, we are targeting to supply halal paper for Madinah Quran Printing in Saudi Arabia, she said.

APP booked an annual sales volume of 22,080 MT for Quran paper last year, up by 7.3 percent from 20,572 MT in 2015. The firm produces Quran paper from Indah Kiat Pulp and Paper factory in Tangerang, Banten. (bbn)
It's only been a year since Richard Linklater's last film, the criminally-underrated Everybody Wants Some!!, but the prolific director already has a new movie in the can. And his latest film, Last Flag Flying, will open the 55th New York Film Festival this fall.

The festival will take place from September 28th to October 15th at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, with Last Flag Flying kicking things off at Alice Tully Hall on Thursday, September 28th before it opens theatrically on November 17th. Ava DuVernay's The 13th, which is also distributed by Amazon Studios, opened the festival last year.

The Linklater film, which is described as a lyrical road movie, stars Steve Carell, Laurence Fishburne and Bryan Cranston as three Navy vets. Here's the description:

Three aging Vietnam-era Navy vetssoft-spoken Doc (Carell), unhinged and unfiltered Sal (Cranston), and quietly measured Mueller (Fishburne)reunite to perform a sacred task: the proper burial of Docs only child, who has been killed in the early days of the Iraqi Invasion. As this trio of old friends makes its way up the Eastern seaboard, Linklater gives us a rich rendering of friendship, a grand mosaic of common life in the USA during the Bush era, and a striking meditation on the passage of time and the nature of truth. To put it simply, Last Flag Flying is a great movie from one of Americas finest filmmakers.

"Its always special to be at the New York Film Festival, but to be premiering our movie on opening night, when you look at the half century of films that have occupied that slot, is a wonderful honor," Linklater said in a press release. New York Film Festival Director and Selection Committee Chair Kent Jones was effusive in his praise for the film, calling it "infectiously funny, quietly shattering, celebratory, mournful, meditative, intimate, expansive, vastly entertaining, and all-American in the very best sense."

The rest of this year's lineup has not been announced yet. Tickets for the 55th New York Film Festival will go on sale September 10th. VIP passes and packages are on sale now here.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Farida Susanty (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, June 12, 2017 15:11 1977 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a4e8918 1 Business Batik-Air,jakarta,Kuala-Lumpur,routes Free

Full service carrier Batik Air, a part of private carrier Lion Air Group, launched a new route connecting Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur on Sunday as part of the airlines international expansion.

The flight will be available once a day from both Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

"This route is a beginning of our plan for Batik Air to expand its services to other countries like Australia and India from Denpasar," Lion Air Group public relations manager Andy M. Saladin said in a statement.

Andy said that soon, Batik Air planned to fly from Denpasar to Chennai in India, through Kuala Lumpur. Hence, passengers from Chennai or Kuala Lumpur will be able to fly to other cities in Indonesia.

Batik Air flies to 35 domestic destinations, but the airline only flies to Singapore, internationally. (bbn)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, June 12 2017

A series of arrests of officials at the state prosecutors offices in some regions for alleged bribery in past months has put the Attorney Generals Office (AGO) back in the spotlight, prompting fresh calls for serious bureaucratic reform, which many say is still being pursued sluggishly.

Friday last week saw the arrest of Parlin Purba, the head of the intelligence unit at the Bengkulu Prosecutors Office, for allegedly receiving bribes related to an earlier investigation he was handling into botched irrigation projects.

The arrest, undertaken by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), came less than two months after a similar case occurred in the neighboring Jambi province when an official at the Jambi Prosecutors Office was apprehended by a local task force for allegedly receiving money as a gratuity in an action involving contraband items held by the state.

to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content

e-Post daily digital newspaper

No advertisements, no interruptions

Privileged access to our events and programs

Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Rosie Scammell (Agence France-Presse) London  Mon, June 12, 2017 08:37 1977 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a4cf4b7 2 World #British,#Brexit Free

British Prime Minister Theresa May on Sunday defied calls to resign and adopted a new slogan, "getting on with the job", after a catastrophic election performance.

Two days after results of Britain's snap election showed May's Conservatives had lost their majority in parliament, a visibly weakened premier denied she was feeling "shell-shocked" when quizzed by Sky News.

What I'm feeling is that actually there is a job to be done and I think what the public want is to ensure that the government is getting on with that job," May said in the televised interview.

Criticized for relying on campaign slogans, the prime minister's appearance from Downing Street saw her drop the "strong and stable" leadership mantra, only to replace it with talk of getting on with governing.

May sidestepped direct questioning on whether she intends to serve a full term at prime minister, following calls for her to resign in the wake of the election debacle.

"I said during the election campaign that if re-elected I would intend to serve a full term. But what I'm doing now is actually getting on with the immediate job," she said.

Aware that the opposition Labor party had made election gains by focusing heavily on national issues, while the Conservatives drew on Brexit, May listed areas such as education and housing as top priorities.

Former finance minister George Osborne, who May sacked after taking office following the Brexit vote last June, on Sunday said May was now a "dead woman walking".

But the prime minister said she had a busy schedule ahead, with a cabinet meeting on Monday and talks with French President Emmanuel Macron the following day.

Brexit will likely be on the agenda at the Paris meeting, after May confirmed she will stick to the timetable of negotiations over Britain's departure from the European Union due to start on June 19.

May tried to reassert her shattered authority over the weekend by announcing her new cabinet  with no moves among her top team.

Minimal changes by May including making Damian Green, former work and pensions secretary, her deputy by naming him first secretary of state.

In a surprise move, Michael Gove was appointed environment and agriculture minister less than a year after the prime minister sacked him as justice minister.

The leader of the Britain's third largest party the Liberal Democrats, Tim Farron, dismissed the reshuffle as "rearranging the deckchairs as the Titanic goes down".

May has shown little public contrition for the electoral gamble that backfired, but was forced to accept the resignations of her two closest aides  reportedly a requirement by cabinet colleagues for allowing her to stay in office.

With the new government set to present its legislative program to parliament on June 19, the clock is ticking on efforts to bolster the Conservatives' position after they won just 318 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons.

May has turned to the Protestant Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in Northern Ireland in the hope of gaining support of their 10 MPs.

DUP leader Arlene Foster said there had been "very good discussions" so far and she would travel to London to meet May on Tuesday.

Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said the government was not looking at a formal coalition but would seek assurances that the DUP would vote with May "on the big things" such as the budget, defense issues and Brexit.

He stressed he did not share their ultra-conservative views on issues such as abortion and homosexuality, which have caused disquiet among many Conservatives.

More than 600,000 people have signed a petition condemning the proposed alliance, saying it is a "disgusting, desperate attempt to stay in power".

The deal has also caused disquiet in Dublin, prompting Irish premier Enda Kenny to warn such an alliance could upset Northern Ireland's fragile peace.

In a phone call on Sunday, Kenny told May that forming a minority government reliant on the support of the hardline DUP could pose a "challenge" to the 1998 Good Friday peace accords.

"The taoiseach [Kenny] indicated his concern that nothing should happen to put the Good Friday Agreement at risk and the challenge that this agreement will bring," an Irish government spokesman said.

London's neutrality is key to the delicate balance of power in Northern Ireland, which was once plagued by violence over Britain's control of the province.

May responded that the DUP deal "would provide stability and certainty for the UK going forward", her office said.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Agnes Anya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, June 12, 2017 17:57 1977 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a4ed913 1 City transjakarta,strike,#TransjakartaTrouble,public-transportation Free

The Jakarta administration wants the initiators of a wildcat strike by Transjakarta workers on Monday reported to the police for taking the job action without prior notification.

Jakarta Transportation Agency head Andri Yansyah said that as the supervisor of PT Transportasi Jakarta (Transjakarta), he had never been informed that the bus operator was facing an employment dispute, which was believed to have caused the walk-out.

Before the incident, the agency had never obtained any notice about employees having an issue with the company and wanting to go on strike.

Hence, Andri said, the strike was a "presumptuous" move, which might have been initiated by provocateurs.

"If they had complained to us [about a grievance] many times but got no response, that would have been our fault and they would have had the right to stage a strike," Andri said on Monday at City Hall. "Instead, this happened and disrupted the public's convenience."

Hence, the agency was urging PT Transjakarta to report the issue to police.

Andri said that he had yet to know the exact demands of the employees as of Monday afternoon as PT Transjakarta was still in discussions with an employee representative.

Officials from PT Transjakarta could not be reached for comment as of Monday at 2:53 p.m.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, June 12, 2017 20:00 1977 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a4f1394 1 National maritime-affairs-and-fisheries-ministry,bakamla-graft-case,bribery-case Free

Prosecutors have demanded the Jakarta Corruption Court sentence former Maritime Security Board (Bakamla) deputy chairman Eko Susilo Hadi to five years in prison and fine him Rp 250 million (US$18,808) for alleged bribery.

Corruption Eradication Commission prosecutors led by Kresno Anto Wibowo accused Eko of accepting US$88,500, 10,000 and S$100,000 from businessman Fahmi Damawansyah as a reward for him winning a bid for the procurement of satellite monitoring equipment, Antara reported Monday.

Eko has confessed and handed over US$88,500 and 10,000 to the KPK while the S$100,000 was seized during his arrest.

Eko will read his defense statement on June 17.

In the same case, prosecutors also demanded that defendants Muhammad Adami Okta and Hardy Stevanus, both staff members of tech firm PT Melati Technofo Indonesia, be sentenced to two years in prison and fined Rp 100 million.

Bakamla chief Vice Adm. Arie Soedewo has also been implicated in the case. (yon/dmr)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, June 12, 2017 16:34 1977 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a4ea6f3 4 Business Garuda-Indonesia,loss,financial-condition,CEO,comments Free

State-owned carrier PT Garuda Indonesia needs one year to stabilize its financial situation after suffering losses of Rp 1.31 trillion (US$ 98.55 million) in the first quarter of 2017, Garuda president director Pahala N. Mansury has said.

The liquidity, balance of payments and other indicators remain positive until the end of this year. We hope to achieve stability by the end of next year. The recovery period could take nine to 12 months, said Pahala in Jakarta on Sunday as quoted by kompas.com.

He said Garuda Indonesias losses were mainly caused by the price hike in aviation turbine fuel (avtur) as spending on the fuel rose last year by 54 percent from $189.8 million to $292.3 million.

The fuel price increase, among other factors, increased operational costs from $840.1 million to $1.1 billion. The 6.2 percent increase in the companys revenues from $856 million to $909.5 million could not compensate for the increased costs.

In trying to improve efficiency, the carrier is currently reviewing 10 to 20 of its domestic routes, said Pahala, adding that Garuda was trying to improve its financial conditions amid rumors of fundamental problems.

The losses in the first quarter of 2017 are an opportunity to improve our performance, said Pahala, while denying that his company was in severe difficulties. (mrc/bbn)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, June 12, 2017 14:08 1977 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a4e3ef5 1 City jakarta,crime Free

A public minivan driver was fatally stabbed on Sunday after having an argument over spilled coffee with his kenek (assistant) in Cengkareng, West Jakarta.

The driver, Nasomi, 35, was having coffee with friends at a coffee stall on Sunday morning when his minivan attendant walked in and bumped into Nasomi, making the driver spill his coffee. That incident sparked an argument between the two, with Nasomi's friends allegedly starting a fight.

The minivan attendant left the stall, only to return moments later with a knife and reportedly stabbed Nasomi.

Nasomi was rushed to the Teluk Gong community health center, but died a few minutes after he arrived.

"It [the stabbing] happened because of an argument between the driver and his assistant," West Jakarta Police criminal investigation division deputy head Comr. I Ketut Sudarma said on Sunday as quoted by wartakota.tribunnews.com.

Sudarma said officers have already arrested the minivan attendant, who is currently being detained at Cengkareng Police station for further investigation. (hol/wit)

Topics : jakarta crime
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, June 12 2017

The National Polices Special Crimes Directorate has foiled an attempt to illegally export lobster larvae worth billions of rupiah to Singapore via Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Cengkareng, Banten.

We confiscated 208,756 lobster larvae inside eight suitcases, said directorate chief Brig. Gen. Purwadi Arianto as quoted by tribunnews.com on Sunday.

Had the smuggling attempt been successful, state losses could have reached Rp 31.3 billion (US$2.4 million), Purwadi said, adding that the police had questioned two persons, identified as AM and WHY, in relation to the case.

to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content

e-Post daily digital newspaper

No advertisements, no interruptions

Privileged access to our events and programs

Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, June 12, 2017 15:09 1977 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a4e8437 4 Business Pelni,ship-purchase,Germany,postponement Free

State-owned shipping operator PT Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia (PT Pelni) is mulling plans to purchase ships from local builders to replace their old fleet, as the cost of vessels manufactured by German shipbuilder Meyer Werfl  with whom the firm have signed an agreement  is not financially feasible.

We are considering several choices [for a reasonable price]. We may turn to local products that may be jointly built with other foreign ship builders, Pelni president director Elfien Guntoro said after a meeting in Jakarta on Monday as reported by tempo.co.

Pelni has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Meyer Werfl to buy both passenger and cargo ships. The MoU was signed during President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's visit to Germany in April 2016.

The price of Meyer Werfls ships stand at about 70 million euros (US$78.48 million), while Pelni is seeking to buy vessels priced at 50 million euros, Elfien said.

The [Meyer Werfl] ships are good, in fact, too good, he said, adding that his company needed three ships to replace the ones that have operated for more than 30 years.

The new ships will operate the Jakarta-Surabaya-Makassar- Baubau-Ambon-Sorong route. (bbn)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, June 12, 2017 19:22 1977 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a4efd9f 1 City Rizieq-Shihab,red-notice Free

Police have yet to issue a so-called red notice for Islam Defenders Front (FPI) leader Rizieq Shihab, who is a suspect in a pornography case.

Rizieq is believed to have left Indonesia for Jeddah in Saudi Arabia for the minor haj with his family on April 27 and has not returned since.

A red notice is issued by Interpol, usually in response to a request by a national government to seek the location and arrest of a wanted person with a view to his or her extradition.

We dont have any more information about [a red notice] from the National Police's international relations division, Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono told reporters on Monday. Urging reporters to just wait for it, he said the division had held a meeting on the matter with the polices supervision and investigation body.

Argo also added that police were still investigating to decide whether to send a team to Jeddah to bring Rizieq back to Indonesia or just rely on coordination with police in Saudi Arabia.

We still hope that he will return home, Argo said.

Separately, the spokesman of the Justice and Human Rights Ministrys directorate general of immigration, Agung Sampurno, denied Rizieqs lawyer claim that his client had an unlimited visa from Saudi Arabia.

"There is no such thing as a life-long visa. There must be a limit to it, Agung said on Monday, as quoted by kompas.com. (hol)
This past Saturday, counter-protesters turned out in huge numbers, despite the heat, to voice their opposition to the New York iteration of a nationwide anti-Islamic protest. This week brings another wide ranging lineup of political marches, celebrations and community events, from an anti-Trump birthday party to tonight's vigil outside the Stonewall Inn. As always, we've rounded up the coming days' most notable protestsfeel free to leave anything we've missed in the comments.

Pulse Memorial Rally

One year after a mass shooter killed 49 at an LGBTQ club in Orlando, Gays Against Guns will host a memorial to honor the victims while demanding an end to gun violence. The "solemn and joyfully defiant experience" will take place outside Stonewall Inn, followed by drink specials and community-building at partnering bars, including 9th Ave Saloon, Henrietta Hudson, Cubbyhole, and Julius. Attendees are encouraged to wear black in tribute to the Pulse victims.

Monday, June 12th, 7 p.m. // Stonewall Inn, 53 Christopher Street

Pack the Court for #DelrawnSmall

It's also been nearly one year since NYPD officer Wayne Isaacs fatally shot unarmed driver Delrawn Small during a road rage incident, leading to widespread protests and calls for greater police accountability. Small's family has since asked supporters to pack the court and demand justice for the Brooklyn man's death. The next court datea hearing on motions put forward by Isaac's attorneyis scheduled for Tuesday morning at the Brooklyn Supreme Court.

Tuesday, June 13th, 9 a.m. // Brooklyn Supreme Court, 320 Jay Street, Brooklyn



Cuomoville: Rally & Campout at Governor Cuomo's Office

Local activists plan on camping outside the governor's 3rd Avenue office to demand that he "stop siding with real estate developers and start standing with New Yorkers." Specifically, they'll demand that Cuomo pass stronger rent laws to protect tenants, end corporate tax breaks to developers, and begin working to solve homelessness in the state. The protest, organized by the Alliance for Tenant Power and VOCAL-NY, begins with a march from the New York Public Library to the governor's office.

Wednesday, June 14th, 4:30 p.m. // Governor's Office, 633 3rd Avenue



Trump's Birthday Protest

In observance of the president's 71st birthday, activist group Rise & Resist has organized this rally and march against a slew of causes, including police brutality, ICE raids, and "Trump's birth." The tentative plan is to meet outside the Central Park West Trump Hotel and then march to Trump Tower. Those interested in volunteering can sign up here.

Wednesday, June 14th, 4:30 p.m. // Trump Tower, 725 5th Avenue, Manhattan



The IDC Is Failing New York

Governor Cuomo has remained conspicuously silent on the issue of the breakaway Independent Democratic Conference, even as frustration toward the group continues to grow. Now, progressive organizers are accusing the governor of tacitly supporting the rogue Democrats out of a desire "to play the big dealmaker, brokering watered-down budgets and legislation that he can hold up as proof of his ability to be bipartisan." Led by Rise & Resist, NoIDCNY, and a dozen other activist groups, protesters will gather outside Cuomo's office on Thursday to demand that the governor disavow the IDC.

Thursday, June 15th, 6 p.m. // Governor's Office, 633 3rd Avenue



Upstander Intervention Training

Being a good "upstander"someone who strategically intervenes or de-escalates a hate incidentrequires practice. This workshop, held by the 6th Street Community Center and the Center for Anti-Violence Education, offers just that, along with tips for "how to report hate incidents, and how individuals can become involved in a movement to end systemic hate and violence." Donations will be accepted on a $5-10 sliding scale, and no one will be turned away due to lack of funds. Register here.

Thursday, June 15th, 6:30 p.m. // Sixth Street Community Center, 638 E 6th Street, Manhattan

Women's March To Ban The Bomb

In late 2016, the UN General Assembly adopted a landmark resolution kicking off negotiations on a treaty that would abolish nuclear weapons. In support of that effort, the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom will lead this marchbilled as an extension of the Women's Marchthrough midtown on Saturday. Speakers and performance artists will soon be announced, and those interested in volunteering can sign up here.

Saturday, June 17th, 12 p.m. // 5 Bryant Park, Manhattan


Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, June 12, 2017 21:48 1977 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a4f2ed7 1 City accident,bus,Banten Free

A bus operated by the SM Prima company with 17 people on board crashed on Monday morning on the Tangerang-Merak toll road in Banten, leaving three people dead and several others injured.

A single traffic accident occurred involving a SM Prima bus at 11:25 a.m. at KM 85.8 on the Tangerang-Merak Toll road, Banten Police traffic directorate chief Sr. Comr. Tri Julianto Djatiutomo said on Monday as quoted by kompas.com.

The bus driver, Suandi, 46, was allegedly speeding when the bus veered off the road and struck a bridge.

Three people died at the scene, three were severely injured and 14 others received minor injuries.

Two of the fatalities have been identified as Suandi, Muhajir, 61, a resident of Mojokerto, Central Java and Irwan, 46, a resident of Jombang, Cilegon, Banten.

The injured were admitted to the Krakatau Medika and Cilegon General hospitals, Djatiutomo said. (fac)

Topics : accident bus Banten
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Fachrul Sidiq (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, June 12, 2017 14:51 1977 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a4e748d 1 City transjakarta,strike,passengers Free

Passengers of Transjakarta buses found themselves stranded in several areas across the capital on Monday as employees of the bus operator launched a strike to demand a better employment scheme.

Passenger Junianti Hutabarat, 25, arrived at the Jakarta State University bus shelter in East Jakarta for a bus heading to Klender, also in East Jakarta, to submit a job application at a private company. However, she said she had to cancel her plans because Transjakarta was not serving passengers that day.

I was about to board to the bus, but a ticketing attendant told me that the busses were not operating, she said.

Transjakarta is a common mode of transportation among Jakartans due to its relatively cheap fare and extensive coverage. In a day, the bus regularly serves around 450,000 passengers.

"[Transjakarta] workers launched the strike to demand permanent [employee] status," said Jakarta Police traffic unit head Adj. Sr. Comr. Budiyanto.

Topics : transjakarta strike passengers
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, June 12, 2017 11:19 1977 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a4d703e 1 News Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,Asean-literary-festival,Kota-Tua Free

From August 3 through 6, Jakartas Kota Tua (Old Town) will welcome writers, artists and academicians from 10 ASEAN countries to participate in the fourth ASEAN Literary Festival (ALF).

The event will have participants coming from over 20 countries. This years ALF also marks the 50th anniversary of ASEAN.

This years edition is themed Beyond Imagination, said Okky Madasari, one of the events founders and ASEAN Literary Festival program director, adding that the ALF has made culture and literature important elements of the ASEAN organization for the past three years.

Read also: Jakpost guide to Kota Tua

Only culture and literature can genuinely unite us; economics and politics are only slogans of the ASEAN community, theyre just rhetoric and illusions, Madasari said.

Freedom of expression is the main issue that will be discussed at ALF 2017, tackling topics of radicalism, terrorism and the role of social media in every-day life.

Pre-event programs will be held prior ALF 2017, including Sastra Masuk Kampung (Literature Goes to Villages), Residency and a new program called Jambore Nasional Sastra (Literary National Camp). (asw)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse)  Mon, June 12, 2017 17:04 1977 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a4eb275 2 News Smurfs,tourism,#tourism,ambassador,Brussels,Germany Free

The Brussels tourism office is dispatching a special delegation of Smurfs as part of a major tourism campaign aimed at bringing back tourists following last years terrorist attack.

Dubbed Where will Brussels take you the tourism offensive is meant to boost lagging visitor numbers following the terror attacks which killed 32 people at the Brussels airport and metro station last spring.

Numerous actions were undertaken immediately after the attacks and have yielded positive results, said Rudi Vervoort, Minister-President in a statement.

We have witnessed a very clear recovery of tourism in Brussels at the beginning of the year.

The campaign Where will Brussels take you represents an additional effort and aims at revealing our regions hidden secrets  the best and most remarkable of what Brussels has to offer.

Read also: It's time to visit Smurf village

The campaign was launched simultaneously in cities across Germany, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Britain, with the assistance of the Brussels-born blue inhabitants who were dispatched to promote their city.

An online platform called takemeto.brussels has also been launched to help visitors personalise their trip.

The site offers recommendations on the best restaurants, Instagram-worthy sites, museums for kids, best coffee and wine bars.

As part of the promotional campaign, the tourism office is also giving away a city break to Brussels every week, which includes accommodation and transportation within Europe.

The campaign ends Oct 31.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Oleksandr Savochenko (Agence France-Presse) Kiev, Ukraine  Mon, June 12, 2017 12:39 1977 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a4da32e 2 News Ukraine,visa-free,Europe,European-Union,travel,traveling,tourism,#visa,#traveling,EU Free

Ukrainians were on Sunday celebrating the first day of visa-free access to the European Union, with thousands crossing the border as President Petro Poroshenko proclaimed a dramatic "exit" from Moscow's grip.

The move is symbolic for Kiev, where a pro-EU revolt in 2014 toppled the previous Russia-backed government and was followed by Moscow's annexation of the Crimea peninsula sparking a protracted ongoing conflict with pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.

"The visa-free regime for Ukraine has started! Glory to Europe! Glory to Ukraine!" Poroshenko tweeted early Sunday as many travellers started crossing the border and posting selfies.

Read also: EU seeks online security checks for visa-exempt visitors

Only those with biometric passports -- containing a microchip with personal data, including fingerprints -- can take advantage of the visa-free travel for the time being, for stays of up to 90 days every six months that don't include work.

The exemption does not apply to Ireland or Britain, nor to Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, which are part of the EU's Schengen passport-free area despite not being members of the bloc.

Later Sunday, Poroshenko met with Slovak counterpart Andrej Kiska on the Slovak-Ukrainian border, unlocking a mock "door to the EU" painted like a Ukrainian passport.

"We have waited so long for this," he said. "I am sure that this day, June 11, will go down in the history of Ukraine as a final exit of our country from the Russian empire and its return to the family of European nations."

"Welcome to Europe," Kiska told the crowd. "I want to call on you to continue carrying out reforms."

"Today we bring down the barrier between the people of Ukraine and the people of the European Union," EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said in a video address.

"Ukraine has delivered reforms its citizens were asking for and we of the EU have kept our promise. This is what we call a win-win solution."

Read also: Defiant May vows to lead Britain to Brexit after UK election blow

- 'It feels so good' -

The EU approved the visa-free travel last month after long delays and Kiev's embattled reforms, fulfilling a key promise to cement ties with Kiev following the broad trade and political association agreement sealed in 2014.

Kiev is now seeking to boost European integration with cheaper rail links and more low-cost air connections with EU cities, Poroshenko said Saturday.

Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin cheered on Twitter after passengers on flights from Ukraine were able to enter Warsaw, Budapest, Frankfurt and other airports.

"#Bezviz (no visa) is just the beginning!" he wrote, himself crossing the border to Hungary and posting photos from the passport control area.

By midday, thousands had crossed the border into EU countries, the foreign ministry's consular department wrote on Twitter. Only four people were denied entry.

"I'm going abroad for the first time in a decade, and it feels so good," said Ukrainian Ulyana Golosyak who crossed the border to Poland from western Ukraine despite her husband accompanying her in case of complications.

"He thought something could happen that I would be turned back and would need to be picked up," she told AFP. "I'm happy I can cross the border with this passport."
Police shot a man on Sunday night who they say was stabbing his roommate in a Brooklyn apartment.

Chief Jeffrey Maddrey of the NYPD's Patrol Borough Brooklyn North said in an emailed statement early this morning that officers responded to a 911 call about a fight at the Cypress Hills building at about 9 p.m. on Sunday. As officers entered the apartment, they encountered several men who they think live there together, according to Maddrey. As the cops investigated, one of the men, Francis DeJesus, allegedly slipped away and returned with a steak knife and chased his roommate with it, stabbing him in the arms.

Maddrey said the officers commanded DeJesus to drop the knife, and when he continued to try to stab his roommate, shot him once.

Emergency medical personnel transported DeJesus to Brookdale Hospital, and took the stabbing victim to Jamaica Hospital. "Two or three" officers were also taken to Jamaica Hospital for observation.

The stabbing victim is listed in stable condition, and the New York Post reports that DeJesus is in serious condition.

It's not yet clear what started the altercation.

Police charged DeJesus with attempted murder and weapon possession.
Tom Hardy has penned an emotional tribute to his best friend and pet dog, Woody, who has died aged six.

The actor posted on his Tumblr about the pooch, who had been battling a muscle disorder for the past six months.

Tom wrote: We at home are devastated by his loss I am ultimately grateful for his loyal companionship and love and it is of some great comfort that he is no longer suffering.

Tom Hardy and his dog Woody at the Legend world premiere (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Above all I am completely gutted. The world for me was a better place with him in it and by my side.

The Peaky Blinders star adopted the 11-week-old stray after he ran across the road as Tom was driving in Atlanta, Georgia, during the filming of Lawless with co-star Jessica Chastain.

He took in the Labrador cross and recalled in the lengthy post about hauling him out of numerous rivers and ponds due to the poochs love of chasing ducks.

Woody was a red carpet guest at the Legend premiere (Jonathan Brady/PA)

He wrote: He was an Angel. And he was my best friend. We went through so much together, adding that Woody fiercely guarded Toms wife Charlotte Riley when she was pregnant.

The 39-year-old added: Woody was the bestest of journey companions we ever could dream of having.

He didnt have a bad bone in his body. All he knew was love.

Tom Hardy with Woody (Jonathan Brady/PA)

He signed off the note with the words: Thank you Woody for choosing to find us. We will love you and be with you and you with us forever. Never ever ever forgotten.

With all of me I love you. Always. Thankyou for your love beautiful boy.
When Theresa May called an election she hoped to increase the Conservative majority, not see it reduced. Now if she wishes to form a government she must make up the numbers by creating a coalition, or an alliance of sorts, with at least one other party.

The party she's chosen is the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). Since this news was announced on Friday, people all over the UK have been asking questions about what this small party from Northern Ireland is all about.

What do they stand for? What are their values and their views?

It'll probably be easier to explain what they don't stand for.

They don't stand for reducing or tackling climate change.

No mention of climate change was made in their manifesto, and they previously appointed a climate change denier as their Environment Secretary.

They don't stand for women being allowed autonomy of their own bodies.

The DUP are staunch opponents of abortion and maintain it should be banned. They have blocked all attempts at extending the law in Northern Ireland which would allow women who become pregnant through rape to have an abortion.

Women in Northern Ireland who have abortions can be sent to prison, and the sentence for a person carrying out 'unlawful' abortions is life in prison. Just this year a woman was prosecuted for taking abortion pills after she was reported to police by her GP.

Northern Ireland's abortion laws are so restrictive the United Nations Human Rights Committee said they are "concerned" and urged an amendment in legislation was needed "as a matter of priority."

DUP 's Arlene Foster has previously said: I would not want abortion to be as freely available here as it is in England.

They don't stand for the LGBT community.

They backed the introduction of a conscience clause which would, among other things, allow employers to refuse LGBT people jobs based on their sexuality or gender.

One DUP member once told children homosexuality is an abomination, and the son of the party's founder said he was repulsed by lesbians and gays.

Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK which doesn't have same sex marriage. This is because the DUP has consistently blocked attempts to introduce it.

A few other things to note about the DUP.

The DUP has historical links to terrorist groups, they worked with Ulster Volunteer Force to smuggle dangerous arms into the UK, and former Leader Peter Robinson was a part of the terror group Ulster Resistance. While these links are merely historical they're interesting to note given that throughout their campaign, Jeremy Corbyn was repeatedly criticised by The Tories who called him a 'terrorist sympathiser' for his past links to the republican movement in Northern Ireland.

Other truly bizarre things include one DUP member claiming children have been corrupted by the teaching of evolution." To counter act the "peddled lie" of evolution he's calling for the teaching of creationism in all Northern Ireland schools. To add to this, many DUP members are also members of the Caleb Foundation which promotes creationism and believes the earth is less than 10,000 years old.

There's no doubt the Conservative-DUP alliance is bad

In the run up to the General Election Theresa May warned voters about a coalition of chaos posed by Labour, Lib Dem's and the SNP. Well you don't have to worry about that anymore because she's created her very own version, and there might be a lot more than chaos on the agenda.

So brace yourself, as the DUP and Theresa May led government are clearly for the few not the many and it's going to be a very bumpy ride.
A group of Muslims have been handing out roses with messages on London Bridge just over a week after three knifemen attacked people in the area.

(David Mirzoeff/PA)

The 1000 Roses London initiative, organised by a group of London-based Muslims, is an expression of love, solidarity and appreciation following the horrific events last weekend that claimed the lives of eight victims who were enjoying a night out in the capital.

Their message said: This is the place, the time, the moment to take the pen and write narratives of love and solidarity  not of hate and division.

We wont let London Bridge fall down nor any bridge upon which the communities of this great city and nation are built.

The idea started out as 1000 roses but the group said on Facebook that the response from the public led to them tripling that number to 3000.

(David Mirzoeff/PA)

(David Mirzoeff/PA)

Other initiatives launched over the weekend included the Night for London appeal by the British Red Cross which encouraged people to visit the bars and restaurants in the London Bridge and Borough Market area on Saturday night, exactly seven days on from the attack.
Over the weekend we've all adjusted to the new set of MPs. Unless you're Robert Syms, the Conservative MP for Poole, who's celebrated in his win by calling a someone a dick on Twitter.

In response to a tweet that said "Sinn Fein are saying that the Tories are in breach of the Good Friday Agreement by forming a coalition with the DUP - and they're right, too" Syms said "It's not a coalition you dick".

The tweet has gathered a fair bit of attention - some supportive and some critical. Some Twitter users have speculated that this may be against the social media regulations set in place for Conservative MPs and that he might get in some serious trouble for this.

Syms acquired the seat in 1997 after the previous Conservative MP retired. He was involved in an expensive scandal in 2009 when he claimed 2,000 to transport furniture to his parents home.

He also backed Theresa May as Prime Minister after David Cameron's resignation, but had initially organised a letter to Cameron from MPs asking him not to resign after the EU referendum. Syms publically supports Brexit on Twitter and voted against protecting the rights of EU citizens who were legally resident in the UK prior to the referendum.
Michael Gove has returned from the cold and been appointed as Theresa Mays Environment Secretary.

The former justice secretary was dropped from the Cabinet when May became Prime Minister in 2016, but finds himself back on the frontbenches following the latest reshuffle.

Gove will oversee the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs  a role that includes farming, flooding and safeguarding of the environment.

But environmentalists are a bit thrown by the appointment.

May throws a bone to DUP dogs in the form of climate sceptic environment minister. https://t.co/pvcmgm9z6D  Andrew Bell (@aw_bell) June 11, 2017

Questions have been raised about his voting record on the environment

They Work For You During his time as an MP, Gove has generally voted against measures to prevent climate change, according to

In 2008, as secretary of state for children, Gove was absent during the second and third readings of the Climate Change Bill, and last year voted not to reduce the permitted carbon dioxide rate of new homes.

In total, between 2008 and 2016, he voted for measures to prevent climate change five times, against 12 times, and was absent 11 times.

(Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Gove has also twice voted in favour of selling Englands state owned forests, as well as culling badgers.

Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas is not impressed.

Goves treatment of climate change on the school curriculum was controversial

During his time as education secretary, Gove made plans to drop climate change from the geography curriculum, according to the Guardian, as part of a drive to slim the curriculum down.

The newspaper reported that the plans would see climate change moved to the science curriculum, but said there were fears this would downgrade the subject.

The decision to abandon the plans was claimed as a victory for Ed Davey, the then Lib Dem energy and climate change secretary  a role which has remained unfilled since Amber Rudd became Home Secretary in 2016.

He hoped Brexit would mean the end of some wildlife protection regulation

(Lauren Hurley/PA)

Gove was a key figure in the Brexit campaign, and took aim at EU rules following the referendum which he said prevented homes being built.

I am very, very keen  I may be odd in this respect as Conservative MP  on having more homes built in my constituency. Its a social and economic good. But homes built in my constituency are governed by the Habitats Directive, he said in March, in quotes reported by the Independent.

The Habitats Directive holds that if you build a home within five kilometres of a particular type of terrain, heathland, then you have to allocate, at the same time, something called suitable alternative natural green space to offset the environmental impact.

He added: As a result my constituents, and perhaps your children find homes more expensive and mobility in this country impeded.

But he has spoken of the need for conservation

3 yrs ago @michaelgove gave this brilliant speech on the environment. As our new Env Sec, it's worth reading: https://t.co/UKnDR2DVGf  Zac Goldsmith (@ZacGoldsmith) June 11, 2017

In a 2014 Westminster speech, Gove took questions from the floor on his climate stance, a topic he said had many feel had been colonised by the left, saying Conservatives want to see natural beauty respected and observed and enhanced.

He said: It seems to me unarguable that man has an impact on the climate. It seems to me unarguable that climate change can have a devastating and damaging impact on societies and economies that are even less developed.

And therefore it seems to me unarguable that we should seek first to lessen the impact that man might have on the climate, and secondly invest appropriately in measures to mitigate and protect individuals and societies from the impact of climate change.

In the same speech, Gove said his level of knowledge and technical expertise could be a barrier to helping those on the political right lead the climate change argument.
A group of men and a woman brutalized and slashed two transgender women in Bushwick early Saturday morning.

The victims, DJ Jasmine Infiniti of Oakland, California, and London Jade, a rapper living in Miami, were leaving Bushwick Liquors at Bushwick and Flushing avenues at about 1:45 a.m. when several people outside began heckling them, calling them "faggots" and "transformers," according to the authorities. The pair was accompanied by Cali Rose, also a DJ.

The group was "insinuating that myself, Cali or London were 'for them' or that our bodies and existence was a joke and Warranted commentary," Jasmine Infiniti told Paper magazine. "They called us transformers. They told us to get off of their block."

Then the crew attacked. There were eight or nine of them to start with, Jasmine Infinit told Gothamist. London Jade wrote online that she put up a fight, but fled when the woman in the group pulled out a blade. "[A]s i ran, this chick sliced the back of my leg and took my sandals which fell off while i dipped," she wrote on Facebook.

Jasmine Infiniti told Paper that she was left behind and "chose to be non violent," thinking, "maybe if I sit and take the pain it will convince people of something. Inspire a change of heart." She was beaten in the head and suffered a concussion and a fractured jaw, police said.

On Facebook, London Jade wrote further, "[W]hat scares me the most is, i was beyond WASTED and blacking out while me and my trans mother Jasmine Infiniti are being attacked and beat on. They couldve killed us... all we were doing was walking and minding our business, next thing i know we in the hospital for hours..."

Emergency medical personnel transported the two to Bellevue Hospital. London Jade wrote that she has since been released and returned to Miami yesterday. Jasmine Infiniti wrote that she is awaiting a jaw surgery that is scheduled for Thursday.

An internet fundraiser for the two says that Jasmine is not insured. The campaign has raised more than $34,000 for the pair since going live on Saturday.

No arrests have been made in connection with the attack. The NYPD's Hate Crime Task Force is investigating.

On Facebook Saturday, Jasmine Infiniti wrote that "the worst part of this" is how it might affect her European tour and other bookings, concluding, "Fuck transphobia, misogyny, and violent attitudes. I've had enough!"

Today, apparently responding to questions about having been denied service at the liquor store just prior to the fight, she wrote further:

Like Bitch no I was barely drunk and what the fuck I'm tired of ppl telling me that I should just "walk away" or avoid trouble... when is trouble going to learn to avoid me? When are bigots, transphobes, and haters going to learn not to bother random ppl?[...]We didn't say anything to those ppl in the street and sure I could have chosen to ignore it but instead I felt like saying something[...]

A man who answered the phone at Bushwick Liquors said, "Not interested," and hung up.

At least 27 transgender people were killed in 2016, almost all of them transgender women of color, according to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. The National Transgender Discrimination Survey of 2015 found that 1 in 10 transgender people reported being attacked because of their gender identity.
On Tuesday 6th June Michelle Obama was asked to address Apples 2017 Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, California, on the role of women in the technology industry.

Speaking with Lisa Jackson, Apples vice president of environment policy and social initiatives, Obama urged Apple to reconsider the amount of women they employ on the basis of the important insight they could offer.

She prompted employers to ask themselves Who are you marketing to? Who do you think is going to use these apps? If women arent at the table, youre going to miss my dollar. Because you dont really know me.

Such reservations are clearly not entirely unfounded, as with only 32% of Apples employees worldwide being female there is a clear argument for Google missing out on a strong female perspective when it comes to creating and developing apps.

However, although employing more women is undeniably important, and one obvious way to create a more diverse workforce in a typically male dominated industry, Obama further argued that focusing purely on workers in their twenties and thirties was too late.

Instead Obama, who has long been an advocate for advances in womens education, highlighted the need for substantial changes in the schooling panorama.

She specifically called on college students to be role models for the next generation and to help encourage more women into professions such as those within the tech industry.

Turning to the men in the room she then asked Are you ready to share your spot at the table? Then make room.

Despite Obamas fresh criticism bringing the issue to light again, Apple has already been working to try and address the gender imbalance of their employees.

According to its latest shareholder proxy statement, Google has donated to a range of charitable foundations focusing on wider inclusion in the tech industry including the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing and the National Centre for Women & Information Technology.

However, given the clear minority of women under their employment, it is arguable that these donations simply aren't doing enough.

Furthermore, although Obamas comments were aimed specifically at Apple's workforce, the implications can quite clearly be applied across the industry as a whole.

Indeed, this situation is by no means limited to Apple, with a recent StackOverflow poll of 64,000 developers finding that a massive 88.6 percent of those surveyed were male.

Likewise, last year a survey conducted by the Financial Times found that Apple actually had employed the most female engineers of the top ten major tech companies, with the national average of women in the workforce standing at a particularly meagre 18.3%.

Despite an overall increase in the number of women in technology across the last decade, the view that the tech industry is inhospitable to women seems to endure and even many of the women within the industry themselves has grown used to being the sole female in the room.

It is these attitudes which Obama is helping to directly combat, urging women to help encourage and inspire other women and even men in the industry help their female peers gain a "spot at the table."

However, it is clear from the ongoing conversation that the solution is by no means simple and it may still take a number of years to gain gender equality within the tech industry.

With this being said, with inspirational women like Michelle Obama at the helm, we are clearly heading in the right direction.
New and improved, Louis (George Blagden) returns to Versailles with a shocking new attitude that is sure to upset the delicate balance currently in place.

No longer patient, he is determined to rid his palace of the poison which has seeped within its walls and rid his home of the sin and corruption that has taken root. Unsurprisingly, that starts with the removal of Madame de Montespan (Anna Brewster) - a firm supporter of frivolity and sin, as well as a champion of corruption within the palace.

Despite Louis and Madame de Montespans long-term relationship, he wastes no time in distancing himself from her, breaking off their commitment within minutes of his return. At last it seems as though he recognises that he cannot be the king he so desires to be with her at his side.

Yet this will not end Madame de Montespans ambitious pursuit for power. A woman not used to rejection, and undoubtedly attached to both Louis and the power and wealth he represents, she will surely seek to gain favour with the king once more. It has yet to be seen whether Louis newfound morality and return to religion will last, or if we shall soon see Madame de Montespan back in his bed. However, with the Church firmly back in his corner and his war efforts back on track, it would be foolish indeed for Louis to return to bad habits, and though he is many things, a fool he is not.

It certainly seems that God is back at Versailles, as Louis returns to the embrace of his wife and the patient fold of the Church. However, it is unlikely to be a smooth transition back to morality, as courtiers used to mischief and mayhem must adapt to a new way of life. They must now live trapped within the palace under a regime where the sin so ingrained in Versailles is banned and the pleasure of the palace seems all but lost. It will certainly be interesting to see how they react to such a lifestyle change, and more importantly, how or even if Louis can run a sin-free Versailles.

George Blagden once again offers a compelling performance as Louis, equalled only by last week's episode in skill and conviction. Indeed, the last two episodes have provided audiences with his best performances of the entire season, injecting the show with passion and conflict once more. A skilled actor throughout Versailles, this weeks episode explores how his character must tackle hard decisions and return to his original path of glory. Blagden does this with intelligence, offering a performance neither simple nor dull, but instead invigorated with ambition, passion and pain. As the pace of the show continues to increase and the drama continues to develop, such performances will hopefully become more commonplace, as the Louis we love returns to our screens.

Far be it from Louis to have all the good fortune this week, Philippe (Alexander Vlahos) too achieves unexpected success. When the Princess Palatine (Jessica Clark) falls ill, all immediately consider poison - an unsurprising conclusion considering Henriettes (Noemie Schmidt) grim fate and the recent deaths within the palace. However, it is soon discovered that such worries are unfounded, as much better news is the cause of this sickness. The marriage that started so dismally and floundered so awkwardly has finally reached the ultimate level of success, as the couple discover that they have conceived.

Considering the situation when the Princess arrived at Versailles, this is certainly an impressive feat and one not to be overlooked. Despite Philippes relationship with the Chevalier (Evan Williams), the Princess has undoubtedly found a place within his heart, which will only be strengthened through their shared role as parents. Thus this happy news bring further complications for the already strained relationship between Philippe and the Chevalier, while also offering little satisfaction to those who so hoped to see the two men achieve a happily ever after. While this storyline offers an exciting future for the show, it will likely further split fans depending on which relationship they support.

Overall, this episode saw more ups than downs, with significant triumphs achieved and knowledge gained. The only true loser has been Madame de Montespan, yet with her acidic tongue, cruel behaviour and striking temper, it is unlikely that many will mind her fall from grace.

Versailles airs on Fridays at 9.30pm on BBC Two.
Unfortunately, The Content Is Not Here

You have arrived at this page because the page or post you were looking for no longer exists. Please check our main navigation pages for other content: 

Home Page
Tentang Situs Slot Online Resmi MGS88 Nama Situs  MGS88 Minimal Deposit  Rp. 10.000,- (Sepuluh Ribu Rupiah) Proses Deposit   2 Menit Metode Deposit  Bank Transfer,  Pulsa,  E-Wallet Judi Online Terbaik  Slot Online,  Judi Bola,  Casino Online,  Togel Online,  Tembak Ikan Provider Slot Gacor Mudah Maxwin  Pragmatic Play,  PGSoft,  MicroGaming,  Habanero Slot Gacor Gampang Menang  Gates of Olympus,  Sweet Bonanza,  Wild West Gold,  Starlight Princess Win Rate 98%

RTP Live Slot Gacor Tertinggi Hari Ini Terbaru Terlengkap

Selamat datang di halaman RTP live dan informasi soal slot gacor hari ini dari situs MGS88 yang setiap hari selalu update. Berdasarkan RTP Live MGS88, Anda bisa mendapatkan informasi tentang slot online yang saat ini yang sedang Gacor atau onfire dengan persentase yang terbukti akurat, ini bisa menjadi rekomendasi anda sebelum memilih permainan slot online di situs MGS88. Cek RTP Slot sekarang juga bosku

Klik Provider Slot Untuk Mengetahui RTP Slot Secara Real Time

Selamat datang bagi kalian yang sedang mencari situs RTP Live terlengkap dan terkini hari ini. Sangat sesuai jika Anda mengunjungi website MGS88 RTP live untuk informasi tentang permainan slot yang lagi gacor dengan slot RTP yang terupdate. Persentase kemenangan yang kami berikan tentunya diambil dengan data yang sangat valid dan hanya untuk permainan slot yang tersedia di situs MGS88. RTP yang tersedia juga akan selalu diperbarui setiap hari berdasarkan level kemenangan yang diberikan kepada member kami.

Memang sih untuk bermain slot itu tergantung hoki dari setiap pemain, Namun RTP live atau bocoran slot dari yang kami sediakan ini adalah data autentik dari banyaknya pemain yang telah bermain dan mencapai kemenangan tinggi. Sederhananya, kalau banyak pemain yang menang di dalam 1 permainan slot, karena itu permainan slot tersebut akan mempunyai persentase RTP yang sangat tinggi.

Namun kami tegaskan sekali lagi, ini bukan sebuah paksaan kami situs MGS88 untuk anda bermain di game slot yang mana. Ini bisa dijadikan sebagai referensi atau tolok ukur, boleh dicoba kalau anda mempunyai feel yang kuat dalam memainkan permainan game slot. Anda dapat mengakses kapan saja dan di mana saja selama anda siap bermain. Jangan ragu untuk bertanya ya seputar pola putaran terhadap kami, sebab kami juga menyediakannya loh.

Apa itu RTP Live?

RTP Live ialah informasi mengenai persentase tertinggi saat ini dari hasil RTP Live dengan bocoran kemenangan pemain saat ini. RTP Live merupakan singkatan dari Return To Play atau bisa juga diartikan sebagai Return to Player. Karena itu, para pemain slot sekarang jika ingin mengetahui seberapa besar kemenangannya, bisa dengan memainkan permainan yang akan dimainkannya dan bisa untung dengan mudah dan tentunya maksimal.

Apa itu RTP Slot?

RTP Slot juga dikenal sebagai return to player atau pengembalian ke Pemain. RTP slot ialah persentase dari nilai pengembalian semua uang yang dipertaruhkan pemain dari waktu ke waktu. Dengan kata lain, RTP juga dianggap sebagai salah satu fitur slot yang mengembalikan uang pemain saat pemain kalah.

Persentase digunakan untuk menghitung RTP dalam permainan slot. Misalnya, jika slot memiliki RTP 97%, itu berarti untuk setiap 100.000 koin yang hilang di slot, slot dapat mengembalikan 97.000. Jika Anda mengetahui RTP sebuah permainan slot, Anda dapat memutuskan permainan slot mana yang akan dimainkan tanpa kerugian besar.

Apakah Angka Persentase RTP Slot Itu Penting?

Biasanya pemain slot itu tidak memperhatikan RTP dalam permainan yang akan dimainkan, biasanya setelah anda mengisi saldo utama anda akan langsung buru-buru memainkannya. Yang terakhir 90-96% mempengaruhi jumlah kemenangan. Semakin tinggi jumlah RTP yang digunakan, semakin luas peluang untuk mendapatkan keuntungan.

Akan namun itu segala tak secara 100% menjamin kemenangan kau dalam bermain, RTP itu cuma sebagai kalkulasi pengeluaran anda saja selama bermain slot.Dengan adanya RTP, kau dapat mengerjakan pengaturan atas uang yang akan kau pertaruhkan nanti pada ketika bermain.Untuk itu pada ketika kau bermain slot dan telah mengalami banyak kekalahan di satu permainan, direkomendasikan kau pindah ke permainan slot lainnya yang RTP nya lebih tinggi dari permainan yang tadi kau mainkan.

Keuntungan Menggunakan Bocoran RTP Slot Hari Ini

Situs MGS88 Akan dengan senang hati akan beberapa keuntungan yang didapatkan jika anda bermain slot dengan menggunakan RTP Live yang telah disediakan. Berikut Keuntungannya :

Peluang Kemenangan Meningkat Tentu saja, saat bermain slot online, menang adalah hal yang paling penting. Di sinilah RTP berperan sebagai metode atau metode baru yang akan membantu Anda memilih permainan slot persentase tinggi. Mendapat variasi dalam Memainkan Game Slot Pastinya banyak pemain slot online yang hanya memainkan 3-5 permainan slot saja. Namun dengan RTP Live slot akan memberikan banyak game slot lain yang bisa anda coba. Tentunya semua permainan slot memiliki potensi kemenangan yang besar, jadi jangan hanya mengandalkan beberapa permainan saja. Menambah Pengalaman Dalam Bermain Slot Keuntungan terakhir adalah Anda tentu saja menambah pengalaman dan keahlian dalam permainan slot online. Dengan berbagai macam permainan slot yang dimainkan, Anda pasti mengetahui karakteristik dari setiap permainan slot yang Anda mainkan. Akibatnya, Anda pasti bisa dianggap sebagai pemain slot yang andal, yang pasti akan meningkatkan peluang Anda untuk menang besar menggunakan RTP.

Daftar 8 Situs Dengan RTP Slot Live Tertinggi Hari Ini

Ada banyak penyedia mesin slot online di internet. Tetapi tidak semuanya memiliki peluang tinggi atau RTP Live Slot yang sangat tinggi. Tapi jangan khawatir, berikut ini adalah situs slot gacor yang akan memberikan bocoran slot dengan RTP Live Tertinggi:

RTP Live Slot Pragmatic Play (RTP Slot 97.85%) RTP Live Slot PG Soft (RTP Live 96.15%) RTP Live Slot Habanero (RTP Slot 95.89%) RTP Live Slot CQ9 (RTP Live 98.83%) RTP Live Slot Spade Gaming (RTP Live 94.99%) RTP Live Slot Micro Gaming (RTP Slot 95.39%) RTP Slot Live Top Trend Gaming (RTP Live 96.14%) RTP Slot Live JOKER123 (RTP Live 97.45%)

Itulah Daftar 8 Provider Slot Gacor dengan RTP Live teratas diatas tentunya kami analisa terlebih dahulu. Anda bisa membuktikannya langsung dengan mengklik banner atau meprovider game slot yang sudah tersedia di atas. Saran kami yaitu Anda harus memainkan semua penyedia slot di atas untuk mencapai peluang kemenangan terbaik.

Daftar Slot RTP Live Tertinggi Sering Kasih Jackpot

Selain mempertimbangkan RTP Slot Gacor yang ada, sebenarnya ada banyak faktor penting untuk menang dalam permainan judi online. Sebab ada banyak game yang memiliki fitur dan mekanisme unik dan bisa membantu anda meraih Jackpot yang sangat besar.

Berikut ini akan kami ulas daftar 5 game slot paling populer karena sering memberikan jackpot:

RTP Live Gates of Olympus Gates of Olympus adalah game slot teraneh dan terbaik di Indonesia. Karena permainan mesin slot ini paling populer karena kakek Zeus dapat mengizinkan pengganda x500. Selain itu, fitur dan mekanik Gates of Olympus juga sangat menguntungkan untuk memenangkan Grand Jackpot. Secara teoritis, RTP slot langsung Gates of Olympus bernilai 96,50%, yang berarti peluang Anda untuk memenangkan MaxWin cukup tinggi. RTP live Sweet Bonanza Sweet Bonanza adalah permainan slot terpopuler kedua. Game slot bertema buah dan permen yang lezat ini sepertinya akan menarik banyak perhatian karena tergolong slot gacor yang mudah menang. Secara teoritis, slot Sweet Bonanza RTP bernilai 96,48%, yang berarti peluang Anda cukup tinggi untuk memenangkan jackpot. RTP Live Wild West Gold Wild West Gold adalah permainan slot bertema koboi yang juga populer di kalangan penggemar konspirasi. Permainan slot Wild West Gold sendiri kerap menawarkan kejutan jackpot bagi para pemainnya. Selain itu, nilai RTP Live Slot menunjukkan indeks tertinggi hari ini, yang berarti sangat layak dan sangat direkomendasikan. RTP Live Starlight Princess Slot Starlight Princess ini memiliki gaya dan fitur yang mirip dengan Gates of Olympus. Perbedaannya hanya pada desain dan karakter gamenya saja, karena memiliki fitur dan mekanik yang sama tentunya RTP slot teoritis pada game slot ini sama yaitu 96,50%. RTP Live Cash Elevator Mungkin sebagian dari Anda baru mengenal slot Cash Elevator. Namun dari data benchmark yang diungkap, ternyata banyak sekali yang menikmati permainan slot ini. Dengan fitur dan mekanisme unik seperti Lift up and down asli, slot ini juga memiliki slot RTP Live dasar 96,64% yang juga memiliki mekanisme yang sangat menguntungkan untuk memperlancar tingkat kemenangan besar.

Bocoran Jam Main Slot Gacor Hari Ini

Dalam bermain permainan slot online itu tidak bisa dilakukan dengan sembarangan yah. Jadi, Jika anda bermain pada waktu tertentu seperti yang akan kita bahas sesaat lagi, ada kemungkinan anda untuk mendapatkan kemenangan lebih tinggi. Jam RTP Slot Gacor merupakan bocoran jam main slot yang akan memberikan anda kapan waktu yang pas dalam bermain game slot.

Tentu saja seluruh provider slot online memiliki jam tertentu dalam memberikan peluang kepada para pemainnya untuk mendapatkan kemenangan. Disini kami akan memberikan anda Bocoran Jam Slot Gacor yang Paling Akurat Hari ini:

Jam Slot Gacor Pragmatic Play 02:30 WIB - Jam 05:25 WIB Jam Slot Gacor Habanero 14:26 WIB - Jam 17:38 WIB Jam Slot Gacor CQ9 00:45 WIB - Jam 05:53 WIB Jam Slot Gacor PG SOFT 14:25 WIB - Jam 17:35 WIB Jam Slot Gacor Joker123 17:41 WIB - Jam 20:42 WIB Jam Slot Gacor Microgaming 22:30 WIB - Jam 00:35 WIB

MGS88: Situs Judi Slot Online Gacor Pay4D Resmi dan Terpercaya

MGS88 adalah situs game slot online Gacor terbaru yang bermitra dengan Pay4D, Pay4D sendiri merupakan daftar situs game slot online terpercaya dengan berbagai macam permainan judi yang mudah dimenangkan seperti Game Bola, Casino Online, Slot Pay4D, Tembak Ikan dan Pay4D Online Permainan togel seperti Singapura, Hongkong, Sydney dan lain-lain. Tujuan utama kami adalah menjadi situs judi online Pay4D yang menyediakan layanan judi online terbaik di Indonesia.

Kami juga salah satu situs resmi PAY4D di Indonesia yang pasti akan membayarkan semua kemenangan kepada semua member kami, karena kepercayaan dari semua member kami adalah prioritas utama kami sebagai mesin slot 4d Asia terbaik di Asia, khususnya di Indonesia.

Dalam melakukan sistem transaksi sistem simpanan dapat dilakukan dengan mudah melalui mobile banking dan electronic banking berupa bank BCA, BSI, BRI, BNI, Cimb Niaga, Permata dan Mandiri. Selain itu, transaksi e-wallet juga tersedia melalui Dana, Gopay, LinkAja dan Ovo serta dapat digunakan untuk pulsa tanpa dipotong.

Untuk mempermudah dan kenyamanan dalam melakukan registrasi atau melakukan setiap transaksi, MGS88 menyediakan layanan live chat dan Whatsapp terhubung langsung dengan customer service online 24 jam.

Mengenal Istilah Dalam RTP SLOT

Di slot RTP Live Anda akan melihat berbagai fitur yang mungkin tidak Anda pahami masing-masing. Namun jangan khawatir, disini sebagai situs slot gacor MGS88 kami akan memberikan penjelasan lengkap mengenai tentang istilah yang ada di RTP SLOT dibawah ini.
We are embarking on the 50th anniversary of what the hippie establishment of the Haight-Asbury district of San Francisco declared as the Summer of Love. Can you say irony?

Actually, the summer of 1967 started out with promise. The Beatles released in the United States on June 1 of that year the pivotal Sgt. Pepper album, the most innovative rock composition to have hit the charts. But four days after the release of Sgt. Pepper was the outbreak of the Six Day War between Israel and the Arab states, an event with lasting military implications 50 years later.

And July brought no respite. Race riots broke out in Newark, New Jersey on July 12, 1967, and lasted five days, taking 26 lives. Then was the trauma of local history  the riot in Detroit which broke in the early morning hours of July 23, 1967, lasting four days and claiming 43 lives.

But trauma in the Middle East, Newark and Detroit was not surprising. At least not as surprising as upheaval in Canada. Yet on July 24, 1967, Charles de Gaulle, the former leader of the French resistance during World War II and the President of France, ignited a political firestorm in Canada by declaring his support for Quebec nationalism in downtown Montreal, proclaiming in a speech in front of the City Hall Vive le Quebec libra.

Canada would have even worse problems the following summer when demonstrators pelted Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau with rocks and bottles during St. John the Baptist Day celebrations in downtown Montreal on June 23, 1967, which is the eve of the actual holiday. Then again, the summer of 1967 can be seen in hindsight as a prelude to the entire year of 1968, the most explosive year in post World War II history.

Haight-Asbury was too shrewd to declare another summer or year of love after 1967. But throughout the tumult, the ilk of Haight-Asbury partied on with indifference to domestic and world conflicts.

And this is the real irony (and lesson) from Haight-Asbury and the Summer of Love. For the movement that fueled Haight-Asbury, the counter-culture of the 1960s, never really believed much in love and peace in the first place. Those were just buzzwords employed by the counter-culture as a cover for illicit sex and drug abuse.

Can anyone honestly believe the Haight-Asbury crowd valued peace over an acid trip? Does anyone honestly believe that as the Vietnam War raged on that the Haight-Asbury crowd (and the entire counter-culture) were as interested in peace as they were in what left-wing intellectual Abbie Hoffman called Revolution Just for the Hell of It?

This is not to say the Summer of Love was insignificant. Here we are discussing it 50 years later. But to gauge the reality of Haight-Asburys Summer of Love and the entire counter-culture of the 60s, it is a misnomer to label the district and/or the era as idealistic. And if we are to learn the lesson of Haight-Asbury and the ill-fated Summer of Love, it is imperative that we not again subscribe to such galling hypocrisy.

John ONeill is an Allen Park freelance writer. He has a degree in history from Wayne State University.
On Tuesday, eat your way around the neighborhood at the 4th annual Taste of Bushwick event taking place at the Boars Head distribution plant. Local eateries including Forrest Point, Faro, Lucy's Vietnamese Kitchen, Sea Wolf and Montana's Trail House and a few dozen others will be in attendance, serving bites from their menus, along with beverages provided by spots like Braven Brewery and Bruce Cost Ginger Ale. Proceeds from the event benefit The Bushwick Starr, an OBIE Award-winning non-profit theater. Tickets $55 or $125.

Nom Wah's new Nolita location has some special guests joining them on Wednesday: Brooklyn's The Meat Hook. The team will be bringing three specials to the Nolita restaurant, including breakfast siu mai dumpling with cured egg yolk, drunken vegetables pickled with the Vliet pilsner from Threes Brewing, and blackout clams made with Chinese sausage, fermented black beans and a hit of Threes Double Trouble IPA. Score the siu mail and the veggies throughout the month of June, but the clams are only available this Wednesday.

Clubstaurant The Anthony in the Village has launched a new later night happy hourcomplete with a DJon Wednesday nights. Head over between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. for a $15 burger and beer (pictured above), plus $4 buffalo deviled eggs, $6 fried oysters, and $5 tap beers and $8 well cocktails, among other specials.

It's nieuwe maatjes season and to celebrate the arrival of the Dutch fish the Grand Central Oyster Bar hosts their annual Holland Herring Festival beginning Wednesday at noon and running through Friday, June 30th. Stop by the iconic restaurant the nosh on herring filets ($7) served with hard boiled egg, sweet onion and chives or the herring salad ($7.95). The Oyster Bar is always the first restaurant in the USA to receive the little fishies, which are air expressed from Scheveningen, The Netherlands, on the North Sea.


News, analysis, and archives on the grassroots in Haiti. Nouvel, analiz, ak achiv sou baz yo an AYITI. Noticias, analisis y archivos sobre el pueblo de Haiti.
'That's madam governor to you': Record 12 women elected to serve in 2023
Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who is currently shooting for upcoming highly anticipated project Thugs of Hindostan alongside Aamir Khan and Fatima Sana Shaikh in Malta, took some time off from work to go out for a movie here with his co-stars.

"A Sunday and stepped out with my co-stars Aamir and Fatima to a movie walking care free on the streets, to a movie theatre," Amitabh posted on Twitter on June 11.

Directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya, the film will also feature Katrina Kaif. Acharya last directed Aamir in Dhoom 3.

Being made on a lavish budget, the movie features high octane action to be shot on a ship.

An international crew has been working hard to create these elaborate ships.
Kareena Kapoor-Saif Ali Khan's first born Taimur Ali Khan, whose first public appearance took the internet by storm, is soon going to fly out of the country for the very first time!

A luxury wristwatch company has signed Kareena Kapoor as their brand ambassador and want to feature her in one of their ads.

London tops the list of Kareenas favourite cities. She will be going there in the last week of June to sign on the dotted line once the money part has been discussed and finalised. It will be a week-long trip for the actress. a source close to the actress revealed to a daily.

"The commercial will be shot in early July at an international destination in Europe.Since it will turn into a long trip for Bebo, the actress is considering travelling with Taimur this time, the source added.

Other than that, Kareena is busy prepping up for her big release 'Veere Di Wedding'. This is the first project the actress has taken up after Taimur's birth.
Nine Bangladeshi nationals were arrested in West Bengal's North 24-Parganas district by the police and BSF personnel for trespassing in Indian territory without any proper documents, the police said on Monday.

While the police of North 24-Parganas district's Swarupnagar apprehended seven persons, including five women, on the charge of encroachment, the Border Security Force troopers arrested two more women and later handed them over to the police.

"We arrested six persons on Sunday night and one more on Monday morning near the border area of Swarupnagar. Two more women were apprehended by the BSF and were handed over to us on Monday morning," an officer from the Swarupnagar police station said.

"The arrested persons are labourers who claimed to have illegally crossed the border in search of jobs," he said.

The police said that there was no major seizure from the people, apart from some cash and clothes.

"None of the 10 accused could produce documents permitting them to stay on Indian soil. They are charged under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act for trespassing," the officer said.

"The accused were presented in Basirhat court where they were remanded in 14 days of judicial custody," he added.
Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday said the the National Democratic Alliance will reach out to various political parties to ensure unanimity on the next President of India.

"We want the next President to be elected unanimously. We will reach out to various parties for a consensus candidate," the Urban Development and Information and Broadcasting Minister said here.

He said the NDA is not averse to talk with the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) of Odisha on this count.

Naidu was in the Odisha capital to attend a 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas' event, held in connection with completion of the Narendra Modi government's three years in office at the Centre.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, the leading party in the ruling NDA, has set u a three-member panel comprising Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Naidu for the presidential election scheduled for July 17.

Naidu attacked the Congress, saying it is focusing on 3Ds of "disrupt, disinform, and defame".

"The prime work of the Congress is to defame Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is always working for the nation's development, disrupt Parliament over petty issues, and disturb people by spreading false information on central government schemes," the Minister said.

He said the central government was focusing on 3Ds  decisiveness, dynamism, and development.
Over a dozen firms engaged in cross-LoC trade since October 2008 are under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) scanner as part of its probe against separatist leaders allegedly receiving terror-funding by Pakistan-based organisations to stoke unrest in the Kashmir Valley.

Top NIA sources said that "dubious transactions" of several traders, whose names have been withheld considering the gravity of the case, raised suspicions about their close connections with banned Pakistan-based Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist organisations.

NIA investigators also found inputs regarding channelling of money to Kashmiri separatist leaders through these "suspected" traders. The firms run by these traders are engaged in barter trade with some Pakistan-based individuals or companies and were found to be under-invoicing the import of goods, like leather articles, dry fruits  especially dates and California almonds (badam giri)  surgical instruments, zinc and oil seeds.

The NIA suspects that "crores of rupees" had been handed over to separatist leaders by the LeT, Hizb and Pakistan's spy agency Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) through these traders and other sources for fuelling the prolonged unrest in the Valley last year after the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani on July 8.

The agency has seized several bank accounts and ledgers of these traders who are active in the cross-border trade with Pakistan-administered Kashmir that was allowed in October 2008 as a major confidence-building measure between India and Pakistan.

The NIA has alleged that since the cross-LoC trade began, some businessmen "under- or over-invoiced" their bills, and the difference in payment was later used for promoting subversive activities in the Valley.

The counter-terror agency is also investigating the inflow of money routed during the cross-border trade  which is against the trade rules of the barter system under which only goods can be exchanged, an official told IANS.

The trade is conducted at two points across the Line of Control  the de facto boundary in Kashmir between India and Pakistan: Chakan-da-bagh-Rawalakote route in Jammu and Salamabad-Chokoti in Kashmir.

The NIA's move comes after the agency converted a May 19 preliminary enquiry against Hurriyat Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani and his close aide and Hurriyat provincial President Nayeem Khan, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front leader Farooq Ahmed Dar alias "Bitta Karate" and Tehreek-e-Hurriyat leader Ghazi Javed Baba into a regular case.

The preliminary enquiry was converted into an FIR against Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed and other Pakistan-based terror agencies last week.

The FIR, which does not name any of the separatist leaders, was registered under legal provisions dealing with waging war or attempting to wage war against India, criminal conspiracy, and under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Hafeez Saeed, Pakistan-based chief of Jamaat-ul Dawah, the front of the banned LeT, has been named in the NIA's FIR.

The NIA has so far questioned over half a dozen people, including Geelani's son-in-law Altaf Ahmed Shah, in connection with the case.

Last week, the NIA carried out raids at 26 places and the following day at seven places across Srinagar, Delhi and Haryana in connection with the terror-funding probe.

This is the first time since the rise of militancy in Kashmir in the early 1990s that a central probe agency has carried out raids in connection with funding of separatists.

The NIA investigation seeks to identify the chain of players behind the financing of terrorist activities, including those who throw stones at security forces, burn down schools and damage government establishments.
Mahatma Gandhi's granddaughter Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee on Monday said she was deeply hurt by the 'chatur baniya' comment by BJP President Amit Shah on Friday.

"As a biological grandaughter of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, my natural reaction is of deep hurt. Mahatma Gandhi is the Father of the Nation, and I also want to express my objective reaction as an Indian citizen," a release quoted Bhattacharjee as saying.

Without mentioning Shah's name, she said: "The senior politician should have had the wisdom to refer to Mahatma Gandhi as the greatest visionary of our time."

Bhattacharjee is a trustee of the Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trust.


Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Washington at the invitation of US President Donald Trump for a meeting at the White House on June 25-26.

This would be Modis first trip to the US under the Trump administration. The two leaders have spoken over phone for at least three times in the past.

Modi had earlier travelled to Washington three times and former US president Barack Obama had made a historic trip to India to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations in 2015.

Modi's visit to the US comes at a time when Trump made critical comments about India while announcing America's decision to pull out of the Paris climate change agreement.

Trump had accused India and other countries of trying to extract billions and billions and billions of dollars in foreign aid from the developed world to sign up for the climate accord.

According to reports, both the leaders will discuss bilateral ties, convergence of strategic interests in South Asia, joint effort in fighting terrorism, trade and specifically the vexed issue of H-1B temporary visa.

The United States has been a strong ally of India, with the country supporting India's Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) bid.

(With inputs from agencies)
Wade Johnson will take over as CEO of St. Peters Hospital on July 31, according a statement released Monday.

Johnson will leave his position as CEO of Valor Health in Emmett, Idaho, where he managed a hospital, medical group and ambulatory clinics. His growth plan resulted in 12 new physicians and increased access the care, the statement said.

As CEO, Johnson will be responsible for implementing a set of strategic initiatives developed by the hospitals board of directors such as increasing access to care and reducing wait times by hiring new physicians, a new electronic medical record system and developing new programs and facilities to expand care.

I feel a strong obligation to champion efforts that will build organizational pride among our medical staff and employees and I believe this will ultimately translate into an elevated level of service to the community," Johnson said in a statement.

Johnson was selected as CEO from a group of three finalists. Fred Olson has served as interim president since June 2016.

Were so thankful to Dr. Olson for stepping in during this transition period and hes done a tremendous job building a foundational strategy and management team that will carry St. Peters forward, Mark Olson, board chair, said in a statement. We are thrilled to welcome Wade as the new CEO of St. Peters."
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Monday voiced disapproval of party leader Sandeep Dikshit's remark likening Army Chief Bipin Rawat to a 'sadak ka gunda' (a street goon).

While speaking at a party event here, Gandhi said no politician should make any comment on the Army Chief.

"I was told by someone from press (media) that one Congress leader has made a comment on the Army Chief. It is wrong. I want to make it clear that the Indian Army works for us, protects the country. There is no need to say anything against the Army Chief," he said.

Dikshit had on Sunday triggered a row after he called the Army Chief 'sadak ka gunda' over the latter's public statement.

While Dikshit offered an apology for his remarks, the BJP on Monday demanded an apology from Congress President Sonia Gandhi as well.
Since the red tape and the round seal are heavier than the tacit demand of the Bengali chauvinists, the West Bengal governments recent initiative to re-establish the status of the Bengali language in its own state by introducing three-language formula at the school level has been hailed by many. It envisages equal emphasis on Bengali, English and the third language.

There is considerable concern over the fact that Bengali is lagging behind in terms of recognition and respect in its homeland quite unlike the status of other languages in their respective states. By natural right, however, the language of the land should get first priority to be spoken or written ~ a practice that is in vogue not only in India, but in other parts of the world as well.

It has been observed that this language is not the option for the majority; it has also been relegated to the background. The government has responded to the cry.

In retrospect, the teaching of English language in schools was one of the biggest controversies of the Left Front regime. Public opinion had gone against the previous governments decision to drop English from primary schools, the courts, and government offices.

One could argue that if the Left Fronts linguistic endeavours had taken off successfully in 1977, there would have been no need for such an order on Bengali in 2003. It would perhaps have been appropriate for the Left government to bring about a cultural revolution by enforcing Bengali in all official communications, even if government schools were compelled under pressure of public opinion to teach English from Class III instead of VI. Indeed, its language policy created a privileged class which insisted on English medium in private institutions for its privileged children, while thousands were disadvantaged in government schools.

But the new experiment was carried out in official communication in the multi-lingual society and at a time when a CMDA study revealed that the Bengali-speaking population in Kolkata had come down considerably. All that it did was to vindicate that jobs were available in the mother tongue to justify reintroduction of a ban on English in primary education. Language chauvinism was evident in the renaming of Calcutta and many of its streets.

A part of Curzon Park was renamed as Bhasha Udyan, and Bhasha Dibash is observed on 21 February and 19 May.

The Banga Sanskriti Utsab was revived after a long gap and Banga Sammelans were organised more to tap the market for nostalgia than open new windows for investment opportunities. But what have those selfprofessed defenders of Bengali actually done for their mother tongue? Those worried about the dwindling importance of the language welcomed the recent decision, although they were not sure whether such a move at the government level would help the language regain its past glory.

In gross violation of the guidelines of the three-language formula put forth by the Bhasha Commission in the 1960s, it has been observed that there are many Hindimedium schools in Kolkata where Bengali is not taught. Also, many Englishmedium schools dont have a Bengali language teacher. True, we have state-controlled organisations for promoting the language through books, films, theatre and the other art forms, but can we take it for granted that they are used properly?

Is the Bangla Academy always devoted to promotion of the best of Bengali literature making it a valuable reference point for scholars and researchers?

Has the Kolkata Book Fair proved itself to become a big platform for quality Bengali literature to crop up? Well, we are proud of some of Indias finest talent in the traditional forms of music and theatre, but can we readily mention the number of plays by Sambhu Mitra or Ajitesh Bandopadhyay, published by the West Bengal Natya Academy? The activities of the State Music Academy are seldom extended to old lyricists and composers, the folk forms and musical styles.

The fact of the matter is that not much has been done to promote the Bengali language except for some cosmetic changes from time to time. The majority of Bengali youth, graduating from our universities year after year, cannot write correct Bengali.

Their vernacular proficiency is simply atrocious. The 50-mark vernacular paper at the college level is a joke. The neglect of the language is apparent in answer papers written in Bengali. They bristle with wrong spellings and grammatical and syntactical errors. The crisis is most acute in the humanities stream which demands clarity of thought and expression. The Ashok Mitra Commission had observed that two languages at the primary level exerted a heavy pressure on a child. The mother tongue, it was noted, would be learnt better.

The Commission recommended the introduction of the English language in Class V. A massive signature campaign by the Save Education Committee and a Bangla Bandh by SUCI followed. Later, the Pabitra Sarkar Committee recommended that English be taught after the second semester of Class II. Without doubt, there is substance in the cavil of many Bengali chauvinists, specifically that Bengali culture is in jeopardy. There is a marked tendency in middle class Bengali families to send their children to English medium schools.

Fearing that the existence of Bangla is threatened, the Bhasha Sahid Smarak Samiti was formed to revitalise the Bengali language and culture. Linguistic identity is an important issue and Bengalis have time and again reacted sharply to threats to their linguistic identity. In 1961, 11 Bengalis died in Assam while fighting for their mother tongue. In fact, Bengalis in Assam have long been struggling to resist the compulsion to study Assamese at the school level. Bengali is the national and official language of Bangladesh.

Apart from West Bengal, it is the principal state language of Tripura and Assam. The struggle for freedom and democracy in Bangladesh was embedded in a movement for the right to use the mother tongue. Bengalis outside Bengal have also contributed to the development of the language and its literature. Barak Valley in Assam has produced several Bengali poets, playwrights and novelists, notably Saktipada Brahmachari, Udayan Ghosh, Britijpada Bhattacharya and Biman Chowdhuri.

The deterioration in Bengali studies in West Bengal accentuated after the collapse of the mother-tongue medium school system since the time of Iswarchandra Vidyasagar, who, in the process of developing the Bengali language, promoted English and Sanskrit studies too. But unfortunately, the middle class no longer prefers such schools, perhaps because English is no longer taught in these institutions.

Parents send their children to English-medium schools because the importance of English in todays society is unquestionable. It is imperative to set up good Bengali-medium schools which can produce students who are equally proficient in English.

Bengali culture will then be able to countenance the information age. In Europe today, students, especially those from Germany, the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries, are as fluent in English as their counterparts in Britain. Yet their medium of instruction in schools is their mother tongue.

Could we imagine a Chaitanya, or Sri Ramakrishna or Sri Swami Vivekananda fighting to promote the Bengali language? People of other states picked up Bengali to read Sri Ramakrishna, Bankimchandra,Vivekananda and Rabindranath Tagore.

The English writings of Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo were meant to bridge the gap between European and Bengali cultures.

The writer is a former Associate Professor, Dept. of English, Gurudas College, Kolkata.
When Mulayam Singh Yadav held one of his rare press conferences as defence minister in New Delhi he chided reporters for unleashing a barrage of Pakistan-related queries, but remaining silent on the big one.

Cause to recall, and appreciate, that down-to-earth logic has just been provided by the less-than-tepid Indian response to the violation of its air space by a pair of Chinese military helicopters in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand a few days ago.

The Indian Air Force says it is investigating the incident, while the external affairs minister says the matter is being taken up.

Theres no beating about the bush as far as Beijing is concerned: the foreign office there says since the Barahoti area is disputed (a de-militarised zone on the ground) the PLA is fully entitled to conduct surveillance missions.

Pakistan also attaches a disputed tag to parts of Jammu and Kashmir, imagine the furore in New Delhi if two PAF attack choppers had flown over Indian territory for over five minutes, possibly operating highresolution cameras.

Every two-bit politician here would have been screaming for blood and revenge, and TV channels would have been shrieking. Maybe things would have been different had the incursions taken place over more politically-sensitive Arunachal, losing votes in Chamoli is not that critical at this point in time.

Not after the recent electoral success. The security concerns are, however, not a matter of odious comparisons. This was the fourth such aerial incursion since March, and a matter of some shame that it came to light only after some local shepherds reported the presence of the two helicopters.

Obviously the IAFs radar screen is too porous to detect low-flying choppers, and no Indian interceptors were scrambled. So there is little to prevent Chinese helicopters from delivering men and munitions to set up a PLA outpost in the thinlypopulated area.

The Chinese have been consistently probing Indian defences in the middle sector, and the argument that they are entitled to mount reconnaissance missions is a far cry from the standard alibi of varying perceptions of the Line of Actual Control.

When evaluated against Chinese moves towards a multinational economic corridor and its expansionist essays in the South China Sea, the aerial incursions in Chamoli might appear a mere pinprick, but complacency could prove catastrophic.

Alas, despite successive governments claiming to improve infrastructure along the disputed boundary, the Indian policy leans heavily on the timid premise that discretion is the better part of valour. And so the PLA keeps flexing its muscle, sending patrols deep into Indian territory, provoking stand-offs aplenty.

The troops on the ground are caught in a cleft-stick, they perceive no diplomatic initiative from which solace, or strength, can be drawn. For in New Delhi the ghosts of 1962 continue to haunt.
Politics is not merely authoritative allocation of values and resources but also a conscious selection of policies through which resources would be allocated.

The recently concluded British elections were testimony to this. Policies, after a long time, trumped unruly and recriminatory politics which has become a hallmark of contemporary times, especially when it is the Left and the Right locking horns.

Since the rise of the New Labour under Tony Blair, the Labour party had no policy alternative to the Conservatives. Instead they had surprises for the British people by going to war in Iraq alongside George Bush Jr, to search for weapons of mass destruction that were never found.

This policy proved counterproductive as jihadi elements succeeded in radicalising and baiting British Muslim youth. The recent involvement of Salman Abedi, son of an ex-Libyan militiaman in a suicide attack in Manchester which according to his sister Jomana Abedi was driven by a desire to seek revenge for the military attacks in Middle-East, proves that it was policy failure, not a moral failure of the British as alleged by many Conservative commentators.

Despite the attempt by the Tories to take the debate towards national security and Muslim immigrants after the attacks, Labour under its progressive leader had a suitable answer, British foreign policy. Jeremy Corbyn, who had been on the far-left of the Labour party and has a record of voting against resolutions which initiated and supported American war efforts in the Middle-east, did not give in to the insinuations of being unpatriotic and soft on terrorism. Such a track record absolved Corbyn of the sins committed by his own party.

He went on publicly to speak against the Saudi funding of terrorist organisations and dared the Tories to stop selling arms to them. Instead of deriving political capital out of the horrific event, he presented before the people constructive alternatives such as filling police positions which were lying empty since Theresa May presided over 20,000 police cuts as home secretary. After the sitting Prime Minister called for a snap election catching political opponents by surprise, pollsters predicted a thumping majority for the Tories.

The main motive behind this decision of May was to strengthen her position in the party, have a smooth tenure as Prime Minister without a hostile House of Commons and reduce the opposition, especially the Labour party, to insignificance.

Following Corbyns spirited campaign which promised free university education in England, institution of NHS, a normative foreign policy and high corporate taxation, the people especially the old and the youth, started drifting towards him.

While many in Britain doubted the ability of the Labour party to deliver on such high promises, the Tory manifesto remained a saga of confusion and oscillation. Erosion in the Tory vote bank started with Mays social care policies wherein people requiring social care in their house would have to pay for it until the value of their house reached the mark of 100,000. Worst of all, the manifesto also promised that the house would be sold only after the persons death in order to recoup costs, jeopardising the inheritance rights of the children of the deceased.

The Labour party termed it as a manifesto of chaos, confusion and indecision whereas the Liberal Democrats called it a manifesto meltdown. Later on, her U-turn on this crucial issue famously called dementia tax, wherein she promised an absolute limit to the payable amount although without setting the limit before election, proved to be disastrous.

She also desisted, even after regular invitations, to engage in a head to head debate with Corbyn on policy matters. Her reticence convinced people that her promise of a hardBrexit was hollow and bootless.

The election campaign which was focused on the singular agenda of Brexit, did not involve much debate, ostensibly because the two main parties respected the peoples verdict.

The only exception lay with the Liberal Democrats as they promised a second referendum on Brexit. In such a situation, Tory poll strategists mooted the idea of stability and strong government as the twin pillars of Mays bid to become Prime Minister.

But the crucial question of how the stability and strong government would come about remained unanswered. Unlike elections in Parliamentary systems where the entire party comes into action, sometimes to the dismay of the leader, British elections resembled a Presidential election.

Tory leaders like Boris Johnson, who have a reputation of being vocal and opinionated, were missing from the limelight. It appeared as if the Conservative strategists had planned to expose the friction within the Labour camp which existed ever since Corbyn was elected to lead the party.

This strategy also failed to deliver as the entire party stood behind him, with the exception of Blairite dregs who looked down upon socialism since the 1997 victory that saw the partys slide to the centre and sometimes centre-right. On polling day the voter turnout was 69 per cent, highest since 1997 when it was 71.4 per cent with Labour gaining 10 percentage points to reach 40 per cent of votes polled and the Conservatives receiving 42 per cent.

The far-right UKIP was the biggest loser as it saw its vote share dip from 10.8 per to a mere 1.9 per cent, plunging it into an existential crisis. Labour retained its stronghold in Wales while the Conservatives won a surprising 13 seats in Scotland, their highest since 1983.

The Scottish National Party lost 21 seats across Scotland, a phenomenon which will put the demand for a Scottish referendum on the backburner. As the Conservatives failed to get a majority, it was a victory for Jeremy Corbyn. From being written off by pollsters to winning 260 plus seats and constituting a strong opposition in the House of Commons, the Labour party has found new life thanks to the rise of the socialist faction within the party. Theresa May not only lost the majority but also the credibility to affect a hard-Brexit as promised by her.

The Conservatives now enter a phase of political uncertainty as they propose to enter into an alliance with Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of Northern Ireland. DUP is a reactionary party whose leader Arlene Foster was involved in a scandal over a green energy initiative.

She has called global warming a bluff, is against gay marriage and LGBT rights and is anti-choice and proforced pregnancy. The alliance with DUP would also jeopardise attempts to get the 1967 Abortion Act to apply in Northern Ireland.

A recently concluded analysis of marginal seats revealed that if Labour had won seven more seats, a progressive coalition led by Corbyn was a possibility, excluding the DUP. However, this did not happen.

For socialists across the world, the Corbyn phenomenon would serve as a template of poll strategy and policies whereas for the Conservatives and the silent majority he would go down as a populist who won despite losing.

The writer is a doctoral candidate in international relations at the South Asian University.
Twice a year, the J-K state machinary moves along the national highway, spending summers in Srinagar and winters in Jammu. It maintains this practice of pre-Independence India.

This shift of the state government, termed darbar move, involves movement of staff, families and government offices. While the move is in progress, the working of the government comes to a standstill.

This move is also a colossal logistics exercise and an immense burden on the state exchequer. It was commenced by Maharaja Gulab Singh in 1872 and was acceptable then, when the entire state, including POK and Gilgit Baltistan were one entity.

The Maharaja was not answerable to anyone on expenditures incurred and manpower employed in this exercise. Further, for a state that had the picturesque Kashmir valley, it was irresistible for the Maharaja to spend summers there and entertain those who mattered.

J-K has shrunk in size since independence. Hence is the darbar move still mandated in the present era of communications and if not, where should the state capital be located? It isnt the movement alone that costs money.

Expenses include sums spent on hiring accommodation for state government employees who retain their families at one location and redeploy for the other, as also refurbishing and re-establishing offices for the staff. Losses and damages since the last stay need to be repaired or replaced. The greatest impact is the closure of government offices during this duration.

Accidents along the route, resulting in loss of stores and documents, only increase problems. Space is always a constraint in any city, especially when development is the mantra across the nation. By maintaining two state capitals with complete amenities, the government locks up land and buildings for long durations, denying space for other utilities.

If this cost is added to the other expenditure, it would be a huge sum. Though J-K gets the largest grant from the Centre, it has yet to effectively utilize the same.

A unique problem facing the state is the vast contrast between the populace of the three major regions comprising the state. Jammu and its surrounding districts are Hindu dominated, while Kashmir has a Muslim majority. Ladakh, though less developed, banks on tourism for income while its inhabitants are Buddhists and Shias.

The requirements, needs and desires of all regions vary. Jammu would willingly accept removal of article 370, permitting large-scale investments. It is the gateway to the state, hence important as all goods for the state transit through the region. It is possibly the best developed region of the state, though lacks it employment avenues due to restrictions imposed by the article.

Srinagar and its surrounding districts are caught in the throes of militancy and agitation. While unemployment remains a major concern, the population has strong views on any attempts to abrogate article 370. Ladakh has always felt that it receives step brotherly treatment and hence seeks Union Territory status.

Another unique factor, visible at this stage, is the reaction of the local public, as proved in their support to political parties in the last assembly elections.

The BJP dominated the region south of Banihal and the PDP north of it. The Congress dominated Ladakh. Moving the capital from one part of the state to the other has been disadvantageous for all regions. In every other state, the capital is always the showpiece of the government and extra expenditure is allocated for improving amenities and services in that city. In the case of J-K, both cities, Jammu and Srinagar, are ignored as none is the permanent capital. Lack of facilities and poor availability of services is evident.

Hence, the residents of both cities are losers. Srinagar and the districts of the region have been in a state of turmoil since the early 1990s. Pakistan-sponsored terrorism has resulted in deaths, loss of revenue and stalled development, while youth have been incited to join the ranks of militants.

Post the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pundits, an anti-India wave caused by religious fervour has begun sweeping the region. Since other parts of the state are now out of the throes of militancy, the government needs to concentrate on the valley.

Winning the trust of the youth, engaging in dialogue across all strata of society, pushing forth a developmental agenda, providing a corruption-free government and overseeing maintenance of law and order are priorities for the state government at this stage.

The machinery of the state must be visible across the region for that to happen. It would never be possible if the government is visible only for limited durations.

Thus, ideally the state capital should permanently be located at Srinagar enabling the state machinery to oversee the situation and ensure an early return to normalcy. It would be able to ensure effective development of the region. It should release land and offices held by the government in Jammu to the Centre to establish central facilities and institutes, thereby enhancing employment opportunities and reducing the impact of loss of the state capital for the region.

With existing communication facilities and availability of faster modes of travel, the staff when required can move to different parts of the state.

The funds saved from this unnecessary annual move could be better utilised for development and provision of amenities and facilities to the people of the state. If the government of India has stopped the British era tradition of moving from Delhi to the summer capital of Shimla, the J-K government should also consider the same, stop the annual move of the darbar and be based permanently in Srinagar.

The writer is a retired Major-General of the Indian Army.
The 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 Holmes 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 health care CBO 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.

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


remaining of

Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading.
The last days of the Newfie Pride

There were many nights he didnt sleep. The numbers and scenarios turned over and over in his mind, making rest impossible. Id get up two, three oclock in the morning, night after night, come out to the kitchen table and work the numbers every ...
BOZEMAN  Republican congressman-elect Greg Gianforte will not spend any time in jail after he admitted a charge of misdemeanor assault Monday for body slamming a reporter on the eve of his election.

I just want to say Im sorry, Gianforte told Ben Jacobs, the reporter for the Guardian who he assaulted in Bozeman at a campaign event about 24 hours before polls closed.

Gallatin County Justice Court Judge Rick West ordered Gianforte to complete 20 hours of anger management counseling and 40 hours of community service, which must be completed by Nov. 28. Gianforte was given a deferred six-month jail sentence, meaning if he does not violate the conditions of his sentence the charge could be dismissed. Gianforte was also fined $385 and paid $4,646 in restitution.

West initially tried to give Gianforte, 56, a sentence of four days in jail converted to two days in a work program. Work programs, which cut the time of a sentence in half, are not an option in assault cases, however.

When West first tried to sentence Gianforte to the work program, he said he considered how he would sentence someone charged with a similar crime who was not a congressman-elect.

"Looking at the crime itself, even with your (lack of) criminal background and everything you've done, is that something that I would normally in open court, to somebody who came in in jeans and a T-shirt, give them the same sentence?" West asked. "And in an unprovoked attack such as this, I would. In keeping with my standards of the time that I've been a judge, I think some jail time here would be appropriate."

West said he had been contacted by many people who suggested sentences for Gianforte. He called four days in jail covered to two days in the work program not "out of the ordinary."

"This is a standard sentence that I would do on an unprovoked attack or an unprovoked assault. There are ramifications."

It was then brought to West's attention that the work program was not available to those who had committed a violent crime. That prompted him to change the sentence to anger management and community service.

"It is not my intent you spend four days in jail," West said to a small courtroom packed with journalists and some other members of the public. "I do not think that would serve the community or the taxpayers."

West said he felt anger management was necessary since Gianforte, who will go to Washington, D.C., under heavy scrutiny, could not handle questions from a single reporter.

Motioning around the courtroom, he said Its not a lot of cameras compared to what youre going to see at the White House.

West referenced Gianforte's charitable giving in the Bozeman community and around the state when deliberating the sentence, but also said Gianforte's unprovoked attack overshadowed that.

Gianforte has no prior criminal history. His attorneys objected to the congressman-elect going to the jail to collect booking information. If booked, his mugshot would be taken. It was unclear if a law passed out of the last state Legislature that gives a judge discretion over whether a person is booked applies in this case. Gianforte's attorneys and Gallatin County Attorney Marty Lambert will file briefs on the matter this month.

Jacobs, wearing a suit and new pair of glasses that replaced the ones broken in the attack, read to the court from a prepared statement. He spoke quietly enough the judge had to ask him to speak up.

Jacobs described the day of the attack, saying he had entered a room to ask Gianforte a question.

"I was just doing my job," Jacobs said. "Mr. Gianforte's response was to slam me to the floor and start punching me."

After the attack, Jacobs said Gianforte then sent an "inflammatory public statement in which he insisted this unprovoked ... attack was somehow my fault."

When pressed by the judge, Gianforte at first did not give clear details on the assault but later said he grabbed for Jacobs' phone, ended up grabbing his wrists instead and a "scuffle" ensued where both men fell to the ground.

In the hours after the assault, Gianfortes spokesman Shane Scanlon sent out a press release saying that Jacobs grabbed Gianfortes wrist and pulled both men to the ground. Scanlons release also called Jacobs a liberal reporter.

In his apology letter to Jacobs, Gianforte wrote Notwithstanding anyones statement to the contrary, you did not initiate any physical contact with me, and I had no right to assault you. Neither Gianforte nor his staff have clarified why a false statement was sent out after the assault.

After the court hearing, Gianforte cut off questions from reporters before he could be asked about why his campaign sent out a false statement.

A handful of protesters were outside the Law and Justice Center after court ended. They held up signs saying "Lock him up," "Shame" and "Justice vs. White Christian Privilege."

Jackie Crandall drove up from Roberts that morning to protest. "I think Greg Gianforte got special treatment," she said. "If he wasn't rich and powerful, he would be in jail. If he was black, he would be in jail."

After court adjourned, Lambert said he was happy with the sentencing.

"It's good for Ben Jacobs to have this behind him. It's good for Greg Gianforte to have this behind him. It's good for the people of Montana to have this behind them."

Last week, Jacobs and Gianforte announced they reached a civil settlement that included Gianforte writing an apology letter and donating $50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Jacobs did not receive any financial benefit from the settlement, which precludes any further civil action.

Jacobs said that after the apology, hes confident (Gianforte) will be a strong advocate for the free press.

In his statement, Jacobs touched on the nature of political discourse, which has become increasingly aggressive and violent.

During his campaign last fall, President Donald Trump openly stoked rage toward the media and dismissed coverage he did not like as "fake news." In May, a reporter was arrested at the West Virginia State Capitol after trying to ask Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price and presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway a question. A reporter with CQ Roll Call was held against a wall by security at the Federal Communications Commission and then kicked out for trying to talk to a commissioner. Also in May, shots were fired at the office of the Lexington Herald-Leader in Kentucky.

This needs to stop, Jacobs said. There will always be fundamental political disagreements in our society. However, it cannot become personal and it certainly should not become violent.

Gianfortes apology and the court proceedings, Jacobs said, send "a strong message about the necessity for civil discourse and the role of the free press.

Jacobs on Monday said he'd like to interview Gianforte after he arrives in Washington, D.C., something Gianforte said he looked forward to.

Gianforte attacked Jacobs when he asked him a question about a health care bill at a campaign barbecue in Bozeman. Jacobs entered a room where Gianforte was preparing for another interview, and audio captured by the reporter shows the then-candidate quickly lost his temper.

In the recording, Jacobs can be heard asking about the American Health Care Act. An altercation can be heard, followed by Jacobs saying Gianforte body-slammed him and broke his glasses. Gianforte then yelled Get the hell out of here.

A Fox News reporter who saw the assault later reported Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him.

Gianforte defeated Democrat Rob Quist by 6 percentage points to win Montanas lone U.S. House seat, vacated when Ryan Zinke became Secretary of the Interior. Its unclear when he will be seated; election results will be certified June 15.

Though Gianfortes court hearing is over, it's unclear if there will be any consequences when he is seated in the U.S. House. Earlier this month a group of several national journalism organizations called for congressional and ethics investigations into Gianfortes actions.
Organisation: Catholic

Relief Services (CRS)

Funding Source: United

States Agency for International Development (USAID)

Duty Station: Kampala, Uganda

Reports to: Technical

Manager -SOCY

About US:

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in an international non-profit

organization that carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United

States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. Our Catholic identity is at

the heart of our mission and operations. We welcome as a part of our staff and

as partners people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values

and our commitment to serving those in need.

About CRS SOCY:

The SOCY bursary initiative is a short-term education support

initiative under the USAID/SOCY OVC program aimed at supporting children

especially the girl child from critically vulnerable households to enroll back

into formal school, transition into secondary and support them to complete

secondary school level. This bursary initiative is part of the USAID/SOCY core

OVC package of services targeting only children from enrolled critically

vulnerable households in the 17 District.

Job Summary: The Project

Officer- Education Subsidy will take lead in the planning, implementation and

monitoring or supervision of the education subsidy component under USAID/SOCY

OVC program in all the 17 Project Districts. This job will involve working with

all program technical leads IP level result area specialists and CSOs to plan,

coordinate and guide the implementation of the SOCY OVC education subsidy. This

role will also involve working with the DLG staff to ensure that there is a

coordinated, inclusive and involving activity implementation approach or

mechanism. The coordinator will also work with District based IP staff and CSO

Social Workers to manage coordination and relationships with the District

education officers (DEOs) and Inspector of schools (DIS), staff and School

management committees in all participating schools, community leaders,

community child protection structures and caregiver groups.



Responsibilities: Key Duties andResponsibilities:

Program planning and management:

Work

in liaison with all program technical leads and result area specialists to

plan, coordinate and manage the overall implementation of the

subsidy

Provide

technical guidance and support to CSO Social Workers and community child

protection volunteers on beneficiary identification, assessment and

selection process as per program guidelines and minimize chances of

having non -program beneficiaries into the bursary program

Work

in close collaboration with program M&E team to develop guidelines for

tracking beneficiary school attendance and academic performance at both

primary and secondary school levels

Ensure

timely settlement of all termly school dues and issuance of scholastic and

other related logistical materials to all program beneficiaries.

Send

regular technical and statistical updates to the program team and

IP staff on beneficiary enrollment in school and retention, academic

performance and transition to secondary or next levels.

Work

in liaison with the Services and Linkages Technical Manager to identify

additional strategies and appropriate layering of services to ensure

comprehensive support to children with the goal of increasing retention,

progression and completion

Ensure

and manage collaboration with other project component for internal

learning and adaptation

Coordination:

Ensure

effective participation of District and community level

stakeholders in the planning, implementation and supervision of core

education subsidy activities at community and school level.

Plan

and conduct regular and/or periodic meetings with all the key stakeholders

to review progress and assess challenges affecting successful

implementation of the education subsidy

Coordinate

the development of district-specific Work plans and Budgets for the

Bursary Initiative and ensure implementation of the education subsidy initiatives,

including maintenance and monitoring of a database of existing OVC

beneficiaries

Build

and maintain ongoing relationships by initiating and responding to

individual districts, community leaders, community organizations and

schools when renewing or securing vacancies in the schools.

Ensure

effective and regular coordination with other project staff managing the

implementation of other program components for coordinated and

comprehensive household support.

Manage Relationships:

Establish,

manage and maintain relationships with participating private and

government owned school and school management committees

Ensure

effective and timely communication between implementing CSO and District

project officers during activity planning, implementation and monitoring

Maintain

good communication channels between the program partners, OVC stake

holders and Local Governments

Capacity strengthening for program staff: Participate / occasionally take lead in

capacity strengthening for program implementation staff, CSO Social workers,

community and District stakeholders



Experience: Qualifications, Skills andExperience:

The ideal candidate for the Catholic

Relief Services (CRS) Project Officer- Education Subsidy job placement

must hold a Bachelors degree

in any social sciences related field, education, economics and or

development studies

A minimum of five years of professional experience in managing an education bursary

or sponsorship program

Prior

experience in managing and coordinating an OVC related program is an added

advantage

Exceptional

interpersonal skills with all ages are required.

Excellent

written and oral communication skills are required.

Ability

to work under pressure to meet tight program implementation and reporting

deadlines.

Ability

to pay attention to details is a must.

Successful

applicant must be open to new ideas and learning to develop or gain new

knowledge and able to work in an environment with multiple program

implementation layers.

Demonstrated

ability to work effectively both independently and/ or in a team

environment.



interpersonal skills Excellentinterpersonal skills

Strong

planning and coordination skills.

Excellent

analytical and problem solving skills.



and willingness to travel 60% of the time. Abilityand willingness to travel 60% of the time.

Agency-Wide Competences (for all CRS

Staff): Serves with Integrity, Models Stewardship, Cultivates

Constructive Relationships, Promotes Learning Serves with Integrity, Models Stewardship, CultivatesConstructive Relationships, Promotes Learning

How to Apply:

All suitably qualified and interested candidates are encouraged to send

a cover letter, updated CV and three work references (names and contact

information only) to ug_recruitment@crs.org or submit hard copy to Catholic

Relief Services, Plot 577, Block 15, Nsambya Road, P.O Box 30086 Kampala,

Uganda

st June 2017

by 5:00pm Deadline: 21June 2017by 5:00pm
But the tribe has a long way to go
Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, whose three-year tenure will end on June 19, has asked the government not to consider him for reappointment to the post.

Rohatgi said he had written to the government last month conveying his wish to discontinue as Attorney General and return to private practice.

He said the extension given to him by the government earlier this month was "ad hoc", till further orders, as it was done when the Prime Minister was on a visit to Russia.

"So, the government has to take a call on my decision," he said.

Rohatgi said that he maintained a "good relationship" with the government and would come to its aid as and when required.

He said he was appointed by the Narendra Modi government after it came to power in May 2014 and he has served his term to his full satisfaction.

He said he considers this duration as the top law officer enough and does not want to be considered for reappointment.

"I have conveyed to the government last month that I don't wish to seek re-appointment. I consider the three-year term as enough and I had also served the previous BJP government for five years. I would like to return to private practice," Rohatgi told PTI.

He clarified that his letter conveying his decision not to seek reappointment should not be considered as resignation as his term is due to end.

"I will come to the aid of the government as long as I live," he said.

Asked about his response if Prime Minister Narendra Modi insists that he continue, Rohatgi said, "I will cross the bridge when it comes."

Besides Rohatgi, two additional solicitor generals P.S. Patwalia and Neeraj Kishan Kaul have also preferred not to seek reappointment as law officers.

Rohatgi was appointed as the AG on June 19, 2014 immediately after the BJP government came to power in May that year.

During his three-year stint, he argued many contentious matters like the challenge to NJAC Act on appointment of judges for the higher judiciary.

He also defended the government that was in tussle with the Supreme Court Collegium of judges on the appointment of judges for higher judiciary.

Recently, he assisted the apex court in 'triple talaq' matter in which the judgement is reserved.

He has also advanced the government's stand of defending the policy of Aadhaar in which the issue of Right to Privacy has been raised and is pending before apex court.

As a top law officer, Rohatgi defended the government's policy of demonetisation in which the high denomination currency of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 were declared as not a legal tender.

Rohatgi had led a team of lawyers which had participated in the pre-dawn hearing in the apex court to oppose any relief to Yakub Memon, the lone death row convict in 1993 Mumbai blasts case.

He also appeared for the NDA government when its decision to impose President's rule in Uttarakhand was challenged.

The top law officer also assisted the apex court which scrapped the controversial section 66A of the Information Technology Act.
Cop-turned business magnate M.K.R. Pillai has suddenly hogged limelight, thanks to the recent income tax raids on his properties.

Hailing from an ordinary family of Kulanada in Kerala's Pathanamthitta district, he went all the way to Nagaland in search of a job and later became the chief of Sreevalsam Group. Within 15 years, he was affluent and capable of offering jobs to several people in his hometown Kulanada and Pandalam.

Pillai's Sreevalsam Group owns establishments mostly in Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha districts. It has jewelry shops in six places, and a private company named Manimattom Finance.

One of its prime enterprises is the Rajavalsam Hotel-auditorium complex in Guruvayur. Apart from Delhi and Bengaluru, his businesses are spread mainly across various towns in Kerala, including Thrissur, Pandalam, Kulanada, Konni, Haripad, Venbayam and Ponkunnam. The company also runs educational institutions and petrol stations.

The group owns a school near Aranmula and work is in final stages for a textile showroom in Pathanamthitta. Its associate firm Rajavalsam, dealers in two-wheelers, has 10 branches in Alappuzha district.

The Income-Tax department reportedly has information that Sreevalsam purchased a financial enterprise in Kollam for nearly Rs 3.5 crore that was sealed and auctioned after incurring huge debts.

Pillai started as a constable and retired as additional SP, but is addressed as 'Pillai sir' even by those in positions of power. Those in Nagaland and Kerala who have known him personally say he's benevolent. He had also been the president of the Malayali Samajam in Nagaland.

Keralites in Nagaland know about his immense wealth, but are unaware how he runs the business. They say he progressed in his work thanks to his efficiency and loyalty. Even ministers from Nagaland attended his son's wedding in Adoor, a few months ago.

Pillai used to travel in a car with the beacon even after retirement, when he was appointed the P.R.O. at police headquarters. Investigators indicate he should have acted as benami for officials and political leaders. They are also probing if a Kohima resident was used as benami since Nagaland insists that only local people should be allotted contract work.
When Supreme Court lawyer Harish Salve represented India in the International Court of Justice in The Hague in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case against Pakistan, it raised a few eyebrows back home. Some wondered why the government chose Salve over its own Attorney General Mukul Rohtagi for its case. Now, when Rohtagi had expressed his desire to be relieved as AG, Salve has become the front-runner for the post.

Harish Salve

One of the leading lawyers in the country, Salve was initially considered for the post when Narendra Modi government was sworn in May 2014. Salve reportedly declined to take up the post as he had prior commitments. He was also approached by the Vajpayee government to hold the post, but he was not keen.

Rohtagi's tenure gets over this month.

Salve endeared himself to the government after India's victory at The Hague as Jadhav's case had become an emotional rallying point in the country. Sources say Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keen on Salve representing government's side in the courts.

Apart from Salve, solicitor general Ranjit Kumar's name is also doing the rounds.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi said the current dispensation led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was silencing the voices that speak the truth.

Thousands of journalists in the country tell me they are not allowed to write what they want. The National Herald has a strong spirit and it is not going to be silent, said Rahul during the launch of the commemorative edition of the Congress mouthpiece to mark 70 years of Indian Independence, in Bengaluru on Monday.

Rahul hit back at the BJP-led government for stopping his entry to Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh during the farmers' protests recently and said, This is the India we are living in... a country where power is simply used to manufacture truth. Everybody knows what the truth is, but people are scared to say.

Quoting a Soviet poet, he said When truth is replaced by silence, the silence is a lie. This is what the government is trying to do. It is forcing everything into silence, Rahul said.

Expressing confidence that the daily, founded by his great-grandfather Pandit Nehru in 1938, would rise to the occasion, he said, The editor came to me some time back. I told him when he wants to say something against the congress party, its ideas or me, I will be absolutely comfortable and want him to say it without any fear. That is the spirit we expect from the National Herald. Speak the truth, and do not be silenced or scared. There are huge opportunities for you. Thousands of journalists are not allowed to write what they want. Open your doors to these people. Have free recruits at all places. Speak the truth, don't be scared.

Delivering the keynote address, Vice-President Hamid Ansari said the press had emerged as a tool for national awakening and become a medium of nationalist political participation for the masses. It was also a medium for propagation of modern ideas of democracy, freedom and equality. It helped in communication between nationalists across the country, welding the country into a single nation and identity.

He warned that it was wrong to use newspaper as a means of earning one's livelihood, because journalism, as Mahatma Gandhi believed, was a public service. When a newspaper is treated as a means of making profits, the result is likely to be serious malpractices, he added.

Congress MP Oscar Fernandes said that the daily founded by Nehru in 1938 had been suspended in 2008, and was now in the process of reviving even the Hindi (Navjivan) and Urdu (Quami Awaz) editions.

The website launched eight months back is undergoing upgradation and will be fully operational by the end of this month, said Fernandes.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said journalism played a highly impactful role in the struggle for India's Independence, and was synonymous with nationalism, patriotism and secularism. National Herald always championed the cause of the freedom of press and was considered the voice of India, he said.

Pointing out that Karnataka had always resurrected many personalities and projects, Siddaramaiah said, Congress Party cannot forget the magnanimity extended to Indira Gandhi by the Kannadigas during her epic political battles. It is no happy coincidence that by the launch of this special edition in Bengaluru, the newspaper is re-emerging as a potent voice of Indians.

At these times of political patronage of the press, we must recall that Nehru in 1947, had resigned as chairman of the board of National Herald as he became part of the interim government, added Siddaramaiah.
When Narendra Modi took over as prime minister, there were question marks on how the US, which had not allowed him a visa due to his baggage of the Gujarat riots, would deal with him. But Modi became quite a success in the US, and his relationship with former president Barack Obama was spontaneous, warm and mutually productive. Modi visited the US eight times during Obama's tenure, and he even managed a victory of sorts with his impromptu invitation to Obama as chief guest at the 2015 Republic Day function, which the US president accepted.

Donald Trump is now the president of the United States, and despite his campaigning bombast of Indians finding a true friend in the White House, his early months of presidency have sent confusing signals to India. Trump first announced a rethink of the H1B visas, the main route for Indians to enter the US, and also the route which helped Indian software firms do a lucrative but mutually beneficial business with US tech giants. The visa rules have not yet been changed and the officials say it could take several more months, but the bottom line is that Indian businesses and workers are on edge. Putting across Indian concerns to a regime that feels migrants are snatching American jobs will be a major task for Modi on his first trip to Trump's America later this month (June 25 and 26).

Another shock for India was when Trump announced that the US would withdraw from the Paris deal, and had accused India and China of benefiting from the deal at the expense of the US. India has not forgotten that it was the champion of the historical responsibility'' clause in the statement, which meant that developed countries, which had been polluting the earth for decades more than emerging economies, owed more for the clean up of the planet. The two words braked the progress of the deal, and it was only when Obama personally called up Modi that India let go, and the Paris document was drafted. Clearing the air on this subject, and getting the US to see things from the Indian point of view, will be another major task for Modi.

Neighbourhood issues are likely to feature in the talks too. The US had indicated that it is not happy with Pakistani support to terror, and India will need to push forward this advantage to get the US view more India friendly and put pressure on Pakistan. Trump sees the booming Chinese economy as one of the biggest threats to the US. India sees the growth of China, and expansion of its military might, as a threat too. Besides, the Chinese obstacle has come in the way of India getting into the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

Of course, a first visit will be more of a getting-to-know-each-other exercise. But taking forward the successesIndia is now considered a major defence partner'' of the UStaking forward of the civil nuclear deal, and business talk, will make this a crucial visit for Modi.
Prime Minister Modi is all set to visit Washington DC on June 25 and 26 to hold talks with President Donald Trump.

It will be Prime Minister Modi's first meeting with President Trump, whose presidency began on January 20. The two leaders have spoken over phone at least thrice since the latter assumed office.

This meeting comes at a time when Trump made critical comments about India while announcing America's decision to pull out of the Paris climate change agreement. President Donald Trump has accused India and other countries of trying to extract "billions and billions and billions" of dollars in foreign aid from the developed world to sign up for the climate accord.

In spite of the difference on some issues, Modi's discussions with Trump are likely to find a common approach on matters related to South Asia, particularly the rise in infiltration from the neighbouring Pakistan, terrorism and India's case for a seat at the nuclear supplier's group. Modi has reiterated India's support to the Paris agreement and said he is willing to go further than what has been committed under the Paris accord.

Both the leaders will hold discussions on taking the bilateral ties to a new level, convergence of strategic interests in South Asia, joint effort in fighting terrorism, trade and specifically the vexed issue of H-1B temporary visa, the biggest concern for New Delhi.

Moreover, US National Security Adviser (NSA) Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster has re-affirmed India's position as the US's "major defence partner" during talks with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Lieutenant General McMaster had discussed bilateral ties, situation in the South Asian region including Afghanistan and Pakistan with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his April visit.

Under the previous administration, Prime Minister Modi had a record eight meetings with former US President Barack Obama.

On the US executive order on H1B visas, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has reportedly hit back at the United States on the H1B visa issue and said that their companies in India will also be affected .She has said that it is not only the Indian companies which will get affected but also the US companies who earn profits which go to their economy.
WASHINGTON  Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Monday recommended that the new Bears Ears National Monument in Utah be reduced in size and said Congress should step in to designate how selected areas of the 1.3 million-acre site are managed.

Zinke made the recommendation as part of an interim report to President Donald Trump on the scenic swath of southern Utah with red rock plateaus, cliffs and canyons on land considered sacred to tribes.

Trump signed an executive order in April directing Zinke to review the designation of dozens of national monuments on federal lands, calling the protection efforts "a massive federal land grab" by previous administrations.

Trump and other Republicans have singled out former President Barack Obama's designation of Bears Ears, calling it an unnecessary layer of federal control that hurts local economies by closing the area to new energy development. They also say it isn't the best way to protect the land.

Zinke toured Bears Ears last month on foot, horseback and helicopter and met with Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and other state leaders. Herbert and other Utah Republicans oppose Obama's December designation of the Bears Ears monument.

"There is no doubt that it is drop-dead gorgeous country and that it merits some degree of protection, but designating a monument ... where multiple-use management is hindered or prohibited is not the best use of the land and is not in accordance with the intention of the Antiquities Act," Zinke said.

Zinke did not specify how much of the 1.3 million acres should be trimmed, but said he has no doubt the monument must be "right-sized" significantly.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, called Zinke's announcement "an unquestionable victory for Utah" and said reducing the monument's footprint was in line with the intent of the 1906 Antiquities Act, which states that monument designations should be the "smallest area compatible" with proper care and management of the site.

Zinke, a former Republican congressman from Montana, said he wants to make sure Native American culture is preserved and said Congress should approve legislation granting tribes legal authority to "co-manage" some of the Bears Ears site.

"I have enormous respect for tribes," he said.

But several tribal leaders who worked to win the monument designation bashed Zinke's decision, vowing legal action if Trump accepts the recommendation to downsize the monument.

Zinke's proposal to allow co-management rights for tribes  an action that would require congressional approval  does not ease their anger, tribal leaders said.

"Bears Ears is not for sale. It's not up for trade," said Natalie Landreth, a lawyer for the Native American Rights Fund.

Ethel Branch, Navajo Nation Attorney General, called Bears Ears a holy land that contains "critical plants, minerals and powers" that numerous tribes rely on to heal and strengthen themselves.

"Protection of these lands is non-negotiable," she said.

Environmental groups also blasted the recommendation, which they said threatened the future of Bears Ears and boded poorly for a broader review of national monuments due in August.

"The Trump administration's announcement today on Bears Ears is nothing less than an attack on the future of all American monuments, parks and public lands," said Jamie Williams, president of The Wilderness Society. The recommendation ignores thousands of public comments in favor of the monument and makes "a mockery of the claimed public process," Williams said.

Zinke said he will issue a final report in late August, when he is due to make recommendations on Bears Ears and 21 other national monuments on federal land in 11 states, including Grand Staircase-Escalante in Utah, Giant Sequoia in California, Nevada's Basin and Range and Katahdin Woods and Waters in Maine.

The review also targets five marine monuments in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Zinke rejected a plea by some Utah Republicans to recommend that the monument designation be rescinded entirely, an unprecedented step that would invite a near-certain legal challenge. Instead, Zinke said some of the sprawling, 1.3 million acre site should be designated for conservation or recreation, categories that are less restrictive than monuments.

Noting the contentious nature of the monument designation, Zinke called on Congress to approve a land-management bill for Bears Ears and other federal lands. The Republican-controlled Congress has failed to approve a significant public lands bill in recent years, but Zinke said that was because of veto threats by Obama.

He summed up his optimism in two words: "President Trump."

___

Associated Press writer Brady McCombs in Salt Lake City contributed to this story.

___

Follow Matthew Daly: https://twitter.com/MatthewDalyWDC
Setting the process in motion for choosing the next President, BJP chief Amit Shah on Monday set up a three-member panel to talk to all political parties to evolve a consensus. The three members are Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu.

These three leaders have been tasked to reach out to all the political parties in the next few days to enlist their support so that a common candidate can be sent to the Rashtrapati Bhawan. However, when these government's emissaries would open a channel, the Opposition parties are expected to ask the name of the candidate.

The Opposition parties would not be willing to support any of the BJP's candidate, as they want to push for an ideological contest if the candidate is from the larger saffron family.

The committee has been set up keeping in mind the message of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who in the past had said democracy is run on consensus. The current move is to formally reach out not just only to NDA allies, and even those parties who may be willing to support the government. Parties like the TRS and the YSR Congress had pledged support to the NDA nominee. However, the AIADMK, the BJD and some other smaller groups, which are not a part of both the opposition and the ruling alliance, are yet to clear their stand.

The notification for the election will be put out on June 14 by the election commission. The last date of nomination would be June 28, while polling, if any, would be on July 17.

Shah, who was supposed to travel to Arunachal Pradesh for two days for a party programme, postponed the tour to prepare for the elections.

Interestingly, one of the corollary of the three-member panel was that Venkaiah Naidu would not be one of the candidates for the presidential poll though his name was being discussed. He would be tasked to speak to political parties from the southern states.

The NDA is currently short of nearly 20,000 votes, which it can easily gather by the support of the TRS and the YSR Congress. However, both Modi and Shah would be keen on ensuring an emphatic win for the NDA candidate to thwart Opposition's attempts at unity.

The performance by the opposition camp during the presidential polls, if elections are held, would have been a barometer for their future alliance against the BJP during the 2019 elections.
Taking a dig at Shivraj Singh Chouhan for going on a hunger strike, the Shiv Sena today said the Madhya Pradesh chief minister used Gandhian means to quell the farmers' movement even as his party president described Mahatma Gandhi as a "chatur baniya".

A chief minister's role is to govern, the BJP's bickering ally said. Going on fast was Mahatma Gandhi's tool to fight against injustice towards Indians and today neither the Britishers nor the Congress were ruling the country, the Sena said in an editorial in its party mouthpiece Saamana.

Chouhan sat on an indefinite fast on Saturday, appealing for peace to farmers demanding loan waivers and remunerative prices for their produce. He ended it the next day while announcing a slew of schemes but issued a stern warning to those who engaged in "incendiary activities".

A day before Chouhan's fast, BJP chief Amit Shah said in Raipur on Friday that Mahatma Gandhi was a "chatur baniya", a reference to the mercantile caste to which he was born, who had rightly advised dissolution of the Congress after the Independence.

The Sena said in its editorial, "While BJP president Amit Shah was commenting on Mahatma Gandhi, his senior party leader was using Gandhian means to solve the problems of his state. The role of a chief minister is to govern."

"The chief minister going on a hunger strike against protests in his state is a victory of Gandhian thoughts. But Gandhiji, Sardar (Vallabhbhai) Patel readied farmers to fight against the injustice and cruelty and used Gandhian thoughts to pose a challenge to the Britishers," it said.

Citing Chouhan's example to taunt the Devendra Fadnavis-led Maharashtra government, the Sena said the Madhya Pradesh chief minister's fast at least showed his sensitivity towards farmers, not like Maharashtra politicians who tried to create a rift between cultivators.

"Chouhan did not play dirty politics of terming the stir of farmers as a stir of anti-social elements," the Sena, which is the BJP's oldest ally, added.

Farmers in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, both ruled by BJP-led governments, went on the warpath June 1 over various demands, including loan waivers and remunerative prices for their produce.

In Maharashtra, after a couple of days of the stir, a group of farmers had claimed that their agitation was called off after talks with Chief Minister Fadnavis.

However, later another section of farmers said the strike was still on.

The Maharashtra government yesterday announced a loan waiver for farmers and decided to form a committee to decide the criteria of debt relief, after which the cultivators called off their protests.
Protesters and stone pelters in Kashmir have helped militants escape cordon and search operations on 13 occasions after the warning by Army Chief Bipin Rawat that those ''disrupting operations against militants will be treated as overground workers of the militants''.

Rawat issued the warning on February 16a day after four soldiers, including a major, were killed in two encounters at Hajin and Kralgund in north Kashmir. Since then, the security forces have strengthened the deployment during the cordons and search operations, but failed to deter the protesters.

Police sources say the disruption by stone pelters is a cause of worry as it not only helps the militants to escape, but also results in the injuries and deaths of protesters that feed into the anger against the government in the state.

Since Rawat's threat, 43 such operations were carried out by security forces, and on 13 occasions, the protesters swooped on the encounter sites, enabling the militants to escape.

Most of the operations have been carried out in South Kashmir's Shopian, Pulwama, Kulgam, Awantipora, and Budgam.

According to police sources, to prevent civilian fatalities, the operations against militants were called off even before the start at six different places.

An assessment carried out by the police found that three militants managed to escape after forces laid siege in Kulgam near a health centre. The protesters had also helped militants to escape at Warwun-Newa village in Pulwama.

Sources said in the 13 occasions where protesters provided cover to militants to escape, police had information about the presence of 27 terrorists. ''Some militants escaped due to protests and stone pelting, and others survived because the operations were called off in the face violent protests,'' sources said.

The police and other security agencies have fine tuned the cordon and search operations, but stone pelting mobs have been difficult to tackle. Since February, more than two dozen civilians have been killed in firing by security forces in clashes at encounter sites.

On May 9, four civilians were killed in clashes with security forces in Budgam during bypolls to Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency.

The crowd swarming at encounter sites continues to be a major challenge for the security forces in Kashmir as protesters are undeterred by the fear of death.
Hand in hand: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi (centre) with leaders of other non-NDA parties at a public rally in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh | PTI

Last December, just when opposition parties were joining forces to corner the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government in Parliament, the Congress made a misstep. Much to the BJPs glee, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi took a delegation of party leaders to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking loan waiver for farmers. The meeting happened at a time when Gandhi had been threatening to reveal information that, he said, would prove his corruption allegations against Modi. It not only blunted his attack on Modi, but also angered opposition leaders, who decided to withdraw from the protest march the Congress had organised against demonetisation.

Achieving unity among opposition parties has been an arduous exercise, as past political experiments have shown. The presidential election on July 17 would be the first test of unity among non-NDA parties, which are still a long way from forging a grand alliance ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

We are still not talking about any grand alliance. It will be jumping the gun. A lot would depend upon the situation in the country, and the peoples mood, CPI leader D. Raja told THE WEEK.

An aggressive BJP has been extending its reach by scoring thumping electoral victories, while opposition parties are still trying to find an effective plan to counter Modi.

On June 3, Rahul Gandhi, Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal (United), Sitaram Yechury of the CPI(M) and Omar Abdullah of the National Conference gathered at the YMCA ground in Royapettah, Chennai, to greet DMK patriarch M. Karunanidhi on his 94th birthday. Karunanidhi was indisposed to make it to the rally, where the leaders invoked Tamil pride to caution people against the BJP. The rally was also a coronation of sorts for 65-year-old M.K. Stalin, the DMKs working president, who has been longing to step into his father Karunanidhis shoes.

After AIADMK chief minister J. Jayalalithaas death, there is a political vacuum in Tamil Nadua state with 39 Lok Sabha seats that the BJP covets. The non-NDA parties seem to think that the DMK is best poised to fill it. Two days after the Chennai rally, the Congress held a rally in Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, where it had won 33 Lok Sabha seats in 2009, but managed only two in 2014.

At the rally, Gandhi talked about supporting the demand for special status for Andhra Pradesh. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, backed him.

The oppositions game plan is to invoke regional pride and cultural diversity to counter the BJP, as the ruling dispensation is seen to be pushing its agenda of nationalism.

Each Indian state has its own culture, its own way of thinking, its own way of expressing itself, its own food. This is Indias strength.... The BJP and the RSS are trying to impose one idea, Gandhi said at Guntur.

This is an idea that seems to unite all the non-BJP parties.

CPI leader Raja, who was present at the rally in Chennai, said, The issues can be different in different states, so parties can respond. We are coming together to fight against the BJPs communal agenda. Their aggressive stance in hindutva is violative of the Constitution.

Raja said his party was pushing for unity among all parties. The current moves for unity are geared towards the presidential elections, so that we have one strong candidate who safeguards the Constitution.... We will see what happens in 2019, he added.

The BJP will formally begin talks on presidential elections only after June 15, after the third anniversary celebrations of the Modi government are over.

The Congress, meanwhile, is playing the pivotal role in forging unity among opposition parties. Its president Sonia Gandhis luncheon on May 26 had representation from 17 parties.

The next show of strength would be after the presidential poll, at Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad Yadavs rally in Patna on August 27.

JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav said opposition parties represented 70 per cent of voters (according to the vote share in the 2014 elections).

Some strong remarks against the government also emerged from the Congress Working Committee, which met on June 6.

Sonia said at the CWC: The Modi government has 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 rich diversity, 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.

Sonia also announced a sub-committee of senior leaders to decide on the strategy for the presidential election and to strengthen opposition unity. Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, whose name was also doing the rounds as a presidential candidate, will coordinate the group.

It is heartening to see the Left parties and the Trinamool sharing the same stage.... It is the need of the hour to save this parliamentary democracy, as an individual is growing and threatening to be a dictator of this country, NCP leader and MP Majeed Memon told THE WEEK.

Particularly after the UP mandate, it was necessary that all opposition parties come together to fight the BJP. The presidential election is a good test for this unity. It will be a rehearsal to what else is required to shore up the unity for 2019.

While most of the non-NDA political parties were in favour of pushing for an ideological contest in the presidential election, they were treading cautiously on forming a grand alliance in 2019. Opponents like the Left and the Trinamool do not want to be on the same side when they contest elections. Similarly, BSP leader Mayawati and Akhilesh contesting together, rather than against each other, is still a distant dream.

Lalu Prasad has been persuading the two to come together, but his own relations with his ally Nitish Kumar, the Bihar chief minister, show signs of strains. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who nurtures prime ministerial ambitions, appears to be at odds with Kumar, who also is looking for a national role.

Kumar has been moving strategically. He missed Sonias luncheon, and went to meet the PM the next day on his invitation. He played down the lunch with Modi, but his moves perplexed opposition parties. After he praised demonetisation and the governments actions against black money, the BJP returned the favour by lauding him while they targeted Lalu Prasad.

This posturing ensured Kumar was safe from the attack mounted by the BJP on its rivals, but others have been facing the heat from investigating agencies like the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate.

Curiously, the Aam Aadmi Party, which has been consistent in its attack on Modi and the BJP, has been missing from these grand shows of opposition unity. The AAP did not receive invitation to Sonias lunch or Karunanidhis birthday. Only those who had known the Dravidian patriarch personally were invited to Chennai.

The AAP is also not likely to get an invitation to Lalu Prasads rally in August, as it had opposed him earlier over corruption charges.

Meanwhile, the Biju Janata Dal, led by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, has been maintaining equal distance from both the BJP and the Congress.

WITH LAKSHMI SUBRAMANIAN
President Donald Trump says that, thanks to him, U.S. infrastructure will once again be the envy of the world.

Trump is visiting the Department of Transportations headquarters to highlight his goal of curbing regulations on infrastructure projects.

Trump says at a round table discussion with White House and state transportation officials that his administration is working to streamline the permitting process.

He claims that, right now, the countrys infrastructure is being laughed and scoffed at and complains that highways take too long to build.

Trump has been promoting vague plans to bolster the countrys roads, bridges and waterways in what his aides have dubbed infrastructure week.

But former FBI Director James Comeys testimony about his interactions with Trump and Russian interference in the U.S. election has dominated the news.

(AP)
On Tuesday, 12 Sivan, Honenu Attorney Menasheh Yado filed a complaint with the Public Complaints Unit of the Jerusalem Police on behalf of a minor detained on suspicion of intending to offer a Passover sacrifice in Jerusalem. During his detention, he was not allowed privacy while using the toilet at the Kishleh Police Station.

The complaint states that the minor was illegally detained in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City on the eve of Pesach while carrying a carton. As he was walking, suddenly several policemen approached him and demanded that he open the carton, probably due to a suspicion that he was carrying a lamb for a Korban Pesach he planned.

The minor did not object to the demand by the police to open the carton. However, he asked to first see their police IDs. The policemen refused to present identification as required by law and detained the minor until a more senior officer arrived. When the officer arrived, the police demanded again that the minor open the carton. The minor repeated that he did not object to opening the carton and was only insisting on his right to see the policemens identification.

In response to his demand the policemen informed the minor that he was being detained and must accompany them to the police station. When the minor wanted to know the grounds for his detention, which he is required by law to be told, the policemen refused to explain the reason to him.

At the police station the policemen continued to trample the minors rights. He was detained for many hours at the station and when he asked to use the toilet he was told that he must leave the door open, even though he posed no perceptible danger to the policemen.

Honenu Attorney Menasheh Yado, who filed the complaint: The detention was carried out illegally. This complaint has far-reaching significance in light of the serious privacy rights violations which occur frequently in the Kishleh Police Station.

Our office receives many complaints from detainees who were not allowed to close the door while using the toilet at the Kishleh Police Station. In all of the cases referred to us we did not find reasonable cause for such an extreme violation of the detainees privacy. We did not find any legal basis justifying this conduct. I hope that the complaint filed today will bring a stop to this unacceptable practice.

On the eve of the 2017 Pesach Yomtov many youths were detained on suspicion of intending to ascend Har Habayis and offer a Korban. In many of the cases flagrant violations of their fundamental rights as detainees were reported.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
So whats next for James Comey?

The former FBI director boldly challenged the president who fired him, accused the Trump administration of lying and supplied material that could be used to build a case against President Donald Trump.

But after stepping away from the Capitol Hill spotlight, where hes always seemed comfortable, the 56-year-old veteran lawman now confronts the same question long faced by Washington officials after their government service.

His dry quip at a riveting Senate hearing that he was between opportunities vastly understates the career prospects now available to him  not to mention potential benefits from the publics fascination with a man who has commanded respect while drawing outrage from both political parties.

Comey was pilloried for his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation, yet is now seen as a critical cog in the inquiry into possible connections between Russia and the Trump campaign. He may be called upon to provide more detail about his interactions with Trump, which he documented in a series of memos, even as he turns attention to potential opportunities in law, corporate work or perhaps even politics.

Theres some jobs where the controversy would not be a benefit, but thats why I see him ending up in a place where he can be himself, said Evan Barr, a former federal prosecutor in New York City who worked under Comey in the U.S. attorneys office. If he were the president of a college or an important think tank, he could pursue the issues that mean the most to him and not be worried about trying to make anyone happy.

Comey is unlikely to play any sort of direct role in the investigation now led by special counsel Robert Mueller, his predecessor as FBI director. But he almost certainly would avail himself as a witness to Mueller in any obstruction of justice investigation centered on his firing, or to further discuss requests he received from Trump that he interpreted as directives.

Comeys carefully crafted memos are laden with contemporaneously recorded details and verbatim quotes that could easily lay down a path for investigators, and already have been turned over to Mueller. In one note, Comey says Trump cleared the room before encouraging Comey to end an investigation into Trumps national security adviser, Michael Flynn.

Comeys decision to share with reporters, through an intermediary, details from those conversations, and his insistence on testifying in public attest to his determination to confront the president head-on.

I do think he is unquestionably, if this thing goes anywhere, one of the star witnesses, said Robert Anderson, a retired FBI executive assistant director. It really comes down to his testimony, in some avenues.

Career options are generally plentiful for departing FBI leaders and attorneys general. Both Mueller and former Attorney General Eric Holder, for instance, took jobs with prestigious law firms after leaving public service.

But few if any have as public a profile as Comey or have generated such intense feelings.

Even Democrats who disagree with his firing remain stung by his revival of the Clinton email investigation days before the November election.

Pro-Trump Republicans who were pleased by Comey some seven months ago may now concur with the presidents assessment of Comey as a showboat.

And companies that do business with the government might find it risky to bring aboard someone whos so publicly at odds with the current administration.

Comeys name over the years has been floated in politics, though its not clear the former Republican  now an independent  has any interest.

Educated at the College of William & Mary, where he wrote a senior thesis on a 20th century theologian, Comey went on to law school at the University of Chicago. The bulk of his work has been in government, with the exception of private practice legal work in Virginia early in his career, lucrative general counsel stints at defense contractor Lockheed Martin and a Connecticut hedge fund, and a teaching job at Columbia University.

He was the U.S. attorney in Manhattan who in 2003 charged Martha Stewart with obstructing justice in a stock trade investigation. He then became deputy attorney general, the No. 2 spot at the Justice Department, where he famously faced down fellow Bush administration officials over a surveillance program authorization. In 2013, he was sworn in as FBI director, a job hes called the honor of his life.

Friends and colleagues say the father of five reveled in his public service.

Anyone who has ever worked with Jim as far as I know, certainly speaking for myself, holds him in incredibly high esteem, said Sharon McCarthy, who worked for him at the U.S. attorneys office. Youd be working late, hed have a Coke in his hand and hed come in, sit down, put his feet on your desk and start talking,

Though Comey joked at a Senate hearing one week before his May 9 firing that he perhaps regretted picking up the phone when he was recruited for the FBI job while living comfortably in Connecticut, he also was known to pepper speeches with cracks about the soulless private sector.

Hed urge young audiences to imagine asking themselves on their death beds who they would want to have been, saying he hoped everyones answer would be that they tried to help others.

His own law firm life, hed say, was lacking despite the matching furniture, parking space and Colonial-style home that accompanied the job.

You do not make much money working for the FBI. You will not get famous working for the FBI. But you will be rich beyond belief if you look at it from (the public service) vantage point, he has said.

One other question for Comey regardless of his next job will be how much he chooses, either directly or through intermediaries, to respond to allegations from Trump or Republicans rallying to the presidents defense. On Friday, Trump strongly suggested Comey had lied about their encounters and accused him of being a leaker.

In the days to come, Comey friend Ben Wittes wrote on his Lawfare blog, were going to see a full-court press against Comey; indeed it is already well underway.

(AP)
The U.S. Navy has ended its search for a sailor who was on a training mission on a guided-missile cruiser off the coast of North Carolina when he went overboard.

The U.S. Fleet Forces Public Affairs office says the Navy and Coast Guard on Friday called off the Atlantic Ocean search for Petty Officer Christopher Clavin, of Lincoln, Rhode Island.

The Navy said in a statement the 23-year-old sailor was on the USS Normandy about 80 miles (128 kilometers) offshore when he went overboard Tuesday.

An aircraft carrier with four helicopters, a U.S. Coast Guard cutter, and guided-missile destroyers were involved in the search. Military officials say they covered 2,500 square miles (6,475 square kilometers).

The USS Normandy is based in Norfolk, Virginia.

(AP)
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has denied plotting to topple Prime Minister Theresa May, whose hold on power remained tenuous Sunday as she tried to finalize a deal with a small Northern Irish party to prop up her minority government after a disastrous election.

Former Treasury chief George Osborne  who was fired by May last year  called her a dead woman walking, and opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn said he was ready to contest another election at any time.

Johnson, one of the Conservatives most popular politicians, tweeted that an article in the Mail on Sunday newspaper headlined Boris set to launch bid to be PM as May clings on was tripe.

I am backing Theresa May. Lets get on with the job, he said.

The Conservatives lost their parliamentary majority in Thursdays election. May called the snap vote in a bid to strengthen her mandate ahead of exit talks with the European Union. Instead, she has left Britains government ranks in disarray, days before the divorce negotiations are due to start on June 19.

Mays party won 318 seats, 12 fewer than it had before the snap election, and eight short of the 326 needed for an outright majority. Labour surpassed expectations by winning 262.

Many senior Conservatives say May should stay, for now, to provide stability. But few believe she can hang on for more than a few months.

I think her position is, in the long term, untenable, Conservative lawmaker Anna Soubry told Sky News. I just dont see how she can continue in any long-term way.

May called the election to win explicit backing for her stance on Brexit, which involves leaving the EUs single market and imposing restrictions on immigration while trying to negotiate free trade deal with the bloc. Some say her failure means the government must now take a more flexible approach to the divorce, potentially softening the exit terms.

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, who took the party from one Scottish seat to 13, said there would now have to be consensus within the country about what it means and what we seek to achieve as we leave.

To stay in power, the Conservatives are seeking support from Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party. Mays office said Saturday principles of an agreement had been reached, but the two sides later clarified that they are still talking.

We have made good progress but the discussions continue, said DUP leader Arlene Foster.

Downing Street said it hopes to finalize the deal next week, after Parliament resumes sitting.

The two sides are looking to form a confidence and supply arrangement. That means the DUP would back the government on confidence motions and budget votes, but its not a coalition government or a broader pact.

The alliance makes some modernizing Conservatives uneasy. The DUP is a socially conservative group that opposes abortion and same-sex marriage and had links to Protestant paramilitary groups during Irelands sectarian Troubles.

Conservative lawmaker Nicky Morgan told ITV that she could support a confidence and supply arrangement with the DUP, but any closer deal would be a step too far.

A deal between the government and the DUP could also unsettle the precarious balance between Northern Irelands British loyalist and Irish nationalist parties, whose power-sharing administration in Belfast collapsed earlier this year.

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny tweeted Sunday that he had spoken with May and indicated my concern that nothing should happen to put (the Good Friday Agreement) at risk.

The 1998 Good Friday agreement set up power sharing in Northern Ireland, largely ending years of sectarian violence.

The British government does not have long to ink a deal. It is due to present its platform for the next session in the Queens Speech at the State Opening of Parliament on June 19. The speech will be followed by several days of debate and a vote. By tradition, defeat on a Queens Speech vote topples the government.

Corbyn said Labour would try to amend the Queens Speech to include its own commitments to end austerity and boost public spending. Without the amendments, he said Labour would try to vote down the speech.

I dont think Theresa May and this government have any credibility, Corbyn said, predicting that there could be another election within months.

I can still be prime minister, Corbyn said. This is still on.

(AP)
Police last week found a swastika painted on an outer wall of a shul on Sokolov Street in Petach Tikvah in addition to another shul located on Ushiskin Street.

Police are investigating and to date, arrests have been made including two 17-year-olds; from Haifa and Petach Tikvah. the case is now in the hands of juvenile unit investigators.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
The cabinet on Sunday, 17 Sivan, approved the appointment of Atzmon Minas to head the nations biometric database.

The Biometric Database Management Authority is an independent authority established by law and its function is to manage and operate the biometric database. The selection committee for the selection of the head of the biometric database management authority selected Atzmon Minas at the end of May and the appointment was unanimously approved by the Civil Service Commission. Atzmon Minas, 55, married with children, is a graduate of the Academic Reserve. He holds a BA in Mathematics and Computer Science from Tel Aviv University and completed his military service as an officer, is a computer programmer and systems analyst in the Air Force Computing Unit.

Minas has extensive experience in the field of ICT in both Israeli and international companies. Previously, he served as VP of Information Technologies and Systems at Egged Transport, DHL and Amidar  the National Housing Company in Israel, and Mimunim Team of the Isracard Group. In the past, he held management positions in the fields of information technology and information systems at Visa and Amdocs. Minas is an esteemed figure in the Israeli ICT community, and in 2005 he was chosen as the Outstanding IT Competitor in the ITAwards Competition, and is a well-known figure in the Israeli high-tech industry, and in 2006 he was awarded a special award.

The Biometric Database Management Authority is an independent authority established by law and its function is to manage and operate the biometric database. The selection committee for the selection of the head of the biometric database management authority selected Atzmon Minas at the end of May and the appointment was unanimously approved by the Civil Service Commission. Interior Minister Aryeh Deri welcomed the appointment: The law is in force and Mr. Minas is professionally worthy of the position. Minas experience will jump-start the authority in terms of information security and will lead it in the professional and correct way. This is a significant and complex task, and I have no doubt that Minas experience will help to fulfill the task with great success. 

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photo: Media Resource Group)
Following are remarks from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu from the start of the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, 17 Sivan.

A Hamas tunnel has recently been discovered under two schools in the Gaza Strip. Hamas is using schoolchildren as human shields and this is the enemy that we have been fighting against for many years, an enemy that is committing a twofold war crime. On the one hand, it first attacks innocent civilians and then hides behind children. On Friday, I instructed the Foreign Ministry Director-General to file an official protest against Hamas at the UN Security Council.

Last week I met with US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley. I thanked her, on your behalf as well, for her sharp words in favor of the State of Israel and against the anti-Israel obsession at the UN. I told her that the time has come for the UN to reconsider the continued existence on UNRWA.

Since World War Two, there have been  and continue to be today  millions of refugees. And these millions have the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), while most of the Palestinian refugees are settled and have a separate commission. This is UNRWA; it has its own institutions and considerable incitement against Israel. I regret that UNRWA, to a large degree, by its very existence, perpetuates  and does not solve  the Palestinian refugee problem. Therefore, the time has come to disband UNRWA and integrate it into the UNHCR

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
YWN-ISRAEL recently reported that with the assistance of the Waqf Authority, Israel Police on Har Habayis apprehended PA (Palestinian Authority) residents responsible for a rock attack against a Jewish mispallel on the holy site. The victim of the attack was lightly injured.

The Waqf Authority calls the Israel Police report slanderous and lies about guards of the mosque who are doing their job to protect al-Aqsa Mosque and overcome difficulties in front of fasting worshipers

The statement ends adding This is a mockery of lies and slander by the police, which wants to spread sedition and division inside the al-Aqsa Mosque.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
The political crisis engulfing Qatar stems from accusations by its Arab neighbors that it supports terrorism. Qatar denies the allegations, but its ties with Iran and embrace of various Islamist groups have brought intense scrutiny, made it a regional outlier and created enough smoke to spark a fire.

Last week, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed ties with Qatar amid a slew of punitive measures. On Friday, the four Arab states upped the pressure by naming 59 people and several charities linked to Qatar on a terrorist list.

Qatar says the moves are politically motivated: We do not, have not and will not support terrorist groups, the Foreign Ministry said.

It can be a matter of perception. Governments across the region routinely cite terrorism as justification to clamp down on political opposition and rights activists.

Some groups Qatar has backed  such as the Muslim Brotherhood  are seen by many as a legitimate political force. Others, including some hard-line Sunni rebel factions in Syria, are not that different ideologically from groups that Saudi Arabia backs there.

President Donald Trump on Friday firmly positioned himself with Arab states in their standoff against Qatar. Speaking from the White House, Trump said Qatar has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level.

Heres a look at the various groups Qatars accused of supporting and its relationship:

AL-QAIDA and ISLAMIC STATE GROUP:

Qatars Arab neighbors have accused it of backing al-Qaida and the IS groups ideology across the region, from Syria to the Sinai Peninsula.

Experts and groups in Syria say Qatari finances have indirectly propped up militant groups. Similar accusations were leveled at Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries in the early days of Syrias 2011 uprising, but experts say these governments amended their official stances and financing laws.

Some express concern that the row between Saudi Arabia and Qatar could undermine all finances to the Syrian opposition  where, on the ground, the lines are blurred over which groups cooperate with radicals.

Hassan Hassan, a Syria expert, said Qatar has never supported al-Qaida or IS directly. However, he said Qatar has supported Ahrar al-Sham, whose founders are linked to al-Qaida. For its part, Saudi Arabia once hosted members of Ahrar al-Sham at a Syrian opposition conference in its capital.

MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD:

The Islamist Sunni group remains one of the regions most polarizing. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt view it as a direct threat to their rule and deem it a destabilizing force. However, the Brotherhoods offshoots remain active in Jordan and Tunisia.

The Brotherhood was elected to power in Egypt after protests toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and Qatar aided the Brotherhood-led government in Cairo with billions of dollars. It was a key supporter of the groups offshoots in Syria and Libya.

Qatar argues it supported Egypt as a whole, and not one particular faction, when the Brotherhood was in power.

Egypts military ousted the Brotherhood and unleashed a lethal crackdown against its members amid mass protests in 2013. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt outlawed the group and branded it a terrorist organization, accusing it of plotting attacks. Brotherhood affiliates in the Gulf have been arrested.

Gulf monarchies accuse Qatar of providing financial support, a safe haven and even citizenship to Islamist opposition figures from their countries.

HAMAS:

The Palestinian group, an offshoot of Egypts Brotherhood, is considered a terrorist organization by Israel and its Western allies. The group, which rules the Gaza Strip, has fought three wars with Israel and is seen by some in the Arab world as an armed resistance force against Israeli occupation.

Saudi Arabia says Qatar must sever ties with Hamas.

Qatar has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in roads, housing and a major hospital in the Gaza Strip offering a lifeline for jobs in the devastated area that is under an Israeli-Egyptian blockade. Its support for the territory makes Qatar one of its few foreign backers.

Qatar says its work in Gaza is purely humanitarian and its engagement with the group has been in the context of internationally backed peace talks.

RANSOM PAYMENTS:

A deal negotiated recently to release kidnapped members of Qatars ruling family has been a source of anxiety for Gulf leaders, particularly in Saudi Arabia, which views Iran as its top adversary.

Qatar reportedly paid hundreds of millions of dollars to an Iranian-backed Shiite militia that had kidnapped the 26 hostages on Dec. 16, 2015 from a desert camp for falcon hunters in southern Iraq.

Egypt has asked the U.N. Security Council to investigate reports that Qatar paid up to $1 billion to a terrorist group active in Iraq to free the hostages, which would violate U.N. sanctions.

Qatar says it only supported the Iraqi government financially for its efforts in the release of hostages, and that it did not deal with armed groups there.

Several people close to the negotiations say Qatar also paid a hefty sum to Islamist groups in Syria, including one linked to al-Qaida, for the evacuation of the residents. They told The Associated Press that the talks were probably the regions most complex and sensitive hostage deal.

IRAN:

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain accuse Qatar of supporting Shiite militant groups in both countries.

Violence has increased in recent weeks between militants and Saudi security forces in a predominantly Shiite town in the countrys east. In Bahrain, the Sunni-led monarchy crushed an uprising by majority Shiites there in 2011 and continues to crack down on peaceful dissent. Bahraini security forces have since been targeted by local Shiite militants.

Saudi Arabia has also accused Qatar of backing Iranian-allied rebels in Yemen, known as Houthis. However, Qatar was a member of a Saudi-led coalition bombing the Houthis in Yemen.

Experts say there is no evidence to support the claims, but that the accusations appear to stem from negotiations for a transfer of power in Yemen in 2012. Qatar and Saudi Arabia were in disagreement over how to go about it, and Qatar was accused of trying to sabotage a Saudi-led initiative by working with Houthis.

Qatars ambassador in Washington Meshal bin Hamad Al Thani has said that while the country has ties with Iran and shares with it a vast underwater natural gas field its stance is similar to that of other Gulf Arab states.

(AP)
By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for the Five Towns Jewish Times

Every so often, individuals emerge in Jewish history who, by dint of their personality and intellect, are able to literally change the topography of Torah life.

One such person was Rav Yerucham Levovitz zatzal. Sunday night, the 18th of Sivan, marks the 81st yahrtzeit of Rav Yerucham HaLevi Levovitz ztl, the famed mashgiach of the original Mirrer Yeshiva in Poland.

Almost all of us were shaped by someone, who was shaped by someone that came under his influence. It is somewhat strange, however, that very little has been written in English about this remarkable Mussar giant.

Rav Yeruchem was a close Talmid of the Alter of Slabodka, Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel ztl as well as the Alter of Kelm, Rav Simcha Zissel. Indeed, one of the great Mussar giants of this past generation, Rav Shlomo Volbe ztl once stated that a single mussar shmuess of the Mashgiach had given him the strength and fortitude to withstand the fearful years of the second world war. Rav Volbe ztl had helped thousands of refugees in Sweden and was deeply involved in the rescue effort to save the bochurim of the Mirrer Yeshiva.

What follows is a brief overview of the Mashgiachs life and some of his thoughts, sayings and practices.

Rav Yerucham was born in Luban in White Russia (next to Slutzk). His date of birth was approximately in the year 1873. His father, Reb Avrohom was a cheder Rebbe. His first learning was in Fahust near Minsk in the yeshiva of Bobroisk.

Somehow during this time, the young Rav Yerucham was sent on a very important task involving Pidyon Shvuyim deep in the heart of Russia. The person who was imprisoned was a Talmid Chochom and Rav Yerucham extended every effort that he could in freeing him. Rav Yoseph Leib nendik, an early student of Rav Yerucham, once said that his Rebbe attained greatness on account of this remarkable act.

Later, Rav Yerucham travelled to study in the great Yeshiva of Slabodka. The Alter of Slabodka recognized his enormous potential as a pedagogue and became close to him.

Rav Yerucham also developed a close relationship with Rav Yitzchok Blaser, one of the greatest students of Rav Yisroel Salanter, the founder of the Mussar movement. Rav Yerucham adopted Rav Blasers method of Mussar study.

In 1897, at the urging of the Alter of Slabodka, he left Slabodka to study in Kelm under Rav Simcha Zissel Ziv. He spent the next eight months with the Alter of Kelm until he passed away. His connection with the Alter of Kelm changed his life. The Alter of Kelm was in failing health but he still continued to give to his Talmidim. He had a special group of Talmidim with which he shared his remarkable insights. They were called Devek Tov and Rav Yerucham was a part of that. Indeed, later in his own teaching Rav Yerucham would share special ethical insights with his own Talmidim in a manner in which the Talmid was to realize that this ethical insight was something special. On erev Tisha BAv, Wednesday July 26, 1898  the eve of Tisha BAv, shortly after Shma, Rav Simcha Zissel was Niftar. Rav Yeruchams sense of loss was profound.

After learning in Kelm, Rav Yerucham married his wife Rivkah, a relative of Rav Simcha Zissel, from Ozovnet.

At that point, Rav Yerucham was offered several positions as a Mashgiach Ruchni to help students develop. He felt, however, that deep lomdus was a prerequisite to effectively leading others in the path of Mussar. He then returned to Kelm and studied Shas and Shulchan Aruch in great iyun for the next eight years.

AT RADIN

Rav Yerucham then joined the Chofetz Chaims Kollel Kodshim in Radin. Soon, in 1903, he was appointed the Mashgiach of the yeshiva in Radin. His first Shmuess that he delivered to the bochurim in Radin was on the subject of Emunah. Rav Yechezkel Levenstein ztl was present at that shmuess. He later remarked that he never had hesech daas from that deeply inspiring Shmuess. At Radin, he and his good friend, Rav Naftoli Trop, molded and helped shape great Talmidim.

AT KELM

Rav Yerucham then became the Mashgiach at the yeshiva in Kelm. He would travel back to his home in Ozovnet for the Yomim Tovim. In 1908, a son was born to him. He named him Simcha Zissel after the Alter of Klem. In that year, he received a letter to come to Mir and be the Mashgiach with the new Rosh Yeshiva, the Alters son.

AT MIR

Rav Eliezer Yehudah Finkel, the Rosh Yeshiva of Mir, appointed him as the Mashgiach of the Mir Yeshiva. It was a position he was to retain for the rest of his life.

At first, the Mir yeshiva was not specifically a Mussar Yeshiva. Under Rav Eliyahu Boruch Kamai the yeshiva wavered as to whether to introduce Mussar into the Yeshiva system or not. But then in 1903, Rav Kammais daughter Malka married the Alter of Slabodkas son  Rav Eliezer Yehuda Finkel. He joined the yeshiva faculty in late 1906. Rav Zalman Dolinski of Radin was appointed as the Mirs first mashgiach followed by Rav Yerucham in 1908.

IN EXILE

In 1914, after the outbreak of the first World War, the yeshiva moved from Mir to Poltava, Ukraine and found itself wandering throughout the Ukraine. Rav Yerucham stayed with the yeshiva throughout its sojourn in the Ukraine and helped grow its Talmidim. Rav Lazer Yudel became its Rosh yeshiva in 1917 after his father in law had passed away.

One stop of the Yeshiva was in Stavitz  the town where a young Rav Avrohom Yishayahu Karelitz, the future Chazon Ish, had resided. Then he was in his thirties and Rav Yerucham and the Chazon Ish developed a relationship. The Chazon Ish (Kovetz Igros Vol. I #154) writes fondly about the Saba of the Mir Yeshiva  Rav Yerucham.

REESTABLISHING SLABODKA

After the war, Rav Yerucham travelled to Slabodka in order to re-establish that great citadel of Torah until the Alter of Slabodka was able to return from the Ukraine. He also served as the Mashgiach of Ponovitch afterward.

BACK AT MIR

Rav Yerucham returned to the city and the Yeshiva of Mir in 1923. That year  1923 marked the beginning of the Golden Age of Mir, where the greatest students of Torah began to gather. Bochurim came from all over  from Western Europe, from Chassidish families in Poland and Hungary, and from the United States. They grew and were shaped and molded into giants of Torah under the meticulous watch of Rav Yerucham.

Throughout his life, Rav Yerucham maintained a close relationship with the Chofetz Chaim. He would seek him out for deeper questions regarding the runnings of a Yeshiva.

In 1925, the Chofetz Chaim wished to immigrate to Eretz Yisroel. Rav Chaim Ozer realized that the Jews of Europe needed him in Europe. A delegation was sent to speak to the Chofetz Chaim to dissuade him. Rav Chaim Ozer asked Rav Yerucham to join that delegation. The others were Rav Boruch Ber Leibowitz, Rav Pesach Prusskin (Rav Moshe Feinsteins Rebbe), Rav Elchonon Wasserman and Rav Eliezer Yehudah Finkel.

One of his Talmidim, Rav Chaim Shmulevitz, married the Rav Lazer Yudels daughter in 1929. Six years later, he joined the hanhallah of the Yeshiva in 1935.

Soon the evil that was National Socialism rose. There were those in Poland that, although opposed to the Nazis wanted to show their anti-Semitic credentials. Among those was a woman named Janina Prystorova, wife of the Polish Senates president. On March 20, 1936, the lower house of the Polish Senate (the Sejm) passed an amendment restricting kosher shechita. A week later the Polish Senate adopted that bill.

This caused the Mashgiach great anguish. On the 18th of Sivan, Rav Yerucham passed away from complications of a stroke. The Yeshiva world had lost one of the greatest expositors of Mussar that they ever had.

RELATIONSHIP WITH TALMIDIM

Rav Yerucham had a wonderful relationship with all his talmidim. He thought of each Talmid as if he was his own child.

The Gemorah in Sanhedrin (19b) cites a statement from Rabbi Yochanan: Whoever teaches his friends son Torah it is as if he gave birth to him. The traditional understanding of this idea is that it refers to the reward that one gets for teaching another person Torah. The Slonimer Rebbe, however, gives a different understanding of the Gemorah. He says that the successful learning that the child experiences can only happen if the teacher displayed the love of a parent toward that student. Only then, can the child fully experience true learning.

Rav Yerucham once instructed a young man who was fearful of the Russian draft to register for that draft at a particular city. He contacted the doctor who was responsible for the medical exam and ensured that the Talmid receive an exemption.

He kept in touch with his Talmidim by letter. When Rav Shimon Schwab received his first shteler as a Rav and he subsequently became engaged  Rav Yerucham sent him a letter of Mazel Tov. [Letter courtesy of Rabbi Moshe Schwab of Boro Park]. He also travelled to be his Mesader Kiddushin.

SLABODKA

The origins of the Yeshiva in Slabodka date back to the Kovno Kollel started in 1877, upon the return of Rav Yisroel Salanter to Eastern Europe. Rav Yitzchok Elchonon Spector had become Rav of Kovno thirteen years earlier in 1864. He passed away in 1896.

The administrators of the Kovno Kollel were Rav Avrohom Shenker and Rav Yitzeleh Blazer. Rav Blazer was with the Kollel from 1880 to 1891. Rav Blazer brought in as an unofficial administrator Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel, not yet known as the Alter of Slabodka. Rav Nosson Tzvi argued that there could be four single bochurim for every married Kollel man. Slowly the Kollel members were replaced by Bochurim and by 1882, there existed a fully functioning Yeshiva.

A year later, in 1883, Rav Yisroel Salanter had passed away, deeply affecting both Rav Blaser and Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel. Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel had molded the developing Yeshiva, by further hiring Kollel members to teach the Bochurim. In 1889, Rav Yitzel Rabinowitz (Ponivitzer) was hired to serve as the Rosh Yeshiva, and he remained there for five years until 1894 when he took a Rabbanus. In his stead, in 1894, two Magiddei Shiur from Volozhin were hired. They were brothers-in-law, Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer and Rav Moshe Mordechai Epstein.

Slabodka technically means suburb in Slavic. It was originally called Vilyampoleh and was a suburb of Kovna connected by a famous wooden bridge over the Vilaya River. The rickety bridge cracked almost every year on account of the melting ice. The Alter used to say of this bridge, it was always meant to be a one-way bridge  from the turbulence of Kovno to the spirituality of Slabodka.

Rav Yerucham, like the other Yeshiva boys, relied upon the essen teg system where they ate their meals at the homes of various host families. Some lived in Slabodka itself, while others lived in Kovno.

The trip to Kovno was never difficult during the summer, however, during the winter it was often quite hazardous. The bridge would weigh down with ice and the top layer of the river would freeze as well. Boats that wished to cross would need ice cutting oars. To eat in Kovno during the winter meant staying there over Shabbos. The boys that did so would sleep on a bench in one of the local shuls.

The essen teg system on Shabbos was not particularly glorious. The bochurim would often wait in shul until the shamash would be able to procure a host family. Those that did not get chosen would go to the Water-Carriers Shul in Kovno where Challah and fish were distributed for free.

The Seder in Slabodka began with Shacharis at 7:00 AM. This was followed by breakfast in the Stanzia, the dormitory, and Seder began at 9:00 AM. At 1:00 PM the morning Seder was over and they davened Minchah.

The Alter saw greatness in him and helped shape and mold him into the eventual Mussar giant that he was.

Rav Yerucham was also a repository of the great teachings of Rav Yisroel Salanter, Rav Yitzchok Blaser, the Sabba of Kelm, and the Alter of Slabodka.

He would quote the Sabba of Kelm. Chanoch lanoar al pi darko gam ki yazkin lo yasur mimeno. Rav Simcha Zissel asked, And when he gets older will the chinuch he received as a child suffice? Rather, the meaning of the pasuk is in regard to self-mastery and self-education. If he does so in his youth then even as he ages he will grow in that manner.

SAYINGS

Talmidim of the Mir who became Rabbonim and had taken other positions of Torah instruction would often return to the Mir Yeshiva for Elul and or the Yomim Noraim. They would arrange for lodging and then come to the Yeshiva.

Rav Yerucham would give a moshol from real life incidents. He explained that when he had visited the spas at Marienbad Czechoslovakia, the new arrivals would come bathe in the mineral rich and curative waters of the spa and then they would arrange for their lodgings. By Torah it should be no different.

Rav Yerucham had a desire that the Yeshiva should be run in the time-tested manner of the Yeshivos of old tzu halten a yeshiva oif a fartzeitigen oifen..

PRACTICES

Reb Yerucham, a product of Kelm, kept meticulous records of how he spent his days. He kept a log of what time he arose each day, how long it took him to dress, how long it took him to bathe, eat, take care of daily activities, how much time he learned in the Beis Midrash and when he went to sleep. In this manner, he could better have his saichel control his actions.

Rav Tzvi Hirsch Broide, the Alter of Kelms son-in-law explained that Rav Yerucham was his Shvers greatest Talmid.

His Talmidim included such giants as Rav Yechezkel Levenstein, Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz, Rav Aryeh Leib Malin, Rav Dovid Povarsky, Rav Abba Berman, Rav Zelik Epstein, Rav Shlomo Wolbe, and Rav Shimon Schwab.

His son, Rav Simcha Zissel, published his shmuessim and thoughts in nine seforim entitled, Daas Chochma UMussar which are found in virtually every Yeshiva library in the world.

Rav Yerucham was niftar on the 18th of Sivan in the year 1936  at the age of sixty-three. He is buried in the town of Mir, Belarus.

In this weeks upcoming edition of the Five Towns Jewish Times an overview of his writings and thoughts will bEzras Hashem be presented.

The author can be reached at [email protected]
By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for the Five Towns Jewish Times

Rommel  the Desert Fox.

The name struck fear among the British army during World War II. Indeed, it struck such fear rgar supposedly a directive was issued throughout the British Army. The directive allegedly stated that no one was permitted to say Rommels name alone.

Although the story is apocryphal, it exists for good reason.

Soon, the Nazis seized Greece. Then Cyprus. Then Crete. Now, Rommel threatened Eretz Yisroel itself from North Africa. The Italians had even bombed Tel Aviv.

And now, at the end of 1942, the battle of El Aleiman is about to transpire. It appears that Rommel will win. He is undefeatable.

What can be done?

THE BAAL SHEM TOVS INTERPRETATION

A prayer of the Navi Chabakuk. BiZaam titzad Aretz, BeAf Tadush Goyim  With Zaam (indignation) You shall capture the land; with anger You shall thresh the nations. (Chabbakuk 3:12). The Baal Shem Tov interpreted Zaam as an acronym.

The Zayin stands for Zevicha  slaughtering.

The Ayin stands for Eiruvin.

The Mem stands for Mikvah.

In other words, Hashem will protect the land in the merit of our keenly observing these three Mitzvos  kosher slaughter, the laws of carrying on Shabbos, and the proper observance of Mikvah.

THE REBBES SPRING TO ACTION

In light of the Baal Shem Tovs interpretation, a group of Chassidic Rebbes springs into action. They assemble in Yerushalayim, and pledge to build Mikvaos. All over the land of Eretz Yisroel.

The apparent result?

Just west of Cairo, Rommels army was halted. The allies forced Rommels army into a disastrous retreat, and ultimately to destruction. Rommels army being stopped was viewed as a miracle.

THE LAWS OF MIKVAH BUILDING

Clearly, it pays to be very careful in the laws of Mikvah. It also pays to familiarize ourselves with the issues behind building Mikvaos, and some contemporary controversies.

We know, of course, that a Mikvah may not have water that is considered to have been drawn by human hands. We also know that a Mikvah should be as clean and attractive as possible. The trick is to be able to accomplish both of these requirements, and to do them well.

HOW MOST MIKVAOS WERE BUILT

Historically, the way most Mikvaos were built, was as follows: The pool of rainwater called the bor was built next to the actual immersing pool. A small hole was made connecting the two pools on the sidewall. This hole can be opened and closed, and the Mikvah may be cleaned when the hole is closed, temporarily invalidating the Mikvah. After the immersion pool is filled again, the hole may be opened and once again there is a kosher Mikvah. The halacha requires that the hole be equivalent in size to a Shfoferes HaNod, the opening of a container. In this manner of Mikvah construction the bor and the Mikvah are side by side.

THE LUBAVITCH METHOD

Rabbi Shalom Dov Ber Schneerson (1860-1920) zatzal, the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe (known as the Rashab), preferred a different method of Mikvah construction. In his notes on Mikvah construction cited at the end of Taharas HaMayim, he advocated three major changes:

1] He wanted the immersion pool to be on top of the rainwater pool.

2] He advocated that the hole size be much larger than a Shfoferes HaNod  he wanted it to be a full handbreadth by a handbreadth.

3] He advocated having two holes, and not just one.

PERHAPS TO ADDRESS THE RAAVAD

The reason for change number one is possibly because he felt that this position addressed the halachic view of the Raavad more adequately. The Raavad held that the pool of rainwater becomes invalid once it no longer contains a majority of its original rainwater. Perhaps the Rashab felt that the waters would not exchange if it was constructed in this manner . Although the Raavads position is a minority position, it is worthwhile to attempt to fulfill the Mitzvah of Mikvah according to as many opinions as possible (Tashbatz Vol I #17).

Alternatively, the Rashab might have advocated this type of Mikvah as a protective measure to ensure that no one even accidentally invalidate the Mikvah, by having a slab placed above the actual bor.

OTHER CHANGES

As far as the other two changes, there may be a number of benefits. The Shach (YD 201:112) rules that, ideally, the opinion of Rabbeinu Yerucham should be followed, and that the rainwater pool should be open to the immersion pool during the time of immersion. At times, the person in charge of the Mikvah may forget to open the hole during the immersions. Having two holes, and large ones at that, ensures that this opinion of Rabbeinu Yerucham be followed.

At other times, the water in the immersion pool may actually be too low and it may escape notice. Utilizing the Mikvah on top of the Bor method, there is no chance of this type of error.

THE SATMAR REBBE TOO

The Rashab was not the only one to build such a Mikvah. In a letter dated 1936, the Satmar Rebbe zatzal discusses an occasion when he built an immersion pool on top of the rainwater pool. He also advocated having a number of holes, and to make them larger than a Shfoferes haNod. The Satmar Rebbe had a fourth requirement. He wanted the concrete slab in between to be constructed from a number of pieces so that it would not be too heavy to lift. He advocated that each slab have its own hole.

RAV MEIR POSENS ANIMADVERSIONS

Having the immersion pool on top has met with some controversy, however. Rabbi Meir Posen of London in a monograph he sent to Dayan Weiss zatzal of Jerusalem (cited in Minchas Yitzchok Vol. V #95) quotes the Divrei Chaim (2:88) as ruling that a Mikvah on top of a bor is invalid and constitutes something called ktafres. The Mishna in Taharos (8:9) states: Ktafres aino chibbur lo letumah velo letaharah  a ktafres is not considered a connection neither to make impure nor to purify. A ktafres is liquid streaming down from an angle.

However, such luminaries as Rav Meir Arik zatzal (Imrei Yosher Vol. II #167 ), Rav Moshe Feinstein ztazal (Igros Moshe YD Vol. III #65), the Satmar Rebbe zatzal (Divrei Yoel Vol. I YD #80), and Dayan Weiss zatzal disagree with Rabbi Meir Posens contention and stated that the Divrei Chaim never invalidated it on these grounds if there was a direct hole above the rainwater pool. Indeed, Rav Meir Arik even questions the supposition that it would be invalid if it came down from an angled tube.

NO MIXING AND FLUID DYNAMICS

The notion that there is no mixing, however, does not have scientific validity. There are two methods in which fluids mix with each other. There is diffusion and convection. We will first discuss diffusion. Although often the immersion pool is heated, we will work with a supposition of both bodies of water being at a constant temperature. The equation is x= the square root of (d*t). In this equation x is the amount of centimeters, d represents the diffusion co-efficient of water at room temperature, and t represents time in seconds. In our case, d = .00001 square centimeters per second. One can perhaps posit that although the waters do mix through diffusion, since the timing is rather slow, and it is barely detectable, perhaps according to the Raavad, it is still halachically considered as if the waters did not mix.

The waters, however, can and do also mix through convection. They do so by five orders of magnitude above general diffusion. There are three types of convection that would cause the waters to intermingle: 1] heat gradient, 2] general swirling, and 3] gravity gradient.

Convection mixing happens 10,000 times as quickly as general diffusion. As the Satmar Rebbe points out, the general swirling that will most assuredly be brought about by immersing in the immersion pool above would cause a quick exchange almost instantly. Thus it is highly unlikely that there is anything gained in this method of attempting to fulfill the Raavads opinion, as it has not been fulfilled.

Clearly, the only advantage of the Rashabs suggestions lies in ensuring that the Mikvah does not get invalidated. Nowadays, however, these concerns are a bit remote. Our Mikvaos enjoy supervision by knowledgeable Rabbis, and the caretakers are G-d fearing individuals who are well trained.

RAV MOSHES SUGGESTION

Rav Moshe Feinstein, zatzal however, did have an alternative suggestion that could address the Raavads issue. As many people know, there are basically three ways in which Mikvah water can still be halachically considered as not having been drawn.

A] Hashaka- where the immersion pool, literally kisses or makes contact with the rain water through an open hole.

B] Zriyah, where a bor of rain water is filled with drawn water and it spills over into the immersion pool.

C] Hamshacha, where the drawn water is led across the ground and into the immersion pool that already has at least 20 seah of rainwater.

Rav Moshe Feinstein (YD Vol. I #111) suggested that, if the cost is not prohibitive, a Mikvah with two boros could be built  one utilizing the system of hashaka, and one utilizing the system of zriyah. Although the Chazon Ish did not agree that anything could be gained with the two Boros system, Rav Moshe disagreed. He felt that one could fulfill the Raavads requirement with this method.

HOW THE RAAVADS POSITION SAVED 75,000 HUNGARIAN JEWS

As an interesting footnote to this whole discussion, 75,000 Jews in World War II Hungary were saved because of this position of the Raavad.

Yes, its true.

In 1944, over 100,000 Jews were crammed into the ghetto of Budapest. At this time, all the Jewish charity institutions in Budapest were ordered to be shut down by the government. Only the Jewish council, which the Nazis deemed necessary was to remain. An askan, Maurice Lowinger (the same one who has many Torah institutions in the Five Towns/ Far Rockaway area named after him) who ran the soup kitchen  worked out an agreement that the soup kitchen would continue as part of the Jewish council.

Maurice Lowingers father-in-law, the original founder of the soup kitchen, had the foresight to order the biggest pots that could possibly be manufactured.

Aside from its material possessions -the soup kitchen needed four things: Water, raw food stuff, oil, and wood. The first three of these items were nearly impossible to get hold of. The soup kitchen had to cook 500 gallons of soup per day. To achieve this, 1,250 gallons of water were necessary. This was a huge obstacle as the Nazis had cut off all water to the Jewish ghettos.

How did Mr. Lowinger get the water?

Lets review again. Most opinions hold that once there is a Mikvah of kosher water, an unlimited amount of drawn water may be added to the Mikvah. The Raavad, as mentioned earlier, disagrees. In the Raavads opinion the majority of a Mikvahs water must always be from an undrawn source. Practically, the only way to have a Mikvah according to the Raavad is if the Mikvah is fed by an underground spring.

Although long forgotten, there was once a Mikvah in Budapest that was fed by an underground spring. It was on account of the fact that Jews were scrupulous in Mikva to build it according to the Raavad, that the Jews of Budapest were saved.

Somehow, Maurice Lowinger was able to get engineers to find and drill into the water source of this long forgotten Mikvah. Remarkably, the plan worked. Soon, Maurice Lowingers soup kitchen had water. And plenty of it. The Jews of Budapest, for the time, were saved, thanks to the Raavad.

The author can be reached at [email protected]
Hatzoloh Ukraine on Monday afternoon 18 Sivan Israel time released another update on the condition of the US accident victims who were taken to a Kiev Hospital.

Hatzoloh Ukraine head Rav Hillel Cohen reports that the seriously injured victim was evaluated earlier in the day. The seriously injured victim who was unconscious in a Kiev hospital with head injuries was flown in a medical transport flight to the United States in cooperation with an insurance company. This case should serve as a reminder to all regarding the importance of having insurance when traveling abroad. It is also suggested that people visiting this area use Jewish companies with responsible drivers familiar with local roads rather than renting a vehicle and driving oneself.

The victims name for tefilos is Yosef Chaim ben Atil bsoch kol cholei am yisrael.

Photo: MDA representative to Hatzoloh Ukraine consulting at the entrance to the Kiev hospital.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photo Credit: MDA spokesman unit)
A poll commissioned by MAKO and IDC Herzliya ahead of the Herzliya Conference, Jews believe less and less that peace is near.

Half of the Jewish respondents do not believe there is a chance for peace; 43% believe that the chances are low; and 3% believe it is high.

An analysis of the data shows that the most pessimistic among the Jews are the religious (71%), who say that there is no chance for peace, and the chareidim (69%) and the residents of Jerusalem, Yehuda and Shomron (62%).

The greatest optimism among Jews is left-wing voters: only 19% believe there is no chance for peace, and 11% believe the chances are high.

The majority of respondents under the age of 45 do not believe that there is a chance for peace, while the vast majority of respondents over the age of 60 (61%) actually believe in it.

Among Israeli Arabs, skepticism about the prospects for peace is particularly clear: Most (41%) said that there is no chance for peace, 21% said the chances are low, and 30% say they cannot answer the question (compared to only 4-6% And the Palestinians respectively). Pessimism is particularly pronounced among men, who do not believe in peace (54%).

The Palestinians show the highest optimism among the respondents, with 15% saying they believe the chances of peace are high and only 35% believe there is no chance at all.

According to the survey, the Jewish public believes that two states for two peoples is the best arrangement available: 55% of the respondents favor it (the (highest support among all respondents), compared with 21% who supported one state for two peoples between the Jordan and the Mediterranean (least support).

The poll shows that this is the preferred solution for right-wing voters (40%), as well as for centrist voters (67%) and leftists (89%). It should be noted, however, that Bennett apparently reflects the will of his voters  47% of the religious and 32% of the residents of Jerusalem, Yehuda and Shomron support the one-state solution, which is widely supported by the chareidim (40%).

The situation is reversed when Israels Arabs are examined, where the religious prefer the two-state solution (56%), while the secular tend to support one state (38%). In general, most Arab Israelis (48%) support two states, with 26% favoring one state.

The Palestinians are less conciliatory and divided almost equally between the two solutions: 40% support two states for two peoples, and 39% prefer a one-state solution for two peoples  under Palestinian control.

Support for the two-state solution is particularly pronounced in Gaza (44%), while most residents of the West Bank tend to a one-state solution.

The poll results reveal that the Jewish public does not hold high hopes in US President Trump: only 11% of the Jewish respondents believe that Trump will unilaterally stand in favor of Israel, and 55% claim that his involvement in the peace process will not help advance it.

It is a consensus that leftist partners (64%) and rightists (54%), secular (53%) and religious (65%). This view is also shared by the majority of the respondents among the Israeli Arabs (31%) and the Palestinians (30%). The Arab-Israelis and Palestinians also share the assumption that Trump will benefit only Israelis  25% and 28% think so, respectively.

A total of 1,298 respondents participated in the survey, according to the following breakdown: Israeli Jews  604 respondents representing a representative sample of the adult Jewish population in Israel. Israeli Arabs  150 respondents aged 18 and over who constitute a representative sample of the sector in terms of sex and age distribution. Palestinians  331 residents of the West Bank from the age of 18 and over, and 213 residents of Gaza also aged 18 and over. The survey was conducted on May 21-26, 2017. The maximum sampling error in this survey is 4.4%.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Amit Reichmann, 46, a resident of Nes Tziona, traveled with his wife on a trip to Nepal about a half year ago. He disappeared during the trip and the Chief Rabbinate of Israel has declared him dead, releasing the wife from being an agunah. Family members however told the media We are not losing hope.

They left for Nepal last October, and his wife returned home and he was to follow not too long after. He vanished as did all contact with family members and they began to worry.

All efforts to contact him were in vain and the last place he was seen was on the ridge of Mount Annapurna. The family raised funds to send a rescue team in the hope of locating him or his remains to bring back to Israel but these efforts failed. The Chief Rabbinate has now decided to declare him dead and his burial site not known.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
The Security Cabinet on Sunday, 17 Sivan, voted to cut electric power to Gaza by 35%. Israel in the past has deducted the money owed for Gaza electricity from PA (Palestinian Authority) tax funds before handing them over but PA Chairman Abu Mazen has announced he is no longer going to flip the entire bill for Hamas electricity.

Following the cabinet decision, Israel will continue providing Gaza with 65 million shekels worth of electricity monthly. This mean the already limited amount of electricity received by Gaza homes to a number hours daily, reportedly six.

The forum also discussed the isolation of Qatar and the realization the situation may result in an escalation in Gaza.

With the Arab nations boycotting Qatar, the aide to Gaza may stop or at least be diminished. IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-General Gadi Eizenkott and Chief of Intelligence Major-General Chezi Halevy were among those attending the Security Cabinet meeting warning against an increasing humanitarian crisis that will follow these events, leading to growing Israeli concerns. The PA and neighboring Arab nations however do not appear the least bit concerned over the situation in Gaza other than to use it politically against Israel. Many forget that while Israel controls border crossings to Gaza on one side, Egypt controls the other side, which remains closed and Egypt explains itself to no one.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
The Hamas regime in Gaza has rejected an International Red Cross request for information regarding the remains of IDF Lt. Hadar Goldin HYD and Sgt. Oren Shaul HYD as well as three civilians being held in Gaza.

According to Red Cross officials on Sunday, 17 Sivan, Hamas is unwilling to cooperate in any way.

Goldin and Shaul were killed in Gaza fighting during Operation Protective Edge during the summer of 2014 and their bodies taken by Hamas using the vast underground tunnel network.

Hamas is also holding Ethiopian Israeli Avera (Avraham) Mengistu and Bedouin Hisham al-Sayed, both mentally unstable, explaining why they entered Gaza voluntarily. They are in Gaza since 2014 and 2015 respectively.

Hamas released a statement, that no information pertaining to the soldiers and civilians held in Gaza would be released without a prisoner exchange deal that will result in the release of our people held by the Zionist entity.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
President Donald Trump is banking on his loyal base of supporters to help him through the tangle of the Russia turmoil.

Trump had his core backers in mind as he responded to former FBI Director James Comeys blockbuster Senate testimony and the steady creep of multiple congressional investigations and Special Counsel Robert Muellers probe.

Trumps Republican allies might have found Comey credible, but the president called the man he fired as FBI director a liar and a leaker. Trump said he was the victim of the fake news media. And he tried to charge ahead by resorting to what worked for him as a candidate  pushing policies dear to his base and using strong rhetoric to convey that message.

As you know, were under siege, you understand that. But we will come out bigger and better and stronger than ever. You watch, Trump said Thursday as Comey was telling senators that the president had pressured him to drop an investigation into an ex-White House aide.

His strategy is consistent with the way Trump has governed in his first four months in office. His White House has made little effort to broaden the bedrock of support for a president who lost the popular vote and receives scant backing from Democrats.

Trump has yet to hold a rally in a state he lost to Hillary Clinton in November. He visits many of the small Rust Belt cities and rural heartland communities that went for him.

While backing away from some campaign promises, Trump has made good on policies his loyalists track closely.

When Trump pulled the United States from the Paris climate accords despite pleas from American allies, he framed it as a victory for American industry and the blue-collar workers who backed him. He appointed a conservative to the Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch, and is steadily nominating similar candidates to fill judicial vacancies.

With help from the Republican-led Congress, he has rolled back Obama-era rules on the environment, gun rights, the internet and financial regulations.

Support for the president has broken down sharply along party lines.

Only 4 percent of Democrats back Trump while he has an 81 percent approval rating among Republicans, according to a Quinnipiac poll released this past week. His overall job approval number has fallen to the mid-30s, a new low, but the GOP number has remained steady in the past two months.

Even if Trumps core holds, the erosion of support from independents and wavering Democrats would jeopardize his ability to build support in swing states such as Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida, said Paul Maslin, a Democratic pollster based in Wisconsin.

He is backing into a corner more than anybody Ive ever seen. Hes doing it with politics, hes doing it with electorate considerations, hes doing it with the way he views the world, Maslin said. Hes standing increasingly on his own island and the question is whether hes going to have the means and the ability to come to shore because that island isnt big enough to win again.

The White House says the administration is simply keeping the promises that candidate Trump made.

Voters dont ask who can win, they ask who can lead, Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway said at an event sponsored by Axios this past week.

The message of Trumps recent overseas trip was directed at his supporters back home: He reinforced his America First slogan by traveling to NATOs headquarters to demand that allies increase defense spending and refused to explicitly support its mutual defense pact. (At a White House news conference Friday, Trump did say the U.S. was committed to that shared defense.)

If you asked most Americans where they are, they are in a position where we have our own problems, we dont need to be taking care of the worlds problems, said Greg Strimple, a Republican pollster based in Idaho, who said that Trumps play could resonate beyond his base. I think he is reaching out to the middle with a lot of these policies.

Trumps legislative agenda has slowed to a crawl on Capitol Hill, in large part due to divisions among his Republican allies on health care and taxes. The Republican-led bill to dismantle the Obama-era health law narrowly passed the House, and Senate Republicans have struggled to bridge their divide in crafting legislation.

Democrats have shown little inclination to work with Trump, and the White House has made almost no effort at outreach.

By contrast, Republican George W. Bush, the most recent president to win election while losing the popular vote, took steps during his first months in office to woo the opposition party. He worked closely with Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy, a leading Democrat, to pass the No Child Left Behind education law.

And Trump? He held a pair of meetings Tuesday at the White House to go over his legislative agenda.

Only Republicans were invited.

(AP)
The head of Hatzoloh Ukraine, Rav Hillel Cohen, contacted Magen David Adom situation room officials to discuss the condition of the Americans injured in a serious vehicular accident. Involved in the consultation was MDA Chief Eli Bin. the decision was made to send a team to the Ukraine towards doing everything possible to assist the injured and their families.

Hatzoloh Ukraine reported on Sunday, 17 Sivan that it received a call for a vehicular accident involving Jews about 30km from Kiev. One victim sustained serious injuries and two others moderate and light. They were transported to a Kiev Hospital.

Hatzoloh Ukraine officials sent volunteers to the hospital to monitor the situation of the victims, who apparently rented a vehicle to visit kivrei tzaddikim in Mezibuz and Berdichev, visitors from the United States.

Rav Cohen confirmed the victims are from the USA and the seriously injured victim was unconscious at the time of transport to the hospital. His name for tefilos is Yosef Chaim ben Atil bsoch kol cholei am yisrael. US Consular officials have been updated regarding the victims as well.

Magen David Adom recently began working with Hatzoloh Ukraine, during which a group of first responders were trained and certified in Uman.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Brain injury can affect every function of the body, including physical, emotional and cognitive function. Although physical issues are usually easily recognized, the average person doesnt appreciate the extent and nature of cognitive deficits that may occur following a brain injury, even a relatively mild one. In fact, most people do not have an understanding of how the different cognitive processes or domains in the brain work, and how injury may impact them, and view intelligence as one entity when in fact it is comprised of many different components and processes.

After a brain injury, a physician may recommend a neuropsychological evaluation, in order to identify both the exact nature of the problem and to inform the treatment plan. Testing may be appropriate even for a mild brain injury such as a concussion if the symptoms persist. However, the average person is not familiar with the neuropsych testing process, and even after testing is completed, many families still do not understand the utility of the testing and have no idea what to do with the results.

When it comes to children with cognitive deficits, the situation is even more complicated by educational demands or issues. A child may be tested at the recommendation of therapists at a rehab facility, or the administration or teaching staff of a school may recommend or require the evaluation. However, the staff is often unequipped to take the necessary steps to implement the educational plan as formulated in the report.

On June 12th at 8:00 p.m., you will have a unique opportunity to learn about this important issue by attending an educational event co-sponsored by BINA Stroke and Brain Injury and the Weill Cornell Brain and Spine Center, to take place at Sisu VSimchu at 4127 18th Avenue in Brooklyn; admission is free.

Entitled The Neurologically Impacted Child in the Educational System, the event is designed to educate teachers, parents and other professionals how to understand a neuropsych evaluation, when and why it may be necessary, and what you can do, particularly in the yeshiva school system, to maximize the benefit of the testing results.

Presenting at the seminar will be Dr. Kenneth Perrine and Dr. Samuel Mandelman of the Weill Cornell Brain and Spine Center, who are both highly regarded in their field. With their extensive experience in evaluating members of the frum community and as experts in culturally appropriate evaluations, they offer uniquely suitable services to both the chareidi Yeshivish and Chassidic/Yiddish speaking communities.

What impresses me most about this team at Cornell is that they really know how to use the neuropsych within yeshivos and Bais Yaakovs to the max, comments Elchanan Schwarz, LMHC, Director of Crisis Intervention at BINA. There is nothing more frustrating to me than seeing a family go for an eval and end up with a long list of recommendations that are of no practical use because the neuropsychologist doesnt understand our community or its educational system.

This event is of interest if you have a child or student with cognitive difficulties, have been referred for a neuropsych evaluation, or already have completed the testing and are unsure what to do with the results. Teachers and professionals who work with children and adolescents with neurological problems will also benefit tremendously. It is particularly important for the staff of Yeshivas, Bais Yaakovs and day schools to attend so that they will understand the information sent to them by a parent or professional and know how to use it effectively.

In the first presentation, Dr. Perrine will be discussing cognitive functioning and how it is impacted by illness and injury. With over thirty years of experience working in the field of traumatic brain injury as a neuropsychologist for top New York hospitals, Dr. Perrine is a leading authority and researcher on concussion, and an expert on epilepsy and complex neurological conditions.

Dr. Samuel (Shmuel) Mandelman holds a PhD in educational psychology from Columbia University in addition to his degree in neuropsychology and will be discussing the reasons to test, the testing process and how to use the results most effectively to benefit your child or student.

As a product of our Yeshiva system who is also Ivy League educated and trained, Dr. Mandelman embodies a rare combination that enables him to evaluate a childs abilities in Limudei Kodesh subjects and conduct evaluations in Yiddish. He enjoys close relationships with leading Roshei Yeshiva and menahalim and is able to draw from his background in educational psychology to understand complex cognitive profiles and devise implementable recommendations to schools.

Dont miss this important event if you have questions about the pediatric neuropsych testing process. For more information please call BINA at 718-645-6400.
Being diagnosed with cancer or any serious illness is devastating, and can quickly turn your life upside down.

But for most, coming to terms with the diagnosis and undergoing treatment has to be handled alongside tackling a whole host of practical issues - one of the most significant being your job.

For some this means juggling work with chemo or radiotherapy, while for many the struggle is getting back after recovery.

Whatever the situation, it's important to arm yourself with a good understanding of your rights to make sure you feel confident in your return to work and to ensure you are treated fairly during the process.

Return to work: Your employer should make 'reasonable adjustments' to help

Unfortunately, as if battling cancer isnt enough to cope with, an estimated 20,000 of those who are diagnosed with cancer each year in the UK will face discrimination in their workplace, according to Macmillan Cancer Support and YouGov research.

This could be anything from pressuring you to give up your job to passing you over for a promotion you deserve or rebuking you for not reaching targets without reasonable allowances.

But this isnt fair or legal.

There are also strict rules around dismissal and demotion that mean your employer must have reasons beyond the state of your health.

Currently 120,000 people of working age are diagnosed with cancer each year and by 2030 its estimated that there will be as many as 1.7 million people in this bracket coping with the disease.

Want to know more? At This is Money we want to arm you with the tools you need to manage your money as easily as possible so you can focus your attention on your health and family. This is the first in our 'cancer and your finances' series which will look at how to claim on health insurance, workplace and Government benefits if you're ill among other things. If you have a subject you'd like us to include in the series, email emma.gunn@thisismoney.co.uk

Anyone with cancer, undergoing treatment or who has previously been treated is protected by the Equality Act 2010, and by the Disability Discrimination Order 2006 (part of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995) in Northern Ireland.

Both laws mean that while you concentrate on getting yourself back to good health or learn to manage a longer term condition, certain allowances must be made.

They give you the same rights against discrimination as anyone with a disability which ultimately means employers cant treat you differently because of your illness.

Many people are also not aware that these rights don't stop with the end of your treatment, they in fact last for the rest of your life, and these rules are not just limited to cancer patients.

The Equality Act states that a disability is a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

You are automatically included in this bracket from the day you are diagnosed with an HIV infection, cancer or multiple sclerosis, but some more progressive conditions such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia and ME may also be covered.

You can find out more on the Citizen's advice website here.

Do I have to tell my boss about my cancer diagnosis?

Jane Amphlett, head of employment at law firm Howard Kennedy, explains: 'Generally, you do not have to tell your employer about any medical condition. But there are some exceptions, for example if there are likely to be health and safety implications or if it is a regulatory requirement.

'Employers are often an important source of support and telling your employer about a disability early on will trigger the requirement for your employer to make reasonable adjustments. You should consider what suggestions you can make about possible adjustments and you may need to co-operate in obtaining relevant medical advice.'

Having to talk about it your diagnosis can be difficult and deeply personal. So remember if you are uncomfortable with the idea of your colleagues knowing, your employer must keep it confidential.

Office work: You may want to shift your responsibilities to help manage your symptoms

Time off and sick pay

Each employer will have slightly different rules regarding time off and sick pay so you will need to check your contract as a top priority.

If your employer doesnt offer additional sick pay, you will receive Statutory Sick Pay for 28 weeks at a rate of 89.35 per week.

This kicks in if you have been off sick for more than four days and is paid to you by your employer (available for up to 28 weeks).

You will usually need to get a note from your doctor if you are off sick for more than a week.

How should my employer support me at work?

Some people may be unable to return to work after treatment while others prefer take a step back and go part-time or shift their focus.

But equally, cancer puts a huge strain on your finances and working can also help you retain a sense of normality. Everyone is different.

If you take the step to go back to work, you may need to make some changes to help cope with symptoms or side effects - both physical and mental.

Genevie Isaacson, an associate at Working with Cancer, which specialises in mentoring and educating employers and employees about working with cancer, stresses the importance of flexibility.

She says: 'The most important thing to consider is for anyone going back to work or continuing to work through treatment is managing expectations.

'One of the most difficult things for an employer to understand is that your treatment might have finished but the effects continue longer term, often up to two or three years after treatment.

'Both the employer and employee will need to be flexible. There is no vanilla policy an employer can roll out for all, they will need to consider each individual.'

Returning to work is a process, and it can often feel like you are taking two steps forward and one step back.

WHERE TO FIND HELP If your employer has an occupational health department they will help you come up with a phased return to work plan. You can get your GP or employer to refer you to the Fit For Work scheme which offers free assessments and tailored programmes to help you phase in coming back to work. They can also be reached over the phone without a referral. Don't forget to speak to your healthcare team. Working with Cancer is a not-for-profit company that helps mentor employees working through and after treatment and provides training for employers. Charities such as Macmillan, Cancer Research and disease-specific organisations such as Leukaemia Care and Breast Cancer Care are also a great place to look for help and advice. Macmillan also has a Macmillan at Work scheme which offers free tool kits and advice to employers about how to best support their staff suffering from cancer.

Speaking to your employer to explain the need for flexibility is key as your symptoms can change constantly.

Companies are however required to make reasonable changes to help you do your job or make the transition back to full-time work easier, and these should be reassessed as your condition changes.

There is no definition of what a reasonable adjustment is, but it will likely depend on the cost, the benefit to you, how practical it is to make and the potential effect on the business or its financial situation, according to Macmillan.

The steps that can be taken will of course depend on the type of job you have.

If you have an office job this might involve more breaks and adjustments to your duties to help with mental strain and tiredness.

If your job has more physical requirements it could mean providing extra tools to help you cope or building in more time to rest.

It is best to suggest options to your employer you think will help or highlight areas you are struggling with to help them consider a solution.

You could consider a phased return to work or a change to shorter hours or working from home.

One of the biggest hurdles for many coping with cancer and recovery is fatigue and hand-in-hand with this, the effects on concentration and memory, often known as Chemo brain. If this is a problem for you, you may also want to consider shifting your responsibilities, taking extra breaks or reducing your hours.

Chemo can also make you more vulnerable to infections, weakening your immune system. If this is something you struggle with you may want to find ways to help cut the risks of catching viruses and infections in the office.

Working from home, asking your employer to let you know if others in the office are sick and changing your working environment could be options worth asking about.

Practical changes to help with physical effects may also be possible, including making your work space more accessible, offering disabled facilities or special equipment to help you do the job.

Its worth noting that your local Jobcentre Plus Office may be able to help you apply for an Access to Work grant which can help fund changes to your work space or special equipment if you need it.

Commute: You may want to adapt your working hours to avoid peak-time travel

Will I still receive annual leave?

If you are off sick you will still accrue at least basic holiday, plus if you cant take it because of illness you are allowed to carry it over. If you are phasing back to work, this will be worked out on a pro-rata basis.

It's also worth knowing that if you are ill during your scheduled holiday you are also allowed to take the time as sick leave instead.

Is there a limit on the amount of time I can take off?

Going back to work can be daunting and choosing the right time is hard  but you should never feel rushed.

Liz Egan, Macmillans work and cancer progamme lead, explains that a lot of people go back too quickly and that while everybody is different it can be years before people feel the effects of treatment wear off.

She advises: 'An occupational health department or your own healthcare team will be able to help you decide when to go back to work and what adjustments are necessary, for example, how long a phased return you might need.'

It's important to keep in mind that you are entitled to sick leave, and legally taking it should never affect your job

Your employer should never lean on you to return more quickly or hand in your notice because of your treatment.

It's important to keep in mind that you are entitled to sick leave, and legally taking it should never affect your job or any evaluation of your performance.

If you can't make it back to work in the longer term, there are instances where your employer can dismiss you - but they must first have made efforts to help you return.

Egan explains: 'An employer may be able to terminate an employees contract when on long-term sick leave, if the employee is not capable of doing their job.

'However, employers need to follow fair procedures, which should include looking at the possibility of the employee returning to work within a reasonable time frame, and they should consider any reasonable adjustments that would assist the employee.

'The main areas an employer must look at before dismissal on grounds of capability are: reasonable adjustments, foreseeable return dates and alternative job roles.'

As a general rule you are protected from less favourable treatment, including dismissal, in most cases unless that is justified, according to Jane Amphlett, head of employment at Howard Kennedy.

'If you are sacked you may have a claim for discrimination and for unfair dismissal (usually only if you have two years' service),' she says. 'It is important to obtain advice promptly as there are time limits, generally three months, in which to bring claims.'

Egan adds: 'If someone has less than two years' employment service, then the dismissal would have to be connected to their cancer for a disability discrimination claim to be made. Again they would need specialist employment advice, and contact ACAS conciliation.'

A Waiting game: Hospital appointments are often last minute and frequently run late

What about hospital appointments?

More than a third or people (35 per cent) report negative experiences when managing work with a cancer diagnosis, feeling guilty for taking time off for medical appointments or a loss of confidence at work, according to Macmillan.

Unfortunately, the nature of a serious illness means a lot of time spent having tests, receiving treatment, managing after-effects and going for regular check-ups at the hospital or with your GP.

You have a right to attend these during working hours as if you need to - but it doesn't have to be paid.

Liz Egan says: Your employer could consider time off for appointments as reasonable adjustment, but there is no absolute legal right to paid time off unless it's in your contract.'

She advises speaking to your employer as far in advance as possible and addressing the subject of appointments when discussing possible adjustments.

What you will be offered is personal to individual employers but Egan says time attending appointments could be included in sickness absence, approved paid or unpaid leave, compassionate leave and part of a reduction in working hours.

In some cases your boss will exercise their own discretion, but if you are attending appointments more regularly you will need check your contract for the policy on leave and pay.

What happens if I apply for a new job?

Companies may ask you about your health or a disability in some circumstances  largely if it helps them decide whether you could perform the job or take part in the interview process or if adjustments need to be made.

Job interviews: Employers shouldn't ask about an illness unless they have a good reason

They can also ask if they want to increase the numbers of disabled people they employ or they need to make national security checks.

Amphlett explains: 'You are not required to make any disclosures other than to comply with a regulatory requirement or to respond to lawful health check questions, for example related to any benefits which the employer offers, such as health insurance.

'These health questions should not usually be asked before an offer is made, unless they are relevant to the job.

'When responding, take care not to make any dishonest or misleading statement.'

Remember your employer has however crossed the line if they then withdraw an offer without any other reason than your illness.

How to fight back if you are having problems at work

The first step is to talk to your line manager or boss or alternatively speak to human resources or even a union representative.

Approaching it this way typically has the best outcome, particularly if you want to maintain a good relationship with your employer.

If you are planning on making a complaint it can be useful to keep a record of what happened. Check your employee handbook or contract for details of your firm's grievance procedure.

Citizens Advice suggests you put complaints in writing as well, as this can help back up your claim should your employer penalise you for complaining.

The next stage in the process is contacting the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) to attempt an early conciliation.

If this doesn't work, you can proceed with an Employment Tribunal as a last resort.

Remember, while you can claim substantial damages you should always seek legal advice before you proceed.

Bear in mind that pursuing a claim can come with a hefty fees of up to 1,200 for discrimination claims or unfair dismissal.

If you need help, you can access free legal advice through a union rep (find a list here), Citizens Advice, the Equality Advisory Service plus it's worth checking your home insurance policy which sometimes covers legal costs.
Shares in rare stamps merchant Stanley Gibbons fell more than 12 per cent this morning as it put itself up for sale after confusion around a takeover bid announced over the weekend.

Stanley Gibbons said on Friday that private equity firm Disruptive Capital Finance, led by former Boris Johnson adviser Edi Truell, had made an unsolicited approach for the 161-year-old firm.

However, Disruptive said this morning it was not making an offer for the firm, despite having held discussions with it.

For sale: Stanley Gibbons said it was considering selling a part of whole of the group.

Shares in the group fell by 12 per cent, or 1.6p, to 11.5p, after having risen 18 per cent on Friday on news of the takeover approach.

Despite the confusion over Disruptive's bid, Stanley Gibbons said it had initiated a strategic review which could include 'the sale of some or all of the group'.

'Following a complete overhaul of the board and the executive leadership last year, the company has now been comprehensively restructured,' it said in a statement.

And added: 'During this time the new board has successfully reduced annualised operating costs by over 10million and announced disposals totalling 6.3million.'

'Against this backdrop, the board had resolved to conduct a full strategic review to investigate the options open to them which, for the avoidance of doubt, could include a sale of some or all of the group.'

Stanley Gibbons, which also sells coins, has been on a buying spree in the past couple of years, snapping up art and antiques dealer Mallett and coin specialist Noble Investments.

Trading, however, has not gone as well as planned, resulting in a string of profit warnings and a share placing of 13million in April last year to pay off its debts and help it grow.

The group has also been hit by a slowdown in China. Chinese investors were a lucrative market but a crackdown on bribery and stock market turmoil in the world's second largest economy have hurt demand.

Stanley Gibbons' share price has fallen more than 90 per cent over the past couple of years.
Billionaire hedge fund boss Sir Christopher Hohn has lost a spat with his ex-wife over whose charity will get 282 million.

Hohn, 50, split from Jamie Cooper, 52, in 2014, and was ordered to give her 337 million in a divorce settlement  around a third of his fortune.

But the pair continued to quarrel over which of their pet causes deserved a 282 million tranche of cash.

Billionaire hedge fund boss Sir Christopher Hohn (right) has lost a spat with his ex-wife Jamie Cooper (left) over whose charity will get 282 million

Now a High Court judge has ruled that Hohns charity, the Childrens Investment Fund Foundation, must pay the money to Big Win Philanthropy, which Cooper started after they split.

Hohn met Cooper when studying at top US university Harvard, and they married in 1985.

He was a gifted investor but also became keen on good causes after witnessing appalling poverty while on a business placement in the Philippines.

The pair, who have four children, became well-known for eschewing the luxurious lifestyles of their mega-rich contemporaries.
Motoring giant Ford is building an innovation centre for 'smart mobility' to take advantage of Britains world-class digital talent and academic institutions.

The hub, due to open later this year, will house about 40 specialists in the Here East campus on the Olympic Park in east London.

Ford said its new base will allow it to work with cutting-edge tech research centres. It already has a partnership with Loughborough University and is working on an energy-efficient power train and plug-in hybrid technology.

Looking to the future: Motoring giant Ford is building an innovation centre for 'smart mobility' cars to take advantage of Britains world-class digital talent and academic institutions

The Olympic Park also has a private road network which can be used for testing.

It comes after Ford warned last July that Britains decision to leave the EU would cost it 790 million over the next two years.

However, rather than moving away from the UK, Ford is shifting gears under new boss, Jim Hackett, who previously headed up the firms autonomous vehicles unit and replaced Mark Fields as chief executive last month.

Steven Armstrong, group vice-president, said: Basing our rapidly growing team in the heart of innovation in London is critical to accelerating our learning and development of new technologies.

The location at Here East will allow us greater collaboration and the out-of-the-box thinking needed to tackle the urban transport challenges of tomorrow.

'We will also be ideally placed to build on existing partner projects and have access to Londons world-class digital talent. Both will be key as we build towards our ambition of being a global leader in mobility solutions.

Fords announcement comes as Jaguar Land Rover revealed it has invested 20m in Uber rival Lyft in order to test ride-sharing and driverless cars

Fords announcement comes as Jaguar Land Rover revealed it has invested 20 million in Uber rival Lyft in order to test ride-sharing and driverless cars.

Under the deal, the firm will sell vehicles to Lyft to use in its existing network, as well as working on services that it might roll out in the future.

The company will also work with Lyft to develop driverless cars.

Like Uber, Lyft allows passengers to book rides via an app that links to payments on their phone.

The firm currently operates in 300 US cities, including New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Jaguar is the latest car maker to partner with a tech company as the industry seeks to offset a fall in vehicle ownership in large cities with a fall back avenue for potential sales.

Sebastian Peck, the head of Jaguars transport services business In Motion, said: This new venture will provide a real-world platform helping us develop our autonomous services.

General Motors was the first major car maker to invest in Lyft, donating 395m in 2015.
Britain's small businesses and army of self-employed workers, who have complained of being neglected by Theresa May's government, may find themselves back in the driving seat thanks to the unexpected election result.

Theresa May's party may be the biggest in Westminster, but her fledgling minority government with support of the DUP is far from secure.

And small firms and the self-employed may find themselves courted once again by MPs, eager to shore up support from wherever possible.

Theresa May rushed to form a coalition with the Democratic Unionist Party in the fallout of the election and will now need to court support from wherever she can

Britain's small businesses and self-employed workers had been backed heavily by the previous Tory leader David Cameron and his Chancellor George Osborne, however, under Theresa May and her Chancellor Philip Hammond they faced three tax raids in the Autumn Statement and Budget.

The first saw the popular flat rate VAT scheme, designed to ease the burden of the tax on small firms, have it buffer cut substantially.

The second, later reversed, was a National Insurance rise for the self-employed.

The third, was a slashing of the tax-free dividend allowance, which had only been brought in less than a year earlier.

Why parties may now court small business

After last week's election delivered a minority government for the Tories, political commentators raised the very real prospect of yet another general election in the not too distant future.

Business leaders meanwhile have seized on the political stalemate to argue that May must garner their support.

While it's far from certain that the UK will be going to the polls again in the next five years, even without a fresh vote politicians are likely to ramp up their support for Britain's small businesses and its army of self-employed, who have felt neglected by the Conservatives after Budget plans to raise their taxes bombed in March.

Whether or not an election is called, British businesses may find they are in the driving seat from here on in, with MPs potentially looking to divert from the direction of travel that saw controversial tax crackdowns on small firms and the self-employed.

Mike Cherry, national chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: 'For a successful Brexit, encouraging entrepreneurship is essential.

'We are making it clear to politicians of all parties that these strivers must not have obstacles thrown in their way, such as tax grabs and extra bureaucracy.'

Brexit will only be successful if the Government fully backs small businesses, the backbone of the economy, whose ambitions will need to be harnessed to make use of any new trade deals

Now that it looks as though a new minority Government is emerging, Cherry warned that May must 'bring certainty and stability to UK business and the economy'.

He added: 'Brexit is clearly the most urgent focus for the new Government, with talks due to begin in a matter of days. But Brexit will only be successful if the Government fully backs small businesses, the backbone of the economy, whose ambitions will need to be harnessed to make use of any new trade deals.'

In Cherry's view, small businesses rank easy access to the single market and the ability to hire workers with the skills they need at the top of their list of priorities.

'Brexit is not the only issue affecting businesses though and the Government cant ignore the domestic agenda,' he added. 'Many self-employed strivers were frightened during this election by the threat of a tax grab on them in the form of higher National Insurance Contributions.

'I call on the new minority Government to rule that out once and for all in the upcoming Budget, to reassure entrepreneurs seeking to help our economy grow that they will not have extra obstacles thrown in their way.'

Meanwhile Paul Goodman, chairman of the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers, said whatever Government survived the ashes of this election, and whomever is leading it, it is vital that the UK economy 'exudes strength'.

'Business owners need to be reassured that the economy remains a key focus and is not forgotten amid the political infighting that's surely set to come,' he added.

'Thankfully the UK economy is in a good place at present. It will certainly need to draw on all its reserves in the weeks and months ahead.'

Why small firms felt neglected

In March, the Tories did themselves no favours when Philip Hammond's maiden Budget speech, laden with jokes, hit a bum note with the nation's SMEs.

In particular, plans to up the national insurance paid by self employed earning more than 16,250 a year to raise 2billion a year bombed. Hammond was accused of going back on a promise not to raise NI delivered in the 2015 Tory manifesto.

The Conservatives subsequently performed a screeching u-turn following a backlash from the party's own backbenchers and business groups, but the ordeal left a sour taste in the mouths of budding entrepreneurs.

Their malaise was exacerbated by a planned cut to the dividend allowance that company directors and shareholders can receive tax-free - from 5,000 to 2,000 from April 2018.

The party subsequently decided to drop this policy too.

Despite both backtracks, millions of UK SMEs have been affected this year by the revaluation of business rates for the first time in seven years.

The changes, which came into effect in England and Wales on 1 April 2017, have hit SMEs in areas where property values have soared, with many unable to afford the rates hike.

The Government rolled out out a transitional rate cushion for eligible firms to ease the burden of a larger tax bill, but the revaluation of firms' premises means they are still likely to feel the pinch.

Cherry called for a rethink following the election, and said: 'Across the new House of Commons there is a consensus that the business rates system is unfair, outdated and in urgent need of reform.'

The This is Money podcast: General Election special In this special episode of This is Money podcast Simon Lambert, Rachel Rickard Straus and Georgie Frost discuss the general election and what it will mean for your money, how young voters changed the economic game plan and what the DUP can bring to the party. Listen to this week's full episode and subscribe to the podcast at iTunes, Acast and Audioboom

Jeremy Corbyn and his rival party leaders have all pledged to up the minimum wage

But could some policies be bad for small business?

It is no secret that political parties consider the small business vote vital in the battle for number 10, but some of the measures unveiled in the party manifestos made for rather uncomfortable reading for business bosses.

The three major parties found common ground in pledging to make sure that those working in the so called 'gig economy' - where short-term contracts or freelance work are prevalent as opposed to permanent jobs - get a fair deal should they be elected into power.

Business owners need to be reassured that the economy remains a key focus and is not forgotten amid the political infighting that's surely set to come Paul Goodman

This may offer protection for individual employees but it could pose challenges for employers that rely on having a flexible workforce.

The Conservatives, Labour and Lib Dems were also in accord in their stance on the minimum wage, with all three parties promising to increase the figure: the Tories to 60 per cent of the median earnings by 2020; Labour to raise the minimum wage to the level of the living wage, which is expected to be at least 10 per hour for workers aged 18 and over; and, the Lib Dems to establish an independent review to consult on how to set a genuine living wage across all sectors.

Such policies would have a pounds and pence impact on SMEs and could have a big affect on business owners who feel that they shoulder many burdens already.

'There is cross-party agreement on the need to tackle the poor treatment of many small firms by their big business customers. We look forward to working constructively with the new Government on all of these issues,' added Cherry.


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."
Mari Villaluna never wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. The 36-year-old spent a decade building up a resume as a career counselor and tutor in San Francisco schools after serving in the U.S. Army.

She made about $42,000 at an employment agency, and was regularly sought out by potential employers. After she gave birth to her first child last year, she drew a star on her calendar to mark the day she was supposed to return to work.

"I had a very established career," Villaluna said. Then, in September, her plan to get a state subsidy for child care fell through, and the single mom couldn't afford to spend thousands of dollars on private day care. The day she gave up her beloved 9-to-5 job, she cried for hours.

Villaluna's decision offers a clue to an economic mystery: Why are American women disappearing from the workforce?

The answer could have stark implications for future growth.

For half a century after World War II, women barreled into the job market in numbers that surged higher every year. They drove most of the rise in real household income for decades and boosted the economy's total output at a time when men were dropping out of the job market.

Then, all of a sudden, they stopped. Since 2000, the share of women working in their prime earning years has declined.

In 1948, just over a third of prime-age women had a job or sought one. By 1999, after five decades of unrelenting progress, 76.8 percent of those women were in the workforce.

Since then, the participation rate slipped to 74.3 percent, and the number of women not looking for work grew by more than 12,000.

Some see the abrupt reversal as an unsurprising result of more than two decades without any major legislation making it easier for new parents to take time off or pay for child care. Any number of articles and analyses have pondered the effects of a stubborn gender pay gap, inflexible schedules that keep women out of the executive suite and an undercurrent of discrimination that, at its worst, leaves women vulnerable to regular harassment.

But top economists now are pointing to another explanation. Women seem to be leaving the workforce for some of the same reasons that men are: Middle-class jobs are in short supply and working at the bottom pays less than it used to.

Single women without children drove most of the downturn in women's workforce participation from 1999 through 2007, according to a study by professor Robert Moffitt of Johns Hopkins University.

Those women don't have to care for a child and they aren't counting on a partner to provide for them. They are, Moffitt said, "the same as a lot of men . even though it sounds a little strange to make that analogy."

They're also staring down the same long odds as men who lost their footing in an economy in which low-skill jobs that pay well have all been shipped abroad or obliterated by technology.

"Usually people have men in mind when they are talking about the decline in manufacturing and automation, but that happens at the secretarial level too, as computers replace lower-level staff," Moffitt said.

The collapse of blue-collar jobs for American men is well-known, thanks in part to the movement that powered President Trump's election. A peak of 97.4 percent prime-age men were in the labor force in 1953. That share declined for decades, plunged during the financial crisis and hit 88.5 percent last year.

But women-dominated fields for low-skill workers also are in a rut. Wages barely budged for women with a high school degree or less over the last decade, while college-educated women continued to get decent raises.

In home health care services, social assistance and laundry services - three industries that are heavily reliant on women - hourly pay for rank-and-file workers has increased by less than $2, in today's dollars, since 1990.

Villaluna's paycheck fell short of her aspirations. After giving birth, she put her monthly take-home, around $3,000, on one side of a sheet of paper, and on the other wrote down all of her expenses, plus the roughly $2,500 she expected to pay for child care. She'd wind up behind by $15 a month.

Over the last few years, things had gotten better for Villaluna, but never by much. She made $18 an hour, then $20, and then plateaued. "I was definitely inching. It was always just a little more," she said.

She went into day-care centers with her newborn daughter and begged the people working there to help her get state funding for child care.

"I went in person, to people's faces, like 'please pick us,'" she said. "I really, really wanted to go back to work."

Across the country, parents' hourly spending on child care has shot up since the mid-1990s, prompting many families to ditch professionals and watch their kids themselves, according to a recent analysis by a Princeton researcher.

Day care in San Francisco costs up to $2,400 a month on average, according to the California Child Development Administrators Association. That means for someone working full time in a job that pays the city's $13-an-hour minimum wage, a year of child care can cost about $1,700 more than a year's salary, before taxes.

The rise in child-care costs drove down women's employment 5 percent from 1990 to 2010, according to the Princeton research. That may be a sign that the social and legal changes that were pushing women to work aren't as powerful as they used to be.

Among developed countries, the U.S. went from having the sixth-highest share of women at work in 1999 to the 23rd highest in 2015, according to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

"We got the low-hanging fruit. Now women are participating at much higher levels, so the progress has slowed down," said Sandra Black, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin who was on President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers from 2015 through 2017.

Discrimination and flattening wages have always weighed on women, Black said. "Now the progress that we had seen before in improving women's participation is no longer sufficient to offset these negative forces."

Lorie James ended her 39-year career because she was too tired to keep fighting for recognition.

When James started working for Los Angeles County in 1990, she operated a calculating machine the size of a cash register, tallying up business taxes for the county assessor's office downtown.

It was 10 years before she was offered a position in human resources, and suddenly she lunged forward on a fast track. She got a bachelor's degree in labor studies and received four promotions in quick succession.

James, 58, had started her career planning early. When she was 15, she bought copies of the Sunday newspaper to read the classifieds section. She made careful mental notes on the skills companies were looking for and what they were willing to pay people who fit the bill.

"I think it's part of my purpose," she said.

But her career hit a series of roadblocks that have picked off countless women on their way up the ladder: a manager who championed her quit and left her rudderless; she was passed over for promotions and was, she felt, unfairly penalized in performance evaluations.

A black woman, James detected a whiff of prejudice. She complained once to her boss but dropped the matter before anyone carried out a formal investigation. "I didn't want to get blackballed," James said.

So last year, James took her pension and started looking for a new gig. She's submitted 50 applications in 12 months and hasn't landed anything yet.

"I am not ready to give up working," she said.

In a speech at Brown University last month, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen talked about her family's place in the march of women into the workplace and the hurdles they ran up against.

Yellen's husband's aunt, Betty Stafford, was a mathematician who wrote several seminal papers with her husband but didn't get promoted to full professor alongside him. She continued to produce "enviable" research, Yellen said, but only reached the status of assistant professor.

"I believe that Betty Stafford Hirschfelder was denied opportunities and greater success simply because she was a woman," the Fed chief said. That pattern, left undisturbed, could exact a steep price.

"If these obstacles persist, we will squander the potential of many of our citizens and incur a substantial loss to the productive capacity of our economy," Yellen warned.
MBABANE  Theres so much talent in the country that even South Africans are taking notice.



Swazi model Nolwazi Snowee Simelane has been chosen to be the face of Mr and Miss Goodwill South Africa.

Mr and Miss Goodwill is a pageant initiated to encourage and motivate young people to be united and work together towards the well being of South Africa.

Snowee was approached by the goodwill team at the Tshwane Fashion Festival in Pretoria and she was asked to be an ambassador for the initiative.



Snowee said that she would be working with Mr and Miss Goodwill throughout the pageant and travel to South Africa to be part of the panellists in the first leg of the auditions which will be held in the West Rand.

The auditions were held this past weekend and the Swazi model was amoung those chosen for the initiative. Snowee has been featuring in many South African fashion shows and recently walked the SOWETO Fashion Week runway. The beauty is currently signed with local agency Top Models.



She has been so impressive in her work that South African modelling agencies and social initiatives are showing interest in her.






WHEN I read about Prime Minister Sibusiso Barnabas Dlaminis first official act after his near-death experience on an operating table in a Taiwan hospital was the appointment of a 15-member Inter-Ministerial Task Team on Health Service Delivery, I was reminded of the saying  dont ask me who its author is because I have no clue whatsoever - that had God appointed committees to perform the mammoth tasks of creation He had accomplished single-handedly within six days we would not be here and neither would be the world as we know it.

No, it is not that the establishment of the task team is a bad idea given how this country is governed. I had thought that for the problem to be resolved needed government reengineering to ensure that people, not the leadership, are central to its existence and operations. The SWOT analysis of the public health sector as defined by the PM is, after all, not likely to come out with anything new that we do not know already.



Looking at the terms of reference of the task team, I find them parochial because the challenges faced by the public health sector are multi-faceted; drug shortages, inadequate personnel, weak institutional framework, inherent weaknesses in recruitment of medical personnel, poor administration and management of health and medical institutions extending to the management of patients. As I see it, part of the problem compromising public health delivery service is the delayed payment of suppliers ostensibly because governments priorities are focused away from the people. In the event the health sector, like education and agriculture, is periodically under budgeted, thus constituting a major and primary threat to the developmental endeavours of the kingdom.



Secondly, it is also pedestrian that all government institutions are weak on issues of control and accountability and the same applies to public health facilities. I can attest to the fact that private clinics operated by medical personnel in governments employ are more equipped than public health facilities that are all pilfered from the very government owing to weak or non-existent controls in public health facilities. Hence these professionals under the employ of government routinely refer patients to their private clinics ostensibly because they are better equipped and adequately stocked.



Then there is the general management and administration of public health facilities that is crying out for professionals. The trend in government being that upward mobility for medical professionals is translated by their elevation to management and administrative positions for which they have no training and experience whatsoever. The obvious outcomes of such deployments, if not informed by qualifications in the management of public health systems, are the inevitable collapse of and dysfunctional public health institutions.



While the establishment of the task team may be a public relations coup for the PM, it is not understandable why he limited its scope, a fact to which he was reported to have alluded to during its launch. In the face of governments traditional apathy to service delivery, the PM should have put in place a multi-sectoral super task team made up of all the social partners with a broad mandate to interrogate all government institutions apropos delivery. As with the forgotten National Development Strategy (NDS), the outcomes could possibly inform the political and socio-economic trajectory of the kingdom in the foreseeable future.



As I see it, while the leadership is given to boasting of a peaceful nation at every available opportunity, the fact is this country is still viewed as politically unstable and unpredictable from the perspective of the international community hence the glut in foreign direct investment. This perspective of the international community is given credence by the fact that instead of investing massively in education, health and agriculture, government is pouring vast amounts of resources on the military yet the country is not facing any external threats. That on itself contradicts the narrative of this being a peaceful nation.



For what it is worth, the PM must be applauded for at least displaying the sort of sensitivities, even if for PR purposes, that we all probably expect of our leaders. But the real challenge would be implementing the findings of the task team since, historically, reports of the exercise of this nature, especially when they are adverse to the conduct of government, are often left to gather dust in some government cabinets. That is why we are still stuck with a dysfunctional political system when the nation had, in one of the numerous vusela exercises, expressed a desire to test multiparty democracy at some stage.

Additionally, it is common currency that projects that directly benefit the people are often stopped and resources redirected to projects with no economic value save to project a superficial picture of a country primed to launch into the realm of First World nations. Given the many challenges facing the country coupled to bad governance, the time to test multiparty democracy is long overdue.
Sir,



Allow me to voice out my concerns regarding the psychological opinion proffered by Ndo Mdlalose, a Clinical Psychologist, in reference to an article published in your publication dated June 6, 2017 titled: Sex starved young bride kills herself.



As a professional in the field of psychology and holding similar qualifications to those of Mdlalose, I was rather perturbed by the statements she made with regard to the young woman who committed suicide.

Firstly, Mdlalose audaciously states that women are insecure. I personally find this comment to be a huge generalisation and it was irresponsible for her to let slip such a statement in a national media forum. Needless to say, we live in a patriarchal society where women are perceived as the weaker sex and Mdlaloses statement alluded to that discourse and further demanded the dignity of women. It is honestly beyond disappointing.



Mdlalose further states that women go through so many stages like ovulation where they get excited and want to be made to feel like they are women and that when you are in your 20s like the deceased, sex becomes exciting.

Reading this I just wondered if this is a psychological opinion and whether women are made to feel like women through sexual intercourse.



Again, such statements are not only very shallow but irresponsible as well. Mdlalose, this statement does come across as implying that women get validation from sex (which is NOT true) and there could be dire repercussions as a result of such statements! Women are going to be raped in the name of validating/making them feel like women because a clinical psychologist said so.



Mdlalose, we sincerely appreciate the work that you have contributed to the growing field of psychology in Swaziland, however, we cannot overlook and tolerate the level of irresponsibility that is presented in your comments. Recognition does come with responsibility and complacency shall not be tolerated where such pertinent issues are concerned.



I personally request that you present the nation with psychological formulations that are objective, insightful and empirically based.

Please do not feel pressured to give opinions/responses immediately. It is okay to give yourself time to consult other professionals or academic literature on certain issues. It is not a sign of weakness but that of maturity and according the profession the dignity it ought to have.



Concerned clinical psychologist
stanley@times.co.sz



MBABANE  Has suicide become the new murder in Swaziland?



This concern has been raised following the increasing number of suicide cases in the country, some of which border around murder.

People said to have killed themselves are often found with bruises, giving the impression that they have been killed prior to either being hanged or a deadly pill being shoved down their throats.



Bheki Mamba, President of the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU) said suicide had become the best disguise for murder in the country. Mamba noted that masses were getting away with murder following that once they had killed an individual they either hang the deceased or force deadly pesticides down their throats.



The unionist noted that what they experienced during the scope of their work left them with a variety of questions on whether that was a suicide or murder. Mamba said what usually unravelled the riddle was a post-mortem.

However, he said not all suicide deaths ended up going through it. When a person has committed suicide, for example, by hanging himself/herself, there are body parts that show that the individual first suffocated before eventually dying, Mamba said.



With that, he further pointed out that when a body reflected a fractured body part there were chances the death was not caused by suicide but it could be murder.

In recent months, a high number of suicide cases have been reported; however, the families of the deceased disputed the allegations of suicide, suspecting that it was murder.



Just last week, a woman was found with a fractured skull and swollen face, which in turn convinced her family that she did not commit suicide but was killed. The family of Seliwe Dlamini (30) was unconvinced after the police labelled their daughters death as suicide.

Her family was adamant that she could not have taken her own life by hanging herself inside her lovers house.



This, they said, was reflected by the multiple injuries they saw on her face after being contacted by their daughters boyfriend using her cellphone. He had contacted them to inform them about the incident.

Seliwe was found dead with a fractured skull, a swollen face and bruises. Also, her face was allegedly disfigured through what was suspected were fists and also a sharp object used.
A section of members of the St Engenas Zion Christian Church rendering a song.

LOBAMBA  Many would expect him to dwell on Bible verses as a leader of the St Engenas ZCC Church, but Bishop Engenas Lekganyane touched on health issues and politics.



Addressing the thousands of congregants gathered at Somhlolo National Stadium, Bishop Lekganyane said HIV/ AIDS was not a problem but it only became a problem when people allowed it to spread.

He encouraged the nation to consider and make use of health facilities and health practitioners to make sure that those who were not infected do not get the disease.



The bishop said this at the time when His Majesty King Mswati III has called upon the nation to join hands in the fight against the pandemic, to realise zero infection by 2022.

On another note, Lekganyane urged the nation not to listen to those who did not understand the monarch.



He said according to his understanding, the monarch was connected to heaven, stating that those who obeyed would receive their blessings.

He urged people to obey the monarch at all times. God is never tired of looking after His children, he said.



He said as per the mandate of the founder of the church, he pledged to continue praying for peace and prosperity of the country.

He said this was because he was committed to walking in the footsteps of the founder of the church. We should pray for the whole of SADC and the entire world, he said.

He asked where else could a solution be found except from God since He is the source of everything.



The bishop encouraged people to love one another, stating that those who do not love others did not know God.

He strongly warned members of the church against looking down upon other churches.
MAPUTO  Not in a million years will I ever appear before Parliament. This was boldly stated by businessman Bheki Mabuza, who told the members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in their faces that they should not at anytime, soon or ever, expect him to appear before them.



Mabuza is the Director of FBO Training and Projects (Pty) and Multi-Build Sociedade, which was contracted by the Swazi embassies in Mozambique and South Africa to renovate some of its residential houses and offices to the tune of about E6 million.

The PAC had been looking for Bheki, who is a brother to Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade Jabulani Mabuza and former Hosea MP and businessman Bacede Mabuza, to answer to alleged irregularities in the manner in which the tenders were awarded to his companies amounting to about E6 million.



As a result, the PAC had even threatened to use Interpol or other avenues to ensure that he appeared before the Parliament sitting, but Bheki, who met with the PAC at the Maputo embassy on Friday morning along with his attorney Sicelo Mngomezulu, made it clear that they had no intention of coming to Swaziland especially in Parliament.



As a result, the PAC decided to conduct an inspection in loco. Bheki told the PAC that he would only appear before the PAC if he was pushed beyond circumstances of the law. What was perceived as Bhekis arrogance really irked the PAC particularly the Chairperson MP Thuli Dladla who at first refused to grant the businessmans attorney permission to speak.

It was after a brief caucus of the PAC that Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Joel Nhleko was able to coax MP Dladla and the other members of the committee to allow the lawyer to speak.



Bheki said he was not sure what the PAC wanted to hear from him because his company was registered in Mozambique and was not a Swazi company. Just because I am a Swazi from Nhlangano does not make the company Swazi as it is fully registered in this country, he said.



The businessman said he was surprised to hear the auditor on the spot state that there were three companies which had tendered for the renovation works; two of which were Mozambican and one Swazi company. Which is the Swazi company that you are talking about because the company is registered in Mozambique under their laws? asked Bheki.
MBABANE  Are you thinking of suing someone who is having sex with you wife of husband?



If yes, read this as the court has ruled otherwise.

The High Court has found that a claim for damages arising out of an adulterous relationship was no longer available in Swaziland.

This means that one can no longer approach the court and sue a person suspected to be in an adulterous relationship with his or her spouse. This ground can only be used in divorce proceedings.

Infact, it is one of the grounds for divorce in the country.



The court made this ruling in a matter where a woman was suing another for allegedly being in an adulterous relationship with her husband, who is a prominent businessman.

Her husband allegedly left her to stay with the paramour.



This judgment, which was issued by Judge Titus Mlangeni, will remain a precedent unless reviewed or set aside.

Judge Mlangeni, said between then and now, much had changed in terms of attitudes and behaviour.



He pointed out that marriage has lost a certain amount of inviolability, and the advent of constitutions which pronounce on freedoms of association, had occasioned a shift away from the notion of apportioning fault.

It is now accepted that primary responsibility to sustain marriage rests with spouses, and that if they abandoned this responsibility, not much can be achieved through punishing third parties in the form of civil suits, said Judge Mlangeni.



Mlangeni further pointed out that marriage was regarded as a voluntary act of consenting adults and if one of them changes his or her mind due to substantial reasons, it was no longer regarded as a social tragedy.

The court also observed that in most countries in the world, adultery had always been a ground for divorce, which was available to the innocent party and in Common Law jurisdictions, and forfeiture of benefits might provide the punitive element against the wayward spouse.
CHICAGO  France is honoring a suburban Chicago veteran who single-handedly captured 21 German soldiers during World War II.

The Chicago Tribune reports that 92-year-old J. Herman Sitrick will receive the Legion d'Honneur from the French consul general in Chicago on Monday.

The Morton Grove man captured the Germans in 1945 in a Belgium farmhouse as the soldiers sought shelter from a snowstorm. Among the other places he fought was France.

Ron Sitrick says his father is humble about his war-time service. He calls the recognition of his heroics "astounding and touching."

The Legion d'Honneur is France's highest honor for military and civil service. Napoleon Bonaparte established it in 1802.

Sitrick still works at Sitrick Advertising in Skokie.

More than 50 relatives, friends and co-workers are expected to attend today's ceremony.
Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams

By Angelica Acevedo

For the first time in Long Island City, the INSITU Site-Specific Dance Festival will take over four waterfront parks on July 8-9 with performances by a diverse lineup of 24 New York City-based professional dance companies.

The outdoor festival is free and open to the public, offering audiences a unique way to experience dance shows as performers, who range from soloists to groups of up to 35 dancers  will use their surroundings to create dynamic and immersive displays. Residents of the area who participated in a three-month community dance workshop, co-hosted by Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood Settlement at Queensbridge Housing Community, will also perform.

The performances will take place in Hunters Point South Park, Gantry Plaza State Park, Socrates Sculpture Park and Queensbridge Park. For each park there will be three performance rounds, the first ones kicking off at noon and ending at 7 p.m.

Svea Schneider, the director of the KINEMATIK Dance Theater, organized the event with the help of NYC Parks, NYS Parks and Socrates Sculpture Park.

As the organizer of INSITU, we are extremely excited to bring this festival to life and activate the LIC waterfront through dance, Schneider said. Its a vision coming true and I am full of gratitude for all the support we have received in making INSITU happen.

The KINEMATIK Dance Theater is an urban-contemporary dance company that creates and produces national and international large scale site-specific performances and facilitates dance education, among many other endeavours.

Some of the dance companies that will be showcasing their work alongside the KINEMATIK Dance Theatre include: BS Movement, Carte Blanche Performance, Christopher Unpezverde Verde, Lucy Kerr, Project 44, Parcon NYC and Hivewild.

One of the dance groups, Hivewild, a contemporary movement initiative, said it is looking forward to the event with bright eyes.

At a time where differences and boundaries are highlighted, we believe public art is completed by the people, allowing visitors to feel a sense of unity and ownership in relation to the work, said Katherine Maxwell, artistic director of Hivewild. INSITUs mission pairs well with our own as we care deeply about bringing people together, sharing intimate moments as strangers, artists and humans.

INSITU is supported by the Queens Council on the Arts with funds from the city Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the Decentralization Program.

Other community partners include Hunters Point Parks Conservancy, Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood Settlement, Friends of Queensbridge Park and LaGuardia Performing Arts, among others.
Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams

By Gina Martinez

Queensborough Community College held its 56th Commencement ceremony Friday in Bayside, sending some 2,600 graduates out into the world with messages of resilience and confidence.

The graduation ceremony was presided over by College President Diane Call and featured a speech from state Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky (D- Flushing) and Farbod Hadizadeh Moghadam, the student government president.

Graduates gathered on the campus lawn to receive their associate degrees in Arts, Science and Applied Science. Call said graduation was a stepping stone and that many students will move on to four-year colleges, including CUNY schools York, John Jay and Queens College.

Hadizadeh Moghadam, president of the Queensborough Student Government, encouraged the graduates to not fear failure.

Graduation is an accomplishment that not everyone achieves, he said. Graduation demonstrates competence, you have been judged by the faculty and they have acknowledged that you are competent enough to receive a degree today. Yet you will meet many competent and talented people who will never reach their goals. Yet what can distinguish success is your ability to pursue goals without the fear of failure. Robert F. Kennedy once said, Only those who dare to fail greatly ever achieve greatly. My message to all the graduates here today is: Do not be afraid to fail. 

Stavisky congratulated the graduates for their achievements.

Abraham Lincoln once said, If I have eight hours to chop down a tree, Id spend six hours sharpening my axe and thats what youve been doing for two years, she said. Youve been sharpening your skills, youve been learning and now youre ready to chop down that tree. Many of you came to Queensborough from all over the world, you came to the United States, the land of opportunity, and you are not alone. We are a nation, we are a borough of immigrants who share a vision and a commitment, and when you leave here today, you can proudly say I am a proud graduate of Queensborough Community College who took advantage of the opportunity given to me.

Fatima Faisal received The Martin Luther King Jr. Award for demonstrating exceptional leadership in promoting racial harmony and appreciation of cultural diversity. Haris Khan and Farbod Hadizadeh Moghadam were given the John F. Kennedy Memorial Award for demonstrating outstanding college and community leadership.
Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams

By Bill Parry

The NYPD is looking for a man who allegedly broke into two businesses in Forest Hills in the past month, taking cash, laptop computers and even potted plants.

The first incident occurred May 19 around 11 p.m. when the suspect entered H&L Counseling Services, located at 115-10 Queens Blvd., and took $2,000 cash and two laptops valued at $800 before he fled on foot, police said.

The second incident occurred June 1 around 8 a.m., when the suspect broke into the Greisner Dental office at 69-60 108th St. through an unlocked first floor window and took potted plants before he fled on foot, according to the NYPD.

The suspect was caught on surveillance video at the dentists office, the police said. He is described as a 25-year-old Hispanic man with a medium build and dark hair. He was last seen wearing slacks, dress shoes and a button-down shirt with a tie.

Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPDs Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.
Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams

By Naeisha Rose

A 30-year-old man was shot in the chest in St. Albans Friday and pronounced dead after he was rushed to Jamaica Hospital, police from the 113th Precinct said. A 28-year-old was wounded but survived.

Police responded to a 911 call at 11:20 p.m. Friday near 110th and 175th Street where they discovered the first man and were later notified about a second victim. EMS rushed the first man to Jamaica Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the 113th Precinct.

He was identified by police as Delon Hines from 177th Street in Jamaica.

The 28-year-old victim had gunshot wounds to the abdomen and shoulder, according to police. He was brought to the same hospital by EMS and was listed in stable condition, they said.

No arrests have been made and the investigation was ongoing.
Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams

By Naeisha Rose

Two suspects were arrested in the May 27 murder of Noel Samuels, who was shot in the head in South Jamaica, police said.

Samuels, who lived in Hollis, was shot near 120th Avenue and 140th Street around 11 p.m., according to the 113th Precinct. EMS was dispatched and took Samuels to Jamaica Hospital, where he was pronounced dead the same day, police said.

The suspects, both from the South Jamaica area, were arrested June 3 and identified by police as Michael Myers, 52 and Brady Hollenquest, 53.

The suspects were charged with murder in the second degree, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon, according to the criminal complaint from Queens District Attorney Richard Browns office.

Hollenquest, was also charged with two more counts of criminal possession of a weapon, possession of a controlled substance and tampering with physical evidence as well as unlawful possession of marijuana, the DA said.

Detective James Zozzarro of the 113th Precinct said in the criminal complaint there is video surveillance footage of Hollenquest shooting Samuels in the head with a loaded firearm, thereby causing his death. The complaint also said Hollenquest admitted to tampering with evidence, murder, having a revolver and the possession of drugs that were found in his place at 117-44 at 140th St. by Detective Jessica Romance. The police had a search warrant issued by a judge in the Queens Criminal Court.

Romance found a .38 caliber cartridge in Hollenquests living room floor and later discovered 41 glassine envelopes of heroin and 18 glassine envelopes of marijuana in the upstairs bedroom, according to the complaint.

Hollenquest was arraigned June 3 and is to appear in court on June 19, according to Browns office. Myers has not been arraigned as of yet.
LAKE GEORGE  Troopers are still searching for a 69-year-old man from Kentucky who went missing Wednesday while volunteering at the Americade motorcycle gathering, State Police said.

Troopers starting their shifts Monday morning were reminded that Robert M. Vanderhoof is still missing, State Police spokesman Trooper Mark Cepiel said.
State Police

MOHAWK  Several people were shooting guns at an above ground pool May 27 when a stray bullet struck a neighbor standing more than half a mile away, State Police said Monday.

The woman was hit in the shoulder and taken to St. Mary's Hospital before being transferred to Albany Medical Center. She was standing outside her Switzer Hill Road home when she was shot, State Police said.
CHATHAM - A 19-year-old from Valatie drowned after jumping in Stony Kill Creek Sunday afternoon, Columbia County Sheriff Office's said.

At about 4:46 p.m., Brett Cappelli died when he dove into the water behind River Road. Friends who were with him said he did not resurface, deputies said.

Divers pulled Cappelli's body from 15-feet of water at about 5:50 p.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene. His body was transported to St. Peter's Hospital where an autopsy will be performed.

Columbia County Sheriff's Office was assisted at the scene by Chatham Fire Department, Chatham Rescue Squad, Niverville Fire Department's Swift Water Rescue Team, Columbia County Fire Coordinators, Columbia County EMS Coordinator and the New York State Police.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Troy

Carole and Jerry Weaver poured their hearts into organizing Troy's annual Flag Day Parade for most of the past 49 years. As recently as two weeks ago, they were sure the 50th annual event would never happen.

They needed $30,000 to roll the parade from South Troy through Fourth Street. Then an unlikely savior emerged, and the Weavers now say 59 groups or "units" will step off at 1 p.m. Sunday in what seems destined to be the Collar City's final Flag Day promenade.

"Michael Fusco is our hero," Carole said.

More Information Troy Flag Day Parade When: 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday Route: The parade will travel north from the Rensselaer County jail in South Troy to Federal Street in downtown Troy. Artifacts? Organizers are still collecting flyers, photos, articles, parade programs, videos, home movies and keepsakes of the Troy Flag Day Parade. Email digital submissions to TroyFlagDayParade@yahoo.com. Got something bigger, like a float or marching band uniform? Use that email to alert Tim Kennedy that you need to arrange pickup. See More Collapse

Fusco is president of Franklin Hospitality, which operates Troy's historic Franklin Plaza, known for its pink marble ballroom and Brazilian mahogany boardroom. The building is on Fourth, right on the parade's route, and Fusco has been a fan of the event since he was a little boy in Green Island.

"The organizers said they needed $30,000, so I reached out to some contacts and we raised $41,000," Fusco said. "We had to get a parade that has meant so much to people in its 50th year."

Fusco contacted other potential donors and offered amenities including tented seating right outside the Plaza.

The Weavers created the nonprofit that runs the parade. The group has struggled for years to raise enough money to pay for police overtime, public works assistance, transportation for bands and other expenses.

The parade was born in 1967 when postal worker Jim Pasinella heard how upset local World War II veterans were by Troy's anti-Vietnam War demonstrators burning an American flag, the Weavers said. Pasinella and some buddies responded by parading through Troy carrying flags. Civic clubs and unions joined the parade the following year. The small groups were dedicated  but none were flush enough to fund a huge parade.

"We used to get some state and city grants, but those are gone for budget reasons," Jerry Weaver said. "The World War II and Korea War veterans are dying out, and it's difficult to get millennials to march or attend a parade. We would love to have a fraternity or university engineering students build a float with computerized elements. But the parade takes place in June, after students have dispersed for vacation."

Ironically, a millennial is now making the Troy parade immortal  at least online.

University at Albany Information Technology Services contract manager Tim Kennedy is, at age 26, the youngest member of the Weavers' organizing committee.

"The second-youngest member is 60," said Kennedy, who moved in across the street from the Weavers in 2014. "They were having a tough time with utilizing technology for outreach, as well as engaging younger generations."

Kennedy created the parade's website (troyflagday.org) and social media accounts, and tackled a major online heritage project utilizing photos, video, home movies, keepsake pins and "these colorful parade programs listing marching bands that people donated to me," Kennedy said.

He's still accepting donated materials, and hopes to exhibit them all at a local historical society.

Fusco and the Weavers also plan a permanent parade tribute with the extra $11,000 raised.

No, it won't be used for a 51st annual Troy Flag Day parade. Instead, they would like to build a small downtown island with benches and a plaque or statue honoring everyone who took part in the parade down through the decades, including those who stood on the sidewalk cheering.
DECATUR  School administrators in Macon County say they've seen various attempts at fixing Illinois' broken school formula over the years, only to watch them die in the legislature.

After years of bipartisan talks, and the conclusion of a commission set up by Gov. Bruce Rauner, a fight over how much money Chicago would get could kill yet another one.

Before lawmakers left Springfield in May, Democrats passed a new funding formula, Senate Bill 1, that would emphasize the financial need of a school district. Republicans as a bloc balked, saying the legislation would favor Chicago at the expense of the rest of the state.

"I know that (the Democratic plan) is more adequate, more fair across the board, so in that regard, you cant be against something like that," said Meridian Superintendent Dan Brue. "But, the issue with any formula is whether or not the state funds it."

Rauner said he will veto the proposal. The governor's education secretary, Beth Purvis, said there's a lot of good in the Democrats' legislation, but not the way it treats Chicago Public Schools.

"We are concerned that theres theres an assumption of new money," she said. Purvis said that for all districts to get their fair share the new formula would require some additional $565 million to fill funding holes in Chicago.

Todd Covault, the Decatur School District's chief operating officer, said it's impossible to separate politics from school funding.

"Whatever youre doing you, have to have Chicago on board. You have to count votes. Theyre the economic machine of this state," he said.

Advocates of the formula, such as state Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, and school administrators across the state, say Purvis and Rauner have it wrong.

Manar, a longtime funding formula advocate and chief sponsor of SB 1, contends the "hold harmless" provision is real  that no new money is required to keep all districts at current levels.

"Dr. Purvis, who I've praised for her work, has been misleading people in the state on what's in this bill," he said.

The Republican grievance over Chicago centers around language in the formula that would essentially fold the city into the rest of the state. Chicago Public Schools, one of the largest districts in the country, has long acted as a separate creature when it comes to state money for schools: It's responsible for items the state covers for all other districts such as teacher pension costs and debt service payments.

Instead, CPS has been getting a unique state payment known as the "block grant." Officials from Chicago have long argued their standalone finances are far more than what the state gives them, but Republicans say the city has done a terrible job of management.

The Democratic formula tries to change all that by establishing a uniform mechanism for all districts. What was formerly the block grant would be folded into Chicago's total state aid and counted toward the district's need. But Rauner said that's special treatment and siphoning money that should be going downstate, along with the contention of a need for new money.

Manar said that's entirely wrong. "The block grant is gone in this bill. In exchange, we cover a piece of the pension cost -- not their full pension cost -- a piece." The legislation would include $215 million to go to Chicago's suffering teacher pension system.

Purvis and Rauner say the state should not be doing that on top of including the block grant money in the new formula. "They got the block grants, but I think everyone agrees they should get one or the other," Purvis said.

Both sides say they agree with the conceit of the new formula, which is this: Each year, the state increases incrementally the amount of money it sends to local school districts.

Rather than decrease the amount wealthy districts get in order to better fund poorer districts, they all start at their current levels of funding. Assuming state funding for schools continues to grow each year, poorer districts will receive more of the pie, while wealthy ones will see their share stagnate.

Covault said Decatur ranks in the bottom third in property wealth, the largest factor in local school spending.

"Were doing far better than many, but youve got school districts out there thatll spend $30,000 a kid because theyve got the property wealth," he said. Decatur currently spends approximately $10,000 for each student.

Covault said that while the Democratic plan is at least a step in the right direction, "I think whether it fixes all ills it remains to be seen. Funding schools is political. Over the course of time, theyll tweak it again," he said.

Democrats are holding the legislation so it doesn't immediately receive a veto from the governor. Manar said Rauner has had plenty of chances to introduce legislation to address school funding inequality.

"It's too little too late," Manar said.

Meanwhile, Decatur school board President Dan Oakes said he still doesn't know how he's supposed to plan for the next school year.

"It's a frustrating situation. We're told to have our budget by the end of June, they still don't have one after two years."
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

The Bethlehem teen who disappeared and was later discovered in Schenectady will appear in Family Court on Monday.

Deborah Joy-Loay Trout, who ran away from her home on May 30 and found on Friday evening, has spent the weekend in what police are calling "an appropriate facility as determined by the Albany County Department for Children, Youth and Families."

Bethlehem Police Commander Adam N. Hornick said the decision to not to send the 16-year-old home was based on her family's filing of a PINS (person in need of supervision) petition. This shifts her fate into the hands of a family court judge.

"The decision to file the petition was made by everyone involved," said her father Michael Trout who would not further discuss the reasoning. "We don't know what to expect in court."

Since she was found after 5 p.m. on a Friday, the teen had to wait at a separate, supervised facility over the weekend before court reopened on Monday.

On Sunday, Hornick said the investigation into her disappearance and the days leading up to it is on-going. He also said that police are not ready to make any conclusion as to why she left home, but said she did leave voluntarily.

"We are still working on interviewing some people and reconstructing these days," Hornick said. "We can say that she was found in good health and uninjured. Finding her was the most important aspect of the case. The elements of why she left, where exactly she was, and who she was with are very important and we intend to leave no stone unturned in attempting to answer all of these questions."

Hornick credits the Bethlehem police for "around the clock work" to find her.

Deborah Joy-Loay Trout, who was adopted by the Trouts when she was a toddler, previously attended Schenectady High School. She recently transferred to the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk school district. Her father said that she was dealing with school-related anxiety.

On the night she was found, family and friends were gathering at a vigil for her at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Albany. Her parents got the call that she was found just minutes before leaving for the vigil.

"We just want the best for her," her father said.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

SCHENECTADY  The City Council approved two separate resolutions that now pave the way for no more than 30 feet parcel of Riverside Park in the Stockade neighborhood to be set aside for a new, larger pump station.

City Council President Leesa Perazzo said Monday the compromise was reached last week in a meeting with Stockade residents concerned the proposal for the $7.5 million pump station would block the view of the river and the park from some Front Street properties between Governor's Lane and North Ferry Street.

"This was the next best compromise and they all agreed they were comfortable with it," said Perazzo. "Is it their optimal outcome? No, but everybody's OK."

Stockade residents have been pushing for an independent study to determine if the current sewage facility can be overhauled and not replaced.

Councilman Vince Riggi voted against the resolution to alienate the parkland for all of Riverside Park but in favor of recommitting all but 30 feet of the property.

Riggi said Assemblyman Phil Steck's office had told city leaders they need to vote on the so-called "park alienation" before the legislative session ended but that Sen. James Tedisco's office had then offered to amend the language bill restricting the pump station project to no more than 30 feet in the park.

City officials did not take Tedisco up on his offer, which Riggi said would have eliminated the need for the two-resolution solution.

In New York, the parkland "alienation" designation occurs when a municipality wants to sell, lease, or discontinue municipal parkland, according to the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

To convey parkland to a nonpublic entity or use it for a different reason, the municipality must receive prior authorization from the through legislation passed by the state Legislature and signed by the governor.

The bill, by which the Legislature grants its authorization, is commonly referred to as a "parkland alienation" bill.

Mike Miller, the project manager and engineer, has said restoring the pump station would be challenging because the foundation was damaged in the summer of 2011 by Tropical Storms Irene and Lee and that it can't accommodate the newer, bigger pumps the city needs to route the overflow in the system to the treatment plant instead of nearby Front Street.

A larger pump station would ostensibly give the city the added capacity to its sewer system to comply with a state Department of Environmental Conservation consent order to separate runoff water from sanitary sewage overflow.

n the past, city officials were forced to open a gate valve that released waters from the sanitary sewer system into the College Creek, a tributary of the Mohawk River.

A consent order is generally a voluntary agreement worked out between parties to a dispute.

Last repaired in 2008, the pump station handles about 60 percent of Schenectady's sewage flow.

In 2014, the City Council approved a new pump station in the historic district.

The roughly $7.5 million project would receive $3 million in state New York Rising money, with the city borrowing the rest.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

FORT EDWARD - Matthew Slocum's victims were sleeping when he started killing them with shotguns blasts, a prosecutor told jurors Monday.

"The defendant, Matthew Slocum, took them in their sleep," said Eric Galarneau, who is serving as a special prosecutor at the Washington County court trial.

"This was a nightmare of his making. ... This was a nightmare."

Galarneau delivered his opening statement at the retrial of Slocum, the Washington County man whose conviction for a July 2011 triple homicide was overturned by an appeals court two years ago.

But Slocum's attorney, Public Defender Michael Mercure, blamed the killing on Slocum's then girlfriend, telling jurors Loretta Colegrove left a "trail of blood after these murders."

He said a "gender bias" prompted police to focus on Slocum.

"You will hear and you will see that she is the real murderer," Mercure said, accusing Colegrove of carrying out a "monstrous deception."

In 2012, Slocum was convicted by a jury after two hours of deliberation for killing his mother, Lisa Coon Harrington, 44; her husband, Dan Harrington, 41; and Harrington's son, Joshua O'Brien, 24, inside the home at 118 Turnpike Road in White Creek, and then setting the house on fire.

Galarneau promised jurors he'd present DNA evidence and letters of apology Slocum wrote after the killings.

Prosecutors will have to make their case to jurors without a key piece of evidence - a statement Slocum gave to police that included the phrase "I just shotgunned my mother, dude."

Slocum's conviction was thrown out in 2015 after the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court ruled the statement he gave to police should not have been shared with the jury that convicted him of murder.

As a result of that decision  which was upheld earlier this year by the state Court of Appeals  the jury in the current proceeding won't hear his statement to investigators.

Slocum, now 29, made the statement when he was interviewed in New Hampshire, where he had been arrested. The White Creek man had fled to New Hampshire with Colegrove, after a grisly scene unfolded at the home of his mother and stepfather.

Opening arguments on Monday follow three days of jury selection prosecutors and Slocum's defense used to pick a panel last week.

Slocum was sentenced to 88 years to life in prison for three counts of second-degree murder, arson, weapon possession, tampering with evidence and petit larceny. He had a prior criminal record and had gone to prison for a previous grand larceny conviction in Washington County.

The 2012 conviction was tossed by the Appellate Division when it ruled that Slocum had legal counsel in New Yorl and should not have been interrogated in New Hampshire. Washington County Public Defender Michael Mercure had told police not to question Slocum.
STAMFORD  A missing Schoharie County man threatened to hurt himself before he disappeared Thursday evening, State Police said.

Troopers are still searching for 41-year-old James Gabriel, who was last seen by his spouse and children at 7:30 p.m. inside their Middleburgh home, State Police said.

Gabriel is described as a 5-foot-9 white man with brown hair and eyes. He has a goatee and weighs 178 pounds. He was last seen wearing a black T-shirt and camouflage shorts. He may be driving a gold- or tan-colored 2005 Mercury Sable sedan with New York license plate GSS5161.

He is known to stay at state parks and campgrounds in Schoharie and Delaware counties and is an avid outdoorsman. Investigators believe Gabriel is in the southwestern part of Schoharie County, possibly near Stamford.

Anyone with information on Gabriel's whereabouts is asked to call 911 or the State Police at either 518-630-1700 or 518-234-9400.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 State Police Show More Show Less 2 of 3 State Police Show More Show Less 3 of 3





NASSAU  A Sunday barbecue ended in a burst of alleged violence May 28 when a woman hit an adult in the face with a shovel while her friend bashed a car door, State Police said.

Amanda L. White, 27, of Stephentown is accused of hitting a woman in the face with a long-handled shovel during an argument, State Police spokesman Trooper Mark Cepiel said Monday.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

New York

Oscar Lopez Rivera may not have officially been honored as a National Freedom Hero in the city's Puerto Rican Day Parade on Sunday, but the fervent nationalist who spent decades in prison for his involvement with a group responsible for a string of bombings in the 1970s and '80s still got to ride on a float.

Lopez Rivera was cheered and booed as he stood proudly clutching a Puerto Rican flag when the parade stepped off in Manhattan. His supporters followed, carrying signs that read, "Oscar Lopez Rivera is our Mandela."

Nanchelle Rivera, who's no relation, was not among them. From the sidelines, she said she refuses to back the man who served 35 years in prison for his involvement with a group responsible for bombings that killed and maimed dozens of people.

"He did not represent me," said Rivera, visiting from Orlando.

A supporter in the parade heard her booing and shouted back, "This is your history!"

Weeks of controversy preceded the activist's planned appearance. People and corporations, including AT&T and JetBlue, withdrew from the parade to protest the decision to honor the 74-year-old former member of the militant Puerto Rican nationalist group Armed Forces of National Liberation, or FALN.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and several police and fire department groups also said they wouldn't attend.

Lopez Rivera said last week he wouldn't accept the National Freedom Hero title, which organizers at first granted him, but would join the parade as a regular citizen, partly because the focus was too much on him and not enough on Puerto Rico's plight. The parade's board of directors said Lopez Rivera would join the parade "not as an honoree but as a humble Puerto Rican and grandfather."

Parade board vice chair Ululy Martinez said Lopez Rivera was placed on a float because of his age and the 92-degree heat.

Lopez Rivera stood atop one of the first floats in the parade, waving to the crowd and pounding his chest with his fist.

"This is for the Puerto Rican people!" he shouted.
Washington

Fellow Republicans pressed President Donald Trump on Sunday to come clean about whether he has tapes of private conversations with former FBI Director James Comey and provide them to Congress if he does  or possibly face a subpoena, as a Senate investigation into collusion with Russia or obstruction of justice extended to a Trump Cabinet member.

It was a sign of escalating fallout from riveting testimony from Comey last week of undue pressure from Trump, which drew an angry response from the president on Friday that Comey was lying.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions was in for sharp questioning by senators on the Senate Intelligence committee Tuesday. Whether that hearing will be public or closed is not yet known.

"I don't understand why the president just doesn't clear this matter up once and for all," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, a member of that committee, referring to the existence of any recordings.

She described Comey's testimony as "candid" and "thorough" and said she would support a subpoena if needed. Trump "should voluntarily turn them over," Collins said.

Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., also a member of that committee, agreed the panel needed to hear any tapes that exist. "We've obviously pressed the White House," he said.

Trump's aides have dodged questions about whether conversations relevant to the Russia investigation have been recorded, and so has the president. Pressed on the issue Friday, Trump said "I'll tell you about that maybe sometime in the very near future."

Lankford said Sessions' testimony Tuesday will help flesh out the truth of Comey's allegations, including Sessions' presence at the White House in February when Trump asked to speak to Comey alone. Comey alleges that Trump then privately asked him to drop a probe into former national security adviser Michael Flynn's contacts with Russia.

Comey also has said Sessions did not respond when he complained he didn't "want to get time alone with the president again." The Justice Department has denied that, saying Sessions stressed to Comey the need to be careful about following appropriate policies.

"We want to be able to get his side of it," Lankford said.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said "there's a real question of the propriety" of Sessions' involvement in Comey's dismissal, because Sessions had stepped aside from the federal investigation into contacts between Russia and the Trump campaign. Comey was leading that probe.

Reed said he also wants to know if Sessions had more meetings with Russian officials as a Trump campaign adviser than have been disclosed.

Trump on Sunday accused Comey of "cowardly" leaks and predicted many more from him. "Totally illegal?" he asked in a tweet. "Very 'cowardly!'"

Several Republican lawmakers also criticized Comey for disclosing memos he had written in the aftermath of his private conversations with Trump, calling that action "inappropriate." But, added Lankford, "releasing his memos is not damaging to national security."

The New York City federal prosecutor who expected to remain on the job when Trump took office but ended up being fired said he was made uncomfortable by one-on-one interactions with the president  just like Comey was. Preet Bharara told ABC's "This Week" that Trump was trying to "cultivate some kind of relationship" with him when he called him twice before the inauguration to "shoot the breeze."

He said Trump reached out to him again after the inauguration but he refused to call back, shortly before he was fired.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

INDIAN LAKE  A State Police investigator accused of obtaining a gun while off-duty, despite a family court order forbidding him from having a firearm, has been suspended without pay, State Police said Monday.

When Randy J. Weaver, 36, of Indian Lake was suspended in early May, he was already on leave from his job as a Troop B investigator because the court order made him "unable to perform his duties," State Police spokesman Beau Duffy said.

Because troopers are required to carry weapons, a court order preventing them from doing so forces them to use paid vacation days to take leave, Duffy said.

After troopers were called to the scene of a domestic incident without injuries on March 5, a Hamilton County Family Court judge granted the victim an order of protection against Weaver that, in part, barred him from possessing firearms, State Police spokeswoman Trooper Jennifer Fleishman said.

Weaver was not charged or ticketed in connection to the March 5 incident, but on May 24 was arrested by fellow troopers on weapons possessions charges, Fleishman said.

A State Police investigation revealed that 33-year-old David J. Stearns of Hagaman, Montgomery County, allegedly bought a gun for Weaver, Fleishman said.

Stearns and Weaver are each charged with two counts of felony criminal purchase of a firearm, one count of misdemeanor criminal contempt and one count of misdemeanor falsifying business records.

They were arraigned in Mayfield Town Court and released after posting $1,000 cash bail.

The State Police announced the arrests in two separate June 7 news releases.

This is not Weaver's first arrest while working for the State Police. In January 2013, he was charged with driving a snowmobile drunk after his sled got stuck in a snow-filled Adirondack ditch, the Associated Press reported.

The snowmobile crash in Indian Lake was reported to the State Police at about 10 p.m. on New Year's Day. Weaver was off-duty at the time.

Troopers said Weaver appeared drunk, was given standard field sobriety tests and was arrested for operating the snowmobile under the influence of alcohol. He was suspended without pay.

Court officials in Hamilton County said they have no records of the 2013 case's disposition; the State Police declined to comment, citing its policy of not discussing the criminal histories of personnel.
DECATUR  When Brenda Roland first saw people running with tutus, she swore shed never wear one.

Being heavy set, I said, No way, Im not doing that,  Roland said.

But on Sunday, she was gathered in a room at Fleet Feet Sports, 1090 W. Wood St., tying tulle to elastic as part of Fleet Feets Tutus for Tatas event to help support Come Together Lets Walk  a community event at Fairview Park on June 24 supporting the fight against ovarian, breast and cervical cancers. All money raised at the walk goes to causes in Decatur.

We wanted to do some fundraisers for Come Together Lets Walk and we felt like this was a fun way to support it and get people to be more involved in it, said Fleet Feet store manager Heather Dodson. The tutus are just a simple, fun thing to do to help make it special and show their support.

For $5, participants were given the materials to make the tutus, with proceeds going to Come Together Lets Walk.

Roland, who added a green strip of tulle among the pink and purple to signify organ donation awareness, said her son is a runner and had gotten her to run a couple of 5Ks when she was younger and before knee trouble. But now she said shes more of a back-of-the-pack walker.

A friend of mine talked me into joining the Walk Fit program at Fleet Feet and I love being a part of it, Roland said. (Fleet Feet fit specialist Diana Coombs) is my mentor and she stays with us no matter how slow we walk.

And I finally said to myself: Im out here moving. Im making a difference. Im going to wear a tutu.

In Walk Fit, participants begin by walking for 15 minutes, then go longer each week until the final week theyre walking for an hour. Walk Fits graduation is walking five kilometers at Come Together Lets Walk. The event just happens to coincide with the end of the program, but for Walk Fit participants like Jody VanDolah, who had a mastectomy four years because of breast cancer, it hits close to home.

Id done Come Together Lets Walk the last three years, then my nephew (Fleet Feet employee Aron Heathcock) was telling me about the Walk Fit program so I decided to join it, VanDolah said. Its got me out exercising, which I had needed to do. And I enjoy it."

VanDolah was assisted in making her tutu by her sister, Paula Tyler  Heathcock's mom. Come Together Lets Walk also features a timed 5K run, and after walking at the event three years ago, Tyler ran it the last two.

Sharron Thornton also runs the Come Together Lets Walk 5K. She said she's seen the tutus for years at previous races and wanted to learn how to make one. Though Thornton runs the event to support the cause, shell pay attention to her time as well.

I run it for fun and because its a good cause, Thornton said, then paused. But if I get a trophy, its not going to hurt my feelings. Ill display it in my house.

Marcella Haun has been running 5Ks for five years and has participated in Come Together Lets Walk in the past. But this year will be special after surviving uterine cancer in the last year.

It was a very aggressive cancer in my uterus  if they hadnt caught it when they did Id be dead, said the 80-year-old Haun. Ive had several relatives who had cancer and seen what some of them had gone through, but it had never hit me head on before.

Haun was treated for the cancer in January, and in April she ran a 5K.

The doctor said the reason Im doing so well is because Im not just sitting around twiddling my fingers, Haun said. I keep busy.

This story was changed to correct the name of Jody VanDolah's nephew.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

As the local political season heats up in Albany, Pastor Charlie Muller has had to bite his tongue.

"It is so hard for us as pastors and leaders of churches during political campaigns to completely keep silent," said the pastor of Victory Christian Church, which has locations in Albany, Colonie and Rotterdam. "People are looking to us for guidance. So when our voice is shut off, the people are like, 'Where do we stand on this?'"

Muller would be thrilled to endorse a mayoral candidate from the pulpit in Albany's election, but still is uncertain if President Donald Trump's executive order provides religious institutions protection from the repercussions of doing that.

While the order directs the Treasury Department not to take "adverse action to the extent permitted by law" against religious organizations that engage in political speech, suggesting an exception for speech that has "ordinarily been treated" as an endorsement, experts see this as paving the way for resolute policies to come.

It also provides reassurance to religious institutions toeing the line of endorsing candidates.

"Now there is absolutely nothing that can be held over their head if they want to actually preach that from the pulpit and still get their tax exemptions," said Richard F. Hamm, a history professor at the University at Albany. "It's really speaking very much to the base of the Republican Party, that religious base."

The Johnson Amendment specifically prohibits nonprofits from endorsing political candidates, but doesn't keep organizations from taking positions on issues. While violators could lose their tax-exempt status, the Internal Revenue Service rarely enforces these penalties.

There's only one known instance of a church losing its tax-exempt status: The Church of Pierce Creek in Conklin, Broome County, after it took out a full-page newspaper ad opposing Bill Clinton in 1992.

Trump's order doesn't negate this law. It instead instructs the Treasury to enforce the law as it is written. A change to the Johnson Amendment would require action by Congress.

Muller said the fear of losing tax-exempt status has stifled speech.

"We've always been threatened by that. If we ever got that taken away, it would affect us. We don't have a lot of money," he said. "I think churches should be involved. We are involved with the people in the community. We want to make lives better and easier for people."

However, few local religious leaders are interested in testing the waters, seeing the measure as a double-edged sword.

"It could be helpful, and it could be dangerous," said the Rev. McKinley Johnson, of the Greater Church of God in Christ St. John's. "We encourage people to think for themselves, and make decisions based on good information and vetting for themselves. We don't want to ever be in a position to say, 'Do as I say, or tell you to do.'"

Although the Founding Fathers established a separation of church and state, the United States has a tangled history with the two. Even after the American Revolution, tax dollars supported churches in many states.

In the 1950s, U.S. money was inscribed with "In God We Trust" and "under God" was added to the Pledge of Allegiance. During this time, the Johnson Amendment was made part of U.S. tax law, drawing a line on how far tax-exempt entities, like churches, could go in entering politics.

"There has been plenty of mobilizing of religious people on various public policies, and for and against candidates," Hamm said. "Religion has been involved in politics always."

The tug-of-war on where the line between church and state should be drawn has been ongoing, and the recent executive order is another chapter in that conversation, said Carl Bon Tempo, associate professor of history at the University at Albany.

"At various times, various groups have wanted to see the lines pushed in a certain direction," he said. "I suspect that somebody will take the executive order out for a ride and see how far they can go."

This intertwining of church and politics can be seen in Albany's local election as well.

Mayor Kathy Sheehan  as well as other Catholic politicians U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko and Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy  was criticized earlier this year by Bishop Edward Scharfenberger, head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, for her participation in a Planned Parenthood rally.

Sheehan is seeking re-election this year, but faces Democratic primary challenges from Common Councilman Frank Commisso Jr. and Council President Carolyn McLaughlin.

Local activist Marlon Anderson also seeks to run for mayor on the Democratic line. Daniel Plaat seeks the Green Party nomination, and Joseph Sullivan seeks the Conservative Party line. Socialist candidate Margaret Trowe also is running for mayor.

Meanwhile, at the New Covenant Presbyterian Church, Commisso's rental of a room at the Western Avenue church for his campaign headquarters prompted Pastor Katy Stenta to issue a statement saying it does not endorse Commisso.

"We don't believe we'll ever endorse candidates because we think politics messes up religion," she said. "You should learn about the candidates yourself. Essentially, if we were to endorse someone we would be taking away that learning experience."

Sign up for The Knick  Get the latest news and features with our afternoon newsletter.

Opponents of Commisso have questioned the appropriateness of the headquarters location. Commisso declined to respond to emailed questions about either the location or Trump's executive order.

Sheehan called the executive order very misguided and a "very dangerous place to go" as it could allow tax-exempt entities to campaign using money that is untaxed.

"I think that is a line that should not be crossed when you have the ability to exempt from taxation the donations that are made in order to support that," she said. "If those religious organizations want to lose their tax exemption and pay taxes on their income, then that's fine."

McLaughlin said she communicates with leaders and people of many different faiths, but hopes the distance between politics and religion remains.

"I think that this is a discussion that religious leaders will have with their congregations, but I really ultimately don't think the policies are going to change," she said. "I respect the need to keep a certain distance."

While the Catholic church takes strong stances on issues, Bishop Scharfenberger said endorsing a candidate from the pulpit isn't the best use of the forum.

"I'm not sure if that persuades people," Scharfenberger said. "I'd rather persuade people to take the positions by use of reason, rather than flat-out endorsement."

Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple echoed the bishop's sentiments, adding he feels religious leaders should stay out of politics.

"I'm not a huge fan of endorsements. I like to go out and earn it. I don't think too many people vote based off of someone endorsing them, or liking them," he said. "A certain pastor isn't going to sway my vote."

An earlier version of this story, which also appeared in print, attributed comments inaccurately to Bishop Emeritus Howard Hubbard. The comments were made by Bishop Edward Scharfenberger of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany.

afries@timesunion.com  518-454-5353
At our recent St Patricks Night Dinner Dance in Cape Town, the Irish South African Association (ISAA) were delighted and impressed by the Irish dancers who entertained us.

One of the dancing groups in particular caught our eye. They were African children from one of the townships and all dancing barefoot.

For those who are unaware, some of the Townships have in excess of half a million people and the vast majority live in shacks measuring an average of 10ft x 8ft (3m x 2.4m) with earthen floors. They are built of old corrugated galvanised sheets and/or scraps of plywood.

The occupants are, on average, two adults and five children per shack. No running water and obviously no bathrooms. Only a small minority have electricity.

Despite the condition in which the children find themselves, an increasing number are interested in learning Irish step-dancing. We recently visited the one of the schools where these children learn Irish dancing to find out why they were dancing barefoot. Wendy, their teacher confided in us the family budget could never extend to a pair of dancing shoes, hence this appeal.

Primarily we are looking for second hand shoes from size 4 upwards in both hard and soft.

Any costumes, male or female, would be a bonus. We would especially welcome a sponsorship to cover the twice weekly cost of the transport to and from the dance school which costs R60 per week per child or 4.20. The tuition fees which are currently set at R1,020 per term or 70 per child and there are four terms per year. Perhaps you would like to adopt a pupil and in return you will receive regular updates directly from your pupil on their progress. In the Thurles area the collection point will be John and Marie Harnett of Parkstown  086 829 5235 - Horse & Jockey near Thurles.

Any shoes or clothes you wish to donate can be dropped in or sent by post to this location. Anyone wishing to make a cash contribution/sponsorship, please contact us at castletreve@gmail.com for bank details.

Our group are from Templederry and currently domiciled in Cape Town.

We have been involved in a number of fundraising concerts in Tipperary including the Christopher Cooke Appeal in 2007, the Samaritans, ChildLine and more recently we organised a concert in Borrisoleigh for the LauraLynn Childrens Hospice. You can contact the ISAA directly at castletreve@gmail.com or phone Valerie on 0027 72 846 3724.
Tipperary Labour TD Alan Kelly has called into question the Government's commitment to jobs in the Premier County following a major jobs announcement in Limerick this Monday.

Northern Trust, which already employs 1,000 people at two Limerick sites, announced that it was bringing a further 400 jobs to the city as a result of Brexit.

However, while welcoming the announcement, Deputy Kelly said he had to ask what was happening for County Tipperary.

I hope some jobseekers from Tipperary will, indeed, get jobs as part of this announcement, but the simple fact is that there has been little or no job announcements from the IDA for Tipperary during the term of this Government, said the party's Spokesman on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.

I have to ask is County Tipperary really a priority for this Fine Gael-led Government supported by Fianna Fail and Michael Lowry, and, when it suits him, Mattie McGrath, he said.

Deputy Kelly said that people had heard so much from this Government about its concentration on rural Ireland but he didn't't see any evidence of it.

We have had much fanfare around the launch of the Action Plan For Rural Development but I don't see anything new happening. Besides much of the plan is work already underway so there is little if anything new in it, he said.

The Labour TD said that Tipperary was suffering because of the policies or lack of them of this Government and their supporters in Fianna Fail and Michael Lowry.

We haven't a focus on Tipperary anymore under this charade of a Government. It's as simple as that. Tis is despite the best efforts of various organisations like Tipperary County Council, Invest Tipp, Jobs For Tipp, Tipperary Chamber and others, he said.

The former Minister for the Environment and Junior Minister for Transport pointed out that when he was a member of Cabinet, he was able to ensure Tipperary was represented at the highest level.

I also made sure the IDA delivered for County Tipperary with Amneal and First Data being prime examples of this,  he said.

And he stated that, even in opposition, as Jobs Spokesperson, he had delivered a platform for the IDA in the coming years to finally deliver much needed jobs in the new Sky Innovation Park site in Tipperary Town.

However, it seems definitive now that County Tipperary is no longer a priority for this current Government or their supporters in Tipperary, he said.
Independent Tipperary TD Michael Lowry has confirmed that he is backing Leo Varadker in the vote to be Taoiseach on Wednesday next in Dail Eireann.

Independent Tipperary TD Michael Lowry has confirmed to The Tipperary Star that he will be backing Fine Gael Leader Leo Varadker in the vote to be Taoiseach on Wednesday, having had two telephone conversations with him in recent days.

Contrary to speculation in the national media, Mr Varadker was in contact with Deputy Lowry on Friday last and spoke to the former Fine Gael TD again today seeking his support in the bid to become Taoiseach. And, Deputy Lowry confirmed to us that he assured Mr Varadker of his support, having listened intently to what he had to say.

Deputy Michael Lowry who will be backing Leo Varadker on Wednesday.

"I committed to supporting Leo Varadker because I firmly believe that the country needs stability now and he is in a position to bring it. I am the only TD in the county who has been supportive of the current Government and I believe that continuity is essential at a time when there are very big challenges coming down the tracks for Ireland. I was very impressed with his sharp intellect and his insightful thinking," Deputy Lowry said.

While he had the future Taoiseachs ear, Deputy Lowry impressed upon him the requirements for the Tipperary constituency with a particular emphasis on South Tipperary General Hospital - a situation Mr Varadker would have been very au fait with from his time in the health department.

South Tipperary General Hospital

"I made him aware of a number of issues and from his response to me I am happy that he understands my position and the problems facing the constituency. I am particularly pleased with his approach in relation to expressing a need to invest in infrastructure such as schools, roads, hospitals etc and we will be awaiting with great interest the Capital Review Programme in two months time," Deputy Lowry said.

See this weeks Tipperary Star for more on this story.
[June 12, 2017] Dassault Systemes Enhances its Marine & Offshore Portfolio on the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform

Regulatory News: Dassault Systemes (Paris:DSY) today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire AITAC BV, a Dutch company specialized in marine and offshore engineering software. With this acquisition, Dassault Systemes (News - Alert) will further strengthen its solutions designed to bring digital transformation to the marine and offshore industry by providing cutting-edge, industry-specific technologies for its 3DEXPERIENCE platform customers. AITAC's Smart Drawings software application is used by shipyards and offshore companies to automate the creation of drawings from a master 3D model of a ship, platform or other structure designed using Dassault Systemes' CATIA applications. This automation is based on rules and templates that account for marine-specific standards, behaviors and local requirements. Companies can significantly reduce the cost of drawings production, improve the quality of certification documents, and maximize the value of the master 3D model. Dassault Systemes will fully integrate the Smart Drawings application into its "Designed for Sea" and "Optimized Production for Sea" industry solution experiences based on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, used by companies for the design, validation and manufacturing planning of marine and offshore projects. As part of the deal, Dassault Systemes also acquires 40 percent of AITAC's marine and offshore engineering office in Croatia, AITAC d.o.o., a provider of naval architecture and engineering services to major shipbuilders. "We have always been passionate about transforming the way marine and offshore companies use 3D and we work hard to provide our customers with the best experience of a 3D master approach," said Marc Journeux, Co-director, AITAC. "Dassault Systemes has always been a fantastic partner for us, and we truly believed this is the only company able to take this market to the next step. Now our team is excited to join Dassault Systemes to accelerate the pace of innovation."



The marine and offshore industry has routinely relied on disconnected departments to produce traditional drawings managed as individual documents. Now, it is gradually moving to a single master 3D multidisciplinary model allowing digital continuity for marine projects, from initial concept to manufacturing and operations. "For years, AITAC has been a software partner of Dassault Systemes supporting its 3DEXPERIENCE platform customers and now we're taking this long and fruitful partnership to the next level," said Alain Houard, Vice President, Marine & Offshore Industry, Dassault Systemes. "AITAC's long-term experience, expertise and team of naval architects and engineers will help us to extend our marine and offshore portfolio's capabilities and support customer deployment projects."

The transaction was completed on June 1, 2017. Social media: Share this on Twitter (News - Alert): @Dassault3DS acquires AITAC to boost its #marine #offshore portfolio with Smart Drawings #3DEXPERIENCE Connect with Dassault Systemes on Twitter Facebook LinkedIn YouTube For more information: Dassault Systemes in the Marine & Offshore industry: http://www.3ds.com/industries/marine-offshore/ Dassault Systemes' 3DEXPERIENCE platform, 3D design software, 3D Digital Mock Up and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions: http://www.3ds.com ### About Dassault Systemes Dassault Systemes, the 3DEXPERIENCE Company, provides business and people with virtual universes to imagine sustainable innovations. Its world-leading solutions transform the way products are designed, produced, and supported. Dassault Systemes' collaborative solutions foster social innovation, expanding possibilities for the virtual world to improve the real world. The group brings value to over 220,000 customers of all sizes, in all industries, in more than 140 countries. For more information, visit www.3ds.com. 3DEXPERIENCE, the Compass (News - Alert) logo and the 3DS logo, CATIA, SOLIDWORKS, ENOVIA, DELMIA, SIMULIA, GEOVIA, EXALEAD, 3D VIA, BIOVIA, NETVIBES and 3DEXCITE are registered trademarks of Dassault Systemes or its subsidiaries in the US and/or other countries. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170611005026/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[June 12, 2017] OSE Immunotherapeutics Announces Strategic Multi-Year Research Collaboration with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York

NANTES, France, June 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OSE Immunotherapeutics SA (ISIN: FR0012127173);(Mnemo:OSE) today announced that the Company has entered into a multi-year research collaboration on OSE-703, a cytotoxic monoclonal antibody against the alpha chain of Interleukin-7 Receptor (IL-7R), with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) in New York. The collaboration will support a research program using OSE-703 (Effi-3), a humanized monoclonal antibody directed against the extracellular domain of the alpha-chain of the receptor for interleukin-7 (CD127), cytotoxic for human cells expressing CD127. The research program will be conducted by physician-scientist Prasad S. Adusumilli, MD, FACS, a thoracic surgeon with expertise in tumor immunology and a focus on the development of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T-cell) immunotherapy. The goal of this research collaboration is to explore IL-7R directed immunotherapy OSE-703 for solid tumors with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) as the primary cancer model. From a large cohort of NSCLCs*, it has been shown that IL-7R was overexpressed in this type of cancer and associated with poor prognosis. We are excited to collaborate with Dr. Adusumilli and one of the worlds most renowned cancer hospitals. The combination of his pioneering expertise in immuno-oncology, especially within CAR T-cell immunotherapy, and the therapeutic potential of OSE-703, will afford us optimal conditions to establish this promising product candidates efficacy profile and identify an appropriate development approach," said Dominique Costantini, Chief Executive Officer of OSE Immunotherapeutics. * Suzuki et al, J Clin Oncol. 2013 Feb 1; 31(4): 490498. ABOUT OSE IMMUNOTHERAPEUTICS

Our ambition is to become a world leader in activation and regulation immunotherapies

OSE Immunotherapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on the development of innovative immunotherapies for immune activation and regulation in the fields of immuno-oncology, auto-immune diseases and transplantation.

The company has a balanced portfolio of first-in-class products with a diversified risk profile ranging from clinical phase 3 registration trials to R&D: In immuno-oncology: Tedopi, a combination of 10 optimized neo-epitopes to induce specific T activation in immuno-oncology - Currently in registration Phase 3 trial advanced NSCLCHLA A2+ patients EU /US - Orphan Status in the US - Registration expected in 2019 - A Phase 2 with Tedopi in combination with a checkpoint inhibitor in NSCLC is considered in 2017.

to induce specific T activation in immuno-oncology - Orphan Status in the US in NSCLC is considered in 2017. OSE-172 (Effi-DEM), new generation checkpoint inhibitor targeting the SIRP-a receptor - In preclinical development for several cancer models.



In auto-immune diseases and transplantation: FR104, CD28-antagonist in immunotherapy - Phase 1 trial completed  For the treatment of autoimmune diseases and for use with transplantation - Licensed to Janssen Biotech Inc. to pursue clinical development.

CD28-antagonist in immunotherapy -  For the treatment of autoimmune diseases and for use with transplantation - to pursue clinical development. OSE-127 (Effi-7), interleukin receptor-7 antagonist - In preclinical development for inflammatory bowel diseases and other autoimmune diseases. License option agreement with Servier for the development and commercialization. The portfolios blockbuster potential gives OSE Immunotherapeutics the ability to enter global agreements at different stages of development with major pharmaceutical players.

Immunotherapy is a highly promising and growing market. By 2023 Immunotherapy of cancer could represent nearly 60% of treatments against less than 3% at present * and the projected market is estimated at $67 billion in 2018 **. There are more than 80 autoimmune diseases that represent a significant market including major players in the pharmaceutical industry with sales towards $10 billion for the main products. The medical need is largely unmet and requires the provision of new innovative products involved in the regulation of the immune system. *Citi Research Equity

**BCC Research Click and follow us on Twitter and Linkedln

https://twitter.com/OSEIMMUNO

https://www.linkedin.com/company-beta/10929673/

Forward-looking statements This press release contains express or implied information and statements that might be deemed forward-looking information and statements in respect of OSE Immunotherapeutics. They do not constitute historical facts. The information and statements include financial projections that are based upon certain assumptions and assessments made by OSE Immunotherapeutics management in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current economic and industry conditions, expected future developments and other factors they believe to be appropriate.

These forward-looking statements include statements typically using conditional and containing verbs such as expect, anticipate, believe, target, plan, or estimate, their declensions and conjugations and words of similar import.

Although the OSE Immunotherapeutics management believes that the forward-looking statements and information are reasonable, the OSE Immunotherapeutics shareholders and other investors are cautioned that the completion of such expectations is by nature subject to various risks, known or not, and uncertainties which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of OSE Immunotherapeutics. These risks could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in or implied or projected by the forward-looking statements. These risks include those discussed or identified in the public filings made by OSE Immunotherapeutics with the AMF. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance.

This press release includes only summary information and should be read with the OSE Immunotherapeutics Reference Document filed with the AMF on 28 April 2017 under the number R.17-038, including the annual financial report for the fiscal year 2016, available on the OSE Immunotherapeutics website.

Other than as required by applicable law, OSE Immunotherapeutics issues this press release at the date hereof and does not undertake any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking information or statements. Contacts OSE Immunotherapeutics Sylvie Detry [email protected] +33 143 297 857 Media: AlizeRP Caroline Carmagnol / Laetitia Abbar [email protected] +33 647 389 004 LifeSci Advisors Chris Maggos [email protected] +41 79 367 6254

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[June 11, 2017] Honeywell and VietJet Air Sign $100 Million Agreement for Nearly 100 131-9A Auxiliary Power Units and More Than a Decade of Maintenance Service

WASHINGTON, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Honeywell (NYSE: HON) signed an agreement with VietJet Air for 98 auxiliary power units for the airliner's new fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft. Honeywell currently supplies VietJet Air with auxiliary power units (APUs) across the airline's entire fleet of 135 Airbus A320s. This new agreement runs through 2022 and includes 12-year-long maintenance servicing. The total value of the contract is over $100 million. Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc attended the event during his visit to the U.S. to promote bilateral business relations between the countries. The prime minister's attendance recognized Honeywell for its long-term commitment to supporting Vietnam's growing aerospace industry and close partnership with VietJet Air. "Our partnership with Honeywell began in 2014 when they were selected to supply, manage and maintain their 131-9A APUs for our fleet of 37 Airbus A320/A321 aircraft. Today, we signed our second agreement with Honeywell for more of its industry-leading APUs, which have proven to reduce operational costs and improve aircraft performance," said Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, president and CEO, VietJet Air. "Our long-standing partnership with Honeywell is also a testament to Vietnam's strong and positive relations with the U.S., and we look forward to many more years of deepening this relationship." By selecting Honeywell's most popular 131-9A APU, VietJet Air will benefit from increased operational reliability, lower maintenance costs over its life-cycle and significant fuel savings. The 131-9A APU's proven reliability and enhanced operability will also help boost safety and comfort for VietJet Air's passengers and reduce flight deays and cancellations. Honeywell's direct support of APU maintenance and services offerings will also provide the airline with optimized operational costs across its fleet.



"Vietnam is a priority market and key high-growth region for Honeywell. We are committed to expanding the region's commercial flight capabilities and helping to meet its long-term goals for the industry through our global maintenance, repair and overhaul network," said Brian Davis, vice president, Airlines, Asia Pacific, Honeywell Aerospace. "We are confident that this agreement will help VietJet Air maximize the operational efficiency of its Airbus A320 fleet, bring increased comfort and safety to its passengers, and keep it ahead of the curve in the airline industry." In 2015, VietJet Air also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Honeywell to provide APUs and avionics for the airline's future fleet. In March, Airbus designated the Honeywell 131-9A APU as standard equipment for its A320 family of aircraft.

About Honeywell APUs APUs are primarily used to power an airplane during ground operations, providing electricity, air conditioning, main engine starting and more. They can also provide backup electrical power during flights. Honeywell engineered the first APU in 1948. The company has produced more than 95,000 APUs and has more than 36,000 in service today across more than 150 regional, executive, commercial and military applications, including both fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. Honeywell recently shipped its 5,000th 131-9A APU. This puts the number of production APUs from the 131-9 family at more than 11,000 units, with more than 100 million total flight hours. The 131-9 series APU has been selected by airlines for the majority of narrow-body aircraft and features a unique electronic control box that integrates advanced, plain-English troubleshooting logic and health-monitoring capabilities for intuitive maintenance. This helps increase its already proven reliability to reduce delays and flight cancellations, allowing airlines to stay on schedule so their passengers can reach their destinations on time. Supporting Resources Read more about VietJet Air

Read more about Honeywell's 131 series of APUs

Read more about Honeywell Aerospace on the Follow The Aero blog

Like Honeywell Aerospace on Facebook

Follow @Honeywell_Aero on Twitter Honeywell (www.honeywell.com) is a Fortune 100 software-industrial company that delivers industry specific solutions that include aerospace and automotive products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes, and industry; and performance materials globally. Our technologies help everything from aircraft, cars, homes and buildings, manufacturing plants, supply chains, and workers become more connected to make our world smarter, safer, and more sustainable. For more news and information on Honeywell, please visit www.honeywell.com/newsroom. SOURCE Honeywell

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[June 12, 2017] WP Engine Expands Global Footprint With New Amazon Web Services Data Centers In Canada

WP Engine, the world's leading WordPress digital experience platform, today announced it is expanding its global footprint with new Amazon Web Services (AWS) data center availability across North America for its 60,000+ customers. Recently named an Amazon Advanced Technology Partner, WP Engine offers a range of enterprise-grade, high resiliency, high availability solutions on the WordPress-optimized AWS architecture. With global data centers and multi-zone redundancy across all traffic-serving layers, customers benefit from the best uptime protection and risk mitigation with elimination of single points of failure. "Today's digital business initiatives are hyper reliant on network connectivity creating heightened sensitivity toward any network downtime," said Jason Cohen (News - Alert), Founder and CTO of WP Engine. "By leveraging the scale and the power of AWS cloud services, WP Engine is enhancing our platform innovations and bringing enterprise-grade performance and resilience to companies of all sizes." Building on availability in the U.S., Australia, U.K. and Ireland, WP Engine customers on Enterprise Cluster plans can now select the local Canadian data center. Selecting a domestic data center can reduce latency for local site visitors, improve SEO and increase conversions with faster page load times. The domestic data centers also help support compliance for regulations including the Canadian Digital Privacy Act and regulations from other jurisdictions including PIPEDA and EU Data Protection Directive.



The new data center is available today based on plan type, with additional AWS data center availability expected to follow.

"We work with clients across all industries with unique audiences and landscapes but the thing they all have in common is the need to deliver digital experiences that move their business forward," said Sean O'Brien, VP, Director of Technology & Innovation at Padilla. "With WP Engine, we are able to improve performance which helps us deliver on our promise to build, grow and protect the customer's online brand." As companies look to minimize their carbon footprint they are increasingly leveraging the energy and resource efficiency of the cloud while also using data centers powered by renewable energy sources. WP Engine is committed to furthering sustainability efforts by working with providers that invest in renewable resources. In 2016, AWS exceeded their goal of using 40% of renewable resources to power its data centers and plans to reach 50% in 2017. WP Engine was also named a Amazon Advanced Technology Partner, following a stringent, Well-Architected review of the digital experience platform's security, reliability, performance and cost efficiency and the company's long-term vision for innovation. The Advanced Tech Partner announcement and launch of the new data center availability follow the opening of WP Engine's new innovation and technical support office in Limerick, Ireland. The office serves as the company's first customer service hub outside the U.S. and expands what is already the industry's largest R&D organization with a dedicated team based in Limerick to accelerate the development of WP Engine's leading WordPress digital experience platform. About WP Engine WP Engine is the world's leading WordPress digital experience platform that gives enterprises and agencies the agility, performance, intelligence, and integrations they need to drive their business forward faster. WP Engine's combination of tech innovation and an award-winning team of WordPress experts are trusted by over 60,000 companies across over 140 countries to provide counsel and support helps brands create world-class digital experiences. Founded in 2010, WP Engine is headquartered in Austin, Texas, and has offices in San Francisco, California; San Antonio, Texas; London, England; and Limerick, Ireland. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170612005397/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[June 12, 2017] Mavenlink Expands to UK and Europe With New Office in London

Leading SaaS Platform for $3 Trillion Professional Services Industry Leverages Success to Fuel International Expansion IRVINE, California and LONDON, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Mavenlink, provider of the leading cloud-based software platform for the modern services organization and a Gartner Cool Vendor*, today announced it's expanding its geographic presence with the opening of its first European office in London.

The new London office will service Mavenlink's fast-growing base of clients in Europe, and act as the central sales hub for the region. The company expects to double growth in the region over the next 12 months. "We've been very fortunate to have had a significant and growing interest in our product across the European market over the past couple years," said Ray Grainger, Mavenlink CEO and co-founder. "We're excited to be launching our European office in London, a city where many of our current clients are based, to enhance our service offering and accelerate growth in the region." Mavenlink has released several product enhancements to better support European countries, including support for European currencies and flexibility to customize workweeks based on regional holidays and schedules. Mavenlink was also recently certified under the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework, reflecting continued commitment to user privacy, data security, and pivacy rights of EU citizens.



"This is an exciting time for our company, and the services industry," said Mr. Grainger. "There is tremendous transformation happening across the $3 trillion global services market. We look forward to partnering with more professional services organizations, consultancies, and digital agencies in the UK and across Europe to enable them with the digital infrastructure required to succeed in today's Service Level Economy." To celebrate the launch of the new office, Mavenlink is hosting a party for clients and partners as part of London Tech Week. The week-long festival of technology and innovation was created to showcase and celebrate the best of London's tech scene. The Chairman of London & Partners and London Tech Week Ambassador, Rajesh Agrawal, is among the exclusive list of invitees to Mavenlink's private event.

"We are thrilled that Mavenlink has opened an office in London as part of its impressive global expansion plans," said Mr. Agrawal. "London is an ideal location for innovative technology companies like Mavenlink, who are looking to grow their brand and client base in UK and Europe." Following consecutive years of triple digit growth, Mavenlink's expansion plans include the recent addition of two new U.S. locations in Boston and Salt Lake City, while growing its current San Francisco engineering and product headquarters, and rapidly adding jobs at its Irvine, CA corporate headquarters. In the coming months, the company will announce at least one other international office opening to support growth. In the next 12 months, the company plans to double its number of employees, globally.

Visit Mavenlink.com/Press for more information on the company's recent news and awards. About Mavenlink

Mavenlink delivers enterprise-class Software as a Service (SaaS) that transforms how services organizations work with distributed teams, contractors and clients around the globe. Mavenlink's innovative technology platform enables teams of any size to successfully manage and scale their people, projects, and profits. Consulting firms, IT services organizations, creative agencies, and professional services organizations in more than 100 countries are running their businesses more effectively and predictably with Mavenlink. Mavenlink was recently named a Red Herring Global 100 business, a Glassdoor Best Place to Work, and a Cool Vendor by Gartner, the world's leading technology research and advisory firm. Learn more at www.mavenlink.com. * Gartner, Cool Vendors in Program and Portfolio Management, 2015, Robert A. Handler, Matt Light, Donna Fitzgerald, Teresa Jones, 24 April 2015.

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[June 12, 2017] Blue Sky Network Upgrades Cloud Based SkyRouter 3

SAN DIEGO, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Sky Network, an industry-leading global provider of cloud based tracking solutions, announced today the release of SkyRouter 3, version 2.6.0, which will become immediately available to all customers. This upgrade includes a targeted set of FAA aeronautical chart basemaps and real-time weather data now accessible on the SkyRouter 3 platform  widely regarded as the most intelligent fleet management tool in the industry. "SkyRouter 3, v.2.6.0 is the most innovative and important feature release Blue Sky Network software engineers have introduced so far this year," said Kambiz Aghili, who became CEO of Blue Sky Network in October 2016. "This release marks a significant increase in our integrated map overlay offerings and a meaningful integration of our overlay system which makes flight planning easier, safer and most cost efficient for our customers. With the new aviation weather overlays, SkyRouter 3 users can view current weather conditions at thousands of airports around the globe." "Te new 2.6.0 feature release follows the two previous fully supported upgrades released earlier this year as part of the ongoing advancement of the SkyRouter 3 platform ahead of the industry," said Blue Sky Network President Gregoire Demory. "Version 2.4.0, introduced in early April brought state of the art GSM and Iridium support for the HawkEye 6200 marine tracker which is BSN's first IP67 waterproof tracking systems for vessels. Version 2.5.0, introduced in late April brought security enhancements that put SkyRouter 3 solidly at the forefront of web security for advanced authentication options."



"The genius of SkyRouter 3 is its extensible capability to capture many sources of public and proprietary data points, manipulate and intelligently superimpose them onto the SkyRouter map in a way that is easy to navigate and customize by our clients," added Aghili. "Thanks to this latest release, our clients can track a forest fire as easily as a weather front." ABOUT BLUE SKY NETWORK

Blue Sky Network is an industry-leading provider of mission-critical fleet management, tracking and operational analytics solutions serving private, commercial, and government customers worldwide. Blue Sky Network deploys innovative satellite-based communication solutions that help aviation, marine, and land/mobile customers track and manage their assets in real-time in over 50 countries, resulting in improved safety, security, operational efficiency, and profitability. Blue Sky Network's interactive web portal, SkyRouter, offers extensive tracking, reporting, communication and asset management functionality using its unique and easy to use graphical interface. Blue Sky Network is headquartered in San Diego, California, USA. For more information about Blue Sky Network products and services, visit www.blueskynetwork.com. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/blue-sky-network-upgrades-cloud-based-skyrouter-3-300472110.html SOURCE Blue Sky Network, LLC

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[June 12, 2017]

The Besen Group to Host MVNO Seminar at 2017 "Mobile World Congress Americas, in Partnership with CTIA"

WASHINGTON, June 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Besen Group, an international mobile data industry management consulting practice headquartered in the Washington DC area, with representatives in Paris and Tokyo, will host an MVNO seminar titled How Cable Operators Launch a Successful MVNO at Mobile World Congress Americas on September 12th from 1:30pm to 5pm at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Mobile World Congress Americas is set to become the premier mobile industry event for the Americas, with representation from North, Central and South America.



We are looking forward to participating at the inaugural Mobile World Congress Americas, delivering our comprehensive MVNO seminar, which addresses a critical market opportunity. Given US cable operators have had few successes and multiple failures launching mobile voice and data services, we are dedicating our seminar to cable operators this year. We strongly believe that all cable operators will launch their mobile services in the next few years thru wholesale partnerships by leveraging their extensive Wi-Fi networks and fiber footprints, said Alex Besen, Founder and CEO of The Besen Group LLC.

Current speakers:

Alex Besen  CEO, The Besen Group

Jesse Caulfield  CEO, Key Bridge Wireless

Arun Dehiri  Managing Director, Red Dawn Consulting

Roger Entner  Founder, Recon Analytics







Norman Fekrat  Chief Strategy & Revenue Officer, Lemko Corporation

Sarah James  Senior Reporter, S&P Global Market Intelligence

Paul Kolodzy  Wireless Consultant, Kolodzy Consulting

Mark Lowenstein  Managing Director, Mobile Ecosystem

Atte Miettinen  Group CEO, Limitless Mobile

Kyung Mun  Senior Analyst, Mobile Experts

Dave Wright  Director, Regulatory Affairs & Network Standards, Ruckus Wireless

For the MVNO seminar description, please visit:

https://www.mwcamericas.com/events/partner-programs/how-cable-operators-launch-a-successful-mvno/

For registration, please visit: https://www.mwcamericas.com/register-plan/register/

The MVNO seminar is sponsored by: Limitless Mobile.

For sponsorship opportunities, please send an email to [email protected].

About The Besen Group (www.thebesengroup.com)

The Besen Group is an international management consulting practice to the mobile industry headquartered in the Washington DC area, with representatives in Paris and Tokyo. Its mission is to provide mobile players with tools, knowledge, and services enabling them to perform optimally in their mobile environment. The Besen Groups competitive edge is based on practical experience with mobile operators, mobile vendors, and a mobile data laboratory.
[June 12, 2017] Drug Candidates Developed Using Zymeworks' Azymetric Platform Nominated for Late-Stage, Preclinical Development by Lilly

Zymeworks Inc. ("Zymeworks"), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of next-generation bispecific and multifunctional biotherapeutics, initially focused on the treatment of cancer, today announced that two bispecific immuno-oncology drug candidates have been nominated by Eli Lilly and Company ("Lilly") for late-stage, preclinical development. The drug candidates were developed by Lilly in collaboration with Zymeworks using Zymeworks' proprietary Azymetric platform as part of the companies' existing collaboration and licensing agreement. These two programs previously achieved a research milestone in 2016 and 2017, respectively. "We are excited that our collaboration with Lilly has resulted in the nomination of potential drugs to the candidate stage," said Dr. Ali Tehrani, President and CEO of Zymeworks. "We are continuing to work closely with Lilly in the development of other novel immune modulating bispecific antibody therapeutics." Under the terms of the agreement, Zymeworks has granted Lilly a worldwide, royalty-bearing license to research, develop and commercialize certain bispecific therapeutic candidates toward Lilly's therapeutic targets. For these programs, Zymeworks is eligible to receive further development and commercial milestone payments as well as tiered royalties on product sales. About the Azymetric Platform The Azymetric platform consists of a library of proprietary amino acid substitutions that enable the transformation of monospecific antibodies into bispecific antibodies, which gives them the ability to simultaneously bind two non-overlapping epitopes, or antigens. Azymetric bispecific technology enables the development of biotherapeutics with dual-targeting of receptors/ligands and simultaneous blockade of multiple signaling pathways, increasing tumor-specific targeting and efficacy while reducing toxicities and the potential for drug-resistance. Additionally, the dual-targeting of Azymetric antibodies has demonstrated synergistic efficacy in preclinical studies through simultaneous binding relative to the application of an equivalent dose of the corresponding monospecific antibodies. Azymetric bispecifics can als be engineered to enhance internalization of the antibody into the tumor cell and consequently increase the delivery of cytotoxic payloads.



First-generation bispecific platforms significantly alter the structure of monoclonal antibodies or rely upon complex and proprietary manufacturing processes. Azymetric bispecifics, in contrast, retain the desirable drug-like qualities of monoclonal antibodies, including long half-life, stability and low immunogenic potential, which increases their probability of success. Azymetric bispecifics are also compatible with standard manufacturing processes with high yields and purity, which accelerates manufacturing timelines and reduces costs. About Zymeworks Inc.

Zymeworks is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of next-generation multifunctional biotherapeutics, initially focused on the treatment of cancer. Zymeworks' suite of complementary therapeutic platforms and its fully-integrated drug development engine provide the flexibility and compatibility to precisely engineer and develop highly-differentiated product candidates. Zymeworks' lead product candidate, ZW25, is a novel bispecific antibody currently being evaluated in an adaptive Phase 1 clinical trial. Zymeworks is also advancing a deep pipeline of preclinical product candidates and discovery-stage programs in immuno-oncology and other therapeutic areas. In addition to Zymeworks' wholly-owned pipeline, its therapeutic platforms have been further leveraged through multiple strategic partnerships with global biopharmaceutical companies. Forward Looking Statements This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities laws, or collectively, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements that relate to drug candidate development, Lilly collaboration progress and other information that is not historical information. In addition, any statements or information that refer to expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, performance or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking. All forward-looking statements are based upon our current expectations and various assumptions. We believe there is a reasonable basis for our expectations and beliefs, but they are inherently uncertain. We may not realize our expectations, and our beliefs may not prove correct. Actual results could differ materially from those described or implied by such forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, without limitation, market conditions and the factors described under "Risk Factors" in our registration statement on Form F-1 and in our supplemented PREP prospectus dated April 27, 2017 filed in connection with our initial public offering on May 3, 2017 (copies of which filings may be obtained at www.sec.gov and www.sedar.com). Consequently, forward-looking statements should be regarded solely as our current plans, estimates and beliefs. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We cannot guarantee future results, events, levels of activity, performance or achievements. We do not undertake and specifically decline any obligation to update, republish or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, future events or circumstances or to reflect the occurrences of unanticipated events, except as may be required by law. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170612005399/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[June 12, 2017] Best-in-Class Sexual Violence Reporting Tool Now Available to Canadian Campuses

With the shared vision of creating technology that makes campuses and communities safer, RallyEngine Inc. today announced plans to partner with US-based nonprofit Callisto to bring its ground-breaking sexual assault reporting service to Canada. "We envision a world where sexual assault is rare and survivors receive the support they need," said Callisto founder and CEO Jessica Ladd, whose 2016 TED Talk has been watched millions of times. "RallyEngine embraced our survivor-centred system and we are thrilled that their innovative package will help advance this mission across Canada." Powered by Callisto, RallyEngine SafeSpace is a secure, third-party information escrow service that provides a documentation and reporting tool with three options for survivors: to record sexual assault, to report electronically to authorities, and to only report if the perpetrator is identified by another user. It is estimated that between 15% to 25% of North American college and university-aged women will experience some form of sexual assault during their academic career. And the reporting rate for sexual violence in Canada is lower than any other crime, ranging between 3 to 8 per cent. "The incidents are there but the reporting needs to catch up," said Debra Tomlinson, CEO of the Association of Alberta Sexual Assault Services. "Dispelling the myths around sexual violence will help encourage more women to speak out, and providing a safe space to do it will hopefully increase those low numbers." End-users will be able to access SafeSpace online and as part of their campus's RallyEngine-powered mobile safety app for real-time alerting/rallying, tipline, work/study-alone, and mre.



"This is a top priority on North American campuses right now," said Ladd. "Secure, trauma-informed reporting tools are an important complement to the modern policies universities are implementing." SafeSpace deployments will begin this summer. For more information, visit: http://www.rallyengine.com/safespace.

"Unfortunately, sexual violence is still a big problem - on campus, in the workplace, and in society generally. And there is still much that organizations - from universities to law enforcement - can do to handle it better," said RallyEngine president Steve Hardy. "But let's start by empowering the survivors. Let's provide them a self-managed space to draft, edit, and confidentially submit incident reports at their own pace. And let's identify aggregate organizational trends that can prevent repeat perpetrators from hurting others." SafeSpace was made possible in part by an R&D grant from the National Research Council. Representatives from RallyEngine will be at the Canadian Association of University Business Officers (CAUBO) conference at the Westin Ottawa on June 12th and 13th. About RallyEngine RallyEngine is a nimble platform for alerting groups, rallying teams, and enhancing community capacity - for smart, safe campuses, companies, and cities. RallyEngine is a pre-qualified innovation under the federal Build in Canada Innovation Program and originated as the mobile rapid-response network powering the Missing Children Society of Canada's ground-breaking, police-endorsed CodeSearch program. Ready. Rally. Resiliency. rallyengine.com About Callisto Callisto is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that creates technology to combat sexual assault, empower survivors, and advance justice. Its online, trauma-informed platform allows students to create records of sexual assault, report directly to authorities, or notify schools of repeat offenders. Callisto partners include Stanford, the University of San Francisco, Pomona College and others. For more information, visit: projectcallisto.org View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170612005424/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[June 12, 2017] Cybersecurity Incidents Plague U.S. Finance Operations, According to TD Bank Survey

CHERRY HILL, N.J., June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Financial and payment professionals do not anticipate any respite from cyber fraud and cyber attacks in the near future, according to a recent survey conducted by TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank. An overwhelming 91 percent of respondents stated they anticipate that payments fraud will become a bigger threat in the next two to three years, up slightly from last year (89 percent). TD's survey at the NACHA PAYMENTS 2017 conference in Austin, Texas, collected responses from nearly 400 finance professionals on industry trends and outlook. These cyber concerns are not without merit, as 64 percent of respondents reported that either their organization or one of their clients was involved in a cybersecurity event in the past year. The most commonly cited incidents were business email compromise (20 percent); account takeover (19 percent); and data breach (15 percent). "Companies need to be mindful that everyday tools from email to the Internet can pose risk to payment operations, and the criminal toolbox is expanding," said Rick Burke, Head of Corporate Products and Services, TD Bank. "Corporate treasurers need to create layers of control for accounts and payments processing, both within their organization and in conjunction with their banking partners." The Wait to Automate Despite the grim outlook on cybersecurity, industry professionals noted that automatng payments processing could offer greater defense. When thinking about the advantages of automating payments, 21 percent named fraud control and security as the top benefit. Other benefits include:



Speed and ability to pay same day  27 percent

Efficiency  25 percent

Cost savings  16 percent

Accuracy  11 percent Although corporate treasury professionals believe there is value in automating payments, progress is slow. The percentage of businesses that are paper free has not significantly grown since last year (23 percent in 2016 vs. 21 percent in 2017). Indeed, conference attendees are even less optimistic about their paperless future than they were last year almost half (48 percent) think it will take three or more years to become paper free, up from 42 percent in 2016. While most companies are sluggish adopters of paperless transactions, they agree that there are best practices and tools available to speed up payments, lower department costs or leverage receivables. The majority of financial professionals named same-day ACH as the most helpful tool (40 percent), followed by accelerated receivables (27 percent) and automating cash application (14 percent).

Survey Methodology

TD Bank polled finance professionals at the 2017 NACHAThe Electronic Payments Association PAYMENTS conference held in Austin, Texas, in April and via the organization's mobile app. A total of 392 responses were collected from industry professionals, including payments system stakeholders from business end-users and financial and technology services organizations. About TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank

TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is one of the 10 largest banks in the U.S., providing more than 9 million customers with a full range of retail, small business and commercial banking products and services at more than 1,200 convenient locations throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Metro D.C., the Carolinas and Florida. In addition, TD Bank and its subsidiaries offer customized private banking and wealth management services through TD Wealth, and vehicle financing and dealer commercial services through TD Auto Finance. TD Bank is headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J. To learn more, visit www.tdbank.com. Find TD Bank on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TDBank and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TDBank_US. TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is a member of TD Bank Group and a subsidiary of The Toronto-Dominion Bank of Toronto, Canada, a top 10 financial services company in North America. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges under the ticker symbol "TD". To learn more, visit www.td.com. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cybersecurity-incidents-plague-us-finance-operations-according-to-td-bank-survey-300471991.html SOURCE TD Bank

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[June 12, 2017] SecurityRI Beefs-Up Security Offering with the Addition of Two IT Industry Cyber Security Experts

NORTH PROVIDENCE, R.I., June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- SecurityRI, a leading full-service IT security company specializing in comprehensive cyber security strategies to protect businesses of all sizes, announce the addition of Robert Gryta and Quentin Small. "Gryta and Small's extensive IT background are a perfect addition to our team of security professionals," said Jon Volatile, managing partner of SecurityRI. "With ransomware and other malicious software attacks hijacking thousands of computers worldwide and bringing businesses to a halt, our goal is to help individuals and organizations plan and prepare." The Computer Crime and Intellectual Study (CCIPS) conducted by the FBI states that more than 4,000 ransomware attacks have occurred every day since the beginning of 2016. That is a 300% increase from 2015, and there is no indication of that trend reversing in 2017. "While ransomware viruses like WannaCry continue to wreak havoc, businesses are finding themselves forced to re-evaluate security procedures to avoid falling victim to these attacks now and in the future," said Marc Ranaldi, CIO of SecurityRI. "The combined experience that Gryta and Small bring to our IT team, from full network integrations to extnsive work on business processes and organizational design, helps us expand our focus on protecting our clients from devastating downtime and lost files."



SecurityRI's team of IT experts help ensure all software is up-to-date, aid in the installation of anti-virus software, create back-up of data, educate employees on how to identify and avoid malicious content, and can aid employers in setting up closed networks and limited access to resources that aren't necessary for daily workflow. "Our goal is to help businesses structure a proactive security plan and supply simple education and cautious online behavior tips that could help prevent most malware from infecting their network," concluded Ranaldi. SecurityRI's methodology for all projects starts with a full diagnostic and strategic planning approach that involves the identification of all vulnerabilities that need to be addressed and monitored for safety. The process allows for proper planning and design and ensures protection of confidential data and credentials.

About SecurityRI

SecurityRI has been a New England trusted leader in the security industry for over 35 years, delivering one-stop security solutions including, premier uniformed security, consulting and investigative services, and full network integrations and business processes planning to shield our clients from devastating downtime and lost files. Our focus of 24/7/365 unsurpassed monitoring and protecting our clients people, property and information has always, and will remain our priority. Our approach is simple, to learn your business and what matters to your company, and design a quality-based, results-oriented solution to your security needs. SecurityRI is a privately-held Cyber Security Company in North Providence, Rhode Island. To find out more, please visit www.securityri.com. Contact: Juli Dexter

SecurityRI.com

401.256.6115

[email protected] To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/securityri-beefs-up-security-offering-with-the-addition-of-two-it-industry-cyber-security-experts-300471995.html SOURCE SecurityRI

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[June 12, 2017]

Zoic's UK LIVE Data Visualization Captures Real-Time Voter Temperature Throughout UK General Election

CULVER CITY, Calif., June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- For the 2017 UK General Election, Zoic Labs activated a futuristic LIVE data visualization entitled UK LIVE . The fascinating, real time new way to track the UK's controversial 2017 election can be viewed HERE.

"UK LIVE by Zoic" follows the studio's similar live data visualization of the US presidential election 2016 entitled "LIVE by Zoic." The app places real-time, powerful, big-data and sentiment analysis in the hands of everyday citizens of the UK. UK L.I.V.E. (Live and Interactive Voter Emotion), is intuitive, easy to use, and provides infinite personal customization.

Biz Stone, Twitter Co-founder and Zoic Advisory Board Member said of the original data vis tool LIVE by Zoic, "This data visualization enables citizens to put their finger on the pulse of what people are really thinking and consequently, Tweeting. This isn't polling data, it's real people, expressing their real thoughts and it's the closest we'll get to having a cystal ball."







UK LIVE by Zoic is available free, and allows users to interactively customize aggregations of Tweets about UK Prime Minister candidates Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn, by sentiment, emotions, location, age and gender. Notes Zoic Labs President Tim McBride, "We encourage all UK voters to move beyond static and often critiqued polling data and follow the UK General Election using UK LIVE by Zoic's customizable visualizations of the election sentiment and opinions of United Kingdom citizens."

Zoic Labs is the advanced visualization R&D division of Emmy Award-winning visual effects studio, Zoic Studios. Zoic Labs chiefly operates on large data visualization and VR, AR and machine learning operations for its clients. For this experiment, Maryland-based analytics company ICG and their LUX2016 big-data analytics platform is providing the analytics for this election, which monitors and filters news and social media, then using advanced analytics determines demographics, sentiment, emotion and other pertinent results.

About Zoic Labs

Zoic Labs is an advanced visualization company focused on the intersection of big data, narrative, design, and emerging technologies.

Since 2002, we have developed software and virtual production tools for Zoic Studios, a multi-platform storytelling company with emphasis on high-end computer graphics for film, television, and gaming.

Zoic Labs creates cross-disciplinary visualization models for data analysis and collaborative insight discovery.

We provide R&D, agile software development, UI/UX design, and consulting services for a diverse range of clients, both public and private.

For more information contact: Virginia Scripps @ Press Kitchen 310.394.3900

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/zoics-uk-live-data-visualization-captures-real-time-voter-temperature-throughout-uk-general-election-300471978.html

SOURCE Zoic Labs
[June 12, 2017] Myomo, Inc. Trades at the New York Stock Exchange MKT

Myomo, Inc. ("Myomo" or the "Company"), a commercial stage medical robotics company, today announced that following the close of its initial public offering, its common shares will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) MKT sometime after 9:30 AM EDT, under the symbol "MYO." Myomo is the first Regulation A+ issuer to list its securities on a national exchange. The Company plans to use the net proceeds of the offering with resources to continue to invest in the MyoPro product line, as well as increase sales and marketing efforts to grow its business domestically and internationally. TriPoint Global Equities, LLC, working with its online division BANQ (www.banq.co), was the lead managing selling agent and bookrunner for the offering. CrowdfundX was the digital marketing agency of record. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification of these securities under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. Myomo Allows Patients to Regain Essential Mobility Myomo produces the MyoPro, a myoelectric arm orthosis (powered brace) that is the only lightweight wearable device that can restore function in the paralyzed or weakened arms and hands of individuals who have suffered a stroke, spinal cordor nerve injury, or other neuromuscular disability. With the orthosis, a paralyzed individual can perform activities of daily living including feeding themselves, carrying objects, and doing household tasks and many are able to return to work.



About Myomo Myomo, Inc. is a commercial stage medical robotics Company that offers expanded mobility for those suffering from neurological disorders and upper limb paralysis. Based on patented technology developed at MIT (News - Alert) and the Company, Myomo develops and markets the MyoPro product line of lightweight, non-invasive, powered arm braces to restore function in the paralyzed or weakened arms and hands of individuals that have suffered a stroke, spinal cord or nerve injury such as brachial plexus injury, or other neuromuscular disability such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or multiple sclerosis (MS). It is provided through clinical relationships with VA medical centers, leading rehabilitation hospitals, and Orthotics and Prosthetics ("O&P") practices. Several hundred have been successfully used by patients. It is the only device that, sensing a patient's own neurological signals through non-invasive sensors on the arm, can restore their ability to use their arms and hands so that they can return to work, live independently and reduce their cost of care. Myomo is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with sales and clinical professionals across the U.S. For more information, please visit www.myomo.com.

Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding the trading of the Company's common stock on the NYSE, the Company's plans for the use of proceeds and advancing its product line, increasing its sales and marketing efforts and growing its business, and the Company's future business expectations, which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual results due to a variety of factors. Other risks and uncertainties include, among others, risks related to the Company's liquidity and financial position, the trading of its common stock, its new products, services, and technologies, government regulation and taxation, and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Myomo's business and financial results are included in Myomo's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The Company disclaims any obligation subsequently to revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170612005556/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
The Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) company has sued the Armavir Provincial Government for 8 million AMD ($1,658) in unpaid utility bills and fines.

Yuri Manvelyan, a lawyer for the provincial administration, told Hetq that its unclear when the debt accumulated and for what facility.

Manvelyan added that the national government has decided to pay the bill for the Armavir provincial administration.

The next scheduled trial in the case is on June 27.
[June 12, 2017] Accellion Receives FedRAMP Authorization for its Secure Content Collaboration Platform

PALO ALTO, Calif., June 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Accellion, Inc., the leading provider in hybrid and private cloud secure content collaboration, today announced it has received FedRAMP authorization from the U.S. Federal Government, determining its kiteworks secure content collaboration platform is compliant with Federal security requirements.

The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, or FedRAMP, is a government-wide program that provides a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring for cloud products and services. Initiated to increase cloud adoption across the Federal Government, FedRAMP is a rigorous security assessment and authorization framework developed by cybersecurity and cloud experts from a number of government agencies and private industry. The goal of FedRAMP is to help the Federal Government quickly, rigorously, and consistently assess the security of cloud solutions that are used or are being considered for use by federal agencies. The FedRAMP authorization assessment process includes an in-depth examination of a solutions data security and data governance capabilities, as well as the security practices of the technology companies providing the cloud services. Now authorized, Accellion kiteworks can be deployed in isolated environments on Amazon Cloud to enable government employees to securely access and transfer sensitive documents. Accellion has a number of Federal Government customers already leveraging its products to collaborate securely with external partners, including: National Park Service, Securities and Exchange Commission, National Institute for Standards and Technology, United States Senate, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Department of Energy, Department of Health and Human Services, NASA, National Transportation Safety Board, USDA, National Science Foundation, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and National Gallery of Art, among many more. With Federal employees handling and sharing sensitive content across a vast network of staff and partners, content security is absolutely critical to ensure project success, personal privacy,and public safety, shared Michael Shrader, Vice President of Intelligence and Innovative Solutions at Carahsoft Technology Corporation, a leading provider of IT solutions for Government agencies. Our longstanding partnership reflects our belief that Accellion is uniquely qualified to enable secure intra- and inter-agency content collaboration for Federal employees and their associates. We congratulate Accellion on this important milestone and look forward to shared and continued success in solving Government agencies secure content collaboration needs.



Accellion is FIPS 140-2 validated and currently compliant with a number of industry and government regulations including: ITAR, SOC2, and PCI DSS Level 1, among others. We have an enviable track record of supporting Government agencies in their efforts to collaborate efficiently, while keeping their sensitive content secure, commented Jonathan Yaron, Chairman and CEO of Accellion. Earning full FedRAMP authorization reinforces our commitment to agencies at all levels that we take the security of their content extremely seriously. Government agencies can move forward with confidence, knowing that kiteworks has the proven capabilities needed to protect the sensitive data they share with colleagues, partners and constituents.

Accellion will be demonstrating its kiteworks secure content collaboration platform in Booth #312 at the AWS Public Sector Summit in Washington, DC June 12-14. To learn more about Accellions FedRAMP authorization, visit FedRAMPs authorized product page. To learn more how kiteworks enables secure and compliant file sharing for government agencies, visit: www.accellion.com/government. For more information about Accellion and the kiteworks secure content platform, please visit: www.accellion.com. About Accellion Accellion, Inc. enables enterprise organizations to collaborate on content with external partners securely via a private cloud. Enterprises can leave existing content where it lives today, and extend it outside the firewall without having to migrate content or disrupt their business workflows. Accellions solutions are used by more than 15 million users and 2,500 of the worlds leading corporations and government agencies including KPMG; Kaiser Permanente; Latham & Watkins; National Park Service; Umpqua Bank; Cargill; and the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST). For more information please visit www.accellion.com or call (650) 485-4300. Follow Accellion on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Accellions Blog. Accellion and kiteworks are registered trademarks of Accellion, Inc. in the US and other countries. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners. Media contacts Rachel Kaseroff RJK Communications (415) 341-5625 [email protected]

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[June 12, 2017] University of Mount Union Announces Three New Engineering Programs

ALLIANCE, Ohio, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The University of Mount Union is proud to announce the addition of new majors in biomedical, computer and electrical engineering beginning in the fall of 2018. These three majors will be housed in the Department of Engineering and join already successful majors in civil and mechanical engineering, which are accredited through the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). "These new programs will create a very robust engineering program that we believe is responsive to the needs of our regional and national economy," said Mount Union President Dick Merriman. "The University of Mount Union is committed to preparing engineers who are technically proficient problem solvers, understand the business and production context of engineering work and excel in team settings that require effective communication and collaboration." The new biomedical engineering major will integrate engineering with medicine, combining principles of the medical and biological sciences to design and create equipment, devices and software used in ealthcare. Mount Union biomedical engineering students will have the opportunity to work closely with its Doctor of Physical Therapy program.



Computer engineering is a growing field that designs, builds and tests computing systems to constantly innovate technology used every day. Mount Union computer and electrical engineering majors will have the skills to pursue career opportunities in power, energy, technology or communications engineering upon graduation. Mount Union engineering students are afforded unique learning opportunities outside of the classroom. From international experiences and product design and development, to adaptable prosthetic leg sockets and competition BAJA cars, the Department of Engineering focuses on utilizing students' skills for real-world applications.

"These new majors will educate the next generation of skilled engineers needed for the high-tech industry that keeps our economy humming," said Dr. Osama Jadaan, professor and chair of the Department of Engineering. "The majors were selected because there is strong demand for their graduates, they also are highly-paid professions that complement the thriving health sciences majors at the University. We are graduating engineers who are technically prepared, globally aware, business savvy and appreciative of the arts and literature." Graduates of Mount Union's engineering programs have a career and graduate school placement rate of more than 95 percent and 90 percent of students earn at least one paid internship before graduating from the program. For more information about engineering at Mount Union, visit mountunion.edu/department-of-engineering. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/university-of-mount-union-announces-three-new-engineering-programs-300472250.html SOURCE University of Mount Union

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[June 12, 2017] BCG to Create More Than 200 Jobs with Third Atlanta Location

ATLANTA, June 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), one of the worlds leading management consulting firms and premier employers, announced today that it is expanding its presence in Atlanta with a new business services center that will house more than 200 new employees over the next few years and as many as 500 within a decade. Employees at the new locationBCGs third in the citywill support the firms growing North American and global operations, working in a variety of functions, including visual services, finance, marketing, recruiting, and human resources.

BCG, which ranked third on this years Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list and in the top five for seven straight years, selected Atlanta as the site for the center to capitalize on the metro areas skilled workforce and the city and states innovative, business-friendly environment. Alan Wise, a senior partner who heads BCG in Atlanta, said the firm will be investing $9.2 million toward the construction of a 40,000-square-foot, two-floor building, to be located in the reinvigorated Downtown Atlanta district. Construction is expected to begin in June 2017 and to be completed in June 2018. The new business services center will enable us to support our regional and global teams better and thereby to deliver even greater value to our clients, said Wise, noting that hiring for the new center began last year. Since opening BCG Atlanta in 1995, weve been deeply committed to the Atlanta community through pro bono consulting projects, individual volunteering, and direct support to local organizations. To be able to bring several hundred additional skilled jobs with competitive compensation, market-leading benefits, and excellent career prospects to our city is another wayof showing our commitment to Atlanta.



"A commitment to the community and the ability to drive change through social impact activities have always been cornerstone values for BCG," Wise added. BCG has displayed a consistent commitment to the metro Atlanta area for years and this expansion reflects the strength of Georgias economy today, said Georgia Governor Nathan Deal. As the major financial and commercial center of the Southeast, Georgia will continue to provide BCG with a skilled workforce and the advantages of the top state in which to do business. With this new facility, BCG will be even better equipped to serve the national and international firms operating here in Georgia.

Were excited about BCG choosing to expand their presence in our city, said Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed. By doing so, BCG will bring 232 well-paying jobs to the City of Atlanta, close to many of the Fortune 500 and 1000 clients they serve. BCG is known for its consulting expertise, as well as being an excellent and in-demand employer. We look forward to their continued growth and success in Atlanta. BCG opened its Atlanta consulting office, originally located in the Bank of America Plaza, in 1995. In 2010, the office moved to its current location at 1075 Peachtree Street. In 2015, the firm established its second Atlanta location when it acquired BrightHouse, an Atlanta-based ideation and brand strategy boutique, located at Ponce City Market. To arrange an interview with a BCG executive, please contact Eric Gregoire at +1 617 850 3783 or [email protected]. About The Boston Consulting Group

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is a global management consulting firm and the worlds leading advisor on business strategy. We partner with clients from the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors in all regions to identify their highest-value opportunities, address their most critical challenges, and transform their enterprises. Our customized approach combines deep insight into the dynamics of companies and markets with close collaboration at all levels of the client organization. This ensures that our clients achieve sustainable competitive advantage, build more capable organizations, and secure lasting results. Founded in 1963, BCG is a private company with 85 offices in 48 countries. For more information, please visit bcg.com. About BrightHouse

BrightHouse is a BCG company and a global creative consultancy. We help organizations uncover their timeless purpose so they can grow their people, profits, and social impact. BrightHouse created a whole new thinking methodology for organizations and revolutionary frameworks for leadership, marketing, and innovationsall in the service of helping business do better. What better means to BrightHouse is not just bigger profit, but also a greater number of people who profit from a more purposeful organization. In 2015, we became an independent business division of The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Together, were the only resource for full purpose-driven transformation. We offer clients a range of creative and strategic thinkingfrom insights, actions, branding, films, and more. For more information, please visit thinkbrighthouse.com. The Boston Consulting Group Eric Gregoire Global Media Relations Manager Tel +1 617 850 3783 Fax +1 617 850 3701 [email protected]

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[June 12, 2017] GPS Insight Awarded NJPA National Contract for Fleet Management

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., June 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GPS Insight, a leading technology provider of tailored telematics solutions for government fleets, announced it has been awarded a contract to provide its telematics solutions to government agencies by the National Joint Powers Alliance (NJPA).

GPS Insight joins a world-class group of providers as an NJPA contract awarded vendor. The contract is found under the category of Fleet Management and Related Technology Solutions. The GPS Insight telematics solutions are now available to NJPA members under the contract # 022217-GPI. Jason Walker, VP of Sales at GPS Insight, stated, We are very proud to have been awarded the NJPA contract for Fleet Management. This is a testament to the quality of the people, products, and solutions at GPS Insight. We look forward to working with NJPA to provide the technology and level of service that government fleets expect. GPS Insight offers governmentfleets the opportunity to reduce costs, reduce risk, and reduce frustration. Whether implementing GPS telematics for the first time or looking to switch providers, fleets can buy with confidence knowing that GPS Insight will tailor a solution to their needs. GPS Insight works diligently to provide customers with the most flexible solutions and best customer experience on the market.



For more information visit: https://www.gpsinsight.com/njpa/ About GPS Insight:

GPS Insight is a top technology provider of tailored telematics solutions for government agencies with vehicles and other mobile assets. Fleets work with GPS Insight to solve their unique fleet challenges through reduced costs, and reduced risk, and reduced frustration. Using GPS Insight, customers realize a significant increase in efficiency and gain insight into all aspects of their fleet operations. GPS Insight provides highly flexible solutions, which include a wide range of customized reports, alerts, and other innovative features that can be tailored to meet specific customer requirements and ensure maximum return on investment. Visit https://www.gpsinsight.com. About NJPA: National Joint Powers Alliance (NJPA) is a government agency committed to providing cooperative solutions assisting governmental, educational, and nonprofit entities as they strive for efficient public service. Created in 1978 as one of Minnesota's nine service cooperatives, NJPA offers a variety of cooperative programs and services for members on a local, regional, statewide, and national scale, including Canada. On behalf of its publicly elected Board of Directors, and public employee staff, NJPA is committed to meeting and exceeding the expectations of its members. Visit www.njpacoop.org. Contact: Ryan Driscoll Marketing Director at GPS Insight 7201 E. Henkel Way, Suite 400 Scottsdale, AZ 85255 866-477-4321 [email protected]

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[June 12, 2017] ProfNet Experts Available on Facebook's Anti-Terrorism Pledge, Artificial Intelligence

NEW YORK, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Below are experts from the ProfNet network who are available to discuss timely issues in your coverage area. You can also submit a query to the hundreds of thousands of experts in our network  it's easy and free! Just fill out the query form to get started: http://prn.to/queryform EXPERT ALERTS Facebook's Anti-Terrorism Pledge Invites a Slippery Slope

Not All Robots Are out for Your Job MEDIA JOBS Reporter  Debtwire Middle Market

Technology Reporter  Dow Jones

Reporter - Private Equity / Restructuring  The Wall Street Journal OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES How to Create the Ultimate Style Guide for Your Blog

Everyone's talking about the Paris climate agreement. Here are 11 environmental news sites to watch now.

climate agreement. Here are 11 environmental news sites to watch now. Are Your Messages Safe? The Basics of Encryption and How Your Favorite Apps Measure Up ------------------------------------------------------------------- EXPERT ALERTS: Facebook's Anti-Terrorism Pledge Invites a Slippery Slope

Wendy Moe

Professor of Marketing

University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business

[In response to a Facebook executive saying, "We want Facebook to be a hostile environment for terrorists," following the June 3, 2017 London terrorist attacks] "Self-regulation puts social media platforms in a tricky ethical position. On the one hand, they are aiding in the fight against terrorism. On the other hand, they are censoring. When they censor content that promotes terrorism or other criminal activity, this contributes to public welfare. But where do they draw the line? This could easily lead to a slippery slope where these organizations start censoring content that tries to influence the political climate  if they believeit is in the best interest of public welfare. The decision of what to censor and what not to is important and has far-reaching implications. It should not be made by a small number of executives at a given company."







Bio: https://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/directory/wendy-w-moe

PR Contact: Greg Muraski , [email protected] Not All Robots Are out for Your Job

Ron Selewach

CEO and Founder

HRMC (Human Resource Management Center)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) summons dystopian visions of a labor force crowded out by machines that work 24/7, don't take breaks, or demand a competitive benefits package. But intelligent automation is an essential new co-worker for the digital age. However, HR (human resources) may be among the last holdouts, which is understandable -- no one knows better than HR the threat machines pose, to the jobs of the people they manage and to the core of what they do, which is use their judgment and expertise to engage, evaluate and hire the best talent. Says Selewach: "The challenge is not overcoming/mastering the technology, but in overcoming HR's concerns and perceptions, and coming to understand the ways in which this technology can augment and elevate their role in the organization. It brings more objectivity, science and rigor to the selection process, significantly shortens time-to-fill, and allows HR to select the great from the good in making the final hiring decision."

Selewach is a widely acknowledged pioneer in applying AI to candidate selection. He has been published and quoted in and a wide range of HR and business publications on topics related to candidate assessment and screening.

Website: http://www.hrmc.com

Contact: Charles Epstein, [email protected]

**************** MEDIA JOBS: Following are links to job listings for staff and freelance writers, editors and producers. You can view these and more job listings on our Job Board:https://prnmedia.prnewswire.com/community/jobs/ Reporter  Debtwire Middle Market

Technology Reporter  Dow Jones

Reporter - Private Equity / Restructuring  The Wall Street Journal ***************** OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES: Following are links to other news and resources we think you might find useful. If you have an item you think other reporters would be interested in and would like us to include in a future alert, please drop us a line at [email protected] How to Create the Ultimate Style Guide for Your Blog. If you want to take your blog to the next level, it's time to make decisions about your style  and stick with them. Here's a handy guide to create your blog's style guidelines once and for all. http://prn.to/2sXgfkj

Everyone's talking about the Paris climate agreement. Here are 11 environmental news sites to watch now. In this golden age of climate change denial, here are 11 more environmental news sites we're watching. http://bit.ly/2rst5r3

climate agreement. Here are 11 environmental news sites to watch now. In this golden age of climate change denial, here are 11 more environmental news sites we're watching. http://bit.ly/2rst5r3 Are Your Messages Safe? The Basics of Encryption and How Your Favorite Apps Measure Up. With data breaches and other scams on the rise, you've probably asked yourself this question  whether you're protecting sensitive information from a confidential source, or just keeping a close eye on your personal account. And, with so many new messaging apps and platforms available, it's easy to fall into the assumption of privacy. Here are some things to keep in mind. http://bit.ly/2rlzLdB **************** PROFNET is an exclusive service of PR Newswire. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/profnet-experts-available-on-facebooks-anti-terrorism-pledge-artificial-intelligence-300472505.html SOURCE ProfNet

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Semiconductor Memory IP Market - Global Forecast and Opportunity Assessment by Technavio

According to the latest market study released by Technavio, the global semiconductor memory IP market is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 11%.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170612006108/en/

Technavio has published a new report on the global semiconductor memory IP market from 2017-2021. (Graphic: Business Wire)

This research report, titled "Global Semiconductor Memory IP Market 2017-2021," provides an in-depth analysis of the market in terms of revenue and emerging market trends. This market research report also includes up-to-date analysis and forecasts for various market segments and all geographical regions.

The demand for memory IP is rising because of digitization. The growing use of electronic devices in homes, industries, and schools for exchanging information in digital format is driving the development of high-speed, high-performance, and low power consumption SoCs. The increasing automation across industries is resulting in a larger number of electronic devices being connected with each other.

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's analysts categorize the global semiconductor memory IP market into five major segments by the application. They are:

Networking

Industrial automation

Automotive

Consumer electronic devices

Mobile computing devices

The top three segments based on the application for the global semiconductor memory IP market are discussed below:

Global semiconductor memory IP market for moile computing devices







The mobile computing devices segment dominated the global semiconductor memory IP market in 2016, accounting for a revenue share of 60%. The growth in this segment is expected to be driven by the proliferation of mobile computing devices, such as smartphones, laptops, and tablets. Chinese manufacturers such as OnePlus, Huawei, and Xiaomi are providing mobile computing devices with upgraded technologies at competitive prices.

According to Raghu Raj Singh (News - Alert), a lead semiconductor equipment research analyst from Technavio, "IoT is an ecosystem of connected physical objects that are accessible through the Internet. It is a multiplatform architecture that supports multiple applications that run at the same time. Vendors are integrating several wireless technologies in their devices to support IoT architecture."

Global semiconductor memory IP market for consumer electronic devices

The consumer electronic devices segment was the second-largest contributor to the global semiconductor memory IP market in 2016. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 8% during the forecast period. Consumer electronic devices include DVD players; cameras; gaming consoles; and home automation devices such as dishwashers, smart thermostats, and smart TVs.

"The growing adoption of IoT and connected devices will create a considerable demand for memory IPs. This is because connected devices require memory chips that can store large amounts of data generated through M2M communications," says Raghu.

Global semiconductor memory IP market for automotive

Automotive OEMs are adding more safety features to their vehicles because of the increasing demand for safety features in vehicles. Automotive OEMs are providing connectivity solutions in their vehicles by incorporating communication technologies to create an automatic system.

There is an increasing demand for connected cars with incorporated augmented navigation, including heads-up displays, intuitive and multimodal user interfaces, multimedia support, and a new generation of automotive cloud services.

The top vendors highlighted by Technavio's research analysts in this report are:

ARM (News - Alert)

Rambus

Cadence Design Systems

Synopsys

Browse Related Reports:

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 embedded systems, computing devices, and displays. 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

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading-edge technologies.

Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users.

If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at [email protected].

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170612006108/en/
[June 12, 2017] Australian Start-up Taps IBM Watson to Launch Language Translation Earpiece

SYDNEY, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Lingmo International, an Australian technology start-up, has today launched Translate One2One, an earpiece powered by IBM Watson that can efficiently translate spoken conversations within seconds, being the first of its kind to hit global markets next month. With estimates indicating that businesses lose upwards of $2 billion in the United States1 and 48 billion in the United Kingdom2 each year due to language barriers, this technology will meet a growing gap for businesses and consumers alike. Unveiled at last week's United Nations Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Good Summit in Geneva, Switzerland, the Translate One2One earpiece supports translations across English, Japanese, French, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, German and Chinese. Available to purchase today for delivery in July, the earpiece carries a price tag of $179 USD, and is the first independent translation device that doesn't rely on Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connectivity. With IBM Watson's Natural Language Understanding and Language Translator APIs, the intuitive technology overcomes many of the contextual challenges associated with common languages, as well as understanding the nuances of local slang and dialects. For example, in Spanish 'LL' could be pronounced "y", "j" or "sh", depending on the dialect. "By eliminating the friction of the traditional translation process, devices like Translate One2One will not only remove one of the biggest challenges for professionals when meeting and collaborating between cultures, but also offers enormouspotential for communities around the world," said Danny May, Lingmo's Founder and Director. "As the first device on the market for language translation using AI that does not rely on connectivity to operate, it offers significant potential for its unique application across airlines, foreign government relations and even not-for-profits working in remote areas."



In addition to the translation earpiece, which works when each user is wearing the earpiece, customers can download an app version, which also includes a currency converter. "It's an absolute game-changer for the global translation market, offering significant potential for both commercial and social benefit, which we've only just begun to explore," said Neil Sahota, IBM Watson Master Inventor and keynote speaker at the Summit. "Lingmo's latest breakthrough demonstrates the transformative potential that cognitive computing platforms like Watson can offer in solving some of the world's largest and most persistent challenges."

Media Contact:

Andrea Acton

IBM External Relations, Australia

[email protected]

P. 0429 460 327 About the AI for Good Global Summit:

THE AITU and the XPRIZE Foundation have organised the first AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, 7-9 June, 2017, in partnership with a number of UN sister agencies. The Summit aims to accelerate and advance the development and democratisation of AI solutions that can address specific global challenges related to poverty, hunger, health, education, the environment, and others. The Summit provides a neutral platform for government officials, UN agencies, NGO's, industry leaders, and AI experts to discuss the ethical, technical, and societal and policy issues related to AI, offer recommendations and guidance and promote international dialogue and cooperation in support of AI innovation. About Lingmo International:

Lingmo International is a leading edge Australian technology company making its mark on the global language translation industry, through the development and implementation of revolutionary custom built software capable of translating across voice and text platforms. The technology is available in retail and commercial versions. Translate One2One was developed in conjunction with IBM Watson and features a fully independent earpiece, which does not rely on Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. For more information on Lingmo go to www.lingmo.global About IBM Watson - Pioneering a New Era of Computing:

Watson represents a new era in computing called cognitive computing, where systems understand the world in a way more similar to humans: through senses, learning, and experience. Watson continuously learns from previous interactions, gaining in value and knowledge over time. With the help of Watson, organizations are harnessing the power of cognitive computing to transform industries, help professionals do their jobs better, and solve important challenges. As part of IBM's strategy to accelerate the growth of cognitive computing, Watson is open to the world, allowing a growing community of developers, students, entrepreneurs and tech enthusiasts to easily tap into the most advanced and diverse cognitive computing platform available today. Watson solutions are being built, used and deployed in more than 45 countries and across 20 different industries. For more information on IBM Watson, visit: ibm.com/Watson. Join the conversation at #ibmwatson.

1 U.S. Committee on Economic Development 2 UK Department of Business Innovation and Skills To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/australian-start-up-taps-ibm-watson-to-launch-language-translation-earpiece-300472072.html SOURCE IBM

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Purdue dismissed from lawsuit alleging star player spread herpes

Alyssa Chambers lawsuit against Purdue University and Isaac Haas, its former star basketball player, is over.
You have reached a premium content area of Transitions. To read this entire article please login if you are already a Transitions subscriber.



Not a subscriber?



Subscribe today for access to:

Full access to the website, including premium articles videos, country reports and searchable archives (containing over 25,000 articles).


KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Police have issued a missing endangered person alert for a 67-year-old man with Alzheimer's. James (Jim) O'Brien is missing from the area of 10th and Washington, police said Sunday evening. He is 67 years old and is 5 foot 9 and weighs about 155 pounds.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. - Members of Bethel Seventh Day Adventist Church were in shock this morning after finding their church had been vandalized. There were several broken pews and instruments. Food covered the floor, and many offices and rooms were damaged. A lot of technical equipment was stolen as well.
Remember that council crafted a new "accelerated" ordinance that would prevent any referendum on the hotel by voters, but this effort challenges that city charter gambit.

HOTEL PETITIONS!

Monday afternoon, June 12th at 3 PM, CFRG will turn into the City Clerk an additional 2,876 referendum petition signatures to put the downtown convention hotel on the ballot. Last week some in the local media celebrated when the clerk reported the initial turn in was 604 signatures short. Phone lines lit up with voters wanting to know where they could sign the petition and how they could help.





Now with these 2876 additional signatures, we are 2,272 signatures over the number required by the City Charter. We are anxious for the City Council to affirm placement of this referendum on the November ballot in compliance with the Missouri Supreme Courts recent decision on signature petitions.





Thanks to all who helped with this project. You have exercised your right to have a say in how the city spends $167,000,000 of your money.





KC Citizens for Responsible Government

Grassroots local direct democracy in Kansas City strikes back this week as developer power moves might not be able to override voters.Take a look:#######Developing . . .
Dubai Airports and Dubai Cares have partnered to enhance cooperation, increase awareness among the travelling public and boost funding in support of providing education to underprivileged children and young people in developing countries.



Dubai Airports and Dubai Cares, part of Mohammed bin Rashed Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, have partnered to enhance cooperation, increase awareness among the travelling public and boost funding in support of providing education to underprivileged children and young people in developing countries.



The three-year Memorandum of Understanding agreement was signed by Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, and Tariq Al Gurg, chief executive officer of Dubai Cares.



The MoU provides Dubai Cares with the exclusive ability to collect funds in the public areas of both Dubai International (DXB) and Dubai World Central (DWC). Dubai Airports has also committed to increase the number of collection boxes, improve their visibility and locations to maximise contributions and increase awareness around the importance of providing underprivileged children and young people access to quality education, both physically within the airport and digitally across its leading social media platforms.



Dubai Airports has requested from Dubai Cares to utilize the funds raised in the first year of the partnership to fund Dubai Cares Education in Emergencies programs to help children that have been affected by conflict and natural disasters catch up with their education in countries like Lebanon, Iraq and Nepal.



We are thrilled about the agreement and excited about the opportunity to amplify our contributions to this worthy cause, said Griffiths.



With over 90 million customers visiting our airports this year, we are confident that we can make an even bigger impact. Last year we collected over Dh640,000 ($174,200) in support of Dubai Cares. Our goal in year one of this agreement is to work with Dubai Cares to double that contribution and support thousands of children and young people who currently dont have access to quality education.



Dubai Airports has been supporting Dubai Cares since 2010. Dubai Cares, part of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, is a UAE-based global philanthropic organisation working towards providing children and young people in developing countries with access to quality education through the design and funding of programs that aim to be integrated, impactful, sustainable and scalable.



Al Gurg said: It is a true privilege for us at Dubai Cares to partner with Dubai Airports, the world's busiest airport in terms of international passengers and one of the UAEs most prominent success stories.



Being Dubai Airports exclusive charity partner offers us a fantastic opportunity to promote our cause and raise awareness about our work among a truly diverse audience; from businesspeople to families as well as international travellers. It will also help us raise vital funds that enable us to provide quality education to underprivileged children and young adults in developing countries. As part of this agreement, the funds raised on the first year will be directed to support efforts to provide education to children in emergencies, like Syrian refugee children in Lebanon and children affected by the Nepal earthquake in 2015, he added.



Dubai International, which offers services on some 90 airlines to 240 destinations in more than 90 countries, expects to welcome 89 million passengers in 2017. Dubai Cares operates in about 25 per cent of the countries that are connected by Dubai International.  TradeArabia News Service
National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri), a leader in logistics and transportation, has added its 38th very large crude carrier (VLCC) to its growing fleet of multipurpose vessels.



The vessel, Maharah, a 300,000-dwt carrier, was built by Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea.



Built to the latest environmental and fuel-efficient technical specifications, the vessel was handed over to Bahri at a major ceremony held at Hyundai Heavy Industries Mokpo shipyard in South Jeolla Province, South Korea, said a statement from the company.



It was attended by Bahris board member, Ahmed Ali Al Subaey; Hyundai Heavy Industries president and CEO, MK Yoon; Bahris acting CEO, Ali Al Harbi; Bahri Ship Managements president, Per Pedersen; Bahris senior vice president  marketing, Wael Al Sarhan; Bahris vice president  commercial, Hisham Alnughaimish, and other senior officials.



"This is a very proud moment for all of us and as well as for Saudi Arabia," remarked Al Subaeyd.



"The addition of Maharah further strengthens our position as the world's largest owner and operator of VLCCs and reinforces our leadership position in the global transportation and logistics sector," he noted.



We celebrate this important milestone only months after accepting delivery of our 37th VLCC Amjad earlier this year in February, he said.



In current times, fleet growth is critical to offsetting low spot market rates, and the timing of this delivery could not have been better, he added.



Al Harbi said: The partnership between Bahri and Hyundai Heavy Industries spanning over a decade has been highly successful, with 26 vessels ordered and delivered to date and eight more VLCCs currently on order, among which three will be delivered this year.



With increased capacity and tonnage, we can continue to deliver world-class transportation solutions and value to our customers, shareholders and staff, he said.



Bahri is a homegrown Saudi brand and a remarkable success story that further enhances the countrys position on the world map, he added.



Yoon said Hyundai's relationship with Bahri is one that holds immense strategic importance not only for our two organisations but also for our two nations.



With over 30 ocean-freight vessels delivered or currently on order, and other significant collaborative plans in the discussion or planning phase, our companies are set to alter the course of the global shipping industry, he added.-TradeArabia News Service


The Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) has welcomed the Kuwaiti Governments announcement to import livestock from Brazil, saying that the development will lead to stronger trade ties between the two nations.



The decision authorizing the Brazilian livestock exports was finalized during the meeting held in Kuwait City between Brazils Minister of Agriculture Blairo Maggi and Kuwaiti officials Mohammad Al-Jabri, Minister of State for Municipal Affairs and chairman of the Public Authority for Agriculture Affairs and Fish Resources, and Khaled Nasser Abdullah Al Roudan, Minister of Commerce and Industry.



Zahra Al-Wazan, deputy general director of Animal Health of the Public Authority for Agriculture Affairs and Fish Resources, confirmed the two countries latest cooperation. Reports said both sides agreed on the sanitary and technical specifications for the animals to arrive safely to the Arab state.



Al-Wazan was also part of the meeting with the visiting Brazilian delegation during which the Kuwaiti authorities expressed their interest in importing livestock, fertile eggs, and one-day chicken from Brazil.



Rubens Hannun, ABCC president, said: As an organization that has been working on fostering the economic, culture, and tourism links between 22 Arab nations and Brazil, the ABCC welcomes this new partnership between Kuwait and Brazil. It is indeed an important milestone in the growing trade relations between both countries and we are eager to witness the two sides capitalizing on the many opportunities and benefits of such strategic cooperation will bring. We are excited to facilitate and take an active role in the subsequent dynamic trade activities between them to ensure smooth trade processes and maximized potentials.



According to the data from the Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade, and Services (MDIC), the trade volume between the two nations reached $485 million last year, with authorities looking at developing other trade opportunities to reinforce their relations. Poultry is presently the main Brazilian product being exported to Kuwait.



The Arab countrys livestock demand ranges from 6,000 to 10,000 head annually as per Abdulrahman Kandari, Livestock Imports manager at the Public Authority for Agriculture Affairs and Fish Resources. Kuwait joins Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan, among others, in the list of Arab nations importing livestock from Brazil.



Reports also said that the reopening of Kuwaits market to Brazilian beef is on the horizon, with plans of sending a local technical mission to the South American state to visit the latters farms and labs and after the conditions for the export clearance of chilled and frozen beef to Kuwait were established. Saudi Arabia and Qatar resumed importation of Brazilian beef more than a year ago.  TradeArabia News Service
SR Technics, a world leading MRO service provider, has signed an exclusive agreement to provide inspection and repair services for easyJets thrust reversers used in their Airbus fleet.



The work for the new three-year contract will be done at the SR Technics facility at Zurich Airport.



The quality, reliability and competitiveness that have made SR Technics an industry leader were all important factors in easyJets decision to further expand its collaboration with the company. SR Technics has extensive experience supporting CFM56-5B thrust reversers and in-house repair capabilities to provide the low-cost carrier with the best value.



Gary Smith, easyJets head of engineering said: The ability of SR Technics to meet easyJets growing fleet maintenance requirements has already been proven with their support of our line and base maintenance. The overhaul of our A320CEO family thrust reversers represents another significant step forward in our relationship with SR Technics. As easyJet grows, we are pleased to share the strength of our business with maintenance providers capable of meeting the highest quality and safety standards, and cost focus of easyJet.



SR Technics chief operating officer Jean-Marc Lenz said: We are very pleased to expand our cooperation with easyJet, building on our successful line and base maintenance agreements in the UK, Malta and Switzerland. easyJet is a highly valued customer of SR Technics, and we look forward to working closely together to strengthen our partnership.



Last year SR Technics signed a five-year extension on an existing maintenance cooperation agreement with easyJet in Malta, and the British airliner also extended several line maintenance agreements with SR Technics for a range of stations in the UK and Switzerland. - TradeArabia News Service
You can opt out of certain types of cookies (e.g. those used in social media sharing) by choosing "I do not accept". The website will still largely function well, but with slightly less functionality in places. To manage your cookie preferences in future, visit the "Cookie Statement" link at the bottom of any page.
Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi (retd)

THE current instability in Jammu and Kashmir that had commenced in late 1989 has seen many ebbs and flows. The situation has deteriorated. It is not a case of "panic stations" at present, but the nation needs to work hard to bring about peace and tranquility. Calm can be restored but it must be carried out with a changed game plan.

The problem is politico-military-administrative in nature, needing a holistic solution in accordance with a comprehensive plan. While doing so, we need to ignore the whining of the bleeding hearts of all varieties and biased utterances of their fellow-travellers. Change must emanate from the highest political level and be carried out in a cohesive manner.

The political leadership must make course corrections and check the obvious drift in the state. This needs governing in earnest, with political leaders fanning out in their constituencies, ensuring that people-friendly projects move; give assurances; motivate the polity and deliberately stop politicking. The policy of appeasement and allowing anti-nationals to instigate the populace by using religion  opiate of the masses (Karl Marx) must end. This will close the window to Pakistan that has been used to create mayhem and havoc in the state by exporting Wahhabism, alien to Kashmir's ethos.

Political bungling in the past, both by the Centre and state leadership, needs to be re-visited. Jawaharlal Nehru bungled by first going to the UN; then accepting plebiscite; and finally being persuaded by Sheikh Abdullah to add Article 370. Shastri grossly erred in reverting to the status quo on the ceasefire line after the 1965 war. After India's decisive victory in 1971, Indira Gandhi missed a golden opportunity to enforce peace at gunpoint. VP Singh was blackmailed into releasing several terrorists for the hostage, the elder sister of the current Chief Minister. This was a decisive victory for the insurgents. Rajiv Gandhi erred in getting elections rigged through Farooq Abdullah. The UPA government that followed reinstated Farooq and continued the appeasement policy.

Much was expected from Vajpayee but he slipped badly when he allowed the hostage swap, during the Kandahar hijacking and then was back-stabbed (Agra and Kargil). The next UPA government, in both tenures, showed little interest in Jammu and Kashmir, as it was too busy in other activities. Narendra Modi unilaterally extended his hand to make peace with Pakistan, till he realised that it was the powerful Pakistani Army that sabotaged all overtures. Within Kashmir, his link-up with PDP to form a coalition government has been a major mistake. At the state level, three Abdullahs, two Muftis' (the senior Mufti twice) and a host of others have ruled the state. Not one provided good governance, but kept asking for additional funds. Today the per capita infusion of funds in Kashmir is 10 times higher than it is in the rest of India.

Sheikh Abdullah spent 11 years behind bars for treason, yet Nehru released him and made him Chief Minister. His son brought militancy/insurgency/ terrorism to the state during his 1986-1990 tenure, when Pandits were massacred/driven out. As soon as stability was achieved during Governor's rule, Farooq was brought back as a bad penny. From late 1989, when the Valley started boiling, the Army was the lead player. It stabilised the situation by 1996. Elections were held and Farooq Abdullah became the Chief Minister again. There was a spurt in infiltration from Pakistan, following the 1999 Kargil War, but the Army stabilised the situation again. Having made no headway, Pakistan changed tack and commenced instigating local youth through a highly emotive use of social media and liberal cash payments, to interfere in anti-insurgent operations, including by resorting to stoning.

What is now needed is the use of smart power (a mix of hard/soft power), devoid of any appeasement. Simultaneously, political/ administrative initiatives must explain pitfalls of violence and confrontational approach; and motivate the youth to shun violence. Additional jobs must be created, including massive recruitment to the Territorial Army (TA) and the police of all varieties.

A complete clampdown on all factions of the Hurriyat is a must. They need to be charged with sedition and taken out of the state to face trial. Placing the state under Governor's rule for a finite period is an option worth considering as the people have lost faith in the political dispensation. An all-party consensus is a must. It is not a party issue but one that affects the entire nation. Opposition parties need to play a constructive role and not continue with divisive acts and utterances. The Centre needs to set up an exclusive Department of Perception Management, under a dynamic non-bureaucratic head, comprising the media and tech-savvy technocrats, to counter the vicious propaganda of Pakistan's ISI. It should produce and air programmes both in conventional and social media. Such a department must not be placed under any intelligence organisation or any uniformed force, as it will then have no credibility. There should be no talks with anyone at this stage, but responsible individuals and organisations, which can wield influence with the alienated youth and others should be identified. The liberal pseudo-seculars who falsely cry for human rights need to be ignored. They need to be attached to the Army and CAPF units operating in Kashmir to feel actualities on the ground. Only then they will realise that a soldier is the greatest victim of human rights.

Pakistan, can never be trusted, however much we bend over backwards. We need to ignore biased world opinion and take decisions in our national interest. We should build allies in UN and with great powers to negate overtures by Pakistan. Our media (judged as the second worst in the world in a report by the World Economic Forum) needs to shun sensationalism and play a constructive and unbiased role in all security-related issues. Publicity is oxygen for all insurgents, therefore the need for reports to be circumspect.

Stability operations by security forces must continue; all acts must be lawful but anybody breaking the law must not be spared. To ensure that massive funds being given are spent properly, an organisation, minus politicians, needs to be set up under the Governor to fund productive and people-friendly projects. Imposing strict "Rule of Law" is of paramount importance. Anyone acting against national interest must be dealt with expeditiously. Taking a cue from the handling of insurgency in Punjab in the 1970s-80s, a carrot-and-stick policy is needed. A professional Kashmiri Muslim police officer, if appointed as the DGP will achieve wonders. At the appropriate time, remove Article 370 after explaining how the state is suffering on account of this Article.





The writer is a former Vice Chief of the Army Staff
State Debate: Commentators weigh in on Donald Trump and James Comey and what it all means
Sushma Ramachandran

DEBATES over selling Air India have taken place many times over the past two decades. Each time a move is made to privatise this Leviathan of the skies, there are protests from many quarters accusing the government of selling the family silver. The fact is, the silver of this asset was tarnished many years ago. The dream airline launched by JRD Tata has transformed into a nightmarish institution that is rapidly draining the taxpayers money.

The financial data about this high- profile public sector company is out in the public domain. Air Indias debts have mounted to Rs 52,000 crore. It has managed in recent times to turn an operating profit thanks to a new team at the helm of the company. Sadly, however, this turnaround has come too late in the day to save the airline which has been run into the ground by those who have been manipulating it by remote control from the Capitals corridors of power.

The saga of Air India began when JRD Tata sought to launch a national airline in 1932. It was nationalised after Independence but earned an enviable reputation as a boutique international airline with high quality service. The other public sector airline, domestic carrier Indian Airlines, lacked the cachet of the international airline but had the edge of being a monopoly player in the skies for a long time. Even after the entry of private airlines, Indian Airlines managed to garner a big chunk of passenger share. It remained number two in the market despite the entry of Jet Airways and others. One of the reasons being that all government functionaries had to travel by the public sector carrier. At the same time, it had to cope with bureaucratic controls and tardy decision making, just like Air India. Despite these infirmities in operations, Indian Airlines was a healthy and profitable company in 2006 when it was decided to merge the domestic and international carriers. The net result of this disastrous move is there for all to see now.

The decision was taken by the then UPA government with Praful Patel as Civil Aviation Minister. The entire merger has come under a cloud with investigations now being made into the decision to purchase 111 aircraft for the new entity. Even earlier in 2011 the Comptroller and Auditor General had questioned the purchase as well as the wisdom of the merger itself. There is bound to be a blame game over the issue and Mr Patel has already gone on the defensive, saying this was a collective decision of the UPA government. But the fact is the merger of the two carriers seems to have been carried out in a hurry without adequate study of the repercussions on both organisations. The result has been a long-term disaster not just in terms of profitability, but also in terms of employee morale as the differing wage scales and seniority levels between the two companies could not be reconciled for years. The merged entity also quickly went into the red. Currently, the combined venture, Air India, is operating on the strength of a Rs 30,000 crore bailout initiated eight years ago.

In this backdrop, media reports that the government is planning to privatise the airline come as a relief to those who have had to watch the decline and fall of not one, but two airlines. The sale of the national carrier will come as a blow to those who feel that it is prestigious to have an airline operated by the government. It will equally offend those who are still arguing in favour of public sector companies operating in business areas. A more pragmatic view, however, has to be that it is high time for the government to ease out of industrial enterprises and focus on areas like healthcare and education. Air India needs to be handed over to a private sector organisation that would run it like a business should be run, by taking commercial decisions at the right time. It would also end the abuse of the national airline by politicians and bureaucrats alike. There is no need to elaborate this statement as the entire country is aware of the way in which the national carrier has been affected by their misuse of the airline. The media has often highlighted the propensity of both political leaders and top bureaucrats to treat Air India as their personal fiefdom, but little has been done to rectify the situation.

Besides, privatisation of airlines has been a global phenomenon. Most countries which originally had state-owned national carriers sold them to the private sector. British Airways and Lufthansa are among the many success stories after privatisation. There is no reason to think that this would not be the case with Air India. The scheme reported to be under consideration envisages a waiver of the debt overhang, sale of real estate assets separately and hiving off of the subsidiary companies. This may be sufficient to attract genuine buyers from within the country.

At the same time, great care needs to be taken in the entire process of privatisation or strategic sale to a private investor. The move needs to be carried out after due diligence and without the haste with which the earlier merger was carried out. Air India is not only an extremely valuable entity, but also has a large number of employees, numbering over 21,000. Their interests need to be taken into account before any decisions are taken. The sale of the company should not mean that mass layoffs are resorted to or that workers do not get their due benefits. Reskilling may be required in many cases. In any case, employee welfare needs to be kept as a priority while entering into any negotiations with buyers.

In case the privatisation of Air India does become a reality, it will be one of the biggest economic reform measures undertaken by this government. The mode of implementation remains a crucial issue in the entire process. The task needs to be carried out with the utmost precision to ensure that the company launched by the iconic JRD Tata becomes a success story yet again.
If there is one thing which agitating farmers across regions agree upon, it is the implementation of the MS Swaminathan Commission report, particularly its suggestion to give growers 50 per cent profit over input costs. However, Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal has said that it is time to go beyond the Swaminathan report because we have the MSP of very few crops. She has not specified what better ideas to improve the state of agriculture or the plight of farmers she has than the top experts who have gone in detail into what ails the agriculture sector and how to cure farm sickness.

The Akali Dal is a key member of the NDA government. Representing an agricultural state, Harsimrat Badal should be exerting pressure on the Modi government to implement, or improve upon, the Swaminathan report. Instead of merely talking, she should be getting things done. She is welcome to extend the MSP cover to left-out crops. Her suggestion to farmers in acute financial distress to adopt new technology is the eat-cake-if-cant-afford-bread kind of advice. Selling the NDA idea of crop insurance makes little sense in a state with 98 per cent assured irrigation.

Harsimrat Badal does not ever shy away from offering her opinion on any issue. Her silence on higher taxation on processed food is, therefore, uncharacteristic, or maybe deliberate. Under the GST, to be introduced on July 1, fruit and vegetable juices will be taxed at 12 per cent, against the current tax rate of 5 per cent. Fruit jams, vegetable purees and frozen aloo tikki will have an 18 per cent tax against the present 5 per cent. Fertilisers too will cost 5-7 per cent more and the tax on pesticides has been raised from 12 to 18 per cent. From zero tax, textiles has come under 5 per cent tax. Experts often suggest promotion of food processing and textiles for increasing returns from agriculture, cutting farm produce waste, creation of jobs and improving the lot of farmers. None of the political parties thriving on peasant votes have raised their voice against the GST blow to farmers.
Tribune News Service

Ambala, June 11

Employees of the Haryana Roadways of the Ambala City depot continued to observe chakka jam for the second consecutive day today against illegal plying of private buses.

Mahaveer Pai, depot secretary, Haryana Roadways Workers Union, said: We have been forced to keep the depot closed. The chakka jam has been observed following illegal plying of private buses. Five private buses have been found plying on the Ambala-Pehowa route and one bus on the Ambala-Naraingarh route without proper permits.

He said the buses plying illegally should be impounded. A joint meeting of all eight roadways unions was held in Panipat and it had been decided that if the administration failed to resolve the issue, a statewide chakka jam would be observed from Tuesday, he said.

A senior district official said the administration was in no position to solve the issue. Meetings were held to persuade the roadways employees but to no avail. The private operators had started plying their buses after fulfilling all norms, he said, and added that the issue could be solved by the headquarters and the government only.
Mukesh Tandon

Tribune News Service

Panipat, June 12

At least one person was killed and six others injured when the main structure of Gurdwara Shri Guru Singh Sahib Pehli Patshahi, located on the National Highway-1, collapsed here on Monday evening.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

Members of the gurdwara committee said work on false ceiling was on when the structure gave way around 4.45 pm.

Officials from the district administration rushed to the scene and started rescue operations.

Experts from Indian Oil Corporation Limited besides teams from the Public Wealth Department (Building and Roads) joined the operations. Pradeep Atri, exective engineer, PWD (B&R), said: The main building of the gurdwara, comprising four floors, including the dome, collapsed.

Prima facie, the building collapsed under its own stress. The lower portion could not bear the load of the structure, he said.

Deputy Commissioner Dr Chander Shekhar Khare said: Seven persons were pulled out of the debris. While one was declared brought dead at the hospital, three of the six injured were admitted. Three to four people could still be trapped under the debris, he added.

The person who died has been identified as Dheeraj, a resident of Sitapur of Uttar Pradesh.

Those injured have been identified as Jarnail Singh (75), a resident of Insar Bazaar in Panipat; Sartaj Ahmed (40) from Delhi; Krishan (36) from Uttam Nagar, Delhi; Lokesh (5) and Monika (5) from Delhi and Maya Devi (50) from Wadhawa Ram Colony, Panipat.

One of the injured has been referred to a hospital in Khanpur and another to Karnals Kalpana Chawla Medical College.


Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 11

The Haryana Governments recent order granting reservation to Jats and five other castes in jobs and admission to educational institutions in the economically backward persons (EBP) category has sparked a controversy.

Yashpal Maliks All-India Jat Arakashan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS) has hailed it as a great boon for their community till the issue of reservation pending before the Punjab and Haryana High Court is resolved. However, khap panchayats, other pro-reservation bodies and the Congress have described this as a state governments ploy to befool Jats by releasing again an order issued earlier in 2013.

The state government in an order issued on June 7 clarified that Jats, Bishnois, Jat Sikh, Ror Tyagis and Mulla/Muslim Jats would also be eligible for reservation under the EBP category under the notification of January 23, 2013.

The government has issued this order with the efforts of our organisation. Though Jats, Bishnois, Jat Sikh, Ror Tyagis and Mulla/Muslim Jats were eligible under the EBP category because they are not getting any other quota, the authorities in districts were refusing to issue certificates. With these orders, members of our community will be able to get the benefit of reservation, says Malik.

Sube Singh Samain, spokesperson for the Sarva Khap Panchayat, Haryana, alleges that the order was a tactic of Malik and the state government to befool Jats, as nothing new has been given in the June 7 order.

The previous Congress government had issued two notifications on January 23 and 24 in 2013. While the first gave quota of EBP from the general categories, the second provided reservation to Jats Bishnois, Jat Sikh, Ror Tyagis and Mulla/Muslim Jats under special backward classes (SBC). When the Punjab and Haryana High Court has set aside the SBC quota, these castes automatically become entitled to quota for EBP of general categories. But Maliks organisation and the government have been portraying as if some new benefits have been given to Jats, Samain alleges.

Congress MLA from Palwal Karan Singh Dalal says neither Jats nor other castes will benefit from this order. He alleges that the government has issued this order to create confusion.

There are clear constitutional provisions as well as there are orders of the Supreme Court that quota cannot be granted on the economic basis. The order will not be able to withstand the scrutiny of law, Dalal says.
Mukesh Tandon

Tribune News Service

Panipat, June 11

Haryana Roadways employees have given a one-day ultimatum to the state government to stop issuing permits to private bus operators and prohibit entry of private buses into depots. In case the government fails to do so, they will hold a chakka jam across the state on June 13.

The Ambala depot is closed for the past two days as employees there are observing a strike in protest against the behaviour of private operators, who forcibly enter the depot.

A meeting of the state executive members of eight unions of Haryana Roadways employees was held under the banner of the All Haryana Roadways Workers Joint Action Committee here today. JAC member and Haryana Roadways Workers Organisation former president Azad Singh Malik chaired the meeting.

During the meeting, it was also decided to gherao Transport Minister Krishan Lal Panwars residence in Madlauda in Panipat on June 18 in protest against the government for granting permits to private operators. And if their demands were still not met, they would gherao Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattars residence in Karnal on July 9.

Malik alleged that the government was issuing new permits to private operators and they were running their buses on new routes, which they would not tolerate.

Dalbir Kirmara, president, All Haryana Roadways Union; Babu Lal Yadav, president, Haryana Roadways Workers Organisation; Hari Narayan Sharma, president, All Haryana Roadways Workers Union; and INTUC leader Anoop Singh Sehrawat were among those present at the meeting.

Babu Lal Yadav alleged, The state government is not serious about the priavtisation policy and the demands of the Roadways employees. It was due to the government apathy that the Ambala Depot has been closed for the past two days.

Gherao of Panwars residence on June 18

During a meeting of eight unions of Haryana Roadways employees, it was also decided to gherao Transport Minister Krishan Lal Panwars residence in Madlauda in Panipat on June 18 in protest against the government for granting permits to private operators. And if their demands were still not met, they would gherao Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattars residence in Karnal on July 9.
Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, June 11

The Kangra police have started a drive against drunken driving, especially at McLeodganj, after three youths were killed in a car accident yesterday. The police have arrested 40 for drunken driving.

Kangra SP Sanjeev Gandhi, while talking to The Tribune, said the accident took place due to drunken driving. In order to send a message to tourists coming to the area, the police arrested many persons on charges of drunken driving. The accused were let off only after their parents or kin furnished bail bonds, the SP said.

Meanwhile, there has been a huge rush of tourists for McLeodganj since yesterday, leading to traffic jams in the town and Dharamsala .

The police said 2,500 vehicles entered McLeodganj that was beyond the carrying capacity of the area.

The SP said to tackle the traffic problem, the police had decided to stop tourist vehicles at the Dharamsala bypass. They stopped vehicles and then released in batches of 20 each.

This helped in the regulation of traffic to McLeodganj. Therefore, we have decided to make it a permanent feature till peak tourist season persists, he said.

Tourists who had come without advanced reservation had to face problems in getting rooms in the vicinity of Dharamsala. Many of them had to move to Palampur or the Chamunda Mata temple area to look for rooms at night.

All parking places in McLeodganj are filled to the brim. About 70 per cent of the hotels do not have their own parking place and vehicles of their guests have to be parked along the road or at limited parking places. The narrow roads to Bhagsunag and Dharamkot have been encroached upon and no action has been taken to clear the encroachment. To add to this problem, the locals park vehicles along these narrow roads and traffic gets stranded.

The police have announced heavy fine for those parking along roads in Dharamkot and Bhagsunag. However, still the problem persists as most of the residents do not have parking place.

The traffic problem in McLeodganj and its surrounding areas like Dharamkot and Naddi can be eased if some incomplete road links are completed. The work for connecting the Bhagsunag area with Indrunag was started during the BJP government and is yet to be completed.

Sources said the work had come to a standstill due to some land acquisition problems. If the road is completed, one-way traffic can be imposed in the area that can ease traffic in peak season.
Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 11

Rajya Sabha MP Anand Sharma today said the Modi regime should focus on governance rather than squandering public money on propaganda and building personality cult.

Sharma, who is heading the Parliamentary Committee on Law, Personnel and Grievances, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi suffered from a disturbing mindset where he felt whatever he did was being done for the first time. The BJP and its ministers are arrogant and power drunk as they have lost touch with reality and are competing with each other to make false claims, he said.

The NDA regime had no right to celebrate the completion of its three-year rule as farmers were committing suicide, there was job loss and everyday soldiers were laying down their lives. National security has been weakened as never before as our defence establishments are being targeted and boastful claims cannot change this, he said.

He said considering the challenges that the nation was facing, the Congress would stand up against the communal and divisive politics of the BJP. This is a new culture that we all are seeing where all ministers are beating the PMs drum, notwithstanding the agricultural distress and suicide by farmers, unemployment and the reduced growth rate, he said. The Prime Minister had lost touch with ground realities as the BJP leaders, including Modi and Amit Shah, were all out to belittle political opponents.

Such remarks are an attempt to divert attention from their failures and promises, including generating two crore jobs every year, he said.

He lamented that there were no visible results of foreign policy initiatives as relations with China were at the lowest. He regretted that on the issue of One Belt-One Road initiative of China, India had virtually been isolated.
Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 11

Expressing concern over the growing activities of mafias and other organised crime, former Chief Minister PK Dhumal said today that it had justified the Mafia Raj Hatao, Himachal Bachao (Eliminate Mafias, save Himachal) campaign of the BJP.

The gruesome murder of a forest guard, whose body was found hanging from a tree, killing of four-year-old boy Yug, illicit felling of trees in forests of Shimla, Chamba and other places, beating of the forest staff in Haroli and failure of the government to act against criminals and offenders, lend credence to allegations that mafias are being protected by the government, he said in a statement issued here today.

Dhumal said it was a matter of concern that the mafias had emboldened to such an extent that there was no fear of law. He alleged that clean chit being given by the government to offenders was responsible for it. The attitude of the government was so appalling that instead of taking action against the offenders, it chose to register cases against complainants, he claimed.

Dhumal said in the Haroli area, forest officials were beaten and their mobile phones were snatched, in Bilaspur a DFO, who shot the video of illicit felling, was beaten, but no action was taken.

Dhumal alleged that the forest, mining, sand, transfer, liquor and drug mafias had become so bold that officials were feeling insecure and scared of taking action and government vehicles were being used for drug trafficking.
Tribune News Service

Jammu, June 12

A large number of television artistes today launched a protest against Prasar Bharti, New Delhi, alleging discrimination against the film producers of Jammu and Kashmir.

They burnt an effigy of the Director General of Doordarshan and shouted slogans against the discriminatory guidelines of Prasar Bharati for Kashir channel, which they alleged have been changed to suit some influential big production houses in Delhi and Mumbai.

The protesters assembled at Gumat Chowk in the morning and marched towards the Press Club holding placards and shouting slogans. They alleged that Prasar Bharati after a long gap of nine years opened the commissioned telecasting of programmes for Kashir channel, but with a rider that the producers should have at least 25 hours of telecasting.

Besides, our share has been cut to 50 per cent which was earlier 75 per cent without quoting any reason, said Kamal Sharma, president, All Doordarshan Artists Federation, Jammu.

Veena Dogra, a senior film producer, said such attitude of Prasar Bharati clearly indicates that it does not want participation from Jammu and Kashmir. The new guidelines amply suggest that Prasar Bharati is in connivance with some big production houses in Delhi and Mumbai and wants to wind up the local activity in the state.

Many TV and Doordarshan federations from Kashmir also extended support to the artistes protest. The protesters said they would hold the next protest at the Doordarshan Bhawan in New Delhi.

Meanwhile, the last date of submission of proposals for Kashir channel is June 27.
A handler dressed as a crane works with young whooping cranes as part of a reintroduction program at the International Crane Foundation outside Baraboo.
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, June 12

Students held protests today over the recent killing of a college youth in south Kashmirs Shopian district.

Dozens of college and higher secondary school students in Shopian came out on roads raising anti-India slogans and pelted stones on security forces, nearly 60 km south of Srinagar city.

As soon as the morning assembly was over, students of Government Boys Higher Secondary School, Shopian, came out on roads. The protest spread over to the local college, where students hoisted a Pakistan flag on the main entrance. Students from both the educational institutions assembled at the Shopian-Pulwama highway and pelted stones on security forces, triggering massive clashes.

The police and paramilitary forces lobbed teargas shells on protesters to disperse them. Police officials said no one was hurt in the clashes, which continued till afternoon.

Adil Magray, a college student, was shot earlier this week in Shopian during a protest which erupted following a cordon and search operation against militants.

Classwork in educational institutions across Kashmir has been affected after around 60 students, including women, were injured in a clash with security forces, who fired smoke shells and small lead balls at students inside Government Degree College at Pulwama in April.

Since that day, student protests have been reported from almost all the parts of the Valley, forcing the government to close down educational institutions quite often.
Los Angeles, June 12

Popular Hollywood couple Beyonce Knowles and Jay Z are reportedly planning to welcome their twins at home rather than hospital and are turning their mansion into a one million pounds private maternity ward.

Medical equipment including incubators and "an entire professional neonatal wing" has been shipped into the couple's property, reports dailymail.co.uk.

Vans full of high-tech kit have been seen arriving at the mansion over past few days, suggesting the due day is fast approaching.

"It is all about privacy and safety. It's not usual for someone expecting twins to have them at home, but Beyonce has discussed it with her doctors," a neighbour said.

"She's in prime physical condition and they are setting up a professional maternity unit inside the house for the birth. There will also be an ambulance on standby to take her to Cedars-Sinai Hospital should she or the babies need hospital care.

"Jay Z can be seen going in and out of the property, but Beyonce is lying low," the neighbour added.

IANS
New Delhi, June 12

Leaders of top opposition parties will meet here on June 14 in a bid to reach a consensus on a joint candidate for the upcoming presidential election.

The 10-member group set up by the opposition will meet for the first time after its constitution, sources said.

The opposition move on Wednesdays meeting came soon after BJP president Amit Shah announced that a panel of three senior ministersRajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and M Venkaiah Naiduwould talk to allies and other parties on presidential candidates.

Several rounds of talks have already been held among senior opposition leaders on the issue.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi has been trying to reach a consensus in the opposition on candidates for the presidential and vice presidential election.

The opposition is waiting for the ruling dispensation to come up with its candidate and will discuss if the name proposed by the NDA is acceptable to them.

A senior leader said if there was no consensus in the talks with the NDA, the opposition would put up a joint candidate against the NDA nominee.

The sources said Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mallikarjun Kharge represent the Congress in the 10-member group, which also includes other senior opposition leaders such as JD-Us Sharad Yadav, RJDs Lalu Prasad and CPI-Ms Sitaram Yechury.

DMKs Rajya Sabha member R S Bharathi, Samajwadi Partys Ram Gopal Yadav, Bahujan Samaj Partys Satish Chandra Misra, TMCs Derek OBrien and NCPs Praful Patel are also on the panel.

While the ruling party is holding its cards close to its chest, the opposition has already discussed the names of possible candidates and has held talks with one, former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

Among the other names doing the rounds are those of former Speaker Meira Kumar and former Defence Minister Sharad Pawar, though the NCP strongman has said he is not in the race.

The poll to elect the next president will be held on July 17 and counting will take place on July 20.

The term of incumbent Pranab Mukherjee ends on July 24 and that of Vice President M Hamid Ansari on August 10.

A united opposition had met at a lunch hosted by Sonia Gandhi in Parliament, where it was decided that if the ruling dispensation failed to come up with a candidate with secular credentials for the presidential poll, the opposition would field someone who would steadfastly defend the countrys constitutional values.

After the meeting last month, Azad and Sharad Yadav read out a joint statement stating that in a presidential election, the ruling party traditionally took the initiative to build a consensus on candidates.

This has not happened so far. If acceptable consensual candidates do not emerge, then we (opposition parties) shall field such persons who shall steadfastly defend the Constitutional values of our republic, the statement said.

Yadav said while the opposition appealed to the BJP to take the lead and come up with a consensus candidate for the president and vice presidents posts, consensus between the ruling and opposition appeared remote.  PTI
Bengaluru, June 12

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Monday disapproved his party leader Sandeep Dikshit likening Army Chief General Bipin Rawat to a goon on the street, saying it was absolutely wrong.

Gandhi said the Indian Army works for the country and there was no need for any political leader to make comments against the Army Chief.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

Addressing a Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee meeting here, Rahul said, Someone from the press told me today that a Congress leader has made comments about the Army Chief. This is absolutely wrong.

People should not make any comments against the Army chief. I want to make it clear that the Indian Army works for us, it protects India. There is no need for any political leader to make comments against the Army Chief, he said.

Meanwhile, the BJP demanded an apology from its president Sonia Gandhi and termination of Dikshit from the party.

The Congress had shown a consistent pattern in undermining democratic institutions and it was shocking that its leader had now targeted the Army, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said at a press conference.

Dikshit had tendered an apology, saying he had reservations about Army Chief Bipin Rawats comments but should have chosen appropriate words.

Facing flak, the Congress has already distanced itself from Dikshits remarks.

Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju had also slammed Dikshit over his remarks and wrote on Twitter, Whats wrong with Congress Party? How dare Congress call Indian Army Chief as Sadak Ka Gunda!! (sic).

What's wrong with Congress Party?

How dare Congress call Indian Army Chief as "Sadak Ka Gunda"!!  Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) June 11, 2017

Ours is not a mafia army like the Pakistani Army which makes statements like the goons on the street. It looks bad when our Army Chief gives a statement like a sadak ka goonda (goon on the street), the former Congress MP and son of former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had said yesterday.

He, however, later withdrew his remarks and tweeted, I have reservations on a comment of the Army chief, but I should have chosen appropriate words. I apologise.  PTI
Bengaluru, June 12

Amid a debate on freedom of press, Vice-President Hamid Ansari on Monday said India needs a free and responsible media to hold power to account and protect the rights of citizens.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

The comments by Ansari come against the backdrop of the recent raids by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the premises of NDTV co-founder Prannoy Roy.

NDTV described the raids as a blatant political attack on the freedom of the press, a charge rejected by the CBI which said it was carried out following court orders. The CBI also said it respects the freedom of press. Ansari said a free media is not only beneficial but necessary in a free society and any attack on press freedom would result in jeopardising of citizens rights.

When faced with unjust restrictions and the threat of attack, self-censorship in the media could have the opposite effect, aiding the covering up of abuses and fostering frustration in marginalised communities, he said.

Ansari said the Constitutional framework provides for required intervention by the State to ensure smooth working of the press and society, but the laws provide that it should only be in the interest of the public at large.

By the same token, the State should not impede the free flow of information that will go a long way in protecting and promoting citizens rights, he said.

The media, if it is to remain true to its calling, has to do likewise, Ansari said, after releasing National Heralds commemorative publication 70 years of Indias Independence in the presence of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi at a function here.

Ansari also said, In an open society like ours, we need a responsible press to hold power to account. This is why freedom of press under Article 19 (1)(A) of the Constitution is subject only to reasonable restrictions in the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the state, public order, decency, contempt of court, defamation and incitement to an offence.

Ansari said in this age of post-truths and alternative facts, where advertorials and response features edge out editorials, we would do well to recall Nehrus vision of the press playing its role of a watchdog in democracy and look at the ethos and principles that powered his journalism. Noting that Nehru, who started National Herald newspaper, believed that the media is a pillar of democracy, Ansari said he envisioned a free, unfettered and honest press.

He watched over the interests of mediapersons in independent India.

The Working Journalists Act, which tried to give a degree of protection to journalists, to ensure freedom of press, was largely Nehrus doing, he said.

The Act, I believe, is now in disuse, and short term contracts that make journalists beholden to the preferred lines of the publications, are in vogue, he added.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said it was heartening to note that the Associated Journals Limited is reviving National Herald by launching its English Website and resuming phased publication as a multi-media outlet, focusing primarily on a news presence in digital form.

He said he was sure that the National Herald would re-emerge as the potent voice of all right thinking people of India. PTI
Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 12

Convicted of contempt of court, Justice CS Karnan of the Calcutta High Court earned yet another dubious distinction on Monday as he became first high court judge to retire while absconding.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

Already the first sitting high court judge to face contempt proceedings and get convicted by the Supreme Court, Justice Karnans whereabouts are not known ever since the Supreme Court convicted him of contempt of court on May 9 and sentenced to six-month jail. The top court had directed the West Bengal Director-General of Police to execute its order forthwith. But he went underground.

Born on June 12, 1955, Justice Karnan was appointed the Madras High Court judge in 2009 and was transferred to the Calcutta High Court in March 2016 after certain controversies involving him. High court judges retire at the age of 62.

The controversial judge, who has been absconding to avoid arrest and jail term, would not get the customary farewell organised by the local bar to give a warm send-off to retiring judges.

On May 17, he had filed a mercy petition before President Pranab Mukherjee seeking suspension of his sentence.

Filed through Justice Karnans counsel Mathews J Nedumpara under Article 72 of the Constitution, the petition alleged that he had been denied justice by the highest court of the land.

The Petitioner is denied justice. The concept of justice is divine; it is his birth right and when justice is denied to him by the highest Court of the land, the only authority which the Petitioner could think of to seek justice is Your Excellency, the President of India, the symbol of We, the People of India, the sovereign, read the petition which still remains pending with the President.

The mercy petition alleged that the Supreme Court had assumed the power to remove a High Court judge through provisions of the Contempt of Courts Act without discussing if such jurisdiction was vested in it.

I am ready to tender unconditional apology. I have nowhere to go, Nedumpara had told Chief Justice of India JS Khehar on May 15.

If you want media coverage, go and tell the press. But dont interrupt the proceedings, the CJI had told Justice Karnans lawyer.
Bengaluru, June 12

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modis central government of "forcing everyone into silence with Dalits being beaten up, minorities frightened and journalists and bureaucrats threatened.

Speaking at a function of the National Herald newspaper, he said: "The power of truth is being completely replaced with the truth of power and anybody who attempts to speak the truth and stand for it is being pushed aside".

Gandhi also alleged that thousands of journalists were not being allowed to write what they wanted to. "They (journalists) tell me that they are not being allowed to write what they want to," he said.

Recalling that he was not allowed to visit Madhya Pradesh during the recent farmers' protest and Uttar Pradesh and was stopped at the border of both the states, he said, "This is the India we are living in an India where power will simply manufacture the truth."

Recollecting a Soviet poet (Yevgeny Yevtushenko), who said: "When truth is replaced by silence, the silence is a lie", Gandhi said: "This is what the government is trying to do".

"...Everybody knows what the truth is. But they are scared to say it," he said at the function where Vice- President Mohammad Hamid Ansari released the National Herald's commemorative publication to celebrate 70 years of India's independence.

The Congress vice-president recalled that when the editor of National Herald approached him recently, he told him that there might be times when the paper would want to write things against him or his party or its policies, but "you (editor) should be absolutely comfortable. That is the spirit we expect from National Herald."

"National Herald has a strong spirit. It is not going to be silenced," he added.

Congress leader Oscar Fernandes, who is on the Board of Directors of the newspaper, said the paper, which was founded by former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1938 and the publication of which was suspended a few years ago, was in the process of reviving its Hindi and Urdu editions as a multi- media outlet.

He said the National Herald website, launched eight months ago, was being upgraded and would be fully operational later this month.

The function is being seen as a prelude to the launch of the daily National Herald English edition.

Efforts to revive the newspaper started amid a legal battle launched by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, who has filed a criminal complaint against Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others.

In his private criminal complaint, Swamy has accused the Gandhis and others of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds by paying only Rs 50 lakh, through which Young Indian Pvt. Ltd (YI) obtained the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore, which its publisher, Associate Journals Ltd (AJL), owed to the Congress party.

The Gandhis and the other accused  Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda  have denied the allegations.

The Delhi High Court had recently declined to stay the Income Tax proceedings against Young India Ltd in the National Herald case.  PTI
New Delhi, June 12

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold talks with US President Donald Trump in Washington on June 26, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Monday, the first meeting between the leaders.

Ties between the two big democracies grew rapidly under the Obama administration which saw India as a partner to balance China's growing weight in Asia.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

But Trump has focused on building ties with China, seeing it as key to tackling regional problems such as North Korea's nuclear programme.

The ministry said Modi's talks with Trump would lay the ground for a further expansion in ties, allaying some of the anxiety that had crept in about a drift in relations.

"Their discussions will provide a new direction for deeper bilateral engagement on issues of mutual interest and consolidation of multi-dimensional strategic partnership between India and the US," the ministry said in a statement.

The United States has emerged as a top arms supplier to India and the two sides will be looking to move forward with deals such as unarmed drones that India wants for its navy, sources said.

One issue that the two leaders face is resolving conflict arising out of the push they are both making at home to boost industry and create jobs.

Modi has been driving a Make-in-India campaign to press foreign arms suppliers to set up factories in India and transfer technology instead of selling off-the-shelf, which has made India one of the world's biggest arms importers without any domestic production base.

Trump, on the other hand, has railed against firms moving factories outside the United States and has demanded US companies invest at home as part of his "America First" campaign.

Trump's review of a visa programme under which thousands of skilled Indian workers go to the United States is also a top concern for India.  Reuters
Chennai, June 12

The Tamil Nadu government on Monday announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the family of a fisherman who was killed in Kochi yesterday after a cargo ship hit the boat he was travelling in with some others.

Chief Minister K Palaniswami said the victim J Antony John hailed from Colachel in Kanniyakumari in the state and expressed grief over his death.

I express my deepest condolences and sympathies to the family of John, who hails from Tamil Nadu. I have directed that a sum of Rs 2 lakh be paid to his family from the Chief Ministers Public Relief Fund, he said in a statement.

Two Indian fishermen were killed and 11 others injured when the Panama-registered cargo ship, Amber L, allegedly hit their fishing boat early yesterday off the Kochi coast.

Of the 14 crew members on-board, 11 were rescued by fishing boats operating in the vicinity and two bodies were recovered. One fisherman is missing after the collision.

The merchant ship has been directed not to leave Kochi till the investigation process is complete. PTI
Deepkamal Kochhar

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, June 11

The Special Task Force of Punjab Police on Monday arrested CIA Inspector Inderjit Singh and recovered drugs and a huge cache of arms and ammunition from him.

Raiding his government accommodations in Jalandhar and Phagwara, police found three kg smack, four kg heroin besides arms and ammunition.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

AIG STF Mukhwinder Singh Bhullar said cops raided his house at Police Lines, Jalandhar, at 5 am and recovered various rifles, including 12 bore, 315 bore, 32 bore, 9 mm, .32 bore, AK 47, 9 mm Italy made pistol, 38 bore revolver and over 800 live cartridges.

The police also took an Innova car in their possession while recovering Rs 50,000 Indian currency and 3,550 pounds.

Mukhwinder Singh said that they further recovered huge quantities of smack and heroin from his government quarter at Phagwara.

Inderjit Singh has been booked under Section 59 (2)(6), 218, 466, 471 and 120-B of the IPC, 25/54/59 of the Arms Act and 22/62/85 of the NDPS Act.

He said that he would be produced in court and taken in remand to ascertain his modus operandi and smugglers in his contact for running the trade.

The inspector has served in CIA Jalandhar. He has also has worked as inspector in Phagwara. He had been recently posted from Jalandhar to Ferozepur Range.

He was known to have cracked various cases related to drugs and gang operations in the region.

He was on the radar of slain gangster Sukha Kahlwans aides. Kahlwan was gunned down near Phagwara two years back.

Gangster Prince arrested by the STF two months back is slated to have shared some information against the inspector, after which he was picked from his residence at Police Lines this morning, it is learnt.
President Donald Trump made the wrong decision for our health and the planet in pulling the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Losing Paris wont only compromise our nations position in the international arena. Casting aside our emissions goals could have serious consequences right here in Wisconsin.

The Great Lakes are the largest source of surface water in the United States, encompassing almost one-fifth of the surface freshwater available across the entire planet. This beloved, recreational sanctuary many Wisconsinites call home is under threat from the rapidly warming of our earth.

Though an increase of 1 to 2 degrees Celsius may seem minimal to an outsider, this change to the environment has potentially detrimental effects to our wildlife. Risk of invasive species, rapid algae bloom growth and increased agricultural runoff threatens the Wisconsin environment.

If Washington wont lead, we need our mayor to continue to step up. Its time for Mayor Paul Soglin to lead Wisconsin toward a 100 percent renewable energy future. Its time for U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, to stand up and defend important climate-friendly measures.

Monica Begley, Madison
Patiala: Former Deputy Speaker Bir Devinder Singh said on Sunday that Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh owed an explanation to the people of Patiala for his prolonged absence from his constituency. Amarinder has created a record of sorts by wilfully staying away from the people who elected him three months ago," said Bir Devinder. The Punjab Congress dismissed Bir Devinder Singh's tirade against the Chief Minister as a "cheap publicity stunt and a sign of frustration after he was expelled for anti-party activities". Party leaders Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Sukhjinder Randhawa, Harpratap Ajnala and Kewal Singh Dhillon termed the former Dy Speaker an "unprincipled turncoat, who had lost all standing in Punjab. "Amarinder had spent the past three months ensuring clean governance and fulfilling his promises to the people of the state, including Patiala," they said. tns
Goma, June 12

At least 11 people were killed and more than 900 inmates escaped on Sunday after unidentified assailants attacked a jail in DR Congo's restive east, an official said.

"The Kangwayi prison in Beni was attacked at 3:30 pm (1330 GMT) by assailants whose identity is not yet known," Julien Paluku, governor of North Kivu province, told reporters.

"In the exchange of fire between security forces and the attackers, authorities have (counted) 11 dead including eight members of the security forces," Paluku said, adding: "For the moment, out of 966 prisoners, there are only 30 left in the prison."

Paluku said the Beni area and the neighbouring town of Butembo had been put under curfew from 6:30 pm. "Only police officers and soldiers should be out from this time," he said.

Located in the north of the troubled North Kivu province, Beni has been the scene of a wave of violence since 2014 that has seen nearly 700 civilians killed, many of them hacked to death.

The killings have been blamed on a shadowy rebel group, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). Secrecy shrouds the group, which is dominated by hardline Ugandan Muslims who were initially focused on overthrowing Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni.

Several dozen suspected ADF members were imprisoned at the Kangwayi jail.

The attack came a day after the ADF attacked a police station and a prosecutor's office in the capital Kinshasa, killing a police officer and seriously injuring four others after a series of similar strikes over the past three weeks.

The attack comes after two jailbreaks in the vast, unstable central African nation in the past month.

On May 19, dozens of prisoners escaped from a dilapidated prison in Kasangulu, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) west of Kinshasa.

Just two days earlier, rebels from Bundu Dia Kongo (BDK) -- a secessionist rebel group that rejects Kinshasa's authority and wants to set up a parallel state in the west of the country -- had attacked Kinshasa's main prison, freeing their leader and 50 others. AFP
Sydney, June 12

A China Eastern flight bound for Shanghai was forced to turn back to Sydney due to a mid-air emergency, a spokeswoman for the airline said on Monday, with pictures showing a gaping hole in the casing of one of the plane's engines.

The plane, which data from flight tracking website FlightAware showed was an Airbus A330-200 twin jet, landed without incident and there were no injuries, said Kathy Zhang, a general manager at China Eastern Airlines.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

"The crew observed the abnormal situation of the left engine and decided to return to Sydney airport immediately. All passengers and crew members were landed safely," she said.

Photographs published by several Australian media outlets showed a large gash well over a metre long in the casing of the plane's left engine.

A spokeswoman for Rolls-Royce, which manufactured the plane's Trent 700 series engines, said in a statement: "We are aware of the incident and will be working closely with our customer and relevant partners to understand the cause of the issue."

Professor Jason Middleton, an aviation expert at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, said it appeared that the engine cowling had been ripped away forward of the main compressor blade.

"When one of these things happens you often don't know how the damage began. It could have begun from loose screws," he told Australian Broadcasting Corp. News.

The Australia Transport Safety Bureau said it was investigating the incident.

China Eastern's Zhang said a comprehensive investigation would involve aviation authorities from Australia and China.

"The engine for the aircraft is a big issue so we need to investigate with the governments, with the Rolls Royce company and with our headquarters as well," she said.

Television station Seven News reported that passengers heard a bang shortly after Flight MU736 took off and could then smell burning before the flight turned back.

"We went up in the air and all of a sudden we heard this noise ... it kind of smelt like burning. Oh, I was scared. Yeah, I was really scared. Our group was terrified," one unidentified passenger told Seven News.

Another passenger, identified only as Eva, said the cabin crew tried to calm passengers and told them to fasten their seatbelts after a noise was heard.

"We were very panicked because we had no idea what was happening," she told Channel 9 television. Reuters
Beijing, June 12

China on Monday rejected as nonsense reports that President Xi Jinping snubbed Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif by not meeting him at the SCO summit following the killing of two Chinese nationals in Balochistan and said the two leaders met several times during the meeting.

I can tell you that during the seventeenth SCO heads of state meeting, President Xi met with Pakistan Prime Minister Sharif several times, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said but did not say whether the two leaders had a bilateral meeting.

Some reports are just nonsense and unwanted. China and Pakistan enjoy an all-weather strategic partnership, he said.

Pakistans state-run APP news agency reported on June 10 that Sharif returned from the Kazakh capital Astana last week after attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on the sidelines of which he met Presidents of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Russia.

Conspicuously absent was a usually customary meeting between Sharif and Xi.

Chinas official media also highlighted Xis meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kazakhstan counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry website has photographs of Xis bilateral meetings with other SCO leaders, including Modi but not with Sharif.

Xi apparently did not meet Sharif as there was disappointment and grief among Chinese public over the slaying of the two Chinese citizens who were kidnapped last month from Quetta in the restive Pakistani province of Balochistan.

The two, both teachers, were brutally murdered reportedly by Islamic State (IS) militants. The news of their murders was made public ahead of the SCO summit held on June 8-9 in which India and Pakistan were admitted as members.

The summit has realised the first ever membership enlargement of the SCO. As you know India and Pakistan have got full membership, Lu said, adding that all the member countries have agreed to build on the Shanghai spirit to step up the cooperation between the old and new members.

He also said the summit spoke highly of the Belt Road Forum (BRF) held at Beijing in May this year which was boycotted by India over sovereignty concerns relating to USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Lu said the SCO has become an important platform and reliable support for the members to enhance mutual trust, deepen good neighbourly ties and friendship and expand political cooperation and uphold regional security and stability for the members.

This summit has helped to strengthen the cohesion of SCO members, charted the course for future development and also made new proposals for SCO cooperation, he said.  PTI
London, June 12

Prime Minister Theresa May must convince her Conservative lawmakers on Monday that she should stay as party leader after an election gamble that has plunged British politics into chaos a week before formal talks to leave the European Union begin.

Unable to govern without support after the snap election, she has yet to secure the backing of a eurosceptic Northern Irish party with 10 seats.

The outcome of last weeks vote has also thrown into doubt what Britain would seek from Brexit talks with the EU, complex negotiations which will have profound implications for the worlds fifth largest economy.

May will attend a meeting of the 1922 Committee of Conservative lawmakers on Monday, some of whom have called for her to be ousted.

However, despite anger from some at the shock result, Mays position appears safe, at least for the immediate future.

EU talks might not begin on June 19 as expected as May sets out her new policy programme that day, Brexit minister David Davis said. The negotiations are supposed to conclude by March 2019 when Britain leaves, an ambitious-looking date even before the election debacle cast doubt on what UK strategy would be. Opponents hope the election shock will lead to a softer Brexit.  Reuters
San Juan, June 11

The economically struggling US island territory of Puerto Rico voted overwhelmingly on Sunday in favour of becoming the 51st state, although turnout was low and adding another star to the US flag likely faces an uphill battle in Congress.

A government website for the non-binding referendum, Puerto Ricos fifth such plebiscite since 1967, showed 97 per cent supported statehood. Only 23 per cent of the 2.2 million eligible voters participated in the vote.

Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello campaigned for statehood as the best avenue to boost future growth for the island, which has $70 billion in debt, a 45 per cent poverty rate, woefully underperforming schools and near-insolvent pension and health systems.

Puerto Ricos hazy political status, dating back to its 1898 acquisition by the United States from Spain, has contributed to the economic crisis that pushed it last month into the biggest municipal bankruptcy in US history.

I voted for statehood, Armando Abreu, a 74-year-old retiree, said after voting. Those in favour of statehood for the mainly Spanish-speaking Caribbean island hope the new status would put the territory on equal standing with the 50 US states, giving them more access to federal funds and the right to vote for US President.

Under the current system, Puerto Ricos 3.5 million American citizens do not pay federal taxes, vote in presidential elections or receive proportionate federal funding on programs like the Medicaid health insurance system for the poor. The US government oversees policy and financial areas such as infrastructure, defense and trade.

Rossello will ask Congress to respect the result, but Puerto Rico is seen as a low priority in Washington.

The islands two main opposition parties boycotted the vote, which gave Puerto Ricans three options: becoming a US state; remaining a territory; or becoming an independent nation, with or without some continuing political association with the United States.  Reuters
Vatican City, June 12

Pope Francis has laid down an ultimatum to Nigerian priests: be fired if you don't obey me and your bishop.

Francis met June 8 at the Vatican with a delegation from the Ahiara diocese, where priests have been refusing to accept the 2012 appointment by then pontiff, Benedict XVI, of the local bishop.

Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, reporting the pope's unusually harsh order, said today that Francis was acting "for the good of the people of God" by threatening to suspend the priests from the ministry if they didn't pledge in a letter, by July 9, "total obedience" to Francis and accept Bishop Peter Okpaleke's appointment.

Francis told the visiting delegation he was "very sad" about the priests' refusal to obey and ruled out tribal loyalties as causing the refusal. AP
The U.S. Supreme Court will not hear a challenge to the ELD mandate. Photo: Public domain

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association's request to take on the issue of the constitutionality of electronic logging devices.

The June 12 announcement of the court's denial of OOIDA's petition means the court will not hold hearings on whether the regulation violates drivers rights to privacy under the Fourth Amendment, which means a lower court ruling upholding the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's ELD mandate stands.

Under the electronic logging device rule, motor carriers and drivers must transition to ELDs by Dec. 17 of this year. Those that were using automatic onboard recording devices prior to Dec. 18, 2017, may continue using AOBRDs through Dec. 16, 2019. Suppliers of ELDs must conform to technical specifications, certify their ELDs, and register them with FMCSA.

Along with the issue of protecting driver privacy, in its petition to the Supreme Court, OOIDA also was seeking a ruling on whether the ELD rule violates the Fourth Amendment by failing to establish a regulatory structure at the state and federal levels that serves as a substitute for a warrant.

When asked to comment on the decision by HDT, OOIDA responded: "We are extremely disappointed that the Supreme Court does not see the merit in reviewing our case with so many questions about its constitutionality. We will continue to pursue the issue on the congressional side, as there are still many questions about the technical specifications and enforcement aspects of the mandate. Until the government is able to answer many fundamental and basic questions about the mandate, they should at least delay its implementation.

"The mandate is the equivalent of warrantless surveillance of truckers and it violates their Fourth Amendment rights. That intrusion on the rights of hard-working Americans cannot be justified. The mandate will not improve safety. It will, however, be another costly regulatory burden heaped upon an already over-regulated industry."

OOIDA has contended in the past that requiring electronic monitoring devices on commercial vehicles does not advance safety since they are no more reliable than paper logbooks for recording compliance with hours-of-service regulations.

Updated 6/12/2017 at 11 a.m. EDT to add OOIDA comments.
Someone who bought a Powerball ticket in Southern California has won a record $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot. The winning numbers drawn Tuesday morning at the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee were: white balls 10, 33, 41, 47 and 56, and the red Powerball was 10. The jackpot ticket was sold at Joes Service Center in Altadena, northeast of Los Angeles. The business will receive a maximum Powerball bonus of $1 million. The Multi-State Lottery Association said Monday nights scheduled drawing was delayed by nearly 10 hours until Tuesday because a participating lottery had issues processing sales. The jackpot was by far the largest lottery jackpot ever won, topping the previous record $1.586 billion prize won by three Powerball ticketholders in 2016.
GROVE  Authorities are investigating after a woman was found fatally shot in her back yard in a Grove subdivision, the police chief said.

Authorities are not looking for a suspect, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said.

Family members found the woman's body on Monday in the Quail Run subdivision, Grove Police Chief Mark Morris said.

State and local law enforcement are investigating the fatal shooting, said OSBI spokeswoman Jessica Brown.

Agents are still on the scene investigating, Brown said.

The woman's identity has not been released, pending notification of next-of-kin, authorities said.
NSW Police are investigating a car accident earlier this month near Nines Sydney headquarters involving network NRL commentator Matthew Thompson (pictured, second from right).

Media reports allege Thompson, 35, fled the accident scene after his car crashed near a kindergarten while a man and his wife were picking up their daughters.

It is believed a Mazda CX7 struck a VW Polo that was parked in Willoughby Road near the intersection of Penkivil Street, police told Fairfax.

The other driver Peter told Fairfax, Hes written off a car, left the scene, wasted, you know.

While I was calling the police he absconded. Hes legged it. The police showed up about 10 minutes later.

But Nine told news.com.au, Mat says he did not flee the scene, but freely exchanged details with Peter. He denies being wasted as claimed. Mat has not heard from police since June 1st.

Any allegations like those published by Fairfax today are very serious, but there appears to be more than one side to this story.

Channel Nine is treating this matter very seriously, and has offered Mat the appropriate counselling.

Police stated they had been unable to give Thompson a breath test because more than two hours had passed since the crash when they located him.

Police continue with their inquiries into the matter.
Congolese women and children arrive at a border point in Chissanda, Lunda Norte, Angola after fleeing militia attacks in Kasai Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo in May 2017.  UNHCR/Pumla Rulashe

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and partners are seeking US$65 million to help the growing number of refugees arriving in Angola from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Since April, some 30,000 refugees have already arrived in Angolas Lunda Norte province, fleeing violent attacks in the Kasai region.

Inter-communal tensions, clashes among different militia groups and the Congolese armed forces, have now displaced more than 1.3 million people internally. Humanitarian agencies fear the situation could develop into a large-scale conflict affecting more civilians. The number of refugees could reach 50,000 according to the government and UN estimates, with 300-500 arriving daily.

Traumatized refugees need urgent support to ensure provision of life-saving assistance and protection, said Valentin Tapsoba, UNHCRs Director for the Africa Bureau.

Angola is providing a warm welcome, but reception centres - accommodating refugees, are full beyond their capacity and basic services cannot be maintained without immediate donor support.

Arriving refugees express fear about returning to the DRC unless the situation changes, allowing safe and dignified return. Most civilians in affected areas are at risk of serious human rights violations, including physical mutilation, killing, sexual violence, arbitrary arrest and detention in inhumane conditions.

Angola, a signatory to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, has historically received refugees from the DRC and other neighbouring countries. Prior to the recent influx, Angola was hosting some 15,600 refugees - including more than 13,400 from the DRC.

UNHCR needs US$35 million till end of the year to continue assisting refugees in remote parts of Angola, but sustaining life-saving assistance wont be possible without more funding.

Current humanitarian activities are supported with US$10 million by the UNs Central Emergency Fund.

Link to the funding appeal: http://bit.ly/2ra34vK

Media contacts:
Eighteen-year-old Rohingya refugee Shamshidah did not set foot inside a classroom until she was well into her teens, and today she is still beating the odds against her getting an education.

I started my education when I was 14 because there was no school for me to go to, said the youngster, who attends an informal school each day in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur with her 15-year-old sister, Yasmin.

Child refugees such as Shamshidah frequently have their education disrupted after they are uprooted from home and have to find their way with their families in the country that shelters them, although the reception they receive varies.

In Malaysia, where there are 150,000 refugees registered with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, refugees do not have legal status.

As such, Rohingya children  who are from a conservative Muslim minority whose families fled violence in Myanmar more than 10 years ago -- are denied access to public education, compelling UNHCR, its NGO partners and the refugee communities themselves to support a parallel school system.

"My friends dont go to school ... I feel sorry for them."

Her late start means that Shamshidah studies in a primary-level class with younger students, where they learn English, maths and science. While she is lagging behind her age group, she nevertheless appreciates the chance to study. I dont mind, she said. I hope to go on to secondary school and learn computers.

Rohingya student enrolls in informal school for refugees in Malaysia

The challenges she faces are all too common. According to a report by UNHCR, only 50 per cent of refugee children worldwide are enrolled in primary school, 22 per cent in secondary, and one per cent in tertiary education.

For Rohingya children in Malaysia, the outlook is even worse. As of December 2016, just over a third - 39 per cent  of school age children have access to any education, while the remainder are classed as being out of school, according to UNHCRs education unit in Malaysia.

What education they receive is in 120 informal learning centres throughout Malaysia, run by the refugee community or faith-based organizations, with support from UNHCR. Many struggle with limited funding, overcrowded classrooms and few resources.

Other challenges include a high turnover of teachers, students who drop out for financial or cultural reasons, and limited opportunities for higher education.

My friends dont go to school, some friends work in the market, some friends are married, and others have to take care of their siblings  I feel sorry for them, said Shamshidah.

The schools, like the one in Kuala Lumpur that Shamshidah and her younger sister Yasmin now attend, frequently rely on volunteer teachers, some of whom are retired educators, like Mira*.

"I dont know how to read or write ... That is why I dont want my children to work but to study.

A friend asked me if I wanted to volunteer. As I had been teaching children all my life, I said why not? said Mira*, who is also volunteering to improve the curriculum at the refugee learning centre. Children are children, she added. They need have no nationality, they need education.

Access to education is seen as key for the more than 21 million refugees worldwide, more than half of whom are children. While appreciative of support from informal schools, UNHCR, supports access to state education for refugees in Malaysia.

Shamshidah (right) and her 15-year-old sister Yasmin attend class at an informal school for refugees in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  UNHCR/Roger Arnold

A teacher addresses a class at an informal school for refugees in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  UNHCR/Roger Arnold

Rohingya student Shamshidah, 18, looks after her five-year-old sister, Ruaidhah, before and after classes at an informal school for refugees in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  UNHCR/Roger Arnold

Rohingya refugee Shamshidah, 18, a student at an informal school for refugees in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with her five-year-old sister, Ruaidhah.  UNHCR/Roger Arnold

Any support towards education access to refugee children will enable UNHCR to gradually phase out the informal parallel education system that it currently supports, and channel the resources towards programmes that mutually benefit the refugee children as well as those from the host community, said Mimi Zarina Amin, head of education at UNHCR Malaysia.

Although she did not attend school herself, Shamshidahs mother Aminah is supportive of her daughters and hopes their education will open doors for them that she missed out on.

I was born in a poor family and I had to find my ways to find food, Aminah said, listing the ways that a lack of an education affects her every day. Every time I take a taxi, I dont know the numbers, I dont know how to read or write, I dont know how to do anything. That is why I dont want my children to work but to study.

While Shamshidah feels self-conscious about being older than her classmates, Aminah encourages her. I tell her not to feel shy because this is for you not for me, said Amina. I want you to go to school for you.
UW Production of The Fantasticks Coming to Thermopolis June 19

UW Department of Theatre and Dance students Hannah Kipp and Andrew Thornton rehearse a scene from the musical The Fantasticks. The UW production will be staged Monday, June 19, at 7 p.m. at Hot Springs County High School. (Donald P. Turner Photo)

The worlds longest-running musical, billed as the perfect musical by The Wall Street Journal, will be staged Monday, June 19, in Thermopolis.

Presented by the University of Wyoming Department of Theatre and Dance, The Fantasticks, a family-friendly, funny and romantic musical about a boy, a girl, two meddling parents and a wall, will be performed at Hot Springs County High School at 7 p.m. The UW production is free and open to the public.

Directed by UW Assistant Professor Kevin Inouye, The Fantasticks production is on a tour to four different Wyoming communities from June 18-21, and is sponsored by the UW Department of Theatre and Dance, in conjunction with UW Fine Arts Outreach. The play is part of UWs 64th annual Snowy Range Summer Theatre season; the production is being staged June 15-17 and June 23-24 at UWs Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts.

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 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.


They are eight extraordinary women leading Southern Nevadas community. These women will be honored during this years Dessert Before Dinner, the annual premier fundraising event benefiting the Girl Scouts of Southern Nevada. The event will take place Saturday, Sept. 9 at Caesars Palace from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

The popular event is expected to attract a record-breaking more than 750 attendees who include the citys top influencers and community leaders.

Now established as one of the citys most exciting fundraising events, Dessert Before Dinner brings area chefs together to create the ultimate confection incorporating a chosen signature Girl Scout cookie. Guests indulge in desserts before the first course is even served, hence the name. Participating chefs and the signature cookie will be announced next month.

In addition to the chefs competition, an array of the citys most high-profile women will be honored for being outstanding role models and paving the way for success for future businesswomen in Southern Nevada. They will also receive honorary Girl Scouts badges, selected specifically for them based on their own professional achievements. Honorees are listed below, along with the badges they will receive on Sept. 9:

Debbie Creel  Think Big Badge

Debbie Creel is the co-owner of Creel Printing. Creel has helped guide her company from a small family-owned printer to a global leader in printing technology with 500 employees across the U.S. and France. Creels experience and passion for equality helps her understand the needs of the Las Vegas community and the struggles women in the workforce face today. Creel is dedicated to increasing the economic well-being, education and emotional health of the community and young women and does so through her participation in the Girl Scouts of Southern Nevada.

Souzan El-Eid, MD, FACS  S.T.E.A.M. Advocate Badge

Dr. Souzan El-Eid is a breast surgeon with Comprehensive Cancer centers of Nevada, serves as the medical director of the Breast Care Center at Summerlin Hospital. She is the current president of the Clark County Medical Society and is currently the cancer liaison physician for the Cancer Program and co-chair of the Breast Tumor Board as well as Cancer Committee at Summerlin Hospital. She is an adjunct associate professor of general surgery at Touro University Nevada and has served as principal investigator for several clinical research studies. Additionally, Dr. El-Eid serves on various medical committees, co-authors numerous publications about breast cancer and breast diseases and frequently gives presentations and lecturers about breast cancer to the public and physicians. Dr. El-Eid was named both a Top Doctor and Top Surgeon in multiple medical journals and in her experience, the deficit of basic S.T.E.A.M. education in Nevada presents opportunities for community members to stand up and offer these educational benefits to the youth in Southern Nevada.

Nazanin Ford  Visionary Badge

Nazanin Ford actively contributes to her community by representing Nevada Womens Philanthropy as past president, vice president, education and events committee chair and outreach committee co-chair. Ford also serves on the board of her family foundation, the James Joseph Ford Foundation, and established the Every Generation Gives (EGG) Project. This project has empowered more than 1,000 at-risk Clark County students to make a difference in their community with philanthropy and volunteerism and nearly $40,000 has been granted by students to local non-profits. She became an early advocate for Scholars Working Over Time, a program where dedicated educators and determined families teamed up to give students the opportunity and tools to succeed academicallydespite the odds stacked aggainst them. She championed the program as it evolved into Equipo Academy, a 6-12th grade college preparatory school in Las Vegas lowest income zip code. It continues to be a place where students strive to redefine the odds daily.

Shelley Gitomer  Trailblazing Badge

As vice president of philanthropy and community engagement for MGM Resorts International since 2013, Shelley Gitomer is charged with enhancing the companys strategic goodwill and alliances with communities, achieving closer alignment with the business mission and promoting the Companys Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) platform. She is responsible for corporate philanthropy, volunteerism and is president of the employee-driven MGM Resorts Foundation. Gitomer is being recognized for her work and dedication to providing young women with positive role models and mentorship in Southern Nevada and surrounding areas.

Nancy Houssels  Ambassador of the Arts Badge

Nancy Houssels is the recipient of the 2017 Ambassador of the Arts Badge. Born in Piedmont, California, Nancy began dancing at age three. After graduating from UCLA with a BA degree in Theater Arts, she performed worldwide in theater and television as part of the famed dance team, Szony & Claire with partner Francois Szony. In 1972, she co-founded Nevada Dance Theatre (now Nevada Ballet Theatre) with Vassili Sulich and to this day, remains the driving force as Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees. Although Nancy was no longer performing, she extended her career by working in the community, becoming involved with the arts and children. She has received numerous accolades including the Governors Arts Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts, the Jameson Philanthropic Achievement Award, Chamber of Commerce Women of Achievement Award, the Chris Schallert Award from WE CAN for abused and abandoned children among many others. She has served on a diverse number of Boards such as the UNLV Foundation, the Meadows School, as Chair of the Nevada Arts Council, Bank of Commerce, Childrens Service Guild and The Smith Center for the Performing Arts.

Trina Pascal  Philanthropist Badge

Trina Pascal has an extensive background and passion for giving of others and she has remained committed to supporting her community, which began with her volunteer work with Edgewood Center for Children and Families, located in San Francisco. This work led her to Las Vegas where she co-founded Nevada Womens Philanthropy (NWP) and the difference it makes across the valley. The principles that have guided her personal commitment to philanthropy align with the underlying values that have shaped the Girl Scouts of America  that courage, confidence and character, when applied, can make the world a better place.

Sonja Saltman  Community Badge

Confident and driven, Sonja Saltman is the co-founder and executive director of Existential-Humanistic Institute (EHI) and has also been in private practice for more than 20 years. She has trained extensively in various humanistic modalities, amongst Gestalt, Existential, Redecision Therapy, Hypnotherapy, Group Therapy and Imagery. When working with the Girl Scouts of Southern Nevada, she leads with empowerment and experience, mentoring her team and inspiring all to engage with the community, visualize and achieve. After moving to Las Vegas from Austria more than 40 years ago, she has been passionate about her community and empowering women to get involved. She serves on many boards and shares insights that encourage others to be creative and reach their highest potential. She is notably involved on the board of Nevada Womens Philanthropy and serves as a board member of Black Mountain Institute at University of Nevada, Las Vegas which recently received major funding to ensure its continued grown of quality and creativity. In addition, Saltman recently became the honorable consul for Austria in Las Vegas.

Melinda Sheckells  Social Innovator Badge

Melinda Sheckells is the editor-in-chief of WENDOH Media and oversees the day to day editorial operations of all the companys publications and websites including Vegas Seven magazine, DTLV.com, SpyOnVegas.com, LifeisBeautiful.com and RunRebs.com. Sheckells was chosen for her forward-thinking attitude about Las Vegas and what unique offerings residents are interested in and putting them into a successful media outlet. Sheckells joined WENDOH in 2009 as the editor of 944 Magazine before launching the multi-award winning Vegas Rated Magazine as editor-in-chief in 2011. She came into her role with WENDOH bringing a wealth of editorial experience in Las Vegas, having been the group editor-in-chief of Niche Medias Western Division including VEGAS Magazine and the award-winning Las Vegas Home + Design. Throughout her 16-year career, Sheckells has received numerous accolades for her work including seven Maggie awards from the Western Publishing Association.
By: Dezan Shira & Associates

Editor: Chau Pham

Vietnams social insurance scheme is undergoing a series of changes influencing both the statutory contribution rates required of enterprises as well as the types contracts triggering liability. With rate reductions applied from June 2017 and introduction of a wider liability for social insurance contributions scheduled for early 2018, foreign and domestic companies alike will be required to adjust compliance procedures in the near future.

Understanding social security in Vietnam

As a quick review, there are three elements in the Vietnamese social security system that employers are required to cover: social insurance (SI), unemployment insurance (UI) and health insurance (HI). For social insurance, employers are obligated to contribute a sum calculated at the rate of 17 percent of an employees salary plus an additional 1 percent which goes to the occupational accident and disease insurance fund. Health insurance and unemployment insurance, which are calculated on the same basis, are applied at rates of 3 percent and 1 percent respectively.

Social and unemployment contributions are required to be made on behalf of Vietnamese nationals only. Health insurance, on the other hand, is applicable to all labor contracts that are issued by entities incorporated in Vietnam. This precludes companies from social or unemployment obligations for their expatriate staff. Furthermore, foreign companies employing expatriate workers can often minimize their tax exposure in Vietnam by contracting their expatriate staff with their parent office rather than their Vietnamese subsidiary.

Reduced social insurance rates applied from June, 2017

A new rate of contribution to the occupational accident and disease insurance fund will be required from employers under Decree No. 44/2017/ND-CP passed on April 14 2017. According to Decree No. 44/2017/ND-CP, from the 1st of June, 2017, employers have to pay only 0.5 percent of employees salary instead of 1 percent for contributions to the occupational accident and disease insurance fund. Through the application of revised guidelines, the rate that employers are required to pay for social insurance is reduced from 18 percent to only 17.5 percent. From the 1st of June 2016, employers and employees are required to pay 21.5 percent and 10.5 percent respectively for insurance in Vietnam.

RELATED: Social Security in Vietnam: Understanding Your Obligations

Social insurance required of foreign employees from 2018

In addition to changes in the rates of social insurance required, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) is also working on a draft for a new Decree detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on Social Insurance. Under the current draft, from the 1st January of 2018, social insurance will be compulsory for foreign employees signing a labor contract with any company or agency in Vietnam.

The draft suggests that all foreign employees in Vietnam with work permits, practices certificates or practice licenses issued by local authorized agencies are to be covered for all five compulsory social insurance regimes (illness, maternity, labor accidents and occupational diseases, retirement and survivorship allowance). The rate will be the same as for Vietnamese employees (8 percent from employees and 17.5 percent from employers). This raises some major concerns related to the cost of doing business in Vietnam, especially for companies who have to hire foreign staffs to manage their business based in Vietnam. The draft Decree is now pending for opinions and will enter into force on 1st of January 2018 if adopted.

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 Vietnam 2017

An Introduction to Doing Business in Vietnam 2017 will provide readers with an overview of the fundamentals of investing and conducting business in Vietnam. Compiled by Dezan Shira & Associates, a specialist foreign direct investment practice, this guide explains the basics of company establishment, annual compliance, taxation, human resources, payroll, and social insurance in this dynamic country.

Managing Contracts and Severance in Vietnam

In this issue of Vietnam Briefing, we discuss the prevailing state of labor pools in Vietnam and outline key considerations for those seeking to staff and retain workers in the country. We highlight the increasing demand for skilled labor, provide in depth coverage of existing contract options, and showcase severance liabilities that may arise if workers or employers choose to terminate their contracts.
Protesters with anti-Conservative Party and anti-Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) placards march into Parliament Square in front of the Houses of Parliament from Whitehall in central London on Jun 10, 2017.

Two days after results of Britain's snap election showed May's Conservatives had lost their majority in parliament, a visibly weakened premier denied she was feeling "shell-shocked" when quizzed by Sky News.

"What I'm feeling is that actually there is a job to be done and I think what the public want is to ensure that the government is getting on with that job," May said in the televised interview.

Criticised for relying on campaign slogans, the prime minister's appearance from Downing Street saw her drop the "strong and stable" leadership mantra, only to replace it with talk of getting on with governing.

May sidestepped direct questioning on whether she intends to serve a full term at prime minister, following calls for her to resign in the wake of the election debacle.

"I said during the election campaign that if re-elected I would intend to serve a full term. But what I'm doing now is actually getting on with the immediate job," she said.

Aware that the opposition Labour party had made election gains by focusing heavily on national issues, while the Conservatives drew on Brexit, May listed areas such as education and housing as top priorities.

Former finance minister George Osborne, who May sacked after taking office following the Brexit vote last June, on Sunday said May was now a "dead woman walking".

But the prime minister said she had a busy schedule ahead, with a cabinet meeting on Monday and talks with French President Emmanuel Macron the following day.

Brexit will likely be on the agenda at the Paris meeting, after May confirmed she will stick to the timetable of negotiations over Britain's departure from the European Union due to start on Jun 19.

'TITANIC' RESHUFFLE

May tried to reassert her shattered authority over the weekend by announcing her new cabinet - with no moves among her top team.

Minimal changes by May including making Damian Green, former work and pensions secretary, her deputy by naming him first secretary of state.

In a surprise move, Michael Gove was appointed environment and agriculture minister less than a year after the prime minister sacked him as justice minister.

The leader of the Britain's third largest party the Liberal Democrats, Tim Farron, dismissed the reshuffle as "rearranging the deckchairs as the Titanic goes down".

May has shown little public contrition for the electoral gamble that backfired, but was forced to accept the resignations of her two closest aides - reportedly a requirement by cabinet colleagues for allowing her to stay in office.

WARNING FROM IRELAND

With the new government set to present its legislative programme to parliament on Jun 19, the clock is ticking on efforts to bolster the Conservatives' position after they won just 318 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons.

May has turned to the Protestant Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in Northern Ireland in the hope of gaining support of their 10 MPs.

DUP leader Arlene Foster said there had been "very good discussions" so far and she would travel to London to meet May on Tuesday.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said the government was not looking at a formal coalition but would seek assurances that the DUP would vote with May "on the big things" such as the budget, defence issues and Brexit.

He stressed he did not share their ultra-conservative views on issues such as abortion and homosexuality, which have caused disquiet among many Conservatives.

More than 600,000 people have signed a petition condemning the proposed alliance, saying it is a "disgusting, desperate attempt to stay in power".

The deal has also caused disquiet in Dublin, prompting Irish premier Enda Kenny to warn such an alliance could upset Northern Ireland's fragile peace.

In a phone call on Sunday, Kenny told May that forming a minority government reliant on the support of the hardline DUP could pose a "challenge" to the 1998 Good Friday peace accords.

"The taoiseach (Kenny) indicated his concern that nothing should happen to put the Good Friday Agreement at risk and the challenge that this agreement will bring," an Irish government spokesman said.

London's neutrality is key to the delicate balance of power in Northern Ireland, which was once plagued by violence over Britain's control of the province.

May responded that the DUP deal "would provide stability and certainty for the UK going forward", her office said.
The Prime Minister has given the green light to the equitisation plan for Song a Corporation.-Photo cafef.vn

Accordingly, it will be carried out by selling parts of the State-owned capital and issuing shares to increase its charter capital to VN4.5 trillion (US$198.3 million).

The plan allows the business to launch its initial public offering (IPO) of 450 million shares for VN10,000 each or $0.44, with the State retaining 229.5 million shares, making up 51 per cent of the charter capital, until the end of 2019.

State capital in the corporation will be reduced to below 50 per cent of the total charter capital in 2020.

Meanwhile, 822,000 preferential shares or 0.183 per cent of the charter capital will be sold to the companys staff and 135 million shares equivalent to 30 per cent of the charter capital to strategic investors. Over 84.7 million shares will be put up for public auction.

The Prime Minister authorised the Ministry of Construction to set up the criteria to choose strategic investors and asked Song a Corporation to handle land issues, pay annual land lease fees and implement the management and use of land, in line with relevant regulations.

The companys total labourers at the time of announcing the corporations value was 464 people, 412 of whom will move to work at Song a Corporation-Joint Stock Company, and the remainder will leave the company.

Some 55 State-owned companies were equitised in 2016. The country has targeted to equitise 137 State-owned enterprises in four ministries and branches, and 32 localities and four economic groups will be prioritised in the period between 2017 and 2020.
Hosted by executive chef Anne-Cecile Degenne, chef Yuichi Kamimura will be introducing an artistic, yet contemporary fusion of Japanese and French flavours.

Renowned for his clever use of Japanese ingredients prepared in an unmistakably French manner, his contemporary Japanese-French cuisine has been conquering the palates of connoisseurs in Japan, Malaysia, and now Vietnam.

Daring virtuoso chef Kamimura's contemporary cuisine have delighted connoisseurs in two countries before

Having travelled to many of the world's best kitchens across the globe, chef Kamimura brings his experience to Vietnam with a spectacular culinary journey set menu dinner featuring innovative culinary masterpieces.

Hotel des Arts Saigon, a member of MGallery Collection, is designed for those who love to live and travel independently.

This boutique hotel is a haven of art, style, and culture in the heart of the energetic Ho Chi Minh City. Combining the classical charm of Indochine Francais with a sense of timeless chic that only MGallery can provide, Hotel des Arts Saigon is perfect for people who travel in style and seek a hotel that exudes local character.
File photo of an Airbus plane owned by Iran. (File photo: AFP/PASCAL PAVANI)

"So far five planes carrying ... vegetables have been sent to Qatar, each carrying around 90 tonnes of cargo, while another plane will be sent today," Iran Air spokesman Shahrokh Noushabadi told AFP on Sunday (Jun 11).

"We will continue deliveries as long as there is demand" from Qatar, Noushabadi added, without mentioning if these deliveries were exports or aid.

The head of the industries, business and trade organisation in the Fars province was also quoted by the Tasnim news agency as saying on Sunday the first planes carrying food to Qatar had flown from the southern city of Shiraz.

"Every day we will export 100 tonnes of fruits and vegetables to Qatar," Ali Hemmati said.

In addition, three ships loaded with 350 tonnes of fruit and vegetables were also set to leave an Iranian port for Qatar, Tasnim quoted a local official as saying. The port of Dayyer is Iran's closest port to Qatar.

Qatar has been in talks with Iran and Turkey to secure food and water supplies after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut links, accusing Doha of supporting terrorism. Qatar says the allegations are based on lies.

The small peninsular nation of 2.5 million people was importing 80 per cent of its food requirements from bigger Gulf neighbours before they cut ties with it.

Iran, long at odds with Saudi Arabia and a behind-the-scenes target of the move, has called for the sides to overcome their differences.

The Islamic republic has also opened its airspace to about 100 more Qatari flights a day, after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates banned Qatari planes from their airspace.

The new flights have increased Iranian air traffic by 17 per cent, the official state news agency has reported.
Viet Nams seafood exports to the United States have reduced in the first five months. - Photo vietnamtradeoffice.net

Also, it will face difficulty in recovering in the next few months, VASEP said.

The nation saw a year-on-year growth of 7.5 per cent in the total export value of seafood to US$2.76 billion in the first five months, but the export value of local seafood products to the US fell by 12.7 per cent year-on-year to $461 million, the association said.

The reduction made the US only the second largest export market for Viet Nam in the first five months of this year, against the first place in the same period last year, it said. The fall was partly due to the anti-dumping duty on Vietnamese tra fish and shrimp in the US market.

The exports of Vietnamese seafood products to the US was expected to face difficultly in recovering by the end of this year, because the US inspection programme for catfish would be effective September 2017. Also, with Donald Trump becoming the US President, the currency market has seen many changes, and the new US government may increase tax, and technical and protection barriers, the association said.

During the first five months, the EU was the third largest export market for Vietnamese seafood products, but still had a reduction of 0.7 per cent in the export value.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese seafood products reached a year-on-year growth of 29.3 per cent, 20.1 per cent and 26.1 per cent to Japan, China and South Korea, respectively.

VASEP said tra fish and shrimp exports had slow growth because the material supply for shrimp and tra fish was limited, and prices for the material of those products increased sharply.

Therefore, enterprises had changed the structure of seafood export products and markets to promote exports of tuna, squid, octopus and other seafood products.

Viet Nams tuna exports gained a year-on-year increase of 20 per cent to $216 million in the first five months due to the growth of exports to traditional markets such as the US and the EU.

In the first five months, the nations squid and octopus exports rose by 39 per cent to $199 million against the same period last year.
General director Nguyen Tam Tien at the signing ceremony lauded the opportunities brought by this new partnership

The future partners of Trung Nam Group in these projects are prestigious contractors in and outside the country, including Lilama 45.3 Joint Stock Company, Green Cosmos Marketing Pte Ltd., and especially Enercon and Syntegra Solar, two giants specialising in wind and solar power equipment provision.

Nguyen Tam Tien, general director of Trung Nam Group, noted that the collaboration with these two energy giants from Germany proves the high determination of the investors to implement the projects. According to him, the investors have rejected out-dated technologies from several foreign countries and levelled up the quality of investment package with high initial installation costs.

These two Germany-based contractors are considered the Mercedes of the wind and solar energy industry due to their certified reputation. With the high quality, low-cost operation, long-term insurance, and high performance offered by the contractors, Trung Nam Group believes that the projects will efficiently come into operation and contribute to the budget of Ninh Thuan after their first phase is completed next year, said Tien.

The collaboration of Trung Nam Group with Enercon and Syntegra Solar is expected to exploit the potential and advantages of Ninh Thuan in wind and solar power sectors. It also marks a milestone in bilateral economic partnership between Vietnam and Germany, paving the way for future collaboration in renewable energy development.

The construction of the Trung Nam wind power plant began in August 2016 with the total investment of VND3.96 trillion ($174.5 million). The factory is set to have a capacity of 90-100 MW, generating 286 million kWh of energy. Phase I of this project is scheduled to be completed in the third quarter of 2018, while phase II will be finished in the second quarter of 2019.

Trung Nam Group is also conducting a feasibility study of a solar power project as part of the wind power project. The company said it may develop a 515 MW solar power project in Ninh Thuan.

Wind and solar power projects carried out by Trung Nam Group are expected to set the foundation for future integration projects in renewables in Ninh Thuan. Besides, according to investors, these projects will encourage other national and international investors to take advantage of renewable and clean energy in order to reduce environmental pollution caused by fossil fuel usage, and to support the model of energy usage provided by the Vietnamese government.
The country inevitably must launch a fund to support sustainable Vietnamese tourism growth, Vu The Binh, vice president of Viet Nam Tourism Association said.- Photto Buffalo Trip

Binh and other tourism agencies representatives joined the discussion yesterday on a draft of the revised tourism law.

According to Binh, the revised law is based on the basic content of Tourism Law 2005 and has updated regulations relevant to current affairs and targets to develop Vietnamese tourism into a spearhead economic sector.

The Vietnamese tourism sector in the first five months of this year has witnessed strong growth, with more than 5.2 million international tourists visiting Vietnamese shores, a surge of nearly 30 per cent compared to the same period last year.

We can reach the 30 per cent growth, even 50 per cent if we have strong resources, Binh said.

However, he said that the Vietnamese tourism sector has yet to gather strong resources and needs a fresh bounding force, which he suggests will come in the form of a tourism development support fund.

Nguyen Hong Hai, president of the capital citys tourism club, said that sources of the fund-- from the State, voluntary donors and other legal sources--must be clarified.

A representative of Viet Nam Society of Travel Agents (VISTA) highlighted that the fund establishment is necessary to boost Vietnamese tourism promotion around the world. In Viet Nam, budget for tourism promotion activities remains only US$2 million on average, equivalent to only 2.9 per cent of Thailands, 2.5 per cent of Singapores and 1.9 per cent of Malaysias.

He suggested learning from other countries experience in calling for investment.

Pham Manh Cuong, VISTA deputy general secretary, recommended funding the proposal with an accommodation tax paid by tourists staying overnight.

Accommodation ranking on debate

Controversy broke out among participants on whether accommodation rankings should be made mandatory.

inh Manh Thang, president of Tourism Association of central Thua Thien-Hue Province, said that a ranking system should not be made compulsory, as tourists determine the accommodation quality, not the State or accommodation owners.

Many participants agreed that holiday visitors are lured by high-quality accommodation at reasonable prices, not by star rankings.

However, others argued that accommodation rankings are necessary to protect rights of tourists and avoid cheating.

At the discussion, the participants also agreed on compulsory licences of three types of tours: domestic, inbound and outbound.
The Foliage offers artistic dialogue between the East and the West, stunning visitors with its mixture of influences

Located at Royal City, VCCA aims to contribute to the development of contemporary art in Vietnam by bringing it closer to the public, inspiring people and visitors as well as building an exciting art environment that would boost the spirit of all Vietnamese people.

VCCA invests in the collection and preservation of Vietnamese pieces of art that have historical and artistic value. It is the platform for artists to display their pieces and sell them in a professional and supervised environment, as well as introduce new trends and provide knowledge to the public.

After its opening, VCCA is going to operate during all four seasons of the year with different themes, together with educational and experiential events. The first activity of the centre is The Foliage, which is a dialogue between the East and the West and a mixture of influences.

Below are some photos from the exhibition:
French far-right presidential candidate, Marine Le Pen exits a voting booth before casting her ballot in Henin Beaumont, northern France, on Sunday. Le Pen said she lamented low turnout in the first round of parliamentary elections.
Gibraltar Finance and Startup Grind Gibraltar to co-host Directors Retreat

Startup Grind are a global start-up community designed to educate, inspire, and connect entrepreneurs. Founded in Silicon Valley, Startup Grind now spans over 200 cities across the world. Startup Grind Europe is the European leg in a series of global conferences. Held this year at the Central Hall Westminster, London on 14th June it will attract an audience of 1,500 visitors - https://www.startupgrind.com/europe/

The Government of Gibraltar have announced that on 13th June, Gibraltar House, London will be the venue for the Startup Grind Directors Retreat. This event will bring together up to 40 global directors and has been organised by the Gibraltar Chapter of the Startup Grind working in partnership with Gibraltar Finance. Paul Astengo Senior Executive will have the opportunity to address the Directors as will the leadership of the Gibraltar chapter.

Albert Isola, Minister for Commerce HM Government of Gibraltar commented, In May 2017 we published a consultation document, Proposals for a DLT Regulatory Framework. Our stated ambition is to make Gibraltar a leading hub for firms in the new technology sector. We are delighted that the global leadership of Startup Grind accepted our invitation to hold their pre conference Directors retreat in Gibraltar House, London as this will allow us the opportunity to present Gibraltar as a leading onshore financial centre supporting and welcoming innovation. Our thanks go to Denise Matthews of the Gibraltar chapter for facilitating this excellent initiative.

This is a closed event but for further information on the Gibraltar Chapter of Startup Grind please contact Denise Matthews via email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or search their website https://www.startupgrind.com/gibraltar/
Corinne Olympios and Demario Jackson. Photo: Getty Images; Courtesy of ABC

While Warner Bros. continues to investigate the alleged misconduct that recently occurred on the set of ABCs Bachelor in Paradise, more disturbing details about the nature of that misconduct have leaked to the gossip press. Earlier today, People reported that Warner Bros. was investigating a potentially nonconsensual sexual encounter that occurred during filming in Sayulita, Mexico. Now, the alleged victim in the situation is speaking out, through sources, to TMZ.

To recap: Multiple sources told People that BIP producers allegedly filmed cast member DeMario Jackson engaging in a sexual encounter with a female contestant who may have been too drunk to consent. Warner Bros. has declined to comment on the specifics of the allegations. Jackson, meanwhile, has defended himself to TMZ, stating, through sources, that he had oral sex with a female contestant in a hot tub and that the next day everything was fine. Now, sources close to the female contestant are telling TMZ her side of the story. Originally, our sister site the Cut withheld the name of the contestant due to the sensitive nature of the allegations and the fact that she had not yet spoken out about them. Now, however, we will present her side of things, as told to TMZ.

TMZ reports that Corinne Olympios, who previously appeared on The Bachelor, says she did not consent to sexual activity with Jackson. From TMZ:

Corinne Olympios claims she was in a blackout state when she got sexual with fellow Bachelor in Paradise star DeMario Jackson  and she blames producers for not pulling the plug and protecting her Sources close to Corinne tell TMZ she was drunk the entire day of filming when she ended up naked in the swimming pool with DeMario. Although DeMario remembers everything  she says she remembers nothing. Were told the day after the swimming pool incident she claims fellow cast members began telling her stories of what went down with DeMario. She says several cast members told her they had voiced concern to people on the production crew that she was in no position to consent to sexual activity, but the crew did not heed their warnings.

Jackson did not return the Cuts request for comment. The Cut has reached out to a representative for Olympios, and we will update this post as more information becomes available.
The cast of Dear Evan Hansen after their big win. Photo: Kyle Dorosz

As hosted by Kevin Spacey, and tangentially, Rachel Bloom, Sunday nights Tony Awards introduced TV viewers to the best of a Broadway season without a clear Hamilton-like standout. Dear Evan Hansen took home the most trophies, with six wins including Tonys for Best Musical and Best Actor Ben Platt, while major prizes also went to Oslo, for Best Play, and the Bette Midlerled Hello, Dolly! for Best Revival. Regardless of whether you knew the lyrics to all the shows by heart, or remain a theater neophyte, get a close look at a few of the nights big winners with Vultures backstage photos from Radio City Musical Hall.
Photo: Joan Marcus/2016 Joan Marcus

Homosexuals, women with children, short insomniacs  welcome Falsettos to a movie theater near you. During the Tony Awards Sunday night, Live From Lincoln Center, Screenvision Media, and KAOS Connect announced plans to bring a taped version of the Lincoln Center Theaters production of Falsettos with Christian Borle and Andrew Rannells to movie theaters across the country this July. The revival of the William Finn-James Lapine musical, which follows a group of New Yorkers from the late 1970s to beginnings of the AIDS crisis, was nominated for five Tonys, including Best Revival of a Musical. You can find ticket information on screenings here. The taped production of Falsettos will also air on PBS this fall.
Photo: Jenny Anderson/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions

Sunday nights Tony Awards  from a slightly painful opening number featuring host Kevin Spacey to a seemingly never-ending stream of guys in blue tuxedo jackets  were a fairly tame affair. About halfway through the telecast, Nick Kroll and John Mulaney (Oh, Hello) introduced the Radio City Rockettes to perform a routine set to New York, New York. It was fine. The Rockettes were, well, the Rockettes. But just as we were all starting to wonder, Hmmm, why are we killing time at the Tonys with this kick line, the answer arrived in the form of two angel-voiced Tony Award winners by the names of Cynthia Erivo (The Color Purple) and Leslie Odom Jr. (Hamilton).

Who do we have to talk to about getting these two to host next year?
L-R: Vladimir Putin and Oliver Stone. Photo: Komandir/Courtesy of SHOWTIME

Starting tonight and continuing through Thursday, June 15, Showtime will air The Putin Interviews, a series of conversations between filmmaker Oliver Stone and Russian president Vladimir Putin. The project has been in the works for several years, but the most recent conversations occurred in February of 2017.

Last year, I published a book about Stones life and career titled The Oliver Stone Experience. One unifying thread was the controversy that has followed him throughout his career, from Midnight Express through Snowden. The tradition continues with the release of this new series, which has already been attacked in some quarters for being too favorable toward its subject. I asked Stone about the documentary and its detractors last Thursday, on the same day that former FBI director James Comey went before Congress to accuse President Donald Trump of trying to suppress an investigation into his administrations alleged ties to Russia.

An edited, condensed version of our conversation follows.

Oliver Stone: Do you remember Hate Week, from George Orwells 1984? They had a Hate Week every few months, which was where all the crowds got together and they hated the perceived enemy of that time.

Do you think that thats whats happening with the attitude towards Vladimir Putin and the United States?

Yeah. Ive seen a lot of demonization of foreign leaders in my lifetime. [Saddam] Hussein, Manuel Noriega  remember him? We wanted to make Noriega our enemy, and he was working for us. We had Muammar Qaddafi in Libya. We had Mr. Assad in Syria. The hate against Putin has been steady since 20122013, and now its gotten heavy, heavy, worse. The election has brought this into a focus, which is intense. Our story started before that. This series was not done because of the election. Most of it was shot earlier. We went back to see him after the election, in February, and added a part.

Youve done documentaries on Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro, and now Putin. How would you compare Putin to these other leaders, in terms of their presence?

Different. Putin doesnt have the same personality as Fidel or Hugo  they were very outgoing, very Latin, very charismatic. Hes definitely more Byzantine, semi-Asiatic, gruff, with small eyes. He doesnt photograph in the same way, so its harder to see his eyes. You could make a whole thesis about why actors have to have big eyes.

How would you compare him to Castro or Chavez as a leader?

Well, they all have their national interests in mind. I would say that Putin is very much devoted to Russian national interests; he is a son of Russia. You have to remember, he inherited an economy that was rotting away. It was worse than our Great Depression. Their GDP under Boris Yeltsin had dropped 40 percent in value, maybe more. Poverty was endemic. The oligarchs were corrupt and getting rich like mad.

Those oligarchs, in the 90s, became a problem. Boris Yeltsin was very unpopular, but the 96 election of Yeltsin was a complete fraud; the U.S. supported the election to make things work, and gave him an [International Monetary Fund] loan before the election. They gave him all they could to make him win. We sent over teams of advisers. They were a disaster. The country privatized as much as they could, as fast as they could, it was like Ronald Reagan Comes to Russia. It didnt work. People suffered greatly.

Putin came in in 1999, although he was the accidental president because Yeltsin appointed him at the last second [Editors note: On August 9, 1999, Putin was initially appointed one of three first deputy prime ministers, then was appointed acting prime minister of the government of the Russian Federation later that same day]. Putin was working for Yeltsin, but he was never seen as a contender or as a leader. He was appointed by Yeltsin arbitrarily, and then in 2000 he won an election as president. But he was seen during that 2000 election as the anti-Yeltsin  as a man who could clean up Russia.

He cleaned up, as best he could, a very difficult situation. He established a better economy: the GDP went up; peoples incomes went up. There was a general satisfaction with what he did. He made new rules for the oligarchs. In other words, he didnt stop the privatization, but he moderated it, and he said youre going to have to work with the state.

In doing that, he made lots of enemies, of course. Many oligarchs hated him, told stories about him, and a lot of the rumors we hear about Putin come from that time. He gave Russia its pride back. Even now, 16 years later, you see that he has an 80 percent approval rating in Russia  he would win any election, probably. Hes won three. He may go for a fourth. Hes like a Roosevelt figure.

Not here, though. Whenever youve done a project like this, theres a sense among potential viewers of, Why is Oliver Stone offering a defense of a leader that so many Americans hate? And its happening again. What do you think about it?

Im not offering a defense of Putin. Im going there out of curiosity, and Im letting him speak for himself. Im saying to the American people: Listen, if he is so dangerous, as they say, lets listen to the man and see if you understand what he wants, because youre giving a hell of a lot of your taxpayer money to this Defense Department to build its muscles up with steroids against a perceived Russian threat, and we point out, and as Putin points out, his defense budget is about 10 percent of ours. Less, probably, given all the hidden ops and black ops we run. No, I dont defend Putin. He defends himself. I put a camera on him.

Watch the trailer for The Putin Interviews.

Well, yes and no. Youre augmenting the Putin interview with documentary clips in some cases, additional information, and so forth. And that other stuff is, for the most part, not material that is hostile towards him.

Thats correct. Im allowing him to speak for himself. But I dont know that it would have worked out the same way if I had offered a hostile face. I tried to question him on everything. I pushed him, especially in chapter four, when we go into the election. I pushed hard on hacking and cyber warfare. I think I pushed hard in one and two as well.

Theres a truth to what you say in one sense, which is, at a certain point, we would have been cut off if wed pushed harder. But remember, the reason he talked to me and gave me 19 [unedited] hours of film was because my questions were going deeper. I was asking things that most people dont ask. And I was asking them in a way that most people dont ask, because Im not a journalist. Im a director, of actors. I know how to be fun with them. I want any actor in one of my movies to give the best performance that they can. So there is certainly a bit of that going on. Im interested in bringing out the qualities in Putin that people can see.

I didnt cut things that were ugly. He gets subtly angry at me sometimes. Youll notice that probably more in the body language in episodes three and four, but you would call it making him look good, not making him look interesting or exciting.

He gives a lot of interviews to Russian and other media interests, and hes bored by them. Did you get the sense that he was ever bored with me? I sensed that he was engaged.

No, hes definitely not bored. Theres even a moment where you say to him, at the beginning of the second interview, Did you miss me? And he says, I cried every now and then, but were finally here.

He has a wry sense of humor. You see in the series that Im always teasing him; Im just always teasing him. And he teases me back, because frankly I was jet-lagged a lot. Were hanging on him, because hes so busy. He works 12 hour days; he has meetings all the time. But he kept very disciplined sleep hours: in bed by two, probably up at seven. Judo has given him a very strong framework, and sleep, I think. He doesnt dream, he says. He never remembers his dreams. Hes not a very subconscious man.

Id say to you that hes a conservative leader, in a traditional sense. The Russian traditions are important to him. He established those again because, you see, Russians had lost their ideology. Communism was dead; there was no belief in that anymore. So it became about money in the 90s, only money.

And thats not the Russian way. The country has reverted back under him to a traditional church valuation. The Eastern Orthodox Church is very important to him. So he goes to church, and he promoted that, because hes looking for a way for Russia to negotiate between American capitalism  which seems like a wild and crazy ride to him, and judging from 2008 in this country, Id say hes right  and a socialism that is more evident in European economies. He calls what they have a market economy.

Im saying to the American people: Listen, if he is so dangerous, as they say, lets listen to the man and see if you understand what he wants.

He says at one point in the documentary that the goal was not to stop the privatization, but to make it more systematic, more equitable. Do you believe hes sincere about that?

Yes, thats correct. Thats factually correct. The facts are correct. Economic facts vindicate that. What is your question? What is your counterargument?

Theres a widespread perception, in this country that what actually happened after the fall of the Soviet Union was that Russia became a kleptocracy or a mafia state.

Well, you can say that was true about Yeltsins era, and that what Putin has done is scaled that back considerably. The corruption in the 90s was a nightmare. It was like the 1920s in America, in the sense that rich people got richer, poor people got poorer. But when youre pushing back at all that, you cant do it radically  youd have to throw too many people in jail.

But he also believes that privatization is good for the old Russia. Remember, he lived through the communist system and he saw how corrupt it became, so he doesnt believe in communism at all. He understands the balance between socialism and the market economy  a very interesting concept.

About corruption, though: There are problems in Russia, but there was always endemic corruption. And Putin probably made money [in the 90s], but I dont think that that is his goal in life. We talked about money in chapter four  what he has and doesnt have  and it seems to me that he really has an appreciation of what a man achieves in life. He believes in a traditional Russia, and he believes that they can develop more industries. Their computer business could be much better. He obviously sees a future without oil. He wants a working middle class that is educated. He wants all the things that are good for countries. He could be that kind of person for Russia.

I want to read you some early responses to this documentary.

Oh, man, here we go.

You know that some early responses to the documentary have accused you of being manipulated by Putin.

Im okay with that.

You are?

There are people who were going to accuse me of that no matter what I did.

Theres a writer from Foreign Policy who said that you aid and abet Putin. A writer for the Daily Beast accused you of hero-worship and failing to challenge Putin. Among other things, the Foreign Policy piece said viewers of the documentary will learn that Putin worked as Prime Minister before returning to the presidency with 63 percent of the vote, and if Putin has thoughts about the protests that surrounded his return to Kremlin, viewers do not learn them.

Thats not true. We get into that in chapter three.

You get into that in chapter three? That wasnt made available at the time the writer wrote that piece. Showtime only made the first and second parts available. And those are the only ones Ive seen as of this moment on June 8, four days before the series debuts on TV.

Well, its still not fair because were looking forward from the beginnings of his presidency, we broke the ice about that subject, and then chapters three and four take us forward to these present days.

In any of the chapters, do you ever ask Putin what he thinks about the perception in U.S. that the postSoviet Union Russia has become a mafia state or a kleptocracy?

Yes, I do. And I go back to what Ive said to you: It was that. Under Gorbachev, things fell apart, and the Yeltsin period was extremely troublesome. And they had to pull back from that.

What these people are writing about the series is very easy to say, but I wonder, why dont they talk to economists?

Well, the point is that these writers that Im quoting to you think youre telling only half of the story, and it happens to be Putins half. Or the half that is favorable to Putin. They are not alone in that perception. What do you think about that?

Okay, well I cant argue that, because he is the interviewee. He is the only sole interviewee, so youre seeing things from his point of view, which youve got to admit is what [this documentary] is.

That reminds me of what you said to me in a different interview, for the book, where you talked about filmmaking. You described yourself as a method filmmaker, in that you take on the characteristics of the subject. Is that also true with your documentaries?

Yes. But I dont think youll find a place where Im speaking independently. Im following Putins line of thought. Actually, there is a moment in chapter four where I step out of that line of thought. Theres a scene of me alone, going to Lenins tomb, where I talk about the history of Russia, but thats not really about Putins policies.

No, I dont ever do that. I dont editorialize about Putin, do I? Im following the curve hes taking, and Im asking him provoking questions. These people obviously dont want people to watch the documentary and hear it for themselves, but even if what they saw represented there was Putins point of view, whats to prevent them from reading something from the West that completely destroys him? Theres no shortage of pieces like that.

Why do you think it is that you, as recently as ten years ago, were blasted on Fox News channel and outlets like that as Oliver Stone, the Commie Lover for making these documentaries about Castro, and now its centrist Democrats who are coming after you over this Putin series?

Its funny. Im not a communist; Im a capitalist. My father was a market person. I see the balance that is necessary, in capitalism, between excessive control of the economy by corporations and the need for government involvement.

I went to the Soviet Union in 1984, I wrote a script about it, it was very supportive of the dissidents. It was never made, but I was there during the that era; I interviewed a lot of dissidents, many of them who were not allowed to speak. So I saw the old system. And I saw the system under Gorbachev. I made a hero of Gorbachev in The Untold History of the United States, and one thing I learned while shooting this Putin series is that hes not a hero to the average Russian person. Gorbachev is a hero to some Western people, and we all loved his love of peace, but he was not a practical man. I think Putin was able to see that, from the inside, because he was in the KGB  he resigned, by the way, in principle. So he set out to fix things. But what Mr. Gorbachev could not achieve, and what Mr. Yeltsin could not achieve, Putin has achieved  the balance of Russia, which is stable. That obviously worries the United States from a foreign-policy angle.

By the way, your readers should know that Foreign Policy and the Daily Beast have a history of being anti-Russian. Why [Showtime] even bothered to show them the film, I dont know. And youre inviting this kind of critique. This is American thinking! Please, listen to [Putin] and then make your decision. I also think these critics are premature in jumping ahead, criticizing the handling of subjects that I didnt cover in the episodes theyve seen.

Well, yeah, but in the critics defense, they only had two episodes to go on  what are we supposed to do, not write about the series until its done airing?

Should I have released the whole thing at once? Then they would have only written about the fourth hour, which is about postelection, which is trivial compared to the overall subject matter, which is Putins presidency and what it means to Russia, which is pretty important. This series is not just about a temporary crisis.

Of course, a lot of Americans who read this interview are going to say Oliver Stone, how is this a minor crisis? Our democracy is at stake! Theres widespread suspicion that the Russians meddled in the U.S. election. Do you believe that they did?

No. But Im not going to say that on film sitting across from Putin. I do, I ask him, though. And he says no. Meddle in an election? What does that mean? Influence the election? No, not at all. Whether you believe him or not is up to you, but thats what he said.

Russia had no influence in this election. Trump got elected because Hillary ran a bad campaign, and he ran an effective one. She won the popular vote, but he found the electoral votes he needed in targeted states. Who influenced the American election the most? Think about it. Was it the Koch brothers, with their spending? Was it the Israelis with APAC? Or with their visits by the prime minister to the American Congress that were critical of President Obamas Iran deal? Or was it Sheldon Adelson spending a fortune on Republican candidates? Or was it Robert Mercer, the hedge-fund billionaire who gave millions to Trump?

What Im saying is that American influence is where the influence is. The influence comes from spending money.

As I sit across from you, on Thursday, June 8, 2017, former FBI chief James Comey is giving testimony in front of Congress about President Trump allegedly trying to squash the bureaus investigation into Trumps ties to Russia. You have been, throughout your career as a political filmmaker, highly critical of the CIA and the FBI. Did you ever imagine a day when large numbers of Americans would be counting on the FBI and the CIA to save the day?

No. And I hope everyone understands the irony of that.

Do you think the Trump administration, or any members of the Trump family have political ties with Russia?

Thats possible. Yeah. But whether they have any influence in the U.S., I doubt it. Because if it was some Russian mafioso that got involved with Trump, or family members back in 2000 when he was running scared, when one of his deals had fallen apart and he needed Russian money  yeah, thats possible. But its a long stretch to go from there to Russian influence on the election and blackmail of our president to make him a Manchurian candidate. Im surprised you even believe it.

I dont believe that Trump is a Manchurian candidate, but Im not going to unilaterally shut down any discussion of Russia and the 2016 election to protect whatever narrative I personally have of what happened. Mainly Im curious to hear your thoughts on it.

This is, as Putin says, an internal political conflict in America, raised by the Democrats seeking to get rid of Trump and make his administration ineffective. Its actually, in my mind, very dangerous to the American body politic. The Democrats have raised the issue of distrust between the government and its people, and they are pushing it toward the destruction of America.

Russia had no influence in this election. Trump got elected because Hillary ran a bad campaign, and he ran an effective one.

But the Republicans did that long before the Democrats. Capitalizing on distrust between Americans and their government is as hallowed a tradition as apple pie and fireworks.

No, not to this level. The Democrats are accusing the president of treason and being influenced by Russia easily.

But thats not unprecedented, either. Right-wingers have accused a number of Democratic presidents of treason, including Obama. They did it to John F. Kennedy. Wanted for Treason: John F. Kennedy was an actual flyer that was distributed around Dallas before the president was murdered. Its right there in the opening montage of your movie.

Thats true, and its ugly. And as you know, thats why Allen Dulles and people like him were concerned about Kennedy  because Kennedy wanted to reach out to people who were perceived as our enemies at that time. There was something in the air.

And you know Im no fan of Trump. I didnt vote for Trump. I voted third party. Frankly, all of Trumps decisions have been bad ones. Im very sad to see them. But what would Hillary Clinton have been? She was also a war monger. Is there a peace party in America? Id like to join one. Is it possible to move away from this insane military budget that weve been laboring under throughout my lifetime? Is it possible to move away from all these prolonged wars weve been engaged in since World War II, none of which have been effective, all of which have made the world strongly suspicious of America? Is there hope at all in changing the way we think?

I dont know. You and I discussed in the book, within the context of your films and your political beliefs, an idea that Norman Mailer crystallized in his book, Harlots Ghost, that the CIA was the secret author of American history after World War II. You believe theres some truth to that. The military-industrial complex that you talk about in many of your films is the organ playing the tune that presidential administrations and Congress dance to.

Thats absolutely true. The creation of the CIA as we know it was a huge mistake by [President Harry] Truman. We gave birth to a monster. Its probably the most dangerous organization  criminal organization  in the world. I said this in JFK, and I keep saying it, because the CIA keeps proving that the accusation is correct. They cooked the intelligence on the Bay of Pigs invasion, they cooked it before the Iraq War, and they are cooking the intelligence again now, on this Russian hacking situation. They politicized intelligence in this country, and Im shocked by it. At least there should be some evidence, and if youre going to have investigations like we had with Watergate, at least in that case there was evidence of a break-in.

We may not have hard proof yet, but the Trump administration keeps telling flagrant lies, lies that theyve been caught in easily, about whether they had contact with people in Russian government or in business. The number of business ties and legal ties between the Trump administration is off the charts. Its not normal. Can you blame people for thinking that with such a prodigious amount of smoke, theres got to be a fire?

Well, who lied? I dont know. I mean people had contact with  I guess [Mike] Flynn sat next to Putin at a dinner, but that doesnt mean that they colluded.

All right.

Have you ever been to a political dinner with lots of people in a room? I might find myself sitting next to somebody because of their rank or our connection to some third person. Does that mean I am colluding with that person, or that am I being associated with them for reasons that have nothing to do with me?

I dont know. But if I asked you later about why you were sitting next to that person, and you denied being at the dinner, would you blame me if I thought that was kind of weird?

Youre taking me in another direction, so lets not go there. Lets stick to Putin. He has nothing to do with this. This is an internal, American affair, and a bad one.

Okay. Lets talk about Russian media. The new French president Emmanuel Macron called the Russian media outlets RT and Sputnik propaganda outlets. Would you agree with that?

No.

Why not?

Because I look at RT and I think its very effective. It sends reporters into the dirtiest jobs. It had reporters behind the front lines in Ukraine, it tried to give both sides, several of its reporters were killed by the government. Theyre real reporters over there, and they pay the price. Most reporters in the U.S. wouldnt go to the places they go to. Most U.S. reporters would just sit back and take the government line because theyre corporate media.

Trump praises Putin a lot, and he also praises the leaders of the Philippines and Turkey, who are authoritarian and exceptionally violent. What do you think Trump sees in these men?

Again, youre not talking about Putin, youre talking about Trumps view of the world. I dont know Trumps what view of the world is.

We know that Putin is an important figure in Trumps imagination.

I think Trump probably likes him. And Im assuming that what he sees in Putin is what hed like to be: a strong person with the ability to organize a country and push it in a particular direction.

So its hero-worship?

He has the instinct of a real-estate broker. If you talk to these sorts of gentlemen, and there are a lot of them in New York, theyre movers, theyre shakers. They go to parties, theyre always looking over their shoulder to see if theres somebody more important they could be talking to instead, theyre interested in meeting the top people. Theyre on the go, man. Theyre not people who read philosophy books, or for that matter, read. Its very depressing to hear that Trump doesnt read very much, and that he doesnt sleep.

But how could I be in Trumps mind? Youre stretching it, man. Now, youre really stretching it!

Im not, actually. I keep bringing up Trump because of the accusations of Russian ties, and because Trump was fascinated with Putin before and during his run for president. The records are right there in his tweets.

In what?

In his tweets.

Oh, really?

Yes, really. Hes constantly taking Putins part.

Trump has confidence in himself as a negotiator. He probably looks to Putin as another tough negotiator. [Putin] is looking for a partnership, not based on false intelligence but on real intelligence. It would be helpful if Trump had access to good, true files on Ukraine and Syria. Im worried that he doesnt, because the true files may be burned or trashed. The CIA destroys things that they dont want to be read. So Im very worried about whats going on in the intelligence agencies in the United States. Theyve been corrupted.

Whose assessment of Putin do you trust more? The Trump administrations or the CIAs?

Im not sure. I dont know the Trump administrations assessment because I dont know where Trump gets his information. If its as bad as some things Ive heard, its probably not very good. Has Putin really done all the things that hes been accused of? Kleptomaniac, murderer, thug  thats not what I believe he is, but if people really have to make these accusations, then they better do some hard homework and get some honest, raw information.

And if they really had evidence of a hack of the U.S. election, why is it that we havent heard it? Where is it? And do you think leaving Russian footprints behind makes any sense? Do you think professionals would leave the names of Russians in Cyrillic in codes so other people could pick up in it? As Jeffrey Carr [the author of Inside Cyber Warfare] said, anything that points to Russia, the Russians didnt do. If it points to Russia, thats not the way they do it. They do it very well. If Putin wanted to truly hack us, he would never allow his people to leave sloppy fingerprints around. Theyre too good for that.

On the other hand, what if the Russians are not as sneaky and as excellent about that stuff as we seem to believe they are?

All right, wise guy. If the Russians are so stupid, tell me how they can spend, as the film says, $66 billion a year in defense, which is what Trump has added to our budget, but we spend ten times more than they do? How can they have parity with us in cyber warfare? Believe me, the Russians dont have that kind of money to spend. And if the election was going ridiculously in favor of Hillary Clinton, why would they even get involved? Trump didnt even have a chance, remember? Why would the Russians want to piss off Hillary Clinton and throw a huge amount of money into hacking the election? Its just not logical.

Do you think Trump will serve the rest of his first term?

Its a possibility. If we had an impeachment, it would be the silliest impeachment. It would be the order of Bill Clintons impeachment. A waste of time.
Tom Cruise and Jake Johnson in The Mummy. Photo: Chiabella James/ 2017 Universal Studios. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

The Mummy does not exist to push the boundaries of cinema. This middling reboot exists because Universal hastily tried to assemble its own cinematic universe, because Tom Cruise had a window in his schedule, and because no money-making franchise can lie fallow for too long. (It used to be novel that the mummy could come back to life, but these days, most franchises seem just as deathless.) Delivered with all the visual panache of someone saying, Here, I guess? The Mummy clunks along, leaving its stars looking vaguely embarrassed, until it finally  just  stops. To hope that this wan flop will launch an interconnected universe of successful blockbusters is the most dramatic case of ambition outstripping talent since Sheree from Real Housewives included win an Oscar in her ten-year plan. It just aint happening.

However, there is one moment in The Mummy where this whole boring enterprise rises fleetingly to the level of so bad its good, something so silly that its bound to be the only thing I ever remember from this whole misbegotten mishegoss. Its the line, Thanks for bringing me back from the dead, dude. And to say more will involve SPOILERS.

Aside from Cruise, Russell Crowe, and a hairstyle played by British actress Annabelle Wallis, none of the characters in The Mummy live for very long. Emmy-winning super talent Courtney B. Vance is killed right away, comic relief Jake Johnson perishes not long after the mummy is dug up, and almost anyone else who appears onscreen is just cannon fodder for assorted monsters. Despite his early death, though, Johnson defies the odds and keeps appearing throughout the film.

You see, the mummy has managed to get inside Cruises head, periodically sending him important supernatural messages like, The plot needs you to go here now. Often, those dream trips take the form of Johnson, wholl appear in visions to his former friend, coaxing him this way and that. (For someone whos built his career on decisive, ultracommitted characters, Cruise is curiously passive in this film.) Anyway, it is what it is until the last act of the movie, where Cruise defeats the bad mummy by taking on magical mummy powers himself. He uses them to resurrect his drowned love interest and then, in the films final coda, we see Cruise and Johnson riding across the desert  only this time, Johnson isnt just a vision. Thanks for bringing me back from the dead, dude, Johnson says helpfully.

When the line comes, the viewers patience has already been tested by two hours of slapdash meaninglessness. Thanks for bringing me back from the dead, dude, is just the final straw, one of the last expositional lines in a movie where everybody speaks in catch-up. Its the kind of thing you script for a character when you just dont care anymore, when Tom Cruise is like, Wouldnt it be funny to have Jake in the sequel, and youre like, Sure, whatever, I have a massage at 4.

Part of me wants to clap at Thanks for bringing me back from the dead, dude, just for being so brazen. Imagine if The Empire Strikes Back ended with Han Solo waddling into that iconic final shot, murmuring, Hey, Luke, thanks for rescuing me offscreen. There shouldnt even be a corpse around for Cruise to resurrect, since Johnsons body was likely blown to smithereens in a plane crash, but the film is betting that you dont care about that, just like you probably havent cared about anything else theyve shown you. Its a blatant but still insufficient hand wave: Just accept it. New Girl is back.

But, boy, is that cynical. This nascent franchise is asking us to invest in these characters and their dramatic stakes, but nothing means much if those people are paper thin and the laws of life and death dont apply to them, just as it barely matters if Cruise becomes a mummy if all it does it grant him X-Men superpowers he uses offscreen. In that way, Thanks for bringing me back from the dead, dude is sort of emblematic of the movie as a whole, treating this thing that ought to be a big deal with a half-considered shrug. If thats what this monsters universe has got in store for us after The Mummy, dont expect a long afterlife.
One of the most bizarre and disturbing revelations of modern science comes from something called the double-slit experiment. It goes like this: If a wave of light passes through two holes in a plate, it will leave a banded pattern on the other side. But shoot a single photon through each hole, do it over and over, and something very strange will happen. Instead of simply passing through and colliding with the other side, the photons will eventually create the same banded pattern as a wave  as though each photon knows about the existence of the others, interfering with the way they move and the direction they take. Its almost as if the photon knows about its duplicates, as if they feel and pull each other, as if somehow that is possible.

Bad Coop and Good Coop are not supposed to inhabit the same space at the same time, but now somehow they do. As the jagged pattern of its floor bisects Dougies kitchen, the one-armed man appears, screaming with the outrage of classical physics: You have to wake up, he backwards yells at Coop. Something is wrong. Even when they dont realize it, the two Coops are pulling at each other, dragging each other into accidents and casinos and any number of bad decisions. It cannot hold.

As Part 6 continues, the Shitty Guy whos related to the Horne family  the one who assaulted the girl in the last episode because he was bad, so bad  emerges as little more than a bit player in whatever new drug drama is going down in and around Twin Peaks. He meets with the men who are more important in the organization than him, the ones who have more drugs, more power to throw around.

Have you ever studied your hand? the older drug dealer asks as they negotiate, like every philosophical stoner I have ever met filtered through the lens of cocaine. He punches and kicks like a would-be Bruce Lee; he talks about bringing the sparkle down from Canada. He throws a coin into the air, and it hangs there like like a question with a piercingly long metallic ring before the shitty young man realizes that somehow  somehow  the coin is already in his mouth. Then, of course, it ends up back in the mans hands.

It was in one place and the other at the same time. It was heads and it was tails, both and neither. This is the worst kind of magic, the kind that emerges after the fact to explain a violation. Why did it happen? Why did you let it in? It was inside you, it was over before you even realized, and then gone before it can even sink in. Who can say what happened?

This is you, the older man says, flipping it over to make it heads again. This is me.

We could say theyre just two sides of the same coin, which is true but too easy, and not anywhere weird enough. They push and they pull against each other; they feel the possibility of the future rubbing up against them in the wrong way. After settling business and almost bursting to tears on the ride home  stupid magic motherfuckers  the younger man decides that his best way to deal with his fragile, bruised ego is to put the pedal to the floor and disregard anyone who gets in his way. He immediately hits a child with his car because toxic masculinity is designed to kill us all.

As the boys mother gathers the broken body of her child in her arms, the extras of the town gather round and weep. Carl  the wide-eyed, elderly owner of the local trailer park  sweeps in to comfort her, but there is no way to hold what is happening, and a puff of yellow something rises into the air over the body of the boy because its Twin Peaks, I guess. Somewhere, a traffic light turns red, sizzles, and fades in a hiss of electricity.

Elsewhere, Deputy Chief Hawk walks into a bathroom at the Twin Peaks police station and drops a coin. It comes up heads, too. He immediately takes a metal tool and starts wrenching open the door to one of the stalls, and finds a letter waiting inside. This is the another possibility, another way you can be if you want to: not the person who is so insecure that he kills things, but the person who takes things apart so can he finally understand them.

Coop, for his part, remains largely useless. At best, he is a baby-faced oracle reciting sounds that he can barely comprehend. Its now officially tiresome: We are six episodes into this series and we still have not had a single conversation with Agent Cooper that didnt feel like reading a picture book with a child. At the end of the episode, Sharon Van Etten sing a song where she croons, Tell me when, tell me when this is over? Its a question I ask myself every week about this Dougie story line, but a month and a half in, even after Lynch rewards us with a fleeting look at Diane herself, theres no end in sight.

We see Coop grasping again and again at symbols of his earlier life: case files, cowboys, badges, coffee. He is drawn not by narrative or logic but iconography; he is trapped in his own version of Twin Peaks, where symbols float into view and everyone think its nonsense because were looking at what things are and not what they mean.

When Coop turns in Dougies case files at the insurance company the next morning, full of scribbles of ladders and steps and circles leading to other circles, his boss initially dismisses him. What the hell are all these childish scribbles? How am I going to make any sense out of this? Moments later, after holding the papers next to each other like Twin Peaks most devoted puzzle solver, the boss looks at Coop with a strange and worrying recognition dawning on his face. I want you to keep this information to yourself. This is disturbing, to say the least  Youve certainly given me a lot to think about.

Its the same promise Lynch keeps making over and over again in his work: If you look at it long enough, in context, somehow it will make sense. Hes always giving us a lot to think about, from the heartbreaking scenes of little boys dying in the street to the coins that drop impossibly into peoples mouths to the strange shots of electrical wires, crackling with a power that no one sees.

Cooper is unfazed by his success, and continues meandering around Dougies life with profound cognitive impediments that very few people seem ready to recognize out loud. Although hes supposed to renegotiate a payoff for his creepy loan shark pals, he doesnt do it because hes only sort of a person right now. Hes more of a symbol, too, if you want to see it that way: an icon of one show being conjured into another.

Meanwhile, an envelope marked with a small brown spot like dried blood is delivered to a bald man. It contains two photographs, one of a woman and one of Dougie Jones. The man stabs both the pictures with an ice pick, and soon he actually stabs the real woman because he is a hit man and because this is a show that likes to tear women apart. As a friend of mine said recently, Lynchs work often feels threaded with an unsettling undercurrent toward women, dazzled by these wondrous toys, captivated by all the things he can make them do, but prone to breaking them should the mood arise. The hit man kills another woman for good measure, and soon we are watching Sheriff Trumans wife return to the Twin Peaks police station to harangue him about something else, as wives in this series are wont to do.

This time around its about her fathers car, which isnt working and shes furious. As Truman disappears down the hallway with her to deal with this, the aptly named Chad announces to the room that he sure wouldnt take that shit off her. A female officer informs him that her out-of-control behavior is largely due to the suicide of her son, because women have to be emotionally broken to be loud and shitty and weird, while men just get to view that as their birthright, I guess.

When Dougies wife Janey-E shows up to deal with the loan shark goons coming after her husband, she too is shaking with anger, and manages to negotiate them down for half the price. Tough dame, says one of them as they leave, and maybe that is the message too: that we mistake toughness for shrillness because it happens in a higher-pitched tone. Or this: Something is very, very wrong here, and somehow the women in this series are the only ones screaming about it.
Kevin Spacey hosted the 71st annual Tony Awards on Sunday evening. Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions

Kicking off Sunday nights Tony Awards, host Kevin Spacey  who, in case youve forgotten, is a Tony winner himself  sort of sang and sort of danced his way through modified musical numbers from the top shows of the last year. To begin, Spacey took the stage wearing a blue striped polo and cast on his arm a la Ben Platt in Dear Evan Hansen. Have you ever felt the ratings would disappear, Spacey sang to the tune of Hansens You Will Be Found. That you could host and no one would cheer.

Ditching the cast, Spacey moved on to tackling several other roles from this years Broadway season, popping out of bed again, and again, and again, as Phil Connors (played by Andy Karl, who was nominated for Best Lead Actor in a Musical) from Groundhog Day and slapping on a beard and a stomach pillow to portray Pierre from Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812.

Throughout the number, Spacey was paid visits by the ghosts of several Tony Award hosts past, including Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Crystal. The latter advised Spacey that if he felt the number was going south, he should just throw on a dress. Cue a riff on As If We Never Said Goodbye from Sunset Boulevard.

For the latest on this years Tony Award winners, follow along here.
The Catholic Daughters of the Americas Court Sacred Heart No. 829 of West will host its annual Taste of West fundraiser from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday at the St. Marys Parish Center, 507 W. Spruce St. in West.

The event will include a variety of foods to sample, a silent auction and a raffle.

Cost is an $8 donation for adults, $4 for children.

Takeout orders will be available.

Mayborn Design Den

Baylor Universitys Mayborn Museum, 1300 S. University Parks Drive, will offer Summer Design Den programming from Monday through Aug. 11.

Drop-in activities will be available most weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon and 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.

Weekend activities will be available from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 15 and Aug. 5.

Some Design Den activities will be provided for all ages, while others will require that participants be ages 8 and older.

Regular museum admission rates will apply.

Dodgeball tournament

The city of Hewitt police and fire departments are having a D4$: Dodging for Dollars Charity Tournament starting at 8 a.m. June 24 at Midway Middle School, 800 N. Hewitt Drive.

Teams of six people will compete in the double-elimination dodgeball tournament, which will include an adult division for ages 17 and older and a youth division for ages 12 to 16.

Team members will receive a T-shirt and access to free refreshments provided by Raising Canes Chicken Fingers.

Spectator admission is free.

For registration information, call 296-5698 or visit www.txsportssc.com.

Baylor Theatre

Baylor Theatre will present Grand Concourse at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday in Theatre 11 at Baylor Universitys Hooper-Schaefer Fine Arts Center, 60 Baylor Ave.

The theater group also will present Who Am I This Time? at 7:30 p.m. June 22-24 and 2 p.m. June 25.

Tickets cost $15 for one show or $25 for both shows.

For tickets, visit http://baylor.edu/theatre or call 710-1865.

SCV meeting

The Sons of Confederate Veterans will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Poppa Rollos Pizza, 703 N. Valley Mills Drive.

Representatives from the Pearce Museum at Navarro College in Corsicana will speak about Gen. Robert E. Lee and Confederate items on display at the museum.

The meeting will be preceded by an optional meal at 6 p.m. Visitors are welcome.

For more information, visit www.scv-waco.org or call 772-1676.
A new partnership between McLennan Community College and a Texas nonprofit organization is helping residents become financially stable by offering free certified nursing assistant courses twice a year.

Last week, the college and Skillpoint Alliance started a free four-week course for people trying to get a leg up in their careers but who dont have the means to do so on their own. The program targets youth ages 16 to 24.

Skillpoint Alliance, which started offering services in Waco two years ago, focuses on skills-based education and training to connect individuals to businesses within the community. The new class directly ties to the collaborative effort by Prosper Waco, another nonprofit group, to bridge education, health care and financial gaps in the city, Spillpoints Waco program director, Mallory Herridge, said.

Its really exciting to be able to tell the students youre not only getting your CNA certification at a rapid pace but youre going to have MCC on your transcript and essentially youll be a graduate of the continuing education program of MCC, Herridge said.

Students are chosen through an interview process to make sure requirements are met for both MCC and Skillpoint, she said. The class uses MCC instructors and materials but is held at the nonprofit agencys office, 817 Colcord St., Building 3, where students can also participate in employment workshops as they work through the course.

The nonprofit group wants to increase employment of Waco residents age 16 to 24 by 900 individuals, increase the median income of full-time workers by at least 10 percent, and decrease by 10 percent the number of residents who are 50 percent below the federal poverty line, she said.

It is also focused on doubling the percentage of economically disadvantaged students who complete a workforce certificate or degree, and the CNA course is a steppingstone to what Skillpoint Alliance students can take advantage of, Herridge said. The organization offers several courses outside the MCC partnership, she said.

The city had more than 130,000 residents, and 27 percent were below the federal poverty line as of 2015, according to Prosper Wacos website. And more than 80 percent of Waco ISDs 15,000 students are economically disadvantaged.

The interest in the class is already high, Herridge said. Though there are only 15 spots open for each four-week course, Skillpoint Alliance had about 200 applicants for the ongoing session, she said.

Kim Babers, a mother of four adopted children, each with medical issues, said the class was an opportunity she couldnt pass up. She has been in the class a week, and it has already changed her career outlook, Babers said.

Three of her four children have severe asthma. Two have diabetes. One has seizures, and another has had major surgery, she said. In a way, her children have fueled her desire to eventually become a nurse who can help change the atmosphere during a trying situation, she said.

I felt like in my first three years of getting them, I changed my address to 1935 Medical District Drive because I was at Childrens (Medical Center Dallas) so much, Babers said. I could tell you the doctors rotation, thats how bad it was.  The teacher is motivated, very informative and very knowledgeable about the field. Weve thrown questions at her that are not even class-related. Shes giving us life experiences, so this is an awesome program.

The partnership is a natural fit, MCC continuing education Dean Frank Graves said.

From the financial standpoint, the students who may not have the resources to pay for the cost of the course and then who are really wanting to take advantage of it, this creates an opportunity for both to happen, Graves said.

For more information on the class or how to become involved, visit skillpointalliance.org or contact Herridge at 732-0620 or mherridge@skillpointalliance.org.
A China Eastern Airlines flight from Sydney to Shanghai has been forced to turn around after engine failure caused a midair emergency.

"The moment that we took off, the wing to my left just started making a massive amount of noise and they cleared all the seats," a passenger told the Nine Network.

Images show a huge hole in the engine casing of the Airbus A330, which was forced to circle for an hour before touching down safely.

An audio recording of the pilot's communication with Sydney Tower air traffic control captured the midair emergency, with the pilot clearly explaining the gravity of the situation.
The introduction of company director identification numbers to help prevent the deliberate liquidation of companies to avoid paying workers' entitlements and tax is being considered by the federal government.

A Federal Treasury spokeswoman told Fairfax Media the introduction of a director identification number had been recommended by a Productivity Commission inquiry and a Senate economics committee inquiry into insolvency in the construction industry and was being considered.

Labor spokesman for employment, Brendan O'Connor. Labor said it would adopt as policy the introduction of ID numbers for all Australian company directors. Credit:SMH

"The government is considering its response to these reports," the Treasury spokeswoman said.

Fraudulent phoenix activity involves the evasion of tax and other liabilities, including employee entitlements, through the sometimes repeated liquidation of companies. Like the mythical phoenix, a new company emerges from the "ashes" of the failed company, free of its former debts.
Critics of Fairfax and the ABC might scorn Australia's liberal media for its alleged biases, but when it comes to investigative journalism The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald continue to outflank their competitors.

A week ago today, Fairfax and the ABC reported on Chinese "money-talks" influence over Australian politics, and in the process exposed a sewer of questionable behaviour.

Special Minister of State Scott Ryan: plans to introduce donations legislation to Parliament in spring. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The simple truth is that neither side of politics would be welcoming the sort of investigations that have exposed sleazy behaviour by the political class on all sides.

Maverick senator Cory Bernardi was not overstating things when he said in reference to the political donations scandal there was "something rotten in the state of Denmark".
The Turnbull government will keep secret the public's feedback on its proposed changes to the Australian citizenship test, in a marked departure from normal processes, as the controversial bill goes before Parliament this week.

The immigration department confirmed it will not publish submissions to the consultation process designed to inform the final version of its revamped citizenship regime  particularly the introduction of an Australian values test.

Open for the six weeks until June 1, the consultation was supposed to help the government define "Australian values" and to word a new pledge of allegiance to Australia. "We are looking for views," Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said in April.

But the department will not air those views publicly, citing confidentiality, nor confirm the volume of feedback received. "Submissions were provided in confidence and were not for publication by the department," a spokesperson said in a statement.
Attorney-General George Brandis is staying put - at least for now.

After being plagued for nearly a year by rumours he would be made Australia's next high commissioner to London, Senator Brandis has confirmed the extension of the term of the present high commissioner, Alexander Downer.

Attorney-General George Brandis says Dr Gillespie has no constitutional concerns. Credit:Andrew Meares

Senator Brandis told Sky News on Sunday that stories about his imminent departure for London were "as old as Methuselah".

He confirmed Mr Downer's time as high commissioner had been extended.
It's been described as the worst humanitarian disaster since World War II: up to 23 million people are at risk of starvation in a food security crisis that could soon become one of the worst famines in human history.

Yet for these people - spread across the desperately poor nations of Yemen, Nigeria, South Sudan, Somalia and and other East African countries - there have been no star-studded music videos or fundraising concerts.

United Nations efforts to raise at least $4.4 billion in humanitarian aid from wealthy nations have fallen embarrassingly short. Western leaders - distracted by Donald Trump, terrorism, Middle Eastern turmoil and North Korea - have largely been silent. Normally generous private donors have kept their wallets shut.

Indeed, few Australians even know about the crisis.
Quick mid-year quiz: what is "greenery"?

Answer: the 2017 colour of the year announced by the gods of colour, Pantone, with much fanfare last December.

If you haven't already rushed out to buy your pea-green thingy, save your pennies and focus on some other colours in the top 10.

As well as a deep forest green, there are three important and influential colours this season: "hazelnut", which looks like putty; "flame", a rusty orange; and "pale dogwood", a pinky beige.

Taken together, these colours are helping redefine what's "neutral" when it comes to dressing.
"I remember when I first did a high-street issue some people were horrified, because Vogue wasn't meant to address that. But I always wanted to make it a magazine for every person rather than for the industry." That meant putting Crossrail engineers in the features pages and Victoria Beckham - before her reinvention was deemed credible - on the cover. "Nobody else would have done that then because they didn't think Victoria was 'Vogue', whereas I just thought that she was really interesting to a lot of people," she says. Unlike the US Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, Shulman never bought into a Vogue-style private life. Ask Shulman whether she's ever had Beckham or any of the world's top designers and models over for dinner to the Queen's Park home she shares with her journalist partner, David Jenkins, and she flings back: "No. Victoria's not a friend, but I like her and she likes me and I can pick up the phone to her if I need to." Because there are now so few models "who really register in a commercial way", Shulman has developed different concerns from those she had in the 1990s. I can't bear the whole 'empowering women' thing. It has become this catchphrase, but it doesn't actually mean anything. I particularly hate it when it is attached to anything commercial.

"Back then you could be sure that if someone was famous and you had a reasonable picture of them, they would sell magazines. That's not necessarily true now. You've got Gigi Hadid, who sold very well for us." She pauses. "Cara Delevingne did a very good job at creating herself as an interesting and strong woman - and Kendall Jenner, basically because of the Kardashians." When I ask how she feels about the likes of Kardashian and the model Emily Ratajkowski stripping off on Instagram in the name of feminism, she grimaces. "Feminism has become one of those tricky concepts because I think we all want to feel that women should have equal respect and absolutely equal rights. But just as I don't want to see a naked man on Instagram with the hashtag 'alpha male', I don't want to see naked women with the hashtag 'feminism'. That's not what feminism is about. Feminism is about being proud of and happy with your body - particularly if you're leaving it absolutely as nature gave it to you. She shakes her head: "I can't bear the whole 'empowering women' thing. It has become this catchphrase, but it doesn't actually mean anything. I particularly hate it when it is attached to anything commercial." To remain as sensible and non-faddy as Shulman in an often whimsical, fad-peddling industry is impressive. And anyone mistaking either these comments or those made two years ago when she warned women not to expect their jobs to be reserved for them "in aspic" while they are off on maternity leave as un-sisterly has got her wrong.

A lot of the women at Vogue are the chief breadwinners, she tells me, and many are on a four-day week. As a single mother raising her now 22-year-old son, Sam - whom she had with her former husband, the American writer Paul Spike - "I didn't really feel that I could have a big job and not work full-time," she admits. "My generation didn't, but I've noticed that many more women are prepared to sacrifice the full-time aspect now, and if you can sit down with your boss and have a civilised conversation about how to make that work, then great." One thing she will caution against is the notion that women "can have it all. Because of course men can't have it all either - but maybe they're not trying to," she sighs. "I don't know why women have created such impossible standards for themselves. Not just in their looks, but in their whole lives. Maybe it's over-compensating: if you've come from being judged basically on your marriageability and emerged from that through a lot of fighting, maybe you think you can do everything. Well, I'm a full believer that you can't. And I find it particularly depressing how perfectionist and judgmental so many women are about their own appearances. Because on the whole men aren't saying, 'You're too fat and your legs are too hairy and you've got a double chin.' Women are doing that to themselves." Although Shulman hasn't seen any evidence that women are worse at asking for salary rises than men in her tenure, she will point out one niggling Conde Nast discrepancy: "If you look at this company you'll see that the people at the top are almost all men. So that's not about asking for rises but something to do with the culture, whereby the highest-paid people are all men - even though the company is basically aimed at women." Could this be, I wonder, her way of addressing rumours that Enninful - who will be Vogue's first male editor - has negotiated a substantial salary. Whatever that figure may be, however, Shulman does sound utterly confident that her successor will do a good job, adding that as a former GQ editor herself, "It would it would be very hard for me to say that a man couldn't edit Vogue: I absolutely believe that a man can."
Liz Broderick has encouraged more female nominees. Credit:Louise Kennerley Secretary? Mark Fraser. Official secretary to the Governor-General. Ex-officio representatives? Senator George Brandis. Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin. Illustration: Ron Tandberg. All decent people but from worlds dominated by men. The military. The Liberal Party. None famous for equality. How is it possible to reshape this reflection of Australian spirit if all you see reflected is the people with whom you grew up, with whom you went to school; and now work alongside?

So that's one problem  unconscious bias. And too few women within the council to shake the bias to its core. Second problem? The nomination system moves at glacial place, when what we really need is some fast-tracking to break the ice. A senior male science academic emailed me earlier this year. He nominated a brilliant woman in April 2016. She was the first female professor in her male-dominated field. She was head of school for more than a decade, led a renewal of her field in Australia, has been a lambent force for change across teaching, research and administration. For 12 months he didn't hear a thing, so he got busy. He rang all the referees he'd lined up. They still haven't heard anything. Ruth McGowan, one of the co-founders of support network and movement for change Honour A Woman, is desperate. She knows that just eight weeks into the establishment of the group it's unrealistic to imagine there can be instant transformation.

"We've been in the ring for 83 rounds and it shows just how stubborn those numbers are ... we are rusted on at less than a third," she says. She too believes there needs to be change at the council: "We can't keep saying, 'c'mon community, fix this'." In September 1990, Senator Margaret Reynolds (former minister assisting the PM for the status of women) issued a report titled Women and the Order of Australia. Her view was that women are not under-represented on the basis of nominations received, but that women are not being nominated in equal numbers to men. She urged women's organisations to alert their members to the nomination process in an effort to increase the rate of nominations for women.

In 1992, the Lavarch parliamentary committee conducted an Inquiry into Equal Opportunity and Equal Status for Australian Women. Its report, Halfway to Equal, made two recommendations relating to women and the honours system: a fully funded public awareness campaign, and that the honours secretariat investigate "making the process more accessible to the public to ensure that the contribution of women, particularly in the voluntary sector, is recognised and nominations are made". We've known for years that there's a problem. More than 20 years ago, in 1995, Clare Petre wrote A matter of honour: the report of the Review of Australian Honours and Awards. It made detailed recommendations about how to even up the numbers. In a stroke of genius, it recommended a group award of the Order of Australia (because many people, particularly Indigenous people), work in teams. And recommendation 36: "We recommend that inequities in awards outcomes be addressed through raising awareness of award imbalances, among system administrators and award decision makers, and through changes to award processes." Honour A Woman is doing the best it can to increase awareness and run workshops. And this year Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove called for Australians to use International Woman's Day, March 8, as a day to nominate women for the awards.

But that's not enough. The council must change its ways. Rhian Richardson, the board diversity manager for the Australian Institute of Company Directors, has some suggestions. As the person who heads the programs to transform ASX 200 companies from homogeneous to heterogeneous, she's also had some considerable success. In 2009, women made up just 8.3 per cent of boards of ASX 200 companies. With the guidance of a team now led by Richardson, it's 25.4 per cent. That's an achievable rate of change. Richardson says all the data must be as transparent as possible. In the case of the ASX 200, it's about which boards didn't have any women at all. No more aggregation of data, just the cold hard figures on the page. And she says that if boards don't start meeting targets of 30 per cent, there will have to be quotas. "If they can't achieve that as a collective by the end of 2018, we will have to reassess quotas and that's when the government will have to look at it."
The future of Airbnb in Perth is up in the air after a Perth host lost his legal fight to be allowed to let his Rivervale apartment to short-term tenants using the popular accommodation platform.

The Court of Appeal, on Thursday, dismissed Ceresa River apartment owner James Byrne's case he should be entitled to sub-lease his home to visitors, sometimes for just days at a time.

An Airbnb host has been told by a court he cannot sub-let his apartment using the popular platform. Credit:Ryan Stuart

However, the court upheld the Supreme Court of WA's original decision from May 2016 that his apartment strata had a by-law which prohibited letting an apartment for the purpose of short term stays.

Strata Community Australia WA president Scott Bellerby said many apartment complexes in Perth had similar by-laws which encouraged residential tenants over short-stay visitors.
The WCO successfully conducted a five day workshop from 22nd to 26th May 2017 at Nairobi, Kenya to review and develop a new regional risk management strategy pack for the EAC Customs Region. The workshop was conducted under the WCO EAC CREATe Project, financed by the Government of Sweden. The workshop brought together Risk Management experts from Customs administrations of the EAC Partner States and was facilitated by a WCO expert supported by SACU Risk Management experts. The SACU Region recently developed a similar strategy and this activity was the perfect platform for the SACU region to share its experience and further enhance regional cooperation between different Customs Union of Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Regional Risk Management Strategy pack which outlines a strategy for the region, risk management criteria and templates for regional risk register draws from the objectives of the EAC Customs union and the EAC Customs Union Strategy. The implementation of the 5 year Strategy will see the EAC adopt a harmonized approach to Risk Management which will include common definitions of risks, harmonized risk criteria, and the sharing of intelligence information among Partner States Customs administrations.

At the opening of the workshop, Mr. Peter Nganga who represented the Kenya Revenue Authority Commissioner for Customs underscored the importance of a regional approach to Risk Management especially in regard to the nature of risks that tend to transcend borders and noted that the new strategy will come in at the right time as the EAC embarks on the implementation of a new 5 year Customs strategy.

For more information about this activity or the project, please contact the WCO-Sweden Program Director, Mr. Richard Chopra (Richard.chopra@wcoomd.org)
If you have an event you'd like to list on the site, submit it now!

Submit
Advertisement

By West Kentucky Star Staff

Jun. 12, 2017 | PADUCAH, KY

By West Kentucky Star Staff Jun. 12, 2017 | 04:48 PM | PADUCAH, KY

Authorities are seeking the publics help identifying a man and woman believed to be involved in the use of a stolen EBT card.



The Paducah Police Department says a woman called them on may 7 after discovering her wallet had been misplaced or stolen. She told police that her wallet contained her EBT card and identification. When she called authorities report her EBT card stolen she was advised that the card had recently been used and the PIN had been changed.



A man and woman were reportedly caught on surveillance video using the EBT card. The man was wearing a dark hoodie and the female was wearing a dark shirt and pants, possibly scrubs.



Anyone with information about the man or womans identity is being asked to call the Paducah Police Department at 270-444-8550 or Crime Stoppers at 270-443-TELL.
Advertisement

By West Kentucky Star Staff

Jun. 12, 2017 | PADUCAH, KY

By West Kentucky Star Staff Jun. 12, 2017 | 11:41 AM | PADUCAH, KY

A traffic stop Sunday night in McCracken County led to charges against two men for drug and other offenses.



The McCracken County Sheriff's Office says deputies pulled over a vehicle for traffic violations just before midnight on Irvin Cobb Drive. They cited the driver, 24-year-old Ariel Tinsley of Salem, and arrested the passenger, 35-year-old Jeremy Tabor of Marion after they reported seeing drug paraphernalia on Tabors lap.



Deputies said they also saw Tabor trying to hide other items of drug paraphernalia and illegal drugs. During a search of the vehicle, deputies found suspected meth, marijuana, several hydrocodone pills and drug paraphernalia. They also seized money they believed to be proceeds from illegal drug sales.



Tinsley was cited and released on charges of driving on a suspended or revoked license, possessing a license when privileges are revoked and failure to produce insurance card. Tabor was arrested on charges of meth trafficking, possession of marijuana, possession of a controlled substance, tampering with physical evidence, possession of drug paraphernalia, and menacing. He was booked into the McCracken County Jail.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Jun. 11, 2017 | 08:23 AM | CALLOWAY COUNTY, KY

A Calloway County man was arrested Friday on methamphetamine and marijuana charges.

According to the Calloway County Sheriffs Office, deputies went to Sego Drive in Almo to serve an arrest warrant on 26-year-old Andrew Swan of Murray. When deputies got there, they found Swan sleeping in the driver's seat of his vehicle.

Deputies said they found a loaded 12 gauge shotgun near the vehicle, along with drug paraphernalia, a small amount of methamphetamine and marijuana.

Swan was arrested and charged with possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was lodged in the Calloway County Detention Center.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Jun. 11, 2017 | 08:08 AM | FULTON COUNTY, KY

An inmate at the Fulton County Detention Center is on the loose.

According to Kentucky State Police, 23-year-old Reggie Rankins escaped from jail sometime late Saturday night or early Sunday morning. Around 1:20 am Sunday, police learned that a gas station near the detention center had been broken into.

Rankins is described as a black male, 510, 180 pounds, black hair, brown eyes, dark brown complexion, and a medium build. He was serving time for burglary and theft by unlawful taking.

Anyone with information on Rankins' whereabouts is asked to contact Kentucky State Police Post 1 Mayfield at 1-800-222-5555.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Jun. 11, 2017 | 09:47 PM | MAYFIELD, KY

A Graves County man was arrested Saturday on cocaine and marijuana charges.

Graves County Sheriff Dewayne Redmon says deputies responded to a home on Windsor Drive to serve civil papers on Jasmine Atkins and Lee Burnett. Upon knocking on the door of the home of 31-year-old Lee Burnett of Mayfield, deputies were given consent to come in the home.

Upon walking in, deputies detected a strong odor of marijuana. Deputies got a search warrant for the home, where marijuana, cocaine, crack cocaine and drug paraphernalia were found.

Burnett was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana, possession of cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia and trafficking in controlled substance. He was lodged in the Graves County Jail.
Email To : Multiple e-mail addresses must be separated with a comma character(maximum 200 characters) Email To is required.

Your Full Name: (optional)

Your Email Address: Your Email Address is required.
Advertisement

By The Associated Press

Jun. 12, 2017 | LOUISVILLE, KY

By The Associated Press Jun. 12, 2017 | 01:06 PM | LOUISVILLE, KY

Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear says his office needs more information in determining whether criminal activity occurred at the University of Louisville Foundation.



Beshear told reporters Monday that an audit found "gross mismanagement" at the foundation  the nonprofit investment arm of the university. He said more information is needed to know if that mismanagement "crossed the line into criminal" activity.



Beshear said his office would have jurisdiction if state dollars were taken or nonprofit rules were violated.



The audit released last week focused on the foundation's finances during the time when James Ramsey doubled as the university's president and foundation president. Ramsey left both positions last year.



UofL board of trustees Chairman J. David Grissom said last week that trustees would confer with legal counsel in deciding their response.
Loading...

Head down to the Hackney Empire this week and you'll likely find a theatre filled with a sense of puzzlement and unfulfilled expectation. In the audience will be mainly jazz fans, many of whom are waiting  and waiting  for the Charlie Parker music to begin, or for someone to actually play one of the horns that are brought on stage from time to time.

These are reasonable expectations, given that this jazz-infused opera is called Charlie Parker's Yardbird, and the posters and programme show tenor Lawrence Brownlee holding a sax in a promising way.

Composer Daniel Schnyder, whose work crosses jazz and classical music, anticipated and accepted this difficulty from the start, and initially believed an opera about Parker's achievements was a nigh on impossible endeavour'.

That was until he met Brownlee, who takes the title role. And with the realisation that the bebop music invented by Parker is rooted in the American Songbook, the work began.

As well as subtle quotes from Parker's own music to establish a link between the musical styles, Schnyder also includes a wide range of other influences, from Stravinsky and Bartok (both greatly admired by Parker) to medieval polyphonic singing. The libretto is by Bridgette A Wimberly.

The show begins at the end, with Parker, 34, lying dead on a hospital trolley, in circumstances that caused scandal for Baroness Nica Rothschild (Julie Miller) whose home he was in at the time.

Parker knows his life is over, but his spirit hovers in Birdland, the jazz club named after him, and hopes he can compose one last great piece of symphonic music before departing.

Key scenes from his life are replayed, from the cymbal thrown on the floor by drummer Jo Jones to stop him playing  a life-changing event that sent him off to practise for 10 hours a day until his technique was unsurpassable  to the bitter reproaches of his abandoned wife Rebecca, sung by the thrilling mezzo-soprano Chrystal E Williams.

The women communicate much of the emotion, with soprano Angela Brown creating the role of Addie Parker, Charlie's mother, one of the most rounded characters and finest performances in Yardbird. She brings some welcome sass and humour to proceedings with "My Boy is King", where she thrills with pride at her son's achievements. And finally her indomitable claim on Charlie's dead body beats back all the wives jostling for ownership in "Next of Kin".

She also introduces the wider theme of racial segregation in "Calvary": 'This land ain't no place for a black man child, got dreams.'

Brownlee himself is on stage for more or less the entire 90 minutes, and his engaging voice propels the show artistically. Director Ron Daniels hasn't given him a great deal of acting to do, however, and he is a ghostly bystander for much of the action.

Conducted with vigour and precision by Clark Rundell, the ENO embrace this show, which sees the orchestra in partnership with Hackney Empire and Opera Philadelphia, which premiered Yardbird in 2015.

Ultimately, anyone who is expecting to hear Parker's music  or would like to discover it  may be disappointed. But this is a richly detailed and passionately performed opera about a man who got dreams', and fulfilled so many of them.

Charlie Parker's Yardbird runs at Hackney Empire until 17 June.
NEW DOG FLU A CONCERN AMONG WNC PET OWNERS

POSSIBLY ORIGINATED IN FLORIDA

Area veterinarians are warning dog owners about canine flu after two North Carolina dogs died.

The cases have been reported in Charlotte, Raleigh and down on the North Carolina coast and are believed to be associated with a dog show in Florids.

While no cases have been reported in the mountains, with tourism season well underway, Dr. Mark Wysocki recommends pet owners be careful at dog parks or day cares.

One local vet in the Mills River community confirmed she had seen no local cases of this new dog flu.

"The primary symptoms are going to be flu-like symptoms. They're going to not feel good. They're going to be lethargic, running a fever, coughing, sneezing, just like people with flu," another area vet said.

The virus can stay active for a day in the environment.

Area vets are recommending vaccinating dogs and limiting exposure to other dogs.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 12/06/2017 (1977 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Smoking on restaurant and bar patios could become illegal in Winnipeg by next summer.

Councils community services committee Monday instructed the administration to study the move and gauge public opinion on the issue.

I think it would be easy to put in place, said Coun. Mike Pagtakhan, who chairs the committee and brought the proposal for consideration after he was asked to do so by a council colleague at the May council meeting.

PAUL CHIASSON / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Many major cities across North America, such as Montreal, above, ban smoking on outdoor patios, and Winnipeg could soon join them. .

The administration was given 180 days to complete a report but Pagtakhan (Point Douglas) said he hoped to see a report by October or November, with a bylaw in place for the new year.

Manitoba has a smaller percentage of smokers than other jurisdictions and I dont see why we cant have it in place for 2018, Pagtakhan said. If its year-round, that would be perfect.

Winnipeg was one of the first cities in Canada to ban indoor smoking in public places when it approved a bylaw in 2003. The provincial government followed suit the following year, making it illegal right across Manitoba  and became the first province to do so.

Council expanded the smoking ban in 2011 to some outdoor areas but stopped short of making it illegal for restaurant and bar patios.

The city of Regina banned smoking on outdoor patios in May. Similar legislation exists in Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Yukon.

While there was no debate among committee members on the issue, several groups and individuals appeared as delegations at the start of the meeting to support the move, including representatives from the Canadian Cancer Society, the Manitoba Lung Association and the Manitoba Tobacco Reduction Alliance.

Coun. Jenny Gerbasi appeared before the committee to say that Winnipeg has lost the leadership role on smoking bans.

It simply isnt fair that either customers or employees be subjected to Class A carcinogens blowing in their face, not to mention the impact on people with asthma or even the quality of life for people who want to have a pleasant meal outside and enjoy it without having odours in their face spoiling their meal, Gerbasi (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry) said.

While some have wanted the committee to simply recommend an outright outdoor smoking ban, Pagtakhan said its important to see the administrative report  which will include a survey of legislation in other municipalities, a public engagement process and proposed wording for the bylaw.

Pagtakhan said he hopes the public engagement process shows there is support to extend the outdoor smoking ban to all public green spaces, including cycling and pedestrian pathways.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 12/06/2017 (1977 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BMW makes ultimate driving machines, but Teslas stock is the one thats motoring.

A week-long rally in Tesla shares, spurred by CEO Elon Musks confidence in selling electric vehicles at scale, vaulted the companys market capitalization past the German luxury carmaker in early Friday trading. The amount of ground Tesla covered was vast: BMW was valued at a US$30-billion premium as of early December.

The change in rank is no small matter. Luxury carmakers such as BMW trade at a higher value than the likes of General Motors or Ford, which Tesla passed back in April. BMW has a powerful brand among car buffs and affluent consumers and its vehicles command premium prices and fatter margins. In bidding its market cap past BMW, Tesla investors are signalling confidence the company can go up against a formidable player that also sells electric cars  and prevail.

The argument is that Tesla has the ability to do things that the others cant and that, being all-in on electric cars, they will win, said Kevin Tynan, an auto analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. Its a flawed argument. You cant tell me that BMW cant do what Tesla can do.

After climbing as much as 1.9 per cent and surpassing BMWs US$61.3-billion market value, Tesla shares reversed gains after Hedgeye Risk Management added shorting Tesla to its best ideas list. The stock closed at US$357.32 on Friday, dropping its market cap about US$2.6-billion below BMWs.

Musk, 45, engendered optimism last week by telling shareholders on Tuesday his most affordable electric car thus far, the Model 3, will start production as scheduled in July. Within two to three years, Musk sees following that sedan up with a cheaper crossover model, the Model Y, that will eventually draw more demand and need its own assembly plant.

Teslas surge in value is controversial. Short interest represented about one fourth of the shares as of the latest quarterly filing. Investors including Jim Chanos, who bet early on energy company Enrons failure, point to the carmakers sparse profits  its posted losses in all but two quarters of its history  and expect Musk to go through billions in cash to fund his ambitions.

We think they are going to be burning close to US$750 million to US$1 billion a quarter for the next handful of quarters, Chanos said at the Bloomberg Invest New York Summit on Tuesday. Tesla has its big test ahead of it  the Model 3. It has been losing money selling US$120,000 cars, but it hopes to make money selling the US$35,000 car.

Tesla has a long way to go to catch up to BMW in terms of sales and profits. The German carmaker sold almost 2.4 million vehicles in 2016, while Tesla delivered fewer than 80,000.

 Bloomberg News
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 12/06/2017 (1977 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After three decades of work in Manitobas health-care system, Nancy Addison thought she had seen it all  until a recent visit to Grace Hospital as a patient opened her eyes to a nightmare.

From short-staffed admissions to wasteful, inexperienced and inattentive nurses to unheeding and unresponsive doctors to sloppy working conditions, It was a dogs breakfast from beginning to end, she said last week. There was nothing good about it at all  nothing.

Admitted overnight April 29 with what she said  and what she told any staff member who crossed her path  was a severe case of food poisoning, the 68-year-old Winnipeg woman said she was subjected to a series of almost-comedic events, culminating in undergoing an exploratory procedure for bleeding ulcers.

JUSTIN SAMANSKI-LANGILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Nancy Addison described the service she received at Grace Hospital as a dogs breakfast.

Along the way there were lost urine samples, lost and delayed pain-relief drug orders, multiple failed attempts at starting IVs and an overwhelming amount of indifference, she said.

I have never seen anything so disgustingly deplorable, from my days in health care, to what I witnessed there, said Addison, who spent the majority of her career as the professional lead for the cardio-respiratory department at Seven Oaks General Hospital, where she developed procedures and protocols she later taught to other facilities in the U.S. and Canada.

Before retiring because of a disability in 2002, she served on the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority board for cardiology, equipment orders and the management of waste, and was involved in labour issues as a CUPE local president.

Ive got a little bit of credibility behind me, she said. I think Im a little qualified to see what was going on and call it as I saw it.

What she saw did not sit well.

I couldnt believe the waste not to mention the care was so inadequate. They were more interested in their cellphones and talking to one another and showing pictures. All three shifts, you could hear it, she said. I feel its absolutely deplorable if you are talking to each other, and cellphones, and pictures, more important than patient care.

I feel its wasting taxpayers money They used six different needles with different gauges on me, all of them had to be thrown out because they didnt have somebody who could put an IV in me. Thats very expensive, she said.

The people that came in to get blood from me did not know how to keep the line integral and to take blood from the line. Thats ridiculous. Anybody worth their salt, who has put a line in, knows how to take blood. I talked two of the girls through it My arms and my hands were massive bruises.

Even the staffs work area seemed in disarray, Addison said  transfer boards were not secure, the wheels on stretchers were pointing out, not in, creating a tripping hazard. Toilet paper wasnt available, just facial tissues. It was not a good scene.

All the while, she was trying to tell the doctor her symptoms (which included extreme abdominal pain) were the result of consuming tainted lettuce, which she had experienced once before in the U.S., where she has been living off and on the past 15 years.

It was the exact same thing I tried to tell them, Addison said. They were trying to tell me I had overmedicated myself and had bleeding ulcers, which I didnt. I knew what was wrong with me, and no one would listen to me.

The next morning, she underwent an endoscopy to look for ulcers. None were found. Thats a taxpayers bill, she said.

Addison said it was her first experience with the Manitoba health-care system as a patient since she retired and it was depressing to see how low professionalism had sunk.

Five years ago, she suffered a badly broken leg after a car accident and underwent surgery at an American hospital. And believe me, it was night and day for care there as to care here I got fantastic care there.

Her experience prompted her the speak out, not only about what she sees as the state of care at Grace but about what the future holds should the Pallister government complete its announced plan to cut the number of city emergency rooms to three from six. Under the proposal, Grace would keep its emergency room while Victoria and Seven Oaks are being transitioned to urgent care centres and Concordias ER will be closed.

Shutting down ERs will drain those hospitals of experienced professionals in the cardiac field, she said, and thats bad news.

In the months since her visit to Grace, Addison said she has talked with four WRHA employees whose family members also had recent bad experiences at the hospital. In those cases, Grace officials were non-responsive to their complaints, she said.

She, however, did get a response  a pair of phone calls and a request to come in to be used as a risk-management case  which she credits to putting her story out in an email this week to local media and government.

Addison said she declined the initial invitation to go through the chart, line by line.

Im not prepared to do that because this is a health and safety issue. This is not an issue about how (hospital management) feels and defending the Grace, she said. This was not the intention of (my email) at all. It was to bring forward problems that they perhaps didnt know about, so they could perhaps correct them.

The WRHA and Grace Hospital declined to comment directly on Addisons complaints, due to privacy concerns, instead issuing a brief joint statement: Any concern with regard to quality of care is of serious concern to Grace Hospital. We have initiated a review of Ms. Addisons care and have reached out to Ms. Addison to arrange an opportunity to discuss her concerns in person.

Addison said she, too, awaits such a conversation. She had them many times during her health-care career.

The WRHA is not a panacea and they are not listening to people, Addison said. If I could have gotten them to listen to me, then I wouldnt have cost the taxpayers all of that  all the needles and the procedure I didnt need  and thats just me.

This needs to be brought to somebodys attention, she said.

One of things Im hoping (is) if it goes public enough, people will start demanding a change. They will start demanding they get treated with respect and courtesy ask more questions, unions will get involved the public cannot let things go.

scott.emmerson@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 12/06/2017 (1977 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Its not just patients who have become too dependent on opioids to treat pain  its also many doctors.

That was one topic of a federal conference of physicians being held in Winnipeg, where the lethal effect of the opioid epidemic is being seen through the eyes of health-care professionals from across the country who are now in the process of redefining the whole notion of pain treatment.

And that includes a history where opiates, such as Oxycontin and fentanyl, have been for years been falsely promoted by drug companies and doctors as a quick-fix pain remedy with no significant side effects, such as addiction.

TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Dr. Anna Ziomek, president of the Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada, says there arent enough treatment centres to help the growing number of patients who are addicted to opioids.

With 16 per cent of all deaths between the ages of 25 and 34 in Ontario in 2015 related to opioid use, the medical community is only now grappling with the fallout of the massive increase in opioid use, both legal and illicit.

At the Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada conference at the Fairmont Hotel on Sunday, the issue of doctors prescribing opiates was a centre of discussion: how much is too much and what can be done to stem the tide of opioid addiction?

Keynote speaker Dr. David Juurlink, head of the clinical pharmacology and toxicology at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, cited the push by drug companies, such as giant Purdue Pharma, of pumping millions of dollars into shaping the medical communities attitudes towards opioids.

Juurlink said Purdue actively mislead physicians about the risk of addiction at less than one per cent. Evidence now suggests the addiction risk to be somewhere between five and 10 per cent.

In the United States, more than 250,000 deaths from 2000-2014 have been attributed to opioid-related causes.

Dr. David White, president of Canadas College of Family Physicians, believes too many doctors have become reliant on opioids as a medical tool. And now, in many cases, theyre uncomfortable about admitting they were wrong about the risk.

They (drug companies) really put a lot of time, effort and money into educating us to do this (prescribe opioids), White said. Now were trying to educate physicians out of it. Its going to take a long time.

Juurlink and White said convincing the medical community to use opioids  even though initial studies were questionable at best  was not a difficult task. Why? Because we want to help people, White said. It (the drugs) appears to work in the short term. Its a quick thing to do.

There are still other factors complicating the addiction and use issue: the lack of treatment centres and defunding of alternative treatment, such as physio or massage therapy.

Dr. Anna Ziomek, president of FMRAC and registrar of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba, said there simply arent enough treatment centres to deal with the growing number of patients addicted to opioids.

We wait months for access to addiction services, Ziomek said. If I have a patient who Im trying to taper their opioid use, what do I do? We dont have enough addiction spots.

Waiting lists are three to six months, even for just consultation. How is that helpful to a patient who is in crisis today? she added.

As for prescriptions, Ziomek said this isnt the first time the medical community has had to deal with evolving information related to drug risk.

One can safely say that what we were being taught in school and through drug reps and through literature  all of that today has been proven to be wrong, she said. I mean, weve done that with other drugs as well. Everybody used to take sleeping pills. Everybody took Valium. Mothers little helper, right?

We dont do that anymore. Because over time weve figured out through patient experience and more research that this is not a good idea.

At the same time, Ziomek cautioned that opioids can not only be effective, but the best treatment available. Its a matter of striking the right balance, and not using opiates as a first resort, especially for non-cancer treatment.

In Manitoba, plans are in the works to introduce a prescribing scorecard for opioids made for individual doctors, based on comparable settings and similar client bases.

Dr. Marina Reinecke, medical consultant for the Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba, said doctors will get their scorecards on a quarterly basis to see if their prescriptions match up with peers. Are they outliers? If so, why?

So physicians are going to get a real-time look using data from their own practices, Reinecke said.

Reinecke said some physicians have already volunteered for trial runs of the system. She doesnt expect much resistance.

I think theres always some physicians who are going to be resistant to any kind of regulatory measures, Reinecke noted. But I think in the current climate, physicians have to realize over-prescribing and not being cautious enough about prescribing is part of why were in an opioid crisis across North America.

And I dont think any physician has the luxury to say they do not need to be paying attention to current guidelines, that they do not need to look at their own practices, to ensure that theyre doing the best possible job they can.

randy.turner@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @randyturner15
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 11/06/2017 (1978 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OXFORD HOUSE  The tiny turboprop plane dips a wing and, for the first time on its hour-long flight from Winnipeg, drops below cloud. In the seconds before its wheels find the ground, Oxford House spreads out below.

There are the glassy grey lakes that hold the community close. There is the vast green cloak of the forest, freckled by clusters of houses and veined by curving dirt roads. There is the airstrip, that brings crucial cargo and people home.

If you know where to look, you can spot the little cemetery by a hillside. Its a short drive from the high school where Melinda Wood works. The graves there are hemmed by weathered white fences, and festooned with floral wreaths.

MELISSA MARTIN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Surrounded by their sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren, George and Melinda Wood pause to embrace Christine's casket Saturday.

At the heart of the cemetery, a fresh mound of dirt is heaved up from the earth. An open grave waits for Christine.

She is home, now. Ten months after she left for Winnipeg; after she went missing; after people from across Manitoba ached to find her, only to discover that she had been killed and her body hidden, Christine Wood has come home.

Now, on this blustery Saturday, the people of Bunibonibee Cree Nation will lay her to rest. In spring they held a vigil, but after her body was found outside Winnipeg on June 1, the community can at long last have a proper funeral.

Its a relief, Chief Tim Muskego says, solemnly. We brought our loved one home, and now we can bury her where she should be buried, with family and friends. We are grateful that we found her, and it means a lot to me.

The turboprop plane touches down, and a handful of passengers stream out. They include Christines aunt, uncle and cousins from Winnipeg; they include visiting chiefs from all over, invited here to knit a broader community together.

There is Winnipeg Police Service chief Danny Smyth, making his first trip to an isolated First Nation. Beside him is Sgt. Shaunna Neufeld, who leads the police services missing persons unit. Christines parents now call her a family friend.

Of all the visiting dignitaries, Sheila North Wilson is the first one off the plane. She too is coming home; today, the former CBC journalist is grand chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, an assembly of 30 northern First Nations.

But once, she was just a 15-year-old girl from Oxford House, boarding a flight bound for Winnipeg.

Back then, North Wilson remembers, the city seemed full of excitement, full of hope. It was so much bigger than Oxford House, so much busier than the cosy life shed known. She imagines Christine must have felt that way once, too.

My impression at the time was everything was going to be beautiful (in Winnipeg), people were going to be kind, people were just beautiful in general, North Wilson says, with a wistful sigh  she knows its more complicated, now.

Before North Wilson left Oxford House that year to continue her schooling, her parents issued a warning. Its the same one thats echoed through this community countless times, given by parents worried about the dangers that lurk outside.

Be careful, North Wilsons parents told her. Be careful who you trust. Always be mindful.

George and Melinda Wood told their daughter, Christine, the same things, too. More than once.



MELISSA MARTIN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The people of Bunibonibee Cree Nation file past Christine Wood's casket.

Almost everyone in Oxford House knew Christine, so everyone mourns her. They spill into the elementary schools gymnasium for the funeral, until all the chairs are taken and latecomers lean against the wall; more than 300 people in all.

Oxford House has known tragedy. In 2016, 26-year-old Cyril Weenusk was murdered near the MTS Centre (now Bell MTS Place) while in Winnipeg for a family members medical appointment; in 2015, three people died in a house fire on the reserve.

Yet for many on this remote First Nation, this is the first time theyve faced a pain quite like this: a young woman gone missing in the big city, followed by months without answers. A horror that creeps across Canada has now hit home.

For many parents here, that tugs at the fears they have for their children. Here, everyone knows not just you, but your parents and aunties and cousins; its not like that in Winnipeg. And the city, Chief Muskego thinks, has been changing.

I used to walk down Main Street (in Winnipeg), and nobody bothered me, Muskego says. Now youre scared to go out after dark. Even my kids, they go to school in the city, and I tell them dont trust anybody. No matter what it is.

Muskego pauses. Thats the advice we give, because we want them to be safe.

After all, they have big dreams for their children. Four years ago, Oxford House held a feast to celebrate its new high school graduates. It invited Assembly of Manitoba Grand Chief Derek Nepinak to speak, to encourage their young ambitions.

In that crowd, 18-year-old Christine was beaming. Shed been looking forward to the day for a long time; she and her cousin, Howard Grieves Jr., had spent months setting goals for what they wanted to achieve after their graduation.

Grieves thought he might be a teacher or a police officer; Christine wanted to study business, and she would go on to enroll at the University of Winnipeg in 2015. They dreamed of growing up, getting jobs, and traveling the world.

Now, four years later, Grieves is telling that story in a eulogy for his cousin, who he remembers as a determined, sweet person. And Nepinak is back, wearing the same headdress as he did to celebrate her graduation.

But there is light, Nepinak says, and he points to the row of dignitaries seated behind him. It brings me a lot of hope when I see a leader of the Winnipeg Police Service stepping up and getting on a plane with us, Nepinak says.

The funeral is slow and gentle and beautiful. One of Christines cousins sketched her portrait in pencil; it leans against her casket, which is adorned with pink roses. On the caskets white lid, a Cree-language Bible lies open.

MELISSA MARTIN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Bunibonibee Cree Nation Chief Tim Muskego looks on as community members lower Christine Wood's casket into the ground.

One by one, people step up to sing, or read from biblical scripture. Wearing his police chief uniform, Smyth talks about why he wanted to come for the funeral, and how important it is that victims are not allowed to be faceless.

Then it is time for Christines parents to speak, and the gymnasium falls silent, save for the cooing of babies.

George Wood speaks in Cree and English, with Melinda close by his side. He talks about the last 10 months, about the tears, about how they fought to stay strong. He talks about the women that surrounded them, and lifted them up.

He remembers how once, when Christine was a child, she lost control of her bicycle and crashed into a bush. He didnt laugh then, because he didnt want to upset his little girl. Now, he laughs a little. The memory is precious.

George wipes tears from his eyes, then offers one more plea for his community, drawing back to the advice hed told Christine long before. Even when she was out with her friends, they told her to take care of herself, and be careful.

There are a lot of good people, and Im sure they outnumber the bad people in Winnipeg, he says. But young women and girls, be careful who you trust when you go to the city. Be careful who you trust on social media.

Then the time for speaking is over. Community members stand up to walk past Christines casket, pressing their hands to its cool surface. One by one, they embrace George and Melinda. There are tears, and whispers of love.

A procession carries her casket onto the truck, and the truck makes the short drive to the little cemetery on the hill, where a mound of fresh dirt lies waiting. Near the site lie the graves of her uncle, a cousin, and other family.

They lower the casket into the earth, along with the red armbands that pallbearers wore, emblazoned with a butterfly in honour of Christine. And for the next 15 minutes, people from across the community step up to bury Christine.

Christines three brothers take a turn shovelling. So does Nepinak, and police chief Smyth and Christines cousin Grieves, who loved her as if she was his own sister. More people step up, each contributing a few shovels of dirt.

When Christine vanished into the city, she vanished alone. But when she came back to Oxford House, they carried her home together. They put her in the earth together. On her last journey home, she was surrounded by love.

At last, the grave radiates brightness and colour. It blossoms with floral wreaths, red and purple. They are wrapped with ribbons naming the connections Christine holds, and will always hold, in this community: aunt, sister, angel.

Well, Melinda Wood says, with a quiet and mellifluous laugh, I guess we brought enough flowers.

There is a feast at the high school, nearby. The communitys longtime pastor says grace, and then there is beef stew and rice and long goodbyes. The hall rings with conversation and gentle laughter, and the visitors began leaving.

On the airstrip, the tiny turboprop plane revs its engines, and lifts itself into sky. Once again, Oxford House sprawls out below, beautiful and grieving and yet full of hope: the community has been forever changed. It is not yet whole.

But at least they are together, again. At long last, their missing child has come home.

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca

MELISSA MARTIN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Melinda Wood reaches down to put one last flower stand on her daughter's grave.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 12/06/2017 (1977 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg police are investigating after shots were fired in the West End Sunday night and early Monday.

Police said officers responded to the 500 block of Balmoral Street on June 11 about 11 p.m., after receiving a report shots had been fired.

When officers arrived they discovered evidence a firearm had been discharged in the back lane, but no injuries have been reported.

 Mapbox  OpenStreetMap

A few hours later at 5:20 a.m., officers rushed to the 500 block of Sherbrook Street after receiving another report shots had been fired.

Once again, the officers found evidence a gun had been fired, but no injuries have been reported.

Police said both incidents are being investigated, but no arrests have been made.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 12/06/2017 (1977 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Science class can be a bit dull for Caleb Turon and Matthew Hewlett.

The Winnipeg Grade 12 students have engineered a prototype that could one day lead to individuals who have acquired blindness trading in their white canes for experimental eyeglasses.

As a result, theyve been offered the opportunity to work with members of the University of Manitobas biomedical engineering department over the summer to develop their research in transcranial direct current stimulation as a visual prosthetic.

Grade 12 students Matthew Hewlett (left) and Caleb Turon developed special glasses that may assist those with acquired blindness.

The offer came from U of Ms Zahra Moussavi, director of biomedical engineering, following an impressive presentation delivered by the students from Linden Christian School (Turon) and Shaftesbury High School (Hewlett) at the annual research conference of the Canadian Medical and Biological Engineering Association.

They hope their research could lead to individuals benefiting from the special glasses.

Were very excited for that, said Hewlett. Weve been doing this whole project by ourselves so far. This is the first time anyone has ever said that the work weve been doing is good and that they want to help.

The pair, working on the project independently since Grade 8, hopes to be able to develop the technology with the help of U of M and to secure a provisional patent.

The offer to give a presentation at the research conference came after they won an award at the Manitoba School Science Symposium this year.

As the special award judge, I personally viewed their project, said Maryam Samiee, regional clinical engineer with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.

The topic itself was very advanced for high school students and their use of coding and background research was also impressive. We found their project very original.

The glasses work by providing light stimulation, which individuals who have acquired blindness can detect, indicating the proximity of walls and objects around them.

The hope is to develop the glasses with facial-recognition technology so users will be able to identify people.

We were really surprised by it (U of Ms offer), said Turon. Weve had a lot of pride in the fact that weve been doing this all by ourselves. We were definitely surprised that they actually offered us jobs.

I didnt know you could get a job doing that sort of thing while still in high school or at this age.

As of publication, the two have not been hired by U of M. However, they are in the process of setting up a meeting with the university to discuss the job offer and the nature of their work.

In 2014, the students found a bank machine operators manual online and used it to hack into a Bank of Montreal (BMO) ATM. They told BMO about the vulnerability to help the bank improve its security system and the story brought them international media attention.

Since then, Turon and Hewlett have continued to work on a number of projects, although their efforts have been focused on developing their experimental glasses.

We just like to build things, said Hewlett. When looking into research in this field, we realized that we could develop the glasses and theyd be relatively simple from an engineering perspective.

Were very excited for the potential future applications. It is the only external device of this type that we are aware of.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 12/06/2017 (1977 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The University of Manitobas multi-year, multi-million dollar climate change study has been put on ice for a year  because of climate change itself.

David Barber, the universitys renowned Arctic researcher, and chief scientist of the BaySys project, said 40 scientists on the Canadian icebreaker CCGS Amundsen made the decision to postpone the $17 million project until next year after two weeks onboard because they realized the ship was needed elsewhere due to the continued extreme ice conditions in southern waters around Newfoundland and Labrador.

The icebreaker, formerly known as the Sir John Franklin, is a scientific research ship, but it can be redirected by the Canadian Coast Guard if its icebreaking capabilities are needed.

SUPPLIED The BaySys project, the University of Manitoba's multi-year, multi-million dollar climate change study has been put on ice for a year  because of climate change itself.

Its the second most powerful icebreaker in the country and we had trouble getting through the sea ice, Barber, the Canada Research Chair in Arctic Systems Science at the university, said on Monday.

Theres a lot of people who rely on it. They were helping fishing boats, supply ships bringing fuel oil to communities, oil tankers. We ended up doing a lot of this during the two and a half weeks in total we were there.

I realized it would be dangerous for us to leave the area because it would put people at risk so we cancelled the study this large scale climate change study was cancelled because of climate change.

Just last week, while Barber and the scientists were still on the Amundsen, the ice breaker was tasked with rescuing fishers on four fishing vessels from La Scie Harbour that were stuck in sea ice off Newfoundlands Baie Verte Peninsula.

But, within sight of the boats, the Amundsen was called off from helping after it was discovered the ice was two metres thick  too strong for it to get through.

Some of the fishers were finally rescued by helicopter  after one of the vessels sunk  while the rest made it back to port on their own.

Barber said the scientists had already left on the Amundsen almost a week earlier than planned when the Coast Guard warned them the sea ice was moving and could cause them problems getting to Hudson Bay where the research study was to take place if they didnt leave earlier.

SUPPLIED The BaySys project is looking at what effects having more fresh water from rivers flowing into Hudson Bay due to climate change is having on the salt water marine environment.

But Barber said once out on the water the scientists realized this wasnt the usual sea ice, which would be relatively easy for the icebreaker to plow through, but thicker ice from further north which had broken off because of climate change.

Barber said it would also have been difficult and potentially dangerous for the scientists to try to do five weeks of scientific work in the three-week window left to them.

For me it was easy to see the ice conditions werent just difficult, these were unprecedented ice conditions, he said.

The research project is looking at what effects having more fresh water from rivers flowing into Hudson Bay due to climate change is having on the salt water marine environment.

But just because the main scientific project was postponed, it doesnt mean the trip was wasted.

We had our scientific equipment so we did a detailed scientific analysis of the ice conditions, Barber said.

SUPPLIED The icebreaker being used by the arctic researchers of the BaySys project is a scientific research ship, but it can be redirected by the Canadian Coast Guard if its icebreaking capabilities are needed.

This will be very useful scientifically, but it is just a small piece of it. Its a consolation prize for us.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 12/06/2017 (1977 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Regardless of what version of O Canada people sing, one part has never changed: Tennysons descriptive phrase the True North, strong and free has endured over the years.

It was originally intended to apply to all of Canada. Today, Canadians tend to think of the North as the Arctic, or more broadly, areas north of the heavily populated or cultivated lands of Canada. A narrower view would simply include the three territories. Yet another might describe it as areas lacking ground transportation infrastructure, including Canadas parts of the Arctic Ocean.

Now that the U.S. has withdrawn from the Paris climate accord centred on voluntarily reducing greenhouse gases, it is left to the rest of the world to assign value to research, facts and potentially disastrous effects.

JONATHAN HAYWARD / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Climate change guarantees Canadas Arctic regions will see even more open water over longer periods.

Why does it matter? It matters because of the effects of global warming, despite U.S. President Donald Trumps rejection of the reality. It matters very much to indigenous people who have lived in the North for centuries and whose traditional way of life is disappearing. It matters to virtually all Canadians, some of whom may not directly see the impacts, yet who will have empathy for those whose farms and homes flood.

Those who regularly travel by air will be affected by global warming, as it manifests itself in the form of strong and regular clear air turbulence. Plants will find their preferred ecosystem has moved, and wildlife will find they must move to follow their habitat. A difficult life will result for polar bears: their preferred food is seal meat. Although the seals may prevail, the lack of ice for the bears to use as their hunting blinds will force many to learn new hunting techniques.

In Cold War days, both Canada and the U.S. (primarily the U.S. at the time) established small bases across the high Arctic, as well as radar facilities capable of detecting approaching aircraft. Flying in the Arctic required, and still does, a radio call to advise Nav Canada when approaching the Canadian Air Identification Defence Zone from the North.

Now, however, a change hangs over us, partly thanks to Trump, who walked away from an international agreement on climate change because he doesnt want to believe climate is changing. Parts of Florida have already experienced flooding. Interestingly, Trumps home city of New York will be significantly affected by flooding in some of its most famous areas, particularly the lower area of Wall Street, as well as parts of Brooklyn.

Climate change guarantees Canadas Arctic regions will see more open water over longer periods. Concurrent with this, we can expect to see more Russian and Chinese aircraft and ships operating closer to Canadas territory. The race is on: for Canada to defend its interests and win implies new Arctic-capable ships, revitalized air transport and fighter facilities in the high Arctic (e.g. Eureka) and drone and augmented radar capabilities.

There will be invasions of sorts other than military. Canada needs to prepare for rapid growth in tourism, including more ships taking tourists through the Northwest Passage. Beyond addressing sovereignty issues immediately, there is an urgent need for environmental management programs and safety measures to protect tourists who have likely never had to deal with the realities of Arctic life. Management and protection of Arctic wildlife will need new attention, as tourists, wildlife and fish all interact.

Hudson Bay opportunities will grow, despite past difficulties such as the grain terminal at Churchill. However, considerable research and planning will be needed to be ready to take advantage of these new opportunities.

Ground access to Churchill is critical if the port is to function effectively. At present, air is the only sure access. The existing rail line was constructed on large areas of permafrost, which is now in the process of softening as the result of the climate warming. The rail line or road will need to be surveyed in the context of this recent phenomena, to locate a viable route and appropriate construction techniques to permit long-term access at reasonable cost.

Not only will the Hudson Bay and straits be open for a longer shipping season, there will soon be open water through the Northwest Passage that will accommodate ships carrying export goods from the Prairies, accessing the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic and Arctic.

Climate change research suggests that, by 2030, most of these factors will have reached the point where the North will be an entirely new economic and social order.

The required environmental, social and physical infrastructure needs to be planned and established in the short term if the True North, strong and free is to remain so through the 21st century.

Jim Collinson is a consultant who focuses on connections among environment and economy and a particular interest in climate change. He held senior positions in the Manitoba and federal governments and was chairman of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 12/06/2017 (1977 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Even in an age of political and electoral upsets, Thursdays U.K. election contained so many shocks that commentators ran out of superlatives. Historic Conservative losses and Labour gains, the setback to Scottish independence, the demise of Hard Brexit and a triumphal result for Sinn Fein were topped off by the humiliating spectacle of a minority Conservative government relying on a bigoted Unionist rump in Northern Ireland.

These outcomes are not random, but are the maturation of historic problems of the U.K. state. The key lies in the Tory party itself, whose vote share has been declining since the 1970s. For the third time in as many years, the Conservative leadership gambled to shore it up: David Camerons promise of a Brexit referendum to secure his 2015 victory, the referendum itself and Theresa Mays snap election.

The first gamble seemed to work, but appearances were deceptive. Cameron would have been well advised to shelve his referendum promise quietly. Instead, breezily assuming that Remain would win hands down, he held the vote and Remain lost (Brexit earthquake has many ruptures, Winnipeg Free Press, July 2, 2016). Cameron then departed and, with key leadership figures discredited thanks to the Tories mounting internal divisions in the wake of the shocking referendum result, the party was scraping the bottom of the barrel for leadership candidates when May surfaced.

JONATHAN BRADY / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Prime Minister Theresa Mays gamble in calling an early election backfired spectacularly as her Conservative Party lost its majority in Parliament, throwing British politics into chaos.

After less than a year in office, she called the snap election she had hitherto denied would ever happen, allegedly because she wanted a stronger hand in the upcoming Brexit negotiations. In reality, it was because a 17-seat majority gave too much power to her opponents in the party. She also hoped to profit from the war that a Blairite-influenced Labour caucus had been waging against Jeremy Corbyn, elected leader in 2015 and to the left of many of his MPs. In these conditions, May thought she could dispatch Labour to the dustbin of history once and for all.

The insecurity and desire for control that led to her gamble worked against her and her party during the campaign. She appeared robotic and unresponsive and refused to take part in the usual leaders debates on TV or engage in much door-to-door canvassing. The Tory manifesto, clearly drafted with little or no inner party consultation, was disastrously ill-conceived and led to U-turns on critical parts of the platform. Her attempt to use the tragic terrorist attacks that occurred during the campaign against Corbyn backfired.

Rather than the 100-seat majority she expected, the election turned a 17-seat majority into an eight-seat deficit. Having taken a hard stand in favour of Brexit for its electoral dividends, she found her party was not the only beneficiary of the collapse of the UKIP vote: Labour benefited, too. Moreover, her manifesto, with its austerity policies and its infamous dementia tax, turned off the young and old alike, leading to losses of heritage Conservative seats such as Canterbury in the southeast, the south coast and the home counties.

Mays Tory party came across not as strong and stable, but rather as weak and wobbly. The contrast with Corbyns campaign could not have been greater. Corbyns team set its own terms, refusing her focus on Brexit and shifting it to the sort of society and economy Britons want. The results could not have vindicated him more.

Labour issued a powerful and convincing anti-austerity manifesto, with well-costed promises to restore key services and benefits, abolish tuition fees that had been indebting students since the Blairite years, nationalize (yes, you read that right) the rail services and initiate a program of public investment in the economy and infrastructure to remedy bottlenecks and create jobs.

Labour kept its core northern constituencies, including the leavers whom May hoped to win by championing a Hard Brexit. To this core, Labour added seats in the major metros, in the university towns and cities and in key Tory strongholds and regained traditional Scottish seats it had lost to a left-leaning SNP in 2015 (Scots tired of austerity, Winnipeg Free Press, May 9, 2015). The result was a historically unprecedented 10 per cent rise in Labours vote share. While even the most sympathetic polls had put at least five per cent between Labour and the Conservatives, the eventual difference was half that.

Having lost their second wager, the Tories must now rule with the help of the Democratic Unionist Party. Its price will not only include the inevitable public largesse in Northern Ireland but also the restoration of bygone settler privileges that provide its historic electoral base, exacerbating the growing crisis of Irish government on both sides of the border. And it will include a softening of the terms of Brexit.

UKIPs Nigel Farage, retired from politics after the Brexit result, has already announced his return to the fray to menace the Tory base. The now much more complex and fraught Brexit negotiations will test Mays unbending personality sorely. Given the unpopularity of austerity and the irrelevance of Hard Brexit, it is anyones guess how Tory fortunes might be revived.

That is why Corbyns move in declaring Labour ready to serve as a minority government is well advised. It may be more a question of when, rather than if, the May government falters and a nation, tired of electoral exercises, turns to Corbyns Labour. That will mark the first time in modern history that a seriously left-wing government has come to power in a major advanced capitalist country.

Radhika Desai is a professor in the University of Manitobas department of political studies and director of the Geopolitical Economy Research Group. Alan Freeman is a research affiliate in the faculty of arts and research director of the Geopolitical Economy Research Group.
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 12/06/2017 (1977 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Its an oasis of protective calm in a desert of overheated fake news dust storms.

Last week, the federal Liberal government confirmed it will support Bill S-231, which affords enhanced protection to journalists seeking to shield the identities of confidential sources. It might not result in many changes in the way Canadian news media operate or are perceived by the public, but the fact that legislation that supports independent journalism is receiving all-party support in this country seems positively sane in the broader current media-hostile environment.

Bill S-231, the Journalistic Sources Protection Act, was tabled last fall by Conservative Sen. Claude Carignan in response to efforts by police in Quebec to obtain warrants for the telephone records of eight journalists, some dating back as far as five years, during an investigation of internal information leaks. The bill was also intended to address the plight of a Vice News reporter who was ordered by RCMP to turn over information related to conversations with a Canadian with ties to the Islamic State group.

Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press Files Sen. Claude Carignan

The bill, which is expected to receive only technical amendments before being passed in the House of Commons, will not exempt journalists from police efforts to obtain and execute search warrants, but it would impose a higher level of scrutiny on law enforcement agencies seeking such warrants.

In introducing the bill last November, Mr. Carignan asserted that confidential sources are essential to the work of journalists  a stark contrast to the fast-unravelling situation south of the border, where the Trump administration is besieged almost daily by anonymously sourced reports of White House misdeeds and the president has taken to shouting fake news! both out loud and in all-caps Twitter tirades at any mainstream news outlet publishing critical stories or seeking to expose details of his administrations alleged collusion with Russia during the 2016 U.S. election.

Ironically, its information provided by confidential sources that has pushed forward the American medias coverage of the deepening scandal involving Russian influence in the U.S. electoral process. Mr. Trump and his supporters have been more concerned with rooting out leakers and stemming the flow of anonymously sourced reports than with finding the truth about Russias role in the 2016 election and the ongoing threat such meddlng poses to Americas democratic institutions.

As mainstream media pundits make more frequent comparisons between the Trump-Russia connection and the Watergate scandal that led to the impeachment of then-president Richard Nixon, the fractured relationship between U.S. politics and the American media can only continue its rapid disintegration. Mr. Trump might finally be undone by the fruits of investigative reporting, or perhaps hell triumph in his autocratic quest to silence the free press once and for all. The most likely outcome, however, resides in a rancorously uncomfortable middle ground.

Back home in quaint ol Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau famously once snapped at a Liberal supporter who heckled a reporter, stating that we have respect for journalists in this country; they ask tough questions, and theyre supposed to. It may have been, in part, pandering by a PM seeking to portray himself as media-friendly and selfie-gen cool, but the fact that his government is poised to quickly pass Bill S-231 suggests theres still a place in this country for journalists to ply their trade without being dismissed as false or fake.

Its a welcome bit of shelter in otherwise stormy times.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 10/06/2017 (1979 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Youre in the intensive care unit to withdraw ventilatory support. The dying person is most likely unconscious.

You lean in, take the tube from their throat and quiet the machine forcing air in and out of their lungs. You wait.

Dr. Kim Wiebe was chosen to lead Manitobas medical assistance in dying team in part due to her extensive experience in critical care. (Phil Hossack / Winnipeg Free Press)

That moment is the closest anything in Dr. Kim Wiebes medical career has come to preparing her for what she does now: help people who want to die, die. And yet still, she says softly, theres no real comparison.

In one room, the outcome is uncertain: you unhook the machine and the person lives or doesnt. You dont get to choose. In the other, she says, death is foreseeable, a deliberate act.

Immediately before Wiebe administers the first of three medications that will put a person to sleep and stop their heart, she asks  again  if they are absolutely certain they are ready to die. They say yes, and she administers the drugs.

The patient is very much in control, she says. For the doctor theres rare certainty: You know that the persons going to die.

Their eyes close, their heart stops.

  

By the time the Supreme Court struck down Canadas ban on physician-assisted dying on Feb. 6, 2015, Wiebe had been following the debate with only peripheral interest.

As an intensive care unit doctor in Winnipeg, shed seen plenty of end-of-life care. She had such an affinity for the work, shed gone back to do a second medical residency in palliative care. She followed the news and thought assisted dying was an important option for people to have, but didnt give it much more attention.

Assisted dying by the numbers Note that each province reports, tracks and releases data pertaining to assisted dying slightly differently. British Columbia: 338 assisted deaths as of March 31. Eight occurred before federal legislation went into effect on June 17, 2016. Alberta: 143 assisted deaths as of May 29. Six occurred before federal legislation went into effect on June 17, 2016. Saskatchewan: 21 assisted deaths as of March 31. Manitoba: 46 assisted deaths as of June 1. Ontario: More than 400 assisted deaths as of May 1. Quebec: Assisted-death legislation was implemented before the federal government acted, giving Quebecers access to the service beginning in December 2015. Since then, there have been at least 450 assisted deaths. New Brunswick: 17 assisted deaths as of March 31; at that time there had been 31 official written requests, none of which had been rejected. Nova Scotia: 31 assisted deaths as of March 31; 67 requests. Prince Edward Island: Zero assisted deaths as of April 27. At that time, Health PEI noted, there has been at least one, but fewer than five, requests. Newfoundland: Nine assisted deaths as of April 28; 13 requests. The numbers could be higher; reporting on assisted dying in the province is currently voluntary. Yukon: Statistical information not available due to privacy concerns. Northwest Territories: Statistical information not available due to privacy concerns. Nunavut: Statistical information not available due to privacy concerns.

She wouldnt until later that year, when the Winnipeg Regional Health Authoritys chief medical officer, Dr. Brock Wright, asked her to serve as the ICU representative on an advisory panel that would help shape Manitobans access to medical assistance in dying.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court had suspended its decision for one year to allow governments time to respond. Although the suspension was extended until June 6 last year, Manitoba  like all the other provinces and territories  needed a plan. Especially since, in the interim, people seeking relief through death could apply via the courts.

That was the urgency, Wright says. It was January 2016 and the question was, How do we quickly develop a capacity in Manitoba to provide medical assistance in dying if as early as February we were directed to by a court order?

Wright, who was chairing the provincial medical leadership council at the time, gathered the group at the governments request. He was given a few names of senior officials from the regional health authorities, but he reached out as well to the provincial medical colleges. He knew the involvement of the colleges of nurses, physicians and pharmacists would be crucial to creating a comprehensive program.

At that first meeting, Wright had a thought. What if the advisory panel formed a clinical team? What if they actually helped people die?

There was anxiety around the whole idea of medical assistance in dying and what are we allowed to do and what arent we, he says. Creating a team, he felt, would set the standard, create provincial experts in the field.

It would prove a unique approach. No other province or territory would rely on one travelling team to offer the service.

Still, it wasnt what Wiebe had gone to the meeting expecting.

Its one thing to support the right, she says, but its another to actually, actively help somebody.

Everyone in that room took time to think before saying yes, Wiebe says. She thinks almost all of them came to the same conclusion: (It) was here, it was going to happen regardless, and if it was going to happen we wanted to do it to the best level.

At the start, the team was kept fairly small: three doctors, two nurses, two social workers and two pharmacists. Wright picked Wiebe to lead it. She was kind, caring and organized, he says, with extensive critical care experience and the kind of leadership tenacity he felt would propel the team forward.

They had their first request for assisted dying at their second meeting. It was February 2016. Since then, the demand has only grown, and the team with it.

But the team has kept a fairly low profile over the last year. Wright says they didnt know how the public would react and were worried about peoples safety.

Slowly, he says, Wiebe has become more comfortable going public with her own role as team lead. Still, it has always been Wright speaking to the media about assisted dying in Manitoba.

This is Wiebes first interview. Its her first time speaking about the team, its dynamics and how challenging, yet fulfilling, it is to help someone who wants to die.

  

Every so often, Cheri Frazer teaches advanced care planning in the community classroom at Winnipegs McNally Robinson bookshop.

What do you want to happen if you get sick or diagnosed with a terminal illness, if youre close to dying? Shell help people sketch out a health directive and sometimes, after the class, theyll approach her with a favour.

Conversations around faith At least six faith-based health-care institutions across the province have made it clear they wont allow assisted dying on their premises. But Winnipeg Regional Health Authority chief medical officer Dr. Brock Wright says conversations about what they will allow are ongoing. Wright says discussions are underway to determine which, if any, of the required steps patients must go through  inquiry, medical-chart review, two independent assessments, a 10-day reflection period  before their assisted death request can be approved, could in faith-based facilities. The question, he says, is during that assessment period that would involve our team, does the faith-based institution or that faith look at that as contributing towards medical assistance in dying? In other words, do the institutions see the process during which a patient is ruled admissible or inadmissible for the service as being complicit in ending a persons life? So far, Wright says, the discussions have been very respectful. Still, the organization Dying with Dignity is adamant they shouldnt even be necessary. I think if an institution receives public funding then it doesnt have the right to limit a Canadians access to legal services, says Cheri Frazer, an institution doesnt have values. That discussion is likely only going to get more heated in the near future considering the provincial government introduced Bill 34, the Medical Assistance in Dying (Protection for Health Professionals and Others) Act, last month. While Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen said it would ensure medical professionals are not disciplined for their beliefs, Dying with Dignity sees such bills as a Trojan horse to try to suppress assisted-dying access. In an email, a spokesman for the non-profit said many of the groups supporting conscience rights protected in Bill 34 and others are the same groups waging legal battles against patients right to referral for assisted dying. Its not that we dont think that conscience rights are legitimate, or that these groups arent sincere in their work to have those rights protected, he wrote, Its just that we dont believe their objectives stop there. Late last year, several Manitoba hospitals made it clear they had no intention of offering the service, including St. Boniface General Hospital and other medical care facilities under the Catholic Health Corp. of Manitoba umbrella, including St. Josephs residence in northwest Winnipeg, Ste. Rose General Hospital near Dauphin, and Winnipegosis and District Health Centre. Mennonite-affiliated Concordia Hospital and Archdiocese of Winnipeg-affiliated Misericordia Health Centre also said they would not provide assisted dying. Concordia even took out an ad outlining its position.

They want to die or, at least, to write up a directive that stipulates no intervention if they begin to lose control of automatic bodily functions because of a disease like Multiple System Atrophy or if they start to forget their family and friends as dementia ravages their brain.

But  and here is where they often stumble  their family either doesnt agree or gets so upset at the mere mention of such a directive that the conversation stalls. They ask Frazer, a co-ordinator with Winnipegs Dying with Dignity chapter, would she help them talk to their family?

Frazer has found one explanation that resonates most.

Imagine youre called to the hospital, she tells them, and theres been a horrible accident.

The way that we express love is by saying do everything you can, but that isnt necessarily how the patient wants to be treated, she says. If the patients quality of life has already started to erode and they really dont want to be lingering, they dont want that intervention, then its a cruelty rather than an expression of love.

Frazer has been a key element in Dying with Dignitys Winnipeg chapter for several years. The non-profit pushed nationally to decriminalize physician-assisted dying and now works to ensure equitable access.

Frazer interacts often with Manitobas team, either by helping connect people or serving as a witness when they sign their name to the form stipulating, unequivocally, they know they are asking to die and they want to end their life.

Sometimes it takes a toll, she admits, but then the practical kicks in and, for the most part, people are just so grateful that youre there, that they have someone to help them.

But, no two deaths are the same.

The parameters are  a medical-chart review, a written request in front of two witnesses, two independent assessments, a legal form followed by a 10-day reflection period  but thats where similarities end.

For Wiebe and her team to feel comfortable performing assisted dying, they have to almost become experts in another persons unbearable pain. On average, they spend a month or so getting to know someone, although that time period lengthens if a person has an auspicious death date in mind.

A nurse will field the initial inquiry and review the persons medical chart, making sure they meet the current federal requirements for medical assistance in dying:

they must be at least 18 years old;

they have to have an illness, disease or disability that is serious and incurable;

their suffering  physical or psychological  must be intolerable;

they must be in an advanced state of irreversible decline; and

their death must be reasonably foreseeable.

A doctor, a nurse and a social worker from the team will do the first assessment, Wiebe says, while a different doctor, nurse and social worker will do the second.

Social workers have proven essential, she says, not just for the support they can provide the person who wants to die but also the support they can offer to close family and friends throughout the process and after the death.

Their presence is part of what makes Manitobas team so unique. While other provinces have co-ordination services  matchmaking is how Wiebe describes it  to connect a person who wants to die with someone who will help them, the Manitoba team comes equipped. Theres no need to provide phone numbers and introductions to other willing professionals; everyone is on hand.

Dr. Brock Wright, Winnipeg Regional Health Authoritys chief medical officer, believes creating a team will lead to developing provincial experts in the field. (Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press)

Many of the Manitoba requests come from people already enrolled in some form of palliative care, Wiebe says, so the in-person assessments are really an opportunity to see whether there is some way they can improve a persons care.

Neither the doctor, nurse nor social worker present for the assessment will mince words. We ask, Wiebe says, If we could change this about your situation, would it change your mind about assisted dying?

The questions arent asked to force someone to live or, conversely, to encourage them to pursue a more immediate, controlled death. The team considers itself neutral.

Members dont advocate and they dont critique; its just a service, albeit a very emotional one.

The only way it feels right is to really identify with how theyre suffering, Wiebe says, and because we connect with people, its sad when they die. You know its the right thing for them, but theres still emotion there.

For that reason, and a few others, there have been numerous headlines declaring doctors across the country have asked to be removed from official lists of assisted-dying providers.

Wiebe has a possible explanation: its because theyre alone, doing it by themselves.

I couldnt imagine doing it solo, she says. Theres concern and anxiety I dont think any of us could have done it without the team, without being part of a team.

  

One night each week, Wiebes team meets to talk about the people whove died.

There have been 46 people between June 17, 2016  when federal legislation came into force  and June 1st, although the team currently has 22 active cases and 51 inquiries still to sort through.

In nearly a year, theyve turned down 49 requests and seen 69 people die either before they could offer the service or because they chose to opt out.

Some people die in hospital, while other people die at home. Its been a fairly even mix, Wiebe says.

As the number of requests grows, so too has the teams ranks.

There are nine doctors  three are bilingual  mostly family physicians, although one works in anesthesia and Wiebe works in critical care and palliative care. While six work in Winnipeg, three are in rural areas.

The team recently added a third nurse; two of them work part time, the other is full time.

There are four social workers and two pharmacists. There is also a speech language pathologist, hired when the need presented itself, and the team is working on adding an educational co-ordinator.

They meet and they talk, an informal, much-needed debrief.

At the beginning, Wiebe says, everyone felt like they were providing an important service. But the more they helped people die, the more their sense of whether it was fine that they felt fine about the deaths became fuzzy.

Twice, Wiebe says, outside psychologists have come in to help them. It was the first one, she says, that really helped her recognize that its OK to feel OK about this work. The plan now is to have a psychologist come in every few months to consult with the team.

Only one person has stepped away so far, Wiebe says, but that had more to do with family commitments.

Everybody on the team is very conscientiously participating, she says.

  

Sometimes Sherry Marginet will have a focal seizure in the kitchen of her Winnipeg home. Shell switch off the stove and slide to the floor and wait for it to pass.

Her husband and two adult sons have become accustomed to these moments. She has epilepsy and the entire right half of her body was paralyzed during brain surgery when she was 11. She wears fancy electronics that shocks her right leg to help her walk. Shes being treated for depression.

Little struggles is how Marginet characterizes her circumstances. As the other co-ordinator at Dying with Dignity in Winnipeg, shes well aware that people struggle with more extreme, more debilitating issues. But in the same breath, she knows, this is the best Im going to be.

Sherry Marginet, with Dying with Dignitys Winnipeg branch, has epilepsy. She wants options when things get worse, for herself and for others. (Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press)

Marginet wants options when it gets worse, for herself and for others. She has an advanced health directive and her boys know: no heroics.

Its interesting, she notes, to see people so opposed to assisted dying completely change their mind when a loved one falls ill, when theyre suddenly desperate to ease someones suffering.

But even now, a year after the federal legislation went into effect, the process is mired in uncertainty, and stories about barriers to access persist.

Federally, the Council of Canadian Academies is currently undertaking reviews of assisted dying at the request of the government. In addition to doctors asking to be removed from registries, at Dying with Dignity, Marginet hears stories from people whose doctors refused to even provide a referral.

Even the Manitoba bill that would see protection for health-care professionals who dont want to provide the service is inadequate, Marginet says.

And there are concerns about adequate protection for the people who want to provide it.

The uncertainty and hesitation around assisted dying is part of why Frazer and Marginet see the provincial assisted dying team as uniquely beneficial here in the Prairies. Parts of southern Manitoba  sometimes referred to as the Bible Belt  are deeply conservative and religious. Now, Marginet says, imagine a rural doctor whose practice is comprised largely of people vehemently opposed to assisted dying.

If a doctor said, yeah, Ill do it, they could lose a good portion of their patient base, she says. Theres stigma in small towns.

The assisted-dying challenge In late May, the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association announced it had added a new plaintiff to its fight against federal assisted dying legislation. The BCCLA, whose landmark 2015 case forced the government to introduce legislation, has been waging another legal battle for nearly a year now challenging the constitutionality of the federal provision that to access assisted dying a persons death must be reasonably foreseeable. That leaves many people suffering intolerably in indefinite pain, the BCCLA argues. It added Robyn Moro, a 68-year-old grandmother diagnosed in retirement with Parkinsons disease, to its challenge. The BCCLA argues that under current federal legislation, Moro doesnt qualify despite her desire to die. I have so much pain every day, and I know my Parkinsons will only continue to get worse. I know what my future holds and I dont want to endure it, shes quoted as saying in a release, I want to be able to die peacefully, with my family by my side.

Dr. Jeff Blackmer, the Canadian Medical Associations vice-president of professionalism, says he doesnt think rural doctors are concerned as much with losing their patients. If anything, he says, its more than likely the doctors share similar values with most of their patients.

What I hear are doctors who say, Look, I dont want to do it because of my moral views and I have a lot of patients in my practice who hold those same moral views and its important to them to be with a doctor that feels the same way as they do.

That, coupled with anecdotal stories about physicians backing away from providing assisted dying, is part of why Blackmer thinks the Manitoba model seems to be working well.

Each province, he notes, is trying to find a model that works based on its own population and geography. Most provinces have some form of a co-ordination service to connect patients with providers, while some larger cities and hospitals have their own teams.

Besides providing built-in support for providers of assisted dying, Blackmer says the team model has another key advantage: It does really help with making sure that physicians conscience rights can be respected and, at the same time, making sure that access isnt an issue.

And if the numbers are any indication, more Manitobans are seeking assisted death. The team has fielded roughly 200 inquiries in the last year, about half of them in recent months.

Doctors, nurses and social workers will continue being added to the team as necessary, Wright says. Weve had more referrals this year than we had last year, but where that will level off, I have no idea.

The requests, when they come, are diverse in origin. Wiebe meets people in palliative care, but is careful to note that assisted dying isnt a subset of a specialty that tries to make dying as comfortable an experience as possible, even though death is foreseeable in both cases.

Shes met people on surgical wards, in gynecology and oncology. Assisted dying is somewhat amorphous.

To me, Wiebe says, assisted dying belongs nowhere and everywhere.

jane.gerster@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @Jane_Gerster
Yinliu Krueger started learning English from cartoons and childrens books. Today, thanks to help from a volunteer tutor, Krueger is a high school graduate.

A native of China, Krueger got help from Baraboo Area Literacy Council tutor Erin Wilson in gaining the mastery of English she needed to earn a general educational development certificate. It took the mother of two and St. Clare Meadows Care Center employee several years to get her GED, but she would happily repeat the experience.

I wanted to have it, she said. I wanted to have a goal for myself.

Literacy Council tutors work with adults trying to build basic reading skills. Like Krueger, many are learning English as a second language. She worked with Wilson weekly to improve her language skills.

English is not an easy language, I can tell you, Krueger said.

She waited a year for an available tutor. Literacy Council board member and Baraboo Public Library Director Meg Allen said the waiting list is down to only a few names now, but more volunteer tutors are needed to meet demand.

Literacy Council President Anna Krause said most tutors help adults learn English as a second language. They also help students understand official documents and assist them with daily tasks like banking. They get 10-12 hours of training before being matched with a student. Tutors can play a really important role, Krause said.

The library offers tutors and students a meeting place and reading materials. The librarys such a perfect touchpoint for students, Allen said. Its a great complement to the work we do here.

Krueger finished high school at her village in China, but the school had no records to document that she graduated. She sought a GED to improve her communication skills and advance professionally. After earning her GED, Krueger went on to pass a certified nursing assistant exam. Once relegated to St. Clare Meadows kitchen, she is now taking on nursing assistant duties.

Erin helped me step by step, Krueger said. Im still learning.

Krueger came to Baraboo after meeting husband Jim online. At first they spoke through an interpreter, but over time she learned enough English to carry on conversations. She began studying in earnest in 2008.

Once she decided to pursue a GED, Krueger found she could pass the math component easily. But she needed better language skills to pass English. She turned to the Literacy Council.

In addition to weekly sessions with Wilson, she attended two GED classes each week through MATC in Reedsburg. After three years of studying, she earned the certificate last year. Along the way, she saw her daily conversational skills grow.

Its worth it, she said. Thats why you push yourself.

Krueger is 36. Allen said helping students connect with tutors is part of the librarys mission to foster lifelong learning.

I think its really important to help people who want help, Krause said, noting that many adults looking for tutoring need better language skills to realize the American dream of prosperity.

Thats why theyre here, she said. Many of these people are well educated, but they have to take entry-level positions.

Krueger is a rare example of a student who set out to earn a diploma, but she shares with others in the Literacy Council tutoring program a desire to improve her life. Every day you have to learn, Krueger said, noting that her education isnt done yet. Shes considering studying nursing or massage therapy in hopes of continuing her professional development.

I think I could do anything, Krueger said.
Rather than mourn the closing of the Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Circus, those attending Sundays Circus of Chefs gala chose to celebrate Circus World Museums increasingly important role in preserving the art forms legacy.

Hundreds of circus fans filled the W.W. Deppe Wagon Pavilion for the 14th annual gala. While sampling food and drink provided by Wisconsin restaurants, breweries and winemakers, attendees bid on auction items and enjoyed a 1970s-themed performance.

Host Kyle Cherek of PBS Wisconsin Foodie said Circus Worlds mission to protect the art form became even more critical once Ringling Brothers stopped touring this spring.

I cant tell you how invaluable an institution like this is to who we are as Americans, Cherek said.

His grandfather was a Hungarian refugee and master woodcarver who worked on wagons that now are part of Circus Worlds collection. This is a repository of American history that cant be remade, Cherek said.

Circus World Executive Director Scott ODonnell noted that the Ringling Brothers brand predates such American institutions as Coca-Cola and the Kentucky Derby. And it started right here in Baraboo, he said.

Expanded state support and control of the historic site will secure the institutions future, said John Lloyd. Hes president of the nonprofit Circus World Museum Foundation, the museums longtime operator. Circus World is set to receive more than $1 million in state funding over the next two years and transfer control of operations to the Wisconsin Historical Society, which already owns the property.

This is going to be, I think, a wonderful addition to the support Circus World will be receiving in the future, Lloyd said.

Judges bestowed awards on several of the 34 restaurants, wineries and breweries participating Sunday. Winners were Double Cut of Wisconsin Dells for its table presentation and appetizers, Driftless Glen Distillery of Baraboo for its entree, Lilianas Restaurant of Fitchburg for its dessert, Potosi Brewing for its beer and Wollersheim Winery of Prairie du Sac for its wine.

The gala has been critical to the Foundations ability to operate the museum. Proceeds from the event make up about 20 percent of the museums annual budget. Last years gala attracted between 550 and 600 guests and raised about $175,000.

Lloyd said the event will continue even after the state takes over operations. Well be back next year, he said.
Any more hearings of the House or Senate Intelligence Committee are a waste of time. James Comeys already said it all.

It makes you wonder: Whos the genius who told Donald Trump it was a good idea to fire Comey? That was the dumbest presidential move since Nixon fired Archibald Cox, with equally bad results: one whole month of negative publicity; the appointment of a special prosecutor; and Comeys jaw-dropping testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday  which, now that Comeys a free man, Trump could do nothing to prevent.

In a brilliant move, knowing that Trump might use Twitter to misrepresent his testimony, Comey launched a preemptive strike, in effect out-Trumping Trump, by releasing his opening statement 24 hours ahead of the Senate hearing. Read it. Its only seven pages long. But its irrefutable and brutal, detailing  as memorialized in notes Comey made after each meeting with Trump  everything he did to derail or deride the Russian investigation.

On Jan. 27, over dinner in the Green Room, the president asked Comey if he wanted to stay on the job and made it clear what he expected in return: I need loyalty. I expect loyalty. When Comey demurred, promising honesty, but not loyalty, Trump insisted: Thats what I want, honest loyalty. Loyalty to him, in other words, not the law.

On Feb. 14, in a meeting in the Oval Office, the president pressured Comey to drop his investigation of Michael Flynn. He is a good guy and has been through a lot, Trump said of Flynn, whom he had fired just one day earlier. I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go, Trump persisted. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go. As Comey testified, he took that as a directive from the president of the United States to end the investigation. How could he not?

On March 30, the president called Comey to ask what he could do to lift the cloud of the Russian investigation and to complain about Comeys testimony the previous week to the Senate Intelligence Committee, in which he revealed the ongoing FBI probe into possible collusion between the Trump team and Russian officials to undermine the 2016 presidential election.

On April 11, the president called Comey yet again to ask him to get out word that Trump himself was not subject of the investigation. As Comey testified, this was the third time he gave the president that assurance, but only because Trump was not under investigation at that time.

Comey explained he was reluctant to do what Trump asked  announce publicly that Trump was not a target  because, the investigation, just getting underway, might very well lead to Trump, which would create a duty to correct.

In three years as director of the FBI under President Obama, Comey only spoke to the president twice. In four months, he had nine one-on-one conversations with President Trump  three in person, six on the phone  none of which he initiated, but the nature of which, Comey believed, violated the tradition of independence from the White House normally accorded the FBI.

Those conversations with Trump made Comey so uncomfortable that he told the attorney general he never wanted to be alone with the president again; and he wrote a detailed memo about each exchange, starting with their very first meeting Jan. 6 at Trump Tower. Why? Because, Comey told senators, I felt he might lie about the nature of our meeting.

As reported by the Washington Post, before firing Comey, Trump also asked Dan Coats, director of National Intelligence, to encourage Comey to drop the Russia investigation  which Coats, in his own testimony, refused to confirm or deny.

Bottom line: On multiple occasions, in many ways, Donald Trump tried to shut down a criminal investigation of members of his own administration, and perhaps himself. That clearly was his intent. And, by any definition, that is clearly obstruction of justice.

With Comeys testimony, the entire focus of the investigation has shifted from whether the Trump team colluded with Russians to whether the president obstructed justice. There is no doubt what should happen next.

Based on Comeys opening statement alone, they might as well shut down the House and Senate Intelligence committees and start impeachment hearings right away.
The 2017 US Open runs through Sunday at Erin Hills, which is less than a mile from the Dodge County line.

The event will affect traffic flows in Dodge County as 40,000 fans and workers gather daily.

From 5 a.m. through 9 p.m., each day of the event, traffic on County Highway O will be closed to all traffic which does not have a pass to access the area. As a result, traffic will be detoured north on County Highway P to State Highway 60, east to the Hartford, then south on State Highway 83 and vice versa.

Traffic will be highly controlled in the area by the Wisconsin State Patrol. The Dodge County Sheriffs Office will have extra deputies assigned to the area.

Please be patient and cautious if travelling in the area during the event and avoiding the area unless necessary would be helpful.
Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading.

Catch the latest in Opinion Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly! Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy
A 150-year-old, Bears-eye-view painting of an Upper Dells river scene has returned to its birthplace  and at least a few local, history-minded residents hope the painting could be here to stay.

The painting, by Henry Bear (or Heinrich) Vianden, is now on display at the H.H. Bennett Studio, and it will be free for the viewing June 17  as will a talk by the paintings present owner, who recently lent the painting to the Dells historic site and attraction.

Tom Lidtke, former Executive Director of the Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend, will give the talk, entitled Viandens Encounter: The Pristine Splendor of the Dells, at 2 p.m. in the studios upstairs Reese Gallery. Admission is free and the public is invited.

The untitled oil painting, which depicts a nearby Upper Dells narrows known by most locals and river rats as the Devils Elbow, represents the first known, non-native image of the river and land giving Wisconsin Dells its name, according to H.H. Bennett Studio Director David Rambow.

The painting is on display hanging from a wall inside the Bennetts first-floor studio exhibit and will continue to hang there all summer, Rambow said.

The German-born Vianden is known as the Father of Wisconsin Art, and his paintings, like the one now hanging at the Bennett, provide the earliest color images of the state of Wisconsin, according to a news release announcing the June 17 event.

The painter came to American in 1849, set off for Wisconsin upon landing and eventually settled in Milwaukee, according to his biography on the Museum of Wisconsin Arts website.

The painter would encourage promising Milwaukee artists to study in Munich, the bio said, and most if not all of the early Wisconsin painting masters were taught by him, Rambow said.

Vianden was fondly called Bear by his friends and was known as the oak tree painter, the bio said. Vianden said that trees were Gods noble creatures.

The thick, unspoiled forest on both sides of a zig-zagging Wisconsin River as it flows toward what would become downtown Wisconsin Dells, punctuated by an tell-tale Upper Dells sandstone formation, highlight the Vianden painting now hanging at the Bennett.
A local resort and non-profit teamed up to provide a Dells experience to those who often miss out.

Assist Wisconsin held its 3rd Annual Waterpark Adventure on May 23 at the Kalahari Resort.

Assist Wisconsins mission is to replace obstacles with opportunities for individuals with disabilities and their families. They seek to share the beauty and excitement of the area with special needs families through inclusive activities and adaptive adventures. The Non-profit organization was founded in 2014.

Many students had a first time experience going on waterslides and doing other water park activities at the Kalahari. Over fifty children participated. The Kalahari Resort has hosted the event for Assist Wisconsin kids for three years and continues to provide the students with opportunities.

This is our third annual Waterpark Adventure, said Assist Wisconsin founder Will Meissner. The day was wonderful. The kids had a great time and we had lots of new volunteers. The Kalahari has been extremely supportive and generous from day one. They are a great partner to have in town.

Robyn Skelton and Tammie Alekna are special education teachers in Adams Friendship and they brought their class of students to join the group of Assist at the Kalahari Resort. The children were elated with all of the water park excitement.

Will is absolutely amazing, Skelton said. He does so much for the students. Our students arent afraid to go on the waterslides because Will and his Assist Wisconsin group go with them. Will plans great events and the students have had so much fun

Assist Wisconsin is always looking for volunteers. For more information visit www.assistwi.org.
How to clean up SA Inc

[WATCH] Lumkile Mondi says the country urgently needs moral leadership that speaks to the values of the Constitution.

While investigative journalism teams such as amaBhungane and Scorpio are busy scrutinizing thousands of #GuptaLeaks emails and connecting the dots on state capture for South Africans, the country is also facing a second recession in only eight years.

How do the country and the ANC begin to clean up the network of patronage and cut off the tentacles of state capture?

CNBCAfricas MoneyMakers, presented by Bruce Whitfield, spoke to Lumkile Mondi, Senior Lecturer in the School of Economic and Business Sciences at Wits University, about the countrys current woes.

Mondi is also a co-author of Betrayal of The Promise: How South Africa is Being Stolen.
The perversion of palaeontology by apartheids advocates still lingers

The victory of the National Party (NP) in 1948s elections threw palaeontology into a crisis.

In 1925, Jan Smuts was both a prominent politician and an advocate for science. Just after the first of his two terms as prime minister of the Union of South Africa, Smuts served as president of the South African Association for the Advancement of Science. It was in this capacity that he spoke out about Raymond Darts discovery of Australopithecus africanus and his theories about the Taung skull, saying these ideas meant that

South Africa may yet figure as the cradle of mankind, or shall I rather, say, one of the cradles?

He remained in government at the time and actively supported the emerging discipline of palaeontology  not just in speeches but in personalised contacts with the scientists who were birthing it. And so, as Christa Kuljan points out in her new book Darwins Hunch: Science, Race, and the Search for Human Origins, from the beginning of the search for the cradle the role of state support  or lack thereof  was essential to how scientific research was conducted in South Africa.

In the book, Kuljan examines the history of South African palaeoanthropology and genetics research as she tries to make sense of science, race and their links to the hunt for human origins. The hunch she refers to was Darwins idea, from 1871, that humans evolved in Africa. He was later proved right. But for a long time European scientists rejected his thesis.

As an intellectual history of the disciplines of palaeontology and paleoanthropology, Kuljans book is especially adept at narrating the interwoven connections between science and power. There are shortcomings, too; she doesnt really grapple with ideas around identity, and could have explored some scientists bizarre preoccupation with Spiritualism in more depth.

The victory of the National Party (NP) in 1948s elections, as Kuljan shows, threw palaeontology into a crisis. This wasnt only because the effusive support shown by Smuts was lost, but also because the meaning of the word race changed to suit the ideological ambitions of apartheids advocates.

The fate of race

Suspicion and complicity were united under the NPs rule. Religion rather than science was used as the foundation of race thinking. But at the same time individual scientists  paleoanthropologist Phillip Tobias being the most prominent  were repeatedly asked to endorse the existence of race and races.

Tobias behaviour when it came to race was ambiguous.

In 1961 he published a paper titled The Meaning of Race in which he questioned the academic usefulness of the category of race. But at the same time he was leading the Campbell Griqua Expedition which exhumed 35 skeletons of people identified as Griqua. This was one instance of blatant and criminal grave digging by anatomists and paleoanthropologists.

The exhumations reveal a blind spot of the eras paleontologists, like Tobias  one that even Kuljan does not observe. As far as we know the word Griqua is an invention. The people identified by the name are the epitome of hybridity in South Africa. Tobias and his team were looking for pure Koranna and pure Bushman. They were looking at the Bushman once again as the missing link  but thats exactly the opposite of what the Griqua were: from their first appearance on the frontier, they were understood to be a cultural melange of indigenous and enslaved forefathers.

The failure to really dig into the question of Griqua identity is, I think, one of the glaring absences in Kuljans account. She could have simply asked the question: what does it mean to erase hybridity and replace it with purity? By missing this step, the apartheid mania for racial purity is once again left untouched.

Without this acknowledgement of the irrational, science remains rational  even while race seems to derail its assumptions and unhinge even the most talented minds.

The metaphysics of science

This derangement is also evident in the frequency with which believers in the science of Man  author J.M. Coetzees term for the ethnological disciplines  resorted to Spiritualism.

So, Kuljan writes, both John Robinson and Robert Broom  two of South Africas most prominent paleontologists  were members or attended the meetings of the mystically-focused Theosophical Society.

The collision of science and religion caused Robinson to cleave them apart, Kuljan explains, since he saw

science as explaining the material world, but he looked to his spiritual side to explore non-material aspects of the universe (page 127).

He went even further by inviting a clairvoyant from New Zealand, Geoffrey Hodson, to Sterkfontein near Johannesburg to channel the life of the ape-man via fossils. The Sterkfontein caves were quickly becoming the most attractive site for finding fossils. Colloquially, even scientists referred to these fossils as a confirmation of an ancestor who was an ape-man.

Robinson invited Hodson to conjure the life of an ape-man since this was presumed to be the main characteristic of the human ancestor who became known as Australopithecus africanus.

These and other resorts to metaphysics are not as well explored in the book as they could have been.

Its not surprising that as human beings scientists can entertain crystal ball visions and table-tapping seances even while claiming to be materialists. The most enduring legacy of these vacillations is that it has bequeathed to us a rather conflicted image of our hominid ancestors.

African Genesis goes viral

In Kuljans book this conflict revolves around the place of violence in the emergence of homo sapiens. The scientists are not entirely at fault here since it was the sensationalism of Robert Ardreys book African Genesis: A Personal Investigation into the Animal Origins and Nature of Man (1961) that catapulted the fragmentary bones and skulls of southern Africa into a full-blown technicolour picture of a hominid ancestor who was a killer ape.

This reimagined violent ancestor is still with us not only in the continuing endeavour to humanise hominids  the liberal reaction  but also in the visceral attack on the recently discovered Homo naledi by those who think of hominids as apes.

Somewhere in between lies the truth of our ancestors. Kuljans book is a brave attempt to make this search for our ancestry a recuperable enterprise even while the killer ape keeps escaping her scientific confines and invading the imagination of the popular scientist and naysayer.

Hlonipha Mokoena, Associate Professor at the Wits Institute for Social & Economic Research, University of the Witwatersrand. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.




China News on Women





Sorry, the page you requested was not found. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Womenofchina.cn, try visiting the Womenofchina Home page
Planning begins for Swedish encapsulation plant

12 June 2017

Share

Systems design and safety analysis work has begun for a planned encapsulation plant as part of Swedish waste and fuel management company Svensk Karnbranslehantering AB's (SKB) plans for managing the country's radioactive waste.

Copper capsules - like the one shown here - form an important barrier in SKB's method for the safe disposal of used nuclear fuel (Image: Curt-Robert Lindqvist/SKB)



The encapsulation plant - known as Clink - is to be built next to SKB's existing interim storage facility, Clab, at Simpevarp, which is 25 kilometres north of Oskarshamn. The two plants will be operated together as an integrated facility. Swedish nuclear regulator SSM last year expressed a positive opinion of the plans, which are now undergoing licensing reviews.

Construction of Clink, where used nuclear fuel will be encapsulated in copper capsules - could begin in the early 2020s if all SKB's permit applications are approved, SKB CEO Eva Hallden said.

SKB has now commissioned three suppliers - Babcock Noell GmbH (BNG), Sweco Industry and Vattenfall AB - to develop the system engineering and safety work for the encapsulation plant. These will form the basis for further investigations by SSM.

BNG is to work on the encapsulation process, with Sweco working on construction and technical systems, safety and security related systems and safety analysis. Vattenfall will prepare the preliminary safety report. The contracts are worth SEK400 million ($46 million) and the project will take three years.

Sweco said its contract to finalise the plant's plans, design and technical building services and safety, control and power supply systems could be worth over SEK200 million subject to SKB obtaining the necessary authorisations. The Swedish engineering design company will also create system-level requirements and solutions, a preliminary safety report, budget calculations, procurement documentation for suppliers and contractors, and detailed design.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

Related topics
When a Country Changes its Name

Countries around the world have been changing their names throughout history. The reason for these changes vary and may occur after gaining independence, due to a change in political framework, or for purposes of historical accuracy. Sometimes, country name changes are controversial in nature, not widely accepted, or both the previous and current name are used simultaneously. This article takes a closer look at one such case: the name debate between Burma and Myanmar.

Burmese Language Name

The official language of Myanmar, also known as Burma and the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, is Burmese. To understand the root cause of the name confusion, one must first understand the local language. In Burmese, this country is referred to by using one of two names: Myanma or Bama. Both names are also used to refer to the Bamar people, an indigenous group that immigrated to the region in the early 9th century AD and founded the Pagan Kingdom (sometimes known as Bagan Kingdom) in 849.

The term Myanma derives from the original word Mranma; over time the local dialect has changed the 'r' sound to a 'y' sound. According to Burmese language rules, this word is used in writing to refer to the country. The oldest known written record of this word dates back to 1102 AD.

The term Bama, according to proper use of the Burmese language, is used for spoken communication rather than written.

History of Name Changes

Since the Pagan Kingdom, several different dynasties reigned over this country until the Anglo-Burmese Wars, the first of which lasted from 1824 to 1826, the second from 1852 to 1853, and the third in 1885. Great Britain gained control over the area as a result of the wars. As a British colony and province of India, this region was known as Burma and its capital was known as Rangoon.

By the 20th century, a nationalistic movement had evolved and a significant percentage of Burmese citizens wanted independence from Great Britain. As part of this movement, conversations began about what the name of the country should be once independence was achieved. The debate was largely divided between 2 names: Myanma, the name of the previous Burmese kingdom, and Bama, perceived to be more culturally inclusive.

Japan occupied the region during World War II, calling it Bama. This country gained its independence in 1948, 3 years after the end of the war. Its new autonomous government decided to call the region the Union of Burma. Many of the colonial names were changed during this time to take on more traditional Burmese names. Rangoon, for example, became Yangon and remained the capital.

In 1974, the Union of Burma became the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma, in response to the growing Socialist ideology known as the Burmese Way to Socialism. This name lasted until 1988, when its former name was restored. Toward the end of 1988, the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma entered economic crisis, political instability, and social protest. The military responded, establishing martial law and overthrowing the Constitution of 1974. The new military-ruled government renamed the country to the Union of Myanmar in 1989.

Why Was the Name Changed to Myanmar?

The name of this country was only changed in its English form. The Burmese language version of the countrys name remains the same as it was prior to the military regime taking control. The new government offered a number of reasons for changing its English name. These reasons include: Myanmar more closely resembles the Burmese name for the country, Myanma; Myanmar is a more culturally inclusive term, and the English term Burma sounds similar to the colloquial term Bama.

The Controversial Name Change

The English name Myanmar has not been accepted on a global level. Opponents give several reasons for refusing to adopt the new name. The first of these reasons is that many people believe the military regime was not within its authority to change the countrys name. Additionally, the change took place without a public referendum, which would have given the general population a chance to vote on the issue. Since they believe the new regime acted outside of its powers, the new name cannot be valid.

Opponents also suggest that the Myanmar (Myanma) term is not actually more inclusive of the multi-cultural society living within the country. Some of those who oppose this change claim that the term is simply the written version of the same concept as the term Burma. Others argue that many of the minority groups living in the country do not speak Burmese. These individuals have grown accustomed to referring to the country in its English name: Burma. By forcing them to now call the country Myanmar, critics say minorities are forced to use a more Burmese-sounding name. Since Burmese is not their spoken language, it reinforces the idea that the majority Burman ethnic group holds power over minority non-Burman ethnic groups.

Who Uses Burma? Who Uses Myanmar?

Given that this name change is still under strong debate, its use around the world is not uniform. The name change was accepted almost immediately by the United Nations, of which Myanmar is a member. Other governments that recognize the name Myanmar include: Russia, China, India, Germany, and Japan.

Other English-speaking countries continue to call the nation Burma, including: Canada, Australia, the UK, and the US. One of the reasons for this refusal to recognize the English name Myanmar is that it is a show of solidarity with the political party that won the 1990 election. This party, which opposed the name change, was not allowed to take power by the military government.

Various media outlets also tend to use both English names. Several US news sources use the new official name when referring to the country, including: CNN, Reuters, The International Herald Tribune, The New York Times, the Associated Press, and the Wall Street Journal. Some media organizations opt for including both names by saying, Myanmar, also known as Burma. These include: NPR and the Canadian Broadcasting Association. Recently, the BBC has switched to using Myanmar to refer to the country, citing an increased international acceptance of the name.
What Type Of Government Does Botswana Have?

Botswana is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. It adopted its name after attaining her independence within the Commonwealth on September 30, 1966. Since then, Botswana has maintained a strong representative democracy with consistency in a democratic election. The constitution of Botswana is the basis for rule of law and protects the rights of all citizens. The politics of Botswana takes place in the context of a representative democratic republic with the president as the head of both state and government. The country is also a multi-party state with the Botswana Democratic Party dominating party system since independence. The government of Botswana has three main branches; executive, legislative, and judiciary.

The Executive Branch

The executive branch of the government of Botswana consists of the cabinet headed by the president who is elected by the National Assembly to a maximum two five-year terms. The cabinet is responsible for initiating and implementing national policies and the control of government departments and ministries through ministers and civil servants. The president is the commander in chief of the Botswana forces. The powers make several appointments including the cabinet ministers, parastatal heads, ambassadors, judges (upon the advice of the JSC), and other government officials. The president also signs bills into law and can declare war with an external enemy. He or she is in charge of international relations and represents Botswana in international forums.

The Legislative Branch

The legislature comprises of the president and the National Assembly. The National Assembly is made up of 57 elected members and four appointed members. It is expanded every census year which takes place after every ten years. The National Assembly election coincides with the presidential election which takes place every five years. After every election, the party with the majority of seats in parliament elects the president. The elected president then appoints the vice-president who must also be endorsed by the National Assembly. The House of Chiefs which represents the eight subgroups of Botswana people plays an advisory role by proposing and passing bills concerning tribal matters. The National Assembly is mainly concerned with policy-making.

The Judiciary

The Court of Appeal is the highest court in Botswana. It is constituted under section 99 of the countrys constitution. Currently, there are eight Court of Appeal judges who are drawn from different parts of Commonwealth. The High Court is composed of the Chief Justice and several judges as proposed by the parliament. Currently, there are 16 permanent High Court judges. The judges are appointed by the president with the advice from the Judiciary Service Commission. The Magistrate courts are subordinate to the High Court and hear a wide range of criminal and civil cases. Botswana has 19 Magistrate Courts and 50 magistrates of which 17 are expatriates. Although the president appoints the judges, he can only remove them for cause and after a hearing.

The Local Government

Botswana has nine administrative divisions or districts administered by district councils. The District Commissioners, appointed by the central government, have executive authority and are assisted in carrying out local government activities by the elected and nominated district councilors and development committees.
Bulgaria is a European country that was under the Soviet Eastern Bloc during the 20th century Cold War. With the collapse of the Eastern Bloc in 1989, the country adopted a new constitution that had provisions for democratic elections. Bulgaria practices the parliamentary representative democratic system of government where the president is the head of state while the prime minister is the head of government.

The Constitution of Bulgaria

The Constitution is the supreme law in the country and all other laws are created based on its articles. The current constitution is the countrys fourth constitution and was promulgated on July 12th, 1991 and has since been amended five times. Bulgaria adopted its inaugural constitution in 1879 which was also known as the Tarnovo Constitution and adopted the second constitution known as the Dimitrov Constitution which was promulgated in 1947 and was in force until 1971 when it was replaced by the Zhivkov Constitution. All of the previous constitutions of Bulgaria were socialist based.

The President

According to the Constitution of Bulgaria, the president is the head of state who is democratically elected to serve a five-year term. The president is also the Commander in Chief of the Bulgarian armed forces. The primary roles of the president involve foreign relations with the president mandated to be the countrys representative during international meetings and discussions. The president has limited veto power over the legislature where he can return legislation back to parliament to be debated further.

The Executive

The executive branch of government is involved with the administration of the state policy in Bulgaria as well as maintenance of law and order. The executive is made up of the Council of Minister who are led by the prime minister and are all appointed by the National Assembly. The executive is made up of members of the majority party in Parliament with the prime minister being the leader of the largest party in Parliament. The Council of Ministers can be dissolved through a vote of no confidence from the National Assembly. The prime minister serves a four-year term. While in usual cases ministers head respective ministries, there are special circumstances where some ministers are appointed without a portfolio. Upon being elected to become a minister, an individual loses their position as MP.

The Legislature

The legislative arm of government in Bulgaria is the National Assembly which features a unicameral (single-chambered) parliament. The National Assembly is composed of 240 members who are known as deputies and they are all elected by a popular vote to serve four-year terms. The Constitution indicates the roles of the National Assembly as the approving of the national budget, enacting of legislation, ratifying of international agreements and treaties, appointing and dismissing of the prime minister, and the declaration of war. The speaker is the leader of the National Assembly and is elected from the 240 deputies during the inaugural seating of Parliament. The legislature also features the Grand National Assembly, a special legislative branch which only deals with issues pertaining to special jurisdiction such as the adoption of a new constitution or the altering of the national borders.

The Judiciary

The judicial system in Bulgaria features regional courts, district courts as well as an appeal court. The Supreme Judicial Council is the most important organ of the judiciary and is mandated in the organization and administration of the judiciary. The Supreme Judicial Council is also responsible for the selection of the president of the Supreme Court of Cassation who is later appointed by the president.
Where is Indochina?

The term Indochina refers to the mainland region of Southeast Asia. The following countries are considered part of Indochina: Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, and the peninsula of Malaysia. This term, originally known as Indo-China, was developed during the early 1800s and used to refer to the geographical areas under Indian and Chinese cultural influence due to its location between the 2 countries. Between 1887 and 1954, it was used as the name of French Indochina, a French colony that consisted of present-day Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Today, the region is more commonly referred to as Mainland Southeast Asia.

Population of Indochina

The combined population of these countries is over 257 million. The majority of the languages spoken here belong to the Sino-Tibetan language family. This language family represents the second largest language in the world in terms of number of native speakers. In fact, Indochina is often considered the dividing line between Austroasiatic and Sino-Tibetan languages.

As previously mentioned, the culture of this region has largely been shaped by China to the north and India to the south. For example, the cultures of Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Laos have been influenced by the ideas, languages, and people of India, while life in Vietnam has been influenced primarily by Chinese culture. Additionally, Western culture has played a significant role in shaping the lifestyle of this region due to its history of colonialism and imperialism.

Religions practiced throughout Indochina vary greatly depending on the country. In Malaysia, the official religion is Islam and approximately 61.3% of the population identifies as Muslim. In Vietnam, nearly half of the population (45.3%) reports practicing an indigenous religion and another 29.6% claims not to identify with a specific religion. Buddhism is the major religion practiced in Cambodia (96.9%), Myanmar (87.9%), and Thailand (93.2%).

Economy of Indochina

After gaining independence from colonial rule, the governments of Indochina worked toward achieving market-based economies within their respective countries. Economists often cite this region as having accomplished this transition at a faster-than-average rate. One of the reasons for this rapid stabilization is believed to be the geographical position of Indochina; it was able to benefit from the health and growth of nearby Asian economies.

Today, the economies of Indochina rely heavily on agricultural production, particularly the economy of Vietnam. Rice and rubber exports are of significant importance to the area. Additionally, the governments here have moved toward increased industrialization to further diversify the economies and increase international trade opportunities. In fact, both Malaysia and Thailand are now considered newly industrialized nations. Common manufactured goods produced in this region include electronics, textiles, and automobiles.

Another important component to the economy of Indochina is tourism, which makes up a large percentage of the national gross domestic products (GDP) here. UNESCO has promoted the development of tourism in this region, recommending it as a key component to cultural preservation and economic health. While all of the countries within Indochina have worked toward tourism development, Cambodia has achieved the most successful tourism sector. This country has the highest reliance on tourism, which generates approximately 15% of its GDP. This is followed by the tourism sectors of both Laos and Thailand, which each accounted for over 7% of the national GDPs.
Janelle Edwards

By: Tanya Clark WorldWideWeirdNews.com

A young woman in New York, lost her life as a result of her obsession with plastic surgery, according to a report by the New York Daily News.

25-year-old Janelle Edwards of the Bronx, recently flew to the Dominican Republic, where she underwent several procedures, including breast implants, butt enhancement and tummy tuck.

Edwards chose to have the procedures overseas due to the cheaper cost. After the procedures at a clinic in Santo Domingo, Edwards flew back home.

For about a month, Edwards complained about pain in her breasts and stomach. On Thursday around 8:00 p.m., Edwards was found unconscious behind the wheel of her car.

She was rushed to the Montefiore Medical Center, where she was declared dead.

A doctor said that Edwards died of a blood clot that was probably caused by the plastic surgeries she underwent overseas.
RSPCA Cymru Rescue Over 7,600 Animals Across Wales During 2016

This article is old - Published: Monday, Jun 12th, 2017

Thousands of animals across Wales were rescued by RSPCA Cymru last year, new figures have shown.

The charity, which is celebrating RSPCA Week, rescued nearly 21 animals each day throughout 2016. In total RSPCA Cymru rescued 7,642 animals across Wales during the twelve month period.

More animals were collected and rescued by the RSPCA in Wales last year than in 2015  with new statistics also showing the RSPCAs success in utilising non-statutory welfare and improvement notices to prevent animal suffering.

A total of 10,540 complaints of cruelty were received during the year in Wales.

RSPCA Cymru officers issued 7,119 welfare and improvement notices to members of the public, throughout 2016  an increase of 22.95 percent on the previous year.

Animal rescues took RSPCA officers to the most diverse and unpredictable situations in 2016  including:

A kitten trapped on a Pembroke castle wall

A bearded dragon saved from a Monmouthshire doorstep

A sheep rescued from barbed wire on Christmas Day.

New data is included in RSPCA Cymrus new Annual Summary, published this week, which demonstrates the breadth of the charitys work in Wales in protecting animals, and promoting their welfare.

It underlines that, whilst prosecution activity is an important element of the RSPCAs work, it is a very small proportion of the charitys core output.

The charity say the use of improvement notices shows the charitys commitment to educating and working with animal owners, with the report also detailing how teacher training undertaken by the RSPCA in Wales during 2016 has the potential to reach 75,500 children.

Key findings contained within the Annual Summary  launched for RSPCA Week  show that, over 2016, RSPCA Cymru:

Collected and rescued 7,642 animals;

Issued 7,119 welfare and improvement notices;

Received 10,540 complaints of cruelty during the year;

Neutered more than 9,000 animals, including through the work of RSPCA branches;

Delivered teacher training with the potential to reach 75,500 children;

Obtained an estimated 663 media mentions for our animal welfare work

Recognised 15 public sector organisations via the Community Animal Welfare Footprints scheme

Promoted key campaigns to tens of thousands at University Freshers Fayres, high streets, community events, agricultural shows, and Pride Cymru.

Claire Lawson, RSPCA assistant director for external relations, said: With 7,642 animals rescued, 7,119 welfare and improvement notices issued, more than 9,000 pets neutered and over 75,000 children reached in the classroom, 2016 was another incredibly busy year for RSPCA Cymru.

As we mark RSPCA Week once again, it is clear we have much to celebrate across Wales in rescuing, re-homing and rehabilitating animals. Im immensely proud of everything the charity achieved in Wales to better the lives of animals.

Our small team of frontline officers rescued nearly 21 animals each and every day during 2016; whilst a huge surge in the use of welfare and improvement notices outlines our successful commitment to educating and working with animal owners.

Through classrooms, at campaign events, and on the frontline, we worked tirelessly to raise key animal welfare messages; and help protect our fellow creates, whether they be companion, wild or farm animals.

RSPCA Week is an awareness-raising seven days, shining the spotlight on the charity, and highlighting many key animal welfare issues across Wales. It celebrates the whole organisation, including how its component parts and branches work together to help animals plus it coincides with the RSPCAs 193rd birthday.
Amazon workers from across the world have expressed hostility with the way Amazon dishonestly portrays what it is like to work in its plants. The following job listing from a warehouse in the US paints a rosy picture of life as an Amazon worker:

Our fulfillment centers, aka warehouses, are where Amazon orders come to life and where we focus on delighting our customers by delivering smiling boxes filled with everything under the sun, the listing begins. Work is described as a new adventure aimed at bringing smiles to our customers.

Amazon promises prospective employees that were committed to providing one of the safest work environments. This does not match with the reality workers face.

I was there for almost two years but I quit because I was pregnant and I would throw up in the heat, a former worker from Southern California told the International Amazon Workers Voice (IAWV). This would not help my rate and I would get a write-up. But I was in my final trimester and it made me furious that when I got written up, my manager didnt even mention that I was in my final trimester.

The former worker explained: Then, I got a second write-up and I asked if I could appeal. My manager said I could, but that there is no use because theyre going to see it his way. I felt like he was saying, Why bother trying because youre wrong. I got very stressed out over this, and I went into a stage of depression. I had to quit Amazon since it was a cause of part of my stress from pregnancy and I didnt want that to harm my baby.

Amazon also explains that it will help workers pay for college. Well support your educational and career goals with our Career Choice program, the job listing says. But workers know that this only applies if they work more than a year at Amazon. Due to high turnover rates and the companys use of temporary and contract labor, the program is almost entirely for public relations purposes.

One worker from the state of Washington wrote, Amazon is the most miserable place I have ever worked. The company doesnt help with anything. They told me to sign up for school and they said they would help pay tuition, but once I was all signed up they decided to tell me they werent going to help. Many times this company has abused my physical abilities, leaving me drained and miserable every day.

Amazon also claims it is an Equal Opportunity employer. But workers told the IAWV they are targeted because of their age.

One worker in California said, I was let go in 2016 after being told I was too old to work for Amazon. I worked nights for 3 years and transferred to days. They put me in an area I had never worked in before and knew nothing about. I was given approximately an hour and a half of training. I was fired three months later. I had filed a complaint regarding age discrimination prior to being transferred. This was the end result.

The corporation also boasts that workers get paid time off. This also clashes with the reality workers face.

A worker from Northern California said he had physical work restrictions that the company was obligated to follow because of recommendations from the workers doctor:

Over a year after hurting myself, they told me I was not allowed back with a doctors release. I had restrictions from my surgeon that I had to get every 30 days. Finally in June of 2016 they fired me because they couldnt accommodate me. Three years of fighting them to let me work there just for them to fire me. Three years of bending over backwards for them so I could get pennies to help live on with long term disability, with no intention on their part to ever let me back. The work environment is horrible. Morale is next to none. They know they can get people to stay because they never have time to look for work or energy on their days off.

These are the conditions workers face at all Amazon all over the world. Amazons profits come from the exploitation of its workforce, and the corporation will do everything possible to limit meeting workers concerns over health, safety, and the speed of work because to do so would reduce their profit margin. In other words, the interests of the corporation and of its workforce are irreconcilably hostile.

While Amazon possesses a tremendous amount of wealth and is able to use workers individual economic weakness to coerce them, Amazon workers occupy a key position in the world economy, shipping goods all over the world. If they act in international unity to assert their interests against those of the company, they will possess a tremendous strength.

Workers who are abused by the company are not alone. They confront the same problems as their co-workers in every country where Amazon has plants and offices. The primary challenge for Amazon workers is to break the isolation imposed upon them by the corporation by building their own democratic organizationsfactory committeesto link with workers at other warehouses and in other countries in a common, international fight against the corporate dictatorship.

If you are interested in learning more about building or joining a committee in your warehouse, please sign-up for our newsletter below, like us on Facebook, and share the IAWV with your friends and co-workers.
Prime Minister Theresa Mays Conservative government is seeking a confidence and supply agreement with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in an attempt to secure a majority following a disastrous showing in last weeks snap general election.

May called the election to secure a substantial increase to the Tories slim 17-seat majority, but lost 13 seats and ended with a hung parliament. Labour under Jeremy Corbyn won 40 percent of the vote, just 2 percent less than the Tories.

The Tories need the 10 DUP MPs from Northern Ireland to secure a majority, but there is no possibility of a coalition. The aim is rather to secure a pact with the DUP to support the government in motions of confidence and budget votesa crisis-ridden regime ruling with a tiny majority over a population that widely despises them.

On Saturday, Downing Street issued a statement that an agreement in principle had been reached with the Democratic Unionists, but this was denied by the DUP, forcing the Tories to issue a clarification. May is to meet DUP leader Arlene Foster for talks on Tuesday.

The DUP is an ultra-right wing outfit. Attention in the UK media has largely focused on its opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage, while putting forward some populist polices aimed at reversing some austerity measures that would be at odds with the pro-austerity agenda outlined in Mays manifesto.

Of far greater significance is the DUPs position as the main Unionist and Protestant party in the North and its ties to paramilitary groups.

The Tories desperate attempt to secure a majority threatens the eruption of conflict in Ireland, which ended in 1998 following the Good Friday Agreement reached by the then-Labour government and political parties in Northern Ireland, at that time with the exception of the DUP. The DUP only entered into the power-sharing Northern Ireland Assembly with the nationalist Sinn Fein in 2007, after it eclipsed the Ulster Unionist Party.

The creation of a Tory/DUP government tears up the very basis of the Agreement and whatever political stability was achieved via the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Agreement states that a British government must remain impartial in its dealings with all Northern Irish parties. This is impossible with one of those parties now set to prop up the Conservatives.

In addition, one of the demands of the DUP in return for doing so is that the Tories forbid any referendum on a united Ireland. Such an agreement would be unconstitutional, as this provision is specifically allowed under the Good Friday Agreement.

Sinn Fein increased its vote in the seats that were contested in Northern Ireland in the general election, taking seven. Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams pointed out that unionist parties secured less than half the electorates backing for the first time in the regions history, adding, One thing we can say for certainty, there is going to be a referendum on Irish unity. I cant say when, but there is going to be.

The fact that the Tories are prepared to contemplate the resumption of conflict in Ireland, which cost thousands of lives over three decades beginning in 1969 in the Troubles, testifies to the existential crisis they face.

This is set to escalate. In just a weeks time, talks begin with the European Union over the terms of Britains exit from the EU. The ruling elite and the Tories are split over the issue of Brexit, with the majority of the ruling classled by the financial elite in the City of Londonopposed to departing the EU and Single Market.

The hung parliament offers the pro-Remain camp an opportunity to ensure there is no hard Brexit in which the UK leaves the Single Market. Others still seek to reverse Brexit entirely.

However, May is in greater thrall to the hard Brexit wing of her party than ever before. Her main Brexit ministers, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Brexit Secretary David Davis, are both being touted as leadership challengers to May, and both continued in their positions as she reshuffled her cabinet Sunday. Another leading Tory Brexiteer, Michael Gove, was recalled to the cabinet.

May is only still in place because the hard Brexit wing fear that if she is forced to stand down as a result of a leadership challenge, this would lead to weeks and months of instability and then a second general election, which would likely see Labour elected.

On Sunday, a new poll found that Labour had surged six points ahead of the Tories.

May must present the new government's upcoming legislative programme to parliament on June 19 in the Queen's Speech. Corbyn said on the BBCs Andrew Marr Show Sunday that Labour was ready to head a government if called upon, and would be putting forward amendments to the Queens Speech demanding the adoption of parts of Labours election manifesto.

The main Tory-supporting newspapers who back Brexit are insisting May remain in office for now to prevent the election of a Corbyn-led Labour government at all costs. The Rupert Murdoch-owned Sun on Sunday editorialised, In normal circumstances the removal men would already have been and gone after a humiliating resignation. But these arent normal circumstances... Every Tory MP has to remember, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, that if the Government falls there is every chance of Jeremy Corbyn taking overand that would be an utter disaster for the country.

In opposition, the pro-Remain sections of the bourgeoisie are making their voices heard via the Guardian and Financial Times.

Following the election, the Financial Times editorialised that the sheer importance of this moment in Britains history, suggests the idea of a national unity government, made up of ministers from both parties.

It suggested that if another election was not held May could remain as prime minister but would have to face down the hard Brexiteers in her own party.

It added, Labour too has a responsibility to act in the interests of the country, counselling, It is time for all sides to consider the national interest rather than the narrow party interest. Mrs. May has an obligation to do soor else go.

There is slim chance that Corbyn would throw away Labours support in the working classthe main reason why it is useful to the bourgeoisieon a coalition with the Tories. The far more likely outcome would be a second general election that could be convened as early as the autumn, with a Labour victory paving the way for a pro-EU government as a Labour majority or in an alliance of pro-Remain parties such as the Scottish National Party and Liberal Democrats.

Corbyn presently rejects such an alliance, but everyone assumes he will be pliable if called on to do so. He is already seeking an alliance with the partys Blairite right. In response to a question from Marr, Corbyn said he would be prepared to see pro-EU Blairites return to his shadow cabinet, declaring, Im the most generous person in the world. He added, Of course we are going to reach out [to the Labour right], ever since I became leader I had reached out.

An alliance with the Blairites is Corbyns political preparation for assuming responsibility for governing on behalf of British capitalism. Corbyn also made clear that he seeks the support of other opposition parties for his amendments to the Queens Speech, which would be the basis of his heading a minority government should Mays deal with the DUP fall through. Such a government would be a vicious anti-working class administration that would swiftly jettison Corbyns social reform rhetoric.
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel warned over the weekend that the Gulf crisis, triggered by the decision by a Saudi-led coalition of Persian Gulf sheikhdoms and Egypt to break off diplomatic ties with Qatar over accusations of funding terrorist organizations, could lead to war.

Referring to the dramatic harshness in relations between the Gulf States, Gabriel told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, There is a danger that this dispute could lead to war. Noting his involvement in talks over the past week to resolve the situation, including face-to-face meetings with his Saudi and Qatari counterparts and phone calls with the foreign ministers of Iran and Kuwait, Gabriel added that he saw good chances for reaching a solution.

Gabriels remarks underscore the explosive geopolitical conflicts rapidly emerging over the Gulf crisis. His warning about the threat of war has nothing to do with a German commitment to pacifism, but is in fact part of Berlins strategy to extend its imperialist interests in the region at the expense of the United States.

Gabriel spoke less than two days after US President Donald Trump indicated his full backing for Riyadhs measures, which have included the breaking of all diplomatic ties, the expulsion of all Qatari citizens from the territories of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain within 14 days, the closing of these countries airspaces to Qatari aircraft, and the placing of 59 individuals and 12 charities with links to Qatar on a terror watchlist.

Trump declared Friday that the moves were harsh but necessary and according to a White House official added that Qatar deserves it. His comments exposed sharp divisions within the US state over its policy in the Gulf, with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urging a de-escalation of the crisis only an hour prior to Trumps comments. Tillerson speaks on behalf of sections of the military, which is concerned that the largest US base in the region, from which the wars in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan are directed, could be under threat due to the isolation of Qatar.

Saudi Arabia felt emboldened to act against Qatar following Trumps visit to Riyadh three weeks ago, during which he demonized Iran as the main source of terrorism in the region and urged Sunni states to form an alliance to push back Teherans influence. The Saudi move also seeks to consolidate Riyadhs dominance in the Gulf, with its government demanding that Qatar abandon any semblance of an independent foreign policy by dropping its economic and diplomatic engagement with Iran and support for political groups in the region like Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Gabriel and the German ruling class are increasingly hostile to this agenda. Earlier last week, the SPD Foreign Minister took a direct shot at Washington, criticizing the trumpification of relations between the Gulf States in an interview with Handelsblatt. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who clashed with Trump at last months NATO and G7 summits over trade and defense spending in an expression of the deepening rift between the US and European imperialist powers, attacked Washingtons policy in the Gulf by calling Friday for all nations, including Iran and Turkey, to work to resolve the dispute. In a visit to Mexico City, she stated, We have to see that the political solution of conflicts...such as the situation in Syria, such as the situation in Libya or the situation in Iraq, wont happen if certain players are no longer even included in the conversation, and that includes Qatar, it includes Turkey, it includes Iran.

Gabriel and Merkel are determined to defend and expand German access to the Middle East and the broader region, which offer important markets for exports. In 2016, German companies sold goods worth $47 billion to countries in North Africa and the Near and Middle East. Berlin is firmly opposed to the ratcheting up of tensions by the Trump administration with Iran, including threats to abandon the 2015 nuclear deal with Teheran, which the German ruling elite views as a potential area of expansion for its corporations. Given such substantial economic interests and in light of Germanys drive over recent years to remilitarize and adopt a more aggressive foreign policy, Gabriels raising of the prospect of war in the region should not be taken as an idle threat or an exaggeration.

The conflicts between the major imperialist states are exacerbating the tensions between the regional powers involved. Evidently egged on by Trumps support, the Saudi-led coalition is reportedly drawing up a list of demands Doha must follow if relations are to be reestablished. These include a scaling back of the countrys Al Jazeera media network, which Riyadh and its allies accuse of promoting political opponents like the Muslim Brotherhood, and a commitment from Doha not to finance political organizations deemed to be extremist by Saudi Arabia.

Turkey and Iran are backing Qatar in the dispute. On Sunday, Teheran announced that its 47th naval flotilla, consisting of a destroyer and logistics warship, would make a stop in Oman on its way to patrol the sea route between the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Oman, another member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), has like Kuwait not joined the Saudi-led blockade of Qatar and is seeking to mediate the dispute.

Turkey is to send an increased number of military personnel to Qatar and began supplying supermarkets in the country with groceries after panic buying and trade restrictions led to shortages.

The dispute is already having devastating consequences for the regions population, which is closely connected by family and other ties. Thousands of mixed families living in all of the states involved have been torn apart by the travel bans, with some instances of parents being separated from their children. Amnesty International issued a report criticizing the violation of human rights for thousands of Gulf States residents, including large populations of guest workers from countries like Nepal, India and Pakistan who could end up losing their right to remain in the region.

The authoritarian regimes in the UAE and Bahrain have adopted laws stipulating that anyone who shows sympathy for Qatar will face a lengthy prison sentence of up to 15 years.

Chief responsibility for the Gulf crisis lies in Washington. US imperialisms reckless drive to assert its control over the energy-rich Middle East and sideline all potential rivals has not only escalated tensions with its imperialist competitors, but inflamed regional divisions. Its attempt to mobilize a Sunni axis to marginalize Iran and its regional allies not only threatens to trigger a regional bloodbath and deepen already widespread sectarian violence that has claimed millions of lives, but also to draw in the major powers on opposing sides in a desperate struggle for economic and geostrategic dominance that poses the direct danger of a global conflagration.

Across the Middle East, there are a growing number of flashpoints that could provoke such a clash. In Syria, where around half a million people have been killed as a result of the US-instigated war for regime change in Damascus, the major powers and their proxies are moving to carve up the country. The US has conducted three attacks in as many weeks on pro-government forces in the south of the country under the pretext of enforcing a deconfliction zone, which Russia has refused to recognize.

Washingtons goal is to block the establishment by the Assad regime of a land bridge using territory recaptured from ISIS that would stretch from Teheran through Iraq to Syria and Lebanon. To this end, it is arming and training proxy Islamist forces at the al-Tanf base near the Iraqi and Jordanian borders with the aim of establishing control over territory in eastern Syria.

The New York Times reported Saturday that the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) currently engaged in retaking Raqqa are tacitly allowing ISIS fighters to escape to the south, shifting the battle with the j ihadis to areas where pro-Assad forces are currently advancing. A consequence of this could be the inflaming of tensions between Kurdish and Arab populations, since the Kurdish militias will be occupying Arab-controlled areas during their pursuit of ISIS further south.

Pro-government troops, backed by Russian air power, struck a blow at Washingtons plan of pushing north to retake ISIS territory from al-Tanf by reaching the Iraqi border Friday in battles with ISIS.

Regional and global powers stand behind all of these forces. Iranian fighters and Russian air power are backing the Syrian government, including by carrying out air strikes close to the USs unilaterally declared deconfliction zone. US Special Forces are being assisted at al-Tanf by British and Norwegian military personnel and will be relying on the so-called international anti-ISIS coalition, which includes all of NATOs members. The Times described the emerging battle as even more decisive with far more geopolitical import and risk than that going on in Raqqa.
A new electoral law, agreed on by Italys four main parties, was rejected by the chamber of deputies on Thursday after two days of debate.

Matteo Renzis Democratic Party (PD), Silvio Berlusconis Forza Italia, Beppe Grillos Five Star Movement (M5S) and Matteo Salvinis xenophobic Lega Nord had agreed on a reform of the electoral law the week before. A new electoral law is a precondition for the holding of a new election for the Italian parliament, following the rejection of a constitutional referendum by the electorate last autumn.

The heads of the four parties had agreed to hold the election in September, rather than the original date of May 2018. But due to differences on minor technicalities, the opposition of smaller parties and of MPs fearing to lose their seat, the law was voted down.

A proportional representation system modelled on the German system, including a requirement that parties obtain 5 percent support in order to secure parliamentary representation, was planned. Half of the seats were to be elected in constituencies, while the other half was to be determined on the basis of a party list system.

Matteo Renzi, who resigned his position of prime minister and stepped down as PD chairman after losing the referendum last December, has led the calls for the new electoral law. He was re-elected PD chairman in a ballot in April and intends to return to power as soon as possible.

He won the support of Silvio Berlusconi, who, despite being 80 years of age, continues to play the leading role in Forza Italia. Berlusconis extremely weakened party would have little hope under the current majority voting system, so Berlusconi backed Renzis proposal for a system based on proportional representation. The close collaboration between the two men on the electoral law was seen as preparing the way for a future government coalition.

The Five Star Movement backed the proposal because it wants to make use of its present popularitythe party is currently running neck-and-neck with Renzis PD in the polls at 30 percentbefore it declines under the weight of scandals and corruption affairs. However, the party introduced approximately 100 amendments to the motion on the electoral law. This contributed to its failure.

The far-right Lega Nord, which has developed from a regional into a national party, currently has between 12 and 13 percent support in the polls. It has no reason to fear the 5 percent hurdle and would win significantly more seats under a proportional system than it would under a majoritarian one. There is speculation that the party could form a coalition with Grillos Five Star Movement.

The electoral law was opposed by smaller parties that would likely fail to surpass the 5 percent support required for parliamentary representation. This was the case with Alternativa Populare (AP) of Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano. The split-off from Berlusconis party is presently the junior partner in a coalition with the PD, even though it won just 2.2 percent of the vote.

Alfano declared his deep disappointment with the electoral reform and stated last Friday, My cooperation with the PD is over. However, he held on to his post as foreign minister. He stated that he supports President Paolo Gentiloni and accused Renzi of planning to overthrow Gentiloni with the electoral reform.

Two AP representatives, Pizzolante and Formigoni, accused Renzi of demanding of them that they support his efforts to topple Gentiloni and that in exchange he offered to lower the 5 percent hurdle.

The election reform was not only meeting with opposition from the smaller parties. The financial markets and sections of the ruling elite have also reacted with extreme nervousness. The cost of Italian government bonds has risen dramatically. The spread between Italian and German bonds rose to 2 percent, expressing fears that the Italian state could go bankrupt.

The corporate press referred to Italys high level of state debt, which at almost 2.3 trillion currently stands at 133 percent of GDP. This is the highest debt burden among eurozone member states.

Paolo Gentiloni (PD) who took over the government from Renzi six months ago, quietly reached agreement with the European Union (EU) on an austerity programme and harsh attacks on the working class. The agreement with the EU foresees to sharply reduce the budget deficit, which will entail cuts of between 15 and 30 billion. These cuts will be contained in the 2018 budget, which according to EU stipulations must be tabled by October 2017.

Under these conditions, a section of the bourgeoisie would prefer to avoid new elections altogether. An election campaign would inevitably be accompanied by widespread public discussion of austerity policies. The government could hardly afford to adopt unpopular austerity measures in the midst of an election campaign, and even if a new government came to power willing to do this, the election campaign would delay the tabling of the austerity budget.

Renzi, who was praised to the skies by the business press when he presented himself as the shredder of the entrenched elites and rammed through the Jobs Act, a brutal labour market reform, is now suddenly viewed as someone who is disrupting stability.

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the mouthpiece of the German stock exchange, titled an article Is Renzi endangering the countrys financial stability?

Italys former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi increasingly faces the accusation of risking Italys financial stability with his advocacy of a snap early election in September or October, the newspaper wrote. Renzis critics consider it near impossible to adopt the Italian budget for 2018 on time with an election in the autumn. There could subsequently be no government capable of acting.

The background to this is the renewed intensification of Italys banking crisis. The EU approved just a few days ago an assistance package of 7 billion for the Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) bank. It is accompanied by harsh conditions to more effectively organise the financial sector.

The massive burden of toxic assets on the Italian banks remains unresolved. Three additional banks are now in crisis, Popolare Vicenza, Veneto Banca and Banca Carige. In addition, the cooperative banks are on the verge of the abyss. They emerged in the 1970s on the basis of reformist conceptions pushed by the Communist Party, but have taken part no less than the normal banks in speculative activities over the past 20 years. Several coop banks, like the Mondragon-bank in Spain, are highly indebted.

An election is seen in this situation as a disruptive factor, even if all parties participating are committed to enforce the EUs austerity measures. An election also raises the danger of the Five Star Movement and Lega Nord coming to power, which would initiate Italys break with the EU and thereby seal the fate of the bloc.

The 91-year-old former president Giorgio Napolitano has also spoken out against an early parliamentary election. There was no reason for this, he said, because the Gentiloni government had the reins of power firmly in its grasp. It would thrust Italy into political instability, he warned.

The financial elite has been on good terms thus far with the Gentiloni government. His unelected government quietly agreed with the EU over a new bank rescue package. He has strengthened the state, adopted measures against refugees and is preparing a military intervention in oil-rich Libya.

The pseudo-left parties, the Sinistra Italiana of Nichi Vendola, and two other new split-offs from the PD, have rejected the latest electoral reform proposal. All three parties were founded at the beginning of the year with the great promise of building an opposition movement to Renzi. But they have supported the Gentiloni government without protest ever since.
The Left Forum, the annual conference of assorted left Democrats, middle class protesters, academics, Stalinists, ex-Trotskyists and remnants of the 1960s counterculture and protest politics, held its meeting this year from June 2-4. The atmosphere at the New York City event was one of demoralization and political opportunism.

The conference saw a huge falloff in attendance this year. Many of the panel sessions struggled to gather an audience of even 15 or 20. The evening plenary sessions were attended by no more than several hundred, in an auditorium that was more than half-empty. This is all the more significant because it stands in such sharp contrast to the widespread anger following the electoral victory and inauguration of Donald Trump as US president.

The layers that predominate at the forum are in the orbit of the Democratic Party and quite close to the trade union apparatus, and are for that very reason very far indeed from the masses of working people. Despite occasional rhetorical references to socialism, the vast majority of participants advocate either transforming the Democratic Party, pressuring it to move to the left, or, if the Democrats cannot be rescued, transferring their support to a third capitalist party such as the Greens or another reformist alternative.

One of the panels, for instance, was sponsored by Draft Bernie for a Peoples Party. Several were under the auspices of the Green Party. Others pointed to Castroism, Hugo Chavez and various forms of Stalinism as the alternative to 21st century capitalism. Also playing a role in the weekends events were representatives of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which has for decades occupied a position as part of the left inside the Democratic Party, and Socialist Alternative and the International Socialist Organization (ISO), backers of Bernie Sanders and the Greens.

The panel on Socialists and Greens in the ballot box and in the streets was expressive of the general politics that dominated. It featured six speakers and an audience that numbered barely 20, mostly older veterans of middle class protest. The answer to the question of how to fight Trump from all of the panelists, representing the Greens and various pseudo-left tendencies, was a broad left regroupment.

Adrian Boutureira of the Greens began with a question: Can the Left create a broad front, as has happened across the world? ...We either figure something out or were not going to survive.

Boutureira pointed to Podemos in Spain as an example. Later he referred in passing to developments in Latin America. He said nothing at all about the record of various nationalist regimes in Latin America, including those of the Workers Party in Brazil, Kirchner in Argentina, and Chavez and Maduro in Venezuela.

Boutureira also was silent on the bitter experiences of the Greek working class with the vicious austerity policies of the Syriza government. Only two years ago, the Left Forum was dominated by delirious enthusiasm for the newly-elected government headed by Alexis Tsipras, which was hailed as the model for a rejuvenated socialist movement. Within weeks, Syriza had ignored the results of a referendum, which it had itself organized, in order to surrender to the dictates of the IMF and the World Bank.

Also speaking at this session was Ajamu Baraka, last years vice-presidential candidate of the Greens on the ticket headed by Jill Stein, and representatives of Socialist Alternative and the ISO.

Todd Chretien of the ISO boasted of his longtime association with the Greens, going back to the its electoral successes in 2000 and subsequent years, when it won certain local offices in northern California. Unfortunately, according to Chretien, many Greens rejoined the Democrats.

Whether intentionally or not, Chretien had put his finger on the fundamental class issue in the relationship between the ISO and the Greens. The ISOs support for the Greens is another means of opposing independent working class political action. There is no fundamental class difference between the Greens and the Democrats, and the role of the ISO is to cover up this essential reality, working to sabotage the political education of the most advanced workers and youth.

Particularly noteworthy in this panel discussion was the absence of any mention of the growing danger of war. The speakers had little to say on any political issues, but the omission of the steadily growing inter-imperialist tensions as well as the threats against Russia and China, both nuclear-armed powers, was especially revealing.

The final plenary session of the Left Forum was chaired by Bhaskar Sunkara, the editor of Jacobin magazine, the left publication that was founded several years ago and whose respectability in ruling class circles is attested to by flattering profiles in the New York Times and elsewhere.

As it turned out, this session perfectly summed up the combination of demoralization and opportunism that pervaded the weekend. The speakers included journalist Christian Parenti, economist Richard Wolff, DSA spokesperson Tascha Van Auken, and Karina Garcia, a representative of the pro-Stalinist Party for Liberation and Socialism.

In a panel concluding the entire affair, there was absolutely no discussion of the urgent political situation that is taking shape only months after the inauguration of Donald Trump: the escalating attacks on the working class, the signs of deepening class struggle internationally, the raging factional war within the US ruling class, in which the Democrats have attacked Trump for being too soft on Russia.

Sunkara, who is also a member of the DSA, opened this session by declaring that, a lot of the old debates[like] reform or revolutionare less relevant today. As both Sunkara and the rest of the panelists made clear, this was because, according to them, revolution is unthinkable and impossible.

Conducting himself at times more like an ill-equipped late-night television host than the editor of a supposedly socialist publication, Sunkara closed the proceedings with two questions that elicited some revealing answers.

Is there a route to transforming the Democratic Party? he asked, including running in primary elections of this party of American imperialism. Most of the speakers replied enthusiastically in the affirmative. The Democratic Party at the local level is open to being taken over or at least heavily influenced, Parenti declared.

Van Auken, who worked on both the Obama and Sanders campaigns, bragged that one DSA member is running in the Democratic primary this year in New York, and another as a Green Party candidate. Wolff opened with what sounded at first like an angry reply. I dont care about the Democratic Party one way or another, he saidand then immediately explained, If the opportunity arises to do something, fine.

On the question of socialism, Van Auken said that she doesnt identify with anything I dont define myself as a Democrat, I dont define myself as anything. She added, Having any label bothers me, because I like to be able to just see what people have to say. This declaration of a principled lack of principles in fact translates into support for capitalism and the Democratic Party, which is the politics of the DSA.

Garcia was the only speaker who declared, demagogically, that the Democratic Party are not our friends. She said nothing about the role of Bernie Sanders, however. She later went on to make clear that her demagogy was empty, saying in response to a question about whether the PSL would support people running as Democrats, We want to fight wherever the fighters are. She then went on to credit Sanders for making it a lot easier to discuss socialism. The rest of the panelists agreed that, as one put it, Bernie opened up the door.

The reality is that Sanders role has been to try to capture the explosive anger among millions of workers and youth, and channel it back into the two-party capitalist system. The various tendencies and organizations represented at the Left Forum are performing, each in their own way, the same function.
A historic level of abstention dominated the first round of the French legislative elections yesterday, which gave newly-elected President Emmanuel Macrons party The Republic On the March (LREM) a large majority. But fully 51.2 percent of voters abstainedthe first time since the end of World War II that only a minority of registered voters participated in the legislative elections.

Workers and youth overwhelmingly stayed away from the polls. Although 70 percent of retirees voted in the elections, approximately 30 percent of voters aged under thirty went to vote. Opinion polls carried out in the days before the elections showed that 56 percent of the so-called popular categories, comprising manual workers and employees, planned to abstain.

This is a resoundingly negative judgment of the French population on the media campaign to promote Macrons counter-revolutionary program proposing to create a permanent state of emergency, slashing attacks on labor protections, and a return to the draft.

It appears that the legislative electionswhose purpose was to determine, as Le Monde wrote, whether Macron will have unchecked powers to impose his programwill produce an overwhelming LREM majority in the Assembly. However, even if the electoral mechanisms grant Macron an unchallenged hold over the legislature, this majorityelected by only a minority of the populationwill have no legitimacy to impose his program.

LREM obtained 32 percent of the vote, against 21 percent for the right-wing The Republicans (LR), 13.9 percent for the neo-fascist National Front, 10.9 percent for the Unsubmissive France (UF) of Jean-Luc Melenchon, 13.3 percent for the Socialist Party (PS), and 3.3 percent for the Stalinist French Communist Party (PCF). The candidates of Lutte ouvriere (LO, Workers Struggle) and the New Anti-capitalist Party (NPA) together obtained only 0.08 percent of the vote.

Nonetheless, given the electoral set-upone needs to obtain a number of votes greater than 12.5 percent of the registered voters to advance to the second round, which is carried simply by whoever gets the most votesLREM can hope to obtain a lopsided majority in the Assembly.

Though it only obtained the votes of 16 percent of registered voters, LREM may have, according to initial projections based on yesterdays vote, a crushing majority of 400 to 450 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly. LR would have 70 to 110 seats, the PS 20 to 30, a UF-PCF coalition 8 to 18, and the FN 7 to 12.

Initial analyses of LREMs vote point to its very heterogeneous and therefore fragile character. In Paris, LREMs vague promises of reform and modernization allowed it to carry both the very bourgeois 16th district, as well as the working-class neighborhoods of the 19th district.

Numerous politicians and media commentators openly worried that the abstention meant that Macrons lack of democratic legitimacy will have serious political consequences when he sets out to enforce his agenda on the population.

Our democracy cannot allow itself to be sick, declared PS First Secretary Jean-Christophe Cambadelis, who added: It is neither healthy nor desirable for a president who obtained only 24 percent of the vote on the first round and won the second round purely on the basis of popular rejection of the National Front, to have a monopoly of democratic representation.

Last night, France Info commented: Its a black mark, even a very black mark: the future National Assembly will give an image that is only a political caricature of France. And this is not a sign of good health in a democracy.

The Macron government was reduced to appealing to voters to participate in greater numbers in the second round of the legislative elections this coming Sunday. You were less numerous to vote than in the presidential elections, declared Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who added that he felt obliged to insist on the necessity that voters go vote next Sunday.

These elections are marked by a crying contradiction. There is broad opposition to the program of austerity, military mobilization, and police-state rule that Macron has developed in collaboration with Berlin and the European Union (EU). However, LREMfounded last year by Macron, then the economy minister in the despised PS government of then-President Francois Hollandehas been able to establish itself over a few months as Frances main bourgeois party, winning over large factions of the PS and LR.

This is bound up above all with the treacherous role of Melenchon and UF, as well as the NPA and LO, in providing tacit support to Macron, though it was perfectly clear that Macron would intensify the sharp shift to the right carried out under Hollande. When Macron and Le Pen made it to the second round, both Melenchon and the NPAwithout openly endorsing Macronmade clear that they tacitly supported a Macron victory.

The NPA stated that it understood anyone who voted for Macron against Le Pen, and Melenchon then subsequently offered to serve as Macrons prime minister and to advise Macrons ministers on legislation they were trying to pass in the National Assembly.

They rejected the political line advanced by the Parti de legalite socialiste (PES), the French section of the International Committee of the Fourth International. The PES rejected false claims that Macron was a defender of democracy against Le Pen and called for an active boycott of the second round of the presidential elections. It explained that it was seeking to arm the working class with a politically independent perspective to fight the onslaught that would inevitably be launched against the workers, whether it was Macron or Le Pen who won the presidency.

The total abdication of Melenchon and the NPA of all responsibility to offer a perspective to oppose Macron is in line with the historic collapse of the parties that made up what has passed for the French left for nearly a half-centurysince the last major revolutionary experience of the working class in France, the May-June 1968 general strike.

The PS was the leading party since shortly after its foundation in 1971. It won a 331-seat majority in the Assembly after the 2012 elections, but after Hollandes presidency, it is now set to be reduced to an impotent rump. It is paying the price for having carried out unpopular policies of imperialist war and social austerity every time it took power. Large sections of its personnel are seeking to recycle themselves politically by joining LREM.

Many other high-ranking PS and Green legislators have been eliminated, however: Cambadelis, PS presidential candidate Benoit Hamon, former PS Interior Minister Matthias Fekl, former PS Justice Minister Elizabeth Guigou, and former Green Party leader Cecile Duflot.

The PCFs sclerotic bureaucracy, which collapsed after forming a long-term alliance with the PS in the 1970s and above all after the Stalinist bureaucracys dissolution of the USSR in 1991, will have only 20 candidates present in the second round of the legislative elections. It is threatened with the loss of its status as a parliamentary group, which requires having at least 15 seats, and thus a loss of financial resources that could prove devastating, or even fatal.

To the extent that these forces blocked the politically independent mobilization of the working class against Macron, this has allowed him to establish a dominant position over other branches of government and prepare deep attacks against the workers. Macron will, nonetheless, face explosive opposition in the working class, under conditions where mass abstention has deprived the Assembly of any semblance of legitimacy to impose his reactionary program.
Has your electric garage door stopped working? Does your dog wake up in the middle of the night and begin howling? Is the weather unseasonably hot, cold, windy, dry or wet? Has your television set (or refrigerator, or sound system or home alarm) inexplicably turned on, or off?

If one uncritically viewed the corporate-controlled media and accepted at face value the statements of much of official Washington, especially the Democratic Party, one could easily draw the conclusion that the Russians did it.

A paranoid frenzy is gripping the US political and media establishment. A ruling elite that commands the worlds largest economy ($18 trillion, 24.3 percent of world GDP), the worlds largest military, and the most technically sophisticated spying apparatus is obsessed with the supposedly omnipresent tentacles of a government that oversees the worlds twelfth largest economy (1.8 percent of world GDP, or one-fourteenth that of the US), and which entered the computer era a generation later than Silicon Valley.

By one estimate, the United States has 3.6 million computer programmers, about 20 percent of the worlds total, compared to just over half a million in Russia. The US is home to the most powerful software, hardware and Internet companies in the world. No Russian IT company ranks in the worlds top 100. Yet, according to the narrative peddled by the American media in its campaign over alleged Russian hacking during the 2016 US presidential election, Russian cyber warfare operations have cut through US IT systems like a knife through butter.

Thursdays appearance by fired FBI Director James Comey before the Senate Intelligence Committee has raised the anti-Russian hysteria in the US media to a new level. The former head of the US political police denounced supposed Russian interference in the US elections as a dire threat to American democracy. Theyre going to come for whatever party they choose to try and work on behalf of, he warned. And they will be back they are coming for America.

None of the capitalist politicians who questioned him challenged the premise that Russia was the principal enemy of the United States, or that Russian hacking was a significant threat to the US electoral system. None of them suggested that the billions funneled into the US elections by Wall Street interests were a far greater threat to the democratic rights of the American people.

Weekend media reports added to the apocalyptic warnings. A front-page report in the Sunday New York Times warned that the conflict between Trump and Comey should not be allowed to overshadow the more important issue: a chilling threat to the United States from Russian intervention in the American electoral system.

According to the Times, from the headquarters of the National Security Agency to state capitals that have discovered that the Russians were inside their voter-registration systems, the worry is that attention will be diverted from figuring out how Russia disrupted American democracy last year and how to prevent it from happening again.

The article went on to suggest, citing only the suspicions of US intelligence officials in the absence of any actual evidence, that Russian government hackers had penetrated companies providing software for voting systems, the electrical power grid and other vital infrastructure. It quoted a series of anti-Russian comments from experts, who expanded on Comeys comments, warning of intensified cyber warfare.

Even more strident was a commentary published in Politico.com under the headline, Forget Comey. The Real Story Is Russias War on America. The author is Molly K. McKew, a former US adviser to anti-Russian governments in Georgia and Moldova.

She denounces President Trumps lack of curiosity about the long-running, deep-reaching, well-executed and terrifyingly effective Russian attack on American democracy, going on to attack the White House for failing to craft a response to the greatest threat the United States and its allies have ever faced.

McKew writes of Russias global imperialist insurgency, and advocates a course of action that goes beyond a new Cold War, leading inexorably to an armed confrontation between the two largest nuclear powers in the world.

The World Socialist Web Site has repeatedly explained the political issues in the anti-Russian campaign, which represents an effort by the most powerful sections of the military-intelligence apparatus, backed by the Democratic Party and the bulk of the corporate media, to force the Trump White House to adhere to the foreign policy offensive against Moscow embarked on during the second term of the Obama administration, particularly since the 2014 US-backed ultra-right coup in Ukraine.

Those factions of the ruling class and intelligence agencies leading the anti-Russia campaign are particularly incensed that Russian intervention in Syria stymied plans to escalate the proxy civil war in that country into a full-fledged regime-change operation. They want to see Assad in Syria meet the same fate as Gaddafi in Libya and Saddam Hussein in Iraq. Their fanatical hatred of Putin indicates that they have similar ambitions in mind for the Russian president.

The entire framework of the anti-Russian campaign is fraudulent. The military-intelligence agencies, the Democratic Party and the media are following a well-established pattern of manufacturing phony scandals, previously a specialty of the Republican right: the Clinton Whitewater scandal, Obama the Muslim, Hillary Clinton and Benghazi. These bogus campaigns begin with allegations that then acquire a momentum of their own.

Of what does the undermining of US democracy by alleged Russian hacking consist? No vote totals were altered. No ballots were discarded, as in Florida in 2000 when the antidemocratic campaign was spearheaded by the US Supreme Court. Instead, truthful information was supplied anonymously to WikiLeaks, which published the material, showing that the Democratic National Committee had worked to sabotage the campaign of Bernie Sanders, and that Hillary Clinton had cozied up to Wall Street audiences and reassured them that a new Clinton administration would be in the pocket of the big financial interests.

These revelations certainly damaged Clinton, but only because they confirmed what the American people already thought of her: that she was a corrupt stooge of the financial oligarchy.

As for intervening in the elections of other countries, this is a practice the American ruling class has perfected through much practice. One case deserves special mention: the intervention of US political operatives, directed from the White House, in the 1996 Russian election, for the purpose of ensuring the reelection of Boris Yeltsin. At the start of the campaign, Yeltsin was polling in the single digits and facing growing popular opposition. A July 1996 Time magazine cover, showing Yeltsin holding an American flag, summed up the campaign: Yanks to the Rescue: The Secret Story of How American Advisers Helped Yeltsin Win.

Hillary Clinton lost the 2016 election because she ran as the candidate of Wall Street and the military-intelligence apparatus and made no appeal to working-class discontent. This was after eight years during which Obama had intensified the economic stagnation, wage cutting and austerity that had been going on for decades, while overseeing a further growth in social inequality. This right-wing orientation has continued to guide the Democratic Party in the first months of the Trump administration.

The Democrats are not fighting Trump over his assault on health care, his attacks on immigrants, his militaristic bullying around the world, or even his status as a minority president who can claim no mandate after losing the popular vote. Instead, they have chosen to attack Trump, the most right-wing president in US history, from the right, denouncing him as insufficiently committed to a military confrontation with Russia.
The US Embassy in Manila and the leadership of the Philippine military revealed on Friday that US Special Forces have been involved in the battle of Marawi in the Southern Philippines since it was launched on May 23, coordinating the activities of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and without the knowledge of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. The conflict in Marawi, which has now killed nearly 200 people, provided the military with the pretext to declare martial law on the island of Mindanao, and its population of over 22 million.

The battle erupted on May 23, as Duterte arrived in Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The military launched a raid against what it claimed was the headquarters of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) forces in the Philippines. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana exploited the fighting to justify the declaration of military rule, compelling Duterte to cancel his visit and return immediately to the Philippines.

It was the military brass, not the president, who imposed martial law in Mindanao. Duterte is not using the military to impose his dictatorship on the country, but rather the military is moving to usurp the reins of civilian government. Duterte is gradually being reduced to a figurehead.

Washington is using the machinations of the AFP to discipline the Philippine president and reorient Manilas geopolitical ties away from Beijing and Moscow, and firmly back into the camp of US imperialism. Revelations that US forces were involved in the conflict from its onset, without the knowledge of Duterte, provide strong evidence for this.

On Friday, an Associated Press (AP) journalist photographed a US P3 Orion Surveillance aircraft flying over Marawi, reporting that it flew above rocket-firing Philippine helicopters that struck militant positions, causing plumes of smoke to billow skyward.

When asked on Saturday about US involvement in the fighting, US Embassy spokesperson Molly Kascina stated that US special operations forces were assisting the AFP in Marawi. They were providing technical assistance and training, she claimed.

Duterte has, since he took office in mid-2016, vocally postured as an opponent of Washington, in an attempt to reorient Philippine ties toward China. Speaking to the press on Sunday, he declared that he had neither requested nor been informed of US involvement. His press conference revealed that when the US Embassy spoke of the government of the Philippines, it was referring, not to the civilian government, but to the military brass.

With Defense Secretary Lorenzana, head of the martial law administration on Mindanao, standing directly behind him throughout his 30-minute press conference, Duterte stated, I am not aware of [US involvement] but when I declared martial law I gave the powers to the defense department. He did not even pretend to be responsible for Philippine sovereignty, handing the responsibility for foreign military activity in the country entirely to the AFP brass.

Duterte noted, Our soldiers are very pro-American, that I cannot deny, adding, Almost all our officers go to the United States to study military matters. They have a rapport and I cannot deny that. He attempted to present his acquiescence to the military dictating the foreign relations of the country as if it were a matter of personality. I have no problem with America, my fight is only against that son-of-a-bitch Obama. ... Now with Trump, my friend, he says Im right.

Lorenzana then held a press conference in which he declared that US military advisors had been coordinating the AFPs activity in Marawi not only throughout the two and half week conflict, but even before the initial raid on May 23. In other words, undisclosed to the president, US forces worked with the Philippine military brass to prepare and carry out the raid that allowed Lorenzana to declare martial law.

Both the presidential and military spokespersons claimed that US Special Forces were supplying weapons, training and technical assistance, but that they had no boots on the ground. These statements are demonstrably false.

Leading Filipino journalists have posted photographs on twitter of heavily-armed American combat forces, unloading supplies in Marawi during the past two days. Most significantly, the crew manning the P3 Orion is directly responsible for surveilling and coordinating the aerial bombardment of the city. The airstrikes being carried out on Malawis trapped civilian population are being directed by US forces. Washington is not merely involved on the ground; it is literally calling the shots.

As of Sunday, official Philippine government figures reported that 58 soldiers, over a hundred rebel fighters, and 20 civilians had been killed. These figures are highly suspect, as the government has given no criterion for distinguishing between civilian and combatant casualties. Since the city continues to be indiscriminately bombed, it is unlikely that all of the deaths are being reported.

Marawi, a historic and beautiful city on the northern shores of Lake Lanao, has been reduced to rubble, while nearly 200,000 people have fled their homes. Without shelter or provisions, they have become internally-displaced refugees, throughout Mindanao and the Visayas region.

Thousands remained trapped in Marawi. They hang articles of clothing from their windows, in the hope that the aerial bombardment, directed by the US military, will see the makeshift flags and spare their lives.

The forces occupying portions of Marawi, which Washington and the Philippine military have labeled ISIS, are the private army of an influential, elite family named Maute. Like all their rival oligarchs in the country, the Mautes have built a sizable squad of mercenaries, largely recruited from out-of-school and unemployed teenage youth, many as young as 13.

Philippine elections are bloody affairs, particularly in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), where Marawi is located. The 2009 election saw the Maguindanao massacre in the same region, in which the private army of a candidate for governor slaughtered 58 people, including 34 journalists.

Recognizing in ISIS a brand name that would provide them with a fearsome reputation in the lead-up to the 2016 election, the Maute Group began flying the ISIS flag, and even kidnapped several mill workers, dressed them in orange jumpsuits, and beheaded them, in imitation of the activities of ISIS in the Middle East.

Omar Ali, the incumbent mayor of Marawi, to whom the Maute Group was allied, lost a closely contested election in June 2016 and filed an appeal. In the nearby town of Butig, Dimnatang Pansar, a rival to the Maute group, was elected mayor. In December, the private army of the Maute Group, flying their ISIS flags, raided the town of Butig. Duterte and the military did nothing.

That the actions of the alleged ISIS group in the Philippines are rooted in electoral politics and traditional clan warfare, is highlighted by the fact that Omar Ali, and his brother, Fahad Salic, also a former mayor of Marawi, who lost in his bid for governor in 2016, have both been arrested on charges of rebellion for supporting ISIS. These are major political players, representatives of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), a leading national political party, whose ranks include the former Vice President Jejomar Binay, and boxer-turned-Senator Manny Pacquiao.

There have been claims of the involvement of foreign operatives in ISIS in the Philippines, but no evidence has yet been presented. What is clear is that clan warfare and electoral politics have taken on the coloration of the brutal geopolitical conflict created by Washington in its drive to destabilize and control the Middle East.

This bloody ISIS imitation in the Southern Philippines provided the ideal pretext for martial law, allowing Washington to move towards re-establishing control over its former colony through the Philippine military, whose apparatus it built from the ground up and whose leadership it has trained.
On Friday, Samantha Geimer, the victim in the 1977 incident that resulted in Romans Polanskis conviction for unlawful sexual intercourse, pleaded with Judge Scott M. Gordon to sentence Polanski to time served, so that her family could be released from the media spectacle that has haunted her life for four decades.

Addressing the court, Geimer urged the judge to consider taking action which will finally bring this matter to a close. She said that both she and Polanski had suffered enough through the years.

Without dismissing Mr. Polanskis shared responsibility, Geimer told the judge, I would implore you to consider taking action that would finally bring this matter to a close as an act of mercy to myself and my family. She further explained how she did not want her grandchildren exposed to what she and her sons have faced for decades now.

Prosecutors, however, countered that dismissing the case based on Geimers wishes would only disrupt the judicial system. Such a rule would incentivize perpetrators to harass their victims, Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Michele Hanisee said.

Geimer noted the transparent hypocrisy of that comment at a news conference after the hearing: If I was standing here saying to throw the book at him, my opinion would matter.

She later pointed out to reporters how her and Polanskis treatment at the hands of the media had become reversed over time. When this happened, my mother and I were [presented as] lying gold diggers who were attacking poor unfortunate Roman. It was a much different story. I was [called] a drug-doing Lolita that had cornered him into this. And I was lying. Now he endures it. Now everyone calls him a pedophile and says terrible things about him, which arent true. The insults have switched, but I have empathy for the way hes treated because I was treated the same way when this first happened.

She further remarked that the media has wanted her to play the role of victim for the last 40 years, even though she had long ago gotten over the episode. I just wasnt as traumatized as everybody thinks I should have been. To other sex crime victims, she said: Do your best to recover. Dont let people tell you cant recover.

Polanskis attorney, Harland Braun, said the original judge in the case, Judge Laurence J. Rittenband (now deceased), reneged on a deal that promised Polanski a 90-day sentence.

It was a commitment by the judge in the presence of the district attorney, the defense lawyer and the victims lawyer, Braun told reporters after Fridays hearing. Then he changed his mind saying [the sentence] could go up to 50 years. Braun emphasized, Im not defending his [Polanskis] conduct, Im trying to defend against a dishonest system.

Gordon said he would issue a written ruling on the matter. If he were to drop the warrant for Polanski, 83, it would end a nearly four-decade, politically motivated effort by authorities to have the director incarcerated.

Polanskis legal quagmire dates back to his guilty plea in 1977. Under the terms of his plea agreement, the filmmaker was to undergo a 90-day psychiatric evaluation at Chino State Prison. It was assumed and agreed by all the parties that based upon Polanskis lack of record and the facts of the case, the evaluators would find him amenable to a probationary sentence, which Judge Rittenband would then impose.

The evaluators needed only 42 days to make this determination, and Polanski was released pending his return to court for sentencing. While awaiting sentencing, the director was allowed to travel to Europe to complete work on a film.

Polanski came back to the US, but right before the sentencing took place, Judge Rittenband privately discussed his intention to renege on the agreement and send Polanski to prison.

In a panic over the possibility of this far harsher than agreed-upon sentence, Polanski fled the US on February 1, 1978, the very day he would have appeared for his sentencing. He went to Paris, where as a French citizen he was shielded from extradition.

Because of Polanskis failure to appear for sentencing, a warrant for his arrest was issued. This is why he is subject to arrest if he enters the United States, and as well is the basis for attempts by Washington in the last several years to initiate extradition proceedings against him.

Judge Rittenband, who died in 1993, has emerged as a highly controversial figure. In the 2008 documentary Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, David Wells, a Los Angeles deputy district attorney who was not directly involved in the case, but who had access to Rittenband, claimed he had privately encouraged Rittenband to repudiate Polanskis plea agreement. Wells explained that he had shown the judge newspaper photos of Polanski in Munich supposedly partying with bimbos.

In 2009, in response to the documentary, Polanskis lawyers moved to have the matter dismissed on the grounds of prosecutorial and judicial misconduct. Their requests at both the trial level and appellate level were denied. On each occasion, however, the courts conceded there was strong evidence of judicial misconduct, but could not rule without Polanski being present.

By insisting that Polanski had to appear to have his case presumably dismissed because of judicial misconduct, the courts were asserting their need to maintain authority over their subjects, even when the defendants absence was the direct result of their own official wrongdoing.

Polanskis lawyers argued that based on the record of the case, the filmmaker was justified in not trusting the judicial system and therefore his non-appearance was reasonable and, in any event, unnecessary to complete the proceedings. Moreover, the prosecutions insistence that Polanski personally appear was belied by the fact that during the previous 32 years the District Attorneys office had never attempted to extradite Polanski, and had not done so precisely to avoid having to respond to misconduct allegations.

In response, the Los Angeles District Attorneys office for the first time initiated extradition proceedings against Polanski that culminated in his arrest in September 2009 in Switzerland.

The filmmaker was jailed for two months and then put under house arrest at his home in Switzerland while awaiting a decision on appeals fighting his extradition. In July 2010, a Swiss court rejected the United States request, again relying on evidence of judicial misconduct and declared Polanski a free man and released him from custody.

In 2015 the US government issued an extradition request to Poland where Polanski was about to film a movie based on the Dreyfus affair. The request was denied by Polish Regional Court Judge Dariusz Mazur, who cited many of the same reasons as the Swiss court. In 2016 with the installation of the ultra-right Polish government of Prime Minister Beata Szydo, an unsuccessful attempt was made to appeal this ruling.

This was not Samantha Geimers first attempt to have the Polanski matter terminated. In 1997 she wrote letters to the Los Angeles Court and to the prosecutors office seeking to have the case dismissed.

In 2002, when Polanski was nominated for an Academy Award for The Pianist, Geimer wrote an op-ed piece in the Los Angeles Times in which she observed, I have to imagine he would rather not be a fugitive and be able to travel freely. Personally, I would like to see that happen. He never should have been put in the position that led him to flee. He should have received a sentence of time served 25 years ago, just as we all agreed. At that time, my lawyer, Lawrence Silver, wrote to the judge that the plea agreement should be accepted and that that guilty plea would be sufficient contrition to satisfy us. I have not changed my mind.

In 2015 in response to the Polish courts rejection of the extradition request, Geimer told NBC News, I believe they did the right thing and made the right decision given all the facts. Since Im well aware of how long this has been going on, Im very pleased and happy.

Im sure hes a nice man and I know he has a family and I think he deserves closure and to be allowed to put this behind him. He said he did it, he pled guilty, he went to jail. I dont know what people want from him.

What the American state wants has little to do with the rights and wrongs of the Polanski case. The continued campaign against the filmmaker is a reactionary political act, intended to whip up the most backward layers of the population against Hollywood liberals and promiscuous intellectuals, with unmistakable anti-Semitic undertones, escalate the assault on democratic rights and intimidate and suppress emerging political opposition.
The Peoples Summit in Chicago, organized by the Bernie Sanders wing of the Democratic Party, concluded on Sunday. The event was sponsored by the National Nurses United (NNU) and other unions that had backed Sanders bid for the Democratic presidential nomination last year, along with several liberal and pseudo-left organizations aligned with the Democrats.

The event was a political fraud from beginning to end. The basic thread running through all of the workshops and demagogic speeches was the fiction that the Democratic Partya party of Wall Street and the CIAcan be transformed into a peoples party.

In remarks Saturday night, Sanders claimed that his campaign, which came to an ignominious end with his groveling endorsement of Hillary Clinton, had pushed the Democratic Party to the left and forced it to adopt the most progressive platform in history. This fantasy flies in the face of reality. Since Trumps election, the Democrats have moved further to the right, attacking the billionaire president not for his savage austerity proposals or attacks on immigrants and democratic rights, but for his supposed softness toward Russia.

Sanders lent his support to the neo-McCarthyite campaign of the Democrats and the military-intelligence apparatus, which sees Russia as the chief obstacle to US imperialisms drive for regime change in Syria and Iran. I find it strange we have a president who is more comfortable with autocrats and authoritarians than leaders of democratic nations, Sanders said. Why is he enamored with Putin, a man who has suppressed democracy and destabilized democracies around the world, including our own?

Consistent with his presidential campaign and his post-election efforts to shore up the Democratic Party, Sanders made no mention of the Democrats record of militarism or the danger of a military confrontation with the worlds second largest nuclear power.

Instead, he continued to advance the duplicitous line that it is possible to wage a struggle against the economic and political domination of Americas billionaire class while backing that same classs imperialist foreign policy.

In an hour-long speech that never mentioned the words war, capitalism or socialism, Sanders suggested that a fundamental transformation of society would be possible if young people decided to run for state and local office as progressive Democrats. This, he said, was the real revolution that his campaign had engendered.

According to Sanders, the popular support for his election campaign had forced not only the Democrats, but significant sections of the Republicans to adopt progressive ideas. We have won the battle of ideas and will continue to win the battle of ideas, he said.

We have in recent years made enormous progress advancing the progressive agenda, he continued. Sometimes, what we all do is we look at today and think, Well, thats kind of the way it always was. Thats not the case. Ideas that just a few years ago seemed radical and unattainable are now widely supported, and, in fact, some of them are being implemented as we speak.

As supposed evidence of this political sea change, Sanders pointed to various Democratic city and state officials who have given rhetorical support for mild reform measures, including minimum wage hikes and broader state-funded health coverage. He also pointed to the election of progressive Democrats in New York, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and elsewhere.

Sanders referred to last weeks election in the United Kingdom, in which the Labour Party gained 29 parliamentary seats, to say that the movement for economic, social, racial and environmental justice is growing worldwide. He said Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had won those extra seats not by moving to the right or becoming more conciliatory, but by standing up to the ruling class of the UK.

As in Sanders own campaign, in which he won 13 million votes by claiming to be a democratic socialist leading a political revolution against the billionaire class, the popular support for Corbyn is an expression of the growing political radicalization of workers and especially young people in the face of the explosive growth of social inequality and the discrediting of the entire political system. Far from standing up to the ruling class, however, Corbyn, like Sanders, has sought to contain this social opposition within the confines of a capitalist political party, in this case the Labour Party.

Sanders pointed to the immense level of social discontent in the United States. While the last eight years did get better under Obama, he claimed, millions were left behind. Workers who had decent factory jobs were told, Sorry, were moving to China. Half of older Americans have nothing in the bank. Millions have no health insurance or have high deductibles. Working families are in pain and they are worried about their kids.

All over, Sanders continued, people are furious. They are asking, Does anybody hear my pain? Does anybody give a damn about me and my family?

Will aware of mass disaffection with the political establishment and the radicalization of millions of workers and young people, Sanders and the rest of the organizers of the Peoples Summit are concerned that the Democratic Party will not be able to play its traditional role of channeling, containing and suppressing opposition and preventing a mass working-class movement against capitalism.

How was it possible, Sanders asked, that the most unpopular candidate was able to become president? He did not win the election, the Democrats lost the election, he answered.

The current model and the current strategy of the Democratic party is an absolute failure, he continued. The Democratic Party needs fundamental change. What it needs is to open up its doors to working people and young people and older people who are prepared to fight for social and economic justice.

The Democratic Party must understand what side it is on. And that cannot be the side of Wall Street, or the fossil fuel industry, or the drug companies.

Sanders is by no means the first political snake oil salesman to peddle the lie that the Democratic Party ever was or ever could be anything other than a party of the capitalist ruling class. He is, however, one of the more practiced of this breed, having been at it for decades, during which he has used his facade of socialism and independence to provide the Democrats with a much needed left cover. He has spent some 30 years in Congress performing this service for the ruling class, and is now being handsomely rewarded, earning not only political prestige and media attention, but also a cool million in income last year.

In fact, the Democratic Party long ago abandoned any policy of social reform and spent the last four decades undoing the New Deal and War on Poverty programs. It continues to move to the right, not the left.

The Democratic Party has almost nothing to say about the biggest attack on social programs in history. It is not holding congressional hearings on Trumps destruction of Medicaid or his attacks on democratic rights. Instead, it is holding hearings to pressure or even remove Trump so that the American ruling class can escalate its aggressive policy against Russia, including preparations for war.

Sanders support for the anti-Russia campaign expresses the essence of his class position as a capitalist and imperialist politician.

He and the liberal and pseudo-left publications and organizations that back him, from the Democratic Socialists of America to the Nation magazine, the International Socialist Organization, Socialist Alternative and other anti-Marxist left organizations, are perpetrating a political fraud to block the emergence of a revolutionary movement of the working class.

Some of these forces are urging Sanders to break with the Democrats and build a new Peoples Party along the lines of the pro-capitalist Podemos movement in Spain or Syriza in Greece. The latter, once in power, quickly betrayed all of its anti-austerity promises and set about implementing social attacks that go beyond those carried out by its conservative predecessors. Both Podemos and Syriza had representatives at the Peoples Summit.

Rejecting a political break with the Democrats, Sanders told the Washington Post, Look, as the longest-serving independent member of Congress, I know something about that [third parties]. Where my energy is right now is in fundamentally transforming the Democratic Party into a grass-roots progressive party. And well see where it goes.

Whatever illusions remain in Sanders will be dissipated as a movement of the working class emerges and workers begin to advance their own demands, which cannot be reconciled with war, social inequality and the maintenance of the capitalist system.
After posturing as a proponent of good governance and democratic rights, the Sri Lankan government is moving to introduce a range of repressive new anti-terror laws. Last month, Prime Minister Rani Wickremesinghes cabinet approved a new draft of its Counter Terrorism Act (CTA) that will soon be submitted to parliament for approval.

The CTA legislation a slightly modified version of a previous draft that came under heavy international and domestic criticismis even more repressive than the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). The PTA was enacted by President J. R. Jayawardenes government in 1979 as part of its crackdown on the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and an escalation of Colombos repression of the working class.

During the January 2015 presidential election campaign, Maithripala Sirisena promised to replace the hated PTA. His governments alternative legislation, the CTA, however, extends the anti-democratic provisions of the previous laws, providing a range of deeply repressive powers to the state, the police and the military. Under bogus claims of curbing terrorism, the new laws are aimed at suppressing the developing struggles of workers, the poor and young people, and laying the foundations for a police state.

The draft law states that it will prevent, detect, investigate and counter terrorism and associated offences, protect the security of Sri Lanka and its people and other sovereign countries. Its aims include:

* Protecting the unity, territorial integrity, and sovereignty of Sri Lanka

* Preventing, combating and responding to attacks and threats against the interests of Sri Lanka

* Preventing attacks and threats against other countries

* Preventing the use of Sri Lanka for terrorism on other sovereign nation.

 Offences of terrorism are defined as any act of violence, endangering the life of any person, serious damage to Sri Lanka n private and public property, and obstruction of essential service and supplies. It also includes any act used to intimidate a population or wrongfully or unlawfully compel the government to abstain from carrying out any action, or prevent the state from functioning. Other so-called terrorist offences involve causing harm to the unity, integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka or any other sovereign state.

These definitions are so broad that they could be used to arbitrarily suppress political or industrial action against the government, including strikes or demonstrations by workers and the poor by, branding them a terrorist act, or as aiding and abetting terrorism.

Protection of the unity, territorial integrity, and sovereignty of Sri Lanka, and national security, are catch phrases that have been regularly used by successive governments to suppress the democratic rights of political parties, the media, the Tamil population and the entire working class. Socialists seeking to mobilise the working class in defence of their jobs, working conditions and basic rights will be clear targets.

One section of the draft, entitled Exclusion from criminal culpability, declares that no action will be taken against anyone if their writings or speeches are made in good faith and with due diligence. But the final arbiters of this good faith clause will be the government and state authorities.

An earlier draft of the CTA defined the collection of confidential informationi.e., whistleblower exposuresas espionage. The new version of CTA drops the word espionage but restates the same offences: gathering confidential information for the purpose of supplying such information to a person who is conspiring, preparing, abetting, or attempting to commit terrorism or any terrorism related acts. In other words, the unearthing and exposure of illegal activities and actions by the government and the state apparatus, including the military and police, will be deemed an act of terrorism

The CTA also gives Sri Lankan police and the armed forces virtually unlimited powers of arrests, interrogation and detention. The planned law states: Any police officer or any member of the armed forces or a coast guard officer, may arrest without a warrant any person who commits an offence. It continues, a statement made by any person to a police officer holding a rank not below a Superintendent of Police either by himself or in response to questions will be admissible against those arrested.

Suspects could be detained for up to six months through an order from a deputy inspector general of police on the request of an officer in charge of a police station. The detainee does not have to be brought before a magistrate if he or she is taken into custody under the terrorism laws. The place of detention can be determined by police.

After arrest, suspects would have no right to seek legal advice for 48 hours or until the individual is brought before a magistrate. This is a further tightening of the existing law and creates the conditions for confessions to be obtained through torture. Sri Lankan police are notorious for torturing confessions from so-called suspects. Admissions of guilt obtained through torture were commonly used to convict hundreds of people arrested during the war against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

The CTA contains severe penalties for those found guilty of terrorism offences, including up to 20 years imprisonment, fines and possible confiscation of property. Anyone who fails to provide information about those committing, abetting and preparing terrorism or related offences can be imprisoned for three years and fined.

Unsurprisingly, former President Mahinda Rajapakse and his supporters in the joint opposition, who are attempting to bring down the current administration, are silent about the new laws. Rajapakse regularly used the PTA and Emergency Laws against Tamils during the long-running communal war against the LTTE and in suppressing the democratic rights of the working class and the poor.

The Sri Lankan pseudo-left, who previously denounced Rajapakse and promoted Sirisena and Wickremesinghe as democrats, has said nothing about the anti-terror laws.

The government, which faces a deepening economic crisis, is ruthlessly imposing austerity measures dictated by the International Monetary Fund that place the burden on the backs of working people. This social assault has produced a wave of strikes and student protests.

Confronted with this growing popular opposition, President Sirisena recently suggested that Sarath Fonseka leave his current ministerial position and resume his role as Sri Lankan army chief, or take up another senior position in the state apparatus, in order to discipline the country.

When this proposal drew sharp criticism, Sirisena claimed that he planned no such appointment. Notwithstanding Sirisenas denial, the new CTA makes clear that the Sri Lankan ruling class and its government are preparing for ruthless class war against workers and the poor.
Encouraged by the Bolsheviks, and to the dismay of the Provisional Government and its opportunist allies, factory committees are playing an ever more assertive role in the life of the former imperial capital: from controlling production to enforcing labor discipline, from organizing Red Guards to holding performances of operatic arias and Shakespeares dramas, from ensuring the food supply to combating drunkenness. In a congress of factory committees held this week, elected worker-deputies arriving straight from their factory benches vote overwhelmingly for Bolshevik resolutions. Workers declare that they are ready to rule without the help of the capitalists and landlords.

Across the ocean, the US ruling class, led by President Wilson, mobilizes millions of soldiers and the immense productive capacity of the American economy to intervene in the Great War. However, the Wilson administration confronts a powerful working-class insurgency involving the largest strike wave in American history. In response, the liberal Wilson administration imposes the authoritarian Espionage Act, in effect criminalizing opposition to war.

Petrograd, June 12-18 (May 30-June 5 O.S.): Conference of Petrograd Factory Committees endorses Bolshevik resolutions

The first full conference of factory committees convenes in Tauride Palace, the same building where the Provisional Government had first assembled during the February upheavals. Encouraged by the Bolsheviks, factory committees elected from the shop floor are playing an increasingly dominant role in the life of the former tsarist capital.

Factory committees unilaterally assert control over the hiring and firing of workers, over wages, and over every aspect of production and distribution at a given workplace. When starvation threatens the capital, the factory committees establish commissions to procure food and cooperatives to serve meals to workers and their families. Commissions are established to address a whole panorama of issues: to resolve disputes with management, to resolve disputes among workers, and to discipline workers who steal from the factory, who come to work drunk, or who slack off on the job.

The factory committees do not limit themselves to the immediate issues arising at the workplace. Having no confidence in the Provisional Government and its police forces, the committees equip, arm, and train their own Red Guards. They establish commissions on culture and enlightenment, establishing libraries, schools, kindergartens, day care, bands, orchestras, Shakespeare productions, lectures, and opera performances. Evening classesin multiple languagesare held on literacy, science, mathematics, and law. The Putilov works committee, a center of Bolshevik support, urges workers to attend evening classes: Let the idea that knowledge is everything sink deep into our consciousness. It is the essence of life and it alone can make sense of life.

Questions of culture and enlightenment are now the most vital burning questions, the committee writes. Comrades, do not let slip the opportunity of gaining scientific knowledge. Do not waste a single hour fruitlessly. Every hour is dear to us. We need not only to catch up with the classes with which we are fighting, but to overtake them. That is lifes command, that is where the finger is pointing. We are now the masters of our own lives and so we must become masters of all the weapons of knowledge (quoted in S.A. Smith, Red Petrograd, p. 95).

The Provisional Government and its supporters view the growth of politicized and Bolshevik-influenced factory committeesand the workers fierce loyalty to these committeeswith alarm. In a law passed in April, the Provisional Government sought to grant the factory committees legal status while restricting them to the role of trade unions. This law is largely ignored by management, which still tries to crush any effort to organize workers, as well as by workers, who reject any government-imposed limits on the activities or aspirations of their organizations.

At the congress of factory committees, workers reject the idea that their organizations should accept a role as mere trade unions, limiting themselves to helping management and the state carry out their organizational work. In his speech to the congress on June 13, Lenin favors expanding the role of factory committees, which should boldly declare their authority over every aspect of production and organization at the workplace. Comrades, workers, see that you get real control, not fictitious control, Lenin declares, and reject in the most resolute manner all resolutions and proposals for establishing fictitious control existing only on paper.

The final resolution, supported by 336 of the 421 delegates, upholds the factory committees as democratically elected fighting organizations that aspire to thorough control by labor over production and distribution. In contrast to the pompous and long-winded speeches that have characterized the proceedings of the Provisional Government and its petty-bourgeois supporters, the workers addressing the congress of factory committees are earnest and direct. By taking into our own hands the control of production, one delegate says, we will learn about its practical aspects and raise it to the level of future socialist production.

Tokyo, June 12: Tensions emerge between Japan and the US over China

The state-controlled press in Japan bitterly denounces the decision by the United States to send a note to the Chinese government at the beginning of the month, in which Washington advises Beijing that its prospective participation in the Allied war effort should take a back seat to ensuring domestic stability.

The American note has been sent as mass opposition to possible Chinese involvement in the conflict intensifies political instability. The country is wracked by violent conflicts between rival warlords, threatening the very existence of a central political authority. Japans reaction reflects mounting tensions between Tokyo and Washington, both of which have designs on securing greater dominance over China after the war.

The semi-official Japan Times declares: The Foreign Office officials must obtain from the United States an assurance that it will not repeat its actions in interfering with the domestic affairs in China, completely ignoring the existence and position of Japan. It states that the US note had been discussed in the Japanese Cabinet because it gravely concerns the future of the Empire.

Petrograd, June 13 (May 31 O.S.): US former Secretary of State Roots mission arrives

After one month of travel, including a disembarkation in Vladivostok and a 10-day journey across Russia on a luxurious train that weeks earlier belonged to Tsar Nicholas II, the special American mission to Russia led by former Secretary of State Elihu Root arrives in Petrograd. The nine-man commission is housed in the tsars sumptuous Winter Palace.

The mission includes, in addition to Root, two military officers, three industrialists, a representative from the Young Mens Christian Association, and two representatives of American labor: the pro-war socialist Charles Russell, and James Duncan, vice president of the equally pro-war American Federation of Labor.

A note from Secretary of State Lansing, introducing the high commission, makes clear that its purpose is to secure ongoing Russian involvement in the war: This commission is prepared, if the Russian Government desires, to confer upon the best ways and means to bring about effective cooperation between the two Governments in the prosecution of the war against the German autocracy which is to-day the gravest menace to all democratic governments Whatever the cost in life and treasure this supreme object should be, and can be, obtained.

Kerensky and the Provisional Government, in fact, need no convincing. It is not that any difficulties will arise with the Government the New York Times writes. [B]ut the government is not always its own master. Referring to the Petrograd Soviet and other working-class organs of power, the Times correspondent continues, there are organizations, and powerful organizations [for whom] President Wilsons declarations and policy mean prolonged war, and its a prolongation of the war that they detest. They will doubtless see in the Root Mission an attempt to bind Russia to a hard and fast policy which would inevitably mean war to the finish.

The Root Mission is hated among the Russian masses. One American observer, present in Petrograd at the time, remarked that Root, in revolutionary Russia, was as welcome as the smallpox.

Ashton-under-Lyne, England, June 13: Munitions factory explosion kills over 40

A fire breaks out at the Hooley Hill Rubber and Chemical Works factory in Ashton-under-Lyme, northwest England. The blaze triggers an explosion of five tons of TNT, killing 46 people, including 23 workers at the facility, which is engaged in producing TNT for the war effort.

The factory is owned by the Hooley Hill Rubber and Chemical Company, which has sought to profit from the mass slaughter in Europe. On August 5, 1914, the day after war was declared on Germany, the company approached the British government to offer its services in the war effort. While it was initially turned down, London accepted its services after TNT stocks began running low.

The plant in Ashton-under-Lyme was constructed with the help of a government grant of 10,000. Initially approved to manufacture five tons of TNT per week, production has since been increased to 25 tons per week, even though the plant is in a built-up area with houses nearby. This has been part of a broader effort by the government to increase the production of TNT by private contractors, resulting in a sharp rise in TNT production from half a million tons in 1914 to 76 million tons in 1917.

Among the casualties are 11 children playing nearby. Over 120 people are hospitalized, and several hundred suffer minor injuries.

London, June 13: 162 killed, over 400 injured in German air raid

In Germanys first major air raid on the British capital with fixed-wing aircraft, 162 people lose their lives and 432 are injured. This will be the largest number of casualties caused by a single bombing raid on England during World War I.

Twenty-two Gotha bombers set out on the attack. The first bombs fall around 11:30 a.m. in East Ham and near the Royal Albert Docks. Three bombs are later dropped on Liverpool Street station, where there are at least 16 deaths. Reports say that in total the planes drop 126 bombs, mainly hitting private houses, stables, and schools.

Poplar Upper North Street School is hit, resulting in the death of 18 children, 16 of them aged between 4 and 6, and the maiming of 30 others.

The raid shows a lack of preparedness by the British authorities. A small number of aircraft are scrambled to attack the German bombers but are outnumbered and fail to shoot any down. Although some planes and guns have been in place around the capital to deal with Zeppelin attacks that have been launched at regular intervals since 1915, aircraft are not deployed in sufficient numbers to deal with large formations of German aircraft.

Petrograd, 14 June: Provisional Government forces Swiss Social Democrat Robert Grimm to leave the country

The Menshevik ministers of the Provisional Government, Tsereteli and Skobelev, inform the Swiss social democrat Robert Grimm that he must leave Russia immediately. They had previously confronted and exposed him for secretly making contact with the German high command. Using Swiss diplomatic channels, Grimm had attempted to arrange a separate peace between Germany and Russia.

Robert Grimm (1881-1958) is known for organizing the peace conferences at Zimmerwald (1915) and Kienthal (1916). Lenin and Trotsky participated in these conferences, notwithstanding their political differences with Grimm.

Early in the morning of June 15, Grimm, accompanied by a Russian agent, is placed on the next train and escorted to the Swedish border. The Congress of Soviets, held in Petrograd, endorses the deportation of Grimm (in Trotskys words), the pathetic Swiss socialist who tried to save the Russian Revolution and German social democracy by secret negotiations with Hohenzollern diplomacy. Lenin writes in a letter to Radek in Stockholm: I am not surprised that the scoundrel Grimm, a centrist and Kautskyist, is capable of a disgraceful rapprochement with his ministers: Whoever does not break decisively with the social chauvinists always risks finding themselves in this shameful situation.

Grimm had been in contact with the Swiss government and the German military command for months. He also informed them of his visit to Russia, where he took part in meetings with workers and deputies of the soviets and visited the sailors in Kronstadt. In a coded telegram from Petrograd to the Swiss foreign minister in Bern, Arthur Hoffman (of the Free Democratic Party), he wrote: The desire for peace is generally present  If possible, tell me what you know of the war aims of the governments so that the negotiations can be made easier. Hoffman then recommended to the German supreme command that they further spin the thread begun by Grimm with the relevant persons in Petersburg.

London, June 15: British government announces general amnesty for Irish political prisoners involved in Easter Rising

In the House of Commons, Chancellor of the Exchequer Bonar Law reads a statement from the government proposing a general amnesty for the more than 100 Irish political prisoners still in custody following their participation in the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin. The government justifies its move by the desire to show goodwill in advance of the convocation of an Irish convention due to open next month. The conventions task will be to determine Irelands future relationship with Britain, which rules the island as a colony.

The detention of more than 3,000 people following the rebellion, which was brutally put down by British soldiers in less than a week, has increased anger among the Irish population towards British colonial rule. Working-class opposition to the war is deepening, and there is widespread hostility to Irishmen being drafted to fight on behalf of their British colonial overlords. In February, Sinn Fein, which is rapidly shifting from its former position of advocating an independent Ireland under the British crown to a call for outright independence, secured its first victory in a parliamentary by-election.

One of the most well-known figures among the prisoners the government will now release is Eamon de Valera, who served as a commandant of one of the rebel brigades during the Easter Rising. He will go on to become Sinn Fein President and play a major role in the Irish Civil War and negotiations with Britain that will result in the creation of the Irish Free State.

See also: One hundred years since Irelands Easter Rising

Petrograd, June 15 (June 2, O.S.): First issue of Vperiod, the new paper of the Mezhraiontsy

The first issue of Trotskys new journal Vperiod (Forward) appears in Petrograd. Trotsky at this point still works formally outside the ranks of the Bolshevik Party, trying to win the majority of the Mezhraiontsy (Interdistrict Group) for a merger with Lenins Bolsheviks.

Trotskys editorial in this first issue of Vperiod makes clear that he is already fighting for the same line as Lenin: against the opportunist, nationalist betrayal of socialism by the Mensheviks, the Socialist Revolutionaries and other tendencies, and for the building of the Third International to lead the world socialist revolution:

Our paper is to be the organ of revolutionary socialism. Such a declaration would have been sufficient a short time ago. At present these words have lost value. For, both socialism and revolution are now professed by such elements, such classes, as, in their social nature, belong to the camp of the enemy whom we cannot conciliate.... The Russian Revolution is the beginning of the great European tide. The bourgeoisie is attempting with all its might to tame the Russian Revolution and to nationalize it. That is why the bourgeoisie is camouflaging itself behind the defensive minority of socialism. The servants of the bourgeoisie and its political agents are exerting all their efforts, in the name of national unity and defense, to castrate the proletariat, to tear it away from the International, and to subjugate it to the discipline of an imperialistic war. We consider this policy to be a mortal foe to the interests of socialism. The revolutionary defense is our domestic brand of social-patriotism. Under the mask of populism or of Marxism, this revolutionary defense in reality involves an unalterable desertion of the independent policy of the proletariat, and brings with it the poison of chauvinism and a complete degradation of the proletarian ideology. The fight against the disintegrating influence of social-patriotism and in defense of the principles of revolutionary internationalism will be the most important task of this paper.

The paper was to be short lived. Only 16 issues appear before virtually all the Mezhraiontsy join the Bolshevik Party in late July 1917 and start publishing in its main organ, Pravda.

Washington, June 15: Wilson signs into law the Espionage Act

After several months of wrangling with Congress for a more sweeping bill, Wilson signs into law the Espionage Act, which, in the name of national defense, seeks to outlaw political opposition to US involvement in the Great War.

Section 2 of the law makes punishable by death or imprisonment of up to 30 years willful interference with the US military or collusion with its enemies. Section 1 is much broader, imposing a prison term of up to two years for a suspects intent or reason to believe that conveyance of information regarding US national defenseincluding not only military installations but railroads, factories, and minesmight cause injury of the United States.

Section 3 is tantamount to a gag order against opposition to American imperialism. It prescribes prison terms of up to 20 years for the crime of making false reports or false statements with intent to interfere with the operation or success of the military or of attempt[ing] to cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, refusal of duty, in the military or naval forces of the United States or [obstruction] of the recruiting or enlistment service of the United States.

Section 6 allows the president to declare, by proclamation, any part of the US a prohibited place where the Espionage Act can be made operative.

Wilson proposed the Espionage Act as early as his 1915 State of the Union Address:

There are citizens of the United States, I blush to admit, born under other flags but welcomed under our generous naturalization laws to the full freedom and opportunity of America, who have poured the poison of disloyalty into the very arteries of our national life; who have sought to bring the authority and good name of our Government into contempt, to destroy our industries...Such creatures of passion, disloyalty, and anarchy must be crushed out

Wilsons warnings against criticism of the American government and threats to its industries are not mere window-dressing. With the Espionage Act, Wilson and leaders of both major parties are attempting to counter the growing influence of socialism amidst the largest strike wave in US history. The target of the Espionage Act is the working class.

Wilson wishes to go much further than what is realized with the law, which slows its passage: He demands the right to impose censorship upon the media. A proposed amendment to the Espionage Act, granting the president this right, fails by one vote in the Senate. However, the law itself is so sweeping that it is interpreted as allowing the Postmaster General to outlaw the delivery in the mail of newspapers and magazines that oppose the war. Soon, foreign language newspapers are required to submit an English language translation prior to delivery.

On May 16, 1918, Congress will add a set of amendments to the Espionage Act known informally as the Sedition Act. This will outlaw forms of speech deemed disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive about the form of government of the United States ... or the flag of the United States, or the uniform of the Army or Navy.

Petrograd, June 16 (June 3, O.S.): First All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers and Soldiers Deputies convenes in Petrograd

The First All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers and Soldiers Deputies is in session from June 16 to July 7 (June 3 to 24, O.S). The Congress is attended by 1,090 deputies who represent 305 Soviets of Workers, Soldiers and Peasants Deputies, as well as dozens of regional soviets, army units, naval organizations, and other councils and committees. Of the deputies, there are 285 Socialist-Revolutionaries, 248 Mensheviks, 105 Bolsheviks, and a broad panorama of other political affiliations.

The central question at the Congress is its attitude to the Provisional Government and the war. The SRs and Mensheviks support the government and call for the strengthening of the army to fight the war. The Bolsheviks, together with the Mezhraiontsy and some Menshevik-Internationalists, are in the minority. Speakers from this wing, including Trotsky, denounce the war as imperialist and call for the transfer of power to the Soviet of Workers, Soldiers and Peasants Deputies.

Many of the major figures in the Russian Revolution are present, and the proceedings of the congress are rich with drama. The Menshevik Nikolai Chkheidze chairs. The Mensheviks Fyodor Dan, Irakli Tsereteli, and Georgi Plekhanov speak in support of the provisional government and the war, Lenin and Trotsky against. At one point, Tsereteli is speaking, claiming that there is no political party in Russia ready to take power entirely. Lenin interrupts, There is!

When Lenins turn to speak arrives on June 17, he delivers a comprehensive presentation of the political situation, an analysis of political tendencies, and an exposition of the Bolshevik positions. Lenin concludes:

You can write on paper anything you like. But as long as the capitalist class has a majority in the government the war will remain an imperialist war no matter what you write, no matter how eloquent you are, no matter how many near-socialist Ministers you have. Everyone knows that, and everyone can see it... The time has come for a radical turn in the whole history of the Russian revolution. When the Russian revolution began it was assisted by the imperialist bourgeoisie of Britain who imagined Russia to be something like China or India. Yet, side by side with a government in which the landowners and capitalists now have a majority, the Soviets arose, a representative institution unparalleled and unprecedented anywhere in the world in strength, an institution which you are killing by taking part in a coalition ministry of the bourgeoisie. In reality, the Russian revolution has made the revolutionary struggle from below against the capitalist governments welcome everywhere, in all countries, with three times as much sympathy as before. The question is one of advance or retreat. No one can stand still during a revolution... Power transferred to the revolutionary proletariat, supported by the poor peasants, means a transition to revolutionary struggle for peace in the surest and most painless forms ever known to mankind, a transition to a state of affairs under which the power and victory of the revolutionary workers will be ensured in Russia and throughout the world.

Flanders, June 17: First combat action of Portuguese troops on the Western Front

Troops of the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps (CEP) engage in battle for the first time on the Western Front alongside British forces. The fighting comes more than a year after Lisbon formally entered the war on the side of the Allies in March 1916.

When the war initially broke out in 1914, the weak Portuguese government sought to retain a position of official neutrality. However, Portuguese and German troops engaged in a series of hostile skirmishes over competing colonial possessions in Africa. Portugal sent troops to Angola on Africas southwest coast and Mozambique on the southeast coast to strengthen control of its colonies. From its colony of Southwest Africa, Germany fomented unrest among African tribes in Angola. Angola has been a longstanding target for Berlin, which formed an Angola League as early as 1912 and was pursuing secret talks with Britain to seize it from Portugal prior to the wars outbreak.

The conflict escalated in November 1915, when Portugal sent an additional 1,500 troops to Mozambique to capture the Kionga Triangle from Germany, which has been occupied since 1894. The final straw came in early 1916, when Britain requested Portugal confiscate German ships in its ports, a request which Lisbon followed. The declaration of war occurred on March 9, 1916.

The deployment of 55,000 troops to France to fight on the Western Front triggered mass opposition. Strikes broke out and the deployment has only been carried out following the imposition of martial law. The first contingent arrived in February, and there have been Portuguese troops at the front since early April.

June 17 (June 4, O.S.): Socialist Revolutionaries conclude Third Party Congress in Moscow

On June 17, the Socialist Revolutionary Party (SRs) concludes its Congress in Moscow. Of all parties in Russia at the time, the SRs are most closely associated with the tradition of populism and seen as the central political vehicle of Russias vast peasantry. The influence of the SRs had dramatically increased after the February Revolution and is now reaching its apex in the early summer. In June, the SRs won a comfortable majority of 58 percent in the Moscow City Council elections, and most Russian cities are now run by an SR mayor.

Like the Mensheviks, the SRs support the Provisional Government and the war effort. The Congress gives its formal approval for the participation of both Chernov and Kerensky in the Provisional Government, as minister of agriculture and minister of war respectively.

Whatever the apparent success of the SRs in this period, the Third Party Congress in June reveals a party that is hopelessly divided and on the brink of political collapse. Having undergone a shift toward national chauvinism and conservatism during the war, the partys leading intellectuals and representatives oppose the widespread land seizures by peasants in the countryside. They have abandoned the centerpiece and most popular component of the SR program, the socialization of the land, in all but name.

An increasingly militant left minority is opposing these policies. In Kronstadt and some other regions, the left SRs often support Bolshevik resolutions and expand their cooperation with Lenins party. However, they refuse to break with the SRs. On the other hand, a no less militant right-wing is boiling with almost unrestrained Russian nationalist chauvinism and support for militarism.

In a desperate attempt to prevent the party from breaking up, the Congress effectively avoids any binding resolution and programmatic decision. The concrete implementation of the land reform, as well as a number of crucial points, are left to a Constituent Assembly, yet to be convened in the indefinite future. The party also avoids clarifying its stand on the ever-more burning nationality question, with leading representatives insisting that only Poland, but not Ukraine, Finland, or any other major nationality, have the right to nominal independence from Russia. Despite a massive influx of new members, the Congress does not even manage to set up a standard procedure for admission.

Zurich, June 14: Ferdinand Hodler exhibition opens

In Zurich, the most comprehensive exhibition ever held of the work of Swiss painter Ferdinand Hodler (1853-1918) opens on June 14. Hodler belongs to the most innovative and versatile artists of the early modernists. His work encompasses everything from realistic landscapes and portrait paintings, to symbolism and art nouveau, to ever more abstract presentations of people and landscapes. His later works include not only portraits and landscapes of great luminosity, but also several monumental paintings and murals in which he approached historical themes with a new visual vocabulary. His figures and groups of people move in rhythmic repetitions and are reminiscent of modern dance.

Holder grew up in poverty and was confronted with death at an early age, something which became a central theme in his lifes work. When he was five years old, his father, a carpenter, died of tuberculosis. When he was 13, his mother succumbed to the same disease, collapsing in a field. The 14-year-old loaded her into a wheelbarrow and carried her into the city with tears streaming down his face. After that, his five siblings also died. Hodler: In the family, death was universal. In the end, it seemed there would always be a dead person in the house, and that it had to be so.

Among his most impressive works are the 100 or so drawings and paintings concerning the illness and death of his lover, the dancer Valentine Gode-Darel (1915).

In 1914, he signs a letter of protest against the bombing of the Reims Cathedral by German troops. Following this, he is subjected to a furious smear campaign in Germany. One of Hodlers pictures, The German Students in the War of Liberation of 1813, hangs at the University of Jena. Nobel laureate Rudolf Eucken and zoologist Ernst Haeckel call for the painting to be removed and ultimately sold. Haeckel writes that with his spiteful and libelous statement, Hodler had deeply wounded the German honor. All of his paintings are banished to the cellars of German museums.

United States, June 17: Charlie Chaplins The Immigrant opens

Charlie Chaplin - The Immigrant (1917)

Charlie Chaplins two-reel film (22 minutes), The Immigrant, opens in the US. The remarkable movie, made for the Mutual Film Corporation, contains elements of comedy, romance, and social criticism.

The Immigrant is the 11th comic short Chaplin has made for Mutual in 1916-17, in all of which he produces, writes, directs, and stars. The series also includes other immortal works such as The Vagabond, One A.M., The Pawnshop, and The Rink.

Chaplin relies in part on his own experiences as an outsider in the US. The film begins on board a ship carrying poor immigrants, many of whom are seasick. A wonderful gag involves Chaplin aligning his movements with the rocking of the ship. He makes friends with a young woman (played by Edna Purviance) and her ailing mother, whose money has been stolen.

The newcomers spy the Statue of Liberty in New Yorks harbor, but soon find themselves behind a rope barrier and pushed around by immigration officials. Chaplins kick administered to one of the officials is cited in the Red Scare period of the early 1950s, when the filmmaker is forced out of the US, as evidence of his anti-Americanism.

Chaplin and the 21-year-old Purviancewith whom the filmmaker is romantically involvedlater meet up in a restaurant, where he contrives to come up with payment for their meals in the face of a huge, intimidating waiter (Eric Campbell).

Chaplin shoots as much footage for The Immigrant as other directors do for feature-length films. He exposes 90,000 feet of negative (the final film runs some 2,000 feet) and works four days and nights without sleep while editing the film to its final length.

In his autobiography, Chaplin describes the period at Mutual as the happiest period of my career.
Defeated right-wing candidate for the Unite union election, Gerard Coyne, has launched legal action against the result and his suspension.

Coyne lost the election for Unite general secretary to incumbent Len McCluskey in April. A supporter of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, McCluskey was re-elected general secretary with 59,607 votes to Coynes 53,544.

Just 12.2 percent of union members voted in the election for the leader of Britains largest union. With only 130,071 Unite members voting out of 1,062,049 ballots sent out, turnout was a historic low and revealed the alienation of the union members from all factions of the union bureaucracy.

In 2010, 240,000 Unite members (15.8 percent) voted in an election in which McCluskey, standing as a nominally left voice, won to take control of the union. In 2013, McCluskey called an early election and defeated Jerry Hicks, with turnout again falling as 225,801 (15.2 percent) of members voted.

The rejection by the membership of the latest leadership contest reflects growing hostility to a series of betrayals of their struggles by Unite. One dispute or strike after another has been isolated and sold-out, with concession after concession made to management. These include Tata steel workers, workers at auto producer BMW, British Airways cabin crew, UK oil refinery workers and IT workers at Fujitsu.

Given the national prominence of the Unite electionwhich was given widespread publicity as one critical to ultimately determining the leadership of the Labour Partythe collapse of turnout was even more notable. McCluskey was only able to defeat Coynea candidate who openly supported the despised Blairite faction of the Labour Partyby a slender margin of 45.4 percent to 41.5 percent, revealing the extent to which all factions of the bureaucracy are reviled.

Just hours after polling closed, Coyne was suspended from his position as West Midlands regional secretary, with the BBC reporting, Coyne is understood to be facing disciplinary proceedings for bringing the union into disrepute.

Coyne claims the Unite election was flawed and the voting process subverted. His legal challenge to the vote was launched to coincide with the final week of campaigning for last weeks snap general election in a backdoor effort to discredit Corbyn.

In the run-up to the general election, the Labour right insisted, in line with Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May, that Labour under Corbyn was unelectable. Instead, the election result was a massive repudiation of May and the Tories and of the Labour right, as a shift leftwards in the population saw Corbyn receive 40 percent of the vote, preventing the Tories from forming a majority government.

Coyne taking the leadership of Unite was seen as a vital staging post in the conspiracy to remove Corbyn since the union is Labours biggest donor. Labour raised 2.68 million during the first week of the campaign for the general election, of which fully 2.36 millionor 88 percentcame from Unite. The aim of the Blairites was to take control of the union and remove the financial backing from Corbyn.

Central to this was a campaign to discredit McCluskey. This was in full swing in the weeks running up to the Unite leadership vote. The Guardian s Sunday sister paper, the Observer, in March, publishing a secret recording of Jon Lansman, the founder of the pro-Corbyn campaign group Momentum.

The Observer claimed the recording was evidence of, in the words of Labour deputy general secretary and opponent of Corbyn, Tom Watson, a hard-left plot to take over Labour. Watson claimed this was to be based on Momentum securing the backing of Unite and the Communication Workers Union. Coyne declared, This shocking revelation reveals a secret hard-left plot by Len McCluskey to seize control of the Labour party in perpetuity using cash taken from hard-working members of Unite.

McCluskey replied that he had never even met Lansman.

Coyne, a union bureaucrat of more than 15 years standing was described in the Financial Times as a close ally of Tom Watson and standard bearer of many moderate Labour MPs who are unhappy at Mr Corbyns leadership.

Coyne has impeccable credentials as an acolyte of Blair. His father-in-law is the Labour peer and right-wing former leader of the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union, Bill Jordan. Jordan was described by the Independent in 1994 as the most prominent right-wing trade unionist in Britain and one of the leading backers of Tony Blair [who had just become Labour leader] in the union movement.

In January, Coyne attended a meeting on trade unionism in the 21st century in the House of Commons organised by Blairites, Chuka Umunna and Tristram Hunt. The meeting was held under the auspices of the Labour for the Common Good group, which was set up by Umunna, Hunt and other MPs in August 2015 when it became clear that Corbyn was set to win the Labour leadership contest.

Umunna and Hunt played leading roles in trying to remove Corbyn following his election. Umunna was widely expected to have launched a leadership challenge to Corbyn, which was described by Blairite Guardian columnist, Nick Cohen, as the beginning of a counter-revolution had Corbyn done badly in the general electionas the Labour right hoped.

The ruling elite went to extraordinary lengths in its attempt to take control of Unite, with the pages of Rupert Murdochs Th e Sun thrown open to Coyne to advocate his case. Coyne was backed up by a Sun editorial and a column by its political editor, Trevor Kavanagh. Making clear that the Get Coyne Elected campaign was integral to ensuring Labour was to be fully committed to war and austerity, Kavanagh wrote, The stakes could not be higher. If Len McCluskey is re-elected leader of Britains biggest union we can all kiss goodbye to Labour as an alternative party of government.

Kavanagh hailed Bill Jordan and Terry Duffy and Ken Jackson of the AUEW engineering union, now part of Unite, who were glad to write for us [The Sun].

Labour MPs including Watson were fighting to save the party, he continued, warning, This power struggle is nothing less than a fight to the death for a once noble party. Labour is doomed under its present leadership. Corbyn is a McCluskey puppet.

These are the forces that, following the election, Corbyn is once again protecting from all censure and seeking unity with. Even prior to May calling the snap election, Corbyn issued a joint statement with Watson urging party unitystressing with regard to Lansman and Momentum, The leadership represents the whole party and not any one strand within it. No one speaks for the leadership except the leadership themselves and their spokespeople.

Now, instead of attack pieces, the Observer features an op-ed by the pro-Labour New Statesmans Helen Lewis speaking of a change in the tide towards unity and citing Umunna and arch-Blairite Yvette Cooper abandoning their expected leadership challenges. Corbyn is praised for having proved willing to compromise on key issuesshoot to kill, Nato, the monarchy, Tridentand the manifesto contained very little most members of the parliamentary Labour party (PLP) found hard to defend.

The author also recommends:

UK: Labour leader Corbyn kowtows yet again to the partys right wing

[27 March 2017]
The state Labor government in Victoria, backed by the corporate media and the Liberal-National opposition, is conducting a repressive campaign against children and youth who are charged with crimes.

Premier Daniel Andrewss government pushed the Youth Justice Reform Bill through both houses of state parliament with bipartisan support. The legislation requires that youth aged 18 to 21, and teenagers over the age of 16 charged with serious offences, be tried and sentenced as adults.

Previously, 18- to 21-year-olds could serve their sentences in youth detention centres, while 16- to 18-year-olds were tried and sentenced in a childrens court.

The maximum sentence for children aged 10 to 14 will be lifted from two to three years. Sentences for detainees caught escaping will be added cumulatively to their previous detention terms, and the police and media can publicly name and shame them.

Officers are also being granted legal immunity if they assault detainees. The legislation specifies that an officer is not personally liable for injury or damage caused by the use of force against detainees if this is deemed reasonable and necessary to prevent damage to property or ensure the security of the centre or police jail.

The Labor government tabled the legislation after the Victorian Supreme Court ordered it to remove 16 teenagers from the adult maximum-security Barwon Prison.

Up to 40 teenagers were transferred to Barwon last November for allegedly taking part in a riot to protest against the oppressive conditions at Melbournes Parkville Youth Justice Centre.

The government defied a previous Supreme Court ruling to remove the youth from Barwon. Underscoring its contempt for basic legal and democratic norms, it simply rebranded a wing of the Barwon jail as a youth detention centre. It then authorised prison guards to use capsicum spray and batons against the teenagers.

In the latest court judgment, Justice John Dixon noted that children were effectively under continuous isolation or restraint for multiple days at a time. They were often held in lockdown for 23 hours a day, and handcuffed while being moved around the facility. Leaked footage from inside the unit showed the teenagers being capsicum-sprayed.

Brendan Murray, a former executive principal of Parkville College, a network of schools inside youth detention centres, condemned the transfer of the detainees to the maximum-security jail as a form of torture. Murray added that he suspected the youth were moved to the adult facility for political reasons.

The government responded by suspending Murray. He then resigned from his position in order to be able to speak out publicly.

Murray told Fairfax Media on April 17 that prison staff mocked him when he attempted to speak to teenage inmates at Barwon about their educational needs. A doctor also informed Murray that he was being prevented from distributing medication to the youth.

When Murray told the prison staff they could not keep the children in isolation for 23 hours a day, he was told: Were doing this to let them know whos boss.

Murray reported that the children complained of being threatened with spray. An officer allegedly warned one of the teenagers that he would put their face in concrete if they misbehaved.

The conditions described by Murray exist throughout the state. A recent Commission for Children and Young People inquiry into the Victorian youth detention system reported that some children and young people were isolated for weeks at a time.

In some cases, young people were forced to urinate and defecate on the floor of their isolation cells. Four young people were isolated over 100 times.

Imprisonment in isolation is a form of torture, which can cause serious psychological damage to both adults and children.

The youth detained mostly come from the poorest and most oppressed layers of the working class. Many suffered trauma and abuse as young children. Across Victoria, 45 percent of youth in detention were previously in child protection, and 63 percent were victims of abuse or neglect.

Approximately 80 percent of the teenagers languishing behind barsincluding all the teenagers sent to Barwonhave not been convicted of a crime but were on remand, mostly denied bail.

These revelations demonstrate that the abuses inflicted on youth detainees in the Northern Territory, many of Aboriginal descent, that were exposed last year are just an extreme example of what is happening nationally. Boys were assaulted, tear-gassed by detention guards, placed in Guantanamo Bay-style spit hoods and shackled in restraining chairs for hours (see: Australiatestimony details abuse in youth detention centres).

The attacks on the rights of young people are part of a broader law and order campaign being prosecuted by the Victorian Labor government. Last December it announced it would spend $2 billion to boost the police force by 20 percent, or 3,100 officers, over the next four years. It has also moved to deny parole to prisoners convicted of serious crimes and to curtail the right to bail.

These measures are aimed at boosting the repressive powers of the police and the state to deal with the unrest generated, particularly among youth, by a deepening social crisis produced by decades of job destruction in basic industries and round after round of budget cuts.

The campaign scapegoats the most oppressed sections of the working class. The Labor government and the Liberal-Nationals have repeatedly joined the tabloid press to demonise immigrant youth accusing them of belonging to violent gangs. The same political establishment is responsible for slashing funding for health, education and other programs and thus for the social conditions that fuel anti-social activities.

The author also recommends:

Australian state Labor government threatens violence against detained youth

[31 January 2017]
MIDWAY, Fla. (WTXL) -- A resurgence of moisture straight from the tropics is influencing the increase in general shower and thunderstorm activity across the eastern and northern Gulf coast early this week. Upper winds are too strong to support any organization of a tropical low in this region.

Moisture remain vast and abundant in the western Caribbean and the southwestern Gulf of Mexico through this week. There are some continued indications of a weak low-pressure center forming in the Yucatan Peninsula region. While the actual form and future movement of the possible disturbance remain quite unclear, there has been a tendency for the feature to remain in the southwestern Gulf over the weekend.

While there are no signs that should cause tropical alarms, we'll maintain a closer watch on developments in this region through late this week.
You are the owner of this article.
Ramallah-based RedCrow doesn't have a crystal ball. But for the last three years the start-up has proven its effectiveness in predicting conflict in the Middle East using its proprietary algorithms. That data has been invaluable to private sector companies, government agencies and individuals keen to plan in the region's unstable political environment, and stay out of harm's way.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



Established in August 2014 by Palestinian entrepreneurs Hussein Nasser Elden and Laila Akel, RedCrow was conceived as an online platform providing real time intelligence about politically hot zones in the Middle East.

Having started with the West Bank, the privately-owned company today also covers developments in Jordan and Egypt. End users receive instantaneous security information on their mobile phones, using RedCrow's app. The data enables them to make split second decisions, based on the immediate security situation. For instance, is it safe to drive from one location to another on a certain road? RedCrow's app provides a detailed map showing the location of security incidents; clashes and political marches. The app even reports on details like a mentally-disturbed individual seen running on a road.

RedCrow CEO

"Our systems are built on a set of algorithms to make sure the information provided is accurate," Elden, RedCrow's 31-year-old CEO, told The Media Line. The algorithms monitor and collect the information and news from open sources, including social media and rich site summary (RSS)a format for delivering regularly changing web content, he explained.

Constantly collecting raw data, the system automatically converts news and information into ever-updated maps. Similar to the hugely popular app Waze, RedCrow shows the location for each incident, as well as statistics and text alerts, allowing drivers to detour around problems such as security roadblocks or traffic jams.

RedCrow has both local and international clients including Amideast, Care and Hemaya.

"Over time, the accuracy of the information that Redcrow offers its clients has become more transparent. For example, the application shows how many sources confirmed every piece of information sent to me," Ziad Abu Zayyad, a current client at RedCrow told The Media Line. "I am aware almost immediately of every incident taking place in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The service puts all information in a single place for you rather than me searching for it."

While social media is full of fake news, RedCrow filters it out, depending on reliable sources such as official Facebook or Twitter accounts, and trusted political activists. Similarly, the company only reports on developments which numerous individuals witnessed at the same time and place. "In addition to providing immediate security information, RedCrow provides long-term security informative maps. For certain areas, that helps business owners make strategic decisions," said Elden.

Typically, these reports include under-reported news of a non-politcal nature, and public opinion surveys.

"When the Arab Spring took place, I was certain that there was a need for security information. We needed a platform to provide security facts and news," Elden stated. "The media is biased. It shows and hides stories based on agendas."

RedCrow's Mass Media feature aggregates news from national, regional and international news channels. Among the scores of websites, news agencies and blogs it constantly monitors are Haaretz, Ma'an, Alray and the Israel Defense Forces. "Mass Media filters news in different areas, and provides only security related news based on the end-user's location" Laila Akel, co-founder of RedCrow told The Media Line.

The company has a track record in improving the virtual presence of Palestine. For example, in the past, activists accused Google of deleting Palestine from Google Maps. That sparked a #PalestineIsHere hashtag. But apparently, Palestine was never marked in the first place.

There has never been a Palestine label on Google Maps. However we discovered a bug that removed the labels for West Bank and Gaza Strip. Were working quickly to bring these labels back to the area, a Google spokesperson once posted. Using Google map's layers for the West Bank as a base, RedCrow added landmarks and important places to create a secure and informative map.

RedCrow's team, which started with three, has grown to 13 staff. "Our plan is to cover the Middle East in the coming two years," Akel stated.

RedCrow received an investment from Ibtikar Funda venture capital company which invests in Palestinian start-ups.

Ibtikar Fund invested in RedCrow for its valuable and much needed product, and its experienced team," a spokesman for the Ibtikar Fund told The Media Line. "Ibtikar will continue to work with the RedCrow team as it develops further products and services, and expands to cover the region.
The Security Cabinet approved Sunday a 35 percent reduction in Israel's electricity supply to the Gaza Strip.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



Israel takes the money for Gaza's electricity from the taxes it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has recently asked to reduce the amount of money taken out of the tax funds to pay for electricity in the strip.

Gaza power plant (Photo: AP)

Israel will continue providing Gaza with NIS 65 million worth of electricity every month.

Because of the electricity crisis in the strip, an average Palestinian home gets about six hours of electricity per day.

The Security Cabinet also discussed the possibility of escalation in the Gaza Strip in light of concerns Qatar, which remains isolated amid a growing diplomatic crisis in the Arab world, would stop its support for Hamas.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, Military Intelligence Directorate (MID) head Maj. Gen. Herzi Halevi, and the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai briefed the ministers on the situation and warned of deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.

While the IDF believes Hamas is not interested in a military conflict with Israel at this time, the generals noted Israel must nevertheless be prepared for a conflict to break out if one side miscalculates the other side's actions.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Qatar Emir (Photos: AFP, Reuters)

Qatar is currently the main financer of civilian activity in the Gaza Strip. If this support stops because of the Gulf nations' boycott against Doha, the humanitarian situation in the strip could deteriorate, leading to possible military escalation as well.

According to the briefing given to the ministers, neither Egypt nor Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are expected to come to the aid of the Gazans, and Israel is left with no choice but to act with extreme caution to prevent the situation from escalating.

The IDF chief and MID head also presented the ministers with their assessments on how Hamas will react to the underground barrier project meant to stop tunnels from Gaza to cross into Israel.
Israel will test the Arrow-3 anti-ballistic missile defense system from Alaska for the first time in 2018.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



Alaska Aerospace Corporation CEO Craig Campbell said the test was part a 5-6 year, $80.4 million contract between his company and the US Missile Defense Agency, which was signed last summer.

Test launch at the Kodiak spaceport (Photo: AP)

The interceptor will be launched from a testing site in the Kodiak Islands.

"This is one of the better places to conduct a test and we plan to do that next year," said Vice Admiral James Syring, a senior US Navy official.

According to the Kodiak Daily Mirror, officials from the Kodiak spaceport will hold a meeting this Wednesday for residents to ask questions regarding the test.

The Arrow-3 missile (:   ,  )

X

The Arrow system was jointly developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Boeing and is largely managed by the Israeli Ministry of Defense and the US Missile Defense Agency.

The system's development over the past few years included a number of test launches of missiles and interceptors into space. After the Defense Ministry's Weapons and Technological Infrastructure Development Administration delivered the interceptors last January, the IAF has integrated the system and it is now operational.

Arrow 3 joins Israels three-tiered air defense system, which also includes the Iron Dome, which is capable of intercepting short-range rockets; Davids Sling, set to be used against heavy medium-range rockets and enemy drones, which is currently in an advanced stage of integration ahead of becoming operational; and Arrow 2, capable of shooting down long-range ballistic missiles.
Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked is on a roll. Even if she implements only 10 percent of her agenda, we will find ourselves living in a completely different country.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



Last week, during a Knesset House Committee discussion marking 50 years since the Six-Day War, Shaked announced her plan to change the legislation so starting June 1, the residents of Judea and Samaria, who are citizens of the State of Israel, will be included in all governmental bills.

According to Shaked, settlers have been included in only five bills in the past two years, and there is a need for equality between citizens on both sides of the Green Line.

Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked. Judea and Samaria residents will be addressed in all governmental bills from now on (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)

I asked her what she meant.

"Today, when a law is enacted, it does not apply to Judea and Samaria, unless it is turned into a tzav aluf (a military order signed by a general)," she explained. "For example, the Plastic Bag Law, which imposes a 10-agorot fee on each plastic bag. In Gush Etzion, they kept giving out plastic bags for free, because the law doesn't apply there. There are many laws that dont apply there, because the Defense Ministry was supposed to examine every law and validate it through a tzav aluf, but they dont have the manpower to do it.

Well, the justice minister is likely not losing sleep over the Plastic Bag Law.

I asked her if comparing the lives of Judea and Samaria residents to the lives of citizens within the Green Line was seen as the beginning of Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.

Shaked avoided making any bombastic statements. The desire is to compare, to normalize, she says. Normalization, thats the right word. If we had started with primary legislationin other words, added a clause to every law that was enacted by the Knesset this year, stating these laws apply to Judea and Samaria as wellthat would have been called applying sovereignty.

What (Tourism Minister) Yariv Levin and I did, she said, is we sent letters to all the ministers and asked them to address the situation of Judea and Samarias residents in every governmental bill from now on.

Im not sure, I said, that the settlers are interested in comparing their legal system to the one within the Green Line. I think they would rather keep their own legal system.

The residents want equal rights and equal duties, she said. Being controlled by a Civil Administration worker is not that great. If only you had heard what was said at the House Committee. Levin, for example, said that the Civil Administration should be dissolved. Having a government worker run all of this is insane.

The question is whether the law applied in Judea and Samaria will include the Arab residents as well.
Israel has already transferred $20 million to Turkey in compensation to the families of the 10 Turkish nationals killed during the 2010 IDF raid on the Mavi Marmara , a ship trying to break the Gaza blockade, but the money has yet to reach them.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



The compensation money, which was transferred in September, was one of the conditions set by Turkey as part of the reconciliation agreement between the two countries.

While the two countries have resumed diplomatic ties, the money is stuck in the Turkish Finance Ministry, leading the families to file a civil lawsuit against the Turkish government.





Turks aboard Mavi Marmara flotilla attack IDF naval commandos who raided the ship (Photo: IDF Spokesman)

The families petitioned the court in conjunction with the Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (IHH), which organized the flotilla.

The Turkish Finance Ministry claims it has yet to reach a consensus with the families about the sum each family was going to get, saying each family demanded a different amount.

According to Turkish newspaper Hurriyet Daily News, the families are demanding to raise the sum of the compensation by adding "moral compensation."

IDF commandos raid the Mavi Marmara (Photo: AP)

Over the weekend, the Turkish Finance Ministry said in its response to the lawsuit that while it "can never aim to upset or offend the families of citizens who lost their lives," it nevertheless rejects "the exorbitant amount of material and moral compensation asked by the plaintiff."

The Turkish nationals aboard the Marmara, the ministry said, "should have foreseen that they may be subject to such an attack because the problems between the Israeli state and Gaza are well-known."

"They took the risk of any attack or intervention. These elements should be considered when determining the amount of compensation to be paid," the ministry added.
NAIROBI -- Kenya has seized six men suspected of planning an attack sponsored by the al Shabaab militant group from neighbouring Somalia, the head of Kenyan police said late on Sunday.

In recent weeks, the East African nation has lost 20 officers in various attacks, mostly on deserted roads in the vast northern region bordering Somalia, in which the militants used Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

Joseph Boinnet, the inspector general of the police, said in a statement that two of the suspects were Kenyans and the others were Somali nationals. Police also seized assembled explosives, four suicide vests and bomb-making materials such as TNT.

"The six had been dispatched from Burhanche in Somalia by their commanders to launch attacks in Kenya," Boinnet said.
Police raided on Monday a "home" in Jerusalem for Jewish teenagers barred from entering the West Bank, arresting nine of the teens.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



A gag order has been placed on the entire investigation, including the suspicions against the teens.

Attorney Itamar Ben-Gvir, who represents some of the suspects, called on the Israel Police and the Shin Bet to "stop the persecution to calm the tensions."

Elkana Pickar at the 'home' for Hilltop Youth (Photo: Amit Shabi)

"The police abuse the Hilltop Youth (nickname for Jewish settler youth who set up illegal outposts across the West Bank), persecute them and are being cruel to them. In a situation like that, the responsibility for 'price tag' incidents rests the police's shoulders alone," Ben-Gvir claimed. "When you persecute young people to complete destruction and push them up against the wall, it is no wonder some of them react and can't sit idly by."



The "home" raided by the police was established by Elkana Pickar, a resident of Yitzhar who was barred from the West Bank with an administrative order after the Shin Bet determined he posed a danger to security in the area.

A Shin Bet agent spoke to Pickar several weeks before the administrative order was issued against him, asking him to stop hosting Hilltop Youth in his home. Pickar, a building contractor, said he was employing the teens and was merely providing them with a place to eat and sleep.

Pickar is also suspected of rioting and other violent actions against both Palestinians and Israeli security forces.

The Shin Bet presented the court with a photo of Pickar from March in which he is seen masked and claimed he was involved in two violent incidents that took place in recent months.

Pickar's lawyer, Menashe Yado from the Honenu organization, claimed the photo was taken during a Palestinian riot in which IDF troops used tear gas to disperse the crowd, which was why his client was masked.

The judge shortened the length of Pickar's ban from four months to two, but at the same time determined there was real concern Pickar was inciting the teens staying at his home to violence.

After he was banned from entering the West Bank, Pickar opened the Jerusalem house he's staying in to teenagers who were received similar orders.

The floor in the entrance to the house is covered with mattresses, while a door inside the house is adorned with photos of teens who were arrested and are serving prison sentences for violent offenses.

Inside the 'home' for Hilltop Youth

X

Pickar claims the teens work in temporary jobs during the day, while in the evening they gather at the house to study Torah.

"I'm doing what I believe in, which is why I will not stop. All I'm doing is help teenagers," he said, further claiming he is not involved in any violent activity.

Over the past few months, there were six violent attacks against Palestinians across the West Bank and in Jerusalem.

At the same time, dozens of administrative orders barring Hilltop Youth from the West Bank have been renewed.

"The combination of lawlessness and the construction offenses of the Arab population is what causes unrest in Judea and Samaria. It leads to frustration among the teens in the settlements, and I believe it enrages them. We can all see the ramifications of that," Pickar claimed.
Some 650,000 Arabs fled the State of Israels boundaries in the War of Independence. Some were expelled by the IDF, but most were encouraged to do so by their leaders or escaped out of fear (they were well aware of what happens to Jews who are captured by members of the Arab gangs). Many Arabs, however, remained in Israel, some of those who escaped came back, and Israel even agreed in the past to let a few refugees return.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



According to Central Bureau of Statistics figures, the Arab population in Israel on the eve of the recent Independence Day was made up of approximately 1.85 million people (Jerusalem included), a little over 20 percent of Israels residents.

When it comes to the legal and moral side of the refugee issue, Israel has decisive answers. The Jews who remained alive in the lands conquered by the Arabs in the War of independencelike Jerusalems Old City and Gush Etzionwere forced to leave, and those areas remained Jew-free. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of Jews were deported from Arab states. Most of them were taken in by Israel and did not become eternal refugees.

Palestinian refugee camp in Yarmouk, Syria. Israel must insist on a settlement of the refugees in Arab countries, where they will receive all rights (Photo: AP)

Furthermore, after World War II, Eastern European countries deported residents of German descent. The number of people expelled exceeded the number of Arab refugees by far. The exiled were absorbed as immigrants in their new country and did not become refugees. The same thing happened when, following the Indo-Pakistani war, millions of people became refugees and were absorbed as immigrants in the places they arrived at within years.

The Arab refugees from the War of Independence are a unique phenomenon. The Arab states they arrived in (apart from Jordan) refused to take them in, held them in refugee camps, which still exist, and convinced the United Nations to create a special agency for those refugees (UNRWA). That led to the creation of a system in which the refugee status is passed on from one generation to the next, producing refugees who are the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren of the original refugees, and there are millions of them now. They were all raised on hatred to Israel and on their right to return to their homes (most of which no longer exist). That is also how the Palestinian refugee diaspora became an inexhaustible source for recruiting fighters to terror organizations.

The invention of eternal refugeeism, which is passed on from one generation to another, was aimed of course at provoking Israel and serving as one of the tools for its destruction. These millions of refugees, who have learned from their early days that they are entitled to return to Israel and are expecting that to happen, have naturally become an obstacle to peace.

As far as Israel is concerned, this is an existential problem. If these refugees return into its boundaries, it will lead to Israels destruction as a Jewish state. As far as the Palestinians are concerned, this is a basic demand they are unwilling to give up. This creates, however, an internal contradiction: The Palestinian leadership says it wants peace (which means recognizing Israels right to exist), yet it keeps supporting the right of return (which will lead to Israels destruction). In short, peace with Israel and the right of return cannot live under the same roof.

The refugee issue remained unresolved in the Oslo Agreements. The Israeli side must have deluded itself that the Palestinians would give up the right of return. That didnt happen. We have often wondered how Yasser Arafat turned down Ehud Baraks peace proposal and why Ehud Olmerts proposal was met with a similar refusal from Mahmoud Abbas. In my opinion, the refugee issue was their main consideration. They were unwilling to sign a peace agreement, as generous as it may be, which would require them to waive the right of return.

People are now talking about a regional peace agreement, which will include the Sunni states. This kind of peace must involve a solution to the refugee problem and a concession of the right of return. In this gradual process, we will have to insist on an initial settlement of the refugees in Arab countries, where they will receive all the rights granted to the rest of the residents. This will require economic incentives both for the refugees themselves and for the countries that take them in. Trust-building steps in this direction, in addition to trust-building steps on the Israeli side, will create real progress towards peace.
A new bill prohibiting serving government ministers from simultaneously being Knesset members has been submitted by coalition chairman MK David Bitan (Likud) and MK Yoel Hasson (Zionist Union).

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



Under the proposal, following the next round of elections, ministers who are also Knesset members will be required to give up their seats to the next candidate on their party's list.

The Knesset (Photo: Amit Shabi)

Currently, nearly a quarter of Knesset members also serve as government ministers, which many claim violates the principle of separation of powers and makes it difficult for the Knesset to function.

This is due to the fact that as a result of their dual roles as ministers and Knesset members, many neglect their roles as MKs and do not fulfill obligations, such as taking part in various committees. By extension, this situation puts more pressure on other MKs to fill the void.

Two years ago, the Knesset passed the "Mini-Norwegian Law," which dictated that a minister or deputy minister may resign from his or her position as MK, while still remaining a minister or deputy minister. Their seat in the Knesset would in turn be filled by the next candidate from their party's list. Examples of this arrangement include Minister of Defense Avigdor Lieberman and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon.

MK David Bitan (Photo: Amit Shabi)

The new "Giant Norwegian Law" would require all 19 ministers to resign from the Knesset. The law would also not allow ministers to return to the Knesset if they are still serving as a minister. Additionally, the law would not apply to the prime minister, the deputy prime minister or any minister without portfolio.

While the new law is expected to be costly, others believe it will significantly increase the effectiveness of the Knesset. For example, the Israel Democracy Institute supports the law, believing that it will reduce conflicts of interest between the legislative branch and the executive branch.

MK Yoel Hasson (Photo: Dana Koppel)

"The law is extremely necessary," said Bitan. "I see that there aren't Knesset members every day to fulfill their parliamentary responsibilities on committees or the plenum."

Hasson added, "The time has come for Israel to have a real separation of powers. 30 spots in the Knesset are occupied by government ministers, who in practice, don't even function as Knesset members. This fact severely impairs the status of the Knesset and its ability to function effectively. At the end of the day, a strong Knesset makes for a strong public."
Some 15,000 anti-Zionist ultra-Orthodox Jews protested in New York City on Sunday night against the arrest of IDF draft dodgers in Israel and the "persecution of the Torah in the Holy Land."

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



In a protest rally at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, dozens of rabbis and Hassidic leaders attacked the State of Israel and the IDF, which they say harass Torah students and seduce them to leave their yeshivas and enlist in the IDF.

Rally organizers screened videos showing police violence against ultra-Orthodox protesting the draft in Israel and against those who attack religious IDF soldiers.

Ultra-Orthodox protest in Brooklyn (Yiddishfeed  )

X

While the American ultra-Orthodox Jews rarely interfere in Israel's internal affairs, the rally was still considered a failure as its organizers sought to have a rare show of unity between all ultra-Orthodox factions in the cityfrom the anti-Zionist Satmar Hasidic dynasty to a faction more similar to Israel's United Torah Judaism. But only some 15,000 attendees arrived, mostly members of the Satmar faction.

Over the past few weeks, a war has been waged across continents between rabbis and politicians in Israel and in the US.

Protest at the Barclays Center (Photo: Yiddishfeed)

Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, whose Lithuanian Jerusalem faction is leading the extremist ulta-Orthodox protests against the IDF draft in Israel, realized his rival, Rabbi Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman, who leads the non-Hasidic Lithuanian world, was operating mostly in Israel.

The Jerusalem faction sought to take advantage of the vacuum in the US to organize a mass rally of unity. They recruited the help of the top rabbis and Hassidic leaders across the Atlantic and convinced them the IDF was persecuting yeshiva students and trying to force them to enlist.

Protest at the Barclays Center (Photo: Yiddishfeed)

The heads of the ultra-Orthodox parties in Israel, who represent the main religious sector, realized at the last minute they were losing their influence on the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of America (Council of Great Torah Sages of America).

They therefore used all of their power and influence in an effort to sabotage the rally: delegations of rabbis and politicos went to the US to explain the existing draft law was good for the ultra-Orthodox, letters were sent to colleagues abroad in support of Rabbi Shteinman and against Rabbi Auerbach, and ultra-Orthodox papers Yated Ne'eman and Hapeles were also recruited to their campaign.

Eventually, the goal was achieved and the rally was considerably smaller than initially planned.
The US-led international coalition against ISIS is being accused of using phosphorus munitions in the eastern region of Raqqa during fighting to capture ISIS' capital city in Syria.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



In videos released by ISIS' Amaq News Agency, what appears to be several white phosphorous bombs are seen exploding over Raqqa.

The videos join a series of images from Mosul released in recent weeks also depicting what would appear to be phosphorous bombs exploding.

White phosphorous allegedly used by coalition forces against ISIS

X

The use of phosphorous munitions in populated areas is forbidden under international law. Like napalm, white phosphorous causes agonizing burns and sticks to the skin, which in some cases can lead to death.

In an interview with the New York Times, an American official said that coalition forces fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria have access to white phosphorous, but do not use it against human targets.

From the videos, it is unclear whether the areas where the weapons were used are indeed populated, as many have fled Raqqa in the last few months. However, the UN estimates that some 160,000 residents remain in the city.

Col. Ryan Dillon, spokesman for the International Coalition, told the Washington Post that the US military was using phosphorus "in accordance with the laws of war."

He noted that phosphorus is used to "mask, obfuscate, and mark targets in a manner that carefully examines possible effects on civilians and civilian structures."

Coalition forces, including the Syrian Democratic Forces and their Kurdish fighters, are currently engaged in a campaign to conquer the city, with gains being reported in the Romaniya neighborhood and the Al-Meshled district.
Students from the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem hanged a black flag on the school's main building on Monday in protest of a proposed ethical code for lecturers, while students at the Hebrew University in the capital put up signs across campus saying they "oppose the silencing of academic staff."

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



Students at Tel Aviv University and at the Hebrew University are expected to hold protests against the ethical code on Wednesday, which would bar lecturers from expressing political views in class and from supporting academic boycotts.

The students' protest began on Sunday, when the head of the Israel Students' Union, Ram Shefa, vowed to "do whatever it takes to ensure the code, in its current version, will not be approved, even at the cost of protest and to the point of going on strike.

A black flag at Bezalel

"It's important to emphasize, we will ensure students won't be harassed for their identity or position. We support the need for ethical principles in the classrooms. At the same time, the (proposed code) includes no ethics, but rather an attempt at silencing. Accepting the code would erode the values of democracy and the freedom of thought."

The flag in Bezalel was put up by students from the Department of Architecture. "To us, the (ethical code) is a red line and a black flag. Academia cannot exist with such limitations. We're saying someone needs to wake up," one of the students told Ynet.

A letter sent to Education Minister Naftali Bennett, signed by students and lecturers from the Department of Architecture, said, "There isn't an architectural design that is not political in nature, and there is no way to teach or study architecture without thinking about political aspects. Architecture deals with the way we live together, sharing and dividing common resources, and designing a concrete public space. Therefore, any architectural or planning decision is taking a stand 'in a known public dispute.'

"The Department of Architecture in Bezalel will continue to be a tolerant space, which is open to critical thinking. We commit to protecting the right of all students and lecturers to take different social and political positions, even those that challenge the consensus."

An invitation for the Hebrew University's protest on Wednesday afternoon at the Mount Scopus campus said, "Bennett is pushing for silencing of lecturers in academia under the guise of an ethical code. We say no to silencing, yes to academic freedom. We can't allow for a situation in which a lecturer is unable to express his opinion, or the university is subjugated to the whims of politicians."

Sign at Hebrew University declaring: 'Students oppose the silencing of academic staff'

Prof. Asa Kasher, who wrote the ethical code at Bennett's request, slammed criticism of the code, saying on Sunday it mostly came from the left side of the political map.

"Ninty-nine percent of the responses to the ethical code in recent days have been unprofessional. It's all just because Bennett is leading this," Kasher determined in his speech at a conference on academic freedom, the freedom of expression, and academic boycotts in Bar-Ilan University.

"The political discussion is filled with lies. The principle of truth does not apply to (politicians)," he said. "They're allowed to lie all the time, to exaggerate and make false promises. Their problem with the ethical code is called 'Bennett.' As soon as he's signatory to it, the left wing opposes it."

Prof. Asa Kasher (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

He went on to note, "If you look at what I've been tasked with doing, (you'd see) it has nothing to do with Minister Bennett's political views."

Kasher also dismissed a statement from the Association of University Heads, which called the ethical code a "series of rules dictated by the government."

"The association operates like the ultra-Orthodox rabbis. Their answer is, 'You won't decide what our children will study.' This is a conservative instinct of a group that wants to protect its own interest."
LONDON - Salman Abedi, the suicide bomber who killed 22 people at a pop concert in northern England last month, likely built the device he used himself in the days immediately before the attack, British police said.

Police said Abedi, a 22-year-old born in Britain to parents of Libyan birth, travelled to Libya on April 15 and returned on May 18, four days before he targeted the Ariana Grande show in Manchester.

Closed-circuit television footage showed him purchasing items for the bomb soon after he returned to Britain, including nuts from a hardware store that were used as shrapnel as well as the tin that was believed to contain the explosives, police said.

Detectives said they believed materials used for making the bomb were stored in a white Micra car that Abedi purchased on April 15, shortly before he flew to Libya.
Data published by the Central Bureau of Statistics indicate that in May 2017, 517,000 Israelis flew abroad, reflecting an increase of 12% compared to May of 2016. In January-May, there were 2.262 million departures from Israel by air, an increase of more than 14% over the same period last year.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



The increase in departures, which is unparalleled in almost any Western country, continues a trend that began about five years ago with the signing of the Open Sky Agreement. According to data from the Central Bureau of Statistics, the number of Israelis flying abroad between January and May 2017 is nearly 85% higher than in the same period in 2012.





Ben Gurion Airport (Photo: Shutterstock)

One of the leading travel agents in Israel told Ynet, "What has taken place a few years ago is nothing compared to what has been happening in recent months. The people of Israel are simply in the air and going on vacation at a rate not seen anywhere else in the world."

Sinai (Photo: Tiki Golan)

About 1.6 million passengers (Israelis and tourists) passed through Ben-Gurion Airport in May, reflecting an increase of about 9% compared to May 2016. The more significant figure relates to the period between January-May, when more than 6.86 million passengers passed through Ben-Gurion Airport, an increase of 17% compared to the same period in 2016.

In contrast to the rise in the number of departures abroad, the number of departures abroad by land is declining, given the travel warnings and the security situation, especially in Egypt. In May, there were 24,000 departures of Israelis to Egypt and Jordan, compared with 29,000 in the corresponding month in 2016.
Gaza's Hamas rulers have detained a young man who criticized the Islamic militant group's call for protests at the border that have set off deadly clashes with Israeli troops.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



Mohammed al-Taluli's family said Monday the 25-year-old was detained by Hamas after posting a video on YouTube in which he accused the group of "pushing the youths to death" to stay in power.

A Hamas militant standing before a Hamas poster (Photo: EPA)

For weeks, Palestinians have rallied at the Gaza fence against the deteriorating living conditions in the impoverished coastal territory, which has been under an Israeli and Egyptian blockade since Hamas took over in 2007. Youths have thrown rocks at Israeli soldiers, and two Palestinians have been killed in the clashes.

Al-Taluli and his friends have been detained by Hamas several times since organizing protests in January against power cuts.

Gaza's militant Hamas rulers warned of on Monday of renewed violence if Israel acquiesces to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' wishes and reduces its electricity supply to the isolated territory.

Gaza's 2 million residents already get by with only four hours of electricity a day. In an effort to push his Hamas rivals out of power, Abbas says his West Bank government will stop paying Israel to provide electricity.

That has put Israel in the tough spot of having to choose between siding with Hamas in the internal Palestinian struggle or risking a humanitarian crisis in the impoverished coastal strip.
MOSCOWBaton-wielding riot police broke up anti-corruption protests and detained hundreds of demonstrators in Moscow and other Russian cities on Monday soon after arresting opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

The protests, called by Navalny, a strong critic of Russian President Vladmir Putin, drew thousands of people and were some of the biggest in Russia since 2012.

"Russia without Putin" and "Russia will be free" chanted the demonstrators, including many young people, who crowded into central Moscow on a public holiday.

Navalny, who is mounting a long-shot bid to unseat Putin in an election next year, had called for mass protests in Moscow and other cities against official corruption.

The Kremlin has dismissed Navalny's graft allegations, accusing him of irresponsibly trying to whip up unrest.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday blamed the United States for instability in the Middle East and said Washington's fight against ISIS (also known as the Islamic State) militant group was "a lie".

"You (the United States) and your agents are the source of instability in the Middle East...who created Islamic State? America (...) America's claim of fighting against Islamic State is a lie," Khamenei said in a meeting with high-ranking Iranian officials, according to his official website.

Iran and the United States cut diplomatic ties shortly after Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution and enmity to Washington has long been a rallying point for hardline supporters of Khamenei in Iran. Khamenei has made several statements denouncing the United States since the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, while US President Donald Trump has spoken out against Iran in harsh terms since taking office, indicating that he will reverse the previous admistration's attempts at rapprochement with Tehran.
The White House has condemned the arrests of protesters at anti-corruption rallies in Russia.

Tens of thousands rallied in more than 100 Russian towns and cities on Monday, and hundreds were arrested. In Moscow, thousands of angry protesters held an unsanctioned rally on the capital's main street with riot police snatching hundreds of protesters from the crowd at random.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters on Monday that the United States "strongly condemns the detention of hundreds of peaceful protesters" which he described as an "affront to core democratic values." Spicer called on the Russian government to immediately release all peaceful protesters. A court in Moscow has yet to pass a ruling on opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who faces charges of disobeying police orders and calling for an unsanctioned protest.
ISIS is calling on supporters to carry out attacks in the United States and Europe during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan that began two weeks ago.

In an audiotape circulated online Monday, spokesman Abu al-Hassan al-Muhajer praised last week's attacks in Iran's capital, saying the country is "weaker than a spider's web" and calling for more assaults. Al-Muhajer also called for attacks in Russia and Australia, saying "heaven is reached under the shadow of swords."

ISIS has called for attacks during Ramadan in the past. This year it has claimed responsibility for attacks in Britain, Egypt, Iran and the Philippines that killed dozens of people and wounded hundreds.
This has been a long time in the making, but in our continuing pursuit to bring only the best of firearms, 2nd Amendment and defence related news to our readers, we are very excited to announce the next step in our evolution as a company.

As of 2020, Minuteman Review is now the proud owner and operator of Your Defence News, a website with a long history of breaking huge news stories and investigative journalism.

We hope you are equally as excited as us.

This means that now the teams of Minuteman can combine with the firepower of Your Defence News to stay at the absolute forefront for our readers.

Keep an eye. Big things are coming soon. We couldn't be more excited.

In the meanwhile, here are some of our most popular posts and categories to keep you busy.

Happy shootin' my friends!

Buying Guides:

Firearms

Firearm Accessories

Ammunition

Gun Safes

Scopes & Optics

Hunting

Air Rifles

Best AR-15

Best AR 15 Scope

Best Hunting Rifle

Best Gun Safe

Best AK 47

Best AR 10

Best Glock Triggers

Best Glock

Best Home Defense Shotgun
As a homeowner, you probably already know that you should be working to maintain your home. But, chances are, you Read More
London: The British and American governments have denied that US President Donald Trump wants to delay his state visit to the UK, the media reported on Monday.



A Downing Street spokesman said: "We aren`t going to comment on speculation about the contents of private phone conversations," reports the BBC.



"The Queen extended an invitation to President Trump to visit the UK and there is no change to those plans."



A senior official in the White House told the BBC that "the President has tremendous respect for Prime Minister (Theresa) May" and that the subject of the state visit "never came up on the call".



The development comes after the Guardian reported that Trump made a phone call to May to say he did not want to visit until he had support from the British public.



Following the Guardian report, opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn posted a message on Twitter, welcoming the "cancellation" of the visit.



Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said Trump was "clearly terrified of the British public".



He added: "He knows that the British people find his politics appalling and that they won`t be scared to make their views known."



"Theresa May should be embarrassed that she was so quick to offer Trump a state visit. Now neither of them want to be seen with the other."
Washington: Attorney General Jeff Sessions will face questions about the firing of FBI Director James Comey and undeclared meetings with Russian officials at a US Senate hearing on Tuesday, though it was unclear whether he would testify in public or in private.



Sessions, an early and ardent supporter of US President Donald Trump`s 2016 election campaign, would be the highest government official to testify before the Senate intelligence committee in its probe of allegations that Russia may have sought to interfere in the election.



Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer and fellow Democratic Senator Jack Reed questioned on Sunday why Sessions was involved in Trump`s May 9 dismissal of Comey after he had recused himself from investigations of whether Russia meddled in the election, possibly with help from Trump associates.



"There`s a real question of the propriety of the attorney general participating in that in any way, shape or form," Reed said on "Fox News Sunday."



Russia has denied interfering in the U.S. election. The White House has denied any collusion with Moscow.



Sessions said in a letter on Saturday that he would appear before the committee to address matters that Comey brought up last week in testimony to the same panel.



He did not say if he would appear in open or closed session. Democrats are pushing for a public hearing. Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, an intelligence committee member, asked the panel`s leaders in a letter on Sunday to hold an open hearing.



A Justice Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity initially said the department expected Sessions to testify in closed session but later stressed that the decision was up to the panel`s Republican chairman, Senator Richard Burr.



A Sessions spokeswoman said she did not know if it would be public. "That`s a question for the committee," said Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores.



Republican Senator James Lankford, a member of the intelligence panel, told CBS` "Face the Nation" the decision was not finalized, but "I assume that this will be public."



Sessions is skipping a separate hearing on Tuesday on the Justice Department`s budget and sending his deputy for the session that will be open to the public.



Senator Patrick Leahy, the Senate appropriations committee`s top Democrat and a member of the Senate judiciary committee, tartly reminded Sessions that both oversee his department.



"You need to testify before both in public. You can`t run forever," Leahy tweeted.



Media reports last week said Sessions offered to resign because of tensions with the president over his decision to recuse himself from the FBI`s Russia probe.



Comey accused the Republican president of trying to get him to drop the investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn and fired him to undermine the Russia probe.



Trump himself attributed his dismissal of Comey to the Russia investigation.



Comey`s testimony on Thursday also raised new questions about the attorney general`s relationship with Russian officials with ties to President Vladimir Putin. One is whether Sessions had any undisclosed meetings with Ambassador Sergei Kislyak or other Russians during the campaign or after Trump took office.



Sessions in March removed himself from involvement in any probe into alleged Russian election meddling but maintained he did nothing wrong by failing to disclose that he met last year with Russia`s ambassador.

TRUMP UNDER OATH?



Comey`s dramatic testimony drew invective from his former boss on Twitter, with Trump dismissing him as a leaker on Friday and a coward on Sunday.



"I believe the James Comey leaks will be far more prevalent than anyone ever thought possible. Totally illegal? Very `cowardly!`" Trump tweeted on Sunday.



The president denied trying to interfere with the investigation and said he would be willing to testify under oath about his interactions with Comey.



"We have to keep in mind that this is one person`s record of what happened. The only two people who know what happened in those meetings are the president and James Comey," Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told Fox.



Schumer invited Trump to testify under oath before the Senate and he urged Trump to produce any tapes of his conversations with Comey. "If there arent tapes, he should let that be known. No more game playing," Schumer said on CBS.



Trump alluded to tapes in a May tweet. Comey welcomed any tapes during his hearing, and congressional investigators have asked the White House to produce them if they exist.



Trump`s tendency to bring up the Russia investigation, whether by insulting Comey or hinting at the existence of tapes, has created a headache for Republicans who want to focus on the party`s priorities such as healthcare and tax reform.



Republican Senator Lindsey Graham on Sunday accused Trump of getting in the way of his own agenda.



"You may be the first president in history to go down because you cant stop inappropriately talking about an investigation that if you just were quiet, would clear you," Graham said on CBS. "You are your own worst enemy, Mr. President. Knock it off."
Colombo: Police say an elephant that was part of a Buddhist procession has attacked and killed a monk in Sri Lanka.

Police spokesman Priyantha Jayakody said three elephants were marching in a procession Sunday night and one suddenly went on the rampage and attacked the monk who sustained serious injuries. The monk died at the hospital early on Monday.

Colorfully decorated elephants are a significant part of Buddhist religious processions and festivals. Temples and wealthy families often own the animals and rent them for such events.

However, animal rights activists say the elephants are often kept in inhumane conditions.

Sri Lanka has nearly 6,000 elephants, but those in the wild are threatened with habitat loss and degradation. An estimated 200 elephants are killed every year, mainly by farmers trying to protect crops.
Islamabad: Two Chinese nationals abducted from Quetta last month and reportedly killed by ISIS militants were involved in "preaching" instead of business activities - their declared purpose for visiting Pakistan - Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar was told on Monday.

The Dawn newspaper reported that Nisar was told that the abductees had gone to Quetta and were engaged in preaching under the garb of learning Urdu from a Korean national, Juan Won Seo, who is the owner of ARK Info Tech.

Lee Zing Yang, 24, and Meng Li Si, 26, were abducted from Jinnah Town Quetta in the restive Balochistan province on May 24 and later murdered. The Islamic State had claimed responsibility for their killing.

The minister was informed that the two were part of a group of Chinese citizens who obtained business visas from the Pakistani Embassy in Beijing and entered Pakistan.

It was not immediately clear what the interior ministry suspected them of 'preaching', the newspaper reported on the high-level meeting attended by Nisar.

The minister observed that it is "highly unfortunate that a misuse of the terms of business visa contributed to the unfortunate abduction and subsequent murder of two innocent Chinese".

The murder of the two Chinese nationals apparently forced Chinese President Xi Jinping not to meet Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Astana last week. However, Beijing today asserted that the two leaders met "several times" during the meeting.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's Interior Minister Nisar has ordered an initial review, followed by regulation and the streamlining of the visa process to avoid the misuse of business visas by foreign nationals.

Nisar expressed his displeasure at the laxity often shown in granting visas by Pakistani missions abroad. He directed all Pakistani missions to undertake proper scrutiny of visa application forms and acquire all necessary details before exercising their powers.

Nisar directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs be taken on board and their input be included while formulating new visa policy guidelines for issuance of visas to the foreigners on various visa categories.

He also called for a data bank of Chinese nationals present in the country to be maintained.

This data bank, to be prepared by National Database Registration Authority (Nadra), should be shared with all security agencies, ordered the minister in the meeting, which was attended by the secretary interior, advocate general, director general of immigration and passports, the deputy chairman Nadra and others.

The minister also said that ensuring the security of foreign nationals is a shared responsibility and that the Pakistani government was doing its bit to secure foreigners.

However, he was quick to point out that the visitors held some responsibility as well, and should inform local authorities about their movements and activities.

The ISIS has been making inroads in Pakistan with the help of its ties with local militant outfits like Lashkar-e- Jhangvi and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar. However, the government has largely downplayed the presence of the dreaded terror outfit.
Kokrajhar: Four persons, including a police constable, were arrested in lower Assam's Kokrajhar district for allegedly raping a woman, a senior police officer said today.

The woman was allegedly gang raped near her home when she was coming back from the house of her neighbour at Tarinipur village on the night of June three, Kokrajhar Superintendent of Police Rajen Singh said.

All the four were arrested last night, the SP added.
Bengaluru: Today's session of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly was reportedly called off as ruling Congress MLAs rushed to attend a crucial meet called by AICC vice president Rahul Gandhi who had come here to re-launch the 'National Herald' newspaper, which was founded by former prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru.

Vice President Hamid Ansari, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders from New Delhi had come to Bengaluru to attend a programme organised for the release of 'National Heralds' commemorative publication India at a Crossroads: 70 years of Independence.

Since most of the Congress MLAs, including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, were there to attend the newspaper's re-launch, the entire session of the state assembly had to be called off.

Besides the launch, Rahul Gandhi chaired a general body meeting of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee at Jnana Jyothi Auditorium at 3 pm, which was why today's session of the state assembly had to be called off for a day.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) G. Parameshwara, AICC General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka KV Venugopal and over 1,500 members of the general body of the KPCC attended the meeting.

Besides KPCC office bearers, MPs, ministers, legislators, former legislators, zilla panchayat chiefs, block, taluk and district office bearers were also in attendance.

This was Rahul Gandhi's first visit to the Congress-ruled state after the party gave an extension Parameshwara as the KPCC president and appointed KC Venugopal as general secretary in-charge of the state.

During the meeting, Rahul Gandhi addressed the challenges facing the Congress, both at the national and state level, while rolling out a road map for a campaign to take on the Modi governments anti-people policies.
Bengaluru: The Karnataka bandh called by pro-Kannada organisations on Monday (June 12, 2017) to press for their charter of demands received a mixed response in the state.

Government and private schools, colleges, hotels and business establishments remained open while a few cinema halls cancelled the morning show in Bengaluru.

The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) operated bus services as usual.

The Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) operated metro services.

In a bid to avert any untoward incident, police, however, intensified security at bus and metro stations in the city.

There was no bandh effect in Gulbarga and across Mandya and Ramanagaram. Offices, schools and colleges are running smoothly across the districts. The Hindu reported that lukewarm response for bandh was reported in Shivamogga district. Normal life was not affected in Mysuru due to the shutdown call.

Earlier today, tyres were burnt in Anekal in Bangalore Urban district. Also, stone pelting affected KSRTC services in Kolar and Chikkaballapur in south Karnataka. The agitators stopped the car in which former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Late Nandamuri Taraka Ramarao's grandson Tarak was travelling to Bengaluru.

His vehicle was stopped at Srinivaspura circle in Kolar district for a few minutes. The agitators let him continue his journey after a few minutes.

The dawn-to-dusk shutdown was near total in Hubballi and Nargund in north Karnataka. The agitators formed a human chain preventing North-Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation buses from plying.

The agitators attempted to take out a rally from the Town Hall to the Karnataka Assembly but police bundled them into BMTC buses and took them to an undisclosed destination.

The agitators wanted to lay siege to the Assembly in support of their demands.

Due to Karnataka bandh, Visvesvaraya Technological University has postponed its seventh semester examination. The Bangalore University has postponed its fourth semester postgraduate exams. The new dates for the exams are yet to be announced. Exams conducted by the Karnataka State Secondary Education Examinations Board for D Ed/D.EI and others have also been postponed to June 13.

"We want the government to waive off farm loans and supply water to Kolar and Chikballapur districts. Our agitation will continue till the government meets our demands,'' Karnataka Rakshana Vedike president Praveen Shetty told reporters here.

The shutdown call was given by the Federation of Kannada Associations, or 'Kannada Okoota'.

Their charter of demands among others include farm loan waiver, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention in the Mahadayi river water dispute, a permanent solution to the problem of water scarcity in arid areas, and exile of Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) activists from the state for their alleged 'anti Kannada' activities in Belagavi.

Vatal Nagaraj, who heads Kannada Okoota, said in a statement that the bandh is also against Tamil Nadu's opposition to the Mekedatu project across the river Cauvery and proposal to privatise BEML.

The Karnataka government has locked horns with the neighbouring Goa on the larger issue of sharing the Mahadayi River water between both the states.

The Kalasa-Banduri project is being undertaken by Karnataka to improve drinking water supply in the twin cities of Hubballi-Dharwad and the districts of Belagavi and Gadag.

The Mahadayi tribunal has asked the states to resolve the issue out of court settlement through negotiations, with or without third party intervention.

(With Agency inputs)
Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday blamed the Narendra Modi-led central government`s failure to fulfil promise on the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for the ongoing farmers` protests in the country.

The Janata Dal-United (JD-U) President also warned that "there will be more crisis in the agriculture sector in the coming days, thanks to the apathy".

"Farmers are in a bad condition but the central government is indifferent to them. The government`s failure to enforce MSP for farm produce has forced the farmers to protest. The country has been facing an agrarian crisis due to the low price of farm produce," Nitish told the media here.

The Bihar Chief Minister also said the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government had in 2014 promised that it would implement the MSP with 50 per cent additional incentive for farmers. "What happened to that promise?"

He also said, "Loan waivers are not the only way to solve the farmers` problems as they have been facing different problems at different places".

"During his campaign in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Modi promised to farmers to provide MSP. But it is yet to be announced. Farmers are angry over it. BJP had promised many things to farmers and now forgot," he said.

Nitish Kumar also said the central government is yet to formulate a national policy for farmers in the country. "Farmers have been committing suicide because they are not getting adequate price for their produce".

The JD-U leader said "agrarian crisis is the main cause behind the reservation demand by the Marathas in Maaharashtra to Patidars in Gujarat".
Patna: Former Bihar chief minister and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and his wife Rabri Devi are currently hunting for a cultured bride for their eldest son Tej Pratap who recently turned 28 years old.

Speaking to reporters, the Yadav couple admitted that they were hunting for a homely, accomplished daughter-in-law for their eldest son without any dowry.



Rabri Devi, while interacting with reporters during Lalu Yadav's 70th birthday celebrations on Sunday, said that she would not like ''cinema and Mall going girls'' as her daughter-n-law.

Rabri Devi insisted that she would prefer a 'desi bahu' for son Tej Pratap who is very religious.

Tej Pratap Yadav, who currently serves as Bihars Health and Forests minister, is embroiled in a bitter controversy due to his alleged ownership of prime land in Aurangabad.

The main opposition party - BJP - has made serious corruption allegations against the family members of Lalu Yadav, who has been convicted in the multi-crore Rs Bihar fodder scam.

We are already looking for a suitable girl for him (Tej Pratap), and we have also received many proposals, but none has appeared suitable so far, said Rabri Devi.

We want a homely, accomplished daughter-in-law, one who can take care of the home and family and also external affairs, she added.

Lalu Prasad Yadav, who said Tej Prataps wife could be from anywhere in the country, said he would not insist on being given dowry for his sons wedding.

Dahej galat baat hai. We will not insist on being given any dowry except, maybe, a cow, said the RJD chief, who is known for his love for cows and prides himself on hailing from a cowherds caste.

Sources close to the Yadav family said it is possible that the bride for Tej Pratap could well be from a political Yadav family in Uttar Pradesh.

Lalu Yadavs fourth daughter, Ragini, is married to Ghaziabad-based Rahul Yadav, the son of former Samjawadi Party MLA Jitendra Yadav.

Lalus youngest daughter, Raj Lakshmi, is married to former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadavs grandnephew and Mainpuri MP, Tej Pratap Singh.

Still learning the ropes of politics, Tej Pratap Yadav and Tejaswi, both first-time MLAs, are currently among Bihars most suitable bachelors.

Tejaswi has been a hot favourite among teenage girls, who make countless requests for selfies with him during his public programmes.

Tej Prataps favourite hobby seems to be getting himself photographed in various avatars, including the flute-playing Lord Sri Krishna.

Lalu Yadav and Rabri Devi have seven daughters and two sons.

Their eldest daughter, Misa Bharti, is currently a Rajya Sabha member.
Vikas Datta/IANS

The Second World War was truly a "world" war -- for, apart from encompassing most of the globe, it saw all military forces drawing in additional "personnel" beyond the planet`s dominant species. These were not only beasts of burden and transport like horses or elephants, but also man`s best animal friend performing a range of tasks from "escort" to "early warning", and a shell-totting bear and many more.



Over 50 animals, on the British side, displaying "conspicuous gallantry or devotion to duty" were conferred the Dickin Medal, popularly known as "the animals` Victoria Cross". While not all these dogs, homing pigeons, horses and a cat recipients have books on them, some of these -- or others who do -- form a heartening sub-genre of war literature.



One of the most unusual of them was the beer-drinking, cigarette-smoking (or rather eating) "Corporal Wojciech Perski" of 22nd Artillery Support Company of the Polish II Corps -- or rather Wojtek the Bear (c.1942-63) as he is better known.



Entranced by stories about this bear told by her grandfather, seeing him in Edinburgh Zoo and having helped to immortalise his memory in Scotland, Aileen Orr recounts his curious life in "Wojtek the Bear: Polish War Hero" (2010).



Bought in Iran from his boy owner by a contingent of Polish servicemen, released from Stalin`s gulags to join the Allies, the orphaned Syrian bear cub, bearing a Polish name meaning "happy warrior", accompanied them through their onward sojourn through Iraq to Palestine, to combat in Italy.



In Iraq, he helped capture an Arab spy but also stole an entire washing line of women soldiers` underwear. His minders, however, managed to recover them, returned them "with some difficulty in keeping straight faces" and made him say sorry. Wojtek "dutifully played his part, hiding his snout behind his large forepaws and whimpering piteously. Then he peeked out from behind his paws, his bright button eyes searching the girls` faces to see what sort of effect he was having on them".



Participating in the desperate battles of Monte Cassino (where he helped to carry around artillery shells), he came with them to Scotland, where the Poles were brought after the war ended, demobilised and most settled down -- being unable to return to their Soviet-run homeland. He was eventually -- and most reluctantly -- sent to the zoo when his Polish minders had to move on, became a little sad, but was always perked by their visits, the sound of Polish and the treats smuggled in to him.



There was the St Bernard who became the mascot of the Royal Norwegian Navy and then of the entire Free Norwegian Forces and has his story told in, among other accounts, Angus Whitson & Andrew Orr`s "Sea Dog Bamse, World War II Canine Hero" (2011).



Owned by a whaler`s captain and taken to sea from an early age, Bamse became an official crew member when the war broke out and his owner fled to Britain with his vessel. Converted into a minesweeper, operating out of Scotland, it had Bamse, wearing a special helmet, standing in the vessel`s forward gun tower during action.



But he played a major role on shore too, once saving a ship officer attacked by a knife-wielding man by pushing the assailant into the sea. Made responsible for rounding up crew on shore leave, he travelled on local buses to get down near a bar they frequented to take them back. He also specialised in breaking up fights among crewmates by rearing up and putting his paws on their shoulders to calm them down.



Ant was a German Shepherd found by Vaclav Robert Bozdech, a Czech pilot in French service, after a crash and went to fly on missions with his master. Smuggled to Britain after France`s collapse, he continued as Bozdech`s aviation auxiliary in a bomber. Taken to Czechoslovakia after the war, he helped his master escape after the Communists seized power.



His story was first told (rather inaccurately) in Anthony Richardson`s "One Man and His Dog" (1961) but better in Hamish Ross` "Freedom in the Air: A Czech Flyer and His Aircrew Dog" (2007) and Damien Lewis` "War Dog: The No-Man`s Land Puppy Who Took To the Skies" (2013).



Ex-para Gil Boyd`s "The Amazing Adventures of Bing the Parachuting Dog" (2013) tells of the Alsatian-collie mix, trained to locate the enemy and having "an incredible ability to sense danger", who participated in D-Day, and was again part of the paradrop into Germany the next year.



Then there was the Bactrian camel, who accompanied the Red Army to Berlin, a stray dog at an Australian airbase who was the first to warn of approaching Japanese aircraft, the elephants that helped defeat the Japanese in Burma and more.



But without disparaging these examples, doesn`t it raise a question why man can extend love to other species, but have no qualms at killing his own kind -- whatever be the reason.
New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will meet heads of PSU banks on Monday to discuss the issue of non-performing assets (NPAs) and the steps being taken by them to expedite the recovery of bad loans which have crossed Rs 6 lakh crore.

Besides, the minister will review the financial performance of all the public sector banks (PSBs) at the meeting, the first between Jaitley and them in the current fiscal.

The meeting also assumes significance as it will be the first after last month's promulgation of the ordinance amending the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

The government had through this ordinance empowered the Reserve Bank to ask banks to initiate insolvency proceedings to recover bad loans and promised more measures to resolve the NPA crisis.

Apart from the financial performance review, the meeting will take stock of the status of stressed assets and various measures taken to clean up the balance sheets of banks so that they can start lending.

"Major issues on the agenda of the meeting, the first during this fiscal, include issues and solutions relating to Non Performing Assets (NPAs) of the Public Sector Banks (PSBs), status of MSE Credit, Stand-up India and Mudra Yojana among others," the finance ministry said in a statement.

Other issues on agenda include discussion on financial inclusion and literacy, review of performance of Social Security Schemes including Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) and Atal Pension Yojana (APY) etc, it said.

The day-long meeting will also cover areas like cyber security, digitalisation of the banking transactions, rural development, agriculture credit and education loans.

Role and preparedness of banks in the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) is also likely to be discussed in the one day Meeting of PSBs, it said. GST is going to be rolled-out from July 1.

As for the recovery of bad loans, the RBI has also made substantial changes in the related norms and warned banks of monetary penalty for missing NPA resolution timelines.

Jaitley had said the ordinance empowered the Reserve Bank to issue "directions to any banking company or banking companies to initiate insolvency resolution process in respect of a default under the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016".

Toxic loans of PSBs rose by over Rs 1 lakh crore to Rs 6.06 lakh crore during April-December 2016-17.

Gross NPAs of PSBs nearly doubled to Rs 5.02 lakh crore at the end of March 2016, from Rs 2.67 lakh crore at the end of March 2015.

With PTI Inputs
Mumbai: Jet Airways has warned its employees of disciplinary action if they "misuse" passes that allow them access to airports in a bid to curb instances of security breach.

In an internal communication, Jet Airways has told its employees that Airport Entry Passes (AEPs) should be used only for official purposes and not during off-hours and for seeing off relatives.

"Any employee found to be at airport wearing AEP when rostered off or pre/post shift times or violating the above rules specified by the BCAS or/and under published rules of sovereign function such as immigration, customs and CISF, the AEP of that employee will be confiscated and strict disciplinary action will be initiated," said the internal circular.

Airport entry passes-- issued by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS)-- allow airport access to airline crew, ground staff, engineers, security personnel and other individuals.

As per rules laid down by BCAS, use of AEP during non-duty hours is a violation of rule 90 of Aircraft Rules, 1934 and rule 18 of Aircraft Security Rule, 2011.

The airline has also instructed its employees to use designated gates for entry and exit.

When contacted, a Jet Airways spoksperson refused to comment offhand on the issue.

In order to strengthen security at airports, BCAS is in the process of mandating biometric identification for airport entry or exit purposes.

With PTI Inputs
New Delhi: Fireside Ventures, an early stage consumer brand-focused venture fund, has received commitments worth Rs 180 crore from investors like Premji Invest, Mariwala family office and RP-Sanjiv Goenka group.

The maiden fund from Fireside has also received commitment from WestBridge capital and Emami, a statement said.

Avendus is the exclusive advisor-partner for Fireside Ventures in the fund raise, it added.

Fireside was started by Kanwaljit Singh, who has over 30 years of experience in companies like Hindustan Unilever, Intel and Carlyle Group. He was the co-founder of Helion Ventures before starting Fireside Ventures.

Some of the brands that Singh has invested in include Paper Boat, ID Fresh, Epigamia, Hokey Pokey, Yogabar, Goodness Beverages, Licious, Mama Earth, Vahdam Teas and Fable Street.

"We are aiming to become a top tier venture investor in the consumer brands space providing not only the much needed early stage capital to these exciting companies but also provide support through in house resources and an advisor and partner network," Singh said.

The fund will invest across multiple stages in these companies from inception till series A, and leverage the network of these marquee investors for additional co- investment requirements, he added.
New Delhi: The Rs 15,000 crore fund-raising by the country's largest lender SBI is credit positive for the bank and will eliminate its dependence on capital infusion from the government, Moody's said on Monday.

In a report, the US-based agency said any capital infusion from the government will further strengthen the bank's capitalisation.

Last week, State Bank of India raised Rs 15,000 crore through qualified institutional placement (QIP).

"The capital increase is credit positive for SBI because it strengthens the bank's capitalisation and supports credit growth, given the increasing requirements for equity under Basel III," the rating agency said.

This would help the lender meet the Basel III minimum equity capital requirement of 7.8 percent at the end of March 2018 and 8.6 percent at March-end of 2019, it added.

"The capital raise also will eliminate the bank's dependence on capital infusions from the Indian government to meet the Basel III minimum requirement... As such, any infusion from the government will further strengthen the bank's capitalisation," Moody's added.

SBI's risk-weighted assets are expected to grow by 15 percent in 2017-18 and 2018-19, in line with 2016-17, it said.

"These growth assumptions and our expectation that credit costs will remain a key drag on the bank's profitability lead us to estimate that SBI's tier 1 equity ratio will be about 10.1 percent at the end of March 2018 and 9.5 percent at the end of March 2019," Moody's said further.
Mumbai: Budget carrier SpiceJet will launch next month two new daily direct flights to Porbandar and Kandla from here under the Central government's regional connectivity scheme - UDAN.

The Gurgaon-based carrier would be the first major airline to launch flights on the RCS route.

The two new routes -- Mumbai-Porbandar-Mumbai and Mumbai-Kandla-Mumbai -- will be operational with a 78-seater Bombardier Q400 regional jet from July 10, SpiceJet said.

Under the UDAN scheme, the airline will be operating the new flights on the Mumbai-Porbandar route with RCS seats at Rs 2,250 (all inclusive) whereas the fare on the Mumbai- Kandla and Kandla-Mumbai routes would be Rs 2,500 (all inclusive) for RCS seats.

The government had in March awarded 128 regional routes to five airlines - Alliance Air, SpiceJet, Turbo Megha, Air Odisha and Air Deccan -- for launching flights under UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik) scheme, which aims at boosting air connectivity to the hinterland.

As many as 70 airports, including 31 unserved and 12 under-served ones, would be connected with the UDAN flights. Under the scheme, on each flight, 50 per cent of the seats would have a cap of Rs 2,500 per seat/hour.

An unserved airport is one to which there is no daily service, while an under-served airport is one which has not seen a flight for two consecutive flight schedules.

"I am delighted that SpiceJet is helping realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of ensuring that every Indian can fly," SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh said.

"UDAN is a grand scheme and we are proud to be amongst the pacesetters for the scheme. It has been our constant endeavour to enable the common man to fly since we began operations 12 years back. We will connect many more small towns and cities in times to come," Singh said.

SpiceJet also said it is the only airline which hasn't sought subsidy or viability gap funding under this scheme.

Under UDAN, the operators would be extended viability gap funding.

SpiceJet was awarded six proposals and 11 routes under the first phase of the Regional Connectivity Scheme.

Out of the six proposals, four will cater to unserved markets of Adampur, Kandla, Puducherry and Jaisalmer whereas two will be for under-served markets of Porbandar and Kanpur, the airline said.

SpiceJet is country's largest regional player operating a fleet of 19 Bombardier Q400 planes, which can seat 78 passengers. Besides it had 33 Boeing 737s as well in the fleet.
New Delhi: Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio on Monday ascribed financial stress in the telecom sector to existing operators like Bharti Airtel and Idea running businesses on debt and investing heavily in unrelated sectors.

Jio, whose promotional free voice and data offering for 7 months is blamed by incumbent operators for the financial woes of the sector, said the "problem lies elsewhere" as the Airtel, Vodafone and Idea milked the sector all these years by running the businesses on debt and now when consumer is benefiting why should anyone complain.

In a detailed presentation to an inter-ministerial group constituted to look at the telecom sector woes, Jio said the operators complaining of financial stress haven't invested in equity or even in their own networks and have overleaveraged balance sheets.

The incumbent operators, it said, "made significant returns" over the years but have not invested in equity.

Their excessive dependence on debt has led to "unsustainable balance sheets," Jio said, citing Airtel drawing Rs 2,28,831 crore debt since 2010 while infusing just Rs 6,978 crore as fresh equity in business.

Idea raised Rs 32,986 crore debt in the 7-year period as compared to Rs 3,846 crore infusion as fresh equity while Reliance Communication drew Rs 56,319 crore debt on fresh equity infusion of Rs 6,071 crore, Jio claimed.

Jio said there was reluctance on part of their promoters to dilute shareholding to raise funds for investment in new technologies while they invested in "unrelated businesses or overseas acquisitions by borrowing extensively."

It went on to cite Airtel investing Rs 40,000 crore to acquire Zain Africa and that UK's Vodafone paid premium to acquire stake of Hutch and Essar.

For the current financial woes, it said, easy credit for buying spectrum has worsened matters.

Government provided option for deferred payment without any credit check, it said, adding that deferred payment makes up for about 70 per cent of the gross debt of Airtel, Vodafone and Idea.

Jio said business of smaller operators was impacted "very badly by Airtel, Vodafone and Idea between 2014 and 2016.

"Interestingly, there have been strong signs of cartelisation in the behaviour of the big three operators as tariffs were aligned and designed to thwart entry of new operators," it said.

"Both TRAI and CCI have found evidence of cartelisation in the behaviour of Airtel, Vodafone and Idea," it added.

Jio squarely blamed industry body COAI for the "state of the sector" and alleged that the "current stress can be equally attributed to COAI's anti-competitive actions over the years".

It further said that the existing telecom operators are not investing in technology and instead passing the blame to the new operator for the sector's problems.

"Incumbent operators that have tried to block the entry of the new operator and prevented launch of new technologies are now passing the blame and seeking relief," it added.

Interestingly, Jio has sought repayment of deferred payment liability for spectrum at a time when the other operators are unified in demanding that the period of repayment should in fact be extended to 20 years, the life of the spectrum.
New Delhi: Gangster Chhota Shakeel's alleged sharp shooter Junaid Chowdhry, who was recently arrested by Delhi Police, will be produced before the Patiala House Court on Monday.

The Patiala House Court had on Friday sent gangster Chowdhry to three-day police custody.

Chowdhry was arrested by the Special cell of the Delhi Police near Gagan Cinema in Delhi on June 7.

"Junaid was allegedly hatching a plan to kill Pakistan born Canadian writer and liberal activist Tarek Fateh," according to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Pramod Singh Kushwaha.

The police claimed to have recovered a country made pistol and four live cartridges from Junaid's possession.

Earlier, he was apprehended on June 3, along with three other contract killers, identified as Robinson, Yunus and Manish following which they were sent to police remand and interrogated for five days.

Later, they were produced in a court which sent them to judicial custody.

Their plan was initially to kill Rajan while on transit to or from court before and after hearings, but that was later changed to attack him during his hospital visits.

Earlier, the police had found many audio clips of Chhota Shakeel from Junaid's mobile phone.

With ANI inputs
New Delhi: Sacked Delhi minister Kapil Mishra on Monday said he, along with the members of India Against Corruption (IAC), will launch a campaign against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal from Karol Bagh on Wednesday.



Speaking to reporters here, Mishra said that under the banner of IAC, they would send proof of Kejriwal`s "scams" to every assembly constituency, and that the teams were being formed in each constituency.



He would be working with old friends from the IAC and Anna Hazare`s team, Mishra said.



The sacked Delhi Minister also said that they had formed a team to reach out to people and the media.



He said the date for a referendum on "Right to Recall" would be announced soon.



"Going to ACB tmrw (tomorrow) to give more evidences on Medicine Scam and to fike (file) complaint on CNG scam," Mishra tweeted on Monday evening.



On May 6, Mishra was sacked by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as a minister in the Delhi government, citing poor performance. A day later, Mishra made allegations of corruption against Kejriwal and Delhi Minister Satyendar Kumar Jain. On May 8, he was suspended from the party.



Mishra has been protesting and levelling allegations of corruption against Kejriwal and Jain for the past one month.


New Delhi: A female panda gave birth at a Tokyo zoo on Monday, zoo officials said, five years after her first cub was found dead just days after it was born.

Shin Shin, Ueno Zoo`s 11-year-old giant panda, began pacing her cage and showing other signs of agitation late on Saturday, prompting keepers to keep watch around the clock.

Cries from a cub were heard shortly before noon and it was seen on a monitor soon after.

"We are very happy," Yutaka Fukuda, deputy head of the zoo told a news conference aired live on public broadcaster NHK.

"The cub is just born, so we would like to carefully watch over the progress of this tiny life."

The sex of the cub has yet to be determined but its weight was estimated at around 150 grams, and both mother and cub appeared in good health, another zoo official said.

Share prices of companies operating restaurants near the zoo soared after news of the birth on expectations they would benefit from a stream of visitors keen to view the newborn cub.

Totenko Co jumped as much as 38 percent to 290 yen, near a 10-year high, while K.K. Seiyoken climbed 11 percent to 978 yen, its highest since March 2014.

Shin Shin and her partner, Ri Ri, arrived from China in February 2011 and went on view shortly after a devastating earthquake and tsunami the next month, providing some welcome good news for the reeling nation.

(With Agency inputs)
Berlin: German authorities say they've arrested four Syrian brothers on terrorism charges for allegedly fighting for an extremist group in their homeland five years ago.

Mustafa K, 41, Abdullah K, 39, Sultan K, 44, and Ahmed K, 51, whose last names weren't released according to privacy regulations, are accused of membership in a terrorist organisation for fighting for the Nusra Front in the northern Syrian city Ras al-Ayn starting in late 2012.

Federal prosecutors said in a statement today the men were allegedly involved in the group's fight against Syrian government troops and Kurdish defence forces.

Mustafa and Sultan are also charged with war crimes for allegedly forcing civilians from the city and plundering their possessions.

Prosecutors refused to say when the brothers entered Germany.
Berlin: German Chancellor Angela Merkel congratulated French President Emmanuel Macron on the victory of his party in the first round of parliamentary elections, calling the result a strong vote for reforms.

Projections after the first election round showed on Sunday that Macron`s fledgling party is set to trounce France`s traditional main parties in the parliamentary election and secure a huge majority to push through his pro-business reforms.

"Chancellor Merkel: My heartfelt congratulations to @EmmanuelMacron to the great success of his party in the first election round. Strong vote for reforms," read the message on a government Twitter account on Monday.
London: Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday began the process of forming a minority government from the hung Parliament after last week's general election and prepared to face questions from her Conservative Party lawmakers.



On Monday afternoon, Theresa May will meet with the 1922 Committee, a parliamentary group that comprises Conservative backbenchers, a term which applies to any lawmaker who sits behind Cabinet ministers on the government's front bench in the House of Commons, Efe news reported.



The committee is widely expected to press May for an explanation as to why the party suffered such a blow in the June 8 snap election, a vote called for by her just two months earlier when she had a 20-point poll lead over the opposition Labour Party, led by Jeremy Corbyn.



The snap election backfired for May, who lost 13 seats and an overall Conservative majority while the centre-left Labour camp climbed by 30 parliamentary seats, completely contradicting early poll predictions.



At just eight seats shy of a majority, May turned to the right-wing Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of Northern Ireland, which won 10 seats in Westminster.



DUP leader Arlene Foster is due to meet May on Wednesday in order to thrash out the details of that deal, which will likely entail a series of concessions in exchange for DUP support in the Commons.



May on Sunday appointed an effective "Deputy Prime Minister" after her election disaster as long-time friend Damian Green was made First Secretary of State and Minister for the Cabinet Office. He was shifted from work and pensions to the new role at the Prime Minister's side.



May is due to begin Brexit negotiations with Brussels on June 19 in a weaker position than before the June election.
London: Brexit Secretary David Davis said British Prime Minister Theresa May was not sobbing over last week`s failed election gamble when he met her after the vote, Davis said on Monday.

"She is fine, she is getting on the with the job," Davis said when asked how May was.

When asked if she was in floods of tears on Friday, Davis told ITV`s "Good Morning Britain" show: "Not when I saw her. She is a formidably good prime minister."

Ahead of Brexit talks, Davis said the people had demanded in last year`s European Union referendum to take control of the United Kingdom`s borders which means leaving the single market.
Bhubaneswar: Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday said the the National Democratic Alliance will reach out to various political parties to ensure unanimity on the next President of India.



"We want the next President to be elected unanimously. We will reach out to various parties for a consensus candidate," the Urban Development and Information and Broadcasting Minister said here.



He said the NDA is not averse to talk with the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) of Odisha on this count.



Naidu was in the Odisha capital to attend a 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas' event, held in connection with completion of the Narendra Modi government's three years in office at the Centre.



The Bharatiya Janata Party, the leading party in the ruling NDA, has set u a three-member panel comprising Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Naidu for the presidential election scheduled for July 17.



Naidu attacked the Congress, saying it is focusing on 3Ds of "disrupt, disinform, and defame".



"The prime work of the Congress is to defame Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is always working for the nation's development, disrupt Parliament over petty issues, and disturb people by spreading false information on central government schemes," the Minister said.



He said the central government was focusing on 3Ds -- decisiveness, dynamism, and development.
Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today dedicated two road bridges over the river Ganga to the people of the state.

At a function in the state capital attended among others by RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, Education Minister Ashok Chaudhary and a host of ministers and officials, Kumar dedicated the two bridges, Sonepur-Digha and Ara-Chapra, by pressing the button of remote control.

The two bridges will go a long way in improving road connectively between south and north Bihar and reduce vehicular traffic pressure on the dilapidated Gandhi Setu, the reconstruction of which is underway for sometimes.

The distance between various destinations between south and north Bihar too will be reduced drastically by more than 100 km.

The 5.25 km Sonepur-Digha rail-cum-road bridge was cleared by the UPA government in 2006 when Lalu Prasad was the Railway minister, while the 4.35 km four-lane Ara-Chapra bridge was given green signal by the Chief Minister in 2010.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had dedicated to the nation the rail section of Sonepur-Digha bridge in March last but the road bridge could not be inaugurated then due to delay in construction of approach road on both Digha and Sonepur sides.

There will be restricted traffic on the two road bridges for the time being with the authorities deciding to allow movement of only small vehicles, according to officials.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that that he was happy to dedicate the two road bridges to the people of Bihar on a day when the RJD supremo Lalu Prasad is celebrating his 70th birth day.

Kumar said the railway authorities should have invited Lalu Prasad on inauguration of the rail section of the Sonepur-Digha rail-cum-road bridge last year as it was conceived during Prasad's stint as railway minister in 2006.

"Those who organised inauguration function for launch of rail bridge between Sonepur and Digha by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year did not have decency to invite Prasad," the Chief Minister said.

The Sonepur-Digha bridge was earlier meant for rail project only, but after becoming the railway minister in 2004 Lalu Prasad impressed upon the UPA government to incorporate road part of the bridge too to smoothen road connectivity between South and North Bihar, he recalled.

The Chief Minister said that his government has decided to honour Bihar's two great sons, Veer Kunwar Singh and Jai Prakash Narayan, popularly known as JP, by naming the Ara-Chapra bridge after the former ahead of 160th anniversary of celebrations of his participation in the 1857 rebellion against the British rulers.

The Sonepur-Digha bridge has been christened after JP, he said.
Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in the United States on 25th and 26th of June this year on the invitation on President Donald Trump.

He will be holding talks with US President on June 26.

This will be the first meeting between the two leaders.

However, they have spoken to each other over phone three times since Trump's inauguration in January this year.

PM Modi last visited US in June 2016 at the invitation of the then US president Barack Obama.

He had also addressed a joint sitting of the US Congress.

Confirming PM Modi's upcoming US visit, the Indian Embassy tweeted the following:

In November last year, PM Modi had congratulated Trump on being elected as US President and had said that he was looking forward to working with him closely to take Indo-US ties to a new height.

"Congratulations on being elected as the 45th US President," he had said in a tweet.

PM Modi had added that the country was looking forward to working closely with Trump to strengthen bilateral ties.

"We look forward to working with you closely to take India-US bilateral ties to a new height. We appreciate the friendship you have articulated towards India during your campaign," PM Modi had further said.

Responding to the greetings, Trump had at that time extended invitation to the PM to visit the United States.

An official statement from Washington had said that Trump saw India as a "true friend and partner in addressing challenges around the world".

"The two discussed opportunities to strengthen the partnership between the US and India in broad areas such as the economy and defence," it had added.

The US statement had maintained that Trump and PM Modi had resolved to "stand shoulder to shoulder in the global fight against terrorism".

Trump beat seasoned politician Hillary Clinton in the knife-edge polls, defying the odds to become the 45th US President.

(With PTI inputs)
New Delhi: The Election Commission has written to the Law Ministry demanding that the government should amend the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, giving it powers to act against persons or organisations tarnishing its image.

In a strongly-worded letter, the poll panel has sought the power of contempt to book those who try to defame it by openly questioning the conduct of elections taking advantage of the right to expression.



In the letter, which was written on April 24 this year, the poll panel has cited the example of the Election Commission of Philippines, Ghana and Pakistan which have been provided direct power to punish for contempt through legislation.



"The Commission shall have, and exercise the same jurisdiction or powers and authority in respect of Contempt of itself as a High Court has and may exercise and for this purpose, the provisions of the Contempt of Courts Act 1971, shall have effect subject to modifications - That a High Court shall be constructed as including a reference to the Election Commission of India" and "a judge shall be constructed as including a reference to the Commissioner or a member of the Commission," as per IANS.



The poll panel also demanded that a subsection "contempt" should be included for civil contempt or wilful disobedience and criminal contempt, "including who scandalises or tends to scandalise or prejudices or interferes or tends to interfere with the due course of any function of the Commission".



The poll panel's remarks came in the wake of Opposition parties, particularly the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), raising questions over the reliability of Electronic Voting Machines and some also charged the EC with being an "agent of the BJP".



The AAP alleged the EVMs were manipulated to benefit a particular party in the assembly elections in five states - Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand, and the Delhi civic elections.

On June 03, the EC had held the EVM hacking challenge, starting with a detailed demonstration on the various security checks in the machine.

The four-hour challenge began at 10 am with the NCP and the CPI(M) being the only parties participating in the event.

The two parties were provided with four EVMs each brought to Delhi from Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand where they were deployed in the recently-held Assembly polls.

The poll panel had invited the seven national and 49 state parties recognised by it for the challenge.

It had left out smaller parties and Independents who had contested the recent polls from participating.

Even foreign experts were barred.

Members of a technical committee, which helps the EC evaluate the EVMs, judged the proceedings.

However, the NCP later backed out of the EVM hacking challenge and had put the blame squarely on the poll panel for its non-participation.

The party had said that it had opted out because the EC did not provide "required information" on voting machines and "changed the protocol" of the exercise at the last minute, as per PTI.

A three-member NCP delegation led by party's Rajya Sabha MP Vandana Chavan had also said the commission did not give the team an option to pick the EVM of their choice.

Chavan had said that the party was not provided with the information they asked for "again and again" i.e., the number of the memory unit and the battery used in the EVMs.

The party had also said the poll panel had asked it to choose any four EVMs from the states which had gone to polls recently, and the understanding was that it would choose one of them.

"We were under the impression that the EVM challenge would give us an opportunity for an academic exercise to satisfy our queries. However, not providing us with the required information and change in the protocol for the choice of the EVMs have created an unfair situation," the party had said in a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi.

The party had also sought information on the companies who service the EVMs, names of the transport companies engaged by the EC, state Election Commissions, state governments at various stages of transportation of EVMs.

(With Agency inputs)
Chennai: In a first in India's judicial history, Calcutta High Court judge Justice CS Karnan, awarded six-month jail by the Supreme Court for contempt, retires on Monday while being absconding.

He appeared before the Supreme Court on March 31 -- becoming the first sitting High Court Judge to do so in a contempt case. In another first, the apex court on May 09 sentenced the sitting high court judge to six months in jail for contempt.

The whereabouts of Justice Karnan have been a mystery since then.

The judge was sentenced in absentia and the West Bengal Police was ordered to constitute a team immediately to arrest Karnan.

However, he is still untraceable.

On May 11, the Supreme court was moved seeking suspension of the six-month sentence.

On May 17, Justice Karnan had filed a mercy plea before President Pranab Mukherjee seeking stay of the order.

Justice Karnan was found in contempt of court for hurling corruption charges against Supreme Court and High Court judges.

Justice Karnan had taken on the top judiciary after he wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing various judges and officers of the Madras High Court of corruption.

The Supreme Court had initiated contempt proceedings against Justice Karnan on February 8 and restrained him from performing judicial and administrative work.

After this, the Supreme Court issued a warrant on March 10 against Justice Karnan.
New Delhi: A minor fire broke out on the first floor of the Election Commission of India office located on Ashoka Road here this afternoon.

The flames erupted in an electrical switchboard, said a senior officer from the Delhi Fire Services.

A call was received at 12.02 PM about the fire and four fire tenders were rushed to the spot, he said. The fire was doused within five minutes.

There was no damage to property.
New Delhi: A woman cadet has reportedly fallen from a Mexican sail training ship 560 nautical miles west of Goa and the Indian Navy has launched a search and rescue operation to look for her.

It has been reported that the woman cadet was not donning any life saving gear when she fell overboard at 2 PM yesterday.

"The Indian Navy has launched a 'Search and Rescue' operation to look for a lady cadet who has reportedly fallen overboard from Mexican Sail Training Ship (STS) Cuauhtemoc, at 1400 hrs on June 11 in position about 560 NM west of Goa," the Navy said in a statement.

Boeing P8I aircraft was pressed into service last night as well as today as part of the operation.

The Mexican ship was scheduled to visit Mumbai between June 21?26 and its last port of call was Port Said, Egypt. The ship's next port of call was Singapore.

Indian Navy ship Teg which was enroute to Mumbai from Port Louis, Mauritius has been diverted and is likely to arrive in the area tonight, Navy spokesperson Capt D K Sharma said.

He said additionally, INS Mysore, with two helicopters onboard, has sailed from Mumbai today and is likely to arrive in the area later in the evening to look for the cadet.
Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Monday emphasized the need to encourage trade between India and Myanmar and said more border haats be opened for the purpose.



Khandu, who was speaking at a review meeting at Aizawal to discuss India-Myanmar border issues, apprised Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who was at the chair, about an MoU signed in 2012 between India and Myanmar for establishment of border haats along the Indo-Myanmar border to facilitate trade.



The MoU had proposed a border haat at Nampong (Pangsau pass), he said.



He emphasised the need for a comprehensive development plan for Tirap, Changlang and Longding (TCL) districts to increase entrepreneurship and employability so that the people of these districts do not deviate from the mainstream.



The efforts when undertaken will go a long way in addressing acute poverty and lack of employment in these districts.



A significant portion of the population in the TCL districts are engaged in illegal opium production and trade. This has to be tackled aggressively using two pronged strategy of opening de-addiction centres and skill development centres, an official communique said quoting Khandu.



Since the terrain of three districts region is good for cash crops, Spice Board of India and Krishi Vigyan Kendra could be advised to open their offices there, he said.



Arunachal government, he said, has prepared a proposal of around Rs 985 crore as a fresh special package for the districts and requested the home ministry to consider the new proposal favourably.



Khandu also suggested taking adequate steps to prevent migration from the border areas and sought central assistances for rapid economic development of the areas along the Indo-Myanmar border.



The chief minister also urged for strengthening and modernisation of the state police and proposed setting up of a forensic science laboratory in one of the TCL districts. He also requested the union home ministry to expedite the final approval for construction and upgradation of 20 police station buildings and other infrastructural facilities under special package for the three districts.



Khandu thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his continued faith in recognizing the potential of the north eastern region and his commitment to help it overcome the teething troubles so as to truly become the new engine of India's growth.



Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju and Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein also spoke on the occasion.



The chief ministers of Nagaland Shurhozelie Liezietsu, Manipur N Biren Singh and Mizoram Lal Thanhawla attended the meeting, besides directors general of police of the four states and Assam Rifles director general and senior officials from the concerned central ministries, the communique added.
New Delhi: Leaders of top opposition parties will meet here on June 14 in a bid to reach a consensus on a joint candidate for the upcoming presidential election.

The 10-member group set up by the opposition will meet for the first time after its constitution, sources said.



The opposition move on Wednesday's meeting came soon after BJP president Amit Shah announced that a panel of three senior ministers -- Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and M Venkaiah Naidu -- would talk to allies and other parties on presidential candidates.



Several rounds of talks have already been held among senior opposition leaders on the issue. Congress president Sonia Gandhi has been trying to reach a consensus in the opposition on candidates for the presidential and vice presidential election.



The opposition is waiting for the ruling dispensation to come up with its candidate and will discuss if the name proposed by the NDA is acceptable to them.



A senior leader said if there was no consensus in the talks with the NDA, the opposition would put up a joint candidate against the NDA nominee.



The sources said Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mallikarjun Kharge represent the Congress in the 10-member group, which also includes other senior opposition leaders such as JD-U's Sharad Yadav, RJD's Lalu Prasad and CPI-M's Sitaram Yechury.



DMK's Rajya Sabha member R S Bharathi, Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav, Bahujan Samaj Party's Satish Chandra Misra, TMC's Derek O'Brien and NCP's Praful Patel are also on the panel.

While the ruling party is holding its cards close to its chest, the opposition has already discussed the names of possible candidates and has held talks with one, former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi.



Among the other names doing the rounds are those of former Speaker Meira Kumar and former Defence Minister Sharad Pawar, though the NCP strongman has said he is not in the race.

The poll to elect the next president will be held on July 17 and counting will take place on July 20.



The term of incumbent Pranab Mukherjee ends on July 24 and that of Vice President M Hamid Ansari on August 10.



A united opposition had met at a lunch hosted by Sonia Gandhi in Parliament, where it was decided that if the ruling dispensation failed to come up with a candidate with "secular credentials" for the presidential poll, the opposition would field someone who would "steadfastly defend" the country's constitutional values.



After the meeting last month, Azad and Sharad Yadav read out a joint statement stating that in a presidential election, the ruling party traditionally took the initiative to build a consensus on candidates.

"This has not happened so far. If acceptable consensual candidates do not emerge, then we (opposition parties) shall field such persons who shall steadfastly defend the Constitutional values of our republic," the statement said.



Yadav said while the opposition appealed to the BJP to take the lead and come up with a consensus candidate for the president and vice president's posts, consensus between the ruling and opposition appeared remote.
New York: Uber Technologies Inc Chief Executive Travis Kalanick is likely to take a leave of absence from the troubled ride-hailing company, but no final decision has yet been made, according to a source familiar with the outcome of a Sunday board meeting.

Emil Michael, senior vice president and a close Kalanick ally, will leave the company, the source said.

Uber`s board met on Sunday to consider recommendations from an investigation into sexual harassment and related issues led by the law firm of former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
Srinagar: The Pakistani Army initiated indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics and mortars at 6.20 am on Monday along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir`s Krishna Ghati sector.

The Indian Army posts are retaliating strongly and effectively.

Earlier on Sunday, the Pakistan Army violated ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir`s Naushera sector.

This came after the Pakistan Army earlier in the day initiated indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics and mortars in Naushera along the Line of Control (LoC).

Pakistan initiated the indiscriminate firing at around 12:40 pm and exchange of gunfire continues.

The Pakistan Rangers had, earlier in the day, violated unprovoked ceasefire on forward Border Security Force (BSF) troops in Jammu and Kashmir`s Ramgarh sector at 10.45 am.

The Indian Army posts retaliated strongly and effectively.

The firing continued for about 45 minutes.

No injuries or damages was reported.

In the another incident earlier in the day, the Army retaliated to a ceasefire violation by Pakistan along the LoC in the Bhimber Gali sector in Rajouri district at 9.45 am.

On Saturday, the Pakistan Army initiated indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics and mortars in the Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district along the LoC.

In all these incidents, the Indian Army posts retaliated effectively.
Srinagar: Two jawans were injured on Monday night when terrorists lobbed grenade on a CRPF camp in in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, prompting the security forces to cordon off the area.

The incident took place in Tral in Kashmir's Pulwama district.

The security forces have cordoned off the area after the attack and a hunt was on to nab them.

Earlier in the day, the security forces recovered a huge quantity of arms and ammunition near the LoC in Kashmir's Poonch, where terrorists from Pakistan had made several infiltration attempts.

The soldiers successfully foiled the infiltration bids by Pakistan backed terrorists in Poonch since the intervening night of Monday.

The soldiers also recovered combat jackets, grenades, radio set, shawls, medicines and eateries from eight rucksacks from the site.

On Sunday, the Pakistani troops had resorted to heavy firing on Indian posts along the LoC and the International Border in Rajouri and Samba districts of Jammu and Kashmir.

Pakistan Army initiated indiscriminate firing of small arms, heavy automatics and mortars from 1240 hours along the Line of Control in Naushera sector in Rajouri district, a defence spokesman said.

In another ceasefire violation, Pakistan Rangers started firing on forward BSF troops in Ramgarh Sector in Samba district along the IB, a senior BSF officer said adding that BSF also retaliated.

During exchange of fire, Pak Rangers also fired a few small mortar shells. Intermittent fire continued till 1045 hours, he said adding there was no loss or damage.
Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Monday slammed the state government over last month`s rejig in the police department, in which Tomin J. Thachenkery was appointed Additional Director General of Police, days before T.P. Senkumar was reinstated the state police chief.



The court asked if Thachenkery`s posting was made to keep a tab on Senkumar and said if that is the case it should be cancelled.



The court made this observation while hearing a petition filed by Jose Thomas, a social activist who stated that it was an unprecedented action by the authorities that just before Senkumar was to take charge as the Director General of Police (DGP), Thachenkery was appointed as ADGP and a huge section of middle and high ranking police officials were reshuffled.



The court also asked what was the need for such a reshuffle.



It is well known within the police department that Senkumar and Thachenkery do not enjoy the best of relations. While Senkumar was in a stand-off with the Pinarayi Vijayan government, Thachenkery is its blue eyed boy.



The decision to remove Senkumar was made the day Vijayan took over as the Chief Minister in May last year.



It took Senkumar an 11-month legal battle to get his post back. The Supreme Court last month came down heavily on the Vijayan government and said Senkumar should be reinstated.



Senkumar is to retire from service on June 30.
Mandsaur: With peace gradually returning to violence-hit Mandsaur, local BJP MP Sudhir Gupta on Sunday alleged that the Congress provoked the farmers to resort to violence and said the farmers' stir was led by the opposition party.

The Neemuch-Mandsaur MP alleged that the Congress organised this stir to divert people's attention from the recent public slaughter of a cow by Youth Congress leaders in Kerala.

"This is not a farmers' agitation, this is Congress' agitation," he said.

When asked if his party will suffer in the elections as most of the people here are farmers, Gupta said when the truth about the Congress' role in agitation will come out, then Congress will have to face loss.

"India is a democratic country and the farmers have all the rights to raise their demands but no one can imagine that farmers of Malwa region, which is very peaceful, on the name of agitation, would do so much violence," he said in an apparent reference to the Congress.

Over the Congress alleging that no BJP leader visited the families of farmers killed during the agitation, the MP rejected the allegation saying he is in touch with the farmers' families.

"When the bodies of the five farmers killed in police firing were brought to a hospital here, I sat with them for over five hours," Gupta said.

Senior Congress leader and former MP Meenakshi Natarajan denied the allegation that the Congress provoked the farmers to resort to violence.

"Congress never supports violence. It is completely a farmers' agitation but we are there to fight for the farmers' demands," she said.

When asked about the violence, Natarajan said the farmers of Neemuch-Mandsaur are angry over not getting the right price for their yields of soyabean, onion, garlic among others.

Also, many windmills are operating in the region for which land was acquired from the farmers, but the government never gave compensation for the agricultural land, she alleged.

On Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's fast, Natarajan said, "He is the CM, what is the need to fast instead he should call a cabinet meeting and pass a proposal on the demands of the farmers."

A special session of the state Assembly should also be called for resolving problems of agri sector apart from the Cabinet meeting, she said.

Farmers do not have any say in fixing of the price of their crops and the government is not listening to their demands, Natarajan alleged.

She urged the Narendra Modi government to implement the recommendations of Swaminathan commission report.



Natarajan said the Central government should waive all the farm loans as the agriculture sector is facing problems.

Mandsaur-Neemuch region, where had always been a stronghold of the BJP. Six MLAs out of the seven assembly seats of the two district are from the BJP while 1 MLA is from the Congress.

The Mandsaur-Neemuch region, about 300 km from the state capital Bhopal, became the nerve centre of the gathering storm of farmer distress. Later, protests spread to some other parts of the state.

In Mandsaur, the curfew was imposed after five persons were killed in police firing during a farmers' protest on June 6.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan yesterday launched an indefinite fast in state capital Bhopal with an appeal for peace and met farmer leaders, but failed to reach a compromise.
Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh government has constituted a one-member committee of retired HC judge JK Jain for enquiry of death of five farmers in firing in Mandsaur.

The committee will submit its report within three months to the state government.

The probe panel, to be based in Indore, will probe under what circumstances the police firing and subsequent deaths occurred, was the police action appropriate to the given situation, if not, who all are guilty and whether civil and police officials in the district had taken adequate necessary steps in the run-up to the incidents or not, as per IANS.

Meanwhile, curfew was lifted completely from Mandsaur district, the epicentre of a violent stir by farmers, as the situation there remained peaceful today.

Curfew was lifted from all three police station areas of Mandsaur city yesterday, but was in place in Pipliamandi police station area, which is 15 kms from Mandsaur district headquarters and where five farmers were killed in separate police firings during the agitation.

The curfew from 8 pm to 8 am has been lifted although prohibitory orders under CrPC section 144, which bans assembly of more than four persons, will remain in force, Additional Collector of the district Arjun Singh Dabar said, as per PTI.

Farmers in the state began protests over low prices for their crops on June 1.

The Mandsaur-Neemuch region, about 300 km from the state capital Bhopal, became the nerve centre of the gathering storm of farmer distress. Later, protests spread to some other parts of the state.

In Mandsaur, the curfew was imposed after five persons were killed in police firing during a farmers' protest on June 6.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had sat on an indefinite fast on Saturday, appealing for peace to farmers demanding loan waivers and remunerative prices for their produce.

He ended it the next day while announcing a slew of schemes but issued a stern warning to those who engaged in "incendiary activities".

(With Agency inputs)
Mumbai: Taking a dig at Shivraj Singh Chouhan for going on a hunger strike, the Shiv Sena today said the Madhya Pradesh chief minister used Gandhian means to quell the farmers' movement even as his party president described Mahatma Gandhi as a "chatur baniya".

A chief minister's role is to govern, the BJP's bickering ally said. Going on fast was Mahatma Gandhi's tool to fight against injustice towards Indians and today neither the Britishers nor the Congress were ruling the country, the Sena said in an editorial in its party mouthpiece Saamana.

Chouhan sat on an indefinite fast on Saturday, appealing for peace to farmers demanding loan waivers and remunerative prices for their produce. He ended it the next day while announcing a slew of schemes but issued a stern warning to those who engaged in "incendiary activities".

A day before Chouhan's fast, BJP chief Amit Shah said in Raipur on Friday that Mahatma Gandhi was a "chatur baniya", a reference to the mercantile caste to which he was born, who had rightly advised dissolution of the Congress after Independence.

The Sena said in its editorial, "While BJP president Amit Shah was commenting on Mahatma Gandhi, his senior party leader was using Gandhian means to solve the problems of his state. The role of a chief minister is to govern."

"The chief minister going on a hunger strike against protests in his state is a victory of Gandhian thoughts. But Gandhiji, Sardar (Vallabhbhai) Patel readied farmers to fight against the injustice and cruelty and used Gandhian thoughts to pose a challenge to the Britishers," it said.

Citing Chouhan's example to taunt the Devendra Fadnavis-led Maharashtra government, the Sena said the Madhya Pradesh chief minister's fast at least showed his sensitivity towards farmers, not like Maharashtra politicians who tried to create a rift between cultivators.

"Chouhan did not play dirty politics of terming the stir of farmers as a stir of anti-social elements," the Sena, which is the BJP's oldest ally, added.

Farmers in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, both ruled by BJP-led governments, went on the warpath June 1 over various demands, including loan waivers and remunerative prices for their produce.

In Maharashtra, after a couple of days of the stir, a group of farmers had claimed that their agitation was called off after talks with Chief Minister Fadnavis.

However, later another section of farmers said the strike was still on.

The Maharashtra government yesterday announced a loan waiver for farmers and decided to form a committee to decide the criteria of debt relief, after which the cultivators called off their protests.
Mumbai: Observing that the Maharashtra government cannot pass a blanket order for shutting all liquor shops within 500 metres of state and national highways, the Bombay High Court on Monday directed the state to hear and pass reasoned orders in each case individually.

A division bench of Justices S M Kemkar and M S Sonak was hearing a bunch of petitions filed by liquor shops, permit rooms and bars challenging notices issued to them by the state Excise department prohibiting them from selling liquor.

The notices were issued in compliance with an order passed by the Supreme Court last year directing all liquor shops falling within 500 metres of the national and state highways to be shut.

The petitioners' argument was their shops are not within 500 metres of state highways and that the government had included even arterial roads as highways.

"We are of the view that the orders have been passed by the state Excise department without properly ascertaining in each case if the shops fall within 500 metres of state highways," Justice Kemkar said.

"We direct the secretary, state Public Works Department (roads) along with the commissioner of the state Excise department to hear the grievances of each petitioner. Each case shall be considered individually and a reasoned order shall be passed therein," the court said.

The PWD secretary has been directed to hear and decide all matters on or before July 5.

The court, however, refused to stay or set aside the notices issued to the petitioners.

"We understand you (petitioners) have a right to livelihood...But the Supreme Court while passing the judgement had kept in mind the increasing number of fatalities due to drunk driving. This indirectly means Right to Life. This is also important," Justice Sonak observed.

The bench noted that the state Excise department issued notices to the shops without giving them an opportunity to put forth their case.

Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni told the court that the government need not produce any notification declaring or classifying roads as state highways under section 3 of the Maharashtra Highways Act, 1955.

The court had earlier sought the notification which the government had said it could not procure.

"It is not necessary to have any notification classifying state highways for the purpose of complying with the Supreme Court order. The Supreme Court, in its order, has used the term national and state highways loosely. The order covers even those major roads which connect cities to the state highway," Kumbhakoni said.

He added that the apex court had issued the order to curb drunken driving, and accidents and fatalities due to it.
San Francisco: Apple`s upcoming iPhone 8 may not include next generation gigabit support and the company will stick to 4G LTE technology, media reported.

"Apple`s decision to leave out the faster gigabit chip found in the competing Galaxy S8 from Samsung could be because of how it sources modems," tech website zdnet.com reported on Monday.

Gigabit connectivity offers fibre-like speeds via wireless and is supposed to be 50-100 times faster.

Apple has partnered with Qualcomm and Intel for modems, of which only Qualcomm offers a modem which is capable of one gigabit download speeds.

Apple is also reportedly developing a dedicated artificial intelligence (AI) chip, called the Apple Neural Engine, that would power AI-related tasks on mobile devices.

The chip is also said to improve battery life and the overall performance of Apple devices.

With the new chip, Apple seeks to separate the computationally intensive tasks from the iPhone`s processor and graphics chip.

Apple is rumoured to launch iPhone 8 later this year.
New Delhi: Fresh images of the upcoming iPhone 8 has been leaked in the media.

The fresh renders of the upcoming iPhone has appeared online showing it running iOS 11 for the first time.

The iOS 11 was launched at at its Apple World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) last week

The new pictures have been posted by news website iDrop.

Here are the leaked images.

Apple is rumoured to launch iPhone 8 later this year.

Meanwhile, fresh media reports have said that the upcoming iPhone 8 may not include next generation gigabit support and the company will stick to 4G LTE technology.

Gigabit connectivity offers fibre-like speeds via wireless and is supposed to be 50-100 times faster.

Apple has partnered with Qualcomm and Intel for modems, of which only Qualcomm offers a modem which is capable of one gigabit download speeds.
New Delhi: Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt is apparently controversy's favourite child. If online buzz is to believed, the early release of the 57-year-old star from the prison, in 1993 serial blasts case, is now being questioned once again.

The Bombay High Court on Monday asked the Maharashtra government to justify its decision to grant the actor early release from prison in the 1993 serial blasts case.

Dutt was earlier sentenced to five years in jail for possession of arms, which were a part of the consignment used in the 1993 blasts.

The actor, who was on bail during the trial, had surrendered in May 2013 after the Supreme Court upheld his conviction.

Dutt was let out in February 2016, eight months early, on account of his good conduct while in Pune's Yerwada prison.

A division bench of justices R M Sawant and Sadhana Jadhav was today hearing a public interest litigation by Pune resident Pradeep Bhalekar challenging the regular paroles and furloughs granted to Dutt when he was serving his sentence.

The court then directed the state government to file an affidavit stating what parameters were considered and the procedures followed while deciding that Dutt deserved leniency.

"Was the DIG, Prisons, consulted or did the jail superintendent directly send his recommendation to the governor?" Justice Sawant asked.

"Also, how did the authorities assess that Dutt's conduct was good? When did they get the time to make such assessment when he was out on parole half the time?" he asked.

The court will further hear the matter after one week.

During the investigation and the marathon trial, Dutt spent 18 months in jail.

On July 31, 2007, the TADA court in Mumbai sentenced him to six years' rigorous imprisonment under the Arms Act and imposed a fine of Rs 25,000.

In 2013, the Supreme Court upheld the ruling but reduced the sentence to five years following which he surrendered to serve the remainder of his sentence.

During his imprisonment, Dutt was granted parole of 90 days in December 2013 and later again for 30 days.

(With PTI inputs)
New Delhi: Sonam Kapoor just marked her 32nd birthday and the actress was flooded with birthday wishes on Twitter.

Many celebrities took to social media to congratulate the fashion diva on her special day.

While Sonam was busy celebrating her birthday with rumored boyfriend Anand Ahuja in Delhi, the 'Neerja' actress forgot to acknowledge the SMS sent to her by Amitabh Bachchan.

After all the birthday madness got over, Sonam took to Twitter to respond to Suniel Shetty, which made Big B even more upset.

He immediately replied to Sonam's tweet demanding an explanation why he is the only one who didn't get a response.

Check out Big B's Tweet:

... and what about ME .. this is Amitabh Bachchan my dear .. i sent you an sms on your birthday and you never replied ..aaarrrgghh !! June 12, 2017

To this, a rather embarrassed Sonam tweeted an apology, explained to the veteran and thanked him for his warm wishes.

This is what Sonam tweeted:

Oh my god sir!! I didn't get it!! I always reply!! Thank you so much! I got @juniorbachchan message I'm so so sorry https://t.co/AwG4S9W2xr  Sonam Kapoor (@sonamakapoor) June 12, 2017

Well, we are sure Sonam will be careful next time!
Chandigarh: Farmers in Punjab today staged protests across the state demanding waiver of farm loans and implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report for fixing minimum support price for produce.

Activists of seven farmer outfits, including Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan), BKU (Dakunda), Krantikari Kisan Union, and Kisan Sangharsh Committee, staged dharnas at all district headquarters.

The protestors were joined by Shiromani Akali Dal and BJP workers, with SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal leading demonstrations at Ludhiana.

Besides debt relief, the two parties also protested on issues like farmer suicides and "mining mafia", and demanded the sacking of cabinet minister Rana Gurjit Singh, who is facing allegations of impropriety in sand mining contracts.

"All seven farmer organisations held dharnas outside the offices of all the deputy commissioners in the state in support of our demands," said BKU (Ugrahan) secretary general Sukhdev Singh.

"We want the state government to announce debt waiver as soon as possible," he said, adding that the government should take steps to make farming profitable for growers.

Congress had said in its poll manifesto that it would waive farm debt. It had promised 'karza-kurki khatam (elimination of loans and auctions), fasal di poori rakam' (complete payment for produce).

After coming to power, the government formed an expert group under the chairmanship of T Haque, a former chairman of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, to assess the quantum of agricultural debt and suggest ways and means for farm debt waiver.

The BKU (Ugrahan) secretary general said that farmers are also demanding the implementation of Swaminathan Commission report that recommended fixing the minimum support prices (MSP) for crops at levels at least 50 per cent more than the weighted average cost of production.

"We also want the state to fix compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the family of farmers who committed suicide because of debt burden," Singh said.

The outfits submitted a memorandum to the Centre through district administrations in support of their demands.

"The dharnas were peaceful and held for three hours outside district headquarters across the state," Singh said.
Jaipur: Around 50 cow vigilantes targeted officials of the Tamil Nadu government transporting cows from Jaisalmer to their state, pelted stones at a truck and blocked National Highway 15 on suspicion of cattle smuggling in Rajasthan's Barmer district, police said on Monday.

Four persons have been arrested and action against seven policemen including a police inspector has been taken for allegedly not taking the matter seriously and reaching the spot late last night, a senior police official said.

The officials of the Animal Husbandry Department of Tamil Nadu government had purchased 50 cows and calves from Jaisalmer and were transporting them in five trucks with NOC and all required papers and permission from authorities and police when the cow vigilantes attacked the man.

"The accused tried to beat the officials.They also tried to set a truck on fire but police reached the spot and prevented them. The officials, drives and cleaners were rescued and taken to local police station.

"In the meanwhile, several people gathered there and blocked National Highway 15,? SP, Barmer, Gagandeep Singla told PTI.

The officials had purchased the cows of a good quality breed from different places in Jaisalmer.They had NOC and permission from the SDM and local police station to transport the cows.

"The accused pelted stones at trucks and damaged one truck. The cows were rescued and taken to a local cow shelter for the time being," he said.

A case against 50 persons has been registered for voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from duty and for assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty and also under the National Highway Act.

Chainaram, Kamlesh, Vikram and Jaswant have been arrested in the matter today.

"The officials informed the police station immediately and sought help but the policemen reached late. On this dereliction, the SHO of Sadar Police Station and six other policemen were shunted to police lines today," he said.

SHO Jairam, Sub Inspector Dhruv Prasad, Assistant Sub Inspector Majid and two head constables and as many head constables were shunted to police lines, the SP said.
New Delhi: Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan recently flooded his Instagram page with interesting pictures of son Abhishek Bachchan by posting three back to back throwback images. Along with the photos, Big B also wrote some heartfelt captions.

Through the pics, Amitabh explained how soon kids grow up. "I once , not so long ago showed him the workings of technology .. now he teaches me .. Kids, I tell you," he captioned one of the images. The 74-year-old actor also explained to his fans how Abhishek took his care when he was recovering from the accident which happened on the sets of 'Coolie'.

He wrote, "Me recovering from my Coolie accident at home and a most caring and loving male nurse  ABHISHEK."

Check out the throwback photographs:

A post shared by Amitabh Bachchan (@amitabhbachchan) on Jun 10, 2017 at 12:45am PDT

A post shared by Amitabh Bachchan (@amitabhbachchan) on Jun 11, 2017 at 11:08pm PDT

Amitabh tied the knot with Jaya Bhaduri. The duo are proud parents to Shweta Nanda and Abhishek.
Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government on Monday announced an ex-gratia of Rs two lakh to the family of a fisherman who was killed in Kochi yesterday after a cargo ship hit the boat he was travelling in with some others.

Chief Minister K Palaniswami said the victim J Antony John hailed from Colachel in Kanniyakumari in the state and expressed grief over his death.

"I express my deepest condolences and sympathies to the family of John, who hails from Tamil Nadu. I have directed that a sum of Rs two lakh be paid to his family from the Chief Minister's Public Relief Fund," he said in a statement.

Two Indian fishermen were killed and 11 others injured when the Panama-registered cargo ship, "Amber L", allegedly hit their fishing boat early yesterday off the Kochi coast.

Of the 14 crew members on-board, 11 were rescued by fishing boats operating in the vicinity and two bodies were recovered. One fisherman is missing after the collision.

The merchant ship has been directed not to leave Kochi till the investigation process is complete.
Chennai: Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam on Monday accused the ruling AIADMK faction of enacting a drama and said he was disbanding the merger negotiating team of his own group.

Panneerselvam told the media here: "After the setting up of the negotiation team, they started playing a drama. We were not ready to play any dramas."

He said AIADMK cadres were with his faction and will be proved soon.

On Sunday night, Panneerselvam announced the decision to disband the seven-member team to negotiate the merger of the two factions in the AIADMK.

After the death of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in December, her close aide V.K. Sasikala took control of the AIADMK party by becoming its General Secretary. The party also decided to elect her as the Chief Minister.

Subsequently, Panneerselvam revolted against Sasikala and formed his own faction. He said the dismissal of Sasikala and Deputy General Secretary T.T.V. Dinakaran from the party were pre-conditions for a merger of the two factions.

The ruling faction said Dinakaran will be kept away from party affairs but remained silent on the demand for dismissing Sasikala and Dinakaran from the party`s primary membership.

The ruling faction of the AIADMK too had formed a committee to negotiate with the Panneerselvam group on a possible merger.
The Bay Area and San Francisco in particular has some of the best wine bars in the United States. Nearly every neighborhood has its own and several specialize in wines from specific regions. If you are only visiting for a short while there are only so many you can try so be sure to put these seven on your short list.

20 Spot (3565 20th St.)

Located in the heart of the Mission, 20 Spot is hip but unpretentious. The by-the-glass selection is diverse but not superfluous with wines from Croatia to Napa. With 80 wines including older bottlings and many that are organically made, it might take a while to make a decision, or for those who dont know wine, be a little overwhelming but the staff knows what theyre doing and is always helpful. Proprietor, Bodhi Freedom, owns another wine bar, Bacchus, in Russian Hill that is smaller and has a much more limited menu but is also worth checking out if you find yourself in that neighborhood.



Birba (458 Grove St.)

Just a few months old, Birba is the latest wine bar to grace Hayes Valley and so far it has been most impressive. The list is filled with off the beaten path and a lot of organic wines from artisan producers throughout the United States and Europe. The vibe is very Hayes Valley, no doubt, with concrete flooring, stark walls and wood furnishings yet it is anything but cold, in part a testament to its owner, Angela Valgiusti, a veteran of the Bay Area wine scene.



Blanc et Rouge (2 Embarcadero Center)

Blanc et Rouge has a little bit of everything for everyone. If big name California wine is what gets you going, there are plenty to choose from, yet if you want to check out up and coming, small producers, youll find them as well. And, if you prefer to drink wines from outside of the Golden State, it has one of the most internationally diverse selections in San Francisco, with wines from the southern hemisphere as well as the United States and Europe.



Ino Vino (108 B Carl St.)

Ino Vino is a lot like a wine bar you would find in Florence, and that makes sense because owner, Claudio Villani is a Florentine native. Sophisticated but not snobby, a wide array of wines from Piedmont to Sicily is available by the bottle, glass or three-ounce pour. There are also five flights spotlighting regions and terroirs ranging in price from $19 - $22. And, of cours, there is an extensive selection of cheese, charcuterie and pizzettes to soak up all the Italian goodness.



Nectar Wine Lounge (3330 Steiner St.)

Almost a Marina institution, Nectar Wine Lounge has been a Bay Area wine bar staple for almost a decade and a half. The 400-strong wine list hits nearly every wine region you can think of and there are a lot of wines with some age. Forty wines are served by the glass including four flights of three wines each.



Terroir (1116 Folsom St.)

Terroir pioneered natural wine bars in San Francisco in 2007 and it has remained a favorite for wine drinkers who are looking for organic, biodynamic and esoteric wines made with minimal manipulation. A turntable and industrial/retro decor promote its hipster vibe but there is nothing gimmicky about this place; it is the real deal and a must for anyone who wants to have a palate expanding experience.



Tofino (2969 Geary Blvd.)

Since opening in April Tofino has been getting a lot of local buzz. With more than 700 available for off- or on-sale purchase, youre bound to find a number of wines that you have never tried before and chances are, its going to be good. There is a bend towards naturally made wines but not to the complete exclusion of high quality conventional producers.
Darjeeling: Eight suspected Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) activists were detained for indulging in arson as a GJM-sponsored month-long shutdown of government offices began on Monday.

According to PTI, the hill station of Darjeeling wore a deserted look as the shutdown began amid tight security.

Several hotels were closed and very few vehicles were seen on the roads and the Toy Train did not ply from here.

However, transport and hotels were exempted from the bandh.

Schools and colleges were also exempted from the purview of the shutdown, called by the GJM for reviving its demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland.

Most eateries, shops, markets and private offices remained closed and GJM party flags were seen fluttering all over the hills.

State police sources said, around eight persons allegedly belonging to the GJM were detained this morning for trying to set on fire a BDO office at Phulbazar in Bijanbari block.

"A quick response from the fire department and an alert administration helped us avoid any untoward incident. Around eight persons have been detained," the sources said.

Darjeeling District Magistrate Joyoshi Dasgupta said, "The situation is peaceful here till now. Everything is normal and people have already started arriving at offices. Attendance in school is also normal. We have taken all precautionary measures to check any untoward incident."

Police pickets, barricades have been placed in front of government offices, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) offices and RAF and a sizeable number of women police personnel have been deployed, Dasgupta said.

"The administration will act as per the law if anybody is found forcing others as well as establishments to participate in the bandh," the DM said.

She said that the Army was present in the hills as a "backup".

"The administration will also see that no tourist faces trouble because of the bandh. We will not allow anything or anybody to disturb normal life here in the hills," she stated.

The GJM had issued a diktat to banks to open only twice a week.

GJM president Bimal Gurung has asked tourists to leave the hills because of the possibility of occurrence of "untoward" incidents.

When contacted, GJM general secretary Roshan Giri said the party will "appeal" to the people to participate in the bandh and not go to offices.

"We will appeal to the people not to go to offices and make our bandh successful. We will hold a torch rally later in the evening," Giri said over phone.

To counter the shutdown, the state government has ordered all its employees and those of the institutions receiving grants-in-aid from it to attend office on all days till the agitation continues, warning that absence from duty will be considered as a break in service.

Last Thursday, GJM supporters clashed with police when they tried to break the barricades following which police had restored to lathicharge. The GJM supporters had damaged police vehicles and set some of them ablaze as a cabinet meeting was on at the Raj Bhawan here.

GJM supporters, who were protesting among other issues against alleged "imposition of Bengali language in the schools in the hills", called for a 12-hour bandh the following day.

The Army had to be called out in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong to restore peace.

With PTI inputs
West Bengal: Thousands of tourists fled the Indian hill resort of Darjeeling on Monday after local activists demanding the creation of a new Indian state warned that a general strike could degenerate into violence.

Hundreds of troops and riot police patrolled the streets of the famed tea-producing resort in eastern India as panicked tourists packed their bags.



Riots and arson attacks in Darjeeling last week left 12 people injured and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) group warned at the weekend that "untoward" events could happen when the general strike started Monday.



The hills are famous for the Darjeeling tea whose production is jealously guarded. It is also famed for its "toy train" -- a 78-kilometer uphill ride from New Jalpaiguri.



But the troubles have dealt a major blow to the crucial tourism industry.



Pradip Lama, secretary of the Darjeeling Tourist Association of Travel Agents, told AFP that worried visitors -- most of them from other parts of India -- are leaving and nearly 70 percent of bookings have been cancelled.



"Till Sunday, 7,000 tourists left Darjeeling," Lama said.



The GJM wants a new state named Gorkhaland in the hill region, which is now part of West Bengal.



Tensions have also risen over a government decision to introduce the Bengali language in schools. Indigenous Gorkhas, who mainly speak Nepali, are furious.



"We had heard about the trouble and still reached the hill resort on Friday, hoping that the situation would be normal," Priya Roy, a visitor from the southern city of Bangalore, told AFP.



"We have decided to leave Darjeeling after GJM`s warning to tourists."



Another tourist said their group`s vehicle was mobbed by slogan-shouting protesters who demanded to know their identities.



"I clutched at my mother`s arm even as she begged with folded hands, pleading with them to let us go," Kamalika Chatterjee told AFP.



Bimal Gurung, head of the GJM, told AFP his warning to the tourists was "for their own safety" as the events could worsen anytime if his group launches a full-scale campaign for a separate state.



Darjeeling district magistrate Joyoshi Dasgupta said at least a dozen GJM activists had been detained for allegedly instigating the violence.



"A group of suspected GJM activists tried to set fire to government offices... on Monday. Security was stepped up in front of all government offices in the hills of Darjeeling as a precautionary measure," Dasgupta said.



The GJM denied its members were involved in violence.



The Gorkhas have been campaigning for decades for the new state. They say Bengali-speaking outsiders have exploited their resources and imposed their culture and language.



A similar agitation in 2007 led to the granting of some administrative powers to local people.



Many groups in India have waged similar campaigns to break away from larger states, mostly on linguistic and ethnic grounds or in hopes of economic benefits.



The last successful agitation led to the formation of Telangana state in 2014.



India is made up of 29 states and seven federally administered territories, which include the capital region New Delhi.
London: Being a little more alert these days won't hurt you. In fact, it can save a lot of heartburn and distress later on.

The US police have warned of a phone scam reportedly raging in North America these days.

Hence, a little discretion on your part is all the more important, particularly while dealing with calls claiming to be from the banks, which nowadays converse with their customers mostly online.

But how do the phone scamsters operate?

A yes on phone could mean a lot to scamsters!

One simple 'Yes' from you on phone could be enough for fraudsters to steal money from your bank accounts.

Your Yes can authorize a lot of things, including authority to confirm account changes, make purchases in your name or transfer money.

A scammer can add his own script and insert your yes into it to approve phone transactions.

So, the police in the US and UK have urged citizens to remain vigilant of such scamsters.
Washington: President Donald Trump has been invited by a top Democratic leader to testify before the Senate over his relationship with sacked FBI chief James Comey and the probe into the alleged Russian meddling in the US polls.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, responding to Trump's statement last week that he would "100 percent" speak under oath about the Comey affair, said he would like the president to testify in public before the Senate.

Trump's assertion came after he branded Comey as a "leaker" and claimed "total and complete vindication" after ousted FBI director's testimony before a Senate Committee.

"I think we could work out a way it could be dignified, public, with questions, with Leader McConnell," Schumer told CBS News.

The New York Democrat added that the Senate would also consult with special counsel Robert Mueller, who has taken the lead on a wide-ranging investigation into the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 elections.

Trump's pledge to offer sworn testimony to Mueller came in a press conference the day after Comey's testimony before the Senate intelligence committee.

The former FBI director detailed "disturbing" interactions with Trump that led to his firing on May 9.

Comey had last week said that he believed Trump asked him to end an investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn, which Trump has denied.

Comey also said he thinks Trump fired him over the Russia investigation.

The president had said Comey's testimony vindicates his assertion that Trump himself was not personally under the investigation.

However, Trump and his attorney have disputed Comey's other assertions, including his claim that the president sought a pledge of loyalty.

Yesterday, Schumer also said he would like to clear up the matter of whether Trump does indeed have tapes of his conversations with Comey, as the president has suggested.

"Lordy, I hope there are tapes," Comey had said on Thursday.

"If there aren't tapes [Trump] should let that be known. No more game playing," Schumer said.
Geneva: Both Israel and the Palestinians have failed to bring perpetrators of alleged war crimes, including killings to justice, the United Nations said in a report published on Monday.



Compiled by the office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra`ad al-Hussein, it evaluates compliance with 64 reports and 929 recommendations from the Council, the UN Secretary General and UN rights investigators from 2009-2016.



"The High Commissioner notes the repeated failure to comply with the calls for accountability made by the entire human rights system and urges Israel to conduct prompt, impartial and independent investigations of all alleged violations of international human rights law and all allegations of international crimes," the report said.



Zeid`s report also noted "the State of Palestines non-compliance with the calls for accountability and urges the State of Palestine to conduct prompt, impartial and independent investigations of all alleged violations of international human rights law and all allegations of international crimes."



The report looked set to ignite further debate at the UN Human Rights Council, where the United States said last week it was reviewing its membership due to what it calls a "chronic anti-Israel bias".



US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley gave formal notice last week that the Trump administration was reviewing its participation and called for reforms to put Israel "on equal footing".



The report said there had been a "general absence of higher-level responsibility" in Israel for violations in Gaza. "Only a handful of convictions, if any, (have been) issued for minor violations, such as theft and looting", it said.



Israeli and Palestinians authorities must ensure that victims of violations in their long conflict have access to justice and reparations, it said.



There was no immediate response from either side to the report, to be debated at the 47-member Council on June 19.



In March 2016, the Geneva forum launched the review aimed at "ensuring accountability and justice for all violations of international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory".



At the time, it condemned grave breaches including possible war crimes committed in the 2014 Gaza conflict and "long-standing systemic impunity". It deplored Israel`s "non-cooperation" with the United Nations` probes into Gaza and Jewish settlements in the West Bank.



Israel, which is not a member of the Council, says it is unfairly targeted because, unlike other states, it is subjected to regular reviews of its compliance with U.N. reports and recommendations.
Manila: A Filipino lawmaker on Monday presented a proposal to change the name of the South-East Asian country to distance itself from Spanish colonialism.

Representative Gary Alejano`s proposal aims to create a "Geographic Renaming Commission" to "study the possibility and feasibility of changing the name" of the Philippines, almost five centuries after the Spanish colonisers first named the archipelago, reports Efe news.

"If we want to be truly independent, then we should throw away the bonds of colonialism by establishing our own national identity," he said.

Alejano, a former military man who was imprisoned for co-organising a failed coup against the democratic government in 2003 and later, was granted amnesty before entering politics, presented his proposal coinciding with the country`s Independence Day, which is celebrated with several events in Manila and other cities.

"For our country to move forward, we should identify a name for our country that genuinely reflects our national aspirations, a name that signifies our values and self-determination," he added.

Alejano lamented that the Philippines chose "to retain the name given by our Spanish colonisers" and argued that "many other nations who were formerly under colonial yoke have reverted back to their former pre-colonised name".

If it were to be created, the commission proposed by Alejano would comprise representatives of the main Philippine organisations in the fields of history and culture and would have a year to complete the project.

Monday marks the 119th anniversary of Philippines` declaration of independence from Spain on June 12, 1898, proclaimed by General Emilio Aguinaldo, first President of the Philippine Republic.

Portuguese explorer Fernando de Magallanes declared the islands` Spanish occupation in 1521, although it was in 1542 that the explorer Ruy Lopez de Villalobos baptised the eastern islands of Leyte and Samar as "Felipinas" in honour of Felipe II.

The final colonisation of the archipelago began in 1565 and since then its name has undergone many changes.

The current name "Republic of Philippines" has remained since the final independence of the country from the US in 1946.
Gurgaon, June 12 (IBNS): SpiceJet on Monday announced the launch of operations under the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme.

Giving wings to the first-of-its-kind scheme in the world conceived to stimulate regional connectivity, the airline, announced the launch of two new daily direct flights on the routes of Mumbai-Porbandar-Mumbai and Mumbai-Kandla-Mumbai effective on July 10.



SpiceJet is the only airline which hasnt sought subsidy or viability gap funding under this scheme.



SpiceJet was awarded six proposals and eleven routes under the first phase of the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS). Out of the six proposals, four will cater to unserved markets of Adampur, Kandla, Puducherry and Jaisalmer whereas two will be for underserved markets of Porbandar and Kanpur.



On the occasion, Ajay Singh - CMD, SpiceJet said, I am delighted that SpiceJet is helping realise Prime Minister Narendra Modis vision of ensuring that every Indian can fly. UDAN is a grand scheme and we are proud to be amongst the pacesetters for the scheme. It has been our constant endeavour to enable the common man to fly since we began operations 12 years back. We will connect many more small towns and cities in times to come. 



SpiceJet is Indias largest regional player operating a fleet of 19 Bombardier Q400 planes, which can seat 78 passengers, besides 33 Boeing 737s.



SpiceJets Q-400 aircraft  SG 2873, operating on the Mumbai-Porbandar route, will depart from Mumbai for Porbandar at 09.30 AM, whereas SG 2874 will be operational on the Porbandar-Mumbai route departing at 11.05 am. However, the return Porbandar-Mumbai fight will be a non-RCS flight.

The airline will also be operating a daily direct flight on the Mumbai-Kandla route departing from Mumbai at 1.05 pm, whereas the flight on the Kandla-Mumbai route will depart at 3.10 pm.

Under the UDAN scheme, the airline will be operating the new flights on the Mumbai-Porbandar route with RCS seats at INR 2,250 (all in) whereas the fare on the Mumbai-Kandla and Kandla-Mumbai routes would be INR 2,500 (all in) for RCS seats.
Kathmandu: Madhesi parties in Nepal are divided over participating in the second phase of local body polls, with one faction insisting on taking part in the process to foil the reactionary forces' conspiracy against federalism while other announcing fresh protests to disrupt elections.

Federal Socialist Forum Nepal led by senior Madhesi leader Upendra Yadav and Naya Shakti Party Nepal led by former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai issued a joint statement calling all Madhesi and ethnic parties, including the Rastriya Janta Party Nepal (RJPN), to participate in the second phase of local level elections on June 28.

"It is necessary to participate in the local level polls to foil the conspiracy hatched by reactionary forces against federalism and to consolidate the rights gained through past movements," the joint statement said.

Election can also be utilised as a movement to protect our rights, the statement said.

The two parties said that they are open to forging electoral alliances with other Madhesi and ethnic parties.

The two parties also urged the government to honour the three point agreement reached between the Madhesi parties and the previous government led by CPN- Maoist Centre chief Prachanda to create a conducive environment for all to participate in the elections.

The two leaders also asked the government to withdraw false cases registered against Madhesi cadres, to provide compensation and treatment to those killed wounded in the Madhesi agitation and to amend the Constitution to address their demands.

On the other hand, the RJPN yesterday announced that it will boycott the second phase of local level elections.

The decision was taken after a meeting between Nepal's ruling coalition and representatives of the RJPN to bring all disgruntled parties on board for the second phase of local level elections ended inconclusively.

Anil Jha, a leader of the RJP-N said that they would not participate in the elections until an amendment was made to the Constitution.

Some Madhes-centric parties have opposed the elections until the Constitution is amended to accommodate their views: more representation in parliament and redrawing of provincial boundaries.

The Nepal government has tabled a new Constitution amendment bill in the Parliament to address the demands of the agitating Madhesi parties ahead of the local elections.

Madhesis, mostly of Indian-origin, launched a prolonged agitation between September 2015 and February last year against the implementation of the new Constitution which they felt marginalised the Terai community.
Mexico: A Mexican man died after he stuck his head out of the window of a moving subway in Mexico City and hit a metallic barrier on the platform as the train was pulling into the station, the media reported.

The man, believed to be around 30 years old, hit his head on Sunday against a portable barrier that divides the platform waiting area into two sections: one reserved for women and children and the other for the general public.

"Red Cross personnel arrived to attend to the man, who died almost instantly due to the impact," the daily Excelsior said.
Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is headed for Saudi Arabia on Monday on a day-long visit in the backdrop of a deepening diplomatic rift in the Middle East, the media reported.

Sharif is expected to hold talks with Saudi leadership centered on deteriorating relations between Gulf nations after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism, Dawn News reported.

In its earlier response to the Middle East crisis, Pakistan had stressed the need for unity in the Muslim world and urged the countries involved to engage in dialogue.

Ahead of his visit, Sharif called a meeting of the country`s top envoys from Gulf countries to discuss the Saudi-Qatar rift.

Pakistani ambassadors in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz will attend the conference on Monday.

After the meeting, Prime Minister Sharif will leave for Saudi Arabia, accompanied by Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa and advisor Aziz, Dunya News reported.

"Since Pakistan enjoys good relations with Saudi Arabia, Iran and Qatar, we will try our best to resolve the differences between the Arab countries," Nawaz Sharif had told journalists during a recent visit to Kazakhstan.

Pakistan shares "good" ties with all Gulf countries and has been asked by the country`s parliament to stay neutral in the crisis, while trying to resolve it.

On Sunday, Pakistan rejected as "fabricated and baseless" reports that it plans to deploy its troops in Qatar amid diplomatic tensions in the Middle East.
Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will appear before a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) in connection with the Panama Papers probe into his family`s assets, the media reported on Monday.



Sharif on Thursday will become the first sitting Pakistani Prime Minister to appear before an investigating agency, reports Dawn news.



On June 8, the team issued summons asking Sharif "to appear on Thursday, June 15 at 11 a.m., at the office of the JIT, Federal Judicial Academy, Islamabad".



The summons also instructed the Prime Minister to "kindly bring along relevant record/documents/material" related to the Panama Papers case which will entail nearly all the documents and evidence submitted before the Supreme Court by Sharif`s counsel, Makhdoom Ali Khan.



Sources said that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar may also be questioned by the team before Sharif`s appearance.



In its judgement of April 20 in the Panama Papers case, the Supreme Court had constituted the JIT and empowered it to summon the Prime Minister, his sons and any other person necessary, to investigate allegations of money-laundering, through which the four apartments in London`s Park Lane area were purchased.



On June 2, the Prime Minister`s youngest son Hassan Nawaz appeared before the six-member probe team headed by Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Additional Director General Wajid Zia, reports Dawn news.



A day earlier, Sharif`s elder son, Hussain Nawaz, appeared before the JIT for the third time to defend the money trail of the Sharifs` London properties.



In his first appearance, Hussain refused to answer questions put forth by the investigative body, saying that the JIT`s status was "sub judice" as he had already filed a petition before the apex court regarding two of its constituents.



Subsequently, the apex court rejected Hussain`s plea, seeking exclusion of the two JIT members.



After each of the next two hearings, he told the media that he answered all of the questions put forth to him by the members of the JIT.
Islamabad: Two Chinese nationals abducted and killed in Pakistan last month, whose murders were claimed by Islamic State, were preachers who abused the visa system, Pakistan said on Monday, contradicting earlier reports they were teachers.

The Pakistani interior ministry identified the two as Lee Zing Yang, 24, and Meng Li Si, 26.

It said they were pretending to be learning the Urdu language from a Korean national but "were actually engaged in preaching". It did not say what kind of preachers they were.

The two were abducted on May 24 in Quetta, the provincial capital of Baluchistan province.
Moscow: Prominent opposition leader Alexei Navalny and around 250 others were arrested on Monday in anti-corruption demonstrations across the country, the media reported.



According to local media, some 150 people were arrested in the thousands-strong rally in St. Petersburg, while at least 97 others were detained in Moscow, where crowds chanted slogans against Russian President Vladimir Putin, Efe news reported.



Images showed clusters of heavily-equipped police officers grabbing protestors by every limb and carrying them away.



Navalny`s wife Julia tweeted that her husband had been arrested as he left his house in Moscow to attend the largest of the rallies, whose location he had changed the day before despite police warnings of reprisals.



Navalny`s spokeswoman Kira Yarmish, said power at their office had been cut by authorities.



Navalny, a fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin and would-be candidate for the 2018 presidential election, released a video online late Sunday calling on his supporters to gather in central Moscow rather than the north-eastern location allocated by city officials.



"We are cancelling the rally on Sakharova (street) and relocating our very peaceful event to Tverskaya (street)," Navalny said.



Alongside the Moscow demonstration, another 212 protests are expected to be held across the country as part of a grassroots movement against corruption in the Kremlin.



Moscow`s prosecutor`s office said: "We are warning that any attempts to hold an unsanctioned event in Moscow will be a direct violation of the law" and that authorities would take all necessary measures to prevent provocations threatening public security.



In statements to a local radio station, Moscow`s police chief Vladimir Chernikov warned that officers would detain anyone caught breaching peace with placards and slogans.



Unheeding to official warnings, Navalny insisted his supporters would turn out to protest like they did on March 26, when huge unauthorized opposition rallies led to the arrest of hundreds of people including Navalny himself.



Navalny has led a grassroots campaign against perceived corruption in Putin`s inner circle.



The protests in March were called to demand the resignation of Prime Minster Dmitry Medvedev.
Riyadh: A report is doing the rounds on social media that Saudi Arabian Prince Majed bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud lost USD 359 million as well his five out of his nine wives in gambling.

The article claimed the Prince had an incredible losing streak over a six-hour gambling spree at the Sinai Grand Casino in Egypts Sharm El Sheikh resort zone.

However, it has turned out to be a hoax.

The report added that the Saudi Prince exchanged five of his wives in exchange for USD 25 million in casino credit, which he eventually lost and left them there.

Casino director Ali Shamoon has been quoted as saying by the report that it wasnt the first time that a customer bets a living creature.

The report adds: It is still unclear what will happen to the Princes wives and if they will be able to return to Saudi Arabia, and most experts believe that other members of the Saudi Royal family could buy them back discretely over the next few weeks. If not, they will likely be sold at auction in a few months, probably in Yemen or Qatar.

The write-up also alleged that in 2015, the Saudi Arabian prince was accused of a having sexual relationship with a male aide, taking cocaine and threatening to kill women who refused his advances  as well as sexually assaulting a maid.

The story was published by World News Daily Report.
Amman: The Syrian Army and Iran-backed militia forces have escalated attacks against a rebel-held part of the southern city of Deraa, a possible prelude to a large-scale campaign to wrest full control of the city, rebels and residents said on Monday.



The intensive raids and bombing strikes mainly pounded the southern part of Deraa, strategically located on the border with Jordan and where the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad erupted six years ago.



The Syrian army has recently intensified dropping barrel bombs, drums or cylinders packed with shrapnel, and has fired hundreds of so-called elephant rockets on Deraa`s old quarter and a former refugee camp nearby, rebels and residents said.



The army has not commented on its troop build-up in Deraa or the escalating aerial bombing. State media has long branded the rebels as foreign-backed "terrorists".



More reinforcements from the Army and its allies, the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah and Shi`ite Muslim Iraqi militias, are also being rushed to the city from several locations near the capital, Damascus.



Troops were using the Damascus-Deraa highway, a major supply route where well-fortified trenches on both sides of the road have made it more difficult for rebels to mount attacks.



"The regime has brought large columns of troops from the elite 4th Armoured Division, and also Hezbollah forces," said Major Issam al Rayes, spokesman of the so-called Southern Front grouping of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels, who are supported by an Arab-Western coalition.



The troops being sent as reinforcements are considered to be the Syrian Army`s elite division, which has the best training and equipment.



Rebels say the troop build-up and relentless aerial bombing in recent weeks pointed to a major campaign for what the FSA rebels see as a decisive battle.



"Everything indicates the regime is preparing for a large-scale military campaign in Deraa in which they plan to encircle the city and reach the Jordanian border," Rayes said.



Adham al-Karad, the commander of the missile brigade in the FSA`s Southern Front, said: "Our surveillance shows troop carriers and heavy armour ... if it continues at this same level of reinforcements, this will be very large."



The army had stepped up its campaign to regain the Manshiya neighbourhood, a strategic district that almost completely fell into rebel hands after four months of street battles.



Rebels stormed Manshiya, the last army foothold in Deraa`s rebel-held old quarter, in February to ward off any army attempt to capture a strategic crossing with Jordan.



The army`s control of the crossing, a once-thriving passenger and commercial gateway with Jordan, would sever the rebel link between the eastern and western parts of the province they control, dealing a major blow to their cause in the south.



The Syrian government`s strategic goal is to open a direct route from Damascus to the Jordanian border.
California: A US appeals court on Monday left in place a block on President Donald Trump`s travel ban targeting citizens from six Muslim majority nations - the latest in a string of judicial blows for the controversial measure.

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit largely upheld an injunction on the ban issued by a lower court, but however said the government was within its right to review the vetting process for people entering the country.

"Immigration, even for the president, is not a one-person show," the ruling said. "The president, in issuing the executive order, exceeded the scope of the authority delegated to him by Congress."

The decision came just ahead of a deadline for states challenging the ban to submit briefings before the US Supreme Court in response to the Trump administration`s request that the nine justices hear the case.

The US Justice Department filed an emergency application to the Supreme Court on June 1, urging it to undo two lower court rulings blocking Trump`s decision to prevent entry to travelers from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days.

The Trump administration argues the ban is needed to ward off terrorist attacks in the country.

Critics say the ban is discriminatory and violates the US constitution by specifically targeting Muslim-majority countries.
Beijing: China on Monday dismissed as "nonsense" reports about President Xi Jinping not meeting Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit last week, saying the two leaders met "several times" at the summit.



"I can tell you that during the 17th SCO council head of states President Xi Jinping met several times with Pakistani Prime Minister (Nawaz) Sharif and I think some reports are just nonsense and unwarranted," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said.



Lu said that "China and Pakistan enjoy an all-weather strategic partnership".



He was reacting to news reports that said Xi snubbed Sharif at the SCO summit by not meeting him after two Chinese citizens were murdered in Pakistan's restive province of Balochistan.



Xi met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines, but there were no reports in Chinese media about President Xi meeting Sharif.



China last week expressed growing concern over the safety and security of its citizens in Pakistan where it has invested billions of dollars in an economic corridor.



Two Chinese teachers, kidnapped from Quetta last month, were killed last week by Islamic State militants.



"We are now are coordinating with the Pakistani government and we are speeding our efforts to verify the information, Lu said.



China is building the $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which connects its Xinjiang province with Gwadar port in Balochistan.
New Delhi, Jun 12 (IBNS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday greeted Union Minister and senior BJP leader Narendra Singh Tomar on the latter's birthday.

Praying for his good health, the Prime Minister tweeted, "Birthday greetings to my colleague Shri @nstomar. I pray for his long and healthy life."

Tomar, who hails from Madhya Pradesh, turned 60 on Monday.



image: Twitter
There are a growing number of regions of the world and within the US that are vying to become the Silicon Valley of food and agtech, each of them with different resources to offer startups and investors from investment capital, customers, accelerator programs, conferences, and more. Theres still a large funding gap in the food and agriculture industry, which has, in many ways, been left behind technologically and is still inefficient and opaque at several points in the supply chain, not to mention the worlds biggest greenhouse gas emitter.

Two weeks ago I headed to Stockholm, Sweden to speak at and attend the Sweden Food Tech Big Meet conference and I was impressed by the small but growing level of activity in the country. One of the organizers, Johan Jorgensen, is a Swedish entrepreneur and investor, once named as Swedens venture capitalist of the year after investing across different tech industries for several years. Over the last few years, he has focused purely on food tech. So, in this weeks podcast, Im speaking to Johan about why hes building a food tech ecosystem in Sweden and his main takeaways from the conference on how traction is growing.

Below is an abridged transcription of our conversation.

[soundcloud url=https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/327005946 params=auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true width=100% height=450 iframe=true /]

Louisa B-T: What brought you to food?

Johan Jorgensen: It was after I received the title of venture capitalist of the year in 2010, because suddenly I was being inundated with all types of business ideas and pitches, and they had one thing in common; they were very small and insignificant and that frustrated me because if you take a look at the tech sector you have some of the smartest people on the planet, and they should do the most important things. When I started looking into food I saw nothing, no innovations, no tech whatsoever, which is fascinating coming to think of it, that it is the largest sector on the planet and its really killing the planet and everyone on it, so its full of problems. And the tech sector should be there in order to solve those problems, and of course, make a good business doing that.

So I took this secret vow to my friends in the tech sector, From now on, Im only going to do food tech, and Ive kept that since.

Louisa B-T: Was it that you werent seeing any food tech anywhere globally? Or are you talking mostly Sweden and Europe?

Johan Jorgensen: Well, I did see some stuff starting to happen and I think we have seen that all along the tech development. Online sales of food, for instance, some delivery solutions. But, what I think are the most interesting parts are the digital layers around food and the data services that enable you to be healthy or sustainable. The current food system doesnt enable consumers to understand what it is theyre eating, and how that affects the planet. We need some help doing that because a couple of generations back we lost the connection between man and food, we moved into cities and we werent as engaged in food production anymore as we used to be. And so we need some help understanding food and what it does to us and our planet.

Louisa B-T: Why do you think we lost that connection with our food?

Johan Jorgensen: First of all, its the pure physical loss of connection; we werent working with food anymore. And then, of course, the logic of distribution and industrial scale is another thing; we started packaging food, taking it into cities where over-exhausted workers could easily pick it up at the retail store and go home and cook it fast and easy.

Louisa B-T: Do you also think theres been a bit of a miscommunication about what is healthy food? Obesity rates are higher than ever.

Johan Jorgensen: Its ridiculous; were subsidizing cheap cookies with expensive healthcare today and that cannot go on. I think in the U.S. more than 50% of the population has non-communicable diseases, most of which can be tracked back to what they eat. Same thing goes for Europe as well, and for Asia as well. So, of course, food is the solution not only to the food sector but also to the health sector.

Louisa B-T: So tell us about the ecosystem here in Sweden. Last week you had the first food tech conference for Sweden?

Johan Jorgensen: Actually, I had one last year but it was not as large as this year. So, after having received this Venture Capitalist of the Year type of award and being overflowed by bad business ideas, I started to look around and I started traveling around and I also had the joy of running the innovation program for the US at the World Expo in Milan back in 2015. I was running around trying to look for where the ideas came from, and of course, you see a lot of development happening in many places, but if you look at it systematically, what you need in order for the food system to change is a strong tech sector, which we have here in Stockholm. You also need to have a health-minded and sustainably interested population, which we have here. And they also need to be change-minded, and thats key because if people arent willing to change, then we can put as many tech companies onto them as we want to, but nothing will happen. Change is what we need to see because the food system is killing the planet and everyone on it, and it cant go on.

Louisa B-T: How does Sweden compare to other parts of the world? So, youve mentioned some of the new attitudes here in terms of change. How do you think that compares to the US or to London or maybe Australia?

Johan Jorgensen: I think you just mentioned a couple of the most forward-thinking places on the earth when it comes to food. The food system of the future doesnt resemble the food system of the past and it will be driven by other factors than what drove the food system of the past. And youll find that in those tech hubs that you just mentioned, and Stockholm is definitely one of those tech hubs. Its a super strong tech sector, I mean its probably on par with Silicon Valley in some aspects. But, again, I think that tech people are doing the wrong things, theyre into mobile gaming or dating or whatever have you, but theyre starting to realize that food in Sweden alone is twice the size of the global music market, for example. But the music industry is super competitive and really not a place where I would ever want to be.

Louisa B-T: Thats amazing. So the food sector in Sweden alone is double the music industry globally?

Johan Jorgensen: Yeah. The food sector is really so huge. And when you start to understand that and when you see the non-existence of tech and innovation in this sector, then suddenly you start to realize that this is something where you, with relatively small means, can make major change happen.

Louisa B-T: Do you think that food and agriculture has suffered from not being very cool or hip, when compared to music and other industries, despite being such a massive sector?

Johan Jorgensen: Of course, its the coolness factor, but I think its fine now because people are getting more and more concerned about what theyre eating and a lot of those old food habits are dying off. So I think food is getting cool again, and especially when people are realizing through other types of tech solutions like health apps that they have an increasing amount of conscience regarding both sustainability and also how food affects you.

Louisa B-T: At AgFunder, we focus on agriculture as well as food, and if I say to someone that I write about agriculture technology, I dont get as good a response if I say I write about food innovation; apparently thats cooler! Where do you sit on the agriculture technology side of things? Is that part of your wheelhouse and interest?

Johan Jorgensen: Well, I think its a really good question. So, when we started building this ecosystem here in Sweden, which we have done now the past few years, we thought about two distinct directions for Sweden and Stockholm to go in terms of getting people on board with the industry. The first is urban food systems; Stockholm is growing at a tremendous pace and will add something like 50% in population over the next 20  30 years if projections hold.

So that means that we have the chance of building a city where food has been integrated from the start. That means everything from the distribution methods that we have to how food is actually grown and produced. So you could say yes, thats ag, and urban farming is definitely a huge part of the food system of the citizens of the future.

The second sector that were aiming for here is health, where we have a very strong health system not least through the strong public health system but also when it comes to research institutions. So, we hope to be able to make connections between the medical part of the world and the food side of the world and have everyone understand that in biology there is no such thing as a specific sector, everything is connected.

Louisa B-T: With urban farming, one of the things weve seen in the U.S. is that a lot of these indoor farms, thats a big infrastructure type project and I think there are some question marks around the suitability of that for a venture capital investor. How do you think about that? How would you be investing in urban farming? Would it be in services to urban farms and indoor farms or would you actually be investing in large indoor farms themselves?

Johan Jorgensen: Services to indoor farms. When it comes to the investment part of it, I think urban farms are not for VCs. I think its for other types of investors. You need to have a longer perspective, but then again you can reap good returns on your money, but its not going to be the VC type of returns that theyre looking for. So, no, urban farming is not for VCs but VC is not the only type of money thats looking into the food sector. Family offices, it could be universities and other people who usually invest in VCs perhaps can think of investing in urban farming instead.

Louisa B-T: We were talking at the conference about what makes a good food tech ecosystem, or what you need. You mentioned a few of those things, did you have any takeaways from the conference on that discussion that youre going to think about and maybe bring into your own model for building an ecosystem here? Because you had people speaking from Italy, the U.K., Germany and then myself from the U.S.

Johan Jorgensen: Yes, two things. When you talk normally about the ecosystem in a tech sector, its kind of a limited ecosystem. Its entrepreneurs and then its investors, and thats the ecosystem. But when it comes to the food world, which is infinitely more complicated and complex, you need to bring other people into the equation as well: the retailers, food producers, the health professionals, and so on, so everyone needs to be on it.

And then, of course, its also about legislation and how you support certain industries. Weve been pushing hard to have the politicians and the public sector on board as well because in Sweden we have something like 50% of all meals that are served outside the home are served in the public sector, which means that if you can get the public sector on board that means you have a tool for change that is tremendous, so thats super important.

Louisa B-T: What would you say is Swedens unique selling point as a destination or a home for food tech startups?

Johan Jorgensen: Id say its mostly the fact that were pretty good at getting together around certain topics and then everyone from the industry, from the politicians and the entrepreneurs and the investors, as soon as we unite around something we tend to jump at it together. And I think thats a very strong part of Sweden. Were good at working together here, thats probably the best part of it.

And the tech sector is phenomenal. Entrepreneurs just need to understand the opportunities in the food sector.

Louisa B-T: What are your strengths in the tech sector? Youve mentioned that its very high quality, what sort of types of technologies is Sweden really known for?

Johan Jorgensen: I think, looking at the city of Stockholm for instance, that they define themselves as a hub for FinTech, for gaming tech and music tech, and now they will add food tech as well. If you look at Stockholm as a city, the most common job description in Stockholm is programmer. There are more programmers than any other type of job. The whole city is vibrant when it comes to the tech scene, everyone wants to become an entrepreneur. Everybody wants to invest in the tech companies too, from business angels to the funds. And we have a pretty strong financial backing of these tech companies, huge funds, mid-sized funds, business angels, family offices who have learned over the past few decades how to invest in tech companies. So theres a pretty mature and well-heeled funding part of it.

Louisa B-T: So tell us a bit about your Sweden food tech alliance? Do you have different types of investors, as youve just described, all involved in that? Or is it an alliance mostly of VCs?

Johan Jorgensen: So, when we started up the food tech scene here in Sweden, we realized we needed a couple of things. We needed a yearly conference where we can gather everyone and have people listen to interesting speakers and learn more. And then we needed to have a system of individuals that can work with these food tech entrepreneurs on a more ongoing basis. The food tech sector globally is still a small pond and here in Sweden its a yet smaller pond, so we know each other pretty well. So we said why dont we pool our interests here and find a way of working together because thats when we can really give these companies the networks and the strength they need in order to grow fast, go global and really succeed?

As a group, I think were pretty strong.

Louisa B-T: What would you say was your key takeaway from the conference? You gathered together some excellent speakers, had some great pitches: did you learn anything new and what were your thoughts coming out of it?

Johan Jorgensen: I think it was the massive enthusiasm afterward. People are really understanding that the food sector can change and that we do have the tools to change it. And that fascination came not just from the tech companies, but most importantly from the food companies. Because I think many of them have been silently wondering How can we change the food sector? And also, But we dont have the tools to do that. And suddenly they realize that the tools are out there and the people are out there that can help them with this, and I think that was the most stunning part of it.

Louisa B-T: Great, thank you so much for your time and thanks for inviting me here. Its been great!

Johan Jorgensen: Thank you, it was fantastic to have you here and I hope you come back next year!
YEREVAN, JUNE 12, ARMENPRESS. Armenia proves that it is a popular destination for GCC families, especially Indian citizens living in the Gulf, thanks to the latest visa-on-arrival policy that the country implemented earlier this year, Armenpress reports citing Saudi Gazette.

Armenia appeals to a wide spectrum of holiday-goers, from thrill seeking adventurers to those looking for more family-orientated trips. Situated at the center of the natural beauty that is the Caucasus Mountain Region, Armenias natural surroundings make it a highly attractive option for the likes of backpackers and the more adventurous traveler, the news agency writes.

Saudi Gazette writes Air Arabia operates flights from Sharjah to Yerevan since 2013.

Armenia features landscapes that are punctuated with breath-taking mountains, forests, lakes and waterfalls. The country also offers countless sightseeing opportunities and cultural experiences, making it a unique holiday destination for GCC residents.
YEREVAN, JUNE 12, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Karen Karapetyan assures he didnt have a desire to submit resignation letter, reports Armenpress.

At a meeting with reporters in the Yerevan Municipality, the PM said he doesnt know who spread such information and why.

Asked if he had a desire to resign, the PM said: No I didn't.

Commenting on the view that there are media reports on controversies existing between him and President Serzh Sargsyan, PM Karapetyan said: I have already answered to this question. It is not true.
YEREVAN, JUNE 12, ARMENPRESS. On the occasion of Russias State holiday - Russia Day - President Serzh Sargsyan visited the Embassy of Russia in Armenia on June 12, press service of the Presidents Office told Armenpress.

Serzh Sargsyan congratulated Ambassador Ivan Volinkin, the embassy staff and the brotherly people of Russia, wishing them peace and prosperity.

On this occasion, the Armenian President sent congratulatory messages to Russias President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

In the congratulatory message addressed to President Vladimir Putin, President Serzh Sargsyan underscored that as based on a solid foundation of friendship and brotherhood between the two nations, the Armenian-Russian relations have been enriched with a new content in recent years.

According to Serzh Sargsyan, the active political dialogue and the ongoing constructive interaction on key issues of regional and international agenda, the implementation of joint projects in the economic, military-technical, cultural-humanitarian and other spheres are fully consistent with the spirit of allied relationship between Armenia and Russia.

I am convinced that together we will be able to ensure further growth of the whole complex of strategic partnership between Armenia and Russia in both bilateral and multilateral formats for the benefit of our countries and peoples, as well as in the best interest of regional security and stability, President Serzh Sargsyan said in his congratulatory message, addressed to Vladimir Putin.
YEREVAN, JUNE 12, ARMENPRESS. On June 9-10, during the 10th jubilee DigiTech Business Forum, Armenian Ucom and PicsArt companies initiated a round table entitled The Development of Artificial Intelligence in Armenia and the Use Thereof in Business, Ucom told Armenpress.

During the discussion the participants spoke of the top trending topic worldwide, stating that the development of artificial intelligence in Armenia is still in its embryonic stage. Ideas were expressed that along with machine learning, provided by higher education institutions preparing specialists of the sector, it is also necessary to invite professionals, who are capable of not only providing theoretical knowledge, but also boosting the development of practical skills among students.

PicsArt together with Ucom shared its experience. PicsArt has acquired great experience in the artificial intelligence field and machine learning. Within the framework of this meeting weve discussed the ways of developing Armenia and making it competitive in this area, the staffing, the delivery of trainings and educational events, Michael Vardanyan, the Technical and General Director at PicsArt Armenian headquarters, said.

Presently this education gap is filled by each company individually. Ucom and PicsArt together have initiated courses with total duration of 5 months. Thirty participants selected from 600 applicants are mainly winners of international Olympiads, doctors of science, who happened to be taught by specialists having studied abroad. Among such specialists are alumni of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), those having worked at Google, engineers working at leading IT companies in Russia, etc. Three months are left for completion of the mentioned intensive courses.

Still many years ago we understood that for advancement of modern technologies and development of innovative products, we need to have specialists, who still in their school years have been taught to think and analyze, develop and create and not just consume. Having this in mind, we greatly support the education process of students in Armath engineering laboratories starting from 5th grade. Its the children with engineering mindset, who will be capable of understanding the challenges of digital era, and as a result of persistent learning will become specialists that Armenian companies like Ucom and PicsArt are strongly in need of these days, Hayk Yesayan, Director General at Ucom, said.

At the end of discussion, the participants were still exchanging ideas about potential business projects aimed at developing the sector.


YEREVAN, JUNE 12, ARMENPRESS. Vice-Speaker of the Parliament Arpine Hovhannisyan on June 12 held a meeting with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kazakhstan to Armenia Timur Urazayev, press service of the Parliament told Armenpress.

Arpine Hovhannisyan highly appreciated the current level of parliamentary relations between Armenia and Kazakhstan and in this sense specifically highlighted the Ambassadors contribution aimed at expanding and deepening the bilateral ties. According to her, the parliamentary diplomacy can play a significant role for bilateral cooperation, thus, the parliamentarians must effectively utilize this important platform.

In his turn the Kazakh Ambassador congratulated Arpine Hovhannisyan on her election as Parliaments Vice-Speaker and wished her productive work. The Ambassador highly appreciated Mrs. Hovhannisyans work on anti-corruption strategy development and presented the ongoing steps in Kazakhstan on this path. He attached importance to deepening the Armenain-Kazakh cooperation at various domains and presented the recent programs and steps carried out on that path.

The sides also talked about the formation of Armenia-Kazakhstan parliamentary friendship group and expressed confidence it will raise the bilateral friendly ties to a new level.

Issues related to the mutual partnership at international parliamentary structures were also touched upon.
YEREVAN, JUNE 12, ARMENPRESS. Armenias high-ranking leadership  President Serzh Sargsyan, Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan, Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan and other officials, visited Komitas Pantheon to pay tribute to the memory of former Prime Minister, political figure Andranik Margaryan on the occasion of his 66th birthday, reports Armenpress.

Archbishop Navasard Ktchoyan, Vicar of the Araratian Pontifical Diocese, delivered a liturgy in memory of Andranik Margaryan.

The most important for me is to live with principles my father instilled in me, for the sake of our people, country and state. The day of my inauguration ceremony and my fathers birthday coincided, I am proud of this since I see significant meaning in it. This obliges us that we must be willing to work day and night for tomorrows Yerevan so that to record quick changes in the capital, Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan said.

Vice-Speaker of the Parliament Eduard Sharmazanov presented Andranik Margaryan as an exclusive national and public figure. According to him, Andranik Margaryan deeply perceived the importance of Armenian statehood, the responsibility of state figure and the importance of serving your own people and state.
YEREVAN, JUNE 12, ARMENPRESS. The decision by a Turkish court to send human rights defender and lawyer Taner Klc to pretrial detention is a serious injustice, Human Rights Watch said in a statement, reports Armenpress.

Taner Klcs arrest and now jailing are a travesty of justice, said Hugh Williamson, Europe & Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. Turkeys authorities should drop the charges against Klc and release him at once. The investigation against Klc and his jailing appear to be part of a politically motivated campaign to target him and Amnesty International for legitimate reporting on the deep deterioration in human rights underway in Turkey, said Williamson.

Amnesty Internationals director for Turkey has been detained as part of a crackdown against people with suspected links to US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen. The rights advocacy group said late on Tuesday that Taner Kilic, a lawyer, was detained at his home in western Turkish city of Izmir along with 22 other people.

Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs & Security Policy Maja Kocijancic expressed concern over the detention of Head of Amnesty International in Turkey, lawyer and human rights defender Taner Kl. We call on the Turkish authorities to clarify the charges swiftly, in line with the standards of the European Convention on Human Rights and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights. In particular, it is important to fully respect the presumption of innocence. Amnesty International is an internationally highly respected member of civil society which is a key pillar of democracy, Maja Kocijancic said, adding that the EU will monitor the on-going procedure closely.
New Delhi, June 12 (IBNS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to visit the US on June 25-26 at the invitation of the country's President Donald Trump, officials said on Monday.

Prime Minister Modi will hold official talks with President Trump on June 26, officials said.

This will be the first meeting between the two leaders.

Trump was elected as the President of the US last year.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Washington DC on June 25-26, 2017, at the invitation of the President of the United States of America, The Honorable Donald J. Trump," read a statement issued by the MEA.

Speaking on the meeting between Modi and Trump, the MEA statement further said: "Their discussions will provide a new direction for deeper bilateral engagement on issues of mutual interest and consolidation of multi-dimensional strategic partnership between India and the U.S."
YEREVAN, JUNE 12, ARMENPRESS. Experts consider realistic the construction of new metro stations in Yerevan and propose options for implementing it, reports Armenpress.

Publicist-economist Suren Sargsyan said Yerevan Metro fund must be established for constructing new station.

It was always stated that there are no funds for construction of new metro station. In order to solve this problem I propose to create Yerevan Metro fund. For the initial stage the state must have participation in financing the fund, and then, I am convinced, that philanthropists will also provide assistance, Sargsyan said.

Architect, professor Gurgen Musheghyan said it was initially determined that Yerevan must have 47 km long metro consisting of 36 stations, meanwhile, today, the metro 12 km long consisting of 10 stations operates.

The construction of two stations in Ajapnyak requires 100 million USD, and nearly 90 million USD is needed for constructing the tunnel, Musheghyan said.
YEREVAN, JUNE 12, ARMENPRESS. Armenia and NATO have perfect cooperation in numerous fields, and there is a significant progress, James Appathurai - NATO Secretary Generals Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, told reporters in Yerevan on June 12, reports Armenpress.

We are grateful to Armenia for actively taking part in our operations in Afghanistan and Kosovo. We wait for the Armenian Defense Ministers upcoming visit to Brussels, where, among other issues, we will discuss the issue of increasing the number of Armenian peacekeeping troops in Afghanistan, James Appathurai said.

He stated that the cooperation between Armenia and NATO is enshrined by a broad framework agreement. James Appathurai said NATO actively educates Armenian troops in its military educational institutions, it cooperates with Armenia on ensuring transparency in the armed forces and anti-corruption affairs. During my recent meeting with Armenias Defense Minister he expressed his readiness and dedication to these issues, James Appathurai said, adding that they discussed with the Armenian Defense Minister regional and international security issues. He expects that during his meetings in Armenia the above-mentioned issues will be on the agenda.
YEREVAN, JUNE 12, ARMENPRESS. NATO supports the efforts aimed at peacefully settling the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, James Appathurai - NATO Secretary Generals Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, told reporters in Yerevan on June 12, reports Armenpress.

We are closely following the regional developments, we regularly receive information from our Office in Georgia. We know that recently frequent clashes are taking place in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone, the militaristic rhetoric has increased. As NATO is not directly engaged in the conflict settlement process, I cannot give comments. I can only state that we support the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group aimed at peaceful settlement of the conflict, he said.

James Appathurai added all NATO member states are concerned over the growing arms race in the region. It is clear from the statements of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs that they exclusively support the peaceful settlement of the conflict, and NATOs policy is to reduce tension, hostility and reach peace, James Appathurai said.
YEREVAN, JUNE 12, ARMENPRESS. NATO member states will welcome the signing of comprehensive and enhanced partnership agreement between Armenia and the European Union, James Appathurai - NATO Secretary Generals Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, told reporters in Yerevan on June 12, reports Armenpress.

All want Armenia to have as many opportunities to deepen the relations with the West, as it has in other direction, he said, adding that this will have a positive affect for Armenia in terms of cooperation with NATO member states and other Western countries in general.
YEREVAN, JUNE 12, ARMENPRESS. NATO isnt at all concerned about Armenias membership to the Eurasian Economic Union or the Collective Security Treaty Organization, James Appathurai - NATO Secretary Generals Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia said.

We respect Armenias balances foreign policy. Armenia remains a reliable partner for NATO, he emphasized.

He added that NATO continues to cooperate with Armenia in all possible directions.

We continue cooperation with Armenia in all those directions, where its reasonable, Appathurai said.
YEREVAN, JUNE 12, ARMENPRESS. Mark Grigoryan has been appointed executive director of the Public Radio of Armenia by the Public TV-Radio Council today.

Prior to the appointment, Mr. Grigoryan served as assistant to the executive director, Public Radio reported.

Born in Yerevan on May 3, 1958, Mark Grigoryan graduated from the Yerevan State University in 1980 and started work at the Yerevan Research Institute of Automatic Control Systems.

Mark Grigoryan holds PhD in Philology and taught at Pushkin school, the Yerevan State University and the Anania Shirakatsi University before starting his career as journalist.

In 1993 he became the deputy editor-in-chief and then editor-in-chief of the Russian language  (Freedom) newspaper. Between 1995 and 1996 he worked at the Armenian International Magazine (AIM). He cooperated with a number of local and foreign publications.

Mark Grigoryan moved to London in 2002 after an assassination attempt. In the UK he shortly worked at the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) and then at the BBC.

After returning to Armenia in 2014, he worked at the PanArmenian Media Group, hosted programs on Armenia TV and ATV.

Mark Grigoryan has authored 16 books, as well as a number of scientific and research articles. Hes also one of the co-founders of the Caucasus Institute in Yerevan.
YEREVAN, JUNE 12, ARMENPRESS. The Assets and Liabilities Management Committee of the military insurance fund of Armenia passed a decision on issuing compensations to families of another two fallen soldiers and 1 serviceman with a first degree disability.

The families of Private Gurgen Sargsyan and Private Mher Arzumanyan will receive a lump sum of 10 million drams each, and will receive a monthly 200,000 drams for the next 20 years. The same allocation has been approved for Private Koryun Kirakosyan.
YEREVAN, JUNE 12, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan held a meeting with Aleksey Likhachev  Director General of Russias Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation.

The PM emphasized the significance of Armenian-Russian cooperation in the energy branch and was pleased to note the level of bilateral partnership.

The sides discussed the progress of the extension works of Armenias nuclear power plants 2nd power units operation.

Mr. Likhachev said the works are proceeding according to the schedule, and added that the Armenian NPPs project is one of the most important projects in the Armenian-Russian energy cooperation.

The Rosatom boss briefed the PM on the interim results of the works and future actions.
YEREVAN, 12 JUNE, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 12 june, USD exchange rate up by 0.14 drams to 482.62 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 2.09 drams to 541.21 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.02 drams to 8.45 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 1.56 drams to 612.88 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 95.90 drams to 19652.54 drams. Silver price down by 3.80 drams to 269.21 drams. Platinum price down by 88.85 drams to 14570.08 drams.
YEREVAN, JUNE 12, ARMENPRESS. Within the framework of the I Have The Honor program, the Armenian defense ministry proposes university freshmen graduates  who are subject to compulsory military service  to continue studies from the 2nd to 4th years with deferment permit. The tuition fee will be paid by the state, the defense ministry told ARMENPRESS.

Those enlisted in the program are bound to:

To undergo military training classes in the V. Sargsyan military university every Saturday during the five semesters, get enlisted into officer service in the Armenian Armed Forces after graduation with a three year term, as platoon commander in military bases operating combat shifts.

The defense ministry is bound to:

Appoint the enlistee to an officer position after graduation, in accordance to the military specialization. Dropped out, as well as those who will cancel their participation in the program (both during studies and after graduation) will have their deferment right revoked and will compensate the tuition fee which the ministry has paid under the contract prior to the point of terminating the contract.

The application deadline is June 15, 2017, followed by a medical examination of the applicants.

Those who are acknowledged to be fit for service, will pass a math and physics test, upon which the enlistees will be selected. The applications for being included in the program must be submitted to the rectors office of the given university.

For additional information, please dial 010 294584.
Wikimedia Commons

Guwahati, June 12 (IBNS): Meghalaya outfit group Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) on Monday threatened the Meghalaya government that, if the later does not stop their exercise of hunting down and arresting innocent civilians and students, the situation would worsen.

The outfit group alleged that, the Meghalaya government and state police are going to create more rebellion in the entire region by hunting down and arresting leaders and members of the Khasi Students Union (KSU).

The publicity secretary of the outfit, Sainkupar Nongtraw said in a press release that, "It is a political nonsense that students are being hunted like they belong to a militant outfit. This is a mockery of democracy."

"People are simply being targeted and arrested on mere suspicion. The Inner Line Permit (ILP) issue was spearheaded by 13 pressure groups. But now only one organisation has become the victim of the police department. The district administrations are aggravating the situation by arresting the youths. Why is the state government so eager to bring in railway when the state is itself going through an economic downfall," Nongtraw said.

Nongtraw said in the statement that, the Meghalaya CM had assured the pressure groups to implement the comprehensive mechanism In order to tackle the problem of influx, and setting up of entry exit points in the entire state including Khasi hills Jaintia hills and Garo hills. "But now our youths have to either hide into the jungles or escape to other states."

The outlawed claimed that, the situation in Meghalaya is nothing different than Kashmir.

"How many more will the police arrest ? The more the arrests the more the damage. This kind of collateral damage shall worsen the situation. Now the region is witnessing only petrol bombs. What would happen if the HNLC gets in touch with the youths and supply them with IED? The entire state shall burn. We cannot burn our state just for the sake of railways. The government should take up the matters seriously and invite the pressure groups for talks," Nongtraw said.

The outfit group threatened that, hunting them would again create an opportunity for the youths to come to us for help.

"We do not want to invite the youths to join the HNLC but we can provide them with help and support to intensify their struggle. It is not too hard to supply them with 35 to 40 Kgs IEDs. But by doing so, the entire region would suffer. We need peace and prosperity but the police needs violence," Nongtraw said.

HNLC demanded the Meghalaya government to release immediately the KSU north Khasi hills president Ferdynald Kharkamni, Sonstar Nongkhlaw and all the other KSU members , who were recently arrested under various sections.

"If it wants to return back to normalcy. We have already been approached by many youths for logistics support. Sooner or later we shall be bound to help them out. The government shall be solely responsible for all the damages and casualties," Nongtraw said.

On the other hand the HNLC offers its condolences to (L)SS khaplang who passed away in Myanmar.

"Baba was a visionary leader of the North east. He was instrumental in fighting for the sovereignty of the Nagas. Baba was well versed with the history of the northeast and its people. He tried his level best to work for the NAGA cause . The GOI is trying to draw a line between the Indian Naga and the Myanmarese Naga. A Naga is a Naga irrespective of the place he is born," he said.

"We had met him in several instances at the NSCN (k) camps. He would always welcome us and provide valuable suggestions and support. His death is a loss to the Naga cause. We have great amount of respect for Baba. His advice to us was to always stick to our cause no matter what happens. Baba was a true fighter. His bravery and valor are evident. He died believing in a cause that would bring about a political solution to the Naga problem. His motivational spirits shall always keep burning in our hearts.

Those of us who knew and worked with Baba,respected and admired his great love for his people and cause.He was an inspiration to us all," Nongtraw added.



(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)


YEREVAN, JUNE 12, ARMENPRESS. Armenias foreign minister Edward Nalbandian held a meeting on June 12 with James Appathurai - NATO Secretary Generals Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia.

According to the foreign ministry, The FM greeted the guest and appreciated the results within the frameworks of Armenia-NATO partnership.

During the meeting the sides touched upon a number of agenda issues regarding the cooperation between Armenia and NATO  Partnership For Peace, Euro-Atlantic partnership council and Individual partnership action plan partnership.

Edward Nalbandian briefed the NATO official on the efforts of Armenia and the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs  aimed at creating relevant conditions for advancing the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement process.

James Appathurai reaffirmed NATOs support for the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

The parties also exchanged ideas on a number of pressing international and regional issues.
YEREVAN, JUNE 12, ARMENPRESS. A petition entitled We Want Europe in Nagorno Karabakh has been launched on the change.org petition website.

The petition mentions that Azerbaijan is conducting a policy of isolation towards Nagorno Karabakh since the collapse of the USSR.

Oil-rich Azerbaijan invests considerable effort and money to ensure that foreign political leaders, officials, journalists and aid organisations stay out of the territory. At Azerbaijans insistence, the European Union (EU) also stays out of Nagorno-Karabakh. In the past 20 years, no EU official has travelled there and no EU assistance whatsoever has been provided to its population, the petition says.

It also mentioned that in this context, Nagorno Karabakhs isolation is unique, because EU provides aid to 150 countries around the World. It also provides aid to people in many unrecognized territories such as Abkhazia, Transnistria and Northern Cyprus regardless of their status. This policy is called engagement without recognition.

We call on the EU to engage with Nagorno-Karabakh and support projects to improve the living conditions of its population because EU policies should contribute to the welfare, not to the hardship of populations in Europe and in its periphery.

We also call on Europe to engage with Nagorno-Karabakh, because it must be present and contribute to peace as conflict escalates on its doorstep, the petition reads.

The petition has been launched by AGBU Europe, and has already been signed by Members of the European Parliament Frank Engel, Michele Rivasi, Bart Staes, Jill Evans, Peter Niedermuller, numerous scientists, human rights activists, diplomats and others.

Click here to sign the petition.
YEREVAN, JUNE 12, ARMENPRESS. The Political Assembly of the European Peoples Party (EPP) passed a resolution urging EU structures to make efforts in including students and lecturers from conflict zones into European educational programs, Armen Ashotyan, chairman of the foreign relations committee of the Armenian parliament said on Facebook.

The resolution  passed by the political assembly of the EPP at my proposal  calls on EU structures to make efforts at ensuring the inclusion of students and lecturers from conflict zones in the European educational programs, Ashotyan said.

The resolution, namely mentions that the European educational system must strive to operate in a trans-boundary environment. We urge EU institutions and members states to make European education more inclusive and provide mobility opportunities for students and staff coming from conflict zones, the resolution says.
AMSTERDAMAfter a successful experience last year, Webmaster Access Amsterdam is proud to announce that GAYVN will return to the show in 2017, once again bringing awareness to a key part of the adult industry. Tailored for the LGBT community, GAYVN at WMA will offer a space where the gay community can focus on topics specific to their industry in an open and inviting environment.

WMA 2016 witnessed a gathering of LGBT industry members from every sector of the community: executives, talent, affiliates, traffic networks, billing, program owners, gay studios, activists and more. WMA organizers expect an even greater turnout for WMA 2017.

Attendees should mark their calendars for the seminar State of GAY: Whats Hot and Whats Not on September 10 at 4 p.m. Immediately following, attendees can look forward to a repeat of last year's GAYVN Happy Hour on September 10 at 5 p.m.

At last year's Webmaster Access, GAYVN was met with enthusiasm and the feedback we received made it a no-brainer to repeat GAYVN-specific events at WMA this year. With so many international businesses in the LGBT sector of the industry, Amsterdam proved to be the perfect location to bring the community together via GAYVN at WMA," said AVN Media Network CEO Tony Rios.

Presented by Bitter Strawberry, Webmaster Access 2017 takes place Sepember. 8-11. Registration is sponsored by PussyCash.

Starting today and running through July 31, new registrants can save $200 on the registration fee. Act quickly and give the code GAYVN to take advantage of the special $250 registration fee.

Affiliates, talent and studios can register free for Webmaster Access at WebmasterAccess.com, while others can purchase their badge on EventBrite.com. (But do it now to save that $200.) To book a room at the show hotel, Double Tree by Hilton Amsterdam Centraal Station, click here.

For sponsorship or advertising inquiries, email [email protected]
LOS ANGELESNow with full support of the HTC Vive and Google Daydream, the RealityLovers.com and MatureReality.com websites are compatible with all major VR devices.

Becoming device agnostic is very important for our brands, affiliates and fans, explained Reality Lovers CEO Rene Pour. When connecting to RealityLovers.com or MatureReality.com, we want to be sure that each customer has the simplest most frictionless path from their first curious look at a sample clip to exploring the full depth and breadth of the entire VR porn experience as members of the sites. We are proud of the amazing talent that goes into all of the exclusive content we offer clients, and getting it to work beautifully on every device is an easy way for us to keep it accessible for everyone.

The sites feature models such as Aida Sweet, Alex Black, Angel Wicky and Victoria Pure in exclusive scenes.

Samsung VR, Google Cardboard, Oculus, HTC Vive, PSVR and Google Daydream are each fully optimized on the sites.
Epsom-based bakery equipment supplier EPP has appointed Steve Russell as the companys area sales manager.

Russell, who has worked in the baking industry since he left school, will be responsible for looking after customers and developing the companys business in the Midlands, Wales and the Republic of Ireland.

He will join EPP from his role as an artisan bakery manager at Nicholas & Harris, part of Finsbury Food Group, producing speciality breads, rolls and buns for supermarkets and the foodservice sector.

Russell said he is looking forward to the challenges his new role will offer and working in partnership with bakers and food manufacturers.

After spending his early working life in a craft bakery, he set up Russells The Bakers in Tenerife with his father before moving back to the UK ten years ago to work in a supermarket in-store bakery.

Steve Merritt, managing director for EPP, said his experience and knowledge will be of enormous benefit to current and prospective customers.

Our new colleague knows the industry inside out and has been recently involved in building a new artisan bakery, Merritt said.

His experience of sourcing bakery machinery from silos and mixers to bread and roll plant, ovens, packaging machinery and blast freezers will mean he will be a great asset to our sales team and help us to continue to grow our revenues to record levels.
Bakers, scientists and engineers are working to develop a bread machine and dough for baking bread rolls in space.

Start-up business Bake In Space is hoping to equip the International Space Station (ISS) with an oven to provide astronauts with fresh bread from dough suitable for use in a microgravity environment.

Astronaut Alexander Gerst, who travels to the ISS at the end of April 2018, will attempt to produce bread using the system being developed by German start-up company Bake In Space. Gerst will remain in orbit, at an altitude of almost 400 kilometres, for six months.

Bake In Space said freshly baked bread such as the German-style weekend roll being developed by the project, could improve astronauts wellbeing on long-duration missions such as on a Moon base or on Mars.

Besides a source for nutrition, the smell of fresh bread evokes memories of general happiness and is an important psychological factor, states the Bake In Space website. It is a symbol of recreational time and procedure down on Earth.

Volker Schmid, mission manager at German space agency DLR, said: If this experiment successfully completes all necessary qualifications in advance of the mission and is then sent to the ISS, it may indeed be interesting for the provision of fresh food on long-term missions, for instance on a journey to Mars.

Crumbs are a major problem in low-gravity situations, and bread has not been taken on a space mission since 1965, when astronaut John Young smuggled a corned beef sandwich on to Gemini 3, NASAs first two-man spaceflight. Mission chiefs feared the crumbs could interfere with the crafts electronic systems and the sandwich was quickly restowed.

Foods sent into space are often coated with gelatin to prevent crumbs  and Heston Blumenthal used a similar concept when he developed a bacon sarnie for British astronaut Tim Peake.

Bake In Space told New Scientist magazine the bread it is developing will be crumb-free.

DLR will ensure the transport and logistics of the oven and dough to the ISS, while space technologies business OHB System AG will build the bread oven. WFB (Wirtschaftsforderung Bremen GmbH) has provided initial financing to kick-start the project.

Bake In Space last month presented its project at the 2017 UK Space Conference in Manchester.

The project recently won the ESA BIC Challenge at the INNOspace Masters Competition, which recognises activity that could fundamentally improve the efficiency and customer orientation of the aerospace industry at large as well as ideas and potential solutions for enhancing the flexibility and performance of the processes, components, or subsystems involved in space.
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.
Stop It At The Source

I read in my newspaper that, if we build a new Export Terminal in Washington State to ship coal to China, we will be responsible for the pollution of China's atmosphere when the coal is burned in China's inefficient coal burning facilities.



In some people's minds the Good Ole USofA is responsible for everything bad that happens anywhere in the world.



Did it ever dawn on these mental midgets that the fault lies in the Chinese People who build and operate these inefficient coal burning facilities?



Since the above is an undeniable Foolish Fact, my mind started churning on another evil that the Not-So-Good Ole USofA is responsible for and how we can turn it into a source of job creation which will help our struggling economy in these dire economic times.



We are the breadbasket of the world. We export humongous amounts of grain all over the world and have been doing so for a very long time. The inevitable result of this grain exportation is Methane Produced by the Cows That Eat Our Grains. Our unending desire to make money is harming the ecology.



If our Federal Government would go on an all out campaign to ramp up plants all over the country to produce Cow Corks we would stimulate Manufacturing, Employment, Tax Revenue and help our Balance of Trade Numbers all at the same time. This is a Win-Win Idea for all concerned!



With this increase in Tax Revenue we could then increase our lobbying efforts to beg the Chinese to loan us more money.



Would I kid u?

Smartfella


Town of Belhaven

"2016" Annual Drinking Water Quality Report

"Belhaven Water Resources"

"Water System Number: 04-07-015"

We are pleased to present to you this year's Annual Drinking Water Quality Report. This report is a snapshot of last year's water quality. Included are details about your source(s) of water, what it contains, and how it compares to standards set by regulatory agencies. Our constant goal is to provide you with a safe and dependable supply of drinking water. We want you to understand the efforts we make to continually improve the water treatment process and protect our water resources. We are committed to ensuring the quality of your water and to providing you with this information because informed customers are our best allies. If you have any questions about this report or concerning your water, please contact [Sonny Grant] at [(252) 945-3787]. We want our valued customers to be informed about their water utility. If you want to learn more, please attend any of our regularly scheduled meetings. They are held at [ Civic Center / The second and fourth Monday, each month / 7:00 PM].Drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk. More information about contaminants and potential health effects can be obtained by calling the Environmental Protection Agency's Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population. Immuno-compromised persons such as persons with cancer undergoing chemotherapy, persons who have undergone organ transplants, people with HIV/AIDS or other immune system disorders, some elderly, and infants can be particularly at risk from infections. These people should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers. EPA/CDC guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by Cryptosporidium and other microbial contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).If present, elevated levels of lead can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant women and young children. Lead in drinking water is primarily from materials and components associated with service lines and home plumbing. [Town of Belhaven Water Resources] is responsible for providing high quality drinking water, but cannot control the variety of materials used in plumbing components. When your water has been sitting for several hours, you can minimize the potential for lead exposure by flushing your tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using water for drinking or cooking. If you are concerned about lead in your water, you may wish to have your water tested. Information on lead in drinking water, testing methods, and steps you can take to minimize exposure is available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline or at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead.The sources of drinking water (both tap water and bottled water) include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs, and wells. As water travels over the surface of the land or through the ground, it dissolves naturally-occurring minerals and, in some cases, radioactive material, and can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity. Contaminants that may be present in source water include microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations, and wildlife; inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals, which can be naturally-occurring or result from urban storm water runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining, or farming; pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban storm water runoff, and residential uses; organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are by-products of industrial processes and petroleum production, and can also come from gas stations, urban storm water runoff, and septic systems; and radioactive contaminants, which can be naturally-occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities.In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, EPA prescribes regulations which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. FDA regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water, which must provide the same protection for public health.The water used by the Town of Belhaven is well water pumped from the Yorktown aquifer ... and is located at 662 Harbinger Rd. Located on the left in the fields leaving the city limits via HWY 264 Bypass. Three wells supply our facility...The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Public Water Supply (PWS) Section, Source Water Assessment Program (SWAP) conducted assessments for all drinking water sources across North Carolina. The purpose of the assessments was to determine the susceptibility of each drinking water source (well or surface water intake) to Potential Contaminant Sources (PCSs). The results of the assessment are available in SWAP Assessment Reports that include maps, background information and a relative susceptibility rating of Higher, Moderate or Lower.The relative susceptibility rating of each source for [Belhaven Water Resources] was determined by combining the contaminant rating (number and location of PCSs within the assessment area) and the inherent vulnerability rating (i.e., characteristics or existing conditions of the well or watershed and its delineated assessment area). The assessment findings are summarized in the table below:The complete SWAP Assessment report for [Town of Belhaven Water Resources] may be viewed on the Web at:. Note that because SWAP results and reports are periodically updated by the PWS Section, the results available on this web site may differ from the results that were available at the time this CCR was prepared. If you are unable to access your SWAP report on the web, you may mail a written request for a printed copy to: Source Water Assessment Program - Report Request, 1634 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1634, or email requests to. Please indicate your system name, number, and provide your name, mailing address and phone number. If you have any questions about the SWAP report please contact the Source Water Assessment staff by phone atIt is important to understand that a susceptibility rating of "higher" does not imply poor water quality, only the system's potential to become contaminated by PCSs in the assessment area.We routinely monitor for over 150 contaminants in your drinking water according to Federal and State laws. The tables below list all the drinking water contaminants that we detected in the last round of sampling for each particular contaminant group. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk. Unless otherwise noted, the data presented in this table is from testing done January 1 through December 31, 2016. The EPA and the State allow us to monitor for certain contaminants less than once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants are not expected to vary significantly from year to year. Some of the data, though representative of the water quality, is more than one-year-old.Unregulated contaminants are those for which EPA has not established drinking water standards. The purpose of unregulated contaminant monitoring is to assist EPA in determining the occurrence of unregulated contaminants in drinking water and whether future regulations are warranted.- The concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must follow.- A required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.- The highest level of a disinfectant allowed in drinking water. There is convincing evidence that addition of a disinfectant is necessary for control of microbial contaminants.- The level of a drinking water disinfectant below which there is no known or expected risk to health. MRDLGs do not reflect the benefits of the use of disinfectants to control microbial contaminants.- The average of sample analytical results for samples taken at a particular monitoring location during the previous four calendar quarters under the Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule.- The highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water. MCLs are set as close to the MCLGs as feasible using the best available treatment technology.- The level of a contaminant in drinking water below which there is no known or expected risk to health. MCLGs allow for a margin of safety.Other Miscellaneous Water Characteristics ContaminantsGloria Rogers
New Delhi, June 12 (IBNS): Vice President M. Hamid Ansari has said that the differently abled children can be the best ambassadors for this innovative and ambitious campaign 'Anuyatra' or walking together campaign - for the persons with special needs.

He was addressing an event to launch MPower programme under 'Anuyatra' campaign of Government of Kerala, in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday.

The Governor of Kerala, Justice (Rtd.) P Sathasivam, the Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, the Minister for Health and Social Justice, Government of Kerala, K. K. Shailaja Teacher, the Mayor of Thiruvananthapuram, V.K. Prasanth and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.



The Vice President said that the programme is a creative way to convey to the world that these children are not disabled or differently abled but are specially abled. The allocation and utilization of funds for persons with special needs, and the social awareness for their integration and care, remains inadequate, he added.

Following is the text of Vice Presidents address:

" I am happy to be here for the launch of a creative programme in the cause of integration of children with special needs in the mainstream. I thank Honble Chief Minister for inviting me.

Keralas progressive and innovative approach to public education is well known. One aspect of it is education of children with disabilities. Disability is an important public health problem, especially in developing societies like ours. It is likely to remain a major policy consideration because of increase in non-communicable diseases and change in age structure with an increase in life expectancy.

The manifestation of disability, physical or intellectual, also varies with the social context, and rehabilitation measures should be targeted according the needs of those affected with community participation.

In our country, a majority of the persons with special needs reside in rural areas where accessibility, availability, and utilization of rehabilitation services and its cost-effectiveness are the major issues to be considered. Research on disability burden, appropriate intervention strategies and their implementation is still at a nascent stage.

A UN supported survey had estimated that in our country, 1.67% of the population in the age bracket 0-19 has special needs and that 35.29% of all people living with special needs are children. Other estimates similarly contend that India has about 12 million children with special needs but only 1% of such children have access to school.

Persons, particularly children, with special needs mainly comes under the purview of the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment. Some of the issues are dealt with by the Health Ministry. The lack of a single focused institution often results in lack of unified programmes. The allocation and utilization of funds for persons with special needs, and the social awareness for their integration and care, remains inadequate.

As far back as 1978, India had signed on to the Alma Ata declaration on Public health, which, inter alia, stated that comprehensive primary health care should include promotive, preventive, curative, and rehabilitative care. For rehabilitation, three major approaches have been (i) institution based, (ii) outreach based, and (iii) community based.

The major objective of Community Based Rehabilitation efforts, with active support of state institutions, like the programme that we are flagging off today, is to ensure that people with special needs are able to maximize their physical and mental abilities, have access to regular services and opportunities, and achieve full integration within their communities.

The initiatives taken by the Government of Kerala under its Anuyatra - or walking together campaign - for the persons with special needs, with over 20 strategic interventions having objectives ranging from prevention of disability to sustainable self-reliant rehabilitation and economic empowerment, is a laudable effort.

These differently abled children can be the best ambassadors for this innovative and ambitious campaign. There is little doubt that these special children are capable of tremendous achievements, with a little additional care and encouragement. The use of magic, to bring out their inherent talent, is a creative way to convey to the world that they are not disabled or differently abled but are specially abled; that given adequate support, they are capable of doing any wonder with pride and dignity.

I am sure that with their unique talents and dedication, these special children will not only showcase the determination and triumph of human spirit but would also inspire many others to overcome challenges and realize their dreams.

I am, indeed, very happy to launch today the MPower programme- managed by the Kerala Social Security Mission (KSSM), under the Social Justice Department in collaboration with the Magic Academy.

I extend my best wishes to the dedicated team of officials, teachers, trainers, volunteers and all others associated with these projects, who have worked tirelessly to realize this vision. Your work is making a positive difference in the world and you all deserve to be applauded for it.

I offer my best wishes to this team of extraordinarily able children and look forward to their debut performance today.

Jai Hind."
Panel wants quick responses from legislature, "state," and the State Board of Elections - which has no members

"I'm pleased the court intends to act swiftly. There is no reason for Republican legislators to drag their heels in correcting this wrong after the Supreme Court affirmed their map to be unconstitutional."

The three-judge federal panel reviewing North Carolina's legislative districts wants to respond quickly to the U.S. Supreme Court, making a 2017 special legislative session possible.But it's not clear if it will get the information it requires from the defendants in the General Assembly, the Executive Branch, and independent state election officials any time soon.The order , issued late Friday afternoon, responds to a Monday ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court agreeing with the three-judge panel, which declared 28 legislative districts unconstitutional because of racial gerrymandering. But the justices denied the lower court's demand for legislative elections in 2017 because the judges did not offer a convincing argument why the expense, difficulty, and disruption of a special election covering only part of the state was, on balance, worth the problems it would cause.Gov. Roy Cooper called the General Assembly into a special session to draw new districts. It was supposed to start Thursday. But House and Senate leaders determined the session was unconstitutional , presumably leaving Cooper no chance to prevail other than a return to court.Thursday, the plaintiffs asked the court for quick action, and the judges are trying to provide it.the panel said Friday.That may be difficult. The panel's order asks for submissions from the legislature, the state, and the State Board of Elections. But the board is tied up in litigation. A lawsuit filed this week in federal court challenges the constitutionality of the new N.C. Bipartisan State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement because it will not have any members representing unaffiliated voters.And the new elections board has no members at all, because Cooper hasn't selected anyone to serve on it as required by the law creating the board Finally, the three-judge panel isn't clear who would file a brief representing the state. Earlier, the federal justices had refused - without citing any reason - to take up a 4th Circuit Court of Appeals decision tossing North Carolina's election reform law, including a requirement for voters to prove their identity at the polls.But in that order, Chief Justice John Roberts suggested he wasn't clear who would defend the state in an appeal. Former Gov. Pat McCrory was listed as a defendant in the initial lawsuit. He lost the November 2016 election to Cooper, and Cooper asked to be removed from the lawsuit.Friday, the three-judge panel asked whoCooper issued a statement early Friday evening.Carolina Journal will continue following this story as it develops.
Although recent court decisions might lead you to think otherwise, North Carolina voters are probably going to have to present photo identification to cast ballots in the near future. I'll now explain why neither Democrats nor Republicans should expect such a rule to make much of a difference in electoral outcomes.My prediction about the return of voter ID rests on two facts. First, whatever you think of the decision by federal appellate judges to strike down North Carolina's omnibus election-law bill - I think it was an absurdity - it does not constitute some new judicial prohibition against voter ID requirements. Such rules are constitutional and commonplace.Rather, the appellate judges concluded (by waving aside the trial court's extensive findings of fact) that a bill combining voter ID, changes in early voting, and the elimination of same-day registration and out-of-precinct voting constituted an intent on the part of North Carolina lawmakers to suppress minority votes.If the General Assembly enacts a new measure focused on verification of voter identity, with appropriate provisions to get the word out and provide free IDs to those of modest means, it will match North Carolina law with that of other jurisdictions and thus render the (inevitable) legal challenge less effective.The other reason I think voter ID is in North Carolina's future is that most North Carolinians have favored it for years and continue to do so. In the Civitas Institute's latest poll , for example, 68 percent of likely voters favored a photo ID requirement for voting, with 31 percent opposed. Almost as many, in fact, said they favored putting such a requirement in the state constitution.The Civitas sample was hardly skewed in favor of conservatives and Republicans, by the way. It had President Donald Trump's approval rating at 42 percent, Gov. Roy Cooper's approval at 61 percent, and a substantial Democratic lead in the generic ballot for state legislature.So if you think voter ID is nothing more than a partisan Republican plot that presents a great danger to the Democratic Party, you are out of step with most of your fellow North Carolinians and with most federal jurisprudence on the matter.As it happens, you are also out of step with the preponderance of research on the subject. Most academic scholars have found little to no effect of voter-ID requirements on turnout, either in general or in the form of differentials between voting groups. As Benjamin Highton, a professor at the University of California at Davis, explained in in a new paper for the, the empirical evidence to date "does not substantiate" the concerns of Democratic partisans and liberal activists. "To the extent that sound evidence exists, it shows modest turnout effects and only minor differences across politically relevant groups," Highton wrote.Now, to say that apocalyptic warnings about voter ID are overblown is not to say that its proponents are always on solid ground. In fact, the same evidence cuts against extravagant claims that voter fraud - or at least the kind of fraud that ID requirements might deter - is extensive enough to explain recent electoral outcomes. If voter impersonation, for example, were a large-scale phenomenon, the instigation of ID requirements ought to have reduced turnout markedly when compared against previous elections or jurisdictions without voter ID.In fact, only elections with razor-thin margins are likely to be affected by illegally cast ballots. And most illegally cast ballots involve voters who actually have IDs, such as felons, illegal aliens who drive, and people with dual residencies (although an ID provision can still be helpful as part of a system for detecting such behavior).In my view, it is wise to take low-cost precautions against low-probability but high-cost events such as voter fraud. Such precautions could well include a properly administered set of photo ID rules, which many other states and nations employ and which most North Carolinians see as reasonable.This issue simply does not merit the sound and fury of recent years.
National three-year award with gold, silver, bronze designations marks a significant milestone on the path to exceptional patient care and achieving a healthy work environment

Leadership Structures and Systems

Appropriate Staffing and Staff Engagement

Effective Communication, Knowledge Management, Learning and Development

Evidence-Based Practice and Processes

Outcome Measurement

Contact: Amy Holcombe

Amy Holcombe amy.holcombe@vidanthealth.com

GREENVILLE - The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), recently awarded the silver-level Beacon Award for Excellence to the Bariatric General Surgery Unit (BGSU) at Vidant Medical Center (VMC). This is the second time this unit has received this award.The Beacon Award for Excellence - a major milestone, signifying achievement of exceptional patient care and healthy work environments - recognizes unit caregivers who successfully improve patient outcomes and align practices with AACN's six Healthy Work Environment Standards. Units that achieve this three-year, three-level award with a gold, silver or bronze designation meet national criteria consistent with Magnet Recognition, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and the National Quality Healthcare Award.said Dawn Tetterton, administrator of nursing at VMC.The silver-level Beacon Award for Excellence signifies continuous learning and effective systems to achieve optimal patient care. The BGSU earned its silver award by meeting the following evidence-based Beacon Award for Excellence criteria:said Michelle Harris, manager, BGSU.AACN honors the BGSU at VMC and other Beacon Award for Excellence recipients with announcements in AACN Bold Voices, the monthly award-winning member magazine distributed to more than 100,000 acute and critical care nurses nationwide. AACN also honors awardees at the National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition, the world's largest educational conference and trade show for nurses who care for acutely and critically ill patients and their families.About the Beacon Award for Excellence: Established in 2003, the Beacon Award for Excellence offers a road map to help guide exceptional care through improved outcomes and greater overall patient satisfaction. U.S. or Canadian units where patients receive their principal nursing care after hospital admission qualify for this excellence award. Units that receive the Beacon Award for Excellence meet criteria in six categories: leadership structures and systems; appropriate staffing and staff engagement; effective communication, knowledge management, learning and development; evidence-based practice and processes; and outcome measurement. To learn more, visit www.aacn.org/beacon or call (800) 899-2226.About the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses: Founded in 1969 and based in Aliso Viejo, Calif., the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) is the largest specialty nursing organization in the world. AACN joins together the interests of more than 500,000 acute and critical care nurses and claims more than 235 chapters worldwide. The organization's vision is to create a healthcare system driven by the needs of patients and their families in which acute and critical care nurses make their optimal contribution. To learn more about AACN, visit www.aacn.org , connect with the organization on Facebook at www.facebook.com/aacnface or follow AACN on Twitter at www.twitter.com/aacnme
By now you have heard the story. It plays out like a script . A "controversial" speaker-almost always a conservative or libertarian-is invited to a campus. Protests, and in some cases riots, ensue. The speech is canceled or the speaker shouted down. The free exchange of ideas gives way to authoritarianism.But consider what happened recently at Wake Technical Community College, where I teach. We threw out that script, and free speech prevailed. Students were able to listen to and learn from James Otteson, a "controversial" Wake Forest University (WFU) economics professor, who gave a talk titled "Adam Smith on Justice and Social Justice."WFU, on the other hand, hasn't been so welcoming to Otteson, especially after he established the Eudaimonia Institute on his campus. The goal of the Institute, says Otteson, is to bringto("Eudaimonia" is Aristotle's term for human flourishing.)The initial funding for the Institute came from a planning grant from the university. Its faculty advisory board is comprised of 14 tenured professors from 10 different departments. None of this has been controversial. But what is controversial, at least to many WFU faculty, is that Otteson recently accepted roughly $3.7 million from the Charles Koch Foundation (CKF) to help support the institute over five years. CKF is dedicated to helping individuals "improve their lives by advancing an understanding of the benefits of free societies." That means an understanding of the benefits of capitalism, economic freedom, and free markets-and it helps to explain why the Foundation's money is controversial at many universities, including Wake Forest.In late March, around the same time Otteson spoke at my school, the Martin Center reported that Wake Forest's faculty senate hadFurthermore, as Naomi Schaefer Riley explained in this Wall Street Journal article Such backlash is extreme, but perhaps not surprising considering that many university faculty seem to find education about economic freedom to be dangerous, and often have a negative knee-jerk reaction anytime the Koch name is mentioned.At my school, however, Professor Otteson received a warmer response. That's partly because most if not all of those in attendance at the Wake Tech event were unaware that Otteson was being censured at WFU, and went in without any pre-conceived ideas. There were no protests nor rioting for this Koch-funded speaker. Students attended with an open mind. The result? Otteson hit a home run.In his talk, Otteson explored how Adam Smith, a founding father of market economies, understood justice, and how he might have responded to social justice concerns. Otteson asked a series of thought-provoking questions, such as "Do we have a moral obligation to save a child drowning in a shallow pool?" Most of us would say yes, but do we want the government to enforce this moral obligation? Whether one answers "yes" or "no" to this question, we must recognize that this would be difficult for the government to oversee.Otteson also brought up issues of income inequality. Should we feel sorry for a person who has 100 times less wealth than another person? What if that person is Michael Jordan, who has 100 times less wealth than Bill Gates? Where would (or should) the lines of egalitarianism be drawn?Throughout his speech, Otteson didn't answer these questions. Instead, he focused on getting his audience to think critically about these issues. Students responded favorably.Afterward, students lined up to politely ask Otteson follow-up questions. And of the 76 students who filled out a survey after his talk (overall, 118 people attended-93 students and 25 faculty/staff), roughly 75 percent strongly agreed that "the presenter was engaging and interesting." Another 24 percent agreed. None disagreed.In the survey, students revealed their desire to be exposed to a diversity of ideas while in college, including ideas they don't agree with. Responses to the question "What did you like about today's session?" included: "different viewpoints than mine" andFaculty members who attended responded favorably as well. Nevertheless, even at Wake Tech, some faculty members are not supportive of Charles Koch Foundation grants and speakers. They maintain they would like grants to support a diversity of views, not speeches focusing solely on the benefits of limited government and free markets.My response? Wake Tech students, just like students at four-year colleges and universities across the country, have had much more exposure to the big government viewpoint, not only from faculty lectures but also from guest speakers. For example, Wake Tech hosted Hillary Clinton at the height of the presidential campaign. I doubt these colleagues were concerned enough about diversity of thought to ask that Donald Trump speak as well.Besides, it's healthy for people to have different opinions on what the government can and should do. In his talk, for instance, Otteson respected that values are subjective. And instead of telling his audience what to think, his comments and questions engaged the audience and encouraged them to think critically about ideas of justice and social justice. The students, in turn, listened and learned something.Wake Forest faculty, by undermining Otteson and the Eudaimonia Institute, also would be undermining their university's academic mission and their students' ability to listen to and learn from different points of view. They instead should support the free exchange of ideas, and thereby foster greater intellectual diversity. That kind of diversity was on display at my college when Otteson spoke, and it was truly gratifying to watch.
NCRI - Irans public prosecutor in the city of Ghazvin, northwest Iran, said 20 individuals are sentenced to lashing and financial fines for eating during fasting hours.





These individuals are amongst the 90 persons who were arrested on such charges in this city, said Ismaeel Sadeghi Nia on June 11th to the semi-official Mehr news agency.





People who are seen eating in public during fasting hours will be arrested and they will be punished if its determined they had done so with knowledge, he added.





In 2014 the public prosecutor in this city reported 200 individuals in Ghazvin Province in total were lashed for eating during fasting hours and described it as unprecedented.

Iran: 20 people lashed for eating or drinking during Ramadan fasting hours





Iran Human Rights (JUNE 12 2017): Since the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, about 90 case files were reportedly opened in the city of Qazvin (central Iran) for individuals who were caught eating or drinking during the fasting hours. The Iranian state-run media, Mehr, announced the news, citing the Prosecutor of Qazvin.





According to the Qazvin Prosecutor, 20 individuals were issued flogging sentences and fines on the same day as their arrests, and their sentences were reportedly carried out on the same day as well.





Flogging is a clear example of torture and a violation of Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.





Carrying out a flogging sentence is inhumane, but it is justified by Article 638 of Iran's Islamic Penal Code, which states: Anyone in public places and roads who openly commits a haram (sinful) act, in addition to the punishment provided for the act, shall be sentenced to two months imprisonment or up to 74 lashes...





Iran Human Rights condemns the implemented flogging sentences and calls for this inhumane punishment to be removed from Iran's laws.

 | 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



Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!
Iran: Medieval and barbaric punishments

One of the most serious crimes in the Islamic Republic of Iran is the crime of waging war against God, or moharebeh. In 2016 at least 44 people were executed on this charge, most of them accused of being rebels or of spreading corruption on earth  and most of them belonged to ethnic or religious minorities.





A person accused or convicted of this crime is called a mohareb or belligerent against God. Whenever the international community challenges Iran over this charge, Iranian officials defend it by saying that it is only used against people accused of terrorism.





Article 279 of the Islamic Penal Code states: Moharebeh is defined as drawing a weapon on the life, property or chastity of people or to cause terror as it creates the atmosphere of insecurity. And according to Article 281, robbers, thieves, or smugglers who resort to weapons and disrupt public security or the security of roads shall be considered as a mohareb. Article 504 goes further, stating: Anyone who effectively encourages combatants or those in military forces to rebel, escape, surrender, or disobey military orders, with the intention to overthrow the government or to defeat national forces against the enemy shall be considered as mohareb.





To punish a mohareb, Article 282 empowers the judge to hand out one of the four specified punishments at his own discretion: Death by hanging, crucifixion, amputation of the right hand and left foot, or banishment.





Before early 2013, the charge of moharebeh was reserved for political opponents and individuals connected to banned groups that the Islamic Republic classified as subversive, even if they had expressed their opposition through peaceful means. The New Islamic Penal Code, passed in 2013, further defines these groups as rebels and corrupters on earth. According to Article 287, Any group that wages armed rebellion against the state of the Islamic Republic of Iran shall be regarded as a mohareb, and if they use [their] weapon, its members shall be sentenced to death.





In 2016, at least 44 people were executed in line with this definition. Of these, 29 were charged with political offenses and crimes against national security. And most of them belonged to ethnic or religious minorities  26 Kurds and three Arabs from Ahvaz, the capital of Khuzestan Province, which has a sizeable Arab minority. Of the remaining 15, one was executed for espionage and the other 14 were put to death for armed robbery or other violent crimes. According to a report by the organization Iran Human Rights, many of them were sentenced to death after trials lasting only a few minutes, [with] no jury, no defense lawyers and death sentences based on no evidence other than confessions extracted under torture.





Sham Due Process of Law





The judicial process for those accused of moharebeh is mostly a sham. If a defending lawyer brings up the question of torture, his objections or request for review are ignored. Interrogations of the accused are carried out by security agencies, mainly the Intelligence Ministry and the Intelligence Units of the Revolutionary Guards. No lawyer is present during the interrogations, and lawyers have limited access to the details of their cases for security reasons. The cases are handled by the Revolutionary Courts with no jury and mostly behind closed doors.





Although the law considers being armed as one of the deciding factors for accusing somebody of moharebeh, many of those who have been executed on this charge were not armed. For example, Farhad Kamangar, who was hanged on May 9, 2010, was a high school superintendent and an ethnic and civil rights activist. Shirin Alam Holi, a 28-year-old Kurdish woman accused of bombing a vehicle at a Revolutionary Guards compound in Tehran, was executed alongside Kamangar. Before her execution, she had described, in a series of letters written from prison, the numerous instances of physical and psychological torture suffered at the hands of her captors, including beatings with cables and electric batons. As with the other prisoners who were executed on that date, she was hanged without her family or her lawyer being informed. Prison authorities have yet to return her body to her family.





According to the Islamic Republics penal code, supporting a banned group is not grounds for death penalty by itself. But there are several examples where prisoners have been executed for their support for proscribed organizations. For example, in August 2016, Mohammad Abdollahi was executed for supporting a Kurdish group. There are many things which are wrong with this case, his lawyer told Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) before his execution. My client was never treated legally and fairly. He has never taken up guns. Again, as with other similar cases, his body was never delivered to his family after his death  most likely to cover up evidence of torture  and he was denied a last meeting with his family.





The terms moharebeh and corruption on earth entered the legal lexicon of the Islamic Republic soon after the 1979 revolution that overthrew the shahs secular government. In 1991, the terms were embedded into Irans Islamic Penal Code. The scriptural basis for these charges rests on Koranic verses 33-34 of the Surah al-Maedeh, which state: the punishments of those who wage war against Allah and His Prophet and strive to spread disorder in the land are to execute them in an exemplary way or to crucify them or to amputate their hands and feet from opposite sides or to banish them from the land. Such is their disgrace in this world, and in the Hereafter theirs will be an awful doom save those who repent before you overpower them.





In most cases, those accused of moharebeh are given death sentences, but women are often exempt from this punishment. Instead, they are given long prison sentences, or the appeals court commutes their sentences from execution to prison terms.





At the moment, there are at least 26 prisoners held at Rajai Shahr and Evin prisons who have been accused of moharebeh. They are either on death row or are serving long prison terms. And across Iran, many more are in prison for the same charges.





Some of the inmates accused of moharebeh and currently held in Rajai Shahr Prison include:





Zanyar Moradi and Loghman Moradi were sentenced to death at the lower court in 2010. The sentence was upheld by the appeals court and the Supreme Court.





In 2013, the lower court sentenced Hooshang Rezaei to death and the appeals court upheld the verdict, but the Supreme Court has yet to rule on the sentence.





Mohammad Nazari was sentenced to death in 1973 by both lower and appellate courts but in 1999, on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, his sentence was commuted to life in prison.





Khaled Fereydooni was sentenced to death by the lower court, but in 1998 his sentence was commuted to life in prison by the appeals court.





Omar Faghihpour was sentenced to death by the lower court but in 1998 his sentence was commuted to life in prison by the appeals court.





All of the above are accused of working with Kurdish Parties and held at Rajai Shahr Prison.





Saeed Masoori and Afshin Baymani are accused of working with the Peoples Mojahedin Organization (MEK) and held at Rajai Shahr Prison. They were sentenced to death, but in 2000 the appeals court reduced their sentences to life in prison.





Khaled Hardani, Farhang Pourmansouri and Shahram Pourmansouri were all accused of airplane hijacking and are held in Rajai Shahr Prison. They were sentenced to death by the lower court, the appeals and the Supreme Court, but in 2000 their sentences were commuted to life in prison.





Hamzeh Savari is accused of activities threatening national security and held at Rajai Shahr Prison. He was sentenced to death by the lower court but in in 2005 the appeals court reduced his sentence to life in prison.





Mohammad Ali Mansouri is accused of working with the Peoples Mojahedin Organisation (MEK) and was sentenced to 17 years in prison by the lower court in in 2007.





Ahmad Karimi is held on charges of working with the Monarchist Assembly of Iran. He was sentenced to death by the lower court but in 2009 the appeals court changed the sentence to 15 years in prison.





Mohammad Akramipour is accused of posing a risk to national security. In 2013, authorities sentenced him to 15 years in prison; he is currently waiting for the appeals courts decision.





Abolghasem Fouladvand is accused of working with the MEK. He was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment in 2013. The appeals court upheld the verdict.





Hasan Sadeghi, also accused of working with the MEK, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2015 by both the lower and appeals courts.





Jafar Eghdami is also accused of working with the MEK. The lower Revolutionary Court sentenced Eghdami to five years in prison  but his sentence was increased to 10 years by the appeals court.



Some of the inmates accused of moharebeh and currently held in Evin Prison include:





Ahmad Daneshpour and Mohsen Daneshpour are accused of working with the MEK. They were sentenced to death in 2009 by both the lower and appeals courts.





Ali Zahed, Reyhaneh Haj Ebrahim Dabagh, Maryam Akbari Monfared, Behnaz Zakeri Ansari, Zahra Zehtabchi and Fatemeh Mosana are all accused of working with the MEK.





Zahed was sentenced to death by both the lower and appeals courts, and in 2008 his sentence was commuted to life in prison.





Reyhaneh Haj Ebrahim Dabagh was sentenced to death by the lower court. Her sentence was commuted to 15 years in prison by the appeals court.





Zakeri Ansari was sentenced in 2011 to 10 years in prison by both the lower and the appeals courts.





Zehtabchi was sentenced in 2013 to 10 years in prison by both the lower and the appeals courts.

 | 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



Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!
New Delhi, June 12 (IBNS): Distancing himself from the comment made by party leader Sandeep Dikshit against the Indian Army chief, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Monday said his remark was 'wrong'.

"It's absolutely wrong," Gandhi was quoted as saying by the media.

He said no politician should make a comment against the Indian Army chief.

"He (Army Chief) is the chief of the Indian Army and no politician should make any comment against him," he said.

A day after Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit created a stir by likening the army chief to a "street thug" (Sadak ke goonda), the Government reacted strongly, denouncing the comment and demanding an apology from Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, reports said.

Making a statement, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also accused the Congress of "consistently" shaming and demoralizing the army.

"We condemn it and demand that the Congress leadership, especially Sonia Gandhi, come out and disown the leaders who are continuously insulting the army. They must apologise," she said.

Sitharaman also questioned whether it was a "Congress strategy to undermine the army's confidence".

"They shame and demoralise their own army. The kind of words...the latest bout of words shocks me and my party...These are coming from eminent leaders of the (Congress) party, a party which governed us for the last 60 years," Sitharaman said.

Dikshit has, however, sought apology for his remarks.

"I genuinely believe what I said was wrong. So I apologise for it and withdraw my statement," he said.

Image: Office ofRG


Currently there are 37 convicted death row female prisoners. The only known execution of a woman in this region took place in 1937 in Sylhet





Since independence, Bangladesh has not carried out the death sentence of any woman convict, prisons officials say.



Even if a woman is sentenced to death, her punishment is later commuted.





The latest example is Oishee Rahman, who killed her father, Special Branch inspector Mahfuzur Rahman, and mother Swapna Rahman on August 16, 2013 at their Malibagh residence.





A Dhaka court found her guilty in 2015 and handed down maximum penalty for the cold-blooded killing. But the High Court on June 5 revised the punishment to life imprisonment.





The court cited 5 reasons for commuting her sentence: lack of motive, medical report (on her physical and mental state), mental disorder, lack of prior criminal records and surrender within 2 days of committing the crime.





According to Prisons Headquarters, there are 75,935 prisoners at various jails as of June 7 - and 1,456 of them are death row convicts.





Altogether 2,899 women are behind bars - 2,369 of them are under trial while the 533 are serving various sentences. Only 37 of them are carrying death sentences.





There are 267 children below the age of 6 with the female prisoners and detainees.





Prisons sources say the only known execution of a woman in this region took place in 1937 in Sylhet, when one Karimunnesa was hanged for murdering her husband.



Although many countries execute women prisoners, there is no such known incident in Bangladesh.





Assistant Inspector General of Prisons (administration) Md Abdullah Al-Mamun told the Bangla Tribune: "We have no information on executing female prisoners in Bangladesh. I am not aware of any such incident that might have taken place before the independence."

 | 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



Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!

: Dhaka Tribune, June 11, 2017
KYODO NEWS - Jun 12, 2017 - 21:13 | Feature, All

A giant panda cub was born in a Tokyo zoo Monday for the first time in five years, with both Japanese and Chinese people, even in political circles, sharing the good news.

The Ueno Zoological Gardens said the mother, the 11-year-old Shin Shin, and her newborn, whose sex remains unknown, appear to be in good health.

"This is very joyful," Japan's top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told a regular press conference. "I want the cub to grow up vigorously and healthily."

Suga also said a giant panda, loved by so many people for its charming face and gestures, is "one of the great testaments to the Japan-China friendship."

Shin Shin's previous cub died in 2012 just under a week after being born at Japan's most famous and oldest zoo, which opened in 1882.

Sino-Japanese relations have often been dogged by wartime issues, but China also welcomed the birth of the new panda cub.

"This is good news," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said during a press briefing in Beijing. "A giant panda has always been a friendly envoy of China with other countries, and we also hope the panda will play a bigger role in promoting the friendship between Chinese and Japanese nationals."

Shin Shin and her male partner, Ri Ri, arrived at the Ueno zoo in February 2011 on loan from China.

She was seen mating with Ri Ri on Feb. 27 and had been showing signs of pregnancy, including loss of appetite and increased lethargy, from around May 16, prompting the zoo to remove her from public view.

The expectant mother started moving restlesslyinside her cage from Saturday and the zoo confirmed her water broke Monday morning, followed by the cub's first cry at 11:52 a.m., it said.

The same pair had a cub in July 2012 through natural mating, the first in 24 years at the zoo in Taito Ward, but it died from pneumonia six days after birth.

Shin Shin was also thought to be pregnant in 2013, but it later proved to be a false alarm.

Giant pandas are born very small and premature, with a newborn weighing 100 to 200 grams, roughly a thousandth of its mother.

Chinese experts have said that in the cases of first birth for mother pandas, 60 to 70 percent of cubs die within the first week.

"Shin Shin is taking care of the cub in a calm way," the zoo's director Yutaka Fukuda said in a press conference. "It is our pleasure that a new life was born here and we will strive to make it grow safely with a lot of care."

Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said the metropolitan government plans to solicit ideas on the cub's name from the public.

Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, actress and honorary chair of the Panda Protection Institute of Japan, told reporters in Tokyo, "This is the happiest moment of my recent life," calling pandas "the symbol of peace."

"I don't know when I will be able to see it but I'm looking forward to visiting the zoo," said the TV personality and UNICEF goodwill ambassador.

Panda-linked stocks rose sharply on the news, with Ueno-based Chinese restaurant chain Toh-Ten-Koh Corp. shares temporarily jumping by the day's allowable limit to end at 224 yen, up 6.7 percent from Friday, as investors speculated more people would come to the area to see the panda, according to dealers.
KYODO NEWS - Jun 11, 2017 - 20:07 | World, All

The mastermind of the two terrorist attacks last Wednesday in Tehran has been killed, state television reported Sunday, quoting Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi.

Alavi said after the attacks the suspect fled to a neighboring country, where the person was killed by Iranian intelligence agents and allied intelligence services.



(Jamaran News)

Last Wednesday, three gunmen stormed the Iranian parliament building in central Tehran while two others attacked the mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini, who led the 1979 Iranian Revolution, killing 17 people.

All five gunmen also died in the attacks, for which the Islamic State claimed responsibility.
Soumitra Chatterjee is a living icon of Indian cinema not only because of his work in 14 films directed by Satyajit Ray but also because of his excellence in several forms of creative expressions. Now he is being bestowed with Franceas highest civilian award, Legion daHonneur. He is the first Indian actor to be so honoured so. Shoma A. Chatterji in a tete a tete with the veteran actor

Excerpts of an interview:



This honour comes at a time when you are in the middle of a family crisis with your grandson recovering from a near-fatal accident. How do you react to this juxtaposition of triumph and crisis?



This juxtaposition is a part of our lives and we cannot avoid it. One needs to accept it as reality. But this honour has triggered a completely different feeling even in the middle of this family crisis and depression. I am overjoyed that though my work has remained confined exclusively to Bengali films, it has reached out to touch film lovers, intellectuals and cineastes across borders.



You rejected the Special Jury Best Actor Award for Gautam Ghoses Dekha. But you accepted the Best Actor Award for Sumon Ghoshs Padakkhep and again, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. Why this contradiction?



At the time of Dekha, I was convinced that awards often went to people who didnt deserve them and other better and more powerful performances were ignored. When I got the National Award for Padakkhep, I was already fifty years into films. The citation moved me. The director was also a new comer to cinema. The Dadasaheb Phalke award made me truly happy because my faith in the public that has sustained me for so many years stood vindicated.





After nearly six decades as an actor, how would you elaborate on the term acting?



Acting is restricted by its quality of temporality. It is perhaps the only form of creative artistic expression that does not follow any rule and doesnt have any fixed formula. Music is based on sargam which one can toy around with, explore and experiment. Dance has abhinaya and rhythm. Magic too has certain rules. But acting is something the actor has to create temporarily at that given point of time in the play or the film which only a good director is able to control. Actors can benefit only under some directors, not any and every director who springs up suddenly. Institutional training is also a construct and rules are created, they dont exist from the beginning of time.



When did you first find yourself drawn to films?

When I was very young, I watched films like Thief of Baghdad, Saboo, etc. As I grew into boyhood, I often took French leave from school to watch films.



Serious interest in cinema began with the first Film Festival in the city after my parents shifted to Kolkata from Howrah. I watched Bicycle Thieves, Miracle in Milan, Fall of Berlin, etc. with friends who were equally passionate about cinema. These films changed my entire perspective about cinema. We saw Renoirs River, shot entirely in India, after it was released. Then came Satyajit Rays Pather Panchali. This film created a lot of curiosity while it was being made. Ray made four films before he did Apur Sansar. For me, those films were a preparation for what was to come  my first film Apur Sansar.



You are often seen acting in some terrible films. Why do you accept these assignments?



(Laughs). Acting is my bread and butter and I have a big family to feed. I just cant let go of assignments because I feel they are going to be bad films. Besides, how can an actor become judgemental about a film that is being shot when he doesnt know what the final product would look like? The quality of an average Bengali film has gone down. My work in these films are a reflection of that quality. However, sometimes you feel this film is not going to be good and it turns out to be a pleasant surprise. Cinema is full of uncertainties and elements beyond anyones control and an actor is just a small keg in that giant wheel.





You have said that you had a snobbish attitude towards Indian cinema. How did it change?



I was brought up on European films as I have mentioned. I was very young then. But Pather Panchali changed all that. When I saw the film, I had no clue that I would be part of Rays films as an actor which would shape my future course in life. It was an amazing exposure of the point of view of a director as he presented one of the best-known literary classics of writer Bibhuti Bhushan Bandopadhyay. I didnt identify this aesthetic and cinematic excellence with the work of any Indian director before this film. Looking back, it changed the course of my life.





Among the 400-odd films, which, according to you has been the most challenging?



Tapan Sinhas Wheel Chair is perhaps the most challenging. I practised moving about on a wheel chair because the physical details of how a man does minor things while seated on a wheel chair were important. But when it finally went on the floors, I could not practice all over again. I love the challenge of learning something for a specific role. For Sinhas Kshudhita Pashan (Hungry Stones) set in Rajasthan, I had to learn horse riding. I discovered that riding a horse or moving about on a wheel chair helps form an insight into a given character. The mans world-view changes which differs from the world-view of a person who moves normally. This change influences his behaviour, his vision, his philosophy. These get reflected in his performance. The physical approach to a character is very important. Once this is achieved, then a trip to the mental world of the character becomes seamless.



(Shoma A. Chatterji is an award winning film critic)


Motley Fool

Shares of Unity Software (NYSE: U) were up 27% as of 12:24 p.m. ET on Thursday after the company delivered better-than-expected earnings results for the third quarter. The stock has fallen sharply this year after an internal performance problem caused revenue growth to slow with one of its advertising products and the stock is down about 80% year to date. Revenue growth accelerated over the second quarter's 9%, despite a 7% year-over-year decline in the "operate solutions" segment, where Unity offers advertising tools to help game companies monetize their games.




James Comey Former FBI Director James Comey testified last week that President Donald Trump seemed exclusively concerned with Russia's election meddling as it related to him personally, rather than its impact on national security.

Trump's focus on how the FBI's Russia investigation is affecting him politically, and his lack of interest in holding Moscow accountable, fits a pattern dating back to at least January.

Experts say Trump's unwillingness to better understand whom Russia is hacking and how it is weaponizing information to influence voters increases the probability that Moscow will continue to meddle in future local and national elections.

Former FBI Director James Comey, in a little-noticed moment during his Senate Intelligence Committee testimony last week, said President Donald Trump never once asked him about Russia's interference in the US election as it related to national security in their nine conversations before he fired Comey in early May.

"Did the president, in any of those interactions that you've shared with us today, ask you what you should be doing, or what our government should be doing, or the intelligence community, to protect America against Russian interference in our election system?" Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich asked Comey.

"I don't recall a conversation like that," Comey said.

Heinrich pressed: "Never?"

"No," Comey said. "Not with President Trump. I attended a fair number of meetings on that with President Obama."

Comey later said he didn't recall ever having a conversation with Trump that suggested the president was taking the Russia threat seriously.

"I don't remember any conversations with him at all about that," Comey said.

Did Trump ever ask "what our government should be doing...to protect America against Russian interference?"



"No." pic.twitter.com/pOzFt3Xtgh  Justin Miller (@justinjm1) June 10, 2017

Story continues

'Russia says nothing exists'

Ned Price, a former CIA officer and top National Security Council official under President Barack Obama, said Trump's "exclusive focus on his own reputation and the well-being of his allies, including Mike Flynn, fits a pattern."

"This is a president who puts himself, not America, first," Price said Monday. "Whether it's his financial conflicts of interest or foreign policy contoured to his  not our  economic interests, Trump has continued to operate as if he were CEO of a private, family-owned corporation."

For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available on iOS and Android.

Comey's testimony suggested Trump seemed concerned only with how the FBI's investigation into Russia's election interference affected him personally, rather than what the investigation was uncovering about Moscow's disinformation and hacking campaigns throughout 2016 and whether it was poised to do it again. It aligns with Trump's reaction after an initial briefing in January from top intelligence officials about Russian meddling.

Days before the briefing, the US intelligence community published an unclassified report concluding that Russia had interfered in the election to try to hurt Hillary Clinton and help Trump win. Obama and Trump, then the president-elect, were briefed on the classified version of that report, along with another unverified document: the dossier containing explosive and at times salacious claims about Trump's ties to Russia.

trump comey

But Trump's initial approach to the burgeoning controversy centered on blasting reporting on the dossier as "fake news" and refusing to accept Russia's role in the election meddling.

"Totally made up facts by sleazebag political operatives, both Democrats and Republicans  FAKE NEWS!" Trump tweeted on January 13, apparently referring to the dossier. "Russia says nothing exists."

He also attacked US intelligence officials for allowing the dossier to leak to the press, implying they were politically motivated, and compared them to Nazis.

"Intelligence agencies should never have allowed this fake news to 'leak' into the public," Trump tweeted on January 11. "One last shot at me. Are we living in Nazi Germany?"

Trump also did not broach the topic of Russian aggression in closed-door meetings with world leaders at the headquarters of NATO, the defense organization founded in 1949 as Europe's answer to the Soviet Union that continues to serve as a counterweight to Russia's ambitions in eastern Europe.

The White House has also reportedly twice looked into lifting the sanctions imposed by the Obama administration in 2014 and late 2016  over Russia's annexation of Crimea and election-related meddling, respectively  since Trump took office.

"The war is in the shadows. And, right now, Russia is winning," Molly McKew, an expert on information warfare, wrote on Sunday. "There is only one question that we should be asking: What are we going to do to protect the American people from Russian acts of war  and why doesn't the president want to talk about it?"

Ian Bremmer, the president of the political-risk firm Eurasia Group, has a theory: It's bad for Trump's brand.

"The question of Trump's orientation towards Russia remains the single most challenging unanswered question for the president," Bremmer said. "You can understand why he might not be interested in getting to the bottom of hacks that could potentially undermine the validity/legitimacy of his election. That's not very presidential, but it's rational behavior from somebody who's into promoting his own brand."

Still, that alone doesn't explain why Trump "continually appears to go out of his way to support Russia, in a way that seems unique compared to literally every other country," Bremmer said. "His personal behavior around Russia raises questions that aren't sufficiently answered just by the connections of several of his former advisers with the Kremlin."

Comey's testimony 'is, in the end, a sideshow'

Those who have defended Trump, like former CIA Director James Woolsey, say the president simply had nothing further to ask Comey about the Russian hacking campaign. But Trump's critics say his apparent lack of interest in learning more about what Russia did, and how it could be prevented in the future, stems from hubris, guilt, or both.

"In the nine times Trump met with or called Comey, it was always to discuss how the investigation into Russia's election interference was affecting him personally, rather than the security of the country," Asha Rangappa, an associate dean at Yale Law School and former FBI special agent, wrote last week.

"He apparently cared little about understanding either the magnitude of the Russian intelligence threat, or how the FBI might be able to prevent another attack in future elections," she said. "Regardless of which storyline you believe about Comey's testimony, it is, in the end, a sideshow. The real issue is Russia's assault on our democracy and how we respond to it."

James Comey

Comey testified last week that he became aware in the summer of 2015 of Russia-connected cyber intrusions, which he described as "a massive effort" to target both government and nongovernmental agencies.

"What would be the estimate of how many entities out there the Russians specifically targeted in that time frame?" Republican Sen. Richard Burr, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, asked Comey.

"It's hundreds," Comey replied. "I suppose it could be more than 1,000, but it's at least hundreds."

Russia's use of so-called active measures  including propaganda, fake news, and social media trolls  to attempt to influence Americans and turn them against the institutions that Moscow reviles are not limited to Democratic organizations like the Democratic National Committee.

Politico reported Monday that Russian state actors were trying to infiltrate the social media feeds of current and former US military personnel for intelligence-gathering and influence-campaign purposes, most likely in an attempt to weaken service members' resolve "to counter future Russian military aggression elsewhere."

"There should be no fuzz on this whatsoever," Comey said last week. "The Russians interfered in our election during the 2016 cycle. They did with purpose. They did it with sophistication. They did it with overwhelming technical efforts. It was an active-measures campaign driven from the top of that government. ... This is about America, not about a particular party."

Price said Trump's "lack of leadership on the issue of Russia's meddling could well have profound consequences for our country," including continued interference from a hostile power that has seen little or no consequences for a targeted hacking and disinformation campaign that was undoubtedly successful.

Trump "seems content to leave America vulnerable to Moscow's aggression going forward," Price said. "And without principled, focused leadership, such meddling will be a certainty."

NOW WATCH: 'I did not say that': Trump fires back after Comeys testimony and says he will '100%' speak under oath





More From Business Insider
New Delhi, June 12 (IBNS): Keeping the arrival of Monsoon in India in mind, travel major Cox & Kings has introduced a series of discounted packages in the domestic market.

"For example, if you stay in Kodaikanal for two nights, you pay only for one night. Similarly, if you stay in the Nilgiris or Ladakh for five nights, you pay for only three nights. Similar packages are available for Andamans, Nepal, Bhutan, Daman and Mahabaleshwar," the travel major said in a statement.



Those who have missed out on their summer vacations, this is the time to travel, with rates dropping from 15 to 25 per cent in the domestic market, the company said.



According to Karan Anand, HeadRelationships, Cox & Kings, "We have already witnessed an increase in the number of inquiries by 25 to 30 percent and it is primarily the Double Income No Kids (DINKS), segment and those between 21 to 26 thats driving this market.



Anand further adds, ``According to Ayurveda, the monsoon is the best season for rejuvenation therapies, for the atmosphere is dust-free, humid and cool. This encourages a large number of fitness enthusiasts to check-in at ayurvedic resorts in Himachal Pradesh and Kerala.



Other destinations that are popular for monsoon are Wayanad & Munnar (Kerala), Goa, Leh-Ladakh, Matheran, Mahabaleshwar and Konkan Coast (Maharashtra), Coorg (Karnataka), Spiti Valley (Himachal), Shillong (Meghalaya), Darjeeling (West Bengal), Kodaikanal (Tamil Nadu) and Ranikhet (Uttarakhand) are the most favoured monsoon destinations.

Online travel portal, Ezeego1.com is offering up to Rs 2,000 cashback on select domestic airlines between June 1st and 20th and up to 70 per cent discount on select domestic hotel bookings until Sept 30.

Speaking of the monsoon holiday concept, Neelu Singh, CEO and Director, Ezeego1.com said, `` Short weekend trips are popular for quick monsoon getaways. Trekking, waterfalls, camping, wellness getaways and night forest trails are some of the experiences that top the preference list of monsoon travellers. Waterfalls like Athirapally in Kerala, Dudhsagar in Goa, Nohkalikai in Cherrapunji create quite a spectacle for tourists in this season. We have seen a 25 percent increase in our inquiries."

She concludes, "Road journeys closer home are very popular during the rains. Mumbai to Goa, Chennai to Pondicherry, Bangalore to Coorg, Shillong to Cherrapunji, Darjeeling to Gangtok, Bangalore to Ooty via Bandipur to name a few.
Finnish English

THIS RELEASE MAY NOT BE RELEASED, PUBLISHED OR OTHERWISE DISTRIBUTED, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, CANADA, JAPAN, AUSTRALIA, SOUTH AFRICA OR HONG KONG OR IN ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH THE TENDER OFFER WOULD BE PROHIBITED BY APPLICABLE LAW.

Sponda Plc Stock Exchange Release June 12, 2017 at 14.22

POLAR BIDCO S.A R.L. COMMENCES THE VOLUNTARY RECOMMENDED PUBLIC TENDER OFFER FOR ALL SHARES IN SPONDA PLC ON JUNE 13, 2017

As announced earlier on June 5, 2017, Polar Bidco S.a r.l. (the "Offeror"), a corporation owned by funds advised by affiliates of The Blackstone Group L.P. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, "Blackstone"), and Sponda Plc ("Sponda") have on June 5, 2017 entered into a combination agreement (the "Combination Agreement") pursuant to which the Offeror will make a voluntary recommended public tender offer to purchase all issued and outstanding shares in Sponda (the "Tender Offer").

Pursuant to the release of the Offeror published today, the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority has on June 12, 2017 approved the tender offer document relating to the Tender Offer (the "Tender Offer Document"). Pursuant to the release of the Offeror published today, the offer period for the Tender Offer will commence on June 13, 2017 at 9:30 a.m. (Finnish time) and expire on July 14, 2017 at 4:00 p.m. (Finnish time), unless the offer period is extended or any extended offer period is discontinued (the "Offer Period"). The Offeror reserves the right to extend the Offer Period at any time in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Tender Offer.

Pursuant to the release of the Offeror published today, the Finnish language version of the Tender Offer Document will be available on the internet at www.nordea.fi/osakkeet and http://sijoittajat.sponda.fi/fi-FI/tender-offer as of June 12, 2017. The English language translation of the Tender Offer Document will be available on the internet at www.nordea.fi/equities and http://sijoittajat.sponda.fi/en/tender-offer as of June 12, 2017.

The release of the Offeror referred to above, including also the detailed terms and conditions of the Tender Offer is attached in its entirety as Appendix 1 to this stock exchange release.

Sponda Plc

Further information

Kari Inkinen, President and CEO, tel. +358 400 40 2653

Sponda in brief:

Sponda is a property investment company specializing in commercial properties in the largest cities in Finland. Sponda's business concept is to own, lease and develop retail and office properties and shopping centers into environments that promote the business success of its clients. As at March 31, 2017, the fair value of Sponda's investment properties was approximately EUR 3.8 billion and the leasable area was approximately 1.2 million square meters.

www.sponda.fi/en

THIS RELEASE MAY NOT BE RELEASED, PUBLISHED OR OTHERWISE DISTRIBUTED, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, CANADA, JAPAN, AUSTRALIA, SOUTH AFRICA OR HONG KONG OR IN ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH THE TENDER OFFER WOULD BE PROHIBITED BY APPLICABLE LAW.

THIS RELEASE IS NOT A TENDER OFFER DOCUMENT AND AS SUCH DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER OR INVITATION TO MAKE A SALES OFFER. IN PARTICULAR, THIS RELEASE IS NOT AN OFFER TO SELL OR THE SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY ANY SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN, AND IS NOT AN EXTENSION OF THE TENDER OFFER, IN CANADA, JAPAN, AUSTRALIA, SOUTH AFRICA OR HONG KONG. INVESTORS SHALL ACCEPT THE TENDER OFFER FOR THE SHARES ONLY ON THE BASIS OF THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN A TENDER OFFER DOCUMENT. OFFERS WILL NOT BE MADE DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY IN ANY JURISDICTION WHERE EITHER AN OFFER OR PARTICIPATION THEREIN IS PROHIBITED BY APPLICABLE LAW OR WHERE ANY TENDER OFFER DOCUMENT OR REGISTRATION OR OTHER REQUIREMENTS WOULD APPLY IN ADDITION TO THOSE UNDERTAKEN IN FINLAND.

THE TENDER OFFER IS NOT BEING MADE DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY IN ANY JURISDICTION WHERE PROHIBITED BY APPLICABLE LAW AND, WHEN PUBLISHED, THE TENDER OFFER DOCUMENT AND RELATED ACCEPTANCE FORMS WILL NOT AND MAY NOT BE DISTRIBUTED, FORWARDED OR TRANSMITTED INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE PROHIBITED BY APPLICABLE LAW. IN PARTICULAR, THE TENDER OFFER IS NOT BEING MADE, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO, OR BY USE OF THE POSTAL SERVICE OF, OR BY ANY MEANS OR INSTRUMENTALITY (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, FACSIMILE TRANSMISSION, TELEX, TELEPHONE OR ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION BY WAY OF THE INTERNET OR OTHERWISE) OF INTERSTATE OR FOREIGN COMMERCE OF, OR ANY FACILITIES OF A NATIONAL SECURITIES EXCHANGE OF, CANADA, JAPAN, AUSTRALIA, SOUTH AFRICA OR HONG KONG. THE TENDER OFFER CANNOT BE ACCEPTED, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, BY ANY SUCH USE, MEANS OR INSTRUMENTALITY OR FROM WITHIN CANADA, JAPAN, AUSTRALIA, SOUTH AFRICA OR HONG KONG. NO HOLDER AND ANY PERSON ACTING FOR THE ACCOUNT OR BENEFIT OF A HOLDER IN CANADA, JAPAN, AUSTRALIA, SOUTH AFRICA OR HONG KONG SHALL BE PERMITTED TO ACCEPT THE TENDER OFFER.

Notice to Shareholders in the United States

U.S. shareholders are advised that Sponda's shares are not listed on a U.S. securities exchange and that Sponda is not subject to the periodic reporting requirements of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Act"), and is not required to, and does not, file any reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") thereunder.

The Tender Offer is made to Sponda's shareholders resident in the United States on the same terms and conditions as those made to all other shareholders of Sponda to whom an offer is made. Any information documents, including the Tender Offer Document, are being disseminated to U.S. shareholders on a basis comparable to the method that such documents are provided to Sponda's other shareholders.

The Tender Offer is made for the shares in Sponda, a Finnish company. Information distributed in connection with the Tender Offer and the combination is subject to disclosure requirements of Finland, which are different from those of the United States. The financial information included in this release has been prepared in accordance with accounting standards in Finland, which may not be comparable to the financial statements or financial information of United States companies.

It may be difficult for Sponda's shareholders to enforce their rights and any claim they may have arising under the federal securities laws, since the Offeror and Sponda are located in non-U.S. jurisdictions, and some or all of their respective officers and directors may be residents of non-U.S. jurisdictions. Sponda's shareholders may not be able to sue the Offeror or Sponda or their respective officers or directors in a non-U.S. court for violations of the U.S. securities laws. It may be difficult to compel the Offeror and Sponda and their respective affiliates to subject themselves to a U.S. court's judgment.

The Tender Offer is expected to be made in the United States pursuant to Section 14(e) and Regulation 14E under the Act as a "Tier II" tender offer, and otherwise in accordance with the requirements of Finnish law. Accordingly, the Tender Offer will be subject to disclosure and other procedural requirements, including with respect to withdrawal rights, offer timetable, settlement procedures and timing of payments that are different from those applicable under U.S. domestic tender offer procedures and law.

To the extent permissible under applicable law or regulations, the Offeror and its affiliates or brokers (acting as agents for the Offeror or its affiliates, as applicable) may from time to time after the date hereof, and other than pursuant to the Tender Offer, directly or indirectly purchase or arrange to purchase, shares of Sponda, that are the subject of the Tender Offer or any securities that are convertible into, exchangeable for or exercisable for such shares. To the extent information about such purchases or arrangements to purchase is made public in Finland, such information will be disclosed by means of a press release or other means reasonably calculated to inform U.S. shareholders of Sponda of such information. In addition, the financial advisors to the Offeror may also engage in ordinary course trading activities in securities of Sponda, which may include purchases or arrangements to purchase such securities.

Neither the SEC nor any U.S. state securities commission has approved or disapproved the Tender Offer, or passed any comment upon the adequacy or completeness of the Tender Offer Document. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offence in the United States.

Disclaimers

UBS Limited is authorized by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority in the United Kingdom. UBS Limited is acting as financial adviser to Sponda and no one else for the purpose of the consideration of the Tender Offer and will not be responsible to anyone other than Sponda for providing the protections offered to clients of UBS Limited nor for providing advice in relation to the Tender Offer.

Appendix 1
CORONA, Calif., June 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Acology Inc. (OTC:ACOL) announced today that Canadian operations have recorded a 30% increase in sales over the same time last year, justifying the work and investment made in that country in the last quarter of 2016.



In anticipation of total legalization, now seen by lawmakers as a certainty by mid-2018, Acology continues to position itself and its premiere product, the Medtainer, as the perfect solution for growers and dispensaries to safely package cannabis in accordance with regulations established by the Canadian health care service. Acology executives have aggressively pursued relationships with government and business entities throughout the country in an effort to boost product recognition. Revenues from cannabis sales in Canada in the next 10 years are expected to top $100B. Much of the tax revenue generated by the industry will go back to Health Canada.

For investor or sales information please visit Acology Inc. and D&C Distributors online or by phone. The company is located in their production and distribution facility at 1620 Commerce St. Corona, California, 92880.

Acology trades on the OTC under the call letters ACOL. The companys websites are www.Acologyinc.com for the hospice and palliative care industry and www.themedtainer.com for the recreational and medical marijuana industry. Orders for Acology products can be taken online and by phone. Custom orders are especially welcome. Please send all inquiries to info@acologyinc.com or call (844) ACOLOGY (844-226-5649). Ask for Jack Rein, National Services Director. Acology can also be accessed through Twitter and Instagram at @Acologyinc

This press release includes statements that are covered by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Because such statements deal with future events they are subject to risks and uncertainties and actual results for fiscal year 2016 and beyond could differ materially from the companys current expectations. Forward-looking statements are identified by such words as anticipates, projects, expects, planned, intends and believes estimate targets and other similar expressions that indicate trends and future events. It is understood that investment entails risk on the part of the investor and could result in the loss of some or all his or her investment.
WYOMISSING, Pa., June 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Customers Bank, a community-based, full-service bank with assets of approximately $9.9 billion, has been named a top performing U.S. bank in the $2 billion-to-$10 billion asset class according to a report recently published by American Banker Magazine. The report, compiled by management consulting firm Capital Performance Group, ranks Customers Bank in the top 20 percent of the nearly 240 banks studied based on three-year average return on equity for 2014 to 2016. Based on the report, Customers Bank places as #3 nationally among banks with $8 billion to $10 billion in assets, and #3 among Pennsylvania and New Jersey banks listed.



Those (banks) that invest wisely in the businesses that best support revenue growth are the ones that are able to improve profitability over time, said Kevin Halsey, a Capital Performance Group consultant who compiled the data for this annual ranking. While noting that the top-performing banks in the report have little in common aside from their willingness to invest in growth, he added, As you can see, there are many ways to be a top performer.

Customers Banks success is based on its dedication to providing exceptional value, service and convenience to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, individuals and families through a high-tech, high-touch approach. This ensures that customers have access to all the latest mobile and online banking tools while providing personalized service through a single point of contact.

As a community bank, Customers Bank is built on providing customers with financial products and services that they want and need, while running an efficient business, said Richard Ehst, President & COO, Customers Bank. We are pleased to be recognized among the top-performing banks of our size. We take this recognition as further proof of the success and profitability of our customer-focused banking model, and of the impact that quality banking products can produce for the customers and communities we serve.

Since 2009, Customers Banks assets have grown from $250 million to $9.9 billion. In addition to this latest ranking, Customers Bank has also been recognized among Forbes 2017 Best Banks in America, as the top chartered bank in Pennsylvania; and among Bank Director Magazines fastest growing banks, the Philadelphia Business Journals Philadelphia 100, and Lehigh Valley Business Journals Fastest Growing Companies.

About Customers Bank

Customers Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:CUBI) is a bank holding company located in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania engaged in banking and related businesses through its bank subsidiary, Customers Bank. Customers Bank is a community-based, full-service bank with assets of approximately $9.9 billion that was named by Forbes magazine as the 35th Best Bank in America (there are over 6,200 banks in the United States). A member of the Federal Reserve System with deposits insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Customers Bank is an equal opportunity lender that provides a range of banking services to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, individuals and families through offices in Pennsylvania, New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New Jersey. Committed to fostering customer loyalty, Customers Bank uses a High Tech/High Touch strategy that includes use of industry-leading technology to provide customers better access to their money, as well as Concierge Banking by appointment at customers homes or offices 12 hours a day, seven days a week. Customers Bank offers a continually expanding portfolio of loans to small businesses, multi-family projects, mortgage companies and consumers.

Customers Bancorp, Inc. voting common shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CUBI. Additional information about Customers Bancorp, Inc. can be found on the Company's website, www.customersbank.com.
LINDON, Utah, June 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AccessData Group, a leading provider of integrated digital forensics and e-discovery software, will host hands-on labs to educate students about digital forensics at the 2017 GenCyber: Girls in CybHER Security camp at Dakota State University (DSU).



DSUs third annual girls camp, which will be held June 25-29, 2017, is the largest residential girls-only camp in the nation, hosting 135 girls in 7th, 8th and 9th grades.

The girls will learn about programming, networking, security and forensics, from DSU faculty and special guests, said Dr. Ashley Podhradsky, associate professor of Digital Forensics and Information Assurance.

AccessData, Citi and Google are among the event sponsors who will be providing expert speakers to teach various sessions throughout the camp.

Digital forensics is an essential component of cybersecurity, so its important the students receive some hands-on training in how we collect and process electronic evidence, said Keith Lockhart, vice president of global training at AccessData. This camp is a terrific opportunity to not only introduce these young ladies to the possibility of careers in this growing field, but also to help them better understand how to keep themselves safe when using the internet. AccessData is delighted to partner with Dakota State and GenCyber so the students can learn more about our industry and the role of technology as a force of good in our digital world.

GenCyber is a unique program created by the National Security Agency and the National Science Foundation that consists of camps in locations across the U.S. The GenCyber program is designed to increase interest in cybersecurity careers and diversity in the cybersecurity workforce, help students understand correct and safe on-line behavior, and improve teaching methods for delivering cybersecurity content for K-12 programs. Through grants from the NSA and NSF, along with other sponsors, the camps are free for participants.

Dakota State has a broad national reputation for providing a dynamic, technology-rich learning and research environment for its students, and for others through outreach programs such as the GenCyber camps. They will also be hosting two co-ed cyber camps and a teachers cyber camp this summer. For more information on the GenCyber Girls in CybHER Security camp, please go to www.gencybergirls.camp. For more information on Dakota State Universitys cyber programs visit dsucyber.com, or dsu.edu.

About AccessData

Whether its for investigation, litigation or compliance, AccessData offers industry-leading solutions that put the power of forensics in your hands. For 30 years, AccessData has worked with more than 130,000 customers in law enforcement, government agencies, corporations and law firms around the world, providing both stand-alone and enterprise-class solutions that can synergistically work together. The company is backed by Sorenson Capital, a leading private equity firm focused on high-growth portfolios. For more information on AccessData, please go to www.accessdata.com.

About Dakota State University

Dakota State University is a public university located in Madison, South Dakota, part of the State of South Dakota Regental system of specialized schools and universities. Founded in 1881 as a teachers college, it maintains that heritage mission, while also carrying out its signature mission of technology-infused and technology-intensive degrees. It has grown rapidly in national recognition as a technology-forward school, and has significant partnerships with the U.S. National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security, among others, for DSUs cyber security-related programs. For more information, please contact Jane Utecht, Strategic Communications Coordinator at mediarelations@dsu.edu, 605-256-5027. The DSU website is http://www.dsu.edu.
New York, New York, June 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bahamas Tourism and Aviation Minister Hon. Dionisio D'Aguilar was yesterday announced as the new chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) during a press conference at CTO Caribbean week in New York City.

The CTO is the Caribbeans tourism development agency comprising membership of over 30 countries and territories including Dutch, English, French and Spanish, as well as a myriad of private sector allied members.

D'Aguilar will lead the charge for the next year. Tourism Director General Joy Jibrilu serves as the Chair of the CTO Board of Directors. She was appointed in September 2016.

"I look forward to leading the charge for the region as we work together to further improve our tourism industry and address the many vexing challenges we face. We must work together to enhance our tourism product across the board and increase the number of stopover visitors to our region," D'Aguilar said of his appointment.

In his role as CTO chairman, Minister D'Aguilar provided updates regarding the region's performance for the first quarter of 2017 and developments from CTO Caribbean Week.

ABOUT THE BAHAMAS

The Islands of The Bahamas have a place in the sun for everyone. Each island has its own personality and attractions for a variety of vacation styles with some of the worlds best scuba diving, fishing, sailing, boating, as well as, shopping and dining. The destination offers an easily accessible tropical getaway and provides convenience for travelers with preclearance through U.S. customs and immigration, and the Bahamian dollar is on par with the U.S. dollar. Do everything or do nothing, just remember Its Better in The Bahamas. For more information call 1-800-Bahamas or visit www.Bahamas.com. Look for The Bahamas on the web on Facebook Twitter and YouTube

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/827e06ca-5a51-46bd-a1e8-ad2180f3fa2b

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a71a3c3a-bc59-47b1-b461-ad6a9de95749
Dallas, TX, June 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Associa, the industrys largest community management company, in partnership with Richland College, is proud to accept its largest educational grant from the Texas Workforce Commission.



The $707,000 training grant will provide the unique job training opportunity for more than 500 employees from the companys north Texas region, including its Client Shared Services Center, home office and local management affiliate. The resources will be used to expand Associas employee education programs and specific job training that will advance employees skills and improve the North Texas workforce.



The courses are scheduled to begin this month and will continue throughout 2018. The curriculum will cover many facets of Associas core business, including accounting and financials, customer service and business communications.



We are excited to accept this generous grant from the Texas Workforce Commission as it will provide our employees the opportunity to improve their skillset, advance their knowledge base and complete their jobs to the very best of their abilities, stated Chelle O'Keefe, executive vice president and chief human resources officer at Associa. We are focused on providing a positive employee experience at Associa so that our employees choose to build their careers with us. By using this grant to expand our current educational programs, it will not only help strengthen Associa but also contribute to the continued success of the Richardson business community and local economy.



"Richland College is pleased to partner again with Associa in advancing the skills of its workforce and the economic base of Richardson and North Texas, stated Dr. Kathryn K. Eggleston, Richland College president. Richland College appreciates the ongoing confidence that the Texas Workforce Commission and Associa place in us as an experienced, high-quality, results-focused training provider.



Associa and Richland College will be holding a check ceremony in honor of receiving the grant. The ceremony will be held at Associas Client Shared Service Center in Richardson, Texas on June 15th at 3PM CT.



Delivering unsurpassed association management services to communities since 1979, Associa leads the industry operating more than 180 branch offices across North America and employing 10,000 team members dedicated to serving nearly five million residents who are part of the Associa family. With unrivaled industry expertise, safeguarded finances and trailblazing innovation, Associa provides solutions designed to help communities achieve their vision. To learn more go to www.associaonline.com.



Stay Connected:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/associa

Twitter: https://twitter.com/associa

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/associa

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/associa/

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/associamarketing

Google+: https://plus.google.com/+Associaonline/

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b44a36e9-3ba7-4dd3-a603-77cd6c626354
A Nigerian guy, Femi Simon, has dazzled his girlfriend of four years by surprising her with a brand new BMW 535i.

According to the caring boyfriend, he knows the lady would prefer an engagement ring but he is all out to dazzle him with the car gift.

Read the caption below:

The lady jumped at her boyfriend at the sight of the car gift

Not many people are lucky enough to find their soul mate, till this day I dont know what I did right to deserve you. You are an angel, my angel, you have been with me even when I didnt deserve you This is for bringing so much joy into my life for the past 4 years. I know you would prefer a ring but lets start with this I love you cheey. Always will.

PAY ATTENTION: Get all the latest gossips on NAIJ Gossip App

How beautiful!

Source: Legit.ng
New York, June 12 (Just Earth News): Underscoring the importance of accountable and inclusive governance and institutions for the successful implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, United Nations Secretary-General AntAnio Guterres on Sunday called for public services to be more responsive, efficient and collaborative.

Public service is a critical component for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) [] we need to pioneer new approaches, work differently, take risks and innovate, Secretary-General Guterres said at the Taza Koom Conference on Public Service in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

We need governance that is capable of delivering results and earning public trust; governance that is coherent and accountable; governance that is inclusive and that listens to all the country's citizens; governance that upholds human rights and leaves no one behind.

The Taza Koom is a project that seeks to transform digital technologies and e-governance to improve not only the way the State and the administration function, but also the way the people can benefit from new technologies and the impact on their lives.

Further in his remarks, the UN chief also spoke of the need to fight corruption to ensure effective and accountable public services, and highlighted the need for mechanisms that not only support people but also includes the poorest and the most vulnerable, so that they are able to not only define their needs but also to be a part of the efforts in ways to address those challenges.

As the President said, it [is] clear that 'Taza Koom' can be a way to empower the poorest and the most vulnerable, said Guterres, noting that the UN would continue to assist the country in these efforts.

Earlier today, Secretary-General Guterres held a meeting with Almazbek Atambaev, the President of Kyrgyzstan.

Speaking to the media at a press conference, alongside the President, Guterres hailed the country's efforts for democracy, rule of law and protection of human rights, as well as a vibrant and active civil society.

I am also sure that Kyrgyzstan will play a very important role in what I hope will be future developments in Central Asia for better cooperation, better integration among the different countries and peoples of [the region] to guarantee its prosperity and its development, he said.

Also today, Guterres took part in the commemoration of the June 2010 events in Osh, where he laid a wreath at the Mother's Tears monument and expressed his condolences to the families of the victims as well as solidarity with the people of Osh, of Jalal-abad and all other places where the violence broke out.

The Mother's Tears [monument] should remind all of us that societies in the world are becoming multiethnic, multireligious, multicultural and that must be seen as a positive thing. It is a richness, not a threat, he said, underscoring: Diversity needs to be cherished, not condemned.

UN Photo/Vyacheslav Oseledko

Source: www.justearthnews.com
As of August 26th, 2021 Yahoo India will no longer be publishing content. Your Yahoo Account Mail and Search experiences will not be affected in any way and will operate as usual. We thank you for your support and readership. For more information on Yahoo India, please visit the FAQ
Sydney, Jun 12 (IBNS): A China Eastern Airlines flight made an emergency landing at the Sydney airport after developing a technical snag, reports said.

The plane, which departed from the Sydney airport, was heading to Shanghai.

However, the pilots sensed the snag and decided to return back an hour after take off.

As per images circulating on Twitter, it showed a large hole in one of the engine casing.

Posting a picture, @flightorg tweeted, "Tonight's China Eastern A330 Sydney (SYD) to Shanghai (PVG). Flight MU736. Soon after TKOF RW 34L. A330-200 with 2 x RR Trent 772B-60."

Tonight's China Eastern A330 Sydney (SYD) to Shanghai (PVG). Flight MU736. Soon after TKOF RW 34L. A330-200 with 2 x RR Trent 772B-60. pic.twitter.com/PWpSpuTy23  Flight (@flightorg) June 11, 2017

Several passengers were quoted in Australian dailies as stating that they smelt something burning shortly after take off.

"All of a sudden we heard this noise... it kind of smelt like burning," a passenger told Australia's Seven News Network.

image: twitter.com/flightorg
London, June 12 (IBNS): Citing the reasons of attacking the London Mayor and withdrawal from the Paris Accord, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has welcomed the cancellation of the US President Donald Trump's visit to the United Kingdom.

"Cancellation of President Trump's State Visit is welcome, especially after his attack on London's mayor & withdrawal from #ParisClimateDeal" Corbyn said on Twitter.

Trump had earlier criticised the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, for his reaction after the terrorist attack that shook the city.

In a tweet, the US president said: "At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is "no reason to be alarmed!"

Trump's comment came after the terrorist attack on London Bridge.

Reports suggested that UK Prime Minister Theresa May called Trump's comment as "wrong".

On June 2, US President had announced his nation will withdraw from the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

"Therefore, in order to fulfill my solemn duty to protect America and its citizens, the United States will withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord -- (applause) -- thank you, thank you -- but begin negotiations to reenter either the Paris Accord or a really entirely new transaction on terms that are fair to the United States, its businesses, its workers, its people, its taxpayers," Trump said.

Trump said moves to negotiate a new 'fair' deal would begin.

The US President alleged that the agreement provided better deal to "some of the world's highly polluting countries" like India and China.

The agreement doesnt eliminate coal jobs, it just transferred those jobs out of the United States, and shipped them to foreign countries, he added.

May has earlier invited the US President to the United Kingdom for a visit.

In the recently concluded election, the Labour Party managed to secure 261 seats, improving its performance from the last time.

After the result, tweeted Jeremy Corbyn, ".@Theresa_May thought that with the backing of the billionaires and the corporate elite, she could take your vote for granted."

Image: Official Facebook page of Jeremy Corbyn.
United States officials have accused 33 people of criminal activity, including stealing 4,500 kilograms of chocolate and a murder for hire" plot.

Murder for hire is when someone offers to pay an individual to kill another person.

Federal law enforcement officials in New York City announced the charges last week.

All those charged have ties to a Russian-organized crime group that operated throughout the United States, said Joon Kim. He is the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

William Sweeney Jr. is with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. He said that the 33 people charged in the case tried to make as much money as possible, all allegedly organized and run by a man who promised to protect them.

But that protection didnt include escaping justice, Sweeney added.

Kim said the 33 defendants are accused of what he called a dizzying number of crimes. He said the Russian criminal group is known as Shulaya Enterprises.

The charges include stealing a shipment of 4,500 kilograms of chocolate. That is equal to over 80,000 candy bars.

Another reported crime involved a female member of Shulaya Enterprises. She would seduce men, suggesting a love interest, and then use a gas to put them to sleep -- before stealing their money.

The murder for hire effort, the government said, involved an offer to kill someone in exchange for money.

Other crimes were transportation and sale of untaxed cigarettes, plans to pay bribes to law enforcement officials and efforts to cheat casinos in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

The casino fraud case involved the use of electronics and computers to predict when and which electronic slot machines would pay off prize money, the government said.

Shulaya Enterprises members used code words to communicate to each other -- to make it more difficult for the government to listen to their discussions, the government said.

The defendants were mostly born in the former Soviet Union and had strong ties to Ukraine, Georgia and Russia, the government said.

Acting U.S. Attorney Kim said the crimes were carried out throughout the United States.

In the American justice system, a judge or jury of people decide if a defendant charged with a crime is guilty or not guilty. If the person is found guilty, a judge will decide what the punishment will be, including time in prison and financial fines.

Im Phil Dierking.

Bruce Alpert reported on this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and share your views on our Facebook Page.

__________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

chocolate - n. a food that is made from cacao beans and that is eaten as candy or used as a flavoring ingredient in other sweet foods

dizzying - adj. such a large number as to be difficult to understand

seduce - v. to persuade someone to have sex with you

bribes - n. payments to convince someone in law enforcement or government to do a favor

defraud - v. to trick or cheat someone or something in order to get money

slot machines - n. machine used for gambling that starts when you put coins into it and pull a handle or press a button

code - n. a system of signs used to represent words or numbers

bar  n. a solid piece or block of something
People living in the American territory of Puerto Rico have voted to become a U.S. state. However, the vote does not have the force of law.

Only 23 percent of Puerto Rican voters took part in the referendum.

Of those who did vote, about 500,000 chose statehood. About 7,500 chose independence and 6,700 voted to remain a territory.

People who live on the Caribbean island are U.S. citizens, but they cannot vote in presidential elections. They have one congressional representative to the United States Congress who has limited voting rights.

The island also has its own legislature with a Senate and a House of Representatives.

The territorys governor Ricardo Rossello said of the vote, In any democracy, the expressed will of the majority that participates in the electoral process always prevails.

Sundays vote on the issue of statehood was the fifth of its kind.

People on the island also voted in 2012 to seek statehood.

Puerto Rico struggles with its financial problems

The vote took place as Puerto Rico seeks protection from its creditors who hold its large public debt.

Peter Hakim is a former president of the Inter-American Dialogue, a policy research group on the Americas. He said the vote is not too meaningful because of low participation.

He says competing political parties on the island have called for something other than statehood.

The Popular Democratic Party wants Puerto Rico to remain a territory while the Puerto Rican Independence Party wants the island to become a separate country.

Hakim says the vote takes place as the island faces a serious crisis.

Puerto Ricos in the midst of a severe economic and, in many respects, social crisis with large-scale emigration toward the United States.

He says poor supervision of the Puerto Rican economy and government is partly to blame for its economic situation.

He says the islands current status is in, what he calls, the undefined zone in which it is neither a state nor a country.

My guess in the end (is) that Puerto Rico would probably be better off if it did become a state.

Puerto Ricans do not pay federal income tax so the territory does not receive as much federal money as states do. But, the people do pay Social Security and some other U.S. taxes. This causes some people to believe that the island would be better off as a state.

However, Puerto Ricos debt crisis continues to harm its economic growth and ties to the U.S. The economy has been in recession for more than 10 years.

Puerto Rico says it cannot pay back its more than $70 billion debt. The territory also owes its retirement payment plan, or pension, about $50 billion dollars.

Last month, Governor Rosello refused to agree to measures demanded by creditors to make payments on the islands bonds. That started a process for Puerto Rico to seek legal protection from its creditors through a form of bankruptcy. However, the territory is barred from the kind of legal bankruptcy that U.S. cities and towns can seek.

It is unclear how long Puerto Ricos debt negotiations will take.

Im Mario Ritter.

Victor Beattie reported this story for VOA News. Mario Ritter adapted it for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver 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

referendum  n. an event in which the people of a county, state, etc., vote for or against a law that deals with a specific issue : a public vote on a particular issue

emigration  n. to leave a country to live somewhere else

participate  v. to be involved with others in doing something: to take part in an activity or event with others

prevail  v. to defeat an opponent especially in a long or difficult contest

midst  n. the period of time when something is happening or being done

status  n. the official position of a person or thing according to the law

zone  n. an area that is different from other areas in a particular way

bonds  n. debt securities in which creditors agree to provide money to a company or government in exchange for regular interest payments and full repayment after a set amount of time
Actor Ben Platt plays a lonely teenager who has trouble fitting in.

So, when he won the Tony Award Sunday night for best actor in a musical, he urged young people not to give up the qualities that make them special.

To all young people watching at home, dont waste any time trying to be like anybody but yourself, because the things that make you strange are the things that make you powerful.

The Tony Awards honor the best plays and musicals on Broadway. They were given out at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The American television network CBS broadcast the awards show across the country.

Platt plays Evan Hansen, the lead character in the Broadway musical, Dear Evan Hansen. He plays a lonely boy who writes letters to himself that say today is going to be a good day. The letters make him feel better about going to school.

Sunday was a really good day for Dear Evan Hansen. The show won the Tony Award for best musical, and its writers -- Benj Pasek, Justin Paul and Steven Levenson -- all won Tony Awards.

Winner thanks her grandmother

So did actress Rachel Bay Jones, who plays Evan Hansens mother. In her speech, Jones thanked her Nana for selling her engagement ring. That helped Jones pay for her move to New York to follow her dream of becoming an actress.

A Nana is a common nickname for a grandmother.

Musicals are an American invention. They tell stories through many art forms: spoken words, song, acting and dance. Music can add an important emotional element, making an interesting story even more powerful.

Platt, now 23, said he dreamed of singing in a Broadway musical since he was six years old. As a young boy, Platt said he performed in musicals with other family members in his familys backyard in California.

Its where I found everything I've ever loved and where I belong, and Ive dreamed every day since of being on this stage and being part of this community of artists.

No stopping Bette Midler

Hello Dolly won the award for best revival of a musical. Its star, Bette Midler, 71, won the Tony for best actress in a musical. She gave a long speech and thanked many people for her success.

People cheered when she continued her speech even after the orchestra began playing music. The music signals to a speaker that their time is up.

Hello Dolly tells the story of Dolly Levi, who tries to find a wife for the unmarried businessman, Horace Vandergelder.

This thing (musical) has the ability to lift your spirits in these terrible, terrible times, Midler said.

More Tony winners

Also winning a big Tony honor Sunday was Oslo, a play about the 1993 Middle East peace agreement. It won the award for best new play.

The musical Come From Away won three Tony Awards, among them the award for best director of a musical, Christopher Ashley.

Come From Away is set in Gander, Newfoundland. The small town became the temporary home for nearly 7,000 people after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

In the days after the attacks, the United States closed its air space. International flights heading to the United States landed in Newfoundland and other Canadian airports instead.

Ashley thanked the people of Newfoundland as he accepted his award. He said they were generous and kind at the very worst moments.

I'm Bruce Alpert.

Bruce Alpert reported on this story for VOA Learning English, based, in part, on reports by The Associated Press. Ashley Thompson was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and share your views on our Facebook Page. Have you ever seen a play or a musical? If so, did you like it?

___________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

character - n. a person who appears in a story, book, play, movie, or television show

engagement ring - n. a ring given someone when he or she is being asked to get married

backyard - n. an area in back of a house

stage - n. a raised platform in a theater, auditorium, etc., where the performers stand

revival - n. a production of a show that was performed at an earlier time

orchestra - n. a group of musicians who play usually classical music together and who are led by a conductor

generous - adj. showing kindness and concern for others
The Alpha Litebook is a cheap laptop with a full HD 14 inch display, at least 4GB of RAM and a Linux-based operating system called Elementary OS. The team behind the laptop launched the Litebook in March.

Now theyre back with two new computers. The Alpha Centurion is a higher-power laptop with a 15.6 inch display, an Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM, and a starting price of $429.

Alphas new Litebox is a tiny desktop computer with a starting price of $249. Both ship with Elementary OS.

The $249 version of the Litebox packs an Intel Celeron processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 500GB hard drive. It has an aluminum case, HDMI and DisplayPort, and three USB 3.0 ports.

Theres also a $449 model with a Core i5 chip, 8GB of RAM, and a 1TB hard drive.

Alphas Centurion laptop is a bit larger than the notebooks I usually cover, but its noteworthy as one of a relatively small number of 15.6 inch laptops that ships with Linux.

An entry-level model features a 1TB hard drive. But you can also pay $529 for a model with a 120GB solid state drive and 1TB hard drive or $549 for a version with a 480GB SSD.

Like the Alpha Litebook, both of the Alpha Centurion and Alpha Litebox seem to be based on white box Chinese designs and the company hasnt done a stellar job of touching up some of the stock photos to remove branding.

But the value-added proposition here isnt original design. Its the fact that you can buy a relatively inexpensive computer that comes with Linux instead of Windows.

via Alpha Store
A patient receives stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) to treat lung cancer. Credit: American Society for Radiation Oncology/Adam Donohue

The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) issued a new clinical guideline for the use of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in early-stage lung cancer today. While SBRT is the current standard of care for peripherally located tumors in patients who cannot undergo surgery, the new guideline addresses the appropriateness of SBRT for medically inoperable patients with high-risk clinical scenarios requiring curative focused therapy. The guideline also reviews the role of SBRT for centrally located tumors because of their unique risks compared to peripheral tumors. The guideline is available as a free access article in Practical Radiation Oncology, ASTRO's clinical practice journal.

SBRT is an advanced type of external beam radiation therapy that uses sophisticated planning techniques to deliver an extremely high dose of radiation very precisely to a tumor. This high degree of precision makes SBRT notably effective at sparing healthy tissues surrounding the tumor, which is particularly important with lung tumors. For patients who are not fit enough for early-stage lung cancer surgery, SBRT presents a viable option for curative-intent treatment since it provides excellent outcomes with low toxicity. Compared to conventional external beam radiation therapy, which is delivered over several weeks, SBRT is typically administered in five or fewer treatment sessions, or fractions.

Drawing on data from retrospective and prospective studies and the available randomized clinical trials, the guideline provides evidence-based recommendations regarding the appropriate use of SBRT for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The principal goal of the guideline was to address SBRT for patients unable to tolerate surgery who require customization of SBRT in high-risk clinical scenarios, such as for salvage therapy after previous surgery or radiation therapy, for tumors invading the chest wall or for very large tumors. The guideline also details principles of SBRT directed toward centrally located lung tumors, since treating these tumors carries unique and significant risks when compared to treatment directed at peripherally located tumors. Additionally, although the focus of the guideline was the inoperable patient, the appropriateness of SBRT in the operable patient also was addressed, since it is an area of debate and controversy.

The guideline first addresses the appropriateness of SBRT as an alternative to surgery for different subsets of medically operable patients with early-stage NSCLC (e.g., T1-2, N0). Recommendations differ for patients at "high" versus "standard" risk for surgery-related mortality and are as follows:

Standard risk : For stage I NSCLC patients with anticipated risk of operative mortality of less than 1.5 percent, SBRT is not recommended as an alternative to surgery outside of clinical trial settings. The recommended treatment for these patients remains lobectomy with systematic mediastinal lymph node evaluation.

: For stage I NSCLC patients with anticipated risk of operative mortality of less than 1.5 percent, SBRT is not recommended as an alternative to surgery outside of clinical trial settings. The recommended treatment for these patients remains lobectomy with systematic mediastinal lymph node evaluation. High risk : For stage I NSCLC patients at greater risk of surgical morbidity or mortality or those who cannot tolerate a lobectomy but are candidates for sublobar resection, discussions about SBRT as an alternative to surgery are endorsed. Providers should inform patients that while short-term, treatment-related risks may be lower with SBRT, long-term outcomes (meaning longer than 3 years) are not yet well-established in the literature.

: For stage I NSCLC patients at greater risk of surgical morbidity or mortality or those who cannot tolerate a lobectomy but are candidates for sublobar resection, discussions about SBRT as an alternative to surgery are endorsed. Providers should inform patients that while short-term, treatment-related risks may be lower with SBRT, long-term outcomes (meaning longer than 3 years) are not yet well-established in the literature. A thoracic surgeon should evaluate any potentially medically operable early-stage NSCLC patient considering SBRT, preferably in a multidisciplinary setting, to reduce potential specialty bias.

For medically inoperable patients, recommendations vary based on tumor location, size and type, as well as treatment history. Guidelines are as follows:

Centrally located tumor s: SBRT for central lung tumors is appropriate, but the associated risks of toxicity are dependent on the total dose and fractionation schedule; SBRT therefore should be delivered usually in four or five fractions as a function of the total dose. In addition to the fractionation chosen, appropriate consideration should be given to the use of stereotactic treatment for centrally located lung tumors close to or involving specific critical structures, such as the airways, heart and esophagus, given the risk for rare but potentially severe adverse events following high-dose treatment in their vicinity. Patients should be informed about alternative regimens using a higher number of lower-dose fractions, as deemed appropriate by the clinical presentation.

s: SBRT for central lung tumors is appropriate, but the associated risks of toxicity are dependent on the total dose and fractionation schedule; SBRT therefore should be delivered usually in four or five fractions as a function of the total dose. In addition to the fractionation chosen, appropriate consideration should be given to the use of stereotactic treatment for centrally located lung tumors close to or involving specific critical structures, such as the airways, heart and esophagus, given the risk for rare but potentially severe adverse events following high-dose treatment in their vicinity. Patients should be informed about alternative regimens using a higher number of lower-dose fractions, as deemed appropriate by the clinical presentation. Large tumors : SBRT is conditionally recommended for tumors larger than five centimeters that are not suitable for surgical resection, although patients should be counseled about the subsequent risk of locoregional and distant failure.

: SBRT is conditionally recommended for tumors larger than five centimeters that are not suitable for surgical resection, although patients should be counseled about the subsequent risk of locoregional and distant failure. Non-biopsied patients : While biopsy should be used whenever possible to confirm malignancy of the tumor, SBRT can be considered for patients who are unable or unwilling to undergo biopsy but have appropriate imaging studies supporting a cancer diagnosis. These cases should be discussed at a multidisciplinary tumor board prior to treatment.

: While biopsy should be used whenever possible to confirm malignancy of the tumor, SBRT can be considered for patients who are unable or unwilling to undergo biopsy but have appropriate imaging studies supporting a cancer diagnosis. These cases should be discussed at a multidisciplinary tumor board prior to treatment. Multiple primary lung cancers (MPLCs)/pneumonectomy patients: Patients with a history of previously resected lung cancers, either singly or multiply, and/or who received a pneumonectomy (which is the surgical removal of a whole lung) for prior lung cancer, and now have a new primary tumor in their remaining lung (or lungs) may be considered for SBRT as a curative-intent treatment option, although lung toxicity rates from SBRT may be higher as a function of the amount of remaining lung tissue.

For the medically inoperable patient, the guideline also outlines how SBRT techniques should be tailored for high-risk scenarios where the tumor abuts critical structures, so that appropriate tumor control can be achieved while minimizing risk to these same structures. Guidelines are as follows:

Tumors located near mediastinal structures : For tumors that touch the trachea or proximal bronchial tree, or for tumors near the heart and pericardium, SBRT should be delivered in treatment schedules using four or five fractions. For tumors near the esophagus, similar treatment schedules are suggested although data are more limited, and physicians are encouraged to minimize radiation dose to the esophagus with highly conformal techniques. Patients should be counseled on potentially life-threatening toxicities that have been reported in these scenarios.

: For tumors that touch the trachea or proximal bronchial tree, or for tumors near the heart and pericardium, SBRT should be delivered in treatment schedules using four or five fractions. For tumors near the esophagus, similar treatment schedules are suggested although data are more limited, and physicians are encouraged to minimize radiation dose to the esophagus with highly conformal techniques. Patients should be counseled on potentially life-threatening toxicities that have been reported in these scenarios. Tumors touching or invading the chest wall: For early-stage tumors that touch the chest wall, SBRT is an appropriate treatment option, though patients should be counseled on the risk of grade 1-2 chest wall toxicity. For tumors invading the chest wall (cT3), SBRT is endorsed, since it appears effective without undue increased rates of chest wall toxicity.

Finally, the guideline considers the role of SBRT as salvage therapy for medically inoperable patients with recurrent early-stage disease. Recommendations vary based on treatment history and are as follows:

Previous conventional radiation therapy : SBRT is conditionally recommended for carefully selected patients, based on limited evidence demonstrating good local control with an acceptable toxicity profile. Patients, however, should be counseled on potentially significant, including fatal, side effects, and the risk of regional and distant failure.

: SBRT is conditionally recommended for carefully selected patients, based on limited evidence demonstrating good local control with an acceptable toxicity profile. Patients, however, should be counseled on potentially significant, including fatal, side effects, and the risk of regional and distant failure. Previous SBRT : Repeat SBRT may be feasible in a highly selected patient population and is a highly individualized decision. Very limited data exist for this subset of patients. Radiation oncologists should carefully assess evidence-based patient, tumor and treatment factors before initiating treatment, as toxicity implications of repeat SBRT are important.

: Repeat SBRT may be feasible in a highly selected patient population and is a highly individualized decision. Very limited data exist for this subset of patients. Radiation oncologists should carefully assess evidence-based patient, tumor and treatment factors before initiating treatment, as toxicity implications of repeat SBRT are important. Previous sublobar/limited resection: As with repeat SBRT in other disease scenarios, limited data exist on the use of SBRT following limited surgical resections; SBRT may be feasible, but treating physicians should carefully weigh patient and disease characteristics on an individual basis.

"With longer life expectancies and more sophisticated diagnostic tools, we have seen a rise in the incidence of early-stage lung cancer, including among patients who are not able to undergo surgery or choose not to do so. SBRT provides an option for these patients, who otherwise may not have received curative, definitive treatment," said Gregory M. M. Videtic, MD, co-chair of the task force that authored the guideline and a radiation oncologist at the Cleveland Clinic. "Increasing access to this potentially life-saving treatment is essential to improve outcomes for the growing population of early-stage NSCLC patients."

"NSCLC is a complex disease, with a great deal of heterogeneity among patients. This guideline reinforces SBRT as the standard of care for medically inoperable patients, but it also examines the safety and efficacy of SBRT in less traditional clinical scenarios, such as patients with larger tumors or recurrent patients with early-stage disease," said Megan E. Daly, MD, also co-chair of the task force and a radiation oncologist at the University of California, Davis in Sacramento, California.

The guideline was based on a systematic literature review of studies published from January 1995 through August 2016. A total of 402 abstracts were retrieved from PubMed, and the 172 articles that met inclusion criteria were evaluated by an 18-member task force of experts in lung cancer, including radiation oncologists, surgeons and a patient representative. The Clinical Practice Statement was approved by ASTRO's Board of Directors following a period of public comment. The guideline has been endorsed by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), the European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO) and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR).

More information: Gregory M.M. Videtic et al, Stereotactic body radiation therapy for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer: Executive Summary of an ASTRO Evidence-Based Guideline, Practical Radiation Oncology (2017). Journal information: Practical Radiation Oncology Gregory M.M. Videtic et al, Stereotactic body radiation therapy for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer: Executive Summary of an ASTRO Evidence-Based Guideline,(2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.prro.2017.04.014
The image attempts to illustrate something that cannot be imaged -- a universe of multi-dimensional structures and spaces. On the left is a digital copy of a part of the neocortex, the most evolved part of the brain. On the right are shapes of different sizes and geometries in an attempt to represent structures ranging from 1 dimension to 7 dimensions and beyond. The "black-hole" in the middle is used to symbolize a complex of multi-dimensional spaces, or cavities. Researchers at Blue Brain Project report groups of neurons bound into such cavities provide the missing link between neural structure and function, in their new study published in Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience. Credit: Blue Brain Project

For most people, it is a stretch of the imagination to understand the world in four dimensions but a new study has discovered structures in the brain with up to eleven dimensions - ground-breaking work that is beginning to reveal the brain's deepest architectural secrets.

Using algebraic topology in a way that it has never been used before in neuroscience, a team from the Blue Brain Project has uncovered a universe of multi-dimensional geometrical structures and spaces within the networks of the brain.

The research, published today in Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience, shows that these structures arise when a group of neurons forms a clique: each neuron connects to every other neuron in the group in a very specific way that generates a precise geometric object. The more neurons there are in a clique, the higher the dimension of the geometric object.

"We found a world that we had never imagined," says neuroscientist Henry Markram, director of Blue Brain Project and professor at the EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland, "there are tens of millions of these objects even in a small speck of the brain, up through seven dimensions. In some networks, we even found structures with up to eleven dimensions."

Markram suggests this may explain why it has been so hard to understand the brain. "The mathematics usually applied to study networks cannot detect the high-dimensional structures and spaces that we now see clearly."

If 4D worlds stretch our imagination, worlds with 5, 6 or more dimensions are too complex for most of us to comprehend. This is where algebraic topology comes in: a branch of mathematics that can describe systems with any number of dimensions. The mathematicians who brought algebraic topology to the study of brain networks in the Blue Brain Project were Kathryn Hess from EPFL and Ran Levi from Aberdeen University.

"Algebraic topology is like a telescope and microscope at the same time. It can zoom into networks to find hidden structures - the trees in the forest - and see the empty spaces - the clearings - all at the same time," explains Hess.

In 2015, Blue Brain published the first digital copy of a piece of the neocortex - the most evolved part of the brain and the seat of our sensations, actions, and consciousness. In this latest research, using algebraic topology, multiple tests were performed on the virtual brain tissue to show that the multi-dimensional brain structures discovered could never be produced by chance. Experiments were then performed on real brain tissue in the Blue Brain's wet lab in Lausanne confirming that the earlier discoveries in the virtual tissue are biologically relevant and also suggesting that the brain constantly rewires during development to build a network with as many high-dimensional structures as possible.

When the researchers presented the virtual brain tissue with a stimulus, cliques of progressively higher dimensions assembled momentarily to enclose high-dimensional holes, that the researchers refer to as cavities. "The appearance of high-dimensional cavities when the brain is processing information means that the neurons in the network react to stimuli in an extremely organized manner," says Levi. "It is as if the brain reacts to a stimulus by building then razing a tower of multi-dimensional blocks, starting with rods (1D), then planks (2D), then cubes (3D), and then more complex geometries with 4D, 5D, etc. The progression of activity through the brain resembles a multi-dimensional sandcastle that materializes out of the sand and then disintegrates."

The big question these researchers are asking now is whether the intricacy of tasks we can perform depends on the complexity of the multi-dimensional "sandcastles" the brain can build. Neuroscience has also been struggling to find where the brain stores its memories. "They may be 'hiding' in high-dimensional cavities," Markram speculates.

More information: Cliques of Neurons Bound into Cavities Provide a Missing Link between Structure and Function Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience (2017). Cliques of Neurons Bound into Cavities Provide a Missing Link between Structure and Function(2017). DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2017.00048
Men and women who were once mobile, busy and hard-working often find themselves contained by the physical limitations of their aging bodies, a consequence of growing old.

But for some, an old problem returns again as they wind up facing down an opponent they hadn't contemplated in years: the bully.

"This is like bullying occurring in your own home," said Donna Goodridge, a professor in the Department of Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan's College of Medicine. "And you may not have any kind of supports because there are (minimal) supports offered in the apartment itself."

Which means there's almost nowhere to hide.

The research being done in Saskatoon is revealing that incidences of peer-to-peer bullying in seniors' communities is prevalent. Bullies are making fun of weight, clothing and appearances, and even mocking the use of physical aides like walking sticks, in the unavoidable common areas in the residences.

In her study, Goodridge and her team found that 39 per cent of respondents admitted to having seen a peer bullied within the past year, with nearly a third confirming that they were personally bullied. And those seniors who had been bullied were self-reporting the same health and mental-health symptoms that their youth counterparts were, with responses ranging from added stress and a sense of embarrassment, to a loss of sleep and sense of worry.

The difference, Goodridge explained, is that there are well-established programs to help try to curb youth bullying and, in a lot of cases, a bullied youth is more physically able to extricate themselves from the situation because they're more mobile. For bullied seniors, they often have no way of avoiding their tormentors because they either have nowhere to go, or don't have the mobility to leave.

And with a number of seniors fearful to leave their own homes, they start to become susceptible to perceived loneliness or, more worryingly, social isolation.

"Their home is (a) haven," Goodridge continued. "When they're not able to get to their doctors' appointments because they're worried that they might be bullied, they become scared to come out of their apartments and become socially isolated. And social isolation causes all kinds of problems, like premature institutionalization, because they can't support themselves."

It's an issue that Goodridge expects will only get worse, as Canada's senior population continues to grow. That increase in the number of seniors who will move into retirement complexes could lead to more bullying as residents who may never have had to live in an apartment-style community are forced to adapt to new social standards.

"The number of seniors is going to continue to increase hugely in the coming years," she stressed. "This is something that we need to take a really proactive approach to and create those respectful environments where people do feel safe."

Outside of designing retirement communities with an understanding that this is an issue, Goodridge recommends we adapt the anti-bullying strategies that are well established for Canadian youth. Visual reminders, like campaign posters and flyers, encourage respectful environments by stressing that bullying is not acceptable and bring the issue front-and-centre. Creating community rules and standards that broadly define what behaviour is considered to be bullying can also have an immediate impact.

Several retirement communities in Manitoba have taken steps to encourage mindfulness and self-care by hosting workshops that help residents deal with issues that they do not always have control over. Goodridge and the Saskatoon Council on Aging are currently working with Youville Centre in Winnipeg to develop a common strategy that combines a focus on creating respectful environments, along with developing a mindful approach to living.

"Engaging seniors, hearing about what other things they want to do, is really critical," Goodridge said. "Because as outsiders we can come in and say, 'This is the answer to your problem.' But we really need to hear it from (them)."
Transmission electron microscope image of negative-stained, Fortaleza-strain Zika virus (red), isolated from a microcephaly case in Brazil. The virus is associated with cellular membranes in the center. Credit: NIAID

Florida researchers have developed a new device for detecting the Zika virus quickly and cheaply - although it might take years for it to come to market.

Called the "Diagnoskeeter," the portable, low-cost testing kit processes samples in 30 minutes and is "meant to (test for) all the families of the Zika virus," said co-creator Ozlem Yaren, of the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution in Alachua.

Current diagnostic tests for Zika take weeks to process, and the new device is "an important step forward," said Sapna Deo, associate professor and graduate program director in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Miami.

"Having these point-of-care devices will be really useful to get quick results because you wouldn't want to wait six to eight weeks to know if you have an infection," she said.

The Diagnoskeeter must get the Food and Drug Administration's approval before it's made available to the public. This could take years, said co-creator Steven Benner.

Once the Diagnoskeeter hits commercial shelves, it will cost between $2 and $5, Yaren and Benner said. Although users will need a new tube to test each biological sample, the device itself is reusable.

Yaren and Benner worked with international researchers and University of Florida entomologist Barry Alto on the project. Their findings were published in the journal BMC Infectious Diseases.

The test screens human urine and plasma, as well as crushed mosquitoes, for the viruses. Researchers say their device is also portable and simple to use.

"It could be (used) in (a) small infirmary or an airport, places that they don't have a complex instrumentation system," Yaren said.

The team eventually plans to provide the device free of charge to public health agencies. Benner hopes private citizens will be able to purchase kits through direct online marketing and retailers like The Home Depot.

Researchers have tested the Diagnoskeeter in the United States, China, India and Saudi Arabia and are in talks with the Brazilian government to deploy the device there.

Yaren hopes it will help public health authorities quickly identify and respond to Zika outbreaks through controlling mosquito populations. She says the device is "not just about detection, but it's also (about) prevention."

"I'm very lucky to have a project that comes to me that I have always wanted to do," Yaren said, noting her desire to bring "a cheaper version of things" to an "expensive" U.S. health care market.

The Zika virus drew international attention in May 2015, when Brazilian authorities confirmed its spread to the Americas.

Soon after, it arrived in the continental U.S. via travelers and by mid-year last year, it started to spread among local mosquitoes in the Miami-Dade area, the start of several months of local transmission.

Typically spread by infected Aedes mosquitoes, the Zika virus is also circulated through sexual activity and from pregnant women to their fetuses.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 80 percent of people infected with Zika display no symptoms of the disease. Others may experience headaches, fever, muscle and joint pain, rash and conjunctivitis, the center says. Extreme cases may cause neurological problems, according to the World Health Organization.

No Zika advisories are in effect for Florida counties. However, the Florida Department of Health has recorded 190 diagnosed cases in 2017. Benner predicts the state will continue seeing cases of Zika and similar tropical illnesses as tourists and residents arrive from infected areas.

"Zika is just the latest of these infectious agents to have shown up in Florida," he said. "It won't be the last."

2017 The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Fla.)

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
New York, June 12(Just Earth News): As refugees fleeing violence and communal tensions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo continue to arrive in neighbouring Angola, the United Nations refugee agency has appealed for more resources to cope with the influx and to provide those coming with the support they urgently need.

According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), some 30,000 people have arrived in Angola's Lunda Norte province since April and there are fears that the number could reach 50,000, with about 300-500 people arriving daily.

Angola is providing a warm welcome, but reception centres accommodating refugees, are full beyond their capacity and basic services cannot be maintained without immediate donor support, said Valentin Tapsoba, the UNHCR's Africa Bureau Director, in a news release today.

He added that the refugees are traumatized and humanitarian agencies require urgent support to ensure that life-saving assistance and protection can be provided to those in need.

The arrivals have mostly been from the Kasai provinces in the DRC, where they were at risk of serious human rights violations and abuses, including physical mutilation, killing, sexual violence, arbitrary arrest and detention in inhumane conditions.

The Kasais were the location of the discovery of some 42 mass graves, in April by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The discoveries further underscored the gravity of the situation.

About 1.3 million people remain displaced internally in the DRC.

Those reaching Angola also expressed fear returning back unless the situation allows for safe and dignified return, noted UNHCR in the release.

Sustaining life-saving assistance not possible without more funding  UNHCR

In the news release, the UN refugee agency also said that Angola, a signatory to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, has historically hosted refugees from its neighbours  including DRC.

Prior to the recent influx, the country housed some 15,600 refugees  including more than 13,400 from the DRC.

However, with arrivals increasing and apprehensions that the situation could get much worse additional funding is urgently needed.

Sustaining life-saving assistance won't be possible without more funding, said UNHCR, noting that together with its partners, some $65 million are required  of which the UN agency needs $35 million (until the end of the year) to reach refugees in remote parts of Angola, who are the most vulnerable.

Current humanitarian efforts are supported with $10 million by the UN Central Emergency Fund, a limited pool of financial resources that provides funding to critical, life-saving humanitarian rapid response and underfunded operations around the globe.

Photo: UNHCR/Pumla Rulashe

Source: www.justearthnews.com
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

An international team of researchers has found, for the first time, seven risk genes for insomnia. With this finding the researchers have taken an important step towards the unravelling of the biological mechanisms that cause insomnia. In addition, the finding proves that insomnia is not, as is often claimed, a purely psychological condition. Today, Nature Genetics publishes the results of this research.

Insomnia is probably the most common health complaint. Even after treatment, poor sleep remains a persistent vulnerability for many people. By having determined the risk genes, professors Danielle Posthuma (VU and VUmc) and Eus Van Someren (Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, VU and VUmc), the lead researchers of this international project, have come closer to unravelling the biological mechanisms that cause the predisposition for insomnia.

Hope and recognition for insomniacs

Professor Van Someren, specialized in sleep and insomnia, believes that the findings are the start of a path towards an understanding of insomnia at the level of communication within and between neurons, and thus towards finding new ways of treatment.

He also hopes that the findings will help with the recognition of insomnia. "As compared to the severity, prevalence and risks of insomnia, only few studies targeted its causes. Insomnia is all too often dismissed as being 'all in your head'. Our research brings a new perspective. Insomnia is also in the genes."

In a sample of 113,006 individuals, the researchers found 7 genes for insomnia. These genes play a role in the regulation of transcription, the process where DNA is read in order to make an RNA copy of it, and exocytosis, the release of molecules by cells in order to communicate with their environment. One of the identified genes, MEIS1, has previously been related to two other sleep disorders: Periodic Limb Movements of Sleep (PLMS) and Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS). By collaborating with Konrad Oexle and colleagues from the Institute of Neurogenomics at the Helmholtz Zentrum, Munchen, Germany, the researchers could conclude that the genetic variants in the gene seem to contribute to all three disorders. Strikingly, PLMS and RLS are characterized by restless movement and sensation, respectively, whereas insomnia is characterized mainly by a restless stream of consciousness.

Genetic overlap with other characteristics

The researchers also found a strong genetic overlap with other traits, such as anxiety disorders, depression and neuroticism, and low subjective wellbeing. "This is an interesting finding, because these characteristics tend to go hand in hand with insomnia. We now know that this is partly due to the shared genetic basis", says neuroscientist Anke Hammerschlag (VU), PhD student and first author of the study.

Different genes for men and women

The researchers also studied whether the same genetic variants were important for men and women. "Part of the genetic variants turned out to be different. This suggests that, for some part, different biological mechanisms may lead to insomnia in men and women", says professor Posthuma. "We also found a difference between men and women in terms of prevalence: in the sample we studied, including mainly people older than fifty years, 33% of the women reported to suffer from insomnia. For men this was 24%."

The risk genes could be tracked down in cohorts with the DNA and diagnoses of many thousands of people. The UK Biobank - a large cohort from England that has DNA available - did not have information as such about the diagnosis of insomnia, but they had asked their participants whether they found it difficult to fall asleep or to have an uninterrupted sleep. By making good use of information from slaapregister.nl (the Dutch Sleep Registry), the UK Biobank was able, for the first time, to determine which of them met the insomnia profile. Linking the knowledge from these two cohorts is what made the difference.

More information: Genome-wide association analysis of insomnia complaints identifies risk genes and genetic overlap with psychiatric and metabolic traits Nature Genetics (2017). Journal information: Nature Genetics Genome-wide association analysis of insomnia complaints identifies risk genes and genetic overlap with psychiatric and metabolic traits(2017). DOI: 10.1038/ng.3888
A researcher examines a Pipistrellus hesperidus, or Dusky Pipistrelle bat, collected in Uganda. Credit: Kirsten Gilardi, UC Davis

Results of a five-year study in 20 countries on three continents have found that bats harbor a large diversity of coronaviruses (CoV), the family of viruses that cause Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS). Findings from the studyled by scientists in the USAID-funded PREDICT project at the Center for Infection and Immunity (CII) at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and the University of California, Davis' One Health Institute in the School of Veterinary Medicineare published in the journal Virus Evolution. PREDICT is a globally coordinated effort to detect and discover viruses of pandemic potential and reduce risk for future epidemics.

With the cooperation of local governments, researchers sampled and tested 19,192 bats, rodents, non-human primates, and humans in areas where the risk of animal-to-human transmission is greatest, including sites of deforestation, ecotourism, and animal sanctuaries. The researchers identified 100 different CoVs and found that more than 98 percent of the animals harboring these viruses were bats, representing 282 bat species from 12 taxonomic families. Extrapolating to all 1,200 bat species, they estimate a total of 3,204 CoV are carried by bats worldwide, most of which have yet to be detected and described. They also found that CoV diversity correlated with bat diversity with high numbers of CoVs concentrated in areas where there are the most bat species, suggesting CoVs coevolved with or adapted to preferred families of bats.

"This study fills in a huge gap in what we know about the diversity of coronaviruses in animal hosts," says first author Simon Anthony, assistant professor of Epidemiology in CII. "Charting the geographic and genetic diversity of coronaviruses in animals is a critical first step towards understanding and anticipating which specific viruses could pose a threat to human health."

The First Step to Identifying Suspect Viruses

The researchers used consensus PCR, a cost-effective technique that targets a small section of the viral genomesufficient to locate the position of each virus in the family tree of all CoVs. To go a step further, researchers are using more powerful genome-wide sequencing to take a detailed look at those viruses that resemble known threats to humans. In a study published in April, they reported that a MERS CoV-like virus did not have the genetic prerequisites to jump to humansa sign that MERS-CoV had evolved to become more capable of transmission. A similar effort is now underway to sequence viruses similar to SARS-CoV.

Regional Variation in Risk of Virus "Jumping" Outside Its Genus

Researchers report preliminary evidence that CoVs in bats in Latin America were less likely than CoVs in Africa and Asia to "jump" outside their genus or family, potentially a sign of relatively lower risk of bat-to-human transmission on that continent. However, the authors caution that these regional differences may reflect variation in the ecology of bats in the various areas, and more work needs to be done to understand this.

Bats Play an Important Role

The researchers say their findings should not be interpreted as a call to cull bats. Bats play an important role in the ecosystem, and most of the coronaviruses they carry are harmless to humans. Additionally, culling may have unintended consequences: destabilizing host ecology can actually increase risk for disease transmission, as seen in studies of Marburg and rabies viruses.

"Our goal is to shed light on the ecology of virus-host interactions to better understand and address the conditions that give rise to outbreaks like SARS and MERS," says senior author Tracey Goldstein, associate professor at the One Health Institute at the University of California, Davis.
Larkmead School. Credit: CC-BY-SA-2.5,2.0,1.0

Parents of prematurely born babies often fear their children may go on to struggle in school, but findings from a new large-scale study from the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University and Northwestern Medicine should reassure parents.

The large-scale study found that two-thirds of babies born at only 23 or 24 weeks were ready for kindergarten on time. Unexpectedly, nearly two percent of them even achieved gifted status in school. While these extremely premature babies often scored low on standardized tests, preterm infants born 25 weeks or later performed only slightly lower than full-term infants. In fact, as the length of pregnancy increased after 28 weeks, the differences in test scores were negligible.

The study will be published June 12 in JAMA Pediatrics.

"What excites me about this study is that it changes the focus for the clinician and families at the bedside from just focusing on the medical outcomes of the child to what the future educational outcomes might be for a child born early," said first author Dr. Craig Garfield, associate professor of pediatrics and of medical social sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

The longitudinal study analyzed more than 1.3 million babies born in Florida from 1992 to 2002 with gestational ages of 23 to 41 weeks who later entered Florida public schools between 1995 and 2012. The scientists matched the babies' vital statistic records with their Florida public school records to examine the association between being born early and educational performance.

"Many studies look at premature babies but very few of them look at their educational outcomes into middle school in such a large population," said Garfield, who also is an attending pediatrician at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. "What's special about this study is it speaks to the importance of administrative data sets and the ability to combine different data sets in ways that allow us to ask questions and get answers about how our children are doing in the long-run."

"While some people might be troubled that very premature infants tend to score well below their full-term peers on standardized tests, I believe that the glass is more than half-full," said senior author David Figlio, director of the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University. "Most infants born at 23 to 24 weeks still demonstrate a high degree of cognitive functioning at the start of kindergarten and throughout school."

While this study's data is strong, it does not account for some of these infants' medical issues related to preterm birth or provide information about why these children performed well in school, such as their biological make-up or if they received extra support from family or schools, Garfield said. Nevertheless, most babies born prematurely ended up performing reasonably well on standardized tests through middle school.

"Our future work in this area will focus on what parents and service providers can do to help future premature children to achieve their full potential," Garfield said.
Alemtuzumab is a highly effective drug for multiple sclerosis, approved in more than 60 countries and used by more than 12,000 patients worldwide. However, there is an almost 50 per cent risk of secondary autoimmune diseases, some of which are life-threatening, such as platelet and kidney diseases.

Although knowledge about these adverse effects was included in conference presentations and licensing submissions to European and US regulators, critical data to explain secondary autoimmune disease had not been scrutinised and published following peer review.

Through a Freedom of Information request to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) researchers from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) gained access to the phase III trial datasets of Alemtuzumab.

Their analysis and interpretation, results of which are published in JAMA Neurology, provides new insights into the drastic responses of the immune system in people with MS taking Alemtuzumab.

The researchers discovered a massive and rapid re-population of a subset of B cells in the absence of effective T cell regulation, which they say helps create an environment for secondary autoimmune disease. This also allows a marked anti-drug response that can become problematic in some people taking the drug.

According to the researchers, controlling this B cell subset "overshoot" after Alemtuzumab administration until T cell regulation recovers, may limit the risk of secondary autoimmune disease and make it an even better medicine.

Additionally, whilst they saw a long term suppression of T cells believed by many to be the cause of the problem. They also saw loss of memory B cells, which they say offers a new explanation on why Alemtuzumab is effective in people with MS. Indeed it may provide insight of how all other drugs work in MS and ties aspects of the potential cause and treatments together.

Lead author Dr Klaus Schmierer from QMUL said: "We were very surprised to find such important information on B cell dynamics were only partially described and remained unpublished, even though they were observed and analysed several years ago following the pivotal phase III trials.

"Interrogating the original data from a different perspective opened our minds to alternative explanations. This made us discard the science dogma that we think is leading people to look in the wrong place for solutions.

"This new information will help contribute to the effective management of people with MS, firstly during the decision process about disease modifying treatment, and secondly in people who have been treated with Alemtuzumab, to ensure the risks associated with dangerous side effects are minimised.

"There remain some unanswered questions, based on what we saw. This shows us why it is important for total transparency and total access to all anonymous trial data.

"Whilst we appreciate release of data is part of the drug-marketing process, it is in the public interest that all information collected is made unconditionally available, within a reasonable time frame."
The Egyptian government has demanded access to Heaven, Ubers internal software for tracking its customers and drivers, The New York Times reported.

This comes after Egypt increased its monitoring of citizens in an effort to quell dissent and entrench President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, stated the report.

Uber refused Egypts demand.

According to the report, the countrys military intelligence made the same offer to Careem, another ride-hailing service.

Careem, which The New York Times reported has similar tracking software, said it was offered preferential treatment in return for access to the companys customer and driver data.

It declined the offer  but said that it may soon not have a choice.

The report said there will soon be a bill before Egypts parliament which would require services like Uber to place their servers in Egypt and provide access to their data.

Now read: Uber updates insurance policy for South African passengers
Microsoft has announced that the price of Office 365 Home will increase from R1,149.99 to R1,199 per year, effective 27 June 2017.

Microsoft said it periodically assesses its pricing to ensure reasonable alignment with the needs of customers, partners, and the marketplace.

The company added that it may make price changes in response to assessment and feedback from its customers and partners.

Your subscription will reflect the new price beginning with your next payment after 27 June, said Microsoft.

It is currently not clear what the price changes will be for other versions of Office 365.

Microsoft was asked for comment, but the company did not reply by the time of publication.

Now read: Microsoft Office bug opens a CMD window then quickly closes it
Amazon becomes world's first public company to lose $1 trillion in market value

EU's odd couple: Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel can't stand each other

US, China set first benchmarks ahead of presidents' meeting

Iranian MFA summons Azerbaijani ambassador to carpet in connection with anti-Iranian propaganda

Washington to resist any attempt by new Israeli government to annex West Bank

Biden thinks Elon Musk's relations with other countries are worthy of being looked at

Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister tells Polish senator about consequences of Azerbaijani aggression

Armenian deputy in Vilnius talks about goals of Azerbaijan's aggressive policy

Taliban bans women from gyms

U.S. to send Ukraine another $400 million in military aid

Ursula von der Leyen announces EUR 250 million support package for Moldova

Biden and Jinping meet on sidelines of G20 summit in Bali to be held on November 14

Riches of world get poorer suddenly

State Duma deputy: Interparliamentary format Yerevan-Baku-Moscow will be included soon to solve issues

IMF sees growing risk of economic fragmentation

Armen Gevorgyan to visit Strasbourg, Brussels and Paris

State Duma deputy: Upper Lars border crossing capacity has increased fivefold

UK government freezes over 18 billion pounds worth of Russian assets

State Duma deputy on Zatulin's ban on entering Armenia: These issues must be resolved

Borrell calls for retooling EU infrastructure for rapid transport of military equipment to East

European Parliament clears way for Croatia's admission to Schengen Area

European Council President Michel calls on EU member states to jointly purchase gas to reduce fuel prices

Alen Simonyan congratulates scientists on their professional holiday

Armenian President meets with leaders of several countries in Egypt

Greece accuses Turkey of profiting from the suffering of other countries under sanctions

USAID official says she personally saw how democracy, economic development are progressing in Armenia (VIDEO)

Spain court sentences civilian to prison for spreading fakes

Armenian Embassy in Russia issues statement on Azerbaijan's actions

Indian company to supply 155mm self-propelled artillery guns worth $155mln to Armenia

Japanese minister caught in scandal for talking about death penalty

France changes its ambassador to Azerbaijan

UN General Assembly draft resolution requires Russia to pay reparations to Ukraine

Belarusian State Border Committee: Poland creates tense situation on border

Joint meeting of Armenian National Assembly and Russian State Duma Committee takes place

Iranian President says attempt to destabilize country fails

Deputy: Russian side is informed about importance of withdrawal of Azerbaijani units from the territory of Armenia

State Duma deputy: We can't imagine Russia without Armenia

Georgian PM and Armenian Ambassador discuss cooperation issues

Bali is short of armored limousines for G20 summit participants

FLYONE ARMENIA to start flights between Yerevan, Dubai

Kyodo: Emperor of Japan revealed to have prostate hyperplasia

Iranian intelligence urges Saudi Arabia not to test Tehran's strategic patience

Kazakhstan intends to ship 1.5 mln tons of oil via Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline

Former Ombudsman: 2,700 ha of Kapan community of Armenia's Syunik Province are under occupation by Baku

Armenia to ratify cooperation agreement with China

Japan and the US begin major joint exercise

Armenia soldier sustains gunshot wound from Azerbaijan shooting

Armenia legislature speaker receives deputy chair of Russia State Duma Committee for CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration

PM: If anyone thinks peace agenda is peaceful annihilation of Armenia or Karabakh Armenians, they are sorely mistaken

Armenia Premier: We have 16 missing persons since September 13 military aggression by Azerbaijan

Bitcoin is trading just above $16,000

Armenias Pashinyan: Spreading of fake news by Azerbaijan becomes prelude to new aggression

Armenia PM: Azerbaijan, with its practices, reminds of Al Qaeda and Islamic State, which discredit Islam

PM: Armenia, Karabakh propose Azerbaijan to create demilitarized zone

Pashinyan: There is no Armenia army in Karabakh

All 10 fallen soldiers transferred on October 27 by Azerbaijan to Armenia are identified, buried

Pashinyan: Armenia is going to present new proposal to Azerbaijan

$25M allocated to Armenia MOD

Biden says he will discuss Ukraine conflict at G20 summit

Pashinyan: Armenia has no obligation to construct new roads

Pashinyan: Aliyev not only threatens but is already preparing genocide of Karabakh Armenians

Armenias Pashinyan: Azerbaijan president is attempting to create invented grounds for closing Lachin Corridor

Erdogan tells what relations between Turkey and Armenia depend on

Iran says it has developed first hypersonic ballistic missile

Armenias Pashinyan: Russia peacekeepers are deployed in Karabakh indefinitely

FM Lavrov to head Russia delegation at G20 summit

Erdogan: Ankara continues mediation efforts to resolve Ukrainian crisis

Armenia to get 100mn loan to fund budget deficit

IAEA head: Talks on Iran's nuclear program ended inconclusively

Armenia PM: Aliyev grossly violated tripartite written agreement of Sochi

This year 320 people seek asylum in Armenia, 213 are from Ukraine

Erdogan speaks on trusting relationship with Putin

Gold prices remain stable

Ombudsperson in Brussels, reflects on top Azerbaijan leaderships policy of Armenophobia

Indonesian authorities: Putin won't come to G20 summit in Bali

World oil prices falling

Washington demands part of Israeli Arrow 3 for sale to Germany, be produced in the U.S.

Armenia Security Council chief meets with Lithuania officials

Armenia FM heading for Paris

Egypt launches Tax Free system for foreign tourists

Washington, Brussels don't approve German plan to resume transatlantic trade talks

Newspaper: Armenias Mirzoyan makes it clear to Blinken that wording Artsakh should be included

Newspaper: Armenia parliamentary opposition decides to return to legislative body

Polar and brown bear hybrids may appear in Yakutia due to climate change

Volkswagen releases office chair with electric motor and klaxon

Israel reveals Pulcinella secret, admitting that it used drones not only for surveillance

Chinese woman makes dresses for her daughter out of trash bags

Poland and Slovakia will increase defense spending

Audi presents new crossovers Q8 e-tron

Benny Gantz: Israel has an opportunity to strike Iran's nuclear facilities

France National Assembly speaker reaffirms solidarity with Armenia, Armenians

Samvel Babayan: Russia will withdraw peacekeepers from Nagorno-Karabakh

Hungarian government sets price ceiling on eggs and potatoes

Benny Gantz: Israel does not have the production capacity to supply Ukraine with air defense systems

Germany must adopt energy-saving measures in face of skyrocketing inflation

Beglaryan: Azerbaijan continues and will continue its policy of genocide and hatred against the Armenian people

Kiev believes it is too early to talk about withdrawal of Russian troops from Kherson

Raisi: Relations between Tehran and Moscow have a bright future

Taliban virtue representative kills minor for refusing to marry

Meeting held at Ministry of Defense
The case of blogger Alexander Lapshin will soon be forwarded to the court, his wife wrote on her Facebook account.

Acquaintance with the case is completed; it will be transferred to the court a few days later, she wrote, in particular. The court process will hardly be closed, just like in the Republic of Belarus. I believe that everything is the opposite hereunder media fire. In other words, the articles [based on which Lapshin is charged] are the same: 281.2 and 318.2; nothing new happened.

After his visits to Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) in 2011 and 2012, blogger and journalist Alexander Lapshinwho is a citizen of Russia, Israel, and several other countrieswas blacklisted by Azerbaijan.

In June 2016, however, he paid a visit to Azerbaijan--but with a Ukrainian passport--and, subsequently, he published several articles criticizing the Azerbaijani authorities.

Afterward, Azerbaijan issued an international search for this famous blogger. On December 15, 2016, Lapshin was detained in the Belarusian capital city of Minsk, and based on this search.

On January 26 of the current year, the Minsk city court dismissed the blogger's appeal of the Belarusian General Prosecutor's Office decision to extradite him to Azerbaijan.

On February 7, the Supreme Court of Belarus dismissed the appeals that were filed into this case, and upheld the aforesaid decision by the General Prosecutors Office.

And on the evening of the same day, Belarus extradited Alexander Lapshin to the Azerbaijani capital city of Baku, where he was taken into custody.
YEREVAN.  Both Americans and Israel are conducting secret talks with the Kurds of Iraq and Syria, historian and turkologist Ruben Safrastyan told reporters on Monday.

In response to a comment that the State Department and Iran spoke out against establishment of a Kurdish state, the turkologist said: Yes, both the State Department, and Iran stated that they oppose this process, but as historical experience suggests, issues related to the Kurds, are in focus of interests of great powers and regional states. Here statements and real actions do not coincide in many cases.

There is evidence that both Americans and Israel are conducting secret talks with Iraqi Kurds. That is, there is a big game in the Middle East, added Ruben Safrastyan, Director of the Institute of Orientology at the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia.
STEPANAKERT.  The statements by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group Co-Chairs are aimed at preventing tension on the border.

Minsk Group Russian Co-Chair, Ambassador Igor Popov, on Monday told the abovementioned to reporters, after their talk with President of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic/NKR), Bako Sahakyan, reported ARTSAKHpress news agency.

Our statements have been targeted, whose objective is keeping the procedure of peaceful negotiations for the regulation of the conflict, added the Russian diplomat.

OSCE Minsk Group US Co-Chair, Ambassador Richard Hoagland, for his part, said the avenues for the resolution of the Karabakh conflict as well as various domains of the economy, the financial sector, and many other matters were discussed during their talk with the NKR President.
YEREVAN.  The Minister of Emergency Situations of Armenia, Davit Tonoyan, on Monday received a US delegation, led by Ambassador Richard Mills.

Tonoyan stressed the importance of regional cooperation and noted that, with US assistance, this cooperation can become closer and more effective, the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES) informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Mills, for his part, said the US and Armenia have been partners for 25 years, the US embassy in capital city Yerevan has always considered the MES a reliable partner, and that they await their future cooperation with the ministry.

The interlocutors discussed avenues for intensification and expansion of cooperation in disaster risk reduction and in emergencies.
YEREVAN.  All NATO member countries are concerned about the growth of armaments in the South Caucasus region, special representative of the NATO Secretary General in the South Caucasus and Central Asia James Appathurai told reporters in Yerevan.

According to him, this is accompanied by political tension. The two NATO allies  France and U.S.  are co-chairing states of the OSCE Minsk Group, and they are committed to a peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict, he said.

NATO's position, he continued, is quite clear: it is necessary to reduce tensions, lower the level of military operations and continue the peace process. The Alliance is closely monitoring the security situation in this region, and periodically receives updated information about this.

I must say that at present the level of concern among NATO member countries is quite high, as there have been recent clashes, more bellicose statements have been made, and there have been casualties. NATO is not directly involved in the process, and I cannot involve the Alliance in it. Our clear position is to assist the OSCE Minsk Group, Appathurai added.

NATO will undoubtedly continue to contribute to the steps taken by the two countries and co-chairs towards a peaceful settlement of the conflict.
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.
NIST Upgrades Molecular 'Fingerprints' Database

Scientists rely on the NIST Mass Spectral Library to accurately identify chemical compounds when conducting investigations and in other work.

One of the world's largest, most widely used databases of "molecular fingerprints"  a tool for identifying unknown compounds  has been enlarged. The NIST Mass Spectral Library expanded on June 6 when NIST added fingerprints from more than 25,000 compounds to the library, bringing the total number to more than 265,000. It contains fingerprints of organic compounds and is "used by scientists and engineers in virtually every industry," said Stephen Stein, the NIST chemist who oversees the Mass Spectral Library. He said the uses include diagnosing medical conditions, conducting forensic investigations, identifying environmental pollutants, and developing new fuels, "and anything having to do with food" because the taste of a food is determined by the complex mixture of organic molecules within it. "The flavor and fragrance industries live and die by this stuff."

Among the important compounds whose fingerprints are included in this upgrade are many dangerous drugs, according to NIST, including dozens of synthetic cannabinoids and more than 30 types of fentanyl, the synthetic opioid that is driving an epidemic of overdoses nationwide.

Having their fingerprints in the Mass Spectral Library will help law enforcement and public health officials fight the spread of these new and dangerous substances.

NIST, a Commerce Department agency, has released the latest version of the Mass Spectral Library, and the software needed to run it, to more than 60 distributors that bundle the data and software into mass spectrometry instruments. Owners of existing instruments can also download the latest version from distributors online.
Partnership Announced for Undersea Unmanned Vehicles

Boeing is currently testing its newest UUV, Echo Voyager, off the Southern California coast. Fully autonomous, it requires no support vessel for launch or recovery and can operate at sea for months before returning to port.

Boeing and Huntington Ingalls Industries announced June 8 they are working together on the design and production of unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs) in support of the U.S. Navy's Extra Large UUV program.

"This partnership provides the Navy a cost-effective, low-risk path to meet the emergent needs that prompted the Navy's Advanced Undersea Prototyping program," said Darryl Davis, president of Boeing Phantom Works. "We are combining Boeing's preeminent UUV maritime engineering team with our nation's leading shipbuilder and Navy technical services company to get operational vehicles to the Navy years ahead of the standard acquisition process."

Boeing's announcement said it is currently testing its newest, largest UUV, Echo Voyager, off the Southern California coast. The vehicle could include a modular payload bay of up to 34 feet and is fully autonomous, requiring no support vessel for launch or recovery and able to operate at sea for months before returning to port.

"We look forward to a long relationship with Boeing as we embark together to field this unmanned force multiplier for the Navy," said Andy Green, executive vice president of Huntington Ingalls Industries and president of the company's Technical Solutions division. "I am confident this team will continue redefining the autonomy paradigm for UUVs."
After Panneerselvam led faction of AIADMK on Sunday put an end to the prospective merger talks with the E Palaniswamy camp, the question arises, what option is the AIADMK(Amma) left with now?

Speaking to India Today, Jayakumar said that despite Panneerselvam's snub, the EPS faction is open for talks for a 'united' AIADMK.

By Akshita Nandagopal: A week after TTV Dhinakaran made it clear that he will fight for his position in AIADMK, the OPS camp disbanded its internal committee for merger talks with Edappadi K Palanisamy led faction.

Wile Edappadi has made no comments on TTV's desire to stay in the party, his finance minister Jayakumar has said that there is no place for him or his aunt Sasikala in the party.

advertisement

Speaking to India Today, Jayakumar said that despite Panneerselvam's snub, the EPS faction is open for talks for a 'united' AIADMK.

"We are in for a merger because that's what lakhs of cadres of the AIADMK want. We want a united party that can work together to carry forward Amma's legacy," the finance minister said.

WHY IS EPS FACTION SO WILLING?

Considering how TTV is cobbling up support, Edappadi will need to choose between team Sasikala and team OPS.

Talking about the tumultuous times ahead for the EPS faction, Associate Editor of the Frontline magazine RK Radhakrishnan said, "Apparent instability is the new normal in Tamil Nadu. The fact that parties like DMK haven't managed to pull away MLAs from the AIADMK is a big victory. Unless egos come into play and some MLAs decide to break rank, this drama with leaders sparring for power will continue."

For now, the EPS faction and the CM will have to choose between TTV Dhinakaran and O Panneerselvam. Either way, EPS will have to continue his fight as the party's thorny throne is still far from his grasp.

Also read: Tamil Nadu horror: Couple drop daughter at herbal hospital, find her body at doorstep on return

Also read: Why Tamil Nadu politics involving frequent AIADMK reshuffles is like a game of poker

--- ENDS ---
Hotel restaurants in Milwaukee (and beyond) appear to be on the upswing. Long seen as being overpriced and underwhelming (a boon neither to weary travelers, nor locals), theres been a positive trend as upscale hotel brands change their approach to dining.

Such is the case with venues like Stella Van Buren, the Italian steakhouse that opened June 1 on the third floor of the newly minted Westin Hotel at 550 N. Van Buren St.

"For me, Stella represents Milwaukee moving forward," notes general manager Denise Ploof. "This concept is so on-trend. In essence, the menu is comfort food, but what draws me to it is the ambiance."

That ambiance includes a light, airy atmosphere with stellar city views and comfortable seating. Its a look and feel that Jason Druso, the vice president of restaurants, describes as having a "New York City vibe."

Floor-to-ceiling windows provide swaths of light to the dining room, which seats 180 at both traditional tables and comfortable circular booths, fit for groups up to eight.

The bar seats 50 and is stocked with wine, beer, an extensive bourbon list and a nice selection of well-executed craft cocktails. Among them are the Stella Old Fashioned with Copper and Kings brandy, vanilla demerara syrup and Bittercube Cherry Bark Vanilla Bitters ($12) and the Italian Paloma with Altos silver tequila, agave and house-made rosemary grapefruit soda ($10).

The atmosphere is cozy and sleek with a multi-tiered back bar, hightop seating and plenty of fresh cocktail garnishes in plain view (always a good sign). Order cocktails like the barrel-aged boulevardier ($11) and you'll even get a hint of theater as the bartender fetches your cocktail from its fourth-shelf aging barrel with the help of a sliding library ladder.

Menu

As for the menu, its modern yet comfortable, featuring steakhouse staples like New York Strip, bone-in ribeye and skirt steak alongside Italian dishes, from classic spaghetti and meatballs to Yellowfin tuna with eggplant caponata. Virtually everything is cooked in-house, including fresh pastas (made daily), sauces and desserts.

"The concept began as a modern steakhouse," says Druso, "But we looked at the addition of Italian fare as a way to add value and really differentiate the concept."

At the helm is Chef Justin Winkler, a CIA graduate originally from Pittsburgh that chose the Milwaukee venue to be closer to his sister, who resides in Port Washington.

"Its all about simple ingredients cooked well," he says of the menu. "Its all about taking dishes that have been done a thousand times and making them fresh and new."

Among those re-imagined dishes, youll find appetizers like tender beef meatballs served in house marinara with grilled garlic ciabatta ($10).

Winklers favorite starter is fresh Belgioioso burrata spread atop crisp bread with heirloom tomatoes, white balsamic vinegar and basil ($11).

Steaks are USDA prime sourced from the Midwest. Each is cooked to order with the option to add housemade sauces including creamy horseradish, red wine jus, bearnaise or marsala peppercorn cream ($2-3). An 8-ounce filet is cooked on the restaurants Montague infrared grill, brushed with garlic butter and sprinkled with Maldon sea salt ($38).

Sides include generously portioned favorites (easily serving 2-3) like fried brussels sprouts in brown butter vinaigrette ($8) and smashed Yukon gold potatoes with rosemary and garlic ($8).

Housemade cheese ravioli is served swathed in pesto butter with toasted pine nuts and grana padano cheese ($14).

Comforting lasagna is served in generous, individually baked portions featuring layers of marinara, crumbled meatballs, Italian sausage, ricotta and mozzarella ($16).

Meanwhile, chicken parmesan isnt drowning in sauce. Rather, the crisply coated chicken is topped with smoked mozzarella and served with buttered housemade spaghetti and marinara sauce alongside ($19).

Desserts include cannoli, caramelized lemon tart and locally made gelato and sorbet. Theres also tea cup tiramisu with mascarpone mousse and chocolate covered espresso beans ($6).

Zeppoles, traditional Italian doughnut holes, are lemony and light and served with Nutella and strawberry preserves for dipping ($6).

Stella Van Buren is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Hours are 6:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. for breakfast (coffee bar is open 6-10 a.m.), 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for lunch and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. for dinner. Bar hours are 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.
Roberto Cazzolla Gatti, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at Biological Institute of the Tomsk State University (Russia). Credit: TSU

The species-area relationship (SAC) is a long-term pattern in ecology and is discussed in most academic Ecology books. Its implications are relevant for many ecological, evolutionary, conservation and biogeographic purposes. Conversely, the associated volume-species relationship has been mostly ignored. According to a new study published in the journal Plant Ecology, this relationship may play a fundamental ecological role, and it is relevant for many ecological applications such as the estimation of minimum viable populations, species ranges and protected areas. In this global-scale study, Roberto Cazzolla Gatti, Ph.D., Associate Professor at the Biological Institute of the Tomsk State University (Russia) and his Italian colleagues from the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC) in Viterbo, investigated this new perspective looking at canopy height as a proxy of ecosystem volume ("biospace"), which influences plant richness in forest ecosystems.

Some decades ago, the Italian forest ecologist Lucio Susmel developed the idea of biospace, writing that "the features of multi-aged forests are a function of the aboveground biospace, modified by plants and animals living in a physical environment." The Italian ecologist suggested that "[Biospace may be defined as a] protected space within which it is possible to play all physiological, biological and evolutionary processes of a community [...] the parameter most appropriate for assessing biospace is the volume of the system that can be measured by the average height of the dominant trees."

The difficulty of detecting a tree's height from the ground and the lack of a comprehensive global flora census has impeded the definition of a general pattern of forest ecosystem volume and species diversity. Recent technological developments such as light detection and ranging (LiDAR) allow mapping forest vertical structure globally. Together with the availability of accurate botanical data, such as the NASA Canopy Height Global Map, which is combines satellite technology with field analyses, this opens incredible opportunities in ecology. Prof. Roberto Cazzolla Gatti says, "We investigated a possible global relation between species richness and canopy height by comparing the high resolution Global Map of Canopy Height provided by NASA with the Plant Diversity Map produced by Barthlott and colleagues in 2007."

The results of this study showed that higher canopies account for more plant speciescanopies represent a third dimension fully exploitable by these species. This is because larger volumes can contain larger numbers of species, but it is not only a matter of the available space.

Gatti says, "I came across this idea working for many years in tropical, temperate and boreal forests. I wondered why higher canopies are almost always positively associated with higher levels of biodiversity. If the reason were only the climate, which is able to increase both tree height and biodiversity, we would have found within the same climatic strip around the world similar levels of diversity in forests with different canopy heights. This wasn't the case. Although climatic conditions are the same, biodiversity increases when canopies rise."

The study suggest that this positive correlation between biodiversity and canopy height is due to the increased biospace. The larger the volume of a forest ecosystem, the more layers and ecological conditions that diversify the environment, including light, humidity, food resources, water availability, climbing opportunity for lianas, presence of epiphytes, ferns and others. This also offers empirical proof to the recent hypotheses developed by Prof. Cazzolla Gatti about the emergence of new biodiversity-related niches, i.e. the idea that biodiversity begets biodiversity.

The relationship between biodiversity and canopy height is particularly evident in tropical regions. In fact, according to the latitudinal gradient theory, tropical rainforests are, on average, taller than temperate ones, and therefore offer more space for physiological, biological and evolutionary processes of the community. This feature allows species with distinct traits to coexist and begets the emergence of new niches that increase the richness of a more stratified ecosystem.

However, because both climatic and latitudinal gradients correlate with forest height and diversity, Cazzolla Gatti and colleagues disentangled their hypothesis of a pure canopy height-diversity relation by analysing it within different macroclimate zones according to the Koppen-Geiger climate classification. This classification reflects a latitudinal zonation and removes the climatic influence from the canopy height-diversity relationship. However, the relationship was observed in each of the three main climate zones and this confirmed that canopy height influences species diversity irrespective of other factors such as precipitation and temperature (i.e. climate).

Roberto Cazzolla Gatti says, "The relation between canopy height and biodiversity has been poorly considered to date, even though it plays a significant role in ecology. Indeed, the vertical dimension of ecosystems, as a proxy of the biospace, should be considered together with the well-known species-area relationship. Moreover, the relation we discovered is fundamental for setting protected area extensions, when the bi-dimensional available environment should not be considered alone, but associated with the three-dimensional ecological volume. In this era of climatic changes and anthropogenic pressures, high numbers of species are exposed to extinction risk. Under the urgent need of species conservation and climate mitigation, 3-D is not only a fun or an innovative technological approach, but a new way to look at the natural dynamics to better plan the study and protection of ecosystems."

More information: Roberto Cazzolla Gatti et al, Exploring the relationship between canopy height and terrestrial plant diversity, Plant Ecology (2017). DOI: 10.1007/s11258-017-0738-6 Journal information: Plant Ecology

Provided by National Research Tomsk State University
The alumina nanoparticle-assisted enzyme refolding process is shown. Credit: ITMO University

Scientists from ITMO University in Saint Petersburg and Hebrew University in Jerusalem have found a way to recover a protein structure after its chemical denaturation. The method is based on electrostatic interaction between folded, or denatured, proteins and alumina, which unwrap them. The authors highlight the versatility of the method, which works for both specific molecules and multiprotein systemsno previous technique has been able to recover mixtures of enzymes before. This can simplify and cheapen the production of drug proteins for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's treatment. The study appeared in Scientific Reports.

Proteins, especially accelerators of chemical reactions, are the basis of the pharmaceutical and food industries. Meanwhile, 80 percent of these substances are lost during synthesis. Influenced by unfavorable factors like strong acids, alkalis or heating, proteins denature, losing their native shape and any chemical activity. Thus, the industry seeks a universal method for recovering protein structure, which could make the production cheaper and more effective. To manufacture enzyme-based drugs and foods on an industrial scale, it is especially important to find a way to recover mixtures of proteins, since renaturating each particular type of enzyme separately is costly and inefficient.

Russian chemists in cooperation with foreign colleagues have proposed a solution to this issue with a process that gives a second life to proteins, returning their molecules to the original form after denaturation.

In the new research, the chemists unfolded molecules of three enzymes: carbonic anhydrase, phosphatase and peroxidase. Denatured by a strong alkaline, the proteins were mixed with nanoparticles of alumina in water. Due to electrostatic interaction, the enzymes attracted the nanoparticles and engaged them in forming a supramolecular complex with physical rather than chemical bonds.

This shell of nanoparticles protected protein molecules from aggregation, enabling the scientists to easily extract them from the aggressive media. Washed from denaturing substances, the enzymes restored their structure by themselves. "Constant exposure of denaturing agents and the tendency of curling macromolecules to aggregation are major obstacles for recovering proteins. When removing these factors, we were able to regenerate our objects," says Katerina Volodina, a second-year graduate student at ITMO University.

Changing pH, the scientists separated nanoparticles from proteins showing that the substances involved in the experiment can be repeatedly used.

The authors applied their method to a mixture of two enzymes: carbonic anhydrase and phosphatase (CAB and AcP). For these proteins, the portion of renaturated molecules was more than half, an unprecedented result. "Renaturating of multiprotein mixtures has never been done before. But my colleagues and I believe that further research in this area is in the great interest of pharmaceutical companies right now. Theoretically, our method can simplify and cheapen the manufacture of drugs for Alzheimer's or Parkinson's therapy. Many of these medicines are made of proteins," notes Katerina Volodina.

Besides its versatility and high performance, the technology proposed by ITMO University's chemists is also fast and low cost. The scientists are going to refine the approach mostly to renaturation of proteins in complex mixtures.

More information: Katerina V. Volodina et al, Alumina nanoparticle-assisted enzyme refolding: A versatile methodology for proteins renaturation, Scientific Reports (2017). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-01436-6 Journal information: Scientific Reports
Heilongjiang Province in the far northeastern reaches of China, has been shifting more crops from soybeans to corn, even though emerging variability of weather points to conditions that may not be best for corn's long-growing season Credit: Sue Nichols, Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability, Michigan State University

When understanding a country's climate - especially vast countries like the United States or China - to protect food security, biodiversity and human health, the devil is in the details.

Scientists at Michigan State University (MSU) show that examining the daily minutia of climate, not just temperature, but also sunshine, precipitation and soil moisture simultaneously all over a country gives a better understanding of how variable a land's climate can be. That information is crucial when countries are setting policies aimed at growing food, protecting water supplies and the environment and stemming disease outbreaks. The findings were reported in this week's Scientific Reports.

"There is much talk about how climate is changing and what should be done about it, but in reality, it is the variabilities - those many changes above and below the norm - that can have a great impact on coupled human and natural systems," said Jianguo "Jack" Liu, MSU's Rachel Carson Chair in Sustainability and director of the Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability. "A holistic view of our world gives us the most useful information."

The team examined the daily variability of four climatic factors simultaneously with data from 1960 to 2013 across China. From this they learned that the climate in the northern regions of China, including the province that grows much of the crops that feed big cities in the south, has the more dramatic swings. Yet that's also an area in which farmers are shifting crops to corn over soybeans, even though corn is dependent on a long growing season.

"Our study shows that it's not enough to say 'a nation is experiencing climate change' because the reality is that climate is made up of several daily factors," said Zhenci Xu, the PhD student who is the study's lead author. "It is variability that indicates the degree of fluctuation and uncertainty of the climate change process."

It's the chaos of climate change that can wreak havoc with growing plants or the survival rates of bacteria and viruses. Climate variability also weighs heavily on agriculture and economic development.

This study is the first time the variability and trends of four climactic factors have been analyzed.

Northern China's monthly and seasonal variability of the climate systems is generally larger than that of south China. The report also singles out more subtle differences in climate events across the country.

Xu also said countries should consider more meteorological stations in areas known to have more complex climate dynamics along with human interests that are sensitive to the vagaries of weather.

And Liu said countries would be wise to examine how local climate events can have a global impact through telecoupling processes, as a monsoon in one corner of the world can blanket another country with moist air and heat.

"Climate can't see borders, but people can and we must learn to look at the big picture with a very small lens," Liu said.

More information: Zhenci Xu et al, Climate variability and trends at a national scale, Scientific Reports (2017). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-03297-5 Journal information: Scientific Reports
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A combined team of researchers from the University of Arkansas and Cornell University has found that a type of fungus kills female goldenrod soldier beetles in a unique wayby causing them to attract males, which assists in spreading spores. In their paper published in the Journal of Invertebrate Pathology, the group describes observations they made of the beetle, experiments they conducted in their lab, and the peculiar way the fungus spread itself to new hosts.

Goldenrod solider beetles are native to North Americathey live in meadows and fields and survive by eating flowers. They mate while sitting atop a flower, which is a behavior that may contribute to their demise, the researchers find. The fungus Eryniopsis lampyridarum also lives on the same types of flowers and infects beetles when they visit. Once infected, the beetle's jaws clamp hard onto the flower, freezing the beetle in place as it dies. Nearly a day later, its wings open as if preparing to take flight. For infected male beetles, the story ends there, but for the females, there is more to come. As they lay there atop the flower, the dead creatures appear to males as ripe for procreationthey fly over and attempt to mate with the zombie female, and in the process become infected with the fungus.

Intrigued by the way the fungus has evolved to better spread its spores, the researchers collected beetle specimens and brought them into their lab for study. They report that out of a total of 446 beetles (281 females, 165 males) studied, 90 were infected with the fungus. They also found that it took between 15 to 22 hours for the wings to expand, and that soon thereafter, the fungus also caused the victim's abdomen to swell. They suggest the fungus causes the response in its dead victims as a means of attracting potential hoststhe outspread wings and oversized abdomen cause the female to look bigger, which is something the males apparently find attractive.

The researchers plan to continue their study of the beetles and the fungus, suggesting that it might be interesting to see if they gluing the wings shut impacts on infectivity.

More information: Donald C. Steinkraus et al. Zombie soldier beetles: Epizootics in the goldenrod soldier beetle,Chauliognathus pensylvanicus(Coleoptera: Cantharidae) caused byEryniopsis lampyridarum(Entomophthoromycotina: Entomophthoraceae), Journal of Invertebrate Pathology (2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.jip.2017.05.002

 2017 Phys.org
Dr. John Tyson, a minION instructor and research associate at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, demonstrated a minION during a training of scientists at Texas A&M AgriLife Research. The minION is a sequencing system made by Oxford Nanopore Technology. Basically, its a handheld device into which a sample is placed and then within minutes the samples genome is translated into ones laptop. Credit: Texas A&M AgriLife Research photo by Kathleen Phillips

Within five years, consumers may begin using a device smaller than a flip phone to monitor the air, test their food or diagnose what germ caused an upset stomach. And the root of this capability points to what now is only for scientistsgenome sequencing.

That's the message from a team of scientists from the U.K. and Canada teaching a weeklong class to about 40 fellow researchers from around the U.S. at Texas A&M AgriLife Research in College Station.

This course, a sort of "nerd summer camp for adults," was different, organizers said. Rather than instructing the art and science of genomics and bioinformatics on the multi-million-dollar equipment typically in labs, the class used the minIONa sequencing system made by Oxford Nanopore Technology. Basically, it's a hand-held device into which a sample is placed and then within minutes the sample's genome is translated into one's laptop.

"The mobility of this system is what is attractive about this device," said Dr. John Tyson, a minION instructor and research associate at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

The device has already been used to battle ebola in the remote jungles of Guinea and to sample both mosquitoes and humans for the presence of Zika virus in northeastern Brazil, according to minION instructor Dr. Nick Loman, independent research fellow at the University of Birmingham, England.

Knowing what pathogens are present early on, Loman said, can help scientists begin to work more toward surveillance and thus prevention rather than reacting to issues after they become problems.

The minION represents an enormous leap for researchers who need a highly portable system for a couple of reasons, according to Dr. Charlie Johnson, director of the Genomics and Bioinformatics Service with AgriLife Research in College Station. First, much research takes place in remote fields where larger equipment cannot be used. And second, the faster the results come, the more quickly they can be translated into actions.

"That being said, this type of portable technology is not a replacement for our workhouse enterprise-level Illumina sequencing systems, which can do the equivalent of 48 human genome projects in 48 hours," said Johnson, noting that the first human genome project took 13 years. "Rather, the minION is another fantastic tool in our genomics tool belt."

"Training others to use this type of technology helps empower research," said Johnson, who co-hosted the event with Dr. Robert Burghardt and Ashley Gustafson from the Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine. "It's easier to teach 250 students how to use a technology than to try to individually handle that many projects. And in agriculture, at least, our ultimate goal is to feed mankind, so this helps further our discoveries toward that end."

Indeed, though the technology ultimately may be used to glean typical household information, the testing ground has largely been agriculture, natural resources and medicine, Johnson noted.

Researchers attending the training, in fact, were required to bring actual samples of their current projects to use while learning the technology. Included in the mix were studies on lions, bears, cats, Alaskan ice cores, manatees and various insects such as fleas and scorpions. Finding out what makes those things tick, so to speak, can lead researchers to solutions.

"We're just scratching the surface," said Dr. Mick Watson, minION instructor and head of genomics at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. "The technology is coming to a point where consumers will be able to use it in three to five years."

Watson also stressed the importance of farmers being able to use the low-cost technology on farms to determine the presence of pathogens before they do excessive damage to crops and livestock.

It's about rapid diagnosis so the correct treatments can be provided, and that in turn slows the rate of resistance to pesticides and medicine, he said.

Loman agreed.

"Often a doctor will prescribe a general antibiotic to make you feel better without knowing if it is the most effective on a particular bacteria, or if what you have is actually a virus," he said. "Being able to quickly get the genomic sequence of a germ rather than wait for a culture to grow in a lab could lead to the ability to use a more narrow spectrum of antibiotics, which would limit the rate of antibiotic resistance."

There also are some slightly more "off-the-wall" potential uses for the technology, such as quality control for craft brewers, the team noted. The conclusion of the weeklong course was a field trip to Jester King Brewery in Austin, which boasts of its use of "natural surroundings and local agriculture." There, the newly equipped student researchers and the team collected yeast samples to run on the minIONs. Knowing what yeasts are present can help a brewery know how to manage the flavor of its content, Watson explained.
Allesandro Cresci heads out to the fjords with Drifting In Situ Chambers (DISC) to be deployed to study the orientation of glass eels in their natural environment The glass eels stage of the European eel, (Anguilla anguilla) waiting for tides to shift to swim upstream. Credit: Institute of Marine Research

Scientists are closer to unraveling the long-standing mystery of how tiny glass eel larvae, which begin their lives as hatchlings in the Sargasso Sea, know when and where to "hop off" the Gulf Stream toward European coastlines to live out their adult lives in coastal estuaries.

In a new study by the University of Miami (UM)'s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science in collaboration with the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research's Austevoll Research Station found that these glass eels (Anguilla anguilla) can sense Earth's magnetic field and use it like a compass controlled by an internal "biological" clock to orient themselves towards the coast.

"This study is an important addition to our understanding of the mechanisms of eel migration and also to that of other species, if it turns out that their magnetic orientation is similarly controlled by a biological clock," said UM Rosenstiel School Professor Claire Paris, a senior author of the study.

The odyssey of the European eel begins when they hatch in the Sargasso Sea. As tiny larvae, they travel thousands of kilometers across the Atlantic Ocean, hopefully making it to the European continental shelf. At some point between the Canary Islands and northern Norway they "hop off" the Gulf Stream and actively migrate towards the coast, heading for estuaries. Some eels remain in the coastal area, while others move inland into lakes, remaining there, slowly growing, for up to 30 years.

The research team led by UM Rosenstiel School Ph.D. student Alessandro Cresci investigated the orientation behavior of the eels using a unique combination of experiments. First, they observed the eels in a semi-enclosed, circular aquarium, called a Drifting In-Situ Chamber (DISC) pioneered by Paris, deployed in a Norwegian fjord, a natural environments of the glass eel just before it arrives at the coast. The next step was to conduct an orientation behavior analysis in a magnetoreception test facility (the "MagLab"), where they were exposed to artificially manipulated magnetic field such that the N-S and E-W axes were shifted by 90 degrees.

Although deprived of all other environmental cues, glass eels in the laboratory oriented to the South, the same direction that they swam in situ during the ebb tide.

"It is incredible that these small transparent glass eels can detect the earth's magnetic field. The use of a magnetic compass could be a key component underlying the amazing migration of these animals," said Cresci, the study's lead author. "It is also the first observation of glass eels keeping a compass as they swim in shelf waters, and that alone is an exciting discovery."

The study was designed to understand how the fish orient while drifting with the current under the same environmental conditions that they would encounter during their migration towards the coast to assess whether they use Earth's magnetic field as a frame of reference for orientation, and change direction according to the tidal cycle to guide them towards the coast.

When eel larvae arrive at the continental shelf, they metamorphose into transparent glass eels, changing shape, physiology and behavior. At some point during this journeyanywhere from the Canary Islands to northern Norwaythey "hop off" the Gulf Stream and actively migrate towards the coast, heading for estuaries. Some eels remain in the coastal area, while others move inland into lakes remaining there, slowly growing, for up to 30 years.

More information: "Glass eel (Anguilla anguilla) have a magnetic compass linked to the tidal cycle," Science Advances (2017). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1602007 Journal information: Science Advances
Dynamic remodeling in ESCRT-III polymers. Vps4 mediates turnover of ESCRT-III subunits within growing and constricting polymers - analogous to Lego figures exchanging the building blocks within a large spiral assembly. Credit: Beata Edyta Mierzwa, BeataScienceArt.com

Cells multiply by duplicating themselves: they grow, replicate their components, and finally split into two. Many diseases are related to defective cell division; cancer is one of them. Understanding mechanisms conducting this division is therefore essential in the search for cancer treatments. Researchers at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, in collaboration with the IMBA- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology at the Vienna BioCenter (VBC) and the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, have turned their attention in particular to the role of ESCRT proteins, which are responsible for severing cell membranes. These proteins assemble in spirals that gradually bring about cleavage of the membrane, spirals that are constantly renewing themselves with the help of the Vps4 molecule. Without this molecule the renewal stops, eventually preventing the membrane from being severed. This research, reported in the journal Nature Cell Biology, sheds new light on the fight against cancer and HIV, both of which depend on cell division.

In a previous research, the team led by Professor Aurelien Roux of the Department of Biochemistry at the Faculty of Sciences of the UNIGE, discovered that ESCRT proteins assemble in the form of spirals, a structure that is unique amongst the many forms created by the organism's filamentous proteins. Why this unique form? During cell division, the cell contracts at its centre to separate the two daughter cells. At the end of this stage, called cytokinesis, a very thin link remains between the cells, a tube of plasma membrane - the cell's skin - called the "cytoplasmic bridge". The spirals formed by ESCRT proteins coil around the inner surface of this tube and constrict it in order to sever it, a stage called abscission. Professor Roux's team showed that these spirals behaved like the springs of a watch, suggesting a scenario wherein the more the ESCRT proteins assembled, the more tightly they were compressed.

Research conducted simultaneously in vitro and in vivo

After discovering why these molecules assembled in spirals, the UNIGE researchers examined the dynamics of the assembly. Until now scientists have thought that they assembled like Lego blocks, the proteins being added progressively to the structure without ever leaving it. In this new study, biochemists were able to invalidate this hypothesis. To do so they joined forces with the Gerlich group at IMBA, Vienna Biocenter, to conduct the experiment simultaneously in vivo (the Viennese scientists' part) and in vitro (the Genevan scientists' part).

"On our side, we observed the dynamics of the ESCRT proteins by isolating them on a flat artificial membrane that we created using lipids, onto which we placed the ESCRT protein complexes," explains Nicolas Chiaruttini, a research scientist at UNIGE. "And contrary to what we thought, the proteins do not form a rigidly fixed spiral that is compressed; instead there is a constant renewal of proteins, creating supple, mobile spirals in constant motion." Using a new imaging technique, the team led by Simon Scheuring in New York, working in collaboration with the UNIGE team, was able to directly visualize the dynamics and flexibility of these spirals. Conducting further research, the biochemists noted that this renewal cannot occur without the Vps4 molecule, which is an integral part of ESCRT protein complexes. "Vps4 is known for disassembling molecules in polymeric structures," says Aurelien Roux. "So it is the indispensable ingredient for the severing of membranes insofar as it enables the renewal of spirals."

It is worthwhile noting that the Viennese researchers reached exactly the same conclusions. "During our observations in the cell in motion, Vps4 was revealed to be necessary for the renewal of spirals," explains Beata Mierzwa, a researcher at IMBA-VBC. More importantly, the team observed that the absence or inactivation of Vps4 inhibited cell division in 50% of cases and delayed it significantly in the other 50%. Vps4 and the constant renewal of ESCRTs appear, therefore, to be essential for abscission. "It is rare to be able to conduct experiments in vivo and in vitro simultaneously, and the fact that the results coincide firmly establishes our study."

Another way to approach cancer and HIV

Cancer is characterized by excessive multiplication of diseased cells. By elucidating the role of the Vps4 molecule in cell division, researchers have decipher mechanisms that could be targeted as new treatments that would, for instance, block ESCRT protein renewal directly, thereby preventing the proliferation of the disease. Similarly, when a cell is infected by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, virus particles bud from the membrane, then eventually break off from it to infect other cells. The virus must also sever the cell membrane in order to be released and spread the diseasea stage that is also carried out by ESCRT proteins. Here again, targeting the Vps4 molecule could prevent the virus from leaving the infected cell.

The primary role of fundamental research is not to find new drugs for cancer or AIDS traitements, but rather, by understanding how ESCRT and Vps4 participate in cell division and virus replication, "to provide knowledge essential to treat those diseases, and clues about potential interactions between treatments", concludes Aurelien Roux.

More information: "Dynamic subunit turnover in ESCRT-III assemblies is regulated by Vps4 to mediate membrane remodelling during cytokinesis," Nature Cell Biology (2017).

DOI: 10.1038/ncb3559 Journal information: Nature Cell Biology
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover examined a mudstone outcrop area called "Pahrump Hills" on lower Mount Sharp, in 2014 and 2015. This view shows locations of some targets the rover studied there. The blue dots indicate where drilled samples of powdered rock were collected for analysis. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

NASA scientists have found a wide diversity of minerals in the initial samples of rocks collected by the Curiosity rover in the lowermost layers of Mount Sharp on Mars, suggesting that conditions changed in the water environments on the planet over time.

Curiosity landed near Mount Sharp in Gale Crater in August 2012. It reached the base of the mountain in 2014. Layers of rocks at the base of Mount Sharp accumulated as sediment within ancient lakes around 3.5 billion years ago. Orbital infrared spectroscopy had shown that the mountain's lowermost layers have variations in minerals that suggest changes in the area have occurred.

In a paper published recently in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, scientists in the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Division at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston report on the first four samples collected from the lower layers of Mount Sharp.

"We went to Gale Crater to investigate these lower layers of Mount Sharp that have these minerals that precipitated from water and suggest different environments," said Elizabeth Rampe, the first author of the study and a NASA exploration mission scientist at Johnson. "These layers were deposited about 3.5 billion years ago, coinciding with a time on Earth when life was beginning to take hold. We think early Mars may have been similar to early Earth, and so these environments might have been habitable."

The minerals found in the four samples drilled near the base of Mount Sharp suggest several different environments were present in ancient Gale Crater. There is evidence for waters with different pH and variably oxidizing conditions. The minerals also show that there were multiple source regions for the rocks in "Pahrump Hills" and "Marias Pass."

The paper primarily reports on three samples from the Pahrump Hills region. This is an outcrop at the base of Mount Sharp that contains sedimentary rocks scientists believe formed in the presence of water. The other sample, called "Buckskin," was reported last year, but those data are incorporated into the paper.

Studying such rock layers can yield information about Mars' past habitability, and determining minerals found in the layers of sedimentary rock yields much data about the environment in which they formed. Data collected at Mount Sharp with the Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) instrument on Curiosity showed a wide diversity of minerals.

At the base are minerals from a primitive magma source; they are rich in iron and magnesium, similar to basalts in Hawaii. Moving higher in the section, scientists saw more silica-rich minerals. In the "Telegraph Peak" sample, scientists found minerals similar to quartz. In the "Buckskin" sample, scientists found tridymite. Tridymite is found on Earth, for example, in rocks that formed from partial melting of Earth's crust or in the continental crusta strange finding because Mars never had plate tectonics.

In the "Confidence Hills" and "Mojave 2" samples, scientists found clay minerals, which generally form in the presence of liquid water with a near-neutral pH, and therefore could be good indicators of past environments that were conducive to life. The other mineral discovered here was jarosite, a salt that forms in acidic solutions. The jarosite finding indicates that there were acidic fluids at some point in time in this region.

There are different iron-oxide minerals in the samples as well. Hematite was found near the base; only magnetite was found at the top. Hematite contains oxidized iron, whereas magnetite contains both oxidized and reduced forms of iron. The type of iron-oxide mineral present may tell scientists about the oxidation potential of the ancient waters.

The authors discuss two hypotheses to explain this mineralogical diversity. The lake waters themselves at the base were oxidizing, so either there was more oxygen in the atmosphere or other factors encouraged oxidation. Another hypothesisthe one put forward in the paperis that later-stage fluids arose. After the rock sediments were deposited, some acidic, oxidizing groundwater moved into the area, leading to precipitation of the jarosite and hematite. In this scenario, the environmental conditions present in the lake and in later groundwater were quite different, but both offered liquid water and a chemical diversity that could have been exploited by microbial life.

"We have all this evidence that Mars was once really wet but now is dry and cold," Rampe said. "Today, much of the water is locked up in the poles and in the ground at high latitudes as ice. We think that the rocks Curiosity has studied reveal ancient environmental changes that occurred as Mars started to lose its atmosphere and water was lost to space."

In the paper, the authors discuss whether this specific area on Mars is a mark of this event happening or just a natural drying of this area. Scientists will search for answers to these questions as the rover moves up the mountain.

More information: E.B. Rampe et al. Mineralogy of an ancient lacustrine mudstone succession from the Murray formation, Gale crater, Mars, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2017.04.021 Journal information: Earth and Planetary Science Letters

Provided by NASA
Tropical rainfall may increase more than previously thought as the climate warms. Credit: teresaaaa, CC BY-ND 2.0

A new study suggests that most global climate models may underestimate the amount of rain that will fall in Earth's tropical regions as our planet continues to warm. That's because these models underestimate decreases in high clouds over the tropics seen in recent NASA observations, according to research led by scientist Hui Su of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

Wait a minute: how can fewer clouds lead to more rainfall? Globally, rainfall isn't related just to the clouds that are available to make rain but also to Earth's "energy budget"incoming energy from the sun compared to outgoing heat energy. High-altitude tropical clouds trap heat in the atmosphere. If there are fewer of these clouds in the future, the tropical atmosphere will cool. Judging from observed changes in clouds over recent decades, it appears that the atmosphere would create fewer high clouds in response to surface warming. It would also increase tropical rainfall, which would warm the air to balance the cooling from the high cloud shrinkage.

Rainfall warming the air also sounds counterintuitivepeople are used to rain cooling the air around them, not warming it. Several miles up in the atmosphere, however, a different process prevails. When water evaporates into water vapor here on Earth's surface and rises into the atmosphere, it carries with it the heat energy that made it evaporate. In the cold upper atmosphere, when the water vapor condenses into liquid droplets or ice particles, it releases its heat and warms the atmosphere.

The new study is published in the journal Nature Communications. It puts the decrease in high tropical cloud cover in context as one result of a planet-wide shift in large-scale air flows that is occurring as Earth's surface temperature warms. These large-scale flows are called the atmospheric general circulation, and they include a wide zone of rising air centered on the equator. Observations over the last 30 to 40 years have shown that this zone is narrowing as the climate warms, causing the decrease in high clouds.

Su and colleagues at JPL and four universities compared climate data from the past few decades with 23 climate model simulations of the same period. Climate modelers use retrospective simulations like these to check how well their numerical models are able to reproduce observations. For data, the team used observations of outgoing thermal radiation from NASA's spaceborne Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) and other satellite instruments, as well as ground-level observations.

Su's team found that most of the climate models underestimated the rate of increase in precipitation for each degree of surface warming that has occurred in recent decades. The models that came closest to matching observations of clouds in the present-day climate showed a greater precipitation increase for the future than the other models.

Su said that by tracing the underestimation problem back to the models' deficiencies in representing tropical high clouds and the atmospheric general circulation, "This study provides a pathway for improving predictions of future precipitation change."

More information: Hui Su et al. Tightening of tropical ascent and high clouds key to precipitation change in a warmer climate, Nature Communications (2017). DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15771 Journal information: Nature Communications

Provided by NASA
Thousands of demonstrators took part in anti-corruption protests that were some of the biggest in Russia since 2012. Riot police broke up protests in several cities, detaining hundreds of protesters, including Vladimir Putin critic Alexei Navalny.

Demonstrators take part in an anti-corruption protest in central St. Petersburg, Russia, June 12, 2017. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov

By Reuters: Baton-wielding riot police broke up anti-corruption protests and detained hundreds of demonstrators in Moscow and other Russian cities on Monday soon after arresting opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

The protests, called by Navalny, a strong critic of Russian President Vladmir Putin, drew thousands of people and were some of the biggest in Russia since 2012.

"Russia without Putin" and "Russia will be free" chanted the demonstrators, including many young people, who crowded into central Moscow on a public holiday.

advertisement

Navalny, who is mounting a long-shot bid to unseat Putin in an election next year, had called for mass protests in Moscow and other cities against official corruption.

The Kremlin has dismissed Navalny's graft allegations, accusing him of irresponsibly trying to whip up unrest.

The scale of Monday's protests in Moscow and smaller ones in St. Petersburg and scores of other cities suggests Navalny has maintained his campaign's momentum despite more than 1,000 people being arrested after the last such protest in March.

That is likely to embolden him to call for more protests and keep Putin, who is expected to run for and win re-election next year, under rare domestic pressure.

"Neither mass detentions nor criminal cases after March 26 (the last protest) worked," wrote Lyubov Sobol, a Navalny ally, on social media. "People are not afraid."

The OVD-Info monitoring group, a non-profit organisation said preliminary figures showed 730 people had been detained in Moscow. The Interior Ministry said 500 people were detained in St Petersburg.

Navalny's wife, Yulia, said her husband had been detained as he tried to leave their home. Reuters witnesses saw a police car leaving his apartment compound at high speed, followed a few minutes later by a minibus carrying about 10 policemen.

Electricity in his office was cut at around the same time as he was detained, briefly bringing down a live feed of the protests, Navalny's spokeswoman said.

Navalny was accused of violating the law on organising public meetings and of disobeying a police officer, police said.

Authorities in Moscow said Monday's protest was illegal and drafted in riot police who fired pepper spray and used batons to break it up, detaining people and bundling them onto buses.

Roman, a 19-year-old student, said Navalny's campaign against official corruption had struck a chord.

"I'm sick of the Putin system," he said. "It's been unchanged for the last 17 years. There is so much evidence that our officials are stealing with impunity."

Dima, an 18-year-old florist, said he wanted Prime Minister Medvedev to return what he said were the politician's ill-gotten gains. Medvedev, a close Putin ally, flatly denies wrongdoing.

advertisement

"I'm not afraid if I get detained," Dima said.

The Interior Ministry said the turnout at the Moscow protest was about 4,500 -- significantly fewer than the numbers estimated by Reuters reporters, who put the turnout in the low tens of thousands.

CHANGES

State media ignored the demonstrations, broadcasting Soviet-style coverage of Putin handing out state awards instead.

Navalny brought thousands onto the streets across Russia in March, the largest such protests since a wave of anti-Kremlin demonstrations in 2012. Navalny was fined and jailed for 15 days for his role in those protests.

Moscow authorities had initially authorised a venue for Monday's protest away from the city centre. But Navalny switched it to Tverskaya Street, Moscow's main avenue near the Kremlin. The General Prosecutor's Office had warned that a protest there would be illegal.

The area of Tsverskaya Street near where Navalny's supporters congregated was hosting an officially-organised festival, with actors re-enacting periods of Russian history.

Video footage showed a protester clambering onto a mock-up of a wartime sandbag fortification holding a poster calling Putin a liar, before being pulled to the ground by a cast member dressed as a World War Two Soviet soldier.

advertisement

For now, polls suggest Navalny has scant chance of unseating Putin, who enjoys high ratings. It is unclear too if the Kremlin will even let Navalny run for the presidency.

But the 41-year-old lawyer turned political street campaigner hopes anger over corruption may boost his support.

A video he made accusing Medvedev of living far beyond his means has garnered over 22 million online views to date.

Navalny, who had a green liquid thrown in his face in April, robbing him of some of his sight, said hundreds of people had also attended demonstrations in Russia's Far East on Monday morning.

"I want changes," wrote Navalny in a blog post last week. "I want to live in a modern democratic state and I want our taxes to be converted into roads, schools and hospitals, not into yachts, palaces and vineyards."

ALSO READ | Russia scrambles Su-27 fighter jet to intercept US B-52 strategic bomber over Baltic Sea

ALSO READ | How PM Narendra Modi struck a personal chord with Russian President Vladimir Putin

--- ENDS ---
Naturally occurring DNA is in constant motion, researchers hypothesize, and transports large transcription factors (depicted in green) through its tangles until they reach sites where they bind and carry out their activity. Here a still image from a very large, unique simulation. Credit: Georgia Tech / Edmond Chow / Jeff Skolnick

Imagine if a dense thicket didn't obstruct your path but instead picked you up and shuttled you through the forest. That's what tightly packed DNA might be doing with important life molecules to get them where they're needed on time.

New simulations of DNA as a transport conduit could shatter the way scientists have thought about how large molecules called transcription factors diffuse on their way to carry out genetic missions, according to a study by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The simulations add important brush strokes to our picture of elusive inner mechanics of cells.

The simulations strongly support the hypothesis that, in a live cell, DNA is in constant motion, making it the dominant mover of transcription factors, to their target sites on DNA. There, the factors regulate the transcription of genetic code into life-sustaining action.

DNA gorilla cage

How transcription factors travel through DNA has been a mystery, because the protein molecules are so large, and natural DNA is so tightly tangled. Spaces inside the windings are usually much smaller than the transcription factors that need to pass through them.

"If the thicket is so thick, and on top of that doesn't move, then it should be impenetrable. So, how do you get stuff through to the right site?" asked Jeffrey Skolnick, a professor in Georgia Tech's School of Biological Sciences.

If DNA were indeed immobile, the protein molecule would appear jammed into the DNA thicket like a gorilla into a dog cage.

DNA watch springs

But Skolnick and collaborator Edmond Chow, a computer scientist specializing in algorithms that tackle very large scientific questions, believe the widely held assumption that naturally occurring DNA is rigid like bars is false. Their simulations turn the bars into wires, tense like watch springs, that flex and rattle around with snake-like motions.

Naturally occurring DNA is a thicket, but its high tension and constant motion make it shuttle large transcriptions factors through its dense windings to binding sites, where the factors go to work. Researchers back this hypothesis with a very large, unique simulation. Here, DNA is in gray, transcription factor LacI in green. Credit: Georgia Tech / Edmond Chow / Jeffrey Skolnick

"The DNA motion is far and away the dominant force moving molecules through its thicket," Skolnick said. "DNA is a bully."

Skolnick, who directs Georgia Tech's Center for the Study of Systems Biology, and Chow, an associate professor at Georgia Tech's School of Computational Science and Engineering, published a paper on their simulations on June 6 in Biophysical Journal.

Chow and Skolnick modeled the simulation on a transcription factor called LacI moving through the DNA of an Escherichia coli bacterial cell. LacI is an inhibitory molecule that depends on lactose, but that function played no role in the study. The well-known transcription factor is a mainstay in many experimental studies on transcription factor movement.

Slide, hop, and hopscotch

In the simulations, DNA strands flex out of LacI's path and also juggle the large molecule forward into the next pocket in the thicket, and so on.

Hypotheses based on rigid DNA would leave transcription factors moving more slowly than they actually appear to. But Chow and Skolnick's wiggly simulations square with rates of diffusion established in lab experiments and explain why they're so fast.

Transcription factors have been known to slide along DNA strands, like magnets down slippery wires, until they click into a specific groove where they fit perfectly, which is where they do their work. And they've been known to hop off the DNA strand and then reattach.

"But the sliding and hopping combined still don't account for the speed of diffusion," Chow said.

Reattaching after a hop can actually reduce the transcription factor's speed through the DNA, by putting it back on a place on the strand where it's been before. The simulated wobble of the DNA thicket flicks transcribers to make them hopscotch more and farther, increasing their speed of diffusion.

Herculean computations

The simulations will aid other researchers' understanding of important cell processes and potentially help boost speed and accuracy in biological and medical research. The computation behind the simulated dynamics was herculean.

"These simulations are unique to this problem because of their enormity and the advanced computing techniques used. Very efficient algorithms ran in parallel on powerful computers, and, still, it took three weeks for the simulations to complete," Chow said.

Parallel computing chops a problem into pieces that can be run simultaneously, or in parallel, instead of in one long, time-consuming process. This allows programs to exploit many processors at the same time, multiplying the speed of computation.

Even with that power, to make the simulation computable at all, the researchers had to slim down the model of the DNA and LacI to reveal motion dynamics without dressing up all the details of cellular DNA. "You have to choose which parts you ignore and which parts you put in," Skolnick said. "If you put everything in, you can't do it, even with the fastest codes."

Cellular toy land

The researchers want to take on much tougher challenges that could, years from now, lead to a toy-like, simplified model of a complete cell.

"The ultimate goal is to put a whole cell on a computer. Let it live. Let it divide, and understand the processes," Skolnick said. "Maybe even let the cell mutate and evolve."

The computer science behind that would be aspirational. "When the size of a problem grows, the computing costs to solve it can grow disproportionately," Chow said. "You have to build algorithms that can run efficiently even when you scale up the problem size."

More information: Edmond Chow et al, DNA Internal Motion Likely Accelerates Protein Target Search in a Packed Nucleoid, Biophysical Journal (2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2017.04.049 Journal information: Biophysical Journal
The power grid's physical components are continuously improving, with the integration of renewable power sources and advances in physical technology. The software underlying the safe function of the upgraded grid, however, isn't keeping up.

Engineers depend on the software to predict and correct for potential errors to set constraints on the rest of the system. Scientists from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, have proposed a new way to calculate and correct a particularly critical error in large-scale distribution systems. They published their method in IEEE/CAA Journal of Automatica Sinica (JAS), a joint publication of the IEEE and the Chinese Association of Automation.

"We need new methods for calculations of emerging distribution systems to properly model and calculate these systems in faulted conditions," said Luka Strezoski, a doctoral student at Case Western Reserve University and an author on the paper.

In the traditional grid system, the power alternates currents, which can result in a fault if it the current encounters an pathway with no resistance. This short-circuit fault can produce power 30 times the intended rate, which can lead power disruption, equipment damage, and even fire.

"The biggest difference between modern distributed generators and traditional alternating current machines [if a fault occurs]... is that the short-circuit currents of modern distributed generators are controlled, whereas traditional alternating current machines lose their control," Strezoski said. It may sound safer to maintain control, but the difference causes several problems.

Engineers use the current range calculated by a short-circuit computation to set the relay limits for the entire system. The computation used on a traditional system is time-tested as accurate and reliable. The same computation on a distributed generation system, with decentralized power dispersal, introduces high errors with a trickle down effect of miscalculations for the rest of the system.

"The real-time short-circuit computation needs to satisfy two necessary assets: it needs to be fast, and it needs to highly accurate," said Strezoski.

Strezoski and his team simplified an existing algorithm, capable of predicting every potential future and past state of a system and using those states to make real-time operating decisions quickly, and combined it with another algorithm capable of modeling traditional and modern power systems. The proposed method was used in four large-scale simulations, and it was able to accurately optimize the system in 74 milliseconds.

The researchers are now examining how to predict and correct other fault types, as well as developing potential control strategies for emerging distributed energy resources.

More information: Luka V. Strezoski et al, Short-circuit analysis in large-scale distribution systems with high penetration of distributed generators, IEEE/CAA Journal of Automatica Sinica (2017). DOI: 10.1109/JAS.2017.7510517

Provided by Chinese Association of Automation
Credit: Swiss National Science Foundation

The data constantly collected and reported by smartphones can find numerous applications. An SNSF-funded project devoted to crowdsensing has found ways to improve privacy and localisation accuracy as well as reduce the impact on hardware.

Connecting data from the world's smartphones could put a global supercomputer into all of our pockets. Tapping into that processing power would improve the real-time collection and analysis of data, but technical hurdles and privacy concerns linger. Scientists from SwissSenseSynergy, a project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), have addressed issues and proposed new ways to collect and use such information.

The main focus of the project is crowdsensing, in which access to a smartphone's sensors makes it possible to collect information about a particular area. A typical example are map applications which can infer traffic congestion data from the smartphones' accelerometers. As our connected devices gather insights about many facets of our environment  motion, sound, people, air quality, etc.  crowdsensing has the potential to guide decisions on where we eat, what we wear or how we travel.

"All of this information is useful in applications ranging from marketing predictions to predicting crowd behaviours," explains Torsten Braun from the University of Bern and coordinator for the project. Nonetheless, crowdsensing applications face significant challenges. In particular, there is a trade-off between data collection, user impact and privacy. Transmitting data drains hardware resources, for example, while poor security measures pose risks for identity theft.

Four teams developed new approaches to improve crowdsensing technology and establish best practices for its application. Researchers are exploring four key areas: improving location accuracy, increasing security, industry uses, and making data collection more efficient.

Localisation beyond GPS

The team led by Torsten Braun at the University of Bern improved location accuracy indoors and underground to 1.1 metres in 90% of cases. That is comparable to GPS, but relies only on the device's sensor data and radio signals, reaching areas behind walls and concrete where GPS signals are blocked. The researchers collect sensor measurements from the smartphones, alongside the Wifi radio's signal strength. This information is then passed through several machine learning algorithms. "The next step is to determine where users are going," Braun said. "This could have an impact on shopping centres or train stations, for example."

Scientists from the universities of Bern and Geneva collaborated to design a mobile application combining indoor localisation, mobile crowdsensing and smart spaces. The resulting mobile app integrates sophisticated localisation algorithms and location-stamped sensor measurements, which are pushed to the cloud. From there, the information is fed to the Internet of Things, allowing personalised and location-based automation applications across a number of smart objects and products.

A team at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland in Lugano (SUPSI) has developed models that use predictive location data to distribute information through social media. The experiments showed that they could create rapid outreach on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, but also in ad hoc physical networks of mobile devices. These messages could respond to local behaviours, assess feedback in real time and circulate more quickly among targeted users. The research provides a deeper understanding of social influence in human behaviour, and discovered correlations between physical locations, shared preferences and event-based social communities.

A balancing act

"A major problem for researchers is balancing data and privacy," explains Braun. "Accurate data can cost privacy." If user information is being swept up while collecting data, it discourages participation. To ensure security, the Chalmers University of Technology team in Sweden has developed machine learning methods for data analysis and automatic decision making that achieve "differential privacy". This protects the data of individuals by injecting carefully calibrated "noise" (random data) into information collected from a device.

Researchers at the University of Geneva addressed another challenge: the desire to collect large amounts of data against the burden that crowdsensing can have on hardware. If users fear a strain on their phone, they might reject applications which make use of otherwise idle sensors. This project is investigating game theory models for distributing such burdens among phones and users. In a field experiment, volunteers in San Francisco downloaded apps to map noise levels in the city, collecting useful data for the local government while testing competing methods for distributing loads among devices.

With its interdisciplinary approach, the SwissSenseSynergy project has yielded new techniques with potential benefits for research and applications. The project is developing a novel experimentation architecture, called Vivo, to involve volunteers in the experimental phase to support application development.

More information: J. Buwaya, J. D. P. Rolim: Atomic Routing Mechanisms for Balance of Costs and Quality in Mobile Crowdsensing Systems. IEEE International Conference on Distributed Computing in Sensor Systems (DCOSS) (2017). www.swiss-sense-synergy.ch/wp-  ya_Rolim_DCOSS17.pdf J. Buwaya, J. D. P. Rolim: Mobile Crowdsensing from a Selfish Routing Perspective. IEEE International Parallel and Distributed Processing Symposium Workshops (IPDPS Workshops) (2017). www.swiss-sense-synergy.ch/wp-  Rolim_IPDPS_WS17.pdf Differential Privacy for Bayesian Inference through Posterior Sampling. jmlr.org/papers/volume18/15-257/15-257.pdf Achieving Privacy in the Adversarial Multi-Armed Bandit. arxiv.org/abs/1701.04222 Next Place Prediction with Hybrid Features using Ensemble Learning. DOI: 10.7892/boris.98674
Image shows a galaxy where the star formation is obscured by large amounts of dust. Credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration, and A. Evans (University of Virginia, Charlottesville/NRAO/Stony Brook University)

Miguel Pereira Santaella, Research Associate at the Oxford University Department of Physics, discusses his newly published work observing never before seen water transitions in space. He breaks down how the discovery will help scientists to answer big planetary questions and build a more accurate understanding of the universe.

From clouds to rivers, and glaciers to oceans, water is everywhere on Earth. What's less well-known, though, is how abundant the molecule is in space.

Unlike on Earth, most of the water in space takes either the form of vapour or forms ice mantles stuck to interstellar dust grains. This is because the extremely low density of interstellar space - which is trillions of times lower than air, prevents the formation of liquid water. the birth of star formations can tell us about how the Universe behaves. But, since the only way to study them in such dust obscured environments is through the infrared light, detecting water transitions capable of detecting this light, is of vital importance.

Water molecules experience fluctuating quantum energy levels. This activity allows us to observe them and is known as a water transition. The term refers to the best point for scientific observation, which is the exact wavelength at which water molecules go from one quantum state to another, emitting light and increasing their visibility as they do so.

The majority of these transitions are not very energetic so they appear in the far-infrared and sub-millimetre ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum, with tiny wavelengths (ranging from 50 m and 1000 m (1 mm)). Observing these water transitions from the ground is very difficult because the thick vapour in Earth's atmosphere almost completely blocks the emission from view.

Improvements in technology and the development of super telescopes offer an increasing gateway to the universe, and planetary insights are moving at rapid pace. We can now detect water transitions in ways that we just could not before. They are best seen from telescopic observatories situated at high-altitude, in extremely dry sites. Such as, the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), which is located in the Atacama desert (Chile) at 5000 m above sea level.

In our study published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, we used ALMA and detected the (670 m) water transition in space, for the first time. The molecules were spotted in a nearby spiral galaxy (160 million light years away) at a point where the Universe is vastly expanded, and the atmosphere is therefore at its most transparent (red-shifted at 676 m).

The water vapour emission in this galaxy originates at its core, in its nucleus, where most star formation takes place. To give you an idea of how enormous this galaxy is, the nucleus contains an equivalent amount of water 30 trillion times that of Earth's oceans combined, and has a diameter 15 million times the distance from Earth to the Sun.

So what sets this water transition apart from others observed in the past? Our analysis revealed that these water molecules intensify their rate of emission when they come into contact with infrared light photons. This increase in activity makes it easier for scientists to observe them. Water molecules are most attracted to photons with specific wavelengths of 79 and 132 m, which, when absorbed, strengthen the transition's outline, therefore increasing its visibility. For this reason, this specific water transition has the ability to show us the intensity of the infrared light in the nucleus of galaxies, at spatial scales much smaller than those allowed by direct infrared observations.

Infrared light is produced during events like the growth of supermassive black holes or extreme bursts of star-formation. These events usually occur in extremely dust obscured environments where the optical light is almost completely absorbed by dust grains. The energy absorbed by the grains increases their temperature and they begin to emit thermal radiation in the infrared.

Capturing these events can tell us a great deal about how the Universe behaves. But, since the only way to study them in such dust obscured environments is through the infrared light, detecting water transitions that capture this infrared light, is vital.

Moving forward we plan to observe this water transition in more galaxies where dust blocks all the optical light. This will reveal what hides behind these dust screens and help us to understand how galaxies evolve from star-forming spirals, like the Milky Way, to dead elliptical galaxies where no new stars are formed.

Provided by Oxford Science Blog
Credit: University of Western Australia

A first-of-its-kind study led by The University of Western Australia into the ecological value of offshore infrastructure has revealed that subsea pipelines in north-west Australia provide safe havens for commercially important fish.

The study, published in Continental Shelf Research, was carried out by researchers from UWA's Oceans Institute in collaboration with Woodside. It is the most extensive research published about fish on pipelines in Australia and one of only a few studies worldwide.

The team accessed video footage collected from Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs) used by industry to inspect and maintain underwater pipelines on the North West Shelf region of WA. The ROV footage, collected along sections of pipelines at different depths, was used to assess the diversity and abundance of fish in the area.

In total, the team observed 5962 individual fish from 92 species and 42 families.

Both the shallow and deep pipelines had a high abundance of commercially important fish, including snapper and grouper, as well as the presence of thousands of larval fish and juveniles suggesting the pipelines may actually enhance fish stocks.

The shallower pipeline was also characterised by a large diversity of sponges while the deeper pipeline included deep-water corals.

Further, the unsupported sections of the pipelines appeared to support numerous species that likely use the areas as a refuge.

Lead author Dr Dianne McLean said these habitats seemed to offer a significant food source and refuge for fish and also for small mobile invertebrates that fish were feeding on.

"The pipelines provide an otherwise rare hard surface on which marine organisms can grow, creating a pipeline-based ecosystem," Dr McLean said.

"This suggests that subsea pipelines may have significant ecological and fisheries value and this should be considered in discussions about decommissioning offshore structures."

Co-author Associate Professor Julian Partridge said collaboration with industry was vital to access data that could be used for ecological research.

"There is a lot of potential value locked up in industry ROV footage and our goal is to influence industry practice so that ROV videos used to maintain subsea pipelines are more useful for science," Associate Professor Partridge said.

More information: D.L. McLean et al. Using industry ROV videos to assess fish associations with subsea pipelines, Continental Shelf Research (2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.csr.2017.05.006
Illustration of the floating bridge across the Bjrnafjord. The distance to the first pontoon is more than 400 metres, which is more or less the same length as the main span of the Lysefjord bridge. Credit: SVV / Vianova / Baezeni

The Norwegian Public Roads Administration's (NPRA) giant project Coastal Highway Route E39 (Ferjefri E39) includes finding solutions for seven fjord crossings along the 1100 kilometre coastline between Kristiansand and Bergen.

To succeed in this ambitious road project, top expertise within road and bridge construction will be involved, and the engineers will be developing new knowledge and technology.

Three research groups are contributing to this endeavour: from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg and the University of Stavanger (UiS).

Since 2013, the NPRA has been collaborating with a group of UiS researchers who have been investigating a new method for measuring wind. The method is being applied for the first time in relation to bridge design.

The longest bridge in the world

The Bjrnafjord south of Bergen is one of the natural barriers that will be bridged in Ferjefri E39. With a water depth of up to 550 metres and a total length of around five kilometres, this is one of the three most difficult fjords to be crossed in this road project.

"It is the first time we develop a bridge of these dimensions. Gathering as accurate information as possible about waves, currents and wind conditions is therefore crucial", says project manager Mathias Egeland Eidem from the NPRA.

The Bjrnafjord crossing will become the longest floating bridge in the world, i.e. a bridge where the vertical load is supported by floating pontoons.

"It is important that the scientists go the extra mile. We need as accurate information as possible, for example about the wind conditions above the sea surface", explains Eidem.

Wind measurement on the Lysefjord bridge

Traditionally, wind in a fjord is measured by the anemometers installed on the measurement masts on land. Three years ago, wind researchers from UiS started using optical remote sensing to monitor wind conditions.

Lidar technology involves emitting invisible light pulses into the air and measuring the signals backscattered from particles that move with the wind. The difference between the frequencies of the emitted and the received pulses, the so-called Doppler effect, reflects the wind velocity in the direction of the light pulse.

The UiS researchers were introduced to the lidar technology during their work in NORCOWE (Norwegian Center for Offshore Wind Energy). Inspired by the possibilities this technology offers, they started a pilot project on the optical wind sensing in the Lysefjord, in cooperation with the NPRA.

An extensive system for the long term wind- and vibration monitoring, which the researchers already had in place on the bridge, since 2013, provided an excellent basis for the evaluation of the lidar wind measurements. The 640 metre long suspension bridge with the main span of 446 metres, is located at the inlest of the the Lysefjord in Rogaland.

In 2014, the researchers expended the traditional wind measurements on the bridge by the optical remote sensing, in collaboration with NORCOWE researchers from the University of Bergen and Christian Michelsen Research (CMR). By placing a long-range lidar sensor at Lysefjordsenteret they were able to scan the wind around the bridge at a distance of almost two kilometres.

More detailed measurements

The results from the wind measurements with lidar technology on the Lysefjord bridge gave the researchers a real boost.

"It was encouraging to see that the wind velocities recorded from such a large distance matched well the data from the anemometers on the bridge", says Jasna Bogunovic Jakobsen from the Department of Mechanical and Structural Engineering and Materials Science at UiS.

She has been carrying out researcher on wind loads and wind-induced response on long-span bridges for more than 25 years, and is leading the project on the on the application on lidar wind measurements in bridge engineering. The Lysefjord lidar test results paved the way for a further application and further development of the measurement technique adapted to bridge design.

"Until now we have only been able to acquire limited knowledge about the wind conditions out in a fjord. Lidar technology makes it possible to monitor the wind conditions at a number of locations across the entire fjord, that is without the influence and the disturbances from the surrounding terrain. The new method gives us more detailed knowledge about the conditions in the middle of the fjord, , where the steady wind and the wind gusts typically have the strongest impact on the bridge", explains Jakobsen.

In addition to the wind data acquired by the anemometers in some few points on land, the scientist now get information about the wind field along the entire bridge span.

"By using this measurement method we reduce uncertainty when estimating the wind loads and the wind effects on a bridge", says the Professor.

Researchers in the field preparing a long-range lidar laser instrument called WindCube100S, deployed at the Lysefjord center. The Lysefjord bridge is in the background. Jasna B. Jakobsen (seen from behind) and Etienne Cheynet, both from UiS, and Valerie Kummer from UiB. Credit: Benny Svardal / CMR

Optimal design

The optical remote wind sensing has previously been applied in meteorology, aviation and in particularly for mapping the wind energy resources. Lidar wind measurements are for example used both "upstream" and in the wake of the wind turbines to optimise energy production and the wind turbine operation.

Moreover, lidar technology is being used for developing and operating offshore wind farms. Installing traditional wind sensors on met-masts is difficult and expensive, especially for large wind turbine rotors and at large water depths.

According to Jakobsen, this measurement method is valuable for the design of the bridges across large Norwegian fjords.

"This new measurement method is costly. However, it provides new, important data on the wind field at the bridge site, so that the bridge can be designed in a more optimal way, for the representative wind conditions.", explains Jakobsen.

The longest floating bridge in the world

In spring 2016, Jakobsen and her team carried out a six week measurement campaign in the Bjrnafjord, in collaboration with the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and CMR.

Three laser sensors were placed on shore, with light beams directed towards the sea. The three lidars were integrated into a so-called wind scanner system, which enables simultaneous, coordinated measurements by the three measurement units.

Due to the large width of the fjord, a specially adapted measurement set-up and subsequent data analysis was required. The aim was to get as detailed and accurate information as possible on the spatial and temporal variation of the wind.

"A very long floating bridge is very sensitive to wind- and wave excitation. It is therefore important to connect the long-term, "point" wind measurements by anemometers on the met-masts on land to the actual wind conditions above the water, to ensure that we get the best possible estimate of how much the bridge will move and all the stresses wind creates in the structure.

Jakobsen and the post-doctoral researcher Etienne Cheynet are currently analysing the measurement data from Bjrnafjorden.

Developing the calculation model

Lidar wind sensing makes it possible to also study the interaction between the air flow and the box girder.

In spring 2014, the research team therefore applied the Danish wind scanner system with two fast-scanning, short-range lidars, to study the air flow around the bridge. The wind velocity measurements downstream of the Lysefjord bridge revealed how the wind passes the bridge girder obstacle, including the vortices shed from the top and bottom surface of the bridge deck.

"This is fantastic!" exclaims Jakobsen and displays a colourful and detailed wind profile on the computer screen  a visualisation of the air flow in the wake of the bridge.

"Until now we have been limited to small scale wind tunnel experiments or numerical computer simulations; now we can study the flow around the bridge girder in the field!"

The research team compares the recorded vibrations of the Lysefjord bridge to the estimated vibrations based on the wind load characteristics measured with small-scale models in wind tunnels. The aim is to develop as accurate calculation models as possible for bridge vibrations due to gusty winds.

Much of the work is already done

Mathias Egeland Eidem from the NPRA faces the following challenges as the head of the technology development work for the seven fjord crossings: If the design criterion for a bridge is set too low, this will make it less secure. If it is too high, the cost will go up.

It is crucial that he can rely on accurate information from experts regarding waves, currents and wind conditions.

Eidem will therefore be using this new measurement method in developing design requirements for new bridge projects in Ferjefri E39. In addition to the Bjrnafjord, this includes the Halsafjord and Sulafjord bridges.

"As lidar wind sensing is a relatively new technology in connection with bridge construction, it is important for us to collaborate with wind expertise at UiS. They can assist in developing a measurement system suited our needs", says Eidem.

"When we have obtained sufficient data and developed an optimal calculation model, we will be able to set the correct design criterion for the bridge we are about to construct. Much of the work will then be behind us.

Construction of the Bjrnafjord bridge, with its 5000 metre span, may start in 2023.

More information: Application of short-range dual-Doppler lidars to evaluate the coherence of turbulence. Experiments in Fluids, December 2016. orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/a  f-ded63da647fb).html Assessment of wind conditions at a fjord inlet by complementary use of sonic anemometers and lidars. Energy Procedia 2015. orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/a  6-60902eeb171f).html
RELEX Takes Stake In Zenopt to Offer Workforce Optimization to Retailers

Atlanta  June 12, 2017  RELEX Solutions, provider of integrated retail and supply chain planning solutions, invested in Zenopts advanced workforce optimization system to help retailers plan their staffing needs better allowing them to reduce costs while improving customer service, a vital differentiator in todays retail landscape.

Research finds that labor is one of the most significant overhead costs in retail averaging 10-20% of turnover.* Given the critical importance of managing labor costs efficiently, Zenopt is a perfect partner for RELEXs continued focus on helping retailers reduce costs while increase sales and service levels.

Current workforce planning systems are based on sales and customer flows. Retailers generally have to plan weeks or months in advance and it can be difficult to make last minute changes. In many cases, they also base planning on budgets rather than actual sales forecasts.

Together with Zenopt, RELEX is adding a new dimension to retail workforce planning with forecasts calculated from the product/store level up resulting in exceptionally accurate forecasts not only for sales, but also for inventory flows into DCs and stores. Shelf-stacking is often a largely ignored part of workforce planning, yet it is a major factor in stores overall workload, one that is significantly affected by delivery schedules, promotions, new product launches etc. The availability of medium-term shelf-stacking forecasts fundamentally changes retailers ability to plan accurately.

Zenopts technology adds additional key capabilities. It optimizes workload by timing different tasks efficiently around customer flows and other fixed workloads. It also takes into account staff skills (and even contractual restrictions) when matching people to tasks, such as running a fish, deli or pharmacy counter.

Most currently available workforce planning systems struggle to produce optimized plans as they fail to take into account the nature of the work that needs to be done. Zenopts smart optimization makes it easy to plan shifts around staffing requirements, staff members competencies and their availability.

This combination of exceptionally accurate forecasting and detailed staff-resource analysis means the two companies are taking workforce optimization to unprecedented levels of effectiveness.

That means real savings through reducing, and even eliminating overstaffing, and fewer instances of understaffing or in-proper staffing that result in delays getting products on-shelf, increased spoilage, long queues at the cashier and loss of sales. This is about more than cutting waste, says RELEXs co-founder and CEO Mikko Karkkainen. Its about efficient management of stores. We expect ever better service when we go shopping and we hope this will be yet another way in which RELEX helps retailers re-focus their efforts on their customers.

Zenopt, a startup founded by Mika Halme and Antti Alakiikonen in 2016, is based in Helsinki, Finland and has taken an innovative approach to workforce management and planning by modelling the employee pool for calculating availability to match staffing requirements. The software was founded on several years of experience in workforce management as well as latest programming and optimization techniques, which contribute to a user-friendly and efficient approach to workforce planning.

Our partnership with RELEX will give us access to outstanding forecast data which in turn will allow scores of companies to manage their peoples time better, says Zenopts CEO, Mika Halme. Employees will find their workload is more evenly distributed, so fewer instances of working flat out or barely at all. Employers will save money and customers will find there are people free to help them. Everybody wins.

*PwC and Retail Council of Canada comparing North American markets

About RELEX Solutions

RELEX Solutions provides an integrated retail and supply chain planning system that delivers impressive results for customers around the world.

Through precise demand forecasting, automated replenishment, revolutionary space planning and assortment optimization, RELEX helps businesses plan better, sell more and waste less however fast the market changes.

Through our retail expertise and technology, we build strong, enduring, award-winning partnerships with our customers. RELEXs success is inseparable from theirs.

RELEX Solutions is trusted by leading brands including WHSmith, Morrisons, AO.com, Coop Denmark and Rossmann, and has offices across North America and Europe.

More information: www.relexsolutions.com

Other POS News:
About Christopher James Payne Director  Primeline HK Ltd.

Chris is the Director of Primeline HK Ltd where he serves as a Project and Operations Manager holds a B.S. in Marketing from Bentley University and is passionate about his undertakings. Collectively, he and his partners possess years of expertise in banking, payment processing, sales and distribution throughout Asia. Through Primeline HK, Chris aims to deliver a robust mobile payment platform that can be delivered globally to empower its clients merchants with a flexible solution supplemented with abundant value added services.

Alongside Chriss involvement in payment, Chris is also the President of Primeline Products Philippines. Primeline Philippines currently operates through the largest department store and mall chains in the Philippines and is home to 9 brands from various industries. Chriss involvement in Primeline Philippines has provided him experience in sales, brand management, business development, product sourcing, freight forwarding and logistics. Chris is constantly active looking for opportunities to cultivate new relationships to bring added value to projects.

About SmartCard Marketing Systems, Inc. (OTC:SMKG)

SmartCard Marketing Systems Inc. (SMKG:OTC) is a Fintech payment accelerator Co & solutions provider to the payments industry, with cloud-based EMV host Acquiring, Issuing & Processing solutions to Banks, Telecoms and Enterprise. The company offers advisory services & offers proprietary software solutions including Genorocity.com, a coupon and incentive platform for the Retail & Events industry, Check21SAAS.com a Remote Deposit Check solution for X9 clearing, EmphasisPay a gateway for ISVs and VelocityMWallet.com, a transaction payment ecosystem for alternative payment solutions & processing. For more information, go to www.smartcardmarketingsystems.com

Other POS News:
"States like Maharashtra that are keen on farmer loan waiver should generate funds from their own resources," Jaitley said at a press conference in New Delhi.

By India Today Web Desk: Amid a nationwide unrest among farmers demanding a blanket waiving off of their bank loans, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said the states that are keen on granting such loan waivers should arrange the funds from their own resources.

"I have already made the position. States which want to go for these kind of schemes, will have to generate them from their own resources. Beyond that as the central government, I have nothing to say," Jaitley told reporters when asked if the Centre will help states on the issue of farm loan waivers.

advertisement

"States like Maharashtra that are keen on farmer loan waiver should generate funds from their own resources," Jaitley said at a press conference in New Delhi.

Jaitley's statement asking the states to arrange for their own funds to waive farmer loans comes at a time when at least three BJP-ruled states - Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh - are considering the move.

On Sunday, the Devendra Fadnavis government in Maharashtra announced a loan waiver for the state's 1.07 crore farmers who have land holdings of less than five acres, a move that would cost the state exchequer Rs 30,000 crore.

From June 1, over half a million farmers across Maharashtra, barring coastal Konkan, went on an unprecedented strike, marred by several violent incidents. Major cities like Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur and others felt the pinch of the strike as shortages loomed large, coupled with spiralling prices of essentials like milk, fresh fruit, vegetables, and even food grain.

The farmers' demands included waiver on farm loans, free electricity, appropriate remunerative prices for their produce, grants for irrigation, pension for farmers aged 60 years and above, and implementation of the M.S. Swaminathan Committee recommendations.

In Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's two-day fast that ended on Sunday was able to end the state-wide farmers' agitation with Mandsaur being the epicentre where five farmers were gunned down in police firing last week.

While Chouhan announced a slew of schemes that he claimed would benefit the farmers, he did not specify if those included waiving the loan of the farmers in his state.

Meanwhile, in his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi today, another BJP Chief Minister - Uttar Pradesh's Yogi Adityanath - is reported to have discussed his government's plans to soon announce a formula of farm loan waiver, which would require Rs 36,000 crore.

ALSO READ | Maharashtra waives off loans of small farmers; conditions apply for others

Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh farmers are demanding what Narendra Modi had promised in 2014

WATCH | Arun Jaitley lists 3 benefits of demonetisation

--- ENDS ---
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 

Read more
Your Ultimate Investing Toolkit

Sign up for MarketBeat All Access to gain access to MarketBeat's full suite of research tools:

Portfolio Monitoring

Top Stock Lists

Premium Reports

Stock Screeners

Live News Feed

Premium Support

Free for your first month.
Small business owners have money on their minds.

A new survey by New Jersey-based TD Bank (NYSE:TD) reveals 21 percent of small businesses have sought or will seek a loan or line of credit. Most of them (72 percent) will approach their primary bank.

Other Findings from the 2017 TD Bank Small Business Month Survey

Small Businesses Feeling Optimistic

The study also shows small business owners are upbeat about their growth prospects.

About 46 percent expect to increase revenue or sales in the next year. A majority of them (80 percent) feel confident managing their business finances.

But Challenges Persist

A segment of small business owners (11 percent) however admit they dont know how to seek credit when theyre ready.

For 34 percent of them, their low personal credit score has affected their ability to get business credit in the past. Worse still, 69 percent of entrepreneurs dont even know about business credit scores or realize they have one.

It Pays to Gain Financial Knowledge

Whether you are planning to expand your business or fulfill more orders, you may find yourself in need of funds.

Before approaching a bank, its best to be prepared and have all the information at your fingertips. For example, its extremely important for you to be aware of your business credit score. A business credit score reflects your companys creditworthiness. So apart from impacting your ability to get approvals for loans, it influences commercial partners when they determine extensions of lines of credit.

If you find out your credit score is negative, there are ways to fix it, too. You may, for instance, limit your credit usage and learn more about soft credit inquiries. These are simple steps that can make it easier for you to fix a negative credit score and secure capital.

TD Bank surveyed 553 small business owners with less than $1 million in annual revenue for this study. Take a look at the infographic below for more information:
The first poster of Ajay Devgn's Baadshaho is out.

By India Today Web Desk: Ajay Devgn is one busy man. He has two releases within a span of two months. If his Golmaal Again with Rohit Shetty is set to hit the screens on October 18, the 48-year-old actor recently announced the release date of his another film, Baadshaho.

The film, which also stars Emraan Hashmi, Esha Gupta, Ileana D'Cruz and Vidyut Jamwal, will release on September 1.

advertisement

The Shivaay actor took to Twitter to release the first poster of Baadshaho which is set against the backdrop of the 1975 Emergency. The first poster doesn't feature any of the star cast, instead it tells the story of Baadshaho.

Devgn, who has collaborated with filmmaker Milan Luthria after seven years, wrote on Twitter, "1975 EMERGENCY...96 hours...600km...1 Armored Truck...Millions in Gold and 6 BADASSES. Baadshaho Sandstorm Is Coming! (sic)"

1975 EMERGENCY...96 hours...600km...1 Armored Truck...Millions in Gold & 6 BADASSES. Baadshaho Sandstorm Is Coming! pic.twitter.com/pPF3DZ0hoH- Ajay Devgn (@ajaydevgn) June 12, 2017

The trailer of the film will be attached with Salman Khan's Tubelight. If reports are to believed, Badshaaho is a heist drama set in 1975.

ALSO READ: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan rejects Baadshaho. Is Emraan Hashmi the reason?

ALSO WATCH: I can take on anybody with my little finger, says Ajay Devgn

--- ENDS ---
This is a selection of hoaxes shared by Slovak internet users over the past week.

Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled

Roma earning 561 for patrolling is a hoax

Roma who work patrols in their settlements and villages will be paid 561 after taxes, in addition to an education stipend of 140. The European Union is telling us where to use the money we are submitting for its budget.

Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement

This is a text from the alternative news website Hlavne Spravy, written by Mario Vidak, who openly admits to his membership in the extremist LSNS party.

The article is based on the Interior Ministry's report of renewed Roma patrols. The author does not write that the 561 is actually the overall price of the work, as stated by the ministrys report.

This makes the gross salary of the patrol member is 435, according to Vladimir Horvath, the spokesperson of the Government Proxy for Roma Communities. That amount equals the minimum salary as defined by law. The monthly salary of an individual with no dependents who works the patrols will equal 374, Horvath told the Sme daily. He also noted that not all of the patrol members will be working full time.

The text only comments on the straw man argument that he created by twisting the ministry report, and the article contains racial bias and unfounded statements. Vidak write, We know from experience that these patrols do not work at all, although there is no proof in the report to support the claim.

The government proxy, in contrast, says that feedback from citizens, mayors and the patrollers themselves has indicated that the experiences have been positive.

The patrols do not work as assistants to the police, he said, as quoted by Sme. They also help in the daily operation of the community. The patrols often escort children to schools or help in the organisation of events, Horvath said.

In addition to incorrect statements, the report also contains at least two logical erors. One is the straw man argument, which first makes up or exaggerates an argument - the straw man - and then attacks this alleged problem.

Another fallacy at work in the article is the use of We know from experience as a justification. This is supposed to create the impression that the information has serious foundation, when it only generalises from chosen anecdotes and fabricated authorities. Vidak does not support or attribute his claims with any data or statistics.

Despite this, his article earned over 3,300 likes on Facebook.

Terrorist attack in Sevilla is a hoax

Muslims attacked Christians celebrating Easter in the Spanish city of Sevilla, injuring tens of people and destroying Christian symbols, the Czech website europortal.cz wrote shortly after Easter this year. This is the multicultural Europe of today, and this is the future of a Europe ruled by Muslims, the article continued.

The website is part of the Parlamentni Listy hoax site. At least 2,700 people shared the website's article on Facebook, though it also spread through Facebook groups like We do not want immigrants in Czechia.

An incident in Sevilla did occur, but the facts from the report are either omitted or exaggerated. The incident was a reaction to a group using metal noise-makers and shouting Muslim and Basque separatist chants, the Manipulatori.cz website wrote. The actions created a panic because people assumed that it was part of an attack.

Hundreds of people were injured the resulting confusion, with 13 people requiring hospital attention. The Spanish police ruled out links to any kind of terrorist organizations, according to hatefree.cz website. The police detained eight people following the incident, none of whom were of Arab origin and three of whom were known to the police.

This article is a clear hoax because it misstates facts about an event and is written in an un-journalistic style, linking an incident in Sevilla with the provocative statement of this is the multicultural Europe of today.

HIV-infected needles at petrol stations is a hoax

HIV-infected needles hidden in pumps at Bratislavas petrol stations are a recent threat that have raised concern among some Slovak Facebook users. Even former Supreme Court chair Stefan Harabin has shared the warning with an illustrative photo of a petrol pump.

This is a known hoax that has made several resurgences since its first appearance in 2000, according to Snopes.com website. It has become popular again: Harabins post alone has been shared nearly 400 times.

The hoax capitalises on peoples fear of AIDS, and the warning sometimes appears in different forms, like a warning against needles left on cinema seats.

The picture of a gas pump that Slovaks have been sharing comes from the Facebook profile of Jacqueline Medina, the omediach.com website reported.
Non-registration disqualifies a business from concluding public sector contracts, including purchase contracts concerning State property contracts on non-repayable financial contributions or contracts concluded as a result of public procurement procedures.

Font size: A - | A +

The Act on Register of Public Sector Partners introduces an obligation of so-called, public sector partners to be registered in the Public Sector Partners (PSP) Register maintained by the District Court of Zilina.

Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement

JUDr. Viktoria Draskaba MEconSc Senior legal counsel

Legal persons and individuals generally qualify as public sector partners if they intend to:

receive funds from public sector entities, including EU funds, State Aid and Investment Aid;

acquire property, property rights or other rights from public sector entities;

conclude a contract with contracting authority or contracting entity;

acquire accounts receivables due from State and selected public law entities;

directly or indirectly supply goods or provide services to above public sector partners, including sub-contractors;

and provided that any payment of such funds or value of asset exceed a lump sum of  100,000 or annually, an aggregate amount of  250,000.

Businesses that were registered in the Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBO) Register, kept by the Public Procurement Authority until 31 January 2017, were registered with the Court by virtue of the law. Nevertheless, they have to complete and verify their PSP registration before 31 July 2017 or, in case their UBOs changed after 1 February 2017, before the conclusion of a contract with a public sector entity. Businesses not registered in the UBO Register must be registered in the PSP Register before the conclusion of a contract awarded by a public sector entity, e.g. in a public tender.

Failure to comply with obligations under the Act has serious repercussions. Non-registration disqualifies a business from concluding public sector contracts, including purchase contracts concerning State property, contracts on non-repayable financial contributions or contracts concluded as a result of public procurement procedures. It can also result in withdrawal of a public sector entity from already concluded contracts. Registration of incorrect or incomplete data, or non-compliance with other obligations under the Act leads to a fine in an amount corresponding to the economic benefit gained by failing public sector partner or, if it cannot be determined, ranging from  10,000 to  1,000,000. The latter fine will be imposed up to  100,000 also on statutory representatives of failing public sector partner.

A public sector partner cannot register itself directly; registration must be done via an authorised person such as an attorney at law, notary or auditor. The authorised person must verify, and is responsible, along with the public sector partner, for correctness and completeness of a public sector partners data registered in the PSP Register. Concerned entities should begin the registration process as soon as possible, however, not later than by the end of June to meet the deadline. The Court usually requires 10 days from submission of the application to register an entity and this period may become longer in summer months.
Over 10,000 Slovaks and foreigners participated in the biggest volunteering event in central Europe.

Font size: A - | A +

Wearing T-shirts with the lyrics of the Slovak band Tublatanka, thousands of volunteers went on a date with their city June 9 and 10.

The 11th annual Nase Mesto (Our City), the biggest corporate volunteering event in central Europe, encouraged Slovaks and foreigners to volunteer at various sites across the country. Groups were able to paint fences, mow lawns, and spend time with the elderly or disabled people.

Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement

The idea to make a whole day for volunteering in your city was really nice, said Quentin Champomier, a volunteer from France who is currently working with non-governmental organisation Inex Slovakia.

This years focus: education

Nase Mesto has become a regular group event for many companies across Slovakia. Throughout the years, they have begun to look forward to it, said Lenka Surotchak, the head of the events organiser Pontis Foundation.

Aside from making Slovakia more beautiful, we are trying to build connections between the work of NGOs and nearby schools and institutions, Surotchak told The Slovak Spectator, adding that the day often becomes an opportunity to form friendships.

The focus of this years volunteering day was education, Surotchak said. Pontis reached out to NGOs and institutions active in this field in various ways.

Fitting with the theme, several CEOs of Slovak-based companies helped at a school for hearing-impaired children on Drotarska Street in Bratislava. They helped by cleaning up the area and removing old furniture. US Ambassador to Slovakia Adam Sterling also participated by painting a fence.

It was invigorating, Ambassador Sterling told The Slovak Spectator. He appreciated that it was great to feel that I was contributing something in my small way.

Paul Burt, managing director IBM International Service Centres, also said that he was grateful for the experience. He said that although IBM takes part in volunteering activities during the year, they look forward to the country-wide volunteering day.

Certainly to be part of something on this scale, of this size, is always great, Burt told The Slovak Spectator.

Volunteering helps everyone

More than 10,000 volunteers helped at 233 NGOs, social care centres, schools and kindergartens across 52 towns and cities across Slovakia on June 9 and 10. Many of the NGOs that took part in the event said that they could not do their work without the help of volunteers.

The Bratislava-based social care centre DSS Integra, which took part in Nase Mesto in cooperation with Inex Slovakia, said that this is true for them. The centre offers services for children and adults with mental and physical disabilities.

Miroslava Zvacova, of Inex Slovakia, said that the smiles on the faces of DSS Integras clients and the volunteers showed that everyone enjoyed the event.

It was a great way to broaden our horizons and meet new people, said volunteer Lydia Handzova, who spent time with clients of DSS Integra.

Friendships formed through Nase Mesto can last beyond the event, said Renata Balazova, the head of DSS Integra. Some volunteers will regularly visit the centre to spend time with clients they met during Nase Mesto, she added.

Some of those who attended the June 9 volunteering event at DSS Integra said that the experience of spending time with the clients has given them a new perspective toward their own lives.

In this hurried world, where we dont have time for anything, we met people who have a completely different perspective on this world, volunteer Marta Hornak told The Slovak Spectator. I was talking to one client who kept telling me that we actually have lots of time. That was the biggest takeaway for me.

Michaela Terenzani contributed to this report.
The D3-highway section in Zilina Region, leading to the Polish border, was unveiled this weekend.

Font size: A - | A +

The 15-kilometre stretch of road between Svrcinovec and Skalite from the Svrcinovec intersection to the Polish border crossing was opened for motorists on June 10, the TASR newswire wrote.

The newly opened section of the road will reduce traffic around the border crossings in Trstena (Poland) and Svrcinovec (Czech Republic), according to Transport Minister Arpad Ersek.

Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement

The tunnel of the D3 highway section Svrcinovec-Skalite. (Source: SITA)

This is a unique piece of work, built in a challenging area, a fact that always influences the cost of construction work, Ersek said. It is one of the key sections of the D3 motorway that will link economically vibrant regions of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the minister noted, adding that the stretch will make the region more attractive for new investors and will help to create new jobs.

Central Europe's tallest bridge along the stretch

The National Highway Company (NDS) general director Jan Durisin said that the construction costs amounted to 417 million. "The Svrcinovec-Skalite section has been so far the most technically complex road infrastructure project in Slovakia, featuring 402 construction objects, two tunnels and 29 bridges, he told TASR. The stretch includes an 84-metre high bridge, which is the highest bridge in central Europe.

The exit of the D3 Svrcinovec-Skalite highway section. (Source: TASR)

While driving on the SvrcinovecSkalitestate border along the newly opened route, drivers will save nine minutes from their travel time. The importance of the new motorway will increase after the adjacent Cadca, Bukov-Svrcinovec stretch (Zilina Region) is completed, which the Transport Ministry says will likely happen by the end of 2020.

The construction was financed with EU funds.
Survey

Adults Regret Their College Education Decisions

Most adults would change at least one big decision related to their college education if they could, related to their major (36 percent), what institution they attended (28 percent) or what type of degree they pursued (12 percent).

This finding came from interviews with almost 90,000 U.S. adults conducted as part of an "Education Consumer Pulse" survey run between June 2016 and March 2017 by Gallup and Strada Education Network. Strada, previously USA Funds, is a nonprofit focused on student success in higher education. The Education Consumer Pulse is a new research platform developed by the two organizations to research "education consumers."

Those with some college but no degree were most likely to regret their original majors; 42 percent said they had second thoughts about that aspect of their postsecondary education. In fact, this group overall was more likely to regret at least one decision regarding college than any other group. In contrast, those who had some postgraduate work or a postgraduate degree were least likely to express regret over their choice of majors (26 percent and 24 percent, respectively).

Respondents who attended a vocational, technology or trade program were more likely to say that they would have attended a different school (35 percent) than that they would have gone after a different major (31 percent).

While most people expressed regret of some kind, most (with one exception) also believed they received a "high-quality education." The exception were those individuals who had some college but no degree. In their case, only 40 percent reported that they had received a high-quality education, compared to 58 percent of those who had achieved their bachelor's degree and 71 percent of those who earned a postgraduate degree.

Gallup's pollsters suggested that the yearning for a different outcome expressed by most respondents was "rooted" in the challenge people face in "using their education to obtain their preferred job, such as when their field of study does not directly align with their desired career." It could also, they added, be a result of how the employment market has evolved since these individuals obtained their degrees.

But the overall positive assessments respondents gave to their college experiences also seem to reflect, according to the researchers, a belief that postsecondary education and training has benefit and that schools are "largely delivering" on student expectations.

The full results are available on the Gallup & Strada Education Network website here.
Police in Bangladesh claimed that they have foiled a combined terror plot hatched by Al-Qaeda, Al-Qaeda Indian subcontinent and ISIS. Police arrested six JMB militants last night from Dhaka.

By Sahidul Hasan Khokon: Police in Bangladesh claimed that they had possibly averted a major terror attack in the country with the arrest of six Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) militants and a top militant leader.

The police said that the six arrested militants have told their interrogators that Al-Qaeda, Al-Qaeda-Indian subcontinent and the Islamic State or ISIS had planned to launch a major terror strike in Bangladesh during Ramadan to the anniversary of Holi Artisan Bakery attack.

advertisement

The top leader was arrested by RAB hours later in the day. Sharia Board's Ameer Shaykh Mamunur Rashid alias Shaykh Mamun was arrested from Demra in Dhaka.

At least 20 people were killed on July 1, last year when five militants attacked Holi Artisan Bakery in Dhaka and held several hostages.

Addressing media-persons in Dhaka today, Monirul Islam, head of the Police Counter Terrorism Unit, said that the police arrested the six people from the New Market area yesterday night.

Monirul said that although the militants of Bangladesh did not have organisational relations with ISIS or Al-Qaeda, they work to implement their directives because of ideological alignment.

PAST CONNECTION

According to Dhaka police, to mark the anniversary of Holi Artisan Bakery attack, Al-Qaeda, Al-Qaeda Indian subcontinent, ISIS and some other terror outfits had instructed the arrested militants to plan an attack.

The militants had planned to punish the Murtad (a Muslim who rejects Islam). To execute the plan of the international terror outfits, the militants regularly assembled at the New Super Market area of Dhaka to conduct recce following which they planned to kill a Ulema, counter-terrorism unit of police said.

Acting on a tip-off, Dhaka police arrested Jahidul Islam alias Joha alias Mashroor (23), Abu Bakar Siddique alias Abu Mohammad (19), Mohammadullah Adnan (19), Mehdi Hasan Emon alias Abu Hamza (21), Khalid Saifullah alias Abu Musab (19) and Shamsuddin Al Amin alias Abu Ahmed.

Police recovered mobile phones, notebooks, extremist propaganda papers, pen drives and memory cards, said Monirul. Monirul also said, "Arrested militant Adnan taught Tarabi prayers at a mosque in New Market area. That is why they gathered there every day. "

HOW JMB OPERATES

Addressing the press, Monirul said that the central committee of JMB or the Majlis - as it is called - is governed by a group of five militants. One of them is named Sohel Mahfuz alias Hathkata Mahfuz. He is said to be the leader of the group.

Next in command is Saadi alias Abu Jandal alias Abu Darda alias Abu, who is said to have arranged for arms and ammunition for the six terrorists arrested last night.

advertisement

During the interrogation, the arrested militants told that Mashroor and Abu Mohammed gathered detailed information about the house of the Ulema, who was identified as their target, said Monirul. Police have not revealed the name of the Ulema, who was the target of the arrested militants.

--- ENDS ---
By Eric F. Spina

On my first day as president, I toured engineering labs, talking with students and faculty about advanced materials and vision-guided robots. Their passion moved me. Their work amazed me.

Candidly, I was a bit surprised by the University of Daytons research volume, which will hit another new record this fiscal year. In fact, annual sponsored research is expected to grow 10 percent to a total volume of nearly $130 million. Yes, thats right, $130 million.

As I learned more about the depth and impact of research, scholarship and creative activity coming out of the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI), STEM labs across campus, and the minds of our faculty and staff, I thought, Wow, we have such a compelling research story to tell. Its a story of achievement on par with some of the best research universities in the nation.

Thats why we created Momentum, a website that illustrates the full force of the University of Daytons standing as a major national research university.

Consider the national rankings:

 The University of Dayton tops all Catholic universities for sponsored engineering research and development.

 UD ranks second in federally sponsored materials R&D.

 Were ninth  ninth!  for sponsored research among private research universities without medical schools.

Beyond the numbers, our research stories speak volumes. At the University of Dayton, were focused on the common good  on developing real solutions that have a real impact on society. Thats why students are cultivating an urban farm in East Dayton and designing a high school 8,000 miles away in Malawi.

The vast majority of research universities are focused almost exclusively on discovery-driven research, hoping to achieve impact in future years. The Dayton approach is different. Here, we encourage the full spectrum of scholarly approaches, from fundamental to highly applied, because we want to advance the state of the art and quickly solve todays problems. The mix of pragmatic and inspired innovation that has long driven UDRI is now embraced across campus.

The innovative spirit on campus is tangible  whether inside the new Energy Experience Center that serves as a high-tech test bed for new and emerging energy technologies or inside a biology lab where professor Amit Singh and students are studying the common fruit fly for a better understanding about how Alzheimers disease affects the human brain.

On campus land that was once largely a brownfield, GE Aviation and Emerson have built R&D facilities that could be a national model for collaboration between industry and higher ed.

In the EPISCenter, UD researchers and graduate students are working alongside GE Aviation scientists and engineers to create advanced electrical power technologies, such as new power systems for aircraft, longer-range electric cars and smarter utility power grids for more efficient delivery of electricity. In the Helix Center, described as a real-world refrigeration research playground, the collaboration has already resulted in a patent application for a technology that will help reduce the energy in ice machines.

The stories on our research microsite speak to our ingenuity, curiosity and innovation. Collectively, they paint a portrait of a University engaged with the world, attuned to the needs of society and focused on serving the greater good .

I invite you to take a glimpse  and take a step into the future.
A group of activists organised beef festival in Aizawl today when Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh visited Mizoram to hold a meeting with chief ministers of states sharing borders with Myanmar.

By Manogya Loiwal : Opposing the recent notification of the Centre banning sale of cattle for slaughter in animal markets, which is being widely perceived as beef ban, some activists today organised a beef festival in Mizoram capital Aizawl.

The beef festival coincides with the visit of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who arrived in Aizawl today to hold a meeting of chief ministers of the states sharing borders with Mynamar.

advertisement

The security arrangement for Rajnath Singh's visit to Aizawl was beefed up in the wake of beef festival organised by ZOlife Group and some activists.

The organisers promoted the event on Facebook asking people to attend the beef festival at Vanapa Hall in Aizawl. It was scheduled for 2 pm today.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh chairing a review meeting of Indo-Myanmar border issues at Aizawl in Mizoram. (Photo: @HMOIndia)

CAUSE OF CONCERN FOR BJP

The opposition to the Centre's notification assumes political significance for the BJP, which is focusing on improving its presence in the entire North-East.

Remruata Varte, one of the organizers said that the entire state stands together in opposing the 'beef ban' by BJP government at the Centre.

Beef is an integral part of the food habits of the people in the region and no one will compromise for the same, Varte said.

This of course comes as a big set-back for the BJP leaders who have been camping in the region trying to garner support for impending elections in the state.

Earlier, protests were witnessed in Meghalaya against the Centre's notification for ban on sale of cattle for slaughter at animal markets.

People in queue outside the venue of beef festival in Aizawl.

(Photo credit: Lal Hmingmawia and Remruata Varte in Aizawl, Mizoram)

ALSO READ |

Rajnath Singh to review security along Myanmar border in meeting with CMs of 4 northeast states

ALSO WATCH | Will eliminate Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in Kashmir soon, says Rajnath Singh

--- ENDS ---
Danniella Westbrook jetted to Poland to get a face and neck lift with her Celebrity Big Brother pal Christopher Maloney and has showcased her new look on Instagram.

Danniella Westbrook, when she appeared on In Therapy last year.

The 43-year-old former Eastenders star  who returned to taking cocaine after she tragically suffered a miscarriage in 2016  first had surgery to rebuild her nose in 2002 after her septum infamously collapsed from years of taking the class A drug.

Shes also indulged in boob jobs, lip enhancements and cheek implants in the past.

And this week she underwent a six-hour operation in Poland, to take bone from her skull to try to build a new jaw.

Poland with chris Maloney #thewestbrook #whoKnew m#ouch #strongertogether A post shared by Danniella Westbrook (@danniellawestbrook) on Jun 8, 2017 at 11:55am PDT

Danniella, 43, told The Sun on Sunday: Im petrified. Im petrified that it wont work, and my face will be ruined, but also that something might go wrong and I wont wake up at all.

But it seems the surgery was a success, and Danniella shared snaps of her new look with her fans on Instagram.

Feeling fresh today Four days after the face lift #thewestbrook #theweekend #spaincalling #myworld #poland A post shared by Danniella Westbrook (@danniellawestbrook) on Jun 11, 2017 at 6:07am PDT

The star recently opened a bar in Marbella, Spain  despite being a recovering alcoholic.

Asked how her therapists feel about her opening a bar, she said: Well my friend has already got a bar in Spain, its great.

He runs those. I wanted something to put my money into. My sons dad is Spanish, he speaks Spanish. I want something that he can do and have a nice life.

I am still going to work and act, its just an investment for me and my son. Im not there everyday.



READ MORE

Piers Morgan slams Amber Rose over her naked selfie

Katy Perry ranks her exes in order of their sex life

Britney Spears singing Toxic without auto-tune has been leaked online

Niall Horan knows what he wants to wear when he dies

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for the latest celebrity news.
The 17-year-old has I am a thief tattooed on his head (Reddit/LiveLeak)

A tattoo artist in Brazil has been arrested for torture after inking I am a thief on the forehead of a 17-year-old, who allegedly stole a bike.

Maycon Wesley Carvalho dos Reis, 27, and his neighbour, Ronildo Moreira de Araujo, 29, cornered the teenager and tattooed the inscription on his head.

The full words, written in Portuguese are: Eu sou ladrao e vacilao, which translates to I am a thief and a loser.

In a shocking video, the youngster, who has not been since, is sat on a chair as he is branded. The pair were reported to the police after the images went viral.

Two men have been arrested for torture (Reddit/LiveLeak)

The boy has not been seen since (Reddit/LiveLeak)

Police arrested Wesley and Araujo, whose voice can be heard in the video, on Saturday. Judge Ines Del Cid, of the Criminal Court of Sao Bernardo do Campo, ordered the two men to be remanded in custody.

Lawyer Ariel de Castro Alves, coordinator of the Commission for Children and Adolescents of Condep, said he would follow up on the case, which he considers very serious, according to Globo.

If you were trying to steal or steal, you should call the police and not torture. The video has been circulating since [Friday] on the internet.

Both Wesley and Araujo say they released the boy but do not know his whereabouts.
Visitors approach strangers in masks, including one who walks around with a mirror as a face, having guests look and confront what lies within. Another masked figure sits in a tent, creating personalized gifts and songs depending on how people want to cleanse their lives.

Not only seeing but experiencing and feeling art with both mind and body is all part of 2017s Currents Santa Fe International New Media Festival.

Currents kicks off tonight and continues until June 25. This weekends performances and more throughout the upcoming weeks will have their installations, films or performances displayed in multiple spaces within the Railyard District, with El Museo Cultural de Santa Fe the main space.

Founders and co-executive artistic directors Frank Ragano and Mariannah Amster began the annual festival in 2010. Opening weekend this year is expected to attract about 3,000 visitors from around the nation and the world, as well as the Santa Fe area, said Amster. The entire festival is shooting for 8,000 attendees.

In addition to a sold-out coding class for artists being offered, the 2017 festival will also be more centralized near El Museo so the artists will not have to move their work to make way for the weekly Farmers Market.

The three main art exhibitions at El Museo include California artist Ryan McGees VOSIS, an app that he says shapes and controls sound visually, and allows users to see how sound relates to certain images or videos in what he said is his largest performance yet.

The other highlighted performances are We by Colton White and Burnish by Mark-David Hosale and Erika Batdorf. Music will also be presented at both the Currents Quasar Pavilion outside El Museos main entrance and within the Railyard Plaza.

We have a lot of different pieces this year because its driven by the technology  what people are doing, Ragano said. People tend to get more creative with technology.

Those who visit Burnish will receive a one-on-one journey. The product of a collaboration between digital media artist Hosale and theater artist Batdorf, both professors at Torontos York University, participants undergo a personalized experience of choosing words or elements or answering given questions from a masked Batdorf. Based on their answers, she gives each person a gift and sings them a song correlating with their answers. Its first showing was in Venice in 2015, later traveling to Canada and California before its showing at Currents.

The piece is about burning things away, removing veils, but cleansing the heart, she said. Its somewhat mystical in that way. Its very much a process of choosing things that you want to remove from your life or things you think are going to help you remove those things in your life.

While showing the piece, both artists said the reactions of those experiencing Burnish have varied dramatically, ranging from tears to smiles throughout the 10-minute experience.

It is really demanding on the audience  . People who do invest, and Ive seen people invest deeply, Ive seen some really strong reactions, Hosale said.

According to White, a Dallas-based artist and performer who was an intern at Currents last year, We tackles self-confrontation as people approach and interact with him while hes wearing a mirror in front of his face. While his piece is also expected to have varied emotional reactions, he said thats the great thing about opening weekend  people walking into something unexpected.

Its a great high to see people be exposed to something different, said. It gives me hope that we can give people a chance to open their minds.

Additional works will be on display through the Axle Contemporary Mobile Art Gallery, Art House, form & concept, OTA and David Richard galleries starting June 9. Locations following opening weekend include Meow Wolf, Violet Crown Cinema and Warehouse 21.

Admission is free, with a $5 suggested donation for visitors ages 18 and older.
As a young photographer, he worried about interrupting the passionate experiment of independent filmmaker John Cassavetes trilogy of plays and its army of volunteers in 1981 Los Angeles.

My camera made so much noise and I didnt want to use a tripod; we were in a small room, the light was low. So I had to hold my camera really still, said Steve Reisch.

He shot during rehearsals, stage building and other activities for Cassavetes repertory event called Three Plays of Love and Hate at the Center Theater.

Now, some of Reischs black-and-white photographs will be featured in the lobby at the Center for Contemporary Arts Cinematheque during the CCAs 2017 Auteur Film Series, kicking off with a reception starting at 5 p.m. tonight.

Also tonight, as part of the series, there will be a single showing of Cassavetes rarely seen Love Streams, which stars Cassavetes wife, Gena Rowlands. The two also teamed up on several other films, including Cassavetes best-known movie, 1984s A Woman Under the Influence, for which both received Academy Award nominations.

Like many actors and other creative types in Los Angeles at the time, Reisch wanted to be part of the legendary Cassavetes dream of art without profit in the middle of Hollywood. The Three Plays productions entailed three stages, one for each play. Each of the plays entailed numerous scenes and actors numbering up to 50, according to Reischs descriptions of the event on his website.

He hung around the theater waiting for an opportunity to talk to Cassavetes. When the photographer, who had also had roles on television, made his pitch, the director suggested he show up the next morning and start shooting. He also won a role in one of the plays.

I told him that I wanted to document what was happening here and he said, Show up at 8 a.m. tomorrow. I didnt sleep all night, Reisch said.

No one was paid and the small size of the theater allowed actors to work without the actors union shutting them down under the rules at the time. When the three-hour-plus plays, featuring Gena Rowlands, Peter Falk, Jon Voight and Cassavetes himself, opened for performances, the tickets were $2. They did the plays in repertory, seven nights a week, plus two matinees.

This was definitely an act of love and of art, Reisch said.

Cassavetes, who died in 1989, turned down lucrative offers for the plays to be filmed, Reisch said. His desire that the plays become works of art was relentless, compulsively so  each actor was urged to work out every emotion, and Cassavetes and a secretary would rewrite the scripts overnight accordingly. Many of Reischs photographs stem from the in the moment process where Cassavetes urged the actors to find where their characters emotions truly resided.

The pre-rehearsal process occurred in a smallish, poorly lit room, with the actors, Cassavetes and others involved in the production, including Reisch, but without his tripod, all jammed together.

It was wonderful. I found how much I loved what I did and it enabled me to find myself. I could commit to photography, Reisch said.

The 27 images on display at the CCA were gleaned from hundreds he had stored under his bed following an unsuccessful attempt to find a publisher for a book after Three Plays ended, Reisch said.

Some of the photos were displayed during the Three Plays event at the Center Theater. Three decades later, select images were taken out of storage and first exhibited in California. The show at CCAs Cinematheque will be up until August 13.

Rowlands power as an actor may have opened up Cassavetes genius, Reisch said. One of their children, Nick Cassavetes, also acted in the productions. Voights very young daughter, Angelina Jolie, occasionally visited the theater, Reisch said.

Rowlands is the lead in the film Love Streams that screens tonight and was featured in the play of the same title in the Three Plays production. Love Streams and a second play called The Third Day Comes were based on writings by Ted Allan. The third play, Knives, was written by Cassavetes.

As a witness to the six-month event of Three Plays, Reisch said he captured a rare moment of Cassavetes adoration of Rowlands while she sits on stage following a powerful moment in rehearsal.

This image in his portfolio often draws the attention of lovers, he said.

That was the only time I ever saw him kiss her, he said.
Each Monday, Alejandro Montoya invites the world into his home to watch some movies  B movies, that is.

The Albuquerque-based filmmaker is also a fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

The format for the cult series sees the hosts watching the film all while providing play-by-play commentary.

Montoyas webseries B Movie Couch is starting to gain an audience online.

Ive been watching B movies with friends; of course, MST3K is a huge inspiration, but we have done this for years and one time we thought, hey, we should invite our friends to join us, but my apartment is small, have them join us live on Facebook, he says. So we streamed it, and we have been sharing videos and inviting friends and guests ever since.

Montoya describes a B movie as this: Its fun, crazy, not caring what people thought, and just plain out there, he says with a laugh. Things that make us go, What!'

The cast of characters rotates on a weekly basis  just like the film.

Montoya says there is prep that goes into the show.

The time it takes to see the movie, everything is improv; we dont watch the movies ahead of time and fake it, he says. We watch two movies and then editing for a day or two. And then share it and hope people like it.

Montoya says the key to the show is being able to stream it live via Facebook.

And he enjoys having that interaction with the audience.

That we can interact with our friends and see what they think of the movie live, its like we are all watching flicks together, he says. We try (to respond to posts) because we are watching the movie, but we try to interact as much as we can.

Montoya and crew want to build the audience via YouTube, as well.

We would love for it to get more views on YouTube, and to have more people check it out and send us DVDs they want to donate for us to watch, he says. At this time, we are also using this as a potential collaboration with local artists, like musicians, actors, actresses, comedians. Anything to get the New Mexico arts seen a little bit more. While having fun, of course.

Montoya also enjoys the feed being improv.

In my case, because Im with the always hilarious Matt Page and Ian Perez, two of my closest friends, its always easy for us to get a little traction and just start going at it, he says. Like Ive said, its a lot of fun and, quite honestly, a bit therapeutic.

Montoya says B Movie Couch is all about laughing.

I really mean it when I say I havent laughed this much in a long time, he says. Its fun to hang with friends like Ian, Matt and our guests. There is no negativity, we are all just having a good time, and it shows in the videos.

Plus, with special guests like Samson Snell, Ryan Halsey, Rochelle Fetters, Frida Mercury, Aaron Mastrianni, Chris Burnett, Ariana Spencer, Rikki Carroll, Lauren Poole, Daniel Carlton, Dan Mathis. All amazingly talented, funny, smart local NM artists, how can you go wrong?, he adds.

Online

Visit YouTube and search B movie couch to view videos.
WASHINGTON  Fellow Republicans pressed President Donald Trump on Sunday to come clean about whether he has tapes of private conversations with former FBI Director James Comey and provide them to Congress if he does  or possibly face a subpoena, as a Senate investigation into collusion with Russia or obstruction of justice extended to a Trump Cabinet member.

It was a sign of escalating fallout from riveting testimony from Comey last week of undue pressure from Trump, which drew an angry response from the president on Friday that Comey was lying.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions was in for sharp questioning by senators on the Senate Intelligence committee Tuesday. Whether that hearing will be public or closed is not yet known.

I dont understand why the president just doesnt clear this matter up once and for all, said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, a member of that committee, referring to the existence of any recordings.

She described Comeys testimony as candid and thorough and said she would support a subpoena if needed. Trump should voluntarily turn them over, Collins said.

Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., also a member of that committee, agreed the panel needed to hear any tapes that exist. Weve obviously pressed the White House, he said.

Trumps aides have dodged questions about whether conversations relevant to the Russia investigation have been recorded, and so has the president. Pressed on the issue Friday, Trump said Ill tell you about that maybe sometime in the very near future.

Lankford said Sessions testimony Tuesday will help flesh out the truth of Comeys allegations, including Sessions presence at the White House in February when Trump asked to speak to Comey alone. Comey alleges that Trump then privately asked him to drop a probe into former national security adviser Michael Flynns contacts with Russia.

Comey also has said Sessions did not respond when he complained he didnt want to get time alone with the president again. The Justice Department has denied that, saying Sessions stressed to Comey the need to be careful about following appropriate policies.

We want to be able to get his side of it, Lankford said.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said theres a real question of the propriety of Sessions involvement in Comeys dismissal, because Sessions had stepped aside from the federal investigation into contacts between Russia and the Trump campaign. Comey was leading that probe.

Reed said he also wants to know if Sessions had more meetings with Russian officials as a Trump campaign adviser than have been disclosed.

Trump on Sunday accused Comey of cowardly leaks and predicted many more from him. Totally illegal? he asked in a tweet. Very cowardly!'

Several Republican lawmakers also criticized Comey for disclosing memos he had written in the aftermath of his private conversations with Trump, calling that action inappropriate. But, added Lankford releasing his memos is not damaging to national security.

The New York City federal prosecutor who expected to remain on the job when Trump took office but ended up being fired said he was made uncomfortable by one-on-one interactions with the president  just like Comey was. Preet Bharara told ABCs This Week that Trump was trying to cultivate some kind of relationship with him when he called him twice before the inauguration to shoot the breeze.

He said Trump reached out to him again after the inauguration but he refused to call back, shortly before he was fired.

On Comeys accusations that Trump pressed him to drop the FBI investigation of Flynn, Bharara said no one knows right now whether there is a provable case of obstruction of justice. But: I think theres absolutely evidence to begin a case.

Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, a member of the Intelligence committee, sent a letter to Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, urging him to investigate possible obstruction of justice by Trump in Grassleys position as chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Feinstein is the top Democrat on that panel and a member of both.

She said Sessions should also testify before the Judiciary Committee, because it was better suited to explore legal questions of possible obstruction. Feinstein said she was especially concerned after National Intelligence Director Dan Coats and National Security Agency Director Michael Rogers refused to answer questions from the intelligence committee about possible undue influence by Trump.

Feinstein said she did not necessarily believe Trump was unfit for office, as House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi has asserted, but said he has a destabilizing effect on government.

Theres an unpredictability. He projects an instability, Feinstein said. Doing policy by tweets is really a shakeup for us, because theres no justification presented.

In other appearances Sunday:

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said he would take Trump up on his offer to testify under oath about his conversations with Comey, inviting the president to testify before the Senate.

Feinstein acknowledged she would have a queasy feeling, too if Comeys testimony was true that Loretta Lynch, as President Barack Obamas attorney general, had directed him to describe the FBI probe into Hillary Clintons email practices as merely a matter and to avoid calling it an investigation. Feinstein said the Judiciary Committee should investigate.

Sessions stepped aside in March from the federal investigation into contacts between Russia and the campaign after acknowledging that had met twice last year with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. He had told lawmakers at his January confirmation hearing that he had not met with Russians during the campaign.

Sessions has been dogged by questions about possible additional encounters with the ambassador, Sergey Kislyak.

As for the timing of Sessions recusal, Comey said the FBI expected the attorney general to take himself out of the matters under investigation weeks before he actually did.

Collins and Feinstein spoke on CNNs State of the Union and Lankford and Schumer appeared on CBS Face the Nation. Reed was on Fox News Sunday.
This year alone, 20 students from Patwa Toli locality in Manpur under Gaya district have qualified for IIT.

By Sujeet Jha: Though Bihar has got defamed for topper scam in the XII Board examinations, there is a village in the state which is known for the number of students who get through IIT every year. This year alone, 20 students from Patwa Toli locality in Manpur under Gaya district have qualified for IIT.

MORE THAN 300 ENGINEERS IN THIS VILLAGE

advertisement

Patwa Toli village is inhabited mostly by weavers. So far, 300 students have qualified for various engineering examinations in this village of 10,000 people. This year, 20 students were successful in cracking IIT.

INSPIRATION FROM A FORMER STUDENT

Social engineering in Patwa Toli started way back in 1992. Jitendra Prasad was the first student from the village to clear the IIT examination. Getting inspired by Prasad, dozens of students started getting qualified for IIT every year.

During recession in the 1990s, the weavers of Patwa Toli started focusing on the education of their children. Since then, the students have been earning laurels for their village and doing proud to their elders.

Jitendra Prasad left for the US for job in the year 2000. This inspired his juniors in the village to work hard and fulfil their dreams of becoming engineers.

The former engineering students of Patwa Toli formed an organisation called Navprayas which helps extends help to students preparing for IIT.

NOISE IS MUSIC HERE

For the students in this village of power looms, noise of the machines is music to their ears. The students claim that they do not get disturbed by the noise of the power looms. The noise of the power looms becomes music for them and they study amidst that sound.

Just like Gautam Buddha, who meditated at Bodh Gaya for days together braving all odds, the students of Patwa Toli also surmount all hurdles to achieve success.

STUDIES IN THE FACE OF POVERTY

The villagers of Patwa Toli either work as labourers or weavers in the power looms of others to teach their children. Economic hardship has not been able to shake their morale and will power. They have remained hungry themselves but have ensured that their children's studies did not get hampered. There is no end to their happiness after seeing the success of their children.

In some cases, both parents have worked as labourers to deposit the tuition fees and meet other educational requirements of their children. They also did over time. But even if they could not meet the requirements, they borrowed money to meet the demands.

advertisement

However, they are the happiest people now.

--- ENDS ---
Health cares future increasingly is about finding ways of working together or cashing it in.

Consolidations and collaborations are driving the health care business here and elsewhere as former rivals break out of their silos to tackle clinical functions, with an eye to improving quality and spreading out overhead costs.

In Albuquerque, most of entities pursuing this sort of integration are entrenched players. And its mostly the hospitals that are playing.

Still, some doctors in private practices are looking for exit strategies or alliances with deep-pocketed partners. Fed up with rising business expenses and shrinking payouts from insurers, several have sold practices to private-equity investors, larger medical groups or hospital systems.

In Albuquerque, competitors have teamed to tackle emergency room overflow, rehabilitation services and cardiac health. Some notable examples of the past year include:

 Lovelace and the University of New Mexico health systems signing off on a patient transfer deal to help when UNMs emergency room beds are in short supply.

 Lovelace and UNM Medical Group merging their respective expertise in rehabilitation services with a joint venture at the newly renamed LovelaceUNM Rehabilitation Hospital near the Lovelace Medical Center Downtown.

 TriCore Reference Laboratories taking over lab services at four Lovelace Health System hospitals. In addition, a health care logistics company called MedSpeed contracted with TriCore to handle the transportation of blood samples of clinical tests for the local laboratory.

 Lovelace Health System went from contracting talent for its hospitalist program to hiring 32 doctors to be part of its medical group.

 The New Heart Center for Wellness, Fitness and Cardiac Rehabilitation merging its operations with the New Mexico Heart Institute Foundation.

In none of these transactions did the parties detail financial terms. Some said the new alignments were driven by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, noting that it encouraged partnerships to reduce costs and improve patient outcomes.

Were all faced with trying to provide greater value in health care, Ron Stern, president and CEO Lovelace Health System, said at the recent opening of the LovelaceUNM Rehabilitation Hospital, which exemplified the reality of entities merging when they used to compete economically around the same business line.

In this day and age, were starting to see stronger organizations partnering together, he said. More collaborations could be coming down the road around other specialized areas of care, Stern hinted.

Health care trifecta

The Lovelace-UNMH rehab joint venture is unusual in one regard.

It is extraordinary in the U.S. for a for-profit entity to collaborate with a public-academic institution to build a partnership such as this, said Dr. Paul Roth, chancellor for UNMs Health Sciences Center. He called the accord a trifecta, where patients benefit from the superb management from Lovelace, an excellent standard of care from providers and a large academic research institution.

Several years in the planning, both parties were mum on the costs associated with the merger but said they will jointly support the operations of the facility. The parties also will buy certain services from each other, said Dr. Michael Richards, executive physician-in-chief at the UNM Health System.

Richards emphasized that the collaboration is about more than cost savings. We think theres greater opportunity in talking about clinical innovation, he said, adding that UNM researchers and scientists, for instance, could share best practices for how to achieve better outcomes for patients. Each partner has lessons to share.

The partners wouldnt disclose the potential annual revenue. But Richards said the combined entity will have two significant advantages: more capital to invest in high-end diagnostic equipment and attracting potential physician recruits who want to become rehabilitation specialists.

Health systems uniting around common medical goals makes sense in a place like New Mexico, said one longtime observer.

Pat Montoya, executive director of the New Mexico Coalition for Healthcare Value, expects to see more alignments among competitors in areas where there are provider shortages. The recruiting environment is extremely tough right now (in New Mexico), so you are seeing more hospitals and health systems being more creative and asking, Who are the right partners? in order for us to serve (increasing numbers of) people with conditions like cancer and heart disease, said Montoya.

At the same time, Obamacare has increased the costs for independent physicians, with elements such as mandates to install costly electronic record keeping. The bureaucratic requirements are just too difficult for many solo practitioners, said Montoya.

Appealing affiliations

Affiliation with a larger entity can be especially appealing. Some sell to investors who take on the hassle of business functions and allow the doctors to stay in their old offices and see the same patients.

A good example are two groups of well-known dermatologists who recently sold their businesses to a Texas-based private-equity group. What used to be Dermatology Consultants of Albuquerque and Medical Arts Dermatology are now flying the flag of Epiphany Dermatology. Dr. James Icken, previous owner of Dermatology Consultants and now an Epiphany employee, said the sale gave him more time to treat patients and ease many of the administrative burdens he faced as a solo practitioner.

Icken, who had owned the business for three years and worked at the clinic for 10, said under the new ownership, Epiphany Kaseman will get help with such back-office functions as insurance contract negotiations, marketing, billing, compliance and recruiting. Icken said the same staff of nine people is in place.

The reasons investors are drawn to the specialty is because common medical and surgical dermatology procedures are typically well-reimbursed. Also, high-margin cosmetic procedures tend to be paid out of pocket by consumers and are not as reliant on discounts made to insurance providers.

Many medical specialists, not just dermatologists, realize its hard to survive unless they align themselves with a bigger player, said Icken. Now there are three dermatology clinics in the city branded as Epiphany, in addition to locations in Las Cruces and Santa Fe.

Lovelace Health System recently ramped up its cancer care services by hiring nearly 30 employees of Hematology Oncology Associates of New Mexico. The deal brings two doctors and two advanced practice providers into the Lovelace fold, along with 25 support staff members, according to Christie White, director of Lovelace Cancer Care.

As you look across the country, you see more and more private practices struggling with the overall expense of cancer care today, especially the high cost of drugs, said White. Coming under a health systems umbrella from a drug purchasing perspective is a huge factor for cancer medicine groups either being acquired or hiring on to a larger, better-funded, entity, she added.

Several forces are combining to create a historic period of consolidation in the health care industry.

Increased competition, a shift to outcomes-based reimbursement models, and an overall need to widen the scope of care while reducing costs are driving more and bigger M&A deals.

The number and dollar value of health care sector mergers and acquisitions grew to record-breaking proportions in 2015, according to a report from Irving Levin Associates. The consultant said M&As increased from $52 billion in 2014 to $62 billion in 2015.
Chello Grill is not huge, but it utilizes its roughly 3,000-square-feet well.

The space has a unique interior design with modern art decorating the walls and a wonderfully strange light fixture dominating the ceiling. It is also filling up its sidewalk space with tables and plans to have an outdoor patio built by mid-June.

The Persian and Mediterranean restaurant opened on May 30 in the northeast corner of the Pavilions at San Mateo shopping center. It is owned by the Pizza 9 Franchise Corp., an Albuquerque-based company with Pizza 9 locations in Texas, Nevada and Oklahoma as well as New Mexico.

Chello Grill serves meat on skewers as its main attraction. Yes, shish kebabs are always popular, but Chello Grill General Manager Mike Bottoms told the Journal that the traditional Koobideh is the most ordered dish. Koobideh is ground beef and onions mixed with spices and cooked on a skewer.

If you have trouble pronouncing the names, dont worry. Bottoms said that there was a steep learning curve for the employees, as well. We had a soft opening so that the staff wouldnt get overwhelmed and could take time to learn all the names, Bottoms said. Every day they get more knowledgeable.

Chello Grill currently employs 18 full-time staff but is hoping to add another five or 10, according to Bottoms.

The Pavilions, at San Mateo and Cutler NE, has a number of vacancies, but far from scaring the Pizza 9 ownership away, the vacancies presented an opportunity for the group, according to Pizza 9 Franchise Corp. Marketing Director Sarah Ortiz. This is a truly unique restaurant for this part of town, Ortiz says. It is our hope that we can breathe new life into the area.

All tenant improvements and interior design were handled by Pizza 9 President Rod Etemadi. According to Bottoms, Etemadi hung the unique chandelier himself and chose all of the art in the building.

To learn more, go to www.chellogrill.com.

Second Street Brewery

Need a drink? Well, you are in luck. Second Street Brewery, Santa Fes first microbrewery, according to its website, is expanding once again.

The award-winning brewery is opening a third location, on Rufina Street in Santa Fe.

Rod Tweet, owner of Second Street Brewery, told the Journal that a lot went into the decision to purchase the 20,000-square-foot facility. Well, we needed affordable square footage, and a lot of it, said Tweet. Then, I also wanted to be in the city limits, and the third requirement was we wanted to be in a place where traffic trends were favorable for a taproom.

The expansion was partly aided by state Economic Development Department funds. The microbrewery received $100,000 in grant money from the Local Economic Development Act grant, known as LEDA.

Second Street Brewery, as a recipient of LEDA funding, is required to create five production jobs. Tweet said he hopes to employ 35 workers when the facility is up and running.

Second Street Brewery opened on Second Street in Santa Fe in 1995 and opened a second location at the Santa Fe Railyards in 2010. The new location, which was previously a mattress warehouse and an engineering facility and a bunch of stuff throughout the years, Tweet said, will be a production facility as well as taproom. The taproom is very important for this project, Tweet said.

The new location is scheduled to open by the end of June.

Breve Crepes and Coffee

Whats not to like about Breve Crepes and Coffee? Apparently Albuquerque agrees, because the Downtown coffee shop, at 400 Gold SW, is expanding into the Northeast Heights.

Breve will be moving into the newly renovated shopping center at San Pedro and Osuna NE, next to Monroes restaurant. The shopping center, owned and leased by Coe and Peterson, has not yet reopened but is planning to soon.

Breve buys its coffee from local coffee producers in Santa Fe and strives to help local businesses whenever possible, according to Billy Nguyen, co-owner. We feel like Albuquerque really holds onto helping local businesses, said Nguyen. Our goal is to be a part of that.

Breves new location is 1,650 square-feet and the coffee shop is hoping to employ six to eight people.

Though the new shop is smaller, it is designed to run more efficiently, said Nguyen. The original shop was a coffee shop that served crepes. This new one is a crepe shop that serves coffee.

Nguyen said Breve has plans to open four to six new locations in the next five years.

For more information visit www.breveabq.com

In other news

 Applebees at Paseo and Interstate 25 closed on May 30. A representative for Applebees said the location was closed in order to help boost sales at other locations.

 The Container Store is finally ready to open at Coronado Mall. It will be having a Grand Opening celebration on July 8. This is The Container Stores first New Mexico location and its 88th nationwide.
Copyright  2017 Albuquerque Journal

The group Placitas WILD has forged a rare relationship with San Felipe Pueblo leaders, who are allowing 400 acres of tribal land to be used for the Wild Horse Preserve, a donation-funded, mostly fenced space for about 100 horses that organizers worry would otherwise end up at a Mexican horse slaughterhouse or starving in the desert.

Those involved in Placitas WILD hope their effort will offer inspiration to others in their community, state and country struggling over whether unowned horses roaming free are deserving of protection as symbols of the American West or are unmanaged livestock that need population control to prevent environmental destruction and herd starvation.

The expensive and time-consuming project eases a tiny bit of the tension in one wild horse pocket of the state, the village of Placitas.

At the same time, a Lincoln County woman, Caroline McCoy, herself the catalyst for a lawsuit about horses she had removed from her property near Ruidoso, has launched a project to DNA test the Placitas horses to determine if this particular controversial band of equines might be true descendents of horses used by Spanish conquerors, as many wild horse advocates claim.

If so, she hopes there could be enough incentive for the marketplace of breeders to save them, though she said initial indications show otherwise.

Virginia-based horse geneticist Philip Sponenberg has for years worked to get an official classification for Colonial Spanish horses, a feat not entirely accepted in the larger horse world.

In his work, he reports that there are pockets of more pure Iberian blood horses from that Spanish colonization period. These seem to be centered around Native American colonies in the more spacious and less humanly occupied western states such as Oklahoma, and New Mexico.

The Placitas horses indeed look distinctive, with scooped ears and barrel-chested bodies with short legs suited to running fast over rocky desert terrain.

But DNA tests dont help prove purity. The tests can show a Spanish heritage, but that heritage is shared by many modern horses. And most of the remaining descendants of the horses used by Spanish conquistadors have been crossbred, Sponenberg writes.

Because of the crossbreeding, McCoy said horse and livestock preservation groups have not shown interest in the Placitas horses.

That leaves Sandy Johnson hustling to keep the Placitas WILD preserve afloat.

Last year, she and her husband, both retired software engineers, spent $25,000 of their own money for hay. They solicit donations for the $40,000 yearly cost of feed and upkeep of fences and water wells on the preserve, which they and other wild horse advocates launched in 2015.

She and horse colleague Lina Sosa visit the horses every day to feed and check on water, though they also employ a San Felipe ranch hand at a substantial labor wage.

She is working with San Felipe land manager and tribal historic preservation officer Ricardo Ortiz to move the pueblo toward setting up a wild horse tourism operation, which Ortiz said could also help the pueblo, the public and the horses, especially since birth-control measures are used on the horses.

We dont want to bother those horses. They have been there hundreds of years. And who are we to say that any living creature does not have a right to walk on this land? Ortiz said. The preserve is a possible solution to the issue.

Ortiz was unable make the preserve available for a Journal visit.

Sosa says that leaving the horses free to roam on private land unchecked isnt a solution because they can be a road hazard and neighbors dont always like it, leading to calls to the states Livestock Board and then possibly to an auction house.

If you really want to protect the animals, you have to think of the consequences, she said.

So she and Johnson also try to intervene if a wild or feral horse wanders into town, a fairly common occasion that necessitated them working together to build miles of fencing along the Placitas and Bureau of Land Management boundary.

Im not sure how much longer I can do this, Johnson said. We dont get as much help as we need. But its love. What are you going to do?
SANTA FE  Even as Los Alamos National Laboratory is under orders to ramp up production of plutonium nuclear weapons triggers  a key part of a huge plan to modernize the nations weapons stockpile  testimony before a national oversight board here last week indicates theres a possibility that the work and its billions in federal dollars could be moved elsewhere.

Members of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board were told that an analysis is underway to consider all options for meeting the national weapons complexs mission to manage plutonium work and produce products like the pits that set off nuclear bombs.

James McConnell, the National Nuclear Security Administrations associate administrator for safety, infrastructure and operations, said meeting those goals could be satisfied using existing or new facilities in Los Alamos  or by adding capabilities at other sites where plutonium is already present or has been used.

McConnell said the pros and cons of all options will be considered in a study that should be completed over the next several months. At that point, he said, NNSA officials should know, for instance, whether the existing plutonium facility at Los Alamos known as PF-4 remains part of the agencys strategy in such a way that we need to then schedule an upgrade at PF-4, which was built in the 1970s.

Los Alamos currently is the only site meeting security and hazardous materials protocols to make pits.

McConnells comments  possibly the first time that the option of moving plutonium operations away from LANL has been broached publicly by federal officials  came in the context of 4 hours of discussion of risks and safety issues at PF-4 or, as the safety boards agenda for Wednesdays meeting put it, the adequacy and status of safety systems to support current and long-term operations.

McConnell said potential PF-4 upgrades, such as a $200 million to $400 million ventilation system intended to help contain a major fire, would be decided after the ongoing analysis is completed. There are a lot of different alternatives, he said.

The Department of Defense and Congress have ordered production of as many as 50 to 80 pits  the grapefruit-sized plutonium cores of nuclear weapons  annually by 2030.

But ramping up pit production is a huge undertaking. The United States, after mass producing pits during the Cold War at the defunct Rocky Flats Plant in Colorado, hasnt made any new ones since 2011, when LANL completed the last of 29 plutonium cores for Navy submarine missiles. The most ever made at Los Alamos in a year is 11.

For the moment, the lab cant resume pit production until safety issues are addressed.

McConnell said the NNSA is being required to reach a pit production level that the country hasnt faced for a long time and theres a learning curve were all going through.

As noted at Wednesdays meeting, LANL in 2016 was the only one of the Department of Energys nuclear facilities to receive a failing red safety rating in the area of criticality, or prevention of nuclear chain reactions that could lead to radiation releases.

McConnell said LANL is making a lot of progress in this area, but the situation is not where we need to be. One problem, officials said, is a dearth of people who can do criticality work. Hiring new experts amounts to cannibalizing personnel from the countrys other nuclear weapons sites, said Kimberly Davis Lebak, manager of the NNSAs Los Alamos Field Office.

There is no criterion that outweighs safety, McConnell said.

Much of the Wednesday meeting at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center was about potential doomsday scenarios for the Los Alamos lab. It sits on an earthquake fault that studies have shown has a probability of a major earthquake once every 10,000 years. In the worst case, a devastating quake would be followed by a fire. Officials said at the meeting they believe that safety measures now in place are adequate to contain such a disaster without a major radiological release.

Some of the safety issues include long-standing safety deficiencies that havent been corrected, finding replacement parts for some of PF-4 systems that date from the 1970s, the reliability of back-up and redundant power and fire-fighting water supplies and the overall reduction of material at risk, or MAR, at PF-4.

Such material has been reduced by 60 percent since 2009, the board was told, but a significant amount of the remaining MAR has no defined use or faces obstacles to disposition

Critics of the lab contend there is no need to make new pits for nuclear weapons and say that parts of the military dont even want the planned new weapons that new pit production would serve.
At least one city councilor didnt take kindly to the statement issued by Mayor Richard Berrys spokeswoman shortly after the council voted 6-3 last week to override the mayors veto of the city budget last week.

In her statement, Rhiannon Samuel said, six city councilors, five of whom are up for election, voted for a budget that they admitted is utterly broken. Chalk this one up to politics  not good government.

Among the concerns raised by the Berry administration was that the budget approved by the council could result in the citys credit rating being downgraded because its not structurally balanced, meaning that projected revenues are out of whack with planned expenditures.

City Councilor Dan Lewis, who is running for mayor, fired back in a statement of his own the day after the vote.

The damage done to the city of Albuquerques reputation by the current public safety crisis costs the city more in one day  than a credit watch would do over decades, Lewis wrote.

I overrode the mayors veto to give him one more opportunity to get this right. Neither the budget that passed nor the mayors compromise budget attempts to solve our public safety crisis and the damage it has done to job creation.

City Councilor Klarissa Pena, who is running for re-election, explained her vote to override in a tweet: Standing up for our first responders and city employees.

Will voters read the fine print?

Proponents of the Healthy Workforce Ordinance showed up in force at last weeks City Council meeting to urge the governing body to do right by voters.

At issue is a ruling by state District Judge Alan Malott that the entire seven-page ordinance must be printed on the ballot. If approved, it will require Albuquerque employers to provide paid sick time off for their employees.

Proponents of the ordinance argue that the only way the city can fit the entire ordinance on the ballot is to print it in a font that is so small that it would be difficult for voters to read.

We now face a rigged election unfairly impeded by individuals and business groups who stand against workers rights, Alex Contreras told councilors.

She and other proponents of the sick leave initiative are asking that the city print a summary on the ballot and make the entire ordinance available in every voting booth.

By allowing this issue to be printed in size 6 font, you are not ensuring that your constituents have the right to a fair election, Contreras argued.

With 6 point font, its not readable at all, Rebecca Arana said. No one is going to read it. Theyre just either going to reject the question or skip it.

But City Councilor Pat Davis said the criticism is premature because the council has not yet set a ballot, let alone the font size for the sick leave ordinance.

He also noted that some councilors are working to file to intervene in the case in order to support an alternative option.

Martin Salazar: msalazar@abqjournal.com
PHILADELPHIA  Indonesia is no place for a gay man like V.S., whose survival in his Muslim-majority homeland meant a vigilantly closeted existence. When he visited Philadelphia in 2001, he intended to return home after the six months allowed by his tourist visa were up. But in the citys vibrant gay neighborhood, he found acceptance for the first time in his life.

I didnt expect to stay. I just wanted to see what was going on here, said V.S., 45, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid repercussions.

He remained here after his visa expired, taking his place among the growing ranks of overstays, whose numbers every year since 2007 have far exceeded those of immigrants who crossed U.S. borders illegally. Today, various studies show, overstays are the leading source of unlawful immigration, and make up more than 40 percent of the nations estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants.

A Department of Homeland Security entry-exit report released last month showed that nearly 629,000 people who came to the United States on a visa in fiscal year 2016 stayed after it expired, and were still here at the end of the year.

The latest research undercuts President Donald Trumps claim that a big, beautiful wall, at a cost of $20 billion to $40 billion, is the answer to illegal immigration.

No dollar spent on a border wall will stop someone from overstaying a visa, said Philadelphia lawyer William Stock, a former national president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. A wall, however huge, he said, wont stop anyone with the means to buy an airplane ticket and the connections to obtain a visa, if one is needed for visitors from that country.

To get one, prospective visitors are interviewed at a U.S. embassy or consulate overseas and produce evidence of ties to their native countries that seem sufficient for them to want to return home.. How difficult the process is depends on the country of origin and the travelers credibility at the interview.

The percentage of overstays varies widely from state to state. Pennsylvania ties (with Connecticut) for third highest, at 67 percent overstays among the states estimated 158,000 undocumented immigrants. New Jersey, at 63 percent, ranks sixth, with 286,000 overstays among its 452,000 illegal immigrants. In contrast, the undocumented populations in Kansas, Arkansas, and New Mexico consist of fewer than 25 percent overstays.

In a statement released with the Homeland Security report, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it would expand its use of face-recognition software and fingerprint scans to scrutinize the 50 million travelers who enter the U.S. annually.

Currently, border officers interview arriving travelers to determine why they came. They collect names and addresses, fingerprints, and digital photographs, which are matched against data previously provided to the U.S. with the visa application. For departing travelers, air and sea carriers must provide manifest data that border agents can match against the arrival data to determine who left on time and who overstayed. Anyone guilty of overstaying six months or more is barred for three years from re-entering the U.S.; overstay a year or more and its a 10-year ban.

Hunting them all down, however, would be next to impossible.

While overstays are less than 2 percent of all visitors, their growing significance in the debate about illegal immigration is becoming better known, said demographer Robert Warren of the Center for Migration for Studies, a New York group that says it promoted understanding between immigrants and receiving communities.

Warrens research, contained in The 2,000 Mile Wall in Search of a Purpose, a 2017 article he co-authored for the Journal on Migration and Human Security, found that two-thirds of the foreign-born who entered in 2014 and later became undocumented were overstays.

Such findings suggest that a singular focus on constructing a southern border wall is insufficient without a plan to keep better track of the people who enter legally and refuse to leave.

One such person is Gabriella, a native of El Salvador. She came on a six-month visa in 2008, with the secret intention of never returning to the gang-infested land where her parents grocery-distribution business was repeatedly robbed at gunpoint.

Two years earlier, her parents had used a tourist visa to enter the U.S. and eventually settled in Montgomery County, Pa. Gabriella, 23, a law firm receptionist, married a U.S. citizen last year, which changed her status to legal resident. Her parents, who reveal her last name, are still undocumented, which is why she did not want to be identified. While her parents considered making an asylum claim, she said, they feared that a loss in immigration court would mean deportation to a place where their lives were in danger.

Overstaying, even while risking arrest, seemed a safer option.

As for V.S., he was snared in the legal system around 2002, when noncitizens from majority-Muslim countries were required to register with the U.S. government after the 9/11 attack. His overstay was discovered; he faced removal, and lost a bid for asylum.

Years later, with the help of a new lawyer, John Vandenberg, V.S. was able to reopen his case, and won asylum based on new evidence in a State Department report that homophobia in Indonesia had intensified.

He works in a restaurant now, and lives in South Philadelphia with his husband. Married to the person I love, he said, in a union inconceivable in his homeland.
WASHINGTON  The president and first ladys commuter marriage appear to be over, as the family has united under one roof again.

First lady Melania Trump and son, Barron, 11, moved into the White House Sunday after spending the first several months of President Donald Trumps presidency residing in their Trump Tower penthouse in New York City,

Looking forward to the memories well make in our new home! Melania Trump tweeted Sunday from her official @FLOTUS account. An accompanying photograph featured a view of the Washington Monument from a window in the White House.

Her communications director Stephanie Grisham confirmed the move, tweeting, Its official! @FLOTUS & Barron have made the move to DC! #WelcomeHome.

The first lady and the president held hands as they walked from Marine One to the White House on Sunday. Barron strolled alongside them, dressed in a T-shirt emblazoned with the words, The Expert.

It is unusual for the first lady and the president to live apart during any stretch of the presidency, much less in its infancy. The Washington Post reported it appeared unprecedented and described the decision as flouting the most basic of all first lady traditions.

After Trumps inauguration in January, Melania Trump and Barron remained in New York so the 11-year-old could finish out the school year at Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He will transfer to the private St. Andrews Episcopal School in Maryland for the coming year.

My husband is traveling all the time, Melania said after the election in November, when she first announced she would remain in New York. Barron needs somebody as a parent, so I am with him all the time.

Indeed, Melania has scarcely been seen at the White House since Trumps presidency began. Aprils Easter Egg Roll, which she co-hosted, arguably marked her most high-profile appearance in Washington since the inauguration.

Many think that will likely change, particularly because it will be more difficult for her to remain unseen while living in Washington, D.C.

In New York City, both of them basically hide in plain sight, blending into the fabric of the city is an easier task, former Secret Service agent Jonathan Wackrow said on CNN.

She also may become more involved in her role as first lady  something shes been slow to do.

She is embracing the ceremonial aspects of the role, but we have not seen any advocacy, Myra Gutin, a professor of communication at Rider University and author who has studied first ladies, told The Washington Post in April.

Being at the White House may change that.

I do think once shes in D.C. therell be more pressure for her to be working on something thats her own, thats helping some segment of the population because thats what first ladies are supposed to do, Jean Harris, professor of political science and womens studies at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania, told the Associated Press.
Copyright  2017 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  Santa Fe Public Schools Superintendent Veronica Garcia took the stand Monday morning in 1st Judicial District Court to argue that New Mexico's Public Education Department is not providing enough money to meet students' needs.

Garcia was the first witness in the landmark trial  a consolidation of two similar lawsuits, Martinez v. New Mexico and Yazzie v. New Mexico. The lawsuits contend that the level of resources the state is providing violates its own constitution's promise to provide a sufficient education for all children.

Jeff Wechsler, the PED's attorney, said the school system is not perfect but it far exceeds the standard outlined in the New Mexico Constitution.

The plaintiffs must show a complete failure of the system such that the right of education for New Mexico school children is an empty promise, Wechsler said during opening statements before Judge Sarah Singleton.

Plaintiffs claim the districts' funding is inadequate and particularly impacts English language learners, Native Americans and low-income students.

Garcia, a veteran administrator who also served as New Mexico's first secretary of education, wholeheartedly agreed.

The size of the pie is the issue, she said.

The superintendent pointed to a variety of problems driven by the contested funding, including larger class sizes, a shortage of qualified teachers and lack of space in programs like full-day pre-kindergarten.

Garcia said the state has not kept up with the costs as school districts' expenses have continued to rise.

Wechsler said there is no evidence additional money will result in better test scores because the state is already providing sufficient funding.

New Mexico ranks 29th in the nation for per-pupil spending and allocates about $2.7 billion for education  more per pupil than neighboring states such as Arizona and Utah, according to the National Education Association.

And New Mexico's graduation rate reached a record-breaking 71 percent in 2016, while standardized test scores and Advanced Placement test rates have also gone up. But New Mexico remains near the bottom of the nation on nearly every measure of educational success, including the graduation rate.

Regarding success rates by students of various ethnicities, Wechsler acknowledged that New Mexico has an achievement gap, but said that is true across the nation.

No state has found the silver bullet to definitively close the gap, Wechsler said, but New Mexico is making strides.

Garcia stressed that she believes the state is failing many children.

It still is shocking that roughly 10 percent of our kids are proficient in math when they graduate from high school, Garcia said. That's unconscionable.

David Berliner, an Arizona State University professor of education who testified for the plaintiffs, said he visited six New Mexico school districts and concluded that the state could do a lot better by its poor kids.

Under cross-examination, Berliner acknowledged that he had not reviewed New Mexico's education programs or other data.

The New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty organized Berliner's visits to the six districts  Cuba, Gallup, Lake Arthur, Moriarty/Edgewood, Rio Rancho and Santa Fe  which are participating in Yazzie v. New Mexico.

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, a Los Angeles-based civil rights organization, filed Martinez v. New Mexico on behalf of families from seven school districts, Albuquerque, Espanola, Gadsden, Las Cruces, Magdalena, Santa Fe and Zuni.

The nine-week trial is expected to have a broad scope: More than 130 depositions were taken and over a million pages of documents have been exchanged.

-30-
Dozens of high school students are attending crash courses in computer coding for free this summer in Albuquerque, Shiprock and Espanola.

Albuquerque startup Cultivating Coders launched three separate programs on Monday for 57 students from high schools in various underserved communities, offering participants intensive training in web and software development. That includes 21 students from high schools in Albuquerque, 24 Navajo youth in Shiprock, and 12 students at Northern New Mexico College in Espanola.

The boot camps mark the start of a new, long-term project by Cultivating Coders, which launched in December 2015 to offer eight-week training courses in computer programming for adults through mobile classes taught directly in under-served rural and urban areas. The company continues to grow its fee-based program here and elsewhere, with new boot camps planned for California and Washington.

But last year, the startup formed a nonprofit to offer under-served high school youth free training that can guide them into high-paying career opportunities, said Cultivating Coders founder and President Charles Ashley III. The project emerged from a boot camp for students in Shiprock last year.

We found high school kids really excel at this, Ashely said. They pick it up fast, so a light bulb went off for us. We decided a nonprofit program would be particularly impactful for high school students.

The company raised hundreds of thousands of dollars from different companies and organizations for the camps, including a $300,000 donation from Microsoft YouthSpark. Assistance also came from the LANL and Albuquerque Community Foundations, Teach for America, the Air Force Research Laboratory, AT&T and Albuquerque Public Schools Career Enrichment Center.

Were really impressed with what theyre doing, said Terri Nikole Baca, AT&Ts New Mexico director of external affairs. Its aligned with AT&Ts mission to support high school graduation and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education.

The LANL Foundation aims to build a local summer STEM ecosystem in partnership with Northern NM College, which is offering a STEM program for high school students alongside the coding camp this summer with money from the National Science Foundation.

Were leveraging both programs together, said LANL K-12 program director Gwen Perez Warniment.

As students learn to code in the camps, theyll work on community projects to build public websites, which theyll present at a demo day when classes conclude. Camp graduates will then build after-school coding clubs in their own schools for peers. And all summer graduates will receive free laptops.

The skills learned in the camps may be as important as reading, writing and math in todays world, said Brandon Trebitowski, founder and CEO of the Rio Rancho-based coding company Pixegon, who recently joined Cultivating Coders as chief technology officer.

For Albuquerque boot camp participant Ambrosia Wilson, 15, the class is a step toward her goal of becoming a computer programmer. Its a great start, she said.

Fifteen-year-old Mekhi Majedi, another Albuquerque participant, said coding is everybody.

It doesnt turn a blind eye to race or color, Majedi said. Anyone can do it. You just have to find the will.
SANTA FE  The state Republican Party had some sad news to share Monday: W. Tucker Keene, the partys communications director, died suddenly.

Keene was an enthusiastic advocate on the partys behalf, and he had a great sense of humor, too.

He was a brilliant writer, tenacious promoter of our cause, keen political communicator and most importantly, a wonderful person, said Ryan Cangiolosi, chairman of the state Republican Party. Tucker approached his work with great passion, enthusiasm and with a witty sense of humor.

Keene was a graduate of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, and he worked on the 2014 campaign of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

Keene joined the state Republican Party as its top spokesman in January 2016.

Tucker will be greatly missed by everyone at the Republican Party of New Mexico and by all those he touched in our state and beyond, Cangiolosi said in a written statement.

Albuquerque police were called to check on Keene over the weekend. Officers didnt report any obvious signs of foul play, but medical investigators are still working to determine how he died.
Expressing dissatisfaction over police agencies being unable to solve crimes, the Bombay High Court on Monday sharply criticised the Mahrashtra government, and asked it provide detailed information on what it has done to modernsise police forces in the state.

Bombay High Court has asked Maharashtra government for a status update on its plans to modernise police (Photo for representation)

By Vidya : The Bombay High Court on Monday came down heavily on the Maharashtra government, asking what it was doing to modernise the state's investigation agencies was.

"We have good policies on paper but there is no implementation. It is zero. So tell us exactly what is the government doing?" Bombay High Court justice Sadhna Jadhav asked.

The government's lawyer pointed that the state had previously filed affidavits in the matter, but the High Court remained unsatisfied, and said it wanted to know the status of all the plans the government had made for modernisation police forces. The Bombay High Court also asked the state to submit information on the status of these plans.

advertisement

The High Court bench was hearing a petition filed by Ashwini Rane, the widow of a builder named Nikhil Rane who was shot dead on November 23, 2009 in Pune.

When the police probe reached a dead end, Ashwini approached the High Court, which transferred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation in 201. However, even the CBI could not crack the case.

The failure for the investigations to reach a logical end caused the High Court to broaden the scope of Aswhini's petition in order to look into the working of investigating agencies and to examine why these agencies were unable to solve crimes.

'CRIMES GETTING COMPLICATED'

"Crimes are getting complicated day by day," the court said, even as the government pleader noted that police agencies are being trained new investigative techniques.

"We have opened many training institutes. Automatic rifles are given to police. We are starting a fingerprint bureau as well. To investigate cases we are making specialised teams," the Mahrashtra government submitted.

Expressing skepticism, the High Court then questioned, "Training institutes are good but are the police men getting trained in it? Are policemen using automatic weapons that they have been given and are getting trained? The fingerprint bureau is good but in which cases has it helped in cracking (sic)? You have not pointed this out? Is it only on paper?"

The Maharashtra government has been directed to the High Court observations over the next four weeks.

ALSO READ | Be pragmatic, Bombay High Court tells those opposed to chopping of trees for Mumbai Metro

ALSO READ | Justify Dutt's early release from jail: Bombay High Court to Maharashtra govt

--- ENDS ---
SANTA FE  Rick Miera  a Democrat who served for 24 years in the state House, representing an Albuquerque-based district  is running for lieutenant governor.

He announced his campaign Monday, joining Jeff Carr, a former member of the Public Education Commission, in the race for the Democratic nomination.

Theres still plenty of time for other candidates to emerge. The primary election is in June next year.

Whoever wins will serve on a ticket with the Democratic nominee for governor. In other words, it isnt like a presidential race where the top candidate picks a vice president to work with.

Miera is a former House majority leader and former chairman of the House Education Committee. He has worked as a therapist and drug counselor.

I will fight for policies that support our families, our communities and hardworking individuals, and will put facts ahead of political party or ideology, Miera said in a written statement. I know that I can bring these solutions to state government and help make it more responsive to the needs of everyday New Mexicans.
Copyright  2017 Albuquerque Journal

The problem began just two weeks after Doughboys Bake Shoppe opened in January.

Owners Claudia and Mike Milladge received a cease and desist letter from General Mills, owners of the Pillsbury Doughboy trademark, among many others.

The letter was the beginning of a monthslong back and forth between General Mills and the small bakery in the Far North Shopping Center at San Mateo and Academy.

We felt so bullied, Claudia Milladge said. The first reaction is to throw a fit, but what can you do against a corporation like that?

General Mills, which has a manufacturing plant in Albuquerque, had not returned a phone message and email seeking comment as of Monday afternoon.

The Pillsbury Doughboy premiered as a character in television commercials in October 1965. Pillsbury was acquired by General Mills in 2001, and the Doughboy is still in use. This year, General Mills ranks 165 on the Fortune 500 list.

Doughboys, the bakery, is still getting up and running and doesnt have a lot of money to spend, Milladge said.

Unable to afford a lawyer, Milladge tried the only thing she could think of. She applied for a trademark.

It was denied, Milladge said. So we decided to take the friendly route.

Currently, Doughboys is in the process of confirming an agreement with General Mills that would allow the small bakery 180 days to remove all signage.

While Milladge said she is grateful there is time to make the changes, she also sees a list of problems.

First and foremost is the expense.

Doughboys will need to remove and replace several outdoor signs, along with all merchandise and boxes. All told, Milladge predicts the brand change will cost in the neighborhood of $10,000.

In some ways, the name change itself is even harder.

The shop is named after my father. He had a bakery in Socorro for years and his nickname in town was Little Doughboy,  Milladge said.

When she and Mike decided to open Doughboys, Claudias father, Tony Little Doughboy Jaramillo, came up and taught them how to make doughnuts the old-school way.

And that is what they do. Mike is at the shop every morning at 3 a.m. to roll the dough and make old-school doughnuts by hand.

We have some ideas (for a new name), she said. But now we are super paranoid. We want it to be good, but it has to be super original. One name I like, but my husband is not super fond of it, is Albu-Cakery.

Doughboys Bake Shoppe is not the first small business to receive a cease and desist letter from General Mills. In 2016, My Dough Girl LLC, a Salt Lake City-based bakery, received a similar warning.

Like Doughboys, My Dough Girl decided to concede rather than risk a drawn-out court case.

Doughboy, or a variation on that name, appears on at least a dozen different businesses across the country, from pizzerias in Fort Lauderdale to pool manufacturers in Arkansas.

Milladge said a lawyer from General Mills told her the corporation had received several letters from people confusing the name Doughboys Bake Shoppe with the General Mills brand.

Doughboys Bake Shoppe is trying to stay positive.

We want to try and take this big negative and turn it positive, Milladge said.

The bakery is holding a name change contest. Details are available on the companys Facebook page. Prizes will be awarded, Milladge said.
Jupiter formed in a geologic blink. Its rocky core coalesced less than a million years after the beginning of our solar system, scientists reported Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Within another 2 million or 3 million years, that core grew to 50 times the mass of Earth.

Scientists have previously built computer models of the birth of Jupiter. But this study is the first time that we can say something about Jupiter based on measurements done in the lab, said study co-author Thomas Kruijer, a researcher at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.

To probe the planets creation, experts sampled extraterrestrial material that happens to land on Earth  ancient meteorites.

Our solar system began as a disk of dust and gas 4.6 billion years ago. Of the planets, first came the gas giants, followed by such rock-and-metal terrestrial worlds as Earth. Jupiter is the biggest of the brood. Despite being mostly gas by bulk, its more than 300 times the mass of Earth. For that reason astronomers suspect the planet was the oldest, able to scoop up more material out of the disk before its younger siblings appeared.

The new study supports the idea of a firstborn Jupiter. When Jupiter formed, the growing planet swept up a great swath of gas and dust as it circled the sun.

Whats more, it acted as a barrier to shield the inner solar system from wayward meteorites. When the solar system was about 1 million years old, Jupiters gravity was strong enough to prevent rocks from crossing beyond its orbit, like a club bouncer who forces latecomers to wait on the sidewalk.

At about 1 million years you have Jupiter getting big enough to cut off the inner solar system from the outer solar system, said Brown Universitys Brandon Johnson, a planetary scientist who was not involved with the new research.

Then, when the solar system was around 4 million years old, Jupiter grew to about 50 Earth masses and headed toward the sun. This lowered the bouncers velvet rope, allowing the outer asteroids to mix with the inner rocks. Today, theyre jumbled together in a single belt, which exists between Jupiter and Mars. Rocks from this mixture land on Earth, where scientists such as Kruijer can study them.

The new study adds evidence to the idea that Jupiter temporarily split the population of meteorites in the solar system in two: those between Jupiter and the sun, and those beyond Jupiter. If a pair of inner and outer space rocks landed in your front yard, and you picked them up after they cooled down and the dust settled, you wouldnt be able to spot a difference.

But Kruijer and his colleagues can measure specific chemical signatures in meteorites  which reveal not only the rocks age but which of the two groups they once belonged to. It was only recently that technological advances allowed scientists to measure the differences in the two, Kruijer said.

The meteorite groups separated around 1 million years after the solar system formed, and stayed apart until about 4 million years post-formation, according to the new analysis. Crucially, the two populations existed simultaneously for a few million years.

It cannot be a temporal change. It must be a spatial separation, Kruijer said. Something must have kept them apart. The most likely culprit, the authors of the study say, is a young Jupiter. Its hard to think of any other possibility, he said.

This is interesting work and presents an interesting result, which conforms well with our existing understanding, said Konstantin Batygin, a planetary astrophysicist at the California Institute of Technology who was not involved with the research. It may very well be what had happened.

Planetary scientists are like detectives, Batygin said, scouring a scene for hints about what transpired. In a crime scene its the little splatters of blood on the ceiling, he said, that will tell you more than the dismembered limbs. (In this analogy the planets are the chopped limbs and the meteorites the bloody spray.) But, as with hunting for murder clues, he added, theres always room for doubt with these types of problems.

It might be that the structure of the early disk kept the meteorite groups isolated, said Kevin Walsh, an astronomer at Southwest Research Institute in Colorado who was not involved with this work. The key point the authors make is that Jupiter must form to keep these asteroid reservoirs separate while they form, he said in an email. It is possible that we have a naive understanding of the way asteroid building blocks could move in an early Solar System, and that a Jupiter mass planet isnt necessary.

But such an early Jupiter jibes with other ideas about the early solar system. One concept, called the grand tack hypothesis, casts Jupiter as a wanderer. In the grand tack hypothesis, first proposed by Walsh and other scientists in 2011, Jupiter began to barrel toward the center of the solar system. That was, until Saturn formed, pulling Jupiter backward. (This pendulous wrecking-ball motion could be responsible for, among other things, the mixing of the meteorite groups into one belt.)

And its likely that this young and massive Jupiter is responsible for a small Earth with a thin atmosphere. We occupy a somewhat strange world, galactically speaking, Batygin said. Earth, which formed about 100 million years after the solar nebula, lacked the gravity for a thick nasty hydrogen helium atmosphere found on other worlds. Thank Jupiter for sucking up most of that material.

Exoplanet hunters looking at other star systems have found several super-Earths, planets larger than Earth but smaller than gas giants like Neptune. Few exoplanets are as small as two Earths and exist in the habitable zone of their star. Kruijer speculated that the young Jupiter is the reason our solar system does not have any super-Earths close to our star.

In this light Jupiter is a pillar of the solar system. Even in its infancy, Jupiter really controlled the dynamics and evolution of the solar system, Johnson said. Its the biggest thing there is. Even at a million years its changing the way that our solar system looked.
When Josh and Kristine Donovan noticed a bruise behind their daughters knee, they thought it was an ordinary bug bite  until the mark grew and 5-year-old Kailyn came down with a fever.

Doctors first told the Mendon, Massachusetts, parents that it appeared to be a spider bite and prescribed antibiotics.

But when the girls condition did not improve, her parents sought answers from a pediatric infectious disease doctor at the UMass Memorial Medical Center.

The surprising and terrifying diagnosis: It was a bite from a black widow, one of the most venomous spiders in North America.

I didnt know what to say; its not something you would expect, especially in Massachusetts, Josh Donovan told ABC affiliate WCVB.

He said the UMass Memorial doctor explained that the black mark on her leg was actually the venom from the spider.

William Durbin, the specialist who is treating 5-year-old Kailyn, told the Boston Globe that the spider bites deep color signaled necrosis, or cell injury.

She had a very distinctive bite, which was very scary for her parents and of course the doctors, too, Durbin told the newspaper. But, he said, the child is in good health and will make a full recovery.

Still, the Donovans said they want other parents to be aware.

If you think its something, just keep looking for an answer, Kristine Donovan told WCVB. I kind of had a feeling it was pretty bad, and I just kept kind of pushing to have it checked out.

She told the Globe that she suspects the spider bit her daughter in their backyard in Mendon, in southeast Massachusetts. We havent gone anywhere, so it had to have probably been in our backyard, she added.

The Donovans told the newspaper that they plan to have an exterminator treat their home.

The couple could not immediately be reached for comment.

Black widows, which have small, black bodies adorned with red hourglass icons, are found in the United States, mostly in the South and West, hidden in outdoor areas such as barns, sheds and woodpiles, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Black widow bites are rarely seen in New England, but they are not unheard of, according to the Regional Center for Poison Control and Prevention, which serves Massachusetts.

The bites are described as a pinprick, though some people may not feel it at all. Symptoms include muscle cramps and muscle weakness; numbness, nausea and vomiting; trouble breathing; and seizures, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center.

People who suspect they have been bitten by a black widow spider are urged to seek immediate medical help, though death from such bites is rare.
AUSTIN, Texas  Gov. Greg Abbott has signed into law a 2018-2019 state budget worth around $217 billion, but vetoed about $120 million in planned expenditures.

Squeezed by the oil price slump, the budget includes funding increases for the states beleaguered child welfare system and $800 million for border security.

Abbott signed the budget Monday.

His vetoes included cutting nearly $900,000 in Secretary of State funding to help Texans living in impoverished colonias along the border with Mexico.

Abbott said colonias funding was already included elsewhere in the budget, while the Secretary of State had served in a liaison and reporting role on colonia life.

Other cuts were $6-plus million from air quality improvement initiatives and $4.2 million in bonuses that would have been offered to retailers selling high numbers of lottery tickets.
DALLAS  A federal judge sentenced a Dallas-area man to life in prison Monday for trafficking two teenage girls whom he publicized on a classified advertising website.

Martavious Keys was convicted in February on two counts of child sex trafficking and one count of sex trafficking through force, fraud or coercion.

The 34-year-old enticed and harbored two girls whom he advertised on Backpage.com beginning in March 2015. For two months he negotiated with customers over text messages while pretending to be the girls.

The 14- and 15-year-olds worked out of Keys house in Mesquite and various Dallas-area hotels.

He sexually and physical assaulted the girls and threatened them at gunpoint if they refused to work.

Keys was unemployed and used the money to purchase various items, including a Chevy Tahoe.
Culture Machine's 'Put Chutney', the #1 Tamil digital media brand, is now foraying into television with Star Vijay starting 2nd July 2017. This move marks the collaboration of two of Tamil's biggest media giants to create digital to linear long form original content. This pioneering alliance marks a first of its kind in South India, where a digital brand has extended its footprint onto a major broadcast television network. Culture Machine's Put Chutney that caters to the Tamil speaking audience globally, will produce one hour long exclusive episodes on Star Vijay for the show titled, Intensive Comedy Unit (ICU)'. The unique format and characters for the show have been developed by Put Chutney.

The show will be an extension of the immensely loved digital brand Put Chutney, popular for their spunky videos, full of wit and humour. Put Chutney fans can now look forward to more entertaining and engaging content from the Put Chutney stable, on one of the most widely watched television channels in the region.

Tuhin Menon, President, Culture Machine commented on this deal, 'Put Chutney has grown in the hearts and minds of viewers to occupy a pivotal spot in the cultural milieu of Tamil speaking audiences globally. This deal with Star Vijay represents a major extension of the brand, which now straddles both digital and linear platforms. We could not have found a better partner than Star Vijay to take the Put Chutney brand to the next level, through a unique one hour show that is guaranteed to delight loyal and new audiences alike.

Krishnan Kutty, General Manager, Vijay TV said, We at Vijay TV believe in partnering with the most exciting creative minds in the business. In Put Chutney, we found a partner who we believe will push the boundary in the comedy genre and who share our commitment in providing the most cutting edge content to Tamil consumers.
PepsiCo India announced the manufacturing of Doritos- the worlds No.1 nacho chip brand* in India. The company has set-up a new manufacturing line at its state-of-the-art Snacks manufacturing facility in Kolkata, West Bengal. Staying true to its commitment, PepsiCo India will be procuring corn, the main ingredient in producing Doritos entirely from India.

Speaking at the launch, Niteen Pradhan, VP Supply Chain & Operations, PepsiCo India said, PepsiCo has been making in India since 1989 through its network of Company owned and Partner manufacturing facilities across 62 locations. Our goal has been to develop local ecosystems and produce locally to address consumption needs of India. Manufacturing of Doritos in India is testament to our commitment and our support for the Governments Make in India vision.

Doritos, present in over 55 countries globally, will be the third Master brand in PepsiCo India snacks portfolio introduced after Lays and Kurkure. The Nacho chip brand is targeted at Indian consumer in the 16 to 24 year age bracket in the urban and semi-urban centres. Doritos will be available in two existing flavours Nacho Cheese and Sweet Chilli. The product will be available in 3 price packs worth INR 25, 50 & 100. Doritos will be marketed across India through a mix of large format retail chains, online channels and neighbourhood stores.

Nachos is the fastest growing category in the Indian salty snacks segment today^ and Doritos is well poised to address this robust demand by using locally sourced ingredients, to create savoury experiences for our Indian customers. Furthermore, with the two made in India flavours- Nacho Cheese & Sweet Chilli, we are confident of making Doritos-the Nacho chip choice amongst consumers. said Jagrut Kotecha, VP- Snacks Category, PepsiCo India.

A 360 degree marketing plan will follow the launch of Made in India Doritos. The campaign will run across TV, digital and will see aggressive consumer sampling.
The Indiana Health Information Exchange (IHIE) has been awarded a 2017 Top Workplaces honor by The Indianapolis Star just weeks after being named to Modern Healthcares Best Places to Work in Healthcare list for the third consecutive year.

For more than 13 years, IHIE has operated the nations largest health information exchange, providing a secure, robust and interoperable health information technology network that contains data from over 140 healthcare organizations including Indiana hospitals, payers, laboratories, long-term care facilities and imaging centers.

Being recognized by both The Indianapolis Star and Modern Healthcare this year is a big deal for us. Our people work hard every day to develop unique solutions that improve the lives of patients, said John Kansky, President and CEO of IHIE. Im excited and proud to see that hard work recognized.

IHIE is ranked #29 on the IndyStar Top Workplaces list of Central Indiana small companies and is one of only four Indiana companies to make Modern Healthcares list of 150 Best Places to Work in Healthcare.

About Indiana Health Information Exchange

The Indiana Health Information Exchange (IHIE) was founded in 2004 as a health information exchange that enables hospitals, physicians, laboratories, pharmacies, payers, and other health service providers to avoid redundancy and deliver faster, more efficient, higher quality healthcare to patients in Indiana.

Today, by making information available to more than 50,000 healthcare providers in Indiana and neighboring states, we deliver services that make a real difference in health and healthcare.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170612005693/en/

Indiana Health Information Exchange

Laura Danielson, 317-441-7151

ldanielson@ihie.org
DAYTON, Ohio, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Reynolds and Reynolds Company today announced the release of the Reynolds LAW Alaska F&I Library, which is a comprehensive catalog of standardized, legally reviewed finance and insurance (F&I) documents for new car and truck dealers throughout the state of Alaska.

Jerry Kirwan, senior vice president and general manager of Reynolds Document Services, said: "The documents in the LAW Alaska F&I Library are designed to help streamline the car-buying process and enhance the consumer experience with the dealership."

"Using standard documents written in consumer-friendly language can help to create a clearer, more consistent, and more efficient F&I process for the F&I manager and for the consumer," he added. "Because of those improvements to the overall F&I process, the overall consumer experience with the dealership can be improved."

Kirwan also noted that because regulatory scrutiny is an ongoing concern for automotive retailers, the LAW Alaska F&I Library is a tool to help dealers meet compliance obligations and manage risk. The documents in the library are regularly reviewed for legal sufficiency with the latest automotive regulations by Reynolds' industry-leading forms specialists alongside Reynolds' outside legal partners.

The printed documents in the LAW Alaska F&I Library also are available in a digital format, which can help facilitate the conversion to laser-printed forms and e-contracting transactions. Reynolds Document Services maintains licensing agreements with all major providers of electronic F&I (e-F&I) solutions.

About Reynolds LAW Brand Documents

The Reynolds LAW brand is well established as one of the most trusted brands in the automotive industry. LAW documents have been endorsed by a number of state automobile dealers associations and leading automotive finance institutions. LAW documents are available in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

The flagship product of the LAW brand is the Reynolds LAW 553 Universal Retail Installment Sale Contract, which is the most widely accepted document in auto finance. The Reynolds LAW 553 is regularly reviewed by industry experts to help keep pace with new legislative and regulatory developments. Dealers who use the LAW 553 find they can use one contract to finance dealers through multiple lending institutions.

About Reynolds Document Services

In 1866, Reynolds and Reynolds was founded as a business forms printer. Since the 1920s, Reynolds has been known as the leader in serving automobile dealerships nationwide with standard and custom business forms. Today, Reynolds Document Services carries on the company's 150-year forms legacy by delivering a wide range of printed and electronic business documents, branding services, and dealership supplies that help dealers brand their retail enterprise, manage compliance risk, and improve operational efficiencies.

About Reynolds

Reynolds and Reynolds is a leading provider of automobile dealership software, services, and forms to help dealerships deliver better business results and transform the customer experience. (www.reyrey.com)

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/reynolds-and-reynolds-announces-new-law-alaska-fi-library-300472255.html

SOURCE The Reynolds and Reynolds Company
However, petitioners requested the court to stay the closure orders and let the businesses run until the final decision is taken by the PWD Secretary.

By Vidya : Bombay High Court today ordered Maharashtra secretary PWD to decide before July 5 if bars and wine shops which had been shut down following the December 2016 Supreme Court judgement are justified or not.

Many bar owners had approached the Bombay High Court claiming that their shops had been forcibly shut down even when they were not located on highways.

advertisement

However, Maharashtra Advocate General Kumbhakoni justified the move of the excise department and that of the collector which revoked the licenses of many establishments across the state in view of the Supreme Court judgement.

According to the judgment, liquor vendors located within 500 metres of a national or state highway cannot sell alcohol.

The court also directed to not renew the licenses of existing shops and to issue new licenses to shops opened after March 31 along national and state highways.

Kumbhakoni told the court that the Supreme Court judgement has to be followed in letter and spirit and thus, no notification is required. "There should not be ways and means to circumvent the judgement. We should see to it that it is not defeated. It is for everyone's safety that the judgement was passed and lives have to be saved."

However, senior advocate Prasad Dhakephalkar appearing for the petitioners told the court that national and state highway statues exist and cannot be ignored.

While the court decided to give time until July 5 for the government to decide on these licenses, petitioners requested the court to stay the closure orders and let the businesses run until the final decision is taken by the PWD Secretary. However, the court refused to do so saying that right to livelihood cannot override right to life.

Also Read:

Kerala changes liquor policy, 3-star and above hotels can now serve booze

Udta Bihar: Huge spike in substance abuse, alcohol bootlegging year after ban

--- ENDS ---
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technologies and processes are expected to generate remarkable business outcomes that will impact the global economy across all industry sectors. To foster worldwide collaboration, the Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) and Plattform Industrie 4.0 are presenting a World Tour series to accelerate the digitalization of industrial production.

The two organizations have partnered with Italian-based, multinational company, Comau S.p.A., to co-host an event on June 19, 2017 in the Congress Centre Industrial Union, Turin, Italy. The event is designed to highlight the collaboration with Italian initiative Piano Industria 4.0, which is investing significant public resources in the technological and digital transformation of production with more than 13 billion euros of public commitment through automatic tax incentives for companies investing in Industrie 4.0 solutions and increasing R&D expenses.

The IIoT World Tour leverages the cross-industry knowledge of the Industrial Internet Consortium and the manufacturing expertise of Plattform Industrie 4.0 to help advance the digitalization of industrial systems, said Dr. Richard Mark Soley, Ph.D., Executive Director, Industrial Internet Consortium. We have a full agenda of expert speakers followed by anecdotal data on IIoT applications proven through testbeds, test labs and competency centers to help drive IIoT innovation."

Stefano Firpo, Director General for Industrial policy, competitiveness and small and medium enterprises at the Ministry of Economic Development, said, "The combination of super and hyper amortization schemes, tax credit on R&D and a special regime on income coming from the exploitation of patents and intangible assets puts the Italian tax system among the most favorable in the world to support investment in innovation and digitalization."

We are delighted to have the opportunity to work together with Italian companies to further promote international cooperation in the area of Industrie 4.0. The exchange across national and company borders is essential to set common standards and develop security concepts, said Henning Banthien, Secretary General, Plattform Industrie 4.0.

The event will feature executive speakers, including, among others:

Comau S.p.A., Bosch Software Innovations, and SAP SE, who will highlight the benefits of global collaboration on IIoT technologies and processes.

GE Digital, who will talk about the era of Cyber Physical Systems, detailing the advanced technologies and new alliances and business models they require.

Siemens, who will provide the keynote on behalf of Plattform Industrie 4.0

The Italian Ministry of Economic Development, who will provide a keynote on behalf of Piano Industria 4.0.

Qualical, who will offer a case study on IIoT in the lime industry.

Leveraging its 40 plus years of experience in the production of advanced automation systems and products for the industry, Comau has been engaged in giving a concrete form to a new era of automation characterized by a safe synergistic collaboration between man and robot. Mauro Fenzi, CEO of Comau, a member of FCA Group, said, In Comaus vision, Industrial Internet of Things is characterized by the direct collaboration between man and machine, a concept we define as human manufacturing. For the first time, industrial robots are no longer confined within the barriers that enclose their area of use and work alongside operators inside the production line.

In the morning, an executive panel will give their views on the direction for IIoT, which will include speakers from Comau S.p.A., ABB Italy, SAP SE and ST Microelectronics. A panel of speakers  Politecnico di Torino, Bosch Software Innovations, Siemens AG, and SAP SE - will discuss accelerating IIoT through testbeds, test labs and competence centers in the afternoon. This will be followed by briefing sessions with top-level experts from industry on security, testbeds, standardization, interoperability, and architecture.

To register for the event, click here.

About the Plattform Industrie 4.0

Plattform Industrie 4.0 is the central network to advance digital transformation towards Industry 4.0 in Germany. In close cooperation with politics, industry, science, associations and trade unions, it develops and coordinates information and networking services in order to make Industrie 4.0 solutions better known among companies and to deploy them on site. As one of the largest international and national networks, it supports German companies  particularly medium-sized companies  in implementing Industrie 4.0. It provides companies with decisive impulses through examples of company practices from across Germany as well as concrete recommendations for action and test environments. www.plattform-i40.de

About the Industrial Internet Consortium

The Industrial Internet Consortium is the worlds leading organization transforming business and society by accelerating the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). The IIC delivers a trustworthy IIoT in which the worlds systems and devices are securely connected and controlled to deliver transformational outcomes. The Industrial Internet Consortium is a community of the Object Management Group (OMG). For more information, visit www.iiconsortium.org.

Note to editors: Industrial Internet Consortium is a registered trademark of OMG. For a listing of all OMG trademarks, visit www.omg.org/legal/tm_list. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170612005099/en/

Industrial Internet Consortium

Karen Quatromoni, +1-781-444-0404 x146

quatromoni@iiconsortium.org

or

Plattform Industrie 4.0

Dr. Jonas Gobert, +49.170.3600696

Jonas.gobert@ifok.de
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.
Amazon may end up becoming the first company to be worth $1 trillion, according to analyst firm L2 founder Scott Galloway. Galloway claims that the United States is saturated with physical retail stores, and Amazon is in a good position to replace a large number of them. While Amazon is exploring rolling out its own brick-and-mortar shops, its online retail presence is continuously growing. Options like AmazonFresh and AmazonSmile have made the retailer much more appealing to consumers in recent years, and discounts on household staples like cleaning items and diapers for Prime members have seen many shift the bulk of their routine shopping to Amazon.

Galloway recently spoke of the existing retail scene essentially draining into a far smaller number of actors, with Amazon in the best position to get the most of that situation. He says that big players like Walmart stand to watch their businesses decline, and a good number of cashiers and other retail associates stand to lose their jobs. He goes on to explain that he has heard multiple figureheads in the retail industry talk about potentially cutting down resource usage, which would of course include human resource and payroll overhead. Amazons upcoming retail store concept includes no cashiers, meaning its potential success would accelerate retail job losses. On the online front, Galloway predicts that Amazon may be able to encourage customers to shift more of their shopping to its platform in the future, with the spending in the average Amazon Prime household projected to jump from around $1,300 per year to upwards of $7,000 per year in some unspecified future.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is already the second richest person alive, and the retail empires projected growth will see it quickly outpace competitors in sheer size. Amazons other ventures promise to see it outstrip competitors in a wide range of fields, if its various projects succeed. The tech giant is heavily involved in projects like delivery drones, self-driving cars, and even home automation. Amazons powerful and conversational Alexa platform sits at the center of most operations in the consumer sector outside of retail, driving the Amazon Echo and starting to appear on a number of different platforms and devices. Amazon Web Services, meanwhile, drive growth in the enterprise segment, attracting developers and webmasters of all kinds with attractive pricing and a feature set that keeps it just above its two closest rivals, the Google Cloud Platform and Microsoft Azure.
Google has announced that it will be bringing its successful Invisible reCAPTCHA technology to its Android devices through a new API that is now available to developers. As more users now access the internet through their phones and mobile applications, a mobile-focused reCAPTCHA service is necessary to keep user data and mobile applications safe. The reCAPTCHA service, a derivation of the Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart (CAPTCHA) solution, has clear benefits for both users and app developers. For the users, the main benefit is the capacity of an individual to access certain websites or applications without the worry of being exposed to spam and online abuse. On the part of site owners and app developers, they no longer need to worry about automated programs or bots gaining access to their systems. The use of reCAPTCHA API in Android apps could ultimately improve the security and reliability of mobile applications.

The use of the new reCAPTCHA API allows the Turing test to be done behind the scenes without interrupting the user on whatever they are doing. Thus, there is no need for users to tick checkboxes, read distorted words, or type down a street or house number when accessing certain app features. What makes this possible is Googles newest Invisible reCAPTCHA technology that runs a risk analysis test in the background. In case that the reCAPTCHA service suspects that a bot is accessing the application, the API will serve certain tests that the users must solve in order to prove that they are not bots.

This new API is part of the Google SafetyNet, which provides a set of APIs that focuses primarily on security features like device attestation, detecting bad URLs, determining fake users, and identifying harmful applications. The addition of the reCAPTCHA API bolsters the capacity of the Google Safetynet to secure the app developers systems from potential hacking or DDoS attacks through the addition of a user attestation service. These security features provided by Googles Safetynet APIs have been utilized by several popular applications like Pokemon GO, Netflix, and Android Pay to limit the use or installation of their applications on rooted devices.
A new claim from Huawei suggests the company overtook Apple in terms of shipments last December. The Chinese consumer electronics maker has made no secret of its plans to become the largest smartphone manufacturer worldwide, with just Samsung and Apple ahead of it in terms of shipments. When this goal was initially announced, the CEO of Huawei set out a two-year time frame for realizing it and may actually be ahead of schedule with its ambitions.

Huawei India Director of Product Centre, Allen Wang, claimed that the company overtook Apple in global sales volume share in December. To be more specific, Huawei reportedly held a 13.2-percent share of the market, while Apple trailed every so slightly behind with 12 percent. Now, this data only pertains to December, so the company still has quite a way to go before it overtakes Apples global shipments. It is interesting, though, that the company managed to overtake Apple during the last holiday season. December tends to be a very important month due to the increase in sales, so the fact that Huawei was more popular worldwide than Apple during this period is certainly a good sign for the Chinese original equipment manufacturer (OEM). Obviously, without Apple and Huaweis exact shipment numbers for December, there is no way to guarantee that these numbers are completely accurate. Nonetheless, they are certainly a step in the right direction and Huawei is sure to be pleased with its progress.

Huawei shipped close to 140 million units in 2016 which, although a significant improvement, was still way behind Apples 215.4 million units. With the Chinese company consistently improving, though, itll be interesting to see how the OEM fares against Apple on a global scale across the entire year, as well as Samsung which currently sits at number two in terms of worldwide shipments. Either way, beating Apple during the holiday season is definitely an accomplishment and another positive sign for Huawei. It remains to be seen what position Huawei will occupy in terms of global smartphone shipments by the end of the year and if the company is on track to reach its goal of becoming the number one global manufacturer worldwide by the end of 2018.
Xiaomi is slated to have a better second quarter than first in 2017. According to a supply chain insider that posted on Weibo today, Xiaomi is slated to ship around 20 million smartphones in the quarter. Thats up from 13 million in the first quarter of the year. This insider notes that India becoming more popular, and the recently release Xiaomi Mi 6 have helped the company to ship more smartphones this quarter. Now, these are smartphones that are shipped, not sold. While the numbers are still pretty close, it is important to make that distinction.

While Xiaomis biggest market is still China, and it likely will be for the foreseeable future, India has really been growing for the company. Xiaomis cheaper smartphones, particularly the Redmi line of smartphones, have been selling well in India, which is still considered an emerging market. India is the worlds second-largest smartphone market, but the more expensive flagships dont sell well in India. Its the cheaper smartphones, like the Redmi smartphones from Xiaomi that do the majority of its sales. Xiaomi has worked hard to expand their operations into India, as its one of the few markets that is not overcrowded with competitors, like the US is.

Xiaomis Mi 6 was also released in the second quarter, after an event in April. This is the companys flagship smartphone, sporting the latest Snapdragon 835 processor from Qualcomm, and 64GB or 128GB of storage at a pretty low price. As is usually the case for Xiaomi, the company has been unable to keep the Mi 6 in stock. Xiaomi typically sells its products in flash sales, with the stock running out in a mere seconds. Which helps it keep costs down since it doesnt have to worry about storing these products while they are on sale. Xiaomis 20 million shipments is still an estimate for the quarter. Since the second quarter doesnt actually end until June 30th, there are still a few more weeks left to change that number for better or worse. Xiaomi doesnt typically announce quarterly numbers, so itll be tough to say how accurate this 20 million number actually is or will be.
Motorola Mobility on Monday officially announced the Moto E4 and Moto E4 Plus, its latest pair of Android-powered entry-level handsets that have been rumored about for several months now. The devices primarily differ in terms of screen size and some internal hardware and will start shipping to customers later this month, the Lenovo-owned company said, adding that the Moto E4 and Moto E4 Plus start at $129.99 and $179.99, respectively.

The Moto E4 boasts a 5-inch display panel with a resolution of 1280 by 720 pixels, with its screen featuring a standard 16:9 aspect ratio. The device is powered by Qualcomms Snapdragon 425 and Snapdragon 427 system-on-chip (SoC) depending on the region, though both feature four cores clocked at 1.4GHz. According to the official spec sheet, the Moto E4 will ship with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal flash memory that isnt expandable, in addition to sporting a 3.5mm audio jack, microUSB port, and support for Bluetooth 4.1. The rear plate of the handset is equipped with an 8-megapixel f/2.2 camera, while its top bezel houses a 5-megapixel f/2.2. sensor, both of which are accompanied by standard LED flash units. The device is powered by a 2,800mAh battery thats removable and supports fast charging, while the entire package runs Android 7.1 Nougat out of the box, Motorola said, adding that the product will be available in Fine Gold and Licorice Black.

The Moto E4 Plus features a larger, 5.5-inch HD display and is powered by the Snapdragon 427 and 2GB of RAM, with the phone itself being available in two variants boasting 16GB and 32GB of storage space. It also lacks a microSD card slot, though its equipped with a 5,000mAh removable battery and a 13-megapixel rear camera with an aperture of f/2.0 and LED flash. The device shares other internal specs with its smaller counterpart, the phone maker said. The Moto E4 Plus will be offered in Iron Gray and Fine Gold, with both variants said to be available in numerous markets around the world. The full list of launch markets has yet to be revealed, though Motorola UK stated that the Moto E4 will be sold by Argos, Tesco, and Amazon for 129, while the same retailers will be selling the Moto E4 Plus for 159 starting this month. The larger handset will also be carried by Three UK and Vodafone, the company confirmed.
Uber is soon set to implement strict oversights over its management led by Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick, with the companys board casting a unanimous vote to completely adopt all recommendations issued by law firm Covington & Burling following its investigation into the ride-hailing giants internal practices. According to an unnamed Uber official cited by Reuters, the voting took place at a Sunday board meeting, the same one during which the possibility of Kalanick taking a leave of absence came up. The exact extent of new management oversights and company policy changes that Covington & Burling recommended is still unclear, but the thereof are said to significantly limit the autonomy of Kalanick and other top executives at the company in an effort to improve its operations and public standing.

Covington & Burling  founded by ex-United States Attorney General Eric Holder  had been investigating Ubers corporate culture and recent scandals pertaining to sexual harassment and other alarming incidents since February, with its recommendations set to be officially adopted by Uber tomorrow, June 13, the source said. Recent reports indicate that the aforementioned possibility of Kalanick stepping down from his CEO role for a limited period is somewhat realistic and the companys top executive may return to the San Francisco, California-based firm in a more limited role or with even more oversight. Kalanicks confidante and Uber Senior Vice President Emil Michael officially left the ride-sharing giant on Monday, with the company reportedly looking to add Nestle Executive Vice President Wan Ling Martello to its board in the near future.

The latest turn of events marks Ubers first concrete steps to revamps its public image and operations that have been garnering a lot of negative publicity in recent months, with the firm developing a reputation of an aggressive startup that often clashes with regulators and nurtures a toxic corporate culture. Given how the company still didnt complete its search for a Chief Operating Officer that started in March, its currently unclear who would lead its management in case Kalanick ends up taking a leave of absence. More details on the matter and Ubers general efforts to rebuild its public image will likely follow soon, no later than tomorrow.
The all-new Xiaomi Notebook Air leaked a couple of days ago, and the company has just announced the device, meet the new Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air 13. This is an upgraded variant of the companys Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air 13, and it adds some new features. This new variant of the device comes with a 13.3-inch fullHD (1920 x 1080) display, and it is fueled by the 7th-gen Intel Core i7 SoC which is clocked at 3.5GHz, and the company says that it will offer a 10 percent performance increase over its predecessor. Now, the company has also announced a somewhat more affordable variant of the device, a variant that is fueled by the 7th-gen Intel Core i5 SoC which is fueled at 3.1GHz.

Both of these variants come with a fingerprint scanner, which is quite interesting, and both are packing 8GB of DDR4 RAM, while youll be able to pick up variants carrying 128GB or 256GB of SSD storage. Interestingly enough, youre also getting AKGs custom speakers here, which is something weve already seen in Xiaomis notebooks, and do keep in mind that a new GPU is also included, NVIDIAs GeForce MX150 with 2GB of GDDR5 memory, and it is considerably more powerful than the one Xiaomi used in the previous model. The all-new Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air 13 comes in a silver color variant only, and packs in a Type-C USB port, and also an HDMI port. Now, some of you are probably wondering how much do these two devices cost, well, the Intel Core i5 variant is priced at 4,999 Yuan ($737) in China, and it comes with 128GB of storage, while the variant with 256GB of storage costs 5,499 Yuan ($810). Those of you who would like to pick up an Intel Core i7 variant will have to wait a bit longer to find out how much will it cost, because the company still did not release that info.

The Intel Core i5 variant of the Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air 13 will go on sale starting at 12PM on June 18, and registrations for the sale are already opened over at Xiaomis official website in China, which you can access by clicking on the source link down below. Were still not sure whether Xiaomi will launch these two devices in any additional markets, but one thing is for sure, a number of Chinese resellers will sell the all-new Xiaomi Mi Notebook 13 Air in the near future.
By Press Trust of India: By K J M Varma

Beijing, Jun 11 (PTI) In a rare show of public dissent, hundreds of people came out on the streets in Chinas biggest city and financial hub Shanghai today to protest against the recent changes in housing regulations by the city government.

Up to 300 demonstrators marched through Shaghais busiest shopping street. Many of them held banners and encouraged onlookers to take photos, state-run Global Times reported.

advertisement

It was not clear if any of the marchers were detained by the police during the protest that lasted for nearly an hour.

One protester, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the newspaper that the demonstrators were people living in commercial properties converted to residential apartments.

The government in Shanghai on May 17 announced that people were not allowed to convert commercial properties for residential use, and buildings that have been converted should be changed back to their previous situation, the report said.

The anonymous protester said people who have been living in commercial premises converted to residential use were forced to do so either because of the sky-high residential property prices, or they were unable to buy as they do not have a hukou (a household registration record required by law in China).

Converting commercial buildings for residential use can be costly and dangerous as they have different construction standards, urban development expert Niu Fengrui of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences told the daily.

The government notice also said many developers misled property buyers, telling them they could convert commercial buildings into apartments. PTI KJV ABH

--- ENDS ---
Even as Pakistan government denies presence of Islamic State militants in its territory, the killing of a Chinese couple in Balochistan not only raise brows but also prompted Army's offensive in the region.

Terrorists killed by the Pakistan forces following intel after Chinese couple's murder.

By Hamza Ameer: Pakistan government has been in complete denial over the presence of the dreaded militant group Islamic State (IS) on its ground, claiming that IS does not hold any foot on ground in Pakistan.

But that was negated recently after a Chinese couple, working at teachers on the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) One Belt One Road (OBOR) project, a multi-billion dollar investment by China, aimed at rejuvenating Pakistan's 300 billion dollar economy, were abducted and killed.

advertisement

They were abducted from Pakistan's Balochistan province's provincial capital Quetta in broad day light and later claimed to have been killed by the Islamic State militants.

The abduction alarmed authorities and law-enforcement agencies to launch major operations in various parts of the province.

It was not long when Pakistan Army got intelligence reports of the whereabouts of the Chinese couple and launched a key operation in Mastung area of Balochistan.

The operation carried importance as reports indicated presence of Daesh group militants, a local faction of Islamic State operating in Pakistan, housed alongside another banned terrorist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) in the caves near Isplingi (Koh-e-Siah/Koh-e-Maran), about 36 kilometers south-east of Mastung.

A press release from Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) stated:

"The successful operation by security forces in Mastung denied establishment of any direct/indirect ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) organized infrastructure in Balochistan. Based on actionable intelligence, Security Forces conducted an operation in Mastung from 1-3 June. There were reports of 10-15 terrorists of a banned outfit Lashrake-Jhangivi Al-Almi (LeJA) hiding in caves near Isplingi ( Koh-i-Siah/Koh-i- Maran) 36 Kilometer South East of Mastung."ISPR also confirmed about ISIS, trying to establish itself in Pakistan.

"The said organization was reportedly making efforts for communication with ISIS (Daish) and intended to facilitate establishment of ISIS foothold in Balochistan."

What happened between June 1-3

Operation for physical clearance of target area, spread over 10km, started early morning June 1 by landing of heliborne force. The operation continued for three days.

250 Meter long gorge with steep heights and multiple caves made the clearance operation difficult and challenging. Terrorists who were hiding in caves offered stiff resistance.

During exchange of fire, 12 hardcore terrorists including two suicide bombers were killed.

During the operation security forces destroyed IED making facility inside cave and recovered cache of arms and ammunition which included 50 kilograms of explosive, three suicide bomber jackets, 18 Grenades, six rocket launchers, four light machine guns,18 small machine guns, four sniper rifles, 38 communication sets and huge ammunition of various types.

During the operation, at least five security forces personnel including two officers got injured.

The operation by Security Forces besides denying establishing of any direct or indirect ISIS organized infrastructure in Balochistan, also foiled terrorist incidents in Pakistan.

The authorities also found the vehicle, that was used in the kidnapping of the Chinese couple from the area but there was no sign of them.

advertisement

Pakistan Army also released a video showing installations of IS militants inside the caves of Isplingi.

A day after the operation, Islamic State announced and claimed that they had killed the Chinese couple, raising serious concerns of security parameters, put in place to ensure security of Chinese nationals working on the CPEC-OBOR project.

Pakistan beefs up security around OBOR and Chinese nationals

This prompted Pakistan to take immediate steps towards beefing up security around the OBOR, primarily focused on the monitoring and safety of Chinese nationals.

Sources say, Pakistan is going to be deploying at least 15,000 additional troops to ensure security of Chinese nationals in Balochistan, ensuring tight monitoring and swift progress of $57 billion Chinese investment on CPEC-OBOR.

Chalking out the revised security plan, Pakistan has outlined security that includes thousands of police protection forces, monitoring of Chinese nationals and establishment of an Army division, comprising of at least 15,000 troops, engaged specifically to safeguard projects in the CPEC initiative.

The initiative will ensure security around power plants, railway tracks and road that will cross the Himalayas to connect western China with Pakistan's Arabian Sea port of Gawadar.

advertisement

For this, all provinces including Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab and Khyber Pukhtunkhwa have been taken on board with specified duties assigned for immediate implementation.

"We are already alert, but this incident has made us extra vigilant over Chinese security," said Amin Yousafzai, deputy inspector-general of police of Sindh.

Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province is in process of carrying out a census of Chinese nationals in the province and is raising a security force of about 4,200 officers to protect foreigners.

Punjab's Special Protection Unit (SPU), is also increasing the number of officers from 6,000 to 10,000. SPU officers are dedicated to safeguarding Chinese and other foreigners in the province.

"SPU chiefs hold daily meetings with the intelligence agencies and police chiefs to ensure Chinese nationals stay safe. A database has also been setup to track foreigners from their arrival, to their lodging and departure", said Raja Jahangir, Punjab's secretary for Information.

Balochistan government is reviewing and revamping the overall security arrangements of the province.

"Chinese nationals who come in a private capacity should inform the authorities about their activities" said AnwaarulHaqKakar, spokesperson for the provincial government.

Miftah Ismail, a state minister involved in CPEC planning said, "Pakistan had devoted huge resources to improving security and Chinese investors should not be put off by a one-off attack.The country's security situation has improved."

advertisement

The increasing Chinese business presence in Pakistan

While the kidnapping of Chinese couple, whose killing later claimed by Islamic State is a major concern, it also highlights the fact that there is an increasing number of Chinese businessmen, who are coming to Pakistan and exploring investment opportunities in relation with the CPEC initiative.

Most of the arriving Chinese nationals stay in bigger cities like Karachi, Lahore and the capital Islamabad, but many also venture into riskier areas like Balochistan itself.

Going forward, the challenges of security will further increase as Pakistan plans on making CPEC operational during the year 2018 as remote areas of Balochistan, which constitute about 1,000 kilometers of the CPEC, will be opened to back-and-forth movement of trucks, carrying good from and to China. The area will also be then opened to foreigners, who are barred to access them currently.

--- ENDS ---
Free newsletter

Subscribe to our FREE newsletter service and well keep you up-to-date with the latest breaking news, cutting edge opinion, and expert analysis affecting both your business and the industry as whole.

Please enter your email address below and click on Sign Up for daily newsletters from Australasian Lawyer.
According to the official announcement, Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann has decided to step down from the position of Chief Executive Officer and Speaker of the Management Board of Adam Opel GmbH.He will remain a member of the same board until the French at Groupe PSA will complete the acquisition process of Opel/Vauxhall.Dr. Neumann stated that it was difficult for him to make the decision to step down from the highest position in the Opel/Vauxhall corporate tree, and he also explained that he would leave once the transition to Groupe PSA is concluded.Some rumors have placed Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann as a potential leader in the organization of Opels competitor, Volkswagen AG, but official sources have not confirmed or commented on the topic.Meanwhile, the helm of the two sister brands that used to belong to General Motors until recently will be in the hands of the former finance chief of the corporation, Michael Lohnscheller.The new boss of Opel was appointed CFO in September 2012, and has seen the European branch of General Motors go through tough times. Previous jobs placed him at Volkswagen's American division, Daimler, Mitsubishi Motors Europe, and Volkswagen.The firms Supervisory Board has unanimously appointed Mr. Lohnscheller as Adam Opel GmbH CEO, and the move is with immediate effect to ensure continuity in building the new strategic plan for the Russelsheim brand.The new chief of Vauxhall and Opel wants to turn the company into Europes champion once the transaction with PSA Peugeot Citroen is settled.The primary goal is to generate income for the business, which is essential for the future of all 38,000 Vauxhall/Opel employees, along with the stakeholders in the German firm that has recently been acquired by a French conglomerate.
No one was seriously injured after the pilot of a hot air balloon was ejected from the basket and the two non-pilot passengers were left on their own. On an otherwise calm evening at an event in Chatsworth, Illinois, Thursday, a 20-30 mph gust of wind tore through a group of balloons getting ready to launch. As the accompanying video shows (coarse language alert) the wind blew one balloon into another and in the process left the pilot hanging out of the basket. The balloon then descended rapidly and bounced off the ground, ejecting the pilot in the process. Relieved of his weight, the balloon shot back into the air with two inexperienced passengers still in the basket.

The balloon ascended a few hundred feet and pilots on the ground were able to make contact with the two passengers and guide them to a safe landing a few hundred yards from the takeoff point. The pilot was taken to the hospital but his injuries were not serious, Livingston County Sheriff Tony Childress told local media. He said balloons have been flying safely in the area for many years and this years unusual incident wont result in any changes to its organization or the rules governing it. I just dont think its something that we need to create more red tape, so to speak, that what we already have, Childress said.
Leader of opposition in the Gujarat Assembly Vaghela and state Congress president Solanki, would not have much say in matters related to the party.

By India Today Web Desk: With the internal feud in the Gujarat Congress refusing to ebb, the party leadership is likely to clip the wings of the two top state leaders - Shankersinh Vaghela and Bharatsinh Solanki - in the coming days.

According to sources, a committee comprising Congress national general secretary in charge of Gujarat Ashok Gehlot and four co-in charge leaders may be formed. This committee would take all decisions regarding the state party in view of the forthcoming Assembly elections later this year, the sources said.

advertisement

As a result of this decision, leader of opposition in the Gujarat Assembly Vaghela and state Congress president Solanki, would not have much say in matters related to the organisation or elections such as selection of candidates. The decisions would be taken by Gehlot and his four assistants - Jeetu Patwari, Varsha Gaekwad, Raji Satav and Harshvardhan.

Meanwhile, Vaghela continues to be upset with the Congress leadership. Though he was supposed to visit Mehsana go in a group comprising other senior leaders to meet the kin of a Patidar who died in police custody, he went alone on Sunday.

On Saturday, Vaghela, Gehlot, Solanki and some other leaders had called on Gujarat Governor OP Kohli to present a memorandum regarding the custodial death. However, sources said, Vaghela raised objection over the order in which his name was mentioned in the memorandum. He felt upset about it and apprised Gehlot about it, said the sources.

Later, Gehlot and Solanki reached Vaghela's residence at Gandhinagar to pacify him. However, it did not seem to have worked. The next day, Vaghela went to Mehsana alone although he was supposed to be a part of the group which included Solanki.

Also Read:

Speculation of Vaghela leaving Congress as he skips meeting with Rahul

Vaghela 'unfriends' CongVaghela 'unfriends' Cong

Sonia on 3 years of Modi government: Where there was harmony, there is discord

Also Watch: RaGa self goal: Congress scion questions dynastic politics in Telangana

--- ENDS ---


A corporate flight crew reportedly deadsticked a Hawker Beechcraft 400XP to a safe landing at Buffalo International Airport on Saturday in an incident that would have made international headlines if it had gone any other way. The aircraft was carrying movie star Jennifer Lawrence from her hometown of Louisville to Teterboro. The aircraft took off at 11:46 and headed with a flight-planned destination of TEB but FlightAware shows a track well to the north of a direct route to New Jersey.

The Hawker was at 31,000 feet over northwestern Pennsylvania when it appears the first engine quit. Thats where the aircraft diverted to Buffalo and the second engine went out sometime after that. Mainstream media reports have concentrated on the fact that Lawrence walked off the plane unscathed after the safe landing. Because it occurred on the weekend none of the federal agencies that record such mishaps have listed it yet so theres been no discussion of a possible cause.
Republican Senator Jim Inhofe, of Oklahoma, and Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois, have introduced a bill they say will streamline funding for general aviation airports. It would also formally enshrine in legislation the building of homebuilt aircraft as an aeronautical activity to eliminate any bureaucratic interpretation on doing that work at an airport. The Forward Looking Investment in General Aviation, Hangars and Tarmacs (FLIGHT) Act of 2017 was introduced last week and would extend some procedural advantages used to expedite projects at big airport to regional and local airports. Our general aviation airports are vital to aviation safety and positively impact the efficiency of large commercial airports, emergency medical operations, law enforcement activities and agriculture and small businesses activities throughout the United States,Inhofe said.

The new law, if enacted, would allow GA airports more time to accumulate FAA funding for projects and ensures available discretionary funding originally set aside for GA airports remains available for projects at GA airports through a nationally competitive process. It will also allow GA airports access to expedited and coordinated environmental assessment and approval processes, identify certain facilities as disaster relief airports and open up the pool of money available for emergency preparedness. The FLIGHT Actaddresses the growing needs of our nations system of airports by providing the FAA with long overdue flexibility it needs to fund important projects, said Mark Baker, president and CEO, AOPA.

An earlier version incorrectly identified Duckworth as a Republican.
The spotlight has been on President Trump's legal jeopardy. But inside the small circle of top Republicans who advise this White House, there's increasing concern that future political problems are stacking up.

One of the oldest (and most trusted) hands in America told a large group of CEOs in New York City on Friday: "Simply put, Trump has lost control of his presidency. He still has all the power of the office, but for someone who spent a portion of his life in real estate litigation, he shows once again he has not learned the first rule of legal combat: It is often better to say nothing and do nothing."

That voice isn't a partisan, but our kitchen cabinet of Republicans is growing notably more bearish, even though slam-dunk evidence of "high crimes and misdemeanors" hasn't emerged.

"Another week, and no progress on the GOP agenda," said a GOP sage. "Infrastructure Week turned into Comey Week. No one really knows Trump and came to D.C. with him. He is a president on an island, all alone. ... [T]he ability to get anything done is in double jeopardy."

What Republicans fear : a downward spiral in which the Russia distractions make it harder to pass Trump's agenda, new talent won't come into the West Wing, top-shelf potential challengers are reluctant to run as Republicans in 2018, the House flips, and article of impeachment become a real risk.

: a downward spiral in which the Russia distractions make it harder to pass Trump's agenda, new talent won't come into the West Wing, top-shelf potential challengers are reluctant to run as Republicans in 2018, the House flips, and article of impeachment become a real risk. Watch the Georgia special election results a week from Tuesday. It's officially the most expensive House race in history, and Democrats look like they could pick up a Republican seat.

a week from Tuesday. It's officially the most expensive House race in history, and Democrats look like they could pick up a Republican seat. Trump knows that he thrives with an opponent, so he personalized the investigation by making it Trump v. Comey, personally calling out his fired FBI director and offering to take him on under oath. In the short run, that plays well with the base, which wants a fighter. But it makes it harder to wall off the Oval Office by firing or disowning associates.

Be smart:

Comey's failure to deliver a smoking gun has

bought Trump some time

. But so far, he's shown no indication that he has a plan  or the will  to use that time to change the course of events.
The Senate Intelligence Committee announced that Attorney General Jeff Sessions will testify in an open session Tuesday afternoon at 2:30pm Eastern  soon after the Department of Justice released a statement stating that Sessions had requested a public hearing.

What to expect: Russia, Russia, Russia. Sessions has been under pressure for weeks about undisclosed meetings with Russia's ambassador, and he also played a key role in James Comey's testimony. From the DOJ press release: "He believes it is important for the American people to hear the truth directly from him and looks forward to answering the committee's questions tomorrow."

Think about it: CNN reported yesterday that Sessions' offer to testify in front of Senate Intel was a move to potentially avoid testifying publicly. Now DOJ says he insisted the testimony be public. It's unclear how exactly it came together, but it's happening.
The White House and Congress have a one-two punch planned for "workforce development week"  which will actually be stretched out over two weeks because House leadership has legislation ready to go.

The White House will take administrative actions to expand apprenticeships and job retraining. The administration's goal is to plug the "skills gap" that's leaving an estimated 6 million jobs unfilled. The President's daughter Ivanka will be leading the drive, along with senior advisor Reed Cordish, from Jared Kushner's Office of American Innovation, and Labor Secretary Alex Acosta. The following week, House leadership will drop onto the floor the first significant workforce training legislation of this congressional session. It's a bipartisan bill to reauthorize the "Perkins Act" for six years  providing more than $1 billion per year in federal support for career and technical education programs.

Around the corner: A senior House aide tells me members are looking at another bill "to help welfare recipients find work, and focus current welfare spending on reducing welfare dependency by increasing employment."

Why it matters: As Axios' Chris Matthews reported last week, "firms are demanding more labor, but not finding qualified workers, even as millions of Americans remain unemployed or outside the formal labor market. This is evidence of an expanding skills gap between what Americans can do and what Corporate America needs done."

Other calendar notes:
Beyond his base voters, Trump has an even bigger potential problem looming with his base in Congress. While Republican lawmakers won't say it publicly, it's widely known if they could pick between President Pence and President Trump, the Vice President would win 90% of the vote among the GOP.

Why this matters: Bill Clinton benefited from a large number of true fans and believers among elected Democrats when he survived impeachment. Trump has few authentic fans or loyalists in Congress. So if things take a turn for the worse, GOP flight could come fast and furious  since the end result would be President Pence.
The attorneys general of Washington, D.C. and Maryland are suing President Trump for allegedly accepting payments and gifts from foreign governments while working in the White House, which they argue is in violation of the Constitution's emoluments clause, per the Washington Post.

Their case: They hone in on the fact that Trump kept ownership of the Trump Organization after he was inaugurated, and allege the president has "broken many promises to keep separate his public duties and private interests." Examples cited include his continuing to receive Trump Org financial reports as president (as his son Eric revealed); and stays by foreign leaders and diplomats at Trump hotels.

The A.G.s told the Post their suit largely focuses on the claim that many D.C. and Maryland-based venues are losing customers to Trump International Hotel near the White House. And if a judge takes up their case, they say one of their first actions will be to demand copies of Trump's tax returns and financial records to evaluate his foreign business dealings.

Flashback: This isn't the first lawsuit that has been brought against Trump for alleged conflicts of interest. Back in January, a non-governmental organization, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, filed a similar suit claiming Trump's involvement in the family company created unfair competition. And in March, D.C. restaurant Cork Wine Bar sued, claiming the restaurant at Trump Hotel had an unfair advantage as it is associated with the president.
12 June 2017 14:40 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

Armenian Armed Forces continue to commit arsons in the occupied villages of Azerbaijans Agdam region.

The arsons were set in the villages of Bayramlar, Bash Garvand and Kangarli, APA reported on June 11.

Residents of the frontline village of Mirashalli told reporters that mines laid near the contact line explode because of the fire.

The arsons were also observed throughout the night in Bash Garvand and Shikhlar villages, which are under the control of Armenian occupant forces. The smoke still pours out in the areas of fire.

Last week, Armenians set arsons in the occupied part of Agdam region, and it spread to the Chiragli village located near the contact line of Armenian-Azerbaijani troops. Although the fire was extinguished, pastures and trees around the village burned down.

The Armenians frequently commit arsons in the occupied Azerbaijani territories, particularly in summer, which also spread to frontline settlements.

For more than two decades Armenia and Azerbaijan are in a state of war following Yerevans aggression, ethnic cleansing policy and illegal territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenia keeps under control over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions in a brutal war in the early 1990s.

Despite a fragile ceasefire agreement signed in 1994, Armenia keeps violating armistice with Azerbaijan by regular provocations on the contact line of troops.

---

Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
12 June 2017 12:50 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

Baku-born, globe-trotting composer and pianist Amina Figarova will perform at the Swanage Jazz Festival in the UK.

The festival is promoted by a group of fans and is non-profit making. It started in 1990 with a small marquee and one smaller indoor venue with about 300 tickets.

British audience will enjoy ten new compositions by the Azerbaijani pianist, Azertac reported.

Figarova attended the Baku Conservatory, where she studied to be a classical concert pianist while a young girl in Azerbaijan. This was followed by a course of study in jazz performance at the Rotterdam Conservatory before entering and completing her studies at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.

The pianist has toured extensively, developing a tight-knit ensemble that has attained a distinctive and inimitable voice by concentrating on all-original repertoire for almost 18 years. During that period, Amina Figarova collaborated with musicians in the U.S. and Europe.

Her sextet has triumphed at the main stage of the Newport Jazz Festival, been invited repeatedly to New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and won critical acclaim in Chicago, Detroit, Paris, Amsterdam and New York.

Throughout all tracks, Amina's classically founded touch, her lilting melodies, luminous harmonies, often understated yet always propulsive rhythms and star soloists come together.

---

Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
The demand for a separate Gorkhaland is a 110-year-old one. The Gorkhaland movement had turned violent in 1980s, when over 1,200 people lost their lives. The GJM has renewed the demand after West Bengal government's decision to make Bangla mandatory in schools from Class I-IX.

Demand for Gorkhaland: Agitation by GJM witnessed violence in Darjeeling and surrounding areas last week.

By Prabhash K Dutta: Fondly called the queen of hills, Darjeeling is boiling this summer over the question of language and renewed demand for Gorkhaland by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM).

Last week saw violence as the GJM supporters clashed with security forces after the West Bengal government announced its decision to impose Bangla language in schools across the state from Class 1-IX. The GJM led by Bimal Gurung is vehemently against the idea and took to streets with full force.

advertisement

Army was called last Thursday after nearly four decades in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and adjoining areas to bring situation under control. The GJM's call for indefinite shutdown began today. The state government has responded with heavy deployment of security forces including six columns of Indian Army jawans and five companies of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) besides Rapid Action Force (RAF) and local police.

CALL AND COUNTER-CALL

Giving a call for shutdown, the GJM asked the tourists staying in Darjeeling and Kalimpong to leave the region. "If they wish to stay back, they may do so at their own risk," Bimal Gurung said.

West Bengal Tourism Minister Goutam Deb called the warning by Bimal Gurung an 'extra-constitutional' act saying that being a member of Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), he is not above law.

The GJM said that it would enforce shutdown of all the government offices except schools, hospital and emergency services. It asked the employees working in these offices to stay away from government work.

The Mamata Banerjee, on the other hand, warned the employees from taking leave of absence. The government notification said that any leave during the period of GJM shutdown would be considered as 'service break' in the record of concerned employees.

Bimal Gurung announced that the GJM is back with its old demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland by partition of West Bengal.

The GJM has renewed demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland. The agitation saw violence last week.

HISTORY OF PARTITION OF BENGAL

Bengal has a rather unusual history of partition. The first partition of Bengal happened in 1905 when the British rulers, afraid of growing pace of freedom struggle, divided the huge province along religious line. Though, officially, Bengal was divided for administrative ease.

The Muslim majority region of East Bengal was placed under a separate administration. The remaining part got its name as West Bengal.

In 1911, West Bengal was divided along linguistic lines. Bihar - which was divided to create Jharkhand decades later - and Odisha were carved out of Bengal as they were regions dominated by Hindi and Oriya respectively.

advertisement

Agitation for a separate Gorkhaland has a 110-year-old history. It can be traced back to 1907. But, before a timeline of the agitation for Gorkhaland, it is pertinent to have a look as the recent history and geography of Gorkhaland.

WHERE IS GORKHALAND PLACED?

The proposed Gorkhaland comprises the hills of Darjeeling, areas of Dooars and Siliguri terai regions in West Bengal. Present autonomous GTA covers three hill subdivisions of Darjeeling, Kurseong and Mirik, and some areas of Siliguri subdivision and the whole of Kalimpong district.

The claim for a separate Gorkhaland lies in the history and perceived distinct identity of Nepali speaking people living in the area. Before the British stamped their authority over the region, the Gorkhas were the ruling power in the region.

After the capture of Sikkim by the Gorkhas in 1780, their empire extended from Teesta in the east to Sutlej in the west along the Himalayas. Their empire included Sikkim, Darjeeling, Siliguri, Shimla, Nainital, Garhwal, Kumaon and Sutlej.

But, in early 19th century, the British engaged the Gorkhas in war and forced them surrender a big chunk of their empire including Darjeeling, which was initially handed over to the kingdom of Sikkim only to be taken back in 1835.

advertisement

Darjeeling survived the partition of Bengal first in 1905 and also in 1911-12. But, by then the movement for a separate Gorkhaland with Darjeeling as its centre had begun.

(Photo: PTI file)

THE TIMELINE OF GORKHALAND MOVEMENT

The first demand for a separate Gorkhaland was submitted to the British rulers in 1907, when the Morley-Minto panel was touring various parts of the country to introduce some political reform under the supremacy of the UK parliament.

The first such demand was submitted after Independence to the then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in 1952. Pt Nehru did not pay much heed to the demand.

Three years later a delegation of the District Shamik Sangh submitted a memorandum to the State Reorganisation Committee (SRC) formed by the Nehru government. A separate Gorkhaland was proposed comprising the areas of Darjeeling, Siliguri and Cooch Behar district of West Bengal. While, some other states were carved out on the basis of language and culture, the SRC did not consider demand for Gorkhaland strong enough.

GORKHALAND DURING 1980s: OVER 1,200 KILLED

advertisement

In 1981, a similar demand was made to the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Pending a decision by the Centre, Subhas Ghising of Gorkha National Liberation Front launched a massive agitation for separate state of Gorkhaland.

The Gorkhaland agitation passed through a very violent phase during Rajiv Gandhi government at the Centre. It is estimated that around 1,200 people were killed between 1986 and 1988, when the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) was formed.

(Photo: PTI)

The movement continued through 1990s. In the first decade of the present century, dialogue entered meaningful stage as the authority of Subhash Ghising weakened and a new leader in GJM chief Bimal Gurung emerged.

DIALOGUE, DEAL AND RENEWED DEMAND

In 2005, the Centre and West Bengal government agreed to place the Gorkhaland region in the Schedule VI of the Constitution giving it some form of autonomy and special status. But, the GJM opposed the move and launched the agitation afresh.

In 2011, another compromise was reached and GTA was formed. GJM is part of the GTA, which is headed by Bimal Gurung. However, there have been sporadic voices demanding separate state of Gorkhaland ever since the formation of Telangana in 2013.

The GJM is part of the NDA, which is ruling at the Centre. It is also alarmed at the growing popularity of the Trinamool Congress of Mamata Banerjee in the hills.

Recently, the TMC won the Mirik municipality and opened accounts in the civic bodies in Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong - a first of its kind for any political party from the plains in many years. A rising TMC in hills may have been the real reason for GJM intensifying its agitation for Gorkhaland.

ALSO READ |

Darjeeling turns into garrison as GJM calls for bandh, asks tourists to leave

Gorkhaland stir: GJM chief dares Mamata Banerjee as Darjeeling braces up for fresh protests

ALSO WATCH | Gorkhaland agitation: Mamata issues order making it mandatory for govt officials to attend offices

--- ENDS ---
12 June 2017 15:33 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

Ali bey Huseynzade was the great personality of the Turkic world, and one of the most interesting and influential artists of Azerbaijan to have lived and worked in exile.

Ali bey Huseynzade was prominent Azerbaijani writer and literary figure, philosopher and doctor, who designed the national flag of Azerbaijan and played an important role in forming a national Azerbaijani ideology.

His personal belongings and documents have recently been transferred from Turkey to Azerbaijan upon the initiative of his daughter Feyzever Alpsar, who lives in Istanbul.

More than 100 works created by Ali bey Huseynzade and his children Salim Turan and Feyzever Alpsar, over fifty personal items, photos, awards and medals, the newspaper Hyat, woven on silk are now put on display at the Independence Museum of Azerbaijan, Trend Life reported.

Culture and Tourism Minister Abulfaz Garayev, addressing the inauguration ceremony of the exhibition, stressed the great significance of the event and thanked Turkey for assistance.

Feyzever Alpsar couldnt attend the ceremony for health reasons, but welcomed all participants in a video message. The daughter of Ali bey Huseynzade said that her father till the end of his days believed in the independence and prosperity of Azerbaijan.

Turkish Ambassador to Baku Erkan Ozoral, President of the Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation Gunay Afandiyeva, Director of the National Museum of History academician Naila Velikhanli and others highlighted the role of Ali bey Huseynzade in promotion of the ideas of independence and statehood in the Turkic world and unity of the two brotherly peoples of Turkey and Azerbaijan.

The speakers stressed Huseynzades exclusive contribution to the development and formation of the Azerbaijan national identity. All expressed sincere gratitude to Feyzever Alpsar for such valuable gifts.

Ali bey Huseynzades surviving works are portraits and landscapes. Just three of Ali bey Huseynzades works have been on display in Azerbaijan so far. One is a portrait of Alis grandfather, Sheikh ul-Islam Ahmed Salyani, which is in the Azerbaijan National Museum of Arts, according to visions.az.

Another of his paintings depicts the Bibiheybet Mosque in approximately 1905-07. Its a valuable record, as the mosque was blown up in 1936 as part of the communist authorities anti-religion drive. The work now hangs in the National Museum of Art.



The third picture remaining in Azerbaijan is a portrait of an old woman and a young girl. Drawn in pencil in Salyan in 1910 just before the artist left Azerbaijan for good, the subjects of the portrait are Nisa, the 75 year-old cousin of Ahmad Salyanis wife, Husniye, and Boyukkhanim, the 11 year-old daughter of Ali bey's brother, Ismayil bey.

Ali Bey Huseynzade was born in 1864 to a family of Muslim religious cleric in Salyan.

Upon graduation in 1889, Huseynzade moved to Istanbul, where he entered the Medical faculty of Istanbul University (IU). After graduation, he served as a military doctor in the Ottoman Army, and subsequently as an Assistant Professor at IU.

In 1903, Ali bey returned home and spent the next 7 years in Baku. During this period of time, he engaged in scholarly and publishing activities, edited the "Heyat" newspaper, and served as a chief editor of "Kaspiy" newspaper.

In 1905, he joined Alimardan Topchubashev, Farrukh Vezirov, Adil Khan Ziyadkhanov and Ahmed bey Aghayev as a part of Azerbaijani delegation to an all-Russian convention of Muslims, where an agreement was reached on establishing of a single Muslim party in Russian Empire. In 1906, Huseynzade started publishing the "Fiyuzat" magazine, financed by famous philanthropist Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev, and harshly criticized the Tsarist government in his writings.

In 1910, Huseynzade moved to the Ottoman Empire, where he was elected a presiding member of the Committee of Union and Progress. In 1918, he returned to Azerbaijan to participate in the formation of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR).

After the fall of ADR in April 1920, Huseynzade permanently settled in Turkey and became a citizen of this country, receiving the surname Turan. Huseynzade died in 1940 at the age of 76.

---

Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
12 June 2017 12:23 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

Australia supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, as well as the country's position on the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Minister for International Development and the Pacific Concetta Fierravanti-Wells said on June 11.

She made the statement at an event dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Australia.

The minister noted that Australia supports the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"We urge all parties to observe the ceasefire regime and avoid escalating the situation," she added.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with signing of a fragile ceasefire in 1994. Since the war, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

While the OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, the occupation of the territory of the sovereign state with its internationally recognized boundaries has been left out of due attention of the international community for years.

Armenia ignores four UN Security Council resolutions on immediate withdrawal from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan, thus keeping tension high in the region.

---

Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
12 June 2017 16:07 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

The document on settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict remains the same, Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said on June 12.

He made the remarks at a joint press conference with his Estonian counterpart Sven Mikser in Baku.

Mammadyarov noted that he discussed the promotion of the negotiation process during his meeting with Russian and Armenian counterparts in Moscow on April 29.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with signing of a fragile ceasefire in 1994. Since the war, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

While the OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, the occupation of the territory of the sovereign state with its internationally recognized boundaries has been left out of due attention of the international community for years.

The basic elements for further negotiations towards a peace agreement have been agreed upon by both Presidents - the Madrid Principles, with small adaptations, have been on the table now for nearly 10 years.

The minister also commented on the visit of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs to the region: "I cannot say what proposals the co-chairs will bring to Baku.

Currently, the mediators to the negotiation process are in Armenia. Lets wait and see with what message they will arrive from Armenia to Baku, Mammadyarov said.

The co-chairs will arrive in Azerbaijan on June 19.

The minister also stressed that Azerbaijan stands for the beginning of substantive talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.

Azerbaijan's position remains unchanged. The status quo needs to be changed, because we all know what the consequences may be if it is preserved, noted Mammadyarov.

The minister also stressed that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict must be resolved on the basis of relevant resolutions of the United Nations. The UN resolutions call for unconditional withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from Azerbaijan's territories. The issue of sovereignty noted in these documents is our common interest, he said.

Mammadyarov added that all negotiations must be resolved on the basis of international norms and principles, and all UN member countries must abide by it.

Armenia ignores four UN Security Council resolutions on immediate withdrawal from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan, thus keeping tension high in the region.

---

Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
12 June 2017 17:56 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

Azerbaijans National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) cleared a territory of 1,633,964 square meters in May, the Agency reported on June 12.

ANAMA stated that its staff discovered and defused 409 unexploded ammunition, 81 anti-tank mines and 16 anti-personnel mines during the month.

The demining operations involved 489 sappers and 136 members of the administrative staff, as well as six cars on remote clearance and 34 dogs.

Mine clearance operations were conducted in Absheron, Agjabadi, Agdam, Agstafa, Jabrayil, Fizuli, Tartar, Gabala, Siyazan regions, as well as in the cities of Ganja, Mingachevir and the Guzdek settlement in Garadagh district of Baku.

In general, ANAMA cleared a total of 402,398,761 square meters of Azerbaijans territory, discovered and defused 761,889 pieces of unexploded ordnance during 10 years of its activity.

Most of the unexploded ordnance is the result of Armenian aggression. 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. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.

Armenia still controls fifth part of Azerbaijan's territory and rejects implementing four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts.

---

Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
12 June 2017 10:24 (UTC+04:00)

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has signed an order to provide funding for the construction of a highway in the city of Aghstafa.

Under the presidential order, AZN4.8 million is allocated from the state budget for the construction of Aghstafa-Kochasgar highway connecting five residential areas with the total population of 18,000 people, Azertac reported.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
12 June 2017 12:54 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

The EU-Azerbaijan cooperation on combating human trafficking is extremely important, said Malena Mard in Baku.



The head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan made the remarks during the kick-off event for the "Enhancement of national capacities to combat human trafficking in Azerbaijan" project on June 12, Trend reported.



"The project targets serious form of organized crime on trafficking in human beings," said Mard. "Trafficking of human beings is expressively prohibited in the EU. Addressing trafficking means upholding of fundamental rights."



It is a crime that takes the advantage of vulnerable people, she said, adding that combating trafficking is an overall priority for the EU.



Mard pointed out that combating the trafficking of human beings is an integral part of the European agenda on migration and also of the European agenda on security.



"We have developed a coherent and coordinated legal policy framework to address trafficking in human beings," she said. "Unfortunately, in some parts of the world, we see this type of crime rising up. That's why, cooperation in this field is very important."



Mard noted that the EU is very proud to work together with Azerbaijani government on this issue.



Further, she said that there is an umbrella EU project called "Consolidation of migration and border management capacities in Azerbaijan".



"Within this project, we have taken a number of measures. We have reviewed counter-trafficking mechanism in Azerbaijan," she added.

Mard noted the EU and Azerbaijan have great experience in implementing of various projects and expressed the hope that the parties will successfully implement this project, as well.

The Foreign Ministry will act as a coordinator as well as a partner of the project, which will feature trainings, workshops and round tables with the involvement of foreign partners.

IOM will carry out the project in collaboration with the EU and the government of Azerbaijan.

Deputy FM Mahmud Mammadguliyev and Chief of the Main Department on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings at Azerbaijan's Interior Ministry Heydar Heydarov highlighted the work done to combat human trafficking in the country, the laws protecting victims of human trafficking, as well as the approved National Action plans.

Measures to combat human trafficking are being taken at the state level in Azerbaijan, Mammadguliyev said addressing the meeting.

The launch of this project will lay the foundation for a new stage of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the International Organization for Migration and the European Union in this field, Mammadguliyev said.

The deputy minister expressed his confidence that the project will be successfully implemented and will open new opportunities for cooperation in this field, stressing that Azerbaijan will fulfill its obligations under this project and will fully support its implementation.

Heydar Heydarov, in turn, noted that combating human trafficking is one of the key priorities of the Azerbaijani government. Azerbaijan adopted the Law on Combating Human Trafficking in 2005, he reminded,

He said that as many as 486 traffickers were brought to justice in Azerbaijan over the past 12 years. In Azerbaijan, less than one percent of crimes committed during the year are crimes related to trafficking in human beings.

"Out of 26,916 criminal cases in 2015, only 128 crimes were related to human trafficking. For more than 12 years 1,078 criminal cases on human trafficking were investigated, 486 persons were brought to responsibility, 761 victims of this crime were identified, "Heydarov said.

Human trafficking is one of the most immoral crimes, turning men, women and children from all around the world into victims each day, destroying their lives, dreams, and futures.

Azerbaijan actively combats the trafficking in persons for sexual slavery, forced labor, or commercial sexual exploitation. The Government implements a range of measures to combat against all spheres of human trafficking inside the country.

-

Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli



Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
12 June 2017 12:08 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

Joint tactical exercises involving troops of the Azerbaijani and Turkish armed forces began in Nakhchivan on June 12, Azerbaijans Defense Ministry reported.

The exercises are held in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the governments of Azerbaijan and Turkey.

The ministry noted that the goal of the exercises is to develop the coordination of troops through the exchange of experience between the armed forces and to achieve the interoperability between the military units of the two countries through the development of capabilities for joint operations.

The exercises will last until June 16.

The Azerbaijani Army, which today is considered the most modern army in the Caucasus, consists of Air Force and Air Defense Forces, the Navy, and the Land Forces.

The skills and combat readiness of the Azerbaijani army are growing year by year, as the countrys Armed Forces regularly conduct military exercises. The Azerbaijani army is supplied with modern weapons and technical equipment for maintaining a high level of combat capability.

The army building process is of particular importance for Azerbaijan, as twenty percent of the country's territory is under Armenian occupation and the country is in a state of war with Armenia.

---

Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
12 June 2017 15:39 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

Australia supports sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan," said Australian Minister for International Development and the Pacific Hon Concetta Fierravanti-Wells as she met with Azerbaijani FM Elmar Mammadyarov.

They hailed the development of Azerbaijan-Australia bilateral relations.

Hailing that this year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the ministers emphasized the importance of expanding the legal framework and ensuring the development of economic relations.

Concetta Fierravanti-Wells hailed the fact that she was the first Australian minister to visit Azerbaijan, saying a delegation of Australian businessmen will travel to Azerbaijan this October.

Mammadyarov briefed the Australian Minister about the negotiations on the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, saying the conflict must be solved in line with the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council on the basis of territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders.

The two underlined the importance of parliamentary diplomacy in bilateral relations, praising the activities of the Australia-Azerbaijan Interparliamentary Friendship Group in this regard.

They also exchanged views on the development of cooperation between the two countries in shipbuilding, agriculture, tourism and mine-clearance areas.

The Commonwealth of Australia recognized the independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan on December 26, 1991. Diplomatic relations between two countries have been established on June 19, 1992.

Azerbaijan exports crude oil to Australia. Butter is imported from Australia. The trade turnover of the Republic of Azerbaijan with the Commonwealth of Australia amounted to $7.83 million, including imports $7.57 million, exports $0.26 million during January-September, 2015.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
12 June 2017 16:21 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

Azerbaijan and Estonia have a great potential to deepen relations, especially in education and IT sectors.



Estonian Foreign Minister Sven Mikser made the statement while addressing a joint press conference with his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov in Baku on June 12.

We believe we should work to expand cooperation in these areas, he said. I hope that Azerbaijan and the EU will sign an agreement on strategic cooperation. The content of the agreement is very important for us. It will also have a positive impact on Baku-Tallinn relations.

All these issues will be vital not only during the Estonian presidency of the EU, but also within the European Union in general, according to him.

We have an ambitious agenda for the time of the EU presidency, in particular on the withdrawal of Britain from the EU [Brexit]. All issues are important from the point of view of ensuring security in Europe, Mikser said.

Touching upon the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, Estonias FM noted that there is no military solution to the conflict.

Peaceful conflict resolution serves the interests of the involved parties. I believe that there is no other format but the OSCE, which will be able to make every effort to resolve 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.

Speaking at the event, Mammadyarov noted that he and Mikser discussed the Azerbaijan-EU cooperation adding that the next round of negotiations as part of the strategic partnership agreement will be held on June 13 and 14, he said.

He said that EU Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn will visit Baku on June 15 to take part in the negotiations on a new strategic partnership agreement.

We believe that we are on the right path to accelerate the process of negotiations with the EU, and we hope for success, added the Azerbaijani FM.

Mammadyarov said that meetings with the Estonian minister were held in two formats  one-on-one and with participation of delegations, where the sides discussed a number of bilateral issues and exchanged views.

Azerbaijan and Estonia have been conducting an intensive dialogue since April, since holding the meeting of the Azerbaijan-Estonia intergovernmental commission, added Mammadyarov.

Currently about 10 Estonian companies are actively operating in Azerbaijan  in the spheres of construction and IT, according to the FM.

Mammadyarov also thanked his Estonian counterpart for the invitation to visit Tallinn.

--

Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli



Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
12 June 2017 17:43 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

Azerbaijans Minister of Defense, Colonel-General Zakir Hasanov met with Commander of Land Forces of Turkey, General of the Army Salih Zeki Colak in Baku on June 12.

Hasanov noted that military cooperation between the two countries is conducted both on a bilateral basis and within the framework of NATO, Azertac reported. The minister particularly emphasized the expansion of ties in the military, military-technical sphere and in the field of military education.

Speaking with deep satisfaction about his next visit to Azerbaijan, Colak noted the importance of conducting tactical exercises in Nakhchivan.

He also stressed that the ties of the two countries have ancient historical roots and are based on friendly traditions, adding that Azerbaijan is an important partner of Turkey.

Then a wide exchange of views took place on the military-political situation in the region, the prospects for the development of ties between the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan and Turkey, the organization of reciprocal visits of delegations of experts with the purpose of exchanging experience, conducting military exercises in both countries with the participation of various branches of Armed Forces, as well as on other issues of mutual interest.

Zeki Colak was also awarded the Medal "For Merits in the Sphere of Military Cooperation" for his contribution to strengthening military cooperation between the two countries.

Azerbaijan and Turkey enjoy strong military cooperation. The two brotherly countries regularly hold joint military exercises.

--

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Dilip Kumar's ancestral house in Pakistan is in a sorry state. It has collapsed and is used as a dumping site by the people of the neighbourhood now.

By India Today Web Desk: The house that veteran actor Dilip Kumar was born in has collapsed. This, after the house in Peshawar's legendary Qissa Khawani Bazaar was announced to be a heritage site. The house has been in shambles for long and was coming down piece by piece.

In 2013, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ordered the ministry of national heritage to take over the building and work on restoring it. A year later, the Pakistani government declared the building a heritage monument. The house has since July 2014 been a protected monument under the Antiquity Act of Pakistan.

advertisement

In his autobiography Substance and Shadow too, Dilip Kumar wrote about his home in Peshawar. A photo of the actor at the gates of the house too was part of his book.

Dilip Kumar, aka Yusuf Khan, had visited the house in 1988 and kissed the soil as he fondly remembered his childhood days. In 1997, when he received Nishan-e-Imtiaz, Pakistan's highest civilian honour, he could not visit his Peshawar home and he had spoken about how he wanted to revisit his childhood home. In a time when the ties between India and Pakistan are at an all-time low, one hoped Dilip Kumar's wish will be fulfilled once the relations normalise.

Dilip Kumar's house in Peshawar is in this state today. Photo: The Express Tribune

But, before that happened, the house has met the ground.

According to a report in Pakistani newspaper The Express Tribune, people living around the building were responsible for what happened. Though they took pride in living next door to a legend's ancestral home, the neighbourhood businesses began using the protected building to store their rubbish. The abandoned house is used as a dumping site by locals.

The ancestral house of the Kapoor family of Bollywood is in the same locality of Peshawar. Dilip Kumar's father and Prithiviraj Kapoor were friends.

ALSO READ: Owner demands Rs 80 million for Dilip Kumar's Pakistan house

ALSO WATCH: Mimicking Dilip Kumar was difficult, says Shah Rukh Khan

--- ENDS ---
12 June 2017 22:24 (UTC+04:00)

By Sara Israfilbayova

The Heydar Aliyev Foundation has donated medical equipment to the Health Ministry of Djibouti. A ceremony of presenting the medical equipment took place at the Central Hospital of the Republic of Djibouti.

The ceremony participants were informed about the humanitarian projects implemented by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation in Azerbaijan and foreign countries. As part of these projects, the pediatric department of the Hospital was provided with medical equipment in ten names. This action will contribute to the development of the countrys health system and widening of relations between the two countries.

Azerbaijani Ambassador to Ethiopia Elman Abdullayev, addressing the event, said that the friendly ties between Djibouti and Azerbaijan serve the national interests, and that further actions will be taken towards strengthening these ties.

A delegation from the Heydar Aliyev Foundation met Health Minister of Djibouti Djama Elmi Okieh. The minister said the equipment donated will contribute to strengthening of the pediatric service in the country, and thanked the people of Azerbaijan and the Heydar Aliyev Foundation for this support.

Earlier, Azerbaijans Ministry of Emergency Situations sent humanitarian aid to Djibouti under the instruction of President Ilham Aliyev in April 2017. The humanitarian aid sent by Azerbaijan Airlines included sugar, tea, sunflower oil, corn oil, flour, macaroni, vermicelli and drinking water.

Azerbaijan and Djibouti are eager to develop bilateral ties.

The two countries signed a bilateral intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in civil aviation in February 2017. Some 30 tons of Azerbaijani goods produced under the brand Made in Azerbaijan were delivered to Djibouti via the first cargo flight.

The sides believe that the establishment of air transportation between Azerbaijan and Djibouti will also contribute to the development of political and cultural relations between the two countries.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
12 June 2017 13:10 (UTC+04:00)

By Sara Israfilbayova

Azerbaijan will discuss with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) the delivery of isotopes to commission a sterilizer installation in the country, the Azerbaijani National Nuclear Research Center told Trend.

The talks with an IAEA representative are expected to be held in Baku in the upcoming week, according to the Center.

"All the necessary documents related to the delivery of isotopes to the country were prepared and submitted to the relevant authorities by the Nuclear Research Center. We believe the issue of transportation of isotopes to the country will be solved within the next 10 days," said the center.

The sterilization unit is located in the village of Gobu, 20 km from Baku, in an area owned by the Nuclear Research Centre.

After launching of the installation, different items will be exposed to radiation with gamma rays, and the period of their use will be increased. Sterilization by way of gamma radiation destroys microbes, which in turn will increase the shelf life of agricultural products.

There is an international list of products that can be subjected to radiation at harmless doses. The list includes wheat, dried fruit, spices, meat and meat products, wine, potatoes, and other agricultural goods.

Sterilization plants operate in all developed countries, increasing the shelf life of many products.

Under the approved Road Map, a part of isotopes will be delivered to Azerbaijan from Hungary, while another part will be delivered from Russia.

President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on December 6, 2016 approving "Strategic road maps for the national economy and main economic sectors."

The IAEA, which was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957, is the world's central intergovernmental forum for scientific and technical co-operation in the nuclear field. It works for the safe, secure and peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology, contributing to international peace and security and the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.

The IAEA is generally described as having three main missions: peaceful uses, safeguards, nuclear safety.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
12 June 2017 12:14 (UTC+04:00)

By Sara Israfilbayova

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) may consider providing funds for the second phase of the project on development of the largest gas and condensate field Shah Deniz 2 if a request is received from the Azerbaijani government, said Nariman Mannapbayov, the head of the ADB office in Azerbaijan.

Mannapbayov recalled that for the first phase of the Shah Deniz 2 project, ADB approved a loan worth $1 billion, of which $500 million are borrowed funds of the bank.

"The loan, allocated from ADB funds for the Shah Deniz 2 project, is provided through private financing. There are two lines of financing in the ADB: 75-80 percent of funds are allocated through state financing and the rest-private financing, "he said.

He noted that ADB carries out operational activities proceeding from the requests and priorities of the government.

The ADB Board of Directors approved the allocation of a loan for the second phase of the development of the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz gas field on December 7, 2016 within the framework of the Southern Gas Corridor project.

Azerbaijan and ADB signed a guarantee agreement and an agreement on the allocation of a $500 million loan for the Shah Deniz-2 project on May 7, 2017.

Shah Deniz reserves are estimated at 1.2 trillion cubic meters of gas. Within Shah Deniz 2, annual gas production will increase from the current 9 to 16 billion cubic meters of gas. The cost of the second stage of development of the field is estimated at $25 billion. The first gas will be received within the project in 2018 and it will become the main source for the Southern Gas Corridor.

The gas will be exported to Turkey and the European markets through the expansion of the South Caucasus gas pipeline and the construction of the Trans-Anatolian (TANAP) and Trans-Adriatic (TAP) pipelines.

The ADB was conceived in the early 1960s as a financial institution that would be Asian in character and foster economic growth and cooperation in one of the poorest regions in the world.

As of 31 December 2016, ADB's shareholders consist of 48 developing and developed members within Asia and the Pacific region, and 19 members from outside the region. ADB's leading shareholders are Japan and the United States (31.2 percent of the total share capital), India and China (12.7 percent).

Azerbaijan joined ADB on December 22, 1999 and the country's share in the bank's capital is 0.5 percent. The portfolio of the bank in Azerbaijan is $2.8 billion.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
12 June 2017 11:23 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Nine security personnel in southeastern Turkey were injured in two separate PKK terror attacks on Sunday, according to a military source.

While village guards in a rural area of the Hakkari province were sweeping for mines and bombs, they came under heavy gunfire from an undetermined number of PKK terrorists, said the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media, Anadolu reported.

In the attack, three village guards were injured, one critically, the source said.

Members of the terrorist group taking shelter in northern Iraq also attacked a Turkish military base near the border region with mortar shells, injuring six soldiers.

The source said that wounded personnel were taken to Hakkari State Hospital and that the Turkish Air Forces began an operation in the region.

More than 1,200 people, including security personnel and civilians, have lost their lives since the PKK resumed its armed terrorist campaign in July 2015.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
12 June 2017 10:49 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Turkey's defense minister said Sunday over 10,000 terrorists have been neutralized in security operations since July 2015, Anadolu reported.

"This is a major success," the Minister of Defense Fikri Ishik addressed military personnel during the visit of border posts along the Syrian border.

He said Turkey had been struggling with different terror groups for 35 years, adding: "We are experiencing the most successful period."

"Now the terrorist organization [PKK] has become unable to act," Isik said.

"We will completely disband this terrorist organization and we will take all the necessary precautions to prevent further threats to the country," he added.

More than 1,200 people, including security personnel and civilians, have lost their lives since the PKK resumed its armed terrorist campaign in July 2015.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
12 June 2017 14:11 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov signed a decree on improving the activities of the State Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange of Turkmenistan (SCRMET) on June 9.

He ordered to activate work in the information and marketing sphere in order to find new channels for selling the products of the country's producers.

A list of types of foreign trade and intracorporate contracts to be registered at the state commodity and raw materials exchange was approved.

Under the document, it is permitted to enter into contracts related to the sale of goods to foreign trading houses in Turkmenistan or to the export of goods worth not more than $200,000 in national currency or equivalent value in foreign currency without participation in exchange trades.

The document also instructed the State Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange, together with the Ministry of Justice, to prepare and submit proposals to the Cabinet of Ministers in order to introduce amendments and additions to the national legislation resulting from this decree within a month.

The main body regulating export-import operations was established in 1994.

The Exchange realizes the sale of various commodity and material values, except for objects of intellectual property, works of art and real estate.

In addition to the main functions of the intermediary and the wholesale market organizer, the agency is also responsible for monitoring compliance of the established prices for goods based on their prime cost, state registration of foreign trade contracts and contracts concluded within the domestic market of Turkmenistan.

The Exchange experts assess the expediency of import and export of products, analyze the impact of various factors on the import and export of goods.

At present, domestic products are sold at exchange trades, which are exported to more than 40 countries of the world, including Turkey, China, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Germany, the United States, Great Britain, Ukraine and Switzerland. The main export items are oil products, cotton-fiber, domestic textile products, and chemical industry.

---

Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
12 June 2017 13:41 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

Negotiations on updating the Customs Union agreement between Turkey and the European Union will start on June 13 in Brussels, Turkeys Ministry of Customs and Trade told Trend on June 12.

Turkey is the only country linked by the Customs Union agreement with the EU, while not being its member.

Renewal of the Customs Union agreement can promote the growth of trade turnover between Turkey and the EU, the ministry said.

Ankara seeks revision of the terms of the Customs Union agreement with the EU, according to which Turkey should open its markets to third countries that will sign a free trade agreement with the EU.

At the same time, no tax exemptions will be applied to Turkish goods entering the markets of third countries, since Turkey is not a member of the EU.

The update of the Customs Union Agreement is expected to expand Turkey's network of FTAs and offer new market opportunities for exporters. Furthermore, the expansion of the scope of the agreement will allow industrial output to enter advantageous markets such as public procurement.

The Customs Union agreement between Turkey and the EU came into force December 31, 1995.

Turkey is EU's fourth largest export market and fifth largest provider of imports. The EU is by far Turkey's number one import and export partner.

The EU exports to Turkey are dominated by machinery and transport material, chemical products and manufactured goods. Turkey's exports to the EU are mostly machinery and transport equipment, followed by manufactured goods.

---

Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
12 June 2017 18:02 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia discussed the Qatar crisis as these countries ambassadors met with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara, Turkish media outlets reported on June 12.

The meeting was held in a closed format.

Foreign Ministry sources told Hurriyet Daily News that Cavusoglu conveyed President Recep Tayyip Erdogans message that the ongoing row in the Gulf should be resolved before Eid al-fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

Ankara is currently in efforts to ease the embargo on Qatar and to end the crisis before Eid al-fitr, the sources said.

Several Arab countries including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut off diplomatic relations with Qatar, accusing the latter of supporting ISIS, Al-Qaeda and other terrorists and destabilizing the situation in the Middle East. They were later joined by Libya, Yemen, the Maldives, Mauritius and Mauritania, with Jordan and Djibouti announcing they would lower the level of diplomatic contacts with Qatar. Senegal and Chad recalled their ambassadors from Doha.

Doha denied allegations over its support to terrorism and extremism adding that the diplomatic rift was based on "baseless fabricated claims."

Some of the Gulf states severed transit links and gave Qatari visitors and residents two weeks to leave their countries.

Qatar, a small peninsular nation of 2.5 million people, was importing 80 percent of its food requirements from bigger Gulf Arab neighbors before they cut ties with it.

Turkey and Iran have been providing food and water supplies to Qatar. Over the past five days, Turkey has sent 15 aircraft with food supplies to Qatar. Moreover, Turkey has declared its full support to Qatar by adopting a bill on deploying Turkish troops in the country.

Meanwhile, Qatari authorities paid $2.5 million to a law firm owned by former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, who was in charge of the supervisory authority during George W. Bush's presidency.

American lawyers should assess and record the efforts made by the Qatari authorities in the fight against international terrorism. Ashcroft might personally participate in this work.

Qatar expressed its readiness for a dialogue to solve the crisis that has recently occurred in its relations with a number of Arab states.

Currently, Kuwait is a mediator in resolving the Qatar crisis.

---

Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
12 June 2017 16:44 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors Seasonal Meeting started work in Vienna June 12.

One of the considerations of the board was renaming Irans Arak heavy water reactor (technically called IR-40) to Khondab Heavy Water Research Reactor, IRNA news agency reported on June 12.

The reactor used to be a sensitive point in Irans nuclear talks, where the United States tried to rename it, but faced strong resistance from the Iranian side.

Under a deal which resulted from the nuclear talks, the reactor is going to be redesigned as one of Irans commitments to the deal to make sure Irans nuclear program is curbed.

Spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Behrooz Kamalvandi said the renaming of the reactor was an attempt to safeguard its heavy water class.

Under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Iran agreed to redesign the IR-40 reactor, to minimize its plutonium production and avoid production of weapons-grade plutonium.

Iran also agreed to remove the reactor core and fill it with concrete to render it unusable, and to export all spent fuel within one year of its removal from the reactor. On 14 January 2016, Iran stated that the core of the reactor had been removed and that it would be filled up with concrete.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
12 June 2017 17:32 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Turkey did not accept the US request to participate in the investigation of the Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlovs assassination, Turkish media outlets reported on June 12.

In late May, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) provided information to Turkey stating that the assassin Mevlut Mert Altintas had held correspondence with the US Ambassador to Turkey John Bass before the murder, according to the report.

The investigation revealed that the original murder attempt was scheduled for Nov. 15, 2016, according to Turkeys media outlets.

Andrey Karlov died after being fatally wounded in an armed assault in an art gallery in Ankara late Dec. 19.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
PM Modi is set to visit the United States later this month and will hold talks with President Donald Trump on June 26. Confirming the meeting, the White House said President Trump looks forward to meeting PM Modi.

By India Today Web Desk: United States President Donald Trump will host Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House on June 26 in Washington, DC, during the Modi's state visit to the US.

The two leaders, who will be meeting for the first time, will hold talks on a number of issues, including terrorism and promoting economic growth. Possible changes in American rules on the H1-B visa, a top concern in India, is also an issue likely to be on the agenda of the Modi-Trump meet.

advertisement

Confirming PM Modi's visit to the US, which will begin on June 25, the External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi on Monday said, "Their (Modi and Trump's) discussions will provide a new direction for deeper bilateral engagement on issues of mutual interest and consolidation of multidimensional strategic partnership between India and the US."

In Washington, DC, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Trump "looks forward" to the June 26 meet with Narendra Modi and said that the two leaders will discuss economic growth, the fight against terrorism, expanding defence cooperation and growing US-India trade.

"You can expect the two of them to set forth a vision that will expand the US-India partnership in an ambitious and worthy way," Spicer added. "President Trump and Prime Minister Modi will look to outline a common vision for the US-India partnership that is worthy of their (combined) 1.6 billion citizens."

"The president and the prime minister have had a number of positive phone conversations, and expect to further that discussion ... whether it's economic growth and reforms, fighting terrorism, expanding our cooperation as major defence partners," Spicer said in response to a question.

"US energy and technologies, including natural gas, are helping to build Prime Minister Modi's vision for a new India and creating thousands of US jobs in the process," Spicer said.

Notably, the meet comes as the US, under Donald Trump, warms up to China, seeing Beijing as key to tackling regional issues such as North Korea's pursuit for nuclear weapons. Former president Barack Obama, whom Modi met a record eight times, on the other hand, had seen India as a strategic partner to counter China's growing influence in Asia.

PARIS DISCORD

Modi's state visit to the United States comes against the backdrop of President Trump pulling his country out of the historic Paris Climate Accord. While announcing his decision to withdraw US from the Paris agreement, Trump had singled out India and China for being the 'biggest polluters'.

President Trump also went on to suggest that India had made its participation to the Paris accord contingent to receiving "billions and billions" of dollars in foreign aid - a charge that was firmly rejected by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj recently.

advertisement

"What Trump said is not the reality," Swaraj said at a press conference last week, adding, "...for some to say that India has signed the agreement because of being pressured or because of greed for foreign aid...is completely baseless and unfortunate.

PM Narendra Modi, who recently came back to India after a four-nation Europe trip, too reiterated India's commitment not only to abide by the Paris Climate Accord, but to go above and beyond in order to protect the environment.

"Paris Agreement reflects our duty towards protecting the Earth and our natural resources... We have natural resources because our previous generations protected these resources. We must do the same for our future," Modi said, notably, in the very city where the landmark climate deal was signed in 2016.

H1-B, TERROR, PAKISTAN

During her press meet last week, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had said that Modi would raise India's concerns about US plans to reduce the number of H-1B visa slots. The visas are mainly used by Indian IT workers to work in the US.

advertisement

According to an analysis by the Pew Research Center, almost 1.8 million H-1B visas were distributed in fiscal years 2001 through 2015. From fiscal years 2001 to 2015, workers from India received the largest share (50.5 per cent) of all H-1B visas for first-time employment.

Regional security situation, including Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and other international issues, are also expected to figure prominently during the Modi-Trump meet at the White House.

US Defence Secretary James Mattis has already made it clear that his country recognises India as a major defence "partner partly out of respect" for New Delhi's "indispensable role" in maintaining stability in the Indian Ocean region.

The US was exploring "new ways" to address new challenges as well from maritime security to the growing threat posed by the spread of terrorism in Southeast Asia, Mattis has said.

US National Security Adviser (NSA) Lieutenant General HR McMaster too had similarly reiterated India's position as a "major defence partner" for the US during talks with Indian counterpart Ajit Doval and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

(With inputs from agencies)

ALSO READ | PM Modi beats US President Donald Trump on Instagram, becomes most followed world leader

advertisement

ALSO READ | How to deal with Donald Trump

ALSO WATCH | Modi and Trump speak for first time, decide both countries will combat terrorism together

--- ENDS ---
12 June 2017 17:23 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

Tourism is a large industry worldwide and a major sector in economy of many countries. Tourism management, accordingly, is an important feature directly impacting the tourist flow into a country. Good tourism management can provide a strong impetus to attract foreign tourists to any country.

Today tourism is developing with high speed in Azerbaijan, with a contribution of 4.5 percent to the national GDP. The country witnesses arrival of more than 2 million foreign tourists and records increasing domestic tourism.

To boost the sector and to simplify work of entrepreneurs, the state has recently eliminated the licensing in the tourism sector. However, after this a number of companies appeared in the tourism market, which cannot guarantee quality of service.

Thus, the Culture and Tourism Ministry has initiated a new plan to control hotels and tourism companies. A State Tourism Registry was created in the country to control tourism companies and agencies and to improve the service provided to tourists.

The State Tourism Registry will be open to everyone, who provides tourism services, said Minister Abulfas Garayev.

Everyone who provides tourism services will be able to enter this system and post information about the services. In turn, the Ministry together with the relevant public structures will check the information on the system posted by companies, hotels, or people.

But, if there is no address, no name, or if there is an unknown situation with the posted information, we will not include them in the main list of the registry. We will attract companies added to the registry to all international events, programs on improving education, services and organizational issues. Therefore, companies should never lose their professionalism. This is a prerequisite. Thats why we, as a state body, should think about the business environment, and at the same time about tourists, he said.

Garayev further said that the State Tourism Registry will provide information about the stars of hotels.

After the inspection, we will determine the number of stars of a tourist object, or eliminate stars at all. The company can provide services even if it does not have starts. Provision of berths and a normal/standard meal is enough for activity, that is, it can also operate without a star. However, everyone should know that whether the facility has or does not have a star, he said.

As for the activity of guides, the minister stressed that non-certified guides should not work in tourism sector.

"Therefore, I recommend travel companies to register all the guides they work with, these people must be certified," the minister added.

Currently tourism companies do not need a license to begin their business. Two years ago Azerbaijan had 260 tourism companies, while after the presidential decree on elimination of licenses their number exceeded 400.

In 2016, the number of tourists visiting the Land of Fire amounted to 2,242 million people and the figure is more by 11.7 percent compared to 2015.

The majority of tourists came from Russia, Georgia, Turkey and Iran making up 33 percent, 22.5 percent, 13.9 percent and 10.9 percent, respectively.

--

Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
A second US court of appeals on Monday refused to revive President Donald Trump's controversial travel ban. Another appeals court had earlier similarly blocked the travel ban in a dispute that is headed to the US Supreme Court.

By Reuters: California-based federal appeals court on Monday dealt President Donald Trump another setback, refusing to revive his travel ban on people entering the United States from six Muslim-majority nations in a dispute headed to the US Supreme Court.

The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco largely left in place a ruling by a federal judge in Hawaii that blocked the president's March 6 travel ban order, which Trump said was urgently needed to prevent terrorism in the United States.

advertisement

A second court, the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals, on May 25 upheld a Maryland judge's ruling that also blocked parts of the order.

Even before Monday's ruling, the case was on the fast-track to the Supreme Court, where the Trump administration on June 1 filed an emergency request seeking to reinstate the executive order.

Hawaii federal Judge Derrick Watson blocked the executive order barring travelers from Libya, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days while the government put in place stricter visa screening. Watson also blocked a directive that suspended entry of refugee applicants for 120 days, as well as other instructions for the government to study tougher vetting procedures.

The 9th Circuit upheld the block on Trump's travel ban and a cap on refugees. However, the appeals court vacated part of the injunction in order to allow the government to conduct internal reviews on vetting procedures. The court also declined to decide whether the order violated the US Constitution by discriminating against Muslims, ruling instead that it violated immigration law.

Lawyers for Hawaii, which challenged Trump's ban in court and won a nationwide injunction blocking it, said in court papers filed with the Supreme Court on Monday that his executive order is a "thinly veiled Muslim ban."

REVISED ORDER

The March ban was Trump's second effort to implement travel restrictions through an executive order. The first, issued on Jan. 27, led to chaos and protests at airports and in various cities before it was blocked by the courts. The second order was intended to overcome the legal issues posed by the original ban, but it was blocked by judges before it could go into effect on March 16.

The state of Hawaii filed a court challenge, arguing that its universities and tourism industry had been harmed by the travel ban.

Hawaii's suit and a similar one filed by individuals in Maryland argued that the order violated federal immigration law and a section of the US Constitution's First Amendment, which prohibits the government from favoring or disfavoring any particular religion.

In deciding whether to allow the ban to go into effect, the Supreme Court is set to weigh whether Trump's comments as a presidential candidate can be used as evidence that the executive order was intended to discriminate against Muslims in violation of the US Constitution's First Amendment ban on the government favoring one religion over another. Monday's ruling also provides a roadmap for the court to avoid the constitutional issue.

advertisement

Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign called for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States."

Monday is the deadline for the ban's challengers to respond to the administration's request that the order be allowed to go into effect. The American Civil Liberties Union, which represents people challenging the ban in a separate Maryland case, filed court papers urging the court not to hear that case, saying that the 90-day ban will become moot on Wednesday, 90 days from when the order was issued.

Hawaii's court papers mentioned a series of Twitter posts that Trump wrote on June 5, after the administration sought Supreme Court intervention. Trump described the order, which replaced an earlier Jan. 27 order that also was blocked by courts, as a "watered down, politically correct" version of his original plan.

Hawaii's lawyers said that Trump has made "a series of barely veiled statements linking the orders to his promised Muslim ban." If he had not done so, the order may not violate the Constitution, the lawyers said.

advertisement

The administration has said courts should not second guess the president's assertion that the ban was needed for national security reasons.

The Supreme Court could act on the administration's request as soon as this week.

ALSO READ | Donald Trump seemingly slams own travel ban, calls it 'watered down'

ALSO READ | Bad day for Donald Trump: After intel leak, cancelled speech, block on travel ban upheld

ALSO WATCH | Donald Trump signs revised immigration order, leaves out Iraq from list

--- ENDS ---
Program requirements for the Global Talent Stream

Eligibility for the Global Talent Stream You may be eligible for Category A of the Global Talent Stream if you have been referred to the Global Talent Stream by one of the Stream's designated partners and if you are hiring an individual with unique and specialized talent. Note that if the requested occupation is included on the Global Talent Occupations List, it will be processed as a Category B application and must meet Category B requirements. Or You may be eligible for Category B of the Global Talent Stream if you are seeking to hire highly-skilled foreign workers to fill positions in in-demand occupations found on the Global Talent Occupations List. A referral is not required to be eligible for Category B. As an employer applying through the Global Talent Stream, you must comply with the Program requirements for the Global Talent Stream. You must also uphold the conditions and rules set out in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act regarding hiring a temporary foreign worker. The Temporary Foreign Worker Program has measures in place to verify and ensure employers' compliance with these requirements, and employers who fail to do so will be subject to consequences for non-compliance.

Processing fee You must pay $1,000 for each position requested under the Global Talent Stream to cover the cost of processing your application. The processing fee payment (in Canadian dollars) can be made by: Visa MasterCard American Express Certified cheque (shall be made payable to the Receiver General for Canada) Money Order (shall be made payable to the Receiver General for Canada) Bank draft (shall be made payable to the Receiver General for Canada)

The processing fee will not be refunded if your application is withdrawn at your request, cancelled or if your application receives a negative assessment. Refunds are issued only if a fee was collected in error

The processing fee cannot be paid by nor be recovered from the temporary foreign workers.

Recruitment fees There may be a variety of fees and costs incurred in the process of recruiting temporary foreign workers, including but not limited to: cost of using a third-party representative

advertising fees

fees paid by a foreign national for assistance with finding or securing employment

fees paid by an employer for assistance or advice in the hiring of foreign nationals There may be a variety of fees and costs incurred in the process of recruiting temporary foreign workers, including but not limited to: As an employer, you must confirm and ensure that you or anybody recruiting on your behalf does not charge or recover any recruitment fees, directly or indirectly, from the temporary foreign workers. Failure to do so will result in a negative LMIA decision.

Third-party representatives Use of a third-party representative If you choose to use the services of a third-party representative (paid or unpaid), you must complete the third-party information sections of the application. You must not recover the costs for the services of a paid representative from the temporary foreign worker. The third-party representative also cannot demand or recover the processing fee or other costs related to recruiting from the TFW. We may communicate directly with you to verify information provided on the application form from the third-party representative and to complete the Labour Market Benefits Plan as it will include commitments that are employer specific. We will not mediate a dispute between you and a third-party representative nor communicate complaints to a regulatory body on your behalf. If you have a complaint about your third-party representative, there are ways to get help. Paid third-party representatives You may choose to ask a third-party representative to act on your behalf when seeking to use the Temporary Foreign Worker Program to hire a temporary foreign worker. A paid representative must be authorized to collect a fee or to receive any other type of payment to act on your behalf or to advise you in the application process. An authorized third-party representative is: a member in good standing of a Canadian provincial or territorial law society or students-at-law under their supervision, or the Chambre des notaires du Quebec

a paralegal in the Province of Ontario's law society

a member in good standing of the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council Unpaid third-party representatives An unpaid representative can also assist you but is not authorized to collect a fee or to receive any other type of payment for rendering services. An unpaid representative can be a: family member

friend

not-for-profit group

religious organization

Recruiters A recruiter or anybody recruiting for the employer is someone who: finds or attempts to find an individual for employment with the employer, or

assists another person in finding or attempting to find an individual for employment with the employer, or

refers a foreign national to another person who finds or attempts to find an individual for employment with the employer Some provinces and territories have specific requirements for recruiters and recruitment activities. It is your responsibility to ensure you comply with those requirements. As an employer, you are also responsible for the actions of anyone who recruits on your behalf.

New employers Employers who have not employed a temporary foreign worker in the past 6 years prior to submitting a LMIA application will be subject to a review. The employer must demonstrate that they made reasonable efforts to provide a workplace that is free of abuse and that they were not an affiliate of an employer who is ineligible for the TFW Program or in default of any amount payable in respect of an administrative monetary penalty. A workplace that is free of abuse includes proactive efforts made to prevent workplace abuse reactive measures taken to stop abuse An affiliate includes an employer that is controlled by another employer 2 employers that are under common control; or employers that are not operated at arms length

Business legitimacy All employers applying to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) must supply documents along with their Labour Market Impact Assessment application, including a Global Talent Stream application, to demonstrate that their business and job offer are legitimate.

Labour Market Benefits Plan You are required to work with Employment and Social Development Canada ( ESDC ) to develop a Labour Market Benefits Plan that demonstrates your commitment to activities that will have lasting, positive impacts on the Canadian labour market. A Labour Market Benefits Plan will help you and the Government of Canada identify and track your overall job creation, skills and training investments that will benefit the Canadian economy through your employment of highly-skilled global talent. The commitments in your Labour Market Benefits Plan will be divided into mandatory and complementary benefits. If you have been referred by 1 of the Global Talent Streams designated partners and are seeking to hire unique and specialized talent (Category A), you must commit to creating jobs for Canadians and permanent residents as your mandatory benefit. If you are an employer in Canada seeking to hire highly-skilled foreign workers to fill positions in occupations on the Global Talent Occupations List (Category B), you must commit to increasing skills and training investments for Canadians and permanent residents as your mandatory benefit. In addition to the applicable mandatory benefit for Category A or B in your Labour Market Benefits Plan, you must also commit in the Plan to achieving a minimum of 2 complementary benefits with at least 1 activity for each benefit. The complementary benefits identified by an employer in their Plan cannot be the same as the mandatory benefit. Complementary benefits, could include, but are not limited to job creation, investment in skills and training, transferring knowledge to Canadians and permanent residents, enhanced company performance and implementing best practices or policies as an employer for your workforce. If you are applying for positions in both Category A and Category B, you must commit to 1 activity as part of the job creation benefit and 1 activity as part of the investments in skills and training benefit, as well as at least 2 complementary benefits. Activities to support mandatory and complementary benefits outlined in an employers Labour Market Benefits Plan could include, but are not limited to: increasing the number of Canadians and permanent residents employed full-time and part-time by the employer

establishing or enhancing educational partnerships with local or regional post-secondary institutes or with other organizations that are supporting skills and training (for example, providing post-secondary institutes with free licenses or other access to specialized software that will help to build student skills on key industry tools)

providing paid co-op or internship opportunities for Canadians and permanent residents at the firm

developing, implementing or participating in initiatives that increase the participation of underrepresented groups in the workplace, (for example, hosting and/or attending events that support the professional development and/or hiring of underrepresented groups in the labour market and women in high-skilled technical and/or leadership roles at the firm)

providing direct training to Canadians or permanent residents, including supporting employees to travel to and attend industry or industry sector conferences relevant to the development of their specialized skillset

ensuring that the highly skilled foreign workers directly supervise and mentor Canadian workers at the firm to support knowledge transfer;

increasing growth of revenue, employment or investment at the firm

developing or improving best company practices or policies related to attraction/retention of Canadian workforce (for example, by supporting code sprints and hackathons to hire new employees); and

developing or enhancing partnerships with organizations that assist with the identification of top domestic capital ESDC will work with you to complete the Labour Market Benefits Plan during the Global Talent Stream application process. Note: The Global Talent Stream encourages employers to commit to Increase Diversity in the Workplace through their Labour Market Benefit Plan. In todays global market, supporting a diverse and inclusive workforce is key. It increases innovation and helps businesses attract and retain the best global talent.

It also ensures that all Canadians have equal access to opportunities. Employers who have already committed to Increase Diversity in the Workplace have performed a variety of activities. For example, they have: developed recruiting plans to target people from underrepresented groups

participated in professional development events for underrepresented groups

created groups within their organizations related to diversity and/or underrepresented groups Please see our Applicant Guide for more ways to support an Increase Diversity in the Workplace commitment in your Plan. If you already have an approved Labour Market Benefits Plan and are submitting another application to the Global Talent Stream for additional position(s), you will not have to submit a new Labour Market Benefits Plan; however updates or additions to your existing Plan may be required. As part of this review, you could be asked to provide an update on your commitments to date in the Labour Market Benefits Plan. You could also be asked to amend or expand existing commitments to reflect your request for additional position(s). This will help ensure that returning employers to the Global Talent Stream continue to provide positive lasting benefits for Canadian workers. Please note that a decision by a returning employer not to amend their Labour Market Benefits Plan on request by ESDC officials could result in a negative assessment for the additional requested position(s). If you anticipate applying to the Global Talent Stream for multiple temporary foreign workers over a 12-month period, a Labour Market Benefits Plan can be developed based on the forecasted number of positions to be requested, provided that the commitments made in your Plan reflect the additional positions sought. If you and ESDC officials agree to use this model, you will likely not have to update your Plan each time you return to the Stream until your forecast has been met. Note that this applies only to the Labour Market Benefits Plan element of the application process, as you are still required to submit an application each time you wish to access the Stream. As noted under the Processing Fee section of the Program Requirements for the Global Talent Stream, processing fees for an application will not be refunded in the event of withdrawal or a negative assessment, or for choosing to go through a different Temporary Foreign Worker Program stream. Progress Reviews Progress Reviews of your Labour Market Benefits Plan are separate and distinct from measures to ensure your compliance as an employer with the requirements and conditions of hiring a temporary foreign worker. Progress Reviews of your Plan will be conducted by ESDC on an annual basis to assess how well you are meeting the employer-specific commitments detailed in your Plan. The annual Reviews are your opportunity to report on the progress that your company is making in creating lasting, positive impacts on the Canadian labour market. Your cooperation and responsiveness with ESDC in regards to scheduling and conducting these Progress Reviews (including providing supporting documentation) is important to ensuring your continued eligibility for the Global Talent Stream. If you do not make reasonable efforts to meet your Plan commitments, or complete your Progress Review within the requested timeframe, you will likely receive a negative decision on future applications to the Global Talent Stream for a period of two years. The 2-year period, during which applications to the Global Talent Stream would generally result in a negative decision, is to begin on the date that the employer is evaluated as having made unreasonable efforts on their Labour Market Benefits Plan. This Progress Review assessment of your Labour Market Benefits Plans will not impact your access to other Program Streams. Of note, you will be accountable for the benefits committed to in your employer-specific Labour Market Benefits Plan even if a foreign national that you hired for a position under the Global Talent Stream becomes a permanent resident of Canada while working in your organization. The first Progress Review of your Labour Market Benefits Plan will be scheduled approximately 1 year after you sign your Plan. The Review date for your first Progress Review does not change even if you make amendments to your Labour Market Benefits Plan through subsequent Global Talent Stream applications for additional foreign workers. The Review date also does not change depending on when your foreign worker is issued a work permit.

Recruitment and advertisement While there is no minimum recruitment requirement for the Global Talent Stream, you are encouraged to recruit Canadians and permanent residents before offering a job to a temporary foreign worker. You will be asked, as part of your application to describe any recruitment efforts conducted.

Wages Wages offered to temporary foreign workers should be similar to wages paid to Canadian and permanent resident employees hired for the same job and work location, and with similar skills and years of experience. For the purpose of the Global Talent Stream, you must pay the prevailing wage which is defined as the highest of either: the regional median hourly wage posted on Job Bank

the wage that is within the wage range that you are paying your current employees hired for the same job and work location, and with the same skills and years of experience

under Category A, for the first 2 unique and specialized positions requested by an employer and approved by the TFW Program per calendar year, at least $38.46 per hour that amounts to no less than a base salary of $80,000 annually. For any additional unique and specialized positions requested by the employer (in other words, more than 2) and approved by the TFW Program per calendar under Category A, at least $72.11 per hour that amounts to no less than a base salary of $150,000 annually

under Category B, for occupations with wage floors, employers must offer the hourly wage rate at minimum. Annual wage floors are provided for illustrative purposes only To determine the median wage on Job Bank: go to Compare wages on Job Bank (Wage updates take place during the week of November 14, 2022)

in the Job search field, enter the job title or the National Occupations Classification ( NOC ) Code that best describes the duties and requirements of the position

) Code that best describes the duties and requirements of the position the hourly median wage will be listed in the middle column, by community or area. If the median wage is listed as "N/A", consult the provincial or territorial wage. If it is not available, consult the national wage The temporary foreign workers wages must be reviewed and adjusted, when applicable, at least annually, to ensure they continue to receive the prevailing wage for the occupation and region where they are employed. If the position requires additional skills and years of experience over the applicable NOC description, the wages offered should reflect these additional requirements. For the purpose of determining the wage rate being offered, we will only consider guaranteed wages, which exclude: overtime hours

tips

benefits

profit sharing

bonuses

commissions

other forms of compensation Note If you are hiring a Temporary Foreign Worker in the province of Quebec, consult the Quebecs ministere de lImmigration, de la Francisation et de lIntegration ( MIFI ) website (available in French only) to determine the wages that must be offered. Wages offered must be consistent with the wage rate paid to Canadians and permanent residents, working in the same occupation and geographical area. Please note that failure to meet the prevailing wage will result in a negative LMIA decision.

Job duties and working conditions The temporary foreign workers you hired through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program must only perform duties that correspond to the occupation they were hired for. Canadian law protects all workers in Canada, including temporary foreign workers. The exploitation of temporary foreign workers is considered a violation of Canadian laws and human rights. Employers must: pay TFWs for all work (including overtime, where required by law)

provide workplace safety insurance

offer TFWs the same benefits as other workers, and

not take the TFWs identification Employment in most occupations is covered under provincial or territorial legislation that deals with labour and employment standards such as: hours of work, working conditions and termination of employment. In fact, every province or territory has a Ministry of Labour that can provide information to assist employers and TFWs with questions or issues related to work. Note: Some employers are federally regulated and, therefore, are covered by the employment standards under the Canada Labour Code.

Health insurance In applicable provinces/territories (P/Ts), you must obtain and pay for private health insurance that covers emergency medical care for any period during which the TFW is not covered by the applicable P/T health insurance system. The coverage the employer purchases must correspond with the TFWs first day of work in Canada and the costs must not be recovered from the TFWs. During an employer inspection, an ESDC/SC inspector will look at the policy coverage to make sure that it has not been charged back to the worker, and that it covers at minimum the costs of basic emergency health care for sudden illness or injuries during the period the TFW is not covered by the P/T health insurance. Some private insurance companies offer more comprehensive plans, but ESDC will accept a basic plan so long as it ensures that the TFW will not have to pay for medical care if they become sick or have an accident while working in Canada. To demonstrate compliance, the employer must be able to show proof of payment for suitable private health insurance for each TFW, as well as the terms of the policy coverage (for example, the details of what is covered).

Workplace safety You must always ensure that the temporary foreign workers you want to hire under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program are covered from the provincial or territorial workplace safety insurance provider, where required by law. Where the provincial or territorial legislation allows employers the flexibility to opt for a private insurance plan, you must ensure that: any private plan chosen provides better or the same level of compensation to that offered by a province or territory

all employees on the worksite are covered by the same provider If you are enquiring about private insurance plan equivalency, contact the appropriate provincial or territorial workplace safety authority. The coverage you purchased must correspond with the temporary foreign workers' first day of work in Canada and the costs must not be recovered from the temporary foreign workers.

Employment agreement Although a copy of employment agreement is not required at the time of LMIA submission, you must commit to providing a completed and signed employment agreement to each foreign worker on or before their first day of work with you. An employment agreement must: include information for employment in the same occupation, with the same wages and working conditions as those set out in the offer of employment;

be drafted in either English or French as preferred by the foreign worker, and

be signed by both the employer and the foreign worker You can use this sample employment agreement (under development), or, if you use your own version of an employment agreement, please ensure that it meets all above requirements. Employers must maintain comprehensive employment records that fully document adherence to the employment agreement throughout the duration of the employment. For positions in Quebec, please visit the website of ministere de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Integration (MIFI) (French only) for specific requirements regarding the employment contract.

Language of work English or French are the only languages you can identify as a job requirement in your application and job advertisement. However, if another language is essential for the job, you must provide a justification on the application. Positions with no language requirement There may be rare cases where an offer of employment does not require any language for the foreign national. If there is no language required for the job, you must provide more details on the application, including: how the foreign national will perform job duties in an effective and safe manner without the ability to communicate in any language, and

reasonable measures are in place to ensure health and safety of all persons at the place of work. To demonstrate this, you must also provide applicable and appropriate documentation with your application Examples of reasonable measures are: having translated workplace safety manuals and procedures

providing work place safety training in the foreign nationals identified language

using international safety signs that use symbols (pictures)

having official translators on-site

and/or employing other workers or supervisors who can speak with the foreign nationals in their identified language

Unionized positions If you are applying to hire temporary foreign workers for positions covered under a collective agreement, you must: advertise and offer the same wage rates as those established under the collective agreement

offer the temporary foreign workers the same terms and conditions as Canadian and permanent resident workers

submit a copy of the section of the collective bargaining agreement on the wage structure The hiring of temporary foreign workers must not affect current nor foreseeable labour disputes at the workplace. During LMIA assessment, if it is determined that hiring TFWs is likely to adversely affect the course, the outcome or the settlement of any labour dispute, you will receive a negative LMIA decision. We recommend that you work actively with union representatives to recruit Canadians and permanent residents.

Employer compliance As an employer, you must comply with all the Temporary Foreign Worker Program requirements for the position you are requesting. Learn about employer compliance and the possible consequences of non-compliance. The Progress Reviews on your Labour Market Benefits Plan under the Global Talent Stream are separate and distinct from these employer compliance measures.
Modified On Jun 12, 2017 12:21 PM By Rachit Shad

As per the provisional GST structure, hybrid vehicles are destined to attract an overall tax rate of 43 per cent

The Goods and Service Tax (GST) structure for India will come into effect from July 1, 2017. Although discussions, revisions and fine tuning for the best possible balance have been going on for a while now, there is still a lot of concern about the fate of hybrid automobiles. According to the provisional GST framework, hybrids are destined to attract an overall tax of 43 per cent - 28 per cent GST rate plus 15 per cent cess. Thats 12.7 per cent more than the current level of effective tax rate of 30.3 per cent. However, on June 9, SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) asked the government to reduce GST rate to 18 per cent without any cess.

SIAM says that putting eco-friendly hybrids in the same tax structure as the big luxury models is incomprehensible. In earlier submissions to the government, SIAM had suggested 10 per cent differential rate between conventional and hybrid automobiles to encourage the adaptation of new technology at a faster rate.

Also Read: GST Effect: Ford Offering Discounts Up To Rs 30,000

An official from SIAM said, Without such differential, it will be impossible to make a small hybrid electric car, commercial vehicles or two/three-wheelers viable. A robust support from the government is a must for such new technologies to plant their roots deeper in a country as big as India.

The SIAM official further added, The proposed GST rate for hybrid vehicles is totally divergent from the stated government approach of minimal change in tax incidence for any item when migrating to GST.

On June 11, the GST council lowered tax rates for 66 items. However, when it came to reviewing the GST structure for hybrid vehicles, the council declared that the it will look into that after compiling and considering states comments in the detailed format which was shared earlier.

It is less than three weeks to go before the D-day arrives on July 1. Although the next meeting of the GST council is slated for June 18, there is no update on when the final version of GST on hybrids will surface.

Also Read: GST Effect: Premium Cars Become More Enticing
The first ten days of the DU online admissions were marred by glitches. But the university says it has not received any requests to extend the admission application deadline and so, the process will end today on schedule.

By Arpan Rai: Despite giving a glitch-ridden ride to Delhi University (DU) aspirants, admission committee officials have decided to call it a day on Monday (June 12) for the country's most awaited admission process.

"The last date to apply for a seat in DU remains June 12, as previously decided. As there has been no demand raised so far by students for extension of deadline, we have decided to end the online registration on the stipulated date," said Maharaj K Pandit, chairperson of DU's admission committee.

advertisement

The university will close its admission process at 5 pm on Monday, concluding the 22-day-long drill of online registration. However, this does not come as a breather for several applicants who were troubled by their online registration forms in the initial phase owing to glitches in the first 10 days of the process.

Several tabs, including the payment gateway, on DU's admission portal du.ac.in remained inactive till the afternoon of May 31 - making it impossible for aspirants to complete the application.

"We are still receiving calls from students who have failed to complete registration. Our admission help desk is receiving complaints from confused applicants every day. Applicants are facing hurdle on several stages, adding to the flow of queries," said Priyanka Chawri, heading the ABVP admission help desk in North campus.

The university should extend the deadline or it will lose out on potential candidates, she added.

The varsity had extended its online registration deadline last year by three days, providing a breather to aspirants from across the country and abroad.

CONFUSION

This year as confusion grew, officials saw parents and students trickling to North campus to get their queries answered during open days organised by the university.

In addition to this, the admission portal did not allow students to pick their minority category appropriately, forcing them to reach out to the helpline desk.

"I wanted to apply for a seat in DU under the Sikh minority quota, but I was unable to pick my category as it was not visible on the website. I was about to select the OBC quota, but preferred to seek the admission committee's help as there was little time left for me to complete the procedure," said Manpreet Kaur, a DU aspirant.

After multiple complaints, the admission committee officials then made the minority section available on their online portal.

Out of a total of 2,98,344 registrations, DU received 1,81,566 applications from outside the national Capital, as against almost twice the applications it had received last year.

advertisement

In the newly introduced categories of disability of intellectual disability, physical disability, chronic neurological and blood disorder and multiple disabilities, the varsity received more than 1,500 applications.

DU is expected to bring out six cut-off lists this time, starting June 20.

ALSO READ | DU to CBSE: No extra weightage, special treatment to board students

ALSO READ | Coming soon: DU to get Delhi School of Journalism offering 5-year integrated degree course

--- ENDS ---
World

Alex Jones ordered to pay $473M more to Sandy Hook families Jones ordered to pay $473M Photo: The Canadian Press FILE - Infowars founder Alex Jones appears in court to testify during the Sandy Hook defamation damages trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Waterbury, Conn., Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022. A lawyer for Sandy Hook families said Monday that significant punitive damages need to be imposed on Jones to deter him and other conspiracy theorists from continuing to tell their followers the 2012 Newtown shooting was a hoax. Attorney Christopher Mattei's comments came during a video conference hearing before a Connecticut judge on how much punitive damages the Infowars host and his company, Free Speech Systems, should pay victims' families. (Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media via AP, Pool, File) Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his company were ordered Thursday to pay an extra $473 million to victims' families and an FBI agent for calling the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting a hoax, adding to a nearly $1 billion jury verdict issued last month. Connecticut Judge Barabara Bellis imposed the punitive damages on the Infowars host and Free Speech Systems. Jones repeatedly told his millions of followers t he massacre that killed 20 first graders and six educators was staged by crisis actors to enact more gun control. Eight victims' relatives and the FBI agent testified during a month-long trial about being threatened and harassed for years by people who deny the shooting happened. Strangers showed up at some of their homes and confronted some of them in public. People hurled abusive comments at them on social media and in emails. And some received death and rape threats. Six jurors ordered Jones to pay $965 million to compensate the 15 plaintiffs for defamation, infliction of emotional distress and violations of Connecticut's Unfair Trade Practices Act, which bans deceptive business practices and unfair competition. Jones has bashed the trial as unfair and an assault on free speech rights. He says he will appeal the verdicts. He also says he doesn't have the money to pay such huge verdicts, because he has less than $2 million to his name  which contradicted testimony at a similar trial in Texas. Free Speech Systems, meanwhile, is seeking bankruptcy protection. Bellis found Jones and Infowars' parent company liable for damages without a trial last year, as a consequence for what she called his repeated failures to turn over many financial documents and other records to the plaintiffs. After the unusual default ruling, the jury was tasked only with deciding on the amount of compensatory damages and whether punitive damages were warranted. Jones says he turned over thousands of documents and the default ruling deprived him of his right to present a defense against the lawsuit. In Connecticut, punitive damages for defamation and infliction of emotional distress are generally limited to plaintiffs' legal fees. The Sandy Hook plaintiffs' lawyers are to get one-third of the $965 million in compensatory damages under a retainer agreement  putting their legal fees at $322 million. But there is no cap on punitive damages for violations of the Unfair Trade Practices Act. The plaintiffs had not asked for a specific amount of punitive damages, but under one hypothetical calculation they said such damages could be around $2.75 trillion under the unfair trade law. In a similar trial in Texas in August, Jones was ordered to pay nearly $50 million to the parents of another child killed in the Sandy Hook shooting for calling the massacre a hoax. A forensic economist testified during that trial that Jones and Free Speech Systems have a combined net worth as high as $270 million. A third and final trial over Jones' hoax claims is expected to begin around the end of the year in Texas. As in Connecticut, Jones was found liable for damages without trials in both Texas cases because he failed to turned over many records to the plaintiffs.







Tropical Storm Nicole topples beachfront homes into ocean Homes topple into ocean Photo: The Canadian Press Tropical Storm Nicole sent multiple homes toppling into the Atlantic Ocean Thursday and threatened a row of high rise condominiums in places where Hurricane Ian washed away seawalls and other remaining protections only weeks ago. Multiple coastal homes in Wilbur-by-the-Sea have collapsed and several other properties are at imminent risk, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said in a social media message. In the Daytona Beach area, most bridges to the beachside have been closed to all but essential personnel and a curfew was put into effect, he said. Wilbur-by-the-Sea is an unincorporated community on a barrier island with only beachfront homes. Next door in Daytona Beach Shores, a strip of high-rise condominiums were evacuated ahead of Nicole's landfall because their seawalls had collapsed and the beach was mostly washed away. Nicole covered nearly the entire weather-weary state of Florida while also reaching into Georgia and the Carolinas before dawn on Thursday. Tropical storm-force winds extended as far as 450 miles (720 kilometers) from the center in some directions as Nicole turned northward over central Florida. Initial damage assessments showed how Nicole left multiple beachfront properties teetering over the water. The Volusia Sheriffs Office posted a photo of a house where erosion had undermined the ground up to its main ocean-facing wall. A roof-covered deck jutted out over the eroded slope supported on narrow timbers. Krista Dowling Goodrich, who manages 130 rental homes in Daytona Beach Shores as director of sales and marketing at Salty Dog Vacations, witnessed the beachfront disappear behind some of the properties as evacuations were under way just ahead of the storm. She was trying to reach the scene Thursday morning to see how they fared. While we were there the whole backyard just started collapsing into the ocean. It went all the way up to the house, she said. The water also compromised the remaining land between a row of tall condominium buildings nearby, she said. In Daytona Beach Shores, where the city's Beach Safety Ocean Rescue building collapsed onto the remaining strip of sand, officials deemed multiple multi-story coastal residential buildings unsafe, and went door-to-door telling people to grab their possessions and leave. These were the tall high-rises. So the people who wouldnt leave, they were physically forcing them out because its not safe, Goodrich said. Im concerned for the infrastructure of the area right now because once the seawalls are gone, theyre not going to just let people go back in ... there will be a lot of people displaced for a while." Authorities had warned that Nicoles storm surge could further erode many beaches. The rare November hurricane prompted officials to shut down airports and theme parks and order evacuations. Nicole made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane at about 3 a.m. Thursday near Vero Beach, but caused no significant damage there, officials said Thursday. The brunt of the storm hit north of its center. By 10 a.m., Nicole's maximum sustained winds were down to 50 mph (85 kph), centered between Tampa and Orlando, moving west-northwest near 16 mph (26 kph). The storm left south Florida sunny and calm as it moved up the peninsula, but could dump as much as 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain over Blue Ridge Mountains by Friday, the hurricane center said. Flash and urban flooding will be possible as the rain spreads into the eastern Ohio Valley, Mid-Atlantic, and New England through Saturday. Nicole was the first hurricane to hit the Bahamas since Hurricane Dorian, a Category 5 storm that devastated the archipelago in 2019. For storm-weary Floridians, it is only the third November hurricane to hit their shores since recordkeeping began in 1853. Forty-five of Floridas 67 counties were under a state of emergency. President Joe Biden also approved an emergency declaration for the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ordering federal help for the tribal nation. Many Seminoles live on six reservations around the state. The tribe also owns the Hard Rock Cafe franchise, with several of its hotels and casinos in Nicole's path. Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a Thursday news conference in Tallahassee that about 333,000 electric customers were without power at mid-morning, about 2.9% of the states total. DeSantis said there were 17,000 electric linemen ready to begin restoring power and that numerous other assets including rescue boats and vehicles will be deployed as needed. Were ready and we have resources to respond to whatever post-storm needs may arise, the governor said. Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort announced they likely would not open as scheduled Thursday. Almost two dozen school districts were closing schools and 15 shelters had opened along Floridas east coast, the governor said. Parts of Florida were devastated by Hurricane Ian, which struck as a Category 4 storm. Ian destroyed homes and damaged crops, including orange groves, across the state  damage that many are still dealing with  and sent a storm surge of up to 13 feet (4 meters) onshore, causing widespread destruction.

Biden to meet China's Xi on Monday for Taiwan, Russia talks Biden to meet China's Xi Photo: The Canadian Press President Joe Biden will meet Monday with President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of next weeks Group of 20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia, a face-to-face meeting that comes amid increasingly strained U.S.-China relations, the White House announced Thursday. It will be the first in-person meeting between the leaders of the worlds two biggest economies since Biden became president in January 2021 and comes weeks after Xi was awarded a norm-breaking third, five-year term as the Chinese Communist Party leader during the partys national congress. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement the leaders will meet to discuss efforts to maintain and deepen lines of communication between the two countries and to "responsibly manage competition and work together where our interests align, especially on transnational challenges that affect the international community. The White House has been working with Chinese officials over the last several weeks to arrange the meeting. Biden on Wednesday told reporters that he intended to discuss with Xi growing tensions between Washington and Beijing over the self-ruled island of Taiwan, trade policies, Beijings relationship with Russia and more. What I want to do with him when we talk is lay out what each of our red lines are and understand what he believes to be in the critical national interests of China, what I know to be the critical interests of the United States, Biden said. And determine whether or not they conflict with one another. A senior administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the summit, sought to downplay expectations for the meeting , telling reporters on Thursday that there was no joint communique or deliverables anticipated from the sit-down. Rather, the official said, Biden aimed to build a floor for the relationship. Biden and Xi traveled together in the U.S. and China in 2011 and 2012 when both leaders were serving as their respective countries' vice presidents, and they have held five phone or video calls since Biden became president in January 2021. But the U.S.-China relationship has become far more complicated since those getting-to-know-you talks in Washington and on the Tibetan plateau a decade ago. As president, Biden has repeatedly taken China to task for human rights abuses against the Uyghur people and other ethnic minorities, Beijings crackdowns on democracy activists in Hong Kong, coercive trade practices, military provocations against self-ruled Taiwan and differences over Russias prosecution of its war against Ukraine. Weeks before Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine, the Russian president met with Xi in Beijing and the two issued a memorandum expressing hopes of a no limits relationship for their nations. China has largely refrained from criticizing Russias war but thus far has held off on supplying Moscow with arms. I dont think theres a lot of respect that China has for Russia or Putin, Biden said Wednesday. And in fact, theyve been sort of keeping the distance a little bit. The leaders were also expected to address U.S. frustrations that Beijing has not used its influence to press North Korea to pull back from conducting provocative missile tests and to abandon its nuclear weapons program. Biden was set to discuss threats from North Korea with the leaders of South Korea and Japan a day before sitting down with Xi. Xis government has criticized the Biden administrations posture toward Taiwan  which Beijing looks eventually to unify with the communist mainland  as undermining Chinas sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Chinese president also has suggested that Washington wants to stifle Beijings growing clout as it tries to overtake the U.S. as the worlds largest economy. Tensions over Taiwan have grown since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August. Biden said that hes not willing to make any fundamental concessions about the United States Taiwan doctrine. Under its One China policy, the United States recognizes the government in Beijing while allowing for informal relations and defense ties with Taipei. It takes a stance of strategic ambiguity toward the defense of Taiwan  leaving open the question of whether it would respond militarily were the island attacked. Asked about the anticipated meeting, Chinas foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a Thursday news briefing that China was looking for win-win cooperation with the U.S. while reiterating Beijings concerns about the U.S. stance on Taiwan. The U.S. needs to stop obscuring, hollowing out and distorting the One China principle, abide by the basic norms in international relations, including respecting other countries sovereignty, territorial integrity and noninterference in other countries internal affairs, he said. Biden caused a stir in Asia in May when at a news conference in Tokyo, said yes when asked if he was willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan if China invaded. The White House and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin were quick to clarify that there was no change in U.S. policy. Beijing sees official American contact with Taiwan as encouragement to make the islands decades-old de facto independence permanent, a step U.S. leaders say they dont support. Pelosi is the highest-ranking elected American official to visit since then-Speaker Newt Gingrich in 1997. Xi has stayed close to home throughout the global COVID-19 pandemic, where he has enforced a zero-COVID policy that has resulted in mass lockdowns that have roiled the global supply chains. He made his first trip outside China since start of the pandemic in September with a stop in Kazakhstan and then onto Uzbekistan to take part in the eight-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organization with Putin and other leaders of the Central Asian security group. U.S. officials were eager to see how Xi approaches the meeting after being newly empowered with a third term and consolidating his position as the unquestioned leader of the state, saying they would wait to assess whether that made him more or less likely to seek out areas of cooperation with the U.S. They emphasized that party congress results reinforced the importance of direct engagement with Xi, rather than lower level officials whom theyve found unable or unwilling to speak for the Chinese leader.







Section of destroyed shuttle Challenger found on ocean floor Challenger chunk found Photo: History Channel A large section of the destroyed space shuttle Challenger has been found buried in sand at the bottom of the Atlantic, more than three decades after the tragedy that killed a schoolteacher and six others. NASAs Kennedy Space Center announced the discovery Thursday. Upon first hearing about it, it brings you right back to 1986, said Michael Ciannilli, a NASA manager in charge of the remains of both lost shuttles, Challenger and Columbia. In a NASA interview, he said it's one of the biggest pieces of Challenger ever found in the decades since the accident. Divers for a TV documentary crew first spotted the piece in March while seeking wreckage of a World War II plane. NASA recently verified through video that the piece was part of the shuttle that broke apart shortly after liftoff on Jan. 28, 1986. All seven on board were killed, including the first schoolteacher bound for space, Christa McAuliffe. The remnant is more than 15 feet by 15 feet; it's likely bigger because part of it is covered with sand. Because of the presence of square thermal tiles, its believed to be from the shuttles belly, officials said. The fragment remains on the ocean floor just off the Florida coast near Cape Canaveral, as NASA determines the next step. It remains the property of the U.S. government. Ciannilli said the families of all seven Challenger crew members have been notified. A History Channel documentary detailing the discovery airs Nov. 22.

Quebec woman accused of mailing poison to Donald Trump reviewing plea offer: lawyer Poison letter plea deal? Photo: Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office A lawyer for the Montreal-area woman accused of mailing poison to former United States president Donald Trump says she is likely to accept a plea deal. Federal public defender Eugene Ohm told a Washington D.C. District Court today that his client has a number of questions about the details of the offer made by federal prosecutors. Pascale Ferrier, 55, is alleged to have mailed in September 2020 an envelope containing the poising ricin to the White House and faces four federal charges in the U.S. capital. The plea deal would also cover the 16 federal charges that Ferrier faces in Texas, where she is alleged to have mailed poison to several law enforcement officials. Ferrier is detained in a Washington D.C.-area jail and is scheduled to be back in court Jan. 5. Ohm says he needs time to review the complex deal with Ferrier.

Protests rage on streets of Iran as officials renew threats Protests rage in streets Photo: The Canadian Press Protests in Iran raged on streets into Thursday with demonstrators remembering a bloody crackdown in the country's southeast, even as the nation's intelligence minister and army chief renewed threats against local dissent and the broader world. Meanwhile, a top official in Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed it had managed to achieve having so-called hypersonic missiles, without providing any evidence. The protests in Iran, sparked by the Sept. 16 death of a 22-year-old woman after her detention by the country's morality police, have grown into one of the largest sustained challenges to the nation's theocracy since the chaotic months after its 1979 Islamic Revolution. At least 328 people have been killed and 14,825 others arrested in the unrest, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that's been monitoring the protests over their 54 days. Iran's government for weeks has remained silent on casualty figures while state media counterfactually claims security forces have killed no one. As demonstrators now return to the streets to mark 40th-day remembrances for those slain earlier  commemorations common in Iran and the wider Middle East  the protests may turn into cyclical confrontations between an increasingly disillusioned public and security forces that turn to greater violence to suppress them. Online videos emerging from Iran, despite government efforts to suppress the internet, appeared to show demonstrations in Tehran, the capital, as well as cities elsewhere in the country. Near Isfahan, video showed clouds of tear gas. Shouts of Death to the Dictator could be heard  a common chant in the protests targeting Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It wasn't immediately clear if there were injuries or arrests in this round of protests, though Iran's state-run IRNA news agency acknowledged the demonstrations near Isfahan. They commemorated the Sept. 30 crackdown in Zahedan, a city in Iran's restive Sistan and Baluchestan province, in which activists say security forces killed nearly 100 people in the deadliest violence to strike amid the demonstrations. Meanwhile Thursday, Guard Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh said in a speech that his forces acquired hypersonic missiles. However, he offered no photograph, video or other evidence to support the claim and the Guard's vast ballistic missile program is not known to have any of the weapons in its arsenal. Hypersonic weapons, which fly at speeds in excess of Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound, could pose crucial challenges to missile defense systems because of their speed and maneuverability. China is believed to be pursuing the weapons, as is America. Russia claims to already be fielding the weapons and have said it used them on the battlefield in Ukraine. This system is very, very fast, and is capable of maneuvering both inside and beyond the atmosphere," Hajizadeh claimed. This means the Islamic Republic of Irans new missile can pass through both terrestrial air defense systems and the super-expensive extraterrestrial systems that could target missiles beyond the earth atmosphere. Iranian officials have kept up their threats against the demonstrators and the wider world. In an interview with Khamenei's personal website, Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib renewed threats against Saudi Arabia, a nation along with Britain, Israel and the U.S. that officials have blamed for fomenting unrest that appears focused on local grievances. Khatib warned that Iran's strategic patience could run out. Throwing stones at powerful Iran by countries sitting in glass houses has no meaning other than crossing the borders of rationality into the darkness of stupidity, Khatib said. Undoubtedly, if the will of the Islamic Republic of Iran is given to reciprocate and punish these countries, the glass palaces will collapse and these countries will not see stability. Iran blames Iran International, a London-based, Farsi-language satellite news channel once majority-owned by a Saudi national, for stirring up protesters. The broadcaster in recent days said the Metropolitan Police warned that two of its British-Iranian journalists faced threats from Iran that represent an imminent, credible and significant risk to their lives and those of their families. Last week, U.S. officials said Saudi Arabia shared intelligence with America that suggests Iran could be preparing for an imminent attack on the kingdom. Iran later called the claim baseless, though the threats from Tehran continue. The commander of the ground forces of Iran's regular army, Brig. Gen. Kiumars Heydari, separately issued his own threat against the protesters, whom he called flies. If these flies are not dealt with today as the revolutionary society expects, it is the will of the supreme leader of the revolution," he reportedly said. "But the day he issues an order to deal with them, they will definitely have no place in the country.

Texas man executed for 2003 strangling death of his mother Executed for killing mom Photo: Texas Department of Criminal Justice A man who killed his mother and buried her body in her backyard was executed Wednesday in Texas despite his lawyers appeals that he should not be put to death because he had a history of mental illness. Tracy Beatty, 61, received a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville and was pronounced dead at 6:39 p.m. CST. He was condemned for strangling his mother, Carolyn Click, after they argued in her East Texas home in November 2003. Authorities said Beatty buried his 62-year-old mothers body beside her mobile home in Whitehouse, about 115 miles southeast of Dallas, and then spent her money on drugs and alcohol. The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday morning declined an appeal from Beattys lawyers to halt the execution. On Monday, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles had unanimously declined to commute Beattys death sentence to a lesser penalty or to grant a six-month reprieve. Beatty had three prior execution dates. His attorneys had argued that Beatty was prevented from receiving a full examination to determine whether he is intellectually disabled and possibly ineligible to be put to death. They had requested prison officials allow Beatty to be uncuffed during mental health evaluations by experts. The experts argued that having Beatty uncuffed during neurological and other tests was crucial to evaluating his mental health and making an informed decision about intellectual disability. In their Supreme Court petition, Beattys lawyers said one expert who examined the inmate determined that he was clearly psychotic and has a complex paranoid delusional belief system and that he lives in a complex delusional world where he believes there is a vast conspiracy of correctional officers who ... torture him via a device in his ear so he can hear their menacing voices. Citing security and liability concerns, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice put in place an informal policy last year that would require a court order to allow an inmate to be unshackled during an expert evaluation. Federal judges in East Texas and Houston and the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans previously ruled against Beattys request for an evaluation without handcuffs. The federal appeals court called Beattys request a delay tactic. Last week, U.S. District Judge Charles Eskridge in Houston questioned why Beattys lawyers had not raised any claim relating to his mental health during years of appeals. The judge said requiring handcuffs during such an evaluation is quite simply, a rational security concern. While the U.S. Supreme Court has prohibited the death penalty for individuals who are intellectually disabled, it has not barred such punishment for those with serious mental illness, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that provides analysis and information on capital punishment. In 2019, the Texas Legislature considered but did not pass a bill that would have prohibited the death penalty for someone with severe mental illness. Beatty had a volatile and combative relationship with his mother, according to prosecutors. One neighbor, Lieanna Wilkerson, testified that Click told her Beatty had assaulted her several times before, including once when he had beaten her so severely that he had left her for dead. But Wilkerson said Click had still been excited to have Beatty move back in with her in October 2003 so they could mend their relationship. Mother and son argued daily, however, and Click asked her son twice to move out, including just before she was killed, according to testimony from Beattys 2004 trial. Several times (Beatty) had said he just wanted to shut her up, that he just wanted to choke her and shut her up, Wilkerson testified. Beatty was the fourth inmate put to death this year in Texas and the 13th in the United States. The state's final execution this year is scheduled to take place next week.

Republican concedes race for New Mexico House seat Republican concedes Photo: The Canadian Press Supporters of re-elected New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham cheer while she speaks at the celebration party in Albuquerque, N.M., Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. The Democratic incumbent beat Republican candidate Mark Ronchetti. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton) Incumbent Republican Rep. Yvette Herrell conceded defeat Wednesday in a close-fought race for New Mexicos 2nd Congressional District, clearing a path toward victory for Democratic challenger Gabe Vasquez. Herrell congratulated Vasquez as more votes were tallied but also blasted recent changes to the 2nd Districts boundaries by Democratic state lawmakers at the expense of rural communities. A Republican court challenge is pending against a congressional redistricting plan for New Mexico that divvied up a conservative, oil-producing region, with related arguments scheduled before the state Supreme Court in January. Herrell said she was confident Republicans would retake the seat in 2024. Two years ago, the Democrats in Santa Fe announced they would gerrymander our district to ensure they would totally control our states federal delegation, Herrell said in a statement. They did just that, ignoring the will of the people in the process. ... Stay tuned! The Associated Press has not declared a winner in the race. Vasquez declared victory Wednesday and said he would take on a sacred responsibility to represent a district that stretches from the U.S. border with Mexico across desert oilfields of the Permian Basin and portions of Albuquerque. To everyone out there struggling, no matter whether you voted for me or not, please know this: I see you, I hear you, and Ill fight my heart out for you, because public service is a sacred responsibility that I will never take for granted, Vasquez said in a statement. On the campaign trail, Vasquez highlighted his Latino heritage and an upbringing along the U.S. border with Mexico in a working-class, immigrant family. He advocated for solutions to climate change and conversation of public lands in a district traditionally dominated by the oil and natural gas industry. Vasquez broke into politics as a Las Cruces city councilor and campaigned for Congress on support for workers rights and preserving access to abortion. He painted his opponent as an extremist for voting against the certification of Joe Biden as president after the 2020 election. New Mexico has taken on an outsized role in providing access to abortion for residents of neighboring states. Operators of the Mississippi clinic at the center of the court battle that overturned Roe v. Wade have opened a clinic in southern New Mexico. At ease speaking Spanish at rallies and television appearances, Vasquez also backed core Democratic initiatives in Washington on infrastructure spending to speed the transition to renewable energy, raise the U.S. minimum wage and write abortion protections into federal law. New Mexico Democrats won a new mandate in the midterms with the reelection of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham as the state grapples with whiplash from the COVID-19 pandemic and the aftermath of public health orders that shut down classroom learning for a year in many public schools. On election night, Lujan Grisham hinted at her priorities for a second term that begins in January with the start of a 60-day legislative session. State government income and spending have surged in the midst of record-setting oil production in the southeastern corner of the state. New Mexico said yes to more health care for families, better education for kids, more economic freedom ... for workers and more for students, Lujan Grisham said. Tonight New Mexicans said we are and will continue to be a state that protects reproductive rights and basic human rights of every single member of the LGBTQ community. Democratic Reps. Teresa Leger Fernandez of Santa Fe and Melanie Stansbury of Albuquerque both won reelection to second terms Tuesday. Democrats prevailed in other prominent statewide races. Democratic Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver defeated Republican nominee Audrey Trujillo, who allied her campaign with an America First coalition that seeks large-scale changes to elections administration. Albuquerque-based Democratic District Attorney Raul Torrez won an open race for attorney general, beating Republican nominee Jeremy Gay of Gallup. And Democratic Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard won a second term at the helm of the State Land Office that oversees lucrative oil, mineral and renewable energy leases on public land. In state legislative races, Democrats held fast to their state House majority.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend G-20 summit Putin skips G-20 summit Photo: The Canadian Press FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his speech at a ceremony to mark the 75th anniversary of Russian Federal Medical-Biological Agency in Moscow, Russia on Nov. 9, 2022. 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 the Ukraine, an Indonesian government official said on Thursday, NOv. 10, 2022. (Sergei Bobylev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File) 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, an Indonesian government official said Thursday. U.S. President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping and other world leaders are to attend the two-day summit in Bali that starts Nov. 15. The summit was to have been the first time Biden and Putin would have been together at a gathering since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, the Chief of Support for G-20 events told reporters in Denpasar, Indonesia, that Russias Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will lead the Russian delegation. The Indonesian government respects the decision of the Russian government, which President Putin himself previously explained to President Joko Widodo in a very friendly telephone conversation, said Pandjaitan, who is also the Coordinating Minister of Maritime and Investment. Biden had ruled out meeting with Putin if he had attended the summit, and said the only conversation he could have possibly had with the Russian leader would be to discuss a deal to free Americans imprisoned in Russia. Biden administration officials said they had been coordinating with global counterparts to isolate Putin if he had decided to participate either in person or virtually. They have discussed boycotts or other displays of condemnation.

Warnock, Walker advance to runoff for Senate seat in Georgia Georgia heads to runoff Photo: The Canadian Press Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock speaks during an election night watch party on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker will meet in a Dec. 6 runoff in Georgia after neither reached the general election majority required under state law, ensuring an expensive, bitter fight that could still determine which party controls the Senate going forward. It will be the second runoff for Warnock, who first won his seat in a Jan. 5, 2021, special election runoff alongside Democrat Jon Ossoff's victory in a concurrent Senate runoff. Together, the Georgia seats gave Democrats the narrow majority they are now defending. Whether Georgia becomes a winner-take-all a second time will depend on other contests that are still pending; Arizona and Nevada are the two most closely watched because Republicans are trying to oust Democratic incumbents. Walker, 60, sought Wednesday to play up the possibility that Georgia will tilt the chamber one way or the other. Control of the Senate is likely at stake, Walker's campaign wrote in a fundraising push. We don't have a moment to waste. Warnock, 53, acknowledged the likelihood of a runoff in the wee hours of Wednesday morning as he urged the supporters who remained at his election night party to gird themselves for more. I understand that at this late hour you may be a little tired, but whether its later tonight or tomorrow or four weeks from now, we will hear from the people of Georgia, the senator said. Regardless of the Senate's partisan balance, Round 2 in Georgia will test again whether voters are more concerned about the economy under Democratic control of Washington or the Republican candidates rocky past, from Walker's exaggerations of his business and personal achievements to allegations of violence against his family and accusations that he paid for the abortions of two women he dated despite his public support for a national abortion ban. Walker tried throughout the general election campaign to frame a referendum on national Democrats, caricaturing Warnock as a yes-man for President Joe Biden amid sustained inflation. The former college and professional football star campaigns as a cultural and fiscal conservative but has offered a scant policy agenda should he be elected. Warnock, in turn, has distanced himself from Biden. The senator styles himself as a pragmatist in a partisan era. Hes touted deals with Republicans on infrastructure, agriculture and other matters, while emphasizing measures he sponsored to cap insulin and other drug prices for Medicare recipients. Warnock also framed Walker, a celebrity athlete making his first bid for public office, as unqualified and unfit for high office. The four-week sprint also could lure former President Donald Trump into the fray. In the final weeks of the campaign, Trump held rallies in several battleground states, recycling his false claims that the 2020 loss was fraudulent and teasing the possibility of a 2024 presidential run. Walker is a close friend of Trump's and got into the race at the former president's urging, but Walker hasn't campaigned with Trump thus far, saying he wants to win on his own. Much of the runoff's framing remains up in the air as long as other results are pending. If Democrats hold Arizona and Nevada to keep their majority even without Georgia, Warnock might have an easier time making the contest a localized choice between himself and Walker. But if the Senate hangs in the balance, Walker might more easily put Warnock on the defensive about the national implications he's tried to avoid for months. Returns in other Georgia races reveal the distinction between those two scenarios. By trailing Warnock in the first round, Walker ran considerably behind Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican who was reelected comfortably despite a formidable challenge from Democrat Stacey Abrams. That suggests plenty of Georgia voters, including many Republicans, supported Kemp but were unwilling to vote for Walker. On Wednesday, Warnock's campaign manager highlighted Walker's weaknesses compared with victorious GOP nominees in Georgia. Quentin Fulks tweeted that Walker significantly underperformed in an environment that set him up for success. Fulks added that Walker underperformed Trump's vote share in (Georgia's) rural, suburban and urban counties. Walker's advisers did not immediately respond to Associated Press inquiries about his runoff approach. Walker hasn't taken media questions at campaign events since a second woman accused him of paying for her abortion. Nearly 6 in 10 voters said Warnock has the right background to serve as a senator, according to AP VoteCast, an expansive survey of more than 3,000 voters in the state. Only about 4 in 10 said the same about Walker. The states voters also were more likely to say that Warnock has strong moral values, with roughly half of voters saying so about the senator. About 4 in 10 voters said the same about Walker. The runoff could turn on whether Walker can overcome voters' concerns by capitalizing on their angst about the economy. Nearly half of Georgia voters say the economy is the most pressing issue facing the country, according to VoteCast. Rising costs were named as a top concern among the states voters, with roughly 9 in 10 saying the inflated prices of groceries, gas and other goods were an important factor in their votes. A runoff promises to be intensely personal, as well. Both mens former wives already have been featured in television and online advertisements making accusations against their former husbands. Warnock has cast Walker as a pathological liar because he has exaggerated or misrepresented basic facts of his life. Warnock mocks Walker for carrying an honorary badge given to him by a Georgia sheriff as he claims falsely to have been a law enforcement officer. Walker, in turn, has sought to discredit Warnock's credentials as a minister. He points to Warnock's support of abortion rights and an Atlanta apartment building overseen by Warnock's church that at one time apparently attempted to evict some residents. Warnock denies any resident was evicted. Walker also notes Warnock, after becoming a senator, began receiving a $7,000-plus monthly housing allowance from Ebenezer, an arrangement that allows Warnock to receive a significant sum from the church while still complying with Senate ethics rules that cap senators' outside income.

Biden hails Democrats' 'strong night,' acknowledges concerns Biden hails 'strong night' Photo: The Canadian Press President Joe Biden speaks in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) Democrats defied gravity this week as voters set aside their concerns about President Joe Biden to deny Republicans the sweeping victory they expected, emboldening a Biden team whose political instincts have been routinely questioned or outright dismissed by opponents and even allies. It was a remarkable display of resiliency in the face of both history and gloomy polls that suggested voters were fed up with inflation and crime and looking to punish the party in power. As key races continued to be tallied on Wednesday, it was clear that Democrats had limited Republican gains in the House and maintained a potential path to holding control of the Senate. Biden spent the campaign's closing stretch on defense, steering clear of battleground states where his own unpopularity could have dragged down Democrats. But on election night, he was up past midnight congratulating candidates who were supposed to have been swept from office. "While the press and the pundits were predicting a giant red wave, it didnt happen," Biden said Wednesday at the White House in his first public remarks since voting ended. He said Democrats had a strong night." He acknowledged that many Americans remain discouraged by the country's direction  the voters were also clear that theyre still frustrated, I get it  and said he was willing to compromise with Republicans as he faces the likelihood of divided government in Washington. But he pledged to stay the course on his agenda, predicting the results will vindicate his choices. He questioned whether Americans really want the major changes some Republicans are calling for  such as debate and votes on whether to continue Social Security or Medicare. "Im not going to change anything in any fundamental way," he said. "Never underestimate how much Team Biden is underestimated," tweeted Ron Klain, the White House chief of staff. Biden was expected to speak from the White House and take questions from reporters later Wednesday. For all the upbeat talk, however, none of the Democrats' success will be able to prevent what's likely to be a chaotic and bruising phase of Biden's presidency. Republicans are hoping to take control of the House, which would open the door for extreme members of the party to investigate Biden and his family. Any of Bidens legislative priorities could be off the table, and merely funding the government could prove challenging. The future of the Senate remained a tossup as votes were counted; potential Democratic losses there could limit or even cut off Bidens ability to confirm new judges and other administration officials. Its also unclear if the midterm results will be enough to enable Biden to dismiss his doubters as he prepares to run for a second term. An expansive survey by AP VoteCast revealed deep worries about his performance and ability to continue serving. With Biden approaching his 80th birthday, 58% of voters said he does not have the mental capability to serve effectively as president. Only 44% described him as honest, and just 34% said he's a strong leader. There were other warning signs for his political standing as well. When Biden was elected two years ago, 54% of voters described him as someone who cares about people like you. Among this year's midterm voters, that slipped to 46%. Overall, 57% of voters said they had an unfavorable view of Biden. His approval ratings on the economy, energy policy and border security were underwater. Even his handling of Russia, widely seen as a success for Biden as he maintains an international coalition to oppose the invasion of Ukraine, is viewed negatively. His lukewarm ratings were driven by overwhelmingly negative attitudes among Republicans, but even Democratic voters were not resounding in their support. About 2 in 10 voters for Democrats said they disapprove of Bidens job performance overall, a noticeable softness in today's hyper-partisan political environment. The survey of more than 94,000 voters nationwide was conducted for nine days, concluding as polls closed, for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago. A clear advantage for Biden, who campaigned for office on simply being better than the alternative, is the disdain that his supporters have for his predecessor. While 50% of voters for Democratic candidates said their votes were meant to show support for the president, an even greater percentage  65%  said they voted to express opposition to Donald Trump. Democrats were arguing from the beginning that they needed to make this election a choice rather than a referendum," said Amy Walter, an analyst who leads the Cook Political Report. "And essentially, they did. Walter said Democrats were able to maintain support in the midterms from voters who believe that Biden is not living up to their expectations, or they are feeling disappointed or they are feeling disappointed of his stewardship. The outcome takes the heat off the White House, at least for now. The pressure goes from How is Biden going to explain himself post election? to How is Trump going to explain himself?'" she said. The more intriguing conversations are happening on the Republican side. Some members of Biden's team began circulating a clip of his meeting with the New York Times editorial board during the Democratic primary. Asked about whether his lead in the polls was fleeting, Biden dismissed the question by saying pundits were always too quick to declare me dead. And guess what?" he said. "I aint dead. And Im not going to die. Al Gore, who served as vice president when Democrats suffered deep losses during the first midterm election of Bill Clinton's presidency, said this week's results defied expectations even though Republicans could gain control over at least one chamber of Congress. Its hard to call it a victory," Gore said of Democrats in an interview, but actually in the context of history, it kind of was.

Tropical Storm Nicole forces evacuations in Bahamas, Florida Nicole forces evacuations Photo: The Canadian Press Tropical Storm Nicole forced people from their homes in the Bahamas and threatened to grow into a rare November hurricane in Florida on Wednesday, shutting down airports and Disney World as well as prompting evacuation orders that included former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club. Hundreds of people sought shelter in the northwestern Bahamas before the approaching storm, which had already sent seawater washing across roads on Hutchinson Island in Martin County, Florida. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the center of the sprawling storm make landfall on Great Abaco with estimated maximum sustained winds of 70 mph. We are forecasting it to become a hurricane as it nears the northwestern Bahamas, and remain a hurricane as it approaches the east coast of Florida," Daniel Brown, a senior hurricane specialist at the Miami-based National Hurricane Center, said Wednesday. Nicole is the first storm to hit the Bahamas since Hurricane Dorian, a Category 5 storm that devastated the archipelago in 2019, before hitting storm-weary Florida. In the Bahamas, officials said that more than 520 people were in more than two dozen shelters. Flooding and power outages were reported in Abaco island. We are asking people to please take it (seriously), said Andrea Newbold with the Disaster Management Unit for Social Services. Dont wait until the last minute. Residents in several Florida counties  Flagler, Palm Beach, Martin and Volusia  were ordered to evacuate from barrier islands, low-lying areas and mobile homes. Mar-a-Lago, Trumps club and home, is in one of those evacuation zones, built about a quarter-mile inland from the ocean. The main buildings sit on a small rise that is about 15 feet above sea level and the property has survived numerous stronger hurricanes since it was built nearly a century ago. The resorts security office hung up Wednesday when an Associated Press reporter asked whether the club was being evacuated. There is no penalty for ignoring an evacuation order, but rescue crews will not respond if it puts their members at risk. Disney World and related theme parks announced they were closing early on Wednesday evening and likely would not reopen as scheduled on Thursday. Palm Beach International Airport closed Wednesday morning, and Daytona Beach International Airport said it would cease operations at 12:30 p.m. Orlando International Airport, the seventh busiest in the U.S., was set to close at 4 p.m. Wednesday. Further south, officials said Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Miami International Airport were experiencing some flight delays and cancellations but both planned to remain open. At a news conference in Tallahassee, Gov. Ron DeSantis said winds were the biggest concern and and significant power outages could occur, but that 16,000 linemen were on standby to restore power, as well as 600 guardsmen and seven search and rescue teams. It will affect huge parts of the state of Florida all day, DeSantis said of the storms expected landing. Almost two dozen school districts were closing schools for the storm and 15 shelters had opened along Floridas east coast, the governor said. Florida Division of Emergency Management director Kevin Guthrie said Floridians should expect possible tornadoes, rip currents and flash flooding. Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis, who is at the COP27 U.N. Climate Summit, said he has mobilized all government resources. There have always been storms, but as the planet warms from carbon emissions, storms are growing in intensity and frequency, he said. For those in Grand Bahama and Abaco, I know it is especially difficult for you to face another storm, Davis said, referring to the islands hardest hit by Dorian. At 11:55 a.m. the storm was about 185 miles east of West Palm Beach, Florida, and moving west at 12 mph. Tropical storm force winds extended as far as 460 miles (740 kilometers) from the center in some directions. It could intensify into a rare November hurricane before hitting Florida, where only two have made landfall since recordkeeping began in 1853  the 1935 Yankee Hurricane and Hurricane Kate in 1985. New warnings and watches were issued for many parts of Florida, including the southwestern Gulf coastline which was devastated by Hurricane Ian, which struck as a Category 4 storm on Sept. 28. The storm destroyed homes and damaged crops, including orange groves, across the state. Ian lashed much of the central region of Florida with heavy rainfall, causing flooding that many residents are still dealing with as Nicole approaches. In Florida, the combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline," the hurricane center's advisory said. Hurricane specialist Brown said the storm will affect a large part of the state. Because the system is so large, really almost the entire east coast of Florida except the extreme southeastern part and the Keys is going to receive tropical storm force winds," he said. The storm is then expected to move across central and northern Florida into southern Georgia on Thursday, forecasters said. It was then forecast to move across the Carolinas on Friday. We are going to be concerned with rainfall as we get later into the week across portions of the southeastern United States and southern Appalachians, where there could be some flooding, flash flooding with that rainfall," Brown said. Early Wednesday, President Joe Biden declared an emergency in Florida and ordered federal assistance to supplement state, tribal and local response efforts to the approaching storm. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is still responding to those in need from Hurricane Ian.
Morgan Stanley is the 6th largest financial institution in the US. The company is ranked 61st on the Forbes Fortune 500 list and is the 39th largest bank in the world. A financial holding company, Morgan Stanley provides a full range of financial services to clients around the world.

Morgan Stanley was formed in 1935 as a result of the Glass-Steagall Act. Glass-Steagall separated commercial and investment banking in a way that forced the then-largest bank J.P. Morgan & Co to split into two groups. J.P. Morgan & Co. chose to retain the commercial side of the business while partners Henry S. Morga, grandson of J.P., and Harold Stanley took the investment end. In its first year, Morgan Stanley did 24% of the IPO business and maintains a lions share of the market to this day.

The original company existed and grew through acquisitions until 1987 when it merged with Dean Witter Discover & Co. The new Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Discover & Co existed for 14 years until 2001 when the name was shortened back to Morgan Stanley.

The bank is credited in part with both beginning and ending the financial crisis of 2007/2008. The Process Driven Trading unit lost $300 million in one day due to a short-squeeze that popped the bubble in the housing market. After teetering on the brink of failure Morgan Stanley agreed to become a bank holding company regulated by the Federal Reserve, a key factor in the original decision to split from parent J.P. Morgan & Co. Ironically when given the chance, present-day J.P. Morgan refused to buy Morgan Stanley but that was for the better.

Today, Morgan Stanley operates through three segments via offices in 41 countries and employs more than 75,000 people. Revenue in 2021 topped $49 billion and total assets topped $1.15 trillion.

The operating segments are Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments. The Institutional Securities segment is by far the largest and most profitable. It offers a range of services and products for businesses, institutions, and entities that include capital raising, strategic advisory, underwriting, advice on M&A, restructuring, and real estate. The Wealth Management segment provides brokerage and investment advisory services for individuals and employers. The services include brokerage, financial planning, company stock-plan administration, insurance, mortgage loans, lines of credit, and retirement planning. The Investment Management segment provides investment products to a range of institutions, organizations, corporations, and governments.
Do the scandals matter? In US politics, most voters just see what they want to

The media often take a dominant role when it comes to political elections  but does it actually make a difference?

A recent study by research group Barna explores the biggest headlining scandals of the 2016 US election, and their impact on voters. It suggests party-polarised 'echo-chambers' were pervasive, and that evangelical Christians were amongst those who were most influenced by the election's biggest controversies.

Less than half (46 per cent) of voters thought the media had been 'fair and objective' in its election coverage. As the study notes however, 'Even so, other data indicates that bias has more sway than fairness, as groups already compelled to vote for Clinton brushed off many of her negative stories, yet were enraged by Trump's  and vice versa.

'This should not come as a surprise, perhaps, given how deeply entrenched America's political and faith segments have become. Unfavorable accounts of either candidate seem to have mostly bounced around their echo chambers, inciting increasing levels of rage toward a candidate they already disapproved of.'

The Fake News Media works hard at disparaging & demeaning my use of social media because they don't want America to hear the real story!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 29, 2017

Donald Trump himself was a frequent headline of the 2016 election  with many consistently shocked at the unorthodox political newcomer's rise to the Republican nomination and beyond. Several of his comments appeared to threaten his success, though evidently none really did.

The most significant Trump scandal, according to voters, was his comments about Mexican immigrants, which impacted 36 per cent of voters. Trump said of Mexican immigrants that 'They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.'

Nearly as many (33 per cent) cite Trump's proposed 'Muslim ban' as impactful. The third most significant (29 per cent) was Trump's boastings of his unwanted sexual advances against women, revealed in the now-infamous Hollywood Access videotape. Twenty-eight per cent of voters said they were majorly impacted by Trump's Insults and name-calling of his opponents such as 'crooked Hillary' and 'lyin' Ted' Cruz.

Consistently, Trump's campaigning headlines had a greater impact on Democrats than they did on Republicans, as the chart below shows. Barna's three Christian groups: notional Christians, evangelicals, and non-evangelical born-again Christians, were less likely to be affected by Trump's scandals  and all tended to support Trump.

Trump's boastings of sexual advances, which was the most or second-most impactful factor for non-Christian groups, was only significant for 5 per cent of evangelicals.

Hillary Clinton also had her share of election controversies, the most significant of which was her use of a private email server, impacting a third (33 per cent) of voters. Concerns about her benefiting from certain financial involvements (see below) impacted a quarter of voters. Twenty-two per cent were impacted by her support of late term, partial-birth abortion and describing half of Trump supporters as a 'basket of deplorables'.

Once again, a kind of confirmation bias appears to be at play  these scandals impacted on average just eight per cent of Democrats, compared to a third of Republicans (36 per cent) and Independents (33 per cent). Clinton's controversies majorly impacted half of evangelicals (50 per cent), more than any other group. The email server (65 per cent) and the abortion comments (53 per cent) were the most significant issues for evangelicals.

Election analyst George Barna notes the discrepancy between evangelical concern about Trump's comments on women (5 per cent were impacted) with their least significant Hillary controversy (41 per cent), suggesting 'their muted reaction in this case seems like a political rather than spiritually driven response'.

Barna's conclusion is blunt: 'Voter reaction to these negative stories was based more on whether they planned to support the candidate in question than on the basis of an objective response to the behavior in question.

'Democrats were willing to overlook Clinton's behavior but were horrified by Trump's; Republicans were forgiving of Trump's behavior but not Clinton's. Independent voters made up their minds about the scandals largely on the basis of their political ideology, with liberal Independents excusing the Clinton scandals and conservative Independents excusing the Trump scandals.

'In the end, the revelations about the unfortunate behavior of each candidate had a surprisingly limited impact on people's voting choices. The information served more to reinforce pre-existing voting plans than to help voters make an objective choice between the major-party candidates.'

While the world laments the rise of #FakeNews, does it even matter? Barna's study suggests that most in America will only see what they want to.

You can follow @JosephHartropp on Twitter
GAFCON'S 'missionary bishop' explained: Will it actually make a difference?

David Chillingworth, Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, seems relaxed about the prospect of a 'cross-border intervention' on his flock.

'In some levels I am disappointed,' he said when asked about a conservative 'missionary' bishop planned in response to gay marriage being permitted by Scotland's Anglicans.

Within minutes of the SEC's vote, the conservative grouping GAFCON announced Canon Andy Lines as a 'missionary bishop' to oversee traditionalist parishes who want to defect from the official Scottish Anglican church

Chillingworth told Christian Today: 'I don't think it will make very much difference here. The congregations which we have which will be giving serious thought to their position within this Church following this vote will do that on their own and in context of our relationships here.'

But despite this apparently laid-back attitude, the decision by conservatives to make Lines a bishop has caused shockwaves around the Anglican Communion.

The Archbishop of Canterbury rebuked the move, warning a 'missionary' bishop would 'carry no weight in the Church of England' and citing canons from Christianity's formative Council of Nicea in AD 325 to warn of the 'great disturbances and discords' it would cause.

The issue is likely to be discussed at the next meeting of global Anglican leaders in October.

Although Welby is clearly nervous by the overt challenge to his own authority and to the official Anglican structures, there are genuine questions as to what difference it will actually make.

Announcing the move, GAFCON's primates  leaders of Anglican Churches in Africa, South America and the US  said it was in response to their view that 'faithful Anglicans in Scotland will need appropriate pastoral care'.

But they add: 'In addition, within England there are churches that have, for reasons of conscience, been planted outside of the Church of England by the Anglican Mission in England (AMiE).

'These churches are growing, and are in need of episcopal leadership.'

So the missionary bishop is to provide leadership for 'faithful Anglicans' in Scotland, and Anglican churches 'outside the structures of any Anglican province, especially in Europe'.

Andy Lines will not therefore be offering oversight to official CofE churches.

The CofE has already made clear the simple fact that this would in any case be illegal.

When asked about the consecration by a South African bishop of another 'irregular' bishop, Rev Jonathan Pryke, in the parish of Jesmond, a spokesman for the Bishop of Newcastle said: 'No overseas bishop may exercise episcopal functions within the Church of England without the express permission of the Archbishop of the province and a commission from the Bishop of the diocese in which they wish to minister.'

The spokesman added: 'It is the clearly established law of the land that no one can exercise ministry in the Church of England without either holding office or having the permission of the diocesan bishop.'

A Canon lawyer told Christian Today that if a parish were to bring in Lines to fulfil a bishop's duties, such as confirmations, this would be in breach of Canon Law.

'Whilst the removal of the priest's licence would not be automatic, it is quite likely that he would be subject to a complaint under the Clergy Discipline Measures,' they said.

The same also seems to apply in Scotland with SEC law stating that no bishop 'shall interfere with the concerns of another diocese' and 'no bishop shall perform any episcopal function in any other diocese without the sanction, nor exercise any other ecclesiastical function against the will, expressed in writing, of the bishop thereof'.

It adds: 'The clergy of a diocese shall take no direction for their official conduct but from their own Bishop, except in the case of a lawful decision of the Episcopal Synod, or of the College of Bishops.'

It seems GAFCON intends to skirt the legal issues in Scotland by distinguishing between the 'episcopal' role of a bishop  such as carrying out ordinations and confirmations  and the 'pastoral' role of a bishop  which could simply mean meeting informally to offer support.

A GAFCON spokesman told Christian Today: 'The missionary bishop will only carry out episcopal functions in congregations that are outside the Church of England and the Scottish Episcopal Church if invited. There may be bishops who invite the GAFCON missionary bishop to perform episcopal acts to biblically faithful clergy and congregations within their structures.

'Across the provinces in the UK and Europe there are thousands of congregations, and scores of dioceses. The way each congregation practically relates to their diocese and bishop is not uniform. What would and would not be an appropriate pastoral response from the missionary bishop to an enquiry from a congregation in an existing province can only be evaluated on a case by case basis.'

The obvious legal challenges have not stopped a host of senior conservatives rushing to welcome the move.

Rod Thomas, appointed Bishop of Maidstone in 2015 to offer 'alternative oversight' for parishes with a conservative 'headship' view on the ordination of women, said he welcomes 'the steps that GAFCON (the global fellowship of orthodox Anglicans) is taking to support those who are seeking to stand firm by the Bible's teaching on marriage and sexual relationships, and wishes to assure Canon Andy Lines of my prayers as he becomes a missionary bishop'.

Director of traditionalist CofE grouping Reform, Susie Leafe, said: 'The appointment of Revd Canon Lines to this role will encourage faithful Anglicans in Scotland and across Europe to know they are not alone and give them confidence to proclaim the wonder of God's saving and transforming grace through Jesus Christ alone.'

But below the surface it seems the missionary bishop is primarily for those who have already left the Church of England and Scottish Episcopal Church, or who were never part of them.

Andy Lines will not be an alternative bishop for ordinations and confirmations in the CofE proper because that would be against Canon Law, which means it would be illegal in a secular sense as well. The Church of England is the established Church, which means its ecclesiastical laws have the status of secular laws.

It is a reflection of a split that has already happened, rather than causing one.
Josh Duggar describes 'severe emotional distress' over scandals in lawsuit

Josh Duggar, former star of "19 Kids and Counting," is joining his younger sisters Jill, Jessa, Jinger and Joy-Anna in filing a lawsuit against InTouch Weekly and the police for publishing reports of his child molestation raps that he said caused him "severe emotional distress."

Josh allegedly molested four of his sisters and an unnamed young woman when he was just a teenager, but the family purportedly kept it a secret until 2015, when InTouch ran an article about it. As a result, the family lost their reality show and Josh was heavily lambasted by the public.

Last month, Josh's sisters filed a breach of privacy lawsuit seeking damages against the magazine and Arkansas law enforcement for the release of the report, which was reportedly obtained using a Freedom of Information Act request.

On June 2, Josh filed a motion to formally join the lawsuit, reported the Huffington Post. Aside from the "severe emotional distress" he experienced because of the report, he also cited "embarrassment, humiliation and economic harm both to his personal and professional reputations."

"The released reports ... will continue to haunt him and cause him financial and emotional injury for the rest of his life," he wrote in his motion.

That was not the only scandal that rocked Josh's world that year. In August, hackers revealed that he had two paid accounts in the cheating website Ashley Madison. Josh was forced to confess about his infidelity to his wife, Anna, and he subsequently entered into the faith-based rehab facility Reformers Unanimous.

Many people urged Anna to divorce Josh because of the scandal, but she remained faithful to him. She even issued a statement with him through the family website: "It is a long road to rebuild trust and a truly healthy relationship. We are very thankful for God's forgiveness, grace and help, as it is our strength and guide to rebuilding our lives. As the future unfolds, we are taking one day at a time and we are grateful for your continued prayers for both of us and our sweet children."

Now, Josh and Anna are happily awaiting the birth of their fifth baby  a boy.
North Korea arrests senior citizen for contacting Chinese Christians

A 61-year-old resident in North Korea's Ryanggang province was tied with rope, assaulted and arrested after he returned from China on charges of spying, as he had allegedly contacted his Christian relatives.

According to Radio Free Asia, The North Korean citizen, Kim Seung-mo, a resident of the Wiyon area of Hyesan city, was dragged by state security officials in front of Wiyon train station last week.

'It happened on the third day following his return from visiting relatives in China,' a source from the province told RFA's Korean Service.

'I witnessed him being dragged by state security officials in front of Wiyon train station,' he said. 'There were about 3,000 people getting ready for the military march to Mount Paektu, who were about to depart for Samjiyon county in celebration of the 80th anniversary of the victorious Battle of Pochonbo.'

Mount Paektu is an extinct volcano on the border between North Korea and China. It is sacred to North and South Koreans alike and is the legendary birthplace of Dangun Wanggeom, who is believed to be the founder of the first Korean kingdom around 2333 BC.

According to the anonymous source, Kim was beaten and tied with rope as he was dragged out from a town behind Wiyon brewery.

The source also confirmed that there were obvious signs of violent assault because the man had split lips, black eyes and appeared to have sustained an injury to one of his legs.

A second source who lives in Yanggang province told RFA on Tuesday that Kim used to work at the Wiyon substation where electricity is converted into distributable voltage, but retired in March.

'Since he retired, he hasn't been doing anything, though he recently visited relatives in China to lend a hand to his wife who sells used clothes on the black market,' said the source who requested anonymity.

'After he came back from China, he openly told his neighbors that his relatives attended a Christian church, and the church's pastor collected many used clothes from parishioners for him,' he said.

'It seems like someone informed state security agents about him,' he added.

The Ministry of State Security, which reports directly to leader Kim Jong Un, is the regime's secret police force. Experts say that it is known for its brutality and human rights abuses.

'All North Korean travelers returning from China are required to report their whereabouts and details about their activities.'

'In Kim's case, he was arrested on charges of spying because he did not report the fact that his relatives are churchgoers and that the church pastor helped him,' the source said.

Though Christian missionaries were active on the Korean peninsula during the time of the Japanese occupation before World War II, communist and atheist North Korea views Christianity as a contemptable Western religion.

The regime treats Christians hostilely because it wants nothing to alter citizens' loyalty to the state.

To avoid arrests and being sent to labour camps, North Korea's small community of Christians must conceal their faith to the fullest extent.
Richard Dawkins: Islam is the most evil religion in the world

Islam is 'the most evil religion in the world', according to evolutionary biologist and atheist standard-bearer Richard Dawkins.

Speaking at the Cheltenham Science Festival yesterday, Dawkins stressed that he he opposed all religion. However, he said: 'It's tempting to say all religions are bad, and I do say all religions are bad, but it's a worse temptation to say all religions are equally bad because they're not.'

According to the Daily Telegraph, he said: 'If you look at the actual impact that different religions have on the world it's quite apparent that at present the most evil religion in the world has to be Islam.

'It's terribly important to modify that because of course that doesn't mean all Muslims are evil, very far from it. Individual Muslims suffer more from Islam than anyone else.

'They suffer from the homophobia, the misogyny, the joylessness which is preached by extreme Islam, Isis and the Iranian regime.

'So it is a major evil in the world, we do have to combat it, but we don't do what Trump did and say all Muslims should be shut out of the country. That's draconian, that's illiberal, inhumane and wicked. I am against Islam not least because of the unpleasant effects it has on the lives of Muslims.'

Dawkins also said he believed British schoolchildren need to study religious education,

Asked whether RE in schools should be abolished because children could be brainwashed he replied: 'I don't think religious education should be abolished.

'I think that it is an important part of our culture to know about the Bible. After all so much of English literature has allusions to the Bible, if you look up the Oxford English Dictionary you find something like the same number of quotations from the Bible as from Shakespeare.

'It's an important part of our history. So much of European history is dominated by disputes against rival religions and you can't understand history unless you know about the history of the Christian religion and the Crusades and so on.'

Dawkins said: 'I would not abolish religious education, I think I would substitute it for comparative religion and Biblical history and religious history.

'Comparative religion is very valuable, partly because the child learns that there are lots of different religions, not just the one they were brought up with. They learn they are all different and they can't all be right, so maybe none of them are right. Critical thinking is what we need.'

He also said it was 'deeply wicked' and 'evil' to use religion to scare children, by warning them they could end up in 'hell fire'.
Global Talent Stream Releases Occupations List and Further Details CIC News Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif

Sans Font Size A

A

The Global Talent Stream (GTS), a fast-track stream of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), has launched as of June 12, establishing a two-week standard for the processing of work permit applications for highly skilled occupations. The two categories of the GTS target high-growth companies, and workers in identified in-demand occupations.

As part of Canadas Global Skills Strategy, the Global Talent Stream enables prioritized processing of applications for work permits in high-demand occupations requiring the specialized talent of global workers. The government of Canada recognizes that in order to promote growth in fast-paced industries such as the tech sector, employers often need to fill a specialized position quickly, and are unable to find Canadian workers for the position.

In such cases, the GTS establishes a processing time standard of 10 business days for Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) and work permit applications from workers whose employers have been approved to hire through the GTS. Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), the department managing this stream, has stated that this pilot program will run for an initial period of 24 months.

The LMIA is a document that proves that the employer could not find a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who is ready, able, and willing to perform the job. Once an employer has obtained an LMIA, the worker may apply for a work permit.

Patty Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, has stated that When companies are able to grow and thrive here in Canada, they create good, middle-class jobs for Canadians; our new Global Talent Stream will give companies a faster and more efficient process to bring in global talent, so they can grow and expand their Canadian workforces. Were keeping Canada competitive in the global marketplace and helping our industries grow and succeed.

Two Categories

There are two categories under the GTS.

Category A: High-growth companies with a demonstrated need for the in-demand talent of foreign nationals in order to generate growth; and,

Category B: Companies requiring high-skilled foreign nationals for occupations on the Skills Shortage List.

It is acknowledged that companies in both of these categories will generate job growth among Canadian workers, in addition to growth in the national economy, as a result of the efforts of foreign nationals. Moreover, the specialized knowledge of these foreign workers will result in greater skills and training of Canadian workers.

Companies in any sector may be eligible for Category A, but must first be recommended to the GTS by a designated partner, and need to be identified as high-growth. The following organizations have been designated as GTS referral partners, as of June 12:

Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency

BC Tech Association

Business Development Bank of Canada

Communitech Corporation

Council of Canadian Innovators

Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario

Global Affairs Canadas Trade Commissioner Service

ICT Manitoba (ICTAM)

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada  Accelerated Growth Service

MaRS Discovery District

National Research Council  Industrial Research Assistance Program

Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration

Ontario Ministry of Economic Growth and Development

VENN Innovation

Further requirements for Category A are in place, including the need to prove that the company is hiring unique and specialized talent. Future employees with advanced knowledge of the industry, advanced relevant qualifications, and/or a minimum of five years specialized experience may be eligible. In addition, the position must be highly paid, usually at $80,000 CAD per year or higher.

Occupations List

Companies who can demonstrate a need for global talent to fill high-skilled occupations on the Global Talent occupations list, and are willing to pay the employee the prevailing wage or higher, fall into Category B.

The following high-demand occupations have been identified as areas in which there is a skills shortage in Canada. This list was developed in consultation with labour market experts and key stakeholders, and ESDC states that it may be updated periodically.

National Occupations Classification (NOC) code Occupation 0213 Computer and information systems managers 2147 Computer engineers (except software engineers and designers) 2171 Information systems analysts and consultants 2172 Database analysts and data administrators 2173 Software engineers and designers 2174 Computer programmers and interactive media developers 2175 Web designers and developers 2241 Electrical and electronics engineering technologists and technicians 2283 Information systems testing technicians 5241 (subset) Digital Media and Design (positions requiring a minimum of five years industry experience only, specific skills requirements apply)

Positions in occupations 2241, 2283, and 5241 carry minimum wage requirements.

Work permit exemptions

Two new work permit exemptions are also in effect as of June 12. Workers in occupations classified as skill type 0 or skill level A in the NOC may enter Canada for one 15-day stay in a six-month period, or one 30-day stay in a 12-month period, and may work without a work permit. Researchers undertaking projects in Canada may stay for 120 days in a 12-month period, without requiring a work permit, as long as they are working on a research project at a publicly-funded degree-granting institution or affiliated research institution.

Canadian employers: To learn more about your options for hiring foreign workers, please contact wp@canadavisa.com. A legal expert will provide a free consultation.

Employers may also use the CanadaVisa Work Permit Wizard, designed to help Canadian employers navigate the complex process of hiring foreign workers.

Foreign workers : If you have received a job offer from a Canadian employer and wish to submit an inquiry about getting a work permit and working legally in Canada, please complete the form on this page.

 2017 CICNews All Rights Reserved
A 90-year-old man foiled a robbery bid and also saved the life of his wife after two burglars, including the couple's grandson, entered their Delhi home.

By Ajay Kumar: A courageous effort of a 90-year-old man living in Rohini did not only foil a robbery bid in his house but also saved the life of his wife on Saturday.

The incident took place on Saturday afternoon around 1pm, when two robbers including the old couple's grandson, having posed as LPG technicians, entered into their house in H-block of sector 7.

advertisement

One of the accused, Rajat is grandson of the elderly victim named Ram Lal Miglani. Rajat had hatched the conspiracy to rob his grandfather's house, with the help of his friend Rishabh.

"The accused very well knew that Miglani had lately sold a property in the same locality and that the money that they earned was in the house. They purchased a toy gun and a hammer to execute the crime. They were recovered from their possession," said a senior police official of Rohini district.

As per their plan, Rajat entered into the house wearing a helmet and tried to drive his grandmother Sakuntala Devi, 84, into the bedroom.

Following this, Rishabh went into the kitchen and switched on the nob of the gas cylinder to set the flat on fire - in order to create a scene of accident and simultaneously destroy evidences.

"Miglani showed courage and pushed Rishabh on to floor to the latter's surprise. He then rushed into the bedroom to rescue his wife," the official also said.

According to police, Shakuntala Devi by then managed to push Rajat aside and came out of the flat to raise an alarm and shout for help.

"Hearing their cries and noises, neighbours rushed to their help. In no time a lot of them gathered at the place and they caught hold of both of the robbers," the official added.

Shakuntala had received injuries on her face and teeth. Neighbours have admitted her to the Ambedkar Hospital and she is reportedly out of danger now.

"We have arrested both the accused under relevant IPC sections of robbery and attempt to murder in Rohini north police station," the officer added.

ALSO READ | Mumbai: ATM technicians caught for robbing Rs 28 lakh from machine

--- ENDS ---
Anne Marie Owens couldnt believe her luck when she landed a job as a general assignment reporter at the soon-to-open National Post in Toronto in 1998. Then a columnist at the St. Catharines Standard, a small southern Ontario newspaper, she had heard the media baron Conrad Black was starting a national broadsheet, and she wanted in. There was this buzz about a paper that had no name that was about to be launched, she says. It was all anyone was talking about.

Working at the paper was exhilarating, she says. Its mandate then was, essentially, to be different. Black and Ken Whyte, the papers upstart editor in chief, lamented Canadas dull and predictable news landscape, then dominated by the Globe and Mail and Toronto Star. News shouldnt be such a slog to read, they figured. They wanted their paper to be provocative, insightful, and interesting.

For the most part, they delivered. The National Posts right-leaning editorial pages were certainly provocative, and the boundless energy of its young reporters helped give the Globe and Mail, Canadas newspaper of record, a run. However, there was one overarching worry for staff: It always felt like the Post was about to fold. Blacks pockets were only so deep, while many didnt think Canada had room for two national papers. Everyone at the outset said we wouldnt last, says Owens, now the papers editor in chief.

Much has changed over the years, both at the Post and in the newspaper business, but at least one thing has remained the same: Many people think the papers days are numbered. This time, their fears have more merit. Amid a difficult climate for newspapers, the Post is facing a mountain of debt and has resorted to frequent layoffs and buyouts.

Even more concerning than the National Post folding is that its owner, Postmedia, could go under. Its the largest newspaper chain in the country, with more than 200 brands under its umbrella, including numerous community and local papers. Outside of Toronto, Winnipeg is the only one of Canadas 10 largest cities where you can get a non-Postmedia, English language daily delivered to your home. In some big cities, like Vancouver, the company controls more than one major paper. For comparison, in the US market, a Postmedia failure would be as if Gannett, Tronc, and McClatchy all simultaneously went bust.

Like a lot of media companies in Canada and the US, Postmedias financial picture is bleak. Its revenues have been steadily declining for years, most recently falling by 13.5 percent year-over-year in the second quarter. Deep job cuts and controversial management movesit dramatically slashed benefits for its non-unionized employees in Marchhave more people than ever asking where things go from here.

Sign up for CJR 's daily email

ICYMI: Headlines editors probably wish they could take back

While many of its woes have to do with declining advertising revenues (Postmedias print ad revenue fell by 22 percent in the second quarter), it also owes millions in debt payments to its owners, several US-based hedge funds, some of which helped CEO Paul Godfrey finance the chains purchase in 2010. It owes about $343 million and pays as much as 10.25 percent interest on that debt.

Unfortunately, hedge funds tend not to prioritize journalismthey just want to get paid, says Stephen Kimber, a journalism professor at Halifax, Nova Scotias University of Kings College. They have, for the most part, no interest in the journalism thats produced.

****

Morale at Postmedia has suffered as revenues have fallen. Last October, the company announced plans to slash 20 percent of its staff, and in November, it paid out $2.3 million in retention bonuses to senior executives, only to have three of the five recipients leave the company soon after.

While the payments were tied to a restructuring plan that wiped out $268 million in debt, many staffers saw them as a slap in the face, considering the company had announced layoffs just few weeks earlier. Everyone who worked there was embarrassed and angry that day, Sean Craig, the papers former media reporter, who took a job at national television network Global News in May, tells CJR. The optics were insulting.

Godfrey, a former Canadian politician and onetime president and CEO of Sun Media Corporation, a national chain of papers that Postmedia purchased in 2015 for $316 million, hasnt been the most inspiring leader, either. In February, he gave a curt interview to Toronto Life about the chains troubles. When asked about the bonuses, one of which he received, he admitted they didnt look good, and that people likely walk by his office now saying, Theres that evil guy. Asked if he would have quit if not for the bonus, he responded, Not necessarily. I dont know.

Gerry Nott, Postmedias senior vice president of content, says layoffs are a result of the company trying to rebalance costs against declining revenue, and while digital ad revenues climbed 18 percent in the second quarter, they arent rising fast enough to make up for lost print revenue. If you talk to any news executive in this country and they tell you there will be no more layoffs, then they wouldnt be telling you the truth, he says. But we still need to produce content that resonates.

****



Fears of layoffs and low morale are familiar to most working journalists today, though Canadian media has been hit particularly hard over the last couple of years. According to News Media Canada, a newspaper industry association, total daily newspaper revenue fell by 12.6 percent in 2015.

At the end of 2016, Rogers Media, which is owned by Rogers Communications, the countrys largest telecom, stopped printing Canadian Business and MoneySense magazines. It also turned Macleans, its newsweekly, into a monthly, sold off its financial trade division, and cut the publishing frequency of other popular magazines.

Torstar, the company that owns the Toronto Star, is also in dire financial shape. It reported a $24.4 million net loss during the first quarter, and a revenue decline of 10 percent. It has also gutted its staff, and its stock has dropped by 82 percent in five years.

Its harder to find out how the Globe and Mail is faring financially, as its privately owned by the Thomson family, the wealthiest in the country. However, last September its publisher offered buyout packages to 40 employees and launched a three-year plan to save $25 million through various cost-cutting measures.

ICYMI: The New York Times reporter who tweets like its going out of style

The National Post itself has gone through tough times before. In 2000, Canwest Global Communications purchased Blacks Southam Newspapers, which owned the Post and some of the other local papers that Postmedia runs now, for $3 billion, a deal it financed mostly through debt. In 2010, the company went into bankruptcy protection and was eventually purchased by the hedge fund-backed group for $1.1 billion.

What makes Postmedia different from its peers is its size; the company employs about 4,200 people across the country. But even if there were no debt payments, CEO bonuses, or head-scratching investments, Postmedia would still be in trouble. Its worse when youre spending money servicing debt, but the decline is due more to the collapse of the conventional newspaper industry, says Kimber.

****

While company turmoil may be impacting morale, the chains journalists havent been deterred from practicing their craft.

Bethany Lindsay, a former Vancouver Sun journalist who took a voluntary layoff in April, was frustrated with staff reductions, constant uncertainty, and word-count cuts2,000-word features were now being run at 800 words to save space, she saysbut she says she produced some of her best work in the last few months she was there.

One of her favorites was about life as an LGBTQ youth at Trinity Western University, a Christian school that has a community covenant agreement banning sex outside of a heterosexual marriage. I was really proud of that one, she says.

Even with a dwindling staff and smaller papers, people kept plugging away. We still managed to pull off great papers, Lindsay says. You learn to be tough, and you learn to deal with it. That doesnt mean it was easy.

Its a similar feeling at the National Post, which in many ways has had to go back to being different. Over the last six months, the paper has broken down even more barriers between print and digital. After the last round of buyouts, Editor in Chief Owens created a print hub thats essentially a group of curators who decide what articles should go into its print editions. Journalists and editors no longer have to think about what might appear on page 1, she says. We had to liberate ourselves from being bound up in print conversations. We still have to straddle both worlds, but these changes have allowed us to operate more efficiently.

Reporters and editors also have access to more analytical tools, such as social metrics and traffic-measuring data dashboards, which allow staff to better understand what readers want. They can then produce stories that resonate with that audience, adds Nott. Vancouvers newsroom has a live desk that starts at 6 am, and it drives the news agenda, he says. Print becomes the outcome of the digital day.

For Owens, improving morale means making sure staff is constantly challenged and engaged. We want to make sure this is a place where you can do interesting work in an environment thats creatively challenging, says Owens. If you come into the newsroom, youll see its not a grim group.

****

So, what does the future hold? Will National Post really fold this time? Will communities have to go without daily papers? Nott says Canadas cities will continue getting Postmedia-produced news. We will absolutely have local news, he says.

If Postmedia does go bankrupt, it should continue putting out papers. The Post kept printing and paying its writers during Canwests bankruptcy. The death of Postmedia doesnt mean the death of the Post or the Ottawa Citizen, says Craig. The ultimate hope is that papers will fall into the hands of a more solvent and more friendly local owners.

The National Post likely wont die off, either, though it could morph into something else, says Laurence Booth, a professor of finance at Torontos Rotman School of Management. What it might look like is anyones guess, but a lot has to happen before the Post brand is killed off. Someone will own it, he says. Someone will say theres value in the brand name and the readership. They just have to figure out how to capitalize.

Owens knows that enormous challenges lie ahead, but the spirit and attitude of those early days still exists, she says. Its just a matter of guiding the paper through uncertainty. Its such a great opportunity to have a say in how we try and navigate this huge industry change, she says. I dont know how long this will go on for, or where it will go, but I wanted to help it through the challenging years ahead.

Correction: An early version of this story misspelled the name of Editor Ken Whyte.

ICYMI: The hidden message in memo justifying Comeys firing

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Bryan Borzykowski is a Toronto-based journalist. His work has appeared in The New York Times, CNBC, BBC Capital, and the Globe and Mail. Follow him on Twitter: @bborzyko.
Last month, I gave my Intro to Journalism class a lecture on free speech. We talked about our rights, power, and responsibilities as members of a free and independent press. The lecture ended with a lively discussion, but the part that sparked the most engagement involved the term political correctness.

The class came to define it as engaging in discourse in a way to minimize pushback or controversy. It was the best way of fitting in with certain politics. When I asked what type of politics a politically correct person usually has, the class pretty much unanimously answered liberal. But my follow-up question threw a wrench in their assumptions.

What is something conservatives are politically correct about?

Crickets.

After moments of silence, one student answered that maybe a PC thing on the right would be on the topic of abortion. He mentioned conservative media darling Tomi Lahren getting suspended from The Blaze for her pro-choice comments. I asked the other students whether they considered that an example of political correctness on the right, but their replies were generally more in the realm of umI guess. I could see some were having light-bulb moments, but other students were still struggling to reconcile an idea they found logical yet did not feel to be true.

Why do we act as if President Trumps accusations of fake news arent just PC ways of attacking news outlet that give him any modicum of negative press?

If my students (most of whom are generally progressive) understand that people can have diverse politics, why was it difficult for them to conceive that non-liberals can be PC as well?

Sign up for CJR 's daily email

ICYMI: Headlines editors probably wish they could take back

The blame could be placed in large part on conservative media for using the term as a go-to attack on the left. But looking deeper, the mainstream news media as a whole bears some responsibility, mainly as more left-leaning publications took on a greater burden of balance than their right-leaning counterparts. For example, as reporters and commentators debate whether avoiding the terms radical Islamic terrorism or illegal immigrants is politically correct, many within the mainstream media have tacitly accepted the rebranding of white supremacists and white nationalists as alt-right.

But who is acting out of political correctness is this case? The left out of a fear of alienating certain audiences by calling out racism, or the right and its instinct to deflect any accusation that the bigotry on its fringes is moving toward the center? The prevailing idea is that political correctness comes from the left, but it can come from the right as well.

Why was there bipartisan condemnation of comedian Kathy Griffins picture with a bloody Trump head, but no such furor when folks lynched and burned effigies of President Obama?

Upon Trumps election, why did pundits ruminate over the lefts identity politics, as if being white or working class is not an identity? Why is there a continued debate over the use of the phrase radical Islamic terrorism while white male extremism is seldom used? Why was it okay to debate whether former president Barack Obama was a secret Muslim but not whether our current president, who mispronounces books in the Bible and appears to not know that Protestants are Christians, is truly a man of faith?

Why are generally liberal, centrist, or apolitical news outlets scrambling to hire the Megyn Kellys of the news world, though Fox News isnt exactly shopping for a Joy Ann Reid? Why was there bipartisan condemnation of comedian Kathy Griffins picture with a bloody Trump head, but no such furor when folks lynched and burned effigies of President Obama? Shouldnt the same people defending Bill Mahers racist joke defend Stephen Colberts homophobic satire of President Trump? Why do free speech absolutists scurry out of the woodwork to defend Milo Yiannopoulos, Richard Spencer, and Ann Coulter, but not Linda Sarsour, George Ciccariello-Maher, or Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor? Have we made up our mind on whose opposing views are okay for college students to hear?

ICYMI: The New York Times reporter who tweets like its going out of style

Why do we act as if President Trumps accusations of fake news arent just PC ways of attacking news outlets that give him any modicum of negative press? And when the media do call out his dishonesty, why dont they get a pat on the back for telling it like it is? Why didnt conservative media call out the presidents political correctness when he didnt say radical Islamic terrorism during his summit address to the Arab and Muslim world? If a free and independent press is paramount within our democratic society, why isnt all media up in arms about the GOPs anti-media strategy for 2018?

You will get different answers to these questions from different people, but that is precisely the point. Each persons answers are informed by their own ideas, experiences, and viewpoints. Their answers will either be PC or telling it like it is, depending on the politics the speaker subscribes to.

The problem with the discussion on political correctness is that it accuses liberals and progressives of doing something that people of all political leanings do. Groups tend to mediate which politics are acceptable within the group, so if liberals can have political correctness, conservatives can as well. If its the issue many assert it is, then it cant exist in isolation. So who decides that one view is PC and another is forthright?

Ironic that the phrase "we are too politically correct" is a form of political correctness, masking it's true meaning.  Blake Hounshell (@blakehounshell) June 4, 2017



As long as the mainstream media surrenders the right to define and frame specific issues and not others, it enables the weaponization of language, and allows right-wing politics to directly and indirectly set the terms for what discourse is legitimate. And it makes journalists complicit in promoting a glaring double standard when it comes to issues of free speech.

The PC-charge does seems to be losing at least some of its potency. Many news outlets have been more open about calling things as they see them, such as President Trumps lies, or his supporters willingness to defend virtually anything he does. But the lure of wanting to appeal to the anti-PC crowd persists. As more liberal journalists fight against the idea of liberalism as feelings over facts, a whole news industry on the right fueled grievances, fears, attacks, and false equivalencies. Its also why outlets like MSNBC can have scholars and activists on to explain why black-on-black crime is a racist term, and also get political commentary from former reporters of Breitbart, a site with tags dedicated to black crime and black-on-black violence. If this is the type of balance news outlets need to have, then the burden should be equally distributed, not just for the liberal media.

Shouldnt the same people defending Bill Mahers racist joke defend Stephen Colberts homophobic satire of President Trump?

There are few things more political than language, so a critical-thinking press should not allow itself to be exploited in political arguments. Journalists have too often allowed the accusation of political correctness to skew the way they think about and cover topics. If the press is going to engage in this type of discourse, it either needs to be critical of both sides along the political spectrum for being PC, or it needs to eliminate the term from its lexicon.

ICYMI: The hidden message in memo justifying Comeys firing

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Joshua Adams is a writer, journalist, and adjunct instructor at DePaul University. He holds a B.A. in African American Studies from the University of Virginia and a Journalism M.A. from the University of Southern California.
If you have some money to invest and are looking for a professional firm to help you manage it, you probably want someone who can help your money grow but doesnt charge you a lot.

Charles Schwab runs a commercial that discusses its charges. As a banner unfurls on a building, two brokers for an unnamed firm comment on how low Schwabs fees are.

Thats three times less than Fidelity, one says. And four times less than Vanguard, the other says.

Math doesnt work that way. English, however, is another matter.

ICYMI: Headlines editors probably wish they could take back

First, the math. If you charge a 9 percent fee, and your rival charges 3 percent, you charge three times what your rival does. Take 3, and add 3 to it twice more, and you get 9.

Sign up for CJR 's daily email

As long as the numbers are going up, the math works.

But when you go down, you run into problems, mathematically speaking. If you charge 9 percent, your rival cannot charge three times less than you do. As The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage says, A quantity can decrease only one time [by its own quantity] before disappearing, and then there is nothing left to decrease further. Take 9, and subtract 9 twice more, and youre in negative territory.

When youre dealing with money, you can go below zero, of course, but thats not what the commercial intends: It is (apparently) saying that Schwab charges one-third of what Fidelity does, or one quarter of what Vanguard does. Otherwise, Schwab is paying its clients to manage the money, and thats not a good business model.

We wrote a few years ago that some people believe that three times more than means the original quantity multiplied by the more than quantity, plus the original quantity. In that interpretation, three times more than your 3 percent fee is 12 percent: three times your fee (9 percent) plus the original 3 percent. To avoid that confusion, saying you charge three times as much as appeases the mathematical geniuses in your audience.

Most of your readers, though, probably dont fall into that category. As Merriam-Websters Dictionary of English Usage says, It is, in fact, possible to misunderstand times more in this way, but it takes a good deal of effort.

Bryan A. Garner takes a harder line in Garners Modern English Usage, putting times more than in the entry on illogic.

But he comes down even stronger on times less than. In an illogic entry full of pique, he writes that if something is two times cheaper, it implies that the store will pay you the full price of Brand Y if you will take Brand X home with you. That mangles the meaning of cost, and it surely isnt what the writer means.

ICYMI: In defense of The Skimm

Garner uses logic to explain the unacceptability of an illogical phrase in an illogical language. As the Merriam-Webster usage dictionary says, mathematics and language are two different things: attempting to apply mathematical logic to the study and understanding of language is, in fact, illogical (and usually unproductive into the bargain).

Trying to use mathematical logic may therefore seem intimidatingly persuasive to the nonmathematical (among whose ranks we may safely expect to find most usage commentators). We include ourselves and our previous posting in that category, but weve come around.

The phrase times less falls into the category of idiom, and idiom is not always logical. Even among the mathematically inclined, Jonathan Swifts 1711 resolution to drink 10 times less than before has not been misunderstood. While that may be among the earliest recorded usages of times less, it is not the only one. And even scientists, engineers, and mathematicians who we expect to know better use it frequently.

Whether you use times less comes down to the situation. If youre dealing with whole numbers that convert easily to recognizable fractions, you can say either that Schwab charges three times less than Fidelity does, or, if you must, that it charges one third of what Fidelity does. But what happens when you have an article like this one, which says that someone who uses marijuana by age 15 is 3.6 times less likely to graduate from high school, 2.3 times less likely to enroll in college and 3.7 times less likely to get a college degree? How do you convert that to a fraction or say it another way?

If youre not a mathematical genius, times up.

ICYMI: The New York Times reporter who tweets like its going out of style

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Merrill Perlman managed copy desks across the newsroom at the New York Times, where she worked for twenty-five years. Follow her on Twitter at @meperl.
Viking Ocean Cruises kicked off the cruise ship season in St. Petersburg with a call by the Viking Sky on May 2, the maiden call for the recently-built ship.

However, it was just the beginning for the Russian port, which expects 243 ship calls and more than 540,000 passengers this year  which is a record and an increase of 19 percent over 2016.

It will continue increasing in 2018, according to Valeria Gubanova, a spokesperson for the port.

The port authority has over 20 long-term contracts with cruise and ferry companies, according to Gubanova. Ships venturing to the Baltic prior to April 30 and after October 25 can take advantage of lower port fees.

The majority of calls into St. Petersburg are overnight to help drive shore excursion programming.

The port is hoping to build up winter business with attractions including the Festival of Light and the Festival of Ice Breakers.

One item missing from the monster cruise port is a turnaround business, and port officials are keen on breaking into the homeport market. That, however, will need to begin with the government removing existing barriers to entry by foreign citizens.

A framework has already been put into place between the port and airport with the aim to introduce electric visas and a 72-hour visa-free arrival program.

Infrastructure wise, new mooring dolphins are going in at the No. 7 berth which will increase the length of ships it can handle and also provide an additional ship parking space if needed. Construction will start in October and be finished by May of 2018.
The Executive Committee of the Cruise Canada New England Alliance (CCNE) will release its 2017-2026 strategic plan at its annual gathering in Montreal this week, which brings together ports in the region along with cruise line decision makers and other key stakeholders.

The plan follows on an event held in New York in June of 2016, where 150 region players came together to outline the potential of the region and underscore a future strategy.

Among the key takeaways was the concept of making region a true summer destination for cruise ships, and to build a full season of stable traffic from April through October.

Currently, most ports see a surge of traffic in Canada/New England paired with fall foliage sailings, while a handful of cruise ships visit the area in the summer. This means tourism infrastructure must be ready to go for double and triple-ship days come September and October, but also may be sitting under-utilized the rest of the year.





The Montreal Cruise Committee along with Cruise the Saint Lawrence have spearheaded this year's event, which coincides with the 375th anniversary of the founding of Montreal and the 150th anniversary of Canada. Later this year, the city will officially open its new state-of-the-art cruise terminal.

The event runs from June 13 to June 15, with June 13 seeing a cocktail hour and dinner, followed by a number of key panel discussions on the next day, opening with the CCNE 2026 discussion. There is also a port infrastructure discussion and a marketplace, allowing cruise lines and ports to meet with one another.

The next day, June 15, participants can look forward to CLIA's advanced itinerary planning workshop.

Across the region the trend is an increase of cruise traffic, but that increase is still growing slower than the overall cruise industry, according to market data available in the 2017-2018 Cruise Industry News Annual Report.

Among recent region news, the New York City Economic Development Corporation is moving its two terminals under one operating entity, which will lead to massive infrastructure investments in Manhattan and Brooklyn, the latter of which recently turned on its shore power system.

Further north, Boston has a solid cruise season underway and recently renamed its cruise terminal.

Disney Cruise Line will make its first ever visit to Quebec City in 2018, joining Windstar, which also recently announced its first-ever Canada/New England season, taking place in fall 2018.

A recent cruise booking trends report issued by J.P. Morgan noted Canada/New England pricing declines for Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line sailings, while most other key markets showed modest ticket price increases.

All that and much more will be on tap and heavily discussed in Montreal this week.
When a credit union needs to step outside the boundaries of its historically rooted name to reach new markets where it is not known, how can it still maintain its brand personality, history and sense of local community?

For Northwest Floridas oldest credit union, Pen Air Federal Credit Union, founded in 1936, this was the struggle they faced in 2014. Despite a 2011 rebranding and new corporate identity (with a four jet logo), the $1.2 billion financial institution was losing members and loan growth was stagnant. But the biggest challenge of all was overcoming the confusing community perceptions of who or what Pen Air was all about.

Stu Ramsey, Pen Air Federal Credit Union CEO, said, Pen Air was financially successful when I got here and was known in the community, but we werent very consistent in our brand, or what our volunteerism looked like. When I talked to sta about who we were, Id get 350 di erent answers. There was no clear message for who we were, or where we were going. And when the people in your communities arent even aware they can join your credit union, youve got a problem.

Pam Hatt, Pen Air Federal Credit Union Director of Marketing, said I talked with Stu about recent ideas I had learned of doing a complete organization-wide transformational rebrand. When we looked at our advertising and messaging, we realized there was no personality and no true identity. We were trying to be all things to all people.
NAFCU this week is celebrating its 50th anniversary with credit unions during its Annual Conference and Solutions Expo in Honolulu. The association will also be monitoring hearings reviewing lawsuit abuse related to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and patents, and a mark-up of flood insurance legislation.

NAFCUs Annual Conference kicks off on Tuesday and runs through Friday. For live updates on the conference, follow NAFCU Today and Twitter with #NAFCUAnnual.

The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice on Tuesday will review lawsuit abuse in connection with the TCPA. NAFCU has repeatedly shared with Congress and the Federal Communications Commission how the interpretation of the TCPA makes it more difficult for credit unions to contact members about potentially fraudulent activity, identity theft and data breaches.

Also on Tuesday, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet will examine a recent Supreme Court decision that now limits patent holders ability to concentrate their infringement lawsuits in plaintiff-friendly jurisdictions. NAFCU said this decision is a win for credit unions because it will now be harder for patent trolls to come after them with frivolous claims.
Baxter International Inc., through its subsidiaries, develops and provides a portfolio of healthcare products worldwide. The company offers peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis, and additional dialysis therapies and services; intravenous therapies, infusion pumps, administration sets, and drug reconstitution devices; remixed and oncology drug platforms, inhaled anesthesia and critical care products and pharmacy compounding services; parenteral nutrition therapies and related products; biological products and medical devices used in surgical procedures for hemostasis, tissue sealing and adhesion prevention; and continuous renal replacement therapies and other organ support therapies focused in the intensive care unit. It also provides connected care solutions, including devices, software, communications, and integration technologies; integrated patient monitoring and diagnostic technologies to help diagnose, treat, and manage a various illness and diseases, including respiratory therapy, cardiology, vision screening, and physical assessment; surgical video technologies, tables, lights, pendants, precision positioning devices and other accessories. In addition, the company offers contracted services to various pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies. Its products are used in hospitals, kidney dialysis centers, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, doctors' offices, and patients at home under physician supervision. The company sells its products through direct sales force, as well as through independent distributors, drug wholesalers, and specialty pharmacy or other alternate site providers in approximately 100 countries. It has an agreement with Celerity Pharmaceutical, LLC to develop acute care generic injectable premix and oncolytic molecules. Baxter International Inc. was incorporated in 1931 and is headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois.
Brookfield Asset Management is an alternative asset manager and REIT/Real Estate Investment Manager firm focuses on real estate, renewable power, infrastructure and venture capital and private equity assets. It manages a range of public and private investment products and services for institutional and retail clients. It typically makes investments in sizeable, premier assets across geographies and asset classes. It invests both its own capital as well as capital from other investors. Within private equity and venture capital, it focuses on acquisition, early ventures, control buyouts and financially distressed, buyouts and corporate carve-outs, recapitalizations, convertible, senior and mezzanine financings, operational and capital structure restructuring, strategic re-direction, turnaround, and under-performing midmarket companies. It invests in both public debt and equity markets. It invests in private equity sectors with focus on Business Services include infrastructure, healthcare, road fuel distribution and marketing, construction and real estate; Industrials include manufacturers of automotive batteries, graphite electrodes, returnable plastic packaging, and sanitation management and development; and Residential/ infrastructure services. It targets companies which likely possess underlying real assets, primarily in sectors such as industrial products, building materials, metals, mining, homebuilding, oil and gas, paper and packaging, manufacturing and forest product sectors. It invests globally with focus on North America including Brazil, the United States, Canada; Europe; and Australia; and Asia-Pacific. The firm considers equity investments in the range of $2 million to $500 million. It has a four-year investment period and a 10-year term with two one-year extensions. The firm prefers to take minority stake and majority stake. Brookfield Asset Management Inc. was founded in 1997 and based in Toronto, Canada with additional offices across Northern America; South America; Europe; Middle East and Asia.
By Press Trust of India: By Fakir Hassen

Johannesburg, Jun 12 (PTI) An exhibition comprising historic photographs and artefacts from the life of Thambi Naidoo, one of the most trusted lieutenants of Mahatma Gandhi during his stay in South Africa has been opened at the iconic Apartheid Museum here.

The Naidoo-Pillay exhibition at the museum was put together after two years of research by historians from the University of the Witwatersrand History project.

advertisement

The museum comprises of historic photographs, video recordings, documentsand artefacts from the five descendants of Naidoo who had emigrated from Mauritius at the age of 14 in 1889.

Naidoo, who worked alongside Gandhi in fighting oppression through Satyagraha movement in South Africa, became a chief mobiliser of especially the Tamil community where he hailed from.

After being shipped off from India as slaves to the fertiliser fields of the British colony of Mauritius, Govindasamy Krishnasamy Naidoo ? affectionately known as Thambi ? and his family boarded a passenger boat to South Africa in the 1870s.

Naidoos wife, Parenithama Pillay, would also join the fight for freedom, organising a 300-strong march of Indian women, most of whom were ordinary homemakers, to resist the unjust laws being put in place against Indian South Africans.

From among his nine children, Thambi sent four sons with Gandhi when the latter returned to India in 1914, insisting that they be trained at an ashram in India to devote their lives for the good of people.

Naransamy (Roy), Pakirisamy (Pakiri), Barasarthi and Balakrishnan, were referred to by Gandhi as "my four pearls."

After Pakiris death at the ashram in Ahmedabad, Barasathi and Balkrishnan returned to South Africa, whileRoy stayed on to study under the poet and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore at Santiniketan before returning home in 1928 to dedicate his life to the liberation struggle.

He was elected deputy president of the Transvaal Indian Congress and campaigned for vote for Indians, the repeal of segregationist laws such as the Ghetto Act and the Pegging Act, and non-racial alliances.

Roy and Amas five children, Shanthie, Indres, Murthie, Ramnie and Prema, all joined the liberation movement, suffering persecution, detention, solitary confinement and torture.

All but the late Indres were present at the launch of the exhibition, which was attended by scores of veterans of the freedom struggle.

The family also befriended African National Congress leaders such as Nelson Mandela, with many political meetings taking place around the kitchen table of their home in downtown Johannesburg.

advertisement

One of the posters in the exhibition quotes Mandela recalling a meal he once had there.

"Ama, wearing that free and easy smile of hers, presented us with a meal of crab and rice. It was my first time to see these creatures cooked and merely the sight of them made me feel sick... I tried to be as graceful as was possible... Thereafter I became much attached to the Naidoos and enjoyed crabs very much," Mandela had said.

The exhibition will tour the country after ending a two- month run at the Apartheid museum. PTI FHKJ AKJ KJ

--- ENDS ---
Ram Sakal Yadav, the father of 25-year-old Sudesh Kumar who has been held captive by his employer in Sharjah, is still waiting for help from the External Affairs Ministry to secure his son's release.

By Mail Today Bureau: The family of Sudesh Kumar, a 25-year-old youth who has been held captive in Sharjah by his employer, is still lingering for help from Foreign minister Sushma Swaraj.

Troubles for his father Ram Sakal Yadav have doubled after news about Sudesh being help captive was published in Mail Today.

"I received a call from the manager of the firm (Kaale) where my son has been working since the last 4 years. He told me to deposit Rs 1.5 lakh in an account for the safe release of my son. He also threatened me not to highlight the matter in the media. Bahut paperbaazi kar rahe ho. Kuch bhi kar lo, mera kuch nahi bigad sakte ho. (You have sought enough help from the media. Do whatever you want. You can't do anything to me) he told me", said Yadav.

advertisement

NO CONTACT SINCE THREE MONTHS

It is to be mentioned that Sudesh went to Sharjah about four years ago and for the past three months has been out of contact.

"We lost all contact with him three months ago. During the last (time) we heard from him, he spoke in a heavy voice and then someone snatched his phone", Ram Yadav recalls.

Yadav, a petty daily wager of Bishnupur village in the rural outskirts of Deoria, recalls how he took a hefty loan and spent his last penny to send Sudesh to Sharjah.

"We got him married about four-and-a-half years ago, but soon after marriage, he started dreaming of going to Sharjah. After six months, we somehow managed to send him. He got employed as a labourer there", Yadav said.

"He used to talk to us regularly before. About three months ago he told us that his employer had confiscated his passport and had not been paying him since (the last) few months", Yadav added.

Yadav had also written to the DM of Deoria and the Foreign minister for help.

"If she could successfully bring back Uzma then she can definitely bring back my son. It is our humble request to the minister to help us", Yadav appealed.

ALSO READ | Uzma Ahmed's return gives hope to UP man whose son is missing in Sharjah

ALSO READ | Delhi High Court seeks information on Indian who went missing in Malaysia

ALSO WATCH | Indian national Uzma, who was forced to marry Pakistani man at gun point, returns home

--- ENDS ---
By India Today Web Desk: Blessed with an abundance of natural resources, Taiwan clearly knows how to optimise to draw tourists to its destination.

To get a proof of it, all you need to do is to visit the beautiful three-km-long golden beach between Yanilao and Fulong in Taiwan. Once you step on that extensive stretch of sand, you will only have to look around to be enamoured of the sheer artistic brilliance that adorns the place.

advertisement

Here's the chance to take your childhood memories of building sand castles a little further. For, the Fulong Sand Sculpting Art Festival will take you on a sand-built wonderland, full of marvellous art pieces made of sand.

Recognised as the best area for making sand sculptures in Taiwan by World Sand Sculpting Association, Fulong beach has been the house of some of the masterpieces made of sand, for the last 10 years. This year, the festival started on May 6, to celebrate its 10th anniversary, under the theme 'Celebrating the 10th Anniversary : A Castle of Golden Sands in Fulong'. Around 22 sculptors from all over world have come together to showcase more than 80 sand sculptures on the beach.

Also Read:Have you already added this underwater museum to your bucket-list?

Art knows no boundaries and this fact is well corroborated by the variety of sculptures displayed at the festival. The sculptures have their own regional motif, while merging with those of others, thus bringing diverse socio-cultural aspirations together. While there are sculptures of various superheroes from your Marvel comics, there are others that will transport you to the land of fairies and devils. There is also a huge sand sculpture of Mahatma Gandhi, to honour his valour and struggle.

The festival will continue till July 9. And you only have to visit in person to appreciate the craft.

--- ENDS ---
A cute pup, who the authorities thought would grow up to become a proud member of the Queensland Dog Squad, flunked but got promoted as the Vice-Regal Dog and is employed at the official residence of the Queensland governor.

By India Today Web Desk: Most dogs are synonymous to cuteness. If there are exceptions, it could be those dogs employed with the police. They're disciplined, sharp, ferocious and everything but cute.

Now, say hello to Gavel, a dog that hoped to join the Queensland Police, but couldn't. The first image of Gavel was shared on July 28, 2016. The image was captioned, "Some rather cool shades for a dog with a bright future," and a hashtag said police recruit dog.

First photo of Gavel shared on Instagram. Photo courtesy: Instagramqldgovernor

advertisement

Gavel is so nice to people that he is now famous as the pup that flunked out of the police dog academy.

Gavel the pup arrived at the official residence of the Queensland governor last year and he was just six weeks old then. Since then, he has been a constant on the official Instagram page of the Queensland governor.

The governor wanted Gavel to become a member of the Queensland Police Squad, but the little fellow was not up for it.

Over time, the Queensland Police discovered that Gavel, a German shepherd, liked meeting strangers, and thought he "did not display the necessary aptitude for a life on the front line," said the BBC report.

On learning Gavel's soft side and that he has failed to get into the squad, the governor decided to give him another job this February. Gavel's new position was announced on the governor's Instagram.

Gavel, the Vice-Regal Dog. Photo courtesy: Instagramqldgovernor

BBC quoted the office of Governor Paul de Jersey as saying, "He [Gavel] has outgrown four ceremonial coats, undergone a career change (his official title is now Gavel Vice-Regal Dog, and brought untold joy to the lives of the governor, Mrs de Jersey, Government House staff, and the thousands of Queenslanders who have since visited the estate."

Gavel poses with Queensland Governor and his wife. Photo courtesy: Instagramqldgovernor

Gavel's job now is to welcome guests and tour groups to the Queensland Government House.

Gavel giving a tough pose. Photo courtesy: Instagramqldgovernor

"We hope Gavel's with us for a long, long time into the future," Governor de Jersey told 7 News Brisbane, said the BBC report.

Here's another photo of Gavel checking out a media report and wondering he's been labelled the "doggie dropout".

Gavel indulging in some narcisissm. Photo courtesy: Instagramqldgovernor

Also on FYI:

After an intense battle, dog sacrifices life to save Kerala family from cobra

Canine or Einstein? Watch dog open several doors, flee animal clinic to be with his humans Oh my Dog! Jhansi has a dogess temple

--- ENDS ---
Karlee Johnson has come a long way from her home in the Eskasoni First Nation to study at Dalhousie. But she knows her future path, wherever else it may take her, leads back there.



Karlee is a third-year undergraduate student in Medical Sciences and a member of the first class in the programs history. Designed to prepare students to pursue careers in medicine, dentistry and other professions in the health care sector, Medical Sciences was a perfect fit for Karlee, whose goal is to become a family doctor in Eskasoni.



The main reason I felt I wanted to come to Dalhousie was this program specifically, says Karlee. I felt like it gave me a purpose for leaving my community.



I felt like it was what I always wanted to do, so I should just go for it.



Setting sights on medicine studies



Growing up in a small community where she was familiar with most of the people around her gave Karlee self-confidence and a sense of pride. Being part of a Mikmaq immersion program through her pre-university education further connected her to her culture and its traditional language.



Around Grade 7 or 8, Karlee recalls, she became determined to improve her grades and set her sights on a career in medicine. At the same time, she noticed as she grew up that many of her fellow Mikmaq speakers in the community struggled to receive quality health care due to language barriers.



I want to be there as a Mikmaq-speaking doctor. I know its kind of difficult when a Mikmaq speaker goes to the doctor and they cant relay the information. I want to be able to break that barrier and make sure people are getting the proper care.



Culture shock



Karlee has taken several important steps toward that goal  even if the first step wasnt easy.



Going from my community to Halifax was challenging in my first year, she says. I experienced a culture shock.





To balance her new life at university with her attachment to the community that raised and sustains her, Karlee frequently makes the four-hour trip home. And, from the beginning of her degree, she has successfully found opportunities to gain academic and practical experience in her hometown.



The summer after first year, I went home and worked with (Nursing professor) Dr. Margot Latimer on research about Aboriginal children and pain. I was able to work from my community and I also travelled to different First Nations communities as part of that.



After my second year, I worked as a Mikmaq camp coordinator in my community, and this is now my first summer staying in Halifax.



Finding mentors, seeking advice



Karlee is staying on campus this summer because of two more research opportunities. Having received a placement through the Summer Research Program, she is working in the lab of Dr. Elizabeth Cowley, a professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, testing the protein Interleukin-22 and its effect on cystic fibrosis cells.



Dr. Cowley is one of a handful of mentors who have helped Karlee find success in and out of the classroom.



Dr. Cowley taught my Physiology class in second year and I really enjoyed her style of teaching. She always made students feel confident about their studies, says Karlee. I decided I would look for another class with her, and found her Advanced Respiratory class for my third year. Now Im working in her lab on research.



In addition, Karlee will spend part of her summer helping School of Nursing professor Amy Bombay by collecting survey data for a research project on mental health in the Halifax region. In her fourth year, shell be a mental health first responder for the Dalhousie Campus Response Team.



For her people & her community



Overall, Karlee says her studies and practical experiences through the Medical Sciences program have prepared her for the next step after she graduates next year.



The program has allowed me to prepare myself for the MCAT, and if you wanted to go into Dentistry or Pharmacy, it prepares you for that, too. And its made me want to pursue medicine even more.



Karlee is quick to note that shes motivated less by personal achievement than what her success could mean to the Eskasoni First Nation.



Whatever I do is for my people. Thats what Mikmaq culture is all about  we all help one another, says Karlee, who has been featured in media outlets such as the CBC and the Cape Breton Post as a speaker on issues that affect her community. I want to show that there are positive role models in our community that are willing to make a change.



"One of my greatest challenges transitioning from my First Nation reserve was being told numerous times that university was too difficult for any Indigenous person to become successful. It was not until I realized the growing amount of representation of Indigenous leaders who have become educated and are very successful in todays society that inspired me that it was indeed possible.



So for any Indigenous student interested in furthering their education after high school, I just want them to know that its possible and they can do it too.


Radiation detection technology company Kromek confirmed on Monday that its next generation standalone radiation detector, D3S-ID, was deployed by European Commission Counter Terrorism Unit of Directorate General for Home Affairs in Brussels recently.

The AIM-traded firm said the D3S-ID was part of security operations deployed during the NATO Security Summit and US President Donald Trump's visit to Brussels last month.

It said the European Commission and Belgian Federal Police officers deployed D3S-ID at different locations including Brussels airport and the European Council headquarters.

Kromek was informed that the deployment was successful and its radiation detection systems performed well and met the desired high standards for accuracy and efficiency.

We are delighted to be part of the security system that was deployed during President Trump's visit to Brussels, said Kromek chief executive officer Arnab Basu.

Specifically, we were pleased that the deployment was successful and that our detectors achieved the necessary high standards.

We look forward to continuing our work with the European Commission, DARPA and other national law enforcement agencies to deploy our best-of-breed radiation detectors to protect people and property, Dr Basu added.
Upstream oil and gas company President Energy announced on Monday that it had appointed the specialist global oil and gas adviser ENVOI to support the prospective farm-outs of its Paraguay interests, alongside the publication of an updated management estimate of prospective resources.

The AIM-traded firms four onshore Paraguayan concessions in which it was interested extend to around 34,000 square kilometres, and benefitted from extensive 2D and 3D seismic data acquired by President as well as the two paleozoic exploration wells drilled in 2014, which successfully identified the petroleum system with significant oil and gas shows.

During the last two years, further detailed geological and geophysical work had been conducted, which gave strong support to President's view as to prospectivity of its licence areas.

President added that its management estimated that its Paraguayan prospect and lead portfolio identified to date contained a combined mean unrisked prospective resources net to President of three billion barrels of oil equivalent.

That included 10 Tcf of gas resources and 300 MMbbls of drill-ready oil resources in the extension of the light oil play proven by existing producing fields 30-70 km away across the Argentine border.

With significantly increased investment interest in South America energy, particularly gas and with the significant onshore prospective resources of President's interests in Paraguay, we take the view that it is the right time to take a proactive approach to developing the significant prospective resources of the company in that country, said chairman and chief executive Peter Levine.

This is particularly so due to the investment in wells, seismic and other technical work already made and carried out by President providing drill ready prospects and with our experienced management teams across the border at our Puesto Guardian Concession in Argentina.
The Antiquities Act, which has been integral to building our nations public-lands legacy, is 111 years strong. Americans love of and support for our public lands remains strong, too.

Support is strong despite attempts to transfer, sell off or carve up the lands that belong to all Americans, whether they live next door to a national forest or parkor 2,000 miles away. Support is strong despite efforts to shrink some of our national monuments or rescind the designations altogether. Or dramatically restrict presidents ability to designate national monuments.

On June 8, 1906, Congress approved the Antiquities Act, which authorized the president to designate federally managed lands as national monuments to conserve important historic, scientific and archaeological sites.

Since then, 16 presidents from both parties have used the law to establish 157 national monuments. These sites are among some of our most treasured public landmarks, some of which were later made national parksthe Grand Canyon, Acadia, Zion, Grand Teton, Arches, the Great Sand Dunes. Theyre also part of a system of parks, historic trails, waters and other sites that a 2016 study by Harvards Kennedy School of Government says annually generates $92 billion in economic benefits.

So, on the 111th anniversary of the law that has contributed so much to our nations heritage, culture, economy and sheer enjoyment, youd think there would be a lot to celebrate. And there is.

Law, Monuments Targeted

However, theres also work to be done to ensure the law and monuments remain intact. After more than a century of success, the Antiquities Act and some of the monuments created using the law are in danger. An executive order by President Trump has mandated a review of 27 national monuments designated since 1996. That review could result in recommendations to rescind the designations in their entirety or significantly alter the monuments.

In Congress, some members have introduced legislation to restrict the presidents authority to establish national monuments. A bill by Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska would require authorization by Congress, legislatures in the affected states and compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act for approval of a national monument.

Its important to keep in mind that many of the monuments being scrutinized by the administration were designated after years of effort by local residents, sportsmen and women, hikers, campers, business owners, tribal members and elected officials. Bears Ears National Monument, whose review had been fast-tracked, was established last year following decades of effort by members of tribes with ties to the area going back several centuries. The Utah monument is home to more than 100,000 archaeological and cultural sites, many of them sacred to several tribes. But for years, looters and vandals have stolen and damaged historic artifacts and even robbed ancient graves. One goal of designation is to better protect these treasures.

Public meetings on proposals to establish other monuments being reviewed drew big crowds of supporters. Business owners joined hikers, mountain bikers, hunters, anglers and Latinos with centuries-long roots in the region to rally for making Rio Grande del Norte and Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks national monuments. When Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks was proclaimed a monument, Kent Salazar, an Albuquerque, New Mexico resident and member of the National Wildlife Federation Board of Directors, said the action preserves this iconic area for future generations and allows continued traditional uses of the land, helping maintain the local economy and wildlife habitat.

Other monuments under review are:

 Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument, Montana

 Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, Arizona

 Grand Staircase Escalante, Utah

 Katahdin Woods and Waters, Maine

 Northeast Canyons and Seamounts, coastal Massachusetts

 Papahanaumokuakea, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

 Cascade-Siskiyou, Oregon

The administration says it wants public input on these monuments and that local input is a critical component of federal land management. So far, an estimated 1 million comments have been submitted in response to the administrations review of Bears Ears. Lets boost that number for the other 26 monuments under review and celebrate the 111th anniversary of the Antiquities Act, one of this nations most important conservation tools, by speaking out publicly for our national monuments and all our public lands.
French President Emmanuel Macron is inviting U.S. climate scientists and researchers to move to France with a new website that takes direct aim at Donald Trump.

The Make Our Planet Great Again site, managed by French government agency Business France, provides specific instructions for researchers, teachers and students to apply to open positions in France and finance projects.

The website says:

To All Responsible Citizens:

On the 1st of June, President Donald Trump decided to withdraw the United States from the Paris agreement, which gathered more than 190 countries united against climate change.

This decision is unfortunate but it only reinforced our determination. Dont let it weaken yours.

We are ONE planet and Together, we can make a difference.

France has always led fights for human rights. Today, more than ever, we are determined to lead (and win!) this battle on climate change.

Emmanuel Macron, President of France.

France will not give up the fight on climate change, Macron says in the sites video introduction. Wherever we live, whoever we are, we all share the same responsibility.

For a deeper dive:

NBC, USA Today, The Hill, Huffington Post

For more climate change and clean energy news, you can follow Climate Nexus on Twitter and Facebook, and sign up for daily Hot News.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt ducked out of a meeting of Group of Seven environment ministers in Italy early on Sunday, leaving after only a few hours to return to Washington, DC.

The Trump administrations decision to pull out of Paris earlier this month created a significant rift between the U.S. and its allies in the G7, and other environment ministers and diplomats were strong in voicing disappointment of and resistance to the U.S. position.

The ministers are expected to issue a communique today, and German environment minister Barbara Hendricks emphasized it will differentiate opinions between the U.S. and the G6. World leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, are grappling with how best to handle Trumps rejection of the Paris agreement ahead of the G20 summit next month.

As reported by Bloomberg, Erik Solheim, executive director of the United Nations Environment Program, commented in Bologna:

We are all looking for American leadership. We need American leadership on climate, trade and peace. If the White House is not providing that leadership, we will find that leadership in other places. Europe is now more united than ever.

For a deeper dive:

Pruitt: AP, Reuters, The Hill, Bloomberg, Politico Pro. Communique: Bloomberg. G20: Reuters

For more climate change and clean energy news, you can follow Climate Nexus on Twitter and Facebook, and sign up for daily Hot News.
The American Gas Association, a major trade group representing some of the nations largest natural gas companies and utilities, has launched a new front-group called Your Energy America aimed at promoting natural gas and pipeline infrastructure, all while casting fossil fuel opponents as anti-energy extremists.

As the name implies, Your Energy paints itself as a grassroots organization, something akin to the Sierra Club or the American Civil Liberties Union, but for folks who support natural gas, Huffington Post reporter Alexander C. Kaufman writes.

But Kaufman notes, The only indication that Your Energy is a public relations campaign paid for by a major industry association appears on the privacy policy page.

The organizations about section states: Your Energy was created to speak out against a misguided movement that assaults our way of life. This movement is based on the simplistic belief that keeping our natural resources in the ground is the only solution to climate change. This isnt just falseits dangerous to our quality of life, economy and energy security.

Notably, the groups Virginia chapter quietly debuted last month ahead of the states governors race, which is considered by local publications as a pipeline referendum over the highly contested Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley pipelines.

Environmental groups worry about the proposed paths of the two fracked-gas pipelines, which would cross through pristine areas of Virginia, taking private property by use of eminent domain, removing mountaintops and threatening valuable drinking water resources.

The Atlantic Coast Pipeline, in particular, is owned by utility Dominion Energy, the states largest energy company and the largest corporate donor to state candidates.

Dominion has been a member of the American Gas Association since at least 2009. The American Gas Association declined HuffPosts request to describe what role the utility may be playing in Your Energy, and a spokesman for Dominion did not return the websites call for comment.

Besides Virginia, Your Energy already has an active website for Connecticut and registered domain names for Ohio and New Jersey.

American Gas Association president and chief executive Dave McCurdy said the effort will expand to more states, including the West Coast.

The whole principle behind Your Energy is that we reject the false choice of an opposition movement that believes keeping natural resources in the ground is the only solution to climate change, McCurdy explained to HuffPost. Thats not just a false choice; its a dangerous choice.

But Jesse Coleman, a researcher on fracking politics for Greenpeace USA, criticized the rhetoric coming from Your Energy.

Its crucial for the companies behind these front groups to portray normal community activism as somehow abhorrent or portray it as something other than what it is, Coleman told HuffPost. You cant really win when your opposition just wants to keep their kids healthy, so you have to make them into some sort of bogeyman.
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Jun 12 (PTI) The government is "very close" to firming up a resolution mechanism for stressed and stalled thermal as well as hydro power projects, Power Minister Piyush Goyal said today.

According to industry estimates, there are stressed and stalled hydro and thermal power project of over 35,000 MW including 11,639 MW hydro electric plants. Experts put the value at over Rs 1.6 lakh crore.

advertisement

"We have had very extensive engagements with all the stakeholders particularly bankers and financial institutions like REC and PFC...states and other government departments", Goyal told reporters here while speaking about the government performance in the last three years.

"We have come very close to resolution mechanism for at least those stressed power plants where the promoters are not found to be wilful defaulters or where do not find significant irregularities," he said.

Bankers are taking pro-active measures to take over such plants which have defaulted and the power ministry is working with the lenders to find a win-win solution, he said, adding that the final beneficiary of this would be consumer.

"We would love to resolve stress in the stalled hydro power project also. Going forward, we have asked state governments that if they take over the stressed power plants or the bankers take over the plants then we can look into finding solutions to resolve hydro projects, also keeping in mind the economic viability of these projects," he said.

The power ministry, which is also working on reviving stalled hydro projects, already had extensive discussions with bankers and stakeholders.

According to sources, the ministry has firmed up a policy for stalled hydro projects to revive 11,639 mw by dispensing Rs 16,709 crore till 2024-25.

Additionally, the government has decided to provide interest subvention of about 4 per cent to developers to turn around hydro projects.

Goyal further said: "Assam and Arunachal Pradesh have decided to start work on Subansiri hydro power project. There was hearing in National Green Tribunal on May 25. The NGT order is expected in few weeks."

About stressed Damodar Vally Corporations Raghunathpur thermal power project, he suggested that West Bengal government should allow selling of this project or brining it under the public private partnership mode to revive that.

On renewable energy the minister said that Indias installed capacity will surpass thermal power by 2022.

He said if Rajasthan waives transmission charges on renewable energy then there could be more investment in clean energy, particularly solar as heat radiation is quite good in the state.

The power ministry is working with NITI Aayog to draw a new Energy Policy for next 25-30 years focusing on energy security and right energy mix in future.

advertisement

Goyal said he has already instructed the ministry of new and renewable energy to bring out the improvised version of bio-gas plants so that Gau Shalas can have separate bottling unit to improve upon their income. PTI KKS SA

--- ENDS ---
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
Traditional Chinese medicine might be effective as a complement or alternative to traditional Western medicine for primary and secondary prevention of heart disease, according to a state of the art review paper published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death worldwide, and despite advances in Western medicine for treating and preventing heart disease, unmet needs remain. As a result, traditional Chinese medicine is being increasingly looked at as a supplement to Western medicine, but to date randomized controlled trials are overall of poor quality and flawed.

Western scientists often reject Chinese medicine for specific reasons: the formula consists of dozens of ingredients with many chemical molecules, making it hard to clarify the therapeutic mechanism; the medications available in China do not undergo the same rigorous approval process as Western drugs to guarantee efficacy and safety; and most trials were conducted in China by traditional Chinese medicine physicians with medications largely unavailable in the United States.

Researchers in this review looked at studies published over the past 10 years on randomized controlled trials of traditional Chinese medicine used for patients with hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes/pre-diabetes, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and chronic heart failure to assess the efficacy and safety of traditional Chinese medicine.

In all, certain Chinese medications showed suggested benefits for each of the cardiovascular health conditions studied. For example, researchers looked at eight randomized controlled trials on traditional Chinese medicine and hypertension. The evidence indicated that Tiankuijiangya, Zhongfujiangya, Qiqilian, Jiangya and Jiangyabao have antihypertensive effects and a good safety profile, making them a potential good alternative for patient intolerant of or who cannot afford Western medications. However, whether those benefits transferred into long-term positive cardiovascular outcomes would have to be determined by long-term trials.

"Of note, one should bear in mind that traditional Chinese medicine medications are usually prescribed as complex formulae, which are often further manipulated by the practitioner on a personalized basis," said Yuxia Zhao, senior author of the review and a physician in the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine at Shandong University Qilu Hospital in Jinan, Shandong, China. "The pharmacological effects and the underlying mechanisms of some active ingredients of traditional Chinese medications have been elucidated. Thus, some medications might be used as a complementary and alternative approach for primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease."

###

The American College of Cardiology is the professional home for the entire cardiovascular care team. The mission of the College and its more than 52,000 members is to transform cardiovascular care and to improve heart health. The ACC leads in the formation of health policy, standards and guidelines. The College operates national registries to measure and improve care, offers cardiovascular accreditation to hospitals and institutions, provides professional medical education, disseminates cardiovascular research and bestows credentials upon cardiovascular specialists who meet stringent qualifications. For more, visit acc.org.

The Journal of the American College of Cardiology is the most widely read cardiovascular journal in the world and is the top ranked cardiovascular journal for its scientific impact. JACC is the flagship for a family of journals that publish peer-reviewed research on all aspects of cardiovascular disease. JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions, JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging and JACC: Heart Failure also rank among the top ten cardiovascular journals for impact. JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology and JACC: Basic to Translational Science are the newest journals in the JACC family. Learn more at JACC.org.
CHICAGO : The 2017 Jacobson Innovation Award of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) was presented to Timothy A.M. Chuter, BM BS, DM, FACS, at a dinner held in his honor in Chicago, Ill. Dr. Chuter is a professor of surgery at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where he practices vascular surgery with a focus on the endovascular reconstruction of aneurysms involving the aortic arch and thoracoabdominal aorta.

The prestigious Jacobson Innovation Award honors living surgeons who have been innovators of a new development or technique in any field of surgery and is made possible through a gift from Julius H. Jacobson II, MD, FACS, and his wife Joan. Dr. Jacobson is a general vascular surgeon known for his pioneering work in the development of microsurgery.

Dr. Chuter, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS), was honored with this international surgical award in recognition of his innovative role in the development of endovascular aneurysm repair. He was the first to design, make, and implant bifurcated stent grafts to treat abdominal aortic aneurysms. This approach, like most of Dr. Chuter's inventions, embodies a simple principle: If the aneurysm has branches-as it does at the bifurcation of the common iliac artery, the bifurcation of the aorta, the arch of the aorta, and the thoracoabdominal aorta-the endovascular prosthesis should also have branches. Because the most common site for aortic aneurysm involves the distal abdominal aorta, bifurcated endovascular repair has become the most accepted method of aneurysm repair worldwide.

It's important to note that the years between 1993 and 2000 saw a rapid expansion in the scope of endovascular aneurysm repair. This was a time of endovascular firsts: the first endovascular repair of a ruptured aortic aneurysm (1994), the first endovascular repair of an aortobronchial fistula (1995), the first bifurcated stent grafts (1993), the first inflammatory aneurysms (1995), the first fenestrated stent grafts for aneurysms of the pararenal aorta (1998), and the first branched stent grafts for the thoracoabdominal aorta (2000). Although Dr. Chuter had a hand in many of these developments, none was the work of a single inventor. Dr. Chuter has said that he is proud to have contributed to this process, not only by inventing new forms of endovascular aneurysm repair but also by mentoring surgical residents, Fellows, and faculty.

Dr. Chuter has been hailed as a surgical inventor, and a businessman, developing not just minimally invasive surgical techniques but also inventing and patenting the very stent grafts facilitating his work. Dr. Chuter's devices and surgical techniques allow aneurysm repair in patients who otherwise may have no other chance of effective treatment. He holds more than 40 patents, including 23 related to endovascular aortic stent-graft devices, stents, attachment systems, delivery systems, and component junctions.

Dr. Chuter is the published author or coauthor of at least 145 peer-reviewed articles and 23 books/book chapters in the field. Throughout his career, his role in the development of endovascular aneurysm repair has been recognized by other organizations, including the Royal College of Surgeons (Kinmonth Medal, 1995), the Society for Vascular Surgery (Medal for Innovation in Vascular Surgery, 2008) and the Society for Endovascular Therapy (2009).

Dr. Chuter holds four degrees, including a postdoctoral research degree from the University of Nottingham (doctor of medicine, DM) for a thesis describing his early work on stent grafts.

###

Note to Editors: A photo of Dr. Chuter is available on request from the ACS Office of Public Information as of Monday, June 12. Email: pressinquiry@facs.org. About Timothy A. M. Chuter, BM BS, DM, FACS

Dr. Chuter studied medicine at the University of Nottingham, England. He then moved to New York and worked as an assistant professor of anatomy at Columbia University. His first-ever publication was the head, neck, and upper extremity chapters of an anatomy textbook. He was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time when a computer glitch left the Columbia-Presbyterian general surgery program one intern short, thus starting his journey.

In 1990, upon completing general surgery residency, Dr. Chuter moved to Rochester, New York for fellowship training in critical care and vascular surgery. His planned career as a general/vascular surgeon in a rural New England town took a different direction when he started to explore a few original ideas concerning the potential role of endovascular intervention as an alternative to maximally invasive surgery. These experiments were initially funded by Dr. Chuter's nighttime employment in local emergency rooms. Promising results attracted financial support and engineering help from Cook, Inc., a manufacturer of catheters, wires, and stents. The excitement generated by these early successes was enough to precipitate Dr. Chuter into a career focused on innovation, clinical application of new techniques, publication, and further innovation, all at a frenetic pace.

Dr. Chuter completed his vascular fellowship and went back to Columbia-Presbyterian as an assistant professor of surgery in 1993. The first clinical implantations of a bifurcated stent graft took place in late 1993 at selected centers in Australia and Europe. In 1995, Dr. Chuter left New York to work in Sweden as an associate professor of interventional radiology at Lund University. In 1996, Dr. Chuter was recruited to UCSF as the director of the newly formed endovascular program. The other founding faculty member was Linda M. Reilly, MD, FACS, renown for her numerous contributions in the field.

About the American College of Surgeons

The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and improve the quality of care for all surgical patients. The College is dedicated to the ethical and competent practice of surgery. Its achievements have significantly influenced the course of scientific surgery in America and have established it as an important advocate for all surgical patients. The College has more than 80,000 members and is the largest organization of surgeons in the world. For more information, visit http://www.facs.org

View a list of all Jacobson Innovation Award Recipients.
ARLINGTON, Va., June 12, 2017 -- The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) issued a new clinical guideline for the use of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in early-stage lung cancer today. While SBRT is the current standard of care for peripherally located tumors in patients who cannot undergo surgery, the new guideline addresses the appropriateness of SBRT for medically inoperable patients with high-risk clinical scenarios requiring curative focused therapy. The guideline also reviews the role of SBRT for centrally located tumors because of their unique risks compared to peripheral tumors. The guideline is available as a free access article (link will be live after embargo lifts) in Practical Radiation Oncology, ASTRO's clinical practice journal.

SBRT is an advanced type of external beam radiation therapy that uses sophisticated planning techniques to deliver an extremely high dose of radiation very precisely to a tumor. This high degree of precision makes SBRT notably effective at sparing healthy tissues surrounding the tumor, which is particularly important with lung tumors. For patients who are not fit enough for early-stage lung cancer surgery, SBRT presents a viable option for curative-intent treatment since it provides excellent outcomes with low toxicity. Compared to conventional external beam radiation therapy, which is delivered over several weeks, SBRT is typically administered in five or fewer treatment sessions, or fractions.

Drawing on data from retrospective and prospective studies and the available randomized clinical trials, the guideline provides evidence-based recommendations regarding the appropriate use of SBRT for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The principal goal of the guideline was to address SBRT for patients unable to tolerate surgery who require customization of SBRT in high-risk clinical scenarios, such as for salvage therapy after previous surgery or radiation therapy, for tumors invading the chest wall or for very large tumors. The guideline also details principles of SBRT directed toward centrally located lung tumors, since treating these tumors carries unique and significant risks when compared to treatment directed at peripherally located tumors. Additionally, although the focus of the guideline was the inoperable patient, the appropriateness of SBRT in the operable patient also was addressed, since it is an area of debate and controversy.

The guideline first addresses the appropriateness of SBRT as an alternative to surgery for different subsets of medically operable patients with early-stage NSCLC (e.g., T1-2, N0). Recommendations differ for patients at "high" versus "standard" risk for surgery-related mortality and are as follows:

Standard risk: For stage I NSCLC patients with anticipated risk of operative mortality of less than 1.5 percent, SBRT is not recommended as an alternative to surgery outside of clinical trial settings. The recommended treatment for these patients remains lobectomy with systematic mediastinal lymph node evaluation.

High risk: For stage I NSCLC patients at greater risk of surgical morbidity or mortality or those who cannot tolerate a lobectomy but are candidates for sublobar resection, discussions about SBRT as an alternative to surgery are endorsed. Providers should inform patients that while short-term, treatment-related risks may be lower with SBRT, long-term outcomes (meaning longer than 3 years) are not yet well-established in the literature.

A thoracic surgeon should evaluate any potentially medically operable early-stage NSCLC patient considering SBRT, preferably in a multidisciplinary setting, to reduce potential specialty bias.

For medically inoperable patients, recommendations vary based on tumor location, size and type, as well as treatment history. Guidelines are as follows:

Centrally located tumors: SBRT for central lung tumors is appropriate, but the associated risks of toxicity are dependent on the total dose and fractionation schedule; SBRT therefore should be delivered usually in four or five fractions as a function of the total dose. In addition to the fractionation chosen, appropriate consideration should be given to the use of stereotactic treatment for centrally located lung tumors close to or involving specific critical structures, such as the airways, heart and esophagus, given the risk for rare but potentially severe adverse events following high-dose treatment in their vicinity. Patients should be informed about alternative regimens using a higher number of lower-dose fractions, as deemed appropriate by the clinical presentation.

Large tumors: SBRT is conditionally recommended for tumors larger than five centimeters that are not suitable for surgical resection, although patients should be counseled about the subsequent risk of locoregional and distant failure.

Non-biopsied patients: While biopsy should be used whenever possible to confirm malignancy of the tumor, SBRT can be considered for patients who are unable or unwilling to undergo biopsy but have appropriate imaging studies supporting a cancer diagnosis. These cases should be discussed at a multidisciplinary tumor board prior to treatment.

Multiple primary lung cancers (MPLCs)/pneumonectomy patients: Patients with a history of previously resected lung cancers, either singly or multiply, and/or who received a pneumonectomy (which is the surgical removal of a whole lung) for prior lung cancer, and now have a new primary tumor in their remaining lung (or lungs) may be considered for SBRT as a curative-intent treatment option, although lung toxicity rates from SBRT may be higher as a function of the amount of remaining lung tissue.

For the medically inoperable patient, the guideline also outlines how SBRT techniques should be tailored for high-risk scenarios where the tumor abuts critical structures, so that appropriate tumor control can be achieved while minimizing risk to these same structures. Guidelines are as follows:

Tumors located near mediastinal structures: For tumors that touch the trachea or proximal bronchial tree, or for tumors near the heart and pericardium, SBRT should be delivered in treatment schedules using four or five fractions. For tumors near the esophagus, similar treatment schedules are suggested although data are more limited, and physicians are encouraged to minimize radiation dose to the esophagus with highly conformal techniques. Patients should be counseled on potentially life-threatening toxicities that have been reported in these scenarios.

Tumors touching or invading the chest wall: For early-stage tumors that touch the chest wall, SBRT is an appropriate treatment option, though patients should be counseled on the risk of grade 1-2 chest wall toxicity. For tumors invading the chest wall (cT3), SBRT is endorsed, since it appears effective without undue increased rates of chest wall toxicity.

Finally, the guideline considers the role of SBRT as salvage therapy for medically inoperable patients with recurrent early-stage disease. Recommendations vary based on treatment history and are as follows:

Previous conventional radiation therapy: SBRT is conditionally recommended for carefully selected patients, based on limited evidence demonstrating good local control with an acceptable toxicity profile. Patients, however, should be counseled on potentially significant, including fatal, side effects, and the risk of regional and distant failure.

Previous SBRT: Repeat SBRT may be feasible in a highly selected patient population and is a highly individualized decision. Very limited data exist for this subset of patients. Radiation oncologists should carefully assess evidence-based patient, tumor and treatment factors before initiating treatment, as toxicity implications of repeat SBRT are important.

Previous sublobar/limited resection: As with repeat SBRT in other disease scenarios, limited data exist on the use of SBRT following limited surgical resections; SBRT may be feasible, but treating physicians should carefully weigh patient and disease characteristics on an individual basis.

"With longer life expectancies and more sophisticated diagnostic tools, we have seen a rise in the incidence of early-stage lung cancer, including among patients who are not able to undergo surgery or choose not to do so. SBRT provides an option for these patients, who otherwise may not have received curative, definitive treatment," said Gregory M. M. Videtic, MD, co-chair of the task force that authored the guideline and a radiation oncologist at the Cleveland Clinic. "Increasing access to this potentially life-saving treatment is essential to improve outcomes for the growing population of early-stage NSCLC patients."

"NSCLC is a complex disease, with a great deal of heterogeneity among patients. This guideline reinforces SBRT as the standard of care for medically inoperable patients, but it also examines the safety and efficacy of SBRT in less traditional clinical scenarios, such as patients with larger tumors or recurrent patients with early-stage disease," said Megan E. Daly, MD, also co-chair of the task force and a radiation oncologist at the University of California, Davis in Sacramento, California.

The guideline was based on a systematic literature review of studies published from January 1995 through August 2016. A total of 402 abstracts were retrieved from PubMed, and the 172 articles that met inclusion criteria were evaluated by an 18-member task force of experts in lung cancer, including radiation oncologists, surgeons and a patient representative. The Clinical Practice Statement was approved by ASTRO's Board of Directors following a period of public comment. The guideline has been endorsed by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), the European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO) and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR).

###

For a copy of "Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy for Early Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: An ASTRO Evidence-Based Guideline" or to schedule an interview with one of the authors, contact ASTRO's media relations team at press@astro.org or 703-286-1600.

Additional information on lung cancer and radiation therapy:

ABOUT ASTRO

ASTRO is the premier radiation oncology society in the world, with more than 10,000 members who are physicians, nurses, biologists, physicists, radiation therapists, dosimetrists and other health care professionals who specialize in treating patients with radiation therapies. As the leading organization in radiation oncology, the Society is dedicated to improving patient care through professional education and training, support for clinical practice and health policy standards, advancement of science and research, and advocacy. ASTRO publishes three medical journals, International Journal of Radiation Oncology * Biology * Physics (http://www.redjournal.org), Practical Radiation Oncology (http://www.practicalradonc.org) and Advances in Radiation Oncology (http://www.advancesradonc.org); developed and maintains an extensive patient website, RT Answers (http://www.rtanswers.org); and created the Radiation Oncology Institute (http://www.roinstitute.org), a nonprofit foundation to support research and education efforts around the world that enhance and confirm the critical role of radiation therapy in improving cancer treatment. To learn more about ASTRO, visit http://www.astro.org.
BOSTON, MA - Previous research has analyzed variations in sleep patterns including number of hours slept, quality of sleep, and sleep-wake times, and found an association with cognitive impairments, health and performance; however, few studies have considered or accurately quantified the effects of regular sleep patterns. In a new study at Brigham and Women's Hospital, researchers objectively measured sleep and circadian rhythms, and the association to academic performance in college students, finding that irregular patterns of sleep and wakefulness correlated with lower grade point average, delayed sleep/wake timing, and delayed release of the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin. The results are published in Scientific Reports on June 12, 2017.

Researchers studied 61 full-time undergraduates from Harvard College for 30 days using sleep diaries. They quantified sleep regularity using the sleep regularity index (SRI), a newly devised metric. Researchers examined the relationship between the SRI, sleep duration, distribution of sleep across the day, and academic performance during one semester.

"Our results indicate that going to sleep and waking up at approximately the same time is as important as the number of hours one sleeps," stated Andrew J. K. Phillips, PhD, biophysicist at the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Brigham and Women's Hospital and lead author on the paper. "Sleep regularity is a potentially important and modifiable factor independent from sleep duration," Phillips said.

Students with more regular sleep patterns had better school grades on average. Researchers found no significant difference in average sleep duration between most students with irregular sleep patterns and most regular sleepers.

"We found that the body clock was shifted nearly three hours later in students with irregular schedules as compared to those who slept at more consistent times each night, stated Charles A. Czeisler, PhD, MD, Director of the Sleep Health Institute at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and senior author on the paper. "For the students whose sleep and wake times were inconsistent, classes and exams that were scheduled for 9 a.m. were therefore occurring at 6am according to their body clock, at a time when performance is impaired. Ironically, they didn't save any time because in the end they slept just as much as those on a more regular schedule."

By measuring the timing of melatonin release at sleep onset, the researchers were able to assess the timing of circadian rhythms. On average, melatonin was released 2.6 hours later in students with the most irregular sleep patterns, compared to students with more regular sleep patterns.

"Using a mathematical model of the circadian clock, we were able to demonstrate that the difference in circadian timing between students with the most irregular sleep patterns and students with regular sleep patterns was consistent with their different patterns of daily light exposure," stated Phillips. "In particular, regular sleepers got significantly higher light levels during the daytime, and significantly lower light levels at night than irregular sleepers who slept more during daytime hours and less during nighttime hours."

Researchers note that the circadian clock takes time to adjust to schedule changes, and is highly sensitive to patterns of light exposure. Irregular sleepers, who frequently changed the pattern of when they slept and consequently their pattern of light-dark exposure, experienced misalignment between the circadian system and the sleep-wake cycle.

Researchers conclude that light based interventions, including increased exposure to daytime light and less exposure to electronic light-emitting devices before bedtime, may be effective in improving sleep regularity.

###

This research was supported by awards NIH R01-GM-105018, NIH R01-HL114088, NIH R01 HL094654, NIH P01-AG09975, NIH K24-HL105664, NIH K99-HL119618, NIH R00-HL119618, NSBRI HFP0280, NSBRI HFP02802, and NSBRI HFP02801.

Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is a 793-bed nonprofit teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School and a founding member of Partners HealthCare. BWH has more than 4.2 million annual patient visits and nearly 46,000 inpatient stays, is the largest birthing center in Massachusetts and employs nearly 16,000 people. The Brigham's medical preeminence dates back to 1832, and today that rich history in clinical care is coupled with its national leadership in patient care, quality improvement and patient safety initiatives, and its dedication to research, innovation, community engagement and educating and training the next generation of health care professionals. Through investigation and discovery conducted at its Brigham Research Institute (BRI), BWH is an international leader in basic, clinical and translational research on human diseases, more than 3,000 researchers, including physician-investigators and renowned biomedical scientists and faculty supported by nearly $666 million in funding. For the last 25 years, BWH ranked second in research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) among independent hospitals. BWH is also home to major landmark epidemiologic population studies, including the Nurses' and Physicians' Health Studies and the Women's Health Initiative as well as the TIMI Study Group, one of the premier cardiovascular clinical trials groups. For more information, resources and to follow us on social media, please visit BWH's online newsroom.
The power grid's physical components are continuously improving, with the integration of renewable power sources and advances in physical technology. The software underlying the safe function of the upgraded grid, however, isn't keeping up.

Engineers depend on the software to predict and correct for potential errors to set constraints on the rest of the system. Scientists from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, have proposed a new way to calculate and correct a particularly critical error in large-scale distribution systems. They published their method in IEEE/CAA Journal of Automatica Sinica (JAS), a joint publication of the IEEE and the Chinese Association of Automation.

"We need new methods for calculations of emerging distribution systems to properly model and calculate these systems in faulted conditions," said Luka Strezoski, a doctoral student at Case Western Reserve University and an author on the paper.

In the traditional grid system, the power alternates currents, which can result in a fault if it the current encounters an pathway with no resistance. This short-circuit fault can produce power 30 times the intended rate, which can lead power disruption, equipment damage, and even fire.

"The biggest difference between modern distributed generators and traditional alternating current machines [if a fault occurs]... is that the short-circuit currents of modern distributed generators are controlled, whereas traditional alternating current machines lose their control," Strezoski said. It may sound safer to maintain control, but the difference causes several problems.

Engineers use the current range calculated by a short-circuit computation to set the relay limits for the entire system. The computation used on a traditional system is time-tested as accurate and reliable. The same computation on a distributed generation system, with decentralized power dispersal, introduces high errors with a trickle down effect of miscalculations for the rest of the system.

"The real-time short-circuit computation needs to satisfy two necessary assets: it needs to be fast, and it needs to highly accurate," said Strezoski.

Strezoski and his team simplified an existing algorithm, capable of predicting every potential future and past state of a system and using those states to make real-time operating decisions quickly, and combined it with another algorithm capable of modeling traditional and modern power systems. The proposed method was used in four large-scale simulations, and it was able to accurately optimize the system in 74 milliseconds.

The researchers are now examining how to predict and correct other fault types, as well as developing potential control strategies for emerging distributed energy resources.

###

Fulltext of the paper is available: http://html.rhhz.net/ieee-jas/html/20170211.htm

IEEE/CAA Journal of Automatica Sinica (JAS) is a joint publication of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc (IEEE) and the Chinese Association of Automation. JAS publishes papers on original theoretical and experimental research and development in all areas of automation. The coverage of JAS includes but is not limited to: Automatic control/Artificial intelligence and intelligent control/Systems theory and engineering/Pattern recognition and intelligent systems/Automation engineering and applications/Information processing and information systems/Network based automation/Robotics/Computer-aided technologies for automation systems/Sensing and measurement/Navigation, guidance, and control.

To learn more about JAS, please visit: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/RecentIssue.jsp?punumber=6570654

http://www.ieee-jas.org
Results of a five-year study in 20 countries on three continents have found that bats harbor a large diversity of coronaviruses (CoV), the family of viruses that cause Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS). Findings from the study--led by scientists in the USAID-funded PREDICT project at the Center for Infection and Immunity (CII) at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and the University of California, Davis' One Health Institute in the School of Veterinary Medicine--are published in the journal Virus Evolution. PREDICT is a globally coordinated effort to detect and discover viruses of pandemic potential and reduce risk for future epidemics.

With the cooperation of local governments, researchers sampled and tested 19,192 bats, rodents, non-human primates, and humans in areas where the risk of animal-to-human transmission is greatest, including sites of deforestation, ecotourism, and animal sanctuaries. The researchers identified 100 different CoVs and found that more than 98 percent of the animals harboring these viruses were bats, representing 282 bat species from 12 taxonomic families. Extrapolating to all 1,200 bat species, they estimate a total of 3,204 CoV are carried by bats worldwide, most of which have yet to be detected and described. They also found that CoV diversity correlated with bat diversity with high numbers of CoVs concentrated in areas where there are the most bat species, suggesting CoVs coevolved with or adapted to preferred families of bats.

"This study fills in a huge gap in what we know about the diversity of coronaviruses in animal hosts," says first author Simon Anthony, assistant professor of Epidemiology in CII. "Charting the geographic and genetic diversity of coronaviruses in animals is a critical first step towards understanding and anticipating which specific viruses could pose a threat to human health."

The First Step to Identifying Suspect Viruses

The researchers used consensus PCR, a cost-effective technique that targets a small section of the viral genome--sufficient to locate the position of each virus in the family tree of all CoVs. To go a step further, researchers are using more powerful genome-wide sequencing to take a detailed look at those viruses that resemble known threats to humans. In a study published in April, they reported that a MERS CoV-like virus did not have the genetic prerequisites to jump to humans--a sign that MERS-CoV had evolved to become more capable of transmission. A similar effort is now underway to sequence viruses similar to SARS-CoV.

Regional Variation in Risk of Virus "Jumping" Outside Its Genus

Researchers report preliminary evidence that CoVs in bats in Latin America were less likely than CoVs in Africa and Asia to "jump" outside their genus or family, potentially a sign of relatively lower risk of bat-to-human transmission on that continent. However, the authors caution that these regional differences may reflect variation in the ecology of bats in the various areas, and more work needs to be done to understand this.

Bats Play an Important Role

The researchers say their findings should not be interpreted as a call to cull bats. Bats play an important role in the ecosystem, and most of the coronaviruses they carry are harmless to humans. Additionally, culling may have unintended consequences: destabilizing host ecology can actually increase risk for disease transmission, as seen in studies of Marburg and rabies viruses.

"Our goal is to shed light on the ecology of virus-host interactions to better understand and address the conditions that give rise to outbreaks like SARS and MERS," says senior author Tracey Goldstein, associate professor at the One Health Institute at the University of California, Davis.

###

The study was supported by USAID through the Emerging Pandemic Threats PREDICT project. Additional co-authors include W. Ian Lipkin, Sarah Kramer, Xiaoyu Che, Heather Wells, Allison L. Hicks, and Stephen S. Morse at the Mailman School of Public Health; Christine K. Johnson, Denise J. Grieg, and Jonna A. K. Mazet (PI and project director) at the University of California Davis; Damien O. Joly and Nathan D. Wolfe at Metabiota, Inc.; Peter Daszak and William Karesh at EcoHealth Alliance; and the PREDICT Consortium. The authors declare no conflicts.

About PREDICT

PREDICT is enabling global surveillance for viruses that may spillover from animal hosts to people by building capacities to detect and discover viruses of pandemic potential. The project is part of USAID's Emerging Pandemic Threats program and is led by the UC Davis One Health Institute. The core partners are USAID, EcoHealth Alliance, Metabiota, Wildlife Conservation Society, and Smithsonian Institution. Scientists work in 30 countries in Africa and Asia testing for five viral families--coronaviruses (le.g. SARS/MERS), filoviruses (e.g. Ebola), paramyxoviruses (e.g. Nipah / Hendra), influenza viruses (e.g. H1N1, H5N1, H7N9) and flaviviruses (e.g. Zika)--in wildlife, livestock, and humans, to understand the risk of spillover. As part of this effort, lab scientists around the world are trained to perform viral testing--a vital skill in case an outbreak should emerge. Field researchers are trained to safely handle and sample animals by capture and release.
While using X-rays to study the early stages of a chemical process that can reformulate carbon dioxide into more useful compounds, including liquid fuels, researchers were surprised when the experiment taught them something new about what drives this reaction.

An X-ray technique at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), coupled with theoretical work by a team at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena (Caltech), revealed how oxygen atoms embedded very near the surface of a copper sample had a more dramatic effect on the early stages of the reaction with carbon dioxide than earlier theories could account for.

This information could prove useful in designing new types of materials to further enhance reactions and make them more efficient in converting carbon dioxide into other products. Large concentrations of carbon dioxide are harmful to health and the environment, so researchers have been pursuing ways to remove it from the atmosphere and safely store it or chemically convert it into more beneficial forms.

To explain what was at work, the research team developed computer models, and revised existing theories to explain what they were witnessing in experiments. Their results were published online June 12 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.

Copper is a common catalyst -- a material used to activate and speed up chemical reactions -- and, although it is not efficient, it aids in the production of ethanol when exposed to carbon dioxide and water. In the studied reaction, the copper helps to chemically break down and reassemble carbon dioxide and water molecules into other molecules.

"We found more than we thought we were going to find from this fundamental investigation," said Ethan Crumlin, a scientist at Berkeley Lab's Advanced Light Source (ALS) who co-led the study with Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP) researchers Junko Yano, at Berkeley Lab, and William Goddard III, at Caltech.

The ALS is an X-ray research facility known as a synchrotron that has dozens of experimental beam lines for exploring a wide range of microscopic properties in matter, and JCAP is focused on how to convert carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight into renewable fuels.

"Having oxygen atoms just beneath the surface -- a suboxide layer -- is a critical aspect to this," Crumlin said. The X-ray work brought new clarity in determining the right amount of this subsurface oxygen -- and its role in interactions with carbon dioxide gas and water -- to improve the reaction.

"Understanding this suboxide layer, and the suboxide in contact with water, is integral in how water interacts with carbon dioxide" in this type of reaction, he added.

Goddard and his colleagues at Caltech worked closely with Berkeley Lab researchers to develop and refine a quantum mechanics theory that fit the X-ray observations and explained the electronic structure of the molecules in the reaction.

"This was a good looping, iterative process," Crumlin said. "Just being curious and not settling for a simple answer paid off. It all started coming together as a cohesive story."

Goddard said, "This back-and forth between theory and experiment is an exciting aspect of modern research and an important part of the JCAP strategy to making fuels from carbon dioxide." The Caltech team used computers to help understand how electrons and atoms rearrange themselves in the reaction.

At Berkeley Lab's ALS, researchers enlisted an X-ray technique known as APXPS (ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy as they exposed a thin foil sheet of a specially treated copper -- known as Cu(111) -- to carbon dioxide gas and added water at room temperature.

In proceeding experiments they heated the sample slightly in oxygen to vary the concentration of embedded oxygen in the foil, and used X-rays to probe the early stages of how carbon dioxide and water synergistically react with different amounts of subsurface oxide at the surface of the copper.

The X-ray studies, planned and performed by Marco Favaro, the lead author of the study, revealed how carbon dioxide molecules collide with the surface of the copper, then hover above it in a weakly bound state. Interactions with water molecules serve to bend the carbon dioxide molecules in a way that allows them to strip hydrogen atoms away from the water molecules. This process eventually forms ethanol, a type of liquid fuel.

"The modest amount of subsurface oxygen helps to generate a mixture of metallic and charged copper that can facilitate the interaction with carbon dioxide and promote further reactions when in the presence of water," Crumlin said.

Copper has some shortcomings as a catalyst, Yano noted, and it is currently difficult to control the final product a given catalyst will generate.

"If we know what the surface is doing, and what the model is for this chemical interaction, then there is a way to mimic this and improve it," Yano said. The ongoing work may also help to predict the final output of a given catalyst in a reaction. "We know that copper works -- what about different copper surfaces, copper alloys, or different types of metals and alloys?"

###

The Advanced Light Source is a DOE Office of Science User Facility.

Researchers from Berkeley Lab's Chemical Sciences Division and Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division also participated in this study. The work was supported, in part, by the DOE Office of Basic Energy Science (BES) through the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP), a DOE Energy Innovation Hub.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory addresses the world's most urgent scientific challenges by advancing sustainable energy, protecting human health, creating new materials, and revealing the origin and fate of the universe. Founded in 1931, Berkeley Lab's scientific expertise has been recognized with 13 Nobel Prizes. The University of California manages Berkeley Lab for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. For more, visit http://www.lbl.gov.

DOE's 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 http://science.energy.gov.
Some problems are so challenging to solve that even the most advanced computers need weeks, not seconds, to process them.

Now a team of researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology and University of Notre Dame has created a new computing system that aims to tackle one of computing's hardest problems in a fraction of the time.

"We wanted to find a way to solve a problem without using the normal binary representations that have been the backbone of computing for decades," said Arijit Raychowdhury, an associate professor in Georgia Tech's School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Their new system employs a network of electronic oscillators to solve graph coloring tasks - a type of problem that tends to choke modern computers.

Details of the study were published April 19 in the journal Scientific Reports. The research was conducted with support from the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research, the Semiconductor Research Corporation and the Center for Low Energy Systems Technology.

"Applications today are demanding faster and faster computers to help solve challenges like resource allocation, machine learning and protein structure analysis - problems which at their core are closely related to graph coloring," Raychowdhury said. "But for the most part, we've reached the limitations of modern digital computer processors. Some of these problems that are so computationally difficult to perform, it could take a computer several weeks to solve."

A graph coloring problem starts with a graph - a visual representation of a set of objects connected in some way. To solve the problem, each object must be assigned a color, but two objects directly connected cannot share the same color. Typically, the goal is to color all objects in the graph using the smallest number of different colors.

In designing a system different from traditional transistor-based computing, the researchers took their cues from the human brain, where processing is handled collectively, such as a neural oscillatory network, rather than with a central processor.

"It's the notion that there is tremendous power in collective computing," said Suman Datta, Chang Family professor in Notre Dame's College of Engineering and one of the study's co-authors. "In natural forms of computing, dynamical systems with complex interdependencies evolve rapidly and solve complex sets of equations in a massively parallel fashion."

The electronic oscillators, fabricated from vanadium dioxide, were found to have a natural ability that could be harnessed for graph coloring problems. When a group of oscillators were electrically connected via capacitive links, they automatically synchronized to the same frequency - oscillating at the same rate. Meanwhile, oscillators directly connected to one another would operate at different phases within the same frequency, and oscillators in the same group but not directly connected would sync in both frequency and phase.

"If you suppose that each phase represents a different color, this system was essentially mimicking naturally the solution to a graph coloring problem," said Raychowdhury, who is also the ON Semiconductor Junior Professor at Georgia Tech.

The researchers were able to create a small network of oscillators to solve graph coloring problems with the same number of objects, which are also referred to as nodes or vertices. But even more significant, the new system theoretically proved that a connection existed between graph coloring and the natural dynamics of coupled oscillatory systems.

"This is a critical step because we can prove why this is happening and that it covers all possible instances of graphs," Raychowdhury said. "This opens up a new way of performative computation and constructing novel computational models. This is novel in that it's a physics-based computing approach, but it also presents tantalizing opportunities for building other customized analog systems for solving hard problems efficiently."

That could be valuable to a range of companies looking for computers to help optimize their resources, such as a power utility wanting to maximize efficiency and usage of a vast electrical grid under certain constraints.

"This work provides one of the first constructive ways to build continuous time dynamical system solvers for a combinatorial optimization problem with a working demonstration using compact scalable post-CMOS devices," said Abhinav Parihar, a Georgia Tech student who worked on the project.

The next step would be building a larger network of oscillators that could handle graph coloring problems with more objects at play.

"Our goal is to reach a system with hundreds of oscillators, which would put us in striking distance of developing a computing substrate that could solve graph coloring problems whose optimal solutions are not yet known to mankind," Datta said.

###

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1640081, the Semiconductor Research Corporation under research task Nos. 2698.001 and 2698.002, and the Office of Naval Research under award No. N00014-11-1-0665. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of those agencies.

CITATION: Abhinav Parihar, Nikhil Shukla, Matthew Jerry, Suman Datta and Arijit Raychowdhury, "Vertex coloring of graphs via phase dynamics of coupled oscillatory networks," (Scientific Reports, April 2017). http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-00825-1
Imagine if a dense thicket didn't obstruct your path but instead picked you up and shuttled you through the forest. That's what tightly packed DNA might be doing with important life molecules to get them where they're needed on time.

New simulations of DNA as a transport conduit could shatter the way scientists have thought about how large molecules called transcription factors diffuse on their way to carry out genetic missions, according to a study by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The simulations add important brush strokes to our picture of elusive inner mechanics of cells.

The simulations strongly support the hypothesis that, in a live cell, DNA is in constant motion, making it the dominant mover of transcription factors, to their target sites on DNA. There, the factors regulate the transcription of genetic code into life-sustaining action.

DNA gorilla cage

How transcription factors travel through DNA has been a mystery, because the protein molecules are so large, and natural DNA is so tightly tangled. Spaces inside the windings are usually much smaller than the transcription factors that need to pass through them.

"If the thicket is so thick, and on top of that doesn't move, then it should be impenetrable. So, how do you get stuff through to the right site?" asked Jeffrey Skolnick, a professor in Georgia Tech's School of Biological Sciences.

If DNA were indeed immobile, the protein molecule would appear jammed into the DNA thicket like a gorilla into a dog cage.

DNA watch springs

But Skolnick and collaborator Edmond Chow, a computer scientist specializing in algorithms that tackle very large scientific questions, believe the widely held assumption that naturally occurring DNA is rigid like bars is false. Their simulations turn the bars into wires, tense like watch springs, that flex and rattle around with snake-like motions.

"The DNA motion is far and away the dominant force moving molecules through its thicket," Skolnick said. "DNA is a bully."

Skolnick, who directs Georgia Tech's Center for the Study of Systems Biology, and Chow, an associate professor at Georgia Tech's School of Computational Science and Engineering, published a paper on their simulations on June 6 in Biophysical Journal.

Chow and Skolnick modeled the simulation on a transcription factor called LacI moving through the DNA of an Escherichia coli bacterial cell. LacI is an inhibitory molecule that depends on lactose, but that function played no role in the study. The well-known transcription factor is a mainstay in many experimental studies on transcription factor movement.

Slide, hop, and hopscotch

In the simulations, DNA strands flex out of LacI's path and also juggle the large molecule forward into the next pocket in the thicket, and so on.

Hypotheses based on rigid DNA would leave transcription factors moving more slowly than they actually appear to. But Chow and Skolnick's wiggly simulations square with rates of diffusion established in lab experiments and explain why they're so fast.

Transcription factors have been known to slide along DNA strands, like magnets down slippery wires, until they click into a specific groove where they fit perfectly, which is where they do their work. And they've been known to hop off the DNA strand and then reattach.

"But the sliding and hopping combined still don't account for the speed of diffusion," Chow said.

Reattaching after a hop can actually reduce the transcription factor's speed through the DNA, by putting it back on a place on the strand where it's been before. The simulated wobble of the DNA thicket flicks transcribers to make them hopscotch more and farther, increasing their speed of diffusion.

Herculean computations

The simulations will aid other researchers' understanding of important cell processes and potentially help boost speed and accuracy in biological and medical research. The computation behind the simulated dynamics was herculean.

"These simulations are unique to this problem because of their enormity and the advanced computing techniques used. Very efficient algorithms ran in parallel on powerful computers, and, still, it took three weeks for the simulations to complete," Chow said.

Parallel computing chops a problem into pieces that can be run simultaneously, or in parallel, instead of in one long, time-consuming process. This allows programs to exploit many processors at the same time, multiplying the speed of computation.

Even with that power, to make the simulation computable at all, the researchers had to slim down the model of the DNA and LacI to reveal motion dynamics without dressing up all the details of cellular DNA. "You have to choose which parts you ignore and which parts you put in," Skolnick said. "If you put everything in, you can't do it, even with the fastest codes."

Cellular toy land

The researchers want to take on much tougher challenges that could, years from now, lead to a toy-like, simplified model of a complete cell.

"The ultimate goal is to put a whole cell on a computer. Let it live. Let it divide, and understand the processes," Skolnick said. "Maybe even let the cell mutate and evolve."

The computer science behind that would be aspirational. "When the size of a problem grows, the computing costs to solve it can grow disproportionately," Chow said. "You have to build algorithms that can run efficiently even when you scale up the problem size."

###

This research was supported by the National Science Foundation (grant ACI-1147843). Tadashi Ando from the Tokyo University of Science contributed insights that aided in this research. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsoring agencies.
RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, who turned celebrated his birthday Sunday, pitched for a 'mahagathbandhan' at the Centre even as BJP's KP Maurya dared Nitish Kumar to hold fresh polls in Bihar.

By Mail Today Bureau: While Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Sunday dared Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar to hold fresh Assembly polls if he had faith in the development work done by his government, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on his birthday on Sunday made a strong bid for 'mahagathbandhan' or 'Grand Alliance' on the lines of Bihar at the Centre.

advertisement

"They think that the alliance government of Congress, JD(U) and RJD is very powerful one. If it is so, then Nitish Kumar should not wait for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, rather he should dissolve the Assembly and hold fresh elections," Maurya said while attending a meeting in Patna to showcase the achievements of the Modi government.

"Nitish Kumar has a lust for power. He can't live without power... If he has faith in the work done by him, then he should hold fresh Assembly polls and test his strength," he added. "There is complete panic in the grand alliance which is evident from the fact that a host of big leaders from JD (U), RJD and Congress have joined BJP and this is not going to stop."

Former chief minister Satish Kumar; former ministers Samrat Choudhary, Basawan Bhagat and Raghvendra Pratap Singh; former MLAs Ganesh Paswan and Dinesh Yadav joined the BJP on Monday in the presence of Maurya.

LALU: GRAND ALLIANCE MY BIRTHDAY WISH

Meanwhile, as Lalu Prasad turned 70 on Sunday, he said a 'grand alliance' at the Centre was his birthday wish as greetings poured in from Congress president Sonia Gandhi, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and other leaders.

"Delhi will now see the leadership of 'mahagathbandhan'. All coalition partners should start preparations," he tweeted after Bihar Congress chief and state education minister Ashok Chaudhary wished him.

The RJD chief also reminded Mamata Banerjee that they stand in solidarity for the 'great cause' ahead after she extended greetings to him.

Nitish Kumar drove to 10, Circular Road, where the RJD supremo lives in the official residence alloted to his wife Rabri Devi, and gave a bouquet to the RJD chief before the two embraced each other. Speaking to reporters, Kumar said, "Lalu Prasad has made notable contributions to Bihar politics and our society."

ALSO READ: Is this the age of grand alliances?

ALSO READ | Modi vs Nitish in 2019? Bihar's Grand Alliance wants to go national now

ALSO WATCH | Mani Shankar Aiyar to India Today: Congress can't defeat BJP alone, rainbow coalition need of the hour

--- ENDS ---

advertisement
TAMPA, Fla. (June 12, 2017) - Prostate cancer is the third most common cause of cancer-related death in men in the United States. It is estimated that 161,360 men will be diagnosed and more than 26,700 men will die from the disease in this year. The majority of these deaths are caused by prostate cancer that becomes resistant to initial therapy and spreads to other sites, called metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. In a study published today in Cancer Cell, Moffitt Cancer Center researchers report that a newly discovered epigenetic mechanism can lead to the development of castration-resistant prostate cancer. They identified a novel drug that targets this epigenetic mechanism and may be able to combat the deadly form of the disease.

Uncontrolled activity of male hormones, called androgens, contributes to the development of prostate cancer. One of the primary ways doctors treat prostate cancer is by inhibiting the activity of androgens by either surgically removing the testicles or with drugs that decrease androgen levels or activity. Unfortunately, even though most patients have early success with anti-androgen treatments, many patients eventually develop metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer within two to three years. Castration-resistant prostate cancer is more difficult to treat and cure because scientists are unsure how it develops resistance to anti-androgen therapies.

"Undoubtedly, the foremost reason for transient effectiveness of the androgen deprivation therapy is a poor understanding of the molecular mechanisms driving progression to castration-resistant prostate cancer, which in turn has hampered development of new therapeutics," explained Nupam P. Mahajan, PhD, associate member of the Chemical Biology and Molecular Medicine Program at Moffitt.

The Moffitt team performed an extensive set of experiments in prostate tumor cells and mice. They discovered a protein, called ACK1, also known as TNK2 that activates a pathway that causes the DNA-bound proteins called histones to undergo a type of modification called epigenetic modification. This modification was specifically accomplished by androgen receptor protein with the help of ACK1 around the region of the androgen receptor gene! This results in high levels and activity of the androgen receptor even when prostate cancer cells have been treated with anti-androgen therapy.

Following this discovery, the researchers developed a novel drug called (R)-9bMS that targets ACK1 and performed experiments to determine if it could block prostate cancer growth. They discovered that the ACK1 inhibitor blocked epigenetic modification of the androgen receptor gene and decreased its levels and activity. Importantly, the ACK1 inhibitor blocked the growth of prostate cancer cells that were resistant to the anti-androgen drug enzalutamide (also known as XTANDI) and decreased the growth of castration-resistant prostate tumors in mice.

"This discovery is highly relevant because almost two thirds of castration-resistant prostate cancer patients do not respond to enzalutamide. Overall, (R)-9bMS opens up as a new, and desperately needed, therapeutic option for those castration-resistant prostate cancer patients who either do not respond to enzalutamide or have acquired resistance, post-treatment," said Dr. Kiran Mahajan, the first author of this paper.

###

This study was supported by grant funding from the National Cancer Institute (1R01CA135328), Department of Defense (W81XWH-14-1-0002, W81XWH-14-1-0003, W81WXH-15-1-0312, W81XWH-12-1-0248, W81XWH-14-1-0251, and W81XWH-15-1-0059), State of Florida's Bankhead-Coley Program (6BC08), and a Miles for Moffitt award (09-33661-15-13).

About Moffitt Cancer Center

Moffitt is dedicated to one lifesaving mission: to contribute to the prevention and cure of cancer. The Tampa-based facility is one of only 47 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, a distinction that recognizes Moffitt's excellence in research, clinical trials, prevention and cancer control. Moffitt is the No. 6 cancer hospital in the nation and has been listed in U.S. News & World Report as one of the "Best Hospitals" for cancer care since 1999. Moffitt devotes more than 2.5 million square feet to research and patient care. Moffitt's expert nursing staff is recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center with Magnet status, its highest distinction. With more than 5,200 team members, Moffitt has an economic impact in the state of $2.1 billion. For more information, call 1-888-MOFFITT (1-888-663-3488), visit MOFFITT.org, and follow the momentum on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
When understanding a country's climate - especially vast countries like the United States or China - to protect food security, biodiversity and human health, the devil is in the details.

Scientists at Michigan State University (MSU) show that examining the daily minutia of climate, not just temperature, but also sunshine, precipitation and soil moisture simultaneously all over a country gives a better understanding of how variable a land's climate can be. That information is crucial when countries are setting policies aimed at growing food, protecting water supplies and the environment and stemming disease outbreaks. The findings were reported in this week's Scientific Reports.

"There is much talk about how climate is changing and what should be done about it, but in reality, it is the variabilities - those many changes above and below the norm - that can have a great impact on coupled human and natural systems," said Jianguo "Jack" Liu, MSU's Rachel Carson Chair in Sustainability and director of the Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability. "A holistic view of our world gives us the most useful information."

The team examined the daily variability of four climatic factors simultaneously with data from 1960 to 2013 across China. From this they learned that the climate in the northern regions of China, including the province that grows much of the crops that feed big cities in the south, has the more dramatic swings. Yet that's also an area in which farmers are shifting crops to corn over soybeans, even though corn is dependent on a long growing season.

"Our study shows that it's not enough to say 'a nation is experiencing climate change' because the reality is that climate is made up of several daily factors," said Zhenci Xu, the PhD student who is the study's lead author. "It is variability that indicates the degree of fluctuation and uncertainty of the climate change process."

It's the chaos of climate change that can wreak havoc with growing plants or the survival rates of bacteria and viruses. Climate variability also weighs heavily on agriculture and economic development.

This study is the first time the variability and trends of four climactic factors have been analyzed.

Northern China's monthly and seasonal variability of the climate systems is generally larger than that of south China. The report also singles out more subtle differences in climate events across the country.

Xu also said countries should consider more meteorological stations in areas known to have more complex climate dynamics along with human interests that are sensitive to the vagaries of weather.

And Liu said countries would be wise to examine how local climate events can have a global impact through telecoupling processes, as a monsoon in one corner of the world can blanket another country with moist air and heat.

"Climate can't see borders, but people can and we must learn to look at the big picture with a very small lens," Liu said.

###

In addition to Liu and Xu, "Climate variability and trends at a national scale" was written by Ying Tang, Thomas Connor and Dapeng Li, all of MSU CSIS, as well as Yunkai Li of China Agricultural University.

The work was funded by the National Science Foundation, MSU AgBioResearch, China Scholarship Council, and Science and Technology Promotion Plan of PRC Ministry of Water Resources.
People tend to become more generous as they age. This certainly holds true when it comes to helping strangers, according to a recent study by researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS). Findings from the study showed that while the older adults treat their kin and friends the same as younger adults do, the elderly donate more to strangers than younger adults, even when their generosity is unlikely to be reciprocated.

"Greater generosity was observed among senior citizens possibly because as people become older, their values shift away from purely personal interests to more enduring sources of meaning found in their communities," explained Assistant Professor Yu Rongjun, who led the study. Asst Prof Yu is from the Department of Psychology at the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, as well as the Singapore Institute for Neurotechnology at NUS.

The research results were first reported online in Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences on 5 April 2017.

Generosity towards strangers is a function of age

Studies have shown that as people age, they are inclined to volunteer more frequently, are more attentive to ecological concerns, and are less interested in becoming rich. However, there is a lack of understanding of the core motive behind such altruistic behaviour. The team led by Asst Prof Yu sought to address this knowledge gap by looking at how social relationships with others influence how much older adults donate in comparison with younger adults.

The study, which was conducted from March 2016 to January 2017, involved 78 adults in Singapore. 39 of them were older adults with an average age of 70, while the other 39 were younger adults who were about 23 years old.

The NUS research team employed a framework known as social discounting to quantify generosity towards people. The framework works on the principle that people treat those they are closer with better than those whom they are more distantly acquainted, and much better than total strangers. The participants had to rate how close they were to people in their social environment, and the amount of money they would give to each respective person. Using a computational model, the NUS research team calculated the amount of money that the participants are willing to give to another person as a function of social distance.

The results revealed that both younger and older adults are equally generous to people who are close to them, such as family members or close friends. However, senior citizens are more generous to those who are more socially distant, such as total strangers, and the seniors' level of generosity does not decrease with distance as quickly as that of the younger adults. In addition, older adults are more likely to forgo their resources to strangers even when their generosity is unlikely to be reciprocated.

Dr Narun Pornpattananangkul, the first author of the research paper, said, "In psychology, the motivation to contribute to the greater good is known as an "ego-transcending" motivation. In our earlier work, we found that there is an enhancement of this motivation after people received oxytocin, a hormone related to maternal love and trust. In this study, we found a similar pattern of an ego-transcending motivation among the older adults, as if the older adults received oxytocin to boost their generosity. We speculate that age-related changes at the neurobiological level may account for this change in generosity." Dr Pornpattananangkul is a research fellow from the Department of Psychology at the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

Asst Prof Yu added, "Our findings shed light on the age-related changes among the elderly, and provide an understanding of why they are more inclined to lend a helping hand to strangers. Providing older adults with more opportunities to help others is not only beneficial to our society, but it might also be a boon to the well-being of older adults themselves. Future studies with direct well-being measures should further examine this hypothesis."

Future studies to examine neural mechanisms involved in decision making

To further their understanding on how decision making shifts among the elderly, Asst Prof Yu and his team at NUS are embarking on studies to examine the neural mechanisms underlying the changes in decision making by using brain-imaging technologies. Research findings from these studies have the potential to be translated into effective intervention programmes to promote healthy ageing, and may help tackle age-related conditions such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease, which are often characterised by deficits in decision making.

###
New York Genome Center and Columbia University researchers seek to discover why identical genetic mutations cause disease in some people but not in others

NEW YORK, NY (June 12, 2017) - Tuuli Lappalainen, PhD, Core Faculty Member at the New York Genome Center, and Assistant Professor in the Department of Systems Biology at Columbia University, has been awarded a 5-year, $1.7 million R01 grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health. This grant will support Dr. Lappalainen's research on why individuals carrying identical gene mutations for a disease end up having varying severity or symptoms of the disease. The Lappalainen Lab will focus its research efforts on advancing scientific knowledge of a widely acknowledged but not well understood phenomenon called variable penetrance, where the severity of the effect of disease-causing variants differs among individuals who carry them.

Dr. Lappalainen, the study's principal investigator, will explore a specific type of modified penetrance, where a genetic variant that affects the regulation of a given gene also affects how severe an affect another variant inside that gene will have. The Lappalainen Lab will examine the important implications of variable penetrance in human evolution and disease. A clearer understanding of penetrance of disease-causing gene variants could enable clinicians to better predict an individual's risk of having a given disease, as well as its severity.

Dr. Lappalainen and her research team will focus on how haplotype epistasis--a phenomenon in which gene variants in close proximity to one another on the same chromosome interact--affects penetrance. Comprehensive, integrated analysis of haplotype epistasis has been lacking in the scientific literature, and Dr. Lappalainen's study will provide much needed insight into the resulting epistatic selection in human populations and the role it plays in genetic risk for disease. To determine which gene variants lie in the same chromosome and may act together, the researchers will use phASER, a novel method and software tool recently developed by the Lappalainen Lab.

"Our goal is to explore new ways to look at how genetic variants function together with each other, and what kind of effect that interaction has on human traits and disease," says Dr. Lappalainen. "What we are focusing on in our research is to describe the basic paradigms and concepts of what is happening on a cellular level. We propose to demonstrate that these interactions actually do exist in the human genome and to determine their significance."

In the study, the scientists plan to leverage their expertise in population genetics of regulatory, coding and disease-associated genetic variation. They will utilize genetic information from many of the largest human genetic datasets, and of diseases with diverse genetic architectures. The genomic databases include sequencing data of various diseases, including a dataset comprised of 2,500 families affected by autism. Autism was chosen, Dr. Lappalainen says, in order to study a disease that is primarily caused by very rare, severe mutations. The project will be driven by the Lappalainen Lab, and will also include a collaboration with Dr. Daniel MacArthur's lab at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT.

A unique aspect of the project, according to Dr. Lappalainen, is the integration of different domains of human genetics that have previously been studied in isolation. For example, she says, variants that affect the coding region of a gene and typically change an amino acid or completely destroy the protein structure have often been studied in the context of rare, severe diseases, while the analysis of genetic variants that affect gene regulation, such as gene expression levels, are often analyzed in the context of common complex diseases. Few researchers, Dr. Lappalainen says, have analyzed the joint effects of both of these variants.

"In this project, we will study many different kinds of diseases, including cancer, rare diseases and common diseases, to analyze how haplotype epistasis affects all kinds of disorders, rather than just focusing on one specific type of disease," Dr. Lappalainen says. "This will be the first comprehensive work on characterizing how important this phenomenon is and how it can affect penetrance of disease-causing variants."

As part of the project, researchers will experimentally recreate different combinations of variants identified from the sequencing data and test their interaction, utilizing the CRISPR-Cas genome editing method to introduce gene mutations at specific locations in the DNA of human cells grown in the lab. This will allow scientists to test how severely the different combinations of regulatory and coding mutations affect the cells' traits.

###

*Research reported in this press release will be supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01GM122924. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

About the New York Genome Center

The New York Genome Center is an independent, nonprofit academic research organization at the forefront of transforming biomedical research and clinical care with the mission of saving lives. A collaboration of renowned academic, medical and industry leaders across the globe, the New York Genome Center has as its goal to translate genomic research into development of new treatments, therapies and therapeutics against human disease. Its member organizations and partners are united in this unprecedented collaboration of technology, science and medicine, designed to harness the power of innovation and discoveries to advance genomic services. Their shared objective is the acceleration of medical genomics and precision medicine to benefit patients around the world. For more information, visit our website at http://www.nygenome.org.

Member institutions include: Albert Einstein College of Medicine, American Museum of Natural History, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Columbia University, Hospital for Special Surgery, The Jackson Laboratory, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, The New York Stem Cell Foundation, New York University, Northwell Health, Princeton University, The Rockefeller University, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Stony Brook University, Weill Cornell Medicine and IBM.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Karen Zipern, Director of Communications

New York Genome Center

646.977.7065

kzipern@nygenome.org
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Coral researcher Virginia Weis of Oregon State University is one of eight researchers selected for a new $14 million National Science Foundation program aimed at helping scientists better understand the relationship between gene function and the physical and functional characteristics of organisms.

Weis, head of the Department of Integrative Biology in OSU's College of Science, will use her $1.875 million EDGE program award to further study the microscale cellular, molecular and genetic mechanisms that underpin the symbiosis between corals and algae.

EDGE stands for Enabling Discovery through Genomic Tools. The NSF's Biological Sciences Directorate administers the program, which funds projects that seek to develop new tools and teach researchers how to use them.

"It's a tremendous honor to be selected for this important new program," Weis said.

Corals are made up of interconnected animal hosts called polyps that house microscopic algae inside their cells, Weis said. The coral-algal symbiosis, or partnership, is the foundation of the entire coral reef ecosystem; the polyps receive food from the algae, and the polyps in turn provide nutrients and protection to the algae.

"Coral reefs are profoundly important, diverse ecosystems that are threatened worldwide by environmental variation and stress," Weis said. "While a great deal of attention has been focused on the environmental threats to corals, there remains only a partial understanding of the regulation of the symbiosis, and more knowledge will provide a stronger foundation for studies of coral health and coral stress, such as coral bleaching, in which the host polyps lose their symbiotic algae."

Weis' project will bring together coral biologists, cell biologists and geneticists from Stanford University, the Carnegie Institution and Florida International University to study a small sea anemone that serves as a proxy for corals. Corals do not survive well in a laboratory setting, are slow growing and are difficult to collect.

The fast-growing, weedy sea anemone Aiptasia will allow researchers to make quick progress on the study of coral symbiosis.

"This award is focused on technique development and swift dissemination of results through online communication platforms to both the scientific community and the public," Weis said. "A variety of genetic techniques will be developed, including gene editing in both partners, to be able to test hypotheses about the involvement of specific genes in coral health and stress. This award will contribute to the training of scientists and expose school-aged children and others in the general public to coral reef and symbiosis science."

###

Oregon Health & Science University, the University of Texas, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Michigan State University, Penn State, Virginia Tech and Boyce Thompson Institute are the home institutions of the other EDGE award recipients.
DENVER, Colo. - The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) recognized seven new SNMMI Fellows during a Special Plenary Session at the society's 2017Annual Meeting, held June 10-14 in Denver, Colorado. The SNMMI Fellowship was established last year to recognize distinguished service to the society as well as exceptional achievement in the field of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging. It is one of the most prestigious formal recognitions available to long-time SNMMI members.

All past SNMMI presidents were granted Fellowship at the 2016 Annual Meeting. Now, 2016-17 SNMMI President Sally W. Schwarz, MS, RPh, BCNP, FAPhA, has joined their ranks. She is professor of radiology, director of PET Radiopharmaceutical Production and co-director of the Cyclotron Facility at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri.

Also recognized as SNMMI Fellows this year are

- James Adelstein, MD, PhD, Paul C. Cabot Professor of Medical Biophysics (emeritus), Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; - Patrick M. Colletti, MD, professor of radiology, medicine, biokinesiology, and pharmaceutical sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California; - Diwakar M. Jain, MD, professor of cardiovascular medicine and director of nuclear cardiology, New York Medical College, Westchester Medical Center, Valhalla, New York; - John W. Keyes, MD, professor of radiology emeritus, Wake Forest University Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina; - Christopher J. Palestro, MD, professor of radiology, Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine, Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York, and chief of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging at Northwell Health; and - Andrew T. Taylor, Jr., MD, professor of radiology and imaging sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.

Selection of SNMMI Fellows is based on documented excellence in volunteer service to the society and at least one of the additional three areas: excellence in scientific discovery and innovation; educational efforts in nuclear medicine and molecular imaging; or clinical practice of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging. SNMMI Fellowship is recognized with the designation FSNMMI.

###

About the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging

The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) is an international scientific and medical organization dedicated to raising public awareness about nuclear medicine and molecular imaging, a vital element of today's medical practice that adds an additional dimension to diagnosis, changing the way common and devastating diseases are understood and treated and helping provide patients with the best health care possible.

SNMMI's more than 17,000 members set the standard for molecular imaging and nuclear medicine practice by creating guidelines, sharing information through journals and meetings and leading advocacy on key issues that affect molecular imaging and therapy research and practice. For more information, visit http://www.snmmi.org.
DENVER, Colo. - A new study shows that a hybrid molecular imaging system unites three imaging modalities to map the composition of dangerous arterial plaques before they rupture and induce a major cardiac event. The research was presented at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI).

Certain types of plaques associated with atherosclerosis are prone to instability and tend to break apart, which can lead to embolism and sudden death, if left untreated. Lesions called thin-cap fibro atheroma (TCFA) are especially prone to rupture. Stanford University researchers have developed a scanner that unites optical, radioluminescence, and photoacoustic imaging to evaluate for TCFA.

"This is the first clinical imaging system able to detect vulnerable plaque in their earliest stages," said Raiyan T. Zaman, PhD, instructor of cardiovascular medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, Calif. "Our novel imaging system can detect these vulnerable plaques despite their small size, complex biochemistry and morphology. This could lead to a paradigm shift in the way coronary artery disease is diagnosed and assessed."

Early diagnosis and treatment could save lives by preventing the progression, and subsequent rupture, of these plaques. That is precisely why researchers designed the Circumferential-Intravascular-Radioluminescence-Photoacoustic-Imaging (CIRPI) system, which allows not just high-acuity optical imaging via beta-sensitive probe, but also radioluminescent marking inside the artery to determine the extent of inflammation. Photoacoustic imaging also provides information about the often-complex biological makeup of the plaques (how much is calcified or comprised of cholesterol or triglycerides).

"This is an important and potentially life-saving tool that could one day be used by interventional cardiologists to identify the appropriate treatment plan for patients at risk of future TCFA rupture," explained Zaman.

For this study, researchers focused on atherosclerotic samples of both human and mouse carotid arteries and performed CIRPI following injection of fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG). Photoacoustic lasers were used at different wavelengths to delineate plaque composition. The result was a never-before-seen 360-degree perspective of arterial plaque burden, confirmed effective by follow-up radiography, ultrasound and histology.

According to 2017 statistics from the American Heart Association, cardiovascular disease, including but not limited to coronary artery disease, accounted for more than 17.3 million deaths worldwide in 2013--making it the leading global cause of death. The toll is expected to rise to 23.6 million by 2030. Coronary heart disease is estimated to cost an average of $10.4 billion annually. This amount is expected to increase by 100 percent from 2013 to 2030.

###

Scientific Paper 31: "Harnessing Radioluminescence and Sound to Reveal Molecular Pathology of Atherosclerotic Plaques," Raiyan Tripti Zaman, Siavash Yousefi, Steven R. Long, Christopher H. Contag, Sanjiv S. Gambhir, Butras Khuri-Yakub, Lei Xing, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, Calif., SNMMI's 64th Annual Meeting, June 10-14, 2017, Denver, Colo.

LINK TO ABSTRACT

Please visit the SNMMI Media Center for more information about molecular imaging and personalized medicine. To schedule an interview with the researchers, please contact Laurie Callahan at (703) 652-6773 or lcallahan@snmmi.org. Current and past issues of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine can be found online at http://jnm.snmjournals.org.

About the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging

The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) is an international scientific and medical organization dedicated to raising public awareness about nuclear medicine and molecular imaging, a vital element of today's medical practice that adds an additional dimension to diagnosis, changing the way common and devastating diseases are understood and treated and helping provide patients with the best health care possible.

SNMMI's more than 17,000 members set the standard for molecular imaging and nuclear medicine practice by creating guidelines, sharing information through journals and meetings and leading advocacy on key issues that affect molecular imaging and therapy research and practice. For more information, visit http://www.snmmi.org.
This new edition of the report analyzes the research activity of the Spanish University System (initialed SUE in Spanish) over the last decade. In doing so, it considers a large set of indicators with data on 79 public and private Spanish universities from the years 2006 to 2015.

Economic and Research Data

According to the conclusions of the report, the slight increase in internal spending per researcher in Spain in 2015 does not equal the figures from 2008. Moreover, revenue generated by research (R&D) diminished by 19% from 2008 to 2014, with sharp declines of nearly 67% at some universities. Revenue earned by non-financial operations of the universities, according to the CRUE, has decreased since 2008 by an average of 14.02%, and by more than 18% at some universities.

The number of researchers in the Spanish science system is also in decline, having fallen 9.1% between 2010 and 2015, with a slight improvement in the last year analyzed. The number of professors in the SUE has slightly increased (8.65%), with an average accumulative growth of 0.93%.

Productivity and Collaboration on R&D&i

The productivity of professors almost doubled during this period. On the Web of Science (WoS), a platform that compiles references of the main scientific journals, the average number of publications per professor per year went from 0.49 in 2006 to 0.83 in 2015. By autonomous regions, Catalonia leads as the most productive, responsible for 25.68%, followed by Madrid (with 19.91%) and Andalusia (with 15.63%).

On breaking down production by subject areas, the data show that the experimental sciences continue to be the most represented (with some 36 publications), although they are down compared with 2006 (42%). Noteworthy are the improvements of the social sciences (10.8% at the end of the period compared with 7% at the beginning) and the arts and the humanities (5.89% compared with 3.51%).

With regard to scientific collaboration, the report highlights the increase in international collaboration, which reached 48.11% in 2015, up from 36.8% in 2006. In this area, the United States continues to be the country that collaborates the most, followed by the United Kingdom and Germany.

Impact of Research

As for the impact of the research, in terms of visibility, the report highlights the increase of publications in journals from the first quartile (top 25% of journals with the highest international impact), which went from 49.09% to 53%. Also to note is the increase in the number of patents granted, which increased by 125.36% over the period.

The analysis of competitiveness notes a decline in the number of projects presented in national plans with respect to international plans, data indicative of the search for opportunities in the European sphere (Framework Programme Horizon 2020).

With regard to talent attraction, there was an increase in Juan de la Cierva and Ramon y Cajal postdoctoral contracts as of 2013. FPU pre-doctoral contracts declined considerably in 2008, with a recovery in 2015. The number of theses increased by nearly 113%.

###

Complete report: http://www.informes.iune.es/Informe%20IUNE%202017.pdf

Further information: http://www.iune.es
A study by chemists at the University of Connecticut offers new evidence that electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes are potentially as harmful as tobacco cigarettes.

Using a new low-cost, 3-D printed testing device, UConn researchers found that e-cigarettes loaded with a nicotine-based liquid are potentially as harmful as unfiltered cigarettes when it comes to causing DNA damage.

The researchers also found that vapor from non-nicotine e-cigarettes caused as much DNA damage as filtered cigarettes, possibly due to the many chemical additives present in e-cigarette vapors. Cellular mutations caused by DNA damage can lead to cancer.

The findings appear in the journal ACS Sensors.

How much DNA damage e-cigarettes cause depends on the amount of vapor the user inhales, the other additives present, whether nicotine or non-nicotine liquid is used, and other factors, says Karteek Kadimisetty, a postdoctoral researcher in UConn's chemistry department and the study's lead author.

But one finding was clear.

"From the results of our study, we can conclude that e-cigarettes have as much potential to cause DNA damage as unfiltered regular cigarettes," Kadimisetty says.

Electronic cigarettes are battery-powered devices that heat up liquid and turn it into an aerosol vapor that can be inhaled. Using e-cigarettes is also called 'vaping.' The contents of e-cigarettes, called e-liquid or e-juice, are usually made up of propylene glycol, glycerine, nicotine, and flavorings such as menthol, cherry, vanilla, or mint. Non-nicotine e-cigarettes are also available.

Frequently viewed as a less toxic alternative for people looking to break their habit of smoking tobacco cigarettes, modern e-cigarettes have steadily risen in popularity since they first appeared on the commercial market in 2004. How much e-cigarettes contribute to serious health problems and whether they serve as a gateway for future tobacco smokers remains the subject of much debate. Growing concerns about the potential health impact of electronic cigarettes however, prompted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to tighten its regulation of e-cigarettes in 2016.

UConn's scientists decided to look into whether the chemicals in e-cigarettes could cause damage to human DNA while testing a new electro-optical screening device they developed in their lab. The small 3-D printed device is believed to be the first of its kind capable of quickly detecting DNA damage, or genotoxicity, in environmental samples in the field, the researchers say.

The device uses micropumps to push liquid samples across multiple 'microwells' embedded in a small carbon chip. The wells are pre-loaded with reactive human metabolic enzymes and DNA. As the samples drop into the wells, new metabolites that have the potential to cause DNA damage are formed. Reactions between the metabolites and the DNA generate light that is captured by a camera. Within five minutes, users can see how much relative DNA damage a sample produces by the intensity of the light detected in each well.

The device is unique in that it converts chemicals into their metabolites during testing, which replicates what happens in the human body, Kadimisetty says.

Bioassays currently used to determine the genotoxicity of environmental samples may be more comprehensive, but they are often time-consuming and costly. Lab equipment alone can cost tens of thousands of dollars. The array developed at UConn provides an important initial screening tool for genotoxicity in just minutes. The chip central to the device is disposable and costs only a dollar to make, thanks to recent advances in 3-D printing.

"What we developed is very cheap to make, efficient, and can be used by almost anyone," says UConn chemistry professor James Rusling, the senior researcher on the study.

Affordable and efficient "labs on a chip" is a specialty of Rusling's lab, which has previously created miniature arrays that can detect antibodies to food allergens and cancer biomarker proteins. Rusling says similar arrays potentially could be used for quick genotoxic screening during drug development, for monitoring or testing fresh water supplies, and for the early detection of aggressive forms of cancer.

In the current study, the researchers extracted samples from e-cigarettes and tobacco cigarettes using an artificial inhalation technique. Cigarettes were connected to a tube that contained a cotton plug. The researchers then used a syringe at the other end of the tube to replicate inhalation. Samples came from the chemicals captured in the cotton.

The team set their test so that 20 puffs of an e-cigarette was roughly equivalent to smoking one tobacco cigarette, a ratio supported by other research. The team gathered samples at 20, 60, and 100 puffs. The potential DNA damage from e-cigarettes increased with the number of puffs, Kadimisetty says.

"Some people use e-cigarettes heavily because they think there is no harm," he says. "We wanted to see exactly what might be happening to DNA, and we had the resources in our lab to do that."

There are potentially hundreds of chemicals in e-cigarettes that could be contributing to DNA damage, Kadimisetty says. Rather than test for all of them, the UConn team targeted three known carcinogenic chemicals found in tobacco cigarettes. They then loaded their device's microwells with specific enzymes that would convert those chemicals into metabolites. If these chemicals were in the sample, the test gave them a reading for genotoxicity. If the chemicals were not present, there would be no reaction.

###

Joining Kadimisetty and Rusling on the study was former UConn Ph.D. student Spundana Malla, now a scientist at Alliance Pharma in Pennsylvania.

The study was supported by funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health.
ANN ARBOR--A chemical currently being used to ward off mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus and a commonly used insecticide that was threatened with a ban in the United States have been associated with reduced motor function in Chinese infants, a University of Michigan study found.

Researchers at the U-M School of Public Health and U-M Center for Human Growth and Development tested children in China and found exposure to the chemical naled via their mothers during pregnancy was associated with 3-4 percent lower fine motor skills scores at age 9 months for those in the top 25 percent of naled exposure, compared to those in the lowest 25 percent of exposure. Infants exposed to chlorpyrifos scored 2-7 percent lower on a range of key gross and fine motor skills.

Girls appeared to be more sensitive to the negative effects of the chemicals than boys.

Naled is one of the chemicals being used in several U.S. states to combat the mosquito that transmits Zika. Chlorpyrifos, around since the 1960s, is used on vegetables, fruit and other crops to control pests.

Both are insecticides called organophosphates, a class of chemicals that includes nerve agents like sarin gas. They inhibit an enzyme involved in the nerve signaling process, paralyzing insects and triggering respiratory failure. However, they may adversely impact health through other mechanisms at lower exposure levels that are commonly encountered in the environment.

In the children studied, naled affected fine motor skills or the small movements of hands, fingers, face, mouth and feet. Chlorpyrifos was associated with lower scores for both gross (large movements of arms and legs) and fine motor skills.

"Motor delays in infancy may be predictive of developmental problems later in childhood," said first author Monica Silver, graduate student research assistant and research fellow in the School of Public Health Department of Environmental Health Sciences. "The findings may help inform policy as the debate over use of these chemicals continues."

The only studies to date on naled health impacts have taken place in occupational settings, not with exposure in the general population, Silver says. Previous chlorpyrifos research has found ties to delayed motor development in children and a host of health issues for those who handle the chemical, including nausea, dizziness and convulsions.

The U-M researchers examined the umbilical cord blood of about 240 mothers, looking for exposure to 30 different organophosphate insecticides, five of which showed up in at least 10 percent of the samples. In addition to naled and chlorpyrifos, they found methamidophos, trichlorfon and phorate.

The cord blood was gathered from 2008-11 as part of a cohort study designed by co-author Betsy Lozoff of the U-M Center for Human Growth and Development to investigate the relationships between iron deficiency and infant neurodevelopment.

The researchers followed the development of the babies using the well-known Peabody Developmental Motor Skill Assessment at 6 weeks and 9 months. No deficits were noted at 6 weeks.

The test provides gross, fine and total motor scores, and more specific subtest results including reflexes, stationary (body control), locomotion (movement), grasping and visual-motor integration (eyes and hands coordinated).

Use of the Peabody tool is unique to this study. Previous research in the environmental health field has primarily relied upon motor portions of larger developmental assessment tools, while this one focused strictly on motor skills, giving a more comprehensive view.

Chlorpyrifos has been banned for residential use in the U.S. since 2000, and for all use in some European countries. In 2015, the Obama Administration proposed a total ban in the U.S. but two months ago the head of the Environmental Protection Agency determined there was not enough scientific evidence to support the action.

While China is the world's largest user of pesticides, the researchers say exposure to the chemicals is a worldwide concern, especially as the U.S. and other countries brace for another season with the Zika virus.

"Zika is a very serious public health threat. This information helps to highlight that the way we go about combating Zika and other vector-borne diseases needs to be thought out more completely in order to minimize other unintended consequences," said John Meeker, U-M professor of environmental health sciences who was senior author and principal investigator on the project.

"For example, a focus on a more holistic integrated pest management approach may allow for the same or even improved effectiveness in reducing disease while using smaller amounts of these potentially harmful chemicals."

Integrated pest management uses education and a range of other tactics to avoid insect infestations (e.g., get rid of standing water near homes), and taking precautions against getting bitten (e.g., avoiding out-of-doors in early morning or after dusk, wearing long-sleeved clothing).

While exposure to chlorpyrifos and other pesticides used on crops is widespread and may be unavoidable in some situations, the research team said consuming organic produce when feasible, and thoroughly washing all fruits and vegetables before eating them can help to reduce exposure.

###

Other authors include Jie Shao and Binquan Zhu, Zhejiang University School of Medicine; Minjian Chen and Yankai Xia, Nanjing Medical University; and Niko Kaciroti, U-M Center for Human Growth and Development.

The study was supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the National Institute of Child Health and Development and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
Two Gujarat cabinet ministers were seen attending an event meant to felicitate exorcists. The two were also seen shaking hands with around 100 exorcists gathered at the event. The incident was called shameful by a Gujarat-based rationalist.

By India Today Web Desk: Two Gujarat ministers courted controversy this weekend after they were spotted at an event meant to felicitate exorcists in Botad district's Gadhada village.

According to a report by Tv9 Gujarati, Education and Revenue Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama and Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Atmaram Parmar were sitting on the dais of the event that also saw two exorcists beat themselves with metal chains to Gujarati music.

advertisement

The ministers triggered controversy after a video clip of them at the event went viral. Chudasama, however, defended his presence, saying it was just a gathering of 'worshippers of the divine'.

According to news agency PTI, the event was organised by a local unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party and also saw participation from the area's MLA.

PTI also reported that the the two ministers were seen shaking hands with around 100 exorcists who were present at the felicitation ceremony.

Jayant Pandya, a prominent rationalist and the chief of the NGO Bharat Jan Vigyan Jatha, sharply criticised the two ministers, calling their presence at the event shameful.

Speaking to Tv9 Gujarati, Padnya said his organisation condemns the episode and added that this was the first time he saw high-ranking government functionaries attending such an event.

'(My NGO) has decided to write to Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and urge him to ensure that cabinet ministers do not attend such events and promote (superstitious) practices,' Pandya told the Gujarati TV channel.

Unfazed by the criticism, Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama defended his and his colleague's presence at the exorcists' event. PTI quoted Chudasama as saying, "I attended the programme because it was a gathering of worshippers of divine power, not those who spread superstition."

ALSO READ | Madhya Pradesh: 4 teenagers in Ratlam made to dip hands in boiling oil to trace lost mobile phone

ALSO READ | Murder attempt on Mangaluru based rationalist, complaint filed

ALSO WATCH | Bathinda shocker: Woman kills grandchildren in bid to ward off evil spirits

--- ENDS ---
MIAMI--Scientists are closer to unraveling the long-standing mystery of how tiny glass eel larvae, which begin their lives as hatchlings in the Sargasso Sea, know when and where to "hop off" the Gulf Stream toward European coastlines to live out their adult lives in coastal estuaries.

In a new study by the University of Miami (UM)'s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science in collaboration with the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research's Austevoll Research Station found that these glass eels (Anguilla anguilla) can sense Earth's magnetic field and use it like a compass controlled by an internal "biological" clock to orient themselves towards the coast.

"This study is an important addition to our understanding of the mechanisms of eel migration and also to that of other species, if it turns out that their magnetic orientation is similarly controlled by a biological clock," said UM Rosenstiel School Professor Claire Paris, a senior author of the study.

The odyssey of the European eel begins when they hatch in the Sargasso Sea. As tiny larvae, they travel thousands of kilometers across the Atlantic Ocean, hopefully making it to the European continental shelf. At some point between the Canary Islands and northern Norway they "hop off" the Gulf Stream and actively migrate towards the coast, heading for estuaries. Some eels remain in the coastal area, while others move inland into lakes, remaining there, slowly growing, for up to 30 years.

The research team led by UM Rosenstiel School Ph.D. student Alessandro Cresci investigated the orientation behavior of the eels using a unique combination of experiments. First, they observed the eels in a semi-enclosed, circular aquarium, called a Drifting In-Situ Chamber (DISC) pioneered by Paris, deployed in a Norwegian fjord, a natural environments of the glass eel just before it arrives at the coast. The next step was to conduct an orientation behavior analysis in a magnetoreception test facility (the "MagLab"), where they were exposed to artificially manipulated magnetic field such that the N-S and E-W axes were shifted by 90 degrees.

Although deprived of all other environmental cues, glass eels in the laboratory oriented to the South, the same direction that they swam in situ during the ebb tide.

"It is incredible that these small transparent glass eels can detect the earth's magnetic field. The use of a magnetic compass could be a key component underlying the amazing migration of these animals," said Cresci, the study's lead author. "It is also the first observation of glass eels keeping a compass as they swim in shelf waters, and that alone is an exciting discovery."

The study was designed to understand how the fish orient while drifting with the current under the same environmental conditions that they would encounter during their migration towards the coast to assess whether they use Earth's magnetic field as a frame of reference for orientation, and change direction according to the tidal cycle to guide them towards the coast.

When eel larvae arrive at the continental shelf, they metamorphose into transparent glass eels, changing shape, physiology and behavior. At some point during this journey--anywhere from the Canary Islands to northern Norway--they "hop off" the Gulf Stream and actively migrate towards the coast, heading for estuaries. Some eels remain in the coastal area, while others move inland into lakes remaining there, slowly growing, for up to 30 years.

###

The study, titled "Glass eel (Anguilla anguilla) have a magnetic compass linked to the tidal cycle," was published June 9, 2017 in the journal Science Advances. The study's co-authors include: Paris and Cresci from the UM Rosenstiel School; Howard Browman, Steven Shema, Reidun Bjelland, Caroline Durif and Anne Berit Skiftesvik from the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research.; and Steven Shema of Grotti ehf.

Funding for UM from OTIC-NSF Award 1155698 "T-LEOST (realTime-Larval Environment and Ocean Signal Tracking): An Integrated System for the Study of Navigational Cues in the Marine Environment"

About the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School

The University of Miami is one of the largest private research institutions in the southeastern United States. The University's mission is to provide quality education, attract and retain outstanding students, support the faculty and their research, and build an endowment for University initiatives. Founded in the 1940's, the Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science has grown into one of the world's premier marine and atmospheric research institutions. Offering dynamic interdisciplinary academics, the Rosenstiel School is dedicated to helping communities to better understand the planet, participating in the establishment of environmental policies, and aiding in the improvement of society and quality of life. For more information, visit: http://www.rsmas.miami.edu.
A University of Oklahoma and Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City research team is set to begin the largest breast cancer clinical trial ever performed in Oklahoma. The team has developed new breast cancer risk prediction models based on a computer-aided image feature analysis scheme to identify patients who might have cancers that are not visible on mammography. After review of 2,000 imaging studies performed at Mercy over the past two years and refinement of the image analysis system, the clinical trial begins July 1, 2017, at the Mercy Breast Center.

Bin Zheng and Hong Liu, professors in the Gallogly College of Engineering, affiliates of the Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering and members of the Stephenson Cancer Center, teamed with Dr. Alan Hollingsworth, medical director of the Mercy Breast Center, to develop and validate this unique breast cancer risk model for identifying women who are excluded from current breast magnetic resonance imaging guidelines, but have a higher risk of developing mammography-occult or hidden cancers that can be detected by MRI. At the same time, the study will evaluate women with elevated lifetime cancer risk, but who are in no imminent risk of developing image-detectable cancers.

"The goal is to significantly increase cancer detection of breast MRI screenings based on the quantitative imaging markers rather than the existing epidemiology-based risk assessment approaches," said Zheng.

Over the next three years, the clinical trial will enroll 4,000 women with mammograms interpreted as normal according to best practice guidelines. These mammograms will be de-identified and sent electronically to Zheng and Liu at the OU Advanced Cancer Imaging Laboratory for analysis. The women with higher scores predicted by the risk model will qualify for the additional breast screening. Hollingsworth anticipates between 200 and 400 patients of the original 4,000 will qualify for a breast MRI.

"If we can demonstrate cancer detection rates of even five percent in this population, then we will have achieved a higher yield than any other method of selecting patients for breast MRI screening. Five percent is 10-fold the cancer detection rate of screening mammography. At five percent or greater, we have the potential to alter how we screen for breast cancer. Unlike research projects that might take a decade or longer from 'bench-to-bedside,' if we're successful, this study will have practice-changing implications," said Hollingsworth.

Participants in this study will be those women who routinely have their mammograms performed at Mercy Breast Center. If you are interested in learning more about the clinical trial, call 405.936.5455.

###

The National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute funded this research with a five-year, $2.5 million grant.
A University of Texas at Arlington-led team is building computer tools to detect social bots within the worldwide web that create and spread fake news.

Chengkai Li, UTA associate professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, is leading the project, which is funded through the Texas National Security Network Excellence Fund out of the University of Texas at Austin's Clements Center for National Security and The Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law.

The team will use highly sophisticated algorithms to combat the bots and spread of fake news.

Co-principal investigators for the project include: Christoph Csallner, UTA associate professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering; Mark Tremayne, UTA assistant professor in the Department of Communication; Zhiqiang Lin, UT Dallas associate professor of computer science; and Angela Lee, UT Dallas assistant professor of emerging media and communication.

The project, titled "Bot vs. Bot: Automated Detection of Fake News Bots," will focus Twitter accounts. Bots, in the context of Twitter, are Twitter accounts run by computer programs that automatically publish and forward content, follow other accounts, leave comments and conduct seemingly "real" activity.

"This is a seed grant that we hope will lead to a much larger grant that will identify these bots for social media users," Li said. "Right now, you don't know what is coming from a real person and what's coming from a computer, sometimes for malicious, or at least, misleading reasons."

Li said the project's focus is on national security threats rather than domestic politics.

"These bots often are sponsored by nation states that are hostile to U.S. interests," Li said. "This project needs to have a worldwide reach."

Csallner said the project's aim is to create computer programs that distinguish bot from human.

"For example, even if a bot uses high-end artificial intelligence and massive processing power, an extremely simple detection technique may be enough if the bot always posts at the same time of day or has some other trait that makes it easy to distinguish the bot from humans," Csallner said.

Tremayne said what makes the team's task especially difficult is that many times fake news' birth has some real facts contained in a report.

"You might find that a bot takes a piece of real and true information, then adds an element that isn't true. So, in the end, you have different levels of fake news," Tremayne said.

He said these bots are just the latest fake news. Tremayne said propaganda and the days of Yellow Journalism more than a century ago also fall under the larger category of fake news.

Li said the interdisciplinary nature of the project ensures looking at the issue from all angles.

"We will leverage our research expertise in computational fact-checking, static and dynamic code analysis, data mining and security," Li said. "The work will be grounded by communication and journalism principles. We will conduct experiments to better understand the interaction between bots and news consumption behaviors and effects. By putting together a team of computer scientists and social science scholars, this project, seeks to advance our understanding of fake-news bots and our capability of countering it."

This isn't Li's first venture into this type of research.

Collaborating with researchers from Duke and Stanford universities, Li used National Science Foundation and Knight Foundation grants to build ClaimBuster, an automated tool that assists fact-checkers in finding important factual claims to check. ClaimBuster has been used to aid in checking the veracity of statements said by candidates in U.S. presidential debates.

Tremayne also is a participant on the ClaimBuster project and a collaborator on the NSF grant. His research interests are in the transformation of journalism and mass communication in the digital era. He published research on the controversial use of unmanned aerial vehicles in journalism and mass communication, also known as drone journalism.

Csallner's research emphasis relates to software engineering, and specifically includes program analysis, automated bug finding, software security and cell phone software development.

This project embodies the data-driven discovery platform under UTA's Strategic Plan 2020: Bold Solutions | Global Impact.

###
Place Your Advert

Register or sign in to advertise your job
The anaerobic digestion industry has called for swift action to overcome uncertainty and assist the on-farm energy sector in boosting the economy.

The Anaerobic Digestion & Bioresources Association (ADBA) said the AD sector boosts the economy, creates jobs and ensures security of energy supply.

AD is seen as an environmentally friendly, cost-effective solution to dealing with waste.

Instead of burning it, or sending it to landfill, AD plants turn that waste into 30% of the UKs household gas or electricity demand.

ADBA says this means less waste to landfill, stable energy prices, and fewer carbon dioxide emissions  with 35,000 potential rural jobs too.

'Significant part'

Commenting on the result, Charlotte Morton, Chief Executive of ADBA said: Now it is time to focus on the policies we need to grow our economy and meet our environmental commitments, and AD can and should play a significant part in these plans.

This makes sense from an environmental and economic point of view but also in terms of security of supply - the current problems in Qatar, a key supplier for our gas imports, shows the importance of a reliable source of British green gas.

ADBA is calling for the new Government to re-introduce the legislation on the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) and commit to increasing the RHI budget.

The organisation is calling for a commitment to legislation introducing separate food waste collections in England, to divert waste away from landfill, helping meet carbon commitments.

And it is calling for support for UK farmers by restoring viable tariffs to the Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) scheme and remove the AD capacity cap.
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has confirmed that they will secure the best Brexit deal possible for Northern Ireland's farmers.

DUP MLA William Irwin visited Armagh Show to broadcast the positive message for the nation's farmers, who fear a hard border with the Republic of Ireland.

He said: Two of our priorities will be to ensure the continuation of direct payments for farmers and the maintenance of a seamless border on the island of Ireland, from a trading point of view. This will entail trade in both directions.

Mr Irwin continued: As a party, we are committed to securing the future growth of farming and food in Northern Ireland.

The pro-Union and pro-Brexit party, based in Northern Ireland and led by Arlene Foster, is the fifth largest party in Westminster with 10 seats.

They will act in a confidence and supply arrangement with the Conservative Party which will be finalised at Westminster over the coming days.

The Conservative Party failed to win a majority of seats in the House of Commons, which left a hung parliament.

The DUP manifesto says the party wants a "comprehensive free trade and customs agreement with the European Union."

The DUP say they are a 'friend of the farmer and of natural heritage'.
A Cambridgeshire farmer who poured slurry on land to stop it being used by illegal ravers has said he was forced to act after police 'stood around and did nothing'.

Farmer David Rolls said he was furious with police inaction after an illegal rave was attended by around 150 people on his land.

Fearing for the safety of his animals after dangerous litter was left on the field, Mr Rolls called the police in the hope they would be moved along.

Riot police and other officers arrived at the scene just after 1am but revellers did not leave the site until almost 12 hours later.

Mr Rolls was reportedly left furious after police 'stood around' as the illegal ravers partied in his field between the villages of Arrington and Longstowe, near Cambridge.

'Stood there watching'

Mr Rolls told Cambridge News that four riot vans and various other police cars turned up but they 'just stood there watching.'

He said: "The police said it was too dangerous to let them drive off.

"So they just stood around. My neighbour came to help and drove a tractor with slurry into the field. Police said if the slurry went on them, the police, my neighbour would be done for assault.

"I am in a right state," Mr Rolls said.

"My livelihood is at stake with damage to my crops with broken bottles everywhere. I grow grass for hay and if I harvest it with broken glass in it the horses that eat it could die.

"The ravers are ignorant idiots who dont realise the damage they have caused because they are ignorant.

"I am furious at the police. They did nothing to protect us. Ive probably lost tens of thousands of pounds from this."

'Great deal of disruption'

Rural organisation the CLA has advised farmers and landowners to reduce the risk of any illegal activity occurring in empty and remote buildings by ensuring they are secure and regularly monitored.

The organisation says that access to land should be restricted wherever possible by the use of locked gates.

CLA East Regional Director Ben Underwood said: Illegal raves cause a great deal of disruption to local communities, with the resulting mess causing considerable harm to both wildlife and the environment.

These illegal gatherings can also create unnecessary problems for landowners, who could fall victim to considerable clean-up costs and expensive repairs to outbuildings.

We urge farmers and landowners to help the Police by reporting any suspicious activity, as early intervention and good local intelligence can prevent these illegal events from taking place.

Officers find it much harder to shut down a rave once it has already started so if you spot anyone suspicious on rural land or a number of unfamiliar vehicles in your area, then please report any such activity on the non-emergency number of 101 as soon as possible.
A County Antrim farmer has received a nine month suspended prison sentence after he was convicted of causing unnecessary suffering to his livestock.

He has caused unnecessary suffering of 11 cattle, one charge of causing unnecessary suffering to a sheep, three charges of failure to dispose of animal carcasses and three charges of failure to comply with an animal by-product requirement.

48-year-old James Steele of Crumlin has been disqualified from owning, keeping and participating in keeping farm animals for 25 years.

He was also sentenced to nine months imprisonment suspended for four years at Antrim Crown Court.

This case arose from a number of welfare inspections carried out by Government Officers on James Steeles farm between September 2015 and January 2016.

Previous animal welfare convictions

The farmer was known to the Agricultural and Rural Affairs Department (DAERA) because of previous animal welfare convictions and therefore the situation on his farm was being monitored closely.

At these inspections, officers found dead cattle and sheep which James Steele had failed to dispose of. They also had to euthanize a number of cattle and sheep to prevent any further suffering.

DAERA was granted a deprivation order under the Welfare of Animals (NI) Act 2011 in January 2016, this order allowed the Department to remove the remaining cattle from Mr Steeles possession.

Speaking after todays sentencing, Danny Gray from DAERAs Welfare and Enforcement branch said: This is the first time the Department has had to take an animal welfare prosecution to the Crown Court due to James Steeles continuing and inexcusable disregard for the care of his animals.

Todays sentencing underlines how serious DAERA is about pursuing those who continue to break the law relating to animal welfare.
Prime Minister Theresa May has appointed as her new Environment Secretary a Brexiteer who has spoken about the benefit of cheap food imports.

Michael Gove, who has taken over from Andrea Leadsom as the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, was one of the leaders of the campaign to leave the European Union last year.

The former Education Secretary, who was beaten by Theresa May in the campaign for the leadership of the Conservative party following the resignation of David Cameron, lost his place in the Cabinet in Theresa May's first reshuffle.

But he has now been named Environment Secretary following the General Election and his views on trade may alarm some farmers' leaders.

'Strip out protectionism'

In an interview with the Daily Mail before the EU referendum, Michael Gove said that leaving the European Union could provide British consumers with cheap food as a result of trade deals with emerging nations.

An independent Britain could choose to strike free trade agreements with emerging economies and lower tariffs, extending new opportunities to developing nations and in the process allowing prices in Britain to become cheaper, he said.

The new Environment Secretary said in the interview, in April 2016: We can strip out the protectionism and special interests that drag down EU negotiations.

In a separate interview with Nick Robinson on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said he would like to see the UK removing trade barriers with the rest of the world.

We would benefit from being able to take back control of our seat at the World Trade Organisation. At the moment Britain is represented at the WTO by the EU's single representative - an ex-sociology lecturer from Sweden.

I'd like to see a Briton on the WTO determining trade policy. More than that, I would like to see barriers - trade barriers - that we've erected in the EU against developing nations come down.

Guy Smith said if UK Government allowed cheap, lower standard food imports, then the country could lose its farming industry

'Lower quality, lower welfare'

At the NFU conference earlier this year the union's president, Meurig Raymond, warned that any new free trade agreements negotiated with countries outside the European Union could open the British market to lower quality, lower welfare food imports.

We commend the ambition to open up trade with new partners but how, in reality, Secretary of State, will you keep food produced to a lower standard than our own out? he asked the then Environment Secretary, Andrea Leadsom.

"Would the British public want us to start importing beef produced using growth promoting hormones? Or chickens dipped in chlorine? he said.

At the Lincolnshire Farming Conference, NFU vice president Guy Smith told FarmingUK that the United Kingdom would risk losing its biggest manufacturing industry unless it protected British agriculture.

The food and drink industry is the country's biggest manufacturer and its largest manufacturing export sector, accounting for 16 per cent of UK manufacturing turnover and employing 400,000 people.

But Guy Smith said if the British Government allowed cheap, lower standard food imports, then the country could lose its farming industry and the food manufacturing industry, too.

The key point to make to Government is that if, as a result of leaving the European Union, we end up just sucking in more imports from other parts of the world of lower standards then that is a fail and that will export our agriculture to other parts of the world.

The key point is that that may take the manufacturing base with it because, if you are a processor processing agricultural products, you will probably want to go to those parts of the world where you are sure there is local supply, he said.

And that will really impact hard on our economy because food and drink is the largest sector of the UK economy.

'Desire for cheap food'

The National Pig Association (NPA) has warned about the threat of low standard foreign pork.

Countries like the US, Canada and Brazil are able to produce pig meat at a much lower cost because they have lower animal welfare and environmental standards, NPA policy services manager Lizzie Wilson has told FarmingUK.

We are absolutely adamant that the Government must not put a desire for cheap food ahead of the need to shore up the UKs self-sufficiency in food, which has already declined alarmingly over the last few decades.

We do not want to see UK consumers exposed to pig meat produced to lower standards and we certainly do not want our producers to face unfair import competition, she said.

The National Sheep Association (NSA) has said it is seriously alarmed at the possibility of completely free trade deal with Australia and New Zealand.

NSA chief executive Phil Stocker said such a deal could be catastrophic for British sheep farmers.

'Massively competitive'

And Mark Williams, chief executive of the British Egg Industry Council (BEIC) has said that, if foreign egg products were allowed free access to the UK market following Brexit, domestic egg products produced to higher standards of safety and animal welfare would be unable to compete with them.

With British Lion shell eggs we believe we will be able to continue the great progress  consumers are eating more eggs now, they have confidence in eggs. Where Im most concerned is for egg products,

Mr Williams said that studies conducted in the Netherlands showed that, because of the UK and EUs high standards of animal welfare, food safety and environmental protection, the costs of production were higher than those in some third country trading partners.

The four biggest exporters of egg products to the EU  Ukraine, India, the United States and Argentina  were all massively more competitive than us, he said.

If after Brexit the UK Government was to negotiate a free trade agreement with one of those countries, the UK industry could be left at a real disadvantage, he said
Two members of tractor enthusiast club Blue Force are celebrating after completing a 5,000 mile, 51 day Coastline Tractor Challenge, not previously attempted on tractors.

The challenge marks 100 years of blue tractor production in 2017.

The challenge started from New Hollands Basildon factory on Thursday 13th April in two new T6 tractors supplied by the manufacturer. They returned to the factory on Friday 2nd June.

Blue Force club members have a passion for preserving and running vintage and modern Fordson, Ford and New Holland marque tractors.

Phil Gibson, chairman of Blue Force, and Peter Plehov, club treasurer, have driven a route around the coast of mainland UK & Ireland, stopping at several points on route including Bournemouth, Galway and Edinburgh.

Each tractor has towed a shepherds hut, built by Phil and Peter. One hut for sleeping accommodation and the other for fuel, oil and supplies.

The Coastline Challenge is raising funds for two charities, Steps Conductive Education Centre in Loughborough, and Cancer Research UK.

Phil and Peter have a personal connection with the charities and the pair aim to raise 25,000 by the end of 2017. They have raised nearly 13,000 so far.

'Tremendous support'

Andrew Watson, Business Director, New Holland UK and Ireland, said: We have always had a close relationship with the Blue Force Club so we were delighted to assist Peter and Phil when we heard about their challenge. We have been following their progress and are excited to welcome them back to the factory at Basildon having completed their fantastic journey.

Phil Gibson said: I have been overwhelmed by the tremendous support from New Holland, without them we would not have done any of this.

The trip was almost entirely funded by donations from Blue Force club members and generous sponsors.

New Holland dealer Robertsons of Orkney funded the pairs ferry crossings to the Orkney Islands to guarantee the islands blue tractor fans can be part of the celebrations.

Other New Holland dealers along the 5000-mile route hosted events to celebrate 100 years of blue tractors and support Phil and Peter on their Coastline Challenge.

Phil said about the challenge that he and treasurer Peter had, lived, worked and breathed tractors all our lives, but this was something very new.
The security forces used social media accounts of the terror operatives to track them down in Handwara.

By Shuja-ul-Haq : In a major success to the security forces, a Hizbul Mujahideen module was busted after two of its militants were arrested in Handwara today. Security forces have also held two terror over ground workers (OGWs) in Awantipora.

The arrests were made possible by constant tracking of the terrorists by the cyber surveillance unit of Jammu and Kashmir police. Sources said that social media accounts of these militants were closely monitored and some incriminating material was found. They were misusing web-chats to hatch and execute their nefarious plans.

advertisement

HOW THE TERRORISTS WERE NABBED

Acting on a specific information about presence of militants in the region, a joint team of Handwara police and 21-Rashtriya Rifles put up a check point at Chogal. Two persons identified as Mehrajudin son of Gulzar Ahmad Bhat and Obaid Shafi Malla son Mohammad Shafi both residents of Awantipora were nabbed by security forces as they tried to avoid the check point.

A huge cache of arms and ammunition was also recovered from the arrested terrorists.

During interrogation, the terror operatives revealed that they had come to Handwara to receive ammunition and other inventories needed for their militant outfit in South Kashmir.

Preliminary investigating revealed that these militants were members of Hizbul Mujahideen module who would not only recruit young men by radicalizing them over social media but also coordinated their training and arranged arms/ammunition.

Working on information received from the arrested terrorists, two more members of the module working as on ground workiers (OGWs) were arrested from Awantipora. They were identified as Awantipora residents Shahid Ahmad Thoker and Irfan Ahmad.

ALSO READ:

Terror module with links to Canada, Pakistan busted; 2 terrorists arrested

Delhi Police arrests 12 Jaish terrorists, who were planning major attack on city

Hizb-ul-Mujahideen terrorist trying to sneak into India arrested

WATCH:

9 Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists neutralised by Indian Army a year after outfit shared photo online

--- ENDS ---
Farmers are cautious about signing up to new schemes, survey shows
The baby's face was in the toilet hole and she was crying when a woman spotted the baby. After the baby was rescued, she was taken to a civic hospital for medical treatment.

By Press Trust of India: In a shocking incident, a baby girl, hours after her birth, was left to die in a public toilet, allegedly by her mother in Mumbai's Kanjurmarg suburb, police said today.

However, the day-old infant received prompt medical aid and has been now kept in a child care centre.The baby''s face was in the toilet hole and she was crying when a woman spotted the baby. She pulled the baby from the toilet and alerted her own family and the police control room.

advertisement

Also read: Woman lay dead by railway tracks in MP's Damoh, infant son tries to breastfeed

The police rushed to the spot and took the baby to a civic hospital as she needed urgent medical treatment.

"After her health improved, we took the baby to Vatsalya Trust, where she could get proper care," Senior Police Inspector Ajinath Satpute told PTI. Decisions about her welfare will be taken by Child Welfare Committee, he said.

Police is yet to trace and identify the newborn's mother.

Also read: Brazilian baby walks just moments after birth, video goes viral

However, it has registered an offence against her under section 315 of IPC (an act done with intent to prevent child being born alive or to cause it to die after birth) and section 317 of IPC (exposure and abandonment of child under twelve years, by parent or person having care of it), the official said.

--- ENDS ---




Haiti - Security : A maritime delegation of SEMANAH invited to the USA





At the invitation of the American Embassy in Haiti, a delegation led by Dieudonne Bruno, the Director General of the Maritime and Navigation Service of Haiti (SEMANAH) and composed of the Director of Cooperation and Maritime Affairs as well as 2 executives of the Coast Guard Service, recently went to the United States in New Orleans, Louisiana.



The purpose of the visit was to exchange information on good practices and lessons learned in the identification of vessels requiring offshore inspection prior to docking the ports of the South Coast of the United States and off the Gulf of Mexico and to be familiar with the processes and procedures established in a general and effective manner on vessels in the framework of control, which are of paramount importance in terms of safety and security.



The Haitian delegation was received by Admiral James Callaghan in charge of the 8th Coast Guard District who gave a presentation of his activities at the regional level. In his speech, Dieudonne Bruno presented the various activities of the Maritime Authority of Haiti.



The delegation then traveled to Mississippi and Alabama to meet with sub-units of the US Coast Guard.



The visit proved to be very successful for Haitian aids to navigation and a source of hope for the advancement of the maritime sector.



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Environment : Nature Reserve in Haiti to the UNESCO agenda





New biosphere reserves will be designated at the next session of the International Coordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) programme, which will meet at the headquarters of the Organization from 12 to 15 June.



Let's recall that the biosphere reserves are areas comprising terrestrial, marine and coastal ecosystems. Managed in concertation with local communities, they test ways to reconcile the conservation of biodiversity with economic development and the sustainable use of resources.



During this session, the International Coordinating Council will decide on new biosphere reserves and existing reserves extensions.



A total of 28 new proposals were received from 22 countries : Benin, Costa Rica, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Germany, Haiti, Honduras, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Niger, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Russian Federation, Serbia, Sudan, South Africa and Togo.



The World Network of Biosphere Reserves numbers 669 sites in 120 countries and 16 that straddle national borders.



Learn more about the Man and the Biosphere Programme :

The Man and the Biosphere Programme was created by UNESCO in the early 1970s as an intergovernmental scientific endeavour to improve relations between people around the world and their natural environment. Biosphere reserves are places for learning about sustainable development aiming to reconcile the conservation of biodiversity with the sustainable use of natural resources. New reserves are designated each year by the International Co-ordinating Council of the Programme, which brings together elected representatives of 34 UNESCO Member States.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-16923-haiti-environment-the-natural-reserve-of-la-hotte-selected-by-unesco.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-4182-haiti-environment-haiti-elected-to-the-committee-man-and-the-biosphere-of-the-unesco.html



HL/ HaitiLibre


















A visa agent from Byculla who sent a Punjab-based woman on a tourist visa to Saudi Arabia and allegedly forced her to work there as a domestic help for an Arab family has been booked. The woman returned to India on May 31 after the External Affairs Ministry intervened to bring her back.

Jalandhar-based Sukhwant Kaur (55) approached Al Saif Overseas Consultants in Mumbai earlier this year for a job. After paying Rs 40,000, she went to Saudi Arabia in January. In her complaint to the police, Kaur has said she flew from Delhi to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, where she was received by the agent and then on to Saudi Arabia, where the agent allegedly sold her to an Arab family against her wishes.

After receiving severe physical and mental abuse at the hands of the family, Kaur had to be admitted to hospital and was able to contact her husband Kulwant Singh in India with the help of a hospital nurse. According to the police, Singh approached the Punjab government pleading that his wife be rescued. His complaint was forwarded to the External Affairs Ministry.

After securing her release, Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj took to Twitter on May 30 to announce: Thanks for bringing this to my notice. Sukhwant Kaur is returning home on 31 may 2017 at 0415 hrs by Flt G9406 (sic).

After her return, Kaur and the External Affairs Ministrys Protector of Emigrants registered a complaint with the Agripada police station.

We have received a complaint from the woman and the PoE. We will record her statement and take proper legal action, said Ashok Sarambalkar, senior inspector, Agripada police station. Subsequent investigations revealed that the emigration stamp on Kaurs visa had been made at the Byculla office of the visa agent, and not at the airport as is required in the case of overseas travel, said the police.

The police have booked Alamgir Ahmad, the owner of Al Saif Overseas Consultants, on charges of human trafficking under the Indian Penal Code and for cheating an emigrant under The Emigration Act. Stating that no arrest had taken place till now, Sarambalkar said the police would first gather evidence against Ahmad.

Source : Indian Express
Gold Coast (Queensland, Australia) based activewear company Flow Yoga Wear removed leggings carrying images of Hindu deity Shri Ganesh from website after Hindus protested calling it highly inappropriate.

Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, who spearheaded the protest, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, thanked Flow Yoga Wear for understanding the concerns of Hindu community, which found images of Hindu deity Shri Ganesh on leggings were highly disrespectful. But they were still waiting for a formal apology from Flow Yoga Wear and its CEO, Zed indicated.

Ganesha Leggings, which were priced at AU$75.00, were not seen on the company website on June 25.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, suggested corporations to send their senior executives for training in religious and cultural sensitivity so that they had an understanding of the feelings of customers and communities when introducing new products or launching advertising campaigns.

Rajan Zed had said that Shri Ganesh was highly revered in Hinduism and was meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to adorn ones legs. Inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or concepts for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurt the devotees.

Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about 1.1 billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought and it should not be taken frivolously. Symbols of any faith, larger or smaller, should not be mishandled, Zed had noted.

Rajan Zed had stated that such trivialization of Hindu deities was disturbing to the Hindus world over. Hindus were for free artistic expression and speech as much as anybody else if not more. But faith was something sacred and attempts at trivializing it hurt the followers, Zed added.

Products of Flow Yoga Wear; whose tagline is Lovingly Made in Australia and which claims to promote ethical wear; include leggings, tops, tees, necklaces and kimono. Besides selling online, Flow Yoga Wear, which is the inspiration of Gold Coast local Kylie Morris, also has stockists in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. Product description of Ganesha Leggings, which was claimed to be 100% Australian made and designed, stated: Grant us Always New Energy, Spirit & Happiness Shri Ganesh!

In Hinduism, Shri Ganesh is worshipped as god of wisdom and remover of obstacles and is invoked before the beginning of any major undertaking.

Source : From Our Correspondent

Upset Hindus urge Australia yogawear company to withdraw Ganesha leggings

Devout Hindus are protesting against Flow Yoga Wear at Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/flowyogawear

Email : [email protected]

Upset Hindus are urging Gold Coast (Queensland, Australia) based activewear company Flow Yoga Wear for immediate withdrawal of leggings carrying images of Hindu deity Shri Ganesh; calling it highly inappropriate.

Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, said that Shri Ganesh was highly revered in Hinduism and was meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to adorn ones legs. Inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or concepts for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurt the devotees.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, also urged Flow Yoga Wear and its CEO to offer a formal apology, besides withdrawing Ganesha Leggings from its website and stockists.

Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about 1.1 billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought and it should not be taken frivolously. Symbols of any faith, larger or smaller, should not be mishandled, Rajan Zed noted.

Zed further said that such trivialization of Hindu deities was disturbing to the Hindus world over. Hindus were for free artistic expression and speech as much as anybody else if not more. But faith was something sacred and attempts at trivializing it hurt the followers, Zed added.

Products of Flow Yoga Wear; whose tagline is Lovingly Made in Australia and which claims to promote ethical wear; include leggings, tops, tees, necklaces and kimono. Besides selling online, Flow Yoga Wear, which is the inspiration of Gold Coast local Kylie Morris, also has stockists in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. Product description of Ganesha Leggings, which is priced at AU$75.00 and is claimed to be 100% Australian made and designed, states: Grant us Always New Energy, Spirit & Happiness Shri Ganesh!

In Hinduism, Shri Ganesh is worshipped as god of wisdom and remover of obstacles and is invoked before the beginning of any major undertaking.

Source : From Our Correspondent
Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH), one of the world's largest hotel companies, has signed an agreement with Rondell Oasis, LLC, which is managed by the Malibu based Weintraub Real Estate Group, to develop a new Cambria Hotel in Calabasas, Calif. The three-story, 121-room Cambria property will be located at 26300 Rondell Road.
The Southern Cone, which is comprised of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia, is another region identified to present strategic opportunity for Marriott, with the new local foothold acquired through the recent Starwood acquisition. Currently, Marriott International operates 12 hotels in Argentina under the Sheraton, The Luxury Collection and Tribute Portfolio brands. In addition to the Recoleta Grand, A Tribute Portfolio Hotel, which is slated to open in 2019, Marriott recently announced its expansion of the Sheraton Hotels brand in Argentina with a new-build Sheraton Greenville Polo Resort in Buenos Aires, destined to become the tenth Sheraton property in the country. Chilean-born Hugo Desenzani has been appointed Vice President of Development for Southern South America. Prior to working with Marriott, Hugo was Chief Business Development Officer at Atton Hotels, a Latin American business hotel company with eleven properties throughout the region. Prior to this, he held several operational positions with Starwood hotel properties across the United States. A results-driven hotel executive with a proven track record of accomplishments, Hugo studied hotel management in Les Roches, Switzerland, earned a bachelors degree in Hospitality and Tourism from Endicott College in Massachusetts, followed by a masters degree in Global Affairs from New York University. Hugo is based in Santiago, where hes responsible for new unit growth for all of Marriotts brands in Southern South America.
The Partridge Inn, Augustas historic landmark hotel, has appointed Tijuana Jenkins as the hotels new general manager. Jenkins began working at The Partridge Inn more than 25 years ago as a front desk agent, managing the front office, reservations, revenue management and the bell staff. After transferring to the sales department, Jenkins advanced quickly to sales manager, senior sales manager and then director of sales. In February, Jenkins was appointed interim general manager and now she will continue in that role, managing all operational aspects of the hotel including sales and marketing, revenue management, P&L, maintenance, F&B, loss prevention and personnel management. Most recently, The Partridge Inn completed renovations to its 2,100-square-foot penthouse and rooftop lounge, outdoor swimming pool and verandah. In 2015, the hotel finalized a 12-month, multi-million dollar renovation of its guest rooms, public areas, meeting space, exterior, P.I. Bar & Grill and the addition of The Cigar Bar. In addition to her daily responsibilities at the hotel, Jenkins has coordinated the hotels business during The Masters for the past 20 years. It is extremely humbling and exciting to oversee such an important landmark, Jenkins said. My favorite part of the job is the people in Augusta and the guests who visit our city. I have many customers who I have worked with for 25 years and they say being at The Partridge Inn is like coming home. Jenkins is extremely involved with the Augusta community and is an active member of Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce, Augusta CVB, Association of the United States Army and Georgia Society of Association Executives. She works closely with Golden Harvest Food Bank, Childrens Hospital of Georgia and Augusta University. When shes not at The Partridge Inn or participating in community events, Jenkins enjoys spending time with her family and relaxing on the beach.
The couple, which robbed three houses in the last one month, targeted empty houses with to let boards outside them and fled with valuables.

By Ashish Pandey: Hyderabad police has arrested a couple who was on a robbery spree for a better livelihood. The husband-wife duo was arrested by the Commissioner's Task force on Sunday.

According to the police, accused O Srinivas married twice and has two families to look after. He was facing a tough time taking care of his families with his meager income. He worked as a security guard but he lost his job after his second marriage as he was not giving his best at work.

advertisement

After being sacked, Srinivas took up the job of a daily labourer. However, his income was still not sufficient to manage both his families. Upset with his lifestyle, Srinivas hatched a plan and made his second wife a partner in crime. He along with his wife V Renuka went on a robbery spree wherein they would target houses with to let signage outside them.

In the last one month, they robbed three houses and earned easy money. They dreamt of leading a luxurious life with the money however, were arrested by the Hyderabad police who were investigating a case of robbery.

According to Limba Reddy, DCP, Task Force, "The couple used to recce in the posh localities during the day and zero in on the houses with to let boards, which were not guarded or empty. After breaking open the house, they would flee with valuables including gold and silver jewellery and cash".

"While Renuka used to break open the house and commit the robbery, her husband waited outside and kept an eye in the surroundings to avoid any untoward situation," the DCP said.

The team of officials, investigating a recent robbery in Lallagua area, found a CCTV footage which raised suspicion on the couple. They checked 100 other CCTV footages of different localities and found the same couple. After further investigation, the police officials arrested the couple and recovered 100 gram gold, 205 gram silver, mobile phones and a scooter from their possession.

ALSO READ | Muthoot branch robbery in Hyderabad: Accused backed by Chhota Rajan associate, planned to contest BMC polls

ALSO READ | Elderly Delhi couple foils robbery bid by grandson in Rohini

ALSO WATCH | Gurgaon: Two women fight back, foil robbery plan

--- ENDS ---
StayNTouch, the leading innovator in mobile technology and Property Management Systems (PMS) for hotels and lodging, today announced the release of their most inspiring e-book yet - titled The New Guest Experience Reality: From Millennials to Mobile  What Today's Guests Really Want. The 27-page guide examines the economic and business impact of meeting the dynamic expectations of today's demanding guests based on profiles, preferences, and personas.

Smart hoteliers recognize that there are many types of guests and subsets of guests. Their values, preferences, and expectations are not fixed. What works for one guest doesn't necessarily appeal to all. Today's traveler expects personalized experiences tailored to meet their needs. The question is, how well do you know your guests and their changingexpectations? It's important to thoroughly understand your target market in order to tailor services to them. Who are they? What do they want? How can you win them over? This e-book will explore these very things, as well as how technology can help accumulate important guest intelligence to deliver an exceptional guest experience.

Highlights include:

Understanding the differences in generational guest expectations: Gen Z, Gen Y, Gen X, Baby Boomers, The Greatest Generation

Determing guests expectations based on type of stay: Family, Leisure, Business, Bleisure

Catering to different guest personas: The Bargain Hunter, The Social Butterfly, The Hyper-Connected, The Eco-Conscious, The Pampered Traveler

How technology can help profile your guests and personalize their stay

Guests are more connected and informed than ever before, making hyper-contextualized personalization focusing on their needs and wants critical to achieving increased revenue, loyalty and positive reviews. "Hoteliers have seen the writing on the wall regarding personalization for a while," explains Jos Schaap, CEO of StayNTouch. "In order to exceed guest expectations, you first need to know what those expectations are. The hospitality industry is highly competitive and it has become a struggle for hotels to make the best decisions when they don't have dependable information on the true desires of guests. As the industry evolves it becomes imperative to use data insights to develop a more tailored services and amenities. By understanding who they are, hotels can respond to their wants, and even to anticipate them in order to create one-to-one experiences for guests and keep them coming back."

To download your complimentary copy of The New Guest Experience Reality: From Millennials to Mobile  What Today's Guests Really Want, please click here or visit http://go.stayntouch.com/GuestExperienceRealityEbook_Landingpage.html.

About Stayntouch

Stayntouch delivers a fully mobile guest-centric hotel property management system (PMS) with a comprehensive library of over 1100+ best-of-breed integrations. Our cloud-native PMS platform empowers hotels to drive revenue, reduce costs, enhance service, and captivate their guests. Backed by a team of professionals with deep roots in the hospitality industry, Stayntouch is a trusted partner to industry-leading management companies such as Sage Hospitality, HEI Hotels & Resorts, and EOS Hospitality, innovated independent brands such as Village Hotels, Pod Hotels, and First Hotels, and iconic independent properties such as the TWA Hotel, Showboat Hotel Atlantic City, and Zoku Amsterdam. For more information, visit www.stayntouch.com.
California has long been a destination for hotel owners and operators looking to open high end properties, rich as it is with glamorous and sunny cities like Los Angeles, Palm Springs, and the area around the San Francisco Bay, among others.

Recently, high end properties have continued to surge in the United States' most populous state, which if it was a standalone country would have the fifth largest economy on the planet. These new properties include a Waldorft-Astoria in Beverly Hills, a Cambria Hotel in ritzy Calabasas, and a hotel where the rooms start at $1,100, brought to the industry by billionaire Larry Ellison, famed Hollywood actor Robert De Niro, and chef Nobu Matsuhisa, which will be located in the affluent beach community of Malibu.

This surge of luxury hotels in California is certainly not the first, but, even so, these properties all have the potential to make undeniable impressions in the large markets where they will be located.

The Waldorf-Astoria Beverly Hills

The Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts recently opened a new property at the famous intersection of Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards, the gateway to the world-famous Beverly Hills. This new propertyWaldorf Hotels & Resorts' first new build on the West Coast and its second California propertyfeatures 12 stories, and a facade, which combined with its location, will likely make the hotel iconic in the years to come. The hotels 119 deluxe rooms and 51 suites have an Art Deco-influenced design that was created by the renowned interior design firm Pierre-Yves Rochon, Inc. (PYR).

With the addition of the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, the brand now possess a portfolio of 26 hotels and resorts. To give you some idea of the high level of luxury this property offers guests, consider that each visitor will be assigned a personal concierge to serve them from pre-arrival through their departure. As part of this service, guests will receive individual bespoke in-room check-in service.

The hotel also features 6,300 square feet of meeting spaces, including two ballrooms for weddings, corporate meetings or galas.

Cambria Hotel Calabasas

Slated to open in 2019, the Cambria Hotel in Calabasas will be a three-story, 121-room property, located at 26300 Rondell Road. Home to a long list of celebrities, including both Kanye West and Drake, Calabasas is one of the most affluent areas in all of California. The Cambria Hotel Calabasas will be adjacent to the Santa Monica mountain range, a location that boasts trails for both hiking and mountain biking. This location also places the property just a short and scenic drive through the Malibu Canyon to some of California's most beautiful beaches. Like the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, the Cambria Calabasas Hotel will feature ample meeting spaces, a fitness center, an outdoor pool, and an open-air patio on a hillside that backs up to the aforementioned mountains.

Billionaire Founder Larry Ellison's New Hotel

Ten years ago, Larry Ellison, the billionaire founder of the company Oracle, bought the beachfront Casa Malibu Inn for $20 million. Now, Ellison has opened the first of a new crop of ultra high-end luxury retreats. But Ellison is not the only famous partner in this venture. He's doing this along with the actor Robert De Niro, chef Nobu Matsuhisa, and film producer Meir Teper. The groups new property is a 16-room hotel called Nobu Ryokan Malibu, which is now open on the same Casa Malibu Inn property that Ellison first purchased a decade ago. This property is the first of what the group is calling the Nobu Ryokan Collection. The experience there is being modeled after a traditional Japanese inn, and it's not going to come cheaprates will start around $1,100 a night, climbing to $2,000 at highly sought after times.

More information on Hotel Constructions in California can be found on TOPHOTELPROJECTS, the specialized service provider in the exchange of cutting-edge information of hotel construction in the international hospitality industry.

View source
The principal reason we stay in a hotel is because we can't stay in our own bed that night. Naturally, this is sometimes a choice and sometimes it's not. But when we stay, the most important thing is that we get a good night's sleep and more.

It would be great if we all ran our businesses as well as we should but sometimes our energy, interest or emotions get in the way. Now, first of all, I'd like to say that Hotel Managers are brilliant managers because they know more about managing people than most. They work long hours. They certainly are not overpaid. They have to be experts in architecture, wine, food, mattresses, budgets, HR, law, licencing, spreadsheets, how to make a bed and much much more.

In fact, they can be so good at these fine arts that they might just forget that everything comes down to 3 things; People, People and People. Your impact, your words, your attitude and your approach.

Bernard Murphy, Chief Executive of Gleneagles in Scotland, really sums this up in 'Dancing at the Fountain' (www.dancingatthefountain.com) when he said;

"Are you doing something to me or are you doing something for me?"

So, I wonder if it might just be time to look at some very simple thoughts that might move great hoteliers away from spreadsheets and into the mind of a guest.

Here are my thoughts on how you can make my experience and stay far better and without going to the Bank.

The Promise

"We go the extra mile". Well, unfortunately, if your marketing makes this promise, then you don't. The 'extra mile' is a surprise and it happens without mention. If you plan to do more of this, you'll leave a warm glow.

The Phone Call

"Call us, always happy to help". A standard slogan but far too many people might just say "You need to call the 3rd Party" but here's what we hear "It's your problem. I won't be fixing this. There's not a lot I'm going to do for you. I'm within my rights". Sure you are but isn't that like winning the battle and losing the war?

The Welcome

What hotel doesn't say "We are really welcoming"? But are you? When a hotel is busy and front desk executive under pressure then this isn't always true. Thing is, I will remember the promise.... and the reality.

The Journey

Most of us have made a journey by the time we arrive at the Front Desk. If that was our arrival home, what would we do? Sit down, have a cup of tea, feel happy to be there, unwind? Does your hotel acknowledge this is how I'm feeling? My need? (Or is yours the opposite?).

The Photo

I loved what you said on your website. Then, I raced into your gallery to look at what 'my' room would be like. It looked great, really great and I was especially drawn to the beautiful tray with the gorgeous teapot, fine china and luxurious looking bed. But "Oh Dear", that wasn't quite the reality. A well-worn carpet, a bed with a dip and the slightly off white mugs were missing the beautiful matching teapot.

The Truth

I know your Boss wants to extract as much from my stay as possible. That's fine, that's fair. But, that's not my need, my focus or my intention. Let's say I there to relax, unwind and eat really good food knowing your town has some of the best restaurants around. Fair enough? So, I ask you for a recommendation and you tell me your restaurant is the best in the area. I buy it, I believe you, I book, I eat. The next night, I want to go out but you are still insisting I should stay in. This time I don't believe you. This time, you're not really thinking about me. Are you?

The Noise

At the start of this article I said the purpose of staying in a hotel is ultimately to sleep. Yes, I might admire the clever interior design, the cool crisp sheets and even the latest TV. But.... No, I don't admire the cheap flimsy door with the ill-fitting gap below and I certainly don't much like hearing every loud neighbour guffaw as they pass my door ... at 1:30 am. Great doors mean peace and quiet but if you keep skimping on them, I'll know.

Breakfast

Now I know that many hoteliers find breakfast a necessary inconvenience, and it shows. We have all spotted the breakfast Chef empty a gallon of bacon on to the limp remains of the earlier onslaught. We have heard the clock ticking and noticed the servers speed up in a sprint to the finish. The stacking of plates gets louder until it's time to say "Sorry, Breakfast is over". The best hotels turn breakfast into an art form. After all, what do you want my last dining experience with you to be? It's your choice.

Celebrate My Bill

Not long before my Dad left this Earth, I wanted to take him to some places that were special to him. I did to thank him for everything, I pushed the boat out and picked a fine hotel. At the end of our stay, I quietly went to pay the bill. With a slight dizziness and dry mouth, I gulped at the figure about to rush out of my account. Still, it was a great trip for my Dad and that was the point but not the final memory. As I fought the credit card in my wallet, I was convinced it deliberately didn't want to leave because it had seen the bill before it. The girl at the Front Desk didn't hide her impatience and a steely stare was followed with a well-practised folding of the arms. I was nearly there but the card was still kicking and screaming. Her impatience moved to level 2, the most serious level. Now, the arms unfolded and her finely tuned nails started their noisy tap tap tap on the polished desk. I felt I was blushing. When she had processed my card she looked at me with one of those highly irritated smiles and said "Thank you, have a nice day". Hardly. You see, if there had been a tiny bit of empathy, a hint of "Wow, it is a big bill" and even a little mutual celebration of what had been spent and achieved then.... well, this memory wouldn't be here, now would it? (But it is)

Goodbye

Natalie Seiler-Hayez runs the world class and fantastic Beau Rivage Palace Hotel in Lausanne, Switzerland. Before that, I met Natalie on a few occasions, when Natalie ran the equally marvellous Connaught Hotel in Mayfair, London. I wanted to interview her for 'Dancing at the Fountain'. I'm glad I did. Natalie explained the difference between being efficient versus being effective and the difference between a very good hotel and a luxury hotel. I got to stay in both her hotels too and I understand the reality versus the theory. When I was leaving The Connaught, even though I'm forever observing 'service', I genuinely, honestly and really really believed the staff were sorry to see me go. I felt honoured, respected, valued and even important. In hindsight, that was what Natalie was telling me all along and then, I 'felt it'. How would you like me to feel as the final act in our short term relationship? Maybe, before you answer, think on this;

Freud

Freud said "Life's significant moments always have the word 'Goodbye"

How true. Remember, your guests have a choice and inevitably, it's how you make me feel that decides if I'm coming back.... or not.

Conor Kenny

Conor Kenny
HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee  The U.S. hotel industry reported mixed year-over-year results in the three key performance metrics during the week of 28 May through 3 June 2017, according to data from STR.

In comparison with the week of 29 May through 4 June 2016, the industry recorded the following:

Occupancy: -1.0% to 63.9%

Average daily rate (ADR): +1.4% to US$120.34

Revenue per available room (RevPAR): +0.4% to US$76.89

Among the Top 25 Markets, New Orleans, Louisiana, posted the largest year-over-year increase in RevPAR (+16.2% to US$96.02), driven primarily by the week's only double-digit lift in ADR (+10.1% to US$142.57). Occupancy in the market was up 5.5% to 67.4%.

Orlando, Florida, saw the only other double-digit increase in RevPAR (+10.1% to US$78.32).

Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Virginia, experienced the largest increase in occupancy (+6.8% to 64.7%).

Houston, Texas, reported the steepest declines in ADR (-8.5% to US$90.37) and RevPAR (-16.3% to US$48.98).

Dallas, Texas, saw the week's largest dip in occupancy (-8.6% to 61.6%) and the only other double-digit decrease in RevPAR (-10.8% to US$57.45).

About STR

STR provides premium data benchmarking, analytics and marketplace insights for the global hospitality industry. Founded in 1985, STR maintains a presence in 15 countries with a corporate North American headquarters in Hendersonville, Tennessee, an international headquarters in London, and an Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore. STR was acquired in October 2019 by CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSGP), the leading provider of commercial real estate information, analytics and online marketplaces. For more information, please visit str.com and costargroup.com.

Jeff Higley (STR)

VP, Digital Media & Communications

+1 (615) 824-8664 ext. 3318

STR
HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee  The School Break Report from STR shows two significant school holiday shifts for the 2017-18 academic year and a wide variance in overall U.S. school calendars.

"Hoteliers continue see how holiday calendar shifts of two weeks or even one day can impact a significant period of demand," said Chris Klauda, STR's director of destination research. "We will see several important shifts this year, such as a more concentrated spring break and more students on break during the first week of January. It is vital to identify and anticipate these specific patterns of the markets feeding hotel business."

Key findings from the 2017-18 School Break Report include:

The Easter calendar shift from 16 April 2017 to 1 April 2018 will result in a more concentrated spring break season with more than two-thirds of public school students on break during the 2018 Easter weekend. In 2017, less than half of those students were on break at that time.

More public school students will have their Winter/Christmas break extended into January with just less than half of all public school students on break during the first week of January 2018 compared with only one-fourth in 2017.

The Presidents' Day break appears to be becoming more popular with just shy of one-third of all public school students on break in 2018 compared with just less than one-fourth in 2017.

The start of the public school year ranges seven weeks from 19 July to 7 September (shifting only one day compared with last year).

Public school end dates range almost eight weeks from 3 May to 27 June (also shifting one day compared with last year).

College/university calendars show later start dates compared with public school districts. Classes begin as early as 14 August and as late as 28 September.

The college/university window of end dates begins more than a week earlier than public school districts, ranging from 23 April to 17 June.

Public school districts and colleges/universities each have a 55-day range in end dates.

"When combining 2018 public school end dates and estimated 2018 public school start dates, we see only three weeks (28 June-18 July) with all traditional school districts on summer vacation," Klauda said.

The School Break Report, a forward-looking tool utilized to plan for vacation hotel demand, includes information for more than 1,000 public school districts and 500 four-year universities in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. More information is available HERE, and licenses can be purchased by contacting [email protected].

About STR

STR provides premium data benchmarking, analytics and marketplace insights for the global hospitality industry. Founded in 1985, STR maintains a presence in 15 countries with a corporate North American headquarters in Hendersonville, Tennessee, an international headquarters in London, and an Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore. STR was acquired in October 2019 by CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSGP), the leading provider of commercial real estate information, analytics and online marketplaces. For more information, please visit str.com and costargroup.com.

Jeff Higley (STR)

VP, Digital Media & Communications

+1 (615) 824-8664 ext. 3318

STR
Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora

JLL's Hotels & Hospitality announced that the firm has arranged the sale of Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora in French Polynesia on behalf of developer, Thierry Barbion, and Alatau Hospitality, investment fund of Lancaster Group Kazakhstan led by Kassym Abzhanov, to a private equity hospitality fund led by Gaw Capital.

International Director John Strauss, Executive Vice President Tony Muscio and Managing Director Yves Marchal led the JLL team on the transaction.

Opened in 2008 and renowned for its famed overwater bungalows, stunning water and mountain views and award winning Four Seasons service, the hotel was recently named the number one top hotel, top luxury hotel and top service in French Polynesia in TripAdvisor's Travelers' Choice Awards, and the Best Luxury Beach Hotel Worldwide by Luxury Travel Advisor. The property features 107 oversized and ultra-luxury accommodations, multiple dining venues, an award winning spa, retail and over 15 acres of land, entitled and designed for additional development of Four Seasons Residences and guest accommodations.
Edward Linsley Named General Manager for Four Seasons Resort Seychelles at Desroches Island

Ed originally joined Four Seasons in 1990, and quickly made his mark in progressive management positions in both urban hotels and island resorts over a period of 21 years  notably in Nevis, Hawaii and Bali.

A keen sailor who is no stranger to life on secluded islands, Edward Linsley has circled the globe, touching down on all seven continents, including a recent trip to Antarctica. Now, as he prepares to open the new Four SeasonsResort Seychelles at Desroches Island, he's focussing on getting to know this remote paradise, and looking forward to introducing guests to its unique charms.

"Ed is not only passionate about the hospitality industry, but also has the ability to inspire and takes a genuine interest in the communities where he works, connect with people and work towards common goals for the location and the business," notes Simon Casson, President, Hotel Operations - Europe, Middle East and Africa. "We are delighted to welcome Ed back to the Four Seasons family."

Ed originally joined Four Seasons in 1990, and quickly made his mark in progressive management positions in both urban hotels and island resorts over a period of 21 years  notably in Nevis, Hawaii and Bali. Time away from the company included general manager positions in Bali and The Nam Hai in Vietnam (which is now a Four Seasonsresort), and most recently, he was managing director at Rosewood Little Dix Bay in the British Virgin Islands.

A lover of fine wines, Ed looks forward to adding local pieces to his art collection and exploring the islands and waters of his new home in Seychelles.

Anticipated to open in early 2018, Four Seasons Resort Seychelles at Desroches Island will offer exclusive access to world-class adventure and rejuvenation in a secluded island paradise. Lush tropical forest surrounds white sand beaches and clear waters ideal for diving and fishing, while rustic luxury-style pool villas and residences offer relaxing respite with every modern convenience. An organic spa, an onsite tortoise sanctuary and abundant wildlife offer myriad opportunities to engage and reconnect.

The new resort joins sister property Four Seasons Resort Seychelles, as well as Four Seasons Indian Ocean island experiences in Mauritius and the Maldives.
The Indian Air Force is set to hold limited trials of two foreign fighter jets in order to a select a foreign partner for a 120-combat plane Make in India project.

By Ajit Kumar Dubey: The Indian Air Force will hold limited trials of the American F-16 and Swedish Saab Gripen fighter aircraft for selecting the foreign partner to build 120 combat planes under the Make in India project.

The total worth of the deal is estimated to be around $20 billion (Rs 1.3 lakh crore).

IAF sources said the two planes had undergone extensive trials seven years ago when the IAF was evaluating aircraft for buying 126 mediummultirole combat aircraft (M-MRCA).

advertisement

"We have chosen the two planes based on evaluation done by us seven years ago. For the Make in India project, we will now hold trials of only those capabilities which they were found to be lacking in these aircraft in those days," an IAF officer told Mail Today.

Sources said during the M-MRCA trials, the F-16 was not selected as it was found that there was no potential for developing the aircraft further while the Saab Gripen did not have advanced radar called AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array), which was mandatory requirement in that project.

TESTING NEW CAPABILITIES

IAF sources said both the firms have informed the air force that they would be fully compliant to the requirements now as the American firm has come up with a latest version of the F-16 known as Block 70 while the Swedish firm has also acquired the advanced AESA radar.

"To test the new capabilities, there would a limited trial only and we are hoping to select and finalise the foreign partner within the next one year," the IAF sources said.

The 120 single-engine fighter jets would be used by the IAF to replace its ageing fleet of the Russian MiG-series planes including the MiG-21s and the MiG-27s which form the backbone of the Indian fighter plane fleet.

REPLACING MiGs

Almost all the variants of the MiG-21s and MiG-27s would retire by the year 2025 and the IAF is hoping that their replacements would be ready for induction into the service in form of the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft and the 120 'Made in India' fighter planes.

The IAF has plans of inducting around 123 LCA combat jets as the NDA government recently gave clearance to a Rs 50,000 crore project to induct 83 planes and augment the rate of production of these planes in the state-owned HAL in Bangalore.

Meanwhile, the Navy is testing the American F-18 and the French Dassault for acquiring 57 twin-engine planes for its next aircraft carrier Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC).

Asked about the need for acquiring twin-engine fighter aircraft in the category of Rafale-36 which have been contracted for the IAF, the sources said India would hold a separate competition for those aircraft but only after the single engine fighter aircraft competition is completed.

advertisement

The IAF has 33 squadrons of fighter aircraft in its inventory, which includes mainly single-engine planes like MiG 21s and MiG 27s along with Su-30MKI, MiG 29 and Jaguar.

ALSO READ | Facing two-front war scenario with Pakistan, China, IAF readies Rafale fighter jets for combat role

ALSO READ | IAF's aerobatic Hawk jet deal stuck for 2 years. Here's why

ALSO WATCH | India Today flies the LCA Tejas

--- ENDS ---
Alphabet, Google's Parent Company, Loudly Announces It Is a Company of Liberals, by Liberals and for Liberals

Posted by Press Releases on Monday, 06-12-2017 7:14 am

Currently 0.0/5 Stars.

1

2

3

4

5 0.0 from 0 votes

With Tech Giant Repeatedly Taking Positions Against President Trump and Conservatives, Free-Market Activist Asks Alphabet Executives If They Consider Conservative Employees' Viewpoints National Center for Public Policy Research Also Presents Proposal to Alphabet Shareholders Seeking More Transparent Corporate Philanthropy Mountain View, CA / Washington, DC - At today's Alphabet Inc. shareholder meeting, a representative of the National Center for Public Policy Research's Free Enterprise Project (FEP) asked Alphabet and Google executives whether the company's so-called commitment to diversity and inclusion extends to conservative- and libertarian-leaning employees, in light of the company's steadfast opposition to much of President Donald Trump's agenda and issues of interest to conservatives. "I left today's meeting with the feeling that Alphabet and Google are companies of, by and for liberals," said National Center General Counsel and FEP Director Justin Danhof, E...

Close Forgot Your Password? Enter in your email address and we will send it to you. Send Email An HR.com member profile provides you with access to a multitude of information and education along with the opportunity to network with the largest HR community on the web.

If you need any help, call .877.472.6648 and ask for our Member Experience Co-ordinator.

Hi Please check your email for an activation link. If you do not receive your activation email within a few minutes, check your spam folder or call our Help Desk at 1.877.472.6648 For faster assistance, dial extension 4. Thank you! Continue

Hi Verification error - Please enter the correct code above. Verified Wow! You have successfully verified the account Continue

Hi your HR.com account is ready Your Profile completion: 30% Complete your profile
Toyotas First Hispanic Woman-Owned Direct Tier 1 Supplier Awarded Supplier of the Year by Southwest Minority Supplier Development Council

Posted by Press Releases on Monday, 06-12-2017 7:10 am

Currently 0.0/5 Stars.

1

2

3

4

5 0.0 from 0 votes

Forma Automotive, a Santana Group company, Honored as Supplier of the YearSAN ANTONIO, TEXAS (PRWEB) JUNE 10, 2017Forma Automotive, under the direction of CEO Rosa Santana, was selected as Supplier of the Year by the Southwest Minority Supplier Development Council (SMSDC). Forma Automotive, established in 2014 as Toyotas first Hispanic woman-owned direct Tier I supplier, received this prestigious award during the 2017 SMSDC Face Time Expo & Awards Ceremony held at the Westin Riverwalk in San Antonio on June 8th.Corporate members of SMSDC nominate certified minority owned suppliers who demonstrate continued excellence. From these nominations, SMSDC honors one supplier for their business acumen and community service. Forma Automotive was nominated by Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas.Karen Box, CEO of SMSDC and Greg Laskey, General Manager Electrical & Body at Toyota presented Rosa Santana with her award. Congratulations to Rosa and the Forma team on winning SMSDC Supplier of th...

Close Forgot Your Password? Enter in your email address and we will send it to you. Send Email An HR.com member profile provides you with access to a multitude of information and education along with the opportunity to network with the largest HR community on the web.

If you need any help, call .877.472.6648 and ask for our Member Experience Co-ordinator.

Hi Please check your email for an activation link. If you do not receive your activation email within a few minutes, check your spam folder or call our Help Desk at 1.877.472.6648 For faster assistance, dial extension 4. Thank you! Continue

Hi Verification error - Please enter the correct code above. Verified Wow! You have successfully verified the account Continue

Hi your HR.com account is ready Your Profile completion: 30% Complete your profile
We work towards an equitable,

gender-just, self-reliant and

sustainable fisheries,

particularly in the small-scale,

artisanal sector

We work towards an equitable,

gender-just, self-reliant and

sustainable fisheries,

particularly in the small-scale,

artisanal sector

We work towards an equitable,

gender-just, self-reliant and

sustainable fisheries,

particularly in the small-scale,

artisanal sector

We work towards an equitable,

gender-just, self-reliant and

sustainable fisheries,

particularly in the small-scale,

artisanal sector
By Press Trust of India: Hyderabad, Jun 12 (PTI) Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL) today said it has signed a MoU with Argentinas Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria (INTA) and Littoral Biologics of Argentina for transfer of technology for Bovine Parasitic vaccines in India.

According to a media release issued by IIL, introduction of vaccines against haemoprotozoan infections transmitted by ticks such as Babesiosis and Anaplasmosis will prevent loss in productivity in cattle and immensely benefit dairy farmers.

advertisement

INTA is Argentinian federal agency in charge of the generation, adaptation and diffusion of technologies.

"Economic losses due to Babesisosis alone in India are estimated to be about USD 57.2 million," said K Anand Kumar, Managing Director, IIL.

"IIL is only vaccine manufacturer in India which is capable of producing effective parasitic vaccines for animals with vast experience in producing vaccine against haemoprotozoan Theileria annulata, since three decades.

"IIL recently introduced vaccine against Porcine Cysticercosis, a parasitic vaccine for pigs. This agreement with the Argentinean collaborators will go a long way in uplifting productivity among dairy farmers in India," added Kumar.

IIL is set to address this unmet need to control haemoprotozoan diseases transmitted by ticks in India and prevent loss of productivity in cattle, said the release. PTI GDK NRB

--- ENDS ---
Update 7.25pm: The Pro Life Campaign has hit out at what they claim is the "grossly irresponsible" use by pro choice advocates of selected details of todays news that a young woman had been denied an abortion under the 2013 Abortion Act.

The news that a woman had been put into a psychiatric unit after seeking an abortion has been widely condemned today by a variety of groups.

Pro Life Campaign spokeswoman, Cora Sherlock, said the full facts of the case were not yet known, however, "and it is grossly irresponsible for pro-choice campaigners to be using this case as another opportunity to attack the Eighth Amendment.

We need to stop pretending that abortion treats suicide ideation or any mental health condition. This false claim was enshrined in the 2013 law which has failed women and babies and will continue to do so until our laws reflect the peer-reviewed evidence in this area.

Ms Sherlock suggested that in all the commentary today there hasnt been a word from the pro-choice side about the unborn baby.

"I find it troubling that the baby never seems to feature in pro-choice considerations. At the heart of this story is a mother and her baby boy or girl and we should be concerned for the welfare of both.

"Modern ultra-sound technology illuminates how amazingly well developed the baby is, even from a very early stage. It appears pro-choice advocates believe none of this matters.

I think the public are starting to see through the way pro-choice advocates use just about anything to find an angle that they can use to undermine the Eighth Amendment," she concluded.

Update 6.25pm: A leading psychiatrist said confusion over our abortion laws is leading to difficult situations for patients.

It comes after a new report revealed a young girl was sectioned after asking for a termination.

She was moved to a psychiatric unit on the advice of a psychiatrist who said an abortion was not the solution - a court later ordered that she be released.

Veronica OKeane, Associate Psychiatry Professor at Tallaght hospital said the laws are a mess.

The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act is a cumbersome legal tool that doesnt translate very well into medical practice.

It is not clear at all what a girl or a woman presenting with suicidal ideation would expect from the medical services.

Update 3pm: A young girl being put into a psychiatric unit while seeking an abortion is a human rights violation, according to a Solidarity TD.

Ruth Coppinger said the case highlights serious flaws in the current laws around terminations of pregnancy.

The girl was suicidal, however she was reportedly detained under the Mental Health Act under the advice of a psychiatrist who said an abortion was not the solution.

Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger said in these situations psychiatrists have huge power.

There are a number of anti-abortion psychiatrists and they could end up on a panel which can adjudicate over a young womans feelings, her mental health, her physical health - and they can decide that she doesnt have autonomy over her own body.

This situation is another human rights violation.

Earlier:A young girl who asked for an abortion was sectioned in a psychiatric unit, according to a new report.

The Child Care Law Reporting Project has been looking at how children are treated in our legal system.

It has found that one girl was told by a psychiatrist that an abortion was not the solution to her problems.

The girl was detained under the Mental Health Act but was later let go, on the advice of another doctor.

The Abortion Rights Campaign (ARC) have said today they are disgusted and deeply concerned by the reports that a pregnant child was detained under the mental health act after seeking an abortion.

"Looking at the report, its hard not to think that the psychiatrist in this case essentially used the Mental Health Act as a tool to force a child into continuing an unwanted pregnancy because of their own personal beliefs" said ARC spokesperson Linda Kavanagh.

"It is clear we need some process which ensures medical professionals with such conscientious objections cannot block timely health care in critical cases."

Ms Kavanagh also said the report was further evidence that the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act (PLDPA) is not fit for purpose.

Ms Kavanagh said it was alarming that the treatment of the girl in this case so closely mirrored previous high profile cases in Ireland.

"The report from the Child Care Law Reporting Project says that the girl and her mother thought she was being transferred to Dublin for an abortion and was instead detained," she said.

"This is a grave breach of trust of a vulnerable young girl and echos the treatment of Ms Y in 2013 who was also detained and lead to believe on several occasions she was getting the abortion she so desperately needed."

We also saw similar treatment of Ms X in 1992, another suicidal child in need of an abortion who was prevented from accessing the care she needed by the State. That we are still seeing cases of this kind 25 years later is a disgrace and an indictment of successive Governments failure to deal with this issue.
From the Archive The Forgotten Frontier

On the Myanmar-India border, a history of armed insurgency and regional rivalry continues to resonate across what is Myanmars messiest frontier.

SS Khaplang, the Naga rebel leader of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K), passed away at age 77 last Friday, according to the Council of Naga Affairs (CNA) based in Zingkaling, Hkamti in Sagaing region, northwest Myanmar.

The Irrawaddy revisits this article from Nov. 2014 about rebel groups in Myanmars remote frontiers.

There is no shortage of coverage in local as well as regional media of the ongoing armed conflict in Myanmars Kachin State in the north, the activities of the heavily armed United Wa State Army (UWSA) in the northeast or the still volatile situation in areas of Kayin State along the border with Thailand. However, hardly a word is written about the host of armed rebel groups that are active in some of the countrys wildest and most remote mountain ranges which form the more than 1,600 kilometer-long border with India. Yet, this is where the rivalry between Myanmars two mighty neighbors, India and China, has often played out and where there is potential for even more trouble in the future.

In the mid-1950s, a rebellion broke out among ethnic Naga tribesmen in Indias northeast. Being a predominantly Christian tribe of Mongol stock, they did not feel that they belonged to India and demanded independence. Not surprisingly, they received support from Indias arch-enemy Pakistan and training facilities were provided in what was then East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. But more significantly, much more aid came from China.

In 1959, the Dalai Lama fled to India after a failed uprising against the Chinese who had invaded his homeland, Tibet. Asias two giants were on a collision course and, three years later, China attacked India and a short but fierce war was fought along a disputed border in Indias northeast.

From 1967-76, nearly 1,000 Naga rebels trekked from northeast India through northern Myanmar to China, where they received military training. They were sent back to India equipped with assault rifles, light machine-guns, rocket launchers and other modern Chinese weapons. The Naga were escorted by rebels from the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), which, in return for their services, kept some of the Chinese weapons.

Various other insurgent groups in Indias northeast also sought Chinese assistance. In the early 1970s, about 200 Mizo rebelsa tribe then fighting for self-determination in what is now the state of Mizoramwere trained in China; in 1976, a group of insurgents from the Indian state of Manipur made it to Tibet, where they received political training and some military instruction; and in the late 1980s, rebels from the state of Assam attempted to reach China through northern Myanmar, but ended up staying in areas controlled by the KIAwhich trained some of them in guerrilla warfare.

It was clear the rebellions in Indias northeast were not solely an internal affair and that Myanmar, the land in the middle of the two regional powers, would inevitably be drawn in. This became even more evident in the 1970s when the Indian army managed to drive the Naga rebels out of their bases on the Indian side of the border. They regrouped in the rugged Naga Hills of the northern Sagaing Region. There, beyond the reach of the Indian army, they could launch cross-border raids into India.

Myanmars military, preoccupied with ethnic insurgencies elsewhere in the country, paid little attention to the Indian Naga who linked up with a group of Naga in Myanmar led by S.S. Khaplang. Manipuri as well as Assamese rebels also sought sanctuary on the Myanmar side of the border.

The only fall-out came in 1988 when the Naga from Myanmar, simply tired of being treated as serfs by their Indian cousins, drove them out of the area. The National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) then split into two factions: the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K), led by Khaplang, and the National Socialist Council of NagalimIsak-Muivah (NSCN-IM), the Indian faction led by Isak Chishi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah which adopted the name Nagalim, a new term for a greater Nagaland encompassing the state of Nagaland as well as most of Manipur, a chunk of Assam, and the Naga Hills of Myanmar. In July 1997, the NSCN-IM entered into a ceasefire agreement with the Indian government and in 2001, the NSCN-K did the same. In April 2012, NSCN-K also struck a ceasefire deal with the Myanmar government, making it the only insurgent group to have ceasefire agreements with the governments of two sovereign states.

But none of this means that the conflicts are over. Hundreds of rebels from various outfits in Manipur as well as the once powerful United Liberation Front of Asom [Assam] (ULFA) are based at Khaplangs headquarters at Taka near the Chindwin River, north of Singkaling Hkamti in Sagaing Region. As late as December 2011, the Indian journalist Rajeev Bhattacharyya, who had trekked to Taka, observed ULFA forces taking delivery of a major consignment of weapons that most probably had been smuggled to the base from China. According to other sources, there is a booming trade in weapons acquired along the Sino-Myanmar frontier that are smuggled via Mandalay and Monywa to the Indian border. Old stocks from the UWSAs vast arsenal of weapons and other military equipment have also been found in areas along the Indo-Myanmar border.

In late 2012, it emerged that the Myanmar army had obtained Swedish-made 84mm Carl Gustaf rocket launchers most probably supplied by India and intended for use against the ULFA and other Indian insurgents. They were instead employed against the KIA and a major scandal ensued during which questions were raised in Swedens parliament and the Indian ambassador in Stockholm was summoned by the Swedish foreign ministry for an explanation. Ultimately, India submitted a report stating that the weapons, which according to their serial numbers had been delivered by Sweden to India, had not been transferred to Myanmar through conventional channels, and New Delhi promised the Swedes that it would not happen again. For years, India has urged Myanmar to close down the camps that insurgents have established inside Myanmars Sagaing Region, but to no avail. It is clear that fighting Indias rebels is not a priority for Myanmars military.

And China? When ULFA commander Paresh Barua is not inspecting his troops at the Taka camp, he is in China. Obtaining weapons there does not seem to be a problem. Beijing appears to reason that if India can shelter one of its main enemies, the Dalai Lama, then Barua is welcome to stay in China. The situation promises to become even more entangled as the NSCN-IM continues to express frustration over the direction that 17-year-long negotiations with Indian authorities are headed. Barred from entering Khaplangs area, NSCN-IM cadres in October this year were reported to have been scouting the hills east of Manipur for potential new sanctuaries in anticipation of a breakdown in talks.

New Delhi, of course, wants to see peace established along its entire border with Myanmar so it can implement its so-called Look East Policyaimed at linking India with the booming economies of Southeast Asia. Myanmars Wild West may be almost forgotten in todays discussions about the countrys ethnic issues, but the number of armed groups in the area with conflicting agendas makes it the countrys messiest frontier.
In Person FBR Medic: It Was a Great Privilege to Be Able to Help

Silverhorn Lermu, an ethnic Karen medic with FBR, holds a Karen flag during his trip to Iraq. / Supplied

Free Burma Rangers (FBR), a Christian humanitarian group, sent a team to Iraq to assist civilians who were affected by conflict waged by the group calling itself the Islamic State (IS). Formed in 1997 by former US Army officer David Eubank, FBR has provided emergency relief in ethnic minority areas in Myanmar plagued by more than 60 years of civil war. Since January 2016, FBR has repeatedly traveled to Iraq for relief and reporting trips.

The Irrawaddys senior reporter Saw Yan Naing interviewed FBR member Silverhorn Lermu, an ethnic Karen medic who recently returned from a relief mission to Mosul, Iraq.

Please tell us about your experience in Iraq.

I had the chance to go and help people in a country I had never been to. My duty on this trip was to treat injured civilians and assist refugees who had fled IS fighters. People had been injured by gunshots, building collapses and fire. We were not a large team but it was a great privilege to be able to help, even in a small way.

When did you go to Iraq and for how long? How does the conflict there compare to Myanmar?

I went from April 17 to May 17. Conflict in Iraq and Karen State, Myanmar is very different. They are geographically different as well, hence the use of different military equipment. I saw many refugees in Iraq who were fleeing the conflict.

IS is notorious for its extreme violence. Werent you afraid? How did you prepare for the trip?

IS fighters kill women, old men, children and the disabled. I was worried for my safety before I left. But when I got there and saw the suffering, my fear disappeared. I believed God would protect me and I trusted the Iraqi military. I mainly followed them and treated the injured.

Did you confront IS troops?

Our mission was not to fight. We were there to help in an emergency situation. I did not go there to fight IS nor help the Iraqi Army. I was there to assist civilian communities.

Your team leader David Eubank was injured. How did that happen and what is his current condition?

I heard that he was injured the day after I returned to Karen State. He and an Iraqi Army officer were confronted by four IS fighters. His hand was injured but his condition now is good.

How did you and assist and how did Iraqi civilians respond to you?

We delivered water, food and clothes and provided healthcare. We also provided reports based on our experience there for the international community. Civilians and Iraqi Army officers were appreciative.

This interview was edited for clarity and brevity.
The area was first bulldozed in 2015 to evict squatters.

We cant say exactly when the development will be started, but it will begin soon after eviction and demolition, he said.

According to the director general of the Housing Department, U Yu Khaing, the area is owned by the government and slated for development by the Housing Department and the Ministry of Construction.

Police Brig-Gen Mya Win, who was on the ground, told The Irrawaddy that anyone hostile to authorities would be arrested. A number of police vans were parked beside the highway.

In the first forced eviction by the National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government, nearly 200 police troops and 700 hired civilian reinforcements armed with clubs, swords and axes were deployed Monday morning to clear nearly 20,000 houses.

YANGONPolice arrested four men and one woman on Monday morning for resisting the eviction of five villages on Ministry of Construction-owned land near a tollgate on the Yangon-Naypyitaw Highway in Hlegu Township.

A woman is arrested after resisting eviction from land owned by Ministry of Construction in Hlegu Township, Yangon. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

A woman is arrested after resisting eviction from land owned by Ministry of Construction in Hlegu Township, Yangon. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

Mandalay Journalists Join Armband Campaign to Oppose Use of 66(d) Against the Media

Does The Issue of Kachin States Displaced People Only Matter to Ethnic Kachin?

Why Was Bail Denied to Journalists Charged Under Article 66(d)?

Burmas Gender Gap: Only Four Women Ministers in Nearly a Century

Military Will Cooperate With Chinese Manufacturer to Investigate Cause of Crashed Plane

Three Years On, Kin Maung Yins Work is Still Alive and Vivid

Displaced to Tanai by Fighting, Kachin IDPs Are Told to Leave Once Again

Too Much Has Been Lost: Kachin Women Reflect on Six Years of Conflict

Police: No New Leads in Locating Fugitive in U Ko Ni Murder Investigation

Dateline Irrawaddy: Those in Power Have Given the Wrong Message by Using This Law

We do not encourage viewing this site in this width. Please increase the size of your window.
Burma Kachin Community Told Not to Open IDP Camps in Tanai

Displaced Kachin villagers seek refuge in Tanai town on June 8 after fleeing their homes due to fighting. / Doi Bu / Facebook

Around 950 people who fled fighting in the villages of Tanai Township, Kachin State, continue to take temporary shelter at the churches and monasteries in Tanai town, as the authorities have reportedly barred the opening of camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Due to nearly a week of clashes between the Myanmar Army and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) near the Kawng Ra, NGa Ga and the Nambyu areas, locals and those working in amber and gold mines have been leaving since last Tuesday. Internal migrants have largely returned to their homes elsewhere, but local villagers have said they have no other place to go.

Some of those fleeing were not allowed to travel to Tanai town last week using standard routes and waterways; others used longer, more unorthodox paths to reach safety in the city.

On Monday morning, the relief committee formed by Christian religious leaders providing support to displaced villagers had a meeting with township authorities, including Tanais administrative director, police and the military personnel. According to the community representatives, these authorities said that they do not want the relief workers to open formal IDP camps.

Until Saturday, June 10, the Tanai authorities had been instructing displaced people to move to Kawng Ra village, where the current fighting continues, said Mung Dan, from the Tanai-based Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC). The IDPs refused, fearing for their security.

On Monday, they did not say anything about moving [the IDPs to Kawng Ra], but they did say that no IDP camps could be opened in Tanai, in order to preserve the dignity of town. We can help the people in our churches, he said.

More people have been slowly arriving, trickling in to the town, rather than showing up in large groups.

Relief workers told The Irrawaddy that more than 500 people are taking shelter at KBC churches, while 200 people are under the care of the Catholic Church, and an estimated 133 people are being cared for by the Anglican Church. Around 120 are also staying in monasteries in Tanai.

They have been asked to compile a list of the displaced in the churches and monasteries, which will be checked by authorities later, Mung Dan said.

When fighting erupted last week, the Tatmadaw reportedly distributed a written message from helicopters warning workers to leave amber and gold mines in Tanai no later than June 15.

State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was asked on June 10 by members of the Burmese community in Canadawhere she was on an official visitwhat the government would do to follow up on this order to flee. She replied that she had not heard anything about the militarys letter, but would investigate it.

We have to know who ordered it, and if it is true, it is the job of the social welfare ministry to take care of it, she said.

According to U Win Myat Aye, the Union minister for social welfare, relief and resettlement, the ministry helps those IDPs who can make it to Moegaung Township only, which is south of and not bordering Tanai. He added that they have assisted about two dozen people who are seeking shelter with relatives there.

Nang Lwin Hnin Pwint contributed to this report.
Burma Karen State Ma Ba Tha Chapter Keeps Name Despite State Sangha Ban

The Karen State Ma Ba Tha chapter met on Sunday in Hpa-an Township. / U Sopaka

YANGON  The Karen State chapter of the Buddhist nationalist Association for Protection of Race and Religionknown as Ma Ba Thawill continue to use the name, despite a ban by the State Buddhist Sangha authority.

The state Buddhist Sangha authorityknown as Ma Ha Naon May 23 banned the nationalist organization from operating under its current name and also ordered that all signs bearing the name be taken down across the country by July.

Members of the Karen State Ma Ba Tha chapter, however, decided to continue using the name at a meeting on Sunday.

This is not in opposition to Ma Ha Na. Weve looked into its legality and decided to continue using the name as it is not against the law, said a Ma Ba Tha monk from Karen State.

The Karen State chapter released a statement on Sunday stating that the name does not go against Sangha organizational laws or procedures and that it conforms to the 2008 Constitution and the 2014 Association Registration Law.

Senior monks from the Buddha Dhamma Charity Foundation (Central)formerly Ma Ba Tha (Central)attended the meeting and said they respected the decision.

Dr. Sopaka, a leader of the Buddha Dhamma Charity Foundation (Central), said: Though Ma Ba Tha (Central) has decided to go by Buddha Dhamma Charity Foundation, it does not instruct all chapters to change their names. We have no comment on this decision.

In the statement released on Sunday, Karen States Ma Ba Tha chapter said it would follow the guidelines of the Buddha Dhamma Charity Foundation and also cooperate with Dhamma Wunthanu Rakhita, other charity groups, and all nationalist forces.

Ma Ha Na has said any monk who breaches its ban would be punished under Sangha law and any layperson would be referred to the Home Affairs Ministry for prosecution.

Ma Ba Tha on May 20 rebranded itself as the Buddha Dhamma Charity Foundation following Ma Ha Nas ban.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.
Burma U Wirathu Claims Facebook Blocked His Accounts

A screen shot of U Wirathus Facebook video. / Facebook

Myanmars ultranationalist Buddhist monk U Wirathu claimed Facebook temporarily shut down his account in a video shared on another Facebook account last Friday.

On May 31 [Facebook] said they would shut down the account for a month, after sending a report, he said, adding that he had not posted anything that violated Facebook policy.

A screenshot of Fridays video displayed a report sent by Facebook saying the account was temporarily blocked for 30 days as the account holder had repeatedly made posts, which were not allowed on Facebook.

The account had almost 400,000 followers.

I did not write the names of people on my Facebook, said the firebrand monk in the video. I did not post any personal attacks, I only wrote simple things, but they shut it down, he said.

U Wirathu, a prominent member of ultranationalist organization Ma Ba Tha known for his anti-Muslim hate speech, spuriously accused Facebook of falling under the control of Muslims.

Another of his accounts under the name Ma Soe Yein Wira Thu in Myanmar language with 70,000 followers was allegedly also shut down.

I got a report saying they would close it for a week. But, I found later that they destroyed it completely, he said in the video.

The National League for Democracy-led government has sought to curb hate speech by U Wirathu and other Ma Ba Tha members. In March, the Buddhist authority State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, known as Ma Ha Na, banned U Wirathu from delivering sermons across the country for one year.

Last month, Ma Ha Na imposed restrictions on Ma Ba Tha, banning the organization from operating under its current name and ordering that their signboards be taken down across the country by July.

It was the second blow by the Buddhist cleric authority after its announcement last year that Ma Ba Tha was not a lawful monks association as it was not formed in accordance with the countrys monastic rules.

Late last month, Facebook seemed to impose a ban on the word kala, which originally was used to describe those of South Asian descent but has increasingly been used as a derogatory term for Muslims.
Reddit Email 104 Shares

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) |  

This is the way the world ends

This is the way the world ends

This is the way the world ends

Not with a bang but a whimper.

 T. S. Eliot, The Hollow Men

Whatever the fate of the world, Eliots verse is appropriate to the phony caliphate of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of ISIL (ISIS, Daesh). Its last days as a territorial mini-state will play out through 2017, but even dramatic developments appear not to be generating much public interest.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced Saturday morning that they had established control over a northwestern neighborhood of Raqqa in Syria, the capital of Daesh. They also launched an attack on a military base north of the city.

There are reports that Daesh fighters in Raqqa are attempting to negotiate their departure from the city.

The SDF is mostly made up of the leftist Kurds of the YPG (Peoples Protection Units). To it are attached a few northern Syrian Arab clans, though the number of Arabs in the SDF is likely greatly exaggerated. Rebranding the YPG as the SDF and trying to make it multi-cultural was the strategy of Barack Obama and his secretary of defense, Ash Carter. They embedded a few hundred US special operations troops with the YPG and began training and equipping them for an eventual assault on Raqqa. The leftist Kurds were happy to take on this task in alliance with the US because Daesh had been trying to take their territory and massacre them, as they had done to the Iraqi Kurds. As leftist Kurds they are the ideological opposite of the hyper-fundamentalist, largely Arab Daesh.

Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis studied the Obama/ Ash Carter strategy intensively. Likely Mattis got enormous pressure from Trumps first National Security Adviser, Mike Flynn, to drop the Kurds. (Flynn was secretly working for a billionaire close to Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan and appears to have been in Ankaras back pocket; and Ankara does not like Washingtons Kurdish strategy toward Daesh one little bit.). Still, in the end, Mattis decided to go forward with the strategy of his predecessors, with some minor tweaks, He increased the number of US Special Operations troops embedded with the Kurds somewhat, and he supplied the YPG with medium weaponry, over squawks from Turkey. And his Pentagon redoubled regional propaganda exaggerating the number of Arab tribal levies fighting alongside the Kurds in the Syrian Democratic Forces.

And now the SDF is bracing the caliphate in its own lair. That a key neighborhood of Raqqa has fallen is huge news. It is the second to be taken by the SDF, the first having been al-Sabahiya.

It is true that the Syrian province of Deir al-Zor remains to be taken even if Raqqa province falls. And that Daesh may hang on for a few more months in West Mosul. But given Daeshs designation of Raqqa as a capital and given the fixation on north Syria as the site of a future apocalyptic battle (which it will now never be in a position to join), the morale implications of the Raqqa defeat for the minions of Daesh are enormous.

The SDF said that they had liberated the western neighborhood of al-Rumaniya in Raqqa after two days of fierce battles. Raqqa has been surrounded by the SDF for some time, but this is the first time the Kurds have announced the capture of a western neighborhood there.

The northern approaches of the city (most Kurdish YPG forces are north of Raqqa) are guarded by the Division 17 army base, which was captured by Daesh in 2014. The Kurdish fighters are finding the assault on it slow going.

The SDF began its campaign in Raqqa province last November, gradually moving south and cutting off major supply routes to the Daesh capital.

The American public was so consumed in 2014 with Daesh and its sanguinary spectacles that it did an about-face and wanted then President Barack Obama to intervene in Iraq, despite their support for him in 2008 and 2012 having been premised in part on his opposition to . . . intervening in Iraq.

When Daesh took much of eastern Syria and northern and western Iraq in 2013-2014, it presented to then President Barack Obama perhaps his gravest foreign policy crisis. Despite how badly he wanted not to be bogged down in Middle East policy, he swung into action. He forced pugnacious Shiite nationalist Nouri al-Maliki out of office in Baghdad and helped usher in the more flexible Haydar al-Abadi. He rebuilt the Iraqi command in a bid to train up yet another Iraqi army to replace the one that collapsed and ran away from Daesh in June of 2014. He tacitly accepted the help of Iran and of pro-Iranian Shiite militias in the fight against Daesh in the meantime.

On the Syria side, he was rebuffed in his search for a regional land force that would take on Daesh in Raqqa and Deir al-Zor, where it was ensconced. Turkey was much more interested in taking on the PKK Kurds. The Gulf Cooperation Council nations offered their air forces to do some bombing in northern Iraq, but I dont think they ever helped out against Raqqa in Syria.

It is Obamas policy toward Daesh that is now finally bearing fruit. That policy may have been slower than desirable (certainly for the sake of Paris and Brussels). But it was eminently practical, and is now finally being implemented.



Related video:

DW US-backed militias push into IS-held Raqqa | DW English
SIERRA BLANCA, TX--(Marketwired - June 12, 2017) - Texas Mineral Resources Corp. ( OTCQX : TMRC)

$1 million Grant Part of a Two-Phase $23.75 million DOE Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA-0001627)

Project Partners are Inventure Renewables, K-Technologies and Penn State University

Full Project Plans Modular Rare Earth Extraction Facility at Pennsylvania Coal Site

Successful completion heralds potentially significant economic benefits for Appalachian region

DOE award is TMRC's second recent U.S. Government grant, following successful 2016 U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) demonstration

Texas Mineral Resources Corp. (TMRC), an exploration company targeting the heavy rare earths and a variety of other high-value elements and industrial minerals, is pleased to announce that on June 9th the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy selected a Texas Mineral Resources consortium assembled by Texas Mineral Resources as one of only three projects to each receive a $1 million grant as part of a two-phase $23.75 million Funding Opportunity Announcement published in September 2016 (FOA-0001627): Production of Saleable Rare Earth Elements from Domestic U.S. Coal and Coal Byproducts. A copy of the June 9th DOE press release may be found at the following link: bit.ly/2sqrIw6

TMRC's project partners include Inventure Renewables Inc (Tuscaloosa, AL), K-Technologies Inc (Lakeland, FL) and Penn State University (State College, PA). The Texas Mineral Resources consortium objective is to ultimately install a self-contained, modular and portable continuous ion exchange/continuous ion chromatography (CIX/CIC) pilot plant at a selected Pennsylvania site, and to determine the economic viability of profitably producing scandium and other rare earth minerals associated with coal waste material from Pennsylvania coal.

"The DOE has spent the better part of seven months evaluating these competitive applications and we are honored to see our submission selected for this award," commented Dan Gorski, CEO. "We believe that the technological strength and experience of our team goes a long way toward creating a positive result from this project. This grant is a significant step forward toward establishing the first of these operations in the Appalachian region. I would also comment that the process development planned for this project and the experience we gain will also apply directly to our Round Top heavy rare earth deposit near El Paso, Texas."

Anthony Marchese, chairman, added: "I believe this is the beginning of an exciting period for TMRC shareholders. The potential to profitably produce scandium and other rare earth minerals from Pennsylvania coal waste holds great promise. Creating value from waste is an environmental goal shared by all citizens, especially when considering the strategic nature of the minerals proposed to be produced. We are fully committed to working with local companies, capital sources and public officials in order to create meaningful economic opportunity for the Appalachian region, which for too long has seen a period of decline. DOE Secretary Perry has committed to aiding the coal industry and at TMRC we are doing our part in an effort which potentially creates a win-win for shareholders, the region and the United States."

This is TMRC's second recent award granted by a major U.S. Government agency relating to the production of rare earth minerals. In September 2015, the U.S. Department of Defense, through the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) awarded the Company a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) research contract. In July 2016 TMRC announced it had successfully completed a demonstration-of-concept project to separate and refine specific high-purity rare earth elements for the DLA Strategic Materials Division in conjunction with its joint venture partner K-Technologies, Inc. (K-Tech). In the bench scale demonstration, Texas Mineral Resources Corp. and K-Tech successfully separated specified high-value rare earths to between 99.996 and 99.999% purity, using static column systems designed to provide the general design concepts for ultimate use of continuous ion exchange (CIX) and continuous ion chromatography (CIC) systems at larger scales. The use of continuous systems may allow for larger scale production at reduced capital and operating costs when compared to previous fixed bed chromatographic methods or solvent extraction separation techniques.

About Texas Mineral Resources Corp.

Texas Mineral Resources Corp.'s focus is exploring and, if warranted, developing its Round Top heavy rare earth and industrial minerals project located in Hudspeth County, Texas, 85 miles east of El Paso. Additionally, the Company plans on developing alternative sources of strategic minerals through the processing of coal waste and other related materials. The Company's common stock trades on the OTCQX U.S. tier under the symbol "TMRC."
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - June 12, 2017) - Goldstrike Resources Ltd.(TSX VENTURE:GSR) (OTC PINK:APRAF) (FRANKFURT:KCG1) is pleased to announce that it has, in conjunction with its new strategic partner, a Canadian subsidiary of Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE:NEM), commenced the most comprehensive exploration program to date on the Plateau property, situated in Central Yukon, 130 kilometres southeast of Mayo.

The program has been initiated with a close-spaced helicopter geophysical survey covering the entire ~571 square kilometre Plateau property, utilizing Newmont's proprietary system. The results of that survey will be augmented with high resolution Radarsat-2 "bare-rock" surface mapping and half meter resolution satellite imagery to facilitate interpretation of the structural geology of the 50 kilometre long, district scale, gold mineralized corridor defined to date.

Goldstrike and Newmont have also commenced a program on large untested portions of the property using Newmont's proprietary reconnaissance geochemistry (BLEG) technique. These technologies and methodologies have been refined through use on a multitude of properties around the globe and come with a proven track record of success that will greatly enhance Goldstrike's ability to discover additional gold mineralization on the Plateau property.

Two float-plane accessible camps, complete with docks, will host the Newmont and Goldstrike technical teams and drilling crews that will carry out follow-up surveys and diamond drilling at Goldstack as well as other newly discovered areas containing high grade gold mineralized quartz veining and breccia systems such as "Big-Bang" and "Bonanza". These and several other new gold showings were discovered in 2016, expanding the known extent of the district scale gold mineralized corridor from 25 kilometres to 50 kilometres. Ground geophysical and geochemical surveys will also be executed to further define the extent of gold mineralization on multiple zones within this corridor in preparation for the largest drill campaign to date.

ABOUT GOLDSTRIKE

Goldstrike is a well-funded exploration company with a focus on two projects in Yukon. It recently entered into a strategic alliance with a Canadian subsidiary of Newmont Mining Corporation to carry out a comprehensive, multi-year exploration program on its Plateau property, and with funding from Newmont and a Yukon YMEP grant added to proceeds from prior financings and the exercise of warrants, Goldstrike has the funding required to carry out a comprehensive 2017 program on its Lucky Strike property and its two newly staked properties in the White Gold District. The Fraser Institute currently ranks Yukon as the No. 1 jurisdiction in the world for mineral potential.

The Plateau property covers ~571 square kilometres (5,700 hectares) in the Mayo Mining District and contains a district scale gold-mineralized system known as the Yellow Giant Trend. It is 100% owned by Goldstrike subject to a 3% NSR, of which one-third (1%) may be purchased for C$1,500,000 until March 22, 2020.

The Lucky Strike property is located in the White Gold District, 30 kilometres northwest of Goldcorp's Coffee Creek gold deposit and 10 to 15 kilometres east of Kinross' Golden Saddle gold deposit. Goldstrike owns a 100% interest in the Lucky Strike, BRC, Kings Ransom and Goldsource properties free and clear of all encumbrances, including royalties. Goldstrike's Yukon land holdings, including those in the White Gold District, now total 4,704 claims covering over 1,000 square kilometres.

Goldstrike is committed to transparency and the promotion of health, safety, environmental and community interests, which are integral to the conduct of its business. The Company supports the rights of workers and the communities in which it operates. It respects the traditional rights and culture of the First Nations and their concern for the environment and preservation of their cultural heritage. The Company is committed to building relationships based on honesty, openness, mutual trust and involvement, and to working with local communities to develop relationships that focus on creating value for everyone. WORKING TOGETHER, WE SUCCEED.

To see additional information and maps of the Plateau Property and the new White Gold District assets, the Kings Ransom and Goldsource properties, please visit www.goldstrikeresources.com

James Moors, P. Geo., Chief Geologist, is a qualified person, as defined by National Instrument 43-101, for Goldstrike's Yukon exploration projects and supervised the preparation of, and has reviewed and approved, the technical information in this release.

For new information from the Company's programs, please visit Goldstrike's website at GoldstrikeResources.com. For further information follow the Goldstrike's tweets at Twitter.com/GoldstrikeRes.
According to reports, the Mexican lady cadet was not wearing life-saving vest when she fell.

By Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu: The Indian Navy has launched a massive search operation for a Mexican lady cadet who fell overboard from the Navy Tall Ship Cuauhtemoc sailing west of Goa on Sunday.

The incident occurred at 2pm when the ship was sailing about 560 nautical miles west of Goa towards Mumbai.

According to reports, the lady cadet was not wearing life-saving vest when she fell.

advertisement

The Navy has deployed a Boeing P8I aircraft that undertook sorties from 9-11pm on Sunday and resumed search operation between 6:30-10:30am today.

Navy ship Teg, which was sailing to Mumbai from Port Louis in Mauritius has also been diverted to the area for further assistance in the operation.

Meanwhile, INS Mysore with two integral helicopters on board has set sail and is likely to reach the spot by 8 pm tomorrow.

Setting sail from Egypt's Port, Cuauhtemoc is scheduled to visit Mumbai between June 21-26 before departing for Singapore.

Latest reports suggest that there has been no success in the sighting or rescuing of the lady cadet so far.

--- ENDS ---
MONTREAL, June 12, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - ALGOLD RESOURCES LTD. (TSXV: ALG)  "Algold" or the "Corporation" is pleased to announce that the Mauritanian government has formally consented to the granting of a mining license for the Corporation's Tijirit project. This important decision from the Ministry of Oil, Energy and Mines (the "Ministry") in favour of Algold will be formalized by decree by the Mauritanian Council of Ministers in the coming weeks. Under the terms of the mining license grant, Algold will deliver a feasibility study by December 2018.

The Minister of Oil, Energy and Mines of Mauritania, Dr Mohamed Abdel Vetah declared, "Mauritania is a country with many mining investment opportunities and economic, social and political conditions that are conducive to the pursuit of development of a sector considered strategic by the Mauritanian government." He added, "The government has instituted a mining policy aimed at a mutually beneficial balance, while safeguarding the interests of the nation and investors."

"This milestone is a significant achievement for both Mauritania and Algold and is important to our growth plan for Tijirit, as well as for the development of other deposits over the license area, which extends over 300 square kilometers," said Francois Auclair, Chief Executive Officer, Algold. "We are grateful for the Government of Mauritania's vital, ongoing support of our Corporation as demonstrated by the formal consent to issue a 30-year mining license."

Algold acquired the Tijirit project in April 2016 and immediately commenced a major exploration program, under which it completed 20,000 meters of drilling (Phase I and II). The drilling allowed Algold to highlight a high-grade gold deposit with significant upside potential. An initial resource calculation completed in March 2017 by SGS Geostat estimated an inferred gold resource of 602,130 ounces at an average grade of 2.29 g/t Au. The supporting NI 43-101 report will be posted on SEDAR no later than June 15, 2017.

Algold completed metallurgical test work on the Tijirit project (reference Algold's press release dated January 18, 2017), which indicated recovery of up to 97% by gravity and cyanidation of the Eleonore-type mineralization. The Corporation further completed an Environmental Impact Assessment Study, which was filed with the Ministry in December 2016. Subsequently, the Ministry issued a favourable opinion to Algold as of February 2017 (reference Algold's press release dated February 27, 2017).

Algold's Phase III 25,000-meter drilling program, which commenced on February 1, 2017, is ongoing with the objective to further delineate the high-grade gold deposit at Tijirit.

This press release has been reviewed for accuracy and compliance under National Instrument 43-101 by Yann Camus, P.Eng., of the independent firm SGS Canada Inc.  geological group Geostat is the qualified person under NI 43-101 standards who supervised the preparation of the resource estimate and approved all resource-related material in this press release. Yann Camus has sufficient experience relevant to the styles of mineralization under consideration and to which the activities are being reported to qualify as the Qualified Person for the purposes of the announcement. Yann Camus has reviewed the results of the QAQC program at Tijirit, both during and prior to Algold's involvement, and is sufficiently satisfied with both the QAQC protocol as well as the performance of the QAQC measures to view the assay results reported in this release as both accurate and precise. Mr Camus visited the property from April 16 to 20, 2016, for current personal inspection requirements. All information supporting the resource estimation was verified for any inconsistencies. There was no limitation on the verification process.

Andre Ciesielski, DSc., PGeo., Algold Resources Ltd Lead Consulting Geologist and Qualified Person, and Alastair Gallaugher, C.Geo. (Chartered Geologist and Fellow of the Geological Society of London), BSc. Geology, Algold's Exploration Manager in Mauritania, Qualified Persons as defined by NI 43101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Andre Ciesielski has further approved the scientific and technical disclosure in the news release.

ABOUT ALGOLD

Algold Resources Ltd. is focused on the exploration and development of gold deposits in West Africa. The board of directors and management team are seasoned resource industry professionals with extensive experience in the exploration and development of world-class gold projects in Africa.
By Yi Whan-woo



U.S. President Donald Trump may attempt to exploit security concerns on the Korean Peninsula to divert attention from the political turmoil in his own country, an analyst warned Sunday.



In this regard, Trump may try to bill South Korea for a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system here during his scheduled summit with President Moon Jae-in in late June, the analyst said.



In the case of U.S. allies such as Saudi Arabia and NATO-member countries, Trump has been stepping up pressure on them pay more for the cost of stationing American forces there.



"The Trump government shows a pattern of attempting to cancel out domestic problems with what Trump sees as overseas achievements," said Park Won-gon, an international relations professor at Handong Global University. "In that regard, it will be timely for Trump to bring up issues on THAAD costs after being cornered by former FBI Director James Comey's recent testimony against him."



Trump already has attempted to capitalize on thorny issues abroad to distract American citizens from domestic problems, such as by a U.S. air strike on Syria to "punish" the Syrian government's chemical attack on civilians after his failed health care legislation, according to Park.



However, he downplayed concerns over the U.S. using military options against North Korea for a political breakthrough after Comey's testimony over his firing by Trump and also possible collusion between Trump's presidential campaign and Russia.



"It is important to receive support from the international community as well as from the U.S. citizens when carrying out the military strikes abroad. And this was the case in the Syria attack." the professor said. "But Trump is very unlikely to convince South Korea and other Northeast Asian countries if he wants to strike North Korea, especially when such an attack is politically-motivated."



To prevent Trump from possibly linking THAAD with the Comey testimony, the experts said proposing a "massive" investment plan as seen from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's move during his summit with Trump in February.



Moon will be accompanied by business leaders from conglomerates as well as small- and medium-sized enterprises during his U.S. visit, according to Cheong Wa Dae.



"Trump has pledge to revive U.S. industries and satisfying his goal accordingly during the Seoul-Washington summit will be important," Park said. "The investment plan should be as specific as possible for Trump to tout it as his achievement. In my opinion, we should promise to invest at least $100 billion."




An aerial view of the Dongseo Expressway, which links the country's capital region with the east coast / Yonhap



Dongseo Expressway to open on June 30

By Jung Min-ho

People will soon be able to reach the country's east coast from Seoul within just 90 minutes.

The Dongseo Expressway linking the capital region with two cities in Gangwon Province  East Hongcheon and Yangyang  will open to the public on June 30, after eight and a half years of construction.

This means less driving for those who want to visit beaches on the east coast from Seoul and other cities in Gyeonggi Province.

According to the Korea Expressway Corporation (KEC), a person who sets off from east Seoul can reach Yangyang in 90 minutes on the new highway; the journey, from central Seoul, which previously took about 3 hours, will take 2 hours and 10 minutes.

The KEC estimates more than 25,500 cars will use the highway every day and more than 9.3 million every year.

The highway is expected to alleviate traffic congestion on the Yeongdong Expressway, which has long been used by residents of Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to get to the east coast. The old highway, which was first built in 1971, gets congested in July and August, when many people from the capital region head for the coast.

Inje Tunnel, which is the longest in Korea and 11th in the world at 11 kilometers, is part of the highway. The KEC said it designed the tunnel as an S shape to help drivers stay awake while passing through the long tunnel.

The KEC has spent more than 2.3 trillion won ($2 billion) on the construction project, which began in December 2008.
By Yi Whan-woo

Speculation is growing over whether President Moon Jae-in will visit Washington with an investment package that can impress U.S. President Donald Trump as other foreign leaders have done.

Analysts say Korea's possible contribution to revitalizing the U.S. economy could liven up the mood of their first summit amid concerns about possible diplomatic friction over a U.S. missile shield in Korea.

Moon may follow the footsteps of other world leaders and urge South Korean companies and investors to detail their investment plans in the U.S.

Cheong Wa Dae was initially tepid about Moon being accompanied by a business delegation but changed its plans following a dispute over Korea's delay in the deployment of a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, sources said.

Japan and Saudi Arabia unveiled massive U.S. investment plans when Trump met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in February and Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in May.

Trump had accused both Tokyo and Riyadh of not paying their fair share to keep American military forces in their countries.

Japan then promised to make a $400 billion direct investment and help create 1.7 million jobs in the U.S.












By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, June 12 (PTI) In pursuance of Indias Act East policy, the Navys multi-role frigate Sahyadri today arrived in Moresby in Papua New Guinea.

The ship is on an overseas deployment to the South East Asia and Southern Indian Ocean. It will be in Moresby till June 15.

"The visit of the Indian Naval ships seeks to underscore Indias peaceful presence and solidarity with friendly and harmonious countries towards ensuring good order in the maritime domain and to strengthen existing bonds between Papua New Guinea and India," Navy spokesperson Capt D K Sharma said.

advertisement

Indian Naval assets have been increasingly deployed in recent times to address the main maritime concerns of the region.

In addition, the Indian Navy has also been involved in assisting countries in the Indian Ocean Region with surveillance over exclusive economic zones, search and rescue operations and capacity-building activities.

"The current deployment will contribute towards the Indian Navys efforts to consolidate interoperability and forge strong bonds of friendship across the seas," Capt Sharma said. PTI MPB ZMN

--- ENDS ---
San Francisco, CA Every nickel, every dime," shouted a crowd of McDonalds fast food workers back in 2014, "We deserve our Every nickel, every dime," shouted a crowd of McDonalds fast food workers back in 2014, "We deserve our overtime ! Thats the same refrain now but the crowd has expanded to include food giant Chipotle Mexican Grill, Ministry of Taste LLC, and Red Dog Restaurantall accused of violating California overtime pay.

A proposed class action lawsuit filed June 8 claims that the fast-food chain Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. has not paid overtime wages to thousands of its employees, violating the California labor laws and federal law. The lead plaintiff in the case, Carmen Alvarez, worked about 50 to 52 hours per week, at first without overtime pay because her weekly earnings exceeded the federal overtime threshold at that time. Alvarez, classified as an apprentice, claims that when she switched from an hourly wage to salary as part of a "management training program," she began working more than 40 hours a week and was preparing food without extra pay.Although her claim was filed in New Jersey, it can affect Chipotle outlets nationwide, and thousands of workers in California. Further, this overtime rule could affect overtime pay of more than four million workers in the US as it would apply to other fast-food restaurants, including franchises.At issue is the federal rule that expands overtime pay, despite a judge who, late in 2016, banned the Labor Department from enforcing the regulation. According to the(Jun 7, 2017), attorneys in New Jersey representing Chipotle employees argue that the overtime rule still took effect as scheduled on December 1 because the court that ordered the injunction has not issued a final decision or repealed the regulation. The lawsuit also claims that the injunction applied narrowly to the Labor Department and does not block other parties, such as workers, from enforcing the rule in court.(The Labor Department rule, which was finalized under the Obama administration, would more than double the income threshold, meaning that salaried workers who made as much as $47,476 per year were eligible for time-and-a-half, whereas the cut-off for overtime had previously been $23,660.)In April 2017, an employee filed a class action lawsuit in San Francisco County Superior Court against Ministry of Taste LLC, Red Dog Restaurant and numerous individuals, alleging they violated the California labor code by not paying proper overtime compensation. Jose Us-Chab claims he regularly worked more than 40 hours per week without overtime pay and the defendants failed to provide proper wage statements. He is represented by David Yeremian and David Keledjian of David Yeremian & Associates Inc. in Glendale, CALastly, the continuing McDonalds saga. Last month,reported the ruling by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ann Jones that McDonalds corporate-operated stores practice of assigning all hours in an overnight shift to the day in which the shift started meant workers who had an overnight shift followed by a daytime shift often worked more than eight hours in a 24-hour period but received no overtime pay. In other words, the fast food giant violated the states overtime laws.The California labor code lawsuit was filed in 2013 by plaintiff Maria Sanchez. A year later, three additional plaintiffs joined the lawsuit, all claiming that managers had adjusted time records to erase some employee hours worked, failed to provide overtime, disallowed meal breaks during busy periods, and required unpaid work before, and after shifts such as washing uniforms.Millions of fast-food workers could be owed millions of dollars. Chipotle could owe Alvarez and employees like her thousands of dollars each. With more than 2,250 locations in 2016, Chipotle had a net income of $475.6 million, according to its annual report. In 2015, it employed more than 45,000 people. That year, Chipotle Mexican Grill was the fifth largest in terms of revenue, with McDonalds of course being the biggest, generating around $25 billion dollars that year.
Known as periodical cicadas, these long-lived insects  the longest-lived in North America  can be found only in the eastern half of the United States, surfacing between May and June in cycles of 13 or 17 years, depending on the species. They live near trees, hatching and growing underground as nymphs and living off sap that they siphon from tree roots.

During their years underground, the nymphs molt through five growth cycles, known as instars. Then, when ground temperatures reach 64 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius) at a soil depth of 8 inches (20 centimeters), the nymphs emerge en masse and metamorphose into winged adults, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. [6 Amazing Facts About Cicadas]

The emergence of a population of periodical cicadas is usually synchronized across multiple states. The number of boisterously buzzing bugs varies widely from year to year but can total in the billions; in 2016, periodical cicadas in some areas congregated in densities of 1.5 million insects per acre, the Washington Post reported.

Here's what you need to know about the periodical cicadas that will be emerging in 2017.

Periodical cicadas and annual cicadas: What's the difference?

Annual cicadas emerge later in the year than periodical cicadas, arriving in late June through August, according to the Magicicada website. The annual variety is typically light green or brownish in color, while periodical cicadas have black bodies, red legs, bright red eyes and red veins running through their large, translucent wings.

Periodical cicadas' bodies measure about .0.75 to 1.25 inches (1.9 to 3.2 centimeters) in length, while annual cicadas' bodies are somewhat bigger, at about 1.75 inches (4.5 cm) long, entomologists with North Carolina State University (NCSU) wrote.

There are approximately 3,000 cicada species, seven of which represent periodical cicadas. Three periodical species  Magicicada septendecim, Magicicada septendecula and Magicicada cassini  have 17-year life cycles, while four species  Magicicada tredecim, Magicicada neotredecim, Magicicada tredecassini and Magicicada tredecula  follow a 13-year life cycle.

What is a brood?

Periodical cicadas are identified by the term "broods," which categorizes the insects based on the year in which they emerge, with Roman numerals representing each group. According to NCSU entomologists, there are 30 broods: Broods I through XVII are found predominantly in the northeastern U.S. and have 17-year life cycles, while Broods XVIII through XXX are 13-year cicadas and live mostly in the southern U.S..

Where can you find them?

In 2017, Brood VI periodical cicadas are expected to emerge in three states: South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia. They will appear in Rabun County in Georgia, in Oconee and Pickens Counties in South Carolina, and in Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Henderson, McDowell, Polk and Wilkes Counties in North Carolina, with smaller groups anticipated in Ohio and Wisconsin, Cicada Mania reported.

As of June 12, cicada emergence is underway in Georgia and the Carolinas, with additional sightings reported in central Oklahoma, according to Cicada Mania.

The last time this brood was seen in the United States was in 2000. Hillary Clinton had just been elected to the U.S. Senate, the International Space Station was welcoming its very first crew, and Harry Potter and his friends were entering their fourth year at Hogwarts in the newly released novel "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" (Scholastic, 2000).

The periodical cicadas that emerged in 2016  Brood V, another 17-year group  appeared in parts of Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and New York.

Sometimes, different broods overlap, as they did in 2015, when Brood IV (17-year cycle) and Brood XXIII (13-year cycle) appeared across 14 states in total. In May 2017, people living in the Mid-Atlantic region were surprised to see periodical cicadas, which were not expected until 2021, appearing in the hundreds  1,000 sightings were reported from northern Virginia to Bel Air, Maryland in just two days, the Washington Post reported. Entomologists are collecting data about these early appearances, to determine whether this represents a disturbance in the cicadas' life cycle that could be linked to longer growing seasons due to climate change, according to the Washington Post.

How do cicadas know when to come out of the ground?

"The year of cicada emergence is cued by what I and others believe to be an internal molecular clock," Chris Simon, a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Connecticut, told Entomology Today.

A periodical cicada's internal clock is likely calibrated by certain environmental cues that signal the passage of a year, "such as the trees leafing out," Simon suggested. This event, he said, changes the composition of the fluid in tree roots that nourishes cicada nymphs in early instars, or developmental stages.

"The accumulation of 13 or 17 years triggers the emergence of fifth-instar nymphs. The day of emergence is triggered by accumulated ground temperature," Simon said.

In fact, entomologist Richard Karban of the University of California, Davis, used this "tree time" phenomenon to get a group of 17-year cicadas to emerge a year early. Karban manipulated peach trees that were supporting the cicada nymphs so that the plants bloomed twice a year rather than just once. The cicadas had already been brooding for 15 years, and the double-blossoming tree roots tricked the insects into "thinking" two years had passed, according to the article published in July 2000 in the journal Ecology Letters.

How long are they around?

Adult periodical cicadas enjoy a brief and frenzied mating period that lasts just four to six weeks, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) explained in a Pest Alert publication. About three to five days after mating, females lay approximately 24 to 28 eggs, which hatch after six weeks. Then, the nymphs burrow underground, and the cycle begins all over again. Brood VI's next expected appearance will be 17 years from now, in 2034.

Are cicadas harmful?

Adult cicadas can't bite or sting, and aren't toxic; in fact, they are edible, with an "asparagus-like" flavor, cicada expert Gene Kritsky, a biologist at the College of Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati, told National Geographic (opens in new tab). Unlike the highly destructive locusts that they are sometimes mistaken for, periodical cicadas don't feed at all, according to the USDA. However, females can damage tree branches by carving tiny slits to hold their eggs, the USDA said.

Fun facts about periodical cicadas

Every species of cicada produces a unique song that the males use to call the females, and the bugs can be heard at up to a distance of 1 mile (1.6 kilometers).

While periodical cicadas generally have red eyes, some of the insects have white or blue eyes, biologist Patrick Abbot at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee said in a statement. Cicada researcher Roy Troutman has captured photos and video of periodical cicadas that have white eyes, a trait caused by a genetic mutation that strips the color from the insects' eyes and even from their wings, he explained in a video description (opens in new tab) .

. The veins at the tips of periodical cicadas' wings can appear to take the shape of the letter "w," according to the Cicada Mania website. People once viewed that letter as an evil omen, The New York Times reported on May 20, 1894, saying, "some superstitious persons have greatly alarmed themselves, most unnecessarily, by thinking this meant war. Others, more sensible, think it means warm weather."

By emerging in enormous numbers, periodical cicadas follow an unusual survival strategy, essentially outlasting their predators by providing them with too much to eat, according to a 1993 study published in the journal Ecology. This technique, known as "predator satiation," enables hungry predators to gorge themselves sick on readily available prey, until the predators reach a saturation point where they avoid the cicadas completely. The "synchronized, explosive emergences" of periodical cicadas ensure that even though large numbers of the insects may be eaten, plenty will still survive long enough to mate and lay their eggs, the study authors wrote.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on January 24. It was updated with information on the current status of the cicada season.

Original article on Live Science.
An image of Christ seated on a throne surrounded by his apostles can be seen in a burial chamber in the catacombs of St. Domitilla in Italy.

The ancient catacombs of St. Domitilla sprawl for more than 10 miles (17 kilometers) in a labyrinth of tunnels beneath Rome and contain numerous tombs, many belonging to the city's elite.

Now, using a technique called laser cleaning, in which lasers are used to remove centuries of grime, researchers have uncovered elaborate frescoes in two sections of the catacombs: the burial chamber used by a grain purchaser (sometimes referred to in scholarly literature as a baker) and the "introductio," which shows a "a personal presentation of the dead to Christ," said Barbara Mazzei, an archaeologist with the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology, the organization that unveiled the newly visible frescoes at the end of May.

The chambers were first discovered about 400 years ago by an explorer named Antonio Bosio.

"Only the wealthiest families could afford a burial chamber," Mazzei told Live Science in an email. The catacombs date back about 1,600 years and are considered to be among the oldest Christian cemeteries. [See Photos of the Frescoes Inside the Catacombs of St. Domitilla]

Proud grain purchaser

Once the lasers had delicately chipped away soot and other particles that had built up over the years, a 1,600-year-old fresco showing a grain purchaser, was revealed in greater detail. Previously, researchers knew of the individual and sometimes referred to him as a "baker," but the laser cleaning of the painting allowed details of the purchaser, as well as frescoes in the tomb showing Rome's grain trade, to be seen in greater detail. The grain purchaser (who was buried in this particular chamber) is "dressed in a richly decorated tunic and located behind a large modius," which is a container used to measure and distribute grain, Mazzei said.

The walls near the image of the grain purchaser show details of the activities of the Annona, an office that handled the purchase and distribution of Rome's grain supply. The grain purchaser was probably someone of "high rank and relevance at the top of the Annona office," Mazzei said. The grain purchaser appears to be "very proud of his work and of the social level he gained," Mazzei said.

A bucolic scene with a shepherd and another with Christ on a throne between two groups of apostles were also revealed in the catacombs. "The other scenes are drawn from the Old and New Testament," Mazzei said. [In Photos: A Journey Through Early Christian Rome]

Near the grain purchaser's fresco, in another section of the Roman catacombs, the cleaning revealed details of a fresco showing Christ seated on a throne, with his right arm raised before two deceased individuals and their patron saints, who are presumably "the Princes of the apostles Peter and Paul, to be admitted in the Kingdom of Heaven," Mazzei said. "The subject is quite rare in the repertoire of the catacomb paintings."

Mazzei said there are many more frescoes that need to be cleaned in the area near the grain purchaser's tomb and in other parts of the sprawling ancient catacombs beneath Rome.

Original article on Live Science.
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Jun 11 (PTI) The HRD Ministry has directed the University Grants Commission (UGC) to conduct a fresh inspection of 44 institutions labelled "unworthy" of being given a deemed varsity status by a government panel in 2009.

The status of these varsities across the country has been in limbo ever since, with some institutes seeking legal action.

advertisement

"The Ministry has written to the UGC asking for a fresh inspection of these universities to judge whether they can be allowed to retain the (deemed varsity) status," a source said.

A body called the Tandon committee, set up by the human resource development ministry in 2009, had examined 126 deemed universities and found 44 of them "unworthy". Another 44 were found deficient on many counts while the performance of 38 was found satisfactory.

The panel recommended the immediate withdrawal of the deemed university status from the institutions found unworthy. However, some institutions moved court, and the matter is still sub judice.

The Tandon committee had assessed each institute on 45 marks. Institutions that scored less than 15 were labelled unworthy.

These 44 institutions were originally colleges and were later granted deemed university status by the government. PTI GJS BDS

--- ENDS ---
Words on a page

(Image credit: Susan Law Cain/Shutterstock)

Throughout history, scientists, explorers, activists and artists have recorded their thoughts and observations in journals and diaries. A number of these records, many of which were written decades or even centuries ago, continue to captivate scholars and readers today.

From intrepid explorers to ingenious inventors to activists working for social justice  here are just a few examples of diarists whose unique insights and perspectives on the world around them have resonated for generations.

Charles Darwin (1809-1882)

(Image credit: General Photographic Agency/GeYy)

Famed British naturalist Charles Darwin was a dedicated archivist. He kept a "little diary," as he called it, of notable events in his personal and professional life, beginning at the age of 29 by backtracking and recording everything of his life that he remembered up to that point, then continuing to update the diary until months before his death in 1881, the website Darwin Online wrote.

But Darwin's best-known journals are the research notes he kept as naturalist for the ship H.M.S. Beagle, during its voyage exploring the South American coast, from 1831 through 1836. Darwin observed and meticulously noted what he saw of the geology, animals and fossils in every location, and began gathering the first clues that would later form the foundation of his theory of evolution.

He made the following entry on Sept. 29, 1835, while visiting the Galapagos Islands: "Considering the small size of the islands, we feel the more astonished at the number of their aboriginal beings, and at their confined range. Seeing every height crowned with its crater, and the boundaries of most of the lava-streams still distinct, we are led to believe that within a period geologically recent the unbroken ocean was here spread out. Hence, both in space and time, we seem to be brought somewhat near to that great fact  that mystery of mysteries  the first appearance of new beings on this earth."

Marie Curie (1867-1934)

(Image credit: Hulton Archive/Getty)

On December 16, 1867, chemist and nuclear physicist Marie Curie made her first entry in a laboratory journal documenting her research on radioactivity  when an unstable atomic nucleus spontaneously emits energy  which she conducted with her husband. Together, they investigated the previously unknown radioactive elements polonium and radium, and in 1910 she proved radium was a new element by producing it as a pure metal. She and her husband were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903, and she earned the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911.

Curie's long-term exposure to radiation during the course of her studies eventually led to her death from aplastic anemia, and her laboratory notebooks, which are still highly radioactive, are stored in the Bibliotheque National in Paris, in a lead-lined box. Visitors may view them only after donning protective clothing and signing a liability waiver, the Christian Science Monitor reported in 2011.

Emilie Davis (diary entries 1863-1865)

Three pocket diaries kept by Emilie Davis  an African-American woman who lived in Philadelphia at the time of the Civil War  during the years 1863 to 1865, offer a remarkable day-to-day record of life for a free black woman. Davis began writing the diaries when she was in her late teens or early twenties, according to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, which holds the diaries in their collection. The journals hint at how black Philadelphians responded as the war unfolded, with short entries of just a sentence or two each juxtaposing momentous, historical events with the minutia of daily life.

A transcription of Davis's journals, accompanied by annotations, was published in 2014 under the title, "Emilie Daviss Civil War: The Diaries of a Free Black Woman in Philadelphia, 18631865" (The Pennsylvania State University Press).

Robert Falcon Scott (1868-1912)

(Image credit: Hulton Archive/GeYy)

The diaries kept by the explorer Robert Falcon Scott during his ill-fated 1910 expedition to be the first to attain the South Pole, were a record of the grueling hardships suffered by his team as they struggled to reach their goal.

In a harrowing journey that began in November 1911, Scott and four men reached the pole on January 17, 1912, only to discover that that a rival team of Norwegian explorers had gotten there one month earlier, according to an account of the expedition published online by the Antarctic Heritage Trust. Exhausted and running low on supplies, the entire group perished from injuries, cold and starvation during the return trip to home base. Their fate was discovered months later, when a search team found their camp and Scott's journal.

Scott kept writing in his diary until he could no longer put pen to paper. In his final entry, dated March 29, he wrote: "Had we lived, I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance, and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman. These rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the tale."

Anne Frank (1929-1945)

(Image credit: Photo collection Anne Frank House, Amsterdam)

June 12, 2017 marks the 75th anniversary of Anne Franks first diary entry. For decades after her untimely death in 1945 in a German death camp, her poignant words  written between 1942 and 1944, while she and her family hid from the Nazis in an Amsterdam attic  have touched the lives of millions readers of all ages and around the world.

"Its utterly impossible for me to build my life on a foundation of chaos, suffering and death," Frank wrote on July 15, 1944.

"I see the world being slowly transformed into a wilderness, I hear the approaching thunder that, one day, will destroy us too, I feel the suffering of millions. And yet, when I look up at the sky, I somehow feel that everything will change for the better, that this cruelty too shall end, that peace and tranquility will return once more."

Thomas Edison (1847-1931)

(Image credit: Keystone/Getty)

As an inventor Thomas Edison was astoundingly prolific, but he was somewhat less productive as a diarist; in all of his papers, there is only one known example of him recording his personal thoughts, feelings and opinions: a detailed diary that he kept from July 12 through July 21 in 1885. But the scant collection of pages  45 in total  that accumulated during that brief period represent a fascinating glimpse into the mind of one of history's most famous inventors, as he recounts the most mundane details with a keen eye for detail and a wry sense of humor.

"Went into a drug store and bought some alleged candy, asked the gilded youth with the usual vacuous expression, if he had any nitric peroxide, he gave a wild stare of incomprehensibility," Edison wrote on July 19.

"Then I simplified the name to nitric acid, which I hoped was within the scope of his understanding. A faint gleam of intelligence crept over his face whereupon he went into another room from which he returned with the remark that he didnt keep nitric acid. Fancy a drug store without nitric acid."

"Che" Guevara (1928-1967)

(Image credit: Keystone/Getty)

Marxist revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara de la Serna was born in Argentina, and he abandoned a career in medicine to bring messages of Marxism and revolution to the people of South America. He served as an advisor to Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, assisting in the country's transformation to a Communist state. His diary "Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War" recalled his time with Castro shaping the guerilla movement that upended Batista's dictatorship in 1959, and his unfinished diary, "The Bolivian Journal," was found among his belongings after he was killed in Bolivia in 1967.

"Fidels opening shot shattered him; he managed to shout out something like, 'Ay, mi madre!' then he fell over dead," Guevara wrote in "Reminiscences," in an entry describing the Battle of Arroyo del Infierno in January 1957.

"Covered by the guajiro Crespo, I reached the house and saw the body; I took his bullets, his rifle, and a few other belongings. The man had been struck full in the chest, the bullet probably piercing his heart, and his death had been instantaneous; he already showed the first signs of rigor mortis, perhaps because of the exhaustion of his last days march. The battle was extraordinarily fast and soon, our plan successfully executed, we all withdrew," he wrote.

Isabelle Eberhardt (1877-1904)

(Image credit: Apic/Getty)

Writer and 19th-century explorer Isabelle Eberhardt left her native Switzerland at the age of 22 to travel alone through Algeria. She was fluent in Arabic, and disguised herself as a man so that she could work to earn her passage. Eberhardt led an unconventional life, riding through the Sahara Desert on horseback, dabbling with marijuana and alcohol (despite her conversion to Islam), and writing extensively about her travels and adventures, though much of her writing was destroyed in the flash flood that took her life in 1904.

"Now more than ever do I realize that I will never be content with a sedentary life, that I will always be haunted by thoughts of a sun-drenched elsewhere," she wrote in a surviving diary entry, published in "The Nomad: The Diaries of Isabelle Eberhardt (Virago Press, 1987).

Frida Kahlo (1907-1954)

(Image credit: Copyright Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal/Zuma)

Painter Frida Kahlo's powerful and brightly-colored canvases incorporated bold and surreal imagery inspired by Mexican folklore, and representing the country's native plants and animals, and she is recognized as one of the most important artists of the 20th century. The written and illustrated diaries she kept during the last 10 years of her life  published as "The Diary of Frida Kahlo: An Intimate Self-Portrait (opens in new tab)" (Abrams, 2005)  offer a glimpse not only of her creative process, but of her tumultuous relationship with her husband, artist Diego Rivera.

"All of you in a space full of sounds  in the shade and in the light. You were called AUXOCHROME the one who captures color. I CHROMOPHORE  the one who gives color," Kahlo wrote to Diego in an undated letter.

"You are all the combinations of numbers. life. My wish is to understand lines form shades movement. You fulfill and I receive. Your word travels the entirety of space and reaches my cells which are my stars then goes to yours which are my light."

Ahmed Ibn Fadlan (877 A.D. to 960 A.D.)

(Image credit: Gilwellian/Wikipedia)

During the 10th century, explorer and writer Ahmad Ibn Fadlan documented his travels accompanying an ambassador sent by the Caliph of Baghdad to the king of the Volga Bulghars in what is now Russia. He created one of the earliest written records describing northern Europe and its inhabitants, and provided detailed information about the presence of the Vikings in the region and the emergence of the Russian state, according to a study published in 2000 in the Journal of Arabic and Islamic Studies.

In an entry describing the Rusiyyah people  a band of Northern European traders  Ibn Fadlan wrote: "I saw the Rusiyyah when they had arrived on their trading expedition and had disembarked at the River Atil. I have never seen more perfect physiques than theirs  they are like palm trees, are fair and reddish, and do not wear the qurtaq or the caftan. The man wears a cloak with which he covers one half of his body, leaving one of his arms uncovered. Every one of them carries an axe, a sword and a dagger and is never without all of that which we have mentioned."
An astronomer thinks he's pinpointed the source of a mysterious radio signal from space: a passing comet that nobody knew about. But his colleagues said they're still skeptical of the explanation, noting that comets don't emit radio waves in the right way.

Antonio Paris, an astronomer at St. Petersburg College in Florida, recently published a paper in the Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences saying the mysterious "Wow! signal," a truly bizarre radio signal detected almost 40 years ago, seems to match up with the location of a comet called 266P/Christensen that hadn't been cataloged at the time. (The comet was discovered more recently, in 2006. Originally, Paris' hypothesis was that a second comet might also be the culprit, one called P/2008 Y Gibbs.) Explanations for the Wow! signal have ranged from intermittent natural phenomena, to secret spy satellites, to, yes, aliens.

Others aren't so sure. "We do not believe the two-comets theory can explain the Wow! signal," Jerry Ehman, the astronomer who discovered the Wow! signal in 1977, told Live Science. [5 Times We Thought We Found Aliens]

Wow! signal

The Wow! signal's name comes from just how striking and strange it was. The radio signal appeared on the night of Aug. 15, 1977, when it was picked up by the Big Ear radio telescope at The Ohio State University. It lasted 72 seconds. It was "loud"  more intense than anything in the background sky that night. It was also a narrow-bandwidth signal; the range of frequencies it covered was small, similar to those of artificial signals. AM radio, for example, has channels that are only 10,000 cycles above or below the designated frequency on the dial. Further, the signal was at a frequency of about 1,420 megahertz (MHz), also called the 21-centimter line. That's the same frequency as radio waves emitted by neutral hydrogen gas in space. It's a region that is relatively free of noise from other objects, and one researchers involved in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence have been interested in for a long time because it could be used for interstellar transmissions.

The signal did not repeat, and subsequent attempts to find it proved fruitless. Ehman marked "Wow!" in red pen on a printout that shows the numbers representing the signal.

Back in 1977, the now-dismantled Big Ear telescope was looking for alien signals, in an early iteration of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, or SETI. But no one expected to see anything like the Wow! signal, and the Big Ear telescope heard nothing like it again.

Without a repeat signal, it was impossible to tell what it was; even getting a precise location wasn't easy because the signal was short-lived. Ehman, now retired, told Live Science that, beyond a certain distance, it's hard to tell how far away a radio signal is coming from.

Comet signature

In his paper, Paris wrote that comets will, under certain conditions, emit radio waves from the gases that surround them as they zoom closer to the sun. According to the study, Comet 266P/Christensen was in about the right position on the right day in 1977. Paris first floated the idea in early 2016, and proposed a program of using radio telescopes to listen for the emission of such radio waves. [Face on a Comet: Ghostly Faces in Space]

The comet project had three phases. "The first phase was the hypothesis, which led to the second phase: Do comets emit 1,420 [MHz signals]? It appears yes, they do," Paris told Live Science.

In the third phase, set for 2018, Paris plans to explore the mechanisms of the emissions why comets should generate radio waves at that particular wavelength. Paris said little research has been done on the topic.

"There have been a handful of studies, but I suspect we are the first to specifically build a 10-meter radio telescope to specifically look at this type of solar system body," he said.

To see if a signal could have come from comets, Paris first used a radio telescope to look at the sky in the region of the Wow! signal. With this step, he wanted to see what the background looked like at the relevant frequency. He also checked two other comets to be sure that they did, in fact, emit radio signals at the 1,420-MHz frequency, and found that they did.

Then, in January, Paris directed the radio telescope to point at Comet 266P/Christensen as it passed through the region of the sky where the Wow! signal was seen. (Comet 266P/Christensen has an orbital period of about 6.65 years, and its apparent location in the sky will vary depending on where Earth is in its own orbit around the sun. The comet passed near, but not exactly, where the Wow! signal was  about 2 degrees north of the Wow! signal location.

Skepticism abounds

Yet several astronomers, including Ehman, think Paris is wrong about the comet. Ehman looked at Paris' study with Robert Dixon, who directs the radio observatory at The Ohio State University (Big Ear was destroyed in 1997). Two big issues are that the signal didn't repeat, and it appeared for such a short time. Ehman noted that the Big Ear telescope had two "feed horns," each of which provides a slightly different field of view for a radio telescope. [5 Huge Misconceptions about Aliens]

"We should have seen the source come through twice in about 3 minutes: one response lasting 72 seconds and a second response for 72 seconds following within about a minute and a half," Ehman told Live Science. "We didn't see the second one."

The only way that can happen, he said, is if the signal was cut off abruptly. A comet wouldn't produce that kind of signal, because the gases that surround them cover large, diffuse areas. Nor would the comet have escaped from the radio telescope's field of view that fast.

But Ehman isn't convinced it's aliens, either. There are many phenomena that show sudden appearances and disappearances of radio signals, including fast radio bursts (FRBs), which are mysterious radio bursts with hotly-debated astrophysical origins that generate irregular signals that last only milliseconds. If the the Big Ear picked up only the tail end of such an emission, the data could look similar to the Wow! signal, Ehman speculated.

"The issue with the feed horns is something no one can explain, including me," Paris said. "There is some data out there to suggest the issue is at the telescope end and not the phenomenon itself." So it's possible that the signal could have been caused by a glitch in the Big Ear telescope.

The other issue is the frequency of transmission. Paris said he has shown that comets can emit in that range, but Seth Shostak, a senior astronomer at the SETI Institute, is skeptical. Shostak used to study emissions from neutral hydrogen in the 1,420-MHz range, and is less sure the emission would look right. Comets may not generate enough hydrogen to make a bright enough signal like Wow!.

"I don't think anyone ever found such emission from comets," Shostak told Live Science.

Originally published on Live Science.
Here, the bones of one of the cats recovered in Spain, showing parts of skull and jaw still connected before analysis (B, C and D).

Farmers skinned cats about 1,000 years ago in Spain, possibly for the medieval cat-fur industry or a "magical" pagan ritual, a new study finds.

Scientists found evidence of the skinning at the archaeological site of El Bordellet in eastern Spain, where medieval artifacts were discovered during highway construction in 2010.

During more recent excavations, researchers found nine pits that likely held crops from medieval farms. A number of these pits held bones from sheep, goats, cattle, pigs, dogs and horses.

One pit was notable because it contained an unusual amount of feline remains  about 900 domestic cat bones. One such bone was carbon dated to about A.D. 970 to 1025. [See Photos of the Remains of Ancient Egyptian Kittens]

Skinned cats

Several clues led the archaeologists to conclude that the cats were likely skinned. The number, angle, intensity and location of the cut marks and fractures seen on the bones were consistent with those seen in prior experiments where researchers skinned a variety of animals.

The state of the bones suggests that most of the felines were 9 to 20 months old when they died. The researchers said this age was likely the best for cat-fur usage, when the felines were relatively large but their fur was still free of damage, parasites or disease.

Cat skinning has been seen widely at numerous archaeological sites in northern Europe, especially Britain and Ireland, the researchers said. "The skins were basically used for making garments, mainly coats," as well as collars and sleeves, said study lead author Lluis Lloveras, a zooarchaeologist at the University of Barcelona. "Some texts also make reference to the healing qualities of cat skin, but also to its possible harmfulness."

Cat fur was often traded during the Middle Ages, according to archaeological finds and medieval texts, Lloveras said. "The skins of the cat and the rabbit have many similarities in terms of quality and touch," Lloveras told Live Science.

Both domestic cats and wildcats were skinned for the fur industry, although the value of domestic-cat fur "could be worth 100 times less than that of the wildcat," Lloveras said. "The fur of domestic cats was normally used by less-wealthy people or social groups that had to demonstrate a certain austerity, like nuns."

A 2013 study in the journal Antiqvitas found evidence of cat skinning in the Muslim areas of medieval Iberia. This new study may be the first conclusive evidence of cat-fur usage in the medieval Christian parts of Iberia, the European peninsula containing Spain and Portugal. "This proves that cat-fur exploitation was common in both [the] Christian and [the] Muslim world," Lloveras said.

Pagan cat rituals?

However, the researchers said there might be another explanation for this cat skinning: a magical pagan rite. Other animal remains uncovered alongside the feline bones included a whole horse skull, a goat horn fragment and a chicken eggshell.

"All these particular animal remains have been associated with ritual practices in the Middle Ages as well as in later times," Lloveras said. For instance, a 1999 study in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology found a partial cat skeleton buried with several hens underneath a wall from the late-15th to early-16th centuries in England, perhaps as part of a commemorative ritual during construction, he said.

However, the researchers cautioned that the archaeological record in this region does not make it clear whether these bones were placed together coincidentally or as part of a ritual. "We will wait for new future discoveries in the area," Lloveras said.

The scientists detailed their findings online May 24 in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology.

Original article on Live Science.
On June 12, 1942, a young Jewish girl named Annelies Marie Frank made her first entry in her now-famous diary, which had been given to her as a birthday present. Little did she know that it would be read and discussed for generations to come, and that through her private musings she would become an unforgettable symbol of the tragedy of the Holocaust for millions of readers around the world.

Teenage Anne Frank, who was only 16 when she was killed in the Nazi death camp Bergen-Belsen, wrote in this diary throughout the two years she spent in hiding with her family and four other Dutch Jews, between 1942 and 1944. Their refuge was a secret attic apartment, concealed behind her family's business office in Amsterdam.

During that time, Anne recorded her innermost thoughts and painfully honest observations from the "achterhuis"  the "Secret Annex," as she called her hidden home. These diary entries reflected the tension and danger she and her family faced from both the Nazis and Dutch sympathizers, but they also shared her youthful idealism and thoughtfulness, according to diary excerpts. Anne not only documented day-to-day life for eight people sharing a cramped hiding place and fearing discovery at any moment; she also captured their moments of tenderness and humor, and their hopefulness even in the face of a terrible reality. ['Dear Diary': 14 Journal Keepers Who Made History]

"Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl" was published in Dutch in 1947, and an English edition followed in the U.S. in 1952, according to the Anne Frank House museum. Following the U.S. publication, the book was promptly declared "a classic" as well as a profoundly intimate and moving story, in a review published that year in The New York Times.

"Anne Frank's diary simply bubbles with amusement, love, discovery," the Times reported. "It has its share of disgust, its moments of hatred, but it is so wondrously alive, so near, that one feels overwhelmingly the universalities of human nature. These people might be living next door; their within-the-family emotions, their tensions and satisfactions are those of human character and growth, anywhere."

Anne Frank's diary is on display at the Anne Frank House museum in Amsterdam. (Image credit: Copyright Anne Frank House/Photographer Cris Toala Olivares)

Even those earliest readers of Anne Frank's diary could recognize the unique power of her voice, and likely suspected she would not soon be forgotten, according to the Times review.

"Surely she will be widely loved, for this wise and wonderful young girl brings back a poignant delight in the infinite human spirit," the Times wrote.

Indeed, based on her book's popularity  which continued to build over the coming years  Anne was certainly "widely loved." By 1969, her diary had been published in 34 languages and it is currently available in 70 languages. With more than 25 million copies sold, it is one of the most read books in the world, according to the Anne Frank House.

A timeless voice

One remarkable aspect of the book is its consistent impact over time. Anne's diary continues to resonate with readers as strongly as ever, in part because her intriguing personal story also offers insight into a very dark period in human history, Edna Friedberg, a historian with the Levine Institute for Holocaust Education at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, told Live Science.

"For many millions of young people, Anne Frank and her diary is the first point of entry into the complicated world of the Holocaust, and that is in large part due to the voice of a girl  a teenager herself  who is so relatable," Friedberg said.

"She is so smart and reflective, but also so real. She has become iconic of the well-over 1 million Jewish children who were murdered during the Holocaust, but she also transcends that moment, because of her voice," Friedberg said.

As the diary of a teenager, the book is particularly accessible to youthful readers, and serves as a unique and powerful reminder that even in the context of global events, young voices can make a big difference, Friedberg added.

"This is but one of many kid and teen diaries that we have from the Holocaust era," she said. "They remind kids that they have agency, that their take on the world matters, and in a way that transcends the specifics of the time and place." [In Photos: Girls' Hut Found at Nazi Death Camp]

What might have been

In 1944, after the Franks had been in hiding for nearly two years, an announcement on Dutch radio broadcasting from London suggested that diaries kept during the war would be collected and archived for the people of the Netherlands. Anne, who was listening to the broadcast with her family, was inspired to rework her diary and adapt it into a novel, imagining that she would publish it when the war was over and her family emerged from hiding, according to the Anne Frank House website.

Still, she occasionally doubted her abilities as a writer, according to the museum's website.

"In my head it is as good as finished, although it won't go as quickly as that, if it ever comes off at all," Anne wrote in May of that year.

But she never got the chance to develop those ideas. On Aug. 4, 1944, Anne, her family, and their fellows in hiding were arrested by officers with the Gestapo  the Nazi secret police  and were shipped to Auschwitz, a death camp in Poland. Anne and her sister Margot were later transferred to Bergen-Belsen, another death camp in Germany, where they both died of typhus in 1945.

Recently discovered documents reveal that Otto Frank, Anne's father, was in touch with people in the U.S. to obtain visas for his family while they were in hiding, but the potentially lifesaving documents were not granted in time, Friedberg told Live Science.

"When we look at that story and see what might have been, if those visas had been granted, for sure Anne Frank would not be a household name," Friedberg said.

"But she could have given so much to the world," Friedberg added. "And I think through the person of Anne, through her words, we see what was destroyed by the murder of 6 million human beings  the lost promise, creativity and potential, from the failure of the world to respond."

Original article on Live Science.
The identity of Leonardo da Vinci's mother has eluded historians for years, but now one scholar said he's found the woman behind the Renaissance man.

After digging through overlooked records in Italy, Martin Kemp, a leading Leonardo expert, claimed that the artist was born to Caterina di Meo Lippi, a 15-year-old orphan, on April 15, 1452.

From existing documents, historians already knew that Leonardo was mostly raised by his father, a lawyer named Ser Piero da Vinci. Scholars also knew that Ser Piero was not married to Leonardo's mother, and there was some indication that her name was Caterina. [ In Photos: Leonardo Da Vinci's 'Mona Lisa' ]

The gaps in knowledge among these details have led to a somewhat obsessive speculation about Caterina's identity. Sigmund Freud even weighed in with a psychoanalytical interpretation of Leonard's childhood. Freud claimed that the enigmatic smile in the 'Mona Lisa' must have reminded Leonardo of (you guessed it) his mother, which is why the painting captures both "the promise of unlimited tenderness and sinister threat."

More recent investigations have stuck to the biographical details, with some scholars claiming Leonardo's mother was a slave from North Africa or Turkey. Caterina was a common name for slaves at the time, and one analysis claimed a Leonardo fingerprint had features common to people of Middle Eastern origin.

But Kemp, an emeritus professor of art history at Oxford University, painted Caterina as a local girl. He told The Guardian that her life "was a real sob story." His research in the archives of Vinci and Florence suggested that Caterina and her brother, Papo, were orphaned and lived in a derelict farmhouse with their grandmother, just outside of Vinci. Meanwhile, Ser Piero da Vinci was on his way to becoming a successful lawyer in Florence and was due to be married. But during a visit to his hometown in July 1451, Ser Piero must have met Caterina, and gotten her pregnant. Then, his family probably gave her a dowry so that she could be married off to someone else.

Kemp established most of these links through property-tax records, and according to The Guardian, he also found that Ser Piero conducted a minor legal transaction for Caterina's husband, another connection linking the artists' parents.

Kemp outlined his ideas about Caterina in the new book "Mona Lisa: The People and the Painting" (Oxford University Press, 2017), which he wrote with Giuseppe Pallanti, an economics teacher in Florence.

The book claims to be the first to shed light on Leonardo's maternal family tree. Last year, Italian researchers used historic records to identify 35 living descendants of Leonardo but only on his father's side. Those living relatives included Oscar-nominated Italian director Franco Zeffirelli, who is perhaps most famous for his 1968 film adaptation of "Romeo and Juliet."

As the title of Kemp's book suggests, the publication also offers new details on the life of Lisa del Giocondo, the subject of Leonardo's most famous painting, the "Mona Lisa." Much more so than Leonardo's mother, Lisa del Giocondo has attracted wildly imaginative theories. These have concerned her identity and the secret religious symbols that might be imbued within the painting. Kemp took a more sober view of the mundane, middle-class life Lisa would have led while her husband traded in sugar, leather and slaves.

"Leonardo was doing extraordinary things, but the context that gave rise to the portrait was no less embedded in the daily business of life in Renaissance Florence than when Lisa's husband, Francesco del Giocondo, imported leather from Ireland," Kemp said in a statement.

Original article on Live Science.
Anne Frank was a teenage Jewish girl who kept a diary while her family was in hiding from the Nazis during World War II. For two years, she and seven others lived in a "Secret Annex" in Amsterdam before being discovered and sent to concentration camps. Anne died in the Bergen-Belsen camp in 1945.

Frank's father was the family's sole survivor. He decided to publish the diary, which gives a detailed account of Anne's thoughts, feelings and experiences while she was in hiding. It has been an international bestseller for decades and a key part of Holocaust education programs. Several humanitarian organizations are devoted to her legacy.

"Anne was a lively and talented girl, expressing her observations, feelings, self-reflections, fears, hopes and dreams in her diary," said Annemarie Bekker of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. "Her words resonate with people all around the world."

Early life

Anne Frank was born Annelies Marie Frank on June 12, 1929, in Frankfurt, Germany, to Otto and Edith Frank, according to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Otto Frank had been a lieutenant in the German army in World War I and then became a businessman. Anne's sister, Margot, was three years older.

The Franks were progressive Jews who lived in the religiously diverse outskirts of Frankfurt until the autumn of 1933. Anti-Semitism had been on the rise in Germany for several years. When the Nazi Party, led by Adolf Hitler, took control of the government in January 1933, the Franks relocated to Amsterdam. Anne described the move in her diary: "Because we're Jewish, my father immigrated to Holland in 1933, where he became the managing director of the Dutch Opekta Company, which manufactures products used in making jam."

The Franks enjoyed the freedom and acceptance they found in Amsterdam. Anne attended Amsterdam's Sixth Montessori School, where she was a bright and inquisitive student with many friends of various backgrounds and faiths, according to "Anne Frank: The Biography (opens in new tab)" by Melissa Muller (Picador, 2014). Otto Frank founded a food ingredient wholesale company in Amsterdam.

In May 1940, the Nazis invaded Amsterdam and the Franks were put on edge again. Jews had to wear the yellow Star of David and observe a strict curfew. They were forbidden from owning businesses. Otto Frank transferred ownership of his company to Christian associates but ran it behind the scenes. Anne and Margot had to transfer to a segregated Jewish school, according to Muller. Anne wrote, "After May 1940, the good times were few and far between; first there was the war, then the capitulation and then the arrival of the Germans, which is when the trouble started for the Jews."

On June 12, 1942, Anne's 13th birthday, Otto gave her a red-and-white-checked notebook that she had previously picked out at a local shop. Anne decided to use it as a diary. Her first entry reads, "I hope I will be able to confide everything to you, as I have never been able to confide in anyone, and I hope you will be a great source of comfort and support."

In July 1942, Germans began sending Dutch Jews to concentration camps. The Franks attempted to emigrate to the United States but were denied visas, according to The Washington Post. The family began making plans to go into hiding.

Otto set up a hiding place in the rear annex of his firm, with the help of his Jewish business partner, Hermann van Pels, and his associates Johannes Kleiman and Victor Kugler, according to the Anne Frank House. The hiding place was at 263 Prinsengracht, an area with many small companies and warehouses.

On July 5, 1942, Margot received a summons to report to a concentration camp. The Frank family went into hiding the next day, a few weeks earlier than planned. A week later, the Van Pels family joined the Franks in what the families called the Secret Annex.

Life in hiding

For two years, eight people lived in the Secret Annex, according to Muller. The four Franks were joined by Hermann and Auguste van Pels and their 16-year-old son, Peter. In November 1942, Fritz Pfeffer, a dentist and friend of the Frank family, moved in. Pfeffer is referred to as Albert Dussel in many editions of Anne's diary because she sometimes used pseudonyms.

Kleiman and Kugler, as well as other friends and colleagues, including Jan Gies and Miep Gies, continued to help the Franks, according to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. These individuals helped manage the business, which continued running in the front of the building, and brought food, other necessities and news of the outside world to the Jews in hiding.

The manager of the company warehouse, Johann Voskuijl, built a moveable bookcase that concealed the entrance to the Secret Annex. Anne wrote, "Now our Secret Annex has truly become secret.  Mr. Kugler thought it would be better to have a bookcase built in front of the entrance to our hiding place. It swings out on its hinges and opens like a door. Mr. Voskuijl did the carpentry work. (Mr. Voskuijl has been told that the seven of us are in hiding, and he's been most helpful.)"

In her diary, Anne described the Secret Annex, saying it had several small rooms and narrow halls. According to Anne Frank Guide, Anne shared a room with Fritz Pfeffer; Otto, Edith and Margot shared another. Peter had his own small room, and Hermann and Auguste van Pels slept in the communal living room and kitchen area. There was also a bathroom, a small attic and a front office. The front office and attic had windows that Anne peered from during the evenings. From the attic, she could see a chestnut tree, which inspired her to reflect on nature in her diary.

The residents of the Secret Annex did a great deal of reading and studying to pass the time, including learning English and taking correspondence courses under the helpers' names, according to the Anne Frank House. The residents followed a strict schedule that required them to be silent at certain times so the workers in the office wouldn't hear them. During the day, they flushed the toilet as little as possible, worried that the workers would hear.

One of Anne's primary pastimes was writing in her diary. She also composed short stories and a book of her favorite quotes.

The diary

Anne wanted to be a professional journalist when she grew up. She kept several notebooks when in hiding. While her first and most famous was the red-checked notebook, when that ran out of space, she moved on to others, according to the Anne Frank House. Anne made detailed entries throughout her time in the Secret Annex. She wrote, "The nicest part is being able to write down all my thoughts and feelings. Otherwise, I'd absolutely suffocate."

Many of Anne's entries were addressed to "Kitty." Kitty was a character in a series of girl adventurer books by Cissy van Marxveldt. Anne was fond of the character, who was cheerful, funny and shrewd, said Bekker.

While Anne did describe life in the Secret Annex, she also wrote extensively about her thoughts, feelings, relationships and personal experiences that had nothing to do with the Holocaust or the Franks' situation. We know from her diary that Anne sometimes disagreed with Margot, felt her mother didn't understand her and had a crush on Peter. Sharing a room with Fritz Pfeffer, a middle-age man, was awkward for both Anne and Fritz, and Anne sometimes wrote about her struggles. Larisa Klebe, program manager of the Jewish Womens Archive, said that this personal feature of her writing is part of its appeal.

"For a 13-year-old girl, she was extremely thoughtful, intelligent and well-spoken.  She writes about her complicated relationship with her mother, her body going through changes as she hits puberty in hiding, her feelings for Peter," Klebe told Live Science.

"Despite everything going on in the world around her, what she was going through as a developing teenager takes precedence in many parts of the diary. It is in the forefront of her mind, and it makes a statement that no matter what is going on, these are things that are important."

On March 28, 1944, the residents of the Secret Annex heard a special news report on the radio. Dutch Cabinet Minister Gerrit Bolkestein announced that diaries and other documents would be collected when the war ended in order to preserve an account of what happened for future generations. Anne decided that she would submit her diary, and began revising it for future readers, Klebe said. She conceived of it has a novel about the Secret Annex.

Anne's diary reveals an insightful, confident and direct young woman. Hoping to become a famous writer, she wrote, "I can't imagine having to live like Mother, Mrs. van Pels and all the women who go about their work and are then forgotten. I need to have something besides a husband and children to devote myself to! I don't want to have lived in vain like most people."

This perspective has helped make Anne a role model for girls, said Klebe. "She was very honest in her writing. She was writing for a wider audience, and the image that she put out was often of someone sure of herself. She is a good model for how to present yourself well in writing and write for change.

"She talked very intimately about teenage girl things, and I think that's important, too. It was a very radical act. It was something women were discouraged from doing. She emphasized that these things do matter."

Anne also wrote about missing nature, Jewish ethics and her views on humanity. Her most famous passage is such a reflection. Anne wrote, "I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart."

Anne's last diary entry was made on Aug. 1, 1944.

Arrest, capture and death

On Aug. 4, 1944, German police stormed the Secret Annex. Everyone in hiding was arrested. It is unknown how the police discovered the annex. Theories include betrayal, perhaps by the warehouse staff or helper Bep Voskuijl's sister Nelly. In December 2016, the Anne Frank House published a new theorybased on the organization's investigations. This idea posits that illegal fraud with ration coupons was also taking place at 263 Prinsengracht, and the police were investigating it when they discovered the Secret Annex.

The residents of the Secret Annex were sent first to the Westerbork transit camp, where they were put in the punishment block. On Sept. 3, 1944, they were sent to Auschwitz. There, the men and women were separated. This was the last time that Anne saw her father. Anne, Margot and Edith remained together, doing hard labor, until Nov. 1, 1944, when Margot and Anne were transferred to Bergen-Belsen in Germany.

Bergen-Belsen was overcrowded, and infectious diseases were rampant. After three months, Anne and Margot developed typhus. Margot died in February 1945. Anne died a few days later. The exact dates of their deaths are unknown, according to Bekker.

Otto Frank was the sole survivor among the residents of the annex.

Publication of the diary

Miep Gies found Anne's diary after the arrest. After hearing of Anne's death, Gies gave the diary to Otto, who had returned to Amsterdam. According to the Anne Frank House, Otto read her diary, which he said was "a revelation. There, was revealed a completely different Anne to the child that I had lost. I had no idea of the depths of her thoughts and feelings."

Otto knew that Anne had wanted to publish her diary and eventually decided to fulfill her wish. He combined selections of her original and edited diary because sections of her original diary were lost and the edited diary was incomplete, according to Bekker. Eventually, it was published in 1947, with some editorial changes and passages about Anne's sexuality and negative feelings about Edith removed.

Different editions, including an unabridged version and a revised critical edition, have been published with Otto's edits removed. Screen and stage adaptations of the diary have been produced. "The Diary of Anne Frank" has been translated into 70 languages, said Bekker.

Legacy

"Anne's descriptions of the time in hiding in the Secret Annex; her powers of observation and self-reflection; her fears, hopes and dreams still make a deep impression on readers worldwide," Bekker told Live Science. "Through Anne's diary, people begin to learn about the Second World War and the Holocaust, and they read about how it is to be excluded and persecuted. After all these years, Anne's diary still has contemporary relevance."

Anne Frank is extremely well-known and has become something of a sanctified figure, said Klebe. Several organizations do humanitarian work on her behalf.

People often focus solely on the humanitarian themes of Anne's diary, but it is a mistake to ignore other parts, said Klebe. "She was positive and tried to see the good in things, but in a lot of ways she was just a teenage girl, trying to deal with being a teenage girl, but in extremity," Klebe said. "I think that's really what is so powerful and interesting about her story.  It intersects with what so many people experience."

The diary is fairly easy to read, which has made it a popular feature of grade school classrooms across the world, according to Bekker. It provides a different perspective on the Holocaust because it's not about concentration camps and is about a child. Its raw honesty also differentiates it from other history books.

But Klebe cautioned against educators using only Anne Frank's diary to teach about the Holocaust. "It's a great entry point for talking about the Holocaust and about children's experience," Klebe said. "We have her diary, but we have to think about how many other little girls there were, and we do not have their diaries."

Additional resources
Were excited to announce that metalbulletin.com is now part of fastmarkets.com.

A new look and an improved experience means you can still stay ahead of this fast-moving metals market with price data, news and market intelligence right here on Fastmarkets.

Discover more than 2000 prices, news and analysis in primary and secondary metals markets. We cover base metals, industrial minerals, ores and alloys, steel, scrap and steel raw materials.

If you already have a Fastmarkets account, youll still have uninterrupted access to your markets by logging in with your current details.
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Jun 12 (PTI) Insurance regulator Irdai is scouting for creative agencies for production of TV spots, radio jingles, and organising exhibitions with an aim to increase insurance penetration in the country.

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) plans to empanel the agencies as it would be carrying out publicity campaigns at national level.

advertisement

The regulator said it may spend about Rs 40 crore annually on advertising programmes for promoting insurance awareness among public, issuing notices, issuing quarterly journal, and calendar, among other activities.

"The creative agencies will be required to give inputs in terms of creatives, editorials, visuals, to create the campaign for various print and electronic media including TV, print, radio, outdoor, internet, conferences, exhibitions, stalls...," the regulator said in the tender document.

It further said IRDAI would empanel "result oriented, professionally managed and competent" creative agencies fully accredited with Indian Newspaper Society (INS) and Prasar Bharati (PB).

Agencies intending to participate in the bid must be in business for the last 5 years, having average turnover not less than Rs 30 crore, during the last 3 financial years.

The empanelment will be for two years extendable by another one year. PTI NKD SRK

--- ENDS ---
General Mills, Inc. manufactures and markets branded consumer foods worldwide. The company operates in five segments: North America Retail; Convenience Stores & Foodservice; Europe & Australia; Asia & Latin America; and Pet. It offers ready-to-eat cereals, refrigerated yogurt, soup, meal kits, refrigerated and frozen dough products, dessert and baking mixes, bakery flour, frozen pizza and pizza snacks, snack bars, fruit and salty snacks, ice cream, nutrition bars, wellness beverages, and savory and grain snacks, as well as various organic products, including frozen and shelf-stable vegetables. It also supplies branded and unbranded food products to the North American foodservice and commercial baking industries; and manufactures and markets pet food products, including dog and cat food. The company markets its products under the Annie's, Betty Crocker, Bisquick, Blue Buffalo, Blue Basics, Blue Freedom, Bugles, Cascadian Farm, Cheerios, Chex, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, Cookie Crisp, EPIC, Fiber One, Food Should Taste Good, Fruit by the Foot, Fruit Gushers, Fruit Roll-Ups, Gardetto's, Go-Gurt, Gold Medal, Golden Grahams, Haagen-Dazs, Helpers, Jus-Rol, Kitano, Kix, Larabar, Latina, Liberte, Lucky Charms, Muir Glen, Nature Valley, Oatmeal Crisp, Old El Paso, Oui, Pillsbury, Progresso, Raisin Nut Bran, Total, Totino's, Trix, Wanchai Ferry, Wheaties, Wilderness, Yoki, and Yoplait trademarks. It sells its products directly, as well as through broker and distribution arrangements to grocery stores, mass merchandisers, membership stores, natural food chains, e-commerce retailers, commercial and noncommercial foodservice distributors and operators, restaurants, convenience stores, and pet specialty stores, as well as drug, dollar, and discount chains. The company operates 466 leased and 392 franchise ice cream parlors. General Mills, Inc. was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Pakistan violated ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Nowshera of Rajouri district after initiating indiscriminate firing in Jammu's Krishna Ghati sector.

By Ashwini Kumar: Pakistan Army initiated indiscriminate firing in Nowshera of Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir today, prompting the Indian Army to retaliate with the same force. Pakistan had, earlier today, violated ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu's Krishna Ghati sector.

"The Pakistani troops violated ceasefire with small arms, automatics rocket projectile grenades (RPG), recoilless rifles and mortars around 8.45 am in Lam sector along the LoC. Indian Army retaliating strongly and effectively," said defence spokesman Lt Col Manish Mehta.

advertisement

"This is the ninth ceasefire violation by Pakistan Army since June 1 and the sixth in the last 72 hours," said Lt Col Manish Mehta. "The situation is under control now. We don't have report of any casualty as of now," he added.

#WATCH J&K : Nine ceasefire violations by Pakistan since June 1: Visuals from Poonch's KG sector, which is the 6th CFV in the last 72 hours. pic.twitter.com/8UP0zkmpJh&; ANI (@ANI_news) June 12, 2017

Earlier, the Pakistan Army had initiated indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics and mortars around 6.20 am.

This is the second ceasefire violation in Krishna Ghati sector in two days. Pakistani troops had violated ceasefire along the Line of Control in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district on Saturday.

Pakistan Army had initiated indiscriminate firing thrice on Sunday along the Line of Control (LoC) in different sectors of Jammu and Kashmir.

The first ceasefire was at the Bhimber Gali sector in Rajouri district after which, the Pakistan Rangers started firing on forward BSF (Border Security Forces) troops in Ramgarh Sector of Samba district on the international border.

Later on Sunday, Pakistan violated ceasefire along the LoC in Nowshera sector.

Defence sources said that more than 200 armed terrorists are waiting on launching pads across the Line of Control from Phallanwalla in Jammu to Kupwara-Baramulla sectors in Kashmir valley.

ALSO READ | Pakistan violates ceasefire in Krishna Ghati sector of Jammu, India hits back

ALSO READ | J-K: Pakistan violates ceasefire along LoC in Krishna Ghati sector

ALSO WATCH | Second ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Naushera sector, Army retaliates

--- ENDS ---
The following companies are subsidiares of InterContinental Hotels Group: 2250 Blake Street Hotel LLC, 24th Street Operator Sub LLC, 36th Street IHG Sub LLC, 426 Main Ave LLC, 46 Nevins Street Associates LLC, Allegro Management LLC, Alpha Kimball Hotel LLC, American Commonwealth Assurance Co. Ltd., Asia Pacific Holdings Limited, BHMC Canada Inc., BHR Holdings B.V., BHR Luxembourg SARL, BHR Pacific Holdings Inc., BHTC Canada Inc., BOC Barclay Sub LLC, Barclay Operating Corp., Bristol Oakbrook Tenant Company, Cafe Biarritz, Cambridge Lodging LLC, Capital Lodging LLC, Compania Inter-Continental De Hoteles El Salvador SA, Crowne Plaza Amsterdam (Management) B.V., Crowne Plaza LLC, Cumberland Akers Hotel LLC, Dunwoody Operations Inc., EVEN Real Estate Holding LLC, Edinburgh IC Limited, General Innkeeping Acceptance Corporation, Guangzhou SC Hotels Services Ltd., H.I. (Ireland) Limited, H.I. Soaltee Management Company Ltd, HC International Holdings Inc., HH France Holdings SAS, HH Hotels (EMEA) B.V., HH Hotels (Romania) SRL, HI Sugarloaf LLC, HIM (Aruba) NV, Hale International Ltd., Hoft Properties LLC, Holiday Hospitality Franchising LLC, Holiday Inn Mexicana S.A. de C.V., Holiday Inns (China) Ltd, Holiday Inns (Chongqing) Inc., Holiday Inns (Courtalin) Holdings SAS, Holiday Inns (Courtalin) SAS, Holiday Inns (England) Ltd., Holiday Inns (Germany) LLC, Holiday Inns (Guangzhou) Inc., Holiday Inns (Jamaica) Inc., Holiday Inns (Malaysia) Ltd., Holiday Inns (Middle East) Ltd., Holiday Inns (Philippines) Inc., Holiday Inns (Saudi Arabia) Inc., Holiday Inns (South East Asia) Inc., Holiday Inns (Thailand) Ltd., Holiday Inns (UK) Inc., Holiday Inns Crowne Plaza (Hong Kong) Inc., Holiday Inns Holdings (Australia) Pty Ltd, Holiday Inns Inc., Holiday Inns Investment (Nepal) Ltd., Holiday Inns of America (UK) Ltd., Holiday Inns of Belgium N.V., Holiday Pacific Equity Corporation, Holiday Pacific LLC, Holiday Pacific Partners LP, Hotel Inter-Continental London Limited, Hotel InterContinental London (Holdings) Limited, Hoteles Y Turismo HIH SRL, IC Hotelbetriebsfuhrungs GmbH, IC Hotels Management (Portugal) Unipessoal Lda, IC International Hotels Limited Liability Company, IHC (Thailand) Limited, IHC Buckhead LLC, IHC Edinburgh (Holdings), IHC Hopkins (Holdings) Corp., IHC Hotel Limited, IHC Inter-Continental (Holdings) Corp., IHC London (Holdings), IHC M-H (Holdings) Corp., IHC May Fair (Holdings) Limited, IHC May Fair Hotel Limited, IHC Overseas (U.K.) Limited, IHC UK (Holdings) Limited, IHC United States (Holdings) Corp., IHC Willard (Holdings) Corp., IHG (Australasia) Limited, IHG (Marseille) SAS, IHG (Thailand) Limited, IHG ANA Hotels Group Japan LLC, IHG ANA Hotels Holdings Co. Ltd., IHG Bangkok Ltd, IHG Brasil Administracao de Hoteis e Servicos Ltda, IHG Commission Services SRL, IHG Community Development LLC, IHG Cyprus Limited, IHG ECS (Barbados) SRL, IHG Franchising Brasil Ltda, IHG Franchising DR Corporation, IHG Franchising LLC, IHG Hotels (New Zealand) Limited, IHG Hotels Limited, IHG Hotels Management (Australia) Pty Limited, IHG Hotels Nigeria Limited, IHG Hotels South Africa (Pty) Ltd, IHG International Partnership, IHG Istanbul Otel Yonetim Limited Sirketi, IHG Japan (Management) LLC, IHG Japan (Osaka) LLC, IHG Management (Maryland) LLC, IHG Management (Netherlands) B.V., IHG Management MD Barclay Sub LLC, IHG Management SL d.o.o, IHG Management d.o.o. Beograd, IHG Orchard Street Member LLC, IHG PS Nominees Limited, IHG Systems Pty Ltd, IHG Szalloda Budapest Szolgaltato Kft., IHG de Argentina SA, IND East Village SD Holdings LLC, Inter-Continental D.C. Operating Corp., Inter-Continental Florida Investment Corp., Inter-Continental Florida Partner Corp., Inter-Continental Hospitality Corporation, Inter-Continental Hoteleira Limitada, Inter-Continental Hotels (Montreal) Operating Corp., Inter-Continental Hotels (Montreal) Owning Corp., Inter-Continental Hotels (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Inter-Continental Hotels Corporation, Inter-Continental Hotels Corporation de Venezuela C.A., Inter-Continental Hotels of San Francisco Inc., Inter-Continental IOHC (Mauritius) Limited, Inter-Continental Management (Australia) Pty Limited, InterContinental (Branston) 1 Limited, InterContinental (PB) 1, InterContinental (PB) 2, InterContinental (PB) 3 Limited, InterContinental Berlin Service Company GmbH, InterContinental Brasil Administracao de Hoteis Ltda, InterContinental Gestion Hotelera S.L., InterContinental Hotel Berlin GmbH, InterContinental Hotel Dusseldorf GmbH (Germany), InterContinental Hotels (Puerto Rico) Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group (Asia Pacific) Pte Ltd, InterContinental Hotels Group (Australia) Pty Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group (Canada) Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group (Espana) SA, InterContinental Hotels Group (Greater China) Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group (India) Pvt. Ltd, InterContinental Hotels Group (Japan) Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group (New Zealand) Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group (Shanghai) Ltd., InterContinental Hotels Group Customer Services Ltd., InterContinental Hotels Group Healthcare Trustee Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group Operating Corp., InterContinental Hotels Group Resources Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group Services Company, InterContinental Hotels Group do Brasil Limitada, InterContinental Hotels Italia S.r.L., InterContinental Hotels Limited, InterContinental Hotels Management GmbH, InterContinental Hotels Nevada Corporation, InterContinental Management AM LLC, InterContinental Management Bulgaria EOOD, InterContinental Management France SAS, InterContinental Management Poland sp. z.o.o, InterContinental Overseas Holding Corporation, Intercontinental Hotels Corporation Limited, KG Benefits LLC, KG Gift Card Inc., KG Liability LLC, KG Technology LLC, KHP Washington Operator LLC, KHRG 11th Avenue Hotel LLC, KHRG 851 LLC, KHRG Aertson LLC, KHRG Alexandria LLC, KHRG Alexis LLC, KHRG Allegro LLC, KHRG Argyle LLC, KHRG Austin Beverage Company LLC, KHRG Baltimore LLC, KHRG Born LLC, KHRG Boston Hotel LLC, KHRG Canary LLC, KHRG Cayman Employer Ltd., KHRG Cayman LLC, KHRG DC 1731 LLC, KHRG DC 2505 LLC, KHRG Donovan LLC, KHRG Employer LLC, KHRG Goleta LLC, KHRG Gray LLC, KHRG Gray U2 LLC, KHRG Hillcrest LLC, KHRG Huntington Beach LLC, KHRG King Street LLC, KHRG La Peer LLC, KHRG Miami Beach LLC, KHRG Muse LLC, KHRG NPC LLC, KHRG Onyx LLC, KHRG Palladian LLC, KHRG Palomar Phoenix LLC, KHRG Philly Monaco LLC, KHRG Pittsburgh LLC, KHRG Reynolds LLC, KHRG Riverplace LLC, KHRG SFD LLC, KHRG Sacramento LLC, KHRG Savannah LLC, KHRG Schofield LLC, KHRG Sedona LLC, KHRG State Street LLC, KHRG Sutter LLC, KHRG Sutter Union LLC, KHRG Taconic LLC, KHRG Tariff LLC, KHRG Texas Hospitality LLC, KHRG Texas Operations LLC, KHRG Tryon LLC, KHRG VZ Austin LLC, KHRG Vero Beach LLC, KHRG Vintage Park LLC, KHRG WPB LLC, KHRG Wabash LLC, KHRG Westwood LLC, KHRG Wilshire LLC, KHRG Zamora LLC, Kimpton Hollywood Licenses LLC, Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group, Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group LLC, Kimpton Phoenix Licenses Holdings LLC, Kimpton Sedona Licenses LLC, Louisiana Acquisitions Corp., MH Lodging LLC, Mercer Fairview Holdings LLC, PML Services LLC, PT SC Hotels & Resorts Indonesia, Pollstrong Limited, Powell Pine Inc., Priscilla Holiday of Texas Inc., RM Lodging LLC, Regent Hotels and Resorts, Resort Services International (Cayo Largo) L.P., SBS Maryland Beverage Company LLC, SC Cellars Limited, SC Hotels International Services Inc., SC Leisure Group Limited, SC NAS 2 Limited, SC Quest Limited, SC Reservations (Philippines) Inc., SCH Insurance Company, SCIH Branston 3, SF MH Acquisition LLC, SPHC Group Pty Ltd., SPHC Management Ltd., Semiramis for training of Hotel Personnel and Hotel Management SAE, Six Continents Corporate Services, Six Continents Holdings Limited, Six Continents Hotels Inc., Six Continents Hotels International Limited, Six Continents Hotels de Colombia SA, Six Continents International Holdings B.V., Six Continents Investments Limited, Six Continents Limited, Six Continents Overseas Holdings Limited, Six Continents Restaurants Limited, SixCo North America Inc., Solamar Lodging LLC, Southern Pacific Hotel Corporation (BVI) Ltd., Southern Pacific Hotels Properties Limited, Universal de Hoteles SA, White Shield Insurance Company Limited, and World Trade Centre Montreal Hotel Corporation.

Read More
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. owns and operates utilities, transport, midstream, and data businesses in North and South America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company's Utilities segment operates approximately 61,000 kilometers (km) of operational electricity transmission and distribution lines; 5,300 km of electricity transmission lines; 4,200 km of natural gas pipelines; 7.3 million electricity and natural gas connections; and 360,000 long-term contracted sub-metering services. This segment also offers heating and cooling solutions; gas distribution; water heaters; and heating, ventilation, and air conditioner rental, as well as other home services. Its Transport segment offers transportation, storage, and handling services for merchandise goods, commodities, and passengers through a network of approximately 22,000 km of track; 5,500 km of track network; 4,800 km of rail; 3,800 km of motorways; and 13 port terminals. The company's Midstream segment offers natural gas transmission, gathering and processing, and storage services through approximately 15,000 km of natural gas transmission pipelines; 600 billion cubic feet of natural gas storage; 17 natural gas processing plants; and 3,900 km of gas gathering pipelines, as well as one petrochemical processing complex. Its Data segment operates approximately 148,000 operational telecom towers; 8,000 multi-purpose towers and active rooftop sites; 10,000 km of fiber backbone; 1,600 cell sites and approximately 12,000 km of fiber optic cable; and 2,100 active telecom towers and 70 distributed antenna systems, as well as 50 data centers and 200 megawatts of critical load capacity. The company was founded in 2007 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. is a subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management Inc.
CACI International Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides expertise and technology to enterprise and mission customers in support of national security missions and government modernization/transformation in the intelligence, defense, and federal civilian sectors. It operates in two segments, Domestic Operations and International Operations. The Domestic Operations segment offers information solutions and services to the U.S. federal government agencies and commercial enterprises in the areas, such as digital solutions, C4ISR, cyber and space, engineering services, enterprise IT, and mission support. The International Operations segment provides a range of IT services, proprietary data, and software products to the commercial and government customers in the United Kingdom, continental Europe, and internationally. The company designs, implements, protects, and manages secure enterprise IT solutions. It also offers software-defined, full-spectrum cyber, electronic warfare, and counter-unmanned aircraft system solutions; and platform integration and modernization and sustainment, as well as system engineering, naval architecture, training and simulation, and logistics engineering. In addition, the company provides enterprise cloud solutions for classified and unclassified networks; and intelligence support that ensures continuous advances in collection, analysis, and dissemination to optimize decision-making. CACI International Inc was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia.
The court has directed the state government to file an affidavit stating what parameters were considered and the procedures followed while deciding that Sanjay Dutt deserved leniency.

By Vidya : The Division Bench of Justice RM Savant and Justice Sadhna Jadhav today asked the Maharashtra government to detail how it assessed good conduct of actor Sanjay Dutt after he was released early.

The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a former convict Pradeep Bhalekar, who in his petition mentioned how Dutt was let off before his term end apart from being granted parole every few months.

advertisement

Dutt was earlier sentenced to five years in jail for possession of arms, which were a part of the consignment used in the 1993 blasts.

The actor, who was on bail during the trial, had surrendered in May 2013 after the Supreme Court upheld his conviction.

Dutt was let out in February 2016, eight months early, on account of his good conduct while in Pune's Yerwada prison.

HALF THE TIME DUTT WAS OUT ON PAROLE: COURT

"We want to know the decision making process. Was permission of the DIG prisons taken? Check the prison manual and find out who is the actual authority who gives such permissions" added the bench.

The bench asked how did the government assess Dutt's conduct when 'half the time he was out on parole.'

Bhalekar filed the petition last year, citing discrepancy in the procedures to grant early release to actor Sanjay Dutt from Yerwada jail.

MAHARASHTRA GOVT GIVEN 3 WEEKS

The court had then refused to intervene following which Dutt was released on February 25, 2016.

"He had been granted parole several times and at one time there was a delay of two days when he did not return on time to report in jail. In spite of this, the higher authorities condoned the delay and under good conduct remitted his sentence of 139 days. This is never done for other jailed convicts. This is exactly what the court wants to know," said Bhalekar's lawyer Nitin Satpute.

Bhalekar, the petitioner himself has served a sentence after being convicted in a case of attempt to murder.

Bombay High Court has given three weeks to the government pleader to file an affidavit listing the procedures followed for Dutt's early release.

NO LEEWAY GIVEN TO DUTT: JAIL OFFICIALS

Meanwhile, jail authorities said that no concession was given to Sanjay Dutt and every procedure and prisoners' work are well recorded in the jail register.

They added that remission for good behaviour to prisoners is given as per the jail manual, unless the court has given specific instructions during sentencing or the convict is in under drug related charges.

advertisement

Remission is given for seven days a month that includes three days for good, peaceful conduct and four for the work done by the convict.

Also read: Once Sanjay Dutt is out of jail, Bollywood has this in store for him

Also read: Madhuri Dixit's affairs with Mithun, Jackie, Sanjay Dutt were lies, confirms ex-manager

Also read: Here's why the police paid Sanjay Dutt a visit

--- ENDS ---
MLBTR is launching a new summer series entitled Taking Inventory, in which well preview the potential trade chips that could become available on a number of likely and borderline selling clubs throughout the league.

The Giants are already 25-39 and are not only 16 1/2 games behind the first-place Rockies in the NL West, theyre 13 1/2 games back of the third-place Diamondbacks. While its not impossible that they could still make a run at contention, its highly unlikely. That would seem to make them potential sellers at the trade deadline. Still, one shouldnt necessarily expect fireworks. The Giants have endured frustrating seasons in the somewhat recent past and generally havent reacted with big shakeups, and even if their track record indicated a radical rebuild was a possibility, the circumstances of many of their veterans assets seemingly impede potential trades (as ESPNs Jerry Crasnick recently explained).

Rentals

Johnny Cueto, RHP (starter) | Salary: $21MM

There are no indications yet that the Giants will move Cueto, and to do so would be complex, although not impossible. Cueto is signed through 2021 with a team option for 2022, but he has an opt-out after the 2017 season, meaning that it will be difficult for any potential trade partner to know whether theyre getting a long-term asset or a short-term one. Cueto will also receive a $5MM buyout if he exercises his opt-out and a $500K assignment bonus if hes traded, further complicating a potential move. Cuetos seemingly uneven performance this year might also be a factor, but perhaps a less important one  he has a 4.33 ERA this season, but his peripherals (9.0 K/9, 2.4 BB/9) are strong as usual.

Eduardo Nunez, IF | Salary: $4.2MM

Unlike many players on this list, Nunez is reasonably priced. While hes never been a world-beater offensively, hes been consistent, and his .293/.320/.401 line thus far this season provides a good indication of what to expect from his contact-heavy offensive game going forward. Hes also versatile defensively, capable of playing third base, shortstop and the corner outfield spots. A contender could easily see him as a terrific bench piece. Nunez is as likely as any player on this list to be moved, and a trade would have the benefit of clearing a spot for some combination of Christian Arroyo and Jae-gyun Hwang, who are both currently with Triple-A Sacramento.

Aaron Hill, IF | Salary: $2MM

Hill is a recent minor-league signee whos batting .178/.238/.333 thus far this season. Its possible the Giants could deal him to a team in need of infield depth, but the return isnt likely to be significant.

Nick Hundley, C | Salary: $2MM

Like Hill, Hundley has hit sparingly this season and wouldnt have much trade value. Its possible the Giants could ship him in a minor deal to a team in need of catching depth.

Controlled Through 2018

Hunter Pence, OF | Salary: $18.5MM

Pence has a full no-trade clause and has played poorly this season, batting .228/.269/.310 and missing time to a hamstring strain. Like many Giants, he might net the team a bit of extra value on the trade market due to his postseason experience, but hes still unlikely to command much of a return unless he hits well over the next six weeks.

Matt Cain, RHP (starter) | Salary: $20MM

Cains exorbitant salary, the $7.5MM buyout on his 2018 option, and his uninspiring performances the past several seasons would seemingly make a trade very tricky, except perhaps as a change-of-scenery deal in which the Giants were to pick up nearly all of his remaining salary.

Longer-Term Assets

Jeff Samardzija, RHP (starter); Buster Posey, C; Mark Melancon, RHP (reliever); Madison Bumgarner, LHP (starter), Denard Span, OF; Brandon Crawford, SS; Matt Moore, LHP (starter); Brandon Belt, 1B; George Kontos, RHP (reliever)

Though Samardzija has a 4.31 ERA this season, his outstanding ratios (10.5 K/9, 1.3 BB/9) would surely make him an attractive trade candidate. He is, however, signed through 2020 and can block trades to all but eight teams, complicating potential deals. It certainly wouldnt be impossible for the Giants to trade him, but as with Cueto, it would be complex.

Posey and Melancon have full no-trade protection and are under contract for the next several seasons. Bumgarner has limited no-trade protection, is currently injured, and has reasonably priced options for 2018 and 2019. Span is 33, has produced modest offense this season, and is owed $9MM next season, plus at least a $4MM buyout and a remaining portion of his signing bonus. Crawford is signed through 2021 and has full no-trade protection. Moore is signed to a team-friendly contract that includes relatively cheap options for 2018 and 2019, potentially making him a trade asset, but he hasnt pitched well this season. Belt is signed through 2021; his limited no-trade clause hasnt yet kicked in, but hes also in the first year of the extension he signed last season. Of all those players, perhaps the most likely to be dealt are Span and Moore, and neither of those seem that likely.

Kontos is one of a number of Giants relievers who could theoretically be dealt, also including Cory Gearrin, Hunter Strickland and Derek Law. Of those, Kontos is among the closest to free agency eligibility and the one with the longest track record. Hes signed for a reasonable $1.75MM in 2017 and is controllable for two more seasons, and while his strikeout and walk rates have fluctuated throughout his career and hes never had elite velocity, hes also never had a season in which he wasnt at least modestly effective.
Kofi Okyere Darko (KOD) in a pose with some of the celebrities at the event

The Carbon Night Club in Accra last Thursday witnessed the launch of the 2017 edition of the Miss Universe Ghana beauty pageant, the pageant that seeks to reward the most beautiful and intelligent young lady in the country.

The launch of the event brought together stakeholders in the showbiz industry, individuals from the business community, the media, as well some personalities like Bola Ray, Sulley Muntari, Benny Blanco, Deborah Vanessa, among others.

The organisers at the launch promised that this year's Miss Universe Ghana pageant will be exciting; citing some changes in the event's organisation.

The event which is being organised by the winner of 2004 Miss Universe, Menaye Donkor, and her outfit MALZ Promotions, will take place on September 2 in Accra.

Menaye said, Having this license as the new director for Miss Universe Ghana 2017 is such an amazing feeling.Speaking at the launch, Menaye Donkor, wife of Ghana midfielder Sulley Muntari, who recently acquired the franchise to organise Miss Universe Ghana, praised the pageant for opening doors for her, and serving as a springboard for her current successes.

She added, I was once a title holder representing Ghana internationally and I feel that it is my objective to assist the next title holder to make Ghana proud and represent Ghana internationally at the Miss Universe level.

By George Clifford Owusu


Monday June 5, 2017 marked World Environment Day. The day cannot pass by without talking about Chinese attitude and global environmental debacles. Dont I sound excessively stereotypical and judgmental? Hey Jack! Wake up for a trip to Ghana, West Africa and you will thumb me up! The countrys rainforest, agriculturally viable hectors of land and water bodies are being destroyed at a dizzying pace by Chinese illegal miners and their local accomplices.

Illegal mining known in Ghanaian local patois as Galamsey, a name corrupted from gather and sell has plunged many environmentally conscious citizens into a state of bemusement. As the world observed Environment Day recently, I want to reflect on gold mining, Chinese attitude and environmental degradation/pollution. I will concentrate on Ghana with perfunctory evidences from two other countries.

Background to Gold Mining in Ghana

Alluvial gold mining had remained part and parcel of pre-colonial Ghanaian economic culture. What is now modern Republic of Ghana was originally referred to as Gold Coast. Insatiable want for Guinea gold, scientific curiosity, religious zeal, coupled with strategic reason motivated the Portuguese to sail along the West Coast of Africa otherwise known as the Gulf of Guinea in the 15th century AD. Geographically speaking, the Gulf of Guinea refers to the northeast most portion of Atlantic Ocean stretching from Cape Lopez in Gabon to Cape Palmas in Modern Republic of Liberia. The Portuguese named some portions of Gulf of Guinea in accordance with natural resources they found in abundance.

In fact, it was the Portuguese who named some areas of Africa as Gold Coast (Modern Ghana), Grain or Pepper Coast (Modern Liberia), Slave Coast (the Bight of Benin or Benin) and Ivory Coast. The most influential prince of Portugal, Henry the navigator sent vessels for voyages of exploration along the Atlantic coast as early as 1418. The Portuguese reached Gold Coast in 1471 under the Ship Captain, Diogo de Azambuja. Elmina Castle was constructed in 1482 as Sao Jorge da mina (St. George of the mines). It is believed that Christopher Columbus who claimed to discover the New World in 1492 was in the vessel that came to Elmina. The meaning of name given to Elmina castle is an ample indication that mining was part of Ghanaian economic life.

Before the Portuguese arrived in Africa, a river friendly alluvial gold mining was practiced in what is now modern Ghana. Alluvial mining is the process of mining stream bed deposits commonly known as alluvial deposit. The formation of stream bed deposit is caused by the erosion of minerals from their original source, and then carried away by water to a different location. When the sediments are deposited, they settle in accordance with their weight, with heavier and more valuable minerals like gold and diamond.

Mining Benefits in Ghana

The contribution of mining to Ghanas finances has not been encouraging at all. There is a huge capital flight in the mining sector. Kwesi Pratt Jnr, is a managing editor of Ghanas Insight Newspaper. He lamented over the minimal contribution of mining to Ghanas economy, albeit environmental degradation and pollution. Speaking on UTV program on April 21, 2017, the journalist was deeply worried about Bank of Ghanas Foreign exchange retention agreement with expatriate partners. Per this agreement, a higher percentage of the countrys mining revenue is retained overseas, the journalist hinted. But for managerial ineptitude Ghanas mining cities of Obuasi, Takwa and Prestea would have competed with Johannesburg or Pretoria in terms of development. Youth unemployment in the mining areas is very rife, thereby encouraging illegal mining.

Ghana struggles with competent leadership to manage her institutions despite huge sums of monies paid to them as salaries. The countrys national leadership is conceptualized as neo-patrimonial (Sandbrook & Oelbaum, 1997). Neo-patrimonialism implies the utilization of governmental influence to reward political cronies. The distribution of state jobs by political patrons to followers especially in combination of implicit recognition and normalization of bureaucratic corruption, leads to incompetence, indiscipline and unpredictability in civil services and state-owned enterprises (Sandbrook & Oelbaum, 1997).

The boomerang effects of patrimonial leadership are the huge losses in the mining sector, poor states of mining towns and youth unemployment. In 1999, Mr Sam Jonahs (Chief executive officer of then Ashantigold Fields) reckless derivative hedging strategy deprived Ghana millions of dollars from gold trade. Mr Jonahs wrong hedging was partly responsible for the huge losses in the Ghanaian mining sector. An aphorism that Africa is rich by resources and poor by bank accounts is not applicable to all here. Patrimonial leadership coupled with mining managerial lapses and brazen disregard for nationalism and patriotism, had created huge bank accounts for some individuals at the expense of the country. I strongly support Kwesi Pratts call for a broader mining introspection in Ghana. Some inhabitants of Diaso or Denkyira Obuasi could not have committed such a horrendous crime to the late Major Maxwell Mahama if the management of mining companies had transformed mining areas into industrial hub of enviable height. As the cliche goes the devil finds work for idle hands. I am not trying to justify the horrific murder of the late army Major.

Illegal Mining and Environmental Degradation

Metaphorically speaking, agglomeration of global trade and craving for investors have made the world smaller than before. Ghana is a fantastic business destination for investors and would-be investors despite the aforesaid leadership drawbacks. Like the Portuguese in Ghanas history, insatiable greed for guinea gold has attracted many Chinese into Ghana. The influx of Chinese into Ghanaian small-scale mining sector has ended heretofore environmentally friendly galamsey operation. Ghana is divided into three main geographical belts namely: the savannah belt, the forest belt and the coastal swampy mangrove. Ghana is a cocoa producing country and became a leading producer in 1911. As of 2017, Ghana is the second leading producer of Cocoa in the world. Chinese illegal miners aided by their local cretins had destroyed a sizeable acreage of cocoa farming land. Impenetrable rainforest of yesteryears is now devoid of wildlife. What is very nauseating? Ghanas rivers Pra, Ankobra and Birim have been polluted more than my ability will permit me to describe! Equally irritable is the bloody nature galamsey fight had turned.

Chinese environmental degradation/pollution is becoming a global canker. In the Gambian Republic, the inhabitants of Gunjur village are interlocking horns with Chinese Golden Lead factory for destroying Bolong Fenyo; a wildlife reserve. The river at the reserve had been polluted beyond imagination. The anger of the inhabitants is escalating as their river is contaminated with hazardous chemicals and the color of the water becoming palpably reddish. In Zambia, there are growing concerns of Chinese controlling the proprietorship of the coal mining industry.

In Cambodia, Chinese illegal lumbering is devastating the forest at bewildering rate. Individuals who express opposition to Chinese unlawful logging do so with calamitous consequences as they could either face death or violence. For example, Hang Serei Oudom, a Cambodian local journalist was murdered in cold blood for attempting to create awareness of Chines illegal lumbering in the Cambodian Forest. What lessons will Ghana government learn from Chinese insufferable penchants for environmental degradation/pollution?

In Ghana, there is deep political bifurcation between the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the largest opposition party; National Democratic Congress (NDC). Trivial issues are used by both NPP and NDC apparatchiks and aficionados to score political points. It is also being alleged that some influential individuals in Ghana are behind illegal mining and its attendant degradation of the environment. A major conundrum of the social pundits includes; how Chinese illegal miners acquire visas to Ghana. This means that some unthinkable creeps within Ghana are assisting the Chinese to destroy their own resources. No sooner had campaign against illegal mining and destruction of environment gathered momentum than Ghana Police Service accepting gift from Chinese in Ghana. Chines Embassy in Ghana has also donated 10000 Ghana Cedis, to Attorney-Generals Department (citifmonline.com, June 7, 2017). China mission in Ghana implored the Media to be fair on galamsey reportage. It appears the Chinese are in the real business to take over the resources of Africa.

The president of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufu-Addo has reiterated his governments commitment to sustain China-Ghana relations, even so he will not hesitate to clamp down those who go against the laws of his country. As the world observed environment day on June 5, 2017, I commend the UN for this day. I also humbly appeal to the UN to impress on Chinese government and its citizens to respect the sovereignty and environmental laws of foreign countries. Ghana government must continue its commitment to galamsey fight! UN must complement the efforts of Ghana government and other governments in the world to handle the menace of illegal mining. Show me a desert and I will show you the significance of trees and rivers! The World must say no to environmental degradation/pollution.

By Nana Yaw Osei, Minnesota, USA

The Writer is pursuing PhD in Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

He is the Host of Critical Talks at Klasik Radio, Atlanta, GA

[email protected]

Reference

Sandbrook, R., & Oelbaum, J. (1997) Reforming Dysfunctional Institutions Through Democratization? Reflections on Ghana, The Journal of Modern African Studies

http://greenwallwarriors.com/2017/05/22/breaking-news-bolong-fenyo-wildlife-reserve-gunjur-poisened/

http://www.npr.org/2013/01/30/170691575/chinas-insatiable-demand-for-timber-destroys-cambodias-forests
12.06.2017 LISTEN

The Oodua Nationalist Coalition ,(ONAC) has called on Yoruba people to prepare for their own sovereign nation in the face of the lingering problems and conflict built around the national question that has stunted the growth of Nigeria for over a century.

This conflict has again reared its head, 50 years after a civil war that inflicted pain and misery on the Yoruba people apart from distorting the development plan of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo for the South West.

ONAC is made up of 18 Pan Yoruba groups including the Oodua Peoples Congress, (OPC), Oodua Liberation Movement, (OLM), Oodua Republic Coalition, (ORC), Yoruba Revolutionary Congress, (YORC), Oodua Muslim-Christian Dialogue Group , (OMDG), Yoruba Students Nationalist Front, (YOSNF), Oodua Hunters Union, (OHUN) and 11 other groups. The statement was signed by Micheal Popoola, Oluwole Suleiman and Mrs Aduke Fadahunsi on behalf of the coalition.

The group called on Yoruba people in the territories of the Hausa-Fulani North to be guided by a strong sense of history and the fact that they will not be spared by those who claim to be their hosts. We advise them to begin to make alternative plans for the inevitable upheaval being promoted by the Fulani oligarchy.

The group said the North has always been the aggressor because of the regions loss of power and the unhidden desire to make Nigeria the irreversible extension of the Fulani emirate. What we see is violent conflict of civilisations which can only be resolved when each region go her own way. In the bid to keep Nigeria as one country, millions of people have been killed and the lives of children wasted, the future pauperized and the potentials of Yoruba young men and women bottled or chained with fetters of iron.

Today, we make the historic declaration that Yoruba people are ready for our own Oduduwa Republic. We have watched events these past days. The cloud is getting thicker. The poisonous rain appear ready to fall. It is time for the Yoruba people to be ready to defend our homeland from being seized by local imperial elements and their collaborators. We assert Yoruba self-determination and sovereignty. We shall work for it. We will actualize it, ONAC said in the statement issued at the weekend.

The groups said the Yoruba people have suffered unprecedented hardship in the form of human and material destruction since 1960 when the country attained independence.

Our leaders beginning from Chief Obafemi Awolowo were jailed on trumped up charges. 28 leaders of Yoruba were imprisoned unjustly. Chief M.K.O Abiola was murdered. The industrial bases built by Awolowo were destroyed by the military rookies appointed to control the South West region, our culture destroyed and the future of our young people put asunder. Today, many Yoruba people have become scavengers across the world fleeing from a hostile, bloodletting and malicious country that hold no promise of good and abundant life for the long suffering and exhausted population.

The group stated further we call on Yoruba people all over the world to prepare for a sovereign nation for the people of the South West. We are over 50 million and far more than the population of 140 countries in the world. Yoruba will be the third biggest nation in Africa and about the 28th biggest nation in the world. We are big and knowledgeable enough to be a sovereign nation. We assert the Yoruba self-determination without any further delay.

The Pan Yoruba group said with the position of Northern youths asking Igbo to quit the North, the outright demand for Arewa sovereignty by the Northern Elders Forum, (NEF), and the legitimate demand for Biafra by Igbo, the call for a Niger-Delta Republic It is time for the Yoruba people to stand for Oodua Republic without any further delay. Yoruba people this time will not support any attack on Self determination.We shall mobilise the masses and prevent Yoruba people from being used for any attack on the long suffering indigenous peoples of the South East and the South- South"

ONAC said the quit notice issued by the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, (AYCF) and the Northern Elders Forum, (NEF) was not against the Igbo alone but also against the Yoruba since Igbo is not written on the forehead of residents in the North.

ONAC stated  This is not the first time we have called for Oodua Republic. In April 2015, we organized a massive rally demanding for Oodua Republic. But today, this demand has become even more crucial than any other thing.

SIGNED

Oluwole Suleimann

Michael Popoola

Mrs Aduke Fadahunsi
11.06.2017 LISTEN

"They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword and took Dinah from Shechems house and left"

[Genesis 34:26] NIV

The seventh invisible giant we will discuss is hatred. Hatred is an affection of the mind awakened by something regarded as unpleasant.

From the scripture we are told Dinah, the daughter of Leah and Jacob was defiled by Shechem, son of Hamor.

When the news got to Jacob and his family, two brothers of Dinah became furious.

Meanwhile there were plans to marry Dinah on the part of Shechem's family - Genesis 34:11-13.

Unknowingly the two brothers (Simeon and Levi) of Dinah felt hatred against Shechem and his father. As a result they killed Shechem and his father (Hamor).

Thus how far hatred can travel if we do not let go of it.

Friends hatred is an invisible giant where not cast a side can lead to massive destruction. The main cause of hatred is temptation.

If we fear God with our hearts and minds come what may am confident we would not allow hatred to engulf us to destroy someone else.

Some weeks ago Ghana was in a state of shock and mourning when a military personnel on duty was mistakenly lynched to death as an armed robber. The perpetrators who were full of hatred and could not let go of it as a result murdered the innocent military personnel. May his soul rest in peace.

On such a gruesome attack, you agree the invisible giant (hatred) controlled and used them horrendously.

So where was the fear of God? The desire for mob violence and hatred took over their hearts and minds.

Still on the message of Dinah, the two brothers of Dinah who could not let go of their hatred murdered Hamor and his son Shechem as a sign of payback for defiling their sister.

In view of this, no matter how painful or disrespectful an offense might be, never develop hatred against one another. Hatred when not let go of can bring out the beast not the best in us. When we let go of hatred, we overcome temptations of hatred.

In all things let us be careful with decisions we make when or not offended by some one. God bless you for reading and sharing.

Prayer

O Lord guide me not into the temptations of hatred in Jesus mighty name, Amen.

Confession

Christ Jesus you are my helper.

Whatsapp #:+233246646694

#WordDigest

#inspiringthegeneration

Follow us on https://www.facebook.com/theworddigest
The unspeakable treatment and subsequent barbaric killing of Major Maxwell Adam Mahama in the remote village of Denkyiraboase has, indeed, stoked the moral psyche of almost all Ghanaians home and abroad, including all the peace-loving people around the world. The strong pronouncements of moral indignation expressed by the nations decision makers, security officials, as well as the general public in the wake of the Denkyiraboase barbarity speak to the overall mood of the country.

The cruelty clouding Major Mahamas death aside, Ghanaians are morally outragedand rightly sobecause the late army officer was brutally killed while in the line of duty for the country. Under similar circumstances in the United States (by the way, this primitive mob killings will not be allowed to keep happening in 21st century U.S.), Americans of all various backgrounds will be morally angry and shamefully sad for murdering security official serving his/her country. They will definitely go further to immortalize the officers memory, not only with statues but also federal law in his honor, to make sure that insanity is legally dealt with properly in case it rears its bestial head again.

Suffice to say, after all the expressions of anger, sympathy, empathy for the victims family, including the high-profile eulogies, tributes, and the state funeral/burial rites, the U.S. government, in addition to any memorial statue or trust fund, will also pass an anti-mob killing law named for the late officer. In other words, in the United States, most of the federal or state laws are named after the victims who underwent some form of pain, death, injustice, and so on. Laws such as Joan DAlessandros Law gives life imprisonment without parole for killing a child 14 years and under during sexual assault. Megans Law was also named in response to the murder of a 7-year old sexual victim called Megan Kanka from New Jersey. The Law requires states to inform communities when any sex offender moves into their neighborhood. Indeed, there are tons of laws, both on federal and state levels, enacted in the U.S. in response to high-profile crimes. The late Major Adam Mahamas murder rightly fits that category, too.

This means if the late Major Mahama were to be a U.S. citizen, undoubtedly the US Congress will pass and the president will sign an enforceable federal law such as Major Adam Mahama Act of 2017. Among others, the law will clearly spell out the severe consequences for people engaging in the stone-age practice of turning themselves into instant prosecutors, judges, and dispensers of legal justice on the mere suspicion of wrongdoing. Or any Ghanaian caught and found guilty of involving in mob killing or in the so-called instant justice in the court of law, will probably go to prison till the rest of their life. True, Ghana is not U.S., but there is lots of things Ghanaians copy every day from the U.S. Many of those lifestyles were in full display when I was in Ghana about 3 weeks ago.

That is why one of the fitting and respectful ways to eternalize the late army officers memories is to pass a parliamentary law in the name of Major Adam Mahama. If such anti-mob bill is passed into law, it must be a high-profile, conspicuous, and even incorporated into Ghanaian schools curriculum, starting from middle school up to college/university levels. However, if there is a law already dealing with mob killings in Ghana, then the authorities must rename it for Adam Mahama and make it strictly enforceable to show that majority of Ghanaians are really serious, sick, and tired of the so-called mob (in)justice action that led to the Majors untimely death in the hands of the village mobs.

This fiendish episode can happen to any average Ghanaian, unexpectedly. It really is scary that in the Internet-age Ghana, if one is not lucky enough and someone mistakenly or deliberately yell thief, armed robber at a particular person in public, people will rush on and start beating that poor individual till he/she is killed. At least from what we know now, it was false alarm of armed robber accusation that unleashed the unfortunate fate for the late Major Mahama at Denkyiraboase.

Certainly sharing tears and expressing emotions over despicable tragedies are part of human condition but they never undo the calamities. Rather, in light of those adversities, if concrete actions are taken to ensure that the conditions that triggered the disaster are well addressed, then we may have a good chance of preventing a similar traumatic event in future. As articulated in one of my previous write-ups, the late Major Mahamas mob-inspired murder was not an aberration, but a symptom of a bigger socio-cultural phenomenon in Ghana long ignored until it hit the wrong nerve at Denkyiraboase.

Sure, the trust fund set up by the state to help meet the financial needs of the late military officers immediate family is a step in a right direction. The proposed statue in his honor is also befitting, but what consequential effect will that monument have on those Ghanaians who may never know or see that memorial structure in their lifetime? If that statue is erected, it must also be accompanied by a national law in the name of Major Adam Mahama that makes it illegal in Ghana to carry out mob-killings or execute the so-called instant in-justice under any circumstance. The penalty for mob killing must be life or death sentence in this country. Ghana is part of the civilized world. Are the MPs listening?

Bernard Asubonteng is a US-based writer. Email your comments to: [email protected]
Introduction

The Ghana Education Service (GES) is intensifying its efforts at ensuring that every Ghanaian child benefits from pre-tertiary education, including pregnant girls and teenage mothers.

Must a child be denied access to good-quality education on the grounds of sex or due to the fact that she is pregnant or has just been delivered of a baby? Certainly not!

Stakeholders, including development partners, are seriously collaborating and partnering with the GES to effectively tackle all gender-based and pregnancy-related issues that confront child education, especially girls education, in Ghana.

Some 22 personalities, made up of officials of the Ministry of Education (MoE), directors of education, girls education officers and representatives of development partners like the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), met recently in Accra to deliberate on the way forward for effective gender inclusiveness in education and girls education in the country.

Rev. Dr. Christian Koramoah, acting Director for Administration and Finance at the GES, prayed for the start of discussions on two draft documents, such as the Gender in Education Policy (GEP), and the Guidelines on Pregnancy and Schooling documents.

Welcome Address

The Director for Basic Education and acting Deputy Director-General of the GES (Quality Monitoring and Access), Mrs. Cynthia Bosumtwi-Sam, lauded the Girls Education Unit (GEU) and UNICEF for having organised the meeting.

Mrs. Bosumtwi-Sam urged the participants to extensively discuss all the cross-cutting issues, including guidance and counselling,on gender in education and on pregnancy and schooling.

She said several activities would have to be done to promote equity and access to good-quality education for all children, including girls, and to facilitate the entry of pregnant girls and teenage mothers back to school education.

Purpose of Meeting

The Director of the GEU, Mrs. Catherine Nutsugah-Mikado, said the meeting brought together the GEU, education directors and development partners to discuss how child education could be enhanced in the country.

She said the meeting sought to inform the management of the GES about the activities of the GEU and stakeholders on the Gender in Education Policy and on the Guidelines for Pregnancy and Schooling within the nations pre-tertiary education system.

Remarks by UNICEF

An official of UNICEF, whose outfit sponsored the meeting, said the Fund would continue to support child education in the country, including girls education.

She gave the assurance that the Fund will work with all agencies and units like the GES, Guidance and Counselling Unit and the School Health Education Programme (SHEP) to facilitate the performance all gender in education and girls education activities.

Discussion on Pregnancy versus Schooling

A member of the Technical Working Group on the Guidelines on Pregnancy and SchoolingTony Dogbe said an intensive research had been done to elicit the views of citizens on pregnancy and schooling in the country with their major findings revealed as follows:

Objectives of Guidelines on Pregnancy and Schooling

To promote the right of girls to education and access to equal learning opportunities

To prevent and reduce early pregnancy

To link adolescent reproductive health information and services with the prevention of pregnancy

To eliminate stigma and discrimination against pregnant girls in education

To reinforce child protection measures, including child marriage

To strengthen management and acceptability of pregnant girls in education

Factors Influencing Teenage Sex and Pregnancy

Lack of sex education and moral education

Inadequate psychosocial support and counselling services

The conflict between abstinence and sexual activity

Inadequate access to contraceptives

Lack of responsible parenting

Myths and misconceptions about pregnancy

Influence of the mass media

Influence of some religious beliefs on childrens moral compass

Use of juju

Poverty and marginalisation (i.e. transactional sex)

Unequal power relations (adult/teacher defilement of children)

Why Teenage Mothers Drop out of School

Stigma, discrimination and bullying

Attitudes of parents and guardians

Use of sanctions by community leaders and certain cultures

Pressure of child marriage

Povertynon-existent livelihood support services, income generation,etc

High rates of illiteracy

Poor educational performance

Factors Facilitating Girls Empowerment in Education

Vocational and technical training for girls and work placements

School-fee assistance, free school and scholarships for new mothers re-entry inschool

Incentivising parents and guardians of the pregnant teens to keep their daughters in school and by supporting them with micro-finance, social protection and income-generating activities

Providing supportive community and educational environment

Sensitising, encouraging and supporting parents and guardians to send their children to school

Educating communities on school re-entryprogrammes

Improving school environment for girls

Supporting the health and well-being of new mothers, including their mental health

Providing new mothers with sanitary facilities and maternity clothes

Providing new mothers with desks, supplementary feeding and child care

Reviewingthe Social Studies curriculum to promote gender equality and empowerment

Strengthening the links connecting education, gender, child protection and health

Strengthening the rule of law, justice and conducting law reforms, where necessary

Creating and enforcing laws, by-laws and policies

Enforcing compulsory re-integration policies

Enforcing practical actions on child protection legislation to include child marriage

Re-evaluating the Social Studies curriculum

Integrating the Education Sector plans with health and child protection measures

Harmonisingexisting policies to strengthen the prevention and management of early pregnancy and re-entry in school

The re-entry policy should be universally employed and understood in the country

There should be guidelines, procedures and/or policies for teachers and stakeholders on the steps to follow to prevent pregnancy and on how the re-entry policy can be coordinated

Preventing teenage pregnancy through comprehensive sexuality and life-skills education

Improving childrens digital literacy

There should be regular monitoring and evaluation of set targets on teenage pregnancy and re-entry of new mothers in school

Providing alternative measures for pregnant teens and new mothers to pursue their education

Providing follow-up and guidance services to girls and their families

Making boys that impregnate girls responsible for their actionsfollowing appropriate legislation

Supporting Re-entry of Teenage Mothers in Education

Providing access to good-quality education for pregnant teens and new mothersto re-enter, remain and prosper in education

Improving the planning, management and delivery of pregnancy and schooling programme

Increasing access to and participation in education and training

Strengthening educational planning and management

Establishing teachers code of conduct and ensuring adherence to child protection and defilement legislation

Developing the life-skills and socio-emotional skillsof girls (i.e. self-esteem, identity, negotiation, critical thinking)

Addressing drop-out rates through improving the school environment for girls

Addressing stigmatisation and peer-to-peer bullying

Ensuring that pregnant teens are identified, supported and re-integrated into the school system

Discussion on Gender in Education Policy

A member of the Technical Working Group, Dr. AkosuaDarkwah, presented a draft report on the GEP as follows:

Goal of Girls in Education Policy

The goal of the GEP is to promote gender equity and equality in education by addressing all forms of gender-based discrimination within the school system.

Scope of Girls in Education Policy

Guided by the life-long learning approach and as contained in the Goal four of the Sustainable Development Goals, the GEP focuses on addressing gender inequality in formal education and in the Complementary Basic Education and non-formal education systems.

Basis for Girls Education Policy

The GEP is being structured to be in tandem with the international conventions and declarations on education, including the following:

Universal Declaration on Human Rights, 1948

Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), 1979

Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), 1989

Sustainable Development Goals, 2015

The African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, 1981

The African Union Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality, 2004

The African Union Gender Policy, 2009

Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, 1992

The Childrens Act, 1998

The Education Act, 2008

Education Strategic Plan, 2010-2020

Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda II, 2014-2017

Inclusive Education Policy, 2015

National Gender Policy, 2015

Promoting Equitable Access to Pre-tertiary Education

Increasing the mobilization of resources to schools to provide enough gender-sensitive school infrastructure to attract and to retain girls in school, especially in rural and deprived areas

Improving school management policies to create gender-friendly learning environment

Designing and implementing appropriate and flexible gender-responsive curricular activities, including sex education and life skills

Strengthening the capacity of teachers in gender-sensitive pedagogy and ensuring its application in all schools

Supporting efficient utilisation of the Capitation Grant

Expanding auxiliary services, such as free health care, to reduce absenteeism among students

Providing gender-sensitive structures for reporting abuse and gender-based violence

Promoting the use of gender-responsive budgeting (GRB) in education

Establishing transitional support systems, such as guidance and counselling, to prepare studentson their tertiary education and career options

Incorporating womens rights as well as sexual and reproductive health rights into school curriculum

Sensitisingrural communities on girls education using culturally appropriate tools

Promoting school attendance through relevant sectors and agencies to address specific needs, including gender-based violence, sexual harassment, personal care and development in school

Providing gender-sensitive structures for reporting abuse and gender-based violence

Delineating laid-down processes for the re-entry of girls who drop out of school due to pregnancy and early marriage

Adopting diverse, flexible and gender-responsive modes of education in boarding and day schools as well as in mobile schoolsand in single-sex schooling options

Instituting measures to establish schools closer to communities

Providing safe transport for girls who attend schools farther than 3km from homes

Promoting the presence of female-teacher role models in schools and in communities with focus on rural and less-endowed schools

Developing and implementing scholarship schemes for girls to ensure that girls are retained in school to complete and to transit to the next level of education

Increasing Female Participation and Performance in STEM

Building the capacity of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics(STEM) teachers in subject contents using gender-responsive pedagogy

Expanding access to and frequency of STEM clinics

Developing nationwide communication campaigns to desensitise and to change the beliefs and attitudes about females participation in STEMprogrammes

Improving accessibility, knowledge and use of ICT for women to facilitate learning

Increasing Female Participation and Performance in TVET

Engenderingthe management, administration and governance structures of Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions

Developing campaigns to remove the stigma around TVET to attract more females

Creating opportunities for girls to enroll and thrive in male-dominated trades and vice versa

Instituting career and counsellingservices to support females in TVET

Reviewing the effectiveness of the new curriculum which was adopted in 2006 and making further amendments to address gender issues, where necessary

Instituting grants and bursaries for girls in TVET to improve access

Improving Gender-sensitivity in Teaching and Learning

Integrating gender-awareness activities into pre-service and in-service teacher education and training

Regularly reviewing teacher training curriculum and teaching materials to ensure that educational contentsare free from gender stereotypes and biases

Incorporating womens rights, and sexual and reproductive health rights into teacher-training curriculum

Providing incentives for female teachers who opt to teach in rural areas

Increasing the enrollment of females in teacher training institutions

Providing policy guidelines and legal framework to promote gender-responsive management and administration of educational institutions

Ways of Providing Equitable Access to Education

Promoting the participation of out-of-school children, especially girls, in basic literacy and education programmesthrough Complementary Basic Education (CBE) and Wing Schooling

Promoting the enrollment of learners and the proportion of female facilitators in non-formal and functional literacy programmes

Creating incentives for females to become facilitators and educators in non-formal education programmes

Developing strategic partnerships among organisations, such as the National Functional Literacy Programme, and bodies like the COTVET, through their coordinated apprenticeship programmes to encourage and to reward women in non-formal education programmes

Developing and integrating collaboration between non-formal and formal educational institutions in order to encourage further study and to promote literacy

Improving Learning Environment for Participation and Retention in Education

Mobilisingresources to provide the youth with gender-friendly reproductive health facilities, including sanitary facilities and sexual-maturation-management programmes and services

Incorporating gender-sensitive sexual maturation and reproductive health issues in the curriculum and co-curricular activities to ensure that girls are well-prepared and supported to positively deal with their different sexual maturation challenges and needs

Training teachers to recognise and to be responsive to the emotional and psychological needs of female learners, especially adolescent girls

Developing information, education and communication materials on gender, sexual maturation and management of adolescent reproductive health issues

Providing separate toilets and urinals to ensure that girls feel safe and comfortable at school

Developing strict policies on sexual harassment and gender-based violence in school

Empowering learners, especially girls, to protect themselves from unwanted sexand sexually transmitted infections through comprehensive sex education and reproductive health services

Setting up monitoring mechanisms for persons in authority in educational institutions to adhere to existing legislation that protect females from all forms of violence, including sexual violence

Implementing a re-entry policy for school-girl-mothers in a non-discriminatory environment

Strengthening GEU for Girls Education in Ghana

Upgrading the GEU into a Division under the GES

Increasing the mandate of the GEU to promote girls education at senior high and TVETlevels

Enhancing the human resource, financial and technical capacity of the GEU to deliver effectively on its expanded mandate

Implementation and Institutional Framework

Any framework on girls education can be effective with the contributions of the following ministries, agencies and institutions:

Ministry of Education

Ghana Education Service

Girls Education Unit

National Council on Tertiary Education

Council on Technical and Vocational Education and Training

Ministry of Health/Ghana Health Service

Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning

Ministry for Gender, Children and Social Protection

Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development

Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies

Domestic Violence Victims Support Unit of the Ghana Police Service

Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice

Department of Social Welfare and Community Development

Traditional Authorities

Parent Teacher Associations

School Management Committees

Development Partners

Non-governmental organisations

Faith-based Organisations

The Private Sector

The Family

Review Questions

The following questions emergedafter the presentations of the two draft policy documents as a way of consolidating the issues contained in them:

To what extent can the accessibility, knowledge and application of ICT by girls be improved?

What is the nature of gender-sensitive structures that will be used to report abuse and gender-based violence in the schools?

To what extent can gender-awareness activities be included in school curriculum?

How can TVET facilities and curriculum be constructed to increase female enrollment, retention and performance?

What is the nature of the campaigns that will be used to removethe stigma of girls in TVET?

How do girls enroll and thrive in male-dominated trades and vice versa?

What kinds of career guidance service are available for females in education?

How can gender-awareness activities be included in pre-service and in-service teacher education and training programmes?

What should be the frequency of review of the teacher training curriculum as against gender-stereotyping objectives in any educational content?

How can learning environment promote the sexual maturation of learners for an improved participation and retention of girls in education?

How can the capacity of the GEU be strengthened to supervise girls education activities?

What is the relationship between the strategies and the guidelines,as contained in the two draft policy documents?

How relevant is the teachers code of conduct in tackling issues of gender?

What is the exact position of the guidelines on pregnancy of girls in school?

What is the extent of influence of the mass media on girls education?

What action(s) should be taken against boys who impregnate girls in education?

How can the supplementary feeding for babies by teenage mothersbe integrated into the school curriculum?

How can the special uniforms for pregnant girls be included in school curriculum?

What is the exact scope of the Gender in Education Policy?

The Resolution and the Way Forward

The participants agreed to embark on the following activities in order to have the work on the documents completed as soon as practicable:

A select group, comprising the GES and stakeholders, shall formulate a draft guideline based on the facts and figures that have been gathered from parents, teachers and stakeholders.

The focus of activities is to reduce or to prevent pregnancy among school girls and to support pregnant girls in education.

The GEU shall look at the reports of the consultants and formulate draft reports for the management of GES to review.

The final report on the draft policy documents shall be sent to the consultants for final review not later than the end of July 2017.

UNICEF shall work with the GES to have the draft policy documents reviewed in time.

The final draft policy document shall be called, Gender in Pre-tertiary Education Policy as it seeks to focus on gender mainstreaming and empowerment at the basic and senior high school levels.

Closure of Meeting

Mrs. Catherine Nutsugah-Mikado expressed her joy and gratitude at the extent of works done and urged the participants and other stakeholders to continue to put up their best.

Our objective to promote good-quality education among all Ghanaian children, including girls, will be met only if we can finish working on these two documents as soon as possible, she said.

And I recall that it was the Head of the School Health and Education Programme (SHEP) of the GES, Mrs. EsiAyenbaInkoom, who gave the closing prayer.

The writer is an educationist and a public relations officer of Ghana Education Service.

E-mail: [email protected]
Sheikh Dr. Osman Nuhu Sharubutu is the National Chief Imam of Ghana. The Imam whose office belongs to the National Peace Council, is a religious leader who is working harmoniously with all factions of Muslims, Christians, arms of government and other religious adherents in the country. He is known the world over and now at close to 100, he is hardworking as usual in areas of spiritual and physical development. Currently we in Ghana find ourselves in the Month of Ramadan, together with Muslims throughout the world, which begun on Saturday may 27, 2017.

The National Chief Imam admonishes all Muslims of age and in good health to follow the tenets of the Ramadan month by staying away from food from dawn to dusk as that would be beneficial to them physically and spiritually. His leadership has led to all Imams and their followers throughout the country, observing strictly all the five tenets of Islam, especially fasting daily in Ramadan, praying regularly as prescribed and giving alms to the poor in society. As a true leader, the National Chief Imam leads Muslims in prayers at a mosque at his home in Fadama and at the Central Mosque at Abossey Okai every Friday.

His humanitarian and spiritual services that follow Islamic injunctions are accepted by all especially during this month of Ramadan. Apart from leading Muslims in prayers during the Ramadan he has occasions to enlighten Muslims in [Tafsir] in the Central Mosque in Accra. The interpretation on rudiments of Ramadan and its benefits to all those who observe it has helped many youths to understand the religion of Islam. Being a leader filled with generosity, his household provides food prepared day and night at his home to the needy especially his guests from neighboring countries during and after this month of Ramadan.

As a result of his leadership qualities and spiritual influence, he has attracted support from succeeding philanthropists, governments, Christian organizations with food items meant for Muslims during and after the month of Ramadan and the Eid festivals. The latest donation given to Muslims through the National Chief Imam is a huge consignment of food including bags of rice, vegetable oil and cash from the National Democratic Congress. Throughout the country especially in the Ashanti Region the Regional Administration of the New Patriotic Party [NPP] has also given donation of food items to Muslims through their Imams. The Office of the National Chief Imam and the Federation of Muslim Councils of Ghana are yet to receive a donation from the seat of government in Accra for the Ramadan.

The National Chief Imam who is often seen in the company of Bishops, leaders of Sunnis and Shias has been advocating for peace and unity in Ghana and the world over. He prays regularly during his sermons and media interviews against wars and calamities in the world. He has also condemned the destruction of the tomb of the late leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini by some extremists.

As part of his national duty he also prayed for the soul of Major Maxwell Adam Mahama who was recently killed while on duty at Denkyira Obuase in Central Region. DR Sharubutu, a notable Islamic scholar is noted for supporting the building of more schools, providing support for many young ones to enjoy sound education up to tertiary level through Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu Education Fund [SUNSETFUND]. Through the SUNSETFUND 2000 shoes school bags and other educational materials worth thousands of cedis have been donated to preparatory school pupils throughout the country in this Ramadan. The National Chief Imam has also supported the building of many schools and mosques throughout the country. One of the mosques he helped in building is the magnificent New National Mosque being built by Turkish individuals and organizations at Kanda, Accra. The Chief Imam has begun leading Muslims in symbolic prayers in the mosque which is to be opened in three months during the Eid al Adha festival.

As a result of his contributions towards spiritual, educational development and peace in Ghana and the world the Chief Imam has won a number of national awards, and honorary doctorate degree from the University of Ghana. The latest award given to him is the International Award by the Cultural Consulate of the Republic of Iran in Ghana under the Imam Khomeini Legacy Award offered at a symposium at the Accra International Conference Center.
Senior Police officers accompanied by junior personnel in the Northern regional command on Friday June 9, 2017, donated an amount of GH5, 000 to the wife and child of a police officer shot dead by police patrol team in a case of mistaken identity

The incident occurred on the Tamale -Kintampo expressway days before the fatal lynching of late Maxwell Adam Mahama at Denkyire Oboase.

An insurer, Unique insurance company in the regional capital, Tamale, also donated same amount to the widow making GH10,000 for the tragedy that befell the family and the police service.

Lance Corporal Robert Ackah was escorting travelers from Tamale to the southern sector when his colleagues mistook him as an armed robber and fired at him to death.

The bus he was escorting was notified of an ongoing armed robbery attack on the highway and so the police officer was high on alert.

Midway into the journey, Corporal Ackah allegedly alighted from the bus and begun firing in the air and proceeded to mount a chase at the fleeing robbers.

While he was still at the scene of the attack, a police patrol team from the Brong Ahafo region who had also heard of the attack and was rushing to pursue the robbers gunned him down after seeing him at the scene with an Ak47 riffle.

He was, however, identified as a police officer when his Identification Card (ID) was found on him by the killers.

Speaking at the residence of the murdered law enforcer in Gumani, Regional Police Commander, ACP Patrick Adusei Sarpong said the service has been commiserating with the family since the sad incident and was there now to donate an amount of GH10,000 to the widow.

Commander ACP Sarpong also shared condolences from the Inspector General of Police and told the family a package from the Inspector General would follow soon.

Once more to give the family and express gratitude, condolences and sympathy and to let them know that we will never leave them alone and therefore we made a personal donation that is from the police to the wife and the child.

In addition to that unique insurance having seen the good things the police are doing to the public added another GH5, 000 to the moneyso in all, we have GH10,00 presented to the office and the child this morning and they have the sympathies and condolences, ACP Adusei consoled the bereaved.
Kannada Okkoota and the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, are holding the bandh with a long list of demands.

By India Today Web Desk: Two different groups have called for a statewide bandh today in Karnataka demanding farm loan waiver and issues concerning water scarcity and sharing of water from Mahadayi river with Goa.

Both the groups, Kannada Okkoota and the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, are holding the bandh with a long list of demands.

Despite the bandh call, buses operated by KSRTC and BMTC, Bengaluru metro and taxis will continue to ply. Officials of the transport services said that services may be stalled in case of protests.

Visuals from Gulbarga: Pro-Kannada organisations call for statewide shutdown over Mahadayi river dispute & drinking water crisis #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/jsuTwjJYkj- ANI (@ANI_news) 12 June 2017

advertisement

The groups also want Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resolve the Mahadayi river water issue. The groups have also raised concerns over Karnataka's tussle with Tamil Nadu over Cauvery river water issue.

Schools in Bengaluru will remain open. However, several universities including Bengaluru University and Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) have postponed exams as a precautionary measure.

Also Read:

Mahadayi river water dispute: Pro-Kannada organisations call for Karnataka bandh on June 12

Former MLA calls for Karnataka bandh on February 18 over ban on kambala

Also Watch:

Tamil Nadu bandh: Farmers protested for 41 days, why is DMK waking up only now?

--- ENDS ---
Matthew Goodwin, a British author and political expert, was in a dicey situation when his prediction on the Labour partys share in the polls was miscalculated.

The political expert had promised to eat his own book, Brexit: Why Britain voted to leave the European Union if the party got more than 38% in the UK elections 2017 and kept his word as he ate pages from his book on live television.

The video of the 35-year-old author chewing on his new book has been going viral as people are dumb-founded by him keeping his promise.

Matthew Goodwin had promised on Twitter that if his poll prediction for the UK Polls went wrong, he would eat his entire book on the separation of the UK from the European Union. Goodwin had predicted that the party would gain 38% votes.

However, Jeremy Corbyns Labour party won 40.3% of votes and Matthew, a man of his words announced that he would eat his book on Sky News. The professor of politics at the University of Kent was filmed eating pages of his book on Live TV and answering questions of the news anchor with ease.

Two percentage points makes a big difference, I am a man of my word, so what I am going to do is just sit here and eat my book, while you guys carry on, he said as he began eating pages of his book and the video is impressing people on the internet. while it is normal for people to make unrealistic claims on the social media, very few go on to keep their words and Matthew Goodwin was clearly one of those rare few.

The University of Kent professor has co-authored the book that he was seen eating, Brexit: Why Britain voted to leave the European Union.

The author gave a sad thumbs up and spoke about the all the chemicals he would be ingesting on chewing these pages of the hardbound book. While people on the social media began to worry about the health effect of the act, the Sky News producer tweeted that Goodwin did not swallow the page he was munching on. Well, this incident clearly made Professor Goodwin and his book quite a celebrity!
12.06.2017 LISTEN

Of late, everyday gives us the horrible news of activities by some Ghanaians which undermine the security and peace of our country Ghana. There is increasing public fear and insecurity. Several lives have already been lost; and properties  both public and private  worth millions of Ghana Cedis have been destroyed with impunity.

To me, what is more incredible and unacceptable is the fact that this has gotten to the extent that not only the properties of the Security services are destroyed, but their personnel killed. There is therefore the need for an immediate and lasting solution. But what has been the cause of this menace?

In my opinion, greatly attributable to the seemingly uncontrollable insurgence of internal security threat in Ghana is the failure of the Judicial Service to live up its constitutional mandate. What dont they do? As it seems, they fail to prosecute some suspected criminals of late; they free arrested crime suspects; grant bails to some; and in a way, sabotage the efforts of the Police Service by undermining their investigations and charges laid against arrested criminals.

In as much as the Judiciary must ensure justice to all  including suspects  it must also ensure that injustices done are accordingly punished no matter who the offender may be. To the extent that some people will storm a court to put to disarray judicial proceedings with impunity is one indication of Ghanas once revered Judiciarys failure to maintain its status of respect, dignity and discipline. And none other is the cause but itself.

Another notable cause of the present evil is the inability of the Security Services, especially the police service to pin particular persons to crimes committed even under its very nose. How could police personnel be present at a court as claimed, yet not know the people who stormed the court to disrupt legal and constitutional proceedings?

It has even been alleged that some security officers protect some galamsey sites when the whole nation is at war against same. So what image are they marketing about themselves? This seemingly incompetence and conflict of interest of the security services has drained their credentials in the eyes of Ghanaians. And when the security services bear no respect; there will be no respect for security, hence the current happenings.

Ghanaians in the communities where the recent crimes took place have not in any way been patriotic to this land by their action of silence. They do not only shield these criminals, but also cover their traces from the authorities.

So what should we do?

The judiciary should awake out of the slumber of overlooking wrongdoings and criminal offences as it seems to have been doing. Rather than releasing criminals who have been arrested after dire efforts by the police, they should prosecute them to serve as deterrent to others.

The Police Service needs also to be more vigilant; and exhibit high level intelligence in the execution of its duties nowadays. Another thing it must do is to intensively engage its Criminal Investigation Department (CID); as well as work hand in hand with the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) to investigate crimes and suspects.

Finally, every Ghanaian should be willing to hand over criminals to face due punishments for their crimes. If we love our lives, we should protect it by protecting others and support the course of justice.

The earlier these institutions, particularly the Judicial and Security services sit up to attend to their duties, the better it will for this country. I want to humbly appeal to His Excellency the President to arise to his call as the Commander in Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces because the security services work under him.

[Disclaimer: Any portion of this writing which constitutes prejudice of any form is unintended and dully apologized for.]

God bless our homeland Ghana!

Maranatha!

Rich Akpalu

E-mail: [email protected]
The Mandela Park at Ashaiman in the Greater region played host to the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDCs) 25th anniversary rally on Saturday 10, June 2017. The sprawling town known to be the bastion of the NDC is nestled between the twin cities in the region ---Tema, the port city and Accra, Ghanas capital.

Basically, it was time for sober reflection and time to see how best the party could stage a comeback in 2020. Unity was a common strand that ran through speech after speeches given by its speakers. But the rally lacked electricity and the usual crowd-storm. Truly, the Saturdays crowd didnt compare or come close to the multitude that attended then NDCs parliamentary candidate Ernest Norgbeys campaign launch in October 2016.

However, one could argue that perhaps crowd wasnt the centrality of the rally. It had more nuggets on its bowl to digest. The rank and file was asked to eschew bickering, back-biting and back stabbing as well as reposition itself to face the governing NPP in the next general elections. They believed this was the way to go if the party meant business.

After all who likes to remain in hibernation or stay in opposition?

The last Decembers election defeat was the partys third. It lost the 2000, 2004 and 2016. One of its main speakers admonished the Umbrella family not to fight over spilt milk but look beyond the fall. Fact is it hurts so badly to lose power especially in Africa and for that matter Ghana, where being in opposition can be equated to being in Siberia. What it does is it makes one see things clearer and bolder. Thus the NDC wouldnt like to see another humiliation, another defeat and another Siberia. What do they say: Once bitten twice shy or thrice beaten quadruple shy. Not again, they seem to be echoing that now as the ashes in Ashaiman begin to rise.

Following the partys defeat in the 2016 elections there has been some rancorous and unhealthy development. And members of the largest opposition party in Ghana have resorted to the proverbial blame game.

How did the party conduct itself during the rally?

Yes, the rally lacked the proverbial pomp but it wasnt denied with the big-wigs---those that dug the trenches and got their hands dirty. The founder and former President Jerry John Rawlings was at the rally to sell unity to the party. He also used the occasion to resell his signature products probity, accountability and honesty.

He gave this admonition: How many times have we not gone through this stage? I say if we are serious, we are genuine, we are sincere, and that unity can work. Power corrupts us too quickly, too easily. We need to re-examine ourselves. We need some serious education, he admonished the party.

Mr. Rawlings told the gathering, the ball was in their court to prevent the process of unity from being hijacked. He also touched on the theme of unity that echoed through the statements made at the rally. To him,  unity is a beautiful thing but it comes at a price - truthfulness, sincerity etc." He agreed with the sentiments that the party stands a chance of returning to power in 2020 if they do their homework well.

Another big-wig that graced the Ashaiman NDC 25th anniversary rally was former President John Mahama. He took a course this writer describes as a safe route. Possibly he did so to put himself firmly at the drivers seat I (as the putative candidate) in the NDC 2020 presidential race. Already there are names mushrooming to contest the former president.

Speaking at the rally Mr. Mahama didnt blame the partys foot soldiers or the surrogates. He didnt blame the campaign strategists or those with sharp teeth for the partys defeat. Instead, her literally claimed responsibility. I have accepted all blame as a leader of the party. And I am confident and I pray that after the re-organisation we shall win as party, he said.

According to Mr. Mahama, what matters in life is not how many times one falls but how you survive and make new impact. He appealed to party members to stop crying over spilt milk and instead think of how to get new milk to enjoy. He further expressed confidence that with appropriate re-organisation, the party shall win.

Also in attendance were the General Secretary of the NDC Asiedu Nketiah, and his deputy Koku Anyidoho, the Chairman Kofi Portuphy, former ministers of state and parliamentarians both sitting and former.

There was also time for a few jabs to be throw n at the governing NPP. And guess who spearheaded that Former Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur. He seized the occasion to challenge the ruling NP P to answer all the 170 promises the party made to Ghanaians ahead of the 2016 elections.

I have been told that they have made 170 promises. They have to ensure that all those 170 promises are fulfilled so the people of Ghana can also benefit from the work that they came to do. 

The NPP during the electioneering campaign made a number of promises which include, free education, free health care, building 216 factories across the country, building an irrigation dam in each farming community in northern Ghana, and disbursing $1 million dollars each to the 275 constituencies across the country.

Mr. Amissah-Arthur pointed out that it was important for the NDC as a party to hold the Akufo-Addo government accountable. He also urged the NDC to continue to champion the agenda of the people. This agenda is simple: we have to protect the interest of our people. We have to ensure that the NPP government meets all the promises that they made, the former Vice President said.

Like the previous speakers Mr. Amissah-Arthur called for unity in the NDC, saying it was time the party closed its ranks after the December defeat. The 2016 election is over and it is important for us to move on because the agenda of the Ghanaian people is important. We must unite our people so that we can work together combining all strengths and attributes of the people in the NDC so that we can work for the good of this country.

The NDC was formed on Tuesday 28, July 1992, more or less as a lateral branch of the then ruling Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) under the chairmanship of Jerry John Rawlings. Ghana at the time was transitioning into multi-party system of democracy after eleven years of the military rule r.

The party went on to win the first two elections of the fourth republic under the leadership of Mr. Rawlings .It must be noted that the 1992 elections was boycotted by then main opposition party the NPP.
When Gadhafi was president, Libya was one of the preferred and favourite place for Ghanaians, not only because it was easy to get a job but also because Libya was a gateway to Southern Europe. Things have changed a lot after Gadhafis overthrow and death. Most Africans now run the risk of being killed in Libya. These past years, some travel agencies have lured innocent boys and girls to travel to some Arab countries including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon, with the promise of receiving office jobs, factory jobs, driving top executives. With massive unemployment in Ghana, the offers look attractive. But those who travel to those countries realize that the persons who accompany them there have sold them into slavery. They hand them over to agents and receive the total amount in exchange for these innocent Ghanaians. Most of them are girls who are sold further to become maids or house-helps. This is where all their problems and frustrations begin.

Once in the homes of their masters and mistresses they work several hours most often with little or no salaries. The intention is to make them work to make up for the amount they paid to buy them from the agents. They are treated as slaves in the various households in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Lebanon. The hardship and torture these girls go through are very serious and regrettable issues that have flooded the social media. The audios and videos appearing on social media in recent times are heartrending. They are helpless and urgent cries for help. The narration of the hardship and torture these Ghanaian girls are going through are brutal and shocking. Ghanaians are not alone in this. There are other Africans in similar situations. Many have lost their lives.

One particular audio that will send shivers down the spine of anyone, is a calamitous narration from a Ghanaian girl in Saudi Arabia. She looked through the kitchen window and found to her utter dismay, fear and shock, that the maid in a neighbouring house was hanged on a ceiling with her own sponge by the master of the house. Before her unfortunate and untimely death, she had spoken to the narrator on a mobile phone. According to the narrator, both husband and wife were driving out so the maid in the house had to rush out of the kitchen to open the gate for them to go. She went back to the kitchen. Meanwhile the three children in the family, walked towards the gate. The youngest child put her fingers between the gates in an attempt to open it. The older child saw this and quickly banged the gate, smashing her little fingers inadvertently, breaking the little bones in her fingers. This incident precipitated the hanging of the Ghanaian maid.

In another extremely strange, horrifying and sad incident which happened in Kuwait, the maid had forgotten the rice to burn on the stove. The man and his wife were highly infuriated when they saw the burnt rice. They locked the maid in a room for two days without food. The girl managed to escape through the window and reported the issue to the police. The police called the family to report to the police station. Surprisingly, the girl was handed back to the man and his wife to take her home. When they arrived home they beat her severely and hanged her with her own net sponge. When she finally died, they cut her into pieces and packed the remains in a sack and threw it away. How wicked! In another development, a maid who was serving a family in Lebanon, refused to listen to the instructions of her host family because she had not been paid for a year. They tied her hands and legs and poured hot water on her. Does this Ghanaian maid deserve this?

The government is fully aware of the inhuman treatment being meted out to Ghanaians who are lured to seek greener pastures in the Arab countries. Action is being taken to track down the agents who sell these girls into slavery. Right now as I write, one of these so-called agents has been arrested with five innocent girls in Madina in Accra as he attempted to smuggle them to Saudi Arabia. They all had in their possession Ghanaian passports with Saudi Arabian visa. This has been a very lucrative business for the agents because they charge the girls a certain amount, and they still receive payments from the Arab agents when they hand over the girls to them.

These girls go through sexual abuse and physical mutilation in the very houses where they work and these abuses can become daily occurrences. Very often these girls are locked in the house with no chance of seeing the sun. Such girls have no access to radio and no way to communicate with the outside world. So assuming the government of Ghana brings an aeroplane to take the girls back, many of them may not even be aware of such an opportunity. Such girls die and no one hears about it. A Kenyan girl was lynched by the master and mistress of the house. She was later hanged to die completely. Quite surprisingly, the master of the house called to the Kenyan embassy to report that the girl had hanged herself. The ambassador ordered the body to be flown to Kenya for autopsy and burial.

I want to suggest few solutions to this problem. The first solution is that the Foreign Affairs ministry must send strong directives to the ambassadors of those Arab countries in Ghana not to give visas to agents who come to them with passports belonging to other people. Also travel agents who are involved in this slave trade business must be fished out, arrested and jailed.

The ministry of information must launch a campaign towards warning Ghanaians of the dangers in travelling to find non-existent jobs. The ministry must do this aggressively through the mass media (newspapers, radio and television) and the social media. Lastly, I humbly to the government of Nana Akufo-Addo, to heed to heed to the cries of Ghanaian innocent youths who are suffering and wailing in the Arab lands where hundreds die insignificant.

Is Mecca not in Saudi Arabia? Is it not considered a holy place where Muslims from all walks of life, both black and white, go on a religious pilgrimage? Why then is this double standard of the Arabs? Why the hatred for African workers? Will help ever come from the Ghana government? Time will tell.

Columnist: Stephen Atta Owusu

Author: Dark Faces at Crossroads

Email: [email protected]
12.06.2017 LISTEN

In Luanda, Sudan took part this week in an important meeting of the chiefs of staff of the armed forces of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (CIRGL) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). the main objective of the meeting was to adjust common positions, means and ways to end conflicts in the two regions.

The importance of Sudan's participation in the Luandas meeting is mainly premised on the fact that, it comes sooner in the aftermath of Sudans recent exposure to yet another typical cross- border aggression, simultaneously from Libya and South Sudan, perpetrated by elements and groupings (Darfur holdout rebels) which are already regionally classified as negative forces.

In view of their increasing role in sabotaging consecutive regional and international efforts to achieve peace in the Sudan, besides exacerbating threats to peace and security in the region, as evidently manifested now in both South Sudan and Libya, the ICGLRs Uganda summit of 2011, has unambiguously designated Darfuri holdout rebels, as one of the negative forces destabilizing Africa, that should be combated.

Having derived the lessons of the past, Africans today are increasingly conscious and wary that peace, stability, and security, are prerequisites for sustainable development in the sub region; that the prevailing conflicts hinder the prospects of realizing the full economic potential of this geo-strategically important region.

The said consciousness is rooted in the appreciation of the interconnection of African countries, besides, the recognition of the imperative of mutual dependence, which is further necessitated by the fact that conflict in the region stalemates and defeats all legitimate regional aspirations in development and prosperity. Moreover, conflicts has the capacity and propensity to impact beyond the region.

By the same token, the African leaders who gathered in the Seventh Annual High-Level Retreat of Special Envoys and Mediators on the promotion of peace, security and stability in Africa, which was convened from 26 to 27 October 2016 in Egypt, on the theme, Silencing the Guns Mediation Practices and Contemporary Wars, pledged not to bequeath the burden of conflicts to the next generation of Africans and thereby undertaking to end all wars in Africa by 2020.

Indisputably one of the fundamental reasons for disturbances in this part of the world, has been the cross-border insurgencies, aided and abetted by another states. No matter what, the continuance of such activities are more likely to endanger the maintenance of international peace and security.

More recently in April 2017, deliberating the situation in Congo and the region at the UNSC, the Egyptian Ambassador to the UN; Amr Abdellatif Aboulatta, outlined myriad challenges facing the region, the most prominent of which was armed groups posing hurdles for Governments and threatening civilians.

However, in a sad dichotomy, only one month after, these very armed groups, in a barefaced act of aggression, aboard Egyptian armored vehicles, penetrated simultaneously into Darfur form Sudans immediate neighboring countries, namely Libya and South Sudan, where they were based, trained and heavily armed for almost two years, to execute attacks against the Sudan, in an abhorrent disregard and contempt of all regional and international charters and agreements. These countries should be held culpable for all the crimes committed by these negative forces in the Sudan.

According to the UN Charter, Article 2.4 of which provides that all members should refrain from the threat or use of force against any other state; thus, no state should act in such a way within its territory that it directly impacts on the territorial integrity or political independence of another member state, a concept more fully elaborated by the UN General Assembly in its 1970 Declaration on Friendly Relations.

The Dar - Es-Salaam Declaration (ICGLR), in conformity with the Protocol on Non-Aggression and Mutual Defense, unequivocally obliges member States including South Sudan- from any direct or indirect support, delivery of arms or any other form of assistance to armed groups operating in the region, and deny use of their respective territories in support of activities by armed groups to carry out acts of aggression or subversion against other Member States.

The vow made by South Sudan's Vice President Taban Deng during his visit to Khartoum in August 2016 for instance to expel the rebels within 21 days, turned to be yet another chapter of similar unfulfilled pledges. The Darfuri insurgents kept on actively crossing the border and carry out attacks against government targets on regular basis, the latest of which was the May attempt, in which the invading rebels were mauled and destroyed almost completely.

Ironically, at the time the United Nations refugee agency unfolds how Sudan is currently hosting more than half a million South Sudanese refugees. What a gratitude Sudan is yielding from Juba in return! At the time South Sudan joining countries like Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia in crossing the one-million mark on refugees fleeing the world's youngest nation myriad mayhems and clashes.

Arguably, flared up with such irresponsible however, systematic behavior on the part of Juba, the United States in October 2016, was prompted to express - for the first time - its positions openly; calling on the government of South Sudan, to stop harboring and supporting the Sudanese armed groups, pointing to the credible reports that Juba continues to safe haven to these terrorist groups, in an obvious infringement of UN Security Council Resolution 2046.

By the same token, in the backdrop of their heinous crimes in Libya, both Libyan agencies and international statements and documents confirm not only the participation of Darfur rebels as mercenary in Libya, but also of having involved in organized crimes, such as looting of Libyan oil fields, car hijacking, looting gold mines, to name a few. The African Union classified Darfur rebel movements as negative forces which had committed various forms of organized crimes, and widely contributing in prolonging crisis and thereby exacerbating instability in a number of African countries for money and weapons.

Make no mistake, Sudan by way or another, was victim of a premediated and barefaced act of aggression and state-sponsored terrorism. The international community should strongly condemn in strongest terms, the recent military escalation in North and East Darfur, which breaches the cessation of hostilities and destabilizes regional peace and security in Sudan and the region. At the same time, stronger pressure should equally be exerted, on the remnant rebels to accept the cease-fire and negotiate seriously

Again, the international community should likewise, poise to show  zero tolerance towards Sudans neighboring countries which continue to use their territories, as a base of operations for these terrorists, or providing them, with any kind of assistance, that might tend to prolong the present conflict in Sudan and beyond.
The over 1000 victims of the tidal waves which rocked some coastal communities in the Ketu South municipality of Volta region have been provided temporary shelters in school buildings.

The victims, who are residents of some fishing communities sandwich between the sea and the lagoon, had their homes submerged by the sea water when the high tides broke banks Sunday dawn.

Close to 300 households in the Blekusu, Gavedzi, Amudzinu and Salakope communities were affected with properties running to several thousands of cedis destroyed.

As an ad-hoc measure, officials of the National Disaster Management Organization NADMO and the Ketu South Municipal Assembly secured some schools in the affected areas, such the Roman Catholic and the AME Zion Basic schools for the displaced residents to put up for the time been.

The Volta Regional Minister, Dr. Archibald Letsa who toured the affected areas said, those schools have been closed temporarily for the situation normalise.

He also indicated that efforts are being made to get the contractor working on a sea defense project started in the area in 2016, to resume work as soon as possible.

Chief of Blekusu, Torgbui Agbali III, who described the disaster as the worst ever to befall the area, called for government support to enable them relocate from area to a higher ground as a permanent solution to the perennial problem.

Mr. Divine Benson, Volta Regional Coordinator of NADMO, said a report has been forward to Accra for necessary assistance following the conduct of an impact assessment and registration of all affected residents.

Meanwhile, three fishing boats with outboard motors and nets have also been destroyed by the high tides at Kedzi in the Keta municipality.
Professor Lesley Lokko

12.06.2017 LISTEN

The inaugural Africa Architecture Awards is noteworthy as the first dedicated Pan-African awards programme of its kind. Launched by founder Saint-Gobain, the awards aim to recognise and reward worthy projects from across the African continent, with one overall winner garnering a $10 000 grand prize.

The 2017 Africa Architecture Awards seek to acknowledge standout architectural projects that have been conceived of and/or built on the African continent, and invite entries and nominations from the industry. Anyone in the world meeting the entry criteria can enter, or be entered into the awards, as long as the project pertains to Africa.

Saint-Gobain very simply wants to be the catalyst that brings African architecture and its diaspora into the global conversation, in response to the clear need for such dialogue, explains Evan Lockhart-Barker, the Managing Director of the Saint-Gobain Retail Business Development Initiative. The Africa Architecture Awards, he continues, have been established to highlight the continents innovative and collaborative style of solving problems - architectural or otherwise. Saint-Gobain has engaged with some of the best minds in the field to establish this programme, so that the awards are relevant, contextual and progressive. We look forward to seeing the future stars and collaborative efforts this initiative will reveal!

To this end, the awards programme has key collaborators like global heavyweight Sir David Adjaye OBE of Adjaye Associates as the official Patron, a stellar Steering Panel and Advisory team comprising noteworthy academics and architects, and a formidable Master Jury of award-winning practitioners drawn from across Africa and the diaspora.

There is no cost to enter the awards and entries close on the 30th of June 2017 for all categories except the People's Choice Award, which closes on the 18th of August 2017. The Master Jury will identify a shortlist of 20 projects, four trophy winners and one Grand Prix. The official awards ceremony is set to take on 28 September 2017 at Cape Towns much-anticipated Zeitz MOCAA, designed by significant British architect Thomas Heatherwick, which opens to the public that very same week.

The Grand Prix winner will receive a $10 000 cash prize at the awards ceremony  thats in addition to the recognition and prestige of being named as the overall winner from across the continent. A Lifetime Achievers Award is given at the discretion of the Master Jury. It is awarded to an architect or architects who have made a significant contribution to the professions of architecture and/or urban design over a substantial period of time.

The seven members of the Master Jury are: Anna Abengowe (Nigeria); Patti Anahory (Cape Verde); Guillaume Koffi (Cote dIvoire); Phill Mashabane (South Africa); Professor Mark Olweny (Uganda); Professor Edgar Pieterse (South Africa); and, Tanzeem Razak (South Africa).

Rather than adopt the more conventional categories of other global awards programmes, the Master Jury will approach the Africa Architecture Awards through a values-based system around the following three criteria:

Innovation  of design, materials, approach, practice, new forms of public space;

 of design, materials, approach, practice, new forms of public space; Identity  projects that deal sensitively and innovatively with heritage and tradition; that embody cultural sensitivity and contextual interpretation; that consider appropriation and repurposing of use; and that attempt to translate traditional ways of building/occupying space into modern and contemporary contexts;

 projects that deal sensitively and innovatively with heritage and tradition; that embody cultural sensitivity and contextual interpretation; that consider appropriation and repurposing of use; and that attempt to translate traditional ways of building/occupying space into modern and contemporary contexts; Implementation  the energy and inventiveness required in Africa to create and implement projects in markets with varying levels and scales of economic government support and infrastructure.

The intention of the awards is to create a broader awareness of the issues and opportunities inherent in the built environment in Africa through dialogue, analysis and critique. The awards will celebrate design excellence and promote an increased awareness of the role and importance of sound architectural theory and practice across Africa and the diaspora. The intention is to honour established architects and encourage emerging and future voices, says Lockhart-Barker.

According to Professor Lesley Lokko, who chairs the Africa Architecture Awards Steering Panel and is head of the Graduate School of Architecture at the University of Johannesburg: These awards present an opportunity to be an integral part of building an architectural culture that is Pan-African in its scope and ambition, but one that looks firmly towards the future. Finding new means to tell an innovative, responsive and responsible narrative about what it means to be African, modern, forward-looking, inventive but also proud of our past, of our multiple heritages, cultures and contexts, and how these things coming together, are shaping a new Africa!

As a discipline, architecture has immense potential to shape, solve and innovate in Africa, in the 21st Century. With 54 countries all varied in culture, geography, climate and societal structure, this diversity enables prospects that can and will shape Africas built environments - and in so doing, will provide points of inspiration for the rest of the globe. The aim of the first ever Africa Architecture Awards is to identify and honour projects that are doing precisely that!
Chief Executive Officer for the Ghana Free Zones Board, Michael Okyere Baafi is supporting the construction of an ultra modern computer laboratory for the Wesley Methodist Basic School at Koforidua in the Eastern Region.

At a short presentation ceremony held at the Methodists Church office in Koforidua, Mr. Kingsley Ofosu, an aide to Mr. Okyrere Baafi, presented a Cheque for a33,000 for the construction of the ICT laboratory.

The cheque donation was raised by the Okyere Baafi Educational Foundation through Melcom Ghana Ltd for this purpose. The total cost of the project is estimated at a40,000.

Kingsley Ofosu indicated that, the donation forms part of efforts by the Okyere Baafi Foundation to contribute to the development of human resources in the New Juaben Municipality where the Free Zones Board CEO hails from. Already, a number of residents have benefited from educational support from the Foundation.

Synod Secretary for the Methodist Diocese, Very Rev. Dr. Samuel Duah Dodd who received the Cheque on behalf of the Church indicated, the presentation is timely. He said the school received 15 computers from government as a reward for emerging the best school with high score in General Science during 2016 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) exams.

According to him, the school is unable to use these computers due to lack of space to serve as laboratory. It was therefore, fascinating for the school authorities to see efforts being made to have an ICT Center to facilitate teaching and learning.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Maxwell Kudekor
12.06.2017 LISTEN

Today I choose life. Every morning when I wake up I can choose joy, happiness, negativity, pain... To feel the freedom that comes from being able to continue to make mistakes and choices - today I choose to feel life, not to deny my humanity but embrace it (Kevyn Aucoin)

Even the indomitable warriors need a pep talk now and then. So as you begin to ponder about life, please pause and go through this piece. And i believe your soul will be healed. I believe this message will instill enthusiasm and boost your confidence.

When things are going badly in your life, don't forget about prosperity. Instead of asking yourself why me? Why don't you create opportunities for yourself. There lived a Landlord who always had problems with his tenant. The Landlord used to pester him with electricity bills. Anytime the Landlord was drunk, he would intentionally insult the driver.

One day, the driver told the Landlord that, his continuous harassment will ginger him to build one day. He decided to save little by little every passing day.

Lo and Behold, at the end of the year, the guy had built without the Landlord knowing. When the Landlord approached him to inform him that his time was up to leave or pay for the next year, the driver said he will leave.

Until you make a sacrifice to build, you will always be called a tenant. Sacrifice is the most important thing in life. Sometimes you need a cruel landlord, so that you won't be too comfortable in someone else's house, then you can build your own house on time.

You need people who will say no so that you can learn how to be independent, how to do it yourself. Just be strong and don't let anything break you or leave you shattered. Make your purpose stand. Anything that comes your way is worth it. Sometimes people come into your life as a sword or shield. Remember, Joseph was held in ill repute and sold to the Egyptians. But Joseph later became a wise king and valiant leader, a stone by which the national fabric was built. David had been rejected by those in authority, but God had placed him in a position of the highest honour and the greatest usefulness, making him the chief cornerstone of the state.

There are many others whose early life had been spent in conflict, but the Lord has been pleased to accomplish his divine purposes . Such is life. You may not be respected today because of what you are facing today and where you are. You will be rejected and despise. But never give up. Everything that comes your way is meant to strengthen and put you at a high sight where people will recognize you. There is a plan and a purpose, a value to every life, no matter the situation, make your purpose stand.

Psalm 118:22, the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. Don't let the vanity and folly opinions of others overpower your purpose. Make your purpose stand. You are bigger than what they say, you are precious than how they see you. God is the principal architect of your destiny.

Rejections are part of growing, it is only through that you will understand the value of acceptance. No matter what you do, not everybody will like you. People may hate you because you don't leave their lifestyle, or they see you to be brighter than them. Even not all your friends will be happy to see you climb ahead of them. A big obstacle to progress is the one in which you lose your purpose. Never mind to the thoughts of those who say is impossible.

Live everyday as if you are grateful to be alive, if for nothing at all, the universe is working in your favor. Be happy no matter what happens and life will be the amazing adventure it was meant to be. No matter the economy of the jungle, lions will never eat grass. No matter what you are going through, you will definitely become a chief cornerstone one day. Don't let circumstances define you, it is about how you choose to react to the circumstances and events that arrives in your life. Challenges comes in ones life to change them and to build their characters. Never lose your spirit because it is in our greatest challenges that our greatest strength is formed.

Never doubt your faith,steadfast and be on course, believe that you can and will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties, and at the same time have the discipline to confront your current situation, whatever they might be. Do not wander over the future, do not fear what is ahead.

Stay true to yourself and make your purpose stand. Work hard, and never give up on your dreams even when nobody else believes it will come true. Make your purpose stand.

Ecclesiastes 9:4 For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.

Thank You.

[email protected]

Zion

0546163213/0202789098
Morten Gade (2nd left) and Eugene Boakye Antwi (3rd left) at the launch

GHACEM has introduced an App that will enable it have seamless interaction with its clientele.

The App, the first of its kind, operating on android, will assist clients of the company to easily locate any GHACEM depot closer to them.

The App also teaches clients how to mix their products with the right quantity of sand and water for a given task.

Features of the App include a calculator, Q & A and metric conversions, among others.

Managing Director of Ghana, Morten Gade, explaining the rationale behind the App at the launch of the product in Accra recently, said the company considers its clientele as its top-most priority in its scheme of things, hence the introduction of the App to deepen the relationship between the two parties.

He was of the firm belief that the App will help them identify the concerns of their clients and provide quick response to them so as not to jeopardize their operations.

The App, he said, will soon be present on IOS.

Our top-most topmost priority in future will be letting people pay or make orders via the App for any of their products.

Deputy Minister for Works and Housing, Eugene Boakye Antwi, who launched the product, lauded GHACEM for carving a niche for itself in the cement industry.

He expressed the hope that users of the App will become good citizens and not spectators.

A business desk report


A couple in Kolkata was recently arrested on the charges of having sold their newborn children. One of them, a two-and-a-half-year-old girl, was rescued from Kolkata's notorious red-light area, Sonagachi, last week.

By India Today Web Desk: Police recently rescued a baby girl from a brothel in Kolkata, who is said to have been sold into prostitution by her parents.

Reports say the two-and-a-half-year-old toddler was rescued from Sonagachi, the notorious red-light area in Kolkata, last Thursday. The baby has been taken to a child welfare organisation.

A relative of the child's filed a complaint with the police against the parents earlier this month.

advertisement

SELLING CHILDREN FOR MONEY

A report on Ananda Bazar Patrika says car driver Sanjib Das and his wife, Jharna, have two sons that they are raising.

Residents of Kolkata's Maniktala area, the couple's older son told the police that his parents had three other children after him and his brother.

"We had two younger sisters and a brother, that we know. We also know that our parents gave them away," the report quotes the boy.

The boy told the police that his mother had handed over his newborn brother to man in exchange of money. Earlier this month, Maniktala police rescued this two-and-a-half-month old baby from a family in West Bangal's Malda region.

The family that had they baby is being questioned by police.

Last Thursday, police rescued a two-and-a-half-years old daughter of this couple's who had been sold into prostitution at Sonagachi.

UPDATE:

A latest report on Ananda Bazar Patrika updates that the said relative has claimed that Sanjib and Jharna Das have sold not three, but five of their newborn children: one son, and four daughters.

Report has it that the couple, after having their oldest son, had a daughter some time in 2008-09. The complainant relative claims that the couple sold their newborn daughter from the hospital.

Coming home from the hospital, Jharna Das had told the relatives that her daughter had been a stillborn. However, later, she had let slip that husband Sanjib did not want daughters, and so had sold the child.

The relative says that after this girl, the couple had a son in 2011, whom they kept.

Their accusation is that Jharna also made repeated attempts to hide her pregnancies from the extended family. When caught, however, she would say her protruding stomach was a result of "weight gain".

As to what made the relative(s) reach out to police now is not known.

So far, two of the 'sold' children have been rescued. Police is still investigating to confirm exactly how many children Sanjib and Jharna Das had and 'sold'.

advertisement

The couple has been arrested, and is now being questioned.

"Questioning is still going on. It cannot be confirmed as to how many children they sold until the investigation is complete," the report quotes DC (ISD) Debasmita Das.

--- ENDS ---
Ethiopian Airlines has announced that it will host the second ICAO Global Air Cargo Development Forum under the theme: Action for the Sustainable Development of Air Cargo in Africa, at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) Conference Hall from 27-29 June 2017.

The forum is expected to allow policy-makers, air transport regulators, representatives from the aviation industry and other stakeholders to review progress towards implementation of the Lome Declaration, identify challenges and opportunities and build on the decisions of the 39th ICAO Assembly.

Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, Tewolde GebreMariam, said: As the largest cargo operator in Africa, we are pleased to host this vital communication platform which builds upon the Declaration on the development of Air Cargo in Africa and commit a roadmap for priority actions.

He said with the aim of complementing the booming African economy, Ethiopian Cargo and Logistics Services has availed the most efficient air cargo services within, to and from Africa through expanding cargo destinations across the globe, inaugurating the first phase of a state-of-the-art cargo Terminal II, which together with the second phase has annual uplift capacity of 1.2 million tons, and automating its entire cargo business process with one of the best cargo IT systems.

I believe this forum will create an ample opportunity for participants to see the immense potential Ethiopian Cargo and Logistics Services has developed to ensure easy cargo movement across the continent and beyond, while enjoying side visits to the beautiful natural and historic attractions at the Land of Origins.

The forum is also expected to contribute to the cooperative activities between ICAO, World Customs Organization (WCO) and The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA).

Ethiopian Airlines has availed 15 percent discount on business class and 12 percent of discount on economy class fares to all participants departing from all Ethiopian on line cities to Addis Ababa to attend the 2nd ICAO Meeting on Air Cargo Development.

It would be recalled that Ethiopian Airlines hosted ICAO Global Aviation Training and TRAINAIR PLUS Symposium under the theme: 'Together, Enhancing Training to Build Capacity' in April, 2017.

A business desk report


David Afflu, Business Unit Director PZ, Nii Kwabena Bonne V, Osu Alata Mantse, Tina Gifty Naa Ayeley Mensah, Deputy Minister and some officials of PZ Cussons at the event

PZ Cussons, a leading home care products manufacturer, on Tuesday relaunched its Camel Antiseptic at a colourful event in Accra.

Tina Gifty Naa Ayeley Mensah, Deputy Minister of Health, who officially relaunched the product, appealed to corporate institutions to partner government and its related agencies in the fight against unhygienic habits both at home and in public.

Hafsa Rimantha Arthur, Head of Brand Development & Activations, in a speech, said Camel antiseptic, which has been the market leader in antiseptic products in Ghana with over 60 percent share of the market, had officially joined the global Carex family.

For close to 30 years, PZ Cussons has provided the highest quality antiseptic products to meet the personal, domestic and medical hygiene needs of Ghanaians.

Antiseptics are primarily for disinfecting and sanitizing the skin. Camel antiseptic kills up to 99.9 percent of all germs.

David Afflu, Business Unit Director at PZ Cussons, in a remark, explaining why Camel joined the Carex family, stated: Carex is your care expert. It is UK's number one hand wash brand and helps the prevention of communicable diseases. From PZ Cussons, it is known in Ghana for its hand wash and sanitizer gel range which ranks high in the hand hygiene segment. With both brands being hygiene brands, we are confident to consolidate our gains by the migration of Camel to Carex.

In 2015, Camel launched its chlorohexidine based variant for baby skin. Camel baby is uniquely formulated to provide 99.9 percent germ kill for mom and baby right from day one.

A business desk report


Vice President Dr Mahamadu Bawumia shares a hearty smile with Kwadwo Safo Jnr at the Flagstaff House

Vice President Dr Mahamadu Bawumia says government would consult with best companies worldwide on how to fashion an appropriate legislation to assist indigenous vehicle manufacturers to succeed and create more employment.

The Vice President disclosed this when Kwadwo Safo Jnr, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Kantanka Automobile Limited, called on him on Thursday at the Flagstaff House in Accra.

He said the Akufo-Addo administration has the interests of indigenous companies at heart and was ready to do everything possible to bring them into the limelight both in the sub-region and globally.

Mr Safo Jnr initially appealed through Vice President, to government to establish policy guidelines for the manufacturing or assembling of cars locally.

According to him, the non-existence of the legislation was impeding the expansion of indigenous companies, which desire to invest or grow in the vehicle manufacturing sector.

Government's agencies with oversight responsibility over the industry maintain that there is no guideline, particularly on taxation.

Commenting further, Mr Safo Jnr said such lack of clarity was negatively impacting on the registration process for Kantanka vehicles by new owners, and gravely affecting expansion as a result.

He made reference to legislation in Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Angola and Egypt, to support his appeal for the enactment of an appropriate legislation to help Ghanaian vehicle manufacturing companies come out of the woods.

Vehicles manufactured by Kantanka Automobile Limited attracted the same duty and levies as those manufactured outside and imported into Ghana, and this prematurely exposes them to an uneven playing ground since the foreign vehicle manufacturers have the financial muscle to compete on the global stage.

It is for such reasons that locally manufactured or assembled vehicles, which are supposed to be lowly priced, are priced as the foreign imported brands  a huge disincentive for patronage locally.

By Samuel Boadi


The outgoing British High Commissioner, Jon Benjamin has stated that he did not leak the letter banning some Ghanaian Members of Parliament who engaged in Visa fraud from re-entering the UK.

Richard Acheampong, NDC MP for Bia East in the Western region (NDC), Joseph Benhazin Dahah, NPP MP for Ntotroso in the Bono Ahafo region, Johnson Kwaku Adu, NPP MP for Ahafo Ano South West in the Ashanti region and George Boakye, former MP for Asunafo South in the Bono Ahafo region have been blacklisted by the British High Commission in Ghana for breaching immigration rules.

The four used their diplomatic passports to apply for visas for persons travelling to the UK and never returned.

The British High Commissioner in a letter dated January 20, 2017 to the speaker of parliament Mike Oquaye said: The British High Commission considers the actions [of the MPs] completely unacceptable. In some cases these behaviours may arguably be criminal in nature.

Moments after the story broke Ghanaians hit out at the British High Commissioner for leaking a letter meant for the Speaker of Parliament to the media and a section of the public.

But commenting on the issue on Monday in an interview on Citi FM, Mr. Benjamin who will bring his service to an end in July this year, after serving three years in office stated that the letter was not leaked by him.

According to him, the letter was leaked by someone who had access to it but it was not leaked from his office.

Mr. Benjamin also stated that his biggest disappointment of his time in Ghana is the fact that Ghana-UK trade has slipped back during his tenure.

Mr. Benjamin, who is widely known by Ghanaians for his candidness, will be replaced by Iain Walker, who will assume office in August, this year.
The Frank Okpeyen (left) rescuing an old woman to safety

Most parts of Axim, the capital of the Nzema East Municipality of the Western Region, were devastated by heavy flood after torrential rains that lasted for hours last Saturday.

The ancient fishing community was submerged by the rains, flooding homes and displaying hundreds of residents in some of the communities in the municipality.

About 300 residents in Akyinim and Botukule, all suburbs of Axim, have been rendered homeless after the heavy downpour.

The flood also took over the main road linking the Axim Municipal Assembly offices to the main lorry station near Victoria Park in Axim for several hours, sources told DAILY GUIDE.

The residents, mostly fisherfolk, were seen salvaging their belongings through the flood to safety.

The people asserted that valuable property, including buildings and vehicles, were virtually submerged by the floods in some of the areas in the municipality.

The floods also rendered many of the roads almost impassable, they pointed out.

DAILY GUIDE learnt that the Nzema East Municipal Chief Executive, Frank Okpeyen, and his entourage visited some of the affected areas to assess the situation.

The MCEs visit revealed that most of the aged were finding it difficult to come outside since most of them had their rooms flooded. They were later brought to safety by a rescue team.

It was also revealed that property, including buildings, worth millions of Ghana cedis, were destroyed by the rain.

Speaking to DAILY GUIDE, the MCE assured the victims of the support of the assembly and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) in the municipality.

He, however, called on the residents to distil their gutters so as to allow easy flow of water when it rains.

The MCE later visited a 56-year-old farmer, Paul Blay, who escaped death after a building he was living in collapsed on him and was admitted at the Axim Government Hospital.

Paul Blay told journalists that he was in his room waiting for the rain to stop so that he could go to his farm.

He pointed out that all of a sudden his building collapsed on him and injuring him severely in the process.

The MCE promised to pay all the medical bills of the victim since he has no health insurance card.

He also advised the affected residents to relocate to other relatives elsewhere whilst authorities find solutions to the problem.

From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi


Former President John Dramani Mahama has given the strongest indication yet that he would lead the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2020 polls.

Although the NDC's presidential candidate in the 2016 elections stated that it was too early to elect the leader of the party for the 2020 elections, he used scenarios to declare his intent to the party members at a rally to mark the silver anniversary celebration at Ashaiman in the Greater Accra Region on Saturday.

According to him, In the 2016 elections, we did our best but what we were expecting God did not give to us. Some time ago, I was watching a video on social media in which some people were running, women. They run for first round, second round and third round, but the frontrunner fell, thereby those following overtook the frontrunner.

I thought the frontrunner who fell will decide to examine herself to know whether she had sustained some injuries, instead she stood up and decide to follow them. I was so surprised, so I decided to see the outcome of the running in the video. She followed them until last minute when she overtook them to emerge victor.

Ex-President Mahama also made reference to a quote by former President Mandela, which states that the greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

The former President advised the party's leadership to channel their energy towards fixing the challenges that saw the NDC suffer humiliating defeat at the 2016 polls to the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

According to him, his humiliating defeat in the last general elections was an act of God which cannot be challenged by humans.

He stated that there is no need crying over spilled milk, because I have stated several times that I take the blame for the defeat in the 2016 polls.

He said if the NDC conducts proper reorganisation towards the next general elections, it would return to power, irrespective of the leader.

Mr Mahama was of the view that the defeat in the 2016 general elections was to let Ghanaians appreciate what he termed 'the tragedy of unlived experience' in order to experience the NPP administration also for them to compare with NDC era so they could decide which political party should rule the country in 2020.

President Mahama further condemned the governing NPP for what he termed frequent dismissal of public sector workers, adding that President Akufo-Addo was setting a bad precedent by dismissing these categories of workers.

When I came to power, I left most of these public sector workers but when this government took over, they dismissed them, and this is a bad precedent for our governance because potentially government can change in every four years so if another government takes over, it means all those working in the public sector have to be dismissed for a new crop of employees to take over and this is bad for governance.

Mr. Mahama also expressed dissatisfaction with the decision to free the eight Delta Force members, who were arrested for storming the Kumasi Circuit Court and freeing some of their members who were standing trial.

According to him, There are issues that this government has to focus on addressing and one of those is political vigilantism. We all witnessed what happened when the Montie 3 case came up. We did not decide to cover up or protect anyone or interfere. We allowed the laws to work. They went to court afterwards, they were jailed for more than a month until I exercised my powers as a President to call for their release.

From Vincent Kubi, Ashaiman
Simon Osei Mensah making the presentation to the Muslims in Kumasi

President Akufo-Addo has presented assortment of food items and an undisclosed amount of money to Muslims in Kumasi.

The presentation was made on behalf of the president by the Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah, and Kumasi Mayor Osei Assibey Antwi.

The largesse took place some minutes after Muslims in Kumasi finished their Friday prayers.

The regional minister presented the food items to the Ashanti Regional Chief Imam, Sheikh Abdul Mumin, at the Central Mosque in Kumasi.

The items presented included 100 bags of rice, 50 boxes of cooking oil, 50 bags of sugar and 50 boxes of Lipton to help the Muslims during the Ramadan.

Mr Osei Mensah announced that the president would be making similar donations to Muslims in all the 47 constituencies in the region.

On behalf of the president, he appealed passionately to the Muslims to use the Ramadan period to pray for peace and prosperity for the country.

Mr Osei Mensah stated that the country's future look bright as proper policies and programmes were being introduced to accelerate Ghana's growth.

The Ashanti regional chief imam, on his part, assured that Muslims would continually pray to Allah to lead the country into prosperity.

The Coordinating Director of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), Michael Ataogye, and other top officials of the assembly were also present.

FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi


The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, has donated food items worth GH22, 000 to the Muslim community in the Anyaa-Sowutuom Constituency in the Ga Central Municipal Assembly of the Greater Accra Region.

The food items which were presented to the community last Friday included 84 bags of rice, 20 bags each of sugar and dates.

The Anyaa-Sowutuom Constituency New Patriotic Party (NPP) Chairman, Ekow Albert Sam, presented the items on behalf of the minister, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency.

He indicated that the food items are part of the MP's donation to the Muslim community to complement their efforts as they embark on the spiritual adventure in the Holy Month of Ramadan to seek Allah's favour and blessing.

The foreign minister further urged them to continue in their good efforts to hold intercessory prayers for the country and also pray for the leaders of the nation to discharge their duties to the best of their abilities.

He assured them that the NPP government, led by President Akufo-Addo and his team of competent administrators, would put the country on its sound economic footing to ensure that people benefit from whatever good business they set themselves out to do.

Abdella Shuabu, NASARA coordinator for the constituency who received the items on behalf of the Muslim community in the area, expressed their appreciation to the minister.

While pledging their loyalty to the party and MP, he reiterated that they would continue to pray for the president, ministers of state and the peace of the nation.

By Solomon Ofori
Over 30 Ghanaian girls thought to be Saudi Arabia-bound were last Saturday stopped for questioning by Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) officers at the Aflao frontier.

The girls have been arriving via a popular Nigerian transport company which plies the Ghana, Ivory Coast and Nigerian route.

It is thought that the movement of the girls is the trick adopted by the employment agencies to beat the suspension of their business by the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

It would be recalled that the ministry recently suspended the employment of girls in the Gulf countries by job agencies until further notice.

There have been many complaints about the inhuman treatments these girls suffer when they work in the residences of their Arab employers in the Gulf countries.

Some of these girls find it almost impossible to return home when they want to do so because their travel documents are confiscated as soon as they land in the Gulf countries.

An anonymous GIS officer told DAILY GUIDE that there has been a steady movement of Ghanaian girls to Aflao en route to Benin Republic or Nigeria where they are expected to fly out to Saudi Arabia.

Their young ages and sheer number prompted the GIS officers, who upon examining their passports discovered a worrying trend: all of them bore Saudi Arabia visas obtained from Accra.

An official of the mission told DAILY GUIDE that we cannot deny them visas because they satisfy all the important requirements such as documentary parental consent and the like.

While vigilant GIS officers are stopping these girls from moving out when they suspect human trafficking, it is fact that many more have been sent out to go and suffer in the homes of rich but wicked Arab businessmen.

Advertisements have been blaring on the airwaves about the goodies in the Gulf States for Ghanaian workers, especially girls.

No sooner have they arrived in these places than they regret their decisions but it is often too late.

By A.R. Gomda


THE CHRISTIAN Council of Ghana (CCG) appears upset about the conduct of some politicians who tend to associate themselves with the Christian faith as a way of covering up when they are accused of corrupt practices.

CCG believes such politicians who enter into dubious contracts solely to loot the state are not fit enough to be called true followers of Christ, as such practices amount to stealing, which is against the teachings of the Christian religion.

Chairman of the CCG and President of the Ghana Baptist Convention, Rev. Dr. Ernest Adu-Gyamfi, who made this observation in a sermon themed, 'The Church is a Believing Community,' wondered why some Ghanaian politicians continue to sign what he termed 'bad contracts' on behalf of the state and when they are exposed, they claim to be Christians who cannot engage in criminal activities.

They claim to be Christians who are supposed to fear God, yet they sign the bad contracts, running the state down in terms of revenue, he posited.

The Rev Minister who was speaking at the annual joint meeting of the CCG and the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC), questioned, If Jesus was to be around would these individuals who claim to be Christians have signed these contracts, knowing that they were going to hell for committing these atrocities against the state?

He said Ghanaians have taken the power of God for granted by forgetting that God is Omni-potent, adding that sin in recent times has separated the Ghanaians Christian from his or her God.

He explained that Christianity is not about prosperity alone and wondered what it will profit a man if he has all gains of the world but none in heaven, noting that

the church has thrown away the gospel and it is now about wealth and nothing more, leading to the breakdown of morality in the country.

He cautioned leadership of the church to stop pampering members and reprimand them when the need arises, to show true leadership in the Christian community.

Change

Meanwhile, the leadership of the council has released a communique jointly signed by Rev. Dr. Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong, and Apostle Samuel Antwi, General Secretaries of CCG and GPCC respectively supervised by the two presidents namely, Rev. Dr. Ernest Adu-Gyamfi and Apostle Prof. Opoku-Onyinah respectively calling for attitudinal change among Ghanaians.

''We have observed with discomfort the levels of public indiscipline in our nation.

The avoidable killings on our roads, open defecation resulting in diseases like cholera and typhoid, disregard for the rule of law, disregard for environmental cleanliness, lateness to work, lack of maintenance of public property, corruption etc. are examples of such worrying attitudes, according to the communique.

It charged, We therefore wish to draw the attention of Christians and the nation to the following: Christians should bring to bear our faith values into public service by living lives worthy of our calling.

BY Melvin Tarlue


Congress leader Dilip Mishra tried to incite violence by appealing people to fire back bullets at Madhya Pradesh government.

By India Today Web Desk: As the political atmosphere continues to be tense in Madhya Pradesh following violent agitation by farmers, a Congress leader has added fuel to fire by saying that farmers will now fire back bullets on the BJP government in the state under the leadership of Pradesh Congress.

In a provocative speech, Congress leader Dilip Mishra said under the leadership of Madhya Pradesh Opposition leader Ajay Singh, farmers of Satna district will fire on the state government.

advertisement

"Under Rahul bhaiya's leadership, honourable Ajay Singh's leadership, we pay our tributes to the farmers (who died in police firing). Our tribute is with a promise that under Opposition leader Rahul bhaiya's leadership the time has come that farmers of Satna district will also fire at the government," Mishra said.

Alleging that Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's government wants to kill democracy openly, he said, "I appeal through this meeting that those who killed democracy, those who killed Pradesh's farmers and fired at them, Madhya Pradesh's public will also fire at the government".

Ajay Singh, also known as Rahul bhaiyya, is a close confidant of senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh, and is the Leader of Opposition in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly.

Earlier also, few Congress leaders came under fire for inciting violence in Mandsaur during the protests. Congress leader DP Dhakar was caught on camera telling the youth to set any vehicle they come across on fire, to have the courage to face anything that comes their way and not to be scared of the police.

Farmers have been staging a protest in Madhya Pradesh demanding better prices for their produce and also a waiver on loan repayments.

The Mandsaur-Neemuch region, about 300 km from the state capital Bhopal, became the nerve centre of the gathering storm of farmer distress. Later, protests spread to some other parts of the state.

In Mandsaur, five persons were killed in police firing during a farmers' protest on June 6.

To placate agitated farmers in the aftermath of the police firing, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had sat on a fast on Saturday which ended the next day.

Also read:

Madhya Pradesh: Mandsaur farmers, traders say demonetisation doomed us

Mandsaur: Here's what led to Madhya Pradesh farmers protest

Also watch:

Mandsaur: Congress leader Dilip Mishra incites public for violence

--- ENDS ---
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) must aim at building its structures beyond individuals to ensure the continued existence of the party when such individuals, not least party founder Jerry John Rawlings, are no more, the former spokesperson of the erstwhile Armed Forces Revolution Council (AFRC), Major (rtd) Kwadwo Boakye-Djan has said.

History in the country has shown that once you personalise a political party and the key person dies, he dies with the party, he told Class FMs Moro Awudu on the Executive Breakfast Show on Monday, June 12.

He continued: Kwame Nkrumah died and the Convention Peoples Party (CPP) is wallowing in the gutter. Limann died and the Peoples National Convention (PNC) is struggling, so we should be careful not to personalise an institution that will survive us long into historyin the interest of renewing our society.

Mr Boakye-Djan, who said he has nothing against Rawlings, explained that the NDC should do well to draw people to its core values than personalising It doesnt make me believe that we will survive as a party if the founder dies.

For him it was time members of the party had a re-orientation to have the values of accountability, probity, and social justice as a guide as it has been trumpeted by former President Rawlings.

He, however, disagrees with individuals who have said that the party has overgrown its founder and should be sidelined.
Minister for Inner City and Zongo Development, Boniface Abubakar Saddique has refuted claims that the Ministry was created to woo gullible voters to the fold of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

He reiterated that the Ministry has specific targets and is intended to address among other things social and infrastructural inequality and promote socio-economic development of inner cities.

Ghana will find itself in an awkward position having been classified as a low middle-income economy yet, there are spots and pockets of communities that will retract and retrogress the progress made.

The portfolio was not created out of political ambition. It was created to help speed up development in this country, he said.

The Madina Parliamentarian made the statement in the Upper West Region, at a consultative forum on the Zongo Development Fund (ZDF) organized by the Ministry to solicit for ideas before submission to cabinet and parliament for their consideration and approval.

Inner City and Zongo Dev. Ministry

President Nana Akufo-Addo has explained the creation of the new ministerial portfolio to handle Zongo affairs, which would operate under the Office of the President, with all its budgetary allocations.

The Zongos in Ghana are settlements in the cities populated predominantly by settlers from northern Ghana.

The President has pointed out that one of the critical areas of concern for the social cohesion and harmony in the country was the developments taking place in the inner cities and the Zongos.

To help meet the challenge of the social development of the Zongos, the NPP government has committed itself to the establishment of a Zongo development fund and to make a special effort to develop the inner cities.

However, there have been counter opinions as to why the President has created new portfolios for specific areas.

Justifying why that of the Zongo was for instance created, President Akufo-Addo has explained that if his government was to succeed, not only in the delivery of the promises in its manifesto.

More importantly in the reasons for the promises, he said, then the development that has to take place has to be coordinated and fit in the overall ministerial economic planning.

The rationale, he added was to ensure that the development of the inner cities and Zongos, did not become areas of despair, areas of difficulty and areas of social conflict.

Zongo Development Fund (ZDF)

Boniface Abubakar announced that government in the 2017 budget has allocated a219.5 million as seed money for the ZDF and warned prospective beneficiaries that the monies are not for anyone person or groups parochial interest.

The funds is not for private parochial interest such as paying individual hospital bills, assisting in wedding and outdoorings or funerals, he said.

In attendance were several sectional heads and chief of Wa Zongo as well as Municipal and District Assemblies in the Upper West Region.

The Upper West Regional Minister, Suleiman Alhassan urged the participants to open up and give good suggestions to help shape up the bill.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Abubakar Ibrahim
Investigations have uncovered irregularities in admissions and financial transactions at the Tepa Nursing and Midwifery Training College in Ashanti Region.

Luv News checks revealed, among others that there are shady deals in fuel administration by the management, which is draining the state of huge sums of money into private pockets.

Ministry of Health payment vouchers sighted by Luv News showed that the Principal, Victoria Amoah, spent GHS29,150 as travel expenses for herself and her driver.

The figure excludes the cost of fuel for three officials trips to Accra. A journey to Accra by Madam Amoah and her drive on January 5, 2016, to collect scratch cards for the institution cost GHS19,450 minus fuel.

On another payment voucher, expenses for similar days journey to Accra by the Principal on January 13, 2016, were quoted at GHS6,700 besides fuel.

Other visits captured featured GHS3,000 as personal expenses to Accra.

Fuel vouchers intercepted by Luv News also shows that Mrs Amoah and the College accountant Richard Asamoah together draw 240 gallons of fuel at the expense of the state every month from Star Oil Company.

This contradicts of a document sighted in the course of investigations, which shows that the Principal is entitled to a monthly fuel allocation of 20 gallons; Vice-Principal takes seven gallons and five for the accountant.

Hundreds of fake receipts issued to cover a non-refundable interview and result verification fees paid by applicants between 2012 and 2016 were also discovered in the investigation.

Students of the College have been demanding answers for the whereabout of over GHS52,000 they paid as matriculation fees over five years.

According to them, though each student paid GHS50 between 2011 and 2015, they were never matriculated neither has their monies been refunded to them.

The College has been without a Board for three years and Mrs Amoah stands accused of unilateral decisions in admissions and allocations of resources in a manner concerned stakeholders say is not transparent.

Public interest advocate Dr Ernest Kuako points to evidence of admission procedures fraught with bribery and other fraudulent deals.

He cited cases where prospective applicants who failed to make it to the interviews selection criteria managed to gain admission over more qualified applicants.

Also, a development of GHS170 supposed to be charged annually is slapped on the students twice a year with little to show for an institution, which lacks teaching and learning materials.

Dr Kuako said he is disgusted this is going on in a state institution as the monies siphoned does not go into state coffers.

I will challenge the Ghana Health Service and Health Ministries to do more inquiries into the matter. Indeed I will not recommend that they use current auditing procedure that goes on at the College.

"They should institute an independent inquiry from either the Ministry or Ghana Health Service," he said.

According to sources, the Principal runs the college as a family business with no recourse to established rules.

She refused to speak to Luv News directly that they should contact former Board Chair and Omanhene Tepa Traditional Area, Nana Antwewa Ampem who will not deny or confirm the allegations against Mrs Amoah.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Abubakar Ibrahim
12.06.2017 LISTEN

After swerving his boss in Wa on Sunday June 4, and at the party headquarters on Thursday June 8, in Accra, former President John Mahama and Jeremiah John Rawlings last Saturday came face to face at Ashaiman, where the National Democratic Congress (NDC) climaxed its silver-jubilee birthday celebration.

Jerry Rawlings, who has been firing salvos at the erstwhile Mahama-led government and party executives, has accused the people he bequeathed the NDC to, of having been heavily corrupt.

Following his consistency in re-orient the minds of the members of the NDC to chart the course of probity, accountability and social justice, the pillars upon which the NDC was founded, JJ has found it difficult to come to terms with the wanton corruption the latter-day NDC members have been accused of.

In fact, JJ, known for his boom speeches, has not spared any conspicuous soul in the NDC, since he helped the party to wrestle power from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in 2008, when the late Professor John Evans Atta Mills became President.

Lashing at the late Prof Mills for appointing babies with sharp teeth as Ministers and Deputy Ministers who showed gross disrespect and spewed venomous utterances, JJ has, therefore, taken it upon himself to box the ears of the boys and girls in his party.

And so, on June 4, this year, at Wa, where he climaxed this years June 4 celebration, held under the theme: Restoring the values of probity, accountability and truth in contemporary governance, former President Jerry Rawlings gave a belated New Year hamper to Victor Smith, describing him as a political 419 for his insincerity and clandestine moves to divert money meant for the NDC, when the late John Atta Mills was flag-bearer.

Like a boxer waiting for an opening to land a hefty upper cut at his opponent, Jerry Rawlings held his knockout jab last Thursday, when former President Mahama failed to show up at an NDC panel discussion at Adabraka, the partys headquarters.

Then, on Saturday at Ashaiman, where the two came face to face to climax the 25th Anniversary of the party, Jerry John Rawlings expressed disgust at a select few in the NDC, who wickedly amassed wealth at the expense of the toil and sweat of the grassroots.

JJ threw the first punch by attacking party members who have benefitted from the toil of those who helped to establish the NDC, when he said: 'Monkey dey work, Baboon dey chop to the cheering and enthusiastic crowd.

Jerry Rawlings told the leadership of the NDC to come clean, if they would continue holding on to preaching unity among the rank and file of the members.

All the seniors on the podium very quiet and listening like school boys, as Jerry Rawlings told the NDC to shun propaganda and work harder by ensuring that they revisited the spine of the party, which is probity, accountability and social justice.

Rawlings breathes life into NDC



After scolding the leadership of the NDC, Jerry John Rawlings tasked the national executives of the party to clean its voters register, saying that it can re-ignite the partys true strength and membership.

In his view, the NDC carelessly caused its own electoral defeat, when it opened its electoral college, thereby, allowing some members of the NPP to register as NDC members, which eventually swelled up the size of the party's membership.

The consequent large number of the membership, he explained, excited the NDC to believe that it had the numbers to beat the NPP in the last elections, which, on the contrary, caused their defeat in the 2016 General Elections.

When you saw the large numbers in your register, which contained 419s, which I will find time to explain further to you on another occasion, you relaxed. That was when the NPP started their door-to-door campaign.

To him, the NDC set a trap for its own defeat. JJ said the errors of the leadership of the NDC ought to be corrected, and the leadership should apologise to their grassroots, as the first move to uniting the base and all genuine members who were hurt by the partys negligent trap.

Jerry said: Ezenator Agyemang Rawlings identified the consequence that the Electoral College register could cause her in our primaries, and so she was brave to ensure that no NPP person was registered in the NDC exercise.

Thats one form of probity, accountability and social justice, which we failed to do. Some of you invested in the NPP, and they turned back to teach you a lesson.

I told you not to be inconsistent as the NPP, whose history I have told you about. The support-base of the NDC is stronger and more powerful than that of the NPP, but, somehow, the front liners underrated the potency of the grassroots, because they thought their inconsistency could be like that of the NPP.

JJ's prophetic admonitions sent the leadership on the podium into a pensive mood, as he pointed out their flaws and hubris.

Rawlings, who turns 72 on June 22, this year, told the leadership that he had always wished well for the party.

At a certain stage in his sermon, the mammoth crowd chanted his name -JJ, JJ, JJ- bringing back nostalgic memories of how as a young military officer he was thrust onto Ghana.

Rawlings added that he was not cruel to be unforgiving or inconsiderate to the clarion call of the masses and grassroots who would like to see the NDC become the finest political party again.

Should we do our work well and revisit our values of probity, accountability and social justice from today, I can tell you that we will win elections again and again, he said, charging the crowd the more.

Seeing the size of the large crowd, JJ commended Ashaiman for its loyalty to the NDC, saying: Ashaiman indeed loves the NDC.

Changing gear from politics, JJ advised Ghanaians to revisit the days of communal labour to clean their communities, and also be vigilant in protecting national assets.

He expressed worry at how some motorists negligently knock down light poles, and other irresponsible persons who set fire to weeds around live electric poles.

Lastly, Rawlings called for birth control measures, saying the number of street children was swelling alarmingly.

The high birth rate, he said, was adverse to national development, especially for a developing country like Ghana.

I was honest JM

Former President John Mahama, having his turn to address the mammoth crowd in Ashaiman, said his honesty about the state of the economy caused the NDCs defeat in the last elections.

He said he never withheld the true state of the economy from Ghanaians, saying he always admitted that, though times were tough, he was hopeful that the economy would be better, following interventions his government had put in place, which were to start yielding dividends, had he retained power.

While I was being honest about the economy, Nana Addo and the NPP drummed home that there was huge money sitting idle in the country. The NPP said I was being inconsiderate to the Ghanaian because I was borrowing too much, and they did not see what my government was spending the money on.

They made Ghanaians believe that the money was there to, within the shortest possible time, grow the economy and immediately change the lives of Ghanaians, and so, by divine intervention, the NDC and I lost in the elections.

It is six months now since Nana Addo became President, and if there is something new you have seen, fine, but I want all of us to be hopeful that the Nana Addo government can fulfill its campaign promises to the electorate.

If the government is able to fulfill its promises, all of us will be relieved, whether you are NDC or not.

However, John Mahama told the crowd that following the happenings in the country, where some Ghanaian employees tagged as NDC faithful had been sacked from their places of work, the NDC has learnt an enormous lesson going into the future, even though he described the dismissal of the workers by this government as a bad precedence.

He said what the NDC ought to do now is to reunite and re-organise their branches and constituencies, and also clean up the party, devoid of acrimony or who would lead us in 2020.

We have learnt our lessons as members of the NDC, and, surely, we will come back stronger, no matter who leads the NDC into 2020, Mahama said, sending the crowd agog and chanting for his comeback.

Concluding, he said: In the face of the intense division in the NPP while in opposition, they kept their eye on the ball, and eventually they won the elections. We can also learn some lessons from that.

From Inusa Musah, Ashaiman
Winneba (C/R) June 12, GNA - Mr John B. Ninsin, Effutu Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) has urged fishermen in the area to insure their fishing inputs to be fully compensated whenever they were involved in tragedies.

He stated that relying on the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and for that matter the government for support in times of disaster would not be adequate for their wellbeing.

Mr Ninsin gave the advice when he visited the Winneba Beach to be abreast with the effect of the destruction of over twenty canoes, fishing nets and outboard motors as a result of a heavy rainstorm that hit the Municipality on Saturday night.

The visit was also to console the effected fishermen and owners of the inputs.

The cost of items damaged was running into thousands of Ghana Cedis.

He appealed to them protect their tools whenever there were signs of heavy rains, saying it would go a long way to help them in losing all their inputs during tragedies.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency at the scene, the MCE said the situation was worrying as it would affect economic activities in the area.

He said the Assembly would as a matter of urgency forward reports on the situation to the appropriate quarters for necessary action.

He suggested to the Ministry of Fisheries for the construction of Breakwaters to help solve the occurrences of this annual disaster whenever there were heavy rains in the Municipality.

GNA
Accra, June 12, GNA - The Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL) the nation's foremost indigenous Oil Marketing Company (OMC) is to introduce an upgraded electronic prepaid card to assist customers reduce volume of physical cash business transaction.

The upgraded GOIL Advantage Cards (G-Cards) also seek to provide existing and prospective customers to help manage fuel consumption and to reduce waste.

Mr Alexander Josiah Adzew, GOIL's Chief Operating Officer told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that; "The upgraded GOIL Advantage card has special security features to protect the customers as well as make easy mechanisms that would load cash onto the card at any GOIL Filling Station.

He said based on customer feedback, which GOIL considers critical, GOIL has acquired new electronic machines which would be outdoored soon at all GOIL service stations to facilitate the process of procuring fuel with the G-Card.

He said currently, GOIL had initiated nationwide training model for Filling Station Attendants on usage of the GOIL Prestigious Advantage Card to ensure that customers were giving first class and fast transaction time at the filling stations.

'We have reduced drastically the transaction time at the Filling Station, through efficient staff, effective network operations and customer friendly attendants'.

Mr Adzew explained that the GOIL Advantage Cards were specific to each individual or vehicle each beneficiary of fuel, whether staff members or fleet vehicles, will receive one customised card with name and/ or vehicle information embossed on the card.

He said the G-Cards had security features including; a PIN number or a driver code, which must be entered before a transaction was authenticated to protect the interest of customers and also help individuals and corporate bodies manage fuel expenditure better.

Other features of the G-Card include; Driver Code, Odometer Reading, Vehicle ID Relationship Manager assigned, unlimited number of swipes, embossed personal info on card, and loyalty points accrued on each sale.

Mr Adzew explained that customers could also verify transaction on an identify information receipt.

'The attendants will enter Product, Vehicle Registration Number, Driver Code and Odometer Reading on the terminal; and this will print on the receipt as well as show on transaction records. This ensures that cards are only used for vehicles that are registered to them and no other', he said.

Mr Adzew said corporate clients might subscribe to GOIL web access facility, which enabled transport managers to have real-time access to all the transactions that were done over - Card transaction details, summary, daily balances, view locations of transactions, and Generate Reports.

GNA

By Francis Ameyibor, GNA
12.06.2017 LISTEN

The Nkosuohene (Development Chief) of Lower Axim Traditional Area Nana Osei Nkwantabisa wishes to express his sympathy and console residents who were affected by last Saturday's heavy downpour rendering over hundreds homeless.

The rains which lasted for two hours destroyed several homes in both Upper and Lower Axim respectively.

It has been established that properties, including buildings, movable items, farmlands worth millions of Ghana cedis, were destroyed by the rain.

The affected areas in Upper Axim include Brewire and Akyinim whilst Lower Axim include Bankyim, Botokule, Ghana Commercial Bank area as well as the Omanhene's palace.

The Office of the Nkosuohene is indeed sadden by the devastating nature of the entire Axim township as a result of the heavy downpour last weekend leading to the loss of several properties as well as causing injuries to some victims.

The cause of the flooding, according to officials is as a result of chocked drainage systems, building on rain routes as well as lack of drainage systems to pave way for free flow of water into the Atlantic Ocean.

In as much the Office of the Lower Axim Nkosuohene and Nanamo sympathise with the numerous displaced flood victims, we call on all to refrain from littering or dumping rubbish into such rain routes to avoid similar occurrences in the near future.

We are aware of the numerous efforts by some youth groups to distil their gutters so as to allow easy flow of water when it rains over the past months, but will call for a collective action to curb the menace.

It is in this regard that the Nkosuohene of Lower Axim is appealing to all especially the Office of the Member of Parliament for Evalue Ajomoro Gwira Constituency, NGOs, governmental agencies, philanthropists, corporate institutions to come to the aide of the displaced victims by supporting them with the basic needs.

The Office of the Nkosuohene is putting in place measures that will seek to support victims of the flood.

It is our hope that this problem is addressed dispassionately without any form of partisan politics but with oneness as the good people of Axim at large.

Signed

Enoch B. Eshun

Director- Media Relations

www.nanankwantabisa.org

Img 4029

Img 4030

Img 4032

Img 4034
Kinshasa (AFP) - A Democratic Republic of Congo military court held a second day of hearings Monday in the trial of a man and a teenager accused of killing two UN experts in March, their lawyer said.

Evariste Ilunga, a 16-year-old student, and Mbayi Kabasele, 30, who sells palm oil, are accused of war crimes, including murder and mutilation, as well as terrorism and taking part in an insurrection.

Their trial follows the March 12 kidnapping of American Michael Sharp and Swedish-Chilean Zaida Catalan, who were investigating mass graves in the restive Kasai region where hundreds of people have died in months of violence.

Their bodies were found 16 days later, with Catalan's decapitated though her head was never found.

The lawyer for the two accused, Tresor Kabangu, told AFP that on Monday the Kananga military court heard the prosecution's response to a defence request for a delay, filed when the trial opened a week ago.

The defence had questioned the court's legitimacy to judge war crimes, saying the imprisonment of the suspects was "illegitimate".

The court said it would hand down its decision on Wednesday.

About 400 people have been killed and 1.3 million displaced in Kasai, according to the UN, since government forces in September killed Kamwina Nsapu, a tribal chief and militia leader who had rebelled against Kabila.

Last week, UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein urged the UN Human Rights Council to conduct an international investigation into abuses in the region, including summary executions, killings of children, recruitment of child soldiers and sexual violence.
The children are tomorrows adults and leaders of our communities; therefore their upbringing is crucial in determining the type of society in the future. Unfortunately, it is sad to note that millions of children are left alone roaming the streets of our cities particularly in developing countries without any supervision while others are engaged in child labour.

According to the International Labour Organizations (ILO) data, hundreds of millions of girls and boys throughout the world are involved in work that deprives them from receiving adequate education, health, leisure and basic freedoms, by this way violating their rights. More than half of these children are exposed to the worst forms of child labour which includes work in hazardous environments, slavery, or other forms of forced labour, illicit activities such as drug trafficking and prostitution, as well as involvement in armed conflicts.

Considering the danger posed by this situation, ILO launched the World Day Against Child Labour in 2002 to highlight the plight of child labourers and to focus attention on the global extent of child labour and the action and efforts needed to eradicate it. Since then, each year on June 12, millions of people from around the world reflect on their predicament and what can be done to change this paradigm and help them to take their rightful place in society.

But for the world to curb this pattern, conscious efforts should be made to nip the various conflicts in the bud and to reinforce preventive measures to minimize the impacts of disasters that affect around 200 million people every year. As a result of conflicts and disasters many children are internally displaced or become refugees in other countries, and are particularly vulnerable to trafficking and child labour. Currently in South Sudan where civil war is raging, people are killed, maimed, injured, forced to flee their homes. It is estimated that a good number of the 168 million children engaged in child labour in the world live in areas affected by conflict and disaster.

The All Africa Students Union (AASU) would like to join the millions of people around the world calling for an end to child labour and the many conflicts occurring due to selfish interests.

AASU would like to, once again, call on African leaders to endeavor to promote and defend the rights and interests of their people by institutionalizing good governance and fighting corruption. There is no gainsaying that corruption cancer is the source of many problems including conflicts.

Halt to child labour!

Signed:

Peter Kwasi KODJIE

Secretary General

All-Africa Students Union (AASU)
12.06.2017 LISTEN

Traditionally, Ghana Water Company as an entity has relied on the use of chlorine gas as its main mode of disinfecting its treated water. Occasionally, it falls on the use of calcium hypochlorite as an alternative, when chlorine gas availability becomes challenged.

The two chemicals, although are useful for the treatment of water in Ghana they are all sourced from overseas manufacturers, at great cost to the Ghanaian Consumer, since the cost of disinfection plays a key role in establishing the total cost of water treatment. In the case of the usage of chlorine gas, aside the high cost, there is this precarious issue of handling and contamination that must remain high on the agenda of its handlers.

Chlorine gas is a very toxic chemical and can easily injure humans and also cause greater damage to the surrounding plant and machinery. Given the toxicity of chlorine, any alternative to its use in Ghanas water industry must be welcomed with a wide embrace.

To Ghana Water Company, the issue of penalties arising from the delay in returning empty cylinders to the choline gas manufacturer, must also come as a big relief, if a credible alternative to the chlorine gas is brought into the country.

The onsite Electro Chlorination System (OSEC), is an equipment, which relies on the principle of chemical electrolysis to dissociate industrial grade salt (NaCl2) to produce effective chlorine for the disinfection of treated water. Yes, you heard right. It uses salt to produce chlorine (Cl2). Ghana as a country, has the potential to produce both food grade and industrial salt in large quantities, so any technology that seeks to take advantage of this locally available resource must be hailed.

Its primary advantage will be the creation of jobs in the salt winning industry, followed by the subsequent reduction of GWCLs cost of disinfecting its treated water.

With Evoquas capacity to produce plants of generating output of between 0  40kg/hr, GWCL will be able to rely entirely on this new system to disinfect its treated water on all of its plants in Ghana. GWCL as a company, will also not have to look for hard cash to transfer to chlorine gas manufacturers in India for the supply of this hazardous Water treatment chemical.

Although, the OSEC plant also generates chlorine, this however, is in solution, and its also onsite so the risk of contamination is highly eliminated. Upon the generation of the chlorine solution, the feed pumps which are attached to the plant, feeds the resultant solution through connecting pipes into the treated water, thereby eliminating any possible contact with operations personnel.

The OSEC Plant by all measure stands to bring serious benefits to GWCL after the successful pilot period, it will only be a matter of natural logic to consider extending its use to all water treatment plant in Ghana so as to give the Ghanaian economy a good shot in the arm.

Forex savings to the national Economy, and job creation through the one district, one factory initiative will bring jobs to our people along our coastal towns.

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger in West Africa have stolen a march on us, by importing food grade salt from Ghana and other places and further refine them to meet the specifications of the OSEC generator.

We are absolutely optimistic that, when approved, we will pilot the use of the OSEC plant in Ghana to a great acclamation.
Madhya Pradesh home secretary Madhu Khare has faced the ire of the government after five farmers were killed in a police firing on May 6.

By India Today Web Desk: Days after five farmers were killed in a police firing in Mandsaur, the Madhya Pradesh government today transferred home secretary Madhu Khare.

Officials said Kedar Sharma has been appointed in place of Madhu Khare. Altogether eight IAS officers have been transferred by the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government.

The Madhya Pradesh government has also appointed a one-member commission chaired by retired High Court Justice J K Jain to inquire into the Mandsaur incident on June 6.

advertisement

The commission will submit its report in three months.

The commission has been tasked to find out the circumstances under which the firing incident took place and whether the force used by the police was reasonable under prevailing circumstances or not, and if not, who was responsible for this.

The points of the commission's inquiry also include whether the district and police authorities had taken timely and appropriate steps during the prevailing circumstances and the incident.

The farmers' protest in Madhya Pradesh, which began on June 1, took a violent turn on June 6, when five persons were killed in the police firing at Mandsaur.

Subsequently, the farmers' protest witnessed bandh and arson as the agitation spread to other districts of western Madhya Pradesh including Neemuch, Dhar, Ratlam and Jhabua.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had launched an indefinite fast here on Saturday with an appeal for peace and met farmer leaders.

However, he ended his fast yesterday saying peace has returned to the state. Before ending the fast, he had assured that those involved in the deaths in Mandsaur would be punished severely.

Also read:

Leaderless farmers in Madhya Pradesh using social media to help agitation gain momentum

Major terror attacks on Indian Army, CRPF in Jammu and Kashmir: A timeline

Also watch:

Maharashtra CM Fadnavis defends Madhya Pradesh counterpart Chouhan over Mandsaur firing

--- ENDS ---
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has admonished African leaders to assume responsibility for the transformation of their economies, and depart from the mindset of aid, dependency and charity and handouts.

According to President Akufo-Addo, If we, Africans, are to transform our stagnant, jobless economies, built on the export of raw materials and unrefined goods, to value-added economies that provide jobs, to build strong middle-class societies and lift the mass of our people out of dire poverty, then we must take our destinies into our own hands and assume responsibility for this.

President Akufo-Addo made this known on Monday, 12th June, 2017, when he addressed the G-20 Partnership for Africa Summit, currently taking place in Berlin, Germany.

Assuming responsibility, the President said, means that African leaders must, firstly, facilitate the building of a new, sustainable, African civilization, where there is accountable governance, respect for the rule of law, individual liberties and human rights, and where the principles of democratic accountability are guaranteed.

This new, sustainable, African civilization, he added, requires that African leaders mobilise the immeasurable, vast resources of Africa to resolve Africas problems of poverty and development, and free ourselves from a mindset of aid, dependency, charity and handouts.

Secondly, he urged Africans to initiate and implement policies that will encourage and empower the private sector to grow their respective economies within frameworks of macroeconomic stability.

When the private sector flourishes and when our enterprises become competitive, not just on the continent, but also in the global marketplace, then can we create the thousands and thousands of jobs our teeming masses of unemployed youth crave, the President said.

He continued, Thirdly, we can no longer remain producers and exporters of raw materials. We must add value to our commodities, and create wealth for our peoples. Our dependence on raw materials has, in fact, increased in the past century. It is this dependence that feeds our dependence on foreign aid.

President Akufo-Addo was unequivocal that Africa has the resources and means, material and human, with women and youth in the forefront, to transform the structures of its economies and be part of the international division of labour at the high end of the value.

This process of economic and industrial transformation, he stressed, has to go along with ensuring that the most basic elements of social justice are met  making quality basic education and healthcare accessible to all, to promote a culture of incentives and opportunities.

President Akufo-Addo noted that the reforms being undertaken in Ghana, in the management of the economy and in the governance structure, should entitle Ghana to be a suitable candidate for inclusion in the investment compacts that are the substantive outcomes of the G-20 Africa Partnership Summit conference.

The investment compacts, he added, will enable us to maximise our possibilities of economic growth to deal with the huge problem of unemployment, the major social issue of our times in Africa, stating that young people, busy with their lives and earning a living, would hardly be tools for wrecking havoc on society.

Making reference to the harrowing risks undertaken by youth traversing the Mediterranean in search of greener pastures, the President was confident that if we provide them the right environment in Africa, which enables them to enhance their skills, receive appropriate vocational training and have access to digital technology, they will make our continent great. If these youth are allowed to realise their full potential, Africa could see huge economic gains in the shortest possible time.

President Akufo-Addo thanked German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, for putting the preoccupations of Africas development at the heart of Germanys presidency of the G20, which has resulted in the convening of the conference of the G-20 Africa Partnership on the theme Investing in a Common Future.

He was hopeful that the conference will lead to the rapid development of the African continent, as well as address the many constraints to Africas development, domestic and external, including the vast amounts of illicit flow of capital out of the continent.

Let this serve as the impetus for re-shaping our countries and charting a new path of growth and development in freedom, which will lift the long suffering African masses out of poverty into the realms of prosperity and dignity. We can make life meaningful and worth living for our own people, like others have done, Akufo-Addo added.
NDC General Secretary Johnson Asiedu Nketia says the need for ideological training for party figures is imperative in building the NDC's social democratic credentials.

The two-time architect of the party's electoral victories in 2008 and 2012 lamented, ministers and officials sometimes offered inconsistent positions because they lacked ideological depth.

He was speaking in an interview on Joy News magazine programme, The Pulse, Monday, discussing the party's 25th-anniversary celebrations.

Photo: Aseidu Nketia takes questions from Joy News' Aisha Ibrahim and myjoyonline editor Malik Daabu

The NDC General Secretary said there are social democratic positions on health, taxation, education, industry and others which must be assimilated by parties believing in that ideological tradition.

'General Mosquito', his more popular name, also responded to President Jerry Rawlings's joke that but for the fact that he is too skinny, he would have been the party's presidential candidate.

Rawlings at a rally over the weekend said in Twi, it is a pity Asiedu Nketia is not impressive-looking otherwise he would have led the party at the polls...but he is too light.

Asiedu Nketia said his stature was a unilateral decision from God of which he can have no hand in changing. "My size is the work of God. I don't see why I should be held responsible for what God has done", he also joked.

Speaking on a more serious note, the General Secretary remarked that the joke by Rawlings was "a good joke" and a "compliment".

He explained that the joke is an "endorsement" of his leadership skills because by Rawlings' estimation it is only his physical stature that appears to be a stumbling block to becoming flagbearer.

Asiedu Nketia, however, declined to state his interest in contesting the party' presidential primaries.

"I have not thought of [becoming flagbearer], he said. The General Secretary said as a leader he has never liked stating future ambitions. He prefers to concentrate on his current role until it expires.

Story by Ghana|myjoyonline.com|Edwin Appiah|[email protected]
Cairo (AFP) - Egypt, under fire for muzzling freedom of expression, has blocked access to around 60 news websites and service providers since the end of May, rights groups and media figures said Monday.

Back in May, around 20 websites based in Qatar and in Egypt were made inaccessible, including the Qatar's Al-Jazeera and the independent Egyptian news site Mada Masr which has been critical of corruption.

By Monday the number of blocked sites had risen to 62, the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression NGO said on its website.

They included 10 Egyptian news websites as well as several providers of virtual private networks (VPN) that can be used to get around state-imposed censorship, it said.

"Some of the sites had been temporarily unblocked but were blocked again," said Fatma Serag, a human rights lawyer who works for the NGO.

The latest Egyptian news websites made inaccessible include Al-Badil and Al-Bedaya, which has often published material critical of government policies.

Al-Bedaya's chief editor, Khaled Elbalshy, told AFP he had submitted a complaint to the Egyptian journalists' union, demanding to know why his website was blocked and by which state authority.

The government has yet to comment on the crackdown.

Elbashy also noted the measures coincide with a debate ongoing in parliament concerning Egypt's plans to hand over to Saudi Arabia two Red Sea islands -- Tiran and Sanafir.

The deal, signed during an April 2016 visit by Saudi King Salman in which Riyadh showered Egypt with aid, provoked accusations in Egypt that Cairo had "sold" the strategic islands.

On April 10, parliament speaker Ali Abdel Aal referred the agreement to the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee for deliberations and a vote.

Hatem Zakaria, secretary general of the journalists' union, told AFP that his and another media organisation were planning to lodge a formal request seeking an explanation as to why the sites were blocked.

Rights groups have repeatedly accused former army chief and now President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of stifling dissent.

An anti-terrorism law, adopted in August 2015, lays down stiff penalties for publishing "false information" on attacks in Egypt that contradicts official reports from the defence ministry, stirring condemnation from rights groups.

In the 2017 press freedom index published by watchdog Reporters Without Borders, Egypt ranks 161st out of 180 countries.
12.06.2017 LISTEN

The Accra Regional Police Command says it has begun investigations into the murder of Nii Tettey Sarbah, Nkusuohene of Amasaman, who was shot and butchered to death by unknown assailants.

In a press statement Monday signed by ASP Afia Tengey, the police is assuring the general public especially family members and the residents of Ardeyman to exercise restraint as police continue to pursue the perpetrators of the crime.

Nii Sarbahs body was found lying supine on a mat, arms up and a deep and wide cut on his forehead early Monday morning.

He had two cuts, which were curved out on his stomach with dried blood everywhere. He was found dead in his room close to the stool house at Amasaman in the Greater Accra region.

At least four bullet holes pierced the building as some assailants who rained bullets into the house last Thursday dawn are yet to be identified.

A relative of the deceased, Samuel Otoo, told Joy News they found him dead around 5 am, hours after hearing gunshots at about 1 am.

Nii Sarbah was part of a retinue of chiefs who performed some purification rites at the Ardeyman stool House.

Stories explaining the circumstances surrounding the murder are rife but the general suspicion remains - land.

The murder of the chief has rekindled fears over the security of properties acquired in the community.

Litigation over land was at the heart of the February 2011 killing of Achiaman Chief Nii Kwartey Ajan I. More than six years later, another chief has been murdered in a similar circumstance.

The police promised, however, that their intelligence-led operations will get to the bottom of the issue.

The Regional Command is also appealing to community members to provide credible information that will enhance investigations through police hotlines, 191 and 18555.

Meanwhile, the police have been intensified within Ardeyman and its environs to prevent reprisal attacks and maintain peace.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Abubakar Ibrahim
There were clashes between youth groups in the Northern Region over who is the rightful person to take over the management of the Tamale Teaching Hospital as CEO.

A youth group claiming to be affiliated to the governing New Patriotic Party organized a press conference and a demonstration early Monday protesting the announcement of Dr David Akobilla as the new CEO to takeover from Dr Prosper Akambon.

They would rather Dr Mohammed Ibrahim is handed the position.

Just in the heat of the press conference, a vigilante group affiliated to the governing NPP Kandahar boys were said to have besieged the venue of the press conference demanding an abrupt end to the conference.

They did not understand why the youth group will be fomenting trouble in the name of the governing party and seeking to oppose the president's appointee.

The demand that the conference and the demonstration should end led to some clashes at Kaladan where the press conference was reported to have been held, Myjoyonline.com has learnt.

Meanwhile, the Northern Regional Secretary of the New Patriotic Party Sulley Salifu has defended the action by the Kandahar boys.

He said the youth group claiming to be loyalists of the NPP had no right to demonstrate and cause disturbances especially when they had not notified the police.

He said by law citizens have a right to effect arrest if another citizen is committing a crime and that is exactly what the Kandahar boys did.

According to him, Dr. Akobilla is the legitimate appointee by the president to take-over as CEO of the Tamale hospital and if any group has an issue they should use the procedures prescribed by law.

Takeover

A planned takeover of management of the hospital by Dr David Akobilla, Monday morning hit a snag after the outgoing CEO protested the absence of his termination of transfer letter.

He did not understand why he had to handover when he had not been given any letter of transfer. Joy News Tamale correspondent Martina Bugri reported that the planned handing over ceremony came to an abrupt end over the disagreement.

Sulley Salifu who chided Dr Akambon for poorly managing the hospital claimed a dozen of people have died in the hospital because of the shortage or lack of oxygen.

He described as unacceptable the failure of Dr Akanbon to handover to the presidents appointee.

Story by Ghana|Myjoyonline.com|Nathan Gadugah
12.06.2017 LISTEN

Accra, June 12, GNA - An Accra Circuit Court on Monday remanded one Nana, Arkaah, a businessman, who was said to have conspired with two others now at large and robbed one Anthony Kodua Bediako.

Nana and his accomplices were said to have robbed the complainant of his Hyundai Santa Fe 4x4 vehicle, one mobile phone worth GH850.00 and an amount of GH350.00.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges and the court presided over by Mr Aboagye Tandoh remanded him into police custody to reappear on June 28.

The facts of the case as presented by Chief Superintendent of Police Duuti Tuaruka, was that the complainant is a banker, resident at Anyaa, while the accused person is a businessman.

He said on December 8, 2016, at about 2200 hours the complainant's house was broken into by a gang of armed robbers numbering about eight, wielding pistols and pump action guns, where they subjected him to severe beatings and robbed him of GH350.00, one Huawei mobile phone, worth GH850.00 and drove away his car parked from his house.

He said on May 27, a businesswoman alerted the police that she had bought a car from a group of men at Achimota at the cost of GH32,000.00, but a check on the documents covering the vehicle at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority, Accra revealed that the documents were fake.

The prosecution said, the woman also told the police that, she had initially paid GH 10,000.00 to them, and were persistently demanding their outstanding balance of GH 22,000.00.

Chief Superintendent Tuaruka said the police then asked her to arrange a meeting to pay them the balance at Tesano and in the process, the accused person was arrested who upon interrogation mentioned three others now at large as his accomplices.

The prosecution told the court that the police was able to retrieve from the scene at Tesano, a Toyota Fortuner which it suspected was robbed of the owner but abandoned by the suspect's accomplices at the time of his arrest.

He said the complainant later identified the vehicle sold to the businesswoman as his, though it had been re-sprayed from ash to wine with a fake number plate.

He further identified the accused as being part of the gang that robbed him.

GNA

By Hafsa Obeng, GNA
12.06.2017 LISTEN

GNA Feature by Bajin D. Pobia, GNA

Daffiama, UWR, June 12, GNA - The US Agency for International Development, Ghana Mission (USAID-Ghana) is providing new technologies and improved seeds to boost rice production to promote food security and incomes in Upper West Region.

The USAID five year funded 'Feed the Future Ghana Agricultural Technology Transfer (ATT) project' is to increase the competitiveness of rice, maize and soybean value chains, fostering broad-based and sustained economic growth through the increase availability of agricultural technologies and increasing productivity in Northern Ghana.

The Project has introduced Urea Deep Placement (UDP), rice transplanting, the provision of certified rice seeds, free fertilizers and planting on rolls technologies to dry season rice farmers at Daffiama to increase rice production

The UDP application, involves placing urea briquettes at a depth of seven and 10 cm between four rice plants seven to 14 days after transplanting to improve nitrogen fertilization in irrigation rice systems.

The technology helps to reduce nitrogen losses through run-off, and leaching volatilisation and enhances the availability of nitrogen for the crops.

It also suppressed weeds growth thereby reducing cost of weeding while increasing yields and reducing cost of fertilizer.

Benefits

The farmers are now reaping 40 bags of rice per an acre as compared to three bags using the indigenous broadcasting system.

It focuses on Ghana's Feed the Future (FTF) intervention zone covering the Savannah ecological zones of Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions with the International Fertilizer Development Centre (IFDC) being the lead implementor of the ATT project.

The interventions also allowed more rice to be planted and made weeding and harvesting easier and faster as well as helping to reduce cost and promote maximum utilisation of fertilizer than the traditional broadcasting system.

A plant could develop about 25 to 30 tillers as compared to the traditional method of broadcasting, which produced about 14 tillers.

It is also focused on integrated soil fertility management, seed sector promotion and upscaling of high quality seeds, capacity building in research.

At Daffiama in the Daffiama-Bussie-Issa District, on a 'Brown Field Day', literally meant a harvesting day, beneficiary farmers comprising 37 males and 66 females who cultivated 15 acres of rice, said the project encourages double cropping as it raises incomes and ensuring food security among family members.

'When we were planting the seedlings, they were looking miserable and we were not happy, but we are satisfied today of the good yields', the farmers said.

Commendations and Recommendations

They applauded the project but expressed disappointment at the rate at which pigs and other domestic animals were destroying the rice fields.

The farmers appealed to traditional authorities and the district assembly to enact bylaws to stop the practice where animals were left to stray.

They also pleaded with traditional authorities to ensure that farming activities along the dam catchment area was stopped to save it from siltation, while calling on the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority to repair the broken canals to allow more water flow into the field.

'We pledged to sustain the project. We are satisfied with our yields and we appreciate the project because those of us in the project are no longer hungry.

'Dry season rice cultivation used not to be the practice, however with the implementation of the project, 'we are now hooting at hunger', the farmers said.

Partnerships

Dr Gary R. Mullins, Chief of Party Agriculture Technology Transfer Project, USAID-Ghana urged the farmers to take the project serious and work harder to liberate the community from hunger and increase incomes.

He said Ghana is faced with deficit in rice production and was spending millions of dollars to import rice, explaining that the project had the potential of reducing rice importation.

The project would be linking and providing markets for farmers to help promote comparative marketing among buyers and millers to purchase the products.

He announced that the project under its 'The Last Mile Approach' policy has provided 22 Seed Vans across the Northern, Upper West and Upper East Regions to make seeds and inputs available to farmers in the communities who in many situations, found it difficult to have access to quality seeds.

Dr Mullins urged the Media to help sensitise farmers about the availability of improved seeds and inputs to encourage more farmers to take advantage of them to increase rice production.

He appealed to the farmers to impart the technology to other farmers in the communities to help boost rice production, while commending the project staff for the hard work and the yields on the field.

Dr Boubakary Cisse, Rice Seed Expert, USAID Seed Scaling Project said the ATT was promoting the cultivation of AfricaRice in the three regions of the North and the hitherto small scale vegetable farmers at Daffiama and Sankana who were participating in the project could now 'eat three square meals a day with their families'.

Farmers are realising 40 bags of rice per acre as against three bags using traditional rice seeds and farming methods.

Besides, the use of traditional rice seeds is associated with low yields while the farming methods, harvesting and thrashing are also difficult for farmers to cope with, he said.

He said the project was collaborating with other Non-Governmental Organisations to help in the provision of thrashers and harvesters among others to assist farmers to lessen labour and time while promoting quality and adding value to products.

He advised farmers to continue to use quality seeds and produce more to ensure food security in the family.

GNA
Accra, June 12, GNA - Professor Francis Kofi Ampenyin Allotey, a renowned Ghanaian Mathematician and Scientist has been inducted as Fellow of the Nigerian Mathematical Society (NMS).

The award was in recognition of Prof Allotey's outstanding contributions towards the advancement of mathematics, science and technology in Africa and across the globe.

Other recipients of the 2017 NMS Fellows Award alongside Prof Allotey, were three eminent Nigerian Mathematicians and Scientists; namely Professors: Jerome Ajayi Adepoju, Alexander O. E. Animalu and Iheanyichukwu Sylvester Iwueze.

Prof Ninuola Akinwande, the President, NMS, presented the award to Prof Allotey at the Introduction to Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) for complex diseases workshop in Accra.

The five-day workshop is being organised by the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Ghana (AIMS-Ghana) in collaboration with the H3AbioNet Node of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), University of Ghana.

Prof Allotey was educated at the Roman Catholic Elementary School, Saltpond; the Ghana National College, Cape Coast; the Tutorial College, London; Borough Polytechnic (now University of South Bank), London; Imperial College of Science and Technology, London and Princeton University in the United States.

He was appointed lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and rose through the ranks to become the first Ghanaian Full Professor in Mathematics and Head of the Department of Mathematics in 1973.

While at the KNUST, he held a number of positions such as Dean of the Faculty of Science, Founding Director of the Computer Science Centre in Ghana, Pro-Vice Chancellor and member of the KNUST University Council.

Prof Allotey has also held several other local and international appointments such as being appointed by the UN Secretary-General to be among a group of 12 international experts commissioned to advise the UN on Nuclear Weapon.

Receiving the Award, an elated Prof Allotey thanked the NMS President, Executive Council and Members for the honour done him.

'I also thank the delegation of the Nigerian Mathematical Society, who have travelled from Nigeria to bestow this honour on Ghana,' he added.

Prof Allotey, who is also the President, AIMS - Ghana, said the developing countries of today were slowly waking up to the realisation that in the final analysis, creation, mastery, utilisation of modern science and technology was basically what distinguished the developing countries from the advanced countries.

He said the widening gap in economies and influence between the nations of the South and the North was essentially a manifestation of the science and technology gap.

'I wish to press here that we need both pure science and technology adding while science helps to advance the frontiers of knowledge, technology helps to advance the frontiers of economic wealth. Both are needed for our national development,' Prof Allotey stated.

'Mathematics is the foundation and sine qua non for the understanding the nature of modern science and technology,' he added.

He said without mathematical training, Africa would be unable to access the full power of technologies to solve their countries' numerous problems.

He urged African youth to learn to contribute significantly by researching into extension of knowledge in Mathematical Sciences.

Prof Akinwande congratulated Prof Allotey and the other recipients of the NMS Fellow Awards for being mathematicians and scientists of international standing with distinguished achievements

He wished the Awardees longer life of continuous services to humanity in general and worthy of contributions to the advancement of Mathematical Science.

He said Mathematics was the driving force for meaningful Scientific, Economic, Agricultural and Technological breakthroughs and advancement and so should be given all the support needed for scholarship.

Prof Kwadwo Ansah Koram, the Director, NMIMR, hailed Prof Allotey for bringing honour to mother Ghana.

On the workshop, Prof Koram said it was aimed at introducing an interdisciplinary audience to the important concepts in genetics and population genetics that were relevant to complex disease association studies and data analysis.

Dr Gaston K. Mazandu, IDRC Research Chair, AIMS Ghana and South Africa, said participants at the workshop would also be introduced to the potential of GWAS and to key considerations in designing and performing association studies for mapping disease genes.

GNA

By Iddi Yire, GNA
Accra, June 12, GNA - Despite the increasing importance of mathematics to economic and societal progress, the study of the subject in Africa is declining, Professor Francis Kofi Ampenyin Allotey, President, African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Ghana (AIMS-Ghana) has said.

He said several reasons had been attributed to the poor state of affairs in mathematics in Africa such as: 'Inadequate student number, particularly females due to poor teaching of mathematics in primary, junior and senior high schools, lack of motivation and incentives and poor employment prospects in mathematics in many sections of the economy other than teaching'.

Prof Allotey, who is a renowned Ghanaian Mathematician and Scientist, made this revelations during his induction as Fellow of the Nigerian Mathematical Society (NMS) in Accra.

The award was in recognition of Prof Allotey's outstanding contributions towards the advancement of mathematics, science and technology in Africa and across the globe.

Other recipients of the 2017 NMS Fellows Award alongside Prof Allotey, were three eminent Nigerian Mathematicians and Scientists; namely Professors: Jerome Ajayi Adepoju, Alexander O. E. Animalu and Iheanyichukwu Sylvester Iwueze.

Prof Ninuola Akinwande, President, NMS, presented the award to Prof Allotey at the Introduction to Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) for complex diseases workshop in Accra.

The five-day workshop is being organised by the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Ghana AIMS-Ghana in collaboration with the H3AbioNet Node of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), University of Ghana.

Prof Allotey said of the various geographical regions of the continent, North Africa was leading in the pursuit of mathematical education, followed by West Africa.

He said within the West African sub-region, Ghana and Nigeria were spearheading in the study of Mathematics.

He noted that Mathematics was the foundation and sine qua non for the understanding the nature of modern science and technology.

'Without mathematical training, Africa will be unable to access the full power of new technologies to solve their countries' numerous problems.

'In fact mathematicians are famous for seeking out problems and providing solutions to them. They are trained to have analytical skills to think logically,' he said.

Prof Allotey said it was a misconception to think that mathematicians were only employable in the teaching field; declaring that 'mathematicians are needed in almost every field of human endeavour'.

He said another important reason was the shortage of well-trained mathematics teachers due to the lack of adequate recognition and support by African governments.

'Many African countries do not seem to be aware of the importance of mathematics as a basic tool for the solution of their numerous developmental problems, consequently, the subject does not appear to get the proper attention it deserves from the national policy making bodies,' he said.

'We can use modern communications technology to address the shortage of mathematics teachers in schools and universities.

'There should be a continuous professional education development for pre-university mathematics teachers. It is very essential for the teachers to update their knowledge.'

He said university teachers should be encouraged to participate in local, regional and international conference to update their knowledge and to interact with people working in their area of specialty.

'I want to state that mathematics can be studied, enjoyed and appreciated without any application to science, engineering and technology. In fact it can be studied like poetry, music and fine arts for its beauty and elegance,' he said.

He pointed out that some good mathematicians had been renowned lawyers, artists, musicians and men of God.

He urged African youth to learn to contribute significantly by researching into the extension of our knowledge in Mathematical Sciences.

'The world is one whole and the people of Africa cannot stand outside it as onlookers. The contributions to mathematical sciences from Africa would make it a complete whole,' he said.

Prof Allotey further urged young mathematics students to work hard and contribute to the extensions of the world knowledge in mathematical science.

Prof Akinwande congratulated Prof Allotey and the other recipients of the NMS Fellows Awards for being mathematicians and scientists of international standing with distinguish achievements

Prof Kwadwo Ansah Koram, Director, NMIMR, hailed Prof Allotey for bringing honour to mother Ghana.

GNA

By Iddi Yire, GNA
12.06.2017 LISTEN

Accra, June 12, GNA - Only 60 persons have so far called to seek assistance from the Tuberculosis Health Desk (TB) since its establishment, in March, at the Adabraka Polyclinic in Accra.

Dubbed: the 'Greater Accra Regional TB Call Desk', the centre, with four telephone lines, provides tele-consultations and guidance to the public on all manner of cases regarding the disease.

Mr Dziedzom Awalime, the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer at the Greater Accra TB Control Unit, told the Ghana News Agency that the situation was not encouraging considering the World Health Organisation's estimation that 286 out of every100, 000 persons in Ghana had TB.

The WHO also estimates that persons with active TB infect about 10 to 15 close contacts per year, and two thirds of all infected patients die without treatment.

Mr Awalime attributed the low patronage to the lack of awareness on the facility and urged the media to make it part of their public service duty to continually publish or broadcast the helplines.

On the kind of enquiries the callers made, Mr Awalime explained: 'While some called to complain about themselves or their relatives coughing for a period, others called to get directions to the nearest health centres for screening.

He said some of the callers invited the Desk to their programmes so that it could educate people about tuberculosis.

Mr Awalime said the Desk recorded its highest patronage in March, shortly after the facility was launched because the phone numbers were readily available in the newspapers, on radio and television.

'Though the facility was meant to serve people in the Greater Accra Region, others from the Ashanti, Eastern and Western regions called in for assistance since the numbers were available'.

However, very few persons called in April and May due to the unavailability of the numbers, he explained.

He expressed the fear the that the calls would stop altogether for the purpose to be defeated if much publicity was not given to the Desk's existence.

The Help Desk can be reached on WhatsApp line: 0245-220-095 and voice call lines 0509-135-913/ 0279-292-884 and 0263-400-490 for officials to receive and help callers on their specific needs.

The Desk was launched on March 24 as part of activities to mark the World TB Day.

TB is a contagious disease that generally attacks the lungs.

However, it t could also affect other parts of the body, including the spine, bones, skin, eyes, scrotum and even the brain. TB can also affect animals.

The two kind of TB are Pulmonary and External Pulmonary TB. External Pulmonary TB can result in hunchback or spinal pain, infertility in both men and women and meningitis.

Most External Pulmonary TB infections do not have symptoms, therefore, for diagnosis; one has to be taken through a highly sensitive laboratory investigation known as the Gene Expert. This kind of TB is not transferable.

People with low immunity, diabetic and HIV patients, pregnant women and the aged are at a higher risk of contracting the disease.

When diagnosing a person of Pulmonary TB, he or she is taken through a basic examination known as the smear micro-Sputum test.

The diagnosis of active TB is based on chest X-rays, as well as microscopic examination and the culture of body fluids.

GNA

By Agnes Ansah, GNA
The farmers and traders of Mandsaur have blamed demonetisation for their plight and latest protests in Madhya Pradesh.

Farmers of Mandsaur are demanding better price for their farm produce. (Photo: PTI)

By Supriya Bhardwaj: In Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh, the farmers and traders, who buy farm produce, blame demonetisation for the present problems of farmers and their agitation against the government.

Speaking to India Today, farmers and traders of Mandsaur today said that note ban choked money supply adversely impacting the farm business despite bumper harvest.

Mukesh Patidhar, the leader of Patidhar Kisan Sangh, singled out demonetisation as the principal reason for the plight that the farmers find themselves in today in Madhya Pradesh.

advertisement

Patidhar said, "Farmers are doomed because of note ban. Farmers' clash is not with the traders but with the government. The prices of crops fell after note ban."

Explaining the reason, Rajinder Kumar Nahar, president of the Dashpur Mandi Vyapari Sangh, said, "We are not able to get enough cash from the banks. So we are not able to give cash to farmers. And due to fresh rules of Income Tax we are not able to more cash than Rs 10,000."

Nahar said, "We are giving the cheque", which are of no use to many of the farmers, who are not connected and conversant with banking system.

"Problem has increased after note ban. Small farmers come to sell their produce over here and they want payment in cash," Nahar said. But, the cash supply was hit for long.

WHY EVERYBODY BLAMES DEMONETISATION

Elaborating further, Nahar's deputy Kanahiya Lal Kumawat - Vice President, Dashpur Mandi Vyapari Sangh - said, "Due to cash (crunch), this problem has emerged. Enough cash is not available in banks."

"We don't want farmers to face problems but when the government rules are as such that they causing problems (for farmers)," Kumawat said.

The result of demonetisation and new rules for cash payments have led to a situation where farmers are not bringing their produce to market, Kumawat said.

Sandeep Jain, a trader in Mandsaur, said, "Many farmers don't know how to go about with cheques in hand. They are not familiar with clearance process, which is taking more than 10-15 days."

Summing up the relation between farmers and demonetisation, financial expert Ritesh Tiwari said that the government expected too much from the farming community while implementing note ban.

Tiwari said, "When demonetisation was announced, it was expected (by the government) that farmers knew about the cheque clearance process" and other ways of money transaction.

ALSO READ |

Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh farmers are demanding what Narendra Modi had promised in 2014

Madhya Pradesh: Shivraj Singh Chouhan ends his 'peace fast' on Day 2

ALSO WATCH | Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan ends his 'fast for peace'

advertisement

--- ENDS ---
Akim Oda (E/R), June, 12, GNA - It would be difficult for the country to have decent livelihood to help enhance the people's living conditions without the truth.

Rev. Daniel Tamakloe Doe, Founder and Leader of the New Jerusalem Healing Ministry with headquarters at Dunkwa-On-Offin in the Central Region was closing a three-day revival on the theme: 'There is no restraint for the Lord to save', (Samuel 14:6c), at Akim Oda in the Birim Central Municipality.

The revival, which was organised by the Ministry was used to offer intercessory prayers for the President, Ministers of State, the nation and the sick.

It was aimed at winning more souls for Christ, while visiting small towns in the area to propagate the word of God and to seek the Kingdom of God.

At Akim Gyadam, a community near Akim Oda, Rev. Doe asked for God's guidance for the pursuit of policies that would lead to the growth and development of the country.

He called on high priests in the country to pray unceasingly for the leaders in the government and also urged those appointed to high positions, to go on their knees, to enable the Almighty God to shower blessings on the country.

'Those appointed into responsible positions, need peace to enable them focus their attention on the progress and development of the country', he said.

At Akim Aboabo, he asked Christians to commit themselves to national development without any blemish, and that; 'you should also be law-abiding in order to leave in peace and harmony with yourselves'.

Rev. Doe admonished civil society, religious groups and other benevolent organizations to exercise their civic responsibilities and help in nation building.

He suggested that the youth should be given moral training that will imbue them with the right values that will teach them 'the fear of the Lord', in order to distinguish between good and bad.

The Leader of the Ministry also used the occasion to advise elders who misbehave to endeavour to set good examples for the youth to emulate.

GNA
Aburi (E/R), June 12, GNA - Mrs Rosemond Amoako Appenteng, General Manager of Presbyterian Schools, has called on teachers to work diligently to enable them to fulfill their mandate of ensuring quality education.

She said quality education entails effective teaching and learning, healthy interaction of teachers with students, parents and their colleague teachers and abiding by rules and regulations on education.

Mrs Appenteng said this during the 10th Congregation of the Presbyterian Women's College of Education (PWCE) at Aburi in the Eastern Region.

She said it is the duty of teachers to cater for the health needs and the welfare of students entrusted in their care.

Unfortunately, Mrs Appenteng said, there is the perception that teachers were trained to pass examinations so 'we teach children to pass examinations.'

She said teachers cannot help to transform societies when they themselves were not transformed adding that gone are the days when the teacher was a symbol of hope, trust and exemplary lifestyle.

Mrs Appenteng said it is sad to find some teachers who are supposed to be role models indulging in alcoholism, rape, defilement and other vices abhorred by society, adding that the teacher absenteeism in among the highest in Africa.

She urged teachers to be dedicated to their work by avoiding absenteeism and the use of school hours for their personal activities.

Mrs Appenteng also advised them to desist from indecent dressing and commended the authorities of the school for their hard work which had enabled them chalk success over the years.

Dr Harriet Naki Amui, the Principal of the College, said in spite of the financial problems, the College would continue to offer quality education at all times.

She appealed for support from non-governmental organization and other benevolent organizations to come to the aid of the College.

Students, who excelled in their various academic activities, were given awards.

GNA
12.06.2017 LISTEN

Accra, June 12, GNA - President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has urged African leaders to assume responsibility for the transformation of their economies, and depart from the mindset of aid, dependency and charity.

'If we, Africans, are to transform our stagnant, jobless economies, built on the export of raw materials and unrefined goods, to value-added economies that provide jobs, to build strong middle-class societies and lift the mass of our people out of dire poverty, then we must take our destinies into our own hands and assume responsibility for this,' he stated on Monday when addressing the G-20 Partnership for Africa Summit, currently taking place in Berlin, Germany.

President Akufo-Addo explained that assuming responsibility meant African leaders must, firstly, facilitate the building of a new, sustainable, African civilization, where there is accountable governance, respect for the rule of law, individual liberties and human rights, and where the principles of democratic accountability were guaranteed.

This new, sustainable, African civilization, he added, required that African leaders 'mobilise the immeasurable, vast resources of Africa to resolve Africa's problems of poverty and development, and free ourselves from a mindset of aid, dependency, charity and handouts.'

Secondly, he urged Africans to initiate and implement policies that will encourage and empower the private sector to grow their respective economies within frameworks of macroeconomic stability.

'When the private sector flourishes and when our enterprises become competitive, not just on the continent, but also in the global marketplace, then can we create the thousands and thousands of jobs our teeming masses of unemployed youth crave,' the President said.

'Thirdly, we can no longer remain producers and exporters of raw materials. We must add value to our commodities, and create wealth for our peoples. Our dependence on raw materials has, in fact, increased in the past century. It is this dependence that feeds our dependence on foreign aid.'

President Akufo-Addo was unequivocal that Africa had the resources and means, material and human, with women and youth in the forefront, to transform the structures of its economies and be part of the international division of labour at the high end of the value.

This process of economic and industrial transformation, he stressed, had to go along with ensuring that the most basic elements of social justice were met - making quality basic education and healthcare accessible to all, to promote a culture of incentives and opportunities.

President Akufo-Addo noted that the reforms being undertaken in Ghana, in the management of the economy and in the governance structure, should entitle Ghana to be a suitable candidate for inclusion in the investment compacts that were the substantive outcomes of the G-20 Africa Partnership Summit conference.

The investment compacts, he added, 'will enable us to maximise our possibilities of economic growth to deal with the huge problem of unemployment, the major social issue of our times in Africa', stating that young people, busy with their lives and earning a living, would hardly be tools for wreaking havoc on society.

Making reference to the harrowing risks undertaken by youth traversing the Mediterranean in search of greener pastures, the President was confident that 'if we provide them the right environment in Africa, which enables them to enhance their skills, receive appropriate vocational training and have access to digital technology, they will make our continent great. If these youth are allowed to realise their full potential, Africa could see huge economic gains in the shortest possible time.'

President Akufo-Addo thanked German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, for putting the preoccupations of Africa's development at the heart of Germany's presidency of the G20, which has resulted in the convening of the conference of the G-20 Africa Partnership on the theme 'Investing in a Common Future.'

He was hopeful that the conference would lead to the rapid development of the African continent, as well as address the many constraints to Africa's development, domestic and external, including the vast amounts of illicit flow of capital out of the continent.

'Let this serve as the impetus for re-shaping our countries and charting a new path of growth and development in freedom, which will lift the long suffering African masses out of poverty into the realms of prosperity and dignity. We can make life meaningful and worth living for our own people, like others have done,' President Akufo-Addo added.

GNA
Visitors to the Empire State Building often ask an interesting question about the building itself. Does the weight of the building  over 360,000 tons  force Manhattans land to sink lower into the water?

Amazing, but this is what they ask.

This same question has been asked before.

In the very early 1800s, a Manhattan carpenter named Lozier came to the startling conclusion that New York was dangerously lopsided. He thought it had too many buildings  taller buildings especially  on its lower end.

If any more went up, he proclaimed loudly, the island would sink into the Hudson River.

To head off this calamity, Lozier suggested to the citys mayor that a chunk of Manhattans northern end be hacked off, towed down the Hudson, and attached to the southern tip. This would redistribute the islands weight.

Its true. This is what he said.

Stranger than fiction, government officials were impressed with Loziers ingenuity. The New York mayor commissioned him to commence work at once, handing over wads of cash from the City Treasury.

To help with his plan, Lozier advertised for hired help. More than 500 workers showed up, braving the winter cold to wait for the boss

As youve probably guessed, they waited a long time. Lozier simply did not show up.

The workers almost immediately suspected an elaborate hoax. Yet, with typical male pride, hardly anyone would admit to having been tricked.

Lozier hid in Brooklyn and did not return for months.

Some 200 years later, Manhattan has not sunk into the ocean, and the real estate cycle continues to turn. This is happening right before your eyes. Its a crucial cycle to understand not just for property markets, but for stock markets as well.

Over at Cycles, Trends and Forecasts, weve analysed hundreds of years of data to track this cycle. And a simple way of understanding where we are within the cycle is with our property clock.

If you havent seen it, heres what it looks like:

Source: Cycles, Trends and Forecasts

Click to enlarge

Events within the real estate cycle do not happen in a vacuum.

There are very good reasons why it turns as it does  very good scientific reasons. And there are myriad ways to help you determine where we are in the cycle.

Since 1837, the US has always ended up with the longest, tallest or biggest something as we go into the peak of the cycle. And, since 1800, its always been 14 or so years from the prior land-price-led collapse.

Tall buildings may not sink cities into the sea, but they do play their part in the cycle. And you can use this knowledge to your advantage. It tells you where you are in the current real estate cycle.

And that tallest something  usually a building of some sort  will stand out. In fact, it will flash at you  clearly  the real estate cycle peak is ahead.

Here is the latest possibility: The Big Bend in New York. This building is set to be the longest in the world.

Its a building that curves to fit into two small plots. Here, see for yourself:

Source: BBC NewsBeat

Click to enlarge

Would you fancy living there?

Youd be living in a grid of large windows. It will have legs that straddle a historic building to fit into narrow plots either side. And elevators that move up, down and sideways.

At 1,200 metres (4,000 feet), the design is a thin structure that curves and then returns to the ground.

This is the sort of thing you can look for at the next peak.

It may not get built. But expect to see something like it as we go into the next peak. This is indeed what will help you gauge the extreme itself.

At Cycles, Trends and Forecasts, we teach our readers not to confuse the extreme cycle peak with the mid-cycle slowdown. The mid-cycle slowdown is due soon. (We expect a stock market peak in late 2019 to lead us into it.)

You will also see a lot of tall buildings open up around this time too, in 2019. And other things that are the biggest, longest or tallest of their kind.

For example, Google recently bought some land in Reno, Nevada. It will build a massive new data centre for its cloud computing service. The Google building is just a couple of miles south from the area where Tesla is building its very own battery factory  for US$5 billion.

The new Tesla building could become the worlds biggest building. Its due for completion in a couple of years, according to the company.

You can use these completions to help judge the position of the real estate cycle for yourself.

The fact that so many tall buildings are due to be completed soon tells you that this cycle is on target to dwarf all others. As each cycle has dwarfed the one before it.

To time it all to your advantage, go here.

Best wishes,

Phil Anderson,

Editor, Cycles, Trends & Forecasts

PS: Some newsletter writers at Port Phillip Publishing believe a great crash is coming. And that many nations are going to collapse under the weight of too much debt.

As youll see in this video tutorial , I believe they are dead wrong. The current stage of the Grand Cycle is this:

We are roughly six-and-a-half years into the current cycle. When it comes to the stock market, you can be confident in buying dips and panics until well into the end of next year.

Between now and then, markets will recover after each dip. As they have done since March 2009.

But what happens in 2018? When will Australia finally enter recession?

And when will the next major panic (and I mean major) occur?
Air travel has come a long way, particularly in Nigeria. Nigeria has several airports operated by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). Read on to find out how many international airports are in Nigeria.

Aircraft flying over runway near airport building. Photo: pexels.com, @vincentalbos

Source: UGC

Apart from airports, Nigeria also has many runways and airfields. Most of them are owned by Nigerian military forces and some oil enterprises.

How many international airports are in Nigeria?

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria boasts of having 32 airports. There are 9 international airports located in various parts of the country.

1. Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport

Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport is the principal airport servicing Nigeria's capital city and was named after Nnamdi Azikiwe, Nigeria's first president.

The airport is about 20 kilometres west of Abuja and features both an international and a domestic terminal that shares a single runway.

2. Anambra International Cargo Airport

Two planes at the Anambra International airport. Photo: @uchennaumeh, @teckprostarmangeneral (modified by author)

Source: UGC

Anambra International Cargo Airport Umueri is located in Umuleri, Anambra State, at Ivite-Umueri. This is a new airport that has just begun commercial operations.

It went into full operation on December 7, 2021. It had 142 flights carrying 3,865 passengers in its first month of service.

3. Akanu Ibiam International Airport

Enugu Airport is another name for Akanu Ibiam International Airport. The airport is named after the late Akanu Ibiam, a physician and statesman from Afikpo in Ebonyi State.

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) closed the airport on February 10, 2010, for the first phase of substantial restoration and expansion.

It reopened on December 16, 2010, and the second and third construction phases are still ongoing.

4. Ilorin International Airport

Planes at Ilorin International airport. Photo: @droneboy_ng, @armburuTravels (modified by author)

Source: UGC

Ilorin International Airport serves Ilorin, a city in Nigeria's Kwara State. The airport was officially opened on February 16, 1978. It is located in the Fili area of Ilorin, approximately 9 kilometres southwest of Ilorin town.

5. Kaduna International Airport

Kaduna Airport, one of Nigeria's oldest airports, serves Kaduna, the capital of Kaduna State. The airport, which is about 22 kilometres northwest of the city, opened in 1982.

6. Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport

Two different planes at Mallam airport. Photo: @AzmanAir (modified by author)

Source: UGC

Kano is served by Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport. Prior to the country's independence, it was a Royal Air Force station. It was named after politician Aminu Kano and contains both an international and local terminal.

7. Murtala Muhammed International Airport

Murtala Muhammed International Airport is located in Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria, and serves as the state's primary airport. The airport was built after WWII and is named after Murtala Muhammed (1938-1976), a Nigerian military leader.

8. Port Harcourt International Airport

A view of Port Harcourt airport. Photo: @wd_jeong (modified by author)

Source: UGC

Port Harcourt International Airport is located in Omagwa, Port Harcourt. The airport serviced 1,081,587 passengers in 2009, making it Nigeria's third busiest airport.

9. Sadiq Abubakar III International Airport

A view of Sadiq airport. Photo: @sadiqabubakarIIIinternationalairport (modified by author)

Source: UGC

Sadiq Abubakar III International Airport, commonly known as Sultan Saddik Abubakar Airport, serves Sokoto State. It is named after the Sultan of Sokoto, Siddiq Abubakar III, who served from 1938 to 1988.

List of international airports in Nigeria

Below is a table of the international airports in Nigeria.

Airport State City/town served Akanu Ibiam International Airport Enugu Enugu Anambra International Cargo Airport Anambra Umuleri Ilorin International Airport Kwara Ilorin Kaduna International Airport Kaduna Kaduna Murtala Muhammed International Airport Lagos Lagos Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport Kano Kano Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Federal Capital Territory Abuja Port Harcourt International Airport Rivers Port Harcourt Sadiq Abubakar III International Airport Sokoto Sokoto

List of major domestic airports

Below is a table of major domestic airports in Nigeria.

Airport State City served Asaba International Airport Delta Asaba Akwa Ibom Airport Akwa Ibom Uyo Benin Airport Edo Benin Ibadan Airport Oyo Ibadan Lafia Cargo Airport Nassarawa Lafia Margaret Ekpo International Airport Cross River Calabar Maiduguri International Airport Borno Maiduguri Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Airport Bauchi Bauchi Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport Imo Owerri Yakubu Gowon Airport Plateau Jos Yola Airport Adamawa Yola

List of airstrips in Nigeria

How many airstrips are in Nigeria? Below is a table of airstrips in Nigeria.

Airstrip State City served Ajaokuta Airstrip Kogi Ajaokuta Azare Airstrip Bauchi Azare Bacita Airstrip Kwara Bacita Bajoga Northeast Airport Gombe Bajoga Bebi Airstrip Cross River Bebi Bida Airstrip Niger Bida Eket Airstrip Akwa Ibom Eket Escravos Airstrip Delta Escravos Gusau Airstrip Zamfara Gusau Nguru Airstrip Yobe Nguru Potiskum Airstrip Yobe Potiskum Shiroro Airstrip Niger Shiroro Tuga Airstrip Kebbi Tuga

Which is the first airport in Nigeria?

Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport is Nigeria's oldest. It began its operations in 1936. The first aircraft to land in the country landed in Kano in 1922.

Which airport has the longest runway in Nigeria?

Murtala Muhammed International Airport has the longest runway, measuring 3900 metres (12795 feet). The airport is located in Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria, and serves as the state's primary airport.

Which state has the biggest airport in Nigeria?

Lagos state has the biggest airport, which is Murtala Muhammed International Airport. It operates 27 airlines and serves 43 destinations. Its new terminal has a capacity of 14 million passengers per year.

What is the busiest airport in Nigeria?

Murtala Muhammed International Airport is the busiest. It has two terminals: international and cargo, which are open 24 hours a day, and domestic, which is open 16 hours a day.

How many military airports are in Nigeria?

There are four military airports in Nigeria. They are Katsina Air Force Base, Port Harcourt NAF Base, Makurdi Air Force Base, and Kaduna Air Force Base.

The above lists indicate how many international airports are in Nigeria. This article has highlighted all of the country's international airports and airstrips.

READ ALSO: Nigeria Civil Defence: structure, corps salary and rank in 2022

Legit.ng recently published an article about the Nigeria Civil Defence. This is one of the country's paramilitaries, military, and police agencies. These bodies provide various functions, all related to safety, law enforcement, and order in some way.

Like other military and police bodies in Nigeria, the Nigeria Civil Defence has well-laid structures and systems that govern its operations. What will the civil defence compensation structure look like in 2022? Find out more here.

Source: Legit.ng
Congress-led Meghalaya United Alliance government moved a resolution against the Central government's new rules on cattle trade for slaughter that infringes on the states' rights.

By India Today Web Desk: The Meghalaya Assembly today passed a resolution opposing the Centre's controversial notification regulating the sale of cattle for slaughter and has asked for its withdrawal.

At a special day-long session of the Assembly, the ruling Congress-led Meghalaya United Alliance government moved a resolution against the Central government's new rules on cattle trade for slaughter that infringes on the states' rights.

advertisement

Even the opposition parties in Meghalaya - United Democratic Party, Hill State People's Democratic Party and even the National People's Party, which is an ally of the BJP - had opposed the new rules and demanded their withdrawal.

'Bitchi-Beef fest'

Three senior Meghalaya BJP leaders - Bernard Marak, Bachu Marak and Wilver Graham Danggo - resigned after senior party leaders opposed their plans to organise a "bitchi-beef party" to celebrate three years of Narendra Modi government. Bitchi is the Garo word for rice beer.

Last week, the former BJP leaders organised a "bitchi-beef" fest to protest against the Central government's new rules that aims to prevent sale of cattle for slaughter.

"By hosting the fest, we wanted to show to the world that there is no law that can prevent our way of life and food habits," Bernard Marak, the former district president of the BJP in West Garo Hills, said.

Most of the people who participated in the bitchi-beef party were mostly former BJP members, who slammed the new cattle trade and slaughter rules.

Over 5,000 BJP workers from Garo Hills region, which has 24 seats of Meghalaya Assembly's 60, had resigned from the party over the issue. Many more leaders have threatened to do if the rules are not rolled-back.

The BJP's state chief Shibun Lyngdoh said: "The issue of cow slaughter is a state subject. The matter has been clarified by our leaders. There is nothing more to say."

ALSO READ |

Beef festival organised in Aizawl as Rajnath Singh visits Mizoram

Rajnath Singh to review security along Myanmar border in meeting with CMs of 4 northeast states

ALSO WATCH | Will eliminate Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in Kashmir soon, says Rajnath Singh

--- ENDS ---
- An Islamic cleric, Alhaji Aminulahi Seriki has called on Nigerians to pray for President Muhammadu Buhari

- He particularly urged Muslims to use the opportunity of Ramadan to pray for the president

- He also advised them to stay away from watching television when praying

An Islamic cleric, Alhaji Aminulahi Seriki, on Sunday, June 11 called on Nigerians, particularly Muslims to use the opportunity of Ramadan to pray for quick recovery of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Seriki, assistant Imam, Ansarul-deen Mosque, Fadeyi, Lagos, made the call at an annual Ramadan Lecture, entitled 'The Impact of Prayers'.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the lecture was organised by Alhaji Moshood Salvador, a factional Lagos state chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The lecture was held alongside `zakat  giving alms to the needy.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app

The cleric, who said that God commanded prayers for leaders, urged Muslims to avoid watching television while praying to avoid unanswered prayer.

We should fully submit ourselves to God and concentrate when praying to Him.

You dont watch television or look at things going on around you while praying; such things are the causes of unanswered prayers, he said.

Seriki said that Buhari needed prayers of Nigerians for restoration of his health and Gods guidance to rule.

He also urged Nigerians to unite to pray for the peace and unity of the country.

His words: I call on Nigerians to continue to pray for sound health for President Buhari so that he can quickly return to the country and continue the business of governance.

I want my Muslim brothers to use the opportunity of the blessings the holy month of Ramadan offers to pray for the president and for national peace.

God requires us, as believers, to always pray for our leaders because He gives power to them.

We should obey this command and pray for the president and his men so that they can lead us well.

He said that most people did not have solutions to their problems because they underrated the power of prayer.

Seriki said that prayer remained a medium of communication between man and God.

He commended Salvador for organising the annual lecture, saying that it would go a long way to uplift participants spiritually.

In his remarks, Salvador said that he had been organising the lecture and the zakat in the past 20 years.

He said that the aim was to remind Muslims of the need to renew their commitment to God and extend a hand of brotherhood to the needy.

The PDP chieftain said that the zakat would be expanded next year to include disbursement of empowerment items in Surulere, Lagos, and environs.

He urged affluent Muslims to assist the poor.

I want to urge wealthy Nigerians particularly Muslims to always remember the less privileged.

Allah has commanded us to do so. If you help your brothers in need, you are fulfilling a religious obligation.

The cloths and food items we are giving to over 3,000 beneficiaries today are to ensure that people around us have a reason to smile especially during Ramadan, he said. (NAN)

READ ALSO: Nigeria is on the verge of disaster  Saraki

Meanwhile, the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Reverend Alfred Adewale Martins, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to take necessary steps to ensure that his health situation does not jeopardize the progress of the nation.

The archbishop made the comment during a press conference in Lagos to mark his 58th birthday.

According to him, it is only moral for the president to resign if his health would not allow him to live up to the expectations of the people.

In the video below, Legit.ng TV asks some Nigerians if they regret their voting choice during the 2015 election.

Source: Legit.ng
- ISIS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghadi was reportedly bombed during a recent airstrike on ISIS in Syria

- Al-Baghadi's preaching is believed to be what inspired the recent series of attack on Europe

- Prior to his death, Al-Baghdadi had a 20 million bounty

Notorious leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and most wanted criminal, Abu Bakr al-Baghadi, was reportedly killed in a massive airstrike in Syria.

Legit.ng learnt that Al-Baghadi, believed to be world's most wanted terrorist, was blasted with heavy artillery while in the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa.

He was reportedly killed by white phosphorus bombing campaigns lead by Coalition forces in the IS-infested region throughout last week, according to a report by Syrian State Television.

Footage has emerged showing the scorching munitions showering down on to the city and setting buildings ablaze during the airstrike.

READ ALSO: How Tinubu, other Yoruba leaders in Buhari's government sold us out - Elder statesman

Photo of the massive airstrike that led to Al-Baghdadi's death.

According to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 13 civilians have been killed in coalition raids in Raqqa over the past 24 hours.

Al-Baghdadi has a 20 million bounty on his head because of his hate-filled sermons that inspired several attacks launched across Europe.

Abu-Bakr Al-Baghdadi

However, this is not the first time al-Baghadi has been reportedly killed by army and many experts are skeptical of the latest claims.

The official media wing of ISIS, Amaq, has not confirmed the news of the leaders death.

Activists in Syria, Raqqa24, reported an airstrike in the Raqqa that killed at least seven civilians on Saturday, but made no mention of al-Baghdadi.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app

Meanwhile, the Adamawa state government has revealed that Boko Haram terrorists now pretend to be epileptic or stomach pain patients, attracting a large number of people to gather and express sympathy, only to detonate a bomb later.

The state government, while urging Nigerians to be careful of the new tactics, said it has embarked on advocacy across the state to educate parents to also teach their children not to collect gift from people they don't know.

Speaking in an interview with journalists in Abuja, on Saturday, June 10, Adamawa state commissioner for information Mr Ahmad I. Sajoh, said the government is taking proactive measures to curb the trend, but added that it is difficult to read the minds of people who are satanic.

Watch video of DSS officially handing over 82 rescued Chibok girls to FG for further psychotherapy treatment:

Source: Legit.ng
- 25 years after the annulment of June 12, Nigerian government has finally awarded late Chief Moshood Abiola, adjudged winner of the cancelled June 12, 1993 election the highest Honour in the land GCFR posthumously

- Abiola of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) was acclaimed to have defeated Bashir Tofa of the NRC

- The election was adjudged to be the freest in country's history

- Legit.ng, presents some of the major players in election debacle that plunged Nigeria

25 years after the annulment of June 12, an election that was adjudged to be the freest in Nigeria, Legit.ng in this report takes you through some of the actions of 11 major players in the annulment debacle.

The election which was claimed to have been won by Late Moshood Abiola, a Yoruba man popularly called MKO is still a subject of great discussion in the political arena of Nigeria.

READ ALSO: IBBs 1993 presidential election annulment speech

Abiola who contested the Presidential election under the Social Democratic Party (SDP) was acclaimed to have defeated his counterpart, Bashir Tofa who contested under National Republican Convention (NRC).

The election was later annulled by the then head of state, General Ibrahim Babaginda, who consequently faced widespread condemnation and ultimately stepped aside after installing Ernest Shonekan as Head of Interim Government.

Moshood Abiola was the winner of the annulled June 12 election

Believed to be the winner of the annulled June 12 election. Moshood Abiola was thrown into detention for declaring himself as president after the regime of Sani Abacha refused to restore his mandate.

General Ibrahim Babangida was the head of state who annulled the June 12 election

It is important to note that General Ibrahim Babangida was the head of state who annulled the June 12 election and he was reportedly close to the acclaimed winner of the election, Abiola.

READ ALSO: June 12: MKO Abiola family commends Buhari

IBB who is currently a member of the PDP, made several attempts to return as a civilian president, but did not even succeed in picking the ticket of his party. Till date, IBB is yet to give a straightforward answer on the June 12 issue.

Humphrey Nwosu was the chairman of National electoral commission (NEC) which conducted the June 12 election

Humphrey Nwosu was the chairman of National electoral commission (NEC) which conducted the June 12 election which is also described as free and fare.

Ahead of the 1993 election, the commission introduced option A4 voting system and the open ballot system.

Compared to the past, Nwosus election witnessed a major innovation: the introduction of an election monitoring group. 3,000 observers took part in the nationwide exercise.

Late general Sani Abacha went after Abiola after the politician declared himself as president

Described as a military dictator, Abacha forced Ernest Shonekan, head of the interim national government, to step down after barely three months in office.

He threw his opponents into detention.

Many fled the country, while some organised a massive campaign against his government from within. He went after Abiola after the politician declared himself as president.

Abiola was accused of treason and arrested. He was detained for four years. He later died in power.

Bashir Tofa was Abiola's main challenger

He was Abiola's main challenger.

His running mate in the election was Sylvester Ugoh, one time governor of the former Central Bank of Biafra.

Tofa later joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and became a member of the partys board of trustees.

Arthur Nzeribe tried to stop the election

On June 10, 1993, Nzeribe tried to stop the election, relying on a court order which his group, Association for Better Nigeria (ABN), got from late Justice Bassey Ikpeme of Abuja High Court. ABN was known to be pro-Babangida.

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app

Babagana Kingibe was Abiolas running mate

Babagana Kingibe was Abiolas running mate. It was the first time Nigeria would have a Muslim/Muslim presidential ticket.

Ndubisi Kanu was the chairman of NADECO

He was appointed governor of Imo state in March 1976 but later in life joined the pro-democracy movement and played a leading role in the agitation for the actualisation of June 12.

He was the chairman of NADECO.

Despite serving Babangida, he described his regime as the time when things started to go wrong, with increasingly centralised control.

Okupe was a chieftain of the NRC in 1993 and had reportedly congratulated some of his SDP counterparts for their victory

Okupe was a chieftain of the NRC in 1993 and had reportedly congratulated some of his SDP counterparts for their victory in the election.

Suddenly, the story changed, and Okupe later told Nigerians that IBB instructed Tofa not to accept defeat. He is a former aide of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, and former Goodluck Jonathan.

Tom Ikimi was the chairman of the NRC. Just like Tofa, he refused to accept that his party lost the 1993 election

Tom Ikimi was the chairman of the NRC. Just like Tofa, he refused to accept that his party lost the 1993 election. He even spoke in a manner suggesting that he was in support of the annulment of the election results.

Ikimi later served as foreign affairs minister in the administration of Sani Abacha. Ikimi, who is a founding member of the APC, lost his bid to be the partys chairman.

He subsequently left, but not without creating a storm.

Tony Anenih was chairman of SDP

Tony Anenih was chairman of SDP. Anenih did so much for his party, but the story changed after the annulment.

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app

He took the cancellation in good fate, and this earned him so much criticisms. Anenih is a prominent chieftain of the PDP and former minister of works.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng reports that President Muhammadu Buhari announced that June 12 will be celebrated as the new Democracy Day.

The president also announced that the late Chief Moshood Abiola who was adjudged the winner of the cancelled June 12, 1993 election will be posthumously awarded the highest Honour in the land, GCFR.

Democracy Day: What is there to celebrate? - on Legit.ng TV:

Source: Legit.ng
Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, CFR was born on August 14, 1937 and died under suspicious circumstances on July 7, 1998.

A popular Nigerian Yoruba businessman, publisher, politician and aristocrat of the Yoruba Egba clan, he is often referred to as MKO Abiola.

He ran for the presidency in 1993 and was widely regarded as the presumed winner of the election which was annulled by former military head of state, General Ibrahim Babangida.

Across Nigeria, at least the six states in the southwest had been celebrating June 12 a public holiday and are holding ceremonies in Abiola's honour until President Muhammadu Buhari officially declared the day as Nigeria's real democracy day.

READ ALSO: NASS election: Deviants will pay for their sins - Oshiomhole

The president on Monday, June 10, signed the Public Holiday Amendment Bill into law.

The new law, according to the president's senior special assistant on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Ita Enang, allows public holiday to be declared on June 12 every year, while May 29 is to be a handing-over date and working day.

PAY ATTENTION: Share your outstanding story with our editors! Please reach us through info@corp.legit.ng!

In this piece, Legit.ng presents major facts about the historic June 12 and the unforgettable events surrounding it.

1. Several of those involved in the election are dead

MKO Abiola, the presumed winner of the election, died in detention in 1998. Also, Justice Bassey Ikpeme, who gave the controversial order stopping the election, died in 1997.

Clement Akpamgbo, the attorney general and minister of justice who was involved in the legal tussles, died in 2006.

Admiral Augustus Aikhomu, the then second-in-command to General Ibrahim Babangida, who famously said Abiola could not be sworn in as president because government was owing him a lot of money, died in 2011.

READ ALSO: Breaking: President Buhari announces June 12 as Democracy Day

2. The celebration lasted only two hours

Following the election victory, most Nigerians celebrated in the streets. However on that fateful day, 26 years ago, the celebrations were short-lived as two hours later, the military declared the election results annulled.

READ ALSO: Atiku reveals top secret about MKO Abiola, June 12

3. No Hausa or Fulani politicians featured on the tickets

Strangely, the 1993 elections had no person of Hausa or Fulani extraction picked as presidential or vice-presidential candidate.

Alhaji Bashir Tofa, who contested against Abiola, is a Kanuri from Kano. Alhaji Babagana Kingibe, a Kanuri from Borno state, was Abiolas running mate. However, after the annulment, the Hausa/Fulani bore the brunt.

4. Abiola won the election

This is not surprising, but it is quite important to know that he won the election, fair and square. Abiola scored 58.36% of the 14 million votes cast.

His rival, Tofa, polled 5,952,087 votes, representing 41.64%. Only three states each returned more than one million votes, all southern: Lagos, Rivers (now Rivers and Bayelsa) and Ondo.

5. Abiola received the highest votes in Lagos state

Abiola received his highest votes from Lagos state. He smiled home with 883,965. Ondo state (now Ondo and Ekiti) delivered a total of 883,024 votes, which gave Lagos a good run for its money.

6. The southwest were solidly behind him

Abiola scored more than 80% in each of the five southwestern states: Lagos, Ondo, Oyo, Osun and Ogun state. Osuns 87% was his highest percentage nationwide. His 78% in Kwara was his highest outside of the southwest.

7. His rival scored poorly

Tofa did not score up to 80% in any state. He came close to that in Sokoto where he got 79%. Incidentally, Abiola scored his worst percentage in Sokoto (20%). Tofa, however, did not score up to 70% in any other state after Rivers.

8. June 12 should be a national holiday

Many Nigerians are of the opinion that June 12 should be a national holiday. The date is celebrated in honour of an annulled presidential election in June 12, 1993. However, only some Nigerian states were actually celebrating it until Wednesday, June 6, when President Muhammadu Buhari surprised the whole nation by declaring June 12 the new Democracy Day to replace May 29.

9. Babangida's role

The election was annulled by Ibrahim Babangida because of alleged evidence that they were corrupt and unfair, a development that ushered in a political crisis that led to General Sani Abacha seizing power later that year.

10. Abiola declared himself president

In 1994, Abiola declared himself the lawful president of Nigeria in the Epetedo area of Lagos Island, an area mainly dominated by Lagos indigenes, after he returned from a trip to solicit the support of the international community for his mandate.

After declaring himself president he was declared wanted and was accused of treason and arrested on the orders of military President General Sani Abacha who sent 200 police vehicles to bring him into custody.

11. Abiola's death

Abiola died on July 7, 1998 on the day he was due to be released from incarceration under suspicious circumstances shortly after the death of General Abacha. The official autopsy stated that Abiola died of natural causes but Abachas chief security officer, Al-Mustapha, alleged he was beaten to death.

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app

12. The fairest election till date

The election was declared Nigerias freest and fairest presidential election by national and international observers, with Abiola even winning in his Northern opponents home state. June 12 is, thus, a day to remember chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola as well as other democracy martyrs.

Legit.ng earlier reported that a human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, commended President Buhari for granting a post humous national award of Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR) on Chief MKO Abiola.

Falana also said the declaration of June 12 as Democracy Day was an end to the hypocrisy of celebrating it on May 29.

According to him, it validated the integrity of the fair and free election that was criminally annulled by the Ibrahim Babangida junta.

He said the Muhammadu Buhari administration has made history by conferring the post humous national award of Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR) on Chief M. K. O. Abiola, who was the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election for his huge contribution to the restoration of democratic rule in Nigeria.

Democracy Day: When Should We Celebrate It? | Legit TV

Source: Legit.ng
The US First Lady Melania Trump, who has been staying in New York ever since Donald Trump became president, moved into the White House this weekend.

By India Today Web Desk: The internet is going to get even more opportunities to examine and critique the chemistry - or lack thereof - between United States First Lady Melania Trump and husband and president, Donald Trump.

The 47-year-old former model moved into the White House, the official residence of the first family of the United States, this weekend.

advertisement

Melania announced the news via Twitter, posting a photograph showing the White House lawns. Using the hashtag #Movingday, Melania said, "Looking forward to the memories we'll make in our new home!"

Looking forward to the memories we'll make in our new home! #Movingday pic.twitter.com/R5DtdV1Hnv- Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) June 12, 2017

After Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th US president in January this year, he moved into the White House, but wife Melania remained in New York City, staying at the Trumps' penthouse, so that the couple's 11-year-old son Barron would not have switch schools midway through a year.

With the school year in the US coming to an end, Melania and Barron finally made the planned move to Washington, DC.

OF HAND NUDGES AND AWKWARD BODY LANGUAGE

While they have been staying apart, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have appeared together on numerous occasions to attend formal events.

And almost all of their public appearances have, unsurprisingly, been analysed - and overanalysed - by the internet. The most recent such incident was at the Ben Gurion airport in Israel where Melania was seen on video swatting Donald's hand away as he attempted to hold it.

(Video courtesy: YouTube/Matt Novak)

The couple was in the country as part of President Trump's first official foreign tour, which was to the Middle East.

Earlier in April, in another viral video, Melania was seen nudging Trump to place his hand over his heart while the US national anthem played at the White House Easter Egg Roll.

ALSO READ | Meet the new First Lady of the US, Melania Trump, former model and immigrant

ALSO READ | Oldest Trump son fires off 80-plus tweets in support of dad

--- ENDS ---
- Chief Olusegun Obasanjo spoke about the need for Nigerians to be united

- The former president noted that the system was not perfect

- He however said the need for unity must be embraced by all Nigerians

Former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has called on those who are calling for the break-up of the country to desist as Nigeria cannot afford to disintegrate.

The former president was speaking on the backdrop of recent development in the country sparked by a quit notice issued by Arewa youths to Igbos in the north to vacate in 90 days.

READ ALSO: Kogi youths humiliate Senator Dino Melaye, call him 'thief' (Video)

Vanguard reports that Obasanjo spoke in Makurdi, Benue state during the maiden forum of the Zero Hunger Initiative over the weekend.

Obasanjo noted that although the Nigerian system was imperfect, it was better to correct these things rather than calling for disintegration.

He said: None of us should be tired of doing our best for this country. I have confidence in Nigeria and we all should.

Those who keep singing the songs of disunity, whether young or old, are doing this country a great disservice and should desist. And those who have led this country at any level in the past have greater responsibilities to ensure the country works, rather than singing songs of disunity and war.

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app

The former president also commended the state government for its initiative predicting that it will soon be the main food basket of the nation.

He applauded Governor Samuel Ortom saying though I do not eulogize leaders when they are in office but if your daughter dances well in public, you will have no choice but to tell her that she, indeed, danced well.

Meanwhile, acting president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, described Nigerias union as that of a marriage that occasionally has to deal quarrels but it is important for them to make up.

He said: Today is a special one for Wale and Wura. Marriage is a very large institution that requires a lot of prayers.

It is the same marriage that nations go through. Our nation has been in marriage for a while now. Sometimes there are quarrels within that marriage. Sometimes there is disagreement. What is important is that you must remain together. You must remain united.

Watch a Legit.ng TV video below of Osinbajo speaking about Biafra and the unity of Nigeria.

Source: Legit.ng
- Notorious kidnapper, Evans, who was arrested by the police expressed remorse for his action

- He said he was ready to become a born again Christian if given the chance

- He said he has never killed anybody before

A notorious kidnapper, Chukwudi Onuamadike, who is also popularly known as Evans, who was arrested by security operatives on Saturday, June 10, has begged for forgiveness.

Legit.ng gathered that after about three months of search, police officers from Abuja, Saturday afternoon, arrested the notorious kidnapper in his Magodo hideout in Lagos.

It was reported that during the arrest he was wearing a designer wrist watch which costs $170,000.

READ ALSO: BREAKING: Osinbajo to final sign 2017 budget

Vanguard reports that Evans burst into tears during his interrogation asking for forgiveness and promising to be a born-again Christian if given the opportunity.

He said: My friend, known as Hunch Man, introduced me into kidnapping and after a few operations during Peter Obis administration, we were forced to leave the state and we moved to Edo state. I had some boys from Warri, Delta state, working with me.

"We carried out two big kidnappings where our victims paid N80m and N100million respectively. In 2013, I came to Lagos and I went straight to Festac Town. Before I came to Festac, I had already established contacts with some boys. One of the jobs we did was that of the owner of Young Shall Grow Motors, Chief Vincent Obianodo.

"One guy, known as Emeka, brought the job and we were five that went for that operation  Hunch Man, Nmamdi, Uche, Nwoke and I. I was the one driving and our target was to kill Young Shall Grows driver and his police orderly. Hunch Man, Uche Nnamdi and Nwoke were carrying guns and they were the people who fired at Young Shall Grow.

Hunch Man and Uche were killed during the attack, while Nnamdi, Nwoke and I survived. That operation was my most bloody operation. I didnt know it was going to turn out that way. I usually dont know names of people I kidnapped in Festac. But if I see them, I will tell you what I did to them. I have people who gave me information about my victims.

The pharmacist job is the only one that gave us a problem. The highest ransom I collected was $1million dollars from somebody living in Festac. I keep my victims for months because I want their people to pay the ransom I demanded. I have people cooking for my victims, one of who stays in the house; his name is Uche.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 new app

The other boy is from Aguleri. The boy is a new person, but Uche is old. I usually pay Uche N20million for every operation. I usually make the calls for the ransom. I have six boys in Lagos. My mother does not come to my house and she also knows that I am into crime but she is not in support.

I bought this house for N130million and I have two houses in Magodo. My house in Ghana is bigger than this. I dont kill.

Watch a Legit.ng TV video of farmers protesting the kidnap of their member in Lagos.

Source: Legit.ng
The monsoon is likely to continue to move north-northeast wards and weaken into a depression during the next 12 hours and further into a well-marked low pressure area in subsequent 12 hours.

By Ashish Pandey: The Southwest monsoon has further advanced into remaining parts of central and north Arabian Sea, Konkan, north interior of Karnataka, Rayalaseema and Gujarat region, some parts of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The monsoon has also advanced into some parts of Marathwada, Telangana, some parts of coastal Andhra Pradesh most parts of west central and north Bay of Bengal, remaining parts of Tripura, Assam and Meghalaya, most parts of sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, and some parts of north Coastal Odisha and Gangetic West Bengal.

advertisement

The deep depression over Bangladesh and neighbourhood moved north-northeastwards with a speed of about 29kmph in past six hours and lay centered at 0830 hours IST today over southeast Bangladesh and neighbourhood near Latitude about 130 km northeast of Khepupara (Bangladesh) and 100 km south southwest of Agartala.

The monsoon is likely to continue to move north-northeast wards and weaken into a depression during the next 12 hours and further into a well-marked low pressure area in subsequent 12 hours.

Weather forecast for Telangana for next 5 days:

Light to moderate rain/thundershowers likely to occur at many places over Telangana.

Heavy rainfall warning during 5 days for Telangana:

June 12-13: Heavy rain is likely to occur at isolated places in all the districts of Telangana.June 14: NilJune 15: Heavy rain likely to occur at isolated places. June 16: Nil

Heavy rainfall is likely to occur at isolated places in the districts of north coastal Andhra Pradesh.

Also read: Parts of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh to receive heavy rainfall in next 24 hours

Also read: 3-month-old Andhra Pradesh assembly building in Guntur starts leaking after season's first rains

--- ENDS ---
- Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has appointed a Senior special adviser to President Buhari

- The acting president named Barrister Ismaeel Ahmed, as the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Social Investment Programmes

- The new special adviser is from Kano state

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), has approved the appointment of Barrister Ismaeel Ahmed, as the senior special assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Social Investment Programmes.

READ ALSO: As Banbagida annulled Abiola's election: Meet the real actors of June 12

Barrister Ismaeel was born and raised in the ancient city of Kano, graduated from University of Abuja with a Law degree, a Master of Arts in International Relations and Diplomacy from Webster University in the USA, and an LL.M from University of Chicago IL, USA.

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has appointed a Senior special adviser to President Buhari

In 2011, Barrister Ismaeel contested the House of Reps seat to represent his constituency in Kano State. Ever since, he has been in the forefront of gathering young professionals and progressives under one umbrella to represent the interests of the youth and negotiate a gradual shift of power from the elders.

The acting president named Barrister Ismaeel Ahmed, as the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Social Investment Programmes

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app

Until his appointment, Barrister Ismaeel served as member, Board of Trustees of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and national Chairman of the All Progressives Youth Forum (APYF), a youth body under the APC.

Until his appointment, Barrister Ismaeel served as member, Board of Trustees of the All Progressives Congress

Meanwhile, acting president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, has described Nigerias union as that of a marriage that occasionally has to deal quarrels but it is important for them to make up.

He is also the national Chairman of the All Progressives Youth Forum

Legit.ng reports that the acting president spoke in Ibadan at the wedding reception for the daughter of former interim national chairman of All Progressives Congress, Chief Bisi Akande.

Watch a Legit.ng TV video below of Professor Osinbajo speaking about Nigeria's unity.

Source: Legit.ng
- Former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has praised Samuel Ortom, Benue state governor for moving the state forward

- Chief Obasanjo gave kudos to Ortom for what his administration has achieved for the people of the state

- The former president said the governor deserves a second term in office

Former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has showered encomium on Benue state governor, Samuel Ortom for striving to move the country forward despite economy recession.

The former president has therefore endorsed Ortom for a second term in office ahead of the 2019 gubernatorial election.

Obasanjo made this known while addressing a cross-section of Benue indigenes on Friday night, June 9, at the government house in Makurdi.

Obasanjo showers encomiums on Governor Ortom for striving under economy recession

READ ALSO: Nigerian woman who had all her kids same day celebrates their birthday together (photos)

He said: ''Ortom is dancing fairly well. I saw some placards today (Friday) depicting 4+4, while we were on tour at Oracle farms as I was dancing with some local drummers. I just couldnt talk and couldnt campaign too.

''But in return, I signaled with my both hands and if Chief Barnabas Gemade saw nothing wrong with the sign language, so be it.

Obasanjo however said that he did not endorse the candidature of the governors predecessor, Gabriel Suswam when Senator George Akume, the then governor introduced him as his successor.

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app

According to a report, he gave Ortom his blessings when again in 2015, Akume brought the latter to him.

He was said to have urged them to work hard in other to win the election.

The dignitaries at the event include Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi state, a former governor of Nasarawa state and Senator Abdullahi Adamu, a former deputy governor of Benue state, Chief Sule Iyaji, Gemade and Akume and many more.

Meanwhile Legit.ng earlier reported that the Defense Security Service (DSS), had said that the alleged $9 million recovered in CJN Onnoghens home is a complete falsehood.

Reports have it recently that $9m was recovered from the home of Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Walt.

Wacth this Legit.ng TV Video of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo speaking on how to treat Nigeria:

Source: Legit.ng
- Nigerian Army has arrested 24 suspected Boko Haram members in Edo state

- The Otaru of Auchi Kingdom in Edo state, Alhaji Aliru H. Momoh, said that Army informed him of the arrest of the suspected insurgents in his palace

- He said the commandant also informed him that the suspects would be transferred to Benin

The Otaru of Auchi Kingdom in Edo state, His Royal Highness, Alhaji Aliru H. Momoh, on Monday June 12 announced the arrest of 24 suspected Boko Haram members in the community by the Nigerian Army, NAN reports.

Legit.ng gathered that the monarch, while speaking in his palace at Auchi, headquarters of the Estako-West local government area of the state, said the commandant of the Nigeria Army School of Engineering, NICOHO, near Auchi, informed him of the arrest of the suspected insurgents in his palace.

READ ALSO: Babangida drops bombshell, reveals why he annulled June 12

Shortly before you came, I had audience with the commandant. He informed me about what they are doing and the arrest of some 24 suspected members of Boko Haram operating under the guise of Fulani herdsmen in the community, he said.

The Otaru said: the commandant also informed me that the suspects would be transferred to Benin.

He commended the commandant for taking proactive steps to have taken the fight to the suspected insurgents in the forest, saying that the issue of security needs careful planning and execution.

Legit.ng had earlier reported that soldiers attached to Operation Lafiya Dole in conjunction with some Civilian JTF carried out a successful operation against some Boko Haram terrorists at Jarawa village, Kala Balge local government area, Borno state.

The Otaru, who described the activities of the herdsmen in the area as worrisome, said We have asked farmers, especially the women, to stop going to the farms for now.

We gave them some grants to enable them to engage in petty trading in the meantime, to avoid the incessant attacks on them.

The traditional council is collaborating with the army, security agencies, and some vigilance groups, and we have recently incorporated the hunters to help to evolve lasting solutions to the problem, he added.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 new app

Legit.ng also reported that the Adamawa state government revealed that Boko Haram terrorists now pretend to be epileptic or stomach pain patients, attracting a large number of people to gather and express sympathy, only to detonate a bomb later.

Watch a video report of the recently released Chibok girls by Boko Haram on Legit.ng TV below:

Source: Legit.ng
- An Igbo man has declared his love for the North

- Uchenna Obidike from Njikoka community of Anambra state says he will not leave the North even if Igbo secede from Nigeria

- He said all the agitation is unnecessary

Along the ever busy Yahaya Madaki way, opposite to the popular NIV internet Cafe in Katsina, the state capital city lies a timber market occupied by some peaceful Nigerians of Igbo extraction.

Like any other market, one will easily observe economic activities going on with customers and pick up vans transporting timbers in and out of the compound.

READ ALSO: JUST IN: Osinbajo makes another crucial appointment

During a chat with the Chairman of the marketers association (Igbo Timber Shade Association) who simply identified himself as Uchenna Obidike from Njikoka community of Anambra state, he told Legit.ng's regional reporter that he has been in Katsina for over 30 years.

Uchenna Obidike

He further informed Legit.ng that there are over 10 big shades of timber owned by different people in the market and with over 30 servants (boys) whom came from Anambra and are working under them.

He also stated that the shade also provides job opportunities to some indigenous people of Katsina where they work as labourers.

On their part, the indigenous labourers informed Legit.ng that they live peacefully with them and enjoy it.

Some of the traders at the 'Katsina's Igbo timber shade market'

The chairman of the Labourers, Muhammadu Sani informed us that the Igbos are generous and peace loving.

"The never cheated us. They always treats us with dignity and respect," he said.

HIS THOUGHTS ABOUT BIAFRA

When Legit.ng reporter asked of his thoughts about Biafra, Mr. Uchenna Obidike stated that Katsina is a peaceful place and he will love to remain here even if Biafra secede.

Some of the traders at the 'Katsina's Igbo timber shade market'

He said that first of all the agitation is unnecessary and attributed those propagating it as some people that have not travelled far and wide of Nigeria.

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app

According to him: "I can not go back to my community because this is where I earns my living. I can not make half of the money I am making here in the east because the market there is saturated. I will love to stay here as Katsina is a peaceful state."

Some of the traders at the 'Katsina's Igbo timber shade market'

CHALLENGES

He listed some of the challenges they encountered to include lack of patronage from people as some still prefer to go to the other timber market to buy from fellow Hausa men and the fact that majority of their buyers buys on credit.

He also listed among other things lack of government support and multiple taxation.

'Katsina's Igbo timber shade market'

PRAYER

When asked about his prayers, he pleaded with the Katsina state government to help them with land because the land rent they are paying is very expensive.

Legit.ng had reported that the President of the Igbo Market Amalgamated Traders Union, Mr. Egonu Athanasius has disclosed that some of the Unions people have started moving their families back home to the south-south and other state in the federation as a result of the quit notice issued by the Coalition of Northern Youths.

Watch a Legit.ng TV video below of Professor Osinbajo speaking about Nigeria's unity.

Source: Legit.ng
- Lauretta Onochie, personal assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on social media, has said the president's life is simple

- Onochie alleges that some persons were praying for President Buhari to die because of selfishness

- The president aide also said that she will not agree with anybody that says they have not seen change

Lauretta Onochie, the personal assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on social media, has said working for the president is one of the easiest jobs on earth.

Onochie made this know in an interview with The punch when she said Buharis honesty makes her job very easy.

She said: ''When you have to make up stories to cover inefficiencies, then your job becomes difficult.

Lauretta Onochie, the personal assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on social media, has said working for the president is one of the easiest jobs on earth

READ ALSO: Nigerian woman who had all her kids same day celebrates their birthday together (photos)

But with our president, he is an upright man and he is straightforward. He has the utmost respect for Nigerians.

I will not agree with anybody that says they have not seen change. Like I always say, change is a process, it is not an event.''

She alleged that some persons were praying for President Buhari to die because of selfishness.

She said: some people may be standing trial. They are those who held sway and squandered our national wealth or arrogated them to themselves and their families alone.

Some of them are in trouble with Nigerians, and so they feel that with President Buhari in the saddle, they will continue to be held accountable for the evil that they brought upon our nation.

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app

So the easiest thing for them to do will be, if they cannot lay their hands on the President to strangle him, the best thing is to do some spiritual things in order to get him out of the way so that the corruption that Nigerians hate will continue.

But God who brought President Buhari and gave Nigerians the wisdom and courage to vote out the government that held sway over the looting of our common treasury, that same God is going to see our nation through.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that Nigerian Federal government source has disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari would not return from United Kingdom (UK) to Nigerian at the weekend which negated an earlier report by the presidency.

President Buhari left the country a month ago for UK where he is spending his medical leave.

Watch this Legit.ng TV video of people are after a report that Nigeria has finally come out of recession:

Source: Legit.ng
By Press Trust of India: Washington, Jun 12 (PTI) NASAs Curiosity rover has found a wide diversity of minerals in rock samples from Mars, which suggests that conditions changed in the water environments on the red planet over time.

Layers of rocks at the base of Mount Sharp on Mars accumulated as sediment within ancient lakes around 3.5 billion years ago.

advertisement

Previous research has shown that the mountains lowermost layers have variations in minerals that suggest changes in the area have occurred.

In a study published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters, scientists from NASAs Johnson Space Centre in the US described on the first four samples collected from the lower layers of Mount Sharp.

"We went to Gale Crater to investigate these lower layers of Mount Sharp that have these minerals that precipitated from water and suggest different environments," said Elizabeth Rampe from NASA.

"These layers were deposited about 3.5 billion years ago, coinciding with a time on Earth when life was beginning to take hold. We think early Mars may have been similar to early Earth, and so these environments might have been habitable," said Rampe.

The minerals found in the four samples drilled near the base of Mount Sharp suggest several different environments were present in ancient Gale Crater. There is evidence for waters with different pH and variably oxidising conditions.

Studying such rock layers can yield information about Mars past habitability, and determining minerals found in the layers of sedimentary rock yields much data about the environment in which they formed.

At the base are minerals from a primitive magma source; they are rich in iron and magnesium. Moving higher in the section, scientists saw more silica-rich minerals.

In the "Telegraph Peak" sample, scientists found minerals similar to quartz. In the "Buckskin" sample, scientists found tridymite.

Tridymite is found on Earth in rocks that formed from partial melting of Earths crust or in the continental crust - a strange finding because Mars never had plate tectonics.

In the "Confidence Hills" and "Mojave 2" samples, scientists found clay minerals, which generally form in the presence of liquid water with a near-neutral pH, and therefore could be good indicators of past environments that were conducive to life.

The other mineral discovered here was jarosite, a salt that forms in acidic solutions. The jarosite finding indicates that there were acidic fluids at some point.

advertisement

There are different iron-oxide minerals in the samples as well. Hematite was found near the base; only magnetite was found at the top.

Hematite contains oxidised iron, whereas magnetite contains both oxidised and reduced forms of iron. The type of iron-oxide mineral present may tell scientists about the oxidation potential of the ancient waters.

"We have all this evidence that Mars was once really wet but now is dry and cold," Rampe said.

"Today, much of the water is locked up in the poles and in the ground at high latitudes as ice," he said.

"We think that the rocks Curiosity has studied reveal ancient environmental changes that occurred as Mars started to lose its atmosphere and water was lost to space," he added. PTI MHN SAR MHN

--- ENDS ---
Sharif has denied any wrongdoing over his family allegedly using offshore companies to buy luxury flats in a posh London neighbourhood.

By Reuters: Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will be questioned on Thursday by investigators probing how his family obtained its vast wealth, the first time a sitting Pakistani premier has appeared before any investigative agency.

Sharif's office on Monday confirmed the prime minister had received a summons by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), set up by the Supreme Court to investigate corruption claims that surfaced following the Panama Papers leak. It said he would be attending an interview on Thursday.

advertisement

Pakistan's stock market slumped 4 percent as the news sent shudders through investors, fearful that instability in its fragile democracy would undermine an economy that has shown stronger growth in recent years.

Sharif has denied any wrongdoing over his family allegedly using offshore companies to buy luxury flats in a posh London neighbourhood, and said his family wealth was acquired legally.

His spokesman did not respond to requests for comment over the latest development.

In April, the Supreme Court ruled that there was insufficient evidence to remove Sharif from office on the back of Panama Papers leaks, but it ordered further investigations.

The JIT team comprises members of civilian agencies, such as the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), as well as members of powerful military bodies, including the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency.

The JIT's work has become highly politicised in recent weeks. Sharif's camp has sought to remove two members of the JIT team, and his PML-N party voiced outrage over a leaked photograph taken from security camera footage showing Sharif's son, Hussain, appearing before the JIT.

According to the summons document, seen by Reuters, JIT asked the Prime Minister's office to bring "all relevant record/documents/material" to the interview at its office in the capital, Islamabad on Thursday.

"It's a litmus test of our laws that are all citizens are equal in front of law, so we believe that Nawaz Sharif should appear before JIT in this case," said Naeem ul Haque, spokesman for opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.

The Supreme Court began investigating Sharif after the main political parties failed to agree on a committee to probe the Panama Papers leaks, and PTI's chairman, Imran Khan, threatened mass protests and to shut down Islamabad.

If Sharif survives the JIT probe, opinion polls suggest he is favourite to win the next election, due by June 2018. Sharif, a three-time prime minister, was ousted twice in the 1990s, including by a military coup in 1999, but he swept back to power in an election in 2013.

advertisement

The internal political tensions have coincided with a fresh bout of tension with arch rival India. Pakistan's Foreign Office summoned India's deputy high commissioner on Monday after an outbreak of cross-border shelling in the disputed

Also Read:

Pakistan's plan ahead after Nawaz Sharif govt slammed on ICJ's Kulbhushan ruling

Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif feels the heat as Opposition slams government for mishandling Kulbhushan Jadhav's case at ICJ

Also Watch: Panama Papers case: Pakistan Supreme Court orders Nawaz Sharif to appear before probe team

--- ENDS ---
Pakistan is tightening security cover around Chinese citizens after the alleged kidnapping and killing of two of its citizens by Islamic State militants.

By Reuters: Chastened by the Islamic State's claim to have killed two kidnapped Chinese teachers , Pakistan is beefing up security around Chinese citizens streaming into the country on the back of Beijing's "Belt and Road" infrastructure splurge.

China has often urged Pakistan to improve security after pledging around $57 billion to build power plants, railways, and roads that will cross the Himalayas to connect western China with Pakistan's Arabian Sea port of Gwadar.

advertisement

Pakistani officials have outlined to Reuters extensive security plans that include thousands-strong police protection forces, tighter monitoring of Chinese nationals, and in the province of Baluchistan - where the two teachers were kidnapped on May 24 - a review of security arrangements.

The protection forces will buttress a 15,000-strong army division set up specifically to safeguard projects in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiative, which has been credited with rejuvenating Pakistan's $300 billion economy.

"We are already alert, but this incident has made us extra vigilant over Chinese security," said Amin Yousafzai, deputy inspector general of police for the southern province of Sindh, which is home to about 50 million people.

Sindh is raising a protection unit of about 2,600 police officers to help safeguard 4,000 Chinese working on CPEC projects, and another 1,000 working in other businesses.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which signed billions of dollars in contracts with Chinese companies, is also conducting a census of Chinese nationals and raising a force of about 4,200 officers to protect foreigners.

Baluchistan would "review the whole security arrangement" and Chinese nationals who come in a private capacity should inform the authorities about their activities, said Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, spokesman for the provincial government.

The number of militant attacks in Pakistan has fallen sharply in recent years, but violent Islamist groups still pose a threat, and in Baluchistan separatists opposed to CPEC also carry out attacks.

The Islamic State killings were a rare attack on Chinese nationals in Pakistan, but the incident has unnerved Islamabad and the growing Chinese community.

Miftah Ismail, a state minister involved in CPEC planning, said Pakistan had devoted huge resources to improving security and Chinese investors should not be put off by a one-off attack.

"The country's security situation has improved," Ismail said.

The scale of the task facing security agencies is increasing by the day as more Chinese entrepreneurs arrive to set up businesses. Most stay in big cities, but some venture into riskier areas.

The challenge for authorities will increase in 2018, when the corridor is due to become operational and trucks ferrying goods to and from China cross more than 1,000 km (620 miles) of road in remote Baluchistan areas currently off-limits to foreigners.

advertisement

Protection Force

The two Chinese-language teachers were kidnapped by gunmen pretending to be police, but little else is known about how the they ended up in Baluchistan's provincial capital, Quetta.

Baluchistan's government afterwards evacuated 11 other Chinese nationals based in the city. "There are no more Chinese living in Quetta", said Ahsan Mehboob, Baluchistan's inspector general of police. It was not clear why the 11 were there.

The new Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa forces resemble the Special Protection Unit (SPU) recently established by Punjab, Pakistan's biggest province, which has attracted most Chinese investment.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province was already working on plans to set up the force, but after the Quetta kidnappings the process was "accelerated", according to one regional official. Sindh was also planning to set up a force before the Quetta attack, and was now expanding it, another official said.

Punjab's SPU, dedicated to protecting Chinese nationals and other foreigners, has more than 6,000 officers and is set to grow to 10,000.

Raja Jahangir, Punjab secretary for information, said SPU chiefs hold daily meetings with intelligence agencies and police chiefs to ensure Chinese nationals stay safe, while a database has been set up to track foreigners from their arrival, to their hotels, and their departure.

advertisement

Jahangir said security has been stepped up since the Quetta attacks.

"Almost all personnel are on alert and they are on their toes," he said.

ALSO READ:Killing of Chinese nationals in Pakistan a matter of grave concern, says Beijing

Xi Jinping snubs Nawaz Sharif at SCO Summit after 2 Chinese nationals murdered in Pakistan

Also Watch: Second ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Naushera sector, Army retaliates

--- ENDS ---
Raza was arrested after playing blasphemous and hate speech material on his phone at a bus stop in Bahawalpur, where a counter-terrorism officer arrested him and confiscated his phone.

By Reuters: A Pakistani counter-terrorism court has sentenced to death a man who allegedly committed blasphemy on Facebook, a government prosecutor said on Sunday, the first time someone has been handed the death penalty for blaspheming on social media.

The conviction of Taimoor Raza, 30, follows a high-profile crackdown against blasphemy on social media by the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

advertisement

Blasphemy is a highly sensitive topic in Muslim-majority Pakistan, where insulting the Prophet Mohammad is a capital crime for which dozens are sitting on death row. Even mere accusations are enough to spark mass uproar and mob justice.

Shafiq Qureshi, public prosecutor in Bahawalpur, about 500km (300 miles) south of provincial capital Lahore, said Raza was convicted for allegedly making derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammad, his wives and companions.

RAZA'S CONVICTION

"An anti terrorism court of Bahawalpur has awarded him the death sentence," Qureshi told Reuters." It is the first ever death sentence in a case that involves social media."

It is rare for a counter-terrorism court to hear blasphemy cases but Raza's trial fell under this category because his charge sheet included counter-terrorism offences linked to hate speech.

Qureshi said Raza was arrested after playing blasphemous and hate speech material on his phone at a bus stop in Bahawalpur, where a counter-terrorism officer arrested him and confiscated his phone. The material obtained from the phone led to Raza's conviction, he added.

"The trial was conducted in Bahawapur jail in tight security," Qureshi said.

RELATIONS BETWEEN SHIA AND SUNNI COMMUNITIES

Qureshi added that Raza belongs to the minority Shia community and in court he was accused of spreading "hate speech" against the Deobani sect, which adheres to a strict school of Sunni Islam.

Relations between Shia and majority Sunni communities have flared up at times in Pakistan, with some extremist Sunni groups such as Lashkhar-e-Janghvi trying to exploit sectarian tensions.

Several other violent incidents linked to blasphemy accusations have alarmed human rights groups and activists in recent months.

BLASPHEMY LAWS

Police are currently investigating over 20 students and some faculty members in connection with the killing of Mashal Khan, a student who was beaten to death on April following a dorm debate about religion -- an attack that shocked the country.

Since then, parliament has discussed adding safeguards to the blasphemy laws, a move seen as groundbreaking in Pakistan where political leaders have been assassinated for even discussing changes.

As Raza's blasphemy conviction was under the counter-terrorism court, he will be able to appeal his sentence in the High Court and later in the Supreme Court.

There have been at least 67 murders over unproven allegations since 1990, according to figures from a research centre and independent records kept by Reuters.

advertisement

Also Read:

Bangladesh: Hindu religious leader arrested for blasphemous comment on Facebook

Pakistan: Man accused of committing blasphemy a decade ago shot dead by 3 sisters in Sialkot

Also Watch:

Pakistan: Shocking video of a student accused of blasphemy, beaten to death on campus

--- ENDS ---
Some people are still trapped under the debris of the gurdwara which was under construction.

By India Today Web Desk: One person was killed and another 7 left injured after the roof of an under-construction gurdwara collapsed in Haryana's Panipat today.

Some people are still trapped under debris. Rescue work is going on, police said.

The gurdwara, where some construction work was going on, is located on the GT road, they said.

Badi khabar..Panipat Gt road gurdwara ki building giri kuch log malbe ke niche pic.twitter.com/lsx9LqOPp2; Mukesh Kumar (@mukeshkanojiya6) June 12, 2017

advertisement

"Seven to eight people suffered injuries. Many more are trapped under the debris and we are making efforts to pull them out," Deputy Superintendent of Police, Panipat City, Atma Ram said.

Fire tenders and ambulances had been rushed to the spot, he said.

--- ENDS ---
The association of pump owners will today meet public-sector oil companies, which recently announced that petrol and diesel prices will be reviewed every day from June 16. The owners have threatened to go on strike if their concerns over non-automated petrol pumps being inconvenienced aren't resolved.

By Vivek Chandra Shukla: With daily review of petrol prices in India just days away, pump owners are sticking to their guns and are threatening to go on strike from the midnight of June 15, protesting, what they say is, implementation without any preparation.

India's public-sector oil companies - Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited - last week announced that they would begin revising petrol and diesel prices every day. A pilot project carrying out daily revision in petrol and diesel prices in five cities had been successful, the oil companies said.

advertisement

However, the Federation of All India Petroleum Traders has said there can be no daily review of prices unless all of India's petrol pumps are automated. Currently, only 10,000 of India's around 56,000 pumps are fully automated.

The pump association is meeting with the oil companies today to raise its concerns and has said petrol dealers will go on strike if the government fails to come up with a plausible solution to their worries. The association has also raked up demonetisation, saying if a significant chunk of the country's currency can be replaced in 90 days, all petrol pumps can be automated in a short time as well.

One of the biggest concerns the association says it has is that the 46,000 petrol pumps that aren't having fully automated system will have to manually calibration of petrol and diesel prices. This, FAIPT says, takes around an hour and would prove to be a major inconvenience - both to pump owners as well as dealers and their employees.

The association argues that automated pumps will face no such troubles as prices would automatically be updated via the concerned company's server every midnight.

ALSO READ | Coming soon: Home delivery of petrol, diesel

--- ENDS ---
The Border Security Force has made headlines for a wrong reason again. And this time, a porn clip is involved.

By India Today Web Desk: Imagine what would happen if a porn clip starts playing during an official meeting!

That is what happened during a Border Security Force officers' meet, called the 'darbar', held at the headquarters of the 77th Battalion at Ferozepur on Sunday.

The 'darbar' was organised to discuss the issues faced by the BSF personnel.

advertisement

Things took an embarrassing turn when, instead of a PowerPoint presentation, a porn clip started playing. The officer, who was to give the presentation, was using his official laptop. The porn movie that was played by mistake went on for around 90 seconds, said a report in The Times of India.

There were eight to twelve women officers present.

Mukul Goyal, BSF inspector general, Punjab Frontier, confirmed to TOI that a porn clip was indeed played and that an inquiry has been ordered. Goyal said the clip went on only for a few seconds.

"Such material should not have been on the official laptop of an officer. We are taking the matter seriously. That's why we have ordered an inquiry," TOI quoted Goyal as saying.

Earlier this year, the Border Security Force came under bad light and sharp criticism after Tej Bahadur Yadav, a BSF jawan shared videos that showed the poor quality foods jawans were provided with.

Yadav was dismissed by the Summary Security Force Court (SSFC), a court of inquiry which found that he had damaged the "image of the BSF" by uploading video clips about the "substandard food" on social media, triggering an uproar.

FYI || 'Can a BSF jawan work 10 hours on such food?': Soldier posts horrifying videos of substandard food ||

--- ENDS ---
This week marks the 50th anniversary of Loving v. Virginia, the landmark Supreme Court decision that invalidated state laws restricting interracial marriage. Recently, we asked readers to share their experiences about being in a mixed-race relationship. We received more than 2,000 stories in just a few days.

Many people expressed profound ambivalence about the categories that drove antimiscegenation rules, while they described how their racial identity  or how others identified them  continued to shape their relationships and their social interactions. Some wrote about the resistance they faced from family and society, and others celebrated the particular richness of their lives. Here are some of those stories.

Barb and Matt Roose

Married: Medina, Ohio, July 18, 1992

Luckily we were young, bullheaded and foolish.

Barb: Im African-American and my husband is Caucasian. We married when we were 19 and 20 years old and well celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary this year. We love that we get to celebrate such a milestone as the Supreme Court verdict celebrates a milestone too.

After we got engaged (which was mainly because I was pregnant) my then-boyfriend was asked by one of his family members: Do you really love her or are you just trying to tick your parents off?

We learned quickly that we couldnt answer all of the questions that our families had. Luckily we were young, bullheaded and foolish, so we decided not to let other peoples issues with our marriage become our own. We had to focus on us. This meant that my husband had to sacrifice some of his relationships for a short season in order to marry me. Thankfully, they have since reconciled.

We made it a priority to make sure that our kids had friends of all races. Early on in our lives, we hung out with another biracial couple that looked like us, so that our kids saw black moms and white dads as normal.

As a couple, we learned to be upfront with each other about race. It didnt start that way. Attraction led to confusion. Our life experience and cultural filters created a need for us to learn each others ways. Like, letting him, when he was my boyfriend, into my dorm room while I was relaxing my hair. I had to let him see me being fully me. Another time when my father-in-law and I went to a country music concert with his favorite artist  that was culture shock! But, it was the music of my husbands experience and it helped me learn more about the people in my family.

Its taken a long time to learn this, but we believe that our relationship is more important than one of us being right. We dont want race to ever become a wall that divides us.

Eileen Lin Goutier and Edwin Goutier

Married: Washington, D.C., May 30, 2016

We learned that sometimes things just take time.

Eileen: I am Taiwanese-American. I moved to the U.S. during high school. My husband is a Florida-born Haitian-American. We both grew up in immigrant households.

For two seemingly different individuals, we share a love for food, family and passion for social and environmental causes. As much as our relationship seemed normal to both of us, we learned that it wasnt for my parents and relatives. It took a year of argument, tears, anxiety, smiles and patience for my parents to finally accept our relationship. We waited for their blessing before we had our wedding. Unfortunately, my aunt, whom my family is very close to, decided to stop talking to me because she feels ashamed of me. We learned that sometimes things just take time for acceptance.

Nathan Wright Jr. and Carolyn May Wright

Married: Las Vegas, July 19, 1969

Many in the Black Power movement that my father helped lead for a time came to oppose interracial marriage.



Submitted by Chi Bartram Wright, their son, based on his research and interviews with his mother: In July of 1967  just one month after Loving vs. Virginia  Nathan Wright Jr., chairman of the Black Power Conferences in Newark, met Carolyn May, a blonde Long Island niece of socialite Marjorie Merriweather Post, who built Mar-a-Lago. As a publicist in Manhattan, Carolyn began promoting Nathans public speaking engagements.

My parents fell in love at a time when many in the Black Power movement that my father helped lead for a time came to oppose interracial marriage. My parents wed in Las Vegas to avoid attention, but soon found themselves back East defending their hearts to both blacks and whites, telling family, friends, and colleagues, Love is colorblind, and The heart knows no color. My mother recalls, Very few white people understood why I would do such a thing. And so I lost a lot of friends and family that way. If they had researched Nathan, they would have found out that he was far more educated than they were, generally. In his unpublished memoir, my father reflected on those days, The blacks continuation through in-group marriage would seem to be inadvisable and errant in relationship to Gods purpose.

In 1972, my mother completed a Masters degree in Afro-American studies. I was born in August, 1974. Looking back, my mother tells me, In the 70s and 80s in upstate New York, we knew we had to keep you in a private school to protect you from a wider society that was not always welcoming. Indeed, I faced overt, aggressive comments from other black kids like, Youre not really black, and You think youre better than us.

The same month that my parents met, my father testified on Capitol Hill, stating that Black Power speaks to the empowerment of human life for fulfillment. While Carolyn and Nathan hoped their marriage would provide them with that same empowerment, in reality they were ahead of their time, pioneers for radical integration, at a time when most were still digesting moderate civil rights.

David L. Gilmour and Anula Kusum Jayasuriya

Married: A small wedding in Cambridge, Mass.; an epic wedding in Sri Lanka; and another, large wedding in Cambridge, 1988 and 1989.

Race is only one element of difference.

David: I am white  indeed, raised to believe I was whiter than white since, as I was reminded frequently, my ancestors arrived on the Mayflower. My spouse is from Sri Lanka. She identifies as South Asian.

When youre a couple, having different backgrounds simultaneously enriches and stresses your relationship. Race is only one element of difference, and, in my experience, a minor one. Im only reminded that we are a mixed couple by others, when our appearance triggers some kind of reaction, most often  but not always  love, approval and sometimes what seems like a tiny bit of envy.

We now live in California, where mixed-race kids are relatively common. Our daughter has had to face the challenges of being biracial. She is accustomed to the consternation she causes when others cant quite figure out what she is. She is often mistaken for a Latina, and has a traditional Sri Lankan first name that is often mistaken for African-American. But she has risen to meet those challenges, and is a strong, confident person who knows that above all she is unique.

Jennifer and James Hutcherson

Married: Tybee Island, Ga. May 18, 2001

Ive learned that most people are tolerant, but that is different from being accepting.

Jennifer: I am a white female, my husband is a black male.

I have learned that not only is driving while black a real thing, but also that riding with a black male will get you pulled over. Ive learned to ignore disapproving looks from older white people in public places. Ive learned to expect the surprise on peoples faces when I start a new job and put up photos of my family on my desk. Ive learned that in a small town that is predominately white, people will use my husband as their proof that they arent racist because they associate with a black guy. Ive learned that most people are tolerant, but that is different from being accepting. While we may have come a long way from the days of the Lovings, there is still a long way to go, especially in the South.

My husband is a police officer in a large city close to our tiny town. We have frequent heated discussions where I accuse him of being more of a cop than a black man. My older sons were called Oreos in elementary school; they have been racially profiled by police as adults. My teenage son who still lives at home seems to identify much more with the black side of our family and often makes disparaging remarks about things he sees white people do.

I have cautioned all of them to please be careful when in any situation with law enforcement. I tell them to keep their hands where they can be seen, just say yes sir and dont do or say anything that could cause a misunderstanding. I wouldnt tell them these things if they were white.

Having children (and nieces and nephews) that are black has caused me to view the world differently than I might have if Id married someone of my own race. I think I am more enlightened, I think I see things from a perspective I wouldnt have otherwise had.

Stephanie Larkin Noor and Shahjahan Singh Noor

Married: Baltimore, June 21, 2015

For some of them, it was their first interaction with a black person.

Stephanie: I am an African-American woman, born in Ohio and raised in Auburn, Ala., as a Southern Baptist. My husband is Indian, born in New Delhi and raised in Baltimore. He is Sikh and has a full beard and waist-length hair, which he keeps tied up in a turban.

My friends tried to dissuade me from dating Shah. With deeply concerned voices, they asked me, What will people say? What could you possibly have in common? After three months of dating seriously, he invited me to meet his family. His extended family from India happened to be in town for their annual trip to the U.S. Imagine, one little black girl surrounded by 20 of his Indian cousins, uncles, aunts and grandparents. It was intimidating, but I held my own, as they fired away questions (about my education, my parents professions, my hair, my being an N.F.L. cheerleader, my siblings).

After leaving that night, my future husband called me almost in tears. His aunts had asked things like, Why a black woman? You can find a beautiful, smart Indian woman to marry! Surprisingly, the eldest in the family, his grandfathers, Dada ji and Nana ji, were our strongest advocates.

Despite the negative chatter, Shah and I knew our love for one another would sustain us. All has now been forgiven, and the family has a lot of love for me. I learned that they were scared of the unknown; for some of them, it was their first interaction with a black person. Since then they have welcomed me into their homes with open arms. His extended family was present at our fairy-tale wedding, as were my friends. His family in India has made two trips to see us. We drink wine, chat about life, discuss home decor, politics and go shopping. Had Shah or I succumbed to the pressure, we would have missed out on the greatest love of all!

Shah and I dont have children yet, but are planning to. We often have discussions like, If we have a boy, will he keep his hair and wear a turban like his daddy? What race will our kids identify as? Should we take the kids to both gurdwara and church, or will that just confuse them? How often will we visit family in India? Should we raise the kids in India for a couple years? Whatever happens, Im sure they will be strong like their mom and dad and will be brave enough to handle anything that comes their way.

Olivia Toro and Michael Swigert

Married: Alexandria, Va., August 3, 2013

We have learned a lot about what it means to be allies.

Olivia: My husband is white, and I am multiracial. I consider myself to be both Korean and a mix of indigenous, Afro-Caribbean and European descent that characterizes most people from the Dominican Republic.

We have learned a lot about what it means to be allies since we started dating and especially since we have been married. I remember one night, about two months into our relationship, when we were walking home late from a bar in D.C., we walked by some young African-American men sitting on their stoop. They called to me, and I ignored them because I ignore most men who call to me on the street. They called me a chink, and I continued to ignore them as we walked on. Then, I felt something hit me  a small rock. They were throwing them at us, and I wondered why. When I mentioned it to Mike, he said hed flipped them off.

I felt outrage  not at those boys because lets face it, they were kids  I was so angry at Mike. Never, in a million years, would I have felt safe antagonizing those boys by expressing my anger the way that he had. I realized how privileged he was to feel it was O.K. to do that without consequence. I didnt mention it that night to him until after we were married. And when I did, he understood. He wouldnt have understood if I had brought it up when it happened. It took eight years of conversation and real intimacy to bring this evolution about  my trusting him and telling him the story from my point of view, and his vulnerability in hearing it.

Bonnie and Allen G. Travis

Married: Greensboro, N.C., June 1963

My husband made a deal with the minister.

Bonnie:When we wanted to get married, my husband made a deal with the minister and told me to not to bring up my race. In North Carolina, it was against the law for my husband (white) and me (Lumbee Indian) to marry. I dyed my hair red to try to fit in with my white friends. No one from either side of the families attended the wedding. And now, the families have no problems.

Ive had many incidents of discrimination throughout my life. My mother never trusted a white man until close to her death in 2004, when my husband helped her and he finally gained her trust.

Alison Barrows-Young and Daniel L. Young

Married: Boulder County, Colo., November 24, 2004

I sense disgust and hate from total strangers for the first time in my life.

Alison: My husband is black and his family is African-American. Im white and my family is traced to the Mayflower and Eli Whitney. This is a second marriage for us both.

Since we first started seeing each other, I sense disgust and hate from total strangers for the first time in my life. Many white people have told me that my husband looks fierce. He doesnt. We are often placed at the restaurant table closest to the kitchen; white ladies grip their purses and move closer to their companions when we pass. The police stop us for no reason. Today, I pay little attention to prejudiced people. Sometimes we even laugh about particularly racist responses to us.

My husband, our children and I all feel that the black community is more at ease with us than the white.

The racism against Obama was plain to us from the start but not to our white acquaintances. The racism surrounding Trumps campaign was obvious to me but not to my husband; he could not take the mans candidacy seriously. My youngest daughter and I rebuked him when he supported Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton at our state caucus, as we perceived her to be the more qualified and only viable choice for minorities. On election night, my husband had taken me to dinner to celebrate Hillarys inevitable win. When Trump won the Electoral College we left our meals half eaten.

We have dropped associates that we once tolerated if they are overtly Republican or nonprogressive. We feel paranoid.

Mistinguette Smith and Renee Benns

Married: Northampton, Mass., 2006

This understanding of marriage has deep historical and familial significance for me as a black woman.

Mistinguette: I am black and ethnically African-American. My partner is white and ethnically German-American.

We are both a Loving and a Goodridge family: We have been partners for 29 years but did not marry until 2006, after same-sex marriage became legal in Massachusetts. Our choice to marry was informed by the history of what race and marriage meant to my enslaved ancestors, who struggled to have their antebellum marriages recorded. We have been surprised by the ways that our families are more accepting of us as a same-sex couple than they are about transracial marriage.

Choosing to marry after 17 years of extralegal partnership gave us striking clarity that marriage is not about love or commitment, but a political arrangement about ownership of property and the right to defend it. This understanding of marriage has deep historical and familial significance for me as a black woman that my partner had never had to consider.

Janet Else Basu and Basab Kumar Basu

Married: Los Angeles, January 27, 1967

Our friends thought we were pretty brave, but in reality incidents of prejudice were usually subtle.

Janet: I am European and my husband is Asian Indian.

We married six months before Loving v. Virginia. We were in California, where the law forbidding Caucasians to marry Asians was struck down in the 1940s. We and our friends thought we were pretty brave, but in reality incidents of prejudice were usually subtle and relatively rare. Thats partly because Asian Indians were so rare in the United States in 1967; nobody knew enough Indians to form an opinion.

We learned two important things about marrying across cultures: 1) From day one, youll have to try harder to understand each other; we could never take each other for granted. That gave us a big advantage. 2) Both of our lives were enriched, and the lives of our families as well.

When Basab died 50 years after we met, his memorial service was filled with our family and friends from all sides of the globe.
The party registration of religious leaders

Americas pastors  the men and women a majority of Americans look to for help in finding meaning and purpose in their lives  are even more politically divided than the rest of us, according to a new data set representing the largest compilation of American religious leaders ever assembled.

Like their congregants, religious leaders have sharply divided themselves along political lines. Leaders and congregants of Unitarian and African Methodist Episcopal churches are overwhelmingly Democratic, as are those of Reform and Conservative Jewish synagogues. Those of several Evangelical and Baptist churches are overwhelmingly Republican. If religious denominations were states, almost all of them would be considered Safely Democratic or Safely Republican, with relatively few swing states.

Yet pastors are even more politically divided than the congregants in their denomination: Leaders of more liberal denominations tend to be even more likely to be registered as Democrats, and those of more conservative denominations even more likely to be registered as Republicans.

It's a reflection of the ongoing sorting we have in American life, said Mark Chaves, a professor of sociology, religion and divinity at Duke University. Why would we think that religion is immune to that?

These measures of partisanship include only Democrats and Republicans among denominations with at least 50 responses in the Cooperative Congressional Election Survey . The apparent imbalance between General Baptists and Pentecostal pastors and the public may be because the researchers pastors data may be missing a large group of African-American Baptist and Pentecostal pastors.

The researchers, Eitan Hersh, formerly a political scientist at Yale, and Gabrielle Malina, a graduate student at Harvard, identified about 180,000 clergy and were able to match about 130,000 to their voter registration records. The data is not wholly representative of religious leaders in the United States  it is restricted to mostly relatively large Christian and Jewish denominations  but they estimate it covers at least two-thirds of religious congregations in the country. Other groups did not have reliable centralized lists, or kept them private.

It provides a sweeping view of the leadership of the countrys largest religious denominations, their political affiliations and their demographic composition.

Which Way Does the Influence Go?

The data brings fresh evidence to questions that have long been of interest to researchers. Does a religious leader who is significantly more liberal or conservative than his congregation bring their views more in line with his? Or are churches more like markets, where congregants attend a place of worship that best reflects their worldview? The data suggests both can be true: Clergy influence the views of their congregants, but they also represent the communities where they serve.

Theyre like members of Congress, Mr. Hersh said. They have constituents, but theyre also expected to lead.

Historically, researchers have found that churchgoers do not want to hear political messages from the pulpit. Religious people do not always adopt the political cues given to them in church, said Gregory Smith, a researcher at the Pew Research Center who specializes in religion. That's just not how it works.

Instead, religiosity  how often someone attends church, rather than which church a member is a part of  has been a better measure of party affiliation than denomination. (Frequent churchgoers tend to be Republicans.) But the data on pastors suggests denomination may matter more than previously thought.

Consider Methodists and Episcopalians, two Christian denominations whose congregants have relatively similar political compositions, with 43 percent and 55 percent identifying as Democrats, respectively, according to the Cooperative Congressional Election Survey. But their pastors politics are quite different. While Methodist pastors are just as split as their congregants, Episcopalian pastors are strongly Democratic, roughly equivalent to Hawaii or Washington, D.C., in terms of partisanship.

This difference extends to the political views of members of the two churches. Episcopalians were much more likely than Methodists to express support for issues like gay marriage, immigration and abortion rights. Across denominations, the researchers found that the political affiliation of a congregations leader was a stronger predictor of the congregations policy views than the political affiliation of the congregation as a whole.

But theres also evidence that religious leaders politics can simply reflect those of their congregants. Surprisingly, this pattern is particularly strong with Roman Catholics, even though the Catholic Church is a highly centralized organization where individual parishes do not choose their leader.

 Pct. Democratic among Catholic clergy

As a group, Catholics and their pastors are a swing state, nearly evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans. Yet this masks a wide regional variance: Catholics in states like Kansas, South Dakota and Oklahoma are more Republican, while those in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Maryland are more Democratic.

The researchers found that Catholic priests political affiliations varied just as much, with a nearly linear relationship between the partisanship of priests and congregants across states. That is, congregations that tended to be strongly Republican were, on average, more likely to have Republican-registered priests, and more liberal parishes were more likely to get priests registered as Democrats.

While, logically, there are other explanations for the match between Catholic priests and their parishioners, the most compelling is that the Catholic hierarchy seeks to place their priests in politically congenial places, said David Campbell, a co-author of American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us, in an email.

Gender and Age Breakdown

Because the researchers matched pastors to their voter registrations, they compiled much more than a list of pastors and their political party registration. In many states, those records include the age, gender and address of the pastors. By compiling these estimates, Mr. Hersh and Ms. Malina effectively created a census of sorts of the nations religious leaders.

Pct. women by denomination

The researchers data describes a religious leadership that is overwhelmingly male. In all, about 85 percent of the pastors the researchers matched were men, and most of the women were concentrated in a handful of denominations. (There may be a small number of mistakes or misreported genders in voter registrations, which accounts for some of the small numbers for denominations that do not officially allow women to become church leaders.)

The Unitarian Church was the only denomination in which women represented the majority of pastors, and they represented a third or more in only a handful of other denominations, including Reform Judaism, the United Church of Christ (U.C.C.), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (E.L.C.A.) and the Presbyterian Church. These groups are all overwhelmingly Democratic; in 2010, the E.L.C.A. became the largest Protestant Church in the United States to allow gay ministers to serve as clergy.

These ratios may not be unexpected, but they represent a sharp contrast to what researchers know about whos attending services. In the United States and across the world, surveys have found that women  especially Christians  are much more likely to pray, attend services and say religion is important to them.

Religious leaders ages

The data also depicts an aging clergy. The median age of all pastors is 57, and one in four were 65 or older. Only about one in eight pastors were 40 or younger.

This reality is most pressing for Catholics. No denominations religious leaders are older; the median age of the more than 16,000 priests identified by the researchers was 62. Catholics have long identified an aging priesthood as a challenge.

Where Pastors Live

In most states, party registration information includes voters addresses along with their ages and genders. By matching these addresses to the census information associated with their neighborhood, we can compare denominations. While these estimates do not describe the pastors themselves  a pastor could be poor and live in a rich neighborhood, or be nonwhite in an overwhelmingly white one  they provide a useful basis for comparing denominations, particularly because most pastors live close to the congregations they serve.
Veteran BJP leader LK Advani was believed to be the automatic choice for the top post but his chances were dented after a court's ruling that he be charged for criminal conspiracy in Babri demolition case.

By India Today Web Desk: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has formed a three-member team to pick the NDA's candidate for presidential election scheduled to be held on July 17.

BJP president Amit Shah today appointed senior party leaders Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Venkaiah Naidu to talk to NDA members and pick a name to represent the ruling alliance in the presidential election.

advertisement

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW:

Neither the BJP-led NDA nor the Congress-headed Opposition have announced their candidates to replace President Pranab Mukherjee whose term ends on July 24. Congress has held several meetings with Opposition parties to pick a consensus candidate but nothing has been finalised so far. Reports said that Congress president Sonia Gandhi had even approached veteran Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar with the offer to be the Opposition's presidential candidate. However, the former Union minister made it clear he won't contest. For the BJP, selecting a presidential candidate is appearing to be one huge task as it has so far failed to convince allies like the Shiv Sena over the issue. Veteran party leader LK Advani was believed to be an automatic choice for the saffron party but his chances appear to have been dented after being charged of criminal conspiracy in 1992 Babri Masjid demolition case. Opposition parties will meet on June 14 to formally begin discussions on the presidential and vice presidential elections. Congress President Sonia Gandhi has initiated moves to bring the opposition parties on a common platform for the elections. Gandhi, earlier this month, constituted a ten member sub-group of representatives from opposition parties to take forward the deliberations and discussions on the elections. Several opposition parties have held parleys to find a consensus candidate but have decided to wait for the ruling alliance to reach out to them with the name of its candidate. The parties have said that if a consensual candidate does not emerge, they will field a candidate "who will steadfastly defend the constitutional values". The Election Commission last week announced that the election of the next President will be held on July 17 and counting of votes will take place on July 20.

ALSO READ:

Why BJP may surprise again with its pick for President of India's post

How PM Narendra Modi can now have a president of his choice

25 years after Babri demolition: Will Modi choose Advani as President?

WATCH: Congress bats for RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat as President

--- ENDS ---
Bernie Sanders was the keynote speaker at the second annual People's Summit, June 9-11, in Chicago.

The event was spearheaded by National Nurses United.

OEN Editor-in-Chief, Rob Kall, attended, his first article about the summit is here.

Bernie Sanders, now considered one of the most powerful politicians in America today, spoke for an hour, and then answered questions for 20 minutes. Get yourself a nice cuppa something and enjoy it here.
The leaders will hold discussions on convergence of strategic interests in South Asia, joint effort in fighting terrorism, and the vexed issue of H-1B temporary visa.

By India Today Web Desk: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a two-day visit to Washington DC from June 25 after an invitation from US President Donald Trump. The meeting will be PM Modi's first with Trump whose took over as the president on January 20.

The meeting between the two leaders who have spoken over the phone at least thrice since the latter assumed office, comes at a time when Trump made critical comments about India while announcing America's decision to pull out of the Paris climate change agreement.

advertisement

President Donald Trump has accused India and other countries of trying to extract "billions and billions and billions" of dollars in foreign aid from the developed world to sign up for the climate accord.

MODI'S DISCUSSIONS WITH TRUMP

In spite of the difference on some issues, Modi's discussions with Trump are likely to find a common approach on matters related to South Asia, particularly the rise in infiltration from the neighbouring Pakistan, terrorism and India's case for a seat at the nuclear supplier's group. Modi has reiterated India's support to the Paris agreement and said he is willing to go further than what has been committed under the Paris accord.

Both the leaders will hold discussions on taking the bilateral ties to a new level, convergence of strategic interests in South Asia, joint effort in fighting terrorism, trade and specifically the vexed issue of H-1B temporary visa, the biggest concern for New Delhi.

Moreover, US National Security Adviser (NSA) Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster has re-affirmed India's position as the US' "major defence partner" during talks with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Lieutenant General McMaster had discussed bilateral ties, situation in the South Asian region including Afghanistan and Pakistan with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his April visit.

Under the previous administration, Prime Minister Modi had a record eight meetings with former US President Barack Obama.

On the US executive order on H-1B visas, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has reportedly hit back at the United States on the H-1B visa issue and said that their companies in India will also be affected. She has said that it is not only the Indian companies which will get affected but also the US companies who earn profits which go to their economy.

(With inputs from ANI)

Also Read:

India leading polluter, says US President Donald Trump while pulling out of Paris climate accord

Narendra Modi in Paris: Climate deal shared legacy of world, article of faith for India

Also Watch:

US pulls out of Paris Climate Accord; Trump says deal not tough on India, China

--- ENDS ---

advertisement
When Donald Trump began his presidential campaign no one believed he could possibly be elected. When David Cameron went to the country on EU membership, he could not imagine 'Remain' losing. So it was with Theresa May. Ahead in the polls by 21 points she sought an unassailable majority.



Whatever the reasons -- and there are many -- she received a drubbing, her party down by 13 seats. Instead of increasing her majority, she actually lost it. Yet she has cobbled together a working majority coalition and will remain prime minister. The real question is how long?



Safer to be feared than loved, advised Machiavelli. She is neither. Her co-chiefs of staff Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy have commanded a Fortress May, resistant to advice, aggressive to the extent of upsetting colleagues even members, and where reporting bad news is thought disloyal. The whole reminiscent of the Nixon presidency rather than, say, Ronald Reagan whose humor often deflected serious issues -- as when he observed he wasn't worried about the deficit ... it's big enough to take care of itself.




From Alon Ben-Meir Website

Dear Prime Minister Netanyahu,

Since you celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the victory of the Six Day War, did you ponder what this triumph has done to the Palestinian people and to the moral character of the state of Israel? I am not sure how harshly history will judge you, but one thing is certain -- I, like millions of Jews around the world, deeply believe that no prime minister of Israel has done more damage to the country's future security and well-being than you have. The sad irony is that for you, the facts on the ground are freely expungable in your morally distorted universe.

Fifty years have passed, and as the longest serving prime minister, you have not yet articulated any vision about Israel's future and the fate of the Palestinians. Instead, you find comfort in hypocrisy, pretending to do what is right and defending your ceaseless lying and twisted logic, making a virtue out of falsehood. Remember Mr. Netanyahu, a moral leader does not cheat or mislead, but takes a clear position regardless of how unpopular it may be -- but you have pursued policies where nothing is beyond the pale.

You profess to support a two-state solution and that you are ready to negotiate unconditionally, but everything you have said or done over the years stands in total contrast to that notion. How do you reconcile a two-state solution with your statement, "I think that anyone who moves to establish a Palestinian state today, and evacuate areas, is giving radical Islam an area from which to attack the State of Israel"? And when you were asked during the last elections in 2015 if no Palestinian state would be created under your leadership, you said: "Indeed."

In your speech to Congress in May 2011, you stated that "This is the land of our forefathers, the Land of Israel, to which Abraham brought the idea of one God, where David set out to confront Goliath, and where Isaiah saw a vision of eternal peace." During the same speech, you fervently proclaimed that "In Judea and Samaria, the Jewish people are not foreign occupiers."

Tell me, how do these statements conform with the idea of a Palestinian state to be established on the same land, when you have no intention of ever evacuating any settlement? You reconfirmed that in September 2016, stating: "The Palestinian leadership actually demands a Palestinian state with one pre-condition: No Jews. There's a phrase for that: It's called ethnic cleansing."

You use national security as a blank check to spread fear by portraying the Palestinians as the greatest danger that faces the nation. "In order to assure our existence," you stated, "we need to have military and security control over all of the territory west of the Jordan [River]."

How much weight should the Palestinians put on your presumed readiness to negotiate a two-state solution, when in the same breath you emphatically demand from Abbas that he must first recognize Israel as a Jewish state? As you said, "the real core of this conflict" is not this or that settlement, or this or that community, it's the persistent and enduring [Palestinian] refusal to recognize a Jewish state in any boundary." Both claims are untrue and unfounded.

If the negotiations were to start without any pre-conditions, how could you claim that "Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Jewish people"? On another occasion, you stated that: "[Israel] didn't occupy Jerusalem fifty years ago, it liberated it"I want to the tell the world in a loud and clear voice: Jerusalem has always been and always will be the capital of Israel." If you remove the future of Jerusalem from the negotiating table, isn't that a pre-condition?

You continue to proclaim that the settlements are not an obstacle to peace. Can you explain by what miracle the settlements will not prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state with a contiguous landmass, especially when you continue their expansion and rule out the evacuation of existing settlements?

To be sure, Mr. Netanyahu, your desperate need for reaffirmation of your dubious schemes and bigoted attitude leads you to create an atmosphere of uncertainty and a sense of vulnerability among the Israelis so you can rally the political support to stay in power. If this is not the trademark of a demagogue, then what is? Aristophanes put it well when he stated that: "You [demagogues] are like the fishers for eels; in still waters they catch nothing, but if they thoroughly stir up the slime, their fishing is good; in the same way, it's only in troublous times that you line your pockets."

You demand the Palestinians behave and dare not resist the occupation, but what have you offered in return? You refuse to release political prisoners; you refuse to halt the expansion of settlements; you refuse to provide the Palestinians permits to build, and you refuse unrestricted mobility of Palestinians, not to speak of the daily ordeal to which they are subjected. If you wanted real peace, Mr. Netanyahu, shouldn't you have used the fiftieth anniversary to make at least a good-will gesture, such as releasing a few hundred Palestinian political prisoners to give hope that new, brighter, and happier days may dawn?

You ought to recall what Frederick Douglas once observed: "where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe."

To blame the Palestinians for the lack of peace is hypocritical at best. What is it that you want from them? They are at Israel's mercy; they have nothing left to give. You, Netanyahu, have the power to propose a framework for peace. No country or combination of countries in the Middle East can expect to defeat Israel militarily for the foreseeable future. If you do not negotiate peace from strength now, then when?

Next Page 1 | 2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
Quicklink Not Found

Sometimes, authors delete their quicklinks after publishing them.



To see if the quicklink was renamed or re-published, please click here.
This is my effort to summarize a lengthy video by The Sane Progressive, Debbie Lusignan. I took some liberties in editing my own Dragon Naturally Speaking translation, while watching the entire video, tossing in slight additions or modifications based on things I've heard in other of Debbie's videos, and in some cases read about.

We need to network and join with other truth tellers. We already have the real leaders, whistleblowers, Cynthia McKinney, Chris Hedges, and many, many others. We, the 99%, need to confront the 1% and those who work for them. Truth tellers are operating in an issue oriented way.

We need to address actual structural fraud and our existing broken structures and create real solutions for what we are about. We need to create a path outside of what we have now. Chris Hedges says we'll be a long time in the woods to get past our present disturbing premises. We will be viewed as the enemy when we work outside the broken system, but that is what we must do.

We become attached to ideas of what we think someone is, rather than looking harder at real issues and what's being done. We had a coup and a stolen election right before our eyes. Bernie won and wouldn't stand up for that. The system goes nowhere, but to keep us on treadmills.

A lot of people awoke during Bernie Sanders' movement [which DL avidly supported, as did I and I'm sure many readers here]. The next awakening will be when people see these movements not working out, yet again. We're watching the beginning of the newest phase of co-opting and going in circles. Look what happened at the woman's March. Look at the lead speakers and who they represent, both there and here [much more on this in the video]. The politicians here are given permission as to how far they can go and what topics they can address, by deep state players.

This is a policy driven event with no mechanism to pass policy. Everything here has been sanctified by the Democratic Party. They use token progressives as they have for the last four years or more.

Salvaging the Affordable Care Act, formerly the Romney Care Act, is ludicrous when we could have Medicare for All. Nancy Pelosi and others are applauding and saying we must stand up for the Affordable Care Act. Sanders has been a leading supporter of this.

The gathering is co-opted by people who have been long entrenched in the establishment. Michael Moore will be there, he who claimed Hillary Clinton never lied. Hillary Clinton's people have done worse things than Trump. It's not a lesser of two evils, we are being managed ultimately by war hawks, whose wheels are greased by both parties in our duopoly. The lead speaker at this event should be called out as a collaborator with the establishment.

They're looking for people who won't provide leadership; we need to take power and responsibility for ourselves. We need to look at what led us to this point and talk about what brought us here. We need to look at our foundational premises and basic values. There will be no change until a mind shift occurs.

We are operating on a foundation of a reverse Robin Hood principle. We need to shift away from capitalism which is based on a scarcity model. This is not about casting judgment, we need to identify what is locking people into that which manages and controls us. There is no logic, just emotion and some ignorance by people don't know or even want to understand the ugly things our country is doing.

We must look further into the deep state backers, like the CIA and real power players behind the scene. There is a driving dark energy behind all this.

We need light. What keeps us oppressed is fear, and being divided by fear and hate. I have truth tellers and light workers on my site; they are abundant but not as connected as they need to be. Light workers need to come together.

I don't need to wear a pink hat and talk about how I'm being victimized. I'm trying to channel light, but we need to go to some dark places first. We need to show our emotions and emotional work is part of the process. We must not shrink from our emotions. People must be free and equal.
From Strategic Culture

Against all the odds, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn scored a landmark victory of sorts in the British general election. Under his leadership, he has brought the party back as a major political force with future momentum.

Only a few weeks ago, he was written off as a loony left no-hoper who would crash the Labour party into oblivion. This week, however, his confident socialist manifesto has been vindicated as a winner among voters, especially the younger ones. That bodes well for the future.

Granted, Labour did not win the election with an outright majority. But the dramatic gains in new parliamentary seats brings the party into a position where it is able to propose forming a minority government if the ruling Conservatives implode from infighting.

For the Conservative party under Prime Minister Theresa May, the result is a disaster, reported Bloomberg News. The right-wing Sun blasted its front page with one word playing on the premier's name: "Mayhem." While the more sober pro-Conservative Daily Telegraph headlined gravity of the setback with: "May's gamble backfires."

Back in April, Theresa May was so confident of thrashing Labour at the ballots she made the extraordinary call to hold a snap election -- three years ahead of the scheduled parliamentary cycle. May, who took over from David Cameron last year after his Brexit referendum debacle, wanted to boost her mandate with an election victory carried under her own leadership.

When she called the early election, her party enjoyed a 20-plus point lead ahead of Labour in various opinion polls. However, that lead was slashed over the weeks running up to the election held this week, to the point where Labour has managed to increase its national share of the votes to 40 percent compared with the Conservatives, who won 42 percent, according to a BBC summary report.

That outcome marks a stupendous personal victory for Corbyn's style and substance of leadership. It wasn't just the opposition Conservatives and largely right-wing British media who were denigrating him as a Marxist and terrorist sympathizer. Many of his own parliamentarians on the Blairite right of the Labour party were casting him as a loser and dead-end throwback to the party's traditional socialist policies. It was being predicted that Corbyn would be sacked in the anticipated electoral wipe-out. As it turns out though, Labour under Corbyn has soared with the voters. He has ignited a new political energy across Britain, especially among younger voters, to give socialist ideals a renaissance.

In terms of seat numbers, Labour won some 30 new parliamentarians, while the Conservatives lost 13 seats. Rather than increasing its majority, Theresa May's party has ended up losing its overall majority. It can only form a minority government if it manages to negotiate a working coalition with one of the fringe parties, such as the Democratic Unionists from Northern Ireland who have 10 seats. It's hardly a ringing endorsement of stable government.

If the Conservatives fail to produce a working minority government, then in theory Labour could form an alternative administration if it can align with the Scottish Nationalists and the Liberal Democrats in an ad hoc progressive alliance. Corbyn said after the result that his party is ready to serve the country.

It's hard to overstate the scale of defeat for Theresa May. The BBC called the result for her humiliating. And while she might remain as prime minister in the short term in order to maintain a modicum of political stability in British governance, the knives are already out for her ouster among rivals within her party. The gaffe-prone foreign secretary Boris Johnson is being touted as the next Conservative leader and premier.

May gambled that a strong electoral win would give her more leverage to negotiate the Brexit from the European Union on more advantageous terms for Britain. As it transpires, the Brexit process is now thrown into even more disarray because of May's diminished mandate. Those negotiations between Brussels and London were set to begin later this month. But it seems that the talks will have to be put on hold -- much to the annoyance of EU leaders like Germany's Angela Merkel. It can be expected that the EU will drive a tough bargain and not give Britain the concessions on trade and immigration control it was rather arrogantly demanding.

May's pitch to the voters of electing a strong leader to negotiate a super Brexit deal with Brussels just didn't deliver.

Labour under Corbyn is also committed to leaving the EU as per the referendum result last July, even though the party campaigned on a remain ticket. May's calculation that voters would view him as unreliable was way off target.

What seems to have mattered most to British voters was not the politics of Brexit, but rather the more traditional issues of socio-economic concerns and class interests.

Next Page 1 | 2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
The New York Times reports that US and/or US-allied forces in Syria may be using white phosphorous munitions in the assault on Raqqa, capital city of the Islamic State in Syria. The use of white phosphorous in war is a perennial complaint among human rights activists. And while it's valid as far as it goes, it misses a larger and more important point.

White phosphorous -- nicknamed "Willie Pete" by the US mortar, artillery and air forces who use it -- produces highly visible plumes of white smoke, justifying its use to mark targets or screen movements.

It's also highly incendiary. It sets things on fire, it causes terrible burns, and it can't be put out with water (it must be smothered and deprived of oxygen). For that reason, international law prohibits its use "on personnel" and in populated areas.

When I worked with 81mm mortars in the US Marine Corps, those restrictions were treated jokingly. Sure, we couldn't use Willie Pete on personnel, but we could use it on equipment. Rifles, rucksacks and helmets are equipment, right? If someone happens to be wearing or carrying that equipment, that's THEIR problem, right? One of our favorite training missions involved firing white phosphorous rounds, theoretically to "mark the target," followed by high explosive rounds. That kind of mission was nicknamed "shake and bake."

I'm glad that I was never called upon to fire white phosphorous at other human beings in combat (I was, for all intents and purposes, a rifleman during the Gulf War). But when tremble in retrospect at that possibility, it occurs to me that the focus on a particular munition doesn't do justice to the problem of war crimes as such.

In war, people die. While there are better and worse ways to do so, it seems to me that we should be less worried about how people die than about which people die and why.

The problem with bombarding Raqqa, or any other populated area, isn't that it's being done with white phosphorous, it's that it's being done at all. In addition to Islamic State combatants -- fair game, so to speak -- the area is full of civilian non-combatants. Killing them is a crime whether it's done with white phosphorous, sarin gas or just plain vanilla bullets and artillery shrapnel.

Of course, we're frequently and piously informed that innocent civilians killed by US or US-allied forces are accidental "collateral damage" or even "human shields." The US Department of Defense always thoroughly investigates such killings and always ends up absolving US troops of responsibility. It's only a crime to kill non-combatants if "the enemy" can be blamed for the killing, and -- mirabile dictu! -- that always turns out to be the case.

But in reality, when you pull a trigger and send a round of any kind downrange, you are responsible for where it lands and who it kills. Until and unless US forces accept that military responsibility, it's our civic responsibility to treat them as the war criminals they are.
Vancomycin 3.0 is the latest superantibiotic created to fight disease-causing bacteria. This particular strain is at least 25,000 times more potent against microbes such as enterococci (VRE) and Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA)both of which had become immune to the predecessor strains of vancomycin 3.0.

Vancomycin kills off bad bacteria by preventing it from building on cell walls. It then binds to peptides wall-building protein fragments that end with two copies of the amino acid D-alanine (D-ala). The bad bacteria have evolved to now replace one D-ala with D-lactic acid (D-lac), which prevents vancomycin from being able to bind to its target.

This latest strain of vancomycin has been synthesized to be able to bond with both D-ala and D-lac. In addition to this, other novel ways of fighting off bacteria have been found with this new drug like the ability to halt cell wall construction which prevents the bacteria from being able to replicate and spread throughout the body.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), about 23,000 Americans die from antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections each year. As more and more strains of bacteria become resistant to drugs such as vancomycin which has long been considered a sort of last resort for killing off bacteria it has become crucial that scientists develop stronger drugs that can out-smart, so to speak, such powerful infections. As human beings continue to grow more resistant to antibiotics of all varieties, it has essentially become a race against time for scientists to develop new and creative ways of targeting the bad bacteria that infects our systems.

Despite the fact that this new antibiotic has proved most effective in lab tests, scientists still dont believe it is ready to be prescribed in any capacity. Regardless, the development of the antibiotic will proceed in the hopes of developing the drug more cheaply, after which it will go on to animal testing and, finally, human trials.

Top photo by Samantha Celera / Flickr, CC BY-ND 2.0



Natalie Wickstrom is a freelance writer out of Athens, Georgia. She most likely wrote this to the tune of a movie score whilst chewing gum.
By AP: The political crisis engulfing Qatar stems from accusations by its Arab neighbors that it supports terrorism. Qatar denies the allegations, but its ties with Iran and embrace of various Islamist groups have brought intense scrutiny, made it a regional outlier and created enough smoke to suggest a fire.

Last week, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed ties with Qatar amid a slew of punitive measures. On Friday, the four Arab states upped the pressure by naming 59 people and several charities linked to Qatar on a terrorist list.

advertisement

Governments across the region routinely cite terrorism as justification to clamp down on political opposition and rights activists. Some groups Qatar has backed - such as the Muslim Brotherhood - are seen by many as a legitimate political force. Others, including some hard-line Sunni rebel factions in Syria, are not that different ideologically from groups that Saudi Arabia backs there.

Here's a look at the various groups Qatar's accused of supporting and its relationship with them:

Al-Qaeda And Islamic State Group

Qatar's Arab neighbors have accused it of backing al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group's ideology across the region, from Syria to the Sinai Peninsula. Experts and groups in Syria say Qatari finances have indirectly propped up militant groups. Similar accusations were leveled at Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries in the early days of Syria's 2011 uprising, but experts say these governments amended their official stances and financing laws.

Some express concern that the row between Saudi Arabia and Qatar could undermine all finances to the Syrian opposition - where, on the ground, the lines are blurred over which groups cooperate with radicals. Hassan Hassan, a Syria expert, said Qatar has never supported al-Qaida or IS directly. However, he said Qatar has supported Ahrar al-Sham, whose founders are linked to al-Qaida. For its part, Saudi Arabia once hosted members of Ahrar al-Sham at a Syrian opposition conference in its capital.

Muslim Brotherhood - A Polarising Force

The Islamist Sunni group remains one of the region's most polarizing. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt view it as a direct threat to their rule and deem it a destabilizing force. However, the Brotherhood's offshoots remain active in Jordan and Tunisia. The Brotherhood was elected to power in Egypt after protests toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and Qatar aided the Brotherhood-led government in Cairo with billions of dollars. It was a key supporter of the group's offshoots in Syria and Libya.

Qatar argues it supported Egypt as a whole, and not one particular faction, when the Brotherhood was in power. Egypt's military ousted the Brotherhood and unleashed a lethal crackdown against its members amid mass protests in 2013. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt outlawed the group and branded it a terrorist organization, accusing it of plotting attacks. Brotherhood affiliates in the Gulf have been arrested.

advertisement

Gulf monarchies also accuse Qatar of providing financial support, a safe haven and even citizenship to Islamist opposition figures from their countries.

Hamas - The Ruler Of Gaza

The Palestinian group, an offshoot of Egypt's Brotherhood, is considered a terrorist organization by Israel and its Western allies. The group, which rules the Gaza Strip, has fought three wars with Israel and is seen by some in the Arab world as an armed resistance force against Israeli occupation. Saudi Arabia says Qatar must sever ties with Hamas.

Qatar has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in roads, housing and a major hospital in the Gaza Strip offering a lifeline for jobs in the devastated area that is under an Israeli-Egyptian blockade. Its support for the territory makes Qatar one of its few foreign backers. Qatar says its work in Gaza is "purely humanitarian" and its engagement with the group has been in the context of internationally backed peace talks.

Groups Holding Hostages For Ransom

advertisement

A deal negotiated recently to release kidnapped members of Qatar's ruling family has been a source of anxiety for Gulf leaders, particularly in Saudi Arabia, which views Iran as its top adversary. Qatar reportedly paid hundreds of millions of dollars to an Iranian-backed Shiite militia that had kidnapped the 26 hostages on Dec. 16, 2015 from a desert camp for falcon hunters in southern Iraq.

Egypt has asked the U.N. Security Council to investigate reports that Qatar "paid up to $1 billion to a terrorist group active in Iraq" to free the hostages, which would violate U.N. sanctions.

Qatar says it only supported the Iraqi government financially for its efforts in the release of hostages, and that it did not deal with armed groups there. The deal also allegedly resulted in the evacuation of residents of predominantly Shiite villages in Syria, where Iran's proxies hold sway. Several people close to the negotiations say Qatar also paid a hefty sum to Islamist groups in Syria, including one linked to al-Qaida, for the evacuation of the residents. They told The Associated Press that the talks were probably the region's most complex and sensitive hostage deal.

Iran - The Shiite Powerhouse

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain accuse Qatar of supporting Shiite militant groups in both countries. Violence has increased in recent weeks between militants and Saudi security forces in a predominantly Shiite town in the country's east. In Bahrain, the Sunni-led monarchy crushed an uprising by majority Shiites there in 2011 and continues to crack down on peaceful dissent. Bahraini security forces have since been targeted by local Shiite militants.

advertisement

Saudi Arabia has also accused Qatar of backing Iranian-allied rebels in Yemen, known as Houthis. However, Qatar was a member of a Saudi-led coalition bombing the Houthis in Yemen. Experts say there is no evidence to support the claims, but that the accusations appear to stem from negotiations for a transfer of power in Yemen in 2012. Qatar and Saudi Arabia were in disagreement over how to go about it, and Qatar was accused of trying to sabotage a Saudi-led initiative by working with Houthis. Qatar's ambassador in Washington Meshal bin Hamad Al Thani has said that while the country has ties with Iran and shares with it a vast underwater natural gas field its stance is similar to that of other Gulf Arab states.

Also Read:

How Saudi Arabia and allies strong-armed Qatar, blindsided US

Iran sends planes of food to Qatar amid concerns of shortages

Also Watch: Qatar isolated by Gulf countries; MEA says move won't affect India

--- ENDS ---
Absolute Poker Cofounder Scott Tom Pleads Guilty to a Single Misdemeanor Count

June 12, 2017 Jason Glatzer Editor

In late February, Absolute Poker founder Scott Tom returned to the United States to face charges from the Department of Justice's Black Friday investigation six years ago.

The charges included conspiracy to violate the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, violation of the UIGEA and operation of illegal gambling business with each individual charge carrying potential penalties of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Tom left his home in Costa Rica in 2011, which does have an extradition treaty with the United States for Antigua, which does not have such a treaty in place.

That all changed in February when according to Reuters, Tom returned to the United States to face the charges. He pled not guilty and was released on a $500,000 bond.

According to Flushdraw, the matter will be resolved on Sept. 28 when U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses will impose a sentence on Tom after he and his attorney James Henderson agreed to a deal with U.S. Southern District of New York prosecutors. The deal, which included Tom pleading guilty to a single misdemeanor count of accessory after the fact in connection with the transmission of gambling information, was agreed upon on May 31 and filed in court last week.

Tom's stepbrother Brent Beckley was among the 11 people charged in the famous Black Friday case known as USA v. Tzvetkoff. Beckley faced the music early and pled guilty to criminal charges, including conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud. These charges could have resulted in a maximum of 30 years in prison.

He was sentenced to a fine and 14 months in prison which he eventually served 10 months of in a Colorado work camp after admitting he knowingly broke the law when Absolute Poker disguised deposits and withdrawals to banks to facilitate gambling funds.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who presided over the case wanted to send a message with the prison term "to make clear that the government of the United States means business in these types of cases."

Flushdraw Contributing Editor Haley Hintze suggests that Tom's sentence is likely to be less than that of his stepbrother and may not serve time behind bars.

"Scott Toms probable escape from a lengthy jail term is implied by the language of the plea agreement, but a significant fine is likely involved," Hintze said. "The primary reason Tom is likely to avoid harsher punishment is that the SDNY charges based on the 2006 UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) are legally focused on the U.S. banking system."
Sunday Briefing: Andrew Chen Wins the Super-Sized Sunday

June 12, 2017 Matthew Pitt Editor

With the 2017 World Series of Poker (WSOP) in full swing in Las Vegas, it is easy to forget that millions of dollars are being won each day in online poker tournaments. Sunday, as you know, is the biggest day on the online poker calendar, and it was a big day for the grinders mentioned in this article.

Andrew achen Chen took his online poker tournament winnings past the $2 million mark on Jun. 11, according to PocketFives.com when he came out on top of a 599-strong field in the PokerStars Super-Sized Sunday. Chen, of Canada, walked away with $35,158 in prize money and an additional $26,228 in bounty payments, which made this result Chens fifth-largest online tournament score.

The largest sum of money won this weekend was the $176,212 awarded to Hungarys kZhh after he triumphed in the Sunday Million. The Hungarian defeated Indias Sharad Keenyle Rao heads-up to leave his opponent having to console himself with the $121,949 runner-up prize.

Some of the other notable PokerStars victories on Jun. 11 included:

jksisme  winner of the $109 Sunday Starter for $5,025

 winner of the for $5,025 Takaovi  winner of the Big $162 for $5,050

 winner of the for $5,050 mypokerf  winner of the $109 Sunday Kickoff for $16,157

 winner of the for $16,157 girafganger7  winner of the Hot $162 for $6,743

 winner of the for $6,743 xenomorph101  winner of the $215 Bounty Builder for $14,634

 winner of the for $14,634 Belqi  winner of the $215 Sunday Warm-Up for $47,532

 winner of the for $47,532 SsicK_OnE  winner of the Big $109 for $20,842

 winner of the for $20,842 Anton antesvante Wigg  winner of the Hot $162 for $12,044

 winner of the for $12,044 Brauliocsp  winner of the $109 Bounty Builder for $15,390

 winner of the for $15,390 Biocid  winner of the $109 Bubble Rush for $7,759

 winner of the for $7,759 Rafael heatbr Watanbe do Prado  winner of the Hot $109 for $16,538

 winner of the for $16,538 carpediem200  winner of the $1,050 Sunday Grand NLHE for $39,642

 winner of the for $39,642 Jens Fresh_oO_D Lakemeier  winner of the $1,050 Sunday PLO for $24,729

 winner of the for $24,729 Optimuus12  winner of the Big $215 for $16,797

 winner of the for $16,797 UhhRooj  winner of the $109 Sunday Cooldown for $20,519

 winner of the for $20,519  fr0zZy  winner of the $215 Sunday Supersonic for $25,715

 winner of the for $25,715 macker888  winner of the Hot $215 for $15,590

Over to the results at 888poker now where Ukraines Sambist1990 turned $215 into $20,034 by winning the $100,000 Mega Deep, defeating the United Kingdoms ckb4714 heads-up to secure the title.

Another $215 buy-in tournament was the $40,000 Turbo Mega Deep which was won by Oduvanchik15 for $9,589, while Swedens KURDEdersim won the $30,000 Sunday Crocodile for $7,300.

The largest 888poker score this week went to Switzerlands fishermen90 who took down the $1,050 Sunday Whale. The victory netted him $38,640 of the $168,000 prize pool.

In the $25,000 Sunday Tornado, Artem veeea Vezhenkov and GangstaGo chopped the tournament when heads up to bank $5,220 and $4,029 with Benettinho triumphing in the $60,000 Sunday Challenge and adding $12,020 to their bankroll.

Finally, over to partypoker where DeanMalenko walked away with the $46,528 first-place prize of the $2,600 Super High Roller and where EnlightQ won the $250K Gtd Title Fight for $42,625. Another large score was the $25,400 that TorTor2012 won by becoming the $150K Gtd Main Event champion, and yet another was the $28,545 won by GangsterOfLov63 who won the $150K Gtd High Roller.

TorTor2012 not only won the Main Event, but also the $100K Gtd High Roller for $21,501, ABCpoker911 won the $100K Gtd Title Fight Warm Up for $21,956 while StarStrength won the $50K Gtd Progressive KO Weigh-In for $4,939.
"It's about recognizing our inherent and unalienable right to freedom and independence."  Sen. Dennis Rodriguez Jr.

Members of the Filipino community and the Philippine Consulate General's Office joined local lawmakers and members of the judiciary yesterday for a flag-raising ceremony to commemorate the 119th anniversary of the proclamation of Philippine independence.

Consul General Marciano de Borja, of the Philippine Consulate General in Guam, welcomed guests and spoke on the partnership spelled out in this year's Philippine independence theme.

Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request.

"The message of this year's theme is working together for change," de Borja said. "Especially in the light of the challenges we have now."

He first explained how the celebration on June 12 honors not the "actual independence," but the 119th anniversary of the proclamation of independence.

"It was the struggle of the Filipinos  first against Spanish rule, and it didn't end there," de Borja said. "After we were fighting, the Spanish then later on we were fighting the Americans, and for better or worse that's what happened in the past so we just have to recognize that."

The quest for Philippine independence did not come easily, the consul general explained. It was thanks to the efforts and sacrifices of their national heroes that the country finally achieved its freedom.

"The heroism, the sacrifice and the glory that our forefathers showed should be valued and appreciated by the young generation," he said. "Especially the new (generation) who somehow are not familiar with how it is to be independent because we take independence for granted."

As the local Filipino community celebrates Philippine independence across the island, de Borja described celebrations back in Manila as "low-key" because of an ongoing insurgency in the Philippine region of Mindanao that resulted in martial law being imposed last month by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

"I'm sure the Duterte administration will do its best to quell this rebellion and bring back peace and order to Mindanao," de Borja said.

Proud to be Filipino

Delivering the keynote address, Sen. Dennis Rodriguez Jr. said that celebrating Philippine independence on June 12 every year as a child always made him "proud to be a Filipino." He added that despite the unrest in parts of the Philippines and the larger region, that pride stands strong.

"My dear Filipinos who are here on Guam now, we know what it's like to be free," Rodriguez said. "For a lot of us, a lot of our friends and family in the Philippines are still fighting for freedom. We see the terror attacks and unrest, but what is unwavered there is the Filipino spirit.

"When we talk about celebrating independence, we talk about being free  being free from whatever it is that we have been fighting so hard for," he said. "It's about recognizing our inherent and unalienable right to freedom and independence."
Four years have passed since law was enacted allowing the Guam Department of Education to enter into power purchase agreements for solar systems at island schools and no systems have been installed yet.

The department is able to bypass the normal government procurement process through an agreement with owners of leased schools, but the attorney general has bounced back what would have been the first PPA with the Guam Education Finance Foundation, requesting that GDOE get more input from other sources.

GEFF is the lease holder for four Guam schools: Okkodo High School, Adacao Elementary School, Liguan Elementary School and Astumbo Middle School.

Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request.

The department and GEFF developed a proposed power purchase agreement in 2015. The agreement was sent to the attorney general for review after it had been approved by the Guam Power Authority in 2016.

Any such agreement with GDOE must come within 80 percent of the department's current power bills. This is to ensure a savings to the department, which spends millions on utility payments per year.

While GPA General Manager John Benavente said the original GEFF agreement complied with law, he added that he was unsure whether the contract was negotiated to the best prices for GDOE.

In March 2016, education Superintendent Jon Fernandez said he anticipated getting solar systems installed at the leased schools by that summer. However, the attorney general held on to the agreement and in January, Deputy Superintendent Taling Taitano said the attorney general's office was finalizing recommended changes to the agreement to better suit GDOE.

The proposed power purchase agreement was later sent back to the education department for additional input from other entities, including GPA and the University of Guam.

GPA sent an updated analysis on June 1, while GDOE is still waiting on recommendations from UOG.

GPA stated that several factors have come into play since its initial analysis of the PPA a year ago. In particular, GPA noted that upcoming projects - including the construction of a new power plant and utility-grade renewable energy projects  would be affecting rates in the future.

In addition, the utility anticipates changes to its net metering policy within a year. This would also affect net metering reimbursements to GDOE and impact the economics of a power purchase agreement with GEFF.

The policy allows renewable energy customers to obtain retail rate credit for excess energy returned to the power grid. However, the Consolidated Commission on Utilities and Public Utilities Commission, which have oversight of GPA, are in the process of reviewing that policy.

The initial PPA with GEFF had a base rate of 19 cents per kilowatt hour to be charged to GDOE for energy produced by photovoltaic systems. But GPA rates have fallen since the initial approval and the new threshold that GDOE would need in order to be compliant with the 80 percent requirement in law is 18 cents per kWh, according to the utility.

The initial PPA also had annual escalator rate of 1.5 percent, meaning the payments to GEFF would rise by that rate per year. In its updated analysis, GPA recommended that the escalator be no more than 1 percent per year.

"GDOE would be paying GEFF a higher rate than GPA's energy in the latter years," the analysis stated.

"Our recent bids for solar renewables indicates a 1 percent escalator was reasonable and acceptable."

Taitano said GEFF was willing to make adjustments to the proposed power purchase agreement based on input from GPA.

Fernandez has said that the process with GEFF would be a model for other lease holders to enter into solar energy agreements with GDOE.
Priority: Well-being

While the whole world is celebrating World Diabetes Day on Nov. 14, which is the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting, who discovered insulin alo Read moreIntegrate diabetes education into workplaces and schools
Automotive Aftermarket

PR-Inside.com: 2017-06-12 12:43:54

Press Information

Future Market Insights

616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,



Valley Cottage, NY 10989,



United States



T: +1-347-918-3531



F: +1-845-579-5705







3479183531

email





Published by

Abhishek Budholiya

+1-347-918-3531

e-mail

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com







# 481 Words

616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-57053479183531Abhishek Budholiya+1-347-918-3531

In Future Market Insights market report titled, Automotive Aftermarket: ASEAN Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 2016-2026, poor road infrastructure and extended vehicle life have been identified as profitable factors for the growth of the automotive aftermarket in ASEAN. On account of growing out-of-warranty car parc, the US$ 19.3 Bn ASEAN automotive aftermarket is predicted to surpass US$ 48 Bn in revenues by 2026 end, increasing at a healthy CAGR of 9.6% through 2026.Key Trends Impacting the ASEAN Automotive AftermarketGrowing popularity of new, lightweight vehicle modelsAdvances in OEM technology and OEM globalisationAdoption of remote vehicle diagnostic systems, growing awareness about self-inflating tyres, and widespread acceptance of electric vehicle technologyOnline sales of automotive parts and accessoriesEstablishment of franchises in emerging countries, especially those where vehicle parc is steadily gaining tractionSegmentation Highlights: Tyres Will Remain Highest Selling Parts; Indonesia to Remain the Largest MarketAsk For Report Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-as-661 By type, tyres will continue to account for the largest revenue share. In the accessories segment, the interior accessories segment  which includes steering wheels, seat covers, seat belts, liners, floor mats, liners, gauges, dash boards, and shift knobs  will reportedly hold a major share of over 66%, crossing a value of US$ 9.0 Bn by 2026 end.By service, general automotive repair is estimated at over 86% value share during the forecast period, maintaining dominance over automotive transmission repairs. By vehicle type, passenger cars will continue to attract higher revenues compared to commercial vehicles. Indonesia will remain the largest market accounting for 35% revenue share of the market in 2026. Thailand and Malaysia, the other key markets will collectively account for over 50% revenue share of the market.Fundamental Shift in Consumer Preference and Drivers Choice Will Impact the MarketWith driverless car technology and dashboard pyro techniques steadily gaining traction, consumers are likely to have more aftermarket channels to shop. Consumer behaviour is expected to shift from a conventional way of buying vehicle parts, accessing repair services, and selecting accessories. Moreover, evolving driver preferences also reflect a new set of revenue generation opportunities for automakers, auto part suppliers, repair shops, and accessory retailers. Consumers are increasingly becoming aware of the latest launched products and thus, will access a plethora of aftermarket product offerings to cater to their comfort, aesthetics, and infotainment-related requirements.Ask For More Information@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-as-661 Key Players Focussing on Boosting Expansion CapacityThe key players highlighted in the ASEAN automotive aftermarket include Denso Corporation, Hella KGaA Hueck & Co., Continental AG, Delphi Automotive PLC, ACDelco, Faurecia SA, Magneti Marelli SpA, Robert Bosch GmbH, Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd., and Bridgestone Corporation. Bridgestone, one of the top companies, announced expansion of its international manufacturing capabilities in Germany this year. Post-acquisition of Speedy France, the company also launched a new manufacturing plant based in Indonesia. Continental AG also opened its new production plants in India and China this year.
PR-Inside.com: 2017-06-12 13:30:12

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 388 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for AurCrest Gold Inc.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Toronto, Ontario (FSCWire) - AurCrest Gold Inc. (TSX Venture:AGO). has issued a press release with the following headline:AurCrest Gold signs Letter of Intent with Great Panther Silver to acquire Argosy MineTo 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 AurCrest Gold 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/AurCrest Gold Inc.Source: AurCrest Gold Inc. (TSX Venture: AGO)Date: June 12, 2017Time: 7:30 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of AurCrest Gold 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.)
Global Automotive Wiring Harness Market

PR-Inside.com: 2017-06-12 12:48:21

Press Information

Future Market Insights

616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,



Valley Cottage, NY 10989,



United States



T: +1-347-918-3531



F: +1-845-579-5705







3479183531

email





Published by

Abhishek Budholiya

+1-347-918-3531

e-mail

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com







# 748 Words

616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-57053479183531Abhishek Budholiya+1-347-918-3531

Future Market Insights (FMI) recently announced the release of its report titled Automotive Wiring Harness Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2015-2025. According to the report, the global automotive wiring harness market was valued at US$ 36.82 Bn in 2014 and is anticipated to reach US$ 91.53 Bn by 2025, expanding at a CAGR of 8.7% throughout the forecast period.Automotive Wiring Harness Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe global automobile industry registered an annual growth rate of over 5.5% from 2010 to 2015, and is estimated to be valued at US$ 5.1 trillion by end of 2015. Consistent growth in the parent industry is expected to fuel demand for automotive wiring harness in the near future.Currently, increasing fuel costs and stringent government regulations regarding CO2 emissions are boosting demand for electric vehicles in regions such as North America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe and Asia Pacific.Ask For Report Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-37 Governments across various geographies have mandated use of certain electronic safety features such as Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Stability Program (ESP) and other features in both passenger and commercial vehicles. Furthermore, rise in demand for high-end electronics and safety features in vehicles, particularly passenger cars, along with cost reduction and enhanced reliability is leading to increase in global demand for automotive wiring harnesses.Automotive Wiring Harness Market TrendsUse of automotive Ethernet by automotive OEMs represents a new trend in the external as well as internal electronics devices connectivity in an automobile. These automotive Ethernets minimise the use of complex wiring harness structures to a great extent and, thereby, may act as a restraint for growth of the global automotive wiring harness market in the coming years.Rise in technological developments is expected to create favourable growth opportunities in the market in the near future. Growing demand for connectivity and car digitisation, which not only helps establish connectivity within the integral parts of a vehicle but also enables communication with other vehicles through improved and intelligent roadway infrastructure, is an emerging trend in the market.Automotive Wiring Harness Market SegmentationRegion-wise, APEJ (Asia Pacific Excluding Japan) dominated the global automotive wiring harness market in 2014, accounting for 38.3% value share of the overall market. Furthermore, APEJ is foreseen to expand at a relatively high CAGR of 10.4% during the forecast period and is expected to maintain its revenue share dominance till 2025 end. Rise in automotive production and sustained economic growth are some of the factors driving the APEJ automotive wiring harness market currently.North America and Western Europe are expected to register high Y-o-Y growth during the forecast period, owing to increasing demand for e-vehicles and e-bikes in these regions. Growth of the connected car market has resulted in rise in demand for multiple electronic devices in vehicles in North America and Western Europe.Japan is currently witnessing moderate growth in demand for e-bikes, and the trend is expected to continue during the forecast period as well. The Japan automotive wiring harness market is expected to register a sluggish CAGR of 4.0% during the forecast period, due to the matured automotive industry in the country.Ask For More Information@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-37 On the basis of vehicle type, the passenger vehicles segment dominated the global automotive wiring harness market in 2014 in terms of revenue, and is foreseen to expand at a CAGR of 8.6% during the forecast period. In terms of revenue, the hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles segments are expected to register significant CAGR between 2015 and 2025, in view of the stringent government regulations and growing fuel prices globally.On the basis of application type, the chassis & safety segment dominated the global automotive wiring harness market in 2014 in terms of revenue, accounting for 40.8% share of the overall market. This segment is expected to lose its market share to the HVAC segment, which is projected to expand at a significant CAGR of 10.1% during the forecast period. Furthermore, HVAC manufacturers are designing new eco-friendly devices in order to follow the environment standards along with introducing new innovating designs.Automotive Wiring Harness Market: Key CompaniesKey market players covered in the report include YAZAKI Corporation, Aisin Seiki Co., Samvardhana Motherson Group (SMG), Delphi Automotive PLC, Fujikura Ltd., Sumitomo electric Industries, Ltd., Lear Corporation, LEONI AG, Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. and PKC Group PLC.Most players in the market are engaged in various activities, such as mergers and acquisitions, increasing investments in technological and product developments, geographical expansion and brand building via strong marketing strategies, in order to sustain their position in the competitive market.
Lead Acid Battery Market

PR-Inside.com: 2017-06-12 13:06:39

Press Information

Future Market Insights

616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,



Valley Cottage, NY 10989,



United States



T: +1-347-918-3531



F: +1-845-579-5705







3479183531

email





Published by

Abhishek Budholiya

+1-347-918-3531

e-mail

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com







# 556 Words

616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-57053479183531Abhishek Budholiya+1-347-918-3531

Future Market Insights, in its latest report titled,Lead Acid Battery Market: Asia Pacific, Latin America, Japan, Middle East & Africa Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2014 - 2020, states that the target regions lead acid battery market accounted for US$ 24,210.5 Million in 2014, and is expected to reach US$ 31,708.4 Million at a CAGR of 4.6% during the forecast period. Asia Pacific, which accounted for the major chunk in the target regions lead acid battery market, is expected to expand at an estimated CAGR of 4.5% during the forecast period.By application type, the target regions lead acid battery market is segmented as transportation, stationary industrial, motive industrial, commercial, residential, and grid storage. Transportation and stationary industrial collectively contributed to around 82.4% of market revenue in 2014. Transportation was the largest end-use application in the target regions lead acid battery market in 2014, and is anticipated to continue its dominance through 2020. Stationary industrial is the second largest contributor to the target regions lead acid battery market, and is expected to register the fastest CAGR of 8.5% during the forecast period.The report finds that grid storage is one of the smallest end-use application segments in the target regions lead acid battery market, but is anticipated to register the fastest CAGR of 7.2% during the forecast period.Ask For Report Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-430 Lead acid batteries are predominantly used in passenger cars, commercial vehicles and two wheelers. In addition to that, demand for lead acid battery has also surged due to the increasing adoption of UPS, owing to rapid urbanisation and industrialisation. Adoption of grid storage technology in developing countries such as India and China is expected to fuel the target regions lead acid battery market. In addition to that, an increase in the demand for electric vehicles is expected to further accelerate the expansion of the lead acid battery market globally.Browse Full: "Lead Acid Battery Market: Asia Pacific, Latin America, Japan, Middle East & Africa Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2014 - 2020" Market Research Report at http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/details/lead-acid-battery-market Moreover, key challenges in the lead acid battery market are raw material price volatility and stringent emission regulations. Lead is the essential raw material used in the manufacturing of lead acid batteries. Lead prices account for approximately 49% of the overall cost of the lead acid batteries. Any fluctuations in lead prices affect the overall profitability of lead acid battery manufacturers.Ask For More Information@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-430 Region-wise, Asia Pacific is the largest contributor in the target regions lead acid battery market, and is expected to continue its dominance till 2020. Currently, the Asia Pacific lead acid battery market is valued at US$ 15,995 Million and is expected to reach US$ 19,881 Million by 2020. Latin America and Japan are other major markets contributing 14.4% and 14.1% respectively, to the target regions lead acid battery revenue. Middle East & Africa accounted for the lowest contribution in terms of revenue in 2014, but is expected to register a significant growth at a CAGR of 4.9% over the forecast period.The degree of competition in the target regions lead acid battery market has been analysed in the report, which also presents the comparative view of the key strategies and financial outlook of major companies operating in target regions lead acid battery market. These include Johnson Controls INC, Exide Technologies, GS Yuasa Corporation, EnerSys and Yokohama Industries.
By Press Trust of India: Mumbai, Jun 12 (PTI) Maharashtra minister Sudhir Mungantiwar today said the exact quantum of the loan waiver to be given to farmers was yet to be worked out.

"The quantum of loan waiver will only be known after the committee arrives at a decision on the criteria for loan waiver. It will be for the committee to decide on whether to grant loan waiver only to those farmers, whose livelihood is solely dependent on farming and whether to exclude rich farmers from the purview of the loan waiver package," he said.

advertisement

Farmers in the state, who had been agitating to press for their several demands since June 1, yesterday called off their protests, after the Maharashtra government announced a loan waiver and decided to form a committee to decide the criteria of debt relief.

When asked about how the state government intended to raise funds for the loan waiver, the finance minister said the government would appoint a committee comprising farmer leaders and government officials, which would work out the eligibility criteria and then arrive at the quantum of loan waiver package.

"The government has many options like tapping the unused funds in the personal ledger account (PLA) of the government departments to raise the requisite funds for the loan waiver package," he said while assuring that the states finances were sound.

Replying to queries, he said the proposed joint committee of the government and farmer leaders would meet on who amongst the farmers should be considered eligible to avail the loan waiver.

Mungantiwar said that the government departments have unused funds received from the state and the Centre, which are parked in the PLA.

Besides this, the government can raise additional funds through raising non tax revenue (NTR), which is generated out of fines, government fees and other charges, he said.

At present the government NTR income is Rs 16,000 crore, which it intends to raise it to Rs 26,000 crore, he added.

After the Goods and Services Tax (GST) comes into effect from July 1, the states income is set to rise by Rs 14,000 crore, Mungantiwar said.

"Apart from that, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has about Rs 16,000 crore of unutilised funds and City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) has about Rs 40,000 crore of such funds," he said.

However, sources in the finance department said that the government will have to weigh in the factor of allocation for the arrears of Seventh Pay Commission.

Sources added that the amount would be around Rs 15,000 crore and the arrears are payable from January 2016. PTI MM NP

--- ENDS ---

advertisement
Technical Textiles Market

PR-Inside.com: 2017-06-12 12:47:06

Press Information

Future Market Insights

616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,



Valley Cottage, NY 10989,



United States



T: +1-347-918-3531



F: +1-845-579-5705







3479183531

email





Published by

Abhishek Budholiya

+1-347-918-3531

e-mail

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com







# 405 Words

616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-57053479183531Abhishek Budholiya+1-347-918-3531

Future Market Insights recent report on global technical textiles market projects that Asia-Pacific will be observed as the worlds largest market for technical textiles during the forecast period, 2017-2027. The report values the global technical textiles market at little less than US$ 166 Bn, and anticipates it to reach US$ 260.3 Bn by the end of 2027. While the global market for technical textiles is projected to grow at below average pace and register a value CAGR of 4.6%, the demand for technical textiles is likely to gain traction across Asia-Pacific countries such as India and China, among others.The report, titled Technical Textiles Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 2017-2027, also projects that in terms of consumption, the market shall incur a promising growth, exhibiting a volume CAGR of 5.3%. By the end of 2017, more than 34 million tonnes of technical textiles will be consumed across the globe. And, this number is likely to reach 57 million tonnes by 2027-end. During this forecast period, the report is anticipating a sluggish revenue growth for global technical textiles market, primarily due to high prices of technical textiles as opposed to alternative fabrics and lack of awareness regarding benefits of technical textiles.Ask For Report Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-286 According to the report, more than 50% of global technical textiles revenues will be accounted by the Asia-Pacific region. While the Asia-Pacific technical textiles market will registers rampant expansion at value CAGR of 6.8%, regions such as North America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and Middle East & Africa will showcase sluggish growth through 2027. Sales of technical textiles in Latin America, on the other hand, are likely to depict a relatively favourable growth at 4.5% CAGR.Companies such as E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Low and Boar PLC, Ahlstrom Corporation, 3M Company, Avintiv, Arville Textiles Ltd., Milliken and Company, Dickson-Constant, Baltex, and Freudenberg & Co. KG are profiled in the report as key players of global technical textiles market. The report also reveals that over 20% of technical textiles produced in the world are procured for mobiltech applications. Demand for technical textiles is also expected to remain high across buildtech, indutech, meditech, geotech and oekotech applications. With respect to process used for manufacturing technical textiles, more than 45% of technical textiles produced across the globe will be non-woven by end of 2027. And, this segment is likely to exhibit a value CAGR of more than 5%.Ask For More Information@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-286
PR-Inside.com: 2017-06-12 22:38:13

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 387 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Kapuskasing Gold Corp.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Vancouver, British Columbia (FSCWire) - Kapuskasing Gold Corp. (TSX Venture:KAP). has issued a press release with the following headline:Kapuskasing Gold Closes Private PlacementTo 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 Kapuskasing Gold Corp., 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/Kapuskasing Gold Corp.Source: Kapuskasing Gold Corp. (TSX Venture: KAP)Date: June 12, 2017Time: 4:38 PM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Kapuskasing Gold Corp. 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.)
In this promotion, the offers are well selected to secure the add-on values of the tour. Each traveler will receive a free Vietnam Traditional Body Massage 60 mins at SF Spa  one of the best spas in Hanoi; one free Vietnam Traditional Gift and a free Visa Approval Letter when book any of the four promotional tours or make a fully customized based on these packages (10+ days) from June 10th until December 31st 2017.

Nadova Tours Promotion 2017

PR-Inside.com: 2017-06-12 08:45:14

Press Information

Nadova Tours

#49, alley 117, Nguyen Son street,





Long Bien district, Hanoi



Victor Nguyen

Marketing Manager

+84987818812

email

https://www.nadovatours.com/





# 604 Words

#49, alley 117, Nguyen Son street,Long Bien district, HanoiMarketing Manager+84987818812

Nadova Tours is offering Special Summer Promotion 2017 in Vietnam and Cambodia. These promotions are guaranteed by high quality tour packages, add-on values and reasonable prices.Nadova Tours kicks off Special Summer Promotion 2017 with two tours in Vietnam and two others combining between Vietnam and Cambodia. ( https://www.nadovatours.com/promotions/) . Each tour is provided with unique and special value-added services.In this promotion, the offers are well selected to secure the add-on values of the tour. Each traveler will receive a free Vietnam Traditional Body Massage 60 mins at SF Spa  one of the best spas in Hanoi; one free Vietnam Traditional Gift and a free Visa Approval Letter when book any of the four promotional tours or make a fully customized based on these packages (10+ days) from June 10th until December 31st 2017.The tour packages chosen in this Special Summer Promotion 2017 truly provide travelers the real image and experience of two beautiful countries: Vietnam and Cambodia with add-on valued services. This big hit suits for all types of traveling group and who love the unique culture of Indochina.In conclusion, with the best addon values from this Special Summer Promotion of Nadova Tours, the hesitance will be replaced by the smart decision from who are exited in traveling and getting more real experience.For the details of the Tours please see below:1/ In-depth Vietnam Tour with Sapa 16 daysSapa in the north-west Vietnam has long been named as the queen of moutains. You will be enormously impressed by the breathtaking rice terraces, unique life and culture of ethnic groups. Combining this beautiful Sapa with all other destinations in Vietnam will make your holiday as a wonderful experience and you can definitely say that: "Oh, I have been to Vietnam".The tour is private and flexible, only for you and it can always be customized to fully match your travel needs and budget. Please contact us for Free Quote & Travel Guide!2/ Absolute Vietnam Holidays 15 daysAbsolute Vietnam Holidays is the most typical Vietnam travel package, highly recommended for everyone as it suits all travel styles to discover the diversified beauty of Vietnam. Within 15 days, you can experience the best things Vietnam has to offer, from the bustling cities to remote rural areas, from the moutains to the prosperous deltas, from traditional values to modern faces of the country. The tour is private and flexible, you can start in Hanoi and end in HCMC or vice versa. It can always be customized to fully match your travel needs and budget. Please contact us for Free Quote & Travel Guide!3/ Cambodia - Vietnam Highlights 15 daysThis tour package offers an unique opportunity to experience all highlights of Cambodia and Vietnam from world famous heritage to natural landscape and friendly people. The tour is private and flexible, you can start in Phnom Penh (Cambodia) and end in Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) or vice versa. Please contact us for Free Quote & Travel Guide!4/ Heritage Tour Vietnam - Cambodia 13 daysThis tour package lets you discover the famous world heritages, from the breathtaking Halong Bay of Vietnam to the mystical treasures of Angkor in Cambodia as well as an unique opportunity to experience the natural beauty and traditional lifestyle throughout the Mekong Delta. The tour is private and flexible, you can start in Hanoi (Vietnam) and end in Siem Reap (Cambodia) or vice versa. Please contact us for Free Quote & Travel Guide!By: Nadova Tours
PR-Inside.com: 2017-06-12 15:46:13

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 390 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for PPX Mining Corp.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Vancouver, British Columbia (FSCWire) - PPX Mining Corp. (TSX Venture:PPX). has issued a press release with the following headline:PPX Resumes Operations at Mina CallanquitasTo 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 PPX Mining Corp., 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/PPX Mining Corp.Source: PPX Mining Corp. (TSX Venture: PPX, WKN: A2APYX, ISIN: CA69354U1003)Date: June 12, 2017Time: 9:46 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of PPX Mining Corp. 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: 2017-06-12 14:45:11

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 374 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for VNUE Inc.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Memphis, TN (FSCWire) - VNUE Inc. (OTCQB:VNUE). has issued a press release with the following headline:Scott Stapp of Creed Coming to Memphis June 20To 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 VNUE 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/VNUE Inc.Source: VNUE Inc. (OTCQB: VNUE)Date: June 12, 2017Time: 8:45 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of VNUE 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: 2017-06-12 15:00:11

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 398 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Wi2Wi Corporation--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Toronto, Ontario (FSCWire) - Wi2Wi Corporation (TSX Venture:YTY). has issued a press release with the following headline:Wi2Wi Announces the Release of Its Sixth New Product This YearTo 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 Wi2Wi Corporation, 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/Wi2Wi CorporationSource: Wi2Wi Corporation (TSX Venture: YTY, WKN: A1KCTZ, ISIN: CA9774862085)Date: June 12, 2017Time: 9:00 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Wi2Wi Corporation 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.)
"The power of truth is being completely replaced by truth of power. Anybody who tries to stand for truth is pushed aside," Rahul said.

By India Today Web Desk: Launching yet another round of attack on the Narendra Modi government, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi today said the power of truth is being "completely replaced" by the truth of power in the country.

"The power of truth is being completely replaced by truth of power. Anybody who tries to stand for truth is pushed aside," Rahul said at the launch of the commemorative edition of the National Herald in Bengaluru.

advertisement

"This government is forcing everyone into silence," Rahul said.

Referring to his alleged manhandling by Madhya Pradesh cops when he was on his way to violence-hit Mandsaur, the 46-year-old leader said, "I asked why am I being stopped. Is there any law applied here? I was answered: 'I am being told to do so'."

Vice-President Hamid Ansari also attended the event where he released the National Herald's commemorative publication: 'India at a Crossroads: 70 years of Independence'.

Also read:

Congress seeks Amit Shah's apology for 'chatur baniya' jibe against Mahatma Gandhi

Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh slams Rahul Gandhi for politicising Mandsaur firing

WATCH | After Madhya Pradesh, UP's Ghaziabad to be Rahul Gandhi's next battleground

--- ENDS ---
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.




Investment into Central and Eastern European (CEE) commercial real estate is set to reach an all-time record high in 2017. In the past 12 months, 12.2 bln was invested by investors into core-CEE markets, reaching a new peak for the four rolling quarters. Momentum is expected to continue in 2017

[]
Rajnath Singh will review security issues along the Indo-Myanmar border and hold a review meeting with chief ministers of four northeastern states, located on the Indo-Myanmar border.

Rajnath Singh will review the security and infrastructure issues on the Indo-Myanmar border in Mizoram.

By Manogya Loiwal : Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will review the security and infrastructure issues along the Indo-Myanmar border in Mizoram today. He will also chair a high-level review meeting of chief ministers of four northeastern states, located on the Indo-Myanmar border, at Aizwal in Mizoram.

Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawala, Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and Nagaland Chief Minister Dr Shurhozelie Liezietsu will attend the security meeting.

Leaving for Aizawl in Mizoram. Shall review the security and development related issues with CMs of North Eastern states bordering Myanmar&; Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) June 12, 2017

advertisement

Union Minister of State (Home) Kiren Rijiju and other top officials will also be present.

The Union Home Minister will also visit Parva village in Lawngtlai district and other places on the Myanmar border. A Border Security Force (BSF) helicopter has been arranged for Rajnath to visit the remote places.

The delegation will also discuss the status of border infrastructure and implementation of Border Area Development Programme (BADP) projects.

Director General of Assam Rifles and state DGPs of the four states will also be present at the review of status report of streamlining of Free Movement Regime for better facilitation of smooth movement of people across the border.

The Indo-Myanmar border has been shrouded in various controversies with insurgents using the international border for troubling states in the region. Mizoram shares 510 kilometres border with Myanmar, which further extends to Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.

-With inputs from Lal Hmingmawia in Mizoram

ALSO READ | Rajnath Singh on Kashmir: Will eliminate Pakistan-sponsored terrorism soon

ALSO READ | Two suspected ISIS agents nabbed at Indo-Myanmar border in Manipur

ALSO WATCH | Will eliminate Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in Kashmir soon, says Rajnath Singh

--- ENDS ---
How do you live every day as though it were your last? That's the question at the heart of Something Like Happy, the new novel from Eva Woods that will launch Harlequin's Graydon House Books imprint, a new line of select women's and book club fiction.

A celebration of female friendship, Something Like Happy champions themes of hope and happiness even as its characters face serious challenges ranging from divorce to terminal illness. Woodswho has also published several mysteries and thrillers under the name Claire McGowan, and who makes her U.S. debut with this booksays that her goal for the novel was "creating a book that's not totally tragic, that offers hope and even humor, while not trivializing any of these issues."

This balance between tragedy and hope is not easy to achieve, but Woods pulls it off gracefully in her tale of two unlikely friends who meet in a hospital. Both 30-something women are dealing with problems many of their peers haven't had to face. Annie is morbidly depressed after her marriage collapsed following a personal tragedy. Polly is relentlessly upbeat, despite the fact that she is dying of cancer.

Polly challenges Annie, a complete stranger, to the #100happydays challenge, an internet meme that encourages participants to commit to finding happiness every day no matter what. "I wanted to write about someone who's very cynical and really at rock bottom coming across the happy days' meme, which might seem a bit trivial under the circumstances," Woods explains. "I wanted to look at whether small things can still make a difference in the face of enormous sadness."

Woods decided to set the book over the course of 100 daysa term reflecting both the duration of the happiness challenge and the three-month prognosis that a terminally ill person might receive. "I had to figure out how to write a 100-chapter book that wasn't incredibly long," she says. "The solution was to have some chapters that are very short, mixed with longer ones."

Woods has never done the #100happydays challenge herself, though she does have a "life/bucket list"it includes laser tag, cooking lessons, and performing stand-up comedythat she turns to when life gets tough. "It gives me focus and helps me feel I am doing something with my life," Woods says. "I do think happiness is a state of mind and not always dependent on external things, but at the same time we have to make space for sadness in our lives and not suppress it."

In the book, Polly needs Annie's sadness to accept that she is going to die. And conversely, Annie needs Polly's optimism to find the will to live again. "This is a book about happiness that also fully encompasses all the terrible things that can happen in life," Woods explains. "When you're feeling truly at your lowest ebb, being told to cheer up or think positively can actually just make you feel sadder and more alone. It's also a reminder to myself, because naturally I'm more of an Annie in that I can be quite pessimistic! I think it's partly an Irish thing."

Something Like Happy grew, in part, out of Woods's personal experience. Both of the main characters have struggled through divorce, something that Woods and many of her friends have had to deal with in recent years"a rock-bottom time," Woods calls it. This experience helped her relate to Annie's feelings of unfairness and being stuck. Woods is also a cancer survivor, though she has thankfully recovered completely. "I've tried to use these experiences of dark times to write about the issues both Annie and Polly face in the book," Woods says. "I hope that the book is a realistic look at loss and suffering, and also an acknowledgement that it's still possible to find hope, laughter, and love in the worst of circumstances.
Three Afghan civilians have been killed by U.S. forces in the eastern province of Nangarhar, local officials say.

Ghani Khel district chief Abdul Wahab said that U.S. troops opened fire on civilians early on June 12 after their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb.

"They opened fire on civilians walking in the vicinity, killing all three, Wahab said. They might have thought the people were the ones who set up the bomb."

Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said the dead included a man and his two sons.

Douglas High, a spokesman for the NATO mission in Afghanistan, said that a convoy transporting U.S. and Afghan soldiers "returned fire in self-defense" when it was attacked by a roadside bomb and small-arms fire.

High said there were no U.S. casualties and that no official reports of civilian casualties had been received.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast, dpa news agency reported.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, and dpa
The Afghan Taliban's second-in-command and head of the Pakistan-based Haqqani network has denied any involvement in recent deadly attacks in Kabul and Herat.

Sirajuddin Haqqani issued the denial in an audio message distributed to the media late on June 11 by a Taliban spokesman.

A May 31 truck bombing in Kabul killed more than 150 people.

The attack, the deadliest in the Afghan capital since the ouster of the Taliban following the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, has sparked calls for the resignation of Afghanistans national unity government.

On June 2, at least five people were killed in deadly clashes between police and antigovernment protesters. At least seven other people died on June 3 after three suicide bombers detonated their explosives at the funeral of one of the demonstrators. And in the western city of Herat on June 6, at least seven people were killed in a bombing near a mosque.

No group has claimed responsibility for the bombings, but Afghan officials blamed the Haqqani network for the massive Kabul blast.

In his audio message, Haqqani condemned the three attacks but also warned that the group will continue to wage war until foreign forces have withdrawn from Afghanistan.

Also on June 11, the Afghan presidential palace confirmed that two top security officials -- Kabul Police Chief General Shah Hassan Frogh and Kabul Garrison Commander General Gul Nabi Ahmadzai -- were suspended in the wake of the violence in the capital.

Based on reporting by AP, Khaama Press, and Pajhwok
It wasn't that long ago when a majority of Ukrainian citizens believed either neutrality or an alliance with Russia were the best ways to guarantee the country's national security.

Today, a strong plurality of Ukrainians back NATO membership and the Verkhovna Rada has just officially made this Kyiv's strategic goal.

Three years of Kremlin-backed war has its cost.

It wasn't that long ago when the European Union was having serious discussions about granting Russians visa-free travel and such status for Ukraine wasn't even on the agenda.

Today, Ukrainians and Georgians can travel to Europe visa-free. And it is inconceivable that Russians will get this status as long as Crimea and the Donbas remain occupied.

Flagrant violations of international law have a price.

It wasn't that long ago when countries like Germany, France, and Montenegro were favorably disposed toward Moscow.

Today they have, each in their own way, become harsh critics.

Hacking, disinformation attacks, and political interference tend to turn friends into enemies.

Later this week, Vladimir Putin will hold his annual call-in program. Any preselected Russian citizen will be able to ask the Kremlin leader any carefully prescreened question.

It will surely be yet another impressive made-for-TV spectacle designed to highlight and market the success of Putin's policies.

And Putin will explain, in his trademark pithy way, how he is making Russia great again.

But one has to wonder, how much more of this success can the Russian people take?

Keep telling me what you think on The Power Vertical's Twitter feed and on our Facebook page.
A prominent journalist who has been charged by Kyrgyz authorities with inciting ethnic hatred says he has left the country.

Ulugbek Babakulov, a correspondent for the Russia-based news site Ferghananews, wrote on Facebook on June 12 that he had left Kyrgyzstan on June 8 to get away from what he called the "insanity" launched against him.

Ferghananews said on June 11 that a court in Bishkek blocked the site on June 10, a day after the charge against Babakulov was officially issued.

Fergananews chief editor Daniil Kislov said that both the charge against Babakulov and the blockage of the site were politically motivated. He said Ferghananews had suspended ties with Babakulov while investigations were under way.

The charge stems from an article published in late May about Kyrgyz social-network users' reactions to a conflict involving an ethnic Uzbek man and four Kyrgyz men.

Kyrgyz lawmakers on June 1 called Babakulov's article a "provocation," pointing to its publication shortly before the anniversary of ethnic unrest between Uzbeks and Kyrgyz that left 442 people dead in southern Kyrgyzstan in June 2010.

Babakulov told RFE/RL on June 2 that he had merely raised the issue and had no intention of inciting hatred.
Final results from the first round of the French parliamentary elections indicate President Emmanuel Macron's centrist party will capture an overwhelming majority in the National Assembly.

Election officials on June 12 said that with nearly all ballots counted, Macrons Republique en Marche party (Republic On The Move) had 28 percent of the vote in an election marked by a historically low turnout. Together with allies, the party won 32.3 percent of the vote.

The conservative Republicans had 16 percent, while the far-right National Front took 14 percent.

Jean-Luc Melenchons far-left party had 11 percent, while the Socialists of former President Francois Hollande tumbled to 7 percent.

According to pollsters, the results likely will translate into Macrons centrist party and its center-right MoDem allies eventually capturing 390 to 455 votes in the 577-seat National Assembly.

Election officials said turnout was less than 49 percent, a record low for modern France.

Some 7,882 candidates are competing for the lower house of parliament's 577 seats.

If no candidate wins more than 50 percent in the first round, all candidates who secure at least 12.5 percent will go into the second-round runoff on June 18. Only three candidates won seats outright in the first round, officials said.

If forecasts hold up after the second round, the pro-Europe Macron -- France's youngest leader since Napoleon at age 39  would hold a solid mandate to govern.

The former investment banker said he looks to push through economic and social reforms, including an easing of tough labor laws and reform of the pension system

"France is back," Prime Minister Edouard Philippe told French TV. "Next Sunday, the National Assembly will embody the new face of our republic."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's office tweeted her congratulations to Macron for his party's victory.

"Chancellor Merkel: My sincere congratulations to Emmanuel Macron for the great success of his party in the first round. A vote for reforms," spokesman Steffen Seibert tweeted.

Macron's rivals decried the dangers of having so much power in one partys hands.

"It is neither healthy nor desirable for a president who gathered only 24 percent of the vote in the first roundand who was elected in the second round only by the rejection of the extreme right should benefit from a monopoly of national representation," Socialist Party leader Jean-Christophe Cambadelis said.

Francois Baroin of the conservative Republicans said political power should not be concentrated in the hands of one party, and he urged backers to turn out for the second round.

"Today, fewer than half of French people expressed a preference," he said. "This record level of abstention... bears witness to the continuing fractures in French society. ... They are neither forgotten nor wiped away."

With reporting by AFP, Reuters, AP, and France 24
Surge in attacks worldwide by Islamic State during Ramzan shows how the terror group is trying hard to stay relevant at a time when Syria and Iraq are fast slipping out of its grip.

By AP: Its strongholds in Iraq and Syria slipping from its grasp, the Islamic State group threatened to make this year's Ramzan a bloody one at home and abroad. With attacks in Egypt, Britain and Iran among others and a land-grab in the Philippines, the group is trying to divert attention from its losses and win over supporters around the world in the twisted competition for jihadi recruits during the Muslim holy month.

advertisement

The militants insisted in their English language magazine this week that losing territory has only made it work that much harder to kill. The attacks since Ramzan's beginning on May 26 show the sweep of the group's ambition - from attacking the West, to expanding in the Philippines, to targeting Shiite powerhouse Iran - something al-Qaida itself never risked.

"They can say here is something that al-Qaida has refrained to do," said Assaf Moghadam, an author and analyst of jihadi groups. "From their perspective it's been a great Ramzan so far."

But a powerful counter-message is emerging in recent days. With the month of fasting also a time of high television ratings in the Arab world, the telecommunications company Zain has launched a commercial that begins with footage of a man fabricating a suicide bomb. By the end, faced with bloodied victims and survivors of extremist attacks, the man stumbles and fails in his mission. "Let's bomb delusion with the truth," a man sings. The ad has been viewed more than 6 million times on YouTube. "We will counter their attacks of hatred with songs of love," it ends.

IRAN

The attack on Iran marked a new stage for the Islamic State group, which had threatened the Shiite-majority state repeatedly without actually striking it.

Five Islamic State group extremists battle-tested in strongholds Mosul and Raqqa simultaneously targeted the country's parliament and shrine of late founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, killing 17 people. More than any of the other Ramadan attacks, the bloodshed in Iran shows the group's violent attempts to persuade potential recruits it has the staying power to endure beyond the loss of its two major strongholds.

IS and al-Qaida, both radical Sunni groups, are competing for recruits in the global jihadi movement. Al-Qaida, however, has never attacked Iran. Founder Osama bin Laden had put the Persian state off-limits, citing and the country's role as a conduit for arms and money.

LONDON BRIDGE

Three men armed with knives plowed a rented van into pedestrians on London Bridge, then slashed their way through the evening crowd at Borough Market on June 3, killing eight people.

The man believed to be the group's ringleader, Khuram Butt, had appeared in a documentary last year called "The Jihadis Next Door" and his neighbors said he was recruiting young people to join Islamic State. It was the third attack in Britain in three months claimed by the extremists.

advertisement

PHILIPPINES SIEGE

Islamic militants in the Philippines aligned with the Islamic State group two weeks ago assaulted the southern lakeside city of Marawi, parts of which they occupy to this day, in a plot that they sketched in chilling detail on the back of a paper calendar. Among those at the table for the secret meeting was the purported leader of the Islamic State group's Southeast Asia branch, Isnilon Hapilon, who is on Washington's list of most-wanted terrorists and has a $5 million bounty on his head.

EGYPTIAN CHRISTIANS

Masked Islamic State gunmen ambushed a bus carrying Coptic Christians to a monastery south of Cairo on May 26, killing 29 people on the eve of Ramzan. The group has singled out Egyptian Christians with ferocity, carrying out four attacks since December and warning of more to come.

Also read: US Air Force veteran gets 35 years for trying to join Islamic State

Also read: 12 arrested in London's night of terror; Islamic State claims responsibility

--- ENDS ---
Georgia's prime minister has called on lawmakers to soften antidrug legislation following protests against the arrest of two popular rappers who could face years in prison on possession charges they contend are trumped up.

In a June 10 statement, Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili said that the country's drug policy is overly harsh, and its liberalization is in order.

He urged parliament to take steps "to adopt a modified, more humane, and European law by the upcoming autumn sessions.

The move came after thousands of people took to the streets of Tbilisi and Batumi, on the Black Sea coast, to protest the arrests of rappers Mikheil Mgaloblishvili, 28, and Giorgi Keburia, 21.

Protesters decried what they called the governments repressive drug policy.

The rappers are accused of illegally purchasing and possessing Ecstasy. They could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

At a court hearing on June 9, Mgaloblishvili said police officers planted drugs on them because of a recent rap video by the duo mocking police.

With reporting by civil.ge
Over the past five years, Iranian officials and state media have touted the "indigenous" ingenuity in the Islamic republic's mass-produced Mohajer-6 combat drone, which Russia has deployed in its war against Ukraine.

But a new investigation by Schemes, the investigative unit of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, has found that electronic components underpinning Tehran's production of the Mohajer-6 are far from homegrown.



The Mohajer-6 drones contain components produced by companies from the United States and the European Union, both of which have sanctions restricting the export to Iran of such technology that can be used for both civilian and military purposes  dual-use technology.

The presence of these components in the Mohajer-6 does not mean their producers are in violation of U.S. or EU sanctions, and RFE/RL does not have evidence that this is the case.

The investigation also found Mohajer-6 components produced in China, including a real-time mini-camera made by a Hong Kong firm that said it was "very sorry" that its products were being used in war.

At least one major foreign-produced component of the Mohajer-6 has previously been identified by reporters in a Mohajer-6 recovered from the battlefield by the Ukrainian military: an engine made by the Austrian manufacturer BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co KG, a subsidiary of the Canadian company Bombardier Recreational Products.

But Ukrainian intelligence assesses that the Iranian combat drone contains components from nearly three dozen different technology companies based in North America, the EU, Japan, and Taiwan, the Schemes investigation has found. A majority of these companies are based in the United States.



A Schemes reporter who personally inspected the foreign-made drone parts identified components produced by at least 15 of these manufacturers.

These include parts made by the U.S. technology firm Texas Instruments, which said in a statement that it does not sell into Russia or Iran and complies with applicable laws and regulations.

To identify these components, Schemes reporters examined parts of the Mohajer-6 drone that the Ukrainian military shot down over the Black Sea near the Mykolayiv region coastal town of Ochakiv. They also reviewed Ukrainian intelligence records on the sources of these components.

The drone also contains a microchip bearing the logo of a California technology company and a thermal-imaging camera that Ukrainian intelligence says may have been produced by a firm based in Oregon or China.

Both Western officials and experts on illicit technology transfers say Iran has built a broad, global procurement network using front companies and other proxies in third countries to obtain dual-use technology from the United States and the EU.

"Exporters will look at the request coming from the [United Arab Emirates] or another third country, and they'll think that they're selling to an end user based there, when really the end user is in Iran," Daniel Salisbury, a senior research fellow with the Department of War Studies at King's College London, told RFE/RL.

In September, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions specifically targeting Iranian companies that Washington links to the production and transfer of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Russia for deployment in its war on Ukraine. Fighting rages with no sign of an end more than eight months after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an unprovoked invasion on February 24.

"Non-Iranian, non-Russian entities should also exercise great caution to avoid supporting either the development of Iranian UAVs or their transfer, or sale of any military equipment to Russia for use against Ukraine," U.S. Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in a statement announcing the sanctions.

Chinese Cameras, California Chips

Development of the Mohajer-6, the latest model in a series of drones Tehran has used since the 1980s Iran-Iraq War, began in 2017, while mass production began the following year. During a ceremony commemorating the Islamic Revolution, then-Iranian Defense Minister Amir Hatami said that the new tactical drone could perform surveillance, reconnaissance, as well as help destroy targets.

Hatami extolled what he described as the drones domestic design, a portrayal echoed in later reports by Iranian media.

"The homegrown drone was made through cooperation among the army, Defense Ministry, and Quds Aviation Industries," the English-language Tehran Times quoted an Iranian military official as saying in July 2019.

The dismantling of the Mohajer-6 drone recovered by the Ukrainian military shows that the UAV is packed with foreign components.

One of these parts is a bright-orange real-time mini-camera produced by the Hong Kong-based company RunCam Technology. Documents seen by Schemes show that Ukrainian intelligence has also identified RunCam as the producer of the camera, which likely assists in remote guidance of the drone.

Founded in 2013, RunCam is involved in the development and production of so-called "first-person-view" real-time cameras. "Our users are our friends," the company's website states. The site says that RunCam has two authorized Iranian dealers.

Reached by Schemes for comment about the use of its camera in the Iranian drone deployed by Russia in its war on Ukraine, RunCam said in an e-mailed response: "We are very sorry to know that RunCam's products were used in warfare. RunCam is specialized in producing products for model aircraft hobby. We never contact any customer related to military."

The provenance of the Mohajer-6 drone-s thermal-imaging camera is more difficult to determine. A Ukrainian intelligence assessment reviewed by Schemes indicates it could be the Ventus Hot model produced by Sierra-Olympic Technologies, based in the U.S. state of Oregon, but that it also resembles a cheaper analog available for sale by the Chinese company Qingdao Thundsea Marine Technology.

Qingdao Thundsea Marine Technology said in an e-mailed statement that the company did not "have any business with Iran," because "it will affect our business." The company said it specializes in marine services and is not involved in manufacturing. It also said that it did not have a single successful order for its online advertisement of the thermal-imaging camera resembling the one recovered from the Iranian drone.

Sierra-Olympic Technologies did not respond to a request for comment on the possible use of its thermal-imaging cameras in Iranian combat drones in time for publication.

Microchips recovered from the drone also featured the logos of the California-based company Linear Technology Corporation and its parent company, the Massachusetts-based semiconductor company Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI). ADI did not respond to an e-mailed request for comment on the possible use of its technology in the Iranian combat drone.

Schemes reporters also observed among the components of the Iranian drone a voltage step-down converter produced by Texas Instruments. The company said in an e-mailed statement that it "does not sell into Russia, Belarus, or Iran."

"TI complies with applicable laws and regulations in the countries where we operate, and does not support or condone the use of our products in applications they weren't designed for," Texas Instruments said.

Schemes reporters also saw several components produced by the California-based technology manufacturer Xilinx, whose parent company is the multinational semiconductor company Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), also based in California.

According to Ukrainian intelligence, one of these Xilinx components was integrated into a video data-link module located in the wing of the Mohajer-6 that helped carry out attack missions.

"This module transmits information from the board to the missile head. That is, guidance for the missile. With the help of this module, it was possible to guide the missile to the target," a Ukrainian military intelligence representative told Schemes.

AMD did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

'No Authorization'

Previous media reports about the components of the Mohajer-6 drone, including by CNN, have shown evidence that its engine was produced by the Austrian manufacturer BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co KG, whose parent company is the Quebec-based Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP).

The Canadian company responded to the reports on October 21, saying in a statement that it "has not authorized and has not given any authorization to its distributors to supply military UAV manufacturers in Iran or Russia."

"As soon as we were made aware of this situation, we started an investigation to determine the source of the engines," BRP said. .

But Schemes reporters found that the authorized Rotax distributor listed on the Austrian manufacturer's website advertised itself as a Rotax aircraft engines distributor for Iran as recently as December 2020.

The distributor, the Italian company Luciano Sorlini S.p.a., has posted multiple magazine advertisements on its websites in which it describes itself as a Rotax distributor for numerous countries. Prior to January 2021, Iran was listed among these countries.

The Rotax website also lists a Tehran-based company -- MahtaWing -- as an official service center for its engines. The company, known in Persian as Mahtabal, conducts repairs of Rotax engines, including the Rotax 912 iS, the engine that was found in the Mohajer-6 combat drone recovered in Ukraine.

BRP said in an e-mailed statement on November 4 that while Luciano Sorlini S.p.a. is the appointed distributor of Rotax aircraft engines in Iran, "since 2019, no Rotax engines have been sold in Iran, and we will not sell any engines to Iran moving forward."

The Canadian company said it had "internal controls" that "significantly" restrict the sale of its products for military purposes.

"For example, the sale of any BRP product to operators with any military activity in Iran, Turkey, and Russia is strictly prohibited," BRP said. "We conduct our business in compliance with all EU, Canadian, and U.S. applicable regulations."

BRP described the Iranian company MahtaWing as a "local service center" that "offers maintenance services for previously sold aircraft engines."

Shahriar Siami of RFE/RL's Radio Farda contributed to this report.
A senior European Union official has expressed hope that Kosovo will soon get a new government following snap parliamentary elections that left no party in a position to govern without what could be tough efforts to build a coalition.

"The outcome is definitely one which is not creating immediately a clear majority for a government, and I hope that it doesn't take again up to nine months as it was the case last time, because it is so important for this country to stay committed to reform," EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn said in Brussels on June 12.

"For us it is crucial that the country and its representatives are committed to the European perspective," Hahn said, adding that "better living conditions [are] only achievable embedded into the European Union."

Preliminary results suggest the ruling center-right Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) won the most votes in the June 11 elections, but it appeared unlikely to have won enough seats to govern even with its planned coalition partners.

The vote also confirmed the strong rise of the nationalist Self-Determination Movement (VV) party, which nearly doubled its support since the last elections and looked set to finish second in the overall vote.

With more than 90 percent of the ballots counted, the coalition headed by the PDK of President Hashim Thaci was leading with 34.65 percent of the vote, according to the Central Election Commission. The PDK coalition includes former Prime Minister and rebel leader Ramush Haradinaj's Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK).

The nationalist VV, also known as Vetevendosje, had 26.59 percent of the vote, just ahead of a coalition led by outgoing Prime Minister Isa Mustafa's Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), which had 25.82 percent.

If those results are borne out, no single group would be able to govern alone, making further coalition attempts likely.

Turnout was put at 41.79 percent in Kosovo's third elections since it declared independence from Serbia in 2008. The country is recognized by 114 other countries but not by Serbia and Russia.

WATCH: Voters in the town of Gracanica cast ballots in Kosovo's early parliamentary elections on June 11. Gracanica is the home to a medieval Serbian Orthodox monastery and is one of the centers of the Serbian minority in Kosovo. (RFE/RL's Balkan Service)



Haradinaj, the PDK-led coalition's candidate for prime minister, declared victory, telling supporters at a rally in Pristina that "we know that there is a lot of work ahead of us. But we are going to achieve them together."

The PDK coalition, with a large number of former guerrilla fighters, has been dubbed the "war wing" by Kosovo's media.

If Haradinaj does assume the prime minister role, it would complicate relations with neighboring Serbia, which has issued an international arrest warrant against him on suspicion of committing war crimes when he was a guerrilla fighter during Kosovo's 1998-99 independence war.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said the victory of hard-liners in the elections will create "a lot of difficulties and problems," but added that the EU-mediated dialogue with Kosovo must continue.

Haradinaj, 48, has been tried twice and acquitted of war crimes at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. Haradinaj was elected prime minister of Kosovo in 2004 but resigned after 100 days in order to surrender himself for trial in The Hague. He has denied all charges.

His coalition and allies appeared unlikely to get the 51 seats in the 120-member parliament needed to govern.

Parliamentary rules reserve 20 seats for ethnic Serbs and other minorities. The PDK is looking to form a coalition with the 10 deputies representing the non-Serbian minorities, including ethnic Turks and Roma.

Any new cabinet will have a tough job dealing with the many problems facing the country, which is predominantly populated by ethnic Albanians.

Many of Kosovo's 1.8 million inhabitants blame politicians from all sides for a stubbornly high unemployment rate that hovers around one-third of workforce despite solid economic expansion of about 4 percent annually in one of the poorest countries in Europe.

Other key priorities the next government faces include establishing better control over privatization and creating a functioning war crimes court and prosecution office, which would start the process of sidelining wartime leaders from political and public life.

Yet the biggest issues surrounding the vote are a pair of agreements signed in 2015: one setting the border with Montenegro and another with Serbia that increases powers held by ethnic Serbs in Kosovo.

Those issues have helped stall reforms in the legislature and angered the electorate in a country where about one-third of the population is under the age of 15.

"For more than a year we didn't have a functional government, and now I don't trust them," said Islam Fehmiu, a retiree from the capital, Pristina.

"Parliament couldn't finish its sessions. I have very low hopes. The preelection coalitions are looking out only for their own interests and I absolutely think they won't solve ongoing issues such as border demarcation with Montenegro," Fehmiu added.

The election marked the rise of the Self-Determination Movement, which was a disruptive opposition force in the previous parliament and would make any coalition-building difficult. VV supporters at one time released tear gas inside parliament and threw firebombs outside it to protest the deals with Montenegro and Serbia.

Albin Kurti, the party's candidate for prime minister, said the VV would fight corruption, jail former officials, end talks with Serbia, and seek a closer union with neighboring Albania.

With reporting by Alan Crosby, Amra Zejneli in Pristina, Rikard Jozwiak in Brussels, AP, BBC, and Reuters
Ukrainian forces have liberated 41 settlements in the south of the country, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on November 10 but noted the "brutal struggle" and the "lives given for freedom for Ukrainians."

In his nightly address Zelenskiy said: "Today we have good news from the south. The number of Ukrainian flags returning to their rightful place within the framework of the ongoing defense operation is already dozens," he said, adding that 41 settlements have been liberated.

But he stressed that even as Ukrainians rejoice, they must remember that "every step by our defense forces represents...lives given for the freedom of Ukrainians. Everything that is happening now has been achieved by months of brutal struggle. It was achieved through courage, pain, and losses."

Zelenskiy spoke a day after the Russian defense minister announced the withdrawal of Russian troops from the west bank of the Dnieper River, the latest in a number of setbacks for Moscow on battlefields in Ukraine's east and southeast.

Zelenskiy did not specify the number of Ukrainian troops killed in the effort to reclaim the settlements, where he said stabilization measures have begun.

He noted the Russian troops left behind thousands of land mines and ammunition as they retreated from Kherson.

Presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak said the land mines turned Kherson into a "city of death" and predicted they would shell it from occupied areas across the Dnieper River.

Vitaliy Kim, the regional military administration chief in the Mykolayiv region, said Ukrainian soldiers had already entered the outer suburbs of Kherson. He declined to give further details to avoid revealing the military's plans.

Russia said it began withdrawing troops on November 10 from Kherson city. The Ukrainian military's General Staff said the withdrawal was taking place slowly to allow the Russian forces to reinforce positions on the other bank of the Dnieper River.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said it will take Russia at least a week to withdraw from the city of Kherson. He told Reuters Russia had 40,000 troops in Kherson region and it still had forces in the city, around the city, and on the west bank of the Dnieper River.

"It's not that easy to withdraw these troops from Kherson in one day or two days. As a minimum, [it will take] one week," he said.

Ukrainian Army chief Valeriy Zaluzhniy said earlier that Kyiv could not yet confirm whether Russia was indeed pulling out from the southern Kherson region but said Ukrainian forces were continuing their advance.

"We continue to conduct the offensive operation in line with our plan," he wrote in a post on Telegram.

Ukrainian officials said Moscow's forces had no choice but to flee Kherson, yet they remained cautious, fearing an ambush.

"The enemy had no other choice but to resort to fleeing," armed forces chief Zaluzhniy said, because Kyiv's army destroyed supply systems and disrupted Russia's local military command.

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.

Recapturing the city could provide Ukraine a launching pad for supplies and troops to try to win back other lost territory in the south, including Crimea, which Moscow seized in 2014.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who in late September celebrated the annexation of Kherson and three other Ukrainian regions and vowed to defend them by any means, has not commented on the withdrawal.

With reporting by AP, Reuters, and dpa
MOSCOW -- A Russian court has sentenced opposition leader Aleksei Navalny to 30 days in jail for staging unsanctioned rallies at which an estimated 1,150 anticorruption protesters were detained.

The judge at the Simonovsky district court ruled early on June 13 that Navalny, who was detained outside his home in an outlying Moscow neighborhood on June 12 before the rallies started, repeatedly violated the law against unauthorized public gatherings.

Navalny supporters were detained by Russian riot police at rallies in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Vladivostok, Blagoveshchensk, and Kazan on June 12.

Rights watchdog Amnesty International said the crackdown "demonstrates the authorities' utter contempt for fundamental human rights," while the United States called on Russia to release the demonstrators, saying their detention was "an affront to core democratic values."

The European Union said the detention of peaceful demonstrators "threatens the fundamental freedoms of expression."

Police detained more than 650 people at the June 12 protest on Moscow's central Tverskaya Street, according to OVD-Info, which monitors police actions at protests.

Reports said about 5,000 people participated in the Moscow protest.

Some 3,500 people attended the protest in St. Petersburg, and 500 were detained, Russia's Interior Ministry said, although AP reported that up to 10,000 people attended.

Activists in St. Petersburg immediately began collecting money for a legal-defense fund, while the United States condemned the crackdown and called on Moscow to release the demonstrators.

Opposition politician Ilya Yashin and Maria Baronova, an activist with former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky's Open Russia movement, were among those detained in Moscow.

Dozens of people were detained at some of the more than 200 similar demonstrations held in cities and towns nationwide on the Russia Day holiday. There were no reports of violence or injuries.

"The Russian authorities' stranglehold on freedom of expression grows tighter by the day," Denis Krivosheyev, deputy director for Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty International, said in a statement.

"Peaceful protest is a fundamental human right, not a privilege to be bestowed or refused on a whim. We are calling for all peaceful protesters swept up in these arrests to be immediately freed, and the right to hold peaceful rallies fully and genuinely respected."

White House spokesman Sean Spicer told a news briefing in Washington that "the United States strongly condemns the detention of hundreds of peaceful protesters throughout Russia.... Detaining peaceful protesters, human rights observers, and journalists is an affront to core democratic values."

EU foreign-policy chief Federica Mogherini said the Russian authorities' move "threatens the fundamental freedoms of expression, association and assembly in the Russian Federation."

"These fundamental rights are enshrined in the Russian constitution and we expect them to be protected, not eroded," Mogherini spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said in a statement.



"We expect the Russian authorities to abide fully by the international commitments Russia has made, including in the Council of Europe and the OSCE, to uphold these rights, and release without delay peaceful demonstrators or those people who intended to exercise their fundamental rights."

Opposition activist Yashin posted on Facebook that when he asked the police why he was being detained, an officer told him, "Russia Day must be celebrated normally."

In Moscow, there was a heavy police presence in the city center after Navalny announced plans to protest on Tverskaya Street instead of a less central site that was proposed by the city government.

Police linked arms and batons and herded protesters together in an area far from the Kremlin as demonstrators periodically chanted slogans like, "Shame, shame," "Putin is a thief," and "Freedom for Navalny."

The Reuters news agency reported that pepper spray was used during the Moscow protest, but that it was not immediately clear who sprayed the gas. Interfax reported that one demonstrator had been detained for purportedly spraying a police officer with pepper spray.

A helicopter was flying overhead throughout the demonstration.

WATCH: Navalny Arrested Before Moscow Protest



Sources at Navalny's Anticorruption Foundation (FBK) reported that electricity and Internet access at their offices were cut off before the demonstration started. Several FBK activists, including director Roman Rubanov, were detained at the Moscow protest.

The Moscow demonstration had been planned to be held at a city-approved location outside the center. But on June 11 Navalny urged supporters to march instead on the downtown thoroughfare of Tverskaya Street, near the Kremlin.

Navalny said authorities had pressured suppliers not to provide audio, video, or other equipment for the demonstration.

Moscow authorities said before the demonstration that citizens would be allowed to "stroll" on Tverskaya, which has been turned into a pedestrian zone for Russia Day, but that anyone carrying political signs or shouting slogans would be subject to arrest.

Because the protest was taking place together with the Russia Day celebrations, it was difficult to estimate the number of demonstrators.

Some of the demonstrators were seen holding toy rubber ducks, a reference to an allegation in one of Navalny's videos that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev controls a lavish vacation house with a pond and duck house.

"I'm completely sick of putting up with these authorities," 70-year-old Anatoly Kyurin told RFE/RL in Moscow. "I'd have been ashamed of myself if I didn't come."

In St. Petersburg, demonstrators inflated a large duck, which police quickly pulled down.

Navalny was hoping to build on momentum gained by a national anticorruption protest in March, which drew unexpectedly large crowds and ended with more than 1,000 people detained in Moscow alone.

Navalny was detained amid those demonstrations -- the biggest antigovernment rallies since a wave of protests that he helped lead in 2011-12 -- and served 15 days of administrative detention in jail.

According to the OVD-Info website, demonstrators and demonstration organizers were detained in several cities, including Nizhny Tagil, Lipetsk, Tula, Tambov, and Sochi. Thirty-six protesters were reportedly detained in the far western exclave of Kaliningrad.

In Russia's Far East, which is up to seven hours ahead of Moscow time, police detained several people participating in the anticorruption protests. At least four people were detained in Blagoveshchensk, including the organizer of the unauthorized protest there.

Local media reports said riot police scuffled with demonstrators and detained at least 20 people as a few hundred people protested in Vladivostok, which is seven hours ahead of Moscow.

Video footage showed helmeted officers with batons dragging two men or boys from a crowd of people while protesters shouted "Shame! Shame!"

"I'm here because of the corruption that is reaching huge proportions in Russia," said Aleksei Borisenko, a protester in Vladivostok who said he narrowly escaped police trying to detain him. "It's a dead end for the country's development."

"We have been silent, but we won't be anymore. We will make the authorities answer!" a woman at the Vladivostok protest shouted.

Sizable crowds turned out in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk and in Barnaul, capital of the Altai Krai region bordering Kazakhstan, and protests were held in other cities -- from Kazan in Tatarstan on the Volga River to the Pacific coast.

An unauthorized protest was also planned for St. Petersburg. Andrei Pivovarov, an organizer in the northern capital, posted on Facebook on June 12 that police had come to his residence and accused him of "organizing mass disorder." After he refused to open his door, police took up positions outside, Pivovarov said.

In Moscow, Tverskaya Street was turned into a pedestrian zone and the authorities have planned a celebration focusing on Russia's military glory. Photographs on social media showed the street blocked with sandbags, antitank emplacements, and vintage military equipment.

Navalny announced the location change less than 24 hours before the protest, accusing the authorities of pressuring providers of audio, video, and stage equipment not to work with demonstration organizers.

On June 12, an anonymous pro-Kremlin Twitter account posted a video purporting to show an empty stage and sound equipment at the originally approved protest site.

Russian state media reported that 1,000 people were protesting at the officially approved site and that police and National Guard troops were "providing security."

In his June 11 video, Navalny called on supporters to march peacefully and not to allow themselves to be caught up in provocations.

After Navalny announced the switch, the Moscow prosecutor's office warned that "any attempts to hold an unauthorized event on Tverskaya Street" would be illegal and "law enforcement organs will be forced to take all necessary measures" to maintain order.

In a separate statement issued hours before the planned march, Moscow police warned that "any provocative actions by protesters will be considered a threat to public order and immediately halted.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the issue was a matter for city authorities, adding that it was "important to avoid any provocations or illegal actions."

Vladimir Chernikov, head of the city's regional security and anticorruption department, told Ekho Moskvy radio that citizens would be allowed to stroll on Tverskaya but would not be allowed to carry signs or shout slogans.

"If someone appears with a political sign or shouting slogans, then the chances are 100 percent he will be a potential client of the police," Chernikov said. "If a citizen is strolling peacefully and is demonstrating a spirit of solidarity with the majority of people who come out to mark Russia Day, everything will be calm and fine."

The demonstrations were being held to protest what Navalny says is a system of corruption and cronyism that President Vladimir Putin presides over.



Navalny, 41, is trying to get on the ballot for the presidential election next March in which Putin -- who has held power as president or prime minister since 1999 -- is widely expected to seek and secure a fourth term as president.

Navalny has been convicted three times in financial-crimes trials that he calls Kremlin-orchestrated retribution for his activism, though he has been handed suspended sentences rather than actual prison time.

Russian authorities have suggested that he could be barred from the presidential ballot due to his criminal record. But his backers say the rules are unclear, and Russian officials have not stated clearly whether he will be allowed to run.



A day before the planned June 12 protests, a video produced by Navalny and his supporters accusing Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of corruption was published on two government websites.

The video, which played a central role in galvanizing protesters for the March 26 demonstrations, was published briefly on the websites of the regional prosecutor's office in the central city of Yaroslavl and the St. Petersburg regional administration.

Yaroslavl prosecutors said they suspected their website was hacked.

With reporting by Tom Balmforth in Moscow, Current Time TV, Dozhd TV, Meduza, AP, and RBK
In Moscow, police detained opposition leader Aleksei Navalny as he tried to leave his home ahead of a planned anti-Kremlin protest. A still photograph from Navalny's campaign purportedly shows him being put in a car surrounded by police outside his apartment house. Local media quoted the Interior Ministry as saying that Navalny was detained for publicly calling for an unauthorized demonstration. On Twitter, his wife, Yulia Navalnaya, called for the protest on June 12 to go ahead. (Reuters)
Protesters who took to the streets in Russia on June 12 to rally against corruption brandished signs mocking the countrys ruling elite, echoing the wry and meme-heavy humor of the organizer of the nationwide demonstrations, opposition leader Aleksei Navalny.

Much of the protesters' anger and sarcasm was directed at Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, whom Navalny accused of corruption in a viral video that has garnered more than 22 million views on YouTube since it was released in March.

One ubiquitous feature of the protests, which began in Russias Far East on June 12 and were set to culminate in a potential confrontation with police in central Moscow later in the day, was a rubber duck -- a reference to reports that the Russian prime minister had a special house for a duck on one of his properties.

Medvedev, who has brushed off Navalnys accusations that he controls lavish real estate and other assets though corrupt dealings as "false statements of political adventurers," wasnt the only target of protesters anger.

President Vladimir Putin was also accused of corruption, an allegation the Kremlin denies, with some protesters accusing Medvedev and the Russian leader of stealing the countrys future.

Heres a look at some of the signs that protesters wielded to vent their opposition to the government.

Signs in Irkutsk:

Left: "Our hearts demand change," a lyric from a Perestroika-era anthem by the Soviet group Kino, fronted by the iconic late rock star Viktor Tsoi.

Bottom right: "Corruption robs the future."

In Kazan: The sign on the left says: Tea. Coffee. Wine from Tuscany, a reference to an Italian winery that Navalny alleges is linked to Medvedev through corrupt dealings.

Sign on the right: You stole $70 billion. But I made a house for a duck. Fully acquitted!

In Krasnoyarsk: "I want a house like the ducks'."

In Novosibirsk: "OK, Google, how do we hide our wealth?"

In Kemerovo: Vova [President Vladimir Putin] to jail. Vova is a nickname for Vladimir, presumably a reference to President Vladimir Putin.

"I'm still waiting for a response," says this sign, which features a hashtag of the title of Navalnys now-famous video accusing Medvedev against the backdrop of Zhdun, a character popularized in an Internet meme.

Sell the dachas, build roads, a reference to lavish real estate Navalny accuses Medvedev of controlling and reports that the Russian prime minister had a special house for a duck on one of his properties.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has agreed to testify publicly before a Senate committee investigating Russia's alleged election interference and ties between Russian officials and President Donald Trump's associates.

Pressure had been building on Sessions' to speak openly before the Senate Intelligence Committee since before last week's testimony by fired FBI Director James Comey.

The committee said on June 12 that Sessions' appearance on June 13 would be open to the public.

Sessions, who heads the U.S. Justice Department, is one of several past and current Trump associates whose interactions with Russian officials during the 2016 election campaign have come under scrutiny.

Along with the Senate committee, the FBI has been conducting a criminal investigation.

Trump fired Comey on May 9, and bragged to Russian officials a day later about it, according to an account of the meeting read to the media by a U.S. official.

"He was crazy, a real nut job," Trump said about Comey, according to the document.

During his June 8 Senate testimony, Comey suggested possible conflicts of interest or even obstruction of justice.

Sessions, meanwhile, had recused himself from oversight of the FBI's Russian probes, owing to his meetings with Russia's ambassador to the United States.

However, he ultimately co-signed the letter recommending Comey's firing, something Comey suggested was unusual.
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Jun 12 (PTI) In a rare intervention, insurance regulator IRDAI today announced taking over the management of the Sahara India Life Insurance Company, saying Subrata Roy- run insurer was "acting in a manner" prejudicial to interest of subscribers.

In an order, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) appointed one of its general managers, R K Sharma, as administrator to manage the affairs of the insurer with "immediate effect".

advertisement

The regulator said it has "reasons" to believe that Sahara India Life Insurance Company "is acting in a manner likely to be prejudicial to the interest of holders of life insurance policies".

"The administrator shall conduct the management of the business of the insurer as per the applicable provisions under the Insurance Act, 1938," Irdai said in a statement.

There was no immediate response from the company.

The insurer has sold 665 polices worth Rs 1.53 crore during the April-May period of the current fiscal.

The company had collected a premium worth Rs 44.68 crore from 16,058 customers in 2016-17.

"The administrator shall act as per powers and duties as per the applicable provisions...and manage the business with the greatest economy compatible with efficiency and regular reporting to the IRDAI," the order signed by PFRDA chairman T S Vijayan.

The regulator has asked the directors, management and staff of the insurer to extend all possible assistance and cooperation to the administrator to manage the affairs of Sahara Life Insurance Company.

Irdai further said it will be the endeavour of the administrator to ensure the servicing of the policyholders and managing the affairs of the insurer in a smooth manner as far as feasible.

In a related FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions), the regulator said that all the policyholders requests for settlement of claims and other benefits will be processed, as per respective terms and conditions of the policy within a period of 30 days.

Also, the insurer will continue to offer all the policy servicing activities as per respective policy terms and conditions. PTI DP NKD BJ MKJ

--- ENDS ---
YEREVAN -- Armenia has proposed creating a demilitarized zone with international guarantees around Azerbaijan's mostly Armenian-populated breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Speaking at a weekly session of his government on November 10, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said he voiced this proposal, originally put forth by Nagorno-Karabakhs de facto authorities, at a meeting on October 31 with the presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan in Sochi, Russia.

"It is proposed to create a demilitarized zone around Nagorno-Karabakh with international guarantees, as a result of which Nagorno-Karabakh may not need a defense army of that scale. This proposal is still valid, I think," Pashinian said.

Pashinian also said an updated proposal on the demilitarization of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border zone was proposed to Azerbaijan, suggesting it withdraw its troops from the border line confirmed in 1991 when both nations gained independence, creating a three-kilometer demilitarized zone on either side.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have accused each other of cease-fire violations along the border in recent days.

A spokesman for Armenia's Defense Ministry said one of its soldiers had been shot and wounded on November 10 along the border in what Yerevan says was a fresh cease-fire violation by Baku.

Aram Torosian said the Armenian soldier was wounded by "an enemy shot" and was in severe condition.

The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry issued a statement denying the report.

"Azerbaijani units did not open fire in the mentioned direction," the statement said, calling the report a "lie."

Baku on November 9 accused ethnic Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh of firing at Azerbaijani military positions in the east of the region the previous night. De facto Armenian authorities in Stepanakert denied the accusation.

Reports of shootings along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and in Karabakh come days after the latest round of talks focused on a peace deal between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Ararat Mirzoyan and Jeyhun Bayramov, that was hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington on November 7.

In a statement issued on the results of the talks the Armenian and Azerbaijani ministers said they agreed to expedite negotiations and organize another meeting in the coming weeks.

During the October 31 meeting hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Pashinian and Aliyev pledged not to use force to resolve the conflict.

Armenia accuses Azerbaijan of invading and occupying parts of its territory in the border zone during several incursions since May 2021. Azerbaijan denies any occupation, referring to the fact of the absence of delimitation and demarcation of the nearly 500-kilometer border between the two South Caucasus nations.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh for years. Some 30,000 people were killed in a war in the early 1990s that left ethnic Armenians in control of the breakaway region and seven adjacent districts of Azerbaijan proper.

The two sides fought another war in 2020 that lasted six weeks and killed thousands of people on both sides before a Russia-brokered cease-fire, resulting in Armenians' losing control over parts of the region and the adjacent districts.

Under the cease-fire agreement Moscow deployed about 2,000 troops in the region to serve as peacekeepers.

Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.

With reporting by AFP and RFE/RL's Armenian Service
Over 70 dealers of General Motors India are planning to make a representation at the company headquarters in US. They claim that the compensation offered to them against investments is the matter of dispute and the dealers state that they will take legal counsel in the matter and could even move court against General Motors and subsidiary Chevrolet Sales India Private Ltd (CSIPL).

General Motors India on their part are offering hefty discounts on its models. The company has around 1,800-1,900 vehicles at company dealers besides 800 cars in stock with the company. Discounts to the tune of 30% are being offered on these models so as to liquidate stocks. The company assured its dealers that they would compensate them against these losses solely on condition that all stocks were sold which also included those lying at the plant.

General Motors stated that 10% of compensation amount of stocks will be credited to dealers within 7 days of the announcement while 30% of the amount will be given on condition that dealers achieve 50% of wholesale targets by 20th June while those achieving 100% targets by July 10th will be given balance 60%.

With the announcement to stop sales in India already out in the open, dealers are finding it difficult to sell stocks. Financial institutions have blocked funding while customers are also shy of making new purchases of GM models with the company announcing plans to stop selling its vehicles in India by the end of this year.

GM on their part have assured buyers that they would honor all warranties and offer after sales service support to customers while the Detroit based automaker will continue to produce vehicles such as the Beat hatchback, Cruze sedan, Enjoy, Tavera and Trailblazer from its Talegaon plant in Maharashtra though exclusively for exports.
The success of kidney transplant is dependent on the age and sex of both the donor and the recipient, according to research published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. The study, which was a collaboration between a team from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) and the University of Montreal Hospital Research Center (CRCHUM), revealed that young women had poorer transplant outcomes compared to young men, whereas women of post-menopausal age had similar or slightly better outcomes than men of the same age. This finding opens the door to a new approach for organ transplantation, and could lead to personalized immunosuppression strategies based on age and sex.

"This is the first study to assess differences in graft outcomes between female and male recipients across the entire age spectrum," says the study's corresponding author Dr. Beth Foster, researcher at the RI-MUHC and pediatric nephrologist at the Montreal Children's Hospital of the MUHC. "Previous studies did not find significant differences in graft survival between the sexes, but they focused exclusively on adults, most of whom were older. We considered the possibility that sex differences in graft survival may depend on age."

The researchers evaluated the records of nearly 160,000 kidney transplant recipients recorded in the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients database, which includes all transplant recipients in the United States. The outcomes of graft success were evaluated in relation to the age and sex of both the recipient and the donor.

"We found that among recipients of male donors, females of all ages had significantly worse graft survival than males," explains first author Dr. Fanny Lepeytre, fellow in Nephrology at the CRCHUM for this project. "However, when the donor was female, only female recipients aged 15-24 years had worse outcomes than their male counterparts. In fact, female recipients aged 45 years or older actually had slightly better graft survival than males of the same age when the donor was female."

The role of sex hormones in graft outcomes

These findings open new questions about the possible impact of sex hormones on immune reactivity in transplant recipients. "We know from studies outside the field of transplantation that the female sex hormone estrogen tends to activate the immune system, whereas male sex hormones such as testosterone tend to suppress it," says Dr. Foster who is also an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at McGill University. "The fact that young women 15-24 years old, in whom estrogen levels are at their peak, have higher graft failure risks than males or females in any other age group suggests that estrogen may increase the risk of rejection. Women over the age of 45 have less of this hormone so it makes sense that they may have a lower risk of rejection and graft failure."

Another possible explanation for the sex differences observed in this study is that sex hormones may influence the function of anti-rejection medications, making them less effective in females than males.

This observational study sheds light on how little we know about the influence of sex, gender, and age on the immune system, transplantation, and medical care in general.

"We need to better understand which biological and social factors explain the sex differences in graft outcomes that we observed," says Dr. Foster. "Right now, we treat men, women, boys and girls with transplants in a very similar way. With better understanding we could potentially improve graft outcomes by developing age and sex specific immune-suppression strategies."
The human brain naturally makes its best guess when making a decision, and studying those guesses can be very revealing about the brain's inner workings. But neuroscientists at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine said a full understanding of the complexity of the human brain will require new research strategies that better simulate real-world conditions.

Xaq Pitkow and Dora Angelaki, both faculty members in Baylor's Department of Neuroscience and Rice's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, said the brain's ability to perform "approximate probabilistic inference" cannot be truly studied with simple tasks that are "ill-suited to expose the inferential computations that make the brain special."

A new article by the researchers suggests the brain uses nonlinear message-passing between connected, redundant populations of neurons that draw upon a probabilistic model of the world. That model, coarsely passed down via evolution and refined through learning, simplifies decision-making based on general concepts and its particular biases.

The article, which lays out a broad research agenda for neuroscience, is featured this month in a special edition of Neuron, a journal published by Cell Press. The edition presents ideas that first appeared as part of a workshop at the University of Copenhagen last September titled "How Does the Brain Work?"

"Evolution has given us what we call a good model bias," Pitkow said. "It's been known for a couple of decades that very simple neural networks can compute any function, but those universal networks can be enormous, requiring extraordinary time and resources.

"In contrast, if you have the right kind of model -- not a completely general model that could learn anything, but a more limited model that can learn specific things, especially the kind of things that often happen in the real world -- then you have a model that's biased. In this sense, bias can be a positive trait. We use it to be sensitive to the right things in the world that we inhabit. Of course, the flip side is that when our brain's bias is not matched to reality, it can lead to severe problems."

The researchers said simple tests of brain processes, like those in which subjects choose between two options, provide only simple results. "Before we had access to large amounts of data, neuroscience made huge strides from using simple tasks, and they'll remain very useful," Pitkow said. "But for computations that we think are most important about the brain, there are things you just can't reveal with some of those tasks." Pitkow and Angelaki wrote that tasks should incorporate more diversity -- like nuisance variables and uncertainty -- to better simulate real-world conditions that the brain evolved to handle.

They suggested that the brain infers solutions based on statistical crosstalk between redundant population codes. Population codes are responses by collections of neurons that are sensitive to certain inputs, like the shape or movement of an object. Pitkow and Angelaki think that to better understand the brain, it can be more useful to describe what these populations compute, rather than precisely how each individual neuron computes it. Pitkow said this means thinking "at the representational level" rather than the "mechanistic level," as described by the influential vision scientist David Marr.

The research has implications for artificial intelligence, another interest of both researchers.

"A lot of artificial intelligence has done impressive work lately, but it still fails in some spectacular ways," Pitkow said. "They can play the ancient game of Go and beat the best human player in the world, as done recently by DeepMind's AlphaGo about a decade before anybody expected. But AlphaGo doesn't know how to pick up the Go pieces. Even the best algorithms are extremely specialized. Their ability to generalize is often still pretty poor. Our brains have a much better model of the world; We can learn more from less data. Neuroscience theories suggest ways to translate experiments into smarter algorithms that could lead to a greater understanding of general intelligence."
The California Academy of Sciences' Hope for Reefs initiative continues to advance global understanding of coral reef science through a series of ambitious expeditions. The team most recently returned from the Verde Island Passage in the Philippines -- a longtime regional focus of Academy research considered the "center of the center" of marine biodiversity. The Academy's science diving teams explored both deep and shallow ecosystems to document species richness, evaluate ecosystem health, and gather data to support smarter ocean conservation strategies.

Building upon nearly three decades of Academy research in the region, the team has once again discovered several new species of fish, nudibranchs, urchins, and sand dollars. Academy researchers have visited the region since 1992 and in that time have discovered over one thousand species that are new to science. Just this month, Academy Curator of Invertebrate Zoology Dr. Terry Gosliner formally described eight new nudibranch species collected from earlier expeditions. Academy scientists also worked to promote a deeper appreciation for coral reefs through community outreach and presentations to a local school.

Dr. Rebecca Albright, Academy curator and coral biologist, assessed coral health and diversity across shallow dive sites -- building upon her research on how to maximize coral recruitment in the face of environmental stressors. Her findings help leverage restoration efforts that enhance reef resilience.

In addition to discovering new marine species, the deep-diving "twilight zone" team also documented evidence of human impacts at 200-500 feet below the ocean's surface, indicating that mesophotic deep reefs are as heavily impacted as their shallow counterparts and in need of strong protections. Despite the fact that these unique ecosystems are greatly impacted by pollution and storm damage, twilight zone reefs are largely ignored by current protections. Marine protected areas (MPAs) and sanctuaries tend to favor shallow reefs better known to science and coastal communities.

Visitors to the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco can meet scientists from the Hope for Reefs initiative this evening (June 8, World Oceans Day) at Coral Reef NightLife. Visitors to the Academy's Steinhart Aquarium can also take a closer look at mesophotic marine creatures from the Philippines in Twilight Zone: Deep Reefs Revealed.

Considered the "rainforests of the sea," coral reefs are some of the most beautiful, biologically diverse, and economically valuable ecosystems on Earth. They cover less than 1% of the ocean but contain more than 25% of all marine species. Coral reefs are integral to the livelihoods and well-being of billions of people worldwide, providing protection from erosion and storm damage, and generating income through ecotourism and fishing. Nearly 75% of the world's coral reefs are currently threatened by the combined impacts of overfishing, habitat destruction, water pollution, climate change, and ocean acidification. The Academy's Hope for Reefs initiative aims to reverse the potential collapse of global coral reefs by exploring little-known ecosystems, advancing coral reef science by decades, and communicating these issues to the public through innovative exhibits, media, and education programs. This work is supported by visionary donors taking action before life-supporting coral reefs are lost forever.
A new study from the University of Iowa shows that a pair of common chemicals that manufacturers use to make plastic food containers, water bottles, and other consumer products do not contribute to obesity to the extent of the chemical it's replacing.

The chemicals -- bisphenol F and bisphenol S (known as BPF and BPS) -- are being used increasingly by food packaging manufacturers as substitutes for bisphenol A (BPA), which studies have found disrupts endocrine systems and causes numerous health problems. BPA is used in many kinds of packaging for snacks and drinks, canned foods, and water bottles. The chemical is absorbed into the body mainly through the food or water it contacts in the container.

But concern was raised several years ago when numerous studies found BPA increases the risk of various health issues, in particular obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. A consumer backlash erupted after the studies received media attention so manufacturers started reducing the use of BPA in some consumer products or even eliminating it in so-called "BPA-free" products by replacing it with such alternatives as BPF and BPS.

However, little is known on the potential impact of BPF and BPS exposure in humans. The new University of Iowa study is the first to determine the health impacts of BPF and BPS exposure on obesity in humans. Using data from a nationwide population-based study conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the researchers confirm that BPA is associated with increased obesity in humans. But the study found no links between obesity and either BPF or BPS at the current exposure levels.

However, the researchers warn that fewer products currently use BPF and BPS -- BPA still has more than half the global market share for the chemicals, and the average concentration of BPF and BPS is about one-fourth that of BPA in the US population. Whether BPF and BPS pose an increased risk of obesity at the same population exposure levels as BPA remains unknown. Future studies will be needed to confirm the results, as BPF and BPS are likely to replace BPA in more consumer products.
To tackle this all-important question in the Digital Age, the research Institute IMDEA Networks, in collaboration with University Carlos III of Madrid, has just celebrated its 9th Annual Workshop under the motto: "Enabling future internet applications: networking, privacy and security challenges."

It is expected that by 2020 there will be over 50 billion devices connected to the Internet with powerful sensing and computing capabilities attached to them. This will enable the visions of the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart environments in which people, things, devices and actuators will constantly interact with each other, blurring the differences between the cyber and the physical worlds. However, there is no clear picture yet about what the future Internet will look like. Current stakeholders (including ISPs, CDNs and cloud providers) as well as new players will have to adapt to new applications and networking paradigms. This will require them to anticipate and face a wide range of unknown challenges, stemming from the need to efficiently interconnect heterogeneous devices while guaranteeing service, security and users' privacy.

The 9th Annual IMDEA Networks Workshop that has taken place on June 7th and 8th 2017 at University Carlos III of Madrid, has brought together industry players, practitioners and academic researchers to share experiences, discuss technological trends, present recent advances and confront the societal, economic, technological and security challenges to be addressed in order to make the future Internet a reality.

The event program included talks from industrial and academic experts, who discussed privacy and security aspects of current technologies, such as the Internet of Things and mobile computing, as well as the importance of promoting transparency and developing new regulatory frameworks to protect users against malicious agents and online abuse.

The workshop also covered how different stakeholders have to adapt to the evolving nature of the Internet, and to the requirements of new business cases and emerging technologies.
The pathogen, Vibrio cholerae can colonize the surfaces, as well as the intestines of soft shelled turtles. This finding is strong evidence that soft shelled turtles in China, where they are grown for human consumption, are spreading cholera. The research is published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

Insertion of genes producing bioluminescent proteins into V. cholerae enabled the investigators to directly observe the pathogens colonizing the turtles. To infect the turtles, the investigators dipped them in a phosphate buffered saline solution containing the now bioluminescent bacteria, serogroup 0139.

Over the next four days, the researchers checked the turtles at 24 hour intervals. They first detected light signals at 24 hours. At 96 hours, the entire dorsal side of the turtles' shells was emitting bioluminescence. The latter was also easily detected on the dorsal side of the turtles' limbs and necks, and in the calipash, the gelatinous protoplasm, locally regarded as a delicacy, that lies directly beneath the shells' surface.

Determining intestinal colonization was more difficult. The turtles were inoculated intragastrically with the bioluminescent V. cholerae. Knowing that digestion takes roughly 34 to 56 hours in 150 gram turtles, the investigators euthanized and dissected the turtles at 72 hours, and checked all their internal organs. Bioluminscence could be detected only in the intestines.

The investigators also identified the different colonization factors -- molecular machinery on the surface of V. cholerae -- that enabled the bacteria to stick to the turtles' dorsal surfaces and intestines.

The motivation for the research was the discovery, through surveillance of the disease in China, that consumption of cholera-carrying soft shelled turtles had caused outbreaks of the disease, said corresponding author Biao Kan, PhD. "Cholera is a life-threatening diarrheal disease," said Kan, who is professor of pathogenic biology and infectious disease control, at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing.

Despite the fact that during the last decade, China has seen less than 200 cases, annually, according to Kan. But he said that of the 39 diseases surveilled under China's Law of Infectious Disease Control and Prevention, cholera is in the most dangerous category, along with plague. He also noted that the O139 serogroup, the major strain spread by the turtles, is an emerging disease in China.

Elsewhere in the world, as of last summer, the Haitian outbreak, which began in 2010, has infected nearly 800,000 people and has caused more than 9,000 deaths, according to National Geographic. In 2014, a total of 190,549 cases worldwide were reported to the World Health Organization, including 2,231 deaths. But the number of reported cases has varied widely year to year, with a post-millennium high of over 600,000 in 2011. But other sources have reported as many as 3 million cases annually this decade.

A side benefit of the study is that the soft shelled turtle could serve as a new animal model for studying how V. cholerae interacts with aquatic hosts. Unlike other aquatic models such as zebra fish, soft shelled turtles can be anesthetized and their surfaces sampled out of water for relatively long periods without killing them. Using aquatic models is particularly beneficial since cholera is a mostly waterborne disease.

Besides soft shelled turtles, aquatic hosts of V. cholerae include zooplankton, fish, shellfish, egg masses of midges, waterfowl, and crustaceans. Fish and shellfish are proven to spread this disease.
A chemical currently being used to ward off mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus and a commonly used insecticide that was threatened with a ban in the United States have been associated with reduced motor function in Chinese infants, a University of Michigan study found.

Researchers at the U-M School of Public Health and U-M Center for Human Growth and Development tested children in China and found exposure to the chemical naled via their mothers during pregnancy was associated with 3-4 percent lower fine motor skills scores at age 9 months for those in the top 25 percent of naled exposure, compared to those in the lowest 25 percent of exposure. Infants exposed to chlorpyrifos scored 2-7 percent lower on a range of key gross and fine motor skills.

Girls appeared to be more sensitive to the negative effects of the chemicals than boys.

Naled is one of the chemicals being used in several U.S. states to combat the mosquito that transmits Zika. Chlorpyrifos, around since the 1960s, is used on vegetables, fruit and other crops to control pests.

Both are insecticides called organophosphates, a class of chemicals that includes nerve agents like sarin gas. They inhibit an enzyme involved in the nerve signaling process, paralyzing insects and triggering respiratory failure. However, they may adversely impact health through other mechanisms at lower exposure levels that are commonly encountered in the environment.

In the children studied, naled affected fine motor skills or the small movements of hands, fingers, face, mouth and feet. Chlorpyrifos was associated with lower scores for both gross (large movements of arms and legs) and fine motor skills.

advertisement

"Motor delays in infancy may be predictive of developmental problems later in childhood," said first author Monica Silver, graduate student research assistant and research fellow in the School of Public Health Department of Environmental Health Sciences. "The findings may help inform policy as the debate over use of these chemicals continues."

The only studies to date on naled health impacts have taken place in occupational settings, not with exposure in the general population, Silver says. Previous chlorpyrifos research has found ties to delayed motor development in children and a host of health issues for those who handle the chemical, including nausea, dizziness and convulsions.

The U-M researchers examined the umbilical cord blood of about 240 mothers, looking for exposure to 30 different organophosphate insecticides, five of which showed up in at least 10 percent of the samples. In addition to naled and chlorpyrifos, they found methamidophos, trichlorfon and phorate.

The cord blood was gathered from 2008-11 as part of a cohort study designed by co-author Betsy Lozoff of the U-M Center for Human Growth and Development to investigate the relationships between iron deficiency and infant neurodevelopment.

The researchers followed the development of the babies using the well-known Peabody Developmental Motor Skill Assessment at 6 weeks and 9 months. No deficits were noted at 6 weeks.

advertisement

The test provides gross, fine and total motor scores, and more specific subtest results including reflexes, stationary (body control), locomotion (movement), grasping and visual-motor integration (eyes and hands coordinated).

Use of the Peabody tool is unique to this study. Previous research in the environmental health field has primarily relied upon motor portions of larger developmental assessment tools, while this one focused strictly on motor skills, giving a more comprehensive view.

Chlorpyrifos has been banned for residential use in the U.S. since 2000, and for all use in some European countries. In 2015, the Obama Administration proposed a total ban in the U.S. but two months ago the head of the Environmental Protection Agency determined there was not enough scientific evidence to support the action.

While China is the world's largest user of pesticides, the researchers say exposure to the chemicals is a worldwide concern, especially as the U.S. and other countries brace for another season with the Zika virus.

"Zika is a very serious public health threat. This information helps to highlight that the way we go about combating Zika and other vector-borne diseases needs to be thought out more completely in order to minimize other unintended consequences," said John Meeker, U-M professor of environmental health sciences who was senior author and principal investigator on the project.

"For example, a focus on a more holistic integrated pest management approach may allow for the same or even improved effectiveness in reducing disease while using smaller amounts of these potentially harmful chemicals."

Integrated pest management uses education and a range of other tactics to avoid insect infestations (e.g., get rid of standing water near homes), and taking precautions against getting bitten (e.g., avoiding out-of-doors in early morning or after dusk, wearing long-sleeved clothing).

While exposure to chlorpyrifos and other pesticides used on crops is widespread and may be unavoidable in some situations, the research team said consuming organic produce when feasible, and thoroughly washing all fruits and vegetables before eating them can help to reduce exposure.
Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Congress leaders have a habit of questioning the Indian Army.

By India Today Web Desk: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today asked Congress president to apologise to the country over her party leader's goonda remark on Army Chief General Bipin Rawat.

Union Minister Niramal Sitharaman slammed Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit for likening General Rawat to a 'sadak ka goonda' (a road-side goon) and said Sonia Gandhi should apologise for the shameful statement.

advertisement

"Nobody less than Sonia Gandhi should come out and apologise because it is the question of the Army's morale," Sitharaman said.

"The Congress consistently, in a pattern, questions the integrity of the Indian Army. A responsible party allows its well-known faces to go haywire and doesn't bother about coming out clean on what its approach is about the Indian Army," she added.

BJP's Delhi unit chief Manoj Tiwary also demanded that both Sonia and son Rahul Gandhi should offer an unconditional apology.

"Dikshit's remark is an insult of 15 lakh soldiers of the Army. This is not one person's point of view; but Rahul and Sonia Gandhi's opinion too, which made Dikshit say it. When our soldiers are beaten or killed on the border, they don't say anything supportive, but now, to comment on them is very easy. I would want Rahul and Sonia Gandhi to come forward and apologise," Tiwari said.

RAHUL GANDHI DISTANCES HIMSELF FROM DIKSHIT'S REMARK

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi has distanced himself and the party from Dikshit's statement.

"The Army works for us, defends us. No politician need to make any comment against the Army and its chief. Nobody should play politics with the Army," Rahul said in Bengaluru where he re-launched Congress-run newspaper - National Herald.

SANDEEP DIKSHIT APOLOGISES

Facing flak for his controversial statement, Sandeep Dikshit tendered repeated apology, saying he shouldn't have used 'uncivilised' words to convey his message.

"It was in the context of the constant statements that the Army Chief has made with regard to the Army's preparation and Pakistan. I thought Indian Army chiefs normally don't make these statements and they have a different manner in which they approach. However, this was a separate issue. If I had to say something of this kind, there was a different language and manner in which I should have said it," the Congress leader said.

Dikshit had yesterday said General Rawat shouldn't make statements like a 'sadak ka goonda'.

Speaking to ANI, Dikshit had said, "It feels our army chief speaks like a roadside thug. While this is expected from Pakistan who are like the mafia, why does our own chief make such pronouncements?"

advertisement

FREEDOM OF SPEECH UNDER ATTACK

At a packed gathering in the Ambedkar Bhavan, Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi took potshots at the government by alleging that the government is forcing everyone into silence, with the situation such that Dalits are getting beaten up, minorities are frightened and journalists and bureaucrats threatened.

In Bengaluru to take part in the re-launch of the National Herald, he went on to add that, "The power of truth is being completely replaced with the truth of power and anybody who attempts to speak the truth and stand for it is being pushed aside".

Rahul also spoke about how he was not allowed to meet farmers in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. And when he asked the police as to why he is not being allowed to meet these people, he was just told that they were under strict orders not to allow him in. "This is the India we are living in where power will simply manufacture the truth," he added.

Lambasting the government for stepping on freedom of speech and of the press, he said, "Thousands of journalists are not allowed to write about what they want", adding, "Please speak the truth and do not be scared to speak the truth".

advertisement

(Inputs from Nolan Pinto in Bengaluru)

ALSO READ:

Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit calls Army Chief Gen Rawat a 'sadak ka goonda,' apologises

Not hurt by comparison with General Dyer, says Army chief Bipin Rawat

WATCH: I apologise and I withdraw my statement: Sandeep Dikshit to India Today on comment about General Rawat

--- ENDS ---
Almost 6,000 new cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or ALL, are expected to be diagnosed this year in the United States. The blood cancer can affect both children and adults. Scientists have found up to 30 percent of adult ALL patients have what's called a Philadelphia chromosome, where two segments of chromosomes have aberrantly fused together. (The fusion chromosome is much less common in children.) Adult ALL patients exposed to standard treatments often see high relapse rates, and treatment-related deaths remain high. But researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah have discovered new science, published in the journal Leukemia, that could provide better therapeutic options for patients.

In the Leukemia study, HCI scientists learned how to inhibit and override the negative activity of this chromosome. The findings could possibly lead to future novel drug treatments.

Srividya Bhaskara, PhD, HCI investigator and assistant professor of radiation oncology at the University of Utah, led the study. She says the ALL cancer cells containing the Philadelphia chromosome are addicted to repairing DNA. "Repairing DNA may sound like a good thing when you're talking about healthy cells," she explains, "But in this case it's a bad thing. When you treat these leukemia cells with chemotherapy, you want DNA damage to accumulate so the cancer cells will die. But because the Philadelphia chromosome continually causes repair, these cells don't retain enough DNA damage to die. Essentially they resist any kind of drug you use on them. So we had to find a new way to overcome this DNA repair addiction."

Bhaskara says the Philadelphia chromosome promotes repair through numerous proteins. But putting together a cocktail of drugs to inhibit them all would likely be too toxic and affect normal cells. So Bhaskara focused on two specific proteins she found were directly involved in DNA repair, called histone deacetylases (HDAC) 1 and 2. She then collaborated with a company to make a drug that inhibits HDAC1,2 activity. After a comprehensive analysis of how the drug worked, Bhaskara tested the HDAC1,2 inhibitor in patient samples and mice and saw encouraging results, either alone or in combination with a chemotherapy drug called doxorubicin. (Doxorubicin is one of the components of the chemotherapy cocktail regimen currently used for Philadelphia chromosome-positive ALL patients). The drugs broke down the central hub of DNA repair, and the HDAC1,2 inhibitor actually reduced different repair protein functions.

"This inhibitor can work at multiple steps and at multiple levels of repair without causing major toxicity," says Bhaskara. "The treated mice didn't get sick from the drug, and we did not see any apparent toxic side-effects in them. And when the drug was combined with a low concentration of doxorubicin, it had additional therapeutic benefits. We actually show in the patient-derived mouse models that using the combination of drugs, or HDAC1,2 inhibitor alone, is sufficient to decrease the leukemia load."

Leukemia is a white blood cell disease where the body produces too many white and not enough red blood cells. When the mice in this study were treated with the HDAC1,2 inhibitor or the HDAC1,2/doxorubicin combination, their bone marrow started turning from pale to red, indicating the white blood cells were being replaced with red blood cells.

In mouse models, a 50-70 percent reduction in leukemia was observed with either HDAC1,2 inhibitor alone or when the inhibitor was used with doxorubicin. Bhaskara says this kind of decrease can give a patient several more years of survival.

In addition, the repair proteins identified by the Bhaskara Lab can also be used as potential biomarkers to predict a patient's response in the clinic.

Bhaskara is encouraged and excited by the findings and their future implications. "We completely nailed down how the HDAC1,2 inhibitor affects DNA repair," she says. "This is so important, not just for this cancer, but any cancer that is repair-addicted. We know there is a specific type of lymphoma that is also repair-addicted."

The next steps will include initiating human clinical trials, which are now being discussed between Bhaskara's team and appropriate clinical and pharmaceutical partners.
Adult male farmers in Malaysia are more than twice as likely to contract Plasmodium knowlesi malaria -- an infection usually found only in monkeys -- than other people in their communities, according to a new study published in The Lancet Planetary Health.

The research team found that farmers in the country's Sabah region who work on plantations, clearing vegetation and taking part in forestry work were most at risk.

The study is the first comprehensive assessment of factors associated with contracting symptomatic P. knowlesi infection which is threatening efforts to eliminate malaria in South East Asia.

It was conducted by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin, and the Department of Health, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.

Plasmodium knowlesi is a zoonotic malaria parasite which is common in forest-dwelling macaque monkeys and transmitted between hosts by mosquitoes. It has a rapid growth rate in the blood that can lead to high levels of parasites in a short time and can cause severe and fatal disease.

Recent deforestation in the Sabah region has brought humans into closer contact with the forest. P. knowlesi is now the most common form of human malaria in many areas of Malaysia, and has also been reported across South East Asia. In 2014, the Malaysian Health Ministry reported 2,584 out of the country's 3,923 malaria cases derived from P. knowlesi, and that proportion is known to have risen further.

advertisement

The researchers conducted a large case control study of more than 1,000 people in the Sabah districts of Kudat and Kota Marudu. Individuals with P. knowlesi were compared with individuals with other types of human malaria and a control group without malaria. Detailed questionnaires collected information on daily activities, residence and the frequency with which participants saw monkeys.

Men were four times more likely to have P. knowlesi infection than women, but although male farmers were more likely to contract monkey malaria, they were not at higher risk of contracting other types of malaria. Indoor work such as shopkeeping, traditional female household duties, and studying were associated with a lower risk of P. knowlesi malaria in these communities.

Chris Drakeley, Professor of Infection & Immunity from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and principal collaborator on the study said: "P. knowlesi is a complex and potentially life threatening parasite. The rise in cases not only threatens the great gains Malaysia has made towards eradicating malaria, but is of concern for other countries in South East Asia. Conventional approaches used to tackle malaria such as drugs or bed nets can't be used to combat P. knowlesi as monkeys are the host and risk is associated with outdoor work. Our study offers important insight into where social interventions are likely to have the biggest impact.

"This is a unique interdisciplinary study which harnessed the expertise of a range of partners and organisations to help describe the risk of P. knowlesi infection. We will continue to work with our colleagues in the Malaysian Ministry of Health to improve awareness and education for local residents about areas of risk and how they can prevent mosquito bites."

The findings suggest that humans working on the fringes of the forest are at risk of contracting P. knowlesi, as well as in the forest itself when they carry out activities such as hunting.

The study also identified methods of housing construction and surrounding forest and agricultural land types which contributed to the increasing number of rural P. knowlesi cases. A number of cases in women and children were also found which, along with the characteristics of mosquito and macaque populations, need further investigation.

Dr Matthew Grigg, Menzies Research fellow and lead author of the study, said: "Malaysia's national malaria eradication plan is proving extremely effective in reducing case numbers of other types of malaria, however we have found cases of P. knowlesi are on the rise due to a number of human behavioural factors. Our research indicates adult males are most at risk of contracting this type of malaria including from activities such as farming, land clearing activities, working on palm oil plantations, and travelling or sleeping outside."

The authors acknowledge the limitations of the study including that participants infected with P. knowlesi who were aware of their diagnosis were potentially more likely to recall seeing monkeys or describe childhood malaria episodes.
Parents of prematurely born babies often fear their children may go on to struggle in school, but findings from a new large-scale study from the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University and Northwestern Medicine should reassure parents.

The large-scale study found that two-thirds of babies born at only 23 or 24 weeks were ready for kindergarten on time. Unexpectedly, nearly two percent of them even achieved gifted status in school. While these extremely premature babies often scored low on standardized tests, preterm infants born 25 weeks or later performed only slightly lower than full-term infants. In fact, as the length of pregnancy increased after 28 weeks, the differences in test scores were negligible.

The study will be published June 12 in JAMA Pediatrics.

"What excites me about this study is that it changes the focus for the clinician and families at the bedside from just focusing on the medical outcomes of the child to what the future educational outcomes might be for a child born early," said first author Dr. Craig Garfield, associate professor of pediatrics and of medical social sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

The longitudinal study analyzed more than 1.3 million babies born in Florida from 1992 to 2002 with gestational ages of 23 to 41 weeks who later entered Florida public schools between 1995 and 2012. The scientists matched the babies' vital statistic records with their Florida public school records to examine the association between being born early and educational performance.

"Many studies look at premature babies but very few of them look at their educational outcomes into middle school in such a large population," said Garfield, who also is an attending pediatrician at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. "What's special about this study is it speaks to the importance of administrative data sets and the ability to combine different data sets in ways that allow us to ask questions and get answers about how our children are doing in the long-run."

"While some people might be troubled that very premature infants tend to score well below their full-term peers on standardized tests, I believe that the glass is more than half-full," said senior author David Figlio, director of the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University. "Most infants born at 23 to 24 weeks still demonstrate a high degree of cognitive functioning at the start of kindergarten and throughout school."

While this study's data is strong, it does not account for some of these infants' medical issues related to preterm birth or provide information about why these children performed well in school, such as their biological make-up or if they received extra support from family or schools, Garfield said. Nevertheless, most babies born prematurely ended up performing reasonably well on standardized tests through middle school.

"Our future work in this area will focus on what parents and service providers can do to help future premature children to achieve their full potential," Garfield said.
About 20 percent of children in the United States have difficulty learning to read, and educators have devised a variety of interventions to try to help them. Not every program helps every student, however, in part because the origins of their struggles are not identical.

MIT neuroscientist John Gabrieli is trying to identify factors that may help to predict individual children's responses to different types of reading interventions. As part of that effort, he recently found that children from lower-income families responded much better to a summer reading program than children from a higher socioeconomic background.

Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the research team also found anatomical changes in the brains of children whose reading abilities improved -- in particular, a thickening of the cortex in parts of the brain known to be involved in reading.

"If you just left these children [with reading difficulties] alone on the developmental path they're on, they would have terrible troubles reading in school. We're taking them on a neuroanatomical detour that seems to go with real gains in reading ability," says Gabrieli, the Grover M. Hermann Professor in Health Sciences and Technology, a professor of brain and cognitive sciences, a member of MIT's McGovern Institute for Brain Research, and the senior author of the study.

Rachel Romeo, a graduate student in the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology, and Joanna Christodoulou, an assistant professor of communication sciences and disorders at the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions, are the lead authors of the paper, which appears in the journal Cerebral Cortex.

Predicting improvement

In hopes of identifying factors that influence children's responses to reading interventions, the MIT team set up two summer schools based on a program known as Lindamood-Bell. The researchers recruited students from a wide income range, although socioeconomic status was not the original focus of their study.

advertisement

The Lindamood-Bell program focuses on helping students develop the sensory and cognitive processing necessary for reading, such as thinking about words as units of sound, and translating printed letters into word meanings.

Children participating in the study, who ranged from 6 to 9 years old, spent four hours a day, five days a week in the program, for six weeks. Before and after the program, their brains were scanned with MRI and they were given some commonly used tests of reading proficiency.

In tests taken before the program started, children from higher and lower socioeconomic (SES) backgrounds fared equally poorly in most areas, with one exception. Children from higher SES backgrounds had higher vocabulary scores, which has also been seen in studies comparing nondyslexic readers from different SES backgrounds.

"There's a strong trend in these studies that higher SES families tend to talk more with their kids and also use more complex and diverse language. That tends to be where the vocabulary correlation comes from," Romeo says.

The researchers also found differences in brain anatomy before the reading program started. Children from higher socioeconomic backgrounds had thicker cortex in a part of the brain known as Broca's area, which is necessary for language production and comprehension. The researchers also found that these differences could account for the differences in vocabulary levels between the two groups.

advertisement

Based on a limited number of previous studies, the researchers hypothesized that the reading program would have more of an impact on the students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds. But in fact, they found the opposite. About half of the students improved their scores, while the other half worsened or stayed the same. When analyzing the data for possible explanations, family income level was the one factor that proved significant.

"Socioeconomic status just showed up as the piece that was most predictive of treatment response," Romeo says.

The same children whose reading scores improved also displayed changes in their brain anatomy. Specifically, the researchers found that they had a thickening of the cortex in a part of the brain known as the temporal occipital region, which comprises a large network of structures involved in reading.

"Mix of causes"

The researchers believe that their results may have been different than previous studies of reading intervention in low SES students because their program was run during the summer, rather than during the school year.

"Summer is when socioeconomic status takes its biggest toll. Low SES kids typically have less academic content in their summer activities compared to high SES, and that results in a slump in their skills," Romeo says. "This may have been particularly beneficial for them because it may have been out of the realm of their typical summer."

The researchers also hypothesize that reading difficulties may arise in slightly different ways among children of different SES backgrounds.

"There could be a different mix of causes," Gabrieli says. "Reading is a complicated skill, so there could be a number of different factors that would make you do better or do worse. It could be that those factors are a little bit different in children with more enriched or less enriched environments."

The researchers are hoping to identify more precisely the factors related to socioeconomic status, other environmental factors, or genetic components that could predict which types of reading interventions will be successful for individual students.

"In medicine, people call it personalized medicine: this idea that some people will really benefit from one intervention and not so much from another," Gabrieli says. "We're interested in understanding the match between the student and the kind of educational support that would be helpful for that particular student."
LAST UPDATED Nov.7. Launch dates are subject to change and will be updated throughout the year as firmer dates arise. Please DO NOT schedule travel based on a date you see here. Launch dates are collected from NASA (opens in new tab), ESA (opens in new tab), Roscosmos (opens in new tab), Spaceflight Now (opens in new tab) and others.

Watch NASA webcasts and other live launch coverage on our webcast page (opens in new tab). Find out what's up in the night sky this month with our visible planets guide (opens in new tab) and skywatching forecast (opens in new tab).

Wondering what happened today in space history? Check out our "On This Day in Space" video show here (opens in new tab)!

November

Nov. 7-8: A total lunar eclipse will be visible from Asia, Australia, North America, parts of northern and eastern Europe and South America.

Related: Beaver Blood Moon lunar eclipse 2022: Everything you need to know

Nov. 8: The full moon of November, known as the Beaver Moon, arrives at 6:02 a.m. EST (1102 GMT).

Nov. 8: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Galaxy 31 and Galaxy 32 communications satellites for Intelsat. The launch is 11:06 a.m.-1:06 p.m. EST (1606-1806 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.

Nov. 9: A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will launch Joint Polar Satellite System 2, or JPSS 2, polar-orbiting weather satellite for NASA and NOAA from the Vandenberg Space Force Base, California at 04:25 EST (0925 GMT).

Nov. 11-12: The annual North Taurid meteor shower peaks overnight.

Nov. 12: A Chinese Long March 7 rocket will launch the Tianzhou 5 resupply ship to the Chinese space station from Wenchang, China.

Nov. 14: NASA will launch the Artemis 1 moon mission on the first Space Launch System megarocket. Keep up to date with the mission on our Live Artemis 1 updates page. The launch window is 12:07-1:16 a.m. EST (0507-0616 GMT).

Nov. 17-18: One of the most anticipated meteor showers of the year, the Leonid meteor shower peaks overnight.

Nov. 18: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Dragon 2 spacecraft on its sixth cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station.

Nov. 22: The first commercial lunar lander for Japan-based company ispace, will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The ispace Mission 1 includes two small lunar rovers from the United Arab Emirates and Japan, it will land in the Lacus Somniorum region of the moon.

Nov. 23: The new moon arrives at 5:57 p.m. EST (2257 GMT).

Nov. 23: The Pleiades Neo 5 and 6 Earth observation satellites will launch aboard an Arianespace Vega-C rocket for Airbus from Kourou, French Guiana.

December

Dec. 5: The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission, jointly developed by NASA and the French space agency CNES, will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

Dec. 7: The full moon of December, known as the Cold Moon, arrives at 11:08 p.m. EST (0408 Dec. 8 GMT).

Dec. 13-14: The annual Geminid meteor shower, one of the best meteor showers of the year, peaks overnight.

Dec. 21: Solstice. Today marks the first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of summer in the Southern Hemisphere.

Dec. 21-22: The annual Ursid meteor shower peaks overnight.

Dec. 22: NASA's Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) mission will launch to the moon's south pole on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The mission will use the Nova-C lunar landing platform developed by Intuitive Machines.

Dec. 23: The new moon arrives at 5:16 a.m. EDT (0916 GMT).

Also scheduled to launch in December (from Spaceflight Now):

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a rideshare mission called Transporter 6. It will lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

More coming in 2022...

4th Quarter: A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will launch a new-generation Boeing-build broadband satellite ViaSat 3 Americas.

4th Quarter: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the first two WorldView Legion Earth observation satellites for Maxar Technologies. It will lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Late 2022: A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur rocket will launch on its inaugural flight with the Peregrine commercial lunar lander for Astrobotic. It will lift off from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Late 2022: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft on its first crewed flight. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Mike Fincke, along with an unidentified third crew member, will fly on the mission. The Crew Test Flight to the International Space Station will lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.

TBD: India's Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) will launch its first commercial mission with four Earth observation satellites for BlackSky Global. It will lift off from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, India.

TBD: SpaceX's first Starship Orbital Test Flight could launch from Starbase, Boca Chica Beach, Texas to orbit the Earth and splashdown off the coast of Hawaii.

TBD: A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will launch the USSF 52 mission for the U.S. Space Force. It will lift off from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Follow Space.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
Enormous labyrinth terrains crisscross the surface of Saturn's largest moon, Titan.

As methane and ethane rain down, they slowly carve away at the landscape by some undetermined method to create mazes that stretch for tens of kilometers. New research has revealed how extensive these puzzling mazes are on Titan's surface, and provides insight into how they formed.

First spotted by NASA's Cassini mission in 2010, the labyrinths bear a faint resemblance to geographic features found on Earth, in places like Papua New Guinea and China, as well as on Mars. Cassini only recently completed mapping the surface of Titan, revealing that the mazelike features make up a little over 1 percent of the moon's landscape. [Deep, Flooded Canyons Found on Saturn's Moon Titan (Video)]

"When we first saw them, we knew the terrain was special," Cassini team member Michael Malaska told Space.com. Malaska, a planetary geologist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, presented efforts to characterize the labyrinth terrain at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) in The Woodlands, Texas, in March. At the same meeting, Thomas Cornet, a researcher at the Saclay Nuclear Research Center in France, modeled how parts of the alien landscape might dissolve to form the labyrinth features.

"Now we know pretty much where they all are," Malaska said.

Labyrinth terrain captured by NASA's Cassini mission as it flew over Saturn's moon Titan. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASI)

A massive maze system

Titan's labyrinths spread across several tens of kilometers yet make up a very small percentage of the moon's overall surface features. But they aren't unique to Saturn's moon; similar landscapes can be found on Earth and Mars.

A lot of places on Titan "look almost exactly like some of the places we have here on Earth," Malaska said.

On Earth, one of the most famous examples of labyrinth terrain is also home to the Arecibo telescope in Puerto Rico. The massive sinkhole that houses the instrument is part of the island's unusual geography. Limestone caves carved out by water create channels and sinkholes, including the one that contains the enormous telescope.

But Titan's labyrinths make the telescope's sinkhole seem puny.

"The ones on Titan are way bigger," Malaska said, estimating that they are easily 10 times the size of Arecibo's home.

Other labyrinth terrains on Earth can be found (opens in new tab) in Canada, New Guinea, Cuba, China and Australia.

Mars' polar caps host similar features. Their so-called "Swiss cheese terrain" is thought to form from sublimation, as the carbon-dioxide ice jumps straight to gas (rather than melting and then evaporating).

The "Swiss cheese" terrain of the Martian polar regions resemble those found on Titan. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona)

Carving mazes

In December 2007, Cassini swooped over Titan, snapping images of its unusual surface. Those photos revealed strange the labyrinth-like terrain. The massive labyrinth landscapes on Titan are elevated plateaus that have been carved away over time, with intersecting valleys or ridges. Some of these valleys are open and interconnected, which Malaska said could result from flowing liquid. Others are closed systems, hinting at a different possibility. As distances between the protruding ridges spread, the labyrinths progress from carved plateaus to narrow valleys, then on to more individualized ridges.

Malaska, who helped classify the various labyrinths, thinks the unusual landscapee on Saturn's moon formed by dissolution, where the liquids interact with and dissolve the organic material on the ground, similar to processes on Earth. On Titan, that liquid would be methane and ethane, which rain from the sky there. As the unusual precipitation seeps into the ground, it interacts with the organic material at the surface. According to Malaska, the massive plains would have started off as a single gigantic block with a wealth of minor pits. As the liquid interacted with them, the pits would slowly grow, carving away at the surface. Over time, the enormous plain would be cut into the labyrinths spotted by Cassini today, he said.

But dissolution isn't the only way to form the mazelike structures. Rainfall and wind, which play a role in sculpting labyrinths on Earth, also could have carved the strange features, Malaska said. Another potential cause is sublimation, when frozen material jumps from a solid to a gas without hitting the liquid stage in between. Each of these factors could have had a hand in the formation of Titan's labyrinths.

While sublimation seems to have formed the labyrinths on Mars' poles, the process is unlikely to have been solely responsible for Titan's. The moon's cold temperatures mean that only a handful of molecules can make the jump straight from solid to gas. Although some gases, such as acetylene and ethylene, have been spotted on Titan, Malaska said the conditions aren't right for that process to form the labyrinths.

Cornet agreed. "Sublimation is quite difficult [on Titan]," he said.

To test the role of dissolution, Cornet and his colleagues examined how the landscape might look if dissolution were the primary sculptor. By adjusting an Earth-based model to work under Titan's conditions, the scientists were able to follow the evolution of hypothetical Titan terrain over millions of years. Then, they compared it to what Cassini saw on Saturn's moon.

The results of the simulations bore striking similarities to the features found on Titan, the researchers said. "We know that dissolution should play a role in the landscape evolution," Cornet told Space.com. He presented the team's results at LPSC as well.

Cornet and his colleagues found that labyrinth landscapes on Titan could form within a few million years, assuming Earth-like rainfall rates. However, the actual rainfall rates on Titan remain a mystery.

In contrast, Malaska said the labyrinths are some of the oldest features on the moon, likely billions of years old. The disconnect could be explained by differences in rainfall rate, but another factor could be that the exact chemical composition of Titan's surface remains unknown. While Cassini has provided glimpses of the Titan landscape in its tour over the past decade, it hasn't been able to provide the detailed look that's required for scientists to understand the surface composition.

"After 13 years, we don't have a clue [about the surface composition]," Cornet said.

"That's actually one of the big outstanding mysteries," Malaska added. Although Cassini dropped the Huygens probe on Titan soon after its 2004 arrival, it provided a tantalizing panorama without revealing the makeup of the moon. The short-lived probe, which dropped through the atmosphere to land on the moon, provided a total of 3.6 hours of information about the surface of Titan while Cassini was over the horizon.

"We saw the picture from Huygens of all that orange landscape, and we don't know what that is," Malaska said.

Cassini won't be able to offer any more clues. The spacecraft made its final flyby of Titan in April 2017. On Sept. 15, it will deliberately crash into Saturn.

However, researchers may glean more answers in a few decades. As part of NASA's New Frontiers program, two missions to Titan have been proposed. If one is selected to visit the Saturnian moon, these and other outstanding questions, including how the puzzling labyrinths formed, could be answered.

Follow Nola Taylor Redd at @NolaTRedd, Facebook, or Google+. Follow us at @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.
Bake In Space aims to make crumb-free German rolls on board the International Space Station in 2018.

A new space experiment is taking the baking tip "let your bread rise" to the extreme.

Slated to launch to the International Space Station in 2018, "Bake In Space" will test a specially-devised dough with a microgravity oven to bake bread in orbit for the first time in history.

"Baking where nobody baked before," the team behind the Bake In Space experiment quipped. "Bake In Space seeks to address the scientific and technical challenges relating to the production of fresh bread in space." [Space Food Evolution: How Astronaut Chow Has Changed (Photos)]

Led by group of German scientists, engineers and science communicators, including former shuttle astronaut Gerhard Thiele, Bake In Space is not just about adding to the space station crew's menu, but meeting the needs and desires of future astronauts as spaceflight opens to more people.

"As space tourism takes off and people spend more time in space, we need to allow bread to be made from scratch," Sebastian Marcu, CEO and founder of Bake In Space, told New Scientist (opens in new tab).

A "space cheeseburger," made using a tortilla for bread, is seen on board the International Space Station in late 2016. NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson floats in the background. (Image credit: NASA)

The Bake In Space experiment will try to produce "typical" weekend German bread rolls using a compact, low-energy convection (or possibly vacuum) oven and a special dough that produces a palatable, but crumb-free bread.

Breadcrumbs in space can be a reason for concern. Given the microgravity environment, the tiny particles can cause problems if they get into electrical systems and ventilation filters. They can also pose a health risk if inhaled.

NASA's early solution  after Mercury and Gemini crews smuggled deli sandwiches to space  was to pre-cut their bread into bite-size cubes and coat each in gelatin to keep any crumbs contained. Later, during the space shuttle era and continuing to today on the space station, tortillas took the place of loaves as the bread-product of choice.

"The first thing we need for a sandwich is a piece of bread. Well, up here, we don't have bread like you have on Earth, but we have tortillas," stated astronaut Shane Kimbrough, Expedition 50 commander, in a video recorded aboard the space station earlier this year. "So we use tortillas a lot for our sandwiches."

The difficulties with developing a fresh bread for space are not limited, though, to mitigating the production of crumbs. Bread that is tough and chewy will not produce crumbs but also won't be to most astronauts' tastes.

"This is the biggest challenge," Florian Stukenborg with the research firm TTZ Bremerhaven told New Scientist.

Bake In Space experiment logo. (Image credit: Bake in Space)

Food for the soul

Bake In Space is about more than the taste of the bread, but also how psychologically-filling the rolls can be.

"Besides [being] a source for nutrition, the smell of fresh bread evokes memories of general happiness and is an important psychological factor," the project website states. "It is a symbol of recreational time and procedure down on Earth."

Similar dual-purpose goals were associated with Veggie, a plant chamber used to grow fresh produce on the station, and the Italian ISSPresso microgravity coffee maker tested on the orbiting laboratory in 2015.

Bake In Space, based in Bremen, Germany, is scheduled to launch to the space station during "Horizons," Alexander Gerst's second science mission on the complex as an ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut.

In addition to making bread on the space station, the Bake In Space team is also planning to experiment with creating the batter for sourdough in orbit, which could result in space-born bread going on sale on Earth.

Follow collectSPACE.com on Facebook and on Twitter at @collectSPACE. Copyright 2017 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved.
T he sun is out, flowers are blooming, and your refrigerator is so cluttered with wedding invitations you can hardly find the handle.

There's nothing quite like wedding season to get you contemplating the next phase of your relationship. So you're probably wondering  let's just say theoretically  how might tying the knot affect my partner and I? Will it make us happier? Strengthen our relationship?

Aside from the enthusiastic friend or extended family member, you probably have loads of anecdotal evidence suggesting that the answers to both of those questions is yes. After all, thousands of Pinterest boards can't lie  or can they?

Interestingly, the bulk of sociological research on this topic actually suggests that it isn't marriage that's the key to lasting happiness, but something far more basic. It all comes down to finding a romantic partner who also happens to be the person you'd call your best friend.

In a recent study of thousands of couples on marriage and happiness, John Helliwell, a University of British Columbia economist and the co-author of the UN World Happiness Report, found evidence suggesting that the most important factor for a lasting, happy relationship was whether or not you see your romantic partner as your closest friend.

Helliwell and his research team looked at data from two large British surveys and the Gallup World Poll. After accounting for couples' age, gender, income, and health conditions, they found that couples who were best friends and lived together were just as happy as couples who were best friends and married.

In other words, marriage didn't appear to matter much at all.

Here's a chart from the study comparing the "life satisfaction" of couples who were married (blue bars) with couples who lived together but were unmarried (red bars). Couples who said their partner was their best friend are on the left.

9 break up signs you should know 1 /12 9 break up signs you should know Youre arguing all the time You try and try, but you keep fighting over the same things. Or one big thing. Either way, you never resolve it so the arguing continues. If you cant get past your problems, then maybe its time to part ways before things get worse. Copyright (c) 2015 Rex Features. No use without permission. You dont want to make sacrifices Compromise is a major part of being in a relationship, but if youre growing resentful about the amount of time, effort and money youre putting into a relationship, chances are youre not invested in the long-haul. If a night out with friends consistently takes priority over spending the weekend at your partners parents house, it might be a sign that youre yearning for your independence. Copyright (c) 2015 Rex Features. No use without permission. You dont make time for each other anymore In the early stages of the relationship youd message each other all the time. Now you can barely be bothered to text them back, let alone spare some time for a call. If youve reached the point where youre actively ignoring their attempts to contact you, its time to have the talk. Copyright (c) 2013 Rex Features. No use without permission. The reasons to stay together are trivial Hes financially stable. Shes good at cooking. These might be nice additions to a relationship, but they shouldnt be the reason why you're still together. The same applies to the I'm scared I wont meet anyone else excuse. Copyright (c) 2016 Rex Features. No use without permission. Everything your partner does bothers you Remember how you used to find their strange laugh endearing? Or his stubborn nature cute? Now you they just drive to despair. Copyright (c) 2015 Rex Features. No use without permission. Youve stopped having sex Theres no normal to the amount of sex you should be having, but theres a difference between cooling down after the initial honeymoon period, and cooling off all together. If youve swapped orgasms for a DVD box set of Downton Abbey, it might be time to reassess. Copyright (c) 2013 Rex Features. No use without permission. You want different things Kids. Jobs. Mortgages. These are big decisions to make as a couple that will only work if both of your lives are heading towards the same goal. Perhaps you want to travel for a year, or take an opportunity abroad? Before you go any further, make sure youre both on the same path. Otherwise, it might mean its time to move on. Copyright (c) 2015 Rex Features. No use without permission. The people closest to you express concern Youre friends, family and co-workers have an objective view of your relationship. If several people sound the alarm about how your relationship is negatively affecting you, its time to listen up. Copyright (c) 2015 Rex Features. No use without permission. Youre thinking about what else might be out there It used to be that you wanted to spend every night and waking moment together, but now youre daydreaming about bachelorhood, romanticising past relationships or even making contact with old flames. Either way, you already have one foot out of the door. Copyright (c) 2016 Rex Features. No use without permission.

"What immediately intrigued me about the results was to rethink marriage as a whole," Helliwell recently told the New York Times.

Other research seems to support Helliwell's findings.

For their 2012 survey of American couples, researchers found that couples who lived together but were not married had higher self-esteem and were happier overall than their married counterparts.

In a recent blog post for Psychology Today, social psychologist Bella DePaulo took a look at a large 2012 review of more than 20 studies of married and divorced couples. Initially, the researchers concluded that marriage made people happier. But taking a closer look at the numbers, DePaulo came to the opposite conclusion.

"Except for that initial short-lived honeymoon effect for life satisfaction," she writes, "getting married did not result in getting happier or more satisfied. In fact, for life satisfaction and relationship satisfaction, the trajectories over time headed in the less satisfied direction."

Other studies back up DePaulo's assertion: A 2011 review of the impact on happiness of major life events found that couples who got married generally felt less happy and less satisfied with their lives over time.

Helliwell prefers to look on the bright side of these findings.

"Maybe what is really important [in a relationship] is friendship, and to never forget that in the push and pull of daily life," he said.
The top court said it was inclined to grant a stay on the high courts order which was indirectly "diluting" the schedule for NEET 2017 earlier fixed by the apex court.

By Press Trust of India: The Supreme Court today paved the way for the declaration of results of a national examination which would decide the fate of around 12 lakh students seeking to join medical and dental colleges across the country.

The apex court stayed a May 24 interim order of the Madras High Court which had restrained the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) from publishing the results of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) of 2017.

advertisement

The top court said it was inclined to grant a stay on the high courts order which was indirectly "diluting" the schedule for NEET 2017 earlier fixed by the apex court.

A vacation bench comprising Justices P C Pant and Deepak Gupta directed the authorities concerned to proceed with the process of announcing the results, subsequent counselling and admission as per the schedule fixed by the apex court.

However, the bench said the result declaration as well as the subsequent counselling and admission through NEET 2017 would be subject to the decision of the apex court in the matter pending before it.

It also asked the high courts not to entertain pleas in the matters relating to NEET 2017.

"On one ground we are inclined to stay the high courts order. What indirectly this order is doing is that it is diluting the schedule fixed by the Supreme Court," the bench said while posting the matter for hearings after the summer vacation.

The court noted the contentions of Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Maninder Singh, appearing for CBSE, and other petitioners who challenged the May 24 order on the ground that it was against the spirit of the order passed by the apex court in which the NEET 2017 schedule was fixed.

"In view of the above, the interim order is stayed and it is directed that the authorities concerned will proceed further with the declaration of result for NEET 2017 examination held on May 7 subject to the decision of this court," the bench said.

When Singh told the court that various high courts were entertaining pleas in matters related to NEET, the bench "requested" the high courts not to entertain writ petitions in matters relating to the NEET examination held on May 7, 2017.

The high court had on May 24 granted an interim stay on the publication of NEET results on a batch of pleas alleging that a uniform question paper was not given to the candidates, and that there was a vast difference between the ones in English and Tamil.

The apex court also issued notices to the respondents, who had filed the petition in the Madras High Court, on the pleas filed by the CBSE and others.

advertisement

During the arguments, Singh said NEET examination 2017 was conducted by the CBSE and this year, besides English and Hindi, the test was conducted in eight regional languages under the orders of the apex court.

He said around 10.5 lakh aspirants had given the test in either English or Hindi while 1.30 lakh-1.50 lakh candidates had opted for regional languages.

The test papers for English and Hindi were the same, but questions were different in the papers for other languages, he said, but held that the "difficulty" level was the same in all papers.

"There was uniformity in the degree of difficulty of the questions," he said, adding that this had also been certified by experts.

While referring to the NEET question paper leak in 2015, Singh said if the papers in regional languages were leaked this year, around 12 lakh aspirants would have had to appear in a fresh examination.

He said the CBSE was scheduled to declare the results on June 8 but because of the high courts order, the admission process was stalled.

The CBSE had on June 9 moved the Supreme Court seeking an immediate stay on the Madras High Court order.

advertisement

The board had also sought the transfer of petitions on NEET 2017 from various high courts to the apex court.

The petitioners before the high court had demanded that NEET 2017 be cancelled and a fresh exam with a uniform question paper be conducted.

They had claimed that different sets of question papers had been used at various places, though a common syllabus had been announced.

Also read:

NEET 2017 results out in two weeks, Supreme Court lifts Madras High Court ban

--- ENDS ---
Countries & Areas

Search for country or area A Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan B Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burma Burundi C Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Costa Rica Cote dIvoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czechia D Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic E Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia F Fiji Finland France G Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana H Haiti Holy See Honduras Hungary I Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy J Jamaica Japan Jordan K Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan L Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg M Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique N Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Korea North Macedonia Norway O Oman P Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territories Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Q Qatar R Republic of the Congo Romania Russia Rwanda S Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland Syria T Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu U Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Uruguay Uzbekistan V Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Y Yemen Z Zambia Zimbabwe
Troops have a tendency to improvise. They've often used commercial equipment, where it seemed better than issue stuff. And they're usually quick to spot ways to use in combat items not originally intended for the purpose. Consider "Silly String."

Silly String was introduced in the late 1960's, and there are a variety of similar products out. Essentially, it's a polymer-based chemical dissolved in a CFC-based solvent and packed into an aerosol can. When squirted, the chemicals react with air to form a foamy strand as much as 10 or 12 feet long. Militarily, Silly String is useful for troops doing room-to-room searches, who have to contend with booby traps (IEDs, or Improvised Explosive Devices). Before entering a room, they can squirt the stuff inside. If it lands on the floor, the room is likely to be clear of trip wires. But if the stuff hangs in the air, it may have snagged on a nearly invisible wire (sure, the troops might be able to spot the wire if they peer carefully into the room, but this might not be possible in the presence of armed folks with hostile intent).

It's not clear who first thought of the military applications of Silly String. The stuff came along during the Vietnam war, and apparently saw some use there. British soldiers were seen using it on a TV in the 1990s. The U.S. Special Forces had a similar device, custom made, back in the 1990s as well. There's some evidence that some Marines, operating in Anbar Province, that introduced the stuff to Iraq,. The word quickly spread, via the Internet, to other combat personnel. Aerosol cans containing 3 ounces of Silly String cost under $5.00. Although the label indicates that the can will produce "over 400 feet" of string, if applied carefully, a single cans have been found to yield nearly a third-of-a-mile's worth of the greenish goo.

There's a major problem getting enough Silly String to the troops. It isn't in the Department of Defense (DoD) standard supply basket (which is perhaps just as well, or a can might run several hundred bucks, because of all the special rules applying to military acquisition, and the tendency to customize things for "military use.") Some unit commanders have reportedly been using their discretionary funds to secure supplies. But for the most part, the troops have been relying on Mom to supply them, writing home to send some. This isn't easy, as Silly String comes in aerosol cans, which cannot legally be shipped by the Postal Service or commercial mailing services.

The "queenpin" of Silly String Supply To The Troops is Marcelle Shriver, who has a son in Iraq. She arranges shipments of Silly String to her son's unit and other units. Donations can be sent to her, c/o St. Luke Church, 55 N. Warwick Rd., Stratford, NJ 08084.
The recent terror bombings in Kabul were explicitly denied by Haqqani Network and the Afghan Taliban. Actually both these organizations are now run by the head of the Haqqani Network, which remains a protected (from attack by Pakistani security forces) group in Pakistan. Nevertheless the Haqqani Network has been avoiding attacks that kill a lot of civilians and concentrating on the security forces and especially specific commanders. The Afghan Taliban has been ordered to follow the same fuels but observance has been spotty. The usual suspect in large scale attacks, ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) has not claimed credit. While Afghan security forces are blamed for not preventing this attack, the Afghan intel and police investigators have become quite good and with American intel back in force it is usually possible to identify who carried out a specific attack based on debris at the scene and the growing informant network and databases the Afghans have created. The Afghan police have already admitted they knew of Haqqani plans for a Kabul attack in late May but underestimated the size of it.

The major sponsor of most attacks in cities is not the Taliban but ISIL or Haqqani Network and continued that is made possible with support from the Pakistani military. That means Haqqani has less trouble obtaining explosives and safe areas in Pakistan where staff for bombing missions can be trained and indoctrinated. ISIL does it for their own reasons while Haqqani does it because that is how they continue to enjoy a sanctuary in Pakistan. The government of Pakistan insists Haqqani has moved to Afghanistan but American and Afghan intelligence efforts keep picking up evidence that leads back to Pakistan. This includes dead, or captured, suicide bombers who turn out to be Pakistanis or Afghans who received training in Pakistan and captive ones casually note that the military and police there left them alone.

The Afghan Taliban still openly enjoys sanctuary in southwest Pakistan (on the border with Helmand province, where most of the world heroin supply comes from) but has been in turmoil since 2015 because of a dispute over who the senior leaders should be. There are also increasingly loud accusations that the current leader, who is also the head of the Haqqani Network, has turned the Taliban into a Pakistani puppet. There have always been complaints about this but they have gotten more popular, and more violent, as more Taliban remain in the group mainly for the money, not the goal of turning Afghanistan into a religious dictatorship. These attitudes were reinforced in late 2014 as thousands of Pakistani Taliban fled to Afghanistan to escape a Pakistani military offensive against their longtime sanctuary in North Waziristan. These refugees spoke of the devious plans the Pakistan military had for Pushtuns (most Taliban have always been Pushtuns) and Afghanistan in general.

The Pakistan angle also plays a role in the feud going on inside the local ISIL branch (the Khorasan Province). This crew is based in eastern Afghanistan and being torn apart by disputes over interference by the Pakistani ISI (military intelligence) that created the Taliban in the 1990s and supports many other Islamic terrorist groups that will cooperate with Pakistan when asked. There are growing signs that the Pakistani military (mainly the ISI) is trying to gain some influence, or even some control, over local ISIL leadership. They do this by exploiting divisions within ISIL and offering the losing faction help in surviving. Most Islamic terrorist groups know that ISI is active in supporting Islamic terrorists in an effort to achieve ISI goals (which mainly involve protecting the political power and economic assets of the Pakistani military).

Islamic terrorist leaders are always being tempted with offers like this and the ISI is a major player in the region because they have been so successful at it since the 1980s. The Islamic terrorists also know that you can exploit the ISI for a while, before the Pakistanis run out of patience and come after you as they did in mid-2014 when they shut down North Waziristan. This weakened local Islamic terror groups (that were not on the ISI payroll) but also provided ISIL with recruiting opportunities. The ISI knows that one weakness ISIL has is a sense of false superiority. ISI has exploited that before with other Islamic terrorist groups that believed their own propaganda. ISI is aided in these recruitment efforts by Islamic terrorist leaders who see the ISI relationship as mutually beneficial, not a betrayal to the religious doctrine most Islamic terror groups preach. Thus ISI still controls much of the Afghan Taliban because the current leader is also the head of the Haqqani Network. That has caused a split within the Afghan Taliban but that is nothing new and the dissenting factions are at a disadvantage.

The increased fighting between Taliban and ISIL groups is also about drugs although it is unclear if all these battles are over ISIL hostility to the drug trade or wanting a piece of it. Without cash even the most fanatic Islamic terrorists cannot survive, especially since the 500 or more ISIL men left in Afghanistan are at least half non-Afghan and have a reputation for treating locals brutally. That has largely turned the tribes against ISIL. Despite that ISIL survives and continues to attract Afghan recruits, mainly because ISIL is seen as uncorrupted, at least compared to the Taliban. Most Afghans are more concerned with the cash. ISIL had nearly 3,000 personnel in 2016 but battles with the Taliban, local tribes plus increased attacks from the Americans and Afghan forces have reduced that by more than 70 percent. In some weeks over a hundred ISIL men were killed and many of those dead were reached by Afghan or American troops who gathered information for more such attacks. The fighting continues and the Afghan and American commandos in eastern Afghanistan have the dead ISIL men and captured documents to prove it.

The North Resists

In the north (Kunduz province) an army offensive against the Taliban (using airstrikes, artillery and ground forces) has been going on since early May. Back then the Taliban again tried to get into Kunduz city. They failed at that but did manage to seize control of a district outside the city. The Taliban announced that this was part of their 2017 Spring Offensive during the traditional warmer weather Afghan fighting season. Since that Taliban claim was made the Taliban have been on the defensive around Kunduz and the security forces claim over 500 Islamic terrorists casualties including the death of several prominent (and well known) local Taliban leaders.

June 11, 2017: After going back and forth a few times to clarify who said what at recent peace talks in Astana, Afghan and Pakistani political leaders agreed that both nations would cooperate in attacking Afghan Taliban who refuse to enter peace talks. This cooperation would include regular meetings in Afghanistan and Pakistan by officials from both countries to discuss problems and opportunities. These arrangements are mainly for civilian officials, especially from Pakistan. Thats because the key problem many fear to even speak about openly is the fact that the Pakistani military (and ISI, its intel branch) continue to offer sanctuary for the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network. ISI is also trying to gain control of local ISIL leadership. The Afghan sanctuary has long been obvious to anyone visiting Baluchistan (southwest Pakistan) while the Haqqani Network has always been more concerned with concealing its operations in Pakistan.

The Pakistani military not only denies the sanctuaries exist but insists the main foreign sponsor of Islamic terrorism in Pakistan and Afghanistan is India. The Pakistani military has supporters in many government ministries that ensure that the Pakistani government does what the military requires (like official condemnations of India for supporting Islamic terrorism in Afghanistan). No one in Afghanistan believes that, viewing it as yet another Pakistani lie while many in Pakistan agree with that assessment but fear to speak out openly because the Pakistani military continues to threaten or even murder those who do. What these new security arrangements are doing is allowing the civilian leaders in both Afghanistan and Pakistan do what they can to deal with the rogue Pakistani military.

In Kabul the government suspended the Kabul police chief as well as the commander of the military garrison.

June 10, 2017: In central Afghanistan (Wardak Province) police arrested a Haqqani Network suicide bomber who was on his way to carry out an attack in Kabul but backed out. He confirmed the Pakistan/Taliban connection when describing how he was taken across the border to a terrorist training camp in Pakistan. He described how the Pakistani border guards let them pass once his Taliban escort displayed his ID. The Afghans are pretty sure that whoever was responsible for the recent Kabul attacks they used ISI and support based in Pakistan. The Afghans have captured and interrogated many reluctant suicide bombers like this and nearly all have either been to Pakistani training camps or knew about them.

In the east (Nangarhar province) three American rangers were killed and one wounded when they were fired on by an Afghan commando they were working with. The Afghan soldier was killed by return fire. The Taliban claimed credit but it is more likely the incident, if deliberate, was the result of a personal disagreement not an Islamic terrorist plot. Such attacks peaked in 2012 when there were 61 such fatal attacks by "friendly" Afghans against foreign troops. There were only 35 such deaths in 2011. There have been more of these deaths in 2011-12 than in all the previous years (back to 2001). These green-on-blue attacks caused 15 percent of foreign troop deaths in 2010 year and six percent in 2011. For the Taliban the problem is that overall foreign troop deaths were declining during those two years (down 20 percent or more each year). Moreover, most of these green-on-blue deaths turned out to have nothing to do with any Taliban activity. The main problem with Afghan soldiers was that many have serious anger management issues and the size of the Afghan security forces had expanded enormously by 2012. Afghan commanders believed that more careful screening would eliminate the less stable troops, as well as traitors. By 2012 foreign troops were well aware that they must be careful about getting into an argument with an armed Afghan. Most of the attacks were caused by a recent argument, often over something trivial (at least to the Westerners). An Afghan will often open fire on armed NATO troops, even though it's obvious that this is a suicidal action. The Taliban often take credit for these incidents, when it was just another case of an Afghan soldier losing control. Afghan troops often do this with other Afghans but those incidents rarely make the headlines in Afghanistan or outside the country. Afghanistan is a very violent place, which fascinates, perplexes, and frustrates foreigners. The violence is also at the root of the many social problems that keep Afghans poor, ignorant, and terrorized. It starts in childhood and never stops. Westerners who get to know the place are appalled to discover how violent Afghanistan is. It's not just men killing each other over minor matters but violence against women and children. Western doctors and nurses working in clinics see a lot of this, much more so than they would back home. The violence continues into adulthood. This violence makes it more difficult for Afghan troops to receive advice, training, or services (intelligence, medical, logistic) from the foreigners. Worse yet, the foreign troops are more wary when among their Afghan allies, creating the risk that there will be friendly fire going in the other direction, as NATO troops open fire at threats they formerly dismissed. After 2012 the Afghan military screened troops, and new recruits, more thoroughly. Officers and NCOs were ordered to report troops they believe may be unstable or working with the enemy. All this was not enough because the problem was not so much with individuals as it was with Afghan culture.

June 9, 2017: In Kabul continued anti-government protests (over recent terror bombings) left at least seven dead, most of them from security forces firing on demonstrators threatening to force their way into the presidential compound.

In China Afghan and Chinese officials signed an agreement allowing Chinese firms to enter Afghanistan and examine if it was possible to rebuild the railroad from the Tajikistan (the Sher Khan dry-port in Kunduz province) to Herat (the Iran border) as well as a separate project to build dams and hydroelectric facilities on the Kabul river. The Chinese are not certain if either project can be built much less maintained because of the corruption and violence (from the Taliban, drug gangs and assorted other bandits). The Sher Khan dry-port facility and existing roads are an example of what usually happens. Afghan officials in charge of maintaining these facilities steal as much of the money they receive for running and maintaining these facilities and often extort more cash from users. The opium/heroin gangs depend on widespread corruption to stay in business and most Afghans see nothing wrong with many practices wealthier and better run nations consider corruption. This is not an easy problem to fix and while China has its own problems with corruption and most Chinese accept the fact that corruption is, in the long run, bad for everyone. Meanwhile the Taliban and Afghan security forces continue to fight for control of the Tajikistan border around where Sher Khan is because that is also the best route for illegal opium and heroin exports.

June 8, 2017: In Kabul police discovered and disabled a bomb hidden in a large fuel truck.

June 7, 2017: In the east (Nangarhar province) air strikes on ISIL and Haqqani Network, as does fighting between ISIL factions and now, apparently, Haqqani is siding with some of those factions.

June 6, 2017: In Kabul an RPG rocket landed in the Indian ambassadors residential compound and exploded. There was minor damage and no casualties.

June 5, 2017: The government revealed that analysis of the explosives used in recent Kabul terror attacks had come from Pakistan and that Pakistani intelligence (ISI) appears to have been involved. Moreover the tanker truck carrying 1.5 tons of explosives appears to have gone through Kabul without being inspected at any checkpoint. That may have been because the large tanker truck was used to collect human waste and remove it from the city. Then again perhaps key checkpoint commanders had been bribed.

June 3, 2017: In Kabul 18 people were killed and many more wounded when three suicide bombers attacked a large funeral gathering at a cemetery where a prominent victim (the son of a senator) was being buried.

June 2, 2017: In Kabul large protests against government inability to prevent the May 31 bombing got violent and four people were killed.

June 1, 2017: Demonstrating its defiance towards the Taliban, Haqqani and the Pakistani ISI the Afghan government ordered the execution of eleven Taliban and Haqqani prisoners convicted of murder. The government was willing to trade the freedom of these men in return for some progress in peace talks but at the moment a response to continued terror attacks on Kabul and Afghans in general is required.

May 31, 2017: In Kabul a suicide truck bomb went off near major foreign embassies killing at least 150 and wounding over 400. Windows in several nearby embassy compounds were shattered by the force of the explosion. This was the worst such attack since 2001 and no one has taken credit for it yet. No Americans were killed but ten Afghan security guards manning posts outside the embassy compound were killed and 11 American security contractors working for the embassy were wounded.

May 27, 2017: In the east (Khost province, near the Pakistan border) a Taliban suicide car bomb was used in a crowded market to attack a group of men belonging to a much-feared (by the local Islamic terrorists and gangsters) Khost Protection Force. This is one the many tribal militias the U.S. has trained and continues to support. This attack killed at least 18 people, most of them civilians. Attacks like this are why there are so many of these militias. Most Afghans hate the drug gangs and the Taliban (which is seen as hired muscle for the drug gangs). This attack was made on the first day of Ramadan (a month long fasting period for Moslems). Islamic terrorists consider it more rewarding (from a publicity and religious standpoint) to murder lots of people during Ramadan, especially on the first day of Ramadan. Despite the efforts of the Afghan security forces some of these attacks occur, and they are particularly unpopular. While in some countries these attacks intimidate in Afghanistan they tend to make people eager for revenge. Thats why Afghanistan is such a violent place but also why Islamic terrorists have a hard time because the locals come after them. The government also finds it is good for morale (of the security forces and the general population) to publicize attacked that have been foiled, even if this risks providing the enemy with some insight into police methods. In most cases the attack was foiled when someone noted something odd and tipped off the police. Cell phones, the bane of Islamic terrorists in this part of world, have made such tip offs a lot easier, and safer for the tipster.

May 24, 2017: The U.S. admitted that it saw the Pakistani military supporting Islamic terrorism in Afghanistan in part as an effort to ensure that India does not gain economic and military presence in Afghanistan. The Pakistani strategy is backfiring because many Afghans would rather work with Indian infidels (non-Moslems) than with Pakistan. In any event it is no secret that India has more Moslems than Pakistan and much less trouble with Islamic terrorism carried out by Indian Moslems.

May 14, 2017: The U.S. accuses Russia of colluding with Iran, or Iranian arms smugglers, to supply the Taliban with weapons. Apparently Russia is again trying to destabilize the Afghan government so that they, and their ally Iran, will have more influence. This has been going on since the 1800s. But for over a thousand years before that warlords in Iran and northern India fought to control parts of Afghanistan, especially those areas that were part of the Silk Road between the Middle East (and Europe) and China (as well as stops along the way, like India and Iran.) Russia further complicates the issue by currently hosting Afghanistan peace talks that involve leaders from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, and China but not the United States. Even many of the invited participants point out that this makes no sense. But for Russian leaders the idea that most problems in Russia and with Islamic terrorism worldwide are the work of the United States is important to maintain. This makes the Afghan peace effort pointless because the non-Russian participants know nothing will work without American participation. Nevertheless Russia and Iran have some influence with the Pakistani military and offer to use that to pressure the Afghan Taliban to seriously consider peace talks. Russia and Iran are willing to make deals with the Taliban and drug gangs that most Afghans could accept but Western nations never could. Russia and Iran are concerned about the damage Afghan opium and heroin are doing (by creating millions of Russian and Iranian addicts) but are willing to tolerate the Afghan drug gangs if the export of the drugs can be better regulated to avoid Russia and Iran. That rarely works well but Russia, Iran and Pakistan are willing to try but understand that the American in particular and the West in general would never go along. Meanwhile Western nations are the main source of foreign aid that keeps the Afghan government going.
Cypress Environmental Partners, L.P. provides independent inspection, integrity, and support services in North America. The company operates in three segments: Inspection Services, Pipeline & Process Services (PPS), and Environmental Services. The Inspection Services segment offers inspection and integrity services on various infrastructure assets, including midstream pipelines, gathering systems, and distribution systems. This segment also provides various services, such as nondestructive examination, in-line inspection support, pig tracking, survey, data gathering, and supervision of third-party contractors. The PPS segment offers hydrostatic testing, chemical cleaning, water transfer and recycling, pumping, pigging, flushing, filling, dehydration, caliper runs, in-line inspection tool run support, nitrogen purging, and drying services, as well as test documentation and records retention services. The Environmental Services segment owns and operates 9 water treatment facilities with ten environmental protection agency class II injection wells in the Bakken shale region of the Williston Basin in North Dakota. This segment offers treatment, recovery, separation, and disposal of waste byproducts generated during the lifecycle of an oil and natural gas well to protect the environment and drinking water. The company serves owners and operators of pipelines and other infrastructure, public utility or local distribution, pipeline construction, oil and natural gas exploration and production, and trucking companies, as well as third-party purchasers of residual oil. Cypress Environmental Partners GP, LLC operates as the general partner of the company. The company was formerly known as Cypress Energy Partners, L.P. and changed its name to Cypress Environmental Partners, L.P. in March 2020. Cypress Environmental Partners, L.P. was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Dollar General Corporation, a discount retailer, provides various merchandise products in the southern, southwestern, Midwestern, and eastern United States. It offers consumable products, including paper and cleaning products, such as paper towels, bath tissues, paper dinnerware, trash and storage bags, disinfectants, and laundry products; packaged food comprising cereals, pasta, canned soups, fruits and vegetables, condiments, spices, sugar, and flour; and perishables that include milk, eggs, bread, refrigerated and frozen food, beer, and wine. The company's consumable products also comprise snacks, such as candies, cookies, crackers, salty snacks, and carbonated beverages; health and beauty products, including over-the-counter medicines and personal care products, such as soaps, body washes, shampoos, cosmetics, and dental hygiene and foot care products; pet supplies and pet food; and tobacco products. In addition, it offers seasonal products comprising holiday items, toys, batteries, small electronics, greeting cards, stationery, prepaid phones and accessories, gardening supplies, hardware, and automotive and home office supplies; and home products that include kitchen supplies, cookware, small appliances, light bulbs, storage containers, frames, candles, craft supplies and kitchen, and bed and bath soft goods. Further, the company provides apparel, which comprise casual everyday apparel for infants, toddlers, girls, boys, women, and men, as well as socks, underwear, disposable diapers, shoes, and accessories. As of February 25, 2022, it operated 18,190 stores in 47 states in the United States. The company was formerly known as J.L. Turner & Son, Inc. and changed its name to Dollar General Corporation in 1968. Dollar General Corporation was founded in 1939 and is based in Goodlettsville, Tennessee.
By Ananth Krishnan: After the entry of India and Pakistan into the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) security grouping on June 9, Islamabad is hoping Delhi will rethink last year's decision to boycott the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) summit in Pakistan and will attend if it was to be held as expected later this year.

"We really hope for SAARC which is our regional organisation to move beyond the differences and India would be able to come to Pakistan for the SAARC summit because in the end we are neighbours," said Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, a senior diplomat and Deputy Chief of Mission at the Pakistan Embassy in Beijing.

advertisement

"It is important for us to strengthen SAARC as an organisation," Baloch said, speaking in Beijing where the SCO Secretariat headquarters on Monday welcomed the formal entry of India and Pakistan as the six-member Eurasian grouping's newest members.

Last year's SAARC summit in Pakistan was cancelled after India declined to attend in the wake of the Uri terror attacks, with India's stand backed by other SAARC members Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

HELP STRENGTHEN RELATIONS

Baloch said the entry of India and Pakistan into the SCO could help relations and that Pakistan didn't see the grouping as a forum for resolving disputes.

"This is not an organisation to settle disputes. This is an organisation to work for the region and for common challenges and common development."

She added, "[The entry on June 9] was a great day for Pakistan and great day for for the region and a great day for the SCO. With the increase of this membership with the inclusion of Pakistan and India we have made this organisation more inclusive and we will able to work together to fight common challenges."

Baloch said it was just "speculation" by the media that the entry of India and Pakistan would bring disputes and complications to the grouping.

"It is just speculation by the media. It is an important organisation for Pakistan and it is an important organisation for India. We hope that we wold bring some positives to the table and contribute to our region's development and to more understanding between all parties in the SCO. Of course when you work together and you are in the same organisation you have opportunities to resolve many of the issues."

Also read:

Xi Jinping snubs Nawaz Sharif at SCO Summit after 2 Chinese nationals murdered in Pakistan

China denies violating Indian airspace in Uttarakhand, says patrols 'regular'

Not a single bullet fired in 40 years despite border dispute with China: PM Modi

WATCH | Enhance connectivity without infringing on sovereignty: Modi at SCO

--- ENDS ---
Boston Scientific Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets medical devices for use in various interventional medical specialties worldwide. It operates through three segments: MedSurg, Rhythm and Neuro, and Cardiovascular. The company offers devices to diagnose and treat gastrointestinal and pulmonary conditions; devices to treat various urological and pelvic conditions; implantable cardioverter and implantable cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators; pacemakers and implantable cardiac resynchronization therapy pacemakers; and remote patient management systems. It also provides medical technologies to diagnose and treat rate and rhythm disorders of the heart comprising 3-D cardiac mapping and navigation solutions, ablation catheters, diagnostic catheters, mapping catheters, intracardiac ultrasound catheters, delivery sheaths, and other accessories; spinal cord stimulator systems for the management of chronic pain; indirect decompression systems; and deep brain stimulation systems. In addition, the company offers interventional cardiology products, including drug-eluting coronary stent systems used in the treatment of coronary artery disease; percutaneous coronary interventions products to treat atherosclerosis; intravascular catheter-directed ultrasound imaging catheters, fractional flow reserve devices, and systems for use in coronary arteries and heart chambers, as well as various peripheral vessels; and structural heart therapies. Further, it provides stents, balloon catheters, wires, and atherectomy systems to treat arterial diseases; thrombectomy and acoustic pulse thrombolysis systems, wires, and stents to treat venous diseases; and peripheral embolization devices, radioactive microspheres, ablation systems, cryotherapy ablation systems, and micro and drainage catheters to treat cancer. The company was incorporated in 1979 and is headquartered in Marlborough, Massachusetts.
The following companies are subsidiares of Select Medical: ACC Capital, AbsoluteCVO, Actra Rehabilitation Associates, Advantage Rehabilitation Clinics, Alexandria Sports, Allevant Solutions, Ambulatory Care Solutions, Ambulatory Care Solutions of Arkansas LLC, Ambulatory Care Solutions of Ohio LLC, American Current Care, American Current Care of Arizona, American Current Care of Arkansas, American Current Care of California, American Current Care of Delaware, American Current Care of Hawaii, American Current Care of Illinois, American Current Care of Kansas, American Current Care of Massachusetts, American Current Care of Michigan, American Current Care of Missouri, American Current Care of Nebraska, American Current Care of New Jersey PA, American Current Care of North Carolina, American Current Care of Ohio, American Transitional Hospitals, Archer Rehabilitation, Argosy Health, BHSM ES, Benchmark Acquisition Corp., Benchmark Medical Management Company, Benchmark O&P Holdings, Benchmark Orthotics & Prosthetics, Blue Hen Physical Therapy, CM Occupational Health, CRI ES, California Rehab Institute Medical Group, California Rehabilitation Institute, Cape Prosthetics-Orthotics, Caritas Rehab Services, Carrollton Physical Therapy Clinic, Central Iowa Physio, Cleveland Clinic Rehabilitation Hospitals, Coastal Virginia ES, Concentra Akron, Concentra Arkansas, Concentra Group Holdings, Concentra Group Holdings Parent, Concentra Health Services, Concentra Holdings, Concentra Inc., Concentra Integrated Services, Concentra Laboratory, Concentra Occupational Health Research Institute, Concentra Occupational Healthcare Harrisburg, Concentra Operating Corporation, Concentra Primary Care, Concentra Primary Care of New Jersey PA, Concentra Primary Care of Ohio, Concentra Solutions, Concentra South Carolina, Concentra St. Louis, Concentra-UPMC, Concentramark, Connecticut Physical Therapy, Crowley Physical Therapy Clinic, DG Physical Therapy, Dignity Select Nevada, Douglas Avery & Associates, ES LTACH, Eagle Rehab Corporation, Eden Sports, Elizabethtown Physical Therapy, FC Select, FC Select II, Frederick Orthopedic Rehabilitation, Freedom Management Services, GH General, GH General-San Antonio, GP Therapy, GR General-Scottsdale, GRSH ES, Georgia Physical Therapy, GlobalRehab, GlobalRehab  Fort Worth, GlobalRehab  San Antonio, Great Lakes Specialty HospitalHackley, Great Lakes Specialty HospitalOak, Gulf Breeze Physical Therapy, Hand Therapy Associates, Hospital Holdings Corporation, Hudson Physical Therapy Services, Indiana Rehabilitation Services, Indianapolis Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine, Integrity Physical Therapy, Intensiva Healthcare Corporation, Intensiva Hospital of Greater St. Louis, Jeffersontown Physical Therapy, Johnson Physical Therapy, Joyner Sportsmedicine Institute, KORT Rehabilitation at Home, Kentucky Orthopedic Rehabilitation, Kentucky Rehabilitation Services, Kessler Hudson County Rehabilitation, Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, Kessler Orthotic & Prosthetic Services, Kessler Professional Services, Kessler Rehab Centers, Kessler Rehabilitation Corporation, Kessler Rehabilitation Services, Keystone Rehabilitation Associates of Warren, Keystone Rehabilitation Systems, Keystone Rehabilitation Systems of McMurray, LTACH @ Riverside, Leesburg Sports, LifeBridge Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation, LifeSigns Management, Louisville Physical Therapy, Madison Rehabilitation Center, Matrix Healthcare Services, Matrix Rehabilitation, Matrix Rehabilitation-Delaware, Matrix Rehabilitation-Georgia, Matrix Rehabilitation-Ohio, Matrix Rehabilitation-South Carolina, Matrix Rehabilitation-Texas, Metro Rehabilitation Services, Morris Area Rehabilitation Association, National Healthcare Resources, North Dallas Physical Therapy Associates, Northstar Health Service, NovaCare Occupational Health Services, NovaCare Outpatient Rehabilitation, NovaCare Outpatient Rehabilitation East, NovaCare Rehabilitation of Ohio, OHC of Hawaii, OHR/Baystate, OHR/MMC, OHRH, OHRH ES, OMP Insurance Company, OSR Louisiana, OSR Property Ventures, Occspecialists Corp., Occupational Health + Rehabilitation LLC, Occupational Health Centers Of Kansas, Occupational Health Centers of Arkansas, Occupational Health Centers of California, Occupational Health Centers of Delaware, Occupational Health Centers of Georgia, Occupational Health Centers of Illinois, Occupational Health Centers of Louisiana, Occupational Health Centers of Michigan, Occupational Health Centers of Nebraska, Occupational Health Centers of New Jersey, Occupational Health Centers of New York, Occupational Health Centers of North Carolina, Occupational Health Centers of Ohio, Occupational Health Centers of The Southwest, OnSite OccMed, Orthopaedic Services of Paducah, PHS Physical Therapy, PR Acquisition Corporation, PSHR Physical Therapy, PTSMA, Pacific Rehabilitation & Sports Medicine, Penn State Hershey Rehabilitation, Philadelphia Occupational Health, Physio at Hammonds Centre, PhysioKids, PhysioLink Corporation, Physiotherapy Associates, Physiotherapy Associates Holdings, Physiotherapy Associates NRH Rehab, Physiotherapy Associates Union Rehab, Physiotherapy Corporation, Physiotherapy-BMHI Holdings, Physiotherapy-BMI, Pinnacle Health Select Rehabilitation, Pro Active Therapy, Pro Active Therapy of North Carolina, Pro Active Therapy of South Carolina, Pro Active Therapy of Virginia, Professional Rehab Associates, Professional Therapeutic Services, Professional Therapy Systems, Progressive Therapy, R.S. Network, RCI (Michigan), RCI (WRS), RPN of NC, RUSHWINC Properties, Rebound Oklahoma, Regency Hospital Company, Regency Hospital Company of Macon, Regency Hospital Company of Meridian, Regency Hospital Company of South Atlanta, Regency Hospital Company of South Carolina, Regency Hospital of Atlanta, Regency Hospital of Columbus, Regency Hospital of Fort Worth, Regency Hospital of Fort Worth Holdings, Regency Hospital of Greenville, Regency Hospital of Jackson, Regency Hospital of Kansas City, Regency Hospital of Minneapolis, Regency Hospital of North Central Ohio, Regency Hospital of North Dallas Holdings, Regency Hospital of North Dallas II, Regency Hospital of Northwest Arkansas, Regency Hospital of Northwest Indiana, Regency Hospital of Portland, Regency Hospital of Rhode Island, Regency Hospital of Rockford, Regency Hospital of Southern Mississippi, Regency Hospital of Toledo, Regency Hospitals, Regency Management Company, Rehab Associates, Rehab Associates of Jackson Hospital, Rehab Colorado, Rehab Missouri, Rehab Provider Network of Colorado, Rehab Provider Network of New Mexico, Rehab Provider Network of North Carolina, Rehab Provider Network of South Carolina, Rehab Provider Network of Texas, Rehab Provider Network of Virginia, Rehab Provider NetworkEast I, Rehab Provider NetworkEast II, Rehab Provider NetworkIndiana, Rehab Provider NetworkMichigan, Rehab Provider NetworkNew Jersey, Rehab Provider NetworkOhio, Rehab Provider NetworkPennsylvania, Rehab Xcel, RehabClinics, RehabClinics (PTA), RehabClinics (SPT), Rehabilitation Center of Washington, Rehabilitation Consultants, Rehabilitation Hospital of Vancouver, Rehabilitation Institute of Denton, Rehabilitation Institute of North Texas, S.T.A.R.T., SLMC Finance Corporation, SMR Banyan Tree, SSM Select Rehab St. Louis, Saco Bay Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy, Select Air II, Select Employment Services, Select Hospital Investors, Select LifeCare Western Michigan, Select Medical International (US), Select Medical International Limited, Select Medical Property Ventures, Select Medical Rehabilitation Clinics, Select Medical of Kentucky, Select Medical of Maryland, Select Medical of New York, Select NovaCareKOP, Select NovaCarePBG, Select NovaCarePIT, Select Physical Therapy Holdings, Select Physical Therapy Network Services, Select Physical Therapy Orthopedic Services, Select Physical Therapy Texas Limited Partnership, Select Physical Therapy of Albuquerque, Select Physical Therapy of Chicago, Select Physical Therapy of Colorado Springs Limited Partnership, Select Physical Therapy of Connecticut Limited Partnership, Select Physical Therapy of Denver, Select Physical Therapy of Illinois Limited Partnership, Select Physical Therapy of Kendall, Select Physical Therapy of Las Vegas Limited Partnership, Select Physical Therapy of Lorain Limited Partnership, Select Physical Therapy of Louisville, Select Physical Therapy of Ohio Limited Partnership, Select Physical Therapy of Portola Valley Limited Partnership, Select Physical Therapy of Scottsdale Limited Partnership, Select Physical Therapy of St. Louis Limited Partnership, Select Physical Therapy of West Denver Limited Partnership, Select Provider Networks, Select Rehabilitation HospitalHershey, Select Software Ventures, Select Specialty Hospitals, Select Specialty HospitalAkron, Select Specialty HospitalAnn Arbor, Select Specialty HospitalArizona, Select Specialty HospitalAugusta, Select Specialty HospitalBeech Grove, Select Specialty HospitalBelhaven, Select Specialty HospitalBroward, Select Specialty HospitalCentral Pennsylvania, Select Specialty HospitalCharleston, Select Specialty HospitalCincinnati, Select Specialty HospitalCleveland, Select Specialty HospitalColorado Springs, Select Specialty HospitalColumbus, Select Specialty HospitalDallas, Select Specialty HospitalDanville, Select Specialty HospitalDaytona Beach, Select Specialty HospitalDenver, Select Specialty HospitalDes Moines, Select Specialty HospitalDurham, Select Specialty HospitalErie, Select Specialty HospitalEvansville, Select Specialty HospitalFlint, Select Specialty HospitalFort Smith, Select Specialty HospitalFort Wayne, Select Specialty HospitalGainesville, Select Specialty HospitalGreensboro, Select Specialty HospitalGrosse Pointe, Select Specialty HospitalGulf Coast, Select Specialty HospitalHouston, Select Specialty HospitalJackson, Select Specialty HospitalJohnstown, Select Specialty HospitalKalamazoo, Select Specialty HospitalKansas City, Select Specialty HospitalKnoxville, Select Specialty HospitalLaurel Highlands, Select Specialty HospitalLexington, Select Specialty HospitalLincoln, Select Specialty HospitalLittle Rock, Select Specialty HospitalLongview, Select Specialty HospitalMacomb County, Select Specialty HospitalMadison, Select Specialty HospitalMcKeesport, Select Specialty HospitalMemphis, Select Specialty HospitalMilwaukee, Select Specialty HospitalNashville, Select Specialty HospitalNorth Atlanta, Select Specialty HospitalNorth Knoxville, Select Specialty HospitalNortheast New Jersey, Select Specialty HospitalNortheast Ohio, Select Specialty HospitalNorthern Indiana, Select Specialty HospitalNorthern Kentucky, Select Specialty HospitalNorthwest Detroit, Select Specialty HospitalOklahoma City, Select Specialty HospitalOmaha, Select Specialty HospitalOrlando, Select Specialty HospitalOshkosh, Select Specialty HospitalPalm Beach, Select Specialty HospitalPanama City, Select Specialty HospitalPensacola, Select Specialty HospitalPhoenix, Select Specialty HospitalPittsburgh/UPMC, Select Specialty HospitalQuad Cities, Select Specialty HospitalSaginaw, Select Specialty HospitalSan Antonio, Select Specialty HospitalSavannah, Select Specialty HospitalSioux Falls, Select Specialty HospitalSouth Dallas, Select Specialty HospitalSpringfield, Select Specialty HospitalTallahassee, Select Specialty HospitalTopeka, Select Specialty HospitalTriCities, Select Specialty HospitalTulsa, Select Specialty HospitalTulsa/Midtown, Select Specialty HospitalWestern Michigan, Select Specialty HospitalWichita, Select Specialty HospitalWilmington, Select Specialty HospitalWinston-Salem, Select Specialty HospitalYoungstown, Select Specialty HospitalZanesville, Select SpecialtyDownriver, Select Subsidiaries, Select Synergos, Select Transport, Select Unit Management, SelectMark, SemperCare, Special Care Hospital, Sports Orthopedic Rehabilitation Services, St. Marys Medical Park Pharmacy, Susquehanna Physical Therapy Associates, Swanson Orthotic and Prosthetic Center, TJ Corporation I, The Parks Physical Therapy and Work Hardening Center, The Rehab Center, The Rehab Group, The Rehab Group-Murfreesboro, TheraWorks, Theraphysics Partners of Colorado, Theraphysics Partners of Texas, Therapy Associates of Martinsville, Therapy Centers of South Carolina, Therapy Centers of The Southwest I, TriHealth Rehabilitation, Trumbull P.T. Corp., U.S. HealthWorks, U.S. HealthWorks Medical Group, U.S. HealthWorks Medical Group of Alaska, U.S. HealthWorks Medical Group of Arizona, U.S. HealthWorks Medical Group of Florida, U.S. HealthWorks Medical Group of Georgia, U.S. HealthWorks Medical Group of Illinois, U.S. HealthWorks Medical Group of Indiana, U.S. HealthWorks Medical Group of Kansas City, U.S. HealthWorks Medical Group of Kentucky, U.S. HealthWorks Medical Group of Maine, U.S. HealthWorks Medical Group of Minnesota, U.S. HealthWorks Medical Group of New Jersey, U.S. HealthWorks Medical Group of North Carolina, U.S. HealthWorks Medical Group of Ohio, U.S. HealthWorks Medical Group of Pennsylvania, U.S. HealthWorks Medical Group of Tennessee, U.S. HealthWorks Medical Group of Texas, U.S. HealthWorks Medical Group of Washington, U.S. HealthWorks Medical Group of Wisconsin, U.S. HealthWorks Provider Network of Colorado, U.S. HealthWorks of Colorado, U.S. HealthWorks of Illinois, U.S. HealthWorks of Indiana, U.S. HealthWorks of Kansas City, U.S. HealthWorks of Minnesota, U.S. HealthWorks of New Jersey, U.S. HealthWorks of North Carolina, U.S. HealthWorks of Pennsylvania, U.S. HealthWorks of Tennessee, U.S. HealthWorks of Washington, U.S. HealthWorks of Wisconsin, U.S. Medgroup, U.S. Medgroup Of Kansas, U.S. Medgroup of Arkansas, U.S. Medgroup of Delaware, U.S. Medgroup of Illinois, U.S. Medgroup of Massachusetts, U.S. Medgroup of Michigan, U.S. Medgroup of New Jersey, U.S. Medgroup of North Carolina, U.S. Medgroup of Ohio, U.S. Regional Occupational Health II, U.S. Regional Occupational Health II of NJ, USHW of California, USHW of Texas, Valor Healthcare, Victoria Healthcare, WWLTACH, West Gables Rehabilitation Hospital, and Wisconsin Prosthetics & Orthotics.

Read More
The following companies are subsidiares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.: 2235158 Alberta Limited, A.J. Amer Agency, AHC Digital LLC, AIX Limited, AJG Coal LLC, AJG Financial Services LLC, AJG Meadows LLC, AJG North America ULC, AJG RCF LLC, AJGRMS of Louisiana LLC, ARM RE Ltda., AVIATION INSURANCE SERVICES, AVRECO, Ace IRM Insurance Broking Group, Acumus Holdings Limited, Acumus Interco Limited, Acumus Ltd, Adams & Associates International, Adaptive Marketing LLC, Adco General Corporation, Advanced Benefit Advisors, Aequus Trade Credit, Affinity Marketing Group, Ahrold Fay Rosenberg, Aires Consulting Group, Alesco Risk Management Services Limited, Alize Limited, Allied Claims Administration Inc., Alternative Market Specialists, Altman & Cronin Benefit Consultants, American Freedom Carriers Inc., American Security Services Corp., American Wholesalers Underwriting Ltd, Andrew-Anthony Insurance Agency, Anthony Hodges Consulting Limited, Antrobus Investments Limited, AquaSurance, Argentis, Argentis Financial Group Limited, Argentis Financial Management Limited, Argus Benefits, Armstrong/Robitaille/Riegle, Artex (SAC) Limited, Artex Cedar Hill, Artex Corporate Services (Malta) Limited, Artex Corporate Services Limited, Artex Holdings (Gibraltar) Limited, Artex Holdings (Malta) Limited, Artex Insurance (Guernsey) PCC Limited, Artex Insurance (Tennessee) PCCIC Inc., Artex Insurance Brokers (Malta) PCC Limited, Artex Insurance ICC Limited, Artex Intermediaries Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (Bermuda) Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (Cayman) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (Gibraltar) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (Guernsey) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (International) Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (Malta) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (UK) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions Inc., Arthur J Gallagher (Norway) Holdings AS, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AUS) Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (Bermuda) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (Illinois), Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Insurance Brokers of California Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher (Aus) Pty Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher (Bermuda) Holding Partnership, Arthur J. Gallagher (Life Solutions) Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher (U.S.) LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher (UK) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Asesoria S.A.C., Arthur J. Gallagher Australasia Holdings Pty Ltd., Arthur J. Gallagher Brokerage & Risk Management Services LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Broking (NZ) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Financial Services Professionals Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Group Quebec ULC, Arthur J. Gallagher Holdings (UK) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance Brokers Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Latin America LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Management (Bermuda) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Real Estate Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services (Hawaii) Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services of Utah Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher School Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Service Company LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Services (UK) Ltd, Ashmore & Associates Insurance Agency, Atlantic Risk Management Corp., Atrex Insurance (Cayman) SPC Limited, Avantek Pty Ltd, Axe Insurance PCC Limited, BIS Insurance Services, Baker - Tillys employment benefits solutions, Ballard Benefit Works, Bankers Financial Benefits, Barmore Insurance Agency, Behnke & Co. Inc., Bellisle Pty Ltd, Belmont Associates Consultants, Belmont Insurance Holdings Limited, Belmont International, Belmont International Limited, Benefit Development Group, Benefit Management Group, BenefitLink Resource Group, Benefits Planning & Insurance Agency, Benefits Unlimited, Bennett & Shade Co., Bergvall Marine, Bergvall Marine A.S., Besselman & Little Agency, Big Savings Insurance Agency Inc., Blenheim Park Ltd, Blenheim Park Services Limited, Blue Holdings Pty Ltd, Blue Horizon Insurance Services, Blue Water Benefits, BluePeak Advisors, Blueleaf Consulting Pty Ltd., Bluewater Incorporated Cell Insurance Company, Bollinger Inc., Bollinger Insurance Services Inc., Bowen Miclette Britt & Merry of Arkansas Inc., Brendis & Brendis, Brim AB, Broker Benefit Services, Brokerage Professionals, Brown Hobbs & McMurray Insurance, Bultman/Bell Associates Inc., Burkwald & Associates, Burns-Fazzi Brock & Associates, Bushong Insurance Associates, C&B Consulting Group, CGM Gallagher Insruance Brokers (Trinidad & Tobago) Limited, CJM Solutions Inc., CMA Solutions LLC, Cairnstone Financial, California Insurance Center, Capital Bauer Insurance Agency, Capitol Benefits Group, Capsicum CRLA LLP, Capsicum Re Brasil Participacoes Ltda, Capsicum Re Latin America Corretora De Resseguros Ltda, Capsicum Reinsurance Brokers Bermuda Limited, Capsicum Reinsurance Brokers Miami Inc., Carefree Marketing Inc., Carpenter Cammack & Associates, Cashan & Co., Castle Insurance Associates, Centennial Insurance Agency, Charity First Insurance Services Inc., Charles Allen Agency, Charter Lakes Insurance Agency, Chris Schroeder Insurance, Christie-Phoenix, Cintran Claims Canada Limited, Classic Insurance Services, Cleaveland Insurance Group, Cohen & Lord Insurance Brokers, Cohn Financial Group, Coleman Group Holdings Limited, Coleman Holdings Limited, College and University Scholastic Excess Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Commercial Insurance Brokers, Complete Benefit Alliance, Complete Financial Balance, Complete Financial Balance Pty Ltd, Consolidated Casualty Specialties LLC, Construction Risk Solutions, Contego Underwriting Limited, Contego Underwriting Ltd, Continental Excess & Surplus, Convergence Risk Services Ltd, Copper Mountain Assurance Inc., Cornwall & Stevens Co., Corporate Benefit Advisors, Corporate Life Consultants, Countrywide Accident Assistance Limited, Coverdell & Company Inc., Coverdell Canada Corporation, Cowles and Connell, Craig M. Ferguson & Co., Crist Elliott Machette Insurance Services, Crombie Lockwood (NZ) Limited, Davis-Poston & Associates, Denman Consulting Services, Detlefs Johnson & Partners, DiBrina Group, Dickinson & Associates, Discount Development Services L.L.C., Discovery Benefit Solutions, Dodson-Bateman & Co., Donald P. Pipino Co. Ltd., E. S. Susanin Inc., EHE Holdings LLC, EHS Holdings Limited, Elantis Premium Funding (NZ) Limited, Elantis Premium Funding Limited, Elite Benefits Insurance Marketing Services, Employee Benefits Analysis Corp., Employee Benefits of The Carolinas, Encore Insurance & Bonding, Everett James, Evolution Risk Services Limited, Evolution Technology Services Limited, Evolution Underwriting Group, Evolution Underwriting Group Limited, Evolution Underwriting Limited, Excel Insurance Services, FYI Direct Canada Corporation, FYI Direct LLC, Farallone Pacific Insurance Services, Fenchurch Faris Limited, Fidelity Benefits & Insurance Services, Financial Profiles Inc., Finergy Solutions Pty Ltd, First Agency, First Iowa Insurance Agency, First Premium Inc., First Premium Insurance Group, Fish & Schulkamp, Fishermans Insurance Services, Foley Healthcare Limited, Fortress Financial Solutions Pty Ltd, Fortress Insurance LLC, Foundation Strategies, Fox Lawson & Associates, Franklin-Case Agency LLC, Fraser MacAndrew Ryan Limited, Friary Intermediate Limited, Fuller & O'Brien, G.S. Chapman & Associates Insurance Brokers, G.S. Levine Insurance Services, GBS (Australia) Holdings Pty Ltd, GBS Administrators Inc., GBS Insurance and Financial Services Inc., GBS Retirement Services Inc., GBS Specialty Markets LLC, GGB Finance 1 Limited, GGB Finance 2 Limited, GGB Finance 3 Limited, GGB Finance 4 Limited, GPL Assurance, GPL Assurance Inc., Gabor Insurance Services, Gale Smith & Co. Inc., Gallagher (Bermuda) Insurance Solutions Ltd., Gallagher - Grace/Mayer Insurance Agency, Gallagher Bassett Aires Inc., Gallagher Bassett Canada Inc., Gallagher Bassett Insurance Services Ltd., Gallagher Bassett International Ltd., Gallagher Bassett NZ Pty Ltd., Gallagher Bassett Services Inc. , Gallagher Bassett Services Pty Ltd., Gallagher Bassett Services Workers Compensation Victoria Pty Ltd., Gallagher Benefit Services (Canada) Group Inc., Gallagher Benefit Services (Holdings) Limited, Gallagher Benefit Services Inc., Gallagher Benefit Services Management Company Limited, Gallagher Benefit Services Pty Ltd, Gallagher Benefits Consulting Limited, Gallagher Bomford Couch Wilson, Gallagher Burgess, Gallagher Canada Acquisition Corporation, Gallagher Caribbean Group Limited, Gallagher Clean Energy LLC, Gallagher Communications Limited, Gallagher Community Clinic RPG LLC, Gallagher Consulting Ltda, Gallagher Corporate Services LLC, Gallagher Coyle, Gallagher CyberRisk, Gallagher Energy Risk Services Inc., Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC, Gallagher Holdings (UK) Limited, Gallagher Holdings Bermuda Company Limited, Gallagher Holdings Four (UK) Limited, Gallagher Holdings Three (UK) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (Barbados) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (St. Kitts & Nevis) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (St. Lucia) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (St. Vincent) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers Jamaica Limited, Gallagher International Cash Management s.r.l., Gallagher International Holdings (US) Inc., Gallagher Investment Advisors LLC, Gallagher Inwest Group, Gallagher Koster, Gallagher Lambert Group, Gallagher Madison Risk & Insurance Services, Gallagher Mauritius Holdings, Gallagher Mississippi Brokerage LLC, Gallagher RE Colombia Ltda Corredores de Reaseguros SA, Gallagher Risk & Reward Limited, Gallagher Risk Group LLC, Gallagher Risk Placements Pty Ltd, Gallagher SKS, Gallagher Service Center LLP, Gallagher-Tarantino, Galtney Group, Game Day Insurance Inc., Gardner & White Corp., Gardner Marine Agency, Garza Long Group, Gatehouse Consulting Limited, Gault Armstrong Kemble Pty Ltd, Gault Armstrong SARL, Giles Group, Giles Holdings Limited, Giles Insurance Brokers, Gillis Ellis & Baker Inc., Goodman Insurance Agency, Grandy Pratt Co., Greenseed Alternative Mangaers Platform Ltd, Grossman & Associates, Group Benefits of Arkansas, Group Insurance Associates, Gruppo Marcucci, HLG Holdings Limited, HMG-PCMS Limited, HPF Investments LLC, HR Owen Insurance Services Limited, Hagan Newkirk Financial Services, Hagedorn & Company, Hardman & Howell Benefits, Harlequin Insurance PCC Limited, Hartstein Associates Inc., Healthcare Professionals Purchasing Group LLC, Healthcare Risk Solutions, Heath Lambert Group Ltd., Heath Lambert Limited, Heath Lambert Overseas Limited, Heiser Insurance Agency, Henderson Phillips Fine Arts Insurance, Herbruck Alder & Co., Heritage Insurance Brokers (CI) Limited, Hesse & Partner AG, Hesse Consulting, Hexagon ICC Limited, Hexagon Insurance PCC Limited, Hill Chesson & Woody, Hogan Insurance Services, Home & Travel Limited, Honour Point Limited, Horseshoe Corporate Services Ltd, Horseshoe Fund Services (Cayman) Ltd, Horseshoe Fund Services Ltd, Horseshoe Fund Services USA Inc., Horseshoe ILS Services UK Ltd, Horseshoe Insurance Advisors US LLC, Horseshoe Insurance Advisory Ltd., Horseshoe Insurance Services Holdings Ltd, Horseshoe Insurance Services Holdings US Inc., Horseshoe Management (Gibraltar) Limited, Horseshoe Management (Ireland) Ltd, Horseshoe Management Ltd., Horseshoe PCC Limited, Horseshoe Re Limited, Horseshoe Services (Cayman) Ltd, Horseshoe Services (Pty) Ltd, Horton Insurance Agency, Housing Authorities Services Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Human Resource Management Systems, I-Protect Underwriting Pty Ltd, IBIS Advisors, IBS Reinsurance Singapore Pte Ltd, ILS Fund Services Ltd., ISG International, ITI Solutions, Igloo Insurance PCC Limited, Independent Benefit Services, Independent Fiduciary Services, Ink Underwriting Agencies Limited, InsSync Group Pty Ltd, Inspire Underwriting Limited, Instrat Insurance Brokers, Instrat Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd, Instrat Integration Holdco Pty Ltd, Insurance Acquisitions Holdings Limited, Insurance Associates Inc., Insurance Dialogue Limited, Insurance Dialogue Ltd., Insurance Plans Agency, Insurance Plus Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Insurance Point, Insurance Risk Managers of Missouri Inc., Insure My Villa Limited, Insure Pty Ltd, Integrated Healthcare Strategies, InterNational Insurance Group, InterPacific Underwriting Agencies, Intermountain Financial Benefits, Interstate Insurance Underwriters, JPGAC LLC, James F. Reda & Associates, James R. Weir Insurance Agency, Jenkins and Associates, Joe E. Martin Inc., John P. Woods Co. Inc., Jones Brown, Jones Brown Group Inc., Jones Brown Insurance Solutions Inc., Joseph Distel, Joseph James & Associates Insurance Agency, Just Landlords Insurance Services Ltd, KDC Associates, KRW Insurance Agency, Kahl Insurance Services, Kaler Carney Liffler & Co. Inc., Kane Group - Insurance Management Operations, Kelly Financial, Kent Kent & Tingle and RBS, Keyser Benefits Corp., Kingspark Enterprises Pty Ltd, L&R Benefits, LSG Insurance Partners, Learn About Money Limited, Lewis & Associates Insurance Brokers, Leystone Insurance & Financial, Life Plans Unlimited, Lincoln Financial Management, Longfellow Financial, Lucas Fettes Limited, Lucas Fettes and Partners Limited, Lutgert Insurance, MA Underwriting Pty Ltd, MDM Insurance Associates, MG Advanced Coal Technologies-1 LLC, MGA Insurance Services, MRS Holdings Ltd., Madison Scott & Associates, Managed Healthcare Solutions, Mannequin Insurance PCC Limited, Marchetti Robertson & Brickell Insurance, Marine Insurance Service, Martin Gordon & Jones Inc., McDowall Associates Human Resource Consultants, McIntyre Risk Management, McLean Insurance Agency, McNeary, McPherson Benefits Group, McRory & Co., Mecacem Insurance SPC Ltd, MedInsights Inc., Melton Insurance Associates, Memberworks Canada LLC, Merit Insurance, Metcom Excess, Metzler Bros. Insurance, Meyers-Reynolds & Associates, Mid America Group, Midwest Surety Services, Mike Henry Insurance Brokers, Mike Henry Insurance Brokers Limited, Mike Henry Insurance Funding Limited, Miller Buettner & Parrott, Miller-Harrison Insurance Services, Milne Alexander Pty Ltd, Minvielle & Chastanet Insurance Brokers, Monument Insurance (NZ) Limited, Monument Llc, Monument Premium Funding Limited, Mortgage Insurance Agency, Murphy Consultants, Mutual Insurance Services, NationAir Aviation Insurance, National Administration Co., National Ethics Association, National Transportation Adjusters, Nelson/Monarch Insurance Services, Nicoud Insurance Services, NiiS/Apex Group Holdings, Nonprofit Insurance Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Noraxis Capital Corp, Nordic Forsakring & Riskhantering AB, North Alabama Insurance, Nourse Insurance Brokers, O'Gorman & Young, OAMPS (UK) Limited, OAMPS Gault Armstrong Pty Ltd, OAMPS Limited, OAMPS Special Risks Ltd, Offshore Market Placements Limited, Optimum Talent, Orb Financial Services, Orb Financial Services Limited, Osprey Insurance Brokers Limited, Oval Group, Oval Healthcare Limited, Oval Insurance Broking Limited, Oval Limited, Oval Management Services Limited, Oxygen Insurance Managers, P2 Group, PEN Insurance Management Advisors Ltd, PT IBS Insurance Broking Service, Pacific Insurance Agency, Palmer Atlantic Insurance, Palmer Atlantic Insurance Ltd, Palmer Atlantic Risk Services Ltd., Park Row Associates, Parkstar Enterprises Pty Ltd, Parmia Pty Ltd, PartnerSource, Pastel Holding (NZ) Company, Pastel Holdings Pty Limited, Pastel Purchaser (NZ) Limited, Pastel Purchaser Pty Limited, Pavey Group Holdings (UK) Limited, Pavey Group Holdings Limited, Pavey Group Limited, Pearson Dunn Insurance Inc., Pen Underwriting Canada Limited, Pen Underwriting Group Pty. Ltd., Pen Underwriting Limited, Pen Underwriting Pty Ltd, Persing Dyckman & Toynbee Inc., Personal Advice Services Pty Ltd, Petty Burton Associates, Pointer Insurance Agency, Portmore Insurance Brokers (Wilshire) Limited, Portmore Insurance Brokers Limited, Potter-Holden & Co., Powell Insurance Agency, Premier Insurance Services Inc., Premier Risk Services, Premium Finance Corporation, Preston-Patterson, ProSource Financial, Professional Agents Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Professional Claims Managers, Proinova AB, Proinova Agency AB, Pronto California Agency LLC, Pronto California General Agency LLC, Pronto Florida Claims LLC, Pronto Florida General Agency LLC, Pronto Franchise LLC, Pronto General Agency Ltd, Pronto General Agency Management LLC, Pronto Holdco Inc., Pronto Holding California LLC, Pronto Holding Florida LLC, Pronto Insurance Agency of Laredo Inc., Pronto Premium Finance LLC, Property & Commercial Ltd., Property Insurance Initatives Limited, Property and Commercial Limited, Protected Insurance Company, Protection Plan Association Inc., Protek Group Limited, Providium Consulting Group, Ptarmigan Underwriting Agency Limited, Ptarmigan Underwriting UK Limited, Purple Bridge Claims Management Limited, Purple Bridge Finance Limited, Purple Bridge Group Limited, Purple Bridge Investments Limited, Purple Bridge Online Services Limited, Purple Bridge Publishing Limited, Quantum Underwriting Solutions Limited, Quillco 226 Limited, Quillco 227 Limited, R. L. Youngdahl & Associates, R.G. Speno Inc., R.W. Scobie, RA Rossborough (Guernsey) Ltd., RA Rossborough (Insurance Brokers) Ltd, REGENCY Group inc., RGA Referencing Limited, RGA Underwriting Limited, RIL Administrators (Guernsey) Ltd., RJ Dutton Inc., RSM Insurance Services Limited, Reassurance Holdings Inc., Rebholz Insurance Agency, Reid Manson Ltd., Reimbursement Services, Rentguard Limited, Reward Management Limited, Reynolds & Rodar Insurance Group, Riley & Associates, Rio 587 Limited, Rio 588 Limited, Risk & Reward Group, Risk Management Partners Limited, Risk Placement Services Inc., Risk Planners, Risk Services (NW) Limited, Risk Services (NW) Ltd., Risk Solutions Group Limited, Robert A. Schneider Agency, Robert Keith & Associates, Roberts & Roberts Insurance Service, Robinson-Adams Insurance, Rossborough Healthcare International Ltd, Rossborough Insurance (IOM) Ltd., Rossborough Insurance Services Ltd. (Jersey), S. A. Freerks & Associates, SEG Insurance Ltd, SGB-NIA Insurance Brokers, SHILLING Ltd, SKANCO International, SMERI AB, SRS Underwriting Pty Ltd, Secure Enterprises Pty Ltd, Securitas Re, Sellers Group, Sentinel Indemnity LLC, Septagon Insurance PCC Limited, Shuford Insurance Agency, Sigma II Insurance Agency, Sinclair Billard and Weld Limited, Sobieski & Bradley, Solid Benefit Guidance, Spanjers Insurance Agency, Spataro Insurance Agency, Specialised Broking Associates, Specialty Risk, Stackhouse Poland, Stackhouse Poland Bidco Limited, Stackhouse Poland Group Limited, Stackhouse Poland Holdings Limited, Stackhouse Poland Midco Limited, Stackouse Poland Limited, Stanton Group, Stark Johnson & Stinson Inc., Steel Agency, Strata Solicitors Ltd, Strategic Health Plans Corp., Strathearn Insurance Brokers, Strathearn Insurance Brokers (Qld) Trading Trust, Strathern Insurance Group Pty Ltd, Strathern Integration Holdco Pty Ltd, Strathern Unit Trust, Strong Financial Resources, Summit Insurance Group, Sunday and Associates, Sunderland Insurance Services, Super Advice Corporate Services Pty Ltd, Taylor Benefits, Texas Insurance Agency, Texas Insurance Managers, The BeneTex Group, The Buchholz Planning, The Chapman Group, The Commonwealth Consulting Group, The Daniels Group Inc., The EHE Group LLC, The EHE Insurance Agency LLC, The Eagle Insurance Agency LLC, The Eriksen Group, The Forker Company, The Gleason Agency, The Great Lakes Agency, The HR Group, The Hawk Agency, The Human Capital Group, The Lance Group, The Levitt/Kristan Co., The MW Bagnall Company, The Old Greenwich Consulting Group, The Parks Johnson Agency, The Plus Companies Inc., The Presidio Group, The Producers Choice, The Rains Group, The Splinter Group, The Titan Group, The Treiber Group, The Woodsmall Companies Inc., Title & Covenant Brokers Ltd., Title Investments Limited, Tom Sherwin Insurance Agency, Total Reward Group, Total Rewards Group (Holdings) Limited, Towle Agency, Transwestern, Tri-State General Insurance Agency, Triad Insurance Agency, Triad USA, Tribeca Strategic Advisors, Trinder & Norwood, Trip Mate, Trissel Graham & Toole, Tropp & Co., Tudor Risk Services, Tyloma Holdings Limited, Uni-Care Inc., Unison Inc., Universico Group, Unoccupied Direct Limited, V2V Holdings LLC, VEBA Service Group, Vasek Insurance Services Limited, Velo ACU LLC, Velo Holdings Inc., Verbag AG., Vertrue LLC, Victory Insurance Agency, Vincent L. Braband Insurance, Vital Benefits, Voluntary Benefits Solutions, W. E. Kingsley Co. Inc., WM. W. George & Associates, Walker Taylor Agency, Welling Associates, Wesfarmers Insurance - Insurance Brokerage Operations, Western Benefit Solutions, White & Company Insurance, Whitehaven Insurance Group, William Gallagher Associates Insurance Brokers, William H. Connolly & Co., Williams Insurance Agency Inc., Williams-Manny Insurance Group, Winn & Company Insurance Brokers, Wischmeyer Benefit Partners, Woodbrook Underwriting Agencies, Woods & Grooms, WorkCare Northwest, Worksite Communications, Y. S. Liedman & Associates, YOA Capsicum Reinsurance Broker Limited, Zenor Limited, Zuber Insurance Agency, and e3 Financial.

Read More
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.
By Press Trust of India: By Shirish B Pradan

Kathmandu, Jun 12 (PTI) Notorious serial killer Charles Sobhraj, a Frenchman of Indian and Vietnamese parentage who has been in Nepals jail for years, today underwent a successful open heart surgery here.

Sobhraj, 73, was admitted to Shahid Gangalal National Heart Center on the outskirts of Kathmandu last week after doctors diagnosed leakage in a valve.

advertisement

A medical team led by Dr Ramesh Koirala performed the nearly five-hour long surgery to repair the valves in his heart.

Sobhraj has not regained his consciousness yet. He is expected to remain in intensive care for at least four days.

According to a source at the hospital, Sobhraj was scheduled to undergo heart surgery tomorrow, but it was carried out today.

His tricuspid valve has been repaired while his mitral valve has been replaced with an artificial one. All the expenses of the treatment was borne by the government, said doctors.

Doctors had advised him to undergo heart surgery after being diagnosed with serious heart problem. He agreed to undergo heart surgery only after doctors from his country also advised him to do the same.

Sobhraj had recently fainted in the Central Jail, Sundhara, where he has been kept in confinement for the last 12 years.

Nicknamed "the Bikini Killer" and "the Serpent" due to his skill at deception and evasion, Sobharaj is serving a life-term in the Kathmandu jail since 2003 for the murder of US woman Connie Joe Bronzich in 1975.

A life-term in Nepal means 20 years in jail. Even if Sobharaj completes the jail term another case is pending in a district court of Nepal to convict him.

He had been linked to multiple killings of backpackers.

Sobhraj spent 21 years in jail in India with a brief 22- day break in 1986 when he escaped Tihar Jail after drugging security guards, whom he had served sweets on the pretext of celebrating his birthday.

Sobhraj is believed to have killed 15 to 20 people in 1970s. Two of his victims were found wearing only bikinis. He befriended mostly Western tourists in Asia, later drugging and killing them mostly between 1972 and 1976. PTI NSA/SBP ZH ZH

--- ENDS ---
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.
Amalija and Viktor Knavs. Photo: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

Melania Trumps parents arrived in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, and one particular photo of her father, Viktor Knavs  descending the steps of Air Force One, in a red tie and with a copy of the now-defunct Trump magazine in tow  seems to be reminding people of someone else.

I had no idea what Melania's dad looked like until now and um... pic.twitter.com/bbEMUayZCw  Matt Novak (@paleofuture) June 12, 2017

Lets take another look.

Photo: Pool/Getty Images

Huh. Just cant quite place it.
By Press Trust of India: June 15

(Eds: Updating with fresh inputs)

By Sajjad Hussain

Islamabad, Jun 12 (PTI) Embattled Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will become Pakistans first sitting premier to depose before a Joint Investigation Team probing the high-profile Panamagate graft case when he appears before it on Thursday.

The unprecedented development will make Sharif the first incumbent to appear before such a panel, let alone one probing allegations of financial irregularities or fraud against nearly his entire family, going back three generations, Dawn newspaper reported.

advertisement

Joint Investigation Team (JIT) chief Wajid Zia, in a letter dated Saturday, asked the prime minister to appear before the six-member probe team at 11:00 AM (11:30 IST) on June 15 with all documents relevant to the case.

The summon was issued to Sharif, 67, after he returned from his Kazakhstan visit where he attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.

The JIT?s summons also reminded Sharif to "kindly bring along relevant record/documents/material" related to the Panama Papers case. This will entail nearly all the documents and evidence submitted before the Supreme Court by the Prime Ministers counsel, Makhdoom Ali Khan.

The report also said that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar may also be questioned by the team before Sharifs appearance.

In its judgement of April 20 in the Panama Papers case, the Supreme Court had constituted a JIT and empowered it to summon the prime minister, his sons and any other person necessary, to investigate allegations of money-laundering, through which the four apartments in Londons posh Park Lane area were purchased.

Sharif had met with his close aides yesterday in Lahore to discuss the issue. After consulting with them, the prime minister has decided to honour the summons and appear before the JIT on Thursday.

Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Heritage Marriyum Aurangzeb, talking to some TV channels, said that the prime minister had received the JIT summons and in pursuance of the Supreme Courts order of April 20, he would ensure his presence accordingly.

The Joint Investigation Team had questioned Sharifs sons -- Hussain and Hasan -- last month over the familys alleged improper business dealings.

His eldest son Hussain was questioned five times while Hasan, the younger son, was summoned twice.

The court last year took up the case and issued a split decision over allegations of money laundering when Sharif was prime minister in 1990s.

On May 5, the Supreme Court set up a high-level six- member JIT to probe Sharif and his sons alleged corruption in the Panama Papers case.

The JIT is bound to complete the probe in 60 days unless it is granted additional time.

It is for the first time that a sitting prime minister would appear before a high-level probe team traditionally constituted to investigate high-profile criminal cases.

advertisement

It is not yet clear that Sharif will be questioned for once or would be called again like his two sons. PTI SH PMS ASK AKJ AKJ

--- ENDS ---
By Press Trust of India: By Sajjad Hussain

Islamabad, Jun 12 (PTI) Beleaguered Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will appear before the Joint Investigation Team probing the high-profile Panamagate graft case on Thursday to become the first sitting premier of the country to depose before such a panel.

Joint Investigation Team (JIT) chief Wajid Zia, in a letter dated Saturday, asked the prime minister to appear before the six-member probe team at 11.00 AM (local time) on June 15 with all documents relevant to the case.

advertisement

The summon was issued to Sharif, 67, after he returned from his Kazakhstan visit where he attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.

Sharif, in Lahore, met with his close confidantes yesterday to discuss the issue. After consulting with his aides, the prime minister has decided to honour the summon and appear before the JIT on Thursday, Dawn News reported.

Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Heritage Marriyum Aurangzeb, talking to some TV channels, said that the prime minister had received the JIT summons and in pursuance of the Supreme Courts order of April 20, he would ensure his presence accordingly.

The Joint Investigation Team, formed by the Supreme Court to probe the money trail of the property owned by the Sharif family in London, had questioned Sharifs sons -- Hussain and Hasan -- last month over the familys alleged improper business dealings.

His eldest son Hussain was questioned five times while Hasan, the younger son, was summoned twice.

The court last year took up the case and issued a split decision over allegations of money laundering when Sharif was prime minister in 1990s.

On May 5, the Supreme Court set up a high-level six- member JIT to probe Sharif and his sons alleged corruption in the Panama Papers case.

The JIT is bound to complete the probe in 60 days unless it is granted additional time.

It is for the first time that a sitting prime minister would appear before a high-level probe team traditionally constituted to investigate high-profile criminal cases.

It is not yet clear that Sharif will be questioned for once or would be called again like his two sons. PTI SH PMS ASK AKJ ASK

--- ENDS ---
The BJP government in the state has got down to assessing the situation which gave rise to the farmers' strike which led to the death of six protesters last week.

By India Today Web Desk: In view of the farmers' strike, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan today directed all district collectors of the state not to adopt a casual approach in the purchase of onion and pulses.

The BJP government in the state has got down to assessing the situation which gave rise to the farmers' strike which led to the death of six protesters last week. Chouhan held a meeting with the collectors and asked them to be sensitive towards the issues of the farmers.

advertisement

He directed the collectors to augment the number of centres for purchasing crops from the farmers. He also asked them to keep an eye on the law and order situation in the state. State chief secretary was also present during the meeting through video conferencing.

Chouhan ended his 28 hours' fast on Sunday to bring about peace in the state. More than 2,500 farmers attended his hunger strike programme at Dussehra Maidan in Bhopal. He said there were some who did not want peace to continue in the state. They wanted to create anarchy even though the people of the state were peace-loving, he said.

He said such "criminals" and "sinners" would not be spared. He appealed to the farmers to identify such people and isolate them.

--- ENDS ---
The way these two age-old female characters have been rewritten recently is giving us a lot of hope.

By Shreya Goswami: If there's one thing that shapes you as a child, it's the stories you are told. From the exploits of maakhan-chor Krishna to the moral dilemmas faced by Batman, we've grown up on heroic tales that entertain just as much as they teach valuable lessons. But every girl faces one issue with these stories--the hero is barely relateable.

advertisement

He's good, fights for justice and humanity, but he doesn't have to deal with periods, or with the way society views him. He's a hero, and he doesn't have to explain why he's roaming the city at night, dressed in spandex and light armour, carrying weapons with an intent to kill 'bad guys'. When he is surrounded by female characters, they're usually the ones in love with him, and do their duty by him.

Growing up, girls' heroines from books and comics taught them how to NOT do certain things. He can do it, he's the hero. But you have to be more like Sita or Savitri, or the graceful princess from Disney fairytales. If you want to be a superhero, there's Wonder Woman, looking oh-so-fashionable in red, blue and gold.

We all know this, and we've learnt to accept it. You're a girl, and those are the sort of icons you're supposed to be growing up with.

Thankfully, things are changing now. Storytellers are taking on a modern feminist role (yes, we said it. Feminism, as in equality, that is, not male-bashing) of rewriting these stories. And the way two age-old female characters have been rewritten recently is giving us a lot of hope (spoilers ahead).

We're talking about the new Wonder Woman movie--if you already haven't caught it--and the relatively new novel by Amish Tripathi, Sita: Warrior of Mithila.

Also Read: Amish Tripathi on his new book on Sita and how little we know about Ramayana

If you haven't yet read Sita: Warrior of Mithila, you should. In fact, you should read it out to your children, both boys and girls, because the book re-imagines Sita in a way that's been known to scholars and historians, but not the rest of the world.

The representation of Sita in a recent television series. Picture courtesy: Instagram/fcmadirakshi._

In Amish's latest book, Sita is not a meek, ghoonghat-clad trophy-princess who walks obediently behind her husband. She's a warrior princess who heads a state in ancient (and mythical, you must remember) India, wearing practical clothes suited for the weather and her role--not things that cover her up for the sake of false modesty.

advertisement

Amish gives her the role that's traditionally been given to men--that of being an avatar, a Vishnu. She's tutored by Vishwamitra, and has natural poise and grace, which she uses to fight, not dance. When her comrade, Makrant, falls in battle, she doesn't cry dramatically or drop a thali screaming 'nahi!'. She says a little prayer for his soul, and moves on to fight the enemy.

In short, she's practical and spontaneous--the polar opposite of Ram, who abides by nothing but rules. You can accuse a man like Ram of having a lack of imagination, or enough foresight and guile to be a good strategist--but not Sita. After all, she manages to arrange her marriage to her supposed-rival for the role of the Vishnu, while maintaining the autonomy of her state.

Fan art for Amish's book on Sita. Picture courtesy: Instagram/authoramish

And while she might not know it, this fictional Sita has a lot in common with her soul-sister, Wonder Woman. No, not the petite and busty woman played by Lynda Carter from the 1970s television series. We mean the original 1941 creation, and the one recreated by Gal Gadot in Patty Jenkins' recent movie. William Moulton Marston had been inspired by early feminists to create a female superhero, but somewhere down the line, Wonder Woman became a sexual symbol who did the same things that Superman did--but with a pretty face.

The depiction of Wonder Woman in the comic-books. Picture courtesy: Instagram/comicsbaddest

advertisement

Also Read: First Indian woman to drive solo to the coldest inhabited place on earth, Nidhi Tiwari, talks about her journey

That's not the Wonder Woman people will know now, thanks to the goddess we have recently been lucky enough to see on screen. This Wonder Woman isn't busty (because, traditionally the Amazonians burnt one of their breasts to be able to shoot arrows without hindrance). She's a warrior, just like our Sita, with more muscle than false meekness.

Gal Gadot plays Wonder Woman in the recent DC Extended Universe movie. Picture courtesy: Instagram/yasmintredell

Wonder Woman no longer dons a pretty body suit with a fringed skirt. She wears a practical armour, speaks hundreds of languages, and doesn't nurse the delusion that wearing glasses will disguise her. She fails to understand why men in council chambers during the First World War are so ready to sacrifice more soldiers. She witnesses the pain of injured soldiers and abused civilians, but she doesn't break down.

advertisement

Just like Sita, Wonder Woman moves on to fight the battle against injustice she was born to fight. Both women have male compatriots they love, but they are the leading ladies in these stories--and they are not demeaned, not one ounce, during the very different narratives they are parts of. These are the women we wish we had while growing up.

Why? Because they are more than their bodies or their gender. They are heroes and worthy of admiration for their life's work--even if it involves violence, wearing revealing-yet-practical clothes, and the company of men who you may or may not be married to. What these women have is a commitment to do the right thing no matter who the enemy is. Ultimately, that's the sort of leading lady all our stories need, to inspire the next generation and correct the flawed imagery this generation has grown up with.

--- ENDS ---
BURNABY, B.C.A coalition of interest groups is calling on Canadas six biggest banks and others to back away from providing funding for Kinder Morgan Canadas controversial Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

The coalition of 20 Indigenous and environmental groups says in an open letter that it will use its influence to urge local and foreign governments to divest from banks that ignore its opposition to the pipeline.

It names a total of 28 banks as potential targets for its campaign, including 14 that underwrote the recent initial public offering for Kinder Morgan Canada.

The 14 underwriters included all of Canadas biggest banks as well as others from the United States, European Union and Japan.

The coalitions letter urges the banks to decline any additional involvement with Kinder Morgan that would help to finance the Trans Mountain expansion project, particularly a $5.5-billion credit facility the company is seeking.

Among the signatories on the letter is Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, and Grand Chief Serge Simon of the Mohawk Council of Kanesatake in Quebec.

SHARE:
Childrens clothing chain Gymboree filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late Sunday, aiming to slash its debts and close hundreds of stores amid crushing pressure on retailers.

Gymboree said it plans to remain in business but will close 375 to 450 of its 1,281 stores, according to a court filing. Gymboree employs more than 11,000 people, including 10,500 hourly workers.

The bankruptcy was widely expected after Gymboree refused to pay certain bills in recent months, placing the retailer on a collision course with creditors. The retailer said it hopes to slash $1 billion of its $1.4 billion in debt and to win approval for its plan by Sept. 24.

We expect to move through this process quickly and emerge as a stronger organization that is better positioned in todays evolving retail landscape, with the right size store footprint and greater financial flexibility to invest in Gymborees long-term growth, Gymboree CEO Daniel Griesemer said in a statement.

Like other retailers, Gymboree buckled amid declining mall traffic, fixed rental costs and online competition. Other mall retailers that have recently succumbed to bankruptcy include Payless ShoeSource, Rue21 and The Limited.

Global financial services giant Credit Suisse predicted last week that up to 25 per cent of malls in the U.S. could close by 2022.

As shoppers flock to Amazon and other e-commerce options, online sales represent only 21 per cent of Gymborees revenue, and its web systems are dated and unsupported, recently appointed Chief Restructuring Officer James Mesterharm said in a court filing.

Mesterharm also said Gymboree had struggled against other established brick-and-mortar retailers, including Childrens Place and GapKids.

Among other shortcomings, Gymboree failed to innovate quickly, having only recently introduced store email, analytics and tablet computers to help employees do their jobs.

The turmoil also resulted in recent leadership changes. The companys CEO since 2013, Mark Breitbard, resigned April 3. His permanent replacement, Daniel Griesemer, was appointed May 22. Upon filing for bankruptcy, the company announced the exit of Chief Financial Officer Andy North and the appointment of interim CFO Liyuan Woo, a consultant at restructuring firm AlixPartners.

The bankruptcy represents a bitter outcome for Gymboree owner Bain Capital Private Equity, which acquired the retailer for $1.8 billion in 2010 and launched a major global expansion.

Still, Gymboree posted a profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $71 million in 2016, down from $94 million in 2015.

Filing for bankruptcy while still profitable could give Gymboree a shot at finding a sustainable path forward. The company said it had secured a deal with certain secured lenders to restructure its debts and reemerge from bankruptcy, an accord that would require a federal bankruptcy judges approval.

Founded in San Francisco in 1976 as a program devoted to nurturing child learning through playtime with parents, Gymboree started its first store in 1986 and now operates stores worldwide under three brands: Gymboree, upscale chain Janie & Jack and value-focused Crazy 8.

The companys fiscal distress is particularly problematic for mall owners Simon Property Group and GGP, formerly General Growth Properties, which collectively control 35 per cent of Gymborees U.S. real estate space.

Investor concern over Gymborees future worsened when the company disclosed that it had missed a June 1 payment on senior notes due in 2018.

Gymboree was also among 22 companies that a June 7 report by rating giant Moodys Investors Service characterized as distressed retailers. The Ca rating that Moodys assigned to Gymborees debt is far below investment grade.

When youre down there in C-a land, bankruptcy is a real possibility, Charles OShea, Moodys senior retail analyst, told USA TODAY last week.

Similarly, a previous Moodys report on distressed retailers issued in March attributed Gymborees low rating to the companys high debt burden and weak credit metrics stemming from the 2010 acquisition of the company by affiliates of Bain Capital and subsequent weak operating performance.

Noting that Gymboree faced approaching maturities of an asset-based revolving loan in December 2017 and a secured term loan in February 2018, the report said refinancing the debts could be challenging.

Thus, the risk of default, including the potential for a distressed exchange-type restructuring, is very high, the March report said.

SHARE:
Marijuana industry insiders say they have met with the operators of Canadas largest stock exchange to devise a policy on investing in the U.S., where growing and selling cannabis violates federal laws.

Lawyers who work with publicly traded Canadian marijuana producers say there is an unwritten rule that companies traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange or the TSX Venture Exchange are not permitted to have investments in the U.S. cannabis sector.

TMX Group  the company that operates both the TSX and Venture Exchange  is now looking to codify that policy, particularly given the uncertainty since stemming from the change in administration in the U.S., according to industry observers.

Read more:Canada pressing forward with marijuana legalization amid U.S. uncertainty

Canada could thrive from marijuana legalization in U.S. states

The big issue thats got the exchanges taking a harder look really relates to the change in administration since President Trumps election, said Hugo Alves, corporate and commercial partner at Bennett Jones LLP.

That is causing a bit of a chilling effect.

Although more than two dozen U.S. states have decriminalized the drug, either for medicinal or recreational use, marijuana remains a Schedule 1 narcotic in the United States, and its possession, cultivation, usage and sale contravene federal laws.

When Barack Obama was president, the U.S. government was choosing not to enforce the federal marijuana laws in states that had voted to decriminalize the drug. But the new administration has a much harsher, anti-marijuana stance, creating risk for shareholders who have exposure to the U.S. cannabis space.

TMX Group would not confirm that it is holding meetings with the marijuana sector in order to formulate a policy regarding U.S. investments, saying in an email that it does not comment on individual issuer affairs.

We evaluate all issuers and their eligibility to list, and to remain listed on our markets, according to our published policies and guidance, said spokesperson Shane Quinn.

But Vic Neufeld, the president and CEO of Aphria, says he has attended such meetings.

The Leamington, Ont.-based company first dipped its toes into the U.S. market over a year ago with an investment in Copperstate Farms, a medical marijuana producer in Arizona. Neufeld said the company fully disclosed the investment.

The regulators knew everything, Neufeld said. We didnt hide anything. In fact, we over-disclosed.

It wasnt until Aphria started making headlines about an investment in Florida  through a new company it is creating called Liberty Health Sciences Inc.  that the regulators started to take notice, Neufeld said.

Now, the company is in meetings with the TSX to discuss investing in jurisdictions whose regulations differ from Canadas, Neufeld said.

The exchange is in the process of trying to develop the policy, Neufeld said.

Other licensed producers are also meeting with the exchange to discuss the issue, as many of them would like to expand south of the border, according to lawyers familiar with the discussions.

Bennett Jones partner Aaron Sonshine said there are also dozens of U.S.-based companies who want to list their companies on Canadian exchanges in order to raise funds.

Weve had a number of clients interested in listing U.S. companies up here, said Sonshine, adding that anecdotally, hes heard there might be close to 100 U.S. marijuana companies looking to list in Canada.

That poses a dilemma for the exchange, which could use the revenue at a time when listings are lagging, but also wishes to protect investors from political uncertainty, Sonshine said.

Kristen Rose, a spokesperson for the Ontario Securities Commission, said the watchdog is aware of the concerns raised and has been actively engaging with the TSX.

The Canadian Securities Exchange, or the CSE, has been more permissive, says Andrew Powers, a partner with Borden Ladner Gervais LLP.

They are focused more on disclosure rather than prohibition, Powers says.

The TSX doesnt want their listed issuers to be making these investments. The CSE will permit it, but they are requiring detailed disclosure of risk factors regarding their investments in the United States. I guess the concept is Buyer beware. 

SHARE:
Rarely does a long-dead restaurant spark a showy sit-down to celebrate the 30th anniversary of its opening.

But not every restaurant was Centro, the splendid stunt on Yonge Street, as Canadas most notorious restaurant critic called it at the time. And not every joint, certainly, is significant enough to reboot a three-decade-old frenemy-ship.

In his own barbed valentine to Franco Prevedello  the man behind Centro, known now as something of a godfather of fine dining here  Mark McEwan took to the podium at the special supper last week, where he wove the tale of another restaurant that hed bought from the man of the hour. It was 1985, and that hotspot was called Pronto. During the transfer? A handshake deal that confirmed Prevedello wouldnt go and open another place in the same hood. Not long later, Prevedello opened his oh-so-glittery Centro, just three blocks north of Eglinton.

Id hawked my car, McEwan told the room about purchasing that first resto. Years before hed morph into superstar chef in his own right  the man at the helm of Top Chef Canada, and a chain of gourmet stores to his name  he even took all the money hed been saving for his impending wedding, and put it into Pronto. Needless to say, Centros opening did not please him.

I was really pissed off, he remembered.

To retaliate, Game of Thrones-style? McEwan opened another spot of his own, North 44. Its still open, right across from the former Centro. The rest is culinary lore.

Were good friends, McEwan said of Prevedello minutes later, retaking his seat right next to mine at the dinner. Adhering, presumably, to the philosophy that a rising tide lifts all boats, he added: Competition is good.

Part roast, part memorial service . . . for someone whos still alive (as someone psssted to me at the dinner), that was the nature of the Prevedello love-in, held in a civilized side-room at Arcadian Court.

All glorious bygones and myth-churning. A celebration not only of a septuagenarian whos had a hand in some 25 restaurants over the years  still the dashing whipper-snapper, if more silver-topped, these days  but also an opportunity to mark a moment in yuppie time. An uptown institution, Centro was, after all, the sort of scene that Toronto really hadnt laid eyes on before. Enough black mink inside Centro to open a furrier, as Joanne Kates once put it. As many town cars idling outside as you might find at a TIFF premiere.

With its focus on Italian  but Italian with a sprinkle of California parsley, as its founder has described  it was the kind of place where newlyweds Conrad Black and Barbara Amiel would go to conspire, and the celebrity-watching would extend to everyone from Michael Jordan to Julio Iglesias, from Tom and Nicole to Keanu, Uma and Sharon Stone.

If Instagram had existed back then, this is for sure: the restaurant would have boasted one happening hashtag.

And its not for naught that Toronto Life, in a list of 10 biggest moments in Toronto restaurants last year, put the 1987 debut of Centro on that ranking.

Back to 2017. His passion for the industry has affected generations, punctuated madcap chef Marc Thuet when it was his time to address the room. A pupil of Prevedello, his presence spoke to the oft-told legacy of Centro: its kitchen was a factory of many well-known chefs to come  not only Thuet, but Chris McDonald, David Lee and Michael Bonacini (all of whom who were present on this night).

Said the latter, when riffing on his experience, I left with a lifetime of experience. Bonacini, also serving as one of the evenings hosts, struck the additional point of saying how personal Centro had been to Prevedello: a distillation of the town where he grew up in Italys Veneto region.

It wasnt the first great restaurant in Toronto, Jimmy Molloy, the evenings grandmaster, remarked, pointing to other ghosts of Torontos restaurant-past, like Winstons and Fentons. What it was, however, was a tipping point . . . the end of ordinary.

In the case of Molloy, whos one of the citys top agents for luxury real estate, it was a formative experience in another way. Centro changed his life, he said, in that I worked there for two years, and I hated it so much, I went and got a real estate licence.

Bada-boom.

Prevedello himself  surrounded at Table 1 with family and friends  was relatively light on words. Im very emotional about it all, he said, clearly touched.

What did we eat, for this night of nostalgia and ribbing? As it happened, the menu skewed more towards Spain and Argentina. Primarily, because, as Molloy explained, I think Franco has had enough Italian food in his life.

Secondly? If we were doing Italian, hed be in the kitchen yelling at the chef. This way we get to actually spend time with Franco.

SHARE:
Security forces have cordoned the area after the attack happened in Pulwama district.

By India Today Web Desk: Terrorists today attacked a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp in south Kashmir's Tral town leaving two CRPF jawans injured.

Security forces have cordoned the area after the attack happened in Pulwama district on 180 battalion of CRPF, sources said.

Further details are awaited.

--- ENDS ---
NEW YORKChristopher Ashley paid tribute to the people of Newfoundland as he accepted his Tony for best director of a musical for Come From Away.

The play is set in Gander, N.L., in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The remote East Coast town saw its population double in size as it sheltered 6,579 passengers and crew from planes diverted when U.S. air space was closed.

Most of all, Id like to accept this on behalf of the people of Newfoundland and all of the first responders and their families in New York, Ashley said in his acceptance speech.

The people who extended their hearts and their homes and were generous and kind at the very worst moments, to all of you, thank you.

Ashley also acknowledged the extraordinary Come From Away Canadian co-creators Irene Sankoff and David Hein who he said told the shows story with so much grace and heart.

And he thanked his theatrical home, Californias La Jolla Playhouse, where Come From Away was staged several years ago on its lengthy journey to Broadway.

This is Ashleys first Tony win following previous nominations for Rocky Horror Picture Show and Memphis.

Heading into Sundays awards, Come From Away was up for seven Tonys, including best musical.

Dear Evan Hansen captured the Tonys for best score and best book of a musical, beating Sankoff and Hein.

Come From Away star Jenn Colella lost the best featured actress in a musical Tony to Rachel Bay Jones of Dear Evan Hansen, while choreographer Kelly Devine lost to Andy Blankenbuehler for Bandstand.

The show also lost out on the best lighting design of a musical award to Bradley King of Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812.

Tonys host Kevin Spacey kicked off the telecast with a comedic medley of the best musical nominees  including Canadian show Come From Away.

The View co-host Whoopi Goldberg joined Spacey onstage to offer him advice about helming the show, and the duo engaged in tongue-in-cheek banter with a nod to Newfoundland.

If you want to learn, youve got to go to where some of the greatest hosts of all time have gotten their start. Carson, Crystal, Letterman. Youve got to go to the Rock, Goldberg said.

What? All the way to Newfoundland? Spacey replied.

Soon after, cast members from Come From Away went onstage linked arm-in-arm with members of the Rockettes and performed a snippet of Welcome to the Rock from the hit musical.

The hospitality shown by the people of Gander was highlighted by fellow Canadian Ron Duguay, who introduced a full performance of Welcome to the Rock a few minutes after the opening teaser.

Ive been there, I know the people, I know the heart of these people, said the former New York Ranger. And while there was darkness happening on 9/11 in New York, there was a light in Gander, Newfoundland.

With their hearts they took these people in, made them feel comfortable, he continued. People from all over the world. They didnt judge em, they just took em and theyre really good at happy hour. So they had happy hour every night for five nights and through that we have this wonderful play.

Read more:How Come From Away became a serious Tony Award contender

SHARE:
You could forgive Bachelor fans for being puzzled when the news first broke that the spinoff Bachelor in Paradise was being suspended over misconduct of a sexual nature.

After all, the summer series fairly glories in nudge, nudge, wink, wink sexual situations and has been known to show contestants getting up close and personal in the pools and hot tubs at the Riviera Nayarit resort where its filmed in Mexico.

Warner Bros. put out a statement Sunday referring to allegations of misconduct on the set that it said it was investigating. It soon became apparent they involved Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson, two villains on their respective seasons of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.

But according to various online reports, the situation is more sinister than cast members getting too hot and heavy in a pool.

TMZ says a producer has filed a complaint, alleging that Olympios might have been sexually assaulted because she was too drunk to consent to sexual activity with Jackson.

Olympios herself has said she was in a blackout state and remembered nothing about the encounter, according to TMZ, although Jackson has said the interaction was consensual.

But another unnamed contestant complained to People magazine that producers should have taken note of how drunk Olympios was and stopped the incident rather than continuing to film it.

They could have stopped this before it got this far, the cast member told People. But they decided to let it go and let it happen, and see what happened? So Im angry at the show and everyone else is too.

It could be a costly lesson for Warner Horizon, which produces the show.

The fourth season of the popular series was due to debut on ABC on Aug. 8. At the very least, the air date will be pushed back or scrapped now that shooting has been suspended indefinitely. It seems more likely the series will be cancelled altogether given the scandal.

As another source told People, Every year there have been an increasing number of questions about whether or not (the show has) gone too far.

Indeed, last season featured notorious Bachelorette villain Chad Johnson getting so drunk and belligerent he was kicked off the show, but not before an extended makeout session with one woman whom he later threatened with physical violence, making fun of another womans physical handicap and trying to hit one of the men.

The series as a whole, although its ostensibly about past Bachelor/Bachelorette contestants finding love, is geared toward encouraging drunken hookups.

Alcohol is a constant feature of filming. The resort bartender, Jorge Moreno, appeared onscreen so often he was given his own credit in the shows opening song, billed as Jorge the Bartender.

Unlike The Bachelor or Bachelorette, Bachelor in Paradise doesnt feature one man or woman trying to find a mate by dating multiple people. But BIP contestants do go on dates with each other. In fact, they get booted off the show if they dont form romantic connections, which means relationships tend to get physical pretty quickly.

There was a lot of anticipation for Olympios appearance on Bachelor in Paradise. The 25-year-old was both a villain and a fan favourite on the most recent season of The Bachelor, where she became known for her creative trash-talking of other contestants, the fact she had a nanny and her persistent attempts to seduce Bachelor Nick Viall.

Jackson, 30, was just kicked off the current season of The Bachelorette a couple of weeks ago after a woman claiming to be his girlfriend showed up on a date.

SHARE:
As anyone who has ever made a New Years resolution can attest, quitting aint easy. But, if Alex Wood can quit everything, maybe you can quit one thing.

Alex Wood Quits Everything is a podcast hosted by Toronto-based standup comedian and recovering alcoholic and drug addict Alex Wood, which follows his attempts to quit one remaining vice every month. In each episode, which he releases a couple times a month, he offers reflections on the experience and interviews with other recovering addicts from the comedy industry, such as satellite radio host Allison Dore, and standup comedian Shawn Hogan.

Wood, 30, started recording the podcast in April, following his journey through an addiction to cocaine and MDMA, alcoholism, alcohol-linked pancreatitis, ulcers, a failed attempt at writing a book and the death of a family member. He quit drinking in December 2015 and gave up hard drugs last November.

Over the next year he is committed to quitting weed, coffee, chewing his nails, red meat, dairy, cigarettes, porn, social media, credit cards, gossip, his smartphone and sugar. The podcast, which he records in his apartment with a mic and a laptop, averages about 400 downloads per episode. He has so far successfully quit weed and coffee.

Wood sat down with the Star at Bloor Court Cafe to talk about the intimacy of podcasting, his toughest vice to quit and why hes still funny sober.

Why a podcast?

I started out writing a book, but podcasting is easier. Its immediate, theres no barrier between the product and consumer. Other mediums get so homogenized by feedback and executive notes, but podcasting is direct. And Im able to do interviews, which I think is the best part. Its more like having a conversation with friends, more intimate. The best interviews happen when you forget theres a mic in front of you and you just talk. Thats when its really good. I think thats why people like podcasts, because they can feel that happening too.

How did you come up with your list and is there a strategy to what you quit and when?

Everything on the list is something I dont have control over and that impacts me negatively in some way. Im not just picking something like, Oh, this will be hard. It will be hard, but thats not why Im doing it.

Theres a strategy, absolutely. I didnt think Id be able to quit weed, coffee and cigarettes all at once. I have (the quitting order) like: ingestible, and then the food stuff, cigarettes mid way, and then all of the social stuff, and then end with the hardest stuff, like gossip  I think thats the one thats gonna trip me up. Im defining gossip as saying anything negative about anyone I know. I want to stop doing that and be more positive.

In terms of food stuff, in the podcast you mention that red meat and dairy negatively affect your ulcers, but how does sugar fit in?

Everyone I know that gets sober starts going to the gym like a maniac. And once you start going to the gym you start caring about that other s--- more. I feel so much better if I eat healthy. Afterwards I have all this energy and fuel. I think thats the way food is supposed to be, weve just bastardized it to become this new kind of drug. Like, every time I eat ice cream I realize Im an addict because I get halfway through and feel like I need to rush out and buy 15 more. They make resealable chocolate bars now and Im like, Who is this for? Who eats a couple bites of an Oh Henry! and is like, Better seal this up, an Oh Henry! bar is just too much for me ?

Whats been the hardest to quit so far?

Definitely coke. But I feel like it made me a much better person. Not being on it, just being able to quit and going through that. Its made me who I am and made me a much stronger person.

I was suicidal. I felt hopeless for like a while. I was like, This is it for me, Im done, and I was only 22. I never thought Id have serotonin in my brain again. The first time I laughed at myself without drugs was huge for me. That was the first time I was like, I might be OK, maybe Ill be happy again. They say one day at a time, but before that I was just like, Get through today, just dont kill yourself today. And then I started doing standup again and I was like, OK, Im all right.

What do you hope that listeners get from the podcast?

Just how important it is to be open with everybody. If somebodys giving you a hard time they probably dont even realize. Dont be afraid to ask for help, or tell people whats going on.

I get people writing in and asking for advice. Its tough, I dont have a lot of new stuff to bring to the table. I can only confirm other cliches. Im sure its been said before, but I try and approach every day as Day 1. Youre gonna have tough days. People who have never touched drugs or alcohol in their whole lives, they still have tough days.

Has your comedy changed since youve been sober?

My material has changed; I talk about sobriety a lot more.

I think Im more consistent overall. Last year I realized Im getting nervous before sets again, and that hadnt happened to me in years. But Im starting to remember that those nerves are actually good, they can be harnessed and used for energy.

I mean, I was really good before, its not like I quit all this stuff and suddenly became great at comedy. But now I know I can still be funny without all of that.

Stands up, knocks an empty paper cup off the table, and yells, I cant believe youre still seeing him. Calmly sits down.

See, I dont care. I can still embarrass myself. I can still be fun without all that.

SHARE:
When I got the long-awaited letter offering me a spot in medical school, my joy was tinged with worry. How would I explain to all of these health-conscious peers I was about to meet that I was a smoker? How embarrassing and hypocritical it was to be heading off to become a physician when I wasnt even looking after my own health.

It turned out I didnt have to worry  to my surprise, several of my classmates were smokers, too.

I started smoking when I was 16 and had already tried quitting several times, including an effort in the summer before medical school. I worked as a summer camp director and attempted to quit smoking with the patch. If I didnt have it on, the counsellors knew because I became irritable. They called it my personality patch! But it didnt help me quit.

What helped me finally quit smoking for good  six years after starting  was a combination of nicotine gum, medication, becoming physically active and learning to run.

In Dr. Mike Evans great video on smoking cessation, he talks about it as a journey, and points out that it often takes multiple attempts and lifestyle changes to achieve. Evans also compares quitting smoking to breaking off a relationship; he says when you end a damaging relationship, part of the healing comes from starting new, healthier ones.

My love affair with running was what allowed me to finally quit smoking for good. It might sound daunting, especially for the smoker who isnt and may not want to be physically active, but there is increasing evidence that swapping running for smoking works.

The strategy is being tested through the Canadian Cancer Societys Run to Quit program, which in partnership with the Running Room takes a step-by-step approach by helping smokers cut down as they start running with a group.

And considering my own experience, Im not surprised its showing promising results. At the end of the 10-week program in its first year, 91 per cent of 70 participants surveyed said theyd cut back on smoking  and 51 per cent report having quit entirely. Six months later, 40 per cent were still not smoking and 43 per cent were still running regularly.

Interestingly, participants also shifted their view of themselves from smokers to people who embrace a more active lifestyle. Their confidence to quit smoking and pick up running grew, just like their overall physical and mental health.

This is a big deal. On average, smoking shortens the lives of smokers by eight to 10 years. Its estimated that smoking is responsible for 30 per cent of all cancer deaths in Canada. It also causes more than 85 per cent of lung cancer cases, which kill more people than any other cancer.

And still, 5.4 million Canadians (about 18 per cent of us) smoke, and 115,000 new smokers picked up the addiction in 2015 alone.

Once youre addicted, quitting smoking is notoriously hard. Research shows it often takes more than 10 attempts to successfully quit. This is why reframing unsuccessful attempts as learning experiences rather than failures can help keep us motivated. Each time you try to quit, you learn more about what works for you and what pitfalls to avoid. So, celebrate learning something new the next time you try to quit.

The best thing a smoker can do to improve their health is to quit, but its much easier said than done. Dont be shy to talk with your doctor about your desire to quit smoking. Together you can develop a plan that will work for you.

It can take some creativity  and endurance  to beat the addiction.

A few options include:

Using nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products. They work by gradually lowering your daily dose of nicotine without the other effects of tobacco and can more than double your chances of long-term success.

Call Smokers Helpline at 1-877-513-5333. This free, confidential service connects you with a trained Quit Coach who can answer your questions, help you develop a personal quit plan or refer you to local programs and services. You can also join their online support group.

Watch Mike Evans videos on smoking cessation.

Join Run to Quit and find a local running group.

No matter how long youve been smoking, your health improves when you quit:

Within 24 hours, breathing gets easier as oxygen levels increase and your lungs start to clear out mucus.

Within 72 hours, your body is almost nicotine-free! Your lung capacity will increase so breathing and exercising will get easier and youll have more energy.

In one year, your risk of having a heart attack will drop by 50 per cent.

Dr. Edward Kucharski is a lecturer with the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto, a family physician with the South East Toronto Family Health Team and the Cancer Care Ontario Regional Primary Care Lead for the Toronto Regional Cancer Program (South). Doctors Notes is a weekly column by members of the U of T Faculty of Medicine. Email doctorsnotes@thestar.ca

SHARE:
Allowing a union lawsuit aimed at halting Ontarios sale of Hydro One shares to trial would open the floodgates to legal challenges of government policies by everyone, Crown lawyers warned Monday.

A trio of government lawyers appeared in Ontario Superior Court of Justice to argue their motion to have the lawsuit from the Canadian Union of Public Employees dismissed.

This is a political claim... for political purposes, Crown counsel Christopher Thompson told Justice P.J. Cavanagh, who reserved his decision after the day-long hearing.

CUPE is seeking $1.1 million in damages for Premier Kathleen Wynnes decision to sell up to 60 per cent of the provinces shares in Hydro One to raise about $9 billion to pay down hydro system debt and raise money for transit and other infrastructure projects.

The union filed the misfeasance suit in December, calling Hydro One a vital asset the government has no mandate to sell.

Acting for the union, lawyer Louis Century argued the government is proposing a radical extension of Crown immunity that will not serve citizens well.

He urged Cavanagh to allow the case to trial so evidence can be presented to back the CUPE claim that the government knowingly structured the share sale to reward investors and the Ontario Liberal Party over electricity ratepayers.

Also representing the union, lawyer Steven Shrybman pointed to a Liberal fundraiser held just weeks after the initial public offering of Hydro One shares attended by major players in the investment industry.

Its really simple to infer theres a legitimate question about the motives of the two ministers, Shrybman said, calling the share sale part of a fundraising scheme for a political party.

Ontarios integrity commissioner has ruled there was no wrongdoing with the fundraisers.

The lawsuit names Wynne, Finance Minister Charles Sousa and Infrastructure Minister Bob Chiarelli, who was energy minister when the share sale plan was devised.

Cavanagh interrupted Shrybman during his submission, asking Dont all these points made so far just point to a policy disagreement with the government?

For the Crown, Thompson told the court that the Wynne administration amended the Electricity Act two years ago to specify that shares could be sold.

Its not only within the authority of this statute... it carries out the purpose of the statute, Thompson said as the Crown spent the morning outlining its case.

He called the lawsuit an attempt to nullify the Legislatures clear policy choice, and said allowing it to proceed would give all citizens a cause of (legal) action against the government for laws or policies they oppose.

We could all sue, and its absurd, Thompson said, accusing CUPE of trying to dress up its lawsuit with claims of misfeasance and conflict of interest by Wynne and two cabinet ministers.

The timing of the lawsuit is interesting because the government has already sold off the intended number of shares.

At the Legislature, the NDP and Progressive Conservatives have accused the government of conducting a fire sale of Hydro One shares that will lead to higher electricity prices down the road.

Wynne has countered that the Ontario Energy Board sets rates and that the money from Hydro One shares is needed to build transit, reduce gridlock and make Ontario more attractive for business, to aid in job creations.

Polls have shown some 80 per cent of Ontarians are opposed to the sale of a majority of Hydro Ones shares.

Read more about:

SHARE:
OTTAWASupreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin is bringing down the gavel on a 36-year judicial career that spanned 28 years on the top court  17 of them as the countrys first female, and longest-serving, chief justice.

The legal trailblazer will retire effective Dec. 15, nine months before she reaches the mandatory retirement age of 75 although she may sign off on outstanding rulings for another six months after she leaves the bench.

It gives the government time to fill a seat traditionally reserved for a judge from British Columbia and to replace her as chief justice  a chance for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to shape the court for generations to come.

By convention, the post has alternated between the most senior anglophone and francophone member of the bench  and it would ordinarily be the turn of Justice Richard Wagner, appointed by Stephen Harper.

But that convention was ditched by Pierre Elliot Trudeau in two of his Supreme Court appointments and may well be set aside by his son if the government opts to make a major statement on its agenda of inclusion and diversity, said McGill University political science professor Chris Manfredi.

(Trudeaus Liberal government already sidestepped convention when it accepted applications from across Canada for what was supposed to be a seat reserved for Atlantic Canada, a move that caused an uproar in that region.)

McLachlins departure leaves a huge gap at the top of the judicial branch of government. Her legacy includes seminal judgments on the countrys constitutional framework, charter rights like free speech and security of the person, and Indigenous law.

In a written statement Trudeau thanked McLachlin for her long and dedicated service, and said her judicial accomplishments are unparalleled in Canadian history and reach into every part of our law. Canadians owe her an immense debt.

Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould spoke to McLachlin Monday morning and told reporters she appreciated her as a progressive force in terms of Indigenous peoples and advancement of reconciliation and recognition.

On the Supreme Court she has helped us as a country define and advance and develop the law and our Constitution, and has made so many seminal judgments that have further defined who we are as Canadians.

McLachlin transformed the high court into a modern institution at a time when it was under huge political pressure after early charter rulings left conservative lawmakers with buyers remorse.

She became the target of Conservative critics for leading a judicially activist bench that thwarted the will of Parliament. McLachlin coolly rejected that label and countered it was elected legislators who tasked judges with breathing life into the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The 1982 Constitution gave courts the ability to overturn laws that limited rights in an unreasonable and unjustifiable way.

Still, after a heady two decades of romps through charter law, a McLachlin-led court stepped carefully as it navigated the next phase of charter interpretation, emphasizing the need to balance rights and to respect the will of legislatures.

I think she had the best sense of the strategic role of the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada . . . in calibrating the courts decisions, keeping them in a range of public opinion that would ensure that the court never really became a target of public outrage of any kind, said Manfredi.

Toronto criminal defence lawyer Frank Addario, a director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, said she is the epitome of a balanced judge. She is the intellectual leader of a measured approach to civil liberties and compassion in relation to individuals.

University of Ottawa constitutional law professor Sebastien Grammond said under McLachlin, the court adopted a vision of the constitution overall that was perhaps more balanced than before. He cited rulings in reference cases on the senate, the Supreme Court and the national securities regulator, and also her rulings that decriminalized assisted suicide and prostitution which further defined what the charter right to security of the person means in law.

Nevertheless McLachlin bore the wrath of Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper, who suggested McLachlin was guilty of improperly lobbying his justice minister against his pick of Marc Nadon to the top court. It blew up in Harpers face when the legal community in Canada backed the propriety of McLachlins actions in flagging a potential legal issue with the appointment.

McLachlin was appointed by former prime minister Progressive Conservative Brian Mulroney in 1989 and named chief justice by Liberal prime minister Jean Chretien. She advanced collegial relations among Type A judges and lawyers where cliques had often formed, pushing for consensus and clearer statements of Canadian law. Under her administration, backlogs cleared, and the court made leaps in public outreach, with she and other judges travelling internationally, delivering speeches, doing interviews and joining social media.

Tough on litigators who prattle on, famously reserved in person, McLachlin has a plain-speaking, often wry style in court.

Yet those who know her speak of her easy laugh. McGill University law professor Daniel Jutras, who worked as her executive legal officer for three years, said McLachlin deals with stress by resorting to humour and was an impressive champion for the Canadian charter, Canadian judges and the independence of the judiciary abroad.

Shes very charismatic in that environment, which is very odd because shes a very shy person, shes very reserved and private.

McLachlin outlasted 19 of her judicial peers in her 28 years on the top court.

In the announcement of her retirement, McLachlin said, It has been a great privilege to serve as a justice of the court, and later its chief justice, for so many years. I have had the good fortune of working with several generations of Canadas finest judges and best lawyers. I have enjoyed the work and the people I have worked with enormously.

The woman who still taps her roots in Pincher Creek, Alta., as inspiration in speeches, interviews and the art on her office walls, is an avid reader and cook. She lost her first husband to cancer, and later married Frank McArdle, an Ottawa lawyer who proposed to her over an airplane intercom. She has an adult son who is a musician.

NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair praised Mclachlins leadership, saying Shes left her mark on the legal culture of our country for a full generation, but that will echo for generations to come.

Read more:

Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin looks forward, not back

Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin argues tolerance, within limits, is the only way forward

More Indigenous judges needed in lower courts to develop skills for Supreme Court: Beverley McLachlin

She also chaired the Canadian Judicial Council of chief trial and appellate judges, which oversees discipline of judges in Canada; chaired the National Judicial Institute, which oversees judicial training; and chaired the Advisory Council of the Order of Canada, which decides who gets the prestigious national honour.

She stepped aside when the council weighed whether to strip Conrad Black of his Order of Canada medal and pin. Black gave up his Canadian citizenship to accept a British peerage, and then fought to retain his distinction, but was removed from the Order of Canada rolls after his conviction in a U.S. court.

Last fall, in an exclusive interview McLachlin told the Star she still had work to do to integrate an incoming new judge, who turned out to be Trudeaus first appointment, Malcolm Rowe.

SHARE:
OTTAWAPressed this weekend to say whether he would run federally if he failed to become national NDP leader next fall, Ontario MPP Jagmeet Singh was studiously noncommittal.

I will continue to fight in the provincial level. Ill continue to fight in other provinces. Ill continue to fight on the federal level, as I have done before, he said at an all-candidates debate.

That generic statement will not put the issue to rest.

Singhs leadership rivals will inevitably continue to probe the depth of his commitment to a federal career. It is a fair question to which the New Democrats are entitled to a clearer answer.

When he announced his bid to succeed Thomas Mulcair, Singh did not resign his seat at Queens Park. The next Ontario election will take place a year from now. In the event of a leadership defeat, he could stay put in Ontario.

In keeping his options open, Singh is not breaking any rule  tacit or otherwise.

Former Ontario education minister Gerard Kennedy was the last Ontario politician to run for a federal leadership position. When he set out to try to succeed Paul Martin as federal Liberal leader in 2006, Kennedy resigned his provincial seat.

But former Ontario MP Patrick Brown resigned from Parliament only after he won the provincial Tory leadership.

And Bloc Quebecois leader Martine Ouellet  even as she leads a federal party  is hanging on to a seat in the Quebec national assembly until a provincial election is called in the fall of 2018. For the record, that is not working well.

It is not rare for a Canadian politician to trade one political arena for another. But the road from Parliament to a provincial legislature has been the less rocky of the two paths.

Lucien Bouchard, Jean Charest, Bob Rae, Brian Tobin all left federal politics and eventually served as premiers of their respective provinces. These days, Brian Pallister  a former Conservative MP first elected to the House of Commons under the Canadian Alliance banner  leads the Manitoba government.

The next Ontario election could be Tory leader Browns to lose. In Alberta, former MPs Brian Jean and Jason Kenney are fighting for the chance to lead the provinces reunited Conservative forces.

A productive life in federal politics is no guarantee of provincial success. The late Jim Prentice had earned kudos for his performance as a federal minister. As Alberta premier, his name will always be associated with a historic Conservative defeat.

But at the end of the day unsuccessful transitions from provincial to federal politics are more common than the reverse.

As long as the list of contenders was for Stephen Harpers succession, it did not include an active provincial politician. It is hard to build a national base from a provincial legislature, especially under a weighted-by-riding voting formula such as that used by the federal Conservatives.

Winning the leadership from a strong regional base is comparatively easier under a one-member-one-vote system of the kind the NDP has in place to select Mulcairs successor.

It was under such a system that Stockwell Day beat Reform Party founder Preston Manning for the job of leader of the Canadian Alliance in 2000. Day was Alberta treasurer when he switched to federal politics. That is as senior a ministerial position as one can get. But in hindsight his Alberta tenure had not prepared him adequately for the realities of federal opposition.

As the member of a governing dynasty, Day had had no opportunity to develop the skills that help opposition leaders survive from day to day. Some of the policies he promoted were popular in Alberta but not easily applicable to the whole of a diverse federation. He seemed tone-deaf to the nuances that attend most federal policy debates.

As for Kennedy  a former Dalton McGuinty leadership rival and subsequently a star Ontario minister  he finished fourth in his 2006 federal leadership bid, settling for the role of kingmaker in the Liberal crowning of Stephane Dion.

Like Singh, Kennedy felt that his French was up to the task of dealing with federal issues effectively in both languages. It was not. It also did not alone make him as streetwise in Quebec as a federal leader needs to be to connect with that provinces voters.

The Canadian Parliament is more than a larger version of Queens Park or any other provincial legislature.

Given all of the above, it is possible to understand Singhs wish to hang on to a provincial insurance policy, but to still feel that his vague answer as to whether he will run in the 2019 federal election leaves him open to allegations of political tourism.

Chantal Hebert is a national affairs writer. Her column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

SHARE:
The day after Elizabeth Wettlaufer pleaded guilty to killing eight patients and assaulting or trying to murder six others, the college responsible for protecting the public from bad nurses said it was accelerating an investigation into her professional conduct.

The 50-year-old nurse is expected to be sentenced to life in prison, with no chance of parole for 25 years, during court hearings on June 26 and 27 in Woodstock, Ont. Sometime after that, the College of Nurses of Ontario will strike a disciplinary panel to rule on Wettlaufers job performance as a serial-killing registered nurse.

Its safe to assume the panel will sanction Wettlaufer severely. What many want to know is why it didnt do so well before she confessed to her crimes, without prompting, in September 2016, and voluntarily resigned her status as a registered nurse.

The college, after all, was informed 30 months earlier that Wettlaufer had been fired from a nursing home for putting the life of a patient at risk. Yet she continued to work  and kill  as a fully licensed registered nurse. It has some close observers of the college bluntly questioning its ability to police its profession.

I think theyve lost their way, says Greg Shaw, who spent 25 years as vice-president of strategic human resources at several major Toronto hospitals. Protection of the public has become secondary to protection of the privacy of the nurse.

The college rejects such accusations. In a newly released annual report, executive director Anne Coghlan states that safety is at the forefront of the standards we set and uphold.

Yet a growing chorus of voices is calling for a public inquiry into Wettlaufers attacks on patients during a nine-year period. They want to assess, in part, if the college did its job. Premier Kathleen Wynne and Health Minister Eric Hoskins have said they will consider holding one.

Family and friends of seniors killed by a former nurse say they were disgusted June 1 as Elizabeth Wettlaufer pleaded guilty to eight counts of first-degree murder. The victims' friends and family are calling for reform in long-term care.

If Wettlaufer had not confessed, Im very afraid that the loss of life would have continued, says Doris Grinspun, CEO of the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario, a public policy advocacy group that represents 41,000 nurses and backs calls for an inquiry.

We want to know if there were alarm bells that went unattended, she adds, referring to both Wettlaufers employers and the college.

Public pressure has been mounting on the college since the Star revealed that Wettlaufer was fired from Woodstocks Caressant Care nursing home  where she killed seven elderly residents with overdose injections of insulin  on March 31, 2014.

As required by provincial regulations, the employer notified the college of Wettlaufers firing with an April letter citing a life-threatening medication error. When reporting a nurse to the college, employers must also complete a form that asks them to list, in chronological order, the events that led to the report.

The colleges response alluded to the secrecy and lengthy investigations that has long frustrated hospital administrators and nursing home employers.

It asked Caressant to keep all documents relevant to Wettlaufers firing for up to two years pending investigation. It added that the matter would be treated as confidential, and Caressant would not be informed of any investigation the college might conduct.

One relevant document would have been Caressants termination letter to Wettlaufer. It described the error that got her fired as part of a pattern of behaviours that are placing residents at risk.

You have an extensive disciplinary record for medication-related errors which includes numerous warnings as well as 1, 3 and two 5 day suspensions, the termination letter says.

Jane Meadus, staff lawyer at Torontos Advocacy Centre for the Elderly legal clinic, says a public inquiry must examine why the college, according to evidence so far, didnt suspend her licence, place her under supervision, or ban her from administering medication until she retrained.

The college posts the records of the 160,000 nurses it governs on its website, including their registration status, cautions they may have received, orders for retraining and the outcome of disciplinary hearings. Whats clear is that after being fired in March 2014, Wettlaufers public record remained unblemished until she resigned and confessed her crimes.

The college has repeatedly refused Star requests for interviews. It wont say what actions it took when it learned of Wettlaufers firing, citing legislation it insists extends confidentiality protection even to confessed serial killers.

It adds it recently asked the government for changes that would allow the college  when there is compelling public interest  for the release of some information before a college investigation is completed.

Employers must report nurses to the college when they are fired, considered incompetent, suffering from addiction, or have abused patients. The college insists it reviews each report  1,400 in 2016, including 300 complaints from the public  and determines an appropriate regulator response based on an assessed level of risk to the public.

The extent of the investigation depends on the nature of the information provided, it said in a recent statement to the Star. For example, a report of incomplete or late charting would receive a different level of investigation than a report of deliberate patient harm.

In 2015, disciplinary panels that handle the most serious cases issued measures against 10 nurses, including one who had his or her licence revoked. Action was taken against another 268 nurses  from oral cautions to suspensions  without the need for a panel to be struck.

Throughout the investigation process, employers are kept in the dark, says Shaw, whose years as an HR executive included stints at the Sunnybrook and Womens College Health Sciences Centre, William Osler Health System and the Ontario Hospital Association.

When an employer files a complaint with the college, as theyre obliged to do, it goes into a black hole, adds Shaw, now a consultant in the sector. You dont know if its going to go to a disciplinary hearing or whether theyre dealing with it. You have no idea whats going on.

Im aware of a number of circumstances where the college took more than two years for it to be dealt with, in which time the nurse has no notation on their licence, so theyre free to seek alternative employment and free to work in a full capacity.

Disciplinary orders issued more than two years after incidents of bad performance are easily found on the colleges website.

The College has acknowledged that the timelines to address complaints and reports is long, and in some cases too long, it said in a statement to the Star on Thursday. We continue to review our processes and add resources to shorten the time to complete these cases. All matters that pose serious risk are triaged and given priority.

Labour lawyer Brian Smeenk has long called for the college to place interim restrictions on nurses when an employer flags practices that clearly put the public at risk.

He represented Torontos Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre when it fired a drug-addicted nurse in February 2013 for stealing medication from the hospital, and altering medical records, over the course of five years. The college didnt place restrictions on her ability to practise until November 2015, Smeenk says.

In the meantime the hospital hadnt heard a word from the college about the case, he says. It was a mystery to us how the college came to a decision, because they never heard from (hospital) management about what actually happened.

The college says it did not have the legal right to restrict or suspend a nurse without first completing an investigation until the provincial Protecting Patients Act became law this month. The college, which advocated for the change, says it can now impose interim restrictions when it has reasonable and probable grounds that a nurses practice poses a risk or is likely to pose a risk of harm or injury to a patient.

Less than a month after losing her Caressant job in March 2014, Wettlaufer landed one at the Meadow Park nursing home in London, Ont. In August, she killed 75-year-old Arpad Horvath with an insulin overdose.

She resigned from Meadow Park in October 2014 to be treated for abuse of alcohol and the drugs she stole from the nursing home. When she resumed work with other employers, she tried to kill two more patients with insulin overdoses, one at a nursing home in Paris, Ont., in September 2015, and another at a private residence in Ingersoll in August 2016.

Meadus wants a public inquiry to also examine whether employers who hired Wettlaufer after she was fired from Caressant Care exercised due diligence.

They clearly fired her for cause, Meadus says. So how does she end up working for a whole bunch of other places, and nobody says, Well maybe we shouldnt be hiring this woman. Thats a really big systemic problem.

Wettlaufer told police during her confession that she admitted in the Meadow Park job interview to having been fired for medication errors, but was given a second chance. And while she tried to hide her tracks during the murders, she also seemed to be hoping someone would stop her.

Beginning in 2009, she confessed her crimes to a long list of people, including a young nurses aide at Caressant, a pastor and his wife, a couple of friends, two former lovers, and sponsors helping in her struggle with alcohol and drugs.

On Sept. 16, she admitted herself to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto and confessed some more. She talked about the stress of growing up in a fervent Baptist household, about her bisexuality, about her 10-year-old marriage falling apart when her husband suspected a relationship with a woman online, about depression and suicidal thoughts, about the anger and frustration that made her want to kill.

The centre informed police and the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO). On Sept. 30, Wettlaufer emailed the college and resigned her status as a registered nurse: I Elizabeth T. Wettlaufer am no longer fit to practice as a nurse. I have deliberately harmed patients in my care and am now being investigated by the police for same.

She called an investigator from the college the same day and detailed the 14 times she killed or tried to kill patients. Wettlaufer also had CAMH fax the college a handwritten four-page confession.

In one of its recent statements, the college told the Star the information Wettlaufer provided on Sept. 30 resulted in the Colleges current investigation.

Now that the police investigation is complete and court proceedings are moving forward quickly, CNO has accelerated its own investigation into Ms Wettlaufers professional conduct. But we cant provide any further information at this time.

Read more about:

SHARE:
The Toronto Zoo will reopen Thursday morning, five weeks after a strike closed the gates.

Board members of the city-owned attraction and research facility voted 5-3 Monday in favour of a new four-year contract with unionized staff, most of whom had approved the deal one day earlier.

The three councillors who voted against the contract had all wanted to accept an earlier union proposal and opposed zoo efforts to weaken workers job-security provisions.

Contract talks failed May 11 partly over the zoos initial stance that only full-time permanent staff with 11 or more years service be allowed to keep protection from losing their jobs to contracting out. The union proposed that only staff with less than four years service be vulnerable to contracting out.

The union broke an extended stalemate by successfully proposing workers get the protection at the eight-year mark.

Christine McKenzie, a zookeeper and president of CUPE Local 1600, said her 380 members, including 183 full-timers, are anxious to get back on the job.

I think theyre relieved that the strike is over, they are anxious to get back to work and see their animals again, McKenzie said in an interview.

It will take a couple of days to get the zoo back in shape. We are looking forward to getting (threatened and endangered animal) conservation programs back up to full speed.

It was a hard battle, but Im very proud of our members for standing up to the city; I firmly believe provisions they were looking for would have been extremely damaging to the zoo, by risking the replacement of highly trained staff with contract workers fit only for an attraction, not a research-breeding facility, said McKenzie.

Councillor Paul Ainslie, chair of the zoo board, said the deal is good for taxpayers, workers and the zoo.

Im very happy with all the work our non-union staff did during the strike; the animals didnt suffer and we even had some births, Ainslie said. Im looking forward to having our unionized staff back on the job and getting our conservation programs geared up.

The zoo says any people who had family or seasonal passes at the start of the strike will receive all days lost to the closure, plus an additional 25 days to thank them for their ongoing support and patience.

We will (also) be sending out a message to schools indicating class field trips can resume as of June 15 to coincide with the re-opening of the Zoo.

Peak summer season was fast approaching for the zoo, which has struggled in recent years with sagging attendance and a rising city subsidy that last year hit $12.6 million. Just over 1.3 million people visited in 2016.

Ainslie acknowledged that the prolonged closure will mean a financial hit for the zoo.

Were hoping that attendance will rebound, he said. Lets hope for a long, hot, sunny summer.

SHARE:
WARNING: Graphic content

The complainant accusing three Toronto police officer of sexual assault took part in acts (she) simply now does not remember due to alcohol, defence lawyer Alan Gold suggested on the third day of cross-examination.

The complainant, a parking enforcement officer, has testified she was unable to move or speak when she was forced to perform oral sex and was vaginally penetrated by the 51 Division officers in a downtown Toronto hotel room in January 2015.

She says she had gone to the hotel room with two officers, Leslie Nyznik and Joshua Cabero, after a night of drinking and bar-hopping on Rookie Buy Night. She wanted to rouse a third officer, Sameer Kara, who had left earlier after vomiting on himself, so they could go back to a bar. She said that, on the cab ride to the hotel, she suddenly got a severe headache and when she went to the washroom, the room was spinning.

She said she believes she was both intoxicated by the drinks shed had that night, and that she could have been drugged because she had not felt that way before.

Read more:

Parking enforcement officer endures grueling cross-examination by defence counsel

Female parking enforcement officer grilled by defence lawyer at sex assault trial

Woman in cop sex assault trial tells court I couldnt stop what was happening END

Gold, who represents Kara, pointed to a video showing the complainant walking into the hotel with Nyznik and Cabero and to a text message sent by her at 3:43 a.m.  two things, the complainant testified she could not remember.

We know those were things you consciously did, he suggested. Why isnt the same true of everything in between?

I know what I remember happened in the hotel. I did not consent, she responded.

Why isnt it a reasonable possibility that you are not a victim of a crime, but a victim of the alcohol diminishing of your inhibitions and the alcohol impairment of your memory, Gold said.

I did not consent to what happened in that hotel room, she said.

Earlier Gold pointed to the complainants testimony that, during events in the hotel, Kara asked her questions: He asked me to kiss him . . . . He asked if he could ejaculate in me.

He is not ordering you, is he? He is not telling you, is he? He is asking, giving you the choice, the decision, Gold said.

He is asking. I was just unable to answer, the complainant responded.

Gold suggested there could have other questions Kara asked that the complainant did not remember. She agreed.

Caberos lawyer Patrick Ducharme suggested the complainants memory could not be relied upon. While she remembered walking from Pravda to the Brass Rail with a group of officers, video evidence shows they took a cab, he pointed out.

He also suggested parts of her evidence were fabricated to explain her behaviour and that her evidence that her vision was impaired is false.

The complainant disagreed.

Ducharme also questioned the complainant about her use of the term black out.

He said it is a common to confuse blacking out with passing out, and that people who have blacked out can appear functional to those around them.

If I were to suggest you were functional at all times in that room until you went to sleep, you would disagree, Ducharme said.

I wasnt able to physically move or see, she said.

All three lawyers suggested the complainant willingly and intentionally participated in the sexual activity that took place in the hotel room.

I absolutely disagree, she responded.

SHARE:
By Charu Thakur : Gone are those days when Akshay Kumar played the hero in those mindless masala flicks. When his one-liners got him more applause than this average acting skills. But that is all in the past now. The 49-year-old actor is out of his comfort zone, and is busy experimenting with his on-screen roles. From playing a national hero in Airlift to a lawyer in Jolly LLB 2, the actor is trying to push the envelope with each of his films. And Toilet Ek Prem Katha is no different.

advertisement

When most actors of his age are busy playing the protagonist in larger-than-life films, Akshay is trying to bring worthy stories alive on 70mm. And one such story is that of Keshav and Bhumi who fight against all odds to get sanitation facilities in their village.

Inspired from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Swachch Bharat Abhiyan, Toilet Ek Prem Katha brings to notice a problem that is still prevalent in major parts of the country.

From its first look poster to quirky star cast, Toilet Ek Prem Katha has been in news for long, and when its trailer released last evening, Akshay and Bhumi Pednekar did not disappoint their fans. In fact, the three-minute trailer of the satirical love story has already received 5k views on YouTube within few hours of its release.

From an intriguing plot to Akshay-Bhumi's pairing, the film has blockbuster written all over it. Here are five intriguing points that we couldn't miss in the trailer.

Dhamakedaar storyline

'Biwi paas chahiye toh ghar mein sandaas chahie'. This line from Akshay and Bhumi's upcoming film forms the crux of Toilet Ek Prem Katha. Shree Narayan Singh's directorial venture is more than just a quirky love story. Toilet Ek Prem Katha revolves around the story of Keshav (Akshay) who wants to get married. Despite being a maanglik, Keshav finds the love of his life in Jaya (Bhumi) and they live happily ever-after. Well, not really. The twist begins when Jaya is asked to join the lota party and relieve herself in the open field, as there is no toilet in her in-laws house. And thus begin the battle again open defecation.

Strong message

Open defecation is not new in a country like India, but never ever has a director decided to discuss this issue on 70mm. But Shree Narayan Singh is all set to change that with his upcoming film Toilet Ek Prem Katha. Set against the backdrop of a quirky love story, the film brings to notice one of the biggest problems in the country. Through the story of Keshav (Akshay) and Jaya (Bhumi), Singh talks about the shame and dangers related to open defecation.

advertisement

Akshay Kumar's new avatar

He is no more a Khiladi Kumar on screen. In fact, in the last few years, the actor has become the voice of common man on the big screen. His films boasts of themes that are closer to common man, and Toilet Ek Prem Katha is one such film. This time around the 49-year-old actor will essay the role of a helpless husband who find it difficult keep his marriage intact owing to sanitation problems in his village. The actor is on a roll with the kind of films he is taking up, and going by the trailer, Toilet Ek Prem Katha promises to be a fun story with a strong message.

Bhumi Pednekar's comeback

She made heads turn with her stellar performance in the 2014 film Dum Laga Ke Haisha, and three years later, Bhumi is returning to the big screen with Toilet Ek Prem Katha. Where many heroines love to stick to roles glossier than magazine pages, Bhumi loves to perform. If she didn't hesitate to put on a few kilos for her Bollywood debut, her next brings her back with a strong message. Going by the trailer, Bhumi is all set to give Akshay a run for his money in the acting category, and we cannot wait to see this powerhouse of talent once again.

advertisement

Great supporting cast

Toilet Ek Prem Katha revolves around Akshay and Bhumi's characters, but it's hard to not notice Sudhir Pandey, Divyendu Sharma and Anupam Kher in the trailer. If Divyendu Sharma's desi avatar will tickle the funny bone, Sudhir's act as Akshay's father definitely looks unmissable. But what caught our eye was Anupam's appearance in the film. After Special 26, Baby and Naam Shabana, the actor will yet again share screen space with Akshay, and that is definitely worth the wait.

ALSO READ | Akshay-Bhumi's Toilet Ek Prem Katha trailer gets a thumbs up from B-Town

ALSO READ | Toilet Ek Prem Katha trailer: Akshay Kumar-Bhumi Pednekar have a message for you

ALSO WATCH: Akshay Kumar is the real 'Khiladi' of Bollywood

--- ENDS ---
Ontario and other provinces will be able to spend $7 billion in new federal child-care dollars on programs that are high quality, accessible, affordable, flexible and inclusive, according to a 10-year funding framework to be signed by Ottawa and the provinces Monday.

But unlike Ontarios historic commitment last week to build a universally accessible child-care system for all parents who need it, Ottawas funding for the next three years is targeted to the neediest families.

A summary of Ottawas national framework, contained in a Manitoba order in council recently posted online, says three-year bilateral agreements will direct provinces and territories to focus on families more in need. This includes single parents, those in low income, in under-served areas, who are Indigenous, working non-standard hours, or raising children with disabilities.

The clause has alarmed child-care advocates who note the Liberals 2005 national child-care plan under Paul Martin listed universality as one of its four guiding principles.

This Liberal government is approaching the building of a child-care system as if its a welfare program when we are so beyond that in so many areas of social policy, said Morna Ballantyne of the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada.

We know that the best way to create equal opportunity is to provide public services and public programs for all, she said. History has shown that programs for the poor end up to be poor programs.

The Liberals are also breaking their 2015 campaign pledge to create a new national early learning and child-care framework, to ensure that affordable, high-quality, fully inclusive child care is available to all families who need it, Ballantyne added.

Its a complete contradiction of their promise to help the middle class and those aspiring to join it, she said. If you target the funding to those with the lowest incomes, by definition, you are cutting out the middle class.

No one in Ottawa would comment officially on the framework until it is announced. But a government source said the clause shouldnt prevent Ontario from meeting its goal of serving all families.

The main word that we use is flexibility, said the source. We want to be flexible to best respond to provinces needs.

For example, Ontario could use federal money to improve the quality of its child-care programs, which would serve all families, the source said.

Ontario last week unveiled a five-year action plan to create high quality, affordable child care for all families, including $1.6 billion in capital spending. It was in addition to $200 million announced in the April budget for new subsidies and spaces this year and is part of the Wynne governments previous commitment to create 100,000 licensed spaces for children under age 4 by 2022.

Ontario is the second province after Quebec to commit to a universal child-care system. Quebec pledged $5-a-day child care in the mid-1990s and now charges parents up to $20 a day.

A spokesman for Ontarios minister for early learning and child care, Indira Naidoo-Harris, said he could not comment on the federal framework until it is released Monday.

But provincial advocates are disappointed about the lack of vision in the federal plan.

Child care should be part of our social infrastructure in this country, available to everyone who needs it, said Carolyn Ferns of the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care.

Its good that Ontario is moving forward, but I think the federal government should be pushing things further along, not just handing out the cheques, she said.

The federal spending power gives Ottawa the ability to lead the way, she added. If we dont have a real vision for child care in this country, well keep seeing stops and starts in different provinces.

The multilateral framework sets out a long-term vision, guiding principles and funding to help provinces and territories invest in their early learning and child-care systems. Under the agreement, provinces would not be required to match federal funding to access the cash.

Families, Children and Social Development Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, along with provincial and territorial ministers responsible for child care, will sign the agreement in Ottawa Monday.

Ontario is expected to sign its bilateral agreement on Friday.

Ottawa has committed $500 million for child care this year, ramping up to $870 million a year by 2026-27. But the $7 billion commitment over 10 years has been criticized for being about one-third less than what the Martin Liberals were prepared to spend 12 years ago, before their plan was axed when Stephen Harpers Conservative were elected.

Read more about:

SHARE:
Unionized employees of the Toronto Zoo ratified a proposed contract after the zoo closed when more than 400 workers went on a strike that lasted a month.

Union members reviewed and voted on approving a four-year collective agreement at a meeting Sunday.

While we are looking forward to returning to work and to looking after the animals we so deeply care about, our employer should be under no illusions that this was an easy decision for us to collectively take, said Christine McKenzie, president of CUPE 1600.

This was a month of struggle, for the right reasons, and I am incredibly proud of what our members have achieved.

The unions spokesperson Kevin Wilson said the contract was ratified via a secret ballot vote.

The board of management of the city-owned zoo has scheduled a special meeting on Monday at city hall to be briefed on the tentative contract and to vote on whether to accept the terms.

The board would also make decisions about how quickly the zoo could reopen to the public after a month of closure.

Toronto Zoo spokesperson Jennifer Tracey said if the board ratifies the agreement, the zoo could re-open on Thursday.

She said the zoo wouldnt comment further on the contract until after Mondays meeting.

More than 400 unionized staff went on strike on May 11 after contract agreements werent met due to issues of job security and language in the contract that would deny work protection to new employees, which the union called two-tier security. Union members include zookeepers, veterinary technicians, maintenance staff and mechanics.

McKenzie proposed a new offer and on June 8, a tentative contract was reached after almost 24 hours of negotiations.

Before the contract was ratified by unionized staff, the zoos board chair and chief executive called the contract fair, reasonable and acknowledges the unique work that is done at the zoo.

While the zoo was closed, non-union staff took care of the animals and the research-and-breeding facility.

SHARE:
The best antidote to foolishness is wisdom. At a time when creating equal job opportunities gets called reverse discrimination, I am sitting across the table from no less an authority on race than the Jamaican historian Robert Hill, in town to receive an honorary degree from the University of Toronto on Monday.

Hill, 74, has spent a lifetime in the scholarly pursuit of Marcus Garvey, the controversial early 20th century Black nationalist and proponent of the Back to Africa movement, who inspired the Nation of Islam and Rastafari movements.

The University of Toronto calls Hill the worlds leading authority on the global influence and intellectual currents of Pan-Africanism in the 20th century. Hills research on Leonard P. Howell, one of the prophets of the early Rastafari movement, is considered seminal.

No established order ever happily concedes, no societal group ever surrenders its privileges, Hill says. He speaks with poetic cadence, every word he utters appears measured and deliberate.

I say we should every day get up in the morning and thank Black people, thank women for helping to break the stranglehold of patriarchy and white supremacy. It suffocates. It diminishes everybody.

Freedom from oppression is not a zero sum game.

This is a concept not clear to those who resist equality by subscribing to the idea of reverse racism. In the fight against patriarchy, men feel they have to give up their power for women to gain it. In the fight against racism, whites feel they are being asked to concede their rights for other races to get a leg up.

When the Liberals pressure universities to improve diversity, it is an attempt to redress but not reverse centuries of having ivory towers inhabited by white men that excluded women and minorities.

Hill has long been one of few people of colour in those hallowed halls of major universities; UCLA, where he is a professor emeritus, Dartmouth College, where he was a teacher, London School of Economics, where he studied law and the University of Toronto, where he studied political science.

I learned so much from the opportunity to study Garvey, he says.

A key discovery for him was how inspired Garvey was by the Irish struggle for freedom. The Irish in New York were called the n-word until the 1920s, Hill says.

When I discovered the link between Ireland and Garvey, everything became subordinate to that.

Ireland is historically a place of refuge and a source of strategic support of contemporary Black movements.

The great abolitionist Frederick Douglass received the greatest acclaim when he went to Ireland. This was in the 1850s, and Hill says the reception he received kept him going even when everything pointed to the defeat of the abolition movement.

In turn, when the Troubles in Northern Ireland started, leaders such as Bernadette Devlin (in the 70s) were influenced by the Civil Rights movement.

His discovery about Garvey and Ireland taught him that the struggle for freedom knows no national boundaries, that it linked the U.S. to countries such as Ireland, South Africa and India.

Hill has published 14 volumes on Garvey, but what would Garvey have thought of him, a light-skinned Black man?

He would see me as a mulatto, which I am, Hill says. He would start from a position that I cant be trusted. And you would understand why he would have had the grounds to think so, because historically the role of the mulatto has been to divide and lend support to the whites.

Hill, who is referred to as the archaeologist of Black memory, says, you have to live here (in North America) to understand, to feel the pressure of the white supremacists boot on your neck. Its a miracle people manage to remain sane We know how serious a burden it is, but it does not exhaust who we are. We are still able to see beneath it and above it and beyond it.

What does he see? Does he look at the long arc of the moral universe that Martin Luther King talked about and see it bending to justice?

I couldnt belong to a society, I couldnt be a historian and not believe as Dr. King did. That again, is not to say that each and every indicator points to justice.

Are race relations better in terms of housing? I dont think so. In terms of education, possibly.

Is the larger society proving itself to be more sensitive to race? I would say yes.

This is such a paradox. On the one hand that man on the train in Portland (Oregon), told two Black women to go back to Saudi Arabia  you know, felt himself at liberty to abuse them in a public space. But you had others on the train who told him that was not acceptable.

The question I would think we could ask is, would that kind of public intervention have been manifest 30, 40 years ago? I think society  cannot disavow race or racism anymore. It demands a response.

That would qualify as an improvement.

Shree Paradkar tackles issues of race and gender. You can follow her @shreeparadkar

SHARE:
Taylor Hetherington started chemotherapy before she finished Grade 10.

Diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma at 15, Taylor found the stresses of adolescence  from body image to social interaction  were compounded exponentially by her illness.

When she returned to her Uxbridge high school without hair after chemo, Taylor found no one, not even her friends, would speak to her.

I didnt know if it was because they were embarrassed or they didnt know how to act, Taylor said. My teachers were saying people were actually scared of me and thought I was contagious ... It made my confidence level go way down.

She started experiencing recurring breakdowns. Eventually she was diagnosed with anxiety and depression, was prescribed medication and started seeing a therapist.

Taylor, now 16, has been cancer-free since September 2016, but the mental and emotional anguish remains.

I still dont have hair. I wear a wig, she said. I still always compare myself to other girls. I wish I looked like them. I just beat myself up basically.

Cancers physical toll is well documented.

The Canadian Cancer Society estimates about 40 per cent of Canadians will be diagnosed with some form of the disease in their lifetime. On average, over 550 Canadians are diagnosed each day.

An enormous number of them will undergo mental and emotional strain.

Whether its due to treatment side effects, uncertainty about the future, a disrupted work life, social isolation, or confronting ones own mortality, theres a wide array of reasons a cancer patient may begin to feel anxious or depressed.

Its is a highly distressing experience, said Dr. Gary Rodin, a psychiatrist who leads the Supportive Care department at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.

People are afraid of suffering, theyre afraid that the cancer might take their life. A lot of them are afraid of being dependent on people.

Rodin is part of a field known as psychosocial oncology  identifying and treating the mental, emotional and social impacts of cancer.

Many cancer patients will experience mental health symptoms though relatively few will actually be diagnosed with a full mental health disorder, said Dr. Elie Isenberg-Grzeda, a psychiatrist at Sunnybrook hospitals Odette Cancer Centre. That does not mean they cannot or should not receive mental health treatment, he added.

I try not to get too hung up on the psychiatric diagnostic (terminology), said Isenberg-Grzeda. If somebody is experiencing anxiety or depression as a symptom then well probably file it under the umbrella of distress, and my job becomes figuring out ... how to treat it.

Claire Edmonds is a psychotherapist who has specialized in treating cancer patients for over 20 years.

In 2015, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, went through chemotherapy and had a mastectomy and breast reconstruction as part of her treatment.

Very often, people coping with cancer are in their own little bubble of fears and anxieties. Their families have a bit of a pact of silence around the scary stuff, Edmonds added.

The person whos coping with cancer may not want to say to their partner, Im really scared, Im really sad, (because) the partner often responds, Youre going to be fine. They want to be reassuring ... but it shuts down conversation.

The womens cancer organization Look Good Feel Better helps tens of thousands of patients across Canada take care of their physical appearance during their illness. But Look Good Feel Better workshops are also an opportunity for patients to interact with people who understand what they are going through.

Youre in this room, on the same playing field as 15 to 20 other women. It very quickly becomes a sense of community, knowing there was this common denominator said Bette Jane Jelly, who attended a Look Good Feel Better event after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2014.

The conversations are not so lighthearted.... We get into fairly deep, personal conversations, especially when it gets into your general look and well-being.

The charity Wellspring provides psychological services like peer and group support, stress management and coping skills to cancer patients at several community locations in Alberta and across southern Ontario, including one on the Sunnybrook campus.

Nevertheless, patients face barriers to getting psychological care due to a lack of knowledge about available services, or persisting stigma about asking for help.

At Princess Margaret, cancer patients are introduced to support services when they begin their treatment, said Rodin.

Supportive care is something that needs to be systemicand routine, rather than just, when theres a crisis, people struggling to find their own help, he added.

We need to be sure this happens across ... cancer care. Because sometimes a person will go see their surgeon, then theyll see their oncologist, then theyll see their family doctor and we need to make sure there is a continuum of support throughout the whole process.

At Sunnybrook, social workers are often embedded in cancer clinics, so they can identify patients psychological, emotional or social needs as quickly as possible, said Isenberg-Grzeda.

Taylor still takes medication for her mental health issues. She has also become a mental health advocate, working with her high school to establish a student support group, and promoting the Uxbridge Defeat Depression walk scheduled for June 11.

I still struggle (but) Ive stabilized, Taylor said.

Im not ashamed of what I have or had ... People need to realize Im not a different person. I just have no hair.

SHARE:
Its been one year since the parking lot outside the Finch Ave. hospital went from an ambulance hub to a pedestrian shortcut.

At 7:30 a.m. on Friday, commuters cut through the empty lot to reach a bus stop on Oakdale Rd. An hour later, students skirted across to reach Westview Centennial Secondary School. Though its been nearly one year since the urgent care centre closed in Jane-Finch, Humber River Hospital (HRH) says it still has no plans for the sites future.

It is owned by the hospital, which maintains and secures it, Gerard Power, Director of Public and Corporate Communications, told the Star in an email on Friday. No decision has been made on the future use.

The concrete-and-brick emergency room has sat stagnant since July 2016, along with HRHs two other sites at Church and Keele Sts. Church and Keele were closed entirely; the Finch site was reduced to select services like CT scans and MRIs. In their place, a new digitized hospital at Keele and Hwy. 401 was erected.

However, the near-idle site at Finch Ave. is a sore reminder of what the community has lost.

In December, hospital security staff  still posted on-site  found 32-year-old Vitaliy Ferynskyy outside the building at 3 a.m., banging on the doors. Ferynskyy had been stabbed, and though paramedics were called to transport him to the nearest trauma centre, he died from his injuries that morning.

Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition, believes that Ferynskyys death underlines the vulnerability of the Jane-Finch community, and the necessity of emergent care nearby. This is a neighbourhood that has higher needs than many others in the city, she told The Star in an interview.

2017 data from the Central Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) shows the highest rate of high-acuity Emergency Department visits within the North York West sub-region. However, that region contains both the old and new hospital sites, and doesnt isolate by neighbourhood.

The majority of emergency visits the LHIN documented originate in the Rustic, Beechborough-Greenbrook and Weston areas  which are closer to the new hospital site.

However, Mehra believes the issue goes deeper than visit numbers. The Jane-Finch area contains high percentages of low-income households, who she said may have less mobility than other groups.

A lot of racialized people were impacted by the closure, she said. To close down urgent care in that neighbourhood [requires] everyone to travel a considerable distance, over to a site thats difficult to access by the 400.

According to information provided by Power, though, the Urgent Care Centre (UCC) at Finch Ave. was seeing drastically low numbers prior to closure. Since October 2015, the site was seeing an average of 23 patients per day versus the projected 100.

The hospital adjusted the hours of operations, decreased parking rates on the site to $5.00 per visit, advertised and placed new signage on Finch, Power wrote. Despite all of this, the volume of patients attending the UCC actually continued to decrease.

To the hospital, the cost-per-patient to maintain the Finch emergency room just wasnt feasible. Power also noted that over 90 per cent of patients seen at the Finch UCC during its operation were for issues manageable by a walk-in clinic or family physicians office.

Not one case that attended the UCC while open from Oct. 18, 2015 to July 29, 2016 required on-site life-saving care, he wrote.

Directly across the street from the old hospital site, the Norfinch Medical Centre maintains offices for thirteen family physicians, two pediatricians and multiple specialists. Across the east side of the hospital, more physicians and walk-in clinics continue to operate daily.

However, the Jane-Finch community has continued to voice concerns. Since September, the LHIN has partnered with Humber River Hospital and other health providers on a total of 14 facilitated community conversations in the sub-region. A specific priority neighbourhood engagement session was held on Sept. 27 with the Health Care Action Committee of the Jane-Finch Task Group.

While no concrete plan has been set, the LHIN asserts that the issues raised arent being dismissed. This area will continue to be a key area of focus for planning as we look at community health at Jane and Finch going forward.

SHARE:
Eighty men, women and children were killed by a suicide truck bombing in Kabul on May 31.

I dont know the names of the dead, dont know anything about them.

That state of ignorance could be blamed on domestic reporting  wire services and local Afghan journalists who can scarcely cover the big picture on the terrorist fly, much less document details of the slain.

So we dont get stories flashed around the world about 8-year-old Afghan girls torn to shreds or a hero pummelling an assailant with a skateboard  as Spaniard Ignacio Echeverria did, trying to defend a woman during the June 4 terrorist frenzy on London Bridge. Echeverria lost his own life, among eight victims mowed down in the van attack and later stabbing spree in the Borough Market area.

Or it could be that terrorist strikes are so pitifully common in Afghanistan  1,708 in 2015  that individuals no longer matter except to their families. We take notice only of mass slaughter, as in Kabul, and then the narrative is driven by numbers rather than distinct particulars. Between 2007 and 2015, murder-by-terrorists claimed 28,828 lives, according to the Statista Inc. database  nearly all of them Afghan civilians.

The Costs of War Project at Brown University estimated that, from 2001 to mid-2016, approximately 111,000 people in Afghanistan were killed by direct violence. UNAMA  United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan  began systematically recording casualties in 2007. In 2015, as fighting intensified following the drawdown of foreign forces, UNAMA estimated that between 16 and 18 per cent of civilian deaths were caused by pro-government forces (including international and Afghan security forces). The majority of civilians killed and injured in Afghanistan are victims of insurgents or militant forces.

We may have sympathy for endlessly tormented Afghans, bruited about by wars from inside and wars from outside. But we lack empathy. Because the world in which we live is still fundamentally tribal. And, from a Western perspective, Eurocentric. These are the ethnic, racial and, yes, for many, religious, but mostly the cultural ties that bind. Not black or white or brown, especially within the melting pot of young nations on this side of the Atlantic, but atavistically conjoined. We recognize ourselves and, in a way, grieve for ourselves, too, because we feel those tragedies in our bones.

Its easy to mock those whove rendered grief a spectator sport, leaving their bouquets and teddy bears where blood has been spilled, weeping for strangers. Except they dont feel like strangers because they look like us and they talk like us; they go to concerts and travel on the tube and enjoy a pint at the pub.

Terrorism is most effective  as a concept, not the reality  when it strikes closest to who we are. When it could be your young daughter killed at a pop concert or your bartender husband stabbed in London or your family enjoying a Christmas market in Berlin or your friends strolling along the promenade in Nice.

It doesnt take much imagination to put yourself, your loved ones, in the frame. Nothing alien about it. Whereas few can picture themselves in Kabul or Aleppo or Mogadishu.

So, for most of us, its beyond our frame of reference to conceive of combat in our midst and thousand-year sectarian violence and millions of refugees displaced.

That doesnt make those lives one fraction less valuable. But dont blame the West for quickening to a British childs pointless murder, or blame imperialism for untold miseries inflicted upon Muslims by Muslims. Thirty Muslims were killed in the 9/11 attacks and theyve been as memorialized as other victims, their names read out every year at remembrance ceremonies.

I dont expect, nor want, Muslims to feel any more responsible for the butchery committed by terrorist groups in the name of Islam. But wielding Islamophobia as a cudgel to batter non-Muslims further fractures what should be the commonality of human beings. It erodes civility. It deepens distrust. It provides ammunition for populist firebrands. And it legitimizes terrorist ambition as a pseudopolitical crusade against modernism.

Some 50 majority-Muslim countries in the world and how many have come to the aid of Afghanistan since the International Security Assistance Force wound down operations in 2014? The answer, according to most recent military deployment data: three, led by Turkey.

A reinvigorated Taliban quickly denied responsibility for the May 31 atrocity. But Daesh  ISIS, Islamic State  which has for the past year been taking a pounding in Syria and Iraq, is a growing brand in Afghanistan, increasingly claiming credit for attacks targeting primarily a very small Shiite minority. ISIS is zealously Sunni. The U.S. military estimates there are now between 600 and 800 ISIS fighters in Afghanistan  analysts believe most are from Pakistan and have adopted the ISIS flag, largely as a financing tactic  lured by the prospect of Afghanistan falling again into a lawless state. And of course Pakistan is a chronic terrorism exporter, part and parcel of its geopolitical meddling.

As did Al Qaeda in the 90s, ISIS needs a base of operations, especially as their caliphate swath across Iraq/Syria is crumbling.

No database I could find records deaths anywhere on the planet by religious affiliation. But we know that overwhelmingly its Muslims killing Muslims, from Central Asia to northern Africa to Indonesia to the Mideast.

Conflating war dead with terrorist casualties is false equivalency at its gerrymandered worst. Its sophistry, intended to blunt and blur banal evil. There is no parallel between bombs dropped by coalition forces on jihadist combatants  and the Islamic State is very much organized in northern Iraq along traditional command-and-control formation  and the scattershot terror deliberately aimed at civilians, from Mosul to Manchester.

Terrorism is a remote and outlander threat for most of us. But sometimes it traipses blood to our doorstep.

Because we know the dead, intimately, even if we never knew them at all.

They are me and mine.

Rosie DiManno usually appears Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Read more about:

SHARE:
The controversial, high-profile pig trial in Milton, Ont., last month  where an animal activist was cleared of criminal mischief charges for giving pigs water during transport  underlines the publics growing interest in how livestock are treated.

But what does humane livestock farming look like on a remote cattle ranch in Alberta?

This spring, Laura Laing and John Smith, partners in life and in ranching, are mixing tradition with high tech.

Read more:

Strawberries sweeten up date night: The New Farm

Ontario farmers have become badgers unlikely friends: The New Farm

These modern ranchers raise more than 500 cattle on his familys third-generation ranch, Plateau Cattle Co., in a picturesque, pastoral setting near Nanton, Alta.

Share your thoughts!

Like other Canadian ranchers, Laing and Smith already adhere to national animal welfare standards and codes of practice. Canadian cattle producers, researchers, veterinarians and animal welfare advocates, among others, developed the code for beef cattle.

As well, theyre governed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. It enforces humane standards laid out by the federal Health of Animals Act for animal transportation and processing.

All this means theres a widely accepted animal welfare road map in place for ranchers to follow.

But Laing and Smith are kicking it up a notch. On their ranch, theyre taking extraordinary measures to reduce animal stress and raise their livestock naturally.

For example, they do nearly all of their cattle work the old-fashioned way, on horseback. They believe their livestock feel less stressed being moved or herded in the presence of horses  they own 14  rather than all-terrain vehicles, a modern staple.

As well, their cows are bred the traditional way, in the field, by 28 eager bulls.

And once calves are born, they and their mothers graze freely on 32,000 expansive hectares of grasslands in the heart of the Rocky Mountain foothills.

Theres more. This year, Laing and Smith took an unusual step in not branding their calves with a hot branding iron.

Thats a first. Laing admits the animals will be harder to identify when theyre rounded up in the fall, or if lost or separated from their mothers.

But its a risk theyre willing to take for low-stress handling and higher returns.

They say a study has shown calves spared the stress of hot-iron branding gained around 16 kilograms more than their branded counterparts. For Plateaus herd, this could mean an additional 7,900 kilograms of beef.

However, Laing and Smith advocate for, and use, new technology, too.

For example, through DNA testing, theyve been able to identify and introduce exceptional natural health, durability and quality traits into their breeding program, and ultimately into their herd.

As a result, their livestock require minimal veterinary care, especially at calving season.

And DNA tests reveal which animals provide the highest quality meat, right down to rib eye cuts. These animals will also produce more kilograms of beef; they fetch ranchers much more revenue when theyre sold.

Laing and Smith are open to new ideas that improve their production practices and reduce stress for their animals.

Ranching is about giving animals the best life and best care possible, Laing says. Consumer demand is growing for animals that are raised sustainably.

Humane treatment concerns are up

Research by the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity shows 10 per cent more Canadians were concerned about the humane treatment of farm animals in 2016 than they were four years earlier. Sixty per cent want to know more about farming practices, a figure thats remained constant since 2012.

Home on and off the range

Beef animals that move from rangeland to feedlots are covered by a code of practice, too. With that code, and an animal care assessment program specific for feedlots, the industry is expanding their initiatives to ensure the welfare of their animals, says University of Guelph animal welfare researcher Prof. Derek Haley.

Owen Roberts is an agricultural journalist at the University of Guelph. Follow him on Twitter at @ https://twitter.com/theurbancowboy?lang=en TheUrbanCowboy END .

SHARE:
They say cats have nine lives, but an agonizing choice for two pet owners threatened to jinx their one chance at a new life in Canada.

Instead, a pair of Syrian refugees who had already faced four years of hardship had a uniquely heartwarming airport reunion on Sunday with the pet theyd reluctantly left behind.

It has been so stressful. He really is like a son to us, said Nour Kaadan as she awaited the arrival of her cat at Pearson airports Terminal 1.

With no home, jobs or family in Beirut, Kaadan and Tarek Ghriri adopted a newborn kitten for company while living in exile from war-torn Syria.

They named the cat Emp, which means grumpy in Arabic  no relation to the Grumpy Cat of Internet fame  because the grey and white tabby is very shy and gets annoyed easily around strangers. The couple quickly grew attached to their furry friend.

When Im sad, he makes me happy. When Im sick, he wouldnt leave me. Emp is everything to us. He is our only family outside of Syria. I cant sleep. We cant live without him, Kaadan said last week, as the couple and their sponsors frantically tried to make arrangements to reunite the feline with its owners.

When they first met with Canadian officials in Lebanon last month to pick up their visa to come here under a private refugee sponsorship, one of Kaadans first questions was whether Emp could come to Canada with them.

I was so happy when the officer said Canadians value pets, noted Kaadan, 29, a musician from Damascus, who landed in Canada last Tuesday. That was a relief.

But the relief was short-lived, as they were forced to leave Emp behind with an acquaintance in Beirut.

According to the couple and their Canadian sponsor, Lufthansa staff in the Beirut airport refused to board Emp despite an advance confirmation that the cat could be placed in cargo space.

They claim the German airlines staff demanded they pay $50 (U.S.) for a bigger cat box and an extra $200 for the transport on top of the $200 they were initially told it would cost.

I called and they told me they had no space in the cabin because there were already two dogs booked, but they had cargo space. We gave them all the dimensions. We had the paperwork to show the cat was immunized and fit for travel, recalled Jasmin Zine, who is part of the private sponsorship group that brought the family to Canada.

They said its fine and make sure you have food and water for the cat. Nour and Tarek just didnt have the extra money.

In an email, a spokesperson for Lufthansa said part of its job in transporting animals is to ensure their safety, and its Beirut team clearly felt the crate ordered was not large enough for the cat for a journey of that duration and could endanger the animals life.

The airlines policies state that a cat or dog must be able to turn around in its container or cage in order to travel.

At Lufthansa, we fully understand the deep bond people have with their animals, and we know that for people in distress such as this Syrian family, their relationship can be even more important, said Tal Muscal of the airline, which hosts an animal lounge at its terminal in Frankfurt.

On Sunday in Toronto, Ghriri was taken to customs and reunited with the beloved pet. As he walked through the gate, Kaadan tearily ran up and began trying to kiss the cat through the cage, though the animal bore all the marks of a weary traveller after an almost 24-hour trip.

Hes tired and grumpy and smells like cat pee, said a clearly relieved Kaadan.

While Kaadan and Ghriri are happy to be reunited with their pet, they and their sponsors feel the larger issue is how some airport staff deal with refugees. The couple say some staff at the Beirut airport cautioned they could lose their opportunity to go to Canada if they did not get on the plane and rather stayed with their cat."

This is (emblematic) of the systematic racism and differential treatment that refugees face, said Zine, a sociology and Muslim studies professor at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Everyone who has pets knows they become part of your family. Pets provide you with unconditional love, Zine said. Nour and Tarek have gone through so much trauma from the war. The cat has become their child. Its therapeutic to them.

Now, with their family whole again, the Syrian couple say they are ready to start building their new life in Canada.

Correction  June 12, 2017: This article was edited from a previous version that said Lufthansa staff threatened the couple that they would be sent back to Syria if they didnt get on the plane without the cat. In fact, the staff cautioned that they would stay in Lebanon and lose their opportunity to go to Canada if they didnt get on the plane.

Read more about:

SHARE:
As Ontario takes aim at Texas new protectionist Buy American law, the province has two powerful allies: the mayors of Dallas and Fort Worth.

Obviously, there is a populism and a nationalism and a localism that is happening all over this world . . . and we have got to educate people to understand that they are going to be hurt by this movement, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said after a meeting with Premier Kathleen Wynne.

It is going to be cutting the nose off to spite our face and weve got to make sure that we explain to people how economics and business works, Rawlings said at Queens Park on Monday.

When legislation like this passes, we are going down a path that is very dangerous, he said.

That was a reference to Texas Governor Greg Abbott signing into law last Friday new provisions requiring state projects to buy U.S. iron and steel if the cost doesnt exceed 20 per cent more than foreign imported products.

It comes as U.S. President Donald Trump wants to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico.

Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price emphasized that theres quite a bit of wiggle room in the new Texas Buy American law that takes effect Sept. 1.

The aim was not to penalize Canada. It was passed as a response to China. They really had not studied the impact of this and what it might do to our trade, said Price, who vowed to keep the pressure on state officials to ensure the free flow of goods.

The hope is that they will legally look at this, she said, noting that NAFTA saves the average family of four in her region has a $10,000 (U.S.) saving in goods annually as a result of free trade.

Prior to the meeting, Wynne indicated her concern about the new law.

I will raise the whole issue of Buy America with Mayors Price and Rawlings and we have had representatives in Texas talking to legislators about this, she told reporters.

This fits in the context of my visit to Washington last week, where I met with a number of senators and congress people and talked to them about how important our integrated economies are and how damaging some of the protectionist initiatives could be, the premier said.

So, whether its a border adjustment tax, whether its Buy America, whether its punitive NAFTA initiatives which you know, I have to say in every conversation there was a really strong understanding of how integrated our economies are, she said.

My hope is that in my conversation with the mayors today is that . . . theyll be able to give me some insight into what more we could do to talk to legislators in Texas about what kind of exemptions, what kind of alternatives there might be for Ontario and Canada.

The Texans will meet with Toronto Mayor John Tory at city hall on Tuesday.

Their visit comes as Ontario has been fighting Buy American laws across the U.S., including New York, which recently rejected such a bill after the province threatened retaliation.

SHARE:
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICOPuerto Ricos governor announced that the U.S. territory overwhelmingly chose statehood on Sunday in a nonbinding referendum held amid a deep economic crisis that has sparked an exodus of islanders to the U.S. mainland.

Nearly half a million votes were cast for statehood, about 7,600 for free association/independence and nearly 6,700 for the current territorial status, according to preliminary results. Voter turnout was just 23 per cent, leading opponents to question the validity of a vote that several political parties had urged their supporters to boycott.

And the U.S. Congress has final say in any changes to Puerto Ricos political status.

But that didnt stop Gov. Ricardo Rossello from vowing to push ahead with his administrations quest to make the island the 51st U.S. state and declaring that Puerto Rico voted for statehood. He said he would create a commission to ensure that Congress validate the referendums results.

Read more:

Puerto Rico defaults on $779-million debt

Puerto Rico bailout plan gets tepid response from U.S. Senate

In any democracy, the expressed will of the majority that participates in the electoral processes always prevails, Rossello said. It would be highly contradictory for Washington to demand democracy in other parts of the world, and not respond to the legitimate right to self-determination that was exercised today in the American territory of Puerto Rico.

It was the lowest level of participation in any election in Puerto Rico since 1967, according to Carlos Vargas Ramos, an associate with the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College in New York. He also said that even among voters who supported statehood, turnout was lower this year compared with the last referendum in 2012.

Supporters of statehood did not seem enthusiastic about this plebiscite as they were five years ago, he said.

Puerto Ricos main opposition party rejected the pro-statehood result.

The scant participation ... sends a clear message, said Anibal Jose Torres, a party member. The people rejected it by boycotting an inconsequential event.

The referendum coincides with the 100th anniversary of the United States granting U.S. citizenship to Puerto Ricans, though they are barred from voting in presidential elections and have only one congressional representative with limited voting powers.

Among those hoping Puerto Rico will become a state is Jose Alvarez, a 61-year-old businessman.

Now is the moment to do it, he said. Weve spent a lot of years working on a socioeconomic model that has not necessarily given us the answer.

Many believe the islands territorial status has contributed to its 10-year economic recession, which has prompted nearly half a million Puerto Ricans to flee to the U.S. mainland and was largely sparked by decades of heavy borrowing and the elimination of federal tax incentives.

Puerto Rico is exempt from the U.S. federal income tax, but it still pays Social Security and Medicare and local taxes and receives less federal funding than U.S. states.

Those inequalities and the ongoing crisis prompted 66-year-old Maria Quinones to vote for the first time in such a referendum, the fifth on Puerto Ricos status.

We have to vote because things are not going well, she said. If we were a state, we would have the same rights.

Quinones said many of her relatives are among the nearly half a million Puerto Ricans who have moved to the U.S. mainland in the past decade to find a more affordable cost of living or jobs as the island of 3.4 million people struggles with a 12-per-cent unemployment rate.

Those who remain behind have been hit with new taxes and higher utility bills on an island where food is 22 per cent more expensive than the U.S. mainland and public services are 64 per cent more expensive.

Those who oppose statehood worry the island will lose its cultural identity and warn that Puerto Rico will struggle even more financially because it will be forced to pay millions of dollars in federal taxes.

The cost of statehood on the pocketbook of every citizen, every business, every industry will be devastating, Carlos Delegado, secretary of the opposition Popular Democratic Party, told The Associated Press. Whatever we might receive in additional federal funds will be cancelled by the amount of taxes the island will have to pay.

His party has also noted that the U.S. Justice Department has not backed the referendum.

A department spokesperson told The Associated Press that the agency has not reviewed or approved the ballots language. Federal officials in April rejected an original version, in part because it did not offer the territorys current status as an option. The Rossello administration added it and sent the ballot back for review, but the department said it needed more time and asked that the vote be postponed, which it wasnt.

No clear majority emerged in the first three referendums on status, with voters almost evenly divided between statehood and the status quo. During the last referendum in 2012, 54 per cent said they wanted a status change. Sixty-one per cent who answered a second question said they favoured statehood, but nearly half a million voters left that question blank, leading many to claim the results werent legitimate.

SHARE:
By Press Trust of India: (Eds: Updates with WH reaction)

New Delhi/Washington, Jun 12 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on June 26 hold talks with President Donald Trump on a range of issues, including Indias concerns over possible changes in H1B visa rules and terrorism, in their first bilateral meeting after the new administration took over in the US.

advertisement

The External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi said today that their meeting would provide a new direction for a deeper bilateral engagement "on issues of mutual interest and consolidation of multi-dimensional strategic partnership."

In Washington, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Trump "looks forward" to his meeting with Modi on June 26 and discuss ways to strengthen the bilateral ties to "advance our common priorities: fighting terrorism, promoting economic growth and reforms, and expanding security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region."

"President Trump and Prime Minister Modi will look to outline a common vision for the US-India partnership that is worthy of their 1.6 billion citizens," Spicer said.

Last week, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in her annual press meet said that Modi would raise the issues surrounding the US plans to reduce the number of H-1B visa slots that are mainly used by Indian IT workers.

Almost 1.8 million H-1B visas have been distributed in fiscal years 2001 through 2015, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of government data. From fiscal years 2001 to 2015, workers from India received the largest share (50.5 per cent) of all H-1B visas for first-time employment.

Regional security situation including Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and other international issues are expected to figure prominently during the meeting of the two leaders.

Apart from ways to enhance trade and business cooperation, the two leaders are expected to discuss defence ties.

US Defence Secretary James Mattis has already made it clear that his country recognises India as a major defence "partner partly out of respect" for New Delhis "indispensable role" in maintaining stability in the Indian Ocean region.

The US was exploring "new ways" to address new challenges as well from maritime security to the growing threat posed by the spread of terrorism in Southeast Asia, Mattis has said.

Modis visit also comes in the backdrop of Trumps announcement to withdraw the US from the historic Paris Climate Agreement signed by nearly 190 other countries.

Trump had blamed India and China for the US withdrawal.

"India makes its participation contingent on receiving billions and billions of dollars from developed countries," he said.

advertisement

Strongly rejecting Trumps contention, India has said it signed the Paris deal not under duress or for lure of money but due to its commitment to protect environment.

During his visit to France this month, Modi even said that India would "go above and beyond" the Paris deal to protect climate for the future generations. PTI PYK TIR LKJ ABH

--- ENDS ---
MADRIDIf youre taking a bus in the Spanish capital, be sure to keep your legs to yourself.

Madrid authorities on Monday started putting up signs banning the practice of manspreading  opening ones legs so wide you invade others seating space  on city buses as part of their new etiquette guidelines.

EMT municipal transportation company says the sign is designed to discourage physical postures that bother people.

The sign features an illustration of a man with splayed legs with a red X above. The text beneath urges passengers to respect the space of others.

There are no sanctions or fines for those indulging in the practice.

The bus company incorporated the ban following an internet signature campaign by a womans group, Mujeres en Lucha (Fighting Women).

In their campaign petition, the women said it was a very common practice.

Its not difficult to see women with their legs closed and very uncomfortable because theres a man beside them whos invading their space with their legs, it added.

The group said women were taught to sit with their legs together whereas men are ingrained with the idea of territorial hierarchy, as if the space belongs to them.

EMT said it felt its initiative, which also includes asking passengers not to eat or drink on buses, to keep their backpacks on or put their feet up on seats, was being well received. Again, there are no sanctions for any of these other requests.

When a person opens their legs so wide it disturbs others, this is rude, said Alvaro Gomez Jordana Moya, 60, as he waited for a bus in Madrid. Its also uncomfortable having to ask someone, Please, can you close your legs.

Its a problem because people dont respect seating, said another bus passenger Maria Carmen Ventosa, 46. It should change things, if only out of respect for others.

Madrids underground train company said it had no plans to follow suit.

SHARE:
ST. PAUL, MINN.A Minnesota police officer who fatally shot a black motorist seconds after the man informed him he was carrying a gun did what he had to do in a thoroughly justified use of force, a defence attorney argued Monday.

But hours earlier, prosecutors insisted that officer Jeronimo Yanez never saw a gun and had plenty of options short of shooting Philando Castile, a 32-year-old school cafeteria worker they say was never a threat.

Yanezs manslaughter trial went to a jury after both sides gave closing arguments in which they recapped their versions of a shooting that drew extra attention because Castiles girlfriend livestreamed the gruesome aftermath on Facebook. The jury deliberated about half a day without a verdict. Jurors were to return Tuesday morning.

Yanezs attorney, Earl Gray, reminded the jury of the officers testimony that Castile looked like a man who robbed a convenience store four days earlier. He said Castile disregarded the officers orders and reached for his gun because he was stoned on marijuana. And he said Yanez was afraid for his life.

He pulled out his gun, and he did what he had to do, Gray said.

Read more:

Minnesota officer testifies Philando Castile had hand on gun when shot

Minnesota officer in Castile shooting said he didnt know where the gun was

He just shot his arm off: Composure of girlfriend in Minnesota shooting not shocking to experts

Prosecutor Jeff Paulsen highlighted autopsy evidence in his closing argument, reminding the jury of a bullet wound to what would have been Castiles trigger finger  and that there was no corresponding bullet damage nor wounds in the area of Castiles right shorts pocket, where he carried his gun. He also cited testimony from first responders who saw Castiles gun in his pocket as he was loaded onto a backboard.

He asked the jury to consider what might have happened if Yanez, when told of the gun, had simply stepped back a few feet to better assess the situation. The officer might have heard Castile say he was just trying to get his wallet, Paulsen said.

If he had done that, everybody would have gone home safely that night, the prosecutor said. He also alluded to testimony from defence witnesses who portrayed Yanez as a good and honest man.

The victim in this case was a good man too, Paulsen said, and referred to Castiles job at an elementary school. The kids loved him, and he was a role model to them. And now theyve been deprived of that role model.

Castile had THC, the high-giving component of marijuana, in his blood when he died. The two sides called competing experts earlier who disagreed over whether Castile was intoxicated. Gray hit the issue again in his closing.

Guns and drugs dont mix. This is a classic example of why, if you are a user of drugs, even marijuana, youre not allowed to have a gun, Gray said.

Yanez, 29, who is Latino, is charged with second-degree manslaughter, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and with two lesser counts of endangering the safety of Castiles girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, and her daughter for firing his gun into the car near them.

Conviction on the manslaughter charge requires the jury to find Yanez guilty of culpable negligence, which the judge described in jury instructions as gross negligence with an element of recklessness.

After three white alternates were dismissed following closing arguments, the 12-member jury includes two blacks. The rest are white. None is Latino.

Yanez testified Friday that he stopped Castile in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights because he thought Castile looked like one of two men who had robbed a nearby convenience store a few days earlier. A faulty brake light gave the officer sufficient reason to pull him over, several experts testified.

Squad-car video played repeatedly for the jury last week shows that the situation escalated quickly, with Yanez shooting Castile just seconds after the driver volunteered, Sir, I have to tell you, I do have a firearm on me. Five of the officers seven shots struck Castile.

After he shot Castile, Yanez is heard on the squad car video telling a supervisor variously that he didnt know where Castiles gun was, then that he told Castile to get his hand off it. Yanez testified Friday that he meant that he didnt know where the gun was up until I saw it in his right thigh area.

Paulsen reminded the jury of the recorded statements on Monday, saying they should consider them accurate. Gray said prosecutors were taking the statements out of context.

SHARE:
ORLANDO, FLA.Church bells tolled 49 times, a giant rainbow flag hung from a county government building and the names of the victims of the Pulse nightclub attack were read aloud at various ceremonies Monday as people in Orlando and beyond remembered the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

At 2:02 a.m., survivors, victims families, club employees and local officials were gathered for a private service at the gay club at the exact time Omar Mateen opened fire a year ago and pledged allegiance to Daesh, also known as ISIS. He was eventually killed by police after a three-hour standoff on June 12, 2016.

I realize that gathering here in this place, at this hour, is beyond difficult, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said. But I also know that the strength youve shown over the past year will carry you through today and in the future.

The service began what would be almost 24 hours of solemn remembrances. During a midday service, the Orlando Gay Chorus performed Cyndi Laupers True Colors and speakers talked less about the tragedy and more about how Orlando area residents came together in the aftermath.

Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs said the city will only partly be remembered for the shooting. Most of the patrons killed were gay Latinos.

John Hough visits the memorial outside the Pulse gay nightclub as he remembers the victims of a mass shooting at the club one year ago on Monday in Orlando, Florida. Omar Mateen killed 49 people at the club a little after 2 a.m. on June 12, 2016.





That will be a part of the history books, but the true legacy of our community is going to be in our darkest hour we responded with love and compassion and unity, Jacobs said.

Read more:

Memorial and museum planned for site of Orlandos Pulse nightclub

Orlando club shooters wife to go free before trial on aiding attack

Its terrorism in Orlando: New video shows horrific scenes of nightclub massacre

At noon, church bells throughout the Orlando area rang 49 times. Gov. Rick Scott ordered U.S. flags around Florida to be flown at half-staff and a gay-pride flag was unveiled at the Orange County government building. In the evening, rain didnt deter thousands of people from showing up at a remembrance in downtown Orlando in front of an amphitheatre that was painted in gay-pride rainbow colours after the massacre.

Pulse owner Barbara Poma said when people ask her what has changed in her life since the tragedy, she tells them everything. But she said she is grateful for the outpouring of support. She plans to build a memorial at the site of the nightclub, which has been closed since the tragedy.

I miss Pulse, she said. I miss everything it stood for.

President Donald Trump tweet out a photo of the victims and said: We will NEVER FORGET the victims who lost their lives one year ago today in the horrific #PulseNightClub shooting. #OrlandoUnitedDay.

Local leaders said Mateens hateful act caused an outpouring of love from Orlando and the wider world.

What a terrorist tries to do is divide us, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson said. Isnt it interesting it had the opposite effect? It brought us together in unity and love.

Outside Pulse, hundreds of people dropped off flowers, drawings and cards.

It still hurts, its still very raw, said Erin Anderson, a friend and former co-worker of Pulse victim Xavier Serrano Rosado.

Jeannine Williams used to live within walking distance of Pulse and was a frequent visitor. She had made plans to be there the night of the shooting but decided to go another night club.

A year later I think the thing that is most important is this community and why I live here and why Im so happy to live here, Williams said through tears. The support we not only have from our city government, its not fleeting support, its not support on certain days. Its the way the community is. This is Orlando. This is why I just love living here.

Next door to the club, an anti-gay protester was pushed to the ground by an officer and handcuffed as the crowd chanted love conquers hate. Local television stations showed police officers talking to two protesters with an anti-gay sign and wearing anti-gay slogans on their shirts, as the men argued with the officers that they had a right to be there.

An officer can be seen holding out his hand to keep one of the men from walking any further as the man pushes back against his hand. Moments later, the officer pushes the man back and the man falls down. Spokeswomen for the police and city didnt return an email or phone call, and it was unknown if the man was taken into custody or charged.

A steady stream of visitors came by the Orange County Regional History Center to see an exhibit of memorial items, including 49 crosses with the victims names and photos attached.

The crosses were incredibly impactful, said Monique Stewart, an Orlando resident. I feel like every piece that they collected was deliberate and serves a point and it just ties back to remembering those 49 people and spreading love.

Mateens wife, Noor Salman, is facing charges of aiding and abetting and obstruction in federal court. She has pleaded not guilty to helping her husband.

SHARE:
WASHINGTONHigh-profile supporters of Donald Trump have begun attacking the independent investigator looking into the Russia affair, raising the question of whether the president could indeed attempt to fire him.

The sound of sharpening knives echoed everywhere Monday.

Several Trump-supporting media figures called for Robert Mueller to be fired; a Trump friend said the president was actually considering it; a Trump lawyer wouldnt rule it out; a conservative newspaper suggested Mueller faces a conflict of interest; and a top Trump surrogate accused him of partisan bias.

A Trump friend who was spotted visiting the White House on Monday later told a PBS interviewer that the president was indeed mulling over firing Mueller. Online news mogul Chris Ruddy said: I think hes weighing that option . . . I personally think it would be a very significant mistake.

Read the latest news on U.S. President Donald Trump

Others sounded more enthusiastic about dropping the axe. Newt Gingrich, who is close to Trump, tweeted: Republicans are delusional if they think the special counsel is going to be fair. Look who he is hiring. Check (political donation) reports. Time to rethink.

Gingrich is correct that there is a certain partisan tilt to the team of top-notch investigators being assembled by the ex-FBI director: Jeannie Rhee, Michael Dreeben, Andrew Weissmann and James Quarles are renowned in their fields and have made repeated donations to Democrats.

Firebrand pundit Ann Coulter urged the government to fire Mueller. She said the counsel was now pointless, as its become clear Trump wasnt an initial target of the Russia investigation, which may now be expanding into new areas.

Another talk-radio Trump booster, Laura Ingraham, who was rumoured to have been considered for a White House position, directed her followers to a story in a conservative newspaper that suggests Mueller might be tainted.

The piece in the Washington Examiner points out his years-long friendship with a key witness, whose testimony will be especially important if the probe morphs into an obstruction-of-justice investigation into the president. That witness: James Comey, who replaced Mueller as FBI director.

Read more:

As Trump crisis escalates, special counsel appointed to take over Russia probe: Analysis

Trump admits Russia probe was factor in firing of James Comey

Top intelligence official says Trump asked if he could intervene with Comey on FBI Russia probe

A senior political writer for the newspaper sounded the alarm in a piece titled, Is Robert Mueller conflicted in Trump probe? It put the question to five lawyers who shared their assessments, anonymously. Two called the friendship with Comey improper, but manageable; two called it serious; one called it a non-issue.

This apparent effort to lay the groundwork for Muellers firing raises a key question: Could the president do it?

The answer is yes.

So says someone who helped craft the special-counsel law. Neal Katyal spelled out three ways to thwart this kind of criminal probe in a Washington Post piece titled, Trump or Congress can still block Robert Mueller. I know. I wrote the rules.

He explained how reforms were prompted by the never-ending, ever-expanding probe into Bill Clinton, which began with an examination of land trades in Arkansas and ended in an impeachment and national drama over Monica Lewinskys blue dress.

The government let the old independent-counsel law expire in 1999  at that point even Clintons tormentor, investigator Kenneth Starr, suggested the law needed to change. Policy-makers created new limits on the investigators power and placed it under the accountability of the government.

Enter the current law.

First, most simply, Trump could order Mueller fired, Katyal said. He said the president could ask his attorney general or, because Jeff Sessions has recused himself, ask his deputy attorney general, a civil servant, Rod Rosenstein, to do it. He said Trump could even order the special-counsel regulations repealed and fire Mueller himself.

Either of those actions was unthinkable to us back in 1999 . . . At the same time, after Trumps firing of . . . Comey . . . many things once thought beyond the realm of possibility look less so now.

Second, he said Congress could muck up Muellers investigation. It could give immunity to witnesses at public hearings, increasing the chance that subsequent court cases collapse as prosecutors struggle to prove they didnt get any help from the exempted testimony.

Third, he said, Rosenstein could also redefine the scope and powers of the investigation.

A writer on the legal blog Lawfare said the president could even argue that the counsel is impeding his constitutional power over foreign affairs. In fact, Trump has already argued that all these controversies are hampering his ability to repair relations with Russia.

On the other hand, it would cause a political storm, said the writer.

Such an action would incur a severe political cost, wrote Josh Blackman, associate professor at the South Texas College of Law Houston. The termination of Mueller would amount to an admission of guilt and obstruction of justice. The fallout from the firing of Mueller would likely be as explosive as (Richard Nixons) firing of special counsel Archibald Cox in 1973.

One of Trumps lawyers refused to rule out a firing.

Asked about it on ABC this weekend, Jay Sekulow said that if there were a serious basis for it, the president would be allowed: Whether he would do it is ultimately a decision the president makes.

A poll last month by Harvard-Harris suggested 75 per cent of Americans wanted a special prosecutor. That appeared to include Gingrich, who until recently expressed support for Muellers appointment on the grounds that it would alleviate pressure in the Russia affair.

Given that kind of support, a Democratic lawmaker, Ted Lieu, taunted the White House over the Mueller-firing chatter: Double dare exists. But is there such a thing as an infinite dare? If so, I infinite dare (Trump) to fire the special counsel, he tweeted.

Read more about:

SHARE:
LONDONSenior members of British Prime Minister Theresa Mays government rallied to her defence Monday amid doubts over her ability to remain in power following a disastrous election result.

As the Conservative Party digested the loss of its majority in last weeks election, government officials suggested both the announcement of the prime ministers agenda, known as the Queens Speech, and talks over Britains divorce from the European Union could be postponed.

Sky News reported the speech would be delayed a few days  a highly unusual circumstance in a country where the monarchs schedule is determined months in advance.

The possible delays come as critics urge cross-party discussions to reach a consensus on Britains exit from the EU. Mays failure to get a majority has undercut her tough Brexit strategy, which had raised fears that Britain was heading for a so-called hard Brexit, which could potentially see tariffs slapped on British exports to the bloc.

May moved to demonstrate that she understands the frustration of voters by moving up a meeting with rank-and-file Conservative Party lawmakers, some of whom have called for her to step aside sooner rather than later. The meeting will now be held Monday afternoon instead of Tuesday.

The prime ministers most prominent potential rival, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, sought to quash any suggestion that she would be ousted imminently. Writing in the mass-circulation Sun newspaper, Johnson stressed that the Conservatives won more votes than at any time since Margaret Thatcher and are still the largest party in Parliament.

The people of Britain have had a bellyful of promises and politicking, he wrote. Now is the time for delivery  and Theresa May is the right person to continue that vital work.

With opinion polls showing the Conservatives had a commanding lead over the opposition Labour Party, May called an early election in hopes of increasing her majority in Parliament and strengthening her position in Brexit negotiations.

Read more:

Jeremy Corbyns left populism the real winner in U.K. election: Walkom

Lord Buckethead helps explain Brexit negotiations on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Theresa May names cabinet as some Conservative colleagues say her days are numbered

Instead, the election stripped May of her majority and obliterated her political authority. The Conservatives are now trying to secure the support of Northern Irelands 10 Democratic Unionist Party lawmakers to assure passage of Mays program.

Over the weekend, Mays top two aides stepped aside. Many in the party were furious at the pair for shutting them out of decision-making during the election campaign.

May also restored former Justice Secretary Michael Gove to the Cabinet in another move designed to show she was willing to listen to critics. Gove, a long-time opponent who was dismissed when May became prime minister last year, will now serve as environment secretary.

Conservative leaders on Monday sought to shift the debate away from Mays wounded leadership and onto complex Brexit talks, which are formally set to begin next week.

David Davis, the cabinet member in charge of Brexit, said talks with the EU may not start on Monday because it would clash with the Queens Speech, but they will still begin next week.

It may not be on the Monday because we also have got the Queens Speech that week and I will have to speak in that, and so on, he told Sky News.

Davis suggested the government would focus on the divorce proceedings before moving on to trade. The divorce issues include the rights of EU citizens in Britain as well as U.K. citizens in the EU, how much Britain will have to pay to cover previous spending commitments and the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

The EU has said that sufficient progress must be made on these issues before trade deals can be discussed, though Britain had argued the talks should take place simultaneously.

Moodys Investors Service said the inconclusive election outcome would complicate and probably delay negotiations with the EU.

Overall, we believe that the election outcome will hamper Brexit negotiations and increase fiscal risks, and therefore be negative for the U.K.s credit profile, Moodys said in a statement.

However, the Conservative Partys reduced share of the vote may indicate a higher likelihood that a softer form of Brexit might now be pursued, involving compromises with the EU that Ms. May would not have countenanced previously, and which would be positive.

As discussion continued, a leading business organization said the political uncertainty is leading to a dramatic drop in confidence. The Institute of Directors survey said company directors see no clear way to resolve the political situation quickly. They also believe another election would negatively impact the U.K. economy.

It is hard to overstate what a dramatic impact the current political uncertainty is having on business leaders, and the consequences could  if not addressed immediately  be disastrous for the U.K. economy, said Stephen Martin, the director-general of the IoD. The needs of business and discussion of the economy were largely absent from the campaign, but this crash in confidence shows how urgently that must change in the new government.

SHARE:
BOLOGNA, ITALYThe United States refused Monday to sign onto a Group of Seven pledge that calls the Paris climate accord the irreversible global tool to address climate change.

The G7 environment ministers issued a final communique Monday after their two-day meeting, the first since the United States announced it was withdrawing from the Paris climate pact. In a footnote to the communique, the United States said it wouldnt join with the other six countries in reaffirming their Paris commitments, but said it was taking action on its own to reduce its carbon footprint.

The United States will continue to engage with key international partners in a manner that is consistent with our domestic priorities, preserving both a strong economy and a healthy environment, the footnote read.

Read more:

North Korea blasts Donald Trump for yanking United States from Paris accord

Top U.S. diplomat resigns over Trumps climate decision, sources say

Donald Trump, Paris and the melodrama of climate change: Walkom

As a result, the U.S. said it would not join those sections of the communique on climate and multilateral development banks.

The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, had attended the first few hours of the summit Sunday, but left to attend a Cabinet meeting in Washington.

Presenting the communique Monday, Italys environment minister, Gian Luca Galletti, called the Paris accord irreversible, non-negotiable and the only instrument possible to combat climate change. He said the other G7 countries hoped to continue constructive dialogue with the U.S., but insisted on the Paris parameters.

Everything else for us is excluded, he said.

The 2015 Paris agreement aims to prevent the Earth from heating up by 2 degrees Celsius since the start of the industrial age. Since the world has already warmed about 1.1 C since the Industrial Revolution, the accord aimed at making sure the threshold was not breached with each nation curbing heat-trapping emissions.

All but a very few scientists say the overwhelming majority of warming is man-made, as do dozens of scientific academies and professional societies. Scientists have known since the 19th century that burning coal, oil and gas spews carbon dioxide into the air, which then acts like a blanket to trap heat on Earth.

President Donald Trump announced the U.S. was withdrawing from the Paris accord earlier this month, framing it as a reassertion of Americas sovereignty. He has said the U.S. could try to re-enter the deal under more favourable terms, but Italy, France and Germany have said the Paris accord cannot be re-negotiated.

In a statement, the EPA said the U.S. had reset the climate change discussion at the G7 meeting and stressed that it was a party to the 15-page communique, except for the four pages dealing with climate change and financing for sustainable development.

Todays action of reaching consensus makes clear that the Paris Agreement is not the only mechanism by which environmental stewardship can be demonstrated, Pruitt said in a statement.

In fact, the final text doesnt say the Paris accord is the only tool for tackling climate change. Rather, it says that the accord is the global instrument for effectively and urgently tackling climate change and adapting to its effects.

It says the six G7 nations  Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom, as well as the European Commission  agree that the Paris accord is irreversible and its full integrity is key for the security and prosperity of our planet, societies and economies.

While voicing dismay at the U.S. position, which was expected, environmental groups and concerned countries voiced optimism that the remaining six nations reaffirmed the Paris process and that the U.S. withdrawal had led to a groundswell of support elsewhere for the accord.

Our hope is that together with big emerging economies we can turn our commitments into action  boldly enough and quickly enough  to protect the most vulnerable among us, said Thoriq Ibrahim, the Maldives environment minister and chair of the Alliance of Small Island States.

Frances environment minister, Nicolas Hulot, said he hoped many countries would follow Frances lead in scaling up their pledges and accelerating the timetable on implementing Paris benchmarks in response to the U.S. withdrawal. He repeated that there is a new economic model to be found in developing clean energy.

Let us make sure that Europe takes its part in this economic opportunity, he said.

Read more about:

SHARE:
CARACAS, VENEZUELAVenezuelas Supreme Court on Monday rejected the chief prosecutors motion to stop President Nicolas Maduros push to rewrite the constitution as the restive nation continued to be rocked by protests and a transit strike.

The Supreme Courts electoral branch declared Luisa Ortega Diazs request inadmissible on the same day anti-government demonstrators were marching toward the high court to protest its refusal to stop Maduros special assembly.

Opposition leaders said pro-government armed groups known as colectivos clashed with protesters and journalists near the Supreme Court and witnesses videos showed fist fights and people being shoved to the ground at the demonstration site. National guardsmen in black helmets and bulletproof vests stretched across a street with plastic shields, blocking protesters from reaching the court.

The decision came four days after Ortega Diaz made an impassioned plea on the Supreme Court steps, grasping Venezuelas small blue constitution book in her hands and declaring the future of the nations democracy was at stake.

Two months of anti-government protests have left at least 68 people dead as demonstrators demand new presidential elections in the face of triple-digit inflation that keeps rising, soaring crime and crippling food and medical shortages.

Venezuelans in Caracas awoke Monday to find their city paralyzed by a public transportation strike that union leaders said stretched through 90 per cent of the capital. Transit workers said they were protesting unsafe work conditions and demanding the release of a colleague detained nearly two weeks ago. Bus driver Santos Quevedo was charged with terrorism after allegedly transporting a group of opposition protesters, but local reports say the government opponents forced him to give them a ride.

Read more:

Young activist, ex-military man latest killed as Venezuela protests continue

Venezuelas death toll reaches 43 in nearly two months of protests

Venezuelas protesters improvise combat gear using gas masks, gardening gloves

As during previous protests, the government closed several metro stations.

Speaking outside the Supreme Court, union leaders said transit workers are the first to wake up in the morning and often exposed to dangerous conditions in a country with one of the highest homicide rates in the world.

Every time we leave our homes we dont know if well return alive, said Pedro Jimenez, president of a local union called the Southwest Transporters Bloc. He demanded that the government take action to ensure drivers safety.

Three kilometres away, the Venezuelan Red Cross draped a giant white flag with a red cross above its entrance, an act usually reserved for extraordinary events such as natural disasters, to identify it as a neutral safe haven. The last time the flag is believed to have been raised was in April 2013 during the presidential election to replace the late President Hugo Chavez, which Maduro won by a narrow vote.

The Red Cross raised the flag again as a protective measure in light of recent protests in which authorities have used tear gas near the institutions hospital, said Jose Ramon Gonzalez, the groups national relief director. Though the institution itself has not been attacked, Gonzalez said the flag is meant to help protect both medical aid workers and patients arriving at the hospital.

The agency has treated 254 patients in Caracas and more than 500 nationwide during the recent wave of protests, Gonzalez said. The majority have suffered from ailments related to inhaling tear gas, being struck by rubber bullets and surface wounds.

More than 1,000 people have been injured nationwide in a wave of unrest unleashed after the Supreme Court in late March stripped the opposition-controlled National Assembly of its last powers, a decision later reserved amid a storm of international criticism. Many of the protests have ended with state security launching tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters, some of whom throw rocks and even jars filled with feces at officers.

Maduro has vowed to resolve the crisis by convening a special assembly to rewrite the constitution. But the opposition refuses to participate, denouncing the push as another means by which he will further consolidate his power.

Ortega Diaz, whose agency is semi-autonomous, has emerged as one of the most critical voices of Maduro within the government. A long-time loyalist, she has denounced the constitutional assembly as an affront to the legacy of Hugo Chavez, who crafted the nations current constitution.

Maduro administration officials have criticized her as a de facto opposition leader responsible for the current wave of violence.

Mondays ruling appeared to further alienate Ortega Diaz from pro-government officials. The chief prosecutor introduced a new complaint contesting the appointment of 13 Supreme Court magistrates and 21 substitute judges approved by the National Assembly in 2015 shortly before the opposition took office. Critics say the judges were quickly ushered in for 12-year terms to assure government control of the nations highest court, an assertion the Maduro administration denies.

Speaking to Union Radio, Ortega Diaz said her latest legal manoeuvr was an attempt to restore the stability of the country. She added that her relatives have received threats and that she would hold Maduro responsible for anything that might happen to them.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Courts president accused terrorists of attacking the headquarters of the courts executive body in the outskirts of Caracas. Maikel Moreno provided few details but photos posted on the Supreme Courts Twitter account showed parts of the building on fire. Videos shared by government officials captured a plume of dark smoke rising above the building, blaming opposition protesters.

Moreno said he was moving the courts office to another location because its current site in greater Caracas is a territory without law.

Read more about:

SHARE:
In liberal-left circles, populism has become a dirty word, associated with demagogues like Donald Trump or rightists such as Frances Marine Le Pen.

But Thursdays United Kingdom election serves as a reminder that populism can take another form. The surprisingly strong showing by Jeremy Corbyns Labour party represents a victory for the kind of old-school, left populism that used to motivate social democratic parties around the world, including Canadas New Democrats.

While Labour didnt win the election, it did place a strong second, capturing 261 seats and denying Prime Minister Theresa Mays Conservatives a majority in the Commons.

For Corbyn, it was a feat that just a few weeks ago was routinely dismissed as impossible.

At the beginning of the campaign, Labour appeared to be in shambles. Corbyn, a classic democratic socialist, who still promotes public ownership, was pronounced unelectable.

The 68-year-old trade unionist was said to be too old and too old-fashioned for modern Britain. Even his election as Labour leader in 2015 was widely viewed as a fluke, the result of the partys too-hasty decision to democratize its voting process.

His caucus colleagues regarded him as a liability and spent much of their time plotting against him.

In 2016, his leadership was formally challenged and he was forced to run for his own job. He won. But the smart money insisted that as long as Corbyn remained leader, Labour was doomed.

Then reality intervened.

The reasons for Mays dismal showing in Thursdays snap election are many. She ran a disastrous campaign marked by policy flip-flops. Her main claim  that only she could safely negotiate Britains exit from the European Union  never caught on. Indeed, the so-called Brexit issue was not discussed much at all during the campaign.

Theoretically, the Manchester and London terror attacks should have helped her. Voters tend to move rightward when their safety is threatened.

But in this case, the attacks merely reminded voters that, in a previous Tory government, May had overseen savage manpower cuts to Britains police forces.

Most of all, however, she paled beside Corbyn. He shone during the campaign.

Like Bernie Sanders, during his bid for the U.S. Democratic Party leadership, Corbyn managed to portray himself as a principled and truthful agent of change. Young people in particular were attracted to him.

And they were attracted to a Labour platform that in many ways marked a return to the past and away from the centrism associated with former party leader Tony Blair.

Corbyn campaigned unashamedly for public ownership. A Labour government, he said, would re-nationalize both the railways and the energy grid.

It would reintroduce free tuition for university students and reregulate the financial sector. It would build more public housing, raise taxes on the wealthiest 5 per cent of Britons and bring back rent controls.

While pronouncing itself in favour of free-trade and investment deals generally, Corbyns Labour came out strongly against those that allow private companies to override the public interest.

It was far from hard left. Labour embraced Britains nuclear strike force (although Corbyn has said he would never use it). And it embraced nuclear power.

The platform also included tax breaks for small business and a pledge to balance the countrys operating budget within five years.

But in relative terms, the platform entitled For the many not the few was remarkably bold, tapping into a widespread feeling that things are not as they should be, that the world is not fair and that fundamental changes are required.

In the U.S., that feeling propelled Trump to the White House. In France, it made anti-immigrant candidate Le Pen a contender for the presidency. But in Britain Thursday, this populist mood was captured and articulated by the democratic socialist left with considerable (although not total) success.

Canadas NDP, which is in the midst of figuring itself out, may want to take note.

Thomas Walkom appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

SHARE:
For too long cozy arrangements between doctors and pharmaceutical companies in Canada have been the health industrys dirty little secret.

Its a kind of relationship critics say enriches doctors and drug companies at a potential cost to patient health.

Now a new national campaign aims to shine a spotlight on these ties by asking the federal government to mandate public disclosure of all payments and transfers of value from drug makers to doctors.

The Open Pharma campaign, spearheaded by Toronto doctor Andrew Boozary, is most welcome and long overdue. In fact, its something the Canadian Medical Association called for five years ago.

If the plan is adopted by Health Minister Jane Philpott, as it should be, pharmaceutical companies would have to divulge money or gifts they give to individual doctors and organizations  including hospitals, universities and private medical clinics.

The disclosure list could include everything from funding for research, to fees for speeches, to payments for membership on advisory committees, to travel expenses, to international functions, to meals at boozy educational dinners, to gifts such as tickets to sporting events.

As the Stars Theresa Boyle reports, Canada has been a laggard on this important issue behind countries such as the United States, Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Denmark and many other European nations that long ago set up transparency laws to illuminate the relationship between drug companies and doctors.

In those countries, the relationships exposed have often been highly alarming. A U.S. database, for instance, revealed that individual doctors in that country receive hundreds of thousands of dollars from drug companies in gifts and consulting fees.

Despite the lack of transparency here, we know Canada is not immune. A Star investigation by Jesse McLean and David Bruser found drug companies routinely host and bankroll dinners at upscale restaurants as training for family doctors. Critics of the dinners say they are just marketing tools under the guise of education.

And there have been numerous other controversies in Canada over perceived conflicts of interest because of pharmaceutical-company payouts, including alleged altering of studies.

The most recent controversy arose just three weeks ago, when Philpott ordered an independent review of Canadas brand new prescriptive guidelines for opioids to make sure they werent tainted by the influence of the industry. Her order came after revelations that a doctor, who was part of a committee of medical experts who voted on whether to accept the guidelines, had received compensation from companies that make and market opioids.

The epidemic of opioid overdoses is a public health crisis. The appearance that our national response might have been compromised in some way by the financial ties between a doctor and pharmaceutical companies speaks to the urgent need for a better system.

Boozary says the Open Pharma campaign does not aim to ban industry involvement in the medical profession, but simply to make it transparent to inspire public confidence in the system.

Thats a start - one the health minister should waste no time in embracing.

SHARE:
By Press Trust of India: By Fakir Hassen

Johannesburg, Jun 12 (PTI) Two rare diamonds bigger than 100 carats have been found at a South African mine famous for its exceptional white diamonds, bringing relief to a Britain- based firm struggling for some time with a lack of big finds.

Gem Diamonds said in a statement today the two stones unearthed at the Letseng mine in the tiny Lesotho kingdom landlocked within South Africa were a 104.73 carat D colour Type IIa diamond and a 151.52 carat Type I yellow diamond.

advertisement

Type IIa diamonds contain very little or no nitrogen atoms and are the most expensive stones.

The Letseng mine is famous for producing large, top colour, exceptional white diamonds, making it the highest dollar per carat kimberlite diamond mine in the world, with an average sales price of almost USD 2,000 a carat, the highest in the industry.

Since Gem Diamonds acquisition of Letseng in 2006, the mine has produced four of the 20 largest white gem quality diamonds ever recorded.

The mine produced the famous 603-carat Lesotho Promise in 2006 and in 2015 a 357-carat stone found there was sold for USD 19.3 million.

But the company has been under pressure recently after a lack of big finds that left shareholders concerned enough for 27 per cent of them to vote against the re-election of Chief Executive Officer Clifford Elphick at a meeting last week.

During 2016, Gem Diamonds found just five big stones larger than 100 carats, less than half those of the preceding year.

Weak prices for the lower-quality stones produced at its Ghaghoo mine in neighbouring Botswana led to Gem announcing in February this year that it had been placed on care and maintenance until market conditions allow for recommencement of production.

Gem Diamonds owns 70 per cent of the Letseng mine and 100 per cent of the Ghaghoo mine. PTI FH ABH

--- ENDS ---
Rio Tinto plc (RIO) - Get Free Report shares fell modestly Monday despite rival Glencore (GLNCF) outbidding Yancoal (YACAF) for the miner's Coal & Allied Industries unit in Australia.

Rio Tinto acknowledged an approach from Glencore, the world's biggest commodity trader, in statement published Monday which values the unit at $2.55 billion and offers the seller a coal price linked royalty, making for a superior offer to that already put forward by Yancoal.

"Rio Tinto acknowledges that it has received a proposal from Glencore to acquire Rio Tinto's wholly-owned Australian subsidiary, Coal & Allied Industries Limited," the company said. "The Rio Tinto board and management will give the proposal appropriate consideration and respond in due course."

Rio and Yancoal had agreed the sale of Coal & Allied for $2.45 billion in January, although the terms of the deal meant that Rio was afforded a so-called 'go-shop' period where it could entertain other prospective bidders. Glencore's move now paves the way for a possible bidding war between the two suitors.

Rio stock slipped around 0.5% in early London trading taking the shares further off a two month high and to an intraday low of 3,222.0 pence while Glencore shares fell 0.4% to around 294.1 pence in the opening hour. The Stoxx Europe TMI Mining index was down by 0.96% during early trading, quoted at 595.03, marking its lowest level for June so far.

Under the terms of the two proposed deals, Yancoal would pay around $500 million of its bid price in $100 million installment payments, while Glencore would also make five matching installment payments but its cash-up front offer is also greater.

Glencore has also agreed to buy Mitsubishi (MSBHY) out of its minority stakes in two Coal & Allied mines, for a total of $920 million, if it is successful in its offer to Rio.

The miner plans to sell other coal assets as part of its effort to fund the transaction.
Shares of Coherus BioSciences Inc. (CHRS) - Get Free Report fell 32.2% to $14 in premarket trading on Monday, June 12, on the heels of the Redwood City, Calif.-based firm's announcement that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a "complete response letter" (CRL) asking for more information about its license application for CHS-1701, a pegfilgrastim (Neulasta) biosimilar candidate, under the 351(k) pathway.

"The CRL primarily focused on the FDA request for a reanalysis of a subset of subject samples with a revised immunogenicity assay, and requests for certain additional manufacturing related process information," Coherus said.

Coherus said it will work with the agency to address the information requests.

Meanwhile, shares of XBiotech Inc. (XBIT) - Get Free Report rose 14.4% to $3.66 ahead of the market open on June 12 after ending the June 9 trading session at $3.20, down 66%.

The Austin, Texas-based firm on June 9 said it was discontinuing its Phase 3 XCITE study for its candidate antibody therapy for the treatment of colorectal cancer based on a second interim analysis by an independent data monitoring committee.

While the committee had no safety concerns from the analysis, it "recommended the early termination of the study since the findings were not sufficient to meet efficacy or the threshold for continuation," XBiotech said.

Among the other biotech stock movers was Flexion Therapeutics Inc. (FLXN) - Get Free Report . Shares of the Burlington, Mass.-based firm were up 6.6% to $18.19.

Jim Cramer and the AAP team discuss the leadership transition at General Electric Co. (GE) - Get Free Report . Find out what they are telling their investment club members. Get a free trial subscription to Action Alerts PLUS.



Meanwhile, over on Real Money, Cramer says that NVIDIA Corp.'s (NVDA) - Get Free Report stock, "by its sheer momentum, has become a self-fulfilling prophecy." Get his insights or analysis with a free trial subscription to Real Money.
As Apple Inc. (AAPL) - Get Free Report fans await the tenth-anniversary iPhone, they have to come to terms with the idea that the coveted new device may not match the download speeds of Samsung Electronic Co.'s (SSNLF) Galaxy S8 and other cutting-edge smartphones.

Apple's next iPhone will use modems from both Intel Corp. (INTC) - Get Free Report and Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) - Get Free Report . Intel's modems capable of 1 gigabit download speeds won't be ready for the iPhone 8 launch, Bloomberg reported, however causing Apple to throttle speeds on the Qualcomm chips that it uses as the companies engage in a complex global legal fight over intellectual property. This could give an edge to other manufacturers, such as Samsung, whose latest smartphones are capable of the faster download speeds.

On Sunday, Muzuho Securities USA Inc. analyst Abhey Lamba downgraded Apple from buy to neutral and cut his price target from $160 to $150. While Lamba expects iPhone 8 sales to be healthy, he suggested the benefits are already priced in to the stock price.

Shares of Apple closed down almost 3% at $145.32 Monday, after falling almost 4% on Friday.

Many of Apple's suppliers in Europe sold off on Monday, and the same held true for the tech giant's chip suppliers in the U.S. on Monday early afternoon.

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) - Get Free Report dropped 2% to a close or $154.51, KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) - Get Free Report fell 0.8% $101.14, Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) - Get Free Report closed down 1% at $44.34, Broadcom Ltd. (AVGO) - Get Free Report declined .28% to $242.67, Qorvo Inc. (QRVO) - Get Free Report fell nearly 1.6% to $74.10 during morning tading but closed down less than a percent to $24.63.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) - Get Free Report declined 3% to $103.76, Cirrus Logic Inc. (CRUS) - Get Free Report closed down 4% to $64.60 and Synaptics Inc. (SYNA) - Get Free Report was down 1.4% to $58.79.

Meanwhile, Intel closed up 0.1% to $35.73 and Qualcomm increased 0.8% to $57.49 per share.

Apple is a holding in Jim Cramer'sAction Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sells AAPL? Learn more now.
By Siraj Qureshi: The cold war between chief forest conservator of Agra A K Jain and the principal secretary (forestry) Sanjeev Saran has become a hot topic of debate in Agra these days, with both officials imposing serious allegations on each other and chief secretary Rahul Bhatnagar taking no action so far.

Saran has not responded to phone calls but has charged Jain of indiscipline as per earlier reports.

advertisement

A K Jain alleges that Sanjeev Saran has caused a loss of Rs 4721 crores to the UP government and even an FIR has been registered against him and yet he has been promoted from additional principal secretary to principal secretary. Jain charges that Saran laundered crores of rupees during the demonetisation months and he owns hotels worth crores in London and Dubai.

Talking to India Today, Jain said the forest land scam worth crores in Sonbhadra district also happened under the eye of Sanjeev Saran. He said that he has even written a letter against Sanjeev Saran and his reach in the high places of governance, to the UP government. Jain said that he has even sought an appointment with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Forest Minister Dara Singh Chauhan so that he can place complete facts in front of them.

Jain told India Today that he had written a letter to Sanjeev Saran that a divisional forest officer (K K Singh) in Agra zone was spreading indiscipline in the department and that it appeared that he (Saran) had given him free reins to do whatever he wants. Jain said that on June 1, K K Singh and Saran met on the Agra toll barrier and sat at a dhaba for a secret meeting. Jain said Saran is seeking the help of K K Singh in the publicity of his hotels in London and Dubai as Agra is a tourist hub.

Even at the expensively-built house of Saran in Sector 40 of Noida, 3-4 vehicles of forest department are always present even when Saran is already allowed the use of a state car during official visits. Jain alleged that the Greater Noida side of Okhla Bird Sanctuary was declared eco-sensitive and to relax those norms, Saran took two apartments and one crore rupees from the builders.

Jain said that during demonetisation, Saran changed Rs 2 crore worth old currency into new currency in the Agra forest division. At the inter-state barrier, he took registration and transit fee in new currency while deposited old currency in the treasury chest. This way, he changed about 15-20 crores in old notes into new currency.

advertisement

When India Today tried to talk to Sanjeev Saran about his side of this entire issue, he did not pick up his phone and later turned it off.

--- ENDS ---
TrueBlue, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides specialized workforce solutions in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It operates through three segments: PeopleReady, PeopleManagement, and PeopleScout. The PeopleReady segment offers contingent staffing solutions for blue-collar, on-demand, and skilled labor in construction, manufacturing and logistics, warehousing and distribution, waste and recycling, energy, retail, hospitality, and general labor industries. The PeopleManagement segment provides contingent labor and outsourced industrial workforce solutions. This segment also offers on-site management and recruitment for the contingent industrial workforce of manufacturing, warehouse, and distribution facilities; and recruitment and management of contingent and dedicated commercial drivers to the transportation and distribution industries under the Staff Management, SIMOS Insourcing Solutions, and Centerline Drivers brands. The PeopleScout segment offers permanent employee recruitment process outsourcing services; and manages clients' contingent labor programs comprising vendor selection, performance management, compliance monitoring, and risk management. The company was formerly known as Labor Ready, Inc. and changed its name to TrueBlue, Inc. in December 2007. TrueBlue, Inc. was incorporated in 1985 and is headquartered in Tacoma, Washington.
Thousands of anti-Kremlin protestors held rallies across Russia on Monday, with more than a thousand getting arrested. Opposition leader and Vladimir Putin critic Alexeri Navalny was among those arrested and was sentenced to 30 days in jail.

By AP: Tens of thousands of protesters held anti-corruption rallies across Russia on Monday in a new show of defiance by an opposition that the Kremlin had once dismissed as ineffectual and marginalized.

More than a thousand were arrested - including opposition leader and protest organizer Alexei Navalny, who was seized outside his Moscow residence while heading to the rally in the city center and sentenced to 30 days in jail several hours later.

advertisement

The Moscow protest was the most prominent in a string of more than 100 rallies in cities and towns stretching through all 11 of Russia's time zones - from the Pacific to the European enclave of Kaliningrad - with many denouncing President Vladimir Putin.

Thousands of angry demonstrators thronged to Tverskaya Street, a main avenue in the capital, chanting "Down with the czar" and singing the Russian national anthem.

The protests coincided with Russia Day, a national holiday that this year brought out historical re-enactors, some of them dressed in medieval costumes. At one point, the Moscow demonstration featured an unlikely scene of about 5,000 protesters rallying next to an enclosure with geese, a medieval catapult and bearded men in homemade tunics and carrying wooden shields.

The re-enactors watched the rally before riot police broke up the crowd and randomly seized the protesters.

OVER A THOUSAND ARRESTED

Over 800 people were arrested in Moscow, while in St. Petersburg, about 500 were forced into police buses at an unsanctioned rally that drew up to 10,000 people. Navalny was taken to court Monday evening and sentenced to 30 days in jail shortly after midnight for repeated violations of the law on public gatherings.

"The scope of the rallies was amazing, and so many people came out," Navalny told reporters shortly before he was sentenced, point to protest rallies held in towns which have not seen any public show of discontent for decades.

In his trademark humor, Navalny lamented on Twitter shortly before he was led out of the courtroom that he would have to skip a Depeche Mode concert while he is in jail.

The demonstrators appeared to skew predominantly younger - those who were born or grew up during Putin's 17 years in power. Similar crowds turned out on March 26, rattling officials who had perceived the younger generation as largely apolitical.

Three 16-year-old girls brought sheets of paper to the Moscow protest and sat on the pavement to write the articles of the Russian Constitution on them; a nearby group of teenagers climbed atop of a tent with posters saying, "Corruption kills the future." Other protesters scaled a scaffold and hung a sign saying, "Only revolution will defeat corruption."

advertisement

'CHANGE IS GOOD'

School and university staff who reportedly reprimanded their students for attending the March protests warned them against going to Monday's rally.

Ivan Sukhoruchenkov, 19, attended anyway with four university classmates to protest what he described as "stagnation of the political system."

"Change is always good," Sukhoruchenkov said, adding that he and his friends were concerned about corruption - Navalny's rallying cry - that "manifests itself in all areas: from traffic police to university professors."

Navalny had called the anti-corruption demonstrations, and they drew crowds of several dozen to the 10,000 in St. Petersburg. Some of the rallies were sanctioned by authorities and peaceful, but police cracked down brutally on others.

Although it was not immediately clear if Monday's protests were larger than those in March, they underlined the deep dismay with the government. Putin is expected to seek another term in 2018, and Navalny has already announced his intentions to run.

Moscow officials had agreed to allow Navalny's rally, but late Sunday, he said official interference had prevented contractors from erecting a stage at the agreed-upon venue and instead urged demonstrators to gather on Tverskaya Street, which was closed to traffic for the Russia Day festivities.

advertisement

Most of the Moscow protesters appeared to be under 30, although there was a sizeable number of middle-aged people and couples with children.

With opposition sentiment strong or even growing, authorities appear to be seeking a strategy to undermine the opposition without provoking more animosity.

Authorities allowed the unsanctioned rally to proceed, although riot police cut the crowd in half and began pushing the lines while grabbing some people from the crowd. Some of the arrests were violent with police using batons and dragging people along the street.

US CONDEMNS ARRESTS

In Washington, White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters the United States "strongly condemns the detention of hundreds of peaceful protesters" which he described as an "affront to core democratic values." Spicer called on the Russian government to immediately release all peaceful protesters.

Navalny rose to prominence for detailed open-source investigations of government corruption. That was a key issue Monday for protesters, particularly his report on vast wealth allegedly acquired by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

"We are against the corruption that is costing the future of our young people," said Moscow protester Maria Badyrova, a 33-year-old finance specialists who came to the rally with a Russian flag.

advertisement

Alexei Borsenko, a Vladivostok demonstrator who eluded a police attempt to detain him, cited Iceland's prime minister stepping down in the fallout from the "Panama Papers" scandal, while "our prime minister is caught on such big corruption cases and he doesn't go anywhere."

"This is very strange," Borsenko added. "It's a dead end for the country's development."

The popular anger has spread beyond Medvedev, with many demonstrators chanting "Putin is a thief" within earshot of the City Hall that later dismissed the protests as an "overt provocation."

ALSO READ | Hundreds of anti-Putin protesters, including opposition leader Navalny, detained in Russia

AlSO READ | How PM Modi struck a personal chord with Russian President Vladimir Putin

--- ENDS ---
The box that had three round-shaped items exploded as soon as the boy touched it.

By Manogya Loiwal : A six-year-old boy suffered major injuries in a bomb blast that took place in Sonabali village in West Bengal today.

The blast took place in the South 24 Parganas district which falls under the jurisdiction of the Basanti Police Station.

The boy Shyam Sunder Das was on his way to school when he saw a box lying near a house in the neighbourhood.

advertisement

The box that had three round-shaped items exploded as soon as the boy touched it.

The child was immediately taken to the nearest hospital for medical treatment.

He is now being shifted from the district sub-divisional hospital to Calcutta National Medical College.

The police have arrested the owner of the house near which the box was found.

--- ENDS ---
Baron Karl von Drais needed a way to replace his horse; today we need a way to replace the car.

On this day in 1817 Baron Karl von Drais rode his Laufsmaschine for the first time. According to a biography by Dr. Gerd Huttmann:

Mount Tambora exploding/Public Domain

But what really resonates today, two hundred years later, is the reason he invented it: in response to an environmental crisis. Two years earlier in April 1815, Mount Tambora exploded and changed the world. This put so much ash and sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere that it turned 1816 into "the year without summer", causing world-wide famine. Most of the horses were slaughtered because there was nothing to feed them or their owners, so they became dinner. As one of our wonderful commenters noted,

Karl Drais/Public Domain

The Draisine was not a success; although he had a patent for it, being a civil servant did not leave time for him to really market it. The roads were awful, so the inevitable happened, according to this biography by Dr. Gerd Huttmann:

Roads were so rutted by carriages that it was very inconvenient to balance for long. Velocipede riders took to the sidewalks and, no need to say, moved far too quick, endangering the life and limb of pedestrians. In consequence, authorities in Germany, Great Britain, the USA and even in Calcutta did ban the use of velocipedes, which ended its vogue for decades.



Drais was also a radical who got involved on the losing side of political battles of the era.

Drais was a fervent democrat, supported the wave of revolutions that swept Europe in 1848, dropping his title and the aristocratic "von" from his name in 1849. After the revolution in Baden had collapsed, Drais became mobbed and ruined by royalists. After his death, Drais's enemies systematically repudiated his invention of horseless moving on two wheels.



'History Doesn't Repeat Itself But It Often Rhymes'

Lloyd Alter/ bikes in Copenhagen/CC BY 2.0

Thats what Mark Twain supposedly said, and he was right. Bikes today are also the answer to an environmental crisis.

Energy-Efficient, Pollution-Free Transportation

Today the bicycle is the most energy efficient and pollution free means of transportation on the planet. It is seen by many as a major player in the solution to climate change given that they are emission free. They could be the answer to urban congestion as they take up so much less space than a car. We have quoted consultant Horace Dediu: Bikes have a tremendous disruptive advantage over cars. Bikes will eat cars.

Bikes Remain Controversial

As in Drais day, bikes are controversial. Drivers hate them when they are sharing the road and hate them more when bike lanes are built and take away space for driving and storing cars. As in Drais day, the road conditions are so awful and dangerous that cyclists sometimes ride on the sidewalk, alienating and endangering pedestrians.

And, as in Drais day, they are political, with cyclists described in right-wing British tabloids as arrogant, abusive and oh-so smug and American papers headlining Bicyclist Bullies Try to Rule the Road in DC

WP/ Traffic jam in Delhi/CC BY 2.0

But two hundred years ago the skies cleared and a normal climate returned, and soon people were back to being pulled around by horses. But the environment is not going to return to normal this time, and our cities cannot hold any more cars. This time its different.

See also another take from Christine in Germany: Happy 200th birthday to the bicycle!
There have been a host of technologies developed to help cut down on elephant poaching from GPS collars to drone surveillance that a help monitor herds and look out for poachers but as of yet there hadn't been any way to know precisely when poaching is taking place so that authorities could act.

Previous technologies have been good at keeping an eye out for poachers or monitoring the behavior of herds to prevent conflict between elephants and farmers, but now a new smart collar from Vanderbilt University will actually sound the alarm if gunshots are fired.

The tracking collar is embedded with a ballistic sensor that can detect the shockwaves of a gunshot and then send an alert to authorities with the GPS coordinates of the event. Having a real-time notification like that gives authorities the chance to catch poachers in the act and even possibly prevent the removal of tusks.

As authorities and non-profit organizations have gotten better at surveillance, poachers have gotten smarter as well. Poachers work under the cover of darkness and often use sound-muffling devices to cover up the sounds of their gunshots, but they can't hide the shockwaves of the blast. The technology, called WIPER, takes advantage of this tell-tale sign that can't be hidden.

The team is working with the organization Save the Elephants, which has collared 1,000 elephants in Kenya, and will provide them with its ballistic shockwave sensors.

"Our aim is to make WIPER open-source, freely available to all collar manufacturers, so that it can become a common feature in all wildlife tracking devices, said Professor of Computer Engineering Akos Ledeczi.

The WIPER technology is sensitive enough to cover a 50-meter radius so organizations would only need to place it in the collars of a few elephants per herd. With a grant from Vodafone, the team will start developing prototypes and conducting testing in Northern Kenya. The goal is to develop a collar that will have enough battery power to last 12 months at a time and to see 100 elephants collared per year.
Slippers flew this weekend in Gurgaon as female staff of a pub, fed up the obscene behaviour of a group of drunk men, beat up their tormentors with their footwear.

The video grabs above show one of the drunk men in a scuffle with a woman, who is joined by her colleagues. After a heated argument, the women take out their footwear to attack the molesters, who flee the spot

By Ajay Kumar: Not unfamiliar with late-hour spectacles, Gurgaon's Mall Mile, a one-km stretch dotted with shopping malls and night clubs, was witness to yet another eventful night on Saturday - albeit with a twist.

A group of women pub workers, fed up with obscene gestures and physical assault by a few men, took out their slippers to teach their tormentors a lesson.

advertisement

The brawl was captured by several onlookers on their mobile phones and these clips are now in circulation on social media.

The half-hour high drama makes a mockery of Gurugram Police's claims of night patrol at the stretch, which has been in news for open sex trade and crimes against women.

MISSING POLICE PRESENCE

"There was hardly any police presence on MG Road when this incident happened. Onlookers were busy shooting the fight on their cameras," BN Lal, an eye-witness and a resident of the area, told Mail Today.

"While sex deals taking place on the (MG) road are an open secret, police patrolling is seen only after a major crime is highlighted in the media. A few weeks later, it is business as usual," Lal added.

Several eyewitnesses said the "ugly episode" took place around 1 AM when a group of four to five women, apparently working with the various pubs in the vicinity, were waiting outside Sahara Mall for transport.

"Some drunk men repeatedly made obscene gestures to the women and one of them approached them. This was followed by heated arguments and commotion, which made the men leave the spot," said one of the eyewitnesses, requesting anonymity.

"However, these men, about a dozen in count, returned five-ten minutes later and again approached one of the younger women in the group," said the eyewitness. "They must have been emboldened by the absence of any police patrol vehicle in the area."

Lal said a fresh round of arguments began after which one of the men tried to pull one of the women to where his vehicle was parked. The scuffle sparked anxiety among other women who rushed to help their colleague.

SLIPPERS FLY

"One of them took out his slipper and waved at the assailant. In a flash, all the women took off their footwear and began beating up the harasser.

His friends came to help him but they also received the same treatment," Lal said. "As a crowd gathered, the men ran away in their vehicles."

There are seven night clubs in Sahara Mall and each has the capacity of hosting about 100 guests.

Local residents complain that at 1 AM, when these pubs down shutters, MG road gets crowded with groups of drunk men who are a nuisance. "The situation is worst on weekends," said a resident.

advertisement

A security guard at the mall, who refused to be named, said when the patrons come out of these night clubs, they try to strike deals with women, some of whom are regular employees and others who facilitate entry to stag pub-goers.

"Such brawls usually occur when either a deal goes wrong or regular women employees are inappropriately approached. The Saturday incident seems to be the latter case," said the guard.

"When Gurgaon Police are around, there is little nuisance but when the patrol party is absent, such arguments are common. Only this time, the molesters were at the receiving end," the guard added.

There are 15 night clubs in various malls on the stretch. Residents said they have approached the district administration but it has failed to come with an effective strategy to deal with the weekly ruckus.

"Pub owners must be held accountable for such incidents. They must ensure that female guests or staff leave their premises safely," said a local resident.

City police tried to wash their hands of the matter by saying that such incidents were more of a social problem then a crime. Manish Sehgal, ACP (crime) of Gurugram Police said, "We have deployed policemen and women in civil uniform to identify miscreants. There are regular drives to nab troublemakers."

advertisement

Sehgal said the police are yet to receive any complaint in the case and will take appropriate action if they are approached by the victims.

ALSO READ | Kerala: Girl chops off rapist sanyasi's genitals

ALSO WATCH | Another Bengaluru horror: Woman groped, molested by bike-borne men in dark alley

--- ENDS ---
- Unconfirmed reports say US forces have killed al-Shabaab leader Ahmed Diriye in an air strike sanctioned by President Donald Trump

- Also killed in the air strike was Abdirahim Mohamed Warsame alias Mahad Karate the man responsible for the Garissa University College attack in 2015 that claimed the lives of 152 people

- Somalia President Mohamed Farmajo in a statement said he endorsed the attack in partnership with the US government

Terror group al-Shabaab has been left shattered after unconfirmed reports said its supreme leader Ahmed Diriye was killed in a US air strike in Lower Shabelle, Somalia.

Also killed in the lethal strikes was Abdirahim Mohamed Warsame alias Mahad Karate, the man behind the Garissa University College attack in 2015 that claimed the lives of 152 people mostly students.

Karate was a commander involved in training the Amniyat, the wing of al-Shabaab that carried out the attack on Garissa University College.

READ ALSO: Terrorist arrested en route to Nairobi for major attack

Al-Shabaab commander killed

READ ALSO: Politician badly injured after armed youths attack campaign team

Diriye was made the leader of al-Shabaab in 2014, when former leader Ahmed Abdi Godane was killed.

If the deaths of two is confirmed then al-Shabaab could be all but finished as they were the strategists and main coordinators of the militant group.

TUKO.co.ke has learnt that the US air strikes were were sanctioned by President Donald Trump after it was endorsed by President Mohamed Farmajo who endorsed with Somali troops providing the ground attack.

Earlier today, I authorized our special forces with the support of our international partners to conduct a strike against an al-Shabaab training camp near Sakow, Middle Juba region,

''This was a successful strike which destroyed a key al-Shabaab command and supply hub. This will ultimately disrupt the enemys ability to conduct new attacks within Somalia,'' Farmajo is quoted.

READ ALSO: Fearless KDF soldiers bow down to GOD in the battle ground

If the deaths of two is confirmed then al-Shabaab could be all but finished as they were the strategists and main coordinators of the militant group.

Install TUKO App To Read News For FREE

The US government had earlier placed a bounty on the heads of Diriye and Karate in order to bring them to justice.

Al-Shabaab emerged in 2006 from the now-defunct Islamic Courts Union, which once controlled Somalias capital of Mogadishu.

The militant group launched its own insurgency on major Somali cities in 2009, taking control of Mogadishu and southern Somalia.

Have anything to add to this article or suggestions? Share with us on news@tuko.co.ke

Watch this amazing video of a young Kenyan who can speak multiple languages:

Source: TUKO.co.ke
- Jubilee Party has been accused of hiring police to beat up their detractors

- According to Isaac Ruto and Johanna Ngeno, over the weekend, a number of residents in Emerua, Sigor and Nyangores were attacked

- This comes after a number of hired youth demonstrated for not being paid to attend Jubilee's Bungoma rallies

The Jubilee Party has been accused of planning attacks on residents who refuse to support their candidates ahead of the August 8 General Election.

According to Bomet Governor Isaac Ruto and Emerua Dikir MP Johanna Ngeno, police were hired to beat up residents for refusing to support gubernatorial candidate Joyce Laboso.

The two are calling for investigations into the attacks that occurred in Nyangores and Sigor as some of the victims are yet to be admitted to hospital for treatment.

READ ALSO: Akothee hit hard by daughter's shocking birthday request

Bomet Governor/ NASA co-leader Isaac Ruto

READ ALSO: Mike Sonko meets Kidero face to face and the result is interesting

They pretend to hold rallies when the attendees are goons. They hurt youth and some are in Longisa hospital. We have fund raised with some of my colleagues and we are going to see the victims, said Ruto on Sunday June 11 as quoted in KTN News.

Bomet county is one of the areas Jubilee is intensely campaigning to take over from NASA since Ruto joined the alliance.

According to Ngeno, NCIC and IEBC should investigate why residents were attacked with pangas and clubs when Jubilee pretended to come and ask for votes".

READ ALSO: Jubilee rally in Mt. Kenya region disrupted by pro-NASA chants from residents

Johanna Ngeno

Install TUKO App To Read News For FREE

This Jubilee! I joined KANU and my boss asked us to help the late Kenyattas son and I agreed. But now, his friend has come here and beaten me and my people. I told Ruto to now bring Raila to Emurua Dikir and see this, said Ngeno.

This is not the first time attendees of Jubilee rallies are speaking out against mistreatment.

TUKO.co.ke previously reported that Bungoma residents demonstrated after the party failed to pay them for attending their rally as agreed.

READ ALSO: Police make harrowing discovery inside chang'aa pot

Hired Jubilee youth demonstrating in Bungoma on Sunday, June 11.

READ ALSO: The mind boggling amount Uhuru Kenyatta dinner raised in two hours for August General Election

Apparently, the ferried youth were promised allowances but the partys failure to pay up resulted in demonstrations being held outside Governor Ken Lusakas office.

Have something to add to this article? Send to news@tuko.co.ke

Watch Kabogo talk about his electoral malpractice evidence against Waititu:

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Militants launched 67 attacks on positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in ATO area in Donbas over the past day.

This is reported by the ATO press center.

In Mariupol direction, militants used 122mm mortars to shell Ukrainian positions near Pavlopol and 120mm mortars near Hnutove (19km north-west of Mariupol). The enemy also fired at ATO troops outside Talakivka (20km north-west of Mariupol), Lebedynske and Vodiane (35 km south-west of Donetsk).

In Donetsk direction, the tensest situation was observed in suburbs of Avdiivka (18km north of Donetsk), where militants shelled Ukrainian troops, using mortars of various calibers, grenade launchers and small arms. In addition, illegal armed formations used 82mm mortars, small arms and grenade launchers to fire at Verkhnetoretsk, Pisky, Zaitseve.

In Luhansk direction, militants used 82mm and 152 mm mortars to shell Ukrainian positions near outside Krymske,Novotoshkivske, Katerynivka (64km west of Luhansk). ATO troops came under artillery fire near Novooleksandrivka, Novozvanivka.

As a result of hostilities over the past day, two soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were killed, and four soldiers were injured and wounded.

ish
In the course of the working trip to Zakarpattia region, President Petro Poroshenko met with President of Slovakia Andrej Kiska.

Ths has been reported by the press service of the Head of State.

The two leaders took part in the symbolic ceremony of opening the doors to Europe on the Ukrainian-Slovak border on the occasion of the introduction of the visa-free regime between Ukraine and the Schengen Area.

The President expressed gratitude to the Slovak party for supporting Ukraines sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence, as well as reforms. I am grateful to you for being a true friend of Ukraine, the Head of State stressed.

In his turn, the President of Slovakia congratulated Ukrainians on the introduction of the visa-free regime with the EU. The President emphasized that Ukraine carried out a lot of reforms and keeps moving forward. He assured of further support by Slovakia on Ukraines path to Europe.

ish
Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Andriy Parubiy will pay a visit to the United States of America on June 12-16.

This has been reported by the press service of the Verkhovna Rada.

"During the stay in Washington (USA), Speaker Parubiy will have a series of high level meetings. In particular, the visit program includes meetings with Paul Ryan, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Mac Thornberry, Chairperson of the Committee on Armed Services of the United States House of Representatives, Adam Smith, Ranking Member of the Committee on Armed Services of the United States House of Representatives, Eliot Engel, Ranking Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Kevin McCarthy, Majority Leader of the United States House of Representatives," the report said.

According to the program, a solemn event in the framework of the Ukrainian Days in the United States Congress devoted to 20th anniversary of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus and a meeting with members of the Senate Ukraine Caucus are scheduled to take place.

The Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine will speak at "US-UA Working Group Yearly Summit V: Providing Ukraine with an Annual Report Card" and also meet with John McCain, Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services, and Jack Reed, Ranking Member of the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services.

The ceremony of honoring the Holodomor victims with the participation of representatives of the Ukrainian community in the United States is also planned during the visit to the Memorial to Victims of the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide of 1932-33.

ish
The Republic of Belarus has sent 58 tons of humanitarian aid to Ukraine for Ukrainian citizens who are on both sides of demarcation line in the east of the country.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to Ukraine Igor Sokol said this at a press conference on Monday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"Heads of States Alexander Lukashenko and Petro Poroshenko agreed on today's event on April 26, when the meeting was held first in Chornobyl and then in the Belarusian territory. It is very important for the head of the Belarusian state that the humanitarian aid will be delivered to both sides of the conflict with the assistance of the Ministry for Temporary Occupied Territories and the Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross, because the head of our state believes that the most vulnerable categories in the conflict are people of advanced age and children. Therefore, the principled position was that humanitarian assistance could be sent to both sides of the conflict," Sokol said.

The ambassador said that in total, four trucks with a total weight of 58 tons of cargo left for Ukraine.

ish
Eyebrows were raised in diplomatic circles after Xi held bilateral meetings with several leaders including Prime Minister Modi, but not with Sharif, in Astana, where the entry of India and Pakistan into the SCO was formalised.

By Ananth Krishnan: China today insisted that President Xi Jinping met Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif "several times" at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Astana, but it did not deny that Xi had not arranged a bilateral meeting with Sharif.

Eyebrows were raised in diplomatic circles after Xi held bilateral meetings with several leaders including Prime Minister Modi, but not with Sharif, in Astana, where the entry of India and Pakistan into the SCO was formalised.

advertisement

The Chinese Foreign Ministry's own website and State media listed the Chinese President's bilateral meetings with Modi, Russia's Vladimir Putin, and leaders of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan as well as with the King of Spain who was in Astana for the world expo. Photographs of Xi with those leaders have also been released.

Diplomatic sources on Saturday said it is highly unusual for the Chinese and Pakistani leaders to not meet at a summit, especially when a China-India bilateral meet takes place given Pakistan's usual sensitivities.

While Xi and Sharif met on May 14 at the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, the Chinese President also met with Russian President Vladimir Putin both in Beijing and Astana. This was all the more surprising given the symbolic value for embattled Sharif who is facing fire at home over the Panama papers, with the summit formalising Pakistan's entry into the SCO along with India's.

Pakistan's Foreign Office tweeted on Sunday that Xi and Sharif "met twice during the Summit and had exchange of views", apparently referring to a conversation at dinner where many leaders were present.

It put out the tweet after reports highlighted that both sides did not have a bilateral meeting in Astana.

On Monday, China's Foreign Ministry appeared to move to placate its "all weather ally", with spokesperson Lu Kang telling reporters, "I can tell you that during the 17th SCO meeting, President Xi met with Pakistan Prime Minister Sharif several times. Some reports are just nonsense and unwarranted. China and Pakistan enjoy an all weather strategic partnership."

Lu, however, did not say that a bilateral meeting, where the two leaders sit down with their top aides, took place.

On Friday, China said it was "gravely concerned" by reports that ISIS had claimed the kidnapping and had reportedly killed two young Chinese, who were language teachers in a town near Quetta.

The case has received wide attention in Chinese media and underlined the concerns in China even as the government goes ahead with major investments in Pakistan.

On Friday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said, "We are highly concerned." Hua said China had "always been advising Chinese citizens to not visit highly risky regions" but did not clarify if any prior warnings for Balochistan had been issued.

advertisement

Hua, however, said the incident "has no necessary connection" either with the Belt and Road Initiative or the SCO gathering and that Pakistan "pays great attention to the protection of Chinese citizens and institutions and has made great efforts in this regard".

ALSO READ: Pakistan scrambles to protect Silk Road Corridor after killing of Chinese teachers

Killing of Chinese nationals in Pakistan a matter of grave concern, says Beijing

Xi Jinping snubs Nawaz Sharif at SCO Summit after 2 Chinese nationals murdered in Pakistan

--- ENDS ---
Transurethral resection of bladder tumors (TURBT) is a necessary component of the evaluation, diagnosis, and management of all stages of bladder cancer. This procedure demands visualization and careful resection of tumors within the bladder; an environment often complicated by irregularity, intravesical debris, and ongoing hematuria from friable tumors. Further, the often multifocal nature of cancer within the bladder demands careful inspection to identify what may be subtle tumors. Complete resections are important for appropriate diagnosis, clinical staging, and prevention of recurrent disease.Several new technologies have emerged to facilitate improved resections. Bipolar electrocautery has been extensively used and demonstrated similar safety profile to monopolar cautery with potentially superior preservation of pathologic specimens.Most exciting is the addition of enhanced cystoscopy techniques to improve tumor visualization. Blue light cystoscopy following preoperative administration of hexyl-aminolevulinate HCL (Cysview, Photocure ASA, Norway) has been demonstrated to result in better visualization of bladder tumors with subsequent decreased rates of recurrenceNarrow Band Imaging (NBI, Olympus Medical, USA), though not as extensively studied or validated as blue light cystoscopy, has been demonstrated to also improve tumor detection.Capacity of these technologies to facilitate decreased rates of disease progression have not yet been well established and optimal application of these technologies continues to be explored at various stages of bladder cancer care. However, they represent tremendous advances over traditional resection techniques and provide direct benefits to patients. It is anticipated that continued research in this arena will lead to development of improved biomarkers, effective intravesical therapies, and novel technologies for bladder cancer management.Beyond technologic considerations, clinical TURBT outcomes are highly dependent on surgeon factors such as experience and operative time.TURBT requires practiced awareness and technique for complete visualization and safe resection of all tumors. Training protocols and standardization of techniques are currently lacking. We recently described a resection technique especially applicable to a training environment but additional efforts towards validation and identification of optimal methods for training such as use of simulation tools are needed.Current guidelines recommend repeat TURBT for all patients with an incomplete initial resection or disease involving the lamina propria of the bladder as well as consideration for repeat resection in those patients with any high grade tumor.These guidelines reflect a failure of initial TURBT to consistently remove and stage bladder cancer adequately. It is hoped that improvements such as enhanced cystoscopy and standardized surgical training will one day obviate the need for repeated procedures, improving patient care and limiting costs. Though long established in the care of bladder cancer, TURBT continues to evolve to the benefit of bladder cancer patients.Author: Daniel Zainfeld, MD, USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA; Siamak Daneshmand, MD, Keck Medical Center of USC, Los Angeles, CATwitter: @dzainfeld & @siadaneshmandReferences:1. Xishuang, S. et al. Comparing the safety and efficiency of conventional monopolar, plasmakinetic, and holmium laser transurethral resection of primary non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. J. Endourol.6973 (2010).2. Venkatramani, V., Panda, A., Manojkumar, R. & Kekre, N. S. Monopolar versus bipolar transurethral resection of bladder tumors: a single center, parallel arm, randomized, controlled trial. J. Urol.17031707 (2014).3. Daneshmand, S. et al. Hexaminolevulinate blue-light cystoscopy in non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer: review of the clinical evidence and consensus statement on appropriate use in the USA. Nat. Rev. Urol.589596 (2014).4. Burger, M. et al. Photodynamic diagnosis of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer with hexaminolevulinate cystoscopy: a meta-analysis of detection and recurrence based on raw data. Eur. Urol.846854 (2013).5. Naselli, A., Introini, C., Bertolotto, F., Spina, B. & Puppo, P. Feasibility of transurethral resection of bladder lesion performed entirely by means of narrow-band imaging. J. Endourol.11311134 (2010).6. Bos, D. et al. Impact of resident involvement in endoscopic bladder cancer surgery on pathological outcomes. Scand. J. Urol.234238 (2016).7. Matulewicz, R. S. et al. The effect of surgical duration of transurethral resection of bladder tumors on postoperative complications: An analysis of ACS NSQIP data. Urol. Oncol.338.e19-24 (2015).8. Bazargani, S., Djaladat, H., Schuckman, A. K., Hugen, C. & Daneshmand, S. Blue Light Cystoscopy with Cysview: The USC Experience.9. de Vries, A. H. et al. The Simbla TURBT Simulator in Urological Residency Training: From Needs Analysis to Validation. J. Endourol.580587 (2015).10. American Urological Association - Diagnosis and Treatment of Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer: AUA/SUO Joint Guideline. Available at: http://www.auanet.org/guidelines/non-muscle-invasive-bladder-cancer- (aua/suo-joint-guideline-2016). (Accessed: 18th May 2017)
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court last week rejected a bail request from Ny Chakrya, a senior member of the countrys election body who has been charged with being an accomplice to bribery.

On June 6, Investigating Judge Theam Chanpiseth ordered that as Chakrya was charged with a crime that could lead to more than a year in prison and he would not be granted bail.

Chanpiseth said that as the investigation into Chakryas alleged offense was ongoing, he should not be released in case he attempted to prejudice proceedings.

Som Sokong, Chakryas lawyer, rejected the decision by the court.

We cant accept this because we have seen so far that the suspect ... was arrested and jailed in different places ... if we look at the court procedure, there is no further charge against any suspect or accused person during the investigation, he said.

He added that Chakryas legal team had already filed an appeal over the decision.

Chakrya is one of five suspects who were detained over allegations that they had bribed a witness in a case against opposition leader Kem Sokha.

Chanpiseth could not be reached for comment.

Sokong said a change in the political landscape was needed in order for the courts to hear the case fairly. I have hope for either legal or political means. If these things dont go well, I think it will be impossible, he said.
The government and ruling party last week refused a request from the UN human rights commissioners office to release a number of political prisoners detained since the 2013 general election.

Sixteen opposition members and activists have been detained along with four human rights workers, an election official and a prominent land rights activist.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights called for them to be released as a good will gesture in the aftermath of relatively free and fair local elections held earlier this month.

Phay Siphan, government spokesman, said that the UN was attempting to interfere in Cambodian politics.

Individuals who are legally guilty must be held accountable in court. This is fair in the fight against impunity. Fighting against impunity will ensure democracy and social order is strengthened, he said.

Sok Eysan, Cambodian Peoples Party spokesman, denied that the Cambodian government had ever intimidated or threatened opposition figures.

The UN should advise the opposition activists not to break the law if they want to avoid being punished and detained rather then asking the government to set them free, he said.

Am Sam Ath, monitoring manager at local human rights group Licadho, however, said if the government relented and released the activists it would go a long way to heal divisions in society ahead of a general election next year.

The government will be criticized, especially by international institutions ... who will say that the government is pressuring freedom of expression in Cambodia, he said.
June is Gay Pride Month in the United States, but this year protests are mingled with the celebrations amid concern hard-won civil rights could be under threat from the Trump administration.

In Los Angeles, Alexei Romanoff, a long-time LGBTQ civil rights activist, served as grand marshal of this years gay pride parade and festival. Romanoff, 80, has dedicated his life to normalizing the image of same-sex couples along with advocacy for protection against AIDs.

Romanoff's mother brought him to the United States from Russia when he was 4 years old. At the age of nine, he made a startling discovery: he was attracted to boys.

Seventy years ago, homosexuality was considered a psychiatric illness in America. If you acted on your impulses, you could have been sent to a hospital or jailed for "lewd conduct."

Romanoff recalls what happened to two friends of his, partners who were together at a bar years ago in Silver Lake, California.

"They were in a bar, and Sal was sitting in a chair and Steve was standing over him, and they were talking to a couple other people, and they were drinking," he says. "[Steve] looked away and talked to someone, and his glass tipped, and it spilled a little onto Sal, and...he brushed his chest off, Sals chest. And there were two vice officers in there, and they arrested them for lewd conduct.

On New Years Eve in 1967, just at the stroke of midnight, policemen burst into the Black Cat gay bar and arrested 14 people who were celebrating with a kiss. In response, hundreds of gays and supporters took to the streets in what is thought to be the first mass gay rights demonstration. Romanoff was one of its organizers.

I was sick and tired of being sick and tired, and we had to do something to change the status quo, he says.

WATCH THE VIDEO:

Over the last 15 years some states have legalized same-sex marriage. Alexei and his partner made their relationship legal in 2008. They say that marriage was necessary for them to protect each other legally.

We found that out once when I was in a hospital, I nearly died from a ruptured aneurysm," says David Farah, Alexei's spouse. "I was taken to the hospital by ambulance, Alexei followed and he was denied admission to me in the emergency room because he wasnt my spouse.

In June of 2015, same-sex marriage became legal in the whole country. But there are still no laws prohibiting discrimination against sexual minorities.

In the majority of the States of the U.S., it is legal to fire me or to deny me housing because I am gay," Farah says.

Last weekend's gay pride parade and festival in Los Angeles, during which Romanoff proudly served as grand marshal, not only celebrated gay pride, but also called for civil rights for all  gay, women and immigrants.
The Nigerian government recently negotiated the release of 82 of the Chibok schoolgirls taken by Boko Haram in 2014. Foreign governments and aid groups have been assisting the young women as they undergo rehabilitation in the Nigerian capital.

One-hundred-and-six liberated Chibok girls remain in the capital under the custody of the Nigerian Ministry of Women Affairs.

The majority were released by Boko Haram during a prisoner swap last month, just more than three years after their kidnapping. Others were freed via negotiations in October. Three of the girls escaped on their own.

The ministry is providing them with skills training, educational classes and psychosocial support.

Women Affairs Minister Aisha Jummai Alhassan spoke at a recent event in Abuja. She said one of the governments main priorities for the freed Chibok girls is to ensure that they return to school, possibly in September.

They are going back to school because they had aspirations. That was why their parents put them in school from where they were abducted. When they stabilize and when they recover, we will still put them back to school, she said.

The government said the girls will not return to their former school in Chibok, which has sparked criticism from activists and the girls families. But the government says it is protecting the girls and monitoring their rehabilitation, which includes recreational activities, weekly religious programs and classes in biology, math and English. The rehabilitation is expected to last nine months.

Wherever they are, the fact that they are not with the terrorists is considered OK for them, says Allen Manasseh, a member of the Bring Back Our Girls Group.

Manasseh spoke to some of the girls at the rehab center and he told VOA they said they are doing fine. Two of Manassehs cousins are among the Chibok girls still missing.

Foreign governments and aid groups are helping out in the rehab process.

The Canadian government recently donated dignity kits containing sanitary items and clothes to the freed Chibok girls. They smiled while the kits were handed out, but did not make any statements.

The Chibok Girls are symbolic of a vast humanitarian challenge affecting millions of lives," says Christopher Thornley, the Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria. "This is why Canada has stepped up this year to provide $27 million to U.N. agencies and NGO partners for humanitarian assistance in the northeast. This includes $2 million that we have provided the UNFPA to support the Chibok girls as well as its interventions in the northeast.

The Chibok girls were Boko Harams largest and most high-profile kidnapping. The militants abducted 276 girls from their dormitories in Chibok in April 2014. More than 100 of the girls are still missing.

The Nigerian government says hostage negotiations with Boko Haram are ongoing.

VOA Hausa service contributed to this report.
Argentina's center-right government is trying to improve its image among the poor ahead of October's mid-term election by paying young supporters to do social work in shantytowns surrounding the capital of Buenos Aires.

The youthful activists in their signature blue jackets are struggling to gain traction, however, in areas where the opposition Peronists have painstakingly built community networks since their founder Juan Peron governed in the 1940s.

Residents like Jorgelina Cardozo, who runs a free food pantry in the southern suburb of Florencio Varela, complain that Macri's welfare workers are looking for quick photo opportunities rather than long-term improvement.

"They said they would keep coming but then, nothing. Nobody from the government calls anymore," she said.

Macri's allies need a strong showing in mid-term elections to convince investors he can win a second term and execute an ambitious agenda of economic reform. The province of Buenos Aires surrounding the capital city of the same name is particularly important as it is home to a quarter of the national electorate, much of it either working class or without work.

Macri was elected in late 2015 on promises to dismantle the heavy-handed trade and currency controls favored by his predecessor Cristina Fernandez, a free-spending Peronist who financed her government's deficit by printing pesos.

Macri, scion of one of Argentina's wealthiest families, eked out a surprise win in Buenos Aires province in 2015. But he has cut popular energy and transportation subsidies to get Argentina's finances in order, earning some enemies in low-income towns.

Looking to strengthen ties to the hardscrabble communities, Macri's "We're Here" program pays about $500 per month to 250 young people supporting independent organizations that provide food and social services and organize sport and cultural events.

'Doing things differently'

Fernandez's opponents say she and her fellow Peronists bought votes with generous government spending in the poor and heavily populated circle of suburbs around the capital.

Macri's government, composed of many former bankers and executives, says they are more genuinely concerned with social welfare and with fighting corruption.

"The policy under the previous administration was clearly understood: you scratch my back, I scratch yours," Pedro Robledo, the 25-year-old head of the "We're Here" program, told Reuters.

"Social workers under the Macri government are doing things differently."

People like Maria Canete, who runs a food kitchen providing for 340 children up from 200 in 2015 in the suburb of Quilmes, remain skeptical.

"With the previous government I did not want for anything. It's more difficult now. The food we distribute is not arriving like it used to," said Canete, adding that she sometimes dips into her own pension to buy the food.

A third of the Senate and half the lower House of Congress are up for election in October. Macri's Cambiemos, or "Let's Change", coalition is not expected to win a majority in either chamber.

But if his allies beat candidates affiliated with Fernandez, who may run for a Senate seat in Buenos Aires province herself, investors will take heart in Macri's 2019 prospects.

"If Macri's allies gain ground in the October election, he will start looking like a two-term president," said political analyst Rosendo Fraga.

Evita legacy

While his supporters are mostly upper and middle class, Macri says he would like his mandate to be judged on his ability to lower Argentina's poverty rate, now above 30 percent.

Macri's government formed alliances with moderate Peronists and passed legislation early in his term, ending a decade-long dispute with hold-out creditors and passing a budget aimed at cutting the deficit.

But the government was forced to moderate its proposal for an income tax reform last year and a capital markets reform eagerly awaited by investors has lulled.

For a government bent on modernizing the economy, nostalgia for the old days can be a formidable foe.

Fernandez, who succeeded her late husband Nestor, won two presidential elections thanks in part to comparisons to Peron's wife Evita who is still adored by many working class Argentines 64 years after her death because of her charity work and founding of hospitals and orphanages.

"Things were better when Fernandez was president," said Micaela Benitez, an unemployed 22-year-old attending a government-sponsored event in the suburb of San Miguel.
Bangladesh has begun training thousands of school girls to protect them from being blackmailed or harassed online following an alarming rise in cybercrimes.

Government officials recently finished conducting a pilot project in which female students from urban areas were taught how to keep themselves safe if faced with online threats.

Most of the victims of cybercrime in our country are young girls. So, we decided to spread awareness among the girls first," said Zunaid Ahmed Palak, state minister of the Information & Communication Technology (ICT) Division of Bangladeshs Ministry of Post, Telecommunication & Information Technology. "In this pilot project, over 10,000 girls from 40 schools and colleges took part in our workshops and we got a massive response. Now we have our target to take this campaign across the whole country involving 40 million students in 170,000 schools and colleges.

Internet growth

Bangladesh has experienced a double-digit growth in internet use every year in the past 15 years and almost half of the social media users in the country are women and teenage girls, but authorities say they make up about 70 percent of cybercrime victims.

Mishuk Chakma, a cybersecurity expert of Dhaka Metropolitan Police said the boyfriends of the Facebook-using girls often trick them into posing for intimate photographs or videos.

Later, when their relationships are on the rocks, their former boyfriends post the photos and videos in the social media to emotionally blackmail the girls. Such photos and videos often trigger troubles in the lives of the girls after they get into new relationships or get married, Chakma told VOA. In such a situation many marital relationships are getting into troubles and even in a few cases the girls are taking extreme steps like attempting suicide.

Sahana, a 15-year-old who took part in an ICT-organized workshop, said she feels she has benefitted from the training.

I shall verify ones identity in many ways before I accept his or her Facebook friend request now. Now I have also learned that I should not disclose much of my personal information on Facebook, she said. Also, I am quite confident now that none can harass or blackmail me on Facebook.

Raising awareness

Sometimes the criminals are superimposing faces of the girls, who are known to them, onto the bodies of nude models or adult film stars to blackmail and defame the girls, Chakma said.

Cyber harassment of girls and women can be effectively curbed if the spread of awareness among the social media users increases, he said.

ICT hired cybersecurity consulting agency Four D Communications to conduct the recent training of the 10,000 girls.

Abdullah Al Imran, managing director of Four D Communications, said apart from learning how to defend themselves online, the girls also learned how to bring cyber criminals to justice.

Very surprisingly we found that as much as 93 percent of the girls who participated in the training did not know that Bangladesh already has an ICT Act to help cyber harassment victims. We also taught them where and how they would seek help in case they were harassed or blackmailed online, Imran said. Girls mostly from urban areas took part in our pilot project. I am sure, in smaller towns and rural areas the Internet literacy level among girls is even lower and they are more vulnerable there.

But lawyer Tureen Afroz, an advocate in Dhakas Supreme Court, said the government should tighten or update laws to deal with the growing cybercrime.

Indeed it's a good initiative that the government is trying to educate the girls and raise awareness among them about the growing trend of cybercrimes. But, the government also needs to revamp the judiciary to achieve higher rate of success in fight against such crimes, she said. "We are still unable to make the best use of smarter electronic evidences to pin down the cyber criminals in the court of law."

Expansion

Senior officials say the government is keen to spread cyber safety awareness across the whole country.

Abul Mansur Mohammad Sharf Uddin, who heads the governments cyber safety awareness campaign, said his department is busy on a blueprint to expand the campaign.

For the students, the contents on Internet literacy, which will be included to the national curriculum, will be ready soon. We want to introduce the course not just in schools and colleges, but also in over 100 universities of the country. We will also raise teachers across academic institutions of the country who will conduct cyber safety training classes for students locally, Sharf Uuddin said.
British business leaders are stepping up their Brexit-related demands, seeking to capitalize on last weeks election which saw Theresa Mays ruling Conservatives weakened and denied an outright parliamentary majority.

They are lobbying for the government to negotiate a much closer relationship with the European Union than previously planned by the embattled May, who appears determined to cling to power, at least in the short term, in the face of fury in the party over last weeks election result.

We must have access to the European market  it is our biggest trading partner, said Stephen Martin of the Institute of Directors, a lobbying group for business leaders. Business confidence has plunged since last Thursdays upset election amid signs of a sharp economic slowdown, and company bosses blame uncertainty over the make-up of the government and over Brexit, according to a survey taken by the institute of its members.

Business demands



It is hard to overstate what a dramatic impact the current political uncertainty is having on business leaders, and the consequences could  if not addressed immediately  be disastrous for the UK economy, said Martin. Nearly 72 percent of IoD members said reaching a new trade agreement with the EU should be the highest priority of the new government.

Business leaders, who view the election result as a rebuff of Mays "hard Brexit" plan, are urging the prime minister to confirm quickly the residency rights of three million European nationals already living in Britain, arguing they are crucial for key sectors of the British economy. They also at the very least want non-tariff access to the Single Market.

Airbus, the aerospace giant, has laid out non-negotiable demands to the government on Brexit, including freedom of movement of their workers and maintaining regulatory harmonization with the EU, warning that if the demands arent met production will be shifted overseas. The company employs 10,000 workers in Britain and says another 100,000 British jobs are dependent on Airbus remaining in the country.

Uncertainties



But as business leaders demand a rethink of Brexit, it remains unclear what direction the twisting and turning May will take. The moves she has made so far to shore up her precarious position are sending mixed signals.

In a bid to stave off a leadership challenge, May has avoided making major changes to her Cabinet, leaving those most likely to challenge her for the leadership in the positions they held before last weeks election. Before the election shed planned a major cabinet shake-up.

But she has brought into the Cabinet arch-Brexiter Michael Gove, while at the same time promoting longtime friend the pro-EU Damien Green to act as her deputy. It appears that May is searching for a way to balance the demands of moderates and hard Brexiters in a desperate bid to cling to power.

But threading the needle isn't easy. She isn't being helped by her Brexit minister, David Davis, who when asked in a television interview Monday whether the government should now listen to business and pursue a softer break with Europe insisted the hard Brexit plan hadn't changed.

In a TV interview Sunday, Michael Fallon, the defense minister, had indicated the reverse, saying: We want to work with business on this.

In search of alliances



Senior party figures outside the Cabinet maintained a drumbeat of disapproval of May Monday, predicting she would have to leave shortly. Anna Soubry, a former minister who campaigned last June for Britain to stay in the EU during the Brexit referendum, said Mays position was untenable.

And Chris Patten, a former Conservative Party chairman, was highly critical of the parliamentary voting alliance May is concluding with Northern Irelands Protestant fundamentalist Democratic Unionist Party to boost her minority government, describing it as lamentable. These are not people we can trust, he said.

The ten Unionist lawmakers will give May a slight working majority in the House of Commons.

There are mounting fears that the voting alliance with the DUP risks unraveling the Northern Ireland peace process, which relies on the British government acting as a neutral broker between the DUP and the Catholic nationalist Sinn Fein.

Irish Republicans Monday condemned the voting arrangement being discussed between the DUP and Conservatives, warning it would end in tears. Northern Ireland has been without a devolved administration for three months following the collapse of power sharing as a result of disputes between the DUP and Sinn Fein.

May survived a crucial meeting of a gathering of Conservative lawmakers on Monday. Before the so-called 1922 Committee, she sounded some contrite notes and promised both a more open government and readiness to listen to their concerns.



Speaking after the meeting to VOA, Conservative lawmaker Jacob Rees Mogg said May had put on a "fine performance." Asked if all was now forgiven, he said her position is strong.

Hours before heading to meet the committee, Conservative officials disclosed the Queen's Speech, an address the monarch delivers to outline the legislative agenda of a new government, would be delayed. The speech was scheduled for June 19. The delay suggested May was encountering difficulties in concluding her talks with the DUP.
Two cybersecurity firms said they have uncovered malicious software that they believe caused a December 2016 Ukraine power outage, warning that the malware could be easily modified to harm critical infrastructure operations

around the globe.

ESET, a Slovakian anti-virus software maker, and Dragos Inc, a U.S. critical-infrastructure security firm, on Monday released detailed analyses of the malware, known as Industroyer or Crash Override. They said they had also issued private alerts to governments and infrastructure operators in a bid to help them defend against the threat.

They said they did not know who was behind the December Ukraine cyberattack. Ukraine has blamed Russia, though officials in Moscow have repeatedly denied blame.

Still, the security firms warned there could be more attacks using the same approach, either by the group that built the malware or copycats who modify the malicious software.

"The malware is really easy to re-purpose and use against other targets. That is definitely alarming," said ESET malware researcher Robert Lipovsky. "This could cause wide-scale damage to infrastructure systems that are vital."

Dragos founder Robert M. Lee said the malware is capable of attacking power systems across Europe and could be leveraged against the United States "with small modifications."

It is capable of causing outages of up to a few days in portions of a nation's grid, but is not potent enough to bring down a country's entire grid, Lee said.

With modifications, the malware could attack other types of infrastructure including local transportation providers, water and gas providers, Lipovsky said.

Industroyer is only the second piece of malware uncovered to date that is capable of disrupting industrial processes without the need for hackers to manually intervene after gaining remote access to the infected system.

The first, Stuxnet, was discovered in 2010 and is widely believed by security researchers to have been used by the United States and Israel to attack Iran's nuclear program.

A spokesman for Ukraine's state cyber police said it was not clear whether the malware was used in the December 2016 attack because the security firms had not provided authorities with the samples they had analyzed.

Representatives with Ukraine's state-run Computer Emergency Response Team, which advises businesses on defending against cyberattacks, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Kremlin and Russia's Federal Security Service did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

Crash Override can be detected if a utility specifically monitors its network for abnormal traffic, including signs that the malware is searching for the location of substations or sending messages to switch breakers, according to Lee, a former U.S. Air Force cyber warfare operations officer.

Malware has been used in other disruptive attacks on industrial targets, including the 2015 Ukraine power outage, but in those cases human intervention was required to interfere with operations.

ESET said it had been analyzing the malware for several months and had held off on going public to preserve the integrity of investigations into the power system hack.

It said it last week shared samples with Dragos, which said it was able to independently verify that it was used in the Ukraine grid attack.
A leading Egyptian rights lawyer widely expected to run in next year's presidential election has called President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi a "traitor" over his government's decision to hand over two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia.

Khaled Ali made his comment during a meeting of opposition parties called Sunday to denounce an ongoing review by lawmakers of the April 2016 agreement that surrendered the islands to the Saudis. A video of his address before the meeting was posted on social media on Monday. He could now face legal consequences for publicly insulting the president.



Egypt's government maintains that the islands of Tiran and Sanafir at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba belong to Saudi Arabia but were placed under Egypt's protection in the 1950s in anticipation of Israeli attacks. El-Sissi has repeatedly emphasized that his government would never cede Egyptian territory or keep what belongs to others.



"The president is a traitor and the prime minister is a traitor," said Ali, who unsuccessfully ran in the 2012 presidential elections won by the Islamist Mohammed Morsi. "Whoever will be content to lower the Egyptian flag on Tiran and Sanafir and raise the Saudi flag in its place is a traitor," said Ali.



Already, there is a court case accusing Ali of making an obscene finger gesture on the street outside the courthouse where the transfer of the islands was annulled in January. If convicted in a final ruling, he could face up to six months in prison or a fine.



A conviction would take away Ali's eligibility to run for office, according to his lawyers. He is already seen as a long shot against el-Sissi, who has presided over a widespread crackdown on dissent.



Ali and other critics of the agreement argue that the January court ruling was final and should be respected by the 596-seat chamber, which is packed with el-Sissi supporters. He led a team of lawyers who challenged the agreement in court.



Parliament speaker Ali Abdel-Al, a staunch government supporter, has said the legislature has the constitutional right to ratify international agreements. Court rulings running contrary to this principle, he told lawmakers on Sunday, are only of concern to the judiciary.



Parliament's legislative and constitutional committee on Monday continued to review the agreement. At one point, lawmakers opposed to the pact chanted "Egyptian, Egyptian!," alluding to the islands, and screamed "illegitimate" when one lawmaker suggested that Gamal Abdel-Nasser, Egypt's nationalist leader of the 1950s and 1960s, acknowledged that the islands were Saudi.



The ratification of the agreement by the full house is a virtual foregone conclusion since government supporters enjoy an overwhelming majority, but such a move risks a repeat of the street protests that greeted the agreement last year. The protests, the largest since el-Sissi took office in 2014, were met by the arrest of hundreds of activists and demonstrators, most of them were later released. It could also leave the legislative branch of government in a potentially destabilizing legal battle with the judiciary.
The city of Addis Ababa is distributing more than $4 million to victims of a huge garbage landslide that killed more than 100 people on March 13.

Hundreds more were injured or otherwise affected by the disaster at the Koshe landfill on the outskirts of Ethiopia's capital.

The city raised the money through a combination of private and government donations.

One Koshe resident, Ersemo Balbamo, lost three of his children and all of his property, but, he sounded content with his compensation.

"The city administration is fulfilling the promise they made to the public and I would like to thank them for that," he told VOA's Amharic service on Monday. "We are discussing what is left to do and we are presenting our situation in a report form so that we can fix what needs to be fixed. They are accepting our questions and fixing the issues we have so I don't have any complaints."

Another resident, Mesfin Esubalew, was less satisfied, complaining about a lack of water and electricity at a site where the government has relocated some of the survivors.

"We only have two bono [water-pumping stations] for 100 people," he told VOA. "We have 10 holes that serve as our bathroom for 100 people."

No cause determined

Many people live in cardboard and plastic shelters at Koshe, while others climb through the giant mounds of trash each day, looking for items they can use or sell.

Authorities have yet to determine what caused the landslide. Some of the victims complained that distribution of the donations has been hampered by unnecessary bureaucratic delays, causing the displacement of families.

The city administration put the death toll from the landslide at 115, although the victims' families say the number was probably higher.

"There were large efforts to make sure that there aren't bodies still buried under [the trash]," said the head of Addis Ababa's Labor and Social Affairs Bureau, Ephrem Gizaw, on Monday.
Foreign influence is adding an unwelcome new mystery to the Philippine government's battle against a violent Muslim group that some suspect is not even fighting for a religious cause.

Armed Forces of the Philippines say they have cut the Maute Group, a suspected terrorist organization on the southern island Mindanao, to remnants after fighting it since May 23. They have killed scores and captured the parents of two brothers who started the group.

But now Philippine officials suspect people from Muslim nations as close as Indonesia are fighting alongside it in the battle-torn city of Marawi and may be sending money as well.

Foreign military

The Philippines has always been a weaker link in the war against terror, said Antonio Contreras, a political scientist at De La Salle University in the Philippines. We have a very porous border. We are an archipelago. We also have weak navy power. So its very easy to get into the Philippines.

Among the 134 people who the presidential office says have been neutralized in strikes on Marawi, two Saudis, two Indonesians, two Malaysians, a Yemeni and a Chechen were killed, Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told Philippine media June 2. Kuwaiti and Syrian nationals also turned up in May.

Arrests show foreign participation

Authorities in the Philippines have arrested other foreign nationals with suspected links to the Maute Group and are looking for more Indonesians. Police in Indonesia, a largely Muslim country, have made their own arrests, including a man suspected of helping Indonesians travel to the Philippines.

Transfers of funds have also reached the four-year-old Maute Group, said military spokesman Restituto Padilla in a video released May 29.

Mystery about how much foreign help the Maute Group gets, from where and even for what reasons have frustrated the battle that has killed 13 marines this month and affected more than 200,000 people, many who have fled Marawi.

Religion, politics or crime?

The group may have cells outside Marawi on the surrounding island Mindanao, some analysts say, and it may be backing a crime racket rather than a political cause.

While we cannot positively say that the Maute Group is specifically funded by foreign networks and sponsors, it can be said that they are certainly part of transnational terrorist networks, said Fabrizio Bozzato, a Taiwan Strategy Research Association fellow specializing in Asian political issues.

We cannot exclude future scenarios in which the ranks of the Maute or similar groups are beefed up by a substantial number of foreign militants, making the fight much harder for the Filipino government, he said.

Philippine officials are calling the group "Maute ISIS" after the violent extremist network Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The group has pledged allegiance to Islamic State (IS) and wears its signature garb, but its unclear whether IS has reciprocated.

Local issues

The Moro people, Muslims who reached impoverished Mindanao and the adjacent Sulu Sea of the Philippines centuries ago, resent the countrys Catholic majority for what they perceive as unequal rights over resources. Their anger has spawned numerous armed rebel groups, including one that signed a peace accord with the government in 2014.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte Monday told an infantry division in Mindanao the fighting now is about drugs rather than religion. I refused to believe that it is religion that fueled this war, Duterte said on Philippine National Day. It never has been and it is not now.

But Philippine troops started the battle last month by striking Maute Group fighters in Marawi on suspicion they were colluding with Abu Sayyaf. Abu Sayyaf is a Philippine kidnapping oufit that operates along the Sulu Sea and that the Islamic State has tapped to form a caliphate in the Philippines.

The war goes on

The president is offering a bounty of 10 million pesos ($202,000) for the neutralization of Isnilon Hapilon, an Abu Sayyaf leader who works as an emir of IS in the Philippines, the armed forces says on its website.

We dont know what the deal is. I know ISIS is claiming it. But we know the Maute Group and theyre not religious or political in any way, said Rhona Canoy, president of an international school and part of a political family in Cagayan de Oro, a Mindanao city where some of the Marawi refugees are staying.

I was born and raised here," she said. "None of these people are politically or religiously inclined when they get this bad.

U.S. advisers since 2002 have helped the Philippines detect terrorist threats in Mindanao, where violence involving Muslim rebels has killed about 120,000 since the 1960s. China offered $14 million worth of military aid, partly for counter-terrorism work, and Malaysia has pledged its own support.

The U.S. government has helped improve security in a Sulu Sea region that covers parts of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines through varied courses of instruction, the U.S. Department of State says on its website.
President Emmanuel Macron and his supporters will seek to "restore the trust" of the French people after a record low turnout in the first round of the parliamentary election, Macron's government spokesman said on Monday.

Fewer than half of all registered voters cast a ballot on Sunday, unprecedented in France's post-war Fifth Republic, prompting some of Macron's opponents to cast doubt on the strength of the likely mandate of the president, who wants to quickly introduce economic reforms.

Pollsters blamed voter fatigue, disillusion with politicians and projections that Macron would secure a commanding majority for the high abstention rate.

Macron's party is still poised to win comfortably in the second round.

"It is a failure of this election," government spokesman Christophe Castaner, who is also minister for parliamentary relations, told France 2 television. "We have to take note, we have to restore trust."

Other senior Republic on the Move (LREM) officials echoed Castaner, in an apparent bid to draw the sting out of criticism that might later complicate or tarnish the social and labor reforms that Macron wants to enact.

LREM president Catherine Barbaroux said the weak turnout would be a "key challenge for the government in the weeks to come". She said that as encouraging as Sunday's result was, more voters needed to get out in the second round.

Pollsters project LREM and its center-right Modem ally are on course to win as many as three quarters of 577 seats in the lower house next week.

Some Macron rivals are calling his future lawmakers "godillots," or yes men, a label given to President Charles De Gaulle's parliamentarians who were viewed as rubber-stamping his policies.

Jean-Luc Melenchon, the hard-left's failed presidential candidate, has warned voters against concentrating power in the hands of a single party loyal to a president who received less than one in every four votes in the opening round of the presidential election.

"The huge abstention rate shows that there is no majority in this country in favor of destroying the labor code, nor for reducing liberties ... nor to pander to the rich, all things that feature in the president's program," Melenchon said late on Sunday night.

Investor confidence

If forecasts that LREM and Modem win 390-445 seats prove correct, it would be France's biggest majority in decades, and would effectively leave only the powerful trade union movement as a potential obstacle to the former banker's reforms.

"If there is no debate in parliament it will take place in the street," said conservative candidate Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet who faces a run-off in her constituency against a LREM candidate. "If there is no debate, parliament is reduced to being a chamber of record.

Investors shrugged off any concerns over turnout, buoyed by the scale of Macron's projected win and implications for reforms, in particular the relaxing of France's stringent labor code.

The thrust of the reforms is to allow a wider range of conditions to be set in the workplace rather than at sectoral level. Another goal is to set minimum/maximum compensation awards in unfair dismissal cases and speed up labor tribunal processing of such cases.

The vote delivered a further painful blow to the Socialist and conservative parties that had alternated in power for decades until Macron's election in May blew apart the left-right divide.

It was also a poor result for the far-right National Front, which just a month ago was dreaming of its anti-establishment leader Marine Le Pen holding the keys to the Elysee.

In a sign of the mood in the Socialist Party, Benoit Hamon, its failed presidential candidate, also ejected from the parliamentary race, tweeted a picture of Sisyphus the Greek mythological king embodying eternal work, and punishment.
Hundreds of people gathered in Orlando, Florida, Monday to mark the one-year anniversary of the shooting at the gay nightclub Pulse that left 49 people dead and 53 others injured.

People placed flowers, drawings and the rainbow flag of the gay rights movement at the nightclub, while 49 people dressed as angels, in large white wings, surrounded the building.

WATCH: Love, Kindness replace hate

Club opens for private ceremony

The club opened Monday at 2 a.m.  the time of the attack  to relatives of the victims and survivors of the shooting for a private ceremony, when the names of the 49 people killed were read aloud.

A memorial service was held later in the day and attended by city officials. Both Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs said the kindness shown after the tragedy is what will be remembered most.

The Orlando Gay Chorus performed four songs at the event. A member of the chorus, Dan Jones, said: What the shooter was trying to do was to destroy the LGBT community. And what he did was brought the LGBT community together, but also built bridges with other communities that we didn't have those bridges with before.

June 12 has officially been named Orlando United Day to commemorate the attack in which 29-year-old Omar Mateen entered the Pulse nightclub with an assault rifle and began shooting. During a standoff with police, Mateen claimed allegiance to Islamic State before he was killed in an exchange of gunfire.

President Donald Trump tweeted a picture of the 49 victims Monday and wrote We will NEVER FORGET the victims who lost their lives one year ago today in the horrific #PulseNightClub shooting. #OrlandoUnitedDay.

Everything has changed

The owner of the nightclub, Barbara Poma, said everything has changed since the shooting.

Everything you do every day is different. Your heart is forever changed. Your life is forever changed," she said."The whole direction of life has changed.

She said the club, which has never reopened, will become a permanent memorial.

Florida's Governor Rick Scott ordered all flags around Florida to be flown at half-staff Monday. At noon, church bells throughout Orlando rang 49 times to honor the victims.

Mateen's widow, Noor Salman, is facing charges of aiding and abetting her husband and lying to authorities investigating the shooting. She has pleaded not guilty.
The International Labor Organization (ILO) reports children caught in conflict and natural disasters are most at risk of child labor and of falling prey to trafficking, sexual exploitation and abuse. To mark the World Day Against Child Labor, the ILO is calling on governments to eliminate the worst forms of child labor.

The world is facing its greatest refugee and displacement crisis, with more than 65 million people forcibly displaced by war and persecution. Children are among those most at risk of exploitation from the breakdown of family and social systems, the loss of homes, schools, and livelihoods.

The ILO reports an estimated 168 million children are in child labor globally, including 85 million engaged in the worst forms of child labor. This includes the use of children who work in slave-like conditions, in hazardous work, such as mining and agriculture, and in the use of children in combat or as prostitutes.

The ILO reports child labor is most prevalent in Asia and Africa.

ILO Senior Technical Officer on Crisis and Fragile Situations Insaf Nizam told VOA children are particularly abused in situations of conflict in Africa, where many are recruited as child soldiers by armed groups in conflicts such as Somalia, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic.

We also have seen certain armed groups using children for extreme types of violence as suicide bombers or forcibly recruiting them as brides and for sexual slavery. So, the types of violations against children have increased in diversity, he said.

Nizam said children also are recruited as soldiers and suffer other forms of exploitation in conflicts in Asia and the Middle East. But he noted in countries such as the Philippines and Myanmar in eastern Asia, children run greater risks from natural disasters.

You get a lot of displacement of children. Families lose their livelihoods. Their community networks are lost. They are displaced. Communities become poor overnight. They lose their sources of income. Schools are either damaged or destroyed due to natural disasters. So, there children are pushed easily because of that, he said.

Nizam said conflicts tend to grab world attention more quickly than natural disasters. This, he said, is especially true of slow onset disasters, such as drought, climate change and floods.

He added these situations are as harmful as conflicts to children, who are easily exploited by nefarious people.
India has announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Washington later this month for his first meeting with President Donald Trump.

The External Affairs Ministry said Monday that Modi will meet Trump on June 26 to discuss bilateral relations.



Ties between the two countries prospered under former U.S. President Barack Obama, when India was seen as a partner to balance China's growing weight in Asia.



But Trump has focused on building ties with China, relying on it as key to tackling problems such as North Korea's nuclear program.



For India, other key concerns are Trump's decisions to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord and review the H1B visa program, under which thousands of skilled Indian workers go to the United States.
Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is on the brink of losing the two main centers of his "caliphate" but even though he is on the run, it may take years to capture or kill him, officials and experts said.

Islamic State fighters are close to defeat in the twin capitals of the group's territory, Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria, and officials say Baghdadi is steering clear of both, hiding in thousands of square miles of desert between the two.

"In the end, he will either be killed or captured, he will not be able to remain underground forever," said Lahur Talabany, the head of counterterrorism at the Kurdistan Regional Government, the Kurdish autonomous region in northern Iraq. "But this is a few years away still," he told Reuters.

One of Baghdadi's main concerns is to ensure those around him do not betray him for the $25 million reward offered by the United States to bring him "to justice," said Hisham al-Hashimi, who advises Middle East governments on Islamic State affairs.

"With no land to rule openly, he can no longer claim the title caliph," Hashimi said. "He is a man on the run and the number of his supporters is shrinking as they lose territory."

Iraqi forces have retaken much of Mosul, the northern Iraqi city the hardline group seized in June 2014 and from which Baghdadi declared himself "caliph" or leader of all Muslims shortly afterward. Raqqa, his capital in Syria, is nearly surrounded by a coalition of Syrian Kurdish and Arab groups.

The last public video footage of him shows him dressed in black clerical robes declaring his caliphate from the pulpit of Mosul's medieval Grand al-Nuri mosque back in 2014.

Born Ibrahim al-Samarrai, Baghdadi is a 46-year-old Iraqi who broke away from al-Qaida in 2013, two years after the capture and killing of the group's leader Osama bin Laden.

He grew up in a religious family, studied Islamic Theology in Baghdad and joined the Salaafi jihadist insurgency in 2003, the year of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. He was caught by the Americans who released him about a year later, as they considered him then as a civilian rather than a military target.

Bounty

He is shy and reserved, Hashimi said, and has recently stuck to the sparsely populated Iraq-Syria border where drones and strangers are easy to spot.

The U.S. Department of State's Counter-Terrorism Rewards Program had put the same $25 million bounty on bin Laden and Iraqi former president Saddam Hussein and the reward is still available for bin Laden's successor, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Neither Saddam nor bin Laden were voluntarily betrayed, but the bounties complicated their movements and communications.

"The reward creates worry and tension, it restricts his movements and limit the number of his guards," said Fadhel Abu Ragheef, a Baghdad-based expert on extremist groups. "He doesn't stay more than 72 hours in any one place."

Baghdadi "has become nervous and very careful in his movements," said Talabany, whose services are directly involved in countering Islamic State plots. "His circle of trust has become even smaller."

His last recorded speech was issued in early November, two weeks after the start of the Mosul battle, when he urged his followers to fight the "unbelievers" and "make their blood flow as rivers."

U.S. and Iraqi officials believe he has left operational commanders behind with diehard followers to fight the battles of Mosul and Raqqa, to focus on his own survival.

It is not possible to confirm his whereabouts.

Baghdadi does not use phones and has a handful of approved couriers to communicate with his two main aides, Iyad al-Obaidi, his defense minister, and Ayad al-Jumaili, in charge of security. There was no confirmation of an April 1 Iraqi state TV report that Jumaili had been killed.

Baghdadi moves in ordinary cars, or the kind of pick-up trucks used by farmers, between hideouts on both sides of the Iraqi-Syrian border, with just a driver and two bodyguards, said Hashimi.

The region is well known to his men as the hotbed of the Sunni insurgency against U.S. forces that invaded Iraq and later the Shiite-led governments that took over the country.

IS die-hards

At the height of its power two years ago, Islamic State ruled over millions of people in territory running from northern Syria through towns and villages along the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys to the outskirts of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

It persecuted non-Sunnis and even Sunnis who did not agree with its extreme version of Islamic law, with public executions and whippings for violating strict controls on appearance, behavior and movement.

But the group has been retreating since in the face of a multitude of local, regional and international forces, driven into action by the scores of deadly attacks around the world that it has claimed or inspired.

A few hundred thousand people now live in the areas under the group's control, in and around Raqqa and Deir al-Zor, in Syria's east, and in a few pockets south and west of Mosul.

Hashimi said Islamic State was moving some fighters out of Raqqa before it was encircled to regroup in Deir al-Zor.

Mosul, with a pre-war population of 2 million, was at least four times the size of any other the group has held. Up to 200,000 people are still trapped in the Old City, Islamic State's besieged enclave in Mosul, lacking supplies and being used as human shields to obstruct the progress of Iraqi forces by a U.S-led international coalition.

The Syrian Democratic Forces, made of Kurdish and Arab groups supported by the U.S.-led coalition, began to attack Raqqa last week, after a monthslong campaign to cut it off.

The militants are also fighting Russian and Iranian-backed forces in Syria loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, and mainly Sunni Muslim Syrian rebels backed by Turkey.

The last official report about Baghdadi was from the Iraqi military on Feb. 13. Iraqi F-16s carried out a strike on a house where he was thought to be meeting other commanders, in western Iraq, near the Syrian border, it said.

Overall, Islamic State has 8,000 fighters left, of which 2,000 are foreigners from other Arab states, Europe, Russia and central Asia, said Abu Ragheef.

"A small number compared to the tens of thousands arrayed against them in both countries, but a force to be reckoned with, made up of die-hards with nothing to lose, hiding in the middle of civilians and making extensive use of booby traps, mines and explosives," he said.

The U.S. government has a joint task force to track down Baghdadi which includes special operations forces, the CIA and other U.S. intelligence agencies as well as spy satellites of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency.

It will take more than that to erase his influence, Talabany said. "He is still considered the leader of ISIL and many continue to fight for him; that hasn't changed drastically," he said, using one of Islamic State's acronyms.

Even if killed or captured, he added, "his legacy and that of ISIL will endure unless radical extremism is tackled."
Islamic State is calling on its followers around the world to carry out attacks during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

A purported spokesman for the terror group made his grisly appeal on an audio tape on the ISIS channel on an encrypted messaging website called Telegram.

Countries targeted for attack in the message include the United States, Russia, Australia, Iran, Iraq, Syria and the Philippines as well as across Europe.

Islamic State claimed it was behind last week's twin attacks in Tehran, killing at least 12 people. The spokesman called for more bombings in Iran, saying the country is weaker than a spider's web.

IS traditionally has rallied its supporters to attack during Ramadan, which began this year on May 26 and lasts until June 24.
Italy's environment minister, Gian Luca Galletti, says the United States and the rest of the G-7 are far apart on the Paris Climate Agreement and will remain so.

Galletti is hosting other Group of Seven environment ministers for two days of talks in Bologna.

He said despite the policy split with the U.S., talks will take place on all matters concerning the global environment, including ways to clean up the polluted oceans.

"The international community is awaiting for our message," Galletti said, calling it one of sustainable development, ecology and serving the world population.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt appeared briefly at the Bologna talks. He had to return to Washington for a Cabinet meeting. But he tweeted that he "spent meaningful time" with the G-7 ministers.

"Engagement is essential to protecting and using our natural resources." Pruitt said.

The other G-7 ministers expressed disappointment at President Donald Trump's decision to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Accord, which seeks to limit carbon emissions and reduce the rising global temperatures.

Trump calls the pact unfair to the U.S., saying it would hurt the economy while doing next to nothing to prevent global warming.

His decision has been met with worldwide condemnation, including from within the U.S. itself. Many local governments pledge to carry out the provisions of Paris with or without the Trump administration.

Trump has proposed renegotiating the Paris accord. But other world leaders say that would be impossible.
3 Mary Beth Nickerson signs the wall outside of Pulse Nightclub while visiting the memorial on the one year anniversary of the shooting in Orlando, Florida.
Hundreds of thousands marched in cities across the United States in pride and protest to celebrate and demand full rights for the LGBT community.

The events had various names, including the Equality March in Washington, D.C., and the Resist March in Los Angeles.

But full recognition of the rights for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals was at the center of the parades, speeches and dancing in the streets.

Many of the marchers lamented what they believe is the setback in the progress made under the Obama administration in the new Trump White House.

While President Donald Trump himself has said little about LGBT rights, several members of his Cabinet have been openly critical of the gay community. They include Vice President Mike Pence and Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

They also point out that Trump broke an Obama tradition by not declaring June Gay Pride Month.

"I think we have an administration that is pointedly and deliberately not recognizing gay people, gay rights, trans-rights," one marcher in Washington told Reuters. "We've made so much progress over the last eight years. I'm not prepared to let that go."

Democratic Representative Maxine Waters led the crowd in chants for Trump's impeachment at the Los Angeles march.

Trump said during the presidential campaign that he is "fine" with the idea of gay marriage, and also said he does not care what bathroom a person uses -- a reference to court cases on whether a transgender student can use the bathroom of his or her choice.

But the Trump White House scrapped President Obama's guidance ordering public schools to let those students make that choice.

Sunday's marches came on an especially poignant day as many remembered the massacre at the Pulse nightclub -- a gay club in Orlando, Florida -- one year ago.

A pro-Islamic State gunman killed 49 people and wounded more than 50 in one of the most shocking hate crimes in U.S. history.
Two corporate sponsors have pulled their support for a controversial New York Public Theater production of Shakespeares Julius Caesar that depicts Caesar as U.S. President Donald Trump.



Delta Air Lines and Bank of America acted amid criticism the play crosses a line in its depiction of the grisly assassination of the Trump-Caesar character.



No matter what your political stance may be, the graphic staging of Julius Caesar at this summers Free Shakespeare in the Park does not reflect Delta Air Lines values, the company said in a statement late Sunday.



Their artistic and creative direction crossed the line on the standards of good taste, the company continued. We have notified them of our decision to end our sponsorship as the official airline of the Public Theater effective immediately.



Soon after Deltas announcement, Bank of America, a sponsor for 11 years, pulled its financial support for the play.



The Public Theater chose to present Julius Caesar in a way that was intended to provoke and offend, spokesman Susan Atran told the New York Times. Had this intention been made known to us, we would have decided not to sponsor it. We are withdrawing our funding for this production.

The presidents son, Donald Trump Jr., also weighed in on Twitter questioning how the Public Theater is funded.



I wonder how much of this "art" is funded by taxpayers? he tweeted. Serious question, when does art become political speech & does that change things?



In addition to Caesar made to look like Trump, the play includes a character who resembles First Lady Melania Trump.



The play is set to officially open Monday as part of the Public Theaters free Shakespeare in the Park festival. It has been running in previews since May 23.



The controversy comes amid several scandals involving anti-Trump stunts, including comedian and CNN personality Kathy Griffin posing with a severed head that looked like Trump and a CNN contributor, Reza Aslan, using profanity to describe the president in a tweet. CNN severed ties with both.
So far North Korea has rejected South Korean President Moon Jae-ins offers of unconditional humanitarian aid and cooperation.

Since he took office in early May, the new liberal South Korean leader has tried to balance strong support for military deterrence and international sanctions against Pyongyangs continued nuclear and ballistic missiles provocations with increased engagement to restart inter-Korean dialogue and cooperation.

Humanitarian assistance

The government in Seoul has approved numerous requests from private charities to offer assistance to help alleviate the rampant poverty and poor health conditions in North Korea, where 84 percent of households have borderline or poor food consumption, one-third of children suffer from malnutrition, and the infant mortality rate is 33 percent, according to the United Nations.

But the Kim Jong Un government in Pyongyang has not permitted these overtures, citing Seoul's support for U.N. Security Council sanctions adopted to punish Pyongyang's recent missile provocations.

Last week, North Korea denied entry to the Korean Sharing Movement, a private relief organization that provides insecticides, diagnostic kits and nets to prevent malaria. According to the World Health Organization, North Korea had over 7,000 malaria cases in 2015. Other aid projects are also waiting for approval from North Korea.

The North Korean state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun said in an editorial last week that, "Nobody can expect relations to improve just because they allow some humanitarian aid or civilian exchanges that the previous conservative clique halted."

Bong Young-shik, a political analyst with the Yonsei University Institute for North Korean Studies in Seoul, said Pyongyang is more interested in restarting major revenue generating projects like the Kaesong Industrial Complex and Kumgang Mountain tourism project, and is willing to hold up humanitarian aid as leverage to try to gain major concessions.

If youre mostly interested in getting the big prizes, you can just rule out losing some small prizes, which are humanitarian aid provided by South Korea, he said.

Bong said Pyongyang is also likely waiting to see what may come out of the meeting between President Moon and U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington later this month.

Impossible demands

North Korea has also set a steep price for allowing future reunions of families that have been separated by the division of the Korean Peninsula at the end of World War II. The last such reunion was in 2015.

The South recently proposed trying to arrange a new reunion in August to mark the anniversary of the end of the Second World War. But Pyongyang demanded Seoul first return a group of North Korean defectors, including 12 restaurant workers who sought asylum in the South last year. North Korea charges that these defectors were abducted while South Korea says they voluntarily fled.

Ahn Chan-il, a North Korean defector and analyst with the World Institute of North Korean studies, said the Kim Jong Un leadership is making seemingly impossible demands to improve inter-Korean ties because it expects relations to actually get worse in the short term.

The North Korea official news agency on Saturday indicated Pyongyang is close to testing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that could potentially reach the U.S. mainland. Such a severe provocation would be seen as a direct threat to U.S. national security. Ahn said it would draw, at the very least, much more severe sanctions, even from its main economic supporter China.

If North Korea does it, Kim Jong Un knows well that China will prepare sanctions such as blocking the oil pipeline (between the two countries,) Ahn said.

South Koreas Unification Ministry said Monday that Seoul will strongly respond to North Korea's missile provocations, but will also flexibly review private-level inter-Korean exchanges to try to reduce tensions without degrading the effectiveness of sanctions against the North.
Pakistan says a Chinese couple recently murdered by suspected Islamic State loyalists in southwestern Baluchistan province were preaching Christianity under the guise of doing business in the country.

The slain Chinese nationals were kidnapped at gunpoint late last month from the provincial capital, Quetta. There were no claims of responsibility until Thursday when IS, through its global mouthpiece the Amaq News Agency, claimed executing the hostages.

The kidnappers later released video footage showing the bloodied body of the Chinese man, Lee Zing Yang, taking his last breaths. Pakistani authorities swiftly evacuated 11 Chinese nationals from Quetta following the incident.

On Monday, Pakistani interior minister Nisar Ali Khan chaired a high-level meeting in the wake of the unfortunate incident and directed authorities to review the process of issuance of visas to Chinese nationals, according to an official statement.

It said a group of Chinese citizens, including the slain couple, had entered Pakistan on business visas, but instead of engaging in any business activity they went to Quetta and under the garb of learning Urdu language ... were actually engaged in preaching.

The statement added that a Korean national, Juan Won Seo, who runs an information technology-related company in the provincial capital was hosting the Chinese group.

Misuse of visa highly unfortunate

Minister Khan observed that it is highly unfortunate that a misuse of the terms of a business visa contributed to the unfortunate incident of abduction and subsequent murder of two innocent Chinese.

He also directed authorities to gather information about Chinese nationals in Pakistan and establish a database to enable security institutions to ensure their protection, according to the statement.

China is investing nearly $60 billion in Pakistan to help build infrastructure projects, including road and rail links as well as power plants. Baluchistan is at the center of the mega cooperation dubbed as China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, or CPEC.

A provincial government spokesman, Anwar-ul Haq Kakar, told VOA authorities have beefed up security measures after stepped up militant attacks in his province. He dismissed suggestions the violence has raised concerns in China.

A major portion, or at least 99 percent of the projects related to CPEC are quite secure and they are protected. There is a level of satisfaction over there [in China] by whatever measures are taken [by the] Pakistan government for the security and protection of their nationals, noted Kakar.

Thousands of Chinese have moved to Pakistan in recent years and there are reportedly more than 400,000 Chinese in the country, with a majority of them involved in private business activities.

The capital, Islamabad, hosts an estimated 25,000 Chinese nationals who are increasingly visible in central markets running a variety of businesses, including grocery stores, restaurants and pet clinics.
They were no common protests. As angry farmers dumped milk and vegetables on the streets in Indias western Maharashtra state and six farmers were killed by police in Madhya Pradesh state when they blocked roads and burnt vehicles, the spotlight has turned on growing rural distress in the country.

The protests flared unexpectedly when bumper harvests following a good monsoon were supposed to augur well for rural prosperity.

But the opposite has happened: a price crash due to the crop glut not just wiped away any prospect of a profit but left farmers struggling to pay back loans which they often raise to buy seeds, fertilizers and other inputs to plant crops.

Low crop prices

The violence witnessed last week was a rare eruption of anger in the rural community in a country whose economy is the worlds fastest-growing, but where tens of millions of farmers are coping with stagnating incomes as they struggle to make a living off small land holdings.

Experts say decades of neglect in crucial infrastructure in the farm sector has left behind Indias countryside. With no easy access to markets close to villages and few storage facilities, farmers say they are at the mercy of traders and middlemen who often do not give them a fair price for their produce.

The farmer does not have the right to set the price. It is the middlemen who set the price. They buy my produce for Rs 10 per kilo and sell it for Rs. 20 or 30 to customers. This is a major problem in the country, lamented Bhim Singh, a farmer in northern India. There should be better marketing platforms for us.



Once a week, he makes an 80 kilometer trip to Gurugram, a flourishing business hub near the capital New Delhi, where he sells directly to consumers to get a better price. But he says he is forced to dump the rest in a wholesale market for prices that barely cover his cost of cultivation.

Farmers always seem to suffer

There is a strong pro-consumer bias in the system, said agriculture economist Ashok Gulati at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations in New Delhi. When there is a drought, as there was in 2014 and 2015, farmers suffer as production drops, and when there is a good harvest they suffer again as prices crash in the absence of commensurate storage and processing facilities or due to export restrictions.



Rural experts have long urged the government to build more roads and markets closer to villages and storage facilities that will make it possible for them to sell produce at better prices when there is a bumper crop instead of resorting to distress sales as has happened this year.

Better roads and storage facilities needed

In fact, although food production has increased steadily in India making it self-sufficient, farmers incomes have lagged behind. New Delhi based agriculture expert Devender Sharma pointed out the average income of a farmer in 17 states, as per the governments 2016 economic survey, is a meager Rs. 20,000 (about $300) per year.

The real income of farmers is static for last 25 years. There is something terribly, terribly going wrong he requirement is overhaul of agriculture policies. We need to give farmers his due income, he points out.

Too many farmers

The low incomes are not surprising  too many people depend on agriculture for a living. Farming accounts for just 15 per cent of the countrys gross domestic product, but it supports more than half the countrys 1.3 billion people.

In a cover story this month, a leading news magazine, India Today, called India No country for Farmers and said the country desperately needs another revolution in agriculture for the farmer to break out of his vicious cycle of misery.

Reports of farmers committing suicide because they cannot repay their loans come in with alarming regularity.



Farmer Bhim Singh testified to the sense of despondency in his community. My children dont want to go into farming. They say they will toil as labor, work in factories, but they will not farm.

State takes action after protests

In the wake of protests by farmers in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, the state governments have promised to write off bank loans and ensure farmers get better prices for their crops. In the northern Uttar Pradesh state, where elections were held earlier this year, the government has also promised to write off loans.

But this has triggered even greater anger among farmers in the rest of the country, said chief adviser to the Consortium of Indian Farmers Association, P. Chengal Reddy.

Disappointment with new prime minister

He said farmers had pinned high hopes on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had promised to address their problems when he was voted to office three years ago and has pledged to double farm incomes by 2022.

But farmers feel let down because on the ground nothing has changed. And the crash in prices of farm produce this year was for many he says the last straw.

The dichotomy of India is that Indian agriculture is successful but farmers are angry, annoyed, disgusted, unhappy, Reddy warned. This [dumping of] vegetables and milk is only a beginning.
Residents of the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico voted Sunday to become the 51st U.S. state in a non-binding referendum.

Nearly half a million votes were cast for statehood, about 7,600 for free association/independence and nearly 6,700 for the current territorial status. Turnout was 23 percent.

"In any democracy, the expressed will of the majority that participates in the electoral processes always prevails,'' the territory's Governor Pedro Rossello said. "It would be highly contradictory for Washington to demand democracy in other parts of the world, and not respond to the legitimate right to self-determination that was exercised today in the American territory of Puerto Rico.''

This is the fifth time the non-binding referendum has been put before the island's voters. In 2012, the island opted for statehood, but Congress, the ultimate arbiter of Puerto Rico's bid for statehood, never picked up the matter.

Peter Hakim, a senior scholar and president-emeritus of the Washington-based Inter-American Dialogue said the latest referendum was "pretty much a meaningless vote."

"The fact that only 23 percent of the population came out and voted, and almost all of them were pro-statehood, is not surprising," Hakim told VOA. "And the fact is, it probably has almost no impact on what will happen to Puerto Rico in the coming period."



The referendum coincided with the 100th anniversary of the United States granting U.S. citizenship to Puerto Ricans, though they are barred from voting in presidential elections and have only one congressional representative with limited voting powers.

Schatz argues that statehood would help Puerto Rico in its attempt to face down its debt crisis. But rival parties on the island - the Popular Democratic Party and the Puerto Rican Independence Party - support a kind of continued territory status or independence, respectively. Reuters reports that calls for boycotting the referendum had some observers concerned about anemic turnout at the ballot box.



Many believe the island's territorial status has contributed to its 10-year economic recession. Residents of Puerto Rico are exempt from the U.S. federal income tax, but still pay Social Security and Medicare and local taxes, and the territory receives less federal funding than U.S. states.

Opponents of statehood worry the island would lose its cultural identity and warn that Puerto Rico would struggle even more financially because it would be forced to pay millions of dollars in federal taxes.
Gulf nation sanctions against Qatar are wreaking havoc to its economy. Kuwait's Emir Sabah Ahmed al-Sabah, who is mediating between both sides, insists that Qatar is "ready to act on the concerns of its neighbors," but there appears to be no quick end to the crisis in sight.

Behind-the-scenes efforts to mediate between Qatar and its Gulf neighbors continued Monday as liquid natural gas shipments, Qatar's chief export, were disrupted by the sea-blockade imposed by a number of Gulf countries and their allies, including Egypt.

Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdel Rahman al-Thani traveled to Europe to meet with his British and French counterparts Monday, insisting that the "blockade" imposed on his country was unfair and that Qatar was ready for "dialogue" with its Gulf Cooperation Council neighbors.

He says that Qatar's main preoccupation is the "lifting" of what he called an "illegal" embargo against it, both by land and by sea, as well as to ease the humanitarian crisis that has arisen because of it.

The United Arab Emirates Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash insisted in a tweet, however, that the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Kuwait had imposed "sanctions" on Qatar, and not a "blockade." Gargash noted that sanctions have been imposed on Doha for supporting terrorist groups. Qatar denies the accusations.

Arab media, however, continued to broadcast the names of terrorist suspects living in Qatar, along with accusations by Egypt, Bahrain, Libya's parliament in Tobruk, Tunisia and Algeria of sponsoring terrorist groups. Egypt issued a list of "terrorist" suspects living in Qatar, including exiled Egyptian Sheikh Youssef Qaradawi, who has issued fatwas calling for the killings of Egyptian military personnel and police.

Arab media reported that the Egyptian government had presented Interpol with a list of 50 alleged terrorists living in Qatar.

Arab media showed video of what it claimed were currency exchange shops in Qatar that had run out of dollars and other foreign currencies, amid the unprecedented demand by Qatari citizens and foreign residents to sell Qatari riyals. Sanctions by Qatar's GCC neighbors and their allies have caused the riyal to lose value and many Arab banks have stopped dealing with Qatar's national currency.

Qatari Finance Minister Ali Shareef al-Emadi, however, downplayed the effects of Gulf sanctions in an interview with CNBC, insisting that Qatar has a "large and well-diversified economy," able to resist sanctions, while going on to argue that "if we lose a dollar, they will lose a dollar, also."

Both Turkey and Iran have sent planes and ships loaded with foodstuffs and other staples to Qatar in a show of solidarity with Doha. The Sultanate of Oman, which has not cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, has also begun to transport goods to Qatar via its own ports of Sohar and Salalah.


Police in Singapore have detained a preschool assistant who shared pro-Islamic State materials online and intended to travel to Syria, their first arrest of a female Singaporean alleged to be a sympathizer of the radical group, the Home Affairs Ministry said Monday.

The ministry issued a statement saying that 22-year-old Syaikhah Izzah Zahrah al-Ansari was arrested earlier this month under the country's Internal Security Act, which allows for indefinite detention without trial. Singaporean authorities have detained 14 male Singaporean suspected Islamic State sympathizers since 2015.



Singapore's immediate neighbors, Indonesia and Malaysia, have large Muslim populations and hundreds of Islamic State sympathizers are estimated to have traveled to Syria from the two countries to join the group.



The statement said Izzah had been "radicalized in 2013 by online propaganda related to the terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria'' and in turn posted materials on social media supporting the group. "Several of her social media platforms were taken down by administrators because of the pro-ISIS content, but she created new ones," the ministry said.



Izzah, who worked at PCF Sparkletots, a chain of government preschools, planned to travel to Syria with her young child and "was intent on joining" the Islamic State group, the ministry said. "She also said that she was prepared to undergo military training and engage in armed combat to defend ISIS, if called upon by the terrorist group to do so."



She was allegedly looking for a Salafi or Islamic State group supporter "to marry and settle down with." Salafism is a form of Islam that interprets the Quran literally.



Her parents, both freelance Quranic teachers, and sister were aware of Izzah's plans and tried to stop her, the ministry said. But when Izzah was put under investigation, a family member tried to destroy evidence to "try to minimize her acts."



A report released by the Ministry of Home Affairs this month said that Singapore's terrorism threat "remains the highest in recent years."



It cited two foiled plans. Last August, the terrorist group Katibah Gonggong Rebus, based on the nearby Indonesian island of Batam, attempted to launch a rocket attack on downtown Singapore, the report said. Authorities also stemmed an attack planned by foreign Islamic State group militants last year, it said, but no further details were provided.
Suicide bombers attacked two border towns and a military base in northern Cameroon over the weekend, according to local officials. The violence is part of a recent string of attacks in the border area attributed to militant group Boko Haram.

Five suicide bombers crossed from Nigeria into the Mayo Sava division of northern Cameroon on Saturday, said Babila Akao, the most senior government official in that area.

He told VOA by phone that the bombers were targeting the towns of Mora and Kolofata, but only two were able to detonate their vests.

During an emergency security meeting the day before the attack, Akao said, soldiers and members of the local self-defense groups had been deployed to control the northern entrance to Mora from Nigeria and seal all entrances into the towns and surrounding villages, if necessary. He said the blasts claimed no victims aside from the two bombers, but many self-defense group members were wounded.

He said security forces shot dead a third suicide bomber and are searching for two attackers who ran without detonating their vests.

On Sunday, the government announced that another suicide bomber had blown herself up at a military base near Mora, killing one soldier.

It was the 27th reported suicide bombing this year on Cameroon's northern border with Nigeria. A third of those attacks have taken place in the past two-and-a-half weeks, including an attack on a camp for internally displaced persons, also in Mora.

Earlier this month, the United Nations cautioned people against traveling to the Far North region of Cameroon, saying that the arrest of the Boko Haram commander in charge of the town of Kousseri had triggered a surge of violence. The government has not confirmed that arrest.

Attacks in the border area also appear to have increased since the start of Ramadan.

The Council of Muslim Dignitaries and Imams of Cameroon has dispatched its members to the area to educate the population and instruct local Muslim clerics to be watchful.

The councils president, Moussa Oumarou, says terrorists use this holy month of fasting to deceive young Muslims that if they die fighting for Allah they will go straight to paradise. He says poverty makes youth more vulnerable to that message.

The governor of the Far North region, Midjiyawa Bakari, declined to comment on the cause of the violence, but said residents should remain on alert.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that he planned to hold a news conference in two weeks to discuss the U.S.-led coalition's fight against the Islamic State militant group.

Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House ahead of a scheduled meeting with his Cabinet, gave no specific date or any other details about the news conference.



WATCH: Trump on Islamic State
A second U.S. federal court has voted to uphold a block on President Donald Trump's executive order restricting travel from six mostly Muslim countries.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled unanimously Monday against Trump's temporary ban, on the grounds that the president overstepped his authority when he issued his March 2 executive order, "Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry in the United States."

The three-judge panel said that while the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act gives the president broad powers to both control entrants to the U.S. and protect U.S. security, "immigration, even for the president, is not a one-person show."

Monday's decision echoes a previous ruling by the Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which on May 25 upheld a Maryland judge's ruling blocking parts of the order. But the two courts made very different arguments.

The 4th Circuit focused largely on statements and tweets made by President Trump that indicated his order was a ban on Muslims, something he advocated during his campaign for president. But the 4th Circuit was only ruling on the portion of the law restricting travel from the six countries for 90 days. The 9th Circuit ruled more broadly and focused on the INA and what the judges saw as insufficient justification to support the travel order.

"In suspending the entry of more than 180 million nationals from six countries, suspending the entry of all refugees, and reducing the cap on the admission of refugees from 110,000 to 50,000 for the 2017 fiscal year, the president did not meet the essential precondition to exercising his delegated authority: The president must make a sufficient finding that the entry of these classes of people would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, the judges wrote.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the Trump administration disagrees with the 9th Circuit's decision and "will continue to seek further review by the Supreme Court."

"Recent attacks confirm that the threat to our nation is immediate and real. Certain countries shelter or sponsor terrorist groups like ISIS and al-Qaida, and we may be unable to obtain any reliable background information on individuals from these war-torn, failed states," Sessions said in a statement.

Security

The INA gives the president authority to restrict the entry of foreign nationals when they would be "detrimental to the interests of the United States," the judges wrote. But they went on to say that there is no demonstration in the travel order that admitting travelers from Somalia, Sudan, Iran, Yemen, Syria and Libya would be detrimental to U.S. national security

"The order does not tie these nationals in any way to terrorist organizations within the six designated countries. It does not identify these nationals as contributors to active conflict or as those responsible for insecure country conditions. It does not provide any link between an individuals nationality and their propensity to commit terrorism or their inherent dangerousness."

The judges said the travel order does not really curtail travel on the part of individuals, but rather on countries that it says are inherently dangerous. In this, they did cite one of the president's tweets: Thats right, we need a TRAVEL BAN for certain DANGEROUS countries, not some politically correct term that wont help us protect our people!

Refugees

Similarly, the judges found no adequate explanation for the restriction of refugee admissions to 50,000 for the 2017 fiscal year. Noting that the administration of former President Barack Obama had established a level of 110,000 and justified it on humanitarian grounds, the judges said the order "gives no explanation for why the 50,001st to the 110,000th refugee would be harmful to the national interest, nor does it specify any further threat to national security."

"We do not anticipate any change to the current status of refugee admissions processing as a result of the 9th Circuit ruling," a State Department spokesperson told VOA Monday.

The State Department, which oversees in part the early stages of refugee admission to the U.S., said last week that it would be processing refugee applications under the original cap for the fiscal year, rather than under the significantly reduced number set by Trump's executive order. The announcement followed congressional approval of a federal budget in May for the remaining months of the fiscal year. It also came after the 4th Circuit upheld an injunction on part of the president's travel related executive order.

Just over 47,000 refugees have resettled in the United States since October, at a greatly reduced pace since the first travel ban was signed January 27. In recent weeks, that number has been about 800-900 refugees a week. The State Department said it could not speculate about the final number of refugees that would ultimately come to the U.S. by the end of September; at the current rate, that would mean about 60,700 refugees overall for the year.

In upholding the lower courts decision to stop President Trumps travel and refugee ban from going into effect, we are staying true to our American values," wrote Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, one of the largest U.S. refugee agencies. "As a country, we must remain compassionate, welcoming and accepting toward those who are fleeing war, violence and persecution."

The Trump administration has appealed the 4th Circuit ruling to the Supreme Court, asking for immediate relief from restraining orders issued on both coasts. Also on Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a brief with the Supreme Court pointing out that very soon the 90-day ban on travel will expire and "the appeal will be moot, in a matter of days. There is no reason for this court to grant review.

The travel order that was the subject of Monday's ruling is a second attempt by the Trump administration. The first was withdrawn after it, too, was stayed by a district court. That stay also was upheld by the 9th Circuit.
European Union and Turkish officials are scheduled to meet in Brussels Tuesday to try and put Turkeys decades-long, on-again, off-again bid to join the EU back on track.

Turkish-EU relations recently hit one of their lowest ebbs following a bitter war of words between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Brussels over his controversial referendum to extend his powers. The latest effort to reset ties was the fruit of Erdogans visit to Brussels after his April referendum victory.

Its very encouraging because it shows both sides are willing to maintain dialogue," said Unal Cevikoz, a retired Turkish ambassador to London who now heads the Ankara Policy Forum research group.

"If the dialogue is interrupted, then it will be very difficult to start that kind of contact again. They [Erdogan and EU leaders] have also agreed on a road map which will continue for one year and, in this road map, that certain steps ... have to be taken, step by step."

Shared interests in dealing with the Syrian refugee crisis and regional security concerns have provided a powerful incentive to reset relations. Brussels hopes that will give it new leverage to press Ankara over its ongoing crackdown following a coup attempt last July. The crackdown has resulted in more than 100,000 people losing their jobs and the arrests of more than 50,000 others, including many presidential critics.

There is a serious attempt in Turkey by pro-democratic forces to keep the democratic flag flying, and support from democrats and democratic regimes around the world, including the EU, is needed, said Al-Monitor columnist Semih Idiz But pressure from Europe on this score, unless accompanied by some tangible carrot, will not have many results and could aggravate the situation further.

Erdogan is pressing for the opening of new EU membership chapters (i.e., statutes). Currently, 16 out of the 35 membership chapters required to join the EU have been opened and only one has been completed.

The priority should be Chapters 23 and 24 because these are very much in relation to justice and judiciary, the rule of law, fundamental rights and freedoms, said Cevikoz.

The call to open Chapters 23 and 24 is backed by Turkey's main opposition Republican Peoples Party, along with human rights groups. Opening those chapters is opposed by the Greek Cypriot government in connection with its ongoing dispute with Ankara over the divided Mediterranean island. Other EU members, however, privately say not opening those chapters would be exploited by Erdogan.



There are growing doubts over Brussels' commitment to confronting Ankara over its human rights record. "The role of appeasement is not going to work with Turkey, said Emma Sinclair-Webb, senior Turkey researcher for the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch.

"Its no good for the EU to turn a blind eye to the head of Amnesty International in Turkey being jailed, to the crackdown in civil society in Turkey, the way the media has been decimated in Turkey, she said.

Last week, Taner Kilic, the head of Amnesty International in Turkey, was charged with supporting terrorism in connection with Julys failed coup and jailed.

Sinclair-Webb added that the EU is much more focused on keeping refugees and migrants out of EU and on counterterrorism cooperation, and all of that has put human rights very much on the back burner for the EU.

Last March, Ankara signed an agreement with Brussels to stem the flow of millions of migrants and refugees entering the EU. Erdogan has repeatedly threatened to end the deal, accusing Brussels of failing to honor its commitment to grant visa-free travel for Turks to the EU. Keeping the deal alive is widely seen as a priority for Brussels.

EU members are also courting Ankara for greater security cooperation in the war against Islamic State. Turkey, which borders Syria and Iraq, is the main route for jihadists seeking to enter Europe. According to Turkish authorities, the suicide bomber responsible for last month's blast outside of a concert in Manchester entered the UK via Istanbul, while one of the assailants in this month's attack in London tried last year to enter Syria by traveling to Istanbul.

Analysts say Turkey's role in counterterrorism will grow with Islamic State facing defeat in Iraq and Syria. Many European jihadists are expected to try and return home.

Cengiz Aktar, a political scientist and expert on European affairs, said EU-Turkish relations will be revised completely in coming months."

"Turkeys relationship will be limited to the refugee deal and an enhanced free trade agreement," he added. "Not only will the Turkish regime not let the EU meddle in Turkish politics, but the Europeans are not interested in saving Turkish democracy. They [Ankara and Brussels] both agree on that.
Since June of last year, the U.N. refugee agency in Malawi has been resettling albino refugees to North America, amid continued threats to people living with albinism in the southern African country.

The agency says albino refugees in Malawi are reporting harassment, such as one refugee, now resettled to Canada, who said people kept trying to cut his hair.

People with albinism  an absence of pigment in their skin, hair and eyes  are attacked in Malawi and other parts of Africa because of false beliefs that potions made from their body parts bring good luck and wealth.

The UNHCR says at least 20 people with albinism have been killed in the country since 2014. More than 100 other albino individuals, including children, have faced rights violations including abductions and grave exhumations.

"The situation created fear among persons with albinism, as they are regularly referred to as [a] money or cash machine," said Sebastian Herwig, the associate resettlement officer for the UNHCR in Malawi. "We requested the Malawi government to expedite the refugee status determination procedure for those cases that were still asylum seekers due to their vulnerability."

For the past year, the United Nations has been screening eligible albino refugees and their families at the Dzaleka refugee camp in Malawi. It is home to more than 30,000 people, mainly from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Somalia.

Six families have been relocated to Canada. U.N. officials are processing the resettlement of a seventh family taking part in the program. The officials asked VOA not to publish the remaining number of families who have applied for resettlement for safety reasons.

The program is for refugees, though Malawians with albinism also remain under threat.

Last year, following the murder of a two-year-old albino child in central Malawi, President Peter Mutharika addressed the nation and vowed to stop the attacks.

Government spokesperson Nicholas Dausi says authorities are doing what they can.

"We have deployed the police in all areas where there are schools with people with albinism to protect them," he said. "And also, we have taken an initiative that in villages where there are family or families of people with albinism, there is a constant surveillance."

Meanwhile, in the four districts in Malawi with the most incidents, U.N. agencies are distributing protective materials such as lights, reflector jackets, bicycles and whistles to people with albinism.

However, the president of the Association of People with Albinism in Malawi, Overstone Kondowe, says the threat is regional. He cited the murder of a 12-year-old Malawian boy with albinism last month in neighboring Mozambique, where he was visiting relatives.

"And we also had a robbery case of a graveyard in Nsanje, as well as Thyolo, the same month of May," Kondowe said. "This demonstrates that there is still some [holes] in our security initiatives and strategies that we are using."

Kondowe says security measures are not enough, and there needs to be a widespread education campaign to debunk the false beliefs about people living with albinism.
The New Hampshire Political Library doesn't include any books about President Donald Trump, but even he likely would agree its new collection of presidential biographies, memoirs and monographs is huge.



Arthur Young of Manchester spent 25 years collecting 2,744 books on the presidency, the founding fathers and other people and events related to the nation's highest office.



He donated them to the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College, where staff spent the last six months cataloguing them and building custom glass-front display cabinets to hold them.



The collection spans from George Washington to Barack Obama, and includes scholarly tomes as well as what Young considers fun works, such as a book about Teddy Roosevelt written by his valet.



"A book itself is an object of art, from its binding to its font,'' Young said at a dedication ceremony Friday. "Important ideas and skillful writing are enduring treasures of our culture.''

Young, 76, is a former director of libraries at the University of Rhode Island, University of South Carolina and Northern Illinois University. He said he grew up in a home with thousands of books and has spent his life dedicated to the care, preservation and dissemination of books.



He acknowledged he hasn't read all of the presidential collection, but said he hopes they will be useful to students.



The collection shows how perceptions of presidents have changed over time. For example, the earliest book about Washington was written in 1931; the latest in 2009. The most recent addition is a 1,400-word book about Obama that covers his life until just before he became president.



"Washington is a good example  the first president continues to be cited as a model of decorum and honesty and all of those good virtues going back a couple hundred years,'' Young said. "You learn how the presidency and its meaning changes over time.''



Neil Levesque, director of the institute, said the donation reinforces the facility's value to scholars, journalists and the public and will provide rich research opportunities for students.



"The students here are going to use this for many, many years to come,'' he said.



Until now, the library has mainly been devoted to campaign memorabilia and other items related to New Hampshire's tradition of holding the first-in-the-nation presidential primary every four years.



The small room that is now lined with glass-front bookcases filled with Young's donated books had been used as a meeting space and reading room but had few actual books. Young, who has seen many libraries, called it "beyond splendid.''



"I don't have to make any exaggeration to say this is the best setting for books I have ever been in, and that's not just because they used to be mine,'' he said.


Ben Platt accepts the award for best performance by an actor in a leading role in a musical for Dear Evan Hansen. (Michael Zorn/Michael Zorn/Invision/AP)

 Dear Evan Hansen claimed the top prize  best musical  at the 71st Tony Awards on Sunday, a nail-biter of a night that saw it scoop up five other awards, including one for its universally heralded star, Ben Platt.

The musical, birthed in the summer of 2015 at Arena Stage, garnered trophies for its book writer, Steven Levenson, and composer-lyricists, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who earlier this year earned an Oscar for their music in La La Land. Dear Evan Hansen tells the story of an introverted teenager who, desperate to be accepted, perpetuates a lie about a friendship with a classmate who has taken his own life, a falsehood that earns him Internet fame but ends in disaster.

The show, which also won for Alex Lacamoires orchestrations and for Rachel Bay Joness featured performance as Evans struggling mom, won in the category that also included Come From Away, Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 and Groundhog Day.

When I was 6, I was the prince in Cinderella,  Platt exclaimed. Of musical theater, he said, Its where Ive always belonged.

I have been in and out of this business for so long, an excited Jones said. Thanks to my Nana, she added, who sold her engagement ring so I could come to New York and be an actress.

[How Dear Evan Hansen became one of the most remarkable shows in musical-theater]

Another tight race saw the Tony for best play go to Oslo, J.T. Rogerss fact-based, three-hour drama of the back-channel efforts of two married Norwegian diplomats to bring Israelis and Palestinians to the negotiating table. Oslo won in a particularly strong field of new plays on Broadway that included Lucas Hnaths A Dolls House Part 2, Lynn Nottages Sweat and Paula Vogels Indecent. Indecents director Rebecca Taichman, won for best director.

1 of 72 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  See the red carpet looks during the Tony Awards View Photos Bette Midler, Sally Field, Kevin Spacey and more arrive at the 71st annual Tony Awards to celebrate the best on Broadway. Caption Bette Midler, Sally Field, Kevin Spacey and more arrive at the 71st annual Tony Awards to celebrate the best on Broadway. June 11, 2017 Bette Midler. Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images Wait 1 second to continue.

No single show had been expected to dominate the three-hour ceremony  broadcast on CBS from Radio City Music Hall and hosted by Kevin Spacey  the way the Broadway juggernaut Hamilton did last year, when it vacuumed up 11 awards. That proved to be the case this year, as the prizes were scattered over 12 shows, none of which nabbed more than the six statuettes secured by Dear Evan Hansen.

[Kevin Spacey was not first choice for Tonys host. And he reminded us again and again during his opening.]

And the nations capital proved to be a strong presence at this years proceedings, not so much because of the countrys wild political atmosphere as the amount of Washington theater that was represented in the ceremony. Dear Evan Hansen, Come From Away and Sweat all had crucial lives in the District that were instrumental in their destinies on Broadway.

Awards were handed out in 24 categories, divided between musicals and plays, new and old. The Tonys for best revival went to the widely lauded Hello, Dolly! and August Wilsons play Jitney, the only drama in his 10-play cycle of black life in the 20th century not to have been staged before on Broadway.

Producer Scott Rudin said bringing Dolly! back was an attempt to remind people of what musicals were like in the 60s, the golden age.



Bette Midler accepts the award for best performance by an actress in a leading role in a musical for Hello, Dolly! at the Tonys. (Michael Zorn/Invision/AP)

Dolly! star Bette Midler was named best actress in a musical in a contest that notably also included Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole of the musical War Paint. Laurie Metcalf, who plays an older version of Ibsens Nora Helmer in A Dolls House, Part 2, won best actress in a play, and Kevin Kline took home the Tony for best actor in a play for his portrayal of a self-infatuated British actor in the revival of Noel Cowards Present Laughter.

Im so honored to receive this from you all, Midler said. This has been one of the greatest professional experiences of my entire life. She followed her opening remarks with a couple of characteristically off-color ones. And when the band tried to play her off, she shouted, Shut that crap off! And wonder of wonders, the band stopped playing.

Kline took his moment to thank the usual assortment of family and artistic collaborators and added a plug for two threatened government organizations, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities  without which, Kline said, half the people in this room probably wouldnt be here.

[Tony Awards 2017: Full list of winners]

In other supporting categories, Cynthia Nixon of The Little Foxes won as featured actress in a play, and Gavin Creel of Hello, Dolly! and Michael Aronov of Oslo were voted best featured actor in a musical and play.

As usual, all the nominated musicals performed a number, although Midler was not among the performers  her co-star David Hyde Pierce sang instead  a decided loss for the ceremonys look-in value.

The celebrities appearing included Tina Fey, Anna Kendrick, David Oyelowo, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sara Bareilles, Stephen Colbert, Uma Thurman, Josh Gad and Sarah Paulson. A nice innovation this year had each playwright of a Tony-nominated original play spotlighted onstage, giving a short description of their work.



Jill Biden introduces a performance by the cast of Bandstand. (Michael Zorn/Invision/AP)

Stephen Colbert speaks onstage during the 2017 Tony Awards. (Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

Given the propensity of artists to speak out on political issues at awards shows, the Tonys were surprisingly devoid of grandstanding speeches. One of the largest ovations of the evening, however, was for Jill Biden, wife of the former vice president, who introduced a production number from the musical Bandstand.

And Colbert, in announcing best revival of a musical, made an irreverent allusion to President Trump, saying of his administration: The D.C. production is supposed to have a four-year run, but the reviews have not been kind.

Spacey, a smooth raconteur and skilled impressionist, opened the show dressed in Evan Hansens now well-known blue striped polo shirt and wearing a cast on his arm, a la Evan, emblazoned in this case with the hashtag host. He assayed characters from each of the nominated musicals and finished up in the number, in versatile style, tap dancing in a tuxedo. The jokes were all for Broadway insiders, which were fun for the cognoscenti but probably went over the heads of a lot of viewers. Later in the show, Spacey came on stage doing some of his better known impersonations  of the late Johnny Carson and former president Bill Clinton.

Addressing Platt in the audience, Spacey-as-Clinton said that after seeing Dear Evan Hansen, he could see that Hillarys a lot better at creating fake email accounts than you.
A polar bear trudges across ice in northern Alaska. Because of climate change, sea ice is thinning and moving faster. Polar bears have to burn more calories to keep pace with the ice, a new study says. (Mike Lockhart/Associated Press)

Rapid global warming has sped up the movement of sea ice off Alaskas coasts, and already- at-risk polar bears are paying a price, a new U.S. study says.

Most sea ice moves throughout the year, and the white bears must continuously walk to stay within their preferred habitat, said U.S. Geological Survey research ecologist George Durner, lead author of the study.

He compares it to living on a treadmill that has picked up speed because ice is thinner, more brittle and moving faster because of wind and ocean currents.

Polar bears were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2008 amid the alarming loss of summer sea ice in recent decades and climate models indicating the trend would persist. However, the U.S. government said the act would not be used to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

The U.S. polar bear recovery plan says that without action to address climate change  the primary cause of thinning sea ice  it is unlikely that polar bears could be saved. The plan, released in January, noted positive signs, such as emission goals in the Paris climate agreement.

President Donald Trump, however, announced this month that the United States will withdraw from the international deal, arguing that it had disadvantaged the nation to the benefit of other countries, leaving U.S. businesses and taxpayers to be responsible for the cost.

Trump also has called for more petroleum development in polar bear habitat, including offshore Alaska waters and parts of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Margaret Williams, Arctic program managing director for the World Wildlife Fund, called withdrawal from the Paris agreement frightening but said that private, state and local efforts to reduce carbon emissions and turn to renewable energy are a positive sign.

Theres still a lot of hope, she said.

The political moves come as the Geological Survey and University of Wyoming study documented how polar bears use more energy to stay within their home range.

Researchers made a conservative estimate that bears will have to kill one to three more seals a year to make up for faster-moving ice. The study did not address whether they walk faster or spend more time moving to keep up with the ice.

Killing more seals is a challenge for bears already facing fewer chances to hunt.

Durner compared their situation to people living in a town hit by both higher prices and fewer jobs.

For the polar bear, the Arctic is becoming more expensive to live in, he said.

Polar bears can go for extended periods without eating but then gorge on ringed and bearded seals. Ringed seals give birth on sea ice in spring and early summer, and polar bears sniff out their lairs.

Thinning sea ice has reduced access to prey in the southern Beaufort Sea, off Alaskas north coast. Researchers have documented the polar bears declining body condition, reproduction and survival rate.

In the new study, researchers looked at data on female polar bears in the Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea, off Alaskas northwest coast, during two periods: 1987 to 1998 and 1999 to 2013.

Sea ice changed in amount, thickness and composition in the second period as melting seasons lengthened.

Bears in the Chukchi Sea had to walk farther and burn more calories than south Beaufort bears but are in better shape because more food is available, Durner said.

Amy Cutting, animal curator at the Oregon Zoo, said in an email that the paper is a key piece in the growing research examining challenges faced by polar bears.

With decades of location and movement data about bears from radio collars, the Geological Survey is able to show effects of changes in sea ice, she said.

This kind of research is critical to understanding the specific mechanisms through which climate change is impacting polar bear biology, Cutting said.
Samuel West, curator of the Museum of Failure, holds a bottle of Heinz Green Sauce ketchup at the Museum of Failure in Helsingborg, Sweden. West has put together a collection of failed products that also includes Fat-Free Pringles potato chips and a frozen lasagna by toothpaste maker Colgate. (James Brooks/AP)

Green Heinz ketchup? Fat-free Pringles? Colgate frozen lasagna? You dont need to be an expert to know these products werent 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.

Its the brainchild of 43-year-old curator and clinical psychologist Samuel West. The idea came to him while on vacation, and he quickly purchased the Internet domain name. West later realized he had 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 dont see them, people dont talk about them, West says. And if theres anything we can do from these failures, is learn from them.

Many items in the museum, which opened June 7, show companies attempts to diversify their brand. Theres Coca-Colas BlaK coffee beverage and Pepsis Crystal clear soda.

The board game Trump: Im Back and Youre Fired is on display at the museum. West calls it a boring version of the classic game Monopoly. (James Brooks/AP)

Motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson makes an appearance with a mens cologne, 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.

Even one of the worlds best-known business executives, President Donald Trump, makes an appearance.

The Trump: Im Back and Youre Fired board game from 2004 looks like Monopoly, but players use T branded pieces and the paper notes feature Trumps image.

Its a boring version of Monopoly. Its simplified so stupid people can play it, but its also horribly boring, West says.

The Museum of Failure is also home to some high-tech devices, including Googles Glass headset with augmented-reality display and built-in camera.

The problem was Google released it too early, it was still a prototype, so it was full of bugs, West says.

Segways two-wheeled electric mobility device is also featured.

The Segway was supposed to revolutionize the way we transport people, West says.

The device, however, is used mostly by tourists.

Experts say innovation is tough, and failure is often part of the process.

Youre working on the edge of tomorrow, says Nicolai de Gier, a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. Its like the other part of trying is failing, so its 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.

Its liberating for us, when we try out a new skill or learn something, its okay 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 will stay in its gallery space until at least early September.

Read more:

Sweden opens its first unmanned convenience store

At National Portrait Gallery, new space encourages kids to look and touch

Paper airplane, sand and play food considered for Toy Hall of Fame
Nearly five months after becoming first lady, Melania Trump officially moved into the White House over the weekend. Now what? Here are five questions about her new life:

1. Will Melania Trump keep her husband from sending controversial wee-hours tweets?

Probably not. The two are said to have remained in close contact while living apart, speaking several times a day, and she has a history of giving him advice on his image. But President Trump has been steadfast in making his own decisions about social media, overruling advice from aides.

Mrs. Trump described their dynamic last year in an interview with the luxury magazine Du Jour. I give a lot of advice to my husband and tell him how it is and how I see it. Im not backing off. I tell him the truth, she said. After a speech, the kids are calling me  Ivanka, [his] sons  saying, Call dad and tell him this and that. Hes listening to you. They know I would talk to him and put him in the right direction. Sometimes he does, and sometimes he doesnt. He will decide what he does.

[The Trumps take their first official trip, and the world gets its first real look at the Trump marriage]

2. Will she build an advocacy program, such as Michelle Obamas Lets Move or Laura Bushs National Book Festival, or undertake any restoration projects in the White House?

Mrs. Trump has been slowly raising her profile since generally lying low in the first weeks after the inauguration, when she made no public appearances and made little progress hiring a staff. Now she has a small team in the White House and plans to make a few more hires, according to her spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham. However, it is unlikely that her staff will be as large as those of her recent predecessors.

Mrs. Trump has said she plans to focus generally on women and children, and during her husbands campaign she gave a speech saying that she wants to advocate against cyberbullying among children. But she has not yet launched any specific programs or initiatives. Thats not so unusual: White House veterans note that other first ladies have taken a few months to firmly establish their areas of interest. Michelle Obama began her campaign against childhood obesity about a year into her husbands administration.

Mrs. Trump has cited Jackie Kennedy as a model first lady and has been borrowing books from the White House Historical Association. She hired an interior designer to prepare the White House residence for her move and may select one of the public areas of the White House to renovate. Already, she added the White House movie theater to the public tour.

[Melania Trump seemed like a rebellious first lady. Shes turning out to be a retro one.]

3. How will Barron Trumps presence change life in the White House?

Friends have described Mrs. Trump as a fierce mother, and she said she delayed her move to Washington so that Barron  who will be the first boy to live in White House since John F. Kennedy Jr.  could finish out the school year in New York. She typically dropped him off at school, a routine that was relatively unbothered even after the inauguration.

Washington may prove different. Traditionally, reporters who cover the White House have considered stories about the presidents minor children off-limits unless their parents are directly involved. But presidents often find it politically helpful to showcase their familial ties, pulling the spotlight ever closer to the children: Barack Obama sometimes name-dropped Sasha and Malia in political speeches, and the arrival of their pet dog, Bo, became a major family photo op.

In an interview with Bloomberg News earlier this year, the president called the White House a cocoon that he thought would be good for his son. That statement seemed to indicate the Trumps will be protective of Barron, though it wouldnt be surprising if he accompanied his parents at traditional events, such as the arrival of the White House Christmas tree and the annual pardoning of the White House turkey, as he did earlier this spring for the Easter Egg Roll.

4. Will Melania Trump engage with D.C.s social scene?

The first lady has never been a social butterfly, preferring to spend evenings at home, whether in Manhattan or Washington. But she has shown an interest in entertaining, hosting events at the White House for the nations governors, members of Congress and their spouses, and Gold Star families.

She was at her husbands side for a gala performance at the historic Fords Theatre earlier this month  their first foray into Washingtons social scene beyond the gates of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., an appearance that gave the citys social-scene watchers hope that the Trumps might go along with at least some of the rituals typically expected of a first couple.

Her small circle of friends includes another recent Washington transplant, Hilary Geary Ross, wife of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, with whom she has socialized in Palm Beach, Fla., and New York. But dont look for her to frequent Washingtons trendy restaurants the way Michelle Obama did, either with pals or with her husband. The president has already made it clear he prefers to opt for a meal at the steakhouse in the Trump International Hotel down the street than at the latest hot table. (Though hope springs eternal among the citys restaurateurs. As one manager said: I mean, you have to take your wife on a date at some point, right?)

5. How will Melania Trump leave her mark on the job?

Well, for starters, she has already distinguished herself as the only first lady in the nations history to delay a move to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Many modern first ladies have tried to change the role, which critics have said is rooted in hidebound notions of womans role in society. After she left the White House, Laura Bush questioned whether first ladies  who receive no salary  should have to leave their jobs and professions to take on the traditional role. As first lady, Hillary Clinton set up an office in the West Wing and oversaw the Clinton administrations attempt to overhaul health care, an involvement in policy that drew sharp criticism.

Whether or not she breaks with other first lady traditions, not moving to Washington right away may end up being the most transformative thing Mrs. Trump does.

Emily Heil contributed to this report.
Michael, left, and Zachary Houston of Boston celebrate their first anniversary by attending the March for Equality in Washington on Sunday. The march comes almost one year after the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Florida. (Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post)

The thousands who came from across the country for the Equality March for Pride and Unity in the District on Sunday waved rainbow pride flags and walked beneath posters that read simply Remember Pulse.

The mood at the march, organized as a demonstration to protect the rights of the broader gay community, was at times celebratory and at others somber as participants gathered to commemorate the anniversary of the worst mass shooting in U.S. history at an Orlando nightclub that left 49 dead a year ago Monday.

Julian Cavazos, who led a group from Florida to join the march, said that he was taking part to remember all 49 angels, the brothers and sisters who were massacred that night.

[Faces of healing, one year after the Pulse Nightclub massacre ]

Joel Johnson traveled from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to help carry a banner bearing the faces of the Orlando victims through the streets of the nations capital.

Marchers at the start of the March for Equality on Sunday. (Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post)

I feel very much a part of something greater than I am, Johnson said.

The march ended with survivors of the shooting standing on a stage in front of the U.S. Capitol to address the crowd who had rallied in front of the White House chanting Love, not hate, makes America great.

Life means so much more now, said Ashley Summers, who was at Pulse the night of the shooting. Theres a lot of people that are being silenced. Since I finally found my voice in the last year, I decided to use it.

Demetrius Naulings, who also was in the club that night, said he will never forget the hours-long wait victims endured as the police struggled to end the standoff with the shooter.

Its something that will haunt me for the rest of my life, Naulings said.

Then Answai Bennett, who was wounded in the shooting, spoke softly into the microphone. Before that night, he said he had been quiet about his sexual orientation. Now he said he feels empowered. He acknowledges that it took a bullet to the hip and a long scar covering the titanium rod in his leg for him to overcome his past unease about living openly.

Everyone is just themselves, Bennett said. He remembers texting his mother from inside the nightclub, I might not come home, as he was held hostage for three hours.

1 of 20 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  See photos from DCs View Photos Equality March for Unity and Pride, one year after the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla. Caption Members of the LGBTQ community and their supporters take part in the march one year after the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando. June 11, 2017 Marchers at the start of the Equality March for Unity and Peace in the District. Thousands participated in marches for LGBTQ communities across the country. Evelyn Hockstein for The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.

I still have nightmares about that conversation with her, he said.

Rea Carey, executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force, described Sundays march as a resistance effort against policies of the Trump administration and as a demonstration of strength in the face of long-standing threats of violence against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Carey said the Pulse survivors embodied courage at the rally.

The fact that they are standing here and telling their stories is the resilience of their community, Carey said. We have come a very, very long way since the Stonewall riots and at the same time we have a long, long way to go.

Nicole Murray Ramirez, a member of the San Diego Human Relations Commission, wearing an American flag shirt, opened the rally in front of the Capitol with a rousing address.

We are here to send a message, Ramirez said. We are proud Americans who are never going back into the closet.

The marchers came from as far as New Mexico, California, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Texas. Chaz Antonelli, president of the Empire City Motorcycle Club, came from New York and marched in his leathers to show that the backlash of hate needs to be shored up. . . . Im getting flashbacks to the Reagan era, and were not going to let that happen again.

Sam Dykeman and his partner, Giovanni DiPierro, came from Dallas in part to protest overreach by the Trump administration against gay rights.

Nobody should be treated differently based on who they love, DiPierro said.

KC Clark met her girlfriend, Lyman Lark, when they were students at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.

Lark said that even falling in love was an act of resistance.

In a lot of ways, our being together is a revolution, Lark said.

Then as the march came to an end, Clark saw the dome of the Capitol building come into view and she got nervous. She had decided to propose to Lark during the Equality march and the setting had special meaning for her.

My father proposed to my mother in front of the Capitol, Clark said.

She stopped Lark on the grass with the crowd watching.

I said, May I kiss you one last time as my girlfriend before I ask you to be my wife?  Clark said.

So she asked. And Lark said yes.
A longtime teacher in Montgomery County was found guilty of sexually abusing four students in a case that came to light after an 11-year-old who took a body safety class at school reported that he had inappropriately touched her.

Prosecutors say that John Vigna, 50, who taught at Cloverly Elementary School in the Silver Spring area for more than two decades, was convicted of four counts of sex abuse of a minor and five counts of third-degree sex offense.

Vigna was charged with crimes against five students or former students. The jury convicted Vigna on charges that involved four victims, said Ramon Korionoff, a spokesman for the Montgomery County States Attorneys Office.

Korionoff said the jury announced its verdict early Saturday, shortly after midnight.

Protecting our children is a top priority, he said. Victims deserve justice. The verdict against Mr. Vigna achieves both.

John Vigna of Silver Spring was convicted of sexually abusing four children. ( Montgomery County Police )

Many of the allegations against Vigna were related to recent school years, but a woman in her 20s also alleged that Vigna sexually abused her while she was a student at Cloverly during the 2000-2002 school years.

Vignas attorney had maintained that his client was falsely accused.

Mr. Vigna, his family and many supporters were devastated by the jurys decision, Thomas C. Morrow, Vignas attorney, said. We will have additional comments at sentencing in August.

Vigna testified at the trial.

He continues to vehemently maintain that he had no intentional inappropriate contact with the complainants, Morrow said.

Vigna was a third-grade teacher when he was put on leave in February 2016, after the allegations surfaced. School officials said they are in the process of dismissing him.

[Montgomery County police charge 3rd-grade teacher with sex abuse]

Jack Smith, the Montgomery schools superintendent, said he understood that the case had been difficult for the school. Extra counselors and support staff members would be provided, he said.

Our thoughts are with the Cloverly Elementary School community, Smith said in a statement. I recognize that this has been an extremely difficult time for many students, families and staff members.

The charges against Vigna came in two waves.

In June 2016, he was accused of forcing one student to sit on his lap and holding her there after she tried to leave. He also is alleged to have squeezed her buttocks at times when she hugged him goodbye. With another student, Vigna was alleged to have improperly rubbed her while hugging her.

Several months later, more charges were filed that involved three other victims. Two girls said Vigna sexually abused them at the school  one in the 2015-2016 school year and the other in the 2013-2014 school year  and the woman in her 20s also came forward.

[More sex offense charges filed against former Montgomery elementary teacher]

Vigna, a Silver Spring resident, was described by parents last year as gregarious and popular with children. He helped run an after-school computer club and the schools student safety patrol. He started with the school system in 1991 at Cloverly Elementary, near the intersection of Briggs Chaney Road and New Hampshire Avenue.

In a 2001 story in the Montgomery County Gazette, he spoke about student writing assignments intended to highlight caring behaviors. I spend a lot of time with them on developing their character, Vigna said in the article.

The body safety class that spurred the first report was given in February 2016 and included three lessons. One of the goals was to identify feelings and physical signs associated with good, bad and confusing touches.

After the class, the student reported inappropriate touching, which she said had started 18 months earlier.
The Hooters restaurant on the boardwalk in Ocean City, where theres been a debate over women going topless on the beach. (Petula Dvorak/The Washington Post)

On a sunny day on the boardwalk, with salt on her skin and ocean breezes snapping the American flag behind her, Cynthia Heath did not want her perfect beach vacation ruined by toplessness.

Not here, Ocean City is not that kind of place, its a family place. Absolutely not, Heath, 55, said, leaving the restaurant where she just had lunch with her husband, her 9-year-old granddaughter and her granddaughters friend.

They ate at Hooters.

Welcome to America, land of mixed messages and double standards. Breasts, especially, continue to confound us.

Breasts made national news because the all-American summer destination Ocean City was confused about whether women could show them.

And thats pretty funny.

Because this family-friendly place with No Profanity signs along the boardwalk also has guys selling Bongzilla outside its boardwalk shops; T-shirts with pot jokes, sex jokes and drinking jokes on every corner; hotels with giant kiddie pools outside and clouds of marijuana smoke inside; guys lugging suitcases of Pabst everywhere. Also: twerking, thongs and foam dance parties galore.

But please, save the children from breasts.

Ocean City did not want this, and you can understand why. June is usually the month when city officials white-knuckle their way through Senior Week, dreading the moments when underage drinking and sexual assault make headlines.

[Senior Week: How heinously are your kids behaving in Ocean City?]

But this year, a debate about toplessness was their new flavor of indigestion.

It began with a legal challenge filed by a beachgoing activist who argued that if men can show off their chests and nipples at the beach, women should be able to do it, too. Maryland law is not entirely clear when it comes to the question of whether women are expressly prohibited from baring their breasts in public.

So the beach patrol told lifeguards not to confront bare-chested women or ask them to cover up while the issue was sorted out.

Ocean City is topless! came the fist-pumping, voice-cracking howls from teen boys across the Mid-Atlantic.

Ocean City cant be topless! shouted the families who go there.

Suddenly, amid the agony and ecstasy of imagining topless women alongside the carousel rides and Thrashers Boardwalk Fries, the Ocean City Council convened an emergency meeting Saturday to pass a public nudity ban. The ordinance makes public nudity a municipal infraction punishable by a fine of $1,000 and once again enforceable by the local beach patrol.

[Ocean City acts to keep women from going topless at beach]

An ordinance that, of course, specifically targets women.

Ocean City was never going to be like Cannes or Crete. One lifeguard said everyone still remembers the three European women who went topless over by 11th Street a while back. But the issue is an interesting one, a chance to talk about freedom, family values and government intervention.

So what did people on the beach make of it all? No better place to start than at a beerless beer pong party right on the sand.

When I asked about toplessness, there was silence, as all seven young men froze in place, their eyes widening. Then, a beat later, they started chanting, fists in the air: Take it off! Take it off!

Can you tell all of them to take their tops off? asked a very hopeful 18-year-old who had come to Ocean City with a group of friends from Pottsville, Pa.

No, guys. Stop. Thats not what Im saying, I said.

Take it off! Take it off!

So the young women started teasing them.

Can I? Can I take it off? asked an 18-year-old from Pottsville, who had just graduated from high school and should not have given me her full name. Lordy, what did I start?

Well, theres actually an ordinance now against that and . . .  I began, before she untied her white bikini top and flashed all of us.

I scrambled to leave, my getaway slow and awkward in the sand in my comfortable mom shoes.

What about breast-feeding? asked the sharpest young man in the bunch just as I turned my back. Lewis Woodard, 18, is going far. He saw the weakness in everyones argument and nailed it.

I dont see anything wrong with that. That exposes breasts, said Woodard, who is from La Plata, Md., and attends Shawnee State University in Ohio. A woman has the right to decide what to do with her body.

Dang. Hes good.

Equally woke was Darren James, 25, who sat on a boardwalk bench wearing a shirt, The Future is Female.

I understand that bras can be uncomfortable for women, he reasoned. Why force them to wear something thats uncomfortable?

Smooth, guys.

Sitting next to James was Melissa Lee, 25, who saw through the bra empathy but was simply appalled at the idea that the United States has no problem writing legislation that singles out a specific group.

A lot of bikini tops do little to cover much of the breast beyond the nipple, she observed, as the truth of all shapes and sizes jiggled past us on the boardwalk. Meanwhile, hundreds of exposed, male nipples also sauntered by.

So when you write a law telling all of the men they have to wear bras to cover that up, then you can write a law telling me to wear a bra, she said.

Of course, men will never be told to cover up. And even if the law didnt tell women how to dress, society will.

People were all, Youre lettin her go out like that?  said Essence Blackwell, 19, who was causing a stir on the boardwalk with her tiny, thong bikini and was stunned that folks were all over her boyfriend for what she was wearing.

Shes a manager of a makeup counter at a department store, a college student and an independent woman. Why should her boyfriend have to answer for her skimpy bikini, she asked?

Plus I paid $56.99 for this. Im wearing it! she said.

Seriously? $56.99 for less material than youll find in a footie sock? Thats the part that shocked me.

But heres what I can report, after a sunburn, dozens of interviews and one bad boardwalk food decision:

The people most vehemently supportive were, no surprise, young men.

Also, the compression sock boardwalk grandpas, the kind who say the salty air is good for me. All in.

Also, the woman who has two star tattoos just above her nipples, so her low-slung tube top makes it look like shes topless. But only in designated areas, away from kids, she said.

Most of the folks with families said they dont want toplessness in Ocean City. Many said they were conservative, politically, and dont like the government telling them what to do.

Except in this case.

This is about decency, one woman said.

The people most vehemently against topless sunbathing were older, married women.

I dont want him looking at that, said every grandma I talked to, including the Hooters grandma, who was also celebrating her 33rd wedding anniversary.

Ive been on the lookout all day, said her husband, Billy Heath. I was hoping I would see just one.

The big takeaway?

When it comes to breasts  and double standards  Americans are total boobs.

Correction: We have removed a teens name from an earlier version of this column after he insisted someone else used his name in an interview. He was quoted asking,Can you tell all of them to take their tops off? He said he is 18, not 19.

Twitter: @petulad
BLOOD DONATIONS

Blood drives Friday 1:30-6 p.m., St. James Episcopal Church, 14 Cornwall St., Leesburg, 800-733-6727; June 23, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Fauquier Hospital Sycamore Room, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton, 540-316-3588.

Inova Blood Donor Center Mondays noon-8 p.m., Tuesdays 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Fridays 6 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sundays noon-4 p.m. Dulles Town Center, 45745 Nokes Blvd., Sterling. 866-256-6372 or inova.org/donateblood.

FIRST AID

First aid/adult, infant and child CPR/AED (Automated External Defibrillator) Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Fauquier Health Medical Office Building, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 540-316-3588. Registration required. $85.

HEARING

Disability Resource Center Technical assistance through the state Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and presentations to businesses, groups and schools. Third Tuesdays 2-5 p.m., Workplace, 205 Keith St., Warrenton. Call for an appointment, 800-648-6324; TDD, 540-373-5890. Free.

MENTAL HEALTH

Counseling for sexual violence survivors Provided by Loudoun Citizens for Social Justice. 703-771-9020.

Crisis Intervention Treatment and Assessment Center Provides emergency mental-health, substance-use and developmental services to Loudoun residents. Daily 7 a.m.-11 p.m. 102 Heritage Way NE, Suite 102, Leesburg. Emergency services are available 24 hours a day at 703-777-0320.

Crisislink Suicide and crisis intervention. Community education, a volunteer crisis response team and CareRing, a telephone outreach program for the elderly and disabled. 703-527-6016, volunteer@crisislink.org or crisislink.org.

Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services This mental-health nonprofit organization is accepting clients from ages 16 to 30 for a coordinated services program with Loudoun County to help young people with their first experience of psychosis find hope and recover. For information, call Lisa Beran at 703-388-6572 or go to prsinc.org.

Piedmont Chapter, National Alliance on Mental Illness Serves Fauquier, Orange, Madison and Rappahannock counties. Support group, education classes and events for people living with mental illness and their family members. First Wednesdays 7-9 p.m. Fauquier Hospital, 500 Hospital Dr., Sycamore Room A, Warrenton. 571-426-8213.

Mental health first-aid A public education program offered by the Loudoun County Department of Mental Health, Substance Abuse and Developmental Services to help residents understand mental illness and seek intervention. Go to loudoun.gov/mhfirstaid.

Northern Virginia Chapter, National Alliance on Mental Illness Support group, classes and programs for people living with mental illness and their loved ones. naminorthernvirginia.org.

PREGNANCY, PARENTING

Adoptive family preservation Adoptive families discuss common experiences; registration required. Third Tuesdays 12:30-2 p.m., Ashburn Library, 43316 Hay Rd. Call 703-941-9008, Ext. 23, or email jmellario@umfs.org.

Birthright of Loudoun County Free pregnancy tests, baby clothing, transportation and support throughout pregnancy, 823 S. King St., Leesburg. 703-777-7272.

Bond Between Us A nonprofit organization that offers support to birthparents when children have been placed for adoption. Fourth Tuesdays 7:30 p.m. Call for location. 703-771-7844.

Breast-feeding made simple Tuesday 6-8:30 p.m. Fauquier Hospital Family Birthing Center, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 540-316-3588. Register. $25.

Breast-feeding support Mondays 9:30-10:30 a.m., Fauquier Hospital Family Birthing Center, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 540-316-3588.

Dad support New and expectant fathers share ideas. First Tuesdays at 7 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital, 44045 Riverside Pkwy., Leesburg. 703-858-6360.

For the Childrens Sake A group for separating or divorcing parents to share advice. Four-hour session weekly. Information: 703-391-8599 or fitsfoundation.org.

La Leche League Mother-to-mother support and breast-feeding information. 10 a.m. second Wednesdays in Warrenton, 540-351-6103. Third Fridays 10:15-11:45 a.m., call for location, 703-444-7386. Second Fridays 10:15 a.m., Ashburn Library, 43316 Hay Rd., 703-829-0349. Thursdays 10 a.m.-noon, Panera Bread, 43670 Greenway Corp. Dr., Ashburn, lllashburn@gmail.com. Third Fridays 10:15 a.m., Christ the Redeemer Church, 46833 Harry F. Byrd. Hwy., Sterling, 540-338-4637.

Loudoun Fatherhood Program Fathers discuss the joys and challenges of being a parent. Meets every other Saturday for two hours for four months; sponsored by Northern Virginia Family Service. 571-748-2796. Free.

Loudoun Nurturing Parenting Program Positive parenting techniques; children attend with parents. Registration required. Call 703-771-3973, Ext. 27, or email nurturingprogram@lcsj.org. Free.

Mothernet/Healthy Families Loudoun Program links first-time parents with medical, social and educational resources to give children a socially and physically healthy start in life. Family-support workers meet with participants in homes. English-Spanish translation provided. 703-444-4477, Ext. 217, or inmed.org.

New mother support Wednesdays 9:30-11:30 a.m. Inova Loudoun Medical Pavilion, 224 Cornwall St., Leesburg. Babies welcome. 703-858-6360.

Online childbirth education program Inova Loudoun Hospitals web-based program uses animation, videos and interactive activities to guide users through the basics of childbirth, breast-feeding and caring for newborns. 703-858-6360 or thebirthinginn.org/classes.

Parenting Alone group For parents of school-age children who have lost a spouse or partner to cancer. Second Tuesdays 5:30-6:30 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital, Radiation Oncology Center, 44035 Riverside Pkwy., Suite 100, Leesburg. Call 703-698-2536 or email jennifer.eckert@inova.org.

Pregnancy and childbirth support Childbirth Solutions Resource Center, 8393 W. Main St., Marshall. 571-344-0438.

Young parent services Support for teenage parents. Loudoun County Department of Family Social Services, 52 Sycolin Rd., Leesburg. Call for times. 703-771-5375.

SENIORS

Chair yoga Age 55 and older. Mondays 11 a.m.-noon, Carver Center, 200 Willie Palmer Way, Purcellville. Wear comfortable clothes. Bare feet or socks are encouraged. 571-258-3400. $2 drop in.

Exercise equipment Age 55 and older. Weights, treadmills, bikes and a cardio-glide. Instruction provided. Weekdays 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Leesburg Senior Center, 102 North St. NW. 703-737-8039. Free.

Eye care LensCrafters staff members clean glasses and make minor repairs. Second Wednesdays 1-2 p.m. Senior Center at Cascades, 21060 Whitfield Pl., Sterling. 703-430-2397. Free.

Inova Loudoun mobile van Blood pressure checks. Second and fourth Tuesdays 9:30 a.m.-noon, Senior Center at Cascades, 21060 Whitfield Pl., Sterling, 571-258-3280; first Wednesdays 9:30 a.m.-noon, Leesburg Senior Center, 102 North St. NW. 703-737-8039.

Laughing yoga for seniors Improve flexibility and balance. Thursdays 9:30-10:30 a.m. Leesburg Senior Center, 102 North St. NW. 703-737-8039. Free.

Loudoun Adult Day Centers For seniors with physical limitations or memory loss, a safe and social environment, therapeutic activities, individualized care and respite for caregivers. Limited transportation. Sliding-scale fees. Weekdays in Leesburg, 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., 703-771-5334; Purcellville, 571-258-3402; and Ashburn-Sterling, 571-258-3232.

Senior Outreach Services Free and confidential assistance from an Area Agency on Aging case manager. Call for an appointment or sign up at the Senior Center at Cascades. First and third Wednesdays 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Senior Center at Cascades, 21060 Whitfield Pl., Sterling. 571-258-3280.

Senior Outreach Services Free and confidential assistance from an Area Agency on Aging Elder case manager. Sign up in the Leesburg Senior Center lobby. Second and fourth Thursdays 11 a.m.-noon and 12:30-4:30 p.m. Leesburg Senior Center, 102 North St. NW. 703-737-8039. Free.

Senior Outreach Services Free and confidential assistance from an Area Agency on Aging Elder case manager. Call for an appointment or sign up at the Carver Center. First and third Mondays, 12:30-5 p.m. Carver Center, 200 Willie Palmer Way, Purcellville. 703-737-8741. Free.

Tai chi for seniors Stretching and strengthening movements. Mondays 11 a.m. Leesburg Senior Center, 102 North St. NW. 703-737-8039. Free.

Zumba gold class Age 55 and older. Wear rubber-soled shoes and comfortable clothing; bring water and a towel. Tuesdays 11 a.m., Tuesdays and Fridays 1 p.m. Senior Center of Leesburg, 102 North St. NW, Leesburg. 703-737-8039. $24 per month.

Zumba For people 55 and older learning Zumba for the first time, or those who prefer a lower-impact version. The fitness program combines Latin and international music with dance. Thursdays 11 a.m. Senior Center at Cascades, 21060 Whitfield Pl., Sterling. 571-258-3280. $12.

SUPPORT GROUPS

Addiction support Tuesdays 7 p.m. Fauquier Hospital Chestnut Room, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. Email sznnodum@gmail.com or 540-935-8148.

Al-Anon Service Center of Northern Virginia A volunteer is available 24 hours with information for spouses, family members and friends of problem drinkers. 703-534-4357 or 877-339-8350. Mondays 8 p.m. Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 125 W. Washington St., Middleburg, 540-554-2747; Tuesdays 7:30 p.m. St. James Episcopal Church, 14 Cornwall St. NW, Leesburg, 877-339-8350; Fridays 8:30 p.m. Grace Episcopal Church, 6507 Main St., The Plains, 800-344-2666; Tuesdays 12:15 p.m. Warrenton Church of Christ, Route 29 N., 540-347-7448; Tuesdays 7 p.m. and Saturdays 8:30 p.m. Warrenton Presbyterian Church, 91 Main St., 800-344-2666.

Alcoholics Anonymous Various meeting times and locations in Loudoun County. 800-208-8649 or 703-876-6166. nvintergroup.org.

Alzheimers caregiver support For those who care for people with Alzheimers disease and other forms of dementia. Fourth Wednesdays 4-5:30 p.m. The Villa at Suffield Meadows, 6735 Suffield Lane, Warrenton. 540-316-3800.

Alzheimers caregivers support For those caring for people with Alzheimers disease and other forms of dementia. Second Mondays 7-8:30 p.m. Galilee United Methodist Church, 45425 Winding Rd., Sterling. 703-430-9229. galileeumc.org.

Alzheimers caregivers support Emotional, educational and social support for family members and friends of people with the disease. Third Saturdays 10 a.m. Loudoun County Area Agency on Aging, 20145 Ashbrook Pl., Ashburn. Call 703-771-5407 or email lesley.katz@loudoun.gov.

Alzheimers caregiver support group Fourth Thursdays 3-4 p.m. Carver Center, 200 Willie Palmer Way, Purcellville. 540-903-6831 or alz.org.

Alzheimers support First Tuesdays 10-11 a.m. Spring Arbor Assisted Living, 237 Fairview St. NW, Leesburg. 540-338-6520.

Alzheimers support First Wednesdays 4 p.m. Leesburg Adult Day Center, 16501 Meadowview Ct., Leesburg. 703-771-5334.

Alzheim ers support First Thursdays, noon, Lansdowne Woods of Virginia, 19375 Magnolia Grove Sq., Lansdowne. 703-283-6554.

Alzheimers support Fourth Thursdays 3-4 p.m. Carver Center, 200 Willie Palmer Way, Purcellville. 571-258-3400.

Talk About Curing Autism A nonprofit organization educating and supporting families affected by autism. tacanow.org.

Autoimmune support Last Thursdays 6:30-7:30 p.m. Jackson Building, 209 Gibson St., Leesburg. autoimmunesupport@

hotmail.com.

Bereaved parent support One-on-one counseling is available. Spiritual Care Support Ministry Center, 76 W. Shirley Ave., Warrenton. 540-349-5814 or scsm.tv.

Bereavement support Age 18 and older. Third Mondays 1 p.m. Fauquier Hospital Chestnut Room, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. Sponsored by Capital Caring. 703-957-1800.

Breast cancer support For those with new diagnoses or starting treatment. Register if attending for the first time. Fourth Mondays 5-6:30 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital Radiation Oncology Center, 44035 Riverside Pkwy., Suite 100, Leesburg. 703-858-8857.

Breast cancer support Fourth Tuesdays 7-8 p.m. Fauquier Hospital Tower, Chestnut Room, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 540-349-0588.

Breast cancer support For those who have finished treatment, have had a recurrence or have metastatic breast cancer. Register if attending for the first time. Fourth Mondays 6:30-8 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital Radiation Oncology Center, 44035 Riverside Pkwy., Suite 100, Leesburg. 703-858-8857. Free.

Breast Cancer Support Assistance Fund Loudoun County residents who have received a diagnosis or have undergone treatment in the past 12 months are eligible to apply for financial assistance. Areas included are wigs, bras, puffs and prostheses, mammograms and medical bills, food and help with utilities, rent or mortgage, and transportation costs. The Pink Assistance Fund has been established by the Loudoun Breast Health Network. lbhn.org.

Cancer support Oncology nurses, social workers and spiritual-care providers offer education and support to patients, families and caregivers. Second Mondays 5:30-6:30 p.m. Fauquier Hospital Sycamore Room, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 540-316-2273.

Cancer support Life with Cancer, for patients, family members and friends. Second Thursdays 7 p.m. Ashburn Presbyterian Church, Room 202, 20962 Ashburn Rd. 703-729-2012 or ashburnpresbyterian.org.

Caregiver support Emotional, educational and social support. Encourages caregivers to maintain their physical and emotional health while caring for people with dementia or other chronic illness. Fourth Thursdays 3-4 p.m. Carver Center, 200 Willie Palmer Way, Purcellville. 540-903-6831.

Caregiver support and resource group Wednesdays 10:30 a.m.-noon (no meeting first Wednesdays), Spiritual Care Support Ministry Center, 76 W. Shirley Ave., Warrenton. 540-349-5814. scsm.tv.

Caring for Aging Parents Support group. Confidential. Fourth Wednesdays 7:30 p.m., Family Focus Counseling Service, 20-B John Marshall St., Warrenton. 540-349-4537.

CHADD parents support For parents of children with ADD/ADHD. Fourth Sundays 3 p.m. KinderCare, 44051 Ashburn Village Shopping Plaza. chadd.novaloudoun@gmail.com.

Chronic illness support Tuesdays 1:30-2:30 p.m. Spiritual Care Support Ministries, 76 W. Shirley Ave., Warrenton. 540-349-5814 or scsm.tv.

Coffee and Conversation Support for those discouraged because of illness, bereavement, caregiving or a loved one in the military. Thursdays 10 a.m.-noon. Spiritual Care Support Ministry Center, 76 W. Shirley Ave., Warrenton. 540-349-5814.

Compassionate Friends For parents who have experienced the death of a child. First Wednesdays 7:30 p.m. St. James Episcopal Church, 14 Cornwall St. N W, Leesburg. 540-882-9707.

Creating and Connecting Two-hour art therapy and relaxation workshop for cancer patients. Every other month, 12:30-2:30 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital Radiation Oncology Center, 44035 Riverside Pkwy., Suite 100, Leesburg. Call for dates. 703-858-8850.

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance of Western Loudoun Saturdays 3 p.m. Purcellville Library, 220 E. Main St., Carruthers Room. Call 703-431-7160 or email kathy@dbsanca.org.

Drop-in grief support Second and fourth Wednesdays 1-2 p.m. St. Davids Episcopal Church, 43600 Russell Branch Pkwy., Ashburn. Sponsored by Capital Caring. 703-597-1781.

Families Overcoming Drug Addiction Support group. First and third Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. Fauquier Hospital Sycamore Room, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. myfodafamily@gmail.com or 540-316-9221.

Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth and parent support A group in partnership with Metro DC PFLAG. Fourth Sundays 4-6 p.m. Unitarian Universalist Church, 22135 Davis Dr., Sterling. 703-328-6518.

Griefshare Nondenominational seminar and support group. Tuesdays 7:30-9 p.m., and Wednesdays, 1-2:30 p.m. Spiritual Care Support Ministry Center, 76 W. Shirley Ave., Warrenton. 540-349-5814. Free.

Grief support Sponsored by Hospice Support of Fauquier County. Individual counseling available. First and third Thursdays 3:30-5 p.m. Hospice Support Office, 42 N. Fifth St., Warrenton. Registration required. Email hospicesupport@verizon.net or call 540-347-5922.

Grief support Wednesdays, 10:30 a.m.-noon, Spiritual Care Support Ministry Center, 76 W. Shirley Ave., Warrenton. 540-349-5814.

Hospice support Free medical-equipment loan facility for Fauquier County residents. Especially needed are donations of wheelchairs, bedside commodes, rolling walkers, electric hospital beds, shower benches and chairs, adult diapers, lift chairs, Ensure and hospital bed mattresses . 540-347-5922.

Look Good, Feel Better For women undergoing or emerging from cancer treatment. Every other month, 6:45-9 p.m., Inova Loudoun Hospital Radiation Oncology Center, 44035 Riverside Pkwy., Suite 100, Leesburg. Call for dates. 703-776-2820. Free.

Loudoun CHADD support Led by Children and Adults With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Third Thursdays 7 p.m. Leesburg Town Hall, lower-level conference room, 25 W. Market St. 703-669-2445.

Lyme disease support Fourth Sundays 2-4 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital, 44045 Riverside Pkwy., Conference Room A and B, Leesburg. Go to natcaplyme.org or email loudounlymeadvocates@gmail.com.

Lyme disease support Third Thursdays 7-9 p.m. Fauquier Hospital Chestnut Room, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. Call 540-341-8245 or email phillipsgeo@comcast.net.

Lyme disease support Age 18 and older. First Tuesdays 6:30-8 p.m. Carver Center, 200 Willie Palmer Way, Purcellville. Email charphealy@yahoo.com.

MADD Loudoun victim support For those who have been affected by drunken driving. Third Wednesdays 7:30 p.m. 210 Wirt St., Leesburg. 540-338-6491.

Man-to-Man cancer support Sponsored by Loudoun Cancer Care Center, for prostate cancer patients and their families. Second Tuesdays 6:30-8 p.m. Senior Center at Cascades, 21060 Whitfield Pl., Sterling. 703-858-8857 or karen.archer@inova.org.

Menopause support Third Thursdays 6:30-9 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital, 44045 Riverside Pkwy., Leesburg (second floor, Patient Education Room). 703-858-8060.

Mens grief support Second Mondays at 7 p.m. Fauquier Hospital Sycamore Room, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 703-568-3346. Free.

Multiple sclerosis support Saturdays 10:30 a.m. Fauquier Hospital Chestnut Room, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 540-349-2826.

Multiple sclerosis support Last Sundays, September-June, 2-4 p.m. Cascades Library, 21030 Whitfield Pl., Potomac Falls. Call ahead to confirm. 703-771-4256.

Nar-Anon family support For those affected by loved ones with addiction. Meaningful Mondays, 7-8 p.m., Galilee United Methodist Church, 45425 Winding Rd., Sterling. 703-203-9792; Wisdom Wednesdays 7-8 p.m., St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church, 37730 St. Francis Ct., Purcellville, 703-606-7125; Serenity Thursdays, 7-8 p.m. Leesburg Presbyterian Church, 207 W. Market St., Leesburg, 703-606-7125.

Overeaters Anonymous For fellowship and support. For locations and times, go to oa.org.

Parkinsons social Coffee and conversation. Third Wednesdays 10 a.m.-noon, Tribute at One Loudoun, Welcome Center, 20618 Easthampton Plaza, Ashburn. parkinsonsocialnetwork.org or 703-378-7221. Free.

Parkinsons support Open to those with Parkinsons disease, their family members and caregivers. First Tuesdays 1:30-3 p.m. Call for Ashburn location. 571-442-8851.

Pet Loss support Saturday 10-11:30 a.m. Spiritual Care Support Ministry Center, 76 W. Shirley Ave., Warrenton. 540-349-5814. Free.

Postpartum support Second and fourth Wednesdays 1-2:30 p.m. Inova Loudoun Cornwall Campus, 224 Cornwall St., Leesburg. Call 703-909-9877 or email lamckeough@gmail.com. Registration required.

Reach to Recovery Home visit program for mastectomy and lumpectomy patients. Temporary prostheses, exercise instruction and encouragement. 703-938-5550.

Sexual assault and incest survivors group counseling Services provided by Loudoun Citizens for Social Justice and the Loudoun Abused Womens Shelter are free and confidential. 703-771-9020.

Sexual assault survivors empowerment support Sponsored by Sexual Assault Victims Volunteer Initiative. Child care available with 48 hours notice. Mondays; call for times and locations. 540-349-7720.

Spiritual support group For cancer patients, family members and friends. Third Tuesdays 6:30-8 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital Radiation Oncology Center, 44035 Riverside Pkwy., Suite 100, Leesburg. 703-858-8850.

Stroke support Wednesday, noon-1:30 p.m. Fauquier Hospital Chestnut Room, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 540-316-3588. Free.

Stroke survivors and caregivers support Second Wednesdays 11 a.m.-noon, Inova Loudoun Hospital, 44045 Riverside Pkwy., Leesburg, second floor, Patient Education Room. 703-858-6199 or jill.lieb@inova.org.

Suicide counseling Third Wednesdays 7-8:30 p.m. Leesburg Town Office, Conference Room 2, lower level, 25 W. Market St., Leesburg. 703-587-1618 or survivorsofsuicideloss

leesburg@gmail.com.

Womens support Sponsored by Services to Abused Families. Tuesdays 6:30-8 p.m. Confidential location. 540-825-8876.

Widows and widowers support Third Mondays 11 a.m. Leesburg Senior Center, 102 North St. NW. 703-737-8039.

Womens cancer support Woman to Woman, first Wednesdays 6:30-8 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital Radiation Oncology Center, 44035 Riverside Pkwy., Suite 100, Leesburg. Registration required. 703-858-8850.

MISCELLANEOUS

Brain trauma survivors brown-bag lunch For survivors and caregivers. First Tuesdays, noon-1:30 p.m., Inova Loudoun Hospital, 44045 Riverside Pkwy., Leesburg, second-floor Patient Education Room. Call 703-737-3150 or email jberg@braininjurysvcs.org. Free.

Child developmental screenings For ages 2-5. Children may not be kindergarten-age-eligible. Sponsored by the Loudoun County school systems Child Find Center. 571-252-2180.

Cholesterol screenings Weekdays, 6 a.m.-8 p.m. Fauquier Health LIFE Center, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 540-316-2640. Registration required. $35.

Diabetes Show-and-Tell Tuesday 6:30 p.m. Fauquier Hospital Bistro on the Hill, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. Beth Potter will discuss how to read labels and how to make low-carbohydrate substitutions for your favorite foods. David Martin will demonstrate how to prepare healthy dishes. Participants can sample cloud bread and cauliflower mash. 540-316-3588 or fauquierhealth.org. Registration required. Free.

Emergency food supplies Loudoun County residents in need can receive a free three-day supply of groceries. Supplies are distributed Mondays through Saturdays by Loudoun Hunger Relief. Call 703-777-5911 or go to loudounhunger.org.

Ethical Issues in Dementia Care workshop Thursday 1-4 p.m. Area Agency on Aging, 20145 Ashbrook Pl., Suite 170, Ashburn. Michael A. Gillette from Bioethical Services of Virginia will cover topics that will include the autonomy of people with memory impairment, justifications for interventions when someone objects. and a framework for settling disagreements between providers and family members. 703-777-0343. Register by emailing apstraining@loudoun.gov. Free.

Fauquier free walk-in medical clinic Call Thursdays from 12:30 to 1 p.m. to register for the clinic, which begins at 5:30 p.m. Patients are seen by appointment Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Fauquier and Rappahannock residents only. Bring proof of address for the first visit. Patients cannot have Medicaid, Medicare or private insurance. Information: 540-347-0394 Tuesdays or Thursdays, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Fauquier Hospital Bistro Senior Supper Club Nutritious meals and fellowship for people 55 and older. Tuesdays and Thursdays 4:30-6:30 p.m. Fauquier Hospital Bistro on the Hill, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 540-316-3588. $5.49.

Foster care and adoption information session For Childrens Sake of Virginia provides loving, safe, nurturing homes to children placed through social services. The organizations goal is to successfully return each child back to the childs biological family or to another permanent situation. 11 a.m. Saturday, Cascades Libraray, 21030 Whitfield Pl., Potomac Falls. 703-444-3228. Free.

HEROES (Hometown Enabling Relationships, Opportunities and Empowerment through Support) is a program for military families. Support to military members and families, from pre-deployment up to two years post-deployment. Assistance includes financial help, job placement, family care and mental-health services. caring@purbap.org or heroescare.org.

Inova Loudoun Hospital Mobile Health Services Blood pressure screenings, Tuesday 9 a.m.-noon, Senior Center at Cascades, 21060 Whitfield pl., Sterling; Thursday 11 a.m.-noon, Lovettsville Community Center, 57 East Broad Way, Lovettsville; June 19, 9-11 a.m. William Watters House, 22365 Enterprise St., Sterling; June 22, 10 a.m.-noon, Carver Center, 200 Willie Palmer Way, Purcellville; June 27, 9 a.m.-noon, Senior Center at Cascades, 21060 Whitfield Pl., Sterling; June 28, 10 a.m.-noon, Lansdowne Woods, 19400 Leisure World Blvd., Leesburg. Call 703-858-8818 or go to inova.org/mobilehealth. Free.

Loudoun Cares information and referral help line Call 703-669-4636 for help in finding resources for county residents on issues of eviction, utility cutoffs, health care and employment.

Motor skill screenings Birth to 21 months. First Thursdays, Blue Ridge Speech and Hearing Center, 19465 Deerfield Ave., Suite 201, Lansdowne. Call for an appointment. 703-858-7620. Free.

Northern Virginia long-term care ombudsman Call 703-324-5861 for help with complaints related to long-term-care facilities.

Road to Recovery Free rides to appointments for cancer patients. Call 410-781-6909 or email jen.burdette@cancer.org. Free.

Safe sitter classes For girls and boys ages 11-14. First Saturdays except for holiday weekends. 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital, 44045 Riverside Pkwy., Leesburg. To receive a Safe Sitter Certificate, students must pass practical and written tests on babysitting and handling an emergency. Take a lunch from home or buy one in the cafeteria. $70, includes handbook and snacks. Registration required. 703-858-8818 or charlene.martin@inova.org.

Documentary on end-of-life care: Being Mortal June 22, 2 p.m. Fauquier Hospital, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. A discussion will follow the film. Sponsored by Capital Caring and Fauquier Hospital. Email ccagle@capitalcaring.org. Free.

Seven Loaves Food Pantry Individuals and families can receive a three-day supply of food, distributed Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 10 a.m.-noon. Go to sevenloavesmiddleburg.org or call 540-687-3489.

Tree of Life Food Pantry Serving western Loudoun County. Food is delivered Wednesdays and Saturdays. 703-554-3595.

 Compiled by Sandy Mauck

TO SUBMIT AN ITEM

Email: ldliving@washpost.com

Fax: 703-777-8437

Mail: Health Calendar, The Washington Post, 104 Dry Mill Rd. SW, Suite 101, Leesburg, Va. 20175

Loudoun County and Fauquier County health calendar

Loudoun County and Fauquier County health calendar

Loudoun County and Fauquier County health calendar

Loudoun County and Fauquier County health calendar

Loudoun County and Fauquier County health calendar

Loudoun County and Fauquier County health calendar

Loudoun County and Fauquier County health calendar

Loudoun County and Fauquier County health calendar

Loudoun County and Fauquier County health calendar

Loudoun County and Fauquier County health calendar

Loudoun County and Fauquier County health calendar

Loudoun County and Fauquier County health calendar

Loudoun County and Fauquier County health calendar

 Compiled by
Polls to open at 6 a.m. for Virginia primary

Polls in Loudoun County will be open 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday for this years primary election. Democratic Party voters will choose candidates for governor, lieutenant governor and the Virginia House of Delegates. Republican Party voters will choose candidates for governor and lieutenant governor.

The primary election is open to all registered voters in Loudoun. Virginia does not recognize party affiliation when registering residents to vote. Voters will be asked to choose which primary they want to vote in upon arrival at the polls.

Voters are required to show an acceptable form of photo identification at their precincts. Acceptable photo IDs include a Virginia-issued drivers license, a U.S. passport, a student photo ID from a college or university in Virginia, or another government-issued photo ID. Voters who do not have one of these forms of photo ID are eligible for a free Virginia Voter Photo ID Card.

For information about identification, go to loudoun.gov/VoterID. To find your polling place and related information, go to vote.elections.virginia.gov. For information about the election, go to loudoun.gov/JunePrimary.

Donations sought for Inova Ladies Board rummage sale

The Ladies Board of Inova Loudoun Hospital is accepting donations for its 79th annual rummage sale, scheduled for Oct. 14 and 15. The first donation day will be Saturday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the south parking lot of Loudoun Valley High School, 340 N. Maple Ave., Purcellville.

Tax receipts will be provided to donors. Money raised will support Ladies Board projects in the community, including special-needs equipment at the hospital and nursing scholarships.

For information on the types of items that will be accepted, go to ladiesboard.org/donors.cfm, call 703-771-2985 or email rummageladies@gmail.com.

New signage planned for historic African American community

The Loudoun Freedom Center is partnering with the town of Leesburg on a long-term stewardship plan at the site of the First Baptist Church of Sycoline and the nearby cemetery.

Sycolin, an African American community settled by former slaves and their descendants in the 1880s, existed for more than 50 years, but the church and cemetery are the only remaining physical elements.

The cemetery is just north of the First Baptist Church of Sycoline (19976 Sycolin Rd.). In 1989 and 1990, the town purchased about eight acres of undeveloped land to provide a buffer for the south end of the Leesburg airport runway. Although the site was known to be a cemetery, there were no efforts to acknowledge its presence or its significance to African Americans.

The current plan includes improved accessibility and interpretive signs to tell the stories of the historic community and its residents.
The Virginia Department of Historic Resources historical marker was installed outside Ashburn Colored School last week. (Jim Barnes/For The Washington Post)

Less than nine months after vandals defaced the Ashburn Colored School by spray-painting it with racist graffiti, a Virginia historical marker has been installed near the front entrance of the gleaming white building.

The marker came about through the efforts of a group of seventh-grade students at Farmwell Station Middle School who selected it as a project for their social studies class in the fall. They cleared hurdles at local and state levels to obtain grant funding for the marker and win approval from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, which installed the marker Monday.

As an African American student, it means so much that I have the opportunity to bring this school back into the light, Ashlee Brown, one of the students who worked on the social studies project, said during a brief dedication ceremony Tuesday.

The marker says the one-room school was built about 1892, during the era of segregation, and served African American students until 1958. Loudoun County records indicate the property was sold the following year.

For decades, the school building sat unused and almost unnoticed off Ashburn Road, at the edge of Old Ashburn. Ashlees mother, Shamaine Henderson, said in an interview that she remembered seeing it, boarded up and abandoned, when she attended a small church that formerly stood next to the school.

The school returned to the public eye early last year, when the Loudoun School for the Gifted announced plans to restore the dilapidated structure. It made the news again in the fall, when the vandals struck. Five teenage boys pleaded guilty to the crime and received sentences requiring them to educate themselves about the devastating effects of hate speech.

The community responded quickly to the vandalism. About $100,000 in donations poured in, and volunteers applied a fresh coat of white paint during a community restoration celebration less than two weeks after the crime.

Clyde P. Smith, chairman of the Virginia Board of Historic Resources, told those gathered at the dedication ceremony that the vandals might have unwittingly done the school a favor.

In some bizarre way, I want to thank the . . . guys that came here and messed up this building, because it made us focus a little bit on this whole racism issue, Smith said. Its interesting how it brought the community together.

The idea for a historical marker came from Farmwell Station social studies teacher Anthony Dodson, who decided that it would make a good hands-on civics lesson. He asked students to think about what person, place or event deserved the next marker in Loudoun County.

The kids were then unleashed to go research all they could on Loudoun County history, he said.

They formed small groups, each of which came up with an idea for a marker, researched it and developed a proposal, including the text to be displayed. Ten groups presented their proposals to a panel of judges, and the Ashburn Colored School was the top choice, Dodson said.

Ashlee said that she had learned about the school from her parents, and that she persuaded her group to choose it for the project. Other members of the group were Ben Bressette, Dheeman Sinha, Jackson Vickers, Quin Dumouchelle, Natasha Holecek, Jordan Clark and Colin Kolb.

Then, we sent the application to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and waited and waited and waited and waited, Dodson said. On March 16, they were informed that the application had been approved.

I never imagined it being this successful, he said.

Group member Ben Bressette told those who attended the dedication that the students who worked on the project are of many different races and religions, proving that our country has changed drastically 50 years later. He added that the vandalism shows that the country has not yet changed completely.

Ashlee said her mother and other family members had taught her to remember the generations on whose shoulders you stand.

They tell me stories of how much pain and suffering they endured, as well as the determination my people . . . displayed just to get an education, she said. The educational facilities were not equal, nor [were] the materials or resources. However, my people valued a chance to learn.

We wanted  and want  an equal education to work, to excel, she said. We are not a lazy people. We aspire to have good-paying jobs, to work not only with our hands, but to lead with our minds and intellect.
Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz (D) may be on the Democratic gubernatorial primary ballot next June. (Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post)

Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz (D), who is crisscrossing the state in his role as president of the Maryland Association of Counties, says it will likely be after Labor Day before he decides whether to run for governor in 2018.

Right now, were all focused on keeping our kids busy, Kamenetz, who has two teenagers at home, said Monday after meeting with members of the Montgomery County Council in Rockville.

But with the Democratic gubernatorial primary just over a year away (June 26, 2018), its clear that Kamenetz, 52, who is barred from seeking a third term as executive, is plenty focused on politics.

He organized to finish a surprising second to a prospective rival, Rep. John Delaney, in a late April gubernatorial straw poll of Democrats in western Maryland, where he is not well known.

And in the interview Monday, he called incumbent Republican Gov. Larry Hogan a caretaker who has not articulated a long-term vision for the state and said he believes Democrats can retake the governors mansion next year.

This is still a Democratic state, Kamenetz said, citing the large majorities that have voted for former senator Barbara Mikulski, Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Governor Hogans election in 2014 was more about the Democrats failure to turn out as opposed to the Republic brand somehow growing.

In an email, Hogan spokeswoman Amelia Chasse said the governors office doesnt pay much attention to partisan rhetoric and politics. The governor is focused on getting things done for Maryland, like creating 100,000 jobs over the past two years and building roads and bridges across the state.

In addition to Delaney, other likely or declared Democratic candidates include Prince Georges County Executive Rushern L. Baker III, former attorney general Doug Gansler, former NAACP president Benjamin Jealous, state Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr. (Montgomery), tech entrepreneur Alec Ross and lawyer James L. Shea.

Since mid-April, Kamenetz has met with elected officials in Baltimore City and Calvert, Frederick and St. Marys counties as part of his work for the Maryland Association of Counties, a nonpartisan group that advocates in Annapolis for legislation sought by local governments.

He stopped in Howard on Monday before going to Rockville. Tuesday, he is scheduled for Queen Annes County on Marylands Eastern Shore.

Association Executive Director Michael Sanderson appears with Kamenetz at the briefings, which tend to be policy-heavy, with a focus on opioid fatalities and cuts in education spending or highway-user-fund revenues.

The association was supposed to provide lunch for the Montgomery council members after the session, but the discussion came to a halt before the food arrived.

You get an A for this and an F for catering, joked council member Sidney Katz (D-Rockville-Gaithersburg).
MARYLAND

Motorist charged after state trooper is hurt

A state trooper who was parked at the scene of a crash in Prince Georges County was injured Sunday when his car was struck by an impaired driver, state police said.

Trooper Solomon Flash was in his car on Route 4 near Presidential Parkway when it was struck. His car was blocking one lane of the road to protect a disabled vehicle, police said.

One of the drivers in the earlier crash also was injured when Flashs car was struck, police said.

Police said Chris M. Dent, 37, of Upper Marlboro was arrested and charged with driving under the influence.

 Faiz Siddiqui

Police name woman killed in Friday crash

The motorist killed in a two-car crash on Connecticut Avenue in the Kensington area Friday has been identified by Montgomery County police.

Sharon Schatzberg Hormby, 62, of Rockville was turning left onto Franklin Street about 6 p.m. when the collision occurred, police said.

The other driver was seriously injured.

 Martin Weil

The District

Restaurant and lounge evacuated

A restaurant and lounge near the Shaw and U Street NW areas was evacuated last night after indications that the crowded roof deck was starting to sag, authorities said.

The weight of people on the deck in the 600 block of Florida Avenue NW apparently caused the roof joists to begin to fail, said D.C. Fire and EMS spokesman Vito Maggiolo. No injuries were reported.

Maggiolo said shoring was underway. Photographs showed the restaurant was the Uproar.
MONDAY, JUNE 5

Court: MS-13 members abducted witness

Members of the gang MS-13 abducted and threatened a witness set to testify against a fellow gang member in a case related to the January killing of 15-year-old Damaris A. Reyes-Rivas, according to an application for sealing a search warrant in Fairfax County.

The application does not identify the case, and Fairfax County prosecutors declined to name it because of a pending prosecution, but it is the latest troubling turn in several overlapping cases in Northern Virginia tied to the resurgent gang.

In all, 18 people have been arrested in connection with Reyes-Rivass killing at a Springfield park, the slaying of 21-year-old Christian Sosa Rivas in Dumfries, and the disappearance of a teenage mother and her 5-month-old son from Springfield in January.

Both Lizzy Rivera Colindres, 16, and the boy eventually returned home.

THURSDAY, JUNE 8

Townhouse fire injures civilian, 2 firefighters

Two firefighters and a civilian were injured early Thursday in a townhouse fire in the 10900 block of Pope Street in Manassas, officials said.

The three were taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, according to authorities with the Prince William County Fire Department.

Five townhouses were damaged, and 12 people were displaced.
The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) issued statements and editorials, published numerous social media updates, and even took part in interviews in which it pinned the blame on the United States and Saudi Arabia. They even blamed the Iranian opposition.

The President of the organisation, Trita Parsi, said: ISIS has had very little success striking inside Iran. Main reason is they cant recruit Iranians easily, so no local knowledge. Only group with local knowledge that can slip into Iran easily is the Iranian terror group the MEK.

The MEK is part of the main Iranian opposition. As Parsi knows rightly, the opposition is involved in humanitarian efforts that help the people of Iran that have been subjected to brutal suppression for decades. It gathers information that makes the international community aware of what is really happening in the country and exposes how the government is running the country. So to call the opposition a terror group says a lot about the NIAC. The Iranian regime has a history of executing anyone that dissents and has called the opposition a terror group too.

Not long before the attack took place, the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, Adel al-Jubeir, reiterated that Iran is the number one state sponsor of terrorism and made a call for action. Iran responded that the rise of Sunni extremist groups is because of Saudi Arabia.

Journalist Michael Tomlinson said: Parsi has laid out the argument justifying military action against Saudi Arabia now that the mullahs in Tehran feel they have justification now to engage in even more provocative action. Whereas supplying the Houthis in Yemen to threaten Saudi Arabias border was seen as the extent of Iranian actions, Parsi is now laying the intellectual foundation for an ever-widening war. A curious position for the NIAC to take since its stated purpose is to help resolve differences among Iranian-Americans.

He added that there is clearly a broader agenda because the US Senate is seeking to impose more sanctions on the Islamic Republic because of ballistic missile breeches. The Iran lobby clearly sees these sanctions as a large threat to the Iranian regime.

Was it possible that the Iranian regime engineered the attack to influence the Senates decision? Whether it did or not doesnt matter because, as it is, the NIAC is fighting against the sanctions bill and is harming the fight against ISIS in the process.

It would be wise for the Tehran lobby groups to realise that the United States is basing its foreign policy on Irans actions. If Iran remains in Syria and all the other countries where it is involved, it will have to live with the consequences.
Authorities in Maryland released composite sketches of a suspect in a 1992 murder. The sketches were put together by DNA left at the scene. The suspects age is not known: one sketch shows the suspect as a 25-year-old, the other as a 50-year-old. (Parabon NanoLabs via Montgomery County police)

On a Sunday evening 25 years ago, someone walked into a country store north of Washington and brutally killed the friendly owner.

The attacker left behind a telling clue: drops of blood.

Forensic technicians extracted a DNA profile. Detectives submitted the profile to databases containing profiles of offenders nationwide. No matches.

Closer to home, they compared the profile with DNA samples taken from about 20 suspects theyd developed. No matches.

Now, taking advantage of a new technology that uses DNA details to create a drawing of what the possible killer looked like, detectives remain ever hopeful that they will finally solve the case.

James Kweku Essel, the owner of a country store in Montgomery County, was killed in 1992. Police believe the possible killer drove a black Pontiac Fiero similar to the style pictured here. (Montgomery County police)

This will help us narrow things down, said Montgomery County Detective Mark Janney.

On Monday, officials released a composite drawing of the possible killer based on the DNA information.

The man almost certainly had black hair, brown eyes and skin that was light brown to brown, according to the analysis, performed by Parabon NanoLabs, based in Reston, Va.

There is little to no chance he had freckles.

And in appearance, the suspect may have looked Mayan or Native American, based on his facial shape, his pigmentation and that his ancestors probably were indigenous to the middle of the Western Hemisphere  a swath from Mexico to the central area of South America.

[Maryland detectives reopen 1992 cold case of murdered store owner]

Detectives note that based on the era and area of the crime, the mans appearance might have made him stand out.

The killing occurred March 22, 1992, at the Sugarloaf Mountain Market in the community of Comus, in northern Montgomery County about three miles west of Interstate 270.

Janney said that before hiring the DNA company, he and colleagues had been following what appeared to be solid leads for white male suspects. He still is not ruling that prospect out and said such a person may have been working with a darker-skinned person.

He has long thought the suspect or suspects in the crime were familiar with the work and closing habits of the store owner, James Kweku Essel. Clearly, it was somebody whod done some casing of the store, he said last year.

[The company: Parabon NanoLabs working with police around the country]

The killer or killers walked into the store around 5:30 p.m., bought items and for unknown reasons attacked Essel  stabbing him more than 20 times. Essel appears to have fought back, and an assailant was cut in the process.

Essel immigrated to the United States from Ghana around 1959. He opened an African restaurant called Warababa on Kennedy Street NW in the District. Essel also held branch-manager positions at banks in Washington.

After he retired from banking, Essel wanted the serenity hed had as a child growing up near the ocean in Ghana. He purchased the store in the small community.

[At Sugarloaf Market, gathering to grieve]

Essel was known for letting customers buy items on credit if needed and was called James, Jim or Kweku by friends. He was well liked among his regular shoppers, who could come in for conversations and groceries.

He loved people, his oldest daughter, Evangeline Raphael, said in an interview last year.

She often worked with her father in the store. The night of his killing, she was supposed to work there but called him to say it was snowing and she didnt feel well. She wasnt coming in.

She recalled how her father had told her to turn over the money if there ever was a robbery. Its not worth your life, he had said.

The area around the murder  near Sugarloaf Mountain  has many residents who remain intensely interested in the case and seeing it solved. Janney said he hopes the composite image may jog someones memory.

Police are asking anyone with information about this case to contact Janney, a detective in the cold-case unit, at 240-773-5091, or email mark.janney@montgomerycountymd.gov.

Correction: An earlier version of this article had an incorrect date for the 1992 killing. It took place March 22, not May 22.
LeAnn Dances 8-year-old neighbor cheerily commented on her dogs Sunday evening, as she walked past the girls white house with a wheelchair ramp on her regular route through her Vienna neighborhood, she said.

Dance chatted briefly with the girl, while her father, who was unloading a car, smiled and walked into the home. Dance strolled on, ending the type of neighborly interaction that happens every day on suburban streets across Northern Virginia.

But soon, Dance stopped in her tracks as screams came from inside the girls home. Dance said the child darted inside to see what was going on. The father came running out, jumped into a van and sped off. The little girl emerged from the house.

Someone call 911, Dance recalled the girl saying. My mom is bleeding.

The mother, Sabrina Titus, 47, staggered out of the home and fell onto the wheelchair ramp. Dance ran to help and noticed a large gash on Tituss neck.

The woman was pronounced dead a short time later at the hospital, Vienna police said, stabbed by her ex-husband, Ralph Titus, 53. The man retreated to his Vienna home about a half-mile away and took his own life with a gunshot a short-time later, police said. Friends said the couple had split under difficult circumstances.

The murder-suicide left behind the girl, her twin brother who has a severe disability and uses a wheelchair, and Sabrina Tituss 14-year-old son from a previous marriage, friends and neighbors said.

Many cant fathom the loss of Sabrina Titus, saying that she worked hard to care for the son with a disability and her other children.

I admired her so much for her attitude, said Beth Kenney, whose son was on the same soccer team as Tituss teen son. It was, This is my lot. Im going to do the best job I can for my son. No poor me. 

Vienna police said they were called to Sabrina Tituss home in the 100 block of Oak Street SW about 6:50 p.m. on Sunday night for a report of a woman injured. Dance said the stabbing unfolded as Ralph Titus was returning the twins after they spent the weekend with him.

Dance said nothing appeared amiss when she first stopped at Sabrina Tituss home while out on her walk. Dance said she had never seen the police there.

Dance said Sabrina Tituss parents were sitting in a car in front of the home, apparently waiting for Ralph Titus to finish dropping off the children, when the stabbing occurred. Afterward, Dance said the twins grandmother called police. Dance said she tried to stanch Sabrina Tituss wounds with her hands.

Police said they were called to Ralph Tituss home in the 100 block of Ross Drive SW about seven minutes after the initial call at Sabrina Tituss home. Neighbors said they heard a single shot fired from Ralph Tituss property.

People at Sabrina and Ralph Tituss addresses declined to comment. Other family members did not respond to requests for comment. It remains unclear who will care for the children.

Dance wondered what could have gone wrong in the moments between her stop in front of Sabrina Tituss home and when the mother was stabbed. Police offered no motive in the killing and friends were perplexed.

What happened in those 30 seconds? Dance asked.
Every year is election year in Virginia, the state that tucks statewide and legislative races between federal contests. On Tuesday, voters will choose the Democratic and Republican nominees for governor and lieutenant governor, in addition to candidates for some House of Delegates seats.

The governors race is the marquee event. Virginia is one of just two states holding gubernatorial contests in 2017 (the other is New Jersey), and the Virginia race is drawing intense national interest as a harbinger of the 2018 midterms and a test of politics in the era of President Trump.

[Live results: Virginia primary election]

With so much happening in Washington, it is understandable if Virginians have been distracted from state races. As The Washington Post tagged along with canvassers recently, many voters said they were undecided and still needed to do their homework.

We want to help.

View Graphic Meet the candidates running to become Virginias next governor

Heres a primer on the race, plus resources to learn more about the candidates and choices:

Overview

Who are the candidates?

On the Democratic side, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam is competing against former congressman and onetime State Department envoy Tom Perriello.

On the Republican side are former GOP political operative Ed Gillespie; chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors Corey A. Stewart; and state Sen. Frank W. Wagner (Virginia Beach).

The Post sat down with all five candidates for wide-ranging on-camera interviews, and videos and transcripts are available.

What do the polls say?

The most recent public polling in the race was conducted in early May by The Post and George Mason University. It found that Gillespie had a comfortable lead over his two rivals and that the Democratic nominating contest was a neck-and-neck race.

Those results may be different now after both Democrats aired a barrage of ads across the state, with Northam outspending Perriello.

How do I vote?

Virginia is an open primary state, meaning anyone can choose either a Democratic or Republican ballot  but not both.

Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., and you must present photo identification. The registration deadline has passed.

You can find the location of your polling place here.

[We're following Virginias governors race on Facebook. Join our Facebook group dedicated to the latest reporting around this election.]

The Democratic race

Endorsements

 Northam is endorsed by every other statewide Democratic officer holder: Gov. Terry McAuliffe (who cannot serve consecutive terms under the states constitution), Attorney General Mark R. Herring, and U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine. Northam is also backed by every Democrat in the state legislature and three of the states four Democratic members of Congress (Rep. Gerald E. Connolly has stayed neutral).

He has also picked up support from a variety of progressive groups: NARAL and its Virginia affiliate, the National Education Association teachers union and its Virginia affiliate, a variety of gun control groups and Equality Virginia (an LGBT rights group).

 Perriello has attracted support from progressive leaders Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and their affiliated political organizations. He also has the support of top staffers from Hillary Clintons campaign, and 30 campaign and administration aides to former president Barack Obama.

In Virginia, Perriello has support from a few lower-profile elected officials including Ryan Sawyers, chairman of the Prince William County school board, several labor unions that praised Perriellos opposition to the states right-to-work laws and Gold Star parents Khizr and Ghazala Khan. His opposition to two planned gas pipelines has also won him support from national environmental groups.

Differences on issues

Barring an upset Democratic takeover of the House of Delegates in November, the next governor will be dealing with a Republican legislature. In that environment, Democratic governors such as McAuliffe exert their influence through executive orders, appointments to state boards and commissions, vetoes of legislation and economic development deals.

Perriello and Northam largely agree on policy priorities. Here are few areas where they disagree:

 Gas pipelines: Perriello has opposed two natural gas pipelines planned to cross south and southwestern Virginia. Northam has declined to take a firm position on the pipelines beyond saying they should be subject to strict environmental review, and he supports an approach taken by state water-quality regulators that some environmentalists say does not go far enough.

 Taxes: Perriello has proposed a tax increase on the wealthy and smaller spending cuts that his campaign estimates would bring in $1.1 billion of additional annual revenue to fund a host of social programs. Northam has instead called for a commission to review the states tax policies but says he wants to cut grocery taxes paid by the poor.

 Higher education: Both candidates support some form of free higher education. Perriellos proposal is more expansive and expensive: It would fund two-year community college, apprenticeships or trade school. Northams plan is more targeted: It would chip in money, after other forms of aid are exhausted, for community college and workforce training in high-need fields such as clean energy and computer programming, and would require recipients of student aid to do a year of public service.

 Campaign finance: Perriello has refused to accept contributions from energy giant Dominion, which is Virginias largest political donor, and has called for public financing of elections. Northam has instead called for a ban on campaign contributions from corporations and a cap on donations.

Differences in track record

Because Perriello and Northam have similar policy views, much of their sniping in the primary has focused on the past.

 Perriello has renounced several conservative stances he took while in Congress including: supporting an unsuccessful amendment to the Affordable Care Act that would have limited coverage of abortion in private health plans, supporting the National Rifle Association and accepting its endorsement, and backing oil drilling off the Virginia coast.

 Northam has fended off criticism for past flirtations with the Republican Party. He acknowledged voting twice for President George W. Bush, which he chalks up to his being tuned out of politics. As a state senator, he was courted by Republicans to switch parties in 2009, although he says he never seriously considered leaving the Democratic Party. And as recently as 2013, he described himself as a fiscal conservative and moderate.

The Republican race

Endorsements

 Gillespie has racked up the most endorsements from Republican lawmakers, including GOP leaders in the House and the Senate, as well as former Republican governors Robert F. McDonnell and George Allen. He is also backed by scores of local Republican elected officials and a few national Republican figures, including Sens. Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Tom Cotton (Ark.), and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

 Stewart has the support of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, a gun rights group, and Tea Party Nation. Some alumni of President Trumps campaign operation in Virginia back him, but he burned bridges with others after attacking the Republican National Committee as being insufficiently supportive of Trump during the campaign. He lost a few endorsements in his own Prince William County after making the defense of the states Confederate heritage a central campaign theme.

 Wagner has support from John Watkins, a former state senator who led the powerful Finance Committee; The Washington Posts editorial board; as well as community leaders and shipyard executives in his native Hampton Roads.

Differences on issues

If Virginia elects a Republican governor, he will be in a position to deliver sweeping policy change if the legislature stays under GOP control. Here are some ways the Republican candidates differ on issues:

 Taxes: Gillespie has called for a 10 percent across-the-board cut to income tax rates, if future economic growth hits certain targets. Wagner says such a move is foolish and would threaten the states finances, and hes proposing additional changes to gas and other taxes that would increase revenue for transportation projects. Stewart has said Gillespies plan wouldnt go far enough; he wants to phase out the income tax completely and drastically slash state spending to compensate for the revenue that would be lost.

 Abortion: Gillespie has said he would like to see abortion banned, while preserving exceptions for rape, incest and when the mothers life is at risk, a position shared by Wagner. Stewart supports an absolute ban, including when the mothers life is at risk.

 Criminal justice: Wagner has called for an expansion of the states drug-court model to steer offenders to treatment instead of incarceration, while punishing violent offenders harshly. Gillespie says he wants to see fewer people incarcerated and supports a state commissions review of penalties for marijuana crimes. Stewart has called for the decriminalization of simple possession of marijuana.

 All three say the state must address illegal immigration, but Stewart has taken the toughest stance, calling for sanctuary city mayors to be jailed for not turning over criminal illegal immigrants to federal officials for deportation.

 Confederate monuments: They all say statues of Confederate leaders should not come down but give the matter different weight. Stewart thrust the issue into the primary by holding rallies in support of a statue of General Robert E. Lee set for removal in Charlottesville. When white nationalist Richard Spencer led an explicitly racist, torch-lit rally at the site in May, Stewart was the only one of the three who did not condemn it. Gillespie has said decisions about statues should be made locally. Wagner describes calls to remove Confederate memorabilia political correctness run amok, but he prefers to focus on issues such as traffic congestion and workforce development.

Embracing Trump

In a state where President Trump is deeply unpopular, the Republican nominee will enter an electoral playing field where he will have to turn out the base and attract moderates. All three take different approaches to the president:

 Gillespie has carefully straddled a line in his responses to decisions by the president and keeps his focus on Virginia, but said he would welcome Trumps support on the campaign trail. He was noncommital on Trumps decision to fire James B. Comey as director of the FBI and on the health-care overhaul bill passed by the House. He supported the presidents decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate pact and backed the proposed ban on entry to the United States by citizens of certain majority-Muslim countries, although he said the Trump administration had erred by initially including green card holders.

 Stewart is campaigning as a loyal foot soldier of the presidents who has never wavered in his support. He likes to say he was Trump before Trump was Trump. But he was perhaps a little too eager in his support and was fired as chairman of Trumps Virginia campaign after staging an unauthorized protest against the RNC for what he considered to be its tepid support for candidate Trump.

 Wagner has frequently sided with Trump and his policies but his support isnt quite as fervent as Stewarts.

Laura Vozzella contributed to this report

Read more about the candidates:

Ralph Northam (D)

How McAuliffes heir apparent adjusted to an unexpected primary challenge

Years of relationship building have given Northam a formidable network of support

Why this Democratic doctor calls Trump a narcissistic maniac

Tom Perriello (D)

This Democrat believes an economic populist message can win back coal country

He lost his seat in part because of Obamacare. Is it is ticket back into office?

Richmond Times-Dispatch: Perriellos religious case for social justice

Ed Gillespie (R)

Tax cuts are central to Gillespies economy-focused bid for governor

In a year of outsiders, Gillespie faces GOP skeptics

How Ed Gillespie straddles a careful line on immigration issues in the Trump-era

Corey Stewart (R)

Trumps mini-me attracts controversy  but perhaps struggles to get traction

Do Stewarts Confederate antics help his rivals or hurt GOP brand?

Stewart accuses his opponent of being complicit in killings

Frank Wagner (R)

Out-gunned and out-experienced, Frank Wagner takes a stand for experience

Virginia Pilot: Wagner proposes gas tax change to spare commuters costs at key times

Richmond Times Dispatch: Wagner calls hearing to question McAuliffes climate policies
President Donald Trump with Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price in the the Oval Office of the White House on March 24. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

Iowa is asking the Trump administration for permission to jettison fundamental aspects of its Affordable Care Act marketplace, contending that a large-scale rewriting of the rules is the only way to prevent the state from becoming the first without any health plans available under the law next year.

In an extreme plan that Iowas insurance commissioner submitted to federal health officials on Monday, the state would essentially take an estimated $350 million in federal ACA money that its residents and insurers would ordinarily receive next year and use it for different purposes.

The proposal would abolish Iowas ACA insurance exchange and, unlike anywhere else in the country, give some people federal help in paying for coverage outside the marketplace. It would eliminate the laws subsidies for insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs, instead creating a different type of tax credits resembling those favored by House Republicans. It would also replace tiers of coverage with a single level of insurance for customers buying health plans on their own.

In an important gesture to appease insurers  two of which intend to stop selling ACA plans in Iowa in 2018, with the remaining one threatening to do the same  the state also would create financial buffers to cover customers with particularly high medical expenses.

Our market is collapsing, so the normal rules dont really fit the circumstance, Doug Ommen, Iowas insurance commissioner, said. He added that he met last Wednesday with Seema Verma, administrator of the Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

We went through the plan, walked through it in some detail, Ommen said, adding that he was very optimistic that we will have a high level of cooperation from CMS.

[White House touts the ACAs demise even as insurers seek help in stabilizing its marketplace]

The stopgap plan, as Iowa is portraying it, comes one week before the states deadline for insurers to decide whether to participate in the marketplace next year. It is the most far-reaching deviation from the 2010 health-care law that any state has attempted  in both the changes it envisions and the fact that they would happen on such a rapid schedule, bypassing the normal steps the ACA permits for states seeking exceptions.

Some health policy experts on Monday questioned whether Iowas plan would be legal. Absolutely not, said Tim Jost, an ACA supporter and retired professor of health-care law at Washington and Lee University, who said that federal officials may give permission for exceptions only under what are known as 1332 waivers. That process requires detailed data, public involvement and other lengthy steps that Iowa says are not practical.

A CMS spokeswoman said via email that the agency couldnt comment on matters under review, and that is all we have to say. A White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity about a proposal on which the administration has not made a ruling, said officials are going to work with states as best we can within the confines of the law to make sure states are doing what they can with the insurance marketplace.

An administration decision to allow Iowas plan would test how far any state could move from ACA rules without a change in federal law. The Trump administration has been crusading to repeal the ACA, and House Republicans narrowly passed a bill that would kill major features. Senate Republicans are trying to devise their own plan.

[Early proposed rates for ACA health plans hint at a jump in premiums for 2018]

If the health debate in Congress stalls, then states may be lining up for waivers like this, said Larry Levitt, senior vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation.

At the moment, three states  Ohio, Missouri and Washington  have a total of nearly four dozen counties in which no insurer is willing to sell ACA plans for 2018.

Wellmark is one of the insurers that has announced its departure from Iowa; its chief executive, who attended the CMS meeting in Washington, has said the company will stay if that states plan is approved. Wellmark sells many more individual policies outside the ACA marketplace than within the exchange, so the proposed rules would allow more of its customers to receive federal subsidies.

But Medica, a relatively small nonprofit insurer based in Minnesota that joined Iowas ACA marketplace last year, is more wary of where the proposal will lead.

What we want to have is rules, said John Naylor, Medicas chief executive, who has laid out its terms for staying. If the state of Iowa and the government can come up with some rules, we will assess that.
Puerto Rico

Island votes decisively for U.S. statehood

Puerto Ricos governor said the U.S. territory has overwhelmingly chosen statehood in a nonbinding referendum Sunday held amid a deep economic crisis that has sparked an exodus of islanders to the U.S. mainland.

Nearly half a million votes were cast for statehood, more than 7,600 for free association/independence and nearly 6,700 for the current territorial status, according to preliminary results. The participation rate was just 23 percent of about 2.7 million registered voters, leading opponents to question the validity of a vote that several parties boycotted.

From today going forward, the federal government will no longer be able to ignore the voice of the majority of the American citizens in Puerto Rico, Gov. Ricardo Rossello said. It would be highly contradictory for Washington to demand democracy in other parts of the world and not respond to the legitimate right to self-determination that was exercised today in the American territory of Puerto Rico.

Congress has the final say in any changes to the islands political status.

 Associated Press

Trial of officer in Philando Castile slaying resumes: The manslaughter trial of a Minnesota police officer who killed a black motorist last summer will resume Monday with closing arguments. Officer Jeronimo Yanez shot Philando Castile during a traffic stop in July in Falcon Heights, a suburb of St. Paul, Minn. Castiles girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, streamed the immediate aftermath live on Facebook, which brought the case extra attention.

Teen arrested in killing of 10-year-old: A 15-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder in the death of a 10-year-old Colorado girl. Kiaya Campbell was reported missing in Thornton on Wednesday, and her body was found the next day about 1.5 miles from her fathers house. Investigators said her body had signs of severe trauma. Kiaya was last seen with the 15-year-old son of her fathers girlfriend.

Severed head and body found hours apart: A headless body has been found after the head of a young black man was found on the front steps of a Mississippi home. Jackson Police Chief Lee Vance told a local news outlet that a resident discovered human remains in a field about 3 p.m. Saturday. The remains were located about a mile from where the severed head was found hours earlier. Police said that the body was severely burned and that the man couldnt be immediately identified.

Single ticket wins $448 million jackpot: A sole winning Powerball ticket worth $447.8 million and matching all six numbers was sold in Southern California and will claim the 10th-largest lottery prize in U.S. history, lottery officials said Sunday. The ticket was sold at Marietta Liquor & Deli in the small city of Menifee, the California Lottery said. Lottery officials said the earliest the ticket could be redeemed is 8 a.m. Monday, and the winner has one year to claim the prize.

 From news services
They described the attack as a heavenly gift (that) has come for Irans criminal rulers, explaining that the Iranian regime now has a justification to carry out further suppressive measures and criminal acts in the country.

They said that the regime will relate everything and anything to this, to provide a pretext to legitimize future criminal measures in the past, present and future. They also pointed out that state-run television is already doing this.

The letter read: These measures that lead to the death and injury of innocent people were planned by the regime itself to bring an end to the current atmosphere in Iran where everyone is questioning the 1980s executions.

There is a threat that:

 The regime intends to use this as a pretext to justify their crimes in the 1980s and the 1988 massacre,

 They intend to crackdown any demand for freedom, and those protesting for their most investment, under the pretext of such terrorist measures,

 All the questions in todays society and amongst the youth will be placed in the shadows of security issues, and they will refuse to answer,

 Increasing the number of executions and with a huge lie apparently being ISIS (their own ally in Syria and Iraq) has officially accepted responsibility; and kill a number of our Sunni brothers.

The prisoners called on all human rights organisations to take note of the threat to their lives that are at risk because of bogus justifications by the regime.

As the prisoners warned, the regime has been ramping up suppressive measures. On Friday, numerous young, Sunni activists were arrested by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). Reports indicate that dozens of people were arrested and were faced with violent actions and insults. It is not known where the people who were arrested were taken.

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said that his mercenaries should act as they see fit. He said: I constantly tell all intellectual, cultural and Jihadi cores of the country to take actions autonomously like what we call it in the battlefield as the fire-at-will forma. Of course, there are headquarters that command at war. The commander orders the fire-at-will forma in case the connection is cut with the headquarters or some defects are identified. Well, you are supposed to be the commanders of the soft war as well in case you detect any defect in the central headquarters. Therefore, you shall order the fire-at-will forma. You must take decisions, think, find, move, and take measures on your own.
HEALTH

Justices clear fast track for biotech generics

A unanimous Supreme Court is speeding up the time for generic biotech drugs to become available to the public in a ruling that means a loss of billions in sales for the makers of original versions.

The justices ruled Monday in favor of generic drugmaker Sandoz in its dispute with rival Amgen over a near-copy of Amgens cancer drug Neupogen.

The case involves biologics  drugs made from living cells instead of chemicals. The drugs have led to major advances in treating diseases but come at steep prices.

A 2010 law allows cheaper generic versions known as biosimilars to be produced after a 12-year exclusive run for the original.

Writing for the court, Justice Clarence Thomas said the law does not require companies making biosimilars to wait an extra six months after gaining Food and Drug Administration approval before selling the drugs.

The extra time can add billions of dollars in additional sales to the original drugmakers before biosimilars enter the market.

The dispute involves the drug Zarxio, a generic that Sandoz, a unit of Swiss drug giant Novartis, developed to compete with Neupogen that sells for about 15 percent less than the original product. The drugs help boost red blood cells in cancer patients.

 Associated Press

ENVIRONMENT

Rule protecting whales, sea turtles is tossed

The Trump administration Monday threw out a new rule intended to limit the numbers of endangered whales and sea turtles getting caught in fishing nets off the West Coast, even though the fishing industry had proposed the measure.

The National Marine Fisheries Service said it decided the new protection was not warranted.

The action is one of the first by the Trump administration targeting protections for threatened species off the Pacific coast, said Catherine Kilduff, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity conservation group.

The regulation was designed to reduce the numbers of humpback whales, leatherback sea turtles and other large creatures that accidentally become tangled in mile-long nets set adrift by commercial fishermen overnight to catch swordfish off California and Oregon.

The regulation allowed for shutting down swordfish fishing with the drift nets for up to two fishing seasons if too many of the endangered animals were getting caught in the nets.

The rule applied to endangered fin, humpback and sperm whales, short-fin pilot whales and common bottlenose dolphins, as well as endangered leatherback sea turtles, loggerhead sea turtles, olive-ridley sea turtles and green sea turtles.

Some of the communities of whales that would have been protected under the rule have dwindled to the low hundreds, Kilduff said.

The fishing industrys Pacific Fishery Management Council had proposed the new regulation in 2015. Federal officials began implementing it the next year.

 Associated Press

MONTANA

Congressman-elect pleads guilty to assault

Montanas next congressman, Greg Gianforte, avoided jail time Monday after pleading guilty to assaulting a reporter the day before he was elected.

Gallatin County Justice of the Peace Rick West sentenced the Republican technology entrepreneur to 40 hours of community service and 20 hours of anger management counseling and ordered him to pay a $385 fine for the misdemeanor. If he remains law-abiding for 180 days, he can petition to have the conviction removed from his record.

Gianfortes attorneys noted that he had paid more than $4,600 in restitution to Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs for the assault, which cast a pall over his May 25 victory to serve the remainder of Ryan Zinkes term. Zinke resigned to become interior secretary.

Gianforte, 56, is expected to be sworn in to the states sole U.S. House seat this month.

 Associated Press
Pope Francis addresses the crowd from the window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter's Square during his Sunday Angelus prayer on June 11. (Tiziana Fabi/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images)

CONGO

Guards among 11 killed in prison break of 900

Armed men attacked a prison in Congos eastern city of Beni on Sunday, killing at least 11 and freeing more than 900 prisoners, a government official said.

Eight prison guards were among the 11 dead, said North Kivu Gov. Julien Paluku. About 30 prisoners remained in the Kangbayi prison after the afternoon attack, he said.

Paluku announced a curfew in Beni and nearby Butembo. Only the army and the police have the right to circulate to have control over the enemy, he said.

It was not immediately known who carried out the attack, although Allied Democratic Forces rebels are imprisoned there and the group has threatened attacks to free its members.

The rebel group was founded in neighboring Uganda in the 1990s and is based in Congo. The rebel group has killed more than 1,000 people in eastern Congo since October 2014.

 Associated Press

VATICAN

Pope gives ultimatum to Nigerian priests

Pope Francis has laid down an ultimatum to defiant Nigerian priests: Lose your job if you dont obey me and your bishop.

It was reported Sunday that Francis met Thursday at the Vatican with a delegation from the Ahiara diocese, where priests have been refusing to accept the 2012 appointment by the then pontiff, Benedict XVI, of the local bishop. Vatican newspaper LOsservatore Romano, said Francis threatened to suspend the priests from the ministry if they didnt pledge in a letter, by July 9, total obedience to Francis and accept Bishop Peter Okpalekes appointment.

Africa has been one of the continents where the Catholic Church is growing. The faithful and clergy there often imbue their practices with local culture in contrast to more traditional routines in Europe or North America. Franciss move to end disobedience aims at ensuring the growing church there will be loyal to the pontiff.

 Associated Press

U.S. airstrikes take out al-Shabab camp in Somalia: The U.S. military in Africa said it carried out an airstrike Sunday morning in southern Somalia that killed eight Islamic extremists at a rebel command and logistics camp, 185 miles southwest of the capital, Mogadishu. Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed confirmed the airstrike, saying Somali and partner forces destroyed an al-Shabab training camp near Sakow, in the Middle Juba region.

Authorities say diverted EasyJet plane wasnt in danger: German authorities on Sunday released without charge three British men detained in Germany late Saturday after their conversations on board an EasyJet flight from Slovenia to London prompted the pilot to divert to Cologne. The criminal investigation against them has been halted. No evidence was found, a local police spokesman said. We now believe that there was never any real danger. Nine people received medical treatment after 151 passengers were evacuated from the Airbus 319 using emergency slides.

Thousands protest corruption in Morocco: Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of the Moroccan capital to protest corruption and abuse of power. The demonstration in Rabat was one of the largest of its kind in several years. The march also was to support recent demonstrations in Moroccos impoverished northern Rif region. It has been shaken by protests since the death in October of a fish vendor who was crushed by a garbage compactor while trying to save fish that officials had confiscated.

Winner declared in Mexican election: Election officials in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila have declared Miguel Angel Riquelme Solis, the candidate of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, the winner of the June 4 gubernatorial election. A Solis-led coalition had about 30,000 more votes than Guillermo Anaya of the National Action Party. The party says it will ask the courts to overturn the election, which it claims was plagued with irregularities.

Gaddafi son released by Libyan militia: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, a son of the late Lybian dictator Moammar Gaddafi, has reportedly been freed by an armed group in western Libya where he had been held since shortly after the 2011 revolt. He was released in the town of Zintan under an amnesty law passed by a parliament based in eastern Libya. Saif, 44, was touted by some as a reformist successor before the uprising six years ago.

 From news services
President Trump listens during a working luncheon with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House last month. From left, national security adviser H.R. McMaster, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Vice President Pence, Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

Can the Trump national security team make a comeback?

Over the past month, the foreign policy communities in Washington and capitals around the world have stood aghast as President Trump made several decisions and statements that run counter to the bipartisan U.S. national security consensus that existed before he took office. The takeaway for most is that his senior national security advisers and Cabinet members, who represent that consensus, are losing the battle for the presidents heart and mind.

Early on, Trump seemed to be heeding the advice of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Vice President Pence, national security adviser H.R. McMaster and others pushing for more continuity and consistency in U.S. foreign policy.

After a campaign in which Trump brutally criticized U.S. partners around the world, Mattis, Tillerson and Pence each traveled to Asia and Europe to reassure allies that Trump would not abandon long-standing U.S. ideals or undermine commitments, such as robust support for NATO. For a time, the allies were reassured  but not anymore.

In the past three weeks, Trump overruled the majority of his national security advisers by refusing to publicly affirm NATOs Article 5 commitment to mutual defense at NATO headquarters, pulling the United States out of the Paris climate accord and starting new disputes with several allies, including South Korea, Britain, France and Germany.

All the questions that were raised [by Trumps election], we thought they were answered, and now we have to deal with them again, said Norbert Rottgen, chairman of the German Bundestags Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Countries such as Germany spent months building relationships with Trumps national security team in the hope that doing so would allow their governments to preserve access and influence while promoting policies they believe those officials agree with. But now they fear the group cant deliver.

We continue to see them as sensible and rational  but we see more and more that the decisions are not done by them, Rottgen said in a meeting with Post editors and reporters last week. What we see is that the boss seems to have more influence on the decision than the team.

This week, Trumps top national security officials will have an opportunity to reassert themselves, in a series of hearings with lawmakers who largely support their efforts. The key issue in these hearings will be whether the officials, especially those who served in uniform, will express support for funding of the non-military tools of U.S. power.

A rare union of 16 former senior military leaders has joined together to submit testimony supporting that notion at a hearing Tuesday of the Senate Armed Services Committee, where Mattis is to appear. They argue that Congress should reject the steep cuts in diplomacy and development funding proposed in the White Houses budget.

Cutting the International Affairs budget unilaterally will have the effect of disarming our countrys capability to stop new conflicts from forming, and will place our interests, values, and the lives of our men and women in uniform at risk, according to testimony I previewed.

The retired four-star officers include Gen. James Jones, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, Adm. Michael Mullen, Gen. David Petraeus and many others. Jones told me that he is optimistic that national security leaders inside the administration can be successful in saving parts of the budget that represent those American values, including funding for poverty and food aid, global health and good governance abroad.

The people who have actually worn the uniform and participated in global activities really understand that you cannot simply just have the military tool and use that every time, he said. Its very important they can be successful at this.

The latest effort by Trumps national security team to steer his thinking failed to move him away from his instincts. After Trump publicly praised and took credit for the Saudi-led blockade of U.S. ally Qatar last week, Tillerson and Mattis sat down with him at the White House on Thursday to argue for a more balanced approach.

The following day, Tillerson made a public statement calling on both sides to deescalate and negotiate an end to their dispute. Shortly after that, Trump held a news conference and doubled down on his criticism of Qatar, seeming to undercut his secretary of state. The president apparently wasnt persuaded.

Looking ahead, several key battles will reveal whether the national security professionals are winning the day, including decisions on whether to commit more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, how to approach the U.S.-South Korea free-trade agreement and whether to staunchly oppose new congressional sanctions on Russia, which are coming soon.

Trumps national security officials dont agree on all of these issues, and they must balance their personal views with their duty to serve their presidents agenda. But the more they can assert themselves, harness support from the outside and influence Trumps thinking, the better.

Read more from Josh Rogins archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
THERE IS good news and bad news in U.S.-Mexico relations. Unfortunately, theyre the same news: The Trump administration and the Mexican government have reached a new agreement on access to the United States for Mexican sugar producers. This is good news because it avoids an impending trade war over the commodity, thus preserving a modicum of good relations leading into negotiations over updating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Its bad news because the whole business perpetuates a system of market manipulations that hurts American consumers of the commodity while benefiting no one but a well-connected few who produce it in the United States.

At the core of those market manipulations for many years has been a series of per-country import quotas that permit only certain quantities of raw sugar to enter the United States from various nations. NAFTA changed that by granting Mexicos sugar producers free access to the U.S. market, though the access didnt actually kick in until the Obama administration, some 15 years after the agreements adoption. Nevertheless, by 2014, Mexico had come to supply a large portion of the U.S. market, at which point American refiners lodged a complaint with the Commerce Department, accusing the Mexicans of dumping subsidized sugar and sending too much of it in refined form.

In response to the threat of punitive tariffs, Mexico agreed to limit refined sugar shipments and accepted minimum prices; even that wasnt good enough for American industry, however. The latest deal, struck by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo, essentially tightens those supply limitations and further increases minimum prices. Its a major concession by Mexico for the sake of good bilateral relations, though American producers say they still arent completely happy with it.

If youre wondering how these elaborate protections for sugar producers can possibly benefit the far larger number of sugar consumers, well, we are, too. The truth is that Americans as a whole would be better off if there were global free trade in sugar, not just free trade between the United States and Mexico. Would that cost jobs in the sugar industry? Maybe. But it is certain that the protectionist system kills thousands of jobs in sugar-using industries, whose costs of production are forced up by these pointless, politically driven market interventions.

Things have come to quite a point when the only way to save a free trade agreement is by enforcing less-free trade. But that is what is happening: Mexicos sugar exporters are being forced to accept a version of the country-by-country quota system they thought they had negotiated their way out of, fair and square, back when everyone signed NAFTA a quarter-century ago. Yet managed trade of that sort appears to be what President Trump means by fair trade, though we dont understand whats fair about determining market share through haggling among bureaucrats rather than supply and demand.
Britains election was a catastrophe for Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May and a personal vindication for Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour Partys left-wing leader.

It was also the revenge of the young, whose voices go unheard because their turnout is usually low. Britains new generation taught a lesson to their counterparts around the world: Voting confers power.

But the unexpected outcome could produce new forms of conventional wisdom as misleading as the flawed punditry that enticed May to call the election in the first place.

It didnt need to happen, because May had three years left in her term. Voters clearly resented being called to the polls for opportunistic reasons. May thought that because Corbyn was so unpopular and seemingly out of the mainstream, she could turn a relatively small Conservative Party majority into an overwhelming advantage in Parliament. She also thought she could marshal the nationalism reflected in Britains vote to leave the European Union by adding the far-right votes of the UK Independence Party to Conservative totals.

May forgot that 48 percent of British voters rejected Brexit and were still not happy about the outcome. They were looking for ways to strike back, and they did.

She and just about everyone else also underestimated how skilled a campaigner Corbyn would be. For example, Chuka Umunna, one of Corbyns critics among moderate Labour parliamentarians, acknowledged that Corbyn ran a positive and dynamic campaign that emphasized hope. The Economist, no friend of Corbyns, conceded that he fought a strong campaign against all expectations. The more sympathetic Observer credited Corbyn with achieving a sensational result for Labour.

Lord Stewart Wood, who was a top adviser to former Labour Party leader Ed Miliband, saw Corbyns strong showing as the definitive end of Blairism, the middle-of-the-road Labour politics associated with former prime minister Tony Blair.

In a telephone interview, Wood noted that Corbyn rode a tide turning against austerity after years of Conservative budget cuts. Like Bernie Sanders in 2016, Corbyn had mobilized an energetic grass-roots campaign and sophisticated social media network, Wood said.

And far from working politically in favor of the Conservatives as the traditional party of order, the terrorist attacks before the election hurt May. Corbyns criticisms of Mays cutbacks in the police forces, Wood believes, were particularly resonant because they linked the Labour leaders argument against austerity to the issue of security. He added that many voters he encountered while campaigning door to door were absolutely furious over President Trumps verbal assault on London Mayor Sadiq Khan after the London Bridge attack.

Matt Browne, who was an aide to Blair and is now at the Center for American Progress in Washington, agreed that Corbyns showing meant that for the foreseeable future, centrist progressivism is on hold. The more moderate left, he told me from London, needed to learn from what Corbyn accomplished, especially in mobilizing the young.

But given Mays unpopularity, Browne argued, this is an election we could have won, and could have won handsomely. There is some evidence, particularly in anti-Brexit London, that more moderate Labour candidates such as Umunna ran ahead of the national swing.

Thus the twin caveats to sweeping conclusions on the left: Its more moderate wing needs to acknowledge the mobilizing power of a clear and principled egalitarian politics and the increasingly progressive tilt of younger voters. But fans of Corbyns approach to politics need to come to terms with the fact that although he outran expectations, he lost the election. Labour still needs a strategy for winning dozens of additional seats.

Britain also defied trends in other Western countries toward the fragmentation of older party systems. This continued on Sunday in France, where President Emmanuel Macrons year-old party surged past long-established rivals to its left and right in the first round of legislative elections.

In Britain, by contrast, Corbyn boosted the Labour Party vote to 40 percent, 9.5 points higher than it was two years ago. And even though the election was a disaster for May, the Conservative vote rose to 42.4 percent, a 5.5-point increase. It was the highest Labour share since 2001 and the highest Conservative share since 1983. The sharp decline of the Scottish Nationalists  they lost more than a third of their seats  further signaled a return to an earlier political era.

In other words, claims that everything has gone haywire in Western politics since Brexit and Trumps election are exaggerated, as we are also likely to see in the German election this fall. And backlashes to Trump continue to push electorates in Europe toward the center or left. This certainly played a role in Macrons victory in France last month and continued to strengthen his middle-of-the road political movement in Sundays voting.

As for May, she sought to recast British conservatism in a moderately nationalist way. It might be seen as Trump-lite, with more coherence than the American brand. She hoped to hold the metropolitan professionals while expanding her coalition to a restive working class far from the centers of power. It was a bold bet. But it failed.

Read more from E.J. Dionnes archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
A robin sits in a nest it built on a traffic light at an intersection in Sedalia, Mo., in 2012. (Sydney Brink/Sedalia Democrat via Associated Press) (Sydney Brink/Associated Press)

George F. Wills June 8 op-ed, True crime, regulatory-state style, about regulations in Oregon that suppressed a non-state-licensed engineer, struck home.

I moved to Fairfax County in 1981 and was hired to teach in the public schools. But the job offer was rescinded because I was non-certifiable. I had a masters degree in education, had been the director of a large preschool, had conducted teacher training, had taught elementary school for two years and was certified at the elementary level in Massachusetts and California. But there was a long list of courses I needed to complete within two years.

I accepted a job at George Mason University and started taking courses. After completing enough of them, I was rehired by Fairfax County and continued the journey. The most ridiculous course I had to take was Fundamentals of Education, which college sophomores took to decide if they really wanted to be teachers. I was teaching kindergarten in the morning and observing first grade in the afternoon. I already had taught first grade. The only upside was that the next pay level was masters plus 30 credits. I had only a few more credits to obtain to reach that level.

Marilyn Hamly, Williamsburg, Va.

George F. Will exposed a dirty little secret in the world of professional licensing. While occupational licensing boards were established to protect the public from quacks and other unqualified practitioners, too many have come to resemble medieval guilds more interested in protecting the interests of their members. In their view, only a framed piece of parchment (the license), not educational credentials and experience, counts for competence.

In Pennsylvania, many distinguished geology professors are barred from practicing geology in the public arena without a license thanks to a state law sponsored by consulting firms. These experts cannot even include the title professional geologist on their stationery.

Frank W. Fletcher, Reedville, Va.

The writer is former member of the Pennsylvania State Registration Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists.

I am a licensed architect. Licensed engineers and architects are required to amass three to four years of documented experience and pass grueling multi-day exams, which have low first-time pass rates. Discipline and determination are required to become a licensed professional. I met those requirements through hard work and study. It is just and proper that the state regulates and supports licensed engineers and architects. We all benefit.

Every time I complete a design and seal it with my stamp, I am reminded of the priceless responsibility that society has placed upon me for the safety and welfare of its citizens. The annual dues and other onerous bureaucratic horrors George F. Will decried seem insignificant compared with this.

Perhaps Mr. Will would be comfortable hiring an attorney who went to law school but never passed the bar to defend him in court. Or trusting surgery to a medical school graduate who just never got around to taking the surgical boards. If so, then I stand corrected.

Andrew Boyd, Arlington
A girl pays for a candle in a church. According to a study by the Joint Economic Committee, Americans loyalty to organized religion has declined in the past few decades. (ISTOCKPHOTO)

Its time to take a brief break from President Trump. Whatever you think of him, theres no denying that he dominates the news cycle. We seem to assume that the nations future depends on Trumps fate, for better or worse. The reality is otherwise: The nations future also hangs on larger economic and social trends that no president can shape.

A new report from the congressional Joint Economic Committee (JEC) reminds us of this. The report examines the nations social capital. Now, social capital is an obscure academic term that, essentially, signifies the ability of people to work and play together  to cooperate and connect with others. The stronger a societys social capital, the less isolated and powerless people feel. The news here is cautionary; our social capital is depleting.

The JEC study assessed social capital in four realms  family life, the workplace, religion and community  and found it weakening in all four. Heres a brief summary of the reports conclusions, which are based on scholarly studies and public opinion surveys.

Family life: Marriages are down; out-of-wedlock births are up. In 2015, nearly a third of all children (31 percent) were being raised by single parents or no parent at all, up from 15 percent in 1970. Over the same period, births to single mothers jumped from 11 percent of all births to 40 percent. Marriage rates plunged. In 1970, there were 76.5 marriages for every 1,000 unmarried women over 15; by 2015, the rate was 32 per thousand.

Work: The main trend was the gradual entrance of millions of women into the job market. In 2015, 74 percent of prime-working-age women (25 to 54) were in the labor force, up from 35 percent in 1948. However, there were social costs. There was more reliance on markets for child care, and community-based volunteer work suffered. Meanwhile, increasing numbers of men with lower levels of education dropped out of the labor force.

Religion: Fewer Americans feel loyal to organized religion. In the early 1970s, about seven in 10 adults were members of a church or synagogue, and slightly more than half attended services at least once a month. Now, only slightly more than half (55 percent) belong to churches and synagogues, and monthly attendance has dropped to about 40 percent.

Community: Theres been a broad erosion of public trust. In Gallup polls, only 36 percent have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the Supreme Court, but that rating is higher than for schools (30 percent), banks (27 percent), newspapers (20 percent), big business (18 percent) and Congress (6 percent). In addition, the share of the voting-age population that actually registered fell from 72 percent in 1972 to 65 percent in 2012.

The institutions that provide social stability and personal contentment seem to be in retreat. The fact that one-third of children are raised by single parents cannot be good. Neither is the loss of confidence in major institutions. As private institutions weaken, pressure mounts on government to fill the void, but the effect is to place more demands of government than it can meet, contributing to its unpopularity.

Remember, however, that some of these changes have also created huge benefits. Womens entrance into the paid labor force has both raised household incomes and provided satisfying careers for millions. We must also guard against exaggerating adverse effects. The JEC study reports that parents still spend the same amount of time with their children as before, despite the pressures of balancing work and family. Similarly, some types of volunteering have increased since the 1970s.

Perhaps slightly faster economic growth and higher wages would alleviate some social and economic tensions. But economic growth is not a panacea for all of our problems and worries. Indeed, paradoxically, greater wealth and affluence are the causes of some of our discontents, as the JEC report acknowledges.

The increases in dual-income and single-parent families reflect the rising affluence of our nation, not growing hardship, it says. Technological innovation reduced the amount of time it took to maintain homes. . . . Even the growth in single parenthood reflects rising affluence. More women are able to support children on their own . . . due to their increased earnings. So too, the public safety net for single parents, while by no means allowing a lavish existence, is sufficiently generous to facilitate single parenthood.

To some extent, the future of the United States depends on Trump. But it depends even more on how these social and economic trends evolve  how we cope with them and whether we become a more cohesive society or a more contentious one. Trump is not destiny. For better or worse, we are.

1 of 58 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  A look at President Trumps first year in office, so far View Photos Scenes from the Republicans first months in the White House. 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.

Read more from Robert Samuelsons archive.
Ali Khamenei, with regards to Irans meddling in Syria, said: If the Islamic Republic had not taken a stance in the center of all this sedition, we would have experienced many problems inside the country.

In Iran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) is the main tool for Khamenei to pursue his policies, many of which look after his own interests.

The IRGC, however, was damaged in the recent attack. Furthermore, during the presidential election last month, the IRGC was subject to a large blow.

To kick the IRGC while it is down, the US Senate is seeking further sanctions. Some are wondering whether it was an innocent coincidence that the attack took place just before the Senate vote.

The Iranian regime has been dealing with a series of setbacks for a long time now. However, it seems to have felt the most pressure following the US President Donald Trumps visit to Saudi Arabia last month.

Diplomatic ties were severed between Qatar, an ally of Iran, and several other Arab countries. Was the Iranian regime desperate enough to take actions to make it look like a victim of terrorism?

The IRGC now has an excuse to ramp up security inside Iran and the Supreme Leader has an excuse for his harsh words.

By ramping up security in Iran, the IRGC can pressure President Hassan Rouhanis cabinet and it can prepare for the Supreme Leaders successor.

Since the attack happened, state-run media outlets are reporting that it was similar to the crimes committed by the infidels in the 1980s. This is in reference to the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), the main opposition. Security forces are seeking to arrest these criminals, prosecute and execute them.

It is not just the timing of the attacks that have called into question the circumstances of what happened, it is also the way it happened. Eyewitnesses said that armed individuals ended the parliament with vests of explosives and assault rifles, whereas security is normally tight.

Other reports state that those carrying out the attacks were Iranian, but the Ministry of Intelligence refused to release their surnames.

Whether the attack just came at a very convenient time for the Iranian regime or not, one thing is for sure  the mullahs have continued to use bloodshed to further their goals. Nothing will ever change in this regard.
OVERCOMING BITTER opposition from Republican lawmakers, Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia has largely rectified an enormous, archaic injustice: the disenfranchisement of tens of thousands of former felons  about half of them African Americans  whose debt to society has been paid, in many cases decades ago.

After prevailing in state courts, Mr. McAuliffe, a Democrat, was able to assert his power under the state constitution and has so far restored the vote to more than 156,000 ex-convicts. By the time his four-year term in office ends in January, he is on pace to have restored rights (including the right to serve on juries) to at least another 5,000 former felons.

Its hard to overstate the magnitude of the governors action, which he himself called his proudest achievement in office. His recent predecessors, all recognizing the injustice of indefinite suspension of civil rights for people who had completed their sentences, had each taken steps to expand rights restoration  particularly the man who immediately preceded him, former governor Robert F. McDonnell, a Republican former prosecutor.

Yet even Mr. McDonnell, who made the process virtually automatic for those who had committed nonviolent felonies, restored voting rights to only 8,000 or so one-time prisoners. Mr. McAuliffe has now done more in this field than all his predecessors combined.

By Virginias standards, his actions have been radical, but thats only because the state is such an outlier  one of just four in the nation whose constitution permanently disenfranchises citizens, barring intercession by the governor.

In some of the other states with the most prejudicial policies, there is also progress. In Florida, a needlessly cumbersome process established by Republican Gov. Rick Scott will be streamlined if voters approve a ballot initiative next year to amend the states constitution to automatically restore voting rights to nonviolent felons who have completed their sentences. In Alabama, a newly enacted law ends decades of confusion and opens the door for more former felons to vote  more than a quarter-million are now disenfranchised in the state  by clarifying which offenses are cause for disenfranchisement and which are not.

In Virginia, Mr. McAuliffes moves have already paid dividends for democracy: About 26,000 of those who regained voting rights at his initiative voted in last Novembers elections.

More can be done. State officials have names, but no addresses, for at least 30,000 to 40,000 more former felons, whom they have been unable to reach to screen for possible rights restoration. There are estimates that tens of thousands of others have not been identified in any state database. About half of those who might still be eligible to regain their rights are black in a state where African Americans make up a fifth of the overall population, meaning ongoing disenfranchisement remains racially skewed.

Still, Mr. McAuliffe has cleared a good chunk of the backlog of people whose debt to society is paid. Republicans in Richmond remain apoplectic that violent felons rights have been restored at the same pace as those of nonviolent ones  as if the longer sentences they already served somehow dont count. A future governor might slow the pace of ongoing restorations or even shift criteria. But those already re-enfranchised are secure in their restored rights, and Mr. McAuliffes legacy is assured.
THESE TWO babies . . . they never had a chance. That was the grim appraisal of Prince Georges County States Attorney Angela Alsobrooks as she catalogued the failures that led to the murders of two young children by their mentally ill mother. There were clear warnings that a troubled young mother needed help and that her children were in danger. The tragic case exposes fault lines in systems set up to treat mental illness and protect children, underscoring the need for improvements.

Sonya Spoon was sentenced last Wednesday to 45 years in prison after pleading guilty to the 2014 deaths of her 3-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son. The Cheverly woman, then 24, wrapped her childrens heads with plastic bags and duct tape and suffocated them before attempting suicide. Less than a week before the children were killed, police had taken Ms. Spoon to a hospital for an emergency psychiatric evaluation because she had threatened to kill her daughter and herself. She was released over the objections of her mother  Shes in a state of mind that had me commit her in the first place was her desperate plea to hospital staff. Thirty-six hours later, the children were dead.

No question, as her attorney argued, the mental-health system failed her. The hospital that judged her ready for release with a prescription for antidepressants needs to do some soul-searching over how it handled this case. Families that are struggling to deal with the mental-health problems of loved ones need more support.

The case also reveals what Ms. Alsobrooks has characterized as a gap in the reporting system aimed at protecting children. Under current law, teachers, health-care workers and certain other workers must report to authorities when they suspect a child has been abused but not when they believe a child is in danger of being abused. Ms. Alsobrooks has spent the past three years unsuccessfully trying to persuade state lawmakers to strengthen the reporting requirement to cover threats and to provide training in assessing danger. A bill to accomplish those goals passed the House this year but died in a Senate committee. Ms. Alsobrooks said she will advocate for the bill again next year.
President Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on Monday. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

For a grand total of about 30 minutes on Monday, cable news networks broadcast a dry, unfiltered pitch from Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta and other Cabinet officials about President Trumps leadership and his policy agenda. It was no wall-to-wall coverage of former FBI director James B. Comeys testimony before Congress  but for a White House struggling to break through, it would have to do.

In an effort to counteract a never-ending stream of news related to the ongoing investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, the White House has taken the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach to showing progress on policy issues.

The presidents schedule in June is packed with policy-related meetings and events in Washington and throughout the country, all with the goal of drawing attention away from the Russia probes and toward the White Houses proposals on infrastructure, technology and jobs.

With all the noise, with all the intensity of the media coverage and obviously, what makes headlines, ultimately, were really focused on why the American people elected Donald Trump as their president and implementing that plan, Ivanka Trump said on Fox News on Monday morning as she kicked off the White Houses week-long focus on workplace development.

The presidents oldest daughter, who is a White House adviser, also asserted that infrastructure proposals the administration put forward last week will ultimately have a much more important impact  a tacit acknowledgment that, at least for now, Russia has dominated the headlines and the White House agenda.

Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta talks to reporters during the daily briefing at the White House on Monday. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

Her comments highlight a growing frustration within the White House that their efforts to draw attention to the presidents jobs agenda is being buried by a brewing scandal and multiple investigations into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian officials.

In recent weeks, aides have increasingly sought to push back on the perception that Trumps agenda in Congress has stalled, touting the passage of the American Health Care Act in the House of Representatives and efforts to roll back Obama administration policies through the Congressional Review Act as proof that they are making progress.

But with the health-care bill still working its way through the Senate and Trumps tax overhaul proposals still largely unformed, the White House has been left to tout more incremental agenda items, most of which have struggled to gain traction.

Last week, items on the infrastructure week agenda battled with Comeys dramatic recollections of his interactions with Trump for media attention. And this week, workforce development week will unfold as Attorney General Jeff Sessions faces questions from Congress on Tuesday about his contacts with Russians during the presidential campaign and his role in Trumps firing of Comey. Next week, major technology leaders are also expected to be invited to the White House for a summit with Jared Kushner, Trumps son-in-law and adviser.

But while the administration clamors for more attention on its plans, Trump aides have characterized them in less than expansive terms  describing some initiative as low-hanging fruit or small but significant.

The president has also gotten in the way, persistently issuing potentially damaging tweets and proclamations on the subject of Russia  undercutting the messages being pushed by his aides.

You could go back and count the coverage minutes between infrastructure week and the Russia probe, and the Russia probe will win out, said Alice Stewart, a former communications adviser to two Republican presidential hopefuls, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.). However, its crucial for the administration to do exactly what theyre doing.

President Trump smiles as he arrives for a rally alongside the Ohio River at the Rivertowne Marina in Cincinnati on June 7. (John Sommers II/Reuters)

She added: When hes busy and has a lot of things on his plate, hes not tweeting. And the less he tweets, the better theyre able to stay on message.

Last week, Trump delivered a speech in front of a barge of West Virginia coal as he touted his administrations commitment to rebuilding the nations roads and waterways. The White House also announced Trumps support for a plan to privatize the nations air traffic control system, but that plan would need to be approved by Congress.

On Tuesday, Trump is expected to visit a workplace training program in Wisconsin along with Ivanka Trump and his labor secretary. They will also host CEOs at the White House later in the week to discuss apprenticeship programs, while Trump will deliver a policy speech at the Labor Department.

The themed events hark back to the kind of imagery that was more common in the early weeks of the Trump administration, when White House aides organized a parade of meetings in the West Wing with Trump and corporate executives to announce job-related proposals.

A Monday meeting of Trumps Cabinet  for only the second time since his inauguration  had a similar feel, as Trump held court and basked in effusive praise from his deputies.

I will say that never has there been a president  with few exceptions; in the case of FDR, he had a major Depression to handle  whos passed more legislation, whos done more things than what weve done, between the executive orders and the job-killing regulations that have been terminated, Trump said. Many bills; I guess over 34 bills that Congress signed. A Supreme Court justice whos going to be a great one.

Weve achieved tremendous success, he added.

Meanwhile, Trump blamed his inability to pass a GOP health-care bill on obstructionist Democrats and promised that his yet-unwritten tax bill that would be one of the biggest tax cuts in American history.

Promises that Trump would hit the road to sell his plans to the public have also reemerged in recent weeks, with one senior White House official predicting that Trump would spend the summer traveling to push his legislative agenda.

Some conservatives are urging the White House to do more.

Im still waiting for tax cut week,  said Stephen Moore, a former Trump economic adviser who has pushed the administration to prioritize tax reform. When are we going to have the big push from the president on the tax plan?

He needs to do that for two reasons: Itll get Congress moving, and itll change the subject, he said.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg relied in part on gender equality cases she brought as a pioneering civil rights lawyer as the Supreme Court on Monday struck down a law that treats unwed mothers and fathers differently when granting citizenship to their children born abroad.

The law imposed different standards for acquiring citizenship for the offspring of an unwed U.S. citizen who has a child with a citizen of another nation. Fathers had to meet a longer requirement of physical presence in the United States than did mothers.

Ginsburg, writing for five other justices, said the different requirements date from an era when the lawbooks of our Nation were rife with overbroad generalizations about the way men and women are.

[Ginsburg says presence of three women on Supreme Court sends powerful message]

That unwed mothers had to meet a lesser requirement than married couples or unwed fathers, Ginsburg added, reflected that decades ago, two once habitual, but now untenable, assumptions pervaded our Nations citizenship laws and underpinned judicial and administrative rulings: In marriage, husband is dominant, wife subordinate; unwed mother is the natural and sole guardian of a nonmarital child.

But the court said the remedy was not to make it easier on children of unwed fathers, but harder on children of unwed mothers.

In the decision, Ginsburg cited a long list of cases she had a hand in  either as a lawyer arguing before the court or as a justice  striking down laws that treated men and women differently in, for instance, receiving Social Security survivor benefits or being admitted to the Virginia Military Institute.

[Supreme Court forbids exclusion of women from VMI]

Successful defense of legislation that differentiates on the basis of gender, we have reiterated, requires an exceedingly persuasive justification,  Ginsburg wrote, quoting her own opinion in U.S. v. Virginia.

She dismissed the governments argument that the different treatment was logical because only the mother is the legally recognized parent at birth and that the government was trying to avoid situations in which a child would be born stateless.

The case at the court involved Luis Ramon Morales-Santana, who was brought to Puerto Rico at age 13 after being born in the Dominican Republic to an unwed U.S. citizen father and a Dominican mother (they later married). By 1976, he was living in New York.

In 2000, when the government tried to deport him after convictions for robbery and attempted murder in 1995, Morales-Santana claimed he should be considered a citizen.

Under the law, a child born outside the United States to an unwed citizen father and a noncitizen mother can become a U.S. citizen if the father lived in the United States for five years, with at least two of those years coming after the age of 14. But Morales-Santanas father missed that requirement by just a few weeks.

The requirement for an unwed American mother is that she must have lived in the United States continuously for one year before giving birth.

A federal appeals court ruled for Morales-Santana, saying the same rules must apply to both unwed fathers and mothers, and Morales-Santana met the more lenient one-year rule.

Ginsburg said the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit was only half-right.

The discriminatory rules must fall, she said. But the prospective remedy is that children of unwed mothers have to meet the tougher standard, not that the children of unwed fathers get the more lenient one, she said.

That means Morales-Santana won the battle but lost the war and still will not get his citizenship.

Going forward, Congress may address the issue and settle on a uniform prescription that neither favors nor disadvantages any person on the basis of gender, Ginsburg wrote.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan joined Ginsburgs opinion. Justice Neil M. Gorsuch was not on the court when the case was argued, and took no part in the decision.

Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. did not join Ginsburgs reasoning and agreed only in overturning the 2nd Circuits relief to Morales-Santana.

The case is Sessions v. Morales-Santana.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the name of Virginia Military Institute. It has been corrected.
A young boy with his mother attend a rally in front of the White House in February organized by United We Dream, an immigrant youth-led organization protesting raids nationwide. (Linda Davidson/The Washington Post)

Tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants have been granted work permits by the Trump administration under an Obama-era deferred-action program that President Trump had promised to end on his first day in office, according to federal data.

Trump had called the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program an unconstitutional executive amnesty during his campaign. But statistics from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services released last week showed that more than 17,000 new DACA applicants were approved for the program in the first three months of 2017.

In addition, 107,000 immigrants already enrolled in DACA had their two-year work permits renewed during that time, which includes the final 20 days of President Barack Obamas tenure in January.

The new figures make clear that the deferred-action program for immigrants brought to the country illegally as children  often known as dreamers  has continued at a robust pace under Trump. This comes despite concerns from some immigrant advocates that the administration would start targeting work permit-holders for deportations.

Trump has waffled on DACA since taking office. In April, he told the Associated Press that dreamers should rest easy and not fear deportation. But his failure to follow through on a key pledge to voters has angered immigration hawks.

President Trump waves and walks back to the Oval Office after a ceremony on the South Lawn to honor the 2016 NCAA football champions, the Clemson University Tigers, on Monday. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

Its a violation of a campaign promise, said Dale Jackson, a conservative radio host in Huntsville, Ala., who asked White House press secretary Sean Spicer in February why Trump had not ended the program.

Jackson emphasized that unlike some of Trumps other promises, such as repealing the Affordable Care Act or building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border wall, the president could halt the issuance of work permits through executive decree without congressional approval.

This is completely within his singular power to do by himself, he said. Theres no rationalization I can come up with. The guy said one thing during the campaign and hes outright not doing it.

A White House spokesman did not respond to requests for comment Monday.

Trump has touted successes in his efforts to get tougher on undocumented immigrants, including a significant drop in the number of people trying to enter the United States illegally from Mexico. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have ramped up arrests of illegal immigrants under new guidelines from the administration that broaden the pool of people identified as a priority for removal.

While we still welcome legal immigrants to tune of 1 million a year, we are no longer a friendly environment for illegal border-crossers, Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly said during a Cabinet meeting with Trump at the White House on Monday.

But the DACA program, which Obama instituted through executive action in 2012, is popular among Latino and Asian communities and has presented a political conundrum for Trump.

More than 750,000 immigrants have participated, and Obama emphasized the programs value to Trump in a meeting at the White House after the election. Obama told reporters that he would speak out if the new administration attempted to deport dreamers.

Since then, there have been a handful of highly publicized arrests of dreamers that have raised fears among immigrant rights groups. In some cases, the immigrants had allowed their DACA standing to lapse before their arrests.

On Monday, a federal judge in Atlanta ordered that a Mexican woman living in Georgia, Jessica Colotl, be temporarily reinstated in DACA after the Trump administration attempted to place her in deportation proceedings because of a 2010 traffic stop.

Her attorney, Charles Kuck, said in an interview that he thinks cases such as hers are outliers and that it appears nothing has changed in the processing of DACA applications. He added that he has filed about 100 applications for clients trying to enroll in the program or renew their DACA standing since Trump took office.

Immigration hard-liners said Trump, with his inaction, now shares ownership of the deferred-action program with Obama. Roy Beck, executive director of Numbers USA, a group that advocates for lower immigration levels, said Trumps inaction is denying jobs to native-born workers.

This is not a symbolic thing; this has real consequences, said Beck, whose organization has more than 7 million followers on Facebook. Theres a sense that he believes its almost okay not to act. The trouble is, theres no neutral position in this.
Four decades ago, soon after a president of the United States interfered in an investigation of his actions, a young lawyer named Jamie Gorelick was assigned her first big case. Gorelick, raised in a liberal Long Island household, would defend Richard Nixon as he fought the governments efforts to control his White House papers.

The work was exhilarating. But there she was, an activist for womens rights working for a president she had fought against, a president her friends considered beyond the pale. When Nixon came to her firms office and offered to have his picture taken with the attorneys working on his case, Gorelick made herself scarce.

Four decades later, Gorelick, now one of Washingtons most prominent lawyers, once again represents famous clients who symbolize much of what she and her friends have spent their lives working against. When Gorelick signed up Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump  the presidents close advisers, as well as his son-in-law and daughter  as clients, she knew her friends might raise their collective eyebrows. She didnt know that some of them would call her a turncoat.

For generations, the premier D.C. lawyer-fixers were lions of the bar, permanent power players in a city where influence can vanish in a moment. Men such as Clark Clifford, A.B. Culvahouse Jr., Edward Bennett Williams, Howard Baker, Lloyd Cutler and Robert Strauss smoothly glided across the great divide, amassing thoroughly bipartisan client rosters.

But now Gorelick, one of the first women to join that elite club of lawyers, finds herself under attack for taking on a share of the Trump familys legal woes. Whether that reflects the cynicism and polarization of the times, or results from the particular antagonism between the Trumps and the city they promised to drain, the reaction has been painful.

In the most public slap, Hilary Rosen, a prominent Democratic strategist and lobbyist, tweeted, Hey Jamie Gorelick, youve just poured that Complicit perfume on yourself, a reference to a Saturday Night Live parody ad that imagined an Ivanka Trump-branded scent. (Rosen declined to elaborate on the tweet, saying only, It is what it is.)

Representing Jared and Ivanka is a case of pushing the ethical envelope, helping a wealthy family on the brink of using the presidency to further enrich themselves, said David Halperin, a speechwriter in the Clinton White House and former counsel to the Senate Intelligence Committee. Gorelick is a Clinton supporter embracing the family that wanted to put Hillary Clinton in jail. People in Washington are all too willing to forgive that.

This being Washington, some of Gorelicks critics tuck their attacks behind the cloak of anonymity. Do you want to be seen as a fixer available to all or a fixer for principles you believe in? said a lawyer who has worked with Gorelick on campaigns since the Clinton and Gore era. One probably pays better than the other, but every step you take has consequences.

In a quintessentially D.C. move, some longtime friends of Gorelick contacted for this article offered complimentary comments about her on the record, and then, after asking if they could make other remarks without attribution, bashed their colleague to smithereens. Those people will not be quoted in this article, by name or anonymously, as one tiny bulwark against outright awfulness.

For the first time, Jamies getting irrational criticism from her fellow liberals, who think that if you represent anyone associated with the other side, you must be a Republican in hiding, said Alan Dershowitz, Gorelicks mentor at Harvard Law School and a friend ever since. Jamie is obviously a liberal Democrat, but this is not a betrayal. Jamie is being patriotic and heroic and consistent with the best traditions of the bar. We have to resist zealotry on both sides.

Ethically, Gorelick has every right to represent Kushner and his wife. The legal profession has celebrated attorneys who take on unpopular clients since the American Revolution. In 1770, when John Adams agreed to defend British soldiers who shot American rebels in the Boston Massacre, he invited a torrent of criticism. As he later wrote, defending the Soldiers procured me Anxiety and Obloquy enough. It was, however, one of the most gallant, generous, manly and disinterested Actions of my whole Life.

At 67, Gorelick, who served as deputy attorney general under President Bill Clinton, commands a breathtaking view of the city from her top-floor corner office at WilmerHale, the Pennsylvania Avenue NW firm where a gentle waterfall in the lobby greets power players whove found themselves in rough currents. She worked on Hillary Clintons campaign, vetting potential Cabinet members, and she was still mourning when she got a call from an old colleague, asking if she might take on the ethical questions about whether and how Kushner and his wife could work for Donald Trumps administration.

1 of 58 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  A look at President Trumps first year in office, so far View Photos Scenes from the Republicans first months in the White House. 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 questions seemed most interesting, Gorelick said. Whoever thinks theyre going to opine on the anti-nepotism law? And we are a very consciously bipartisan firm. However, I dont think we had anyone in the firm who was a supporter of Donald Trump.

She now also is advising Kushner as he navigates the media frenzy over the investigations into the Trump campaigns contacts with Russia.

Gorelick, a former head of the D.C. Bar, said she doesnt put my clients through a political litmus test. Indeed, people and businesses in serious trouble gravitate to her like flies to a light bulb. BP hired her after the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster. She represented the Clinton Foundation against conservative gadfly Larry Klayman. The student loan industry brought her in to lobby against the Obama administrations drive to overhaul the business.

Through it all, she has continued her work for liberal causes.

When my clients hired me, they knew who I was, Gorelick said. She has kept Kushner and his wife informed as she continues to handle matters that push back against the Trump administration.

Gorelicks firm charges as much as $1,250 an hour for its top lawyers time, but among the clients she represents for free is Tahirih Justice Center, a nonprofit that serves immigrant women who are fleeing from violence. Gorelick recently worked for Tahirih on a challenge against President Trumps plan to strip local governments of their ability to declare themselves sanctuary cities for illegal immigrants.

I sent the brief to Ivanka and Jared just so they would know, this is what your lawyer is doing, Gorelick said.

Her clients were fine with the division between what Gorelick does in her day job and what she does as a political activist. Some of her friends, not so much. And that, Gorelick said, has been hurtful. Im not an advocate for the Trump administration; I take hard cases. She said representing members of the Trump family will not hinder her from working for the Democratic cause. She even hosted family and friends who came to Washington earlier this year to march against the new president.

The Trump administration has made people unusually uneasy, to say the least, she said.

The controversy surrounding Gorelicks decision comes as Washingtons legal industry  still huge but in recent years facing severe financial challenges  struggles to adapt to a thin-skinned president with a long history of using the courts to press grudges. As ever, D.C. lawyers are scrambling to make connections with the new administration, but this time, that effort has caused unusual tensions.

Holland & Knight, one of the citys largest firms, lost the head of its media practice group, Charles Tobin, when he jumped last week to another firm after 16 years because, he said, I was told in no uncertain terms that I could not sue this president. As an attorney who represents media clients in conflicts with the government, Tobin said he could no longer work at a firm that wanted to be in a position to help clients do business with the Trump administration and thought that being in an adversarial position with this president would hinder that ability.

Tobin, who will now co-chair the media practice at Ballard Spahr, said Holland & Knight had no such concerns about previous presidents. I sued President Obama, I sued President Bush, I represented journalists against other administrations without any problem, he said.

Paul Kiernan, executive partner at Holland & Knights Washington office, said in a statement that the firm has a long history of representing clients, including media clients, in matters adverse to governmental agencies and officials. . . . Contrary to some recent reports, the firm has not adopted a policy limiting our work on specific types of engagements.

Another Washington firm  Morgan, Lewis & Bockius  lost a client because the firm decided to represent Trump in his effort to comply with government ethics requirements.

Scott Wallace, a trustee of the Wallace Global Fund, a nonprofit that had spent about $400,000 on legal help from Morgan Lewis since 2011, said he terminated the funds relationship with the firm because by helping Trump handle potential conflicts of interest between his family business and his job as president, the firm had legitimized a complete non-solution that empowers and even encourages impeachable offenses.

The law firm declined to comment; a person familiar with Morgan Lewiss relationship with Wallace said the firms attorneys also helped Hillary Clinton vet her potential vice presidential candidates and continue to work for clients opposed to Trump policies.

The criticism of Gorelick is a symptom of the nations sharp political divisions, said Melvyn Fein, a sociologist at Kennesaw State University in Georgia. When you have more polarization in Washington than in a long, long time, the first reaction of many people is to double down, to insist on purity. Everybody gets so concerned about proving how pure they are that they eat their own, he said.

People in politics need both principle and flexibility, Fein said. If youre a hired gun, youre being hired for your skill, not your principles. And thats a reasonable thing in this world, to hire yourself out for your skills. That doesnt preclude having principles.

Most objections to Gorelicks decision are less ethical than political. I know a number of people who have said that anything that helps Trump in any way is heretical to my values, said Ricki Seidman, a veteran of the Clinton White House and a strategic adviser to many Democratic politicians. But I dont think personalizing the polarization has any value. If you look at it just politically, then let [Kushner and Ivanka Trump] sink. But if you care about the country, look at what Mark Warner and others are doing to bring people together. Warner, the Democratic senator from Virginia, has worked closely with Republican Sen. Richard Burr (N.C.) to craft a bipartisan approach for the Senate Intelligence Committees investigation into connections between Russia and the Trump campaign.

Many lawyers, even those who have dedicated their careers to political causes, defend Gorelicks work with Kushner, if only because in legal circles, its gauche to judge lawyers by their clients.

It wouldnt occur to anyone to criticize someone who goes to work on behalf of indigent clients, said Judith Lichtman, a longtime friend of Gorelick and for many years president of the National Partnership for Women and Families. Im the purest girl around, but what I believe is pure is different from what somebody else does. Jamie is holding her principles near and dear, because she is always honest and ethical and she devotes herself not only to her paying clients, but to people who are unserved by the legal profession.

If youre at a mission-driven non-profit, you put your principles front and center, said Marcia Greenberger, co-president of the National Womens Law Center. But in a major private law firm, there are different considerations. Theres a big difference between I wouldnt do that and She shouldnt. 

Gorelicks only regret is that the political atmosphere has grown so fractious that the kind of bipartisanship that allows her to represent Kushner and still work on cases involving challenges to the Trump administration is now looked on with suspicion in some quarters.

She recalled her time on the 9/11 Commission, when 10 people appointed from both parties tried to determine why the attacks happened and what went wrong. Determined to come up with a unanimous report, the commission avoided nettlesome language.

We rejected calling what happened a clash of civilizations,  Gorelick said. We rejected any notion of a war on Islam. That all came from what I would call the sensible middle. How are you ever going to get that in an environment where people insist on a kind of political purity?

She teared up, reached for a tissue, and, with her voice cracking, she added, It would be a travesty for this country to go down that road. I believe in the facts. I believe in the law. I believe if you follow that system, you will get to a fair result. I dont see that changing. Even now.
The Friendship and the Broken bridges over the Yalu River connect the North Korean town of Sinuiju with Dandong in China's Liaoning province. (Damir Sagolj/Reuters)

Targeting just a few pivotal Chinese companies could severely disrupt North Koreas ability to circumvent international sanctions and buy illicit goods  and could even cause its entire overseas network to collapse, according to a report out Tuesday.

President Trump has repeatedly said he expects China, North Koreas patron and its largest trading partner by far, to use its leverage over Kim Jong Uns regime to force it to abandon its nuclear and missile programs.

The new report, by Washington-based research group C4ADS, lays out multiple ways for Beijing to cut off North Koreas trading routes to the outside world, if it wanted to. It also found a Chinese citizen who was conducting large amounts of trade with North Korea while serving as president of a company in the United States  a status that would allow him to open bank accounts and send or receive shipments.

By being centralized, limited and ultimately vulnerable North Korean overseas networks are, by their nature, ripe for disruption, C4ADS researchers wrote in the report, titled Risky Business.



Successive U.S. administrations have not been able to persuade North Korea to change its behavior. Talks during the George W. Bush era and the Obama administrations strategic patience both failed.

Instead, North Korea under Kim has relentlessly pressed ahead with its weapons programs, conducting two nuclear tests last year and a dozen missile tests already this year. Kim has made it clear that he wants an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that can reach the U.S. mainland.

Trump blustered early this year that the DPRKs final access to a nuclear weapon that can reach the U.S. mainland will never happen, North Koreas Rodong Sinmun newspaper reported over the weekend, using the abbreviation for the nations official name. But the strategic weapons tests conducted by the DPRK clearly proved that the time of its ICBM test is not a long way off at all.

Since taking office, Trump has urged China to deal with its neighbor using whatever means necessary, and Beijing says it has cut off imports from North Korea of coal, one of the regimes biggest exports.

[ What does Kim Jong Un want with all these missile tests? Talks, perhaps? ]

There is still plenty more to be done, C4ADS writes. Although to date economic coercion has been ineffective in persuading North Korea to abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons, this does not mean it cannot work, the researchers say.

On the contrary, targeting key companies could cripple multiple networks across multiple countries simultaneously, they write, because so many of these firms are intertwined.

While on the surface we may see shrubs, below are roots that are remarkably deep and interconnected with other root systems, said John Park, a sanctions expert at Harvards Kennedy School who advised C4ADS for its report.

To take one example: A Chinese trading company based on the border with North Korea, Dandong Dongyuan Industrial, exported $790,000 worth of radio navigational aid equipment to North Korea in June 2016, according to Chinese customs records. This category of equipment includes navigation systems used in vehicles  the category into which guidance devices for ballistic missiles would also fit.



It is not known exactly what was in that shipment, but North Korea often uses licit trading avenues to move illicit goods. That means the real potential is in the network.

Dandong Dongyuan shipped $28.5 million worth of material to North Korea between 2013 and 2016, C4ADS reported. Chinese business registry filings show that the majority shareholder of Dandong Dongyuan, with a 97 percent stake, is a Chinese citizen named Sun Sidong.

A complicated ownership trail of a freighter called the Jie Shun suggests further intertwining of Chinese business people carrying out deals with North Korea. In 2014, the ship was owned by a company of which Sun was a principal owner. Two years later, it was owned by a company controlled by a Chinese national named Sun Sihong, who listed her residential address as an apartment in the same complex as Sun Sidong, C4ADS reported, noting that it could not ascertain the relationship between them.

[ China says it hasnt imported any coal from North Korea for two months ]

On Aug. 11, 2016, the Jie Shun was intercepted near the Suez Canal by Egyptian authorities and found to be hiding 30,000 rocket-propelled grenades and sub-components  132 tons of weapons in all  under a cargo of 2,300 tons of iron ore. The ship had left the North Korean port of Nampo and made no port calls before being intercepted, according to shipping data analyzed by C4ADS.

The United Nations panel of experts on North Korea reported this year that, although there was no indication of where the cargo was heading, North Korean RPGs had previously been identified in Syria and Lebanon.

Sun Sidong is also listed as the president of a company based in the United States, according to the report, allowing him to conduct business with firms around the world with no obvious ties to a Chinese company focused on North Korea.

In principle, it would also provide him the ability to register for business services within the United States, including sending or receiving shipments, establishing bank accounts, or applying for employment visas, the report stated.

Business registration records show that the American entity is called Dongyuan Enterprise USA and is based in Flushing, N.Y.

Still, the paper trail continues.

Chinese business registry filings show that Dandong Dongyuan shared an email address with another company based on the Chinese side of the North Korean border, Dandong Zhicheng Metallic Material.

[Kim Jong Uns rockets are getting an important boost  from China]

Dandong Zhicheng alone accounted for 9.2 percent of North Koreas total exports to China last year, according to documentation that C4ADS reviewed. Almost all  97 percent  of this was North Korean coal, totaling about $250 million annually.

The shared email address does not necessarily prove collusion or the existence of illicit activity, the report said.

However, it demonstrates again what has been consistently apparent: that the limited North Korean trading system is much more inter-connected than it at first appears, and that, because of links to illicit actors, it may be vulnerable to systemic disruption in the face of targeted enforcement action, it said.

The companies did not respond to emails seeking comment.

The C4ADS researchers said focusing on these kinds of logistical chokepoints could cut off North Koreas centralized, global system of illicit finance.

For example, the Dandong Hongxiang Industrial Development Co., which was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department last year  sending a sudden chill through the border city that acts as North Koreas main commercial gateway to the outside world  is one of 18 companies that make up the Liaoning Hongxiang Group. This suggests the potential for an indirect effect if one company is stopped from helping North Korea, perhaps disrupting numerous other linked companies.

Based on what were seeing in the data in terms of the reach and scope of these networks and the limited nature of the system that they live in, and the contamination with illicit activity, there is inherent value to enforcement actions, said David Thompson, a senior analyst at C4ADS.

Read more:

N. Korea launches another salvo of missiles, defying international condemnation

China is putting the squeeze on North Korea. But for how long?

After nuclear test, a new push to stop North Korea from sending workers abroad

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
British Prime Minister Theresa May and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson appear outside 10 Downing Street in London in May. (Peter Nicholls/Reuters)

When Britain voted last week in an election that ended with Prime Minister Theresa May hanging onto her job by a thread, Brexit wasnt on the ballot.

Even though the country had split nearly down the middle in last years referendum  52 percent to 48  and continues to be closely divided, none of the major parties ran on a platform of reversing the publics decision to leave the European Union.

The vote has nonetheless been a jolt to the countrys exit plans, raising the fears of die-hard Brexiteers, the hopes of those favoring a more limited separation from European allies and the question of whether May will be around to steer the course shes charted toward a sharp rupture.

Although May on Monday managed to quiet talk of any immediate ouster, she is still considered unlikely to stay on over the next two years, as exit talks unfold.

May had called the election expecting a mandate for her hard Brexit agenda as the country prepares to launch formal divorce talks with the E.U. next week.

Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at Downing Street on June 9 in London. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

But the voters delivered instead a muddled message that leaves Britain without a clear direction as it prepares for the most important change to its global role in decades.

We now have a Parliament thats gridlocked, said John Springford, research director for the London-based Center for European Reform. It doesnt appear that theres a majority for hard Brexit, a majority for soft Brexit, or certainly not a majority for remain. Its a very confused picture.

In a measure of just how confused, Springford said he could see the results pushing in either direction  toward a chaotic, hard Brexit because they cant reach a deal, or toward a much less severe break because the soft Brexiteers are emboldened.

Its very hard to say which way it will go, he said.

What is clear, however, is that events have not gone Theresa Mays way.

Until Monday, May had refused to give an inch on her Brexit plans, which she announced to great fanfare earlier this year. Despite an election in which she and her Conservative Party lost their majority in Parliament, she and her surrogates had insisted in recent days that the countrys plans to ask Europe for a clean break following nearly a half-century of union would not be affected.

But late Monday afternoon, May suggested that there may be some flexibility after all, promising in a contrite appearance before her partys backbenchers to listen to all voices in the party on Brexit and build a more consensual approach.

The statement  part of an appearance in which May also vowed that I got us into this mess, and Im going to get us out of it  followed days of growing agitation from within her party over a strategy of simply soldiering on.

Mays willingness to take blame for the election loss Monday appeared to have won her favor from her party colleagues, who said she had effectively ended talk of an imminent coup.

But party members said she would still have to prove she understands that while she may have the will to continue on as normal with her Brexit plans, she no longer has the votes.

Just how vulnerable she has become was underscored Monday when Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, emerged from a meeting with the prime minister and emphasized that the government would have to put our countrys economic future first and foremost in our minds as we go ahead with Brexit.

It was a coded but clear message, one that runs counter to Mays consistent refrain that controlling immigration will be the countrys top priority in talks, and that economic impacts will come well behind.

It was also an implicit threat: If Davidson, who passionately favored the remain side in the Brexit referendum, withholds the support of Parliaments 13 Scottish Tories, May no longer has a majority.

The same applies for Mays would-be coalition partner  the right-wing Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland. The party, which was locked in negotiations with the Tories on Monday, also favors a less rigid break, fearing the consequences of a hard Brexit for an area that depends heavily on trade with an E.U. member  the Republic of Ireland.

And top members of Mays cabinet  including Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond  have reportedly taken up the cause of soft Brexit behind the scenes in recent days, emboldened by Mays sudden fragility.

The debate over soft versus hard Brexit is back on the table  and soft Brexit now has more points of influence, Mujtaba Rahman, an analyst with Eurasia Group, wrote in a briefing note Monday.

Mays proposed version of Brexit involves a complete severance from the central elements of European Union membership, including the single market, the customs union and the European Court of Justice.

May has said she wants a free trade deal with the E.U. instead, one that would allow Britain to continue swapping goods and services with its European partners on preferential terms, but that would also permit the country to limit the flow of European citizens to British shores.

European leaders have scoffed at such proposals.

Those favoring a soft Brexit have pushed for the country to formally exit the E.U. but to stay in the single market  perhaps by following a model pioneered by Norway, which is not a member of the 28-nation bloc but enjoys many of the privileges.

What the Nordic country cant do, however, is control E.U. immigration. That has made the Norway model a non-starter for Brexit true believers, who have watched with growing alarm in recent days as pressure on May has escalated.

So far, however, they are sticking by her. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who helped lead the leave campaign and was reported Sunday to be mounting a challenge to May, wrote a column in Mondays Sun newspaper in which he dismissed the reports.

To those that say the PM should step down, or that we need another election or even  God help us  a second referendum, I say come off it, he wrote. Get a grip, everyone.

But thats unlikely to stop the speculation  either over whether May will stay, or what the future holds for the countrys Brexit plans.

Anybody in British politics who claims to know with any authority what will happen with Brexit as a result of this election is lying, said Robert Ford, a politics professor at the University of Manchester.

William Booth in London and Brian Murphy in Washington contributed to this report.

Read more

Pledging to keep Britain safe, Theresa May faces an uncomfortable reality

With Mays tumble, Trumps European allies not faring well at the polls

After shocking British vote result, Europe ponders fate of Brexit negotiations

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
He was born in Iraq and after university joined the Shiite Islamist Dawa Party. Saddam Hussein banned the party so al-Mohandes fled to Iran where he started working with the countrys Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) against Iraq.

He since married an Iranian woman and often goes back to Iran to visit his family who are still there.

His home in Baghdad is in the fortified Green Zone, not far from where former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki lives.

He received a death sentence in 2007 from a court in Kuwait for his involvement in the bombings of the French and US embassies there in 1983. The attack, which injured almost 100 people and killed six, was planned by the IRGC as retaliation against the countries supporting Iraq in the war against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In 2005, al-Mohandes was elected to parliament in Iraq after the invasion. A couple of years, US officials found out about his background so he had to flee back to Iran. The US classed him as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.

In 2011, al-Mohandes went back to Iraq to manage al-Hashd al-Shaabi. He is formally the countrys deputy national security advisor and also leads Kataib Hezbollah  an Iran-backed militia.

In a biography of al-Mohandes, it is mentioned that he believes in a Shiite theocracy and sees himself as a representative of Ali Khamenei  the Supreme Leader of Iran. He is also a close contact to the commander of the IRGCs Quds Force  Qasem Soleimani.

US diplomat, Ali Khedery, once declared that the real prime minister of Iraq is Qasem Soleimani, with al-Mohandes as his deputy.

This is just one example of the Iranian regimes tactics of using militia groups to further its agenda in other countries. One advantage of having others do their dirty work for them is that they can deny any involvement.

Denying any wrongdoing is extremely important to the Iranian regime because it really needs to keep the 2015 nuclear deal in place. Without the nuclear deal, the Iranian regime would have found itself in a crisis that it would not be able to overcome.

Most recently, Iran has used a proxy to threaten Saudi Arabia. It was al-Mohandes himself who said in a video that his group will cleanse the Islamic State from the region. He praised the Houthis in Yemen and expressed his hope of joining them.

The Iranian regime views this as a threatening act, but many just see it as a desperate act.
U.S.-backed Syrian militias advanced deeper into the Islamic States Syrian stronghold of Raqqa from the east Monday, reaching the walls of the Old City, a war monitor and a militia spokesman said Monday.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a group of Kurdish and Arab militias supported by a U.S.-led coalition, began to attack Raqqa last Tuesday with the aim of taking it from Islamic State militants after a months-long campaign to cut it off.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said SDF fighters took the al-Sanaa industrial neighborhood on Monday as part of their push into the eastern half of the city, and had reached the walls of the Old City neighborhood.

SDF media officer Ahmad Mohammed said that the force had reached the walls but that there were still fierce clashes in al-Sanaa and the district had not yet been totally secured.

Residents said Monday that the Old City area was being intensely shelled.

The U.S.-led coalition estimates that Raqqa, which the Islamic State seized from Syrian rebels in 2014 during their lightning advance in Syria and Iraq, is defended by 3,000 to 4,000 Islamist militants.

It has been a hub both for the Islamic States military leaders and its bureaucrats, and has been used to plot attacks in countries around the world.

The SDF also advanced from north of the city Monday, taking a sugar factory complex northeast of Raqqa. A video said to show SDF officers within the complex shows heavy damage to the factory.

Since the offensive began, the SDF, supported by heavy coalition airstrikes, has taken territory to the west, east and north of the city.

In other fighting, Syrian government forces and rebels were locked in heavy combat in Daraa on Monday, as opposition activists feared troops would try to retake the southern city despite a de-escalation agreement.

Meanwhile, pro-government forces advanced to a second location along the border with Iraq, where they are expected to link up with state-sanctioned militias on the other side.

In related news Monday, an audio message purporting to come from the spokesman of the Islamic State called on followers to launch attacks in the United States, Europe, Russia, Australia, Iraq, Syria, Iran and the Philippines during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which began in late May.

The audio clip was distributed Monday on the Islamic States channel on Telegram, an encrypted messaging application. It was attributed to the militant groups official spokesman, Abi al-Hassan al-Muhajer.
Hackers allied with the Russian government have devised a cyberweapon that has the potential to be the most disruptive yet against electric systems that Americans depend on for daily life, according to U.S. researchers.

The malware, which researchers have dubbed CrashOverride, is known to have disrupted only one energy system  in Ukraine in December. In that incident, the hackers briefly shut down one-fifth of the electric power generated in Kiev.

[Russian hackers suspected in attack that blacked out parts of Ukraine]

But with modifications, it could be deployed against U.S. electric transmission and distribution systems to devastating effect, said Sergio Caltagirone, director of threat intelligence for Dragos, a cybersecurity firm that studied the malware and issued a report Monday.

And Russian government hackers have shown their interest in targeting U.S. energy and other utility systems, researchers said.

Its the culmination of over a decade of theory and attack scenarios, Caltagirone warned. Its a game changer.

The revelation comes as the U.S. government is investigating a wide-ranging, ambitious effort by the Russian government last year to disrupt the U.S. presidential election and influence its outcome. That campaign employed a variety of methods, including hacking hundreds of political and other organizations, and leveraging social media, U.S. officials said.

Dragos has named the group that created the new malware Electrum, and it has determined with high confidence that Electrum used the same computer systems as the hackers who attacked the Ukraine electric grid in 2015. That attack, which left 225,000 customers without power, was carried out by Russian government hackers, other U.S. researchers concluded. U.S. government officials have not officially attributed that attack to the Russian government, but some privately say they concur with the private-sector analysis.

[Russian hackers used zero-day to hack NATO, Ukraine in cyber-spy campaign]

The same Russian group that targeted U.S. [industrial control] systems in 2014 turned out the lights in Ukraine in 2015, said John Hultquist, who analyzed both incidents while at iSight Partners, a cyber-intelligence firm now owned by FireEye, where he is director of intelligence analysis. Hultquists team had dubbed the group Sandworm.

We believe that Sandworm is tied in some way to the Russian government  whether theyre contractors or actual government officials, were not sure, he said. We believe they are linked to the security services.

Sandworm and Electrum may be the same group or two separate groups working within the same organization, but the forensic evidence shows they are related, said Robert M. Lee, chief executive of Dragos.

The Department of Homeland Security, which works with the owners of the nations critical infrastructure systems, did not respond to a request for comment Sunday.

Energy-sector experts said that the new malware is cause for concern, but that the industry is seeking to develop ways to disrupt attackers who breach their systems.

U.S. utilities have been enhancing their cybersecurity, but attacker tools like this one pose a very real risk to reliable operation of power systems, said Michael J. Assante, who worked at Idaho National Labs and is a former chief security officer of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, where he oversaw the rollout of industry cybersecurity standards.

CrashOverride is only the second instance of malware specifically tailored to disrupt or destroy industrial control systems. Stuxnet, the worm created by the United States and Israel to disrupt Irans nuclear capability, was an advanced military-grade weapon designed to affect centrifuges that enrich uranium.

In 2015, the Russians used malware to gain access to the power supply network in western Ukraine, but it was hackers at the keyboards who remotely manipulated the control systems to cause the blackout  not the malware itself, Hultquist said.

With CrashOverride, what is particularly alarming . . . is that it is all part of a larger framework, said Dan Gunter, a senior threat hunter for Dragos.

The malware is like a Swiss Army knife, where you flip open the tool you need and where different tools can be added to achieve different effects, Gunter said.

Theoretically, the malware can be modified to attack different types of industrial control systems, such as water and gas. However, the adversary has not demonstrated that level of sophistication, Lee said.

Still, the attackers probably had experts and resources available not only to develop the framework but also to test it, Gunter said. This speaks to a larger effort often associated with nation-state or highly funded team operations.

[Declassified report says Putin ordered effort to undermine faith in U.S. election and help Trump]

One of the most insidious tools in CrashOverride manipulates the settings on electric power control systems. It scans for critical components that operate circuit breakers and opens the circuit breakers, which stops the flow of electricity. It continues to keep them open even if a grid operator tries to close them, creating a sustained power outage.

The malware also has a wiper component that erases the software on the computer system that controls the circuit breakers, forcing the grid operator to revert to manual operations, which means driving to the substation to restore power.

With this malware, the attacker can target multiple locations with a time bomb functionality and set the malware to trigger simultaneously, Lee said. That could create outages in different areas at the same time.

The outages would last a few hours and probably not more than a couple of days, Lee said. That is because the U.S. electric industry has trained its operators to handle disruptions caused by large storms. Theyre used to having to restore power with manual operations, he said.

So although the malware is a significant leap forward in tradecraft, its also not a doomsday scenario, he said.

The malware samples were first obtained by ESET, a Slovakian research firm, which shared some of them with Dragos. ESET has dubbed the malware Industroyer.
Attorney General Jeff Sessionss appearance Tuesday before the Senate Intelligence Committee will be a high-stakes test for a Trump official who has kept a low profile even as he has become a central figure in the scandal engulfing the White House over Russia and the firing of James B. Comey as FBI director.

Sessions, a former Republican senator from Alabama, will face tough questions from his former colleagues on a number of fronts that he has never had to publicly address in detail.

Democrats plan to ask about his contacts during the 2016 campaign with the Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak, which the attorney general failed to disclose fully during his confirmation hearing.

They also want him to explain his role in the firing of Comey, despite the attorney generals recusal in March from the Russia investigation after revelations about his meetings with Kislyak.

If, as the president said, I was fired because of the Russia investigation, why was the attorney general involved in that chain? Comey said in testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee last week.

(Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

Sessions also is likely to face questions about Comeys cryptic assertion that the FBI knew of a problematic reason that Sessions should not oversee the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Democratic lawmakers are skeptical that Sessions will divulge any explosive new details, especially since the attorney general could assert executive privilege regarding any questions about conversations with President Trump.

But they hope the hearing offers a chance to at least get Sessions on the record as either answering or dodging questions about pivotal events related to Comey and the FBIs investigation.

There are many unanswered and troubling questions, so the attorney general needs to be forthcoming, said Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.). The Senate and the American people deserve to know exactly what involvement with the Russian investigation he had before his recusal, what safeguards are in place to prevent his meddling, and why he felt it was appropriate to recommend the firing of Director Comey when he was leading that investigation.

For the embattled attorney general, the hearing will mark the first time he is questioned by senators since January, when he testified during his confirmation hearing that he did not communicate with Russian officials during the presidential campaign, when he acted as an adviser to Trump.

As the White Houses political crisis over the Russia investigation has grown, the attorney general has laid low. While Sessions used to frequently answer questions from reporters after public appearances discussing his criminal justice initiatives, he stopped in late April, just before Comey was dismissed.

Sessions was originally scheduled to testify Tuesday about the Justice Department budget before the Senate and House Appropriations subcommittees. On Saturday, he wrote the chairmen of both panels and said he was sending his deputy attorney general to testify in his place. He said that he would testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee instead, although it was unclear initially if the hearing would be open or closed to the public.

[Sessions says he will not testify at congressional budget hearings this week]

Late Monday morning, Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) announced that the hearing would be public.

The Attorney General has requested that this hearing be public, Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said in a statement. He believes it is important for the American people to hear the truth directly from him and looks forward to answering the committees questions tomorrow.

No time has been scheduled for Sessions to testify separately in a closed hearing to discuss classified matters, according to Senate aides, who were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Comeys testimony last week revealed new avenues of inquiry that lawmakers are likely to pursue on Tuesday.

The former FBI director said he contacted Sessions after a meeting with Trump in the Oval Office at which Sessions and Jared Kushner, Trumps son-in-law and senior adviser, were asked to leave and Comey was alone with the president.

Comey said that during that meeting, Trump asked him to end an investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who had been forced to resign the day before after failing to disclose meetings with the Russian ambassador.

I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go, Comey quoted Trump as saying. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.

After the meeting, Comey told Sessions that he did not want to be alone anymore with Trump and that it cant happen that you get kicked out of the room and the president talks to me.

Comey said Sessions responded with, essentially, a shrug.

I have a recollection of him just kind of looking at me, Comey testified. I kind of got  his body language gave me the sense like, What am I going to do? . . . He didnt say anything.

Ian Prior, a Justice Department spokesman, disputed that account and said that Sessions replied to Comey and said he wanted to ensure that he and his FBI staff were following proper communications protocol with the White House. Trumps personal lawyer also challenged Comeys account, saying the president never asked for the investigation to be dropped.

Sessions had a remarkable path to the attorney general post. He was an early and vocal supporter of Trump during the campaign, when most Republican lawmakers dismissed the candidate. He arrived in the job in February eager to launch ambitious efforts to combat violent crime and deport undocumented immigrants.

But officials said Sessionss relationship with Trump has been strained since the attorney general recused himself from the Russia probe in March. The president has also criticized the Justice Departments failed efforts to defend his travel ban in federal court. Officials said that Sessions at one point offered to resign as his relationship with the president became increasingly tense.

Ed OKeefe and Adam Entous contributed to this report.

Read more:

Comey said FBI information about Sessions would have made his involvement in Russia probe problematic

Why Jeff Sessions testimony on Russia is so important
Shouting We demand answers, and Stop lying and stealing, tens of thousands of protesters turned out Monday across Russia in a nationwide anti-corruption rally called by opposition leader Alexei Navalny as part of his long-shot bid to unseat President Vladimir Putin.

Russian authorities met the challenge with helmet and truncheon: Police said they had rounded up 650 protesters at illegal rallies in Moscow and St. Petersrburg alone, although the Russian OVD-info nongovernment group put the number of detained at more than 1,000.

Navalny was detained outside his home, fined and, according to the independent Meduza news agency, sentenced to 30 days in jail, after he defied authorities by telling his supporters to crash a massive street festival of historical reeanactments staged for the official Russia Day state holiday.

He asked me to pass on to you that the plan hasnt changed, Navalnys wife, Yulia Navalnaya, tweeted after her husbands detention. She told protesters he wanted them to head to central Tverskaya Street despite a warning by Moscow authorities that a demonstration there was illegal.

As a result, a crowd chanting Russia without Putin! came upon a reenactment of a medieval sword battle on Tverksaya Street, the broad central Moscow avenue that leads south to the Kremlin. A tangle of protesters and police surged towards the reenactors, some of whom locked their wooden shields in a real effort to fend off possible danger as other members of the troupe hid behind them.

1 of 20 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  The scene during protests in Russia View Photos People across the country participated in opposition rallies and demonstrations against corruption. Caption People across the country participated in opposition rallies and demonstrations against corruption. June 12, 2017 Police detain a protester in Moscow. Demonstrators in Mondays opposition protests across Russia say they are fed up with endemic corruption among officials. The protest gatherings were spearheaded by Alexei Navalny, the anti-corruption campaigner who has become the Kremlins most visible opponent. Pool photo by Evgeny Feldman/via AP Wait 1 second to continue.

[Who is Alexei Navalny?]

Navalnys campaign said anti-corruption protesters staged rallies in 187 Russian cities Monday, in one of the most widespread anti-government protests since Putins return to the presidency in 2012.

This turbulence is not likely to prevent Putin, who has enjoyed an approval rating above 80 percent for more than three years, from winning reelection next March, Denis Volkov, a pollster with Russias independent Levada Center, said in a recent interview. But it does point to weakness of the system Putin has created. The protests target the legitimacy and lack of accountability of his government, which some analysts call its greatest vulnerability.

In Washington, where President Trump has faced increasing controversy over the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, the White House criticized Moscows response to the protests.

Detaining peaceful protesters, human rights observers and journalists is an affront to core democratic values, White House press secretary Sean Spicer read from a prepared statement. The Russian people, like the people everywhere, deserve a government that supports an open marketplace of ideas, transparent and accountable governance, equal treatment under the law and the ability to exercise their rights without fear of retribution.

Amnesty International also denounced the mass arrests, saying the Kremlin had shown utter contempt for fundamental human rights.

(korotyla/twitter)

Russian state television ignored the protests and focused on the fairs and commemorative events, which attracted tens of thousands in Moscow alone. It ran a live broadcast of Putin handing out state awards, and periodically showed a countdown to the Kremlin leaders annual televised direct line Thursday, in which ordinary citizens can phone in requests.

[Putin uses the Soviet defeat of Hitler to show why Russia needs him today]

The Russia Day holiday commemorates the 1990 declaration of sovereignty within the Soviet Union orchestrated by Boris Yeltsin, the upstart leader of what was then called the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic. It presaged the eventual collapse of the U.S.S.R., and Yeltsins rise to the Kremlin as the first president of independent Russia.

Navalny, who faces an uphill battle just to get on the 2018 ballot, is nowhere near being able to defy Putin on that scale. But to listen to the people who came out Monday, Navalny has tapped into a vein of disgust with the current Russian leadership.

Im angry, my family is angry, but theyre not going to come to this because theyre scared, said Alexander Fomenko, a 17-year-old student. "I don't have this kind of fear. I will be here on this street until they throw me in jail. And there's a lot of people who think like me; my friends think like me.

The number of young demonstrators was among the many surprises when tens of thousands turned out across Russia on March 26 for an anti-corruption protest called by Navalny.

[Russian police arrest more than a thousand in anti-corruption rallies]

The Kremlin had clearly been caught off guard. Authorities made a show of arresting people involved in the protest, and educators forced students to watch documentaries about the evils of protesting. Some Russian parliament members expressed support for a ban against minors attending street rallies, calls that are likely to be renewed after Mondays demonstration.

Youthful protesters scurried in and out of cafes Monday, taunting riot police to come after them, and then sitting at tables, pretending to be ordering food when the officers confronted diners.

Navalny, who was briefly jailed after the March protest, had received permission to hold Mondays rally at a venue just north of the center, but on late Sunday called on his supporters to come to Tverskaya, saying that authorities had refused to provide a stage and sound system at the agreed-upon place.

Authorities had barricaded Tverskaya from all sides except for carefully controlled security points lined by helmeted police. But the police presence took on a surreal air because of the reenactors camped out in the center of the nine-lane thoroughfare.

Fencers feinted and darted to wild applause from children, while a 14th-century battle between ancient Russians and the Golden Horde took place nearby. World War I troops gave tips on bayonet thrusts, and a company of infantry in War of 1812 gear bivouacked not far from a blacksmith and an impressive array of medieval swords.

Protesters began to infiltrate the audience at 2 p.m., and by 4 p.m., riot police squads were wading into the crowd, dragging and carrying out protesters by their arms and legs and beating them with batons, as the demonstrators shouted Shame!

Recent polls suggest that Navalny  portrayed on state media as an unpopular and marginal figure, the creation of out-of-touch Westernizers  would not win more than 10 percent of the vote if he runs for president in 2018, though pollsters say Navalnys best bet is to try to unite people fed up with government indifference and abuse.

At the venue in Moscow originally approved for Navalnys protest, about 2,000 people gathered Monday to protest the citys plan to relocate as many as 1.6 million residents of Soviet-era low-rise apartment buildings to new high-rise apartment buildings.

Some Muscovites believe the plan amounts to a violation of their rights to own property and to choose where to live, and a gift to political insiders who own construction firms.

[Moscows massive relocation plan turns middle class into protesters]

"I don't want to live in a 30-floor ant-house. Their whole project is total corruption, money laundry, initiated by the construction lobby, said Zamira Medvedeva, a retiree who lives in a communal apartment building.

She said she didnt trust Navalny, either.

But we came here today because this is an anti-corruption event and we are strongly against corruption! she said.

David Nakamura in Washington and Natalya Abbakumova in Moscow contributed to this report.

Read more

Putin, Russias grand inquisitor and fixer-in-chief

How to understand Putins jaw-droppingly high approval ratings

A near no-show on Red Square highlights the problems for Russias protest movement

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
BlackRock, Inc. is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors including corporate, public, union, and industry pension plans, insurance companies, third-party mutual funds, endowments, public institutions, governments, foundations, charities, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, official institutions, and banks. It also provides global risk management and advisory services. The firm manages separate client-focused equity, fixed income, and balanced portfolios. It also launches and manages open-end and closed-end mutual funds, offshore funds, unit trusts, and alternative investment vehicles including structured funds. The firm launches equity, fixed income, balanced, and real estate mutual funds. It also launches equity, fixed income, balanced, currency, commodity, and multi-asset exchange traded funds. The firm also launches and manages hedge funds. It invests in the public equity, fixed income, real estate, currency, commodity, and alternative markets across the globe. The firm primarily invests in growth and value stocks of small-cap, mid-cap, SMID-cap, large-cap, and multi-cap companies. It also invests in dividend-paying equity securities. The firm invests in investment grade municipal securities, government securities including securities issued or guaranteed by a government or a government agency or instrumentality, corporate bonds, and asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities. It employs fundamental and quantitative analysis with a focus on bottom-up and top-down approach to make its investments. The firm employs liquidity, asset allocation, balanced, real estate, and alternative strategies to make its investments. In real estate sector, it seeks to invest in Poland and Germany. The firm benchmarks the performance of its portfolios against various S&P, Russell, Barclays, MSCI, Citigroup, and Merrill Lynch indices. BlackRock, Inc. was founded in 1988 and is based in New York City with additional offices in Boston, Massachusetts; London, United Kingdom; Gurgaon, India; Hong Kong; Greenwich, Connecticut; Princeton, New Jersey; Edinburgh, United Kingdom; Sydney, Australia; Taipei, Taiwan; Singapore; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Washington, District of Columbia; Toronto, Canada; Wilmington, Delaware; and San Francisco, California.
Planning a summer trip? Whether its an international getaway or a visit to a nearby beach, youll want to spend the time enjoying yourself, not dealing with health problems.

Stocking up on the best insect repellents to deflect Zika-carrying mosquitoes shouldn't be your only concern. Our travel tips can help you avoid potential pitfalls and stay healthy, no matter where you go.

Before You Go

1. Do a basic vaccine check. Four to six weeks before an international trip, ask your doctor whether youre up to date on common vaccines, such as those for influenza and tetanus.

Nearly 50 percent of adults over 65 are not up to date on tetanus immunizations, says Steven Mawhorter, M.D., an infectious disease specialist at the Cleveland Clinic.

And consider that flu is prevalent in Australia and South America in June, July, and August.

2. Schedule a doctors appointment. If you have a chronic condition or other health concerns, or youre going overseas, you can get travel tips to follow as well as prescriptions for your regular medication and others you may need, such as motion-sickness drugs.

3. Check your coverage abroad. Ask your insurer whether youre covered for medical care while away. (Medicare usually doesnt reimburse for doctor visits overseas, but supplemental plans may.) If not, consider buying travel insurance. Elizabeth Talbot, M.D., medical director of the Travel and International Health Clinic at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., tells patients traveling overseas to choose travel insurance that includes access to U.S.-trained clinicians and evacuation to high-quality medical care.

If youre traveling in the U.S., your regular doctor or private group health insurer may be able to help you find local doctors. (In an emergency, go to the nearest ER.) Here and abroad, hotel concierges can often help you track down a doctor who might make a room call.

Internationally, you can find clinics, doctors, and hospitals through the International Association for Medical Assistance to Travellers and the International Society of Travel Medicine. The local U.S. Embassy can also provide a list of doctors and hospitals but usually not recommendations.

Story continues

4. Prep right for tropical destinations. Heading to a developing nation or the tropics? Ask your doctor about unusual immunizations (such as those for hepatitis A, typhoid, and yellow fever) and special medicine (such as antimalarials) recommended or required for particular areas. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers health-related travel tips at cdc.gov/travel.

5. Pack meds properly. Take enough for the duration of your trip, plus an extra weeks worth. Keep them in their original containers in your carry-on baggage, in case your luggage gets lost.

Take paper copies of your prescriptions; a copy of your insurance card; contact information for doctors; a doctors note if you carry needles or syringes, or you had a test that used radiation up to two weeks before; and a list of your medications. (If you lose or run out of it while traveling in the U.S., see whether a local pharmacy can call your doctor or if your pharmacy back home will mail it to you. If youre overseas, ask someone at the nearest U.S. Embassy to direct you to a trusted facility.)

And dont forget a first-aid kit, eyeglasses, hearing aids and batteries, and any other medical necessities.

While You're En Route

6. Ease jet lag. Crossing a time zone disrupts your sleep-wake cycle; the more zones you traverse, the more off-kilter youll probably feel. Some people take melatonin supplements to help them sleep, but Marvin M. Lipman, M.D., Consumer Reports chief medical adviser, says that supplements arent regulated carefully, so whats on the label may not be whats in the bottle.

Instead, start acclimating to a new time zone before you depart by going to bed 1 to 2 hours later (if youre traveling west) and 1 to 2 hours earlier (if youre traveling east) each day for a week. Get exposure to sunlight when you arrive at your destination.

7. Flex those legs. Sitting for more than 4 hours in a boat, car, plane, or train can boost the risk of potentially life-threatening blood clots.

If you cant walk around for a few minutes once an hour, do calf raises while seated: With feet flat, raise your heels for a few seconds, then raise your toes, making sure to keep your heels down; repeat each 10 times per hour.

At Your Destination

8. Quell stomach problems. Travelers diarrhea (TD) affects 30 to 70 percent of international tourists, especially those in Africa, Asia, Central and South America, Mexico, and the Middle East.

During a two-week trip to the developing world, you should expect TD, Talbot says. She prescribes an antibiotic to people going to such places that they can use in case they develop severe diarrhea while traveling.

For mild to moderate diarrhea, medication such as OTC loperamide (Imodium A-D and generic) or prescription diphenoxylate and atropine (Lomotil and generic) may work. And in developing countries and the tropics, avoid raw food, street fare, ice, and unbottled water.

9. Try to avoid accidents. On vacation, youre far more likely to be hospitalized or need a doctor for an injury or accident than for an infectious disease or illness.

Motor-vehicle accidents and drowning are top causes of death for travelers. Thats because being in vacation mode may relax a persons judgment, and new places and traffic rules can be confusing.

So be extra careful when swimming in unfamiliar areas, wear seat belts and life vests, familiarize yourself with local driving laws, and opt for a driver if youre uncomfortable getting behind the wheel.

10. Take the bite out of bed bugs. Hotels and motels are some of the most common places to find bed bugs, according to a 2015 survey from the National Pest Management Association and the University of Kentucky.

To avoid the pests, whose bites can cause itchy welts, Michael Potter, Ph.D., a professor of entomology at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, recommends pulling back the sheets of your hotel bed and checking the mattress and box-spring seams, especially at the head of the bed, for the small brown or tannish bugs and the dark-colored spots they can leave. Keep clothing off the floor and stow your luggage on a luggage rack or a hard surface.

And consider where you stay; better hotel chains are usually more vigilant about treating rooms. Properties that look run down and not well-maintained are the places to be most concerned about, Potter says.

11. Be sun-smart. Sun damage is cumulative over a lifetime, so even if you havent used sunscreen regularly, its not too late to start. Apply it generously to all exposed areas at least 15 minutes before you go outdoors, and reapply every 2 hours.

But no sunscreen can block 100 percent of the suns skin-damaging ultraviolet rays, so its important to take other protective measures, too. Wear sunglasses, a broad-brimmed hat, and protective clothing. And stay in the shade whenever possible.

12. Stay hydrated. Being on vacation takes you away from your normal routine, so you may have to work harder to stay hydrated. Needs vary, but a general guideline is to get 9 to 13 cups of fluids per day. (Men should aim for the upper limit.) Caffeinated beverages and some foods, especially fruit and vegetables, count toward that goal.

Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this website.





More from Consumer Reports:

Top pick tires for 2016

Best used cars for $25,000 and less

7 best mattresses for couples





Copyright  2006-2017 Consumer Reports, Inc.
Pablo Schreiber as Mad Sweeney and Emily Browning as Laura Moon in Starzs American Gods (Photo: Starz)

Warning: This recap of the A Prayer for Mad Sweeney episode of American Gods contains spoilers.

Pablo Schreibers comic turn as Mad Sweeney has a note of sadness and loss added to it this week as we learn how he got from the Emerald Isles to the shores of America. But just when you start to feel sorry for him, we also find out what all those guilty looks have been for: Sweeneys been a bad leprechaun. A murdering one.

The Plot

In 1791, Essie Macgowan (Emily Browning), a young girl in Ireland, keeps to the superstitions of her people and asks the leprechauns for help in seducing the son of a lord. She fails and is sent to the New World as a criminal, but seduces the ships captain and returns to the British Isles. She is caught again and sentenced to death, but gets pregnant by her jailer and has her sentence commuted to exile, once again, in America. She marries a farmer and dies in America, bringing Mad Sweeney stateside.

In present times, Laura releases Salim (Omid Abtahi) from his agreement to drive them to find Shadow. She carjacks an ice cream truck and swerves to avoid a rabbit, throwing her and Mad Sweeney from the truck. The magic coin flies from her body but, rather than keeping it, Mad Sweeney puts it back in her and they continue on.

Pablo Schreiber as Mad Sweeney in Starzs American Gods (Photo: Starz)

Mad Sweeney

The story of how the leprechauns got to America and their eventual fate is tragic and hilarious in equal measure: I was a king once. I was. Then they made me a bird. Then Mother Church came along and turned us all into saints and trolls and fairies. General Mills did the rest. Most of it is in the original book, though its fleshed out wonderfully here. The really interesting thing is that, in a brief flashback, Mad Sweeney is revealed to be the one who caused the accident that killed Laura.

Both this and the resurrection plot were created for the show and are brilliant in the way that they add new information without ever contradicting the events of the original  a too-common complaint of adaptations. They fit so well, youd think that Gaiman originally intended them to be in the book. But while they match the spirit of the book, the tone is very much for TV.

Story continues

Mad Sweeney is as loud and crass as the shows blaring neon credits and this version of him  vulgar and petulant and racked with guilt  could only exist here. His offer to bring her back to life rather than trying to trick the coin from her or, as we see in this episode, allowing fate to knock it loose from her chest, is a tangled mess of regret and shame that would be unwieldy on the page, but it feels at home in a series that will go on for several seasons.

Muslim Faith

Its a shame Salim exits the story here (though theres every reason to believe hell meet back up with them at some future point); it would have been nice to explore his faith and practice a little more. Of course, a deep dive into any of the big religions (Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, or Buddhism) would inevitably lead to someone taking offense and eventual calls for a boycott, but Salim is far and away the kindest, most reasonable character weve met so far. Maybe he and Mad Sweeney can take a road trip once the business at the House on the Rock is concluded.

Godly Thoughts

Browning isnt the only one doing double duty  as Laura and Essie  this episode. Fionnula Flanagan plays both Essies grandmother near the beginning and Essie herself near the end. Flanagan isnt a household name, but shes been a character actor since the 60s and was a staple of American TV in the 70s and 80s, appearing in no less than three different Star Trek series.

The ancient legend of Mad Sweeney is just as bonkers as the modern version.

Next episode, Shadow and Mr. Wednesday hope to recruit Ostara, an Old God who we know as Easter. Does the bunny on the road mean that she caused the accident?

Music Notes

America has given birth to  or at least popularized  dozens of musical genres. But if you talked to someone from the year 2400, it is likely the sound most associated with the US would be 50s doo-wop in the way that we think of mariachi music for Mexico or the shamisen when we think of Japan. Dions Runaround Sue is the most recognizable tune of the era, but Shep & The Limelights, Baby Washington, and The Tads also make appearances. It feels oddly appropriate for a tale of the American Dream realized, whether it be in 18th century or the 21st.

American Gods airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on Starz.

Read more from Yahoo TV:

Twin Peaks Part 6 Recap: An American Tragi-Com

Little Big Shots: Forever Young First Look: Talent Gets Better With Age

#EmmyTalk: Westworld Star Jeffrey Wright Revisits That Big Host Reveal


Anti-Putin protesters detained Police detain a protester during a demonstration in downtown Moscow, Russia, Monday, June 12, 2017. (Pavel Golovkin/AP)

Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny was arrested in Moscow on Monday as he headed to a protest in Moscow, while 200 protesters were detained.

According to a report in The Associated Press, thousands of protesters rallied across the country to protest against corruption in the country.

The demonstration is the second mass action since March and was called by Navalny, who has announced his intention to run for president next year and has drawn a new generation to the streets through a relentless online campaign.

Alexei has been detained in the stairwell, his wife Yulia wrote on his Twitter account about 40 minutes before the anti-corruption rally called by the Kremlin critic was set to start in the city center. (AP)

See more news-related photo galleries and follow us on Yahoo News Photo Twitter and Tumblr.
Attorneys general of Maryland and Washington say he violates the constitution by failing to separate his public responsibilities with his private interests

Donald Trump has committed unprecedented constitutional violations by failing to appropriately disentangle his public responsibilities as president with his private interests as a businessman, according to a lawsuit filed by the attorneys general of Maryland and Washington on Monday.

The lawsuit, filed by DC attorney general Karl Racine and Maryland attorney general Brian Frosh in a Maryland federal court, alleges that Trump has violated the emoluments clause of the US constitution by failing to relinquish ownership of his vast business holdings.

The emoluments clauses are a firewall against presidential corruption, Frosh told journalists at a press conference in Washington on Monday. And the one thing we know about the president is he understands the value of walls. This is one he cant climb over and its one he cant dig underneath.

The emoluments clause stipulates that the president and government officials cannot benefit financially from the office they hold and prohibits them from receiving gifts and payments of anything of value from a foreign government or the states.



Trump did not fully divest from his global business empire after being elected president, instead retaining ownership and handing over control to his two adult sons to run the day to day operations.

President Trumps continued ownership interest business empire, which renders him deeply enmeshed with a legion of foreign and domestic government actors, violates the constitution and calls into question the rule of law and the integrity of the countrys political system, the lawsuit alleges.



The suit asks for a declaratory judgement that Trump has violated the emoluments clauses and that he will continue to do so until he divests entirely from his businesses. It is also seeking an immediate injunction that forces the president to stop violating the clauses.

Story continues

White House press secretary Sean Spicer brushed off the case as another example of partisan politics and said: Well continue to move to dismiss this case in the normal course of business.

The presidents interests, as previously discussed, do not violate the emoluments clause, Spicer said.

Its not hard to conclude that partisan politics may be one of the motivations behind the suit, Spicer continued. The suit was filed by two Democratic attorney generals. The lawyers driving the suit are an advocacy group with partisan ties.

During the press conference, Racine and Frosh denied that the case was partisan or political motivated and invited Republican attorneys general to join their lawsuit.

We are a nation of laws, and no one including the president is above the law, Racine said. He added: What are we to do? Sit back and allow the president to police himself?

We do not sue the president of the United States casually Maryland attorney general Brian Frosh

This is not the first federal lawsuit to accuse the president of violating the emoluments clause of the constitution, but the case is novel. No state has accused a president of violating the emoluments clause.



We do not sue the president of the United States casually, Frosh said. Trumps business ties are unprecedented and force the American people to question day after day whether actions are being taken to benefit the United States or to benefit Donald Trump.

The attorneys general cite as examples of Trump breaching the clause reports that foreign governments and government-related entities are staying and hosting events at the Trump international hotel in Washington, buying leases in Trump buildings at Trump Tower in Manhattan, and offering trademark deals and real estate permits.

Of the international hotel in Washington, Racine said: Foreign governments are spending money there in order to curry favor with the president of the United States.

If a federal judge allows the case to proceed, Racine and Frosh said they will seek the disclosure of Trumps personal tax returns to better understand the extent of the presidents foreign business interests.

A spokeswoman for the justice department declined to comment on the lawsuit. But the justice department responded to a similar suit last week and asked for the case to be thrown out.

Earlier this year, legal watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (Crew) filed a federal lawsuit in the in the southern district of New York alleging that Trump violated the constitution by failing to sufficiently extract himself from his expansive business empire, which has interests in more than two dozen countries. That lawsuit is seeking a court order to compel Trump to divest from his business holdings on grounds that the constitution prohibits him from making money from foreign governments or making a profit beyond the presidential salary.



On Friday, the government argued that the constitution does not prevent the president from profiting from his businesses while in office.

Frosh called the justice departments argument remarkable and said: If the justice department is right, the emoluments clause has no meaning whatsoever.

It puts democracy at risk when the president is corruptible, Frosh said. The payments that hes received may be corrupting him  they certainly violate the constitution.
U.S. President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, and son Barron Trump arrive at the White House. (Photo: Getty Images)

Melania and Barron Trump moved into the White House Sunday, and the 11-year-old unknowingly sealed his fashion icon status.

When the pair stepped off Marine One in Washington, D.C., Barron played with a fidget spinner while wearing a $29.50 J-Crew gray ringer T-shirt with blue trim, which read The Expert. By Monday morning, the shirt was sold out and Twitter was speculating the meaning behind the slogan.

Barron Trump is wearing a shirt that says The Expert THIS IS NOT A DRILL pic.twitter.com/agqmX1gRdc  Jack Posobiec ???????? (@JackPosobiec) June 12, 2017

Barron Trump's "The Expert" t-shirt already makes him qualified for numerous cabinet positions  Mitch on the Web (@howintensive) June 12, 2017

Barron Trump casually proving he's the real branding expert in the family, amirite: pic.twitter.com/7zEXoENqkl  Jonathan Scott (@J_Scott_) June 12, 2017

Really hope Don Jr.'s says "The Second-Favorite" and Eric's says "The Other One" https://t.co/Sni5cgNqR7  M egi ???? (@MattNegrin) June 12, 2017

And naturally, someone created a satirical Twitter account called  what else  Barron the Expert.

like my shirt?  Barron "The Expert" (@BarronTheExpert) June 12, 2017

A representative from J.Crew declined to comment when called by Yahoo Style but Barrons effect is not surprising, given his mothers controversial label as fashion icon.

Story continues

After being photographed wearing any given article of clothing, certain celebrities such as Victoria Beckham, Kate Middleton, and Alexa Chung, have the uncanny ability to cause brands to sell out said item within minutes to hours, trigger company stock to sour, or in some extreme cases, go out of business entirely.

Celebrity kids wield equally impressive influence. In June 2016, Harper Beckham, the 5-year-old daughter of Victoria and David Beckham, was voted Most Influential Child Celebrity in the fashion world (beating out Prince George, the 3-year-old son of Kate Middleton and Prince William) by a British marketing survey. Of the 2,000 parents that voted, 25 percent said they purchased an item after seeing it worn by a celebrity kid.

Harper Beckham. (Photo: Getty Images)

For example, in 2015, Victoria donated 25 designer items owned by Harper to the charity Save the Children. According to Hello magazine, people began lining up four hours before the doors opened and the first outfit was sold five minutes later.

Prince George and Princess Charlotte, the latter of whom is Will and Kates 2-year-old daughter, are also influencers. After George, then 1, wore a pair of blue Crocs to watch his dad play polo, the shoes experienced a 16-fold sales increase on Amazon, per Today, and a 1,500 sales increase worldwide. Other items the tiny prince has managed to sell out include an $11 blue-and-white stripped Sunuva T-shirt, a pair of $45 Early Days ivory leather white shoes, and the aden + anais swaddle he wore home from the hospital as a newborn.

Kate Middleton and Prince George. (Photo: Getty Images)

Little sister Charlotte is also a fashion force: The U.K. brand valuation company Brand Finance estimated her worth at $4.5 billion dollars, thanks in part to her knack for selling out $25 yellow sheep-print cardigans and $40 pink Mary Jane shoes.

Princess Charlotte, daughter of Kate Middleton and Prince William. (Photo: Getty Images)

Theres been no news on whether Barrons fidget spinner has sold out since Sunday, but it certainly wouldnt be surprising.

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.




Senator Bernie Sanders: REUTERS

Buoyed by the British Labour Party election gains this week, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders on Saturday urged a summit of progressive activists who propelled his presidential candidacy to ramp up efforts to win elections and help remake a Democratic Party he deemed a failure.

"They won those seats by standing up to the ruling class," he said, referring to the British elections and citing wins by progressive US candidates in several state and local races while writing off losses as evidence liberal progressives could still be competitive even in conservative states.

But Mr Sanders, who lost the Democratic nomination nearly a year ago to Hillary Clinton, showed little interest in a push by "Draft Bernie" activists who want him to start his own "People's Party." Many activists blame establishment Democrats for losing to President Donald Trump by failing to embrace a more populist left-leaning agenda.

Sanders headlined the three-day "People's Summit" in Chicago, attended by celebrity activists including actors Danny Glover and John Cusack, which brought together main progressive groups such as National Nurses United, Democratic Socialists of America and People for Bernie.

Many activists said they hoped to transform the momentum from recent protests such as January's Women's March in Washington into concrete plans to support a growing wave of grassroots candidates to secure electoral power.

"We could have 10,000 people marching, but if we don't have some means of translating that into winning political office and enacting a legislative progressive agenda, at the end of the day, what does it amount to?" said Nick Brana, the former staffer for the Sanders campaign leading the "Draft Bernie" group.

With Trump mired in controversy over incidents such as the firing of former FBI Director James Comey, and Democrats having lost ground in statehouses and in Congress, RoseAnn Demoro, head of the nurses union, said the movement Mr Sanders began was at a "tipping point" of broadening its support.

Story continues

Leaders with the Democratic Socialists of America said their membership has bloomed from 6,000 before the election to 22,000.

"We're closer but we're not yet winning," said activist and writer Naomi Klein.

Still, Mr Sanders credited progressives with increasing public acceptance of proposals such as a $15 (12) minimum wage, renegotiating trade policies and offering free college tuition. He got a standing ovation when he said the California Senate recently passed a single-payer health care plan.

Reuters
A 15-year-old boy has been arrested in the death of a missing 10-year-old girl whose body was found close to her Colorado home, officials said.

Kiaya Campbell was last seen leaving her fathers home with his girlfriends 15-year-old son to walk to a nearby shopping center in Thornton at about 8 p.m. Wednesday, her dad told police, KDVR-TV reported.

The 15-year-old boy reportedly told authorities that he and Kiaya were separated after a rainstorm moved into the area, and she was reported missing just before midnight.

An Amber Alert was issued for Kiaya Thursday, and officers and volunteers scoured the area until her body was found that evening about one mile from her home.

Read: Philip Chism is Found Guilty of Raping and Murdering His Math Teacher When He Was 14

An exact cause of death has not been released, but a medical examiner noted it was not accidental and investigators quickly deemed her death to be a homicide.

Kiaya was remembered as a bubbly girl who loved keeping the world informed on her life by posting videos to YouTube.

This beautiful soul was stolen from us, her mother wrote on a GoFundMe page created to help lay her to rest.

Read: 20-Year-Old Woman Gets 30 Years in Prison for Killing Dad When She Was a Teen

Members of the community flocked to two memorials for the young girl, with many bringing flowers and leaving messages on the sidewalk in chalk. Others left condolences online.

She is an angel watching over you, one person who donated to the GoFundMe page wrote.

Our prayers, love and thoughts are with your entire family, another donor posted. God bring you His peace, love and grace.

On Saturday, a teenage boy was booked into the Adams County Juvenile Detention facility for investigation of first-degree murder, authorities said.

The boy was not identified due to his age and officials would not say whether the suspect is the fathers girlfriends son, with whom she was last seen.

Story continues

See Chilling Texts Prosecutors Say Teen Sent After Boyfriend Took His Life

Related Articles:
London (AFP) - British Prime Minister Theresa May took the blame for the ruling Conservatives' disastrous performance at last week's elections, as she faced her party's angry MPs on Monday, seeking to ward off any challenge to her leadership.

"I got us into this mess, and I'm going to get us out," May told Conservatives MPs during the meeting in Westminster.

May's Conservatives unexpectedly lost their majority in parliament in Thursday's snap general election, causing political chaos ahead of Brexit talks with the European Union set to start next week and prompting calls -- from within her own party -- for her resignation.

But one MP present at the meeting said there was no discussion of a leadership contest, adding "she's won, she's got to be prime minister".

The chaos has also weighed on the pound, which has plunged almost two percent since Thursday, and the government may have to delay the announcement of its policy plans to parliament.

May vowed to stay on despite the poor results, and on Sunday unveiled a largely unchanged new cabinet, which met for the first time on Monday.

The Conservative Party fell eight seats short of retaining its parliamentary majority, and is now in talks with Northern Ireland's ultra-conservative Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) -- which won 10 seats -- to forge an informal alliance.

DUP leader Arlene Foster is due to meet May on Tuesday for crunch talks, which could force the delay of the government's presentation of its legislative programme to parliament by Queen Elizabeth II, due on June 19.

"Obviously until we have that we can't agree the final details of the Queen's Speech," said May's deputy Damian Green, referring to an agreement with the DUP.

- 'Walk away' with no deal -

Brexit minister David Davis insisted the government still aimed to take Britain out of the EU single market in order "to take back control of our borders".

Story continues

He also told BBC radio that the government would "walk away" without a deal if the talks break down on ending Britain's four-decade membership of the European bloc.

But Ruth Davidson, the pro-EU leader of the Conservatives in Scotland, called on May to "reopen" the government's Brexit plans.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said May's government lacked the credibility necessary for Brexit talks and should delay the negotiations.

And according to The Daily Telegraph, some of the most senior members of May's team have held "secret talks" with members of the opposition Labour Party to ensure a soft Brexit.

They hope to force May to make concessions on immigration, the customs union and the single market, the newspaper reported on Tuesday.

- 'Dead woman walking' -

May has a busy schedule on Tuesday, hosting a cabinet meeting and talks with the DUP leader before travelling to Paris to meet French President Emmanuel Macron.

Brexit will likely be on the agenda at the Paris meeting, after May confirmed she will stick to the negotiating timetable.

"Going abroad and being seen to be the prime minister and talking to the president of France... is a classic move to shore up authority at home," said Colin Talbot, professor of government at the University of Manchester.

May tried to reassert her shattered authority at the weekend by announcing her new cabinet -- with no changes among her top team.

In a surprise move, Michael Gove was appointed environment and agriculture minister less than a year after the prime minister sacked him as justice minister.

After the Labour party made hefty electoral gains by focusing heavily on social issues, May listed areas such as education and housing as top policy priorities.

May has shown little public contrition for her electoral gamble that backfired spectactularly, but was forced to accept the resignations of her two top aides -- reportedly a requirement by cabinet colleagues for allowing her to stay in office.

- Concern over DUP deal -

DUP leader Foster said there had been "positive engagement" so far.

"We are going into these talks with the national interest at heart. The union as I've said before is our guiding star," she said.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said the government was not looking at a formal coalition but would seek assurances that the DUP would vote with May "on the big things".

He stressed he did not share their ultra-conservative views on issues such as abortion and homosexuality, which have caused disquiet among many Conservatives.

The deal has also caused consternation in Dublin, with Irish premier Enda Kenny warning such an alliance could upset Northern Ireland's fragile peace.

London's neutrality is key to the delicate balance of power in Northern Ireland, which was once plagued by violence over Britain's control of the province.
Chinese social media users on Sunday angrily criticised a Shanghai government crackdown on unauthorised real estate activity after images emerged online showing an apparent protest in the city over the restrictions.

Pictures and video have circulated showing hundreds of people engaged in a tense stand-off with police, said to have taken place late Saturday night in a busy central Shanghai shopping district.

AFP was not able to confirm the online accounts of the demonstration or obtain comment from the city government.

But authorities in the city, China's financial hub, have stoked anger among investors and homeowners with a new campaign launched last month to rein in the use of commercial-zoned real estate for residential purposes.

Videos posted online showed a noisy crowd in excess of 1,000 people confronted by police, who had erected cordons to block their march on busy Nanjing East Road.

At least two people were seen being roughly dragged away by police.

"An oppressive government drives the people to rebellion. The poor masses!" said one of many outraged postings on Weibo, China's tightly controlled answer to Twitter.

"Once again, the government is doing things without considering the stance of the masses," said another.

Others accused censors of deleting their posts about the incident to whitewash it.

"Weibo's staff are so efficient! The videos from Nanjing East Road have all been rendered harmonious," said a Weibo post in a dig at the ruling Communist Party, which frequently cites maintenance of social "harmony" as justification for snuffing out public protests.

The central government has taken a number of measures to cool down red-hot real estate markets amid fears of a potential crash that could affect the broader economy, which is already slowing.

There has been a wave of commercial land being developed for residential purposes, a strategy that has thrived due to ambiguities in regulations.

But authorities launched a sudden crackdown, imperilling real estate projects that had been allowed to proceed, angering homeowners, developers and investors.
Jack Kesy as Roller and Niecy Nash as Desna in Claws (Photo: TNT)

Warning: This interview contains spoilers for the series premiere of TNTs Claws.

On the same day that Niecy Nash found out Fox hadnt picked up her latest pilot, her agent called and asked if she remembered that script shed been sent for a show called Claws. My agent was like, Those people want to see you tomorrow. And I was like, Let me read it again, because I was so consumed with the project I was doing, Nash says. I read that script and listen, it was delicious. I wanted more. I was like, Yes. Please and thank you. I will meet them tomorrow.'

The next day, before she got off the lot after meeting the shows creator, Eliot Laurence, and showrunner, Janine Sherman Barrois, she got another call saying the role of Desna, a Florida nail salon owner who launders money for the Dixie Mafia, was hers if she wanted it. I loved that there was a Florida noir aspect being introduced into this particular show, which elevated it into sometimes a very surreal space. But more importantly, the sisterhood, she says. These women are survivors. They are hustlers. They are accountability partners. Theyre flawed. And funny. And I was like, Yes, please. Ill have seconds.'

As we learned in Sundays series premiere of the TNT drama, Desna is a woman on a mission: she needs money to secure a more upscale location for her staff (Carrie Preston, Jenn Lyon, Judy Reyes, and Karrueche Tran), as well as a nicer home for her autistic brother (Losts Harold Perrineau). I wanted to make her relatable. I wanted to make sure that there was some aspect of her life that you could identify with, Nash says. I know a lot of women who dont have children, but they are mothers nonetheless. She definitely stands in that place to mother people who she has not given birth to. She is loyal. She has been at the bottom, so her story is aspirational. She wants to thrive  but its not a selfish thing. She wants it for all the people around her.

Story continues

The premiere also showed us what happens when Desna doesnt get it. After Dixie Mafia boss Uncle Daddy (Dean Norris) and his protege, Roller (Jack Kesy), stiffed Desna on her bonus, she went to Rollers house and interrupted him choking his new lover, Virginia (Tran), during pool-side sex. As Desna proceeded to thred Rollers eyebrows, he suggested she finish him off. Instead, she struck him over the head and tried to drown him in the pool. He resurfaced and began to brutally beat her  until Virginia returned to shoot Roller dead.

I think that Desna showed up to the house that day believing she was going to get her money. She knew he had it and could give it to her  or she was going to take it. By any means necessary, she was going to leave with the money she was promised, Nash says. And I think that what she stumbled upon when she got there threw her for a loop. I dont think it was planned. But I think that theres a very wonderful show that coined exactly what happened called Snapped. And I think that she snapped in that moment and was like, I cant take another thing. Especially not from you.'

The nails, Nash says, tell the story. You know how New York was another character in Sex and the City? The nails are another character in Claws. That last scene, I had what we called a shark nail, where it was a hologram silver with blood on the tips.

Keep an eye on Desnas nails, because the drama is just beginning. Im very, very happy that the industry has invited me to another part of it that was very far-reaching before, Nash says. Ive been in a lot of multi-cams, a lot of improv things  that was my lane. At least thats what the industry told me. You have a lane, dear. And so, to be invited to this part of the party  a one hour  and to be leading the charge as No. 1 on the call sheet, its a great undertaking. Its a whole lot of work, but Im grateful every day for the opportunity.

Claws airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on TNT.

Read more from Yahoo TV:

Twin Peaks Part 6 Recap: An American Tragi-Com

Little Big Shots: Forever Young First Look: Talent Gets Better With Age

#EmmyTalk: Westworld Star Jeffrey Wright Revisits That Big Host Reveal
Democratic senators urged the Senate Intelligence Committee on Sunday to question Attorney General Jeff Sessions about alleged ties between President Donald Trump's presidential campaign and Russia in a public hearing instead of a closed one. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) wrote a letter Sunday to the committee's Chairman Richard Burr and Vice Chairman Mark Warner requesting for an open hearing of Sessions.

"I urge that the Committee hold a hearing with the Attorney General in the open so that the American people can hear for themselves what he has to say with regard to connections to the Russians and the President's abuse of power," the letter stated.

Wyden also cited the example of former FBI Director James Comey's hearing last Thursday which "provided valuable information to the public," and increased the confidence of the people in the Congress that it will conduct a fair investigation into last year's presidential election and "concerns related to former National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn."

Read: Trump Blames Attorney General Jeff Sessions For Blocked Travel Ban

The committee has not yet confirmed the Tuesday date for Sessions' testimony and is still discussing whether to allow Sessions to testify in open or closed sessions, or both, as was the case with James Comey last week, reports said.

Members of the committee said they would ask Sessions to recount the meeting between Trump and Comey on Feb. 14 at the Oval Office, where according to Comey, Trump pressured him to drop the FBI investigation into Flynn, the New York Times reported. Sessions was asked by Trump, among others, to leave the meeting so that the president could speak to Comey in private.

Weve had a lot of unnamed sources in the media come out and make statements about Jeff Sessions, Sen. James Lankford (R-Oklahoma), who is on the committee, said on CBSs Face the Nation. Itd be very good to get it directly from him. Lankford also indicated the hearing might be public.

Story continues

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York) also appeared on the show after Comey's testimony last week and said he thinks Sessions' testimony should be public. "There's very little that's classified. Anything's that's classified, they can do in a separate classified briefing. There are some questions about Sessions that have to be asked. First, did he interfere with the Russian investigation before he recused himself? Second, what safeguards are there now so that he doesn't interfere? Third, it says he was involved in the firing of Comey. And the President said Comey was fired because of Russia."

Read: James Comey Memes And Gifs Go Viral After Release Of Testimony

Sessions had originally been scheduled to testify Tuesday before the House and Senate Appropriations Committees about the Justice Departments budget. He said he would send in his place Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general.

Sessions had said during his confirmation hearing that he had not met with Russians during the presidential election last year. In March, he announced his recusal from the Trump-Russia investigation. Comeys testimony last week raised questions surrounding Sessions recusal from the FBIs probe. Comey told the committee he couldn't discuss the reason why the FBI believed Sessions would have to recuse himself from the investigation.

Related Articles
[June 12, 2017] VersaStack with IBM Flash Accelerates Data Transfer for Virtual Desktop and Hybrid Cloud Workloads

ARMONK, N.Y., June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced new Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) and hybrid cloud capabilities for the VersaStack converged infrastructure solution. VDI can reduce data center costs, streamline troubleshooting, and increase data security for enterprise clients managing hybrid cloud workloads. To address large-scale, high performance VDI workloads and data reduction requirements VersaStack leverage the storage capabilities from IBM FlashSystem A9000 all flash arrays and IBM Spectrum Accelerate software, which provide seamless data migration between on-premises and cloud deployments. VersaStack also integrates Cisco UCS, and Cisco networking components to provide benefits to VDI end users by increasing performance, lowering management overhead, and potentially reducing costs through overall storage capacity savings depending on the workload. "Over nine million acres of Trust Land generates a sizable amount of data; we needed fast, intelligent tool and platforms to derive greater value from this information," said Bill Reed, Chief Technology Officer, Arizona State Land Department. "VersaStack with A9000 all-flash storage can enable us to more effectively implement cognitive solutions such as IBM Watson to help transform our mountains of unstructured data into greater insight and better management decision-making. It's really very simple; if you want a faster, smarter business  get faster, smarter storage."







VersaStack, based on the A9000, joins a growing family of VersaStack solutions that now include hybrid cloud, infrastructure as a service, and object storage solutions. These solutions enable enterprises to easily and cost-effectively scale compute, network, and storage capacity as needed to reduce design, deployment, and management overhead.



"In March I joined Cisco at CiscoLive ANZ 2017 to co-announce a broad set of new VersaStack solutions; two months later we are expanding our work together with support for VDI," said Ed Walsh, General Manager, IBM Storage and Software Defined Infrastructure. "The new VersaStack solution demonstrates that when industry leaders come together to develop leading edge solutions, our clients and Business Partners benefit."





As part of the on-going relationship between IBM and Cisco, IBM is adding Cisco equipment to its Solution Center in Montpellier, France. The Solution Center will provides client workshops, proofs-of-concept (POC), and technical support services.



The VersaStack solution will be demonstrated in booth 2015 during CiscoLive, June 25-29, Las Vegas, NV.



For more information, visit the IBM and Cisco VersaStack web pages.



1- IBM Systems Technical White Paper: Accelerating SAS Analytics, April 2017 (TSW03538) Contact:

Greg Vitarelli

IBM Media Relations

[email protected]

617-455-9627 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/versastack-with-ibm-flash-accelerates-data-transfer-for-virtual-desktop-and-hybrid-cloud-workloads-300471975.html SOURCE IBM

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Donald Trump has overseen his first full cabinet meeting, at which his top officials took turns to heap praise on the President.

Mr Trump took the opportunity to try and use his full first meeting to make the case that, despite the problems created by the controversy over his campaigns alleged collusion with Russia, the administration was making rapid progress.

Never has there been a president, with few exceptions - case of FDR, he had a major depression to handle - who has passed more legislation and who has done more things than what weve done, said Mr Trump, in a reference to Franklin D Roosevelt.

GREAT meeting today with the best staff in the history of the world!!! pic.twitter.com/ocE1xhEAac  Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) June 12, 2017

I think weve been about as active as you can possibly be at a just about record-setting pace, Mr Trump said.

The Washington Post said the meeting was exceptional that the President then sat and listened at his cabinet members took turns - all of them aware the media was listening - to praise him for his performance in the Oval Office.

We thank you for the opportunity and blessing to serve your agenda, White House chief of staff Reince Priebus.

Tom Price, the Secretary of Health and Human services, said it was an honour to head the department under Mr Trumps leadership.

I can't thank you enough for the privileges you've given me and the leadership that youve shown, Mr Price said.

The newspaper pointed out that despite Mr Trump having signed a series of executive orders - one of them, a travel ban, has been placed on hold by the courts - Congress has yet to pass any of the major proposals he campaigned on as a candidate.

Despite that, his cabinet members took the opportunity to suggest he and they had preformed wonders. A pool report of the meeting noted that after Mr Trump spoke, cabinet members each introduced themselves and said a few words about how happy they were to be there.

Story continues

Vice President Mike Pence said: It is the greatest privilege of my life to serve as Vice President. The President is keeping his word to the American people.

Attorney-General Jeff Sessions, who is due to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee, claimed he had been receiving support from law enforcement officers all over America.

They are so thrilled that we have new ideas and that we support them, he said.

Rick Perry, Mr Trumps Energy Secretary, said he had been in China last week where his hosts were delighted to learn that, despite Mr Trump saying he was withdrawing the US from the Paris Accord, we are still going to be leaders in the world when it comes to the climate.

My hats off to you for taking that stand and sending a clear message around the world, he said.

Nikki Haley, US Ambassador to the UN, said it was a new day at the United Nations.

It was Mr Trump's first full cabinet meeting (AP)

We now have a very strong voice. People know what the United States is for. They know what we are against. And they see us in a new way across the board. I think the international community knows we are back, she said.

Wilbur Ross, Mr Trumps Secretary of Commerce, said: Thank you for the opportunity to help fix the trade deficit.

Sonny Perdue, the Secretary of Agriculture, responded to the large number of cabinet members mentioning their international trips. He said: While we are bragging about international travel I just got back from Mississippi and they like you there.

Democrats have seized on the episode.

You have great hair, said Democratic senator Chuck Schumer, in a mocking video. Nobody has better hair than you.
Former US Attorney @PreetBharara recounts "very unusual" calls with Trump: "There has to be some kind of arms-length relationship." pic.twitter.com/dkVrYEOMqh  This Week (@ThisWeekABC) June 11, 2017

President Donald Trump fired U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara the day after the prosecutor refused to return a call from him, Bharara said on ABC News This Week Sunday.

Bharara said he viewed direct contact from the president to himself, as a law-enforcement official, to be an inappropriate breach of protocol and reported it to the office of Attorney General Jeff Sessions on March 9. Twenty-two hours later, I was fired, Bharara said.

Bhararas account echoes the testimony of former FBI Director James Comey, who told the Senate Intelligence Committee last week that Trump contacted him directly by phone numerous times between the presidential transition and Comeys own dismissal last month. Comey also testified about one-on-one meetings he had with Trump, some of which he said left him feeling uncomfortable

Bharara attended the Comey hearing.

Its a very weird and peculiar thing for a one-on-one conversation without the attorney general, without warning, between the president and me, or any United States attorney who has been asked to investigate various things, Bharara said.

In reporting the phone call to the chief of staff to the attorney general, I said it appeared to be that he was trying to cultivate some kind of relationship, Bharara said.

Comey similarly told Congress he believed Trump wanted to establish a patronage relationship between them.

In all, Trump telephoned Bharara three times between December and March, the ex-prosecutor said Sunday.

They were very unusual phone calls. When Ive been reading the stories about how the president has been contacting Jim Comey over time, it felt a little bit like deja vu, he said.

Story continues

The number of times that President [Barack] Obama called me in seven-and-a-half years was zero. The number of times I wouldve been expected to be called by the president of the United States would be zero, because there has to be some kind of arms-length relationship, given the jurisdiction various people have, Bharara said.

Likewise, Comey testified to just two one-on-one conversations with Obama during the more than three years their terms overlapped.

After winning election in November, Trump met with Bharara, who had been U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York since 2009, and asked him to remain in his position when the new administration took office. Bharara agreed, only to be fired on March 10 by Sessions, who had asked for the resignations of other U.S. attorneys across the country who hadnt already stepped aside in deference to the new administration.

It is common for incoming presidential administrations to replace U.S. attorneys, though the abruptness with which Sessions handled the matter sparked criticism.

To this day, I have no idea why I was fired, said Bharara, who stressed he was not alleging a direct connection between his refusal to speak to Trump by telephone and his subsequent dismissal. Sessions dismissed Bharara after he declined to voluntarily resign.

After This Week aired, Bharara used his Twitter account to comment on a critical tweet from Mark Corallo, a representative of Trumps legal team. Bharara tweeted that Sessions office backed his concerns about the March 9 call from the president.

This man = Marc Kasowitz press flack. AG office agreed w/me about call. I guess Sessions & chief of staff to be fired soon? Also, spellcheck https://t.co/quJHGTSXkk  Preet Bharara (@PreetBharara) June 11, 2017

This article has been updated to include Bhararas post to Twitter.

Also on HuffPost

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

Former FBI Director James Comey walks to a closed-door hearing before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on June 8, 2017.

Comey laughs while testifying in a public hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee the same day.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who is not on the committee, watches as Comey testifies.

Comey answers questions from senators on the Intelligence Committee.

And more questions.

And more questions.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) asks questions of the former FBI director.

Comey repeated explosive allegations that President Donald Trump had badgered him over the highly sensitive investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election.

Comey pauses for a moment during the hearing.

And then he returns to testifying.

Comey is sworn in before the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing.

He takes the oath before he testifies.

Many people had come to hear what Comey had to say.

Comey arrives to testify before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

The cameras are snapping as Comey arrives to testify.

Comey walks into the hearing room.

The name placard for the former FBI director is placed on the witness table ahead of his appearance.

People wait in line outside the hearing room to attend Comey's testimony.

Comey will face this bank of remote-triggered cameras while testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

A view of the hearing room before Comey testifies.

People make preparations for the hearing before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

The hearing room where Comey will testify.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Time and the tides have washed away the last traces of a famous 19th-century shipwreck from a coral reef in the South Pacific, the scene of extraordinary tales of survival during the "Age of Sail," according to archaeologists who visited the site earlier this year.

A team of 11 maritime archaeologists and divers from Australia journeyed earlier this year to Kenn Reefs, a submerged atoll among the Coral Sea Islands, located more than 300 miles (500 kilometers) northeast of their port of departure at Bundaberg on the Queensland coast.

The researchers  from the Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) and the Silentworld Foundation, a private maritime archaeology group  had hoped to find the wreck of the Jenny Lind, a small sailing ship that sank after it struck the reef during the night of Sept. 21, 1850. [See Photos of the Shipwrecks Found Around Kenn Reefs]

The Jenny Lind was sailing from Melbourne to Singapore, with 28 crewmembers and passengers on board, including three children, according to a news report in the Moreton Bay Courier from Nov. 9, 1850.

All 28 people escaped from the sinking ship and survived for 37 days on a quay of sand behind the reef wall while they built a boat from the wreckage. They then sailed more than 370 miles (600 km) to Moreton Bay on the Australian mainland  an ordeal celebrated in newspaper reports at the time.

A maritime survey in 1987 reported that the remains of the ship were still visible in shallow water beside the reef wall, but the latest expedition, in January of this year, found that the sea has now claimed the last traces of the Jenny Lind.

However, the researchers found and documented four previously uncharted wrecks of sailing ships of about the same age  a testament to the dangerous reputation of the reefs, said James Hunter, a maritime archaeologist at the ANMM who took part in the February expedition.

"Strewn with wrecks"

The new finds include cannons, anchors and ballast stones from four unidentified ships, which the researchers think sank on the reef before the ridge began to appear on navigation charts in the 1850s.

Story continues

One of the earliest charts, from 1857, recorded that the southern end of the reef was already "strewn with wrecks."

Hunter told Live Science that the reef lay along a major trade route between Australia and the French and Dutch Pacific colonies, and at least eight sailing ships were known to have been wrecked on Kenn Reefs during the 1800s. [Sunken Treasures: The Curious Science of 7 Famous Shipwrecks]

Maritime archaeologist Pete Illidge examines one of three large Admiralty-pattern anchors in the water at Kenn Reefs. Julia Sumerling/Silentworld Foundation

The "highly dynamic" ocean environment around the reefs, caused by powerful tidal currents and tropical weather, has reduced the 150-year-old shipwrecks mainly to their metallic parts, Hunter said. Some wood from the wrecks may remain beneath the surface of the seafloor, but so far, the divers have made no excavations, he added.

The researchers explored the entire atoll above and below the waterline, using a marine magnetometer towed by the expedition vessel to locate magnetic anomalies created by metal items such as anchors or cannons, Hunter said.

Hidden danger

Hunter explained that the Kenn Reefs atoll is above the peak of an extinct undersea volcano that rises sharply for more than 3,280 feet (1,000 meters) from the seafloor, and covers an area that spans more than 15 square miles (40 square kilometers) on the surface.

The southern edge of the reef, where most of the ships were wrecked, is a vast wall of limestone and coral, but it is almost completely submerged at high tide, Hunter said.

"When you're there, [the reef] seems massive, but it's just a little speck in a very big sea," he said. "So, you can imagine these poor guys are out there, sailing the vast ocean, throwing a lead line for the seafloor. And there's nothing, no indication that there's a sea bottom anywhere out there, and they don't see this reef. And boom  they just smack right into it."

Even after the reef was recorded on official navigation charts in 1859, "during that period, it was very easy to make a miscalculation, either when you are plotting a position at sea to try and get the reef on a chart, or when you're at sea and you are trying to avoid it," Hunter said.

The researchers also tried to find traces of another famous shipwreck at Kenn Reefs  that of the Bona Vista, which sank in 1828. The crewmembers had to survive for weeks on top of the reef before the crew of a passing ship spotted and rescued them.

But, like the remains of the Jenny Lind, the wreck of the Bona Vista that was seen by the 1987 survey team could not be found, Hunter said.

Beneath the waves

The expedition to Kenn Reefs is the latest in a series of maritime expeditions in search of historic Australian shipwrecks. A team of researchers from the ANMM and the Silentworld Foundation are conducting the expeditions. The foundation, which funds the expeditions, is backed by the Silentworld transport group, which operates a shipping and logistics network between Australia and the Solomon Islands in the eastern Pacific, Hunter said.

In 2009, the same team of researchers found the remains of the Mermaid, a colonial schooner that was wrecked on the Great Barrier Reef near Cairns in 1829. And in 2012, they found theRoyal Charlotte, a sailing ship wrecked on Frederick Reef in the Coral Sea in 1825.

Paul Hundley, director of the Silentworld Foundation Museum and one of the expedition leaders, said the data from the newly discovered wrecks would be carefully checked against colonial shipping records from the time on an effort to identify the ships.

"That's going to be quite a detective story, Hundley told Live Science. "It's going to take a bit of work to line up the remains that we've got with the ships that we know were wrecked there."

Many of the ships known to have been wrecked on the Kenn Reefs were leaving from Sydney without cargo after delivering supplies to the colony: So there's very little cargo which would help identify the individual vessel, or even a nationality.

Identifying the ships would help historians better understand the historic trade between early European colonies in the eastern Pacific region, Hundley said.

Hunter said precise physical data from the sites and detailed underwater photographs would be used to create three-dimensional digital models of the wrecks and the surrounding undersea landscape for further study.

"One of the things we are hoping to do with that data when it has been processed is to put it online, so people can virtually dive on one of these wreck sites," Hunter said.

Original article on Live Science.

Editor's Recommendations
Donald Trump will host Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House this month, US and Indian officials said Monday, as the world's two-largest democracies diverge on tackling climate change.

In a statement, India's foreign ministry said the two leaders would meet on June 26 for the first time after Modi arrives in Washington for a two-day visit.

"Their discussions will provide a new direction for deeper bilateral engagement on issues of mutual interest," the ministry statement said.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer later said that Trump wanted the meeting to advance "our common priorities fighting terrorism, promoting economic growth and reforms and expanding security cooperation in it the Pacific region".

"The two leaders will look to outline a common vision for the partnership that's worthy of India's 1.6 billion citizens."

Trump invited Modi to Washington after the Indian leader rang him in January to congratulate the new president on his inauguration.

During the call, Trump underscored that the US "considers India a true friend and partner in addressing challenges around the world".

But this month, in announcing the US withdrawal from the Paris climate deal, Trump singled out India as a major polluter that he said would gain an edge over the US under the agreement -- a charge New Delhi denied.

Modi vowed India, the world's third-largest polluter, would go "above and beyond" its commitments, as Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj rejected suggestions India acted disingenuously in signing the pact.

Ties between New Delhi and Washington warmed during the Obama years as India sought greater foreign investment and trade ties with Western nations.

But obstacles have already emerged in the early months of the Trump presidency.

A proposed overhaul of H-1B visas -- working permits used by thousands of Indian software engineers to work in the United States -- has caused immense concern.

Modi's flagship "Make In India" policy, designed to reboot local manufacturing and ramp up exports in tandem with foreign investors, could also run aground on Trump's "America first" instincts.

Major US firms such as Walmart and Apple have grown frustrated by regulations and tariffs imposed by Indian authorities as they seek to crack what is a potentially massive market.
Baghdad (AFP) - Iraq's paramilitary Hashed al-Shaabi forces said Saturday that they had retaken all areas west of Mosul from the Islamic State group except the town of Tal Afar.

The umbrella organisation, which is dominated by Iran-backed Shiite militias, has been fighting primarily on a separate western front since the battle to retake Mosul was launched in October last year.

Their main objective has been to isolate IS fighters battling elite forces inside the city by cutting off their supply lines to remaining strongholds in the Syrian part of their now crumbing "caliphate".

"Hashed forces declare the liberation of all areas west of Mosul except Tal Afar," the organisation said on social media.

Tal Afar is a large town that lies about 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Mosul on the way to Syria and is still at the hands of the jihadists, although almost completely surrounded by anti-IS forces.

While the Counter-Terrorism Service and other federal forces were retaking Mosul one neighbourhood after another as well as urban areas around it, Hashed forces worked their way north and west through mostly desert regions of Iraq.

The Hashed's top Iraqi military commander, known as Abu Mahdi al-Mohandis, spoke overnight to hail the achievements of his forces.

"The Hashed are awaiting orders from the prime minister and commander-in-chief of the armed forces (Haider al-Abadi) to storm the district of Tal Afar," he was quoted as saying in a statement.

He said that Hashed forces had taken control of an area about two kilometres from Iraq's western border with neighbouring Syria, where another alliance of forces backed a US-led coalition is battling IS.

"The Hashed have not entered yet," he said, without elaborating.

Abadi has repeatedly said that no Iraqi forces should cross the border into Syria.

The Hashed al-Shaabi is nominally under his command but some of its components have for years been sending fighters to support Damascus in its six-year-old conflict against various rebel groups.
Dublin (AFP) - Irish prime minister Enda Kenny expressed concern Sunday that a proposed alliance between Britain's ruling Conservatives and Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) could pose a "challenge" to peace in the province.

In a phone call with British Prime Minster Theresa May, Kenny warned that efforts to shore up her minority government with the hardline Protestant DUP should not put at risk the Good Friday peace accords.

"They discussed the outcome of the UK general election and the (British) prime minister outlined the proposed supply and confidence arrangement between her party and the DUP," a spokesman for the Irish government said.

"The taoiseach (Kenny) indicated his concern that nothing should happen to put the Good Friday Agreement at risk and the challenge that this agreement will bring."

Before the 1998 peace deal, Northern Ireland was plagued by violence over Britain's control of the province.

The Good Friday accords led to a power-sharing arrangement between nationalist, largely Catholic parties who want to join Ireland and the pro-British Protestant community.

Kenny also "noted the absence of any nationalist voice in Westminster", after Northern Ireland's Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) lost its three seats in Thursday's election.

Sinn Fein won seven seats but the party refuses to sit in the House of Commons, which requires swearing allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II.

May lost her parliamentary majority in Thursday's snap election, prompting her to seek the support of the DUP's 10 MPs to stay in power.

Kenny is due to hand over power this week to his successor as leader of the ruling Fine Gael party, Leo Varadkar.

"The taoiseach stated that there should be an early meeting between the prime minister and his successor Leo Varadkar and wished her well in the challenges that now lie ahead," the spokesman added.
Tokyo (AFP) - A Japanese zoo celebrated the first birth of a baby panda in five years Monday, with the tiny cub small enough to fit in the palm of a human hand.

Eleven-year-old mum Shin Shin gave birth just before noon, officials at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo said in a statement.

Pandas are born pink, hairless and weighing around 100 grams (three-and-a-half ounces) -- so small it can be difficult to determine their sex.

"There have been cases where the sex of a panda has been found to be wrongly determined several years after its birth," a zoo spokesman told AFP amid the panda-monium.

"It could take a while before we know."

Shin Shin, who mated with male Ri Ri in February, had another baby in 2012 -- the first time at the zoo in 24 years, but the cub died from pneumonia six days later.

Footage from a camera inside the panda enclosure showed the moment of birth, when the screeching noises of the tiny baby could clearly be heard as Shin Shin scooped it up with her mouth.

Zoo officials were not immediately able to give exact details about the size and weight of the cub as the proud mum, who tips the scales at 110 kilograms (240 pounds), protectively cuddled her new-born baby.

"Most of the time the mother has been cradling her baby so we haven't been able to measure it precisely," a spokeswoman told AFP.

"It's almost impossible to see the baby when she's being hugged by mum but we estimate it at about 150 grams."

As a mother-to-be, Shin Shin delighted huge crowds of well-wishers in Tokyo last month as she sat lazily munching on bamboo and playfully rubbed the husks on her furry belly before being moved into confinement.

Considered an endangered species, it is estimated fewer than 2,000 giant pandas remain in the wild, in three provinces in south-central China.

- Clumsy lovers -

Giant pandas are painfully bashful animals and clumsy lovers, with males often miscalculating when a female is in the mood for love and frequently baffled by the mechanics of mating, according to experts.

Story continues

In the event the cuddly creatures do feel a romantic spark, sex is frequently over too quickly to impregnate the female, who is only receptive to the proposition for two or three days a year between February and May.

Shin Shin's happy news was broadcast on national television and has already had an economic impact on local businesses, with one Chinese restaurant's shares soaring by 38 percent in response.

The Totenko chain, whose main outlet is near the zoo, already reported a jump last month on news of a possible pregnancy.

The birth could also potentially help thaw the often frosty diplomatic relations between Japan and China as Beijing caught the celebratory mood.

"Giant pandas are always messengers of friendship from China towards other countries," said foreign affairs ministry spokesman Lu Kang.

"We also hope giant pandas can play a greater role to promote the affection between Chinese and Japanese people."

Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike also expressed her delight, telling local media: "Romance is not just restricted to humans."

Meanwhile, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, the government's top spokesman, showed his softer side as he weighed in on the day's top feel-good story.

"It is news that will brighten the whole country," he told a daily news briefing. "I wonder why pandas are so popular. It's probably their cute faces and adorable gestures."
US Attorney General Jeff Sessions: AP

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions has requested that his testimony before Congress be open to the public because he believes it is important for the American people to hear the truth directly from him, the Justice Department has said.

Mr Sessions announced over the weekend that he planned on appearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee to respond to the testimony of former FBI Director James Comey.

Mr Comey, fired by Donald Trump in May, alleged last week that he had asked the attorney general to shield him from having to have private conversations with the President.

The day before he made this request to Mr Sessions, Mr Comey said he believed that Mr Trump had directed him to end an investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's alleged ties to Russia. According to the ex-FBI chief, Mr Sessions did not verbally respond when he implored Mr Sessions to prevent any future direct communication between him and Mr Trump, as the FBI is meant to be insulated from the political pressure of the White House.

Several members of Congress had urged the Senate Intelligence Committee to hold the Sessions testimony openly. That includes Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, who sent a letter to the chairman and vice chairman of the committee saying that the Senate owes the American public transparency because the matters being discussed are critically important for the US.

At the time of his dismissal, Mr Comey was also leading an investigation into whether Trump campaign advisers had colluded with the Russian government to influence the 2016 US election.

Mr Sessions had recused himself from that investigation in March following reports that he met twice with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the presidential campaign and did not disclose the encounters to Congress during his confirmation hearing in January.

Our judgment was that he was very close and inevitably going to recuse himself, Mr Comey said on Thursday. We were also aware of facts I cant discuss in an open setting that would make his continued involvement in a Russia investigation problematic, he added.

Story continues

Mr Comey also reportedly told senators behind closed doors that Mr Sessions may have met with Russias ambassador a third time.

The Justice Department on Thursday defended Mr Sessions, saying that shortly after being sworn in as attorney general, he began consulting with department officials to determine if he should recuse himself from any matters relate to the presidential campaigns.

Given Attorney General Sessions participation in President Trumps campaign, it was for that reason, and that reason alone, the Attorney General made the decision on March 2, 2017 to recuse himself from any existing or future investigations of any matters related in any way to the campaigns for President of the United States, a Justice Department spokesman said.

Mr Sessions' testimony has the potential to derail work again this week on the Republicans' legislative agenda, distracting Congress from big-ticket policy items such as healthcare and tax reform.

The attorney general had originally been scheduled on Tuesday to testify before the Senate and House Appropriations subcommittees about the Justice Department's budget. Now that he's appearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee tomorrow, Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein will testify before those panels instead.
On Last Week Tonight, John Oliver took his turn to talk Comey. James Comey, that is. And the lead-up to the firing of the FBI director was filled with weird. During the hearing, Comey expressed that he was nervous that President Trump might lie about the nature of their meetings. so thats why he took such meticulous notes about every encounter. Oliver joked that Comey basically described his meetings with the president like a person who thought he was about to be murdered.

Table for two?

But what was extra weird was how the president asked Comey out to dinner, and when Comey showed up, he was very surprised that it was just the two of them dining. Oliver pointed out, Yes, he was tricked into a one-on-one dinner with Donald Trump, which is definitely not the first time thats happened.

The Jeff Sessions closed session

What was very strange though was how Comey discussed the FBIs lack of surprise that attorney general Jeff Sessions was going to recuse himself from the Russia investigation because the agency basically knew he would. He wouldnt disclose details on that in an open session, which in Olivers opinion was like if someone is asked if that person ever had sex with a turtle and the response is: There are facts about that I cant discuss in an open setting  then the answer is definitely yes.

Tweet with confidence

But even though this whole investigation was shedding some pretty damning light on Trump, his tweets seemed to be saying otherwise. Trump tweeted, Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication. Oliver went on to say, At this point, hes basically a walking logical paradox. I wouldnt be surprised if he starts tweeting things like I just traveled back in time and killed myself. Very unfair!'

Last Week Tonight airs Sundays at 11 p.m. on HBO.

Check out John Oliver blast media for insulting coverage of London attacks:



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, Kylie Mar, on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
Gal Gadot in Wonder Woman (Photo: Warner Bros.)

Wonder Woman is proving to be an unstoppable juggernaut both here and abroad. The Patty Jenkins-helmed film has, in two weeks of release, grossed an astounding $205 million domestically, and $435 million globally. There are plenty of reasons for that titanic success, although a large part of the credit goes to Gal Gadot, the 31-year-old Israeli actress whose performance as the DC Comics heroine has earned universal raves from fans and critics alike. Its worth reminding new Wonder Woman fans that part of what makes Gadots turn even more remarkable is the fact that, for a segment of the production, she played the Amazonian warrior while pregnant.

Gadots daughter Maya  her second child with husband Yaron Varsano  was born in March, and Gadot, 32, was five-months pregnant with her when she had to return to London for reshoots on Wonder Woman in November of last year. That bombshell was first dropped by EW in April, during a conversation in which Gadot spoke about the difficulties of wielding a sword with a burgeoning baby bump, which was hidden in a clever way: A triangle was cut out of the front of her Wonder Woman costume and replaced with a green cloth, which was then digitally altered in post-production. On close-up I looked very much like Wonder Woman. On wide shots I looked very funny, like Wonder Woman pregnant with Kermit the Frog, Gadot told EW.

Jenkins, for one, was intensely impressed by Gadots commitment. Shes pregnant during part of the movie, in a suit out in a field in the freezing cold in others. There are so many things we asked her to do: Now do it on one foot. Now shout while youre doing it. Now its raining in the freezing cold and youve lost your voice, go. Everyday it was a hilarious gauntlet and she would do it.

As a recent Marie Claire feature notes, Gadot was also pregnant during production of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Yet on Zack Snyders tentpole, she hid it from everyone, even in the middle of nausea and migraines. I gutted it out, she remembered. I started to come to set with sunglasses. I had this jug of water with huge pieces of ginger. One of the producers kept on asking, Why are you drinking that potato water? They thought Id gone Hollywood.

Story continues

Gadot isnt the only comic-book icon to have been faced with such a production hurdle: Scarlett Johansson had to complete work as Black Widow on Avengers: Age of Ultron with the aid of stunt doubles and some clever CGI, after she learned she was pregnant with her daughter Rose Dorothy Dauriac. Which, in the end, confirms that the extraordinary feats pulled off by Hollywoods superheroines arent just movie magic; theyre the result of some tough leading ladies.

Watch our interview with Gal Gadot:

Read more from Yahoo Movies:
Thousands in Washington, D.C., and across the U.S. marched Sunday in the "Equality March for Unity and Pride" event planned by gay rights advocates. The march aimed to promote unity and highlight members of the LGBTQ community, while also calling for an end to discrimination and expansion of LGBTQ rights.

READ: Pride Month: Facebook Adds New LGBTQ Features To Site, Messenger To Help Users Celebrate June

The march occurs one day before the anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida. Forty-nine people were killed at the gay nightclub making it the largest mass killing in the U.S. since the Sept. 11 attacks.

The march was a cap to a Pride weekend in the nations capital, which featured the D.C. Capital Pride Parade on Saturday and other celebratory events.

Saturday's event was briefly interrupted by an organization called No Justice No Pride. The organization feels that the parade has become too corporate and has forgotten its roots.

Capital Pride has consistently demonstrated that it is more interested in accommodating the interests of Metropolitan police and of corporate sponsors than it is in supporting the very communities it supposedly represents, said the group in a statement.

Sundays march featured signs of encouragement and togetherness but also many harsh criticisms of President Donald Trump and his administration.

Im here because its a matter of celebrating and supporting LGBTQIA identity. Its not about politics or policy or a difference in political opinion. Its about an administration denying our identity. We will resist completely, Timothy Kaine a marcher told PBS.

Sarah Kate Ellis President and CEO of GLAAD, an LGBTQ acceptance non-profit, spoke to CNN about the new political atmosphere during the Trump administration

"Pride over the past few years has become more celebratory than ever," Ellis said. "But I think we're back to the times where it's important for us to be loud and resistant and fight for our rights and visibility. I want them to take the message that we're not going away, that we will not be erased and that we need to be acknowledged and brought into the conversations and into legislation."

Story continues

June was designated as LGBT Pride month by former President Barack Obama to coincide with the 1969 Stonewall Riots which started in June. The riots against the police were a watershed moment in the LGBTQ communitys fight for equality. To date, Trump has made no mention of Pride month, nor acknowledged it. Obama would typically make a proclamation at the beginning of June. Former President Bill Clinton was the first president to make a proclamation, but the tradition wasnt taken up by his successor George W. Bush.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson chose to recognize Pride, breaking from his boss.

READ: Gay Pride Month: Instagram Update Adds Stickers Designed By LGBTQ Artists, Rainbow Paint Brush

"In recognition of LGBTI Month, the Department of State affirms its solidarity with the human rights defenders and civil society organizations working around the world to uphold the fundamental freedoms of LGBTI persons to live with dignity and freedom," said Tillerson in a statement.

The president's daughter and adviser, Ivanka Trump, made a statement via Twitter: wishing everyone a joyful #Pride2017. This month we celebrate and honor the #LGBTQ community.

Related Articles
Attorney General Jeff Sessions testified in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee about Russian interference during President Trumps election campaign and the firing of FBI Director James Comey. Sessions, who refused to answer questions about his conversations with Trump, said any suggestion that he colluded with Moscow was a detestable lie. The attorney general also said he has never been briefed on the Russia investigation. Watch a recap of Sessions testimony above and catch up on the latest analysis from Yahoo News team of experts below.
A Missouri man spent nearly 17 years in jail after eyewitness testimony found him guilty of a crime he did not commit until police discovered his doppelganger.

Read: Man Who Spent 34 Years in Prison For Teen's Murder is Freed By DNA Evidence, Says He'll Eat Steak

Richard Anthony Jones, of Kansas City, was freed Thursday after a judge declared there was no longer enough evidence to support his conviction.

When I saw that picture, it made sense to me, Jones said in an interview with the Kansas City Star. "Either youre going to think theyre the same person or youre going to be like, Man these guys, they look so much alike.

It was during his time behind bars that he heard of a prisoner who looked exactly like him. Not only did they bear an uncanny resemblance, but they also share the same first name.

In a last ditch effort to appeal his conviction after many failed attempts, he brought up the information to his lawyers at the Missouri Innocence Project.

We were floored by how much they looked alike, Jones attorney Alice Craig said.

Jones was jailed after being found guilty of armed robbery in 1999.

Witnesses said they saw a man wrestle a woman to the ground outside a Walmart in Kansas City, Kansas in an attempt to steal her purse.

No DNA, fingerprint, or physical evidence identified Jones at the scene, but eyewitnesses positively identified Jones as the perpetrator after being shown photos out of a police database.

Witnesses were reportedly unable to get a good look at his face, but remembered he was either Hispanic or light skinned African American. On the photo line up, which his attorneys called highly suggestive, Jones was the only one who fit the description.

Jones attorneys later showed pictures of the two men to the victim, two witnesses and the prosecutor. They all agreed they could not tell the men apart.

Investigators later found his lookalike, known as Ricky, lived in Kansas City, Kansas, near the address where the robbery took place. Jones, however, lived on the other side of town in Kansas City, Missouri.

Story continues

Ricky testified at the hearing that he did not commit the robbery.

Read: Man Exonerated After 25 Years in Prison: 'I Told Y'all I Didn't Do This'

While stopping short of saying the other man committed the crime, the judge found a jury would not be able to reach a determination that this defendant was guilty in light of the new evidence, a GoFundMe page started by volunteers reported.

Jones, now a free man, said he is looking forward to spending more time with his children and readjusting to life outside of prison.

Its been a rough ride  for a while, they didnt understand, they just knew I wasnt there, he said. Everything else will just come together on its own when its meant to come together.

Watch: Innocent Man Freed 20 Years After Being Wrongfully Convicted of Attempted Murder

Related Articles:
In the latest edition of crazy expensive things that Melania Trump is wearing, the first lady moved into the White House on Sunday in one of her most enviable looks yet.

Melania Trump moving into the White House. (Photo: Getty Images)

Outfitted in a Dolce & Gabbana white shell top, Bally brown culottes, and Manolo Blahnik heels, she made her way into her new D.C. home with her parents, her husband President Donald Trump, and their son Barron by her side. However, the most head-turning addition to her outfit was the Birkin bag on her arm.

While the couples 11-year-old son walked around with a fidget spinner earlier in the day, the first lady held onto an Hermes Birkin bag, estimated at over $13,000. But what seems like an outrageous price is not even on the high-end for the iconic bag, which now ranges from $12,000 to $200,000 depending upon style. The camel leather tote is known to be a classic among Birkin bags; Birkins that are made of rare crocodile skin are top of the heap in terms of the worlds most expensive bags, most recently selling for $379,261 in Hong Kong.

So, what statement is FLOTUS trying to make carrying such a high-end bag?

Yahoo Style spoke to celebrity stylist Robert Verdi in order to understand the meaning behind Trumps Birkin, and to be honest, he said there might not be any.

I dont even think its calculated, I dont think she even thinks about it, Verdi says. I think its just what she thinks women of status carry.

Through the over three-decade history of the Hermes Birkin bag  beginning with actress Jane Birkin in 1984  the tote has become a symbol of wealth across the globe. However, with the limited access that people have to the bag, its become more of a collectors item than a functional. Because of this, Verdi says, Trump might be distancing herself from the masses by wearing it and actually using it.

Story continues

While the first lady is not known for communicating much with the people, the stylist explains that Trumps outfitting is sending messages for her.

With Melania, and any other person who steps in the public eye, if they dont use their voice, the thing we use as their voice is what they wear. And thats what weve done with her, Verdi says.

All over social media reactions to the Trump familys move-in attire are running rampant. And, as Verdi predicted, without a statement from the first lady people are parsing her outfit for any indication of how she feels. What theyve decided is that the expensive accessory communicates further issues within the first family.

Barron, Melania, and President Donald Trump make their way to the White House. (Photo: Getty Images)

Many are even speculating that the over-sized purse was a deflection tool so that she wouldnt have to hold hands with her husband.

Watch as Melania conveniently switches her bag to the other hand in order to avoid touching her husband #Melania #Trump #cnn #handsoff pic.twitter.com/CoOuwi6DCR  Gwen Urdang-Brown (@dragwenfly) June 12, 2017

One Twitter user wrote, Held hands for 15 seconds, then Melania switched purse to left hand to avoid further hand holding from donnie. True love, depicting the bag as a tool to deter the couples hand-holding.

Held hands for 15 seconds, then Melania switched purse to left hand to avoid further hand holding from donnie. True love  Tee (@ProducetheTapes) June 12, 2017

Another user even assumed that the bag was more important to Melania than her own son, writing, Melania and her Birkin will make many memories [at the White House]and Barron.

Melania and her Birkin will make many memories there. and Barron.  Jennifer W (@JenniferWayne) June 12, 2017

While people continue to attempt to uncover hidden meaning in the first ladys wardrobe, well continue to be amazed by the next exquisite piece she wears.

Melania can think outside the box because she has a love of fashion and she looks great in clothes, Verdi concludes. FLOTUS clearly also has a great eye.

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.




Melania Trump has moved into the White House with her son, Barron Trump, Sunday, five months after her husband President Donald Trump took office. While she has had to face heavy criticism for her lack of contribution as the first lady, experts predict the current move will be a positive thing for the White House, which is in disarray over the presidents falling approval ratings and controversies like the Russian hacking investigation.

Till now, Melania had made 11-year-old Barrons studies her main priority and hence had opted to stay back at Trump Tower in New York City, instead of joining her husband at the White House, a decision that only a few first ladies have preferred in the past.

Hence, during the first 100 days of her husbands term, Melania was rarely seen by his side, while he made vital policy decisions like repealing Obamacare and drawing up an immigration ban. Having failed to implement both and facing more criticism on his administrative capabilities than ever, POTUS is now lashing out at his own aides in frustration and using Twitter as a weapon to revolt, Politico reported.

Read: Melania Trump Moving Into White House: 5 Facts To Know About The First Lady Move To Washington, DC

At a sensitive time like this, Sam Nunberg, a former Trump campaign aide close to the first family, told Politico Wednesday that her presence will have a positive influence on the presidents mood and the general atmosphere of the White house.

"Im very happy shes moving here," said Nunberg. "Shes a strong influence and personality, and I think she comforts him."

Katherine Jellison, an Ohio University history professor who specializes in first lady studies, echoed Nunbergs views, adding that even though her presence might not have a lasting impression on the presidents decisions, the first couple living together in the White House could relay the message of strong familiar values to the American people.

Story continues

"Her presence is not going to stop any investigations, but at a time when this particular presidency needs an air of stability, it might lend that," Jellison told Politico.

Reports of marital troubles brewing between the president and his wife started doing the rounds after a couple of recent videos which insinuated the latter did not want to hold her husband's hand in public. While the first viral video showed Melania slapping her husbands hand away at the airport in Israel, another video showed her taking her hand away to tame her flying locks the moment that the president was reaching for it, after the first couple landed in Rome.

Nevertheless, Melania was given credit for keeping POTUS away from social media during the entire trip, Trump's first foreign tour after taking office, Newsweek reported. Hence, there is a good chance that her presence in the White House might lead to fewer controversial tweets from the president.

Read: Melania And Barron Trump To Move Into White House On Donald Trumps 71st Birthday: Report

Melania has also visited a number of childrens hospitals in New York and Washington, D.C., and also other countries like Belgium and Italy in the past months, as a result of which, she was more popular than her husband when it came to public polls, during the presidents first 100 days, the Telegraph reported.

Melania has already started embracing her role as first lady when she spent the last few weeks in the White House, preparing the East Wing staff for the familys big move. There is also an increase in the number of public events she will be attending in the near future. The first lady attended a fundraising gala for Fords Theatre with step-daughter Ivanka on June 5. She and the president also hosted a reception later that at the White House to honor Gold Star families.

"I do think once she's in D.C. there'll be more pressure for her to be working on something that's her own, that's helping some segment of the population because that's what first ladies are supposed to do," Jean Harris, professor of political science and women's studies at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania, said, according to the Telegraph report.

Related Articles
The Texas mom charged in the death of her young daughters allegedly told friends to ignore the cries coming from her car, saying the children would eventually tire themselves out, according to reports.

Amanda Hawkins, 19, is accused of leaving her children, ages 1 and 2, in her car for at least 15 hours as she spent time at a friends home Tuesday and into Wednesday, Kerr County Sheriff Rusty Hierholzer said.

The vehicles windows were rolled up as temperatures dipped into the 60s overnight. But by noon the next day, temperatures had climbed to about 85 degrees  the humidity made it feel like 105 degrees  and the girls were left without food, water or anywhere to use the bathroom, he said.

At one point Tuesday, someone inside the home allegedly heard the girls crying and asked Hawkins to bring them in.

She said: No, its fine. Theyll cry themselves to sleep, Hierholzer told The Washington Post.

A friend who had arrived at the home with Hawkins at one point reportedly went to sleep in the car with the children, but went back inside, once again leaving the girls alone.

Read: Mom Charged in Death of Daughters, 1 and 2, Who Were Left in Car for More Than 15 Hours: Cops

After finding the children unconscious, Hawkins bathed and redressed them, but did not immediately take them to the hospital, officials said.

Eventually the mother brought the children to a Kerrville hospital after a friend convinced her that the girls needed help, and on Thursday, both girls were taken off ventilators and passed away, Hierholzer said.

Brynn Hawkins was a year old and Addyson Overgard-Eddy was 2 years old.

Though Hawkins claimed the girls passed out after playing in flowers, investigators determined that was not the case.

This is by far the most horrific case of child endangerment that I have seen in the 37 years that I have been in law enforcement, Hierholzer said.

Months before allegedly leaving her children in her car, Hawkins was investigated by the states Child Protective Services, officials said.

Story continues

A spokeswoman for CPS confirmed to the Houston Chronicle that Hawkins, as well as her husband and Brynns father, Isaac Hawkins, had been investigated in September, but could not discuss details or the outcome of the investigation.

Hawkins and her husband have since become estranged, according to reports.

The investigation came about two months after Hawkins lashed out at potential detractors, taking to Facebook to address those who criticized her parenting abilities.

If you want my mom to check up and ask questions about if my daughters are taken care of that is messed up. You can ask me yourselves or leave us alone! We are great here, Hawkins wrote on July 7, 2016. Focus on something else. My daughters have everything they want, and need, plus so much more  How dare someone question if I take care of my kids.

Read: 2 Toddlers Die After Becoming Trapped In Hot Car

In December, Hawkins created a GoFundMe page asking for money to buy a home.

We are living with my grandparents, she said of herself, her husband and children. We are both working but its still hard."

In the five months since the creation of the campaign, Hawkins had not raised any money to meet her $1,500 goal, but the page had become a sounding board for those outraged at the mothers alleged role in her childrens deaths.

Obviously you didnt want your precious babies anymore and were too overwhelmed," one person wrote. "Should have given custody to a family member."

You deserve to rot in prison for murder, another poster commented.

Hawkins was arrested on Thursday and charged with two counts of endangering a child. She is being held on $70,000 bond  $35,000 for each charge, authorities said.

A grand jury could decide to upgrade the charges since the girls have died, officials said.

If she is found guilty of the charges she presently faces, she could face up to two years in prison.

Watch: 70-Year-Old Woman Trapped In Car for 5 Days: 'I would Scream Help'

Related Articles:
Christopher Leinonen, one of the victims of the shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando on June 12, 2016. (thedruproject via Instagram)

One year after losing her son, Christopher Andrew Leinonen, in the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Christine Leinonen is not grieving, but instead working to ensure that such attacks never happen again. In addition to founding an educational nonprofit in her sons memory, Leinonen is fighting against social media companies that she believes could do more to prevent such atrocities.

Ive already seen some of these social media groups voluntarily changing some of the ways that they police their content because they are complicit in some of these terror acts that are happening throughout the world, Leinonen told Yahoo Global News Anchor Katie Couric on Monday, when asked what companies like Facebook and Twitter could do to stop their platforms from being used by terrorists.

And they could stop that, she added. They have the ability. We dont.

Leinonen acknowledged concerns about online privacy, but insisted she knows that more could be done to monitor radical groups without violating the Fourth Amendment.

We know that because it has been policed better when it comes to child pornography or sex rings, Leinonen said. They do a good job policing those activities, so the technology is in place so they could recognize certain numbers or sequences of numbers knowing that these groups want to wreak havoc on our populations all over the world.

The virtual world is not being policed like our real world, Leinonen said. We cant have hate groups [in the real world]. They are located and they are destroyed. Thats what we do in the real world. But in the virtual world, what makes us think that we then cannot also try to locate radical groups?

In December, Leinonen joined a lawsuit against Facebook and Twitter filed by the families of other victims slain in the Pulse massacre: Tevin Crosby, Javier Jorge-Reyes and Juan Ramon Guerrero. The lawsuit alleged that the social media companies provided the Islamic State group a platform to recruit new members and pocketed advertising revenue from the posts. The Pulse gunman, Omar Mateen, pledged loyalty to ISIS during his attack, which killed 49 people in the gay nightclub before he was fatally shot by police.

Story continues

Neither Facebook nor Twitter responded to requests for comment from Yahoo News on Monday, but they have rejected such lawsuits in the past. There is no place on Facebook for groups that engage in terrorist activity or for content that expresses support for such activity, and we take swift action to remove this content when its reported to us, Facebook has said. We sympathize with the victims and their families.

During her interview, Leinonen went on to describe how hate groups and terrorist organizations seduce vulnerable individuals online and persuade them to commit atrocities. She believes that increased monitoring of social media would make such attacks less common.

[Hate groups] try to wreak havoc on the population that has figured out how to have successful and wonderful and lovely lives, Leinonen said.

She said her sons life was full of fun and full of energy. Christopher went to the nightclub to dance with his boyfriend, Juan Ramon Guerrero, who was also killed.

I call them Romeo and Romeo because they were killed not because the two families, like in Romeo and Juliet, were not in favor of their young love, but because our society and part of this shooting was homophobic-based.

Read more from Yahoo News:
Jerusalem (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Sunday for the United Nations to shut down its Palestinian refugee aid agency, saying it was responsible for incitement against the Jewish state.

Netanyahu said he raised the issue during the visit in recent days of Washington's UN envoy Nicky Haley, who has accused the United Nations of bias against Israel.

"I told her that the time had come for the United Nations to reconsider the continued existence of UNRWA," his office quoted him as saying, referring to the UN Relief and Welfare Agency.

He said that while millions of other refugees around the world were cared for by the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), only the Palestinians have their own body.

"In UNRWA's institutions, there is a great deal of incitement against Israel," Netanyahu said during the weekly cabinet meeting.

He also said the agency's very existence "perpetuates and does not solve the Palestinian refugee problem".

"Therefore it is time to dismantle UNRWA and merge its parts into the UNHCR," he added.

UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness said the agency's future could not be decided unilaterally.

"UNRWA receives its mandate from the UN General Assembly and only the UN General Assembly, by a majority vote, can change our mandate," he told AFP, adding that in December the assembly extended the mandate for a further three years.

UNRWA runs hundreds of schools for Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank, Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.

It also distributes aid and provides teacher training centres, health clinics and social services.

Israel views the agency as biased against it and its Palestinian staff as frequently hostile.

In February, the Jewish state complained the head of the UNRWA staff union in Gaza was politically active in the militant Islamist group Hamas, which rules the coastal strip.

Story continues

On June 1, UNRWA discovered a section of a Hamas tunnel running under two of its schools in the strip's Maghazi refugee camp, the agency has said.

Hamas has denied building the Maghazi tunnel, whose discovery drew condemnation from both UNRWA and Israel.

On Friday, Israel sent a letter of protest to the UN Security Council over the matter.

Over the years, Hamas has built a labyrinth of tunnels, some passing under the border into Israel in order to launch attacks.
WASHINGTON  A federal court cited President Trumps recent tweet on his travel ban in its opinion blocking the executive order from going into effect Monday. The court further pointed to press secretary Sean Spicers admission that tweets are official presidential statements.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower courts decision that Trump overstepped his authority in temporarily banning nationals of six countries  Iran, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen  and all refugees from entering the United States in his March executive order.

(Yahoo News photo Illustration; photos: AP, Twitter)

The judges argued that Trump did not adequately make the case that the United States would be harmed if his travel ban were not in place  a legal requirement for his executive order. They also decided that the presidents executive order violated a 1965 immigration law preventing the government from excluding immigrants based solely on their nationality.

The judges indicated that Trumps executive order would bar someone who left Syria as a child decades ago from traveling to the United States, but not someone who was born elsewhere but immigrated to Syria at the start of its civil war. They said this was evidence that nationality is not an effective screen for national security concerns. The judges said Trump did not provide a link between nationals of the six countries and terrorism or conflict.

Indeed, the President recently confirmed his assessment that it is the countries that are inherently dangerous, rather than the 180 million individual nationals of those countries who are barred from entry under the Presidents travel ban, the judges wrote in a footnote. See Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)

The court then embedded a link to Trumps tweet.

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 judges also pointed out a CNN article quoting Spicer saying Trumps tweets are official statements.

Story continues

The law requires that the President exercise his authority only after meeting the precondition of finding that entry of an alien or class of aliens would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, the justices write. Here, the President has not done so.

Some court watchers have suspected that Trumps recent barrage of tweets calling his executive order a travel ban and bemoaning that he had to sign a watered down version of his original January executive order could come back to haunt him as the case makes its way to the Supreme Court. (The Supreme Court will decide as soon as Tuesday whether to uphold or strike down two federal court injunctions on the travel ban. They will also decide whether or not to hear the case as a whole  with arguments in that case likely not happening until October.)

Trumps own administration had long argued that the order was not a travel ban. The president casually dismissed that position.

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

But Margo Schlanger, a law professor at the University of Michigan and a former civil rights official at the Department of Homeland Security during the Obama administration, noted to Yahoo News that the single tweet the Ninth Circuit quoted in its decision is a fairly mundane description of the policy implications of his executive order.

Its really focused on an uncontroversial piece of it, Schlanger said. I dont think this is an example of the president in the early hours of the morning doing damage to this case.  I dont really think this one was a screwup.

The Ninth Circuit decided its case on statutory grounds instead of constitutional grounds  meaning they concluded that the government was overstepping portions of Congress-passed immigration laws instead of violating constitutional rights like the Establishment Clause. Courts that have made constitutional arguments against the executive order have focused on whether the policy was driven by religious animus against Muslims, citing statements from Trump and his associates calling for a Muslim ban as evidence.

If the Supreme Court takes the case and decides it on constitutional grounds, Trumps tweets would likely make their way into footnotes in dissents, opinions and friend-of-the-court briefs for months to come.

Read more from Yahoo News:
Donald Trump famously boasted that I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldnt lose any voters. I wonder if that offer is good for a North Korean long-range missile hitting the same spot?

I ask, because North Koreas state media is now hinting that it will test a long-range missile capable of hitting New York  and trolling Donald Trump in the process.

You may recall that back in January, some media outlets got the idea that North Korea might test an intercontinental-range ballistic missile (ICBM), prompting Trump to unleash a two-part Twitter tirade:

North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S. It won't happen!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2017

China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the U.S. in totally one-sided trade, but won't help with North Korea. Nice!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2017

North Koreas reaction to the tweets was fairly muted at the time, though state media eventually released a statement suggesting it would test its missiles when Kim Jong Un pleased. A period of silence followed. In hindsight, its clear North Korea wasnt backing down. North Korea just had a busy missile test plan for the 2017, and it wasnt about to alter it just because some buffoon was hate-tapping ill-tempered tweets.

Over the course of 2017, North Korea has been working its way through flight tests for all the new missiles shown off in the April 15 military parade to commemorate Kim Il Sungs birthday. So far, North Korea has tested a new land-based variant of its solid-fueled medium-range ballistic missile, a new intermediate-range ballistic missile, a short-range Scud modified for greatly improved accuracy, and most recently an anti-ship cruise missile. According to the database of tests compiled by my colleagues, North Korea has been popping off a missile launch about once a week.

Story continues

At this brisk pace, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea has checked off all the new missiles displayed in the parade except for two: the apparent ICBMs displayed at the end.

As if on cue, North Korea has now turned back to Donald Trumps tweet. Last week, North Koreas Rodong Sinmun newspaper carried an article that noted:

Trump blustered early this year that the DPRKs final access to a nuclear weapon that can reach the U.S. mainland will never happen.

But the strategic weapons tests conducted by the DPRK clearly proved that the time of its ICBM test is not a long way off at all.

And, in case that wasnt perfectly clear, the article also stated: The DPRK is about 10,400 km far away from New York. But this is just not a long distance for its strike today.

North Korea wasnt ready in January to test an ICBM. That now seems to have changed.

What sort of ICBM is North Korea likely to launch? As I have noted elsewhere, most attention has focused on the missile that North Korea has been showing off since 2012, which the United States calls the KN-08. North Korea conducted a test of the KN-08s engine last year. If the missile works  a fairly big if, to be honest  it would have the range to reach New York.

But there is also the possibility of a surprise. North Korea showed off two different heavy vehicles carrying canisters large enough for an ICBM, sending the clear message that there are multiple ICBMs under development. Other options include an ICBM based on the new engine that powered the Hwasong-12 or a larger solid-fueled ballistic missile. Each of these would be a surprise, in the sense that it represents a capability North Korea has yet to demonstrate. But then again, there is a first time for everything.

North Korea has said that the missile will soar into the sky with dynamism  although a first ICBM test is, more likely than not, likely to fail spectacularly. Rocket science is, after all, hard. But that first test will be a warning, a wake-up call that Americas long-running policy of attempting to scold the North Koreans into disarmament is at an end.

The Rodong Sinmun commentary argued that Washingtons hostile policy will end  when the DPRK conducts the test-fire of ICBM capable of precisely striking any place of the U.S. mainland. While I dont expect Trumps level of hostility will decline, the phrase hostile policy is a North Korean term of art. And the Rodong Sinmun commentary is correct in a specific sense: North Koreas test of an ICBM will complete the development of a nuclear arsenal with a defined strategic role. It is the final step in building an arsenal that can deter and, to use another term of art, repel an American invasion. If deterrence were to fail, and an invasion were underway, North Korea already plans the widespread use of nuclear weapons against U.S. forces in South Korea and Japan. U.S. officials have repeatedly said that such a threat is not credible: Perhaps hes got an enhanced capacity to conduct a nuclear attack one U.S. official noted, and then immediately die. Or, as Trump told Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, We have a lot of firepower, more than [Kim] has, times 20  but we dont want to use it.

Tough talk like that is easy from behind the safety of a smartphone and an ocean. And that is why Kim wants an ICBM  to reach beyond the ocean and hit the hand tweeting out blustery threats. Surely Trump will continue to bloviate, but his threats will ring hollow once North Korea can threaten New York. With apologies to Gen. De Gaulle, would Donald Trump trade Trump Tower for Seoul or Tokyo? Maybe Trump is right that he can shoot a random somebody on Fifth Avenue and not lose any votes, but what about tens of thousands of somebodies? What if those somebodies are Melania and little Barron, back from Washington in their Trump Tower penthouse?

Photo credit: JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images
Illustration: Yahoo News; Photos: Newseum.org

I just wish June 12 never happened, reads a quote on the Orlando Sentinels front page today, just above a collection of colorful candles. On the bottom, theres a list of 49 names.

The names are those of the victims of the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando last year, the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. On Monday, Florida newspapers including the Sentinel published emotional tributes to the victims. Love Prevails, the Tampa Bay Times proclaimed. A legacy of healing Florida Today said.

In addition to the 49 victims, more than 50 people were injured at the LGBTQ nightclub. Police eventually exchanged fire with the lone gunman, Omar Mateen, and killed him.

Front page of today's Orlando Sentinel #Pulse pic.twitter.com/nkUM5ffgUw  Michael Del Moro (@MikeDelMoro) June 12, 2017

Since the attack, the local Orlando and worldwide LGBTQ communities have memorialized and honored the victims and survivors of the shooting through vigils, stories and art.

In a tribute titled Dear Orlando, project creator Robert X. Fogarty documented those who lived through the attack  survivors, victims relatives and first responders. In his powerful photo series, Fogarty allows the individuals who are still coping with the memory of the attack to share their stories in their own words.

I wish they could have answered their phones, a first responder wrote.

I went to the bedroom, and he wasnt there, a mother of one of the victims said.

On June 12, on the recently declared Orlando United Day  A Day of Love and Kindness, Orlando will honor the victims and their legacies at various ceremonies throughout the day. Earlier on Monday, hundreds gathered in a private service for friends and families of the victims. At noon, several local churches will ring their bells 49 times, once for each of the victims.

Story continues

The site of the Pulse remains a public memorial, draped in flowers, tributes to victims and scrawled messages of love and hope.

Read more from Yahoo News:
Its a mass murder story largely forgotten in American history and one that took place less than 100 years ago. In his latest nonfiction book, Killers of the Flower Moon, New Yorker writer and bestselling author David Grann investigates the mysterious murders of members of the Osage Indian tribe of Oklahoma in the 1920s. Grann sat down with Yahoo Global News Anchor Katie Couric to talk about his new book, the mystery behind the murders and the A-listers rumored to be attached to the movie adaptation.
For middle schoolers, obesity can lead to unreciprocated friendships and even cause peers to actively dislike a child, new research finds.

The study, published today (June 7) in the journal PLOS ONE, adds to a body of research detailing how being overweight as a child can lead to social and psychological struggles. Previous work has suggested that overweight schoolchildren have fewer friends and are often pushed to the periphery of social groups, and the new research finds that overweight children may be actively ostracized by their peers.

The negative relationships, said the authors, can carry serious mental and physical health implications for overweight kids, who have become a significant part of the U.S. population. Obesity affects one out of five school-age children in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Overweight kids are being rejected by their peers," said Kayla de la Haye, lead author of the new study and an assistant preventive medicine professor at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine. "It's not just exclusion, but there's also an overt rejection and dislike for these kids and that is a serious risk factor for them [not] having healthy social development." [10 Ways to Promote Kids Healthy Eating Habits]

Middle school friendships

In the new study, researchers surveyed 504 preteens in the Netherlands, who came from 28 middle school classrooms. The researchers asked the children to name an unlimited number of other kids whom they considered among their "best friends," as well as an unlimited number of classmates whom they "disliked." Researchers also individually measured each child's height and weight to assess body mass index.

The results showed that overweight children were less likely to be named as friends than their slimmer classmates in 70 percent of the classrooms.

Overweight children listed as many people in the friend category as children with healthy weights, on average. However, the overweight kids were 1.7 times more likely to be disliked by others than children who were not overweight. The overweight kids were also 1.2 times more likely to dislike their peers.

Story continues

The survey also found that overweight children were more likely to include, in their lists of friends, classmates who did not list the overweight children as friends.

Lynn McAfee, who works as an advocate with the Council on Size and Weight Discrimination, said she remembers middle school as a particularly tough time, when she felt "second rate" as an overweight child.

"I had a terrible time," McAfee told Live Science. "What I learned as a fat child is that I had to be charming. I had to be friends with people who, maybe, I didn't have much in common with, but they were willing to be friends with me." [5 Ways to Foster Self-Compassion in Your Child]

De la Haye told Live Science that the findings point to the urgent need to address the widespread stigma associated with being overweight.

"There's no evidence that stigmatizing obesity motivates people to lose weight," she said. "In fact, there is more evidence showing it's counterproductive. It leads to social and mental health risk factors. We also know that kids who are ostracized are more like to eat [high-calorie] foods and are less likely to be active. And they end up in peer groups that tend to be less active."

Reducing stigma

The stigmatization of overweight children has been documented for decades. A 1961 experiment showed that when children were asked to rank images of potential friends, including children with disfigurements and disabilities, obese children were consistently ranked last. A follow-up study in 2007 replicated the 1961 study and found that children at that time ranked the images of obese children even lower than children had 40 years previously. More children ranked obese children last in their list of potential friend choices in the later study.

That research suggests that as obesity rates have increased, so has the social stigma associated with being overweight. The percentage of children with obesity in the United States has more than tripled since the 1970s, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

De la Haye argued that it's important to reframe the discussion about obesity to minimize the stigma associated with it.

"The problem is we have looked at obesity as a moral problem of an individual, a result of their laziness or lack of willpower," she said. "Now, we know that that is not the cause of this large-scale rise in obesity rates. It's really because we've created these food systems and environments that make it really easy to consume a lot of calories and be sedentary."

Originally published on Live Science.

Editor's Recommendations
SheKnows

The great news about Denise Richards joining OnlyFans is that shes been cranking out the content to keep her subscribers happy. Shes been teasing some of the super sexy photos on her Instagram account to perhaps entice more of her followers to join her on the other platform. This time around she shows off stunning []
On June 11, Puerto Ricans will have an opportunity to vote in a nonbinding plebiscite to determine Puerto Ricos political status.

Local voters will choose among three options: statehood, independence or territorial autonomy  or keeping the status quo.

There are two main parties opposing statehood: the Popular Democratic Party, the main political party advocating for territorial autonomy or the commonwealth status; and the Puerto Rican Independence Party.

Both political parties are actively boycotting the plebiscite and campaigning against the pro-statehood New Progressive Party, which controls the executive and legislative branches of government. Because these parties are not planning to participate in Sundays plebiscite, it is likely that the pro-statehood party will receive a majority of the votes in the plebiscite.

Advocates of statehood say it would resolve the islands fiscal crisis. Statehood would grant Puerto Rico access to parity in federal funds for social programs like Medicaid and public housing subsidies, important programs for a place where about 45 percent of its people are living in poverty.

But, are Americans ready to add a 51st star to their flag?

Puerto Ricos territorial status

The United States annexed Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War of 1898. Soon after, U.S. law and policymakers invented a new territorial status to govern Puerto Rico and the other annexed Spanish territories. Also known as an unincorporated territory, the new territorial status enabled the U.S. government to selectively govern Puerto Rico as a foreign possession in a domestic or constitutional manner. In other words, depending on the issue, the U.S. government could selectively treat Puerto Rico as a state of the United States, as an autonomous territory or as a foreign country.

Since then, the U.S. and Puerto Rico have struggled to see eye to eye on the territorys status.

As my research demonstrates, Congress has debated as many as 132 political status and plebiscite bills for Puerto Rico since 1898. Between 1898 and 1952, Congress has progressively enacted laws granting Puerto Ricans more administrative control over local affairs. However, Congress has never gone so far as to change Puerto Ricos unincorporated territorial status. More importantly, for more than a century, the Supreme Court has consistently ruled that unincorporated territories are not meant to become states of the Union. The court has also affirmed the principle that Congress has the power to enact legislation for Puerto Rico that treats the island as a separate and unequal territorial possession.

Story continues

For example, in Harris v. Santiago Rosario (1980), the Supreme Court found that because Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory, Congress can grant less federal assistance to U.S. citizens living there. In 2016, Congress also created a Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico comprising seven unelected officials with the power to manage the islands economic affairs and the debt crisis. The boards powers are so wide-ranging that it can essentially veto any law related to the budget enacted by the local legislature.

Plebiscites past

In Puerto Rico, the local legislature has conducted four nonbinding status plebiscites. In 1967, Puerto Ricans, who were already U.S. citizens, voted to keep their territorial autonomy (60 percent), rejecting the statehood (39 percent) and independence (less than 1 percent) options.

In a second plebiscite held in 1993, Puerto Ricans again affirmed the status quo (49 percent) over statehood (46 percent) and independence (4 percent).

In a third plebiscite held in 1998, the Popular Democratic Party organized a boycott of the plebiscite. With the support of the Puerto Rican Supreme Court, the commonwealth party was able to amend the ballot to add a none of the above option. As a result, 50 percent of voters chose none of the above in protest. Only 47 percent of Puerto Ricans voted for statehood and 2.5 percent for independence.

In 2012, the Puerto Rican legislature conducted a fourth plebiscite. It was divided into two questions, which some people argue intentionally diluted support for territorial autonomy.

The first question asked whether Puerto Rico should maintain its commonwealth or territorial status. A majority of Puerto Ricans (54 percent) voted no.

The second question gave Puerto Ricans a choice among several status options, including statehood, a sovereign free associated republic and independence, but excluded the status quo. This exclusion prompted upwards of 500,000 voters to simply skip this question on the ballot as a form of protest. The majority (61 percent) of Puerto Ricans who voted on the second question picked statehood. However, if you include the voters who skipped the question, the percentage of those who chose this option drops to only 45 percent.

This time around

This years initial ballot excluded the option to vote for the status quo. However, in April 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to the governor of Puerto Rico demanding that the plebiscite include this option. The Puerto Rican government has since incorporated it into the ballot. The modification and language of the new ballot, in turn, prompted the two main anti-statehood parties to call for a boycott of the vote.

Given the lack of support from these political parties, most analysts expect that the statehood option will receive a majority of the votes.

If their predictions prove correct, then what?

Putting aside the constitutional debates, the likely answer is not much.

Like any state, Puerto Rico would be entitled to two senators. Based on the 2010 census count, Puerto Rico, which has a similar population size as Connecticut, would be reapportioned five representatives. In order to comply with the current apportionment rules of the House, Texas, California, Florida, Washington and Minnesota, states with larger populations, would likely each have to give a seat to Puerto Rico. More importantly, data show most Puerto Ricans vote Democratic. It does not take a political scientist to know that the Republican-controlled Congress would not be inclined to give the Democrats seven seats.

Finally, available national surveys demonstrate that most Americans do not know much about the political status of Puerto Ricans, and only 40 percent would support statehood for the island. Until Americans are willing to reimagine and redraw the nations boundaries, Puerto Rico will remain a disembodied member in the shade of the U.S. empire.

Charles R. Venator-Santiago, Associate Professor of Political Science and El Instituto, University of Connecticut

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

conversation logo

Photo: The Conversation

The Conversation

Related Articles
Fifth such vote in 50 years comes after election of governor Ricardo Rossello, with all main opposition parties boycotting event

A man reads campaign posters in San Juan before the vote on Puerto Rican statehood. Photograph: Ricardo Arduengo/AFP/Getty Images

Puerto Ricans are heading for polling stations as the islands fifth plebiscite in 50 years on whether to become the 51st state of the United States gets under way.

The referendum is the brainchild of the ruling Partido Nuevo Progresista (PNP) and its governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rossello. He won election last November at the tender age of 37 largely on the promise of making a new push for statehood.

But the credibility of the vote has been dented by a boycott staged by all the main opposition parties, including those who want to uphold the status quo and those who want to make a break for full independence. Just how impactful the plebiscite will be depends on how many of the 2.3 million Puerto Ricans who are registered to vote can be persuaded to turn out, and within that figure, what percentage opts for US statehood.

For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available on iOS and Android.

Puerto Rico has been under the tutelage of the US since 1898, when it was handed over as war booty at the end of the Spanish-American war. The islanders were granted US citizenship in 1917, but they have continued to exist in a colonial limbo in which much of the economy is tethered to the US mainland without them being able to vote for representatives in Congress or the White House.

Ultimate power within this colonial relationship rests with Congress, and as such, the success of todays vote depends overwhelmingly on how Washington responds. The indications so far are not good for supporters of statehood. Luis Gutierrez, a Democratic US congressman from Chicago of Puerto Rican descent, who favours full independence, dismissed the vote as a charade given the lack of interest in it among his colleagues on Capitol Hill.

The statehood-ers are putting on a rather silly show, as though this was Tennessee becoming a state 200 years ago. The result will come in, they will say We demand statehood! and somehow they will expect that this will embarrass the US Congress into doing something. The only problem is, I dont think Congress will respond in any way at all, regardless of the outcome.

Story continues

Gutierrez added that Donald Trump made the likelihood of real change even smaller. I dont see Trumps base saying: Yes, lets make Spanish-speaking Puerto Ricans the 51st state.

But in an interview with the Guardian, Rossello said he was confident that Washington could be made to listen given a resounding result in Sundays poll. Change is in the air. The US is the third largest Spanish-speaking nation in the world. Its time to argue this out.

Once polls close at 3pm eastern time, all eyes are likely to be focused on turnout, as an indication of how fired up Puerto Ricans are about the idea of becoming a formal part of the US. In previous polls, the population has tended to be equally divided between statehood and the status quo, with a small but potent element favouring independence.

Rossello said the turnout should not be the overwhelming factor in measuring success, as with no general election to peg the referendum to it was likely to be lower than usual. The narrative shouldnt be the turnout  it should be who wins the vote and by what margin, he said.
Production has been shut down on Bachelor in Paradise. (Photo: ABC)

On Sunday night, news broke that filming of the reality television show Bachelor in Paradise was suspended after only one week of shooting, due to allegations of misconduct. Early reports revealed very little outside of the fact that a producer on the show, a spin-off of the popular rose-loving franchise that includes The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, had filed a third-party complaint against the production.

Over the past 24 hours, more details have begun to emerge about what led to the show halting production and possibly even cancelling the fourth season altogether. A statement made by Warner Bros. and released on Sunday read: We have become aware of allegations of misconduct on the set of Bachelor in Paradise in Mexico. We have suspended production and we are conducting a thorough investigation of these allegations. Once the investigation is complete, we will take appropriate responsive action.

Details are still emerging about what exactly that misconduct is, but early reports say that it allegedly involves two cast members  Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson.

According to reporting done by Amy Kaufman, a writer at the Los Angeles Times who is currently writing a book on The Bachelor, on the first day of filming  June 4  Olympios and Jackson got extremely drunk. Kaufman tweeted all the tips she received from a source  tips that detail what seems tantamount to sexual assault.

On the first day of production, Sunday, DeMario and Corinne got extremely drunk, per my source.  Amy Kaufman (@AmyKinLA) June 11, 2017

From this point forward, things turned into "soft core porn." They did not have sex. But it was very raunchy.  Amy Kaufman (@AmyKinLA) June 11, 2017

According to my source, this producer went on to sue the production for misconduct over what she witnessed between DeMario and Corinne.  Amy Kaufman (@AmyKinLA) June 11, 2017

I will report more as I have it.  Amy Kaufman (@AmyKinLA) June 11, 2017

My source was told a producer filed a "third party complaint," to clarify my above comment.  Amy Kaufman (@AmyKinLA) June 11, 2017

TMZ reports that the producer in question claims that Olympios was too drunk to consent to the sexual acts in which she engaged with Jackson, which allegedly involved manual penetration and oral sex. The celebrity news tabloid also reports that several other cast members felt Olympios had been drinking too much and allegedly approached producers regarding their concern for Olympios and her level of intoxication, though several producers told TMZ that this did not occur. Olympios herself is also now saying that she had blacked out and did not consent to sexual activity with Jackson.

Story continues

TMZ also reports that Jackson says it was Olympios who instigated the events and that he was not able to consummate things with Olympios sexually because of how drunk he was. Jackson also tells TMZ that he and Olympios were fine the day after the alleged event until they were called in by an executive producer and told that a producer on the show had seen the footage of them in the pool and was made uncomfortable by it. Of course, it must be noted that Warner Bros. has not confirmed that this unfolding story is the misconduct they are looking into.

As for the aforementioned third-party complaint, supposedly it came from the producer who was uncomfortable. To understand a little better whats going on, Yahoo Beauty spoke via email to Maya Raghu, director of Workplace Equality at the National Womens Law Center (NWLC), in general terms  as the exact details of the Bachelor in Paradise situation remain unclear  to understand what a third-party complaint is. Raghu explained that an employee need not be the specific target of sexual harassment in order to be affected by sexual harassment. And thus a third-party complaint may be filed.

Raghu notes that witnessing a sexual assault in the workplace context could potentially contribute to a hostile work environment and constitute sexual harassment, depending on the circumstances. Here, the witness/bystander is the third party, and can sue the employer for sexual harassment. Whether the employer is liable depends on the facts of the case.

The other type of third-party complaint in cases of sexual assault, though, Raghu says, is when a victim of sexual assault brings a civil lawsuit against the perpetrator, as well as a third party (like the employer, or someone who had some responsibility or authority over the perpetrator, or was the owner of the location where the assault occurred).

On Twitter, many Bachelor fans are speculating as to what the nature of the third-party complaint might entail  and mean for the series. Of course, Reality Steve has weighed in as well.

For the record, one thing I can report to be 100% true: This season of Bachelor in Paradise isn't happening. It's been cancelled.  RealitySteve (@RealitySteve) June 12, 2017

As Bachelor in Paradise films in Mexico, there are also questions regarding under whose jurisdiction potential legal recourse may fall.

Raghu tells Yahoo Beauty, My understanding is that generally, if a company is a U.S. company (created and operating under U.S. law), it must comply with both U.S. law and the law of the foreign country in which it is conducting business. U.S. citizens working for a U.S. employers outside the U.S. are protected by particular American antidiscrimination laws, including those governing sexual harassment.

There is still a lot to unearth here, but more information is coming in by the minute.

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyle and @YahooBeauty.

Read more on Yahoo Style + Beauty:




Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer responding to reporters at Capitol Hill, May 16, 2017. (Photo: Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters)

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., mocked President Trump Monday after the White House posted video of a Cabinet meeting at which each official was called on to offer praise to the leader of the free world.

A video Schumer posted on Twitter captioned, GREAT meeting today with the best staff in the history of the world!!! shows him sitting at a table flanked by staff members prompting them to compliment him.

GREAT meeting today with the best staff in the history of the world!!! pic.twitter.com/ocE1xhEAac  Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) June 12, 2017

Lucy, howd we do on the Sunday show yesterday? Schumer asks.

Your tone was perfect, you were right on message, the staffer replies.

Michelle, howd my hair look coming out of the gym this morning?

You have great hair, nobody has better hair than you, the second staffer responds.

Earlier Monday, a White House Cabinet meeting turned into a compliment competition when, one by one, officials lavished praise on the commander in chief.

One of the more effusive remarks came courtesy of White House chief of staff Reince Priebus.

On behalf of the entire senior staff around you, Mr. President, we thank you for the opportunity and the blessing that youve given us to serve your agenda and the American people, Priebus said. Were continuing to work very hard every day to accomplish those goals.

That flattery was directly mimicked in Schumers parody of the meeting. A staffer touches the minority leaders arm and says, You know, before we go any further, I just want to say thank you for the opportunity and blessing to serve your agenda.

The video ends with laughter.
Congressmen urge White House to release alleged recordings, as pressure grows for Jeff Sessions to appear publicly for Senate intelligence committee hearing

James Comey testified to Congress that he leaked memo in order to get a special counsel appointed to the investigation into Russian interference in the US election. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP

Days after James Comeys blockbuster testimony, Republicans and Democrats on Sunday called for the White House to release any tapes that may exist of a private conversation between the former FBI director and the president.

Republican senator Susan Collins said she would support a subpoena to the White House to release any alleged tapes as Donald Trump launched new attacks on the fired FBI boss, saying he believed he was behind further leaks to the media.



There were also growing calls for the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, to appear in public when he goes in front of the Senate intelligence committee Tuesday, as it investigates Russian meddling in the presidential election. It is not yet clear if the hearing will be closed or open.

Speaking about suggestions that there may be tapes of Trump and Comeys disputed conversations relating to Russia, Collins said on CNNs State of the Union: I would be fine with issuing a subpoena. But that most likely would come from the special counsels office.

She said she hoped the president would release the tapes voluntarily.

Trump and his aides have dodged questions about whether conversations relevant to the Russia investigation have been recorded. Pressed on the issue Friday, Trump said: Ill tell you about that maybe sometime in the very near future.

Democrat and Senate judiciary committee ranking member Dianne Feinstein also pressed for release of tapes, as did Democratic senator Chuck Schumer, who told CBSs Face the Nation: If there are tapes  [Trump] alluded to the fact there are tapes maybe as a threat or taunting Comey  he should make that public right away.

James Lankford, a Republican senator, also a member of that committee, agreed that the panel needed to hear any tapes that exist. Weve obviously pressed the White House, he said.

Story continues

Lankford said Sessions testimony Tuesday will help flesh out the truth of Comeys allegations, including Sessions presence at the White House in February when Trump asked to speak to Comey alone. Comey alleges that Trump then privately asked him to drop an inquiry into former national security adviser Michael Flynns contacts with Russia.

Schumer called for Sessions to appear in public. He said: There is very little that is classified. Anything that is classified, they can do in a separate classified briefing.

There are some questions about Sessions that have to be asked. First, did he interfere with the Russian investigation before he recused himself? Second, what safeguards are there now so that he doesnt interfere? Third, it says he was involved in the firing of Comey, and the president said Comey was fired because of Russia. How does that fit into with recusal?

Meanwhile on Sunday, Republican senator Lindsey Graham, a frequent critic of the president, called conversations between Comey and Trump inappropriate, and frustrating, because the investigation may have otherwise helped exonerate Trump.

You may be the first president in history to go down because you cant stop inappropriately talking about an investigation that if you just were quiet, would clear you, said Graham.

Earlier Sunday, Trump returned to Twitter to call Comeys decision to leak a memo of a private conversation cowardly, questioned whether his actions were legal, and said he believed the ex-FBI directors may have leaked other materials.



Comey testified on Thursday that the president asked him to drop an investigation into former national security director Mike Flynn. Flynn resigned earlier this year, after it was revealed he spoke with Russian officials during the Trump transition.

I believe the James Comey leaks will be far more prevalent than anyone ever thought possible, the president tweeted Sunday morning. Totally illegal? Very cowardly!

Trump has remained uncharacteristically quiet on Twitter since Comeys testimony. His recent tweets have generally focused on jobs and White House summits. When he has responded to Comeys testimony, it has been to call him a leaker and say his testimony was full of lies.

Sessions said on Saturday that his decision to appear in front of the intelligence committee comes in light of last weeks testimony by Comey. He was scheduled to discuss the Justice Department budget before a Senate panel, but the attorney general said it was clear from reports that the Russian investigation would become the focus of questioning.

Sessions recused himself from a federal investigation into contacts between Russia and the Trump campaign after acknowledging that he had met twice last year with the Russian ambassador to the US.

In testimony, Comey implied Sessions may have more links to Russia than have been established publicly. Our judgment, as I recall, was that he was very close and inevitably going to recuse himself for a variety of reasons, Comey said. We were also aware of facts that I cant discuss in an open setting that would make his continued engagement in a Russia-related investigation problematic.

On Sunday, Lankford said it was not settled if the hearing on Tuesday with Sessions would be closed or open. He said: I assume that this will be public, but we are still in that final conversation time with Jeff Sessions.

The key things we have got to get, obviously, his side of the story related to Jim Comey, some of the conversations that Jim Comey had with the president, where Jeff Sessions was a participant there or at least was around to be able to get the rest of the story, Comeys statement to him of, hey, I dont want to get time alone with the president again, and that interaction, as well as these accusations that are flying out there about conversations that he might or might not have had with Russians prior to the election.

So we want to be able to get his side of it, get all the facts out there. Weve had a lot of unnamed sources in the media come out and make statements about Jeff Sessions. It would be very good to get it directly from him.




The aroma is so extraordinary it's like "a punch in your mouth" says Luqi Wu, one of several Chinese businessmen standing in a cellar in southwestern Spain surrounded by thousands of hanging ham legs.

While he samples the product, three of his colleagues learn to cut the ham as finely as possible -- a crucial detail that they will put into practice back in Shanghai at tasting events for their own customers.

The world's top pork consumer, China has started getting a serious taste for Spain's world-famous "jamon" which is sold there as a luxury product and is getting one over on its French and Italian competitors.

"At the beginning, customers were just looking for elegant products because they're rich," says Wu, a sales manager at Jiarui Fine Foods, a Chinese company that specialises in importing luxury gastronomy products.

"But more and more they want to learn more and educate themselves... to know why it's so good and why it's got such a high price."

- 3,000 euros a ham leg -

The Italians got into the Chinese market early on with their Parma ham.

But Spain soon caught up and is now leading sales of dry-cured ham in the Asian powerhouse, making 1.8 million euros ($2 million) in sales last year excluding Hong Kong, according to the French Federation of Pork Industries (FICT).

By comparison, Italy made 1.4 million euros in 2016 and France tailed far behind with just 30,000 euros, as there is only one producer in the country equipped with the necessary authorisation to sell ham in China compared to 13 in Spain.

So it was that in March, several Jiarui Fine Foods employees travelled to the village of Jabugo in the southern hills of Andalusia, invited by the Cinco Jotas brand that specialises in high-quality ham.

In pasturelands covered in oak trees, herds of purebred black Iberian pigs gobble the last acorns of winter -- the very food product that gives the ham its unique hazelnut taste after a three-year maturing period.

Story continues

There, Cinco Jotas workers give the Chinese sales managers a run-down of how the dry-cured ham is made.

They will use this knowledge to attract customers in China where classic dry-cured ham sells for 10 to 20 percent more than in Spain, and the highest quality ones command even fatter margins.

A leg of "pata negra" ham, the most sought-after, can go for up to 3,000 euros in Hong Kong.

- Forced to diversify -

Like 12 other Spanish ham makers, Cinco Jotas got authorisation to sell its ham in China at the beginning of the decade, and the world's most populous country has now become its number one market after Spain.

According to Jialin Shen, head of Jiarui Fine Foods, the overall market for high-quality ham in China is between 20,000 and 30,000 units a year.

Rene Lemee, head of Cinco Jotas's international department, travelled to China 16 times last year and has a dozen sales managers working there.

In his office hangs a world map with China at the centre, "to understand their point of view."

And the effort has paid off as sales of Spanish dry-cured ham in China have doubled between 2012 and 2016, says Jesus Perez Aguilar, spokesman for the Inter-professional Association of Iberian Pork.

"China has become the second foreign market for Spain's porcine sector, after France," he says.

He adds that sales abroad took off after Spain suffered a crippling economic crisis in 2008 when a domestic property bubble burst, compounding the global financial crisis, pushing the companies to seek new export markets.

- Risk of copycats -

But for Ibericos Torreon, a medium-sized company based in Salamanca in the northwest -- another major producing region -- success was not immediate.

The firm was forced to patiently go from trade fair to trade fair to introduce their product to the Chinese, who were more used to adding pork in soups or fragrant dishes rather than eating it on its own.

But "in the last two years, sales have taken off," says Laura Garcia Hernandez who manages exports for the company, refusing to reveal specific figures.

The risk of being copied in a country infamous for creating counterfeits does not appear to worry Spanish producers who say their dry-cured ham is the fruit of a specific climate, vegetation and animal.

"What is made in Spain is very exclusive to the peninsula," says Santiago Martin, chief executive of Embutidos Fermin, another producer of dry-cured ham.

Still, the sector is working on creating a certification along the lines of Europe's protected designation of origin, to try and avoid any future problems.
Wonder Woman and team in Batman v Superman version (WB)

DCs new superhero hit Wonder Woman is an origin story no doubt, but the backstory to Gal Gadots Amazonian warrior actually began to unfold more than a year earlier in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Thats when Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) came across a black-and-white photograph of Diana Prince from Belgium, November 1918 in Lex Luthors conveniently well-organized superhero files that showed her on a battlefield flanked by a squad of four gunslingers.

It was a major revelation at the time, indicating to the Dark Knight that his mysterious new friend ages amazingly well, if at all. But who knew the photo would play such a vital role in Wonder Woman, used as a framing device to set up the entire film when the snap arrives on Dianas desk in the opening moments?

The folks behind DC Comics clearly did, and according to Wonder Woman star Ewen Bremner, they wasted no time in capturing the moment.

That was the first thing that we shot, before wed even shot a scene [for Wonder Woman] we shot that photograph, Bremner told Yahoo Movies during an interview to promote the Blu-ray and Digital HD release of his other new film this year, T2: Trainspotting. Director Patty Jenkins shot Wonder Woman and her World War I posse  which included Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), Sameer (Said Taghmaoui), The Chief (Eugene Brave Rock), and Charlie (Bremner)  when the film started production in November 2015, only four months before BvS dawned in multiplexes.

Wonder Woman and team in Wonder Woman (WB)

To be clear, Jenkins did not film the full scene (one of the movies best moments, when Diana slices and dices her way across the trenches on the way to saving a Belgian village under siege), just the photo, which would later pose challenges for the cast and crew, according to Bremner.

It meant that when we eventually got around to shooting the scene that the [photograph] is from, we had to really painstakingly recreate it, he said. Because we [took the photo] against a half-built set, in a way sets were still being built at that point. So by the time we came around to filming that scene, probably around five months later, the sets were much more developed. So we had to find a way to recreate the exact same image after half a year had gone by.

Story continues

Regardless, mission accomplished.

Wonder Woman is now in theaters. T2: Trainspotting hits Digital HD June 13 and DVD and Blu-ray June 27.

Watch Gal Gadot and Chris Pine talk about what theyd like to see in a Wonder Woman sequel:





Read more on Yahoo Movies:
by Kelli Hill

Its a mass murder story largely forgotten in American history and one that took place less than 100 years ago. In his latest nonfiction book, Killers of the Flower Moon, New Yorker writer and bestselling author David Grann investigates the mysterious murders of members of the Osage Indian tribe of Oklahoma in the 1920s.

The Osage was a small tribe whose members became some of the richest people in America. Through treaties with the government in the early 1900s, the tribe had retained oil and mineral rights to the land members had been forced to live on in Osage County, Okla. By the 1920s, the oil deposits beneath the land made them rich, but they also became targets. Members of the tribe began dying under mysterious circumstances, one after another.

Grann sat down with Yahoo Global News Anchor Katie Couric to talk about his new book, the mystery behind the murders and the A-listers rumored to be attached to the movie adaptation.

Granns book centers around one particular woman and her family in the Osage tribe, Mollie Burkhart. Mollie Burkhart is this remarkable Osage woman. She was born in a lodge in 1886, speaking only Osage. Because of the oil money, within a few decades, shes living in a mansion. Shes married to a white settler from Texas, Grann explained. And in 1921, she becomes a prime target of this conspiracy.

Burkharts sister, Anna, is found shot dead in a ravine near their home. Her mother becomes mysteriously sick and also dies. Her younger sister, Rita, is killed, along with her husband and servant, when her house is blown up in the middle of the night. Thats just Mollies family. Other Osage were being systematically targeted, Grann said. By 1923, officially the death toll had surpassed more than 24 Osage. And many of those who tried to catch the killers were also killed.

The killers were conspiring to gain access to the headrights of the Osage people which, as Grann explained, would in turn give them access to the oil money. The only way you could get a headright to get this money that was coming in regularly from the oil money was through inheritance. And so the conspirators, what they would do is they would direct people to marry into the family, he said. Then one by one, slowly eliminate them so that they were inheriting more and more of these headrights, more and more of these millions.

Story continues

The murders were making headlines across the country. No one could figure out who was murdering these members of the tribe until a young J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI took over the case. Hoover hired a Texas cowboy, Tom White, who traveled to Oklahoma and cracked the case to bring the killers of Mollie Burkharts family to justice. This conspiracy really was about not who did it, but who didnt do it. And that there really was a culture of killing, Grann said.

When Couric asked why these murders happened, Grann replied with a simple answer. Money. Money and prejudice.

Grann says he is grateful to members of the Osage tribe for sharing their story with him. He made numerous trips to Oklahoma for research for the book. I could not have done this book without them. They were incredibly generous to share with me their stories, he said. And because of them, theyve given me evidence. They gave me clues. I tried to hopefully follow them out as best I could.

Granns previous bestseller, The Lost City of Z, was made into a movie and is in theaters now. The rights to Killers of the Flower Moon have been sold for $5 million, and the rumors of who will direct and who will play the lead characters have already started. Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese have all been mentioned.

What would be wonderful is if it happens. You never know with these things, Grann told Couric. But this is a part of our history. And a movie could reach the kind of audience so that this story, which is about this great racial injustice that has been lost to history, would finally be known.
Many members of the LGBTQ community feel ignored by Mr Trump: AP

This years Pride parades are more than just a symbol of support for the LGBT community: They are centres of opposition to President Donald Trump.

In Washington DC, hundreds marched in an inaugural Equality March for Unity and Pride. The march drew inspiration from the hugely popular Womens March, organised in protest of Mr Trumps inauguration.

Dozens of cities across the US planned sister equality marches for the same day.

"We are here to stand and be counted," Washington march participant Daniel Dunlop told the BBC. "There's a growing hostile rhetoric from the White House and we don't like the point of direction."

Across the country in Los Angeles, organisers turned their annual Pride parade into a Resist March, where participants carried signs reading Make America Gay Again, and Gay, undocumented and unafraid.

Thousands turned up to protest the President on the streets of Hollywood and West Hollywood. Marchers even covered the former reality stars spot on the Hollywood walk of fame with Pride stickers.

This year, the LGBTQ community is lending our iconic rainbow flag to anyone who feels like their rights are under threat and to anyone who feels like Americas strength is its diversity, march organiser Brian Pendleton told The Los Angeles Times.

Many members of the LGBTQ community feel ignored by Mr Trump  who at one point in his campaign unfurled a rainbow flag and declared himself a real friend of the LGBTQ community.

The President did not acknowledge the start of Pride month this June, but did speak at a conservative Christian conference championing religious liberty.

"The fact that Trump did not even recognise Pride month is an omen of what's to come, and we need to mobilise now, Mr Dunlop said.

Donald Trump star on Hollywood Walk of Fame has been covered in stickers saying "I Resist Homophobia" during #ResistMarch #Pride2017 pic.twitter.com/Ec4B2D2ERQ  Hailey Branson-Potts (@haileybranson) June 11, 2017

Still, the new tenor of the Pride marches has not come without controversy. Some conservative members of LGBTQ community say they feel ostracised by the marches political bent. Still others claim they have been outright banned from participating.

Story continues

At another Washington DC Pride march, meanwhile, counter-protesters turned up to insist the march was still not political enough.

Protestors at the Capitol Hill Pride Parade wanted a focus on social justice, police brutality and the corporate sponsorship of the event.

Capitol Hill Pride Parade organisers responded by asking for a robust, civil, and healthy conversation within the community.

In these challenging times for LGBTQ+ people, Capital Pride will continue to focus on how we can all move forward as a community striving for equal treatment and respect for all, they said.
Three U.S. soldiers were killed and one wounded Saturday. The soldiers were killed by an ally Afghan soldier who opened fire on them during a joint U.S.-Afghan military operation in eastern Afghanistan, according to the New York Times.

The soldiers were shot in an inside attack, when a member of the Afghan Security Forces opened fire on the four men. The Afghan soldier was killed by return fire.

Read: Donald Trumps New Military Policy Could Reverse Obamas Legacy In Afghanistan

The attack happened in the Achin District of Nangarhar Province. U.S. soldiers there are fighting alongside their Afghan counterparts against Taliban and ISIS-affiliated insurgents.

The Taliban has taken credit for the attack.

"A Mujahid (freedom fighter) infiltrator of the Islamic Emirate who had enrolled himself in the Kabul government's army attacked American soldiers in Lata Band area of Achin district in Nangarhar province today in the afternoon," said a written statement from the Taliban acquired by CNN. "The American invaders were there to support their Afghan slaves."

Inside attacks like this are called green on blue attacks because of a NATO color coding system, reports the New York Times.

Vice President Mike Pence reacted to the incident during an anti-Obamacare event in Wisconsin.

"On my way here I was informed that U.S. service members were killed and wounded in an attack in Afghanistan," Pence said. "The president and I have been briefed; the details of this attack will be forthcoming. But suffice it to say, when heroes fall, Americans grieve. And our thoughts and prayers are with the families of these American heroes."

A similar insider attack wounded three U.S. soldiers in March in Helman province, according to ABC News. Green on blue attacks used to be much more common, but have become rarer as there are fewer coalition forces in Afghanistan and U.S. forces have put in place new safety procedures after starting joint missions with Afghan troops. ABC News also reports that there are currently 8,400 American troops still in Afghanistan training Afghan forces and helping them in military operations.

Story continues

Two other U.S. soldiers were killed in the Achin District in late April, according to CNN, during a raid targeting ISIS, and in early April an Army Special Forces soldier was killed there while fighting the terrorist group.

Read: What Is The GBU-43 Bomb? 'MOAB' Dropped By U.S. On ISIS Complex In Afghanistan

The Achin District is home to a U.S. army base that is tasked with ant-terrorism operations. Achin is home to between 600 and 800 Islamic fighters according to the Associated Press. In April, the U.S. Air Force dropped a bomb in the region nicknamed the mother of all bombs. The weapon was packed with 11 tons of explosive and was aimed at destroying an ISIS tunnel.

The New York Times also reports that at least two Afghan police officers were killed and six wounded in a separate incident Saturday. The police were killed in a friendly fire incident when a U.S. airstrike occurred on an Afghan border post. American forces were working in conjunction with Afghan forces in the Helmand province when the incident occurred.

RTS12EUB

Photo: Parwiz Parwiz/REUTERS

Related Articles
President Donald Trump is likely to put his state visit to the United Kingdom in October on hold, and he told British Prime Minister Theresa May he will come to the country only when he feels welcomed by British public, the Guardian and the New York Times reported Sunday.

In January, the president and his wife Melania were invited by Queen Elizabeth II for the state visit only a week after he assumed office, as Mays government pushed for the invitation. Following this, protests erupted in the country with people demanding the invitation to visit be canceled. An online petition, urging the British prime minister to cancel the invitation to the U.S. president, garnered over 1.8 million signatures. Politicians argued Trumps visit would cause an embarrassment to the queen. Despite the criticism, the state visit plan did not change.

Read: White House Requests Buggy Ride For Presidents UK Visit, Report Says

However, a Downing Street adviser told the Guardian on Sunday that Trump and May had a phone call recently, when he said he did not want to trigger public protests during his visit. May was surprised by his statement, the report added.

While the Guardian report said Trumps state visit plans were put on hold indefinitely, the Times reported, citing two officials, the president is actually thinking of scrapping or postponing the planned visit. The daily also noted the presidents move comes amid criticism over his comments against London Mayor Sadiq Khans response to the June 3 terror attack in the city that killed eight civilians. After Khan responded to Trump, the president called the mayor of making a pathetic excuse.

Meanwhile, Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of Britains Labour Party welcomed Trumps decision not to visit the U.K.

Cancellation of President Trump's State Visit is welcome, especially after his attack on London's mayor & withdrawal from #ParisClimateDeal, Corbyn tweeted.

Despite the reports, a Downing Street representative told Politico on Sunday there was no change of plans in Trumps visit.

Story continues

We arent going to comment on speculation about the contents of private phone conversations. The Queen extended an invitation to President Trump to visit the U.K. and there is no change to those plans, the representative told Politico.

The White House also maintained the president and the British prime minister never spoke about the trip.

Theresa May and Donald Trump

Photo: Reuters/Carlos Barria

"The President has tremendous respect for Prime Minister May. That subject never came up on the call," an official told CNN.

Read: Meeting Trump Puts The Queen In 'Very Difficult Position'

Another official told the news outlet Trump was unfazed by the fact that he may be unpopular in London.

In February, Labour Party legislator Paul Flynn noted that only two U.S. presidents  George W. Bush and Barack Obama  were ever invited to state visits to the U.K. and maintained it was completely unprecedented that Trump was given this invitation within a week of his presidency.

State visits differ from official visits, and leaders of other nations are welcomed with royal and military ceremony. They stay at Buckingham Palace as the monarchs guests. Bush and Obama were invited for the visits several years into their presidency.

Related Articles
FBI director Robert Mueller testifies at a Senate intelligence committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on February 16, 2011. (Photo: Jason Reed/Reuters)

WASHINGTON  As the investigation into President Trumps ties to Russia has turned into a question of Trumps credibility versus that of former FBI Director James Comey, Trumps allies have begun questioning the impartiality of special counsel Robert Mueller.

Many of Trumps longtime supporters have taken to Twitter or written opinion pieces to argue that Mueller, who was appointed last month by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, will be biased because of his long and close friendship with Comey.

Comey testified before a Senate committee last week, saying that Trump asked him to drop a probe of former national security advisor Michael Flynn, and said he expected loyalty from Comey. Trump has denied both statements.

The former FBI director also admitted that he leaked, via a friend, a memo he wrote while in office describing conversations he had with Trump. He did this, according to his testimony to the Senate intelligence committee last week, to prompt the appointment of a special counsel. Supporters of the president argue that the memo was the basis for calls to appoint a special counsel.

No elected officials have criticized Mueller outright, but former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said in an appearance on Fox News Sunday that he thought Comeys leak was designed to set up the appointment of a former colleague.

Look at what Comey said, Gingrich said. He said, I deliberately leaked, through an intermediary, to create this counsel, who happens to be one of his closest friends.  The director of the FBI was deliberately leaking in order to create a special counsel, who we are supposed to believe will be this neutral figure. I think this is just nonsense.

Gingrich doubled down on his statement Monday morning.

Republicans are delusional if they think the special counsel is going to be fair. Look who he is hiring.check fec reports. Time to rethink, he tweeted. At least four of Muellers top hires have made contributions to Democratic candidates, according to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) reports.

Story continues

Republicans are delusional if they think the special counsel is going to be fair. Look who he is hiring.check fec reports. Time to rethink.  Newt Gingrich (@newtgingrich) June 12, 2017

These statements contradict remarks Gingrich, a staunch Trump ally, made in the past. Shortly after Muellers appointment, Gingrich tweeted that he was a superb choice for special counsel, and that he had an impeccable record for honesty and integrity.

Robert Mueller is superb choice to be special counsel. His reputation is impeccable for honesty and integrity. Media should now calm down  Newt Gingrich (@newtgingrich) May 18, 2017

In a piece published Monday in the Washington Examiner, conservative pundit Byron York echoed Gingrichs statement that Muellers relationship of more than a decade with Comey would taint his findings.

Is that a conflict? Should a prosecutor pursue a case in which the star witness is a close friend? York wrote. And when the friend is not only a witness but also arguably a victim  of firing  by the target of the investigation? And when the prosecutor might also be called on to investigate some of his friends actions? The case would be difficult enough even without the complicating friendship.

Other allies then piled on in questioning Mueller. Former Trump campaign spokeswoman Katrina Pierson linked to Yorks op-ed in a tweet, adding, Comey leaked to get a special prosecutor. Special prosecutor is his BFF. Um, yes there is a conflict.

Comey leaked to get a special prosecutor. Special prosecutor is his BFF. Um, yes there is a conflict. ???? https://t.co/NBixvW8lnC  Katrina Pierson (@KatrinaPierson) June 12, 2017

Mueller has had a long career in criminal justice, serving as U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California until he was selected in 2001 to be then-President George W. Bushs FBI director. He served in that role until 2013, after President Barack Obama asked him to remain in the post beyond the traditional 10-year term.

Read more from Yahoo News:
Trump has accused former FBI director James Comey of lying and said he is willing to testify about his claims. But will the president be able to be honest?



Displaying his usual bravado, Trump went on to say that he would be willing to speak with Robert S Mueller III.

Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

In another strange and unsettling performance, Donald Trump used Fridays press conference with the Romanias prime minister to accuse James Comey of lying to the Senate Intelligence Committee. Three times, the president contradicted Comeys sworn testimony and denied telling him that he hoped he would let the investigation of former national security advisor Michael Flynn go.



But what made headlines from the press conference was this: ABC newsman Jonathan Karl pointed out to Trump that the former FBI director had made his statements under oath and asked the president whether he would be willing to do the same. The president responded: 100%.



Displaying his usual bravado, Trump went on to say that he would be willing to speak with Robert S Mueller III, another former FBI director who is now leading the Russia investigation as special counsel. I would be glad to tell him exactly what I just told you, he told the assembled reporters.

The prospect of Trump talking with the special counsel and testifying under oath raises the intriguing question of whether he would willingly turn his daily lies into perjury and whether he could get away with it.



He may be sorely tempted to talk with Mueller as his promise to repeat his version of conversations with Comey under oath suggests. But, if he does so he will find himself in an arena for which he is singularly unprepared. It is an arena where persons do not just lie, they commit perjury.

Perjury occurs when someone knowingly makes false or misleading statements in a court of law or to investigators or signs a legally binding statement that he or she knows to be false.



Perjury is a variation on obstruction of justice. In both, as the supreme court once put it, the defendants false statement must have the natural and probable effect of interfering with a legal proceeding.

Story continues

Perhaps the critical fact in the modern crime of perjury is that the lie occurs after someone has sworn an oath to tell the truth. When the practice of swearing oaths began it was believed that the specter of Gods vengeance alone was enough to coax witnesses into telling the unvarnished truth. But, by the 16th century, legal penalties were also being imposed for lying under oath.

And those penalties were no laughing matter. They included having ones tongue cut out or having ones ears nailed to the wood of a pillory.

The gravity of the penalties reflected the fact that society considered perjury to be an unusually serious form of lying because it attacked the integrity of the legal process and undermined the authority of law itself.

Today lying under oath is still a crime, punishable by up to five years in prison. But it no longer carries the stigma it once did.

It is often dismissed as what the former Senator from Texas, Kay Bailey Hutchison, called a perjury technicality, a way for prosecutors, who cannot convict a defendant of a more serious crime, to catch people up in ordinary lies.

Hutchisons attitude that perjury is a lesser crime seems to be widely shared.

Even in the most highly watched cases, individuals are undeterred from committing perjury: Bill Clinton famously lied under oath when he testified about his affair with Monica Lewinsky, and Martha Stewart lied under oath about an insider trading case.

Things can only be made worse when the presidency falls into the hands of someone who, according to one count, made 492 false or misleading claims during his first 100 days in office.

Having survived the furor over the Access Hollywood tapes, which many thought would derail his presidential campaign, Trump likely thinks he can get away with just about anything. Moreover, his behavior throughout his public career does not suggest that he fears Gods vengeance.

There is no reason to believe that the president would behave differently under oath than he does in his day to day dealings with those who work for him and with the American people.

However, Trump and his allies are making a serious mistake in characterizing the dispute with Comey as just a He Said/He said situation and if they think that lying under oath is just like lying elsewhere.

An experienced and talented prosecutor like Robert Mueller would not talk with Trump until he has a pretty good picture of what happened between the president and Comey.

He will have thoroughly reviewed Comeys contemporaneous memos and his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee, interviewed everyone with whom Comey spoke after his conversations with the president, talked with White House staff and others about what Trump told them about his meetings and calls with Comey, and, in the unlikely event that there are tapes of those meetings, subpoenaed and reviewed them.

Speaking to the special counsel under oath, Trump would neither be in control of where Muellers questioning goes nor be able to cut off or bully his interrogators the way he does reporters.



But having mastered the art of lying in politics, he nonetheless may think that he can do the same if he talks with Mueller.

So, bring on Mueller and the oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. None of it would faze the president. Yet his impulsiveness, impatience, and laziness suggest that he would not be able to successfully deal in dishonesty with the special counsel. If he tries to do so, it will likely prove to be his undoing.
In the latest round of the battle of the sexes, science has confirmed that women are officially the stronger sex.

As it turns out, females actually have a stronger chance of survival than males and its not something that occurs with age; women, the findings revealed are born this way.

Pretty much at every age, women seem to survive better than men, Steven Austad, an expert on aging and chair of the biology department at the University of Alabama, told The Guardian.

For almost two decades, he Austad been studying the well-known fact that women live longer than men. His longevity database reveals that all over the world and throughout history, women tend to outlive men by around five or six years. Its something he credits to women being more robust.

According to research, newborn males are statistically at a 10 percent greater risk of death than females, even if they receive exactly the same level of care. The reasons behind this difference arent known, but scientists at the University of Adelaide suggests that a mothers placenta could behave differently depending on the sex of the baby, which could have an impact on maintaining the pregnancy and increase immunity against infections.

Science says women are the more robust sex. (Photo: freestocks.org via Pexels)

And females inner protection against sickness seems to continue into later life. Austad cites that in 2010, women in the U.S. were less likely to die from 12 of the 15 most common causes of death, including cancer and heart disease, when adjusted for age.

Once I started investigating, I found that women had resistance to almost all the major causes of death, said Austad.

The exception was Alzheimers disease, of which women are more likely to die, while the likelihood of dying of Parkinsons or stroke was about the same, no matter the sex.

And it turns out women are more immune to common ailments like colds and coughs, too.

If you look across all the different types of infections, women have a more robust immune response, Kathryn Sandberg, director of the Center for the Study of Sex Differences in Health, Aging and Disease at Georgetown University, told The Guardian. If theres a really bad infection, they survive better. If its about the duration of the infection, women will respond faster.

Story continues

Thanks, science, for confirming what girls have known all along!

Read more on 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.
(Photo: Suzanne Tenner/Showtime)

Warning: This recap for Part 6 of Twin Peaks contains spoilers.

Twin Peaks ability to shift through mood and genre will never cease to amaze me. How a single scene is able to drift from pathos to brutality to laugh out loud humor is truly incredible. Its why Ill never understand it when people criticize the shows pacing. Who cares about the speed of plot development when the images on screen can make you feel and think so much?

DO THE DOUGIE

I honestly adore the Dougie Jones (Kyle MacLachlan) scenes. Ever since he yelled HELL-O-OOOO! at a slot machine Ive been all in with this lime-green jacket wearing weirdo. It fills me with great sadness to see him loitering outside his office complex at night, hopelessly tugging at his jacket sleeve as Johnny Jewels haunting track Windswept plays in the background. Then my heart is warmed watching him interact with Sonny Jim (Pierce Gagnon), his childlike fascination with a clapper lamp bringing a smile to mine and Sonny Jims face. Suddenly, Im laughing like a lunatic when his wife Janey-E (Naomi Watts) berates him after finding out about his affair. Jade give two rides, Dougie says, a callback to something Jade (Nafessa Williams) said to him in Part 3. I bet she did, Janey-E responds, providing the biggest laugh of the episode.

There is something so tragic yet life-affirming about Dougie. Knowing that the real Dougie is dead and our Cooper is trapped in a fugue state is what makes it so heartbreaking. But Dougies innocence and wonder with the world make him such a likable character. Again, Kyle MacLachlan deserves all the credit in the world for making this odd and frustrating story work. Yes, I want original Coop back eventually, but Im also invested in Dougie-Coop now, which is why I was so pleased when his case file scribblings actually made sense and impressed his boss.

(Photo: Suzanne Tenner/Showtime)

Obviously, people are free to enjoy (or not enjoy) the show however they want, but I feel that those complaining about pacing, primarily in regards to the Dougie plot, are missing out. Peak TV has wired our brains to expect certain narrative conventions from the shows we consume. Even the more experimental dramas, like Legion or The Leftovers, follow a recognizable narrative blueprint; beneath the surreal imagery and existential subject matter lie detectable story beats, act structure, and tune-in-next-time cliffhangers. Watching Twin Peaks is a whole different experience.

Story continues

Those checking their watches and wondering when Cooper is going to snap out of his Dougie phase need to rewire their expectations when it comes to narrative pacing. To dismiss the Dougie arc as an irrelevant patience-tester is to rob yourself of something really special. If you were to just go with it, you would realize that David Lynch and Mark Frost have somehow created a tragi-com starring Kyle MacLachlan and Naomi Watts and turned it into a powerful meditation on identity, childhood innocence and the struggle of the 21st-century American family.

We are not wealthy people, Janey-E yells. We drive cheap, terrible cars, we are the 99 percenters and we are s**t on enough! She may be talking to a pair of loan sharks, but her anger is really about wealth inequality in the United States and the political elite standing atop a corrupted economy. What kind of world are we living in where people can behave like this? Treat other people this way without any compassion or feeling? Its one of the best moments of the series so far and is delivered with unrelenting gusto from Watts. Suddenly, this absurd Jones family sitcom becomes a twisted morality tale. How anyone can be bored with the Dougie plot is beyond me.

I KNOW WHERE SHE DRINKS

(Photo: Suzanne Teller/Showtime)

The glacial pacing can also trick you into thinking nothing happens in Twin Peaks. But nothing and everything happens simultaneously. For every seemingly inconsequential scene  like Shelly (Madchen Amick) and Heidi (Andrea Hays reprising her role as the giggling German waitress) talking pie with an enthusiastic Double R customer  there is a dramatic character reveal or discovery that propels the story forward.

In the ongoing investigation into what happened to Cooper, FBI Agent Albert Rosenfield (Miguel Ferrer) heads to a bar in search of the woman he and Gordon Cole talked about in Part 4. The bar, Max Vons, perhaps named after the actor Max von Sydow who appeared in Lynchs 1984 movie Dune, seems to be located in New York City. The woman, sporting a platinum white bob, sits at the bar drinking a cocktail and smoking a cigarette, and, holy hell, its Laura Dern! Double holy hell, Albert calls her Diane! Yes, that Diane, Coopers dictaphone muse who he shared his innermost thoughts with and up until now was one of the greatest off-screen characters in TV history.

We dont get anything else from the scene but again, it also gives us everything. It puts a face to the iconic name  and the fact that the face belongs to Laura Dern is simply perfect. Dern is a frequent Lynch collaborator, turning in a spellbinding performance in his last movie Inland Empire, and her insane chemistry with MacLachlan in Blue Velvet is something which can hopefully be rekindled here. I suspect Diane to have a big role to play going forward.

HAWK FINDS SOMETHING

(Photo: Suzanne Tenner/Showtime)

In another small scene with big implications, Deputy Chief Hawk (Michael Horse) drops a coin in the Sheriffs Department restroom, leading him to notice a sign on a stall door which reads Nez Perce Manufacturing*  reminding him of the Log Ladys message about his heritage. He also notices the panel of the door is loose, and after prying it open, finds some pages from a handwritten book stuffed inside. Surely these are the missing pages from Laura Palmers diary? The ones including Annies message about the good Dale being stuck in the Lodge.

*The Nez Perce are a Native American tribe from the Pacific Northwest and feature prominently in Mark Frosts companion book The Secret History of Twin Peaks. In the book, its revealed that Hawk belongs to the Nez Perce tribe.

BLOODY MURDER

(Photo: Suzanne Tenner/Showtime)

As cool as the Diane and Lauras diary reveal is, and for all the endearing sweetness in Dougies story, Part 6 is also devastatingly gruesome and hard to watch at times.

Theres shady drug business going down in what appears to be an abandoned mill  not sure if its the old Packard Mill. Red (Balthazar Getty), who we last saw at The Roadhouse shooting finger guns at Shelly, meets with local sleazebag Richard Horne (Eamon Farren). Have you ever studied your hand? Red says before performing a coin trick that even David Blaine would call too creepy. Red seems to be carrying on Twin Peaks drug-trafficking lineage left by the Renault brothers. Just remember this, kid, Red warns Richard, I will saw your head open and eat your brains if you f**k me over.

Richard doesnt like being referred to as kid and speeds away from the meeting in a fit of anger  and accidentally mows down a young boy crossing the road (at the same intersection where The One Armed Man yelled at Leland and Laura in Fire Walk With Me). Richard doesnt stop to check on the child, he zooms away, later pulling over to wipe the blood off his car. Its an absolutely brutal scene which lingers uncomfortably on the boys distraught mother clutching her bloodied and lifeless son.

(Photo: Suzanne Tenner/Showtime)

Watching over this horrible scene is another face of Twin Peaks past, Carl Rodd (Harry Dean Stanton), who appeared in Fire Walk With Me as the owner of Fat Trout Trailer Park (which has since relocated). Carl sees a yellow light leave the boys body and seemingly rise up into the electrical wires hanging above  just like the scene in FWWM, the camera pans to a nearby telephone pole with the number 6 on it, as we hear the buzzing of electricity.

As if seeing a child tumble beneath the wheels of a speeding truck wasnt vicious enough, the episode ups the body count with a barbaric murder scene in Las Vegas. Mr. Todd (Patrick Fischler), who we saw back in Part 1 hiring a mystery woman for a mystery job, receives a new command via a red square on his laptop screen. Mr. Todd sends an assassin, Ike The Spike Stadtler (Christophe Zajac-Denek), to dispose of Lorraine (Tammie Baird), the woman who was meant to have taken out Dougie. Ike savagely stabs Lorraine (and witnesses) to death with an ice pick before killing off any witnesses in the building.

Ike is clearly a dangerous man, and hes coming after Dougie next. Earlier in the episode, The One Armed Man appeared to Dougie in a vision and told him Dont die. Thats easier said than done when youre being stalked by the worlds deadliest assassin and you dont even know how to exit an elevator without getting stuck in the closing doors.

THEORIES AND THOUGHTS FROM ANOTHER PLACE

Richard and Linda

In the opening scene of the premiere, The Giant tells Cooper to remember certain things, one of which is Richard and Linda. We now have a Richard (Richard Horne) and a Linda (mentioned by the Fat Trout Trailer Park resident who hitches a ride with Carl). Apparently, Linda needs a wheelchair. Its unclear how these characters connect  or if theyre even the same Richard and Linda The Giant was referring to.

(Photo: Suzanne Tenner/Showtime)

Was Lorraine the mystery woman?

I think its safe to assume that Lorraine was the woman Mr. Todd hired in the premiere, and her job was to take out Dougie. Having failed to do that she paid the ultimate price in this episode.

Fat Trout Trailer Park

For those unfamiliar, in FWWM, Fat Trout Trailer Park was where Teresa Banks lived, a young woman murdered by BOB (possessing Leland Palmer) a year before Lauras death. It was a place of weird goings-on. Mrs. Chalfont and her magician grandson (suspected to be Lodge spirits) used to live there and it was also the place where Special Agent Chester Desmond disappeared after discovering the Owl Ring (the same one Dougie was wearing). In this episode the site of Fat Trout as moved, but Carl still seems connected to the supernatural. In Frosts The Secret History of Twin Peaks, its revealed that as a child, Carl vanished (was abducted) while in Ghostwood Forest, returning days later with a strange marking on his body.

(Photo: Suzanne Tenner/Showtime)

One-One-Nine

There was another brief scene with the junkie mom (Hailey Gates) across the street from Dougies hook-up house, still yelling one one nine! Her repeated appearances suggest a larger significance than I originally thought. Maybe she is a Lodge spirit? Maybe her and her cracker-eating son are the modern day versions of Mrs. Chalfont and her grandson?

Let us know your own thoughts and theories on the new series in the comments below.

Twin Peaks airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on Showtime.

Read more from Yahoo TV:

2017 Tony Awards: Best and Worst of the Broadcast

Amy Schumer Leaves Steve Harvey in Stitches on Celebrity Family Feud

Fear the Walking Dead Recap: The Kids Adjust and an Old Acquaintance Returns
A new Twitter account with the handle @KellyanneLeaks has popped up to troll Kellyanne Conway by leaking her behavior at a recent Washington party where she reportedly spilled information to the press about White House insiders  including her boss.

The anonymous account has been tweeting photos of the White House counselor in huddles with reporters and others, saying Conway was speaking loudly at a British Embassy election-watch party Thursday night. At one point, she was reportedly overheard saying, Honestly, what the f**k does Trumps legislative affairs director Marc Short do all day?

Kellyanne was at an embassy party last night, leaking sensitive Priebus and Trump White House conversations to @washingtonpost reporters. 1/ pic.twitter.com/XZz48UAG6G  Kellyanne Leaks (@KellyanneLeaks) June 9, 2017

Politico confirmed the off-the-record conversations referred to in the tweets with two other sources.

During the party, Conway reportedly leaked that Donald Trump told her to go out there and say that booted FBI director Jim Comey is going to have to wait and see about the tapes. She said she chose to convert that to no comment, according to the series of tweets about the party.

Conway was also reportedly seen mimicking White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus telling staffers to stop leaking information (No leaks, guuuys). She later complained that shes the one catching the slings and arrows in the West Wing, Politico reported.

The anonymous @KellyanneLeaks account was quickly shared by one of the rogue government accounts, @AltImmigration, and was first reported by Politico.

. @KellyannePolls Conway started trashing WH staffers to reporters at an event, someone heard her and started @KellyanneLeaks.

enjoy  ALT Immigration (@ALT_uscis) June 10, 2017

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer later told Politico that Conway denied the Short comment. He also said she wasnt making fun of Priebus  but was mocking reporters for how wrong theyve been.

Story continues

She said Trump told her to say "Jim Comey will have to wait and see about the tapes"; she added "I chose to convert that to 'no comment'" 3/  Kellyanne Leaks (@KellyanneLeaks) June 9, 2017

Responses to the tweets included quips that the leaker sought by Trump has been found.

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

Gee orange man, here's the source of the leaks!  Cynthia Carbo-Stiles (@Cinderlou57) June 10, 2017

So, we found the leak?  Jason Larsen (@SesetatsSeditin) June 10, 2017

Related coverage

Kellyanne Should've Gone Away

There's A Method To Kellyanne Conway's Madness

Let Trump Be Trump, Kellyanne

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Fidget spinners will likely stop spinning soon. Source: Getty Images

Fads are one of the more bizarre parts of the consumer economy. They are fickle and hard to predict, usually only happening thanks to a perfect storm of infinite factors. The latest fad is the fidget spinner, a handheld ball-bearing enabled device designed to release nervous energy.

Today, data from technology platforms provide some insight into fads like this and how they can take off.

Square (SQ) provides a payment services platform for many small retailers, handling around $14 billion in transactions per quarter. Its enough to get a sense for how these products go viral.

The company analyzed the number of fidget spinners sold per month. In January and February, the number sold across the companys platform was only 33 and 34, respectively.

In March, fidget spinners flickered up to 859, a change of 2,426% before jumping up to 26,223 in April. By the end of May, a whopping 151,241 had been sold via the platform. From the data, you can see how the fidget spinners took off with massive exponential growth.

Data from Square

As a fad, the fidget spinner may have the life of a bug, living and dying in a spectacular but brief fashion. Early June data shows that already the sales have dropped offin the first 11 days only 39,339 spinners sold. Another available metric, Google searches, confirms that the fidget spinner is already passe.

According to Google, fidget spinner interest exploded in the last 10 days of April and then began experiencing surges on Saturdays, with the first Saturday in May being the high-water mark for fidget spinners.

Google searches for fidget spinners around the time they took off. Source: Google

Square noted that Saturday was the most popular day for people to buy these spinners, and that Missouri merchants sold the most spinners, beating out the other top five states of Georgia, Texas, California and New Jersey.

Already, however, the spinners momentum has slowed down in terms of Google interest. As Wharton professor and fad researcher Jonah Berger told NYMag.com, The faster they catch on the faster they die out. Ill be surprised if were still talking about them in six months.

Story continues

And so, while fidget spinners may have good ball bearings, they dont spin forever.

Ethan Wolff-Mann is a writer at Yahoo Finance focusing on consumer issues, tech, and personal finance. Follow him on Twitter @ewolffmann. Got a tip? Send it to tips@yahoo-inc.com.

Read more:

How CEOs reacted to Trumps withdrawal from the Paris agreement

Study shows how GOP plan would lower premiums: ditching costly, sick people

How the Obamacare repeal could affect your employer insurance

The biggest problem with robots taking jobs may not be unemploymentyet

What Facebook and Twitter think they know about you

Online savings accounts are raising rates. Big banks arent.
Photo credit: U.S. Navy

From Popular Mechanics

The U.S. Navy has decided to fund Boeing's fighter division to upgrade the service's F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornets to the "Block III" configuration. The most recent budget request from the U.S. Navy allocates $264.9 million over the next five years to upgrade the Super Hornet fleet with more advanced avionics and sensor capabilities, according to Aviation Week. The first Block III Super Hornets are slated to enter service in 2019. The program is designed to keep the Navy's primary carrier-based fighter relevant deep into the 21st century.

Boeing originally suggested upgrading the Super Hornet fleet to Block III back in 2008. Recent pressure from the White House to look into an advanced Super Hornet, a large defense budget from the new administration, and rising international tensions have led the Navy to approve the upgrade.

The new configuration will improve the heads-up display and computing capabilities of the Super Hornet, while also modestly upgrading the stealth and radar cross section. The multirole fighter will receive "advanced network architecture" in the form of a new computer called the Distributed Targeting Processor Network (DTPN). A large new display in the cockpit will help pilots monitor the additional information they receive. New Tactical Targeting Network Technology (TTNT) will also improve the Super Hornet's information pipeline so more data can be transmitted to and from the jet.

The improvements to stealth include possible low-observable coating, and new Conformal Fuel Tanks (CFT) are planned to replace the Super Hornet's current external fuel tanks. The CFTs will improve radar cross section slightly, but they are primarily intended to reduce aerodynamic drag. The Navy is also planning a long-range infrared sensor for the Super Hornet for early threat detection.

The electronic warfare variant of the F/A-18, called the EA-18G Growler, will also be receiving some of the avionics upgrades. Dan Gillian, Boeing F/A-18 and EA-18 program manager, told Aviation Week that stealth is not a priority, and the avionics improvements will give the Super Hornet "a balanced approach to survivability, including electronic warfare and self-protection."

Story continues

The primary goal of the upgrade is to make the Super Hornet play nicely with the Navy's incoming F-35C. The carrier variant of the F-35 is the last of the F-35s to enter service, as it has not reached initial operating capability (IOC) like the Marine and Air Force jets have. When the Navy starts flying the fifth-generation fighters, their air coverage will have a lot more incoming data to share and analyze with various aircraft.

The Navy is looking to dominate air space with fleets of Block III Super Hornets, EA-18s, F-35Cs, as well as E-2 Hawkeye airborne early warning planes. The computing upgrades to the Super Hornets in the field will ensure that all the aircraft can communicate over the same network to get the best picture of the battlefield.

"You can have an F-35 in its very stealthy way doing a deep-strike mission with Super Hornet providing air superiority at that same range, or you can have Super Hornet carrying large standoff weapons that F-35 cannot carry, with F-35 providing some air cover," Gillian told Aviation Week.

The arrival of the F-35 has sent air warfare strategists back to the drawing board to develop the most effective packages to capitalize on the new fighter's capacity to soak up information and transmit it to other aircraft in the formation. For the F-35C to work at full capacity, the Navy has decided the trusty F/A-18 Super Hornet needs to be a little smarter.

Source: Aviation Week

You Might Also Like
Washington (AFP) - Jeff Sessions, a longtime senator until President Donald Trump picked him as US attorney general, heads to Congress this coming week when he will face a grilling about his Russian interactions.

Sessions, among the earliest high-profile backers of Trump's election campaign, appears before his former colleagues Tuesday, days after explosive testimony by ousted FBI director James Comey, whose removal he recommended.

Concerns have been raised about whether Sessions helped otherwise subvert the ongoing Russia-related investigations.

"This is going to prompt a lot of questions for him," the panel's top Democrat, Senator Patrick Leahy, told AFP of an appearance in which lawmakers will be eager to learn what role Sessions played in Comey's firing last month.

The Senate Appropriations Committee had called in the attorney general to testify about budget issues. But on Saturday, after senators made clear they would zero in on Sessions's connections to Russia, Sessions shifted his plan, opting to address the Senate Intelligence Committee.

"In light of reports regarding Mr Comey's recent testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, it is important that I have an opportunity to address these matters," Sessions said in a letter announcing the change.

For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available on iOS and Android.

The intelligence panel "is the most appropriate forum for such matters, as it has been conducting an investigation and has access to relevant, classified information," he added.

With reports circulating that Trump had been clashing with his attorney general, and that Sessions had offered to resign, the White House on Tuesday declined to say whether the president maintained confidence in Sessions.

And in a stunning moment of inside-the-Beltway intrigue, Comey dropped a bombshell about why he and other top FBI officials concluded that the attorney general was going to recuse himself from the probe.

Story continues

"We also were aware of facts that I can't discuss in an open setting that would make his continued engagement in a Russia-related investigation problematic," Comey said.

- 'Something big' -

Although Sessions, a genteel 70-year-old from the southern state of Alabama who served 20 years in the Senate, backed Trump's campaign, he was also one of the first administration officials to fly into turbulence. During his January confirmation hearing he failed to disclose meetings he held with Russian officials.

On March 1, The Washington Post reported that he met twice with the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, during the campaign.

The following day, Sessions recused himself from the Russia probe, and several top Democrats, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, demanded he resign. Sessions refused.

He may also be under a cloud of suspicion after Comey, in his devastating testimony, suggested the attorney general may have failed to take appropriate steps to protect the FBI chief.

At the conclusion of a February 14 meeting in the White House, Comey testified, Trump urged everyone else but Comey to leave the Oval Office, including Sessions.

"My impression was, something big is about to happen," Comey said, as he recalled the encounter.

"My sense was the attorney general knew he shouldn't be leaving," Comey added.

When the two men were alone, the ex-FBI director said, Trump urged Comey to stop the investigation into fired national security advisor Michael Flynn.

In written testimony Comey said he told Sessions it was "inappropriate" for him to leave the FBI director alone with the president, and that Sessions "did not reply."

With Sessions already under fire for failing to disclose the two meetings with Russians, CNN reported last week that investigators were looking into a possible third Sessions meeting with Kislyak, on the sidelines of an April 27, 2016 campaign event in Washington.

Despite his recusal, Sessions in May signed a letter to Trump recommending he remove Comey, the man overseeing the investigation into Russian election meddling and the possible Russia-Trump nexus.

Lawmakers and critics have expressed concern about any possible role by Sessions in either sacking Comey, or in subverting the ongoing investigation by the FBI.

"There remain a number of questions about his own interactions with the Russians," Republican Senator Susan Collins told CNN Friday.

"We on the Intelligence Committee want to know the answers to those questions, and we have begun to request information from the attorney general to allow us to get to the bottom of that."

With the Russia story spreading, the Justice Department in May appointed former FBI director Robert Mueller, widely respected within both parties, as a special counsel to head a separate Russia probe.
Beirut (AFP) - US-backed Syrian fighters broke into the western part of the Islamic State group's stronghold Raqa on Saturday, they and a monitor said, opening up a second front inside the northern Syrian city.

The Syrian Democratic Forces alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters has spent months tightening the noose on IS-held Raqa and entered the city for the first time earlier this week from the east, backed by US-led coalition air strikes.

On Saturday, they pierced into Raqa from the west, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.

"The SDF captured the western half of the Al-Sabahiya neighbourhood and are reinforcing their positions there," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.

The forces then advanced north into the adjacent district of Al-Romaniya and seized part of it in the evening, Abdel Rahman told AFP.

Earlier, a statement from SDF's Operation Wrath of the Euphrates said its fighters entered Al-Romaniya on Saturday and were locked "in fierce fighting inside the district".

Held by IS since 2014, Raqa emerged as a key hub for the jihadists' operations in Syria, neighbouring Iraq, and beyond.

The SDF, which was formed in 2015, launched its campaign to capture Raqa in November and chipped away at IS territory around the city's north, west, and east.

In addition to holding part of Al-Sabahiya and Al-Romaniya, the alliance also controls Raqa's eastern neighbourhood of Al-Meshleb.

But the force has struggled to advance from the city's north, where IS holds a military complex known as Division 17.

"IS has reinforced the northern approach to Raqa much more, thinking that's how the SDF would try to advance on the city," Abdel Rahman said.

"The western and eastern entrances to the city were much less fortified," he said.

- Dozens of civilians killed -

The offensive has been backed by the US-led coalition with air strikes, special forces advisers, weapons, and equipment.

Story continues

Coalition strikes on the city throughout the day on Saturday killed at least 13 civilians, according to the Observatory.

Abdel Rahman said the recent raids brought the civilian death toll in coalition raids to 47 since the battle for Raqa city was launched on June 6.

Reports of civilian casualties in the air campaign have swelled in recent weeks, but the coalition says it takes every measure to avoid hitting non-combattants.

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, and the UN humanitarian office estimates about 160,000 people remain in the city.

On Saturday, displaced families could be seen arriving at a makeshift camp in Ain Issa, 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Raqa.

Children sprayed each other with water from large red water tanks, trying to cool off under the beating summer sun.

Last month a camp administrator said more than 20,000 people had sought refuge in Ain Issa, and appealed for additional assistance.
Beirut (AFP) - US-backed Syrian fighters battling the Islamic State group pushed closer to the Old City in the jihadist stronghold of Raqa on Monday, a monitor said.

The Kurdish and Arab fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) entered Raqa for the first time almost a week ago, after months of battle to encircle the northern city.

In the east of the city, they hold the Al-Meshleb neighbourhood, captured days after the operation inside the city began, and on Sunday they seized their first district in the west, Al-Rumaniya.

On Monday, fighting was continuing on both fronts, with the SDF advancing quickly in the eastern neighbourhood of Al-Senaa, which leads to the Old City of Raqa, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said.

"The SDF forces now control 70 percent of Al-Senaa," next to Al-Meshleb, Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

"If they take Al-Senaa it will be the most important advance in the battle for Raqa because it brings them to the centre of the city where the most important IS positions are," said Abdel Rahman.

"When they have captured Al-Senaa, the real battle will begin."

The fighting is expected to become more difficult as the SDF approaches the more densely populated centre of the city.

"This fight will be tough," SDF fighter Berkhdan Qamishli told AFP on Sunday.

"As we get close to the city centre, we'll be fighting inside multi-storey buildings. Urban battles are tougher than fighting in villages, but we will fight until we control the whole city."

- 'Huge number of mines' -

In the west of the city, meanwhile, SDF forces were battling to enter Hatin, the neighbourhood next to Al-Rumaniya, captured on Sunday.

The SDF reported "fierce clashes between fighters and the terrorists" on the two fronts and said 23 IS members had been killed, without specifying in which neighbourhood or when.

An SDF source told AFP that fighters had uncovered a series of tunnels dug by IS jihadists in Al-Meshleb.

Story continues

"We are moving carefully and cautiously to avoid the huge number of mines that IS has planted in the city," the source added.

An AFP correspondent inside the west of the city on Sunday said the approach was littered with mangled motorcycles and unexploded mortar rounds fired by IS.

The bodies of several alleged IS fighters could be seen on the empty streets, and SDF fighters appeared on edge over the possibility of IS-planted mines and weaponised drones.

The SDF was also advancing outside the city's northern outskirts, where progress has been slower.

After repeated assaults, the SDF seized parts of the heavily fortified Division 17 military base as well as all of an adjacent sugar factory, the Observatory said.

IS had been using the base and the factory to defend the northern approach into Raqa, and the US-led coalition has carried out heavy strikes in the area, destroying most of the factory, the monitor said.

- Civilians trapped -

Originally a Syrian army base, Division 17 was seized by IS in 2014 when it took control of swathes of the wider Raqa province.

IS seized Raqa in 2014, transforming it into the de facto Syrian capital of its self-declared "caliphate".

It became infamous as the scene of some of the group's worst atrocities including public beheadings, and it is also thought to have been a hub for the planning of attacks overseas.

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.

Tens of thousands have fled from the city and its surroundings since the SDF announced their operation to capture Raqa in November.

The United Nations estimates around 160,000 people remain in the city, where conditions have deteriorated, according to activists.

"Raqa is Being Slaughtered Silently," an anti-IS group, has reported closed bakeries for lack of flour, as well as electricity and water outages.

Civilians trapped in Raqa also face the threat of being caught in the crossfire, with more than 60 killed in the city since the June 6 launch of the SDF operation, according to the Observatory.

The monitor said five civilians had been killed between Sunday night and Monday morning in air strikes and rocket fire on several parts of Raqa city.
U.S. special forces have joined the Philippines military in a battle to push out Islamic terrorists whove seized a town in the south of the country. Three weeks ago two local extremist groups backed by ISIS, Maute and Abu Sayyaf, took Marawi City. Since then nearly 140 militants and 60 government troops have been killed the fighting, with the battle escalating in the past few days as government troops fight house-to-house. Its illegal in the Philippines for foreign militaries to aid in actual combat, and on Saturday, military spokesman Colonel Jo-Ar Herrera said U.S. special forces were just providing technical support.

The U.S. embassy in Manila confirmed to Reuters that it was offering support, but it released no further information. Reporters near the fighting said they saw a U.S. Navy P3 Orion surveillance plane flying above the city. The aircraft is likely providing intelligence on militant targets, and it soared above Philippine helicopters as they fired rockets into the city. We dont have adequate surveillance equipment, a separate military spokesman told the Associated Press, so we asked the U.S. military for assistance.

Recommended: Adam West, Caped Crusader, Dies

The Philippines government believes 200 militants are fighting in the city, although theyve been forced into a few positions in one corner of town. While the Philippines is mostly Christian, the Mindanao region has a large Muslim population, Marawi especially. Here and in similar areas in the south militants have has established a stronghold, and the Philippine government fears that as ISIS loses ground in Syria and Iraq, they could send fighters here. About 40 of the militants fighting in Marawi are believed to be foreign, according to Reuters, with most coming from Indonesia or Malaysia. The government has fought sporadic battles against extremists in the region for years. Abu Sayyaf, which is more established, has often kidnapped tourists and held them for ransom.

As soldiers fought on Friday to push the militants out, 13 Philippine marines were killed. The government said they died in intense house-to-house gun battles, hit with rocket propelled grenades and struck by improvised explosive devices as they moved through town.

Between 500 and 1,000 civilians are trapped in Marawi, many without electricity or running water. About 20 civilians have been killed in the fighting, and militants took some 100 hostages, including a Catholic priest. The government said these hostages are being used as human shields, which has slowed the advance of its troops. The government also said it was proceeding delicately, trying to avoid destroying mosques in the area, which military spokesman Herrera called very symbolic to our Muslim brothers.

Recommended: Bernie Sanders's Religious Test for Christians in Public Office

News that U.S. and Philippine forces were working together is significant, because the countrys president, Rodrigo Duterte, has threatened to kick out the U.S. military. America maintains several bases on the island, which it does, in part, to hedge China in its push to control the South China Sea. But since becoming president last year, Duterte has taken an aggressive tone with the U.S., especially the Obama administration. Much of the international community, including the U.S. under Obama, criticized Detentes drug war, which has killed more than 7,000 people. Duterte even made a historic trip to China and returned with $24 billion in funding and investment deals, meant to slight the U.S.

However, since the Trump administration took over the White House, Duterte has acted much friendlier with the U.S. In a phone call in May, Trump even invited Duterte to visit.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
A screengrab of Donald Trump's mysterious 'covfefe' tweet: Twitter via AP

One Democratic congressman wants to ensure all of Donald Trumps tweets are preserved for posterity  misspellings, typos and all.

Representative Mike Quigley has introduced the Communications Over Various Feeds Electronically for Engagement Act  also known as the COVFEFE Act  to require the preservation of Mr Trumps tweets by the National Archive and Records Administration (NARA).

The acronym is a tongue-in-cheek reference to one of Mr Trumps more notorious tweets, in which he condemned negative press covfefe, and did not acknowledge the error for more than six hours.

Mr Quigley, however, says the act is more than just a dig at the President.

In order to maintain public trust in government, elected officials must answer for what they do and say; this includes 140-character tweets, the representative said in a statement.

He added, "If the President is going to take to social media to make sudden public policy proclamations, we must ensure that these statements are documented and preserved for future reference.

In the months since he took office, Mr Trumps tweets have become an increasing source of concern for Republican and Democrats alike.

In recent weeks, the President attacked the mayor of London, deemed his executive order on travel restrictions a travel ban, and threatened former FBI Director James Comey with tapes of their conversations  all via Twitter.

The Presidents comments on Mr Comey, in particular, could be evidence of obstruction of justice, according to some legal experts.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said on Sunday that Mr Trump's frequent tweets about the FBI's investigations are "not helping" Republicans.

You may be the first president in history to go down because you cant stop inappropriately talking about an investigation that, if you just were quiet, would clear you, Mr Graham said on CBS Face the Nation.

Who can figure out the true meaning of "covfefe" ??? Enjoy!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 31, 2017

The head of the National Archives Administration, David Ferriero, said in March that the White House had been advised to capture and preserve all tweets that the President posts in the course of his official duties.

Story continues

According to Mr Quigley, however, it is unclear whether this applies to Mr Trumps personal account, where he publishes the majority of his newsworthy missives. Mr Quigley  and likely many of his Democratic colleagues  want to ensure that happens.

Tweets are powerful, and the President must be held accountable for every post, the representative said.

Mr Quigley previously helped introduce the MAR-A-LAGO Act: a bill to require the publication of White House visitor logs, and a reference to Mr Trumps South Florida estate.
Bedminster (United States) (AFP) - The White House said Sunday that President Donald Trump did not discuss a trip to Britain with Prime Minister Theresa May in their most recent telephone call, with officials denying plans had changed.

Trump has been invited to make a coveted state visit, penciled in for autumn, but no dates have been set, amid political turmoil in London and fears that the US president would be greeted by mass protests.

Trump was already a deeply unpopular figure in Britain before he criticized London mayor Sadiq Khan when he was managing the response to a major terror attack.

Britain's Guardian newspaper group poured doubt over the trip Sunday, reporting that Trump told May in a phone call in recent weeks that he does not want to go ahead with a state visit until the British public supports him coming.

White House officials say few discussions about the trip have taken place and Trump's travel schedule is already filling up.

The president is expected to travel to Poland and Germany next month and has agreed to attend summits in the Philippines and Vietnam.

There have also been discussions about visit Japan and perhaps South Korea.

A senior administration official said May and Trump did not discuss the issue when they spoke by telephone on Friday, although they have on earlier calls.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said the invitation was still on the table, but offered no timeframe.

"We aren't going to comment on speculation about the contents of private phone conversations. The Queen extended an invitation to President Trump to visit the UK and there is no change to those plans."